That summer I made application for space in the London Exhibition of 1862, and soon after was waited upon by the Assistant United States Commissioner, Mr. Joseph E. Holmes. So far as the engine to be exhibited was concerned, I had nothing to show Mr. Holmes. The drawings were scarcely commenced. I, however, took him to McLaren & Anderson’s shop and showed him the little engine at work there and took diagrams from it in his presence, and expatiated on the revolution in steam-engineering that was there inaugurated, but which has not yet been realized to the extent I then dreamed of. It was evident that Mr. Holmes was much impressed with the assurance of the success of the new system that the perfect running of this first little engine seemed to give. I told him that the engine for the exhibition would certainly be completed, and on that assurance he accepted my entire proposed exhibit. I did not see him again until we met the next spring in London, under the somewhat remarkable circumstances hereafter to be related. In spite of all efforts it was found impossible to complete the engine and have it tested before shipment as I had intended. Indeed, as the time approached after which no further exhibits would be received, two things grew more and more doubtful. One was whether the engine could be got off at all, and the other whether I could obtain the means to make the exhibit. Finally I managed to get the engine bed finished and immediately shipped it by a mail steamer. A small, slow steamer chartered by the United States Commission and loaded with exhibits had sailed previously, carrying the assistant commissioner and a number of exhibitors and their representatives, who, until they reached their destination, remained in blissful ignorance of what happened directly after their departure. But to return to my own movements. Mr. Hope one day said to me: “I understand you shipped your engine bed last Saturday; what did you do that for? You don’t know yet whether you can go yourself.” I replied: “If I had not shipped it then, I should lose my space and would have to abandon the exhibition altogether. If I find that I can’t go, the bed can come back.” I redoubled my exertions to get the remaining parts of the engine completed and to raise the necessary funds. The next Saturday I shipped everything that was ready. On the following Monday, by making a large sacrifice, I realized a sum that could be made to answer, and on Wednesday I sailed on the Cunard steamer “Africa,” leaving to my reliable clerk, Alexander Gordon, long President of the Niles Tool Works, and now Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Niles-Bement-Pond Company, the responsibility of seeing that everything still wanting should follow as rapidly as possible.