In order to get the full point of the following story it must be remembered that at that time there was not a stationary steam-engine in Portugal. English enterprise and capital had recently built a line of railway between Lisbon and Oporto, and the locomotives on that line furnished the only exhibition of steam power in the country. To the educated classes of the Portuguese, therefore, the steam-engine to be shown at the Oporto Crystal Palace was the object of supreme interest. In one respect they used to have on the Continent a way of managing these things which was better than ours. The exhibitions were completely ready on the opening day. For example, in the French Exposition of 1867, which was the last one I attended, the jurors commenced their work of examination on the day after the opening, and completed it in three weeks. The only exception, I think, was in the class of agricultural machinery, the examination of which _had_ to wait for the grain to grow. No imperial decree could hasten that. So the Oporto Exposition was to be complete in all its departments when the King of Portugal should declare it to be open. I arrived in Oporto a week before the day fixed for the opening, and found a funny state of affairs existing in the engineering department. A very capable and efficient young man had been placed by our firm in charge of their exhibit. I found his work finished. The engine and shafting were in running order. Only the boilers were not ready, in explanation of which I heard this statement: Some time previously an Englishman had presented himself, bearing a commission, duly signed by the executive officials, constituting him “Chief Engineer of the Oporto Exposition,” and demanded charge of our engine and boilers, which were all there was for him to be chief engineer of. Our man very properly refused to recognize him, telling him that he had been placed in charge of this exhibit by its owners, and he should surrender it to nobody. But the new man had a pull. The managers were furious at this defiance of their authority. On the other hand, the guardian of our interests was firm. Finally, after much altercation and correspondence with Manchester, a compromise had been arranged, by which our representative retained charge of the engine and shafting, and the boilers were handed over to the “chief engineer.” I was introduced to this functionary, and received his assurance that the boilers would be “in readiness to-morrow.” This promise was repeated every day. Finally the morning of the opening day arrived. The city put on its gala attire. Flags and banners waved everywhere. The people were awakened to a holiday by the booming of cannon and the noise of rockets, which the Portuguese sent up by daylight to explode in the air. The King and Queen and court came up from Lisbon, and there was a grand opening ceremonial, after which a royal procession made the circuit of the building.