"This instrument," continued Mr Tippet, pointing to a huge beam, which leant against the end of the small apartment, "is only a speculative effort of mine. It is meant to raise enormous weights, such as houses. I have long felt it to be most desirable that people should be able to raise their houses from their foundations by the strength of a few men, and convey them to other localities, either temporarily or permanently. I have not succeeded yet, but I see my way to success; and, after all, the idea is not new. You can see it partially carried out by an enterprising company in this city, whose enormous vans will remove the whole furniture of a drawing-room, almost as it stands, without packing. My chief difficulty is with the fulcrum; but that is a difficulty that met the philosopher of old. You have heard of Archimedes, William--the man who said he could make a lever big enough to move the world, if he could only get a fulcrum to rest it on. But Archimedes was weak in that point. He ought to have known that, even if he did get such a fulcrum, he would still have required another world as long as his lever, to enable him to walk out to the end of it. No, by the way, he might have walked _on_ the lever itself! That did not occur to me before. He might even have ridden along it. Come, that's a new idea. Let me see." In order the better to "see," Mr Tippet dropt the piece of wood from his left hand, and pressed his fingers into both eyes, so as to shut out all earthly objects, and enable him to take an undistracted survey of the chambers of his mind. Returning suddenly from the investigation, he exclaimed: "Yes, William, I don't quite see my way to it; but I can perceive dimly the possibility of Archimedes having so formed his lever, that a line of rails might have been run along the upper side of it, from the fulcrum to the other end." "Yes, sir," exclaimed Willie, who, having become excited, was entering eagerly into his patron's speculations, and venting an occasional remark in the height of his enthusiasm. "Such a thing _might_ be done," continued Mr Tippet emphatically; "a small carriage--on the galvano-hydraulic principle, of course--might run to and fro--" "With passengers," suggested Willie. "Well--with passengers," assented Mr Tippet, smiling. "Of course, the lever would be very large--extremely large. Yes, there _might_ be passengers." "An' stations along the line?" said Willie. Mr Tippet knitted his brows. "Ye-yes--why not?" he said slowly. "Of course, the lever would be very long, extremely long, and it might be necessary to stop the carriages on the way out. There might be breadth sufficient on the lever to plant small side stations." "An' twenty minutes allowed for refreshments," suggested Willie.