If the 900_l._ were the remuneration of the creative mind, and the 100_l._ were the payment for the use of the room and the necessary attendants, the information of several classes of society would be far other than it now is, and the status of the lecturer would be entirely altered. At present, however great the talent of the instructor, his position is not exactly that which the interests of society demand. The term, _itinerant_ lecturer, has long been one of reproach, and even now it is not thought quite dignified in a gentleman to give a lecture _for money_. The reason is obvious: nothing is thought respectable in England which does not produce wealth. Any shrewd and unscrupulous fellow, who swindles on a gigantic scale, will, if he succeed, be immediately received with welcome into what is called the best society. Neither wit nor talent are necessary for his admission: if, indeed, he be horridly vulgar, a few additional hundreds of thousands will procure him absolution in fashionable eyes, even for that most deadly sin. Enable the instructor to receive his due portion of that reward which the public are willing to pay, and he too will become rich, and therefore eminently respectable. With this increased remuneration, minds of a higher order will be attracted to the study of the most difficult of arts,—that of teaching; and the time will arrive when accomplished, enlightened, and independent men may earn from five to ten thousand a-year without courting a constituency for parliamentary influence, or a minister for justice to merit he is incapable of appreciating. Such results, however, demand the use of convenient theatres of various sizes, placed in situations easily accessible. It appears then that, on every ground which has been considered, the utility of the Crystal Palace will depend almost entirely on the situation chosen for its ultimate position. Looking at the question in a purely commercial view, considering the difficulty of access from the north to its present locality; contrasting it with the facility of access from every quarter in the site proposed; it is not too much to presume that its revenue would be so greatly enlarged by the removal, that it would justify an expenditure of forty or even of fifty thousand pounds. [12] The French chamber has devoted 50,000 francs to the purchase of specimens.—(_Illustrated News_, 2d. Feb. 1851.) [13] Phil. Trans. 1826, p. 250. [14] Published by Aylott and Jones, Paternoster Row. [15] It is far from the author’s intention to reproach in the slightest degree the Managers of that most valuable Institution. Every member having a right to be present at every lecture, it is not in their power to do otherwise. CHAPTER XII. INTRIGUES OF SCIENCE.