During the peace of Amiens, Jacquard happened to take up a newspaper in a _cabaret_ which he frequented, and his eye fell on a translated extract from an English journal, stating that a prize was offered by a society in London for the construction of a machine for weaving nets. As a mere amusement he turned his thoughts to the subject, contrived a number of models, and at last solved the problem. He made a machine and wove a little net with it. One day he met a friend who had read the paragraph from the English paper. Jacquard drew the net from his pocket saying, "Oh! I've got over the difficulty! see, there is a net I've made." After that he took no more thought about the matter, and had quite forgotten it, when he was startled by a summons to appear at the Prefectal Palace. The prefect received him very kindly, and expressed his astonishment that his mechanical genius should so long have remained in obscurity. Jacquard could not imagine how the prefect had discovered his mechanical experiments, and began vaguely to dread that he had got into some shocking scrape. He stammered out a sort of apology. The prefect was surprised he should deny his own talent, and said he had been informed that he had invented a machine for weaving nets. Jacquard owned that he had. "Well, then, you're the right man, after all," said the prefect. "I have orders from the emperor to send the machine to Paris." "Yes, but you must give me time to make it," replied Jacquard. In a week or two Jacquard again presented himself at the palace with his machine and a half manufactured net. The prefect was eager to see how it worked. "Count the number of loops in that net," said Jacquard, "and then strike the bar with your foot." The prefect did so, and was surprised and delighted to see another loop added to the number. "Capital!" cried he. "I have his majesty's orders, M. Jacquard, to send you and your machine to Paris." "To Paris! How can that be? How can I leave my business here?" "There is no help for it; and not only must you go to Paris, but you must start at once, without an hour's delay." "If it must be, it must. I will go home and pack up a little bundle, and tell my wife about my journey, I shall be ready to start to-morrow." "To-morrow won't do; you must go to-day. A carriage is waiting to take you to Paris; and you must not go home. I will send to your house for any things you want, and convey any message to your wife. I will provide you with money for the journey."