Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/331

 FROM THE &quot;LONDON TIMES&quot;

&quot;And I do not value it,&quot; retorted the young in ventor, with provoking calmness of tone and manner.

Clayton turned to Mr. K., and said:

&quot;I cannot see why you are wasting money on this toy. In my opinion, the day will never come when it will do a farthing s worth of real service for any human being.&quot;

&quot;That may be; yes, that may be; still, I have put the money in it, and am content. I think, myself, that it is only a toy ; but Szczepanik claims more for it, and I know him well enough to believe that he can see farther than I can either with his telelectro- scope or without it.&quot;

The soft answer did not cool Clayton down; it seemed only to irritate him the more; and he re peated and emphasized his conviction that the inven tion would never do any man a farthing s worth of real service. He even made it a &quot;brass &quot; farthing, this time. Then he laid an English farthing on the table, and added :

&quot;Take that, Mr. K., and put it away; and if ever the telelectroscope does any man an actual service, mind, a real service please mail it to me as a reminder, and I will take back what I have been saying. Will you?&quot;

&quot;I will&quot;; and Mr. K. put the coin in his pocket.

Mr. Clayton now turned toward Szczepanik, and began with a taunt a taunt which did not reach a finish ; Szczepanik interrupted it with a hardy retort, and followed this with a blow. There was a brisk fight for a moment or two; then the attaches sepa rated the men.

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