a week before I had settled in my own mind certain fundamental principles, which I believed must govern all attempts to get practically the whole juice from the cane; but of course, there were many circumstances that rendered it necessary to modify first principles, having reference to the cost of the machine, its easy transit across country, freedom from repairs in isolated situations, etc., etc.

In due course I had to attend a meeting at the Society of Arts where I was much surprised to find the large hall crowded with spectators. At one side of the room was a raised dais, on which his Royal Highness, Prince Albert, was seated at a small table, and at his side was the Chairman of the Committee of Mechanical Experts, who had reported to the Prince the result of their deliberations. In front of the platform occupied by the Prince Consort there was a long avenue covered with crimson cloth, and skirted on each side by rows of seats, occupied by ladies, who added to their personal charms all that the milliner's art could accomplish to give grace and éclat to the occasion. It was, I found, my role to brave all the dangers of this double battery of youth and beauty; and, like the good St. Anthony, I had to keep my eyes fixed upon the crimson cloth, for I did not dare to look. If anything could add to the satisfaction of the moment, it was the presence on this occasion of the Chairman of the Committee of Experts, who was about to read his Report, for this gentleman was no other than that talented and well-known engineer, Mr. John Scott Russell, than whom no one in all Great Britain was more able to do justice to the subject reported on. His firm of Robinson and Russell were extensive manufacturers of Colonial Sugar Machinery, but they had refrained from competing on this occasion, thus allowing Mr. Scott Russell to add another to the many proofs of the high code of honour so conspicuous in the whole body of Civil Engineers in this country, by giving publicly unqualified testimony to the merits of what was, in fact, the scheme of a rival manufacturer. The honourable distinction received from such a source, while it was most gratifying to myself, was more than reflected upon the speaker.

Among many other things, Mr. Scott Russell, in addressing the Society and reading his report, said, "the new cane press of Mr. Bessemer has the merit of introducing a principle at once new and of great beauty into the process, while reducing the weight and cumbrousness of the machinery; much has been done by Mr. Bessemer towards removing the main obstacle to improvements in the working machinery of the Colonies in the Tropics, viz., the difficulty of transport." Mr. Scott Russell further pointed out that: "When these facts of facility of transport, simplicity of foundation, and other advantages come to be considered in reference to cost, it will at once be perceived that notwithstanding the great advantages it offers in respect of quality and quantity of juice, certainty and uniformity of action, and freedom from accident by wear and tear, the cane press, when placed in working condition upon an estate, will have cost less than the most ill-constructed mill and engine to be obtained from the cheapest and most inferior makers."

At the conclusion of Mr. Scott Russell's address there was a round of applause, and this was followed by the rising of his Royal Highness Prince Albert, who complimented me in the kindest manner on the success of my invention -- an invention which I had taken such unusual steps to prove, by bringing, as it were, the Colonies to us, and by resting my claims to recognition on actually accomplished facts. His Royal Highness then placed in my hands a beautiful Gold Medal. In briefly expressing my thanks, I said that whatever advantages might in the future result from this invention, they would be entirely due to the encouragement held out by his Royal Highness; and amid the warmest recognition from the assembled spectators, I beat a retreat with the prize I had received.