touched the hinge of a table which was in the way, and I had the
courage to mention this circumstance, which was the real cause of
failure.'

It was when he was eight years old, and while travelling with his
father, that his attention was caught by 'a man carrying a machine
five or six feet in diameter, of an oval form, and composed of
slender ribs of steel. I begged my father to inquire what it was. We
were told that it was the skeleton of a lady's hoop. It was
furnished with hinges, which permitted it to fold together in a
small compass, so that more than two persons might sit on one seat
of a coach--a feat not easily performed, when ladies were
encompassed with whalebone hoops of six feet extent. My curiosity
was excited by the first sight of this machine, probably more than
another child's might have been, because previous agreeable
associations had given me some taste for mechanics, which was still
a little further increased by the pleasure I took in examining this
glittering contrivance. Thus even the most trivial incidents in
childhood act reciprocally as cause and effect in forming our
tastes.'

It was in 1754 that Mrs. Edgeworth, continuing much out of health,
resolved to consult a certain Lord Trimblestone, who had been very
successful in curing various complaints. Lord Trimblestone received
Mr. and Mrs. Edgeworth most cordially and hospitably, and though he
could not hope to cure her, recommended some palliatives. He had
more success with another lady whose disorder was purely nervous.
His treatment of her was so original that I must quote it at
length: