And I trust that, without undue vanity, I may be allowed to say that I have left my mark upon several useful inventions, which probably have had no small share in the mechanical works of the age.
There is scarcely a steamship or locomotive that is not indebted to my steam hammer; and without it, Armstrong and Whitworth guns and iron-plated men-of-war could scarcely have existed." But though Nasmyth retired from business at the age of forty-eight, he did not seek repose in idleness.

He continues to be as busy as the busiest; but in an altogether different direction.

Instead of being tied to the earth, he enjoys himself amongst the stars.

By means of telescopes of his own making, he has investigated the sun, and discovered its "willow leaves;" he has examined and photographed the moon, and in the monograph of it which he has published, he has made us fully acquainted with its geography.

He is also a thorough artist, and spends a considerable portion of his time in painting,--though he is too modest to exhibit.