Decently

decently

So You Want To Be On A Startup Board of Directors

Dealing with Missing Data in Financial Time Series - Recipes and Pitfalls 

ফাইন্যান্সিয়াল টাইম সিরিজে অনুপস্থিত ডেটা নিয়ে কাজ করা - রেসিপি এবং ক্ষতি

Umgang mit fehlenden Daten in Finanzzeitreihen – Rezepte und Fallstricke

Manejo de datos faltantes en series de tiempo financieras: recetas y trampas

Gérer les données manquantes dans les séries temporelles financières – Recettes et pièges

वित्तीय समय श्रृंखला में गुम डेटा से निपटना - विधियां और नुकसान

金融時系列における欠損データの扱い - 秘訣と落とし穴

금융 시계열에서 누락된 데이터 처리 - 방법 및 함정

Lidando com dados ausentes em séries temporais financeiras – receitas e armadilhas

Работа с недостающими данными в финансовых временных рядах: рецепты и подводные камни

Finansal Zaman Serilerinde Eksik Verilerle Başa Çıkmak - Tarifler ve Tuzaklar

Xử lý dữ liệu bị thiếu trong chuỗi thời gian tài chính - Bí quyết và cạm bẫy

处理金融时间序列中的缺失数据 - 秘诀和陷阱

: New DeFi projects can be highly imperfect, harboring risks like potential rugs leading to loss of invested capital. This article reflects my thoughts as a developer and founder on valuable lessons from some good products, not financial advice. By reading on, you acknowledge this.🔒🔒🔒 Risk Disclaimer web3 A week or two ago, we witnessed the rapid rise of #Blast. analyzing the valuable experiences developers, and founders could learn from the project's founding team to better launch and operate their own projects. I even wrote an article This week, I came across another very promising defi project that has followed most of the excellent industry practices I mentioned in that previous article. Most importantly, it's still in a very early stage; it's not too late to research as a developer/founder or participate as a user. This is the new Decentralized Perpetual Exchange on Arbitrum: . EQUATION Due to regulatory uncertainty in the US, most mainstream DeFi projects block US IPs. So, you may need a VPN to switch IPs and access their site if you're in the US. Please abide by local laws. Where EQUATION excels in launch & operation strategies EQUATION 💎💎💎 In of Blast's strategies, I summarized key factors for successful web3 products: my analysis Validate product-market fit by replicating past successes in proven sectors with incremental innovation. Focus incremental innovations on improving poor user experiences in mainstream products. Create mechanisms that greatly enhance these experiences. Align token incentives tightly with these innovative mechanisms to create tremendous user benefits that ensure their success. This is crucial! As most early users are airdrop hunters who will flock in for major benefits. Another area for token incentives is vampire attacks on mainstream products. If we've designed an innovative mechanism targeting the pain points of mainstream products and driven airdrop hunters and early adopters to help realize it through token incentives, we can now siphon existing users through airdrops and retain them. “Strong user interest” + “simplified solution/product” are key to creating killer apps. Besides airdrop hunters, we need to consider mainstream users. Only the and participation can remove their barriers to entry, like UST's Anchor protocol and Blast's deposit ETH/stablecoins for airdrops. most straightforward seemingly low-risk So, Let's examine EQUATION's strategies against this framework: Sector Analysis Firstly, Decentralized Perpetual Exchange is a proven sector. Leaders here have demonstrated product-market fit. Comparing CEXs and DEXes shows DEX penetration is still low, an early-stage sector. from Coingecko shows even top DEX dYdX remains negligible compared to CEX behemoths like Binance futures on metrics like volume. Data However, Decentralized Perpetual Exchanges are a key DeFi infrastructure component. Leaders have achieved remarkable success, fully validating product-market fit. Below are the top chains and protocols by revenue generated over the past year, according to Token Terminal. We can see GMX generated over $130M in revenue during the bear market, while dYdX also made over $80M. With the market gradually recovering and volatility increasing, the sector is poised to explode again. Web3 products hinge on narrative and anticipation. Sector potential sets the imagination ceiling. Incremental Innovation on Mainstream Products The main problems with CEXs are needing to register, KYC, and deposit margins. This creates major friction in unfriendly jurisdictions. DEXs like dYdX, GMX, and EQUATION alleviate some of these issues. Also, LPs only earn trading fees, not protocol revenue. EQUATION's incremental innovation versus dYdX and GMX starts with further reducing Maintenance Margin and greatly increasing Maximum Leverage. The lowest MM is GMX's 1%, while EQUATION went lower to 0.25%. The highest MAX Leverage among DEXes is GMX's 50x. EQUATION goes up to 200x. The high upside is very enticing for perpetual traders seeking high risk-reward. For the problem of LPs having low capital efficiency, EQUATION allows LPs to use leverage. This significantly enhances their capital efficiency. LPs also share trading fees besides earning liquidity rewards, further improving incentives. We can see in its Pools panel that even providing ETH/USDT liquidity can yield over 110% max APR with this design, a compelling innovation. Token Incentives for Airdrop Hunters, KOLs, and Early Users💎💎💎 This is critical for early success, especially for community fair launches without VC backing. EQUATION designed its IDO as a collaborative mining process with incentives for different stakeholders. Its shows the daily EQU emissions are distributed as follows: whitepaper The biggest portion goes to position holders and users of the protocol. With 10,000 EQU minted daily, 40% is 4000 EQU worth about $210,000 at current prices. The second portion goes to LPs providing EQU/ETH liquidity on Uniswap, worth around $110,000 daily. The third portion goes to LPs providing liquidity to the Risk Buffer Fund, worth around $90,000 daily. The fourth portion rewards KOLs helping promote the community (requires holding EFC membership NFTs), also worth around $90,000 daily. The fifth portion rewards EQUATION's own LPs, worth around $35,000 daily. For example, if you provide ETH/USDT liquidity on EQUATION, you already earn 100%+ APR. On top of that, you share part of the $210,000 in daily EQU emissions. The two are complimentary. Importantly, these are all extra rewards provided during the IDO beyond base protocol incentives. EQUATION does decently here. The above pools can be farmed quite risk-free. Airdrop hunters care most about free yields or farming tokens at high expected ROI with minimal capital. For instance, I hold equal long and short positions, neutralizing risk while being unable to profit from them. But if I have $10K each in long and short, my total position is $20K. I can then share part of the $210,000 in daily EQU rewards for my holdings. Incentives for KOLs are covered by the fourth portion above. Areas for Improvement in EQUATION's Strategies🧠🧠🧠 If I were the developer/founder operating such a project, I feel the excellent design could be enhanced further: Simplified products/solutions mean minimizing barriers to entry, including mental hurdles🤖🤖🤖 Options traders are still a small portion of web3 users. Many avoid contracts and options entirely as they are far riskier with a steep learning curve. EQUATION already helps by neutralizing risk through offsetting positions while allowing participation in IDO rewards. This is sufficient for existing options traders but not for most others unused to options. I would deploy a contract allowing one-click deposits. Funds would be split equally into offsetting long and short positions. Leverage would be minimized to prevent liquidations. This provides a "painless" deposit experience similar to savings that equally allows participation in IDO rewards. Such a seamless experience would greatly lower mental hurdles and attract far more users to be protocol airdrop hunters. Tremendous user benefits mean structuring tremendous expected returns💰💰💰 dYdX has a circulating market cap of $560M, while GMX exceeds $500M. EQU's current circulating market cap is just $3M (even FDV is only $18M). This huge difference is because EQUATION is new, but it also shows room to improve expectation management. EQUATION is performing well after launch, as evidenced by metrics. Open interest is critical for a Decentralized Perpetual Exchange. GMX's shows its current total open interest is around $220M. EQUATION has already exceeded $110M and is growing. Despite the valuation gap, EQUATION is reaching parity with top Decentralized Perpetual Exchanges like GMX on key business metrics.📈📈📈 official data Our earlier estimate showed EQUATION provides over $500,000 in daily rewards currently to airdrop hunters and early users. This is great, but far from enough to create explosive growth like #Blast for degen users. This requires more endorsements and backers at launch to create a perception of guaranteed success. Some may say EQUATION is a community fair launch without VC backing, making endorsements like Blast's improbable. However, as a smoothly developing protocol on par with GMX, is it possible to request some policy support from Arbitrum? Firstly, they crave a sense of probabilistic certainty, even if psychologically illusory. I think it's feasible. Arbitrum faces fierce competition and has few impressive ecosystem projects. Its generous $ARB rewards to bootstrap GMX shows Arbitrum's urgency to support development. If a project can gain traction now, Arbitrum would likely invest resources to aid it. EQUATION has achieved this much with only an ABDK audit (also GMX's auditor), and no official Arbitrum endorsement. Even just vocal backing, without significant $ARB rewards, from Arbitrum could boost EQUATION's metrics tremendously. This requires creating greater imagination space and upside potential during launch to drive such perceptions. Secondly, while these degen users care about yields, they care more about perceived high risk-reward, even if illusory expectations. Some may argue the sector's ceiling is clear. Even if you double open interest over GMX, get listed on top exchanges like Binance, and match GMX's $512M FDV, that's still nearly 30X from EQUATION's current $18M FDV. Isn't that enticing enough? While still decent, as a developer/founder, I'd look for more open-ended narratives with greater upside to drive expectations, such as announcing EQUATION's second L2 launch will be #Blast. Blast has clear airdrop expectations for developers. This wouldn't even require requests like with Arbitrum. They have openly said half of season 1 airdrops will go to early users depositing ETH/stablecoins, and half to ecosystems developers. EQUATION entering and receiving airdrops is highly probable.💰💰💰 I could announce all Arbitrum support and Blast airdrops received will be added to the current IDO mining event pool, distributed proportionally as additional rewards to existing recipients. Now early airdrop hunters and users wouldn't just get $500,000 in daily $EQU emissions, but also significant expected $ARB and #BLAST airdrops. These are valuable L2 tokens. This creates expectations of even higher risk-reward to drive growth. And with growth, we improve our chances of securing more support from Arbitrum and Blast. Fake it until you make it! Once we exceed dYdX and GMX in metrics, introduce VC funding, and get listed on tier 1 exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. The flywheel starts spinning.🔥🔥🔥 In summary, the EQUATION team has performed excellently in project launch and early operations, reflected in current metrics. But token undervaluation may be the key bottleneck preventing a positive feedback loop and explosive growth. Optimizing launch and operational strategies in a few ways could help challenge leading protocols like GMX and dYdX: Strengthen understanding of current mainstream user profiles. Lower mental hurdles and simplify participation for the masses through more seamless and foolproof product experiences. Analyze the psychology of airdrop hunters and early degens more deeply. Manufacture higher perceived certainty and outsized risk-reward to more effectively direct expectations and drive growth. What do you think? I look forward to your comments and thoughts! And since you've read so far, please give me a like! 👍👍👍

Decentralized Perpetual Exchange Strategies: Insights & Opportunities from EQUATION's Launch

A lot of mobile advertisers fail to scale their ad campaigns on various ad platforms before they even begin. When it comes to , tossing aside your gut feelings won't cut it. While it's a challenging endeavor, with a strategic approach, you can navigate this terrain and maximize your ad campaigns' potential. scaling In this article, I'll explore the key principles of scaling, common missteps, and proven strategies we have developed at , a performance marketing agency, to ensure your ad campaigns thrive. AdQuantum Understanding Scaling and Its Purpose Scaling refers to increasing the daily ad budget for a given project. Every app is unique, with , distinct benchmarks, , average revenues, and lifetime value rates. monetization strategies unit economics These variables should be factored in before employing uniform scaling strategies across varied products. While some campaigns may accommodate doubling the budget daily without hitches, others may falter with even minimal changes. There are two scaling methods: vertical and horizontal. Vertical scaling involves increasing budgets and bids within campaigns, while horizontal scaling entails making changes to campaign settings, optimization, and duplicating campaigns. So, it comes down to deciding if you want to duplicate a profitable campaign or increase its budget. The choice between scaling types should be case-specific. On paid social platforms, vertical scaling – beginning with a budget increase followed by raising the bid – is typically recommended. However, blending both techniques often yields better results on these platforms. only allow vertical scaling. Horizontal scaling is futile since duplicated campaigns target the same audience as the original one. Mobile ad networks Before initiating campaign scaling, ensure your product is ripe for it. A product is deemed scale-ready when it demonstrates positive unit economics concerning paid user acquisition – indicating that the campaign has consistently met its KPIs for at least 2-3 days. From a marketing perspective, before scaling: Engage in creative testing. Ascertain the stability of ad campaigns, ensuring they don't incur abrupt cost hikes as budgets escalate. Ensure the user acquisition team has deduced the threshold metrics correlating ad spent to product profitability – surpassing these metrics could be detrimental. While preparation demands considerable time and effort, the returns justify the investment. Relying solely on intuition can deplete budgets and undermine the efficacy of campaigns. Thus, allocating time for refining and enhancing your marketing strategies is pivotal for scaling success. Pitfalls of Scaling Scaling, while promising, entails challenges that warrant meticulous attention. Below are potential pitfalls in scaling ad campaigns: Audience Limitations Every product has its limitations: the target audience is limited to a specific city or country, the level of user’s interest in the product, and the ability to engage users within an app. Additionally, advertisers often vie for the same audience, leading to or getting overshadowed by competitors with larger budgets. ad fatigue Simply having a high average revenue per user (ARPU) doesn't guarantee that a project will be more successful than its competitors. When it comes to user acquisition, a higher ARPU means users on average spend more, but it also means a smaller percentage of users can afford it. Typically, there are more people willing to pay $30 for a subscription than those willing to pay $100. Conversely, projects with lower subscription costs face greater competition for the same audience. That's why it's crucial to develop an effective user acquisition strategy before you start scaling to attract a steady stream of new users without suffering substantial losses. Cannibalization This occurs when one campaign eats into another's traffic. Blindly duplicating campaigns can result in them competing against each other. To prevent cannibalization, implement a strategic approach to campaign duplication by diversifying targeting parameters. Experiment with various audience segments, ad creatives, and GEOs to reach new audiences without overlap. Regularly analyze the performance of your campaigns to identify potential overlaps and optimize budget allocation for maximum efficiency. Abrupt Budget Increases Sometimes, when an advertiser sees a campaign performing 2-3 times better than the target KPI, they impulsively start to significantly increase the budget for this campaign. However, in such cases, the media buying process usually gets disrupted. In practice, it's better to increase the budget gradually. For example, if a campaign performed well at $300 per day, try keeping it at $500-600 per day for a few days before jumping to a budget of several thousand dollars. Premature Budget Increases To avoid impulsive decisions, consider specific factors before increasing the campaign budget. Firstly, ensure that the campaign has consistently performed well over a longer period of time of not less than 3 days. Secondly, make sure the campaign has completed its learning phase. And thirdly, ensure it has already achieved several purchases at the target cost. Auction Limitations No secret auctions have limitations. It's not uncommon for campaigns to experience a sudden decline, even after months of successful performance, resulting in a failure to attract the desired target audience. And the reasons for that may be: Getting pushed out of the auction – this issue may arise when competing projects allocate larger budgets toward more compelling creatives, so you need to either increase your spending or find a better creative. Product-channel fit – when a product reaches the limit of its available audience within the ad channels it fits, further spending growth becomes challenging. This is mainly applicable to niche products. Competition in the auction within one product – this problem occurs when multiple teams are working on a project within the same advertising channel, such as both an agency and a client running campaigns simultaneously. There can be competition for top creatives, and if your ads aren’t strong enough, you may be outperformed, and your audience will be taken away. Thus, creatives become a crucial factor for scalability. The quality of campaign optimization – if a campaign lacks optimization data within the conversion window, it can limit the campaign's scalability. Thus, scaling becomes impossible. Algorithm changes and platform update scans also impact campaign performance and scalability. Staying updated with platform changes and adjusting campaign strategies accordingly is crucial to mitigate potential limitations. Misguided Scaling Approach Doubling the campaign budget may seem like an easy solution, but it doesn't always yield the desired results. A viable alternative is campaign duplication. Gradually increase spend on the main campaign, and create 1-2 duplicates with minor audience and placement variations. This step-by-step approach allows for a better evaluation of the impact of increased spend and provides a smoother path to scaling. Creative Fatigue Ad creatives eventually experience fatigue, evident when click-through rate (CTR) and install rate (IR) drop while the cost per thousand (CPM) rises. Even in such cases, campaigns can still perform decently but not at their previous volume or level. To overcome creative fatigue, it's crucial to be prepared with multiple reserve creative approaches. Instead of aggressive scaling, have new and fresh ad creatives ready to replace exhausted ones. By regularly refreshing your ad content and introducing new creative variations, you can maintain user engagement while avoiding creative fatigue. Summing Up Mastering mobile ad campaign scaling is both an art and a science. It demands a blend of strategic foresight, a keen understanding of your audience, and a vigilant eye on the ever-changing digital landscape. Remember, scaling isn't just about increasing budgets; it's about making calculated decisions that align with your product's unique metrics and market dynamics. A thoughtful, well-prepared strategy in advance is your roadmap to navigating this complex terrain. If you have any questions about mobile ad campaign scaling or need further clarification on any points discussed in this article, feel free to reach out to me. Just ping me on LinkedIn, and I'll be more than happy to make things clearer for you. Scale wisely and confidently, and watch your campaigns soar to new heights!

Mastering Mobile Ad Campaign Scaling: Common Pitfalls and Useful Tips

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*Note: a SWOT analysis is an evaluation of the fundamental, operational, technical, social, economic, and even to some degree, administrative elements of a project. This is not a model to be used for trading purposes. (NFA, DYOR) Composed of four elements, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, a SWOT analysis framework provides excellent insight for establishing a high-level understanding of the state of a project's well-being through the lens of a birds-eye view. It can help formulate decisions around which areas require more attention, set performance goals, and organize a foundational understanding of where a project is headed. Rarely (if ever) used in , it is time to apply this timeless method of evaluation to the digital asset space. crypto Today, ( ), the notoriously innovative, developer-loving, DAG-based, alternative EVM-compatible layer one blockchain, will get a SWOT. Fantom FTM 💪 Strengths (Internal) (Helpful) Being the logical/philosophical backbone of blockchain and Web3, decentralization is an abstract, subjective concept whose meaning varies depending on subjective bias. Impossible to universally define, striking an effective model of decentralization has proven to be elusive for every project (even Bitcoin). Fantom has put in obvious effort into constructing as balanced an approach as possible: allowing delegation, lowering validator hardware requirements (thus lowering the threshold for participation), 500,000 FTM (0.015% of total supply) requirement for validators, leveraging leaderless consensus, et al. Whenever contextualizing the potential success of a network on a long-term time horizon, decentralization will prove superior to its alternative. 1. Decentralization Balancing Previously, the FTM transaction model was a simple 70/30 split, with 70% of gas fees being distributed to validators and 30% being burned. In the latter half of 2022, Fantom adjusted the fee split model and rolled out two new initiatives to help bolster the ecosystem. Today, there is a 70/15/10/5 split, with 70% still allocated to validators, 15% to the Gas Monetization program, 10% to the ecosystem vault, and just 5% being burned. The results of experimentation with fee markets will have the potential to translate to stronger community effects and better value cycling. 2. Gas Fee System 3. Sonic Network Upgrade Currently in testnet, but with mainnet in sight, a network upgrade that brings a smorgasbord of technical improvements will be taking place on Fantom. Dubbed "Sonic" and requiring no hard fork, the upgrade includes three key changes: throughput increases from the current 30 tps to over 2,000 tps, database storage reductions for validators by over 90% (from ~2,000 GB to ~300), and the introduction of the FVM (Fantom Virtual machine). The transactions per second metric receives its boost from optimizations in the Lachesis consensus transaction pool and modifications on the FVM. Disk space requirements were reduced drastically thanks to the new Carmen Database's capabilities for live pruning, which in turn lowered the barriers to participation, inviting in a larger potential stakeholder base. 4. Gas Monetization Program The overall impact and better incentives = more sustainability. 15% of all transaction fees are allocated back to the creator of a contract that was involved in the transaction, creating a recursive value feedback between application developers and the network itself. Projects that meet certain criteria will automatically begin to retain a portion of all the activity that they elicit on Fantom. If AAVE creates $100,000 worth of network transaction fees, it will claim $15,000 of that. With this additional vector for generating revenue becoming available, projects are further incentivized to build and market their products on FTM. It is noteworthy that there are nuances regarding the transaction types that qualify; non-qualified transaction fees are aggregated separately and distributed to the network’s top 15 leading protocols on a . (completed over 125,000 txs and have been live for longer than three months) quarterly basis 5. Implementing Ecosystem Vault 10% of all transaction fees that were once burned will now be allocated to an ecosystem vault. Acting like a treasury for funding/rewarding projects building on FTM, the purpose of the vault is twofold: to breed stronger community relationships through coordinating how the vault's assets are allocated and to incentivize application development. Additionally, since the funding is derived from a source that was previously discarded, interesting experiments around value attribution/utilization are taking place, which might ultimately yield macroeconomic insights that can contribute to the further evolution/optimization of society. 6. Lachesis Consensus Protocol Fantom has always been recognized for its emphasis on technology. Showing its deep commitment to creating something innovative and useful, the project has implemented its own leaderless, asynchronous BFT (Byzantine Fault Tolerance) mechanism, capable of withstanding a 1/3 fault in node operators called . In Lachesis, the network grows without having the entire validator set approve each individual transaction on the fly; rather, on-chain events are batched into blocks and appended as either confirmed or unconfirmed. The status of unconfirmed blocks is used to confirm the preceding blocks, which are arranged independently. This optimistic throughput is secured by occasional validator observations, and the incoming epochs confirm the preceding ones. Lachesis 7. Instant Finality Finality has been a touchy subject in the public blockchain space. First-generation networks, such as BTC, have a model of "probable finality," meaning that transactions never become irreversible, and the chain can experience a rollback at random. As the industry transitions to newer generations of technology, finality has become a focal point for consideration by enterprise-grade market participants. At its simplest, the faster the finality, the more security a user feels about their transactions, the more user-friendly the experience, the more likely they are to come back. Fantoms per-block finality addresses certain elements in counter-party risk that empower developers to create products capable of appealing to the masses. 😞 Weaknesses (Internal) (Harmful) 1. Multi-Chain Hack Slammed with a ~126 million USD loss (of which the majority was USDT, USDC, WETH, and WBTC) that took place during an unforeseen attack. The happenings of the event itself coincided with Multichain's CEO disappearing for over a month, ultimately due to legal implications, which have raised concerns and theories that the depegging and private key vulnerabilities were the result of coordinated insider mal intentions. Reverberating throughout the entire network, both end users and protocols suffered materially. In fact, one of the networks leading DEX protocols at the time, SpiritSwap, was forced to shut down its operations. 2. DEFI TVL Fleeing, Fast. Falling from ~450 million to ~75 million, the year-on-year DEFI TVL collapsed alongside the broader ; however, the severity of liquidity fleeing has only been amplified by the Multi-chain incident. While many networks' percentage decrease has been showing signs of bottoming out, FTM has had the inverse take place, with the last quarter showing the most dramatic loss (-69%). Placed against the backdrop of increasing pricing and sentiment shifts, coupled with the decently high diversity score of 15 (15 different projects contributing to TVL), the dramatic loss of interest might indicate mass abandonment. crypto market 🧐 Opportunities (External) (Helpful) 1. Affiliation with Andre Cronje Andre Cronje is a controversial genius in the space. He is a technically skilled thought leader who has contributed to many of the industry's most prominent protocols, including YEARN and Keep3r. Coming out of nowhere, Andre was given a holy title, the same caliber as Vitalik, in the crypto space (rightfully so) that imbued the project with credibility. Granted, the role of Andre in the ecosystem was as an advisor; however, in spite of that, whenever personal news about him would arise, the project would react. In the event that Andre does rise above the challenges and becomes a hero of the industry, FTM will inherit some of that clout. 2. Warm Market Reception Alternative smart contract networks, especially layer 1's, whether they are EVM compatible or not, generally receive a lot of backlash. Every major platform, from Ripple to Solana to BSC to Arbitrum, has been subject to some extent of intellectual tyranny. Tribalism from communities such as Ethereum stirs up conflicts, constantly trying to hurt the images of competing platforms through insults. Interestingly enough, Fantom has somehow been able to side-step this drama and, in fact, has actually caught some support from the marketplace. 3. Market Over-reaction Fantom is among the layer ones that have been hit hardest in the last market cycle. Excessive losses in TVL present an opportunity for it to come back, which would translate into massive opportunities for the protocols building on top. Abandonment by users opens the floodgates for massive shifts in the event of mass migrations to the network (growing from 3,000 DAU to 30,000 DAU {10x} can have more impact than growth from 30,000 to 90,000 {3x}). Whenever market conditions are restored, the reconciliation point for FTM would be higher. 😳 Threats (External) (Harmful) 1. Affiliation with Andre Cronje Notorious for randomly disappearing and his "I test in prod" hot-take on development, Andre Cronje is a wild card in crypto. Getting caught in the crossfire of technical and governance problems that arose in some of his previously affiliated projects has caused a segment of the crypto community to turn their back on him. Positioned somewhat as a leader of the projects with which he is involved, the veil of uncertainty regarding what to expect from him creates an environment that large institutions might not be too keen to interact with. 2. No Native Stablecoins Fantom does not have any , the crypto product with the greatest potential market size and market fit. Instead, Fantom leverages wrapped versions of the assets. The presence of stablecoins is a strong signifier that the chain has some degree of interaction with real-world use by consumers (payments); the lack of it would hint at the opposite. Having no major issuers of fiat {USDT, USDC} or crypto {WBTC, WETH} stablecoins, Fantom is missing out on a major sector of the market. native stablecoins Takeaway: A lot of work is put forth in the technology. A lot of efforts towards becoming anti-fragile. The more difficulties a project survives through and thrives after, the more valuable it becomes. 
It seems as though while the fundamentals are improving, social sentiment has been relatively weak. This divergence is reminiscent of previous market cycles when technologically sound projects became obscure only to rise like a phoenix from the ashes and melt faces. The future is bright for Fantom. * A note on the absence of native stablecoins; If this is a strategic move to position the chain by leaving out the native stablecoin market, the project becomes able to allocate the resources (finances and development) that would have otherwise been expended on stablecoins to other areas. Potentially honing FTM in as a product for non-payment-based utilities. Conclusion: Fantom is a contender for the throne of alternative smart contract platforms. Not mentioned, but deserves attention: As far as tokenomics goes, Fantom's FTM is definitely worthy of exploration. With nearly 90% of the total max supply already in circulation, an inflation rate that is heading towards 0 (currently at 2%), existing for over five years, and having over 2,000,000 on-chain accounts, there is positive reflexivity building up in the asset. At the end of November 2023, Fantom's chain experienced a surge in activity, spiking the daily transaction count from ~200,000 to over 5,000,000, setting new all-time highs (>2x above the bull market peak of ~2m). What this could imply for the project is still to be seen, but this cannot be discounted. Thank you so much for reading. I hope this serves you well on your journey. Live long and prosper 🥂 Also published . here

The Fantom (FTM) SWOT Analysis

*Note: a SWOT analysis is an evaluation of the fundamental, operational, technical, social, economic, and even to some degree administrative elements of a project. This is not a model to be used for trading purposes. (NFA, DYOR) Composed of four elements, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, a SWOT analysis framework provides excellent insight for establishing a high-level understanding of the state of a project's well-being through the lens of a birds-eye view. It can help formulate decisions around which areas require more attention, set performance goals, and organize a foundational understanding of where a project is headed. Rarely (if ever) used in crypto, it is time to apply this timeless method of evaluation to the digital asset space. Today, ( ), the second-generation, enterprise-grade, non-EVM compatible layer one blockchain, will get a SWOT. Algorand ALGO 💪 Strengths (Internal) (Helpful) 1. Zero Downtime In the case of open, public blockchains, there is no room for downtime. Notable projects have experienced outages previously (Solana, Arbitrum), which continue to be a haunting topic weaponized against them. Since its launch in 2019, four years of uninterrupted operations have given Algorand due credibility in terms of its network reliability. Factoring in that Algorand has opted for growth via enterprise (rather than individual consumers), up-time is a non-negotiable pre-requisite. 2. Stable Network Fee Consumers don't like volatility. The long and short of it is that in order for any blockchain application to achieve the vision of integrating Web3 into the fabric of society, products must be produced with mass appeal/usability. Volatility is a tremendous deterrent for non-crypto natives adopting any application in a meaningful way. It creates more complexity for companies trying to develop products and adds cognitive load on the consumer experience. Not to mention that governments and enterprise-grade organizations prefer solutions that can provide some sense of stability. Due to technical nuances in the Algorand Virtual Machine, transactions of any complexity can be executed at a fixed, predictable cost (0.001 ALGO). While the fee does have some fluctuations during congested periods, they are immaterial in the grand context of things. 3. Strong Performance Metrics With the potential to sustain up to 10,000 TPS, with a 3.3-second block time and instant finality, Alogrand has been able to attract quite a bit of attention, which can be seen by impressive metrics of the on-chain data. Daily transaction count is easily eclipsing >600,000. Per block TX floating above 40. Total Value Locked exceeding 150 million. Nearly 100,000,000 in stablecoins are on-chain, even after the marketwide collapse. Decently diverse DEFI landscape with over 30 protocols (and counting). Over . Over ~7.5 million, and growing, different ASA (Algorand Standard Assets) have been issued. Average on-chain balance compressed from alongside massive injections of ALGO tokens into circulation (7.1 B to 8.4 B), signaling an increasing distribution of holders (4,000,000 new accounts over a year). 1,000 nodes 6,800 to 5,100 4. Fork Resistant Forks, also known as partitions, are a common occurrence in distributed environments where a slip in communication channels causes validator nodes to simultaneously produce different blocks, causing the chain to split and disrupt network functionality. These disruptions invite malicious actors to subvert the system for monetary gain, such as through double-spending. Algorand made a conscious decision in the architecture of its network where Consistency is more important than Availability. Thus, in the event of a partition, the network halts, stopping any activity from taking place until the fork is resolved. This philosophical approach creates a more secure environment. 5. Cognizance of Quantum Computing Quantum computing is the next frontier in terms of evolution for hardware. Still unclear about the full range of its implications, one thing that is certain is that in the presence of quantum computing, certain mathematical logic will break. Among those things are algorithms underpinning blockchains. Preparing for a post-quantum world shows a high level of commitment to the security of a network. Through a combination of State-Proofs and the integration of a lattice-based digital signature scheme called Falcon, Algorand is already imbued with quantum-resistant properties. 6. Immediate Finality Public blockchains are known for their delayed, if not perpetually probable, finality issues that have resulted in chain rollbacks. Rollbacks are what they sound like, essentially unwinding some portion of historical activity. Events that can cause unintended economic disruptions on both commercial and personal levels. Finality is the guarantee that a transaction cannot be reverted. The quicker the finality, the higher the degree of certainty and the more comfortable users are. Alogrand's One-Block finality creates a digital environment that is highly desirable for enterprise-grade, mission-critical applications. 7. PPoS Consensus Whenever a crypto project puts emphasis on developing novel approaches for achieving consensus in a decentralized environment, it shows a great deal of industry understanding and desire to innovate. In alignment with its desire for carbon neutrality and energy efficiency, Algorand has developed an adaption of PoS consensus called PPoS (Pure-Proof-of-Stake). One of the most attractive attributes of PPoS is that it is maximally inclusive with a very accessible 1 ALGO token requirement for participating. 8. Over 80% of ALGO in Circulation The higher the total amount of a token there is in circulation, the more likely it is that distribution is higher, and the price is closer to being absolved of selling pressure from new tokens coming into the market, ultimately allowing for a higher degree of freedom for price discovery by natural market forces. Taking into consideration the broader crypto landscape, Algorand is easily in the upper tier of circulating supply. 😞 Weaknesses (Internal) (Harmful) 1. Low Participation Barriers A tradeoff that is made in the presence of the PPoS mechanism. Being maximally inclusive may sound appealing on the surface, but in practice, a duality arises, revealing unintended security implications. With lower barriers to entry, participants suffer from the tragedy of the commons, where the low nominal stake value is not strong enough to truly engage users. Less engagement from the users results in an environment where subtle coercion can take place, and nobody will have the motivation/incentive to prove, inspect, or challenge anything. The more skin in the game, the more committed a user, the stronger the social feedback, the more resilience against malicious actors. 2. AVM (Algorand Virtual Machine) Granted, there are benefits in having a custom virtual machine, such as can be seen with the AVM's ability to sustain transaction prices regardless of a transaction's complexity. A regular send, multi-send, and contract execution all have the same network cost. However, on the flip side, having a separate VM means having design specifications that are not universally adopted, in turn depriving Algorand of the existing infrastructure. 3. Difficult for Devs to Build Tightly related to the use of its own virtual machine, Algorand requires its own specialized knowledge. The project is developed with a language called Teal, a very obscure, non-developer-friendly option. This causes a severe disconnect as devs won't want to learn a new language, users won't be able to interact with the ecosystem due to a lack of products, and companies are forced to spend much more money in search of qualified personnel just to build on Algorand. 🧐 Opportunities (External) (Helpful) 1. Contender for CBDCs A point that is contested by many crypto natives, Central Bank Digital Currencies are one of the killer potential use cases for crypto as a whole. Algorand has been developing relationships with nations and banks to conduct programs on the network. Winning in this domain can result in influxes of capital denoted in the hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars. 2. Algokit and Python Language Introduction Acutely aware of the issues facing Algorand with not being friendly to developers, the project has put efforts towards the creation of Providing assistance across the entire lifecycle of the creative process, from back-end dapp to front-end interface, Algokit 2.0, is a suite of tools to help developers. A major part of the solution will introduce Python for programming. Comparing Python's huge base of 8.2 million devs to Teal's unknown/unmeasured dev base, the impacts in terms of creative space become exponential. With an excellent recursive feedback loop, where more devs make more apps, more apps invite more users who are searching for more apps, which invites more devs to build. 3. Founder Reputation Silvio Micali is a highly respected individual in the field of cryptography and information security. Being a Turing award winner, Micali was the co-inventor of zero-knowledge proofs, probabilistic encryption, VRFs (Verifiable Random Functions), and many other innovations. Oh, he also holds 47 patents across concepts, including RNG (random number generation), identification schemes, digital signatures, digital certificates, electronic transactions, and the like. His reputation has bled into the fibers of the project and given it extreme credibility among the scholarly and technological communities. 4. Increasing Decentralization As it relates to consensus, the communications taking place on Algorand currently happen through a hub-and-spoke model, where messages are propagated through a network of tightly knit nodes (a notoriously more centralized architecture). These consensus nodes do not receive any rewards for participating. If nodes have no incentive to participate in consensus, then only large insiders will take over the network because smaller players will simply not want to allocate their resources. The project intends to transcend into a mode decentralized version of itself by implementing a peer-to-peer gossip protocol for nodes to disseminate information and activating incentivized consensus. 😳 Threats (External) (Harmful) 1. Non-EVM Compatible Ethereum's VM is the industry's most popular environment, it hosts the most diversity in technological exploration, the largest community, the most liquidity, the most developers, and the most applications. Deploying a network that does not natively interact with EVM means depriving it of a robust, flourishing external ecosystem. As it stands today, the thought of successful non-EVM environments brings to mind Solana (alongside a graveyard of ghost chains). In the likely event that the EVM, in fact, does become a fundamental building block in Web3, alternative approaches might be disregarded. 2. P/S Ratio Multiple The ratio of Price-to-Sale is a measurement used to establish the "fair value" of an asset that has been adapted from traditional finance. In crypto, the Price is a project's market cap, and the Sales are network revenues. The current market cap of ALGO is roughly $1 Billion USD ($1,000,000,000); last year (marked Q3 of 2022 until today), the network earned $78,000; by dividing the MCAP/Earnings, we arrive at a ratio of >12,000. That means the "fair value" of ALGO is currently 12,000 times higher than it should be based on how much economic value its network captured. Currently, this metric alone does not dictate an accurate truth (as it omits over vectors of value); however, the sheer magnitude of this ratio should not be glossed over. 3. Regulatory Kerfuffle Algorand was long endorsed (at least for its technology) by SEC chairman Gary Gensler before Gary decided to flip the script on the crypto industry. ALGO fell into the group of layer one projects that were targeted by the SEC. This created uncertainty and confusion within the community and resulted in many documents disappearing from Alogrand's website (such as the …). The image of Gary Gensler's being (indirectly) associated with the project is a sh*t stain across the windshield of its life, similar to the role of SBF in relation to Solana. government resources Takeaway: Not your typical degen chain. Elegant and sophisticated with an intellectual ambiance. Obviously, it is very quality-oriented and focused on the fundamentals. Technology and reputation are the drivers of ALGO. Adoption, not so much. Conclusion Algorand pats itself on the back a lot for solving the blockchain trilemma with its technology that is scalable, secure, and decentralized. We don't agree. We think that Algorand is using its definitions of what "decentralization" is to come to this conclusion. Simply put, the system does not employ consensus rewards, and all emissions are actually happening by distribution from the Algorand Foundation. That is centralization. (This is not a knock against the project, simply an opinion). Regardless of conflicting thoughts, the project is tier-one (at least in part due to it riding the clout of having Silvio as its founder). The true performance capabilities of Algorand are yet to be put to the test. Even though songs of 10,000 TPS are sung, the network utilization actually peaked in December of 2021 at an average of 46. All of this said, if we had to ascribe a Web2 comparative to Algorand; companies such as Oracle and Sales Force come to mind. To close this out, it would be unfair not to address the ALGO community and communications. Algorand's foundation and community have put forth a lot of effort and created a strong presence with a lot of helpful content and documentation. Thank you so much for reading, I hope this serves you well on your journey. Live long and prosper 🥂 Also published here.

The Algorand (ALGO) SWOT Analysis 

On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures by Charles Babbage is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . On the Cost of Each Separate Process in a Manufacture here Chapter 21. On the Cost of Each Separate Process in a Manufacture The great competition introduced by machinery, and the application of the principle of the subdivision of labour, render it necessary for each producer to be continually on the watch, to discover improved methods by which the cost of the article he manufactures may be reduced; and, with this view, it is of great importance to know the precise expense of every process, as well as of the wear and tear of machinery which is due to it. The same information is desirable for those by whom the manufactured goods are distributed and sold; because it enables them to give reasonable answers or explanations to the objections of enquirers, and also affords them a better chance of suggesting to the manufacturer changes in the fashion of his goods, which may be suitable either to the tastes or to the finances of his customers. To the statesman such knowledge is still more important; for without it he must trust entirely to others, and can form no judgement worthy of confidence, of the effect any tax may produce, or of the injury the manufacturer or the country may suffer by its imposition. One of the first advantages which suggests itself as likely to arise from a correct analysis of the expense of the several processes of any manufacture, is the indication which it would furnish of the course in which improvement should be directed. If a method could be contrived of diminishing by one fourth the time required for fixing on the heads of pins, the expense of making them would be reduced about thirteen per cent; whilst a reduction of one half the time employed in spinning the coil of wire out of which the heads are cut, would scarcely make any sensible difference in the cost of manufacturing of the whole article. It is therefore obvious, that the attention would be much more advantageously directed to shortening the former than the latter process. The expense of manufacturing, in a country where machinery is of the rudest kind, and manual labour is very cheap, is curiously exhibited in the price of cotton cloth in the island of Java. The cotton, in the seed, is sold by the picul, which is a weight of about 133 lbs. Not above one fourth or one fifth of this weight, however, is cotton: the natives, by means of rude wooden rollers, can only separate about 1 1/4 lb. of cotton from the seed by one day's labour. A picul of cleansed cotton, therefore, is worth between four and five times the cost of the impure article; and the prices of the same substance, in its different stages of manufacture, are—for one picul: Dollars Cotton in the seed 2 to 3
Clean cotton 10 to 11
Cotton thread 24
Cotton thread dyed blue 35
Good ordinary cotton cloth 50 Thus it appears that the expense of spinning in Java is 117 per cent on the value of the raw material; the expense of dying thread blue is 45 per cent on its value; and that of weaving cotton thread into cloth 117 per cent on its value. The expense of spinning cotton into a fine thread is, in England, about 33 per cent. (1*) As an example of the cost of the different processes of a manufacture, perhaps an analytical statement of the expense of the volume now in the reader's hands may not be uninteresting; more especially as it will afford an insight into the nature and extent of the taxes upon literature. It is found economical to print it upon paper of a very large size, so that although thirty-two pages, instead of sixteen, are really contained in each sheet, this work is still called octavo. L s. d. To printer, for composing (per sheet of 32 pages) L3 1s. 10 1/2 sheets 32 0 6 [This relates to the ordinary size of the type used in the volume.] To printer for composing small type, as in extracts and 2 0 3
contents, extra per sheet, 3s. 10d.
To printer, for composing table work, extra per sheet, 2 17 9
5s. 6d.
Average charge for corrections, per sheet, L3 2s. 10d. 33 0 0
Press work, 3000 being printed off, per sheet, L3 10s. 36 15 0
Paper for 3000, at L1 11s. 6d. per ream, weighing 28 lbs: the
duty on paper at 3d. per lb. amounts to 7s. per ream, so that the
63 reams which are required for the work will cost:
Paper 77 3 6
Excise Duty 22 1 0
Total expense of paper 99 4 6
Total expense of printing and paper 205 18 0
Steel-plate for title-page 0 7 6
Engraving on ditto, Head of Bacon 2 2 0
Ditto letters 1 1 0
Total expense of title-page 3 10 6
Printing title-page, at 6s. per 100 9 0 0
Paper for ditto, at 1s. 9d. per 100 2 12 6
Expenses of advertising 40 0 0
Sundries. 5 0 0
Total expense in sheets 266 1 0 Cost of a single copy in sheets; 3052 being printed, including the overplus 0 1 9 Extra boarding 0 0 6 Cost of each copy, boarded(2*) 0 2 3 This analysis requires some explanation. The printer usually charges for composition by the sheet, supposing the type to be all of one kind; and as this charge is regulated by the size of the letter, on which the quantity in a sheet depends, little dispute can arise after the price is agreed upon. If there are but few extracts, or other parts of the work, which require to be printed in smaller type; or if there are many notes, or several passages in Greek, or in other languages, requiring a different type, these are considered in the original contract, and a small additional price per sheet allowed. If there is a large portion of small type, it is better to have a specific additional charge for it per sheet. If any work with irregular lines and many figures, and what the printers call rules, occurs, it is called table work, and is charged at an advanced price per sheet. Examples of this are frequent in the present volume. If the page consists entirely of figures, as in mathematical tables, which require very careful correction, the charge for composition is usually doubled. A few years ago I printed a table of logarithms, on a large-sized page, which required great additional labour and care from the readers,(3*) in rendering the proofs correct, and for which, although new punches were not required, several new types were prepared, and for which stereotype plates were cast, costing about L2 per sheet. In this case L11 per sheet were charged, although ordinary composition, with the same sized letter, in demy octavo, could have been executed at thirty-eight shillings per sheet: but as the expense was ascertained before commencing the work, it gave rise to no difficulties. The charge for corrections and alterations is one which, from the difficulty of measuring them, gives rise to the greatest inconvenience, and is as disagreeable to the publisher (if he be the agent between the author and the printer), and to the master printer or his foreman, as it is to the author himself. If the author study economy, he should make the whole of his corrections in the manuscript, and should copy it out fairly: it will then be printed correctly, and he will have little to pay for corrections. But it is scarcely possible to judge of the effect of any passage correctly, without having it set up in type; and there are few subjects, upon which an author does not find he can add some details or explanation, when he sees his views in print. If, therefore, he wish to save his own labour in transcribing, and to give the last polish to the language, he must be content to accomplish these objects at an increased expense. If the printer possess a sufficient stock of type, it will contribute still more to the convenience of the author to have his whole work put up in what are technically called slips,(4*) and then to make all the corrections, and to have as few revises as he can. The present work was set up in slips, but the corrections have been unusually large, and the revises frequent. The press work, or printing off, is charged at a price agreed upon for each two hundred and fifty sheets; and any broken number is still considered as two hundred and fifty. When a large edition is required, the price for two hundred and fifty is reduced; thus, in the present volume, two hundred and fifty copies, if printed alone, would have been charged eleven shillings per sheet, instead of 5s. 10d., the actual charge. The principle of this mode of charging is good, as it obviates all disputes; but it is to be regretted that the custom of charging the same price for any small number as for two hundred and fifty, is so pertinaciously adhered to, that the workmen will not agree to any other terms when only twenty or thirty copies are required, or even when only three or four are wanted for the sake of some experiment. Perhaps if all numbers above fifty were charged as two hundred and fifty, and all below as for half two hundred and fifty, both parties would derive an advantage. The effect of the excise duty is to render the paper thin, in order that it may weigh little; but this is counteracted by the desire of the author to make his book look as thick as possible, in order that he may charge the public as much as he decently can; and so on that ground alone the duty is of no importance. There is, however, another effect of this duty, which both the public and the author feel; for they pay, not merely the duty which is charged, but also the profit on that duty, which the paper-maker requires for the use of additional capital; and also the profit to the publisher and bookseller on the increased price of the volume. The estimated charge for advertisements is, in the present case, about the usual allowance for such a volume; and, as it is considered that advertisements in newspapers are the most effectual, where the smallest pays a duty of 3s. 6d., nearly one half of the charge of advertising is a tax. It appears then, that, to an expenditure of L224 necessary to produce the present volume, L42 are added in the shape of a direct tax. Whether the profits arising from such a mode of manufacturing will justify such a rate of taxation, can only be estimated when the returns from the volume are considered, a subject that will be discussed in a subsequent chapter.(5*) It is at present sufficient to observe, that the tax on advertisements is an impolitic tax when contrasted with that upon paper, and on other materials employed. The object of all advertisements is, by making known articles for sale, to procure for them a better price, if the sale is to be by auction; or a larger extent of sale if by retail dealers. Now the more any article is known, the more quickly it is discovered whether it contributes to the comfort or advantage of the public; and the more quickly its consumption is assured if it be found valuable. It would appear, then, that every tax on communicating information respecting articles which are the subjects of taxation in another shape, is one which must reduce the amount that would have been raised, had no impediment been placed in the way of making known to the public their qualities and their price. NOTES: These facts are taken from Crawford's Indian Archipelago. These charges refer to the edition prepared for the public, and do not relate to the large paper copies in the hands of some of the author's friends. Readers are persons employed to correct the press at the printing office. Slips are long pieces of paper on which sufficient matter is printed to form, when divided, from two to four pages of text. Chapter 31. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Charles Babbage (2003). On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4238/pg4238.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

On the Cost of Each Separate Process in a Manufacture

Reflections on the Decline of Science in England, and on Some of Its Causes by Charles Babbage, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Section 11 here SECTION 11. OF THE CAUSES OF THE PRESENT STATE OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY. The best friends of the Royal Society have long admitted, whilst they regretted, its declining fame; and even those who support whatever exists, begin a little to doubt whether it might not possibly be amended. The great and leading cause of the present state to which the Royal Society is reduced, may be traced to years of misrule to which it has been submitted. In order to understand this, it will be necessary to explain the nature of that misrule, and the means employed in perpetuating it. It is known, that by the statutes, the body of the Society have the power of electing, annually, their President, Officers, and Council; and it is also well known, that this is a merely nominal power, and that printed lists are prepared and put into the hands of the members on their entering the room, and thus passed into the balloting box. If these lists were, as in other scientific societies, openly discussed in the Council, and then offered by them as recommendations to the Society, little inconvenience would arise; but the fact is, that they are private nominations by the President, usually without notice, to the Council, and all the supporters of the system which I am criticizing, endeavour to uphold the right of this nomination in the President, and prevent or discourage any alteration. The Society has, for years, been managed by a PARTY, or COTERIE, or by whatever other name may be most fit to designate a combination of persons, united by no expressed compact or written regulations, but who act together from a community of principles. That each individual has invariably supported all the measures of the party, is by no means the case; and whilst instances of opposition amongst them have been very rare, a silent resignation to circumstances has been the most usual mode of meeting measures they disapproved. The great object of this, as of all other parties, has been to maintain itself in power, and to divide, as far as it could, all the good things amongst its members. It has usually consisted of persons of very moderate talent, who have had the prudence, whenever they could, to associate with themselves other members of greater ability, provided these latter would not oppose the system, and would thus lend to it the sanction of their name. The party have always praised each other most highly—have invariably opposed all improvements in the Society, all change in the mode of management; and have maintained, that all those who wished for any alteration were factious; and, when they discovered any symptoms of independence and inquiry breaking out in any member of the Council, they have displaced him as soon as they decently could. Of the arguments employed by those who support the SYSTEM OF MANAGEMENT by which the Royal Society is governed, I shall give a few samples: refutation is rendered quite unnecessary—juxta-position is alone requisite. If any member, seeing an improper appointment in contemplation, or any abuse in the management of the affairs of the Society continued, raise a voice against it, the ready answer is, Why should you interfere? it may not be quite the thing you approve; but it is no affair of yours.—If, on the other hand, it do relate to himself, the reply is equally ready. It is immediately urged: The question is of a personal nature; you are the last person who ought to bring it forward; you are yourself interested. If any member of the Society, feeling annoyed at the neglect, or hurt by the injuries or insults of the Council, show signs of remonstrance, it is immediately suggested to him that he is irritated, and ought to wait until his feelings subside, and he can judge more coolly on the subject; whilst with becoming candour they admit the ill-treatment, but urge forbearance. If, after an interval, when reflection has had ample time to operate, the offence seems great as at first, or the insult appears unmitigated by any circumstances on which memory can dwell,—if it is then brought forward, the immediate answer is, The affair is out of date—the thing is gone by—it is too late to call in question a transaction so long past. Thus, if a man is interested personally, he is unfit to question an abuse; if he is not, is it probable that he will question it? and if, notwithstanding this, he do so, then he is to be accounted a meddler. If he is insulted, and complain, he is told to wait until he is cool; and when that period arrives, he is then told he is too late. If his remonstrance relates to the alteration of laws which are never referred to, or only known by their repeated breach, he is told that any alteration is useless; it is perfectly well known that they are never adhered to. If it relate to the impolicy of any regulations attaching to an office, he is immediately answered, that that is a personal question, in which it is impossible to interfere—the officer, it seems, is considered to have not merely a vested right to the continuance of every abuse, but an interest in transmitting it unimpaired to his successors. In the same spirit I have heard errors of calculation or observation defended. If small errors occur, it is said that they are too trifling to be of any importance. If larger errors are pointed out, it is immediately contended that they can deceive nobody, because of their magnitude. Perhaps it might be of some use, if the Council would oblige the world with their SCALE of ERROR, with illustrations from some of the most RECENT and APPROVED works, and would favour the uninformed with the orthodox creed upon all grades, from that which baffles the human faculties to detect, up to that which becomes innocuous from its size. The offices connected with the Royal Society are few in number, and their emolument small in amount; but the proper disposition of them is, nevertheless, of great importance to the Society, and was so to the science of England. In the first place, the President, having in effect the absolute nomination of the whole Council, could each year introduce a few gentlemen, whose only qualification to sit on it would be the high opinion they must necessarily entertain of the penetration of him who could discover their scientific merits. He might also place in the list a few nobles or officials, just to gild it. Neither of these classes would put any troublesome questions, and one of them might be employed, from its station in society, to check any that might be proposed by others. With these ingredients, added to the regular train of the party, and a star or two of science to shed lustre over the whole, a very manageable Council might be formed; and such has been its frequent composition. The duties of the Secretaries, when well executed, are laborious, although not in this respect equal to those of the same officers who, in several societies, give their gratuitous aid; and their labours are much lightened by the Assistant Secretary and his clerk. The following are their salaries:— The Senior Secretary ........... 105L.
     The Junior Secretary, 105L........ )
       5L. for making Index to Phil. Trans... ) 110L.
     The Foreign Secretary...........  20L. Now it is not customary to change these annually; and as these offices are amongst the "loaves and fishes" they are generally given by the President to some staunch supporters of the system. They have frequently been bestowed, with very little consideration for the interest, or even for the dignity of the Society. To notice only one instance: the late Sir Joseph Banks appointed a gentleman who remained for years in that situation, although he was confessedly ignorant of every subject connected with the pursuits of the Society. I will, however, do justice to his memory, by saying that his respectability was preserved under such circumstances, by the most candid admission of the fact, accompanied by a store of other knowledge unfortunately quite foreign to the pursuits of the Society; and I will add, that I regretted to see him insulted by one President in a situation improperly given to him by a former. Next in order come the Vice-Presidents, who are appointed by the President; and in this respect the present practice is not inconvenient. The case, however, is widely different with the office of Treasurer. The President ought not to usurp the power of his appointment, which ought, after serious discussion by the Council, to be made by the Society at large. Besides the three Secretaries, there is an Assistant Secretary, and recently another has been added, who may perhaps be called a, Sub-assistant Secretary. All these places furnish patronage to the President. Let us now look at the occasional patronage of the President, arising from offices not belonging to the Society. He is, EX OFFICIO, a Trustee of the British Museum; and it may seem harsh to maintain that he is not a fit person to hold such a situation. It is no theoretical view, but it is the EXPERIENCE of the past which justifies the assertion; and I fear that unless he has the sole responsibility for some specific appointments, and unless his judgment is sharpened by the fear of public discussion, a President of the Royal Society, in the Board-room of the British Museum, is quite as likely as another person to sacrifice his public duty to the influence of power, or to private friendship. With respect to the merits of that Institution, I have no inclination at present to inquire: but when it is considered that there is at this moment attached to it no one whose observations or whose writings have placed him even in the second rank amongst the naturalists of Europe, the President of the Royal Society has given some grounds for the remark made by several members of the Society, that he is a little too much surrounded by the officers of a body who may reasonably be supposed to entertain towards him feelings either of gratitude or expectation. [It will be remembered that the name of Mr. Robert Brown has been but recently attached to the British Museum, and that it is to be attributed to his possessing a life interest in the valuable collection of the late Sir Joseph Banks.] The late Board of Longitude was another source of patronage, which, although now abolished, it may be useful to hint at. There were three members to be appointed by the Royal Society: these were honorary, and, as no salary was attached, it might have been expected that this limited number of appointments would have been given in all cases to persons qualified for them. But no: it was convenient to pay compliments; and Lord Colchester, whose talents and knowledge insured him respect as Speaker of the House of Commons, or as a British nobleman, was placed for years in the situation as one of the Commissioners of the Board of Longitude, for which every competent judge knew him to be wholly unfit. What was the return which he made for this indulgence? Little informed respecting the feelings of the Society, and probably misinformed by the party whose influence had placed him there, he saved them in the day of their peril. When the state of the Society had reached such a point that many of the more scientific members felt that some amendment was absolutely necessary to its respectability, a committee was formed to suggest to the Council such improvements as they might consider it expedient to discuss. [Amongst the names of the persons composing this Committee, which was proposed by Mr. South, were those of Dr. Wollaston and Mr. Herschel.] The Council received their report at the close of the session; and in recording it on the journals, they made an appeal to the Council for the ensuing year to bestow on it "THEIR EARLIEST AND MOST SERIOUS ATTENTION." Now when the party, to whose government some of these improvements would have been a death-warrant, found that the subject was likely to be taken up in the Council, they were in dismay: but the learned and grateful peer came to their assistance, and aided Mr. Davies Gilbert in getting rid of these improvements completely. It has been the fashion to maintain that all classes of the Royal Society should be represented in the Council, and consequently that a peer or two should find a place amongst them. Those who are most adverse to this doctrine would perhaps be the most anxious to render this tribute to any one really employing his time, his talents, or his rank in advancing the cause of science. But when a nobleman, unversed in our pursuits, will condescend to use the influence of his station in aiding a President to stifle, WITHOUT DISCUSSION, propositions recommended for consideration by some of the most highly gifted members of the Society,—those who doubt the propriety of the principle may reasonably be pardoned for the disgust they must necessarily entertain for the practical abuse to which it leads. Of the other three Commissioners, who received each a hundred a-year, although the nomination was, in point of form, in the Admiralty, yet it was well known that the President of the Royal Society did, in fact, always name them. Of these I will only mention one fact. The late Sir Joseph Banks assigned to me as a reason why I need not expect to be appointed, (as he had held out to me at a former period when I had spoken to him on the subject) that I had taken a prominent part in the formation of the ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. I am proud of the part I did take in establishing that Society, although an undue share of its honour was assigned to me by the President. It may, perhaps, be inquired, why I publish this fact at this distance of time? I answer, that I stated it publicly at the Council of the Astronomical Society;—that I always talked of it publicly and openly at the time;—that I purposely communicated it to each succeeding President of the Royal Society; and that, although some may have forgotten the communications I made at the time, there are others who remember them well. The Secretary of the late Board of Longitude received 300L., and 200L. more, as Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac. Another situation, in the patronage of which the President is known to have considerable influence, is that of Astronomer Royal; and it is to be observed, that he is kept in the Council as much as possible, notwithstanding the nature of his duties. Of the three appointments of 100L. a-year each, which have been instituted since the abolition of the Board of Longitude, the President is supposed to have the control, thus making him quite sure of the obedience of his Council. Besides these sources of patronage, there are other incidental occasions on which Government apply to the Royal Society to recommend proper persons to make particular experiments or observations; and, although I am far from supposing that these are in many instances given to persons the second or third best qualified for them, yet they deserve to be mentioned. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Charles Babbage (1998).Reflections on the Decline of Science in England, and on Some of Its Causes. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1216/pg1216-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

OF THE CAUSES OF THE PRESENT STATE OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY.

Idris stirred and awoke; alas! she awoke to misery.

HAND AND HEART

THE CONSPIRACY.

Far on in the night there were voices outside reached us in our hiding-place

Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Sir Louis Goes Out to Dinner here Sir Louis Goes Out to Dinner The next day Joe did not make his appearance, and Sir Louis, with many execrations, was driven to the terrible necessity of dressing himself. Then came an unexpected difficulty: how were they to get up to the house? Walking out to dinner, though it was merely through the village and up the avenue, seemed to Sir Louis to be a thing impossible. Indeed, he was not well able to walk at all, and positively declared that he should never be able to make his way over the gravel in pumps. His mother would not have thought half as much of walking from Boxall Hill to Greshamsbury and back again. At last, the one village fly was sent for, and the matter was arranged. When they reached the house, it was easy to see that there was some unwonted bustle. In the drawing-room there was no one but Mr Mortimer Gazebee, who introduced himself to them both. Sir Louis, who knew that he was only an attorney, did not take much notice of him, but the doctor entered into conversation. "Have you heard that Mr Gresham has come home?" said Mr Gazebee. "Mr Gresham! I did not know that he had been away." "Mr Gresham, junior, I mean." No, indeed; the doctor had not heard. Frank had returned unexpectedly just before dinner, and he was now undergoing his father's smiles, his mother's embraces, and his sisters' questions. "Quite unexpectedly," said Mr Gazebee. "I don't know what has brought him back before his time. I suppose he found London too hot." "Deuced hot," said the baronet. "I found it so, at least. I don't know what keeps men in London when it's so hot; except those fellows who have business to do: they're paid for it." Mr Mortimer Gazebee looked at him. He was managing an estate which owed Sir Louis an enormous sum of money, and, therefore, he could not afford to despise the baronet; but he thought to himself, what a very abject fellow the man would be if he were not a baronet, and had not a large fortune! And then the squire came in. His broad, honest face was covered with a smile when he saw the doctor. "Thorne," he said, almost in a whisper, "you're the best fellow breathing; I have hardly deserved this." The doctor, as he took his old friend's hand, could not but be glad that he had followed Mary's counsel. "So Frank has come home?" "Oh, yes; quite unexpectedly. He was to have stayed a week longer in London. You would hardly know him if you met him. Sir Louis, I beg your pardon." And the squire went up to his other guest, who had remained somewhat sullenly standing in one corner of the room. He was the man of highest rank present, or to be present, and he expected to be treated as such. "I am happy to have the pleasure of making your acquaintance, Mr Gresham," said the baronet, intending to be very courteous. "Though we have not met before, I very often see your name in my accounts—ha! ha! ha!" and Sir Louis laughed as though he had said something very good. The meeting between Lady Arabella and the doctor was rather distressing to the former; but she managed to get over it. She shook hands with him graciously, and said that it was a fine day. The doctor said that it was fine, only perhaps a little rainy. And then they went into different parts of the room. When Frank came in, the doctor hardly did know him. His hair was darker than it had been, and so was his complexion; but his chief disguise was in a long silken beard, which hung down over his cravat. The doctor had hitherto not been much in favour of long beards, but he could not deny that Frank looked very well with the appendage. "Oh, doctor, I am so delighted to find you here," said he, coming up to him; "so very, very glad:" and, taking the doctor's arm, he led him away into a window, where they were alone. "And how is Mary?" said he, almost in a whisper. "Oh, I wish she were here! But, doctor, it shall all come in time. But tell me, doctor, there is no news about her, is there?" "News—what news?" "Oh, well; no news is good news: you will give her my love, won't you?" The doctor said that he would. What else could he say? It appeared quite clear to him that some of Mary's fears were groundless. Frank was again very much altered. It has been said, that though he was a boy at twenty-one, he was a man at twenty-two. But now, at twenty-three, he appeared to be almost a man of the world. His manners were easy, his voice under his control, and words were at his command: he was no longer either shy or noisy; but, perhaps, was open to the charge of seeming, at least, to be too conscious of his own merits. He was, indeed, very handsome; tall, manly, and powerfully built, his form was such as women's eyes have ever loved to look upon. "Ah, if he would but marry money!" said Lady Arabella to herself, taken up by a mother's natural admiration for her son. His sisters clung round him before dinner, all talking to him at once. How proud a family of girls are of one, big, tall, burly brother! "You don't mean to tell me, Frank, that you are going to eat soup with that beard?" said the squire, when they were seated round the table. He had not ceased to rally his son as to this patriarchal adornment; but, nevertheless, any one could have seen, with half an eye, that he was as proud of it as were the others. "Don't I, sir? All I require is a relay of napkins for every course:" and he went to work, covering it with every spoonful, as men with beards always do. "Well, if you like it!" said the squire, shrugging his shoulders. "But I do like it," said Frank. "Oh, papa, you wouldn't have him cut it off," said one of the twins. "It is so handsome." "I should like to work it into a chair-back instead of floss-silk," said the other twin. "Thank'ee, Sophy; I'll remember you for that." "Doesn't it look nice, and grand, and patriarchal?" said Beatrice, turning to her neighbour. "Patriarchal, certainly," said Mr Oriel. "I should grow one myself if I had not the fear of the archbishop before my eyes." What was next said to him was in a whisper, audible only to himself. "Doctor, did you know Wildman of the 9th? He was left as surgeon at Scutari for two years. Why, my beard to his is only a little down." "A little way down, you mean," said Mr Gazebee. "Yes," said Frank, resolutely set against laughing at Mr Gazebee's pun. "Why, his beard descends to his ankles, and he is obliged to tie it in a bag at night, because his feet get entangled in it when he is asleep!" "Oh, Frank!" said one of the girls. This was all very well for the squire, and Lady Arabella, and the girls. They were all delighted to praise Frank, and talk about him. Neither did it come amiss to Mr Oriel and the doctor, who had both a personal interest in the young hero. But Sir Louis did not like it at all. He was the only baronet in the room, and yet nobody took any notice of him. He was seated in the post of honour, next to Lady Arabella; but even Lady Arabella seemed to think more of her own son than of him. Seeing how he was ill-used, he meditated revenge; but not the less did it behove him to make some effort to attract attention. "Was your ladyship long in London, this season?" said he. Lady Arabella had not been in London at all this year, and it was a sore subject with her. "No," said she, very graciously; "circumstances have kept us at home." Sir Louis only understood one description of "circumstances." Circumstances, in his idea, meant the want of money, and he immediately took Lady Arabella's speech as a confession of poverty. "Ah, indeed! I am very sorry for that; that must be very distressing to a person like your ladyship. But things are mending, perhaps?" Lady Arabella did not in the least understand him. "Mending!" she said, in her peculiar tone of aristocratic indifference; and then turned to Mr Gazebee, who was on the other side of her. Sir Louis was not going to stand this. He was the first man in the room, and he knew his own importance. It was not to be borne that Lady Arabella should turn to talk to a dirty attorney, and leave him, a baronet, to eat his dinner without notice. If nothing else would move her, he would let her know who was the real owner of the Greshamsbury title-deeds. "I think I saw your ladyship out to-day, taking a ride." Lady Arabella had driven through the village in her pony-chair. "I never ride," said she, turning her head for one moment from Mr Gazebee. "In the one-horse carriage, I mean, my lady. I was delighted with the way you whipped him up round the corner." Whipped him up round the corner! Lady Arabella could make no answer to this; so she went on talking to Mr Gazebee. Sir Louis, repulsed, but not vanquished—resolved not to be vanquished by any Lady Arabella—turned his attention to his plate for a minute or two, and then recommenced. "The honour of a glass of wine with you, Lady Arabella," said he. "I never take wine at dinner," said Lady Arabella. The man was becoming intolerable to her, and she was beginning to fear that it would be necessary for her to fly the room to get rid of him. The baronet was again silent for a moment; but he was determined not to be put down. "This is a nice-looking country about here," said he. "Yes; very nice," said Mr Gazebee, endeavouring to relieve the lady of the mansion. "I hardly know which I like best; this, or my own place at Boxall Hill. You have the advantage here in trees, and those sort of things. But, as to the house, why, my box there is very comfortable, very. You'd hardly know the place now, Lady Arabella, if you haven't seen it since my governor bought it. How much do you think he spent about the house and grounds, pineries included, you know, and those sort of things?" Lady Arabella shook her head. "Now guess, my lady," said he. But it was not to be supposed that Lady Arabella should guess on such a subject. "I never guess," said she, with a look of ineffable disgust. "What do you say, Mr Gazebee?" "Perhaps a hundred thousand pounds." "What! for a house! You can't know much about money, nor yet about building, I think, Mr Gazebee." "Not much," said Mr Gazebee, "as to such magnificent places as Boxall Hill." "Well, my lady, if you won't guess, I'll tell you. It cost twenty-two thousand four hundred and nineteen pounds four shillings and eightpence. I've all the accounts exact. Now, that's a tidy lot of money for a house for a man to live in." Sir Louis spoke this in a loud tone, which at least commanded the attention of the table. Lady Arabella, vanquished, bowed her head, and said that it was a large sum; Mr Gazebee went on sedulously eating his dinner; the squire was struck momentarily dumb in the middle of a long chat with the doctor; even Mr Oriel ceased to whisper; and the girls opened their eyes with astonishment. Before the end of his speech, Sir Louis's voice had become very loud. "Yes, indeed," said Frank; "a very tidy lot of money. I'd have generously dropped the four and eightpence if I'd been the architect." "It wasn't all one bill; but that's the tot. I can show the bills:" and Sir Louis, well pleased with his triumph, swallowed a glass of wine. Almost immediately after the cloth was removed, Lady Arabella escaped, and the gentlemen clustered together. Sir Louis found himself next to Mr Oriel, and began to make himself agreeable. "A very nice girl, Miss Beatrice; very nice." Now Mr Oriel was a modest man, and, when thus addressed as to his future wife, found it difficult to make any reply. "You parsons always have your own luck," said Sir Louis. "You get all the beauty, and generally all the money, too. Not much of the latter in this case, though—eh?" Mr Oriel was dumbfounded. He had never said a word to any creature as to Beatrice's dowry; and when Mr Gresham had told him, with sorrow, that his daughter's portion must be small, he had at once passed away from the subject as one that was hardly fit for conversation, even between him and his future father-in-law; and now he was abruptly questioned on the subject by a man he had never before seen in his life. Of course, he could make no answer. "The squire has muddled his matters most uncommonly," continued Sir Louis, filling his glass for the second time before he passed the bottle. "What do you suppose now he owes me alone; just at one lump, you know?" Mr Oriel had nothing for it but to run. He could make no answer, nor would he sit there to hear tidings as to Mr Gresham's embarrassments. So he fairly retreated, without having said one word to his neighbour, finding such discretion to be the only kind of valour left to him. "What, Oriel! off already?" said the squire. "Anything the matter?" "Oh, no; nothing particular. I'm not just quite—I think I'll go out for a few minutes." "See what it is to be in love," said the squire, half-whispering to Dr Thorne. "You're not in the same way, I hope?" Sir Louis then shifted his seat again, and found himself next to Frank. Mr Gazebee was opposite to him, and the doctor opposite to Frank. "Parson seems peekish, I think," said the baronet. "Peekish?" said the squire, inquisitively. "Rather down on his luck. He's decently well off himself, isn't he?" There was another pause, and nobody seemed inclined to answer the question. "I mean, he's got something more than his bare living." "Oh, yes," said Frank, laughing. "He's got what will buy him bread and cheese when the Rads shut up the Church:—unless, indeed, they shut up the Funds too." "Ah, there's nothing like land," said Sir Louis: "nothing like the dirty acres; is there, squire?" "Land is a very good investment, certainly," said Mr Gresham. "The best going," said the other, who was now, as people say when they mean to be good-natured, slightly under the influence of liquor. "The best going—eh, Gazebee?" Mr Gazebee gathered himself up, and turned away his head, looking out of the window. "You lawyers never like to give an opinion without money, ha! ha! ha! Do they, Mr Gresham? You and I have had to pay for plenty of them, and will have to pay for plenty more before they let us alone." Here Mr Gazebee got up, and followed Mr Oriel out of the room. He was not, of course, on such intimate terms in the house as was Mr Oriel; but he hoped to be forgiven by the ladies in consequence of the severity of the miseries to which he was subjected. He and Mr Oriel were soon to be seen through the dining-room window, walking about the grounds with the two eldest Miss Greshams. And Patience Oriel, who had also been of the party, was also to be seen with the twins. Frank looked at his father with almost a malicious smile, and began to think that he too might be better employed out among the walks. Did he think then of a former summer evening, when he had half broken Mary's heart by walking there too lovingly with Patience Oriel? Sir Louis, if he continued his brilliant career of success, would soon be left the cock of the walk. The squire, to be sure, could not bolt, nor could the doctor very well; but they might be equally vanquished, remaining there in their chairs. Dr Thorne, during all this time, was sitting with tingling ears. Indeed, it may be said that his whole body tingled. He was in a manner responsible for this horrid scene; but what could he do to stop it? He could not take Sir Louis up bodily and carry him away. One idea did occur to him. The fly had been ordered for ten o'clock. He could rush out and send for it instantly. "You're not going to leave me?" said the squire, in a voice of horror, as he saw the doctor rising from his chair. "Oh, no, no, no," said the doctor; and then he whispered the purpose of his mission. "I will be back in two minutes." The doctor would have given twenty pounds to have closed the scene at once; but he was not the man to desert his friend in such a strait as that. "He's a well-meaning fellow, the doctor," said Sir Louis, when his guardian was out of the room, "very; but he's not up to trap—not at all." "Up to trap—well, I should say he was; that is, if I know what trap means," said Frank. "Ah, but that's just the ticket. Do you know? Now I say Dr Thorne's not a man of the world." "He's about the best man I know, or ever heard of," said the squire. "And if any man ever had a good friend, you have got one in him; and so have I:" and the squire silently drank the doctor's health. "All very true, I dare say; but yet he's not up to trap. Now look here, squire—" "If you don't mind, sir," said Frank, "I've got something very particular—perhaps, however—" "Stay till Thorne returns, Frank." Frank did stay till Thorne returned, and then escaped. "Excuse me, doctor," said he, "but I've something very particular to say; I'll explain to-morrow." And then the three were left alone. Sir Louis was now becoming almost drunk, and was knocking his words together. The squire had already attempted to stop the bottle; but the baronet had contrived to get hold of a modicum of Madeira, and there was no preventing him from helping himself; at least, none at that moment. "As we were saying about lawyers," continued Sir Louis. "Let's see, what were we saying? Why, squire, it's just here. Those fellows will fleece us both if we don't mind what we are after." "Never mind about lawyers now," said Dr Thorne, angrily. "Ah, but I do mind; most particularly. That's all very well for you, doctor; you've nothing to lose. You've no great stake in the matter. Why, now, what sum of money of mine do you think those d–––– doctors are handling?" "D–––– doctors!" said the squire in a tone of dismay. "Lawyers, I mean, of course. Why, now, Gresham; we're all totted now, you see; you're down in my books, I take it, for pretty near a hundred thousand pounds." "Hold your tongue, sir," said the doctor, getting up. "Hold my tongue!" said Sir Louis. "Sir Louis Scatcherd," said the squire, slowly rising from his chair, "we will not, if you please, talk about business at the present moment. Perhaps we had better go to the ladies." This latter proposition had certainly not come from the squire's heart: going to the ladies was the very last thing for which Sir Louis was now fit. But the squire had said it as being the only recognised formal way he could think of for breaking up the symposium. "Oh, very well," hiccupped the baronet, "I'm always ready for the ladies," and he stretched out his hand to the decanter to get a last glass of Madeira. "No," said the doctor, rising stoutly, and speaking with a determined voice. "No; you will have no more wine:" and he took the decanter from him. "What's all this about?" said Sir Louis, with a drunken laugh. "Of course he cannot go into the drawing-room, Mr Gresham. If you will leave him here with me, I will stay with him till the fly comes. Pray tell Lady Arabella from me, how sorry I am that this has occurred." The squire would not leave his friend, and they sat together till the fly came. It was not long, for the doctor had dispatched his messenger with much haste. "I am so heartily ashamed of myself," said the doctor, almost with tears. The squire took him by the hand affectionately. "I've seen a tipsy man before to-night," said he. "Yes," said the doctor, "and so have I, but—" He did not express the rest of his thoughts. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Anthony Trollope (2002). Doctor Thorne. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3166/pg3166-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

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