Sardinia could not in any way be regarded as a great maritime power.

Harrison was now becoming old and feeble. He had attained the age of
seventy-four. He had spent forty long years in working out his
invention. He was losing his eyesight, and could not afford to wait
much longer. Still he had to wait.

"Full little knowest thou, who hast not tried,
What hell it is in suing long to bide;
To lose good days, that might be better spent;
To waste long nights in pensive discontent;
To spend to-day, to be put back to-morrow,
To feed on hope, to pine with fear and sorrow."

But Harrison had not lost his spirit. On May 30th, 1765, he addressed
another remonstrance to the Board, containing much stronger language
than he had yet used. "I cannot help thinking," he said, "that I am
extremely ill-used by gentlemen from whom I might have expected a
different treatment; for, if the Act of the 12th of Queen Anne be
deficient, why have I so long been encouraged under it, in order to
bring my invention to perfection? And, after the completion, why was
my son sent twice to the West Indies? Had it been said to my son, when
he received the last instruction, 'There will, in case you succeed, be
a new Act on your return, in order to lay you under new restrictions,
which were not thought of in the Act of the 12th of Queen Anne,'--I
say, had this been the case, I might have expected some such treatment
as that I now meet with.

"It must be owned that my case is very hard; but I hope I am the first,
and for my country's sake I hope I shall be the last, to suffer by
pinning my faith upon an English Act of Parliament. Had I received my
just reward--for certainly it may be so called after forty years' close
application of the talent which it has pleased God to give me--then my
invention would have taken the course which all improvements in this
world do; that is, I must have instructed workmen in its principles and
execution, which I should have been glad of an opportunity of doing.
But how widely different this is from what is now proposed, viz., for
me to instruct people that I know nothing of, and such as may know
nothing of mechanics; and, if I do not make them understand to their
satisfaction, I may then have nothing!

"Hard fate indeed to me, but still harder to the world, which may be
deprived of this my invention, which must be the case, except by my
open and free manner in describing all the principles of it to