What a delightful look at society of that time!

I think something to remember about mechanics is that in those days before automobiles, mechanics were the people who built and maintained industrial machinery. They were something like the scientists and engineers of the space age of our younger days. Romanticized and well paid magicians!

This might have been important given the class structures of Victorian England. A working man could never become a gentleman, but as a mechanic he might earn wealth and respect otherwise reserved for the upper classes.