xin Wedgwood 's Artistic Work 133 



district. Wedgwood found some excellent showrooms 

 at the corner of Newport Street and St. Martin's Lane. 

 There he exhibited his best vases and other works of 

 art. No person could have exhibited these artistic 

 wares with better address than Bentley. He was hand- 

 some in person, and polished in manners and conversa- 

 tion. He entertained his morning audiences of dukes, 

 duchesses, and other noble personages, with great 

 suavity and grace. He could speak most European 

 languages, and descant to his hearers on Greek and 

 Etruscan art, or converse in French or Italian with 

 foreign ambassadors on the progress of artistic manu- 

 factures in Paris or Koine. 



Among Wedgwood's numerous friends was Matthew 

 Boulton of Birmingham. Boulton was a public-spirited 

 man. He was one of the early promoters of the Grand 

 Trunk Canal, of which Wedgwood was treasurer. He 

 was one of the men who faced and overcame many 

 difficulties. When James Watt's condensing steam- 

 engine was in such a state that no mechanical en -ineer 

 would even look at it, Boulton took it up, and after 

 many years of trials and heavy losses, he eventually, 

 with the assistance of Watt and Murdock, established 

 the engine as a novel and extraordinary working power. 



Before his partnership with Watt, Boulton had been 

 better known in connection with the inlaying of steel 

 and the manufacture of bronze ornaments. As his 

 business increased he desired to extend his works. He 

 could not find premises in Birmingham to suit his 



