164 Josiah Wedgwood CHAP. 



Staffordshire from Germany at the close of the seven- 

 teenth century. 



The first heads produced were those of the King and 

 Queen. These were followed by portraits of Sir Philip 

 Sidney, the Empress of Kussia, the King of Prussia, 

 Earl Gower, Lord Mansfield, Lord Chatham, the King 

 and Queen of Portugal, the Duke of Bridgewater, 

 Athenian Stuart, and many others. 



Domestic troubles intervened. Mrs. Wedgwood 

 had a severe attack of rheumatism. She was bled and 

 blistered. When she was well enough to leave Etruria, 

 she was sent to Buxton. She was very ill on her 

 return, and was " wasted almost to a skeleton, scarcely 

 able to walk a few yards." Dr. Darwin saw her from 

 time to time, when passing on his rounds of visits. 

 Besides the illness at home, Wedgwood was inexpress- 

 ibly sorry to hear of Bentley's illness in London. 

 Wedgwood urged that he should be sent into the 

 country as soon as possible. 



Wedgwood was exceedingly provoked and humili- 

 ated by the war between England and America. I am 

 ashamed, he said, of the absurdity, folly, and wicked- 

 ness, of the whole proceedings with America. The 

 King and the House of Commons are entirely to blame 

 for it. "Somebody," he added, "should be made to 

 say distinctly what is the object of the present most 

 wicked and preposterous war with our brethren and 

 best friends." At a later period (April 1778) he 

 wrote to Bentley : " How could you frighten me so in 



