CHAPTEE XXII 



CHAKACTER OF WEDGWOOD 



WEDGWOOD died nearly a century ago, but the seed 

 which he sowed did not perish with him : his character 

 and the spirit of his work survive to the present 

 day. He was a man to impress the minds of the 

 generation he lived in, and to hand down an example of 

 goodness and probity to the generations which followed 

 him. 



There is no need again to recapitulate the disadvan- 

 tages of his childhood, the terrible trials of his early 

 sickness and the consequent injury to his bodily powers, 

 nor the vicissitudes of his active career. 



He had lived a life of self -improvement. The handi- 

 craft of pottery at the beginning of his career was rude 

 and empirical, but he rapidly raised it to the condition 

 of an art. He introduced the turning lathe, and the 

 forms of the articles produced by him were greatly 

 improved. It was not, however, without the greatest 

 struggle and effort that he achieved his fame. He de- 

 termined to secure efficiency in his trade. He pulled 



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