xxn Character of Wedgwood 299 



potter's wheel in the Old Churchyard Works at Burslem, 

 to the time when he lay on his deathbed in his fine 

 mansion at Etruria Hall, Wedgwood's mind had ever 

 been active, ever thinking, ever working, ever seeking 

 out fresh scientific truths, and ever busying himself 

 in benefiting his fellow-men. During his busy life, he 

 was always simple, patient, and steadfast. His per- 

 sonal sufferings may perhaps have restrained and 

 sweetened his moral nature. 



The dowry of suffering pursued him through life. 

 His virulent attack of smallpox, the constant pain in 

 his knee until its amputation, the scoriae in his eyes 

 which threatened blindness, rendered his life a struggle 

 with physical ills, and amounted to a long dying. 



Yet how much he accomplished, for the benefit of 

 English art and commerce, as well as for the advantage 

 of his fellow-countrymen, during his comparatively 

 brief career. 



He did not fear death : he regarded it as the com- 

 plement of life. He had done his work ; and death 

 was a release from the pains and sufferings which 

 had so long afflicted his existence. 



