96 THE WEDGWOODS. 



is said, lie accidentally discovered the use of flint as an 

 ingredient in the plastic art. This circumstance is thus 

 recorded: On one of his journeys, on arriving at Dun- 

 stable, he found the horse on which he rode so much affected 

 in its eyes, that he feared blindness would result. Having 

 spoken to the ostler at the inn, he recommended burnt flint , 

 and having put a piece of flint in the fire, and kept it there 

 until red-hot, allowed it to cool, and then powdered it. Some 

 of this powder he blew into the eyes of the horse, and relieved 

 it. Mr. Astbury, who had watched the process carefully, was 

 much stuck with the pure whiteness which the flint attained 

 on being burned, and the ease with which it might be 

 reduced to powder ; and having also noticed its clayey nature 

 when moistened in the horse's eyes, immediately conceived 

 the idea that if mixed with clay in his trade, it would pro- 

 duce a finer and whiter kind of ware than any which had 

 been yet produced. Having procured some flints on his 

 return home, he profited by his observation, and the result 

 of his experiments was more than satisfactory to him. He 

 soon obtained a preference for his ware over others, and 

 amassed a comfortable fortune ; and thus flints became a 

 general ingredient in the potter's materials. Samuel 

 Astbury is said to have been a son of this eminent potter ; 

 and thus was united to the Wedgwood family the ability 

 and skill of the Astburys. 



It will be noticed that in the indenture of apprenticeship, 

 both Mary Wedgwood, the mother of Josiah, and Thomas, 

 his brother, to whom he was bound, are described as " of 

 the Churchyard, in the county of Stafford" the town, or 

 village as it then was, of Burslem not being named. It is 

 probable, from this fact of loth being described as " of the 

 Churchyard," that not only was Josiah, as a matter of 

 course, at that time living with his mother, but that 

 Thomas, the eldest son, and successor of his father, also 

 resided under the same roof. Whether this were so or not 

 is, however, a matter of grave doubt ; for, although in the 

 indenture of apprenticeship executed in November, 1744, 



