CHAPTER XXIV. 



JOSIAH WEDGWOOD. CHAKACTERISTICS. HIS GREAT SUCCESS 



AND WEALTH. COPY OF HIS WILL. ALEXANDER CHIS- 

 HOLM. WEDGWOOD'S ACQUAINTANCE WITH MEN OF IN- 

 TELLECT AND SCIENCE. DR. PRIESTLEY. SUMMARY OF 



WEDGWOOD'S CHARACTER. POEM ON A STAFFORDSHIRE 

 TEAPOT. WEDGWOOD'S LABOURS INCREASE THE COM- 

 MERCE OF THE KINGDOM. STAFFORDSHIRE HAS REASON 

 TO BE PROUD OF HER SON. 



JOSIAH WEDGWOOD, whose life I have thus attempted to 

 trace, was, without exception, one of the most wonderful of 

 all the "self-made men" which our nation of great and 

 noble geniuses has ever produced. Not only did he stand 

 out as a clear statue from the men of his own time, but in 

 high and bold relief from those of every time and every age. 

 Original in thought, far-seeing and clear in his perceptions ; 

 with a mind capable of grasping the most difficult problems 

 and working them out to a successful issue ; with a firmness 

 of purpose, and a determination which carried him safely 

 through all his schemes ; a power of wrestling with and 

 overthrowing every obstacle which came in his way ; a genius 

 which soared high above his fellow-labourers in art, and led 

 them on to success in paths unknown to them before ; with 

 an energy, a perseverance, and an industry which never 

 flagged ; an unswerving fixedness of purpose which yielded 

 not to circumstances, however adverse they might seem; 

 with a heart warmed by kindliness, goodness, and charity to 

 all men, and a mind imbued with that true religion a con- 

 scientious discharge of his duty to God and man ; with a 

 strict probity and a scrupulous adherence to all that was 



