CARTWRIGHT. 25 



In process of time he became distinguished for his literary abili- 

 ties, and was elected a Fellow of Magdalen College. He likewise 

 evinced a considerable taste for poetry, and published in 1770 a 

 legendary tale, entitled ' Armine and Elvira,' which went through 

 seven editions in little more than a year, and was greatly admired 

 for its pathos and elegant simplicity. Some years subsequent to 

 this, Cartwright wrote ' The Prince of Peace,' published in 1779, 

 and was also for several years a principal contributor to the 

 'Monthly Review.' 



In the year 1772 he married the daughter of Richard Whittaker, 

 Esq., of Doncaster, and after his marriage resided first at Marnham, 

 and afterwards at Brampton in Derbyshire, to the perpetual curacy 

 of which he was presented by the Dean of Lincoln, Dr. Gust. It 

 was while attending to his clerical duties at this latter place, that 

 Cartwright discovered the application of yeast as a remedy for 

 typhus fever. In 1779 he was presented to the living of Goadby 

 Marwood in Leicestershire, and continued to reside there until the 

 summer of 1796, when he removed with his family* to London, as 

 being a situation more favourable for the cultivation of the scien- 

 tific pursuits in which he had by that time become engrossed. 



Dr. Cartwright had attained the mature age of forty, before his 

 attention was drawn towards the subject of weaving, by the following 

 accidental occurrence : In the summer of 1784, he happened to be 

 on a visit at Matlock, in Derbyshire, and in the company of some 

 gentlemen from Manchester. The conversation turned upon Ark- 

 wright's spinning machinery ; and fears were expressed by one of 

 the company, that, in consequence of the recent improvements, so 

 much cotton would soon be spun, that hands would not be found to 

 weave it. To this the doctor replied, that the only remedy for such 

 an evil would be to apply the power of machinery to weaving as 

 well as spinning. The discussion which ensued upon the practica- 

 bility of doing this, made such an impression on Cartwright's mind, 

 that on returning home he determined to try and see what he 

 could do. 



His first attempts, as might be supposed, were very clumsy, but 

 he at length succeeded in constructing a machine (for which he 

 took out a patent in 1785), which, although rude and cumbersome 

 in its action, was yet capable of weaving a piece of cloth. Up to 

 this time he had never turned his mind to anything mechanical, 

 either in theory or practice, and his invention was consequently 

 susceptible of great improvement. To accomplish this, he now 

 examined with care the contrivances already in use among the 

 weavers, and availing himself of their general principles, produced 

 in the year 1787 a far more complete and valuable machine, since 

 known as the power-loom. 



* Dr. Cartwright was married twice. His first wife died in 1785, and in 

 1790 he married the youngest daughter of the Rev. Dr. Kearney. 



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