26 CARTWRIGHT. 



Shortly after he had brought his loom to perfection, a manufac- 

 turer who had called upon him to see it at work, after expressing 

 his admiration at the ingenuity displayed in it, remarked, that 

 wonderful as was Dr. Cartwright's skill, there was one thing that 

 would effectually baffle him, and that was, the weaving of patterns 

 in checks, or, in other words, the combining in the same web a 

 pattern or fancy figure with the crossing colours which constitute 

 the check. The doctor made no reply to this at the time ; but 

 some weeks afterwards, on receiving a second visit from the same 

 person, he showed him a piece of muslin, of the description men- 

 tioned, beautifully executed by machinery, which so astonished the 

 man, that he roundly declared his conviction that some more than 

 human agency must have been called in on the occasion.* 



Dr. Cartwright being precluded by his clerical character from 

 entering himself into the manufacture of his machines, a weaving 

 factory was erected at Doncaster, by some friends, with his licence, 

 but it was unsuccessful ; and another establishment, built at Man- 

 chester, containing 500 looms, was destroyed by an exasperated 

 mob in 1790. Cartwright, however, still continued his inventions, 

 and shortly afterwards contrived a wool-combing machine, which 

 met with even fiercer opposition from the working-classes, who went 

 the length of petitioning parliament to suppress all such obnoxious 

 machines. Their great utility, however, caused them by degrees 

 to be generally adopted; and at the time of Cartwright's death, 

 steam-looms had increased so rapidly, that they were performing 

 the work of 200,000 men. 



Notwithstanding the great advantages which the cotton and 

 wool manufacturers reaped from these inventions, their author had 

 as yet obtained no emolument from them, but, on the contrary, had 

 incurred a heavy loss. In consideration of this, and on the peti- 

 tion of several influential cotton-spinners, Parliament in 1810 made 

 the doctor a grant of 10,0002. a sum which, although munificent 

 as a present, hardly covered what he had expended in his experi- 

 ments. Having received the sum awarded by Parliament, and 

 being now sixty-six years of age, Dr. Cartwright was desirous of 

 passing the remainder of his life in retirement and tranquillity, and 

 for this purpose purchased a small farm at Hollenden, in Kent. At 

 this place he spent the remainder of his life, occupied in various 

 scientific and mechanical experiments. 



Dr. Cartwright was the author of many other inventions in the 

 arts and agriculture, for some of which he received premiums from 

 the Board of Agriculture and Society of Arts. He also contrived 

 an ingenious modification of the steam-engine, in which he made 

 use of surface condensation, and metallic spring packing for the 

 piston. 



Till within a few days of his death, Dr. Cartwright retained full 

 * Pursuit of Knowledge, vol. 2. 



