THE SEWING-MACHINE 



even by its inventor, that it was sold for a trifle to a 

 blacksmith named Arrowsmith. Twenty years later, 

 when the possibilities of the sewing-machine had been 

 demonstrated by Elias Howe, Hunt attempted to 

 assert his prior claim to a patent, but this was denied 

 him on the ground of abandonment. 



The field of successful invention had now been 

 opened up in America, and thenceforth practically 

 every important improvement was made in the United 

 States. Many inventors had entered the field, but as 

 yet no one had solved the problem satisfactorily. 



THE COMING OF HOWE 



"But 1845 was on its way," says Gifford, "and 

 bearing with it a messenger of reform a young man, 

 an American, poor in money but rich in genius, feeble 

 in influence but strong in mind. Cambridgeport, 

 Massachusetts, was to have the honor of his birth- 

 place, and Nature was preparing him for the work 

 which all others had failed to accomplish. She well 

 knew how to do it. She always knows from what 

 ranks to pick her candidates for great things, and she 

 equips them with proper habiliments for their mission. 

 Hopes and anticipations of his success were not to be 

 encumbered by present luxury and ease; he was not 

 to be attracted to, or entertained by, present pleasures; 

 he was to be trained for taking mental leave of present 

 surrounding objects and things, and sending his 

 thoughts and projecting his researches far in advance 

 of the front ranks of his contemporaries. He was to 



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