Memoir of the Lafe of Eli Whitney. 251 
the more remarkable, because it is so common to find men of great 
powers of mechanical invention deficient in this quality. Nothing is 
more frequent than to see a man of the most fertile powers of inven- 
tion, ryn from one piece of mechanism to another, leaving the former 
half finished; or if he has completed any thing, it is usual to find him 
abandon it to others, too fickle to pursue the advantages he might reap 
from it, or too sensitive to struggle with the sordid and avaricious, who 
may seek to rob him of the profits of his invention. We cannot bet- 
ter express our views on this subject, than by transcribing from a letter 
now before us, the following remarks communicated to us by a gentle- 
man* who had intimately known Mr. W. from early life. 
“T have reflected often and much upon Mr. Whitney’s character, 
and it has been a delightful study to me. I wish I had time to bring 
lully to your view, for your consideration, that particular excellence 
of mind in which he excelled all men that I have ever heard of. I 
do not mean that his power of forming mechanical combinations was 
unlimited, but that he had it under such perfect control. I imagine 
that he never yet failed of accomplishing any result of mechanical 
powers and combinations which he sought for; nor ever sought for 
one for which he had not some occasion, in order to accomplish the 
business in hand. I mean that his invention never failed, and never 
rin wild. It accomplished, I imagine, without exception, all that he 
ever asked of it and no more. I emphasize this last expression, from 
having in mind the case of a man whose invention appeared to be 
More fertile even than Whitney’s; but he had it under no control. 
When he had imagined and half executed one fine thing, his mind 
darted off to another, and he perfected nothing : Whitney perfected 
all that he attempted ; carried each invention to its utmost limit of 
— and then reposed until he had occasion for something 
e e,? 
Itwould be difficult to estimate the full value of Mr. Whitney’s 
k ors, without going into a minuteness of detail inconsistent with our 
s. Every cotton garment bears the impress of his genius, and 
the ships that transported it across the waters were the heralds of his 
fame, and the cities that have risen to opulence by the cotton trade, 
Must attribute no small share of their prosperity to the inventor of 
tton Gin. We have before us the declaration of the late Mr. 
Fulton, that Arkwright, Watt and Whitney, (we would add Fulton 
| | Sa ee 
* Hon. S. M. Hopkins. 
