Star.
London, England, 1831-09-30 00:00:00

SIR RICHARD ARKIVRIGHT.

A person of the name of John liayse (said to be
an acquaintance of Hargrave, inventor of spinning
jennies), a resident of Preston, Lancashire, and a
turner by trade, conceived the idea of spinning by
machinery, and, as was natural to him, of draw
log the thread and spinning it by the means of
rollers. He had made some little progress, and
had framed a model of his plan, when, in the im-
mediate neighbourhood lived a barber, of the name
of Arkwright (after wards the celebrated Sir Richard
Arewrightk who, having scraped an acquain•ance-
*hip with Hayse, wormed out of him the secret of,
h inventban, and seditiously employed himself, in
his many vacant hours, to imitate the production
of his unsuspecting friend.—He was frequently so
over sedulous in his occupation, that he neglected
the more profitable employment of shaving and
dressing his customers, to the great detriment of
his finances' and the inconvenience of Mrs. Ark-
wright, who, like female inhabitants of Lancaohire,
was not very friendly to spinning by machinery,
and made continual and not very mild remon-
strances against his new occupation. In vain
Arkwright represented to her the golden har-
lot he had in view that he was sure he
&sold accomplish his undertaking, and ride in
kiesarriage, a favourite expression of Arkwright's,
slot treated ail his views as the most Visionary de-
lusions, and did not hesitate to term them building
castles in the air. Customer after customer left
the shop unshaved, and so intent was Arkwright,.
that he frequently refused to obey the mandate to
attenctto his waiting customers, till at length the
patience of Mrs. Arkwright was quite exhausted..
1 Shy morning, our projector being absent
filer tbi popes, of pumping his friend Hayse, his
shop being full of long-bearded 'customers, and
eirier a shaver, she, in an evil hour f.r herself,
took the fatal resolution to burn what she thought
was the source of all her disquientdes. This was
scarcely done, when Arkwright entered, and saw
the wreck of all his studies in the destruction of his
model. His rage for a moment was ungovernable,
but, at length, be became calm, and, addressing
his wife. he solemnly declared, " That she had
committed a crime which he would never for-
give ; that, though he was positive he should
yet ride in his carriage, she should never ben
by ,his invention." This vote, it is confidently
said, he tigidly kept. Tradition says that he, in
the highest of his prosperity, only allowed her four
shillings weekly, and that upon compulsion. Ark-
wright instantly took the resolution to quit Preston,
an his wife end family ; and, following the
track of Penland Hargraves,,came to Nottingham.
Thus, drove by female domestic autho ity, and the
more solid fear of the rude females of Lancashire,
from his home, not having a model of Ws machinery
for inspection, he commenced his business of a
barber, and took a small shop in Bridlesmith-gate.
Many ludicrous tales are rela ed of his conduct
while framing his second model ; such as leaving
his customers half shaved, when a sudden thought
struck him, and attending to his model sap stairs.
After much difficulty, he obtained a patron in
Mr. Need, a very distinguished hosier, who was
induced, by his representations " that he should
ride in his carriage," to enable him to obtain a
.patent, which was dated the 3d of July, 1769,
and to build him a factory or mill, in Hockley,
Nottiigham. Though Need had thus far pa-
tronised him, and Arkwright had begun to spin
yarn somewhat extensively, it was of a wretched
quality. Hargraves bad first improved the card-
ing of wool by the stock-card, instead of knee-
carding, and At kwright had introduced carding by
rollers; but still he found himself completely baf-
fled to make a line of thread equal is size and free
from burs or thick places, which the workmen
had to stop to take out, in using it on the frame.
The sanguine spirit of Arkwright bore up against
these difficulties for five years. His partner,
Need, bad expended 1111,000, and had realised no
profit ; when he at length became impatient, and
nearly resolved to abandon the concern as hope-
less. The mental sufferings of Arkwright were
intense in the extreme, but still, in the midst of
his dispair, he clung to his favourite idea; that be
should yet " ride in his carriage." Need, dispirited
at his loss, and finding all Arkwright's schemes to
remedy the defects of his yarn abortive, used to
taunt him in the bitterest manner.; holding up
-the skein of yarn to the light, be had the unfeel-
ingness to exclaim, in the midst of his workpeople,
.while Arkwright has stood by in anguish, " Pretty
'trthis. to make a man ride in Wilt aerrias• 1
ay stuff this, all bumps and burs ! Yes, yes ;
pretty stuff this, to make a man ride in his car-
riage ! " The mental sufferings of poor Arkwright,
it is said, were so great, that he, At times, resolved
to abandon the concern altogether, and 1 are N. ed,
the mill, and cotton spinning to their fate. For-
tunately for Britain, he resolved to make another
effort, and to alter his usual plan of proceeding,
which was, to intrust " no one " with his method
of working and making his models. He had em-
ployed a turner, of the name of Coniab Wood,
whom he found a man of some genius, and,
what was of infinite value to him, he could
execute what ho had planned in a ma .t rly
manner. Arkwright took what seemed to him his
last and desperate resolution, of incrusting his
workmen and making him his confidant, by ex-
plaining to him the principles of his machinery.
It happened with Arkwright, the same as with
meet other ingenious men, that a second person
'of genius saw at once all his errors; and the lug..
Ili stious of Wood fla.lied like ligh,uitt,,,,, upon the
comprehensive mind of Ark . right. Hither to his
rollers had been only turned with a plain surface ;
practical experience of Wood suggested
tthe idea of Baiting them, that is, ma-
4ing curved lines or indentations on their
surface, and to aptly a Belies of rollers
where he had only used erre pair, thus effect rig

a complete revolution in his niacin
wright, now certain of success,- in
partner's opposition and taunts, insi
rayed the whole of his machinety,
assistance of his able coadjutor, rep:
modelled, and, in part, rebuilt it.
so intent, tvere these two ingeniom
labours were to affect the whole horn
they scarcer• desisted night or day.
Jelled apparatus was set up its a large 1.1
behind a petition, were placed two
curity, and it was mutually agreed,
course of the night, any new tl►oaglt
'tion of their plans occurred, they w,
each other, and instantly conitumre ors •rations 1.,
carry it into effect, while the idea was in fell f)ro,
This devoted attention and applicat:ms was conL •
pletely successful, as, in 1775, he was ab:e to gni,'
good level cotton yarn, free (tom ' fri:ups an
burs,' for which, in December of that year, he u',•
tained another patent; and, few year., all I:..
sanguine hopes were realized, and, as sheriff 01
Derbyshire, he rode in his carriage !—Heusi,, ',
History of the Frame -kuitte;.s.

Le Memorial Dieppoic, a new jogrual, hi,:h
has strongly advocated the propriety of establisliiii.•
a post-otlice communication between the two cap.-
talsof England and France, by the mule of Brighton
and Dieppe, states in a recent number that Lo:d
Palmerston and the Duke of Richmond have de-
dared themselves favouvetle7—., •
The plague which visited Odessa in 1812, and
committed such frightful ravages, was said to have
been introduced by a ring wrapped round with
cotton wool, which was smuggled fr the quaran-
tine to an actress in the town.

CAUSE OF THE CHOLERA.—They write from
Stettin that, " during the past summer. and par-
ticularly in the month of July, an interesting fact
had been noticed in reference to the water of the
Baltic—viz. that it had acquired an eztraordinary
degree of heat which frequently exceeded that of
the air. From this phenomenon, and from many
others, naturalists have drswn the conclusion that
there is a general internal derancement of the
earth, which may have produced the minima which
has manifested itself in as many qtt irters."—
Prussian State Gazette.

GOLD COAS r or A It tca.---The faishmen, so
called front being supposed to possess supernatu-
ral powers, are exceedingly artful and fall of de-
ceit ; they infuse into the minds of the people ti..•
seeds of superstitit.n, with the view of being con-
sulted on every occasion of trouble. An indivi-
dual who has been robbed, or has expe:iencel
some other calamity, immediately census is a f,:-
Oilman to discover the thief, or cause of the evil ;
who, after making use of some pretended magic
art, and having obtained answers to questions putt
by him to the applicant, unhesitatingly .:,.,noauces
some unfortunate being as the robber or. witch
and nothing can exonerate the accused, if he b.-
poor, from the chArge thus imputed to lint, a:-
though circumstances might tend to prove him
innocent of the crime. The f Listener]. or priers,
are without difficulty bribed, which they accept
under the cloak of having first consulted the De-
ity, who had agreed to receive a certain stran.They
will also afterwa ds deriatuil more money, in
the same of the fieish, who n they w:II t.atc
as- WI being. sari-tied. So great is the dread of
the. natives to offend the tetish, that th y evvu
pawn their own children, to raise the
means of appeasing his wrath ; and if ins. licit oiie-
dience should not be paid, horrid expedi tits 4r.-
resorted to; and should forgiveness be
the avenging fetish expe is a hand-ssine present
before he is reconciled. When a person is afflicted
with any alarming disease, application for relief is
made to the fetishman, who, perhaps, will order
an egg nearly hitching, or a chicken, to be hid
on a certain spot in some highway, in order to
transfer the complaint to the perste* who might
unthinkingly ttead sport it. Paksengers noticing
any of these char.ns ll•ing in their way, avoid, them
with the greatest caution, and no one will dare
to remove them out of the path —Major Rickett's
Travels.

FESTIVAL.—WhiIe here, we had an
opportunity of attending a great Hind-•o festival.
called Gangamma Tirnal, or the great goddess
Gangamma, held in the village called Cocotta-
petta, distant In na Cuddapah about five milts.
This was a most novel and effecting sight.
About fifty thousand people were assembled in a
sort of grove, around the filthy pagoda, in which
was the object of attraction and adoration.
Before the door of this swamp house the people
were tacrificing s cep and g This to the idol all the
day, and streams of blood flowed in all directions.
Around this place is a wide road, on which multi-
tudes of bullock basket cart. were driven, from
which grain of various kinds was thrown to
all such as chose to receive it, in fulfilment of
vows. Between twelve o'clock at noon it'd six in
' the evening, we saw 30 men and two women un-
dergo the ceremony of swinging upon hooks put
through the skin of their backs. The machine
which was used for this purpose was a bullock
cart. Over the axle-tree a post was erected, over •
the top of which a beam, about 35 feet in length,
passed, and moved upon a pin. The longer end
of this beam extendrd over the bullocks: at the
and vf it Mae a equate fidelle at ached, adorned
with young plaintain trees, in which two persons
could stand. When the hooks were inserted into
the skin, the ropes attached to the ho As were
lashed firmly to the top bar of the frame, so as
to allow the people to stand upon the lower bar.
This being done, and we saw the operation per-
formed in several instances, the beam was raised
upon its fulcrum, and the persons on its frame were
elevated about twenty-five or thirty feet above the
ground. Each person was furni bed with a dagger
in one hand and a pocket handkerchief in the
other. The machines, to which were joked six,
eight, (en, or twelve bullocks, were now driven ar
full speed round the pagoda three times, while the
deluded wretches were brandishing the dagger,
and waving the bsndkerch efs, occasionally resting
their weight on the hooks. Sometimes six or eight
of these machines wire driven round at the same
time. On enquiring why the deluded kings sub-
mitted to this punishment, some told us it as in
fulfilment of vows made to the goddess ; others,
that they were hired by persons standing by, and
received one or two rupees fur their trouble. Among
the trees were stalls rind booths, in which were sold
sweetmeats, victuals triAtets, &c. Here were
jugglers, beggars, and pas ties of pleasure ; but eel v
fewasek any nolico-of those loesid 'scenes wnicir
-wider WM:tad our attetrixo.--ullassumsury Voyages
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IPIRIT OF THIS DAY'S JOCIINALS.
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CF/RfitiTCLF!.—As the time approaches for the discus
sift' of eke Reform Bill in the House of Lords, every des
Mistime of influence and intrigue is put in requisition to
defeat the measure. We regret to hear the revival of a re.
port, that some of the junior branches of the Royal Family,
especially the ladies of that illustrious House, are taking an
active part in opposition to the wishes of the people, to
whose liberality and attachment they ate so much indebted
for the splendid position which they enjoy in this country.
A more unfounded rumour—we should rather call it a
calumny—has been circulated also, respecting the opinions
nnd conduct of the Queen on the game subject. We know
that the most effectuel refutation will be given to them libels
by the votes of the Peers attached to her Majesty's House-
hold, on the remind reading of the Bill. Her Majesty, feel.
ingly alive to the delicacies and ditties of her high station,
has never given the least pretence for the disloyal suspicions
which the enemies of Reform have taken so much pains to
excite, with recited to the sincerity of her acquiescence hr the
support which the present Ministers have continently received
from a gracious Master. We hope the other branches of the
Family of all descriptions will reflect in time, and endea-
vour to imitate so bright and feminine an example. The
eyes of the nation are me :the Court, and all belonging to it,
and attached to it; and the people will know full well how
to attribute and appreciate the influence which the Royal
retch; mitt exercise In the Impending Mid of strength in the
House of Lord.. We make no apology for saying thus much
in vindication of our Excellent Queen.
HERA T.D.—The support and sanctienewlekh the Casi-
olir.Perier system of policy has received In the Chamber of
Deputies mieht be considered, as the French and English
ministerial joitrnals would make us believe, a strong proof
of the stability of the present French admi stration, if the
Chamber of Deputies really represetred a sentiments and
enjoyed the confidence of the country. ',whoever would
aseeetain the feelings awl the opinions at- , upset any
great question of foreign or ecirnestic policy, most not seek
Gtr them In the decisions of the majority of a
legi
sbe.
five assembly, elected under a system which rendere
it impossible that it should represent the nation.
—Tf it he necessary to the prosperity of England, that
she should have a House of Commons chosen not to perform
the commands of the few, but to express the sentiments and
consult for the interests of the many, it is still more neces-
sary for the welfare of Vrance that her Chamber of Deputies
ehould be really elected by the people, whom only, in virtue
of a political fiction, they are now supposed to represent. •
Under the present limitations of the elective franchise, the
number of electors in France—a country having a popula-
tion of upwards of 31 millions, is considerably fewer than
those who are entitled in England—a country possessing
eimething better than 20 millions, to return Members to
en unreformed House of Commons. Here is the key to
the decisions of the Chamber of Deputies in the recent
debates on the free-milieu policy of Casimir Peeler.—
It is worth observing that some of our journal., which affect
not merely a violent, but a furious seal in the cause of re-
form in our own Parliament, inatise the English Parlia-
ment, as at present constituted, does not and cannot repre-
sent the opinions and interests of the whole nation, appeal to
the decisions of the Chamber of Deputies In Paris, as con-
clusive of questions that deeply agitate the feelings of all
France. We know that when those very journals sup-
ported the Duke of ‘rellingeon's Administration as vehe-
mently as they now support a Whig Administration, and
when the Duke's ministry carried their measures in the nn-
reeormerl House of Commons with sweeping majorities, that
v: rr edminietr :don was rapidly sinking in public opinion.and
losing the only true source of' the strength of any Govern.
menr—the confidence of the country. It is true that the
Duke of Wellington was at last beaten by the vote of an un.
r-formed Parlinment, but not until the feeling of the coun-
t-I become an ;drone and toil, r.al against his Atinsiniatta-
rim that even the omnipotence" of Parliament thought it
t.n.afe any longer to resist it. Cassimir Perier is not a bet-
ter statesman than the Duke of Wellington. He has not tic
rrlendid fame which gave even the political ascendancy of
the latter, for a time, a charm in the eyes of the nation--his
policy has been more feeble, temporising, and dishonest than
that of the Duke—yet the latter, supported as he long was
hr parliamentary majorities, was overthrown by the force
of public opinion. Greater, indeed, must that man be than
Casimir Perier, who can long withstand that mighty power.
POST.—From the statement of Sir James Graham in
the House of Commons on Wednesday evening relative to
tl e impossibility of postponing a question of supply be-
yond Friday evening, though the papers necessary for the
propee discussion of that question could not be printed by
the time fixed upnn it is fully understood that an imme-
diate close of the Parliamentary session is anticipated by
the Ministry. The Appropriation Act will probably be
Introduced forthwith, and thus matters be wound up ready
for the prorogation of Parliament immediately upon the
defeat of the Reform Bill in the House of Lords, which
event the Ministers seem to expect early in the next week.
Under present circumstances the prudence of preparing for
such an event cannot be questioned.
TT M ES.—Every one is ,now ready to shift off from him.
self the slightest participation in the Buckingham-Palace
expenses. Alas ! there was a time--(when the man who is
now gone to his account was to he pleased)—there was a
time, we say, when all would have encountered the odium
of defending that infamous business to please the wayward,
capricious, reckless author of it. We ale charged with
. sheltering Lord Ooderich, the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
in MN. We neither shelter nor expose him; but it does
appear to us that he shifted off the responsibility from his
own neck, when he appointed a commission, who stood
pledged, by the terms of their appointment, to confine the
expenses within the esimates. These men are defaulters to
she stare ; at d if by any means they escape through a legal
quibble. their property ought to be rendered liable, by an;
express Act of Parliament. for all above 250,0001. which
has been expended up that structure. 230,0001. for that
accumulation of hunchbacks,—that mass of architectural
warts and bunions at the foot of Constitution.hill ! Oh,
Mr. Nish and Mr. splash. you have made a delightful job
between you ! Yet 250,0001. is not half what it has cost.
Can any one say that the people's House of Parliament does
not require some stronger control over the people's money ?
But, for the excess above the 230.00111. the members of the
commis:4ml, we again sisert, are liable.

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