Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1860-08-09
The Spinning Jenny.

neither were his curlS anything Ike JUDI
ter's "ambrosial' and all that, but short,
black, stubborn. So not much headway
have We made yet in finding a hero for the
poetry, but we will not give it up yet
One night-perhaps it was in 1894 and
perhaps later-James Hargreaves went
down to an inn, called the "Pack Horse"
for little ale with a friend. Now there
was little girl there-James was mar
ried already, so there is no poetry here
a girl named Chariot Marsden, who was
a spinner, and almost always at the wheel.
There CHANGED to be at the "Horse" that
night, gay young Manchester chap, de,
lighting in the fowery name of Harry
Garland-have we found our hero, do you
think ?-and now, to 60 on by the book,
"Harry had seated himself beside Char
lotte Marsden, where she was spinning at
the further end of the spacious kitchen"
Some who knew the lofty spirit of the
beautiful Charlotte, offered to wager with
Garland that he could not kiss her. The
forward youth attempted the rash act with
-out hesitation; upon which she called him
an impudent moth; and rising Indignantly
overturning her spinning wheel. 1t fell
backward. The spindle, which before had
been horizontal, the point towards the
maiden's left hand, stood upright.
The wheel which had been upright, and
turned by her right hand, (its band turned
the spindle) was now horizontal. 1t con-
tinued to revolve in that position and to
turn the spindle. In a moment, a thought,
an inspiration of thought-fxed the eyes
of Hargreaves upon it. Garland pursued
the indignant Charlotte out of the apart
ment. The company followed, urging him
to the renewal of his rudeness, which the
more he tried to succeed, the more be
seemed to be baff1ed and humiliated. In
their absence, James Hargreaves turned
the wheel with his right hand, it still ly-
ing as it fell, and drawing the rowing Of
cotton with his left hand, saw that the
spindle made as good thread standing YER
tically as it did horizally. "Then why"
an aspiration of thought suggested,
should net many spindles, all standing
upright, all moved by band crossing
them from the wheel, like this single spin
die, each with bobbin on it, and a ro-
wing cotton attached, and something like
the finger and thumb which now takes
hold one of the rowing, to lay hold of them
all, and draw them backward from the
spindles into attenuated threads? Why
should not many spindles be moved, and
threads may be spun BY the same wheel
and band which now spin one"
Hearing the company return, James
Hargreaves lifted the wheel to its feet,
placed the rowing in its right place and
said:
"Sit thee down, Charlotte; let me see
thee spin; who can tell what may come Of
this?"
Then, after pause, and reflection that
he should retain bis new ideas as secrets
of his own at present he continued.
"Thou may be his wife; more unlikely
things have happened; it will be fins
thing to be lady of all old Billy Garland
will leave some day.
"Wife, indeedr' interjected the vexed
maiden; "the moth! Wife indeed! Who
would be wife to aS"
"Well," said James, abe that as it may;
but nun 60 whoam; my wife thinks
whoam is the best place for me, and
thinks so myself"
So Hargreaves went home, and neigh
boris boy going by, Two or three hours Ia
ter, observed light in the window
They were plain people thereaway, and
little inquisitive, though not Yankees, and
so the boy crept to the window and look
ed in. There stood our James Hargreaves,
the weaver, motionless.
Suddenly he dropped on his knees. and
rolled on the stone floor at full length.
He lay with his face towards the floor, and
made lines and circles with the end of
burnt stick. He took hold of his bristly
hair with one hand, and rubbed his fore
head with the other and the blackened
stick. Then be sat upon the chair, and
placed his head between his hands, his ell
bows on his knees, and gazed intently on
the floor. Then he sprang to his feet, and
answering to feeble question of bis wife,
(who had not risen since she gave birth to o
little strangely by loud assurance that
he had it; and taking her in his sturdy
arms, he lifted her out, and held her over
the black drawings on the floor. These
he explained, and she joined in small,
happy, and hopeful laugh with his high
toned assurance that she should never again
toll at the spinning wheel; that she should
never again play and his loom stand for
want of weft. She asked some questions,
which be answered, after seating her in her
arm chair, by laying her spinning wheel on
its back, the horizontal spindle standing
vertically, while he made the wheel revolve,
and drew rowing of cotton from the
spindle into au attenuated thread.
sour fortune is made when that is made"
said he speaking of the drawing on the
floor.
"What will you call it"l asked his
wife.
"Call iti Why we can call it after
thyself, Jenny. They called thee SPIN
ming Jenny afore had thee, because thou
beat every lass in Stone-Moor at the
wheel. What if we call it Spinning Jen-
nyP
And so the Spinning Jenny-Spinning
the second-was born and named that
night; and wrapped up in the story our
readers will find the Poetry.-R. r.
Taylor.