ing-machines. He will find that as Walter | oiled plank, by force of atmospheric pressure Hunt was intellectually able to conceive the alone. The mechanism by which the feet sewing-machine, mechanically he was able could be successively disengaged from the to build it, and morally he was incapable of platform or ceiling to perform the operation claiming what was not his due. Gifted of walking, was very ingenious, and rewith most marvellous originality of mind, he quired most dexterous accuracy in the fabimproved his natural powers by very exten- rication. sive reading and study in many branches of science, and by profound and incessant thought. His intellect was remarkably suggestive, insomuch that whoever talked with him was sure to bring away some new and useful idea. Scores of inventions of other men owe their origin to his suggestion. Up to 1853, he had himself obtained patents for more than twenty of his own inventions. His deposition of that year tells us that being then fifty-seven years old, and "by profession a machinist and inventor," he had been "mostly engaged in inventing and constructing novel machinery of various kinds for upward of twenty-five years last past." The records of the Patent.Office from 1830 to the date of his death give evidence of Walter Hunt's brilliant and exhaustless inventive powers, his practical skill, his incessant labor, his many and useful contrivances which give him enduring claim to the gratitude of his countrymen. To these well-known inventions we need not refer; but he invented more things which he did not secure by letters patent than those which were patented. He invented, for example, the "Globe Stove;" he invented the machinery used for combining steel rivets with leather in the soles of boots and shoes; he invented a composition whereby all the fragments and choppings of marble and stone-yards could be converted into building materials of any desired regular form, as indestructible as granite; he invented a composition and machinery for making paper boxes of all sizes and descriptions, and of such strength that, as he used to say, "a pill box made in that way would bear his weight without being crushed" - and there is a fortune in that idea yet; he invented the first paper collars of the kind so generally used now, and obtained one or more patents therefor. The writer believes, indeed, that all the ideas on paper collars originated with Hunt, though Rollin, one of his workmen, also took out a patent for them. It was Walter Hunt who both invented and made the apparatus with which Sands, the famous gymnast, walked on the ceiling. This contrivance exhibited a philosophical principle, the head of the gymnast being downward, and his feet being made to adhere at each step to a perfectly smooth and will Walter Hunt's knowledge of mechanical and scientific books was very extensive, as we have said, and his conversation remarkably original and instructive. His researches went beyond mechanics. He was well versed in medicine, and concocted and for many years sold a popular remedy for cholera complaints. The writer also remembers Mr. Hunt's assuring him he had alleviated or cured rheumatism in his own case by mechanical means, and that he had thought of obtaining a patent for the instrument he had framed for that purpose. He was the inventor, also, of improvements in spring shawl-pins; in the corking of bottles; in making cheap heels for boots and shoes; and in breech-loading fire-arms. These inventions and devices which are selected out of many merely for illustration show the astonishing fertility and versatility of his brain, as their practical success from the start testifies to his practical construetive skill. How so brilliant a genius and so adroit and laborious a mechanic died poor, leaving others to get the benefit of his work, we must now explain. Like many another mechanical genius, Walter Hunt, in all that related to pecuniary affairs, was a mere child. He was astonishingly improvident. He made contracts carelessly. He was little versed in business arts. He was always in want of money, being reckless in its expenditure, and his inventions were usually sold before they were patented, or mortgaged during construction. Yet he was a man of strong moral convictions, a conscientious man, who could not be induced to testify wrongly or to suppress his testimony. He was a man of strong opinions, too, and of much logical power. Brought up a Hicksite Quaker, and holding the religious opinions of that sect, he became fond of theological discussion, to which his profound acquaintance with the Bible and his extensive reading in speculative theology adapted him. On all sides of his nature, his moral as well as his intellectual, Walter Hunt exhibits himself to us as one capable of inventing the sewing-machine, and incapable of claiming what did not belong to him. After Hunt's invention, a series of others were projected in America and Europe; all proved successful which employed his combination of the needle and shuttle. In 1842 Greenough patented a machine; in thought he could do better upon another 1843 Corliss patented one; in 1846 Elias trial. He did try again; but the second Howe, Jr., patented one- the third patent machine was no better than the first. A in America, and the seventh in the world. master mechanic, in whose shop Howe atExamining his patent, we find it to consist tempted to build this machine, also testified of five claims. Of these, four are not only to its glaring defects, and to the mechanical unnecessary, but are hurtful to the working incapacity of Mr. Howe. of a good machine, and are, therefore, not used. The fifth and remaining one is the invention of Walter Hunt, made ten years before. Mr. Howe says he built his first sewingmachine in 1845. He constructed another in 1846, upon which he obtained a patent in September of that year. He built a third machine about the same time, which his brother, A. B. Howe, took to London and sold, together with the right to the English patent, for the sum of £250. In 1847, Mr. Howe and his brother went to London, where, according to agreement, Elias Howe endeavoured to adapt the machine to do the work of the purchaser, Mr. Thomas. Amasa B. Howe says and prints and publishes that his brother, Elias, remained in the employ of Mr. Thomas some three years, having unlimited supplies of material and means for the development of the invention. But, failing to produce any practical results, or in adding any thing of value to his original model, he abandoned the whole thing and returned home." The truth was that Howe, through his brother, had sold an imperfect and impracticable machine, with a contract that Howe should come to London and adapt the machine to practical work. Mr. Howe appears to have worked a long time for Mr. Thomas, under wages, without arriving at any good result. Mr. Thomas became tired of the fruitless expense, and discharged Howe, as was natural under such circumstances. And Amasa finally sums up his brother Elias' merits as a sewing-machine maker thus: "His career as a builder of sewing-machines ended, where it began, with simply constructing the three impracticable models above referred to." That Elias Howe did not know how to build a sewing-machine of practical utility, even as late as 1851, is proved by this circumstance: On the 16th of February, 1851, Howe made a contract with G. S. Jackson, W. E. Whiting, and D. C. Morey, of Boston, to construct, according to his patent, as perfect and useful a machine as he was capable of making. Morey and Jackson have testified upon oath that Howe, after working about six weeks, produced a sewing-machine which was a failure, and incapable of being used. Howe admitted its defects, but LIAING AGE. VOL. VI. 195. The circumstance that Mr. Howe, after years of diligent labor, was unable to improve upon his first model, leads to a suspicion that he had heard of the machine of Walter Hunt, and its peculiar combination, before he ever did any thing toward contriving one of his own. Nor was his personal lack of constructive skill alone at fault. Within a period of five years succeeding the date of Howe's patent, several persons who had acquired rights or received licenses under that patent, tried to make sewing-machines after Howe's model, for the purposes of sale and use. They were all failures, and served merely to deepen the impression in the public mind that practical sewing by machinery was an impossibility. The machine of Blodgett & Lerow, patented in 1849, was superior to any that had been produced before it, and some of them were sold, to be used in the manufacture of clothing.. They contained, however, the baster-plate of the Howe machine in a modified and improved form, which, with some other imperfect devices, rendered them useless to the public, and they were speedily laid aside. In 1849, also, the single-thread, chain-stitch machine of Morey & Johnson was produced, containing improvements of some merit, and materially advancing the art. John Bachelder about the same time obtained patents on certain improvements of his own, which approached still nearer to a practical sewingmachine. In 1849, Allen B. Wilson invented and constructed a sewing-machine, which was patented, containing mechanical devices of great merit, and which time has proved to have possessed eminent utility. But Mr. Wilson's sewing-machine, as originally arranged and constructed, notwithstanding the great fame as an inventor since universally accorded to him, was a practical failure. A large number of sewing-machines were made according to that patent, and sold, but very soon dropped out of use. The celebrated and admirable Wheeler & Wilson machine had not then been invented. The inventors of the Grover & Baker machine, which has since had such a successful career, were still at work endeavoring to perfect their invention, and had not then purposes. William H. Johnson, too, in 1848, invented a device, which may be deemed the germ of the now celebrated four-motionfeed in sewing-machines. Indeed, several kinds of sewing-machines are now being made, in which Johnson's feeding device, known as the "needle-feed," is employed. brought the machine to such a state of com- | into fortune and fame. This undertaking pleteness as to make it salable for practical gave him ample scope for the energy, perseverance and business tact he so remarkably possesses. In 1852, at Boston, the famous cause, lasting several weeks, of Howe against Bradford, was tried. It was the only occasion on which Howe's patent has been submitted to the ordeal of a jury trial. The defence set up the invention of Walter Hunt, of New York, in 1834 or 1835, against the invention of Elias Howe, Jr., of Boston, in 1845. The case, presented to a Boston jury, seemed to be that of a New York interest against a Boston interest; and Howe had secured Rufus Choate- the equivalent to a verdict in his favour. Choate was then at the meridian of a career which procured him the title of the "monarch of the twelve." The defence proved by six witnesses that Walter Hunt invented, perfected and sold two needle and shuttle sewing-machines in the As late as the Autumn of 1850, the world had not obtained a good practical sewingmachine. Toward the latter part of September, 1850, Mr. Isaac M. Singer turned his attention to improving Hunt's sewingmachine. By contract he agreed to invent the improved machine, and to have it built at the cost of forty dollars. It was completed within the price limited, and in less than twelve days. Letters patent were immediately applied for, and the manufacture of these machines for sale commenced. Some of them were soon put into successful years 1834 and 1835, containing all the practical use, and the manufacture of these machines has continued uninterruptedly, and in constantly increasing numbers from that day to this. Thus, in June, 1851, when Mr. Howe, as appears from the testimony of his coadjutors, Jackson and Morey, was making fruitless attempts to construct a sewing machine according to his patent, which should have marketable utility, the Singer machine had been already introduced into profitable use in Boston, New York, and elsewhere, and its success established. In the introduction of the sewing-machine to general use, the most serious obstacle in the way was felt to be Elias Howe, Jr., and his patent of 1846. As late as 1853 he insisted that he ought to be paid a patent fee of $25 on every sewing-machine manufactured. The Wheeler & Wilson company, and some others, agreed to pay Mr. Howe $25 patent fee on each machine, a burden from which afterward they managed to get relieved in great part, or they never could have succeeded as they have done. From the beginning, Singer & Co. denied that Howe's patent was valid, except in so far as it claimed a combination and arrangement of certain devices of his own, which no one found it necessary to use. These devices Howe had combined in his machine with the valuable contrivances of eye-pointed needle and shuttle, with two threads, invented by Walter Hunt, which all inventors alike had the right to employ. Now, then, we come to the secret of Mr. essential devices in Howe's machine of 1846. No material testimony could be found to contradict these six witnesses. But the plaintiff showed that the defendant's machine (Blodgett & Lerow's) had copied some minor devices from Howe's machine which were not in Hunt's. The consequence was that the jury were able to find a verdict for the plaintiff. This trial did not deter Singer & Co. from proceeding with the sale of their machines. In 1853, they published a statement of the controversy up to that time, and the depositions copied into that pamphlet, which have never been contradicted, are as pertinent now as then. In 1853, Howe commenced two suits in Massachusetts to restrain two firms from selling the Singer machines. Judge Sprague refused an injunction, but consented to make an order that the defendants should keep an account of profits, and give security to pay damages, should any be awarded at the final hearing of the cause. The defendants, being intimidated at the idea of keeping an account, determined to settle with Mr. Howe, against the protest of Singer & Co. After this success, Mr. Howe ventured out of Massachusetts, and brought several suits in equity in New Jersey, and one in New York, against Singer & Co., in 1854. None of these suits were ever prosecuted to a hearing, but negotiations were easily concluded for a settlement. Howe's patent had thus far only been passed upon by Judge Sprague, and he had a dislike to bringing it before a jury in New York. He knew also of the newly-discovered evi- | benefit of the whole community, that my dence in regard to the invention of Walter patent should be extended as I have deHunt. Besides, the decision of the Com- sired." missioner of Patents had just been pronounced affirming the completion and perfecting of the Hunt machine in 1835, and that was very ominous. On the other hand, Singer & Co. felt compelled to yield to the competition in trade. The new aspirants for public favour found them engaged in an exhausting legal controversy with Howe. They therefore took licenses under Howe's patent upon such terms as Howe saw fit to impose. If Howe could ruin the business of Singer, they would be great gainers by it. If Singer could demolish Howe's patent, they would be relieved from further license fees to Howe, and would gain equally with Singer & Co. And while the controversy was going on, they could advertise that their machines might be used without infringement of patents, while Singer's were subject to Howe. Governed by these considerations, and believing they had fought the public battle long enough, Singer & Co., in the summer of 1854, gave up the contest, much to the chagrin of their competitors and subsequent friends, and took a license under Howe's patent. Singer & Co. did not, in consequence of such license, change their opinions as to the legitimate force of Mr. Howe's patent. They always believed it to be a valid patent only for some unimportant device, and that the needle and shuttle combination belonged to Walter Hunt. But, by the terms of the license, they agreed not to contest the validity of the Howe patent, or aid or encourage others to do so, and they honestly kept their agreement. Thus Mr. Howe triumphed, not through force of his patent, but by the exigencies of trade. In the year 1860, when the first term of Mr. Howe's patent was about to expire, he presented his petition to have it extended seven years further. He presented, as required by law, a sworn statement of his profits from the patent. He had then received a little less than half a million dollars. Then he meekly preferred his request in the following language: "Notwithstanding, therefore, the amount of profit which I have already realized, and for which I am grateful to my country, I believe it to be just and proper, in view of my early trials and hardships, and of the public value of my invention, now in general and permanent use, for the daily Now, after the lapse of seven years more, and after Mr. Howe's modest profits from his patent have swelled from less than half a million to two millions of dollars, it would seem that he ought to be satisfied. If Congress desires to bestow a gratuity for sewing-machines, let them give it to the heirs of Walter Hunt. The proofs are ample and conclusive that he was the first inventor of the sewing mechanism which is now so popular, and from which, as modified and improved by many other inventors, the country and the world is now receiving such measureless advantages. From Macmillan's Magazine. LIFE AT THEBES. BY LADY DUFF-GORDON. November, 1866. A LETTER from home, all about little R's country life, school feasts, &c. made me cry, and brought before me-oh how vividly! the difference between East and West; not quite all to the advantage of home however, though mostly. "bread What is pleasant here is the primitive ways. Three times since I have been here,, lads of most respectable families at Luxor have come to ask hospitality, which consists in a place on the deck of my boat, and liberty to dip their bread in the common dish with my black boy and Achmet. The bread they brought with them; and shelter" therefore were not asked, as they slept sub dio. In England, I must have refused the hospitality on account of the gêne and expense. The chief object to the lads was the respectability of being. under my eye while away from their fathers, as a satisfaction to their families; and while they ate and slept like beggars, as we should say, they read their books and chatted with me when I was out on the deck on perfectly equal terms, only paying the respect proper to my age. I thought of the "orphanages and institutions," and all the countless diffi culties of that sort, and wondered whether something was not to be said for this absence of civilization in knives, and first and see-ond tables, above all. Of course climate has a good deal to do with this, as well as. the facility with which widows and orphans are absorbed here. : My Reis spoke such a pretty parable the other day that I must needs write it. A Coptic Reis stole some of my wood, which we got back by force, and there was some reviling of the Nazarenes in consequence from Hosein and Ali; but Reis Mohammed said, "Not so. Girgis is a thief, it is true, but many Christians are honest and behold all the people in the world are like soldiers; some wear red, and some blue some serve on foot, others on horseback, and some in ships; but all serve one Sultan, and each fights in the regiment in which the Sultan has placed him, and he who does his duty best is the best man - be his coat red, or blue, or black." I said, " Excellent words, O Reis, and fit to be spoken from the best of pulpits." It is surprising what happy sayings the people here hit upon: they cultivate talk for want of reading, and the consequence is great facility of narration and illustration. Everybody enforces his ideas, like Christ, in parables. Haggi Hannah told me two excellent fairy tales, which I will write for little R-, with some Bowdlerizing, and several laughable stories which I will leave unrecorded, as savouring too much of Boccaccio's manner, or of that of Marguérite of Navarre. I told Achmet to sweep the floor after dinner just now; he hesitated, and I called again: "What manner is this, not to sweep when I bid thee? "By the most high God," said the boy, "my hand shall not sweep in thy boat after sunset, O Lady; I would rather have it cut off than sweep thee out of thy property." I found that you must not sweep at night, nor for three days after the departure of a guest whose return you desire, or of the master of the house. "Thinkest thou my brother would sweep away the dust of thy feet from the floors of Luxor?" continued Achmet; "he would fear never to see thy fortunate face again." If you don't want to see your visitor's face again, you break a gulleh (water-jar) behind him as he leaves the house, and sweep away his footsteps. I won't write any politics; it is all too dreary, and Cairo gossip is odious, as you may judge by the productions of Mesdames Audenarde and Lott;-only remember this, there is no law nor justice but the will or rather the caprice of one man: it is nearly impossible for any European to conceive such a state of things as really exists here. Nothing but perfect familiarity with the governed or oppressed class will teach it: however intimate a man may be with the rulers, he will never fully take it in. If the farce of a constitution ever should be acted in Egypt, it will be superb. I arrived here on the morning of the 11th, and I meant to have written sooner, but I caught cold after four days, and have really not been well. We came up best pace, as my boat is a flyer now: fourteen days to Thebes, and to Keneh only eleven. Then we had bad wind, and my men pulled away at the rope and sang about the "Reis el arees" (bridegroom) going to his bride. We were all very merry, and played practical jokes on a rascal who wanted a pound to guide me to the tombs; making him run miles, fetch innumerable donkeys, and then laughing at his beard. Such is boatman's fun. On arriving at Luxor, I heard a charivari of voices, and knew I was "at home" by the shrill pipe of the little children, “El Sitt, el Sitt, el Sitt." Visitors all day, of course. At night comes up another dahabieh: great commotion as it had been telegraphed from Cairo (which I knew before I left) and was to be stopped. This dahabieh contained an Indian walee (a saint), with a large hareem and suite. He huffs Pashas and Moodirs ruthlessly, and gives away immense charity to the poor. The government have him watched, though I cannot conceive why, as he is perfectly outside of all that could affect Egyptian politics, his estates being at Hyderabad. After Assouan, he will be dogged by arnouts, or something of the sort. He is a good straightforward sort of fellow, whether he be saint or magician. He gave me some sort of pills to take; some men urge me to take them, and others on no account to do so, but to throw them into the Nile, lest they should turn me into a mare or a donkey. I keep them till I find a chemist to analyze them. When the dahabieh arrived, I said, "O Mustafa, the Indian saint is in thine eye, seeing that an Indian is all as one with an Englishman." He asked, "how did I know there was an Indian and a saint, &c.?" Meanwhile the saint had a bad thumb, and some one told his slave that there was a wonderful English doctoress; so in the morning he sent for me, and I went inside the hareem. He was very friendly, and made me sit beside him; told me he was fourth in descent from Abd el Kader el Gylamee, of Bagdad, * but his father settled |