the age of invention-第12部分

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dered；　whether　this　degradation　was　the　result　of　the　peculiar　occupation　or　of　other　and　distinct　causes。　We　could　not　perceive　why　this　peculiar　description　of　labor　should　vary　in　its　effects　upon　character　from　all　other　occupations。〃　And　so　we　find　the　partners　voting　money；　not　only　for　factory　buildings　and　machinery；　but　for　comfortable　boardinghouses　for　the　girls；　and　planning　that　these　boardinghouses　should　have　〃the　most　efficient　guards；〃　that　they　should　be　in　〃charge　of　respectable　women；　with　every　provision　for　religious　worship。〃　They　voted　nine　thousand　dollars　for　a　church　building　and　further　sums　later　for　a　library　and　a　hospital。

The　wheels　of　the　first　mill　were　started　in　September；　1823。　Next　year　the　partners　petitioned　the　Legislature　to　have　their　part　of　the　township　set　off　to　form　a　new　town。　One　year　later　still　they　erected　three　new　mills；　and　in　another　year　（1826）　the　town　of　Lowell　was　incorporated。

The　year　1829　found　the　Lowell　mills　in　straits　for　lack　of　capital；　from　which；　however；　they　were　promptly　relieved　by　two　great　merchants　of　Boston；　Amos　and　Abbott　Lawrence；　who　now　became　partners　in　the　business　and　who　afterwards　founded　the　city　named　for　them　farther　down　on　the　Merrimac　River。

The　story　of　the　Lowell　cotton　factories；　for　twenty　years；　more　or　less；　until　the　American　girls　operating　the　machines　came　to　be　supplanted　by　French　Canadians　and　Irish；　is　appropriately　summed　up　in　the　title　of　a　book　which　describes　the　factory　life　in　Lowell　during　those　years。　The　title　of　this　book　is　〃An　Idyl　of　Work〃　and　it　was　written　by　Lucy　Larcom；　who　was　herself　one　of　the　operatives　and　whose　mother　kept　one　of　the　corporation　boarding…houses。　And　Lucy　Larcom　was　not　the　only　one　of　the　Lowell　〃factory　girls〃　who　took　to　writing　and　lecturing。　There　were　many　others；　notably；　Harriet　Hanson　（later　Mrs。　W。　S。　Robinson）；　Harriot　Curtis　（〃Mina　Myrtle〃）；　and　Harriet　Farley；　and　many　of　the　〃factory　girls〃　married　men　who　became　prominent　in　the　world。　There　was　no　thought　among　them　that　there　was　anything　degrading　in　factory　work。　Most　of　the　girls　came　from　the　surrounding　farms；　to　earn　money　for　a　trousseau；　to　send　a　brother　through　college；　to　raise　a　mortgage；　or　to　enjoy　the　society　of　their　fellow　workers；　and　have　a　good　time　in　a　quiet；　serious　way；　discussing　the　sermons　and　lectures　they　heard　and　the　books　they　read　in　their　leisure　hours。　They　had　numerous　〃improvement　circles〃　at　which　contributions　of　the　members　in　both　prose　and　verse　were　read　and　discussed。　And　for　several　years　they　printed　a　magazine；　〃The　Lowell　Offering〃；　which　was　entirely　written　and　edited　by　girls　in　the　mills。

Charles　Dickens　visited　Lowell　in　the　winter　of　1842　and　recorded　his　impressions　of　what　he　saw　there　in　the　fourth　chapter　of　his　〃American　Notes〃。　He　says　that　he　went　over　several　of　the　factories；　〃examined　them　in　every　part；　and　saw　them　in　their　ordinary　working　aspect；　with　no　preparation　of　any　kind；　or　departure　from　their　ordinary　every…day　proceedings〃；　that　the　girls　〃were　all　well　dressed：　and　that　phrase　necessarily　includes　extreme　cleanliness。　They　had　serviceable　bonnets；　good　warm　cloaks；　and　shawls。　。　。　。　Moreover；　there　were　places　in　the　mill　in　which　they　could　deposit　these　things　without　injury；　and　there　were　conveniences　for　washing。　They　were　healthy　in　appearance；　many　of　them　remarkably　so；　and　had　the　manners　and　deportment　of　young　women；　not　of　degraded　brutes　of　burden。〃　Dickens　continues：　〃The　rooms　in　which　they　worked　were　as　well　ordered　as　themselves。　In　the　windows　of　some　there　were　green　plants；　which　were　trained　to　shade　the　glass；　in　all；　there　was　as　much　fresh　air；　cleanliness；　and　comfort　as　the　nature　of　the　occupation　would　possibly　admit　of。〃　Again：　〃They　reside　in　various　boarding…houses　near　at　hand。　The　owners　of　the　mills　are　particularly　careful　to　allow　no　persons　to　enter　upon　the　possession　of　these　houses；　whose　characters　have　not　undergone　the　most　searching　and　thorough　enquiry。〃　Finally；　the　author　announces　that　he　will　state　three　facts　which　he　thinks　will　startle　his　English　readers：　〃Firstly；　there　is　a　joint…stock　piano　in　a　great　many　of　the　boarding…houses。　Secondly；　nearly　all　these　young　ladies　subscribe　to　circulating　libraries。　Thirdly；　they　have　got　up　among　themselves　a　periodical　called　'The　Lowell　Offering'　。　。　。　whereof　I　brought　away　from　Lowell　four　hundred　good　solid　pages；　which　I　have　read　from　beginning　to　end。〃　And：　〃Of　the　merits　of　the　'Lowell　Offering'　as　a　literary　production；　I　will　only　observe；　putting　entirely　out　of　sight　the　fact　of　the　articles　having　been　written　by　these　girls　after　the　arduous　labors　of　the　day；　that　it　will　compare　advantageously　with　a　great　many　English　Annuals。〃

The　efficiency　of　the　New　England　mills　was　extraordinary。　James　Montgomery；　an　English　cotton　manufacturer；　visited　the　Lowell　mills　two　years　before　Dickens　and　wrote　after　his　inspection　of　them　that　they　produced　〃a　greater　quantity　of　yarn　and　cloth　from　each　spindle　and　loom　（in　a　given　time）　than　was　produced　by　any　other　factories；　without　exception　in　the　world。〃　Long　before　that　time；　of　course；　the　basic　type　of　loom　had　changed　from　that　originally　introduced；　and　many　New　England　inventors　had　been　busy　devising　improved　machinery　of　all　kinds。


Such　were　the　beginnings　of　the　great　textile　mills　of　New　England。　The　scene　today　is　vastly　changed。　Productivity　has　been　multiplied　by　invention　after　invention；　by　the　erection　of　mill　after　mill；　and　by　the　employment　of　thousands　of　hands　in　place　of　hundreds。　Lowell　as　a　textile　center　has　long　been　surpassed　by　other　cities。　The　scene　in　Lowell　itself　is　vastly　changed。　If　Charles　Dickens　could　visit　Lowell　today；　he　would　hardly　recognize　in　that　city　of　modern　factories；　of　more　than　a　hundred　thousand　people；　nearly　half　of　them　foreigners；　the　Utopia　of　1842　which　he　saw　and　described。


The　cotton　plantations　in　the　South　were　flourishing；　and　Whitney's　gins　were　cleaning　more　and　more　cotton；　the　sheep　of　a　thousand　hills　were　giving　wool；　Arkwright's　machines　in　England；　introduced　by　Slater　into　New　England；　were　spinning　the　cotton　and　wool　into　yarn；　Cartwright's　looms　in　England　and　Lowell's　improvements　in　New　England　were　weaving　the　yarn　into　cloth；　but　as　yet　no　practical　machine　had　been　invented　to　sew　the　cloth　into　clothes。

There　were　in　the　United　States　numerous　small　workshops　where　a　few　tailors　or　seamstresses；　gathered　under　one　roof；　laboriously　sewed　garments　together；　but　the　great　bulk　of　the　work；　until　the　invention　of　the　sewing　machine；　was　done　by　the　wives　and　daughters　of　farmers　and　sailors　in　the　villages　around　Boston；　New　York；　and　Philadelphia。　In　these　cities　the　garments　were　cut　and　sent　out　to　the　dwellings　of　the　poor　to　be　sewn。　The　wages　of　the　laborers　were　notoriously　inadequate；　though　probably　better　than　in　England。　Thomas　Hood's　ballad　The　Song　of　the　Shirt；　published　in　1843；　depicts　the　hardships　of　the　English　woman　who　strove　to　keep　body　and　soul　together　by　means　of　the　needle：

With　fingers　weary　and　worn；　　　With　eyelids　heavy　and　red；　A　woman　sat　in　unwomanly　rags；　　　Plying　her　needle　and　thread。

Meanwhile；　as　Hood　wrote　and　as　the　whole　English　people　learned　by　heart　his　vivid　lines；　as　great　ladies　wept　over　them　and　street　singers　sang　them　in　the　darkest　slums　of　London；　a　man；　hungry　and　ill…clad；　in　an　attic　in　faraway　Cambridge；　Massachusetts；　was　struggling　to　put　into　metal　an　idea　to　lighten　the　toil　of　those　who　lived　by　the　needle。　His　name　was　Elias　Howe　and　he　hailed　from　Eli　Whitney's　old　home；　Worcester　County；　Massachusetts。　There　Howe　was　born　in　1819。　His　father　was　an　unsuccessful　farmer；　who　also　had　some　small　mills；　but　seems　to　have　succeeded　in　nothing　he　undertook。

Young　Howe　led　the　ordinary　life　of　a　New　England　country　boy；　going　to　school　in　winter　and　working　about　the　farm　until　the　age　of　sixteen；　handling　tools　every　day；　like　any　farmer's　boy　of　the　time。　Hearing　of　high　wages　and　interesting　work　in　Lowell；　that　growing　town　on　the　Merrimac；　he　went　there　in　1835　and　found　employment；　but　two　years　later；　when　the　panic　of　1837　came　on；　he　left　Lowell　and　went　to　work　in　a　machine　shop　in　Cambridge。　It　is　said　that；　for　a　time；　he　occupied　a　room　with　his　cousin；　Nathaniel　P。　Banks；　who　rose　from　bobbin　boy　in　a　cotton　mill　to　Speaker　of　the　United　States　House　of　Representatives　and　Major…General　in　the　Civil　War。

Next　we　hear　of　Howe　in　Boston；　working　in　the　shop　of　Ari　Davis；　an　eccentric　maker　and　repairer　of　fine　machinery。　Here　the　young　mechanic　heard　of　the　desirability　of　a　sewing　machine　and　began　to　puzzle　over　the　problem。　Many　an　inventor　before　him　had　attempted　to　make　sewing　machines　and　some　had　just　fallen　short　of　success。　Thomas　Saint；　an　Englishman；　had　patented　one　fifty　years　earlier；　and　about　this　very　time　a　Frenchman　named　Thimmonier　was　working　eighty　sewing　machines　making　army　uniforms；　when　needle　workers　of　Paris；　fearing　that　the　bread　was　to　be　taken　from　them；　broke　into　his　workroom　and　destroyed　the　machines。　Thimmonier　tried　again；　but　his　machine　never　came　into　general　use。　Several　patents　had　been　issued　on　sewing　machines　in　the　United　States；　but　without　any　practical　result。　An　inventor　named　Walter　Hunt　had　discovered　the　principle　of　the　lock…stitch　and　had　built　a　machine　but　had　wearied　of　his　work　and　abandoned　his　invention；　just　as　success　was　in　sight。　But　Howe　knew　nothing　of　any　of　these　inventors。　There　is　no　evidence　that　he　had　ever　seen　the　work　of　another。

The　idea　obsessed　him　to　such　an　extent　that　he　could　do　no　other　work；　and　yet　he　must　live。　By　this　time　he　was　married　and　had　children；　and　his　wages　were　only　nine　dollars　a　week。　Just　then　an　old　schoolmate；　George　Fisher；　agreed　to　support　his　family　and　furnish　him　with　five　hundred　dollars　for　materials　and　tools。　The　attic　in　Fisher's　house　in　Cambridge　was　Howe's　workroom。　His　first　efforts　were　failures；　but　all　at　once　the　idea　of　the　lock…stitch　came　to　him。　Previously　all　machines　（except　Hunt's；　which　was　unknown；　not　having　even　been　patented）　had　used　the　chainstitch；　wasteful　of　threa