Lowell, and afterwards worked in a machine shop at Cambridge, and at a nautical instrument maker's at Boston in his native state. In 1839 a conversation in the workshop where he was employed first turned his thoughts to the problem of inventing a contrivance which should perform the mechanical operation of sewing. For some years, however, he made no serious attempt to 1ealise the idea. In 1843 he first earnestly bent his attention to the subject, and after various unsuccessful experiments, he at length hit upon the correct principle. The first sewing-machine was produced in 1845, but some years elapsed before the merits of the new invention were generally recognised. Within the last twenty years, however, the sewing-machine has effected a complete revolution in all trades which are dependent upon the sewing-needle. A large number of sewing-machines are now used, not only in England and the United States, but on the continent of Europe, in the stitching of boots, shoes, knickerbockers, gaiters, &c. In some places the machines are owned by females, who use them at home. The demand for female labour in connection with all kinds of sewing has been on the increase; the wages of women have at the same time been considerably raised, and many women, who could earn nothing by hand-sewing from want of skill, are enabled to make a tolerable living with the sewing-machine. The ladies' cloak and mantle manufacture has greatly increased since the general introduction of the machine, one of which is able to turn out as much work as six females by hand-sewing. In this branch of industry, as in others, not only are the articles better made, but the sewing hands are both more numerous and better paid. A vast development has been given to the ready-made clothing trade by the use of the machine in tailoring. The introduction of the factory system in the manufacture of wearing apparel is entirely due to the machine, and in the case of certain classes of articles of male attire, as shirts and tailoring, steam power is now employed in driving whole rows of sewing-machines at once. The application of the machine to the shoe manufacture has almost revolutionised that branch of trade. Workmen and manufacturers alike rebelled against its introduction at first. In 1859 a great struggle took place at Northampton, the head-quarters of the wholesale boot and shoe manufacture, which resulted in the transference of a considerable portion of the trade to Leicester, and rausing the population of that town to increase nearly 50 per cent. in the ten years between the census of 1861 nd 1871. But the greatest benefit which this admirable invention has conferred upon mankind is the amelioration it has taused in the condition of a vast number of women. In every civilised country sewing is that form of labour But besides these, every housewife and every female member of all but the wealthiest families must perforce ply the needle, so that not to the professional operatives in needlework alone, but to almost every living woman the sewing-machine has been a boon of the first importance. How terrible the poverty and wretchedness of the poor seamstress and dressmaker in the years immediately preceding Howe's great invention, every reader of history will know. The dressmaker's hard fate it was too long and in too many cases to have to choose between vice and starvation. In the very year when Howe first seriously set himself to work out his great task, the woes of the poor needlewomen were sung in immortal lines by Tom Hood: "With fingers weary and worn, With eyelids heavy and red, In poverty, hunger, and dirt, The poet's words had their effect. Moving the heart and brain of Howe, they caused the creation of the sewing-machine, and put an end for ever to one of the greatest scandals and reproaches of modern civilisation. Abyssinia, History of, 308 et seq. INDEX. Bright, John, 187. See Parliament. Abyssinian Captives, 133, 134, 313 Abyssinian Expedition, 294-296, 306, 316-327 Broglie, Duc de, at the Black Sea Conference, 496 Abyssinian Expedition, Causes which led to the, 310 et seq., 346, | Brougham, Henry, Lord, 329–332 Brunel, Isambard K., 590, 591 Adams, Charles Francis, represents the United States at the Burgoyne, Field-Marshal John Fox, 497 Africa, Exploration in, 61 Agra and Masterman's Bank, 184 Agriculture, Application of Chemistry to, 621 Alabama, a Confederate vessel, 15, 16, 100, 101, 505, 506 Albert Edward, Prince of Wales: his Visit to America, 2; his Albert (Francis-ALBERT-Augustus-Charles-Emmanuel), Prince Albert Memorials, 39, 474, 477 Alexandra, Princess, daughter of Prince Christian of Denmark, Alexandria (s.s.), Seizure of the, 38 Alford, Dean, 497 Algeria, French in, 135 Alice, Princess, daughter of Queen Victoria, 13 America, Civil War in. See United States. Antonelli, Cardinal, 436, 438 Aosta, Duke of, elected King of Spain, 441 Architecture, 466 et seq. Army Reform, 483 et seq. Art, British, History of, since 1851, 465-483 Arundel Society, The, 470 Ashantee War, The (1864), 74 Atlantic Cable, The, 178, 179–182, 602 Austria, History of Affairs in, 137, 195 et seq., 282-284 Austria and Prussia, War between, 208-248 Calcutta, 104 Cameron, Captain, British Consul in Abyssinia, 133, 310 et seq. Canada, 149, 190, 191 Canada, Confederate Refugees in, 101, 102 Charities, Taxation of, 32 Charleston Harbour, 54, 60 Chelmsford, Lord (Sir Frederick Thesiger), 297, 300 Childers, Mr., First Lord of the Admiralty, resigns, 488 Chislehurst, Residence of the Emperor Napoleon at, 493 Cholera, Visitations of, 178, 179 Church, Irish Established, 33, 107, 111, 272, 298 et seq., 335, 346 Church of England, Motion for Disestablishing the, 489. Clarendon, Lord, 392, 393 Clergymen, Civil Disabilities of, removed, 389 Clyde, Lord, 39, 40 Coal, Consumption and Supply of, 611-617 Cobden, Richard, 14, 130-132 Coblentz, 404 Cockburn, Sir Alexander, Lord Chief Justice, 157, 527 Cockerell, Mr., architect, 466, 467 Colenso, Bishop, 74, 112 Combermere, Viscount, 126 Commercial Crises, 183-185 Commune in Paris, History of the, 537-561 Commune," The Name of, 543 Cornwall, Duchy of, 5 Cotton Famine, 13, 29, 38, 116, 149 Cotton, George E. L., Bishop of Calcutta, 192-194 Council, General Papal (1869–70), 433 et seq. Cranborne, Lord (afterwards Marquis of Salisbury), 253, 254 Daguerreotype Printing, 622 Danubian Principalities, The, 249 Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, arrested, 545; shot, 557-560 Deceased Wife's Sister Bill, 391 Denison, Mr. Evelyn (afterwards Lord Ossington), 494 Denison, Sir William, 503 Derby, Edward Geoffrey Stanley, fourteenth Earl of, 174, 295, Exhibition, International, of 1851, 471, 472, 473; of 1862, 26- Hope, Beresford, 266 France, History of Affairs in, 134, 135, 248, 279–282, 332, 357— Italy at war with Prussia, 2, 32 et seq. Franco-Prussian War: War Declared, 401; the Neutrality of Frankfort, Treaty of (Signed 10th May, 1871), 569 Freemasons, Demonstration of the Paris, 547-549 Frith, W. P., artist, 480, 482 Italy, History of Affairs in, 16, 95, 96, 138, 197 et seq., 285, 286, Jackson, American general, 43, 46 Johnson, Reverdy, American Minister in England, 519, 520 Kagosima, Bombardment of, 44, 45 Keble, John, author of "The Christian Year," 193, 194 Königgratz, Battle of, 224-227 Landseer, Sir Edwin, artist, 481, 482 Lee, American general, 145, 146, 151 Gladstone, William Ewart, 66; becomes First Lord of the Lewis, Sir G. Cornwall, 39, 41 Treasury, 305. See Parliament. Glass Painting, Revival of, 472, 473 Göben, General von, 408, 409 Gordon, W. E. See Jamaica, Insurrection in. Life Peerages, Creation of, 352 Limited Liability Principle, 184, 185 London, Foundering of the, 185 Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury, 332 Luxemburg Question, The, of 1867, 279, 280, 281 M'Ghee, Darcy, Assassination of, 333 Manchester Exhibition (1857), 477, 486 Manchester, Fenian Affair at, 274, 275 Mansel, Dean, 497 Marie Amélie, ex-Queen of the French, 191, 192 Married Women's Property Bill, 389, 390 Martin v. Mackonochie, 329 Mary of Cambridge, Princess, 185 Match-tax, Mr. Lowe's proposed, 488 Matterhorn, Accident on the, 116 Mauve, Discovery of, 620 Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, 60, 61, 104, 293 Maynooth Grant, The, 303 Mazzini, Giuseppe, Death of, 567, 568 Melvill, Canon, 498 Mereweather, General, 316, 327 Metz, Capitulation of, 448 Mexico, History of Affairs in, 58–61, 104, 138, 248, 289–293 Midland Railway System, 592 Mill, John Stuart, 115 Millais, J. E., artist, 478, 479 Milman, H. H., 332 Mitrailleuse (French Gun), 405 Moltke, General von, 241, 246 Monitor and Merrimac, Fight between the, 22 Montalembert, Count de, 393 Mont Cenis Tunnel, Opening of, 567 Montmartre, Communists collect Artillery at, 538 Paris, 410, 418 et seq.; Communists in, 537-561; Siege of, 419, Parks, Right of meeting in Metropolitan, 272, 273. Parliament, 4, 11-15, 16, 29, 32, 33, 62-66, 105-111, 112 et seq., Pasquier, Surgeon-General, shot by the Communists, 544 Peabody, George, philanthropist, 13, 16 Peto, Betts, and Co., Failure of, 184 "Phiz" (H. K. Browne), artist, 482 Phoenix Park, Dublin, Riots in (1871), 494 Photography, The Invention and Progress of, 622 Picpus, Story of the Convent of, 546 Poland, Affairs of, 33, 133 Pollock, Sir Frederick, 391 Poor Laws, 108 Population of Great Britain and British Colonies, Statistics of the, 569 et seq. Portsmouth, French and English Fleets at, 136 Prague, Treaty of (1866), 243 Pre-Raphaelitism, Rise of, 478 Motley, Mr., Representative of the United States in England, Priests: their Treatment by the French Communists, 545 520, 521 Müller, Professor Max, 71 Mundella, A. J., M.P., 381 Murchison, Sir Roderick, geologist, Death of, 500 Murphy Riots, 328, 329 Naas, Lord, 270 Napier of Magdala, Lord, 316, 327 Napoleon III., 63, 64, 423 et seq., 493 Nashville, The (Confederate Cruiser), 11, 518 Nasmyth's Steam Hammer, 607, 608 Nassau, The Florida and Bahama at, 507 et seq. National Guard, Central Committee of the (1871), 537 Nelson, Brigadier. See Jamaica, Insurrection in. Newcastle, Henry Pelham Clinton, fifth Duke of, 70- Noir, Victor, shot by Prince Pierre Bonaparte, 395 North American Colonies, Federal Union of the, 286, 287 Oaths and Offices Bill (Ireland), 272 Occupations of the United Kingdom, 574, 575 Odger, Mr. George, 182 Ollivier, M., 394 Prim, Marshal, Assassination of, 441 Prussia, Affairs of, 137, 195 et seq., 332, 398 et seq. Prussia and Austria, War between, 208-248 Prussia, Military System of, 209, 210 Prussian Troops, Review of, 242 Puebla (Mexico), 59 Pugin, Welby, 466 Purchase, Abolition of, in the British Army (1871), 483 et seq. Pyat, Felix: his journal, the "Vengeur," suppressed (1871), 538 Quadrilateral, Austrian, 233 (note) Railway Mania, The, 591, 592 Red Faction in Paris, 537 et seq. Redistribution of Seats, 166 et seq., 266, 297 Reform, Parliamentary, 64, 65, 107, 158 et seq., 182, 183, 250, Registration of Voters Bill, 304 Regium Donum, 303 Republican Union of the Rights of Paris, League of the, 545 Retribution, The (Confederate privateer), 518 Revised Code, The (Educational), 11, 12 Revolution, French, of 1870, 424 et seq. Revue des Deux Mondes, The, on the Paris Commune, 561 Rifling Firearms, Sir Joseph Whitworth's mode of, 609 Road Murder, The, 116 Rochefort, editor of Mot d'Ordre, 560 Rome, 95, 96, 134, 249, 281, 438, 440 Rossa, O'Donovan (Fenian), returned to Parliament, 353 Ruskin, John, 469, 470 Russell, Lord John, 352. See Parliament. Saarbrück, Military Action at, 404 Sadowa, Battle of, 224-227 "St. John's Wood School," The, of Artists, 481 Samarcand, Capture of, 332 San Juan Boundary Question, 525 Saxony at war with Prussia, 208 et seq. Schamyl, heroic Circassian chief, Death of, 497 Schenck, General, Representative in England of the United Schleswig-Holstein Question, 63, 64, 78 et seq. School Boards, Number established in 1871, 492 Sclopis, Count Frederick, at the Geneva Court of Arbitration Sedan, French Disaster at, 422, 423 Semmes, Captain, Commander of the Sumter (privateer), 516. Senior, Nassau William, political economist, 71 Sheffield, Trades' Union Outrage at, 275 et seq. Shenandoah, The (privateer), 510, 512-516 Shipping of the United Kingdom, 594 et seq. Sick and Wounded, Association for the Relief of the, 416 Spain, History of Affairs in, 138, 249, 333, 334, 359, 360, 440, Speke, Captain, African explorer, 61, 62 Spithead, Naval Review at, 279, 283 Stampfli, Swiss Representative at the Geneva Court of Arbitra- tion (1871-2), 527 et seq., 534 Tests (Religious) in the Universities, Abolition of, 489 Thanksgiving Service for the Recovery of the Prince of Wales Theatre, Her Majesty's, burnt (1867), 278 Theodore, Emperor of Abyssinia. See Abyssinian Expedition. Trades' Unions, 275 et seq. Tuileries, The, burnt by the Communists, 554 Turkey, Sultan of, visits England, 279 Turner, J. M. W., artist, 477, 478 Twenty-fifth Clause of the Education Act, The, 492, 493 United States, Civil War in the: Battle of Pittsburg Landing, University Tests Bill, 109, 111 Valérien, Mont, saved from the Communists, 541 Vendôme Column pulled down by the Communists (1871), 546, Venetia, 197, 227, 248 Vermesch, M.: his journal, the Père Duchesne, suppressed, 538 Vinoy, General, opposes the Communists, 537 et seq. Waddell, Lieutenant, Commander of the privateer Shenandoah, Wagner, Fort (U.S.), 56 Warrant, Royal, for the Abolition of Purchase (1871), 585 (note) Stansfeld, Mr., in connection with a plot against the Emperor Washington, Treaty of, Signing of the, 526 Star of India, Order of the, 3 Steinmetz, General, 217, 220 Stephens, James, Fenian "Head Centre," 123, 124, 186 et seq. Stephenson, George, 582, 587, 590, 591 Stephenson, Robert, 589, 590, 591 Strasburg, Surrender of, 443, 444 Suez Canal, The, 598, 599, 600 Sumter, The (privateer), 516 Tait, Rev. Dr. A. C., Archbishop of Canterbury, 332 Tennyson, Alfred, quoted, 4 Waterton, Charles, naturalist, 126 Watts, Mr., artist, 480 Wealth, Estimated, of the Population of the British Isles, 585- 587 Weissenburg, Attack on, 405 Whately, Archbishop, 39, 41, 48 Whewell, William, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, 86, 192 William I., King of Prussia, 199, 465 Williams, Dr. Rowland, 73, 74 Wilson, Mr. (Ecclesiastical Prosecution), 74 Wiseman, Nicholas (Cardinal), Archbishop of Westminster, 11 Tenterden, Lord, English Agent at the Geneva Court of Arbitra- Wool, Alpaca, 622, 623 I Wörth, Battle of, 407 CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, BELLE SAUvage works, LONDON, E.C. |