Excerpt from The Life and Times of Samuel Crompton: Inventor of the Spinning Machine Called the Mule This Memoir of the Life of Samuel Crompton has been prepared for publication under the following circumstances. It became the duty of the author, as President of the Bolton Mechanics' Institution, to make arrangements for the delivery of a series of lectures to the members during the winter session of 1858-9. These members are for the most part working men, a greater proportion of them being operative mechanics than is usually met with in other similar institutions. The funds, however, did not permit the engagement of paid lecturers, and the President was therefore obliged to solicit the gratuitous services of some personal friends, and other gentlemen connected with the borough or its neighbourhood. His appeal was heartily responded to, and resulted in the delivery of the following series of lectures, all of which were numerously attended by gratified and grateful audiences. The Rev. Henry Powell, Vicar of Bolton, delivered two lectures upon his "Personal Recollections of the Island of Ceylon." Thomas Bazley, Esq., M.P. for Manchester, lectured upon Trade and Commerce, the Auxiliaries of Civilization and Comfort." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.