Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 30.djvu/253

 Christianity exemplary for acts of Piety and Charity,’ London, 1852, 8vo; and ‘Daisy Burns,’ a domestic novel, 3 vols. London, 1853, 8vo, which was translated into French by Madame H. Loreau, under the title of ‘Tuteur et Pupille,’ Paris, 1860.

Among her other publications were: 1. ‘Grace Lee,’ a tale, 3 vols. 1855. 2. ‘Rachel Gray, a Tale founded on Fact,’ 1856. 3. ‘A Summer and Winter in the Two Sicilies,’ 2 vols. 1858. 4. ‘Adèle,’ 3 vols. 1858. 5. ‘Seven Years, and other Tales,’ 3 vols. 1860. 6. ‘Beatrice,’ a novel, 1862. 7. ‘French Women of Letters: Biographical Sketches,’ 2 vols. London, 1862, 8vo. 8. ‘English Women of Letters: Biographical Sketches,’ 1862. 9. ‘Queen Mab,’ a novel, 3 vols. 1863. 10. ‘Sybil's Second Love,’ a novel, 3 vols. 1867. 11. ‘Dora,’ a novel, 3 vols. 1868. 12. ‘Silvia,’ 3 vols. 1870. 13. ‘Bessie,’ 3 vols. 1872. 14. ‘John Dorrien,’ 3 vols. 1875. 15. ‘Pearl Fountain, and other Fairy Tales,’ 1876, in conjunction with Bridget Kavanagh. 16. ‘Two Lilies,’ a novel, 3 vols. 1877. 17. ‘Clement's Love,’ a short tale in the ‘Argosy,’ December 1877. 18. ‘Forget-me-nots,’ a collection of tales, with preface by Charles W. Wood, 3 vols. London, 1878, 8vo. Many of her novels passed through more than one edition, and were reprinted in America. All are remarkable for graceful style and poetic feeling.

[Academy, 10 Nov. 1877, p. 449; Ann. Reg. vol. cxix. pt. ii. p. 163; Athenæum, 17 Nov. 1877, p. 630; Preface to Forget-me-nots; Irish Monthly Mag. vi. 96; Men of the Time, 1875; Times, 19 Nov. 1877, p. 6.]  KAY. [See also .]

KAY, JOHN (fl. 1733–1764), inventor, was born at the Park, Walmersley, near Bury, Lancashire, on 16 July 1704, and is sometimes referred to as ‘Kay of Bury,’ to distinguish him from another John Kay, a clockmaker, of Warrington, who was concerned with Arkwright in the invention of spinning machinery. Kay is said to have been educated abroad. On his return to England his father seems to have placed him in charge of a woollen manufactory which he owned at Colchester. In 1730 he was established at Bury, his native town, as a reed-maker, and took out his first patent in that year for ‘an engine for making, twisting, and carding mohair, and twining and dressing of thread’ (No. 515), but no description of the machine is extant. About the same time he effected a great improvement in reeds for looms by making the dents of thin polished blades of metal instead of cane (the only material then in use), whereby they were rendered more durable, and adapted to weave fabrics of much finer and more even texture. These reeds speedily came into general use.

In 1733 Kay took out a patent (No. 542) for the fly-shuttle, which was perhaps the most important improvement ever made in the loom. Up to that time the shuttle had been thrown through the alternate threads of the warp from side to side by one of the weaver's hands, and was caught at the opposite side by the other hand. In weaving broad pieces two men were employed, who threw the shuttle from one side to the other. The weft was beat or closed up after each pick or throw of the shuttle by a ‘layer’ extending across the piece in process of being woven. Kay added to the ‘layer’ a sort of grooved guide, called a ‘race-board,’ in which the shuttle was rapidly thrown from side to side by means of a ‘picker’ or shuttle driver. The use of one hand only was required, the other being employed in beating or closing up the weft. The rapidity with which Kay's improvement made the shuttle work led to its being called the fly-shuttle. The amount of work which could be performed by a weaver was more than doubled, and the quality was also improved. A powerful stimulus was thus given to inventions connected with spinning. The patent of 1733 also included a batting machine for removing dust from wool by beating it with sticks. Kay's next patent, granted in 1738 (No. 561), was for a windmill for working pumps and for an improved chain-pump, but neither of these inventions was of any practical importance.

In this last patent Kay describes himself as an engineer. Woodcroft states (Brief Biographies of Inventors, p. 3) that he removed to Leeds in 1738. The new shuttle was largely adopted by the woollen manufacturers of Yorkshire, but they were unwilling to pay royalties, and an association called the Shuttle Club was formed to defray the costs of legal proceedings for infringement of the patent. Kay found himself involved in numerous lawsuits, and although he was successful in the courts he was nearly ruined by the expenses of prosecuting his claims. In 1745 he was again at Bury, and in that year he obtained a patent (No. 612), in conjunction with Joseph Stell of Keighley, for a small-ware loom to be actuated by mechanical power instead of by manual labour; but this attempt at a ‘power loom’ does not seem to have been brought to a successful issue, probably on account of his financial embarrassments and the opposition of the operatives. In 1753 a mob broke into Kay's house at Bury, destroying everything they found, and Kay himself barely escaped with his life. Among his other inventions was a machine for making