Page:The Laboring Classes of England.djvu/123

 suppose a loom weaving a piece of common shirting. The warp, or longitudinal threads, are divided in two equal numbers, or in other words, that all the odd threads, counting from the side of the warp, viz: the first, third, fifth, &c., move up and down together. So, likewise, all the even threads, viz: the second, fourth, sixth, &c. Now, if we suppose that by a movement of the loom the odd threads are made to ascend, and the even threads to descend, they will form a sufficient space between the rows of threads for the shuttle to pass through, and leave behind it a thread of weft. The next movement of the loom will be to knock close up the weft left by the shuttle, and reverse the order of the threads of the warp, or cause the odd threads to descend, and the even ones to ascend. This movement is repeated in a power-loom from 100 to 130 times per minute; being as quick as the eye can follow the shuttle. Now, should one of the threads of the warp break, (as is frequently the case) while the loom is in full operation, the shuttle will most probably trail the broken thread across the warp, which will thus prevent the threads of the warp passing each other freely. The shuttle is thus checked on its journey, and as it is going at a railway pace, it flies out, and strikes any object that may be in its way. with a force which it would be difficult to ascertain. However, some idea may be formed of its momentum by taking into account the picks which it makes per minute, which, I before observed, are from 100 to 130; thus travelling at the rate of nine miles per hour, and making between 7000 and 8000 turnings on the road, from side to side.

One young woman who had lost an eye by the shuttle, deplored her loss very much; she was on the point of marriage when the accident took place. The loss of her eye disfigured her countenance so much, that her intended husband altered his mind. Thus was this poor girl