o justly established against itself makes every fault
conspicuous in all articles that have the least pretensions to taste."
It may interest American readers familiar with One Dollar watches,
rendered possible by production upon a large scale, that it was one of
Boulton's leading ideas in that early day that articles in common use
could be produced much better and cheaper "if manufactured by the help
of the best machinery upon a large scale, and this could be successfully
done in the making of clocks and timepieces." He promptly erected the
machinery and started this new branch of business. Both King and Queen
received him cordially and became his patrons. Soho works soon became
famous and one of the show places of the country; princes, philosophers,
poets, authors and merchants from foreign lands visited them and were
hospitably received by Boulton.

He was besieged with requests to take gentlemen apprentices into the
works, hundreds of pounds sometimes being offered as premium, but he
resolutely declined, preferring to employ boys whom he could train up as
workmen. He replies to a gentleman applicant, "I have built and
furnished a house for the reception of one class of apprentices--fatherless
children, parish apprentices, and hospital boys; and gentlemen's sons
would probably find themselves out of place in such companionship."

It is not to be inferred that Boulton grew up an uncultured man because
he left school very early. On the contrary, he steadily educated
himself, devoting much time to study, so that with his good looks,
handsome presence, the manners of the gentleman born, and knowledge much
beyond the average of that class, he had little difficulty in winning
for his wife a lady of such position in the county as led to some
opposition on the part of members of her family to the suitor, but only
"on account of his being in trade." There exists no survival of this
objection in these days of American alliances with heirs of the highest
British titles. We seem now to have as its substitute the condition that
the father of the bride must be in trade and that heavily and to some
purpose.

Boulton, like most busy men, had time, and an open mind, for new ideas.
None at this time interested him so deeply as that of the steam engine.
Want of water-power proved a serious difficulty at Soho. He wrote to a
friend, "The enormous expense of the horse-power" (it was also irregular
and sometimes failed) "put me upon think