n make any
thing."

She at once sent for Whitney, and introduced him to her guests, who
repeated to him the substance of their conversation, and urged him to
undertake the invention of what was so much needed. The young man
protested that he had never seen either a pod of cotton or a cotton-seed
in his life, and was utterly incompetent for the task they proposed. In
spite of this, however, his new acquaintances urged him to attempt it,
and assured him that if successful his invention would make his fortune.
Whitney would promise nothing more than to think of the matter, and the
planters departed in the belief that nothing would come of their
entreaties, and that the culture of cotton would languish until it
should finally die out.

Whitney _did_ think of the matter, and the result was that he decided
to attempt the production of a machine which should clean cotton both
expeditiously and cheaply. It was late in the season, and unginned
cotton, or cotton from which the seeds had not been removed, was hard to
procure. With considerable difficulty he succeeded in finding a few
pounds on the wharf at Savannah, and at once securing his prize, he
carried it home in his hands.

[Illustration: WHITNEY WATCHING THE FIRST COTTON-GIN]

Mrs. Greene being confidentially informed of his plans, provided him
with a room in the cellar of her house, where he could carry on his work
in secret. All that winter he worked at it, with a patience and energy
which could not fail of success. Many difficulties confronted him. To
carry on his work successfully, he needed tools of a certain
description, which were not to be had in Savannah, or even in
Charleston, upon any terms. But when was the genius of a Yankee ever
baffled by difficulties? Whitney's mechanical skill came to his aid, and
he conquered this obstacle by manufacturing all the implements he
needed. He wanted wire, but none was to be found, and he was compelled
to make all that he used. A score or more of drawbacks presented
themselves, and were overcome in this way, and all through the winter
the young inventor applied himself with diligence to his task. The
children and servants regarded him with the greatest curiosity. They
heard him hammering and sawing in his room, the doors of which were
always kept locked, and into which they were never allowed to enter.
Mrs. Greene was kept fully informed of his progress. When sure of
success, Whitney revealed the secret to a Mr. Miller, a