THE STORY OF ARTIFICIAL SILK

made a scanty living. They were very
pOOT.

When young John was nine, his father died.
John went to work as a bobbin-boy. He
never had any schooling, although he eventually
 became one of the most learned men in
Great Britain.

He was fond of reading, and he found
several good friends among his fellow-workers,
who gave him lessons in the evening.

When he was 16, he was struck with the
beautiful orange colour of a dress worn by
his little step-sister. At once, he resolved to
be a dyer. He spent all his spare money,
which was not much, for dyes. Soon afterwards,
 he became an apprentice in a dyeshop.


At 23, he married Mary Wostenholme.
On his way to buy a wedding licence, he
stopped at an old bookstall and bought a
book that shaped his career—" THE CHEMICAL
PockET-Booxk,” by James Parkinson.

This old and forgotten book was published
in 1803. It set Mercer on fire to try new
experiments in producing beautiful colours.

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