The discovery which followed was the result of accident, and brought him on the very threshold of success, yet did not entirely conquer his difficulties.  He was an ardent lover of the beautiful, and it was a constant effort with him to render his productions as attractive to the eye as possible.  Upon one occasion, while bronzing a piece of rubber cloth, he applied aqua fortis to it for the purpose of removing the bronze from a certain part.  It took away the bronze as he had designed, but it also discolored the cloth to such a degree that he supposed it ruined, and threw it away.  A day or two later, he chanced to remember that he had not examined very closely into the effect of the aqua fortis upon the rubber, and thereupon instituted a search for it.  He was fortunate enough to find it, and was overjoyed to discover that the rubber had undergone a remarkable change, and that the effect of the acid was to harden it to such an extent that it would now stand a degree of heat which would have melted it before.  When the reader remembers that aqua fortis is a compound two-fifths of which is sulphuric acid, he will understand that Mr. Goodyear had almost mastered the secret of vulcanizing rubber.  He does not appear, however, to have known the true nature of aqua fortis, and called his process the “curing” of India-rubber by the use of that acid.

The “cured” India-rubber was subjected to many tests, and passed through them successfully, thus demonstrating its adaptability to many important uses.  Mr. Goodyear readily obtained a patent for his process, and a partner with a large capital was found ready to aid him.  He hired the old India-rubber works on Staten Island, and opened a salesroom in Broadway.  He was thrown back for six weeks at this important time by an accident, which happened to him while experimenting with his fabrics, and which came near causing his death.  Just as he was recovering and preparing to commence the manufacture of his goods on a large scale, the terrible commercial crisis of 1836 swept over the country, and, by destroying his partner’s fortune at one blow, reduced Goodyear to absolute beggary.  His family had joined him in New York, and he was entirely without the means of supporting them.  As the only resource at hand, he decided to pawn an article of value, one of the few which he possessed, in order to raise money enough to procure one day’s supply of provisions.  At the very door of the pawnbroker’s shop he met one of his creditors, who kindly asked if he could be of any further assistance to him.  Weak with hunger, and overcome by the generosity of his friend, the poor man burst into tears, and replied that, as his family was on the point of starvation, a loan of fifteen dollars would greatly oblige him.  The money was given him on the spot, and the necessity for visiting the pawnbroker averted for several days longer.  Still he was a frequent visitor to that individual during the year; and thus, one by one, the