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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a47d16b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50119 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50119) diff --git a/old/50119-0.txt b/old/50119-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c1ded74..0000000 --- a/old/50119-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2843 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rocket, by H. C. Knight - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Rocket - The Story of the Stephensons, Father and Son - -Author: H. C. Knight - -Release Date: October 3, 2015 [EBook #50119] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROCKET *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, readbueno and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: A LOCOMOTIVE AND TENDER.] - - - - - THE ROCKET. - - THE STORY OF THE STEPHENSONS, - - Father and Son. - - BY - - _H. C. KNIGHT_, - - AUTHOR OF "NO GAINS WITHOUT PAINS," ETC. - - - WITH TWENTY-SIX ENGRAVINGS - - - London: - T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW. - EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK. - - 1897 - - - - - Preface. - - -A brief book for the boys. God gives you work to do in the world. He -gives you honourable work. There is much done that is mean and -dishonourable. Depend upon it, _that_ is not His. In the beginning of -your work, character grows _out_ of it; as you go on, your character -goes _into_ it. Therefore the Bible declares that "God, without respect -of persons, judgeth according to every man's work." We judge in the same -way. This little book will show you how much the practice of the -virtues, the humbler virtues, has to do with making good work. - -But keep ever in mind that these virtues, however useful and important -for your work in this world, have no _saving_ power in them—they form no -plea for the favour of God; the key which unlocks the door of Heaven is -not found among them. Like the young man in the Gospel, you may have the -loveliness of every natural virtue, and yet be lost. - -As sinners in the sight of God, you need the atoning blood of the -Redeemer; you need repentance and faith in that blood. Make Jesus -Christ, therefore, the corner-stone of your character; on _that -foundation build_ your character. Cultivate the graces of the Gospel. -Baptize the virtues with your Saviour's love. A noble Christian manhood -can only be attained by the slow and steady endeavours of a heart fixed -on God, and a hand diligent and delighting in the work He has given it -to do. - - - - - Contents. - - - I. LIFE AMONG THE COAL PITS, 9 - - II. MENDING AND MAKING—LITTLE BOB, 19 - - III. WHO BEGAN RAILROADS?—"PUFFING BILLY," 30 - - IV. TWO CITIES THAT WANTED TO GET NEAR EACH - OTHER—A NEW FRIEND, 38 - - V. HUNTING UP HIS OWN WORK—AN ENTERPRISING - QUAKER—WHAT WAS THE RESULT? 46 - - VI. THE TWO CITIES TRYING AGAIN—BUGBEARS, 58 - - VII. GRAPPLING WITH DIFFICULTIES—THE BOG—A - PUZZLE—THE PRIZE OFFER, 72 - - VIII. ROBERT'S RETURN—A CURIOUS ENCOUNTER—THE - PRIZE ENGINE, 86 - - IX. OPENING OF THE NEW ROAD—DIFFICULTIES - VANISH—A NEW ERA, 102 - - X. THE STEPHENSON CENTENARY—HONOUR TO WHOM - HONOUR IS DUE, 121 - - - - - List of Illustrations. - - - LOCOMOTIVE AND TENDER, _Frontispiece_ - - EARLY WORK, 10 - - A SAFETY LAMP, 11 - - BIRTHPLACE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON, 12 - - AT SCHOOL, 17 - - MENDING THE CLOCK, 21 - - THE SUN-DIAL, 29 - - GEORGE STEPHENSON'S FIRST ENGINE, 35 - - "PUFFING BILLY," 36 - - THE VISIT TO "PUFFING BILLY," 44 - - THE TWO STRANGERS, 50 - - A TALK ABOUT RAILWAYS, 54 - - SURVEYING AT NIGHT, 63 - - CHAT MOSS, 74 - - GOOD SERVICE, 81 - - A CURIOUS ENCOUNTER, 87 - - SECTION OF THE FIRST BOILER IN USE, 92 - - SECTION OF A TUBULAR BOILER, 93 - - THE FAILURE, 95 - - TUBES OF A MODERN ENGINE, 96 - - THE "ROCKET," 97 - - OPENING THE LINE, 104 - - WHOLESOME REPROOF, 115 - - LATER DAYS OF GEORGE STEPHENSON, 116 - - VICTORIA BRIDGE, MONTREAL, 118 - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE ROCKET. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - LIFE AMONG THE COAL PITS. - - -What useful little fellow is this, carrying his father's dinner to him -at the coal-pit? He takes care, also, of his little brothers and -sisters, keeping them clear of the coal-waggons, which run to and fro -before the cottage door. Then he is seen tending a neighbour's cows. -Now, he is moulding mud engines, putting in hemlock sticks for -blow-pipes; besides cutting many a good caper, and uttering all sorts of -drolleries for the benefit of other little boys, who like himself swarm -round, too poor to go to school, if school there were—but schools there -were none. - -The boys called him "Geordie Steve." - -A lad is wanted to shut the coal-yard gates after work is over. Geordie -offers his services and gets the post, earning by it twopence a day. A -neighbour hires him to hoe turnips at fourpence. He is thankful to earn -a bit, for his parents are poor, and every little helps. He sees work -ahead, however, more to his taste. What? He longs to be big enough to go -and work at the coal-pits with his father. For the home of this little -fellow, as you already perceive, is in a coal region. It is in the coal -district of Newcastle, in the north-eastern part of England. - -[Illustration: EARLY WORK.] - -I suppose you never visited a colliery? Coal is found in beds and veins -under ground. Deep holes are made, down which the miners go and dig it -out; it is hoisted out by means of steam-engines. These holes are called -shafts. The pit-men have two enemies to encounter down in the -coal-pits—water, and a kind of gas which explodes on touching the flame -of a candle. The water has to be pumped out; and miners are now provided -with a lamp, called a safety-lamp, which is covered with a fine wire -gauze to keep the gas away from the flame. - -[Illustration: SAFETY LAMP.] - -The coal is brought up from the pit in baskets, loaded on waggons -running on tram-roads, and sent to the sheds. Tram-roads were a sort of -wooden railway. A colliery is a busy and odd-looking spot. - -Geordie's family lived in one room—father, mother, four boys, and two -girls. Snug quarters, one would think; but the working-men of England at -that time had smaller wages and poorer homes than they now have—for -Geordie was born in 1781, in the little village of Wylam, seven miles -from Newcastle, and his full name is George Stephenson. - -[Illustration: BIRTHPLACE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON.] - -James, an elder brother, is "picker;" and by-and-by George is old enough -to be a picker too, going with his father and brother to their daily -tasks, like a man. To clear the coal of stones and dross is their -business. There are a number of pits around, and each one has a -name,—"Dolly Pit," "Water-run Pit," and so on. - -I do not know how long he was picker, but we next find him driving a -gin-horse, at a pit two miles off, across the fields. Away he goes in -the early morning, gladdened all along by many bird songs. George and -the birds are fast friends. He knows where their nests are in the -hedgerows, and watches over them with fatherly affection. At home he has -tame birds, whose pretty, knowing ways are the wonder of the -neighbourhood. For many years a tame blackbird was as much one of the -family as George himself, coming and going at pleasure, and roosting at -night over his head. Sometimes it spent the summer in the woods, but was -sure to come back with cold weather, to share his care and crumbs -through the winter. - -George, too, had a famous breed of rabbits; and as for his dog, it was -one of the most accomplished and faithful creatures in the district. In -fact, the boy had an insight into dumb-brute nature, as we shall find he -had into other things, that gave him power over it—a power which he -never abused, but used kindly and well. - -George next rose to be assistant fireman with his father, at a shilling -a day. He was fourteen, but so small of his age that he used to hide -when the inspector came round, lest he should be thought too small for -his wages. If small in body, he was large in heart, intent in all things -to _do his best_. And this made his work so well done, that it could not -escape the notice of his employers. When he went to the office on -Saturday night to receive his wages, double pay was given him—twelve -instead of six shillings! George could scarcely believe in his good -luck. When he found it was really no mistake, he took the money and -rushed out of the office, exclaiming, "I am now a made man for life!" - -George rapidly shot ahead of his father, a kind old man, who always -stayed fireman, while his boy climbed one round after another up the -ladder of promotion. At seventeen we find him plugman. What duty is -that? A plugman has charge of a pumping-engine, and when the water in -the pit is below the suction-holes, he goes down the shaft and plugs the -tube, in order to make the pump more easily draw. The post required more -skill and knowledge of machinery than any he had filled before, and he -proved himself equal to it. - -Indeed, he loves his engine as he loves his birds. It is a pet with him. -He keeps it in prime order. He takes it to pieces, and cleans it, and -studies it; pries into the whys and wherefores, and is never satisfied -until he understands every spring and cog of the machinery, and gets the -mastery of it. You never find him idling away his time. In leisure -moments he is at his old kink, moulding clay engines, and putting new -thoughts into them. - -He wished to know the history of engines, and how they were thought out -at first. Somebody told him about Watt, the father of steam-power, and -that there were books which would satisfy his curiosity. Books! what -good would books do poor George? He cannot read. Not read? No. He is -eighteen, and hardly knows his letters. Few of the colliers did. They -were generally an ignorant, hard-working, clannish set of men, whose -pay-day was a holiday, when their hard-won earnings were squandered at -cock-fights and in ale-houses. - -If one was found who _did_ read, what a centre of light was he! At night -the men and boys gathered around him, when, by the light of his engine -fire, he would give them the news from an old newspaper, or a scrap of -knowledge from some stray magazine, or a wild story from an odd volume; -and on these occasions no one listened with more profound attention than -George. - -Oh! it was so wonderful to read, he thought. It was to open the gates -into great fields of knowledge. Read he must. The desire grew upon him -stronger and stronger. In the neighbouring hamlet of Welbottle, old -Robin Cowens taught an evening school. - -"I'll go," cried George. - -"And I too," echoed Tommy Musgrove, a fellow-workman, quite carried away -by George's enthusiasm. - -Now they went to Robin's school three evenings a week. I do not know how -it was with Tommy, but old Robin never had a better scholar than George; -indeed, he soon outlearned his master! His schooling cost him threepence -a week, and, poor as it was, put into his hand the two keys of -knowledge, reading and writing. - -These mastered, he longs to use them. Andrew Robertson opens an evening -school nearer than Welbottle, and Andrew proposes to teach arithmetic, a -branch George is anxious to grapple with next. "And he took to figurin' -wonderful," said Master Andrew, speaking of his new scholar, who soon -left his classmates far behind. And no wonder. Every spare moment to -George was more precious than gold dust, and was used accordingly. When -not on duty, he sits by his engine and works out his sums. No beer-shop -ever enticed him to its cups; no cock-fight ever tempted him to be its -spectator. He hated everything low and vulgar. - -[Illustration: AT SCHOOL.] - -Andrew was proud of his pupil, and when George removed to another pit, -the old schoolmaster shifted his quarters and followed him. His books -did not damage his interest in business. Was the plugman going to stay -plugman? No. Bill Coe, a friend of his advanced to be a brakeman, -offered to show George. The other workmen objected. And one in -particular stopped the working of the engine when George took hold of -it; "for," he cried angrily, "Stephenson can't brake, and is too clumsy -ever to learn." - -A brakeman has charge of an engine for raising coal from a pit. The -speed of the ascending coal, brought up in large hazel-wood baskets, is -regulated by a powerful wooden brake, acting on the rim of the -fly-wheel, which must be stopped just when the baskets reach the -settle-board, where they are to be emptied. Brakemen were generally -chosen from experienced engine-men of steady habits; and in spite of the -grumbling of older colliers, envious perhaps at his rise, it was not -long before George learned, and was appointed brakeman at the Dolly Pit. -This was in 1801. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - MENDING AND MAKING—LITTLE BOB. - - -George was now twenty—sober, faithful, and expert. Finding a little -spare time on his hands, he took to cobbling to increase his gains, and -from this source contrived to save his first guinea. To this greater -diligence he was urged by his love for Fanny Henderson, a fine -sweet-tempered girl, whom he shortly married, and began housekeeping in -the upper room of a small cottage in Wellington, six miles from -Newcastle. Happy were they in each other, and in their simple, -industrious, and frugal habits; and when a little son was born to them, -George, who loved birds, rabbits, and dogs so well, welcomed with all -the tenderness of a father's heart the little Bobby. - -Robert he was named, after the old fireman his grandfather. - -Accidents, they say, will happen in the best-regulated families. Fanny's -family was not an exception. One day the cottage chimney got on fire, -and the neighbours, with friendly zeal, not only poured water enough -down the chimney to put out a much bigger and more alarming fire, but -enough to deluge the poor little home of the brakeman with soot and -water, making a pitiful sight to the young husband when he reached it. -His eight-day clock, the choicest bit of furniture the young couple had, -was completely smothered by ashes. What was to be done? Sending it to a -clock-maker for repairs was quite out of the question—it would cost too -much. - -"I'll try my own hand on it," said George. After righting everything -else, he attacked the clock, took it to pieces, carefully cleaned it, -put it together, set it, and it _ticked_—ticking on as faithfully and -soberly as ever! The astonished neighbours sent him their clocks, and -George became one of the most famous clock doctors thereabouts. - -The young man's reputation for business soon won him a situation in -Killingworth—the best and largest colliery in the region. But his -brightened worldly prospects were soon clouded by a dark sorrow—the -death of his young wife, after three happy years of married life. Poor -George felt it deeply, which was perhaps one reason for accepting a -situation in Scotland, hoping in a change of scene to change the -mournful current of his thoughts. - -[Illustration: MENDING THE CLOCK.] - -Leaving his little boy in kind hands, he set off to the north with his -pack on his back, afoot and alone, for Montrose—a long journey in those -days. Good wages he received, and good friends he no doubt made, for -everybody loved his honest and generous character; yet by the end of the -year he yearned to get back to the friends and scenes of his early days. -It was not home in Scotland; for it is only home where the heart is. -With his savings in his pocket—twenty-eight pounds—back he trudged to -Killingworth; and not before his friendly presence was greatly needed to -comfort his aged parents, plunged in debt and affliction. By a terrible -accident his father had lost his eyesight. No longer able to work, and -receiving little or no help from his other children, who were barely -able to maintain themselves, the old couple had a hard battle with life. -But George is back again; all will be righted. He paid off their debts, -and removed them to comfortable lodgings beside his own. He has father, -mother, and Bobby to look after, and is thankful and happy in doing it. - -Those were dark days, however, for the working-men of England. War was -draining the country of men and money. Taxes were high, wages low, bread -scarce, and able-bodied men were liable at any time to be impressed for -the army or naval service. George himself was drawn; and go he must, or -find a substitute. He found one, but it cost all he had to hire him. - -Poor George was in straits. His spirits were much damped by the prospect -of things around and before him. All business was in a discouraging -condition. Some of his friends were about to emigrate to America, and he -at one time nearly concluded to join them. It was a sore trial to the -young man. He loved his English home; and bitter tears did he in secret -shed as he visited old haunts—the fields and lanes and scenes of his -boyhood—feeling and fearing that all too soon the wide Atlantic might -roll between him and them. But the necessary funds for such an -enterprise were not forthcoming. George gave it up, therefore, and went -to work for what wages the times would allow. Better times would come. - -The thing nearest his heart was to afford his little son an education. -Keenly alive to his own early deficiencies and disadvantages, he -determined to make them up in Robert. Every spare moment was of two-fold -value to him, and all the work he could pick up he cheerfully did. -Besides tinkering old clocks and cobbling old shoes, he took to cutting -out the pitmen's clothes. Never was there such a fit, for George acted -fully up to the principle that everything which was worth doing was -worth doing well. - -Busy as were his hands, his mind was no less busy, catching up and using -every scrap of knowledge which came in his way. And it was a perpetual -surprise to his fellow-workmen to see what a knack he had at bettering -things. Everything improved in his hands. There was always progress on -his track. - -A new pit was opened at one of the collieries. Streams of water rushed -in, which the most vigorous strokes of the pump could not lower. On the -engine went pumping, pumping, pumping for a year, and the water -continued to flow in, until it was nearly concluded to give up the pit -as a failure. George's curiosity and interest were much excited, and -always, on seeing the men, he asked how matters were coming on. - -"Drowned out, drowned out," was the one and the same answer. - -Over he went to the poor pit, as often as he could, to see for himself; -and over he turned in his mind again and again the whys and wherefores -of the failure. - -"Weel, George," said his friend Kit one day, "what do you mak' o' her? -Do you think you could doctor her?" - -"Man," answered George, "in a week's time I could send you to the -bottom." - -The regular engineers were in high dudgeon with the forth-putting -brakeman. What right had he to know how to cure an evil that had baffled -them? His words, however, were reported at head-quarters; and the -contractor was not long in hastening over to see if he could make his -words good. - -"Well, George," he said, "they tell me you think you can put that engine -to rights." - -"Yes, sir," replied the young man modestly; "I think I can." - -As matters could be no worse, Mr. Dodds was ready to let him try; and -George agreed, on condition that he should choose his own men to help -him. The old hands were highly indignant, but there was no help for it. -So they were ordered off, and George with his gang went on. - -The engine was taken to pieces, examined, righted, and put together -again. It was set to work. Did it go? Many a looker-on shook his head -doubtfully, and prophesied in his inmost heart, "_No_ go." It pumped and -pumped. The obstinate water found it had an antagonist that could master -it. In less than two days it disappeared from the pit, and workmen were -sent to the bottom. Who could gainsay George's skill? - -Mr. Dodds, of course, was delighted. Over and above his wages he put a -ten-pound note into the young man's hand, and engaged him to superintend -his works for the future. - -A profitable job was this. - -The fame of this engineering exploit spread far and wide. As an engine -doctor he took the lead, and many a wheezy old thing was brought him to -cure. Envious engineers tried to put him down. But real merit cannot be -put down. It is stern stuff. - -George's cottage showed the bent of his tastes. It was like an old -curiosity shop, full of models of engines, complete or in parts, hanging -and standing round; for busy as he had need to be—eking out his means by -engineering, by clocks, and by coats—the construction and improvement of -machinery for the collieries was his hobby. - -Likeness of taste drew a young farmer often to the cottage—John -Wigham—who spent most of his evenings in George's society. John had a -smattering of chemistry and philosophy, and a superior knowledge of -mathematics, which made him a desirable companion. George put himself -under his tuition, and again took to "figuring." Tasks set him in the -evening were worked out among the rough toils of the day. And so much -honest purpose did not fail to secure progress. Drawing was another new -line of effort. Sheets of plans and sections gave his rude desk the air -of mind-work somewhere. Thus their winter evenings passed away. - -Bobby was growing up in a little thought-world by himself; for he could -not fail to be interested in all that interested his father—that father -always making his son the companion of his studies, and early -introducing him into the curious and cunning power of machinery. - -Ah, that was a proud day when little Bob was old enough, and knew -enough, to be sent to the academy at Newcastle. He was thirteen. His -father's means had happily been increased. The old engine-wright of the -colliery having died, George Stephenson was promoted to the post, on the -salary of a hundred pounds a year. This was in 1812. - -The new office relieving him from incessant hard work, and the necessity -of earning a shilling by extra labours, he had more time for study and -for verifying his plans of practical improvement; and the consequence -was very considerable improvement in the machinery of the colliery to -which he was attached. - -Meanwhile Robert's education went on apace. The boy was hungry for -knowledge, not only for himself, but to satisfy the voracious appetite -of his father, and the no less keen one of John Wigham. - -Robert joined a literary and philosophical society at Newcastle, whose -fine library opened a rich storehouse of material. Here the boy spent -most of his time out of school, storing his mind with principles, facts, -and illustrations, to carry home on Saturday afternoon. Books also. The -"Edinburgh Encyclopædia" was at his command. A volume of that at the -cottage unfolded a world of wonders. But the library had some books too -choice to be trusted away. How was Robert to get the gist of these home? -His father had often said that a "good drawing and a well-executed plan -would always explain itself;" and many a time he had placed a rough -sketch of machinery before his son, and told him to describe it. Robert, -therefore, when he could do no better, put his drilling to the test, and -copied diagrams and drew pictures, thus taking many an important and -perhaps rare specimen of machinery and science to Killingworth, for his -father's benefit. - -We can well imagine Saturday afternoon was as much a holiday to father -as to son. Robert's coming was hailed with delight. John did not lag far -behind. Some of the neighbours dropped in to listen to discussions which -made the little room a spot of lively interest and earnest toil. A -wide-awake mind allows nothing stagnant around it. - -[Illustration: THE SUN-DIAL.] - -Among the borrowed books of the day was Ferguson's "Astronomy," which -put father and son to calculating and constructing a sun-dial for the -latitude of Killingworth. It was wrought in stone, and fixed over the -cottage door; and there it is still, with its date, August 11, 1816—a -year or two before Robert left school—a fair specimen of the drift of -his boyish tastes. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - WHO BEGAN RAILROADS?—"PUFFING BILLY." - - -Familiar as it has become to us, who does not stop to look with interest -at the puffing, snorting, screaming steam-horse? And who does not -rejoice in the iron-rail, which binds together, with its slender -threads, the north and the south, and makes neighbours of the east and -the west? - -"Who _began_ railroads?" ask the boys again and again. - -The first idea of the modern railroad had its birth at a colliery nearly -two hundred years ago. In order to lighten the labour of the horses, the -colliers laid straight pieces of wood into the road leading from the pit -to the river, where the coal was discharged; and the waggons were found -to run so much easier, that one horse could draw four or five chaldrons. -As wood quickly wore out, and moreover was liable to rot, the next step -was nailing plates of iron on the wooden rails; which gave them for a -time the name of "plate-way roads." A Mr. Outram making still further -improvements, they were called "Outram roads," or, for shortness' sake, -"tram-roads;" and tram-roads came into general use at the English -collieries. - -"There's mischief in those tram-roads," said a large canal owner, -foreseeing they would one day drive canal stock quite out of the market. - -Improvements thus far had centred on the roads. To convoy heavy loads -easier and faster was the point aimed at. Nobody had yet thought of -self-going trains. Watt, the father of steam-engines, said -steam-carriages might be built. He, however, never tried one, but rather -left the idea to sprout in the brain of an old pupil of his, William -Murdock, who did construct a very small one, running on thin wheels, and -heated by a lamp. It was a curious success in its way, and set other -minds thinking. - -One of these was a tin-miner of Cornwall, Captain Trovethick, a friend -of Murdock, who joined a cousin of his in getting a patent for building -a steam-carriage. It was built, and an odd piece of machinery it was. It -ran on four wheels over a common road, looked like a stage-coach, and -delighted both the inventor and his friends. - -They determined to exhibit it at London. While on its journey, driving -it one day at the top of its speed, they saw a toll-gate in the -distance. Not being able to check it in time, bump it went against the -gate, which flew open in a trice, leaving the affrighted toll-man, in -answer to their inquiry, "How much to pay?" only able to gasp out, -"No—nothing to pay! Drive off as fast as you can! Nothing to pay!" - -It reached London in safety, and was some time on exhibition. Multitudes -flocked to see it, and some called it a fiery dragon. - -"Ah," said Sir Humphrey Davy, very much interested in the invention, "I -hope to see the captain's dragons on all the roads of England yet." - -But the captain exhibited it only as a curiosity, the unevenness of the -roads rendering it for all practical purposes a failure; and he had -neither pluck nor genius enough to lay or clear a track for it himself. -This was in 1803. - -The idea, however, was in England, lodging itself here and there in busy -brains; until, at last, a colliery owner in Newcastle, seeing the great -advantage of having a locomotive on his tram-roads, determined to try -what _he_ could do. Accordingly, he had one built after the Cornish -captain's model. It burst up at starting. Noways baffled, he tried -again. The engine proved a clumsy affair, moved at a snail's pace, often -got off the rails, and at length, voted by the workmen a "perfect -plague," it was taken off. The unsuccessful inventor was called a fool -by his neighbours, and his efforts an apt illustration that "the fool -and his money are soon parted." In spite of failure, Mr. Blackett had -faith that the thing _could_ be done. He built a third, and ran it on -the tram-road that passed by old Bob Stephenson's cottage door. And -George at his colliery, seven miles off, as you may suppose, listened to -every account of it with profound interest. Over he went, as often as he -could, to see "Black Billy," as the locomotive was called—a rough -specimen of machinery at best, doing very little service beyond what a -good horse could do. - -George carried "Black Billy" back in his mind to Killingworth, studying -its defects, and laying plans to improve it. I do not know how long he -was in coming to it, but he at length gave it as his opinion that he -could make a better "travelling engine" than that. - -Tidings came to Killingworth about this time that the trial of a new -engine was to take place on a certain day at Leeds, and George did not -lose the chance of being present. Though the engine moved no faster than -three miles an hour, its constructer counted it a success. It proved, -however, unsteady and unreliable, and at last blew up, which was the end -of it. - -What did George think then? He more than ever wanted to try _his_ hand -at the business. Lord Ravensworth, knowing enough of Stephenson to have -faith in him, hearing of this, advanced means for the enterprise. Good -tools and good workmen were alike wanting; but after much labour, -alteration, and anxiety, in ten months' time the engine was completed -and put on the railway, July 25, 1814. - -Although the best yet made, it was awkward and slow. It carried eight -loaded waggons of thirty tons weight at a speed not above four miles an -hour. The want of springs occasioned a vast deal of jolting, which -damaged the machinery, and at the close of a year's trial it was found -about as costly as horse-power. - -How to increase the power of his engine? that was the puzzling question -which George studied to answer. He wrestled with it day and night, and -at length determined to try again. In due time another was built, -"Puffing Billy," which most persons looked upon as a marvel; but, -shaking their heads, they prophesied it would make a terrible blow-up -some day. "Puffing Billy," however, went to work, and worked steadily -on—a vast advance on all preceding attempts. It attracted little or no -attention outside the narrow circle of the collieries. The great men of -England did not know that, in a far-off nook of the realm, there was -slowly generating a power, under the persistent thought of an humble -working-man, which before many years would revolutionize the trade of -the kingdom, and create a new source of wealth. - -[Illustration: GEORGE STEPHENSON'S FIRST ENGINE.] - -"Puffing Billy," in fact, humble as its pretensions were, has proved to -have been the type of all locomotives since. - -[Illustration: "PUFFING BILLY."] - -Had George Stephenson satisfied himself? No. His evenings were chiefly -spent at home with his son Robert, now under him in the colliery, -studying and discussing together how to evoke the hidden power yet pent -up in "Puffing Billy." The son was even more sanguine than his father, -and many an amendment had "Billy" to undergo to satisfy the quick -intellect and practical judgment of the youth. - -Mr. Stephenson, delighted with Robert's scientific tastes and skill, and -ever alive to the deficiencies of his own education, was anxious to give -him still further advantages. For this purpose he took him from a -promising post at the colliery, and sent him to the University of -Edinburgh. - -Here he enjoyed a six months' course of study; and so well prepared was -he for it by his well-formed habits of application and thinking, that he -gained in six months as much as many a student did in three years. -Certain it was his father felt amply repaid for the draft it made on his -purse, when Robert reappeared at the cottage, in the spring, with a -prize for successful scholarship in mathematics. He was eighteen then. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - TWO CITIES THAT WANTED TO GET NEAR EACH OTHER—A - NEW FRIEND. - - -Manchester, thirty miles north-east of Liverpool, is the great centre of -the cotton trade in England. Its cloths are found in every market of the -world. Cotton coming to Liverpool is sent to the Manchester mills; and -the goods which the mills turn out are returned to Liverpool to be -shipped. The two cities, therefore, are intimately connected by constant -intercourse and mutual interest. - -Two water communications existed between them; one by the rivers Mersey -and Irwell, the other by the famous Bridgewater Canal, which did an -immense business at an enormous profit. But the Manchester mills were -fast outgrowing these slow and cumbersome modes of travel. Liverpool -warehouses were piled with bales of cotton waiting to go, and the mills -at Manchester had often to stop because it did not come. Goods also -found as much difficulty in getting back. Merchants and manufacturers -both grumbled. Business was in straits. What was to be done? Carting was -quite out of the question. Canal owners were besought to enlarge their -water-power. No, they would do nothing. They were satisfied with things -as they were. Their dividends were sure. - -But want demands supply; need creates resources. Something _must_ be -done to facilitate the transit of goods between the two cities. What? -Build a tram-road, or _rail-road_. Nobody, however, but a very fast man -would risk his good sense by seriously advising a rail-road. Solid men -would certainly shun him. A tram-road was a better understood thing. The -collieries had used small pieces of them for years. A tram-road then. -Business men put their heads together and began earnestly to talk of a -tram-road. - -William James, a rich and enterprising man, entered heartily into the -project, and undertook to make surveys for a suitable route. And not -long after a party of surveyors was seen in the fields near Liverpool. -Their instruments and movements excited attention. People eyed them with -anxiety; suspicions were roused; the inhabitants became alarmed. Who -were they, making such mysterious measurements and calculations on other -people's land? A mob gradually gathered, whose angry tones and -threatening gestures warned the surveyors of a storm brewing over their -heads. Wisely considering that flight was better than fight, they took -themselves off, and by-and-by turned up farther on. - -The landowners, who might be supposed to have known better, told the -farmers to drive them off; and the farmers, with their "hands," were -only too ready to obey. They stationed themselves at the field gates and -bars with pitch-forks, rakes, shovels, and sticks, and dared the -surveyors to come on. A poor chain-man, not quite so nimble as his -pursuers, made his leap over a fence quickened by a pitch-fork from -behind! Even women and children joined the hue and cry, pelting the -strangers with stones and dirt whenever they had a chance. The colliers -were not behind the farmers in their foolish hostility. A stray surveyor -was caught and thrown into a pit. - -At a sight of the theodolite their fury knew no bounds. That unoffending -instrument they seemed to regard as the very Sebastopol of the enemy, to -seize and destroy which was to win the day. Tho surveyors, therefore, -were obliged to hire a noted boxer to carry it, who could make good his -threats on the enemy. A famous fighter among the colliers, determined -not to be outdone, marched up to the theodolite to capture it. A -fist-and-fist fight took place; the collier was sorely beaten, but the -rabble, taking his part against the poor instrument, pelted it with -stones and smashed it to pieces. - -You may well suppose that surveying under such circumstances was no -light matter. What was the gist of the hostility? It is hard to tell. -The canal owners might have had a hand in scattering these wild fears; -fears of what, however, it is not so easy to find out. There was nothing -in a simple horse rail-road, or tram-road, as it is called, to provoke -an opposition so bitter from the people. It was a _new thing_; and new -things, great improvements though they may be on old ones, often stir up -a thousand doubts and fears among the ignorant and unthinking. - -Nor did the project generally take among those who would be most -benefited by it. Mr. James and his friends held public meetings in all -the towns and villages along the way; enterprising men in Liverpool and -Manchester talked it up, and tried to create a public interest; but -there was a holding back, which, while it checked all actual progress in -the enterprise, did not cause it to be altogether given up. The time had -not come; that was all. - -Mr. James had a secret leaning towards the use of steam on the new road. -He would have immediately and unhesitatingly advocated a rail-road run -by locomotives. But that was out of the question. The public were far -behind that point, and to have openly advocated it would have risked his -judgment and good sense in the opinion of the best men. Therefore Mr. -James wisely held his tongue. But hearing of the Killingworth -locomotives, and of a collier who had astonished the natives by his -genius, he determined to make a journey to Newcastle, and see the -"lions" for himself. - -Stephenson was not at home. "Puffing Billy" was; and "Billy" puffed in a -way that took Mr. James's heart at once. He seemed to see at a glance -"Billy's" remarkable power, and was struck with admiration and delight. -"Here is an engine," he exclaimed, "that is destined before long to work -a complete revolution in society." - -The image of "Puffing Billy" followed him home. - -"Why," he wrote to Stephenson's partner in the patent, "it is the -greatest wonder of the age, and the forerunner, I believe, of most -important changes in the modes of travel in the kingdom." - -A few weeks later he made another visit to Killingworth, taking his two -sons with him. "Puffing Billy" was at work, as usual. - -The boys were frightened at the sight of the snorting monster; but -Stephenson encouraged them to mount, with their father, and see how -harmless and manageable the monster was. - -The second visit was even more gratifying than the first. - -"Mr. Stephenson," said James, "is the greatest practical genius of the -age. His fame will rank with that of Watt." - -Mr. James lost all hesitation now about speaking his mind. "Puffing -Billy" had driven the backwardness out of him, and he was willing, at -all hazards, boldly to advocate rail-roads and the steam-horse. No more -tram-roads; steam or nothing. This was in 1821. - -Mr. James entered heart and soul into the new idea of the age. On his -return to Liverpool, it was everywhere his theme; and wherever he had -influence, he tried to stir up men's minds to the benefits and blessings -puffing out in "Puffing Billy." - -[Illustration: THE VISIT TO "PUFFING BILLY."] - -Stephenson rejoiced in such a friend. It was just what he and "Billy" -most needed—somebody to introduce them into the great world. And -Stephenson and his partner offered him a share in the profits of -whatever business he could secure to them. - -But what can one man, or a few men, do in an enterprise like this, -depending upon the verdict of that important power, Public Opinion? And -Public Opinion had not yet made up its mind to it. - -A thousand difficulties bristled in the way. There were both the -indifference of friends and the opposition of enemies at home. In -addition to this, a violent opposition was foreseen in Parliament, which -it needed all the strength and courage of a united constituency to meet. - -Under these discouraging circumstances, there were not enough men of -pluck to push the matter through. - -So everything about the new road went by the board. It was laid on the -shelf, at least for the present, and Liverpool and Manchester trade -jogged on as before. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - HUNTING UP HIS OWN WORK—AN ENTERPRISING - QUAKER—WHAT WAS THE RESULT? - - -It appears strange to us that so simple a thing as the laying of a rail -seems to be should have taken years of thought and experiment to do it. -Nothing looks easier to prepare than the straight, smooth track of a -railway, such as we now see in use; and yet it was only arrived at by -slow steps through two hundred years. - -In pondering upon the powers of "Puffing Billy," George Stephenson saw -that the efficiency of locomotives must, in a great measure, depend on -what kind of roads they had to run upon. Many were sanguine that -steam-carriages would some day come into use on common roads. After a -long series of experiments, George Stephenson said, "No; the thing -wouldn't pay." For a rough surface seriously impairs the powers of a -locomotive; even sand scattered upon the rails is sufficient to slacken, -and even stop an engine. The least possible friction is desirable, and -this is found on the smooth rail. - -Could they ever be laid uphill, or on "ascending gradients", as the -scientific term is? No; as nearly level as possible, Stephenson's -experiments showed, was the best economy of power. Then how to get rid -of the jolts and jars and breakages of the rails as they were then laid. -He studied and experimented upon both chairs and sleepers, and finally -embodied all his improvements in the colliery railway. - -"Puffing Billy" was in every respect a most remarkable piece of -machinery, and its constructer one of the most sagacious and persistent -of men. But how was the public, ever slow in discovering true merit or -accepting real benefits, to discover and appreciate them? Neither -influence, education, nor patronage had Stephenson to command mind and -means, or to drive his engine through prejudice, indifference, and -opposition, to profit and success. - -But what he could not do, other men could do, and did do. Find a hook, -and there is an eye to fit it somewhere. Yes; there were already men of -property and standing alive with the new idea. While he worked, they -talked—as yet unknown to one another, but each by himself clearing the -track for a grand junction. - -One of these men was Edward Pease, a rich Quaker of Darlington, who, his -friends said, "could look a hundred miles ahead." He needed a quicker -and easier transit for his coals from the collieries north of Darlington -to Stockton, where they were shipped; and Mr. Pease began to agitate, in -his mind, a railroad. A company for this purpose was formed, chiefly of -his own friends, whom he fairly talked into it. Scarcely twenty shares -were taken by the merchants and shipowners of Stockton, whose eyes were -not open to the advantage it would by-and-by be to them. A survey of the -proposed road was made, when to the indifference of the many was added -the opposition of the few. A duke was afraid for his foxes! Shareholders -in the turnpikes declared it would ruin their stock. Timid men said it -was a new thing, and that it was best to let new things alone. The world -would never improve much under _such_ counsel. Edward Pease was hampered -on all sides. Nobody convinced him that his first plan was not the right -one by all odds; but what can a man do in any public enterprise without -supporters? So he reluctantly was obliged to give up his rail-road, and -ask Parliament for liberty to build a tram-road—horse-power instead of -steam-power: he could seem to do no better, and even this was gotten -only after long delay and at considerable cost. - -Among the thousands who carelessly read in the newspapers the passage -through Parliament of the Stockton and Darlington Act, there was one -humble man whose eye kindled as he read it. In his bosom it awakened a -profound interest. He went to bed and got up brooding over it. He was -hungry to have a hand in it; until at last, yearning with an -irrepressible desire to do his own work in the world, he felt he must go -forth to seek it. - -One night a couple of strangers knocked at the door of Edward Pease's -house in Darlington, and introduced themselves as two Killingworth -colliers. One of them handed the master of the mansion a letter of -introduction from a gentleman of Newcastle, recommending him as a man -who might prove useful in carrying out his contemplated road. - -To support the application, a friend accompanied him. - -The man was George Stephenson, and his friend was Nicholas Wood. It did -not take long for Edward Pease to see that Stephenson was precisely the -man he wanted. - -[Illustration: THE TWO STRANGERS.] - -"A railway, and not a tram-road," said Stephenson, when the subject was -fairly and fully opened. - -"A horse railway?" asked Pease. - -"A locomotive engine is worth fifty horses," exclaimed Stephenson; and -once on the track, he launched out boldly in its behalf. - -"Come over to Killingworth and see my 'Puffing Billy,'" said George; -"seeing is believing." And Mr. Pease, as you may suppose, was quite -anxious to see a machine that would outride the fleetest horse. Yet he -did not need "Puffing Billy" to convince him that its constructer knew -what he was advocating, and could make good his pledges. The good -Quaker's courage rapidly rose. He took a new start, and the consequence -was that all other plans and men were thrown aside, and Stephenson was -engaged to put the road through much in his own way. - -The first thing to be done was to make an accurate survey of the -proposed route. Taking Robert with him, who had just come from college, -and who entered as heartily into the enterprise as his father, with two -other tried men, they began work in good earnest. From daylight till -night the surveyors were on duty. One of the men going to Darlington to -sleep one night, four miles off, "Now, you must not start from -Darlington at daybreak," said Stephenson, "but be here, ready to begin -work, at daybreak." He and Robert used to make their home at the -farm-houses along the way, where his good-humour and friendliness made -him a great favourite. The children loved him dearly. The dogs wagged -their approving tails at his approach. The birds had a delighted -listener to their morning songs, and every dumb creature had a kind -glance from his friendly eye. - -But George was not quite satisfied. He wished Mr. Pease to go to -Killingworth to see "Puffing Billy," and become convinced of its -economical habits by an examination of the colliery accounts. He -promised, therefore, to follow George thither, along with a large -stockholder; and over they went in the summer of 1822. - -Inquiring for Stephenson, they were directed to the cottage with a -sun-dial over the door. George drove his locomotive up, hoisted in the -gentlemen, harnessed on a heavy load, and away they went. George no -doubt showed "Billy" off to the best advantage. "Billy" performed -admirably; and the two wondering stockholders went home enthusiastic -believers in locomotive power. - -A good many things had to be settled by the Darlington project. One was -the width of the gauge; that is, the distance between the rails. How -wide apart should they be? Stephenson said the space between the cart -and waggon wheels of a common road was a good criterion. The tram-roads -had been laid down by this gauge—four feet and eight inches—and he -thought it about right for the railway; so this gauge was adopted. - -One thing which hampered Stephenson not a little was the want of the -right sort of workmen—quick-minded, skilful mechanics, who could put his -ideas into the right shape. The labour of originating so much we can -never know. He had nothing to copy from, and nobody's experience to go -by. Happily he proved equal to his task. We can readily imagine his -anxiety as the work progressed. Hope and fear must have in turn raised -and depressed him. Not that he had any doubts in regard to the final -issue of the grand experiment of railroads. They _must_ go! - -Dining one day at a small inn with Robert, and John Dixon, after walking -over the route, then nearly completed—"Lads," he said, "I think you will -live to see the day when railroads will be the great highway for the -king and all his subjects. The time is coming when it will be cheaper -for a working-man to travel on a railway than to walk on foot. There are -big difficulties in the way, I know; but it will surely come to pass. I -can hardly hope to live to see that day, much as I should like to do so; -for I know how slow all human progress is, and how hard it is to make -men believe in the locomotive, even after our ten years' success in -Killingworth." - -While the father roughed it through, Robert's health failed. His close -application to business made sad inroads upon a frame naturally more -delicate than his father's; and an offer to go out and superintend some -mining operations in South America was thankfully accepted, in the hope -that a sea-voyage and less exciting labours might restore him. - -[Illustration: A TALK ABOUT RAILWAYS.] - -Robert shortly sailed; and his father pushed on alone, with that brave -spirit which carried him through many a darker hour. - -On the 27th of September the Stockton and Darlington Railway was -finished and opened. A great many came to see the new mode of -travelling, which had proved a fruitful subject of talk, far and near, -for many months;—some to rejoice; some to see the bubble burst; some -with wonder, not knowing what to think; some with determined hostility. -The opposition was strong: old England against young England; the -counter currents of old and new ideas. - -The road ran from Stockton to Darlington, a distance of twelve miles, -and thence to the Etherly collieries—in all, thirty-two miles. - -Four steam-engines were employed, and two stationary engines to hoist -the train over two hills on the route. The locomotives were of six-horse -power, and went at the rate of five or six miles an hour. Slow as this -was, it was regarded with wonder. A "travelling engine" seemed almost a -miracle. One day a race came off between a locomotive and a coach -running on the common highway; and it was regarded as a great triumph -that the former reached Stockton first, leaving the coach one hundred -yards behind. - -The road was built for a freight road, to convey lime, coal, and bricks -from the mines and kilns in the interior to the sea-board for shipment -abroad. Carrying passengers was not thought of. Enterprise, however, in -this direction took a new start. A company was soon formed to run two -coaches on the rails between Darlington and Stockton by horse-power. -Each coach accommodated six inside passengers, and from fifteen to -twenty outside; was drawn by one horse; and went at the rate of nine -miles an hour. - -"We seated ourselves," said a traveller of those days, "on the top of -the 'Defence' coach, and started from Stockton highly interested with -the novelty of the scene and of this new and extraordinary conveyance. -Nothing could be more surprising than the rapidity and smoothness of the -motion." Yet the coach was without springs, and jerked and jolted over -the joints of the rails with a noise like the clinking of a mill-hopper. - -"Such is the first great attempt to establish the use of railways," -writes a delighted editor, "for the general purposes of travelling; and -such is its success, that the traffic is already great, and, considering -that there was formerly no coach at all on either of the roads along -which the railroad runs, quite wonderful. A trade and intercourse have -arisen out of nothing, and nobody knows how." - -Such was their small and imperfect beginning, _we_ should say, now that -railroads, improved and perfected, have fulfilled Stephenson's -prediction uttered in the little inn, and have become the great highways -of the civilized world. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE TWO CITIES TRYING AGAIN—BUGBEARS. - - -One, two, three years passed by, and the Liverpool and Manchester -project started up again. It was not dead, it had only slept; and the -three years had almost worn out the patience of both merchants and -manufacturers. Trade between the two cities must have speedier and -easier transit. Trade is one of the great progressive elements in the -world. It goes ahead; it will have the right of way; it will have the -right way—the best, safest, cheapest way of doing its business. Yet it -is not selfish; its object is the comfort and well-being of men. To do -this, it breaks down many a wall which selfishness has built up, it cuts -through prejudices, it rides over a thousand "can't be's" of timid and -learned men; for learned men are not always practical. They sometimes -say things cannot be done, when it only needs a little stout trying to -overcome difficulties and do them. - -A learned man once said that crossing the Atlantic by steam was -impossible. - -"For the good of the race, we must have something truer than wind and -tougher than sails," said Trade. And it was not many years before ships -steamed into every port. - -"Carriages travelling at twelve, sixteen, eighteen, twenty miles an -hour! Such gross exaggerations of the power of a locomotive we scout. It -can never be!" cries a sober Quarterly. - -"You may scout it as much as you please," rejoins Trade; "but just as -soon as people need a cheaper, pleasanter, swifter mode of travel, it -will be _done_." And now the railway carriages thread the land in their -arrowy flight. - -"The magnetic telegraph! a miserable chimera," cries a knowing -statesman. "Nobody who does not read outlandish jargon can understand -what a telegraph means." - -"You will soon find out," answers Trade. And now it buys pork by the -hundred barrels, and sells grain by the thousand bushels; while armies -march and fleets sail at its bidding. Treaties are signed at its word; -and the telegraph girdles the world. - -You see Trade is a civilizer; and Christian civilization makes all the -difference in the world between Arabs and Englishmen. - -Liverpool merchants were now fairly awake. "What is to be done?" was the -question. Something. Could there be a _third_ water-line between the two -cities? No; there was not water enough for that. - -Would the Bridgewater Canal increase its power and reduce its charges? -No. - -A tram-road or a rail-road, then. There was no other alternative. - -Mr. James, who was so much interested before, had failed and left the -country. When he left, he said to his friends, "When you build a road, -build a railroad, and get George Stephenson to do it." - -The Darlington and Stockton enterprise could not fail to be known at -Liverpool; and a drift of opinion gradually began to set in strongly in -favour of the railway. People talked about it in good earnest. - -"A railway!" cried the canal owners. "It is absurd; it is only got up to -frighten us; it will slump through, as it did before." They were easy. - -"Let us go to Darlington and Killingworth and see for ourselves," said -the merchants; and four gentlemen were sent on a visit of inquiry. They -went first to Darlington, where the works were in vigorous progress, -though not done. It was in 1824, the year before they were finished. -Here they met Stephenson. He took them to Killingworth to see "Puffing -Billy." - -Seeing was believing. "Billy's" astonishing feats won them completely -over; and they went back to Liverpool warm for a railroad. Their clear -and candid report convinced merchants, bankers, and manufacturers, who -gave a verdict in its favour. Public opinion was now coming over. - -Books were opened for funds. There was no lack of subscribers. Money was -ready. To be sure of the _safety_ of locomotive power, a second -deputation was sent to Killingworth, taking with them a practical -mechanic, better able to judge about it than themselves. The man had -sense enough to see and to own that while he could not insure safety -over nine or ten miles an hour, there was nothing to be afraid of slower -than that. Then a third body went. The enterprise required caution, they -thought. - -Yes, it did. - -Having decided upon steam-power, the next thing was to secure the right -sort of man to carry on the work. Stephenson was that man. His energy -and ability were indispensable. Before trying to get a charter from -Parliament, the route needed to be surveyed again, and a careful -estimate of expenses made. - -The Stockton road done, Stephenson was free to engage in this new -enterprise; his success in that proving his principles true on a larger -scale. - -The canal owners now took alarm. They saw there was a dangerous rival, -and they came forward in the most civil and conciliatory manner, -professing a wish to oblige, and offering to put steam-power on their -canals. It was too late. Their day had gone by. - -You know the violent opposition made to a former survey. How would it be -again? Did three years scatter the ignorance out of which it grew? Ah, -no. There was little if any improvement. The surveyors were watched and -dogged by night and by day. Boys hooted at them, and gangs of turbulent -men threatened them with violence. Mr. Stephenson barely escaped -duckings, and his unfortunate instruments capture and destruction. -Indeed, he had to take with him a body-guard to defend them. Much of the -surveying had to be done by stealth, when people were at dinner, or with -a dark lantern at night. - -When dukes and lords headed the hostility, you cannot wonder that their -dependants carried it on. One gentleman declared that he would rather -meet a highwayman or see a burglar on his premises than an engineer; and -of the two he thought the former the more respectable! Widows complained -of damaged corn-fields, and gardeners of their violated strawberry-beds; -and though Stephenson well knew that in many cases not a whit of damage -had been done, he paid them for fancied injuries in the hope of stopping -their tongues. - -[Illustration: SURVEYING AT NIGHT.] - -A survey made under such circumstances must needs have been imperfect; -but it was as good as could be made. And no time was lost in taking -measures to get a Bill before Parliament. - -A storm of opposition against railways suddenly arose, and spread over -every corner of the kingdom. Newspapers and pamphlets swarmed with -articles crying them down. Canal and turnpike owners spared no pains to -crush them. The most extraordinary stories were set afloat concerning -their dangers. Boilers would burst, and passengers be blown to atoms; -houses along the way would be burned; the air would become black with -smoke and poisoned by cinders; and property on the road would be -stripped of its value. - -The Liverpool and Manchester Bill, however, got into Parliament, and -went before a Committee of the House of Commons to decide upon it, in -March 1825. - -First, its friends had to show the _necessity_ of some new mode of -travel between the two cities; and that it was not difficult to do. - -But when it came to asking for liberty to build a railway and run a -locomotive, the matter was more difficult to manage. And to face the -tremendous opposition rallied against it, the pluck of its friends was -severely tried. - -The battle had to be fought inch by inch. - -Stephenson, of course, was the chief witness for locomotives. But what -headway could he, an uneducated Northumbrian mechanic, make against -members of Parliament, backed by all the chief engineers of the kingdom? -For very few had faith in him; but those few had strong faith. He was -examined and cross-examined. They tried to bully him, to puzzle him, to -frighten him. On the subject of locomotives his answers were clear. He -declared he could drive an engine, and drive it safely, at the rate of -twelve miles an hour! - -"Who can believe what is so notoriously in the teeth of all experience?" -cried the opposition; "the witness is a madman!" - -Famous engineers were called on the stand. What had _they_ to say? One -declared the scheme a most wild one. He had no confidence in -locomotives. They were affected by wind and weather; with difficulty -were kept on the track, and were liable to constant accidents; indeed, a -gale of wind would render it impossible to start a locomotive, either by -poking the fire or keeping up the steam till the boiler should burst: -they could never be relied on. - -The proposed route had to cross an ugly quagmire, several miles in -extent, called Chat Moss, a very shaky piece of land, no doubt; and here -the opposition took a strong stand. "No engineer in his senses," cried -one, "would think of going through Chat Moss. No carriage could stand on -the Moss short of the bottom." - -"It is absurd to hold out the notion that locomotives can travel twice -as fast as stage-coaches," said another; "one might as soon trust -himself to a rocket as to the mercy of a machine going at that rate." - -"Carriages cannot go at anything like that speed," added another; "if -driven to it, the wheels would only spin on their axles like a top, and -the carriages would stand stock-still!" - -So much for learned arguments against it. - -Then came the dangers of it. "The dumb animals would never recover from -the sight of a locomotive; cows would not give their milk; cattle could -not graze, nor horses be driven along the track," cried the opposition. - -"As to that," said Stephenson, "come to Killingworth and see. More quiet -and sensible beasts cannot be found in the kingdom. The farmers _there_ -never complain." - -"Well," asked one, "suppose, now, one of those engines to be going along -a railroad at the rate of nine or ten miles an hour, and that a cow were -to stray upon the line and get in the way of the engine; would not -_that_, think you, be a very awkward circumstance?" - -"Yes," answered Stephenson, with a droll twinkle in his eye; "very -awkward indeed—_for the coo_!" - -The fellow, as you may suppose, backed off. - -The danger in other respects was thus dwelt on: "In addition to the -smoke and the noise, the hiss and the whirl which locomotive engines -make, going at the rate of ten or twelve miles an hour, and filling the -cattle with dismay, what," asked an honourable member, "is to be done -with all those who have advanced money in making and mending turnpikes? -What with those who may still wish to travel in their own or hired -carriages, after the fashion of their forefathers? What is to become of -coach-makers and harness-makers, coach-masters and workmen, inn-keepers, -horse-breeders, and horse-dealers? Iron would be raised one hundred per -cent., or more probably exhausted altogether! The price of coal would be -ruinous. Why, a railroad would be the greatest nuisance, the biggest -disturbance of quiet and comfort, in all parts of the kingdom, that the -ingenuity of man could invent." - -Not content with belittling his engine, they could not stop short of -abusing Stephenson himself. "He is more fit for Bedlam than anywhere -else," they cried; "he never had a plan—he is not capable of making one. -Whenever a difficulty is pressed, as in the case of a tunnel, he gets -out of it at one end; and when you try to catch him at that, he gets out -at the other." - -"We protest," they said, "against a measure supported by such evidence -and founded upon such calculations. We protest against the Exchange of -Liverpool striding across the land of this country. It is despotism -itself." - -What had the friends of locomotive power to say? - -"We beseech you," they pleaded to the Committee, "not to crush it in its -infancy. Let not this country have the disgrace of putting a stop to -that which, if cherished, may in the end prove of the greatest advantage -to our trade and commerce. We appeal to you in the name of the two -largest towns in England; we appeal to you in the name of the country at -large; and we implore you not to blast the hopes that this powerful -agent, Steam, may be called in for the purpose of aiding land -communication: only let it have a fair trial, and these little -objections and private prejudices will be done away." - -Flaws were picked in the surveys, and the estimate of costs based on -them. The surveys, quite likely, were imperfect; indeed, how could they -be otherwise, when every mile of the line had to be done at the risk of -life? - -The battle lasted two months, and a very exciting one it was. It was -skilfully and powerfully carried on. Who beat? - -_The opposition._ The Bill was lost. - -Matters looked dark enough. Judging from appearances, the enterprise was -laid on the shelf, and the day of railways long put off. As for poor -Stephenson, his short day of favour seemed about gone. His being called -a madman, and regarded as a fool, as he had been by the opposition, was -not without its effect upon his newly-made friends. Their faith in him -sensibly cooled. But he did not lose faith in himself, not he. He had -waited long for the triumph of his engine, and he could wait longer. A -great blessing to the nation was locked up in it he well knew; and the -nation would have it some time, in spite of everything. - -Was the enterprise a second time to be abandoned? - -No, no. Taking breath, its friends again started to their feet. "Never -give up," was their motto, for they were in earnest. They rallied, and -met in London to consult what to do next. - -Mr. Huskisson, a member of Parliament for Liverpool, came into the -meeting and urged them to try again—to try at the next session of -Parliament. - -"Parliament must, in the end, grant you an Act," he said, "if you are -determined to have it." And try they determined to, for a horse railroad -at least. - -For this purpose another and more careful survey had to be made. - -Stephenson was left out. A _known_ man must be had. They meant to get -surveyors and engineers with well-established reputation to back them -up. Stephenson was too little known. He had no fame beyond a little -circle in one corner of the kingdom. How did he feel to be thus thrown -in the back-ground? George was not a man to grumble; he was too noble to -complain. In fact, you see, he was ahead of the times; too far ahead to -be understood and appreciated. He could afford to wait. - -Two brothers of the name of Rennie were appointed in his stead. In time -the new survey was finished; the plans drawn, and the expenses reckoned -up. Changes were made in the route. Ill-tempered landowners were left on -one side, and every ground of complaint avoided that could be. - -The new Bill was then carried to Parliament, and went before the -Committee in March the next year. The opposition was strong, indeed, but -less furious. Much of its bitterness was gone. It made a great show of -fears, which the advocates of the Bill felt it was not worth while to -waste words in answering. They left it to the road to answer them. Build -it, and see. - -Mr. Huskisson and others supported it in a strong and manly tone; and -after a third reading, the Bill passed in the House of Commons. So far, -so good. It then had to go to the House of Lords. What would befall it -there? The same array of evidence on both sides was put forward. The -poor locomotive engine, which had proved such a bugbear in the House of -Commons, was regarded as quite a harmless affair by most of the lords; -and the opposition made such poor work in showing off its dangers, that -no plea in its behalf was called for. They were satisfied, they said; -and the Bill passed almost unanimously. Victory! victory! - -The victory cost more than twenty thousand pounds! For a first cost it -looked large. But nothing worth doing can be done without effort, and -effort made _in faith_. Nothing done, nothing have. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - GRAPPLING WITH DIFFICULTIES—THE BOG—A - PUZZLE—THE PRIZE OFFER. - - -The real work was now to be done. Hopes and fears had yet to be -verified. - -At the first meeting of the directors, a man to put the enterprise -through was to be chosen. Who? The Rennies were anxious to get the -appointment. They naturally expected it. They had made the survey, and -their name had had weight in getting the Act of Parliament. But they -could not superintend the details of the work. They had other -enterprises on foot. - -Stephenson, no doubt, was _the_ man. The directors felt him to be so. No -one could long be with him without feeling his power. Besides, what he -had done had been ably done. At the risk of offending the Rennies and -their friends, they chose him, and the result proved the wisdom of their -choice. - -On receiving the appointment, he immediately moved to Liverpool, and the -work began in good earnest. It was a stupendous undertaking for those -days. Chat Moss had to be filled in, sixty-three bridges built, -excavations made, tunnels cut, and all the practical details carried -out, with very little past experience to profit by. Neither was the kind -of labour well understood, nor was there that division of labour between -contractors and engineers which relieves one man of too heavy a -responsibility. In fact, tools and men had to be made; and Stephenson -had to make both! - -The great quagmire was first grappled with. "No man in his senses would -undertake to make a road over Chat Moss," opposers said in Parliament; -"that were to undertake the impossible." Stephenson, however, meant to -try. Formidable it certainly was. Cattle ploughing on farms bordering -the bog, where it ran underneath the tilled land, had to wear flat-soled -boots in order to keep their hoofs from sinking down into the soft soil. - -The proposed route ran four miles across it, and the way had to be -drained and filled in with sand and gravel. The drainage tasked their -ingenuity to the utmost, and almost baffled the workmen. After that was -in some degree accomplished, waggon-load after waggon-load of earth was -thrown on for weeks and weeks: but it only sank into the mire and -disappeared—not an inch of solid footing seemed gained; and on they -went, filling and filling, without apparently having made the least -impression on the Moss,—the greedy bog only cried out for more. - -[Illustration: CHAT MOSS.] - -Stephenson's men began to have their doubts. The opposition might have -judged more correctly after all. They asked him what he thought. "Go -ahead!" was his answer. By-and-by the directors began to have _their_ -fears. It looked to them like a very unpromising job. So it was. After -waiting and waiting in vain for signs of progress, they called a meeting -on the edge of the Moss, to see if it were not best to give up. The bog, -they were afraid, might swallow up all their funds, as it had done -everything else. Stephenson lost not a whit of his courage. "Go ahead!" -was his counsel. He never for a moment doubted of final success. And -considering the great outlay already made, they wisely gave in to him. - -Monstrous stories were afloat of the terrible accidents taking place -there. Every now and then the stage drivers brought into Manchester the -astonishing news of men, horses, carts, and Stephenson himself submerged -and sunk for ever in the insatiable quagmire! Time corrected one only to -publish another. Newsmongers were kept in a state of delightful -excitement, and tea-table gossip was spiced to suit the most credulous -and marvel-loving taste, until the Moss was conquered, as conquered it -was acknowledged to be, when, six months after the directors had met to -vote to leave it to its original unproductiveness, they were driven over -it on a smooth and secure rail to Manchester! - -Another tough job was tunnelling Liverpool—excavating a mile and a third -of road through solid rock. Night and day the boring, blasting, and -hewing were kept in vigorous execution. Sometimes the miners were -deluged with water, sometimes they were in danger of being overwhelmed -by heavy falls of wet sand from overhead. Once, when Stephenson was gone -from town, a mass of loose earth came tumbling on the heads of the -workmen, frightening them, if nothing more. On his return they were in a -most refractory state, complaining of the dangers, and stoutly refusing -to go back to work. Wasting no time on words, Stephenson shouldered a -pick-axe, and called for recruits to follow. Into the tunnel he marched, -and the whole gang after him. Nothing more was heard of fears, and the -work went bravely and steadily on. - -Besides laying out all the work, Stephenson had to make the tools. All -the waggons, trucks, carriages, switches, crosses, signals, were planned -and manufactured under his superintendence, besides meeting and -providing for a thousand exigencies constantly occurring in a new -enterprise like this, giving full scope to all the sagacity, invention, -and good-humour which naturally belonged to him. - -The expenses of the road were heavy, and money was not always -forthcoming. If the works lagged in consequence of it, the hopes of the -directors fell; so that Stephenson's energies were taxed to the utmost -during the four years of the work; and he showed, what observation and -history both teach us, that efficient men are men of _detail_ as well as -men of great plans. - -Remember this, boys—for we sometimes despise little particulars and the -day of small things—that the secret of effective doing lies not only in -making wise plans, but in filling up the minutest parts with promptness -and fidelity. There must be detail, to achieve any great and good work. -If you would possess the fruits of learning, you must get them by the -toil of daily drudgery. If you undertake to become rich, you must not -despise the small gains and little economies by which a fortune is made. -If you would obtain a noble Christian manhood, you must not neglect -hourly self-restraint, watchfulness, and prayer, or the daily exercise -of those humbler virtues and godly industries which make the woof of -character. - -Stephenson strikingly illustrated the practical force of this principle. -The minutest detail of every plan in this new enterprise was thought out -and carried on by himself, or under his direct supervision. Both in -summer and winter he rose early. Before breakfast you might find him on -a morning round, visiting the extensive workshops where the machines and -tools were made; or perhaps Bobby is brought to the door, and mounted on -this his favourite horse, he is off fifteen miles to inspect the -progress of a viaduct—a ride long enough to whet the appetite for a -tempting breakfast, one would think. But nothing tempts him from his -frugal habits: he eats "crowdie"—and that made by himself—which is -nothing more or less than oatmeal hasty-pudding and milk. Again he is -off, inspecting the labours of his men all along the line from point to -point, pushing the works here, advising there, and inspiring everywhere. -Bobby is a living witness that one beast, at least, is not to be scared -by a locomotive. He can face the snorting monster without so much as a -shy step, or a prick of the ears. _He_ afraid! not Bobby. - -Returning home, pay-rolls are to be examined, perhaps, when every item -of expense must be accounted for; or drawings are to be made, or -directions given, or letters written. - -Several young men were received into his family to be trained for -engineers. A second wife—frugal, gentle, and friendly—superintended his -household. Their evenings were passed in study and conversation, -brightened by the genial humour of the remarkable man whose genius drew -them together, and whose good-tempered pleasantries relieved the heavier -tasks of mind and body. The compendium of all his instruction was,—Learn -for yourselves, think for yourselves, master principles, persevere, be -industrious, and there is no fear for you. It is an indication of the -value of these instructions, that every young man trained under him rose -to eminent usefulness. "Ah," he sometimes said, on relating a bit of his -own early history, "you don't know what work is in these days." And yet -work is work all the world over. - -In spite of the best Stephenson could do, the directors, looking at -their unproductive capital, and not fully comprehending all the -difficulties to be overcome, sometimes urged greater despatch. - -"Now, George," said Friend Cropper one day, "thou must get on with the -railway; thou must really have it opened by the first of January next." - -"Consider the heavy nature of the works, sir," rejoined George, "and how -much we have been delayed by want of money, to say nothing of the bad -weather. The thing is impossible." - -"Impossible!" cried Cropper. "I wish I could get Napoleon to thee; he -would tell thee there is no such word as 'impossible.'" - -"Tush!" exclaimed George, "don't tell me about Napoleon. Give me men, -money, and material, and I'll do what Napoleon couldn't do—drive a -railroad over Chat Moss." - -He might have retorted more significantly by asking the directors what -_they_ meant to do; for Liverpool was tunnelled and Chat Moss railed -before they could agree what kind of power to put on it. There were some -who insisted upon using horse-power; but the majority thought that was -out of the question. Meeting after meeting was held, debate followed -debate, and the whole body became more and more puzzled as the road -itself neared completion. - -Some kind of machine; but _what_?—ah, that was the question. You would -naturally have thought, "A locomotive, of course." But no; since -Parliament opposition raged against it, steam had lost ground in the -public estimation, and it was very slow in getting back to favour. -Locomotives, or "travelling engines," as they were called, were hid in a -cloud of doubts,—and more than ever since the Parliament debates. "They -were dangerous, they were frightful, they could never go fast -enough,—their utmost speed would not be ten miles an hour." Some of the -most distinguished engineers would give no opinion of them at all. They -had none. It was certainly hard to patronize them in spite of their -indifference, and possibly their sneers. Certainly, if the poor -locomotive depended on their verdict, its fate was sealed. - -[Illustration: GOOD SERVICE.] - -One stanch friend remained. Stephenson stood faithfully by "Puffing -Billy," puffing away in his far-off Northumberland home. He never -flinched advocating its principles, and urged the directors to try one -on the road. They at last ordered one to be built,—one that would be of -service to the company, and no great nuisance to the public. It was -built, and excellent service it did, drawing marl from the cuttings and -excavations to fill up the bogs and hollows. Nevertheless, it settled -nothing, and convinced nobody not already convinced. - -Meanwhile the directors were deluged with projects, plans, and advice -for running their road. Scheme upon scheme was let loose upon them;—some -engines to go by water-power, some by gas, some by cog-wheels. All the -engineering science in the kingdom was ready to engineer for them in its -own way; but who among all could pronounce the best way, and upon the -whole decide which was the right motive power? - -A deputation was despatched to Darlington and Stockton to inspect the -fixed and locomotive engines employed on that road; but the deputation -came back differing so among themselves, that the directors were more -puzzled than ever. Two professional engineers of high reputation were -then sent, who, on their return, reported in favour of _fixed -engines_—for safety, speed, economy, and convenience, fixed engines by -all odds; reiterating again and again all the frightful stories of -danger and annoyance charged upon steam. They proposed dividing the road -into nineteen stages, of a mile and a half in length, and having -twenty-one stationary engines at different points to push and draw the -trains along. The plan was carefully matured. - -Poor Stephenson! how did he feel? "Well," he said, with the calm -earnestness of a man of faith, "one thing I know, that before many years -railroads will become the great highways of the world." - -Could the directors accept the project without consulting him? Again -they met. What had he to say concerning it? Fight it he did. He dwelt -upon its complicated nature, the liability of the ropes and tackling to -get out of order, the failure of one engine retarding and damaging and -stopping the whole line; a phase of the matter which did not fail to -make an impression. The directors were moved. The rich Quaker, Cropper, -however, headed the stationary-engine party, and insisted upon adopting -it. "But," answered the others, "ought we to make such an outlay of -money without first giving the locomotive a fair trial?" And Stephenson -pleaded powerfully, as you may suppose, in its behalf. "Try it, try it," -he urged; "for speed and safety there is nothing like it." And the words -of a man with strong faith are strong words. "Besides," he said, "the -locomotive is capable of great improvements. It is young yet; its -capacities have never been thoroughly tested. When proper inducements -are held out, a superior article will be offered to the public." - -Never were directors in a greater strait. There was no withstanding -Stephenson, for he knew what he was talking about. All the rest were -schemers. At last one of the directors said, "Wait; let us offer a prize -for a new locomotive, built to answer certain conditions, and see what -sort of engine we can get." - -That was fair. It was right his engine should be properly tested. All -agreed; and in a few days proposals were issued for the building of one. -There were eight conditions, two of which were that if the engine were -of six tons weight, it should be able to draw twenty tons, at a speed as -high as _ten_ miles an hour. The prize was five hundred pounds. - -The offer excited a great deal of attention, and many people made -themselves merry at its expense. The conditions were absurd, they said; -nobody but a set of fools would have made them: it had already been -proved impossible to make a locomotive-engine go at ten miles an hour. -And one gentleman in his heat even went so far as to say that if it ever -_were_ done, he would undertake to eat a stewed engine-wheel for his -breakfast! As that condition was fully answered, it is to be hoped that -he was generously relieved from his rash promise and his indigestible -dish. - -More candid minds turned with interest to the development of this new -force struggling into notice. Stephenson felt how much depended on the -issue; and the public generally concluded to suspend their verdict upon -the proper working of railways, until time and talent gave them better -means of judging. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - ROBERT'S RETURN—A CURIOUS ENCOUNTER—THE - PRIZE ENGINE. - - -One step forward; yes, a great one too, Stephenson thought. His beloved -locomotive was to have a chance of being properly introduced to the -great English public, and he felt that it needed only to be known to be -valued. The building of it was a matter of no small moment, and he -wanted, above all things, a tried and skilful hand to superintend and -put into its construction every conceivable improvement. It must be the -best engine yet built. - -Where should he find the right man? No one would answer like his son -Robert, so Robert he determined to send for. Robert, you remember, went -to South America three years before. There he had regained his health, -and on receiving his father's letter, he made immediate preparations to -return to England. - -[Illustration: A CURIOUS ENCOUNTER.] - -On his way, at a poor little comfortless inn, in a poor little -comfortless sea-port on the Gulf of Darien, where he was waiting to take -ship, he met two strangers, one evidently an Englishman, who by his -shabby appearance looked as if the world had gone hard with him. A -fellow-feeling drew the young man towards his poor countryman, and on -inquiry who should it prove to be but the old Cornwall tin-miner, -Captain Trovethick, whose first steam-carriage had awakened so much -curiosity in London nearly a quarter of a century before! - -He had sown his idea to the winds. Others had caught it up, cherished -it, pondered over it, examined it, dissected it, improved it, embodied -it, and by patient study and persistent endeavour had reduced it to a -practical force. And Robert Stephenson was now on his way to inaugurate -it as one of the great commercial values of the kingdom, and of the -world. The poor inventor, what had he done meanwhile? While others -worked, had he slept? Oh no. He had tried an easier and a shorter cut to -fame and fortune. You remember he left his "dragon," as some people -called his locomotive, in London, quite careless what became of it, and -went scheming and speculating in other things. Several years after, in a -shop window, it attracted the attention of a French gentleman passing -by. He was from Peru, and had just come to England to get a steam-engine -for pumping water from some gold-diggings in the New World. Delighted -with the model, he bought it for twenty guineas. Taking it with him to -Lima, an engine was built on the plan of it, which worked admirably. The -gentleman was then sent back to England to hunt up and bring out the -inventor himself. The captain was found, and came forth from his -obscurity into sudden notice and demand. The gentleman engaged him to -make five pumping-engines according to his model; which he did, and -shipped them to Lima, the captain himself soon following. - -At Lima he was received with great honours and a public rejoicing. A -guard of honour was appointed to wait on him; and, in view of the wealth -he was supposed to be able to engineer from their mines, a massive -silver statue of him, as the benefactor of Peru, began to be talked of. - -Of course poor Trovethick thought his fortune made, and no doubt looked -back with pity on his humble English life. Friends at home spread the -news of his successes; and when they stated that the smallest estimate -of his yearly income amounted to one hundred thousand pounds, no wonder -he was pronounced a success! Tardier steps to fortune seemed tedious, -and many of his old associates perhaps sighed over the wholesome toil of -a slower-paced prosperity. - -Years passed on, and the poor captain next turns up at Cartagena, -penniless and pitiable! In crossing the country, he had lost everything. -Fording rivers, penetrating forests, and fighting wild beasts, had left -him little else than a desire to reach England again; and Robert -Stephenson gave him fifty pounds to get home with. Sudden fortunes are -apt as suddenly to vanish, while those accumulated by the careful -husbandry of economy, industry, and foresight reward without waste: so -character is stronger than reputation—for one is built on what we are, -the other on what we seem to be; and, like a shadow, reputation may be -longer or shorter, or only a distorted outline of character. One holds -out because it is real; the other often disappears because it is but a -shadow. - -Robert reached home in December 1827, right heartily welcomed, we may -well believe, by his father, who was thankful to halve the burden of -responsibility with such a son. To build the prize locomotive was _his_ -work. - -Stephenson had long been a partner in a locomotive factory at Newcastle, -which had hitherto proved a losing concern to the owners. There was -little or no market for their article; but they struggled on, year after -year, waiting for better times. Nobody saw better times but Stephenson. -He saw them ahead, shooting through the gloomy clouds of indifference -and prejudice. And now he calculated it was very near. So he sent Robert -to Newcastle to take charge of the works there, and construct an engine -that would make good all his words. - -It was a critical moment, but he had no fears of the result. Robert -often came to Liverpool to consult with his father, and long and -interesting discussions took place between father and son concerning the -best mode of increasing and perfecting the powers of the mechanism. One -thing wanted was greater speed; and this could only be gained by -increasing the quantity and the quality of the steam. For this effect a -greater heating surface was necessary, and mechanics had long been -experimenting to find the best and most economical boiler for -high-pressure engines. - -Young James, son of that Mr. James who, when the new Liverpool and -Manchester route was talked of, was the first to discover and -acknowledge George Stephenson's genius, made the model of an improved -boiler, which he showed to the Stephensons. Perhaps he was one of the -boys who went to Killingworth with his father to see the wonders of -"Puffing Billy," and whose terrors at the snorting monster were only -soothed by a pleasant and harmless ride on his back. Whether this gave -him a taste for steam-engines we do not know. At any rate he introduces -himself to our notice now with a patented model of an improved boiler in -his hand, which Stephenson thinks it may be worth his while to make -trial of. "Try it," exclaimed the young inventor—"try it, and there will -be no limit to your speed. Think of thirty miles an hour!" - -[Illustration: SECTION OF THE FIRST BOILER IN USE.] - -"Don't speak of thirty miles an hour," rejoined Stephenson; "I should -not dare talk about such a thing aloud." For I suppose he could hardly -forget how Parliament committees had branded him as a fool and a madman -for broaching such beliefs. - -[Illustration: SECTION OF A TUBULAR BOILER.] - -The improved boiler was what is called a multi-tubular boiler. You do -not understand that, I suppose. An iron boiler is cast, six feet long, -and three feet and a third in diameter. It is to be filled half full of -water. Through this lower half there run twenty-five copper tubes, each -about three inches in diameter, open at one end to the fire, through -which the heat passes to the chimney at the other end. You see this -would present a great deal of heating surface to the water, causing it -to boil and steam off with great rapidity. The invention was not a -sudden growth, as no inventions are. Fire-tubes serving this use started -in several fertile minds about the same time, and several persons -claimed the honour of the invention; but it was Stephenson's practical -mind which put it into good working order and made it available. For he -told Robert to try it in his new locomotive. - -He did. The tubes were of copper, manufactured by a Newcastle -coppersmith, and carefully inserted into the ends of the boiler by -screws. Water was put into the boiler, and in order to be sure there was -no leakage, a pressure was put on the water; when, lo, the water -squirted out at every screw, and the factory floor was deluged! Poor -Robert was in despair. He sat down and wrote to his father that the -whole thing was a failure. - -A failure indeed! Back came a letter by the next post telling him to "go -ahead and try again!" The letter, moreover, suggested a remedy for the -disaster—fastening the tubes into the boiler by fitting them snugly into -holes bored for the purpose, and soldering up the edges. And it proved -to be precisely what Robert himself had thought of, after the first -bitter wave of disappointment had subsided. So he took heart and went to -work again. Success crowned his efforts. A heavy pressure was put on the -water, and not a drop oozed out. The boiler was completely water-tight. - -This is precisely the kind of boiler now in use: some have fifty tubes; -the largest engines one hundred and fifty. - -[Illustration: THE FAILURE.] - -Various other improvements were incorporated into the new engine, which, -as you do not probably understand much about machinery, would not -particularly interest you. - -At last the new engine was finished. It weighed only four tons and a -quarter—little less than two tons under the weight required by the offer -of the directors. The tender, shaped like a waggon, carried the fuel in -one end and the water in the other. - -It was forthwith put on the Killingworth track, fired up, and started -off. Robert must have watched its operations with intense anxiety. -Nothing could have met his expectations like the new boiler. It in fact -outdid his highest hopes. The steam made rapidly, and in what seemed to -him then marvellous quantities. Away went a letter to Liverpool that -very evening. - -[Illustration: TUBES OF A MODERN ENGINE.] - -"The 'Rocket' is all right and ready," wrote the young man joyfully. -That was the engine's name, "Rocket,"—on account of its speed, perhaps. -"Puffing Billy" was quite cast into the shade. - -It was shortly afterwards shipped to Liverpool, in good time for the -grand trial. - -[Illustration: THE "ROCKET."] - -The trial, rapidly approaching, elicited a great and general interest. -The public mind was astir. The day fixed was the first of October. -Engineers, mechanics, and scientific men, from far and near, flocked to -Liverpool. The ground where the exhibition was to take place was a level -piece of railroad two miles long, a little out of the city. Each engine -was to make twenty trips, at a rate of speed not under ten miles an -hour, and three competent men were appointed as judges. - -Four engines were entered on the list,—the "NOVELTY," the "SANS-PAREIL," -the "ROCKET," the "PERSEVERANCE." - -Several others were built for the occasion in different parts of the -kingdom, or rather projected and begun, but were not finished in time. - -In order to afford ample opportunity for their owners to get them in -good working order, the directors postponed the trial till October 6th. -The day arrived, and a glance at the country around showed that an -unusual occasion was drawing people together. Multitudes from the -neighbouring towns assembled on the ground at an early hour. The road -was lined with carriages, and a high staging afforded the ladies an -opportunity of witnessing the novel race. - -The "Novelty" and "Sans-pareil," though first on the list, were not -ready at the hour appointed. What engine was? The "Rocket." Stephenson, -next on the roll, was called for by the judges, and promptly the little -"Rocket" fired up at the call. It performed six trips in about -fifty-three minutes. - -The "Novelty" then proclaimed itself ready. It was a light, trim engine, -of little more than three tons weight, carrying its fuel and water with -it. It took no load, and ran across the course sometimes at the rate of -twenty-five miles an hour. The "Sans-pareil" also came out. - -The "Perseverance," not able to go faster than five or six miles an -hour, withdrew from the contest. As the day was now far spent, further -exhibition was put off till the morrow. - -What exciting discussions must have taken place among rival competitors -and their friends! What a scrutiny of the merits and demerits, the -virtues and defects of opposing engines! - -Before the appointed hour the next day, the bellows of the "Novelty" -gave out; and as this was one of its merits—a bellows to increase the -draught of the air-blast—its builders were forced to retire from the -list. - -Soon after, a defect was discovered in the boiler of the "Sans-pareil." -Mr. Hackworth begged for time to mend it; as there was no time, his -request could not be granted, and he too withdrew his claims. - -The "Rocket" alone stood its ground. The "Rocket," therefore, was again -called for. Stephenson attached to it a carriage large enough to hold a -party of thirty, and drove his locomotive along the line at the rate of -twenty-five and thirty miles an hour, to the amazement and delight of -every one present. - -The next morning it was ordered to be in readiness to answer the various -specifications of the offer. It snorted and panted, and steamed over the -race-ground in proud trim, drawing about thirteen tons weight. In twenty -trips, backward and forward, its greatest speed was twenty-nine miles an -hour—three times greater than Nicholas Wood, one of the judges, declared -to be possible. Its average rate was fifteen miles—five miles beyond the -rate specified for the prize. The performance appeared astonishing. -Spectators were filled with wonder. The poor directors began to see fair -weather; doubts were solved, disputes settled; the "Rocket" had cleared -the track for them. There could no longer be any question how to run the -road. George Cropper, who had steadily countenanced stationary engines, -lifted up his hands exclaiming, "Stephenson has at last delivered -himself!" - -The two other locomotives, however, were allowed to reappear on the -stage; but both broke down, and the "Rocket" remained victor to the -last. It had performed and more than performed all it promised, -fulfilled all the conditions of the directors' offer, and was -accordingly declared to have nobly earned the prize—five hundred pounds. - -But the money was little, compared with the profound satisfaction which -the Stephensons felt at this public acknowledgment of the worth of their -lifelong labours. George's veracity, skill, intelligence, had all been -doubted, denied, derided by men of all classes. Even old friends turned -against him, and thought his mind was crazed by "one idea." He had to -struggle on alone; faithful to his convictions, patiently biding his -time, yet earnestly pleading his cause on every suitable occasion. He -had a blessing for the world; and he knew when it felt its want of it, -it would have it. That time had come. The directors flocked around him -with flattering congratulations. All shyness and coolness vanished. -Friends were no longer few. The shares of the company immediately rose -ten per cent. Men and means were at his disposal. George Stephenson was -a happy man. - -The "Rocket" had blown stationary engines to the winds. And Steam that -day, on the land as well as on the water, took its place as one of the -grand moving powers of the world. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - OPENING OF THE NEW ROAD—DIFFICULTIES VANISH—A - NEW ERA. - - -There was no more waiting for work at the locomotive factory in -Newcastle. Orders immediately arrived from the directors to build eight -large engines for the new road, and all the workshops were astir with -busy life. The victorious little "Rocket" was put on the road, and -sensibly helped to finish it. Neither faith, nor men, nor means were now -wanting, and the labour in every part went heartily on. - -In June a meeting of the directors was held in Manchester, when the -"Rocket" made a trip from Liverpool to that city with a freight and -passenger train, running through in two hours. Chat Moss never quivered. -And the directors, I dare say, would have been very glad to forget their -disconsolate meeting on the edge of it, when they nearly voted -themselves beaten by the bog, only Stephenson would not let them. - -On the 15th of September 1830, there was to be a public opening of the -road, and preparations were made at each end, and all along the way, for -the grand event. The occasion awakened a deep and universal interest. It -was justly regarded as a national event, to be celebrated with becoming -honours. The Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister, was present; also -Sir Robert Peel, and Mr. Huskisson, whose stirring words had revived the -drooping spirits of the directors after their defeat in Parliament, and -whose influence had served to get their Bill successfully through at -last. No one, perhaps, had watched the progress of the enterprise with -deeper interest than Mr. Huskisson, or rejoiced more in the vanquishing -of one difficulty after another to its final finishing. Great numbers -came from far and near, who, assembling by the slow mode of travel of -those days, took time accordingly. - -Carriages lined the roads and lanes; the river was crowded with boats; -and soldiers and constables had their hands full to keep the people from -the track. - -[Illustration: OPENING THE LINE.] - -The new locomotives, eight in number, having been carefully tested, -steamed proudly up. The "Northumbrian," driven by George Stephenson, -took the lead. Next the "Phœnix," under Robert's charge. The "North -Star," by a brother of George. The "Rocket," and the rest, with their -trains, followed. Six hundred persons were in this procession, flying at -the rate of twenty-five miles an hour! Oh the wonder and admiration -which the spectacle excited! These noble steam-horses, panting, -prancing, snorting, puffing, blowing, shooting through tunnels, dashing -across bridges, coursing high embankments, and racing over the fields -and far away! England and the world never saw before a sight like that. - -But the joy and the triumph of the occasion were destined to be damped -by a sad disaster. At Parkenside, seventeen miles from Liverpool, the -"Northumbrian," which carried the Duke and his party, was drawn up on -one track, in order to allow the other trains to pass in review before -them on the other. Mr. Huskisson had alighted, and, standing outside, -was talking with the Duke, when a hurried cry of "Get in! get in!" went -up from the bystanders. For on came the "Rocket," steaming at full -speed. Mr. Huskisson, startled and confused, attempted to regain the -carriage an instant too late: he was struck down, and the "Rocket" went -over him. - -"I have met my death!" exclaimed the unfortunate man; which, alas! -proved but too true, for he died that evening. - -A sad confusion prevailed. The wounded gentleman was lifted into the -carriage, and the "Northumbrian" took him over the track home, a -distance of fifteen miles, in about twenty minutes. So swiftly and -easily done! The use rather than the abuse of the new power made the -strongest impression. - -The mournful accident threw a cloud over the occasion. The Duke wished -to stop the celebration, and immediately return to Liverpool. Mr. -Huskisson's friends joined with him in the wish. Others felt that -Manchester should not be disappointed in witnessing the arrival of the -trains, and that the accident might become magnified and misrepresented, -and thus operate mischievously upon public sentiment in relation to -railroads; the party therefore consented to proceed to their journey's -end, but were unwilling to mingle in any of the rejoicings common to -such occasions. - -But the railroad needed no such demonstrations to publish or to prove -its worth. It had within itself more substantial proof. Time was saved; -labour was saved; money was saved. Coal, cotton, and every article of -merchandise useful to men, could be carried cheaper, could be had -cheaper than ever before; and, what was better, had in quantities -sufficient to satisfy the industry and necessities of men. And with -cheapness were combined comfort and safety. The first eighteen months, -700,000 persons were carried over the road, and not an accident -happened! - -But were not people frightened by the smoke, cinders, fire, and noise of -the engines, as the opposition in Parliament had declared they would be? -No, no. It was not long before everybody wanted land near the track; and -land, therefore, near the road rapidly rose in value. The farmers who -had driven the surveyors from their fields, now complained of being left -on one side; and those who had farms near the station to rent, rented -them at a much higher rate than ever before. Barren lots became suddenly -profitable, and even Chat Moss was turned into productive acres! - -In 1692, an old writer states, "There is an admirable commodiousness -both for men and women of the better rank to travel from London, the -like of which has not been known in the world; and that is, by -stage-coaches, wherein one may be transferred to any place, sheltered -from foul weather, with a velocity and speed equal to the fastest posts -in foreign countries; for the stage-coaches called 'Flying-coaches' make -forty or fifty miles a day." - -An English paper, bearing the date of January 1775, has this -advertisement: "HEREFORD MACHINE, in a day and a half, twice a week, -continues flying from the Swan in Hereford, Monday and Thursday, to -London." - -In the Scriptures we find Isaiah, with prophetic eye, looking over the -centuries to these later times and penning down: "Every valley shall be -exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked -shall be made straight, and the rough places plain;" and "swift -passengers" are seen executing the world's affairs—no meagre description -of the great means of intercourse in our day, the railway and the -telegraph. The prophet saw in it a clearing of the way for the coming -kingdom of the Redeemer, which is some time to spread over the whole -earth as "the waters cover the sea." Men make good tools and instruments -for themselves. They forget they are perfecting them for God also, who -is using them, and who will use them, to make known the precious gospel -of his Son, "peace on earth, and good-will to men." - -What powerful preachers for the Sabbath are the railway and the -telegraph, doing away with all necessity and every excuse for Sabbath -travelling as they do! Long journeys and the most urgent business can be -done between Sabbath and Sabbath, giving a rest-day to the nation. And -this view of them is deserving of more and more regard. - -The institution of the Sabbath was founded with the human race. It was -meant to be the rest-day of the entire world. It was set up as a -blessing: "The Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it." The -bodies of man and beast need it. The muscles, bones, nerves, sinews, and -brain cannot endure the strain of constant and uninterrupted work. It is -the day for making up the waste of the animal frame caused by continual -labour and excitement. Night rest is not enough. The God of Nature and -of the Sabbath has fitted the one to the other. - -When the knowledge of God had faded out of the earth, and he had chosen -a people to restore and preserve it, besides a code of national laws -particularly for them, he enacted from Sinai a code of moral laws for -man. Among them was the rest-law of the Sabbath. It is the fourth -commandment of the Decalogue, taught in all our Sabbath schools, -pulpits, and homes: "Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy: in it -thou shalt do no work," man nor beast. Further, God promises a great -reward to those who call "the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, -honourable; not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, -nor speaking thine own words, but delighting thyself in the Lord;" -showing not only the rest-use of the Sabbath, but its soul-use, as a day -of special intercourse with God. - -"The Sabbath was made for man," says Jesus Christ; and the _Christian_ -Sabbath has incorporated into it the finishing of the great plan of our -redemption, when Christ, - - "Who endured the cross and grave, - Sinners to redeem and save," - -arose from the dead, according to the Scriptures. Thus it is -appropriately called "the Lord's day;" the day when our worldly business -is to be set aside, and when Christ presses his claims upon the hearts -and consciences of men. It is a break in the hurrying whirl of this -life's interests, to consider the solemn issues of eternity, and that -atoning love which is mighty to save all who by repentance and faith -accept its terms of mercy. - -We find it was on the observance or desecration of the Sabbath that the -prosperity of the Hebrew nation hung. "You bring wrath upon the nation," -cried Nehemiah to the Sabbath-breaking traders. "This very profanation -has been the cause of our disasters in times past." For Sabbath -profanation leads to forgetfulness of God; and God left out, what -becomes of man? Ruin stares him in the face. "The ungodly shall not -prosper." What becomes of a nation? Ruin! They shall be left to their -own doings. The French nation blotted out the Sabbath, and showed what -it was _to be left of God_. - -When an African prince sent an embassy to Queen Victoria with costly -presents, and asked her to tell him in return the secret of England's -greatness and England's glory, presenting him with a copy of the Bible, -the Queen replied, "Tell your prince that _this_ is the secret of -England's greatness." - -For all our institutions, all our civil and religious interests, we need -the morality of the Bible, the conscience and the self-restraint which -the Bible enjoins; and for this purpose we must vigorously support the -institutions of the Bible. Foremost in the foreground is the Sabbath. It -has come down to us through the ages, the great commemoration-day of a -finished creation and a completed atonement, summoning men to call on -the name of the Lord, and bless and praise his holy name. - -On its observance the highest moral education of the people depends. -Every railroad corporation is bound to be a Sabbath-keeping corporation. -It _makes time enough_ to do its work. The _nature_ of its work demands -responsible men. An immense amount of property is in its hands, -requiring officers of scrupulous integrity to manage its interests. The -gross receipts of eight railways terminating in London are over £200,000 -a week. - -It has the life and limbs of thousands upon thousands intrusted to its -charge, at the mercy of its employés, engineers, firemen, brakemen, -switchmen, the recklessness or unfaithfulness of any of whom may bring -sudden death to scores, and plunge a nation into mourning. These men, to -be _kept_ the right men, need the Sabbath. To be honest, responsible, -vigilant, true, God-fearing men, fit for their posts of duty, they _must -have_ the Sabbath. - -Many roads are Sabbath-keeping. Some of those which do run on that day -are poorly paid. Carrying the mail helps them out. They run, perhaps, -for that purpose. But is it _necessary_ to keep up Sabbath violation on -our great routes in order to forward the mail? Does not the Saturday -telegraph do away with that necessity? Every important item of business -can be put through on the wires in time. - -The side of the Sabbath is the side of God. - - * * * * * - -What became of George Stephenson and his son Robert? the boys will have -the curiosity to ask. - -George and Robert Stephenson took their rank among the great men of -England—that class of great men who contribute to the true prosperity of -the world, by giving it better tools to do its labour with. A good tool -is a great civilizer. The more perfect the instrument, the better the -work. The more perfect the instrument, the greater the number of persons -benefited; for the sagacity necessary to invention and discovery, and -the intelligence required to mature them, are large-hearted and -broad-minded. They work for the many, not for the few. - -The history of railways in England it is not my object to give you, and -that enters largely into the remaining period of George Stephenson's -life; you will find it fully detailed in Smiles's Life of him. He became -rich and famous, yet he always preserved the simple habits and tastes of -his early days. Though asked to dine at the richly-spread tables of -lords and baronets, no dish suited his taste better than his frugal -oat-meal "crowdie," and no cook served it better than himself. Kings and -queens thought it a privilege to talk with him. Liverpool erected a -statue of him. The King of Belgium knighted him. But he cared little for -honours. When somebody, wishing to dedicate a book to him, asked what -his "ornamental initials" were, "I have to state," replied he, "that I -have no flourishes to my name, either before or after. I think it will -be as well if you merely say, 'George Stephenson.'" - -Young men beginning life often called upon him for advice and -assistance. He hated show and foppery, and a weakness in that direction -often got reproof. One day one came flourishing a gold-headed cane. "Put -by that stick, my man," said Stephenson, "and I will talk with you." - -"You will, sir, I hope, excuse me," he said on another occasion to a -very gaily dressed youth; "I am plain-spoken, and am sorry to see a -clever young man like you disfigured by that fine-patterned waistcoat -and all these chains and fang-dangs. If I, sir, had bothered my head -with these things when I was of your age, I would not have been where I -now am." - -Wholesome as were his reproofs, his counsel was as reliable, and his -help as timely. From the mine of his own rugged experience he had -gathered truths richer than grains of gold; and he never allowed any -good opportunity to pass without insisting upon the practice of those -homelier and sterner virtues which form the strong woof of character. -When building a road between Birmingham and London, Robert walked twenty -times over the entire route, illustrating the patient assiduity taught -him by his father. No slipshod work could escape their eye. "_Neglect -nothing_," was their motto. As a Killingworth collier he put his brains -and his heart into his work. As a master-builder he put his conscience -into it. All his work was honest, representing the actual character of -the man. - -[Illustration: WHOLESOME REPROOF.] - -When the rough and tumble of life began to subside, and he became a more -stationary engine, with greater leisure for the enjoyment of his now -ample home, his old love of birds, dogs, horses, and rabbits revived. -There was not a bird's nest upon his grounds that he did not know, and -he often watched the nest-building operations with a builder's interest; -a blade of grass, a bit of bark, a nest of birds, an ant tugging for one -poor grain, were all to his mind revelations of the wonderful mechanism -and creative power of God. - -[Illustration: LATER DAYS OF GEORGE STEPHENSON.] - -He died in August 1848, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. - -Robert proved himself worthy of such a father. They were alike in -character, intimately associated in the great engineering enterprises of -their day, and bound to each other by the fondest affection. - -George built roads, Robert bridges to run them over; for railroads have -given birth to the most stupendous and splendid bridges the world ever -saw. The famous Tubular Bridge over the Strait of Menai—connecting -Holyhead with the mainland—and the High Level Bridge at Newcastle, built -by him, are monuments of engineering skill. You often see pictures of -them. The most remarkable work of his genius, however, is on the other -side of the Atlantic Ocean. - -It was desirable that the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, terminating at -Montreal, should be connected with the sea-board; and the road was -accordingly extended from Montreal to Portland, Maine. But the river St. -Lawrence, deep and broad, sweeping down its mighty current the waters -and ice of the great lakes, broke the line and separated the road into -two parts. The river must be spanned. A bridge must be built. It was a -stupendous undertaking, but "Robert Stephenson can do it." Robert -Stephenson did do it. It is thrown from Languire to a point half a mile -below the city, a distance of nearly two miles. It is composed of -twenty-four spans, and has three million feet of solid masonry in it. -The road runs through iron tubes, sixty feet above the river, and the -train is nine minutes going across. There are ten thousand tons of iron -in the tubes. It was six years in building. It is called the Goliath of -bridges; and is named the Victoria Bridge, in honour of Queen Victoria. - -[Illustration: VICTORIA BRIDGE, MONTREAL.] - -Robert drafted, calculated, estimated, and superintended section after -section of this immense work, and yet never visited the scene of labour! -photographs were sent him of its progress step by step. It was finished -December 1859, and opened with all the festal honours possible in that -season of the year. At the entertainment given there was one -toast—"Robert Stephenson, the greatest engineer the world ever -saw"—followed by no cheers. A deep hush swept over the assembly. - -For Robert Stephenson was dead. He died on the 12th of October, two -months before the completion of the work, in the rich prime of a noble -manhood. His death was looked upon as a public calamity; and England, -with a true sense of his worth, laid him side by side with her most -honoured dead. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, with her kings and -queens, her princes and poets, her warriors and statesmen. The funeral -procession was between two and three miles long; thousands lined the -streets, and thousands pressed into the Abbey. Tickets were necessary in -order to get entrance; and one of the most pressing applicants was an -humble working-man, who years before had driven the first -locomotive-engine from Birmingham to London, with Robert Stephenson at -his elbow. - -The humble Newcastle collier-boy crowned his life with honourable toil; -and at his death a nation mourned a great man fallen. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE STEPHENSON CENTENARY—HONOUR TO - WHOM HONOUR IS DUE. - - -George Stephenson was born on the 9th of June 1781. - -The year 1881 was therefore the hundredth since his birth,—completed -"the centenary;" and it occurred to many thoughtful and influential -persons as a right thing to do that it should be marked by some special -mode of public celebration. For the man born just one hundred years -before had done a great work in his day; a work the full benefit of -which we are only now beginning to enjoy. - -England is not ungrateful to the memory of her distinguished sons, and -keeps many anniversaries with a good deal of pomp and circumstance. She -does not forget a Shakespeare and a Burns, or a Wellington and a Nelson; -she loves to remember the establishment of the first printing-press, and -the victories at Trafalgar and Waterloo. Such being the case, it cannot -be denied that there was a peculiar fitness in her doing honour to "the -Father of Railways,"—to the man whose successful patience, energy, and -courage have so largely added to the national wealth and developed the -national resources. - -A century ago, when Stephenson was born, no one had dreamed of or -imagined such a thing as railway traffic. That great idea was reserved -for the brain of the son of a colliery engine tenter; and we have seen -in the foregoing pages under what discouragement, and in the face of -what colossal difficulties, he conceived and carried it out. The -steam-engine in use in his youth and manhood was a crude, awkward, and -disjointed affair, always coming to grief, and incapable of any -important work. The locomotive, as Stephenson found it, was nothing more -than a clumsy stationary engine put on a clumsy truck, which rattled and -shook as it crept along at the rate of four miles an hour, so that every -moment it seemed about to tumble to pieces. And the railway on which it -ran was not less imperfect; it was nothing more than a system of light -thin rails, which rested, or at least were intended to rest, upon blocks -of stone or rough wooden sleepers. - -Stephenson, as we have seen, resolved upon reforming all this. He soon -improved the track, giving it greater solidity and firmness; and then he -turned to the engine, which he continued to perfect almost to the day of -his death. There was much in the circumstances of the time to stimulate -his activity. The coal trade was increasing largely, and those engaged -in it were anxious to send their "black diamonds" over the country with -all possible speed. They could no longer tolerate engines that rattled -and jolted to and fro at the rate of only four miles an hour! They were -ambitious, and wanted a speed of ten miles. Well, we know what -Stephenson did: he invented an engine that attained fifteen miles an -hour; and then, unresting and unhasting, he addressed himself to the -task of extending—or, rather, creating—our railway system. - -He succeeded: and now there are eighteen thousand miles of railway in -England;[1] and our ordinary trains make thirty miles, our express -trains fifty and sixty miles an hour; and millions of men and women -travel where formerly only hundreds went; and journeys that occupied a -day and a night, like the journey from London to Exeter, are -accomplished in half-a-dozen hours. Why, we leave London at ten, and -reach Edinburgh at seven the same evening; a journey which, when -Stephenson was born, could not be performed under a couple of days and -nights! - -Footnote 1: - - At the close of 1880 there were 17,700 miles, employing 300,000 - persons, and 13,174 locomotives. In this vast net-work of iron roads a - capital of not less than £70,000,000 is sunk, yielding an annual - return of £30,000,000. Upwards of 600,000,000 journeys are made on the - average every year. - -So marvellous a tale reads like a romance from some Eastern fairy-book. -Yet it is literally true, and the work has been done in the sight and -memory of thousands of living men. Was it not a work which deserved "a -centenary"? - -And the man: did _he_ not deserve it? If ever indomitable perseverance -merited public applause, it was that of George Stephenson. We will say -nothing more of the trials and labours of his early years; but even -after he had made his engine, and undertaken to construct the first -English railway, what obstacles he had to conquer, what difficulties to -surmount! Both Houses of Parliament were against him; the world was -against him. People were horrified at the thought of "turning the -locomotive loose on the country." They drew dreadful pictures of the -evil it would do. Families sitting by their own firesides, it was said, -would not be safe. A runaway engine, twenty tons in weight, would dash -through a whole line of houses, toppling them down one after the other -like houses built of cards. How was such a monster to be controlled? A -screw loose, or a wrong turn of the handle, and it would bound out of -the control of its driver. Then, again, others would ask, who wanted to -travel more than ten miles an hour? Who wanted to rush through the -country at a rate which would take away the breath? Was it not "flying -in the face of Providence"? Moreover, these new "trains" were to start -exactly to the minute, and what could be more inconvenient? "It was the -regular thing in those days to keep the carriage and four a whole hour -waiting at the door, till every room of the house had been gone through -several times to see that nothing was left behind." - -But Stephenson was not to be daunted. Possessed with one great thought, -he kept to it manfully, and laboured day by day and night by night with -unsurpassable energy. Such a man—the author of so great a work—surely -deserved a centenary. - -And a noble centenary it was. Both at Newcastle and at Chesterfield—the -two towns with which Stephenson was most closely connected—the day was -observed as a holiday, and thousands took part in the different -ceremonies. - -At Newcastle, the streets of which were gaily decorated with tall -Venetian masts covered with red cloth, and each surmounted by a trophy -of flags,—with ornamental mottoes, wreaths and festoons of glossy -foliage, and a brave show of banners and garlands, there was a grand -procession of modern railway engines, which started from the Central -Railway Station, and proceeded, amidst the cheers of thousands, to -Wylam, George Stephenson's birth-place, eight miles distant. These -engines, sixteen in number, were the finest modern science could -construct: some of them had driving-wheels six feet in diameter, and -outside cylinders which measured in diameter nearly a foot and a half. -How bright they were with their shining copper and polished steel, and -how the sunlight flashed from them as, linked together, they rolled -along the iron way! On reaching Wylam they were placed for exhibition -along with the five old original locomotives—namely, the Killingworth -(the first that Stephenson ever made), the Hatton Colliery engine, the -old Darlington engine, No. 1 Locomotive from Darlington, and -Stephenson's old "Victor" from the North-Eastern Railway. - -A special train followed, carrying the Mayors of Newcastle and other -towns, with many persons of local celebrity. Opposite George -Stephenson's birth-place it stopped; the Mayor of Newcastle alighted -with his friends, and in honour of the day planted an oak-tree. The -return journey was then made, and the engines we have named were thrown -open to public inspection. - -The next event was a procession of members of the corporations, public -bodies, trade societies, and workmen of Newcastle, Gateshead, Jarrow, -and South Shields, together with the miners of Northumberland and -Durham—some 40,000 altogether—who, through the garlanded and bannered -streets, marched to the town moor. There three platforms had been -erected, from which the various trade representatives delivered -appropriate addresses. - -In the evening a grand banquet took place, at which the Mayor of -Newcastle presided; and the day's festivities concluded with a brilliant -display of fireworks. - -At Chesterfield the public rejoicings, if necessarily on a less -extensive scale, were not less cordial. Of course, there was a -procession; there was also a special choral service in the parish -church; and we read of a banquet, a concert, and a fireworks finale. - -But all this was temporary,—belonged only to the day, and with the day -passed away. So it was resolved to raise funds for the establishment of -a permanent memorial, which, it is to be hoped, may be in existence, -active and prosperous, when a bi-centenary and a tri-centenary in their -turn come round. This will be a "Stephenson College of Physical -Science," to be erected at Newcastle, at a cost of £20,000. And a -Stephenson Scholarship Fund is also being raised, which will place the -higher education within the reach of youths of Stephenson's social rank -imitating Stephenson in his perseverance, energy, love of knowledge, and -patient industry. - - - - -Transcribers note. - -Spelling, Punctuation and Hyphenation have been kept as the original. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rocket, by H. C. 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C. Knight - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Rocket - The Story of the Stephensons, Father and Son - -Author: H. C. Knight - -Release Date: October 3, 2015 [EBook #50119] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROCKET *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, readbueno and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Front Cover</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div id='frontispiece' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' title='i' id='Page_i'></span> -<img src='images/frontispiece.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>A LOCOMOTIVE AND TENDER.</p> -</div> -</div> -<div> - <a id='Page_ii'></a> - <h1 class='c000'>THE ROCKET.</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>THE STORY OF THE STEPHENSONS,</div> - <div class='c001'>Father and Son.</div> - <div class='c001'>BY</div> - <div class='c001'><i>H. C. KNIGHT</i>,</div> - <div class='c001'>AUTHOR OF "NO GAINS WITHOUT PAINS," ETC.</div> - <div class='c002'><span class='sc'>With Twenty-Six Engravings</span></div> - <div class='c002'>London:</div> - <div>T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW.</div> - <div>EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.</div> - <div class='c001'>1897</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_iv'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>Preface.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_005.jpg' width='66' height='141' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -A brief book for the boys. God gives you -work to do in the world. He gives you -honourable work. There is much done that -is mean and dishonourable. Depend upon -it, <i>that</i> is not His. In the beginning of your work, -character grows <i>out</i> of it; as you go on, your character -goes <i>into</i> it. Therefore the Bible declares that -"God, without respect of persons, judgeth according -to every man's work." We judge in the same way. -This little book will show you how much the practice -of the virtues, the humbler virtues, has to do with -making good work.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But keep ever in mind that these virtues, however -useful and important for your work in this world, -have no <i>saving</i> power in them—they form no plea -for the favour of God; the key which unlocks the -<a id='Page_v'></a>door of Heaven is not found among them. Like the -young man in the Gospel, you may have the loveliness -of every natural virtue, and yet be lost.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As sinners in the sight of God, you need the atoning -blood of the Redeemer; you need repentance and -faith in that blood. Make Jesus Christ, therefore, -the corner-stone of your character; on <i>that foundation -build</i> your character. Cultivate the graces of the -Gospel. Baptize the virtues with your Saviour's love. -A noble Christian manhood can only be attained by -the slow and steady endeavours of a heart fixed on -God, and a hand diligent and delighting in the work -He has given it to do.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_vi'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>Contents.</h2> -</div> -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='12%' /> -<col width='63%' /> -<col width='23%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>I.</td> - <td class='c007'>LIFE AMONG THE COAL PITS,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_9'>9</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>II.</td> - <td class='c007'>MENDING AND MAKING—LITTLE BOB,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_19'>19</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>III.</td> - <td class='c007'>WHO BEGAN RAILROADS?—"PUFFING BILLY,"</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_30'>30</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>IV.</td> - <td class='c007'>TWO CITIES THAT WANTED TO GET NEAR EACH OTHER—A NEW FRIEND,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_38'>38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>V.</td> - <td class='c007'>HUNTING UP HIS OWN WORK—AN ENTERPRISING QUAKER—WHAT WAS THE RESULT?</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_46'>46</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VI.</td> - <td class='c007'>THE TWO CITIES TRYING AGAIN—BUGBEARS,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_58'>58</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VII.</td> - <td class='c007'>GRAPPLING WITH DIFFICULTIES—THE BOG—A PUZZLE—THE PRIZE OFFER,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_72'>72</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>ROBERT'S RETURN—A CURIOUS ENCOUNTER—THE PRIZE ENGINE,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_86'>86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>IX.</td> - <td class='c007'>OPENING OF THE NEW ROAD—DIFFICULTIES VANISH—A NEW ERA,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_102'>102</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>X.</td> - <td class='c007'>THE STEPHENSON CENTENARY—HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_121'>121</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_vii'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>List of Illustrations.</h2> -</div> -<table class='table1' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='62%' /> -<col width='37%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>LOCOMOTIVE AND TENDER,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#frontispiece'><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>EARLY WORK,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_10'>10</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>A SAFETY LAMP,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_11'>11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>BIRTHPLACE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_12'>12</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>AT SCHOOL,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_17'>17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>MENDING THE CLOCK,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_21'>21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>THE SUN-DIAL,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_29'>29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>GEORGE STEPHENSON'S FIRST ENGINE,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_35'>35</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>"PUFFING BILLY,"</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_36'>36</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>THE VISIT TO "PUFFING BILLY,"</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_44'>44</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>THE TWO STRANGERS,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_50'>50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>A TALK ABOUT RAILWAYS,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_54'>54</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>SURVEYING AT NIGHT,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_63'>63</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>CHAT MOSS,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_74'>74</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>GOOD SERVICE,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_81'>81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>A CURIOUS ENCOUNTER,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_87'>87</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>SECTION OF THE FIRST BOILER IN USE,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_92'>92</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>SECTION OF A TUBULAR BOILER,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_93'>93</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>THE FAILURE,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_95'>95</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>TUBES OF A MODERN ENGINE,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_96'>96</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>THE "ROCKET,"</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_97'>97</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>OPENING THE LINE,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_104'>104</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>WHOLESOME REPROOF,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_115'>115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>LATER DAYS OF GEORGE STEPHENSON,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_116'>116</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>VICTORIA BRIDGE, MONTREAL,</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_118'>118</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='figcenter id003'> -<span class='pageno' title='9' id='Page_9'></span> -<img src='images/i_009.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c003'>THE ROCKET.</h2> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER I.<br /> <br />LIFE AMONG THE COAL PITS.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_008.jpg' width='66' height='146' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -What useful little fellow is this, carrying his -father's dinner to him at the coal-pit? He -takes care, also, of his little brothers and -sisters, keeping them clear of the coal-waggons, -which run to and fro before the cottage -door. Then he is seen tending a neighbour's cows. -Now, he is moulding mud engines, putting in hemlock -sticks for blow-pipes; besides cutting many a good -caper, and uttering all sorts of drolleries for the benefit -of other little boys, who like himself swarm round, -too poor to go to school, if school there were—but -schools there were none.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_10'></a>The boys called him "Geordie Steve."</p> - -<p class='c005'>A lad is wanted to shut the coal-yard gates after -work is over. Geordie offers his services and gets -the post, earning by it twopence a day. A neighbour -hires him to hoe turnips at fourpence. He is thankful -to earn a bit, for his parents are poor, and every -little helps. He sees work ahead, however, more to -his taste. What? He longs to be big enough to go -and work at the coal-pits with his father. For the -home of this little fellow, as you already perceive, is -in a coal region. It is in the coal district of Newcastle, -in the north-eastern part of England.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/i_010.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>EARLY WORK.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_11'></a>I suppose you never visited a colliery? Coal is -found in beds and veins under -ground. Deep holes are made, -down which the miners go and -dig it out; it is hoisted out by -means of steam-engines. These -holes are called shafts. The -pit-men have two enemies to -encounter down in the coal-pits—water, -and a kind of gas -which explodes on touching -the flame of a candle. The -water has to be pumped out; -and miners are now provided -with a lamp, called a safety-lamp, which is covered -with a fine wire gauze to keep the gas away from the -flame.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id005'> -<img src='images/i_011.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>SAFETY LAMP.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>The coal is brought up from the pit in baskets, -loaded on waggons running on tram-roads, and sent to -the sheds. Tram-roads were a sort of wooden railway. -A colliery is a busy and odd-looking spot.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_12'></a>Geordie's family lived in one room—father, mother, -four boys, and two girls. Snug quarters, one would -think; but the working-men of England at that time -had smaller wages and poorer homes than they now -have—for Geordie was born in 1781, in the little village -of Wylam, seven miles from Newcastle, and his -full name is George Stephenson.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' title='13' id='Page_13'></span> -<img src='images/i_012.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>BIRTHPLACE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>James, an elder brother, is "picker;" and by-and-by -George is old enough to be a picker too, going with -his father and brother to their daily tasks, like a man. -To clear the coal of stones and dross is their business. -There are a number of pits around, and each one has -a name,—"Dolly Pit," "Water-run Pit," and so on.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I do not know how long he was picker, but we -next find him driving a gin-horse, at a pit two miles -off, across the fields. Away he goes in the early -morning, gladdened all along by many bird songs. -George and the birds are fast friends. He knows -where their nests are in the hedgerows, and watches -over them with fatherly affection. At home he has -tame birds, whose pretty, knowing ways are the wonder -of the neighbourhood. For many years a tame -blackbird was as much one of the family as George -himself, coming and going at pleasure, and roosting -at night over his head. Sometimes it spent the -summer in the woods, but was sure to come back with -cold weather, to share his care and crumbs through -the winter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>George, too, had a famous breed of rabbits; and as -<a id='Page_14'></a>for his dog, it was one of the most accomplished and -faithful creatures in the district. In fact, the boy had -an insight into dumb-brute nature, as we shall find he -had into other things, that gave him power over it—a -power which he never abused, but used kindly and well.</p> - -<p class='c005'>George next rose to be assistant fireman with his -father, at a shilling a day. He was fourteen, but so -small of his age that he used to hide when the -inspector came round, lest he should be thought too -small for his wages. If small in body, he was large -in heart, intent in all things to <i>do his best</i>. And this -made his work so well done, that it could not escape -the notice of his employers. When he went to the -office on Saturday night to receive his wages, double -pay was given him—twelve instead of six shillings! -George could scarcely believe in his good luck. When -he found it was really no mistake, he took the money -and rushed out of the office, exclaiming, "I am now a -made man for life!"</p> - -<p class='c005'>George rapidly shot ahead of his father, a kind old -man, who always stayed fireman, while his boy climbed -one round after another up the ladder of promotion. -At seventeen we find him plugman. What duty is -that? A plugman has charge of a pumping-engine, -and when the water in the pit is below the suction-holes, -<a id='Page_15'></a>he goes down the shaft and plugs the tube, in -order to make the pump more easily draw. The post -required more skill and knowledge of machinery than -any he had filled before, and he proved himself equal -to it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Indeed, he loves his engine as he loves his birds. -It is a pet with him. He keeps it in prime order. -He takes it to pieces, and cleans it, and studies it; -pries into the whys and wherefores, and is never satisfied -until he understands every spring and cog of the -machinery, and gets the mastery of it. You never -find him idling away his time. In leisure moments -he is at his old kink, moulding clay engines, and -putting new thoughts into them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>He wished to know the history of engines, and how -they were thought out at first. Somebody told him -about Watt, the father of steam-power, and that there -were books which would satisfy his curiosity. Books! -what good would books do poor George? He cannot -read. Not read? No. He is eighteen, and hardly -knows his letters. Few of the colliers did. They -were generally an ignorant, hard-working, clannish set -of men, whose pay-day was a holiday, when their -hard-won earnings were squandered at cock-fights and -in ale-houses.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_16'></a>If one was found who <i>did</i> read, what a centre of -light was he! At night the men and boys gathered -around him, when, by the light of his engine fire, he -would give them the news from an old newspaper, or -a scrap of knowledge from some stray magazine, or a -wild story from an odd volume; and on these occasions -no one listened with more profound attention -than George.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Oh! it was so wonderful to read, he thought. It -was to open the gates into great fields of knowledge. -Read he must. The desire grew upon him stronger -and stronger. In the neighbouring hamlet of Welbottle, -old Robin Cowens taught an evening school.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"I'll go," cried George.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"And I too," echoed Tommy Musgrove, a fellow-workman, -quite carried away by George's enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Now they went to Robin's school three evenings a -week. I do not know how it was with Tommy, but -old Robin never had a better scholar than George; -indeed, he soon outlearned his master! His schooling -cost him threepence a week, and, poor as it was, put -into his hand the two keys of knowledge, reading and -writing.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_17'></a>These mastered, he longs to use them. Andrew -Robertson opens an evening school nearer than Welbottle, -and Andrew proposes to teach arithmetic, a -branch George is anxious to grapple with next. "And -he took to figurin' wonderful," said Master Andrew, -speaking of his new scholar, who soon left his classmates -far behind. And no wonder. Every spare -moment to George was more precious than gold dust, -and was used accordingly. When not on duty, he sits -by his engine and works out his sums. No beer-shop -ever enticed him to its cups; no cock-fight ever tempted -<a id='Page_18'></a>him to be its spectator. He hated everything low and -vulgar.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id006'> -<img src='images/i_017.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>AT SCHOOL.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Andrew was proud of his pupil, and when George -removed to another pit, the old schoolmaster shifted -his quarters and followed him. His books did not -damage his interest in business. Was the plugman -going to stay plugman? No. Bill Coe, a friend of -his advanced to be a brakeman, offered to show George. -The other workmen objected. And one in particular -stopped the working of the engine when George took -hold of it; "for," he cried angrily, "Stephenson can't -brake, and is too clumsy ever to learn."</p> - -<p class='c005'>A brakeman has charge of an engine for raising -coal from a pit. The speed of the ascending coal, -brought up in large hazel-wood baskets, is regulated -by a powerful wooden brake, acting on the rim of the -fly-wheel, which must be stopped just when the -baskets reach the settle-board, where they are to be -emptied. Brakemen were generally chosen from experienced -engine-men of steady habits; and in spite -of the grumbling of older colliers, envious perhaps at -his rise, it was not long before George learned, and -was appointed brakeman at the Dolly Pit. This was -in 1801.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_19'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER II.<br /> <br />MENDING AND MAKING—LITTLE BOB.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_019.jpg' width='65' height='137' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -George was now twenty—sober, faithful, and -expert. Finding a little spare time on his -hands, he took to cobbling to increase his -gains, and from this source contrived to save -his first guinea. To this greater diligence he was -urged by his love for Fanny Henderson, a fine sweet-tempered -girl, whom he shortly married, and began -housekeeping in the upper room of a small cottage in -Wellington, six miles from Newcastle. Happy were -they in each other, and in their simple, industrious, and -frugal habits; and when a little son was born to -them, George, who loved birds, rabbits, and dogs so -well, welcomed with all the tenderness of a father's -heart the little Bobby.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robert he was named, after the old fireman his -grandfather.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_20'></a>Accidents, they say, will happen in the best-regulated -families. Fanny's family was not an exception. -One day the cottage chimney got on fire, and -the neighbours, with friendly zeal, not only poured -water enough down the chimney to put out a much -bigger and more alarming fire, but enough to deluge -the poor little home of the brakeman with soot and -water, making a pitiful sight to the young husband -when he reached it. His eight-day clock, the choicest -bit of furniture the young couple had, was completely -smothered by ashes. What was to be done? Sending -it to a clock-maker for repairs was quite out of -the question—it would cost too much.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"I'll try my own hand on it," said George. After -righting everything else, he attacked the clock, took -it to pieces, carefully cleaned it, put it together, set it, -and it <i>ticked</i>—ticking on as faithfully and soberly as -ever! The astonished neighbours sent him their -clocks, and George became one of the most famous -clock doctors thereabouts.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The young man's reputation for business soon won -him a situation in Killingworth—the best and largest -colliery in the region. But his brightened worldly -prospects were soon clouded by a dark sorrow—the -death of his young wife, after three happy years of -<a id='Page_21'></a>married life. Poor George felt it deeply, which was -perhaps one reason for accepting a situation in Scotland, -hoping in a change of scene to change the -mournful current of his thoughts.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id007'> -<img src='images/i_021.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>MENDING THE CLOCK.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Leaving his little boy in kind hands, he set off to -the north with his pack on his back, afoot and -alone, for Montrose—a long journey in those days. -Good wages he received, and good friends he no doubt -made, for everybody loved his honest and generous -<a id='Page_22'></a>character; yet by the end of the year he yearned to -get back to the friends and scenes of his early days. -It was not home in Scotland; for it is only home -where the heart is. With his savings in his pocket—twenty-eight -pounds—back he trudged to Killingworth; -and not before his friendly presence was -greatly needed to comfort his aged parents, plunged -in debt and affliction. By a terrible accident his -father had lost his eyesight. No longer able to work, -and receiving little or no help from his other children, -who were barely able to maintain themselves, the old -couple had a hard battle with life. But George is -back again; all will be righted. He paid off their -debts, and removed them to comfortable lodgings -beside his own. He has father, mother, and Bobby -to look after, and is thankful and happy in doing it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Those were dark days, however, for the working-men -of England. War was draining the country of -men and money. Taxes were high, wages low, bread -scarce, and able-bodied men were liable at any time -to be impressed for the army or naval service. George -himself was drawn; and go he must, or find a substitute. -He found one, but it cost all he had to hire -him.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Poor George was in straits. His spirits were much -<a id='Page_23'></a>damped by the prospect of things around and before -him. All business was in a discouraging condition. -Some of his friends were about to emigrate to America, -and he at one time nearly concluded to join them. -It was a sore trial to the young man. He loved his -English home; and bitter tears did he in secret shed -as he visited old haunts—the fields and lanes and -scenes of his boyhood—feeling and fearing that all -too soon the wide Atlantic might roll between him -and them. But the necessary funds for such an enterprise -were not forthcoming. George gave it up, -therefore, and went to work for what wages the -times would allow. Better times would come.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The thing nearest his heart was to afford his little -son an education. Keenly alive to his own early -deficiencies and disadvantages, he determined to make -them up in Robert. Every spare moment was of -two-fold value to him, and all the work he could -pick up he cheerfully did. Besides tinkering old -clocks and cobbling old shoes, he took to cutting out -the pitmen's clothes. Never was there such a fit, for -George acted fully up to the principle that everything -which was worth doing was worth doing well.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Busy as were his hands, his mind was no less -busy, catching up and using every scrap of knowledge -<a id='Page_24'></a>which came in his way. And it was a perpetual surprise -to his fellow-workmen to see what a knack he -had at bettering things. Everything improved in -his hands. There was always progress on his track.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A new pit was opened at one of the collieries. -Streams of water rushed in, which the most vigorous -strokes of the pump could not lower. On the engine -went pumping, pumping, pumping for a year, and the -water continued to flow in, until it was nearly concluded -to give up the pit as a failure. George's -curiosity and interest were much excited, and always, -on seeing the men, he asked how matters were -coming on.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Drowned out, drowned out," was the one and the -same answer.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Over he went to the poor pit, as often as he could, -to see for himself; and over he turned in his mind -again and again the whys and wherefores of the -failure.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Weel, George," said his friend Kit one day, "what -do you mak' o' her? Do you think you could doctor -her?"</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Man," answered George, "in a week's time I could -send you to the bottom."</p> - -<p class='c005'>The regular engineers were in high dudgeon with -<a id='Page_25'></a>the forth-putting brakeman. What right had he to -know how to cure an evil that had baffled them? -His words, however, were reported at head-quarters; -and the contractor was not long in hastening over to -see if he could make his words good.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Well, George," he said, "they tell me you think -you can put that engine to rights."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Yes, sir," replied the young man modestly; "I -think I can."</p> - -<p class='c005'>As matters could be no worse, Mr. Dodds was ready -to let him try; and George agreed, on condition that -he should choose his own men to help him. The old -hands were highly indignant, but there was no help -for it. So they were ordered off, and George with his -gang went on.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The engine was taken to pieces, examined, righted, -and put together again. It was set to work. Did it -go? Many a looker-on shook his head doubtfully, -and prophesied in his inmost heart, "<i>No</i> go." It -pumped and pumped. The obstinate water found it -had an antagonist that could master it. In less than -two days it disappeared from the pit, and workmen -were sent to the bottom. Who could gainsay George's -skill?</p> - -<p class='c005'>Mr. Dodds, of course, was delighted. Over and -<a id='Page_26'></a>above his wages he put a ten-pound note into the -young man's hand, and engaged him to superintend -his works for the future.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A profitable job was this.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The fame of this engineering exploit spread far and -wide. As an engine doctor he took the lead, and -many a wheezy old thing was brought him to cure. -Envious engineers tried to put him down. But real -merit cannot be put down. It is stern stuff.</p> - -<p class='c005'>George's cottage showed the bent of his tastes. It -was like an old curiosity shop, full of models of -engines, complete or in parts, hanging and standing -round; for busy as he had need to be—eking out his -means by engineering, by clocks, and by coats—the -construction and improvement of machinery for the -collieries was his hobby.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Likeness of taste drew a young farmer often to the -cottage—John Wigham—who spent most of his -evenings in George's society. John had a smattering -of chemistry and philosophy, and a superior knowledge -of mathematics, which made him a desirable -companion. George put himself under his tuition, -and again took to "figuring." Tasks set him in the -evening were worked out among the rough toils of -the day. And so much honest purpose did not fail -<a id='Page_27'></a>to secure progress. Drawing was another new line of -effort. Sheets of plans and sections gave his rude -desk the air of mind-work somewhere. Thus their -winter evenings passed away.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Bobby was growing up in a little thought-world by -himself; for he could not fail to be interested in all -that interested his father—that father always making -his son the companion of his studies, and early introducing -him into the curious and cunning power of -machinery.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Ah, that was a proud day when little Bob was old -enough, and knew enough, to be sent to the academy -at Newcastle. He was thirteen. His father's means -had happily been increased. The old engine-wright -of the colliery having died, George Stephenson was -promoted to the post, on the salary of a hundred -pounds a year. This was in 1812.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The new office relieving him from incessant hard -work, and the necessity of earning a shilling by extra -labours, he had more time for study and for verifying -his plans of practical improvement; and the consequence -was very considerable improvement in the -machinery of the colliery to which he was attached.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Meanwhile Robert's education went on apace. The -boy was hungry for knowledge, not only for himself, -<a id='Page_28'></a>but to satisfy the voracious appetite of his father, and -the no less keen one of John Wigham.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robert joined a literary and philosophical society at -Newcastle, whose fine library opened a rich storehouse -of material. Here the boy spent most of his time out -of school, storing his mind with principles, facts, and -illustrations, to carry home on Saturday afternoon. -Books also. The "Edinburgh Encyclopædia" was at -his command. A volume of that at the cottage unfolded -a world of wonders. But the library had some -books too choice to be trusted away. How was -Robert to get the gist of these home? His father -had often said that a "good drawing and a well-executed -plan would always explain itself;" and many -a time he had placed a rough sketch of machinery -before his son, and told him to describe it. Robert, -therefore, when he could do no better, put his drilling -to the test, and copied diagrams and drew pictures, -thus taking many an important and perhaps rare -specimen of machinery and science to Killingworth, -for his father's benefit.</p> - -<p class='c005'>We can well imagine Saturday afternoon was as -much a holiday to father as to son. Robert's coming -was hailed with delight. John did not lag far behind. -Some of the neighbours dropped in to listen to discussions -<a id='Page_29'></a>which made the little room a spot of lively -interest and earnest toil. A wide-awake mind allows -nothing stagnant around it.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id008'> -<img src='images/i_029.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE SUN-DIAL.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Among the borrowed books of the day was Ferguson's -"Astronomy," which put father and son to -calculating and constructing a sun-dial for the latitude -of Killingworth. It was wrought in stone, and fixed -over the cottage door; and there it is still, with its -date, August 11, 1816—a year or two before Robert -left school—a fair specimen of the drift of his boyish -tastes.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_30'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER III.<br /> <br />WHO BEGAN RAILROADS?—"PUFFING BILLY."</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_030.jpg' width='67' height='142' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -Familiar as it has become to us, who does -not stop to look with interest at the puffing, -snorting, screaming steam-horse? And who -does not rejoice in the iron-rail, which binds -together, with its slender threads, the north and the -south, and makes neighbours of the east and the -west?</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Who <i>began</i> railroads?" ask the boys again and -again.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The first idea of the modern railroad had its birth -at a colliery nearly two hundred years ago. In order -to lighten the labour of the horses, the colliers laid -straight pieces of wood into the road leading from -the pit to the river, where the coal was discharged; -and the waggons were found to run so much easier, -that one horse could draw four or five chaldrons. As -<a id='Page_31'></a>wood quickly wore out, and moreover was liable to -rot, the next step was nailing plates of iron on the -wooden rails; which gave them for a time the name of -"plate-way roads." A Mr. Outram making still -further improvements, they were called "Outram -roads," or, for shortness' sake, "tram-roads;" and -tram-roads came into general use at the English collieries.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"There's mischief in those tram-roads," said a large -canal owner, foreseeing they would one day drive -canal stock quite out of the market.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Improvements thus far had centred on the roads. -To convoy heavy loads easier and faster was the point -aimed at. Nobody had yet thought of self-going -trains. Watt, the father of steam-engines, said steam-carriages -might be built. He, however, never tried -one, but rather left the idea to sprout in the brain of -an old pupil of his, William Murdock, who did construct -a very small one, running on thin wheels, and -heated by a lamp. It was a curious success in its -way, and set other minds thinking.</p> - -<p class='c005'>One of these was a tin-miner of Cornwall, Captain -Trovethick, a friend of Murdock, who joined a cousin -of his in getting a patent for building a steam-carriage. -It was built, and an odd piece of machinery -<a id='Page_32'></a>it was. It ran on four wheels over a common road, -looked like a stage-coach, and delighted both the inventor -and his friends.</p> - -<p class='c005'>They determined to exhibit it at London. While -on its journey, driving it one day at the top of its -speed, they saw a toll-gate in the distance. Not -being able to check it in time, bump it went against -the gate, which flew open in a trice, leaving the -affrighted toll-man, in answer to their inquiry, "How -much to pay?" only able to gasp out, "No—nothing -to pay! Drive off as fast as you can! Nothing -to pay!"</p> - -<p class='c005'>It reached London in safety, and was some time on -exhibition. Multitudes flocked to see it, and some -called it a fiery dragon.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Ah," said Sir Humphrey Davy, very much interested -in the invention, "I hope to see the captain's -dragons on all the roads of England yet."</p> - -<p class='c005'>But the captain exhibited it only as a curiosity, -the unevenness of the roads rendering it for all practical -purposes a failure; and he had neither pluck nor -genius enough to lay or clear a track for it himself. -This was in 1803.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The idea, however, was in England, lodging itself -here and there in busy brains; until, at last, a colliery -<a id='Page_33'></a>owner in Newcastle, seeing the great advantage -of having a locomotive on his tram-roads, determined -to try what <i>he</i> could do. Accordingly, he had one -built after the Cornish captain's model. It burst up -at starting. Noways baffled, he tried again. The -engine proved a clumsy affair, moved at a snail's pace, -often got off the rails, and at length, voted by the -workmen a "perfect plague," it was taken off. The -unsuccessful inventor was called a fool by his neighbours, -and his efforts an apt illustration that "the fool -and his money are soon parted." In spite of failure, -Mr. Blackett had faith that the thing <i>could</i> be done. -He built a third, and ran it on the tram-road that -passed by old Bob Stephenson's cottage door. And -George at his colliery, seven miles off, as you may -suppose, listened to every account of it with profound -interest. Over he went, as often as he could, to see -"Black Billy," as the locomotive was called—a rough -specimen of machinery at best, doing very little service -beyond what a good horse could do.</p> - -<p class='c005'>George carried "Black Billy" back in his mind to -Killingworth, studying its defects, and laying plans to -improve it. I do not know how long he was in coming -to it, but he at length gave it as his opinion that he -could make a better "travelling engine" than that.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_34'></a>Tidings came to Killingworth about this time that -the trial of a new engine was to take place on a -certain day at Leeds, and George did not lose the -chance of being present. Though the engine moved -no faster than three miles an hour, its constructer -counted it a success. It proved, however, unsteady -and unreliable, and at last blew up, which was the -end of it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What did George think then? He more than ever -wanted to try <i>his</i> hand at the business. Lord Ravensworth, -knowing enough of Stephenson to have faith -in him, hearing of this, advanced means for the enterprise. -Good tools and good workmen were alike -wanting; but after much labour, alteration, and -anxiety, in ten months' time the engine was completed -and put on the railway, July 25, 1814.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Although the best yet made, it was awkward and -slow. It carried eight loaded waggons of thirty tons -weight at a speed not above four miles an hour. The -want of springs occasioned a vast deal of jolting, -which damaged the machinery, and at the close of a -year's trial it was found about as costly as horse-power.</p> - -<p class='c005'>How to increase the power of his engine? that was -the puzzling question which George studied to answer. -<a id='Page_35'></a>He wrestled with it day and night, and at length -determined to try again. In due time another was -built, "Puffing Billy," which most persons looked upon -as a marvel; but, shaking their heads, they prophesied -it would make a terrible blow-up some day. "Puffing -Billy," however, went to work, and worked steadily -on—a vast advance on all preceding attempts. It -attracted little or no attention outside the narrow -circle of the collieries. The great men of England -did not know that, in a far-off nook of the realm, -there was slowly generating a power, under the persistent -thought of an humble working-man, which -before many years would revolutionize the trade of -the kingdom, and create a new source of wealth.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id009'> -<img src='images/i_035.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>GEORGE STEPHENSON'S FIRST ENGINE.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_36'></a>"Puffing Billy," in fact, humble as its pretensions -were, has proved to have been the type of all locomotives -since.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id010'> -<img src='images/i_036.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>"PUFFING BILLY."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Had George Stephenson satisfied himself? No. -His evenings were chiefly spent at home with his son -Robert, now under him in the colliery, studying and -discussing together how to evoke the hidden power -yet pent up in "Puffing Billy." The son was even -more sanguine than his father, and many an amendment -had "Billy" to undergo to satisfy the quick -intellect and practical judgment of the youth.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Mr. Stephenson, delighted with Robert's scientific -tastes and skill, and ever alive to the deficiencies of -<a id='Page_37'></a>his own education, was anxious to give him still -further advantages. For this purpose he took him -from a promising post at the colliery, and sent him to -the University of Edinburgh.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Here he enjoyed a six months' course of study; -and so well prepared was he for it by his well-formed -habits of application and thinking, that he gained in -six months as much as many a student did in three -years. Certain it was his father felt amply repaid -for the draft it made on his purse, when Robert reappeared -at the cottage, in the spring, with a prize -for successful scholarship in mathematics. He was -eighteen then.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_38'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER IV.<br /> <br />TWO CITIES THAT WANTED TO GET NEAR EACH OTHER—A<br />NEW FRIEND.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_038.jpg' width='66' height='137' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -Manchester, thirty miles north-east of Liverpool, -is the great centre of the cotton trade -in England. Its cloths are found in every -market of the world. Cotton coming to -Liverpool is sent to the Manchester mills; and the -goods which the mills turn out are returned to Liverpool -to be shipped. The two cities, therefore, are -intimately connected by constant intercourse and -mutual interest.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Two water communications existed between them; -one by the rivers Mersey and Irwell, the other by the -famous Bridgewater Canal, which did an immense business -at an enormous profit. But the Manchester mills -were fast outgrowing these slow and cumbersome -modes of travel. Liverpool warehouses were piled -<a id='Page_39'></a>with bales of cotton waiting to go, and the mills at -Manchester had often to stop because it did not come. -Goods also found as much difficulty in getting back. -Merchants and manufacturers both grumbled. Business -was in straits. What was to be done? Carting -was quite out of the question. Canal owners were -besought to enlarge their water-power. No, they -would do nothing. They were satisfied with things -as they were. Their dividends were sure.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But want demands supply; need creates resources. -Something <i>must</i> be done to facilitate the transit of -goods between the two cities. What? Build a tram-road, -or <i>rail-road</i>. Nobody, however, but a very -fast man would risk his good sense by seriously advising -a rail-road. Solid men would certainly shun -him. A tram-road was a better understood thing. -The collieries had used small pieces of them for years. -A tram-road then. Business men put their heads -together and began earnestly to talk of a tram-road.</p> - -<p class='c005'>William James, a rich and enterprising man, -entered heartily into the project, and undertook to -make surveys for a suitable route. And not long -after a party of surveyors was seen in the fields near -Liverpool. Their instruments and movements excited -<a id='Page_40'></a>attention. People eyed them with anxiety; suspicions -were roused; the inhabitants became alarmed. Who -were they, making such mysterious measurements and -calculations on other people's land? A mob gradually -gathered, whose angry tones and threatening gestures -warned the surveyors of a storm brewing over their -heads. Wisely considering that flight was better than -fight, they took themselves off, and by-and-by turned -up farther on.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The landowners, who might be supposed to have -known better, told the farmers to drive them off; -and the farmers, with their "hands," were only too -ready to obey. They stationed themselves at the -field gates and bars with pitch-forks, rakes, shovels, -and sticks, and dared the surveyors to come on. A -poor chain-man, not quite so nimble as his pursuers, -made his leap over a fence quickened by a pitch-fork -from behind! Even women and children joined the -hue and cry, pelting the strangers with stones and -dirt whenever they had a chance. The colliers were -not behind the farmers in their foolish hostility. A -stray surveyor was caught and thrown into a pit.</p> - -<p class='c005'>At a sight of the theodolite their fury knew no -bounds. That unoffending instrument they seemed to -regard as the very Sebastopol of the enemy, to seize -<a id='Page_41'></a>and destroy which was to win the day. Tho surveyors, -therefore, were obliged to hire a noted boxer to carry -it, who could make good his threats on the enemy. A -famous fighter among the colliers, determined not to -be outdone, marched up to the theodolite to capture -it. A fist-and-fist fight took place; the collier was -sorely beaten, but the rabble, taking his part against -the poor instrument, pelted it with stones and smashed -it to pieces.</p> - -<p class='c005'>You may well suppose that surveying under such -circumstances was no light matter. What was the -gist of the hostility? It is hard to tell. The canal -owners might have had a hand in scattering these -wild fears; fears of what, however, it is not so easy -to find out. There was nothing in a simple horse -rail-road, or tram-road, as it is called, to provoke an -opposition so bitter from the people. It was a <i>new -thing</i>; and new things, great improvements though -they may be on old ones, often stir up a thousand -doubts and fears among the ignorant and unthinking.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Nor did the project generally take among those -who would be most benefited by it. Mr. James and -his friends held public meetings in all the towns and -villages along the way; enterprising men in Liverpool -and Manchester talked it up, and tried to create a -<a id='Page_42'></a>public interest; but there was a holding back, which, -while it checked all actual progress in the enterprise, -did not cause it to be altogether given up. The time -had not come; that was all.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Mr. James had a secret leaning towards the use of -steam on the new road. He would have immediately -and unhesitatingly advocated a rail-road run by locomotives. -But that was out of the question. The -public were far behind that point, and to have openly -advocated it would have risked his judgment and good -sense in the opinion of the best men. Therefore Mr. -James wisely held his tongue. But hearing of the -Killingworth locomotives, and of a collier who had -astonished the natives by his genius, he determined to -make a journey to Newcastle, and see the "lions" for -himself.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Stephenson was not at home. "Puffing Billy" was; -and "Billy" puffed in a way that took Mr. James's -heart at once. He seemed to see at a glance "Billy's" -remarkable power, and was struck with admiration -and delight. "Here is an engine," he exclaimed, "that -is destined before long to work a complete revolution -in society."</p> - -<p class='c005'>The image of "Puffing Billy" followed him home.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Why," he wrote to Stephenson's partner in the -<a id='Page_43'></a>patent, "it is the greatest wonder of the age, and the -forerunner, I believe, of most important changes in -the modes of travel in the kingdom."</p> - -<p class='c005'>A few weeks later he made another visit to Killingworth, -taking his two sons with him. "Puffing Billy" -was at work, as usual.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The boys were frightened at the sight of the snorting -monster; but Stephenson encouraged them to -mount, with their father, and see how harmless and -manageable the monster was.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The second visit was even more gratifying than the -first.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Mr. Stephenson," said James, "is the greatest -practical genius of the age. His fame will rank with -that of Watt."</p> - -<p class='c005'>Mr. James lost all hesitation now about speaking -his mind. "Puffing Billy" had driven the backwardness -out of him, and he was willing, at all hazards, -boldly to advocate rail-roads and the steam-horse. No -more tram-roads; steam or nothing. This was in 1821.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Mr. James entered heart and soul into the new idea -of the age. On his return to Liverpool, it was everywhere -his theme; and wherever he had influence, he -tried to stir up men's minds to the benefits and blessings -puffing out in "Puffing Billy."</p> - -<div class='figcenter id011'> -<span class='pageno' title='44' id='Page_44'></span> -<img src='images/i_044.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE VISIT TO "PUFFING BILLY."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Stephenson rejoiced in such a friend. It was just -what he and "Billy" most needed—somebody to -introduce them into the great world. And Stephenson -and his partner offered him a share in the profits of -whatever business he could secure to them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But what can one man, or a few men, do in an -enterprise like this, depending upon the verdict of -that important power, Public Opinion? And Public -Opinion had not yet made up its mind to it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A thousand difficulties bristled in the way. There -were both the indifference of friends and the opposition -of enemies at home. In addition to this, a violent -<a id='Page_45'></a>opposition was foreseen in Parliament, which it needed -all the strength and courage of a united constituency -to meet.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Under these discouraging circumstances, there were -not enough men of pluck to push the matter through.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So everything about the new road went by the -board. It was laid on the shelf, at least for the -present, and Liverpool and Manchester trade jogged -on as before.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_46'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER V.<br /> <br />HUNTING UP HIS OWN WORK—AN ENTERPRISING<br />QUAKER—WHAT WAS THE RESULT?</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_046.jpg' width='66' height='140' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -It appears strange to us that so simple a thing -as the laying of a rail seems to be should -have taken years of thought and experiment -to do it. Nothing looks easier to prepare -than the straight, smooth track of a railway, such as -we now see in use; and yet it was only arrived at by -slow steps through two hundred years.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In pondering upon the powers of "Puffing Billy," -George Stephenson saw that the efficiency of locomotives -must, in a great measure, depend on what -kind of roads they had to run upon. Many were -sanguine that steam-carriages would some day come -into use on common roads. After a long series of -experiments, George Stephenson said, "No; the thing -wouldn't pay." For a rough surface seriously impairs -<a id='Page_47'></a>the powers of a locomotive; even sand scattered upon -the rails is sufficient to slacken, and even stop an -engine. The least possible friction is desirable, and -this is found on the smooth rail.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Could they ever be laid uphill, or on "ascending -gradients", as the scientific term is? No; as nearly -level as possible, Stephenson's experiments showed, -was the best economy of power. Then how to get rid -of the jolts and jars and breakages of the rails as they -were then laid. He studied and experimented upon -both chairs and sleepers, and finally embodied all his -improvements in the colliery railway.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Puffing Billy" was in every respect a most remarkable -piece of machinery, and its constructer one of the -most sagacious and persistent of men. But how was -the public, ever slow in discovering true merit or -accepting real benefits, to discover and appreciate them? -Neither influence, education, nor patronage had Stephenson -to command mind and means, or to drive his -engine through prejudice, indifference, and opposition, -to profit and success.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But what he could not do, other men could do, and -did do. Find a hook, and there is an eye to fit it -somewhere. Yes; there were already men of property -and standing alive with the new idea. While he -<a id='Page_48'></a>worked, they talked—as yet unknown to one another, -but each by himself clearing the track for a grand -junction.</p> - -<p class='c005'>One of these men was Edward Pease, a rich Quaker -of Darlington, who, his friends said, "could look a -hundred miles ahead." He needed a quicker and -easier transit for his coals from the collieries north of -Darlington to Stockton, where they were shipped; and -Mr. Pease began to agitate, in his mind, a railroad. -A company for this purpose was formed, chiefly of his -own friends, whom he fairly talked into it. Scarcely -twenty shares were taken by the merchants and shipowners -of Stockton, whose eyes were not open to the -advantage it would by-and-by be to them. A survey -of the proposed road was made, when to the indifference -of the many was added the opposition of the few. -A duke was afraid for his foxes! Shareholders in the -turnpikes declared it would ruin their stock. Timid -men said it was a new thing, and that it was best to -let new things alone. The world would never improve -much under <i>such</i> counsel. Edward Pease was hampered -on all sides. Nobody convinced him that his -first plan was not the right one by all odds; but what -can a man do in any public enterprise without supporters? -So he reluctantly was obliged to give up his rail-road, -<a id='Page_49'></a>and ask Parliament for liberty to build a tram-road—horse-power -instead of steam-power: he could seem to -do no better, and even this was gotten only after long -delay and at considerable cost.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Among the thousands who carelessly read in the -newspapers the passage through Parliament of the -Stockton and Darlington Act, there was one humble -man whose eye kindled as he read it. In his bosom -it awakened a profound interest. He went to bed -and got up brooding over it. He was hungry to have -a hand in it; until at last, yearning with an irrepressible -desire to do his own work in the world, he felt -he must go forth to seek it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>One night a couple of strangers knocked at the -door of Edward Pease's house in Darlington, and -introduced themselves as two Killingworth colliers. -One of them handed the master of the mansion a -letter of introduction from a gentleman of Newcastle, -recommending him as a man who might prove useful -in carrying out his contemplated road.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To support the application, a friend accompanied him.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The man was George Stephenson, and his friend -was Nicholas Wood. It did not take long for Edward -Pease to see that Stephenson was precisely the man -he wanted.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id012'> -<span class='pageno' title='50' id='Page_50'></span> -<img src='images/i_050.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE TWO STRANGERS.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>"A railway, and not a tram-road," said Stephenson, -when the subject was fairly and fully opened.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"A horse railway?" asked Pease.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"A locomotive engine is worth fifty horses," exclaimed -Stephenson; and once on the track, he launched -out boldly in its behalf.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Come over to Killingworth and see my 'Puffing -Billy,'" said George; "seeing is believing." And Mr. -Pease, as you may suppose, was quite anxious to see a -machine that would outride the fleetest horse. Yet -he did not need "Puffing Billy" to convince him that -its constructer knew what he was advocating, and -<a id='Page_51'></a>could make good his pledges. The good Quaker's -courage rapidly rose. He took a new start, and the -consequence was that all other plans and men were -thrown aside, and Stephenson was engaged to put the -road through much in his own way.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The first thing to be done was to make an accurate -survey of the proposed route. Taking Robert with -him, who had just come from college, and who entered -as heartily into the enterprise as his father, with two -other tried men, they began work in good earnest. -From daylight till night the surveyors were on duty. -One of the men going to Darlington to sleep one night, -four miles off, "Now, you must not start from Darlington -at daybreak," said Stephenson, "but be here, ready -to begin work, at daybreak." He and Robert used to -make their home at the farm-houses along the way, -where his good-humour and friendliness made him a -great favourite. The children loved him dearly. The -dogs wagged their approving tails at his approach. -The birds had a delighted listener to their morning -songs, and every dumb creature had a kind glance -from his friendly eye.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But George was not quite satisfied. He wished -Mr. Pease to go to Killingworth to see "Puffing Billy," -and become convinced of its economical habits by an -<a id='Page_52'></a>examination of the colliery accounts. He promised, -therefore, to follow George thither, along with a large -stockholder; and over they went in the summer of -1822.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Inquiring for Stephenson, they were directed to the -cottage with a sun-dial over the door. George drove -his locomotive up, hoisted in the gentlemen, harnessed -on a heavy load, and away they went. George no -doubt showed "Billy" off to the best advantage. -"Billy" performed admirably; and the two wondering -stockholders went home enthusiastic believers in locomotive -power.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A good many things had to be settled by the Darlington -project. One was the width of the gauge; -that is, the distance between the rails. How wide -apart should they be? Stephenson said the space between -the cart and waggon wheels of a common road -was a good criterion. The tram-roads had been laid -down by this gauge—four feet and eight inches—and -he thought it about right for the railway; so this -gauge was adopted.</p> - -<p class='c005'>One thing which hampered Stephenson not a -little was the want of the right sort of workmen—quick-minded, -skilful mechanics, who could put his -ideas into the right shape. The labour of originating -<a id='Page_53'></a>so much we can never know. He had nothing to -copy from, and nobody's experience to go by. Happily -he proved equal to his task. We can readily -imagine his anxiety as the work progressed. Hope -and fear must have in turn raised and depressed him. -Not that he had any doubts in regard to the final -issue of the grand experiment of railroads. They -<i>must</i> go!</p> - -<p class='c005'>Dining one day at a small inn with Robert, and -John Dixon, after walking over the route, then nearly -completed—"Lads," he said, "I think you will live -to see the day when railroads will be the great highway -for the king and all his subjects. The time is -coming when it will be cheaper for a working-man to -travel on a railway than to walk on foot. There are -big difficulties in the way, I know; but it will surely -come to pass. I can hardly hope to live to see that -day, much as I should like to do so; for I know how -slow all human progress is, and how hard it is to -make men believe in the locomotive, even after our -ten years' success in Killingworth."</p> - -<p class='c005'>While the father roughed it through, Robert's -health failed. His close application to business made -sad inroads upon a frame naturally more delicate than -his father's; and an offer to go out and superintend -<a id='Page_54'></a>some mining operations in South America was thankfully -accepted, in the hope that a sea-voyage and less -exciting labours might restore him.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id013'> -<img src='images/i_054.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>A TALK ABOUT RAILWAYS.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Robert shortly sailed; and his father pushed on -<a id='Page_55'></a>alone, with that brave spirit which carried him through -many a darker hour.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On the 27th of September the Stockton and Darlington -Railway was finished and opened. A great -many came to see the new mode of travelling, which -had proved a fruitful subject of talk, far and near, for -many months;—some to rejoice; some to see the -bubble burst; some with wonder, not knowing what -to think; some with determined hostility. The opposition -was strong: old England against young England; -the counter currents of old and new ideas.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The road ran from Stockton to Darlington, a distance -of twelve miles, and thence to the Etherly -collieries—in all, thirty-two miles.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Four steam-engines were employed, and two stationary -engines to hoist the train over two hills on the -route. The locomotives were of six-horse power, and -went at the rate of five or six miles an hour. Slow -as this was, it was regarded with wonder. A "travelling -engine" seemed almost a miracle. One day a -race came off between a locomotive and a coach running -on the common highway; and it was regarded as -a great triumph that the former reached Stockton first, -leaving the coach one hundred yards behind.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The road was built for a freight road, to convey -<a id='Page_56'></a>lime, coal, and bricks from the mines and kilns in the -interior to the sea-board for shipment abroad. Carrying -passengers was not thought of. Enterprise, however, -in this direction took a new start. A company -was soon formed to run two coaches on the rails -between Darlington and Stockton by horse-power. -Each coach accommodated six inside passengers, -and from fifteen to twenty outside; was drawn by -one horse; and went at the rate of nine miles an -hour.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"We seated ourselves," said a traveller of those -days, "on the top of the 'Defence' coach, and started -from Stockton highly interested with the novelty of -the scene and of this new and extraordinary conveyance. -Nothing could be more surprising than the -rapidity and smoothness of the motion." Yet the -coach was without springs, and jerked and jolted over -the joints of the rails with a noise like the clinking of -a mill-hopper.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Such is the first great attempt to establish the -use of railways," writes a delighted editor, "for the -general purposes of travelling; and such is its success, -that the traffic is already great, and, considering that -there was formerly no coach at all on either of the -roads along which the railroad runs, quite wonderful. -<a id='Page_57'></a>A trade and intercourse have arisen out of nothing, -and nobody knows how."</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such was their small and imperfect beginning, <i>we</i> -should say, now that railroads, improved and perfected, -have fulfilled Stephenson's prediction uttered in the -little inn, and have become the great highways of the -civilized world.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_58'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER VI.<br /> <br />THE TWO CITIES TRYING AGAIN—BUGBEARS.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_058.jpg' width='66' height='140' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -One, two, three years passed by, and the Liverpool -and Manchester project started up again. -It was not dead, it had only slept; and the -three years had almost worn out the patience -of both merchants and manufacturers. Trade between -the two cities must have speedier and easier transit. -Trade is one of the great progressive elements in the -world. It goes ahead; it will have the right of way; -it will have the right way—the best, safest, cheapest -way of doing its business. Yet it is not selfish; its -object is the comfort and well-being of men. To do -this, it breaks down many a wall which selfishness -has built up, it cuts through prejudices, it rides over a -thousand "can't be's" of timid and learned men; for -learned men are not always practical. They sometimes -say things cannot be done, when it only needs a -<a id='Page_59'></a>little stout trying to overcome difficulties and do -them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A learned man once said that crossing the Atlantic -by steam was impossible.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"For the good of the race, we must have something -truer than wind and tougher than sails," said Trade. -And it was not many years before ships steamed into -every port.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Carriages travelling at twelve, sixteen, eighteen, -twenty miles an hour! Such gross exaggerations of -the power of a locomotive we scout. It can never -be!" cries a sober Quarterly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"You may scout it as much as you please," rejoins -Trade; "but just as soon as people need a cheaper, -pleasanter, swifter mode of travel, it will be <i>done</i>." -And now the railway carriages thread the land in -their arrowy flight.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"The magnetic telegraph! a miserable chimera," -cries a knowing statesman. "Nobody who does not -read outlandish jargon can understand what a telegraph -means."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"You will soon find out," answers Trade. And -now it buys pork by the hundred barrels, and -sells grain by the thousand bushels; while armies -march and fleets sail at its bidding. Treaties are -<a id='Page_60'></a>signed at its word; and the telegraph girdles the -world.</p> - -<p class='c005'>You see Trade is a civilizer; and Christian civilization -makes all the difference in the world between -Arabs and Englishmen.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Liverpool merchants were now fairly awake. "What -is to be done?" was the question. Something. Could -there be a <i>third</i> water-line between the two cities? -No; there was not water enough for that.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Would the Bridgewater Canal increase its power -and reduce its charges? No.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A tram-road or a rail-road, then. There was no -other alternative.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Mr. James, who was so much interested before, had -failed and left the country. When he left, he said to -his friends, "When you build a road, build a railroad, -and get George Stephenson to do it."</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Darlington and Stockton enterprise could not -fail to be known at Liverpool; and a drift of opinion -gradually began to set in strongly in favour of the -railway. People talked about it in good earnest.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"A railway!" cried the canal owners. "It is -absurd; it is only got up to frighten us; it will -slump through, as it did before." They were easy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Let us go to Darlington and Killingworth and see -<a id='Page_61'></a>for ourselves," said the merchants; and four gentlemen -were sent on a visit of inquiry. They went first to -Darlington, where the works were in vigorous progress, -though not done. It was in 1824, the year before -they were finished. Here they met Stephenson. He -took them to Killingworth to see "Puffing Billy."</p> - -<p class='c005'>Seeing was believing. "Billy's" astonishing feats -won them completely over; and they went back to -Liverpool warm for a railroad. Their clear and candid -report convinced merchants, bankers, and manufacturers, -who gave a verdict in its favour. Public -opinion was now coming over.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Books were opened for funds. There was no lack -of subscribers. Money was ready. To be sure of the -<i>safety</i> of locomotive power, a second deputation was -sent to Killingworth, taking with them a practical -mechanic, better able to judge about it than themselves. -The man had sense enough to see and to own -that while he could not insure safety over nine or ten -miles an hour, there was nothing to be afraid of -slower than that. Then a third body went. The -enterprise required caution, they thought.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Yes, it did.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Having decided upon steam-power, the next thing -was to secure the right sort of man to carry on the -<a id='Page_62'></a>work. Stephenson was that man. His energy and -ability were indispensable. Before trying to get a -charter from Parliament, the route needed to be surveyed -again, and a careful estimate of expenses made.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Stockton road done, Stephenson was free to -engage in this new enterprise; his success in that -proving his principles true on a larger scale.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The canal owners now took alarm. They saw -there was a dangerous rival, and they came forward -in the most civil and conciliatory manner, professing -a wish to oblige, and offering to put steam-power on -their canals. It was too late. Their day had gone by.</p> - -<p class='c005'>You know the violent opposition made to a former -survey. How would it be again? Did three years -scatter the ignorance out of which it grew? Ah, no. -There was little if any improvement. The surveyors -were watched and dogged by night and by day. Boys -hooted at them, and gangs of turbulent men threatened -them with violence. Mr. Stephenson barely -escaped duckings, and his unfortunate instruments -capture and destruction. Indeed, he had to take with -him a body-guard to defend them. Much of the surveying -had to be done by stealth, when people were -at dinner, or with a dark lantern at night.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When dukes and lords headed the hostility, you -<a id='Page_63'></a>cannot wonder that their dependants carried it on. -One gentleman declared that he would rather meet a -highwayman or see a burglar on his premises than an -engineer; and of the two he thought the former the -more respectable! Widows complained of damaged -corn-fields, and gardeners of their violated strawberry-beds; -and though Stephenson well knew that in many -cases not a whit of damage had been done, he paid -them for fancied injuries in the hope of stopping their -tongues.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_063.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>SURVEYING AT NIGHT.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>A survey made under such circumstances must needs -have been imperfect; but it was as good as could be -made. And no time was lost in taking measures to -get a Bill before Parliament.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_64'></a>A storm of opposition against railways suddenly -arose, and spread over every corner of the kingdom. -Newspapers and pamphlets swarmed with articles -crying them down. Canal and turnpike owners spared -no pains to crush them. The most extraordinary -stories were set afloat concerning their dangers. -Boilers would burst, and passengers be blown to -atoms; houses along the way would be burned; the -air would become black with smoke and poisoned by -cinders; and property on the road would be stripped -of its value.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Liverpool and Manchester Bill, however, got -into Parliament, and went before a Committee of the -House of Commons to decide upon it, in March 1825.</p> - -<p class='c005'>First, its friends had to show the <i>necessity</i> of some -new mode of travel between the two cities; and that -it was not difficult to do.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But when it came to asking for liberty to build a -railway and run a locomotive, the matter was more -difficult to manage. And to face the tremendous -opposition rallied against it, the pluck of its friends -was severely tried.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The battle had to be fought inch by inch.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Stephenson, of course, was the chief witness for -locomotives. But what headway could he, an uneducated -<a id='Page_65'></a>Northumbrian mechanic, make against members -of Parliament, backed by all the chief engineers of the -kingdom? For very few had faith in him; but those -few had strong faith. He was examined and cross-examined. -They tried to bully him, to puzzle him, to -frighten him. On the subject of locomotives his -answers were clear. He declared he could drive an -engine, and drive it safely, at the rate of twelve miles -an hour!</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Who can believe what is so notoriously in the teeth -of all experience?" cried the opposition; "the witness -is a madman!"</p> - -<p class='c005'>Famous engineers were called on the stand. What -had <i>they</i> to say? One declared the scheme a most -wild one. He had no confidence in locomotives. They -were affected by wind and weather; with difficulty -were kept on the track, and were liable to constant -accidents; indeed, a gale of wind would render it impossible -to start a locomotive, either by poking the -fire or keeping up the steam till the boiler should -burst: they could never be relied on.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The proposed route had to cross an ugly quagmire, -several miles in extent, called Chat Moss, a very shaky -piece of land, no doubt; and here the opposition took -a strong stand. "No engineer in his senses," cried -<a id='Page_66'></a>one, "would think of going through Chat Moss. No -carriage could stand on the Moss short of the bottom."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"It is absurd to hold out the notion that locomotives -can travel twice as fast as stage-coaches," said -another; "one might as soon trust himself to a rocket -as to the mercy of a machine going at that rate."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Carriages cannot go at anything like that speed," -added another; "if driven to it, the wheels would -only spin on their axles like a top, and the carriages -would stand stock-still!"</p> - -<p class='c005'>So much for learned arguments against it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Then came the dangers of it. "The dumb animals -would never recover from the sight of a locomotive; -cows would not give their milk; cattle could not -graze, nor horses be driven along the track," cried the -opposition.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"As to that," said Stephenson, "come to Killingworth -and see. More quiet and sensible beasts cannot -be found in the kingdom. The farmers <i>there</i> never -complain."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Well," asked one, "suppose, now, one of those -engines to be going along a railroad at the rate of -nine or ten miles an hour, and that a cow were to -stray upon the line and get in the way of the engine; -<a id='Page_67'></a>would not <i>that</i>, think you, be a very awkward circumstance?"</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Yes," answered Stephenson, with a droll twinkle -in his eye; "very awkward indeed—<i>for the coo</i>!"</p> - -<p class='c005'>The fellow, as you may suppose, backed off.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The danger in other respects was thus dwelt on: -"In addition to the smoke and the noise, the hiss and -the whirl which locomotive engines make, going at the -rate of ten or twelve miles an hour, and filling the -cattle with dismay, what," asked an honourable -member, "is to be done with all those who have -advanced money in making and mending turnpikes? -What with those who may still wish to travel in their -own or hired carriages, after the fashion of their forefathers? -What is to become of coach-makers and -harness-makers, coach-masters and workmen, inn-keepers, -horse-breeders, and horse-dealers? Iron -would be raised one hundred per cent., or more probably -exhausted altogether! The price of coal would -be ruinous. Why, a railroad would be the greatest -nuisance, the biggest disturbance of quiet and comfort, -in all parts of the kingdom, that the ingenuity of man -could invent."</p> - -<p class='c005'>Not content with belittling his engine, they could -not stop short of abusing Stephenson himself. "He -<a id='Page_68'></a>is more fit for Bedlam than anywhere else," they -cried; "he never had a plan—he is not capable of -making one. Whenever a difficulty is pressed, as in -the case of a tunnel, he gets out of it at one end; and -when you try to catch him at that, he gets out at the -other."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"We protest," they said, "against a measure supported -by such evidence and founded upon such calculations. -We protest against the Exchange of -Liverpool striding across the land of this country. It -is despotism itself."</p> - -<p class='c005'>What had the friends of locomotive power to say?</p> - -<p class='c005'>"We beseech you," they pleaded to the Committee, -"not to crush it in its infancy. Let not this country -have the disgrace of putting a stop to that which, if -cherished, may in the end prove of the greatest advantage -to our trade and commerce. We appeal to you -in the name of the two largest towns in England; we -appeal to you in the name of the country at large; -and we implore you not to blast the hopes that this -powerful agent, Steam, may be called in for the purpose -of aiding land communication: only let it have a -fair trial, and these little objections and private prejudices -will be done away."</p> - -<p class='c005'>Flaws were picked in the surveys, and the estimate -<a id='Page_69'></a>of costs based on them. The surveys, quite likely, -were imperfect; indeed, how could they be otherwise, -when every mile of the line had to be done at the risk -of life?</p> - -<p class='c005'>The battle lasted two months, and a very exciting -one it was. It was skilfully and powerfully carried -on. Who beat?</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>The opposition.</i> The Bill was lost.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Matters looked dark enough. Judging from appearances, -the enterprise was laid on the shelf, and the -day of railways long put off. As for poor Stephenson, -his short day of favour seemed about gone. His being -called a madman, and regarded as a fool, as he had -been by the opposition, was not without its effect upon -his newly-made friends. Their faith in him sensibly -cooled. But he did not lose faith in himself, not he. -He had waited long for the triumph of his engine, and -he could wait longer. A great blessing to the nation -was locked up in it he well knew; and the nation -would have it some time, in spite of everything.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Was the enterprise a second time to be abandoned?</p> - -<p class='c005'>No, no. Taking breath, its friends again started to -their feet. "Never give up," was their motto, for -they were in earnest. They rallied, and met in -London to consult what to do next.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_70'></a>Mr. Huskisson, a member of Parliament for Liverpool, -came into the meeting and urged them to try -again—to try at the next session of Parliament.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Parliament must, in the end, grant you an Act," -he said, "if you are determined to have it." And try -they determined to, for a horse railroad at least.</p> - -<p class='c005'>For this purpose another and more careful survey -had to be made.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Stephenson was left out. A <i>known</i> man must be -had. They meant to get surveyors and engineers -with well-established reputation to back them up. -Stephenson was too little known. He had no fame -beyond a little circle in one corner of the kingdom. -How did he feel to be thus thrown in the back-ground? -George was not a man to grumble; he was too noble -to complain. In fact, you see, he was ahead of the -times; too far ahead to be understood and appreciated. -He could afford to wait.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Two brothers of the name of Rennie were appointed -in his stead. In time the new survey was finished; -the plans drawn, and the expenses reckoned up. -Changes were made in the route. Ill-tempered -landowners were left on one side, and every ground of -complaint avoided that could be.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The new Bill was then carried to Parliament, and -<a id='Page_71'></a>went before the Committee in March the next year. -The opposition was strong, indeed, but less furious. -Much of its bitterness was gone. It made a great -show of fears, which the advocates of the Bill felt it -was not worth while to waste words in answering. -They left it to the road to answer them. Build it, -and see.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Mr. Huskisson and others supported it in a strong -and manly tone; and after a third reading, the Bill -passed in the House of Commons. So far, so good. -It then had to go to the House of Lords. What -would befall it there? The same array of evidence -on both sides was put forward. The poor locomotive -engine, which had proved such a bugbear in the House -of Commons, was regarded as quite a harmless affair -by most of the lords; and the opposition made such -poor work in showing off its dangers, that no plea in -its behalf was called for. They were satisfied, they -said; and the Bill passed almost unanimously. Victory! -victory!</p> - -<p class='c005'>The victory cost more than twenty thousand pounds! -For a first cost it looked large. But nothing worth -doing can be done without effort, and effort made <i>in -faith</i>. Nothing done, nothing have.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_72'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER VII.<br /> <br />GRAPPLING WITH DIFFICULTIES—THE BOG—A<br />PUZZLE—THE PRIZE OFFER.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_072.jpg' width='64' height='137' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -The real work was now to be done. Hopes -and fears had yet to be verified.</p> - -<p class='c005'>At the first meeting of the directors, a -man to put the enterprise through was to be -chosen. Who? The Rennies were anxious to get -the appointment. They naturally expected it. They -had made the survey, and their name had had weight -in getting the Act of Parliament. But they could not -superintend the details of the work. They had other -enterprises on foot.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Stephenson, no doubt, was <i>the</i> man. The directors -felt him to be so. No one could long be with him -without feeling his power. Besides, what he had done -had been ably done. At the risk of offending the -Rennies and their friends, they chose him, and the -result proved the wisdom of their choice.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_73'></a>On receiving the appointment, he immediately -moved to Liverpool, and the work began in good -earnest. It was a stupendous undertaking for those -days. Chat Moss had to be filled in, sixty-three -bridges built, excavations made, tunnels cut, and all -the practical details carried out, with very little past -experience to profit by. Neither was the kind of -labour well understood, nor was there that division of -labour between contractors and engineers which relieves -one man of too heavy a responsibility. In fact, -tools and men had to be made; and Stephenson had -to make both!</p> - -<p class='c005'>The great quagmire was first grappled with. "No -man in his senses would undertake to make a road -over Chat Moss," opposers said in Parliament; "that -were to undertake the impossible." Stephenson, however, -meant to try. Formidable it certainly was. -Cattle ploughing on farms bordering the bog, where it -ran underneath the tilled land, had to wear flat-soled -boots in order to keep their hoofs from sinking down -into the soft soil.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The proposed route ran four miles across it, and the -way had to be drained and filled in with sand and -gravel. The drainage tasked their ingenuity to the -utmost, and almost baffled the workmen. After that -<a id='Page_74'></a>was in some degree accomplished, waggon-load after -waggon-load of earth was thrown on for weeks and -weeks: but it only sank into the mire and disappeared—not -an inch of solid footing seemed gained; and -on they went, filling and filling, without apparently -having made the least impression on the Moss,—the -greedy bog only cried out for more.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id014'> -<img src='images/i_074.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>CHAT MOSS.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Stephenson's men began to have their doubts. The -opposition might have judged more correctly after all. -They asked him what he thought. "Go ahead!" was -his answer. By-and-by the directors began to have -<i>their</i> fears. It looked to them like a very unpromising -job. So it was. After waiting and waiting in -<a id='Page_75'></a>vain for signs of progress, they called a meeting on -the edge of the Moss, to see if it were not best to -give up. The bog, they were afraid, might swallow -up all their funds, as it had done everything else. -Stephenson lost not a whit of his courage. "Go -ahead!" was his counsel. He never for a moment -doubted of final success. And considering the great -outlay already made, they wisely gave in to him.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Monstrous stories were afloat of the terrible accidents -taking place there. Every now and then the -stage drivers brought into Manchester the astonishing -news of men, horses, carts, and Stephenson himself -submerged and sunk for ever in the insatiable quagmire! -Time corrected one only to publish another. -Newsmongers were kept in a state of delightful excitement, -and tea-table gossip was spiced to suit the -most credulous and marvel-loving taste, until the Moss -was conquered, as conquered it was acknowledged to -be, when, six months after the directors had met to -vote to leave it to its original unproductiveness, they -were driven over it on a smooth and secure rail to -Manchester!</p> - -<p class='c005'>Another tough job was tunnelling Liverpool—excavating -a mile and a third of road through solid -rock. Night and day the boring, blasting, and hewing -<a id='Page_76'></a>were kept in vigorous execution. Sometimes the -miners were deluged with water, sometimes they were -in danger of being overwhelmed by heavy falls of -wet sand from overhead. Once, when Stephenson -was gone from town, a mass of loose earth came -tumbling on the heads of the workmen, frightening -them, if nothing more. On his return they were in -a most refractory state, complaining of the dangers, -and stoutly refusing to go back to work. Wasting -no time on words, Stephenson shouldered a pick-axe, -and called for recruits to follow. Into the tunnel he -marched, and the whole gang after him. Nothing -more was heard of fears, and the work went bravely -and steadily on.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Besides laying out all the work, Stephenson had to -make the tools. All the waggons, trucks, carriages, -switches, crosses, signals, were planned and manufactured -under his superintendence, besides meeting and -providing for a thousand exigencies constantly occurring -in a new enterprise like this, giving full scope to -all the sagacity, invention, and good-humour which -naturally belonged to him.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The expenses of the road were heavy, and money -was not always forthcoming. If the works lagged in -consequence of it, the hopes of the directors fell; so -<a id='Page_77'></a>that Stephenson's energies were taxed to the utmost -during the four years of the work; and he showed, -what observation and history both teach us, that -efficient men are men of <i>detail</i> as well as men of -great plans.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Remember this, boys—for we sometimes despise -little particulars and the day of small things—that -the secret of effective doing lies not only in making -wise plans, but in filling up the minutest parts with -promptness and fidelity. There must be detail, to -achieve any great and good work. If you would -possess the fruits of learning, you must get them by -the toil of daily drudgery. If you undertake to -become rich, you must not despise the small gains -and little economies by which a fortune is made. If -you would obtain a noble Christian manhood, you must -not neglect hourly self-restraint, watchfulness, and -prayer, or the daily exercise of those humbler virtues -and godly industries which make the woof of character.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Stephenson strikingly illustrated the practical force -of this principle. The minutest detail of every plan -in this new enterprise was thought out and carried -on by himself, or under his direct supervision. Both -in summer and winter he rose early. Before breakfast -you might find him on a morning round, visiting -<a id='Page_78'></a>the extensive workshops where the machines and tools -were made; or perhaps Bobby is brought to the door, -and mounted on this his favourite horse, he is off -fifteen miles to inspect the progress of a viaduct—a -ride long enough to whet the appetite for a tempting -breakfast, one would think. But nothing tempts him -from his frugal habits: he eats "crowdie"—and that -made by himself—which is nothing more or less than -oatmeal hasty-pudding and milk. Again he is off, -inspecting the labours of his men all along the line -from point to point, pushing the works here, advising -there, and inspiring everywhere. Bobby is a living -witness that one beast, at least, is not to be scared by -a locomotive. He can face the snorting monster -without so much as a shy step, or a prick of the ears. -<i>He</i> afraid! not Bobby.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Returning home, pay-rolls are to be examined, perhaps, -when every item of expense must be accounted -for; or drawings are to be made, or directions given, -or letters written.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Several young men were received into his family -to be trained for engineers. A second wife—frugal, -gentle, and friendly—superintended his household. -Their evenings were passed in study and conversation, -brightened by the genial humour of the remarkable -<a id='Page_79'></a>man whose genius drew them together, and whose -good-tempered pleasantries relieved the heavier tasks -of mind and body. The compendium of all his instruction -was,—Learn for yourselves, think for yourselves, -master principles, persevere, be industrious, and -there is no fear for you. It is an indication of the -value of these instructions, that every young man -trained under him rose to eminent usefulness. "Ah," -he sometimes said, on relating a bit of his own early -history, "you don't know what work is in these days." -And yet work is work all the world over.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In spite of the best Stephenson could do, the directors, -looking at their unproductive capital, and not -fully comprehending all the difficulties to be overcome, -sometimes urged greater despatch.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Now, George," said Friend Cropper one day, "thou -must get on with the railway; thou must really have -it opened by the first of January next."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Consider the heavy nature of the works, sir," -rejoined George, "and how much we have been delayed -by want of money, to say nothing of the bad weather. -The thing is impossible."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"Impossible!" cried Cropper. "I wish I could get -Napoleon to thee; he would tell thee there is no such -word as 'impossible.'"</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_80'></a>"Tush!" exclaimed George, "don't tell me about -Napoleon. Give me men, money, and material, and -I'll do what Napoleon couldn't do—drive a railroad -over Chat Moss."</p> - -<p class='c005'>He might have retorted more significantly by asking -the directors what <i>they</i> meant to do; for Liverpool -was tunnelled and Chat Moss railed before they -could agree what kind of power to put on it. There -were some who insisted upon using horse-power; but -the majority thought that was out of the question. -Meeting after meeting was held, debate followed -debate, and the whole body became more and more -puzzled as the road itself neared completion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Some kind of machine; but <i>what</i>?—ah, that was -the question. You would naturally have thought, "A -locomotive, of course." But no; since Parliament -opposition raged against it, steam had lost ground in -the public estimation, and it was very slow in getting -back to favour. Locomotives, or "travelling engines," -as they were called, were hid in a cloud of doubts,—and -more than ever since the Parliament debates. -"They were dangerous, they were frightful, they -could never go fast enough,—their utmost speed -would not be ten miles an hour." Some of the most -distinguished engineers would give no opinion of them -<a id='Page_81'></a>at all. They had none. It was certainly hard to -patronize them in spite of their indifference, and -possibly their sneers. Certainly, if the poor locomotive -depended on their verdict, its fate was sealed.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id015'> -<img src='images/i_081.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>GOOD SERVICE.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>One stanch friend remained. Stephenson stood -faithfully by "Puffing Billy," puffing away in his far-off -Northumberland home. He never flinched advocating -its principles, and urged the directors to try -one on the road. They at last ordered one to be -built,—one that would be of service to the company, -and no great nuisance to the public. It was built, -and excellent service it did, drawing marl from the -cuttings and excavations to fill up the bogs and hollows. -<a id='Page_82'></a>Nevertheless, it settled nothing, and convinced -nobody not already convinced.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Meanwhile the directors were deluged with projects, -plans, and advice for running their road. Scheme -upon scheme was let loose upon them;—some engines -to go by water-power, some by gas, some by cog-wheels. -All the engineering science in the kingdom -was ready to engineer for them in its own way; but -who among all could pronounce the best way, and upon -the whole decide which was the right motive power?</p> - -<p class='c005'>A deputation was despatched to Darlington and -Stockton to inspect the fixed and locomotive engines -employed on that road; but the deputation came -back differing so among themselves, that the directors -were more puzzled than ever. Two professional -engineers of high reputation were then sent, who, on -their return, reported in favour of <i>fixed engines</i>—for -safety, speed, economy, and convenience, fixed engines -by all odds; reiterating again and again all the frightful -stories of danger and annoyance charged upon -steam. They proposed dividing the road into nineteen -stages, of a mile and a half in length, and having -twenty-one stationary engines at different points to -push and draw the trains along. The plan was carefully -matured.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_83'></a>Poor Stephenson! how did he feel? "Well," he -said, with the calm earnestness of a man of faith, -"one thing I know, that before many years railroads -will become the great highways of the world."</p> - -<p class='c005'>Could the directors accept the project without consulting -him? Again they met. What had he to say -concerning it? Fight it he did. He dwelt upon its -complicated nature, the liability of the ropes and -tackling to get out of order, the failure of one engine -retarding and damaging and stopping the whole line; -a phase of the matter which did not fail to make an -impression. The directors were moved. The rich -Quaker, Cropper, however, headed the stationary-engine -party, and insisted upon adopting it. "But," -answered the others, "ought we to make such an -outlay of money without first giving the locomotive a -fair trial?" And Stephenson pleaded powerfully, as -you may suppose, in its behalf. "Try it, try it," he -urged; "for speed and safety there is nothing like it." -And the words of a man with strong faith are strong -words. "Besides," he said, "the locomotive is capable -of great improvements. It is young yet; its capacities -have never been thoroughly tested. When -proper inducements are held out, a superior article -will be offered to the public."</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_84'></a>Never were directors in a greater strait. There -was no withstanding Stephenson, for he knew what -he was talking about. All the rest were schemers. -At last one of the directors said, "Wait; let us offer -a prize for a new locomotive, built to answer certain -conditions, and see what sort of engine we can get."</p> - -<p class='c005'>That was fair. It was right his engine should be -properly tested. All agreed; and in a few days proposals -were issued for the building of one. There -were eight conditions, two of which were that if the -engine were of six tons weight, it should be able to -draw twenty tons, at a speed as high as <i>ten</i> miles an -hour. The prize was five hundred pounds.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The offer excited a great deal of attention, and -many people made themselves merry at its expense. -The conditions were absurd, they said; nobody but a -set of fools would have made them: it had already -been proved impossible to make a locomotive-engine -go at ten miles an hour. And one gentleman in his -heat even went so far as to say that if it ever <i>were</i> -done, he would undertake to eat a stewed engine-wheel -for his breakfast! As that condition was -fully answered, it is to be hoped that he was generously -relieved from his rash promise and his indigestible -dish.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_85'></a>More candid minds turned with interest to the -development of this new force struggling into notice. -Stephenson felt how much depended on the issue; -and the public generally concluded to suspend their -verdict upon the proper working of railways, until -time and talent gave them better means of judging.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_86'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> <br />ROBERT'S RETURN—A CURIOUS ENCOUNTER—THE<br />PRIZE ENGINE.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_086.jpg' width='66' height='158' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -One step forward; yes, a great one too, Stephenson -thought. His beloved locomotive -was to have a chance of being properly -introduced to the great English public, and -he felt that it needed only to be known to be valued. -The building of it was a matter of no small moment, -and he wanted, above all things, a tried and skilful -hand to superintend and put into its construction -every conceivable improvement. It must be the best -engine yet built.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Where should he find the right man? No one -would answer like his son Robert, so Robert he determined -to send for. Robert, you remember, went -to South America three years before. There he had -regained his health, and on receiving his father's letter, -<a id='Page_87'></a>he made immediate preparations to return to England.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id016'> -<img src='images/i_087.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>A CURIOUS ENCOUNTER.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>On his way, at a poor little comfortless inn, in a -poor little comfortless sea-port on the Gulf of Darien, -where he was waiting to take ship, he met two -strangers, one evidently an Englishman, who by his -shabby appearance looked as if the world had gone -hard with him. A fellow-feeling drew the young -man towards his poor countryman, and on inquiry -who should it prove to be but the old Cornwall tin-miner, -Captain Trovethick, whose first steam-carriage -<a id='Page_88'></a>had awakened so much curiosity in London nearly a -quarter of a century before!</p> - -<p class='c005'>He had sown his idea to the winds. Others had -caught it up, cherished it, pondered over it, examined -it, dissected it, improved it, embodied it, and by -patient study and persistent endeavour had reduced it -to a practical force. And Robert Stephenson was -now on his way to inaugurate it as one of the great -commercial values of the kingdom, and of the world. -The poor inventor, what had he done meanwhile? -While others worked, had he slept? Oh no. He -had tried an easier and a shorter cut to fame and fortune. -You remember he left his "dragon," as some -people called his locomotive, in London, quite careless -what became of it, and went scheming and speculating -in other things. Several years after, in a shop -window, it attracted the attention of a French gentleman -passing by. He was from Peru, and had just -come to England to get a steam-engine for pumping -water from some gold-diggings in the New World. -Delighted with the model, he bought it for twenty -guineas. Taking it with him to Lima, an engine was -built on the plan of it, which worked admirably. -The gentleman was then sent back to England to -hunt up and bring out the inventor himself. The -<a id='Page_89'></a>captain was found, and came forth from his obscurity -into sudden notice and demand. The gentleman -engaged him to make five pumping-engines according -to his model; which he did, and shipped them to -Lima, the captain himself soon following.</p> - -<p class='c005'>At Lima he was received with great honours and a -public rejoicing. A guard of honour was appointed -to wait on him; and, in view of the wealth he was -supposed to be able to engineer from their mines, a -massive silver statue of him, as the benefactor of -Peru, began to be talked of.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Of course poor Trovethick thought his fortune -made, and no doubt looked back with pity on his -humble English life. Friends at home spread the -news of his successes; and when they stated that the -smallest estimate of his yearly income amounted to -one hundred thousand pounds, no wonder he was pronounced -a success! Tardier steps to fortune seemed -tedious, and many of his old associates perhaps sighed -over the wholesome toil of a slower-paced prosperity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Years passed on, and the poor captain next turns -up at Cartagena, penniless and pitiable! In crossing -the country, he had lost everything. Fording rivers, -penetrating forests, and fighting wild beasts, had left -him little else than a desire to reach England again; -<a id='Page_90'></a>and Robert Stephenson gave him fifty pounds to get -home with. Sudden fortunes are apt as suddenly to -vanish, while those accumulated by the careful husbandry -of economy, industry, and foresight reward -without waste: so character is stronger than reputation—for -one is built on what we are, the other on -what we seem to be; and, like a shadow, reputation -may be longer or shorter, or only a distorted -outline of character. One holds out because it is -real; the other often disappears because it is but a -shadow.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robert reached home in December 1827, right -heartily welcomed, we may well believe, by his father, -who was thankful to halve the burden of responsibility -with such a son. To build the prize locomotive -was <i>his</i> work.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Stephenson had long been a partner in a locomotive -factory at Newcastle, which had hitherto -proved a losing concern to the owners. There was -little or no market for their article; but they struggled -on, year after year, waiting for better times. -Nobody saw better times but Stephenson. He saw -them ahead, shooting through the gloomy clouds of -indifference and prejudice. And now he calculated it -was very near. So he sent Robert to Newcastle to -<a id='Page_91'></a>take charge of the works there, and construct an -engine that would make good all his words.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was a critical moment, but he had no fears of -the result. Robert often came to Liverpool to consult -with his father, and long and interesting discussions -took place between father and son concerning -the best mode of increasing and perfecting the powers -of the mechanism. One thing wanted was greater -speed; and this could only be gained by increasing -the quantity and the quality of the steam. For this -effect a greater heating surface was necessary, and -mechanics had long been experimenting to find the -best and most economical boiler for high-pressure -engines.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Young James, son of that Mr. James who, when -the new Liverpool and Manchester route was talked -of, was the first to discover and acknowledge George -Stephenson's genius, made the model of an improved -boiler, which he showed to the Stephensons. Perhaps -he was one of the boys who went to Killingworth -with his father to see the wonders of "Puffing Billy," -and whose terrors at the snorting monster were only -soothed by a pleasant and harmless ride on his back. -Whether this gave him a taste for steam-engines we -do not know. At any rate he introduces himself to -<a id='Page_92'></a>our notice now with a patented model of an improved -boiler in his hand, which Stephenson thinks it may be -worth his while to make trial of. "Try it," exclaimed -the young inventor—"try it, and there will be no -limit to your speed. Think of thirty miles an hour!"</p> - -<div class='figcenter id017'> -<img src='images/i_092.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>SECTION OF THE FIRST BOILER IN USE.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>"Don't speak of thirty miles an hour," rejoined -Stephenson; "I should not dare talk about such a -thing aloud." For I suppose he could hardly forget -how Parliament committees had branded him as a -fool and a madman for broaching such beliefs.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id018'> -<span class='pageno' title='93' id='Page_93'></span> -<img src='images/i_093.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>SECTION OF A TUBULAR BOILER.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>The improved boiler was what is called a multi-tubular -boiler. You do not understand that, I suppose. -An iron boiler is cast, six feet long, and three -feet and a third in diameter. It is to be filled half -full of water. Through this lower half there run -twenty-five copper tubes, each about three inches in -diameter, open at one end to the fire, through which -the heat passes to the chimney at the other end. -You see this would present a great deal of heating -surface to the water, causing it to boil and steam off -with great rapidity. The invention was not a sudden -growth, as no inventions are. Fire-tubes serving this -use started in several fertile minds about the same -time, and several persons claimed the honour of the -invention; but it was Stephenson's practical mind -<a id='Page_94'></a>which put it into good working order and made it -available. For he told Robert to try it in his new -locomotive.</p> - -<p class='c005'>He did. The tubes were of copper, manufactured -by a Newcastle coppersmith, and carefully inserted -into the ends of the boiler by screws. Water was -put into the boiler, and in order to be sure there was -no leakage, a pressure was put on the water; when, -lo, the water squirted out at every screw, and the -factory floor was deluged! Poor Robert was in -despair. He sat down and wrote to his father that -the whole thing was a failure.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A failure indeed! Back came a letter by the next -post telling him to "go ahead and try again!" The -letter, moreover, suggested a remedy for the disaster—fastening -the tubes into the boiler by fitting them -snugly into holes bored for the purpose, and soldering -up the edges. And it proved to be precisely what -Robert himself had thought of, after the first bitter -wave of disappointment had subsided. So he took -heart and went to work again. Success crowned his -efforts. A heavy pressure was put on the water, and -not a drop oozed out. The boiler was completely -water-tight.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This is precisely the kind of boiler now in use: -<a id='Page_95'></a>some have fifty tubes; the largest engines one hundred -and fifty.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id019'> -<img src='images/i_095.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE FAILURE.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Various other improvements were incorporated into -the new engine, which, as you do not probably understand -much about machinery, would not particularly -interest you.</p> - -<p class='c005'>At last the new engine was finished. It weighed -only four tons and a quarter—little less than two tons -under the weight required by the offer of the directors. -The tender, shaped like a waggon, carried the -fuel in one end and the water in the other.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was forthwith put on the Killingworth track, -fired up, and started off. Robert must have watched -<a id='Page_96'></a>its operations with intense anxiety. Nothing could -have met his expectations like the new boiler. It in -fact outdid his highest hopes. The steam made -rapidly, and in what seemed to him then marvellous -quantities. Away went a letter to Liverpool that -very evening.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id020'> -<img src='images/i_096.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>TUBES OF A MODERN ENGINE.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>"The 'Rocket' is all right and ready," wrote the -young man joyfully. That was the engine's name, -"Rocket,"—on account of its speed, perhaps. "Puffing -Billy" was quite cast into the shade.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_97'></a>It was shortly afterwards shipped to Liverpool, in -good time for the grand trial.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id021'> -<img src='images/i_097.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE "ROCKET."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>The trial, rapidly approaching, elicited a great and -general interest. The public mind was astir. The -day fixed was the first of October. Engineers, mechanics, -and scientific men, from far and near, flocked to -Liverpool. The ground where the exhibition was to -take place was a level piece of railroad two miles -long, a little out of the city. Each engine was to -<a id='Page_98'></a>make twenty trips, at a rate of speed not under ten -miles an hour, and three competent men were appointed -as judges.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Four engines were entered on the list,—the -"<span class='sc'>Novelty</span>," the "<span class='sc'>Sans-pareil</span>," the "<span class='sc'>Rocket</span>," the -"<span class='sc'>Perseverance</span>."</p> - -<p class='c005'>Several others were built for the occasion in different -parts of the kingdom, or rather projected and -begun, but were not finished in time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In order to afford ample opportunity for their -owners to get them in good working order, the directors -postponed the trial till October 6th. The day -arrived, and a glance at the country around showed -that an unusual occasion was drawing people together. -Multitudes from the neighbouring towns assembled -on the ground at an early hour. The road was -lined with carriages, and a high staging afforded the -ladies an opportunity of witnessing the novel race.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The "Novelty" and "Sans-pareil," though first on -the list, were not ready at the hour appointed. What -engine was? The "Rocket." Stephenson, next on -the roll, was called for by the judges, and promptly -the little "Rocket" fired up at the call. It performed -six trips in about fifty-three minutes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The "Novelty" then proclaimed itself ready. It -<a id='Page_99'></a>was a light, trim engine, of little more than three -tons weight, carrying its fuel and water with it. It -took no load, and ran across the course sometimes at -the rate of twenty-five miles an hour. The "Sans-pareil" -also came out.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The "Perseverance," not able to go faster than five -or six miles an hour, withdrew from the contest. As -the day was now far spent, further exhibition was -put off till the morrow.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What exciting discussions must have taken place -among rival competitors and their friends! What a -scrutiny of the merits and demerits, the virtues and -defects of opposing engines!</p> - -<p class='c005'>Before the appointed hour the next day, the bellows -of the "Novelty" gave out; and as this was one of -its merits—a bellows to increase the draught of the -air-blast—its builders were forced to retire from the -list.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Soon after, a defect was discovered in the boiler of -the "Sans-pareil." Mr. Hackworth begged for time -to mend it; as there was no time, his request could -not be granted, and he too withdrew his claims.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The "Rocket" alone stood its ground. The -"Rocket," therefore, was again called for. Stephenson -attached to it a carriage large enough to hold a -<a id='Page_100'></a>party of thirty, and drove his locomotive along the -line at the rate of twenty-five and thirty miles an -hour, to the amazement and delight of every one -present.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The next morning it was ordered to be in readiness -to answer the various specifications of the offer. It -snorted and panted, and steamed over the race-ground -in proud trim, drawing about thirteen tons weight. -In twenty trips, backward and forward, its greatest -speed was twenty-nine miles an hour—three times -greater than Nicholas Wood, one of the judges, declared -to be possible. Its average rate was fifteen -miles—five miles beyond the rate specified for the -prize. The performance appeared astonishing. Spectators -were filled with wonder. The poor directors -began to see fair weather; doubts were solved, disputes -settled; the "Rocket" had cleared the track for -them. There could no longer be any question how -to run the road. George Cropper, who had steadily -countenanced stationary engines, lifted up his hands -exclaiming, "Stephenson has at last delivered himself!"</p> - -<p class='c005'>The two other locomotives, however, were allowed -to reappear on the stage; but both broke down, and -the "Rocket" remained victor to the last. It had -<a id='Page_101'></a>performed and more than performed all it promised, -fulfilled all the conditions of the directors' offer, and -was accordingly declared to have nobly earned the -prize—five hundred pounds.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But the money was little, compared with the profound -satisfaction which the Stephensons felt at this -public acknowledgment of the worth of their lifelong -labours. George's veracity, skill, intelligence, -had all been doubted, denied, derided by men of all -classes. Even old friends turned against him, and -thought his mind was crazed by "one idea." He -had to struggle on alone; faithful to his convictions, -patiently biding his time, yet earnestly pleading his -cause on every suitable occasion. He had a blessing -for the world; and he knew when it felt its want of -it, it would have it. That time had come. The -directors flocked around him with flattering congratulations. -All shyness and coolness vanished. Friends -were no longer few. The shares of the company -immediately rose ten per cent. Men and means were -at his disposal. George Stephenson was a happy man.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The "Rocket" had blown stationary engines to the -winds. And Steam that day, on the land as well as -on the water, took its place as one of the grand moving -powers of the world.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_102'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER IX.<br /> <br />OPENING OF THE NEW ROAD—DIFFICULTIES VANISH—A<br />NEW ERA.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_102.jpg' width='65' height='137' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -There was no more waiting for work at the -locomotive factory in Newcastle. Orders -immediately arrived from the directors to -build eight large engines for the new road, -and all the workshops were astir with busy life. The -victorious little "Rocket" was put on the road, and -sensibly helped to finish it. Neither faith, nor men, -nor means were now wanting, and the labour in every -part went heartily on.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In June a meeting of the directors was held in -Manchester, when the "Rocket" made a trip from -Liverpool to that city with a freight and passenger -train, running through in two hours. Chat Moss -never quivered. And the directors, I dare say, would -have been very glad to forget their disconsolate meeting -<a id='Page_103'></a>on the edge of it, when they nearly voted themselves -beaten by the bog, only Stephenson would not -let them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On the 15th of September 1830, there was to be -a public opening of the road, and preparations were -made at each end, and all along the way, for the -grand event. The occasion awakened a deep and -universal interest. It was justly regarded as a national -event, to be celebrated with becoming honours. The -Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister, was present; -also Sir Robert Peel, and Mr. Huskisson, whose stirring -words had revived the drooping spirits of the directors -after their defeat in Parliament, and whose influence -had served to get their Bill successfully through at -last. No one, perhaps, had watched the progress of -the enterprise with deeper interest than Mr. Huskisson, -or rejoiced more in the vanquishing of one difficulty -after another to its final finishing. Great numbers -came from far and near, who, assembling by the -slow mode of travel of those days, took time accordingly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Carriages lined the roads and lanes; the river was -crowded with boats; and soldiers and constables had -their hands full to keep the people from the track.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id022'> -<span class='pageno' title='104' id='Page_104'></span> -<img src='images/i_104.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>OPENING THE LINE.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>The new locomotives, eight in number, having been -carefully tested, steamed proudly up. The "Northumbrian," -driven by George Stephenson, took the lead. -Next the "Phœnix," under Robert's charge. The -"North Star," by a brother of George. The "Rocket," -and the rest, with their trains, followed. Six hundred -persons were in this procession, flying at the rate of -twenty-five miles an hour! Oh the wonder and -admiration which the spectacle excited! These noble -steam-horses, panting, prancing, snorting, puffing, -blowing, shooting through tunnels, dashing across -bridges, coursing high embankments, and racing over -<a id='Page_105'></a>the fields and far away! England and the world -never saw before a sight like that.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But the joy and the triumph of the occasion were -destined to be damped by a sad disaster. At Parkenside, -seventeen miles from Liverpool, the "Northumbrian," -which carried the Duke and his party, was -drawn up on one track, in order to allow the other -trains to pass in review before them on the other. -Mr. Huskisson had alighted, and, standing outside, -was talking with the Duke, when a hurried cry of -"Get in! get in!" went up from the bystanders. For -on came the "Rocket," steaming at full speed. Mr. -Huskisson, startled and confused, attempted to regain -the carriage an instant too late: he was struck down, -and the "Rocket" went over him.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"I have met my death!" exclaimed the unfortunate -man; which, alas! proved but too true, for he died -that evening.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A sad confusion prevailed. The wounded gentleman -was lifted into the carriage, and the "Northumbrian" -took him over the track home, a distance of -fifteen miles, in about twenty minutes. So swiftly -and easily done! The use rather than the abuse of -the new power made the strongest impression.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The mournful accident threw a cloud over the -<a id='Page_106'></a>occasion. The Duke wished to stop the celebration, -and immediately return to Liverpool. Mr. Huskisson's -friends joined with him in the wish. Others felt -that Manchester should not be disappointed in witnessing -the arrival of the trains, and that the accident -might become magnified and misrepresented, and thus -operate mischievously upon public sentiment in relation -to railroads; the party therefore consented to -proceed to their journey's end, but were unwilling -to mingle in any of the rejoicings common to such -occasions.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But the railroad needed no such demonstrations to -publish or to prove its worth. It had within itself -more substantial proof. Time was saved; labour was -saved; money was saved. Coal, cotton, and every -article of merchandise useful to men, could be carried -cheaper, could be had cheaper than ever before; and, -what was better, had in quantities sufficient to satisfy -the industry and necessities of men. And with cheapness -were combined comfort and safety. The first -eighteen months, 700,000 persons were carried over -the road, and not an accident happened!</p> - -<p class='c005'>But were not people frightened by the smoke, -cinders, fire, and noise of the engines, as the opposition -in Parliament had declared they would be? No, no. -<a id='Page_107'></a>It was not long before everybody wanted land near -the track; and land, therefore, near the road rapidly -rose in value. The farmers who had driven the surveyors -from their fields, now complained of being left -on one side; and those who had farms near the -station to rent, rented them at a much higher rate -than ever before. Barren lots became suddenly profitable, -and even Chat Moss was turned into productive -acres!</p> - -<p class='c005'>In 1692, an old writer states, "There is an admirable -commodiousness both for men and women of the -better rank to travel from London, the like of which -has not been known in the world; and that is, by -stage-coaches, wherein one may be transferred to any -place, sheltered from foul weather, with a velocity -and speed equal to the fastest posts in foreign countries; -for the stage-coaches called 'Flying-coaches' -make forty or fifty miles a day."</p> - -<p class='c005'>An English paper, bearing the date of January -1775, has this advertisement: "<span class='sc'>Hereford Machine</span>, -in a day and a half, twice a week, continues flying -from the Swan in Hereford, Monday and Thursday, -to London."</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the Scriptures we find Isaiah, with prophetic -eye, looking over the centuries to these later times -<a id='Page_108'></a>and penning down: "Every valley shall be exalted, -and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and -the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough -places plain;" and "swift passengers" are seen executing -the world's affairs—no meagre description of the -great means of intercourse in our day, the railway -and the telegraph. The prophet saw in it a clearing -of the way for the coming kingdom of the Redeemer, -which is some time to spread over the whole earth as -"the waters cover the sea." Men make good tools -and instruments for themselves. They forget they -are perfecting them for God also, who is using them, -and who will use them, to make known the precious -gospel of his Son, "peace on earth, and good-will to -men."</p> - -<p class='c005'>What powerful preachers for the Sabbath are the -railway and the telegraph, doing away with all -necessity and every excuse for Sabbath travelling as -they do! Long journeys and the most urgent business -can be done between Sabbath and Sabbath, giving a -rest-day to the nation. And this view of them is -deserving of more and more regard.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The institution of the Sabbath was founded with -the human race. It was meant to be the rest-day of -the entire world. It was set up as a blessing: "The -<a id='Page_109'></a>Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it." The -bodies of man and beast need it. The muscles, bones, -nerves, sinews, and brain cannot endure the strain of -constant and uninterrupted work. It is the day for -making up the waste of the animal frame caused by -continual labour and excitement. Night rest is not -enough. The God of Nature and of the Sabbath has -fitted the one to the other.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When the knowledge of God had faded out of the -earth, and he had chosen a people to restore and preserve -it, besides a code of national laws particularly -for them, he enacted from Sinai a code of moral laws -for man. Among them was the rest-law of the -Sabbath. It is the fourth commandment of the Decalogue, -taught in all our Sabbath schools, pulpits, and -homes: "Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy: -in it thou shalt do no work," man nor beast. Further, -God promises a great reward to those who call -"the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; -not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine -own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, but delighting -thyself in the Lord;" showing not only the -rest-use of the Sabbath, but its soul-use, as a day of -special intercourse with God.</p> - -<p class='c005'>"The Sabbath was made for man," says Jesus -<a id='Page_110'></a>Christ; and the <i>Christian</i> Sabbath has incorporated -into it the finishing of the great plan of our redemption, -when Christ,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>"Who endured the cross and grave,</div> - <div class='line'>Sinners to redeem and save,"</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>arose from the dead, according to the Scriptures. -Thus it is appropriately called "the Lord's day;" the -day when our worldly business is to be set aside, and -when Christ presses his claims upon the hearts and -consciences of men. It is a break in the hurrying -whirl of this life's interests, to consider the solemn -issues of eternity, and that atoning love which is -mighty to save all who by repentance and faith accept -its terms of mercy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>We find it was on the observance or desecration -of the Sabbath that the prosperity of the Hebrew -nation hung. "You bring wrath upon the nation," -cried Nehemiah to the Sabbath-breaking traders. -"This very profanation has been the cause of our disasters -in times past." For Sabbath profanation leads -to forgetfulness of God; and God left out, what becomes -of man? Ruin stares him in the face. "The -ungodly shall not prosper." What becomes of a -nation? Ruin! They shall be left to their own -<a id='Page_111'></a>doings. The French nation blotted out the Sabbath, -and showed what it was <i>to be left of God</i>.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When an African prince sent an embassy to Queen -Victoria with costly presents, and asked her to tell -him in return the secret of England's greatness and -England's glory, presenting him with a copy of the -Bible, the Queen replied, "Tell your prince that <i>this</i> -is the secret of England's greatness."</p> - -<p class='c005'>For all our institutions, all our civil and religious -interests, we need the morality of the Bible, the conscience -and the self-restraint which the Bible enjoins; -and for this purpose we must vigorously support the -institutions of the Bible. Foremost in the foreground -is the Sabbath. It has come down to us through the -ages, the great commemoration-day of a finished creation -and a completed atonement, summoning men to -call on the name of the Lord, and bless and praise his -holy name.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On its observance the highest moral education of -the people depends. Every railroad corporation is -bound to be a Sabbath-keeping corporation. It <i>makes -time enough</i> to do its work. The <i>nature</i> of its work -demands responsible men. An immense amount of -property is in its hands, requiring officers of scrupulous -integrity to manage its interests. The gross -<a id='Page_112'></a>receipts of eight railways terminating in London are -over £200,000 a week.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It has the life and limbs of thousands upon thousands -intrusted to its charge, at the mercy of its -employés, engineers, firemen, brakemen, switchmen, -the recklessness or unfaithfulness of any of whom -may bring sudden death to scores, and plunge a nation -into mourning. These men, to be <i>kept</i> the right men, -need the Sabbath. To be honest, responsible, vigilant, -true, God-fearing men, fit for their posts of duty, -they <i>must have</i> the Sabbath.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Many roads are Sabbath-keeping. Some of those -which do run on that day are poorly paid. Carrying -the mail helps them out. They run, perhaps, for -that purpose. But is it <i>necessary</i> to keep up Sabbath -violation on our great routes in order to forward the -mail? Does not the Saturday telegraph do away -with that necessity? Every important item of business -can be put through on the wires in time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The side of the Sabbath is the side of God.</p> - -<hr class='c009' /> - -<p class='c005'>What became of George Stephenson and his son -Robert? the boys will have the curiosity to ask.</p> - -<p class='c005'>George and Robert Stephenson took their rank -among the great men of England—that class of great -<a id='Page_113'></a>men who contribute to the true prosperity of the -world, by giving it better tools to do its labour with. -A good tool is a great civilizer. The more perfect -the instrument, the better the work. The more perfect -the instrument, the greater the number of persons -benefited; for the sagacity necessary to invention and -discovery, and the intelligence required to mature -them, are large-hearted and broad-minded. They -work for the many, not for the few.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The history of railways in England it is not my -object to give you, and that enters largely into the -remaining period of George Stephenson's life; you -will find it fully detailed in Smiles's Life of him. He -became rich and famous, yet he always preserved the -simple habits and tastes of his early days. Though -asked to dine at the richly-spread tables of lords and -baronets, no dish suited his taste better than his frugal -oat-meal "crowdie," and no cook served it better than -himself. Kings and queens thought it a privilege to -talk with him. Liverpool erected a statue of him. -The King of Belgium knighted him. But he cared -little for honours. When somebody, wishing to dedicate -a book to him, asked what his "ornamental -initials" were, "I have to state," replied he, "that I -have no flourishes to my name, either before or after. -<a id='Page_114'></a>I think it will be as well if you merely say, 'George -Stephenson.'"</p> - -<p class='c005'>Young men beginning life often called upon him -for advice and assistance. He hated show and -foppery, and a weakness in that direction often got -reproof. One day one came flourishing a gold-headed -cane. "Put by that stick, my man," said Stephenson, -"and I will talk with you."</p> - -<p class='c005'>"You will, sir, I hope, excuse me," he said on -another occasion to a very gaily dressed youth; "I -am plain-spoken, and am sorry to see a clever young -man like you disfigured by that fine-patterned waistcoat -and all these chains and fang-dangs. If I, sir, -had bothered my head with these things when I -was of your age, I would not have been where I now -am."</p> - -<p class='c005'>Wholesome as were his reproofs, his counsel was as -reliable, and his help as timely. From the mine of -his own rugged experience he had gathered truths -richer than grains of gold; and he never allowed any -good opportunity to pass without insisting upon the -practice of those homelier and sterner virtues which -form the strong woof of character. When building a -road between Birmingham and London, Robert walked -twenty times over the entire route, illustrating the -<a id='Page_115'></a>patient assiduity taught him by his father. No slipshod -work could escape their eye. "<i>Neglect nothing</i>," -was their motto. As a Killingworth collier he put -his brains and his heart into his work. As a master-builder -he put his conscience into it. All his work -was honest, representing the actual character of the -man.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id023'> -<img src='images/i_115.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>WHOLESOME REPROOF.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>When the rough and tumble of life began to subside, -and he became a more stationary engine, with -greater leisure for the enjoyment of his now ample -home, his old love of birds, dogs, horses, and rabbits -revived. There was not a bird's nest upon his grounds -that he did not know, and he often watched the -nest-building operations with a builder's interest; a -<a id='Page_116'></a>blade of grass, a bit of bark, a nest of birds, an ant -tugging for one poor grain, were all to his mind -revelations of the wonderful mechanism and creative -power of God.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id024'> -<img src='images/i_116.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>LATER DAYS OF GEORGE STEPHENSON.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>He died in August 1848, in the sixty-seventh year -of his age.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robert proved himself worthy of such a father. -They were alike in character, intimately associated in -the great engineering enterprises of their day, and -bound to each other by the fondest affection.</p> - -<p class='c005'>George built roads, Robert bridges to run them -over; for railroads have given birth to the most stupendous -and splendid bridges the world ever saw. -<a id='Page_117'></a>The famous Tubular Bridge over the Strait of Menai—connecting -Holyhead with the mainland—and the -High Level Bridge at Newcastle, built by him, are -monuments of engineering skill. You often see pictures -of them. The most remarkable work of his -genius, however, is on the other side of the Atlantic -Ocean.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was desirable that the Grand Trunk Railway of -Canada, terminating at Montreal, should be connected -with the sea-board; and the road was accordingly -extended from Montreal to Portland, Maine. But the -river St. Lawrence, deep and broad, sweeping down -its mighty current the waters and ice of the great -lakes, broke the line and separated the road into two -parts. The river must be spanned. A bridge must -be built. It was a stupendous undertaking, but -"Robert Stephenson can do it." Robert Stephenson -did do it. It is thrown from Languire to a point half -a mile below the city, a distance of nearly two miles. -It is composed of twenty-four spans, and has three -million feet of solid masonry in it. The road runs -through iron tubes, sixty feet above the river, and the -train is nine minutes going across. There are ten -thousand tons of iron in the tubes. It was six years -in building. It is called the Goliath of bridges; and -is named the Victoria Bridge, in honour of Queen -Victoria.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id025'> -<span class='pageno' title='118' id='Page_118'></span> -<img src='images/i_118.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>VICTORIA BRIDGE, MONTREAL.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_119'></a>Robert drafted, calculated, estimated, and superintended -section after section of this immense work, -and yet never visited the scene of labour! photographs -were sent him of its progress step by step. It -was finished December 1859, and opened with all the -festal honours possible in that season of the year. At -the entertainment given there was one toast—"Robert -Stephenson, the greatest engineer the world ever saw"—followed -by no cheers. A deep hush swept over -the assembly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>For Robert Stephenson was dead. He died on the -12th of October, two months before the completion of -the work, in the rich prime of a noble manhood. His -death was looked upon as a public calamity; and -England, with a true sense of his worth, laid him side -by side with her most honoured dead. He was buried -in Westminster Abbey, with her kings and queens, -her princes and poets, her warriors and statesmen. -The funeral procession was between two and three -miles long; thousands lined the streets, and thousands -pressed into the Abbey. Tickets were necessary in -order to get entrance; and one of the most pressing -applicants was an humble working-man, who years -<a id='Page_120'></a>before had driven the first locomotive-engine from -Birmingham to London, with Robert Stephenson at his -elbow.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The humble Newcastle collier-boy crowned his life -with honourable toil; and at his death a nation -mourned a great man fallen.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <a id='Page_121'></a> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER X.<br /> <br />THE STEPHENSON CENTENARY—HONOUR TO<br />WHOM HONOUR IS DUE.</h2> -</div> -<div class='c004'> - <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i_121.jpg' width='65' height='140' alt='' /> -</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'> -George Stephenson was born on the 9th -of June 1781.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The year 1881 was therefore the hundredth -since his birth,—completed "the centenary;" -and it occurred to many thoughtful and influential -persons as a right thing to do that it should be -marked by some special mode of public celebration. -For the man born just one hundred years before had -done a great work in his day; a work the full benefit -of which we are only now beginning to enjoy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>England is not ungrateful to the memory of her -distinguished sons, and keeps many anniversaries with -a good deal of pomp and circumstance. She does not -forget a Shakespeare and a Burns, or a Wellington -and a Nelson; she loves to remember the establishment -<a id='Page_122'></a>of the first printing-press, and the victories at -Trafalgar and Waterloo. Such being the case, it cannot -be denied that there was a peculiar fitness in her -doing honour to "the Father of Railways,"—to the -man whose successful patience, energy, and courage -have so largely added to the national wealth and -developed the national resources.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A century ago, when Stephenson was born, no one -had dreamed of or imagined such a thing as railway -traffic. That great idea was reserved for the brain of -the son of a colliery engine tenter; and we have seen -in the foregoing pages under what discouragement, -and in the face of what colossal difficulties, he conceived -and carried it out. The steam-engine in use in -his youth and manhood was a crude, awkward, and -disjointed affair, always coming to grief, and incapable -of any important work. The locomotive, as Stephenson -found it, was nothing more than a clumsy stationary -engine put on a clumsy truck, which rattled and -shook as it crept along at the rate of four miles an -hour, so that every moment it seemed about to tumble -to pieces. And the railway on which it ran was not -less imperfect; it was nothing more than a system of -light thin rails, which rested, or at least were intended -to rest, upon blocks of stone or rough wooden sleepers.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_123'></a>Stephenson, as we have seen, resolved upon reforming -all this. He soon improved the track, giving -it greater solidity and firmness; and then he turned to -the engine, which he continued to perfect almost to -the day of his death. There was much in the circumstances -of the time to stimulate his activity. The -coal trade was increasing largely, and those engaged -in it were anxious to send their "black diamonds" -over the country with all possible speed. They could -no longer tolerate engines that rattled and jolted to -and fro at the rate of only four miles an hour! They -were ambitious, and wanted a speed of ten miles. -Well, we know what Stephenson did: he invented an -engine that attained fifteen miles an hour; and then, -unresting and unhasting, he addressed himself to the -task of extending—or, rather, creating—our railway -system.</p> - -<p class='c005'>He succeeded: and now there are eighteen thousand -miles of railway in England;<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c010'><sup>[1]</sup></a> and our ordinary -trains make thirty miles, our express trains fifty and -sixty miles an hour; and millions of men and women -travel where formerly only hundreds went; and journeys -<a id='Page_124'></a>that occupied a day and a night, like the journey -from London to Exeter, are accomplished in half-a-dozen -hours. Why, we leave London at ten, and reach -Edinburgh at seven the same evening; a journey -which, when Stephenson was born, could not be performed -under a couple of days and nights!</p> -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>: </span>At the close of 1880 there were 17,700 miles, employing 300,000 -persons, and 13,174 locomotives. In this vast net-work of iron roads a -capital of not less than £70,000,000 is sunk, yielding an annual return of -£30,000,000. Upwards of 600,000,000 journeys are made on the average -every year.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>So marvellous a tale reads like a romance from -some Eastern fairy-book. Yet it is literally true, and -the work has been done in the sight and memory of -thousands of living men. Was it not a work which -deserved "a centenary"?</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the man: did <i>he</i> not deserve it? If ever indomitable -perseverance merited public applause, it was that -of George Stephenson. We will say nothing more of -the trials and labours of his early years; but even -after he had made his engine, and undertaken to construct -the first English railway, what obstacles he -had to conquer, what difficulties to surmount! Both -Houses of Parliament were against him; the world -was against him. People were horrified at the thought -of "turning the locomotive loose on the country." -They drew dreadful pictures of the evil it would do. -Families sitting by their own firesides, it was said, -would not be safe. A runaway engine, twenty tons -in weight, would dash through a whole line of houses, -<a id='Page_125'></a>toppling them down one after the other like houses -built of cards. How was such a monster to be controlled? -A screw loose, or a wrong turn of the -handle, and it would bound out of the control of its -driver. Then, again, others would ask, who wanted -to travel more than ten miles an hour? Who wanted -to rush through the country at a rate which would -take away the breath? Was it not "flying in the -face of Providence"? Moreover, these new "trains" -were to start exactly to the minute, and what could -be more inconvenient? "It was the regular thing in -those days to keep the carriage and four a whole hour -waiting at the door, till every room of the house had -been gone through several times to see that nothing -was left behind."</p> - -<p class='c005'>But Stephenson was not to be daunted. Possessed -with one great thought, he kept to it manfully, and -laboured day by day and night by night with unsurpassable -energy. Such a man—the author of so great -a work—surely deserved a centenary.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And a noble centenary it was. Both at Newcastle -and at Chesterfield—the two towns with which -Stephenson was most closely connected—the day was -observed as a holiday, and thousands took part in the -different ceremonies.</p> - -<p class='c005'><a id='Page_126'></a>At Newcastle, the streets of which were gaily -decorated with tall Venetian masts covered with red -cloth, and each surmounted by a trophy of flags,—with -ornamental mottoes, wreaths and festoons of -glossy foliage, and a brave show of banners and garlands, -there was a grand procession of modern railway -engines, which started from the Central Railway -Station, and proceeded, amidst the cheers of thousands, -to Wylam, George Stephenson's birth-place, eight miles -distant. These engines, sixteen in number, were the -finest modern science could construct: some of them -had driving-wheels six feet in diameter, and outside -cylinders which measured in diameter nearly a foot -and a half. How bright they were with their shining -copper and polished steel, and how the sunlight -flashed from them as, linked together, they rolled -along the iron way! On reaching Wylam they were -placed for exhibition along with the five old original -locomotives—namely, the Killingworth (the first that -Stephenson ever made), the Hatton Colliery engine, -the old Darlington engine, No. 1 Locomotive from -Darlington, and Stephenson's old "Victor" from the -North-Eastern Railway.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A special train followed, carrying the Mayors of -Newcastle and other towns, with many persons of -<a id='Page_127'></a>local celebrity. Opposite George Stephenson's birth-place -it stopped; the Mayor of Newcastle alighted -with his friends, and in honour of the day planted an -oak-tree. The return journey was then made, and the -engines we have named were thrown open to public -inspection.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The next event was a procession of members of the -corporations, public bodies, trade societies, and workmen -of Newcastle, Gateshead, Jarrow, and South -Shields, together with the miners of Northumberland -and Durham—some 40,000 altogether—who, through -the garlanded and bannered streets, marched to the -town moor. There three platforms had been erected, -from which the various trade representatives delivered -appropriate addresses.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the evening a grand banquet took place, at -which the Mayor of Newcastle presided; and the day's -festivities concluded with a brilliant display of fireworks.</p> - -<p class='c005'>At Chesterfield the public rejoicings, if necessarily -on a less extensive scale, were not less cordial. Of -course, there was a procession; there was also a special -choral service in the parish church; and we read of -a banquet, a concert, and a fireworks finale.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But all this was temporary,—belonged only to the -<a id='Page_128'></a>day, and with the day passed away. So it was resolved -to raise funds for the establishment of a permanent -memorial, which, it is to be hoped, may be in -existence, active and prosperous, when a bi-centenary -and a tri-centenary in their turn come round. This -will be a "Stephenson College of Physical Science," to -be erected at Newcastle, at a cost of £20,000. And -a Stephenson Scholarship Fund is also being raised, -which will place the higher education within the -reach of youths of Stephenson's social rank imitating -Stephenson in his perseverance, energy, love of knowledge, -and patient industry.</p> -<p class='c011'>Transcribers note.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Spelling, Punctuation and Hyphenation have been kept as the original. -</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rocket, by H. C. 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