,illustration3 ,a ,,locomotive ,,and    
,,tender4                               
,,the ,,rocket4                         
,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,stephensons1 
,father and ,son4                       
,,by                                ,h4 
,c4 ,,knight1                           
,,author ,,of ,,no ,,gains ,,without    
,,pains1 ,,etc4                         
,,with ,,twenty-,,six ,,engravings      
,london3                    ,t4 ,,nelson
 ,,and ,,sons1 ,,paternoster ,,row4     
,,edinburgh2 ,,and ,,new ,,york4        
#ahig                                   
,preface4      ,a brief book for the    
boys4 ,god gives you work to do in the  
world4 ,he  gives you honourable work4  
,there is much done that is mean and    
dishonourable4 ,depend upon it1 that is 
not ,his4 ,in the beginning of  your    
work1 character grows out of it2 as you 
go on1 your character  goes into it4    
,therefore the ,bible declares that     
,god1 without respect  of persons1      
judgeth according to every man's work4  

,we judge in the same  way4 ,this little
 book will show you how much the        
practice of the  virtues1 the humbler   
virtues1 has to do with making good     
work4    ,but keep ever in mind that    
these virtues1 however useful and       
important  for your work in this world1 
have no saving power in them--they form 
no  plea for the favour of ,god2 the key
 which unlocks the door of ,heaven is   
not found among them4 ,like the young   
man in the ,gospel1 you may have the    
loveliness of every natural virtue1 and 
yet be lost4    ,as sinners in the sight
 of ,god1 you need the atoning blood of 
the  ,redeemer2 you need repentance and 
faith in that blood4 ,make ,jesus       
,christ1 therefore1 the corner-stone of 
your character2 on that  foundation     
build your character4 ,cultivate the    
graces of the ,gospel4  ,baptize the    
virtues with your ,saviour's love4 ,a   
noble ,christian manhood  can only be   
attained by the slow and steady         
endeavours of a heart fixed  on ,god1   

and a hand diligent and delighting in   
the work ,he has given it  to do4       
,contents4               ,i4 ,,life     
,,among ,,the ,,coal ,,pits1            
#i            ,,ii4 ,,mending ,,and     
,,making--,,little ,,bob1               
#ai           ,,iii4 ,,who ,,began      
,,railroads8--,,puffing ,,billy1        
#cj            ,,iv4 ,,two ,,cities     
,,that ,,wanted ,,to ,,get ,,near ,,each
              ,,other--,a ,,new         
,,friend1                               
#ch             ,v4 ,,hunting ,,up ,,his
 ,,own ,,work--,,an ,,enterprising      
,,quaker--,,what ,,was ,,the ,,result8  
#df            ,,vi4 ,,the ,,two        
,,cities ,,trying ,,again--,,bugbears1  
#eh           ,,vii4 ,,grappling ,,with 
,,difficulties--,,the ,,bog--,a         
,,puzzle--,,the ,,prize ,,offer1        
#gb          ,,viii4 ,,robert',s        
,,return--,a ,,curious                  
,,encounter--,,the              ,,prize 
,,engine1                               
#hf            ,,ix4 ,,opening ,,of     

,,the ,,new ,,road--,,difficulties      
,,vanish--,a ,,new ,,era1               
#ajb             ,x4 ,,the ,,stephenson 
,,centenary--,,honour ,,to ,,whom       
,,honour ,,is ,,due1                    
#aba                                    
,list of ,illustrations4                
,,locomotive ,,and ,,tender1            
,frontispiece       ,,early ,,work1     
#aj       ,a ,,safety ,,lamp1           
#aa       ,,birthplace ,,of ,,george    
,,stephenson1                           
#ab       ,,at ,,school1                
#ag       ,,mending ,,the ,,clock1      
#ba       ,,the ,,sun-,,dial1           
#bi       ,,george ,,stephenson',s      
,,first ,,engine1                       
#ce       ,,puffing ,,billy1            
#cf       ,,the ,,visit ,,to ,,puffing  
,,billy1                                
#dd       ,,the ,,two ,,strangers1      
#ej       ,a ,,talk ,,about ,,railways1 
#ed       ,,surveying ,,at ,,night1     
#fc       ,,chat ,,moss1                
#gd       ,,good ,,service1             

#ha       ,a ,,curious ,,encounter1     
#hg       ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,first  
,,boiler ,,in ,,use1                    
#ib       ,,section ,,of ,a ,,tubular   
,,boiler1                               
#ic       ,,the ,,failure1              
#ie       ,,tubes ,,of ,a ,,modern      
,,engine1                               
#if       ,,the ,,rocket1               
#ig       ,,opening ,,the ,,line1       
#ajd       ,,wholesome ,,reproof1       
#aae       ,,later ,,days ,,of ,,george 
,,stephenson1                           
#aaf       ,,victoria ,,bridge1         
,,montreal1                             
#aah          ,illustration             
,,the ,,rocket4                         
,,chapter ,i4                           
,,life ,,among ,,the ,,coal ,,pits4     
,what useful little fellow is this1     
carrying his father's dinner to him  at 
the coal-pit8 ,he takes care1 also1 of  
his little brothers and  sisters1       
keeping them clear of the coal-waggons1 
which run to and fro  before the cottage

 door4 ,then he is seen tending a       
neighbour's cows4  ,now1 he is moulding 
mud engines1 putting in hemlock sticks  
for  blow-pipes2 besides cutting many a 
good caper1 and uttering all sorts of   
drolleries for the benefit of other     
little boys1 who like himself swarm     
round1 too poor to go to school1 if     
school there were--but schools there    
were none4    ,the boys called him      
,geordie ,steve4    ,a lad is wanted to 
shut the coal-yard gates after work is  
over4 ,geordie  offers his services and 
gets the post1 earning by it twopence a 
day4 ,a  neighbour hires him to hoe     
turnips at fourpence4 ,he is thankful to
 earn  a bit1 for his parents are poor1 
and every little helps4 ,he sees work   
ahead1 however1 more to his taste4      
,what8 ,he longs to be big enough to go 
and work at the coal-pits with his      
father4 ,for the home of this little    
fellow1 as you already perceive1 is in a
 coal region4 ,it is in the coal        
district of ,newcastle1 in the          

north-eastern part of ,england4         
,illustration3 ,,early ,,work4    ,i    
suppose you never visited a colliery8   
,coal is found in beds and veins  under 
ground4 ,deep holes are made1 down which
 the miners go and dig it  out2 it is   
hoisted out by means of steam-engines4  
,these holes are called  shafts4 ,the   
pit-men have two enemies to encounter   
down in the  coal-pits--water1 and a    
kind of gas which explodes on touching  
the flame  of a candle4 ,the water has  
to be pumped out2 and miners are now    
provided  with a lamp1 called a         
safety-lamp1 which is covered with a    
fine wire  gauze to keep the gas away   
from the flame4    ,illustration3       
,,safety ,,lamp4    ,the coal is brought
 up from the pit in baskets1 loaded on  
waggons  running on tram-roads1 and sent
 to the sheds4 ,tram-roads were a sort  
of  wooden railway4 ,a colliery is a    
busy and odd-looking spot4    ,geordie's
 family lived in one room--father1      
mother1 four boys1 and two  girls4 ,snug

 quarters1 one would think2 but the     
working-men of ,england at  that time   
had smaller wages and poorer homes than 
they now have--for  ,geordie was born in
 #agha1 in the little village of ,wylam1
 seven miles  from ,newcastle1 and his  
full name is ,george ,stephenson4       
,illustration3 ,,birthplace ,,of        
,,george ,,stephenson4    ,james1 an    
elder brother1 is picker2 and by-and-by 
,george is old enough  to be a picker   
too1 going with his father and brother  
to their daily  tasks1 like a man4 ,to  
clear the coal of stones and dross is   
their  business4 ,there are a number of 
pits around1 and each one has a         
name1--,dolly ,pit1 ,water-run ,pit1 and
 so on4    ,i do not know how long he   
was picker1 but we next find him driving
 a  gin-horse1 at a pit two miles off1  
across the fields4 ,away he goes in  the
 early morning1 gladdened all along by  
many bird songs4 ,george and  the birds 
are fast friends4 ,he knows where their 
nests are in the  hedgerows1 and watches

 over them with fatherly affection4 ,at 
home he has  tame birds1 whose pretty1  
knowing ways are the wonder of the      
neighbourhood4 ,for many years a tame   
blackbird was as much one of the  family
 as ,george himself1 coming and going at
 pleasure1 and roosting at  night over  
his head4 ,sometimes it spent the summer
 in the woods1 but was  sure to come    
back with cold weather1 to share his    
care and crumbs  through the winter4    
,george1 too1 had a famous breed of     
rabbits2 and as for his dog1 it was  one
 of the most accomplished and faithful  
creatures in the district4 ,in  fact1   
the boy had an insight into dumb-brute  
nature1 as we shall find he  had into   
other things1 that gave him power over  
it--a power which he  never abused1 but 
used kindly and well4    ,george next   
rose to be assistant fireman with his   
father1 at a shilling  a day4 ,he was   
fourteen1 but so small of his age that  
he used to hide  when the inspector came
 round1 lest he should be thought too   

small for  his wages4 ,if small in body1
 he was large in heart1 intent in all   
things  to do his best4 ,and this made  
his work so well done1 that it could not
  escape the notice of his employers4   
,when he went to the office on          
,saturday night to receive his wages1   
double pay was given him--twelve        
instead of six shillings6 ,george could 
scarcely believe in his good  luck4     
,when he found it was really no mistake1
 he took the money and  rushed out of   
the office1 exclaiming1 ,i am now a made
 man for life6    ,george rapidly shot  
ahead of his father1 a kind old man1 who
 always  stayed fireman1 while his boy  
climbed one round after another up the  
ladder of promotion4 ,at seventeen we   
find him plugman4 ,what duty is  that8  
,a plugman has charge of a              
pumping-engine1 and when the water in   
the pit is below the suction-holes1 he  
goes down the shaft and plugs the  tube1
 in order to make the pump more easily  
draw4 ,the post required more  skill and

 knowledge of machinery than any he had 
filled before1 and he  proved himself   
equal to it4    ,indeed1 he loves his   
engine as he loves his birds4 ,it is a  
pet with him4  ,he keeps it in prime    
order4 ,he takes it to pieces1 and      
cleans it1 and  studies it2 pries into  
the whys and wherefores1 and is never   
satisfied  until he understands every   
spring and cog of the machinery1 and    
gets the  mastery of it4 ,you never find
 him idling away his time4 ,in leisure  
moments he is at his old kink1 moulding 
clay engines1 and putting new  thoughts 
into them4    ,he wished to know the    
history of engines1 and how they were   
thought out  at first4 ,somebody told   
him about ,watt1 the father of          
steam-power1 and  that there were books 
which would satisfy his curiosity4      
,books6 what  good would books do poor  
,george8 ,he cannot read4 ,not read8    
,no4 ,he is  eighteen1 and hardly knows 
his letters4 ,few of the colliers did4  
,they  were generally an ignorant1      

hard-working1 clannish set of men1 whose
  pay-day was a holiday1 when their     
hard-won earnings were squandered at    
cock-fights and in ale-houses4    ,if   
one was found who did read1 what a      
centre of light was he6 ,at night  the  
men and boys gathered around him1 when1 
by the light of his engine  fire1 he    
would give them the news from an old    
newspaper1 or a scrap of  knowledge from
 some stray magazine1 or a wild story   
from an odd volume2  and on these       
occasions no one listened with more     
profound attention than  ,george4       
,oh6 it was so wonderful to read1 he    
thought4 ,it was to open the gates  into
 great fields of knowledge4 ,read he    
must4 ,the desire grew upon him         
stronger and stronger4 ,in the          
neighbouring hamlet of ,welbottle1 old  
,robin ,cowens taught an evening school4
    ,i'll go1 cried ,george4    ,and ,i 
too1 echoed ,tommy ,musgrove1 a         
fellow-workman1 quite carried away  by  
,george's enthusiasm4    ,now they went 

to ,robin's school three evenings a     
week4 ,i do not know how  it was with   
,tommy1 but old ,robin never had a      
better scholar than ,george2  indeed1 he
 soon outlearned his master6 ,his       
schooling cost him threepence  a week1  
and1 poor as it was1 put into his hand  
the two keys of  knowledge1 reading and 
writing4    ,these mastered1 he longs to
 use them4 ,andrew ,robertson opens an  
evening  school nearer than ,welbottle1 
and ,andrew proposes to teach           
arithmetic1 a  branch ,george is anxious
 to grapple with next4 ,and he took to  
figurin'  wonderful1 said ,master       
,andrew1 speaking of his new scholar1   
who soon  left his classmates far       
behind4 ,and no wonder4 ,every spare    
moment to  ,george was more precious    
than gold dust1 and was used            
accordingly4 ,when  not on duty1 he sits
 by his engine and works out his sums4  
,no beer-shop  ever enticed him to its  
cups2 no cock-fight ever tempted him to 
be its  spectator4 ,he hated everything 

low and vulgar4    ,illustration3 ,,at  
,,school4    ,andrew was proud of his   
pupil1 and when ,george removed to      
another pit1  the old schoolmaster      
shifted his quarters and followed him4  
,his books  did not damage his interest 
in business4 ,was the plugman going to  
stay  plugman8 ,no4 ,bill ,coe1 a friend
 of his advanced to be a brakeman1      
offered to show ,george4 ,the other     
workmen objected4 ,and one in           
particular stopped the working of the   
engine when ,george took hold of  it2   
for1 he cried angrily1 ,stephenson can't
 brake1 and is too clumsy  ever to      
learn4    ,a brakeman has charge of an  
engine for raising coal from a pit4 ,the
  speed of the ascending coal1 brought  
up in large hazel-wood baskets1 is      
regulated by a powerful wooden brake1   
acting on the rim of the  fly-wheel1    
which must be stopped just when the     
baskets reach the  settle-board1 where  
they are to be emptied4 ,brakemen were  
generally  chosen from experienced      

engine-men of steady habits2 and in     
spite of the  grumbling of older        
colliers1 envious perhaps at his rise1  
it was not  long before ,george learned1
 and was appointed brakeman at the      
,dolly ,pit4  ,this was in #ahja4       
,,chapter ,,ii4                         
,,mending ,,and ,,making--,,little      
,,bob4      ,george was now             
twenty--sober1 faithful1 and expert4    
,finding a little  spare time on his    
hands1 he took to cobbling to increase  
his gains1 and  from this source        
contrived to save his first guinea4 ,to 
this greater  diligence he was urged by 
his love for ,fanny ,henderson1 a fine  
sweet-tempered girl1 whom he shortly    
married1 and began housekeeping in  the 
upper room of a small cottage in        
,wellington1 six miles from  ,newcastle4
 ,happy were they in each other1 and in 
their simple1  industrious1 and frugal  
habits2 and when a little son was born  
to them1  ,george1 who loved birds1     
rabbits1 and dogs so well1 welcomed with

 all  the tenderness of a father's heart
 the little ,bobby4    ,robert he was   
named1 after the old fireman his        
grandfather4    ,accidents1 they say1   
will happen in the best-regulated       
families4 ,fanny's  family was not an   
exception4 ,one day the cottage chimney 
got on fire1  and the neighbours1 with  
friendly zeal1 not only poured water    
enough  down the chimney to put out a   
much bigger and more alarming fire1 but 
enough to deluge the poor little home of
 the brakeman with soot and  water1     
making a pitiful sight to the young     
husband when he reached it4  ,his       
eight-day clock1 the choicest bit of    
furniture the young couple had1  was    
completely smothered by ashes4 ,what was
 to be done8 ,sending it to a           
clock-maker for repairs was quite out of
 the question--it would cost too  much4 
,i'll try my own hand on it1 said       
,george4 ,after righting everything     
else1 he attacked the clock1 took it to 
pieces1 carefully cleaned it1  put it   

together1 set it1 and it ticked--ticking
 on as faithfully and  soberly as ever6 
,the astonished neighbours sent him     
their clocks1 and  ,george became one of
 the most famous clock doctors          
thereabouts4    ,the young man's        
reputation for business soon won him a  
situation in  ,killingworth--the best   
and largest colliery in the region4 ,but
 his  brightened worldly prospects were 
soon clouded by a dark sorrow--the      
death of his young wife1 after three    
happy years of married life4 ,poor      
,george felt it deeply1 which was       
perhaps one reason for accepting a      
situation in ,scotland1 hoping in a     
change of scene to change the  mournful 
current of his thoughts4                
,illustration3 ,,mending ,,the ,,clock4 
,leaving his little boy in kind hands1  
he set off to the north with his  pack  
on his back1 afoot and alone1 for       
,montrose--a long journey in those      
days4 ,good wages he received1 and good 
friends he no doubt made1 for  everybody

 loved his honest and generous          
character2 yet by the end of the  year  
he yearned to get back to the friends   
and scenes of his early days4  ,it was  
not home in ,scotland2 for it is only   
home where the heart is4  ,with his     
savings in his pocket--twenty-eight     
pounds--back he trudged to              
,killingworth2 and not before his       
friendly presence was greatly needed to 
comfort his aged parents1 plunged in    
debt and affliction4 ,by a terrible     
accident his father had lost his        
eyesight4 ,no longer able to work1 and  
receiving little or no help from his    
other children1 who were barely  able to
 maintain themselves1 the old couple had
 a hard battle with life4  ,but ,george 
is back again2 all will be righted4 ,he 
paid off their debts1  and removed them 
to comfortable lodgings beside his own4 
,he has father1  mother1 and ,bobby to  
look after1 and is thankful and happy in
 doing it4    ,those were dark days1    
however1 for the working-men of         

,england4 ,war was  draining the country
 of men and money4 ,taxes were high1    
wages low1 bread  scarce1 and           
able-bodied men were liable at any time 
to be impressed for  the army or naval  
service4 ,george himself was drawn2 and 
go he must1 or  find a substitute4 ,he  
found one1 but it cost all he had to    
hire him4    ,poor ,george was in       
straits4 ,his spirits were much damped  
by the prospect  of things around and   
before him4 ,all business was in a      
discouraging  condition4 ,some of his   
friends were about to emigrate to       
,america1 and he  at one time nearly    
concluded to join them4 ,it was a sore  
trial to the  young man4 ,he loved his  
,english home2 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 them4 ,but  
the necessary funds for such an         
enterprise were not forthcoming4 ,george

 gave it up1 therefore1 and went  to    
work for what wages the times would     
allow4 ,better times would come4    ,the
 thing nearest his heart was to afford  
his little son an education4  ,keenly   
alive to his own early deficiencies and 
disadvantages1 he  determined to make   
them up in ,robert4 ,every spare moment 
was of two-fold  value to him1 and all  
the work he could pick up he cheerfully 
did4  ,besides tinkering old clocks and 
cobbling old shoes1 he took to cutting  
out the pitmen's clothes4 ,never was    
there such a fit1 for ,george acted     
fully up to the principle that          
everything which was worth doing was    
worth doing well4    ,busy as were his  
hands1 his mind was no less busy1       
catching up and using  every scrap of   
knowledge which came in his way4 ,and it
 was a perpetual  surprise to his       
fellow-workmen to see what a knack he   
had at bettering  things4 ,everything   
improved in his hands4 ,there was always
 progress on  his track4    ,a new pit  

was opened at one of the collieries4    
,streams of water rushed  in1 which the 
most vigorous strokes of the pump could 
not lower4 ,on the  engine went pumping1
 pumping1 pumping for a year1 and the   
water  continued to flow in1 until it   
was nearly concluded to give up the pit 
as a failure4 ,george's curiosity and   
interest were much excited1 and  always1
 on seeing the men1 he asked how matters
 were coming on4    ,drowned out1       
drowned out1 was the one and the same   
answer4    ,over he went to the poor    
pit1 as often as he could1 to see for   
himself2  and over he turned in his mind
 again and again the whys and wherefores
  of the failure4    ,weel1 ,george1    
said his friend ,kit one day1 what do   
you mak' o' her8  ,do you think you     
could doctor her8    ,man1 answered     
,george1 in a week's time ,i could send 
you to the  bottom4    ,the regular     
engineers were in high dudgeon with the 
forth-putting  brakeman4 ,what right had
 he to know how to cure an evil that had

 baffled  them8 ,his words1 however1    
were reported at head-quarters2 and the 
contractor was not long in hastening    
over to see if he could make his  words 
good4    ,well1 ,george1 he said1 they  
tell me you think you can put that      
engine  to rights4    ,yes1 sir1 replied
 the young man modestly2 ,i think ,i    
can4    ,as matters could be no worse1  
,mr4 ,dodds was ready to let him try2   
and  ,george agreed1 on condition that  
he should choose his own men to help    
him4 ,the old hands were highly         
indignant1 but there was no help for it4
  ,so they were ordered off1 and ,george
 with his gang went on4    ,the engine  
was taken to pieces1 examined1 righted1 
and put together  again4 ,it was set to 
work4 ,did it go8 ,many a looker-on     
shook his head  doubtfully1 and         
prophesied in his inmost heart1 ,no go4 
,it pumped and  pumped4 ,the obstinate  
water found it had an antagonist that   
could master  it4 ,in less than two days
 it disappeared from the pit1 and       

workmen were  sent to the bottom4 ,who  
could gainsay ,george's skill8    ,mr4  
,dodds1 of course1 was delighted4 ,over 
and above his wages he put a  ten-pound 
note into the young man's hand1 and     
engaged him to superintend  his works   
for the future4    ,a profitable job was
 this4    ,the fame of this engineering 
exploit spread far and wide4 ,as an     
engine  doctor he took the lead1 and    
many a wheezy old thing was brought him 
to  cure4 ,envious engineers tried to   
put him down4 ,but real merit cannot be 
put down4 ,it is stern stuff4           
,george's cottage showed the bent of his
 tastes4 ,it was like an old  curiosity 
shop1 full of models of engines1        
complete or in parts1 hanging  and      
standing round2 for busy as he had need 
to be--eking out his means by           
engineering1 by clocks1 and by          
coats--the construction and improvement 
of  machinery for the collieries was his
 hobby4    ,likeness of taste drew a    
young farmer often to the cottage--,john

  ,wigham--who spent most of his        
evenings in ,george's society4 ,john had
 a  smattering of chemistry and         
philosophy1 and a superior knowledge of 
mathematics1 which made him a desirable 
companion4 ,george put himself  under   
his tuition1 and again took to figuring4
 ,tasks set him in the  evening were    
worked out among the rough toils of the 
day4 ,and so much  honest purpose did   
not fail to secure progress4 ,drawing   
was another new  line of effort4 ,sheets
 of plans and sections gave his rude    
desk the air  of mind-work somewhere4   
,thus their winter evenings passed away4
    ,bobby was growing up in a little   
thought-world by himself2 for he could  
not fail to be interested in all that   
interested his father--that father      
always making his son the companion of  
his studies1 and early  introducing him 
into the curious and cunning power of   
machinery4    ,ah1 that was a proud day 
when little ,bob was old enough1 and    
knew  enough1 to be sent to the academy 

at ,newcastle4 ,he was thirteen4 ,his   
father's means had happily been         
increased4 ,the old engine-wright of the
  colliery having died1 ,george         
,stephenson was promoted to the post1 on
 the  salary of a hundred pounds a year4
 ,this was in #ahab4    ,the new office 
relieving him from incessant hard work1 
and the necessity  of earning a shilling
 by extra labours1 he had more time for 
study and  for verifying his plans of   
practical improvement2 and the          
consequence  was very considerable      
improvement in the machinery of the     
colliery to  which he was attached4     
,meanwhile ,robert's education went on  
apace4 ,the boy was hungry for          
knowledge1 not only for himself1 but to 
satisfy the voracious appetite  of his  
father1 and the no less keen one of     
,john ,wigham4    ,robert joined a      
literary and philosophical society at   
,newcastle1 whose  fine library opened a
 rich storehouse of material4 ,here the 
boy spent  most of his time out of      

school1 storing his mind with           
principles1 facts1  and illustrations1  
to carry home on ,saturday afternoon4   
,books also4 ,the  ,edinburgh           
,encyclopdia was at his command4 ,a     
volume of that at the  cottage unfolded 
a world of wonders4 ,but the library had
 some books too  choice to be trusted   
away4 ,how was ,robert to get the gist  
of these home8  ,his father had often   
said that a good drawing and a          
well-executed plan  would always explain
 itself2 and many a time he had placed a
 rough  sketch of machinery before his  
son1 and told him to describe it4       
,robert1  therefore1 when he could do no
 better1 put his drilling to the test1  
and  copied diagrams and drew pictures1 
thus taking many an important and       
perhaps rare specimen of machinery and  
science to ,killingworth1 for his       
father's benefit4    ,we can well       
imagine ,saturday afternoon was as much 
a holiday to father  as to son4         
,robert's coming was hailed with        

delight4 ,john did not lag far  behind4 
,some of the neighbours dropped in to   
listen to discussions which  made the   
little room a spot of lively interest   
and earnest toil4 ,a  wide-awake mind   
allows nothing stagnant around it4      
,illustration3 ,,the ,,sun-,,dial4      
,among the borrowed books of the day was
 ,ferguson's ,astronomy1 which  put     
father and son to calculating and       
constructing a sun-dial for the         
latitude of ,killingworth4 ,it was      
wrought in stone1 and fixed over the    
cottage door2 and there it is still1    
with its date1 ,august #aa1 #ahaf--;a   
year or two before ,robert left         
school--a fair specimen of the drift of 
his boyish tastes4                      
,,chapter ,,iii4                        
,,who ,,began ,,railroads8--,,puffing   
,,billy4      ,familiar as it has become
 to us1 who does not stop to look with  
interest  at the puffing1 snorting1     
screaming steam-horse8 ,and who does not
  rejoice in the iron-rail1 which binds 

together1 with its slender  threads1 the
 north and the south1 and makes         
neighbours of the east and  the west8   
,who began railroads8 ask the boys again
 and again4    ,the first idea of the   
modern railroad had its birth at a      
colliery nearly  two hundred years ago4 
,in order to lighten the labour of the  
horses1 the  colliers laid straight     
pieces of wood into the road leading    
from the pit  to the river1 where the   
coal was discharged2 and the waggons    
were found  to run so much easier1 that 
one horse could draw four or five       
chaldrons4  ,as wood quickly wore out1  
and moreover was liable to rot1 the next
 step  was nailing plates of iron on the
 wooden rails2 which gave them for a    
time the name of plate-way roads4 ,a    
,mr4 ,outram making still further       
improvements1 they were called ,outram  
roads1 or1 for shortness' sake1         
tram-roads2 and tram-roads came into    
general use at the ,english  collieries4
    ,there's mischief in those          

tram-roads1 said a large canal owner1   
foreseeing they would one day drive     
canal stock quite out of the market4    
,improvements thus far had centred on   
the roads4 ,to convoy heavy loads       
easier and faster was the point aimed   
at4 ,nobody had yet thought of          
self-going trains4 ,watt1 the father of 
steam-engines1 said  steam-carriages    
might be built4 ,he1 however1 never     
tried one1 but rather  left the idea to 
sprout in the brain of an old pupil of  
his1 ,william  ,murdock1 who did        
construct a very small one1 running on  
thin wheels1 and  heated by a lamp4 ,it 
was a curious success in its way1 and   
set other  minds thinking4    ,one of   
these was a tin-miner of ,cornwall1     
,captain ,trovethick1 a friend  of      
,murdock1 who joined a cousin of his in 
getting a patent for building  a        
steam-carriage4 ,it was built1 and an   
odd piece of machinery it was4 ,it  ran 
on four wheels over a common road1      
looked like a stage-coach1 and          

delighted both the inventor and his     
friends4    ,they determined to exhibit 
it at ,london4 ,while on its journey1   
driving  it one day at the top of its   
speed1 they saw a toll-gate in the      
distance4 ,not being able to check it in
 time1 bump it went against the  gate1  
which flew open in a trice1 leaving the 
affrighted toll-man1 in  answer to their
 inquiry1 ,how much to pay8 only able to
 gasp out1  ,no--nothing to pay6 ,drive 
off as fast as you can6 ,nothing to pay6
    ,it reached ,london in safety1 and  
was some time on exhibition4 ,multitudes
  flocked to see it1 and some called it 
a fiery dragon4    ,ah1 said ,sir       
,humphrey ,davy1 very much interested in
 the invention1 ,i  hope to see the     
captain's dragons on all the roads of   
,england yet4    ,but the captain       
exhibited it only as a curiosity1 the   
unevenness of the  roads rendering it   
for all practical purposes a failure2   
and he had  neither pluck nor genius    
enough to lay or clear a track for it   

himself4  ,this was in #ahjc4    ,the   
idea1 however1 was in ,england1 lodging 
itself here and there in busy  brains2  
until1 at last1 a colliery owner in     
,newcastle1 seeing the great  advantage 
of having a locomotive on his           
tram-roads1 determined to try  what he  
could do4 ,accordingly1 he had one built
 after the ,cornish  captain's model4   
,it burst up at starting4 ,noways       
baffled1 he tried  again4 ,the engine   
proved a clumsy affair1 moved at a      
snail's pace1 often  got off the rails1 
and at length1 voted by the workmen a   
perfect  plague1 it was taken off4 ,the 
unsuccessful inventor was called a fool 
by his neighbours1 and his efforts an   
apt illustration that the fool  and his 
money are soon parted4 ,in spite of     
failure1 ,mr4 ,blackett had  faith that 
the thing could be done4 ,he built a    
third1 and ran it on  the tram-road that
 passed by old ,bob ,stephenson's       
cottage door4 ,and  ,george at his      
colliery1 seven miles off1 as you may   

suppose1 listened to  every account of  
it with profound interest4 ,over he     
went1 as often as he  could1 to see     
,black ,billy1 as the locomotive was    
called--a rough  specimen of machinery  
at best1 doing very little service      
beyond what a  good horse could do4     
,george carried ,black ,billy back in   
his mind to ,killingworth1 studying  its
 defects1 and laying plans to improve   
it4 ,i do not know how long he  was in  
coming to it1 but he at length gave it  
as his opinion that he  could make a    
better travelling engine than that4     
,tidings came to ,killingworth about    
this time that the trial of a new       
engine was to take place on a certain   
day at ,leeds1 and ,george did not  lose
 the chance of being present4 ,though   
the engine moved no faster than  three  
miles an hour1 its constructer counted  
it a success4 ,it proved1  however1     
unsteady and unreliable1 and at last    
blew up1 which was the end  of it4      
,what did ,george think then8 ,he more  

than ever wanted to try his hand  at the
 business4 ,lord ,ravensworth1 knowing  
enough of ,stephenson to have  faith in 
him1 hearing of this1 advanced means for
 the enterprise4 ,good  tools and good  
workmen were alike wanting2 but after   
much labour1  alteration1 and anxiety1  
in ten months' time the engine was      
completed  and put on the railway1 ,july
 #be1 #ahad4    ,although the best yet  
made1 it was awkward and slow4 ,it      
carried eight  loaded waggons of thirty 
tons weight at a speed not above four   
miles an  hour4 ,the want of springs    
occasioned a vast deal of jolting1 which
  damaged the machinery1 and at the     
close of a year's trial it was found    
about as costly as horse-power4    ,how 
to increase the power of his engine8    
that was the puzzling question  which   
,george studied to answer4 ,he wrestled 
with it day and night1 and  at length   
determined to try again4 ,in due time   
another was built1  ,puffing ,billy1    
which most persons looked upon as a     

marvel2 but1  shaking their heads1 they 
prophesied it would make a terrible     
blow-up  some day4 ,puffing ,billy1     
however1 went to work1 and worked       
steadily  on--a vast advance on all     
preceding attempts4 ,it attracted little
 or no  attention outside the narrow    
circle of the collieries4 ,the great men
 of  ,england did not know that1 in a   
far-off nook of the realm1 there was    
slowly generating a power1 under the    
persistent thought of an humble         
working-man1 which before many years    
would revolutionize the trade of  the   
kingdom1 and create a new source of     
wealth4    ,illustration3 ,,george      
,,stephenson',s ,,first ,,engine4       
,puffing ,billy1 in fact1 humble as its 
pretensions were1 has proved to  have   
been the type of all locomotives since4 
,illustration3 ,,puffing ,,billy4       
,had ,george ,stephenson satisfied      
himself8 ,no4 ,his evenings were chiefly
  spent at home with his son ,robert1   
now under him in the colliery1  studying

 and discussing together how to evoke   
the hidden power yet pent  up in        
,puffing ,billy4 ,the son was even more 
sanguine than his father1  and many an  
amendment had ,billy to undergo to      
satisfy the quick  intellect and        
practical judgment of the youth4    ,mr4
 ,stephenson1 delighted with ,robert's  
scientific tastes and skill1 and  ever  
alive to the deficiencies of his own    
education1 was anxious to give  him     
still further advantages4 ,for this     
purpose he took him from a  promising   
post at the colliery1 and sent him to   
the ,university of  ,edinburgh4    ,here
 he enjoyed a six months' course of     
study2 and so well prepared was  he for 
it by his well-formed habits of         
application and thinking1 that he       
gained in six months as much as many a  
student did in three years4  ,certain it
 was his father felt amply repaid for   
the draft it made on his  purse1 when   
,robert reappeared at the cottage1 in   
the spring1 with a  prize for successful

 scholarship in mathematics4 ,he was    
eighteen then4                          
,,chapter ,,iv4                ,,two    
,,cities ,,that ,,wanted ,,to ,,get     
,,near ,,each ,,other--,a               
,,new ,,friend4      ,manchester1 thirty
 miles north-east of ,liverpool1 is the 
great centre of  the cotton trade in    
,england4 ,its cloths are found in every
 market of the  world4 ,cotton coming to
 ,liverpool is sent to the ,manchester  
mills2 and  the goods which the mills   
turn out are returned to ,liverpool to  
be  shipped4 ,the two cities1 therefore1
 are intimately connected by constant   
intercourse and mutual interest4    ,two
 water communications existed between   
them2 one by the rivers ,mersey  and    
,irwell1 the other by the famous        
,bridgewater ,canal1 which did an       
immense business at an enormous profit4 
,but the ,manchester mills were  fast   
outgrowing these slow and cumbersome    
modes of travel4 ,liverpool  warehouses 
were piled with bales of cotton waiting 

to go1 and the mills  at ,manchester had
 often to stop because it did not come4 
,goods also  found as much difficulty in
 getting back4 ,merchants and           
manufacturers  both grumbled4 ,business 
was in straits4 ,what was to be done8   
,carting was  quite out of the question4
 ,canal owners were besought to enlarge 
their  water-power4 ,no1 they would do  
nothing4 ,they were satisfied with      
things  as they were4 ,their dividends  
were sure4    ,but want demands supply2 
need creates resources4 ,something must 
be  done to facilitate the transit of   
goods between the two cities4 ,what8    
,build a tram-road1 or rail-road4       
,nobody1 however1 but a very fast man   
would risk his good sense by seriously  
advising a rail-road4 ,solid men  would 
certainly shun him4 ,a tram-road was a  
better understood thing4 ,the           
collieries had used small pieces of them
 for years4 ,a tram-road then4          
,business men put their heads together  
and began earnestly to talk of a        

tram-road4    ,william ,james1 a rich   
and enterprising man1 entered heartily  
into the  project1 and undertook to make
 surveys for a suitable route4 ,and not 
long after a party of surveyors was seen
 in the fields near ,liverpool4  ,their 
instruments and movements excited       
attention4 ,people eyed them with       
anxiety2 suspicions were roused2 the    
inhabitants became alarmed4 ,who  were  
they1 making such mysterious            
measurements and calculations on other  
people's land8 ,a mob gradually         
gathered1 whose angry tones and         
threatening gestures warned the         
surveyors of a storm brewing over their 
heads4 ,wisely considering that flight  
was better than fight1 they took        
themselves off1 and by-and-by turned up 
farther on4    ,the landowners1 who     
might be supposed to have known better1 
told the  farmers to drive them off2 and
 the farmers1 with their hands1 were    
only too ready to obey4 ,they stationed 
themselves at the field gates and  bars 

with pitch-forks1 rakes1 shovels1 and   
sticks1 and dared the  surveyors to come
 on4 ,a poor chain-man1 not quite so    
nimble as his  pursuers1 made his leap  
over a fence quickened by a pitch-fork  
from  behind6 ,even women and children  
joined the hue and cry1 pelting the     
strangers with stones and dirt whenever 
they had a chance4 ,the colliers  were  
not behind the farmers in their foolish 
hostility4 ,a stray surveyor  was caught
 and thrown into a pit4    ,at a sight  
of the theodolite their fury knew no    
bounds4 ,that unoffending  instrument   
they seemed to regard as the very       
,sebastopol of the enemy1 to  seize and 
destroy which was to win the day4 ,tho  
surveyors1 therefore1  were obliged to  
hire a noted boxer to carry it1 who     
could make good his  threats on the     
enemy4 ,a famous fighter among the      
colliers1 determined  not to be outdone1
 marched up to the theodolite to capture
 it4 ,a  fist-and-fist fight took place2
 the collier was sorely beaten1 but the 

rabble1 taking his part against the poor
 instrument1 pelted it with  stones and 
smashed it to pieces4    ,you may well  
suppose that surveying under such       
circumstances was no  light matter4     
,what was the gist of the hostility8 ,it
 is hard to tell4  ,the canal owners    
might have had a hand in scattering     
these wild fears2  fears of what1       
however1 it is not so easy to find out4 
,there was nothing  in a simple horse   
rail-road1 or tram-road1 as it is       
called1 to provoke  an opposition so    
bitter from the people4 ,it was a new   
thing2 and new  things1 great           
improvements though they may be on old  
ones1 often stir up  a thousand doubts  
and fears among the ignorant and        
unthinking4    ,nor did the project     
generally take among those who would be 
most  benefited by it4 ,mr4 ,james and  
his friends held public meetings in all 
the towns and villages along the way2   
enterprising men in ,liverpool and      
,manchester talked it up1 and tried to  

create a public interest2 but  there was
 a holding back1 which1 while it checked
 all actual progress in  the enterprise1
 did not cause it to be altogether given
 up4 ,the time had  not come2 that was  
all4    ,mr4 ,james had a secret leaning
 towards the use of steam on the new    
road4  ,he would have immediately and   
unhesitatingly advocated a rail-road run
  by locomotives4 ,but that was out of  
the question4 ,the public were far      
behind that point1 and to have openly   
advocated it would have risked his      
judgment and good sense in the opinion  
of the best men4 ,therefore ,mr4  ,james
 wisely held his tongue4 ,but hearing of
 the ,killingworth  locomotives1 and of 
a collier who had astonished the natives
 by his  genius1 he determined to make a
 journey to ,newcastle1 and see the     
lions for himself4    ,stephenson was   
not at home4 ,puffing ,billy was2 and   
,billy puffed in a  way that took ,mr4  
,james's heart at once4 ,he seemed to   
see at a glance  ,billy's remarkable    

power1 and was struck with admiration   
and delight4  ,here is an engine1 he    
exclaimed1 that is destined before long 
to work  a complete revolution in       
society4    ,the image of ,puffing      
,billy followed him home4    ,why1 he   
wrote to ,stephenson's partner in the   
patent1 it is the  greatest wonder of   
the age1 and the forerunner1 ,i believe1
 of most  important changes in the modes
 of travel in the kingdom4    ,a few    
weeks later he made another visit to    
,killingworth1 taking his two  sons with
 him4 ,puffing ,billy was at work1 as   
usual4    ,the boys were frightened at  
the sight of the snorting monster2 but  
,stephenson encouraged them to mount1   
with their father1 and see how  harmless
 and manageable the monster was4    ,the
 second visit was even more gratifying  
than the first4    ,mr4 ,stephenson1    
said ,james1 is the greatest practical  
genius of the  age4 ,his fame will rank 
with that of ,watt4    ,mr4 ,james lost 
all hesitation now about speaking his   

mind4 ,puffing  ,billy had driven the   
backwardness out of him1 and he was     
willing1 at  all hazards1 boldly to     
advocate rail-roads and the steam-horse4
 ,no more  tram-roads2 steam or nothing4
 ,this was in #ahba4    ,mr4 ,james     
entered heart and soul into the new idea
 of the age4 ,on his  return to         
,liverpool1 it was everywhere his theme2
 and wherever he had  influence1 he     
tried to stir up men's minds to the     
benefits and blessings  puffing out in  
,puffing ,billy4    ,illustration3 ,,the
 ,,visit ,,to ,,puffing ,,billy4        
,stephenson rejoiced in such a friend4  
,it was just what he and ,billy  most   
needed--somebody to introduce them into 
the great world4 ,and  ,stephenson and  
his partner offered him a share in the  
profits of  whatever business he could  
secure to them4    ,but what can one    
man1 or a few men1 do in an enterprise  
like this1  depending upon the verdict  
of that important power1 ,public        
,opinion8 ,and  ,public ,opinion had not

 yet made up its mind to it4    ,a      
thousand difficulties bristled in the   
way4 ,there were both the  indifference 
of friends and the opposition of enemies
 at home4 ,in  addition to this1 a      
violent opposition was foreseen in      
,parliament1 which  it needed all the   
strength and courage of a united        
constituency to meet4    ,under these   
discouraging circumstances1 there were  
not enough men of  pluck to push the    
matter through4    ,so everything about 
the new road went by the board4 ,it was 
laid on the  shelf1 at least for the    
present1 and ,liverpool and ,manchester 
trade  jogged on as before4             
,,chapter ,v4                           
,,hunting ,,up ,,his ,,own ,,work--,,an 
,,enterprising                          
,,quaker--,,what ,,was ,,the ,,result8  
,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 it4  ,nothing     
looks easier to prepare than the        

straight1 smooth track of a  railway1   
such as we now see in use2 and yet it   
was only arrived at by  slow steps      
through two hundred years4    ,in       
pondering upon the powers of ,puffing   
,billy1 ,george ,stephenson saw  that   
the efficiency of locomotives must1 in a
 great measure1 depend on  what kind of 
roads they had to run upon4 ,many were  
sanguine that  steam-carriages would    
some day come into use on common roads4 
,after a  long series of experiments1   
,george ,stephenson said1 ,no2 the thing
  wouldn't pay4 ,for a rough surface    
seriously impairs the powers of a       
locomotive2 even sand scattered upon the
 rails is sufficient to slacken1  and   
even stop an engine4 ,the least possible
 friction is desirable1 and  this is    
found on the smooth rail4    ,could they
 ever be laid uphill1 or on ascending   
gradients1 as the  scientific term is8  
,no2 as nearly level as possible1       
,stephenson's  experiments showed1 was  
the best economy of power4 ,then how to 

get rid  of the jolts and jars and      
breakages of the rails as they were then
 laid4  ,he studied and experimented    
upon both chairs and sleepers1 and      
finally  embodied all his improvements  
in the colliery railway4    ,puffing    
,billy was in every respect a most      
remarkable piece of  machinery1 and its 
constructer one of the most sagacious   
and persistent  of men4 ,but how was the
 public1 ever slow in discovering true  
merit or  accepting real benefits1 to   
discover and appreciate them8 ,neither  
influence1 education1 nor patronage had 
,stephenson to command mind and  means1 
or to drive his engine through          
prejudice1 indifference1 and            
opposition1 to profit and success4      
,but what he could not do1 other men    
could do1 and did do4 ,find a hook1  and
 there is an eye to fit it somewhere4   
,yes2 there were already men of         
property and standing alive with the new
 idea4 ,while he worked1 they           
talked--as yet unknown to one another1  

but each by himself clearing the  track 
for a grand junction4    ,one of these  
men was ,edward ,pease1 a rich ,quaker  
of ,darlington1 who1 his  friends said1 
could look a hundred miles ahead4 ,he   
needed a quicker  and easier transit for
 his coals from the collieries north of 
,darlington  to ,stockton1 where they   
were shipped2 and ,mr4 ,pease began to  
agitate1 in  his mind1 a railroad4 ,a   
company for this purpose was formed1    
chiefly of  his own friends1 whom he    
fairly talked into it4 ,scarcely twenty 
shares  were taken by the merchants and 
shipowners of ,stockton1 whose eyes were
  not open to the advantage it would    
by-and-by be to them4 ,a survey of the  
proposed road was made1 when to the     
indifference of the many was added  the 
opposition of the few4 ,a duke was      
afraid for his foxes6 ,shareholders  in 
the turnpikes declared it would ruin    
their stock4 ,timid men said it  was a  
new thing1 and that it was best to let  
new things alone4 ,the world  would     

never improve much under such counsel4  
,edward ,pease was hampered  on all     
sides4 ,nobody convinced him that his   
first plan was not the right  one by all
 odds2 but what can a man do in any     
public enterprise without  supporters8  
,so he reluctantly was obliged to give  
up his rail-road1 and  ask ,parliament  
for liberty to build a                  
tram-road--horse-power instead of       
steam-power3 he could seem to do no     
better1 and even this was gotten  only  
after long delay and at considerable    
cost4    ,among the thousands who       
carelessly read in the newspapers the   
passage  through ,parliament of the     
,stockton and ,darlington ,act1 there   
was one  humble man whose eye kindled as
 he read it4 ,in his bosom it awakened a
  profound interest4 ,he went to bed and
 got up brooding over it4 ,he was       
hungry to have a hand in it2 until at   
last1 yearning with an  irrepressible   
desire to do his own work in the world1 
he felt he must go  forth to seek it4   

,one night a couple of strangers knocked
 at the door of ,edward ,pease's  house 
in ,darlington1 and introduced          
themselves as two ,killingworth         
colliers4 ,one of them handed the master
 of the mansion a letter of             
introduction from a gentleman of        
,newcastle1 recommending him as a man   
who might prove useful in carrying out  
his contemplated road4    ,to support   
the application1 a friend accompanied   
him4    ,the man was ,george            
,stephenson1 and his friend was         
,nicholas ,wood4 ,it did  not take long 
for ,edward ,pease to see that          
,stephenson was precisely the  man he   
wanted4    ,illustration3 ,,the ,,two   
,,strangers4    ,a railway1 and not a   
tram-road1 said ,stephenson1 when the   
subject was  fairly and fully opened4   
,a horse railway8 asked ,pease4    ,a   
locomotive engine is worth fifty horses1
 exclaimed ,stephenson2 and  once on the
 track1 he launched out boldly in its   
behalf4    ,come over to ,killingworth  

and see my ',puffing ,billy1' said      
,george2  seeing is believing4 ,and ,mr4
 ,pease1 as you may suppose1 was quite  
anxious to see a machine that would     
outride the fleetest horse4 ,yet he  did
 not need ,puffing ,billy to convince   
him that its constructer knew  what he  
was advocating1 and could make good his 
pledges4 ,the good  ,quaker's courage   
rapidly rose4 ,he took a new start1 and 
the consequence  was that all other     
plans and men were thrown aside1 and    
,stephenson was  engaged to put the road
 through much in his own way4    ,the   
first thing to be done was to make an   
accurate survey of the  proposed route4 
,taking ,robert with him1 who had just  
come from college1  and who entered as  
heartily into the enterprise as his     
father1 with two  other tried men1 they 
began work in good earnest4 ,from       
daylight till  night the surveyors were 
on duty4 ,one of the men going to       
,darlington to  sleep one night1 four   
miles off1 ,now1 you must not start from

  ,darlington at daybreak1 said         
,stephenson1 but be here1 ready to begin
  work1 at daybreak4 ,he and ,robert    
used to make their home at the          
farm-houses along the way1 where his    
good-humour and friendliness made  him a
 great favourite4 ,the children loved   
him dearly4 ,the dogs wagged  their     
approving tails at his approach4 ,the   
birds had a delighted  listener to their
 morning songs1 and every dumb creature 
had a kind  glance from his friendly    
eye4    ,but ,george was not quite      
satisfied4 ,he wished ,mr4 ,pease to go 
to  ,killingworth to see ,puffing       
,billy1 and become convinced of its     
economical habits by an examination of  
the colliery accounts4 ,he  promised1   
therefore1 to follow ,george thither1   
along with a large  stockholder2 and    
over they went in the summer of #ahbb4  
,inquiring for ,stephenson1 they were   
directed to the cottage with a  sun-dial
 over the door4 ,george drove his       
locomotive up1 hoisted in the           

gentlemen1 harnessed on a heavy load1   
and away they went4 ,george no  doubt   
showed ,billy off to the best advantage4
 ,billy performed  admirably2 and the   
two wondering stockholders went home    
enthusiastic  believers in locomotive   
power4    ,a good many things had to be 
settled by the ,darlington project4 ,one
 was  the width of the gauge2 that is1  
the distance between the rails4 ,how    
wide apart should they be8 ,stephenson  
said the space between the cart  and    
waggon wheels of a common road was a    
good criterion4 ,the tram-roads  had    
been laid down by this gauge--four feet 
and eight inches--and he  thought it    
about right for the railway2 so this    
gauge was adopted4    ,one thing which  
hampered ,stephenson not a little was   
the want of the  right sort of          
workmen--quick-minded1 skilful          
mechanics1 who could put his  ideas into
 the right shape4 ,the labour of        
originating so much we can  never know4 
,he had nothing to copy from1 and       

nobody's experience to go  by4 ,happily 
he proved equal to his task4 ,we can    
readily imagine his  anxiety as the work
 progressed4 ,hope and fear must have in
 turn raised  and depressed him4 ,not   
that he had any doubts in regard to the 
final  issue of the grand experiment of 
railroads4 ,they must go6    ,dining one
 day at a small inn with ,robert1 and   
,john ,dixon1 after walking  over the   
route1 then nearly completed--,lads1 he 
said1 ,i think you will  live to see the
 day when railroads will be the great   
highway for the  king and all his       
subjects4 ,the time is coming when it   
will be cheaper  for a working-man to   
travel on a railway than to walk on     
foot4 ,there are  big difficulties in   
the way1 ,i know2 but it will surely    
come to pass4 ,i  can hardly hope to    
live to see that day1 much as ,i should 
like to do so2  for ,i know how slow all
 human progress is1 and how hard it is  
to make  men believe in the locomotive1 
even after our ten years' success in    

,killingworth4    ,while the father     
roughed it through1 ,robert's health    
failed4 ,his close  application to      
business made sad inroads upon a frame  
naturally more  delicate than his       
father's2 and an offer to go out and    
superintend some  mining operations in  
,south ,america was thankfully accepted1
 in the hope  that a sea-voyage and less
 exciting labours might restore him4    
,illustration3 ,a ,,talk ,,about        
,,railways4    ,robert shortly sailed2  
and his father pushed on alone1 with    
that brave  spirit which carried him    
through many a darker hour4    ,on the  
#bgth of ,september the ,stockton and   
,darlington ,railway was  finished and  
opened4 ,a great many came to see the   
new mode of  travelling1 which had      
proved a fruitful subject of talk1 far  
and near1  for many months2--some to    
rejoice2 some to see the bubble burst2  
some  with wonder1 not knowing what to  
think2 some with determined hostility4  
,the opposition was strong3 old ,england

 against young ,england2 the  counter   
currents of old and new ideas4    ,the  
road ran from ,stockton to ,darlington1 
a distance of twelve miles1  and thence 
to the ,etherly collieries--in all1     
thirty-two miles4    ,four steam-engines
 were employed1 and two stationary      
engines to hoist  the train over two    
hills on the route4 ,the locomotives    
were of six-horse  power1 and went at   
the rate of five or six miles an hour4  
,slow as this  was1 it was regarded with
 wonder4 ,a travelling engine seemed    
almost a  miracle4 ,one day a race came 
off between a locomotive and a coach    
running on the common highway2 and it   
was regarded as a great triumph  that   
the former reached ,stockton first1     
leaving the coach one hundred  yards    
behind4    ,the road was built for a    
freight road1 to convey lime1 coal1 and 
bricks  from the mines and kilns in the 
interior to the sea-board for shipment  
abroad4 ,carrying passengers was not    
thought of4 ,enterprise1 however1 in    

this direction took a new start4 ,a     
company was soon formed to run two      
coaches on the rails between ,darlington
 and ,stockton by horse-power4  ,each   
coach accommodated six inside           
passengers1 and from fifteen to  twenty 
outside2 was drawn by one horse2 and    
went at the rate of nine  miles an hour4
    ,we seated ourselves1 said a        
traveller of those days1 on the top of  
the ',defence' coach1 and started from  
,stockton highly interested with  the   
novelty of the scene and of this new and
 extraordinary conveyance4  ,nothing    
could be more surprising than the       
rapidity and smoothness of the  motion4 
,yet the coach was without springs1 and 
jerked and jolted over  the joints of   
the rails with a noise like the clinking
 of a mill-hopper4    ,such is the first
 great attempt to establish the use of  
railways1  writes a delighted editor1   
for the general purposes of travelling2 
and  such is its success1 that the      
traffic is already great1 and1          

considering  that there was formerly no 
coach at all on either of the roads     
along  which the railroad runs1 quite   
wonderful4 ,a trade and intercourse have
  arisen out of nothing1 and nobody     
knows how4    ,such was their small and 
imperfect beginning1 we should say1 now 
that  railroads1 improved and perfected1
 have fulfilled ,stephenson's           
prediction uttered in the little inn1   
and have become the great highways  of  
the civilized world4                    
,,chapter ,,vi4                         
,,the ,,two ,,cities ,,trying           
,,again--,,bugbears4      ,one1 two1    
three years passed by1 and the          
,liverpool and ,manchester  project     
started up again4 ,it was not dead1 it  
had only slept2 and the  three years had
 almost worn out the patience of both   
merchants and  manufacturers4 ,trade    
between the two cities must have        
speedier and  easier transit4 ,trade is 
one of the great progressive elements in
 the  world4 ,it goes ahead2 it will    

have the right of way2 it will have the 
right way--the best1 safest1 cheapest   
way of doing its business4 ,yet it  is  
not selfish2 its object is the comfort  
and well-being of men4 ,to do  this1 it 
breaks down many a wall which           
selfishness has built up1 it cuts       
through prejudices1 it rides over a     
thousand can't be's of timid and        
learned men2 for learned men are not    
always practical4 ,they sometimes  say  
things cannot be done1 when it only     
needs a little stout trying to  overcome
 difficulties and do them4    ,a learned
 man once said that crossing the        
,atlantic by steam was  impossible4     
,for the good of the race1 we must have 
something truer than wind and  tougher  
than sails1 said ,trade4 ,and it was not
 many years before ships  steamed into  
every port4    ,carriages travelling at 
twelve1 sixteen1 eighteen1 twenty miles 
an  hour6 ,such gross exaggerations of  
the power of a locomotive we scout4 ,it 
can never be6 cries a sober ,quarterly4 

,you may scout it as much as you please1
 rejoins ,trade2 but just as  soon as   
people need a cheaper1 pleasanter1      
swifter mode of travel1 it  will be     
done4 ,and now the railway carriages    
thread the land in their  arrowy flight4
    ,the magnetic telegraph6 a miserable
 chimera1 cries a knowing  statesman4   
,nobody who does not read outlandish    
jargon can understand  what a telegraph 
means4    ,you will soon find out1      
answers ,trade4 ,and now it buys pork by
 the  hundred barrels1 and sells grain  
by the thousand bushels2 while armies   
march and fleets sail at its bidding4   
,treaties are signed at its word2  and  
the telegraph girdles the world4    ,you
 see ,trade is a civilizer2 and         
,christian civilization makes all the   
difference in the world between ,arabs  
and ,englishmen4    ,liverpool merchants
 were now fairly awake4 ,what is to be  
done8 was the  question4 ,something4    
,could there be a third water-line      
between the two  cities8 ,no2 there was 

not water enough for that4    ,would the
 ,bridgewater ,canal increase its power 
and reduce its charges8  ,no4    ,a     
tram-road or a rail-road1 then4 ,there  
was no other alternative4    ,mr4       
,james1 who was so much interested      
before1 had failed and left the         
country4 ,when he left1 he said to his  
friends1 ,when you build a road1  build 
a railroad1 and get ,george ,stephenson 
to do it4    ,the ,darlington and       
,stockton enterprise could not fail to  
be known at  ,liverpool2 and a drift of 
opinion gradually began to set in       
strongly in  favour of the railway4     
,people talked about it in good earnest4
    ,a railway6 cried the canal owners4 
,it is absurd2 it is only got up to     
frighten us2 it will slump through1 as  
it did before4 ,they were easy4    ,let 
us go to ,darlington and ,killingworth  
and see for ourselves1 said  the        
merchants2 and four gentlemen were sent 
on a visit of inquiry4 ,they  went first
 to ,darlington1 where the works were in

 vigorous progress1  though not done4   
,it was in #ahbd1 the year before they  
were finished4  ,here they met          
,stephenson4 ,he took them to           
,killingworth to see ,puffing  ,billy4  
,seeing was believing4 ,billy's         
astonishing feats won them completely   
over2 and they went back to ,liverpool  
warm for a railroad4 ,their clear  and  
candid report convinced merchants1      
bankers1 and manufacturers1 who  gave a 
verdict in its favour4 ,public opinion  
was now coming over4    ,books were     
opened for funds4 ,there was no lack of 
subscribers4 ,money was  ready4 ,to be  
sure of the safety of locomotive power1 
a second  deputation was sent to        
,killingworth1 taking with them a       
practical  mechanic1 better able to     
judge about it than themselves4 ,the man
 had  sense enough to see and to own    
that while he could not insure safety   
over nine or ten miles an hour1 there   
was nothing to be afraid of slower  than
 that4 ,then a third body went4 ,the    

enterprise required caution1 they       
thought4    ,yes1 it did4    ,having    
decided upon steam-power1 the next thing
 was to secure the right  sort of man to
 carry on the work4 ,stephenson was that
 man4 ,his energy  and ability were     
indispensable4 ,before trying to get a  
charter from  ,parliament1 the route    
needed to be surveyed again1 and a      
careful  estimate of expenses made4     
,the ,stockton road done1 ,stephenson   
was free to engage in this new          
enterprise2 his success in that proving 
his principles true on a larger  scale4 
,the canal owners now took alarm4 ,they 
saw there was a dangerous rival1  and   
they came forward in the most civil and 
conciliatory manner1  professing a wish 
to oblige1 and offering to put          
steam-power on their  canals4 ,it was   
too late4 ,their day had gone by4       
,you know the violent opposition made to
 a former survey4 ,how would it be      
again8 ,did three years scatter the     
ignorance out of which it grew8 ,ah1    

no4 ,there was little if any            
improvement4 ,the surveyors were watched
 and  dogged by night and by day4 ,boys 
hooted at them1 and gangs of turbulent  
men threatened them with violence4 ,mr4 
,stephenson barely escaped  duckings1   
and his unfortunate instruments capture 
and destruction4  ,indeed1 he had to    
take with him a body-guard to defend    
them4 ,much of the  surveying had to be 
done by stealth1 when people were at    
dinner1 or with  a dark lantern at      
night4    ,when dukes and lords headed  
the hostility1 you cannot wonder that   
their  dependants carried it on4 ,one   
gentleman declared that he would rather 
meet a highwayman or see a burglar on   
his premises than an engineer2 and  of  
the two he thought the former the more  
respectable6 ,widows complained  of     
damaged corn-fields1 and gardeners of   
their violated strawberry-beds2  and    
though ,stephenson well knew that in    
many cases not a whit of damage  had    
been done1 he paid them for fancied     

injuries in the hope of stopping  their 
tongues4    ,illustration3 ,,surveying  
,,at ,,night4    ,a survey made under   
such circumstances must needs have been 
imperfect2  but it was as good as could 
be made4 ,and no time was lost in taking
  measures to get a ,bill before        
,parliament4    ,a storm of opposition  
against railways suddenly arose1 and    
spread over  every corner of the        
kingdom4 ,newspapers and pamphlets      
swarmed with  articles crying them down4
 ,canal and turnpike owners spared no   
pains to  crush them4 ,the most         
extraordinary stories were set afloat   
concerning  their dangers4 ,boilers     
would burst1 and passengers be blown to 
atoms2  houses along the way would be   
burned2 the air would become black with 
smoke and poisoned by cinders2 and      
property on the road would be  stripped 
of its value4    ,the ,liverpool and    
,manchester ,bill1 however1 got into    
,parliament1 and  went before a         
,committee of the ,house of ,commons to 

decide upon it1 in  ,march #ahbe4       
,first1 its friends had to show the     
necessity of some new mode of  travel   
between the two cities2 and that it was 
not difficult to do4    ,but when it    
came to asking for liberty to build a   
railway and run a  locomotive1 the      
matter was more difficult to manage4    
,and to face the  tremendous opposition 
rallied against it1 the pluck of its    
friends was  severely tried4    ,the    
battle had to be fought inch by inch4   
,stephenson1 of course1 was the chief   
witness for locomotives4 ,but what      
headway could he1 an uneducated         
,northumbrian mechanic1 make against    
members of ,parliament1 backed by all   
the chief engineers of the kingdom8     
,for very few had faith in him2 but     
those few had strong faith4 ,he was     
examined and cross-examined4 ,they tried
 to bully him1 to puzzle him1 to        
frighten him4 ,on the subject of        
locomotives his answers were clear4 ,he 
declared he could drive an engine1 and  

drive it safely1 at the rate of  twelve 
miles an hour6    ,who can believe what 
is so notoriously in the teeth of all   
experience8  cried the opposition2 the  
witness is a madman6    ,famous         
engineers were called on the stand4     
,what had they to say8 ,one  declared   
the scheme a most wild one4 ,he had no  
confidence in  locomotives4 ,they were  
affected by wind and weather2 with      
difficulty  were kept on the track1 and 
were liable to constant accidents2      
indeed1 a  gale of wind would render it 
impossible to start a locomotive1 either
 by  poking the fire or keeping up the  
steam till the boiler should burst3     
they could never be relied on4    ,the  
proposed route had to cross an ugly     
quagmire1 several miles in  extent1     
called ,chat ,moss1 a very shaky piece  
of land1 no doubt2 and here  the        
opposition took a strong stand4 ,no     
engineer in his senses1 cried  one1     
would think of going through ,chat      
,moss4 ,no carriage could stand on  the 

,moss short of the bottom4    ,it is    
absurd to hold out the notion that      
locomotives can travel twice  as fast as
 stage-coaches1 said another2 one might 
as soon trust  himself to a rocket as to
 the mercy of a machine going at that   
rate4    ,carriages cannot go at        
anything like that speed1 added another2
 if  driven to it1 the wheels would only
 spin on their axles like a top1 and    
the carriages would stand stock-still6  
,so much for learned arguments against  
it4    ,then came the dangers of it4    
,the dumb animals would never recover   
from  the sight of a locomotive2 cows   
would not give their milk2 cattle could 
not graze1 nor horses be driven along   
the track1 cried the opposition4    ,as 
to that1 said ,stephenson1 come to      
,killingworth and see4 ,more quiet  and 
sensible beasts cannot be found in the  
kingdom4 ,the farmers there  never      
complain4    ,well1 asked one1 suppose1 
now1 one of those engines to be going   
along  a railroad at the rate of nine or

 ten miles an hour1 and that a cow were 
to stray upon the line and get in the   
way of the engine2 would not  that1     
think you1 be a very awkward            
circumstance8    ,yes1 answered         
,stephenson1 with a droll twinkle in his
 eye2 very  awkward indeed--for the coo6
    ,the fellow1 as you may suppose1    
backed off4    ,the danger in other     
respects was thus dwelt on3 ,in addition
 to the  smoke and the noise1 the hiss  
and the whirl which locomotive engines  
make1 going at the rate of ten or twelve
 miles an hour1 and filling the  cattle 
with dismay1 what1 asked an honourable  
member1 is to be done  with all those   
who have advanced money in making and   
mending turnpikes8  ,what with those who
 may still wish to travel in their own  
or hired  carriages1 after the fashion  
of their forefathers8 ,what is to become
 of  coach-makers and harness-makers1   
coach-masters and workmen1 inn-keepers1 
horse-breeders1 and horse-dealers8 ,iron
 would be raised one hundred per  cent41

 or more probably exhausted altogether6 
,the price of coal would be  ruinous4   
,why1 a railroad would be the greatest  
nuisance1 the biggest  disturbance of   
quiet and comfort1 in all parts of the  
kingdom1 that the  ingenuity of man     
could invent4    ,not content with      
belittling his engine1 they could not   
stop short of  abusing ,stephenson      
himself4 ,he is more fit for ,bedlam    
than anywhere  else1 they cried2 he     
never had a plan--he is not capable of  
making one4  ,whenever a difficulty is  
pressed1 as in the case of a tunnel1 he 
gets  out of it at one end2 and when you
 try to catch him at that1 he gets out  
at the other4    ,we protest1 they said1
 against a measure supported by such    
evidence  and founded upon such         
calculations4 ,we protest against the   
,exchange of  ,liverpool striding across
 the land of this country4 ,it is       
despotism  itself4    ,what had the     
friends of locomotive power to say8     
,we beseech you1 they pleaded to the    

,committee1 not to crush it in its      
infancy4 ,let not this country have the 
disgrace of putting a stop to  that     
which1 if cherished1 may in the end     
prove of the greatest advantage  to our 
trade and commerce4 ,we appeal to you in
 the name of the two  largest towns in  
,england2 we appeal to you in the name  
of the country at  large2 and we implore
 you not to blast the hopes that this   
powerful  agent1 ,steam1 may be called  
in for the purpose of aiding land       
communication3 only let it have a fair  
trial1 and these little  objections and 
private prejudices will be done away4   
,flaws were picked in the surveys1 and  
the estimate of costs based on  them4   
,the surveys1 quite likely1 were        
imperfect2 indeed1 how could they  be   
otherwise1 when every mile of the line  
had to be done at the risk of  life8    
,the battle lasted two months1 and a    
very exciting one it was4 ,it was       
skilfully and powerfully carried on4    
,who beat8    ,the opposition4 ,the     

,bill was lost4    ,matters looked dark 
enough4 ,judging from appearances1 the  
enterprise was  laid on the shelf1 and  
the day of railways long put off4 ,as   
for poor  ,stephenson1 his short day of 
favour seemed about gone4 ,his being    
called  a madman1 and regarded as a     
fool1 as he had been by the opposition1 
was  not without its effect upon his    
newly-made friends4 ,their faith in him 
sensibly cooled4 ,but he did not lose   
faith in himself1 not he4 ,he had       
waited long for the triumph of his      
engine1 and he could wait longer4 ,a    
great blessing to the nation was locked 
up in it he well knew2 and the  nation  
would have it some time1 in spite of    
everything4    ,was the enterprise a    
second time to be abandoned8    ,no1 no4
 ,taking breath1 its friends again      
started to their feet4 ,never  give up1 
was their motto1 for they were in       
earnest4 ,they rallied1 and  met in     
,london to consult what to do next4     
,mr4 ,huskisson1 a member of ,parliament

 for ,liverpool1 came into the  meeting 
and urged them to try again--to try at  
the next session of  ,parliament4       
,parliament must1 in the end1 grant you 
an ,act1 he said1 if you are  determined
 to have it4 ,and try they determined   
to1 for a horse railroad  at least4     
,for this purpose another and more      
careful survey had to be made4          
,stephenson was left out4 ,a known man  
must be had4 ,they meant to get         
surveyors and engineers with            
well-established reputation to back them
  up4 ,stephenson was too little known4 
,he had no fame beyond a little  circle 
in one corner of the kingdom4 ,how did  
he feel to be thus thrown  in the       
back-ground8 ,george was not a man to   
grumble2 he was too noble to  complain4 
,in fact1 you see1 he was ahead of the  
times2 too far ahead to  be understood  
and appreciated4 ,he could afford to    
wait4    ,two brothers of the name of   
,rennie were appointed in his stead4 ,in
 time  the new survey was finished2 the 

plans drawn1 and the expenses reckoned  
up4 ,changes were made in the route4    
,ill-tempered landowners were left on   
one side1 and every ground of complaint 
avoided that could be4    ,the new ,bill
 was then carried to ,parliament1 and   
went before the  ,committee in ,march   
the next year4 ,the opposition was      
strong1 indeed1 but  less furious4 ,much
 of its bitterness was gone4 ,it made a 
great show of  fears1 which the         
advocates of the ,bill felt it was not  
worth while to  waste words in          
answering4 ,they left it to the road to 
answer them4 ,build  it1 and see4       
,mr4 ,huskisson and others supported it 
in a strong and manly tone2 and  after a
 third reading1 the ,bill passed in the 
,house of ,commons4 ,so far1  so good4  
,it then had to go to the ,house of     
,lords4 ,what would befall it  there8   
,the same array of evidence on both     
sides was put forward4 ,the  poor       
locomotive engine1 which had proved such
 a bugbear in the ,house of  ,commons1  

was regarded as quite a harmless affair 
by most of the lords2  and the          
opposition made such poor work in       
showing off its dangers1 that  no plea  
in its behalf was called for4 ,they were
 satisfied1 they said2  and the ,bill   
passed almost unanimously4 ,victory6    
victory6    ,the victory cost more than 
twenty thousand pounds6 ,for a first    
cost it  looked large4 ,but nothing     
worth doing can be done without effort1 
and  effort made in faith4 ,nothing     
done1 nothing have4                     
,,chapter ,,vii4                        
,,grappling ,,with ,,difficulties--,,the
 ,,bog--,a                              
,,puzzle--,,the ,,prize ,,offer4        
,the real work was now to be done4      
,hopes and fears had yet to be          
verified4    ,at the first meeting of   
the directors1 a man to put the         
enterprise  through was to be chosen4   
,who8 ,the ,rennies were anxious to get 
the  appointment4 ,they naturally       
expected it4 ,they had made the survey1 

and  their name had had weight in       
getting the ,act of ,parliament4 ,but   
they  could not superintend the details 
of the work4 ,they had other            
enterprises on foot4    ,stephenson1 no 
doubt1 was the man4 ,the directors felt 
him to be so4 ,no  one could long be    
with him without feeling his power4     
,besides1 what he  had done had been    
ably done4 ,at the risk of offending the
 ,rennies and  their friends1 they chose
 him1 and the result proved the wisdom  
of their  choice4    ,on receiving the  
appointment1 he immediately moved to    
,liverpool1 and the  work began in good 
earnest4 ,it was a stupendous           
undertaking for those  days4 ,chat ,moss
 had to be filled in1 sixty-three       
bridges built1  excavations made1       
tunnels cut1 and all the practical      
details carried  out1 with very little  
past experience to profit by4 ,neither  
was the kind  of labour well understood1
 nor was there that division of labour  
between  contractors and engineers which

 relieves one man of too heavy a        
responsibility4 ,in fact1 tools and men 
had to be made2 and ,stephenson  had to 
make both6    ,the great quagmire was   
first grappled with4 ,no man in his     
senses would  undertake to make a road  
over ,chat ,moss1 opposers said in      
,parliament2  that were to undertake the
 impossible4 ,stephenson1 however1 meant
 to  try4 ,formidable it certainly was4 
,cattle ploughing on farms bordering    
the bog1 where it ran underneath the    
tilled land1 had to wear flat-soled     
boots in order to keep their hoofs from 
sinking down into the soft soil4    ,the
 proposed route ran four miles across   
it1 and the way had to be  drained and  
filled in with sand and gravel4 ,the    
drainage tasked their  ingenuity to the 
utmost1 and almost baffled the workmen4 
,after that was  in some degree         
accomplished1 waggon-load after         
waggon-load of earth was  thrown on for 
weeks and weeks3 but it only sank into  
the mire and  disappeared--not an inch  

of solid footing seemed gained2 and on  
they  went1 filling and filling1 without
 apparently having made the least       
impression on the ,moss1--the greedy bog
 only cried out for more4               
,illustration3 ,,chat ,,moss4           
,stephenson's men began to have their   
doubts4 ,the opposition might have      
judged more correctly after all4 ,they  
asked him what he thought4 ,go  ahead6  
was his answer4 ,by-and-by the directors
 began to have their  fears4 ,it looked 
to them like a very unpromising job4 ,so
 it was4 ,after  waiting and waiting in 
vain for signs of progress1 they called 
a meeting  on the edge of the ,moss1 to 
see if it were not best to give up4 ,the
 bog1  they were afraid1 might swallow  
up all their funds1 as it had done      
everything else4 ,stephenson lost not a 
whit of his courage4 ,go ahead6  was his
 counsel4 ,he never for a moment doubted
 of final success4 ,and  considering the
 great outlay already made1 they wisely 
gave in to him4    ,monstrous stories   

were afloat of the terrible accidents   
taking place  there4 ,every now and then
 the stage drivers brought into         
,manchester the  astonishing news of    
men1 horses1 carts1 and ,stephenson     
himself submerged  and sunk for ever in 
the insatiable quagmire6 ,time corrected
 one only to  publish another4          
,newsmongers were kept in a state of    
delightful  excitement1 and tea-table   
gossip was spiced to suit the most      
credulous  and marvel-loving taste1     
until the ,moss was conquered1 as       
conquered it  was acknowledged to be1   
when1 six months after the directors had
 met to  vote to leave it to its        
original unproductiveness1 they were    
driven over  it on a smooth and secure  
rail to ,manchester6    ,another tough  
job was tunnelling                      
,liverpool--excavating a mile and a     
third  of road through solid rock4      
,night and day the boring1 blasting1 and
  hewing were kept in vigorous          
execution4 ,sometimes the miners were   

deluged with water1 sometimes they were 
in danger of being overwhelmed  by heavy
 falls of wet sand from overhead4 ,once1
 when ,stephenson was gone  from town1 a
 mass of loose earth came tumbling on   
the heads of the  workmen1 frightening  
them1 if nothing more4 ,on his return   
they were in a  most refractory state1  
complaining of the dangers1 and stoutly 
refusing  to go back to work4 ,wasting  
no time on words1 ,stephenson shouldered
 a  pick-axe1 and called for recruits to
 follow4 ,into the tunnel he marched1   
and the whole gang after him4 ,nothing  
more was heard of fears1 and the  work  
went bravely and steadily on4           
,besides laying out all the work1       
,stephenson had to make the tools4 ,all 
the waggons1 trucks1 carriages1         
switches1 crosses1 signals1 were planned
  and manufactured under his            
superintendence1 besides meeting and    
providing for a thousand exigencies     
constantly occurring in a new           
enterprise like this1 giving full scope 

to all the sagacity1 invention1  and    
good-humour which naturally belonged to 
him4    ,the expenses of the road were  
heavy1 and money was not always         
forthcoming4 ,if the works lagged in    
consequence of it1 the hopes of the     
directors fell2 so that ,stephenson's   
energies were taxed to the utmost       
during the four years of the work2 and  
he showed1 what observation and  history
 both teach us1 that efficient men are  
men of detail as well as  men of great  
plans4    ,remember this1 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 plans1 but in filling up
 the minutest parts with promptness  and
 fidelity4 ,there must be detail1 to    
achieve any great and good work4  ,if   
you would possess the fruits of         
learning1 you must get them by the  toil
 of daily drudgery4 ,if you undertake to
 become rich1 you must not  despise the 
small gains and little economies by     

which a fortune is made4  ,if you would 
obtain a noble ,christian manhood1 you  
must not neglect  hourly self-restraint1
 watchfulness1 and prayer1 or the daily 
exercise  of those humbler virtues and  
godly industries which make the woof of 
character4    ,stephenson strikingly    
illustrated the practical force of this 
principle4  ,the minutest detail of     
every plan in this new enterprise was   
thought out  and carried on by himself1 
or under his direct supervision4 ,both  
in  summer and winter he rose early4    
,before breakfast you might find him on 
a morning round1 visiting the extensive 
workshops where the machines and  tools 
were made2 or perhaps ,bobby is brought 
to the door1 and mounted on  this his   
favourite horse1 he is off fifteen miles
 to inspect the  progress of a          
viaduct--a ride long enough to whet the 
appetite for a  tempting breakfast1 one 
would think4 ,but nothing tempts him    
from his  frugal habits3 he eats        
crowdie--and that made by himself--which

 is  nothing more or less than oatmeal  
hasty-pudding and milk4 ,again he is    
off1 inspecting the labours of his men  
all along the line from point to  point1
 pushing the works here1 advising there1
 and inspiring everywhere4  ,bobby is a 
living witness that one beast1 at least1
 is not to be scared  by a locomotive4  
,he can face the snorting monster       
without so much as a  shy step1 or a    
prick of the ears4 ,he afraid6 not      
,bobby4    ,returning home1 pay-rolls   
are to be examined1 perhaps1 when every 
item  of expense must be accounted for2 
or drawings are to be made1 or          
directions given1 or letters written4   
,several young men were received into   
his family to be trained for  engineers4
 ,a second wife--frugal1 gentle1 and    
friendly--superintended his  household4 
,their evenings were passed in study and
 conversation1  brightened by the genial
 humour of the remarkable man whose     
genius drew  them together1 and whose   
good-tempered pleasantries relieved the 

heavier  tasks of mind and body4 ,the   
compendium of all his instruction       
was1--,learn  for yourselves1 think for 
yourselves1 master principles1          
persevere1 be  industrious1 and there is
 no fear for you4 ,it is an indication  
of the  value of these instructions1    
that every young man trained under him  
rose  to eminent usefulness4 ,ah1 he    
sometimes said1 on relating a bit of his
  own early history1 you don't know what
 work is in these days4 ,and yet  work  
is work all the world over4    ,in spite
 of the best ,stephenson could do1 the  
directors1 looking at  their            
unproductive capital1 and not fully     
comprehending all the  difficulties to  
be overcome1 sometimes urged greater    
despatch4    ,now1 ,george1 said ,friend
 ,cropper one day1 thou must get on with
 the  railway2 thou must really have it 
opened by the first of ,january next4   
,consider the heavy nature of the works1
 sir1 rejoined ,george1 and how  much we
 have been delayed by want of money1 to 

say nothing of the bad  weather4 ,the   
thing is impossible4    ,impossible6    
cried ,cropper4 ,i wish ,i could get    
,napoleon to thee2 he  would tell thee  
there is no such word as 'impossible4'  
,tush6 exclaimed ,george1 don't tell me 
about ,napoleon4 ,give me men1  money1  
and material1 and ,i'll do what         
,napoleon couldn't do--drive a  railroad
 over ,chat ,moss4    ,he might have    
retorted more significantly by asking   
the directors what  they meant to do2   
for ,liverpool was tunnelled and ,chat  
,moss railed  before they could agree   
what kind of power to put on it4 ,there 
were some  who insisted upon using      
horse-power2 but the majority thought   
that was  out of the question4 ,meeting 
after meeting was held1 debate followed 
debate1 and the whole body became more  
and more puzzled as the road  itself    
neared completion4    ,some kind of     
machine2 but what8--ah1 that was the    
question4 ,you would  naturally have    
thought1 ,a locomotive1 of course4 ,but 

no2 since  ,parliament opposition raged 
against it1 steam had lost ground in the
  public estimation1 and it was very    
slow in getting back to favour4         
,locomotives1 or travelling engines1 as 
they were called1 were hid in a  cloud  
of doubts1--and more than ever since the
 ,parliament debates4 ,they  were       
dangerous1 they were frightful1 they    
could never go fast  enough1--their     
utmost speed would not be ten miles an  
hour4 ,some of the  most distinguished  
engineers would give no opinion of them 
at all4 ,they  had none4 ,it was        
certainly hard to patronize them in     
spite of their  indifference1 and       
possibly their sneers4 ,certainly1 if   
the poor  locomotive depended on their  
verdict1 its fate was sealed4           
,illustration3 ,,good ,,service4    ,one
 stanch friend remained4 ,stephenson    
stood faithfully by ,puffing  ,billy1   
puffing away in his far-off             
,northumberland home4 ,he never         
flinched advocating its principles1 and 

urged the directors to try one  on the  
road4 ,they at last ordered one to be   
built1--one that would be of  service to
 the company1 and no great nuisance to  
the public4 ,it was  built1 and         
excellent service it did1 drawing marl  
from the cuttings and  excavations to   
fill up the bogs and hollows4           
,nevertheless1 it settled  nothing1 and 
convinced nobody not already convinced4 
,meanwhile the directors were deluged   
with projects1 plans1 and advice  for   
running their road4 ,scheme upon scheme 
was let loose upon them2--some  engines 
to go by water-power1 some by gas1 some 
by cog-wheels4 ,all the  engineering    
science in the kingdom was ready to     
engineer for them in its  own way2 but  
who among all could pronounce the best  
way1 and upon the  whole decide which   
was the right motive power8    ,a       
deputation was despatched to ,darlington
 and ,stockton to inspect the  fixed and
 locomotive engines employed on that    
road2 but the deputation  came back     

differing so among themselves1 that the 
directors were more  puzzled than ever4 
,two professional engineers of high     
reputation were  then sent1 who1 on     
their return1 reported in favour of     
fixed  engines--for safety1 speed1      
economy1 and convenience1 fixed engines 
by  all odds2 reiterating again and     
again all the frightful stories of      
danger and annoyance charged upon steam4
 ,they proposed dividing the road  into 
nineteen stages1 of a mile and a half in
 length1 and having  twenty-one         
stationary engines at different points  
to push and draw the  trains along4 ,the
 plan was carefully matured4    ,poor   
,stephenson6 how did he feel8 ,well1 he 
said1 with the calm  earnestness of a   
man of faith1 one thing ,i know1 that   
before many years  railroads will become
 the great highways of the world4       
,could the directors accept the project 
without consulting him8 ,again  they    
met4 ,what had he to say concerning it8 
,fight it he did4 ,he dwelt  upon its   

complicated nature1 the liability of the
 ropes and tackling to  get out of      
order1 the failure of one engine        
retarding and damaging and  stopping the
 whole line2 a phase of the matter which
 did not fail to  make an impression4   
,the directors were moved4 ,the rich    
,quaker1 ,cropper1  however1 headed the 
stationary-engine party1 and insisted   
upon adopting  it4 ,but1 answered the   
others1 ought we to make such an outlay 
of  money without first giving the      
locomotive a fair trial8 ,and           
,stephenson  pleaded powerfully1 as you 
may suppose1 in its behalf4 ,try it1 try
 it1  he urged2 for speed and safety    
there is nothing like it4 ,and the words
  of a man with strong faith are strong 
words4 ,besides1 he said1 the           
locomotive is capable of great          
improvements4 ,it is young yet2 its     
capacities have never been thoroughly   
tested4 ,when proper inducements  are   
held out1 a superior article will be    
offered to the public4    ,never were   

directors in a greater strait4 ,there   
was no withstanding  ,stephenson1 for he
 knew what he was talking about4 ,all   
the rest were  schemers4 ,at last one of
 the directors said1 ,wait2 let us offer
 a prize  for a new locomotive1 built to
 answer certain conditions1 and see what
  sort of engine we can get4    ,that   
was fair4 ,it was right his engine      
should be properly tested4 ,all  agreed2
 and in a few days proposals were issued
 for the building of one4  ,there were  
eight conditions1 two of which were that
 if the engine were  of six tons weight1
 it should be able to draw twenty tons1 
at a speed as  high as ten miles an     
hour4 ,the prize was five hundred       
pounds4    ,the offer excited a great   
deal of attention1 and many people made 
themselves merry at its expense4 ,the   
conditions were absurd1 they said2      
nobody but a set of fools would have    
made them3 it had already been  proved  
impossible to make a locomotive-engine  
go at ten miles an hour4  ,and one      

gentleman in his heat even went so far  
as to say that if it ever  were done1 he
 would undertake to eat a stewed        
engine-wheel for his  breakfast6 ,as    
that condition was fully answered1 it is
 to be hoped that  he was generously    
relieved from his rash promise and his  
indigestible  dish4    ,more candid     
minds turned with interest to the       
development of this new  force          
struggling into notice4 ,stephenson felt
 how much depended on the  issue2 and   
the public generally concluded to       
suspend their verdict upon  the proper  
working of railways1 until time and     
talent gave them better  means of       
judging4                                
,,chapter ,,viii4                       
,,robert',s ,,return--,a ,,curious      
,,encounter--,,the                      
,,prize ,,engine4      ,one step        
forward2 yes1 a great one too1          
,stephenson thought4 ,his beloved       
locomotive was to have a chance of being
 properly introduced to the  great      

,english public1 and he felt that it    
needed only to be known to be  valued4  
,the building of it was a matter of no  
small moment1 and he  wanted1 above all 
things1 a tried and skilful hand to     
superintend and  put into its           
construction every conceivable          
improvement4 ,it must be the  best      
engine yet built4    ,where should he   
find the right man8 ,no one would answer
 like his son  ,robert1 so ,robert he   
determined to send for4 ,robert1 you    
remember1 went  to ,south ,america three
 years before4 ,there he had regained   
his health1  and on receiving his       
father's letter1 he made immediate      
preparations to  return to ,england4    
,illustration3 ,a ,,curious ,,encounter4
    ,on his way1 at a poor little       
comfortless inn1 in a poor little       
comfortless sea-port on the ,gulf of    
,darien1 where he was waiting to take   
ship1 he met two strangers1 one         
evidently an ,englishman1 who by his    
shabby appearance looked as if the world

 had gone hard with him4 ,a             
fellow-feeling drew the young man       
towards his poor countryman1 and on     
inquiry who should it prove to be but   
the old ,cornwall tin-miner1  ,captain  
,trovethick1 whose first steam-carriage 
had awakened so much  curiosity in      
,london nearly a quarter of a century   
before6    ,he had sown his idea to the 
winds4 ,others had caught it up1        
cherished  it1 pondered over it1        
examined it1 dissected it1 improved it1 
embodied  it1 and by patient study and  
persistent endeavour had reduced it to a
  practical force4 ,and ,robert         
,stephenson was now on his way to       
inaugurate  it as one of the great      
commercial values of the kingdom1 and of
 the  world4 ,the poor inventor1 what   
had he done meanwhile8 ,while others    
worked1 had he slept8 ,oh no4 ,he had   
tried an easier and a shorter cut to    
fame and fortune4 ,you remember he left 
his dragon1 as some people  called his  
locomotive1 in ,london1 quite careless  

what became of it1 and  went scheming   
and speculating in other things4        
,several years after1 in a  shop window1
 it attracted the attention of a ,french
 gentleman passing  by4 ,he was from    
,peru1 and had just come to ,england to 
get a steam-engine  for pumping water   
from some gold-diggings in the ,new     
,world4 ,delighted  with the model1 he  
bought it for twenty guineas4 ,taking it
 with him to  ,lima1 an engine was built
 on the plan of it1 which worked        
admirably4 ,the  gentleman was then sent
 back to ,england to hunt up and bring  
out the  inventor himself4 ,the captain 
was found1 and came forth from his      
obscurity into sudden notice and demand4
 ,the gentleman engaged him to  make    
five pumping-engines according to his   
model2 which he did1 and  shipped them  
to ,lima1 the captain himself soon      
following4    ,at ,lima he was received 
with great honours and a public         
rejoicing4 ,a  guard of honour was      
appointed to wait on him2 and1 in view  

of the wealth  he was supposed to be    
able to engineer from their mines1 a    
massive  silver statue of him1 as the   
benefactor of ,peru1 began to be talked 
of4    ,of course poor ,trovethick      
thought his fortune made1 and no doubt  
looked  back with pity on his humble    
,english life4 ,friends at home spread  
the  news of his successes2 and when    
they stated that the smallest estimate  
of his yearly income amounted to one    
hundred thousand pounds1 no wonder  he  
was pronounced a success6 ,tardier steps
 to fortune seemed tedious1  and many of
 his old associates perhaps sighed over 
the wholesome toil of  a slower-paced   
prosperity4    ,years passed on1 and the
 poor captain next turns up at          
,cartagena1  penniless and pitiable6 ,in
 crossing the country1 he had lost      
everything4  ,fording rivers1           
penetrating forests1 and fighting wild  
beasts1 had left  him little else than a
 desire to reach ,england again2 and    
,robert  ,stephenson gave him fifty     

pounds to get home with4 ,sudden        
fortunes are  apt as suddenly to vanish1
 while those accumulated by the careful 
husbandry of economy1 industry1 and     
foresight reward without waste3 so      
character is stronger than              
reputation--for one is built on what we 
are1  the other on what we seem to be2  
and1 like a shadow1 reputation may be   
longer or shorter1 or only a distorted  
outline of character4 ,one holds  out   
because it is real2 the other often     
disappears because it is but a  shadow4 
,robert reached home in ,december #ahbg1
 right heartily welcomed1 we may  well  
believe1 by his father1 who was thankful
 to halve the burden of  responsibility 
with such a son4 ,to build the prize    
locomotive was his  work4    ,stephenson
 had long been a partner in a locomotive
 factory at ,newcastle1  which had      
hitherto proved a losing concern to the 
owners4 ,there was  little or no market 
for their article2 but they struggled   
on1 year after  year1 waiting for better

 times4 ,nobody saw better times but    
,stephenson4  ,he saw them ahead1       
shooting through the gloomy clouds of   
indifference  and prejudice4 ,and now he
 calculated it was very near4 ,so he    
sent ,robert  to ,newcastle to take     
charge of the works there1 and construct
 an engine  that would make good all his
 words4    ,it was a critical moment1   
but he had no fears of the result4      
,robert  often came to ,liverpool to    
consult with his father1 and long and   
interesting discussions took place      
between father and son concerning the   
best mode of increasing and perfecting  
the powers of the mechanism4 ,one  thing
 wanted was greater speed2 and this     
could only be gained by  increasing the 
quantity and the quality of the steam4  
,for this effect a  greater heating     
surface was necessary1 and mechanics had
 long been  experimenting to find the   
best and most economical boiler for     
high-pressure engines4    ,young ,james1
 son of that ,mr4 ,james who1 when the  

new ,liverpool and  ,manchester route   
was talked of1 was the first to discover
 and  acknowledge ,george ,stephenson's 
genius1 made the model of an improved   
boiler1 which he showed to the          
,stephensons4 ,perhaps he was one of the
  boys who went to ,killingworth with   
his father to see the wonders of        
,puffing ,billy1 and whose terrors at   
the snorting monster were only  soothed 
by a pleasant and harmless ride on his  
back4 ,whether this gave  him a taste   
for steam-engines we do not know4 ,at   
any rate he introduces  himself to our  
notice now with a patented model of an  
improved boiler in  his hand1 which     
,stephenson thinks it may be worth his  
while to make  trial of4 ,try it1       
exclaimed the young inventor--try it1   
and there will  be no limit to your     
speed4 ,think of thirty miles an hour6  
,illustration3 ,,section ,,of ,,the     
,,first ,,boiler ,,in ,,use4    ,don't  
speak of thirty miles an hour1 rejoined 
,stephenson2 ,i should  not dare talk   

about such a thing aloud4 ,for ,i       
suppose he could hardly  forget how     
,parliament committees had branded him  
as a fool and a madman  for broaching   
such beliefs4    ,illustration3         
,,section ,,of ,a ,,tubular ,,boiler4   
,the improved boiler was what is called 
a multi-tubular boiler4 ,you do  not    
understand that1 ,i suppose4 ,an iron   
boiler is cast1 six feet long1  and     
three feet and a third in diameter4 ,it 
is to be filled half full of  water4    
,through this lower half there run      
twenty-five copper tubes1 each  about   
three inches in diameter1 open at one   
end to the fire1 through  which the heat
 passes to the chimney at the other end4
 ,you see this  would present a great   
deal of heating surface to the water1   
causing it  to boil and steam off with  
great rapidity4 ,the invention was not a
  sudden growth1 as no inventions are4  
,fire-tubes serving this use started  in
 several fertile minds about the same   
time1 and several persons  claimed the  

honour of the invention2 but it was     
,stephenson's practical  mind which put 
it into good working order and made it  
available4 ,for he  told ,robert to try 
it in his new locomotive4    ,he did4   
,the tubes were of copper1 manufactured 
by a ,newcastle  coppersmith1 and       
carefully inserted into the ends of the 
boiler by  screws4 ,water was put into  
the boiler1 and in order to be sure     
there was  no leakage1 a pressure was   
put on the water2 when1 lo1 the water   
squirted out at every screw1 and the    
factory floor was deluged6 ,poor        
,robert was in despair4 ,he sat down and
 wrote to his father that the  whole    
thing was a failure4    ,a failure      
indeed6 ,back came a letter by the next 
post telling him to go  ahead and try   
again6 ,the letter1 moreover1 suggested 
a remedy for the  disaster--fastening   
the tubes into the boiler by fitting    
them snugly into  holes bored for the   
purpose1 and soldering up the edges4    
,and it proved  to be precisely what    

,robert himself had thought of1 after   
the first  bitter wave of disappointment
 had subsided4 ,so he took heart and    
went to  work again4 ,success crowned   
his efforts4 ,a heavy pressure was put  
on the  water1 and not a drop oozed out4
 ,the boiler was completely water-tight4
    ,this is precisely the kind of      
boiler now in use3 some have fifty      
tubes2  the largest engines one hundred 
and fifty4    ,illustration3 ,,the      
,,failure4    ,various other            
improvements were incorporated into the 
new engine1 which1  as you do not       
probably understand much about          
machinery1 would not  particularly      
interest you4    ,at last the new engine
 was finished4 ,it weighed only four    
tons and a  quarter--little less than   
two tons under the weight required by   
the offer  of the directors4 ,the       
tender1 shaped like a waggon1 carried   
the fuel in  one end and the water in   
the other4    ,it was forthwith put on  
the ,killingworth track1 fired up1 and  

started  off4 ,robert must have watched 
its operations with intense anxiety4    
,nothing could have met his expectations
 like the new boiler4 ,it in fact       
outdid his highest hopes4 ,the steam    
made rapidly1 and in what seemed to  him
 then marvellous quantities4 ,away went 
a letter to ,liverpool that  very       
evening4    ,illustration3 ,,tubes ,,of 
,a ,,modern ,,engine4    ,the ',rocket' 
is all right and ready1 wrote the young 
man joyfully4  ,that was the engine's   
name1 ,rocket1--on account of its speed1
 perhaps4  ,puffing ,billy was quite    
cast into the shade4    ,it was shortly 
afterwards shipped to ,liverpool1 in    
good time for the  grand trial4         
,illustration3 ,,the ,,rocket4    ,the  
trial1 rapidly approaching1 elicited a  
great and general interest4  ,the public
 mind was astir4 ,the day fixed was the 
first of ,october4  ,engineers1         
mechanics1 and scientific men1 from far 
and near1 flocked to  ,liverpool4 ,the  
ground where the exhibition was to take 

place was a level  piece of railroad two
 miles long1 a little out of the city4  
,each engine  was to make twenty trips1 
at a rate of speed not under ten miles  
an  hour1 and three competent men were  
appointed as judges4    ,four engines   
were entered on the list1--the          
,,novelty1 the ,,sans-,,pareil1  the    
,,rocket1 the ,,perseverance4           
,several others were built for the      
occasion in different parts of the      
kingdom1 or rather projected and begun1 
but were not finished in time4    ,in   
order to afford ample opportunity for   
their owners to get them in  good       
working order1 the directors postponed  
the trial till ,october #fth4  ,the day 
arrived1 and a glance at the country    
around showed that an  unusual occasion 
was drawing people together4 ,multitudes
 from the  neighbouring towns assembled 
on the ground at an early hour4 ,the    
road  was lined with carriages1 and a   
high staging afforded the ladies an     
opportunity of witnessing the novel     

race4    ,the ,novelty and ,sans-pareil1
 though first on the list1 were not     
ready at the hour appointed4 ,what      
engine was8 ,the ,rocket4 ,stephenson1  
next on the roll1 was called for by the 
judges1 and promptly the little  ,rocket
 fired up at the call4 ,it performed six
 trips in about  fifty-three minutes4   
,the ,novelty then proclaimed itself    
ready4 ,it was a light1 trim engine1  of
 little more than three tons weight1    
carrying its fuel and water with  it4   
,it took no load1 and ran across the    
course sometimes at the rate of         
twenty-five miles an hour4 ,the         
,sans-pareil also came out4    ,the     
,perseverance1 not able to go faster    
than five or six miles an  hour1        
withdrew from the contest4 ,as the day  
was now far spent1 further  exhibition  
was put off till the morrow4    ,what   
exciting discussions must have taken    
place among rival competitors  and their
 friends6 ,what a scrutiny of the merits
 and demerits1 the  virtues and defects 

of opposing engines6    ,before the     
appointed hour the next day1 the bellows
 of the ,novelty  gave out2 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  list4    ,soon after1 a
 defect was discovered in the boiler of 
the ,sans-pareil4  ,mr4 ,hackworth      
begged for time to mend it2 as there was
 no time1 his  request could not be     
granted1 and he too withdrew his claims4
    ,the ,rocket alone stood its ground4
 ,the ,rocket1 therefore1 was again     
called for4 ,stephenson attached to it a
 carriage large enough to hold a  party 
of thirty1 and drove his locomotive     
along the line at the rate of           
twenty-five and thirty miles an hour1 to
 the amazement and delight of  every one
 present4    ,the next morning it was   
ordered to be in readiness to answer the
 various  specifications of the offer4  
,it snorted and panted1 and steamed over
 the  race-ground in proud trim1 drawing

 about thirteen tons weight4 ,in twenty 
trips1 backward and forward1 its        
greatest speed was twenty-nine miles an 
hour--three times greater than ,nicholas
 ,wood1 one of the judges1 declared  to 
be possible4 ,its average rate was      
fifteen miles--five miles beyond the    
rate specified for the prize4 ,the      
performance appeared astonishing4       
,spectators were filled with wonder4    
,the poor directors began to see fair   
weather2 doubts were solved1 disputes   
settled2 the ,rocket had cleared  the   
track for them4 ,there could no longer  
be any question how to run the  road4   
,george ,cropper1 who had steadily      
countenanced stationary engines1  lifted
 up his hands exclaiming1 ,stephenson   
has at last delivered  himself6    ,the 
two other locomotives1 however1 were    
allowed to reappear on the  stage2 but  
both broke down1 and the ,rocket        
remained victor to the  last4 ,it had   
performed and more than performed all it
 promised1  fulfilled all the conditions

 of the directors' offer1 and was       
accordingly declared to have nobly      
earned the prize--five hundred pounds4  
,but the money was little1 compared with
 the profound satisfaction which  the   
,stephensons felt at this public        
acknowledgment of the worth of their    
lifelong labours4 ,george's veracity1   
skill1 intelligence1 had all been       
doubted1 denied1 derided by men of all  
classes4 ,even old friends turned       
against him1 and thought his mind was   
crazed by one idea4 ,he had to  struggle
 on alone2 faithful to his convictions1 
patiently biding his  time1 yet         
earnestly pleading his cause on every   
suitable occasion4 ,he  had a blessing  
for the world2 and he knew when it felt 
its want of it1  it would have it4 ,that
 time had come4 ,the directors flocked  
around him  with flattering             
congratulations4 ,all shyness and       
coolness vanished4  ,friends were no    
longer few4 ,the shares of the company  
immediately rose  ten per cent4 ,men and

 means were at his disposal4 ,george    
,stephenson was  a happy man4    ,the   
,rocket had blown stationary engines to 
the winds4 ,and ,steam that  day1 on the
 land as well as on the water1 took its 
place as one of the  grand moving powers
 of the world4                          
,,chapter ,,ix4                         
,,opening ,,of ,,the ,,new              
,,road--,,difficulties ,,vanish--,a     
,,new ,,era4      ,there was no more    
waiting for work at the locomotive      
factory in  ,newcastle4 ,orders         
immediately arrived from the directors  
to build eight  large engines for the   
new road1 and all the workshops were    
astir with  busy life4 ,the victorious  
little ,rocket was put on the road1 and 
sensibly helped to finish it4 ,neither  
faith1 nor men1 nor means were now      
wanting1 and the labour in every part   
went heartily on4    ,in ,june a meeting
 of the directors was held in           
,manchester1 when the  ,rocket made a   
trip from ,liverpool to that city with a

 freight and  passenger train1 running  
through in two hours4 ,chat ,moss never 
quivered4  ,and the directors1 ,i dare  
say1 would have been very glad to forget
 their  disconsolate meeting on the edge
 of it1 when they nearly voted          
themselves beaten by the bog1 only      
,stephenson would not let them4    ,on  
the #aeth of ,september #ahcj1 there was
 to be a public opening of the  road1   
and preparations were made at each end1 
and all along the way1 for  the grand   
event4 ,the occasion awakened a deep and
 universal interest4 ,it  was justly    
regarded as a national event1 to be     
celebrated with becoming  honours4 ,the 
,duke of ,wellington1 then ,prime       
,minister1 was present2 also  ,sir      
,robert ,peel1 and ,mr4 ,huskisson1     
whose stirring words had revived the    
drooping spirits of the directors after 
their defeat in ,parliament1 and  whose 
influence had served to get their ,bill 
successfully through at  last4 ,no one1 
perhaps1 had watched the progress of the

 enterprise with  deeper interest than  
,mr4 ,huskisson1 or rejoiced more in the
 vanquishing  of one difficulty after   
another to its final finishing4 ,great  
numbers  came from far and near1 who1   
assembling by the slow mode of travel of
  those days1 took time accordingly4    
,carriages lined the roads and lanes2   
the river was crowded with boats2  and  
soldiers and constables had their hands 
full to keep the people from  the track4
    ,illustration3 ,,opening ,,the      
,,line4    ,the new locomotives1 eight  
in number1 having been carefully tested1
  steamed proudly up4 ,the              
,northumbrian1 driven by ,george        
,stephenson1  took the lead4 ,next the  
,phnix1 under ,robert's charge4 ,the    
,north  ,star1 by a brother of ,george4 
,the ,rocket1 and the rest1 with their  
trains1 followed4 ,six hundred persons  
were in this procession1 flying at  the 
rate of twenty-five miles an hour6 ,oh  
the wonder and admiration  which the    
spectacle excited6 ,these noble         

steam-horses1 panting1  prancing1       
snorting1 puffing1 blowing1 shooting    
through tunnels1 dashing  across        
bridges1 coursing high embankments1 and 
racing over the fields  and far away6   
,england and the world never saw before 
a sight like that4    ,but the joy and  
the triumph of the occasion were        
destined to be damped  by a sad         
disaster4 ,at ,parkenside1 seventeen    
miles from ,liverpool1 the              
,northumbrian1 which carried the ,duke  
and his party1 was drawn up on  one     
track1 in order to allow the other      
trains to pass in review before  them on
 the other4 ,mr4 ,huskisson had         
alighted1 and1 standing outside1  was   
talking with the ,duke1 when a hurried  
cry of ,get in6 get in6 went  up from   
the bystanders4 ,for on came the        
,rocket1 steaming at full  speed4 ,mr4  
,huskisson1 startled and confused1      
attempted to regain the  carriage an    
instant too late3 he was struck down1   
and the ,rocket went  over him4    ,i   

have met my death6 exclaimed the        
unfortunate man2 which1 alas6  proved   
but too true1 for he died that evening4 
,a sad confusion prevailed4 ,the wounded
 gentleman was lifted into the          
carriage1 and the ,northumbrian took him
 over the track home1 a  distance of    
fifteen miles1 in about twenty minutes4 
,so swiftly and  easily done6 ,the use  
rather than the abuse of the new power  
made the  strongest impression4    ,the 
mournful accident threw a cloud over the
 occasion4 ,the ,duke wished  to stop   
the celebration1 and immediately return 
to ,liverpool4 ,mr4  ,huskisson's       
friends joined with him in the wish4    
,others felt that  ,manchester should   
not be disappointed in witnessing the   
arrival of the  trains1 and that the    
accident might become magnified and     
misrepresented1  and thus operate       
mischievously upon public sentiment in  
relation to  railroads2 the party       
therefore consented to proceed to their 
journey's  end1 but were unwilling to   

mingle in any of the rejoicings common  
to  such occasions4    ,but the railroad
 needed no such demonstrations to       
publish or to prove  its worth4 ,it had 
within itself more substantial proof4   
,time was saved2  labour was saved2     
money was saved4 ,coal1 cotton1 and     
every article of  merchandise useful to 
men1 could be carried cheaper1 could be 
had  cheaper than ever before2 and1 what
 was better1 had in quantities          
sufficient to satisfy the industry and  
necessities of men4 ,and with  cheapness
 were combined comfort and safety4 ,the 
first eighteen months1  #gjj1jjj persons
 were carried over the road1 and not an 
accident  happened6    ,but were not    
people frightened by the smoke1 cinders1
 fire1 and noise of  the engines1 as the
 opposition in ,parliament had declared 
they would be8  ,no1 no4 ,it was not    
long before everybody wanted land near  
the track2 and  land1 therefore1 near   
the road rapidly rose in value4 ,the    
farmers who  had driven the surveyors   

from their fields1 now complained of    
being left  on one side2 and those who  
had farms near the station to rent1     
rented  them at a much higher rate than 
ever before4 ,barren lots became        
suddenly  profitable1 and even ,chat    
,moss was turned into productive acres6 
,in #afib1 an old writer states1 ,there 
is an admirable commodiousness  both for
 men and women of the better rank to    
travel from ,london1 the  like of which 
has not been known in the world2 and    
that is1 by  stage-coaches1 wherein one 
may be transferred to any place1        
sheltered  from foul weather1 with a    
velocity and speed equal to the fastest 
posts  in foreign countries2 for the    
stage-coaches called ',flying-coaches'  
make  forty or fifty miles a day4    ,an
 ,english paper1 bearing the date of    
,january #agge1 has this  advertisement3
 ,,hereford ,,machine1 in a day and a   
half1 twice a week1  continues flying   
from the ,swan in ,hereford1 ,monday and
 ,thursday1 to  ,london4    ,in the     

,scriptures we find ,isaiah1 with       
prophetic eye1 looking over the         
centuries to these later times and      
penning down3 ,every valley shall be    
exalted1 and every mountain and hill    
shall be made low2 and the crooked      
shall be made straight1 and the rough   
places plain2 and swift  passengers are 
seen executing the world's affairs--no  
meagre description  of the great means  
of intercourse in our day1 the railway  
and the  telegraph4 ,the prophet saw in 
it a clearing of the way for the coming 
kingdom of the ,redeemer1 which is some 
time to spread over the whole  earth as 
the waters cover the sea4 ,men make good
 tools and instruments  for themselves4 
,they forget they are perfecting them   
for ,god also1 who  is using them1 and  
who will use them1 to make known the    
precious gospel  of his ,son1 peace on  
earth1 and good-will to men4    ,what   
powerful preachers for the ,sabbath are 
the railway and the  telegraph1 doing   
away with all necessity and every excuse

 for ,sabbath  travelling as they do6   
,long journeys and the most urgent      
business can be  done between ,sabbath  
and ,sabbath1 giving a rest-day to the  
nation4 ,and  this view of them is      
deserving of more and more regard4      
,the institution of the ,sabbath was    
founded with the human race4 ,it was    
meant to be the rest-day of the entire  
world4 ,it was set up as a  blessing3   
,the ,lord blessed the ,sabbath-day1 and
 hallowed it4 ,the  bodies of man and   
beast need it4 ,the muscles1 bones1     
nerves1 sinews1 and  brain cannot endure
 the strain of constant and             
uninterrupted work4 ,it is  the day for 
making up the waste of the animal frame 
caused by continual  labour and         
excitement4 ,night rest is not enough4  
,the ,god of ,nature and  of the        
,sabbath has fitted the one to the      
other4    ,when the knowledge of ,god   
had faded out of the earth1 and he had  
chosen  a people to restore and preserve
 it1 besides a code of national laws    

particularly for them1 he enacted from  
,sinai a code of moral laws for  man4   
,among them was the rest-law of the     
,sabbath4 ,it is the fourth  commandment
 of the ,decalogue1 taught in all our   
,sabbath schools1  pulpits1 and homes3  
,remember the ,sabbath-day1 to keep it  
holy3 in it  thou shalt do no work1 man 
nor beast4 ,further1 ,god promises a    
great  reward to those who call the     
,sabbath a delight1 the holy of the     
,lord1  honourable2 not doing thine own 
ways1 nor finding thine own pleasure1   
nor speaking thine own words1 but       
delighting thyself in the ,lord2        
showing not only the rest-use of the    
,sabbath1 but its soul-use1 as a day  of
 special intercourse with ,god4    ,the 
,sabbath was made for man1 says ,jesus  
,christ2 and the ,christian  ,sabbath   
has incorporated into it the finishing  
of the great plan of our  redemption1   
when ,christ1                       ,who
 endured the cross and grave1           
,sinners to redeem and save1    arose   

from the dead1 according to the         
,scriptures4 ,thus it is  appropriately 
called the ,lord's day2 the day when our
 worldly business  is to be set aside1  
and when ,christ presses his claims upon
 the hearts  and consciences of men4 ,it
 is a break in the hurrying whirl of    
this  life's interests1 to consider the 
solemn issues of eternity1 and that     
atoning love which is mighty to save all
 who by repentance and faith  accept its
 terms of mercy4    ,we find it was on  
the observance or desecration of the    
,sabbath that the  prosperity of the    
,hebrew nation hung4 ,you bring wrath   
upon the nation1  cried ,nehemiah to the
 ,sabbath-breaking traders4 ,this very  
profanation  has been the cause of our  
disasters in times past4 ,for ,sabbath  
profanation leads to forgetfulness of   
,god2 and ,god left out1 what  becomes  
of man8 ,ruin stares him in the face4   
,the ungodly shall not  prosper4 ,what  
becomes of a nation8 ,ruin6 ,they shall 
be left to their  own doings4 ,the      

,french nation blotted out the ,sabbath1
 and showed what  it was to be left of  
,god4    ,when an ,african prince sent  
an embassy to ,queen ,victoria with     
costly  presents1 and asked her to tell 
him in return the secret of ,england's  
greatness and ,england's glory1         
presenting him with a copy of the       
,bible1  the ,queen replied1 ,tell your 
prince that this is the secret of       
,england's greatness4    ,for all our   
institutions1 all our civil and         
religious interests1 we need  the       
morality of the ,bible1 the conscience  
and the self-restraint which  the ,bible
 enjoins2 and for this purpose we must  
vigorously support the  institutions of 
the ,bible4 ,foremost in the foreground 
is the ,sabbath4 ,it  has come down to  
us through the ages1 the great          
commemoration-day of a  finished        
creation and a completed atonement1     
summoning men to call on  the name of   
the ,lord1 and bless and praise his holy
 name4    ,on its observance the highest

 moral education of the people depends4 
,every railroad corporation is bound to 
be a ,sabbath-keeping corporation4  ,it 
makes time enough to do its work4 ,the  
nature of its work demands  responsible 
men4 ,an immense amount of property is  
in its hands1  requiring officers of    
scrupulous integrity to manage its      
interests4 ,the  gross receipts of eight
 railways terminating in ,london are    
over #bjj1jjj  a week4    ,it has the   
life and limbs of thousands upon        
thousands intrusted to its  charge1 at  
the mercy of its employs1 engineers1    
firemen1 brakemen1  switchmen1 the      
recklessness or unfaithfulness of any of
 whom may bring  sudden death to scores1
 and plunge a nation into mourning4     
,these men1 to  be kept the right men1  
need the ,sabbath4 ,to be honest1       
responsible1  vigilant1 true1           
,god-fearing men1 fit for their posts of
 duty1 they must  have the ,sabbath4    
,many roads are ,sabbath-keeping4 ,some 
of those which do run on that day  are  

poorly paid4 ,carrying the mail helps   
them out4 ,they run1 perhaps1  for that 
purpose4 ,but is it necessary to keep up
 ,sabbath violation on  our great routes
 in order to forward the mail8 ,does not
 the ,saturday  telegraph do away with  
that necessity8 ,every important item of
 business  can be put through on the    
wires in time4    ,the side of the      
,sabbath is the side of ,god4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,what became of ,george ,stephenson and 
his son ,robert8 the boys will have  the
 curiosity to ask4    ,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 world1 by      
giving it better tools to do its labour 
with4 ,a good tool  is a great          
civilizer4 ,the more perfect the        
instrument1 the better the  work4 ,the  
more perfect the instrument1 the greater
 the number of persons  benefited2 for  
the sagacity necessary to invention and 

discovery1 and  the intelligence        
required to mature them1 are            
large-hearted and  broad-minded4 ,they  
work for the many1 not for the few4     
,the history of railways in ,england it 
is not my object to give you1 and  that 
enters largely into the remaining period
 of ,george ,stephenson's  life2 you    
will find it fully detailed in ,smiles's
 ,life of him4 ,he became  rich and     
famous1 yet he always preserved the     
simple habits and tastes of  his early  
days4 ,though asked to dine at the      
richly-spread tables of  lords and      
baronets1 no dish suited his taste      
better than his frugal  oat-meal        
crowdie1 and no cook served it better   
than himself4 ,kings and  queens thought
 it a privilege to talk with him4       
,liverpool erected a  statue of him4    
,the ,king of ,belgium knighted him4    
,but he cared little for  honours4 ,when
 somebody1 wishing to dedicate a book to
 him1 asked what  his ornamental        
initials were1 ,i have to state1 replied

 he1 that ,i  have no flourishes to my  
name1 either before or after4 ,i think  
it will  be as well if you merely say1  
',george ,stephenson4'    ,young men    
beginning life often called upon him for
 advice and  assistance4 ,he hated show 
and foppery1 and a weakness in that     
direction  often got reproof4 ,one day  
one came flourishing a gold-headed cane4
 ,put  by that stick1 my man1 said      
,stephenson1 and ,i will talk with you4 
,you will1 sir1 ,i hope1 excuse me1 he  
said on another occasion to a  very     
gaily dressed youth2 ,i am plain-spoken1
 and am sorry to see a  clever young man
 like you disfigured by that            
fine-patterned waistcoat  and all these 
chains and fang-dangs4 ,if ,i1 sir1 had 
bothered my head  with these things when
 ,i was of your age1 ,i would not have  
been where ,i  now am4    ,wholesome as 
were his reproofs1 his counsel was as   
reliable1 and his  help as timely4 ,from
 the mine of his own rugged experience  
he had  gathered truths richer than     

grains of gold2 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 character4  ,when    
building a road between ,birmingham and 
,london1 ,robert walked twenty  times   
over the entire route1 illustrating the 
patient assiduity taught  him by his    
father4 ,no slipshod work could escape  
their eye4 ,neglect  nothing1 was their 
motto4 ,as a ,killingworth collier he   
put his brains  and his heart into his  
work4 ,as a master-builder he put his   
conscience  into it4 ,all his work was  
honest1 representing the actual         
character of  the man4    ,illustration3
 ,,wholesome ,,reproof4    ,when the    
rough and tumble of life began to       
subside1 and he became a more           
stationary engine1 with greater leisure 
for the enjoyment of his now  ample     
home1 his old love of birds1 dogs1      
horses1 and rabbits revived4  ,there was
 not a bird's nest upon his grounds that

 he did not know1 and  he often watched 
the nest-building operations with a     
builder's interest2  a blade of grass1 a
 bit of bark1 a nest of birds1 an ant   
tugging for one  poor grain1 were all to
 his mind revelations of the wonderful  
mechanism  and creative power of ,god4  
,illustration3 ,,later ,,days ,,of      
,,george ,,stephenson4    ,he died in   
,august #ahdh1 in the sixty-seventh year
 of his age4    ,robert proved himself  
worthy of such a father4 ,they were     
alike in  character1 intimately         
associated in the great engineering     
enterprises of  their day1 and bound to 
each other by the fondest affection4    
,george built roads1 ,robert bridges to 
run them over2 for railroads have  given
 birth to the most stupendous and       
splendid bridges the world ever  saw4   
,the famous ,tubular ,bridge over the   
,strait of ,menai--connecting  ,holyhead
 with the mainland--and the ,high ,level
 ,bridge at ,newcastle1 built  by him1  
are monuments of engineering skill4 ,you

 often see pictures of  them4 ,the most 
remarkable work of his genius1 however1 
is on the other  side of the ,atlantic  
,ocean4    ,it was desirable that the   
,grand ,trunk ,railway of ,canada1      
terminating at  ,montreal1 should be    
connected with the sea-board2 and the   
road was  accordingly extended from     
,montreal to ,portland1 ,maine4 ,but the
 river ,st4  ,lawrence1 deep and broad1 
sweeping down its mighty current the    
waters  and ice of the great lakes1     
broke the line and separated the road   
into  two parts4 ,the river must be     
spanned4 ,a bridge must be built4 ,it   
was a  stupendous undertaking1 but      
,robert ,stephenson can do it4 ,robert  
,stephenson did do it4 ,it is thrown    
from ,languire to a point half a mile   
below the city1 a distance of nearly two
 miles4 ,it is composed of  twenty-four 
spans1 and has three million feet of    
solid masonry in it4  ,the road runs    
through iron tubes1 sixty feet above the
 river1 and the  train is nine minutes  

going across4 ,there are ten thousand   
tons of iron  in the tubes4 ,it was six 
years in building4 ,it is called the    
,goliath of  bridges2 and is named the  
,victoria ,bridge1 in honour of ,queen  
,victoria4    ,illustration3 ,,victoria 
,,bridge1 ,,montreal4    ,robert        
drafted1 calculated1 estimated1 and     
superintended section after  section of 
this immense work1 and yet never visited
 the scene of labour6  photographs were 
sent him of its progress step by step4  
,it was finished  ,december #ahei1 and  
opened with all the festal honours      
possible in that  season of the year4   
,at the entertainment given there was   
one  toast--,robert ,stephenson1 the    
greatest engineer the world ever        
saw--followed by no cheers4 ,a deep hush
 swept over the assembly4    ,for       
,robert ,stephenson was dead4 ,he died  
on the #abth of ,october1 two  months   
before the completion of the work1 in   
the rich prime of a noble  manhood4 ,his
 death was looked upon as a public      

calamity2 and ,england1  with a true    
sense of his worth1 laid him side by    
side with her most  honoured dead4 ,he  
was buried in ,westminster ,abbey1 with 
her kings and  queens1 her princes and  
poets1 her warriors and statesmen4 ,the 
funeral  procession was between two and 
three miles long2 thousands lined the   
streets1 and thousands pressed into the 
,abbey4 ,tickets were necessary in      
order to get entrance2 and one of the   
most pressing applicants was an  humble 
working-man1 who years before had driven
 the first  locomotive-engine from      
,birmingham to ,london1 with ,robert    
,stephenson at  his elbow4    ,the      
humble ,newcastle collier-boy crowned   
his life with honourable toil2  and at  
his death a nation mourned a great man  
fallen4                                 
,,chapter ,x4                           
,,the ,,stephenson ,,centenary--,,honour
 ,,to                            ,,whom 
,,honour ,,is ,,due4      ,george       
,stephenson was born on the #ith of     

,june #agha4    ,the year #ahha was     
therefore the hundredth since his       
birth1--completed  the centenary2 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 celebration4    
,for the man born just one hundred years
  before had done a great work in his   
day2 a work the full benefit of  which  
we are only now beginning to enjoy4     
,england is not ungrateful to the memory
 of her distinguished sons1 and  keeps  
many anniversaries with a good deal of  
pomp and circumstance4 ,she  does not   
forget a ,shakespeare and a ,burns1 or a
 ,wellington and a ,nelson2  she loves  
to remember the establishment of the    
first printing-press1 and  the victories
 at ,trafalgar and ,waterloo4 ,such     
being the case1 it cannot  be denied    
that there was a peculiar fitness in her
 doing honour to the  ,father of        
,railways1--to the man whose successful 
patience1 energy1 and  courage have so  

largely added to the national wealth and
 developed the  national resources4     
,a century ago1 when ,stephenson was    
born1 no one had dreamed of or  imagined
 such a thing as railway traffic4 ,that 
great idea was reserved  for the brain  
of the son of a colliery engine tenter2 
and we have seen  in the foregoing pages
 under what discouragement1 and in the  
face of  what colossal difficulties1 he 
conceived and carried it out4 ,the      
steam-engine in use in his youth and    
manhood was a crude1 awkward1 and       
disjointed affair1 always coming to     
grief1 and incapable of any  important  
work4 ,the locomotive1 as ,stephenson   
found it1 was nothing more  than a      
clumsy stationary engine put on a clumsy
 truck1 which rattled and  shook as it  
crept along at the rate of four miles an
 hour1 so that every  moment it seemed  
about to tumble to pieces4 ,and the     
railway on which it  ran was not less   
imperfect2 it was nothing more than a   
system of light  thin rails1 which      

rested1 or at least were intended to    
rest1 upon blocks  of stone or rough    
wooden sleepers4    ,stephenson1 as we  
have seen1 resolved upon reforming all  
this4 ,he soon  improved the track1     
giving it greater solidity and firmness2
 and then he  turned to the engine1     
which he continued to perfect almost to 
the day of  his death4 ,there was much  
in the circumstances of the time to     
stimulate  his activity4 ,the coal trade
 was increasing largely1 and those      
engaged  in it were anxious to send     
their black diamonds over the country   
with  all possible speed4 ,they could no
 longer tolerate engines that rattled   
and jolted to and fro at the rate of    
only four miles an hour6 ,they were     
ambitious1 and wanted a speed of ten    
miles4 ,well1 we know what  ,stephenson 
did3 he invented an engine that attained
 fifteen miles an  hour2 and then1      
unresting and unhasting1 he addressed   
himself to the  task of extending--or1  
rather1 creating--our railway system4   

,he succeeded3 and now there are        
eighteen thousand miles of railway in   
,england2#a and our ordinary trains make
 thirty miles1 our express  trains fifty
 and sixty miles an hour2 and millions  
of men and women  travel where formerly 
only hundreds went2 and journeys that   
occupied a  day and a night1 like the   
journey from ,london to ,exeter1 are    
accomplished in half-a-dozen hours4     
,why1 we leave ,london at ten1 and      
reach ,edinburgh at seven the same      
evening2 a journey which1 when          
,stephenson was born1 could not be      
performed under a couple of days and    
nights6    ,footnote #a3      ,at the   
close of #ahhj there were #ag1gjj miles1
 employing #cjj1jjj    persons1 and     
#ac1agd locomotives4 ,in this vast      
net-work of iron roads a    capital of  
not less than #gj1jjj1jjj is sunk1      
yielding an annual    return of         
#cj1jjj1jjj4 ,upwards of #fjj1jjj1jjj   
journeys are made on the    average     
every year4    ,so marvellous a tale    

reads like a romance from some ,eastern 
fairy-book4  ,yet it is literally true1 
and the work has been done in the sight 
and  memory of thousands of living men4 
,was it not a work which deserved a     
centenary8    ,and the man3 did he not  
deserve it8 ,if ever indomitable        
perseverance  merited public applause1  
it was that of ,george ,stephenson4 ,we 
will say  nothing more of the trials and
 labours of his early years2 but even   
after he had made his engine1 and       
undertaken to construct the first       
,english railway1 what obstacles he had 
to conquer1 what difficulties to        
surmount6 ,both ,houses of ,parliament  
were against him2 the world was  against
 him4 ,people were horrified at the     
thought of turning the  locomotive loose
 on the country4 ,they drew dreadful    
pictures of the  evil it would do4      
,families sitting by their own          
firesides1 it was said1  would not be   
safe4 ,a runaway engine1 twenty tons in 
weight1 would dash  through a whole line

 of houses1 toppling them down one after
 the other  like houses built of cards4 
,how was such a monster to be           
controlled8 ,a  screw loose1 or a wrong 
turn of the handle1 and it would bound  
out of  the control of its driver4      
,then1 again1 others would ask1 who     
wanted to  travel more than ten miles an
 hour8 ,who wanted to rush through the  
country at a rate which would take away 
the breath8 ,was it not flying  in the  
face of ,providence8 ,moreover1 these   
new trains were to start  exactly to the
 minute1 and what could be more         
inconvenient8 ,it was the  regular thing
 in those days to keep the carriage and 
four a whole hour  waiting at the door1 
till every room of the house had been   
gone through  several times to see that 
nothing was left behind4    ,but        
,stephenson was not to be daunted4      
,possessed with one great thought1  he  
kept to it manfully1 and laboured day by
 day and night by night with            
unsurpassable energy4 ,such a man--the  

author of so great a work--surely       
deserved a centenary4    ,and a noble   
centenary it was4 ,both at ,newcastle   
and at ,chesterfield--the  two towns    
with which ,stephenson was most closely 
connected--the day was  observed as a   
holiday1 and thousands took part in the 
different  ceremonies4    ,at           
,newcastle1 the streets of which were   
gaily decorated with tall  ,venetian    
masts covered with red cloth1 and each  
surmounted by a trophy  of flags1--with 
ornamental mottoes1 wreaths and festoons
 of glossy  foliage1 and a brave show of
 banners and garlands1 there was a grand
  procession of modern railway engines1 
which started from the ,central         
,railway ,station1 and proceeded1 amidst
 the cheers of thousands1 to  ,wylam1   
,george ,stephenson's birth-place1 eight
 miles distant4 ,these  engines1 sixteen
 in number1 were the finest modern      
science could  construct3 some of them  
had driving-wheels six feet in diameter1
 and  outside cylinders which measured  

in diameter nearly a foot and a half4   
,how bright they were with their shining
 copper and polished steel1 and  how the
 sunlight flashed from them as1 linked  
together1 they rolled  along the iron   
way6 ,on reaching ,wylam they were      
placed for exhibition  along with the   
five old original locomotives--namely1  
the ,killingworth  7the first that      
,stephenson ever made71 the ,hatton     
,colliery engine1 the  old ,darlington  
engine1 ,no4 #a ,locomotive from        
,darlington1 and  ,stephenson's old     
,victor from the ,north-,eastern        
,railway4    ,a special train followed1 
carrying the ,mayors of ,newcastle and  
other  towns1 with many persons of local
 celebrity4 ,opposite ,george           
,stephenson's birth-place it stopped2   
the ,mayor of ,newcastle alighted  with 
his friends1 and in honour of the day   
planted an oak-tree4 ,the  return       
journey was then made1 and the engines  
we have named were thrown  open to      
public inspection4    ,the next event   

was a procession of members of the      
corporations1 public  bodies1 trade     
societies1 and workmen of ,newcastle1   
,gateshead1 ,jarrow1  and ,south        
,shields1 together with the miners of   
,northumberland and  ,durham--some      
#dj1jjj altogether--who1 through the    
garlanded and bannered  streets1 marched
 to the town moor4 ,there three         
platforms had been  erected1 from which 
the various trade representatives       
delivered  appropriate addresses4    ,in
 the evening a grand banquet took place1
 at which the ,mayor of  ,newcastle     
presided2 and the day's festivities     
concluded with a brilliant  display of  
fireworks4    ,at ,chesterfield the     
public rejoicings1 if necessarily on a  
less  extensive scale1 were not less    
cordial4 ,of course1 there was a        
procession2 there was also a special    
choral service in the parish  church2   
and we read of a banquet1 a concert1 and
 a fireworks finale4    ,but all this   
was temporary1--belonged only to the    

day1 and with the day  passed away4 ,so 
it was resolved to raise funds for the  
establishment of  a permanent memorial1 
which1 it is to be hoped1 may be in     
existence1  active and prosperous1 when 
a bi-centenary and a tri-centenary in   
their  turn come round4 ,this will be a 
,stephenson ,college of ,physical       
,science1 to be erected at ,newcastle1  
at a cost of #bj1jjj4 ,and a            
,stephenson ,scholarship ,fund is also  
being raised1 which will place the      
higher education within the reach of    
youths of ,stephenson's social rank     
imitating ,stephenson in his            
perseverance1 energy1 love of knowledge1
 and  patient industry4                 
,transcribers note4    ,spelling1       
,punctuation and ,hyphenation have been 
kept as the original4