Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB
[graphic][subsumed][subsumed]

GEORGE STEPHENSON

AND HIS SON ROBERT.

THE home in which George was born is situated about eight miles from Newcastle-onTyne, in the colliery village called Wylam. It was, like the other cottages in the village, unplastered, had a clay floor, and was open to the rafters. "Old Bob," the father of George, had a deserved reputation for industry and carefulness; he was much respected amongst his humble neighbours. He was fond of birds, he loved children, and could tell a good story. Mabel Stephenson is described as a "rale canny body "-held in high repute by the wives of the village. "Old Bob" worked at the Wylam colliery; for his services as fireman at the pumping engine he received. twelve shillings per week, upon which he had to keep the eight members of his family. Paying for the schooling of any of the children out of that pittance was of course out of the question. But the father could teach George something -he could take him birdsnesting, and give him a love for natural history, as well as make him industrious. This he did, and his lessons were never forgotten.

George's first employment was to carry his father's dinner to the engine-house, and to

HS.Melville

amuse the children -keeping them out of the way of the waggons, which ran on the tram-way before his father's cottage. When he had attained his eighth year, he was employed by a farmer to take care of the cows, and to close the gates at night after the waggons had passed through. For these various duties he received twopence per day. The spare time which these occupations left him was devoted to modelling engines in clay, and making imaginary steam-pipes from the reeds which grew around him. When George grew older, and more able to work, he was set to lead the horses in ploughing, and to hoe turnips, at the advanced wages of fourpence a day. Then he was taken On at the colliery as a "picker," at sixpence a day, whence he was advanced to be driver of the gin-horse at eightpence. He had determined to be an engineman; and great therefore was his exultation, when, at about fourteen years of age, he was appointed fireman, at the wages of one shilling a day; when he was raised to twelve shillings per week, he exclaimed, in the pride of his elevation"Now I'm a made man for life!"

When he was eighteen years of age, he learned that all the details of the engines

[graphic]

74

made by Watt and Bolton were described in books. This was incentive enough to learn to read. He went, grown man as he was, to a night-school, at threepence a week, to learn the alphabet. By practising "pot-hooks" in his spare moments, by When the time he was nineteen he could write his own name. George had attained his twentieth year, his wages were from thirty-five to forty shillings per week. In order to increase these earnings, he learned to make and mend the shoes of his fellow workmen. After working about three years as breaksman at Willington, George removed to Killingworth, about seven miles north of Newcastle. Here, he lost his excellent wife-his dearly-loved Fanny, who left him with one child-the world-famed Robert. While mourning his loss, George had a situation offered him to superintend an engine near Montrose. This invitation he accepted, and, leaving Robert in charge of a neighbour, set out with his kit upon his back, and accomplished his long journey on foot. During his absence, his father, old Robert Stephenson, met with an accident while making some repairs to an engine; he had been severely scorched, by which his eyesight was destroyed. George's first act, on his return, was to pay out of the £28-his year's savings-£15, the amount of his father's debts. He soon after removed his parents to a comfortable cottage near his own.

He was anxious at this time to send his son to school. He had, in his own instance, found out the value of education, and resolved that Robert should have the advantages of which he had been denied.

In 1822, George obtained his first railway engineering appointment. When the Stockton and Darlington Railway was projected, George offered his services to the director; he was appointed to the responsible position of engineer to the company, at a salary of £300 per annum. In September, 1825, the line was opened, and was found to work excellently, the traffic in goods and passengers being beyond expectation. The next important work which George undertook was the surveying of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway. When the bill for the railway was introduced into the House of Commons, a committee examined George, subjecting him to a severe cross-examination upon his plans. After examining George for three days, it was deemed advisable to withdraw the bill; but the directors, with great spirit, ordered a fresh survey. This time the bill passed the Commons. George received the appointment of chief engineer to the works, at a salary of £1000 per annum.

He died on the 12th of August, 1848, in the 67th year of his age, leaving his son Robert to carry out many noble monuments to perpetuate for all time the genius and perseverance of the Stephensons. Robert died in his 57th year, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

CHINA.

NEW TESTAMENTS AND MISSIONARIES.

AN interesting letter has been received from the Rev. Dr. Medhurst, of Shanghae, in which he says, 'We have just received communications from the Bible Society relative to a million copies of the New Testament, to be printed with all possible speed. The cost will be about 17,000l. Yesterday, the Shanghae Corresponding Committee of the Bible Society met to deliberate on the way in which the said million copies could be produced. There was a delightful harmony prevailing between ourselves and our Episcopalian friends: the latter proposing that the basis of the million copies should be the last revised edition of the Delegates' Version. The work was divided in the following manner :London Mission Press at Shanghae to print. . Copies 115,000 Ditto at Hong-Kong to print 50,000 The Bishop of Victoria to print by blocks, at various places 85,000 250,000

All these to be completed within eighteen months from the 1st January, 1853.'

It is gratifying to find that the boon which the Bible Society purpose conferring upon China is so highly appreciated by our Missionary Brethren; and that, forgetting all denominational differences, these devoted evangelists are, in a spirit of such union and ardour, planning the mode of carrying the Society's intention into effect.

Dr. Medhurst further writes- But if the Bible Society have resolved to publish a million New Testaments, what is the London Missionary Society going to do? Something corresponding, it is to be hoped-something worthy of the occasion, and suitable for the reputation of the Protestant institution which first embarked in the cause of China's evangelization. The Insurgents, on the 28th of October, were at Jin-Khew, within 100 miles of Pekin, with a broad paved carriage-road before them. Thus their affairs now look more prosperous than ever. In the mean time, should they prove successful, and open the country to Missionaries, what means and agents have we at hand to avail ourselves of this Providential opening? At Shanghae, at present, you have only five Missionaries; one incessantly engaged in attending to the wounded, among whom he has performed upwards of a dozen operations, by amputating legs and arms, in about a nonth. Another is already, and will now more than ever be, uninterruptedly engaged in the printing department; leaving only three who can be employed in preaching the Gospel.'

The directors of the London Missionary Society have anticipated the appeal. They have brought the claims of China prominently before their constituents, who have so responded that upwards of £10,000 have been subscribed to a fund instituted specially for the transmission of Missionaries to China; and the directors are now diligently employed in seeking ten apostolic men, suited for the momentous work of preaching the everlasting Gospel to the myriads who inhabit the celestial empire.'

LIBERALITY.

'FEAR not, rich saints, to turn your gold to seed,
And sow it in the fields of poverty;
A glorious crop-beyond your hopes-will rise,
And well reward your kindness.
Ye shall reap
Of present benefit an hundred-fold,
And future sheaves of everlasting good.
The kindness of his creatures to Himself,
The Saviour condescended to accept ;
And still their kindness to his saints he deems
Of the same worth, and owns it done to Him.
This is the bank where wealth accumulates
Beyond all reckoning. Trust the Lord with all,
And cent per cent, by hundreds multiplied,
Will pour with interest on your growing stock.
There lay your bags-no iron bars nor bolts
Are needful to secure them. There no rust
Can their pure worth reduce. No thief can steal
The wealth entrusted in the Saviour's hand;
Nor can his credit fail whose word is truth,
And his vast property the universe.

O then, remember what the Lord hath said,
That "where your treasure is, your heart will be;"
And trust your heart and riches both with Him.'

ACTION.

'I hope,' says the Rev. Richard Knill, formerly Missionary to India, that, the subject of devoting ourselves and our children to God and to his service, will be more thought of, and more acted upon, than it has been hitherto. I am more and more convinced, that if St. Paul had ever preached from--Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature, he would have laid great stress on the word Go. At your peril, do not substitute another word for go. Preach is a good word. Direct is a good word. Collect is a good word. Give is a good word. They are all important in their place and can

PICTORIAL PAGES.

not be dispensed with; the Lord bless and prosper those who are so engaged: but still lay the stress on the word go; for how can they hear without a preacher, and how can they preach except they be sent ?'

Six hundred millions of the human race are in danger of preishing for lack of knowledge. Who at this moment is preparing to Go?

&c.

TRAVELLING.

CULTIVATE knowledge as you travel.

History, antiquities,-in cities, towns, churches, castles, ruins,

Natural history,-in plants, earths, stones, minerals, animals, &c.

Cultivate good-humoured contentment in all the little inconveniences incident to inns, roads, weather, &c.

Cultivate a deep and grateful sense of the power, wisdom, and goodness of God, in creation and providence, as successively presented to your notice from place to place.

Keep diaries and memoranda of daily events, places, persons, objects, conversations, sermohs, public meetings, beauties, wonders, and mercies, as you travel. Be minute and faithful. Ask many questions of such as can afford useful information, as to what you see.

Write your diary daily ;-delays are very prejudicial. You owe a diary to yourself, to your friends left at home, and to your father, who gives you the pleasure and profit of the journey.-L. RICHMOND.

IMPORTANT MEMENTO.

A traveller passing through Savoy came to an inn, and saw the following admonition printed on a folio sheet, and hanging in its public room :

"Understand well the force of the words-A GOD! A MOMENT! AN ETERNITY! A God which sees thec,-a moment which flies from thee, an eternity which awaits thee!

A God whom ye serve so ill,-a moment of which ye profit so little,—an eternity which ye hazard so rashly.'

Moments swiftly fly away, Nothing can compel their stay; Whither are they leading me? To a vast eternity!

THE SLAVE-FOUND DIAMOND.

IN our Number for December we gave an account of a slave who had found a very valuable diamond, and received her liberty for honestly delivering it up to her master. The jewel has lately reached England from Rio Janeiro, to which place it had been sent, and is now lodged in the Bank for safety. At present, the costly gem weighs 254 carats (not much less than two ounces Troy weight), almost equalling in bulk the far-famed Koh-i-noor; but when cut, it will, doubtless, be much reduced. It is said to be without a flaw, and is estimated, according to a scale used in jewellery, at no less a sum than £280,000. It seems almost incredible that about two ounces of charcoal, or carbon (of which, in fact, the diamond is composed), should be reckoned worth more than a quarter of a million sterling! It probably will not sell for that amount, there being so few possessed of wealth enough to give it. Whatever it may realise, we hope the poor honest slave will again be remembered by her master.

JOHN BUNYAN.

THE name of this good man (whose portrait is given in page 76) is a household word amongst us. We have heard it from our childhood as the name of the author of that worldknown book, 'The Pilgrim's Progress.'

78

JOHN BUNYAN was born at Elstow, near Bedford, in 1628. His father was a travelling tinker, and John was brought up to the same occupation. It seems likely that his parents were worthy people, for their son was taught to read and write-no mean education at that time for one in such humble life.

John soon fell into bad company, and enlisted into the army of the Parliament. He was present at the siege of Leicester, in 1645, being then seventeen years of age. In his book, entitled "Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners,' he tells us, that, in every respect, he was worse than even the wicked among his comrades. Whilst pursuing this downward course, he received a merciful and sudden check. Passing a group of pious women, who were sitting in the sunshine at a cottage-door, he overheard them speaking in such a way of sin and its danger, and of God's mercy in Christ, that he was instantly brought to reflection. His lively fancy induced him to consider the circumstance as a warning from heaven-which, indeed, the result proved it to have been-for from this time he became a changed man; and his godless companions, finding they could not bring him back. to his former evil ways, shunned his society.

He gradually became more and more enlightened and established in the faith; and, in 1653, received the rite of baptism from Mr. Gifford, of Bedford, a Baptist minister, whose chapel he had for some time attended. He himself now walking in the right way, could not rest satisfied without trying to draw others also from the broad road that leads to ruin. In 1656, when twenty-eight years old, he began to preach, and, his former history being generally known, crowds flocked to hear him. Some, however, stirred up by a spirit of enmity to the truth, determined to stop John's faithful labours. They accomplished their object thus-In Queen Elizabeth's reign an Act had been passed making it a crime, punishable with imprisonment, transportation, or death, not to conform to the religious rites and ceremonies which the British statutes prescribed. Bunyan was indicted by his enemies for violating the law, and on Charles the Second's Restoration, they so far succeeded as to have him cast as a malefactor into jail. They could not, however, put fetters on his heaven-born soul, for when offered his liberty if he would only promise to abstain from preaching he fearlessly replied, 'If you let me out of prison to-day, I will preach again to-morrow.'

[ocr errors]

In Bedford jail John remained more than twelve years, during which time he supported himself and his family by making tags to laces. It was during this period that he wrote his Pilgrim's Progress,' and other works. Dr. Barlow, bishop of Lincoln, at last obtained his release; and when James the Second proclaimed liberty of conscience, Bunyan at once resumed his pulpit toils. He was very popular wherever he went. It is said that, during his annual visits to London, three thousand persons have assembled on a winter's morning, before breakfast, to hear him preach. He died in London of fever, in the sixtieth year of his age.

How little did those who took away John Bunyan's liberty imagine that their wrath would issue in such a widened spread of those glorious truths they wished to suppress! But it happened as in the days of the persecuting emperor Diocletian, who declared, "The more I sought to blot out the name of Christ, the more legible it became; and whatever of Christ I thought to eradicate, it took the deeper root, and rose the higher, in the hearts and lives of men.'

Of the PILGRIM'S PROGRESS' it is said that more copies have been printed than of any other book whatever, the Bible alone excepted. Old and young, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, alike read it with delight. Dr. Johnson, Dean Swift, Cowper, Cecil, Coleridge, and a host of others, have written warmly in its praise. This wonderful work,' says the last writer, is one of the few books which may be read over repeatedly at different times, and each time with a new and different pleasure.' One of the most striking proofs of its popularity is the number of translations of the work that have been made. It exists in, at least, ten of the languages of India. The translator into one of them says, "The book is highly prized. There seems a peculiar propriety in sending forth this heavenly guide in a land where pilgrims to shrines of idolatry

abound.'

The Editor was one day conversing with a converted Bengali, who spoke in raptures of the allegory which had been

PICTORIAL PAGES.

to his native tongue. He was especially delighted scription it gave of Vanity Fair,' and the indigusage which the Pilgrim there endured; he himself with corresponding

-treatment from his y-minded and idoltrymen.

FF, speaking of a du inquirer, says, with his wife, to my had never seen an efore, and was standd in a cloth, appearmid. She had made I to become a Chrisbeing a Hindu hoLouse was left with E and her husband, ants. An idolatrous was passing along the servants went it, and the young is wife seized the

to escape. They at moment reading 's Progress, and the y had come to was tian resolved to flee City of Destruction. id, 'Is not this our

Are not we in the

answer the purpose. On the Indus, skins, gourds, and large earthern jars are all employed. The Madras catamaran is just two or three logs or planks of wood tied to each other, the name catamaran signifying bound together.

JOHN BUNYAN.

[blocks in formation]

page 75.

punt to the elegant gondola.

The New Hollanders use a raft of mangrove stems, the Arabs on the Tigris one of skins covered with bamboos and planks. These latter rafts are very ancient; representations of them being found on the sculptures dug up at Nineveh. Then there are canoes of many kinds, some small and slight, others large and strong; some made of bark, some of wood, and others of skins. Among the rudest is that formed of the trunk of a tree merely hollowed out, a work effected in some instances by means of fire. Then there is the coracle, made of wicker, with a hide stretched over it. This was used by the ancient Britons, and may still be seen in Wales. Some of these canoes carry sails, and very large ones too, while others are propelled solely by the use of paddles. Of boats, both open and decked, there is now an endless variety, from the clumsy

[graphic]

The Greeks in early times turned their attention to the art of ship-building, and possessed the first vessels of war of which we have any account. These, however, even the twelve hundred of them which, according to Thucydides, conveyed the warriors to the siege of Troy, were but open undecked boats. The Romans also had their fleets, and our engraving represents two of their galleys in the act of transporting troops. In battle, the success of every manœuvre, and the event of the fight itself, in great measure depended upon the discipline and strength of the rowers, whose oars are so conspicuous. When the wind was fair, sails were used, with or without the oars. Pleasure galleys, especially those of the emperor, were most superb; the sails being of silk, the oars gilt, and the very ropes dyed with varied hues.

[ocr errors]

The bedchamber-ship' of PTOLEMY PHILOPATER, king of Egypt, used as a pleasure yacht on the Nile, was perhaps the most gorgeous vessel ever built. Her length was 321 feet, breadth 45, and height, including the pavilion on deck, 90 feet. Ivory, gold, cedar, cypress, and even marble, were all used in constructing this wondrous vessel, while the sails were made of the finest linen, and were worked with purple ropes.

As far as can be traced, at the time of JULIUS CAESAR'S invasion the only vessel possessed by Britons was the coracle. The AngloSaxons much improved this little canoe, but to the great ALFRED we are indebted for the first British navy. Our early Norman kings paid little attention to ships, but in RICHARD THE FIRST'S time, the crusading spirit again made them a matter of public thought and care. Our navy then began to include galleys, large and small, and ships of burden called busses. During the reign

[graphic]
[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
« ZurückWeiter »