United States or Micronesia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
When I was a brakesman at Killingworth, I learnt the art of embroidery while working the pitmen’s buttonholes by the engine fire at nights.” He was never ashamed, but on the contrary rather proud, of reminding his friends of these humble pursuits of his early life. Mr.
He contrived his safety-lamp with the object of saving pitmen’s lives, and perilled his own life in testing it. Whatever work was nearest him, he turned to and did it. With him to resolve was to do. Many men knew far more than he; but none were more ready forthwith to apply what he did know to practical purposes.
He related that, when down the pit some days after, seeking out the dead bodies, the cause of the accident was the subject of conversation, and Stephenson was asked, “Can nothing be done to prevent such awful occurrences?” His reply was that he thought something might be done. “Then,” said the other, “the sooner you start the better; for the price of coal-mining now is pitmen’s lives.”
Lord Denman was curious to know how a man whose time must have been mainly engrossed by engineering, had gathered so much knowledge on a subject quite out of his own line, and he asked the question. “I learnt clockmaking and watchmaking,” was the answer, “while a working man at Killingworth, when I made a little money in my spare hours, by cleaning the pitmen’s clocks and watches; and since then I have kept up my information on the subject.” This led to further questions, and then Mr.
But he fell back upon his old expedient of working up his spare time in the evenings at home, or during the night shifts when it was his turn to tend the engine, in mending and making shoes, cleaning clocks and watches, making shoe-lasts for the shoe-makers of the neighbourhood, and cutting out the pitmen’s clothes for their wives; and we have been told that to this day there are clothes worn at Killingworth made after “Geordy Steevie’s cut.” To give his own words:—“In the earlier period of my career,” said he, “when Robert was a little boy, I saw how deficient I was in education, and I made up my mind that he should not labour under the same defect, but that I would put him to a good school, and give him a liberal training.
Bruce has related that, when visiting Killingworth on one occasion, he found him engaged in teaching algebra to such of the pitmen’s boys as would become his pupils.
Word Of The Day