CHAP. II.]

NED NELSON.

119

charming modesty of her demeanor, her kindness of disposition, and, withal, her sound good sense.

Among his various mendings of old shoes at Callerton, George was on one occasion favored with the shoes of his sweetheart to sole. One can imagine the pleasure with which he would linger over such a piece of work, and the pride with which he would execute it. A friend of his, still living, relates that, after he had finished the shoes, he carried them about with him in his pocket on the Sunday afternoon, and that from time to time he would pull them out and hold them up, exclaiming "what a capital job he had made of them!"

Not long after he began to work at Black Callerton as brakesman he had a quarrel with a pitman named Ned Nelson, a roystering bully, who was the terror of the village. Nelson was a great fighter, and it was therefore considered dangerous to quarrel with him. Stephenson was so unfortunate as not to be able to please this pitman by the way in which he drew him out of the pit, and Nelson swore at him grossly because of the alleged clumsiness of his brakeing. George defended himself, and appealed to the testimony of the other workmen. Nelson had not been accustomed to George's style of self-assertion, and, after a great deal of abuse, he threatened to kick the brakesman, who defied him to do so. Nelson ended by challenging Stephenson to a pitched battle, and the latter accepted the challenge, when a day was fixed on which the fight was to come off.

Great was the excitement at Black Callerton when it was known that George Stephenson had accepted Nelson's challenge. Every body said he would be killed. The villagers, the young men, and especially the boys of the place, with whom George was a great favorite, all wished that he might beat Nelson, but they scarcely dared to say so. They came about him while he was at work in the engine-house to inquire if it was really true that he was "goin' to fight Nelson." "Ay; never fear for me; I'll fight him." And fight him he did. For some days previous to the appointed day of battle, Nelson went entirely off work for the purpose of keeping himself fresh and strong, whereas Stephenson went on doing his daily work as usual, and appeared not in the least disconcerted by the prospect of the affair. So, on the evening appointed, after George had done his day's labor, he went

120

FIGHT WITH THE PITMAN.

[PART II. into the Dolly Pit Field, where his already exulting rival was ready to meet him. George stripped, and "went in" like a practiced pugilist, though it was his first and last fight. After a few rounds, George's wiry muscles and practiced strength enabled him severely to punish his adversary and to secure an easy victory.

This circumstance is related in illustration of Stephenson's personal pluck and courage, and it was thoroughly characteristic of the man. He was no pugilist, and the reverse of quarrelsome. But he would not be put down by the bully of the colliery, and he fought him. There his pugilism ended; they afterward shook hands, and continued good friends. In after life Stephenson's mettle was often as hardly tried, though in a different way, and he did not fail to exhibit the same courage in contending with the bullies of the railway world as he showed in his encounter with Ned Nelson, the fighting pitman of Callerton.

CHAPTER III.

ENGINE-MAN AT WILLINGTON QUAY AND KILLINGWORTH.

GEORGE STEPHENSON had now acquired the character of an expert workman. He was diligent and observant while at work, and sober and studious when the day's work was done. His friend Coe described him to the author as "a standing example of manly character." On pay-Saturday afternoons, when the pitmen held their fortnightly holiday, occupying themselves chiefly in cock-fighting and dog-fighting in the adjoining fields, followed by adjournments to the "yel-house," George was accustomed to take his engine to pieces, for the purpose of obtaining "insight," and he cleaned all the parts and put the machine in thorough working order before leaving her. His amusements continued to be principally of the athletic kind, and he found few that could beat him at lifting heavy weights, leaping, and throwing the hammer.

In the evenings he improved himself in the arts of reading and writing, and occasionally he took a turn at modeling. It was at Callerton, his son Robert informed us, that he began to try his

122

ENGINE-MAN AT WILLINGTON QUAY.

[PART II. hand at original invention, and for some time he applied his attention to a machine of the nature of an engine-brake, which reversed itself by its own action. But nothing came of the contrivance, and it was eventually thrown aside as useless. Yet not altogether so; for even the highest skill must undergo the inevitable discipline of experiment, and submit to the wholesome correction of occasional failure.

After working at Callerton for about two years, Stephenson received an offer to take charge of the engine on Willington Ballast Hill at an advanced wage. He determined to accept it, and at the same time to marry Fanny Henderson, and begin housekeeping on his own account. Though he was only twenty-one years old, he had contrived, by thrift, steadiness, and industry, to save as much money as enabled him, with the help of Fanny's small hoard, to take a cottage dwelling at Willington Quay, and furnish it in a humble but comfortable style for the reception of his bride.

Willington Quay lies on the north bank of the Tyne, about six miles below Newcastle. It consists of a line of houses straggling along the river side, and high behind it towers up the huge mound of ballast emptied out of the ships which resort to the quay for their cargoes of coal for the London market. The ballast is thrown out of the ships' holds into wagons laid alongside. When filled, a train of these is dragged to the summit of the Ballast Hill, where they are run out, and their contents emptied on to the monstrous accumulation of earth, chalk, and Thames mud already laid there, probably to form a puzzle for future antiquaries and geologists when the origin of these immense hills along the Tyne has been forgotten. At the foot of this great mound of shot rubbish was a fixed engine, which drew the trains of laden wagons up the incline by means of ropes working over pulleys, and of this engine George Stephenson acted as brakes

man.

The cottage in which he took up his abode was a small twostoried dwelling, standing a little back from the quay, with a bit of garden ground in front;* but he only occupied the upper

*The Stephenson Memorial Schools have since been erected on the site of the old cottage at Willington Quay represented in the engraving at the head of this chapter. A vignette of the Memorial Schools will be found at the end of the volume.

CHAP. III.]

STEPHENSON'S MARRIAGE.

123

room in the west end of the cottage. Close behind rose the Ballast Hill.

When the cottage dwelling had been made snug and was ready for his wife's reception, the marriage took place. It was celebrated in Newburn Church on the 28th of November, 1802. George Stephenson's signature, as it stands in the register, is that of a person who seems to have just learned to write. With all the writer's care, however, he had not been able to avoid a blotch. The name of Frances Henderson has the appearance of being written by the same hand.

George Stephenson Frances Henderson

After the ceremony, George and his newly-wedded partner proceeded to the house of old Robert Stephenson and his wife Mabel at Jolly Close. The old man was now becoming infirm, though he still worked as an engine-fireman, and contrived with difficulty" to keep his head above water." When the visit had been paid, the bridal party prepared to set out for their new home at Willington Quay. They went in a style which was quite common before traveling by railway had been invented. Two farm-horses, borrowed from a neighboring farmer, were each provided with a saddle and a pillion, and George having mounted one, his wife seated herself behind him, holding on by her arms round his waist. The brideman and bridemaid in like manner mounted the other horse, and in this wise the wedding party rode across the country, passing through the old streets of Newcastle, and then by Wallsend to Willington Quay-a long ride of about fifteen miles.

George Stephenson's daily life at Willington was that of a steady workman. By the manner, however, in which he continued to improve his spare hours in the evening, he was silently and surely paving the way for being something more than a manual laborer. He diligently set himself to study the principles of