St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1860-02-16
Geographical.
" The Grit Bare.Legged Laddie.

Sixty years ago stout bony youth
Of eighteen years old, who had been
known among his neighborhood AS "a
grit bare-legged laddie," called on a
poor village schoolmaster, and said
would like to attend your eve.
ming school, sir" ....
What do you wish to study ?"
asked the teacher. ... .... .......
want to learn to read and write, +"
replied the lad ....
The teacher looked into the lads
face with a somewhat scornful glance,
shrugged his shoulders, and said:
Very well, you can attend
Now if that bony lad had said to
the teacher, mean to become Il
great inventor, to be the companion Of
rich and noble men, to hold converse.
ton with kings, and to write my
name among the great men of the
world" dare say the teacher would
have called the boy fool, for cherish
ing such wild dreams. Yet that poor
bony lad, who at eighteen did not
know the alphabet, did all those things
before he died.
Who was he? His name was
George Stephenson, the great railway
pioneer! ..... ..
1t was not the fault Of young
George that he was ignorant, it was
only his misfortune. His parents
were too poor to send him to school
He was the son of the fireman of
pumping engine in coIlicry. His
birthplace was a cottage with clay
floor, mud wall, and bare rafters. He
had to help earn his living from his
earliest years, first by herding cows
aud barring up the gates Of the mine
at night. Next he was put to picking
stones from the coal and after that to
driving a horse, which hauled coal
from the pit By,and.by he was made
assistant fireman to his father. When
he was seventeen he was made plug
man of pumping enginc-a higher
post than his fathcr's-aud had
climbed, as it seemed, to the top of
the ladder. What hope was there for
youth who could not read at seven
teen?
But George had hope in his breast.
His engine was a lesson-bo to him
de took it apart and put it together
again, studied it, loved it, and when
he was told that there were books
which told about engines, he made
up his mind to go to school.
To school he went, and soon learned
all that the village masters could
teach. When twenty years old he
was made brakesman, and began to
think about inventing better engines
than he saw about him s
Thus working, thinking, reading, he
kept on, avoiding all bad habits, until
he built locomotive that travelled at
the rate of four miles an hour on a
teamway. This was a great affair at
that time.
His next work was a railway eight
miles in length, and from this point
he went on until he was known as
the great railway pioneer of the
world.
George was often laughed at by
men who thought themselves much
wiser than he. One day he was pro-
posing to build an engine to run
twelve miles an hour, A grave-look-
ing gentleman, thinking to put him
down, said: a
Suppose one of these engines to
be going along railroad at the rate
of nine or ten miles an hour, and that
COW We're to stray upon the line,
would not that be very awkward
circumstance ?"
Yes replied Mr. Stephenson,
very awkward indced-for the COW p
Thus, by his own industry, did the
grit bare-legged laddie' climb to Il
very high place among men. Great
men, and even kings. sought his ad-
vice, wealth flowed into his purse, his
name was honored, his character res