Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1860-02-10
"THE GRIT BARE-LEGGED LADDIE."

Sixty years ago, stout youth of eighteen
years old, who had been known among his
neighborhood, as grit bare-legged laddie,"
called on poor village schoolmaster, and
said
81 would like to attend your evening school,
sir
"what do you wish to study asked the
teacher
al want to learn to read and write" ropli-
ed the lad.
The teacher looked into the lads face with
somewhat soornful glance, shrugged his
shoulders, and said
Every well, you can attend"
Now, if that bony lad had said to the teach
er, 81 mean to become great inventor, to be
the companion of rich and noble men, to hold
/ conversation with kings, and 20 write my
name among the great men of the world" |
dare say the teacher would have called the
| boy fool for cherishing such wild dreams.
Yet that poor bony lad. who at eighteen did
not know the alphabet, did all those thing.
before he died.
Who was he His name was Georg,
Stephenson, the great railway pioneer
1t was not the fault Of young George tina
he was ignorant, it was only his misfortune
His parents were too poor to send him &
school He was the son of the fireman of
pumping engine in a eolliery. His birthplace
was a cottage with clay floor, mud wall ant
bare raiters He had to help earn his liyinl
from his earliest years, first by herding cow
and barring up the gates of the mine at night
Next he was put to picking stones from thu
coal, and after that to driving horse, whicl
hauled coal from the pit. By-and bye he wa
made assistant fireman to his father Whe
he was seventeen he was made pugman Of
pumping engine--a higher post than his "a
theirs, and had climed as it seemed, to tn
top of his ladder. What hope was there fo
youth who could not read at seventeen
: But George had hope in his breast. Iii
engine was a lesson book to him. He took
, apart and put it together again, studied i
, loved it, and when he was told that there wen
J books which told about engines, he made II
4 his mind to 60 to school.
To school he went, and soon learned a
( that the village masters could teach Whe
c twenty years old he was made brakeman. an
J began to think about inventing better engine
9 than he saw about him.
His next work was a railway eight miles i
length, and from this point he went on unit
he was known as the great railway pioneer {
the world
G George was often laughed at by men VIII
5 thought themselves much wiser than he
4 One day he was proposing to build an engir
d to run twelve miles an hour. A grave-lool
S ing gentleman thinking to put him down, said
= "Suppose one of these engines to be gon
along railroad at the rate of nine or ten mil,
{ an hour, and that COW were TO stray upo
I the line, would not that be a very awkwar
! circumstance :"
, Eyes" replied Mr.. Stephenson, "yery awl
s ward indeed--for the COW J"
Thus, by his own industry, did the "gr
t bare-legged laddie" climb to a very high plat
+ among men. Great men, and even king
II sought his advice, wealth flowed into his purs
}, his name was honored, his character respec
e ed At ripe age he died and went to h
+ eternal reward.
/ Let this sketch cheer on the boys and CIR
d to patient effort in the path of duty Lear
0 something every day. Press forward +
y good, and you will prosper.