The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-09-08
THE TWO THINKERS.

IN one Of the villages Of the Newcastle
coal-mining region was the humble dwell
ing of a very humble man. The little.
Old-iashiOned kitchen was the home and
study of d very poor man, of whom the
world then knew nothing, but has since
known a great deal. He worked In q
coal-pit. He never learned TO read or
write ill he was eighteen, and then went
to school three evening IL the week. But
he had eyes, and what he. saw with his
eyes he thought upon. He carried it
home, worked it over IN his mind, and
when occasion called, could use it in a
manner that astOnished his neighbors. l
will giva you an instance.
One of the coal pits was flooded with
water. The engine had been fruitlesely
pumping for nearly twelve months, and
came to be regarded as q total failure.
The pit "was drowned out"
On Saturday afternoon he went over to
examine the engine more carefully than
he hsd done before. One Of the men
asked him, "Weel, George, what do you
max OF her?" "Man," said George, in
reply, 81 cocld alter her and make her
draw In a weeks time fIom this I could
| send you to the bottom"
"What do you know about engineer"
cried the man, s%corntully. Dut the su-
perintendent, hearing of It, determined
to give Georges skill p trial. In three
days he had altered the engine. and in
two dsys more the pit Was cleared of
water and the wotkmen sent to the bot.
tom.
low did he TO it? lie YVES not bred
an engineer. He had no books TO teach
| him. 1t was because he was a thinker.
EC bad seen engines just as the other
men hsQ; but he did what the rest Gid
not. In his spare moments he set his
mind to work ab0ut how they were built,
! ard all the vhys End Tvherctores. IN this
WAY he saw the cause OF tAe dlIaculty
and how to remedy it.
LOOK at him. Ee is planning, ard
drawing and studying, instead CT spend
ing his time at alc-shops and cOck-hghts.
See the wheels, and cogs, and axles, and
bits of machinery about the room. lie
has no books to guide him. The knowl-
edge of other men was beyond his reach.
His little sen is interested in all that in
terests lis father, ard his father explains
to him pretty much ell nc knows. Robert
goes to school. At thirteen his father
sends him to the academy at Newcastle:
Bob hunts up all the books which tell
about machinery. If he could only carry
them home to his fatherl But that is
against the rules. What did ne DO He
took the pains to copy al tic pictures
and diagrams Of machinery which ne
thought would interest and help his
Eather, and when he went home Oh Sat
uTday he explained them 70 him. While
Robert was still at school, his iather pro
posed 20 him during the holidays that NJ
should construct : sun Gial 20 be placed
over their cottage door. Il expostGlated
with him at first" said Robert, afterwards
when he had become famous, that l hac
not learned sufficient astronomy and math
ematics to enable me to make the neces
sary calculations. But he would have
no denial. The thing is 10 be done,
said he, so just set about il at once.
Well, we got FerguSon's Astronomy, anC
studied the subject together. Many :
sore head [ had while making the calcu
lations necessary to adapt the dial to th'
latitude of killingwGrth. But st last
was done, and we made = very respecta
BILE dial of it: and there it is, you see,
pointing to il over the cOttsge door, "stil
quietly numbering the hours when tn
sun shines" The date carved upon tn
dial is, August 11th, ~MDCCcXvL"
/ Would you know what all this led to
II laid the track of the first Railroad an
, butt the first locomotive. The man
name is George Ste phenson, who drov
the first steam horse the world ever saw
t and his son is Robert Stephenson, VII
l planned the largest bridge IN Mort
America, that over the st. Lawrenc
River at Montreal, called the Victori
I Bridge; two names that the weld WI
/ not soon let die.
No beginning could have been LEI
4 promising than that Of George Stepher
7 son. Born in a poor condition, yet ric
{ in spirit, he was from the first compclle
to RELY upon himself. Whether workln
as a brakeman or an engineer, his min
was always full of the work in han'
7 When a workman, he put his brains al
labor into his work; and when a mastI
u he nut character and conscience into 1t.
= You may 20 to school, boys, and rea
ever so many books, but unless you lear
to think, you will never be able to tut
vour knowledge to any good OF great a.
G count. 1t will be as loose ends in you
o mind, never ready to use, adding little {
! nothing to your efficiency or excellenc