The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1872-01-18
The Story Of the English Railway
King,

| klng.
The extract below about George lIud-
son, the Great English Railway King, is
from the London Times of the 18th De-
cembcr:
We have to record to-day tho death
Of one whose name has been long used
| to point the moral Of vautng ambition
and unstable fortune. A new genera
ton has arisen since George Hudson
was the Railway King. Those to whom
his face and figure and voice were ia
miliar, who added to the crush mt his
entertainments. and listened to or re-
tailed the anecdotes respecting him, are
to be found only among the middlc.aged
members Of the House of Commons or
| the most seasoned frequenterS of Lon
don society. There was time when
not to know him was to argue ones
self unknown; now he is only n tradi-
ton. 1t often happens that a man who
has been famous in the past cmergcs
from long obscuriiv in the newspaper
paragraph which announces his death.
The first impulse is to eXclam. "iIas he
really Dttll ullNt UIl lllS lIIut INOIIlt
such thought will occur to many who
remember the George Hudson of the
Old times. what he did, his wealth, his
grandeur ana his fall His social pre-
cedcd his political disappearance. He
was member for Sunderland for wears
after he ceased to be the Railway King.
the arbiter Of capitalists and the COM
panion of the great His power cul-
minated at the time Of the railway
mania in 1876. lie was dethroned.
like so many other sovcrcigns, in the
revolutionary period which began with
lS4S. His wealth. enormously cXagger-
ntrd by report. haN passed away. and a
short time since a subscription was rails
ed TO buy an annuity for him. The
Judgment of the world on his moral
conduct was such that his social inilu-
cncc passed away also. Had it not
been so he might have made another
fortune. To the last he was energetic
and enterpliSing, even to audacity. 70
the last no scheme would have deferred
him by its difficulty, no speculation bv
its dan@er. But after his great fall, he
was Obliged to content himself with an
obscure and limited field. At one time
he was good deal abroad. and was I'M
drrS,oOd to be concerned in Continent
lai enterprises. From the sequel we
must assume that 50 far aS he was con-
ccrned. they were unsuccessful. The
first tide in his affairs led on to fortune.
but he was afterwards stranded and
neither he nor his schemes could float.
y quarter Of a century ago. he turned
all he touched to gold: in after years
his name was enough to withcr the
prospectus on which it was printed
The world which blindly trusted him,
which cringcd to him and ilattcred him.
avenged itself by excessive and savage
rcproba,ion. Its anger and contempt
were increased by the discovery that he
had really nothing LEFT. "Sce how these
il.-goten gains vansh!" exclaimed
these moralists after the events. Had
he managed to keep one or two hun
drcd thousand pounds. he would not
have been so guilty. What n man can
hold, the world assumes he has n right
to hold. Besides his credit as Il success
full man would then have stood its
ground, and success covers n multitude
Of sins. 1t would he ridiculous to apol-
ogize for him, and to deny his faults
merely because he is dead; but it is fair
to notice that to the last he had warm
friends, and that these were among the
men who knew him longest and best.