The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-12-31

Mr.. PARSONS LECTURE-The lecture
OF last evening, by Hon. William Parsons.
was one of the most eloquent and finished
aud effective literary efforts it has ever
been our pleasure of listening to. Hi
subject was as announced. George Steph.
enson, the Father Of Railways" He
gave historical sketch of his subject and
his discoveries and inventions, and his
narrative was interspersed with ilustra.,
tive anecdotes, flashes Of wit and bursts
of eloquence which carried every listener
in enthusiastic admiration and applause.
Stephenson was born on the Scottish
border, near the coast Of Northumberland
10 the midst of the mineral wealth of the
kingdom, which covered an area Of five
hundred square miles and embraced fifty
millions OF people, These are peculiar
people, considered and treated as bond.
men or serfs and in the time of Stephen.
son, deprived Of the right Of suffrage. The
lives Of these miners are largely spent
under ground, and here it was that
Stephenson in his early boyhocd, was en-
ployed in tending gates provided to regu.
late ventilation. At eight year, Of age
he came out into the upper world, and
I earned ten cents day in driving horse
in mill. At eighteen years Of age he
! became known to the public in rescuing
the bodies of those who had lost their
lives BY an explosion in the coal pit. Al
this time, too, he Was employed as an at
tendant upon stationary steam engine
lie loved his labor aud his business, an
looked at the engine as an intelligent
e creature, was constantly examining it,
$ taking it apart and putting it together
again, and on the 81 y, adding improve
ments. At the close OF the day he bus c
himself with other occupations, and be-
" came noted, in that region as a cutter q
70 coats and dresses, aud member of clock
aud watches 20 that when he Tell in love
!. he showed his devotion by aeuding Fan
:, ny Hend.rrou's shoes.
!. That George Stephenson was the foun
y der Of railways is true, although the sys
!. TEN Of running wagons on trainways o
!, rails was known aud applied by tn,
Egyptians. But at this time England
had just come out of her unnatural strug
gle with America, aud the question tina
D. then agitatcd the British mind was wha
t, should take the place of horses as mo
ID tive power on land. Some proposed tn
s, use of sails as on a boat, but they wer
es found chimerical The lecturer the
n. rapidly and graphically described the sew
I'd eral attempts made to produce workin
or serviceablo locomotive before Stephenso
to took hold of it, and their failure,
IT Stephenson at this time had property q
I'd some $4,000, and this he expend d 10 til
a construction of his first locomotive, which
y however was practically failure, as
u could not attain speed exceeding tw
es miles per hour. But after much labo
er and patience, he invented tho tubula
D. boiler by which the steam, which ha
l. been wasted was made to pass throug
~ the smock stack, driving the fierce fame
re through the boiler and around the tube,
is With this improvement in the gereratio
re of steam, he attained speed of eigh
re miles an hour, which was destined to b
g. increased to almost the speed of the Dir