Weekly Trinity journal., 1875-01-23
THE STORY OF A sTOKER.


bilers all my life but working 'em's diff
ferent from making em. There's some
thing wrong, as you say, or they would
MT always be a bustin'. 'Taint now and
then, nor once or twice, for it's thing as
is always happening and though I've
never had more than scald or two my
self, I've seen some strange sights men
all blown to pieces, so that they were
picked up afterwards in baskets men
taken to the hospital with their flesh
hanging to them in rags, and thus they
lie writhing and tearing at the wrappings
in such agony that-there, l aint above
owning tive cried like child 10 see
my mates sutferings. And there they'd
be, day after day, till sort of calm came
over them, and the pain went, when
they'd smile if you spoke to 'em, they
seemed so easy and it would be because
a gentle hand was laid upon 'em, and
they were going into the long sleep.
Some gets better, but not when they
are scalded badly for strange stuff is
steam. Well, no, I'm not afraid, and
never do feel afraid. What's the good :?
Ones got to do, and there's the mouths
at home to feed, so one can't afford il !;
and then the odds are precious long ones
against it's being ones own bustin'. But
now so many more are coming into use
day by day, it seems as if something
ought to be done IN the way of making
biers stronger, Cheapness is cheapness;
but then, but then a things dear at any
price that makes such ruin as I've seen
sometimes so why don't they try some
tougher metal than iron ? though GER
tainly, steam's strong enough to tear up
anything. But there seems to me to be a
fresh plan wanted for making bilers.
didn't work there, but went and had a
look directly after that horrible accident
at the big works last summer. Well,
there was about an acre of buildings
sheds and setrer-swept away as if you'd
battered 'em all down great fire bricks,
weighing a hundred and half, pitched
here and there like chatf sheets of lead,
sent flying hundred yards tall chin
neys powdered down and the big biler
itself jumped right out of its place; while
as to the middle Of it, that was torn off,
and crumbled up, and blown, like a sheet
Of paper, to distance. Plenty of life
lost there, and plenty of escapes but
what | took most notice Of was the plates
torn oft the biler-torn off, as l said be-
fore, like SO much paper, while those
sheets or plates of iron had lgven way at
the rivets, and looked for all the world
like torn-off postage stamps-torn off, of
course, along the perforating.
" Now them" says 1, to myself, "that's
a thing that wants altering. You per-
forates the edge of your plates to admit
rivets, and so takes half their strength
oh-hot rivets in, and they, p'raps, crys-
talize the iron, only, p'r'aps, mind, l
don't say so, only the raw edges OF the
biler looked crystally and brittle. Well,
then, some day comes hextry pressure
of steam, and up goes your biler-busted
and spreadin' ruin and death and misery
around" ''Then how are we to fasten
our biler-plates," says you, "if we don't
rivet them" How should / know d? l
amt scientific mani only stokes.-
That's for you to find out. But you amt
a-going to tell me are you, that you sci
entifc men and biler-makers can find no
way to make biers exceptto rivet them ?
Say you bent the plates over hooks, one
into the other, like tin sarspan- makers
does their tin. l amt biler-maker, or
l should try that dodge, think but
there, that's only one way out of many
that could be found by experiment.
Seems to me, sir, as if we English peo-
pie dislike anything new, and always
wants to keep to anything our fathers
and grandfathers had before us. They
went along and made their foot-marks,
and we go along after 'em, putting our
foots in just the same spots, thinking it
must be right, come what will of it.
Had to do with engines many years.
Stocked locomotives and stationary, agri-
culturals and manufactures ard print
ing offices, and been down in the engine
rooms Of steamers and that lasts about
the hottest and worst of all. Killing
work, you know, for anybody, specially
in hot country, where every breath of
air that comes down to you is already
roasted, as it were, and don't do no good.
Bustins' ? Well, no, only one, and
that was quite enough: for though it
didn't hurt my body, it did hurt my
heart, and If you happ en- to be father,
you'll understand what | mean.
1t was dinner-time at our works-a
great place, where the engine used to be
going to pump water night and day, so
that there were two of us, and one week |
I'd be on day work, next week night |
work, and SO on. Now, it.so happened |
hat our water in that part was terribly |
hard water that would cover the inside |
'f the boiler with thick fur ia no time.
But whether it was this or no, l can't
ay ; all know is that one dinner-time /
vent out into the yard to wash my hands
md have cooler, when | heard wild,
trange rushing sound, and felt some-
hing hit me on the back of the head
hen turning round, 1 stood fixed to the
pot, for the air was black with tiles, and
'ricks, and laths, and rafers, while the
whole place seemed to be crumbling up
ogether, just like as if you'd built tall
ard-house and then tapped it so that it
ell, one card on top of another, till there
vas little heap all lynn close and snug