Mower County transcript., 1892-05-18

NV l !
held n,y station near the door.
Shorts Cutoff was SO simple that it
puzzled everybody.
consulted half a dozen eminent en-
gineers.
every pretty, indeed!'' they said, and
at once turned the conversation to the
explosions on western rivers. *tHad
ever been blown up? How did it feel?'
But as to Shorts Cutoff, they only
thought it a neat contrivance, but evi-
IDENTIFY by person who did not compre-
hend intricate machinery.
took it to man of another order.
England is the worlds machine shop; he
was England's chief engineer. A great
man he was, dead, alas! now. A free
man, who recognized the world as his
country and genius everywhere as his
brother.
He understood Shorts Cutoff at
glance.
How wish old Short could have been
there, to see this great mans eye glow
with enthusiasm as he said: 'Admi-
rable! This is what we have all been
waiting for. Padiham must see this.
We must have it in every engine in Eng
land. Command my services to aid in
making it known"
''Can you recommend me-" said I,
presently, ''a thorough mechanic.
want some more models made of these
valves ana machinery, 60 1HusIraIe their
action"
''You must 90 to Padiham, the best
artisan know in all England"
"Worth seeing for himself, as the man
whom you name best among these mil
lions of craftsmen"
''Padiham is the man"
''He ought to have name and fame.''
'sHe might if he chose"
tsWorth knowing, again, for this rare
abnegahon."
s'He is an oddity. Some unlucky
mode Of life stunted him, mind and
body, until he was a mature man. He
is dwarfed in person, and fancies his
mind suffers too. It makes him a little
gruf to feel that he is a man of tools
and not of principles-a mechanic, not a
philosopher. There is nothing of NOR
bidness or disappointment in him. Only
he undertakes himself and fancies his
powers blunted by his deformity. He
keeps out of the way and works alone in
little shop. He will only do special
jobs for me and one or two others. he
says he would be our equal if he were
full grown. We deem him our peer and
treat him as such; but he will not come
out and take the place he could have at
once before the world. thought of him
and wished him to see this Cutoff as
soon as you showed it to me. You mast
tell him sent you, or he may be surly
at first, and so drive you away, or per-
haps refuse to do your work."
II think can make my way with
such a person, but if not, I will use your
name. Where is he to be foundr'
''This is his address. An out of the
way place, you see, if you know London.
A by-street on the Surrey side of the
Thames. He is well to do, but lives
there for special economy. He has a
method of charity which is like himself
thoroughly original More good he
does in his odd way than any man
know. He owns the whole house over the
shop and uses it as a private hospital OF
hospice for poor but worthy sick and
broken down people,
ellis own dwarfshness makes him
sympathetic?'
had some little difficulty in finding
Padiham's retiring place. Ihad already
dissected it out on the map, identified it
by its neighborhood to certain artery
and its closer neighborhood to certain
ganglion. It was Lamely court, quiet
retreat in busy region. It looked, in
deed, as if it had never taken a very
active part in the world, or as if, when
it offered itself to hustle and traffic,
more enterprising localities had hustled
it aside and bade it decline into lethar-
gy. The withered brick houses had the
air and visage Of people who have seen
better days and subsided into the de-
spending byways, apart from the thor
oughfares Of the bold and sturdy. Mean
misery and squalor did not abide there.
1t was not den for the ragged, but a
shy retreat for the patched, for the de-
cent and decorous poor.
Half way down the court, on the sun
ny side, found Padiham's house. It
was quietly, not obtrusively, neater and
fresher than its neighbors. Its bricks
had less wormeaten look, and it's win
dow panes were all Of glass and none of
newspaper. The pot roses in an upper
story window were in bloom, and had
life enough to welcome the June sun
shine, while sister plants in other gar
rets all about the court were too far
bighted ever to dream Of gayer product
than some poor jaundiced bud. These
roses ND in Padiham's window cheered