Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1901-07-13
The "Grit, Bare-Lsggsd Laddls. /"

years, dressed IN q ragged WalStcOal
anu- short breeches. without stockings
or shoes, raped one evening at tbs
door of a humble cottage in Northern
England, and asked to see the village
schoolmaster. When that person ap
peared, the boy said, very modestly:
81 would like to attend your evening
school, sir"
And what do you wish to study?'
asked the teacher, roughly.
81 want to learn to read and write
sir, answered the lad.
"The master glanced over the boys
homely face and rough clothes, scorn-
fully, and said, very well, you can at
tend but grit, barelegged laddie like
you would better be doing something
else than learning his letters" Then he
closed the door in the lads face.
If that grit bare-legged laddie'' had
said to the schoolmaster. 81 mean to
become a great inventor, to be friend
of rich and powerful men, to hold con-
versations with kings, and to write my
name among the great ones of the
EARTH" it is likely he would have called
| the boy a fool to cherish such wild
| dreams. Yet this poor ignorant lad,
who did not know his alphabet at the
age of eighteen years, accomplished all
these things before he died.
He did it by hard work and because
| he made up his mind to do the best he
could. He kept pegging away. His ig-
norance was misfortune and not a
fault His parents. were too poor to
send him to school. He was the son
of fireman of pumping engine in a
Northumberland colliery. His birth
place was hove1 with a clay floor,
mud walls and bare rafters. When he
was five years old he began to work
for his living by herding cows in the
day time and barring up the gates at
night. AS he grew older he was set to
picking stones from the coal, and auef
that to driving horse which drew the
coal from the pit. He went half-fed and
half-clothed; but "a that he had a
mans brave soul in his sturdy little
body.
For several years he was assistant
fireman to his father; then he was fire
man himself. subsequently at the age
Of II, he was plugman of pumping
engine, a post superior TO his fathers.
But all this time, though ignorant of
books, he had been studying his engine.
Gradually he acquired so complete a
knowledge of his machine that he was
able to take it apart and make any or
dinary repairs. The grit bare-legged
laddie' was smarter than he seemed,
and this fact the teacher was not long
finding out after he began to teach
him. This brought mis- school life to an
end, but he still kept on studying.
He bought books on engineering and
mechanics, and spent his leisure in
learning what they taught and in ex-
perimenting. At last he began to think
about making better engines than those
around him.
Meanwhile he had secured the ap-
pointment of an enginewright at one of
the collieries of northern England, and
he gradually applied his plans for an
improved locomotive. He was entirely
successful at first, but he was not dis
couraged. He saw his mistakes and
corrected them. Before he was thirty
five years old he had constructed sew
eral locomotives, steam engines, and
five years afterwards he had become
known as successful and energetic en-
gineer, and was called upon to build
long and difficult lines of railway.
But his locomotives were too slow.
he wanted them to run faster. He pro-
posed to build one that would run at
the rate of twelve miles an hour. Ev-
erybody laughed at him. Some thought
that he was going crazy.
One gentleman who considered him
self very wise said to him.
able of running nine or ten miles an
hour, and suppose while it was running
a COW should stray upon the track,
would not that be very awkward cir
cumstance?"
Il should think it might be very awk =
ward, indeed-for the COW" he answer
ed.
Well, he succeeded in making his To-
comotiye, and at a trial which took
place near Liverpool, it attained to the
unprecedented speed of fourteen miles
an hour. BY making certain improve
ments this same engine, the Rocket,
was made to attain the speed of thirty
miles an hour. People laughed no
longer, but admired.
He was invited as a consulting en-
gineer to foreign countries, and wealth
flowed upon him. Philosophers sought
=, Fat