The life of George Stephenson, railway engineer - Lighthouse ...

CHAP. XX.] THE RAILWAY NAVVY. 239
water, which surged from the soft blue shale found at the lowest
level of the tunnel. In other places, beds of wet sand wei-e cut
through ; and there careful propping and pinning were neces-
sary to prevent the roof from tumbling in, until the masonry to
support it could be erected. On one occasion, while Mr. Stephenson
was absent from Liverpool, a mass of loose moss-earth
and sand fell from the roof, which had been insufficiently propped.
The miners withdrew from the work ; and on Mr. Stephenson's
return, he found them in a refractory state, refusing to reenter
the tunnel. He induced them, however, by his example, to
return to their labours ; and when the roof had been secured,
the work went on again as before. When there was danger, he
was always ready to share it with the men ; and gathering con-
fidence from his fearlessness, they proceeded vigorously with
the undertaking, boring and mining their way towards the light.
By the end of 1828, the directors found they had expended
460,000/. on the works, and that they were still far from com-
pletion. They looked at the loss of interest on this large invest-
ment, and began to grumble at the delay. They desired to see
their capital becoming productive; and in the spring of 1829,
they urged the engineer to push on the works with increased
vigour. Mr. Cropper, one of the directors, who took an active
interest in their progress, said to him one day, " Now, George,
thou must get on with the railway, and have it finished without
further delay : thou must really have it ready for opening by
the first day of January next."
" Consider the heavy character
of the works, sir, and how much we have been delayed by the
want of money, not to speak of the wetness of the weather : it is
impossible." " Impossible ! " rejoined Cropper ; " I wish I could
get Napoleon to thee— ^he would tell thee there is no such
word as ' impossible ' in the vocabulary." " ""
Tush ! exclaimed
Stephenson, with warmth ;
" don't speak to me about Napoleon
Give me men, money, and materials, and I will do what Napo-
leon couldn't do—drive a railroad from Liverpool to Manchester
over Chat Moss ! " And truly, the formation of a high road
over that bottomless bog was, apparently, a far more diificult
task than the hewing even of Napoleon's far-famed road across
the Simplon.
!