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

CHAP, xxx-l MR. LIDDELL'S COMPLIMENTARY SPEECH. 377
arrive at Newcastle in time for an early dinner on the following
day. This wonderful achievement was the result of the capital,
skill, and enterprise of England ; and if he (Mr. Liddell) felt
proud of this new triumph of his country, what must be the
feelings of that illustrious individual now sitting amongst them,
who, though born in humble circumstances, had, by the force of
his genius and his industry, so distinguished himself as to hand
down the name of Stephenson to everlasting fame ! He would
not have referred to the position from which 'S/Lt. Stephenson
had sprung, were it not that he himself, so far from being
ashamed of his origin, was in the habit of alluding to it ; and if
Mr. Stephenson took a pride in the humility of his birth, surely
his countrymen might be proud of the obscurity of his youth, as
compared with the prominence of his present position ! He
was happy to add, that, distinguished as he was by his genius
and his deeds, his sterling honesty reflected higher honour upon
George Stephenson than even those rare abilities with which he
was endowed by the Almighty.'' Referring to the speech of
Prebendary Townsend, Mr. Liddell stated that, " by the con-
struction of a railway from London to Folkestone and Dover,
thousands of persons had been enabled to spend their last Whit-
suntide holidays at Calais and Boulogne, among their ' natural
enemies ;
' and when such was the case, the two nations would
in time be purged of their senseless antipathies, and learn to
look upon each other, not as foreigners and foes, but members in
common of the great human family. Mr. Stephenson, therefore,
might be looked upon as the great pacificator of the age. And
yet, a few years ago, he was but a working engineman at a col-
liery ! But he was a man not only of talent, but of genius.
Happily, also, he was a man of industry and of character. He
constructed the first successful engine that travelled by its own
spontaneous power over an iron railroad ; and on such a road,
and by such an engine, a communication had now been estab-
lished between London and Newcastle. The author of this
system of travelling had lived long enough for his fame, but not
long enough for his country. He had reared to himself a mon-
ument more durable than brass or marble, and based it on a
foundation whereon it would rest unshaken by the storms of
time."