But Stephenson was not to be daunted. Possessed with one great thought, he kept to it manfully, and laboured day by day and night by night with unsurpassable energy. Such a man—the author of so great a work—surely deserved a centenary.
And a noble centenary it was. Both at Newcastle and at Chesterfield—the two towns with which Stephenson was most closely connected—the day was observed as a holiday, and thousands took part in the different ceremonies.
At Newcastle, the streets of which were gaily decorated with tall Venetian masts covered with red cloth, and each surmounted by a trophy of flags,—with ornamental mottoes, wreaths and festoons of glossy foliage, and a brave show of banners and garlands, there was a grand procession of modern railway engines, which started from the Central Railway Station, and proceeded, amidst the cheers of thousands, to Wylam, George Stephenson's birth-place, eight miles distant. These engines, sixteen in number, were the finest modern science could construct: some of them had driving-wheels six feet in diameter, and outside cylinders which measured in diameter nearly a foot and a half. How bright they were with their shining copper and polished steel, and how the sunlight flashed from them as, linked together, they rolled along the iron way! On reaching Wylam they were placed for exhibition along with the five old original locomotives—namely, the Killingworth (the first that Stephenson ever made), the Hatton Colliery engine, the old Darlington engine, No. 1 Locomotive from Darlington, and Stephenson's old "Victor" from the North-Eastern Railway.
A special train followed, carrying the Mayors of Newcastle and other towns, with many persons of local celebrity. Opposite George Stephenson's birth-place it stopped; the Mayor of Newcastle alighted with his friends, and in honour of the day planted an oak-tree. The return journey was then made, and the engines we have named were thrown open to public inspection.
The next event was a procession of members of the corporations, public bodies, trade societies, and workmen of Newcastle, Gateshead, Jarrow, and South Shields, together with the miners of Northumberland and Durham—some 40,000 altogether—who, through the garlanded and bannered streets, marched to the town moor. There three platforms had been erected, from which the various trade representatives delivered appropriate addresses.
In the evening a grand banquet took place, at which the Mayor of Newcastle presided; and the day's festivities concluded with a brilliant display of fireworks.
At Chesterfield the public rejoicings, if necessarily on a less extensive scale, were not less cordial. Of course, there was a procession; there was also a special choral service in the parish church; and we read of a banquet, a concert, and a fireworks finale.
But all this was temporary,—belonged only to the day, and with the day passed away. So it was resolved to raise funds for the establishment of a permanent memorial, which, it is to be hoped, may be in existence, active and prosperous, when a bi-centenary and a tri-centenary in their turn come round. This will be a "Stephenson College of Physical Science," to be erected at Newcastle, at a cost of £20,000. And a Stephenson Scholarship Fund is also being raised, which will place the higher education within the reach of youths of Stephenson's social rank imitating Stephenson in his perseverance, energy, love of knowledge, and patient industry.
Transcribers note.
Spelling, Punctuation and Hyphenation have been kept as the original.