cked up
formed itself into a cloud, and in every part of the globe to which it
reached it carried with it and planted the seeds of civilization and
wealth. Notwithstanding the hard and illiberal treatment to which he was
exposed, he was not beaten; on the contrary, by his genius and his
never-failing spirit, he raised himself above the level of the very men
who opposed every effort he made towards the advancement of engineering
science--efforts which have resulted in a vast improvement of our means
for extracting the valuable products of the earth, and also of our means
of conveying them at a cheap rate to distant markets. It is not too much
to say that George Stephenson headed a movement by which alone could
employment have been found for an ever-increasing population."

In the town of Chesterfield the Centenary was celebrated most
befittingly. It was there the father of railways spent his latter days,
and there he died. Although there was not such a flood of oratory as at
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, many interesting speeches were delivered in
connection with the event. We give some extracts from an address
delivered by the Rev. Samuel C. Sarjant, B.A., Curate-in-Charge at that
time--delivered at Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield. An address which,
for ability, nice discrimination of thought, and true appreciation of the
subject, would not disgrace any pulpit in Christendom:--

"We meet to-day for the highest of all purposes, the worship of Almighty
God. But we also meet to show our regard for the memory of one of the
great and gifted dead. It is no small distinction of this town that the
last days of George Stephenson were spent in it. And it adds to the
interest of this church that it contains his mortal remains. With little
internally to appeal to the eye, or to gratify taste, this church has yet
a spell which will draw visitors from every part of the world. Men will
come hither from all lands to look with reverence upon the simple resting
place of him who was the father of the Locomotive and of the Railway
system. And perhaps the naked simplicity which marks that spot is in
keeping with a life, the grandeur of which was due solely to the man
himself, and not to outward helps and circumstances . . .

"Toil has its roll of heroes, but few, if any, of them are greater than
he whose birth we commemorate to-day. He was pre-eminently a self-made
man, one who 'achieved' greatness by his own exertions. Granting tha