ood example,
and increase the means of carrying goods from one place to another, if
not by canals, by better roads than England possessed at the time.

In different parts of the country it had been found that horses could
drag heavier loads if the wheels of the cart were allowed to run on
rails made of wood or iron. The knowledge of this fact led certain men
connected with the coal-mines of Darlington, in Durham, to propose the
building of a tram-line between their town and that of Stockton-on-Tees.
But when Mr. Edward Pease, who was the leader in the enterprise, sought
to collect money to bear the cost, not twenty people in Stockton would
give him their support. The idea of making a metal road over twelve
miles of country seemed only matter for laughter, and Mr. Pease was told
that he ought not to expect sensible people to spend their money on such
a scheme. So Mr. Pease did without the 'sensible people.'

Application for leave to lay the line was made to Parliament, but was
refused, the principal opponent being the Duke of Cleveland, who said
that the proposed line would go too near one of his fox-covers, and
frighten the foxes away. The application, however, was renewed, and was
reluctantly granted at last.

In the meantime a young man had called on Mr. Pease to offer his
services, and the initial at the head of this article shows his
portrait. The young man's name was George Stephenson. He had had some
experience, he said, in the laying of railways, and Mr. Pease was so
impressed with his honest manner that, in the end, he engaged him on the
great undertaking.

George Stephenson was full of suggestions. He pointed out the kind of
rails that ought to be used: cast-iron rails were the cheapest, he said,
but they could not be relied on, as they often snapped when a heavy load
passed over them; and, though he himself was a maker of cast-iron
metals, he recommended that another kind, called 'malleable,' should be
used. Malleable metal is much tougher than ordinary cast, because, after
being poured into the moulds, it is only allowed to cool very slowly,
and is not exposed to the air until quite cold. But as the expense of
using malleable rails only would be very great, Mr. Pease and his
friends decided to use both kinds of rails.

Another of George Stephenson's suggestions was more than even Mr. Pease
could seriously entertain. In a private conversation the young man
strongly urged that locomotives should be used to