CALVARY.*

The hour is come of darkness and of dread

RICHARD PEACOCK AND THE

GORTON FOUNDRY.

There were few quieter corners of the world in 1820 than the valley of

dead,

seven years ago it could hardly be

must bleed.

The hour is come of Salem's giant sin,
The doom is fixed; the bloody rites begin.
Hear the loud cries on Sion's lofty place,
From struggling crowds of
Israel's

swarthy race;

t... world of progress and activity beyond. Yet it contained within its pcndaries more than one farseeing mind, and not very many miles further north there were brains at work upon the great railway

stood,

In every eye an eagerness of blood.

Each scornful lip betrayed its wayward thirst

Of ill, and cursing Him became accurst. Wroth without cause; revenged without a wrong.

Tribes of self-sentence! ye shall suffer

long;

wright at Killingworth, of the name of Stephenson," who had invented. a locomotive; and there was at Darlington "a Quaker gentleman, Edward Pease, incurring much ridicule by his advocacy of a railway for the conveyance of coal by horses between Stockton and Darlington. In 1820 these two men were unknown to each other, but in the

grief,

* Written in April, 1814; now first published in

brought them together.

It was almost within sight and hearing of these early railway operations that in 1820 there was born unto Ralph Peacock, of Swaledale, a seventh child, who received the name of Richard. Ralph Peacock was a God-fearing man, and, in his way, a genius. His calling was that of a lead-miner, and he had worked himself up to the position of foreman of mines. He was a man who could turn his hand to almost anything. His duties at the mines left him with a great deal of spare time on his hands, and of this he made the most, giving the first

worth, the grandson of Byron.

religious observances as were im

posed upon faithful Wesleyans in those days, and, as to the rest, placing his services ungrudgingly at the disposal of his neighbors. He had great natural talents in mechanical matters, and could construct almost anything in wood and many things in iron. All the clocks and watches in the neighborhood were kept in repair by him, and when the instruments of the native musicians fell out of order it was to him that they were taken to be set to rights. Moreover, he had a leaning toward the medical arts, and the dalespeople would often intrust their ailments to his tender care. He had also great calls upon his time for the doctoring of horses and cows, and one way and another was kept well occupied.

It was not to be wondered at that Ralph Peacock's son Richard should have grown up with a taste for mechanics, and that when the railway era dawned he should have set before him as the object of his life the attainment of some position of eminence in connection with this grand development of power. The Stockton and Darlington line was opened in 1825, and one of Richard Peacock's earliest recollections is in connection with a visit paid to Darlington with his father to see the locomotive at work on this wonderful railway. To a mind of such strong mechanical bent as Ralph Peacock's there was much food for reflection in this sight, and he was stirred with new promptings and aspirations; but there were so many ties to bind him to the spot, that it was not until George Stephenson's locomotive had shown him fresh possibilities of useful action that he could screw his courage up to the depart

ing point. He was devotedly attached to the small religious community of which he formed a leading member, and as he set religion before everything else in the world, it was with difficulty that he could sever himself from the old associa tions of his spiritual life. On Sundays there was an unbroken series of worshipings from morn to night on the part of the Peacocks, and every member of the family had to share in them. There were class meetings to attend before breakfast; and in the forenoon, as a matter of allegiance to the State, they had to take part in the orthodox service at the parish church. After that they returned home for the mid-day dinner, then proceeded again to the Wesleyan chapel, then home to tea, then to the chapel once more for the evening service.

For

The Peacocks did nothing by halves; the spirit of enthusiasm burned within them like a steady flame, and they were never wearied of well-doing. At all events, it was so with the head of the house, and if Richard the youngest son, did occasionally show a predisposition to play, it was not a matter for surprise, seeing that he was of a robust, hardy constitution, and well able to enjoy all healthful exercises. all that, he was of such an apt and quick nature that he, at the age of seven, had awarded to him, under Lord Wharton's Trust, the Bible prize then distributed at certain periods to successful competitors. The conditions were that the candidate must be able to read and say by heart the Catechism, certain prayers, and the 1st, 15th, 25th, 37th, 101st, 113th, and 145th psalms. In making the award to Richard Peacock,

the trustee certified that "no child had previously secured this award at so early an age." There now came "a change over the spirit of the dream," and the locomotive was the one alluring power. So, after some little negotiation, Ralph Peacock made his leap into the outer world, and was selected in 1830, as assistant superintendent in the construction of the Leeds Tunnel on the Leeds and Selby railway. This appointment caused him and his family to remove from Swaledale to Leeds, where they continued to reside for some years. After the Leeds and Selby line was finished, the company recognized Ralph Peacock's faithful service and ability by placing him in a responsible position in connection with their Leeds station, and, ultimately, when he became too old for active employment, they pensioned him off.

We must now take up that particular thread of our narrative which has to deal with the career of Richard Peacock, whom we will now follow to Leeds. His education was continued at the Leeds Grammar School; but, as time went on, and railway enterprises extended with such marvelous rapidity, the boy grew anxious to take some part in the movement. He left school in 1834, at the age of fourteen, and was apprenticed to the firm of Fenton, Murray and Jackson, the engineers, who were at that time making locomotives for the Liverpool and Manchester and Leeds and Selby railways, and were largely employed in the building of steam engines of every class, as well as in the making of hydraulic machinery and pumps. The new apprentice soon made his way into favor. He remained in these

engineering works until 1838, getting an insight into every branch of the business, but devoting himself more particularly to locomotive work. In 1838 an opportunity of improving his position occurred. The Leeds and Selby line had been opened a few years, but from the first the locomotive department had been mismanaged. The young engineer was well acquainted with all that was going on, from the fact of his being constantly about either on business or to see his father. His movements had attracted the attention of the directors and of the general manager of the line. This led to an offer of the post of locomotiv superintendent being made to Richard Peacock. At first he declined the honor, and gave as his reasons his youth and the difficulty there would be on that account in assuming sufficient command over a body of men. "Can you manage the work?" the manager said. "Yes," answered Peacock. "Well, if you'll undertake that, I'll see to the other part of the business," said the manager. It was a great responsibility to be assumed by a youth of eighteen, but it worked out all right, for Mr. Clark was as good as his word in regard to the management of the men, with whom, however, there was no difficulty after it had been once made clear that the new head of the department knew more than they did. Peacock held this position until an amalgamation was effected between the Leeds and Selby and York and North Midland railways. in 1840, when naturally a fresh shuffling of the managerial cards took place.

Peacock made his way to London, taking with him many testimonials

of ability, and presented himself before Daniel Gooch, who was at the head of the Great Western Railway undertaking, then in course of active construction under the direction of Brunel. So we find him in 1840 and 1841, bending all his energies to the congenial duties of railway work. Nothing came wrong to him, from superintending a "gang" of workmen to driving an engine.

In 1841 the Manchester and Sheffield Railway was nearing completion, and Peacock's friends suggested the desirability of his applying for the position of locomotive superintendent on that line. He made application, forwarded testimonials, and calmly awaited the issue. He had, it appears, "a friend in court," who gave verbal testimony to the board of Mr. Peacock's ability, and the latter had the satisfaction of receiving the appointment even without an interview. It is true, he had been written to asking him to present himself before the board at a certain time, but by some mishap the letter did not reach him until a few days after the date fixed. This was a remarkable stroke of success to be achieved by a young man who had barely attained his majority. Richard Peacock went down to Manchester and entered upon his new duties. Thenceforward for fourteen years he continued to fill this position, and won for himself a name and a fame among the engineers of the day.

The first workshops of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway consisted of a series of wooden sheds erected at Newton Moor, and there for a time all the work in connection with the locomotive department continued to be

done. Then the necessity of exten| sion forced itself upon the Company, and they began to cast about for a favorable spot upon which to build permanent works. The selection of a site was left to Mr. Peacock, and he decided upon appropriating to the purposes of his department the first piece of level ground available outside Manchester in contiguity to the railway. The nearest point was found to be at Gorton, and at that place accordingly the new depot was subsequently erected, from Mr. Peacock's designs. It was about 1846 that the removal from Newton Moor to Gorton was effected. This led to the rapid industrial development of Gorton and the adjoining township of Openshaw. Gorton had then only about 2,000 inhabitants, while Openshaw had but a population of a few hundreds.

During the fourteen years that Mr. Peacock held the post of locomotive superintendent of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, he was not insensible to the active progress that was being made in social and political matters, and he always evinced a healthy sympathy with any movement that bad for its object the improvement of the condition of the people. Early on, he threw in his lot with the advocates of reform, and became an ardent disciple of the Cobden school. He was a supporter of the Anti-Corn Law League, and attended many of the great meetings which Cobden, Bright, Villiers and other chiefs of the party addressed to such powerful purpose in those days. Still, much as Richard Peacock was attracted by the great political agitations which kept the country in such unrest during the years of his early