When  Farmer  Paterson,  who  married  a  sister  of
George's  first  wife,  Fanny  Henderson,  died  and
left  a  large  young  family  fatherless,  poverty  stared
them  in  the  face.  "  But  ye  ken,"  said  our  informant,
*' George  stnuk  in  fayther  for  than"  And  perhaps
the  providential  character  of  the  act  could  not
have  been  more  graphically  expressed  than  in  these
simple  words.
On  his  visit  to  Newcastle,  he  would  frequently
meet  the  friends  of  Iiis  early  days,  occujjyiiig  very
nearly  the  same  station,  whilst  he  had  meanwhile
risen  to  almost  world-wide  fame.  But  he  was
no  less  hearty  in  his  greeting  of  them  than  if
their  relative  position  had  continued  the  same.
Thus,    one    day,    after    shaking    hands    with    Mr.
454        ROBERT  Stephenson's  character    [cuav


Brandling  on  alighting  from  his  carriage,  he  pro-
ceeded to  shake  hands  with  his  coachman,  Anthony
VVigham,  a  still  older  friend,  though  he  only  sat  on
the  box.
Robert  Stephenson  inherited  his  fathers  kindly
spirit  and  benevolent  disposition.  He  almost  wor-
shipped his  fathers  memory,  and  was  ever  ready  to
attribute  to  him  the  chief  merit  of  his  own  achieve-
ments as  an  engineer.  "  It  was  his  thorough
training,"  we  once  heard  him  say,  "his  example,  and
his  character,  which  made  me  the  man  I  am."  On
a  more  public  occasion  he  said,  "  It  is  my  great  pride
to  remember,  that  whatever  may  have  been  done,
and  however  extensive  may  have  been  m}'  own
connection  with  railway  development,  all  I  know
and  all  I  have  done  is  primarily  due  to  the  parent
whose  memory  I  cherish  and  revere."*  To  Mr.
Lough,  the  sculptor,  he  said  he  had  never  had
but  two  loves — one  for  his  father,  the  other  for
his  wife.
