st 26th.
MY DEAR H----,

A common sheet of paper is enough for love, but a foolscap extra
can alone contain a railroad and my ecstasies. There was once a
man, who was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who was a common
coal-digger; this man had an immense constructiveness, which
displayed itself in pulling his watch to pieces and putting it
together again; in making a pair of shoes when he happened to be
some days without occupation; finally--here there is a great gap in
my story--it brought him in the capacity of an engineer before a
committee of the House of Commons, with his head full of plans for
constructing a railroad from Liverpool to Manchester. It so
happened that to the quickest and most powerful perceptions and
conceptions, to the most indefatigable industry and perseverance,
and the most accurate knowledge of the phenomena of nature as they
affect his peculiar labors, this man joined an utter want of the
"gift of the gab;" he could no more explain to others what he meant
to do and how he meant to do it, than he could fly; and therefore
the members of the House of Commons, after saying, "There is rock
to be excavated to a depth of more than sixty feet, there are
embankments to be made nearly to the same height, there is a swamp
of five miles in length to be traversed, in which if you drop an
iron rod it sinks and disappears: how will you do all this?" and
receiving no answer but a broad Northumbrian "I can't tell you how
I'll do it, but I can tell you I _will_ do it," dismissed
Stephenson as a visionary. Having prevailed upon a company of
Liverpool gentlemen to be less incredulous, and having raised funds
for his great undertaking, in December of 1826 the first spade was
struck into the ground. And now I will give you an account of my
yesterday's excursion. A party of sixteen persons was ushered, into
a large court-yard, where, under cover, stood several carriages of
a peculiar construction, one of which was prepared for our
reception. It was a long-bodied vehicle with seats placed across
it, back to back; the one we were in had six of these benches, and
was a sort of uncovered _char a banc_. The wheels were placed upon
two iron bands, which formed the road, and to which they are
fitted, being so constructed as to slide along without any