ItwasinahouseofsuchindustryandmechanismthatIwasbroughtup。Asayouth，Iwasslowatmylessons；preferringtowatchandassistworkmenwhenIhadanopportunityofdoingso，evenwiththecertaintyofhavingathrashingfromtheschoolmasterformyneglect。ThusIgottoknoweveryworkshopandeveryworkmaninthetown。AtanyrateIpickedupasmatteringofavarietyoftrades，whichafterwardsprovedofthegreatestusetome。Thechiefofthesewaswoodenshipbuilding，abranchofindustrythenextensivelycarriedonbyMessrs。
WilliamandRobertTindall，theformerofwhomresidedinLondon；
hewasoneofthehalf-dozengreatshipbuildersandownerswhofounded“Lloyd’s。“SplendidEastIndiamen，ofsome1000tonsburden，werethenbuiltatScarborough；andscarcelyatimberwasmoulded，aplankbent，asparlinedoff，orlaunchingship-wayslaid，withoutmybeingpresenttowitnessthem。Andthus，incourseoftime，Iwasabletomakeformyselftheneatestandfastestofmodelyachts。
Atthattime，IattendedtheGrammarSchool。Oftherudimentstaught，Iwasfondestofdrawing，geometry，andEuclid。Indeed，IwenttwicethroughthefirsttwobooksofthelatterbeforeI
wastwelveyearsold。AtthisageIwassenttotheEdinburghAcademy，myeldestbrotherWilliambeingthenamedicalstudentattheUniversity。IremainedatEdinburghtwoyears。Myearlyprogressinmathematicswouldhavebeenlostintheclassicaltrainingwhichwastheninsisteduponattheacademy，butformybrotherwhowasnotonlyagoodmathematicianbutanexcellentmechanic。Hetookcaretocarryonmyinstructioninthatbranchofknowledge，aswellastoteachmetomakemodelsofmachinesandbuildings，inwhichhewashimselfproficient。Iremember，inoneofmyjourneystoEdinburgh，bycoachfromDarlington，thatagentlemanexpressedhiswonderwhatascrewpropellercouldbelike；forthescrew，asamethodofpropulsion，wasthenbeingintroduced。Ipointedouttohimthepatenttailofawindmillbytheroadside，andsaid，“Itisjustlikethat！“
In1844mymotherdied；andshortlyafter，mybrotherhavingbecomeM。D。，andobtainedaprizegoldmedal，wereturnedtoScarborough。Itwasintendedthatheshouldassistmyfather；
buthepreferredgoingabroadforafewyears。Imaymentionfurther，withrelationtohim，thataftermanyyearsofscientificresearchandprofessionalpractice，hediedatHongKongin1858，whenapublicmonumentwaserectedtohismemory，inwhatisknownasthe“HappyValley。“
Iremainedforashorttimeunderthetuitionofmyoldmaster。
ButasthetimewasrapidlyapproachingwhenItoomustdeterminewhatIwas“tobe“inlife。Ihadnohesitationindecidingtobeanengineer，thoughmyfatherwishedmetobeabarrister。
ButIkeptconstanttomyresolution；andeventuallyhesucceeded，throughhisearlyacquaintancewithGeorgeStephenson，ingainingformeanentrancetotheengineeringworksofRobertStephensonandCo。，atNewcastle-upon-Tyne。Istartedthereasapupilonmyfifteenthbirthday，foranapprenticeshipoffiveyears。Iwastospendthefirstfouryearsinthevariousworkshops，andthelastyearinthedrawing-office。
Iwasnowinmyelement。Theworkinghours，itistrue，wereverylong，——beingfromsixinthemorninguntil8。15atnight；
exceptingonSaturday，whenweknockedoffatfour。However，allthisgavemesomuchthemoreexperience；and，takingadvantageofit，Ifoundthat，whenIhadreachedtheageofeighteen，I
wasintrustedwiththefullchargeoferectingonesideofalocomotive。Ihadtoaccomplishthesameamountofworkasmymateontheotherside，oneMurrayPlayfair，apowerful，hard-workingScotchman。Mystrengthandenduranceweresometimestaxedtotheutmost，andrequiredtheintervalsofmylabourtobespentinmerelyeatingandsleeping。
Iafterwardswentthroughthemachine-shops。Iwasfortunateenoughtogetchargeofthebestscrew-cuttingandbrass-turninglatheintheshop；theformeroccupant，JackSingleton，havingjustbeenpromotedtoaforeman’sberthattheMessrs。
Armstrong’sfactory。HeafterwardsbecamesuperintendentofallthehydraulicmachineryoftheMerseyDockTrustatLiverpool。
Aftermyfouryearshadbeencompleted，Iwentintothedrawing-office，towhichIhadlookedforwardwithpleasure；and，havingbeforepractisedlinealaswellasfree-handdrawing，I
soonsucceededingettinggoodanddifficultdesignstoworkout，andeventuallyfinisheddrawingsoftheengines。Indeed，onvisitingtheworksmanyyearsafter，oneofthesedrawingswasshowntomeasa“specimen；“thepersonexhibitingitnotknowingthatitwasmyownwork。
InthecourseofmyoccasionalvisitstoScarborough，myattentionwasdrawntotheimperfectdesignofthelifeboatsoftheperiod；thefrequentshipwrecksalongthecoastindicatingthenecessityfortheirimprovement。Afterconsiderabledeliberation，Imaturedaplanforametallifeboat，ofacylindrico-conicalorchrysalisform，tobepropelledbyascrewateachend，turnedbysixteenmeninside，seatedonwater-ballasttanks；sufficientroombeingleftattheendsinsidefortheaccommodationoftenortwelveshipwreckedpersons；whileamatenearthebow，andthecaptainnearthesterninchargeoftherudder，werestationedinrecessesinthedeckaboutthreefeetdeep。Thewholeapparatuswasalmostcylindrical，andwatertight，saveintheself-actingventilators，whichcouldonlygiveaccesstothesmallestportionofwater。I
consideredthat，ifthelifeboatfullymannedwerelaunchedintotheroughestseas，oroffthedeckofavessel，itwould，evenifturnedonitsback，immediatelyrightitself，withoutanyofthecrewbeingdisturbedfromtheirpositions，towhichtheyweretohavebeenstrapped。
Ithappenedthatatthistimethesummerof1850hisGracethelateDukeofNorthumberland，whohadalwaystakenadeepinterestintheLifeboatInstitution，offeredaprizeofonehundredguineasforthebestmodelanddesignofsuchacraft；soI
determinedtocompletemyplansandmakeaworkingmodelofmylifeboat。Icametotheconclusionthatthecylindrico-conicalform，withtheframestobecarriedcompletelyroundandformingbeamsaswell，andthetwoscrews，oneateachend，workedoffthesamepower，bywhichoneorotherofthemwouldalwaysbeimmersed，wereworthregisteringinthePatentOffice。I
thereforeenteredacaveatthere；andcontinuedworkingatmymodelintheevenings。Ifirstmadeawoodenblockmodel，onthescaleofaninchtothefoot。Ihadsomedifficultyinprocuringsheetsofcopperthinenough，sothatthemodelshoulddrawonlythecorrectamountofwater；butatlastIsucceeded，throughfindingthemanatNewcastlewhohadsuppliedmyfatherwithcopperplatesforhisearlyroadlocomotive。
Themodelwasonly32inchesinlength，and8inchesinbeam；andinordertofixalltheinternalfittings，oftanks，seats，crankhandles，andpulleys，Ihadfirsttofittheshellplating，andthen，byfinallysecuringonestrakeofplateson，andthenanother，afterallinsidewascomplete，Iatlastfinishedforgoodthelastoutsideplate。Inexecutingthejob，myearlyexperienceofallsortsofhandiworkcameserviceablytomyaid。
Aftermanyawholenight’swork——fortheeveningsalonewerenotsufficientforthepurpose——Iatlengthcompletedmymodel；andtriumphantlyandconfidentlytookittoseainanopenboat；andthencastitintothewaves。Themodeleitherrodeoverthemorpassedthroughthem；ifitwassometimesrolledover，itrighteditselfatonce，andresumeditsproperattitudeinthewaters。
AfteraconsiderabletrialIfoundscarcelyatraceofwaterinside。Suchashadgottherewasmerelythroughthejointsintheslidinghatches；thoughtheventilatorswerefreetoworkduringtheexperiments。
Icompletedtheprescribeddrawingsandspecifications，andsentthem，togetherwiththemodel，toSomersetHouse。Some280
schemesoflifeboatsweresubmittedforcompetition；butminewasnotsuccessful。Isuspectthattheextremenoveltyofthearrangementdeterredtheadjudicatorsfromawardinginitsfavour。Indeed，theschemewassounprecedented，andsoentirelyoutoftheordinarycourseofthings，thattherewasnospecialmentionmadeofitinthereportafterwardspublished，andeventhedescriptiontheregivenwasincorrect。TheprizewasawardedtoMr。JamesBeeching，ofGreatYarmouth，whoseplanswereafterwardsgenerallyadoptedbytheLifeboatSociety。Ihavepreservedmymodeljustasitwas；andsomeofitsfeatureshavesincebeenintroducedwithadvantageintoshipbuilding。[1]
ThefirmofRobertStephensonandCo。havingcontractedtobuildfortheGovernmentthreelargeironcaissonsfortheKeyhamDocks，andasthesewereverysimilarinconstructiontothatofanordinaryironship，draughtsmenconversantwiththatclassofworkwerespeciallyengagedtosuperintendit。Themanager，knowingmyfondnessforships，placedmeashisassistantatthisnewwork。AfterIhadmasteredit，Iendeavouredtointroduceimprovements，havingobservedcertaindefectsinlayingdownthelines——Imeanbytheuseofgraduatedcurvescutoutofthinwood。Inlieuofthismethod，Icontrivedthintaperedlathsoflancewood，andweightsofaparticularform，withsteelclawsandknifeedgesattached，soastoholdthelathtightlydowntothepaper，yetcapableofbeingreadilyadjusted，soastoproduceanyformofcurve，alongwhichthepencouldfreelyandcontinuouslytravel。Thismethodprovedveryefficient，andithassincecomeintogeneraluse。
TheMessrs。Stephensonwerethenalsomakingmarineengines，aswellaslargecondensingpumpingengines，andalargetubularbridgetobeerectedovertheriverDon。Thesplendidhigh-levelbridgeovertheTyne，ofwhichRobertStephensonwastheengineer，wasalsoincourseofconstruction。Withtheopportunityofseeingthesegreatworksinprogress，andofvisiting，duringmyholidaysandlongevenings，mostofthemanufactoriesandminesintheneighbourhoodofNewcastle，I
couldnotfailtopickupconsiderableknowledge，andanacquaintancewithavastvarietyoftrades。Therewereaboutthirtyotherpupilsintheworksatthesametimewithmyself；
somewerethereeitherthroughfavouroridlefancy；butcomparativelyfewgavetheirfullattentiontothework，andI
havesinceheardnothingofthem。Indeed，unlessayoungfellowtakesarealinterestinhiswork，andhasagenuineloveforit，thegreatestadvantageswillproveofnoavailwhatever。
Itwasagoodplanadoptedattheworks，torequirethepupilstokeepthesamehoursastherestofthemen，and，thoughtheypaidapremiumonentering，togivethemthesamerateofwagesastherestofthelads。Mr。WilliamHutchinson，acontemporaryofGeorgeStephenson，wasthemanagingpartner。Hewasapersonofgreatexperience，andhadthemostthoroughknowledgeofmenandmaterials，knowingwellhowtohandlebothtothebestadvantage。
Hisson-in-law，Mr。WilliamWeallans，wastheheaddraughtsman，andveryproficient，notonlyinquicknessbutinaccuracyandfinish。Ifounditofgreatadvantagetohavethebenefitoftheexampleandthetrainingoftheseveryclevermen。
MyfiveyearsapprenticeshipwascompletedinMay1851，onmytwentiethbirthday。Havinghadbutverylittle“blacktime，“asitwascalled，beyondthehalf-yearlyholidayforvisitingmyfriends，andhavingonly“sleptin“twiceduringthefiveyears，Iwasatonceenteredonthebooksasajourneyman，onthe“big“
wageoftwentyshillingsaweek。Orderswere，however，atthattimeverydifficulttobehad。
Railwaytrucks，andevennavvies’barrows，werecontractedforinordertokeepthemenemployed。Itwasbetternottodischargethem，andtofindsomethingforthemtodo。Atthesametimeitwasnotveryencouragingforme，undersuchcircumstances，toremainwiththefirm。Ithereforesoonarrangedtoleave；andfirstofallIwenttoseeLondon。ItwastheGreatExhibitionyearof1851。IneedscarcelysaywhatarichfeastIfoundthere，andhowthoroughlyIenjoyeditall。IspentabouttwomonthsininspectingtheworksofartandmechanicsintheExhibition，tomyowngreatadvantage。Ithenreturnedhome；
and，afterremaininginScarboroughforashorttime，IproceededtoGlasgowwithaletterofintroductiontoMessrs。J。andG。
Thomson，marineenginebuilders，whostartedmeonthesamewageswhichIhadreceivedatStephenson’s，namelytwentyshillingsaweek。
IfoundthebanksoftheClydesplendidgroundforgainingfurthermechanicalknowledge。Thereweretheshipandengineworksonbothsidesoftheriver，downtoGovan；andbelowthere，atRenfrew，Dumbarton，PortGlasgow，andGreenock——noendofmagnificentyards——sothatIhadplentyofoccupationformyleisuretimeonSaturdayafternoons。TheworksofMessrs。RobertNapierandSonswerethenatthetopofthetree。ThelargestCunardsteamerswerebuiltandenginedthere。TodandMacgregorweretheforemostinscrew