London to John O 'Groat's. 23 



then, is one thing in which he has led, and others have 

 followed to a great practical result. 



His next leading was in the way of agricultural 

 machinery. He first introduced a steam engine for 

 farming purposes in a district containing a million of 

 acres. That, too, at the outset, was a fantastic vagary 

 in the opinion of thousands of solid and respectahle 

 farmers. They insisted the Iron Horse would be as 

 dangerous in the barn-yard or rick-yard as the very 

 dragon in Scripture ; that he would set everything on 

 fire ; kill the men who had care of him ; burst and blow 

 up himself and all the buildings into the air ; that all 

 the horses, cows, and sheep would be frightened to 

 death at the very sight of the monster, and never could 

 be brought to lie down in peace and safety by his side, 

 even when his blood was cold, and when he was fast 

 asleep. To think of it ! to have a tall chimney tower- 

 ing up over a barn-gable or barn-yard, and puffing out 

 black coal smoke, cotton-factory-wise ! Pretty talk ! 

 pretty terms to train an honest and virtuous farmer to 

 mouth! Wouldn't it be edifying to hear him string 

 the yarn of these new words ! to hear him tell of his 

 engineer and ploughman ; of his pokers and pitchforks ; 

 of six-horse potcer, valves, revolutions, stopcocks, twenty 

 pounds of steam, &c. ; mixing up all this ridiculous stuff 

 with yearling calves, turnips, horse-carts, oilcake, wool, 



