388 RAILWAY BANQUET AT BRUSSELS. CHAP. XVII. 



reception of " the Father of railways " was of the 

 most enthusiastic description. Mr. Stephenson was 

 greatly pleased with the entertainment. Not the 

 least interesting incident of the evening was his 

 observing, when the dinner was about half over, a 

 model of a locomotive engine placed upon the centre 

 table, under a triumphal arch. Turning suddenly to 

 his friend Sopwith, he exclaimed, "Do you see the 

 * Rocket ? ' ' It was indeed the model of that cele- 

 brated engine ; and Mr. Stephenson prized the com- 

 pliment thus paid him, perhaps more than all the 

 encomiums of the evening. 



The next day (April 5th) King Leopold invited him 

 to a private interview at the palace. Accompanied by 

 Mr. Sopwith, he proceeded to Laaken, and was very 

 cordially received by His Majesty. Nothing was more 

 remarkable in Mr. Stephenson than his extreme ease 

 and self-possession in the presence of distinguished and 

 highly-educated persons. The king immediately entered 

 into familiar conversation with him, discussing the rail- 

 way project which had been the object of Mr. Stephen- 

 son's visit to Belgium, and then the structure of the 

 Belgian coal-fields, his Majesty expressing his sense 

 of the great importance of economy in a fuel which had 

 become indispensable to the comfort and well-being of 

 society, which was the basis of all manufactures, and the 

 vital power of railway locomotion. The subject was 

 always a favourite one with Mr. Stephenson, and, 

 encouraged by the king, he proceeded to describe to 

 him the geological structure of Belgium, the original 

 formation of coal, its subsequent elevation by volcanic 

 forces, and the vast amount of denudation. In describ- 

 ing the coal-beds he used his hat as a sort of model to 

 illustrate his meaning ; and the eyes of the king were 

 fixed upon it as he proceeded with his interesting de- 

 scription. The conversation then passed to the rise arid 

 progress of trade and manufactures, Mr. Stephenson 



