124 MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 



indeed, since the gin once ran amain, and, in his 

 attempting to stop it, he got his skull fractured, 

 had made it a point, if possible, to let the men 

 down to their work himself; so that he might see 

 with his own eyes that all was safe. All passed 

 on pleasantly in this way for a long while, till one 

 morning, when thus employed letting the men 

 down, George, who was always the first at his 

 work, having fixed himself on the chain, with 

 his son on his arm, to be both let down together, 

 had given the signal, " Wise-away," and at the 

 same time holding up his " low rope/' he observed 

 the pit rope which was to bear their weight had 

 been cut near the chain. On this he shouted 

 " Stop," and started back upon the " seddle 

 boards," just in time to prevent himself and the 

 boy from being precipitated to the bottom of the 

 pit. The poor man was almost overpowered with 

 the shock, when my father, keeping the "dreg" 

 upon the " start," caught hold of him and the 

 boy, and conducted both into the lodge. On 

 examining the rope, my father found it had 

 been cut through to the last strand. He then 

 stopped the working of the pit for that day. Poor 

 Geordy, in great distress of mind, set off to New- 

 castle to inform me of what had happened. I was 

 grieved to hear his tale ; and this was heightened 

 by his declaring that all his pleasures were at an 

 end ; for he never could go back to his work, nor 

 to his happy home again. 



For some time, my father seemed lost in ponder- 

 ing over this mysterious affair. He, however, at 

 length began to be fixed in his suspicions, and, as 

 was usual on such occasions, his indignation, step 

 by step, rose to the greatest height. In this state 



