Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. ENGINEERING. (November S37—April 1841.) Spencer had not been long on the staff of the London and Birmingham Railway, which he joined in November, 1837, before he showed that he was not to be an unthinking follower of routine. "An improvement in the colouring of the drawings of cast-iron," is mentioned in an early letter home. Within a few months he was put in charge of the approaches to the Harrow Road bridge, with about eighty men under him. It is interesting to note how, after experience in the measurement of brickwork at this bridge, the future opponent of the metric system resolved " to have a foot-rule made divided into decimals instead of into inches." " I am trying to bring decimal arithmetic into use as much as possible." What spare time he had was not idled away. " I always find myself much more comfortable and my head much clearer when I have spent part of the day in studying mathematics, so that I have made it an invariable rule lately to employ part of my time each day in that way." His ability and conscientiousness, joined to the longstanding friendship between the Fox and Spencer families, stood him in good stead when the construction staff came to be reduced. He was offered an appointment on the Gloucester and Birmingham Railway. "The advantages of my new situation would be increased salary, great chance of promotion, having a good master to serve, and, to crown all, Mr. Fox says, if I do not like it I may come back to him. I want to have your opinion and advice about it; write as soon as possible." As usual, his father shirked the responsibility on the plea of being busy, leaving his uncleWilliam to send a reply, which was in favour of acceptance. When he entered upon his duties at Worcester in September, 1838, he was exercised about the wi...