My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

72^MY LIFEa development of glaciers in our own country at avery recent period.Having finished our plans of Soulbury, and madethe three copies needed with their books of reference,with some other odd work, my brother took me up toLondon on Christmas Eve, travelling by coach toBerkhampstead and thence on to London by therailway, which had been just opened. We went thirdclass for economy, in open trucks identical withmodern goods trucks, except that they had hingeddoors, but with no seats whatever, so that any onetired of standing must sit upon the floor. Luckily itwas mild weather, and the train did not go more thanfifteen or twenty miles an hour, yet even at that pacethe wind was very disagreeable. The next day wewent home to Hoddesdon for a holiday. It had beensettledthat, as no more surveying work was in view,I should go back to Leighton to Mr. Matthews for afew months to see if I should like to learn the watchand clock making business as well as surveying andgeneral engineering ; and as there seemed to benothing else available, Idid so.Mr. William Matthews was a man of about thirty.He had been married two years, and had a little girlunder a year old. Both he and Mrs. Matthews werepleasant people, and I felt that I should be comfortablewith them, Mr, Matthews had also charge ofthe town gas-works, which involved some knowledgeof practical chemistry, and a good deal of mechanicalwork. I spent about nine months in his house, andduring that time learnt to take an ordinary watch topieces, clean it properly, and put it together again,and the same with a clock ; to do small repairs tojewellery ;and to make some attempts at engraving