Harry was the guest of Senator Dilworthy. There
was scarcely any good movement in which the Senator
was not interested. His house was open to all
the laborers in the field of total abstinence, and
much of his time was taken up in attending the meetings
of this cause. He had a Bible class in the Sunday
school of the church which he attended, and he suggested
to Harry that he might take a class during the time
he remained in Washington, Mr. Washington Hawkins
had a class. Harry asked the Senator if there
was a class of young ladies for him to teach, and after
that the Senator did not press the subject.
Philip, if the truth must be told, was not well satisfied
with his western prospects, nor altogether with the
people he had fallen in with. The railroad contractors
held out large but rather indefinite promises.
Opportunities for a fortune he did not doubt existed
in Missouri, but for himself he saw no better means
for livelihood than the mastery of the profession
he had rather thoughtlessly entered upon. During
the summer he had made considerable practical advance
in the science of engineering; he had been diligent,
and made himself to a certain extent necessary to
the work he was engaged on. The contractors called
him into their consultations frequently, as to the
character of the country he had been over, and the
cost of constructing the road, the nature of the work,
etc.
Still Philip felt that if he was going to make either
reputation or money as an engineer, he had a great
deal of hard study before him, and it is to his credit
that he did not shrink from it. While Harry was
in Washington dancing attendance upon the national
legislature and making the acquaintance of the vast
lobby that encircled it, Philip devoted himself day
and night, with an energy and a concentration he was
capable of, to the learning and theory of his profession,
and to the science of railroad building. He
wrote some papers at this time for the “Plow,
the Loom and the Anvil,” upon the strength of
materials, and especially upon bridge-building, which
attracted considerable attention, and were copied
into the English “Practical Magazine.”
They served at any rate to raise Philip in the opinion
of his friends the contractors, for practical men
have a certain superstitious estimation of ability
with the pen, and though they may a little despise
the talent, they are quite ready to make use of it.
Philip sent copies of his performances to Ruth’s
father and to other gentlemen whose good opinion he
coveted, but he did not rest upon his laurels.
Indeed, so diligently had he applied himself, that
when it came time for him to return to the West, he
felt himself, at least in theory, competent to take
charge of a division in the field.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Copyrights
The Gilded Age from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
