Page:LA2-NSRW-4-0360.jpg

STEPHEN

among stems consist in the various organizations of the vascular or woody tissues in the stele. For example, in the Gymnosperms and Dicotyledons the woody bundles are organized into a hollow cylinder, within which is a definite pith; while in the Monocotyledons the woody bundles are scattered in the stele. The usual function of stems is to display foliage leaves; but sometimes they become much modified, especially when subterranean. In this case they are usually used for the storage of reserve food, and become variously thickened and distorted, being called tubers, rootstocks (rhizomes) etc.

Stephen (ste'ven), the first Christian martyr, was one of the first seven deacons chosen by the church at Jerusalem at the instance of the Apostles. (Acts vi.) He was a popular preacher who grasped the meaning of the great revolution which Christianity had brought into the Mosaic institutions. He was accused of blasphemy, and, before he could finish a speech in his own defense, was hurried outside the city-walls and stoned to death, while praying for his accusers. (Acts mi: 60.) He is celebrated in the Roman and Anglican churches on December 26th, in the Greek church on the 27th.

Stephen, king of England, was born at Blois in 1105. He was the grandson of William the Conqueror and nephew of Henry I of England. On the death of Henry Stephen claimed the throne, though he had taken the oath of allegiance to his cousin Matilda, on whom Henry I had settled the succession. He was crowned on Dec 26, 1135, but never received the confidence of his people. The kingdom was badly governed, the nobles and clergy were against him, and he had to struggle with Matilda for the throne. In 1141 Stephen was taken prisoner and Matilda cknowledged queen. He was exchanged for Robert of Gloucester, the queen's brother. The queen left England, and Stephen reigned quietly until 1152. Henry, the son of Matilda, then contested the throne and. the long struggle ended in Stephen making Henry his heir. King Stephen died at Dover, October 25, 1154.

Stephens, Alexander H., an American statesman, was born in Georgia in 1812. He was a member of Congress from 1843 to 1856. He was opposed to secession and made a speech against it before the legislature of Georgia in November, 1860, and, when a delegate to the secession convention at Milledgeville in January, 1861, voted against the ordinance of secession. He was, however, elected vice-president of the Confederacy, and was one of the prominent st°tesmen of the seceding states. He was imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston harbor for five months at the close of the war. He was in Congress from 1874 to 1882. when he was elected governor of Georgia. He died at Atlanta, Ga., March 4, 1883. In 1867-70 he published A Constitutional View of the War between the States. See Life by Cleveland.

Stephens, James. See and.

Ste'phenson, George, is usually spoken of as only the inventor of the locomotive, with the implication that it required no extraordinary genius to adapt the stationary engine of Watt to the work of locomotion. That is not true. There were difficulties t o overcome that scientific men long thought to be insuperable—the direct transmission of power to the wheels and the securing of sufficient friction between wheels and rail to prevent slipping. The fact that Stephenson also invented the rail and roadbed and initiated the entire system of civil engineering as applied to railroad-building is commonly overlooked to-day. During his life the two achievements were inseparable and equally honored, as they should continue to be. Without the properly constructed, level road-bed, laid with iron rails, the locomotive must long have remained of limited use.

Of all the great inventors Arkwright alone had as humble a beginning as Stephenson. To be born the son of a fireman of a colliery's pumping-engine, whose earnings never exceeded three dollars (12 shillings) a week, would seem to condemn one to a life of poverty, ignorance and obscure toil. It was on the 9th of June, 1781, that George Stephenson was born in the wretched mining-village of Wylam, near Newcastle, England. One room in a cottage, near the pit-mouth, that sheltered three other families was the home of his parents and six children. School was not to be thought of; bread was not always to be had in sufficent [sic] quantity. In this grimy village he spent his babyhood; childhood saw him below ground. At 14 he was promoted to be his father's assistant at a shilling a day. At 17 he himself was an engine-man at two shillings, with his father under him as fireman. He began at once to study his steam-pump. Every idle day he spent in taking it to pieces, cleaning and repairing it. Eager to add to his knowledge of engines and steam he hired a poor schoolmaster to teach him to read. He soon raised himself to manager of the hoisting-engine at the pit-mouth. Thorough preparation and one step at a time marked his entire life. At 23 he was in charge of a Watt-engine in a spinning-mill. At 33

GEORGE STEPHENSON