It is worthy of remark, that under circumstances in which the wire-gauze of the Davy lamp becomes red-hot from the high explosiveness of the gas, the Geordy lamp is extinguished; and we cannot but think that this fact testifies to the decidedly superior safety of the Geordy. An accident occurred in the Oaks colliery Pit at Barnsley, on the 20th August, 1857, which strikingly exemplified the respective qualities of the lamps. A sudden outburst of gas took place from the floor of the mine, along a distance of fifty yards. Fortunately the men working in the pit at the time were all supplied with safety-lamps—the hewers with Stephenson’s, and the hurriers with Davy’s. Upon this occasion, the whole of the Stephenson’s lamps, over a space of five hundred yards, were extinguished almost instantaneously; whereas the Davy lamps were filled with fire, and became red-hot—so much so, that several of the men using them had their hands burnt by the gauze. Had a strong current of air been blowing through the gallery at the time, an explosion would most probably have taken place—an accident which, it will be observed, could not, under such circumstances, occur from the use of the Geordy, which is immediately extinguished as soon as the air becomes explosive. {107} Nicholas Wood, a good judge, has said of the two inventions, “Priority has been claimed for each of them—I believe the inventions to be parallel. By different roads they both arrived at the same result. Stephenson’s is the superior lamp. Davy’s is safe—Stephenson’s is safer.” When the question of priority was under discussion at the studio of Mr. Lough, the sculptor, in 1857, Sir Matthew White Ridley asked Robert Stephenson, who was present, for his opinion on the subject. His answer was, “I am not exactly the person to give an unbiassed opinion; but, as you ask me frankly, I will as frankly say, that if George Stephenson had never lived, Sir Humphry Davy could and most probably would have invented the safety-lamp; but again, if Sir Humphry Davy had never lived, George Stephenson certainly would have invented the safety-lamp, as I believe he did, independent of all that Sir Humphry Davy had ever done in the matter.” [Picture: West Moor Pit, Killingworth] CHAPTER VII. GEORGE STEPHENSON’S FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LOCOMOTIVE—THE HETTON RAILWAY—ROBERT STEPHENSON AS VIEWER’S APPRENTICE AND STUDENT.