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338 A Short History of The World EARLY ROLLING STOCK ON THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY IN THE FIRST DAYS OF THE RAILWAY geology — ^foreshadowed by Aristotle and anticipated by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) — began its great task of interpreting the Record of the Rocks. The progress of physical science reacted upon metallurgy. Improved metallurgy, affording the possibility of a larger and bolder handling of masses of metal and other materials, reacted upon practical inventions. Machinery on a new scale and in a new abundance appeared to revolutionize industry. In 1804 Trevithick adapted the Watt engine to transport and made the first locomotive. In 1825 the first railway, between Stockton and Darlington, was opened, and Stephenson's " Rocket," with a thirteen-ton train, got up to a speed of forty-four miles per hour. From 1830 onward railways multiplied. By the middle of the century a network of railways had spread all over Europe. Here was a sudden change in what had long been a fixed condition of human life, the maximum rate of land transport. After the Russian disaster, Napoleon travelled from near Vilna to Paris in 312 hours. This was a journey of about 1,400 miles. He was travelling with every conceivable advantage, and he averaged under 5 miles an hour. An ordinary traveller could not have done this distance in twice the time. These were about the same !•,*#»■ '# U V ^w EARLY TRAVELLING ON THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY, 1823