Mr. Ellis had succeeded Mr.
Hudson--the "_Railway King_," so christened by Sydney Smith. Mr. Hudson
in 1844 was chairman of the first shareholders' meeting of the Midland
Railway. Prior to that date the Midland consisted of three separate
railways. In 1849 Mr. Hudson presided for the last time at a Midland
meeting, and in the following year resigned his office of chairman of the
company.
The story of the meteoric reign of the "_Railway King_" excited much
interest when I was young, and it may not be out of place to touch upon
some of the incidents of his career.
George Hudson was born in 1800, served his apprenticeship in the
cathedral city of York and subsequently became a linendraper there and a
man of property.
Many years afterwards he is reported to have said that the happiest days
of his life passed while he stood behind his counter using the yardstick,
a statement which should perhaps only be accepted under reservation. He
was undoubtedly a man of a bold and adventurous spirit, possessed of an
ambition which soared far above the measuring of calicoes or the
retailing of ribbons; but perhaps the observation was tinged by the
environment of later and less happy days when his star had set, his
kingly reign come to an end, and when possibly vain regrets had
embittered his existence.
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