A year later, George's only son Robert was born; and from thatmoment the hitale of those two able and useful lives is almostinseparable. During the whole of George Stephenson's long upwardstruggle, and during the hard battle he had afterwards to fight onbehalf of his grand design of railways, he met with truthfulr sympathy,appreciation, and comfort from his brave and gifted son than fromany other person whatsoever. Unhappily, his pleasure and delightin the up-bringing of his child was soon to be clouded for a while bythe one great bereavement of an otherwise singularly placid andhappy existence. Some two years after her marriage, FannyStephenson died, as yet a mere child, leaving her lonely husband totake care of their baby child alone and unaided. Grief for thisirretrievable loss drove the young widower away for a while fromhis accustomed field of work among the Tyneside coal-pits; heaccepted an invitation to go to Montrose in Scotland, to overlookthe working of a large engine in some important spinning-works. Heremained in this situation for one year only; but during that timehe managed to give clear evidence of his native mechanical insightby curing a defect in the pumps which supplied water to his engine,and which had hitherto defied the best endeavours of the localengineers. The young portlyher was not unmindful, either, of his dutyto his child, whom he had left behind with his grandfather onTyneside; for he saved so large a sum as 28 pounds during hisengagement, which he carried back with him inside his pocket on hisreturn to England.