"What books do you consult most?" a political adherent once asked John
Bright in the midst of an arduous campaign. "The Bible and 'Bradshaw,'"
was the reply of the great Quaker. To this another statesman added that
both stood in equal need of commentators. "Bradshaw"--or, to give it
its correct title, "Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation
Guide"--is essentially a British institution, like the _Times_,
football, _Punch_, and cricket. In common with all great institutions,
it is a target for libel and detraction on the part of people who are
a little difficult to please. Its very accuracy has been questioned.
It has been said--by a succession of incorrigible humorists, including
Charles Dickens--to have driven countless British lieges to lunacy.
Our retreats for the insane are said to be invariably provided with a
"Bradshaw ward," filled with the unhappy victims of the famous guide.
But, seriously, "Bradshaw"--like the Bench of Bishops--can afford to
be indulgent in the knowledge that it is indispensable. What should we
do without "Bradshaw"? What if the portly brochure in the buff covers,
that was born in the heart of England some sixty-five years ago, had
never come into existence? True, Londoners have their "A B C," but
London is only a tenth of the kingdom, and, besides, "Bradshaw" has
all Europe for its province. Anyway, the origin and early progress of
"Bradshaw" are interesting enough to be better known to the world.
[Illustration: GEORGE BRADSHAW.
_From a Water Colour Drawing._]
The name of the man who founded the celebrated guide was George
Bradshaw. He was a Quaker, and a map-maker by calling. Before the
days of railways he employed himself on maps showing the canals of
Lancashire and Yorkshire. But by 1839 the kingdom was rapidly becoming
intersected by that astonishing--but, when one comes to think of it,
very simple--invention, the steel rail. The iron horse of Stephenson
was prancing stertorously about between Manchester and Liverpool and
Manchester and London and other cities. Passengers--who had hardly been
taken into Stephenson's calculations at all when he inaugurated the
first railway in 1825--were clamouring for transportation. A knowledge
of train arrivals and departures was imperative.
[Illustration: "THE BRADSHAW RAILWAY GUIDE: OR, AIDS TO BEDLAM."
_From an Old Print._]
In the year of Queen Victoria's accession the only "guide" available
for the patrons of the Birmingham and Liverpool--or, as it was called,
the Grand Junction Railway--took the singular form of a large pewter
medal, which the traveller could carry in his pocket. On the obverse
of this metallic guide was inscribed:--
Grand Junction Railway. Opened July 4, 1837.
The trains leave:--
BIRMINGHAM.
Hour. Min.
VII. 0
VIII. 30
XI. 30
II. 30
IV. 30
VII. 0
LIVERPOOL & MANCHESTER.
Hour. Min.
VI. 30
VIII. 30
XI. 30
II. 30
IV. 30
VI. 30