The father was a sober, steady, "eident" man.

While the high wages lasted, he was the first to enter the pit in the morning, and the last to leave it at night.

He only lost five days in one year (1873-4),--the loss being occasioned by fast-days and holidays.

Believing that the period of high wages could not last long, he and his sons worked as hard as they could.

They saved a good deal of money, and bought several houses; besides educating themselves to occupy higher positions.
In the same neighbourhood, another collier, with four sons, was earning money at about the same rate per man, that is about seventy-five-pounds a mouth, or nine hundred pounds a year.