are, known as close shavers—economists who
cut down the expenses to the lowest possible
figure; who are continually finding out some
morsel of cheese that wants paring; payers
of starvation salaries: detested in secret by
all whom they employ—who think by such
penny wisdom to make up for their pound
foolishness in other things. Here and there
we have still an ornamental manager—a
mechanical figure with clockwork brains, placed
on its pedestal by patronage or accident; not
destined to remain there for any length of
time, but soon to run down, and be displaced
for something more practical. The origin of
our managers is as various as their talents.
Some have risen to the elevation they occupy
from the position of junior clerk, or clerk of
a small station, by aptitude, force of will,
and good fortune; these are generally your
best men. Some have formerly been in business
for themselves, or have held rank in the
army or navy, and hold their position because
they are the right men for the work; while
others have been placed there by the will of
Jove, rather than by any effort of their own.
As a rule, managers are well paid. They
have their ten, twelve, or fifteen hundred a
year; and some of them still more.

The duties of Mr. Agamemnon are multitudinous,
and beyond classification. Permanent way,
and locomotive power, being found
to him, he has the entire management of all
traffic, coaching, goods, and minerals. All
station-masters, guards, and porters obey his
nod. To him pertains the disposition and
arrangement of all trains; all negotiations
and treaties with other companies, and all the
business of the line.

We may compare our general manager in
his cabinet to a spider, seated at the nucleus
of its web, controlling from that point a hun-
dred diverging threads, and, itself scarcely
seen, keeping ceaseless watch over the whole.
But, unlike the spider, who does all its busi-
ness itself, our general manager is obliged to
employ sundry subordinates—sub-managers,
superintendents, inspectors—to keep his web
in working order; each taking one or more
threads, and being responsible to the
spider-in-chief for the management thereof.

He is bounded on every side by watchful
eyes, and no false move escapes unnoted. No
one may appear to see it at the time, but it
is pretty sure to rise in judgment against
him some day when least expected. He has
learnt long ago to be chary of his confidence,
and to trust unreservedly in no one but
himself; knowing full well, as he does, that a
friendly demeanour, and a smiling face, are
but too often the masks for secret hostility
and that he is surrounded by men who would
willingly hurl him headlong down, could they,
by so doing, hope to mount the chariot in his
stead.

For all the power and glory that accrue to
him, his rule, too, is not an absolute one; and
although despotic as far as it goes, is limited
in extent.

For, are there not a secretary, an
engineer, an accountant, and a locomotive
superintendent, all more or less independent
of him; all having access, in a greater or
lesser degree, according to their needs, to
Zeus and the immortals? And are not one
or more of them especial favourites with the
gods, capable of holding their own against
king Agamemnon any day, should he
presume too far on his position ? Happy is it
for the king, when these troublesome chiefs
are men of shallow pretensions and mediocre
intellect, who bow before a commanding will,
and are too weak to be feared.

To the engineer, belong the maintenance
and renewal of the permanent way, the
formation and alteration of branch lines, sidings,
tunnels, bridges, stations, offices, and viaducts;
he must see, in short, that the line is kept in
good repair from one end to the other. Nearly
the whole of the P. and B. line is let out to
various contractors; each of whom engages,
for a certain agreed sum, to keep his portion
of it in good working order. Our engineer
has inspectors stationed up and down the
line, to see the contracts properly carried
out, and to look after the state of the line
generally.

The secretary is the official representative
of the company. He keeps the stock and
share accounts; issues all dividend and
interest warrants; receives all monies for
payment into bank, and acknowledges the receipt
thereof. On some lines, the offices of general
manager and secretary are combined and held
by one individual under the latter title.

The accountant, as we need hardly state,
has the management of the accounts of the
line. He has his audit-offices, where the
Clearing House division sheets are examined;
and where the accounts of each station are
checked against those of others, weekly or
monthly abstracts of traffic being sent to him
from the stations for the purpose. He has
his travelling audit-clerks, who go from
station to station, checking the accounts,
instructing fresh station-masters, seeing that
the books are properly kept, and that the
company is not being defrauded by its own
servants: supervisors of honesty they may
be called, who report to their chief any thing
that may be out of rule. The accountant
makes up the statements of revenue and
expenditure, the published weekly returns of
traffic, various annual returns required by
government, and the half-yearly balance sheet
for the shareholders' meeting.

There is no class of men connected with
railways on whom greater responsibility rests
than on station-masters. There are numerous
very small stations, on every large railway
where one man performs the whole of the
duties,—making out the accounts, issuing
tickets, acting as porter, and attending to
the signals; all for some sixteen or eighteen
shillings a week, and a small house. Many
of them are ex-guards or porters, some