The Life of Thomas Telford Part 20

This great work, which has cost 100,000L., protects the entrance of the harbour from the whole force of the North Sea. A ship was entering it at the time of our visit, the Prince of Waterloo.

She had been to America; had discharged her cargo at London; and we now saw her reach her own port in safety--a joyous and delightful sight."

The next point reached was Banff, along the Don and the line of the Inverury Ca.n.a.l:--

"The approach to Banff is very fine,"*[4] says Southey, "by the Earl of Fife's grounds, where the trees are surprisingly grown, considering how near they are to the North Sea; Duff House-- a square, odd, and not unhandsome pile, built by Adams (one of the Adelphi brothers), some forty years ago; a good bridge of seven arches by Smeaton; the open sea, not as we had hitherto seen it, grey under a leaden sky, but bright and blue in the sunshine; Banff on the left of the bay; the River Doveran almost lost amid banks of shingle, where it enters the sea; a white and tolerably high sh.o.r.e extending eastwards; a kirk, with a high spire which serves as a sea-mark; and, on the point, about a mile to the east, the town of Macduff. At Banff, we at once went to the pier, about half finished, on which 15,000L. will be expended, to the great benefit of this clean, cheerful, and active little town. The pier was a busy scene; hand-carts going to and fro over the railroads, cranes at work charging and discharging, plenty of workmen, and fine ma.s.ses of red granite from the Peterhead quarries. The quay was almost covered with barrels of herrings, which women were busily employed in salting and packing."

The next visit was paid to the harbour works at Cullen, which were sufficiently advanced to afford improved shelter for the fishing vessels of the little port:--

"When I stood upon the pier at low water," says Southey, "seeing the tremendous rocks with which the whole sh.o.r.e is bristled, and the open sea to which the place is exposed, it was with a proud feeling that I saw the first talents in the world employed by the British Government in works of such unostentatious, but great, immediate, palpable, and permanent utility. Already their excellent effects are felt. The fishing vessels were just coming in, having caught about 300 barrels of herrings during the night....

"However the Forfeited Estates Fund may have been misapplied in past times, the remainder could not be better invested than in these great improvements. Wherever a pier is needed, if the people or the proprietors of the place will raise one-half the necessary funds, Government supplies the other half. On these terms, 20,000L. are expending at Peterhead, and 14,000L. at Frazerburgh; and the works which we visited at Bervie and Banff, and many other such along this coast, would never have been undertaken without such aid; public liberality thus inducing private persons to tax themselves heavily, and expend with a good will much larger sums than could have been drawn from them by taxation."

From Cullen, the travellers proceeded in gigs to Fochabers, thence by Craigellachie Bridge, which Southey greatly admired, along Speyside, to Ballindalloch and Inverallen, where Telford's new road was in course of construction across the moors towards Forres.

The country for the greater part of the way was a wild waste, nothing but mountains and heather to be seen; yet the road was as perfectly made and maintained as if it had lain through a very Goschen.

The next stages were to Nairn and Inverness, from whence then proceeded to view the important works constructed at the crossing of the River Beauly:--

"At Lovat Bridge," says Southey, "we turned aside and went four miles up the river, along the Strathgla.s.s road--one of the new works, and one of the most remarkable, because of the difficulty of constructing it, and also because of the fine scenery which it commands.....

"Lovat Bridge, by which we returned, is a plain, handsome structure of five arches, two of 40 feet span, two of 50, and the centre one of 60. The curve is as little as possible. I learnt in Spain to admire straight bridges; But Mr. Telford thinks there always ought to be some curve to enable the rain water to run off, and because he would have the outline look like the segment of a large circle, resting on the abutments. A double line over the arches gives a finish to the bridge, and perhaps looks as well, or almost as well, as bal.u.s.trades, for not a sixpence has been allowed for ornament on these works. The sides are protected by water-wings, which are embankments of stone, to prevent the floods from extending on either side, and attacking the flanks of the bridge."

Nine miles further north, they arrived at Dingwall, near which a bridge similar to that at Beauly, though wider, had been constructed over the Conan. From thence they proceeded to Invergordon, to Ballintraed (where another pier for fishing boats was in progress), to Tain, and thence to Bonar Bridge, over the Sheir, twenty-four miles above the entrance to the Dornoch Frith, where an iron bridge, after the same model as that of Craigellachie, had been erected. This bridge is of great importance, connecting as it does the whole of the road traffic of the northern counties with the south. Southey speaks of it as

"A work of such paramount utility that it is not possible to look at it without delight. A remarkable anecdote," he continues, "was told me concerning it. An inhabitant of Sutherland, whose father was drowned at the Mickle Ferry (some miles below the bridge) in 1809, could never bear to set foot in a ferry-boat after the catastrophe, and was consequently cut off from communication with the south until this bridge was built. He then set out on a journey.

'As I went along the road by the side of the water,' said he, 'I could see no bridge. At last I came in sight of something like a spider's web in the air. If this be it, thought I, it will never do! But, presently, I came upon it; and oh! it is the finest thing that ever was made by G.o.d or man!'"

Sixteen miles north-east of Bonar Bridge, Southey crossed Fleet Mound, another ingenious work of his friend Telford, but of an altogether different character. It was thrown across the River Fleet, at the point at which it ran into the estuary or little land-locked bay outside, known as Loch Fleet. At this point there had formerly been a ford; but as the tide ran far inland, it could only be crossed at low water, and travellers had often to wait for hours before they could proceed on their journey. The embouchure being too wide for a bridge, Telford formed an embankment across it, 990 yards in length, providing four flood-gates, each 12 feet wide, at its north end, for the egress of the inland waters.

These gates opened outwards, and they were so hung as to shut with the rising of the tide. The holding back of the sea from the land inside the mound by this means, had the effect of reclaiming a considerable extent of fertile ca.r.s.e land, which, at the time of Southey's visit,--though the work had only been completed the year before,--was already under profitable cultivation. The princ.i.p.al use of the mound, however, was in giving support to the fine broad road which ran along its summit, and thus completed the communication with the country to the north. Southey speaks in terms of high admiration of "the simplicity, the beauty, and utility of this great work."

This was the furthest limit of their journey, and the travellers retraced their steps southward, halting at Clashmore Inn: "At breakfast," says Southey, "was a handsome set of Worcester china.

Upon noticing it to Mr. Telford, he told me that before these roads were made, he fell in with some people from Worcestershire near the Ord of Caithness, on their way northward with a cart load of crockery, which they got over the mountains as best they could; and, when they had sold all their ware, they laid out the money in black cattle, which they then drove to the south."

The rest of Southey's journal is mainly occupied with a description of the scenery of the Caledonian Ca.n.a.l, and the princ.i.p.al difficulties encountered in the execution of the works, which were still in active progress. He was greatly struck with the flight of locks at the south end of the Ca.n.a.l, where it enters Loch Eil near Corpach:--

"There being no pier yet formed," he says, "we were carried to and from the boats on men's shoulders. We landed close to the sea sh.o.r.e.

A sloop was lying in the fine basin above, and the ca.n.a.l was full as far as the Staircase, a name given to the eight successive locks. Six of these were full and overflowing; and then we drew near enough to see persons walking over the lock-gates. It had more the effect of a scene in a pantomime than of anything in real life. The rise from lock to lock is eight feet,--sixty-four, therefore, in all. The length of the locks, including the gates and abutments at both ends, is 500 yards;-- the greatest piece of such masonry in the world, and the greatest work of the kind beyond all comparison.

"A panorama painted from this place would include the highest mountain in Great Britain, and its greatest work of art. That work is one of which the magnitude and importance become apparent, when considered in relation to natural objects. The Pyramids would appear insignificant in such a situation, for in them we should perceive only a vain attempt to vie with greater things. But here we see the powers of nature brought to act upon a great scale, in subservience to the purposes of men; one river created, another (and that a huge mountain-stream) shouldered out of its place, and art and order a.s.suming a character of sublimity. Sometimes a beck is conducted under the ca.n.a.l, and pa.s.sages called culverts serve as a roadway for men and beasts. We walked through one of these, just lofty enough for a man of my stature to pa.s.s through with his hat on. It had a very singular effect to see persons emerging from this dark, long, narrow vault. Sometimes a brook is taken in; a cesspool is then made to receive what gravel it may bring down after it has pa.s.sed this pool, the water flowing through three or four little arches, and then over a paved bed and wall of masonry into the ca.n.a.l.

These are called in-takes, and opposite them an outlet is sometimes made for the waters of; the ca.n.a.l, if they should be above their proper level; or when the cross-stream may bring down a rush.

These outlets consist of two inclined planes of masonry, one rising from the ca.n.a.l with a pavement or waste weir between them; and when the cross-stream comes down like a torrent, instead of mingling with the ca.n.a.l, it pa.s.ses straight across. But these channels would be insufficient for carrying off the whole surplus waters in time of floods. At one place, therefore, there are three sluices by which the whole ca.n.a.l from the Staircase to the Regulating Lock (about six miles) can be lowered a foot in an hour. The sluices were opened that we might see their effect. We went down the Bank, and made our way round some wet ground till we got in front of the strong arch into which they open. The arch is about 25 feet high, of great strength, and built upon the rock. What would the Bourbons have given for such a cascade at Versailles? The rush and the spray, and the force of the water, reminded me more of the Reichenbach than of any other fall. That three small sluices, each only 4 feet by 3 feet, should produce an effect which brought the mightiest of the swiss waterfalls to my recollection, may appear incredible, or at least like an enormous exaggeration. But the prodigious velocity with which the water is forced out, by the pressure above, explains the apparent wonder. And yet I beheld it only in half its strength; the depth above being at this time ten feet, which will be twenty when the ca.n.a.l is completed. In a few minutes a river was formed of no inconsiderable breadth, which ran like a torrent into the Lochy.

"On this part of the ca.n.a.l everything is completed, except that the iron bridges for it, which are now on their way, are supplied by temporary ones. When the middle part shall be finished, the Lochy, which at present flows in its own channel above the Regulating Lock, will be dammed there, and made to join the Speyne by a new cut from the lake. The cut is made, and a fine bridge built over it.

We went into the cut and under the bridge, which is very near the intended point of junction. The string-courses were encrusted with stalact.i.tes in a manner singularly beautiful. Under the arches a strong mound of solid masonry is built to keep the water in dry seasons at a certain height; But in that mound a gap is left for the salmon, and a way made through the rocks from the Speyne to this gap, which they will soon find out."

Arrived at Dumbarton, Southey took leave of John Mitch.e.l.l, who had accompanied him throughout the tour, and for whom he seems to have entertained the highest admiration:--

"He is indeed," says Southey, "a remarkable man, and well deserving to be remembered. Mr. Telford found him a working mason, who could scarcely read or write. But his good sense, his excellent conduct, his steadiness and perseverance have been such, that he has been gradually raised to be Inspector of all these Highland roads which we have visited, and all of which are under the Commissioners' care --an office requiring a rare union of qualities, among others inflexible integrity, a fearless temper, and an indefatigable frame. Perhaps no man ever possessed these requisites in greater perfection than John Mitch.e.l.l. Were but his figure less Tartarish and more gaunt, he would be the very 'Talus' of Spenser. Neither frown nor favour, in the course of fifteen years, have ever made him swerve from the fair performance of his duty, though the lairds with whom he has to deal have omitted no means of making him enter into their views, and to do things or leave them undone, as might suit their humour or interest. They have attempted to cajole and to intimidate him alike in vain. They have repeatedly preferred complaints against him in the hope of getting him removed from his office, and a more flexible person appointed in his stead; and they have not unfrequently threatened him with personal violence.

Even his life has been menaced. But Mitch.e.l.l holds right on.

In the midst of his most laborious life, he has laboured to improve himself with such success, that he has become a good accountant, makes his estimates with facility, and carries on his official correspondence in an able and highly intelligent manner. In the execution of his office he travelled last year not less than 8800 miles, and every year he travels nearly as much. Nor has this life, and the exposure to all winds and weathers, and the temptations either of company or of solicitude at the houses at which he puts up, led him into any irregularities. Neither has his elevation in the slightest degree inflated him. He is still the same temperate, industrious, modest, una.s.suming man, as when his good qualities first attracted Mr. Telford's notice."

Southey concludes his journal at Longtown, a little town just across the Scotch Border, in the following words:--

"Here we left Mr. Telford, who takes the mail for Edinburgh.

This parting company, after the thorough intimacy which a long journey produces between fellow-travellers who like each other, is a melancholy thing. A man more heartily to be liked, more worthy to be esteemed and admired, I have never fallen in with; and therefore it is painful to think how little likely it is that I shall ever see much of him again,--how certain that I shall never see so much.

Yet I trust that he will not forget his promise of one day making Keswick in his way to and from Scotland."

Before leaving the subject of Telford's public works in the Highlands, it may be mentioned that 875 miles of new roads were planned by him, and executed under his superintendence, at an expense of 454,189L., of which about one-half was granted by Parliament, and the remainder was raised by the localities benefited. Besides the new roads, 255 miles of the old military roads were taken in charge by him, and in many cases reconstructed and greatly improved. The bridges erected in connexion with these roads were no fewer than twelve hundred. Telford also between the year 1823 and the close of his life, built forty-two Highland churches in districts formerly unprovided with them, and capable of accommodating some 22,000 persons.

Down to the year 1854, the Parliamentary grant of 5000L. a year charged upon the Consolidated Fund to meet a.s.sessments and tolls of the Highland roads, amounting to about 7500L. a year, was transferred to the annual Estimates, when it became the subject of annual revision; and a few years since the grant was suddenly extinguished by an adverse vote of the House of Commons. The Board of Commissioners had, therefore, nothing left but to deliver over the roads to the several local authorities, and the harbours to the proprietors of the adjacent lands, and to present to Parliament a final account of their work and its results. Reviewing the whole, they say that the operations of the Commission have been most beneficial to the country concerned. They "found it barren and uncultivated, inhabited by heritors without capital or enterprise, and by a poor and ill-employed peasantry, and dest.i.tute of trade, shipping, and manufactures. They leave it with wealthy proprietors, a profitable agriculture, a thriving population, and active industry; furnishing now its fair proportion of taxes to the national exchequer, and helping by its improved agriculture to meet the ever-increasing wants of the populous south."

Footnotes for Chapter XIV.

*[1] We have been indebted to Mr. Robert Rawlinson, C.E., in whose possession the MS. now is, for the privilege of inspecting it, and making the above abstract, which we have the less hesitation in giving as it has not before appeared in print.

*[2] Mr. Rickman was the secretary to the Highland Roads Commission.

*[3] Referring to the famous battle of Bannockburn, Southey writes --"This is the only great battle that ever was lost by the English.

At Hastings there was no disgrace. Here it was an army of lions commanded by a stag."

*[4] See View of Banff facing p. 216.

CHAPTER XV.

MR. TELFORD'S LATER YEARS--HIS DEATH AND CHARACTER.

When Mr. Telford had occasion to visit London on business during the early period of his career, his quarters were at the Salopian Coffee House, now the Ship Hotel, at Charing Cross. It is probable that his Shropshire connections led him in the first instance to the 'Salopian;' but the situation being near to the Houses of Parliament, and in many respects convenient for the purposes of his business, he continued to live there for no less a period than twenty-one years. During that time the Salopian became a favourite resort of engineers; and not only Telford's provincial a.s.sociates, but numerous visitors from abroad (where his works attracted even more attention than they did in England) took up their quarters there. Several apartments were specially reserved for Telford's exclusive use, and he could always readily command any additional accommodation for purposes of business or hospitality.

The successive landlords of the Salopian came to regard the engineer as a fixture, and even bought and sold him from time to time with the goodwill of the business. When he at length resolved, on the persuasion of his friends, to take a house of his own, and gave notice of his intention of leaving, the landlord, who had but recently entered into possession, almost stood aghast. "What! leave the house!" said he; "Why, Sir, I have just paid 750L. for you!"

On explanation it appeared that this price had actually been paid by him to the outgoing landlord, on the a.s.sumption that Mr. Telford was a fixture of the hotel; the previous tenant having paid 450L.

for him; the increase in the price marking very significantly the growing importance of the engineer's position. There was, however, no help for the disconsolate landlord, and Telford left the Salopian to take possession of his new house at 24, Abingdon Street. Labelye, the engineer of Westminster Bridge, had formerly occupied the dwelling; and, at a subsequent period, Sir William Chambers, the architect of Somerset House, Telford used to take much pleasure in pointing out to his visitors the painting of Westminster Bridge, impanelled in the wall over the parlour mantelpiece, made for Labelye by an Italian artist whilst the bridge works were in progress. In that house Telford continued to live until the close of his life.

One of the subjects in which he took much interest during his later years was the establishment of the Inst.i.tute of Civil Engineers.

In 1818 a Society had been formed, consisting princ.i.p.ally of young men educated to civil and mechanical engineering, who occasionally met to discuss matters of interest relating to their profession.

As early as the time of Smeaton, a social meeting of engineers was occasionally held at an inn in Holborn, which was discontinued in 1792, in consequence of some personal differences amongst the members. It was revived in the following year, under the auspices of Mr. Jessop, Mr. Naylor, Mr. Rennie, and Mr. Whitworth, and joined by other gentlemen of scientific distinction. They were accustomed to dine together every fortnight at the Crown and Anchor in the Strand, spending the evening in conversation on engineering subjects. But as the numbers and importance of the profession increased, the desire began to be felt, especially among the junior members of the profession, for an inst.i.tution of a more enlarged character. Hence the movement above alluded to, which led to an invitation being given to Mr. Telford to accept the office of President of the proposed Engineers' Inst.i.tute. To this he consented, and entered upon the duties of the office on the 21st of March, 1820.*[1] During the remainder of his life, Mr. Telford continued to watch over the progress of the Society, which gradually grew in importance and usefulness. He supplied it with the nucleus of a reference library, now become of great value to its members.

He established the practice of recording the proceedings,*[2] minutes of discussions, and substance of the papers read, which has led to the acc.u.mulation, in the printed records of the Inst.i.tute, of a vast body of information as to engineering practice. In 1828 he exerted himself strenuously and successfully in obtaining a Charter of Incorporation for the Society; and finally, at his death, he left the Inst.i.tute their first bequest of 2000L., together with many valuable books, and a large collection of doc.u.ments which had been subservient to his own professional labours.

In the distinguished position which he occupied, it was natural that Mr. Telford should be called upon, as he often was, towards the close of his life, to give his opinion and advice as to projects of public importance. Where strongly conflicting opinions were entertained on any subject, his help was occasionally found most valuable; for he possessed great tact and suavity of manner, which often enabled him to reconcile opposing interests when they stood in the way of important enterprises.

In 1828 he was appointed one of the commissioners to investigate the subject of the supply of water to the metropolis, in conjunction with Dr. Roget and Professor Brande, and the result was the very able report published in that year. Only a few months before his death, in 1834, he prepared and sent in an elaborate separate report, containing many excellent practical suggestions, which had the effect of stimulating the efforts of the water companies, and eventually leading, to great improvements.

On the subject of roads, Telford continued to be the very highest authority, his friend Southey jocularly styling him the "Colossus of Roads." The Russian Government frequently consulted him with reference to the new roads with which that great empire was being opened up. The Polish road from Warsaw to Briesc, on the Russian frontier, 120 miles in length, was constructed after his plans, and it remains, we believe, the finest road in the Russian dominions to this day.

[Image] Section of Polish Road

He was consulted by the Austrian Government on the subject of bridges as well as roads. Count Szechenyi recounts the very agreeable and instructive interview which he had with Telford when he called to consult him as to the bridge proposed to be erected across the Danube, between the towns of Buda and Pesth. On a suspension bridge being suggested by the English engineer, the Count, with surprise, asked if such an erection was possible under the circ.u.mstances he had described? "We do not consider anything to be impossible," replied Telford; "impossibilities exist chiefly in the prejudices of mankind, to which some are slaves, and from which few are able to emanc.i.p.ate themselves and enter on the path of truth." But supposing a suspension bridge were not deemed advisable under the circ.u.mstances, and it were considered necessary altogether to avoid motion, "then," said he, "I should recommend you to erect a cast iron bridge of three spans, each 400 feet; such a bridge will have no motion, and though half the world lay a wreck, it would still stand."*[3] A suspension bridge was eventually resolved upon. It was constructed by one of Mr. Telford's ablest pupils, Mr. Tierney Clark, between the years 1839 and 1850, and is justly regarded as one of the greatest triumphs of English engineering, the Buda-Pesth people proudly declaring it to be "the eighth wonder of the world."

At a time when speculation was very rife--in the year 1825-- Mr. Telford was consulted respecting a grand scheme for cutting a ca.n.a.l across the Isthmus of Darien; and about the same time he was employed to resurvey the line for a ship ca.n.a.l--which had before occupied the attention of Whitworth and Rennie--between Bristol and the English Channel. But although he gave great attention to this latter project, and prepared numerous plans and reports upon it, and although an Act was actually pa.s.sed enabling it to be carried out, the scheme was eventually abandoned, like the preceding ones with the same object, for want of the requisite funds.