months before his death, that for some time previous to the opening

of the bridge, his anxiety was so great that he could scarcely
sleep; and that a continuance of that condition must have very soon

completely undermined his health. We are not, therefore, surprised
to learn that when his friends rushed to congratulate him on the

result of the first day's experiment, which decisively proved the
strength and solidity of the bridge, they should have found the

engineer on his knees engaged in prayer. A vast load had been
taken off his mind; the perilousenterprise of the day had been

accomplished without loss of life; and his spontaneous act was
thankfulness and gratitude.

[Image] Menai Bridge
The suspension of the remaining fifteen chains was accomplished

without difficulty. The last was raised and fixed on the 9th of
July, 1825, when the entire line was completed. On fixing the final

bolt, a band of music descended from the top of the suspension pier
on the Anglesea side to a scaffolding erected over the centre of

the curved part of the chains, and played the National Anthem
amidst the cheering of many thousand persons assembled along the

shores of the Strait: while the workmen marched in procession along
the bridge, on which a temporaryplatform had been laid, and the

St. David steam-packet of Chester passed under the chains towards
the Smithy Rocks and back again, thus re-opening the navigation of

the Strait.
In August the road platform was commenced, and in September the

trussed bearing bars were all suspended. The road was constructed
of timber in a substantial manner, the planking being spiked

together, with layers of patent felt between the planks, and the
carriage way being protected by oak guards placed seven feet and a

half apart. Side railings were added; the toll-houses and
approach-roads were completed by the end of the year; and the

bridge was opened for public traffic on Monday, the 30th of January,
1826, when the London and Holyhead mailcoach passed over it for the

first time, followed by the Commissioners of the Holyhead roads,
the engineer, several stage-coaches, and a multitude of private

persons too numerous to mention.
We may briefly add a few facts as to the quantities of materials

used, and the dimensions of this remarkablestructure. The total
weight of iron was 2187 tons, in 33,265 pieces. The total length of

the bridge is 1710 feet, or nearly a third of a mile; the distance
between the points of suspension of the main bridge being 579 feet.

The total sum expended by Government in its erection, including the
embankment and about half a mile of new line of road on the

Caernarvon side, together with the toll-houses, was 120,000L.
Notwithstanding the wonders of the Britannia Bridge subsequently

erected by Robert Stephenson for the passage across the same strait
of the Chester and Holyhead Railway, the Menai Bridge of Telford is

by far the most picturesque object. "Seen as I approached it," says
Mr. Roscoe, "in the clear light of an autumnal sunset, which threw

an autumnal splendour on the wide range of hills beyond, and the
sweep of richly variegated groves and plantations which covered

their base--the bright sun, the rocky picturesque foreground,
villas, spires, and towers here and there enlivening the prospect--

the Menai Bridge appeared more like the work of some great magician
than the mere result of man's skill and industry."

[Image] Conway Suspension Bridge
Shortly after the Menai Bridge was begun, it was determined by the

Commissioners of the Holyhead road that a bridge of similar design
should be built over the estuary of the Conway, immediately

opposite the old castle at that place, and which had formerly been
crossed by an open ferry boat. The first stone was laid on the

3rd of April, 1822, and the works having proceeded satisfactorily,
the bridge and embankment approaching it were completed by the summer

of 1826. But the operations being of the same kind as those
connected with the larger structure above described, though of a

much less difficult character, it is unnecessary to enter into any
details as to the several stages of its construction. In this

bridge the width between the centres of the supporting towers is
327 feet, and the height of the under side of the roadway above

high water of spring tides only 15 feet. The heaviest work was an
embankment as its eastern approach, 2015 feet in length and about

300 feet in width at its highest part.
It will be seen, from the view of the bridge given on the opposite

page, that it is a highly picturesquestructure, and combines,
with the estuary which it crosses, and the ancient castle of Conway,

in forming a landscape that is rarely equalled.
Footnotes for Chapter XII.

*[1] In an article in the 'Edinburgh Review,' No. exli., from the
pen of Sir David Brewster, the writer observes:--"Mr. Telford's

principle of suspending and laying down from above the centering of
stone and iron bridges is, we think, a much more fertile one than

even he himself supposed. With modifications, by no means
considerable, and certainly practicable, it appears to us that the

voussoirs or archstones might themselves be laid down from above,
and suspended by an appropriatemechanism till the keystone was

inserted. If we suppose the centering in Mr. Telford's plan to be
of iron, this centering itself becomes an iron bridge, each rib of

which is composed of ten pieces of fifty feet each; and by
increasing the number of suspending chains, these separate pieces

or voussoirs having been previously joined together, either
temporarily or permanently, by cement or by clamps, might be laid

into their place, and kept there by a single chain till the road
was completed. The voussoirs, when united, might be suspended from

a general chain across the archway, and a platform could be added
to facilitate the operations." This is as nearly as possible the

plan afterwards revived by Mr. Brunel, and for the originality of
which, we believe, he has generally the credit, though it clearly

belongs to Telford.
*[2] A correspondent informs us of a still more foolhardy exploit

performed on the occasion. He says, "Having been present, as a boy
from Bangor grammar school, on the 26th of April, when the first

chain was carried across, an incident occurred which made no small
impression on my mind at the time. After the chain had reached its

position, a cobbler of the neighbourhood crawled to the centre of
the curve, and there finished a pair of shoes; when, having

completed his task, he returned in safety to the Caernarvon side!
I need not say that we schoolboys appreciated his feat of

foolhardiness far more than Telford's master work."
CHAPTER XIII.

DOCKS, DRAINAGE, AND BRIDGES.
It will have been observed, from the precedingnarrative, how much

had already been accomplished by skill and industry towards opening
up the material resources of the kingdom. The stages of improvement

which we have recorded indeed exhibit a measure of the vital energy
which has from time to time existed in the nation. In the earlier

periods of engineering history, the war of man was with nature.
The sea was held back by embankments. The Thames, instead of being

allowed to overspread the wide marshes on either bank, was confined
within limited bounds, by which the navigable depth of its channel

was increased, at the same time that a wide extent of land was
rendered available for agriculture.

In those early days, the great object was to render the land more
habitable, comfortable, and productive. Marshes were reclaimed, and

wastes subdued. But so long as the country remained comparatively
closed against communication, and intercourse was restricted by the

want of bridges and roads, improvement was extremely slow.
For, while roads are the consequence of civilisation, they are also

among its most influential causes. We have seen even the blind
Metcalf acting as an effectiveinstrument of progress in the

northern counties by the formation of long lines of road. Brindley
and the Duke of Bridgewater carried on the work in the same

districts, and conferred upon the north and north-west of England
the blessings of cheap and effective water communication. Smeaton

followed and carried out similar undertakings in still remoter
places, joining the east and west coasts of Scotland by the Forth

and Clyde Canal, and building bridges in the far north. Rennie made
harbours, built bridges, and hewed out docks for shipping, the

increase in which had kept pace with the growth of our home and
foreign trade. He was followed by Telford, whose long and busy