Sir John Rennie

“ Of the city nothing now remains but portions of the broken down walls, a square tower near the middle, and some remains of foundations scattered about. Nothing could be more desolate and solitary than the whole scene, which afforded a most striking contrast to its former magnificence; and reflecting upon its ancient compared with its present state, one could not help remarking, “Alas, poor human nature!”
On my return from Utica I found that His Highness the Bey had consented to receive us at his palace, distant about 12 miles from Tunis, on the following day at eleven o’clock. ”

“ Between this quay-wall and the houses is a road, which runs nearly along the whole sea-front. From this road innumerable narrow, crooked streets lead to the different parts of the town; many of these are so narrow that two horses can scarcely go abreast. The buildings for the most part consist of two and three stories. The bazaars were numerous, extensive, and rich, filled with all the commodities of the East, such as rick silks, plain and brocaded, shawls, jewellery, arms, leather articles, and pipes of all kinds, rough iron and pottery ware, besides tobacco, fruit, and provisions. ”

“ To this it may be replied, that it is not necessary an engineer should be [435] acquainted with all departments of the profession, but only with the one to which he intends more particularly to devote himself. Now this is a very great mistake, for they are all so intimately connected, that without having a general knowledge of the whole you cannot practise in any one department with complete success; for whenever you have to rely upon the resources of another department you can never make sure of being thoroughly well served, unless you are yourself a tolerable judge of work. ”

“ The rest of the town consisted of irregular, crooked, narrow, dirty streets, some of them hardly wide enough for a carriage, for which, indeed, there was no need, and there were none; with a place or square near the centre, surrounded by cafés, where the Turks and better class of natives, such as they were, sat idly smoking their long pipes and nargillas with that stupid indifference and repose which characterized them, perfectly regardless of any but themselves, and quite unconscious and indifferent to the misery around them. ”

“ As the Parian marble is of a beautiful white cream-colour, almost free from veins, and of an even, close texture, the sale would be immense and yield an excellent profit; and considering the enormous price of fine marble adapted for sculpture, amounting to one and two guineas and upwards per foot cube, according to the size of the block and fineness of the quality, it is astonishing that the value of these quarries has not been recognized before, and that capital has not been forthcoming to work them. The harbour is spacious, with ample depth, and well protected against all winds. ”

“ Here the two great water-carriage systems met, connecting the Baltic with the Black Sea, and also with the Caspian. The canals were crowded with vessels laden with the products of the East and West; natives from the East clad in their flowing garments, Tartars, with their bows and arrows, Cossacks from the Don, Armenian, Greek, and Turkish merchants, and the never-failing Jew, English, French, and Germans, all mixed together, and carrying on their particular business, formed a very amusing and busy scene. ”

“ I will merely remark that there is no city in the world more worthy of a visit than Rome, or where greater gratification and instruction can be derived; for example, the aqueducts and the Cloaca Maxima show how thoroughly the Romans understood the importance of sewerage and good water for the preservation of human life, an importance that is only now beginning to be recognized in England, while there still remains very much to be accomplished. ”

“ On the west it is bounded by the celebrated peninsula of Carthage. In front, to the south, there is the Goletta, or channel to the Lagoon, surrounded by the custom house and a small town, and beyond is the Lagoon, extending about six miles, at the farther end of which is the city of Tunis, seated upon a gentle eminence, bristling with minarets, and a lofty chain of hills in the background, the whole having a wild, uncultivated appearance, so that at first sight you were puzzled to conceive whence supplies could be obtained for feeding the metropolis of the kingdom. ”

“ There is a wretched place called the town of Sulina, on the right bank of the river, near the commencement of the moles; it consists of wooden houses, stores, shops, and cafés, scarcely two feet above the level of the water, and surrounded by marshes, that send forth the most pestiferous malaria. I was told that fevers constantly prevail there, and I am not surprised at it, for a more abominable, uninviting place I have seldom seen. Next morning we started for Odessa soon after daybreak, and after a tolerably smooth passage reached the western harbour at about four o’clock in the afternoon. ”

“ I repeat, then, that an engineer who has studied only one department cannot be termed properly educated. And the question arises, what is the best mode of education for a pupil to obtain this multifarious, and, as I contend, absolutely necessary, information, to enable him to practise the profession of a civil engineer in the most enlightened, scientific, and practical manner? ”

“ Let those who are most competent ascertain whether there is a sufficient prospect of traffic to pay a good return for the required capital; and so long as the engineer executes the work for his estimate, he cannot be blamed if the work does not pay a sufficient return. In fact, the whole commercial value of a work depends upon its cost, and therefore it is so important that the estimate should be adhered to as closely as possible, for if this be much exceeded the commercial calculation falls to the ground, and then the subscribers have just reason to complain. ”

“ It is singular to see them travelling about from one part of the town to the other with cries of “Agua,” and it is more singular still that this practice should have been allowed to continue so long, to the great and unnecessary tax upon the inhabitants, where, if pipes were only laid to the houses, the water might be distributed at probably one-tenth of the cost. The Gallegoes are a hard-working, temperate race, who save every penny they can, and as soon as possible retire to their own country to enjoy the hard-earned fruits of their labours. ”

“ As there was no possibility of getting our things to Vostizza, and there were the remains of a convent (which had been ruined by an earthquake) close by on the shore, on a cliff about 50 feet above the gulf, I proposed at once that we should place our things there, and sleep, to which my companion, who was very tired and sick of the voyage, readily consented. We got the boatmen to land the things, and place them in the convent; but when we got there, to our great surprise and mortification, found that it was uninhabited and half in ruins. ”

“ O’Neil, however, gave a very unfavourable account of it, for a few miles beyond Abrantes the Tagus passes through a deep chasm, hemmed in on both sides with steep, precipitous granite rocks, swarming with eagles, and wild and desolate to a degree. There were scarcely any inhabitants save a few shepherds, clad in goat-skins, who lived in small cottages stuck in the clefts of the rocks, or built upon some small patches of ground close by the margin of the river, with a few vegetables and fruits growing round them. ”

“ In all fevers there is a climax; the railway fever had its climax like the rest, and it was then upon the decline. The vast multitude who had expected to make their fortunes found at last to their sorrow that their money was gone; but that was not the worst, for they would have been very happy if they had not had to pay more. As for any new railway speculation, that was entirely out of the question, and therefore it turned out that the Swedish railways were too late for the market ”

“ Amongst others who visited Blenkinsop’s railway and locomotive engine was Mr. James, a general land agent and surveyor, at Newcastle, who was in large practice, and had a respectable fortune. He was a man of enlarged mind and great intelligence, and although not a practical mechanician, he was so much struck with the effect of Blenkinsop’s engine and railway, that he at once said it was a new mode of conveying passengers and goods which must supersede all others, and become universal. ”

“ It was impossible to find a city in a worse state, and it was astonishing that such a great, wealthy, and luxurious city could have so long existed in such a condition. As there was no stone in the neighbourhood fit for paving the streets, granite or a similar hard stone being the only kind fit for the purpose, the next question was where it was to be found, how to get it, and the cost of doing so. ”

“ Yet with all this apparent sternness there was combined a happy mixture of gentleness, genial sociability, and good-nature, which, after a little acquaintance, soon made you feel at home with him; and the more you knew him the more you liked him. He was then at work upon the colossal figures of the Twelve Apostles, for the church at Copenhagen, a commission given to him by the King. Several of these were finished, and magnificent specimens of art they were. ”

“ Let me ask how could the various and complicated operations which alone render modern trade, and therefore modern civilization, possible, be carried on without the aid of the mechanic, alias the civil engineer?
The object of the Smeatonian Society was merely a social gathering in the form of a club, to assemble the members at dinner at certain times, when they could discuss in a friendly manner the various subjects connected with their profession, and to endeavour to obliterate all those rivalries and jealousies which [430] unfortunately are too common amongst professional men of all classes. ”

“ I examined the modern harbour of Naples, and I doubt if anything could be more badly designed. There are two small piers, the entrance between which is difficult; it is exposed to the prevalent and dangerous winds, and is scarcely safe inside. This is the more extraordinary, because the numerous remains of the ancient harbours of the Romans, dispersed throughout the bay, might have served as models for a port adapted for all the requirements of modern trade as well as for war vessels. ”

“ When it has succeeded, the more simple it is the more we are astonished that we should not have perceived its value before; hence, unfortunately, we so frequently find that [233] many able men, who have made brilliant discoveries and inventions which have conferred so much benefit upon mankind, have exhausted their all, and have died of starvation, just at the very moment when they have succeeded. Then some lucky one steps in and derives all the advantage. Such was the fate of poor Trevithick, who may be said to have been the inventor of the modern railway system. ”

“ If during his pupilage he has made but little progress, nothing beyond mere routine, he is discharged with a certificate according to his merits, and sent into the world, to find his way forward as best he can.
Now it should be understood that the pupil only learns one part of his business, such as the construction of railways, canals, improvement of rivers, docks, drainage, harbours, and waterworks, and the buildings connected with them; but there is another and very important part of civil engineering, namely, the mechanical department, of which he remains totally ignorant. ”

“ But in Great Britain it has been considered a true maxim of political economy, that every article should be produced at the least possible cost, and no work should be undertaken unless it would yield a fair profit for the capital expended; and whenever there is a reasonable prospect of obtaining this satisfactory result, any amount of capital which may be required is always forthcoming. Witness the vast sums which have been expended on railways alone, besides steam-vessels, manufactures, machinery, and other similar undertakings. ”

“ This is no doubt a very extraordinary performance, rendered remarkable for the vast amount of capital which has been raised by a single individual—not an engineer—and the wonderful energy and perseverance with which he has accomplished it, opposed by innumerable obstacles, political and financial, which would have daunted and overwhelmed any person of ordinary physical powers. ”

“ I made several other excursions to various parts of the island; amongst others, to the top of the mountain which forms the south-west promontory of the bay. The summit rises far above the Mediterranean, and the view from it is magnificent, commanding the whole of the beautiful island, which lies at its base [63] like a rich garden, and some other islands and adjacent coasts.
The inhabitants are a good-looking, active, and industrious race, but, like their neighbours, inclined to be very turbulent, and require to be kept in order by the strong arm of the law. ”

“ Fancy a range of streets, houses, palaces, and churches rising rapidly from the water’s edge until they crown the summits of the hills on which they are built, backed by the picturesque outline of the Cintra hills, and extending for upwards of three miles. We landed at the custom house, close by the Plaza, commonly called by the English Blackhorse Square, from the fine equestrian figure of the Marquis of Pombal in the centre. ”

“ The great object, therefore, as I have said, is to facilitate this deposit or accretion as much as possible by artificial means. Nature, if left to herself, though sure, is very slow. We must therefore assist nature, by following and working in unison with her laws. We must go to work gradually, and not by great and expensive operations check the currents violently and at once, which would only produce an equally strong current elsewhere, so that while we gained in one place we should lose in another. ”

“ The port of Lisbon properly speaking is at the custom house, which immediately adjoins Blackhorse Square. It consists of nothing more than an open roadstead, where all the mercantile vessels lie at their anchors, and are loaded and unloaded by means of lighters, at great delay and cost, and with frequent interruptions from heavy gales of wind; but it rarely happens that the vessels suffer any material damage, as the mouth of the river, although about seven miles wide, is never seriously agitated. Docks or landing jetties might be made here with considerable advantage to the trade. ”