the beautiful" rainbow bridge" lightly spans the Taff at Newbridge to this day. The singular inflexibility of purpose displayed by our engineer in grappling with and overcoming the difficulties encountered by him in the erection of his first bridge, became the subject of general interest throughout Wales. When it was finished and opened for public traffic, and the news spread abroad that the extraordinary arch of Pont-y-Prydd at last stood firm as the rocks on which it rested, strangers flocked from all parts to view it, and the Welsh people, as was natural, became proud of their countryman. Employment flowed in upon him, and he went on building bridge after bridge in all parts of South Wales. Among the more important of the later works of Edwards were the large and handsome bridge over the river Usk, at the town of Usk, in Monmouthshire; one of three arches, over the river Tame, near Swansea; another, of one arch of 95 feet span, over the same river near Morriston; a third, with an arch of 80 feet, at Pont-cer-Tame, several miles higher up; and Bettws and Llandovery Bridges, in the county of Caermarthen, the latter of 84 feet span. He also built Aberavon Bridge, in Glamorganshire, with an arch of 70 feet span; and Glasbury Bridge, of four arches, over the Wye, near Hay, in Brecknockshire, afterwards carried away by one of the floods so common in the district. Edwards's strong judgment and quick observant faculties, ripened by experience, enabled him to introduce many improvements in his bridges as he grew older. He flattened his arches, so as to render the passage of vehicles over them more easy than in the case of Pont-y-Prydd, the steepness on either side of which was found to be so great an obstacle that it was afterwards found necessary to supersede its use by a more level bridge erected on modern principles. Hence his later works presented a considerable improvement VOL. I. T in this respect upon his earlier ones; and while he continued to be equally careful in providing ample waterway under the arching, and to erect his bridges with a view to the greatest possible durability, he took increasing pains to provide a more capacious and level roadway over them, and render them in all ways more easy and convenient for public use. Besides his numerous bridges, Edwards continued, during the remainder of his long life, to erect smelting-houses, forges, and buildings of various kinds for purposes of manufacture. Nor did his building business exclusively occupy his time, for, in addition to his trade or profession as a building engineer, he carried on the business of a farmer until the close of his life. Not even on Sundays did he cease from his labours; but, though the Sabbath was no day of rest for him, his labours then were all labours of love. In 1750 he became an ordained preacher amongst the Independents. Shortly after, he was chosen minister of the congregation to which he belonged, and he continued to hold the office for about forty years, until his death. He occasionally preached in the neighbouring meeting-houses: amongst others, in that of Mr. Rees, the father of Abraham Rees, editor of the well-known Encyclopedia.' This meeting-house was one of the numerous buildings erected by Edwards himself. He always preached in Welsh, and his discourses are said to have been simple, sensible, and full of loving-kindness. His fellow-countryman Malkin' says of him, that, though a Calvinist, he was one of a very liberal description; indeed, he carried his charity so far that many persons suspected he had changed his opinions, and for that reason spoke very unhandsomely of him. As he grew older he became increasingly charitable and tolerant of other men's views, avoiding points of doctrinal difference, but urging 1 The Scenery, Antiquities, and Biography of South Wales.' By Benjamin Heath Malkin, Esq., M.A., and enforcing that the love of God and of our neighbour is the aim and end of all religion. Holding it to be the duty of every religious society to contribute liberally of their means to the support of their ministry, he regularly took the stipulated salary which his congregation allowed to their preachers, but distributed the whole of it amongst the poorer members of his church, often adding to it largely from his own means. This worthy Christian labourer died at the advanced age of seventy, respected and beloved by men of all parties, and he was buried in the churchyard of his native parish of Eglwysilan, amidst the graves of his children. Three of his sons were, like their father, eminent bridge-builders: David having constructed the fine five-arched bridge over the Usk at Newport, as well as the bridges at Llandilo, Edwinsford, Pontloyrig, Bedwas, and other places. Indeed, William Edwards may be said to have fairly inaugurated the revival of the art of bridge-building in England. After his time, it was taken up by Smeaton, Rennie, and Telford, and its progress will accordingly be found described in connection with the lives and works of those distinguished engineers. CHAPTER IV. HARBOURS AND LIGHTHOUSES. THE maritime greatness of Britain is of as modern a character as its engineering, and has been mainly the creation of the last century. At a time when Spain, Holland, France, Genoa, and Venice were great maritime powers, England was almost without a fleet, the little trade which it carried on with other countries being conducted principally by foreigners. Our best ships were also built abroad by the Venetians or the Danes, but they were mostly of small tonnage, little bigger than modern herring-boats. In 1540 there were only four vessels belonging to the Thames of 120 tons burden.' Bristol, then next in importance to London, possessed several large foreign-built ships; but the principal craft belonging to that port were of only from 50 to 100 tons each. In Queen Elizabeth's time the whole shipping of Liverpool was only 223 tons; the largest vessel being of but 40 tons burden. It is, however, astonishing to find what bold and daring things were done by the men who navigated these diminutive vessels. Sir Humphry Gilbert crossed the Atlantic and sailed along the coast of America in the Squirrel of only 10 tons. Martin Frobisher set out with two barques of 25 tons each to discover the North-West Passage. Sir Francis Drake's fleet, which left the English shores for the circumnavigation of the globe, consisted of five vessels, the largest 1 So stated by one Wheeler, secretary to the English Company of Merchant Adventurers, as quoted in Macpherson's Annals of Commerce,' vol. ii., p. 85. 2 Wedgwood and Bentley's pamphlet, entitled, 'A View of the Advantages of Inland Navigation.' London, 1765. of which was not of 100 tons burden. In the year 1575 there were only one hundred and thirty-five ships in all England above 100 tons. The royal navy was on a par with the mercantile; and at the time when the Spanish Armada bore down upon the English coast, it consisted of only twenty-three ships, eight of which were under 120 tons. There were only nine of 500 tons and upwards, the ship of the greatest burden being of 1000 tons, carrying only forty guns. The principal part of the fleet which held at bay the Armada until the storms had scattered it, were coasting-vessels of small burden, belonging to Lyme, Weymouth, and other ports along the southern coast. Of the whole seventy-five vessels which constituted the squadrons under the Lord Admiral and Sir Francis Drake, not fewer than sixty were from 400 down to as low as 20 tons. About the same period, the small but flourishing republic of Venice possessed a fleet of more than three thousand vessels of various kinds, carrying upwards of thirty-six thousand seamen. The English navy, however, made gradual progress. In 1613 there were ten vessels of 200 tons belonging to the port of London. The suppression of the monopoly of the carrying trade, which had virtually been enjoyed by the merchants of the Low Countries and the Hanse Towns of Germany until the year 1552, had the effect of giving a considerable impetus to English shipping business; and by the year 1640 we find the number of English ships and sailors more than trebled. It would appear that not only had the greater part of the 1 One of the last of Sir Francis Drake's ships was used, until quite recently, as a Thames barge. It was broken up only a few years ago. Another interesting little vessel, the Investigator, of about 150 tons, used to lie moored off Somerset House, where it was used as one of the floating stations of the Thames River Police, but has since been replaced by the Royalist. The Investigator was the vessel in which Captain Ross made his first voyage to the Polar Seas in the search for a North-West Passage. |