XI 



and through Wales, to Milford Haven, then south-west to Exeter 

 and Plymouth, and onwards to the Land's End ; and after invading 

 the north-west manufacturing district of Birmingham, finally arriving 

 at the shore of the Mersey opposite to Liverpool. This alone would 

 have sufficed for the lifetime of many men ; and in truth the stupen- 

 dous labours undertaken by Brunei could scarcely be performed 

 without overtaxing the mental and physical faculties, and eventually 

 causing them to break down. 



Mr. Brunei was fervently attached to scientific inquiry ; he was a 

 good mathematician, and possessed great readiness in the practical 

 application of formulae. He was elected at an unusually early age a 

 Fellow of the Royal Society, and was an old Member of the Institution 

 of Civil Engineers, of whose Council he was one of the Vice-Presi- 

 dents ; he belonged to most of the principal Scientific Societies of 

 the Metropolis, and several Foreign Societies, and was a Knight of the 

 Legion of Honour. A liberal patron as well as a discriminating 

 judge of art, he was himself devoted to artistic pursuits, and his 

 early drawings, as well as his professional sketches, attest his feeling 

 for purity of design. 



Of his private character, those only who were admitted to his inti- 

 macy could judge correctly. Brunei was not a demonstrative man, 

 but there was a fund of kindness and goodness within, which only 

 required to be aroused to stand forth in high relief. It has been 

 well said of him by an old friend, " In youth a more joyous, kind- 

 hearted companion never existed. As a man, always overworked, 

 he was ever ready by advice, and not unfrequently, to a large extent, 

 by his purse, to aid either professional or private friends. His 

 habitual caution and reserve made many think him cold and worldly, 

 but by those only who saw merely his exterior could such an opinion 

 be entertained. His carelessness of contemporary public opinion, 

 and his self-reliance, founded on his known character and his actual 

 works, were carried to a fault. He was never known to court ap- 

 plause. Bold and vigorous professionally, he was as modest and 

 retiring in private life." He was cut off in his fifty-fourth year 

 just when he had acquired that mature judgment which in such a 

 profession as that of the Civil Engineer can be attained only by 

 long experience, and when the greatest work of his life had reached 

 the very eve of completion. 



