P I ' Ml-' ACE. v 



lives of the early engineers were a succession of indi- 

 vidual stn iir^lcs, sometimes rising almost to the heroic. 

 In one case, the object of interest is a London goldsmith, 

 like Myddelton; in another, he is a retired sea-captain, 

 like Perry : a wheelwright, like Brindley ; an attorney's 

 clerk, like Smeatori ; a millwright, like Remiie ; a work- 

 ing mason, like Telford ; or an engine brakesman, like 

 Steplienson. These men were strong-minded, resolute, 

 and ingenious, impelled to their special pursuits by the 

 force of their constructive instincts. In most cases they 

 had to make for themselves a way ; for there was none 

 to point out the road, which until then had been un- 

 travelled. To our mind, there is almost a dramatic 

 interest in their noble efforts, their defeats, and their 

 triumphs; and their eventual rise, in spite of manifold 

 obstructions and difficulties, from obscurity to fame. 



It will be observed from the following pages that the 

 works of our engineers have exercised an important 

 influence on the progress of the English nation. But it 

 may possibly excite the reader's surprise to learn how 

 very modern England is in all that relates to skilled 

 industry, which appears to have been among the very 

 youngest outgrowths of our national life. 



Most of the Continental nations had a long start of 

 us in art, in science, in mechanics, in navigation, and in 

 engineering. Not many centuries since, Italy, Spain, 

 France, and Holland looked down contemptuously on 

 the poor but proud islanders, contending with nature for 

 a subsistence amidst their fogs and their mists. Though 

 surrounded by the sea, we had scarcely any navy until 

 within the last three hundred years. Even our fisheries 

 were so unproductive, that our markets were sup- 

 plied by the Dutch, who sold us the herrings caught 

 upon our own coasts. England was then regarded 

 principally as a magazine for the supply of raw mate- 



