88 SMEATON'S PRIVATE LIFE PART YT. 



the means of doing further good. The last public mea- 

 sure on which he was professionally engaged in London, 

 was the passing of the Bill through Parliament for the 

 construction of the Birmingham and Worcester Canal. 

 It was very strongly opposed, and its support in 

 Committee cost him much application, thought, and 

 anxiety. His friends saw him visibly breaking down, 

 and apprehended that the powers of his vigorous mind 

 were beginning to fail. The bill passed by a small 

 majority, and Mr. Smeaton went down to his home at 

 Austhorpe for repose. But shortly after, when walking 

 in his garden, he was struck with palsy. Happily his 

 faculties returned to him, and he expressed his thank- 

 fulness to the Almighty that his intellect had been 

 spared. He was very resigned and cheerful, and took 

 pleasure in seeing the usual social occupation of the 

 family going on about him. He would, however, com- 

 plain of his growing slowness of apprehension, and 

 excuse it with a smile, saying, " It could not be other- 

 wise : the shadow must lengthen as the sun goes 

 down." Some phenomena relating to the moon formed 

 the subject of conversation one evening, when it shone 

 very bright full into his room. Fixing his eyes upon 

 it, he said, "How often have I looked up to it with 

 inquiry and wonder, and thought of the period when I 

 shall have the vast and privileged views of an hereafter, 

 and all will be comprehension and pleasure ! " He even 

 continued to dictate letters to his friends ; and in one of 

 these, addressed to Mr. Holmes, after describing his 

 health and feelings, he said : "In consequence of the 

 foregoing, I conclude myself nine-tenths dead, and the 

 greatest favour the Almighty can do me (as I think) 

 will be to complete the other part ; but as it is likely to 

 be a lingering illness, it is only in His power to say 

 when that is likely to happen." His suffering, however, 

 did not last long ; and after the lapse of about a month 

 from the writing of this letter, the engineer's spirit found 



