CHAP. V. THE CAMBRIDGE FENS. 169 



by which the surface of the waters throughout the whole 

 of the Middle and South Levels was reduced in propor- 

 tion. Thus the pressure on all the banks along the 

 rivers of the Level was greatly relieved, whilst inunda- 

 tions were prevented, and the sluices provided for the 

 evacuation of the inland waters were enabled effectually 

 to discharge themselves. 



By labours such as these an immense value has been 

 given to otherwise worthless swamps and wastes. The 

 skill of the engineer has enabled the Fen farmers to labour 

 with ever-increasing profit, and to enjoy the fruits of 

 their industry in comparative health and comfort. No 

 wonder they love the land which has been won by toil 

 so protracted and so brave. Unpicturesque though the 

 Fens may be to eyes accustomed to the undulating and 

 hill country of the western districts of England, they 

 nevertheless possess a humble beauty of their own, espe- 

 cially to eyes familiar to them from childhood. The long 

 rows of pollards, with an occasional windmill, stretching 

 along the horizon as in a Dutch landscape the wide 

 extended flats of dark peaty soil, intersected by dykes 

 and drains, with here and there a green tract covered 

 with sleek cattle have an air of vastness, and even 

 grandeur, which is sometimes very striking. To this we 

 may add, that the churches of the district, built on sites 

 which were formerly so many oases in the watery de- 

 sert, loom up in the distance like landmarks, and are 

 often of remarkable beauty of outline. 



It has been said of Mr. Rennie that he was the greatest 

 " slayer of dragons " that ever lived, this title being 

 given in the Fens to persons who, by skill and industry, 

 have perfected works of drainage, and thereby removed 

 the causes of sickness and disease, typified in ancient 

 times as dragons or destroyers. 1 In this sense, certainly, 

 Mr. Rennie is entitled, perhaps more than any other 

 man, to this remarkable appellation. 



1 Thompson's * History of Boston,' 1856, p. 639. 



