138 
Drainar/c of Wldttlesea Mere. 
by the new works. Tlie explanation of the apparent contradic- 
tion is easy, by contrasting- the relative condition of the Mere 
and the Middle Level at the moment of the main drains being 
completed, and at a later period when the bottom of the Mere 
and the adjoining land had been for some time dry. The old 
state of things was this :— For pm'poses of navigation a minimum 
height of 10 feet of water was maintained throughout the Level ; 
that is to say, 10 feet above the low-water-mark gauge in the 
Ouse at Lynn Bridge, from which all the calculations as to the 
height of the water in the Middle Level are taken. The bottom 
of the Mere being 7 feet above the gauge, there remained 3 feet 
as its ordinary depth of water. When the great Marshland Cut 
was opened, and the connecting dykes up to the Mere deepened, 
the water throughout the Level was reduced to 5 feet on the 
gauge, giving therefore a fall of 2 feet from the bottom of 
the Mere. This was quite sufficient to create a free flow of the 
waters by the new passage or cutting through the bank, and 
accordingly for many days the stream continued to discharge 
itself into the exterior river. At no time after the first twenty- 
four hours was there any rush or torrent, but as the weight of 
water behind diminished, the current became less and less rapid, 
until at the end of three weeks a sluggish stream Avas with diffi- 
culty maintained through the shoals to the place of exit. For- 
tunately a favourable wind prevailed, and assisted materially in 
propelling the water over the higher ground which existed 
between the point of discharge and the low places in the middle 
of the lake where the water lingered the longest. 
This outpouring of the contents of the Merc then was doubt- 
less so far a natural drainage, but the winter-level rose frequently 
to 10 feet on the gauge, so that but for the surrounding banks 
the old 3 feet of water would soon have returned to its accustomed 
place. 
The present state of things is this : — The bed of the Mere has 
sunk from being 7 feet above datum (the gauge at Lynn) to 3 
feet 6 inches ; from this, as the least depth that is consistent with 
the proper cultivation of soil, 2 feet must be taken, leaving 1 foot 
6 inches as the corresponding level on the gauge ; and as the 
water is held up in summer to 5 feet 6 inches for navigation, and 
cannot in winter be run lower than about 4 feet 6 inches even 
with the additional fall obtained by the Norfolk Estuary works, 
it will be readily seen that it is hopeless to expect ever to obtain 
a natural drainage for the Mere and the surrounding land. 
Long before the last pools of water had disappeared from off 
the bed of the Mere large crowds of people from all the sur- 
rounding neighbourhood, and even many from distant parts of 
the Fens, had assembled. Some perhaps from a desire to be pre- 
sent at the last moments of a venerable friend Avhose fortunes 
