be remarked, which change from one side of the line to the other. The tunnel is 1,250 yards long, twenty-five feet high, and twenty-two wide, and is ventilated by five shafts, eight feet in diameter. In some places the line is fifty feet below the surface. It cost 400,000l. The difficulties which were encountered in its construction were far greater than had been anticipated, and Mr. Stephenson, the engineer, declared that it was "absolutely indispensable to increase the prices of mining, timbering, and brickwork formerly paid to the sub-contractors, an expense which was proved to be altogether inadequate. In the quicksand especially," said he, "although effectually drained, the utmost caution in mining has been required, and an expenditure of timber unavoidably incurred, which would appear excessive and lavish to any one whose experience has been confined to ordinary tunnelling."

Much having been said before the line was opened, about the inconvenience and danger of tunnels, it was determined by the company that the question should receive a thorough investigation; this was accordingly done by Dr. Paris and Dr. Watson, Messrs. Lawrence and Lucas, surgeons, and Mr. Phillips, lecturer on chemistry, on this tunnel. In February, 1837, they accordingly visited this tunnel, then in progress; and though the steam of the engine collected near the roof, the air for many feet above their heads was dry, clear, of an agreeable temperature, and free from smells; the sensation experienced as they passed along, they reported to be "precisely that of travelling in a coach by night, between the walls of a narrow street. Judging from this experiment," they said, and knowing the ease and certainty with which thorough ventilation may be effected, we are decidedly of opinion that the dangers incurred in passing through well-constructed tunnels are no greater than those incurred in ordinary travelling upon an open railway, or upon a turnpike-road; and that the apprehensions which some have expressed, that such tunnels are likely to prove detrimental to the health, or inconvenient to the feelings of those who go through them, are perfectly futile and groundless.'

No one travelling by the North Western line from London, within the last few months, can have failed to notice that vast alterations have been made at

the Euston Station, in the erection of an immense building, containing offices for the transaction of the railway business; and also great improvements in the station yard by the construction of additional "sheds." These alterations have incurred an expense of not less than 150,000l., under the direction of Messrs. Braure and Gwyther, of Birmingham; and the station, as situated between Seymour-street and Whittlebury-street, comprises an area of about 2,100 feet in length by 500 in breadth. On either side is a platform: the one on the east side, for arrival trains, is 1,100 feet long, and about forty wide, and the departure platform is about 800 feet in length. In this space, on the various lines, there are sixty turntables, while above are about 700 feet by 350 of glass roofing. There are also 16,000 feet of drains and sewerage, which have been constructed under the direction of Mr. M. A. Watkins. On the west side, adjoining Codringtonstreet, a number of coach-factories have been erected, their area occupying 300 feet by 400. A smithy, with every convenience for the manufacture of vehicles, is attached. The waste materials which were sold at the completion of the work, realized nearly 1,0007.

Since the completion of the London and Birmingham Railway, there has been an arrangement, as our readers are doubtless aware, between that and other lines, forming what is now designated as the London and North-Western Railroad. The aggregate comprises the Birmingham Railway, the Grand Junction, the Manchester and Birmingham, the Liverpool and Manchester, the Bolton and Kenyon, the Trent Valley, the Peterborough and Northampton, and the Leamington and Coventry lines, besides the Bedford and Bletchley, Dunstable, Aylesbury, and West London branches-making a total of 438 miles; on which have been expended more than 18,000,0007., to which a considerable sum must be added for their completion. The working stock of the company, compris ing engines, carriages, etc., is worth 1,674,660%. Besides these lines, there are some in course of construction, but not yet producing revenue. These are the Leamington extension, the Rugby and Leamington, the Grand Junction section, the Ashton branch, the Rugby and Stamford, and some other works, including sixty-two miles of road, which will ultimately cost between two and

three millions. The company is also interested by subscription, contribution, or guarantee in a number of linesforming, with those already mentioned, an aggregate of 641 miles of railroad-on which they have advanced more than three millions sterling, which will ultimately be increased to five.

Besides all these, there are fifteen branch lines, for which Parliamentary powers have been obtained; but which, according to a recent decision of the company, have been shelved for the present, as it was deemed most important to restore public confidence, which had been shaken by the repeated calls for money. These will not be attempted without due warning, and better railway times. Something of this kind had indeed been contemplated for some time; and in July last the secretary stated, that several lines, for which the company had powers, would not be undertaken. At the same time it should be remembered, that there is no express undertaking in the terms of the statement which was given in October last; nor indeed can there be, as the directors cannot answer for their own continuance in office; but the railway world was glad to hear that these lines were not to be proceeded with at present.

The sum required to complete the remaining lines amounts, altogether, to little more than three millions, or a million a year, looking to the probable termination of the works. This is a very inconsiderable amount under ordinary circumstances, and only likely to be regarded as severe in conjunction with many other similar demands, and in times of pressure and distress. The total contemplated outlay, when this has been expended, will amount to 25,862,0127.; for which the company will possess 500 miles of railway, and a pecuniary interest in 641, which may be considered as tributary to the parent line. So colossal an establishment, connected not only with the interests of a large class who are involved in the undertaking, but with the public in general, is indicative not only of the magnitude of the wealth of the nation, but a proof of the power of the mental over the physical world, worthy of Britain in the nineteenth century.

On the advantages which all derive from the facilities thus afforded of communication, we cannot now dilate. To one point, however, which is frequently overlooked, though comparatively in

significant, it may be worth while to allude. It is with respect to the comparative advantages in point of healthful exercise between riding on the railroad and by coach, and on this there appears but one opinion,-the oscillating motion of the railway carriage being much more salutary than the swinging and jolting of a stage-coach. A medical man of eminence says, that "the former equalises the circulation, promotes digestion, tranquillizes the nerves, and often causes sound sleep during the succeeding night; the exercise of this kind of travelling being unaccompanied by that lassitude, aching, and fatigue which, in weakly constitutions, is the invariable accompaniment of the ordinary coach-travelling, and which so frequently in such constitutions produces sleepless nights."

The difference in a pecuniary point of view, as well as in comparative comfort, is very important. It will be remembered by many, that the mail fares to Birmingham before the introduction of railways, were fifty shillings inside and thirty-five out; and by the ordinary coaches forty-five inside and thirty out, exclusive of fees to coachmen and guards, averaging from five shillings to seven and sixpence. Thus, altogether, fifty-seven shillings was the expense for travelling through the whole night, and reaching Birmingham to a late breakfast; which is now exchanged for a firstclass carriage, a twenty-shilling fare, and the liberty of retiring to rest at five minutes past twelve, supposing London to be left in both cases at the same time.

Nor is accommodation unprovided for the poor. One train, consisting entirely of third-class carriages, covered in, with side doors, and seats, starts from London every morning, between six and seven o'clock, and arrives at Liverpool, Manchester, or Leeds the same evening-travelling at an average speed of about fifteen miles an hour, including stoppages; but when in motion, at twentyfive, to avoid the danger of being overrun by other trains. On its arrival at Blisworth, sixty-three miles from London, it is detained an hour and a half, to allow the mail and three other quick trains to pass, and for the purpose of warming and refreshing the passengers, for which a large and commodious room has been erected, where a substantial and plentiful dinner may be had for a shilling: the sale of spirits is prohibited. Another

half-hour is allowed at Birmingham and Derby. The main, though not declared, object of these stoppages is doubtless to prevent the use of the train by those for whom it is not intended; while the accommodation which is provided in the refreshment-room, where excellent fires are kept up, and where all charges are restricted by the company, (the rent of the building being but five per cent. on the cost of its erection,) is on a footing highly advantageous to all by whom it is made available. A similar train leaves Birmingham at one o'clock, and arrives in London at seven.

We mention these facts not so much as arguments against a certain small body of individuals, who have determinately blinded themselves against many of the advantages of the "railwaysystem," as to show the real benefits it confers on a class of the community which, extensive as it is, was in by-gone times almost excluded from the migratory advantages of the day. Now all receive the desired assistance, and we rejoice that almost the poorest of the nation are able and willing to avail themselves of it. The result will be beneficial, not only in bringing together into more intimate communion those who are united by the ties of blood and friendship, but in removing the prejudices which are often entertained in reference to those of whom we are ignorant, and in breaking down many arbitrary barriers which an unmeaning formalism would impose. F. S. W.

THE ARCTIC NAVIGATORS.

"No description," says sir John Ross, I can convey an idea of the scene presented to the eye; and as to the pencil, it cannot represent motion or noise. And to those who have not seen a northern ocean in winter-who have not seen it, I should say, in a winter's storm-the term 'ice' exciting but the recollection of what they know only at rest, in an inland lake or canal, conveys no idea of what it is the fate of an Arctic navigator to witness and to feel. But let them remember that ice is a stone-a floating rock when in the stream, a promontory or an island when aground-not less solid than if it were a land of granite. Then let them imagine, if they can, these mountains of crystal hurled through a narrow

strait by a rapid tide; meeting, as mountains in motion would meet, with the noise of thunder; breaking from each other's precipices huge fragments, or rending each other asunder, till, losing their former equilibrium, they fall over headlong, lifting the sea around in breakers, and whirling it in eddies; whilst the flatter fields of ice forced against these masses, or against these rocks, by the wind and the stream, rise out of the sea till they fall back on themselves, adding to the indescribable commotion and noise which attend these occurrences."

Mrs. Sigourney thus describes such circumstances:

"It was a time
Of bitter dread, and many a prayer went up

To Him who moves the iceberg and the storm,
To go their way and spare the voyager.

Slow sped the night-watch, and when morn came up
Timid and pale, there stood that frowning host,
In horrible all multiplied,
array,
Until the deep was hoary. Every bay,
And frost-bound inlet of the Arctic zone,
Had stirred itself, methought, and launched amain
Its quota of thick-ribbed ice, to swell
The bristling squadron.

Through those awful ranks
It was our lot to pass. Each one had power
To crush our lone bark like a scallop-shell,
And in their stony eyes we read the will

mist

To do such deed. When through the curtaining
The sun with transient glimpse that host surveyed,
They flashed and dazzled with a thousand hues,
Like cliffs with diamond spear-points serried o'er,
Turrets and towers, in rainbow banners wrapp'd,
Or minarets of pearl, with crest of stars,

So terrible in beauty, that methought

He stood amazed at what his glance had done.
I said, that through the centre of this host
'T was ours to pass.

Who led us on our way?
Who through that path of horror was our guide ?
Sparing us words to tell our friends at home
A tale of those destroyers, who so oft

With one strong buffet of their icy hands

Have plunged the mightiest ship beneath the deep
Nor left a lip to syllable her fate.

O Thou! who spread us not on ocean's floor
A sleeping-place unconsecrate with prayer,
But brought us to our blessed homes again,
And to the burial-places of our sires,
Praise to Thy holy name!"

Monday, April 19, 1841.

The morning of Sunday, April 18th, was serene, but cold. Walking on the deck before breakfast, I could not but imagine that I detected the latent chill of ice in the atmosphere; but the apprehension was not admitted by those who had more knowledge of those watery regions than myself. Our noble ship, the "Great Western," vigorously pursued her way, and the deep, slightly agitated and strongly coloured, was exceedingly beautiful.

We had Divine worship in the saloon,

and the deadlights, which had been in for nearly a week, were removed. The service was read by captain Hoskins, and the rev. President Wayland gave an impressive discourse on the right education for eternity, from the passage, "Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face."

At seven we went on deck, to see a most glorious sunset. The king of day, robed in surpassing splendour, took his farewell of the last sabbath that we were to spend at sea. While we were gazing with delight, a huge dark mass arose exactly in the brilliant track of the departed orb. It was pronounced by the captain to be an iceberg three-quarters of a mile in length, and its most prominent points one hundred feet high. Of course, its entire altitude was four hundred feet, as only one-third of the ice-mountains appear above the surface. It presented an irregular outline, towering up into sharp and broken crags, and at a distance resembled the black hulks of several enormous men-of-war lashed together. Three others of smaller dimensions soon came on in its train, like a fleet following the admiral. We were then in north latitude 43°, and in longitude 48° 40". We literally shivered with cold; for on the approach of these ambassadors from the frigid zone, the thermometer suddenly sank below the freezing point, leaving the temperature of the water 25°, and of the atmosphere 28°.

On this strange and appalling scene the stars looked out, one after another, with their calm, pure eyes. All at once a glare of splendour burst forth, and a magnificent aurora borealis went stream ing up the concave. The phosphorescence in our watery path was unusually brilliant, while over our heads flashed and dazzled this vast arch of scintillating flame. We seemed to be, at the same time, in a realm of fire and in a realm of frost; our poor fleshly natures surrounded by contradictions, and the very elements themselves bewildered and at conflict. And there they were, dashing and drifting around us, those terrible kings of the Arctic regions, in their mountain majesty; while, like the tribes in the desert, our mysterious path was between the pillar of cloud and the pillar of flame.

At nine, from the sentinels stationed at different points of observation, a cry was made of Ice ahead! ice starboard! ice leeward!" and we found ourselves suddenly imbedded in field-ice. To turn was

impossible; so a path was laboriously cut with the paddles, through which our steamer was propelled, stern-foremost, not without peril, changing her course due south, in the teeth of a driving blast.

This was from

When we were once more in an open sea, the captain advised the passengers to retire. This we did a little before midnight, if not to sleep, at least to seek that rest which might aid in preparing us for future trials. At three we were aroused by harsh grating, and occasional concussions, which caused the strong timbers of the ship to tremble. floating masses of ice, by which, after having skirted an expanse of field-ice fifty miles in extent, we were surrounded. It varied from two to five feet in thickness, namely, from eight inches to a foot and a half above the water, and was interspersed with icebergs, some of them comparatively small, and others of tremendous size and altitude. By the Divine blessing upon nautical skill and presence of mind, we were a second time extricated from this besieging and paralysing mass; but our path still lay through clusters and hosts of icebergs, which covered the whole sea around us. The captain, who had not left his post of responsibility during the night, reported between three and four hundred distinct ones, visible to the naked eye. There they were, of all forms and sizes, and careering in every direction. Their general aspect was vitreous, or of a silvery whiteness, except when a sunbeam pierced the mist; then they loomed up, and radiated with every hue of the rainbow, striking out turrets, and columns, and arches, like solid pearl and diamond, till we were transfixed with wonder at the terribly beautiful architecture of the northern deep.

The engine of the "Great Western " accommodated itself every moment, like a living and intelligent thing, to the commands of the captain. Half a stroke!" and its tumultuous action was controlled; "A quarter of a stroke!" and its breath seemed suspended; "Stand still!" and our huge hulk lay motionless upon the waters, till two or three of the icy squadron drifted by us; "Let her go!" and with the velocity of lightning we darted by another detachment of our deadly foes. It was then that we were made sensible of the advantages of steam, to whose agency, at our embarkation, many of us had committed ourselves with extreme reluctance. Yet a vessel

more under the dominion of the winds, and beleaguered as we were amid walls of ice, in a rough sea, must inevitably have been destroyed.

By nine in the morning of April 19th, it pleased God to set us free from this great danger. Afterwards, when the smallest sails appeared on the distant horizon, our excellent captain caused two guns to be fired to bespeak attention, and then, by flags and signals, warned them to avoid the fearful region from which we had with such difficulty escaped. Two tiny barks came struggling through the billows to seek a more intimate conversation with the mighty steam-ship, who, herself not wholly unscathed from the recent contest, willingly dispensed her dear-bought wisdom. There was a kind of sublimity in this gift of advice and interchange of sympathy between the strong, experienced voyager, and the more frail, white-winged wanderers of the trackless waste of waters. It seemed like some aged Mentor, way-worn in life's weary pilgrimage, counselling him who had newly girded on his harness, "Be not high minded; but fear."

As we drew near the end of our voyage, we felt how community in danger had endeared those to each other, who, during the sixteen days of their companionship upon the ocean, had been united by the courtesies of kind and friendly intercourse. Collected as the passengers were from various climes and nations, and many of them about to separate without hope of again meeting in this life, amid the joy which animated those who were approaching native land and home, the truth of the great moralist's axiom was realized, that "There is always some degree of sadness in doing anything for the last time." Hereafter, with the memory of each other will doubtless blend the terrific sublimity of that Arctic scene which it was our privilege to witness, and the thrill of heartfelt gratitude to our Almighty Preserver!

VARIETIES OF RANK.

It was bright, early in the morning; there was hope that the rain, which had been frequent and heavy, was about to pass off; and that the clear shining of the sun would speedily prepare the earth for many agricultural purposes which had then become urgent.

Caleb Ford was, as usual, up by times;

for he well knew, that if an hour is lost in the morning, it may be chased during the whole day without finding it; and after his morning exercises, which preceded his repast, left home, fully calculating on a fine day-a day in which, according to his invariable habit of carefully arranging his plans beforehand, he expected much would be accomplished.

As, however, he was approaching Merston, dark clouds suddenly gathered and increased; the rain fell in torrents, and looking out for a cottage in which he could seek shelter, the one belonging to Sims, who was recently described, met his view. Hurrying in through the little gate which opened into the garden, where the spring-flowers were drooping from the ungenial weather, the door was quickly opened by Sims, who had been looking out at the window, and who received him with many expressions of pleasure.

Watkins was also there, and Caleb Ford took his seat with them by the fire,

for fires were then common, as they were till very late in the summer of last year, in the midland counties,-and various were the topics that soon arose in conversation. The chief of them was the quiet conclusion of the assemblage on Kennington Common, on the 10th of April, which afforded joy and hope to tens of thousands, not a few of whom recognised the hand of Him who can control the designs of evil men, as he does the rivers of the earth. Well may we say: "When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only?" It is with us to employ the best means we can devise, in reference to all desirable objects; it is with Him alone to render them effective.

Caleb Ford did not fail to remark that his observations of this kind were not very palatable to Watkins; his notions, ill-defined to himself, had involved an idea of change, as the result of recent agitations; and the summary mode in which they had so far been put down, had produced disappointment, which was attended by a soreness he could ill conceal. Nor could he forget that Caleb Ford was too much for him at the last interview—a fact not a little depressing, in the prospect of a renewed discussion. Again and again did he look to the window, hoping that the rain had