My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org
My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org
•68MYLIFEtwo shops, and, like most such villages, it is no largerto-day than it was then.Our work here was mainly copying maps ormaking surveys connected with the estate, and forthispurpose we had the use of a small empty housenearly opposite the inn, where a large drawing-tableand a few chairs and stools were all the furniture werequired. Here we used sometimes to sit of asummer's evening with one or two friends for privacyand quiet conversation.One day, having to drive over to Dunstable onsome business, my brother took me with him.Whenthere, we walked out to a deep cutting through thechalk about a mile to the north-west, where the roadwas being improved by further excavation to makethe ascent easier. This was the great mail-coachroad to Birmingham and Holyhead, and althoughthe railway from London to Birmingham was thenmaking and partly finished, nobody seemed toimagine that in twelve years more a railway wouldbe opened the whole distance, and, so far as the mailsand all through traffic were concerned, all such costlyimprovement on the high-roads would be quiteunnecessary.My brother had some conversation with theengineer who was inspecting the work, and took alump of chalk home with him to ascertain its specificgravity, as to which there was some difference ofopinion. While taking luncheon at the hotel we meta gentleman named Matthews about my brother's age,who turned out to be a surveyor, and who was also interestedin engineering generally ;and after luncheonthey borrowed a small pair of scales and a large jugof water, and by suspending the chalk by a threadbelow the scale-pan, they weighed it in water, having
SURVEYING IN BEDFORDSHIRE 69first weighed it dry in the ordinary way, and theweight in air, divided by the difference between theweights in air and water, gives the specific gravitysufficiently near for ordinary purposes. This littleexperiment interested me greatly, and made me wishto know something about mechanics and physics.Mr. Matthews lived at Leighton Buzzard, where hecarried on the business of watch and clock maker aswell as that of engineer and surveyor. He had undertakenthe survey of the parish of Soulbury, buthaving too much other work to attend to, he waslooking out for some one to take it off his hands.This matter was soon agreed upon, and a few weeksafterwards we left Silsoe to begin the work.The village of Soulbury is a very small one,though the parish is rather large. It is only threemiles from Leighton, and we obtained accommodationin the school-house.The district was rather an interesting one. Theparish was crossed about its centre by the small riverOuzel, a tributary of the Ouse, bordered by flatverdant meadows, beyond which the ground rose onboth sides into low hills, which to the north-eastreached five hundred feet above the sea, and beingof a sand formation, were covered with heaths andwoods of fir trees. Parallel with the river was theGrand Junction Canal, which at that time carried allthe heavy goods from the manufacturing districts ofthe Midlands to London. Following the same generaldirection, but about half a mile west on higherground, the London and Birmingham Railway wasin course of construction, a good deal of the earthworkbeing completed, most of the bridges builtor building, and the whole country enlivened by thework going on.
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SURVEYING IN BEDFORDSHIRE 69first weighed it dry in the ordinary way, <strong>and</strong> theweight in air, divided by the difference between theweights in air <strong>and</strong> water, gives the specific gravitysufficiently near for ordinary purposes. This littleexperiment interested me greatly, <strong>and</strong> made me wishto know something about mechanics <strong>and</strong> physics.Mr. Matthews lived at Leighton Buzzard, where hecarried on the business <strong>of</strong> watch <strong>and</strong> clock maker aswell as that <strong>of</strong> engineer <strong>and</strong> surveyor. He had undertakenthe survey <strong>of</strong> the parish <strong>of</strong> Soulbury, buthaving too much other work to attend to, he waslooking out for some one to take it <strong>of</strong>f his h<strong>and</strong>s.This matter was soon agreed upon, <strong>and</strong> a few weeksafterwards we left Silsoe to begin the work.The village <strong>of</strong> Soulbury is a very small one,though the parish is rather large. It is only threemiles from Leighton, <strong>and</strong> we obtained accommodationin the school-house.The district was rather an interesting one. Theparish was crossed about its centre by the small riverOuzel, a tributary <strong>of</strong> the Ouse, bordered by flatverdant meadows, beyond which the ground rose onboth sides into low hills, which to the north-eastreached five hundred feet above the sea, <strong>and</strong> being<strong>of</strong> a s<strong>and</strong> formation, were covered with heaths <strong>and</strong>woods <strong>of</strong> fir trees. Parallel with the river was theGr<strong>and</strong> Junction Canal, which at that time carried allthe heavy goods from the manufacturing districts <strong>of</strong>the Midl<strong>and</strong>s to London. Following the same generaldirection, but about half a mile west on higherground, the London <strong>and</strong> Birmingham Railway wasin course <strong>of</strong> construction, a good deal <strong>of</strong> the earthworkbeing completed, most <strong>of</strong> the bridges builtor building, <strong>and</strong> the whole country enlivened by thework going on.
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