The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-10 00:00:00

, uere, as ne had
done elsewhere, and at length at the close of last
year, fire years after the commencement of the work,
the first stone and iron bridge over the St. Lawrence

was completed. It was tested with a strain more

than ten times greater than any which the ordinary
exigencies of traffic can ever bring upon it. The
deflection of the centre tube under this was very
little more than an inch, which recovered itself
the instant the load was removed. In a strategical
point of view it seems rather a mistake to cross the
St. Lawrence at this spot, and thence continue the
railway to Quebec along what may be called the
American side of the St. Lawrence. In case of any
" difficulty" with our western cousins a corporal's
guard would suffice to capture the whole 180 miles
of line which stretch from Montreal to Quebec.
Had it been taken along the northern bank the
broad rushing stream of the St. Lawrence would
have been almost a complete safeguard--I will not
say from injury, but certainly from capture. A
railway bridge over the St. Lawrence was, of course,
necessary for communication with the States, but
taking such an important length ofline as that I have
mentioned along the American side of the stream
seems not only unnecessary, but imprudent in a
military point of view. The Canadians, of course,
think very highly of connected with the Grand
Trunk Railway, and well they may,for howeverlittle
the line has done for its shareholders, it has unques-
tionably done everything for Canada. Before the line
was finished it used to take in winter from a week
to 10 or 14 days to journey from this city to Quebec),
and hundreds are yet living who can remember when
it took from three to four months to send goods in
boats poling up the stream from Quebec to Toronto.
The journey from Quebec to this city is now done in
six hours, and from Quebec to Toronto in 16. People
here are confident that the railway must pay ulti-
mately, and that at ne distant time. The wish is
father to the thought, I should imagine, but it
cannot be denied that each day seems to improve
the prospects of the line.
The mere ceremony of opening a bridge is very
much the same at all places. All the visitors
to this rather meagre ceremonial were con-
veyed in special trains to Point St. Charles, at the
entrance to the bridge on the Montreal side. Here,
over the stone aperture which forms the entrance
to the bridge, was a large muster of all the belles
and notabilities of Canada. There was the usual
platform covered with scarlet cloth, and a little
scaffolding, from which hung a ponderous slab
of granite, the last stone required to complete the
masonry of this marvellous undertaking. The men
at the windlass above—the real layers of the stone,
like humble but necessary sceneshifters, were care-
fully concealed from view. The Prince with all his
suite, and attended by the chief members of the
Canadian Government, came at 2 o'clock in a beau-
tifully constructed open railway car specially built
for the occasion. Of course, he was received with
deafening outbursts of enthusiasm, the fair stan-
dard-bearers who held the little silver flags in
which his coronet was worked waving them with
astonishing energy.
Laying the last stone was soon accomplished.
The Prince patted and touched the bed of mortar, and
the mass of granite was slowly lowered into its place.
It was a solemn affair, and seemed like laying a
tombstone over the grave of £17,000,000. The
Prince then entered his car again, and proceeded
through the bridge, the hot air from the iron tube
giving, on the whole, rather an unpleasant sensa-
tion. The whole bridge bellowed and rumbled
like thunder as the train progressed, and the open-
ing by which it had entered grew smaller and
smaller till it only shone faintly in the distance
like a pale blue star. At last a dim twilight ap•
peared ahead, and the engine gradually stopped.
It was in the centre of the bridge where the
Prince was to drive the last rivets, so there was a
general scramble out, and all the party stood lis-
tening with a feeling almost of awe as the hoarse
sustained rumble of the engine moving away went
echoing up and down the dark tube, which seemed
to sway and vibrate as the noise went rolling on
backwards and forwards, striving for escape from
its hollow iron prison.
His Royal Highness went outside to one of the
openings in the masonry of the centre tower, and
looked down on the St. Lawrence rushing past in
one grand stream far below, sweeping under
the bridge in eddies and whirlpools, or burst-
ing into little spirts of angry foam as they
touched the sharp edges of the granite masonry.
None could look down on this great river, and then
look along the sides of the iron tube which tapered
away at each end in the distance till it seemed a
mere reed if metal, without feeling astounded not
only how such a design was ever carried out, but
how it could ever have been conceived as practi-
cable.

The formality of completing the bridge was now
gone through. Four rivets had been left unfinished,
and these were closed with iron bolts by two work-
men. The last, a silver rivet, was clinched by the
Prince himself. The ceremony was nothing to
describe, though it would have made a fine picture.
The two workmen wielding their tremendous ham-
mers with a din that was awful, the rich uniforms
of the Prince and suite, half hidden in the gloom,
and softened down by the wreaths of thick
wood smoke which curled from the funnel of
the engine in the background the little
glimpse through the opening into the bright sun-
light, the St. Lawrence, far beneath—the flaunt-
ing decorations and shining roofs of Montreal be-
yond the river—all made a striking subject for a
picture, The Prince turned a look of humorous
inquiry on the Duke of Newcastle as he saw the
process of riveting going forward, which said, as
plainly as looks could speak, " I shall never be able
to use those hammers that way." His turn soon
came. The last iron rivets were fixed, and the
last of all, a sifter one, was inserted. The Prince
took the hammer, and, heavy as it was, prepared to
wield it stoutly—of course, with the wrong or big
end foremost, which any one but a professional
smith would think was the right one to use. He
laughed, and rectified the mistake when pointed
out; Mr. Hodges adjusted the silver knob, and
with some stout, sounding blows, the Prince finished
the last rivet in the Victoria-bridge. There was no
cheering over it—the company was too select for
that ; and the wood-smoke from the engine had
long ceased to be a pictorial accessory, and had be-
come a stifling nuisance. So every one stumbled
back in the dark to the car, which went on through
the tunnel to the other side of the river, where a
magnificent view of Montreal could be gained.
Here the party remained for a few minutes, and
Mr. Blackwell, in the name of the Grand Trunk
'Railway Company, presented the Prince with a
beautiful gold medal, executed by Wyon, commemo-
rative of the occasion. The suite were presented
with similar ones, but in silver.
The Royal car then returned through the bridge
to one of the large workshops of the company,
where a splendid lunch had been prepared, and,
which, as the guests were not only hungry but
numerous, was soon disposed of. At its conclusion
the healths of the Queen, Prince Consort, and Prince
of Wales were given and acknowledged with almost
uproarious demonstrations of loyal welcome. His
Royal Highness then quitted the table to receive an
address from the workpeople on the railway, by
whom again a tremendous reception was given. In
fact, cheers seemed to tire the ear, for through
the whole day they never once stopped. The
Prince then passed through the workshops, where
all the machines were going at full speed, with their
lathe-bands decorated with rosettes, and every part
of the machinery covered with little plumes and
bunches of flowers, which kept whirling round like
silent fireworks. Only a short stay was made here,
for the day had been a long one, and the Prince,
though not looking tired, must have felt so. The
party, therefore, returned at once to Mr. Rose's
house, and in the evening Montreal illuminated. It

was one of the best and most general illuminations

with which the Prince has yet been received. Every
one of the streets was a perfect blaze of light, and
fireworks were going off in all directions. The Prince
intended to come in and walk about the town incog.,
and only attended by two or three of his suite. A dark,
quiet spot was arranged for hiscarriage to draw up at
the corner of Craig-street,where Mr. Rose was wait-
ing to escort the party round the main streets of the
city. This Haroun-al-Raschid plan, which, though