In the same vicinity, and over the same strait, is the great suspension
bridge, which, when it was finished in 1826, was deservedly esteemed one
of the wonders of the world, and is still entitled to hold that rank. It
is indeed a stupendous structure, of which the full details may be
learned from the official reports; but the following are among the
principal facts. It is one hundred feet above the water, so that the
ships, even those of a large size, are not impeded, and can pass under
it without lowering a sail or a spar. The bridge is built out upon
arches from both sides of the river, to a certain distance, leaving the
space between the points of suspension, five hundred and sixty feet. The
platform is about thirty feet wide. The whole is suspended from four
lines of strong iron cables, by perpendicular iron rods, five feet
apart. The cables pass over rollers, on the tops of pillars, and are
fixed to iron frames under ground, which are kept down by masonry. The
weight of the whole bridge between the points of suspension is four
hundred and eighty-nine tuns. The massy materials of which this bridge
is composed, the admirable manner in which they are locked together, the
great elevation at which it crosses this grand strait, its persistence
without sign of failure during more than a quarter of a century, its
importance as a connecting link between England and Ireland, and the
result of this early effort to conquer formidable physical difficulties,
fill the beholder with admiration and delight, and do lasting honor to
Mr. Telford, the distinguished architect.