The stone archway spanning a culvert under a railway at a
certain point gave way and tumbled in, permitting the tracks to
settle and sending trains away around by another line. Workmen
came to study the cause of the trouble. One thought that the
cement with which the stones had been laid was not properly
mixed. Another was of the opinion that the mortar had been
chilled, as the wall was laid up in cold weather. Still another
examined the keystone and found fault with its shape. “The
form of that stone was enough to bring the archway down!” he
declared. “Just look at it! The man who made it never knew what
a keystone is for!”
So the criticism went on. At last a quiet man who had been
digging away at the foundation of things made the statement:
“It was not the keystone; that is all right. The foundation
gave way, and the wall could not help falling! It was the
foundation!” And that was the verdict which stood. The very
first stones had been laid on soft earth.
(1143)