secures and brings to the surface of the ocean the fractured cable,
which is again made to connect the Old and New Worlds--thus verifying
almost the words of Shakespeare, when he speaks of calling "spirits from
the vasty deep." After splicing the cable, the vessel proceeds with the
work of paying it out, as it sails across the Atlantic; and once more
science and art find a successful issue, for Europe and America are
united.

What the combination of science and art has done is, however, not yet
exhausted: witness the splendid specimens of artillery now produced by
Sir Joseph Whitworth and Sir William Armstrong--weapons by which
projectiles are thrown with an almost irresistible force. The beauty of
their construction is a triumph to art, and their mathematical truth a
triumph to science. One thing follows another, and no sooner have men of
originality and observation perfected the means of destruction, when
others press forward and furnish the means of defence. Our armour-clads,
such as the "Warrior" and others which lately visited these waters, have
thus been called into existence, and they are splendid specimens of
what science applied to art can achieve.

The Menai Bridge is another instance of the power of man in applied
science. A railway bridge is required to further communication, but
Government demands that the navigation of the Strait shall not be
impeded. The mind of a great man is called into action, and by applying
scientific principles to engineering art, we have that wonder of the
world, the great tubular bridge over the Menai Straits. This work
required a mind of no ordinary nature, but such a one was found in the
celebrated Robert Stephenson. I am proud to say I was privileged to have
him as a friend, and I greatly lamented his death, not only as a friend,
but as an irreparable loss to the world of science.