had proposed to attain--the creation of a road which, in the words of
Bismarck, "glorifies no other nation." As regards the piercing of the
Gothard, the initiative does, in fact, belong by good right to the
powerful "Iron Chancellor," so we have never dreamed of robbing Germany
of the glory (and it is a true glory) of having created the second of
the great transalpine routes, that open to European products a new gate
to the Oriental world. It seems to us, however, that in the noisy
concert of acclamations that echoed during the days of the fêtes over
the inauguration of the line, a less modest place might have been made
for those who, with invincible tenacity and rare talent, directed the
technical part of the work, and especially those 15 kilometers of
colossal boring--the great St. Gothard Tunnel, which ranks in the
history of great public works side by side with the piercing of the
Frejus, and the marvelous digging of Suez and Panama.

We recall just now the names of those who, during nearly ten years, have
contributed with entire disinterestedness to the completion of this
colossal work. Over all stands a figure of very peculiar
originality--that of M. Louis Favre, the general contractor of the great
tunnel, whose name will remain attached to the creation of this work
through the Helvetian Alps, like that of Sommeiller to the great tunnel
of the Frejus, and that of De Lesseps to the artificial straits that
henceforward join the oceans. Having myself had the honor of occupying
the position of general secretary of the enterprise under consideration,
I have been enabled to make a close acquaintance with the man who was so
remarkable in all respects, and who, after passing his entire life in
great public works, died like a soldier on the field of honor--in the
depths of the tunnel.

[Illustration: LOUIS FAVRE.]