FAMOUS BRIDGES AND THEIR BUILDERS.
CHAPTER I.
“THE BRIDGE BY THE EARTHEN HOUSE.”
“You will not try again, surely?”
“Ay, I shall indeed!”
“What! after two failures?”
“Yes; I see the mistakes now. This bridge fell because it had too much weight on its haunches.”
“Haunches! you mean the two side-curves of the arch were too heavy.”
“Ay; you’ve heard the proverb no doubt that ‘An arch never sleeps.’ That is, should too great a weight fall on the crown or top part, the arch will fall at the sides outwardly, and the crown will sink; while, curiously enough, if it be built with too little weight on the crown, as this was, the crown will be forced upwards, and the sides will fall inwards.”