‘In the midst of difficulties of no ordinary kind, with an ardour rarely equalled, and an application both of body and mind almost beyond the limit of physical endurance, in the full pursuit of a great and cherished idea, Brunel was suddenly struck down, before he had accomplished the task which his daring genius had set before him.
‘Following in the footsteps of his distinguished parent, Sir Isambard Brunel, his early career, even from its commencement, was remarkable for originality in the conception of the works confided to him. As his experience increased, his confidence in his own powers augmented; and the Great Western Railway, with its broad-gauge line, colossal engines, large carriages, and bold designs of every description, was carried onward, and ultimately embraced a wide district of the country.
‘The same feeling induced, in steam navigation, the successive construction of the “Great Western” steamer, the largest vessel of the time, until superseded by the “Great Britain,” which was in its turn eclipsed by the “Great Eastern,” the most gigantic experiment of the age.
‘The Great Ship was Brunel’s peculiar child; he applied himself to it in a manner which could not fail to command respect; and, if he did not live to see its final and successful completion, he saw enough, in his later hours, to sustain him in the belief that his idea would ultimately become a triumphant reality.
‘The shock which the loss of Brunel created was yet felt, when we were startled by an announcement that another of our esteemed members had been summoned from us.[199]
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‘It is not my intention at this time to give even an outline of the works achieved by our two departed friends. Their lives and labours, however, are before us; and it will be our own fault if we fail to draw from them useful lessons for our own guidance. Man is not perfect, and it is not to be expected that he should be always successful; and, as in the midst of success we sometimes learn great truths before unknown to us, so also we often discover in failure the causes which frustrate our best directed efforts. Our two friends may probably form no exception to the general rule; but, judging by the position they had each secured, and by the universal respect and sympathy which the public has manifested for their loss, and remembering the brilliant ingenuity of argument, as well as the more homely appeals to their own long experience, often heard in this hall, we are well assured that they have not laboured in vain.
‘We, at least, who are benefited by their successes, who feel that our Institution has reason to be proud of its association with such names as Brunel and Stephenson, have a duty to perform; and that duty is, to honour their memory and emulate their example.’