Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/165

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its bosom, supported by three strong arches, the centre one sixty-three feet wide and thirty-eight feet high, an altitude that admits a barge to pass under ir with its sails set; another source ol won- der to Mr. Brindley's co-temporary engineers, who thus beheld for the first time the incredible pheno- menon oi bodies of water crossing each other at right angles, and one ship sailing over the masts of another. The scene here is extremely plea ang, the bank of the Irwell consisting of sand rock shaded with trees; and equally extraordinary if it chance that vessels be navigating along' both the streams at the same time, lor then the eye catches at one glance this beautiful picture oi Nature the rocky river, and that mighty triumph ol .Art, an artificial river proudly passing over the head ol a natural one, and ollering the same advantages to man a ; its prostrate rival. We wire much amu.-.id here, also, at seeing the stage-barge pass, crowded with a motley crew ol company, who are conveyed Irom Manchester to Run< orn, where a coach n ivivc-. and carries them to Liverpool. Ol the e conv. yane<. there an lour, establislied about \ j \iar-. ago, all be h jtio ino to the Duke ol IJi id"\\ ale r, uho

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then publicly oik red them lo b< larnicd at :. . guineas per annum. Nobody, however, had pint to speculate; his Grace, therefore, was uikkr tin

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