FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153  
154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   >>   >|  
to, Tregarthen cast a long look at the sea and sky. "Well, I should say, considering the state of the tide and the threatening appearance of the sky, we may expect to see them at six o'clock, or thereabouts." "That leaves us nearly a couple of hours to spare; how shall we spend it?" said Oliver. "Go and have a look at this fine old town," suggested Tregarthen. "It is worth going over, I assure you. Besides the town hall, market, museum, etcetera, there are, from many points of the surrounding eminences, most superb views of the town and bay with our noble St. Michael's Mount. The view from some of the heights has been said by some visitors to equal that of the far-famed Bay of Naples itself." "Part of this I have already seen," said Oliver, "the rest I hope to live to see, but in the meantime tin is uppermost in my mind; so if you have no objection I should like to have a look at the tin-smelting works. What say you?" "Agreed, by all means," cried Tregarthen; "poor indeed would be the spirit of the Cornishman who did not feel an interest in tin!" CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. TREATS OF TIN-SMELTING AND OTHER MATTERS. There is something grand in the progress of a mechanical process, from its commencement to its termination. Especially is this the case in the production of metals, nearly every step in the course of which is marked by the hard, unyielding spirit of _vis inertiae_ on the one hand, and the tremendous power of intelligence, machinery, and manual dexterity on the other. Take, for example, the progress of a mass of tin from Botallack. Watch yonder stalwart miner at work, deep in the bowels of the mine. Slowly, with powerful blows, he bores a hole in the hard rock. After one, two, or three hours of incessant toil, it is ready for the powder. It is charged; the match is applied; the man takes shelter behind a projection; the mass is rent from its ancient bed, and the miner goes off to lunch while the smoke is clearing away. He returns to his work at length, coughing, and rubbing his eyes, for smoke still lingers there, unable, it would seem, to find its way out; and no wonder, lost as it is in intricate ramifications at the depth of about one thousand five hundred feet below the green grass! He finds but a small piece of ore--perhaps it is twice the size of his head, it may be much larger, but, in any case, it is an apparently poor return for the labour expended. He adds it, however, to
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153  
154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Tregarthen
 

Oliver

 

progress

 

spirit

 

Slowly

 
powerful
 
applied
 

shelter

 
projection
 

charged


incessant

 

powder

 
tremendous
 

inertiae

 
marked
 

unyielding

 
intelligence
 
machinery
 

yonder

 

stalwart


Botallack

 

manual

 

dexterity

 

bowels

 

ancient

 

thousand

 

hundred

 

labour

 

return

 

expended


apparently

 
larger
 

ramifications

 

intricate

 

clearing

 
returns
 

length

 
coughing
 

rubbing

 
lingers

unable
 

production

 
heights
 
leaves
 

Michael

 

thereabouts

 
Naples
 

visitors

 
assure
 

couple