rd all we had to say in
favour of the project. But he was quite inflexible in his opposition to
it. No deviation or improvement that we could suggest had any effect in
conciliating him. He was opposed to railways generally, and to this in
particular. 'Your scheme,' said he, 'is preposterous in the extreme. It
is of so extravagant a character as to be positively absurd. Then look
at the recklessness of your proceedings! You are proposing to cut up our
estates in all directions for the purpose of making an unnecessary road.
Do you think, for one moment, of the destruction of property involved by
it? Why, gentlemen, if this sort of thing be permitted to go on you will
in a very few years _destroy the nobility_!'"

OPPOSITION TO MAKING SURVEYS.

A great deal of opposition was encountered in making the surveys for the
London and Birmingham Railway, and although, in every case, as little
damage was done as possible, simply because it was the interest of those
concerned to conciliate all parties along the line, yet, in several
instances, the opposition was of a most violent nature; in one case no
skill or ingenuity could evade the watchfulness and determination of the
lords of the soil, and the survey was at last accomplished at night by
means of dark lanterns.

On another occasion, when Mr. Gooch was taking levels through some of the
large tracts of grazing land, a few miles from London, two brothers,
occupying the land came to him in a great rage, and insisted on his
leaving their property immediately. He contrived to learn from them that
the adjoining field was not theirs and he therefore remonstrated but very
slightly with them, and then walked quietly through the gap in the hedge
into the next field, and planted his level on the highest ground he could
find--his assistant remaining at the last level station, distant about a
hundred and sixty yards, apparently quite unconscious of what had taken
place, although one of the brothers was moving very quickly towards him,
for the purpose of sending him off. Now, if the assistant had moved his
staff before Mr. Gooch had got his sight at it through the telescope of
his level, all his previous work would have been completely lost, and the
survey must have been completed in whatever manner it could have been
done--the great object, however, was to prevent this serious
inconvenience. The moment Mr. Gooch commenced looking through his
telescope at the staff held