The sailors, who for some time had not tasted _any
thing fresh_, immediately despatched the snake, and, regardless of
consequences, cooked and ate it for dinner--_Weekly Review_.
* * * * *
[Illustration: New Suspension Bridge, Hammersmith.]
NEW SUSPENSION BRIDGE, HAMMERSMITH.
To the many improvements which have already taken place in the
neighbourhood of London, another will shortly be added; a
suspension-bridge, intended to facilitate the communication between
Hammersmith and Kingston, and other parts of Surrey. The clear water-way
is 688 feet 8 inches. The suspension towers are 48 feet above the level
of the roadway, where they are 22 feet thick. The roadway is slightly
curved upwards and is 16 feet above high water, and the extreme length
from the back of the piers on shore is 822 feet 8 inches, supporting 688
feet of roadway. There are eight chains, composed of wrought-iron bars,
each five inches deep and one thick. Four of these have six bars in each
chain; and four have only three, making thirty-six bars, which form a
dip in the centre of about 29 feet. From these, vertical rods are
suspended, which support the roadway, formed of strong-timbers covered
with granite. The width of the carriageway is 20 feet, and footway five
feet. The chains pass over the suspension towers, and are secured to the
piers on each shore. The suspension towers are of stone, and designed as
archways of the Tuscan order.
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