London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
CONCERNING THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.
Until patriotism interfered there seemed a chance of escaping the terrors of the waves by getting from England to France under sea and under ground. Some years ago I was honoured with an invitation to inspect the Channel Tunnel. The prime mover in the scheme was present, and the party he entertained were statesmen, soldiers, and journalists. After we had been carried in a truck some little distance, and had walked through a hole about five feet four in height and width a further distance, we came to the end of the excavation. The boring was being | |
286 | carried on with the assistance of compressed air, and the works were illuminated with what was then a novelty, the electric light. After we had admired all that was to be seen we were entertained at luncheon. Everyone was confident of success, and the idea of a scare was scouted. Two of our party were military men, and I was amused to note the prime mover in the scheme suggesting a plan for the defence of the mouth of the Tunnel. The warriors courteously listened, but did not seem convinced. This visit was paid in the days when the Channel Tunnel was scarcely It had been approved by Beaconsfield and , and the murmurs of the generals were then undeveloped. A story is told of the late Percival Leigh, that when inviting his friends to eat some mushrooms set before them he suggested that although the best medical authorities declared the fungi in question to be highly poisonous, In like manner, although most of the great military experts have declared the Channel Tunnel would weaken our powers of defence, And I never feel more confident on the point than when I am on the seas between and in tempestuous weather. |
