Page:Meda - a tale of the future.djvu/27

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A TALE OF THE FUTURE.
23

being able to carry their own weight; the upper member would buckle up, and the whole structure would fall into the river dragging the upper portion of the piers with it. Then the oxidation would continue; and that great structure is probably now a deposit of red oxide in the bottom of the stream, or it has been carried in minute particles to the ocean. This, I came to the conclusion, must have been a high level bridge, as the piers when perfect could not have been less than 100 feet above the water level.

On I went, taking a lively interest in all I saw, and having the same exhilarating feeling encouraging me to proceed. No trace of fatigue, no hunger troubled me, as I continued my tripping walk. I now came to what must have been a great harbour or dock. All the quays were covered by the ruins of buildings, many of which had fallen right across the roadway; but, in some cases, the buildings had fallen as it were into themselves, forming a heap of stone over-grown by weeds and