accordingly, to bring it across by iron pipes laid on the bottom of the river, protected by wooden frames against the risk of accident from the anchors of vessels. The project was rejected as impracticable or inexpedient. " Some " years after," says M. Gautier, when I had charge of the roads on the Rhone, and other works in Languedoc, while at Aries, I heard that a vessel had cast anchor in the Rhone, opposite the city, but when the commander wanted to sail again, he could not raise his anchor. This circumstance attracted much attention and ;

the captain, unwilling to lose his anchor, sent down a man to find what was the matter. The diver reported that the anchor was hooked under something round, but he could not tell what it was. By aid of a capstan the anchor was raised, and brought up a leaden conduit pipe from the bottom of the Rhone, which crossed it from the city of Aries towards Trinquetaillade, at a depth of 42 feet, and where the river is some 550 feet broad. I saw some pieces of this conduit of lead, five or six inches in diameter, about one third of an inch thick in joints of six feet, soldered !

lengthwise, and covered by a strip or sheet of lead of the same thickness, covering the first solder about two inches. The conduit was soldered at the joints, six feet apart, by the same material, which made a swell at that distance. On each joint were these words in relief, C. CAINTIUS POI HINUS. P., apparently the name of the maker, or of the architect who laid down .the pipes in the time of the Romans. My project of laying pipes along the bottom of the Charente, would not have been half so difficult, PS it had no doubt been to lay them across the Rhone, where this was found.