Every one on board anxiously watched the soundings of the pilot in silence. Whilst Sir Moses was looking down the narrow channel as the vessel glided along, the Captain accosted him with the words, "There is not more than a foot and a half of water now in the channel," to which Sir Moses calmly, in the words of Isaiah, replied, "It is the Eternal God, who maketh a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, said the Lord, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee." He added, "I admire the mighty works of the Creator, but no fear of danger enters my heart."
His attention was called to the remains of the road cut by Trajan on the Servian side of the river, along the side of the rock, and to a tablet commemorating the conquest of Dacia by the Roman Emperor. It is in the form of a tablet, held by two genii, on each side of which is a dolphin, while in the centre is the Roman eagle. The words
"Imp. Caes. D. Nervae, filius Nerva Trajanus. Germ. Pont.--imus,"
On reaching New Orsova, we saw the ruins of the bridge built by the same Emperor, after his victory over the Dacian King Decebatus. The remains of the arches are still visible at low water, and the towers on each side of the river apparently still in the same position. The bridge, we were informed, consisted of twenty-two stone piles, with wooden arches, the river being shallow, the current gentle, and the whole width not more than 443 feet. Thereupon Sir Moses observed:
"I have seen the spot where the ancient city of Tyre lies under water, the tops of its public buildings one might almost imagine to be still visible. I also visited the land where the gigantic palaces, the figures of the mighty Pharaohs, and the houses of assembly for idolatrous worship are in utter ruins. All that is false," he says. "All institutions intended for keeping the people in darkness, shutting out from them the light of God, encouraging and upholding the practice of injustice, teaching oppression of the poor, innocent, and helpless, have been ordained by Him, who is the Father of us all, to disappear entirely from the surface of the earth. I look upon the Roman remains in this locality as only one of a thousand other striking evidences of the fulfilment of the Word of God vouchsafed unto us by his prophets."