CHAPTER XVI.
THE COLUMBIAD.
Had the operation of casting succeeded?
People were reduced to mere conjecture.

However, there was every reason to believe in its success, as the mould had absorbed the entire mass of metal liquefied in the furnaces.

Still it was necessarily a long time impossible to be certain.
In fact, when Major Rodman cast his cannon of 160,000 lbs., it took no less than a fortnight to cool.

How long, therefore, would the monstrous Columbiad, crowned with its clouds of vapour, and guarded by its intense heat, be kept from the eyes of its admirers?
It was difficult to estimate.
The impatience of the members of the Gun Club was put to a rude test during this lapse of time.

But it could not be helped.