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 Second Edition

Principles of Applied
Civil Engineering
Design
Producing Drawings, Specifications, and
Cost Estimates for Heavy Civil Projects

Ying-Kit Choi, Ph.D., P.E.

 Principles of Applied
Civil Engineering Design
 Other Titles of Interest

Construction Contract Claims, Changes, and Dispute Resolution, third edition, edited by
Paul Levin (ASCE Press, 2016). Guides contractors, engineers, owners, and con-
struction managers through the complex process of construction contracting,
focusing on claims and change orders in construction projects.

Construction Site Management and Labor Productivity Improvement: How To Improve

the Bottom Line and Shorten the Project Schedule, by Thomas H. Randolph Jr. and
Ralph D. Ellis Jr. Provides detailed, straightforward management practices to
improve construction site activity and reduce losses in labor productivity.

Geotechnical Baseline Reports for Construction: Suggested Guidelines, edited by

Randal J. Essex (ASCE Technical Report, 2007). Examines the role of the geotechni-
cal baseline report as a means of allocating and managing risks associated with
subsurface construction.

Managing Gigaprojects: Advice from Those Who’ve Been There, Done That, edited by
Patricia Galloway, Kris R. Nielsen, and Jack L. Dignum (ASCE Press, 2013). Assembles
a stellar group of financial, legal, and construction professionals who share lessons
learned and best practices developed from working on the world’s biggest infrastruc-
ture construction projects.

Preparation of Construction Specifications for Civil Projects, by the Committee on

Specifications of the Construction Institute (ASCE Technical Report, 2013). Provides
a ready, convenient resource for the recommended principles and approaches used
for specification production in civil-engineered projects.

Public-Private Partnerships: Case Studies on Infrastructure Development, by Sidney M. Levy

(ASCE Press, 2011). Demystifies public-private partnerships as an innovative solution
to the challenges of designing, financing, building, and operating major infrastructure
projects.
 Principles of Applied
Civil Engineering Design
Producing Drawings, Specifications, and Cost
Estimates for Heavy Civil Projects

Second Edition

Ying-Kit Choi, Ph.D., P.E.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Choi, Ying-Kit.

Title: Principles of applied civil engineering design : producing drawings, specifications, and cost estimates
for heavy civil projects / Ying-Kit Choi, Ph.D., P.E.
Description: Second edition. | Reston, Virginia : American Society of Civil Engineers, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017008517 | ISBN 9780784414736 (hardbound : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780784480557 (PDF) | ISBN 9780784480564 (ePUB)
Subjects: LCSH: Civil engineering. | Construction contracts.
Classification: LCC TA147 .C44 2017 | DDC 624–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017008517

Published by American Society of Civil Engineers

1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, Virginia 20191-4382
www.asce.org/bookstore | ascelibrary.org

Any statements expressed in these materials are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily
represent the views of ASCE, which takes no responsibility for any statement made herein. No reference
made in this publication to any specific method, product, process, or service constitutes or implies an
endorsement, recommendation, or warranty thereof by ASCE. The materials are for general information
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tion or warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness,
suitability, or utility of any information, apparatus, product, or process discussed in this publication, and
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first securing competent advice with respect to its suitability for any general or specific application. Anyone
utilizing such information assumes all liability arising from such use, including but not limited to
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Errata: Errata, if any, can be found at https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784414736.

Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 978-0-7844-1473-6 (print)
ISBN 978-0-7844-8055-7 (PDF)
ISBN 978-0-7844-8056-4 (ePUB)
Manufactured in the United States of America.

24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 1 2 3 4 5
Contents

Preface to the First Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Preface to the Second Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

PART 1—INTRODUCTION

1. Objectives and Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

1.1 Applied Civil Engineering Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
1.2 Purpose and Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1.3 Objectives and Instructional Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1.4 Use of Design Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1.5 Organization of This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

2. Design and Construction Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.1 Types of Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Engineering Design Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3 Construction Contract Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.4 Contractor Selection Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.5 Permits for Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3. Characterization of Project Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

3.1 Importance of Adequate Site Characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2 Geologic Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.3 Subsurface Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.4 Borrow Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.5 Prior Site Use Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.6 Topographic Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.7 Topographic Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.8 Environmental Investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.9 Levels of Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
v
vi CONTENTS

PART 2—CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS

4. Civil Design Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

4.1 Definition of Civil Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.2 Levels of Design Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.3 Drawing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

5. Building a Set of Construction Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

5.1 Drawing Sheet Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.2 Drawing Title Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.3 Sheet Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

6. Layout of a Civil Design Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

6.1 Design Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.2 Stationing and Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.3 Scale Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.4 Scale Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

7. Graphical Representation of Civil Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

7.1 Graphical Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
7.2 Plan View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
7.3 Section View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
7.4 Elevation View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7.5 Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
7.6 Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
7.7 Line Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.8 Effective Use of Line Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
7.9 Lettering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

8. Legend, Abbreviations, and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

8.1 Legend and Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
8.2 Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
8.3 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

9. Drawing Production Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

9.1 Drawing Production Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
9.2 Establishing Catch Points and Catch Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
9.3 Effective Use of Hatching and Shading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
9.4 Use of Callouts and Dimensioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
9.5 Use of Scaled and Unscaled Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
9.6 Detailing in Same View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
9.7 Distinguishing New and Existing Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
CONTENTS vii

9.8 Representing Symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

9.9 Use of Three-Dimensional Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
9.10 Checking Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

10. Designing with the Metric System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

10.1 Systems of Design Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
10.2 Metric System Design Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
10.3 Equipment and Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

11. Computer-Aided Drafting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

11.1 Current Trend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
11.2 Computer-Aided Drafting Tools and Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
11.3 Roles and Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
11.4 Handling of Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

12. Certifying Construction Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

12.1 Common Practice of Drawing Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
12.2 Who Should Certify Drawings? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
12.3 Electronic Stamp and Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

13. Design Changes and Record Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

13.1 Design Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
13.2 Record Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

PART 3—TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

14. Specifications for Heavy Civil Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

14.1 Role of Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
14.2 Users of Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
14.3 Coordination with General and Supplemental Conditions . . . . . 155
14.4 Coordination with Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

15. Technical and Design Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

15.1 The Specification Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
15.2 Problem Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
15.3 Philosophical Design Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
15.4 Technical Correctness and Quality Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
15.5 Contractor’s Means and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
15.6 Specifying Materials and Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
15.7 Contractor’s and Manufacturer’s Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
15.8 Specifying Tolerances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
15.9 Engineer’s Discretion and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
15.10 Handling Unknowns and Changed Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
viii CONTENTS

15.11 Owner-Furnished Equipment and Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

15.12 Construction Site Safety Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

16. Good Specification-Writing Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

16.1 Literary Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
16.2 Recommended Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

17. Types of Construction Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

17.1 General Considerations and Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
17.2 Descriptive Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
17.3 Performance Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
17.4 Standard Reference Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
17.5 Proprietary Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
17.6 Agency Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
17.7 Considerations for Federal Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

18. Construction Specifications Institute Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

18.1 Historical Perspective and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
18.2 MasterFormat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
18.3 SectionFormat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
18.4 PageFormat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

19. Measurement and Payment Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

19.1 Importance of Payment Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
19.2 Bid Schedule and Bid Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
19.3 Methods of Payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
19.4 Definition of Measurement Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
19.5 Payment of Lump Sum Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
19.6 Writing Measurement and Payment Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

20. Presenting Reference Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

20.1 Technical Information from Design Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . 249
20.2 Reference Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
20.3 Presenting Reference Data in CSI Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

PART 4—COST ESTIMATING

21. Estimating and Funding Engineering Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

21.1 Cost Estimating Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
CONTENTS ix

21.2 Levels of Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

21.3 Roles and Responsibilities in Estimating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

22. Estimating Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

22.1 Units in Quantity Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
22.2 Quantity Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
22.3 Methods of Computation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
22.4 Earthwork Handling and Payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
22.5 Allowance for Quantity Difference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
22.6 Quantity Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

23. Estimating Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

23.1 Estimating Prices by an Engineer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
23.2 Cost Components in Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
23.3 Engineer’s Pricing Estimate Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
23.4 Means Cost Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
23.5 Alternative Price Estimating Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
23.6 Other Pricing Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
23.7 Checking Pricing Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

24. Allowances and Contingencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

24.1 Cost Allowances for Uncertainties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
24.2 Design Contingency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
24.3 Construction Contingency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
24.4 Escalation Cost Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

25. Evaluation of Bids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

25.1 Bidding before Design Completion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
25.2 Bid Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
25.3 Unbalanced Bidding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
25.4 Bid Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Solutions to Exercise Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Preface to the First Edition

In 1984, I was hired by a nationally recognized civil and geotechnical consulting firm
in Massachusetts. Three engineering degrees, all in civil engineering, and two years
of teaching civil engineering at one of the best civil engineering universities in this
country convinced me that I was ready for any assignment. My first task was to
perform an engineer’s cost estimate for an excavation to construct a new subway
station in Boston. That provided the first indication that I was ill-prepared for the
commercial consulting world. To complete this assignment, I had to estimate unit
prices for dewatering, braced excavation, cofferdam protection, and miscellaneous
earthwork items, and I had to estimate quantities based on the plan layout of the
design. I had never heard of RS Means, whose construction cost data would be the
basis for the unit price estimate. I was not familiar with the so-called bid schedule,
which is the basis on which a contractor submits a bid and is paid for his or her work.
Needless to say, that was quite an eye-opening experience for me, and after asking
many questions and making many mistakes, I completed the assignment in excess of
the allowed budget and beyond the assigned time.
After many small assignments in traditional foundation investigation projects in
that first year, I found myself as a project engineer for a fast-track dam rehabilitation
project located in Virginia. The position required me to prepare construction plans
and specifications in fewer than three months. Before that assignment, I had never
prepared construction drawings, nor had I ever written any technical specifications.
There was a lot of quick learning on my own during this mad-paced assignment.
I quickly discovered that the only resources available to me were the more experi-
enced designers in the company and whatever examples of similar projects I could
find in other project files. Ironically, even though life during this design assignment
could be described as extremely unpleasant, I soon discovered near its end that
I actually enjoyed sitting behind a drafting table creating construction drawings.
The feedback that I received from management at the end of that assignment was
that I should be more efficient in doing design work.
That was the beginning of a long tenure of a learning experience in civil
engineering designs for me. During that tenure, my emphasis was in civil and
geotechnical design and construction engineering. As I developed into a senior
designer, I discovered that mentoring junior staff designers and working with

xi
xii PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

computer-aided drafting (CAD) drafters would have been more efficient if there had
been a design reference that I could have used as a teaching tool. The dream of
writing a book on applied civil engineering design developed into reality when
I decided to be self-employed, without the day-to-day responsibilities of project
management, marketing, and proposal writing typical of most senior professionals at
such a point in their careers. When the book proposal and manuscript were
submitted to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for review, the
feedback from all of the reviewers was overwhelmingly favorable and supportive,
demonstrating the need for such a reference in the civil engineering design
profession.
The primary target audience for this book is young civil engineers and civil
engineering students who want to learn how to prepare final design documents. My
ultimate hope is that applied civil engineering design can be taught in a civil
engineering curriculum so that young professionals will not have to learn on the job.
This book is a teaching tool, and I firmly believe that abstract concepts and principles
should be taught with examples and illustrations, which are plentiful in this book.
Most of the examples and illustrations used in this book draw heavily from my own
design experience and projects. While most of the design principles represent
standard and conventional practice, there are also many design philosophy and
design approaches that are my opinion. Although the philosophy and approaches
are merely one man’s opinion, they have worked well for me in my design career.
Besides young engineers, this book will benefit those involved with the design
process—namely, the more senior design reviewers, drafters, cost estimators, and
specification writers. Civil engineering design requires teamwork, and each team
member has a unique role and set of responsibilities. I attempt to define the roles
and responsibilities of separate design team members so that each will perform
within his or her assignment. Throughout my design career, I was appalled that some
design projects were not always staffed appropriately, and the results were usually
cost overruns, delays, construction problems, and claims. I believe that some of these
problems are caused by management’s lack of understanding of the design process.
With a better understanding of minimum qualifications and clear definitions of roles
and responsibilities, I wish to educate the managers and decision makers as well.
This book will be valuable to contractors, particularly for their young project
managers and project site engineers, many of whom are new graduates and are
inexperienced in reading and interpreting construction drawings and technical
specifications. Like young civil designers, these contractor personnel will have to
learn on the job, with a steep learning curve. Although experience learned on the
job is an essential part of one’s development into a good construction manager, this
book provides the developing site engineer a valuable insight into the basic
principles from a designer’s point of view. It also provides a background for them
to effectively communicate with the designer during construction, prepare record
drawings, prepare change orders and submittals, and estimate construction costs and
quantities.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION xiii

This book may also be helpful to owners of civil engineering projects. Whereas it
is the responsibility of the design engineer to provide all necessary technical services
from the inception of a project to its completion, the owner still plays a significant
role. His or her responsibilities include funding and financing design and construc-
tion; applying for necessary permits and interacting with regulatory agencies;
managing the performance of the engineer; establishing project design criteria
and requirements; participating in the development of the construction bid sched-
ule for measurement and payment; and managing the financial aspect and perfor-
mance of the contractor during construction, including progress payments, change
orders, and claims.
The vital interaction of a project owner, engineer, and contractor makes it
necessary for an owner to understand the key decisions and recommendations
provided by his or her engineer and the construction issues affecting the cost of the
project. Of particular interest to the owners are the following topics: adequate
funding of characterization of a project site and the construction cost implications of
an inadequately characterized site; effective scheduling of the engineering design
and preparation of the plans and specifications to allow the engineer adequate time
to prepare a complete set of documents for bidding; cost implications of fair and risk-
sharing approaches in contract specifications; and the strategy of bid schedule item
preparation to minimize potential claims during construction.
This book is organized into four parts. Part 1 discusses the need for and scope of
the book, the data that are needed for design of a civil engineering project, and how
the construction drawings, specifications, and cost estimate fit into the overall
scheme of a set of bid documents. Part 2 deals with the details and mechanics to
prepare a set of construction drawings for a civil design project. Drawing production
techniques are introduced and illustrated with examples. The use of computers and
CAD is discussed. Part 3 deals with the preparation of technical specifications, with
emphasis on using the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) format. Bid
schedule and measurement and payment provisions are particularly emphasized.
Part 4 deals with preparation of an engineer’s cost estimate, including estimating
quantities and developing unit and lump sum prices. The use of various allowances
and contingencies is also discussed for different levels of the design. In Parts 2, 3, and
4, the discussions of the interrelations among drawings, specifications, and cost
estimates illustrate that these three documents and processes must be part of a
coherent and coordinated set of documents intended to effect the successful
construction of a civil engineering project.
Preface to the Second Edition

The design principles and methodology to produce civil design documents have been
used for many decades by the civil engineering profession and have not changed since
the first edition of this book was published in 2004. For example, the use of two-
dimensional principal views, such as plans, sections, and details, in construction
drawings remains the graphical medium through which the engineer communicates
with the contractor, even though the methods and tools to produce the drawings have
rapidly changed in the past 15 to 20 years. Written technical specifications for material
and equipment requirements, installation procedures, and testing requirements still
work closely hand in hand with the drawings, even though the presentation formats
and technical resources have undergone many changes and updates. Nevertheless, a
second edition of this book is needed for the following reasons:

• Technology, such as high-speed computers, data storage and transmittal on the

Internet, new software, global positioning system (GPS), and geographic infor-
mation system (GIS), has improved the data acquisition and the tools for civil
design, so there is a need to update the methods and tools that are used to
produce civil design documents.
• The first edition has no exercise problems, which are traditionally used in many
college texts of other subjects. Because one of the main target readers is civil
engineering students, the addition of some exercise problems in certain
chapters will be useful as a teaching tool.
• The first edition of this book contains numerous references to documents
published by various organizations such as the Engineers Joint Contract Docu-
ments Committee (EJCDC), the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), and
RS Means cost data. Some of these documents are now outdated.
• More examples and illustrations are needed to explain certain key design issues, such
as constructability, loss prevention, design quality control, and changed conditions.
• The author has been teaching the subject matter for continuing education in a
civil design training course. Based on the feedback to the author, some topics
(e.g., permits, borrow investigation, design submittals, contractor selection
process, bidding strategy, alternative pricing methods, and factors affecting
pricing estimate) require more in-depth treatment.

xv
xvi PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

In this new edition, the same four parts are used for Introduction, Construction
Drawings, Technical Specifications, and Cost Estimating, and the book is based on
the same 25 chapters. Chapter 2 undergoes the most changes and reorganization to
include engineering design documents, the design submittal process, and various
procurement methods to select a construction contractor besides competitive
bidding. In the first edition, an appendix was used to illustrate how to present
reference data in the technical specifications based on the 1995 CSI MasterFormat.
That appendix is no longer necessary because CSI assigned specific sections in
Division 00 to present available information under both 2004 and 2014 MasterFormat.
The List of Resources provided at the back of the first edition is not included in the
new edition because the Internet now provides the readers a much more rapid and
updated source of information for professional organizations, government agencies,
product manufacturers, and other references cited in the book.
The most notable change is the addition of exercise problems to Chapters 3, 7, 8, 9,
15, 16, 18, 19, and 22. The exercise problems not only provide hands-on experience to
practice the design principles being discussed in the text, but they also allow the
opportunity for further teaching. For example, among the exercise problems on
establishing catch points and catch lines for excavations and earthfill in Chapter 9 are
problems involving sloping excavations and sloping fills; the solutions to those problems
include step-by-step illustrations of how to establish the catch points and catch lines of
these more complicated geometries. Chapter 3 contains numerous exercise problems
on how knowledge in engineering geology is used to characterize project sites, on
construction methods, and on borrow investigation; the solutions to these problems all
contain new information that is not in the main text. The author encourages the readers
to review the solutions to all of the exercise problems for more learning experience,
even for those who are not actually attempting to solve those problems.
When the first edition was written, the applicable CSI format was the 1995
MasterFormat, which was the basis for Chapters 18 and 20, as well as for illustrating the
construction pricing method using the RS Means Cost Data. The 1995 MasterFormat
has since been replaced by 2004 MasterFormat and 2014 MasterFormat. Under the
current format, the 16 divisions are expanded to 48 divisions to allow the building
industry to adopt new products and new construction methods and processes.
For heavy civil construction, the most significant effect of the format change is the
shifting of much of the work in the old Division 2 (Site Construction) to Division 31
(Earthwork Methods), Division 32 (Bases, Ballasts, and Paving), and Division 33
(Utilities). Even though much of the design and construction profession has
adopted the new format, some owners and engineers still maintain and use the
old format. The new edition uses the new format as the basis for assigning the
divisions and sections in preparing technical specifications and pricing estimate, but
at the same time the author does not discourage the discontinuation of the usage of
the old format.
Acknowledgments

The author is deeply grateful to the following friends and professional colleagues who
contributed to the review of this book. All of these individuals were practicing
professionals with busy schedules, and yet they graciously provided the critical review
on the manuscript prior to submission to ASCE. Alton P. Davis, Jr., whom the author
considers his mentor, reviewed the entire draft manuscript and provided many
valuable comments and suggestions. Gregg Batchelder-Adams, a former colleague
and an excellent civil and geotechnical designer, reviewed Parts 1 and 2 of the draft
manuscript. Ken White, a construction manager and former contractor, reviewed Part
3 of the draft manuscript. Roy Watts, a former contractor and a professional cost
estimator, reviewed Part 4 of the draft manuscript. Michael Boulter, one of the most
talented CAD drafters the author has known, expertly prepared all of the figures in the
main text. Mr. Boulter passed away in 2013. All of the new figures added to the second
edition were prepared by Warren Hofer, who is an excellent CAD designer and a
former colleague. The assistance of these individuals is graciously acknowledged.
The preparation and production of the manuscript would not have been
possible without the emotional support of the author’s wife, LeEtta. Her constant
encouragement, love, and understanding are affectionately acknowledged.

xvii
PART 1

Introduction
CHAPTER 1

Objectives and Approach

1.1 Applied Civil Engineering Design

Applied civil engineering design is a multidisciplinary process involving detailed analysis,

judgment, and experience aimed at producing construction drawings, technical
specifications, cost estimates, and bid schedules required to allow contractors to bid
and construct heavy civil projects. Civil engineering encompasses such disciplines as
structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, water resources engineering, envi-
ronmental engineering, transportation engineering, and many related subspecialties.
The emphasis of this book is on heavy civil construction projects, also known as
infrastructure. It is interesting that there is no precise definition of heavy civil construction.
Ringwald (1993) listed several characteristics of heavy construction projects, as follows:

• Equipment cost, expressed as a percentage of total project cost, is about 10 times

higher in heavy construction than in building construction.
• Heavy construction projects tend to spread out horizontally, as compared with
the vertical nature of a building.
• Heavy construction is usually performed for a public owner, whereas building
work is usually performed for private as well as other owners.
• Heavy construction documents are prepared by engineers, whereas building
documents are prepared by architects.
• Heavy construction is much more weather-sensitive and allows far fewer working
days per construction season than building construction.

These characteristics provide an applicable description of the types of construction

projects intended for this book. Examples of heavy civil construction projects, many
of which are public works, include roads and highways, dams, levees, canals,
foundation excavations for buildings, tunnels, bridges, airports, pipelines, drainage
and flood control facilities, and urban development. A civil engineering designer is a
specialized and experienced professional engineer who is licensed and capable of
producing construction documents for these projects.

3
4 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

1.2 Purpose and Need

University civil engineering curricula, even at the graduate level, do not currently
provide the necessary training or skills for a civil engineer to practice design
immediately upon graduation from a bachelor’s or master’s degree program.
Frequently, the design skills of a civil designer are gained through many years of
design practice and mentoring under a senior professional, combined with experi-
ences gained through field construction observations. Certainly, the basic technical
background and courses in engineering graphics, computer-aided drafting (CAD),
surveying, engineering contracts, and mathematics that one learns in a typical
engineering curriculum are important in building these design skills. However,
contrary to other design disciplines, such as mechanical, electrical, or architectural
design, the production of civil engineering design documents is not taught in
academia, nor are there readily available guidelines for young practicing civil
engineers to gain these vital skills. Most universities offer no practical or applied
civil engineering design courses, and no other references on this critical subject are
currently available.
Professional organizations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers,
the American Council of Engineering Companies, the Association of State Dam
Safety Officials, and the CSI offer many continuing education courses to practicing
civil engineers on a variety of technical and nontechnical subjects that are not taught
at colleges and universities. Some of these continuing education courses are related
to various subject matters of civil design, such as CSI formatting, design review of
construction drawings and specifications, construction safety, and environmental
permits, but there is not a comprehensive training course in continuing education
on civil design. Businesses that produce CAD software and construction cost
databases offer training seminars, but the primary intention of those seminars is
to promote those products, rather than teaching the general principles of civil
design.
It is important to point out that this book should be considered a pioneering
publication on a subject that has been practiced by the profession for many years.
There are numerous books that touch on portions of the subject matter, but none tie
all the parts together. For example, there are many books written on engineering
graphics and drafting, but the emphasis of those books is on mechanical or
architectural drawing, not civil engineering layout drawing. There are many books
written on engineering contracts and specifications, but typically, the emphasis is on
contracts and construction administration-related matters, not technical specifica-
tions. There are many books written on engineering surveys, but not on the
application of survey techniques to civil design and project layout control. Finally,
there are many books written on estimating quantities or pricing construction work,
but most of these books are for buildings instead of heavy civil construction, and they
do not include a compilation of the entire cost-estimating process, that is,
OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH 5

establishing a bid schedule, estimating unit price and lump sum prices, quantity
takeoffs, and writing measurement and payment clauses in the specifications.

1.3 Objectives and Instructional Approach

There are three main objectives in this book:

1. Provide beginning and practicing civil engineering design professionals with a

technical reference to prepare construction drawings, technical specifications,
bid schedules, and engineer’s construction cost estimates with consistent meth-
odology, style, and format.
2. Provide recommended guidelines and design approaches and design philosophy
to prepare quality construction documents, with emphasis on loss prevention;
constructability; risk sharing; fairness; and avoidance of claims, disputes, and
litigation during construction.
3. Provide a starting point for a civil engineering curriculum on which an engineer-
ing course on applied civil engineering design can be based.

This book serves the dual roles of a technical reference and of a textbook on a design
discipline that has been practiced for a long time yet not traditionally taught in a civil
engineering curriculum. As a technical reference, this book contains the informa-
tion and industry guidelines needed for practicing civil design engineers to produce
construction documents for bidding and construction. At the same time, this book
relies on the traditional academic knowledge of mathematics, geology, geotechnical
engineering, engineering graphics, surveying, engineering contracts, and structural
engineering to provide the technical basis for the investigations and designs. The
instructional methods to teach the general design principles and methods are based
on the following approach:

• The application of traditional engineering graphics and CAD techniques to civil

design layouts;
• The consolidation of three main components of final design—construction
drawings, technical specifications, and cost estimating—under one cover and
into a coordinated and interrelated set of documents that can serve as a starting
reference for young professionals;
• The frequent use of common heavy earthwork and infrastructure projects, such
as dams, drainage and flood control projects, and highway projects, as examples
and illustrations;
• The discussion of technical specification writing using the standard CSI
format and guidelines, which are the industry standard for preparing these
documents;
6 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

• The inclusion of enough teaching materials, including exercise problems, that

can be used to form the basis for a one-semester course for senior civil
engineering students or a graduate course in civil engineering applied design
practices, or for a continuing education training course in civil design for
practicing civil engineers.

Because this book is also intended to be a teaching tool, numerous examples and
figures are used to illustrate key points and guiding principles. General rules and
guidelines are explained using specific examples. Essentially all of the specific
examples used are all actual cases and from actual projects, thus allowing the
readers to use real-life situations to learn general principles. Exercise problems are
included in certain chapters to provide hands-on opportunities to practice key
concepts and design methods. General design philosophy and design approaches
are introduced as guiding principles to produce a set of quality construction
documents that are coherent, well-coordinated, easily understood by the contractor,
and contractually fair to all three concerned parties (the owner, the engineer, and
the contractor) for heavy civil construction projects.

1.4 Use of Design Guidelines

This book introduces the conventional methods, styles, and formats for producing
construction drawings and technical specifications. None of them are new, and many
of them are not currently standardized. Many design firms and public agencies have
their own drafting standards and specification formats and styles that they have
developed through many years of use and refinement. It is not expected that these
entities will replace their standards or formats with the guidelines and recommenda-
tions given in this book. That is not the intention of this book. Nor is it the intention
of this book to standardize drafting of civil drawings (e.g., line weights, lettering style
and heights, hatchings, and symbols). Rather, design guidelines and recommenda-
tions on the preparation of drawings and specifications are introduced in this book
for the following reasons:

• To show students and young engineers some of the available tools and methods
used to produce these documents. Young designers can use them as a starting
point in their work, or they can use them to understand specific standards that
they need to follow in their own firms or agencies.
• To show readers who are not engaged in design (e.g., contractors, cost
estimators, and owners) how to understand and interpret construction
documents.
• To show CAD drafters of other disciplines (e.g., architectural, mechanical, and
structural engineering) the basic information and styles typically needed for
developing civil drawings.
OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH 7

• To use them as a starting point for dialogue, future improvements, and possibly
some form of standardization. The CSI already has taken an important step in
standardizing the preparation of technical specifications and architectural
drawings; perhaps similar effort should be extended in graphical civil engineer-
ing design.

For the current practitioners of civil design, particularly those who are directly
involved with production of the drawings and specifications, they are expected to use
their own judgment and experience to decide what is and is not acceptable. To a
student who is learning how to draw a plan or cross section, whether by hand or on
the computer, it is important that he or she start out with some basic techniques and
fundamental skills that can be used as stepping stones for his or her future
professional development.

1.5 Organization of This Book

This book is organized into four parts and 25 chapters. The purpose of Part 1
(Introduction) is to introduce design and construction documents, and how the
products of the civil design process—namely, site characterization data, construction
drawings, technical specifications, and the engineer’s cost estimate—are used for
design and construction of heavy civil projects. The principles, processes, and
techniques of producing construction drawings and technical specifications are the
subject matters of Part 2 (Construction Drawings) and Part 3 (Technical Specifica-
tions), respectively. There are a total of 17 chapters in Parts 2 and 3, and these
chapters form the core of this book. Part 4 (Cost Estimating) deals with the cost
forecast, funding, and payment aspects, and how the financing and cost of construc-
tion are closely related to the quality and care in site characterization efforts and
production of the construction documents.
The topics and chapters in all four parts are carefully chosen to cover as much of
the design process and spectrum as possible, assuming that the readers have little to
no background in design and construction. In Chapter 2, three types of design and
construction documents are discussed: engineering design documents, bid docu-
ments, and construction documents. It is important for a designer to distinguish the
difference between designs that will not be used for construction from designs that
will ultimately become part of the construction documents. Site characterization in
Chapter 3 is unique for heavy civil construction because the information obtained
from relevant site investigations has direct bearings on the quality of the construction
drawings and specifications. Throughout this book, it is emphasized that adequate
site characterization is absolutely essential for a successful design and to avoid claims,
disputes, and litigation during construction.
Many of the 10 chapters in Part 2 cover the best practice of producing quality
construction drawings, from basic and minimum information that should be in the
8 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

drawings to graphical techniques to produce two-dimensional principal views for a

designer to communicate graphically with the contractor. Specific attention should
be paid to the roles and responsibilities for various design team members (that is,
designer, checker, drafter, and technical reviewer) during the production and
quality control of construction drawings. Even though most civil design in the
United States continues to be prepared in U.S. customary units, design in the
metric system is introduced in Chapter 10 for those who may have the opportunity to
practice metric design within or outside the United States. The production of
construction drawings is now universally done in CAD, which is the subject matter
of Chapter 11. CAD software in this book is portrayed as a modern-day tool only, and
it should not replace the traditional principles of sound engineering design, good
judgment, and experience. Chapter 12 is a discussion on the practice of certifying
construction drawings by professional engineers, which is done at the end of final
design and also at the end of construction. Many of the target readers of this book
are young engineers who start out as staff engineers in the organization and will not
be senior enough to stamp drawings, but eventually they will advance in their careers
and become senior designers.
Similar to Part 2, many of the seven chapters in Part 3 cover the best practice of
producing quality technical specifications, from avoiding many of the common
problem areas to good narrative and writing skills for a designer to communicate
with the contractor. Chapter 18 introduces the CSI format, which is commonly (but
not universally) used for technical specifications in the United States and Canada.
Chapter 19 covers the process of preparation of the bid schedule and the related
measurement and payment clauses, which are incorporated into the specifications
package for bidding and construction payment purposes. The method of presenting
reference data in the specification package, such as field investigation data for site
characterization, is discussed in Chapter 20.
In Part 4, the methods and practice of estimating quantities and prices are
presented in Chapters 22 and 23, respectively. Cost allowances and cost contingen-
cies during design and during construction of heavy civil projects are discussed in
Chapter 24. The final process in design, discussed in the final chapter of this book,
can be taken as the bidding and award of the construction contract to the successful
bidder. The award of the construction contract is the end of the design phase and
the beginning of the construction phase.
CHAPTER 2

Design and Construction Documents

2.1 Types of Documents

One of the key objectives of this book is the production of engineering design
documents that will be first used for bidding to solicit a contractor for construction,
and then subsequently used as technical requirements to construct the project. The
process considered in this chapter and throughout this book is for the conventional
design-bid-build construction procurement arrangement that has been used
successfully for many years for heavy civil projects. For a design-bid-build project,
the engineering design documents are prepared by the engineer under contract
with the owner. A contractor is selected through a bidding process, and the
contractor then enters into a construction contract directly with the owner.
Recently, the design-build procurement arrangement has been used for construc-
tion, including some heavy civil projects such as highways. For a design-build
project, the contractor is usually under contract with the owner both to produce
the design documents and to perform the construction, and the engineer is usually
under subcontract with the contractor to produce the design. There are some
advantages to the design-build approach, such as cost savings to the owner and
savings in construction duration. Although some of the bid documents and bid
processes in the design-bid-build arrangement are still applicable for the design-
build method, no further reference will be made on the subject of design-build
in this book.
This chapter presents an overview of the three main types of design and
construction documents for heavy civil construction projects:

• Engineering design documents—These documents include those produced

during planning and conceptual studies, final design documents such as
construction drawings and technical specifications, and various reports.
• Bid documents—These documents include an invitation to bid, contractual and
administrative documents that are nontechnical, draft or final design drawings
and technical specifications, reference data from site investigations, and the bid
schedule.

9
10 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

• Construction documents—These documents are used for construction of the

project after the bidding phase is completed and after a construction contract
has been awarded, and include the general and supplemental conditions,
final construction drawings and technical specifications, and the payment
schedule.

Note that the drawings and specifications are common to all phases of the
project, namely, the design phase, the bidding (or solicitation) phase, and the
construction phase. This chapter presents details of each type of document in
each of the three phases, but with an emphasis on the engineering products
(that is, the drawings and specifications) and how they fit in and evolve as the
project progresses from the beginning to the end. The intention of this chapter is
to provide a big picture overview of the roles of the engineering products before
the principles and techniques to produce these products are introduced in
Parts 2 and 3.

2.2 Engineering Design Documents

The engineering design process usually involves various levels, with each subsequent
level more involved and detailed than the previous one, culminating in the so-called
final design. For heavy civil projects, there may be concurrent site investigations to
obtain relevant data for design at each level of design. Details of various design levels
are discussed in Section 4.2, and details of various levels of site investigation are
discussed in Section 3.9. Broadly speaking, engineering design documents can be
divided into two categories:
Documents not for construction—All designs before final design (e.g., during
planning level or conceptual level design) are considered “studies,” and the
products of these studies include design drawings, design reports, data reports,
and engineer’s cost estimates. These design documents are intended to evaluate
technical feasibility and cost feasibility of various alternatives and options to meet
project goals and objectives, and to provide a basis for funding the project. Note
that there are no technical specification documents necessary for design studies; all
technical requirements are included in the design drawings or described in the
design reports.
As discussed in more detail in Section 4.2, the design drawings in planning-level
or conceptual-level designs are not prepared with the same details as final design
drawings because construction of these project features is not necessary. In fact, the
designer should refrain from putting excessive details (e.g., rebar sizes, fastener sizes,
or detailed survey controls) on these drawings. Design drawings in these early design
studies should contain only enough details to illustrate the concept and construct-
ability, and to give a reliable construction cost estimate.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS 11

Documents for construction—These documents are produced during final design

and include construction drawings and technical specifications, design reports, bid
schedule, and engineer’s cost estimates. Some of these documents are intended to
be used by the contractor, construction manager, and inspector for bidding and
construction, but some documents are prepared only for the owner of the project.
Typically, the preparation of final design engineering documents is done in several
progress submittals to the owner or project reviewers and regulators. These mile-
stone design completion stages can be expressed in terms of percent completion. There
are no fixed rules about what percent completions are appropriate, and sometimes
the number of intermediate design submittals depends on the project schedule and
the review requirements. For example, there may not be adequate time for progress
submittals for a fast-track project or for emergency repairs. In any case, under
normal circumstances, the following are some guidelines on milestone design
submittals:

• Early submittal: 30–35% completion,

• Intermediate submittal: 50–65% completion,
• Substantially complete draft submittal: 90–95% completion, and
• Final submittal: 100% completion.

The submittal contents (so-called “deliverables” in the consulting industry) are

different for different milestone design submittals. Table 2-1 contains guidelines of
final design submittals for construction drawings, technical specifications, cost
estimates, engineering calculations, and design reports. These guidelines provide
the designer with priorities and dedication of design resources to produce various
design documents. In many cases, the actual deliverables in a design project are
specified in the design contract between the owner and the engineer.
It should be noted that the design drawings and technical specifications at 100%
design completion are not necessarily the documents used in construction. As
discussed in Section 13.1, drawings and specifications may change during the
bidding phase, and the updated documents with those changes (so-called “con-
formed documents”) are actually used in construction.
Whereas the drawing and specifications are used by the contractor and the
construction inspection and management team, the design report is prepared by the
engineer for the owner. The design report should include the project goals and
objectives, design criteria, design basis and requirements (technical and nontechni-
cal), descriptions of the project design features, engineering assumptions and
calculations, designer’s operating criteria of the new project features, key construc-
tion considerations and construction schedule, and documentation of the construc-
tion cost estimate. Even though the construction cost estimate is usually part of the
design report, the cost estimate summary and backup calculations are usually
confidential, and therefore this information is removed from the report as a
 12
Table 2-1. Final Design Submittal Requirements

Percent Construction Technical Engineering

Completion Drawings Specifications Cost Estimate Calculations Design Report
30–35% Plan of existing Partially completed Preliminary bid schedule Key calculations to Report outline
conditions Division 1 sections, Construction cost support Technical memorandums
Construction survey and Part 1–Part 3 estimate with proper feasibility of (TMs) of data
project features Partially completed design and critical design collection, including
controls Part 1 only of other construction features geotechnical
Plan and typical sections divisions and sections contingencies investigations and
of critical project (optional) borrow investigations
features Design criteria and TMs,
Critical details to support including design flood,
proposed concept static, and seismic loads
60–65% All partially completed Substantially completed Substantially completed All engineering Partially completed report,
site drawings, including Division 1 sections bid schedule calculations to including sections on
existing conditions, Partial completion of Construction cost support all design criteria,
survey, borrow, other divisions and estimate with proper design features descriptions of key
contractor staging, and sections, Part 1–Part 3 design and completed design features, basis
stockpiles Partially completed construction Checking of and assumptions of
Partially completed civil measurement and contingencies calculations in design, and
plan, sections, profiles, payment clauses to progress methodology used in
and details of all critical match bid schedule design analysis
project features Include all supporting TM
Partially completed struc- and backup calculations
tural and mechanical
plans, sections, and
profiles of all critical
project features, includ-
PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

ing key dimensions

90–95% All substantially All substantially Update of 60–65% bid All engineering Substantially completed
completed drawings, all completed divisions schedule and cost calculations to report in its entirety,
sheets: general site and sections, estimate support all including all section
drawings, civil drawings, including design features text, appendixes, and
structural drawings with measurement and completed technical
reinforcement details, payment clauses Checking of all memorandums
and mechanical and calculations
electrical drawings completed and
properly
documented
100% All drawings completed, All divisions and sections Update of 90–95% bid All engineering Final report, stamped and
stamped, and signed completed, stamped, schedule and cost calculations signed, with all
and signed estimate checked and appendixes and backup
No design contingency is properly calculations
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

allowed documented
13
14 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

stand-alone document. It is important that the bidders and the eventual contractor
do not have access to the engineering design report and the cost estimate.

2.3 Construction Contract Documents

Construction documents are used for bidding and construction of projects. During
bidding, the construction documents are part of the bidding documents; after the
contract is awarded, these construction documents, which are the contract scope of
work and technical requirements, become part of the contract documents. The
administrative components of the contract documents are the general conditions
and supplemental conditions, and the technical components are the construction
drawings and specifications. The administrative documents (so-called “boilerplate”
documents) are typically prepared and furnished by the project owner and can be
reviewed by the engineer for consistency and coordination. The technical require-
ments are prepared by the engineer during final design. Preparation of construction
drawings and specifications are the primary subject matter of Parts 2 and 3,
respectively, of this book. The administrative and technical components of the
contract documents are interrelated, and it is important to understand the general
relationship between the two components before proceeding with preparation of the
technical documents. For this reason, an overview and background on contract
documents are given in this chapter; however, an in-depth treatment of the
administrative documents is beyond the scope of this book.
An understanding of the process of competitive bidding is also important in
learning how to prepare a bid schedule and the related measurement and payment
provisions. During final design, the engineer discusses with the owner the bidding
strategy and prepares payment arrangements for the construction. Preparation of a
schedule for bidding, measurement and payment provisions, bid quantities, and
estimated construction costs are the primary subject matter of Part 4 of this book.

Bid Documents
Bid documents are information furnished to the bidders during the bidding period.
These documents typically include an invitation to bid, instructions to bidders, bid
forms, general conditions, supplemental conditions, construction drawings, techni-
cal specifications, and amendments. All contractual, administrative, and technical
requirements are contained in these documents. These documents define the duties
and responsibilities of all parties involved, namely, the owner, the contractor, and
the engineer. For federal construction, the contractual documents are contained in
the construction contract clauses of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), but
they contain similar types of information as the documents for private-sector
construction. The following are brief descriptions of these documents. Detailed
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS 15

descriptions are available in many publications for construction management

(Fisk 1992; Knutsen et al. 2008).

• Invitation to Bid—This document is used in advertising to solicit bidders for

construction work, and it includes some of the information used in the bid
advertisement (see Section 2.4).
• Instructions to Bidders—This document contains procedures for bidding, basis
and criteria that will be used for bid evaluation, and guidance to bidders for
other relevant information contained in the bid documents.
• Bid Forms—This document is used by the bidders to submit their bid prices and
to document the basis contained in their bids. In many cases, a bid schedule is
attached as part of the bid forms. The bid schedule (see Section 19.2) contains
all of the payment items, quantities estimated by the engineers, measurement
units, and owner-defined allowances for specific items.
• General Conditions and Supplemental Conditions—The general conditions and
supplemental conditions are provided to bidders during bidding because they
will become part of the legal contract documents after award of the contract.
• Construction Drawings and Technical Specifications—Drawings and technical spe-
cifications contain all of the technical requirements to construct the project. It
should be noted that the technical specification package should also include
reference data collected during design and investigations (see Chapter 20).
• Amendments—Bid amendments are owner-initiated changes or new information
furnished to the bidders during the bidding period. After the contract is
awarded, the bid amendments become part of the contract documents.

Construction Contract Documents

A heavy civil construction contract typically contains the following documents:
agreement, general conditions, supplemental conditions, amendments, pricing
schedule, construction drawings, and technical specifications. The pricing schedule
is based on the successful bidder’s prices entered into the bid schedule. All of these
documents are considered legal documents, and the contents of these documents
should be carefully compiled (or conformed) to avoid disputes, ambiguities, con-
flicts, and unnecessary information. Generally, the agreement, general conditions,
and supplemental conditions are contract forms furnished by the owner, and the bid
schedule, construction drawings, and technical specifications are prepared by the
engineer. Together, they define how construction work will be performed and
completed, how the contractor will be paid, the project schedule, bonding and
insurance requirements, construction management and inspection, change orders,
claims procedures and timing, and actions for breach of contract.
The agreement, signed by the owner and the contractor, is the legal document
that takes precedence over all the other documents in a construction contract. It
16 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

makes reference to all other pertinent documents and is usually a standard form that
varies for different owners.
The general conditions of an engineering construction contract define the
duties and responsibilities of the owner, contractor, and engineer. They address all
issues related to the administration and management of the contract and include
such items as bonding and insurance; procedures for changes in work scope,
schedule, and prices; warranty and guarantee; payment procedure and method;
and dispute resolution. It is not the intention of this book to examine and scrutinize
the contents of the general conditions, except in instances in which they affect the
drawings, specifications, and engineer’s cost estimate. Like the agreement, the
general conditions are contained in standard documents that normally do not
significantly change from project to project for a particular owner. Any changes to
the general conditions are contained in the supplemental conditions.
The supplemental conditions (also called special provisions) should be considered
an extension of the general conditions and are used to address site-specific require-
ments and unique characteristics for each construction project. In other words, any
deviations from the general conditions should be handled in the supplemental
conditions. Examples of items contained in supplemental conditions include specific
bonding and insurance requirements, specialty items of work to be performed by
qualified subcontractors, liquidated damages, project permits, local laws and regula-
tions, site restrictions, coordination with other work on site, and site safety.
It is important for the engineer to understand all of the requirements in the
general conditions and supplemental conditions so that they are consistent with
the construction drawings and specifications. To avoid costly changes caused by
conflicts and inconsistencies among these documents, coordination of the contract
forms and the technical documents should be done before bidding and contract
award.
For the resolution of conflicts and inconsistencies among various contract docu-
ments, the contract usually contains a definition of the hierarchy of these documents.
With some exceptions, the typical hierarchy of contract documents, in order of
decreasing precedence, is (1) agreement, (2) general conditions, (3) supplemental
conditions, (4) amendments, (5) technical specifications, and (6) construction
drawings. From a design standpoint, the fact that the technical specifications take
precedence over the construction drawings is highly significant. Some of the implica-
tions of this hierarchy between drawings and specifications are discussed in
Section 14.4.

Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee Documents

There are numerous variations of bid documents and contract forms among
different government agencies and among private-sector owners. Most engineering
firms also have their own versions of the documents that they use for their clients.
Because these documents are legal documents, any problems that arise out of a
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS 17

dispute in these documents may be subject to interpretation in a court of law. In an

attempt to provide standard construction documents to the engineering industry, a
group known as the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC) was
organized. The EJCDC consists of the National Society of Professional Engineers,
American Council of Engineering Companies (formerly American Consulting
Engineers Council), American Society of Civil Engineers, Construction Specifica-
tions Institute, and Associated General Contractors of America.
EJCDC documents include bid forms, instructions to bidders, general condi-
tions, and agreements between the owner and contractor. Some of these publica-
tions are used as guidelines, and some can be used in contract documents without
changes. All of these documents are the products of many years of study, research,
legal interpretations, and court decisions, and they are endorsed by most engineer-
ing professions and contractors. The contractors’ endorsements suggest that these
documents represent not only the interests of the owner and the engineering
profession, but also the interests of the construction industry as well.
EJCDC documents are available through its website www.ejcdc.org, or through the
member organizations, such as the American Society of Civil Engineers, http://www.
asce.org/contractdocuments/.

2.4 Contractor Selection Processes

There are several methods to select a contractor for heavy civil construction under the
design-bid-build procurement arrangement; competitive bidding is the most common.
Other methods include the best value method and sole-source negotiation.

Competitive Bidding Method

In competitive bidding, the bidder with the lowest responsive bid is selected as the
contractor. Typically, the owner, or his or her representatives or agents, manages
the bidding process. Briefly, the competitive bidding process consists of the
following steps:
Advertising—A construction project is advertised to solicit interest or bids from
interested contractors. The advertisement generally contains information on the
owner, project location, general scope of work, minimum qualifications, and a range
of construction costs. The cost range indicates the size of the project, which provides
a means for the bidder to determine whether he or she can be bonded to perform
the work as well as the resource capability. The cost range also prevents a small
contractor from bidding on a large project. The advertisement also indicates where
bid documents are made available to prime contractors, subcontractors, material
suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.
Prebid meeting—A meeting with prospective bidders is conducted at the begin-
ning of the bidding period. The purpose of this meeting is to explain the work scope
18 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

and other administrative requirements to the bidders; it usually includes a visit to

the project site. Some owners make this meeting mandatory, but others, such as the
federal government, do not. Questions raised by bidders during this meeting and
the answers to those questions are generally recorded and distributed to everyone on
the plan holder’s list as an amendment to the bid documents.
Issuance of bid amendments—Additional information provided to the bidders
during bidding are called amendments or addenda, and they are considered legal
parts of the bid documents. Amendments may include answers to bidders’ questions,
design changes, changes in bidding period or construction period, new field
information, or other added requirements (e.g., permits). To allow bidders ade-
quate time to respond and adjust their bids where appropriate, it is generally a fair
practice to extend the bidding period when a bid amendment is issued close to the
bid opening deadline. It is important that a record is made of all those receiving the
addenda, either through the use of certified mail, records of fax transmission, and
electronic mail. Failure of a bidder to acknowledge receipt of a bid amendment can
be grounds to disqualify that bidder.
Bid opening—Bid opening occurs at, or shortly after, the bid submittal deadline.
Bid opening can be open or closed to the public, depending on the owner of the
project. In general, all bids received are summarized in a form called a bid tab using
the format of the bid schedule (see Chapter 25). The bidder that submits the lowest
bid price is declared the “apparent low bidder.” It should be noted that any changes
in the design and any changes to the work requirements after the bid opening are
considered “scope changes” and should be properly handled through formal
“change orders.”
Bid evaluation—The owner, with assistance from the engineer, generally evalu-
ates the low bid and other bids to determine (a) whether the apparent low bidder
has adequately responded to the work requirements in his or her bid; (b) whether
any unbalanced bidding (see Chapter 25) has taken place; or (c) whether there are
other omissions of bid submittal information. When it is necessary to obtain the basis
for, and confirmation of, any items in question, the owner may request a bid
verification from the apparent low bidder. One of the reasons for bid verification
is to check whether a bidder has responded adequately to the work requirements.
For example, if the work requires the contractor to process on-site materials to
manufacture a clean filter aggregate, but the bidder submits a price to import the
material from an off-site commercial source, then that bidder is considered to be
nonresponsive. In some cases, the owner will meet with the apparent low bidder to
better understand the bid and negotiate changes before award of the contract. This
bid verification meeting is also called “bid hearing.”
Contractor selection—If the owner is satisfied with the bid, the apparent low bidder
is selected as the contractor. A construction contract is established between the low
bidder and the owner. For the engineer, the bidding process ends here, and
construction management begins. Construction management is beyond the scope
of this book.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS 19

Best Value Method

In competitive bidding, the low bidder is usually awarded the construction contract.
From time to time, depending on the circumstances and the type of work, the contractor
that is the lowest bidder is not necessarily the best-qualified contractor, in terms of
capability, experience, and resources. The best value method in contractor selection
considers the bid price as well as the qualifications and has become more popular in
contractor selection, especially among federal agencies. To evaluate the contractor’s
qualifications, the bidders are required to answer a series of questions related to the
contractor’s experience and records, especially on specific aspects of the construction
that will be performed. For example, if the project being bid is to stabilize a landslide
with posttensioned rock anchors in a clay shale foundation, then the contractor’s team
experience and personnel with installing posttensioning rock anchors in a weak shale is
very important. When evaluating the bids, both the bid price and the qualifications are
assigned weights and points, but the formula to weigh the price and qualifications varies
from owner to owner. Sometimes, the successful bidder does not necessarily have the
lowest price. This method is best used for specialized heavy civil construction and is not
needed for the so-called “curb and gutter” work.

Sole-Source Negotiation Method

In the sole-source negotiation method, the owner identifies a particular contractor
and negotiates the price of the construction until an agreement is reached. This is
the least price competitive, as the contractor will have little to no incentive to bid low
prices without any competition. This method is rarely used in private-sector con-
struction, but it is used from time to time by federal agencies to meet small-business
or minority-business goals. This procurement method has several potential pro-
blems, such as the following:

• The small or minority contractor is not necessarily the best qualified to do the
work. Not only will the quality of work suffer, but also there is an increased
likelihood for claims, disputes, and delays.
• The contractor has limited bonding capability and can only perform small projects.
• The owner pays a much higher price for comparable work than when using a
large contractor procured competitively.

Not much can be done about the higher price, but the owner can do some
up-front research and inquiry on available small and minority contractors to screen
out unqualified bidders before identifying one for negotiation.

2.5 Permits for Construction

Project permits are typically included as part of the construction contract docu-
ments. In most heavy civil construction, project permits should be obtained by the
20 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

owner before beginning construction. Most of these permits are issued by regulatory
agencies for environmental control, and stipulations are included in the permits as
conditions for construction. The contractor is required to abide by the conditions set
forth in the permits the same way that he or she should conform to the plans and
specifications.
Permitting issues on the federal level are based on federal environmental laws to
ensure that

1. There are no impacts to federally listed threatened or endangered species as

required by Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species
Act is a federal law passed by Congress in 1973 and administered by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Compliance with the Endangered Species Act is typically addressed by the local
ecological services unit of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
2. There are no impacts to cultural resources in accordance with Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act. The National Historic Preservation Act
is a federal law that was passed by Congress in 1966. The act requires federal
agencies to evaluate the impact of federally funded or permitted projects on
historical properties such as buildings or archaeological sites. Compliance with
the National Historic Preservation Act is typically addressed at the state level by
the state historic preservation office.
3. There are no impacts to jurisdictional wetlands in accordance with Section 404(b)
of the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act is a federal law passed by Congress in
1972. This is the primary federal law governing water pollution and is administered
by the Environmental Protection Agency in cooperation with state governments.
Wetlands impacts are typically addressed by the local office of the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers.

The 404 Clean Water Permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is
required if construction will take place in or near regulated land such as wetlands
and waterways. This federal permit is named after Section 404(b) of the Clean Water
Act. Stipulations contained in the 404 Clean Water Permit may include limits on
turbidity of construction water (e.g., dewatering discharge or runoff) discharged into
streams, limits of wetlands that can be disturbed or filled, and protection of aquatic
and riparian vegetation and fisheries. These conditions must be enforced during
construction, and the owner will usually pay fines associated with noncompliance.
In some cases, failure to comply with these conditions will result in a construction
stop work order by the regulatory agency.
When work is performed on federal land, a special-use permit is usually issued by
the federal agency that owns the land, with additional stipulations regarding
allowable access, schedule and disturbance, and reclamation of disturbed areas.
Because of the consequences of a permit violation, all owner-acquired permits
should be made part of the bid documents and construction contract documents so
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS 21

that appropriate actions and costs are included in contractors’ bids. Owner-acquired
permits that are added after bid opening are regarded as scope change, and the
contractor is entitled to adjustments to the contract prices or time to abide by the
requirements of the added permits.
It is important to point out that this discussion excludes the permits that the
contractor is required to obtain during construction. Those permits are the sole
responsibility of the contractor and are required for such things as hauling on, and
access to and from, local and state highways; blasting; quarry development; and
disposal of dewatering and hazardous wastes.
CHAPTER 3

Characterization of Project Site

3.1 Importance of Adequate Site Characterization

This chapter describes the key characteristics of a heavy civil project site that are
important for design, and how to obtain information about those characteristics.
Central to characterizing a site for a civil design project is the definition of the
existing conditions that are relevant to that particular project. Most of the effort
in characterizing a site involves understanding what is in the ground and describing
the topography of the ground surface and surface features. Some heavy civil projects
are located in environmentally sensitive areas that will require a thorough environ-
mental survey in order to comply with environmental laws and to acquire the
necessary permits.
Civil design starts in the field with field investigations to explore the site and ends
in the field with construction. Contrary to architectural, mechanical, electrical, and
structural designs, the design of heavy civil projects is intimately tied to the field
conditions before construction and during construction. Site characterization
establishes a baseline field condition for a project site, which is important for design
and construction in the following respects:

1. Changes in site grades are compared with the existing ground surface to
determine the limits of excavations and the fill quantities in earthwork design;
2. Geotechnical design for new foundations, excavations, earthfill, dewatering,
drainage, and other earthwork features is controlled by geology and subsurface
conditions, including groundwater conditions;
3. Large earthwork projects usually involve owner-furnished borrow sources
(see Section 3.4 on borrow investigations), which are investigated to determine
suitability, quantities, and costs;
4. Many times, knowing how the project site has been developed and used in the
past will provide useful information for feasibility, planning, and permitting;
5. Environmental surveys are important for designs to mitigate potential environmen-
tal issues and for success in procuring environmental permits from regulatory
agencies; and

23
24 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

6. Information obtained from topographic surveys is used to create the base map
for design drawings, to establish design and construction controls, and to
determine such levels of effort as clearing, demolition, reclamation, and con-
struction access.

Site characterization work is usually planned and performed by specialists in their

own disciplines, such as geologists, geotechnical engineers, land surveyors, and
environmental scientists. Data are collected and then used for design. Sometimes,
civil designers are involved in the project only after completion of site characterization
work, which is not recommended. Without input from the designers during site
characterization, it is possible that key information may be missed. At that point, three
scenarios are possible:

1. The designer recognizes what is missing, and the missing information is obtained
with additional field work;
2. The designer recognizes what is missing, but has decided that the missing
information will be obtained during construction instead of during design; or
3. The designer does not recognize that key information is missing, and the design is
completed without that key information.

All three of these scenarios are problematic. For Scenario 1, the interruption of
design to collect additional data will result in delay in the design schedule and
additional costs for the field work. Nevertheless, the design will be completed with
no design problem. For Scenario 2, the procrastination of obtaining the missing
key design data until construction will likely result in a variety of design and
construction problems, ranging from design errors to contractor claims for
changed conditions. For Scenario 3, a serious design error may occur without
the key missing information, and the error will need to be corrected during
construction. When a design is changed during construction, a change order will
be needed to address the changes, with increased costs and schedule delays. All of
the issues discussed in these three scenarios will be explained in detail in the
remainder of this book. There are numerous examples and illustrations in Parts 2,
3, and 4 of this book, where the main reason for the problems in the production of
construction drawings, technical specifications, and cost estimates is because of
inadequate site characterization. Carrying unknown site conditions into construc-
tion is a potential liability for the designer, and inadequate site characterization
may be considered a design error.
Two general guiding principles are recommended in this discussion:

1. Designers should be involved to provide input to site characterization field work

so that adequate data are collected for design at the beginning of the project.
2. To the extent possible, investigations for site characterization should be com-
pleted during design and should not be delayed until construction.
CHARACTERIZATION OF PROJECT SITE 25

The results of the various site characterization investigations are summarized in

various reports or technical memoranda that are submitted to the owner and provide
data and the basis for the design work (see Section 2.2). During construction, these
field and laboratory data should also be furnished to the contractors for evaluation
and planning of means and methods, and this information also serves as a baseline
and the basis for their bids. The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) has
provided an orderly way to present these reference data, as discussed in Chapter 20.

3.2 Geologic Investigation

The importance of geology in heavy civil projects is well-established (Legget and

Karrow 1983). Because of the existing information that is readily available, most
projects in developed urban settings do not require a geologic investigation, and a
literature search may be all that is required. However, when a project is located in an
undeveloped area, a geologic investigation is vital to the understanding of geotech-
nical and foundation issues that are relevant to the project. A geologic investigation
may include geologic reconnaissance, a literature search, aerial photography,
detailed structural geology mapping, trenching, and laboratory testing. The level
of investigation would depend on the size of the project, the complexity of the
geology, and the design’s dependence on geologic factors, such as fault activity and
seismicity estimates. In a seismically active region and for projects that impose large
risks to public safety (e.g., dams and nuclear power plants), a deterministic seismo-
tectonic assessment or a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) usually is
required to determine the seismic design loading conditions. In recent years, the
PSHA is preferred over the deterministic approach in assessing seismic loading
conditions because many of the public agencies have adopted the application of risk
analysis for public safety (USBR 2011a).
Engineering geology is the discipline of applying knowledge of geology to engi-
neering problems. In some cases, understanding the geologic setting for a particular
project can identify potential problems. For example, the subsurface condition in a
glacial till setting is highly variable, with significant amounts of cobbles and boulders
that may affect the feasibility of some types of foundations. Young lacustrine deposits
such as fine-grained silts and clays yield low strength and large settlements. Some
windblown deposits are collapsible upon wetting and are highly erodible by flowing
water. The existence of soluble minerals such as gypsum and carbonates in rock
formations may lead to the development of sinkholes, subsidence, and excessive
foundation leakage under water-retention structures. In the western United States,
high-plasticity claystones and clay shale are prevalent, and these materials frequently
give rise to foundation swelling problems and slope stability problems.
Understanding the geologic setting frequently provides guidance in planning a
subsurface investigation. For example, a particular drilling or sampling method is
preferred over others because of the presence of boulders and cobbles at one site or
26 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

the presence of sands and gravels at another site. Or when the beddings and joints in
foundation bedrock are near vertical, an inclined core hole is preferred over a
vertical core hole in order to intercept more rock discontinuities. A borrow
investigation (see Section 3.4) to explore sources of clean granular aggregates will
focus within the alluvial floodplain where sedimentary clean sand and gravel were
deposited.
One of the objectives of a geologic reconnaissance is to identify geologic hazards
for further study and evaluation. Geologic hazards that may affect the performance
of civil engineering projects include earthquakes, landslides, rockfalls, and ground
subsidence. The effects of large earthquakes on a structure include large ground
motions, ground liquefaction of saturated granular soils, and fault offsets in the case
of active faults. Contrary to earthquake hazards, which occur in seismically active
areas, landslides can occur anywhere in topographically steep areas. Active landslides
can be mitigated, but this work is usually very costly. Rockfalls are common hazards
along highways that are adjacent to steep rock cuts, and mitigating this hazard by the
highway departments is always a continuing maintenance activity. Ground subsi-
dence and sinkholes occur when underground voids collapse. Underground voids
can be natural or created by human activities. Natural underground voids occur in
limestone areas (e.g., Florida and Kentucky). In some states with old abandoned
underground coal mines (e.g., in Wyoming, Colorado, and West Virginia), local or
large-scale ground subsidence can occur from the collapse of these mines.

3.3 Subsurface Investigation

Subsurface investigation is used to obtain geotechnical information for foundations

and earthwork design, to evaluate the constructability of excavations and backfill,
and to estimate groundwater problems and mitigation methods. When a project
requires the use of on-site fill materials, a borrow investigation should be performed
to evaluate the suitability and quantity of materials that are available (see Section 3.4).
Subsurface investigation includes drilling boreholes and excavating test pits, field
and laboratory testing, field monitoring of groundwater levels and groundwater
quality, and geophysical investigation. The technical reasons for an adequate
subsurface investigation and the methods of subsurface investigation (e.g., Hvorslev
1949; Clayton et al. 1982; Winterkorn and Fang 1975; Terzaghi et al. 1996; Head
1980a) are not discussed in this book. Also not discussed are geotechnical analyses,
such as determination of bearing capacity, settlements, shear strength, and
groundwater modeling. Only issues pertaining to constructability, construction
problems, site safety, construction document preparation, and cost estimates related
to subsurface conditions are discussed herein.
In addition to foundation analysis and the selection of the type of foundation,
many design- and construction-related issues must be evaluated by the geotechnical
designer, such as:
CHARACTERIZATION OF PROJECT SITE 27

How is the earthwork constructed?—A geotechnical designer should have an

understanding of how the specified earthwork will be constructed. Such understand-
ing includes the construction equipment, sequence of placement, constructability
constraints, and the installation procedure, and this understanding is valuable in the
preparation of construction drawings, technical specifications, and even construc-
tion cost estimates. Without a clear understanding of how the earthwork is con-
structed, the designer may not provide adequate instructions to the contractor to
meet the design intent, even though the contractor is responsible for the means and
method of the construction. Two examples are used to illustrate this discussion:

• Constructing a Sloping Chimney Drain—Chimney drains are frequently used in

embankment dam design to filter and collect internal seepage in a dam
(e.g., Cedergren 1997; FEMA 2011; USBR 2011b). For example, an inclined
clean filter sand is required adjacent to the clay core of an embankment dam for
seepage control. It is understood by the designer that both the drain and the clay
core will be placed concurrently in horizontal lifts. It is of paramount impor-
tance that the clay core material does not contaminate the clean sand. This
requirement can be simply stated in the specifications, and the contractor will
protect the sand from being contaminated. The contractor’s effort may or may
not be successful, depending on the experience and method he or she is using.
An experienced designer will choose a more proactive approach to minimize
the potential contamination of the sand chimney by adding two requirements in
the specifications: (1) the drain sand in the chimney should be maintained at
least 12 in. above the surrounding clay core material; and (2) the lift surfaces of
the clay core material adjacent to the chimney drain should be sloped away from
the chimney drain.
• Processing Clay Shale Bedrock for Clay Fill—The contractor is required to
process a highly weathered clay shale bedrock into a clay fill for use in a highway
embankment. This construction method is based on a material behavior known
as slaking, whereby a plastic shale bedrock rapidly deteriorates into a soil-like
material upon cycles of wetting and drying. Not all contractors are familiar with
this method, and sometimes even a test fill is not successful to produce a
satisfactory product. An experienced designer will provide the additional guide-
lines to the contractor so that the test fill will produce a satisfactory material:
(1) after the shale is excavated and stockpiled in the borrow area, water should
be added to the stockpile to hydrate the rock; (2) a minimum tempering time is
needed for the rock to absorb the water on a clay-particle level; and (3) the fill
should be thoroughly mixed and broken down with a disk.

Can a design from a previous project be reused?—A common error made by

inexperienced designers using precedents to justify their design is to ignore the
special circumstances and foundation conditions that are unique to that particular
site. A design that had worked in a previous project may not be appropriate for the
28 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

current project because of different foundation conditions. For example, a clean

filter sand drainage blanket may be effective for seepage collection of a silty and
clayey foundation subgrade, but is not effective for a silty sand foundation. Instead, a
two-stage filter sand and gravel drainage blanket would be more appropriate. The
requirement of a two-stage drainage system would have been apparent if a seepage
analysis was performed with properly assigned permeabilities for the drains and
foundations.
What excavation method is appropriate?—Many designers maintain that selection of
an excavation method is not their concern because means and methods are the
responsibility of the contractor. To a certain extent, this is correct. Construction
documents should be prepared to allow a contractor the freedom and flexibility to
use whatever method and equipment he or she deems appropriate for a given site.
This approach of not specifying the means and method of construction usually
results in the most cost-effective construction method (see Section 15.5). However,
when a designer or a cost estimator is required to estimate the cost of excavation, it
becomes necessary to assume a specific method of excavation as the basis of the cost.
The cost of excavation varies greatly for different types of soil materials, different
soil densities or stiffnesses, and different degrees of saturation. Earth excavation
methods, such as backhoe excavation, would be inappropriate for hard bedrock. Soft
rock or highly weathered rock can be excavated by a hydraulic excavator or ripper,
but hard rock requires blasting. Because of bearing pressure limitations, only certain
construction equipment and excavation methods can be used for very soft subgrades.
Without adequate subsurface investigation, the excavation cost cannot be estimated
reliably both by the designer and by the contractor, and the consequence is usually a
construction claim for differing site conditions or excessively high bids to account for
unknown conditions and risk.
Is the site safe for construction?—Site safety is a construction issue (see
Section 15.12). It is discussed here in relation to design of earthwork. Most civil
drawings depict a maximum slope inclination for temporary excavation, and the
contractor is also required to abide by the appropriate Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) regulations on temporary excavated slopes (OSHA
2011, 2015). A stable temporary excavated slope depends on many factors,
including type of soils, location of groundwater, duration of exposure, and external
loads. A designer should call out any special excavation requirements based on
known ground conditions, such as bracings, dewatering, and restricting the depth
of cuts, and there should be provisions in the contract documents to compensate
the contractor for these requirements. Without adequate subsurface investigation,
the contractor may not adequately anticipate safety requirements during bidding
and performing the site work.
How is the site dewatered?—The issue of construction dewatering should be
addressed during design, in groundwater investigations, specifying requirements,
and estimating its cost. Except under some special circumstances, selection and
design of a dewatering scheme is the responsibility of the contractor. With the
CHARACTERIZATION OF PROJECT SITE 29

information obtained from subsurface investigation, a designer prepares the

appropriate dewatering specifications and requirements, and the appropriate cost
of dewatering is estimated accordingly. With that same information, a contractor also
prepares his or her dewatering bid cost. For example, pumping from sump pits may
be adequate for excavating into a clay foundation, but well points may be required
for excavations into more pervious sandy or silty foundations below the groundwater
table. It is almost impossible to bid on dewatering or to provide an engineer’s cost
estimate of dewatering with inadequate groundwater information and inadequate
understanding of the subsurface materials.
How accurate are the excavation and backfill quantities?—An inadequately investi-
gated foundation usually results in quantity overrun or underrun for excavation and
backfill. For example, an unexpectedly shallow bedrock will require less earth
excavation, more rock excavation, and a deeper subgrade to reach an acceptable
foundation, or it will require overexcavation and replacement with structural
backfill. Almost all contract documents have allowances for a contractor to renego-
tiate his or her unit prices for earthwork items that are significantly different than the
bid quantities (see Section 22.5). Most of the time, the owner ends up paying higher
unit prices for renegotiated work items during construction.
So, from a civil design standpoint, what subsurface information is required to
characterize a site? The following is a partial list of relevant subsurface data, in
addition to other requirements for engineering design of the structures:

• Subsurface conditions to the design limits of excavation. In general, the

exploration should not terminate above the depth of excavation, unless the
excavation is in bedrock. If bedrock is shallow and above the limits of excavation,
it may not be necessary to explore all the way to that limit, depending on the
conditions of the rock. If the bedrock is weathered to highly weathered, then the
depth of weathering is important to determine the location of competent
foundation or depth of excavation.
• Laboratory index tests to supplement the field descriptions of the various
materials encountered in boreholes or test pits, such as natural water contents,
gradation, and plasticity.
• The effort of excavation should be characterized using quantifiable indices, such
as the standard penetration blow counts from boreholes. Soft foundation
subgrade could require special excavation provisions, such as low-tire-pressure
equipment or support mats. Hard or stiff foundation subgrade may require a
ripper or other special tools and will affect the production rate of the excavation
equipment. Unconfined compressive strength is a useful index to evaluate the
method of excavation in bedrock. Soft rock, such as a weakly cemented
sandstone or a claystone, may be excavated using a hydraulic hoe ram or
backhoe. Hard rock, such as a competent granite or sandstone, requires
blasting. Useful information for tunnel excavation includes coring rates during
drilling, joint frequency and spacing, hardness, and unconfined compressive
30 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

strength. A contractor bidding on a project involving rock excavation would

need most or all of these data to estimate effectively the actual cost and method
of excavation.
• Groundwater conditions at the limits of excavation. Groundwater conditions
observed during borehole drilling and test pit excavation should be recorded.
Water levels monitored with observation wells are also useful to characterize the
long-term stabilized conditions. Any changes in surface features, such as water
levels in adjacent streams, irrigation canals, or lakes, should be noted in the
monitoring data for any correlation of groundwater level with these features.
• Locations of buried utilities and buried structures.
• When the use of sheet piles, foundation piles, or piers is anticipated, the ground
conditions should be known to at least the bottom of the piles. The ability to
drive piles into the ground without sustaining damage should be demonstrated
in the design, or there should be provision made for a test pile program. Critical
to the installation of driven piles is the presence of cobbles and boulders that
should be made known in the documents. The presence of cobbles and boulders
increases the chances of damaging piles during driving and introduces questions
on what refusal criteria are considered adequate for acceptance.

The results of subsurface investigations are summarized in a geotechnical

investigation report, which contains all the field and laboratory data, descriptions
and evaluations of the subsurface conditions, evaluations of suitable foundations and
construction considerations, and geotechnical recommendations. It is important to
note that the geotechnical investigation report is written by the geotechnical
engineer to the owner of the project, and not to the contractor. There are portions
of the report that should not be disclosed to the contractor, namely, all of the
geotechnical evaluations and recommendations by the engineer. The contractor is
expected to perform his or her own evaluations and conclusions of the foundation
conditions based on the subsurface conditions as depicted in the field logs and
laboratory data and develop his or her own methods of construction. Therefore, it is
not appropriate for the engineer or the owner to furnish the contractor with the
geotechnical investigation report in its entirety. During preparation of the reference
data in the technical specifications (see Section 20.2), only the following geotechnical
data should be furnished to the contractor:

• Field drilling logs and test pit logs;

• Field test results such as standard penetration test blow counts, field permeabil-
ity, test fills, and test blasts;
• Instrumentation installation logs such as monitoring wells and piezometers;
• Groundwater conditions encountered during the investigations and any subse-
quent water levels from monitoring wells; and
• Laboratory test results, including soil and rock testing, concrete or grout mix
designs, and corrosiveness testing.
CHARACTERIZATION OF PROJECT SITE 31

3.4 Borrow Investigation

A borrow investigation is performed to explore earth and rock materials that are
suitable for construction. Borrow materials may include various classes of earthfill
(such as clay, sand, gravel, structural fill, and topsoil), rockfill, and riprap. The
borrow area is usually an owner-designated material source that is made available to
the contractor for economic reasons. When suitable materials are available close to
the worksite, the material costs can be significantly lower than imported materials
from commercial sources. For economic reasons, a borrow source should be close to
the worksite in order to reduce the haul cost.
All of the available methods of subsurface investigation discussed in Section 3.3
are suitable for borrow investigation. A large borrow investigation program may
involve a geologic reconnaissance, drilling boreholes, excavating test pits, test
blasting (for producing riprap), and test fills. A small borrow investigation program
may merely be just test pit excavation. Regardless of the size and scope of the borrow
investigation, a properly performed borrow investigation should yield the following
information for design and construction:

• Types of materials available in the borrow area, including index and engineering
properties.
• Locations where the materials are encountered in the borrow area, including
areal limits in a topographic map, and depths.
• Groundwater conditions.
• Estimated quantities available for construction for each type of materials. The
estimated available quantity should be at least twice the required quantity to
account for uncertainty in the ground, wastes, and quantity changes during
construction.
• Feasibility of processed materials (such as a filter sand or concrete aggregate) or
manufactured materials (such as riprap). Test blast or test fill programs may be
required to demonstrate the constructability and technical suitability, not only
for design purposes, but also for the purpose of bidding and construction
planning and cost estimating.

During preparation of technical specifications, the specified borrow materials

should be based on results of the borrow investigation. The purpose of the material
specifications of borrow materials is for quality control and borrow development, not
for rejection of materials. This distinction is important during construction. An
owner-furnished material, such as a borrow material, should not be rejected unless it
does not meet the key specified specifications; in that case, the borrow investigation
has failed to identify a suitable material, and the specifications do not reflect the
results of the borrow investigation. It is considered a design error to specify borrow
materials that cannot be furnished by the owner in the designated borrow area, and
it is grounds for a differing site condition. When the contractor cannot use the
32 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

specified borrow materials that are the basis of his or her bid, then the materials will
need to be imported from alternative sources, such as commercial pits, resulting in
an increase in construction cost.

3.5 Prior Site Use Investigation

A seemingly undeveloped land may have been used or disturbed by humans in the
past. Encountering buried surprises during heavy civil construction may have serious
effects on the project, which may include changed conditions, work stoppage, and
even cancellation of the project. Therefore, site characterization efforts should
include investigation of prior use of the site. The reasons for investigating the prior
usage of a project site are threefold:

1. To clear the site for any potential cultural or archaeological resources that are of
value;
2. To investigate the potential of environmental contamination and hazardous
waste; and
3. To identify any buried structures that would affect the design and construction of
the project.

In the United States, cultural and archaeological features may be related to

Native Americans, early American settlers, or the Civil War. To most untrained eyes,
the significance of most of these features is not obvious and therefore is often
overlooked in a site survey or a field visit. For example, a circular pile of rocks may be
an ancient fire ring used by Native Americans. Or a plain-looking trench on a hillside
in an eastern state may be a Civil War trench with great historical value.
During the emergency reservoir drawdown of Lake Ilo Dam in Killdeer, North
Dakota, for dam safety modifications, numerous arrowheads known as “Folsom
points” that were 10,000 years old were encountered all around the exposed reservoir
floor. In an early planning phase of a heavy civil project, it is important to perform a
screening-level study by archaeologists to determine whether the project site has any
potential of archaeological or cultural significance. Most states now have an agency
known as a state historical preservation office (SHPO) that provides guidelines and
assistance, and this office should first be consulted at the beginning of the data
collection phase of most heavy civil projects involving seemingly undeveloped land. In
the case of Lake Ilo Dam, the presence of 10,000-year-old artifacts triggered an
environmental impact statement and mitigation efforts that cost millions of dollars
before the construction of the dam safety modifications.
Investigation of site contamination from prior usage requires field reconnais-
sance; sampling; testing; and knowledge and expertise in inorganic and organic
chemistry, toxicology, and biology. These studies should be performed by specialists.
A contaminated site, if discovered during design, should be adequately mitigated
CHARACTERIZATION OF PROJECT SITE 33

before redevelopment for a heavy civil project and before authorizing the construction
contractor to proceed. If mitigation is not feasible, then a different site would be
needed.
Investigation for buried structures (e.g., tanks, pipes, or old foundations)
requires a search for previous construction records, drilling boreholes, and test pit
excavations. Where it is not feasible to use boreholes or test pits, geophysical
methods such as ground penetration radar (GPR) (Spangler and Handy 1982)
may be used to identify buried objects. In some cases, GPR can be used to optimize
other investigation programs such as trenching and test pits.
Sites that will be developed above abandoned underground mines should be
investigated for collapse potential that may result in ground subsidence and
sinkholes. Most state geological surveys have compiled maps of underground mines
that can be used for screening purposes.

3.6 Topographic Survey

A topographic survey is the applied engineering discipline to characterize and map the
existing ground surface, to locate and determine land boundaries, to determine the
configuration (relief) of the surface of the ground, to document locations of
field investigations, and to locate and describe the natural and artificial features on
the ground. In heavy civil design projects, the product of topographic survey is a map
of existing conditions that is used as a starting base map for civil design
(see Section 3.7). The characterization of topographic relief defines the existing
grade that determines the extent of cuts and fills in earthwork design. Methods of
topographic survey include transit-tape, transit-stadia, cross-sectioning, total station,
global positioning system (GPS), photogrammetry, and light detection and ranging
(LIDAR) (ASCE 1999; Anderson and Mikhail 1997; Brinker 1969; Shan and
Toth 2009; NOAA 2012). With the advance of electronics, satellites, and lasers in
recent years, topographic survey techniques have been developed into an efficient
and accurate operation, and the most commonly used methods for topographic
survey are total station, photogrammetry, GPS, and LIDAR. By measuring the distance
light travels to the ground and back, LIDAR can digitally strip away tree canopy from
wooded areas to produce bare-earth topography. Topographic surveys for design and
for preparing construction documents should be performed by a licensed surveyor.
Depending on the intended use of the topographic maps, it might be necessary
to survey all of the natural and artificial features on the ground. Natural features
include vegetation, streams and drainage features, rock outcrops, landslide scarps,
fault zones, and lakes. The surveyed limits and nature of vegetation, such as trees,
shrubs, wetland, and marshland, are needed for design and permitting. The limits of
trees and shrubs are used to define the limits of clearing and grubbing work for site
development. With the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
and the Clean Water Act, the preservation of natural resources, such as wetland
34 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

and marshland, becomes an important consideration in the permitting, layout, and

design of most heavy civil projects (see Sections 2.5 and 3.8). The definition and
delineation of wetlands require the use of specialists (e.g., botanists and ecologists)
who delineate these limits in the field before they are surveyed.
Areas that have been disturbed or developed may contain artificial and con-
structed features that should be included in a topographic survey. These features
may include roads, trails, buildings, utilities (e.g., overhead or buried power lines
and telephone lines), bridges and highway overpasses, water conveyance structures
(e.g., ditches and canals), walls, fences, and property markers. The locations and
descriptions of these features may be important in the early planning and design
phases of a heavy civil project when determining conflicts, interference problems, site
restrictions, demolition efforts, permanent and temporary easement requirements,
property ownership, and permit requirements.
The starting point for a topographic survey is the establishment of vertical and
horizontal controls. Controls can be tied to national, state, or county datum and grid
systems, or they can be local, depending on the project requirements. Regardless of
whether local, state, or national data are used, the basis on which the survey is
performed should be clearly defined and stated in the scope of work before field
work begins. Horizontal controls are provided by two or more monuments with
known coordinates; similarly, vertical controls are provided by two or more bench-
marks with known elevations. Frequently, the same two monuments or benchmarks
contain both coordinate and elevation information.
In the United States, standard elevations and horizontal coordinates are still
expressed in feet. In civil engineering and surveying practice, horizontal coordinates
are expressed in terms of northings and eastings. Northings are distances measured in
the north–south direction that increase from south to north. Eastings are distances
measured in the east–west direction that increase from west to east. A point in plan
view is represented by a northing coordinate, easting coordinate, and an elevation,
similar to the x-, y-, and z-coordinates in mathematics. Fig. 3-1 shows an example of
three points that are represented by this coordinate system.
The latest vertical control datum is the 1988 North American Vertical Datum
(NAVD), which is also referred to as the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD).
The primary horizontal control is normally the State Plane Coordinate System.
Sometimes, survey controls are already established on site from previous work or
from known benchmarks, and they should be used for all project survey work, so that
the existing and new features can be compared in the same space. Before the
availability of GPS in survey work, new survey controls had to be brought in from off
site, sometimes from many miles away and at a high cost. Now, new survey controls
can be installed at the site using GPS without the need to bring in any outside
controls, albeit at the expense of reduced resolution and accuracy. Total stations
using a real-time kinematic GPS system are accurate to about 20 mm (0.78 in.)
horizontally and 30–40 mm (1.4 in.) vertically. In any case, when the cost of
establishing survey controls becomes expensive, as compared with the rest of the
CHARACTERIZATION OF PROJECT SITE 35

Fig. 3-1. Horizontal Coordinate System Representation

survey work and the size of the project, it would be justified to use an assumed local
control for the work.
Local controls are based on an arbitrarily assigned vertical datum and coordi-
nate system. When an existing point is present at the site, such as a structure corner,
property marker, section corner, or fence corner, it can be used as a local control
reference, with an assigned elevation designation such as 100.00 or 1,000.00 ft,
depending on the local relief, and an assigned coordinate datum, such as N10,000.00
and E10,000.00. All the survey work and the topographic map will then be based on
36 PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN

this locally assigned control system. When the local control references are preserved
and not disturbed, it is possible to eventually tie this local control system to the
national and state system in the future.

3.7 Topographic Map

The finished product of a topographic survey is the topographic map. Nowadays, all
topographic maps that are used for design purposes are electronically digitized. A
topographic map is the starting drawing of any civil design project. The importance
of an accurate topographic map in civil design cannot be overemphasized, for the
following reasons:

• The survey controls and benchmarks are the basis for design controls and
construction controls;
• The topographic contours represent the existing ground surface, which is an
important reference when designing excavations and earthfills as well as
estimating earthwork quantities;
• The map provides a baseline condition for the contractor to plan and construct
temporary facilities such as staging and stockpile areas, access roads, sediment
and erosion controls, and water controls; and
• The limits of trees, shrubs, and wetlands are the basis for site clearing design or
environmental protection.

Regardless of whether the map is simple or complicated, there are basic elements
that should be shown on a topographic map (Fig. 3-2):

• Topographic contours and contour labels. Typically, every fifth contour line
is labeled, and the labeled contour is called a major contour; a heavier line
(see Section 7.7 for line weight) is commonly used to distinguish it from the
remaining contours, which are called intermediate contours. In the example in
Fig. 3-2, the major contours are elevations such as 2,155 ft, 2,160 ft, and 2,165 ft,
and the intermediate contours are elevations such as 2,156 ft, 2,157 ft, and
2,158 ft. Note that in steep areas in Fig. 3-2, the intermediate contour lines are
deliberately not drawn continuously across those areas because those lines
would have been very close together.
• Locations of control monuments within the mapped area, and the vertical data
and horizontal control system.
• A north arrow.
• A scale (written scale or graphic bar).
• All surveyed and known natural and artificial features, such as trees, waterways,
utilities, buildings, roads, culverts, and known underground structures.
• The survey date and name of the surveyor company.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
They rode early, leaving Mount Royal soon after eight, so as to
escape the meridian sun. The world was still fresh and dewy as they
rode slowly up the hill, and then down again into the lanes leading
towards Camelford; and there was that exquisite feeling of purity in
the atmosphere which wears off as the day grows older.
"My mother is looking rather seedy, Belle, don't you think," he
began.
"She is looking very ill, Leonard. She has been ill for a long time.
God grant we may keep her with us a few years yet, but I am full of
fear about her. I go to her room every morning with an aching heart,
dreading what the night may have brought. Thank God, you came
home when you did. It would have been cruel to stay away longer."
"That's very good in you, Belle—uncommonly good—to talk about
cruelty, when you must know that it was your fault I stayed away so
long."
"My fault? What had I to do with it?"
"Everything. I should have been home a year and a half ago—home
last Christmas twelvemonth. I had made all my plans with that
intention, for I was slightly home-sick in those days—didn't relish the
idea of three thousand miles of everlasting wet between me and
those I loved—and I was coming across the Big Drink as fast as a
Cunard could bring me, when I got mother's letter telling me of your
engagement. Then I coiled up, and made up my mind to stay in
America till I'd done some big licks in the sporting line."
"Why should that have influenced you?" Christabel asked, coldly.
"Why? Confound it! Belle, you know that without asking. You must
know that it wouldn't be over-pleasant for me to be living at Mount
Royal while you and your lover were spooning about the place. You
don't suppose I could quite have stomached that, do you—to see
another man making love to the girl I always meant to marry?—for
you know, Belle, I always did mean it. When you were in pinafores I
made up my mind that you were the future Mrs. Tregonell."
"You did me a great honour," said Belle, with an icy smile, "and I
suppose I ought to be very proud to hear it—now. Perhaps, if you
had told me your intention while I was in pinafores I might have
grown up with a due appreciation of your goodness. But you see, as
you never said anything about it, my life took another bent."
"Don't chaff, Belle," exclaimed Leonard, "I'm in earnest. I was
hideously savage when I heard that you had got yourself engaged to
a man whom you'd only known a week or two—a man who had led
a racketty life in London and Paris——"
"Stop," cried Christabel, turning upon him with flashing eyes, "I
forbid you to speak of him. What right have you to mention his
name to me? I have suffered enough, but that is an impertinence I
will not endure. If you are going to say another word about him I'll
ride back to Mount Royal as fast as my horse can carry me."
"And get spilt on the way. Why, what a spitfire you are, Belle. I had
no idea there was such a spice of the devil in you," said Leonard,
somewhat abashed by this rebuff. "Well I'll hold my tongue about
him in future. I'd much rather talk about you and me, and our
prospects. What is to become of you, Belle, when the poor mother
goes? You and the doctor have both made up your minds that she's
not long for this world. For my own part, I'm not such a croaker, and
I've known many a creaking door hanging a precious long time on
its hinges. Still, it's well to be prepared for the worst. Where is your
life to be spent, Belle, when the mater has sent in her checks?"
"Heaven knows," answered Christabel, tears welling up in her eyes,
as she turned her head from the questioner. "My life will be little
worth living when she is gone—but I daresay I shall go on living, all
the same. Sorrow takes such a long time to kill any one. I suppose
Jessie and I will go on the Continent, and travel from place to place,
trying to forget the old dear life among new scenes and new
people."
"And nicely you will get yourself talked about," said Leonard, with
that unhesitating brutality which his friends called frankness—"a
young and handsome woman, without any male relative, wandering
about the Continent."
"I shall have Jessie."
"A paid companion—a vast protection she would be to you—about as
much as a Pomeranian dog, or a poll parrot."
"Then I can stay in England," answered Christabel, indifferently. "It
will matter very little where I live."
"Come, Belle," said Leonard, in a friendly, comfortable tone, laying
his broad strong hand on her horse's neck, as they rode slowly side
by side up the narrow road, between hedges filled with honeysuckle
and eglantine, "this is flying in the face of Providence, which has
made you young and handsome, and an heiress, in order that you
might get the most out of life. Is a young woman's life to come to an
end all at once because an elderly woman dies? That's rank
nonsense. That's the kind of way widows talk in their first edition of
crape and caps. But they don't mean it, my dear; or, say they think
they mean it, they never hold by it. That kind of widow is always a
wife again before the second year of her widowhood is over. And to
hear you—not quite one-and-twenty, and as fit as a fid—in the very
zenith of your beauty," said Leonard, hastily correcting the horsey
turn of his compliment,—"to hear you talk in that despairing way is
too provoking. Come, Belle, be rational. Why should you go
wandering about Switzerland and Italy with a shrewish little old maid
like Jessie Bridgeman—when—when you can stay at Mount Royal
and be its mistress. I always meant you to be my wife, Belle, and I
still mean it—in spite of bygones."
"You are very good—very forgiving," said Christabel, with most
irritating placidity, "but unfortunately I never meant to be your wife
then—and I don't mean it now."
"In plain words, you reject me?"
"If you intend this for an offer, most decidedly," answered Christabel,
as firm as a rock. "Come, Leonard, don't look so angry; let us be
friends and cousins—almost brother and sister—as we have been in
all the years that are gone. Let us unite in the endeavour to make
your dear mother's life happy—so happy, that she may grow strong
and well again—restored by perfect freedom from care. If you and I
were to quarrel she would be miserable. We must be good friends
always—if it were only for her sake."
"That's all very well, Christabel, but a man's feelings are not so
entirely within his control as you seem to suppose. Do you think I
shall ever forget how you threw me over for a fellow you had only
known a week or so—and now, when I tell you how, from my
boyhood, I have relied upon your being my wife—always kept you in
my mind as the one only woman who was to bear my name, and sit
at the head of my table, you coolly inform me that it can never be?
You would rather go wandering about the world with a hired
companion——"
"Jessie is not a hired companion—she is my very dear friend."
"You choose to call her so—but she came to Mount Royal in answer
to an advertisement, and my mother pays her wages, just like the
housemaids. You would rather roam about with Jessie Bridgeman,
getting yourself talked about at every table d'hôte in Europe—a prey
for every Captain Deuceace, or Loosefish, on the Continent—than
you would be my wife, and mistress of Mount Royal."
"Because nearly a year ago I made up my mind never to be any
man's wife, Leonard," answered Christabel, gravely. "I should hate
myself if I were to depart from that resolve."
"You mean that when you broke with Mr. Hamleigh you did not think
there was any one in the world good enough to stand in his shoes,"
said Leonard, savagely. "And for the sake of a man who turned out
so badly that you were obliged to chuck him up, you refuse a fellow
who has loved you all his life."
Christabel turned her horse's head, and went homewards at a sharp
trot, leaving Leonard, discomfited, in the middle of the lane. He had
nothing to do but to trot meekly after her, afraid to go too fast, lest
he should urge her horse to a bolt, and managing at last to overtake
her at the bottom of a hill.
"Do find some grass somewhere, so that we may get a canter," she
said; and her cousin knew that there was to be no more
conversation that morning.
 CHAPTER V.
"BUT HERE IS ONE WHO LOVES YOU AS OF
OLD."
After this Leonard sulked, and the aspect of home life at Mount
Royal became cloudy and troubled. He was not absolutely uncivil to
his cousin, but he was deeply resentful, and he showed his
resentment in various petty ways—descending so low as to give an
occasional sly kick to Randie. He was grumpy in his intercourse with
his mother; he took every opportunity of being rude to Miss
Bridgeman; he sneered at all their womanly occupations, their
charities, their church-going. That domestic sunshine which had so
gladdened the widow's heart, was gone for ever, as it seemed. Her
son now snatched at every occasion for getting away from home. He
dined at Bodmin one night—at Launceston, another. He had friends
to meet at Plymouth, and dined and slept at the "Duke of Cornwall."
He came home bringing worse devils—in the way of ill-temper and
rudeness—than those which he had taken away with him. He no
longer pretended the faintest interest in Christabel's playing—
confessing frankly that all classical compositions, especially those of
Beethoven, suggested to him that far-famed melody which was fatal
to the traditional cow. He no longer offered to make her a fine
billiard-player. "No woman ever could play billiards," he said,
contemptuously—"they have neither eye nor wrist; they know
nothing about strengths; and always handle their cue as if it was
Moses's rod, and was going to turn into a snake and bite 'em."
Mrs. Tregonell was not slow to guess the cause of her son's changed
humour. She was too intensely anxious for the fulfilment of this chief
desire of her soul not to be painfully conscious of failure. She had
urged Leonard to speak soon—and he had spoken—with disastrous
result. She had seen the angry cloud upon her son's brow when he
came home from that tête-à-tête ride with Christabel. She feared to
question him, for it was her rash counsel, perhaps, which had
brought this evil result to pass. Yet she could not hold her peace for
ever. So one evening, when Jessie and Christabel were dining at
Trevalga Rectory, and Mrs. Tregonell was enjoying the sole privilege
of her son's company, she ventured to approach the subject.
"How altered you have been lately"—lately, meaning for at least a
month—"in your manner to your cousin, Leonard," she said, with a
feeble attempt to speak lightly, her voice tremulous with suppressed
emotion. "Has she offended you in any way? You and she used to be
so very sweet to each other."
"Yes, she was all honey when I first came home, wasn't she,
mother?" returned Leonard, nursing his boot, and frowning at the
lamp on the low table by Mrs. Tregonell's chair. "All hypocrisy—rank
humbug—that's what it was. She is still bewailing that fellow whom
you brought here—and, mark my words, she'll marry him sooner or
later. She threw him over in a fit of temper, and pride, and jealousy;
and when she finds she can't live without him she'll take some
means of bringing him back to her. It was all your doing, mother.
You spoiled my chances when you brought your old sweetheart's son
into this house. I don't think you could have had much respect for
my dead father when you invited that man to Mount Royal."
Mrs. Tregonell's mild look of reproach might have touched the
hardest heart; but it was lost on Leonard, who sat scowling at the
lamp, and did not once meet his mother's eyes.
"It is not kind of you to say that, Leonard," she said gently; "you
ought to know that I was a true and loving wife to your father, and
that I have always honoured his memory, as a true wife should. He
knew that I was interested in Angus Hamleigh's career, and he never
resented that feeling. I am sorry your cousin has rejected you—more
sorry than even you yourself can be, I believe—for your marriage
has been the dream of my life. But we cannot control fate. Are you
really fond of her, dear?"
"Fond of her? A great deal too fond—foolishly—ignominiously fond of
her—so fond that I am beginning to detest her."
"Don't despair then, Leonard. Let this first refusal count for nothing.
Only be patient, and gentle with her—not cold and rude, as you
have been lately."
"It's easy to talk," said Leonard, contemptuously. "But do you
suppose I can feel very kindly towards a girl who refused me as
coolly as if I had been asking her to dance, and who let me see at
the same time that she is still passionately in love with Angus
Hamleigh? You should have seen how she blazed out at me when I
mentioned his name—her eyes flaming—her cheeks first crimson
and then deadly pale. That's what love means. And, even if she were
willing to be my wife to-morrow, she would never give me such love
as that. Curse her," muttered the lover between his clenched teeth;
"I didn't know how fond I was of her till she refused me—and now, I
could crawl at her feet, and sue to her as a palavering Irish beggar
sues for alms, cringing and fawning, and flattering and lying—and
yet in my heart of hearts I should be savage with her all the time,
knowing that she will never care for me as she cared for that other
fellow."
"Leonard, if you knew how it pains me to hear you talk like that,"
said Mrs. Tregonell. "It makes me fearful of your impetuous, self-
willed nature."
"Self-will be——! somethinged!" growled Leonard. "Did you ever
know a man who cultivated anybody else's will? Would you have me
pretend to be better than I am—tell you that I can feel all affection
for the girl who preferred the first stranger who came in her way to
the playfellow and companion of her childhood?"
"If you had been a little less tormenting, a little less exacting with
her in those days, Leonard, I think she would have remembered you
more tenderly," said Mrs. Tregonell.
"If you are going to lecture me about what I was as a boy we'd
better cut the conversation," retorted Leonard. "I'll go and practise
the spot-stroke for half an hour, while you take your after-dinner
nap."
"No, dear, don't go away. I don't feel in the least inclined for sleep. I
had no idea of lecturing you, Leonard, believe me; only I cannot
help regretting, as you do, that Christabel should not be more
attached to you. But I feel very sure that, if you are patient, she will
come to think differently by-and-by."
"Didn't you tell me to ask her—and quickly?"
"Yes, that was because I was impatient. Life seemed slipping away
from me—and I was so eager to be secure of my dear boy's
happiness. Let us try different tactics, Leo. Take things quietly for a
little—behave to your cousin just as if there had been nothing of this
kind between you—and who knows what may happen."
"I know of one thing that may and will happen next October, unless
the lady changes her tune," answered Leonard, sulkily.
"What is that?"
"I shall go to South America—do a little mountaineering in the
Equatorial Andes—enjoy a little life in Valparaiso, Truxillo—Lord
knows where! I've done North America, from Canada to Frisco, and
now I shall do the South."
"Leonard, you would not be so cruel as to leave me to die in my
loneliness; for I think, dear, you must know that I have not long to
live."
"Come, mother, I believe you fancy yourself ever so much worse
than you really are. This jog-trot, monotonous life of yours would
breed vapours in the liveliest person. Besides, if you should be ill
while I am away, you'll have your niece, whom you love as a
daughter—and perhaps your niece's husband, this dear Angus of
yours—to take care of you."
"You are very hard upon me, Leonard—and yet, I went against my
conscience for your sake. I let Christabel break with her lover. I said
never one word in his favour, although I must have known in my
heart that they would both be miserable. I had your interest at heart
more than theirs—I thought, 'here is a chance for my boy.'"
"You were very considerate—a day after the fair. Don't you think it
would have been better to be wise before the event, and not to have
invited that coxcomb to Mount Royal?"
He came again and again to the charge, always with fresh
bitterness. He could not forgive his mother for this involuntary wrong
which she had done to him.
After this he went off to the solitude of the billiard-room, and a
leisurely series of experiments upon the spot-stroke. It was his only
idea of a contemplative evening.
He was no less sullen and gloomy in his manner to Christabel next
morning at breakfast, for all his mother had said to him overnight.
He answered his cousin in monosyllables, and was rude to Randie—
wondered that his mother should allow dogs in her dining-room—
albeit Randie's manners were far superior to his own.
Later in the morning, when Christabel and her aunt were alone, the
girl crept to her favourite place beside Mrs. Tregonell's chair, and
with her folded arms resting on the cushioned elbow, looked up
lovingly at the widow's grave, sad face.
"Auntie, dearest, you know so well how fondly I love you, that I am
sure you won't think me any less loving and true, if I ask you to let
me leave you for a little while. Let me go away somewhere with
Jessie, to some quiet German town, where I can improve myself in
music, and where she and I can lead a hard-working, studious life,
just like a couple of Girton girls. You remember, last year you
suggested that we should travel, and I refused your offer, thinking
that I should be happier at home; but now I feel the need of a
change."
"And you would leave me, now that my health is broken, and that I
am so dependent on your love?" said Mrs. Tregonell, with mild
reproachfulness.
Christabel bent down to kiss the thin, white hand that lay on the
cushion near her—anxious to hide the tears that sprang quickly to
her eyes.
"You have Leonard," she faltered. "You are happy, are you not,
dearest, now Leonard is at home again?"
"At home—yes, I thank God that my son is under my roof once
more. But how long may he stay at home? How much do I have of
his company—in and out all day—anywhere but at my side—making
every possible excuse for leaving me? He has begun, already, to talk
of going to South America in the autumn. Poor boy, he is restless
and unhappy; and I know the reason. You must know it too, Belle. It
is your fault. You have spoiled the dream of my life."
"Auntie, is this generous, is this fair?" pleaded Christabel, with her
head still bent over the pale wasted hand.
"It is natural at least," answered the widow, impetuously. "Why
cannot you care for my boy, why cannot you understand and value
his devotion? It is not an idle fancy—born of a few weeks'
acquaintance—not the last new caprice of a battered roué, who
offers his worn-out heart to you when other women have done with
it. Leonard's is the love of long years—the love of a fresh unspoiled
nature. I know that he has not Angus Hamleigh's refinement of
manner—he is not so clever—so imaginative—but of what value is
such surface refinement when the man's inner nature is coarse and
profligate. A man who has lived among impure women must have
become coarse; there must be deterioration, ruin, for a man's nature
in such a life as that," continued Mrs. Tregonell, passionately, her
resentment against Angus Hamleigh kindling as she thought how he
had ousted her son. "Why should you not value my boy's love?" she
asked again. "What is there wanting in him that you should treat him
so contemptuously? He is young, handsome, brave—owner of this
place of which you are so fond. Your marriage with him would bring
the Champernowne estate together again. Everybody was sorry to
see it divided. It would bring together two of the oldest and best
names in the county. You might call your eldest son Champernowne
Tregonell."
"Don't, Auntie, don't go on like that," entreated Christabel, piteously:
"if you only knew how little such arguments influence me: 'the
glories of our rank and state are shadows, not substantial things.'
What difference do names and lands make in the happiness of a life?
If Angus Hamleigh had been a ploughman's son, like Burns—
nameless—penniless—only just himself, I should have loved him
exactly the same. Dearest, these are the things in which we cannot
be governed by other people's wisdom. Our hearts choose for us; in
spite of us. I have been obliged to think seriously of life since
Leonard and I had that unlucky conversation the other day. He told
you about it, perhaps?"
"He told me that you refused him."
"As I would have refused any other man, Auntie. I have made up my
mind to live and die unmarried. It is the only tribute I can offer to
one I loved so well."
"And who proved so unworthy of your love," said Mrs. Tregonell,
moodily.
"Do not speak of him, if you cannot speak kindly. You once loved his
father, but you seem to have forgotten that. Let me go away for a
little while, Auntie—a few months only, if you like. My presence in
this house only does harm. Leonard is angry with me—and you are
angry for his sake. We are all unhappy now—nobody talks freely—or
laughs—or takes life pleasantly. We all feel constrained and
miserable. Let me go, dear. When I am gone you and Leonard can
be happy together."
"No, Belle, we cannot. You have spoiled his life. You have broken his
heart."
Christabel smiled a little contemptuously at the mother's wailing.
"Hearts are not so easily broken," she said, "Leonard's least of all.
He is angry because for the first time in his life he finds himself
thwarted. He wants to marry me, and I don't want to marry him. Do
you remember how angry he was when he wanted to go out
shooting, at eleven years of age, and you refused him a gun? He
moped and fretted for a week, and you were quite as unhappy as he
was. It is almost the first thing I remember about him. When he
found you were quite firm in your refusal, he left off sulking, and
reconciled himself to the inevitable. He will do just the same about
this refusal of mine—when I am out of his sight. But my presence
here irritates him."
"Christabel, if you leave me I shall know that you have never loved
me," said Mrs. Tregonell, with sudden vehemence. "You must know
that I am dying—very slowly, perhaps—a wearisome decay for those
who can only watch and wait, and bear with me till I am dead. But I
know and feel that I am dying. This trouble will hasten my end, and
instead of dying in peace, with the assurance of my boy's happy
future—with the knowledge that he will have a virtuous and loving
wife, a wife of my own training, to guide him and influence him for
good—I shall die miserable, fearing that he may fall into evil hands,
and that evil days may come upon him. I know how impetuous, how
impulsive he is; how easily governed through his feelings, how little
able to rule himself by hard common-sense. And you, who have
known him all your life—who know the best and worst of him—you
can be so indifferent to his happiness, Christabel. How can I believe,
in the face of this, that you ever loved me, his mother?"
"I have loved you as my mother," replied the girl, with her arms
round her aunt's neck, her lips pressed against that pale thin cheek.
"I love you better than any one in this world. If God would spare you
for years to come, and we could live always together, and be all in all
to each other as we have been, I think I could be quite happy. Yes, I
could feel as if there were nothing wanting in this life. But I cannot
marry a man I do not love, whom I never can love."
"He would take you on trust, Belle," murmured the mother,
imploringly; "he would be content with duty and good faith. I know
how true and loyal you are, dearest, and that you would be a perfect
wife. Love would come afterwards."
"Will it make you happier if I don't go away, Auntie?" asked
Christabel, gently.
"Much happier."
"Then I will stay; and Leonard may be as rude to me as he likes; he
may do anything disagreeable, except kick Randie; and I will not
murmur. But you and I must never talk of him as we have talked to-
day: it can do no good."
After this came much kissing and hugging, and a few tears; and it
was agreed that Christabel should forego her idea of six months'
study of classical music at the famous conservatoire at Leipsic.
She and Jessie had made all their plans before she spoke to her
aunt; and when she informed Miss Bridgeman that she had given
way to Mrs. Tregonell's wish, and had abandoned all idea of
Germany, that strong-minded young woman expressed herself most
unreservedly.
"You are a fool!" she exclaimed. "No doubt that's an outrageous
remark from a person in my position to an heiress like you; but I
can't help it. You are a fool—a yielding, self-abnegating fool! If you
stay here you will marry that man. There is no escape possible for
you. Your aunt has made up her mind about it. She will worry you till
you give your consent, and then you will be miserable ever
afterwards."
"I shall do nothing of the kind. I wonder that you can think me so
weak."
"If you are weak enough to stay, you will be weak enough to do the
other thing," retorted Jessie.
"How can I go when my aunt looks at me with those sad eyes, dying
eyes—they are so changed since last year—and implores me to
stop? I thought you loved her, Jessie?"
"I do love her, with a fond and grateful affection. She was my first
friend outside my own home; she is my benefactress. But I have to
think of your welfare, Christabel—your welfare in this world and the
world to come. Both will be in danger if you stay here and marry
Leonard Tregonell."
"I am going to stay here; and I am not going to marry Leonard. Will
that assurance satisfy you? One would think I had no will of my
own."
"You have not the will to withstand your aunt. She parted you and
Mr. Hamleigh; and she will marry you to her son."
"The parting was my act," said Christabel.
"It was your aunt who brought it about. Had she been true and loyal
there would have been no such parting. If you had only trusted to
me in that crisis, I think I might have saved you some sorrow; but
what's done cannot be undone."
"There are some cases in which a woman must judge for herself,"
Christabel replied, coldly.
"A woman, yes—a woman who has had some experience of life: but
not a girl, who knows nothing of the hard real world and its
temptations, difficulties, struggles. Don't let us talk of it any more. I
cannot trust myself to speak when I remember how shamefully he
was treated."
Christabel stared in amazement. The calm, practical Miss Bridgeman
spoke with a passionate vehemence which took the girl's breath
away; and yet, in her heart of hearts, Christabel was grateful to her
for this sudden flash of anger.
"I did not know you liked him so much—that you were so sorry for
him," she faltered.
"Then you ought to have known, if you ever took the trouble to
remember how good he always was to me, how sympathetic, how
tolerant of my company when it was forced upon him day after day,
how seemingly unconscious of my plainness and dowdiness. Why
there was not a present he gave me which did not show the most
thoughtful study of my tastes and fancies. I never look at one of his
gifts—I was not obliged to fling his offerings back in his face as you
were—without wondering that a fine gentleman could be so full of
small charities and delicate courtesy. He was like one of those wits
and courtiers one reads of in Burnet—not spotless, like Tennyson's
Arthur—but the very essence of refinement and good feeling. God
bless him! wherever he is."
"You are very odd sometimes, Jessie," said Christabel, kissing her
friend, "but you have a noble heart."
There was a marked change in Leonard's conduct when he and his
cousin met in the drawing-room before dinner. He had been absent
at luncheon, on a trout-fishing expedition; but there had been time
since his return for a long conversation between him and his mother.
She had told him how his sullen temper had almost driven Christabel
from the house, and how she had been only induced to stay by an
appeal to her affection. This evening he was all amiability, and tried
to make his peace with Randie, who received his caresses with a
stolid forbearance rather than with gratification. It was easier to
make friends with Christabel than with the dog, for she wished to be
kind to her cousin on his mother's account.
That evening the reign of domestic peace seemed to be renewed.
There were no thunder-clouds in the atmosphere. Leonard strolled
about the lawn with his mother and Christabel, looking at the roses,
and planning where a few more choice trees might yet be added to
the collection. Mrs. Tregonell's walks now rarely went beyond this
broad velvet lawn, or the shrubberies that bordered it. She drove to
church on Sundays, but she had left off visiting that involved long
drives, though she professed herself delighted to see her friends.
She did not want the house to become dull and gloomy for Leonard.
She even insisted that there should be a garden party on Christabel's
twenty-first birthday; and she was delighted when some of the old
friends who came to Mount Royal that day insinuated their
congratulations, in a tentative manner, upon Miss Courtenay's
impending engagement to her cousin.
"There is nothing definitely settled," she told Mrs. St. Aubyn, "but I
have every hope that it will be so. Leonard adores her."
"And it would be a much more suitable match for her than the
other," said Mrs. St. Aubyn, a commonplace matron of irreproachable
lineage: "it would be so nice for you to have her settled near you.
Would they live at Mount Royal?"
"Of course. Where else should my son live but in his father's house?"
"But it is your house."
"Do you think I should allow my life-interest in the place to stand in
the way of Leonard's enjoyment of it," exclaimed Mrs. Tregonell. "I
should be proud to take the second place in his house—proud to see
his young wife at the head of his table."
"That is all very well in theory, but I have never seen it work out well
in fact," said the Rector of Trevalga, who made a third in the little
group seated on the edge of the wide lawn, where sportive youth
was playing tennis, in half a dozen courts, to the enlivening strains
of a military band from Bodmin barracks.
"How thoroughly happy Christabel looks," observed another friendly
matron to Mrs. Tregonell, a little later in the afternoon: "she seems
to have quite got over her trouble about Mr. Hamleigh."
"Yes, I hope that is forgotten," answered Mrs. Tregonell.
This garden party was an occasion of unspeakable pain to
Christabel. Her aunt had insisted upon sending out the invitations.
There must be some kind of festival upon her adopted daughter's
coming of age. The inheritor of lands and money was a person
whose twenty-first birthday could not be permitted to slip by
unmarked, like any other day in the calendar.
"If we were to have no garden party this summer people would say
you were broken-hearted at the sad end of last year's engagement,
darling," said Mrs. Tregonell, when Christabel had pleaded against
the contemplated assembly, "and I know your pride would revolt at
that."
"Dear Auntie, my pride has been levelled to the dust, if I ever had
any; it will not raise its head on account of a garden party."
Mrs. Tregonell insisted, albeit even her small share of the
preparations, the mere revision of the list of guests—the discussion
and acceptance of Jessie Bridgeman's arrangements—was a fatigue
to the jaded mind and enfeebled body. When the day came the
mistress of Mount Royal carried herself with the old air of quiet
dignity which her friends knew so well. People saw that she was
aged, that she had grown pale and thin and wan; and they ascribed
this change in her to anxiety about her niece's engagement. There
were vague ideas as to the cause of Mr. Hamleigh's dismissal—dim
notions of terrible iniquities, startling revelations, occurring on the
very brink of marriage. That section of county society which did not
go to London knew a great deal more about the details of the story
than the people who had been in town at the time and had seen
Miss Courtenay and her lover almost daily. For those daughters of
the soil who but rarely crossed the Tamar the story of Miss
Courtenay's engagement was a social mystery of so dark a
complexion that it afforded inexhaustible material for tea-table
gossip. A story, of which no one seemed to know the exact details,
gave wide ground for speculation, and could always be looked at
from new points of view.
And now here was the same Miss Courtenay smiling upon her
friends, fair and radiant, showing no traces of last year's tragedy in
her looks or manners; being, indeed, one of those women who do
not wear their hearts upon their sleeves for daws to peck at. The
local mind, therefore, arrived at the conclusion that Miss Courtenay
had consoled herself for the loss of one lover by the gain of another,
and was now engaged to her cousin.
Clara St. Aubyn ventured to congratulate her upon this happy issue
out of bygone griefs.
"I am so glad," she said, squeezing Christabel's hand, during an
inspection of the hot-houses. "I like him so much."
"I don't quite understand," replied Christabel, with a freezing look:
"who is it whom you like? The new Curate?"
"No dear, don't pretend to misunderstand me. I am so pleased to
think that you and your cousin are going to make a match of it. He is
so handsome—such a fine, frank, open-hearted manner—so
altogether nice."
"I am pleased to hear you praise him," said Christabel, still
supremely cold; "but my cousin is my cousin, and will never be
anything more."
"You don't mean that?"
"I do—without the smallest reservation."
Clara became thoughtful. Leonard Tregonell was one of the best
matches in the county, and he had always been civil to her. They had
tastes in common, were both horsey and doggy, and plain-spoken to
brusqueness. Why should not she be mistress of Mount Royal, by-
and-by, if Christabel despised her opportunities?
At half-past seven, the last carriage had driven away from the porch;
and Mrs. Tregonell, thoroughly exhausted by the exertions of the
afternoon, reclined languidly in her favourite chair, moved from its
winter-place by the hearth, to a deep embayed window looking on to
the rose-garden. Christabel sat on a stool at her aunt's feet, her fair
head resting against the cushioned elbow of Mrs. Tregonell's chair.
"Well, Auntie, the people are gone and the birthday is over. Isn't that
a blessing?" she said lightly.
"Yes, dear, it is over, and you are of age—your own mistress. My
guardianship expires to-day. I wonder whether I shall find any
difference in my darling now she is out of leading-strings."
"I don't think you will, Auntie. I have not much inclination for
desperate flights of any kind. What can freedom or the unrestricted
use of my fortune give me, which your indulgence has not already
given? What whim or fancy of mine have you ever thwarted? No,
Aunt Di, I don't think there is any scope for rebellion on my part."
"And you will not leave me, dear, till the end?" pleaded the widow.
"Your bondage cannot be for very long."
"Auntie! how can you speak like that, when you know—when you
must know that I have no one in the world but you, now—no one,
dearest," said Christabel, on her knees at her aunt's feet, clasping
and kissing the pale transparent hands. "I have not the knack of
loving many people. Jessie is very good to me, and I am fond of her
as my friend and companion. Uncle Oliver is all goodness, and I am
fond of him in just the same way. But I never loved any one but you
and Angus. Angus is gone from me, and if God takes you, Auntie,
my prayer is that I may speedily follow you."
"My love, that is a blasphemous prayer: it implies doubt in God's
goodness. He means the young and innocent to be happy in this
world—happy and a source of happiness to others. You will form
new ties: a husband and children will console you for all you have
lost in the past."
"No, aunt, I shall never marry. Put that idea out of your mind. You
will think less badly of me for refusing Leonard if you understand
that I have made up my mind to live and die unmarried."
"But I cannot and will not believe that, Belle: whatever you may
think now, a year hence your ideas will have entirely altered.
Remember my own history. When George Hamleigh died I thought
the world—so far as it concerned me—had come to an end, that I
had only to wait for death. My fondest hope was that I should die
within the year, and be buried in a grave near his—yet five years
afterwards I was a happy wife and mother."
"God was good to you," said Christabel, quietly, thinking all the while
that her aunt must have been made of a different clay from herself.
There was a degradation in being able to forget: it implied a lower
kind of organism than that finely strung nature which loves once and
once only.
 CHAPTER VI.
"THAT LIP AND VOICE ARE MUTE FOR EVER."
Having pledged herself to remain with her aunt to the end,
Christabel was fain to make the best of her life at Mount Royal, and
in order to do this she must needs keep on good terms with her
cousin. Leonard's conduct of late had been irreproachable: he was
attentive to his mother, all amiability to Christabel, and almost civil to
Miss Bridgeman. He contrived to make his peace with Randie, and
he made such a good impression upon Major Bree that he won the
warm praises of that gentleman.
The cross country rides were resumed, the Major always in
attendance; and Leonard and his cousin were seen so often
together, riding, driving, or walking, that the idea of an engagement
between them became a fixture in the local mind, which held that
when one was off with the old love it was well to be on with the
new.
And so the summer ripened and waned. Mrs. Tregonell's health
seemed to improve in the calm happiness of a domestic life in which
there was no indication of disunion. She had never surrendered her
hope of Christabel's relenting. Leonard's frank and generous
character—his good looks—his local popularity—must ultimately
prevail over the memory of another—that other having so completely
given up his chances. Mrs. Tregonell was half inclined to recognize
the nobleness of that renunciation; half disposed to accept it as a
proof that Angus Hamleigh's heart still hankered after the actress
who had been his first infatuation. In either case no one could doubt
that it was well for Christabel to be released from such an
engagement. To wed Angus would have been to tie herself to
sickness and death—to take upon herself the burden of early
widowhood, to put on sackcloth and ashes as a wedding garment.
It was winter, and there were patches of snow upon the hills, and
sea and sky were of one chill slaty hue, before Leonard ventured to
repeat that question which he had asked with such ill effect in the
sweet summer morning, between hedgerows flushed with roses. But
through all the changes of the waning year there had been one
purpose in his mind, and every act of his life had tended to one
result. He had sworn to himself that his cousin should be his wife.
Whatever barriers of disinclination, direct antagonism even, there
might be on her side must be broken down by dogged patience,
unyielding determination on his side. He had the spirit of the hunter,
to whom that prey is most precious which costs the longest chase.
He loved his cousin more passionately to-day, after keeping his
feelings in check for six months, than he had loved her when he
asked her to be his wife. Every day of delay had increased his ardour
and strengthened his resolve.
It was New Year's day. Christabel and Miss Bridgeman had been to
church in the morning, and had taken a long walk with Leonard, who
contrived to waylay them at the church door after church. Then had
come a rather late luncheon, after which Christabel spent an hour in
her aunt's room reading to her, and talking a little in a subdued way.
It was one of Mrs. Tregonell's bad days, a day upon which she could
hardly leave her sofa, and Christabel came away from the invalid's
room full of sadness.
She was sitting by the fire in the library, alone in the dusk save for
Randie's company, when her cousin came in and found her.
"Why, Belle, what are you doing all alone in the dark?" he exclaimed.
"I almost thought the room was empty."
"I have been thinking," she said, with a sigh.
"Your thoughts could not have been over-pleasant, I should think, by
that sigh," said Leonard, coming over to the hearth, and drawing the
logs together. "There's a cheerful blaze for you. Don't give way to
sad thoughts on the first day of the year, Belle: it's a bad beginning."
"I have been thinking of your dear mother, Leonard: my mother, for
she has been more to me than one mother in a hundred is to her
daughter. She is with us to-day—a part of our lives—very frail and
feeble, but still our own. Where will she be next New Year's day?"
"Ah, Belle, that's a bad look out for both of us," answered Leonard,
seating himself in his mother's empty chair. "I'm afraid she won't last
out the year that begins to-day. But she has seemed brighter and
happier lately, hasn't she?"
"Yes, I think she has been happier," said Christabel.
"Do you know why?"
His cousin did not answer him. She sat with her face bent over her
dog, hiding her tears on Randie's sleek black head.
"I think I know why the mother has been so tranquil in her mind
lately, Belle," said Leonard, with unusual earnestness, "and I think
you know just as well as I do. She has seen you and me more
friendly together—more cousinly—and she has looked forward to the
fulfilment of an old wish and dream of hers. She has looked for the
speedy realization of that wish, Belle, although six months ago it
seemed hopeless. She wants to see the two people she loves best
on earth united, before she is taken away. It would make the close
of her life happy, if she could see my happiness secure. I believe you
know that, Belle."
"Yes, I know that it is so. But that can never be."
"That is a hard saying, Christabel. Half a year ago I asked you a
question, and you said no. Many a man in my position would have
been too proud to run the risk of a second refusal. He would have
gone away in a huff and found comfort somewhere else. But I knew
that there was only one woman in the world who could make me
happy, and I waited for her. You must own that I have been patient,
have I not, Belle?"
"You have been very devoted to your dear mother—very good to
me. I cannot deny that, Leonard," Christabel answered gravely.
She had dried her tears, and lifted her head from the dog's neck,
and sat looking straight at the fire, self-possessed and sad. It
seemed to her as if all possibility of happiness had gone out of her
life.
"Am I to have no reward?" asked Leonard. "You know with what
hope I have waited—you know that our marriage would make my
mother happy, that it would make the end of her life a festival. You
owe me nothing, but you owe her something. That is sueing in
formâ pauperis, isn't it, Belle? But I have no pride where you are
concerned."
"You ask me to be your wife; you don't even ask if I love you," said
Christabel, bitterly. "What if I were to say yes, and then tell you
afterwards that my heart still belongs to Angus Hamleigh."
"You had better tell me that now, if it is so," said Leonard, his face
darkening in the firelight.
"Then I will tell you that it is so. I gave him up because I thought it
my duty to give him up. I believed that in honour he belonged to
another woman. I believe so still. But I have never left off loving
him. That is why I have made up my mind never to marry."
"You are wise," retorted Leonard, "such a confession as that would
settle for most men. But it does not settle for me, Belle. I am too far
gone. If you are a fool about Hamleigh, I am a fool about you. Only
say you will marry me, and I will take my chance of all the rest. I
know you will be a good wife; and I will be a good husband to you.
And I suppose in the end you will get to care for me, a little. One
thing is certain, that I can't be happy without you; so I would gladly
run the risk of an occasional taste of misery with you. Come, Belle, is
it a bargain," he pleaded, taking her unresisting hands. "Say that it
is, dearest. Let me kiss the future mistress of Mount Royal."
He bent over her and kissed her—kissed those lips which had once
been sacred to Angus Hamleigh, which she had sworn in her heart
should be kissed by no other man upon earth. She recoiled from him
with a shiver of disgust—no good omen for their wedded bliss.
"This will make our mother very happy," said Leonard. "Come to her
now, Belle, and let us tell her."
Christabel went with slow, reluctant steps, ashamed of the weakness
which had yielded to persuasion and not to duty. But when Mrs.
Tregonell heard the news from the triumphant lover, the light of
happiness that shone upon the wan face was almost an all-sufficing
reward for this last sacrifice.
"My love, my love," cried the widow, clasping her niece to her
breast. "You have made my last earthly days happy. I have thought
you cold and hard. I feared that I should die before you relented;
but now you have made me glad and grateful. I reared you for this,
I taught you for this, I have prayed for this ever since you were a
child. I have prayed that my son might have a pure and perfect wife:
and God has granted my prayer."
After this came a period of such perfect content and tranquillity for
the invalid, that Christabel forgot her own sorrows. She lived in an
atmosphere of gladness; congratulations, gifts, were pouring in upon
her every day; her aunt petted and cherished her, was never weary
of praising and caressing her. Leonard was all submission as a lover.
Major Bree was delighted at the security which this engagement
promised for the carrying on of the line of Champernownes and
Tregonells—the union of two fine estates. He had looked forward to
a dismal period when the widow would be laid in her grave, her son
a wanderer, and Christabel a resident at Plymouth or Bath; while
spiders wove their webs in shadowy corners of the good old Manor
House, and mice, to all appearance self-sustaining, scampered and
scurried behind the panelling.
Jessie Bridgeman was the only member of Christabel's circle who
refrained from any expression of approval.
"Did I not tell you that you must end by marrying him?" she
exclaimed. "Did I not say that if you stayed here the thing was
inevitable? Continual dropping will wear away a stone; the stone is a
fixture and can't help being dropped upon; but if you had stuck to
your colours and gone to Leipsic to study the piano, you would have
escaped the dropping."
As there was no possible reason for delay, while there was a
powerful motive for a speedy marriage, in the fact of Mrs. Tregonell's
precarious health, and her ardent desire to see her son and her
niece united before her fading eyes closed for ever upon earth and
earthly cares, Christabel was fain to consent to the early date which
her aunt and her lover proposed, and to allow all arrangements to
be hurried on with that view.
So in the dawning of the year, when Proserpine's returning footsteps
were only faintly indicated by pale snowdrops and early violets
lurking in sheltered hedges, and by the gold and purple of crocuses
in all the cottage gardens, Christabel put on her wedding gown, and
whiter than the pale ivory tint of the soft sheeny satin, took her seat
in the carriage beside her adopted mother, to be driven down into
the valley, and up the hilly street, where all the inhabitants of
Boscastle—save those who had gone on before to congregate by the
lich-gate—were on the alert to see the bride go by.
Mrs. Tregonell was paler than her niece, the fine regular features
blanched with that awful pallor which tells of disease—but her eyes
were shining with the light of gladness.
"My darling," she murmured, as they drove down to the harbour
bridge, "I have loved you all your life, but never as I love you to-day.
My dearest, you have filled my soul with content."
"I thank God that it should be so," faltered Christabel.
"If I could only see you smile, dear," said her aunt. "Your expression
is too sad for a bride."
"Is it, Auntie? But marriage is a serious thing, dear. It means the
dedication of a life to duty."
"Duty which affection will make very light, I hope," said Mrs.
Tregonell, chilled by the cold statuesque face, wrapped in its cloudy
veil. "Christabel, my love, tell me that you are not unhappy—that
this marriage is not against your inclination. It is of your own free
will that you give yourself to my boy?"
"Yes, of my own free will," answered Christabel, firmly.
As she spoke, it flashed upon her that Iphigenia would have given
the same answer before they led her to the altar of offended
Artemis. There are sacrifices offered with the victim's free consent,
which are not the less sacrifices.
"Look, dear," cried her aunt, as the children, clustering at the school-
house gate—dismissed from school an hour before their time—
waved their sturdy arms, and broke into a shrill treble cheer,
"everybody is pleased at this marriage."
"If you are glad, dearest, I am content," murmured her niece.
It was a very quiet wedding—or a wedding which ranks among quiet
weddings now-a-days, when nuptial ceremonies are for the most
part splendid. No train of bridesmaids in æsthetic colours, Duchess
of Devonshire hats, and long mittens—no page-boys, staggering
under gigantic baskets of flowers—no fuss or fashion, to make that
solemn ceremony a raree-show for the gaping crowd. The Rector of
Trevalga's two little girls were the only bridesmaids—dressed after
Sir Joshua, in short-waisted dove-coloured frocks and pink sashes,
mob caps and mittens, with big bunches of primroses and violets in
their chubby hands.
Mrs. Tregonell looked superb in a dark ruby velvet gown, and long
mantle of the same rich stuff, bordered with darkest sable. It was
she who gave her niece away, while Major Bree acted as best man
for Leonard. There were no guests at this winter wedding. Mrs.
Tregonell's frail health was a sufficient reason for the avoidance of all
pomp and show; and Christabel had pleaded earnestly for a very
quiet wedding.
So before that altar where she had hoped to pledge herself for life
and till death to Angus Hamleigh, Christabel gave her submissive
hand to Leonard Tregonell, while the fatal words were spoken which
have changed and blighted some few lives, to set against the many
they have blessed and glorified. Still deadly pale, the bride went with
the bridegroom to the vestry, to sign that book of fate, the register,
Mrs. Tregonell following on Major Bree's arm, Miss Bridgeman—a
neat little figure in silver grey poplin—and the child bride-maids
crowding in after them, until the small vestry was filled with a
gracious group, all glow of colour and sheen of silk and satin, in the
glad spring sunshine.
"Now, Mrs. Tregonell," said the Major, cheerily, when the bride and
bridegroom had signed, "let us have your name next, if you please;
for I don't think there is any of us who more rejoices in this union
than you do."
The widow took the pen, and wrote her name below that of
Christabel, with a hand that never faltered. The incumbent of
Minster used to say afterwards that this autograph was the grandest
in the register. But the pen dropped suddenly from the hand that
had guided it so firmly. Mrs. Tregonell looked round at the circle of
faces with a strange wild look in her own. She gave a faint half-
stifled cry, and fell upon her son's breast, her arms groping about his
shoulders feebly, as if they would fain have wound themselves round
his neck, but could not, encumbered by the heavy mantle.
Leonard put his arm round her, and held her firmly to his breast.
"Dear mother, are you ill?" he asked, alarmed by that strange look in
the haggard face.
"It is the end," she faltered. "Don't be sorry, dear. I am so happy."
And thus, with a shivering sigh, the weary heart throbbed its last
dull beat, the faded eyes grew dim, the lips were dumb for ever.
The Rector tried to get Christabel out of the vestry before she could
know what had happened—but the bride was clinging to her aunt's
lifeless figure, half sustained in Leonard's arms, half resting on the
chair which had been pushed forward to support her as she sank
upon her son's breast. Vain to seek to delay the knowledge of
sorrow. All was known to Christabel already, as she bent over that
marble face which was scarcely whiter than her own.
 CHAPTER VII.
"NOT THE GODS CAN SHAKE THE PAST."
There was a sad silent week of waiting before the bride set forth
upon her bridal tour, robed in deepest mourning. For six days the
windows of Mount Royal were darkened, and Leonard and his newly
wedded wife kept within the shadow of that house of death, almost
as strictly as if they had been Jewish mourners, bound by ancient
ceremonial laws, whereof the close observance is a kind of
patriotism among a people who have no fatherland. All the hot-
houses at Mount Royal gave out their treasures—white hyacinths,
and rose-flushed cyclamen, gardenia, waxen camellias, faint Dijon
roses—for the adornment of the death chamber. The corridor outside
that darkened room had an odour of hot-house flowers. The house,
folded in silence and darkness, felt like some splendid sepulchre.
Leonard was deeply depressed by his mother's death; more shocked
by its suddenness, by this discordant note in his triumphant
marriage song, than by the actual fact; this loss having been long
discounted in his own mind among the evils of the future.
Christabel's grief was terrible, albeit she had lived for the last year in
constant fear of this affliction. Its bitterness was in no wise lessened
because it had been long expected. Never even in her saddest
moments had she realized the agony of that parting, the cold dull
sense of loneliness, of dismal abandonment, in a loveless, joyless,
world, when that one beloved friend was taken from her. Leonard
tried his best to console her, putting aside his own sorrow, in the
endeavour to comfort his bride; but his efforts at consolation were
not happy, for the most part taking the form of philosophical truisms
which may be very good in an almanack, or as padding for a country
newspaper, but which sound dull and meaningless to the ear of the
mourner who says in his heart there was never any sorrow like unto
my sorrow.
In the low sunlight of the March afternoon they laid Mrs. Tregonell's
coffin in the family vault, beside the niche where her faithful
husband of ten years' wedded life took his last long rest. There, in
the darkness, the perfume of many flowers mixing with the cold
earthy odours of the tomb, they left her who had so long been the
despotic mistress of Mount Royal; and then they drove back to the
empty house, where the afternoon light that streamed in through
newly opened windows had a garish look, as if it had no right to be
there.
The widow's will was of the simplest. She left legacies to the old
servants; her wardrobe, with the exception of laces and furs, to
Dormer; mementoes to a few old friends; two thousand pounds in
trust for certain small local charities; to Christabel all her jewels and
books; and to her son everything else of which she died possessed.
He was now by inheritance from his mother, and in right of his wife,
master of the Champernowne estate, which, united to the Tregonell
property, made him one of the largest landowners in the West of
England. Christabel's fortune had been strictly settled on herself
before her marriage, with reversion to Leonard in the failure of
children; but the fact of this settlement, to which he had readily
agreed, did not lessen Leonard's sense of importance as
representative of the Tregonells and Champernownes.
Christabel and her husband started for the Continent on the day
after the funeral, Leonard fervently hoping that change of scene and
constant movement would help his wife to forget her grief. It was a
dreary departure for a honeymoon tour—the sombre dress of bride
and bridegroom, the doleful visage of Dormer, the late Mrs.
Tregonell's faithful maid, whom the present Mrs. Tregonell retained
for her own service, glad to have a person about her who had so
dearly loved the dead. They travelled to Weymouth, crossed to
Cherbourg, and thence to Paris, and on without stopping to
Bordeaux; then, following the line southward, they visited all the
most interesting towns of southern France—Albi, Montauban,
Toulouse, Carcassonne, Narbonne, Montpellier, Nismes, and so to the
fairy-like shores of the Mediterranean, lingering on their way to look
at mediæval cathedrals, Roman baths and amphitheatres, citadels,
prisons, palaces, aqueducts, all somewhat dry-as-dust and tiresome
to Leonard, but full of interest to Christabel, who forgot her own
griefs as she pored over these relics of pagan and Christian history.
Nice was in all its glory of late spring when, after a lingering
progress, they arrived at that Brighton of the south. It was nearly six
weeks since that March sunset which had lighted the funeral
procession in Minster Churchyard, and Christabel was beginning to
grow accustomed to the idea of her aunt's death—nay, had begun to
look back with a dim sense of wonder at the happy time in which
they two had been together, their love unclouded by any fear of
doom and parting. That last year of Mrs. Tregonell's life had been
Christabel's apprenticeship to grief. All the gladness and
thoughtlessness of youth had been blighted by the knowledge of an
inevitable parting—a farewell that must soon be spoken—a dear
hand clasped fondly to-day, but which must be let go to-morrow.
Under that soft southern sky a faint bloom came back to Christabel's
cheeks, which had not until now lost the wan whiteness they had
worn on her wedding-day. She grew more cheerful, talked brightly
and pleasantly to her husband, and put off the aspect of gloom with
the heavy crape-shrouded gown which marked the first period of her
mourning. She came down to dinner one evening in a gown of rich
lustreless black silk, with a cluster of Cape jasmine among the folds
of her white crape fichu, whereat Leonard rejoiced exceedingly, his
being one of those philosophic minds which believe that the too brief
days of the living should never be frittered away upon lamentations
for the dead.
"You're looking uncommonly jolly, Belle," said Leonard, as his wife
took her seat at the little table in front of an open window
overlooking the blue water and the amphitheatre of hills, glorified by
the sunset. They were dining at a private table in the public room of
the hotel, Leonard having a fancy for the life and bustle of the table
d'hôte rather than the seclusion of his own apartments. Christabel
hated sitting down with a herd of strangers; so, by way of
compromise, they dined at their own particular table, and looked on
at the public banquet, as at a stage-play enacted for their
amusement.
There were others who preferred the exclusiveness of a separate
table: among these two middle-aged men—one military, both new
arrivals—who sat within earshot of Mr. and Mrs. Tregonell.
"That's a fascinating get-up, Belle," pursued Leonard, proud of his
wife's beauty, and not displeased at a few respectful glances from
the men at the neighbouring table which that beauty had elicited.
"By-the-by, why shouldn't we go to the opera to-night? They do
'Traviata;' none of your Wagner stuff, but one of the few operas a
fellow can understand. It will cheer you up a bit."
"Thank you, Leonard. You are very good to think of it; but I had
rather not go to any place of amusement—this year."
"That's rank rubbish, Belle. What can it matter—here, where nobody
knows us? And do you suppose it can make any difference to my
poor mother? Her sleep will be none the less tranquil."
"I know that: but it pleases me to honour her memory. I will go to
the opera as often as you like next year, Leonard."
"You may go or stay away, so far as I'm concerned," answered
Leonard, with a sulky air. "I only suggested the thing on your
account. I hate their squalling."
This was not the first time that Mr. Tregonell had shown the cloven
foot during that prolonged honeymoon. He was not actually unkind
to his wife. He indulged her fancies for the most part, even when
they went counter to his; he would have loaded her with gifts, had
she been willing to accept them; he was the kind of spouse who, in
the estimation of the outside world, passes as a perfect husband—
proud, fond, indulgent, lavish—just the kind of husband whom a
sensuous, selfish woman would consider absolutely adorable from a
practical standpoint; supplementing him, perhaps, with the ideal, in
the person of a lover.
So far, Christabel's wedded life had gone smoothly; for in the
measure of her sacrifice she had included obedience and duty after
marriage. Yet there was not an hour in which she did not feel the
utter want of sympathy between her and the man she had married—
not a day in which she did not discover his inability to understand
her, to think as she thought, to see as she saw. Religion, conscience,
honour—for all these husband and wife had a different standard.
That which was right to one was wrong to the other. Their sense of
the beautiful, their estimation of art, were as wide apart as earth
and heaven. How could any union prove happy—how could there be
even that smooth peacefulness which blesses some passionless
unions—when the husband and wife were of so different a clay?
Long as Leonard had known and loved his cousin, he was no more
at home with her than he would have been with Undine, or with that
ivory image which Aphrodite warmed into life at the prayer of
Pygmalion the sculptor.
More than once during these six weeks of matrimony Leonard had
betrayed a jealous temper, which threatened evil in the future. His
courtship had been one long struggle at self-repression. Marriage
gave him back his liberty, and he used it on more than one occasion
to sneer at his wife's former lover, or at her fidelity to a cancelled
vow. Christabel had understood his meaning only too well; but she
had heard him in a scornful silence which was more humiliating than
any other form of reproof.
After that offer of the opera, Mr. Tregonell lapsed into silence. His
subjects for conversation were not widely varied, and his present
position, aloof from all sporting pursuits, and poorly provided with
the London papers, reduced him almost to dumbness. Just now he
was silent from temper, and went on sulkily with his dinner,
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