also, from Bristol, by Newport and Cardiff, along the shore to Pembroke. Many details of Mr. Telford's works are contained in Sir Henry Parnell's "Treatise on Roads." London, 1833. Pages 33-38. 50, 51. 146. 154–177. 260. 298. 348–361. 366-385. with various other notices. A perusal of those pages will amply repay the reader who delights in tracing the progress of public improvement, and in contemplating the mighty productions of human invention. The genius of this distinguished engineer was not confined to his profession. At an early period of his life he gave indications of considerable poetical talent. He was the "Eskdale Tam" of the poetical corner of "The Scot's Magazine." In John Mayne's poem of the " Siller Gun"- a poem that, in the opinion of Walter Scott, comes nearer to the productions of Burns than those of any other Scottish bard full justice is done to Telford's "double claim" to renown. After recording with due praise the Malcolms, Fergusons, Pasleys, Lauries, Maxwells, Reids, and other worthies of Dumfriesshire, the poet thus speaks of Telford : In his "Life of Burns," Dr. Currie says, "A great number of manuscript poems were found among the papers of Burns, addressed to him by admirers of his genius, from different parts of Britain, as well as from Ireland and America. Among these was a poetical epistle from Shrewsbury*, of superior merit. It is written in the dialect of Scotland (of which country Mr. Telford is a native), and in the versification gerally employed by our poet himself. Its object is to recom * Where, as we have already stated, Mr. Telford, in the early part of his career, exercised his abilities as an engineer under the patronage of Sir William Pulteney. mend to him other subjects of a serious nature, similar to that of the Cotters' Saturday Night,' and the reader will find that the advice is happily enforced by example. It would have given the editor pleasure to have inserted the whole of this poem, which he hopes will one day see the light; he is happy to have obtained, in the mean time, his friend, Mr. Telford's permission to insert the following extracts."-Then come the permitted extracts, from which we select the subjoined: "Pursue, O Burns, thy happy style, Those manne When tender joys, with pleasing smile, "I see my fond companions rise; I join the happy village joys; I see our green hills touch the skies, And through the wood I hear the river's rushing noise Its roaring flood.* "No distant Swiss with warmer glow Than still have mine, When up this rural mount † I go With songs of thine. "O happy bard! thy gen'rous flame Then sing, and save her virtuous name But, as has been justly and finely observed, "Mr. Telford was a poet of the highest order all his lifetime: not a * The banks of the Esk. † A beautiful little mount which stands immediately before, or rather forms a part of, Shrewsbury Castle, a seat of Sir William Pulteney. mere rhyme-stringer, into which almost any dunce might be drilled the poetry of his mind was too mighty and lofty to dwell in words and metaphors; it displayed itself by laying the sublime and the beautiful under contribution to the useful, for the service of man. His Caledonian Canal, his Highland Roads, his London and Holyhead Road, are poems of the most exalted character, divided into numerous cantos, of which the Menai Bridge is a most magnificent one. What grand ideas can words raise in the mind to compare with a glance at that stupendous production of human imagination?” Mr. Telford had taught himself Latin, French, and German; and could read those languages with facility, and converse freely in French. He understood algebra well, but thought that it led too much to abstraction, and too little to practice. Mathematical investigation he also held rather cheaply; and always, when practicable, resorted to experiment to determine the relative value of any plans on which it was his business to decide. He delighted in employing the vast in nature to contribute to the accommodation of man. When the project of Denocrates, to hew Mount Athos into a statue of Alexander, bearing a city in the one hand and an aqueduct in the other, was one day mentioned in his presence, his eyes glistened with pleasure, and he exclaimed that Denocrates "was a magnificent fellow !" On the other hand, when a friend was describing a minute process, into which Mr. Telford's mind was too large to enter with interest, after some time he said, in his very good-humoured way, "Come, be off with you; you are thinking of mites, and I of mountains." Yet he did not despise minutiæ: on the contrary, he liked to see those whom nature fitted for critical investigations of her laws and capabilities sedulously employed in exploring the most minute ramifications of her operations; but he viewed such proceedings only as means to great ends. He valued means only as means, and never dwelt on them, but ran through them, carrying away with him all that would serve to forward his ends. Nature and practice had so formed his eye for judging of levels, that he has been often known to ride through a country and point out the line which a canal must take, and subsequent surveys have confirmed his views. Mr. Telford was the patron of merit in others, wherever it was to be found: his kind disposition, unaffected manners, and easiness of access, were the means of raising many deserving individuals from obscurity to situations where their talents were seen and appreciated. Up to the latest period of his life, he was very fond of young men and of their company, provided they delighted in learning: he encouraged them to pursue their studies in such a manner as to acquire an exact knowledge of the laws and operations of nature, in order that they might, in after life, bring that knowledge to bear upon their engineering undertakings. While thus ever desirous of bringing the merit of others into notice, his own was so much kept out of view, that the orders of knighthood conferred on him, "Gustavus Vassa, and Merit,” the gold boxes, the medallions of royalty, and the diamond rings which he received from Russia and Sweden, were known only to his private friends. He was a man of sound principle; and his gradual rise from the stone-masons' and builders' yard to the top of his profession, in his own country, or, we believe we may say, in the world, is to be ascribed not more to his genius, his consummate ability, and his persevering industry, than to his plain, honest, straightforward dealing, and the integrity and candour which marked his character throughout life. He was never married. His servants always spoke of him as the kindest of masters. He never troubled himself about domestic affairs, nor cared what he ate or drank, but left all those minor matters of life to their management. He was a great reader, and generally retired to bed before twelve, and read himself to sleep; rose at seven, and finished breakfast before eight, at which hour he entered his office to business. His punctuality was universal. That he had a particular aversion to the keeping of large bodies of men of business waiting for him, the members and associates of the Institution of Civil Engineers can bear ample testimony; and he was not more endeared to them by virtue of his very numerous and valuable presents of books, plans, carpets, lamps, &c. &c. than by his inestimable qualities of punctuality and urbanity. Mr. Telford had been for some time gradually retiring from professional business, the better to enable him to "adjust his mantle." He latterly employed himself chiefly in writing a detailed account of the principal undertakings which he had planned and lived to see executed; and it is a singular and fortunate circumstance that the corrected manuscript of this work was completed by his clerk, under his direction, only two or three days before his death. The plates intended to illustrate it are finished, or in great forwardness; and the following list of them affords a magnificent idea of the mass of engineering information that will be furnished to the profession and to the public when they make their appearance: 11. Buildwas Bridge. 12. Bewdly Bridge. 13. Tongueland Bridge. 14. Bridgenorth Church. 15. Map of Canals. 16. Wide Locks Ellesmere Canal (in cluding one of cast iron). 24. Cranes on ditto. 26. Let off at Strone on ditto. 29. Saltersford Weir, Weever Navi gation. 30. Harecastle Tunnel. 31. Gatton Bridge, Old Birmingham Canal. 32. Icknield Street Bridge over ditto. 33. Reservoir Embankment, and Discharging Apparatus on ditto. 34. Locks and Lock Gates on the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal. 35. Cast-iron Aqueduct on ditto. 17. Bridge, Stop Gate, and Tunnel in 36. Map of the Fens. |