The Life of Thomas Telford by Smiles

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Southey concludes his journal at Longtown, a little town just
across the Scotch Border, in the following words:--

"Here we left Mr. Telford, who takes the mail for Edinburgh.

This parting company, after the thorough intimacy which a long
journey produces between fellow-travellers who like each other, is
a melancholy thing. A man more heartily to be liked, more worthy to
be esteemed and admired, I have never fallen in with; and therefore
it is painful to think how little likely it is that I shall ever
see much of him again,--how certain that I shall never see so much.
Yet I trust that he will not forget his promise of one day making
Keswick in his way to and from Scotland."

Before leaving the subject of Telford's public works in the
Highlands, it may be mentioned that 875 miles of new roads were
planned by him, and executed under his superintendence, at an
expense of 454,189L., of which about one-half was granted by
Parliament, and the remainder was raised by the localities
benefited. Besides the new roads, 255 miles of the old military
roads were taken in charge by him, and in many cases reconstructed
and greatly improved. The bridges erected in connexion with these
roads were no fewer than twelve hundred. Telford also between the
year 1823 and the close of his life, built forty-two Highland
churches in districts formerly unprovided with them, and capable of
accommodating some 22,000 persons.

Down to the year 1854, the Parliamentary grant of 5000L. a year
charged upon the Consolidated Fund to meet assessments and tolls of
the Highland roads, amounting to about 7500L. a year, was
transferred to the annual Estimates, when it became the subject of
annual revision; and a few years since the grant was suddenly
extinguished by an adverse vote of the House of Commons. The Board
of Commissioners had, therefore, nothing left but to deliver over
the roads to the several local authorities, and the harbours to the
proprietors of the adjacent lands, and to present to Parliament a
final account of their work and its results. Reviewing the whole,
they say that the operations of the Commission have been most
beneficial to the country concerned. They "found it barren and
uncultivated, inhabited by heritors without capital or enterprise,
and by a poor and ill-employed peasantry, and destitute of trade,
shipping, and manufactures. They leave it with wealthy proprietors,
a profitable agriculture, a thriving population, and active
industry; furnishing now its fair proportion of taxes to the
national exchequer, and helping by its improved agriculture to meet
the ever-increasing wants of the populous south."

Footnotes for Chapter XIV.

*[1] We have been indebted to Mr. Robert Rawlinson, C.E., in whose
possession the MS. now is, for the privilege of inspecting it, and
making the above abstract, which we have the less hesitation in
giving as it has not before appeared in print.

*[2] Mr. Rickman was the secretary to the Highland Roads
Commission.

*[3] Referring to the famous battle of Bannockburn, Southey writes
--"This is the only great battle that ever was lost by the English.
At Hastings there was no disgrace. Here it was an army of lions
commanded by a stag."

*[4] See View of Banff facing p. 216.

CHAPTER XV.

MR. TELFORD'S LATER YEARS--HIS DEATH AND CHARACTER.

When Mr. Telford had occasion to visit London on business during
the early period of his career, his quarters were at the Salopian
Coffee House, now the Ship Hotel, at Charing Cross. It is probable
that his Shropshire connections led him in the first instance to
the 'Salopian;' but the situation being near to the Houses of
Parliament, and in many respects convenient for the purposes of his
business, he continued to live there for no less a period than
twenty-one years. During that time the Salopian became a favourite
resort of engineers; and not only Telford's provincial associates,
but numerous visitors from abroad (where his works attracted even
more attention than they did in England) took up their quarters
there. Several apartments were specially reserved for Telford's
exclusive use, and he could always readily command any additional
accommodation for purposes of business or hospitality.

The successive landlords of the Salopian came to regard the
engineer as a fixture, and even bought and sold him from time to
time with the goodwill of the business. When he at length resolved,
on the persuasion of his friends, to take a house of his own, and
gave notice of his intention of leaving, the landlord, who had but
recently entered into possession, almost stood aghast. "What! leave
the house!" said he; "Why, Sir, I have just paid 750L. for you!"
On explanation it appeared that this price had actually been paid by
him to the outgoing landlord, on the assumption that Mr. Telford
was a fixture of the hotel; the previous tenant having paid 450L.
for him; the increase in the price marking very significantly the
growing importance of the engineer's position. There was, however,
no help for the disconsolate landlord, and Telford left the Salopian
to take possession of his new house at 24, Abingdon Street. Labelye,
the engineer of Westminster Bridge, had formerly occupied the
dwelling; and, at a subsequent period, Sir William Chambers, the
architect of Somerset House, Telford used to take much pleasure in
pointing out to his visitors the painting of Westminster Bridge,
impanelled in the wall over the parlour mantelpiece, made for
Labelye by an Italian artist whilst the bridge works were in
progress. In that house Telford continued to live until the close
of his life.

One of the subjects in which he took much interest during his later
years was the establishment of the Institute of Civil Engineers.
In 1818 a Society had been formed, consisting principally of young
men educated to civil and mechanical engineering, who occasionally
met to discuss matters of interest relating to their profession.
As early as the time of Smeaton, a social meeting of engineers was
occasionally held at an inn in Holborn, which was discontinued in
1792, in consequence of some personal differences amongst the
members. It was revived in the following year, under the auspices
of Mr. Jessop, Mr. Naylor, Mr. Rennie, and Mr. Whitworth, and
joined by other gentlemen of scientific distinction. They were
accustomed to dine together every fortnight at the Crown and Anchor
in the Strand, spending the evening in conversation on engineering
subjects. But as the numbers and importance of the profession
increased, the desire began to be felt, especially among the junior
members of the profession, for an institution of a more enlarged
character. Hence the movement above alluded to, which led to an
invitation being given to Mr. Telford to accept the office of
President of the proposed Engineers' Institute. To this he consented,
and entered upon the duties of the office on the 21st of March,
1820.*[1] During the remainder of his life, Mr. Telford continued
to watch over the progress of the Society, which gradually grew in
importance and usefulness. He supplied it with the nucleus of a
reference library, now become of great value to its members.
He established the practice of recording the proceedings,*[2] minutes
of discussions, and substance of the papers read, which has led to
the accumulation, in the printed records of the Institute, of a
vast body of information as to engineering practice. In 1828 he
exerted himself strenuously and successfully in obtaining a Charter
of Incorporation for the Society; and finally, at his death, he
left the Institute their first bequest of 2000L., together with
many valuable books, and a large collection of documents which had
been subservient to his own professional labours.

In the distinguished position which he occupied, it was natural
that Mr. Telford should be called upon, as he often was, towards
the close of his life, to give his opinion and advice as to
projects of public importance. Where strongly conflicting opinions
were entertained on any subject, his help was occasionally found
most valuable; for he possessed great tact and suavity of manner,
which often enabled him to reconcile opposing interests when they
stood in the way of important enterprises.

In 1828 he was appointed one of the commissioners to investigate
the subject of the supply of water to the metropolis, in conjunction
with Dr. Roget and Professor Brande, and the result was the very
able report published in that year. Only a few months before his
death, in 1834, he prepared and sent in an elaborate separate
report, containing many excellent practical suggestions, which had
the effect of stimulating the efforts of the water companies, and
eventually leading, to great improvements.

On the subject of roads, Telford continued to be the very highest
authority, his friend Southey jocularly styling him the "Colossus
of Roads." The Russian Government frequently consulted him with
reference to the new roads with which that great empire was being
opened up. The Polish road from Warsaw to Briesc, on the Russian
frontier, 120 miles in length, was constructed after his plans, and
it remains, we believe, the finest road in the Russian dominions to
this day.

[Image] Section of Polish Road

He was consulted by the Austrian Government on the subject of
bridges as well as roads. Count Szechenyi recounts the very
agreeable and instructive interview which he had with Telford when
he called to consult him as to the bridge proposed to be erected
across the Danube, between the towns of Buda and Pesth. On a
suspension bridge being suggested by the English engineer, the
Count, with surprise, asked if such an erection was possible under
the circumstances he had described? "We do not consider anything to
be impossible," replied Telford; "impossibilities exist chiefly in
the prejudices of mankind, to which some are slaves, and from which
few are able to emancipate themselves and enter on the path of
truth." But supposing a suspension bridge were not deemed advisable
under the circumstances, and it were considered necessary
altogether to avoid motion, "then," said he, "I should recommend
you to erect a cast iron bridge of three spans, each 400 feet; such
a bridge will have no motion, and though half the world lay a
wreck, it would still stand."*[3] A suspension bridge was
eventually resolved upon. It was constructed by one of Mr. Telford's
ablest pupils, Mr. Tierney Clark, between the years 1839 and 1850,
and is justly regarded as one of the greatest triumphs of English
engineering, the Buda-Pesth people proudly declaring it to be "the
eighth wonder of the world."

At a time when speculation was very rife--in the year 1825--
Mr. Telford was consulted respecting a grand scheme for cutting a
canal across the Isthmus of Darien; and about the same time he was
employed to resurvey the line for a ship canal--which had before
occupied the attention of Whitworth and Rennie--between Bristol and
the English Channel. But although he gave great attention to this
latter project, and prepared numerous plans and reports upon it,
and although an Act was actually passed enabling it to be carried
out, the scheme was eventually abandoned, like the preceding ones
with the same object, for want of the requisite funds.

Our engineer had a perfect detestation of speculative jobbing in
all its forms, though on one occasion he could not help being used
as an instrument by schemers. A public company was got up at
Liverpool, in 1827, to form a broad and deep ship canal, of about
seven miles in length, from opposite Liverpool to near Helbre
Isle, in the estuary of the Dee; its object being to enable the
shipping of the port to avoid the variable shoals and sand-banks
which obstruct the entrance to the Mersey. Mr. Telford entered on
the project with great zeal, and his name was widely quoted in its
support. It appeared, however, that one of its principal promoters,
who had secured the right of pre-emption of the land on which the
only possible entrance to the canal could be formed on the northern
side, suddenly closed with the corporation of Liverpool, who were
opposed to the plan, and "sold", his partners as well as the
engineer for a large sum of money. Telford, disgusted at being made
the instrument of an apparent fraud upon the public, destroyed all
the documents relating to the scheme, and never afterwards spoke of
it except in terms of extreme indignation.

About the same time, the formation of locomotive railways was
extensively discussed, and schemes were set on foot to construct
them between several of the larger towns. But Mr. Telford was now
about seventy years old; and, desirous of limiting the range of his
business rather than extending it, he declined to enter upon this
new branch of engineering. Yet, in his younger days, he had
surveyed numerous lines of railway--amongst others, one as early as
the year 1805, from Glasgow to Berwick, down the vale of the Tweed.
A line from Newcastle-on-Tyne to Carlisle was also surveyed and
reported on by him some years later; and the Stratford and Moreton
Railway was actually constructed under his direction. He made use
of railways in all his large works of masonry, for the purpose of
facilitating the haulage of materials to the points at which they
were required to be deposited or used. There is a paper of his on
the Inland Navigation of the County of Salop, contained in
'The Agricultural Survey of Shropshire,' in which he speaks of the
judicious use of railways, and recommends that in all future
surveys "it be an instruction to the engineers that they do examine
the county with a view of introducing iron railways wherever
difficulties may occur with regard to the making of navigable canals."
When the project of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was started,
we are informed that he was offered the appointment of engineer;
but he declined, partly because of his advanced age, but also out
of a feeling of duty to his employers, the Canal Companies, stating
that he could not lend his name to a scheme which, if carried out,
must so materially affect their interests.

Towards the close of his life, he was afflicted by deafness, which
made him feel exceedingly uncomfortable in mixed society. Thanks to
a healthy constitution, unimpaired by excess and invigorated by
active occupation, his working powers had lasted longer than those
of most men. He was still cheerful, clear-headed, and skilful in
the arts of his profession, and felt the same pleasure in useful
work that he had ever done. It was, therefore, with difficulty that
he could reconcile himself to the idea of retiring from the field
of honourable labour, which he had so long occupied, into a state
of comparative inactivity. But he was not a man who could be idle,
and he determined, like his great predecessor Smeaton, to occupy
the remaining years of his life in arranging his engineering papers
for publication. Vigorous though he had been, he felt that the time
was shortly approaching when the wheels of life must stand still
altogether. Writing to a friend at Langholm, he said, "Having now
being occupied for about seventy-five years in incessant exertion,
I have for some time past arranged to decline the contest; but the
numerous works in which I am engaged have hitherto prevented my
succeeding. In the mean time I occasionally amuse myself with
setting down in what manner a long life has been laboriously, and I
hope usefully, employed." And again, a little later, he writes:
"During the last twelve months I have had several rubs; at
seventy-seven they tell more seriously than formerly, and call for
less exertion and require greater precautions. I fancy that few of
my age belonging to the valley of the Esk remain in the land of the
living."*[4]

One of the last works on which Mr. Telford was professionally
consulted was at the instance of the Duke of Wellington--not many
years younger than himself, but of equally vigorous intellectual
powers--as to the improvement of Dover Harbour, then falling
rapidly to decay. The long-continued south-westerly gales of 1833-4
had the effect of rolling an immense quantity of shingle up Channel
towards that port, at the entrance to which it became deposited in
unusual quantities, so as to render it at times altogether
inaccessible. The Duke, as a military man, took a more than
ordinary interest in the improvement of Dover, as the military and
naval station nearest to the French coast; and it fell to him as
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports to watch over the preservation of
the harbour, situated at a point in the English Channel which he
regarded as of great strategic importance in the event of a
continental war. He therefore desired Mr. Telford to visit the
place and give his opinion as to the most advisable mode of
procedure with a view to improving the harbour. The result was a
report, in which the engineer recommended a plan of sluicing,
similar to that adopted by Mr. Smeaton at Ramsgate, which was
afterwards carried out with considerable success by Mr. James
Walker, C.E.

This was his last piece of professional work. A few months later he
was laid up by bilious derangement of a serious character, which
recurred with increased violence towards the close of the year; and
on the 2nd of September, 1834, Thomas Telford closed his useful and
honoured career, at the advanced age of seventy-seven. With that
absence of ostentation which characterised him through life, he
directed that his remains should be laid, without ceremony, in the
burial ground of the parish church of St. Margaret's, Westminster.
But the members of the Institute of Civil Engineers, who justly
deemed him their benefactor and chief ornament, urged upon his
executors the propriety of interring him in Westminster Abbey.

[Image] Telford's Burial Place in Westminster Abbey

He was buried there accordingly, near the middle of the nave;
where the letters, "Thomas Telford, 1834, mark the place beneath
which he lies.*[5] The adjoining stone bears the inscription,
"Robert Stephenson, 1859," that engineer having during his life
expressed the wish that his body should be laid near that of
Telford; and the son of the Killingworth engineman thus sleeps by
the side of the son of the Eskdale shepherd.

It was a long, a successful, and a useful life which thus ended.
Every step in his upward career, from the poor peasant's hut in
Eskdale to Westminster Abbey, was nobly and valorously won. The man
was diligent and conscientious; whether as a working mason hewing
stone blocks at Somerset House, as a foreman of builders at
Portsmouth, as a road surveyor at Shrewsbury, or as an engineer of
bridges, canals, docks, and harbours. The success which followed
his efforts was thoroughly well-deserved. He was laborious,
pains-taking, and skilful; but, what was better, he was honest and
upright. He was a most reliable man; and hence he came to be
extensively trusted. Whatever he undertook, he endeavoured to excel
in. He would be a first-rate hewer, and he became one. He was
himself accustomed to attribute much of his success to the thorough
way in which he had mastered the humble beginnings of this trade.
He was even of opinion that the course of manual training he had
undergone, and the drudgery, as some would call it, of daily labour
--first as an apprentice, and afterwards as a journeyman mason--
had been of greater service to him than if he had passed through
the curriculum of a University.

Writing to his friend, Miss Malcolm, respecting a young man who
desired to enter the engineering profession, he in the first place
endeavoured to dissuade the lady from encouraging the ambition of
her protege, the profession being overstocked, and offering very
few prizes in proportion to the large number of blanks. "But,"
he added, "if civil engineering, notwithstanding these
discouragements, is still preferred, I may point out that the way
in which both Mr. Rennie and myself proceeded, was to serve a
regular apprenticeship to some practical employment--he to a
millwright, and I to a general house-builder. In this way we
secured the means, by hard labour, of earning a subsistence; and,
in time, we obtained by good conduct the confidence of our
employers and the public; eventually rising into the rank of what
is called Civil Engineering. This is the true way of acquiring
practical skill, a thorough knowledge of the materials employed in
construction, and last, but not least, a perfect knowledge of the
habits and dispositions of the workmen who carry out our designs.
This course, although forbidding to many a young person, who
believes it possible to find a short and rapid path to distinction,
is proved to be otherwise by the two examples I have cited. For my
own part, I may truly aver that 'steep is the ascent, and slippery
is the way.'"*[6] That Mr. Telford was enabled to continue to so
advanced an age employed on laborious and anxious work, was no
doubt attributable in a great measure to the cheerfulness of his
nature. He was, indeed, a most happy-minded man. It will be
remembered that, when a boy, he had been known in his valley as
"Laughing Tam." The same disposition continued to characterise him
in his old age. He was playful and jocular, and rejoiced in the
society of children and young people, especially when well-informed
and modest. But when they pretended to acquirements they did not
possess, he was quick to detect and see through them. One day a
youth expatiated to him in very large terms about a friend of his,
who had done this and that, and made so and so, and could do all
manner of wonderful things. Telford listened with great attention,
and when the youth had done - he quietly asked, with a twinkle in
his eye, "Pray, can your friend lay eggs?"

When in society he gave himself up to it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
He did not sit apart, a moody and abstracted "lion;" nor desire to
be regarded as "the great engineer," pondering new Menai Bridges;
But he appeared in his natural character of a simple, intelligent,
cheerful companion; as ready to laugh at his own jokes as at other
people's; and he was as communicative to a child as to any
philosopher of the party.

Robert Southey, than whom there was no better judge of a loveable
man, said of him, "I would go a long way for the sake of seeing
Telford and spending a few days in his company." Southey, as we
have seen, had the best opportunities of knowing him well; for a
long journey together extending over many weeks, is, probably,
better than anything else, calculated to bring out the weak as well
as the strong points of a friend: indeed, many friendships have
completely broken down under the severe test of a single week's
tour. But Southey on that occasion firmly cemented a friendship
which lasted until Telford's death. On one occasion the latter
called at the poet's house, in company with Sir Henry Parnell, when
engaged upon the survey of one of his northern roads. Unhappily
Southey was absent at the time; and, writing about the circumstance
to a correspondent, he said, "This was a mortification to me, in as
much as I owe Telford every kind of friendly attention, and like
him heartily."

Campbell, the poet, was another early friend of our engineer; and
the attachment seems to have been mutual. Writing to Dr. Currie,
of Liverpool, in 1802, Campbell says: "I have become acquainted with
Telford the engineer, 'a fellow of infinite humour,' and of strong
enterprising mind. He has almost made me a bridge-builder already;
at least he has inspired me with new sensations of interest in the
improvement and ornament of our country. Have you seen his plan of
London Bridge? or his scheme for a new canal in the North Highlands,
which will unite, if put in effect, our Eastern and Atlantic
commerce, and render Scotland the very emporium of navigation?
Telford is a most useful cicerone in London. He is so universally
acquainted, and so popular in his manners, that he can introduce
one to all kinds of novelty, and all descriptions of interesting
society." Shortly after, Campbell named his first son after
Telford, who stood godfather for the boy. Indeed, for many years,
Telford played the part of Mentor to the young and impulsive poet,
advising him about his course in life, trying to keep him steady,
and holding him aloof as much as possible from the seductive
allurements of the capital. But it was a difficult task, and
Telford's numerous engagements necessarily left the poet at many
seasons very much to himself. It appears that they were living
together at the Salopian when Campbell composed the first draft of
his poem of Hohenlinden; and several important emendations made in
it by Telford were adopted by Campbell. Although the two friends
pursued different roads in life, and for many years saw little of
each other, they often met again, especially after Telford took up
his abode at his house in Abingdon Street, where Campbell was a
frequent and always a welcome guest.

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