Parliament, for the purpose of forming some opinion of politics:

he adds, however, "not if it interfere with my business--mind that!',
His friend told him that he proposed translating a system of

chemistry. "Now you know," wrote Telford, "that I am chemistry mad;
and if I were near you, I would make you promise to communicate any

information on the subject that you thought would be of service to
your friend, especially about calcareous matters and the mode of

forming the best composition for building with, as well above as
below water. But not to be confined to that alone, for you must

know I have a book for the pocket,*[2] which I always carry with me,
into which I have extracted the essence of Fourcroy's Lectures,

Black on Quicklime, Scheele's Essays, Watson's Essays, and various
points from the letters of my respected friend Dr. Irving.*[3]

So much for chemistry. But I have also crammed into it facts
relating to mechanics, hydrostatics, pneumatics, and all manner of

stuff, to which I keep continually adding, and it will be a charity
to me if you will kindly contribute your mite."*[4] He says it

has been, and will continue to be, his aim to endeavour to unite
those "two frequently jarring pursuits, literature and business;"

and he does not see why a man should be less efficient in the
latter capacity because he has well informed, stored, and humanized

his mind by the cultivation of letters. There was both good sense
and sound practical wisdom in this view of Telford.

While the gaol was in course of erection, after the improved plans
suggested by Howard, a variety of important matters occupied the

county surveyor's attention. During the summer of 1788 he says he
is very much occupied, having about ten different jobs on hand:

roads, bridges, streets, drainage-works, gaol, and infirmary.
Yet he had time to write verses, copies of which he forwarded to his

Eskdale correspondent, inviting his criticism. Several of these
were elegiac lines, somewhat exaggerated in their praises of the

deceased, though doubtlesssincere. One poem was in memory of
George Johnstone, Esq., a member of the Wester Hall family, and

another on the death of William Telford, an Eskdale farmer's son,
an intimate friend and schoolfellow of our engineer.*[5] These,

however, were but the votive offerings of private friendship,
persons more immediately about him knowing nothing of his stolen

pleasures in versemaking. He continued to be shy of strangers,
and was very "nice," as he calls it, as to those whom he admitted

to his bosom.
Two circumstances of considerable interest occurred in the course

of the same year (1788), which are worthy of passing notice.
The one was the fall of the church of St. Chad's, at Shrewsbury;

the other was the discovery of the ruins of the Roman city of
Uriconium, in the immediate neighbourhood. The church of St. Chad's

was about four centuries old, and stood greatly in need of repairs.
The roof let in the rain upon the congregation, and the parish

vestry met to settle the plans for mending it; but they could not
agree about the mode of procedure. In this emergency Telford was

sent for, and requested to advise what was best to he done. After a
rapid glance at the interior, which was in an exceedingly dangerous

state, he said to the churchwardens, "Gentlemen, we'll consult
together on the outside, if you please." He found that not only the

roof but the walls of the church were in a most decayed state.
It appeared that, in consequence of graves having been dug in the

loose soil close to the shallowfoundation of the north-west pillar
of the tower, it had sunk so as to endanger the whole structure.

"I discovered," says he, "that there were large fractures in the
walls, on tracing which I found that the old building was in a most

shattered and decrepit condition, though until then it had been
scarcely noticed. Upon this I declined giving any recommendation as

to the repairs of the roof unless they would come to the resolution
to secure the more essential parts, as the fabric appeared to me

to be in a very alarming condition. I sent in a written report to
the same effect." *[6]

The parish vestry again met, and the report was read; but the
meeting exclaimed against so extensive a proposal, imputing mere

motives of self-interest to the surveyor. "Popular clamour," says
Telford, "overcame my report. 'These fractures,' exclaimed the

vestrymen, 'have been there from time immemorial;' and there were
some otherwisesensible persons, who remarked that professional men

always wanted to carve out employment for themselves, and that the
whole of the necessary repairs could be done at a comparatively

small expense."*[7] The vestry then called in another person,
a mason of the town, and directed him to cut away the injured part

of a particular pillar, in order to underbuild it. On the second
evening after the commencement of the operations, the sexton was

alarmed by a fail of lime-dust and mortar when he attempted to toll
the great bell, on which he immediately desisted and left the

church. Early next morning (on the 9th of July), while the workmen
were waiting at the church door for the key, the bell struck four,

and the vibration at once brought down the tower, which overwhelmed
the nave, demolishing all the pillars along the north side, and

shattering the rest. "The very parts I had pointed out," says
Telford, "were those which gave way, and down tumbled the tower,

forming a very remarkable ruin, which astonished and surprised the
vestry, and roused them from their infatuation, though they have

not yet recovered from the shock."*[8]
The other circumstance to which we have above referred was the

discovery of the Roman city of Uriconium, near Wroxeter, about five
miles from Shrewsbury, in the year 1788. The situation of the place

is extremely beautiful, the river Severn flowing along its western
margin, and forming a barrier against what were once the hostile

districts of West Britain. For many centuries the dead city had
slept under the irregular mounds of earth which covered it, like

those of Mossul and Nineveh. Farmers raised heavy crops of turnips
and grain from the surface and they scarcely ever ploughed or

harrowed the ground without turning up Roman coins or pieces of
pottery. They also observed that in certain places the corn was

more apt to be scorched in dry weather than in others--a sure sign
to them that there were ruins underneath; and their practice, when

they wished to find stones for building, was to set a mark upon the
scorched places when the corn was on the ground, and after harvest

to dig down, sure of finding the store of stones which they wanted
for walls, cottages, or farm-houses. In fact, the place came to be

regarded in the light of a quarry, rich in ready-worked materials
for building purposes. A quantity of stone being wanted for the

purpose of erecting a blacksmith's shop, on digging down upon one
of the marked places, the labourers came upon some ancient works of

a more perfect appearance than usual. Curiosity was excited
--antiquarians made their way to the spot--and lo! they pronounced

the ruins to be neither more nor less than a Roman bath, in a
remarkably perfect state of preservation. Mr. Telford was requested

to apply to Mr. Pulteney, the lord of the manor, to prevent the
destruction of these interesting remains, and also to permit the

excavations to proceed, with a view to the buildings being
completely explored. This was readily granted, and Mr. Pulteney

authorised Telford himself to conduct the necessary excavations at
his expense. This he promptly proceeded to do, and the result was,

that an extensive hypocaust apartment was brought to light, with
baths, sudatorium, dressing-room, and a number of tile pillars

--all forming parts of a Roman floor--sufficiently perfect to show
the manner in which the building had been constructed and used.*[9]

Among Telford's less agreeable duties about the same time was that
of keeping the felons at work. He had to devise the ways and means

of employing them without risk of their escaping, which gave him
much trouble and anxiety. "Really," he said, "my felons are a very

troublesome family. I have had a great deal of plague from them,
and I have not yet got things quite in the train that I could wish.

I have had a dress made for them of white and brown cloth, in such
a way that they are pye-bald. They have each a light chain about

one leg. Their allowance in food is a penny loaf and a halfpenny
worth of cheese for breakfast; a penny loaf, a quart of soup, and

half a pound of meat for dinner; and a penny loaf and a halfpenny