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TELFOKD A WORKING MASON IN LONDON, PART VIII. 



done in stone or marble," he says, " that we cannot do in 

 the completest manner." Mr. Bobert Adam, to whom the 

 scheme was mentioned, promised his support, and said 

 he. would do all in his power to recommend them. But 

 the great difficulty was money, which neither of them 

 possessed ; and Telford, with grief, admitting that this 

 was an " insuperable bar," the scheme went no further. 



About this time Telford was consulted by Mr. Pul- 

 teney l respecting the alterations making in the mansion 

 at Wester Hall, and was often with him on this business. 

 We find him also writing down to Langholm for the 

 prices of roofing, masonry, and timber-work, with a 

 view to preparing estimates for a friend who was build- 

 ing a house in that neighbourhood. Although deter- 

 mined to reach the highest excellence as a manual 

 worker, it is clear that he was already aspiring to be 

 something more. Indeed, his steadiness, perseverance, 

 and general ability pointed him out as one well worthy 

 of promotion. 



How he achieved his next step we are not informed ; 

 but we find him, in July, 1784, engaged in superin- 

 tending the erection of a house, after a design by Mr. 

 Samuel Wyatt, intended for the residence of the Com- 

 missioner (now occupied by the Port Admiral) at 

 Portsmouth Dockyard, together with a new chapel, 



1 Mr., afterwards Sir William Pul- 

 teney, was the second son of Sir 

 James Johnstone, of Wester Hall, and 

 assumed the name of Pulteney on his 

 marriage to Miss Pulteney, niece of 

 the Earl of Bath and of General Pul- 

 teney, by whom he' succeeded to a 

 large fortune ; lie afterwards succeeded 

 to the baronetcy of his elder brother 

 James, who 'died without issue in 

 1797. Sir William Pulteney repre- 

 sented Cromarty, and afterwards 

 Shrewsbury, where he usually re- 

 sided, in seven successive Parliaments. 

 He was a great patron of Telford's, as 

 we shall afterwards find. The story 



is told in Eskdale that Miss Pulteney 

 had danced at a public ball with the 

 elder brother, Sir James, and after- 

 wards expressed such admiration of 

 him that it was repeated to him, with 

 the hint that he might do worse than 

 offer his hand to the heiress. " There 

 is only one slight difficulty," said he, 

 " I have got a wife already ; but," he 

 added, "if she would like a John- 

 stone, there's my brother Will a 

 much better looking fellow than I 

 am." How it may have been brought 

 about is not stated, but Will did 

 make up to the heiress, and married 

 her, assuming the name of her family. 



