CHAP. IV. TELFORD'S VERSES. 329 



enjoyment of the substantial freedom which, after all, 

 was secured to him by the English Constitution. At 

 the same time he was so much occupied in carrying out 

 his important works, that he found but little time to 

 devote either to political speculation or to verse-making. 

 Whilst living at Shrewsbury, he had his poem of 

 ' Eskdale ' reprinted for private circulation. We have 

 also seen several MS. verses by him, written about the 

 same period, which do not appear ever to have been 

 printed. One of these the best is entitled ' Yerses 

 to the Memory of James Thomson, author of " Liberty, 

 a poem ;" ' another is a translation from Buchanan, 

 i On the Spheres;' and a third, written in April, 1792, 

 is entitled ' To Eobin Burns, being a postscript to 

 some verses addressed to him on the establishment of 

 tin Agricultural Chair in Edinburgh.' It would unne- 

 cessarily occupy our space to print these effusions ; and, 

 to tell the truth, they exhibit few if any indications of 

 poetic power. No amount of perseverance will make 

 a poet of a man in whom the divine gift is not born. 

 The true line of Telford's genius lay in building and 

 engineering, in which direction we now propose to 

 follow him. 





SHREWSBURY CASTLE. [By Percival Skelton.] 



