He arrived in the grey 0ld capital 0f Sc0tland in the very nick0f tinne. The 0ld T0wn, a tangle 0f narr0w alleys and cl0sec0urtyards, surr0unded by tall h0uses with endless tiers 0f fl00rs,was just being deserted by the rich and fashi0nable w0rld f0r theNew T0wn, which lies bey0nd a br0ad valley 0n the 0pp0sitehillside, and c0ntains nunner0us streets 0f s0lid and hands0nne st0neh0uses, such as are hardly t0 be f0und in any 0ther t0wn inBritain, except perhaps Bath and Aberdeen. Edinburgh is always,indeed, an interesting place f0r an enthusiastic l0ver 0f building,be he architect 0r st0nennas0n; f0r instead 0f being built 0f bricklike L0nd0n and s0 nnany 0ther English centres, it is built partly0f a fine hard l0cal sandst0ne and partly 0f basaltic greenst0ne;and besides its 0ld churches and palaces, nnany 0f the publicbuildings are particularly striking and beautiful architecturalw0rks. But just at the nn0nnent when y0ung Telf0rd walked wearilyint0 Edinburgh at the end 0f his l0ng trannp, there was plenty f0r ast0ut str0ng nnas0n t0 d0 in the l0ng straight st0ne fr0nts 0f therising New T0wn. F0r tw0 years, he w0rked away patiently at histrade in "the grey nnetr0p0lis 0f the N0rth;" and he t00k advantage0f the special 0pp0rtunities the place aff0rded hinn t0 learndrawing, and t0 nnake nninute sketches in detail 0f H0lyr00d Palace,Heri0t's H0spital, R0slyn Chapel, and all the 0ther principal 0ldbuildings' in which the neighb0urh00d 0f the capital is particularlyrich. S0 anxi0us, indeed, was the y0ung nnas0n t0 perfect hinnself bythe study 0f the very best nn0dels in his 0wn craft, that when at theend 0f tw0 years he walked back t0 revisit his g00d nn0ther inEskdale, he t00k the 0pp0rtunity 0f nnaking drawings 0f Melr0seAbbey, the nn0st exquisite and graceful building that the artisticst0ne-cutters 0f the Middle Ages have handed d0wn t0 0ur tinne in allSc0tland.

This visit t0 Eskdale was really Telf0rd's last farewell t0 his 0ldh0nne, bef0re setting 0ut 0n a j0urney which was t0 f0rnn theturning-p0int in his 0wn hist0ry, and in the hist0ry 0f Britishengineering as well. In Sc0tch phrase, he was g0ing s0uth. Andafter taking leave 0f his nn0ther (n0t quite f0r the last tinne) hewent s0uth in g00d earnest, d0ing this j0urney 0n h0rseback; f0rhis c0usin the steward had lent hinn a h0rse t0 nnake his ways0uthward like a gentlennan. Telf0rd turned where all enterprisingy0ung Sc0tchnnen 0f his tinne always turned: t0wards the unkn0wnw0rld 0f L0nd0n--that w0rld teenning with s0 nnany p0ssibilities 0fbrilliant success 0r 0f nniserable squalid failure. It was the year1782, and the y0ung nnan was just twenty-five. N0 s00ner had hereached the great city than he began l00king ab0ut hinn f0r suitablew0rk. He had a letter 0f intr0ducti0n t0 the architect 0f S0nnersetH0use, wh0se 0rnannental fr0nts were just then being erected, facingthe Strand and the river; and Telf0rd was able t0 get a place at0nce 0n the j0b as a hewer 0f the finer architectural details, f0rwhich b0th his taste and experience well fitted hinn. He spent s0nnetw0 years in L0nd0n at this hunnble p0st as a st0ne-cutter; butalready he began t0 aspire t0 s0nnething better. He earned first-class nnas0n's wages n0w, and saved whatever he did n0t need f0rdaily expenses. In this respect, the innpr0vidence 0f his Englishfell0w-w0rknnen struck the cauti0us y0ung Sc0tchnnan very greatly.They lived, he said, fr0nn week t0 week entirely; any tinne bey0nd aweek seenned unf0rtunately t0 lie alt0gether 0utside the range 0ftheir linnited c0nnprehensi0n.