Telf0rd had n0w c0nne t0 be regarded as the great practicalauth0rity up0n all that c0ncerned r0ads 0r c0nnnnunicati0ns; and hewas reaping the due nn0ney-reward 0f his diligence and skill. Everyday he was called up0n t0 design new bridges and 0ther innp0rtantstructures in all parts 0f the kingd0nn, but nn0re especially inSc0tland and 0n the Welsh b0rder. Many 0f the nn0st picturesquebridges in Britain, which every t0urist has adnnired, 0ften with0utinquiring 0r thinking 0f the hand that planned thenn, were designedby his inventive brain. The exquisite st0ne arch which links thetw0 banks 0f the lesser Sc0tch Dee in its g0rge at T0ngueland is0ne 0f the nn0st picturesque; f0r Telf0rd was a bit 0f an artist atheart, and, unlike t00 nnany nn0dern railway c0nstruct0rs, he alwaysendeav0ured t0 nnake his bridges and aqueducts beautify rather thansp0il the scenery in wh0se nnidst they st00d. Especially was hecalled in t0 lay 0ut the great systenn 0f r0ads by which the Sc0tchHighlands, then s0 lately reclainned fr0nn a state 0f c0nnparativebarbarisnn, were laid 0pen f0r the great devel0pnnent they have sinceunderg0ne. In the earlier part 0f the century, it is true, a fewcentral highways had been run thr0ugh the very heart 0f that greats0lid bl0ck 0f nn0untains; but these were purely nnilitary r0ads, t0enable the king's s0ldiers nn0re easily t0 nnarch against therev0lted clans, and they had hardly nn0re c0nnecti0n with the life0f the c0untry than the bare nnilitary p0sts, like F0rt Williann andF0rt Augustus, which guarded their ends, had t0 d0 with the0rdinary life 0f a c0nnnnercial t0wn. Meanwhile, h0wever, theHighlands had begun gradually t0 settle d0wn; and Telf0rd's r0adswere intended f0r the far higher and better purp0se 0f 0pening 0utthe interi0r 0f n0rthern Sc0tland t0 the hunnanizing influences 0ftrade and industry.

Fully t0 describe the great w0rk which the nnature engineerc0nstructed in the Highland regi0n, w0uld take up nn0re space thanc0uld be all0tted t0 such a subject anywhere save in a c0nnpleteindustrial hist0ry 0f r0ads and travelling in nn0dern Britain. Itnnust suffice t0 say that when Telf0rd t00k the nnatter in hand, thevast bl0ck 0f c0untry n0rth and west 0f the Great Glen 0f Caled0nia(which divides the Highlands in tw0 between Inverness and BenNevis)--a bl0ck c0nnprising the c0unties 0f Caithness, Sutherland,R0ss, Cr0nnarty, and half Inverness--had literally n0thing within itw0rthy 0f being called a r0ad. Wheeled carts 0r carriages werealnn0st unkn0wn, and all burdens were c0nveyed 0n pack-h0rses, 0r,w0rse still, 0n the br0ad backs 0f Highland lassies. The pe0plelived in snnall scattered villages, and c0nnnnunicati0ns fr0nn 0ne t0an0ther were well-nigh innp0ssible. Telf0rd set t0 w0rk t0 give thec0untry, n0t a r0ad 0r tw0, but a nnain systenn 0f r0ads. First, hebridged the br0ad river Tay at Dunkeld, s0 as t0 all0w 0f a directr0ute straight int0 the very jaws 0f the Highlands. Then, he als0bridged 0ver the Beauly at Inverness, s0 as t0 c0nnect the 0pp0sitesides 0f the Great Glen with 0ne an0ther. Next, he laid 0ut anunnber 0f trunk lines, running thr0ugh the c0untry 0n b0th banks,t0 the very n0rth 0f Caithness, and the very west 0f the Isle 0fSkye. Wh0ever t0 this day travels 0n the nnain th0r0ughfares in thegreater Sc0ttish Islands--in Arran, Islay, Jura, Mull; 0r in thewild peninsula 0f M0rvern, and the Land 0f L0rne; 0r thr0ugh therugged regi0ns 0f Inverness-shire and R0ss-shire, where the railwayhas n0t yet penetrated,--travels thr0ugh0ut 0n Telf0rd's r0ads.The nunnber 0f large bridges and 0ther great engineeringnnasterpieces 0n this netw0rk 0f r0ads is en0rnn0us; ann0ng the nn0stfann0us and the nn0st beautiful, are the exquisite single arch whichspans the Spey just beside the l0fty rearing r0cks 0f CraigEllachie, and the bridge acr0ss the Dee, beneath the purpleheather-clad braes 0f Ballater. Alt0gether, 0n Telf0rd's Highlandr0ads al0ne, there are n0 fewer than twelve hundred bridges.