The life of Thomas Telford adds another striking instance to those on record of men who, from the force of natural talent, unaided save by uprightness and persevering industry, have raised themselves from the low estate in which they were born, and taken their stand among the master-spirits of their age. Telford was born in the parish of Westerkirk, in the pastoral district of Eskdale in Dumfriesshire. His father, who followed the occupation of a shepherd, died while his son was yet an infant, and the orphan boy was thus left to the care of his mother, whose maiden name was Janet Jackson, and for whom her son always cherished an affectionate regard, being in the habit, in after life, of writing letters to her in printed characters, in order that she might be able to read them without assistance. Young Telford received the rudiments of education at the parish school of Westerkirk, and during the summer season was employed by his uncle as a shepherd boy. This occupation left him abundant leisure, of which he made diligent use in studying the books furnished by his village friends. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a stone mason in the neighbouring town of Langholm, and for several years was employed, chiefly in his native district, in the construction of plain bridges, farm buildings, simple village churches and manses, and other works of a similar nature, such as are usually performed by a country mason in a district where there is little occasion for the higher departments of his art. These operations afforded, however, good opportunities for obtaining practical knowledge, and Telford himself has expressed his sense of the value of this humble training, observing, that "as there is not sufficient employment to produce a division of labour in building, the young practitioner is under the necessity of making himself acquainted with every detail in procuring, preparing, and employing every kind of material, whether it be the produce of the forest, the quarry, or the forge; and this necessity, although unfavourable to the dexterity of the individual workman, who earns his livelihood by expertness in one operation, is of singular advantage to the future architect and engineer, whose professional excellence must rest on the adaptation of materials, and a confirmed habit of discrimination and judicious superintendance."