This, however, was not the line of action for which he considered himself best qualified, nor did the prospect held out to him satisfy his ambition. He soon obtained employment as an engineer in connection with the great canals and public works, and abandoned the law as a profession. He became interested in several contracts, which were faithfully and skilfully carried out; and wherever he went he won the reputation of a delightful companion and a thoroughly honourable man. Early in 1841 the project of widening and deepening the Welland Canal began to be discussed with some vehemence in Upper Canada. With a view to securing a contract, Mr. Gzowski came over from Erie, Pennsylvania (where he then resided), to Toronto, and for the first time was brought into contact with some of the leading public men of Canada. The Government was then administered by Sir Charles Bagot, a gentleman whose infirm state of health did not prevent him from taking a warm interest in the public improvements of the country. Sir Charles formed a high opinion of Mr. Gzowski's talents, and sanctioned his appointment to an office in connection with the Department of Public Works. This appointment having been accepted by Mr. Gzowski, he bade adieu to his many friends in the United States, and took up his abode in Upper Canada. During the next six years Mr. Gzowski's life was entirely occupied by his duties in connection with the Department of Public Works. It is manifestly out of the question to give even an epitome of the numberless important enterprises conducted by him during this, the busiest period of his active life. His reports of the works in connection with harbours, bridges and highways alone occupy a considerable portion of a large folio volume. It will be sufficient to say that every important provincial improvement came under his supervision, and that nearly every county in Upper Canada bears upon its surface the impress of his great industry and engineering skill. In 1846 he obtained naturalization and became a British subject. Soon after the accession to power of the Baldwin-Lafontaine Government, in 1848, his services in an official capacity were brought to a close, and he began to enter upon large engineering enterprises on his own account. Towards the end of the year 1848 he published a report on the mines of the Upper Canada Mining Company on Lake Huron. But his mind was occupied by more important schemes. The railway era set in. The Railroad Guarantee Act, authorizing Government grants to private companies undertaking the construction of railways, having been passed in 1849, the public began to hear of various railway projects of greater or lesser importance. The first great enterprise of this sort with which Mr. Gzowski connected himself was the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad Company, from Montreal to Island Pond, which has since been amalgamated with the Grand Trunk. Mr. Gzowski was appointed Chief Engineer of this undertaking, made a survey