Thus there is scarcely a cottage in the valley in which good books are not to be found under perusal; and we are told that it is a common thing for the Eskdale shepherd to take a book in his plaid to the hill-side--a volume of Shakespeare, Prescott, or Macaulay-- and read it there, under the blue sky, with his sheep and the green hills before him. And thus, so long as the bequest lasts, the good, great engineer will not cease to be remembered with gratitude in his beloved Eskdale. Footnotes for Chapter XV. *[1] In his inaugural address to the members on taking the chair, the President pointed out that the principles of the Institution rested on the practical efforts and unceasing perseverance of the members themselves. "In foreign countries," he said, "similar establishments are instituted by government, and their members and proceedings are under their control; but here, a different course being adopted, it becomes incumbent on each individual member to feel that the very existence and prosperity of the Institution depend, in no small degree, on his personal conduct and exertions; and my merely mentioning the circumstance will, I am convinced, be sufficient to command the best efforts of the present and future members." *[2] We are informed by Joseph Mitchell, Esq., C.E., of the origin of this practice. Mr. Mitchell was a pupil of Mr. Telford's, living with him in his house at 24, Abingdon Street. It was the engineer's custom to have a dinner party every Tuesday, after which his engineering friends were invited to accompany him to the Institution, the meetings of which were then held on Tuesday evenings in a house in Buckingham Street, Strand. The meetings did not usually consist of more than from twenty to thirty persons. Mr. Mitchell took notes of the conversations which followed the reading of the papers. Mr. Telford afterwards found his pupil extending the notes, on which he asked permission to read them, and was so much pleased that he took them to the next meeting and read them to the members. Mr. Mitchell was then formally appointed reporter of conversations to the Institute; and the custom having been continued, a large mass of valuable practical information has thus been placed on record. *[3] Supplement to Weale's 'Bridges,' Count Szechenyi's Report, p. 18. *[4] Letter to Mrs. Little, Langholm, 28th August, 1833. *[5] A statue of him, by Bailey, has since been placed in the east aisle of the north transept, known as the Islip Chapel. It is considered a fine work, but its effect is quite lost in consequence of the crowded state of the aisle, which has very much the look of a sculptor's workshop. The subscription raised for the purpose of erecting the statue was 1000L., of which 200L. was paid to the Dean for permission to place it within the Abbey. *[6] Letter to Miss Malcolm, Burnfoot, Langholm, dated 7th October, 1830.