I suppose there
was never a more topsy-turvy situation; you would have
thought it was I who had suffered some rebuff, and that
iron-sided Adam was a generous conqueror who scorned to
take advantage.
It was plain enough that I was to be endowed: to what
extent and upon what conditions I was now left for an
hour to meditate in the wide and solitary thoroughfares
of the new town, taking counsel with street-corner
statues of George IV. and William Pitt, improving my
mind with the pictures in the window of a music-shop,
and renewing my acquaintance with Edinburgh east wind.
By the end of the hour I made my way to Mr. Gregg's
office, where I was placed, with a few appropriate
words, in possession of a cheque for two thousand
pounds and a small parcel of architectural works.
"Mr. Loudon bids me add," continued the lawyer,
consulting a little sheet of notes, "that although
these volumes are very valuable to the practical
builder, you must be careful not to lose originality.
He tells you also not to be "hadden doun"--his own
expression--by the theory of strains, and that Portland
cement, properly sanded, will go a long way.
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