He was no longer a
_general manager_, having given up that post for another which was
pressed upon him--the post of Chairman of the Irish Board of Works. It
was certainly unusual, unheard of one might say, in those days, for an
important government office to be conferred upon a railway official,
though now it would excite but little surprise. The Government it was
thought contemplated something in the shape of a railway policy in
Ireland, and had spotted Robertson as the man for the job; it was
certainly said that someone in high authority, taken greatly by his
sturdy independence, his unconventional ways, and his enormous energy,
had determined to try the novel experiment which such an appointment
meant. I do not think that Robertson himself ever really enjoyed the
change. He liked variety it is true, but governmental ways were not, he
often said, his ways, and he seemed to lack the capacity to easily adapt
himself to new grooves. Unconventional he certainly was, and never in
London even would he wear a tall hat or a tail coat; nor could he ever be
persuaded to attend a levee or any State function whatever.
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