350 



ROADS. 



and changes, as to leave little more to us than the mere 

 Highways, recital of their names. 



"""Y"""" In the formation of roads, the Romans general- 

 ly kept a straight line of direction, though at the 

 expence-of works of considerable difficulty; at one 

 place performing extensive excavations, at another 

 stretching over valleys by bridges and aqueducts, and 

 boldly piercing the mountain, with under-ground tun- 

 nels, as that of Pozzuoli near Naples, cut about half 

 a league through the solid rock, and forming a road- 

 way or aperture of fifteen feet square. But in nothing 

 is our wonder so much excited as at the pains bestow- 

 ed in preparing a firm bottom for the structure of 

 their roads. In some instances, they built walls of 

 ' masonry, and strengthened the ground by ramming it 

 with brick, rubbish, gravel, or small stones and flints, 

 on which they laid a course of square blocks of various 

 dimensions, not unfrequently cubes measuring eighteen 

 inches upon their several sides, though the leng/htvay 

 was generally the greatest. The surface of these roads 

 was spacious, firm, and smooth. Many of them had 

 a double row of pavement for carriages going in dif- 

 ferent directions. These were separated by a cause- 

 way in the middle, somewhat raised above the others, 

 and paved with brick for the conveniency of foot pas- 

 sengers. The Appian ivay, so much celebrated by 

 Horace, was originally carried only to Capua, but 

 was afterwards carried to Brundusium by Julius Cse- 

 sar, being altogether about 300 British miles in length: 

 it formed one of the most splendid memorials of 

 that emperor's reign, under which about two-thirds 

 of it were executed. This famous road is in many 

 places still quite entire, though understood to have 

 seen its nineteenth century. 



In Britain, the remains of the Roman ways are now 

 hardly to be traced. They were generally termed 

 streets, as Watling Street, Theneild Street, Erminage 

 Street, and others. At Castrum, or Chester, one of 

 the greatest Roman depots in Britain, some of the old 

 roads are still to be seen, and occasionally compactly 

 built pavements are discovered, with several feet of 

 soil upon them. Roman roads have also been found 

 in different parts of Scotland. A portion of one may 

 still be seen leading from Musselburgh bay to Aber- 

 corn, one of their principal stations on the Frith of 

 Forth. A portion of this street, termed the " Fish- 

 wives causeway" leads through the fields from Piers- 

 hill Barracks towards Portobello. It consists of boul- 

 der stones very different in size, and is said closely to 

 resemble some of the old Roman ways still seen in 

 Italy. 



The pontiffs and heads of the different Italian states 

 succeeded the munificent reigns of the emperors in 

 the government of this ancient kingdom, and follow- 

 ing the established taste of that country for roads, 

 Italy still preserves her celebrity for interior commu- 

 nications. Amidst the misery which the sway of 

 Buonaparte entailed upon the countries on both sides 

 of the Alps, it was fortunate that his measures ulti- 

 mately tended to facilitate the intercourse between the 

 ancient mistress of the world and the rest of Europe, 

 by the improvement of the great passages across this 

 mountain range, which was effected by the French and 

 the Italians in the years 1804-5. Under the aus- 

 pices of this great roan, the Aurelian road has been 

 thus adapted to the speed of the modern traveller. 

 The track by the Simplon being generally at the rate 

 of one perpendicular to twenty-eight horizontal, the 

 postillion now takes that road, formerly almost imprac- 

 ticable, without requiring to slacken his pace. Among 



the difficulties to be encountered in the formation of Roads and 

 this magnificent undertaking, there are several under- Highways. 

 ground tunnels, the longest of which measures about V -^~Y~*-' 

 200 yards. It is curious thus to see the aggregate power 

 of armies under the control of one individual directed 

 to such objects. It is indeed doubtful whether at this 

 moment the fame of the Roman emperors stands higher 

 as conquerors, or for the works of art which they achiev- 

 ed ; and we hesitate not to say, that the French Em- 

 peror's chief claim to true greatness will be sought for 

 in the works which were executed under his powerful 

 command as a military engineer. 



The French highways seem to have been modelled Hoads of 

 upon those of Italy> the great and early prototype of * rane * 

 the nations toward the north. The roads which ra- 

 diate from Paris, like those of Rome, are chiefly chaus- 

 sees, Causeys, or causeways. These consist of a bot- 

 tom or foundation, carefully prepared, and previously 

 drained, on which stones measuring about six, eight, 

 and ten inches square, are set or built, the downward 

 side being in the usual manner somewhat smaller than 

 the upper one. The rock from which these stones ar 

 taken is generally quartzy sandstone, of considerable 

 tenacity. The lines of direction of the French roads 

 are for the most part straight, without much regard 

 being paid on many occasions for more easy or fa- 

 vourable lines of draugrft. They are of a spacious 

 breadth, varying from thirty to sixty feet, even seventy 

 feet ; the causewayed part is usually situate in the mid- 

 dle, being about sixteen or eighteen feet in breadth, 

 with a bridle or summer road on each side. Many of 

 the roads of France, however, like those of England, 

 are made with metal or broken stones, a system prac- 

 tised even before the Revolution by the Etats de Lan- 

 guedoc, under the direction of M. Turgoz in Limon* 

 sin, &c. which now rather seems to be gaining ground, 

 as forming a road so much smoother, and more agree- 

 able than the irksome noise of the paved road. The 

 chaussee in the middle being somewhat elevated in po- 

 sition, seems entirely to have precluded the idea of a 

 footpath on either side ; a comfort which rarely extends 

 beyond the boulevards of the large towns. Nothing 

 indeed surprises an English traveller more than to find 

 Paris, the mistress of politeness, and the admired the- 

 atre of the arts, still without this accommodation ex- 

 cepting in a few streets at the Court-end of the town, 

 where a kirb-stone is introduced, lining a some- 

 what elevated, though roughly causewayed footpath. 

 In all other parts of that otherwise elegant city, the 

 unfortunate pedestrian is left to trudge along under 

 all the indignities of the bespattering c/ieval and his 

 harassing driver, in their traverse course through the 

 kennel in the middle of the street. 



The want of cross or parish roads is not peculiar te Parish or 

 France; for there seems every where on the continent cross roads> 

 an almost total oversight with regard to their importance 

 to the best interests of a country. They do not seem 

 yet to have caught the English sentiment, so happily 

 expressed by the late Dr. Anderson in his Rural Re- 

 creations. " Around every market place you may 

 suppose a number of concentric circle? drawn, within 

 each of which certain articles became marketable, 

 which were not so before, and thus become the sources 

 of wealth and prosperity to many individuals. Dimi- 

 nish the expense of carriage but one farthing, and you 

 widen the circle ; vou form as it were, a new creation, 

 not only of stones tnd earth, and trees, and plants, but 

 men also ; and what is more, of industry and happi* 

 ness." In France, notwithstanding the excellency of 

 many of the principal roads, and the science displayed 



