THE ROAD. 
part of his tackle give way, he could run her into the 
gravel, and her velocity would be almost instantly 
checked. If placed on the near or left-hand side of the 
road, it would not inconvenience carriages ascending the 
hills ; and the attention of a labourer, about every third 
day, to keep the gravel in its place, would obviate every 
difficulty. Likewise, it is desirable that roads should 
be raised a little to meet a coach, as it were, in the 
turns, especially such as are at the bottom of a hill. 
For example, if the turn is to the right, the left side of 
the road should be the highest, so as to give support to 
a coach in preserving her centre of gravity. Be it 
remembered that if the body of a coach could be made 
to lock with the carriage, she would go round a corner 
at full speed without danger; but as that cannot be 
done, too much precaution cannot be used when turning 
her from her line. Only a few years back, the Kingston 
and Worcester mail was upset in going round a turn, 
where the road was in an opposite form to the one we 
have just pointed out, when, according to evidence pro- 
duced, she was going at the rate of only six miles in the 
hour. The effects of this accident were dreadful. In 
one respect, however, roads are more safe than they 
were, being no longer rounded in the middle, which 
caused the overthrow of many coaches in the act of 
crossing them, and the ruin of many coach-horses, by 
straining them in the fetlock-joint. 
The hills on our great roads are now so cut 
through, that coaches ascend nearly all of them in the 
