ROADS. 317 



yet, to the savage tribes of America, the idea of facili- 

 tating communication with distant places does not seem 

 to have occurred. Even in civilised countries in Europe, 

 men appear to have advanced pretty far in refine- 

 ment before it became a regular object of their political 

 economy to form such roads as rendered mutual inter- 

 course convenient. The account of these roads by that 

 eloquent historian, Gibbon, is given in such easy and 

 pleasing language, that I am certain it will not be dis- 

 agreeable to my readers : — 



' All these cities were connected with each other, and 

 with the capital, by the public highways, which issuing 

 from the Forum of Rome, traversed Italy, pervaded the 

 provinces, and were terminated only by the frontiers of 

 the empire. If we carefully trace the distance from the 

 Wall of Antoninus to Rome, and thence to Jerusalem, it 

 will be found that the great chain of communication, 

 from the north-west to the south-east point of the empire 

 was drawn out to the length of four thousand and eighty 

 Roman miles. The public roads were accurately 

 divided by mile-stones, and ran in a direct line from 

 one city to another, with very little respect for the 

 obstacles either of nature or private property. Moun- 

 tains were perforated, and bold arches were thrown over 

 the broadest and most rapid streams. The middle part 

 of the road, which was raised into a terrace commanding- 

 the adjacent country, consisted of several strata of sand, 

 gravel, and cement, and was paved with large stones, or, 

 in some places near the capital, with granite. Such was 

 the solid construction of the Roman highways, whose 

 firmness has not yielded to the effect of fifteen centuries ! 



