London to Brighton, 117 



and dates of events which took place, or of great men who 

 lived, in the neighbourhood; and that, in addition to these, there 

 might be inscribed on each milestone, or structure serving 

 the same end, maxims of conduct, or fundamental principles 

 of science. Thus, on some roads the milestones might exhi- 

 bit sculptured reliefs, representing a historical series, either of 

 events in the history of that part of the country, of the life of 

 some eminent character who had lived there *, of the progress 

 of discovery in some art or science of the human mind gene- 

 rally, or of general history. If all the proprietors on a line of 

 road were agreed, a group of exotic trees and shrubs might 

 be planted as a back ground to a small area, which might con- 

 tain the milestone ; and by limiting every group to one genus 

 of timber tree, and one or two fruit trees, considerable variety 

 would be produced, and the botanical interest of the road kept 

 up for many miles. Small burial grounds round milestones 

 would, we think, be unobjectionable, and indeed we do not think 

 they could be better placed ; and tombstones there or anywhere 

 along the roadside would attain their end more effectually 

 than in churchyards, and, at any rate, would be what is called 

 classical, which is an excellence to be aimed at, and which is 

 beneficial in a certain stage of progress, but too often, in archi- 

 tecture and sculpture, for example, an impediment to improve- 

 ment, by being considered the highest degree of excellence. 

 Some one (if we are not mistaken, Sir Richard Phillips) has 

 proposed to build cottages as milestones, and to that plan and to 

 various others, we have no objection, to a certain extent; the 

 danger being the production of sameness, by adopting the 

 same plan everywhere. 



When we consider the immense number of milestones and 

 guide-posts that are wanted for the main, secondary, and by- 

 roads, and of name-posts for villages and hamlets, there is 

 ample room for the exercise of architecture, sculpture, and ar- 

 boriculture, and for patriotism and individual distinction in the 

 rich who have no heirs, and who may have seen the little use 

 in leaving money for what is called charitable purposes. With 

 so many cathedrals, churches, country palaces, castles, and 

 villas, parks, gardens, woods, forests, and waters already, and 

 with the additions which the imagination may create from these 

 rude hints ; with the result of what we have formerly sug- 

 gested on the subject of education (p. 8. 84. and 94.), and of 

 the adoption of what our highly valued correspondent, Mr. 



* The life of the great Lord Erskine, for example, might form a series of 

 relievos from London to Crawley. A series of statues of the priests of all 

 nations, from London to Oxford ; of philosophers, from London to Cam- 

 bridge ; of legislators, from London to Edinburgh, &lc. 



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