10 



from luxurious, according to modern notions, and as, in order to realize 

 as fully as possible the dream of independence, every country gentle- 

 man had his private chaplain, surgeon, farrier, tailor, weaver and 

 spinner, raised his own wool, malt, barley and breadstuff's, killed his 

 own beef, mutton and venison, and brewed his own ale, he was able to 

 despise commerce and to avoid towns. The little finery his household 

 coveted was accordingly brought to his door on pack-mules by travel- 

 ing merchants. The vocation of a merchant, in its large, modern sense, 

 was hardly known, and the trade of even the most considerable towns 

 was, in all respects, very restricted. Thus the old foot-way streets still 

 served all necessary requirements tolerably well. 



As the advance of civilization continued, however, this disinclination 

 to the exchange of service, of course, gave way; demands became 

 more varied, and men of all classes were forced to take their place 

 in the general organization of society in communities. In process of 

 time the enlargement of popular freedom, the spread of knowledge 

 by books, the abatement of religious persecutions, the voyages of 

 circumnavigators, and finally the opening of America, India and 

 the gold coast of Africa to European commerce, so fed the mercan- 

 tile inclinations, that an entirely new class of towns, centres of manu- 

 facturing and of trade, grew upon the sites of the old ones. To these 

 the wealthy and powerful were drawn, no longer for protection, but for 

 the enjoyment of the luxuries which they found in them, while the 

 more enterprising of the lower classes crowded into them to " seek their 

 fortune." 



SECOND STAGE OF STREET ARRANGEMENTS. 



Wagons gradually took the place of pack-trains in the distribution 

 of goods through the country, and, as one man coidd manage a heavy 

 load, when it was once stowed, as well as a light one, the wagons were 

 made very large and strong, and required the employment of many 

 horses. 



In comparatively few town-streets could two of these wheeled mer- 

 chantmen, with the enormous hamper they carried on each side, pass 

 each other. The seats and hucksteries of slight wood-work with which 

 the streets had been lined were swept away; but, as the population 

 rapidly increased, while the house accommodation was so limited that 

 its density, in the city of London, for instance, was probably three times 

 as great as at present, any attempt to further widen the streets for the 

 convenience of the wagoners had to encounter the strongest resistance 

 from the house-holders. 



Thus, without any material enlargement, the character of the streets 

 was much changed. They frequently became quite unfit to walk in, 



