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the life of thomas telford-第17章

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estates in the parishes of Denny; Kirkintulloch; and Cumbernauld;

retaining only a few fields round the family mansion ''Farmer's

Magazine;' 1808; No。 xxxiv。 p。 193'。  Fletcher of Saltoun also

feared the ruinous results of the Union; though he was less

precipitate in his conduct than the Earl of Wigton。  We need

scarcely say how entirely such apprehensions were falsified by the

actual results。



*'3' 'Fletcher's Political Works;' London; 1737; p。 149。  As the

population of Scotland was then only about 1;200;000; the beggars

of the country; according to the above account; must have

constituted about one…sixth of the whole community。



*'4' Act 39th George III。 c。 56。  See 'Lord Cockburn's

Memorials;' pp。 76…9。  As not many persons may be aware how recent

has been the abolition of slavery in Britain; the author of this

book may mention the fact that he personally knew a man who had

been 〃born a slave in Scotland;〃 to use his own words; and lived to

tell it。  He had resisted being transferred to another owner on the

sale of the estate to which he was 〃bound;〃 and refused to 〃go below;〃

on which he was imprisoned in Edinburgh gaol; where he lay for a

considerable time。  The case excited much interest; and probably

had some effect in leading to the alteration in the law relating

to colliers and salters which shortly after followed。



*'5' See 'Autobiography of Dr。 Alexander Carlyle;' passim。



*'6' 'Farmer's Magazine。' June。 1811。 No。 xlvi。 p。 155。



*'7' See Buchan Hepburn's 'General View of the Agriculture and

Economy of East Lothian;' 1794; p。 55。



*'8'Letter of John Maxwell; in Appendix to Macdiarmid's 'Picture of

Dumfries;' 1823



*'9' Robertson's 'Rural Recollections;' p。 38。



*'10' Very little was known of the geography of the Highlands down

to the beginning of the seventeenth century The principal

information on the subject being derived from Danish materials。

It appears; however; that in 1608; one Timothy Pont; a young man

without fortune or patronage; formed the singular resolution of

travelling over the whole of Scotland; with the sole view of

informing himself as to the geography of the country; and he

persevered to the end of his task through every kind of difficulty;

exploring 'all the islands with the zeal of a missionary; though

often pillaged and stript of everything; by the then barbarous

inhabitant's。  The enterprising youth received no recognition nor

reward for his exertions; and he died in obscurity; leaving his

maps and papers to his heirs。  Fortunately; James I。  heard of the

existence of Pont's papers; and purchased them for public use。 They

lay; however; unused for a long time in the offices of the Scotch

Court of Chancery; until they were at length brought to light by

Mr。 Robert Gordon; of Straloch; who made them the basis of the

first map of Scotland having any pretensions to accuracy that was

ever published。



*'11' Mr。 Grant; of Corrymorry; used to relate that his father;

when speaking of the Rebellion of 1745; always insisted that a

rising in the Highlands was absolutely necessary to give employment

to the numerous bands of lawless and idle young men who infested

every property。Anderson's 'Highlands and Islands of Scotland;'

p。 432。



*'12' 'Lord Hailes Annals;' i。; 379。



*'13' Professor Innes's 'Sketches of Early Scottish History。' The

principal ancient bridges in Scotland were those over the Tay at

Perth (erected in the thirteenth century) over the Esk at Brechin

and Marykirk; over the Bee at Kincardine; O'Neil; and Aberdeen;

over the Don; near the same city; over the Spey at Orkhill; over

the Clyde at Glasgow; over the Forth at Stirling; and over the Tyne

at Haddington。





CHAPTER V。



ROADS AND TRAVELLING IN ENGLAND TOWARDS THE END OF LAST CENTURY。



The progress made in the improvement of the roads throughout

England was exceedingly slow。  Though some of the main throughfares

were mended so as to admit of stage…coach travelling at the rate of

from four to six miles an hour; the less frequented roads continued

to be all but impassable。  Travelling was still difficult; tedious;

and dangerous。  Only those who could not well avoid it ever thought

of undertaking a journey; and travelling for pleasure was out of

the question。  A writer in the 'Gentleman's Magazine' in 1752 says

that a Londoner at that time would no more think of travelling into

the west of England for pleasure than of going to Nubia。



But signs of progress were not awanting。  In 1749 Birmingham

started a stage…coach; which made the journey to London in three

days。*'1'  In 1754 some enterprising Manchester men advertised a

〃flying coach〃 for the conveyance of passengers between that town

and the metropolis; and; lest they should be classed with

projectors of the Munchausen kind; they heralded their enterprise

with this statement: 〃However incredible it may appear; this coach

will actually (barring accidents) arrive in London in four days and

a half after leaving Manchester!〃



Fast coaches were also established on several of the northern

roads; though not with very extraordinary results as to speed。

When John Scott; afterwards Lord Chancellor Eldon; travelled from

Newcastle to Oxford in 1766; he mentions that he journeyed in what

was denominated 〃a fly;〃 because of its rapid travelling; yet he

was three or four days and nights on the road。  There was no such

velocity; however; as to endanger overturning or other mischief。

On the panels of the coach were painted the appropriate motto of

Sat cito si sat benequick enough if well enougha motto which

the future Lord Chancellor made his own。*'2'



The journey by coach between London and Edinburgh still occupied

six days or more; according to the state of the weather。  Between

Bath or Birmingham and London occupied between two and three days

as late as 1763。  The road across Hounslow Heath was so bad; that

it was stated  before a Parliamentary Committee that it was

frequently known to be two feet deep in mud。  The rate of

travelling was about six and a half miles an hour; but the work was

so heavy that it 〃tore the horses' hearts out;〃 as the common

saying went; so that they only lasted two or three years。



When the Bath road became improved; Burke was enabled; in the

summer of 1774; to travel from London to Bristol; to meet the

electors there; in little more than four and twenty hours; but his

biographer takes care to relate that he 〃travelled with incredible

speed。〃  Glasgow was still ten days' distance from the metropolis;

and the arrival of the mail there was so important an event that a

gun was fired to announce its coming in。  Sheffield set up a

〃flying machine on steel springs〃 to London in 1760: it 〃slept〃 the

first night at the Black Man's Head Inn; Nottingham; the second at

the Angel; Northampton; and arrived at the Swan with Two Necks;

Lad…lane; on the evening of the third day。  The fare was 1L。 l7s。;

and 14 lbs。 of luggage was allowed。  But the principal part of the

expense of travelling was for living and lodging on the road; not

to mention the fees to guards and drivers。



Though the Dover road was still one of the best in the kingdom; the

Dover flying…machine; carrying only four passengers; took a long

summer's day to perform the journey。  It set out from Dover at four

o'clock in the morning; breakfasted at the Red Lion; Canterbury;

and the passengers ate their way up to town at various inns on the

road; arriving in London in time for supper。  Smollett complained

of the  innkeepers along that route as the greatest set of

extortioners in  England。  The deliberate style in which journeys

were performed may be inferred from the circumstance that on one

occasion; when a quarrel took place between the guard and a

passenger; the coach stopped to see them fight it out on the road。



Foreigners who visited England were peculiarly observant of the

defective modes of con

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