New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-11-10
ENGLISH ROAD-MAKlNG.
AS ILLUSTRATED IN A DRIVE OVER SAIL
IsBURY PLAIN TO STONEHENGE.
Salisbury. October "a.


The autumna tints of the English woods are
less brilliant than the crimson ana purple "s"'s
OF an American October There are patches OF
russo, stain in the tree tops. the becomes are
dropping their leaves. and the larches are snow
ing a dull yellow: but the woods in the main are
untouched by frost and change OF season Inc
oaks which are among the last trees 10 lose their
foliage have deep green spotted with black; the
sycamore. do not bear a trace of red, and there
are few OF the rich hues with which American
woods are fairly afiame in October. The meadows
and roadsides are as green as at midsummer anu
there are patches OF yellow gorse nowerihs ia'e'
with here and there struggling Wild popp! III
blossom where in July there were masses OF 'hese
brilliant flowers lighting up the heids WIN al
intense scarlet blaze. The last roses or the sea-
son are still 10 be seen In front Of the laborers
cottages and sometimes there Is a gilmnler VI
bloom near the hedges. where brambies nave
turned red or the brown furze Is streaKed WIFI
yellow.
Y,he au.umnal setting Of an English landscape
be lacking In richness OF color, !; Is also less so
bre than the general scenic effect of an American
October The change Of season Is not iorced sui.
denly upon even the hardest trees; the oeau
leaves are not swirling In the woods; the heds
sre not bare and sere, and pale gray ana oui
brown are not the prevailing tones of color IN
lightly wooded expanse like Salisbury ram
Even under a dull clouded sky drive in the ia'e
autumn is not depressing. The vitality OF SUM
mer does not appear 10 have passed Inc proc
esses Of growth have not been SUSPENDED ana IL
the DAYS could be lengthen ID for priei space
there would be budding afresh In the moist All
The loveliness of early spring has gone OUT 'hele
is nothing in the green fields and verdant wood
lands TO suggest the last pulsatons OF expiring
life Nature offers parable here OF a pained
and confused lifetime OF patient labor ana I'M
fulfilled purpose, with swirlng leaves as the nnai
disappointing harvest from early hopes ho'
would Salisbury Plain. with the MODEST spi'e
browning the most symmetrical cathedral in Eng
land 10 be seen close at hand and the mysterious
circles OF Stonehenge far In The distance, be the
Mace in which to read a melancholy analogy.
Those great works OF medieval art and faith
and Of prehistoric science and superstition are full
q, the inspiration Of nature and perfected achieve
,nent Each is characterized by unity OF design
and Is the monument Of an unknown architect.
Each requires the harmonious and tranquilizing
effects OF verdant landscape setting
AN OCTOBER DRIVE.
It's not. however. OF these marvels of symmetry
and mystery that am writing. but Oh the peau-
t,fu, country road that joins them. There are
pleasure seekers but for late October afternoon
there Is perhaps not one that is more interesting
an, picturesque than the highway from Salisbury
Cathedral 10 Stonehenge. 1t leads by the Famous
mound Of Old Sarum which is Identified allKe
With ecclesiastical liturges and political anom-
allies and thence northward over Salisbury Pam
A quaint church is passed and then the heuse-
rows and ivy-clad stone walls run almost con-
tjnuously 10 Stonehenge Great hocks OF sheep
are In the meadows. The wheat has been gain
cred long ago. and the farm work for the season Is
nearly over AS far as the eye can see are 1er'iie
levels where once there was an arid waste Oh
stony ground. Nothing can be concealed on the
wide reaches Of this verdant plain neither the
modest matched cottages with their Vine-coVeiee
walls nor the few great houses with their Eliza
bethan or Jacobean fronts nor the tall mrs Win
their graceful spires carrying dark green crosses
at the tips nor the great cathedral far away
with its Incompatible symmetry of outline. nor
the weatherbeaten buttresses and capstones OF
grim inscrutable Stonehenge.
This road across Salisbury Plain, like every
other country road in England. is in perfect repair
and order Mounting the box with the driver ana
keeping a sharp lookout ahead mile after mile,
did not see a single hollow or rut All the way
II was as smooth and hard as an oak floor On
the previous day, from early morning until long
after midnight there had been continuous
drenching rain but one would have known II
from looking at this firm. well-drained roadway
There was no mud TO tarnish the carriage wheels,
which were nearly fresh at the end or an
e.ghteen-mile drive they had been at the be-
ginning There pools Of standing water
20 be avoided by a cautious driver There were
no Shiny trenches at the side into which the
wheels might sink with thud and swish told
nod q
mouth at O'Clock that morning by gusts of rain
beating like sleet violently against the window
panes Could it be possible asked. that the
same tempest Of rain had passed over Salisbury
Plain? Yes there had been a heavy rainstorm
throughout the previous day and IT had lasted
we'll through the night the morning breaking cold
and raw and the sun not emerging until noon
from the duh. murky sky. Yet at in the AFTER
noon the road dry and neither horse moor
nor carriage tire left impression upon It's sur
face Let II be frankly conceded that the English
know how to make a country road and to keep 1t
in perfect condition.
SCIENTIFIC CONSTRUCTION.
How is 1t done? That is question which
have asked many times during the last SIX
months while driving IN the Midland counties, In
East Anglia In Wales in Yorkshire and Lanca-
shire and in Scotland. and observing everywhere
the same evidences of scientific construction ana
systematic. painstaking care. How has II come
about that in a wide sparsey populated district
like Salisbury Plain, once an arid waste. but
now fertile sheep pasture and wheat farm,
there is a road like this. smooth. hard and dry
after long driving rainstorm? How does II
happen that a road traversing wide expanse OF
farming country, with few villages and with cot
tages and barns long way apart, can be kept
in irreproachable order? These practical
questions which ought TO interest Americans
frank enough 10 admit that there few roads
In their own country that will bear comparison
with these English highways.
The commonest answer TO these questions is
that from the time OF the Roman conquest there