Page:The Library, volume 5, series 3.djvu/122

no REVIEWS. Miss Ballen might have gone a little further and substituted the class headings for at least one hundred and thirteen of the two hundred and twenty-six running headlines now occupied by repetitions of the title ' Bibliography of Roads.' It would certainly have made it easy to find one's way about her book. For the general interest of this we are content to borrow the eulogy by Sir George Gibb, who writes : A mere perusal of Miss Ballen's bibliography and of* the dates and titles of the books written, taking due notice of the dates when books were not written, is sufficient to afford a good deal of enlightenment. It is not too much to say that the evolution of the road can be traced from the bibliography. The appearance on the road of each new user heralded an outburst of literary and legislative activity, and created a situation similar in principle to that which has been created by the motor traffic of to-day. The literature of the past, like that of to-day, embodies a prevailing tone of discontent. Its classification would be among the lamentations. The road user has always been an impatient and intolerant person in speech, though pathetically tolerant and long- suffering in conduct. Few writers come to praise either the conditions of the roads or their administration. Yet we have, and though chary of saying it, we know that we have in Great Britain a most admirable, highly practical, and singularly complete system of roads. How did we get it? Who made it? It is difficult to answer these questions. Our roads, speaking generally, were not made ; they grew. Hence this need of history for com- prehension and the value of Miss Ballen's bibliography. We may note in passing that Sir George Gibb offers the following dates for the appearance of