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In a few moments it was tearing away through the dawn at a wonderful speed, rocking around curves, roaring across culverts, making up time.
Hollow trees Cupboards Culverts Potato-graves Clock-cases Hedgerows Fuel-houses Chimney-flues Faggot-ricks Bedrooms Rainwater-butts Haystacks Apple-lofts Pigsties Coppers and ovens.
A sort of shock went through me at the unexpected presence that seemed to have dropped down from nowhere, and I replied irritably: "You could not miss it if you tried. Keep straight ahead." Soon large drops of rain came down, then faster and more furiously, till the air was one vast sheet of water, and little rivers leaped madly along the gullies and culverts.
You may watch the quaint dresses in the marketplace; you may rest, as Froissart rested of old, in a 'right pleasant inn; you may eat of the delicious cookery which is to be found, even in remote towns, throughout the south of France, and even if you dare of 'Coquilles aux Champignons. You may sit out after dinner in that delicious climate, listening to the rush of the clear Adour through streets, and yards, and culverts; for the city, like Romsey, or Salisbury, is built over many streams.
It made busy work for the section gangs, who had their hands more than full with landslides, undermined culverts, and overflowing ditches, and it caused enginemen to strain their eyes along the lines of wet track, with an unusual carefulness. At length the week of rain ended with a storm of terrific violence, accompanied by crashing thunder and vivid lightnings.
Sometimes a beck is conducted under the canal, and passages called culverts serve as a roadway for men and beasts. We walked through one of these, just lofty enough for a man of my stature to pass through with his hat on. It had a very singular effect to see persons emerging from this dark, long, narrow vault.
Defects in roads, to which mishaps may be fairly attributed, are only those unlooked for conditions which make trouble for all other vehicles, such as wash-outs, pit-holes, weak culverts, broken bridges, in short, conditions which require repairs to restore the road to normal condition.
Perhaps I should explain that, as a rule, a forked twig, the extremities of which are held loosely in each hand, is used to locate sub-artesian water, and in this connection its movements, so far as is known, can only be affected by natural running streams. The rod, or twig, does not work if carried over water passing through drains, culverts, and such like.
But below Marshall the valley contracts, and the rails are laid a good portion of the way in the old stage road. One can walk the track, but to ride a horse over its sleepers and culverts and occasional bridges, and dodge the trains, is neither safe nor agreeable.
Little did he know the resource and capacity of our Indian sappers and miners, our Engineer and Pioneer battalions. They threw themselves on broken culverts and wrecked bridges; with only hand tools, so short of equipment were they, they drove piles and built up girders on heaps of sleepers and made the bridges safe again.
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