Whirlicote of the Middle Ages--Charettes--Cars of the Middle Ages--Revival of Carriages--The first Coaches--The German Waggon--Ancient Saxon Waggon--The Horse Litter--The Old Coaches at Coburg--Early Italian Coaches--Coach of Queen Elizabeth--Coach of Charles I.--Coach of Henri Quatre--Time of Louis XIV.--The Brouette and Steel Springs--The Berlin--Old Coaches at Vienna--Horse Litter at the Imperial Mews--Utility of Steel Springs--Mr Samuel Pepys’ Diary--Sedan Chairs--Coachbuilding in 1770--Chariot à l’Anglaise--Encyclopædia on Coachbuilding--Cabriolets--Light Chariots--The Darnley Chariot. With the decadence of the Romans we may well suppose many of the arts of civilisation fell into disuse. The skilled artisans died out and left no successors, for their work was not required, and for some centuries we find little or no mention of carriages. Ordinary carts were used, it is true, but the great and wealthy moved about the cities or travelled on horseback, and if ill they had litters carried by men or horses. But another cause tended to the disuse of wheeled carriages--the state of the roads. The Romans had been celebrated for the perfection of their roads; some of these have lasted nearly two thousand years. There is one, called the Appian way, which leads from Rome to near Naples, made B.C. 500 by the Consul, Appius Claudius, which is paved with blocks of stone, and can still be travelled upon after such a lapse of time. Roads like these could easily be traversed by carriages, but in the course of time they fell into disorder, whilst barbarian tribes had overrun Italy and driven the Romans from Germany, France, and Britain. The increase of population caused a gradual increase of traffic, and the formation of new roads, which, from the absence of method in making them, soon became mere horse-tracks, and very unsuitable for travelling on wheels for pleasure. We ascertain, however, from old manuscripts and books, that, by degrees, the use of two and four-wheeled carts was revived by the wealthy, in addition to riding on horseback as a means of travelling. The only distinction, however, from common carriers’ carts was in the use of carving on the woodwork, and gaily coloured curtains and cushions.