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diff --git a/44864.txt b/44864.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c9e57c8..0000000 --- a/44864.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1562 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Coaching Days & Ways, by E. D. (Edward -William Dirom) Cuming, Illustrated by G. Denholm Armour - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Coaching Days & Ways - - -Author: E. D. (Edward William Dirom) Cuming - - - -Release Date: February 10, 2014 [eBook #44864] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COACHING DAYS & WAYS*** - - -E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Fay Dunn, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 44864-h.htm or 44864-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44864/44864-h/44864-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44864/44864-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/coachingdaysways00cumi - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text in small capitals has been changed to upper case. - - - - - -[Illustration] - - -COACHING DAYS & WAYS - -by - -E. D. CUMING - -With Illustrations by G. Denholm Armour - - - - - - - -The British -Sport Series - -Hodder and Stoughton - - - - -COACHING - - -The many boons conferred by Mr. John Palmer upon his generation faded -before the advance of the railways; but he has deserved well of -posterity, if only for that he altered the coach team from three horses -to four. Until that enterprising man undertook to demonstrate that -the coach could carry letters more rapidly and safely than could the -post-boy, our ancestors had been content with the unicorn team; but -after Palmer had astonished the world by making the journey from Bath -to London, in 1784, at the rate of nearly seven miles an hour, the team -of four horses gradually but steadily supplanted that of three in the -stages on almost every road in the country. - -[Illustration: - - _The Stage Coach: - Old Times - - Painting by G. D. Armour._] - -[Illustration] - -It is generally assumed that fast coaching only came into existence -after the macadamisation of the roads; but this is not quite the case. -Under favourable conditions the speed attained in pre-Macadam days -was nearly as great as it became later. The _Sporting Magazine_ of -June 1807 says: 'Lately one of the stage coaches on the North road ran -from London to Stamford, a distance of 90 miles, in 9 hours 4 minutes. -The passengers, four in number, breakfasted and dined on the road, so -it must have run at the rate of 12 miles an hour all the time it was -travelling.' - -The 'old heavies' discarded under Palmer's drastic rule worked out -their lives as ordinary stage coaches, and some of these remained on -the road until well on in the nineteenth century. - -Nimrod's description of the old-time coachman is worth giving:-- - -'The old-fashioned coachman to a heavy coach--and they were all heavy -down to very recent times--bore some analogy with the prize-fighter, -for he stood highest who could hit hardest. He was generally a man -of large frame, made larger by indulgence, and of great bodily -power--which was useful to him. To the button-hole of his coat were -appended several whipcord points, which he was sure to have occasion -for on the road, for his horses were whipped till whipping was as -necessary to them as their harness. In fair play to him, however, he -was not solely answerable for this; the spirit of his cattle was broken -by the task they were called to perform--for in those days twenty-mile -stages were in fashion--and what was the consequence? Why, the -four-horse whip and the Nottingham whipcord were of no avail over the -latter part of the ground, and something like a cat-o'-nine-tails was -produced out of the boot, which was jocularly called the "apprentice"; -and a shrewd apprentice it was to the art of torturing which was -inflicted on the wheelers without stint or measure, but without which -the coach might have been often left on the road. One circumstance -alone saved these horses from destruction; this was the frequency of -ale-houses on the road, not one of which could then be passed without a -call. - -'Still, our old-fashioned coachman was a scientific man in his -calling--more so, perhaps, than by far the greater part of his -brethren of the present day, inasmuch as his energies and skill were -more frequently put to the test. He had heavy loads, bad roads, and -weary horses to deal with, neither was any part of his harness to be -depended on, upon a pinch. Then the box he sat upon was worse than -Pandora's, with all the evils it contained, for even hope appeared to -have deserted it. It rested on the bed of the axletree, and shook the -frame to atoms; but when prayers were put up to have it altered, the -proprietors said, "No; the rascal will always be asleep if we place -his box on the springs." If among all these difficulties, then, he, by -degrees, became a drunkard, who can wonder at his becoming so? But he -was a _coachman_. He could fetch the last ounce out of a wheel-horse -by the use of his double thong or his "apprentice," and the point -of his lash told terribly upon his leaders. He likewise applied it -scientifically, it was directed under the bar to the flank, and after -the third hit he brought it up to his hand by _the draw_, so that it -never got entangled in the pole-chains, or in any part of the harness. -He could untie a knot with his teeth and tie another with his tongue, -as well as he could with his hands; and if his thong broke off in the -middle, he could splice it with dexterity and even with neatness as -his coach was proceeding on its journey. It short, he could do what -coachmen of the present day cannot do, because they have not been -called upon to do it; and he likewise could do what they never tried to -do--namely, he could drive when he was drunk nearly as well as when he -was sober. He was very frequently a faithful servant to his employers; -considered trustworthy by bankers and others in the country through -which he passed; and as humane to his horses, perhaps, as the adverse -circumstances he was placed in by his masters would admit.' - -Time has dealt kindly with the reputation of the old stage coachman, -and popular tradition holds him, as Nimrod portrayed him, a whip of -unrivalled skill. That there were such men is perfectly true;[1] but -not every stage coachman was an expert: not all were skilful or even -careful, and not all were civil: and if, as Nimrod says, they could -drive as well when drunk as when sober, the cold light of contemporary -record shows that there was ample room for improvement. Take the -following:--On the 18th of May 1808 the coachman of the Portsmouth -coach to London was intoxicated, and "when he came to the foot of the -hill on Wimbledon Common, instead of keeping straight on turned to the -left and found himself in Putney Lane, where turning the corner of Mr. -Kensington's wall in order to get again into the road to Wandsworth, -the coach was overturned." He appears to have driven on to the bank by -the roadside. The ten outside passengers were all more or less hurt, -one dying from her injuries, and the coachman himself had both legs -broken. Accidents due to reckless driving and racing were very common, -despite the law[2] of 1790 which made a coachman who, by furious -driving or careless, overturned his coach, liable to a fine not over -five pounds. The following is typical:-- - -'Last night occurred one of those dreadful catastrophes, the result -of driving opposition coaches, which has so stunned the country with -horror that sober people for a time will not hazard their lives in -these vehicles of fury and madness. - -'Two coaches that run daily from Hinckley to Leicester had set out -together. The first having descended the hill leading to Leicester was -obliged to stop to repair the harness. The other coachman saw the -accident and seized the moment to give his antagonist the _go by_, -flogging the horses into a gallop down the hill. The horses contrived -to keep on their legs, but took fright at something on the road, and -became so unmanageable in the hands of a drunken coachman, that in -their sweep to avoid the object of their alarm, the driver could not -recover them so as to clear the post of the turnpike gate at the bottom -of the hill. The velocity was so great that the coach was split in two; -three persons were dashed to pieces and instantly killed, two others -survived but a few hours in the greatest agony; four were conveyed -away for surgical aid with fractured limbs, and two in the dickey were -thrown with that part of the coach to a considerable distance, and -not much hurt as they fell on a hedge. The coachman fell a victim to -his fury and madness. It is time the Magistrates put a stop to these -outrageous proceedings that have existed too long in this part of the -country.' (_St. James's Chronicle_, 15th July 1815). - -The frequency of upsets is suggested by a letter which appeared in -the papers in 1785. The writer, who signs himself 'A Sufferer,' begs -coach proprietors to direct their servants, when the coach has been -overturned, 'not to drag the passengers out at the window, but to -replace the coach on its wheels first, provided it can be accomplished -with the strength they have with them.' - -After coaches began to carry the mails, accidents grew more numerous. -We can trace many to the greater speed maintained, others to defective -workmanship which resulted in broken axles or lost wheels, many to -top-heaviness, and not a few to carelessness. The short stage drivers, -on the whole, were the worst offenders. For sheer recklessness this -would be hard to beat:-- - -'During the dense fog on Wednesday last, as a Woolwich coach full of -inside and outside passengers was driving at a furious rate, just -after it had passed the Six Bells on its way to town, the coachman -ran against a heavy country cart. The stage was upset, and those on -the roof were pitched violently against an empty coal waggon; two of -them fell on the shafts, one of whom had a shoulder badly dislocated; -the other had his jawbone broken, with the loss of his front teeth. A -Greenwich pensioner, with a wooden leg, had an arm broken, and -some contusions on the head.' (_Bell's Life_, 15th December 1882). - -It would be easy to compile a list of accidents due to causes -unforseen, each one, illustrating a different danger of the road. Here -are a few:-- - -'Tuesday afternoon, as one of the Brighton stages was leaving London -at a rapid pace, the pole broke in Lambeth, and the coach was upset. -Several passengers had limbs broken and others were injured.' (_Bell's -Life_, 25th August 1822). - -'A fatal accident befel the Woolwich Tally Ho opposition stage on -Tuesday. Coming down the hill from the Green Man the horses became -restive, the coachman lost his command, and immediately the whole set -off at full speed. In turning a corner the coach upset, being heavily -laden outside. Out of sixteen persons only one escaped without a leg -or arm broken, and four are not expected to survive. The coach was -literally dashed to pieces. The inside passengers were more lacerated -than those outside, owing to the coach being shattered to pieces and -their being dragged along the road for fifty yards. But little hopes -are entertained of a Major M'Leod--a very fine young man; not a vestige -of his face is left except his eyes.' (_Bell's Life_, 22nd September -1822). - -'A fatal accident happened to Gamble, coachman of the Yeovil mail, -on Wednesday, caused by the leaders shying at an old oak tree. The -coachman was killed on the spot, and the guard escaped with bruises. -The horses started off and galloped into Andover at the rate of 20 -miles an hour. The single inside passenger was not aware of anything -amiss until two gentlemen, who saw the horses going at a furious rate -without a driver, succeeded in stopping them just as they were turning -into the George gateway.' (_Times_, 21st February 1838). - -Coachmen and guards were apt to leave too much to the honour of the -horses when stopping, and it was not at all uncommon for the team to -start on its journey with nobody on the box. An old coachman told Lord -Algernon St. Maur that on one night's drive he met two coaches without -any driver! In 1806 (46 Geo. III., c. 36) it was made an offence -punishable by fine to leave the team without a proper person in charge -while the coach stopped. - -Organised races between public coaches were very popular: the coachmen -did not spare the horses on these occasions. This race took place in -1808:-- - -'On Sunday, August 7th, a coach called the "Patriot," belonging to the -master of the "Bell," Leicester, drawn by four horses, started against -another coach called the "Defiance," from Leicester to Nottingham, a -distance of 26 miles, both coaches changing horses at Loughborough. -Thousands of people from all parts assembled to witness the event, and -bets to a considerable amount were depending. Both coaches started -exactly at 8 o'clock, and after the severest contest ever remembered, -the "Patriot" arrived at Nottingham first by two minutes only, -performing the distance of 26 miles in 2 hrs. 10 mins., carrying twelve -passengers.' - -[Illustration: - - _Mail Coaches Racing: - - Something Wrong with the - Opposition Coach - - Painting by G. D. Armour._] - -[Illustration] - -Mishaps were so frequent and productive of so many fatalities, to say -nothing of broken limbs, that at last general outcry arose for more -stringent repressive measures: and in 1820 a law (1 Geo. IV., c. 4) -was passed, making coachmen who might be guilty of 'wanton or furious -driving or racing' liable to imprisonment as well as to fine, even -though their proceedings were not brought to a close by overturning -the coach. The new law did not make an end of accidents: on the whole -there were fewer as the result of racing, but the records of time bear -ample witness to lack of ordinary caution. - -For many years Macadam and Telford had been devoting their ingenuity to -the task of solving the secret of road-making; it was not until 1818 -that the Macadam system was finally approved and adopted. Then the -work of remaking the roads of the kingdom was taken in hand, and the -new highways, when constructed, ushered in the brief 'golden age' of -coaching--say 1825 to 1838, the mails having been transferred to the -railways in the latter year. - -Nimrod's famous essay, written in 1835, shows in convincing fashion the -difference between coaching in the olden days and at its best:-- - -'May we be permitted, since we have mentioned the _Arabian Nights_, to -make a little demand on our readers' fancy, and suppose it possible -that a worthy old gentleman of this said year--1742--had fallen -comfortably asleep _a la Dodswell_, and never awoke till Monday morning -in Piccadilly? "What coach, your honour?" says a ruffianly-looking -fellow, much like what he might have been had he lived a hundred years -back. "I wish to go home to Exeter," replies the old gentleman, mildly. -"Just in time, your honour, here she comes--them there grey horses; -where's your luggage?" "Don't be in a hurry," observed the stranger; -"that's a gentleman's carriage." "It ain't! I tell you," says the -cad; "it's the Comet, and you must be as quick as lightning." _Nolens -volens_, the remonstrating old gentleman is shoved into the Comet, by -a cad at each elbow, having been three times assured his luggage is in -the hind boot, and twice three times denied having ocular demonstration -of the fact. - -'However, he is now seated; and "What _gentleman_ is going to drive -us?" is his first question to his fellow-passengers. "He is no -gentleman, sir," says a person who sits opposite to him, and who -happens to be a proprietor of the coach. "He has been on the Comet -ever since she started, and is a very steady young man." "Pardon my -ignorance," replies the regenerated; "from the cleanliness of his -person, the neatness of his apparel, and the language he made use of, I -mistook him for some enthusiastic bachelor of arts, wishing to become -a charioteer after the manner of the illustrious ancients."[3] "You -must have been long in foreign parts, sir," observes the proprietor. -In five minutes, or less, after the parley commenced, the wheels went -round, and in another five the coach arrived at Hyde Park gate; but -long before it got there, the worthy gentleman of 1742 (set down by his -fellow-travellers for either a little cracked or an emigrant from the -backwoods of America) exclaimed, "What! off the stones already?" "You -have never been on the stones," observes his neighbour on his right; -"no stones in London now, sir."[4] - -'In five minutes under the hour the Comet arrives at Hounslow, to -the great delight of our friend, who by this time waxed hungry, -not having broken his fast before starting. "Just fifty-five -minutes and thirty-seven seconds," says he, "from the time we left -London!--wonderful travelling, gentlemen, to be sure, but much too fast -to be safe. However, thank heaven, we are arrived at a good-looking -house; and now, _waiter_, I hope you have got breakf----" Before the -last syllable, however, of the word could be pronounced, the worthy -old gentleman's head struck the back of the coach by a jerk, which he -could not account for (the fact was, three of the four fresh horses -were bolters), and the waiter, the inn, and indeed Hounslow itself -(_terraeque urbesque recedunt_) disappeared in the twinkling of an eye. -Never did such a succession of doors, windows, and window-shutters pass -so quickly in his review before--and he hoped they might never do so -again. Recovering, however, a little from his surprise--"My dear sir," -said he, "you told me we were to change horses at Hounslow? Surely they -are not so inhuman as to drive these poor animals another stage at this -unmerciful rate!" "Change horses, sir!" says the proprietor; "why, we -changed them whilst you were putting on your spectacles, and looking -at your watch. Only one minute allowed for it at Hounslow, and it is -often done in fifty seconds by those nimble-fingered horse-keepers." -"You astonish me--but really I do not like to go so fast." "Oh, sir! -we always spring them over these six miles. It is what we call _the -hospital ground_." This alarming phrase is presently interpreted: it -intimates that horses whose "backs are getting down instead of up in -their work"--some "that won't hold an ounce down hill, or draw an -ounce up"--others "that kick over the pole one day and over the bars -the next"--in short, all the reprobates, styled in the road slang -_bo-kickers_, are sent to work these six miles, because _here_ they -have nothing to do but gallop--not a pebble as big as a nutmeg on the -road; and so even, that it would not disturb the equilibrium of a -spirit-level. - -'The coach, however, goes faster and faster over the _hospital ground_, -as the bo-kickers feel their legs and the collars get warm to their -shoulders; and having ten outsides, the luggage of the said ten, and a -few extra packages besides on the roof, she rolls rather more than is -pleasant, although the centre of gravity is pretty well kept down by -four not slender insides, two well-laden boots, and three huge trunks -in the slide. The gentleman of the last century, however, becomes -alarmed--is sure the horses are running away with the coach--declares -he perceives by the shadow that there is nobody on the box, and can see -the reins dangling about the horses' heels. He attempts to look out -of the window, but his fellow-traveller dissuades him from doing so: -"You may get a shot in your eye from the wheel. Keep your head in the -coach, it's all right, depend on 't. We always spring 'em over this -stage." Persuasion is useless; for the horses increase their speed and -the worthy old gentleman looks out. But what does he see? Death and -destruction before his eyes? No: to his surprise he finds the coachman -firm at his post, and in the act of taking a pinch of snuff from the -gentleman who sits beside him on the _bench_, his horses going at the -rate of a mile in three minutes at the time. "But suppose anything -should break, or a linchpin should give way and let a wheel loose?" is -the next appeal to the communicative but not very consoling proprietor. -"Nothing _can_ break, sir," is the reply; "all of the very best stuff; -axletrees of the best K.Q. iron, faggotted edgeways, well bedded in -the timbers; and as for linchpins, we have not one about the coach. We -use the best patent boxes that are manufactured. In short, sir, you -are as safe in it as if you were in your bed." "Bless me," exclaims -the old man, "what improvements! And the roads!!!" "They are at -perfection, sir," says the proprietor. "No horse walks a yard in this -coach between London and Exeter--all trotting ground now." "A little -_galloping_ ground, I fear," whispers the senior to himself! "But who -has effected all this improvement in your paving?" "An American of the -name of Macadam,"[5] was the reply, "but coachmen call him the Colossus -of Roads. Great things have likewise been done in cutting through -hills and altering the course of roads: and it is no uncommon thing -now-a-days to see four horses trotting away merrily down hill on that -very ground where they formerly were seen walking up hill." - -'"And pray, my good sir, what sort of horses may you have over the next -stage?" "Oh, sir, no more bo-kickers. It is hilly and severe ground, -and requires cattle strong and staid. You'll see four as fine horses -put to the coach at Staines as you ever saw in a nobleman's carriage in -your life." "Then we shall have no more galloping--no more springing -them as you term it?" "Not quite so fast over the next ground," replied -the proprietor; "but he will make good play over some part of it: for -example, when he gets three parts down a hill he lets them loose, and -cheats them out of half the one they have to ascend from the bottom -of it. In short, they are half-way up it before a horse touches his -collar; and we _must_ take every advantage with such a fast coach as -this, and one that loads so well, or we should never keep our time. -We are now to a minute; in fact the country people no longer look at -the _sun_ when they want to set their clocks--they look only to the -_Comet_. But, depend upon it, you are quite safe; we have nothing but -first-rate artists on this coach." "Artist! artist!" grumbles the old -gentleman, "we had no such term as that." - -'"I should like to see this _artist_ change horses at the next stage," -resumes our ancient; "for at the last it had the appearance of -magic--'Presto, Jack, and begone!'" "By all means; you will be much -gratified. It is done with a quickness and ease almost incredible to -anyone who has only read or heard of it; not a buckle or a rein is -touched twice, and still all is made secure; but use becomes second -nature with us. Even in _my_ younger days it was always half an hour's -work--sometimes more. There was--'Now, ladies and gentlemen, what -would you like to take? There's plenty of time, while the horses are -changing, for tea, coffee, or supper; and the coachman will wait for -you--won't you, Mr. Smith?' Then Mr. Smith himself was in no hurry; he -had a lamb about his coach for one butcher in the town, and perhaps -half a calf for another, a barrel of oysters for the lawyer, and a -basket of game for the parson, _all on his own account_. In short, the -best wheel of the coach was his, and he could not be otherwise than -accommodating." - -'The coach arrives at Staines, and the ancient gentleman puts his -intentions into effect, though he was near being again too late; for -by the time he could extract his hat from the netting that suspended -it over his head, the leaders had been taken from their bars, and -were walking up the yard towards their stables. On perceiving a fine -thorough-bred horse led toward the coach with a twitch fastened tightly -to his nose, he exclaimed, "Holloa, Mr. Horse-keeper! You are going -to put an unruly horse in the coach." "What! this here 'oss?" growls -the man; "the quietest hanimal alive, sir!" as he shoves him to the -near side of the pole. At this moment, however, the coachman is heard -to say in somewhat of an undertone, "Mind what you are about, Bob; -don't let him touch the roller-bolt." In thirty seconds more they are -off--"the staid and steady team," so styled by the proprietor of the -coach. "LET 'EM GO! and take care of yourselves," says the artist, so -soon as he is firmly seated upon his box; and this is the way they -start. The near leader rears right on end; and if the rein had not been -yielded to him at the instant, he would have fallen backwards on the -head of the pole. The moment the twitch was taken from the nose of the -thorough-bred near-wheeler, he drew himself back to the extent of his -pole-chain--his forelegs stretched out before him--and then, like a -lion loosened from his toil, made a snatch at the coach that would have -broken two pairs of traces of 1742. A steady and good-whipped horse, -however, his partner, started the coach himself, with a gentle touch of -the thong, and away they went off together. But the thorough-bred was -very far from being comfortable; it was in vain that the coachman tried -to soothe him with his voice, or stroked him with the crop of his whip. -He drew three parts of the coach, and cantered for the first mile, and -when he did settle down to his trot, his snorting could be heard by the -passengers, being as much as to say, "I was not born to be a slave." In -fact, as the proprietor now observed, "he had been a fair plate horse -in his time, but his temper was always queer." - -'After the first shock was over, the Conservative of the eighteenth -century felt comfortable. The pace was considerably slower than it had -been over the last stage, but he was unconscious of the reason for -its being diminished. It was to accommodate the queer temper of the -race-horse,[6] who, if he had not been humoured at starting, would -never have settled down to his trot, but have ruffled all the rest -of the team. He was also surprised, if not pleased, at the quick rate -at which they were ascending hills which, in his time, he should have -been asked by the coachman to have walked up--but his pleasure was -short-lived; the third hill they descended produced a return of his -agony. This was what is termed on the road a long fall of ground, and -the coach rather pressed upon the horses. The temper of the race-horse -became exhausted: breaking into a canter, he was of little use as a -wheeler, and there was then nothing for it but a gallop. The leaders -only wanted the signal; and the point of the thong being thrown -lightly over their backs, they were off like an arrow out of a bow: -but the rocking of the coach was awful, and more particularly so to -the passengers on the roof. Nevertheless, she was not in danger: the -master-hand of the artist kept her in a direct line; and meeting the -opposing ground, she steadied, and all was right. The newly-awakened -gentleman, however, begins to grumble again. "Pray, my good sir," says -he anxiously, "do use your authority over your coachman, and _insist_ -upon his putting the drag-chain on the wheel when descending the next -hill." "I have no such authority," replies the proprietor. "It is -true, we are now drawn by my horses, but I cannot interfere with the -driving of them." "But is he not your servant?" "He is, sir; but I -contract to work the coach so many miles in so many hours, and he -engages to drive it, and each is subject to a fine if the time be not -kept on the road. On so fast a coach as this every advantage must be -taken; and if we were to drag down such hills as these, we should never -reach Exeter to-day." - -'Our friend, however, will have no more of it. He quits the coach at -Bagshot, congratulating himself on the safety of his limbs. Yet he -takes one more peep at the change, which is done with the same despatch -as before; three greys and a pie-bald replacing three chestnuts and a -bay--the harness beautifully clean, and the ornaments bright as the -sun. Not a word is spoken by the passengers, who merely look their -admiration; but the laconic address of the coachman is not lost on -the bystanders. "Put the bay mare near wheel this evening, and the -stallion _up to the cheek_," said he to his horse-keeper as he placed -his right foot on the roller-bolt--_i.e._ the last step but one to the -box. "How is Paddy's leg?" "It's all right, sir," replied the -horse-keeper. "Let 'em go, then," quoth the _artist_, "and take care -of yourselves." - -'The worthy old gentleman is now shown into a room, and after warming -his hands at the fire, rings the bell for the waiter. A well-dressed -person appears, whom he of course takes for the landlord. "Pray, sir," -says he, "have you any _slow_ coach down this road to-day?" "Why, -yes, sir," replies John; "we shall have the Regulator down in an -hour." "Just right," said our friend; "it will enable me to break my -fast, which I have not done to-day." "Oh, sir," observes John, "these -here fast _drags_ be the ruin of us." 'Tis all hurry scurry, and no -gentleman has time to have nothing on the road. "What will you take, -sir? Mutton-chops, veal-cutlets, beef-steaks, or a fowl (to kill?)" - -'At the appointed time, the Regulator appears at the door. It is a -strong, well-built drag, painted what is called chocolate colour, -bedaubed all over with gilt letters--a bull's head on the doors, a -Saracen's head on the hind boot, and drawn by four strapping horses; -but it wants the neatness of the other. The passengers may be, by a -shade or two, of a lower order than those who had gone forward with -the Comet; nor, perhaps, is the coachman quite so refined as the one -we have just taken leave of. He has not the neat white hat, the clean -doeskin gloves, the well-cut trousers, and dapper frock; but still his -appearance is respectable, and perhaps, in the eyes of many, more in -character with his calling. Neither has he the agility of the artist -on the Comet, for he is nearly double his size; but he is a strong -powerful man, and might be called a pattern card of the heavy coachman -of the present day--in other words, of a man who drives a coach which -carries sixteen passengers instead of fourteen, and is rated at eight -miles an hour instead of ten. "What room in the Regulator?" says our -friend to the waiter, as he comes to announce its arrival. "Full -inside, sir, and in front; but you'll have the gammon board all to -yourself, and your luggage is in the hind boot." "Gammon board! Pray, -what's that? Do you not mean the basket?"[7] "Oh no, sir," says John, -smiling; "no such thing on the road now. It is the hind-dickey, as some -call it; where you'll be as comfortable as possible, and can sit with -your back or your face to the coach, or _both_, if you like." "Ah, ah," -continues the old gentleman; "something new again, I presume." However, -the mystery is cleared up; the ladder is reared to the hind wheel and -the gentleman safely seated on the gammon board. - -'Before ascending to his place our friend has cast his eye on the team -that is about to convey him to Hartford Bridge, the next stage on the -great western road, and he perceives it to be of a different stamp from -that which he had seen taken from the coach at Bagshot. It consisted -of four moderate-sized horses, full of power, and still fuller of -condition, but with a fair sprinkling of blood; in short, the eye of -a judge would have discovered something about them not very unlike -galloping. "All right!" cried the guard, taking his key-bugle[8] in his -hand; and they proceeded up the village, at a steady pace, to the tune -of "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled," and continued at that pace for -the first five miles. "_I am landed_," thinks our friend to himself. -Unluckily, however, for the humane and cautious old gentleman, even -the Regulator was about to show tricks. Although what now is called a -slow coach, she is timed at eight miles in the hour through a great -extent of country, and must, of course, make play where she can, being -strongly opposed by hills lower down the country, trifling as these -hills are, no doubt, to what they once were. The Regulator, moreover, -loads well, not only with passengers, but with luggage; and the last -five miles of this stage, called the Bridge Flat, have the reputation -of being the best five miles for a coach to be found at this time in -England. The ground is firm; the surface undulating, and therefore -favourable to draught; always dry, not a shrub being near it; nor is -there a stone upon it much larger than a marble. These advantages, -then, are not lost to the Regulator, or made use of without sore -discomposure to the solitary tenant of her gammon board. - -'Any one that has looked into books will very readily account for the -lateral motion, or rocking, as it is termed, of a coach, being greatest -at the greatest distance from the horses (as the tail of a paper kite -is in motion whilst the body remains at rest); and more especially -when laden as this coach was--the greater part of the weight being -forward. The situation of our friend, then, was once more deplorable. -The Regulator takes but twenty-three minutes for these celebrated five -miles, which cannot be done without "springing the cattle" now and -then; and it was in one of the very best of their gallops of that day, -that they were met by the coachman of the Comet, who was returning with -his up-coach. When coming out of rival yards, coachmen never fail to -cast an eye to the loading of their opponents on the road, and now that -of the natty artist of the Comet experienced a high treat. He had a -full view of his quondam passenger, and thus described his situation. - -'He was seated with his back to the horses--his teeth set grim as -death--his eyes cast down towards the ground, thinking the less he -saw of his danger the better. There was what is called a top-heavy -load--perhaps a ton of luggage on the roof, and it may be not _quite_ -in obedience to the Act of Parliament standard.[9] There were also -two horses at wheel, whose strides were of rather unequal length, and -this operated powerfully on the coach. In short, the lurches of the -Regulator were awful at the moment of the Comet meeting her. A tyro in -mechanics would have exclaimed, "The centre of gravity must be lost, -the centrifugal force will have the better of it--_over she must go_!" - -'The centre of gravity having been preserved, the coach arrived safe at -Hartford Bridge; but the old gentleman has again had enough of it. "I -will walk into Devonshire," said he, as he descended from his perilous -exaltation. "What did that rascally waiter mean by telling me this was -a slow coach? and moreover, look at the luggage on the roof!" "Only -regulation height, sir," says the coachman; "we aren't allowed to have -it an inch higher; sorry we can't please you, sir, but we will try and -make room for you in front." "_Fronti nulla fides_," mutters the worthy -to himself, as he walks tremblingly into the house--adding, "I shall -not give this fellow a shilling; he is dangerous." - -'The Regulator being off, the waiter is again applied to. "What do -you charge per mile posting?" "One and sixpence, sir." "Bless me! -just double! Let me see--two hundred miles, at two shillings per -mile, postboys, turnpikes, etc., L20. This will never do. Have you -no coach that does not carry luggage on the top?" "Oh yes, sir," -replies the waiter, "we shall have one to-night that is not allowed -to carry a band-box on the roof."[10] "That's the coach for me; pray -what do you call it?" "The Quicksilver mail, sir; one of the best -out of London--Jack White and Tom Brown, picked coachmen, over this -ground--Jack White down to-night." "Guarded and lighted?" "Both, sir; -blunderbuss and pistols in the sword-case;[11] a lamp each side the -coach, and one under the foot-board--see to pick up a pin the darkest -night of the year." "Very fast?" "Oh no, sir, _just keeps time, and -that's all_." "That's the coach for me, then," repeats our hero; "and -I am sure I shall feel at my ease in it. I suppose it is what used to -be called the Old Mercury." - -'Unfortunately, the Devonport (commonly called the Quicksilver) mail is -half a mile in the hour faster than most in England, and is, indeed, -one of the miracles of the road. Let us then picture to ourselves -our anti-reformer snugly seated in this mail, on a pitch-dark night -in November. It is true she has no luggage on the roof, nor much to -incommode her elsewhere; but she is a mile in the hour faster than -the Comet, at least three miles quicker than the Regulator; and she -performs more than half her journey by lamplight. It is needless to -say, then, our senior soon finds out his mistake; but there is no -remedy at hand, for it is the dead of the night, and all the inns are -shut up. He must proceed, or be left behind in a stable. The climax of -his misfortunes then approaches. - -'Nature being exhausted, sleep comes to his aid, and he awakes on a -stage which is called the fastest on the journey--four miles of ground, -and twelve minutes the time! The old gentleman starts from his seat, -having dreamed the horses were running away with the coach, and so, -no doubt, they might be. He is determined to convince himself of the -fact, though the passengers assure him "all's right." "Don't put your -head out of the window," says one of them, "you will lose your hat to -a certainty": but advice is seldom listened to by a terrified man, -and next moment a stentorian voice is heard, crying, "Stop, coachman, -stop--I have lost my hat and wig!" The coachman hears him not--and -in another second the broad wheels of a road waggon have for ever -demolished the lost headgear.' - -That was the Road at its best: the poetic side we have in mind when we -speak of the good old days of coaching. The following passages refer -equally to the 'golden age'; their very baldness has an eloquence -of its own. It is true that the winter of 1836-37 is conspicuous in -history for the exceptionally heavy snowfall; but as Nimrod has shown -coaching at its best, there is no injustice in presenting these -glimpses of coach travel at its worst:-- - -'Tabor, guard of the Devonport, who left London with the mail on Sunday -and returned on Wednesday, reports that a mile and a half from Amesbury -they got completely blocked. The leaders dropped down, but rose again; -the near wheel-horse fell and could not be got up. The coachman -procured a pair of post horses, but they could only get the wheel-horse -out of the snow; it was impossible to get him on his legs. Four more -post horses and four waggon horses were requisitioned, and with their -assistance the mail was extricated by daylight. Then they travelled -with the six post horses across the Downs. They were again blocked near -Mere. About a hundred men were at this time employed a little distance -off in digging out the Subscription and Defiance coaches. After being -extricated by some labourers they resumed their progress from Mere with -four fresh mail-horses and two posters. Between Ilchester and Ilminster -the post horse leaders fell in a snow drift, and were run upon by the -mail leaders.' (_Bell's Life_, January 1837). - -'The Estafette coach from Manchester on Sunday morning did not reach -London until Tuesday night, having been dug out of the snow twelve -times. It was the first coach from Manchester of the same day that -arrived in town. The guard attributes his success to the exertions of -four sailors, outside passengers, who lent a hand at every casualty.' - -'A gentleman who left Sheffield by the Hope coach of Sunday week -reports that the coach did not complete its journey until Saturday -afternoon. Between Nottingham and Mansfield, close to the Forest, they -came upon three coaches blocked in the snow, which was lying 9 feet -deep. The Hope left Mansfield with eight horses and was driven into -Nottingham with ten. They picked up a poor boy nearly perished with -cold. The boy was got by a gentleman jumping down while the coach was -in motion, for the coachman declared that if he came to a dead stop he -would not be able to get the wheels in motion again.' (_Bell's Life_, -8th January 1837). - -Highway robbery was still practised at this time, but the armed -horseman with crape mask and pistols had gone out of fashion, and -thefts were accomplished by craft. 'The Stirling mail has been -robbed of notes to the value of L13,000 in the following manner:--A -man took his seat at Stirling as an outside passenger. The mail was -followed closely from Stirling by a gig containing two men. When the -mail arrived at Kirkliston the guard stopped to take out the customary -bags to leave there. The gig also stopped there, and the two men in it -went into the house. The guard had left the mail box open, in which -the parcels were, and the outside passenger easily abstracted the one -containing the notes. He then left the coach. The gig with the two men -took the Queensferry Road. The parcels were not missed until the mail -reached Edinburgh. On the Queensferry Road the two men were joined by -their accomplice, the outside passenger. They left the gig and took a -post chaise for Edinburgh. They discharged the chaise before entering -the city and gave the post-boy L3.' (_Bell's Life_, 2nd January 1825). - -Great improvements in all matters connected with coaching were made -during the first two decades of the nineteenth century: these were due -to the rage for driving that prevailed about this time. The King was -deeply interested in coaching, was himself no mean whip, and he set the -fashion. It did not last very long. Nimrod, writing in 1835, remarks -that about 1825 'thirty to forty four-in-hand equipages were constantly -to be seen about town: _one_ is stared at now.' - -The driving clubs held 'meets' in George the Third's time much as -they do at present, but the vehicles used were 'barouche landaus,' -and the drive taken was much longer than that in vogue to-day. -Bedfont beyond Hounslow, and Windsor were favourite places whither -the coaches--'barouche landaus'--drove in procession to dine. Very -particular attention was paid to dress. This was the costume in which -members of the Whip Club, founded in 1808 as a rival to the Benson, -mounted their boxes on 6th June 1808, in Park Lane, to drive to -Harrow:-- - -'A light, drab-colour cloth coat made full, single breast with three -tier of pockets, the skirt reaching to the ancles; a mother of pearl -button the size of a crown piece; waistcoat blue and yellow stripe, -each stripe an inch in depth; small clothes corded silk plush made to -button over the calf of the leg, with sixteen strings and rosettes to -each knee. The boots very short and finished with very broad straps -which hang over the tops and down to the ancle. A hat three inches and -a half deep in the crown only, and the same depth in the brim exactly. -Each wore a large bouquet at the breast, thus resembling the coachmen -of our nobility who, on His Majesty's birthday, appear in that respect -so peculiarly distinguished.'[12] - -Grimaldi the clown, then at the zenith of his fame, burlesqued this -get-up so mercilessly that a less conspicuous garb was adopted. - -The fifteen barouche landaus which turned out on this occasion, driven -by 'men of known skill in the science of charioteering,' were well -calculated to set off the somewhat conspicuous attire of the members: -they were 'Yellow-bodied carriages with whip springs and dickey boxes; -cattle of a bright bay colour with silver plate ornaments on the -harness and rosettes to the ears.' - -The meets of the driving clubs appear to have roused a spirit of -ribaldry in unregenerate youth. One day in March 1809 a young Etonian -made his appearance in a low phaeton with a four-in-hand of donkeys, -with which he brought up the rear of the procession as it drove round -Grosvenor and Berkeley Squares. - -_The_ Driving Club was the Benson, which had been founded in 1807. -Sir Henry Peyton was the last survivor of the 'noble, honourable, and -respectable' drivers who composed it. Thackeray described him in the -last of his papers on _The Four Georges_ as he appeared driving the -'one solitary four-in-hand' to be seen in the London parks. He was then -(1851) very old, and attracted attention as much by his dress, which -was of the fashion of 1825, as by his then unique turn-out. - -The Benson Club came to an end in 1853. The Whip Club, otherwise the -Four Horse Club, came to an end in 1838. The Defiance Club, for members -who had been 'lately permitted to retire' from the other two, was -projected in 1809, but it does not appear to have come to anything. -The Richmond Drag Club was founded in 1838, but it did not survive for -many years; the members to the number of fifteen or sixteen used to -meet at Lord Chesterfield's house. These were the principal clubs. - -Some of the amateur whips of a century ago were addicted to coach -matches. Here is the account of such a race from the _Sporting -Magazine_ of 1802:-- - -'MAIL COACH MATCH.--On Thursday, May 20th, the London Mail, horsed -by Mr. Laud, of the New London Inn, Exeter, with four beautiful grey -horses, and driven by Mr. Cave Browne, of the Inniskilling Dragoons, -started (at the sound of the bugle) from St. Sydwell's for a bet -of Five Hundred Guineas against the Plymouth Mail, horsed by Mr. -Phillipps, of the Hotel, with four capital blacks, and driven by Mr. -Chichester, of Arlington House, which got the mail first to the Post -Office in Honiton. The bet was won easy by Mr. Browne. A very great -concourse of people assembled on this occasion.' - -In 1811 Mr. George Seward undertook to drive a four-in-hand fifteen -miles in fifty minutes. He selected the road from Hyde Park Corner to -Staines, and started at six in the morning. He failed to accomplish his -undertaking, but only by three minutes twenty seconds. - -There was more originality about the competition arranged in May 1805 -between Mr. Charles Buxton, inventor of the bit known by his name and -one of the founders of the Whip Club, and a horse-dealer:-- - -'One of our most celebrated whips Charles Buxton, Esq., has concluded -a bet of 500 Guineas with Mr. Thomas Hall, the dealer in horses. The -object of the wager is to decide which of the two is the best driver of -four unruly horses. The wager is to be decided by two friends of the -parties, who are to pick out eight horses from Spencer's, Marsden's, -and White's. Lords Barrymore and Cranley are chosen as the umpires. The -horses selected are only to be those which have not been broken in. The -friend of each charioteer is to pick the horses alternately until the -number agreed on is selected. The parties are then to mount the box -and proceed to decide the wager. The bettings already are said to be -considerable. Neither the scene of action nor the day when the contest -is to take place are yet determined on. Mr. Buxton is said to be so -certain of success that he has offered to double the bet.' - -Though the law of 1820 made racing a criminal offence, the practice -was one which could not be wholly put down, and on May-day the law was -set at naught by popular consent, rival coaches on that day racing one -another without disguise: the May-day race became an institution of -the road, and seems to have been winked at by the authorities. Some -wonderful records were made in these contests on the macadam. Thus, on -1st May 1830, the Independent Tally Ho ran from London to Birmingham, -109 miles, in 7 hours 39 minutes. It was not rare for a coach to -perform its journey at a rate of fifteen miles an hour on May-day. We -may compare this with the time made in the Leicester-Nottingham race of -1808 mentioned on page 17. - -It is seventy years since the carriage of the mails was transferred -from coach to railway train, and there are yet living men who can -remember the last journeys of the mail-coaches, some carrying little -flags at half-mast, some displaying a miniature coffin, emblematic -of the death of a great institution. Yet the mail-coach survived -until a much later date in some districts, where the line was slow to -penetrate. Mr. S. A. Kinglake, in _Baily's Magazine_ of 1906, gave an -account of the Oxford and Cheltenham coach, which only began to carry -the mails in 1848, and made its last trip in 1862, when the opening of -a new branch line ousted this lingerer on the roads. - -The interregnum between the last of the old coaches and the modern era -was not a very long one: indeed, taking the country as a whole, and -accepting the coach as subsidiary to the railway, the old and the new -overlap. Modern road coaching dates from the later 'sixties, when the -late Duke of Beaufort, with some others, started the Brighton coach. -This was the first of several private ventures of the same kind: their -primary object was to enable the owners to enjoy the pleasure of -driving a team, and the financial side of the business was not much -regarded. The subscription coach was a later development, with the -same object in view, pleasure rather than money-making, and the large -majority of the coaches which run from London to Brighton, St. Albans, -Guildford, and other places within an easy day's journey are maintained -by small syndicates of subscribers, who take turns on the box. American -visitors patronise these vehicles extensively, and no doubt to their -support may be traced Mr. Vanderbilt's venture on the Brighton road. - -The modern coach travels quite as fast as its predecessor when -required: as witness James Selby's famous performance on 13th July -1888. He left the White Horse Cellar at 10 A.M.; arrived at the Old -Ship, Brighton, 1.56 P.M.; turned and reached town at 5.50; the journey -out and home again being accomplished in 7 hours 50 minutes; part of -the way between Earlswood and Horley he travelled at a rate of twenty -miles an hour. - -[Illustration: - - _Modern Coaching: - - In the Show Ring - - Painting by G. D. Armour._] - -[Illustration] - -Nor are modern horse-keepers less 'nimble fingered' than those of -whom Nimrod wrote. At the International Horse Show of 1908 Miss -Brocklebank's grooms won the Hon. Adam Beck's prize for 'Best coach and -appointments and quickest change of teams': the change was accomplished -in forty-eight seconds. During James Selby's Brighton drive horses were -changed at Streatham in forty-seven seconds. The road coachmen of the -present day do not aim at lightning changes of team: the work is done -in leisurely fashion, and passengers enjoy the opportunity afforded -them to get down for a few minutes. - -The Four-in-Hand Club, founded in 1856, for many years used to meet in -the Park at quarter to five in the afternoon, but the hour was changed -to half-past twelve in order to avoid the inconvenience inseparable -from meeting at the time when carriages are most numerous. - -The Coaching Club was founded in 1870, and held its first meet at the -Marble Arch in June the following year. - -SONG OF THE B.D.C.[13] - - You ask me, Gents, to sing a song, - Don't think me too encroaching. - I won't detain you very long, - With one of mine on coaching. - No rivalry we have to fear, - Nor jealous need we be, Sir, - We all are friends who muster here, - And in the B.D.C. Sir. - - Horace declares the Greeks of old - Were once a driving nation; - But Shakespeare says 'The World's a stage'-- - A cutish observation. - The stage he meant, good easy man, - Was drawn by nine old Muses; - But the Mews for me is the B.D.C., - And that's the stage I chooses. - - I call this age the Iron Age - Of railways and pretension. - And coaching now is in a stage - Of horrible declension, - The day's gone by when on the fly - We roll'd to Alma Mater, - And jovial took the reins in hand - Of the Times or Regulator. - - Those were the days when Peyton's grays - To Bedfont led the way, Sir, - And Villebois followed with his bays - In beautiful array, Sir. - Then Spicer, too, came next in view - To join the gay procession. - Oh! the dust we made--the cavalcade - Was neat beyond expression. - - No turnpike saw a fancy team - More neat than Dolphin sported, - When o'er the stones with Charley Jones, - To Bedfont they resorted. - Few graced the box so much as Cox; - But there were none, I ween, Sir, - Who hold the reins 'twixt here and Staines - More slap up than the Dean, Sir. - - Those are the men who foremost then - To coaching gave a tone, Sir, - And hold they will to coaching still, - Tho' here they stand alone, Sir-- - Then drink to the coach, the B.D.C., - Sir Henry and his team, Sir, - And may all be _blowed_ right off the road - Who wish to go by steam, Sir. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Robert Poynter drove the Lewes stage for thirty years without an -accident. - -[2] 30 Geo. III., c. 36. - -[3] The old gentleman's conjecture was not far wrong. At this time, -1835, it is true fewer men of good birth occupied the box than had -been the case a few years before--if we rightly interpret Nimrod's -own remarks on the point. When the box had been set on springs or -made an integral part of the coach-body, when the roads had been -made worthy of the name and fast work the rule, coach-driving became -popular among men of social position. Some drove for pleasure, horsing -the coaches themselves, others took up driving as a profession and -made good incomes thereby. These gentlemen coachmen did much to raise -the standard of conduct among the professionals of humble origin. -Lord Algernon St. Maur (_Driving_, Badminton Library) says that Mr. -Stevenson, who was driving the Brighton Age in 1830, was 'the great -reformer who set a good example as regards punctuality, neatness, and -sobriety.' - -[4] Until Macadam was adopted the streets in London were cobbled or -paved. - -[5] John Loudon Macadam was a Scotsman by birth. In 1770, when fourteen -years old, he was sent to the care of an uncle in New York, whence he -did not return till he was twenty-six years of age; hence the mistake -in describing him as 'an American.' - -[6] It was not unusual for retired race-horses to end their days 'on -the road.' A notable instance is that of Mendoza by Javelin. Mendoza -won eight races at Newmarket in his three seasons on the turf, -1791-2-3; then the Duke of Leeds bought him as a hunter; and after a -few seasons with hounds he made one of a team in the Catterick and -Greta Bridge mail-coach. Mendoza was still at work in 1807, but had -become blind. - -[7] The early coaches were equipped with a huge basket slung over the -hind axle wherein passengers were carried at lower fares. - -[8] Only the mail-coach guard carried a horn; stage-coach guards used -the key-bugle, and some were very clever performers on it. - -[9] 50 Geo. III., c. 48 came into operation in 1810. This enacted that -on a four-horse coach baggage might be piled to a height of 2 feet. To -encourage low-hung coaches this law allowed baggage to be piled to a -height of 10 ft. 9 in. _from the ground_. - -[10] The conveyance of 'trunks, parcels, and other packages' on the -roof of a mail-coach was prohibited in the Postmaster-General's -circular to mail contractors of 29th June, 1807. As the mails increased -it became impossible to enforce this regulation, and the bags were -carried wherever they could be stowed. 'The Druid' says of the -Edinburgh mail-coach: 'The heaviest night as regards correspondence was -when the American mail had come in. On those occasions the bags have -been known to weigh above 16 cwt. They were contained in sacks seven -feet long and were laid in three tiers across the top, so high that no -guard unless he were a Chang in stature could look over them ... and -the waist (the seat behind the coachman) and the hind boot were filled -as well.' - -[11] It must be remembered that the old gentleman speaks by the light -of his knowledge of nearly a century earlier, when highway robbery was -very common, and it was not usual for coaches to run at night. At the -period to which Nimrod refers highwaymen had not entirely disappeared -from the roads (William Rea was hanged for this offence, 4th July, -1828), and not every stage-coach carried a guard. Mail-coaches, all -of which carried guards, were, of course, unknown to Nimrod's old -gentleman. - -[12] This refers to the 'mail-coach parade,' which was first held in -1799 and for the last time in 1835. The coaches, to the number of about -twenty-five, were either new or newly painted with the Royal Arms on -the door, the stars of each of the four Orders of Knighthood on the -upper panel, and the name of the town whither the coach ran on the -small panel over each door. Coachmen and guards wore new uniforms and -gentlemen used to lend their best teams--often also their coachmen, -as appears from the passage quoted. A horseman rode behind each coach -to make the procession longer. The 'meet' took place in Lincoln's Inn -Fields and the coaches drove to St. James's, there turning to come back -to the General Post Office, then in Lombard Street. - -[13] Benson Driving Club. - - - - -TANDEM DRIVING - - -[Illustration: - - _Tandem - - Painting by G. D. Armour._] - -[Illustration] - -It is said, but I must confess failure to trace authority for the -statement, that tandem driving was invented as a convenient and -sporting method of taking the hunter to the meet. History has not -handed down to fame the name of the man who first hit upon the idea of -driving tandem; it was in vogue over a century ago, and at Cambridge -ranked as a grave offence: witness the following edict dated 10th March -1807:-- - -'WE, THE VICE-CHANCELLOR AND HEADS OF COLLEGES, DO HEREBY ORDER AND -DECREE THAT IF ANY PERSON OR PERSONS _IN STATU PUPILLARI_ SHALL BE -FOUND DRIVING ANY TANDEM AND SHALL BE DULY CONVICTED THEREOF BEFORE -THE VICE-CHANCELLOR, SUCH PERSON OR PERSONS SO OFFENDING SHALL FOR THE -FIRST OFFENCE BE SUSPENDED FROM TAKING HIS DEGREE FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR, -OR BE RUSTICATED, ACCORDING TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE; AND FOR -THE SECOND OFFENCE BE LIABLE TO SUCH FURTHER PUNISHMENT AS IT MAY -APPEAR TO DESERVE, OR BE EXPELLED THE UNIVERSITY.' - -Extravagantly high gigs were much in favour among the 'bloods' of the -day, and these were often used for tandem driving, a purpose for which -they were by no means unsuitable, always provided the road was fairly -level. - -As a matter of course, when tandems became numerous and drivers clever -in handling them, races against time came into fashion. Matches on the -road, whether trotting in saddle or driving, were usually 'against -time' for obvious reasons. On April 14th 1819 the famous whip, Mr. -Buxton, backed himself to drive tandem without letting his horses break -their trot, from Hounslow to Hare Hatch, distance twenty-four miles, -in two hours. His horses, however, were not well matched, and 'broke' -before they had gone six miles. As breaking involved the penalty -of turning the equipage round and starting afresh, and breaks were -frequent, Mr. Buxton occupied over an hour in going ten miles and gave -up, forfeiting the hundred guineas he had staked on the task. - -On 19th May 1824 a match was thus recorded in the _Sporting Magazine_:-- - -'Captain Swann undertook a tandem match from Ilford, seven miles over a -part of Epping Forest. He engaged to drive 12 miles at a trot and to -back his wheels if he broke into a gallop. This happened only once in -the seventh mile, which he nevertheless completed in 33 minutes. On his -return the pacing of the horses was a picture. The match was won fairly -with two minutes and six seconds to spare.' - -A Mr. Houlston in the same year drove his tandem twelve miles on the -Winchester Road in one minute thirty-nine seconds under the hour -allowed. By this time tandem drivers had come to the reasonable -conclusion that the turning penalty (proper enough in trotting matches, -whether in shafts or saddle) was excessive for their sport, and -'backing' had been substituted therefor. Any one who has had occasion -to turn a tandem on the road without assistance will admit that the -abolition was wise. - -Long journeys against time were sometimes undertaken. In 1824 - -'Captain Bethel Ramsden undertook to drive tandem from Theale to -London, 43 miles, in 3 hours and 40 minutes. The start took place at -four o'clock in the morning, and in the first hour the captain did -12-1/2 miles to between Twyford and Hare Hatch. He did in the next hour -12 miles and upwards, and got the horses' mouths cleaned at Slough. -He had 5-1/2 miles to do in the last forty minutes, and performed it -easily with eleven minutes to spare.' - -The cult of the trotting horse stood high in those days when so much -travelling was done in the saddle: there are innumerable records of -trotters doing their fifteen and sixteen miles on the road within -the hour, sometimes under very heavy weights. Mr. Charles Herbert's -horse, in 1791, trotted 17 miles in 58 minutes 40 seconds on the -Highgate Road, starting from St. Giles' Church. The road is by no -means a level one, and the only advantage the horse had was the hour -selected--between six and seven in the morning, when the traffic was -not heavy. - -A famous whip of the 'thirties was Mr. Burke of Hereford--he was also -an amateur pugilist of renown, but that does not concern us here. In -June 1839 he made his thirty-fifth trotting match, whereby he undertook -to drive tandem forty-five miles in three hours. The course was from -the Staines end of Sinebury Common to the fifth milestone towards -Hampton: he did it with four and a half minutes to spare. The horses -used in this match were both extraordinary trotters: the wheeler, -Tommy, had covered 20 miles in 1 hour 18 minutes two months earlier, -and the leader, Gustavus, twenty-four years old, had done his 20 miles -in 1 hour 14 minutes. - -Though not a tandem performance in the strict sense of the term, Mr. -Thanes' feat on 12th July 1819 is worth mention. He undertook 'to drive -three horses in a gig, tandem fashion, eleven miles within the hour -on the trot, and to turn if either horse broke.' Fortunately none of -the three did break, and he did the eleven miles, on the road near -Maidenhead, with three minutes to spare. - -Tandem driving seems to have gone out of fashion to a certain extent -about 1840, though some young men 'still delighted in it.' The -re-establishment of the Tandem Club, soon after the close of the -Crimean War, marked a revival which made itself felt at Cambridge; -for on 22nd February 1866 the Senate passed another edict, this -time forbidding livery-stable keepers to let out on hire tandems or -four-in-hands to undergraduates. This was confirmed in 1870. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - The illustrations which were plates in the book have been moved near - to the text they illustrate. - - Footnotes in the Coaching chapter have been moved to the end of the - chapter. - - This book contains inconsistent hyphenations. No spellings have been - changed, but apparent printers' errors have been corrected. - - Changes that have been made are: - - Footnote 11 - "s peks" changed to "speaks", - "robaery" changed to "robbery". - - Page 33 - Quotation mark added at start of "and take care of yourselves". - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COACHING DAYS & WAYS*** - - -******* This file should be named 44864.txt or 44864.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/4/8/6/44864 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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