44 Four-in-Hand in Britain. 



before breakfast in quest of sweets and flowers for 

 us. Aleck was butler, and upon him we placed implicit 

 reliance, and with excellent reason too, for the essential 

 corkscrew and the use thereof — which may be rated as 

 of prime necessity upon such a tour — and Aleck never 

 failed us as superintendent of the bottles. 



It was in obedience to the strictest tenets of our 

 civil service reform association that the most important 

 appointment of all was made with a unanimity which 

 must ever be flattering to the distinguished gentleman 

 who received the highly responsible appointment of 

 General Manager. Just here let me say, for the peace 

 of mind of any gentleman who may be tempted to try 

 the coaching experiment upon a large scale, and for an 

 extended tour : Dont, unless you have a dear friend with 

 a clear head, an angelic disposition, a great big heart, 

 and the tact essential for governing, who for your sake 

 is willing to relieve you from the cares incident to such 

 a tour — that is, if you expect to enjoy it as a recrea- 

 tion, and have something that will linger forever after in 

 the memory as an adventure in wonderland. Should 

 you however be one of those rare men who have a real 

 liking for details, and so conceited as to think that you 

 never get things done so well as when your own genius 

 superintends them, being in this respect the antipode 

 of a modest man like myself — who never does by any 

 chance find any one who can so completely bungle mat- 

 ters as himself — it may of course be different. As for 



