(■^^hF^i 





Chapter 2 



THE COACHMASTER 



/jHEN my Father was a Hamp- 

 ' shire plough-boy, he often looked 

 ''^ over the hedge and saw the coach 

 go by from Winchester to Read- 

 ing ; and he thought of all things in this 

 world it w^ere best to be the driver of a 

 coach. 



Small wonder that he looked at the 

 coach with longing and vague hope. On 

 his side of the hedge, life was dull enough. 

 He was always in the fields and had no 

 schooling. His father could ill have spared 

 31 



