The Coachmaster 



or Joe Munden — Munden "with the bunch 

 of countenances, the bouquet of faces," the 

 recollection of whose antic drolleries kept 

 Charles Lamb so long awake on one occa- 

 sion that he only fell asleep in the small 

 hours fairly exhausted by a passion of 

 laughter. Good company, these, on a 

 coach journey, and I daresay considerate 

 and unselfish fellow-travellers, like all your 

 true Bohemians. It was with child-like 

 pleasure^my Father would tell us how each 

 of these actors had at one time or another 

 borrow^ed his huo-e box-coat w^ith seven 

 capes when figuring on the boards of the 

 Brighton Theatre. 



It was not unusual for "The Alert" or 

 " Union" to carry a very different order of 

 passengers. My Father had always a ten- 

 der heart for trampers, and would always 

 give them a lift if he could without reason- 

 able inconvenience to his other passengers. 

 One day I was sitting by his side (it was 

 out of the season and the coach was very 

 empty), and he pointed to a man trudging 

 along wearily, with a basket of tools under 

 his arm. 



" Now, that fellow thinks himself Mr. 

 Walker," said he, " but I think we must 

 turn him into Mr. Rider ; " and a minute 

 later we pulled up. 



59 



