Travelling by Coach. 285 



arrived at the posting office, and found the coach waiting 

 for us. This conveyance was a long four-wheeled box, 

 inside which the passengers sat vis-a-vis, and had their 

 luggage tied on outside. We climbed into its dark inte- 

 rior, and tumbling over three other wayfarers, we stowed 

 ourselves in the first convenient corner, shivering with cold 

 and glad to think that if ever we were to travel over this road 

 again, it would be by an express train. October had, in 

 the meantime, wrapped himself in a few horse-rugs, lit his 

 pipe, and deposited himself somewhere on the outside. At 

 last all was ready, the twelve ponies were put in, the driver 

 mounted the box-seat, took his long whip in both hands, 

 cracked it vigorously, gave a few yells, and away the ponies 

 trotted down the dimly-lighted street. In ten or fifteen 

 minutes we were out in the open veldt, and soon were jolt- 

 ing through slush, sand and stream, with a few short inter- 

 vals for refreshments at wayside shanties till eight o'clock 

 in the evening, when we put up for a part of the night at 

 a comparatively comfortable inn. We found our three 

 companions of travel pleasant, obliging fellows. They 

 were itinerant prize fighters who, like ourselves, were try-' 

 ing to run a show. They were not able to give a public 

 performance in the Transvaal ; for the Dutch authorities 

 would not allow such exhibitions to take place in their 

 country ; and probably they had worn their welcome some- 

 what threadbare. They were therefore going to try their 

 luck in Natal. The eldest of them was George Stevens, a 

 man of about forty, who had fought some battles in Eng- 

 land as a light weight. The next in age was Donovan, 

 who had been defeated for the middle-weight championship 

 of South Africa by Kelly of Maritzburg; and lastly there 

 was Barny Malone, a 9-stone man of about twenty-seven, 

 whose colours had also been lowered by Kelly, to whom he 

 had given away a great deal of weight. Barny had been a 

 clown in Frank Fillis's circus ; but after having had an 

 accident, he lost, through want of confidence, the knack of 



