40 COACHING DAYS AND COACHING WAYS 



and mysterious crime which was perpetrated there in the 

 days of the Tudors." 



I do not think that the travellers on the Bath Road, 

 whether posting or coaching, knew much about " this 

 horrible and mysterious crime ' which has made 

 Littlecote Hall and Wild Darrell notorious, till Scott 

 told the story to the general world in a fine foot-note 

 to Rokeby ; for Evelyn — to take one example — on his 

 journey to Wiltshire, in 1654, passes the place with the 

 remark that it " is a noble seat, park, and river," which 

 is perfectly true, but not much to the point ; and 

 Pepys — to take another — on Tuesday, June 16th, 1668, 

 after paying the reckoning at the Hart at Marlborough 

 — " 14.S. 6d. ; and servants, 2s. ; poor is.; set out, 

 and passing through a good part of this county of 

 Wiltshire saw a good house of Alexander Popham's," 

 and with that passes on to Newbury, w r here he dined, 

 and heard that song of the old courtier of Oueene 

 Elizabeth, and how " he was changed at the coming in 

 of the king," which pleased him so mightily, and to 

 which I have already referred. Now we expect nothing 

 but pragmatical practicalness from the delightful Samuel, 

 but to call Wild Darrell's haunted home " a good house 

 of Alexander Popham's," is really to touch bottom in an 

 outrage on the eternal fitness of things. Worse how- 

 ever remains behind. One might at least be led to 

 expect mention of a romantic legend from a literary 

 lady ; but Miss Burney, on her journey to Bath in 1780 

 with Mrs. Thrale, viewed Littlecote's storied towers 

 unmoved, that is to say if she saw them at all, and was 

 not looking out of the other window of the post-chaise ; 

 at all events she makes no mention of there being such 

 a place in Europe, or her Diary, though she tells us 

 that she slept at Maidenhead the first night, Speen Hill 

 the second, the third at Devizes, and dwells on the Bear 

 Inn there at great length — where we will join her in 

 a quarter of an hour. 



Meanwhile it is not for me to pass with such travelled 



