accidejSts by road. 109 



happily, no odg being severely iujured. Think- 

 ing ifc more than probable that if we attempted 

 to proceed on our journey without lamps we 

 should meet with another mishap, I got a 

 labouring friend who came to our assistance 

 to walk to the " Travellers' Friend," and bor- 

 row two lanthorns. This he accordingly did; 

 so with the aid of our own lamps and the 

 above lights we managed to reach Hounslow in 

 safety. From Hounslow to London we had 

 diflSculties to contend against, for the dim oily 

 rays of a few lamps and lights in shops 

 had not then given way to the brilliancy of 

 gas. 



A few years afterwards, when travelling in- 

 side the Henley coach, an axletree broke, and 

 we were upset into a drift of snow — soft, but 

 rather cooling. Upon this occasion an outside 

 passenger had his arm fractured. 



My third and fourth upsets from private car- 

 riages will be duly recorded. 



It occasionally happened that driving out or 

 into a yard, despite the warning " Take care of 

 your heads," some half-sleepy or inattentive 

 passenger met with a serious accident by his 

 head coming in contact with the roof. Then, 

 again, a skid would come off the wheel going 



