172 COACHING. 



rubicund face, greatly addicted to strong ale, 

 often indulging in language the reverse of par- 

 liamentary. 



There are so many varieties of drunken- 

 ness, that it is difficult to define the state 

 the old-fashioned coachman was too often 

 reduced to. We hear of a man being " as 

 drunk as a lord;" of being "on;" of being 

 "muzzy;" of being "cut;" of being "two 

 sheets in the wind ;" of having " a drop too 

 much ;" of being " incapable." Perhaps of the 

 above epithets " muzzy" would be the most 

 appropriate, as owing to the numerous stop- 

 pages at wayside public-houses, the coachman 

 had a tankard to his lips every half-hour. 



The fast coachmen were well-conditioned, in 

 many instances well-educated men, who could 

 sing a song, and tell a good story to while 

 away the time. They formed a great contrast 

 to the old-fashioned coachmen of heavy coaches, 

 who were too often drunkards, as I have re- 

 marked, and who were conspicuous for their in- 

 humanity in the use of the double thong and 

 a sort of cat-o'-nine tails called " the ap- 

 prentice," with which they unmercifully lashed 

 their wheelers. 



It was rather amusing, though mischievously 



