SEDAN CHAIKS. 281 



seen wending^ Lis wav througli dirt and slush, 

 bis leo^s and feet obtruding: from a sedan chair 

 — some waggish practical joker (the Theodore 

 Hook of that day) having removed the bottom 

 of it. Two stout chairmen, aware of the trick 

 that had been played upon their inside pas- 

 senger, are selecting the dirtiest streets, or 

 most flinty part of the road, while the unfor- 

 tunate Emeralder exclaims : 



" Bedad ! if it was not for the honour of the 

 thing, I would as lief walk." 



The costume of the chairmen at Bath was 

 very peculiar : they wore long, light-blue coats 

 highly ornamented with buttons about the size 

 of a crown piece, the skirts of which reached 

 down to their ankles ; short " inexpressibles," 

 white cotton stockings, shoes with buckles, 

 and a huge cocked hat bound with gold lace. 

 They were fine, powerful men, with calves to 

 their lesfs which would have made the fortune 

 of any fashionable footman. When sedan-chairs 

 were first introduced, a great feud arose between 

 the chairmen and the hackney-coachmen, which 

 led to many serious disturbances. The contest 

 was carried on with the greatest bitterness; 

 and the hatred it engendered was equal to that 

 of the Montagues and Capulets, the Guelphs 



