246 EEMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 



bidet de papa ;" and out came an uncommonly 

 nice grey pony, with capital action, who went 

 his two posts rather faster than papa's usual 

 pace ; and then the luxury of the toilet at the 

 end of that post, and after that the delicious 

 dejeuner a la fourchette and a good rest. 



I started again as fresh as a fly, forgetting 

 my hands ; and with the exception of the halt 

 for supper, rode merrily through the night. By 

 this time I was up to my friend Aimee, and I 

 managed also in passing through some town to 

 buy a bridle, ii TAnglaise, with enormous 

 buckles, and though it was not the sort of 

 thing I should have liked to have turned out 

 with his Grace of Beaufort's hounds at Stanton 

 Park, it was a wonderful relief after the posting 

 bridles. Then I learnt the courier's trick of 

 getting a good start of the carriage, clattering 

 along two or three posts quick, taking a rest. 

 Reader, if you want to know luxury, ride 

 courier for a night or two, get a good start of 

 an hour of your carriage, and then, when you 

 reach the end of the post, give orders to have 

 your horse all ready to start the moment the 

 carriage comes up, and throw yourself into the 

 masses of straw that fill some of the stalls. If 

 you don't enjoy that snooze, you have never 

 tasted true rest. 



