CHAPTER XXII. 



STAGE-COACHES OF THE PEEIOD. 



NOT one of the popular amusements of the season has 

 suffered more from the unsettled state of the elements 

 than has the rejuvenescent custom of coaching ; and 

 this is the more unfortunate since preparations for a 

 happy return to the olden ways had been made on a 

 greatly-extended scale, no fewer than sixteen well- 

 appointed four-horse stage-coaches having been put 

 on the road for the accommodation and pleasure of 

 the public. First and foremost of these stage-coaches 

 is the Defiance, which travels between the two uni- 

 versities, leaving The Mitre at Oxford every Monday, 

 Wednesday, and Friday, going vid High Wycombe, 

 London, and Royston, and returning from the Bull 

 Hotel, Cambridge, every Tuesday, Thursday, and 

 Saturday, the distance 112 miles being accom- 

 plished in twelve hours, including stoppages. The 

 proprietor of the Defiance is Mr. Carleton Blyth, who 

 has spared no expense to make his large venture a 

 success. At starting he informed me that he had 

 provided as many as 120 horses, of an exceedingly 

 good stamp ; whilst his coaches, of Holland's build, 

 are models, in shape, style, colour, and finish, of what 



