THE ROAD. 
"And pray, my good sir, what sort of horses may 
you have over the next stage?" "Oh, sir, no more 
bo-kickers. It is hilly and severe ground, and requires 
cattle strong and staid. You'll see four as fine horses 
put to the coach at Staines as you ever saw in a noble- 
man's carriage in your life." " Then we shall have no 
more galloping no more springing them as you term 
it ? " " Not quite so fast over the next ground," replied 
the proprietor ; " but he will make good play over some 
part of it : for example, when he gets three parts down 
a hill he lets them loose, and cheats them out of half the 
one they have to ascend from the bottom of it. In 
short, they are half way up it before a horse touches his 
collar ; and we must take every advantage with such a 
fast coach as this, and one that loads so well, or we 
should never keep our time. We are now to a minute ; 
in fact, the country people no longer look at the sun 
when they want to set their clocks, they look only to 
the Comet. But, depend upon it, you are quite safe ; 
we have nothing but first-rate artists on this coach." 
"Artist! artist!" grumbles the old gentleman; "we 
had no such term as that." 
" I should like to see this artist change horses at the 
next stage," resumes our ancient ; " for at the last it had 
the appearance of magic * Presto, Jack, and begone! ' ' 
" By all means ; you will be much gratified. It is done 
with a quickness and ease almost incredible to any one 
who has only read or heard of it ; not a buckle nor a 
rein is touched twice, and still all is made secure ; but 
