38 Seventy Tears a Master, 



box and pitched on his head. His neck was 

 broken, and he died immediately. 



Tom Crouch had a brother who was 

 scarcely less famous as a driver on the Great 

 North Road — George Crouch, who also had 

 like to have broken his neck through too 

 stylishly bringing his team up one day outside 

 the "Peacock" at Islington. George was 

 bringing them up in his most dashing manner, 

 to the merry toot-tootle of the coachguard's 

 horn, when he got his wheels into the gutter, 

 and over she went. George was sent flying 

 off his box, clean through the door of a cottage, 

 but when he picked himself up he still had 

 a firm and professionally correct hold of the 

 ribbons. 



"Was there cruelty to the coach horses? " 

 you may ask me. Yes, I am afraid that too 

 frequently there was, for that was in the 

 infant days of the Royal Society for the 

 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the 

 coaches had to keep up to their scheduled 

 time, no matter what happened, or what the 

 state of weather or roads. I have seen them 



