WORK AND WAGES OF GUARDS. 49 



CHAPTER XI. 



WORK AND WAGES OF GUARDS. DRIVING CLUBS. 



The certificate of health which all mail guards were re- 

 quired to show before getting to work, was most neces- 

 sary, for their work was hard indeed. 1 These guards 

 were noted for their strength and endurance. At the 

 end of a journey of 120 or 150 miles, a guard might be 

 compelled, should the succeeding guard, owing perhaps 

 to snow accident or illness, fail to meet him, to go on to 

 the end of the next stage, frequently another 1 50 miles. 

 During the winter the mail guards were furnished with a 

 ' Snow Book,' in which they were to record when it was 

 necessary to obtain leaders, chaises, or saddle horses, on 

 account of the snow, and whence such assistance was 

 had, &c. Of their pay {10s. a week when at work 

 on a mail) they could save very little, were they ever so 

 economical. There was the mail-coach porter to pay, 

 who took charge of their tool-box, the seat cover, and 

 box coat, cleaned and loaded their two horse-pistols and the 

 blunderbuss (these were loaded afresh for each journey), 

 and cleaned their long boots, which had tops to put on for 

 London wear ; and there was oil to buy for their hand 



1 See Appendix B. 

 E 



