84 ANNALS OF THE ROAD. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



WASHINGTON IRVING's PORTRAIT OF A STAGE COACHMAN. 



Washington Irving, in his very graphic description of 

 English life and character in the 'Sketch Book of Geoffrey 

 Crayon,' depicts 'a stage coachman of quite the old 

 school ' to the life. Travelling in Yorkshire in December, 

 the day preceding Christmas Day, he found the coach 

 crowded inside and out with passengers, most of them 

 on their way to spend the morrow with friends. ' The 

 coach,' he says, ' was loaded also with hampers of game, 

 and baskets and boxes of delicacies ; and hares hung 

 dangling their long ears about the coachman's box, pre- 

 sents from distant friends for the impending feast. I 

 could not but notice the more than ordinary air of bustle 

 and importance of the coachman, who wore his hat a little 

 on one side, and had a long bunch of Christmas greens 

 stuck in the button-hole of his coat. He is always a 

 personage full of mighty care and business, but he is 

 particularly so during this season, having so many com- 

 missions to execute in consequence of the great inter- 

 change of presents. And here, perhaps, it may not be 

 unacceptable to my untravelled readers to have a sketch 

 that may serve as a general representation of this very 



