io6 ANNALS OF THE ROAD. 



load round the corner by the King's Stables ; and as his 

 attitude was rather good, I'll endeavour to describe it. 

 His bench was very low, and he himself is rather a tall 

 man : his legs tucked under him as far as possible, were 

 as wide apart as if he was across one of his wheels ; both 

 hands had hold of the reins, which, though perfectly slack, 

 were all but within his teeth ; his whip was stuck beside 

 him (in general, however, it is hanging down between 

 his wheel horses about the middle of the foot board), 

 and, to complete the picture, his mouth was gaping wide 

 open, like Curran's Irishman endeavouring to catch the 

 English accent. South of York I have not often seen 

 this man's fellow ; but surely Providence must keep a 

 most especial guard over him ; for I understand he has 

 worked for some years on the same coach without an 

 accident. And judging from appearances, it is a daily 

 miracle that he gets to his journey's end. 



' Not long ago too, I had the fortune of witnessing, as 

 a passenger, one or two hairbreadth escapes on one of 

 the professedly flash afternoon coaches. First or last, I 

 never saw a fellow with more conceit and less knowledge 

 of the art than our self-styled coachman. And I could 

 not help thinking it a great pity to have deprived the shop- 

 board of his services to expose him on the bench. We 

 were very near having a case with our first team out of 

 Brighton. Both his wheel horses were bad holders, and 

 the leaders (both of them thoroughbred) were impatient 

 and fidgety at the rattling of the bars, and could not be 

 kept — at least my friend could not keep them — out of a 

 canter. He put his chain on down the hill by New 



