REVIVAL OF COACHING. 165 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



REVIVAL OF COACHING. 



The Brighton ' Age,' then the property of Mr. Clarke, was 

 taken off the road in 1862. Its withdrawal marks the 

 beginning of a period of about four years, or three sum- 

 mer seasons, during which coaching, with some casual and 

 obscure exceptions in remote country places, was extinct 

 in ' merrie England.' The rail ruled without a rival. In 

 the summer of 1866, however, an attempt was made 

 by Mr. C. Lawrie, backed by a goodly array of noble 

 and other patrons and shareholders, to restore the glory 

 of the deserted road. Through that season the ' Old 

 Times,' driven by Pratt, made the journey between 

 London and Brighton three times a week, each way. But 

 the sale of the stock, both live and rolling, at the close 

 of the season, was a confession that the scheme did not 



Pay- 

 Undeterred by want of pecuniary success, several of 

 the proprietors of the ' Old Times,' among them the 

 Duke of Beaufort and Mr. Chandos Pole, made a new 

 venture in 1867. They started and ran, during the 

 season, two coaches between London and Brighton, both 

 sides of the road daily. Pratt was again on the bench, 



