26 THE BATH ROAD 



appeared at the door and made what was usually 

 the pleasant announcement, " Time to get a cup of 

 coffee here, gentlemen." Did they get out ? Oh no ! 

 They were so tightly wedged that they dared not 

 move, afraid lest they should not be able to get in 

 again. So they endured to the bitter end, and there 

 can be no doubt whatever that when MarlborouQ-h 

 was reached, they '' sped the parting guest " with 

 exceptional heartiness. 



The inn from which this coach started was the 

 " White Bear," Piccadilly, which stood, until about 

 the year 1860, on the site now occupied by the 

 Criterion Eestaurant. It was a curious old place, 

 chiefly of wood, and had a great effigy of a polar bear 

 on its frontage. This " AVhite Bear " sign is still in 

 existence, luit rusticated to the lonely hamlet of 

 Fickles Hole, near Croydon, where it stands in the 

 little garden of the " White Bear " inn. 



V 



A VERY swagger stage-coach, the "York House," 

 was started between Bath and London in 1815, 

 followed by a rival, the " Beaufort Hunt." The 

 first-named started from the " York House Hotel " 

 at Bath; the "Beaufort Hunt" from the "White 

 Lion." Both were fast day coaches ; and, perhaps 

 because of racing, the " Beaufort Hunt " was upset 

 twice in a fortnight, soon after it had been put on the 

 road. It was a sporting age, but not so sporting that 

 passengers were prepared to risk life and limb in 



