THE AUGUSTAN AGE 27 



takiug part in this keen rivalry. Accordingly, the 

 "Beaufort Hunt" fell upon evil times, and the 

 proprietor had to dismiss his too zealous drivers. 

 He was, however, fortunate in his new coachman, 

 who was exceptionally civil and obliging, and 

 eventually regained the position of the coach, 

 which, although it kept up a furious pace of eleven 

 miles an hour, remained for years a prime favourite 

 with the more dashing travellers along the road. 



This and the other crack coaches, which continued 

 running until the Great Western Railway finally 

 took them away on trucks, quite cut out the mails, 

 which, from being the fastest coaches on the road, 

 soon came to occupy a very middling position. 



In 1821, the mail-coaches had reached a speed 

 of nearly eight and three-quarter miles an hour, 

 including stoppages. They started from the General 

 Post Office at 8 p.m., and reached Bristol at 10 a.m. 

 the following morning. At the same period the two 

 fast stage-coaches just descriljed were doing their 

 eleven miles an hour, and in 1830 were actually 

 timed a mile an hour faster, while the mail was very 

 little accelerated, if at all. Some years later, indeed 

 (in 1837), the Bristol mail was wakened up, and 

 performed the 121 miles in 11 hrs. 45 min., or at 

 the rate of ten miles and a quarter an hour, including 

 changes, of whicli there were fourteen. This was the 

 fine flower of the Coaching Age on the Bath Road. 

 There were then about fifteen or sixteen day and 

 night coaches between London and Bath, and two 

 mails, all running full. On June 4, 1838, the Great 

 Western Railway was opened as far as Slough, and 



