90 



THE BATH ROAD 



the " Magpies " — by arrangement, of course, witli the 

 innkeeper — much to the profit of that house. One 

 of these venal drivers was neatly caught by JMr. 

 Chaplin, of the once well-known coaching firm of 

 Chaplin and Home. The coachman had with him 

 on the box seat that day a particularly genial 

 passenger, who proved also to have a very intimate 

 knowledge of horseflesh. Pulling up at the " Magpies," 

 where tables were spread, showing that the coach 



was expected as a matter of course, he winked at his 

 passenger and invited him to refresh. Then, when 

 all was, as the poet would say, " merry as a marriage- 

 bell," the unknown, like another "Hawkshaw the 

 Detective," revealed himself. He was Chaplin ! The 

 coachman drove that coach no more ! 



Harlington, up the road to Uxbridge, was once the 

 seat of the Bennets, one of whom, Henry Bennet, was 

 created Viscount Thetford and Earl of Arlington in 

 1G63, and lives in history as the "Arlington " of the 

 Cabal. He selected this village for one of his titles, 



