28 THE BRIGHTON ROAD 



for information of the offender, in addition to £300 

 upon recovery of the total amount, or " ten per cent, 

 upon the amount of so much thereof as shall be 

 recovered." No reward money was ever paid, for 

 the notes were never recovered, and the thieves 

 escaped with their booty. 



In 1813 the " Defiance " was started, to run to and 

 from Brighton and London in the daytime, each way 

 six hours. This produced the rival " Eclipse," which 

 belied the suggestion of its name and did not eclipse, 

 but only equalled, the performance of its model. But 

 competition had now grown very severe, and fares in 

 consequence were reduced to — inside, ten shillings ; 

 outside, five shillings. Indeed, in 1816, a number of 

 Jews started a coach to run from London to Brighton 

 in six hours ; or, failing to keep time, to forfeit all 

 fares. Needless to say, under such Hebrew manage- 

 ment, and with that liability, it was punctuality 

 itself ; but Nemesis awaited it, in the shape of an 

 information laid for furious driving. 



The Mail, meanwhile, maintained its ancient pace 

 of a little over six miles an hour — a dignified, no-hurry, 

 governmental rate of progression. There was, in fact, 

 no need for the Brighton Mail to make speed, for the 

 road from the General Post Office is only fifty-three 

 miles in length, and all the night and the early morning, 

 from eight o'clock until five or six o'clock a.m., lay 

 before it. 



We come now to the " Era of the Amateur," who not 

 only flourished pre-eminently on the Brighton Road, 

 but may be said to have originated on it. The coaching 

 amateur and the nineteenth century came into existence 

 almost contemporaneously. Very soon after 1800 it 

 became "the thing" to drive a coach, and shortly 

 after this became such a definite ambition, there arose 



