30 THE COACHING ERA 



high road, or wait and explore any place of interest 

 through which the coach passed. 



The roads, though still bad, had been considerably- 

 improved by the turnpike acts, and it slowly dawned on 

 coach proprietors that the speed of their coaches was 

 sensibly increased by changing horses occasionally, in- 

 stead of causing the same unfortunate animals to perform 

 the entire journey. The stages, however, were still 

 incredibly long, fifteen or twenty miles for one team 

 being considered by no means excessive. 



