EARLY COACHES 3 



This was so eminently true that the prophet, having 

 no precedent for road engineers or the powers of steam, 

 would have been at a loss for an answer and, seeing the 

 apparent futility of his remark, have hastened to add 

 that he spoke by way of pleasantry, and that by horse- 

 less carriages he meant those drawn by oxen. If he was 

 anxious to enhance his reputation, he might even have 

 ventured to predidl live unicorns for draught pur- 

 poses, as those mystic animals were still thought to 

 exist, and the prophet would have obtained far more 

 credence than if he had adhered to his original state- 

 ment, that carriages would travel without the assistance 

 of any animal power at all. 



The roads in England were at that time, and, indeed, 

 for long after, in such an appalling state that travelling 

 of any description was both difficult and dangerous, and 

 in winter well-nigh impossible. A narrow track in the 

 middle of the road represented the only firm surface, 

 whilst on either side were deep sloughs of mud, and 

 ruts eminently calculated to break the leg of man or 

 beast. 



To those obliged to travel, the middle of the road was 

 the only place, and they started off with the firm deter- 

 mination never to leave it; the consequence was that 

 when two trains of pack-horses, or two waggons met, 

 the right of way was very fiercely contested. The rule 

 of the road being either unknown or wilfully dis- 

 regarded, the question as to who should step down into 

 the sea of mud was usually settled by a free fight among 

 the parties concerned. Travellers in the rear had "to 



