no THE COACHING ERA 



projedl to the "Iron Duke," who squashed it instantly, 



and told Fagg not to "be a d fool." A fool Fagg was 



not by any means, but, like many worthy men, blinded 

 by hero-worship. 



His choice of a coachman proves that he was possessed 

 of sound common sense. To him came a swell dragsman 

 with an inflated sense of his own importance. Fagg put 

 the usual questions as to qualifications, and ended by 

 asking if the applicant had ever had an accident when 

 driving a coach. The dragsman felt insulted by the very 

 suggestion. No, he had never had an accident; didn't 

 know what the word meant. If he thought thus to 

 impress Fagg he was woefully mistaken, for that worthy 

 instantly told him to go about his own business, saying: 

 "You're no good to me, then, my coaches are always being 

 upset, and if you've never had a accident how the devil 

 would you know how to get a coach on her legs again?" 



Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Mountain were two redoubtable 

 women of great coaching repute, proprietresses of flour- 

 ishing inns, and possessing large stables. Mrs. Nelson was 

 especially solicitous for the comfort of her coachmen and 

 guards, at the Bull Inn a comfortable room was set 

 apart for their use, where they dined on the best the 

 house afforded. In this san6tum where none unconnected 

 with the road might enter, the company talked "shop" 

 whole-heartedly and without reproach. Coachmen re- 

 counted their adventures on the road, and addressed one 

 another, not by personal names, but after the manner of 

 the peerage, as Oxford, Salisbury, Bristol, York, and other 

 towns of their coaches' destinations, 



