THE COACH AS NEWS-BEARER 159 



This was especially the case at the time of the Reform 

 Bill when the country was wild with excitement as to the 

 result. There was no telegraph to flash the news to 

 them, and the provinces were forced to wait with what 

 patience they could muster till the London coaches 

 came down. 



That was a red letter day for the guards whose 

 coaches carried the first papers, for so eager were people 

 to buy them that there was practically no limit as to the 

 price they were prepared to pay. At Shottenham a 

 gentleman gave William Bayzand ^i for a copy of the 

 dimes', at Ross he parted with another copy for £2, and 

 the farther the coach went west the greater was the 

 excitement. 



An up coach met the Mazeppa, and the guard shouted 

 out: 



"Has the Bill passed?" 



"It has," said Bayzand, hoarse from replying to the 

 same question, called to him at every village. 



"Have you got a copy of the Times with the news 

 in?" inquired the other guard. 



"Yes." 



"Then don't be surprised at anything that takes 

 place, for the moment the Hereford people know they 

 will carry your paper and all off the coach to the inn." 



Sure enough they did, for politics ran high at Here- 

 ford, and before the coach stopped Bayzand was pulled 

 from his seat, and carried on the shoulders of four men 

 to the club room. The chairman gave the guard a 

 five-pound note for a copy of the Times, which he 



