i yo DRIVING. 



Jolly Farmer, a small public-house on the road, a brewer's 

 dray, with empty barrels, went by the coach at a trot, and the 

 barrels made such a noise that the coach-horses started off. 

 The box passenger was so alarmed that he quite lost his 

 head, and frantically clutching the two near-side reins, pulled 

 the horses out of the road, and overturned the coach. This 

 silly fellow escaped unhurt, but Robinson's leg was badly 

 fractured ; he was laid up for many weeks, and felt the accident 

 for the remainder of his life. 



Wignell, who also drove on the Southampton road, was 

 upset, and broke his leg so badly that it was taken off above 

 the knee, after which he wore either a cork or a wooden leg ; 

 he was upset twice afterwards, and broke his leg each time, 

 but luckily the wooden one. During the seven years that I 

 drove on the road, I had two horses down. We changed at 

 Bagshot, when a most miserable off-leader was put into the 

 coach. I exclaimed, ' What is that ? ' The coachman replied, 

 'I have often complained of that horse, but the master will 

 not change him.' * Well,' I said, ' my belief is that he will be 

 on his head before he has gone a mile ; ' and it so happened : 

 in less than half a mile we left him by the roadside and went 

 on with three. Another day I was driving a coach called the 

 Forester through the New Forest ; on descending a hill, down 

 came the off-wheeler ; the coachman burst out laughing and 

 exclaimed, ' That's just where it is ! I was a watching you, 

 you know, how you pulled them together and came gently 

 off the brow of the hill as a coachman had ought ; but that 

 horse would never have fallen had I been a-driving, for I never 

 interferes with them old cripples, for if you goes fast enough 

 down them 'ere 'ills, they are afraid to fall.' Now I never 

 forgot that lecture, as there is much truth in it : always go fast 

 with unsound horses if you can. 



One nig'it, the mail from Salisbury to Southampton being 

 rather behind time, they were having a merry gallop through 

 the Forest, when the horses bolted out of the road, having 

 taken fright at the cover of a carrier's cart which had been 



