284 DRIVING. 



start in 1866, put on the Rochester coach with Mr. Lawrie. 

 Certainly one of the most arduous undertakings chronicled 

 since the beginning of the revival was the establishment of 

 the Aldershot coach, of which Lord Guilford and Mr. Reginald 

 Herbert were proprietors. The last train for the military centre 

 left London at about twelve at night, too early to allow the 

 soldiers to attend a ball in London, yet it was not possible 

 to travel by any other train, when it was necessary to attend 

 early parade. It therefore occurred to the gentlemen above 

 mentioned that to tide over the difficulty through the medium 

 of wheels would be to supply a want. Accordingly it was 

 arranged that the coach should leave London at 3 A.M. ; but 

 the starting-point was the puzzle, as at that unseasonable hour 

 all hotels would have been long shut. Ultimately, however, 

 Brandon's Cigar Stores were fixed upon, and, with all the old 

 time surroundings of sleepy horse-keepers, cS:c. the new 

 venture was launched. But it was scantily patronised, and did 

 not last long. 



Now we come to a most successful new departure, which 

 was without doubt the feature of the season, the starting of 

 the afternoon Dorking coach. This had been a pet project 

 of Mr. Scott's for some time, and now that Mr. W. H. Cooper, 

 who lived at Stoke D'Abernon, was willing to undertake the 

 horsing and driving, the time was ripe for a start, which was 

 made in due course, Edwin Fownes (who at the age of 

 fourteen acted as guard of the Tunbridge Telegraph) being 

 the professional, and thus began the successful career of 

 * Cooper's coach,' which now travelled via Mitcham. Two 

 coaches were built by Ventham, of Leatherhead, from Mr. 

 Cooper's own designs, assisted by a genuine old mail-coach 

 model built either by Wright or Wand of the Old Kent 

 Road ; but, whichever was the builder, on the coach could 

 be seen the peculiarity of the perch-bolt working perfectly 

 loose. 



Meantime the Brighton road fell from its his high estate. 

 All the old proprietors deserted it in a body ; and when the 



