354 DRIVING. 



hat-cases, or portmanteaus, being put outside and protected 

 with a capacious waterproof tarpaulin cover. 



This vehicle often preceded the party in the family coach, 

 landau, or britzska, by some hours, so that, on their arrival 

 at the hotel chosen, all was comfortably arranged for their 

 reception. 



But this was not the only manner of travelling, although it 

 was that usual with the wealthy nobility and gentry of England. 

 On the Continent the system of posting was conducted in a 

 way which differed from the English plan ; for while, in this 

 country it was left to private enterprise, abroad it had been 

 organised as a sort of semi-state affair, with regulated tariffs. 

 Post-horses were supplemented, however, by private enterprise 

 of a convenient kind. 



The Italians had a class of ' vetturini ' who owned carriages 

 and post-horses, and were ready to drive you from Naples 

 to Paris, or anywhere else, at short notice, if terms could be 

 arranged to suit both parties. 



There was less responsibility, but at the same time less 

 comfort, with such an arrangement ; for the owner of the 

 carriage and horses was master, and, to a certain extent, para- 

 mount on the journey. 



In England post-horses and post-carriages could be had at 

 the town hotels and at the country inns, and were invariably 

 attached to houses of entertainment, the charge per mile 

 being regulated much by the gradients and conditions of the 

 neighbouring roads. The innkeepers as a body were enter- 

 prising, proud of their horses' condition, harness, speed, and 

 punctuality; the public carriages (mail and stage coaches) 

 mostly belonged to them, and they kept up a keen competition 

 among themselves, especially as regards speed of journeys, and 

 fares for travelling. The best coaches were run on the roads 

 leading north and west of London ; to York, Manchester, 

 Liverpool, Bristol, Exeter, and Plymouth. So remarkable 

 was the punctuality, that although the guard with his London- 

 made watch brought the exact London time, many people 



