PAWN OF THE COACHING AGE 77 



" lando," to go once a Avcek in Avinter and twice in 

 summer. The attempt failed, and it Avas not until 

 1749 that the first conveyance to ply rei^'ularly 

 bet\veen Glasgow and Edinhurgh Avas established. 

 This Avas the " CaraAan," Avhicli made the passage 

 in tAvo days each Avav. It AAas succeeded in 1759 

 by the "Ply," Avhich brought the time doAvn to a 

 day and a half. 



In 1697, according to an entry in the diary of 

 Sir William Dugdale, under date of July 1 6th, a 

 London and Birmingham coach, by Avay of Ban- 

 bury, Avas then running ; but such isolated refer- 

 ences are quite obscured by the flood of light 

 thrown upon coaching by the Avork of De Laune, 

 The Fresetit Slate of London, dated 1681. In 

 his pages is to be found a complete list of all the 

 stage-coaches, carriers, and Avaggons to and from 

 London in that year. The carriers and Avaggons 

 are A^ery numerous, and there are in all 

 119 coaches, of AAhicli number betAveen sixty 

 and seventy are long-distance conveyances, the 

 remainder serving places up to tAventy or 

 twenty-five miles from London. In that list Ave 

 find that, although a marvellous expansion of 

 coaching had taken place, some of the j)laces 

 already catered for in 1658 are abandoned. The 

 Edinburgh stage does not appear, and nothing is 

 to ])e found on that road farther north than York. 

 The reason for the omission AA'as, doubtless, that 

 York, then relatively a more important place than 

 now, had its OAvn Avell-organised coaching busi- 

 nesses. Travellers from London for Edinburgh 



