THE STAGE-WAGGONS 



tOQ 



London "public," l)ut it still displays a picture- 

 sign, copied from an old orii^'inal, showing a 

 packliorse with a talbot by his side ; the " talbot " 

 being the old English hound, something between 

 a foxhound and a bloodhound, a fierce creature 

 who guarded his master's j^i'op^^'ty from the 

 thieves and dangers of all kinds that then befell 

 so constantly along the roads, or even at the often 

 ill-famed inns by the wayside. 



An attenijit to su23plant the pack-horses between 

 London and Shrewsbury was made in 1737, by the 

 establishment of the " Gee-ho." Facts relatins: to 

 this conveyance are of especial interest, because 

 we are told the circumstances that led to it being 

 23ut on the road. It seems, then, that until that 

 year Shrewsbury had known no other than a 

 pack-horse service, which set out from and came 

 to Avhat was then the " Pheasant," now the "Lion 

 and Pheasant," Inn on Wyle Cop, in that town. 

 A Mrs. Warner, a widow, was landlady, and 

 apjjarently pack-horse proprietor as well. A 

 shrewd fellow named Carter, a soldier who had 

 been billeted at the inn, made love to the widoAV, 

 married her, and managed the business. Let us 

 hope they were both happy and successful. At 

 any rate, Carter started the " Gee-ho " as the 

 first conveyance to ply between Shrewsbury and 

 London. It was a stage-waggon, drawn by eight 

 horses, with two others in reserve to pull it out 

 of those sloughs that might then be confidently 

 expected on the Avay. It was advertised to go 

 to or from London in seven, eight, or nine days 



