CHAPTER XIII 



HOW THE COACHES AA^ERE NAMED 



" What's in a name? Little enough, by the fact that people travel 

 by the Thame coach, the Hitchin chaises, and the Crawley stage." — 

 Old Coaching Essay. 



It was not until quite late in the coacliing era that 

 proprietors began generally to adopt the practice 

 of naming their coaches. In early clays there was 

 little or no occasion to do so, for Avlien there Avere 

 only tAA^o or three coaches on the most frequented 

 roads, no difhculty existed in distinguishing 

 between them. One might be the old original 

 stage ; another, someAvhat better built and more 

 up-to-date, would be the "Machine"; another yet, 

 fastest of all, the "Ply," or the "Plying Machine." 

 The earliest named coacli of Avhich Ave liaAC any 

 record Avas the " Confatharrat " London and 

 NorAAdch stage, mentioned in 1G95. As aa^c liaA^e 

 already seen in these j)ages, tliis Avas an old-time 

 Avay of spelling the AAord " Confederate," and the 

 coach AA^as one probably OAA^ned and run by a 

 syndicate, aaIio shared the risks and the profits. 

 Before competing coaches began to multiply and 

 hustle one another in the struggle for public 

 supjiort, 2^1'oprietors AA^ere content to announce 

 "a coacli," or "a stage-coach," to run, and took 

 no trouble to characterise their vehicle in any 



