346 STAGECOACH AND MAIL IN DA YS OP YORE 



ladder for the lady ' ; and the passengers are 

 hiirried into their places.'' 



Not so hurried was that gentleman who on 

 one of these qnick-change and pantomime-rally 

 occasions remained calmly drinking his tea while 

 his fellow-2)assengers were jostling each other in 

 their anxiety to regain their seats. 



" You'll miss the coach, sir ! " shouted the 

 landlord in his car, under the impression that he 

 was deaf and had not heard the stampeding feet. 



" I want a spoon to stir my tea," said this last- 

 remaining guest : " why didn't we have any ? " 



The landlord glanced hnrriedly round — ^not one 

 spoon of all those that had been on the table 

 remained. He rushed out to the coach to find 

 who among the passengers had stolen them ; and 

 by the time he had delayed the coach and insulted 

 everyone, the last passenger, having finished his 

 breakfast at leisure, came out with the informa- 

 tion that they had been found in the teajiot, 

 Avhere, as will by now have been suspected, he 

 had himself j^laced them. 



There is no generalising on the subject of 

 coach-breakfasts or dinners. Some inns Avere 

 famous for good fare, others were notorious for 

 bad provisioning and worse service ; and all were 

 liable to change from good to ill, or the reverse, 

 according to how they changed hands from time 

 to time. Sidney Smith, who was under no 

 illusions, and lived well into the rail av ay age, did 

 not lament the days when he travelled j:>ost from 

 Combe Elorey to London — " living for three days 



