178 STAGE-COACH AND MAIL IN DAYS OF YORE 



of every dasliing young traveller to occupy this 

 box-seat — an ambition generally satisfied by put- 

 ting in an early apj)earance at the starting-point 

 and tipping the head yard-porter, Avho thereupon 

 placed a rug or some stable- cloths on it. These 

 tijis Avere not, as generally supposed, the coach- 

 man's perquisite. His turn came later on, down 

 the road. 



The yard-porter was a much more im2)ortant 

 official than the present generation might suppose, 

 and in busy yards, such as those of the " EuU 

 and Mouth " or the " S^van with Two Necks," 

 his weekly income from tips j)robably amounted 

 to £5, or more. Nor was lie merely the man 

 Avitli a pail of water, a broom and a pitchfork 

 conjured up mentally by the sound of his title; 

 his was an important department, and himself 

 the ruler of many subordinates, Avliose duties 

 ranged from grooming and bedding-down the 

 horses and cleaning the stables to washing the 

 coaches and cleaning and polishing the harness 

 and metal- work. 



.Vt this ])eriod the puljlic found themselves 

 swiftly flying where they had formerly sloAvly 

 and lal)oriously crawled, and generally compared 

 ancient travelling with modern, greatly to the 

 advantau'e of modern times. But if the coach- 

 proprietors who were at such pains to com2)ete 

 with one another in establishing these swift and 

 well-ajipointed coaches were of opinion that in 

 so doing they Avere earning the admiration of 

 the entire travelling public, they were very soon 



