THE GOLDEN AGE, 1824— 184S 179 



undeceived, and those AAcaker brethren who coukl 

 not command the influence and the capital by 

 which only could a fast coach be appointed 

 and established, found that, after all, there Avas 

 no immediate prospect of their being run off the 

 road, and that a considerable section of the public 

 actually preferred to travel in sIoav coaches, and 

 would by no means consent to be Avhirled through 

 the country at eleven miles an hour, Avitli only 

 hurried intervals for meals . ' ' The art of travelling, ' ' 

 said an anon^mious Avriter in 1827, " has undergone 

 great alterations in the course of the last thirty 

 years; these are not altogether improA'ements." 

 One of these changes for the Avorse, in the opinion 

 of this unknoAvii scribe, Avas that in the thunder 

 of ten miles an hour there Avas no opj^ortunity 

 for conversation. That must be a poA^'erf liI tongue, 

 he thought, Avliich could make itself heard amid 

 the rcA^erberations of such incessant and intem- 

 25erate Avhirlings. He could not help looking back 

 Avitli some regret to the good old times AA^hen 

 five or six miles an hour Avas the utmost speed. 

 Then there Avas something sober and sedate in 

 the fit-out and the set-out. All the faces in the 

 inner-yard were so grave and full of importance, 

 aud there Avas some seriousness in taking leaA^e. 

 (Good reason, too, for such graAdty and seriousness, 

 think AA^e of later ages.) Hoav scrupulous and 

 polite Avere the inside passengers, in making 

 mutual accommodation of legs and arms, band- 

 boxes, sandAvich-baskets and umbrellas ! Then, 

 too, says this delightful snob, there Avas some 



