COACH-PROPRIETORS 209 



mileag'c of the railway itself. He sold most of 

 his coaches — who were those rash persons, greatly 

 daring, who houglit coaches in those last days ? — 

 and realised everything except what Avas considered 

 necessary to start the new lirm of Chaplin & 

 Home, carriers, and to carry on the hranch 

 coacli-s(M-A ices on routes not yet affected hy the 

 rail. Having thus converted his fortune into 

 hard cash and deposited it for the time heing 

 in the hank, the next consideration was Avhat to 

 do Avith it. All the preconceived ideas of invest- 

 ment were heing uprooted, and railways, which 

 offered many chances to the capitalist, were not 

 in those times hracketed with Government securi- 

 ties as safe. Even supposing railways in general 

 offered inducements, those were the days when 

 they were not merely unproved, hut when few 

 had advanced heyond the point of ohtaining their 

 Parliamentary powers. They were, in fact, little 

 hut projects on paper. AVith these prohlems to 

 consider, Chaplin did a singular thing. Leaving 

 his fortune on deposit, he went awa}^ and utterly 

 secluded himself in Switzerland for six weeks, to 

 to dehate Avithin himself this turning-point in a 

 career. He Avas noAv fifty-one years of age, and 

 might Avell have heen content with Avhat he had 

 accumulated, and Avitli the prospects of the ucav 

 firm. With the advantages he had already secured 

 he could have enjoyed a leisured life ; hut he took 

 the decision to emhark a large portion of his cash 

 in the London and Southampton HailAvay, then 

 under construction and Aery much under a cloud 



VOL. 11. 11 



