254 STAGE-COACH AND MAIL IN DAYS OF YORE 



were ended by the early death of Stevenson. The 

 cause of the attack of brain-fever that ended his 

 career early in 1830 is imperfectly known, and 

 is merely said to have been "an accident." The 

 last scene Avas pathetic l)eyond the ordinary. 

 Exhausted at the end of delirium, the bandages 

 that had held his arms were removed, Avhen, 

 feebly raising himself up in bed and assuming 

 as Avell as he Avas aljle his old habitual attitude 

 u2:)on the liox, he exclaimed, as if Avitli the reins 

 in his hand, and to his favourite servant, Avho 

 usually stood at his leaders' heads, " Let them 

 go, George ; I've got 'em ! " and so sank down, 

 dying, upon his pilloAV, in the happy delusion of 

 being once more uj^on the road. 



Mr. Harry Eoker and others of the " young 

 Oxonians " or "young Cantabs " with more taste 

 for drivinn^ four-in-hand than knowledo-e of that 

 very difhcult art, were frequent asj^irants for the 

 ribbons, and as they Avere generally flush of 

 money and free with it, they often tasted the 

 delights of tooling a coach along the liighAvay. 

 Professional coachmen on the Oxford and Cam- 

 bridge roads reajied a bounteous crop of half- 

 guineas by resigning the reins into these hands, 

 but equally plentiful Avas the harvest of bruises 

 and shocks gathered by the passengers as a result 

 of their reckless or unskilled driving. These 

 chartered lil)ertines of the road are mentioned 

 Avith horror by travellers in the first half of the 

 nineteenth century, Avho have pictured for us 

 four horses galloping at the incredible speed of 



