CHAP. II. 



KAIM.Y MoDKS or CONVEYANCE. 



horses, along roads little better than bridle-paths. These 

 horses travelled in lines, with the bales or panniers 

 strapped across their Lacks. The foremost horse bore a 

 bell or a collar of bells, and was hence called the "bell- 

 h< >rse." He was selected because of his sagacity ; and by 



THE PACK-HORSE CONVOY. 

 [By Touis Huard. after his original Drawing ] 



the tinklings of the bells he carried, the movements of 

 his followers were regulated. The bells also gave notice 

 of the approach of the convoy to those who might be 

 advancing from the opposite direction. This was a 

 matter of some importance, as in many parts of the path 

 there was not room for two loaded horses to pass each 

 other, and quarrels and fights between the drivers of 

 the pack-horse trains were frequent as to which of the 

 inert in<r convoys was to pass down into the dirt and 

 allow the other to pass along the bridleway. The 

 pack-horses not only carried merchandise but passengers, 

 and at certain times scholars proceeding to and from 

 Oxford and Cambridge. When Smollett travelled from 



N 2 



