152 MR. SERJEANT PELL 



officiating on the drag on which I spent so many years of 

 my life, that my way-bill instructed me to take up an 

 inside passenger at Doctors' Commons. I stopped, and a 

 middle-aged gentleman got in, making three insides ; on 

 my pulling up at the " Bull," in Bishopsgate Street, 

 where we also booked, a lady presented herself with a 

 child ; she took the fourth seat, and when the husband, 

 who Avas an outside passenger, was about to put the child 

 in also, the gent from Doctors' Commons demurred, and 

 said he would not allow it. 



I was then appealed to, and I ventured an explanation ; 

 but all to no purpose. We were allowed to carry four 

 insides by Act of Parliament, and no more ; and no more 

 would he allow. 



Now, being pretty well up in Acts of Parliament 

 relatino; to stao;e-coaches, with due deference I be^ffed 

 leave to observe that the Act to which he referred 

 expressly says that a child in the lap under seven years 

 of age shall not be counted as one passenger, and that 

 such child shall not be deemed in excess. 



Losing his temper at being thus contradicted on a 

 professional j^oint, he said, — 



" You do not know who I am, sir." 



'' Yes, sir, I do," replied I, " and have had that honour 

 many years. You are Mr. Serjeant Pell, and you once 

 defended an action for me at Winchester assizes, much to 

 my satisfaction and that of the court generally, of which 

 you were the leading star." 



" Have the goodness to shut the door, sir;" which I 

 did, after putting in the child, a great bouncing boy, a 

 very little under the prescribed age ; then mounting the 



