AMATEUR COACHMAX 187 



When I first made my appearance on that stage which 

 I have attempted to give the reader an account of in the 

 last few chapters, it was his custom to drive to and from 

 London. He was an amateur and a most excellent work- 

 man, always keeping a relay of horses on the road, for 

 the purpose of practising and indulging in an art that he 

 very much admired. 



I first saw him in his drag when he pulled up and spoke 

 to my friend Bob at Cambridge. I knew him from his 

 likeness to his brother in Hampshire, but did not put 

 myself forward. As he drove off I was told by my 

 brother whip, with some self-importance, who the gentle- 

 man was. He concluded with, " You'll see, boy, he's the 

 best friend we've got ; " and to me, for many years, did 

 he verify Bob's prediction. 



For reasons I have before stated, a vear or more 

 elapsed before I made his acquaintance ; and it was not 

 till after the alterations and improvements which were 

 made in our drag that I had the pleasure of his company 

 on the box ; and it was my good fortune soon to grow in 

 his favour. Whether it Avas that I came from Hampshire, 

 and had frequently hunted with the celebrated pack of 

 which his brother was master, or that he respected my 

 former position, I cannot say, but he uniformly treated me 

 with a fj'ank and familiar kindness, that was as far 

 removed from aristocratic pride as it was from assumed 

 condescension or affected j)atronage. 



He was possessed of a great flow of animal spirits, but 

 there was something more in his hearty laugh when he 

 first addressed you than would strike a common observer : 

 and there was a sincerity in his "good-bye," too, that 



