AMERICAN ROADS. 31 



" They run up the bank and.'go clown on the other 

 side at a fearful pace. It is Impossible to stop them, 

 and at the bottom there is a deep hole full of water. 

 The coach rolls frightfully ; the insides scream ; the 

 mud and water fly about us. The black driver dances 

 like a madman. Suddenly we are all right by some 

 extraordinary chance, and stop to breathe. 



"A black friend of the black driver is sittinof on a 

 fence, the black driver recognises him by twirling his 

 head round and round like a harlequin, rolling his eyes, 

 shrugging his shoulders, and grinning from ear to ear. 

 He stops short and turns to me and says : ' We shall 

 get you through, Sa, like a fiddle, and hope we please 

 you when we get you through, Sa. Old woman at 

 home, Sa,' chuckling very much. ' Outside gentleman, 

 Sa, he often remember old woman at home, Sa,' to 

 which I replied, ' Aye, aye, we'll take care of the old 

 woman at home. Don't be afraid.' 



" And so we do the ten miles or thereabouts in two 

 hours and a half, breakinof no bones, thouo-h bruisino- a 

 great many, and in short, getting through the distance 

 'like a fiddle.' " 



Since everything from the pen of Charles Dickens 

 is so greatly prized by most people, I may be excusegl 

 for making this digression in order to give his 

 experiences of a Virginia coach, its driver, and the 

 road over which it passed. There are one or two things 

 In what Dickens says that make one suppose he was 

 not very v/ell acquainted with matters relating to 

 driving. The negro driver was driving four horses, 

 yet he takes a rein in each hand — he must then have 

 had four hands ; he also dances a jig on the splash- 

 board, which was evidently the foot-board ; nevertheless 

 the description of the whole affair Is amusing and 



