THE YARD OF TIX. 109 



which, when well blown, as some guards could blow, 

 was by no means unmelodious. There was also a 

 copper horn with two twists, and the long copper horn 

 varying in length from about three to four feet or 

 more, with a very narrow bore terminating in a bell 

 shape." 



These long, straight horns are those that are 

 generally used nowadays. It is astonishing the number 

 of notes that can be obtained from them. I had a man 

 once in my service who could almost play a tune on 

 one of these horns, and the " Post-horn Galop," and 

 " God save the Queen," can be played fairly well by an 

 expert in their use. Mr. Carleton Blyth's guard, on the 

 Oxford and Cambridge coach " The Defiance," used to 

 enliven Piccadilly with this accomplishment, as the 

 coach made its progress on the first stage of its 

 outward journey. 



Mr. Harris says : " In this little shop there was 

 every kind of horn, big horns and small horns, brass 

 key bugles and copper key bugles, large brass and 

 copper horns, bugle-shaped without keys ; in fact, 

 there seemed to be in this shop, horns to suit the taste 

 of any guard, even the most fastidious." 



This writer, who evidently speaks from experience, 

 goes on to say that being desirous of possessing a horn 

 which he could carry with him when travelling, and 

 could use on a coach to which there was no guard 

 attached, decided to invest in the best he could obtain. 

 He says: '"'Accordingly I hied to the little shop 

 of my friend the horn-maker, got him to manufacture 

 one to order, and a beautiful little one he turned out 

 certainly ; it was a brass horn with two twists, oblong in 

 shape, the bell end flattened, so as to lie in your pocket 

 without sticking out. About five notes could be got 



