226 HIGHWAYS AND HORSES. 



superior to the ordinary coach-travellers, and, in fact, 

 post-masters seemed to have a regard for them in 

 exact proportion to their own estimate of themselves. 

 There were posting-houses and coach offices, the 

 former sometimes described as hotels, the latter as 

 inns. Mr. Harris remarks that the coaches never 

 stopped at the posting-houses unless they combined 

 the two businesses of coaching office and posting- 

 house. At the " Red Lion " and the " Green Man," 

 at Barnet, were two notable posting- houses on the 

 second stage out of London ; no coaches stopped at 

 these, they kept post-horses only ; so at the " Yerulam 

 Arms," St. Albans, the " Salisbury Arms," at Hatfield, 

 the " Rose and Crown," at Hounslow, the " Sugar 

 Loaf," at Dunstable, the "White Hart," at Reigate ; 

 but the two most celebrated posting-houses were at 

 Barnet — the " Red Lion," at the top of the hill, at the 

 London end of the town, and the " Green Man," at 

 the other end. Eighteen pairs of post-horses were 

 kept at the "Red Lion" and eight post-boys, and 

 twenty-six pairs at the " Green Man " and about 

 eleven post-boys, and there were in the yards what 

 the post-boys called " cads," who looked after the 

 post-horses, washed the chaises, called up the post- 

 boys when wanted of a night, and lighted, and assisted 

 them to change horses. The " cads " in cases of emer- 

 gency had to ride post, unless they happened to meet 

 a post-boy returning with his pair of horses, when 

 they exchanged places, the post-boy finishing the 

 stage, whilst the "cad" took his horses back to the 

 stables.* 



* It is evident from this that in those days the word "cad " 

 had a different signification from that which it has at the present 

 day ; it was not then a word of abuse, as it has since become. It is 



