200 ON THE TRACK OF THE MAIL-COACH 



area was railed off with wooden posts and suspended 

 chains.' 



Later on, in the thirties, the inn had H. C. Lacy 

 for landlord, by whom it was considered, rightly 

 enough,* ' unworthy to send a person or a parcel by 

 a more circuitous route than can be obtained else- 

 where.' 



On a window-pane in one of the untouched rooms 

 of the old hotel are the following lines scratched with 

 a diamond, and dated 1797 : 



' Adieu, ye streams, that smoothly flow ; 

 Ye vernal airs, that gently blow ; 

 Ye fields, b}^ flowing spring arraid ; 

 Ye birds, that warble in the shade. 



■X- -x- * -x- 



Unhurt, from you my soul could fly, 

 Nor drop one tear, nor heave one sigh ; 

 But forced from C(elia)'s charms to part, 

 All joy forsakes my drooping heart.' 



An arched entrance, which belonged to the yard in 

 the rear of the hotel, still exists, and the inscription on 

 the wdndow-pane was certainly there in June, 1895, 

 thanks to the careful thought of the present occupants 

 of the premises. 



It is easy to recall the swirl of the four-horse mail- 

 coach for the North or the East as it swept in on its 

 way to or from the post-ofiice close by, to pick up or 

 set down passengers at the inn, the artist on the 

 box being no more daunted by the narrow semi- 

 circular drive, and the posts and chains which limited 



* ' Cotton,' H. Bannerman and Sons, 1893. 



