3l6 ON THE TRACK OF THE MAIL-COACH 



'knights of the box' whose fame should be preserved, 

 I would say that there never could have been a finer 

 whip in a scarlet coat than Ansdell, who drove the 

 chief mail, nor a smarter guard than the justly 

 esteemed Bob Lloyd (or, as Ansdell, with a fine 

 Norfolk roll of the tongue, addressed him, Eaabert), 

 who blew the rousing horn behind it. The inn at 

 which they changed — the Wellington, at the northern 

 foot of Highgate Hill, where the more or less ancient 

 roads join — though somewhat altered, still, I think, 

 stands. 



When Hill set his hand to the plough, it was not 

 alone postage-rates that called for reform. All the 

 machinery of the Post-Office needed to be overhauled. 

 The mails on the main coach- routes ran swiftly enough, 

 but when it came to dealing with letters sent ' forward ' 

 on London, for retransmission, delays occurred which 

 now seem incredible. 



The town councils of Uxbridge and Gravesend 

 would certainly have something to the purpose to say 

 at St. Martin's-le-Grand, at Westminster, and in 

 the daily press, if letters written at the former town 

 after post-time on Friday night were not, in the 

 ordinary course nowadays, delivered earlier than 

 Tuesday morning at the latter town. 



Li any case, a through letter, which came into 

 London in the early morning, lay there until night, 

 so the third day was reached before it could be 

 delivered. As the forward letters were as much as a 

 fifth of the total number of chargeable general post 



