THE COACHING AGE 29 



the consideration of the Devon and Somerset roads, 

 over which this top-heavy load had to be carried at 

 twelve miles an hour, it will not seem strange that 

 accidents should have occurred. Not that the roads 

 were bad. Thej, thanks to M'Adam, were good, 

 hard, and smooth, but the hills were numerous and 

 steep. 



' The whole of the service was well done and admir- 

 able, and the drivers of such a coach were masters of 

 their profession. Work hard, but remuneration good. 

 There were fewer passengers by the mail to " remem- 

 ber" the coachman, but it was more uniformly full, 

 and somewhat more was expected from a traveller by 

 the mail. It was a splendid thing to see the beauti- 

 ful teams o-oino- over their short stao;e at twelve miles 

 an hour. None but good cattle in first-rate condition 

 could do the work. A saying of old Mrs. Mountain, 

 for many years the well-known proprietress of one of 

 the large coaching inns in London, used to be quoted 

 as having been addressed by her to one of her 

 drivers: "You find whip-cord, John, and I'll find 

 oats." And, as it used to be said, the measure of the 

 corn supplied to a coach-horse was — his stomach ! 



' It was a pretty sight to see the changing of the 

 horses. There stood the fresh team, two on the ofi' 

 side, two on the near side, and the coach was drawn 

 up with the utmost exactitude between them. Four 

 ostlers jump to the splinter-bars and loose the traces ; 

 the reins have already been thrown down. The 

 driver retains his seat, and, within the minute (more 

 than once, within fifty seconds by the watch) the 

 coach is again on its onward journey. 



