30 THE EXETER ROAD 



'Then how welcome was breakfast at an excellent 

 old-world country inn — twenty minutes allowed. 

 The hot tea, after your night's drive, the fresh cream, 

 butter, eggs, hot toast, and cold beef, and then, with 

 your cigar alight, back to the box and off again. 



' I once witnessed on that road — not quite that 

 road, for the " Quicksilver" took a somewhat different 

 line — the stage of four miles between Ilchester and 

 Ilminster done in twenty minutes, and a trace broken 

 and mended on the road. The mendino- was effected 

 by the guard almost before the coach stopped. It is 

 a level bit of road, four miles only for the entire stage, 

 and was performed at a full gallop. That was done 

 by a coach called the " Telegraph," started some years 

 after the " Quicksilver," to do the distance between 

 Exeter and London in one day. AYe started at 

 5 A.M. from Exeter and reached London between 

 9 and 10 that night, with time for breakfast and 

 dinner on the road. I think the performance of the 

 Exeter " Telegraph " was the ne plus ultra of coach- 

 travelling. One man drove fifty miles, and then 

 meeting the other coach on the road, changed from 

 one box to another and drove the fifty miles back. 

 It was tremendously hard work. " Not much work 

 for the whip arm ? " I asked a coachman. " Not 

 much, sir ; but just put your hand on my left arm." 

 The muscle was swollen to its utmost, and as hard as 

 iron. Many people who have not tried it think it 

 easier work to drive such a coach and such a team as 

 this than to have to flog a dull team up to eight miles 

 an hour.' 



Thomas Adolphus Trollope's reminiscences may be 



