GEORGE THE THIRD 275 



number hanged in Dorsetshire amounted to seventy- 

 four.' 



It is a relief to turn from such thino-s to the less 

 tragical coaching era. The ' King's Arms/ which was 

 formerly the great coaching hostelry of Dorchester, 

 still keeps pride of place here, and its capacious bay- 

 windows of old-fashioned design yet look down upon 

 the chief street. Instead, however, of the kings and 

 princes and the great ones of the earth who used to 

 be driven ujd in fine style in their ' chariots ' a 

 hundred years ago, and in place of the weary coach- 

 travellers who used to alight at the hospitable doors 

 of the ' King's Arms,' the commercial travellers of 

 to-day are deposited here by the hotel omnibus from 

 the railway station with little or no remains of that 

 pomp and circumstance which accompanied arrivals in 

 the olden time. Kino; Georoe the Third was well 

 acquainted with this capacious house, for his horses 

 were changed here on his numerous journeys through 

 Dorchester between London, Windsor, and Weymouth. 

 He kept a commonplace Court in the summer at 

 Weymouth for many years, and thus made the fortune 

 of that town, Avhile his son, the Prince of Wales, was 

 similarly making Brighthelmstone popular. If we 

 are to believe the story of the Duchesse d'Abrantes, 

 Napoleon had conceived the very theatrical idea of 

 kidnapping the King on one of these journeys. The 

 exploit was planned for execution in the wild and 

 lonely country between Dorchester and AVeymouth ; 

 possibly beneath the grim shadow of sullen Maums- 

 bury, or of prehistoric Maiden Castle. The King and 

 his escort were to have been surprised by a party 



