COACH PROPRIETORS. 147 



gentleman one night not long before ; and the Man- 

 chester mail, some time previously, having almost 

 destroyed three or four people. He was a Istrge pro- 

 prietor ; his coaches went almost everywhere, and he 

 had 200 horses standing at Barnet in the year 1827. 

 He had the Chester mail, and went to Charing Cross 

 in 1812 ; but in 1835 B. W. Home succeeded him. 



Home had some fast coaches engaged in his trade, 

 as the Bedford ' Times,' a noted coach ; the ' Inde- 

 pendent Tally-Ho,' one of the three running in that 

 name from London to Birmingham ; and the ' Nimrod,' 

 in opposition to the Shrewsbury ' Wonder,' which 

 must necessarily have been fast to keep either in 

 front of, or anywhere near its rival. 



Home had the foresight, like Chaplin, to realize 

 at an early period the fact that railways would 

 entirely supersede coach travelling ; and accordingly, 

 with Chaplin, he threw his connection and interest 

 into the London and Birmingham Railway, and hence 

 arose the firm of Chaplin and Home. 



It was alleged that the coaches between London 

 and Birmingham were bought oflf by the Railway 

 Company ; but this Mr. Glyn most distinctly denied, 

 and said that he wondered how such a report could 

 have originated. 



In all probability, joining the London and Bir- 

 mingham line at once secured for Chaplin and Home 



10—2 



