NO HORSES, NO COACHMAN. 185 



accidents of diflferent kinds, as break-downs and 

 up-sets, also from floods or deep snows, but I do not 

 know of more than one coach having to stop in the 

 night in a large town on one of the principal roads 

 from London for want of a coachman. 



The occasion to which I refer happened on the 

 London and Bristol road, on which a night-coach 

 called the ' Monarch ' ran, and would reach Eeading 

 about two o'clock in the morning. Here the coach- 

 man was — or, as I have heard it insinuated, pretended 

 to be — taken iU, and unable to proceed with the coach. 



Here was a pretty dilemma : a coach-load of pas- 

 sengers, and with luggage well piled up on the roof, 

 was standing in the street with the horses ready to go 

 on, but no one to drive them ! 



Sometimes the guards could drive ; in such cases 

 there was little difficulty in getting them temporarily 

 to fill the coachman's place. But it happened that 

 on this occasion the guard was not competent to 

 undertake the duty, and questions began to be asked 

 as to how and when the coach was to get on, when 

 some one connected with the inn, probably the boots, 

 said there was a young man staying there who was 

 very fond of driving, and sometimes drove some of 

 the coaches ; and it was suggested that he might be 

 roused up, and asked to undertake to drive the 

 coach up to London. No one being able to propose 



