358 THE COACHING AGE. 



there until the up-coach from Birmingliam arrived in 

 the evening, when he drove it up to London, had a 

 long day on his hands at the quiet little place where 

 there was nothing either to occupy or amuse him. 

 How were the many hours he would have to remain 

 waiting for the up-coach to be disposed of ? 



The place being a great thoroughfare on the road 

 to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester, 

 Nottingham, Sheffield, etc., the mails to those places, 

 with many other coaches, changed horses there, and 

 it might be called a depot for horses and horse- 

 keepers, consequently the inhabitants consisted 

 chiefly of publicans, and a few small shopkeepers 

 and tradesmen. Many other coachmen stopped 

 there, but none so long as himself, as the coach he 

 drove was the first down in the morning, and the 

 last up at night, and at first he felt the vacant time 

 a great inconvenience. Eventually, however, he got 

 over this, as it happened that he made some acquaint- 

 ances in the neighbourhood, and amongst them a 

 farmer who was one of Lord Verulam's tenants. 

 From this person he received an invitation to dinner, 

 which he accepted, and we give his own account of 

 how the day was spent. After the cloth was re- 

 moved the bottle was circulated, and he failed to 

 perceive that the good old port, of which his host 

 was by no means sparing, was likely to make an 



