370 THE COACHING AGE. 



increased as the evening advanced, and tlie coacli 

 entered the Bere Forest. The coachman's atten- 

 tibn being diverted by the continual conversation 

 of his box passenger, all at once he found the coach 

 off its balance on his side, and to restore it he whipped 

 the off-wheel horse, when he heard, as he described it, 

 a noise like the report of a cannon, and found himself 

 on his back in the road. He jumped up in an 

 instant, and soon sufficiently recovered his senses to 

 find that he was not hurt, but the coach was upset. 



There were four young ladies inside, all of one 

 party, sound asleep when the accident occurred, 

 and they innocently asked what was the matter; 

 not, however, in the language of the Quaker, who, 

 under somewhat similar circumstances, wishing to 

 know if anything was wrong with the harness, 

 inquired : ' Aileth the leather conveniency any- 

 thing V 



After extricating the ladies, and getting the horses 

 disentangled, three of them were left in charge of 

 the box passenger who had unwittingly caused the 

 mishap, while the coachman went off on the fourth 

 to procure assistance, which he obtained at a place 

 about a mile and a half distant, and returned to the 

 scene of the accident with three or four labourers and 

 a strong cart-rope, to find, however, that the coach 

 had been got up again, and the ladies were inside, 



