GENERAL. 411 



His future partner must have been somewhat of 

 the same character, I should imagine, as the elder 

 Mrs. Weller, as the landlord of the inn where the 

 ' Telegraph ' stopped said : 



' She'll upset the coach. Bishop.' ■ t* 



' No, sir ; I shall put her in near-wheeler, and 

 double-thong her,' said Bishop. 



I am unable to relate how far the double-thonging 

 was called into requisition, or whether the experience 

 of Mr. Bishop at all coincided with that of Mr. 

 Weller. Under any circumstances, I guess the 

 ceremony" of going away to spend the honeymoon 

 must have been dispensed with, bearing in mind the 

 bridegroom's anxiety to be ready as usual to load the 

 up-coach. 



Several porters formed a necessary portion of a 

 large London coach - proprietor's staff, and had a 

 tolerably busy time of it in the early morning or 

 evening. 



In the morning there were all the parcels which had 

 arrived on the previous evening by the day-coaches, 

 together with all those which had come in by the 

 night-coaches and mails, to be sorted, and put into 

 the several carts taking different districts in town, 

 and delivering the parcels. Each of these carts 

 required two men — one to drive and take care of the 

 parcels, while the other got out and delivered them 



