GENERAL. 419 



coach and four horses round, a piece of coachman- 

 ship which I used in those early days to think a great 

 feat and admire immensely. 



Very likely parcels and articles of considerable 

 value were often left in coaches and chaises, or 

 dropped from them in the course of their journeys 

 along the road, falling into the hands of the profes- 

 sional tramp or other wayfarer, or at times left 

 at the coach-offices, forgotten, and never claimed ; as 

 is the case now in numerous instances, if we may 

 judge by the number of things of various descriptions 

 left at the railway cloak-rooms, and subsequently 

 disposed of at periodical sales. 



In the generality of cases the booking-offices for 

 the coaches had no superfluous room for stowing 

 away luggage and other things, there being barely 

 accommodation for all the parcels and goods conveyed 

 by the coaches each day and night. 



One use which was made pf the old worn-out 

 coach-horses on the Dover road, was to work them in 

 teams of four in the fish-carts, which were really 

 light waggons, driven by a post-boy or some such 

 individual, and carrying from Folkestone and Dover 

 to London the fish sold by the boatload by auction 

 on the beach as the boats came in. Probably the 

 old coach-horses and posters had occasionally a 

 hard journey, the road being so hilly that it is 



27—2 



