EARLY DAYS OF RAILWAYS. 447 



between the companies and the Postmaster-General 

 for conveyance of the mails ait a speed not approximat- 

 ing the present rate, but more than double that 

 of the road-mails. 



The mail-bags taken out of London nightly by 

 any one of the principal railways exceed probably in 

 bulk all that used to be carried by the six-and-twenty 

 mail-coaches which left London every night. 



Seeing how little idea the most talented amongst 

 the engineers had of the capabilities of railways, 

 especially as to speed, it is not surprising to find 

 that in their calculations of the expenses of railway 

 construction they were equally wide of the mark ; 

 even Stephenson and Brunei were said to have 

 expended 140 and 150 per cent, more than their 

 estimates. 



The mania for making railways was certainly 

 something extraordinary; no scheme seemed absurd 

 or preposterous enough to prevent persons from 

 eagerly seeking to obtain letters of allotment of shares, 

 directly the prospectus was published. With many 

 the issuing of the prospectus, shortly afterwards fol- 

 lowed by the promoters seeking a change of air in 

 foreign climates, was the extent to which they pro- 

 ceeded. One in particular, which ended in this 

 manner, was a scheme which contemplated combining 

 the advantages of steam-locomotive travelling with 



