1824-33 ON THE MANCHESTER COACH 47 



there should be a vacancy, for the Worcester 

 coach had to carry us on to Manchester ; how- 

 ever, it was full inside, so I was compelled to 

 mount the box. The rain slackened about four 

 in the morning. I was " nid-nid-noddin'," and saw 

 all manner of odd things in the road — thought I 

 saw you sitting on the off leader's crupper, and 

 nearly bolted forwards in an attempt to shake 

 hands ; when I recovered myself, you were 

 gone and the leaders were making towards the 

 parapet of a small bridge. I punched coachee in 

 the ribs, and seized hold of the reins ; he woke up 

 just in time to back us into the middle of the 

 road, but got to nodding again as soon as he 

 cleared the bridge, so that I was kept effectually 

 aw T ake for the rest of the stage when daylight 

 fairly broke upon us. The thick white masses 

 of cloud rolled sullenly off, scattering a few drops 

 as they passed over us ; but at length the sun 

 struggled upwards and shone out upon us all day. 

 At eleven o'clock in the morning I reached 

 Manchester, at six in the evening Lancaster. 

 The approach to the town was rendered very 

 beautiful by the clearness of the atmosphere, and 

 the evening sun gilding the turrets of the old 

 castle.' 



After his return to London his mother writes : 

 ' I have, my dear lad, read your Catalogue quite 

 through, Latin and English, and have had the 

 pleasure of seeing your name in a philosophical 



