It is easier to destroy than to build up, and I only hope that, after the same length of trial, it may not be found that it would have been wiser if we had remained contented with the old form of county government, which had done its work so well for a great number of years.
Since the above was penned the South Wales Turnpike Act has expired, thereby saddling £25,000 a year upon those who do not use the roads, instead of upon those who do. Where is Rebecca now?
I had intended to conclude my remarks on the subject of the mail coaches, but have been induced to invest in another chapter by an ingenious proposal which was brought to the notice of the Postmaster-General in the year 1807. If it led to no results, at any rate it shows that there were those who took a keen interest in the subject.
The Rev. W. Milton, Rector of Heckfield, Hartford Bridge—the same reverend gentleman whose acquaintance we have previously made as the advocate of broad wheels—invented a coach, which he claimed would prevent overturns and breakdowns. The body of it was this shape, which I give as it appears in the minutes on the subject, still preserved at the General Post-Office. It is certainly singularly deficient in graceful curves, and I can only suppose that it is meant to indicate the manner in which the luggage box was placed. At any rate, we are told that the coach was so constructed that nearly all the luggage was carried in a box below the body of the carriage, which was not highergeometric shapethan usual; but the appearance of the coach was deemed heavy, and as the load was low, it was thought that the draught would be heavier than the coaches then in use. Many coaches which loaded heavily with luggage were already furnished with a receptacle for it denominated the "slide," which was fixed under the hind axle, and thus, no doubt, did add considerably to the draught; but to remedy this, as we shall see, Mr. Milton makes use of unusually high wheels.
To prevent breakdowns the coach was fitted with idle wheels on each side of the luggage box, with their periphery below the floor, and each as near as was requisite to its respective active wheel. These idle wheels were ready, in case of breakdowns on either side, to catch the falling carriage, and instantly to continue its previous velocity, till the coachman could pull up the horses. The bottom of the luggage box was fourteen inches from the ground, and the idle wheel five or six inches. The following extracts will convey a better idea of the value of the invention. It evidently received a practical trial:—
"Mr. Ward, the coachman, soon found what he might venture, and he took the coach accordingly over such ground as would most assuredly have caused an overturn of any stage-coach with its usual load. This was repeatedly done in the presence of six insides and ten outsides, besides the coachman. Seven parts, perhaps, in ten of the load, which was nearly three tons, lay on the hind wheels. These, by the patentee's directions, were six feet high, and with no dishing, and, as he deemed, sufficiently strong. They did not fail; but it was the opinion of Mr. Thomas Ward, and all the practical men on the spot, that they were not such as could show the principle of safety as to dangerous and side-long ground up to its full extent. As it was, however, any common coach would have gone over at fifty different places during the stage which this coach took without the least symptom of overturning. A linch-pin of one of the hind wheels was taken out. The coach went on, and presently off came the wheel, and down dropped the carriage about seven inches on a small idle wheel, which immediately continued the motion without the least inconvenience to the outside passengers or puzzle to the horses, and the shock was not greater than what was produced by taking over a stone in the night, and, if it had been required, the coach might have been taken five or six miles by means of the idle wheel; and Mr. Thomas Ward very confidently thinks these two circumstances of safety would invariably attend any stage-coach so constructed."
So confident was the reverend patentee that he wrote the following challenge: "I have no fear that either science or practice can effectually controvert the following remark: Supposing, in a stage-coach as at present, that the centre of gravity be four feet above the main axle, and the width on the ground the same in two cases, then the higher the wheels the greater will be the danger of an overturn from an equal cause. It is not so with me, for the higher the wheels the deeper may the luggage box be, so that the antidote follows the growth of the danger; and here, from the full conviction I have of its truth, I wish to offer the following opinion: Let seven or eight parts in ten of the total load be within the hind wheels, and let them be at least six feet high, on horizontal cylindric arms, by this disposition, compared against the present, more than one horse in forty would be saved or spared, for the goodness of the draught would come out even through the intricacy of the medium, the fore-carriage; but in many coaches the door at the middle of the side does not permit so advantageous a hind wheel, and that at the expense just mentioned."
The invention was not accepted by the Postmaster-General, although it was, to some extent, admitted to combine a principle of safety with the celerity required in mail carriages. The cost, however, of such a change in the mail coaches would have been very heavy, which, no doubt, had a good deal to do with its rejection.
The fact, however, is that these inventions were not wanted, clever as they might have been and effective where required. The mail coaches were not called upon to travel over "dangerous and side-long ground," but upon fairly good roads at the worst, for which the coaches, as then constructed, possessed quite sufficient stability, and the idle wheels, however great the security they would have imparted to heavily-loaded stage-coaches, were not required on the mails, where the sustaining power was so great in proportion to the comparatively light loads which they carried, that a broken axle was unknown among them, and it was impossible for a wheel to come off with Mr. Vidler's axle and boxes; and, of course, the idle wheels must have added to the weight.
Although these patent-safety coaches were rejected by the Post-office, they did find favour in one or two quarters. One worked for some time between London and Stroudwater, and several were in use in Reading, as the following certificate will prove:—
"We, the proprietors of the Reading coaches, beg leave thus jointly to inform our friends and the public that we have each of us, during the last five weeks, tried the Rev. W. Milton's patent-safety coach, built by Brown and Day. We are fully persuaded that its draught will be as fair as that of any coach on the road, and have such a conviction of the safety of its principles, that we have no doubt that we shall be induced to put them on as early as shall be convenient to every coach we have."Signed,"Williams & Co., Coachmasters, London and Reading;"E. Edwards, Coachmaster, Reading;"J. Moody, Coachmaster, London."
"We, the proprietors of the Reading coaches, beg leave thus jointly to inform our friends and the public that we have each of us, during the last five weeks, tried the Rev. W. Milton's patent-safety coach, built by Brown and Day. We are fully persuaded that its draught will be as fair as that of any coach on the road, and have such a conviction of the safety of its principles, that we have no doubt that we shall be induced to put them on as early as shall be convenient to every coach we have.
"Signed,
"Williams & Co., Coachmasters, London and Reading;"E. Edwards, Coachmaster, Reading;"J. Moody, Coachmaster, London."
It is very disappointing that no drawing appears to have been preserved showing what these coaches looked like when they stood up upon their wheels; but evidently the patent parts were capable of being applied to the ordinary coaches, as is proved by the following portion of an advertisement:—
"Any particulars regarding these coaches and the application of the principles of it to stage-coaches at present in use may be had by applying to Brown and Day, Coachmakers, Reading." And again they say, "The safety of the plan depends upon the union of the two principles. The same charge will be made for the application of the luggage box or idle wheels, where either may be required separately, as for the two together."
The Postmaster-General appears to have been fortunate in the number of his counsellors, but, judging by the following suggestion, it would have required a very great multitude to produce wisdom. Indeed, a more objectionable change could hardly have been thought of.
By a memorandum at the General Post-Office, it appears that in February, 1831, the Rev. W. C. Fenton, of Doncaster, made a suggestion that postilions should be substituted for the coachmen. The suggestion was rejected, as it was considered that the change of postilions would necessarily be much more frequent than the change of coachmen, and therefore the chances of delays would be greatly multiplied. It was also thought that, were such a mode of driving adopted, it would be the means of raising the fares, and the mails would again require support. Many of the coachmen drove from forty to fifty miles without a change. The Postmaster-General, Duke of Richmond, considered the horses had enough to do without carrying additional weight.
The horses would not only have had the weight of an extra man to share among them, but they would have had to carry both men in a way best calculated to distress them. The easiest way for a horse to move a weight is by his draught, the worst when placed upon his back.
Then again there was the difficulty of who was to pay the postilions. They must have been changed at every stage, and I should think the passengers, although in those days pretty well accustomed to giving fees of one sort or another, would have objected to beingkickedby two postboys at the end of every stage.
I can fancy I hear one of the uninitiated exclaim, "I should think they would object to such treatment as that at any time," but, in the language of the road, the wordkickinghad no brutal signification attached to it—it only meant asking the passengers for their fees, and the wordshellingwas often used to express the same process in less objectionable language. The word was understood something in the way that an Irishman uses the wordkilt, which the following anecdote will explain:—
An English gentleman had rented some shooting in Ireland, and had gone over to enjoy the sport. On the morning after his arrival, having engaged a lot of boys to beat for him, he started off to look for game, but before he had gone very far, after firing a shot, he heard a great commotion and chatter among the boys. Thereupon he called out to them to ask if anything was the matter, to which the answer he received was, "Nothing your 'anour,' only you've kilt a boy." I need hardly say, that, being a stranger to the country, he was very much alarmed till he reached the spot where the boys were assembled, when he discovered, to his infinite relief, that the word "kilt" conveyed no mortal signification in that country.
I will venture to give a few more instances of the propositions made to the Postmaster-General. Some were certainly ingenious, but he very wisely could not be induced to give up a system which had been well proved, for what at the best, and however clever in itself, was untried.
On September 14th, 1816, Mr. Peter M'Kenzie of Paddington offered to construct a steam engine to run on rails at the rate of fifteen miles an hour. He asserted that the mountains of Wales or any other part of the United Kingdom would not impede its velocity. To enable him to build a small model he asked that a hundred and fifty or two hundred pounds might be advanced to him. As may be supposed this was refused him, and the plan was abandoned. This gentleman also claimed that in 1802 the idea of printing newspapers by steam first originated with him.
Mr. John England, writing from Aberdeen in August, 1820, wants the department to adopt a travelling carriage or machine, which was impelled by means of the expansion and contraction of compound fluids. The machine was stated to weigh about 90 lbs. The plan was not entertained. Again, in the year 1832 the same person submitted an improved machine worked on the same principle, but, as may be imagined, it met with no better result than the first.
In the next suggestion we appear to be approaching the present railway system, but I should suppose that he intended laying his rails by the side of the turnpike roads.
Mr. Thomas Gray, writing from Brussels in November, 1821, suggests steam coaches on iron rails. In support of it, he stated that the journey to Edinburgh would be done in half the time taken by the mail coaches, and that the expense of laying the iron rails would be more than covered by the extra passengers that could be carried in the additional coaches which could be run.
This also met with a cold reception, and no doubt appeared at the time to be simply speculative, yet the light of time compels us to take a different view, and to recognize in it the germs of a great invention.
Mr. James Rondeen, of Lambeth, on June 3rd, 1823, submitted a scheme to convey the mails by engines consuming their own smoke, of four or six-horse power, which would cost from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds each, and impel a coach at the rate of from fifteen to twenty miles an hour. He estimated that there were two hundred and eighty coaches running daily from London and on the cross roads, the work of which, if his scheme was adopted, would be performed by eighty-two engines. This scheme was considered an extraordinary one, but the condition of its acceptance imposed by the inventor could not be complied with.
I should gather from what is said here, that Mr. Rondeen's plan was of the nature of a traction engine to run upon the existing turnpike roads, and, if I am right, the Postmaster-General of that day had a better opinion of that mode of progression than of the system of rails. No doubt, several descriptions of traction engines were tried, but none succeeded, and I have heard of surveyors of turnpike roads laying such extra thick coverings of stone on the roads as to clog the engine wheels; but however this may be, experience has proved that they are not capable of much pace, however useful they may be found for slow traffic.
A Mr. Knight, in January, 1822, suggested an elevated road or railway. The carriage was to be slung from the road on rails above, and two men, suspended in it at the bottom, would turn machinery to propel it along the groove or railway. After the idea had been talked over by Mr. Knight with the head of the mail coach department, the latter was satisfied that it would be of no use to the Post-office.
A Mr. Elmes of Regent Street, in October, 1823, offered to convey the mails to any part of the United Kingdom at the rate of from fifteen to seventeen miles an hour, by means of a mechanical carriage, which could be worked by horses or not. He stated that his contrivance would reduce the cost of conveyance to about a quarter of that then incurred. It need hardly be said that this proposal was too indefinite to be entertained.
On the 25th of November, 1826, a Mr. Thorold, of Great Milton, Norfolk, suggested the application of steam to mail coaches for propelling them on turnpike roads. This plan appears to have been considered feasible, as it is recorded that the plan was not adopted, as it was considered best to wait until the idea wasseenin practice.
On April 27, 1826, a Mr. Cadogan Williams submitted a plan for the rapid conveyance of mails by means of tubes. The outline of his plan was this: That a square of cast-iron or brick be laid from one stage to another, with its extremities communicating with vaults of sufficient magnitude for the purpose; one vault having an air-evaporating apparatus, and the other a condensing, such as is used to blow iron furnaces worked by steam power. At the neck of the tube joining the condensing apparatus should be two stoppers, on the principle of those that are used in beer cocks. Between the stoppers should be a door for putting in the box of letters. On closing it the stoppers should be turned, and the condensed air would exert itself in the box and produce its rapid movement. This was certainly very ingenious, if somewhat complicated. At any rate, he was informed that his plan was not applicable to the purposes of the department.
And now comes a really wonderful proposal. A Mr. Slade, on May 14, 1827, offered to convey the mails at the rate of a mile a minute; but he appears not to have been of a very communicative disposition, as he did not state by what means this very high rate of speed was to be obtained, but he estimated the cost for carrying out his plan at two thousand pounds a mile. As may be supposed, this was considered too visionary and costly to be enquired into further.
And now I have got what I think will raise a smile. It will hardly be believed, but so it was, that a Royal Engineer—an officer, I suppose—suggested that the mails should be conveyed by means of shells and cannon. His idea was to enclose the letters in shells and then fire them to the next stage, three miles distant, and then to the next stage, and so on to the end of the journey. He said a good bombardier could drop the shell within a few feet of the spot where the next one was stationed.
As early as the year 1811 a trial was made of a drag, or break, apparently a good deal resembling the breaks now so generally applied to wheels. In that year a drag, as it was then called, was introduced by a Mr. Simpson to the Post-office authorities, and was tried on the Brighton and Worcester mails; but the advantages claimed for it by the patentee were not borne out in practice. The advantages claimed were that in case of the reins or pole breaking, or horses running away, the drag could be at once applied by the guard without leaving his seat, as it was put in action by a lever or shaft affixed to the body of the coach, and worked by hand. It does not appear, however, to have possessed sufficient attractions for it to be brought into general use, as nothing more is heard of it. In the year 1811 I don't suppose there was much to be feared from horses running away!
Before quite taking leave of science I will venture to touch upon a subject which, if not exactly science, is nearly related to it. At any rate, it can only be solved, if at all, through the medium of science. I can fancy I hear some votary of science exclaim with some indignation, "What is this doughty question which is to puzzle science?" To this I can only answer that if science has or can solve it satisfactorily, I humbly beg its pardon for doubting its powers. Well, the subject I am raising is expressed by the wordTraction. Traction, I mean, as connected with pace. What is the difference in power required to move a given load at ten miles an hour and at five miles an hour? I have somewhere seen it argued as if it was the same, and that therefore the horses must suffer greatly over the latter part of a stage, supposing that their powers were less and the weight to be drawn remained the same. Of course, the weight does in one sense continue the same, but every coachman who has had any experience in driving will have observed how much longer time it requires to pull up a coach going at a high speed than one at a slow pace; which of itself proves that after the coach is once set in motion and has acquired a fast pace, the exertion required to keep it going is considerably reduced. Without for a moment forgetting the cardinal truth that "it is the pace which kills," it is quite apparent that the disease and the remedy, to some extent at least, travel together. Another fact which can be attested by all old stage coachmen, and which goes strongly to prove how much reduced the draught is by pace, is that four light horses can get a load up a steep pitch at a gallop which they would be quite incapable of surmounting at a walk.
Then there is another item which adds to the complexity, which is this—that the greater the weight, the longer the time required for pulling up. It would seem, therefore, as if a heavy weight, to a certain extent, assisted its own propulsion. The same circumstances are observed on the railways, and, probably, from the hardness of the metal on which their wheels run, it is still more apparent than on a road. I was once travelling for a short distance upon a locomotive engine without a train behind it, and upon asking the driver how long it would take to bring his engine to a standstill, he said, "I could stop it almost immediately now, but it would be very different with a long train behind her." Probably there are few coachmen who have driven any great number, of miles through whose brain this question has never trotted, but without arriving at any solution of it. At any rate, I confess my own ignorance, and only throw down the question at the feet of science after the custom of the ages of chivalry, when the herald threw down the gauntlet into the midst of the assembled knights, to be picked up by the best man.
The following narrative will convey some idea of the force of velocity which appertains to the wheels of a coach travelling at a high speed:—
As the "Mazeppa" coach was proceeding on her journey from Monmouth to Gloucester, when descending a hill about three miles from the former place at a fast pace, the tire of the near hind wheel came off, and the impetus was so great that it caused it to pass the coach and run on for nearly half a mile, thus proving that the power required to draw a carriage when it has attained much speed must be very much diminished. It only requires to be kept moving.
Many guards on the day coaches carried key bugles, on which some of them were able to play exceedingly well, and helped to while away many a half hour on the journey; but on the mails and night coaches, the former especially, straight horns were employed. Formerly these were all made of tin, hence the "yard of tin," but in later years a good many copper or brass ones came into use, and a few, in quite late years, adopted a twisted horn without keys, much like the infantry field bugle used in the army.
OBSTRUCTION ON THE BRIDGEJ. Sturgess del. et lith.M&N. Hanhart imp.OBSTRUCTION ON THE BRIDGE.
J. Sturgess del. et lith.M&N. Hanhart imp.OBSTRUCTION ON THE BRIDGE.
J. Sturgess del. et lith.M&N. Hanhart imp.OBSTRUCTION ON THE BRIDGE.
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OBSTRUCTION ON THE BRIDGE.
These horns, of whichever sort, were generally efficacious in warning carts, carriages, or other vehicles to get out of the way, but were of little avail against the worst obstruction met with on the roads. At that time all the sheep, cattle and pigs which travelled from one part of the country to another were obliged to make use of the highways, and though the drovers were possessed of marvellous skill in avoiding the turnpike roads on account of the tolls, nevertheless large droves and flocks were not unfrequently met with, and were the cause of considerable delay, and also sometimes of altercation. I was once forcing my way through a large drove of cattle, rather more unceremoniously than the drover approved of, when he threw his heavy stick at my head, and only narrowly missed it; and here perhaps it will not be out of place to introduce a few cases which exhibit the danger incurred by coaches from the presence of cattle and sheep, whether in droves and flocks or straying on the roads.
On November 7th, 1789, the Preston and Carlisle mail, after changing horses at Garstang, when about three miles on the road to Preston, in crossing a bridge over the Lancaster and Preston canal, encountered some drove cattle in the road, when the coach was coming down the bridge, which is a declivity, and the coachman pulled his horses too much to the off-side of the road to avoid the cattle, and the off wheels ran up the bank and upset the coach. Nobody seems to have been injured.
A curious accident happened to the Devonport mailen routeto Bath, on November 7th, 1839. The guard's report says: "A short distance from New House, a bullock straying on the road became frightened at the light of the lamps, and attempted to leap the hedge, but falling back against the leaders, the horses all sprung across the road, and running the coach into the hedge, threw the coachman off the box, and the wheels passed over him." He, the guard, then proceeds to say that he only lost one hour and a half's time, but gives no account of what became of the coachman. His whole thoughts appear to have been concentrated on his business, and he reminds one of the anecdote about the trainer and the old woman.
As a string of race-horses were out at exercise one morning, one of them bolted and came into collision with some obstacle which threw him down, seriously injuring him, and killing the lad who was riding him. The unfortunate lad was soon removed, and the trainer was lamenting over the horse when he was accosted by an old woman, who happened to be passing by at the time, and began to condole with him on the accident. He replied, "Ah! it is a bad job, indeed, I am afraid he will never be able to run for another race;" but, says she, "How's the poor boy?" "Oh! drat the boy, he's dead," was the answer.
Sheep were sometimes the cause of accidents. On January 10th, 1840, when the London and Hull mail was within a mile of Peterborough, the horses shied at a flock of sheep, and ran the coach into a ditch six feet deep, overturning it, and causing three hours' loss of time.
And now, having indulged in a stave on the guards' horns, perhaps the coachmen's whips may feel themselves neglected if I have no word to say about them, and on this subject it must be admitted that rather different opinions prevailed.Tot homines tot sententiæ.Some preferred, I think most professionals did, a stiff crop and a light thong, but others, especially amateurs, were in favour of a supple stick with a heavier thong. The latter are no doubt easier to manage in a high wind, and can also be caught up with greater facility; but, in my humble opinion, the former are far preferable for general use, a supple stick and a heavy thong being insufferable in wet weather.
In the selection of a whip it is easy to observe whether the person selecting is an old hand or not. If he is he will pick out a crop without knots, or with as few as possible, whereas the tyro is nearly sure to take the knotty one. The large knots, of course, tend to keep the thong, when caught, from slipping down towards the hand, but it ought to be caught tight enough to stay in its proper place without them, and sticks always break first at the knots.
Some people are now in favour of long crops. I fancy a cricketer might as well demand a bat of extra length. In old days W. and T. Ward, who were by odds the best whipmakers, never thought of turning out whips with crops of greater length than five feet two or three inches to the holder, and most were not quite so long. Beyond this length it becomes almost impossible to obtain a good balance. A very long stick must be top heavy, and I will defy anyone to use a long top heavy whip as effectually as one that is of a more handy length.
Even when the cattle were good, and but little whip was required, thongs soon became rotten from the sweat of the horses and the rain, and to avoid the frequent necessity for new ones, what were called "three quarters and middles" were made, which coachmen were generally able to splice on for themselves. Thongs also wear out more quickly if they are not kept supple, for which purpose a dressing of two-thirds hog's lard and one-third bees wax will be found very efficacious.
I have endeavoured to show in a previous chapter, on the subject of coachmen, with what rapidity the carrying business of the country increased and multiplied, but, perhaps, this may be better elucidated by taking some particular road and district, and devoting a separate chapter to the subject; and probably no better road can be selected for this purpose than that from London to Holyhead, which, judging from the amount of money and care expended upon it, one may naturally conclude was better adapted for great speed than any other, and this, I believe, really was the case. Some particular portions of other roads might have been better—for instance, the Hartford Bridge flats—and as great, or possibly still greater pace accomplished; but for the distance over which this road extended, no other could vie with it; and I will venture to say, that on no other were an equal average number of miles of fast work performed; and we must recollect that it is one thing to go very fast for a short distance, but another to keep that pace up for the distance of from one hundred miles and upwards. Well, then, if we take this road, and make Birmingham, the most important town on the road, a sort of centre of a district, we shall obtain a pretty good insight into the subject.
The metropolis of the Midlands has always been celebrated for its public spirit, and it has nowhere been made more conspicuous than in the way it met the demand for good coaches.
In the year 1823, I find there were twenty-three coaches advertised inAris's Gazette(which was the principal medium of advertisement at that time in the Midlands) to run out of Birmingham to all parts of the country, though no doubt there were others, for it would appear that some inns, from which coaches ran, did not avail themselves of that medium of publicity. Probably, therefore, after making all allowances, we shall not err much in putting the total number at thirty.
Four years later, in 1827, the number of those advertised had risen to no less than thirty-eight, and making the same allowance for those not advertised, the total can hardly be placed at less than forty-five, an increase of fifteen in four years. From this time the number was steadily added to, till by the year 1835, which may be called the culminating point (making allowances for those not advertised, of which three occur to my memory at once—namely, the "Rocket" night, and "Triumph" day coaches, through Oxford and Henley to London, and the "Erin-go-bragh" from Liverpool, driven by Tolly, all three horsed by Mr. Waddle from the "Hen and Chickens," in New Street), there must have been at least sixty. During these years also the pace had not been neglected, as several of these new coaches travelled at great speed, and the pace of those of older standing had been increased. In the year 1826, considerable stimulus was given to speed by a great acceleration in the time of the Holyhead mail. About which time the "Union" commenced to perform the journey from Shrewsbury to London, through Birmingham and Oxford, in four hours less time. The "Oxonian" also, over the same ground, was accelerated five hours.
It will tend to exhibit the great keenness with which the competition was carried on, if I here introduce two advertisements which appeared in the newspapers during this period.
In the month of June, 1834, the following advertisement appeared inAris's Gazette:—
"The 'Greyhound,' only carrying passengers and small parcels, leaves Birmingham at a quarter past nine in the evening, arriving in London at a quarter to eight on the following morning. This coach has an imperial on the roof to prevent luggage being placed there, and passengers' luggage must be sent to the office in time to be forwarded by the 'Economist.'"
An attempt was at one time made to light this coach with gas, but the practice was, I believe, discontinued. Unless it proved of very great benefit in the power of light, it had certainly one great drawback, which was that the necessary apparatus occupied the whole front boot, causing that receptacle to be altogether useless for the carriage of parcels.
Again, in July, 1835, the following advertisement appeared in theShrewsbury Chronicle:—
"Isaac Taylor, ever grateful for the distinguished support he has received from the public, announces a new and elegant fast day coach to London, called the 'Stag,' every morning at a quarter before five, arriving at the 'Bull and Mouth,' opposite the General Post-Office, at seven the same evening. I. T. has been induced to commence running the 'Stag' to prevent the celebrated 'Wonder' being in any way injured by racing, or at all interfered with in the regularity which has been hitherto observed in that coach."
It will be observed here, that the "Stag" was advertised to run the distance of one hundred and fifty-four miles in fourteen hours and a quarter. Whether this pace was really intended to be always maintained may perhaps be doubtful. Probably it depended a good deal on the amount of racing with the "Nimrod," but of this more will be heard presently. For the present, however, we will retrace our steps for a few years, and take a journey or two with the "Tally-hoes," and go more into particulars than has yet been the case.
Previously to the great improvement which I have denoted in the night travelling, a great advance had been established in the day work by the three "Tally-hoes." These coaches were put on the road about the year 1823, and were among the fastest coaches in England. Why all three bore the same name I never heard, and cannot understand, unless it were with the view of intensifying the keenness of the opposition, which, as they were all on the road at the same time, was very great. I suppose, however, that it was found to create inconvenience in practice, as they were soon supplied with distinctive titles—one being designated the "Independent Tally-ho," another the "Eclipse Tally-ho," and the other the "Patent Tally-ho." They were timed at ten miles an hour, but when racing, as was frequently the case, were not particular to a mile or two, and, of course, went much faster. Indeed, on the recurrence of what may be called the coach festival, May 1st, they more than once covered the distance, one hundred and eight miles, under seven hours. The "Independent Tally-ho," started from London from the "Golden Cross," Charing Cross, horsed by Horne as far as Colney, and driven by Andrew Morris to Dunstable, where the box was filled by an old friend of mine, to whom I am indebted for assistance in compiling this book, but whose name I am not at liberty to mention, who also horsed it as far as Stoney Stratford. Out of Birmingham it started from the "Nelson," horsed by Radenhurst, and driven to Daventry and back by Harry Tresslove, who was an excellent waggoner, and always galloped the five-mile stage between Dunchurch and the "Black Dog" in eighteen minutes. The road was straight, hard, and flat, and ran between a splendid avenue of trees—perhaps some of the finest elms in the world—the property of Lord John Scott. The stage was horsed by the landlord of the "Bell," at Dunchurch, who could afford to do the work well, as he reaped the benefit of the coach breakfasting at his house on the up journey, and dining there on the down one.
The "Eclipse Tally-ho" was horsed out of Ludlow on one side by Mrs. Mountain, from the "Saracen's Head," Snow Hill, and consequently sometimes called "Mountain's Tally-ho," and on the other side by Chaplin, from the "Swan with Two Necks," Lad Lane, as far as Colney, and driven by Tom Boyce, who also horsed it over twenty-five miles of the lower ground. It was horsed out of Birmingham by Waddle.
GALLOPED THE FIVE MILE STAGE, IN EIGHTEEN MINUTESJ. Sturgess del. et lith.M&N. Hanhart imp.GALLOPED THE FIVE MILE STAGE, IN EIGHTEEN MINUTES.
J. Sturgess del. et lith.M&N. Hanhart imp.GALLOPED THE FIVE MILE STAGE, IN EIGHTEEN MINUTES.
J. Sturgess del. et lith.M&N. Hanhart imp.GALLOPED THE FIVE MILE STAGE, IN EIGHTEEN MINUTES.
J. Sturgess del. et lith.
M&N. Hanhart imp.
GALLOPED THE FIVE MILE STAGE, IN EIGHTEEN MINUTES.
The "Patent Tally-ho" ran from the "Belle Sauvage," Ludgate Hill, and horsed by Robert Nelson as far as South Mimms, and was driven out of London by old Bob Flack, who also horsed twenty-five miles of the lower ground.
It will be observed that a change had come over coaching, in that the coachmen were covering a good many stages of the lower ground. Probably this arose partly from the innkeepers, now that the opposition had become so exceedingly keen, not caring for the business, and also partly from the great change which had taken place in their social position and character. They were become quite a different class of persons to what they had been a generation before, and, indeed, such might be expected to be the case, as the occupation was one which brought them into contact with gentlemen, and it was entirely their own faults if they derived no benefit from such association. The pace, in consequence of the severe competition, had also become so severe that the old style of coachman, who had been accustomed to take it easy, and stop at most of the roadside inns he passed, and got half-seas over before arriving at the end of the journey, could no longer be employed, and their places had to be filled with an altogether different class of men. Indeed, it was no longer the disgusting work, in which he was most esteemed who could hit the hardest, and had for its supporters only the lower grades of society, but had become one which no gentleman need be ashamed to be occupied in, or have lost his self-respect by embracing; and, doubtless, if coaching had not been supplanted by railways, the press of competition, which is felt by all classes, would have induced more of them to turn their attention to it.
In new countries, such as our colonies, what a man's employment is, so long as it is honest and respectable, goes for little or nothing, provided he is a gentleman in every sense of the word. He may drive a bullock dray in the morning, and associate with theélitein the evening—at least, so it was when I knew Australia a "long time ago," which would appear to be a better system than our own more exclusive one. Probably, however, it would be impossible to carry it out in an old and wealthy country like that in which we live.
The dust kicked up by the Tally-hoes was not long laid in Birmingham before the three Shrewsbury coaches came bustling through the town on their journey to London. Of these the "Wonder" probably had the most world-wide fame of any coach in England. It set the fashion of day coaches running long distances, and was the first ever established to cover much above one hundred miles in a day, the distance from London to Shrewsbury being one hundred and fifty-four; and it was unrivalled in its punctuality. It was horsed by Sherman out of London, from the "Bull and Mouth" to St. Albans, to which place he worked most of his coaches on that road, though he extended the distance in the case of one Birmingham night coach for some time as far as Daventry, a distance of seventy-four miles. Whether this was done because he considered it too good a thing to part with, or that it was so poor a concern that no one would join him in it, I do not know. The "Wonder" was driven out of London by Wood as far as Redbourn, from whence Harry Liley worked till he met John Wilcox, when they both turned back; and between Birmingham to Shrewsbury, Sam Hayward occupied the box. I need hardly say that on such a coach, which was the pride of the road, they were all first-rate artists.
The "Wonder" was allowed to enjoy the fruits of its enterprise, and to go on its way unmolested for several years; but by the year 1830, or thereabouts, its success as a good loading coach tempted opposition, and the "Nimrod" was called into existence. It started from London on alternate days from the "Bull Inn," Holborn, and the "Belle Sauvage," Ludgate Hill, horsed from the former by Horne, and from the latter by R. Nelson, and worked by them, side by side, to Redbourn, and driven by my old friend already mentioned on the "Independent Tally-ho," who drove it to near Stoney Stratford and back, making a drive of one hundred miles a day. On one occasion, in consequence of the up coach being delayed by a broken pole, he was obliged to drive on till he met it below Daventry, which lengthened the day's work to about one hundred and seventy miles without a rest.
This distance is, I think, one of the longest ever driven at one time. Mr. Kenyon has been known to drive the "Wonder" the whole journey from London to Shrewsbury, which is nearly equal; but I fancy it has seldom if ever been exceeded, except by the memorable drive of Captain Barclay, who undertook for a bet to drive two hundred, and won it. But to return to the "Nimrod."
The opposition of these two coaches was, as one would have thought, fierce enough, but it was not sufficient to satisfy the wounded feelings of the "Wonder" proprietors, who were indignant at anyone presuming to oppose the coach of which they were so justly proud. After a few years, therefore, the "Stag" was ushered in by the glowing advertisement I have given in a previous page. It was started to run a little in front of the "Nimrod," which was followed by the "Wonder," and was therefore pretty well nursed. The orders given to the "Nimrod" coachman were, if the "Wonder" pressed to keep first, which caused him of course to run into the "Stag," and then, as may well be imagined, the racing became somewhat exciting, and the "Wonder," we may rely upon it, did not always act up to the pacific course laid down for her in the advertisement, and the result was that the three coaches sometimes arrived all together at the "Peacock" at Islington two hours before time. Perhaps the greatest wonder would have been if a coachman had been found who would not have joined in the fun when it was going on under his eyes.
When the proprietors found they could not kill one another by racing, they tried the suicidal plan of cutting down fares, which were reduced, between London and Birmingham, from two pounds eight shillings inside to thirty shillings, and outside from thirty shillings to one pound. This, coupled with the wear and tear of horse flesh caused by the pace, was, of course, ruinous, and one of them told me that he lost fifteen hundred pounds in a little over twelve months by it. Why an agreement could not have been come to whereby the coaches should have run at different times seems to be a puzzle. One would have supposed that it would have answered better for them to have set out with an hour or two between them, which would have afforded better accommodation to the public. I can only imagine one reason which actuated them, which is, that every traveller would have taken the first coach as long as there was room for him in it, for fear of the others being full, and so the first would have had an undue advantage, and little or nothing might have been left for the last.
There was also another fast night coach between London and Birmingham, called the "Emerald," driven out of the latter place by Harry Lee, whose complexion was of a very peculiar colour, almost resembling that of a bullock's liver, the fruit of strong potations of "early purl" or "dog's nose," taken after the exertions of the night and before going to roost.
Besides all the coaches I have named, the Oxford road was not neglected. The well-known "Tantivy" commenced running over it between Birmingham and London about the year 1832, and must have proved successful, for in 1835 the same proprietors put on another fast day coach, called the "Courier," to start at a quarter before seven in the morning, and precede the old-established coach, which started two hours later.
There was also a third road between the great Metropolis and that of the Midlands which ran through Warwick, Banbury, and Buckingham, and which was traversed by the Birmingham mail, and, if I recollect right, also by a night coach called the "Crown Prince."
It was not, however, on the London roads only that coaches increased and multiplied, for in the year 1834 the "Fairtrader" commenced running to Liverpool, and three other new coaches were advertised in other directions—namely, the "Red Rover" to Brecon, the "Beehive" to Manchester, and the "Criterion" to Chester.
At this time, there was also an exceedingly keen opposition between Birmingham and Derby. One of the coaches was horsed and driven by Captain Baring, and the other was horsed by Stovin and driven by Captain Douglas, who has been already mentioned as piloting the Sheffield mail. He was a most determined fellow, and stood at nothing. Indeed, the animosity between these two Jehus was quite alarming when they encountered one another, and at last became so intense that they resorted to the dangerous expedient of crossing one another, which, on one occasion, caused Douglas to run into Baring's coach, thereby causing a smash and bruising several passengers, but very fortunately none were seriously injured. This is the only instance I ever knew of coachmen driving opposition coaches entertaining a personal animosity for one another.
And now we have arrived at the last coach which was put on the road between London and Birmingham. In the year 1837 a very fast day mail was started to run to Birmingham and to go on to Crewe, where it transferred mails and passengers to the railway for conveyance to Liverpool, and was largely patronised by Irish M.P.'s, as it ran in connection with the packet to the Sister Isle, and booked through. Half a dozen of those notables of the day could frequently be seen travelling by her at one time. It was timed at twelve miles an hour. It was horsed by Sherman of the "Bull and Mouth" out of London, and was driven by H. Liley, who had long experience on the "Wonder" over the lower ground. At Redbourn, he was replaced on the box by my before-mentioned friend as having driven both the "Independent Tally-ho" and afterwards the "Nimrod," and he drove till he met the up coach tooled by Jonathan Morris, when they changed, each one returning to the place from which he started, and it was taken into Birmingham by T. Liley, a brother of Harry. He had previously driven the "Eclipse Tally-ho," and Jonathan Morris had had his experience upon the "Hibernia," already mentioned as running between Liverpool and Cheltenham. He was pitted on that coach against Jordan, who drove the "Hirondelle," and was noted as a "butcher," but was possessed of great strength and had adamantine nerve, and only a first rate practitioner had a chance with him. Jonathan was quite a different class of coachman, and saved his stock as well as the pace and load would allow him, and I have myself seen him trot by Jordan in ascending the Wyle Cop in Shrewsbury, when the latter had nearly flogged his horses to a standstill. Perhaps I should add, in fairness to Jordan, that, though he had a beautiful team, it was composed of light horses, and that the other coach was drawn by horses possessing more size and power for enabling them to get a load up a steep ascent. I have been particular in giving the antecedents of these coachmen, as, of course, they were picked out as especially qualified for the great pace at which this mail was timed, and it was a feather in their caps. Indeed, it may be said that, as at that time the end of coaching was within measurable distance, they represented "the survival of the fittest."
About this time the Postmaster-General started several day mails besides the one just mentioned. There was one on the Brighton road, and one between Birmingham and Shrewsbury, which left the Holyhead road at Shiffnal, and, passing through Ironbridge, joined it again about four miles from Shrewsbury, and probably there were others of which I have no cognizance.
So much has already been written about the Brighton road that, perhaps, it may seem presumptuous in me to re-open the subject, but as I have noticed the Birmingham road, I will venture to dwell very shortly upon the Brighton one, as they may be said to have been the antithesis to each other, much in the same way as now the business of the southern railways differs from that of what are called by way of distinction the heavy lines. No observant person can, I think, arrive in London from the south and drive through town straight to one of the large railway stations in the north, without being struck with the difference of the traffic. So it was in the coaching days; on one road business was paramount, on the other a little time for pleasure could be indulged in. I do not mean to say that they carried on the old practice of throwing away ten minutes or a quarter of an hour at each change of horses; far from it. The work was admirably done, but it had not about it the severe utilitarianism which was the prevailing feature with the other. The horses on the northern road showed, as a rule, more blood, and the coaches gave the idea of their having been built with a view to carrying loads at a high rate of speed. Nothing seemed wanting to ensure pace with safety, whilst, at the same time, there was nothing to lead anyone to suppose for a moment that they were anything but stage coaches.
On the other hand, on the road to the fashionable watering-place, some of the coaches, from the small amount of lettering upon them, and bright pole chains, might at first sight have been mistaken for private drags.
Notwithstanding all this pace, it must not be supposed that a journey by one of those fast coaches on the northern road was a hurried, uncomfortable day's work, with no time to eat a comfortable meal. On the contrary, though only twenty-five minutes were allowed for dinner, so much assistance was generally given in waiters to carve and wait upon the passengers, that a by no means bad dinner could be made in the allotted time; and to show that the food was not otherwise than palatable, I may instance the case of a medical gentleman residing at Brickhill (I think), but, at any rate, in the town where the up "Wonder" dined, who, whenever possible, went in with the passengers and made his dinner with them.
I will now venture on a few circumstances and anecdotes connected with the Brighton road, which may help to portray the differences I have been describing in the two roads; but, before doing so, I should like to remark that anyone writing at this time on the subject is liable to make mistakes, as those coaches in some cases changed hands, as, for instance, at one time the "Age" was the property of and driven by Mr. Stevenson, and at a later period was in the possession of Sir St. Vincent Cotton. Of this coach it has been written by Nimrod that "Mr. Stevenson had arrived at perfection in his art and had introduced the phenomenon of refinement into a stage coach." I never happened to see this coach in his time, but can well remember Sir St. Vincent Cotton on the box of his neat brown coach, with bright pole chains. A friend of mine says, "Well I remember Harry Stevenson, with his beautiful team, starting from the 'White Horse Cellars,' and calling for his box passenger at the United Service Club, and from thence to the 'Elephant and Castle,' the final stop before departure for Brighton, and his guard, George Carrington, who was the essence of neatness and politeness to his passengers."
This coach was for a short time driven by Sackville Gwynne, who ran through all his property, and died in Liverpool, where he was driving a cab.
It would be tedious to enumerate half the coaches, nearly thirty in number, which ran out of Brighton every day, and many of them the best looking turns-out in the kingdom. A few as specimens will suffice. First and foremost came the "Times," starting at seven in the morning, arriving at Charing Cross at twelve, and returning to Brighton at two, driven by Sam Goodman. Bob Brackenbury, a first-rate amateur whip at that time, used to drive from Brighton to Sam Goodman's farm, a distance of eleven miles, and back again in the evening. Then there was the "Dart," another up and down coach, driven by Bob Snow, a first-rate artist. Some may even now remember his rubicund face, which he had just helped to colour with a pint of sherry after his dinner, as he mounted his box like a workman, when returning from the "Spread Eagle," Gracechurch Street, with his faultless drab great-coat, and a bale of white muslin round his neck; and such top boots! The "Elephant and Castle" was his first stopping-place, to meet the West End branch coach; and here he always replenished his inner man with a glass of hot brandy and water with a spoonful of ground ginger in it, as he said, to assist his digestion. After he started from there, it was woe-betide the poor horse that offended him before he reached Reigate, where the "Dart" stopped for dinner, and in those days the city merchants and stockbrokers knew how to take care of themselves. His only opponent was the "Item," driven by Charles Newman, who was always wretchedly horsed, and could not come near him.
Another well known face on this road was that of John Willan, who, after having lost a good fortune on the turf, started the "Arrow," which was also horsed by Horne and Sam Goodman. This coach was mostly supported by theéliteof the sporting world. The turn-out was altogether most unique.
The late Duke of Beaufort had some horses at work on this road at one time. He horsed a coach called the "Quicksilver," and Bob Pointer was the coachman (one of the best waggoners in England). He drove till he met Charley Harker half way, and then turned back. One very fine day the Duke went, as was not unusual, with some friends to see the "Quicksilver" start from the Red Office, and there found our friend Bob, not in the most upright position, just about to take hold of the ribbons from the off-wheeler's back. As soon as his Grace saw how matters stood he took them out of his hands, and drove up till he met the other coach, which he drove back, and after kicking the passengers handed the money to Bob, telling him not to let him see him in that state again. The warning, however, was not attended to for long, for, although the best of coachmen, he was a very wet 'un.
I will now ask the reader to fancy himself for a moment transported by the touch of Columbine's wand into the Midlands, and set down in the fashionable town of Cheltenham, which, fifty years ago, was justly famed for its fast and well-appointed coaches, as well as for its health-giving waters. Though situated far inland it was, like Brighton, very much dependent on the same element for its prosperity, and was frequented by much the same class of people, though the efficacy of the waters at one place depended upon external, and at the other upon internal application. Still they resembled one another in drawing together a society of persons who had little or no occupation except that of either bathing in or drinking the water.
The High Street of Cheltenham presents now a very different aspect to what it did at the time I am writing about, when the seats on the sunny side were occupied by visitors looking at the coaches passing to and fro or turning into the "Plough" yard. It was a sight worth coming for to see those well-horsed coaches. There were, first, the London coaches arriving: the "Magnet," driven by Jemmy Witherington, and the "Berkely Hunt," with Frank Martindale on the box, who was always the pink of neatness—indeed, as he once said to me a good many years afterwards, "You know, I was a bit of a dandy in those days."
Then there was also the London day mail with four greys, running alternately to the "Plough" and "Queen's Hotel," and later on in the day the "Hirondelle," driven by Finch, a rather wet soul, and the "Hibernia," arrived from Liverpool, both of which coaches are incidentally mentioned in another chapter, and were two of the fastest in England. Besides them, there were others running to Bath, Bristol, Leamington, Birmingham, and other places, and by the time all these had been inspected, it was time to think of dinner.
And now, having already made this chapter something of a "fugitive piece," I will, for the second time, make use of the fairy wand, and by one of its miraculous touches translate us back again to the Brighton road, which, being the one on which so many amateurs have become professionals, may be not inappropriately called the border land between them, and, therefore, as rather pointed out for considering the difference between them. Of course, in one sense, the demarcation is as plain as the nose on one's face. The man who drives for pay is a professional, at any rate for a time; but the question I would now raise is not that, but one more likely to prove an apple of discord—I mean what allowance should be made between them in estimating their proficiency in driving. What might be good for one might be decidedly under the mark for the other. To more fully explain my meaning, I will take a strong case. Sir St. Vincent Cotton, as is well known, drove professionally for some years on the Brighton road after having been acknowledged to be a first-rate amateur, and the question is, how soon after taking to the box professionally could he have been expected to pass muster with the professionals? Perhaps some will say that he was quite as good a coachman before as after he took to the bench professionally. No doubt his is a strong case, and I only give it as one in point; but, for myself, I very much doubt whether, even in thosecoachydays, it was possible for a man to get sufficient practice, only as an amateur, to make him equal to one who drove professionally.
Doubtless, among the professionals there were men who never with any amount of practice became good coachmen; but then we must remember that in all classes and conditions of men some are to be found who, from indolence or taking no pride in their work, never even reach mediocrity, whilst others are too conceited to learn; but these were in a small minority, and in driving, as in all other crafts, practice makes perfect. If it confers no other benefit, it must strengthen the muscles, and, no doubt, imparts a handiness, readiness, and resource which nothing else can produce. The difference is, perhaps, oftener to be observed in the whip hand than the rein one. A well-practised professional with a pair of sluggish leaders will make every cut tell, and then bring the thong up to his hand without staring about to see where the wind had blown it to; whereas, it would too often be the case with an amateur that, for want of having had sufficient practice, half his cuts fell flat, and not unfrequently, especially on a windy or wet day, he will get hung up in some part of the harness or in the pole chains, or possibly even round the stock of the wheel.
It is not only in the art of driving that this difference is to be met with, but it extends to huntsmen and jockeys. In neither of these occupations does a gentleman attain to sufficient proficiency to be called more than a good amateur, which implies that he is not equal to a professional, or at any rate to a good one. Now, why is this? Surely not because he was born a gentleman, and is, therefore, disqualified by nature. Still less, because education has unfitted him. No—it is simply because he does not give up his time to it, but only follows it as a recreation. Cricket might, perhaps, at first sight, contradict this rule, but in truth, I believe it only tends to confirm it. The gentlemen are able to hold their own with the players, but then, whilst the cricket season lasts, they work as hard as the professionals.
To come to the point, then, how soon after taking to the bench professionally ought an amateur to cease to claim any indulgence in criticism? I do not, of course, mean a muff, whose natural inaptitude might render him proof against any amount of practice, but one called "a good amateur whip;" and, probably, it would not be erring much to say that a period of from one to two years, with sixty to eighty miles of driving a day, including a fair share of night work, is sufficient to land him at the top of the profession, if thegiftis in him.
Talking of the "gift," reminds me of a conversation which once took place between the late Mr. J. Taylor, who kept the "Lion" yard in Shrewsbury, and the well known "Chester Billy." They had been talking on the subject of driving, and the latter finished it by saying, "Well, master, it is a gift," to which the other replied, "It is, Billy, and it's a pity you never got it." I need hardly say, the old man turned away rather disgusted, and, no doubt, with the firm conviction that his master was no judge.
Perhaps, in opposition to what I have said, I may be directed to some instances where very fine samples of driving have been executed by gentlemen. I will only mention two of them. The first took place in times long ago, and is thus described by Nimrod. "Perhaps one of the finest specimens of good coachmanship was performed by Sir Felix Agar. He made a bet, which he won, that he would drive his own four horses in hand up Grosvenor Place, down the passage into Tattersall's yard, around the pillar which stands in the centre of it, and back again into Grosvenor Place, without either of the horses going at a slower pace than trot." So long a time has expired since this feat was performed, and all spectators have passed away, that it is impossible to criticise it in any way. Many, however, must be still alive who remember the old Tattersall's, and they will be able to appreciate the difficulty of the task.
The other is quite of a recent date, only occurring last summer, and was performed by my friend, Mr. Pryce Hamilton, who was the victor in the obstacle competition. Not having seen this, I am unable to say anything about it, but make no doubt that those who laid out the course did not err on the side of leniency to the coachmen, and that it was a feat of no easy performance. But, then, these things are hardly tests of every day coachmanship. No doubt they require very neat handling of the reins, but, of course, the horses have individually the best of manners, and the teams are as hardy as it is possible to make them; but if the whip had been wanted in Tattersall's yard, perhaps Sir Felix might have lost his bet.
Perhaps, it may be thought by some that the time I have stated is an unnecessarily long apprenticeship. It may be for some, but for myself, I can answer that, whether from natural stupidity or not, it was no more than I required. Driving, if by that is understood a perfect knowledge of the art, is, like most other things, a plant of slow growth, and, to any one who has given much thought and attention to it, it is surprising how long he finds something to learn. For myself, although I had done many hundreds of miles of spare work for different coachmen, and out of different yards, with the approval of the proprietors, I did not find that I had been able to overcome shortcomings and defects, of which I was conscious, till I had driven regularly for three summers, and, perhaps, even then many remained of which I was unconscious.
If there are any who think there is no difference between amateur and professional coachmen, I would ask them why there was not one of the owners of the "Old Times" put up to drive the justly celebrated match instead of Selby?
Though it is rather a singular coincidence that my earliest experiences should be laid in the same neighbourhood as has been more than once mentioned by the late Mr. Birch Reynardson in "Down the Road," if the incidents are different, I suppose it will not signify much if the road is the same.
I have no recollection that we ever did actually drive opposition to one another, but it is not impossible that we may have done so, as I was in the habit of driving the "Royal Oak," which he mentions as running opposition to the "Nettle," on which coach he frequently handled the ribbons. However this may be, I can recollect well that he bore the character of a good, powerful coachman, and I only hope I may be able to approach him at all in my powers of description.
His spirited narratives carry one's thoughts back to scenes of a kindred nature, after a lapse of half a century, nearly as fresh as if it were only yesterday. For, reader, I am another old coachman, having driven one coach ninety-three miles a-day during one summer, and have worked another about fifteen thousand miles a-year for three years, besides others for myself, or for other coachmen.
I well recollect the "yard of tin"; indeed, when a youth, I possessed one, and flattered myself I could blow it pretty well. Such, indeed, was my passion for the road, that I was not satisfied till I could perform every feat performed by coachmen or guards. To pass from the back of the coach to the front, orvice versa, was sometimes accomplished by guards, and, of course, I must do the same, creeping between the hind wheel and the body, whilst the coach was proceeding at the rate of ten miles an hour. This was not a very easy performance, but to get up and down whilst the coach was in motion was not at all difficult, and doing this once led to my being mistaken for a professional guard.
I was travelling through North Wales, from Oswestry to Bangor, by a pair-horse coach, which, of course, did not aspire to much pace, and, as the day was wet, the road was heavy, which brought the two-horse power to a walk up some of the hills, slight as Mr. Telford's engineering skill had made them. Upon these occasions I got down to walk, and as my pace was faster than that of the horses, I was part way down the next hill before they overtook me, when, motioning to the coachman not to pull up, I returned to my seat by his side, and after having done this once or twice he said, "I beg your pardon, sir, but were you ever a guard on any coach?"
It is somewhat strange that Mr. Reynardson and I should both have good reason for remembering the Llanymynech toll-bar, but its existence was nearly being impressed on my mind by a far more serious accident than killing poor piggy.
Many years ago, about the year 1836, before I had the honour of wearing His Majesty's uniform, I used to indulge my love of driving by starting from my father's house, about three miles from Welshpool, about five o'clock in the morning, and walking to that town for the pleasure of driving the "Royal Oak" coach, which started at six, and returning the same day by the down coach. Thereby getting a drive of about eighty miles, and the pace was fast, especially if the "Nettle" was supposed to be near, for we knew by experience that it followed very quickly; so there was pretty well enough of practice to be had.
On one of these mornings, when we were about two miles on our journey, Harry Booth, the coachman, who was sitting by my side, whistled to the horses, which started them off beyond my powers of holding them. I said, "For goodness' sake be quiet," when he coolly replied, "I thought you wanted to drive." Fortunately, however, they came back to me after going a short distance, and we completed the nine miles to Llanymynech in thirty-five minutes from the start.
This was, perhaps, a rather rough way of learning to drive, and something like throwing a fellow into deep water to teach him to swim. At any rate, it taught me to gallop, and a coachman who could not do that was of little use on a good many coaches in those days.
This, however, is a digression, as it was on the return journey of that day that I nearly came to grief at the Llanymynech toll-bar. It occurred in this way—
The "Royal Oak" did not carry a guard, and Tom Loader, the coachman, having resigned his seat to me when the coaches met, had retired to the one usually occupied by that functionary. As, however, he was not accustomed to guard's work, he was deficient in the activity necessary for slipping the skid pan under the wheel whilst the coach was in motion, and when he tried to do so at the top of Llanymynech hill he failed in the attempt. Consequently, we got over the brow of the hill without the wheel being locked, and, as there were no patent breaks in those days, there was nothing for it but a gallop, as the wheel horses were unable to hold the big load of passengers and luggage, and, of course, the lurches of the coach became considerable, to say the least of it. The turnpike gate, which was at the bottom of the hill, was rather a narrow one, and a collision seemed not altogether improbable, when, just as the leaders reached the gate, the passenger sitting on the roof seat behind me became so much alarmed that he seized hold of my right arm, thereby rendering any use of the whip impossible if it had been necessary, which, fortunately, it was not, as the coach was then in a safe direction, though rather too near the off-side gate-post to be pleasant. If the whip had been wanted to make the off-wheel horse pull us clear of the post I was helpless, and a collision would have been attended with an awful smash, as we were going at the rate of a mile in five minutes at the time. Killing the pig would have been nothing to it.
Whilst on the subject of toll gates I am reminded that I did on one occasion break one all to pieces, and, though chronologically out of place here, I am tempted to introduce it.
It occurred many years subsequently to the affair at Llanymynech, when I was residing at Aberystwith, and, as often happened whilst there, I was working the Shrewsbury and Aberystwith mail between the latter place and Newtown for one of the regular coachmen, who wanted a few days' rest. One morning on the down journey, on our reaching the toll gate at Caersws, the gatekeeper threw it open to allow the mail to pass, but, as he did not throw it sufficiently far back to hold in the catch, the high wind blew it back again, causing it to come in contact with the stock of the near fore wheel. Of course, it was too late to pull up, but, fortunately, the gate was old and very rotten, and doubled up with the collision. It was broken all to pieces, but, with the exception of a few slight cuts on the horses from splinters of wood, no injury was sustained. The toll-bar man was disposed to give some trouble, but little Rhodes, the post-office guard (for it was one of the last mails that carried them), shut him up with the remark that the penalty for delaying the mails was fifty pounds.
Before taking leave of the subject of racing, such as was carried on by the "Royal Oak" and "Nettle" coaches, I am induced to make a few remarks about it. Perhaps, some one on reading what I have said, may be disposed to exclaim, "how dangerous it must have been!" and, indeed, Mr. Reynardson says in "Down the Road," speaking of these coaches, "they were often too fast to be quite safe, as I sometimes used to fancy." To this, the result of his practical experience, I will not demur, suffice it to say that, though I have known a coachman of the "Royal Oak" fined for furious driving, I never knew a case of one scattering his passengers. Of course, it was not altogether unaccompanied by danger, but, judging by results, it could not have been very serious, as the accidents which occurred from it were not greater than were produced by other causes. Indeed, there are some reasons why they may have been less. When coaches were running strong opposition, everything, horses, coaches, and harness, were all of the very best, and none but real "artists" could be placed upon the box. (I think I hear a whisper that sometimes boys got there.) They were, therefore, secure from any accident caused, as was sometimes the case, by carelessness and penuriousness, which, to my own knowledge, have been productive of some very serious ones, as I shall show.
About twenty-five years ago, during one summer, two accidents occurred on the road between Dolgelly and Caernarvon, which might easily have been prevented—one of which was accompanied by serious loss of life, and which was to be attributed entirely to the use of old worn-out coaches and harness, or inferior coachmen and horses, such as, if the pace had been greater, no one would have ventured to employ. To the other accident there was a rather comic side, though not, perhaps, exactly to the sufferer. The coach was upset a few miles from Barmouth, on the road to Harlech, and the coachman's shoulder was dislocated; whereupon, a medical practitioner, who was passing at the time, mistaking the injury for a fracture, splintered it up. This treatment, of course, did not tend to mend matters, and the shoulder continued so painful that upon arriving at Caernarvon another surgeon was called in, who perceived the real nature of the injury, and reduced the dislocation.
Then, again, as a fact, there was not so often, as may be supposed, a neck-and-neck race with two coaches galloping alongside of each other. Such things did occur at times, when the road was wide enough to admit of it; but much oftener the coachmen did not try to give one another the "go-bye," except when the leading one was called upon to stop to pick up or put down a passenger, or for any other purpose. It was understood that on those occasions, if the opposition was close behind, the one which stopped should pull to his own side of the road, leaving space to pass. Then the other one, getting in front, would "spring 'em" to try, if possible, to complete his next change of horses and be off again without being passed.
No coachman, who knew his business, or was not utterly reckless, would think of racing down hill, though occasionally, no doubt, they did take liberties at the top of a hill and come to grief. There could, however, be no danger in trying to pass when ascending a hill, and then was the opportunity for the coachman with the lightest load or strongest team to challenge his opponent. Of course, the leading one would not give his rival the road if he could help it, and I have had my near-side leader's bar rattling against his off-side hind wheel before he would give me room to pass; but there was no danger involved in that, as, being on the ascent, I could have pulled up at any moment.
As to there being any danger in merely galloping a coach, I am sure there is not, even at a high speed, provided the wheel horses are well matched in stride, the team well put together, and kept well in hand, and when there is sufficient draught to keep the leaders' traces tight. This will be apparent from the fact that, however much a coach may have been lurching previously, as soon as the leaders commence drawing, she becomes perfectly steady. Of course with the pole chains too slack there would be danger.
Then, again, the build of the coach has a good deal to do with it. For very fast work, coaches were generally kept what was called near the ground. Those which were built by Shackleford, of Cheltenham, for the "Hirondelle," which raced with the "Hibernia," between that town and Liverpool, at a pace as great if not greater than any coaches in England, were contracted to be made so that the roof should not exceed a certain height from the ground. I forget now what the exact measurement was, but it was some inches less than the general build, and to enable this to be done the perch was slightly bent.
The "Hibernia" coaches also, which were supplied by Williams, of Bristol, were admirably adapted for the work they had to perform, being low and remarkably steady, but heavier than those of their opponent. Indeed, Williams's coaches were not favourites with coachmen on account of their weight, but as they were generally contracted for by the mile, those were most profitable to the contractor that required the least repairs. I have heard of a coachman complaining to Mr. Williams about the weight of his coaches, to which the laconic answer was a five-shilling piece, and "Don't you bother about that."