Coaching, with Anecdotes of the Road

An extraordinary occurrence connected with the road occurred in April, 1820, when a gentleman of noble connection, high fashion, and large fortune had his carriage and horses se...

Before I allude to the road as it is, let me refer to what it was, and in so doing bring my classical lore into play. Pelops was a coachman, who has been immortalised for his ab...

In the days I write of, Macaulay tells us that the mounted highwayman, a marauder known to the present generation only from books, was to be found on every main road. Hounslow H...

Few of my readers will remember the old hackney-coaches, and fortunate are they who live at a period when they can be driven about the metropolis and throughout all the principa...

I now proceed to describe the road as it was before panting steeds had givin way to puffing engines, iron greys to iron rails, coachmen and guards to stokers, and horseflesh to...

An adventure which occurred to me some fifty years ago may not here be out of place. I was dining one day with Ball Hughes, commonly, from his wealth, called "The Golden Ball,"...

The term "slow coach" became proverbial, and was applied not only to the lumbering six-inside vehicles that travelled at almost a snail's pace, but to every schoolboy and colleg...

I have already referred to the numerous accidents that occurred on the road to stage and mail coaches, and could fill a volume with casualties caused by overturns, violent drivi...

Among the amateur knights of the whip of bygone days, though still remembered by many of the present generation, may be mentioned the late Duke of Beaufort, the Earls of Chester...

In addition to the splendid turns-out of the members of the Coaching and Four-in-Hand Club, every cavalry regiment and many infantry corps possess a regimental "drag," which is...

In the days I write of driving was a favourite pursuit, and, independent of the four-in-hand clubs, every young fellow aspired to handle the ribbons whenever a chance threw a dr...

Among the "wild vicissitudes of taste," few things have undergone greater changes than carriages used for pleasure; we need not go further back than the last half century to pro...

A great deal has been written and said upon the subject of accidents in travelling, and comparisons have been made between those caused by rail and road. There can be no doubt t...

Having dwelt at considerable length upon stage coaches and stage coachmen, I now turn to amateurs who have distinguished themselves on the box, and who were perfectly competent...

"Every medal has its reverse." Many persons may be found who denounce coaching as an abomination; while others declare that railway travelling is most fatal only not to the live...

Few, if any, of my readers will remember the time when a turnpike-gate stood between St. George's Hospital and Apsley House, though many will not be unmindful of those near the...

I once heard a man say that some of his pleasantest acquaintances were people he had picked up on stage-coaches; but I cannot say "ditto" to that. He must either have been singu...

Travelling by road in Ireland was and is very different from what it was and is in England. The mail and stage-coaches, almost similar to the English ones, were well-horsed, and...

SLOW COACHES--FAST COACHES--"THE WONDER" AND "BLENHEIM"--PUBLIC DINNERS TO THE DRIVERS--PRESENTATION OF A SILVER CUP TO A DRIVER OF "THE BLENHEIM"--THE YOUNG OXONIANS FAIRLY TAK...

SLOW COACHES--FAST COACHES--"THE WONDER" AND "BLENHEIM"--PUBLIC DINNERS TO THE DRIVERS--PRESENTATION OF A SILVER CUP TO A DRIVER OF "THE BLENHEIM"--THE YOUNG OXONIANS FAIRLY TAK...

EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE--COACH ACCIDENTS--DANGER ATTENDING PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK'S VISIT TO PETWORTH--THE MAILS STOPPED BY SEVERE SNOWSTORMS--SLEDGES USED FOR THE MAILS--DEA...

EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE--COACH ACCIDENTS--DANGER ATTENDING PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK'S VISIT TO PETWORTH--THE MAILS STOPPED BY SEVERE SNOWSTORMS--SLEDGES USED FOR THE MAILS--DEA...

AMATEUR DRAGSMEN--THE LATE FITZROY STANHOPE--THE OLD DRIVING CLUB OF 1808--THE HON. LINCOLN STANHOPE--THE WHIP CLUB--DESCRIPTION OF THE CARRIAGES--SONG OF THE WHIP CLUB--OUTRÉE...

AMATEUR DRAGSMEN--THE LATE FITZROY STANHOPE--THE OLD DRIVING CLUB OF 1808--THE HON. LINCOLN STANHOPE--THE WHIP CLUB--DESCRIPTION OF THE CARRIAGES--SONG OF THE WHIP CLUB--OUTRÉE...

ANCIENT CHARIOTEERS--CELEBRATED WHIPS--INTRODUCTION OF CARRIAGES INTO ENGLAND--MR. CRESSET'S PAMPHLET--THE STATE OF THE ROADS IN 1739--DANGEROUS CONVEYANCES--THE FLYING COACH OF...

ANCIENT CHARIOTEERS--CELEBRATED WHIPS--INTRODUCTION OF CARRIAGES INTO ENGLAND--MR. CRESSET'S PAMPHLET--THE STATE OF THE ROADS IN 1739--DANGEROUS CONVEYANCES--THE FLYING COACH OF...

AN ADVENTURE WITH BALL HUGHES, COMMONLY CALLED "THE GOLDEN BALL"--A SENSATION AT DARTFORD--A RELIC OF THE COMMUNE--RAILWAYS--PIONEERS OF THE RAIL--INTRODUCTION OF STEAM-CARRIAGE...

AN ADVENTURE WITH BALL HUGHES, COMMONLY CALLED "THE GOLDEN BALL"--A SENSATION AT DARTFORD--A RELIC OF THE COMMUNE--RAILWAYS--PIONEERS OF THE RAIL--INTRODUCTION OF STEAM-CARRIAGE...

HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES--DRIVE TO VALENCIENNES WITH FREDERICK YATES--MEET A DANCING BEAR--RESULT--WHEEL CARRIAGES IN TOWNS--STATE OF THE PUBLIC STREETS--GAY'S DESCRIPTION OF THEM--H...