threw his leaders in front of his rival's and the coaches were
immediately upset with a terrible collision. A man named William {152}
Hart was killed and others had their limbs shattered. The drivers were
put upon their trial at the Hertford Assizes before Baron Gurney, and
were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced each to one year's
imprisonment.

Railway passengers are at least tolerably free from the "begging
nuisance," but not so the passengers by stage coaches when the coach
pulled up for the change of horses, as the following entry in the
Royston committee book for 1815 will show:--

"Ordered that Notice be given to John T---- and J. B---- if they are
found begging in the street from the Coaches that their pay is to be
taken off."

One curious indication that the end of the coaching era was approaching
was afforded by the invention of steam coaches. Thus we find in 1839
that "Hancock's steam coach" came through Royston for the first time,
being seven hours coming from London, including stoppages. Rather a
slow rate from the agency which was to annihilate horse coaches!

One of the arguments against railways was that there would no longer be
employment for horses, and yet just before railways were heard of one
man stood at the Old Tyburn Turnpike and received the toll and issued
tickets for the whole of the Oxford Street traffic! What a picture
that old Tyburn turnpike man would form now, standing there in his
white apron with its two pockets, "one for half-pence and one for
tickets," and assessing the great volume of Oxford Street traffic of
to-day! Yet the disappearance of coaches from our highways did make a
very considerable difference to old towns like Royston, where, next to
malting, the posting business was the most important in the town. As
to the effect of the decay of coaching upon towns on the great coach
roads, it is said that the town of Barnet had been accustomed to keep
upwards of 1,000 horses in its stables, and Hounslow, on the Great
Western Road, 2,500 horses!

Coaches and coach horses are not the only things which have disappeared
from our high roads. One of the things to be met with on the roads in
1800-20 was the velocipede. It was not unlike in form the "Safety"
bicycle which is so universally met with on our roads to-day, with a
trifling difference which made long and rapid journeys out of the
question. The fact is the mechanical genius of Englishmen, which has
made su