The Great North Road, the Old Mail Road to Scotland: London to YorkHarper, Charles G. (Charles George)
History
The Great North Road, the Old Mail Road to Scotland: London to York
Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)
A1 Road (England and Scotland); England -- Social life and customs; Great Britain -- Description and travel
“All this costume is maintained with much precision; he has a pride
in having his clothes of excellent materials, and, notwithstanding
the seeming grossness of his appearance, there is still discernible
that neatness and propriety of person which is almost inherent in an
Englishman. He enjoys great confidence and consideration along the
road; has frequent conferences with the village housewives, who look
upon him as a man of great trust and dependence, and he seems to have
a good understanding with every bright-eyed country lass. The moment
he arrives where the horses are to be changed, he throws down the
reins with something of an air, and abandons the cattle to the care
of the ostler; his duty being merely to drive from one stage to
another. When off the box, his hands are thrust into the pockets of
his great-coat, and he rolls about the inn-yard with an air of the
most absolute lordliness. Here he is generally surrounded by an
admiring throng of ostlers, stable-boys, shoe-blacks, and those
nameless hangers-on that infest inns and taverns, and run errands,
and do all kinds of odd jobs for the privilege of battening on the
drippings of the kitchen and the leakings of the tap-room. These all
look up to him as an oracle, treasure up his cant phrases, echo his
opinions about horses and other topics of jockey-lore, and, above
all, endeavour to imitate his air and carriage. Every ragamuffin
that has a coat to his back thrusts his hands in the pockets, rolls
in his gait, talks slang, and is an embryo coachey.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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