•Cox  a  drop  of  something  warm.  The  servant-girl  who  brought
out  the  glass,  not  being  able  to  reach  the  lady,  the  ostler
very  imprudently  left  the  horses'  heads  to  do  the  polite.  The
animals  hearing  some  one  getting  on  the  coach,  doubtless  con-
cluded that  it  was  the  coachman ;  at  the  same  time,  finding
themselves  free,  and  being,  probably,  anxious  to  get  home,  they
started  off  at  their  usual  pace,  and  performed  the  seven  miles
in  safety,  passing  over  the  Laira  Bridge  and  through  the  toll-
bar,  keeping  clear  of  everything  on  the  road.  Mrs.  Cox  mean-
while sat  on  the  coach,  with  her  arms  extended  in  the  attitude  of
a  spread-eagle,  and  vainly  trying  to  attract  the  attention  of  those
■she  met  or  passed  on  the  road.  She  very  prudently,  however,
abstained  from  screaming,  as  she  thought  she  might  otherwise
•have  alarmed  the  horses.  They,  indeed,  only  trotted  at  their
ordinary  speed,  and  came  to  a  halt  of  their  own  accord  at  the
door  of  the  King's  Arms  Hotel,  Plymouth,  where  they  were
in  the  habit  of  stopping  to  discharge  some  of  the  freight  ot  the
coach.  The  boots  and  ostler  came  running  out  to  attend  to
their  accustomed  duties,  but,  to  their  astonishment,  beheld  no
one  but  the  affrighted  Mrs.  Cox  on  the  coach  and  two  pas-
sengers inside,  who  were,  happily,  wholly  unconscious  of  the
danger  to  which  they  had  been  exposed  !  The  coachman  and
guard  soon  arrived  in  a  post-chaise.  Poor  Mrs.  Cox  drank
many  quarterns  of  gin  to  steady  her  nerves  before  she  felt  able
to  continue  her  journey  to  Devonport,  where  she  carried  on
.a  prosperous  trade  for  many  years.     Many  people  patronised

p  2


212  DRIVING.
her,  on  purpose  to  hear  her  narrate  the  great  event  of  her  life.
