It is said that Napoleon himself designed the fittings of this carriage, for it contained everything necessary for a long journey, and was intended to serve the purpose of a bedroom, a dining-room, and a kitchen. The coach was captured by a German officer after the Battle of Waterloo, the emperor making his escape on horseback; and having been purchased by a man named Bullock, it was exhibited through the whole of the United Kingdom.
Gradually, as time went on, railways superseded the picturesque old coaches. They continued to be used, however, in less civilised countries, and can still be seen in the wild forest districts of Australia, New Zealand, and America.
In the early pioneer days of the United States these coaches, with their loads of passengers and mails, sometimes encountered bands of Red Indians in their journeys across the prairies, and there are stories of terrible disasters and narrow escapes when the travellers were pursued and attacked by the savages.
Those exciting times have passed away now, but coaches have not entirely disappeared. In Hyde Park on Sunday mornings before the War we could see the beautiful vehicles of the Four-in-hand Club to remind us of how our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers travelled in the merry—but, perhaps, rather dangerous—days of old.
CHAPTER III
STRANGE VEHICLES OF EUROPE
It is not only in the far-away countries of the world that we must travel in order to discover curious conveyances. Some are to be seen quite near at home, even in England itself. We must remember that as a rule it is because things are unfamiliar that they seem quaint and curious, so let us try to imagine for a few moments that we are natives of some distant land who have come to pay a visit to Great Britain.
We land at Dover, perhaps, or Newhaven, and go along the coast until we come to Brighton. It is quite a commonplace seaside town, no doubt, but, in our characters of observant foreigners, we shall notice many interesting things, and among them are several extraordinary little vehicles which are drawn up in a row along the parade.
What can they be, these tiny carriages, each with its wheels, shafts, and box-seat complete? Then we see that instead of a pony or donkey, the little conveyances are drawn by shaggy, long-horned goats.