| Show TRAVEL IN OLD TIMES how some snowbound the time cock fochts of course the railways have done away with much of the difficulties of travel in snow time when a train is snowed up now there are no such inconveniences as happened in ane case of the mail coaches there is delay but there is generally enough to eat and drink plenty of companionship and a much larger area to live and breathe in A friend of mine much my senior however once told me what occurred to him in a snowstorm between edinburgh and london he was a merchant of great position and quite above the temptation to exaggerate matters like a mere story teller and his narrative impressed me the more accordingly three times on their way bouth both outside and inside passengers had to getoff the coach and push the wheels through the drifted snow and when crossing shap fells the bleakest blea kest spot on the road they got stuck james writes in the london illustrated after fruitless endeavor to move the coach the guard rode off with the mailbags mail bags and the passengers were left to their fate there was known to be an inn at shap if they could only get there and after many hours they contrived to do so fortunately there were no women passengers or it is possible they would have succumbed they were shut up at that inn for eight days during which they had no communication either north or south with the outside world and I 1 suppose I 1 said you had no books think of books at shap in those days no not even a pack of cards what did you do with yourselves well raid my respectable friend it seems queer to say so at this time of day but the place was famous for its game cocks and we had cock fighting from morning to night that is what they did for eight days instead of telling stories to one another as would have been the case in a christmas number |
