or the business house in the Strand, at four
o'clock. Sometimes, indeed, the younger man was at his post as early
as three o'clock in the morning; and from the time he arrived at the
place of business there was constant work to be done. It was difficult
and anxious work too, and the constant strain told upon the young
man's health.

The collection and distribution of newspapers, which formed then the
chief part of the business of W.H. Smith & Son, was one that needed
the closest attention and the most untiring energy.

"First on the road" was old Mr. Smith's motto; and he carried it out.

Smith's carts were in attendance at all the great newspaper offices,
ready to carry off printed sheets to the Strand house for sorting and
packing; and thence they sped swiftly through the streets in the early
morning to catch the first trains for the country. Occasionally _The
Times_, which was the last printed journal, did not arrive at the
station till the final moment. The whistle would have sounded, the
doors would have all been locked, the guard would have given his
warning signal, when in would come at hurricane speed Smith's cart
bearing its load of "Thunderers". Ready hands would seize the papers,
and the last packet would perchance be thrown in as the train was
already steaming out of the station.

A great deal of the forwarding of newspapers was in those days done by
coaches. To catch these with the later papers, Smith had light carts
with fast horses. If the coaches had started, Smith's carts would
pursue for many miles, till they caught up the coaches at one of their
stopping places.

At the death of William IV. Smith made gigantic efforts to distribute
the papers early, and he got them into the country many hours before
the ordinary mails would have taken them. He even hired a special ship
to carry over the papers to Ireland, so that they reached Belfast on
the same day. By such means the fame of Smith grew rapidly, and the
business vastly increased. When Mr. W.H. Smith became a partner in
1846, at the age of twenty-one, it was valued at over L80,000.

But wear and tear and the anxieties of business life had made old Mr.
Smith often quick-tempered, and difficult to please; and the coming of
Mr. "W.H." into the business was hailed with pleasure by the workmen:
he was so full of tact and sympathy; and sometimes, when his father
had raised a storm of ill-feeling by some hasty expressions, he was
able to bring peace an