ngers. The coach occupied eight days
travelling to Exeter. In 1706 a coach went from London to York every
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, performing the journey in four days. In
the same year there was a coach from London to Birmingham starting on
Monday and arriving on Wednesday. In 1754 a coach was started from
Manchester called the flying coach, which was advertised to reach London
in four days and a half. In 1784 coaches became universal at the speed
of 8 m. an hour.

In the year 1786 the prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., began to
erect the pavilion at Brighton, and this led to a great increase of
traffic, so that in 1820 no less than 70 coaches daily visited and left
Brighton. The number continued to increase, until in 1835 there were as
many as 700 mail coaches throughout Great Britain and Ireland. The
system of road construction introduced by Mr McAdam during this time was
of great value in facilitating this development.

Notwithstanding the competition of the sedan-chair (q.v.), the
hackney-coach held its place and grew in importance, till it was
supplanted about 1820 by the _cabriolet de place_, now shortened into
"cab" (q.v.), which had previously held a most important place in Paris.
In that city the cabriolet came into great public favour about the
middle of the 18th century, and in the year 1813 there were 1150 such
vehicles plying in the Parisian streets. The original cabriolet was a
kind of hooded gig, inside which the driver sat, besides whom there was
only room left for a single passenger. For hackney purposes Mr Boulnois
introduced a four-wheeled cab to carry two persons, which was followed
by one to carry four persons, introduced by Mr Harvey, the prototype of
the London "four-wheeler."

The hansom patent safety cab (1834) owes its invention to J.A. Hansom
(q.v.), the architect of the Birmingham town-hall. This has passed
through many stages of improvement with which the name of Forder of
Wolverhampton is conspicuously associated.

The prototype of the modern "omnibus" first began plying in the streets
of Paris on the 18th of March 1662, going at fixed hours, at a stated
fare of five sous. Soldiers, lackeys, pages and livery servants were
forbidden to enter such conveyances, which were announced to be _pour la
plus grande commodite et liberte des personnes de merite_. In the time
of Charles X. the omnibus system in reality was established; for no
exclusion of any class or condition of person w