The Sun.
London, England, 1829-09-05 00:00:00

became entangled and nearly jammed together.
The leaders of the mail being high couraged,
and their heads close to the steamer, bolted
round, and broke the mail traces. Mr. Gurney,
anxious to avoid mischief, forced the steamer
up against the stack of bricks, by which he did
some injury to the steamer, but of no conse-
quence beyond the delay of a quarter of an hour.
The mail put on a new bar and traces, and we
both Froceeded on our respective journeys.
We have had no other accident whatever, but
a fracture of the iron of one of the• wheels, and
are going forward immediately.
We came from Cranford Bridge to this place
in four hours and ten minutes, including all stop-
pages for water, coke, turnpikes, &0., which of
course, in our first attempt, cannot be expected
to be managed with the celerity we may calculate
upon hereafter.
We met and passed on the road, between
Cranford Bridge and this place, 21 carts, 7
waggons, 2 post chaises, 4 mail coaches, 7 stage
ditto, 1 dray with two horses, a drove of cart
horses, 3 gigs, 6 horses, of which I can assure
you not one started, or was by any means dis-
turbed by the steamer, except the mail horses on
the bridge at Longford.
If it should be said that we endangered the
mail, I beg to assure you that I have strictly re-
presented the facts, and I am convinced that a
carriage with horses, in such circumstances, might
have occasioned an equal, if not much more se-
rious mischief.

The regular easy pace seems about ten miles
an hour whilst moving.
JULY 30, 1829.—0 n our arrival at Reading,
at twenty minutes past eight o'clock, we were de-
tained two hours to have the iron, which had
been broken off the wheel, repaired. To avoid
the town, the steamer went on to a public-house,
about a mile on the road, whi we waited for
the iron.

On our overtaking Mr.'Gurney, he had dis-
covered that two small chains, which are used
for the expansive motion, were broken. We
must attribute the fracture of the iron, as well as
of these chains, to the violent shock the carriages
sustained against the stack of bricks, in avoiding
the mail on Longford-bridge.
We started again, at half-past ten o'clock,
from the public-house beyond Reading. We
went steadily on from this time all the way to
Melksham (about twelve miles this side of Bath),
where we arrived, about eight o'clock in the
evening, without any material alteration of pace,
at the rate of about six miles an hour, including
stoppages.
_ _

It must be observed that our grand object was
to accomplish our journey without accident to
ourselves or to any passengers. We, therefore,
were resolved to avoid all possibility of danger
to any part of the steamer, by always having
plenty of water ; we, therefore, made it a rule
never to go above four miles without taking in
water. In order to accomplish this, we stopped
whenever we saw water near the road (though
frequently at two or three miles only, and al-
though we were by no means in want of it) lest
we might not find it again in time.
There were altogether about eight gentlemen,
and as many engineers and attendants. When
we wanted water, we formed a lane (as at a fire),
in some instances getting over the hedge to a
pond in a field, and handing the buckets from
one to another till the tank was full. We carry
three buckets always with us.
We were disappointed in not finding coke
where we wanted it, and were obliged to go out
of the road with the carriage in attendance, to
fetch coal from a wharf near the forty-eighth
mile-stone.

No smoke whatever was visible whilst burn-
ing coke, but as soon as we used coal (which
made an excellent fire) the smoke became visi-
ble, and would most certainly be objectionable
on a public road. But when we got coke at New-
bury, no more smoke was visible till we got to
Devizes. The coke we took in at Devizes was
so bad that we could not get it to burn, but
were again obliged to have recourse to coal.
After this the smoke appeared again, and in
Melksham, it beginning to grow darker, some
sparks flew up the chimney, which made the ap-
pearance of a beautiful fire work. This would
be highly objectionable and dangerous to thatch
or hay stacks, but it can never happen with coke.
The first five miles from Cranford-bridge to
Colebrook (exclusive of fifteen minutes lost by
our meeting the mail) we did, including three
minutes taking in water at a pump, in twenty.
five minutes ; we, therefore, travelled five miles
in twenty-two minutes.
At our quickest pace, the post horses were
kept in a gallop, and when we stopped were in
a white lather. The light phaeton could keep
up very well, but the post carriage was so heavy,
that the post-boys said no pair of horses could
keep up, and we were obliged to take four all
the rest of the journey for the post carriage in
the rear.

I was apprehensive the smoke would frighten
horses ; but with the exception of one spirited
little mare in a gig near Melksham, and the mail
horses at Longford, I really did not see any ab-
solute start. On the whole, I should say, as an
old cavalry officer, that I never saw so little notice
paid by horses to common stages, as they showed
to the steamer.

When we were going the first five miles no-
thing could be easier, more free from noise, or
any sort of objectionable inconvenience, and the
movement so easy, that there was nothing to
alarm any body. Nothing like the appearance
of danger in a four-horse coach going the same
pace. We got coke for twopence a bushel, at
the retail price. We burnt very little more than
half a bushel a mile, and should certainly never
exceed half a bushel when all is perfect. The
expence, therefore, of one hundred miles is only
eight shillings and fourpence, exclusive of the
wages to the engineers.
I consider this first experiment decisive of
success.

On our arrival at Melksham there was a fair
in the town, and the streets full of people. Mr.
Gurney, who unites with extraordinary talent
and great perseverance, the most amiable quali-
ties of mind and temper, fearing to injure any
person, moved as slowly as possible ; unfortu-
nately, from some cause or other, the people here
had taken a dislike to the steam-carriage, and
edtootkheplcaacre_
after abusing us shamefully, attacked us with
stones and flints ; and after having wounded the
r:l:g.eriocCa)l7l,ard of a Mr. Iles (a brewer) and
stoker and anotherwG it elernnngetiyNnveoenroo
ft severelyhtihsinbk eisntognm
men
nt theirarde -
heads (the former being knocked out of the car-
riage into the roeasard.d:is,taanvcieo,let:e scuffle
rqvhiiueasgtiarwebeeldeeii
litlsotutt
having obtained 'the Magistrates' assistance,
placed constables ovei.4-4 during the night, and
it was removed yesterday to Bath under their
escort.

Writs are out against two of the ringleaders,
and if taken and identified, it is Mr. Ciurnuy's