COACHESAND COACHING
COACHES
ANDCOACHING
Embellished
with pictures by
Paul Hardy
H. M. CALDWELL CO.
BOSTON
It is true that the carriage, as it is indifferentlycalled (as if nothing less genteelcould carry any one), is a more decidedthing than the chaise; it may be swiftereven than the mail, leaves the stage at astill greater distance in every respect, and[8](forgetting what it may come to itself)darts by the poor old lumbering hackneywith immeasureable contempt.
It rolls with a prouder ease than anyother vehicle. It is full of cushions andcomfort; elegantly coloured inside andout; rich, yet neat; light and rapid, yetsubstantial. The horses seem proud todraw it. The fat and fair-wigged coachman"lends his sounding lash," his armonly in action and that but little, his bodywell set with its own weight.
The footman, in the pride of his nonchalance,holding by the straps behind,and glancing down sideways betwixt hiscocked-hat and neckcloth, stands swingingfrom east to west upon his springy toes.
The horses rush along amidst theirglancing harness. Spotted dogs leap aboutthem, barking with a princely superfluityof noise. The hammer-cloth tremblesthrough all its fringe. The paint flashesin the sun.
We, contemptuous of everything lessconvenient,