DRIVING.
Those who aspire to distinction on the coach box now-a-days, are
deprived of two great helps, perhaps the two greatest helps, which
were enjoyed by their predecessors--I mean example and practice.
As a lad I always, when travelling, got the box seat, if possible, and
never took my eyes off the coachman's hands; the consequence was that
when I became old enough to be trusted with the ribbons, I naturally
fell into the form which I had noticed in them, and then followed the
second help, which was the opportunity of driving sixty to eighty
miles a day.
"Easy the lesson of the youthful train,
When instinct prompts and when example guides."
It is very difficult to explain clearly the motions of the hands in
shooting or fishing, and it is no easier to do so in driving. A few
hours of careful observation are of more value to a beginner than a
great deal of instruction. If he starts in a bad form it is long odds
against his ever getting out of it.
I have heard opinions broached by young men of the present day which
would not have found favour fifty years ago, and, though I will not
venture to say that no changes have taken place for the better since
then, I would call to mind the fact, that as driving was then the real
business of life to thousands, and that coachmen at that time had a
much more extensive practice than can be obtained now, the presumption
is that they were likely to have found out the right way to go to
work. Indeed, there were _artists_ in those days--men who would
drive any brute that could be harnessed, and could get any load
through the country at almost any pace and in all weathers, by night
or day.
But before going further on this subject, perhaps it will be better to
lay a foundation.
Before horses can be driven satisfactorily they must be properly put
together, and to this end everyone who aspires to be a coachman should
have a practical knowledge of how his team should be harnessed and
"put to the coach." It has been truly remarked that horses well put
together are half driven.
Now, first, for a few faults, one of the greatest of which, and one
not very uncommon, is to have the pole chains too slack. If they are
hooked so that there is no strain upon them when the traces are tight,
they are slack enough, and more than that is bad, as it takes away the
power of the horses over the coach and of the coachman over the
horses, and has oftener than generally supposed been the cause of a
kicking bout, as I have endeavoured to show in a previous chapter.
The London "'bus men" do have their pole chains very slack, and they
are right, because their horses are continually falling upon the
slippery streets, and it gives them room to struggle and get up again
with little danger of breaking the pole; but this does not apply to
road work, and there, if the pace is very fast, it is dangerous from
its tendency to make the coach rock.
I am always puzzled when I see coachmen driving with the present
fashion of long coupling reins. What good can they see in them? Here
again the 'bus men, who I suppose set the example, have reason on
their side. They sometimes require to alter a coupling rein on the
journey, and, from being able to reach the buckle from their seat, can
do so at any stopping, without help from the conductor, who is engaged
with the passengers; but this can never be necessary with a
gentleman's drag or a coach. In the one case there is the groom, and
in the other, the guard, to do what is required--that is to say, in
the latter case, if there is time to do anything at all, for I
recollect on one occasion having to drive an eleven mile stage in an
hour, when the horsekeeper had carelessly reversed the reins by
putting the leading draught one's inside and the coupling reins
outside, but the pace was too good to alter. It appears to me that the
long coupling reins only add to the weight, which is necessarily
considerable, without conferring any benefit, and, indeed, when, as I
have seen them, they are so long that the buckle touches the left
hand, they can hardly be unattended with danger.
When I first learned driving scarcely anyone thought of going without
bearing reins, they were considered by all, except a few who were
looked upon as innovators, to be as necessary as the traces. Their
utility, however, soon began to be questioned, and they rapidly came
into disuse in the coaches, and no doubt horses do work easier to
themselves without them, especially with heavy loads and fast pace.
Still they are of use occasionally, and I have employed a slack one to
the cheek of the bit when a horse has a trick of throwing out his head
and snatching at his reins, and so making it impossible to prevent his
rein slipping through the fingers, which should never occur.
I believe that bearing reins may also be useful, and indeed a security
(though as a general rule I hate them) when, as is the fashion now, a
pair of high-bred powerful horses are put to draw a Victoria or some
other very light carriage, for doubtless a bit does act more
powerfully when accompanied by a bearing rein than without one.
I dare say I shall be thought very old fashioned, but I do not think
that horses do generally go as pleasantly to the coachman with such
very light weights behind them, as when there is weight enough to make
them feel their collars. A team, to go pleasantly, should have a load
proportioned to its power, so that they may have something to pull at
besides the coachman's hand. It must be admitted also in their favour,
that bearing reins do prevent wheel horses rubbing and scratching
their bridles against the pole chains when standing still.
Like many other old established institutions, they continued to have
their advocates for a long time, and by some very competent judges
bearing reins were considered necessary for safety, as will appear
from the anecdote I am about to narrate. When they were first being
dispensed with, Ned Cracknell, who drove a Birmingham day coach called
the "Triumph," left them off. Upon the coach arriving at Hounslow one
day, who should be standing there but Mr. Chaplin, commonly known as
Billy Chaplin, the proprietor out of London, and before Cracknell had
time to get on his box, though they were very quick in changing at
Hounslow, he observed that there were no bearing reins, and only
snaffle bits in the horses' mouths, whereupon he called out, "Hallo,
Mr. Cracknell, what monkey tricks are these you are playing? If you
don't put on the curb bits and the bearing reins, you don't take the
'Triumph' coach out of the 'Swan with Two Necks' again." Probably he
was quite right about the snaffle bits, as the following instance will
show:--
Seven mail coaches used to leave the "White Horse Cellars" every
evening, and at one time there was a great rivalry between the
Devonport mail, commonly called the "Quicksilver," driven by Captain
Davies, and the Stroud mail, driven by Harry Downs, a broken-down
gentleman, for here I may remark, though it is a fact well known to
most people, that in those days it was no uncommon thing to see
well-bred men driving stage-coaches. But to return. As the Stroud mail
with four bright bays, and the "Quicksilver" with four bright
chestnuts, were racing at a very merry pace, our friend Harry's bays,
having only snaffle bits, bolted across Turnham Green, which would
probably be a feat incapable of accomplishment now, and an old friend
of mine, who was travelling by it, and by the bye a very good coachman
himself, says, "I experienced a very unsmooth journey until we reached
the road again, and by that time the 'Quicksilver' was through
Brentford."
Of late years there has sprung up a fancy that blinkers are not only
unnecessary, but absolutely an evil, and a good deal of newspaper
correspondence has been the result, without going very far towards
elucidating the subject. So far as I am able to understand the
controversy, the opponents of blinkers consider they have proved their
case when they tell us that horses, when accustomed to it, are not
frightened by seeing the carriage behind them, and that therefore
there can be no danger in going without them. That horses can be used
to seeing the carriage behind them without taking fright, there can be
no doubt, but that by no means ends the question. Those on the other
side say, and with truth, that in double harness, when the bridles are
without blinkers, one horse does occasionally, either from tossing his
head or some other cause, injure the eye of the other one by striking
it with the cheek of the bit. A well-fitting blinker is no discomfort
to a horse, and I think I can bring forward a case which will go very
far to prove that they may be of great use.
One evening when I was driving the "Harkaway" coach on the down
journey, when within about a mile from Dolgelly, as we rounded a
sharpish corner of the road, the leaders caught sight of some boards
which had been left, very improperly, on the near side of the road,
and were so much frightened at the sight that they bolted right across
to the other side of the road, and, that being rather narrow, it was
as much as I could do to prevent the coach running into the off-side
hedge, which would most certainly have ended in a spill, and probably
have been attended with very disastrous consequences, for, as was
usual in summer, there was a good load of passengers and luggage.
We must recollect that a horse, from the position of his eye, has the
power of seeing a long way behind him, which is necessary to his
safety in a wild state, as he depends very largely for defence upon
his heels; consequently, any object which alarms him continues in
sight for a long time, and in the case I have just mentioned, I am
certain that if they could have seen the object of their terror
another moment, nothing I could have done would have saved an
accident.
Perhaps I shall be told that if these horses had never been driven in
blinkers they would not have shied at the boards; to which I can only
answer that saddle horses which have never had their sight restricted
in their lives are by no means free from the fault of shying. As I
have already remarked, a well-fitting blinker can cause no discomfort
to a horse, as it presses upon and rubs no part of the head, and, to
say the least of it, they may be a great safeguard against accidents.
With regard to those other parts of the harness now more or less
disused, what shall be said? Well, a good deal will depend upon
circumstances. Where there is no bearing rein a crupper may not be
necessary upon level roads if the pads are well shaped; but if they
are not, or the road is hilly, those on the wheel horses may work
forward and wound the withers. With leaders this is less likely to
occur, for their reins run in a straight line through the pad territs;
but the reins, taking a turn from the wheel pad territs up to the
coachman's hand, have a tendency to work those pads forward.
I have used a light pad for leaders made without a tree, which is what
I like best for them, and which, from fitting closer to the horses'
backs, hardly can work forward, and they are less likely to rub the
withers if they do; but probably this make would not be strong enough
for wheel harness except upon level ground, where there is very little
holding back. I must confess that I do hold to the old lines,
"Here's to the arm which can hold 'em when gone,
Still to a gallop inclined, sir;
Heads in the front without bearing reins on,
And tails with no cruppers behind, sir."
Without wheel pads the coachman must lose power immensely. He has not
only lost the leverage caused by the change of direction of the reins
from the pads to his hand, but he can hardly have his horses so well
in hand but that he will require to shorten his reins through his left
hand if, from any cause, he wants to get a stronger pull upon his
horses; and this, in my humble opinion, is inadmissible in really good
driving, except upon very rare exceptions.
I fear I shall meet with a good deal of dissent to this statement, and
can fancy that already I hear some one saying that it is impossible.
Doubtless it is not easy, and requires much practice, more, perhaps,
than can fall to the lot of most men now-a-days; but that it is
possible I know, as I think I can make out clearly at a future time.
Half a century ago I do not remember ever to have seen leading reins
run anywhere except over the heads of the wheel horses, between the
ears.
Perhaps it was rather rough on the wheel horses to keep their heads up
with the bearing rein, and then put the weight of a pulling leader's
rein on the top of it; but there is a good deal to be said in favour
of head territs, and when horses are allowed to carry their heads as
low as they like, the principal objection to them is removed; and they
certainly help to keep the leading reins higher, and therefore less
likely to be caught under a leader's tail, which sets some horses
kicking, and, at any rate, interferes with the running of the rein.
When leading reins are run through the throat latch, they are very
easily caught by the tail, and when this is done, the best thing I
have found to keep the rein clear of a kicking leader is to pass both
leading reins through a ring, and then run the kicker's rein through
the inside of the wheeler's throat latch. I have seen the leader's
rein run through the outside of his bar, but fancy the other method is
better.
[Illustration: J. Sturgess del. et lith.
M&N. Hanhart imp. ONCE MORE RUNNING A STEEPLE
CHASE.]
Occasionally a wheel horse will make himself exceedingly objectionable
to the one in front of him by tossing his head, and I once had a case
of this sort so bad that the leader's mouth had no peace. I ran the
rein direct from his pad to the wheel hame territ, and concord was at
once established.
Before leaving the subject of the ribbons, perhaps I may as well touch
upon the subject of "pinning them." Shall they be pinned or shall they
not be pinned? It is not a subject of so much interest now as it used
to be, since, whether on a private drag or a modern coach, there is
generally time enough to buckle and unbuckle; but in former days this
was not always the case, for in very fast work there was not a moment
to spare. Is then the practice of going without the buckle dangerous
or not? Nimrod, in his article in the _Quarterly Review_ denounced it,
calling it a "mere piece of affectation." A Postmaster-General also
denounced the practice as being the cause of accidents. Of course, if
the reins are short, which they ought not to be, there is the danger
of their being drawn through the hand, but the plan I have adopted in
such a case has been to tie a knot in the end of the rein, so that it
was impossible for it to slip out of my hand.
And now, having quoted two high authorities in favour of pinning, I
will cite the same number of instances which tend to favour the other
side of the question. The first occurred to the Gloucester and
Aberystwith mail about forty years ago when on its down-journey, and
was a rather curious incident. When the mail changed horses at
Torrington, just as it was starting, the leaders, both old
steeplechasers, named Blue Bonnet and Cleanthus, sprang off with such
force as to break the pole-hook, and, of course, took the swinging
bars with them, and the leading reins went through the coachman's hand
with the rapidity of lightning. Fortunately, however, these were not
buckled, and the horses got off clear, perhaps indulging in the idea
that they were once more running a steeplechase, and so they continued
their career till they arrived at the toll-gate at Stoke Edith, which,
trying to jump, they broke into atoms, at the same time clearing
themselves of most of the harness, indeed, all except the bridles and
collars, and were found some time afterwards grazing quietly by the
side of the road. Now if the reins had been buckled it would have been
impossible for the coachman to unbuckle them quick enough to allow the
horses to get clear off, and an accident of a very serious nature
would most likely have happened, as, it being an election day, the
mail was very heavily loaded with passengers and luggage.
[Illustration: J. Sturgess del. et lith. M&N. Hanhart imp.
MET THE LOOSE HORSE TEARING DOWN THE HILL.]
The other case occurred to a coach which we put on in summer between
Dolgelly and Machynlleth as a sort of auxiliary to the "Harkaway." It
was only a three-horse power, and one morning on the up journey the
leader was so alarmed by a dog running and barking at him that he
sprang round suddenly, and the bar very fortunately twisted out of the
pole-hook as he did so; and Jack Andrews, who was driving, not having
buckled his reins, had only got to let them run through his fingers to
release him entirely from the coach. As I was following with the
"Harkaway" about half a mile behind, I was astonished to meet the
loose horse tearing down the hill towards us, terrified by the bar
banging about his houghs and the reins dangling at his heels, I feared
I should shortly come upon a smash, which certainly must have been the
case if the horse had not been able to go away clear of the coach. And
now, gentle readers, I leave you to take your choice, premising that,
for myself, I lean to unpinned ribbons.
Perhaps it may not be generally known now that, long years ago, in the
days of the slow and heavy, it was the custom to use what was called
"the short wheel rein;" that is, they were just long enough to hook
upon the finger. In those days, also, coachmen did not catch their
whips, only giving the thong a few turns round the crop at the upper
ferrule.
Having now, I think, said enough on the subject of harness, we are
ready to proceed to mounting the box.
Nimrod has somewhere said that a good coachman could almost be
perceived by the manner in which he put his gloves on, or words to
that effect; but without going so far as that, I believe the way in
which he mounts his box is no bad criterion. How different to see a
practised hand approach his team with confidence, and the almost
mechanical way in which he handles the reins, from the hesitation and
fumbling so often apparent in a tyro. Let us picture him to ourselves
as he approaches his horses, how easily he catches his whip, the crop
held well up so as not to run the chance of the thong being entangled
in the wheeler's ears, and there are no festoons of the thong. Then
taking hold with the left hand of the leading reins, nearly up at the
territs, beginning with the near side, he gives them a pull sufficient
to satisfy himself that no impediment exists to their free running,
and passes them to the centre finger of the right hand; after which,
doing the same with the wheel reins, he places them on the forefinger
of the right hand, in which position they are ready to be transferred
to the left hand, only reversing the fingers. This will prevent any
necessity for sorting the reins after having mounted the box, and thus
enabling him to start without a moment's delay. The other two fingers
should be tightly pressed upon the reins to prevent them slipping.
I should not have entered into all this minutiæ if I had not seen, on
one or two occasions, the reins divided by placing one finger between
the two nearside reins, and the other between the off-side ones. Then
there is another form to be equally deprecated, which, though seldom
seen in double reins, is far too common with those driving a pair, or
in single harness. I mean the thumb pressed down upon the reins and
pointing to the front, a position which must inevitably pin the elbow
to the side, and be destructive of all strength.
[Illustration: A NEAT MEETING.]
[Illustration: A MUFFISH MEETING.]
But I have seen what is even worse. I once beheld a gentleman
performing in Hyde Park, who, finding himself seriously incommoded
with the slack of his reins, stretched out his right hand over the
left, seizing the reins in front of it, and then, like sailors hauling
a rope hand over hand, proceeding to pass his left hand to the front
and take hold of them in front of the right hand. I have frequently
seen this manoeuvre practised by coachmen driving one, or a pair,
but only this once did I see the trick played on a four-horse box, and
I should think, when it was completed, that the reins must have very
much resembled a pack of cards well shuffled, and admirably calculated
to land the coach in a ditch after dark.
If there is leisure for looking carefully over each horse before
starting, the strain upon the reins, as previously recommended, is not
necessary, but when every moment of time is of importance, that is
quite impossible, and especially is it so at night, but for all
practical purposes it will generally be found sufficient; and to try
and point my moral, I will mention what happened to one of the best
coachmen I ever saw handle the ribbons.
One evening, after dark, Charles Tustin, with the up Aberystwith and
Shrewsbury mail, as he was driving out of Newtown, found when he
wanted to turn at the end of the first street, that the near wheel
draught rein would not run, and consequently the coach came in
collision with the corner shop.
Now if he had taken a pull at his reins, as I have ventured to
recommend, and as I have little doubt he usually did, he would have
found out that the horsekeeper had carelessly fastened the rein in
question between the hame and the collar. He was too good a coachman
not to make the least of an accident, and no harm happened to anything
except the glass in the shop window.
There is, however, one exception to this rule, which is that some
horses are so exceedingly nervous that if they find out when the
coachman is mounting his box, they are immediately all over the road,
and these must be humoured.
It is very important that the reins should be so arranged in the right
hand before leaving the ground that they can be transferred to the
left in working order immediately upon placing both feet on the
footboard, for some horses will brook no delay; and if the coachman is
not at once in a position to say, "Let 'em go, and take care of
yourselves," almost before he is seated, there may be a jibbing bout,
or a mess of some sort. With some teams it is, or at any rate used to
be
"If you will not when you may,
When you will you shall have nay."
I had at one time a leader of so nervous a temperament, though very
good tempered, that, having to pull up to take up a passenger in the
street just after leaving the inn yard, and where a brass band was
playing, he reared so high, that in his descent he fell clean over his
partner, but, as he had no vice, no injury was sustained except some
slight breakages to the harness.
On being "put to" on one occasion he so alarmed the box passenger that
he took only one step from the footboard to "terra firma," and if he
had not been nearly as quick in getting back he must have been left
behind, as it was my taking up the reins and mounting the box which
started the horse off in his capers.
With such horses as these, when the rein is run and the inside trace
hooked, it is time to be off, and the horsekeeper must hook the other
as best he can, but if the coachman is not smart with his reins he
cannot do it.
I hope I shall not weary the reader with these digressions, and make
him exclaim, "What an egotistical old ass he is," but as I do not
pretend to say that no improvements have taken place in the art of
driving during the last forty or fifty years, I am endeavouring to
enforce my recommendations with facts which have occurred to myself or
those I have known.