CARRIAGES--THEIR COST, THEIR MAKE, THEIR EXCELLENCES, AND THEIR
MANAGEMENT.
The following particulars are derived from the highly respectable
establishment of Edwin Kesterton, (late Horn,) a well-known firm
which transacts business at No. 93 Long Acre. The writer is directly
indebted for the facts now stated to the generosity of Mr. John Ronald,
the gentleman to whose intelligence is intrusted the conduct of the
before-named business. If an extended observance, assisted by years
of experience, can lend value to information, certainly Mr. Ronald
may advance a good plea to be heard when speaking upon such a topic.
And the editor cannot forbear expressing a profound sense of personal
obligation for the unreserved and satisfactory manner in which all
statements were communicated, and unhesitatingly submitted to the
writer’s discretion. In short, Mr. Ronald’s mode of communicating
his knowledge speedily gained the confidence of his listener; but as
individual characteristics cannot be embodied in a written declaration,
the circumstance is only mentioned, to assure the reader that the
following details are worthy of his acceptance and deserving of his
consideration.
_Carriages_ are of various kinds; they differ very widely as to cost.
Every maker will manufacture every variety which may not be under the
protection of the Patent Office. Certain houses, however, may be famed
for a certain description of conveyances,--as that of Tilbury for the
gig, which is known by the name of its inventor.
The following statement of charges is to be regarded only as a probable
approximation to the cost of those articles which are specified.
Nothing assuming the form of a definite figure could be named, because
the orders given by gentlemen are so essentially opposite. Thus one
may be contented with a simple crest or two; but another will insist
that his vehicle shall display the fullest heraldic adornments. Such
differences in taste regulate the extremes which divide the charges
made for the same description of article when furnished by two equally
respectable manufacturers.
The gentlemen who profess Herald painting are remunerated according to
the time occupied, the amount of work done, and the elaborateness of
the design which has been executed. The scale may, to the uninitiated,
appear to be gifted with a great power of expansibility; but this
quality must reside in every form of art. Heraldic painting demands
extreme exactitude; for no liberty is allowable in this practice.
Everything is strictly defined. All examples must be rigidly followed.
Consequently, such a pursuit must be no inconsiderable tax upon the
memory, while occasionally it necessitates the most laborious research.
Such qualifications, moreover, should be paid for, when exercised
merely for the gratification of another.
To convey a rough idea of the expense of heraldic ornamentation, it
may be stated that two simple crests painted on a gig might, probably,
be executed for fifteen shillings. Coats of arms--such as were usually
seen on the panels of carriages--begin at two guineas; but the more
elaborate embellishments of this description--even should they demand
no research and require no particular skill--cannot be executed at a
less cost than eight or ten guineas. State vehicles, however, generally
abound in fanciful adornments. These have exceeded, for heraldic
painting alone, four or sometimes five hundred guineas. Such a sum
has been paid for the time, the labor, and the talent bestowed upon a
single carriage which, when thus embellished, could be seldom used!
The foregoing figures possibly may surprise most readers; but there
are several circumstances to be considered as tending to justify such
charges. In the first place, the community of Heraldic Painters are
few in number; and the uninviting character of their studies, with the
prolonged probation to be undergone before the novice is permitted to
practice the art, will probably prevent the body from ever becoming
a large association. Then, the employment of the proficients is very
much regulated by fashion, which does not, at present, appear disposed
to favor the display of family honors. The pursuit, when regarded
by itself, may be liberally recompensed. Yet it is not an every-day
necessity; but, being once finished, the work will probably endure
for years, while the vehicles upon which the resources of the art are
most expended are not articles of general use. Few heraldic painters,
therefore, accumulate fortunes; but the great majority live to repent
having adopted that which the reader may have felt inclined to regard
as an extravagantly remunerated calling.
Also, connected with the carriage builder’s trade is a still smaller
body of industrious and of deserving persons known as Coach Draftsmen.
These are the artists who labor upon those neat and picturesque
drawings which are always submitted for the approval of that gentleman
who may order a new vehicle to be built.
The primary requisite for such a profession is firmness, combined with
extreme delicacy of touch; an eye capable of appreciating the nicer
rules of art, united to a mind fully endued with the elements of grace,
or with that flow of line which is inseparable from all elegance of
design. None of these qualities can be dispensed with in the person
who embraces the pursuit. Much of the drawing is, no doubt, executed
according to measure and to rule, or is purely mechanical; but the
qualities which alone can fit an artist for eminence in his peculiar
calling are assuredly governed by something very different from and far
higher than the patient employment of the compass.
Prior to considering the cost attending the manufacture of various
vehicles, it may be proper to state some of the reasons that render an
admirably built carriage apparently so expensive. While this is being
done, the reader is requested to remember that the present time has
frequently been designated as that of competition. Artificers are said
to have become too numerous for all the members of any trade to live by
the practices of honesty. The people following a particular business
are reported to be more than half employed in cutting one another’s
throats. We are told that no sooner does the tradesman establish a
thriving traffic, than another starts an opposition, and under-sells
him.
Certainly there is no realizing those snug profits which our fathers
talked about having secured, during the termination of the last and
the beginning of the present century. Carriage builders are not few
in number, neither do they constitute a close society. They are
numerous as a trade, and each member of the calling is eager to
transact business. Still, the prices are not lowered by the spirit of
competition. A good article is yet worth nearly the same money which it
has always cost; and the patience of the reader is earnestly requested
while an attempt is being hazarded to explain the cause of so prominent
a peculiarity.
Before a carriage can be properly built, the conjunction of many
distinct callings is imperative. They must all work together, and
should all be actuated by harmony of spirit. The various parts are
almost innumerable; but each must be adjusted with the minutest
nicety. To collect, to retain, and to practice a body of men in such
united labor to a common end; to entice artisans, who can exhibit the
perfection of their crafts, to relinquish all idea of individuality
or of independence; and to induce such people to blend their efforts
or to allow only one spirit to actuate a large society,--is no mean
undertaking. Yet this must be accomplished; nor is that all, for such
contrary elements must be retained, each mutually assisting the other.
As the proprietor succeeds in accomplishing this object, so will be
his success in the coach building business. Let the reader, however,
understand that a good set of workmen is not the only necessity
required for this business. The tradesman must be himself distinguished
by the loftiest of human attributes. He must be also willing to sink
his individuality in his pursuit, and must be ambitious only for a
general result.
The coach builder works with very expensive woods, the original cost
of which is materially increased by the lengthened periods that these
articles have to be kept before being used. The time required to season
thoroughly a piece of timber, for the choicest of ordinary trades,
would be altogether insufficient for the coach builder’s purposes. Wood
must not only be seasoned, but it must be rendered so perfectly hard or
dry as shall make shrinking or warping, even in the slightest degree,
totally impossible.
Such a necessity compels the coach builder to keep a large stock of the
timber which he employs. This wood, when introduced to the workshop,
must be in a state of the utmost perfection. It must be possessed of
the greatest strength and the most approved hardness which its fiber
is capable of exhibiting. Those characteristics can only be attained
where the material is particularly fine in grain. Of course, such a
quality makes the substance specially retentive of that moisture which
circulated throughout every product of the vegetable world. This last
property gives rise to the necessity which obliges every log to be so
long kept before the tradesman dare have the wood admitted within the
precincts of his established manufactory.
The tools employed to cut such timber must needs be of exquisite
temper, and of course are equally costly to purchase. Moreover, the
simple cutting of wood almost as hard as metal is not sufficient. The
workmen must be capable of adapting the various parts so closely that
these shall, when put together, possess the strength of one entire
piece. The several junctures must be imperceptible either to sight or
to touch; the different portions must fit as though they grew together.
No amount of jolting, no possible shaking should cause the work to
yield even a hair’s breadth. Should the carriage be injured, though of
course the paint must be damaged, nevertheless the frame should remain
firm. Every part of the vehicle should be formed to endure the rudest
treatment; should be able to sustain, uninjured, the long rattling over
the roughest of country roads. Unless his products can bear such usage,
no tradesman need write “_Coach Builder_” subsequent to his name.
The tools sold to carriage builders are quite distinct from those
manufactured for the cabinet-maker or the joiner. The first articles
are known by different names, and are kept as a distinct class of
superior goods. An ordinary chest of such tools, possessed by every
average journeyman, could not be purchased under thirty, or probably
forty pounds. This price, in order that it may be justly appreciated,
must be regarded in connection with the class of men to whom it
refers; also it must be considered in association with the facts--that
workmen provide their own tools, and that each man is confined to one
particular species of toil; that the members of every shop often borrow
and as frequently lend; and that every tradesman is educated to adopt
various resources. Thus one instrument is often compelled to serve
several uses.
An ordinary carriage builder can generally command two guineas a
week. That sum, however, does not fairly represent the earning of all
workmen, when viewed as members of one body. Most clever artificers
will not engage by the period; but they prefer to be paid by the piece.
A person of no more than average talent, when employed at piece-work
on the ordinary run of jobs, can gain from two to three guineas by
six days’ toil. Thus every man in the trade has a direct stimulus to
improvement, the higher wages being a constant spur to excite the
work-people, none but the better sort of whom are engaged on the more
remunerative labor.
Then, of the many trades which the coachmaker employs, each must be
the perfection of its order. The upholstery must not be merely tacks
or tacking. All must be sewn with the stoutest thread, and nailed
with an intention that it should never loosen. The smith’s work must
be forged with an exactitude which is little expected in the general
sphere of the anvil. The painting and the varnishing must be carried to
the refinement of possible finish. In short, the best of many opposite
callings must be united before a carriage manufactory can be instituted.
The business which necessitates the junction of such adverse kinds
of perfection, of course cannot be conducted cheaply. The climax of
ability is a commodity which will always command a ready sale, and
for which, in every market, there is never a lack of bidders. He who
wishes to obtain it, must not, therefore, haggle about remuneration;
but be prepared to meet its demands with liberality. That circumstance,
taken in conjunction with the expensive nature of all the materials he
employs, disables the coachmaker, who is anxious to do justice to his
patron and to himself, from producing a cheap article.
A full dress coach or chariot, such as once were the only conveyances
permitted to approach St. James’s Palace on a Drawing Room day, cannot
be properly made for a less sum than four hundred guineas; if the taste
of the customer should be very fastidious, either article may cost
seven or even eight hundred guineas. A state carriage must be charged
for according to its adornments, which can almost be carried to any
extent.
The state carriage which was built to order for a particular monarch
had solid silver let in upon its exterior; while the ground was
composed of the choicest colors, overlaid by the most exquisite
decorative painting. The charge for this toy was seven thousand
guineas. The Sheriffs of London, however, manage to ride in a state
carriage at a more economical rate. Their vehicles are commonly hired
for the year of office; and the expense is only varied by that amount
of adornment which each new dignitary may please to command. The
ordinary charges are seldom lower than eighty guineas, and are rarely
higher than one hundred and sixty guineas.
[Illustration: A DRESS CARRIAGE.]
[Illustration: A CHARIOT.]
[Illustration: A BAROUCHE.]
[Illustration: A LANDAU.]
A neatly-built step-piece barouche is certainly an elegant conveyance,
though, at the present moment, hardly so popular as it was a few years
ago. Vehicles, like most other things, are subject to the arbitrary
dictates of fashion, and this circumstance renders the coachmaker’s
stock, which must at all times be costly, particularly hazardous.
However, the risk which is inseparable from the character of the trade
must be covered by the profit account when the books are balanced. A
good barouche is an expensive luxury; since this conveyance cannot be
manufactured under one hundred and sixty guineas, while it may, without
much extravagance, be easily made to cost two hundred and twenty
guineas.
The landau, which has now become almost the exclusive property of
the ladies, is even more expensive than the barouche. But with this
fact it may be necessary also to state that the landau requires to be
especially well built, and must be highly finished in every part. It
ought to be particularly light in appearance, and so nicely balanced
upon its springs that, though perfectly firm, the touch from a finger
nevertheless could set the body in motion. Such properties necessitate
the very best workmanship which can be procured, even in the carriage
trade. Consequently, this kind of conveyance cannot be properly raised
for a less price than two hundred guineas; but as the feminine taste
appears to be more cheaply satisfied than are the masculine desires,
the cost of an ordinary landau seldom rises above two hundred and fifty
guineas.
[Illustration: A CARRIAGE WITHOUT =C= SPRINGS.]
[Illustration: A BROUGHAM.]
A coach without the circular springs, or C springs, as they are
commonly called, and also wanting a dickey or seat behind, is now
manufactured according to various patterns. This kind of conveyance
is, at present, frequently encountered in the streets of London. Of
course, it is difficult to name the price of an article which is
generally built in accordance with some arbitrary command, and which
is not governed by any acknowledged regulation. The cost, therefore,
can only be controlled by the time, the labor, and the materials which
are expended in the construction; but this may be roughly calculated
at something between one hundred and ninety and three hundred guineas.
Such, however, are light and pleasant carriages, sufficiently roomy
to ride at ease in, and not difficult to propel. They are rapidly
ascending on the scale of public favor.
Broughams seem to be made of various forms: some vehicles bearing this
name are very little better than the more cleanly order of street cabs.
But such a brougham as no gentleman need be ashamed to own, or need
blush to see his crest emblazoned on, should be built for one hundred
and thirty to one hundred and eighty guineas. These vehicles have been
much improved of late. They were formerly manufactured of a weight
which was a severe tax upon the strength of one horse, and they were
at once vulgar both in appearance and in size. The draught has been
greatly diminished, while the aspect has been so far improved as to
advance a claim to elegance. Those proprietors who still cling to a
brougham which can accommodate more than two persons usually have the
equipage drawn by two small horses. The carriage, thus propelled, looks
showy, and is moved with perfect ease.
A mail phaeton may occasionally be seen driven through the park. But
this form of vehicle is not now so much used as it was a few years
ago; but when well appointed, it certainly has a most aristocratic
appearance. Few ladies, however, like to ride in such a conveyance,
unless they occupy a seat in the front compartment, and are accompanied
by the husbands, who are driving. Such a prejudice consigns half of
this carriage to the servants, while the length of the phaeton renders
its draught so heavy as to necessitate the employment of two horses.
Custom, therefore, makes these vehicles expensive to the proprietors,
although the first cost is not so large as the style suggests. One
hundred and forty guineas or one hundred and sixty guineas will
generally cover the purchase of the mail phaeton.
[Illustration: A MAIL PHAETON.]
[Illustration: A FOUR-WHEELED DOG CART.]
The four-wheeled “dog cart” has lately come into general use. Such
conveyances possess a more gentlemanly, and have an infinitely less
dangerous appearance, than the two-wheeled “turn outs” bearing a
similar designation. When driven with a pair of spirited horses, they
may proceed at almost any pace with perfect ease and safety; running
very light, yet affording ample accommodation for every portion of
the load, and looking the perfection of a sporting “concern.” They
are, moreover, when compared with the sums at which the more showy
properties of most carriages are purchased, not to be esteemed
expensive. A good article of this description can be bought for seventy
guineas, and the most elaborated seldom costs more than one hundred and
twenty guineas.
Gigs of different denominations are mostly of one price. This figure
ranges from forty to seventy guineas. It matters not the shape, whether
it be a Stanhope or a two-wheeled dog cart, the expense is pretty much
the same. The last form of vehicle is now coming into very general use;
but when fully loaded, it appears dangerous, and is a severe tax upon
animal strength when driven at the rate which most drivers seem to
prefer. Hence the obvious origin of the four-wheeled dog cart, which,
when harnessed to a pair of horses, is free from those objections that
the original form of this conveyance invariably suggested.
[Illustration: A GIG.]
[Illustration: A TWO-WHEELED DOG CART.]
A well-built carriage is, consequently, a rather expensive convenience;
but, unfortunately for the honest tradesmen, few persons are qualified
to advance an opinion upon the conveyance. The reader, therefore, must
accord his indulgence while the author endeavors to explain the points
which characterize a well-manufactured article. In the first place, the
wheels should revolve without perceptibly varying from the line which
they indicated when the carriage was stationary and the tires were
viewed from behind. They should not, during rotation, incline either
to the right or to the left, for if they, when in motion, alter even a
hair’s breadth from such a line, it is proof positive that the wheels
are faulty. They should move slowly and quickly without making the
slightest sound: they should glide noiselessly over all even surfaces,
and with no more audible disturbance than is unavoidable, they should
travel, at the most rapid pace, over the roughest highway.
The body should be poised so evenly as will answer to the gentlest
force, and be readily swayed by more violent action; but however
excited it may be, the body should never lean to either side, and, the
impetus being arrested, it should speedily become stationary. All the
parts should be firmly united. When violently urged, the movements
should elicit no creaking; the steps should not jingle; the windows
should not rattle; and, above all, when the outlets are shut, a person
inside should be incommoded by no perceptible draught.
That time may not injure such properties, the coach-house should be
warm, should be well aired, and should be perfectly dry. Damp is
ruinous to the paint, to the ornaments, and, in short, to every part
of a conveyance. As the most used carriage must be a greater number
of hours within its house than it can possibly be abroad, so for the
larger portion of its existence is it exposed to the operation of
those enemies (when any exist) which will be silently destroying. The
length of time which a vehicle improperly housed may endure, will of
course greatly be dependent upon the amount of evil with which it has
to contend; but only a moderate degree of moisture will so speedily
tarnish as shall necessitate restoration at least twelve months prior
to the usual season for that renovating process.
A good coach-house should neither by door nor by window communicate
with the stable. Such openings are usually present in most London
buildings, and are evidently allowed either from thoughtlessness or
from a greater feeling for the servant’s convenience than regard for
that which the servant is engaged to keep in order. The fumes of the
stable principally consist of ammonia or of the volatile alkali. These
emanations, from manure made pungent by the exclusion of atmospheric
air, are very insidious in their effects, and are much more destructive
than either of the fixed anti-acids, potash or soda.
Most coachmen are aware that the employment of soap, in any form,
is injurious to paint and to varnish. Soap, however, is a salt, or
consists of an alkali, which is neutralized or combined with a fatty
acid. Still alkali, even in this shape, should not be applied to any
conveyance. The idea of dissolving potash or soda in water, and then
employing the liquid to cleanse the family carriage, appears to be
so preposterous as to be rejected even by the ingenious ignorance of
the stable. But a single application of the last agents would do less
damage than the long exposure of a vehicle to the more penetrating
fumes of gaseous ammonia.
Another subject of much importance to the carriage interest--but one
not generally considered by the majority of proprietors--is the kind
of water with which the stable is supplied. Coachmen commonly think to
counteract the ill effects of bad water upon the horses, by exposing
pails filled with the liquid, for some hours, within the tainted
interior of the stable. But the fluid is more likely to become foul
from the impurities which it can there absorb, than for the action of
ammoniacal gas to amend the properties or to correct the evil qualities
of the liquid.
Hard water, especially that which is impregnated with a solution of any
mineral substance, is equally prejudicial to the health of animals and
to the beauty of vehicles. Such should never be employed in any stable.
Soft water or river water is alone suited for either purpose. Pipe
water, or water which has traveled far in leaden tubes, is frequently
impure; while pump or well water should always be avoided.
This may to many readers appear a trivial matter to be so energetically
enforced; but as all the comforts of life are only secured by attention
to those particulars which surround existence, certainly the pocket
of the master is concerned in the conditions to which his carriage is
exposed.
Many gentlemen, however, will permit the servants to ruin the best-made
carriage, and then blame the builder, because his work is capable of
being abused. When the family returns home at midnight, after the
necessities of the horses have been attended to, the vehicle should
be thoroughly sluiced with cold water, so that not a speck of dirt
remain clinging to the paint. At whatever hour the residence may be
reached, this operation should never be neglected. The free and copious
employment of fluid floated over the varnish is imperative, and (as
will be explained hereafter) prevents serious damage.
There is no occasion, at so late a period, when extreme hours have
probably indisposed the servants for exertion, that the carriage
should be regularly cleansed with brush, mop, and pail; but a large
watering-pot, kept ready for such uses, will, in a very brief space and
without much trouble, pour forth a steady stream of liquid, and float
off the loose fresh mud by the simple action of gravitation. This done,
the superabundant moisture will have run off the varnish, which was
first sluiced, and the surface may be roughly dried with a sponge. All
being accomplished, the coachman may safely delay his regular routine
of duties until he rises on the following morning.
The reason which necessitates a carriage to be immediately washed,
whenever it returns home soiled, is quickly stated. If wet mud be
permitted to continue and to dry upon the surface, a white, opaque
spot will afterward indicate the place to which the dirt adhered.
Moreover, a vehicle which is invariably left in its coat of filth until
the following morning, always requires repainting and revarnishing
twelve months, and very often two years, before the general period
for restoration, when the opposite and the more careful measures are
adopted.
Should a carriage have to wait the convenience of its master, it
should never rest in the full blaze of the sunshine. Where a choice is
possible, the careful servant always withdraws into the shade. It is
even worth while that pride should so far sacrifice its feelings as
to sanction such a precaution; for the cool shadow is not only more
pleasant for the horses, but is infinitely better than the extreme of
glare and heat for the conveyance to which the animals are harnessed.
The excess of light causes the varnish to crack, and removes the gloss
from the smartest vehicle. The smooth and the highly polished surface
suffers; this, of course, injures the deeper structures. Should the
carriage have been purchased from an honest builder, there is small
danger of any degree of warmth affecting the main structure; but if the
custom of standing in the sunshine is sanctioned, the paint will not
last longer than three years, while, even for that period, the effect
will not be good; since the cracks in the varnish serve as gutters
wherein soil will accumulate.
The well-built body of a regular carriage should remain together while
three sets of wheels are used up. The arbitrary dictates of fashion,
however, interfere with the economy which was, formerly, generally
observed. Few, save the titled or the old aristocratic families, at
present keep what once was the recognized build of every private
carriage. The conveyances now manufactured for the moneyed and the
respectable classes are built according to no common model; but the
forms are moulded by the dictates of most arbitrary caprice. The
article therefore which, when it was newly built, excited surprise and
kindled emulation, shall, before it has existed eight years, provoke
contempt, as a lumbering concern altogether behind the spirit of the
age. Consequently, the duration being limited, (and a set of wheels
being calculated, with ordinary work and care, to last four years,) not
many of the lighter and more novel vehicles can be used for a longer
period than suffices to wear two-thirds of the stated number.
A set of wheels hardly ever cost the same price, when made for vehicles
of different descriptions. A brougham and a carriage both possess
four wheels; yet the charges made for each kind are very opposite.
The wheels proper for a carriage cost fourteen or twenty guineas;
whereas those which are fittest for a brougham can be made for ten
guineas. Then, again, the gig requires only two wheels; but the pair
are generally sold at six guineas. These variations are regulated by
the extent of the circumference, the substance necessitated, and by
many particulars which the reader can readily imagine. Wheels are,
therefore, somewhat expensive; a fresh supply is rendered the more
costly, because the newness of one part makes imperative the renovation
of the whole; although some persons avoid such a consequence by having
the wheels and the body of a carriage of different colors. However,
such piebald affairs always betray the intention, and the idea of
exposing a personal meanness has, hitherto, prevented the practice from
being generally adopted.
The good and the careful coachman can only display the value of
his services when there is no stint of those appliances which are
imperative for the proper exercise of his calling. It is always
necessary that the master’s economy should afford no ready excuse for
neglect of duty in the servant. This is important, because no domestic,
excepting the groom, has such valuable and such perishable property
intrusted to his discretion. Paint and varnish are not enduring
commodities. Most London houses are redecorated every third year; with
all care, a carriage will appear respectable but one term longer.
For the proper discharge of his duties, the coachman requires three
sponges and three leathers for the body of the vehicle. One sponge
to cleanse the coarser dirt from the carriage; another to remove any
lingering soil; while the third serves to render the surface somewhat
dry, previous to the employment of the leathers. For the wheels a
setter, or a machine to raise them from the ground, cannot be dispensed
with; a mop and a pail to remove the dirt; a brush to cleanse the
angles; also sponges and leathers to thoroughly purify or polish the
surface--all are needed. There should also be a superior brush for the
lining; and another brush, with an additional leather, to brighten the
brass or plated ornaments upon the exterior.
[Illustration: A WHEEL SETTER.]
To polish the last, no preparation excels prepared chalk, when mixed
with soap and water. It thoroughly removes every impurity, without
sensible wear of the substance to which it is applied. In this last
particular, it possesses an immense advantage over the gritty pastes
sold for the purpose of polishing metals; for this material acts
chemically and mechanically on such surfaces. The prepared chalk may,
moreover, be purchased at every chemist’s, the charge commonly being a
shilling for the pound; while the other ingredients are found in every
household.
In one respect, few servants are sufficiently careful. They imagine
whitening and other filths are indispensable when glass is to be
cleaned. The prejudice originates in ignorance; for glass requires
nothing except two leathers, or a sponge and a leather, to render
it perfectly bright. The first article should be merely moist, the
intention being to loosen or to remove the superficial dirt. After
this has been accomplished, the dry leather is brought into play to
cleanse and to polish the metal. By such an easy and so simple a resort
are prevented those accumulations round the edges of windows, and the
soiled condition of the frames which disgrace too many carriages,
and which certainly would generate no regret if rendered altogether
impossible.
The lining does not need so much care as might be imagined. Unless the
weather be hot and the roads very dusty, it will hardly require more
than a single brushing. A brown holland cover for the interior has
become general; but such a thing, when soiled, should never be sent to
the family washerwoman. The article may come home washed, starched, and
ironed to perfection; but in these processes it is sadly stretched and
pulled out of shape. The holland never sets well afterward, and very
speedily requires the cleansing to be repeated.
The proper method, and not the dearest in the end, is to return such
things to the carriage-maker, by whom such matters are understood; the
article will be returned cleansed and calendered, looking like new
material and with no part strained or stretched till it does not fit
into its relative situation.
When speaking of cleaning, it may be as well to caution the reader
against purchasing the requisites for cleaning his carriage of the
nearest tradesman or at the cheapest shop. Such goods should all be of
a superior description, or of a kind which is not encountered in the
stock of most dealers. They cannot be purchased for a less sum than
three pounds ten shillings, if the quality is to be excellent; and it
is always better to commission the carriage builder to procure them
than to risk obtaining worthless articles.
[Illustration: A PILE AND A BRUSSELS CARRIAGE CARPET PLACED TOGETHER.]
Most vehicles, whether mounted upon two or four wheels, are furnished
with mats or small carpets, though the nature of these articles are
better represented by such things being designated “rugs.” These “rugs”
are commonly of two sorts: one kind being known as “Brussels,” the
other being termed “pile.” The last, of any figure, always strike the
beholder as not having been specially made for the situation which the
article occupies. The Brussels are not open to the same objection,
having an ornamental center, surrounded by a complex border. However,
the coachman should always carefully attend to the rug every morning;
because, as the pavement has to be crossed every time the passenger
leaves or enters the conveyance, that upon which the feet rest is more
likely to be soiled than any other portion of the interior.
Moist mud upon the surface of the rug should never be interfered with.
The soil should invariably be permitted to become dry prior to its
removal being attempted. Then the offending patch is more quickly
displaced by rubbing the sides smartly together, or by passing a clean
besom briskly but not heavily over the place, than by those numerous
gentler measures which occupy more time in performance and are more
wearing in their operation. All dirt being removed, no further brushing
is required; but the rug, after having been beaten against any door
post, (but that of the stable,) may be replaced in the carriage. All
rugs should be similarly treated, and should be always removed every
morning; because grit will necessarily accumulate upon the floor, and
thus cause much more wear than can be occasioned by the feet alone.
As concerns those things which the wheels require, the coachman should
observe three matters, which are all specially important: screwing on
the box or the central cover; oiling the axle-trees; and perpetually
noticing the wear which the tire, or the marginal rim of metal,
undergoes. With regard to the box, that should be screwed until the
wheel turns steadily, evenly, and pleasantly. Should sensible effort be
requisite to put the wheel in motion, the necessity for force is proof
positive that the box has been screwed too tightly, or that it has been
made to press too hardly against the wheel, which it should merely help
to retain in its position. Such a compression, acting upon all four
of the wheels, will increase the draught threefold, the action being
the same as a break when it is applied to check the perilous downward
progress of any vehicle.
Inferior axle-trees soon wear with the friction of the wheels which
rotate upon them. Colins’s (expired patent) are, perhaps, the best;
though the choice is somewhat extensive, and there is no article of
this description which does not possess some merit. When the box will
not screw steadily, and the case-hardening of the axle has worn off,
the wheel is not, as many persons imagine, imminently dangerous; but
its rotation becomes uneven, and the motion of the carriage is rendered
less pleasant to the rider. The greasing or the oiling of the wheels,
when the work is of the ordinary duration and character, is performed
sufficiently often, if done once in three months. Quicker progression
necessitates more constant attention; and the axles of a conveyance
driven notoriously fast had better be inspected every week.
Coachmen are not commonly negligent concerning such particulars.
Neglect, however, would cause the grease to assume a solid form, and
impede the motion. This effect causes an extra drag upon the collars of
the horses; and gentlemen, when the vehicle moves slowly, should, upon
reaching home, see that the axles are properly greased, and the boxes
are not screwed too hardly.
The tires will sometimes outlast the wheels; but all depends upon the
distance covered, the weight drawn, and the pace at which the vehicle
is driven. Some gentlemen--especially medical gentlemen in full
practice--will wear through a set of tires in eight or nine months,
when the orders given are to move fast, and four changes are required
to get through the daily visits. However, no person should risk riding
in a carriage when the tires become perceptibly thin or loose.
Small lamps are a mistake. Diminutive lanterns may in some eyes look
prettier during daytime; but when they are used, the confined space
does not allow the amount of oxygen to enter the interior which is
required to support the flame. The consequences are, diminished
brilliancy and an abundance of smoke. The glasses become speedily
soiled and the reflectors deadened. A lamp of sufficient size is not
without its recommendations, as, even in daylight, it lends purpose
and dignity to the vehicle which it adorns. At night it will nourish
the flame, and cause the reflectors to shine forth with almost dazzling
effulgence.
[Illustration: A LARGE AND A SMALL LAMP.]
That it may do this, however, it is imperative the proper kind
of candles be consumed. Of candles, there are two kinds sold for
carriages. One, which is the cheaper, is a composition that soon
softens under the combined effect of confined heat and strongly
reflected flame. The light is not bad, but, nevertheless, is far from
brilliant; while the want of an essential property makes the candle
dear, even when purchased at a lower price. The other light is the old,
stout, wax candle, which, if procured from a respectable dealer, will
burn brightly, and scarcely be affected, with regard to firmness, after
the longest night journey has terminated.
The carriage, when in the coach-house, should be covered and
protected from soil by a large brown holland envelope. Under such a
protection, it is usually placed with every door and window closed.
The consequence is, that too many vehicles strike cold when entered,
and communicate to the passenger a damp or musty smell. The interior
is foul with imprisoned air; and custom conserves the moisture natural
to confinement. The appendage suggestive of luxury is thus rendered a
dangerous possession.
The brown holland covering will exclude the dust. Always, therefore,
leave the windows wide open whenever the carriage is in the house.
The atmosphere of such a locality should be warm and dry. It will
sweeten the interior, within which four people may have been seated
and breathing for upwards of an hour on the night before, when the
rain fell in torrents. It will freshen up the padded linings, and the
mistress will be grateful for the care which the coachman has bestowed
upon her comfort.
The owners of carriages are not sufficiently careful when engaging
the stable attendant. They often will, if there be a vehicle to look
after, without hesitation hire a _groom_ to perform the duty. When this
is done, the gentleman infers that the man who can dress horses must
necessarily comprehend everything that concerns the carriage to which
horses are harnessed. Such an inference is certainly not warranted by
fact. A good groom professes to understand only horses; and servants
of this description are the coachmaker’s aversion. It would assuredly
be better for many parties could proprietors condescend to exercise a
little more caution in this particular; as a capable dependent alone
ought to be created potentate over all the contents of the stable.
All that essentially concerns a carriage having now been stated, the
subject, as the reader will have perceived, is not remarkably difficult
to understand. A few questions, therefore, put to the candidate for a
situation, would speedily elicit whether the applicant comprehended the
duties of that office which he aspired to undertake. Ignorance can by
its misdoing prove quite as harmful as the most designing malice. Much
money and no little vexation would be spared could gentlemen practice a
reasonable precaution before trusting in the discretion of a stranger.
It was formerly a rule among the trade to allow five per cent. every
year off the employer’s bill as a gratuity to the servant. This custom
was general, not only with the carriage builder, but with all persons
who had dealings with the stable. It even extended to those whose
services were only occasionally retained, involving the veterinary
surgeon, the shoeing smith, etc. The reason upon which such a habit
was based being a desire to bribe the coachman, that he might damage
what the trades-people would be required to repair; or, at all events,
it was a fee commonly paid, hoping it would encourage the extravagance
which it was the master’s interest to restrain. “The _good old
days_,” however, are past! Most carriage builders have learned, from
experience, their best interests are promoted not by the fragility,
but by the enduring quality of those articles which they supply. Most
proprietors also know how long a sound conveyance should endure, as
well as what ought to be the average cost for repairs.
The more respectable houses, even now, certainly give trifling presents
to the deserving domestics whom they encounter; but such presents are
bestowed rather to induce care than to encourage willful damage of the
manufacture, for the tear and wear of which the donor is responsible.
In proof of this, the head of an establishment may frequently be seen
walking about, restless with pleasurable emotions, when a vehicle
which was built by his house shall last a month or two over the
regular period for renewal; and the servant would therefore find he
had embarked in a losing speculation, who should damage his master’s
property with the intent of increasing his occasional gratuity.