In going down a hill, steady and feel the weight of the carriage you
have behind you; go off the top as quietly as you can, for you will
discover before you get half way down, if it is at all a steep hill, the
impetus will be so much increased, that you will have quite enough to
do, to keep your coach steady and your horses under control. The patent
drag is a great boon, which we had not in the old coaching days. I have
many times gone off the top of a hill, and, before I got half way down,
wished that I had put on the shoe; but another coach coming behind, with
perhaps a lighter load than I had, they would have passed me while I was
putting on the drag; this was the reason we sometimes neglected it, but
you can always go faster down hill, with the drag, than without it.