COACHING 



more bo-kickers. It is hilly and severe ground, and 

 requires cattle strong and staid. You'll see four as 

 fine horses put to the coach at Staines as you ever 

 saw in a nobleman's carriage in your life." **Then 

 we shall have no more galloping — no more springing 

 them as you term it?" "Not quite so fast over 

 the next ground," replied the proprietor; *'but he 

 will make good play over some part of it : for 

 example, when he gets three parts down a hill he 

 lets them loose, and cheats them out of half the one 

 they have to ascend from the bottom of it. In short, 

 they are half-way up it before a horse touches his 

 collar ; and we must take every advantage with 

 such a fast coach as this, and one that loads so well, 

 or we should never keep our time. We are now 

 to a minute ; in fact the country people no longer 

 look at the sun when they want to set their clocks 

 — they look only to the Comet. But, depend upon it, 

 you are quite safe ; we have nothing but first-rate 

 artists on this coach." "Artist! artist!" grumbles 

 the old gentleman, **we had no such term as that." 

 * **I should like to see this artist change horses at 

 the next stage," resumes our ancient; *'for at the 

 last it had the appearance of magic — * Presto, Jack, 



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