318 COMPETENT AND INCOMPETENT SERVANTS. 



varying of the blanketing according to the changing tem- 

 perature, the inspection of the shoeing, the fitting of the 

 harness, the thorough performance of the work by the under- 

 men, the fulfilment of his duties on the box, the keeping of 

 the stable accounts and in maintaining a high standard of 

 excellence throughout the establishment. 



" The gentleman's coachman is not the same being in the city that he 

 appears in the country. In the crowded streets of large towns he should 

 have nothing to learn. Skill in driving is his most essential qualification. 

 Sobriety stands next, and after that, experience in the stable management 

 of his horses. He should be careful at all times ; cool when accidents hap- 

 pen ; kind to his horses ; active, robust, good looking ; of a mature age ; 

 not disposed to sleep on the box, nor too fond of company. He should be 

 punctual to a moment ; always ready, indeed, an hour before he is wanted. 

 He should have a religious regard to cleanliness. It should be his pride to 

 excel others, and to have everything in the most exact order. Nothing -looks 

 worse than a slovenly, ill-appointed coachman. He should have none of 

 the indecent slang so common among worthless stablemen." John 

 Stewart, " Stable Economy" p. 69. 



WORK OF COMPETENT AND INCOMPETENT SERVANTS 

 COMPARED. 



The contrast is apparent at once between the manage- 

 ment of a stable with a capable man in charge compared 

 with one where the responsible position is filled by an infe- 

 rior servant. If the owner of a well conducted establish- 

 ment makes a tour of inspection at six o'clock in the morn- 

 ing he will not discover the stable locked up, the servants 

 asleep, or the horses penned up in a close unventilated 

 apartment; instead, he finds the day's work begun, the doors 

 and windows thrown open and the horses enjoying a feed 

 of hay, after a comfortable night's rest in a good atmosphere. 

 Moreover, the daily work is begun and done with regularity 



