RIDING AND DRIVING 83 



aim has been lost sight of in trying to attain a 

 style which shall please the eye, and this style is 

 not based on common sense. I am an advocate 

 for a pleasing outward appearance in everything, 

 but when usefulness is sacrificed to show, then I 

 consider we are verging on vulgar snobbery. 



The first thing is, of course, the perfect control 

 of the horse, and this must be accomplished with- 

 out causing him any discomfort. This rule is 

 applicable equally to riding or driving, and it is 

 the principle on which you must base all your 

 dealings with the animal. 



I can never understand the amusement some 

 people apparently find in driving four horses in 

 London. The club meets in Hyde Park are, of 

 course, to a certain extent, social functions, but 

 they always appear to me very dismal affairs, and 

 the majority of the drivers look as if the elevation 

 to the box seat had brought a grave responsibility 

 on their shoulders. They might be enjoying them- 

 selves, but the casual observer would imagine they 

 were on the way to a funeral. 



To rattle along behind a good horse at something 

 like fourteen miles an hour is pleasant enough 

 and there is a little excitement in driving, but most 

 amateur coachmen seem content to crawl at a pace 

 of which a coster's donkey would be ashamed. 



There are men who can drive four horses well, 

 and it is a pleasure to see them take a team through 

 traffic at a fairly rapid rate, but the average coach- 

 man is a slave to a system of driving, which is 



