146 CHACUN A SON TOUR. 



to eleven miles an hour according to the variation of 

 ground. Still there may be situations and circum- 

 stances arise that even with this light weight may 

 render it judicious to make a further variation in our 

 mode of getting over the ground, which I will specify 

 in the proper place. 



We now turn to the four-wheeled machine or cruelty - 

 van: this, to carry four persons (happy horse if he 

 does not get six, if six can sit in it) and proportionate 

 luggage, is about as follows : 500 Ib. the machine or 

 carriage; 656 Ib. the four persons; 20 Ib. luggage 

 each, 80 Ib.; 12361b. the lot. This we must allow 

 is less than the proportion of weight that often, nay 

 generally, falls to the lot of the coach-horse to draw ; 

 but we must not by this consider the berth of the four- 

 wheel horse as a comparatively easy one, for four 

 horses will draw a load of three tons, which is 15 cwt. 

 each, with more ease than a single horse can his 1 2361b. ; 

 and for this very simple reason, that three horses can 

 for a time take the coach along ; so the fact is, each 

 horse is not at every moment drawing his 15 cwt. 

 During a stage, each horse feels himself at some one 

 part of it a little more distressed than his neighbours ; 

 consequently, as they can do the work for a few 

 hundred yards, he can, by going a little loose in his 

 traces for that distance, recover himself : he then turns 

 to to work again, and another indulges himself in his 

 turn: thus they all get a little occasional respite; and ; 

 as I remarked in speaking of hunters, two minutes' 

 ease is an age to a horse in distress. Here the coach- 

 man as well as the horseman shows himself, by 

 judging whether the horse slackens from laziness or 

 distress : if in the latter case he was to lay the whip 

 in, he would sew him up in half a mile. It is quite 



