148 AN INFERNAL MACHINE. 



I remember once travelling by a coach, and 

 remarking the two wheel-horses, both fine powerful 

 greys. I had observed the near horse had not once 

 tightened his traces for upwards of four miles, and on 

 my saying "I supposed he was making up his mind 

 as to when he should set to work," the coachman 

 laughed and said, " His time is very near up now, 

 Sir. " He said true enough : in another half mile I 

 saw a hill before us ^ a couple of hundred yards before 

 we came to it Grey sprang into a gallop, and others 

 joined, and this horse took certainly half the coach to the 

 very top of the hill. The remainder of the stage was all 

 against collar, and Grey never wanted a word said to 

 him the whole way ; in fact, he was a horse and a half 

 till we changed, and his comrade about one fourth of 

 one. I am ready to allow that those two wheelers 

 were not such as a man of fortune would select for his 

 team, but in their place they were both good ones ; 

 and so long as horses look well and bring their coach 

 home, coachowners must not be too particular how 

 they do it, or coachman either, provided it is done 

 safely, and well as to time. 



I have calculated the four-wheel machine, horse- 

 slayer, cruelty -van, hell upon earth, by whichever 

 you please to call the abomination, with its appurte- 

 nances, at about 12361b. weight, nearly double that 

 of a gig with its appurtenances. Now we must bear 

 in mind that one carriage double the weight of another 

 is considerably more than double its specific gravity 

 against the horse, for we must recollect there is, first, 

 double the friction which double weight must occasion, 

 and, secondly, low wheels. How far a four-wheeled 

 carriage might be constructed to carry only the same 

 weight as a gig, and be as easy to the horse, we will 



