320 STABLES AS THEY SHOULD BE. 



an entrance is pierced in the parting wall ; and upon the last door being 

 opened, as well as the trap being raised, a direct descent is formed, lead- 

 ing immediately to the cellar. 



Between the gig and the coach house there must exist a clear space, 

 eighteen feet deep, twelve feet wide, and of the last extent in height, 

 when measured from its roof to the pavement, which is level with the 

 ambulatory. The covering to this ground being flat and less lofty than 

 the slates of the building, is proof that a clear space must exist above it. 

 The place itself, however, contains nothing that can tempt cupidity. It 

 is evidently a sheltered ground, where the carriage may be got ready, 

 the harness may be cleaned, or any job be executed which might soil 

 other portions of the interior. Such a spot is handy for many purposes, 

 and serves as a loitering chamber for those idle gossips who delight in 

 hanging about large stables. 



Against the wall of this last locality, and near to its right-hand 

 corner, is a projecting block of brick-work, which measures three feet by 

 two and a half feet. It is evidently neither useful nor ornamental; 

 therefore the reader rightly conjectures it merely indicates the presence 

 of a chimney. Close to the chimney, but nearer to the entrance, is fixed 

 a pump. From a plug, ready to be inserted into the muzzle, and from 

 a pipe running some feet up the wall, which it ultimately pierces, evi- 

 dently the pump is occasionally used to force water into a hidden recepta- 

 cle situated above the surrounding level. In the left-hand corner of this 

 clear space is built a convenience for the stable servants, which should 

 be kept as clean as any other part of the edifice. 



Looking once more at the front of the stable, we perceive there is a 

 clock above the sheltered ground, while immediately under the clock 

 something resembling the top of a door can be discerned. The roof 

 of the ambulatory has also a trap let into it, which must be situated 

 directly beneath this door. The trap being raised, and the door 

 opened, by means of a ladder, which should hang upon the outer sidQ 

 of the ambulatory, admittance is gained into the clock-loft: by this 

 means the works of the time-piece can be regulated; while the re- 

 maining space affords ample accommodation for storing, and also offers 

 a spot where are housed those articles which are of no immediate 

 utility. , 



Between the gig-house and one of the first loose boxes there is a 

 space of eight feet by twelve feet. This forms a room which has two 

 entrances : one is by a door pierced through the wall of the gig-house ; 

 the other is by a door, the upper part of which is glazed, and which 

 opens from the ambulatory. Leading to the floor of the apartment are 

 placed before each door two steps, the pavement of this room being two 



