THE COACH-HORN 



Some persons can sound a horn almost by instinct 

 from earl}^ childhood, others experience an insur- 

 mountable difficulty ; and fabulous sums have been 

 offered to me by certain persons, whose names I 

 suppress for obvious reasons, if I could only make 

 them blow as well as myself. The truth is, they won't 

 take the trouble. 



Now I could sound a Horn at the early age of 

 seven, and so can my son at a similar time of life 

 (much to the annoyance of his mother, by-the-bye) ; 

 but this precocity of talent may, perhaps, be ac- 

 counted for by the fact that my father, my grand- 

 father, and even my grandfather's uncle were bona 

 fide makers of Coach-horns, and I am, further, a 

 practical disciple of Hiram of Tyre, who, I may 

 remark, without incurring any penalties, was the 

 first artificer in metals in the days of King Solomon 

 (1 Kings vii. 14). 



My principal object is to teach my readers — my 

 gentle readers, I believe is the correct term — how to 

 sound a Horn ; but I have added a number of pre- 

 ludes in which I have been obliged to use musical 

 notes, and I believe they will be found a useful addi- 

 tion to these remarks, inasmuch as they comprise 

 easy calls, or soundings, familiar even to horses as 

 well as to coachmen, and therefore especially appro- 

 priate to the road. 



Before proceeding with my instructions, a descrip- 

 tion of a Coach-horn, and the difference between that 

 and a Post-horn, may not be out of place, the former 

 being nowadays used exclusively for a four-in-hand ; 

 although it should be borne in mind that the latter 



