OBSERVATIONS. 25 



its way and stop as smoothly as it went off. Merely 

 passing safely between other vehicles would not be suf- 

 ficient to satisfy a lady accustomed to be driven by such 

 an artist as a first rate body coachman. To any ama- 

 teur of driving it is really a treat to see such men hand- 

 ling their horses on such occasions as a Court day at 

 Buckingham Palace. They may be seen threading the 

 masses of a dense crowd, their carriages gliding about 

 like so many gondolas on the Grand Canal at Venice. 

 No fuss, no pulling and hauling; a turn of the wrist is 

 sufficient for horses accustomed to be driven by such 

 coachmen. All seems easy to the bystanders, no diffi- 

 culty appears, but this apparent ease shows the mas- 

 terly hand that is at work. There is a kind of free- 

 masonry among such men that enables them to detect 

 the perfect coachman at a glance. A cast of the eye at 

 the hands of each other on meeting is sufficient to show 

 to each what the other intends doing. They know they 

 will each do what they intend, though only an inch of 

 spare room is between them. With confidence in their 

 mutual skill they fearlessly pursue their course with as 

 much precision and certainty as if the wheels of their 

 carriages were confined in the track of a railroad. Mis- 

 haps or even mistakes on such occasions hardly ever 

 occur, and for this reason they are all perfect 

 artis.ts. But go to the theatres, the scene is widely 



