HOW TO DRIVE ONE HORSE OR A PAIR. 105 



adept with, the whip. He was in want of a coachman, 

 and had requested the representative of the leading 

 coach builders at that time, who had an agency in New- 

 port, to send him a first-class, practical man. Now it 

 so happened that the representative of this firm was 

 at that time a very young- man, in fact, quite a novice 

 at the businesSj and possibly more interested in cigar 

 ette smoking than four-in-hand driving. But he sent 

 one; I don't know where he found him, but he came to 

 Boston and presented himself as the coachman recom- 

 mended very highly by the carriage firm. I never 

 before or since beheld such a specimen of a private 

 servant. Over six feet in height, and of slovenly ap- 

 pearance; in fact, he looked more like a farm hand. 

 I was asked my opinion about him as to his being 

 suitable for the i^lace, and found myself in a very em- 

 barrassing position. It is against my natural inclina- 

 tion to injure anyone or prevent their obtaining a 

 livelihood, so I merely made a proposition that if he 

 could drive a team he could certainly handle a whip. 

 He was asked the question. "Oh, yes," replied he; 

 "as good as anybody." A team whip was handed to 

 him made by one of the crack London whip makers. 

 He looked at it, threw out the thon^, and tried inef- 

 fectually as he termed it, "to crack it," but it would 

 not go off. He put it down with the remark, "That 



