FOUR IN HAND. 135 



society, who are wofuUy ignorant of the different altera- 

 tions i required at times to make a team go well to- 

 gether. Nine times out of ten the owner of a team 

 drives himself; that is what he keeps it for — his own 

 pleasure and amusement. In fact, in most ca^es. drives 

 it fr(>iii the stable himself and back there again, the 

 coachman being incompetent to drive four. Now, it 

 stands to reason that if a man cannot drive a team we 

 can hardly ex])ect him to know when he has (put them 

 to whether he has put them to as they should be. 

 Therefore, the person who drives them should, for his 

 ovni comfort and safety, be able at once to see and 

 rectify any imperfections that may be in the bitting, 

 reining and working of the horses; but when a gentle- 

 man employs a practical coachman, one who really does 

 understand his business, and drives them himself occa- 

 sionally, it will be sufficient for him to be able to drive, 

 as the team will be put together properly. To have a 

 team put together and know how to drive them in a 

 coachmanlike style requires a good deal of practice; 

 more so, in fact, than most gentlemen ^Aho kee]^ teams 

 imagine. 



I have on different cccasions, while e:}gaged in drivln i; 

 a road coach, been tasked by passengers to allow them to 

 di'ive a little, an<l, providing I had a quiet team, with 

 plenty of time and a straight, easy piece of road to go 



