68 BOX AND DRIVING-SEAT CH. IV 



be entirely stuffed, in which case it is fastened on 

 by two straps which cross on top of it, or it may be 

 made with box sides and back, like the driving 

 cushions of a landau or of a brougham, and fast- 

 ened to the seat by a strap underneath. The 

 former is the old-fashioned coaching style. The 

 seat should not be too tlat, nor should it be as 

 steep as it is sometimes made, so that the coach- 

 man rather leans against it than sits on it, a point 

 that will be referred to when treating of the Position 

 on the Box. On a public-coach there is usually a 

 pocket on the near side of the cushion. The iron 

 rail on the off side should rise above the cushion, 

 to prevent the coachman from being thrown off 

 by a violent jolt. The box-seat has a back which 

 does not extend behind the coachman's cushion. 

 It is sometimes curved, as shown in Plates VII. and 

 XIX., but this is no improvement. It is frequently 

 so made that it can be taken off, in which case, 

 it should be, when in place, strapped tightly, other- 

 wise it may yield to the pull of a passenger who 

 takes hold of it in getting up or down with the 

 risk of giving him a fall. It is better to have it a 

 fixture. 



Attached to the upper front edge of the boot 

 (Fig. 38) is the foot-board, the angle of which is of 

 great importance. An angle of 33 degrees with the 

 horizontal is the best. 



Too large a foot-board is uncouth ; in the old 

 mails it was both short and narrow, so' that the 



