106 DILIGENCE Cil. VI 



holding three persons. Behind the body is a boot, 

 on top of which is a seat for two, or for three pas- 

 sengers ; this seat is furnished with a hood. The 

 driver sits on the top of the coupe, with his feet on 

 a foot-board, which is in front of the windows of the 

 coupe. This seat is usually long enough to take 

 the ' conducteur' (guard) alongside of the driver, 

 but he sometimes sits in the rumble. 



The brake is applied both to the front and to the 

 back of the hind wheels, and is so arranged that it 

 can be worked from both sides of the driving-seat, 

 by either man. There is no perch, and therefore, 

 necessarily, three-quarter springs. The front wheels 

 turn under the body. The lead-bars are not at- 

 tached to the end of the pole, but to a rod which 

 runs under the pole from the futchells. When three 

 horses are in the lead, as is quite common, the 

 main-bar is long enough to spread the outside 

 horses sufficiently to admit the centre horse be- 

 tween them, and his bar is hooked to the centre of 

 the main-bar, no attempt being made to equalise 

 the draft. 



The baggage is piled on the roof and covered 

 with a tarpaulin ; the. mail-bags and small packages 

 are put in the hind boot. Various modifications of 

 this vehicle are in use, but that just described may 

 be considered the standard dilkrence. 



The harness is simple, and breechings are invari- 

 ably used on the wheel horses. The lead reins are 

 passed sometimes over the wheelers' heads, some- 



