298 HAND ON THE REINS CH. XIV 



from fatigue, and be considered much more elegant 

 by good judges, and even by those who admire it, 

 without knowing exactly why. A fussy coachman is 

 not necessarily a good one, although many people 

 seem to think so. 



It was once said in my hearing, of a certain four- 

 in-hand man, that his horses must be very well 

 trained, because they always went along of them- 

 selves ; as a matter of fact, he drove all sorts of 

 horses, but knew how to put them together and how 

 to drive them. 



As to authorities on this matter, the following 

 quotations are interesting. ' Nimrod' {Northern 

 Tour, p. 274), speaking of David Roup, a coachman 

 for the famous Captain Barclay, says : — 



' His seat on his box is perfect ; his reins well laid 

 ' over his fingers, and as firm as if they were stitched 

 1 there ; his hands as quiet as if he were asleep, the 

 ' right hand never stirring at all till it was wanted, 

 ' when it was used as it should be ; and taken alto- 

 ' gether, there was a combination of strength, with 

 ' ease and smoothness, about his performance that 

 'pleased me as much as it surprised me.' This was 

 written in 1834, the best period of coaching, by an 

 excellent critic. 



Corbett {An Old CoacJunan 's CJiatter, p. 256) 

 says : ' I was once talking on this subject to 

 ' Charles Tustin, with whose name I have already 

 4 taken liberties, when he remarked that a coachman 

 ' should take up his reins at the beginning of a stage 



