CH. XV JUDGEMENT OF PACE 353 



they are going, and either lose time, or overwork 

 their cattle. Four horses to a coach, on a good 

 road, get over the ground faster than they seem to 

 do, to an unpractised observer. In driving a public- 

 coach over an unknown road, as is sometimes the 

 good fortune of a coachman, all that he can know 

 ol a stage is, that it is so many miles, to be done in 

 so many minutes, with a hint that there is such a 

 part up-hill and such a part down-hill ; and, unless 

 he is able to judge accurately of the rate at which 

 he is going, he must do the stage badly, arriving at 

 the end of it either too early or too late. Various 

 suggestions are made as to the means of estimating- 

 the speed, such as looking at the wheels, &c. ; but 

 the only true way is to acquire, by careful observa- 

 tion, a knowledge of the manner in which horses of 

 different qualities and sizes go at a certain pace, 

 whereupon the ability to judge will come insensibly. 

 Perfect judgement in this respect is not given to all 

 men, and in race-riding it is justly considered one of 

 the most important and one of the rarest qualities 

 that jockeys possess. 



Of importance, also, in a minor way, is the ability 

 to decide upon how much time will be required to 

 cover a certain amount of road in attempting to 

 overtake and pass a vehicle, so as not to be forced, 

 after commencing such a movement, to pull up, 

 when half through it, in order to permit something 

 coming in the opposite direction to go by. 



Galloping the horses to a coach may be resorted 



23 



