412 USE OF THE WHIP CH. XVII 



Club, of Paris, that any member neglecting this pre- 

 caution, of unwinding his whip, shall pay a fine of 

 one franc to every other member who may happen 

 to be on the coach. 



The whip should never remain in the socket 

 (many coaches have no whip-socket, which is a good 

 plan) ; it should always be in the hand ready for 

 use, since the wheelers may need to be turned by it 

 more quickly than they can be turned by the reins ; 

 for a sharp forward movement of a wheeler, owing 

 to his pulling on the end of the splinter-bar, will 

 promptly take his side of the coach round. 



In galloping, it is usually better to guide with the 

 whip than by the reins, because pulling a horse to 

 one side will take him out of his even stride or 

 cause him to change his leading leg. 



It is in the management of the whip that an 

 amateur coachman is of necessity weakest, private 

 teams generally requiring more to be restrained 

 than to be urged, so that if he does not keep his 

 right hand quiet, his horses may 'get too much 

 for him ;' consequently, it is a good plan to spend 

 some spare time on foot, or on a coach-box, prac- 

 tising upon imaginary animals. 



In addition to the regular whip, old coaching 

 chronicles tell of the 'short tommy,' or 'docker,' 

 and the ' apprentice :' the former appears to have 

 been a whip with a short stick and a short thong, 

 with which, on a bad hill, the coachman of a ni^ht- 

 coach, after putting his whip under his right leg, 



