CARRIAGES. 31 



C spring were not yet. It is clear, however, that men who 

 were connected with carriages that is to say, builders, owners, 

 and drivers were hard put to it to overcome certain obvious 

 discomforts and inconveniences, and of all the new devices tried, 

 perhaps the oddest spectacle is suggested by another writing in 

 the immortal 'Diary;' indeed, the word ' odd ' is actually applied 

 to it by Pepys. The idea was to let the coachman ' sit astride 

 upon a pole over the horses.' This, Pepys thought, was 'a pretty 

 odd thing,' and he seems to employ the word 'pretty ' in its most 

 accurate significance, and not as a sort of satirical 'very.' The 

 pole in question must have been a sort of bowsprit fixed on to 

 the front of the carriage, and one can only faintly imagine 

 the Four-in-Hand Club meeting at the Magazine with all the 

 members in this seamanlike attitude. The notion does not 

 seem to have lingered, but there was a period, long prior of 

 course to the days when the worthies whose careers on the box 

 are recorded in other chapters were in their prime, when a 

 conveyance from Devon to London was drawn by six horses 

 harnessed one before the other, and driven by a man who 

 walked. This was admittedly a waggon, and not a coach. 



By degrees it was perceived that the best place for the 

 driver is that in which he is now usually found, and late in the 

 seventeenth century we find him on an early substitute for 

 the box with a footboard amongst other luxuries. There were 

 no windows to the vehicle, but there were curtains, and the vague 

 idea of springs had been so far improved upon that the body of 

 the carriage was suspended as if with a regard for the comfort of 

 the occupants. At that time also carriages were often lavishly 

 decorated with elaborate carvings, paintings, and gildings. 

 This was far from new ; indeed, many of almost the earliest 

 chariots of unknown dates were distinguished by efforts of 

 artists ; but for a good many years the main idea of the carriage 

 seems to have remained unaltered. The varieties of carriages 

 which are now common were not dreamed of : there appears, 

 in fact, to have been very little variety. If a man wanted a 

 carriage to ride in, it was assumed that he wanted something 



