THE COST OF A CARRIAGE. 109 



late hour of the night, it is scarcely reasonable to expect the 

 coachman to look after his carriage thoroughly, so that it is 

 likely to remain for hours sodden with a poultice of mud, and 

 London mud is so composed as to severely injure highly var- 

 nished surfaces. 



Assuming that a carriage a brougham, landau, or victoria 

 is reasonably used and properly cared for, the cost of repairs 

 during the first twelve months should be limited to the trivial 

 expenses of oiling the wheels, &c., once every three months, 

 together with a small outlay for blacking the treads of steps. 

 Considerably less than 5/. would handsomely pay for all this. 

 The second year the amount would be doubled, or even 

 trebled ; the third or fourth year the carriage would probably 

 require new painting, and this, with other incidental repairs, 

 might amount to 4o/. or 507. A new lining would be required 

 some two years later, and the expenses of this, with new leather 

 work, would amount to rather more than the cost of new paint- 

 ing. These figures are, of course, purely approximate. Really 

 well-built carriages often run for years without needing any 

 further attention than casual repairs to wheels ; on the other 

 hand, excessive work, rough usage and exposure will ruin a 

 carriage very quickly. 



London, it should be remarked, is both the best and the 

 worst place to buy carriages. The great London builders 

 turn out their productions with a finish which is rarely ap- 

 proached by country makers ; indeed, the best firms frequently 

 build carriages which are really works of art in their grace of 

 form and harmony of proportion. On the other hand, makers 

 of small or of no reputation will sometimes, by the aid of 

 paint and varnish, make the wreck of a carriage look exceed- 

 ing smart and so beguile the unwary. They never expect pro- 

 bably under the circumstances never want to see their customer 

 again ; whereas the builder who supplies a carriage to some 

 one who lives in his neighbourhood knows that it will be an 

 object of criticism for a number of years, and if anything proves 

 to be radically wrong his reputation will be injured. 



