THE HORSE. 203 



to say that the greater part, or perhaps all the horses 

 that dropped, were lost merely for want of such pre- 

 cautions as he had used. 



I have " held palaver" with several persons con- 

 cerned in the horsing business, on the general system, 

 and inquired whether it would not be more to the 

 interest of those who possessed capital sufficient to 

 turn off their horses before they became too much 

 injured by work, with a view to their recovery and 

 their lasting to the longest possible period. I touched, 

 however, only on the ground of interest, not that of 

 mercy or morality, which, in the view of my confa- 

 bulators, would have been palaver indeed. I recol- 

 lect only one coachmaster who professed to have 

 tried that plan to any extent, and he seemed to have 

 succeeded in it. The general method is to work the 

 animals as long as they can stand upon their legs ; 

 and when lame, I have heard it said, " we can whip 

 them sound." 



With respect to driving a single horse in harness, 

 as it is to be supposed that the aspirant has been 

 previously on horseback, and somewhat familiar with 

 handling the reins, " knuckles up or knuckles down," 

 and with the use of either one hand or both, there 

 can be little need for precise directions, which may 

 be gathered from every day examples on the roads 

 and in the streets. But, for a man to square himself 

 with four in hand, and to finger the ribbands with 

 dexterity, effect, and grace, is really an affair of no 

 mean consequence, whether we consider appearances, 

 6r the responsibility which he incurs in regard to 

 the lives and limbs of the passengers and of the ani- 



