86 BITS. 



equally able to set it right with his own hand. A 

 coachman also is not merely one who, with every thing 

 put right for him, can contrive to turn corners with- 

 out ^running against a post, or one who can manage 

 to wend his way along a road or moderately frequented 

 street : he should understand his carriage, know its 

 component parts, and their effects on its safety and 

 running. If he does not know this, he may be driving 

 with something about it loose, cracked, strained, 

 broken, or misplaced, at the imminent risk of his own 

 and his companions' lives ; and if not a judge of its 

 running well or ill, his horses will suifer ; for the 

 difference between the running of one carriage and 

 another may probably, when loaded, be nearly or 

 quite half a horse. I need scarcely say it is also 

 necessary he should understand the full effect of every 

 strap and buckle about his harness ; for on properly 

 harnessing and bitting horses all their comfort and 

 that of the driver depends : more accidents happen 

 from the want of this than from any other cause ; 

 and horses are also often very much punished in their 

 work from such neglect. A man ignorant of all this 

 does not know what is likely to lead to danger ; and 

 of course, when once in it, is as helpless as a child in 

 adopting perhaps the only means of getting out of 

 it. The reader has doubtless often seen a coachman, 

 before taking hold of his reins, go to all four of his 

 horses 7 heads, lay hold of their bits, and feel if each 

 horse is properly bitted. Probably this to some has 

 appeared a tiseless precaution : the coachman knows 

 better ; he knows that on that a great part of his 

 safety depends. 



I should perhaps much surprise many persons by 

 stating that a horse improperly bitted will sometimes 

 set him kicking : they may say, " What on earth has 



