94 A COURT DAY. 



I will answer for it, that before he had driven her a 

 quarter of a mile the check-string would be pulled, 

 and inquiry made whether he was ill, mad, or in 

 liquor ? Merely passing safely between other vehicles 

 would not be sufficient to satisfy one accustomed to be 

 driven by such an artist as a first-rate body-coachman. 

 To any amateur of driving, it is really a treat to see 

 such men handling their horses on such occasions as 

 a Court-day. They may be seen threading the mazes 

 of a dense crowd, their carriages gliding about like 

 so many gondolas on the Grand Canal at Venice ; no 

 fuss, no pulling and hauling ; a turn of the wrist is 

 sufficient for horses accustomed to be driven by such 

 coachmen. All seerns easy to the by-standers, no 

 difficulty appearing; but this apparent ease shows 

 the masterly hand that is at work. There is a kind 

 of free-masonry among such men, that enables them 

 to detect the perfect coachman at a glance. A cast 

 of the eye at the hands of each other on meeting is 

 sufficient to show to each what the other intends 

 doing : they know they will each do what they intend, 

 though only two inches of spare room is between 

 them : with confidence in their mutual skill, they 

 fearlessly pursue their course with as much precision 

 and certainty as if the wheels of their carriages were 

 confined in the track of a railroad. Mishaps, or 

 even mistakes, on such an occasion hardly ever occur ; 

 and for this reason, they are all or nearly all perfect 

 artists. But go to the theatres, the scene is widely 

 different : here is to be heard swearing, whipping, 

 smashing of panels, plunging of horses, vocifera- 

 tions of coachmen, cads, and constables the whole 

 place a perfect pandemonium. This contrast arises 

 from, in the latter case, numberless men being em- 



