APPENDIX 245 



hitting the near wheel-horse, he brought the spUnter- 

 bar clear, and neither horse, harness, nor any part of the 

 coach or carriage touched that post. This occupied only 

 a few seconds, for the wheels never ceased turning, and 

 the escape from any accident must be attributed to the 

 care and nicety with which the horses were harnessed and 

 put to, and proves the necessity of a coachman havings 

 a perfect knowledge of the bearings of every part of the 

 harness, so as to have a full command of his wheel- 

 horses ; for here there were three chances — that is, of the 

 bars coming in contact with the post, the pole breaking 

 in the futchells, or the splinter-bar, or the ' near fore- 

 wheel striking the post ; either of which might have been 

 attended with bad consequences, and was avoided by the 

 pole-chains being of a proper length, and the wheel-horses 

 being properly curbed up. 



Many accidents, some of them of a most serious nature, 

 have occurred from a neuiect or Avant of knowledo-e of 

 these indispensable rules ; and no man, either gentle or 

 simple, can be called a perfect master of the art without 

 jDossessing a matured judgment and experience on these 

 points — he may have admirable skill in using the whip 

 — and in this many young amateurs are too vain of their 

 ability, frequently punishing a horse unmercifully, with 

 no other object than that of showing their dexterity and 

 skill — but the lack of the former qualification will 

 account for the very small number of gentlemen who 

 have ever attained anything like perfection. In this I 

 do not include those who became daily practitioners on 

 the Brighton road, a road that latterly seemed purjDosely 

 reserved, or particularly adapted, for the exhibition of 



