A THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE. 363 



thouofh the tradesman had taken refuQfe behind ram- 

 parts bristling with technical terms through which it 

 is impossible to force a passage. Supposing that a 

 gentleman's superintendence of the building of his 

 carriages went no further than to execute the design, 

 it might at least go so far ; he might make a scale- 

 drawing of the carriage he intends building — one-half 

 inch to the foot is generally the scale upon which 

 carriages are draughted. Most of the carriages one 

 meets with originate in a drawing to scale, and are 

 then transferred to the blackboard in full size ; 

 those that do not so originate are merely copied 

 from existing patterns. No coach-builder having an 

 excellent pattern of any carriage in ordinary use 

 upon which it is impossible to make any improve- 

 ment, would make new drawings when the old ones 

 which he already had by him would answer the 

 purpose in view, consequently all the big coach- 

 builders turn out numberless carriages on exactly 

 the same pattern, the only difference in these 

 carriages being, that each is painted, lined, and 

 trimmed, to suit the taste of their customers, who 

 are frequently forced to make use of a particular 

 colour, it being one which their family have made 

 use of for many generations ; this is called a family 

 colour, and all great families, it may be observed, 

 have such a colour, just as their servants wear the 

 same livery. And I may further remark that even 

 if one possesses no obligation to make use of a 

 certain livery, or a particular colour in one's carriages, 

 nothing looks worse than to see a variety of colours in 

 one's coach-house, or to see a gentleman driving a 

 blue carriage one day, and a green one the next, 

 whilst on the third day he seats himself in a carriage 



