dem'u sloav. 167 



about the street, eschew a bearing-rein : they would 

 probably say it is '•'• dem'd slow" to use one; so on 

 they go with a boring brute that they can only pull 

 up on his nearly taking an inside place in the omnibus 

 before him. I must be dem'd slow, for I maintain 

 there is not one horse in twenty that can be got 

 through a crowded street (properly) without one. 

 To thread a throng of carriages smoothly, and without 

 any puUy-hauly work, will keep a good coachman on 

 the qui vive, and to do this the horses must be on 

 the qui vive also : when they are (to use a Snip's 

 phrase), we can shove them through an eyelet hole 

 — when I say we, I should rather say a coachman 

 can. 



Reverting to the article of the collar, on which so 

 much of the comfort of a horse depends in drawing, I 

 beg; to make a remark or two on breast-collars. 

 They are great favourites of mine under certain cir- 

 cumstances; but I should be very sorry to condemn 

 the wheeler of a coach to work in one, though over a 

 light stage I think them good things for a pair of 

 leaders : they are light and cool : I like them for a 

 very light buggy for the same reasons : but if the}' 

 Avere used where a fixed splinter-bar is necessary, 

 they must cut horses' shoulders to pieces. This 

 requires but little explanation. Leaders draw from 

 a loose bar, consequently, on the advance of each 

 shoulder in stepping, the end of the bar on the same 

 side can advance also, leaving the breast collar sta- 

 tionary on the breast ; but Avhere each trace goes to 

 a fixed splinter-bar, the trace on that side being also 

 immovable, the shoulder advancing must be galled 

 by the collar passing from side to side over it, and 

 thus, if the weight to be drawn was heavy, the 



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