Chapter XVI 



COACHING AND ITS ACCOMPANIMENTS 



" Here 's to the hand that can hold them when gone. 

 Still to a gallop inclined, sirs; 

 Heads to the front, with no bearing-reins on, 

 Tails with no cruppers behind, sirs." 



Old Song. 



IT is a very curious thing that coaching, in 

 its most sporting development (as the 

 public), or in its more individual and ex- 

 clusive (as the private) form has not made 

 greater advances in popular favor. Polo, hunt- 

 ing, road driving, etc., all have their adherents 

 and furnish enthusiasts in quantity ; but the use 

 of four horses before an appropriate vehicle — 

 coach, drag, or brake — while not necessarily 

 more expensive than the other undertakings, ad- 

 vances in popularity with slow and faltering 

 strides. So far as cost goes, indeed, coaching 

 may easily entail the smallest outlay of the lot. 

 Of course if one is to purchase a new coach at 

 ^2,500 to ^3,000, ditto harness at I300 to ^500, 



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