e art of driving,
whether of one, two or four horses. When they are observed no great
difficulty confronts the coachman who is content with single or double
harness, provided he has acquired the eye for pace and distance, and the
instinctive realization of the length of the carriage behind him,
without which he may suffer collision with other vehicles, or allow
insufficient room in turning a corner or entering a gateway. For before
he can have had the practice by which alone this knowledge is to be
gained, the beginner will have learnt such elementary facts as that his
horses must be held well in hand going down hill and given their heads
on an ascent, and that on no account should the horse's mouth be
"jobbed" by the driver jerking the reins; he will also have learnt a
good deal about the character and temperament of the horse, on which so
much of the art of driving depends, and which can best be studied on the
box-seat and not at all in the library. If he has pursued this study
with any degree of insight, he will have learnt further to be sparing in
the use of the hand-brake with which most modern carriages are provided.
This apparatus is most useful in case of emergency, or for taking weight
off the carriage on a really steep descent; but the habit which too many
coachmen fall into of using the brake on every trifling decline should
be avoided. Its effect is that the horses are continually doing
collar-work, and are thus deprived of the relief which ought to be given
them by occasional light pole or shaft work instead.

Tandem and four-in-hand.

When the ambition of the amateur coachman leads him to attempt a tandem
or four-in-hand he enters on a much more complex department of the art
of driving. In the first place he has now four reins instead of two to
manipulate, and the increase of weight on his hand, especially when four
horses are being driven, requires considerable strength of wrist to
support it without tiring. It is of the first importance, moreover, that
he should know instinctively the position in his hand of each of the
reins, and be able automatically and instantaneously to lay a finger on
any one of them. The driver who has to look at his reins to find the
off-side leader's rein, or who touches the near-side wheeler's in
mistake for it, is in peril of a catastrophe. It is therefore essential
that the reins should be correctly disposed between the fingers of the
left hand, and that the driver shoul