d--the driver's left thumb
releases the loop, which runs out of itself, and the team returns to the
straight formation. A circumstance useful to bear in mind is that the
swinging bars are wider than the maximum width of the coach;
consequently the driver knows that wherever the swinging bars can pass
through with safety--and as they are before his eyes the calculation is
easy--the coach will safely follow.

The use of the whip.

A necessary part of driving four horses or tandem is the proper use of
the whip. The novice, before beginning to drive, should acquire the
knack--which can only be learnt by practical instruction and
experiment--of catching up the thong of the whip on to the stick by a
flick of the wrist. With practice this is done almost automatically and
without looking at the whip. It is not merely an ornamental
accomplishment, but a necessary one; for in no other way can the whip be
kept in constant readiness for use either on wheelers or leaders as the
need of the moment may dictate. The point of the thong is confined in
the whip-hand when striking the wheelers (which should be done in front
of the pad), and is released for reaching the leaders. Considerable
dexterity is required in using the whip on the leaders without at the
same time touching, or at all events alarming or fretting, the wheelers.
The thong of the whip should reach the leaders from beneath the swinging
bar; and proficient "whips" can unerringly strike even the near leader
from under the off-side bar without disturbing the equanimity of any
other member of the team. This demands great skill and accuracy; but no
coachman is competent to drive four horses until he is able to touch
with the whip any particular horse that may require it, and no other.

Essential as is proficiency in the use of the whip when driving four
horses, it is even more imperative for the driver of tandem. For in
four-in-hand the leaders act in some measure as a restraint upon each
other's freedom of action, whereas the leader in tandem is entirely
independent and therefore more difficult to control. If he takes it into
his head to turn completely round and face the driver, there is no
effectual means of preventing him. It is here that a prompt and accurate
use of the whip is important. A sharp cut with the thong of the whip on
the side to which he is turning will often drive the leader back into
his place. But it must be done instantaneously, and the driver who ha