less the whip is used while driving, the better, for it will only
get you into trouble if used improperly. If a horse shies, never flog
him for it; timidity is generally the cause of shying, unless his eyes
are defective. Of course whipping can do no good in that case; speak
kindly to him, that is the best way, if he be young; as he becomes
better acquainted with objects and gains confidence, he will most likely
give up the trick. I will make a few more observations on the whip. If
you can use it well, use it seldom, and before you strike a horse,
always take hold of his head; if you do this, you will find the
slightest touch will have the desired effect. It is a pretty art, to be
able with certainty, to touch a leader under the bar, without making a
noise with the lash or letting any of the other horses know anything
about it. The near leader is the most difficult one to reach, as you
must completely turn your wrist over. Very few can do it well; in fact,
many of the old professionals could never do it neatly.

I trust that some will benefit from these instructions, for there are
really few more agreeable sights than that of a good-looking team
handled neatly by a gentleman, who sits well, with, perhaps a lady
beside him on the box. I am much pleased to find that the taste for
four-in-hand driving is increasing of late, and am glad to say, some
gentlemen drive very well. It is easy enough, to detect those who are
self-taught from those who have received instruction from a professional
man. Many think that driving can be acquired without teaching. I wonder
if any gentleman would like to dance in a ball-room without first taking
lessons; and yet some, do not hesitate to drive four horses--a feat
attended with much danger, not only to the public generally, but to
themselves and those who accompany them, if undertaken without due
knowledge.

Before concluding, I will relate some of the difficulties we had to
encounter in foggy weather. We were obliged to be guided out of London
with torches, seven or eight Mails following one after the other, the
guard of the foremost Mail lighting the one following, and so on till
the last. We travelled at a slow pace, like a funeral procession. Many
times I have been three hours going from London to Hounslow. I remember
one very foggy night, instead of my arriving at Bagshot (a distance of
thirty miles from London, and my destination) at eleven o'clock, I did
not get there till one in t