The whip, like every other appointment of the tandem, is English, and is a very different affair from the flail-like instrument used by our ancestors. Of a tandem-whip, the stick should be 5 feet and the thong 12 feet 6 inches long. Some authorities fix the length of the thong at 10 feet or even less, to which, though seemingly impracticable, certain tandem drivers conform involuntarily by cutting off with their wheel a yard or so of point and leaving it in the road. The convenient disposal of this thong of such considerable length severely tries the patience and tests the skill of the beginner.
Holding the stick in the right hand at about the upper mounting for balance, and the point of the thong between the stick and the fingers, by a dexterous motion, proceeding entirely from the wrist, pitch the thong over to the right of, and away from, the stick, which, being suddenly stopped, the thong returns upon and is wound round it about four times, producing the long, depending, open loop, which is called the "double thong." The coils are followed down the stick by a small loop, and yet other coils of the point of the thong, but in the opposite direction to the first ones. Taking the small lower loop between the thumb and forefinger of the rein-hand (which should in no case be disturbed or diverted from its purpose when driving), by a movement of the stick with the right, disengage the point of the thong and lay it along the stick to the hand. A turn or two of the double thong round the stick to the right, or off side, will effect the figure 8, which some authorities condemn, but which is practical, as it holds the thong on the stick when double thonging a wheeler, or when driving in a high wind; and many old coaching prints attest its correctness, although it has often been suggested that the methods of the men working a coach a hundred miles a day, when coaching was a trade as well as an art, have been improved upon since it became a pastime.
The catching of two double thongs at the same time, with as many whips held one in each hand, is an altogether useless performance, and is suggestive of the practice of legerdemain rather than coaching. Men who drive, or who have driven their own teams, would hardly devote their time to such a purposeless occupation.
The thongs of new tandem whips are always wiry, and it is difficult to make them hold to the stick. The scheme recommended for making them pliable is the following: loan your whip to a persevering beginner and tell him, "Shut yourself up in your room and learn to catch your whip there and in private," as advised by the author of "Down the Road."
If he really is ambitious, and has the necessary application, and particularly if he persists in following his own methods, by the time he has acquired the simple little trick your thong will have become quite supple; but if you are likely to want your whip within a reasonable time, you had better not concede to him the privilege of keeping it until he has attained to proficiency, as you may not get it back during his natural life.
Beginners are much given to concerning themselves about the cost and ornamentation of their whips rather than the proper mode of using them. A whip with extravagant mountings in unskilful hands renders its owner ridiculous. The most important quality of any whip is its feeling or balance, which is utterly sacrificed to the silversmith when he is allowed to affix to its butt a foot of his metal of mediæval style. It is better to buy other examples of his skill, and preserve your whip in its original serviceable form.
The yew is the only whip of which I find mention in old coaching days:—
"For, sure, the coachman hands are few,
That wield in style the polished yew,"