The word coach in all European languages has the same sound, and is derived from the town of Kotze in Hungary, where coaches were first built, just as Landaus and Berlins were so named from the cities that first produced them. The coach from Hungary was given to Charles VII., at Paris, in the year 1457. In 1474, the Emperor Frederick III. rode to Frankfort in a coach covered and suspended. In 1509, the Pope Paul III. visited Ferrara, and was met by the duke with a train of sixty coaches, whilst to make it clear that these were not the cars, the historian mentions that the Duchess of Ferrara rode in a litter, and her ladies followed her in twenty-two cars. At this period, 1550, there were only three coaches in Paris, one belonging to the Queen of Francis I., another to Diana of Poitiers, and a third to a corpulent nobleman who could not mount a horse. There must have been many other vehicles in France, but, it seems, only three covered and suspended coaches. In 1594, the Margrave of Brandenburg, father of the first Duke of Prussia, had thirty-six coaches, each with six horses.
We will now consider what was the origin and the shape of these coaches. It is in the German waggon that we find the origin of the coach. Throughout Germany, Russia, France, and other parts of Europe, the chief agricultural vehicle is the waggon. [[Plate 4].] It is of the same form now that it was a hundred years ago. The under part is similar in its construction to our timber-waggons, and, like them, it is capable of being lengthened or shortened at pleasure. The wheels vary in height, according to the requirements of the owner and the country, and the chief purpose for which it is used. As in our timber-waggons, the wheels are sometimes 4 feet and 5 feet high, and sometimes they are as low as 2 feet 8 inches in front and 3 feet 6 inches behind, but the usual size is 3 feet 6 inches in front and 4 feet behind, the track on the road between the tyres is but 4 feet, and the centres of the axle-trees are about 7 feet apart. The carriage is composed of a transom in front, with a perch (as we name the long piece of timber that unites the front and hind wheels) fastened to it. There is a hind axle-tree bed formed of two pieces of timber, clipped together, between which the wings are notched in; these wings meet together above the perch to which they are united by a strong iron pin. The under works consist of a front axletree bed, also made of two pieces clipped together with two futchels notched in between, and meeting in a point in front, and spreading outwards behind the axletree bed; a long sway bar, generally quite straight, rests on the futchels and bears against the under part of the perch. Our word futchels is derived through the French word fourchils, from the Latin furca or fork. The pole of these waggons has at the hind end two wings fixed by iron hoops; the wings are fitted outside the front end of the futchels and are secured by two moveable iron pins. This method of attaching the pole is very ancient; it was in use in the time of the Romans, and may be traced in old pictures. The horses are harnessed to splinter or drawing bars; the longest of these is attached to the pole by a bolt or pin. When the load is light, it is common to harness one horse only to the left or near side of the pole. The under works being thus complete, a body is formed by two long fir poles laid from the top of the transom to the top of the hind axletree bed, about 18 inches apart, with two planks between. Outside the poles are four standard posts, about 30 inches long, which rise upright from the transom and axle-beds, but which, viewed from behind, spread outwards from four to six inches each towards the wheels. The sides are formed by planks resting against these standard posts, and the ends of the waggon are also moveable. The body is thus much narrower at the bottom than at the top. We shall find that this shape pervades all the early vehicles used by the wealthy classes, showing very plainly the original type of the coach. When the waggon is thus fitted up with plank sides, it can carry earth, manure, or roots. When the farmer wishes to transport a load of hay, the planks are removed, the carriage is lengthened two or more feet, and the sides are formed by long and high hurdles. If a large cask of wine has to be transported, the sides are removed and the cask placed upon the centre of the poles, and, as the waggon moves along, the poles may be seen to sway slightly up and down under the weight of the cask, as the poles of a sedan-chair, or palankeen sway, suggesting, as I hope to show hereafter, a means of forming a species of spring for the ease of anyone riding in the waggon.
We find, then, at a very early date, that waggons were chiefly employed for the conveyance of agricultural produce or the transport of merchandise and the goods of the upper classes. It was also easy, by placing planks across the sides, or suspending seats by straps from the sides, to use the waggons for the conveyance of men and women. But we have evidence that they were made still more free from jolting. In an ancient Saxon manuscript treating on the book of Genesis and the history of Joseph in Egypt, there is an illustration of the meeting of Joseph and Jacob. The father is seated in a two-wheeled cart drawn by a pair of oxen, but Joseph is seated in a hammock, suspended by iron hooks from the standard posts of one of these waggons which I have been describing. This manuscript is supposed to be of the eleventh century, and the artist would be likely to represent only what
