I sold another Chariot, which had been in wear about the same time, for £30.,—and it is not often that a Builder will allow much more for a Carriage that has been in use for five or six Years:—by that time, the shape of the Body is out of Fashion, the Lining is shabby, and before it can be sold again to a particular person, it must be thoroughly repaired, which will cost a considerable Sum.
The following is an Estimate which was given to the Gentleman who bought my last Chariot.
AN ESTIMATE OF REPAIRING A CHARIOT
| £. | s. | d. | |
| And putting in all New wood work, neatly carved—fresh fitting, filing, and fixing the old Iron Work with new bolts—taking the Springs to pieces—fresh fitting the plates, and re-fixing Springs with new rivets and bolts—altering the Iron work of the Barouche seat—putting a New Foot-board and fresh hanging it and the Body | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Handsome new Patent Lamps | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Repairing braces, pole-pieces, &c., new covering roller, bolts, and pole with New Leather | 1 | 14 | 0 |
| Altering and re-fixing the frame of Dash Iron, and covering it with New Leather | 4 | 12 | 0 |
| Covering the whole of the inside with new cotton false lining | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| New Carpets to the Bottom and the Steps | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| New Plating the Commode Handles and rivetting the Door Handles | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| New pair of Web Holders | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| New Painting the Body of a Chariot | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| New Wheels | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| New Lining | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Fresh Stringing and Painting Blinds | 1 | 15 | 0 |
| New covering Glass Frames | 1 | 15 | 0 |
| New Silk to Green Curtains | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Under-Springs | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| —————— | |||
| 137 | 7 | 0 | |
| —————— | |||
Now, if the Body had not been a beautiful piece of Work, it would not have been worth while to have bestowed this large sum in renewing the Carriage part: but the whole of the exterior of the Old Body, although it had been built some Years, was more sound and unwarped, than most new Bodies are on the first day they are turned out; it was elegantly formed, and the Interior so admirably constructed for Comfort, that from it I learned the dimensions, &c. which I have given in the following description of what I think a Chariot ought to be.
Coachmakers sometimes shew Drawings of Carriages for their Customers to choose from,—it is more satisfactory, not only to see, but to take a ride in a pattern Carriage; this your Coachmaker can take you to see, or, if you see a Carriage which pleases your Eye, your Coachman can easily learn where it is put up; go with your Coachmaker and see it, and have a written Particular of all its peculiarities, an exact Measurement of its dimensions, and an Estimate in Writing of the cost thereof, similar to the one given in Chap. I. Estimate No. 9.
OF THE
CONSTRUCTION OF A CHARIOT.
The Novice in these things may think that the following description is unnecessarily minute, and that he need only go to a Coachmaker and order “a Chariot,” and that Word will procure him all he wishes.
The form of Carriages is as absurdly at the mercy of Fashion, as the Cut of a Coat is;—however, if the Reader is willing to let the Builder please himself with the form of the Exterior, he will perhaps not be quite so polite as to submit the construction of the Interior entirely to the caprice of his Coachmaker.—If “as easy as an old Coat” be a true Aphorism, “as easy as an Old Carriage” is equally so:—by riding three or four Years in one, you become so used to it, that any change is extremely unpleasant—and if the Elbows or the Seat are too high, or too low, or too narrow, or too wide, &c. when the Body is built, it is always difficult, and often impossible, to alter it; therefore, if you like your Old Body, measure it, and order your New one accordingly.