Our young friends ought to know, not only how to ride, but also how to drive. From the very earliest times, horse and chariot races were considered the noblest of sports, and Apollo is represented as driving the chariot of the sun. The four horses were typical of the four seasons of the year. Four horses driven abreast was common also to the Olympic games, and the Hippodrome was the scene of chariot races in which even a greater number was sometimes used.
It was, indeed, an imposing sight to see the Hippodromic course at the time of one of these chariot festivals. The place set apart for the contest was about a mile in length. Over a bar that ran across the entrance of the lists was placed a brazen dolphin, and upon an altar in the middle of the barrier stood an eagle of the same metal. By means of a machine, put in motion by the president of the games, the eagle suddenly sprang up into the air with its wings extended, so as to be seen by all spectators; and at the same moment the dolphin sank to the ground, which was a signal for the cars to arrange themselves in order for the race. Besides the statue of Hippodamia, and the table on which were placed the crowns and palm-branches, there were several images and altars in the course, particularly that of the genius Taraxippus, who, as his name imports, was said to inspire the horses with a secret terror, which was increased by the shrill clangour of the trumpets placed near the boundary, and the deafening shouts and outcries of the multitude.
While the chariots were ranged in line ready to start, the horses, whose ardour it was difficult to restrain, attracted all eyes by their beauty, as well as for the victories which some of them had already gained. Pindar speaks of no less than forty chariots engaged at one and the same time. If we recollect that they had to run twelve times the length of the Hippodrome, in going and returning, and to steer round a pillar or goal erected near each extremity, we may imagine what confusion must have ensued when, upon the signal trumpet being sounded, they started amid a cloud of dust, crossing and jostling each other, and rushing forward with such rapidity that the eye could scarcely follow them. At one of the boundaries a narrow pass was left only for the chariots, which often baffled the skill of the expertest driver; and there were upwards of twenty turnings to make round the two pillars; so that at almost every moment some accident happened, calculated to excite the pity or insulting laughter of the assembly. In such a number of chariots at full speed, pushing for precedence in turning round the columns, on which victory often depended, some were sure to be dashed to pieces, covering the course with their fragments, and adding to the dangers of the race. As it was, moreover, exceedingly difficult for the charioteer, in his unsteady two-wheeled car, to retain his standing attitude, many were thrown out, when the masterless horses plunged wildly about the Hippodrome, overturning others who had, perhaps, previously escaped every danger, and thought themselves sure of winning. To increase the confusion, and thereby afford better opportunities for the display of skill and courage, there was reason to believe that some artifice was employed for the express purpose of frightening the horses when they reached the statue of Taraxippus. So great sometimes was their consternation, that, no longer regarding the rein, the whip, or the voice of their master, they broke loose, or overturned the chariot, and wounded the driver.
Such is the ancient description given by a Greek writer of the chariot races of the Hippodrome. We have no coach racing now-a-days, except omnibus racing in the streets: not a great deal of “coaching.” Now and then, indeed, we see the “Brighton four-horse,” and start with wonder at the sight. But still there are necessities for private driving, more important at the present than at any former period; and we hold driving to be not only a necessary, but an indispensable accomplishment to every young gentleman.
THE HORSE IN HARNESS.
A horse fully equipped in harness, attached to a dennet or stanhope, is one of the most beautiful things to look at in the world: few boys are trusted to drive a pair; nor have they physical power for the task. We will therefore confine our attention chiefly to single harness, adding only a short description of the various kinds of carriages in common use. If, however, the youthful charioteer can drive a single horse well, he will find no difficulty in controlling a pair, provided their mouths are sufficiently tender for his strength to manage. The horse is [here] represented harnessed to a light dennet-gig.
THE HORSE
May be either a full-sized harness horse, or a galloway, or a pony; the two last being the best fitted for juvenile driving.
