19. Always look straight ahead, and on no account at the traffic passing or being passed.

20. Never hit a horse when the right hand is on the reins, as otherwise in using the whip the hand necessarily goes forward and relaxes the hold on the rein or reins.

Of course it is quite impossible to lay down rules for everything, and a great deal in driving can only be learnt by long and varied experience. One often hears people talking of self-made whips, but that term generally means people who think they can drive and cannot. For anyone beginning to drive it is essential to start by taking lessons from a really first-class whip. Most of the road coach-drivers give lessons. It is quite as necessary to have good lessons to drive one horse as it is to drive four, as the foundation of pair, team, and tandem driving is to be able to drive one horse perfectly.

A made pair is quite as easy to drive as a single horse, but when it is a case of driving two horses, which have not been previously in harness together, it is quite a different matter. Nothing looks nicer than to see a good pair of cobs in a smart phaeton, going well, driven by a lady who knows what driving means. Women who drive well, as a rule, have light hands, though many of them do not keep a sufficiently steady hold on a horse's mouth. They so often forget that it is a matter of the greatest importance to feel their horse's mouth the whole time they are going. It is not an easy matter to get any two horses of about the same size to go well together, unless the greatest attention is given to all the lesser details. It is absolutely necessary that the harness should fit well and be properly adjusted. When starting two new horses it is as well to do so with the couplings level and bitted cheek all round. After they have gone a short distance it can easily be seen whether they are going comfortably and well together and each doing his fair share of work. If they are not, the reason can soon be discovered, and the fault rectified. Very often one horse goes a good deal more freely, and takes a stronger hold of the bit, and in that case it will be necessary to see that the other horse has sufficient room in the couplings, and at the same time to put the free horse middle bar if he is inclined to pull. Frequently though, the mistake is made of shifting the reins on the bit when only the couplings require altering. Very few horses carry their heads quite alike, and consequently will require more or less room in the couplings as the case may he. Many horses too do not carry their heads straight, and need special attention. For instance: it the near side horse carries his head over to the left, the off-side rein will have to be shortened, which means the buckle will have to be taken on the other horse's off-rein. It requires the greatest care and nicety to couple horses correctly, for it makes all the difference as to the way in which they will go. When putting two horses together it is as well if possible to get them the same size, colour and build. Size is the most important, and many people consider colour the next to be considered, but personally I think colour makes very little difference as long as the horses are the same stamp and go comfortably together. It is most disagreeable to drive two horses together, one having a long swinging stride, and the other taking short "shuffling" steps. It is most trying for the horses too, as the former is sure to do more work than the latter, which to keep up will be continually breaking into a canter.

THE HARNESS.

When putting in a young horse for the first time, it is best to put him in a brake with a steady old horse which knows his work. The off-side is best for the youngster just at first, but he should be perpetually changed sides, as otherwise he will be apt to develop numerous bad habits, besides getting a crooked mouth. When starting get somebody to hold his head till ready to go, and then the man should run beside him for a few minutes, without holding him. Be sure to drop the hand to the horses well as they move off, and do not on any account allow the young horse to be the first to get into his collar, as if you do he will feel the whole weight of the brake and the other horse, and be unable to move, and will in all probability jib. Once a horse has learnt that he can jib, it is a most difficult habit to break him of. Therefore, avoid letting a young horse find out that he can do so. Very often a young horse will go better through the traffic in London than he will round the Park when it is empty, as in the traffic there are so many things to occupy his attention that he will forget to resent he is made to work. If anything frightens him and he refuses to pass it, get him led by and do not hit him, as otherwise he will always associate that particular thing with being hit, and think it is the object of his fright which caused him to be hit, and afterwards either jib when he sees it again, or rush by it. Before a young horse is driven he should be thoroughly accustomed to having the harness on and the bit in his mouth. It is best to have the harness put on with very long reins, so that a man can walk behind him and make him walk as it he were being driven. His first lessons should be short so as not to worry or tire him.

Once a woman can drive any two horses together and make them go well, she will probably be capable of learning to drive a tandem or team. It is very hard to say which is the better of the two to begin with. Personally I think if both are going to be taken up, it is as well to start with a team, but it really makes very little difference. Of course a team requires a great deal more strength, but very often to drive any two horses together makes a large demand on your strength. One of the best ways of learning is to watch a good driver, both going through the traffic and driving in the country, and to pay great attention to his hands as well as the horses, so as to notice how the turns, etc., are done. An easy means of doing this is to take the box seat of a road coach when a professional is driving, and afterwards to take lessons from a road coach driver. A great deal can be learnt at first, simply by watching a person's hands, noting how a loop is made, how when the leaders are turning the wheelers are kept "off" a corner, and how the team is straightened.