CHAPTER IX.

COACH-BUILDING.

That one-hoss shay-Scale-drawing-Owner's superintendenceDimensions of four-horse coach-Broken poles and axlesTimber employed in coach-building-Wheels-Varnish versus paint-Manipulation of timber - Wheels - Collinge's patent axle-The æquirotal carriage-The mail axle-The carriage as distinct from the body-Iron-work-Sons of Vulcan-Carriagesprings-Painting and varnishing-Lining carriages-Improvements in carriage-building-C springs-The English dragThe sobriety of French workmen-Scientific training-American wheels-The interchangeable system-The Paris and Dublin exhibitions-Cruppers and breechings-Labour-saving machinery -Indiarubber tires-Standard sizes-The millionth part of an inch-Standard gauges-Improvements in carriage-building -Coach-building periodicals-Driving by night-Carriagelamps-Height of coaches-C springs-Brought up to a trade. BEFORE Commencing this chapter, I here give Oliver W. Holmes's views on coach-building, as evidenced by his wonderful verses on the still more wonderful One-hoss shay."

"THE ONE-HOSS SHAY."

Have you heard of the wonderful one-hoss shay,
That was built in such a logical way,

It ran a hundred years to a day,

And then of a sudden it—ah! but stay,

I'll tell you what happened without delay:
Scaring the parson into fits,

Frightening people out of their wits-
Have you ever heard of that, I say?

Now, in building of chaises, I tell you what,
There is always somewhere a weakest spot-
In hub, tire, felloe, in spring, or thill,
In panel, or crossbar, or floor, or sill,
In screw, bolt, thoroughbrace-lurking still,
Find it somewhere you must and will—

THAT ONE-HOSS SHAY.

Above or below, or within or without,
And that's the reason, beyond a doubt,
A chaise breaks down, but doesn't wear out.
But the deacon swore (as deacons do,

With an "I dew vum," or an "I tell yeou"),
He would build one shay to beat the taown,
'N' the keounty 'n' all the kentry raoun';

It should be so built that it couldn' break daown.
"Fur," said the deacon, "'t's mighty plain
That the weakes' place mus' stan' the strain ;
'N' the way to fix it, wy, I maintain,

Is only jest

T' make that place uz strong uz the rest."
So the deacon inquired of the village folk
Where he could find the strongest oak,
That couldn't be split, nor bent, nor broke-
That was for spokes, and floor, and sills;
He sent for lance-wood to make the thills;

The cross-bars were ash, from the straightest trees;
The panels of white-wood, that cuts like cheese

But lasts like iron for things like these;

The hubs of logs from the "settler's ellum,"
Last of its timber, they couldn't sell 'em,

Never an axe had seen their chips,

And the wedges flew from between their lips,
Their blunt ends frizzled like celery-tips;
Step and prop-iron, bolt and screw,
Spring, tire, axle, and linchpin, too,
Steel of the finest, bright and blue;
Thoroughbrace, bison-skin, thick and wide;
Boot, top-dasher, from tough old hide

Found in the pit when the tanner died.
That was the way he "put her through."

"There!" said the deacon, "naow she'll dew."
Do! I tell you, I rather guess

She was a wonder, and nothing less!
Colts grew horses, beards turned gray,
Deacon and deaconess, dropped away,

Children and grandchildren, where were they?
But there stood the stout old one-hoss shay,
As fresh as on Lisbon earthquake day!
Eighteen hundred, it came and found
The deacon's masterpiece strong and sound.
Eighteen hundred increased by ten,
"Hahnsum kerridge" they call it then;
Eighteen hundred and twenty came,
Running as usual, much the same;
Thirty and forty at last arrive,
And then come fifty and fifty-five.

359

First of November-the earthquake day-
There are traces of age in the one-hoss shay,
A general flavour of mild decay,
But nothing local, as one may say;
There couldn't be, for the deacon's art
Had made it so like in every part,

That there wasn't a chance for one to start.
For the wheels were just as strong as the thills,
And the floor was just as strong as the sills,
And the panels just as strong as the floor,
And the whippletree neither less nor more,
And the back cross-bar as strong as the fore,
And spring, and axle, and hub encore.
And yet, as a whole, it is past a doubt,
In another hour it will be worn out!

First of November, "fifty-five,"
This morning the parson takes a drive.
Now, small boys, get out of the way!
Here comes the wonderful one-hoss shay,
Drawn by a rat-tailed, ewe-necked bay.
"Huddup!" said the parson; off went they.
The parson was working his Sunday's text,
Had got to fifthly, and stopped perplexed
At what the-Moses-was coming next.
All at once the horse stood still,
Close by the meet'n'-house on the hill.
First a shiver, and then a thrill,

Then something decidedly like a spill;
And the parson was sitting upon a rock,
At half-past nine by the meet'n'-house clock,
Just the hour of the earthquake shock!
What do you think the parson found,
When he got up and stared around?
The poor old chaise in a heap or mound,
As if it had been to the mill and ground!
You see, of course, if you're not a dunce,
How it went to pieces all at once;

All at once, and nothing first,
Just as bubbles do when they burst.

O. W. H.

Having spoken so much about coaching, I do not think it is out of place to make some remarks about coach-building; as there are some owners of carriages and gentlemen who are fond of driving, who, I should

imagine, would feel interested in knowing something of their construction, which knowledge, I feel assured, will be of service to them in more ways than one.

Before a carriage is put in hand careful drawings have to be made of it to scale, and although the designing of a carriage does not necessitate any very profound mathematical knowledge or calculations, yet carriage architects, when scale-draughting, require to do their work very carefully and skilfully. In addition to a reduced drawing, full-sized diagrams have frequently to be made in chalk on a blackboard, for the workmen to work to; these are placed up against the wall so that the various timbers used in the construction of the carriage may be compared with such drawings.

As a carriage is composed of various parts, and as all these parts must exactly correspond with one another, it is absolutely necessary that a working draft of the full size be completed before a carriage can be made.

In the first place, it depends upon the construction of a coach what difference will be required betwixt the heights of the fore and hind wheels, to bring the perch to a proper level; the depth from front to back of the body; and the height which it is to be hung from the ground is next required, in order to ascertain the proper length of the carriage, that is, what distance the fore and hind axle-trees are to be from one another; the particular manner in which the body is to be hung upon the carriage must also be fixed, in order to give the springs a proper degree of curvature. To obtain these particulars a draft is made of the entire machine, and from it the master-coachbuilder at once sees what effect will be produced. In making these drafts, the coachbuilder is limited, in a certain degree, by the fashion

of the day; at the same time he has it in his power to display taste and judgment in the construction. His object should be to combine elegance with strength, and that one part of the vehicle shall be so in character with another, that the carriage shall not want anything that it ought to have, and not have anything that it could do without. He, also, has to be careful not to make any part heavier than absolutely necessary, and must be particular to make it easy of draught, by having the best finished axles set in such an exact manner, that the wheels may run perfectly free, following one another in the same track.

There is no earthly reason why a gentleman of education and intelligence, who is fond of driving, and passes much of his time on the box, or the bench, as it used to be called, should not make a study of carriage-building, just in the same way as the owner of a yacht acquires a knowledge of yachtbuilding. I even knew an Admiral, who, when in command of the Channel Squadron, expressed a very strong wish to be thoroughly acquainted with iron ship-building and marine engineering; and it appears to me that when one passes so much of one's time making use of a particular thing, or having anything under one's entire charge, it is only natural and creditable that one should manifest some anxiety to become acquainted with its construction. In the event of any accident happening on the road or a carriage being out of repair, an owner would benefit considerably if he possessed some knowledge of coach-building; besides which, a coach-builder's account is, to any one not initiated into the mysteries of coach-building, as difficult to understand as a house-builder's account; in both cases it appears as