The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-05-15
COACHING.
ITS ORIGIN AND PRocHEss-IsTxREsrNc DATA

The impulse which has been given to coaching In this
country by the Coaching Club and by the starting OF the
new line from New York to Pelham, renders short
account OF the history OF apropos and interest
ing the general reader Tho derivation OF the word
coach" itself is interesting question: for although
the dictionaries give derived from the Latin con
chuia little SHE'LL there seems to be equally good
ground for supposng that the word Is derived from the
name OF the town in which this particular form Of
vehicle was invented. Tho earliest account We have
Of any coach Is that OF the one in which Matthias
Corvinus King OF Hungary, rode during the last half
OF the fifteenth century This coach said to have
been the invention OF some artisan whose is not
preserved but who Is said 10 have lived and built
the coach in Kotze, Hungary No description Of
the vehicle Is cxtant, allusion to
Il in small book tho manners
Of the Hungarian people which Is, or
thirty years ago, in the library Of the British
Museum. In this book the coach is described as q
small house set upon four wheels in which King
Matthias Corvnus sat and drawn by two horses,
being the first person who rode in that kind Of
carriage It is fully as probable that the word
''coach'' came from "kotzc'' that IL was derived
from the Latin s'conchuld,n derivation which seems
at least little far-etchcd
While this probably tho first coach ever built,
carriages and even covered carriages have undoubt-
-
certainly used by tho Romans, for as early as 200
b C. an cdict was promulgated. which remained in
force somo twenty years. forbiddng any female TO
ride in carriage within mile of Rome. These
carriages were, however, n modified form OF the two
wheeled chariot OF tho Romans, with cinopies large
screens attached Tor protection against the weather
The repeal OF this imperial edct was 1t Is said forced
by the popular clamor against the law itself But
while this fact demonstrates that carriages called
were In common uso among the Romans. there is no
evidence either In the pictorial history Of
Rome that anything resembling the modern coach was
known to them.
In the East there appears to have been sort Of
covered carriage in from very early times The
clusIon In which tho females OF the Eastern housch old
had always been kept rendered kind OF covered
conveyance necessary for women when they went
abroad, and tho custom Of taking the women jour-
and in public professions rs wei! established by
all the literature OF tho East The carriage OF the
modern Persian. which he calls ttIht e-roran how
ever is little moro than a large chest which Is
pended between two camels and II Is probable that the
conveyances OF the East where wheeled vehicles
impossible to account OF the condition OF the
roads, have always been of the nature of palan
quins than Of the carriages OF modern and European
civilization.
Some Of the pictures brought to light by the modern
excavations OF Herculaneum show that vehicle was
in use in that city which bore inconsidcrabie re-
selnbance to the comparatively modern post chaise
being drawn by two horses, ono Of which was rid
den by poston But nothing bearing
any resemblance to a modern coach Is to be
found in the records Of either Herculaneum Pompc
But after tho fall OF tho Roman Empire, and during
the long reign OF barbarsm that ensucd the use
riages ceascd and the only vehicle that was still com
monty employed was the war chariot which mod
clled after the original Roman chariot and very
similar to it, The condition OF the roads In Europe,
in the Cities SO bad that general of any
kind of wheeled vehicle practicable until late in
the sixteenth century. a
That carriages were used, however, Is shown by an
edcl OF Philip 10 Bel OF France which strongly resem-
bed the Roman law spoken VI above. In 1924 he pro-
mugated edci forbdding the OF carriages by the
wives OF his citizen subjects The object Ut
this law does mol clearly appear from the records, but
it probable that grew out the license OF the age
and sumptuaiy law demanded by the existing
abuses The form OF tho carriages then in cannot
be stated exactly as there Is no picture Of thsm and
detailed description known to be In existence. II il
probable however that the coach invented IN Hungary
merely an elaboration Of the vehicles then known.
The use Of u coach by King Matthias Corvinus
parently became known England and France and
Spain before many years had elapsed and coaches
made and used in those countries during the iol
lowing century. Not rapid spread for inven-
tion certainly, but II must be borne In mind that the
means OF communication between countries were not
great those days. and besides this TACT another mill
taled against the adoption of tho invention
Coaches, like umbrellas first ridicuIcd, and
their use looked upon q mark of e1cmnacy.
Men would put up with almost any amount OF incon-
venicnoe expense rather than he riding
VI the newasnoned vehicles except on Stale occasions
monty used, in 1883 the Ambassador Trovassi
into Mantua In carriage which was, probably, not
coach, there Is no record OF any coaches having
been built anywhere at SO early date.
Frederic Ill rode into Frankfort In q covered coach
in 1875 but it was eighty years after hs according
stoves Chyonscie, before anything OF the kind was
made in England. That history. III speaking OF the
year 1865, says:-'This year Walter Ripon made
coach Tor the Earle OF Rutland, which was the first
coach tsaith hel that ever was made in England.
Since--to w.t. ammo 1564-the said Walter Ripon
made tho frst hollow turning coach with pliers and
arches Her Majestic being then her Also,
in ammo 1884, chariot throne, with foure pillars be-
hind, TO bcare canopie with a crowne imperIah
the tuppe before two lower pliers wherein stood
lion and dragon, tho supporters Of the armos Of
England
1885, when she went state 70 ST. Paus Cathedral
give thanks Tor the provdental deltverance Of her
Kingdom from tho danger threatened by the Spanish
Armada From the accounts OF the procession on this
occasion it seems that the privy Council Of Queen
and all her attendants oil the higher ranks
went on horseback this OF itself being presumplvc
evidence that coaches were scarce at that time Later
however. IN Elzabeth's reign, coaches became CON-
parativcy numerous In 1860 the Embassy TO Morocco
in procession through the streets OF London,
portion Of the paraphernalia Of the procession
consisted OF iour coaches In the same year the Rus
sian Embassy accompanied by eight coaches
Three years later an embassy from France charged
with the congratulations Of the French government
the accession or James l., rode la thirty coaches
from Inc Tower wharf the French Ambassadors
dwelling in Barbican and, amer paying their respects
TO him. the lodgings provided for them in Bish
opsgate srocL This procession is said have excited
as much interest among tho OF London did
the turnout OF the Coaching Club little
a week ago among the citizens OF New York.
The coach of that date however, appears
from a picture engraved in the sixteenth century,
was a cumbrous affair indeed compared with the elc
CANT vehicles OF to-day. This picture oil q coach
being driven along through the environs of Milan 1t
large box apparently twice the proportions OF the
modern coach, with curving sides and top consider
ably larger than the bottom. The driver Is seated
level with the INSIDE seats two horses attached
by traces, no pole appearing In the doorway al tho
SIDE with her feet hanging out Is seated lady who
must certainly have suffered considerable inconvcni-
encc from dust The outside OF the coach covered
with fancy designs, either painted or carved, and the
wheels are more cumbrous than those OF modern
drag.
SO clumsy indeed, were coaches IN this time that
even queens, when travelling. preferred TO ride
million behind their officers About the beginning of