Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-21

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49, s s.H;:s. . s.s' . 's , 's:
easily some Of them roll over the road could be
observed on the way out to the track.
There were few side-bar bugSles
there, number of Light buckbOards
and several dog carts as heavy as
hanson cabs. There were victorias, with long,
sweeping bodies and perehes for the coachman
and footman up among the clouds almost, and
there were high-backed chunky" victorias cor
rect according To- the latest wrinkle.
Fashion and good form manifest In the
wealth that goes on wheels as in anything else.
In point Of fact a swell is more particular about
his carriages than he is about his personal APP
pearance. and tust as he gets new clothes when
the cut of his old ones changes although they
NAV not be worn out. so does he change his car
riages soon styles come in. This is
not as heavy an item of expense in Washington
it Is in other eenters OF wealth, for the
reason that carriages last longer here than
they do anywhere else. This is because Of
the smooth asphalt payements, whichS do
not rattle carriage to pieces in
few years, as the belgian block pavements
do. To get victoria or brougham of new
design Is thus a matter of exchanging one of
older pattern. giving the carriage maker. of
course, something Ito boot" Another thing
must be said under this head that is point in
WashingtOh's favor. The carriages built for
the local market are lighter and more graceful
than they are In other cities. a. the strain upon
them is so much less, and this is some cOmpen-
sation in return for the acknowledged fact that
the asphalt is hard on the horses feet.
FASHIONS COME AND GO.
Fashions in vehicles come and go, and to a
great extent ON arbitrary principles. Why
should any man have given up driving side
bar buggy In order to hitch his nag to a heavy
dog cart? Yet many swells did it, and simply
because the dog cart became the swell thing to
drive. Now, happily, dog carts are going out
and light buckboards are taking their place.
In conversation with number OF horse
owners a writer for The STAR found il to be
their unanimous opinion that for light driving
with one or two horses the most perfect vehicle
is the side-bar buggy. 1t is the bghtest of all
vehicles the sulky alone excepted. 1t is per-
fectly comfortable to sit in, and when well
built is strong rs anything built of iron and
wood can be. A horse can draw ii without
expenditure Of great strength. and as a con-
sequence 1t IL the best continuance for speeding.
Then, added to its other. good qualities,
ii has top and sunshine and rain
can be kept of the driver. There is but one
objection to the buggy-it is awkward TO get in
and out of. When a certain class of people
gave up buggies and took to driving tgo-wheeled
carts they did a very foolish thing. for the dog
cart is not comfortable. is heavy to pull and will
break down almost any horse if he is used be-
fore II constantly. II has its uses. of course.
and is the only proper thing for driving tan
dem. This driving requires a two-wheeled trap,
for your leader may turn on you and you will
be upset, uni - you can turn around in your
own length
1t is necessary in tandem driving to be high
up above your horses also. and the dog cart is
well arranged for this The village cart. which
Is low, two wheeled vehicle, is a most conven-
lent and useful little thing. Its proper uses are
for shopping il the country town. It can hold
any number of bu Idles, and the lady who drives
II has no difficulty IN getting in snd out often
as she chooses. 1t is true that it drags heavily
on the horse, but il is not intended for driving
long distances IN and IL il a disagreeable cir
cumstance that MANY village carts wabble but
this can be prevented if the box is skillfuily
swung over the wheels. 1t must be admitted
that the village cart is not as good the basket
phaeton. but no two-wheeled vehicle ever is as
good for ordinary driving purposes as a four
wheeled vehicle.
THE BUcKBoARp.
The ultra followers of fashion gave up the
buggy for the cart and now they have given up
the cart for the blackboard This is a sensible
change. a. the blackboard is the vehicle best
adapted for everyday pleasure driving. Yet
the blackboard Of the cities is not at all the gen
uine blackboard of the mountains. The latter
Is a cheap vehicle designed for use over rough
roads. where springs would be pretty sure to
break II consists Of several strong springy
planks, about six feet long. with stout medium
sized wheels at the two ends. This wagon drags
rather heavily, but is hard TO break and is COM
Portable 1t IL not graceful, either, and there
Is only small place for CARRYING bundles. The
buekboard of the cities, as il Is now in use is
quite different. In many cases steel springs
are used 20 assist the spring Of the planks and
the body is made shorter and higher There
are good MANY buckbOards made on the old
principle. but they are so improved that il is
difficult to trace a resemblance to the rural
trap. sagging do n heavily in the middle and
continually NOV, up and down like seesaw
liz was remarked to the writer the other day
that You eau trase mans wealth by what he
drives better tn IN in .ny other way VERY
poor people walk, not .Ten being able to paw
Car fare. VII. thsy st lhes they ride in the
horse cars whens',r hsy choose. Later YOU
may see them hi--Iy IN "a. When it comes 10
that look on. D som til .ng more. for the next
step Is horse -IIbuggy. Then comes a coupe,
then ge1uIrs carriage. then victoria and
then the rich man : proudest possession the
coach and four horses.
COACHES ARE SIMPLY Toys
Vow. coaches are a modern invention for the
amusement Of very rich men They have no
use in the world; they are simply toys. About
ten years ego they were nearly all built in irni-
tation of the genuine old-fashioned mail coach.
which used to be used in England before rail-
roads existed The peopl- are piled on top,
only few females elderly passengers riding
inside. No coaches. IL is safe to saw were ever
built for pleasure IN imitation of the Amer
lean stage coach, for the roads in this
country when stage coaches existed we.e simply
atrocious as general thing. A few exceptions
must be noticed on this head. however for the
Alexandria and Leesburg pike. over which the
coach used to roll every day In the oiden time
was a good road then and is a fair road now
Anybody can go out to Falls Church and see for
himself But the American stage coach was no.
n beautiful or comfortable conveyance 1t Was
roughly bnilt for rough work. and did not diff or
materially from the stage coach that one finds
In the far west now. When the modern coach
ing became the fashion among rich men they
accepted the English coach and it il still nsed
BY many OF them. But II l. so useiessly heavy
and withal unSalnly that IL has given wav in a
number of cases To the drag. which is high
seatsd vehicle, holding considerable number
of people and possessing alt the advantages Of
the coach with none OF its disadvantages Not
least among its advantages il the fact that II
costs very much less.
You can put it down a fact that the man
Who keeps a eossh and drag is rich, and that
he would be good dead richer il he gave them
M. for they cost small fortune in the first
place aud to essp them up requires yearly ex-
PeEditare sufBs snt TO support two or three or
binary isdisid1easL