Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-11-14
A GRAND COACHMAN.
HE IS AT THE HEAD OF THE LORD MAYOR OF LoNooN's STABLE.

CoaehmAn Is . Fixture
 An antediluvian spectacle was pre- pared for me in the stables of the lord mayor of London. In n vast courtyard an enormous carriage made of gold, to which were harnessed six magnificent brown horses; harness orDamented with massive copper, chiseled by an artist, If not with taste at least with a great deal of care, and multitude of ribbons and cockades of a cherry color
 On the seat, six feet above the earth, the coachman, but what a coachman, my friendsl A coachman the breed of which has been lost since the time of Louis XIV. He wore n wig with a sex tuple line of curls symmetrically ar ranged, had a bicornered hat on his head, and he wore his livery as Yelling ton after Waterloo must have worn his uniform. His livery has a grand air It is black and gold. The frock is too or namental. The black velvet of it disap- pears under n thick embroidery of gold wheat and field flowers of purple silk, but the chest on which it is opened is so ample. and the large epaulets, with gold fringes, fall with a nobility so inn
 
 one cannot find this exhibition of wealth excessive.
 The carriage is poem. It is of the purest rococo style. Massive in the low CT part. the panels of which are orna- mented with allegoric paintings, the box is exclusively formed of looking glasses held together by n light frame work of gilded wood. Everything is gilded, from the Cupids which hold the box to the chimerical figures which or nament the platform where the grooms stand; from the Tritons which hold with their strong arms the seat where the corpulent Phaethon is enthroned to the she'll where he places his feet; from the hub to tho tire of the wheels. Only the interior of the carriage is not gilt | It Is ornamentcd with red cushions.
 Have you seen everything:" asks the fat man. I say "Yes," and Master Wright descends from his perch. He puts aside with sacerdotal slowness one by one his bicornered hat, his wig and his frock. As he becomes a simple mor- tal he talks and smiles. I smile, too, because he strangely resembles Coque- lin. His trumpet shaped nose is particu- larly a success.
 Master Wright is not too proud of it. He is proud only of his size. He talks of it with evident conceit.
 Do you know" he says confiden- tially, that I measure from shoulder | to shoulder 47 inches? To become a member of the Royal guard. where there are splendid men, you need only 42 inches. Some of them measure 43. | There are some who measure fl, but there is not one who measures IT. In the harness room-in q special room of which the first coachman alone has the key-Wright hands to me one of the sets of harness. Its weight Is | fabulous Each horse carries llO | pounds. Add to this the enormous mass | of the car, and you may understand why it is that ordinary horses will not do for the annual parade. The livery. man who has charge of the stables of the lord mayor k compelled to search for two months in advance in order tc l find the six horses destined to drag dur. ing this memorable parade the fOrmida. ble machine. The rest of the year there arc only six horses in the stable. They | are all beautiful, but of q smaller size. Four of them are harnessed to the sec ond carriage. the lord mayors dress carriage. Two are harnessed to the semi. state carriage.
 l The carriages arc not the property oi the lord mayor, but of the city of Lon. don. They are rented by the year. The price is very high, as the coat of arms and the painting on the panels must bc changed every year. The second car | riage costs $500.
 The arms of the city of London are of chiseled copper. An elegant and fine gallery at the top of the wagon is made of the same metal. There are four beau. tiful octagonal lanterns at the four cor. ners The panels arc black and gold. | The coachmans $ seat is covered with black and rod velvet.
 The service of the stables is composed of n head cC4,chman, of a second coach man, more especially devoted to the lady mayurcss; of private coachman, footman, n groom and two stable boys. | Their total wages arc el0 q week. | ''I would wager, said Wright, with q mOcking smile. that you will ask what the cost of my livery is. Well, this uniform was paid for by the lord mayor only recently. Its cost was eIO0."
 Fortunately. said. you do not renew it every year.
 You arc mistaken. Every lord may. or has a livery different from that chosen by his predecessor. We change livery every year.
 "An does the lord mayor have to pay for all this:''
 Certainly, sir. It is q dignity every body may not have. But you must re- member that the must parsimorious of lord mayors E-ver spent less than e20, 900 n year. Do you know how much the city allows him? No. We'll the city allows him only elO, 900 a year. '' l How is it,' said I. that you arc not changed as we'll as the lord mayor:''
 Master Wright stHod up with infiexi- ble rigidity. He said:
 | 'Sir we arc CfiiCe:s of the city of London Appointed by the city to our modest functions. We serve it in the person of its first magistrate, and we serve it faithfully. but we are not the servants of the lord mayor. Lord may ors come and go We remain After this solsinn phrase Master Wright cordially extended his hand to ue. I shook il, and when he put it ack in his pocket it was not empty i'hiehalt- -Sisson iu Temps
 Shattered Idyl