The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1895-02-16
A GRAND COACHMAN.
HE is AT THE HEAD OF THE LORD
MAYOR OF LONDON'S STABLE.

An antediluvian spectacle was pre-
pared for me in the stables of the lord
mayor of London. In q vast courtyard
an enormous carriage made of gold, to
which were harnessed six magnificent
brown horses; harness ornamented with
massive copper, chiseled by an artist,
II not with taste at least with great
deal of care, and multitude Of ribbons
and cockades of 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 wig with sex
tuple line of curk symmetrically ar
ranged, had 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. 1t
is black and gold The frock is too or
namental. The black velvet of it disap-
pears under a 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
posing on arms so fat and so firm, that
one cannot find this exhibition Of
wealth excessive.
The carriage is poem. 1t is of tho
purest rocco style. Massive in the low
er part, the panels of which are orna-
mented with allegoric paintings, the
box is exclusively formed of looking
glasses held together by 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 the tire of the wheels. Only
the interior of the carriage is not gilt.
1t is ornamented with red cushions.
'Have you seen everything?" asks
the fat man. l say EYES,, and Master
Wright descends from his perch. He
puts aside with sacerdotal slowness one
by one his bicornered hat, his wig and
his froclz As he becomes a simple NOR
tai he talks and smiles. l 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-
TALLY, "that l measure from shoulder
to shoulder AZ inches? To become q
member of the Royal guard, where
there are splendid men, you need only
AZ inches. Some of them measure 49,
There are some who measure "A, but
there is not one who measures A."
In the harness room-in 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 ITO
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 is compelled to search
for two months in advance in order tc
find the six horses destined to drag dur
ing this memorable parade the formida
BILE machine. The rest of the year there
are only six horses in the stable. They
are all beautiful, but of a 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.
The carriages are not the property o
the lord mayor, but of the city of Lon
don. They are rented by the year. Tit
price is very high as the coat of arm
and the painting on the panels must b.
changed every year. The second car
rage costs $500.
The arms of the city of London ar
of chiseled copper. An elegant and FIN
gallery at the top of the wagon is mad
of the same metal. There are four beau
, tiful octagonal lanterns at the four cor
r ners The panels are black and gold
The coachman's seat is covered wit
black and red velvet
: The service of the stables is compose
=, of head coachman, of second coach
+ man, more especially devoted to tn
d lady mayoress; of a private coachman
Q q footman, a groom and two stable boys
l Their total wages are $40 week.
r 81 would wager, " said Wright, wit
( a hooking smile. "that you will as
r what the cost of my livery is. We'll
r this uniform was paid for by the lor
= mayor only recently Its cost wa
v e100."
9 Fortunately" l said, "you do nc
$ renew it every year.
, "You are mistaken. Every lord may
T or has a livery different from tha
n chosen by his predecessor. We chang
!. livery every year.
: "And does the lord mayor have
= pay for all this?'
Certainly, sir. It is a dignity ever,
body may not have. But you must n
member that the most parsimonious {
k lord mayors never spent less than $50
q 900 a year. Do you know how niue
: the city allows him? No? Well, II
l. city allows him only $40. 900 year.
n "How is it," said l, THAT You al
: not changed as well as the lord mayor
t, Master Wright stood up with infiex
IT BILE rigidity. He said:
Il ''Sir, we are officers of the city
II London. Appointed by the city to OF
,e modest functions, we serve it in Il