The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-05-26
THE GENTLEMAN COACFIMAN0 in ENGLAND

J sengers or 1nrcels the average is tire,
! lninute3 Ser fast coaches"
The length OF Mr.. Vanderbilt.
stages Is also normal. According tt
: "Niinrod" again. fast coaches seldom
! run more than ten mile stages ant
many not more than six They used
indeed, to do longer stages, but MIN,
rod" praises the modern reduction
"A though imported from Erance) as
i tending to economic lorseflesh in the
u end.
I So the criticism OF "the American
Y lightweight horses" reported In cable
dispatch is beside the point. The vet
] Grams seem to have maintained that
half the number OF the heavier Eng
lish horses would do the trip In equal
time" The question Is, however,
i whether those heavier horses would be
as "ft' as Mr.. Vanderbilt's grays at
the end Of the season; for this having
OF the number OF horses would mean
twelve mile stages at last.
In his ordinary sober routine Mr..
| Vanderbilt is not out for race. Pos
/ sibly, however, he may on some spe-
cial occasion be induced to try his
American iorsed coach against ma
tive team. 1t would be all interesting
trial, and In this year OF many inter-
national contests in England It seems
almost Inevitable. The Argentine whip
now running to Guilford. might be In
vited to join In the race. II the event
were brought off. 1t would not be the
first time that coaching In England
has been associated with the Olympic
| games. Nimrod drags those famous
games indeed into his apology for the
gentleman coachman, for even then,
Il n NJ, r6 MI of
the devotion Of wealthy amateurs to
stage driving.
.'Nimrod" confidently remarks that
, for over thousand years The highest
| honor that could be bestowed on man
was an olive sprig for winning the
coaching race in the Olympic games.
The immortal Pindar, he adds, was
called on to hand the winner down to
! posterity in an ode, and. az II to ex-
plain finally the modern amateurs pas
sion. Every gentleman has cast his
eye over those songs OF triumph" No
doubt Mr.. Vanderbilt has.
Certainly a road race In England
would be no novelty. When the coaches
ran on strict business principles. racing
was almost an Advertising necessity.
1t is not surprising that such races
We're sometimes conducted in an un-
sportsmanlike spirit. Such was the
jealousy between these two rival
coaches" says Lord Alsernon Saint
Maur in "Reminiscences of the Oxford
Road, that the horsekeepers OF the
Age, which happened 10 be the first
and was changing horses, put num-
bers OF stable buckets across the road.
but Major Fame. who was driving
the Royal William and galloping
the time, the moment he saw their lit
tie game, caught all HIS horses fast
by the. head and giving them smack
all round, splintered the buckets into
pieces, and went on his way rejoicing"
Indeed, besides being healthy out
door sport and not unserviceable to the
public, coaching proper is an art full OF
subtle points, only to be appreciated by
the expert. There was nothing remark |
able about the teams used by Selby in
his record trip, but Selby himself was n |
remarkable artists This scope for art |
is at once the attraction and the justifi- |
cation for the gentleman coachman,
who was already common on the road |
quite century before the railroad |
catastrophe happened. George w. be-
fore he came to the throne used to |,
drive one of the Brighton coaches. |
Scores of mobiles and men OF wealth !
have worked on the road with the zeal |
OF paid professionals. Mr.. John Warde, !
Tor instance, to take one OF "Nimrod s." |
friends, worked a great deal on the |
heavy Gloucester, and often had the |
sole charge of 1t. for It had no guard |
at that time. so that he had to lock |
and unlock the wheels, and see to the |
regular business of the road Once /
ne drove from London to Gloucester |
lil0 miles,. and after taking some /
sight refreshinent, back again.
s This Warde. by the way, was the
man who, when impclled to diet /
against govt. rcrnnrked: MY stomach /
thinks my throat is cut"
/, Since # Is necessary to cut short
these tempting memories ono may re-
sali. II any Justification is needed OF
our American coachmnn on the
brighton road. that the first recorded
amateur OF the for-in- hand art in
england was, n rerHonnge no less APP
plauded in modern America than Oliver
Cromwell The Count of oldenburg
presented Oliver when Lord Protector,
with six German horses"-a vile set
of cattle. no doubt, from tho four-in-
hand point of view. Oliver. however,
greatly daring, decided at oncc to try
TOUR OF them in team, though they
had noSer hssn nut tnGethor."' and he,
rs events proved, was a pitiable novice Ii
In the park the Lord Protector flicked I,
a Sinking leaAer; then the team some- II
how bolted and Oliver, always
thorough" held on to the re!ns ana
was pulled clear off the box, and fall
Ing between the wheelers. was dragged |,
Painfully for some little distance.
Which event several cavalier poets
!, - r - . s.