Carse

“ A carriage and six drove up with outriders. “What the devil’s this that stops the way?” cried the man who rode the leaders, “Make way there, I say, clear the road.” William looked up, and saw sparks of fire darting from the horses’ hoofs, and a circle of flame about the carriage-wheels. By this he knew it to be a work of the fiend, and never stirred. “Push on, my lads, drive over him, helter skelter,” cried the same postillion, looking back to the others; and in a moment the whole equipage moved rapidly upon the circle. ”

“ But the chief attraction in the afternoon is the drive along its great carriage roads, to view the numerous equipages of every nationality and description that frequent them. It is really an interesting study to view the solid old establishments of English residents, with driver and footmen, the young English bloods driving those heavily-timbered vehicles of theirs, which they seem to have invented for the purpose of taking their valets out to ride, and showing the neatness of their livery, the length of their whips, and the points of the horse attached to the clumsy gundalow. ”

“ Almost every body in this place keeps a carriage, which is drawn by two horses, and driven by a man upon a box, like our chariots, but is open in front: Whoever, in such a carriage, meets the governor, either in the town or upon the road, is expected not only to draw it on one side, but to get out of it, and make a most respectful obeisance while his excellency's coach goes by ”

“ Carriage. A water-course, a meadow-drain (A. B. G. H. Wr.) . In S. Wilts the carriages bring the water into and through the meadow, while the drawn takes it back to the river after its work is done.—N. & S.W.
Carrier, Water-carrier. A large water-course (Wild Life, ch. xx) .—N. & S.W.
Carry along. To prove the death of, to bring to the grave. 'I be afeard whe'er that 'ere spittin' o' blood won't car'n along.'—N.W.
Cart. 'At cart,' carrying or hauling, as 'We be at wheat cart [coal-cart, dung-cart, &c.] ”

“ The odds are about one hundred to one against you that, when seated in your carriage, the postillion in his saddle and the fat courier outside, the words en route being given, you arrive at your destination that evening, without any accident or adventure whatever of more consequence than a lost shoe from the near leader, a snapped spring, or a heartburn from the glass of bad brandy you took at the third stage. ”

“ The carriages are so small—two-storied though they are—that one feels as if one were taking a drive in a donkey-cart or station fly, and more than once we were almost impelled to call out to our driver to stop and let us gather wild-flowers by the wayside. ”

“ They have had the good sense to avoid the ridiculous wheel-tollage to which we adhere at home with a tenacity only equalled by its folly, as if a two-wheeled cart, with a ton weight of cargo, drawn by a Barclay and Perkinser, did not cut up a road much more than the little four-wheel carriage of the clergyman's wife, drawn by a cob pony, and laden with a tin of soup or a piece of flannel for some suffering parishioner. ”

“ The most common carriage is the volante, but there are some carriages in the English style, with servants in livery on the box. I have taken a fancy for the strange-looking two-horse volante. The postilion, the long, dangling traces, the superfluousness of a horse to be ridden by the man that guides the other, and the prodigality of silver, give the whole a look of style that eclipses, the neat appropriate English equipage. The ladies ride in full dress, décolletées, without hats. The servants on the carriages are not all Negroes. Many of the drivers are white. ”

“ In the country when any of the people wish to ride out, the horse must be brought up from the field and curried, the harness be put on, the carriage taken from the carriage-house, the whip and carriage robe gotten from their places, the horse put to the carriage, and then when the drive is over everything has to be put back in its place. ”

“ Many years have now elapsed since I first observed that, somehow or other, the horses on the Continent manage to pull a heavy carriage up a steep hill, or along a dead level, with greater ease to themselves than our English horses. Let any unprejudiced person attentively observe with what little apparent fatigue three small ill-conditioned animals will draw not only his own carriage, but very often that huge overgrown vehicle, the French diligence, or the German eil-wagen, and I think he must admit that, somewhere or other, there exists a mystery. ”

“ Would your Carriage displace along the road four horses on each stage?—Two ten-horse Engines would displace the whole number of horses along the stage.
Have you made experiments which enable you to answer these questions?—I was not at all prepared; my principal object bas been to ascertain what power I have to do a certain work; I have paid very little attention to horse power.
Do you think that your Carriage is equivalent to a four-horse Carriage on the road, in the number of persons it would draw?—It is more than equivalent to it, from the circumstance of its being able to do more work. ”

“ An ordinary foot-passenger, meeting perhaps a coolie with two buckets of water suspended one at each end of a bamboo pole, or carrying a bag of rice, weighing one, two, or even three hundredweight, is bound to move out of the burden-carrier's path, leaving to him whatever advantages the road may offer. ”

“ The carriage has not stopped before a guide pounces out upon us, and carries us up through a steep unspeakable wilderness of dead houses, deserted these three hundred years, and all falling most lamentably into dissolution. ”

“ TINTAGEL.
No difficulty in finding our carriage, for it was the only one there; a [Pg 128] huge vehicle, of ancient build, the horses to match, capable of accommodating a whole family and its luggage. We missed our compact little machine, and our brisk, kindly Charles, but soon settled ourselves in dignified, roomy state, for the twenty miles, or rather more, which lay between us and the coast. [Pg 129] Our way ran along lonely quiet country roads and woods almost as green as when Queen Guinevere rode through them "a maying," before the dark days of her sin and King Arthur's death. ”

“ The rumbling of wheels, the clatter of hoofs, the cracking of whips was heard, and out of a cloud of dust appeared a carriage drawn by six horses, and accompanied by lacqueys and outriders in magnificent liveries. ”

“ On horseback one does drive, and in a vehicle one does ride, but a distinction is needed here, as in England; so, here as there, we may profitably make it, riding in the saddle and driving in the carriage. ”

“ In riding the road, should a man on horseback be in your way leading another horse, always dash by the led one; you might otherwise set the man’s horse capering, and perhaps throw him off; and you can get but a kick or two by observing my instructions.—In passing a waggon, or any tremendous equipage, should it run pretty near a bank, and there be but a ditch, and an open country on the other side, if you are on business, and in a hurry, dash up the bank without hesitation ”

“ To diminish friction, he paves the road with iron bars, and, mounting a coach with a ship-load of men, animals, and merchandise behind him, he darts through the country, from town to town, like an eagle or a swallow through the air. ”

“ As your equipage draws up to the station your footman alights and swings open the carriage door, your guide descends from the driver's seat and summons low-caste vassals who load your impedimenta on their heads. ”

“ There were quantities of carriages already arrived, every sort—victorias, coaches, pony carts, charabancs, motor cars, and a few of the really odd kinds of shandrydans that one sees coming to country garden parties in England. There were also numbers of officers riding in uniform—cuirassiers, chasseurs, dragons—and they were to take part in the chase. ”

“ The horses could see their tracks in the soft ground, and when I came to put the plough to ‘em, knew what I wanted, and that helped me to guide ‘em. Horses go in the main road because in the first place folks make ‘em go there, and when the ruts get worn, the carriage keeps them there, and it is easier than to cross the ruts. ”

“ A very light carriage, sometimes driven by my servant and sometimes by myself, will transport the moderate wardrobe which I shall deem it necessary to take with me to the outermost verge of civilization and good roads, where leaving carriage and wardrobe, or at least all of the latter which may not be borne by a led-horse, I shall penetrate still further into the old forests of this New World. ”

“ I have often heard talk of "moving" in England, and have seen a cart or wagon with a man driving a load of furniture, at the rate of three miles an hour, with a woman and perhaps several children sitting on the top, or at the back ”

“ The common people travelled on foot, and carried or dragged over the road their own baggage or freight. Couriers, carrying the most important despatches, relied upon fleetness of foot. The higher classes and wealthy people, even though not themselves making any exertions in their own behalf, were carried about in vehicles by coolies, who, with their human burdens, tramped from place to place. ”

“ Just as the vociferous youths had about decided to organize a hunt and capture the fugitive dead or alive, a carriage came dashing through the gateway and a well-known citizen pulled up his horse before the crowd, and demanded the attention of all. ”

“ It certainly does seem extraordinary that in England, where economy of carriage is so well understood, that persons should fall into the fatal mistake of carrying that which can be made to carry itself. ”

“ Then he took a place in a diligence which was just about to start; and by dint of fees to the postilions, the lumbering vehicle went as quickly as the coach. His two fellow-passengers on the journey happened to be in as great a hurry as himself, and readily agreed to take their meals in the carriage. ”

“ With every moment, however, there came foot-travellers, women holding up their aprons, men on horseback, wheelbarrows, lumbering baggage-wagons, and other vehicles, great and small, and from far and near, laden with articles that were judged fit for nothing but to be burned. ”

“ At the rear of one of these strangely shaped carriages stand four or six men abreast immersing their heads in the water of the wagon for a fresh breath as often as necessity requires. Thus they are enabled to travel over land to any desired locality, always being careful to keep near enough the water to cover any emergency. ”

“ As you stumble out of the carriage, the only living person in the place appears to be a sentry, who tramps up and down in the distance, on guard over a few empty trucks and a huge pile of bundles of straw. ”

“ On the pavement cabs and busses rattled past in endless succession; and elegant carriages, drawn swiftly by spirited horses and carrying the princes of trade and of birth, and veiled ladies, who might be actresses or countesses, for all one could tell, rolled smoothly along. ”

“ Over such roads the heavy carriages of our ancestors could only be drawn by teams of heavy and powerful horses, strength being far more necessary than speed; and for many [2] generations the carriage or coach horse was none other than the Great or Shire Horse. ”

“ The carriages are driving up and dashing away, and if you stand a moment you will see the most vulgar-looking people you have met in your promenade, waited for by chasseurs, and departing with indications of rank in their equipages, which nature has very positively denied to their persons. ”

“ Where should they walk to? It would take them an hour, at least, to get into the fields, and when they reached them, they could procure neither bite nor sup, without the informer and the penalty. Now and then, a carriage rolls smoothly on, or a well-mounted horseman, followed by a liveried attendant, canters by ”

“ If you have any Mercy for your Horses, lend them not to others, unless you limit the Time they are to be out, and the Distance and Pace they are to go; say not exceeding ten Miles. Consider, you may be called upon to go a long Journey to-morrow, and if your Horses are over-worked to-day, how are you to get on? This caution to your Coachman is quite necessary, my good Reader; for those who borrow Horses and Carriages have been found willing enough to work them hard enough! ”

“ The fine equipages that drive round and round through the carriage-paths are another noticeable item. The Roman aristocracy are magnificent in their aspect, driving abroad with beautiful horses, and footmen in rich liveries, sometimes as many as three behind and one sitting by the coachman. ”

“ Gentlemen on richly-caparisoned horses dashed along between the rows of advancing and returning carriages, stopping now and then by the side of a well-known carriage to exchange salutations, or, by an exhibition of a well-timed embarrassment, proclaim the favored object of their evening's ride. ”

“ The horses or mules and their harness, one cart, wagon, or stage, one dray or truck, one coupe, hack or carriage for one or two horses, by use of which a cartman, drayman, truckster, huckster, peddler, hackman, teamster, or other laborer earns his living; and one horse and harness and one vehicle used by a physician, surgeon, or minister of the gospel in the practice or exercise of his profession. ”

“ A carrier on his way to a market town had occasion to stop at some houses by the road side, in the way of his business, leaving his cart and horse upon the public road, under the protection of a passenger and a trusty dog. Upon his return he missed a led horse, belonging to a gentleman in the neighbourhood, which he had tied to the end of the cart, and likewise one of the female passengers. ”