If they pull up to let the carriage ahead of
them have a fair start, no sooner has the dust-
cloud subsided, or been blown away, than they
observe that the accursed thing, having utterly
discomfited them, has pulled up also, and there
it is creeping along the road as before. The
moment they quicken their pace the same
tactics are resumed as on the former occasion;
and whereas the party in front are enjoying
all the delights of a summer afternoon in a
commodious equipage; those behind feel all
the time as if they were floundering about in a
dust-bin. A pair of first-class Orloff trotters
in the hands of an experienced coachman
will keep the road in this way against all
comers; and hence both man and horses
command an extraordinary price, every comfort and
luxury derived from carriage exercise depending
upon them. A fleet trotter will often
fetch as much as eight hundred guineas, and
his value is so largely increased if a suitable
match can be found, that a pair of unusual
excellence have been sold for twenty thousand
roubles, or three thousand pounds; a much
higher price than can be obtained for the finest
carriage horses in England. It is moreover a
well known fact that one coachman can get
very much greater speed than another out of
the same horses. The method of driving them
more resembles the American than the English
manner. The Orloff trotter is a large, heavy,
clumsy beast, which requires to be pulled
together, and which leans heavily against the
bit when trotting. The tighter the reins are
pulled, the faster he goes, and slackens his
pace directly they are loosened. The coachman
usually takes a short punishing whip from
under him, and flogs his cattle without stint or
measure at starting. Then he lets them go
and holds on to his reins for dear life. The
pace of some of these trotters under the treatment
mentioned, excels anything recorded of
English horses. The tremendous rate of even
twenty miles an hour has been repeatedly
surpassed. But then these horses seldom go any
distance.

They are kept for weeks in hot stables, and
fattened like pigs. They are never taken out
for exercise, and seldom appear, except at races
or on parade occasions, for more than an hour
at a time. Russian coachmen have a curious
habit of watering them before they go to work;
but it does not seem to interfere with their
speed or endurance, although a disease never
seen in other countries appears to seize upon
them if watered shortly after their return to the
stable. A horse to which water has been
incautiously given too soon after work is said to
be " burnt," and is subsequently taken with an
inexplicable illness beyond the reach of any
known remedy. In a few days he begins to
droop, and shows all the usual symptoms of
internal mischief of the gravest character.
Frequently he goes on from bad to worse, till
glandular swellings ensue; these are followed
by ulcers breaking out everywhere, and at last
the animal dies in great torture. Sometimes
the disease takes a different direction. The
horse does not die, but he withers away. He
loses strength and flesh. His appetite becomes
feeble and capricious. His crest sinks. His
coat grows rough and staring, and he is never
fit for steady work any more. A horse burnt
in this way is often purchased, even by
experienced buyers, for one merely out of
condition. But care and food are quite lost upon
the poor creature. A single draught of water
after one of those wild rushes along the hard
dusty road—and the poor beast seems smitten
with incurable weakness for the rest of its
life.

As Russian coachmen are chosen for their
fat persons and long beards, so Russian horses
are often selected, where mere beauty is held
worthy of consideration, for their size and the
length of their tails. A Russian sledge well
put together is the most picturesque equipage
in the world. The horses are stallions, of
immense size, with high crests, long manes, and
tails that sweep the ground. Their harness
is particularly elegant and pretty, leaving
the noble muscular frame of the animal
unencumbered and completely exposed. The
horses look like those painted in Wouverman's
pictures, perfect models of strength and
courage.

Carriages are a much more essential part of
a Russian than of an English establishment.
It is not quite orthodox for a Russian magnate
to be seen on foot at all; and the immense fur
cloak or pelisse which he is obliged by the
rigour of his climate to wear for at least
two-thirds of the year is little adapted for the
freedom or even security of motion necessary
for commodious pedestrian exercise. A
boisterous north wind blowing against a knock-
kneed gentleman of dissipated habits, wrapped
up in a bear-skin, and perched upon high-
heeled boots, is an adversary it requires some
courage to face; and not all the shifts and
stratagems of the knock-kneed gentleman, such
as turning his flank to the enemy, and keeping
as much as possible under shelter of streets
and buildings, will prevent his being knocked
over now and then when incautiously turning
the corner of a street. The process is
very simple, and almost invariably the same.
The wind strikes its victim and spins him
round. In a moment his legs become
embarrassed in the skirts of his pelisse, and in the
next the long cape of it is blown over his head
and blinds him. He looks so pitiable an
object in this position that experience warns
him to beware of exposing himself to such
ignominy. And it thus happens that he lays
out most of his cash and credit in the purchase
of nearly every description of vehicle by which
he may be spared the use of his legs. An
Englishman of very moderate fortune, who
proposed to settle in Russia, and desired to take
a house upon lease, spoke to a native gentleman
upon the subject. " I have a house at
your disposal," said the Boyard, with that
ready kindness of manner which is so charming