Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/150

Rh Kings preferred making their journeys on horseback to using the cumbrous and awkward vehicles which constituted the carriages of these days. They were mounted on four wheels and drawn by several horses harnessed in a row, or two and two in teams, ridden by postilions with short, many-thonged whips and spurs. From the solid beams of wood which rested on the axles rose a framework like an archway, rounded in the manner of a painted and gilded tunnel. The inside was hung with tapestry, on the wooden seats were embroidered cushions, and the square windows were hung with silk curtains. Inside this cumbrous vehicle sat the unfortunate ladies, whose fate it was to move in state from one place to another. With groaning wheels, the heavy machine advanced by fits and starts, now descending into rotten hollows, now in peril of capsizing over some uneven surface, now sticking altogether in the deep mire, or splashing through some low-lying part of the road flooded by a neighbouring stream.

No wonder they mostly preferred riding on horseback to sitting in these cumbrous carriages for any long distance. The woman of the period loved the open air and was an undoubted addition