Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/539

* DKIVING. 469 DROBISCH. ■nlieeler's reins through the tiiiger-spaoes of the lel't hand. Having assembled all the reins in the left hand, pass Iheni between the eorresponding lingers of the right hand, leaving the left hand free to grasp the rail and mount to the driving seat. In mounting, the left font is placed on the wheel-box, the right on the splinter-bar, followed by the left foot on the step and the right foot on tile footboard of the bo., whereupon the driver speedily scats himself. Onee seated, the feet an- brought close together; the left hand so placed that it will be on a level with the lowest vest button, the forearm as nearly as possible horizon- tal, and similarly, the hand in the centre of the body, which it touches with the back of the fin- gers, the knuckles being straight to the front. The wrist must be able to work backward and forward like a spring. The horses are notified to start by lightly drawing in the reins, so as to se- cure a slight pressure on every horse's mouth, after which a sign or a cry will notify the grooms to stand clear, and the horses will move oflF to- gether. The team must be started at a walk, and the driver be prepared to hold in the leaders. Never use the whip unnecessarily, and before do- ing so, in any event, have all the horses well in hand. To shorten the reins, take them between the fingers of the right hand and ]nill them back through the fingers of the left. To ease the left hand, change the reins into corresponding position in the right, but only when on a straight, clear road. Keep the leaders slightly in. so that their traces are slack. Go up-hill at a trot, or even at a gallop, as it keeps the team more even. Down- hill, the horses should be well in hand. To turn to the right, take the right-hand leader's and wheeler's reins about eight inches away from the left hand, and pull them until the right hand is near the body ; drop the left hand gently, then, as the team comes round to the right, steady the right-hand horses, ease out the reins of the left- hand ones, and the team will straighten out. The turn to the left is a reversal of these methods. Stop gradually, taking in first the leaders' reins, then the wheelers'. Bring the team down to a slow trot and let them be almost at a walk before coming to a full stop. Pass the reins to the right hand and dismount. The position of the reins in the driving hand is a much-disputed point, and one to which too much importance cannot be attached. Driving in America has natur- ally been consider- ably influenced by the methods em- ployed in England ; anil the 'tooling' of fashionable coaches is still apt to be after the English fashion. The strictly American method of holding the reins is seen in Figs. 1 and 2. the latter being known as the 'dubbed' hand. When all the reins are held in one hand, a rein in each finger-space, it is called a 'full hand' (Fig. 3), a method once very popular on the Continent of Europe, and even now^ considered good form in France. The great objection to the method, however, is that the ofT-wheel rein. Fig. 1. on top of the little finger, cannot be firmly held, owing to the insullicicncy of strength in that fin- ger. In Switzerland and Italy, where there is con- siderable four-hor.se traveling in both diligences and private traveling carriages, the professional coachmen employ many different methods of handling, although all of them seem to be oppo.scd in practice, at least, to the old French custom, or 'full hand,' already explained. The method of the Saint Moritz diligence (Fig. 4) is perhaps the best method employed on the Continent, and re- sembles the English in that the lead reins and the wheel reins each adjoin; a method also employed by professional stage-coach drivers in America. In six-horse driving the English method is practically universal (Fig. 5). The Fig. 4. Fig. 6. lead reins, together with those of the middle pair, are held in the same position as would be the leaders and wheelers in four-horse driving; and the reins of the wheelers are then placed on the two sides of the third finger, below all the others. Much more easy of control and handling is the method, sometimes resorted to, of harnessing three abreast on the lead, with two at the wheek DRIVING, Furious. The offense of driving or otherwise propelling vehicles over a public road or higliway at a dangerous rate of speed. Furious and reckless driving on thronged thor- oughfares is an indictable offense at common law, punishable by fine and imprisonment. The offense has become statutory in England, and prosecutions are now usually brought under the .statutes governing the matter, though the common-law remedy is still available. In the United States such legislation has been sus- tained as coming within the police power of the State Legislatures. In cities and incorpo- rated villages the rate of driving and of pro- pelling street cars, bicycles, automobiles, and other vehicles is usually regulated by municipal ordinances, having the "force of legislative enact- ments, fixing the maximum rate of speed per- mitted. DROBISCH, dro'blsh, Gustav Theodor (1811- 82). A German poet and author, born in Dres- den. In 1847 he became the <'ditnr of the Zei- tunfi fiir die eleriatite Welt, at Leipzig, »hich he conducted for thirteen j'cars. He was widely celebrated as a humorist, was editor of the