INTRODUCTION.
The following Estimates of the Expense of keeping Horses and Carriages, are Accurate Statements, they cannot be well kept for less, and they need not cost more:—the Reader will have no difficulty in finding a Hackneyman, and a Coachmaker, who will furnish him with them on the terms herein set down; for we have adopted a mean between thoughtless Extravagance on the one hand, and rigid Parsimony on the other.
It is a very frequent, and a very just complaint, thatthe Expense of a Carriageis not so much itsFirst Cost, as the charge ofKeeping it in Repair. Many are deterred from indulgingthemselves therewith, from a consciousness that they are so utterly unacquainted with the management thereof, they are apprehensive the uncertainty of the Expense, and the Trouble attending it, will produce Anxiety, which will more than counterbalance the Comfort to be derived from it.
Few Machines vary more in quality than Carriages, the charge1for them varies as much;—thebest advice that can be offered to the Reader, is, to “Deal with a Tradesman of Fair Character, and established circumstances.—Such a person has every inducement to charge reasonably, and has too much at stake, to forfeit, by any silly Imposition, the Credit that he has been years in establishing by careful Integrity.”——Dr. Kitchiner’sHousekeeper’s Ledger, 8vo. 1826, p. 20.
Those Carriages which cost least, are not alwaysthe Cheapest, but often turn out, in the end, to be theDearest.
Of Chariots, that appear to be equally handsome to a common Eye, which has not been taught to look minutely into the several parts of their machinery; One may becheapat 250l., and Another may bedearat 200l.: notwithstanding, the Vender of the latter may get more Profit than the Builder of the former.
The faculty of Counting, too frequently, masters all the other Faculties, and is the grand source of deception which Speculating Shopkeepers are ever ready to take advantage of;—for catching the majority of Customers,Cheapnessis the surest bait in the World,—how manymore people can count the difference between 20 and 25, than can judge ofthe Qualityof the article they are about to buy?
Quantitystrikes the eye at once.—It is recorded, that a certain King having commanded his Treasurer to give an Artist a Thousand Pounds for some work which his faithful Minister knew would be most liberally paid for with half that sum; the sagacious Treasurer ordered, Five Hundred Pounds in Silver to be laid upon a Table in a Room which he knew that his Majesty would pass through with him. On seeing the heap of Silver, the King exclaimed, “What’s all that Money for?” The Treasurer replied, “Sire, it is half of the Sum which your Majesty commanded me to give to the Artist.”—On which, the King said, “Hey, hey! a deal of Money—a deal of Money—Half of that will do!!!”
Quantitymay be estimated by an uneducated Eye—to discernthe Qualityof things, requires Experience and Judgment—capital Guides; but with which the purchasers of Horses and Carriages are Years before they acquire sufficient acquaintance to derive any benefit fromthem, and their chief security is, to deal with Persons who have justly acquired, and long maintained, an unblemished Reputation.
I must here protest against a Custom which it is high time was abolished, that of askingGuineasinstead ofPounds,—as Guineas are coined no more, there is no pretence for continuing this trick of charging 5l. per Cent extra! Those who do it, know that nobody would give them 105Pounds; but, under the jingle of 100Guineas, they contrive to poke an additional Five Pounds out of your pocket!
As we have earnestly advised, thatthe Coachmanmay be made independent ofthe Coachmaker, so let the latter be entirely independent of the former.
Be not so perfunctory, as to permit your Coachman to order what he pleases. If you send a Carriage to be repaired, with the usual Message, “To do any little Jobs that are wanted,” you will most likely not have a little to pay.
When any Repair is required, desire your Coachman to tell you; examine it with your own Eyes, and with your own hand write the order to the Coachmaker, &c. for every thing that is wanted; and warn him you will not payfor any Jobs, &c. not so ordered, and desire him to keep such Orders and return them to you when he brings his Bill, that you may see it tallies therewith, and you may keep a little Book yourself, into which you may copy such Orders.
Counsellor Cautiouswent one step further; and before any work was begun, required a Note, stating for how much, and in how long, the person would undertake to completely perform it.
However well built originally, the Durability of the Beauty and the Strength of Carriages, depends much upon how they are managed;—they are as much impaired by those to whose care they are entrusted, not understanding, or not performing, the various operations which preserve them, as they are by the Wear occasioned by Work.
In hiring a Coachman, his having a due knowledge of how to take care of a Carriage, is of as much importance as his experience in Horses, or his skill in Driving.
Persons who order Carriages, are frequently disappointed in the convenience and appearance of them, from not giving their Directions in terms sufficiently explicit;—whenthose who buy Carriages make any such a mistake, it is said, that those who sell are not always remarkably anxious to rectify it, unless at the expense of the proprietor.
An Acquaintance of the Editor’s, ordered that the interior of a New Chariot should be arranged exactly like his former Carriage:—when it was finished, he found that there were several very disorderly deviations from the old plan, which were extremely disagreeable to him:—the Builder said, civilly enough, that he was exceedingly sorry, and would soon set it all right—which he did; but presented a Bill of Ten pounds for mending these mistakes, which having arisen entirely from his own Inattention to the fitting up of the Old Carriage, his Customer successfully resisted the payment of, having been prudent enough to have the Agreement for building the Carriage, worded, “That it should be finishedin all respects to his entire satisfaction, by a certain Time, for a certain Sum.”
To the end of this work is added a CopiousGlossary, and anIndex, which will readily conduct the Reader to the various subjects, and be found extremely useful in explaining the Technical terms, &c. commonly used by Coachmakers.
The Editor has endeavoured to explain the various points in so plain a manner, that persons who are previously entirely unacquainted with the subject, may calculate exactly what will be the Expense, and ascertain pretty accurately the best manner of managing, and of estimating the pretensions of those they are about to employ, either to build or to take care of a Carriage, &c., in almost as little time as they can read this little Book; in which it is hoped that they will find Amusement blended with useful Instruction, and soon gain such a general knowledge of the subject, as will effectually protect them from Imposition:—at all events, the Editor is quite sure, that it will soon save the Purchaser more than double what he has been so good as to give his friend the old Coachman for the following advice.—NowCent per Cent, even in these times, when it is said that Cash is scarce, is quite as large a profit as can be made by most Purchases! Therefore, the Editor sendsMr. Jervis’sBook to Press, with a contented conscience, and a hearty wish, that all who buy it may be able to invest all their Money to equal advantage.