Belford now began to contrive the coach in question, and out of an old Shiblia and some boxes, he made a body, six feet in length, three in breadth, and four in height. This he covered over like a higgler’s cart, with an arched top, having a door open behind, by which a person could easily get in; but Mukni finding he could squeeze himself into a smaller compass, had it reduced in such a way, as to render it necessary for him to be pushed in and shot out like a sack of coals. The body being completed, and springs being out of the question, it was mounted on two strong poles, which did duty as shafts; and to these were fixed two wheels from one of the field-pieces, so that the carriage stood at about three feet from the ground. The Sultan never for a moment quitted the place where Belford was at work, and was all delight at the progress which he made. Numbers of people came to see it, and many asked if that was the kind of vehicle in which our King and his wives used to ride. I was frequently puzzled how to answer; for to say the truth, though Belford, considering his want of materials, had done wonders, it very much resembled one of those little market carts which are dragged about London by donkies. It soon, however, lost that appearance, by being covered with a splendid hood of scarlet cloth, and having a bed laid inside of it. The shafts, body, and wheels were painted green, though not very durably. The Sultan had some verdigris, which he had brought from Tripoli; part of this was mixed with olive oil, which, not drying, was scraped off, but the rest being prepared with vinegar, formed a wash which answered his fondest expectations. The carriage was now as gaudy as the Sultan could wish, and he was the sole and happy possessor of it; but a serious inconvenience soon presented itself: the coach was not large enough to allow of a place for a driver, and his horses were too spirited to be trusted alone with such a small state-carriage. After devising many plans to remedy the defect, we found we had but one expedient left, which was to convert the vehicle into a gig. Accordingly, a jack of all trades, who was a very ingenious fellow, made, by my directions, a set of harness tolerably well, except that the little pad on the horse’s back weighed above fifty pounds. This, however, was soon reduced; but when the animal was put into the shafts, we discovered that the carriage was so low as to form an angle of at least twenty-five degrees with the ground. The Sultan’s head would consequently be about a foot lower than his feet; but as he intended at any rate sitting with his face to the horse, he thought nothing of this inconvenience.