“In an ordinary coach the side form of the body is composed of elliptic lines, from which the supporting iron brackets or loops are continued into reversed curves. This contrivance keeps the centre of gravity low. The four C springs from which the body is suspended are each, or ought to be, two-thirds of a circle, with a tangent to it to form a base or support. The perch beneath the body, which connects together the framework supporting the spring, is curved into a serpentine line corresponding to the bottom of the body and the loops; and thus an agreeable form is preserved. But the double framework in front and the unequal wheels entirely discompose the whole effect, and from an art point of view it is extremely disproportioned, and consequently unsightly. “Now the manufacturer possessing taste steps in, and by lightening the heavy parts by beading, carving, &c., fine lines of colour, and the arrangement of the hammercloth, redeems the vehicle from positive ugliness, and produces a work of art by the harmony of the various curves as a whole, though to produce this harmony there are no well-ascertained rules. Therefore it is that the builder who possesses taste produces combinations pleasing to the eye, and he who is without taste produces unsightly works, which he is necessarily obliged to sell at a low rate of profit as mere articles of convenience, not of refinement. And even as articles of convenience they are imperfect, inasmuch as the harmony of form arises from the due proportion of parts to each other, and that very proportion produces a greater amount of convenience. The size and weight of a carriage ought to be proportioned to that of the horse or horses intended to draw it, as well as the locality in which it is to be used and the persons who are likely to use it; and the proportion of parts having once been accurately settled, the same rule of proportion must be observed, whether on an increasing or diminishing scale.