The generality of passengers know not the danger of galloping a coach, with three tons’ weight in and out, down hill, at the rate of twelve or fifteen miles an hour, with no wheel locked, the whole resistance of the wheel-horses depending on a small leather strap and buckle at the top of the hames,--these coachmen deeming it beneath their dignity to drive with breechings. Even thus, however, accidents would be much less frequent if coachmen took the precaution of pulling up their horses short, when on the point of descending. In night-work, this is doubly useful, because it often happens that a pole-chain is unhooked, or a hame-strap gets loose, without being discernible by lamp or moonlight. [Illustration: _Plate XLIV_ _Page 208._ The Rein-hold in Driving] “With wheel-horses that will hold back at all, I will be bound,” says a clever writer and experienced coachman, “to take a loaded coach down most of the hills now met with on our great roads, without a drag-chain, provided I am allowed to pull up my horses at the top, and let them take it quietly the first hundred yards. This, it may be said, would be losing time, but, on the contrary, time would be gained by it; for, as soon as I perceived I was master of my coach, I should let her go, and by letting my horses loose at the bottom, I could spring them into a gallop, and cheat them out of half the hill, if there were one (as frequently happens) on the next portion of road. This advantage, it must be recollected, cannot be taken if the chain be to be put on; and I have therefore in my favour all the time required to put the chain on, and to take it off again.” There are, however, some horses which no man can make to hold a loaded coach down hill. Of this description are, first, the stiff-necked one, as he is called, who turns his head away from his partner, and shoulders the pole; and, secondly, one who, when he feels the weight pressing upon him, begins to canter and jump, as coachmen term it; with these holding back properly is out of the question. With such cattle, the drag-chain must be had recourse to; as well as when there is the least reason to suspect the soundness of the harness. All this confirms the necessity of checking the force of a coach before descending a steep hill, and indeed in some cases--as with bad holders--before coming upon a slight descent. The term which coachmen have for this species of road, is “pushing ground;” and if the fall be long, it is astonishing how the pressure of a loaded coach upon wheel horses is increased before getting to the bottom of it, and how difficult it would be, with wheelers not of the very best stamp, to pull up short, if any accident should happen.