This book is included in the Self Reliance Ranching section.
Preface In Paris, London, and New York, the art of Coaching has been remarkably developed. Many clubs have been formed in order that amateurs of the sport might congregate, and men of the highest social position do not disdain driving the public coaches which run daily. If I employ the word art in speaking of coaching, it is for the reason that only by close attention to such lessons as are taught in this volume can perfection, which is the ideal of all art, be attained. It is a luxurious pleasure, perhaps, to display one of these turnouts, but it is surely an elegant pastime. In order to practice this sport in perfection, you should be possessed of many qualities that cannot be acquired by money alone, and one cannot arrive at correctness or perfection unless possessed of much tact and savoir faire. Once the tools are organized, the coach built according to the best and most sensible principles, and four well matched horses with good action have been selected; then the owner must learn how to drive them properly, for it is not good form to be driven on a coach by one's coachman. Now begins the art of driving, which Howlett has brought to the highest degree of perfection, hi a book entitled ''Paris au Bois," Crafty, the well-known writer and authority on sporting subjects, gives a sketch of Howlett so absolutely true that I permit myself to quote it here : "In noting the rapid development of four-in-hand driving, I would commit an unpardonable over- sight and injustice if 1 did not speak of a man who has done more than anyone else for its won- derful progress. I refer to Howlett, the founder of the dynasty. The art of driving four horses is not the result of reflection. It is not a talent you can develop in the retirement of your study ; you must study it in the field, have the horses and carriage—in a word, all the necessary tools. All these appliances Howlett has offered to the young student, as well as his incomparable in- structions, which are given with admirable patience, marvellous perseverance and politeness, together with imperturbable composure and a presence of mind always on the alert. He has been the instructor of the majority of the skillful four-in-hand drivers, and there is not one of his pupils who is not ready to attest that he owes his knowledge to the untiring attention of the professor who has given him the benefit of his incomparable experiences. This man, who plays with a four-in-hand as Paganini played on the violin, calmly regards all the false notes made by the neophytes, whom he assists with his counsels, never interfering unless he is called upon for help. Should his assistance not be called for, he allows an accident to occur with a resignation worthy of praise ; for, after all, his limbs are as much in danger as those of his pupils. But when the mishap has occurred, you should see with what activity he remedies it. He has been known more than once to take off, pick up and put to, by himself, all his horses thrown down at once by the lack of skill of a pupil. On these occasions he is of more value than a detachment of grooms. Without seeming hurry he touches at once the proper strap to be unbuckled in order to loosen the harness, stepping in the midst of the legs of the horses that are down with a fearlessness that recognizes no danger, he puts everything in order and mounts to his seat beside the culprit as quietly as if noth- ing had happened." Another sporting writer and well-known whip, the first in France to write a book on four -horse driving, Monsieur Doiiatien Levesque, in the ' Grandes Guides," speaks of Professor Howlett as follows : "His ability in driving is very great, and his way of teaching so precise, so clear and mild, that none of my many professors have left such agreeable impressions with me. In a few lessons, for which he supplies the team, he gives you precepts that you would never dis- cover yourself, even by long practice, and what is often missing in many coachmen—incontestable individual ability." This is a portrait in its truest light of the man whom all amateurs of four-horse driving are able to appreciate, as much for his talent as for his character. I will now sketch a few lines of his life, which will show that during his childhood Howlett studied and practiced the art discussed by him in this volume. Edwin Howlett was born in Paris on the fifth day of May, 1835; he is one of the seven sons of John Howlett, of Norwich, (Norfolk), coachman to the Marquis of Hereford. From the age of eleven, Edwin Howlett was able to look out for himself, having in a way the intuition of his trade, being skillful, careful, and devoted to his horses. At sixteen he entered the service of the Princess Bacciochi; he afterwards served as second coachman with Monsieur Alexandre Horvath; and in 1852 with Prince Pericles Gikha, who took him to Vienna and gave him the management of his stable. Later, Howlett was trusted by the Prince to bring the team back to Paris by road. Leaving Vienna on the twenty-seventh of October, 1852, he arrived in Paris on the sixteenth of December, without any of the horses being in the least tired, and without accident of any kind. In 1853, Howlett was with Mr. Spencer Cowper (who was setting up his establishment, having just married the Countess d'Orsay,) as second coachman under the orders of his father, whom he succeeded in 1855. After nine years in this confidential position, during which time the neatness of the turnouts was remarked, Howlett established himself in business; he started with ten horses and seven carriages at 15 Rue Jean-Goujon, Paris, where he is at the present time. Only after long and sustained effort, having gone through many hard times with name and reputation unimpeached, has he attained to the prosperity and notoriety which his establishment now possesses. His five sons, worthy representatives of their lather, work with him, give lessons, and travel about wherever they may be called, teaching the methods in which they have been instructed by their father. We all saw at the ''Concours Hippique," his youngest son, then aged seven years, strapped to his seat while driving four horses with ability and great coolness, turning small figure eights on the show grounds; and we can certify that neither of his daughters would be in the least troubled to manage a drag in the thronged thoroughfares of Paris. It is, therefore, rare good luck for the public to find in this volume the lessons of the professor who has taught most of our drivers, among whom are mentioned: {omitted} I could continue this already long list indefinitely, for Howlett gives twelve hundred four-in-hand lessons a year. Cte de CLERMONT-GALLERANDE. End of Preview. RETURN to Main Titles Index or Self Reliance Ranching
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