presence of a foe; strong to labor; suffering like a man, and, like a man, daring to do what is right, though the heavens fall; reverent towards God, and loving to all. This is the manhood that our age, and country, and world require-full of strength, and daring, and wisdom, and virtue, and consistency.

"When Pompeii was overwhelmed with a volcanic eruption, the whole population in alarm ran hither and thither, some to the heights, some to the depths, some to the streets; but there was one man who was still!-the Roman sentinel. Neither the rending heavens, nor the trembling earth, nor the stream of burning lava pouring at his feet, moved him from his post-there he was found, a thousand years afterwards, standing erect, clasping his arms just as his centurion placed him." Brave, stern man! But yours is a more noble calling. Yours the high vocation, not of a soldier, but of a man-to stand in true nobility, and in your full round manhood, amid all the changes and convulsions which are incident to the world in which you live to develope your own humanity, to bring out your own powers, and to be true to all the instincts and endowments of your superior nature, not only as a physical, but as an intellectual and moral being. So may you brave the fiery flood which, in its angry course, shall engulf and destroy all of a less stern mould, and leave you as the permanent and petrified monuments of true consistency and enduring worth.

For the New York Coach-maker's Magazine.
SELF-RELIANCE.

BY JOHN A. ROCHE.

WEALTH, honor, influence, are not so much in our circumstances as in ourselves. Our own energies must be roused; our hidden resources brought out. There is a feeling of independence that is itself greatness. Men should possess it, and show it. It should make us superior to a thousand discouragements. The man that is self-made is really made, and will not be ashamed of his making. If he is not covered by the mantle of another's glory, he may fabricate one for himself, that may be a nation's pride. No man should make difficulties, that he may overcome them-time and muscle are too precious for that. It is not demanded that we exhaust our strength upon a windmill; it would not recompense our pains. But we must not forget that mind is greater than matter. Difficulties make man. Work is before us, and much of it; but it is good work, work that pays well-the discipline that it imparts, the resolution that it creates, the perseverance that it compels, are all of great value to a life of any length. They tell upon our future history; they tell upon the good of mankind. But let us not despond-what though difficulties rise like an army, say, "Shall such a man as I flee?" Scale the mountain, bridge the gulf, open the highway in the wilderness-take and verify the Hungarian's motto-"There is nothing impossible to him. that wills." It was worthy that mighty general. Envious ones will try to pull you down from an eminence-to prevent your gaining it, rivals will dispute every inch of your advance. Let opposition do this good; to call out the man of the man, that is in the man. Just as well, much better say, "I intend to succeed." The firm resolve will have much to do with the first result. If there is any part of capital that you lack, be sure that it is not resolution.

This any man can have. It is his fault, if he do not maintain it. Nor will you be without encouragement-the highminded, noble-spirited, the mighty men in our midst, will cheer you on to greatness and to glory. Envy, jealousy, with "snaky heads" may hiss around you, but it is at the base of the mount of immortality. There the air is calm, the sky is clear, and the companionship pure as it is exalted. Faith and labor will dispel the haze that now obscures your horizon. Struggle through this gloom, as the sun does through darkness. What if the orb of day be eclipsed for a season-he will yet gain the zenith, and pour his golden beams upon the lands below, as from a high eminence we may hereafter "bless those who would now curse us." Never forget-and in this thought alone there is a tower of strength-God will bless a just and sanctified ambition. A VISIT TO AN ENGLISH CARRIAGE MANUFACTORY.

AN attentive correspondent and subscriber in England has favored us with the following description of one of the finest carriage manufactories in that country, which we have no doubt will interest the American coach-maker. The same mail brought us several drafts, which we intend to present to our readers in a future number, among them is the Cottage Phaton. We are also in receipt of the first annual report of the "Coach-builders' Benevolent Institution," from which we hope to make such extracts, for our June number, as will interest our friends.

To the Editor of the New York Coach-Maker's Magazine:

This establishment is one of the oldest as well as the most extensive and complete private carriage manufactories in England, employing about 120 skilled artificers, steam power, and newly-invented machinery suited to the particular requirements of the business.

The conductors are eminently practical men, having worked as journeymen at the different branches: and the business is divided into seven main departments, under the special direction of experienced foreinen. Differing from the great majority of coach-builders in Great Britain, they begin and finish a carriage throughout, everything being done on the premises under careful personal inspection, thus giving them a great advantage over those in the same trade, who buy the different parts of a carriage from what are called "piece masters," and merely put them together; the saving of these profits, and the employment of so much machinery to assist skilled labor, enables them to turn out work equal, if not superior, to the best houses in the trade, at a very great reduction from their prices.

Particular attention is paid to the selection and seasoning of the wood employed in construction; large drying sheds, filled with matured timber, await the skill of the workman, and thus prepared withstands the effects of even the very hottest climates, to which these carriages are often sent. This enterprising firm is said to have introduced a greater number of improvements and novelties in carriages than any of their competitors. One carriage is particularly worthy of mention, having an invisible head, and called The Cottage Phaeton, certainly the most comprehensive carriage in existence, for it turns into three distinct vehicles in a simple and effective manner. For some time past it has been exhibited, with several other new descriptions of

carriages, at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham; and, as we find by the newspapers of the day, attracted the attention of the Queen and her illustrious Consort, the latter of whom changed the carriage into its different forms, and explained to her Majesty the principle on which it was built. The Queen expressed herself as much pleased and surprised at the great ingenuity and skill displayed in its construction and design.

Mr. Starey has also the credit of introducing the cheapest carriage ever offered to the public, viz., a Basket Carriage for ten guineas, of which we understand they have made upwards of six hundred.

Every style of vehicle, from the plainest, to the handsome and luxurious pair-horse carriage, can here be seen in different stages of building; and the proprietor has great pleasure in showing visitors through the different departments, and in explaining to them his peculiar and cleverly-contrived machinery.

As the result of a wide and varied experience, both at home and abroad, we here see the peculiar excellences of the ENGLISH, FRENCH and AMERICAN carriages combined. Beauty, of form and color, is united with lightness and strength, in an artistic manner, the whole being carried out with a purity of taste and attention to detail rarely to be met with. Simplicity and neatness appear to be cultivated-mere display avoided, as vulgar-the "real" and the "subdued" (as most permanently pleasing) being generally adopted.

It appears that however plain a carriage may be, their object is to have it the best and most perfect of its kind, and characteristic in its style; and it was explained to us, that truth in construction (as a carriage is drawn, not carried by the horse) is of really more importance, as regards lightness, than the actual weight on a machine. The latter however is guarded against, by the material used

being of the greatest possible tenacity, so as to dispense with bulk.

We were also much struck with the great care taken to avoid the vibratory motion, so disagreeable in the ordinary make of "elliptic" spring carriages, now so much in fashion. To do this, India-rubber and leather, in a variety of patented forms, are connected with the usual steel springs, and appear most effectual in isolating the body and absorbing the "jar" from the road, thus rendering the motion of the carriage soft, quiet, and even, both with light as well as heavy weights-a great desideratum, conducing as much to the durability of the carriage as the comfort of the rider.

At the Universal Exhibition of Paris, in 1855, Mr. Starey was particularly successful, as he is reported to have obtained as many orders as all the other English builders put together. He had the high honor of being awarded one of the two First Class Prize Medals given by the International Jury, the leading house in London obtaining the other. In consequence of the peculiar excellence thus shown, he was appointed coach-builder to the Emperor Napoleon, and has since that time built for him and the Prince Napoleon four new carriages, as noticed in the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS of December 8, 1855.

The Special Correspondent of the London Times, in his review of the Paris Exhibition, September 20, 1855, appears to have thought that Mr. Starey's carriage was the only one deserving individual remark, as he named no other; and the Earl of Shelburn, M. P., the Chairman of the International Jury, particularly praised it in his Official Report to the House of Commons.

Thus it is apparent that unusual skill in any business (though situated upwards of 100 miles from the great centre of trade and fashion) will command attention. Carriages are here made for Australia, Russia, India, South America, &c., besides a great many sent to various parts of

the United Kingdom, for the conveyance of which Mr. Starey has the exclusive use of "a covered van," built for the purpose, and handsomely decorated with the Imperial Arms of France, &c., which many of our traveling readers have doubtless noticed on various railways.

The success which has attended this firm appears to us to be greatly attributable to the excellent plan adopted by them of testing every carriage (one of which we chanced to witness at the time of our visit), by driving it about heavily weighted previous to painting, thus preventing the probability of any defect in construction when sent away. It may be also in part due to the confidence the public have in the certainty that all agreements they enter into will be conscientiously carried out.

We annex a view of the premises, showing one side of the splendid new show-room lately added, which will well repay a visit from any of our countrymen.

Mr. Starey has always carriages on view at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, in addition to his stock here.

COACH-MAKING HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED AND INCIDENTALLY ILLUSTRATED.

CHAPTER XII.

The invention of Carriages claimed by four nations-Viewed in the light of history, this "invention" vanishes-Coach-naturalization in France a diffcult matter-The "chare" introduced into England-The "innovation" struggling with difficulties-Carriages forbidden to the ladies in France.

Hae omnia magno studio agebant.

As, in Homer's case, many cities claim the honor of having given him birth, so, in regard to pleasure carriages, no less than four nations lay claim to their invention. These are, Italy, France, Spain and Germany. To any one who has attentively read our series of articles, recording the different contrivances embraced in the general term, vehicles, and invented centuries before, the honor, if it be an honor, would seem to be (as the Yankees express it) "whittled" down to a very small point. With minds divested of all prejudice on this subject, let us examine the matter in the light of history.

The earliest record we have of the revival, or introduction, of pleasure-carriages, in our acceptation of the term, is founded upon Beckman's authority. He states, that when Charles of Anjou entered Naples, in 13-, his Queen rode in a carretta, gaily decked out, and covered outside and inside with sky-blue velvet, interspersed with golden lilies. The queen soon found imitators in France. This is inferred from the fact that, in 1294, Philip the Fair issued an ordinance, which Beckman says is still in preservation, forbidding the use of "cars" by the wives of citizens. Adams insists that these "carrettas" above mentioned were identical in form with these "cars," "chares," or the later "charat," though differing in adornment. Although "carretta" and "sky-blue velvet" and "golden lilies" seem more fitting to describe the car of Cinderella, or of some radiant genius in a fairy pageant, there is difficulty in believing that all the above-named vehicles had one universal family likeness, both in name and construction, to the common broad-wheeled cart.

In the "Anciennes Chroniques de Flandres" there is a manuscript, in beautiful preservation, dated 1347, illustrating the flight of Emergard, the wife of Selvard, Lord of Ronsillon. The carriage in which she is seated is not only richly cov

The

ered, but the details of its construction are accurately supplied. The outer edges of the wheels are colored gray, to represent a tire of iron, and the horses are attached to the carriage by a similar method to that now in use. body of the cart, or "chariette," is of carved wood, and the hangings of purple and crimson, turned up in the centre. The lady Emergard is seated inside, with an attendant behind, and her fool in front. The machine is drawn by two horses, the charioteer sitting upon the left horse.*

From these passages, we see how slight is the evidence upon which the invention of carriages is claimed by the contending continental European nations. In connection with our previous history, we can only admit the invention to be a mere revival in the uses of vehicles, and a revolution of their construction, and "the honor" to rest with Italy.

It was some time before carriages became naturalized in France, as the people had to contend against interdictions from the government. We are told that those two persons who were so daring as to take a seat in a coach were followed by hootings and ridicule; and such was the prejudice against them at the time, that in derision they were called privies. Sauvel relates that these early machines were suspended upon ropes, the best upon straps-and entered by means of an iron ladder! But we are getting a little ahead of our history.

It was not long before the "chare" was introduced into England. In "The Squyr of Low Degree," supposed to have been written before the time of Chaucer, the father of the Princess of Hungary promises her that if she would forget him for whom her heart

that

was grieved, as only maids could be, That love, and loose like her, a squire of low degree,"

"To-morrow we ride with all our train,
To meet our cousin of Aquitaine;

Be ready, daughter, to go with us there
At the head of the train in a royal chair,
The chair shall be covered with velvet red,
With a fringéd canopy overhead,
And curtains of damask, white and blue,
Figured with lilies, and silver dew,
Purple your robe, with ermine bands;
The finest fur of the northern lands;
Enamelled chains of rare devise,
And your feather a bird of Paradise!
And what will you have for a dainty steed?
A Flanders mare of the royal breed?
An English blood? A jennet of Spain?
Or a Barbary foal with a coal black mane?
We still have the Soldan's harness, sweet!
The housings hung to the horses feet,
The saddle-cloth is soon with moons,
And the bridle bells jingle the blythest tunes!"
But, as has been the case with many
"maids" since,
whose "rosy cheeks have been by the soft winds kissed,"
the princess preferred her "squyr of low degree" to all the
enjoyments substituted for that of his company.

"But I would rather have," says she,
"My loving squyr of low degree.
Not a gaudy chair, nor days of chase
Reward me for his absent face."

In England, as in France, carriages came into general use very slowly at first, but the prejudice against their use, which met them in France, does not appear to have fol

* English Pleasure-Carriages, London, 1837, p. 80.

lowed them into England. Froissart, in chronicling the return of the English from Scotland,* in the reign of Edward III., speaks of the "lenis charettes," which are supposed to resemble the "chare" promised the Princess to forget her "Squyr of Low Degree."

These chares, charettes, or under whatever name they were known, came into general use with a great struggle. This arose, in a great measure, from the prejudices that at the time existed against any innovation, ministering, as was then thought, to personal indolence, a "prejudice," judging from the reports of later tourists, which seems to have "died out," for a more lazy set than some of the people of the South of Europe cannot well live. Even the nobility, who had meetings of the State to attend to, abstained from riding in these "new-fangled ideas." One of the most curious documents relative to this time is to be found in "L'Art de menuissier," by Roubo. In speaking of a carriage brought from the King of Hungary, as a present to the Queen of Bohemia, which at the time excited the wonder and admiration of the Parisians, he describes it as "branlant et moult riche." What could "branlant (quivering or trembling) mean, but that it swayed to and fro, from being suspended?

From this time, covered carriages were used to a limited extent in France, as they were forbidden to the ladies, as tending to promote luxury. "As time went on," says Adams, "people became more philosophical; and one evidence of this was, in preferring the ease that does no injury to the self-denial that does no good; or, rather, the ease that does good to the self-denial that does injury. Covered carriages began to obtain more commonly, though at first their uses were confined to long journeys, or times of public ceremony." This subject, requiring several chapters to carry out our original plan, will be continued and completed in the second volume.

S.

CONGO IDEA OF HOOP SKIRTS. SOME of the Wanderer's Africans are in Mississippi. The Vicksburg Sun says:

"We do not think they are valuable, from the fact that we believe no white man would like to oversee a set of such hideous, senseless-looking creatures; besides, it would, in our opinion, be a great deal of trouble to keep them at work. They can ask for tobacco and whisky, and perhaps chew the former and drink the latter, but they can do nothing else. They know nothing about the use of clothing, and would as soon place a pair of pants on their shoulders as their legs. One of them has formed a great fancy for umbrellas, and when a couple of young ladies approached him, dressed in the present extensive fashion, he flung down his hoe and pursued one of them with all possible speed, and as he came near her he vigorously grabbed at the skirt of her dress, but before he succeeded in getting hold of it one of the attachés of the Mississippi Central Railroad succeeded in knocking him down. Mr. Montague then took him in charge, and asked him in his own gibberish what he pursued the lady for, when he replied that she had an umbrella under her dress and he wanted it.

In Rymer, under date of July 4, 1827, there is an order from Edward III. to William d'Irland, to provide carriages for Sir John de Hainhault, on his visit to England, &c.

force of the wind acting upon one or more kites, attached to the carriage, which they denominated the "Charvolant." It is represented in the engraving at the head of this page. The kite, a, is jointed in the middle, that it may be folded up, and carried or stowed away with greater facility. b, b, b, b, are four cords for regulating the position of the kite, and to assist the steerage; they are brought together by passing through the dead-eye, c, whence they proceed to the carriage, where they are regu lated to the proper lengths by the persons therein. By shortening the cords on the right-hand side of the kite, the car may be turned to the right, and by shortening the lefthand cords it will be turned to the left. But the Charvolant, by the cross handle, e, and the stem, ef, which acts on the axis of the fore wheels by means of an endless band or cord, passing about a pulley, f, and fixed on the lower end of the stem, e f, and the pulley, g, fixed on to the bed of the axletree, of the fore-wheels. The machine is stopped, or its motion retarded, by the drag, k, which is attached to the perch by a spring, to keep it off the ground till it is required to retard the motion, or to stop the carriage, when the fluke end is pressed into the earth by the lever, h, acting on the connecting piece, i. The patentees several times. exhibited a carriage similar to the above, in Hyde Park, and we believe performed a journey from Southampton to London with it, but we do not recollect the particulars. The scheme is not altogether original. Dr. Franklin employed kites to assist swimmers, and was of opinion that with such aid a man might swim across the channel from Dover to Calais. Attempts have also been made, before the present, to move both boats and cars by the same means; but we

believe the present is the first attempt to trim or regulate the position of the kite according to the direction in which the carriage is to move.

The Home Circle.

For the New York Coach-maker's Magazine. WALKING IN THE RAIN.

BY LUA DELINN, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

AFTER waiting for sunshine,
And waiting in vain,

I was wearily plodding
My way through the rain.

And, looking about me

For something to cheer, I saw, just before me,

Three sisters draw near.

My eye, glancing on

In the path that they trod,
Saw that one, and one only,
Was walking dry-shod.

To her feet there was clinging
Of earth not a grain,

And her garments had gathered
Upon them no stain.

But lightly and smoothly
She glided along,

With a smile like the sunshine-
A voice as of song.

The others were clogged
With the mud on their feet;
Their robes, all discolored,
Trailed low on the street.

And, wearily, gloomily,
Toiled they, the twain,
With faces as dark

As the clouds that bring rain.

O! are there not many,
Full many, who toil
Through life's weary journey
Thus clogged with earth's soil:

And thus through life gliding, Some sing as they go,

Nor ever once sully

Their vestures of snow.

PRESENCE OF MIND.

PRESENCE of mind may be described as the power of determining what is fittest to be done upon any sudden occasion, and under adverse circumstances, and of carrying the design into immediate execution with such success as to lead one to suppose it an action of calm deliberation. It is, in short, the union of rapid thought and self-command. This power is possessed by individuals in very different degrees. Minds are so diversely constituted, that we often see the same circumstances producing quite opposite effects. Thus an emergency, that totally unnerves one man, is just sufficient to call the powers of another into full activity. Whilst the former cannot act at all, but seems reduced to a state of mental paralysis, the latter applies himself with calm energy to the difficulties of the case, and escapes the perils that appeared inevitable, by an intuitive selection of the only path that could lead him out in safety. Presence

of mind is more generally diffused amongst men than women, but, perhaps, the most striking isolated examples are told of females. Most people have heard of the mother, who, seeing her infant so near the edge of a precipice that the slightest advance would hurl the little creature to destruction, had the presence of mind to suppress the scream of alarm that was on the point of breaking out. Simply whispering the little creature's name, and at the same time baring her breast, she drew it from its dangerous position into the safe haven of her arms. When presence of mind is combined with fortitude, the compound is very admirable: and there are few things that show, in a greater degree, the power of the mind over the body. The following circumstances, which took place a few years ago in an English county, are a pointed illustration of this unusual combination of qualities:

"A young couple, named Aubrey, inhabited a tolerably large house in the village of, Norfolk, Eng. The house -an old one-was built in a garden of considerable size, and had no other occupants than the gentleman and lady just mentioned, their infant, rather more than a year old, and a single female domestic, who had not been very long in their service. Every evening at nine o'clock a silence. the most complete reigned throughout the village, at ten the lights in the different houses began to be extinguished, and in a short time no ray disturbed the blank darkness. It must have been a very extraordinary circumstance if any steps were afterwards heard in the street. Judge, then, of the utter solitude of a house screened by elms and sycamores, and standing three or four hundred yards from the public way. One evening, in the month of November, Mrs. Aubrey was in the house, awaiting the return of her husband, whom some affair of business had called away in the morning, to a town about six miles distant. He expect. ed to receive a considerable sum of money in the course of the day, and his wife had prevailed upon him to take a pair of pistols, as he anticipated being detained until after nightfall. About six o'clock in the evening Mrs. Aubrey went up stairs, accompanied by the servant, for the purpose of putting the child to bed. The room was on the first floor, a large apartment, looking into the garden. The wainscot darkened by time, the heavy furniture, some family portraits, with sedate countenances and in ancient costumes, gave the room a somewhat gloomy appearance. Opposite to the chimney there was a deep recess, in which stood the bed; and near this was placed the child's cradle. The curtains were drawn, but one corner had caught by accident on some piece of furniture, and a post of the bed was exposed; a fine massive piece of carving, on which some cabinet-maker of yore had expended no slight amount of skill and patience.

"The night was dark and melancholy, quite in character with the time of year. Gusts of wind rattled on the windows, dashing the rain violently against the glass. The trees in the garden, bending under the sudden currents of air, occasionally struck the house-side-a gloomy and monotonous concert this-and no human voice mingled in it to promise assistance in case of need. Mrs. Aubrey seated herself on a low chair at a corner of the hearth. The light of the fire, and that of a lamp placed on the chimney-piece, striking some objects in full, and leaving others in darkness, made all kinds of strange effects by their opposition or combination. The child, which fully occupied her attention, sat on her knee, whilst the servant executed some commands of her mistress at the other end of the room