COACHES.

£30

Carriages, notwithstanding, appear to have been usedvery early in France, as appears by an ordinance of Philipthe Fair , issued in 1294, for suppressing luxury, and inwhich the citizens’ wives were forbidden to use carriages,which is still preserved. 13 Under Francis I. or rather sayabout 1550, there were at Paris , for the first time, only threecoaches ; one of which belonged to the Queen ; another toDiana of Poictiers, the mistress of two kings, Francis I. and Henry II. by the latter of whom she was created' Duchess de Valentimis; and the third to Rene de Laval, Lordof Bois-dauphin, a corpulent nobleman, unable to ride onhorseback. 1+ Others say, that the three first coaches be-longed to Catherine de Medici ; Diana, Duchess of Angou-14me, the natural daughter of Henry II . who died in 1G19,in the eightieth year of her age; and Christopher de Thou,first president of the parliament. The last was excused bythe gout; but the rest of the ministers of state soon fol-lowed his example. 15 Henry IV . was assassinated in acoach; but he usually rode through the streets of Paris onhorseback ; and to provide against rain, usually carried alarge cloak belaud him. For himself and his Queen he hadonly one coach; as appears by a letter still preserved, wherehe writes to a friend. “ I cannot wait upon you to-day,“ because my wife is using my coach.” 10 However, wefind two coaches at the public solemnity on the arrival ofthe Spanish ambassador, Don Peter de Toledo, under thesame monarch. 17 This contradiction does scarce deserve theremark, that it is believed all writers do not speak of thesame species of carriage; besides, it is possible, that mo-narch might have increased his travelling establishment atthis last mentioned period. Every kind of improvement, asremarked by Beckmann, affords an important epoch in theirhistory.

*3 The author of the last-quoted work says, C’est une ordonnatice de Philip lebcl, de 1’an 1292, qui est a la chambre des comptes au folio 44 d’un petit livre,lequei contient les ordonnanccs faites par Saint Louis pour la tranquillite duroyaume; et qui se trouve aussi dans le registre noir du Chatelet de Paris ; elle estmime rapport^e dans les notes et observations de la Thanmassiere sur les couturaesde Beauvoisois, p. 371. Cette ordonnance est intitule, VOrdonnance que le ItoiPhilippe le Bel afaitfaire des Superjluitcs oster de toutes Personnes, l’an 1294. Lepremier article estconpuen ces teruies : Premierement, nulle bourgeoise n’aura char.This ordonnance is to be fouud also in Truiit de la Police, par De la Marc, i. p. 418.

Vari6t6s Ilistor. p. 92.

*5 Valesiana. Paris , 1695, l£tno. p. 35.

Vari6t6s Histor. p. 96.

*7 Sauval says, I shall here remark, that this was the first time coaches wereused for that ceremony, (the entrance of ambassadors,) and that it was only at thisperiod they were invented, and began to be used.