232

COACHES.

France in the service of his Prince; he died at Berlin,1673. Vis-a-vis, an open carriage, chiefly constructed forthe benefit of conversation, as its name implies. Landaus,landaulets, phaetons, chaises, ■whiskeys, gigs, fiacres, &c. &c.are but names adapted to different purposes, and constructednearly upon the same principles as coaches, but someof them covered, others open, and some to be opened orshut according to the weather, or other circumstances, andcalculated to contain an indefinite number, from two to sixpersons ; nay, there are public double coaches now employedon the Bath road, calculated to hold twelve persons inside,and as many on the outside.

The number of hackney-coaches employed, or ratherwhich ply, in the streets of London , have been augmented,from time to time, since their first establishment, in 1625,when there were twenty ; in 1637, fifty; in 1654, 300; sincethat period they have kept progressively increasing: duringthe year 1818, there were permitted in addition 300 hackney-chariots. ■ Coaches and chariots now amount to 1200.

There has been of late an excellent regulation introduced,we understand, that of compelling the proprietors of hack-ney-coaches and chariots to affix the number up in theinside, as well as on its exterior, which enables the passen-gers to notice it better.

We read that in Russia there are employed clumsy, butvery convenient sort of carriages, so constructed as to beeither closed or open, and to hold a bed or couch, calledkibitka and brichka, with which persons can travel even for2 or 3000 miles without much inconvenience, except it beover the rough stones through their towns, owing to thesuperior accommodations of either lying down or sitting;this change of position renders a long journey less irksome,without which it would prove intolerable. In Russia ,from Riga to the Crimea , at least, post-horses are furnishedby the government, and intrusted to subalterns in the Rus-sian armies to provide them.

Coaches for hire were established by public authority inFrance , as early as 1671; then called brouettes, invented byone Dupin. There are employed in the streets of theFrench capital, we understand, no less a number than 1800hackney-coaches.

As early as the year 1650, Charles Villerme paid into theroyal treasury 15,000 livres, for the exclusive privilege ofkeeping and using fiacres in that capital.

Post-chaises are said to have been introduced in the year1664.