Carriages and Coaches.. By Ralph Straus. (Martin Seeker. 18s. net.)—When
a hansom cab has found a place in a London museum it is time for comprehensive literature to grow up around horse-drawn vehicles. Mr. Straus begins with the solid, rounded trunk which laboriously did duty for wheels and axle: he traces the development of the chariot in different lands as it can be seen on ancient carvings or coins. The story becomes much fuller at the time of the coaching days in England, the heyday of the whip. There is a chapter on the sedan chair : the author seems to be unaware that one is still in usa at Trinity College, Cam- bridge, and another—until lately at any rate—at Hampton Court. Mr. Straus has collected a great deal of quotation from all quarters
to swell out his letterpress. Most of it is apposite and interesting, but the most attractive merit of the book lies in the illustrations, which are reproduced from a variety of sources, such as a medal of Agrippina, an early illuminated MS., and old prints, down to a photograph of the Coronation coach.
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