Such a method of riding must have been very agreeable, for the
shoulders of practised walkers impart to the rider a much more elastic
and agreeable motion than the best made springs, and, for a well fed,
lazy Princess nothing could have been more charming than to be borne
thus beneath the waving palm-trees, and by the banks of the streams
where the lotus blossomed at the water's edge, and the Ibis sniffed
the cooling breeze.
But when the father or brother of the Princess wished to ride,
especially if it happened to be a time of war, he frequently used a
very different vehicle from an easy-going Palanquin.
He sprang into his war-chariot, and his driver lashed the two fiery
horses into a gallop, while their master aimed his arrows or hurled
his javelin at the foe.
Riding in these chariots was not a very great luxury, especially to
those who were not accustomed to that kind of carriage exercise. There
were no seats, nor any springs. The riders were obliged to stand up,
and take all the bumps that stones and roots chose to give them, and
as they generally drove at full speed, these were doubtless many and
hard. There was in general no back to these Chariots, and a sudden
jerk of the horses would shoot the rider out behind, unless he knew
how to avoid such accidents.
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