. Pierrotin's present
establishment consisted of two vehicles. One, which served in winter,
and the only one he reported to the tax-gatherer, was the coucou which
he inherited from his father. The rounded flanks of this vehicle allowed
him to put six travellers on two seats, of metallic hardness in spite of
the yellow Utrecht velvet with which they were covered. These seats were
separated by a wooden bar inserted in the sides of the carriage at the
height of the travellers' shoulders, which could be placed or removed
at will. This bar, specially covered with velvet (Pierrotin called it
"a back"), was the despair of the passengers, from the great difficulty
they found in placing and removing it. If the "back" was difficult and
even painful to handle, that was nothing to the suffering caused to the
omoplates when the bar was in place. But when it was left to lie loose
across the coach, it made both ingress and egress extremely perilous,
especially to women.

Though each seat of this vehicle, with rounded sides like those of a
pregnant woman, could rightfully carry only three passengers, it was
not uncommon to see eight persons on the two seats jammed together like
herrings in a barrel. Pierrotin declared that the travellers were far
more comfortable in a solid, immovable mass; whereas when only three
were on a seat they banged each other perpetually, and ran much risk
of injuring their hats against the roof by the violent jolting of the
roads. In front of the vehicle was a wooden bench where Pierrotin
sat, on which three travellers could perch; when there, they went, as
everybody knows, by the name of "rabbits." On certain trips Pierrotin
placed four rabbits on the bench, and sat himself at the side, on a
sort of box placed below the body of the coach as a foot-rest for the
rabbits, which was always full of straw, or of packages that feared
no damage. The body of this particular coucou was painted yellow,
embellished along the top with a band of barber's blue, on which could
be read, on the sides, in silvery white letters, "Isle-Adam, Paris," and
across the back, "Line to Isle-Adam."

Our descendants will be mightily mistaken if they fancy that thirteen
persons including Pierrotin were all that this vehicle could carry. On
great occasions it could take three more in a square compartment covered
with an awning, where the trunks, cases, and packages were piled; but
the prudent Pierrotin only allowed his regular customers t