"Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, cart": we have all, most likely, repeated these words again and again, as we counted the cherry-stones out of a pie, the petals of a daisy, or the tufts on a blade of grass, and we have hoped, as we counted, that Dame Fortune would give us a coach or a carriage to drive to church in on our wedding morning.

A cart seemed a very commonplace affair, and a wheelbarrow was almost too absurd to be possible. Yet there are countries where people actually ride in wheelbarrows and in other conveyances even more quaint and unusual.

It will be interesting, perhaps, to borrow a magic carpet for a little while, or the cap of Fortunatus, and travel round the world and back through the ages of history, so that we may see the strange vehicles that are in use to-day, and those in which our ancestors made their journeys hundreds of years ago.

The first conveyances of all, used in far-away prehistoric days and later still in wild uncivilised lands, were simply rough sleds on which heavy loads were dragged. Later, circular slabs of wood were cut from the trunks of trees to serve as wheels, and, instead of pulling these primitive carts themselves, the men trained oxen to do the work.

As time went on improvements were made, and we find pictures of chariots on the walls of the ancient, ruined cities of Egypt and Assyria.

The Bible tells us of the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh, who were overwhelmed in the Red Sea, but more than two hundred years before that time King Thutmosis of Egypt had a wonderful war chariot, which, in 1903, was discovered in his tomb at Thebes. It is now in the museum at Cairo, and on it are painted pictures of Thutmosis driving in the chariot, charging his enemies and shooting arrows at them.

Other nations also used chariots in warfare, and we read that they carried two men, one being the driver and the other the warrior. In a close encounter the soldier alighted and fought on foot. Some of these chariots were armed with great hooks or scythes fastened to the wheels. Julius CÆsar tells us that when he invaded Britain the chief, Cassivelaunus, had more than four thousand chariots, and he describes how skilfully they were handled by their drivers.

"In the most steep and difficult places," he says, "they could stop their horses at full stretch, turn them which way they pleased, run along the pole, rest on the harness, and throw themselves back into the chariots with incredible dexterity."

In Britain, at that time, there were also conveyances for travelling, called benna, and also larger carriages with four wheels, which carried the wives and children of the warriors and their baggage. The Romans themselves used chariots both for warlike and peaceful purposes, and they were named biga, triga, or quadriga, according to the number of horses by which they were drawn. Chariot races were an important feature of the great festivals that took place in the Colosseum, and it is said that Nero once drove one with ten horses abreast.

These racing chariots were, of course, lightly made and designed for speed, but there were other vehicles of great size and magnificence, which carried successful generals when they rode in triumph through Rome to celebrate their victories. This triumphal car was usually drawn by four white horses, but very often by lions, elephants, tigers, bears, leopards, or dogs.

Other vehicles for more everyday use were to be seen in the streets of ancient cities, and in the paved roadways of Pompeii are deep ruts made by the wheels of chariots nearly two thousand years ago.

Litters were also used at that time, and Pliny calls them "travellers' chambers." They were borne on shafts, and special slaves used to act as bearers. Roman ladies often travelled in covered carriages called carpenta, which were gorgeously decorated.

During the mediÆval ages carriages fell into disuse, or were only employed by women and invalids, or by kings and princes on ceremonial occasions. Charlemagne had a wonderful vehicle with richly ornamented wheels and an inlaid roof supported by columns, and the Crusaders on their march had with them large wagons for their baggage.

In the fourteenth century new conveyances called whirlicotes and charettes were used. When King Richard II. married Anne of Denmark, the new queen entered London accompanied by her maids of honour, who drove in charettes, which were wagons with benches, painted red and lined with scarlet cloth. On London Bridge were crowds of people anxious to see the royal bride. In the confusion, one of the charettes was overturned and the ladies thrown to the ground.

Litters very much like those of Roman days were still to be seen in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. At her coronation Queen Elizabeth of York, dressed in white and with her golden hair loose over her shoulders, was carried through London in a rich litter, with a canopy over her head borne by four Knights of the Bath.

Anne Boleyn, in 1553, was carried to her coronation in a litter covered with cloth of gold, and the two horses that supported it were clothed in white damask.

During the Middle Ages vehicles were so few because the roads were very bad, and in many places there were only rough bridle-paths from one town to another. Riding was, therefore, the principal means of transit, and horses, mules, and donkeys were used. Very large horses, the ancestors of our present cart-horses, were ridden by the knights, for a warrior in heavy mail could only be carried by a strong animal. This was especially the case when it was necessary for the horse itself to be also clothed in metal armour.

The ladies also rode, and side-saddles were first introduced into England by Anne of Bohemia, the wife of Richard II. These saddles were very different from those of the present day, for they were like chairs placed sideways on the horses' backs.

Pack-horses were much used in mediÆval times, and pictures show us long trains of these animals, each with its heavy load, wending their way along the rough, narrow pathways of old England.