RUNNING FOOTMEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 20 August 1934, Page 2

RUNNING FOOTMEN

AN ABANDONED CUSTOM To the time of our great grandfathers the nobility lived in a very dignified way. Their servants included ruiming footmen. All great people deemed it a necessary part of their travelling equipage that one or more men should run in front of the carriage, not for any useful purpose, unless it might be in sonie instances to assist in lifting the carriage out of ruts, or helping it through rivers, but principally and professedly as a mark of the consequence of the travellers. Roads being generally bad, coachtravelling was not rapid—seldo mabove five miles an hour. The strain required to keep up,with his master’s coach was accordingly not very severer on a “running footman.” At least it was not till towards the end of the eighteenth century, when, as a consequence of the acceleration of travelling, the custom began to be abandoned. Nevertheless, the running footman required to be a healthy and'agile man, and both in his dress and his diet a regard was had to tile long and comparatively rapid journeys which he had to perform. A light black cap, a jockey coat, white linen trousers, or a mere linen shirt to the knees, with a pole six or seven feet long, constituted his outfit. On the top of the poll was a hollow ball, in which lie kept a hardboiled egg or a little white wine to serve as refreshment on his journey. The ball-topped pole seems to be the original of the long silver-headed cane for long borne by ■ footmen at the ‘ backs of the carriages of the nobility. In his best days a clever runner would undertake tc cover seven miles an hour when necessary, and “pad it” 60 miles a day, hut, of course, it Was not possible for many man who tasked himself in this manner to last long. It is believed that the Duke of Queensberry, who died in 1810, maintained the practice longer than any other of- the London grandees. An amusing anecdote is told of a man who was hired for the duty by the old peer. He was in tile habit of trying applicants’ paces by seeing bow they could run up and down Piccadilly, whilst he watched and timed them from his balcony. They, had to run in livery. At the conclusion of one man’s trial run lie stood before the balcony. “You will do very well for me,” said the duke. “And your lively will do very well for me,” replied the man, who gave the duke a last proof of his ability as a runner by running away with it.