Coaching, with Anecdotes of the RoadLennox, William Pitt, Lord
History
Coaching, with Anecdotes of the Road
Lennox, William Pitt, Lord
Coaching (Transportation)
one shilling; the h'engraings, to h'any h'amateur, worth double the
money;" the "Prophetic Almanack" neatly bound, one penny; "a yard and
a half of songs for a half-penny;" and "Larks in London," pictorially
illustrated, for one shilling.
The remainder of the group consisting of perambulating piemen,
coachmen out of place, country clods, town cads--gaping, talking,
wondering; the din occasionally interrupted by a street serenade,
the trampling of cattle, or the music of a guard's horn. In our day,
the interesting sight of some well-appointed coach drawn up before
the old "White Horse Cellar" may still be witnessed, divested of
the noise and confusion of former times. The coachman--generally
speaking a gentleman--quietly takes his seat on the box, the guard
is attentive to the inside and outside passengers, and at the "All
ready!" cheers the lookers-on with the sound of his horn; while
the four spicy nags trot along Piccadilly at a steady pace, to be
increased when they get off the stones.
CHAPTER XII.
AMATEUR DRAGSMEN--THE LATE FITZROY STANHOPE--THE OLD
DRIVING CLUB OF 1808--THE HON. LINCOLN STANHOPE--THE WHIP
CLUB--DESCRIPTION OF THE CARRIAGES--SONG OF THE WHIP
CLUB--OUTRÉE DRESS OF THE DRIVERS RIDICULED BY CHARLES MATHEWS
AND JOE GRIMALDI--FOUR-IN-HAND CLUB OF THE PRESENT DAY.
CHAPTER XII.
Having dwelt at considerable length upon stage coaches and stage
coachmen, I now turn to amateurs who have distinguished themselves on
the box, and who were perfectly competent to take the reins in the
event of an accident to the regular driver. Here I am reminded that
upon one occasion, when Bramble was driving the Chichester coach to
London, and was prevented completing the journey from an accident,
the present Duke of Richmond, then Earl of March, took his place, and
landed his passengers safe and sound at the "White Horse Cellar,"
Piccadilly.
Among gentlemen coachmen of bygone times may be mentioned the late
Lords Clonmel and Sefton, Sir Charles Bamfylde, Sir Lawrence Palk,
Sir John Rogers, Sir Felix Agar, Sir Bellingham Graham, Sir Henry
Parnell, Sir Thomas Mostyn, Sir John Lade, Sir Henry Peyton, the
Honourable Fitzroy Stanhope, the Honourable Charles Finch, the
Honourable Thomas Kenyon, Messrs. T. R. and J. Walker, Maddox, Warde
(the father of the field and road), Charles Buxton, Henry Villebois,
Okeover, Annesley, Harrison, of Shelswell, and last, not least,
"Tommy Onslow," immortalised in the well-known lines:--
"What can Tommy Onslow do?
He can drive a phaeton and two.
Can Tommy Onslow do no more?
Yes; he can drive a phaeton and four."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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