Peeps into Omnibus History—II.
Page 11
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Passing over the pre-Victorian steam-coaching period, which has been dealt with ad nauseant by numerous writers, we come to the year 1837. Horsed-omnibus owners in London were then enjoying flourishing conditions, and new lines were being opened in all directions. A service between Blackheath and Charing Cross was maintained by 14 vehicles; 17 afforded travelling facilities between the Angel, lslington, and the Elephant and Castle; 25 ran from Edgware Road, at the point where Sutherland Avenue now joins Maida Vale, to tho Bank; 27 served the route between Chelsea and Mile End; whilst no less than 41 were on the road from Piccadilly to Blackwall and vice versa. An
UNRECORDED BUT VARIABLE NUMBER
carried residents and others to the City from Brixton, Clapton, Deptford, -Dulwich, Edmonton, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Highbury, Highgate, Holloway, I Iomerton, Hornsey, Kennington, Kew, Lewisham, Norwood, Peckham, Putney, Richmond, Streatham, and other suburbs. It had already become the fashion, nearly 7o years ago, to designate a number of lines by distinctive names. People• quickly 'hppreciated the fact that a " Favorite " went to Islington, and an " Eagle " to Pimlico. Variety in the appellations so bestowed was, having regard to the many separate proprietors more than to the multiplicity of routes, highly diversified. There were to be seen, for example, among the gaudily-painted omnibuses whose conductors and drivers vociferously appealed for " fares" in sundry guises, names, alluring and otherwise, of which a few are selected at random :
" VENUS," " WELLINGTON," HOPE,"
" La Dame Blanche," " Citizen," " Emperor," " Marquess of Westminster," " King William," " Napoleon," " Marlborough," etc:, etc. The " Eagle" vehicles belonged to a Mr. John Clark, who ran them from Pimlico to Blackwall via Piccadilly, and it is related* that the name was changed to " Royal Blue," which still survives, in recognition of a little service rendered by Clark, who was acting as a conductor on that occasion, in releasing Queen Victoria's driving habit, which had accidentally caught on the handle of the omnibus door. Mr. Moore, however, points out that this story is apochryphal, and that the change in title had its origin in an act of dexterous driving by Clark, whereby Her late Majesty was given a clear road solely through his skill as a whip, and which gained for him
A ROYAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
This and other vehicles owned by Clark were among the first to be acquired by the London General Omnibus Company, and their successors are still in use, under the same old name, between Victoria Station and King's Cross, via Piccadilly, Bond Street, and Great Portland Street. The owners of the " Favorite" omnibuses had an imitator who had the words " Favor Me" painted on each side of his vehicle—a form of competition typical of much that was in vogue for many years—whilst, to judge from the accounts of helpless participants, the REALLY PERILOUS RACING
which regularly occurred between the " Hopes" and the " Favorites " must have been invigorating compared even with some motorbus evolutions in 1906. So frequent did the mishaps, which were solely attributable to these episodes, become in the City Road, that the Islington Vestry offered a substantial reward to anybody who chose to give such information as would lead to a conviction. The West End witnessed similar rousing incidents : it was a common practice for opposition drivers to race down the Haymarket, from Coventry Street,
ONE EACH SIDE OF THE CAB-RANK in the centre of the roadway, and, not infrequently, to end up with a collision, of greater or lesser intensity, in the operation of turning at the foot of the declivity. The sport ing instincts of our grandfathers led to great encouragement of this reprehensible practice, and the passengers often subscribed to cover the cost of the resulting damage. This exhilarating pastime was at its height about 1838, and the very poor condition of some of the horses added another element of uncertainty to the joys of travelling by omnibus. Proprietors regarded a driver's experience in "getting horses up " as the man's highest qualification, and woe betide the smart coachman who admitted, with genuine pride, that he had "never let one down."
The conductors were in disrepute, as a class, during the late 'thirties. They had earned for themselves the soubriquet of "cads." No proper surveillance was exercised by them in order to keep objectionable characters from entering the omnibuses, and even
CONVICTS IN CHAINS were sometimes transported in the dimly-lighted and evilsmelling vehicles. The " Times," in January, 1836, published the following " guide to behaviour" as a reflection upon the general uncouthness and lack of manners which appeared to be peculiar to passengers. It would 1)e at the risk of giving offence were it to be suggested that some at least, with but slight modification, might serve a useful purpose to-day I
Omnibus Law.
I. Keep your feet off the scats.
2. Do not get into a snug corner yourself, and then open the windows to admit a" North-Wester" upon the neck of your neighbour.
3. Have your money ready when you desire to alight. If your time is not valuable, that of others may be.
4. Do not impose on the conductor the necessity of finding you change; he is not a banker.
5. Sit with your limbs straight, and do not let your legs describe an angle of forty-five, thereby occupying the room of two persons.
6Do not spit upon the straw. You are not in a hogsty, but in an omnibus, travelling in a country which boasts of its refinement.
7. Behave respectfully to females, and put not an unprotected lass to the blush, because she cannot escape from your brutality.
8. If you bring a dog, let him be small and confined by a string.
e. Do not introduce large parcels; an omnibus is not a van.
to. Reserve bickerings and disputes for the open field. The sound of your own voice may be music to your ears—not so, perhaps, to those of your companions.
1. If you will broach politics or religion, speak with moderation ; all have an equal right to their opinions, and all have an equal right not to have them wantonly shocked.
12_ Refrain from affectation and conceited airs. Remember you are riding a distance for sixpence which, if made in a hackney-coach, would cost you as many shillings; and that, should your pride elevate you above plebeian accommodations, your purse should enable you to command aristocratic indulgences.
The behaviour of the conductors grew worse during the next live years. All the proprietors cared about was the paying-in of a certain amount daily, and they were anything but attentive to complaints of misbehaviour. Many of the owners were far inferior to the stamp of men who had been associated with Shillibeer : the majority had been drivers or conductors, and had grown rich in those avocations. They knew what should be earned, and took every precaution to secure conductors who would comply with their views on that subject : it did not matter that extortion and swindling were the means to the end! Passengers are accustomed, to-day, to great precision on the part of the conductor, who punches each ticket exactly, and give no thought to the trouble and organisation which has been necessary to eliminate abuses.