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fortune. We also had the honor of being introduced to one of the Misses Carnac.

We beg the indulgence of our readers for occupying so much of their time in enumerating all we have said, but we feel that we should be wanting in gratitude did we not inform our countrymen of the attention we met with in England, in order that they may be actuated to visit the country for the purpose of educating and enlightening themselves, and that by their seeing the wonderful progress the English have made in the arts and sciences, they may excite the energy of their fellow-brethren in India, and impress them the more with the great importance of knowledge, and of which we are so much in need.

CHAPTER V.

PUBLIC CONVEYANCES AND BRIDGES.

ONE of the first things that struck us with astonishment was the immense number of carriages of different descriptions, that are to be made use of in London for conveyance of passengers from one part to another, and the largest, which are called Omnibusses, first claim our attention; a carriage of this description is in the possession of Framjee Cowasjee, Esq., at Bombay, which, we believe, he ordered to be made in England, for his own use, a few years ago. Where they all come from, where they are going, where the people could be found to fill them; how the owners, drivers, and conductors were to be paid seemed a mystery to us, and we diligently sought for information upon this subject. We hear that nearly seven hundred are running in all directions every day; and as some of them perform their journeys four times each day, they pass a given spot each day eight times, thus making above five thousand trips a-day. They cost from £100 to £140 each, and are so constructed as to carry twelve or fourteen

persons inside, with their faces to each other, and three or four on the top. They are mostly fitted up very nicely inside, lined principally with a kind of plush, something like velvet, either red or green; many of them have a lamp at the end; and to the great mass of London population are a very great comfort. The price charged is sixpence for each person, and for this sum you may ride from below Islington to Charing Cross, about five miles, and from the East India Docks to Oxford Street, which is about six miles, for the same. But although you may ride this distance, and many do, yet the greater proportion only ride about half the distance; and the calculation is made by the proprietor, that they will in a journey of that length have two separate loadings. It is quite amusing sometimes to see a stranger get into one of these vehicles, and desire to be set down at a named place, which perhaps is not more than a quarter of a mile from the spot where he got in. The better plan for a stranger to pursue is to ascertain that the Omnibus he gets into is nearly full, then will he be sure, if there is no accident, to reach his desired object rapidly. But should he get into one nearly empty, he will be annoyed by finding that his journey will be indeed a long one; for, although there is a heavy penalty against their stopping at any except particular places, or to take up a passenger; still they evade the law by not indeed

stopping, but moving at such a pace that one could with ease get on twice as fast by walking. The greatest number that run in any direction are from Paddington to the Bank, which is quite five miles, and a very bad road to travel, as there are steep hills. They run about one in every three minutes, from soon after eight in the morning until after ten at night. In addition to the first cost of the Omnibus and harness, we must add that of the horses; and, although the Omnibus is only drawn by two horses, every proprietor of two Omnibusses is obliged to keep at least seven horses, so as to give the proper rest to enable them to drag these heavy loads. The Omnibus weighs about 17 cwt. of 112 lbs., and eighteen passengers, a driver and a conductor, would weigh more than a ton; so that they have, a great portion of their journeys, to drag nearly two tons weight, at an average speed of more than six miles an hour. The cost, then, of two Omnibusses, and their harness for horses, would be at least £250; the seven horses would cost quite £25 each; there are the daily wages of the driver and conductor (the latter receives 4s. a day). Then there is the keep of each horse, which at least, to keep them in good condition, would amount to 1s. 6d. a day each. There is the constant wear and tear of machines and harness, the shoeing of the horses, the mileage duty which they pay for running, the turnpikes, the accidents,

the occasional fines for breaches of law; and it is wonderful how, with sixpenny fares, they can make it pay them. But although a doubtful speculation to the owners, to the public they are a very great accommodation; from every place within four miles of London they are constantly running, and at several periods of the day they have quite different classes of customers. At about a quarter before nine you will see all the Omnibusses approaching the neighbourhood of the Bank with sober-looking business-like persons, who are principally clerks in the Bank of England, the numerous private banking houses, or some of the thousand mercantile firms in that vicinity. At first sight it appears extravagant that you should daily see the same persons, at the same hour, alight from the same vehicle, and you think it a lavish daily expenditure; but most of them are married men with large families, who reside in a neighbourhood where they can have a commodious house in an airy situation at a moderate rent, which enables them to add the six shillings per week which they pay for riding to the article of rent, and even then they can get a house at nearly half what they would pay for one in a confined situation nearer to their business. At about ten, or half past, you see men a little gayer in their attire, a great deal stiffer in their manners, and who seem to think themselves very great men; these are the upper clerks and cashiers of

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