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:—

At a later period we have had the Dukes of Beaufort, the Marquis of Waterford, the Earls of Chesterfield, Londesborough, Waldegrave, Sefton, and Rosslyn; Lords Alfred Paget, Alford, Rivers, Worcester, Macdonald, Powerscourt, Colonel Copeland, Sir St. Vincent Cotton, Sir E. Smythe, George Payne, Esq., H. Villebois, Esq., Prince Batthyany, A. W. Hervey Aston, Esq., J. Angerstein, Esq., and T. Barnard, Esq.

And here I am reminded of one who, as an amateur coachman and vocalist, was second to none. I allude to the late Honourable Fitzroy Stanhope, than whom a kinder-hearted creature never existed. Few men had seen more of the world in all its phases than poor Stanhope; but under whatever circumstances you met him, whether at the social board, on the racecourse, on the box of a "drag," in the snuggery of the Garrick Club, or in the shooting-field, he was ever the high-bred gentleman. His nerve and head when on the box were wonderfully good. I well recollect sitting behind him on the late Hervey Aston's coach at Ascot races, when the owner, who was rather short-sighted, drove his leaders against some very strong ropes that surrounded the booths; and, as the team was very skittish, we must have come to grief had not Fitzroy, in the coolest manner, helped us out of the scrape by catching hold of the reins. This he did in a most quiet and good-humoured manner, and with so much tact that Aston was pleased instead of being offended.

"You are an excellent coachman," said Stanhope, "but a little too venturesome; there, take the ribbons again, no one handles them better."

The above was the second escape from accident that befell us that day. In driving out of the Knightsbridge Barracks, Aston managed to get his leaders and wheelers huddled together, and, the salute of the sentry at the gate frightening them, the wheel came in contact with the post and the pole snapped in two. Fortunately, assistance was at hand, and the only ill result was a delay of some twenty minutes. I was on the box at the time; and, thinking probably other difficulties might arise on the road, I urged Fitzroy Stanhope to change places. Stanhope's vocal powers were of the first-rate order, as all will bear testimony who listened to his merry and musical voice when he carolled forth "The Swell Dragsman," "The Bonny Owl," "The days that we got tipsy in, a long time ago," and other convivial songs. Poor Fitzroy! his loss was deeply felt by a large circle of friends.

And here let me place before my readers a description of the four-in-hand club of 1808. This club was in the habit of meeting once or twice a month in London, and then proceeding some fifteen or twenty miles into the country to dine, returning at night. It was called the "Driving Club," and the carriages turned out in the following order:— Sir Henry Peyton's barouche-landau, four bays.

Mr. Annesley's barouche-landau, four roans, thoroughbred.

Mr. Stephen Glynn's barouche-landau, four bays.

Mr. Villebois's barouche-landau, four bays.

Mr. Whitmore's barouche-landau, four bays.

Mr. O'Conver's barouche-landau, four bays.

Mr. Pierrepoint's barouche-landau, four bays.

Sir Thomas Mostyn's barouche-landau, four bays.

Lord Foley's barouche-landau, four bays.

Mr. J. Warde's barouche-landau, four bays.

"After dining at Bedford," so writes a chronicler of that day, "they dashed home in a style of speed and splendour equal to the spirit and judgment displayed by the noble, honourable, and respective drivers."

Another club, called the "Whip Club," in rivalship with the above, met once a month in Park Lane, and proceeded thence to dine at Harrow-on-the-Hill. There were fifteen barouche-landaus, with four horses; Lord Hawke, the Honourable Lincoln Stanhope, and Mr. Buxton were among the leaders. Lincoln Stanhope was one of the most popular men of the day. He was never known to say an unkind word, never known to do an unkind action. Peace be with him! for he was one in whom the soldier, the courtier, and the man of honour were so happily blended that, when a few of his remaining compatriots shall have passed away, I fear we may long search the fashionable throng in vain to find another.

The following was the style of the sets-out of the Whip Club:—Yellow-bodied carriages, with whip springs and dickey boxes; cattle of a bright bay colour, with silver-plate ornaments on the harness and rosettes to the ears. The costume of the drivers consisted of a light drab-coloured cloth coat, made full, single-breasted, with three tiers of pockets, the skirts reaching to the ankles, a mother o'pearl button of the size of a crown piece; waistcoat blue and yellow stripe, each stripe an inch in depth; small clothes corded silk plush, made to button over the calf of the leg, with sixteen strings, and rosettes to each knee; the boots very short, and finished with very broad straps, which hung over the tops and down to the ankle; a hat three inches and a half deep in the crown only, and the same depth in the brim; each wore a large bouquet of flowers at the breast, resembling the coachmen of the nobility on a drawing-room or levee day. The popular song of the Whip Club ran as follows, I only remember the first verse:—

Many most distinguished men have in our day not thought it derogatory to their dignity to work a public stage-coach, and among them may be mentioned the Marquis of Worcester, father to the present Duke of Beaufort, on the "Evening's Amusement;" and most delightful "amusement" it was to pass an "evening" by the side of the noble Plantagenet. Then there were the Earl of Harborough, on the "Monarch," Sir St. Vincent Cotton, Bart., the ex-10th Hussar, and Charles Jones, Esq., on "The Age;" the Honourable Francis Stafford Jerningham, on the "Day Mail," Sackville Gwynne, on the "Beaufort;" John Willan, Esq., on the "Early Times;" and young Musgrave, on the "Union," all of whom "fretted their hour upon the stage." One very great improvement has taken place in the dress of amateur coachmen, whose costume is as different in our day from that of the time when George the Third was king, as the brilliant gas in our streets is from the oily rays that rendered darkness visible in the metropolis.

So outrÉe was the costume of amateur coachmen early in the present century that it gave rise to innumerable squibs and caricatures. One squib, embodied in a popular song, ran as follows:—

Again, Charles Mathews as Dick Cypher in the farce of "Hit or Miss" caricatured the dress so well that he gave offence to many of the noble whips.

Grimaldi, the inimitable Joe Grimaldi, also introduced in a Christmas pantomime a scene in which both coaches and coachmen were ridiculed. Out of a light-coloured Witney blanket he made himself a box-coat reaching down to his ankles, small plates formed the buttons, a bunch of cabbages the bouquet in the button-hole; a low, white-crowned hat, purloined from "Mr. Felt, hatter," formed his head-dress; boots with paper tops, from "Mr. Last, shoemaker," adorned his legs, to which were attached some ribbons he abstracted from a lady's bonnet; while the carriage which he drove triumphantly across the stage was composed of a child's wicker cradle, with Gloucester cheeses from a butter-man's for wheels, his whip a fishing-rod with a lash attached to it, and four spotted wooden horses, which (before the march of intellect furnished amusing books for the young) formed the stud of childhood, completed the whole.

Seated on a high stool in the above vehicle, his elbows squared, and with the usual number of "ge ups!" "go along!" he convulsed the audience with laughter. What a contrast there is between the dress of the present day and that above recorded! Gentlemen no longer ape the manners or costumes of their coachmen and grooms, but appear as gentlemen should appear. The heavy box-coat is discarded in Summer for the light-coloured dust-coat; the hat is no longer preposterously low; a neat, cutaway olive brown or blue coat, with club buttons, supersedes the over-pocketed drab coat; well-cut trousers from Poole's, with varnished boots, take the place of the cord "inexpressibles" and brown tops; the striped, livery-looking waistcoat and gaudy, "bird's-eye" neckcloth are replaced by a plain waistcoat and simple necktie.

Then the improvement in coaches, horses, and harness! The "drags" are not now of showy colours, emblazoned with arms like the Lord Mayor's state carriage; the horses are thoroughbred and fine steppers, the harness neat and plain. Ladies need no longer scramble up to the box-seat or roof to the detriment of their dresses, small iron ladders being made to fix on the sides, while an amateur player on the cornet-À-piston or horn enlivens the journey with a concord of sweet sounds.

At this present moment there are two coaching clubs—the Coaching Club and the Four-in-Hand Club.

Among the members of the above clubs may be mentioned the following distinguished names:

• Duke of Beaufort.
• Duke of Sutherland.
• Marquis of Londonderry.
• Earl of Sefton.
• Earl of Macclesfield.
• Lord Londesborough.
• Lord Wenlock.
• Lord Aveland.
• Earl of Abingdon.
• Hon. L. Agar Ellis.
• Colonel Armytage.
• Mr. J. L. Baldwin.
• Mr. Hope Barton.
• Earl of Bective.
• Marquis of Blandford.
• Lord Carington.
• Mr. H. Chaplin.
• Colonel Stracey Clitherow.
• Viscount Cole.
• Mr. W. Cooper.
• Earl of Craven.
• Mr. W. G. Craven.
• Colonel Dickson.
• Mr. H. W. Eaton.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Ewart.
• Adrian Hope.
• H. R. Hughes.
• Marquis of Huntly.
• Sir John Lister Kaye, Bart.
• Viscount Macduff.
• Count Munster.
• Officer driving 1st and 2nd Life Guards Coach.
• Lord Muncaster.
• Mr. W. E. Oakley.
• Mr. R. W. Oswald.
• Sir Lawrence Palk, Bart.
• Sir Roger Palmer, Bart.
• Major-General Sir T. Peyton, Bart.
• Lord Poltimore.
• Captain H. R. Ray.
• Mr. C. Birch Reynardson.
• Sir. M. Shaw Stewart, Bart.
• Mr. Ans. Thomson.
• Lord Tredegar.
• Sir Henry Tufton, Bart.
• Colonel Tyrwhitt.
• Mr. F. Villiers.
• Colonel the Hon. C. White.
• Captain Whitmore.
• Colonel Owen Williams.
• Sir George Wombwell, Bart.
• Mr. H. Wombwell.
• Marquis of Worcester.
• Officer driving "Blues" Coach.