Page:Omnibuses and Cabs.djvu/260

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Omnibuses and Cabs

placed a sovereign in his hand instead of a shilling. He saw that the statesman had made a mistake but having had a spell of bad luck, and being in great need of a new pair of boots, he did not call his lordship's attention to the coin. But on the following night, as "Palace Yard Jack" was sitting on his cab, Lord John Russell walked up to him, and said :—

"You drove me home last night, I think."

"Yes, my lord."

"What did I give you?"

"A sovereign, my lord."

"Well, what have you done with it?"

"Bought a new pair of boots; and"—sticking out his feet—"look, my lord, they're Russells, not Wellingtons."

Lord John Russell smiled and walked away leaving "Palace Yard Jack" to boast of his smartness.

In 1860 there were upwards of 4300 licensed cabs in London, and 200 cabstands.

Three years later Mr. Thomas Tilling started four cabs, and at the present day his successors, Thomas Tilling, Limited, possess over sixty.

The minimum cab fare of one shilling was