266 ANNALS OF THE ROAD. 



said. The circumstance of our meeting him was as 

 follows : I made one of a party to Southampton last 

 year, on a driving friend's coach, to dine with Billy 

 Lynn ; 1 and as we were all fond of the road, Taylor was 

 invited to meet us. It so happened that as Billy was 

 just returned from a three-months cruise on board the 

 different yachts, his lingo, in consequence, was all 

 nautical, and this gave birth to some most amusing 

 dialogues between himself and Taylor. To relate them 

 all would exceed my limits ; but when coupling together 

 coach-horses became the subject of our discourse, I 

 thought it would have been the death of some of us 

 when we heard Billy asking the coachman how he 

 braced up his leaders ? I have also been in the com- 

 pany of Peer, who drives the ' Telegraph ' over the upper 

 ground He is an excellent companion, and sings 

 ' Sweet Poll of Portsea and Joe the Marine' in the very 

 best style. 



Billy Lynn's speaking of ' bracing up ' his leaders 

 reminds me of an anecdote of Peer, which shows how 

 prone we are to form our ideas, as well as to express 

 them, by the rule of practice, and in reference to our 

 favourite pursuits. As I was riding one day by the side 

 of him on his box, we met a wretch in the shape of a 

 dandy, with his hair sticking out at least a foot from his 



1 My friends assure me / must take this liberty with Mr. Lynn's name, 

 for were I to call him by any other it would be styled a misnomer. That 

 of ' Billy Lynn ' is a passport to everything sociable and what ought to be 

 enjoyed in this world ; and when we look in his face, we may say with 

 Shakespeare— 



' Some jovial star reigned at your birth.' 



