58 HENRY VILLEBOIS 



came nearest to the West-end rendezvous ; but were at 

 a great distance, except in the number of mails and other 

 conveyances that issue from the North side of the great 

 emporium. 



Then, again, the road itself was much frequented, not 

 only by the equipages of royalty, but displayed the 

 constant traffic of the nobility and gentry, in their ingress 

 and egress to and from the seat of Government ; it was 

 also the scene where those amateurs and patrons, the 

 members of the B. D. C, exhibited their love for, and 

 skill in, the art of driving. The " Black Dog," at Bed- 

 font, about fourteen miles off the stones, was the house to 

 which they often resorted, the late Sir Henry Peyton at 

 their head, and where the author's own kind friend and 

 patron, the late Henry Villebois, Esq., was generally 

 present to discuss the rules of the B. D. C. over a solid 

 repast, and to award proof of their approbation to some 

 deserving member of the profession. The distance, too, 

 fifty-eight miles, was sufficient to render the ride a 

 pleasure Avithout being a toil ; the company were mostly 

 of the middle and upper classes, and the place itself 

 afforded ample, rational, and pleasing amusement. 



It was with considerable regret, then, to me as the 

 autumn approached, I found that a sort of compromise 

 had taken place between my employer and one of the 

 parties at Oxford — the one I had so great a dislike to ; 

 and, to my great annoyance, I was officially informed that 

 my heart-devouring friend was to work the coach from 

 Oxford to Henley, and that, to confine my services to the 

 London proprietor, I should be required to drive to 

 Henley and back in the day. This was a beneficial 



