2IO HIGHWAYS AND HORSES. 



Pascal, about 1662, when similar carriages were started 

 but soon discontinued ; they were revived in Paris, 

 about the nth of April, 1828, and introduced into 

 London by a coach proprietor, named Shillibeer. The 

 first omnibus started from Paddington to the Bank 

 of England, on Saturday, July the 4th, 1829. The 

 omnibus is usually licensed to carry from ten to twelve 

 passengers inside, and from ten to fourteen outside, 

 and is attended by a conductor. Regulations were 

 made respecting omnibuses by Act 16 and 17 Vict., c. 

 i:i,, in the year 1853. 



When the first omnibus ran from Paddington to the 

 Bank, going in the morning and returning at- night, it 

 was not always full ; the fare was two shillings inside, 

 and eighteenpence outside. An attempt was made, in 

 the year 1800, to introduce, instead of coaches for long 

 distances, a commodious kind of vehicle resembling an 

 omnibus, but the project failed in consequence of the 

 general prejudice against the hearse-like appearance of 

 the carriage. The long-bodied carriage then tried was 

 drawn by four horses and had six wheels. When in- 

 troduced from Paris, the omnibus had four wheels but 

 was much longer and heavier than at present, and was 

 drawn by three horses abreast. One of the first suc- 

 cessful omnibuses in London was started in 1829, to 

 run between Greenwich and Charing Cross, at fares 

 considerably less than those of the old short stage- 

 coaches ; in addition to which advantage, the greater 

 part of the passengers were sheltered from the weather. 

 Success in the first experiment led Shillibeer to estab- 

 lish omnibuses between Paddington and the Bank, as 

 I have before mentioned. 



After opposing the innovation most violently for a 

 time, the old coach proprietors followed his example. 



