green acres of parks in front of it stitched by the silver Serpentine,
and Buckingham House, which lay to the south over the hill,--all were one
to us in wonder as they loomed through the glittering mist that softened
all. We met with a stream of countless wagons that spoke of a trade
beyond knowledge, sprinkled with the equipages of the gentry floating
upon it; coach and chaise, cabriolet and chariot, gorgeously bedecked
with heraldry and wreaths; their numbers astonished me, for to my mind
the best of them were no better than we could boast in Annapolis. One
matter, which brings a laugh as I recall it, was the oddity to me of
seeing white coachmen and footmen.

We clattered down St. James's Street, of which I had often heard my
grandfather speak, and at length we drew up before the Star and Garter in
Pall Mall, over against the palace. The servants came hurrying out,
headed by a chamberlain clad in magnificent livery, a functionary we had
not before encountered. John Paul alighted to face this personage, who,
the moment he perceived us, shifted his welcoming look to one of such
withering scorn as would have daunted a more timid man than the captain.
Without the formality of a sir he demanded our business, which started
the inn people and our own boy to snickering, and made the passers-by
pause and stare. Dandies who were taking the air stopped to ogle us with
their spying-glasses and to offer quips, and behind them gathered the
flunkies and chairmen awaiting their masters at the clubs and
coffee-houses near by. What was my astonishment, therefore, to see a
change in the captain's demeanour. Truly for quick learning and the
application of it I have never known his equal. His air became the one
of careless ease habitual to the little gentleman we had met at Windsor,
and he drew from his pocket one of his guineas, which he tossed in the
man's palm.