During the years 1888-1900 strange reports of smooth-moving,
horseless cars, frequently appearing in public in France, began
to reach Britain, and people wondered if the French had stolen a
march on us, and if there were anything in the new invention
after all. Our engineers had just begun to grasp the immense
possibilities of Daimler's engine, but the Government gave them
no encouragement.

At length the Hon. Evelyn Ellis, one of the first British
motorists, introduced the "horseless carriage" into this country,
and the following account of his early trips, which appeared
in the Windsor and Eton Express of 27th July, 1895, may be
interesting.

"If anyone cares to run over to Datchet, they will see the Hon.
Evelyn Ellis, of Rosenau, careering round the roads, up hill and
down dale, and without danger to life or limb, in his new motor
carriage, which he brought over a short time ago from Paris.

"In appearance it is not unlike a four-wheeled dog-cart, except
that the front part has a hood for use on long "driving" tours,
in the event of wet weather; it will accommodate four persons,
one of whom, on the seat behind, would, of course, be the
'groom', a misnomer, perhaps, for carriage attendant. Under the
front seat are receptacles, one for tools with which to repair
damages, in the event of a breakdown on the road, and the other
for a store of oil, petroleum, or naphtha in cans, from which to
replenish the oil tank of the carriage on the journey, if it be a
long one.