about five in the evening before
About a hundred and thirty years ago , when the third George , whom our grandfathers knew in his blind dotage , was a young and sturdy bridegroom ; when old Q. , whom 1810 found peering from his balcony in Piccadilly , deaf , toothless , and a skeleton , was that gay and lively spark , the Earl of March ; when _ bore _ and _ boreish _ were words of _ haut ton _ , unknown to the vulgar , and the price of a borough was 5,000 _ l _ . ; when gibbets still served for sign-posts , and railways were not and highwaymen were -- to be more exact , in the early spring of the year 1767 , a travelling chariot-and-four drew up about five in the evening before the inn at Wheatley Bridge , a short stage from Oxford on the Oxford road . A gig and a couple of post-chaises , attended by the customary group of stablemen , topers , and gossips already stood before the house , but these were quickly deserted in favour of the more important equipage . The drawers in their aprons trooped out , but the landlord , foreseeing a rich harvest , was first at the door of the carriage , and opened it with a bow such as is rarely seen in these days . ` Will your lordship please to alight ? '