Page:Omnibuses and Cabs.djvu/28

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Omnibuses and Cabs

vehicles which he introduced, for it belongs to Monsieur Baudry, a retired military officer. In 1827 Baudry was the proprietor of some hot-water baths in the suburbs of Nantes, and for the convenience of his patrons ran a vehicle at fixed hours to and from the town. This coach, which was similar in build to the Parisian ones, he named the "Voiture des Bains de Richebourg," but quickly came to the conclusion that the title was too long, and therefore endeavoured to think of a more suitable one.

It happened that just at that time a local grocer named Omnès caused considerable amusement in the town by painting over his shop "Omnès Omnibus." No sooner did Baudry see this than he declared that he had found the very word which he required, and straightway renamed his vehicle "L'Omnibus." Later, he started lines of omnibuses at Paris and Bordeaux, but they were not very successful, and the severe winter of 1829, which made forage very dear and the streets almost impassable, ruined him completely and drove him to commit suicide. But before he died he had made the word "omnibus" familiar to Parisians. Many of the vehicles belonging to