Oscar Wilde was always a good friend to cabmen, and in his Chelsea days he was known by the cabbies as "one of the best riders in Chelsea." At one time he used to take his cab by the day, and, as he was always reckless with his money, it is reckoned that they must have cost him many hundreds in the year. In the morning he would first drive to the Burlington Arcade, and there purchase two button holes, a half-guinea one for himself and a half-crown one for the cabby. The Dublin cabby had no memory of such favours; but he has a curious superstition, which he ascribes to "Sir Oscar" namely, that the poet would never drive in a cab drawn by a white horse, as he believed it unlucky. The cabby had kindly memories of all the family. "It was a sad day," he would say, "when they went across the water."
The Irish Times, February 21st, 1930.