"_Hobson's Choice._"--I, the other day, in a paper of 1737, came upon the
inclosed, if of interest sufficient for insertion in "N. & Q.:"
"Upon the mention of Mr. Freeman being appointed one of the four horse
carriers to the university of Cambridge, we had the following
paragraph:--'This was the office that _old Hobson_ enjoyed, in which he
acquired so large a fortune as enabled him to leave the town that
ever-memorable legacy the conduit, that stands on the Market Hill, with
an estate to keep it perpetually in repair. The same person gave rise
to the well-known adage, 'Hobson's choice--this or none;' founded upon
his management in business. He used to keep, it seems, hackney horses,
that he let out to young gentlemen of the university, with whose
characters being well acquainted, he suited his beast to its rider, who
upon a dislike was sure to receive that answer from him, 'This or
none.'"