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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's
+Reign, by John Ashton
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign
+
+
+Author: John Ashton
+
+
+
+Release Date: December 13, 2009  [eBook #30665]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOSSIP IN THE FIRST DECADE OF
+VICTORIA'S REIGN***
+
+
+Transcribed from the 1903 Hurst and Blackett edition by David Price,
+email ccx074@pglaf.org
+
+                    [Picture: Susannah and the elders]
+
+
+
+
+
+                                  GOSSIP
+                          IN THE FIRST DECADE OF
+                             VICTORIA’S REIGN
+
+
+                                    By
+                               John Ashton
+                                AUTHOR OF
+                “_Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne_”
+
+                ILLUSTRATED BY REPRODUCTIONS FROM CARTOONS
+                            AND OTHER DRAWINGS
+
+                                  LONDON
+                       HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED
+                       13, Gt. Marlborough St., W.
+                                   1903
+
+                          _All rights reserved_
+
+                   PRINTED BY KELLY’S DIRECTORIES LTD.
+                           LONDON AND KINGSTON.
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+I have written this Gossip not only for the edification of those to whom
+a portion, more or less, may be news, but for those who, like myself,
+have lived through the whole of Queen Victoria’s reign, to whom the
+remembrance of things, almost forgotten, may bring pleasure and excite
+interest.  The items, herein displayed, have been gathered from many
+sources, and their authenticity is guaranteed by giving the name of the
+authority whence they were taken, in very many instances _ipsissima
+verba_, as paraphrasing would rob them of their freshness and
+individuality.  All the illustrations are contemporaneous, and, good or
+bad, belong to the text and should not be altered.
+
+                                                              JOHN ASHTON.
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+                              CHAPTER I.
+1837       The Queen’s Accession—Proclamation—Funeral of the         1
+           King—The Queen and Social Functions—Mr.
+           Montefiore—Amusing Letter—Electric
+           Telegraph—Knocker-wrenching: Amusements of the
+           Young Aristocracy
+                             CHAPTER II.
+           Thames Tunnel Flooded—First Mention of the Nelson        12
+           Column—Sale of the King’s Stud—Marriage by
+           Registrar—Commencement of New Houses of
+           Parliament—Lunatics and the Queen—The Queen’s
+           Visit to the Guildhall—Lord Beaconsfield’s Maiden
+           Speech
+                             CHAPTER III.
+1838       Destruction of the Royal Exchange—Sale of the            23
+           Salvage—Spring-heeled Jack and his Pranks—Lord
+           John Russell’s Hat
+                             CHAPTER IV.
+           Lords and Pugilists—“Penny Gaffs”—Steam between          34
+           England and America—A Man-Woman—Designs for
+           Nelson’s Monument—A Termagant—Scold’s Bridles, &c.
+                              CHAPTER V.
+           Thom, the Religious Fanatic—His Riots and                45
+           Death—Delusions of his Followers
+                             CHAPTER VI.
+           The Queen’s Coronation—The Carriages—The Fair and        53
+           Festivities in Hyde Park—The Marquis of
+           Waterford’s Drive: His Freaks at Melton
+           Mowbray—Steam Carriages—Dog Carriages—Grand Dinner
+           at Guildhall
+                             CHAPTER VII.
+           Genesis of the “Charter”—London and North-Western        65
+           Railway opened to Birmingham—Overland Route to
+           India—A Bold Smuggler—Visitors to the Queen—“The
+           Boy Jones”
+                            CHAPTER VIII.
+1839       Death of Lord Norbury—Birth of                           77
+           Photography—Experimental Street Pavements—Forecast
+           of the Queen’s Marriage—Sad Story of Lady Flora
+           Hastings—Story of a Climbing Boy—Van
+           Amburgh—Embanking the Thames—Victoria Park—Robbery
+           of Gold Dust
+                             CHAPTER IX.
+           Queen Elizabeth’s Statue—The Ladies of the               89
+           Bed-chamber—The Queen hissed at Ascot Races—Land
+           at Melbourne—Sunday Trading—New Way of Paying
+           Church Rates
+                              CHAPTER X.
+           The Eglinton Tournament—Sale of Armour, &c.—The         100
+           Queen of Beauty and the Cook—Newspapers and their
+           Sales
+                             CHAPTER XI.
+           The Chartists: Their going to Church—Dissolution        111
+           of the Convention—Approaching Marriage of the
+           Queen—The Queen and Lunatics—Raid on a Gaming
+           House—Act of Penance
+                             CHAPTER XII.
+1840       Commencement of Penny Post—Postage Stamps—Prince        118
+           Albert’s Allowance—_The Times_’ Comments on the
+           Marriage—Royal Wedding Cake—Louis Napoleon’s
+           Duel—Nelson Column—Noblemen’s Servants—Uproar at
+           the Royal Italian Opera House
+                            CHAPTER XIII.
+           The Mulready Envelope—Plans of Royal Exchange           130
+           decided on—Fire at York Minster—Queen shot at by
+           Oxford—Oxford in Bedlam—Scientific
+           Agriculture—Electro Metallurgy—Embossed
+           Envelopes—Sale of Louis Napoleon’s Effects
+                             CHAPTER XIV.
+           Lord Cardigan and the “Black Bottle” Case—Lord          142
+           Cardigan’s Duel with Lieut. Tuckett—Steam to
+           India—Nelson Column—Mormonism—“The Boy
+           Jones”—Napoleon’s Body transferred to France
+                             CHAPTER XV.
+1841       Death of Scott, “the American Diver”—Prince             152
+           Albert’s Ducking—Monster Cheese—“The Boy
+           Jones”—“Tracts for the Times”—Tract XC.—Earl of
+           Cardigan flogs a Soldier on Sunday—Dispute as to
+           the Discovery of the Electric Telegraph—Sale of
+           Shakspere Autograph—The Census—Astley’s
+           Amphitheatre Burnt—Behaviour of “Gentlemen”
+                             CHAPTER XVI.
+           Story of an Irish Informer—Steam Cars—Sale of           165
+           Vauxhall Gardens—First Jewish Baronet—New Railway
+           opened—High Tide—Fire at the Tower—Birth of Prince
+           of Wales: His Patent as such—The Thames at length
+           Tunnelled—Antiquities found in the Royal Exchange
+                            CHAPTER XVII.
+1842       Foundation of Royal Exchange laid—Medal connected       177
+           therewith—Father Mathew’s Miracle—Christening of
+           the Prince of Wales—King Edward VII.—Hard Work of
+           the King of Prussia—The Earthquake in London—The
+           Queen drinking “Grog”—Photography—Talbotype—Sale
+           at Strawberry Hill—Presents to the King of Prussia
+                            CHAPTER XVIII.
+           The Royal “Bal Costumé”—The Queen shot at by            187
+           Francis and by Bean—Duke of Cambridge’s
+           Star—Chartism—Income Tax—Female Chartist
+           Association—A Gipsy Trial—Closing of the Fleet
+           Prison—Married in a Sheet—Enormous Damages in a
+           Gambling Case
+                             CHAPTER XIX.
+1843       Murder of Mr. Drummond—Rebecca and her                  199
+           Daughters—Spread of the Movement through Wales—Its
+           End—Rebecca Dramatised—Rebecca in London
+                             CHAPTER XX.
+           Gretna Green Parsons—Number of Marriages—Chinese        209
+           Indemnity—Thames Tunnel—The Aerial
+           Machine—Treasure Trove—Accident to Mr.
+           Brunel—Arkwright’s Will—Secession in the Scotch
+           Church—The “Gent”—Shakspere’s Autograph
+                             CHAPTER XXI.
+           Exhibition of Cartoons—A Duel—Gambling—The “Albert      220
+           Hat”—Nelson’s Statue: Fun thereon—Soldier’s
+           Savings Banks—A Post Boy and Lord Mayor’s Show—M.
+           Jullien and his Orchestra—Prince Albert as a
+           Farmer—George IV.’s Statue—Ojibbeway Indians
+                            CHAPTER XXII.
+1844       A Child for Sale—Trial, &c. of Daniel                   232
+           O’Connell—General Tom Thumb: His Visit to the
+           Queen—The Polka—How to dance it—“Jullien’s Grand
+           Polka”
+                            CHAPTER XXIII.
+           An English Dinner—Consols at Par—The “Running           245
+           Rein” Case—Other Frauds—Royal Visitors—Opening
+           Letters by Government—Duke of Wellington’s
+           Statue—Barry on the Thames—Visit of Louis
+           Philippe—Guano—Queen opens Royal Exchange—Lord
+           Mayor Hissed
+                            CHAPTER XXIV.
+1845       Murder by Tawell—Curious Story—Statue of King           256
+           William IV.—Visits by the Queen—Testimonial to
+           Rowland Hill—Breaking the Portland Vase—Sad End of
+           William Austin—Sale of Van Amburgh’s
+           Stud—Hungerford Suspension Bridge—Accident at
+           Yarmouth—An Excise Case—Beginning of the Railway
+           Mania—Sailing of Sir John Franklin
+                             CHAPTER XXV.
+           The Queen’s Costume Ball—Copper Coinage of William      267
+           IV.—New Oxford Street opened—Sale of Napoleon
+           Relics—Story of Nelson’s Coat—Visit of the King of
+           the Netherlands—Railway Speculation—Hire of
+           Newspapers—Reverse of Fortune—Prince Albert and
+           his Taxes—Waghorn’s Overland Route
+                            CHAPTER XXVI.
+           The Railway Mania—Deposit of Plans                      277
+                            CHAPTER XXVII.
+1846       Collapse of the Railway Mania—Sheriffs’                 284
+           Officers—Hudson, the Railway King—First “Ethiopian
+           Serenaders”—The Nigger Minstrel Craze—Commencement
+           of Irish Famine—“The Battle of the Gauges”—Railway
+           Surveyors—Suicide of Haydon, the Painter
+                           CHAPTER XXVIII.
+           The Last Post Office Bell-man—The “Corn Law”            296
+           Act—Sir Walter Scott’s Monument—The Irish
+           Famine—The Duke of Wellington’s Statue—Gun
+           Cotton—Introduction of Ether—Model Dwelling
+           Houses—Baths and Washhouses—Smithfield Cattle
+           Market—“The Bull Fight of Smithfield”—The first
+           Submarine Telegraph
+                            CHAPTER XXIX.
+1847       Medals for the Army and Navy—Grenville Library—Day      307
+           of Fasting—“Binding of Satan”—Suspension of
+           Transportation—New House of Lords—Jenny Lind—_Bunn
+           v. Lind_—“Jenny Linden”—Death of O’Connell—Story
+           of the Duke of Buccleugh—Abolition of Eton
+           “Montem”
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+Susannah and the Elders                               (_Frontispiece_)
+Suggested Monument to the Marquis of Waterford                       7
+Spring-heeled Jack                                                  31
+Death of Sir William Courtenay (_Thom_)                             48
+“Child’s Play”                                                      94
+The Eglinton Tournament                                            107
+The Mulready Envelope                                              131
+The Mulready Envelope (_H. B. Caricature_)                         132
+Rebecca and her Daughters                                          201
+“The Gent”                                                         216
+Prince Albert’s Studio                                             223
+Nelson’s Statue                                                    224
+M. Jullien                                                         229
+Prince Albert, the British Farmer                                  230
+“Repeal” Button                                                    233
+O’Connell’s Cap                                                    234
+Tom Thumb                                                          236
+The Stage Polka (_Three Illustrations_)                            238
+The Drawing Room Polka (_Three Illustrations_)               240–41–42
+Barry, the Clown, on the Thames                                    252
+Railway Speculators                                                262
+The March of Speculation                                           276
+Deposit of Railway Plans                                           282
+Sheriffs’ Officers                                                 288
+The Original Ethiopian Serenaders                                  289
+Lablache, Mario, and Tamburini                                     291
+The Last Post Office Bell-man                                      297
+Wonderful effects of Ether in a case of a                          302
+Scolding Wife
+The Bull Fight of Smithfield                                       303
+Eton “Montem” Costumes                                             314
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+The Queen’s Accession—Proclamation—Funeral of the King—The Queen and
+social functions—Mr. Montefiore—Amusing letter—Electric telegraph—Knocker
+wrenching—Amusements of the young aristocracy.
+
+King William the Fourth was as sincerely fond of his niece, Alexandrina
+Victoria, as he cordially detested her mother, and he earnestly hoped
+that she might obtain her majority, which took place on the 24th of May,
+1837, before he died, for he had a horror of the Duchess of Kent having
+even the shadowy power of a Regent.  Greville, in his _Memoirs_, writing
+on 23rd of May, says: “The King prayed that he might live till the
+Princess Victoria was of age, and he was very nearly dying just as the
+event arrived.  He is better, but supposed to be in a very precarious
+state.  There has been a fresh squabble between Windsor and Kensington
+about a proposed allowance to the Princess.”
+
+The old King lived but a very short time after the desired event, for he
+expired at 2.12 on the morning of the 20th of June, 1837, and how the sad
+news was broken to the young Sovereign may best be told in the words of
+that mine of anecdote, Miss Frances Williams Wynn, the daughter of Sir
+Watkin Williams Wynn (the fourth baronet):
+
+    “On Monday we were listening all day for the tolling of the bells,
+    watching whether the guests were going to the Waterloo dinner at
+    Apsley House.  On Tuesday, at 2½ a.m., the scene closed, and in a
+    very short time the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham, the
+    Chamberlain, set out to announce the event to their young Sovereign.
+    They reached Kensington Palace at about five; they knocked, they
+    rang, they thumped for a considerable time before they could rouse
+    the porter at the gates; they were again kept waiting in the
+    courtyard, then turned into one of the lower rooms, where they seemed
+    forgotten by everybody.  They rang the bell, desiring that the
+    attendant of the Princess Victoria might be sent to inform H.R.H.
+    that they requested an audience on business of importance.  After
+    another delay, and another ringing to enquire the cause, the
+    attendant was summoned, who stated that the _Princess_ was in such a
+    sweet sleep, she could not venture to disturb her.  Then they said,
+    ‘We come to the _Queen_ on business of State, and even her sleep must
+    give way to that.’  It did; and, to prove that _she_ did not keep
+    them waiting, in a few minutes she came into the room in a loose
+    white night-gown and shawl, her nightcap thrown off, and her hair
+    falling upon her shoulders, her feet in slippers, tears in her eyes,
+    but perfectly collected and dignified.”
+
+Lord Melbourne was summoned to Kensington Palace by the Queen at 9 a.m.,
+and a Privy Council was called for 11 a.m., but the notice was so short
+that several of the Privy Councillors had no time to put on their
+official costume, and were obliged to attend in undress.  Amongst others
+who made their appearance at Court in this novel fashion were the Duke of
+Cumberland (then, by the fact of the King’s death, King of Hanover) and
+Lord Glenelg.
+
+The Queen was proclaimed the next day, but there is no need to detail the
+ceremony, as we have all experienced a similar scene lately.  The
+existing ministry was retained, and things settled down in their places,
+yet not quite all at once, for _The Western Luminary_, a paper long since
+defunct, says, “In one writ which came down to this city, a ludicrous
+mistake was made in the date, as follows: ‘In the year of Our Lady 1837,’
+instead of ‘Our Lord.’”  And the Royal Arms had to be altered from those
+borne by Her Majesty’s five predecessors.  Being a female, they had to be
+borne on a lozenge, instead of a shield; the crest of a lion surmounting
+a crown was discontinued, as was also the escutcheon of pretence bearing
+the arms of Hanover, surmounted by the crown of that country.
+
+The preparations for the funeral of the late King were at once commenced;
+and, in connection therewith, I cannot help quoting from _The Times_’
+Windsor Correspondent (28 June): “In the platform erected for the
+interment of George IV., there were more than 70,000 superficial feet of
+boarding, and 49,000 feet of quartering.  The quantity of black cloth
+used for covering the floor of, and the roof over, amounted to more than
+10,000 yards.  I understand that, after the interment, it becomes the
+perquisite of the clergy of the chapel, as do, also, many of the
+decorative ornaments placed on, and suspended over, the coffin.  You
+will, perhaps, recollect what some people would willingly have you
+forget—I mean the squabbling which occurred respecting the velvet cushion
+upon which the coronet of the late Princess Charlotte rested at her
+funeral, and the scramble which took place for the real or supposed baton
+of the Duke of York, on the occasion of his burial.  Care was taken to
+prevent the occurrence of any such indecent proceedings at the funeral of
+George IV., and, hence, I do not anticipate any such scenes on the
+present occasion.”
+
+The King was buried with great pomp on the night of the 8th of July, the
+Duke of Sussex being chief mourner, and Queen Adelaide occupying the
+Royal Closet.  At the close of the ceremony, the members of the
+procession, who were much fatigued by the toil they had undergone and by
+the sultry heat of the chapel, proceeded to quit as quickly and as
+quietly as possible, but nothing like order was observed in the return to
+the Palace.  In fact, it was, for a considerable time, a scene of
+indescribable confusion.  Arrangements had been made, by orders of the
+Earl Marshal, for the places at which the carriages of those who had to
+take part in the procession were to set down and take up; but, owing to
+the immense number of the carriages, the ignorance of many of the
+coachmen as to the prescribed regulations, and the obstinacy of others,
+the rules very soon became a dead letter, and every man seemed disposed
+to take his own way.  This, as might be expected, caused such confusion
+that it was long past midnight before anything like order was restored.
+There were smashed panels and broken windows in abundance, but no serious
+accidents were recorded.
+
+The Queen soon had plenty of business on her hands, and on 30th June she
+gave her assent to forty Bills, one of which (a remarkably short one),
+the 7 Gul., iv. and i. Vic., c. 23, enacted: “That from and after the
+passing of this Act, Judgment shall not be given and awarded against any
+Person or Persons convicted of any Offence that such Person or Persons do
+stand in, or upon the Pillory.”  Owing to the recent change in
+Sovereigns, there were a few slips in “Her Majesty,” and “La Reine le
+veult.”  On the 13th July the Queen and her mother left Kensington Palace
+and took up their residence in Buckingham Palace.  On the 17th, the Queen
+dissolved Parliament in person, dressed in white satin, decorated with
+gold and jewels, wearing the Order of the Garter and a rich diadem and
+necklace of diamonds.  She bore the function remarkably well, although
+one evening paper said that “Her emotion was plainly discernible in the
+rapid heaving of her bosom, and the brilliancy of her diamond stomacher,
+which sparkled out occasionally from the dark recess in which the throne
+was placed, like the sun on the swell of the smooth ocean, as the billows
+rise and fall”!  On the 19th July she held her first levée, and on the
+20th her first drawing room.
+
+Having dutifully chronicled the doings of Royalty, let us do the same by
+meaner folk.  On 24th June, Mr. Moses Montefiore, the celebrated Jewish
+philanthropist, who lived over one hundred years, was elected Sheriff of
+London, and, on the 9th Nov. following, he received the honour of
+Knighthood.  He was the first Jew who ever served the office of Sheriff,
+or who had been made a Knight, in England.
+
+Of course, there were no Board Schools in those days, and education was
+somewhat lax, but it will do no harm to note a piece of orthography,
+which will show the standard at which the middle lower class had then
+arrived.  It is copied from _The Times_ of 29 June, 1837.  “(_From an
+Evening Paper_)—Last autumn, Mrs. C---, of London, during a visit to ---
+House, in the West of Scotland, called one day, along with some other
+ladies, in the family carriage, at the Golden Arms Inn, of a sea bathing
+place on the coast, and stopped for about an hour.  Some time after the
+party had returned to D--- House, Mrs. C--- discovered that she had lost
+a very fine boa, which she supposed she must have left at the Inn.  On
+enquiry, no trace of the boa could be found; but, about two months after
+Mrs. C---’s return to London, she received a parcel with a boa somewhat
+torn, accompanied by the accompanying (_sic_) epistle, which we give as
+rather a curiosity of its kind:—
+
+                                           “Golden Arms Inn—29 Oct., 1836.
+
+    “Mrs. C---, London,
+
+    “MADUM,—I was sorry to heer that when you lost your Bowa in my huse,
+    that the Bowa was stole by my sarvant lasses; and the sarvants at
+    D--- House spred a report against my huses karakter, which no person
+    ever questioned afore.  My wiffe, Peggy, was muckle vexed at the
+    report, and sershed the trunks of all the lasses, but did not find
+    your Bowa; she fund in Jenny McTavish’s kist half a pund of tea which
+    Jenny had stole from my wiffes cupboard.  Jenny denied taking your
+    Bowa; but not doubting that you would tell a lee, and as Jenny tuke
+    the tea, my wife thocht she must have taken your Bowa too, so I
+    turned off Jeny for your satisfaction.  She went home to her mithers
+    house in ---, and four Sundays after, wha should be cocken in the
+    breist of the laft, all set round with ribbons in her heed, but Miss
+    Jeny with your Bowa on her shoulders, like a sow with a saddle on its
+    back.  I stopped her coming out of the kirk.  So So, Miss Jeny (says
+    I) hae ye stumped the cow of her tale, or is this the ladies Bowa ye
+    have on your sholders?  The brazen faced woman had the impudence to
+    deny the Bowa was yours, and said her sweetheart had bot it for her
+    in a secondhand shop in the Salt Market of Glasgow.  But I cut
+    matters short wi’ Jeny; I een, as if by your authority, tuke the law
+    in my own hand, and tore the Bowa from her sholders; it was torn a
+    little in the scuffle wi’ Jeny and me afore the congregation in the
+    kirk yard, but I carried it off in spite of her, and now send it to
+    you, hopping you will put a letter in the newspaper of Lundon
+    cleering the karacter of me and my wiffe Peggy, and my Inn of the
+    Golden Arms.  As for Miss Jeny ye may mak her as black as auld nick,
+    for over and above Peggies half pund of tea, and your Bowa, Jeny (I
+    hae good reason to believe) is no better than she should be.  I am,
+    Madum, your vera humbel sarvint,
+
+                                                               “John ---.”
+
+It will hardly be credited that at the commencement of 1837 there was
+only one railway running out of London, and that was the Greenwich
+railway, which, however, only went as far as Deptford, where it deposited
+its passengers in the midst of market gardens, leaving them to walk or
+ride to Greenwich.  But there were several running in the midlands (six
+railways in all England), and what was then called “The Grand Junction
+Railway,” from Liverpool to Birmingham, was opened on the 4th July of
+this year.  Cognate with railways is the practical working of the
+Electric Telegraph, now so necessary to their being.  On 12 June, 1837, a
+patent was granted (No. 7390) to William Fothergill Cooke, of Breeds
+Place, Hastings, and Charles Wheatstone, of Conduit Street, Hanover
+Square, for their invention of “Improvements in giving signals and
+sounding alarums at distant places by means of electric currents
+transmitted through metallic circuits.”  This hitherto scientific toy was
+first tried on 25 July by permission of the London and North Western
+Railway (then in progress) between Euston and Camden Town stations, and
+its successful operation was witnessed with delight by Fox and R.
+Stephenson, amongst many others.
+
+A great feature in this year was the “Tom and Jerryism” (so called from
+Pierce Egan’s “Life in London,” 1821) that existed, especially among the
+upper class of young men.  Foremost of all was the Marquis of Waterford,
+whose delight was in the company of prize fighters, _et hoc genus omne_,
+and whose idea of amusement consisted in visiting the lowest public
+houses, and treating everybody with liquor, even pails full of gin being
+distributed to whoever would partake of it—being never so happy as when
+the debauch ended in a fight.  Knocker wrenching and similar pranks were
+his delight, and _Punch_, at the very commencement of vol. i., gives a
+suggestion for a monument to him.  His pranks would fill a volume, and in
+August of this year (during a yachting trip), whilst at Bergen, he
+received a blow on the head from a stalwart watchman that nearly killed
+him.
+
+              [Picture: Punch, vol. I., p. 14.  July, 1841]
+
+Here is a specimen police case.  _Times_, 10 _July_, 1837:
+
+    BOW STREET.—On Saturday (8th July) three persons were brought before
+    Mr. Minshull, charged with twisting knockers off hall doors,
+    assaulting the police, and other disorderly conduct; and, it having
+    been rumoured that one of the parties charged was the Marquis of
+    Waterford, a great crowd of persons assembled in front of the Office
+    to catch a glimpse of his Lordship.  It proved, however, that the
+    gentleman alluded to was not the noble Marquis himself, but his
+    brother, Lord William Beresford, who gave the name of Charles
+    Ferguson.  Two other persons were placed in the dock besides his
+    Lordship, one of whom gave the name of Edward Hammersley, of 41, St.
+    James’s Street, and the other, who was equipped in the garb of a
+    waterman, said his name was George Elliott, and that he was his
+    Lordship’s coxswain.
+
+    William Dodds, a police constable of the E division, No. 9, then
+    stated that he was on duty in Museum Street, between 1 and 2, on the
+    previous night, when he saw the two gentlemen at the bar go up to the
+    house, No. 49, and wrench the knocker from the door.  Witness
+    expostulated with them, and, seeing another knocker in the hand of
+    the prisoner Elliott, he took him by the collar, upon which the
+    prisoner Hammersley dropped the knocker which he had just carried
+    off.  The prisoner Ferguson then came up, and said, “It’s all right,
+    old boy,” and offered him money, which witness refused to take.  The
+    two gentlemen then ran away, but were soon apprehended, witness still
+    retaining hold of Elliott.  They were then conveyed to the police
+    station, where Ferguson refused to be searched, declaring that he
+    would not submit to such a rascally degradation, and, having said so,
+    he struck witness.  The prisoners were then locked up.
+
+    Mr. William Gibson, of 49, Museum Street, proved that one of the
+    knockers produced belonged to him, and had been wrenched off his
+    street door.
+
+    Ferguson, in his defence, said he had been up the river on a boating
+    excursion, and had taken “rather too much wine.”  The other two
+    prisoners also pleaded having taken a drop too much.
+
+    Mr. Minshull observed that there were two charges against Ferguson,
+    whom he should consider as the principal offender, and should fine
+    him £5 for unlawful possession of one of the knockers, and £5 for
+    assaulting the police constable in the execution of his duty.  He
+    should not fine the other two.
+
+    Ferguson said he had no objection to pay £5 for the knocker, but, as
+    he denied the assault, he should appeal against the fine.
+
+    Mr. Minshull informed him that there was no appeal in the case, but
+    he intimated that Mr. Ferguson might go to prison, if he pleased,
+    instead of paying the fine.
+
+    Ferguson: Oh, there’s no occasion for that; I shall pay the fine.
+
+    Mr. Minshull then desired him to come round in front of the bench,
+    and said to him: “I dare say, Sir, you have money enough at your
+    disposal, but I pray you not to entertain the notion that you can
+    therefore do as you think fit in the streets of this metropolis,
+    either by night, or by day.  You were brought before me, recently,
+    for a similar offence, when I fined you £5, and I now warn you, that
+    if you should again appear before me, under circumstances like the
+    present, I shall, most assuredly, feel it to be my duty, not to
+    inflict a pecuniary fine upon you—for that is no punishment to a
+    person in your station—but I shall send you, at once, as I am
+    authorized to do, to hard labour in the House of Correction, and you
+    will then see that neither rank, nor riches, can entitle you to the
+    privilege of committing depredations upon the property of peaceable
+    and industrious persons, or of disturbing the peace and quiet of this
+    town with impunity.”
+
+The noble Lord was then handed over to the custody of the gaoler, and his
+two companions were discharged.  It appeared that he had not sufficient
+money about him to pay the fines, but his brother, the Marquis of
+Waterford, after visiting him in “durance vile,” released him from his
+ignoble captivity by paying the fines.
+
+On the same day, his brother, Lord James Beresford, was arrested for
+disgusting behaviour, and two “young men of genteel appearance,” who gave
+false names, were taken in custody by the police for maliciously
+upsetting a shell-fish stall.
+
+One more illustration of the amusements and behaviour of the _jeunesse
+dorée_ of that period will suffice.  _Times_, 25 _Nov._
+
+    MARLBOROUGH STREET.—Lord Harley, of Chester Place, Capt. W. E.
+    Reynolds, of Jermyn Street, and Mr. Charles Lushington, of Tavistock
+    Hotel, were on Thursday (23 Nov.) brought before Mr. Chambers,
+    charged with having practised the fashionable amusement of ringing
+    door bells.
+
+    Mr. Young, surgeon, Piccadilly, said, about 5 o’clock that morning he
+    was roused by a violent ringing at his bell.  He answered the summons
+    immediately.
+
+    Capt. Reynolds: It’s a --- lie.  You have committed perjury.
+
+    Mr. Lushington (to the complainant): You are a --- liar.  The fact
+    is, I hurt my fingers and wanted some diachylum plaister, and I
+    therefore rang the bell of the first surgeon I came to.  This is the
+    truth.  So help me, God.
+
+    Mr. Young continued: When he got to the door, he found that all the
+    three defendants had gone away; and he immediately followed them, and
+    demanded their reason for disturbing him.  The defendants turned upon
+    him, and made use of language and epithets which he would not pollute
+    his lips by repeating.
+
+    Capt. Reynolds (shaking his stick at the witness): I wish I had you
+    elsewhere.
+
+    Mr. Lushington: I’d roll you in the kennel, if it was worth while.
+
+    Mr. Young continued: The altercation attracted the notice of the
+    police, and witness gave them into custody.  When they got to the
+    station house, and witness was proceeding to make the charge, the
+    defendants repeated their disgusting epithets and language.
+
+    It is impossible to do more than to remark that the language was of a
+    description hitherto presumed to be confined to the vilest class of
+    the community.
+
+    Mr. Young added that all the defendants appeared to be intoxicated.
+
+    Lord Harley: I beg pardon, I was sober.
+
+    Inspector Beresford was sworn to the fact.
+
+    Inspector: His Lordship was more intoxicated than the others.
+
+    Mr. Lushington (falling on his knees, and holding up his hands): I
+    was not drunk this night—so help me, C---t.
+
+    The Inspector swore that none of the defendants were sober.
+
+    Mr. Lushington: The case shall be carried to a higher court.
+
+    Mr. Chambers: Then, to give you an opportunity of taking your case
+    elsewhere, I shall make you all find bail; and Mr. Young, if he
+    pleases, may prefer an indictment against you.
+
+    Mr. Chambers asked Mr. Lushington if he was a relative of Dr.
+    Lushington, {10} and received a reply in the affirmative.
+
+    Capt. Reynolds said, if his language had been offensive towards the
+    bench, he was sorry for having used it.
+
+    Mr. Chambers said, personally, he was indifferent to the language
+    used to him.
+
+    The parties having left the box, Mr. Young told Mr. Chambers that he
+    had no wish to press the case further.  He wished an arrangement
+    could be made, so that the bench could decide the matter summarily.
+
+    The defendants were acquainted with this very handsome conduct on the
+    part of the complainant, and, after some discussion, Capt. Reynolds
+    and Mr. Lushington agreed to pay £5 each to a charity.
+
+    Lord Harley was fined 5/- for being intoxicated.
+
+    When Mr. Chambers was inflicting the latter fine, he said to Lord
+    Harley that he hoped he would exert his influence, if he had any,
+    with some members of the Legislature, to get the fine for drunkenness
+    increased to £1 where the party was a gentleman.
+
+    The defendants paid the fines, and went away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Thames Tunnel flooded—First mention of the Nelson column—Moustaches—Sale
+of the King’s stud—Marriage by Registrar—Commencement of New Houses of
+Parliament—Lunatics and the Queen—The Queen’s visit to the Guildhall—Lord
+Beaconsfield’s maiden speech.
+
+Nowadays very little is thought of making a tunnel under the Thames, but
+the first one, designed and carried out by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, was
+regarded, and rightly so, as a most wonderful feat of engineering.  One
+was proposed in 1799, and a shaft was sunk in 1804, but the work went no
+further.  The one now spoken of was approved by Act of Parliament 24
+June, 1824, and the shaft was begun and the first brick laid on 2 March,
+1825.  It suffered several times from irruptions of water; one, on 18
+May, 1827; another, in which six lives were lost, on 12 Jan. 1828.  In
+1837 there were two irruptions, the first taking place on 23 August, and
+it is thus described by one of Brunel’s assistants: “We were at work
+about two o’clock on Wednesday, when we found the water coming in faster
+than usual.  At first, we observed a quantity of loose sand falling near
+the gallery, which changed to thin, muddy drops.  This convinced us that
+the _stratum_ in which the men were working was bad, loose soil.  The
+increase of water made it necessary to withdraw the men, which was done
+by a passage under the crown of the arch, made for their safety in case
+of accidents.  No injury was sustained by any of the men.  I was not
+satisfied, at the time, of the real extent of the bad soil, and I ordered
+a boat to be brought, with a rope of sufficient length to enable us to
+float to the shield.  The boat was brought, but the rope attached to it,
+and by which we were to be hauled into the shaft, was shorter than we had
+ordered it.  This deficiency probably saved our lives.  We had not
+proceeded far in the boat when I perceived, by the twinkling of the
+lights in the tunnel, and other indications of inundation, that the
+waters came in with increased rapidity.  I then gave the signal to be
+hauled into the shaft, and had scarcely done so when I observed the
+ground above give way, and the water descending in a thousand streams,
+like a cascade, or the Falls of Niagara.  We were rescued, but, had the
+rope by which we were relieved from our perilous situation been of a
+length to allow the boat to go to the extremity of the tunnel, in all
+probability we should have been drowned.  This happened about four
+o’clock, and, soon after five, the tunnel was entirely filled.  No lives
+were lost.  The only injury done is the suspension of the works.  The
+steam engine, when the leak is stopped, will throw out a ton of water per
+minute; and, in three days and nights, the whole of the tunnel may be
+pumped dry.”
+
+The second irruption, on 3 Nov., also filled the Tunnel, but on this
+occasion one man lost his life.
+
+In the _Times_ of 9 Sep. of this year I find the first suggestion of a
+monument to Nelson, in Trafalgar Square:
+
+    “Sir, I observe in your paper of Tuesday last, that a correspondent
+    has commented upon the proposed plan for laying out Trafalgar Square.
+
+    “Allow me to suggest through your columns the favourable opportunity
+    and most appropriate situation, now afforded, of erecting in the
+    centre of the Square some worthy trophy, or statue, commemorating the
+    glorious victories of the immortal Nelson.  Whilst other great
+    commanders and statesmen are honoured with suitable public monuments
+    to their fame, surely the British nation would be eager, if called
+    on, to pay this tribute to the valour, intrepidity and success of
+    this illustrious hero.  Yours, etc.—J. B.”
+
+In those days every man went clean shaven, or only had side whiskers, a
+full beard being unknown, and moustaches were confined to foreigners and
+to a few cavalry regiments, so that for a working man to sport them
+(although now so exceedingly common) would probably lead to derision and
+persecution, as in the following police case reported in the _Times_ of
+21 Sep.:
+
+    MARLBOROUGH STREET.—Yesterday, a young man, “bearded like the pard,”
+    who said he was a carpenter employed on the London and Birmingham
+    Railroad, applied to Mr. Rawlinson, the sitting magistrate, for an
+    assault warrant, under the following ludicrous circumstances:
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: What do you want the warrant for?
+
+    Applicant: I’ll tell your worship, and you’ll say it’s the most
+    haggrawating and provoking thing as ever was heard on.  Veil, then, I
+    goes to my vork, as usual, this ’ere morning, ven one of my shopmates
+    said to me, “Bill, you arn’t shaved your hupper lip lately.”  “Don’t
+    mean it,” says I.  “Vy?” says he.  “’Cos,” I replied, “I intends
+    vearing mustachios to look like a gentleman.”  “Vell, then,” says he,
+    “as you intends to become a fashionable gentleman, p’raps you’ll have
+    no objection to forfeit half-a-gallon of ale, as it’s a rule here
+    that every workman vot sports mustachios, to have them vetted a bit.”
+    Veil, has I refused to have my mustachios christened, they made game
+    of them, and said they weren’t half fledged; and, more nor all that,
+    they hustled me about, and stole my dinner out of the pot, and
+    treated me shameful, and so I want your advice respecting my
+    mustachios.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: My advice is, to go to a barber and have them shaved
+    off without loss of time.
+
+    Applicant: Can’t part with a single hair.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: You want to look like a grenadier, I suppose?
+
+    Applicant: My granny-dear (God bless her old soul!), she never had
+    such a fashionable and warlike appendage in her life.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: What business has a carpenter with a quantity of long
+    hair hanging from his lip?
+
+    Applicant: The reason vy I vears it is ’cos it’s fashionable, and
+    makes me look like a man of some courage.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: Fashionable, indeed!  I wish, with all my heart, that
+    the fashion was discontinued.  Why need an Englishman make a Jew of
+    himself?  It is disgusting to see persons strutting through the
+    streets with mustachios, and, sometimes, a fringe of hair round the
+    face and chin, which is dignified by the name of whiskers.  As you
+    won’t take my advice, I can’t assist you.
+
+    Applicant: Vot! not for striking me on the hupper lip?
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: Then your mustachios must have saved you.
+
+    Applicant: No, they didn’t.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: How’s that?
+
+    Applicant: ’Cos the hair ain’t long and thick enough; they’re only
+    young ’uns as yet.  There was no occasion to strike me.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: And there’s no occasion for you to wear mustachios.
+    You may have a warrant, if you like, but I think you had better not.
+
+    The man with mustachios then withdrew.
+
+The late King’s stud at Hampton was doomed to be sold, and the sale
+thereof created something of a sensation.  On this subject there is, in a
+little twopenny weekly magazine, called _The Torch_, 9 Sep., ’37 (vol.
+i., p. 19), a periodical now long forgotten, a poem by Tom Hood, which I
+have not seen in any collection of his poems.  It is a
+
+
+
+PETITION TO HER MAJESTY FOR PRESERVING THE ROYAL STUD AT HAMPTON COURT.
+
+
+                             BY THOMAS HOOD.
+
+                                      I.
+
+    LIEGE LADY, all the nation’s in high dud-
+       geon that Lord Melbourne’s brains should be so muddy
+    As to advise you sell your royal _stud_,
+       Which to preserve, should be your royal study.
+
+                                     II.
+
+    Poor nags you would not in your stable find,
+       Like cavalry of Evans called De Lacey,
+    No!  I do rather hope your royal mind
+       Is naturally fond of something racy.
+
+                                     III.
+
+    Pray, what has Hampton done that you should trounce ill-
+       naturedly its prancers and its sport?
+    You have a breed of _asses_ in the _Council_,
+       Do keep a breed of _horses_ in the _Court_.
+
+                                     IV.
+
+    His truth who says that you should sell them, fails.
+       Believe me, Lady liege, he tells a crammer;
+    You’ll set your people biting all their _nails_,
+       If you put up your horses to the _hammer_.
+
+                                      V.
+
+    I like these money-turning Whigs, indeed;
+       Who, into coin, change everything they’re able.
+    You’re just installed, and they would sell _the steed_,
+       It doesn’t make me think they’re very _stable_.
+
+                                     VI.
+
+    I daresay they believe they’re very knowing,
+       I think they’re close to their official shelves:
+    And, when they set the horses “Going, going,”
+       It’s nearly time they should be gone themselves.
+
+                                     VII.
+
+    The nation quite in Hampton Court rejoices,
+       What! sell its stud of steeds beyond all praise!
+    _Nay_, shout the people with indignant voices,
+       And the stud echoes with a hundred _neighs_.
+
+                                    VIII.
+
+    Then sell them not, dear lady, I implore ye;
+       Of tears ’twill set your people shedding floods;—
+    I tell ye what will make ’em all adore ye,—
+       Kick out your ministers and keep your bloods!
+
+But Hood must have laboured under a misapprehension, for the horses were
+the private property of the late King, and his executors had no option
+but to sell them.  It was said that William IV. in his lifetime wished
+the country to take the stud over, at a valuation, and, after his death,
+it was offered to Queen Victoria for £16,000.  The sale took place on
+Oct. 25, and there were 80 lots, which did not fetch particularly high
+prices, the highest being “The Colonel,” who was bought, after winning
+the St. Leger, by George IV. for 4,000 guineas; but the horse broke down
+after running a dead heat at Ascot in 1831.  He only realised 1,150
+guineas, and was bought by the auctioneer, Mr. Tattersall.  The next
+highest price given was for “Actæon,” which fetched 920 guineas.  The
+total proceeds of the sale was 15,692 guineas.
+
+In October a great change was made in the matter of marriage, which had,
+hitherto, been a purely ecclesiastical affair, but by the 6 & 7 Gul. iv.,
+cap. 85, Registrars of births and deaths were empowered to marry couples,
+and it became a purely civil contract.  This Act was to have come into
+force on the first day of March; but a subsequent Act postponed it to the
+last day of June, and it really only became effective in October.  It
+surprised people by its simplicity, and the gist of the Act is in Section
+xx.: “And be it enacted, That after the expiration of the said Period of
+Twenty-one Days or of Seven Days, if the Marriage is by Licence,
+Marriages may be solemnized in the registered Building stated as
+aforesaid in the notice of such Marriage, between and by the Parties
+described in the Notice and Certificate, according to such form and
+ceremony as they may see fit to adopt: Provided nevertheless, that every
+such Marriage shall be solemnized with open doors, between the Hours of
+Eight and Twelve in the Forenoon, in the Presence of some Registrar of
+the District in which such registered Building is situated, and of Two,
+or more, credible Witnesses; provided also, that in some Part of the
+Ceremony, and in the Presence of such Registrar and Witnesses, each of
+the Parties shall declare:
+
+“‘I do solemnly declare, That I know not of any lawful Impediment why I,
+A. B., may not be joined in Matrimony to C. D.’
+
+“And each of the Parties shall say to the other:
+
+“‘I call upon these Persons here present to witness that I, A. B., do
+take thee, C. D., to be my lawful wedded Wife [or Husband].’
+
+“Provided also, that there be no lawful Impediment to the Marriage of
+such Parties.”
+
+The old House of Commons was destroyed by fire on 16 Oct., 1834, and it
+was not until September, 1837, that the first contracts for the
+commencement of the construction of the new works, in connection with the
+present building, were entered into.  They were for the formation of an
+embankment 886 feet in length, projecting into the river 98 feet further
+than that then existing, to be faced with granite, and a terrace 673 feet
+long next the river, and 35 feet wide, in front of the new Houses, with
+an esplanade at each end 100 feet square, with landing stairs from the
+river 12 feet wide.  The whole surface of the front building was to be
+excavated, and filled in with concrete 12 feet thick, thus forming a
+permanent and solid foundation for the superstructure.  Towards the end
+of this year, the Queen was somewhat pestered with lunatics.  On Nov. 4,
+as she was going through Birdcage Walk on her return from Brighton, a man
+of respectable appearance went near the Queen’s carriage, held up his
+fist, and made use of most insulting language towards Her Majesty and the
+Duchess of Kent, declaring that the Queen was an usurper, and he would
+have her off her Throne before a week was out.  He was afterwards
+arrested, and turned out to be Mr. John Goode, a gentleman of large
+property in Devonshire, who had been previously in custody on 24th of May
+(Her Majesty’s birthday) for creating a disturbance and forcibly entering
+the enclosure of Kensington Palace.  He was taken before the Privy
+Council, and when examined, declared that he was a son of George IV. and
+Queen Caroline, born at Montague House, Blackheath, and that, if he could
+but get hold of the Queen, he would tear her in pieces.  He was told to
+find bail, himself in £1,000, and two sureties of £500 each; but these
+not being forthcoming, he was sent to prison.  On entering the hackney
+coach, he instantly smashed the windows with his elbows, and screamed out
+to the sentinels: “Guards of England, do your duty, and rescue your
+Sovereign.”  He was, after a very short imprisonment, confined in a
+lunatic asylum.
+
+The other case was a German baker, but he only uttered threats against
+the Queen and her mother, and he, too, was put in an asylum.
+
+A great event, and a very grand sight, was the Queen’s visit to the City
+of London on 9 Nov., when Alderman Cowan inaugurated his mayoralty.  The
+Queen went in State, attended by all her Court, her Ministers, the
+Judges, etc.  The procession started from Buckingham Palace soon after 2
+p.m. and reached Guildhall about 3.30.
+
+The interior of the Guildhall was “exceeding magnifical.”  There was a
+canopy of carved gilt, with draperies of crimson velvet and gold fringe
+and tassels, its interior, being also of crimson velvet, was relieved by
+ornaments in silver and a radiated oval of white satin with golden rays.
+The back was fluted in white satin, enriched with the Royal Arms in
+burnished gold.  The State chair was covered with crimson velvet with the
+Royal Arms and Crown, with the rose, thistle and shamrock tastefully
+interwoven.
+
+At each end of the Hall, the walls were covered with immense plates of
+looking-glass.  The window at the eastern end of the Hall, above the
+throne, having been removed, a gigantic wooden framework was substituted,
+on which was erected a gorgeous piece of gas illumination.  Above the
+mouldings of the windows, and over the City Arms, waved the Royal
+Standard and the Union Jack.  Above was the Royal cypher, V.R., in very
+large characters, surmounted by the appropriate word “Welcome,” the whole
+being encircled by an immense wreath of laurels, which terminated, at the
+lower extremity of the framework, with the rose, thistle and shamrock.
+Over the clock at the western end, and reaching nearly the whole breadth
+of the Hall, with Gog and Magog on the right and left, was placed an
+immense stack of armour, with upwards of 30 furled flags as an
+appropriate background.  Immediately above was the magnificently radiated
+star of the Order of the Garter, surrounded by crimson drapery, and the
+scroll “God save the Queen” entirely composed of cut glass, which, when
+lit up, seemed, literally, one continued blaze of diamonds.  The whole
+was surmounted by the imperial crown and wreaths of laurel, intermingled
+with the rose, thistle and shamrock, covering the entire outline of the
+window.  Where, formerly, was the musicians’ gallery, on the opposite
+side, was occupied by three stacks of armour; complete coats of mail
+were, likewise, suspended in other parts of the Hall; two knights in
+complete armour guarded the entrance of the Hall and Council Chamber,
+which latter was fitted up for the Queen’s reception room, and hung
+throughout with crimson fluted cloth, finished with gold mouldings and
+festoons of red and white flowers.  Upon a platform stood a chair of
+state, splendidly gilt and covered with crimson velvet, and there was no
+other chair nor seat of any kind in the apartment.  The Queen’s
+retiring-room was the Aldermen’s Court, and was superbly decorated,
+having a magnificent toilet table covered with white satin, embroidered
+with the initials V.R., a crown and wreath in gold, and looped with gold
+silk rope and tassels.
+
+After the Queen’s arrival at the Guildhall, and having spent some little
+time on her toilet, her Majesty was conducted to the Council Chamber,
+where—seated on her throne, and surrounded by Royal Dukes and Duchesses,
+etc.—she listened to a dutiful address read by the Recorder, and, at its
+conclusion, she was graciously pleased to order letters patent to be made
+out conferring a baronetcy on the Lord Mayor and knighthood on the two
+Sheriffs, John Carroll and Moses Montefiore, Esquires, the latter, as
+before mentioned, being the first Jew who had received that honour.
+
+At 20 minutes past 5 the Queen entered the Hall, in which was the
+banquet, wearing a rich pink satin dress, ornamented with gold and
+silver, a splendid pearl necklace, diamond earrings, and a tiara of
+diamonds.  She occupied the centre of the Royal table, having on her
+right the Duke of Sussex, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of
+Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sutherland; and
+on her left, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Kent, the Princess
+Augusta of Cambridge and the Countess of Mulgrave.  As a specimen of the
+magnificence of this banquet, it may be mentioned that at the Royal table
+the whole of the service was of gold, as were the candelabra, epergnes,
+soup tureens, cellarets, etc.; one firm furnished gold plate for the
+Queen’s table and sideboard to the value of £115,000, and another firm
+nearly the same amount, whilst the value of plate lent by various
+gentlemen was assessed at £400,000, besides which there was the Civic
+plate.  The china dessert plates at the Queen’s table cost 10 guineas
+each, and all the glass decanters and china were specially made for the
+occasion.
+
+At 20 minutes past 8, the Queen left the Hall, and in her retiring room
+was served with tea from a splendid gold service made for the occasion,
+and she reached Buckingham Palace about half-past 9—highly delighted with
+her entertainment.
+
+There is nothing more of interest in this year, if we except the maiden
+speech of Lord Beaconsfield, in the House of Commons, which took place on
+7th Dec.  Mr. Disraeli (as he then was) had the disadvantage of following
+O’Connell, in a noisy debate on the legality of the Irish Election
+Petition Fund.  He was not listened to from the first, and, in the middle
+of his speech, as reported by _Hansard_, after begging the House to give
+him five minutes, he said: “He stood there to-night, not formally, but,
+in some degree, virtually, as the representative of a considerable number
+of Members of Parliament (_laughter_).  Now, why smile?  Why envy him?
+Why not let him enjoy that reflection, if only for one night?”  All
+through his speech he was interrupted, and this is its close, as reported
+in _Hansard_.  “When they recollected the ‘new loves’ and the ‘old loves’
+in which so much passion and recrimination was mixed up between the noble
+Tityrus of the Treasury Bench, and the learned Daphne of Liskeard—(_loud
+laughter_)—notwithstanding the _amantium ira_ had resulted, as he always
+expected, in the _amoris integratio_—(_renewed laughter_)—notwithstanding
+that political duel had been fought, in which more than one shot was
+interchanged, but in which recourse was had to the secure arbitrament of
+blank cartridges—(_laughter_)—notwithstanding emancipated Ireland and
+enslaved England, the noble lord might wave in one hand the keys of St.
+Peter, and in the other—(_the shouts that followed drowned the conclusion
+of the sentence_).  Let them see the philosophical prejudice of Man.  He
+would, certainly, gladly hear a cheer from the lips of a popular
+opponent.  He was not at all surprised at the reception which he had
+experienced.  He had begun several things many times, and he had often
+succeeded at last.  He would sit down now, but the time would come when
+they would hear him.  (_The impatience of the House would not allow the
+hon. member to finish his speech_; _and during the greater part of the
+time the hon. member was on his legs_, _he was so much interrupted that
+it was impossible to hear what the hon. member said_).”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+Destruction of Royal Exchange—Sale of the salvage—Spring-heeled Jack and
+his pranks—Lord John Russell’s hat.
+
+As a sad pendant to the Civic festivities at the close of 1837 comes the
+destruction by fire of the Royal Exchange on the night of the 10th of
+January following.
+
+It was first noticed a little after 10 p.m., when flames were observed in
+Lloyd’s Coffee Room in the north-east corner of the building, opposite
+the Bank, the firemen of which establishment were soon on the spot, as
+well as many other of the metropolitan engines.  But, before any water
+could be thrown upon the building, it was necessary to thaw the hose and
+works of the engines by pouring hot water upon them, as the frost was so
+very severe; so that, by 11 p.m., all Lloyd’s was a mass of flame.
+Nothing could be done to stop the conflagration, it having got too great
+a hold, and great fears were entertained that it would spread to the Bank
+and surrounding buildings, the which, however, was fortunately prevented.
+The Lord Mayor was present, and a large body of soldiers from the Tower
+assisted the Police in keeping the crowd away from the immediate scene.
+
+It must have been a magnificent sight, and somewhat curious, for amidst
+the roar of the flames, and until the chiming apparatus was destroyed,
+and the bells dropped one by one, the chimes went on pealing “There’s nae
+luck about the house,” {23} “Life let us cherish,” and “God save the
+Queen.”  The fire was not completely got under until noon the next day,
+but, practically, the building was destroyed by 5 am., and, so bright was
+the conflagration, that it was visible at Windsor—twenty-four miles off,
+and at Theydon, in Essex, a distance of eighteen miles; whilst from the
+heights of Surrey on the south, and Highgate and Hampstead on the north,
+the progress of the fire was watched by crowds of people.
+
+The following account of the Exchange after the fire is taken from the
+_Times_ of 13 Jan.:
+
+    “Yesterday afternoon the ruins of the Exchange were sufficiently
+    cooled to allow the firemen and a party of gentlemen, amongst whom we
+    noticed the Lord Mayor, Mr. Alderman Copeland, several members of the
+    Gresham Committee, and other persons connected with the mercantile
+    interest, to inspect them.  In consequence of the loose fragments of
+    stone work belonging to the balustrades and ornamental parts of the
+    building being covered over with ice, the difficulty of walking over
+    the ruins was very great, and the chief magistrate fell more than
+    once, receiving sundry bumps.  The lofty chimnies standing appeared
+    to be in such a dangerous condition, that they were hauled down with
+    ropes, to prevent their falling on the people below.  The iron chests
+    belonging to the Royal Exchange Assurance Company could be distinctly
+    seen, from the area, inserted in the walls.  Ladders were raised, and
+    they were opened, when it was discovered that their contents,
+    consisting of deeds and other papers connected with the Company and
+    their insurances, were uninjured.  This afforded much satisfaction to
+    the directors.  Another iron safe, belonging to Mr. Hathway, whose
+    office, under the tower, was consumed, which was also in a recess in
+    the wall, was opened at the same time, and a considerable sum in
+    francs and bank-notes was taken out.
+
+    “The walls of the west wing of the building, which seemed to bulge
+    outward, were shored up in the afternoon, and they are not, now,
+    likely to fall.  Cornhill presented a most desolate appearance, the
+    shops, from Finch Lane to the termination of the street near the
+    Mansion House, were all closed, and the place presented a deserted
+    and desolated appearance; which, contrasted with the bustle hitherto
+    observed during business hours, and the sight of the ruins, forced
+    very unpleasant reflections on the mind.  Barriers were placed at the
+    Mansion House end of Cornhill, and across that part of the street
+    between Finch and Birchin Lanes, and no person was allowed to pass
+    except the firemen and persons on business.  All the avenues leading
+    to Cornhill were also blocked up in like manner; and, at each
+    barrier, police officers and ward constables were placed to prevent
+    people passing.  Various schemes were devised, by numerous
+    individuals, to pass these barriers, and sums were, occasionally,
+    offered to the police to be allowed to visit the ruins, but without
+    effect.  The City police kept the thieves away by their presence and
+    activity, and the conduct of the people was, yesterday, very quiet,
+    forming a contrast with the disorder got up by the swell mob on
+    Thursday last.  Those who viewed the ruins at a distance appeared to
+    wear an air of melancholy, and no fire has occurred, for centuries,
+    which has caused more universal regret.
+
+    “On searching the ruins under the Lord Mayor’s Court Office, the
+    great City seal was picked up, with two bags, containing £200 in
+    gold, uninjured.  On this discovery being communicated to the Lord
+    Mayor and Aldermen, it caused much gratification, it having been
+    rumoured that the Corporation would lose their Charter by the loss of
+    the seal, but we did not hear it explained how this could be.
+
+    “Owing to the great body of fire underneath the ruins at the
+    north-east angle of the Exchange, it was impossible for the firemen
+    to ascertain, until a late hour, whether any injury had been done to
+    Lloyd’s books, which were deposited in a large iron safe inserted in
+    the wall.  Two engines had been playing on it during the latter
+    portion of the day.  In the presence of several of the Committee it
+    was opened, when it was discovered that the fire had reached the
+    books, and partially consumed them.  In the drawers were cheques on
+    the Bank of England to a large amount, and also Bank of England notes
+    to the amount of, it is said, £2,560.  The notes were reduced to a
+    cinder, and, on the drawers being opened, the air rushing in on the
+    tender fragments blew them over the Exchange.  They were, however,
+    very carefully collected, and the cinders of the notes were, with
+    much trouble and caution, put into a tin case, which was taken to the
+    Bank, and the words ‘Bank of England,’ with the numbers and dates,
+    were distinctly traced.  The amount will, in consequence, be paid to
+    the owners.  From what information could be obtained from the
+    gentlemen who took possession of the box, and who were understood to
+    be underwriters, it was the usual custom of the secretary not to
+    leave any money or notes in the safe, but to deposit the money in the
+    Bank, which was done on the evening the fire took place.  The money
+    and notes above mentioned, and which were found in the safe, belonged
+    to a subscriber who, on the afternoon of Wednesday, asked permission
+    to deposit his money in the safe until the next day, which was
+    acceded to by the secretary.  Some idea may be formed of his state of
+    mind on arriving at the Exchange on the following morning, to see it
+    on fire, and he was in a state of distraction until the finding of
+    the cinders of the notes yesterday, which has, in some measure,
+    calmed his feelings.  The underwriters are severe sufferers, having
+    left sums of money, to a large amount, in their desks, which, no
+    doubt, will never be recovered.
+
+    “During the confusion on the discovery of the fire, in removing some
+    books from a room in the north-east corner, in addition to £500 in
+    Bank of England notes, which were taken to St. Michael’s Church,
+    twenty sovereigns, in a bag, were thrown out of the windows.  The bag
+    broke, and the sovereigns rolled about the pavement; they were all
+    picked up by the mob, who appropriated them to their own use.
+
+    “It is firmly believed that the overheating of the stoves caused the
+    disaster which the nation has now to deplore.  Wednesday was an
+    exceedingly cold day, and large fires had been kept up from morning
+    till night in the building.  There is no doubt the fire had been
+    spreading, to some extent, in Lloyd’s rooms, long before it was seen
+    in the street.  Some few months back, two watchmen were on the
+    premises all night, but, on the miserable plea of economy, they were
+    discharged, and the sacrifice of one of the finest buildings in the
+    Kingdom has been the consequence.  We believe that most of our
+    cathedrals and large public buildings are left without watchmen
+    during the night, and we hope that the fate of the Royal Exchange
+    will bring about a change in this respect.”
+
+The merchants, who used to congregate “on ’Change,” were accommodated in
+the Guildhall, and the members of Lloyd’s met at the Jerusalem Coffee
+House—but these arrangements were, afterwards, modified.  The Royal
+Exchange Insurance Coy. took Sir James Esdaile’s house, in Lombard
+Street.
+
+_Times_, 4 Ap., 1838:—“THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.—Yesterday, the first day’s
+sale of the materials of the Royal Exchange took place.  It produced
+nearly £2,000.  The porter’s large hand-bell (rung every day at half-past
+four p.m. to warn the merchants and others that ’Change ought to be
+closed), with the handle consumed, and valued at 10/-, was sold for £3
+3/-; the two carved griffins, holding shields of the City arms, facing
+the quadrangle, £35; the two busts of Queen Elizabeth, on the east and
+west sides, £10 15/-; the copper grasshopper vane, {27} with the iron
+upright, was reserved by the Committee; the alto relievo, in artificial
+stone, representing Queen Elizabeth proclaiming the Royal Exchange, £21;
+the corresponding alto relievo, representing Britannia seated amidst the
+emblems of Commerce, accompanied by Science, Agriculture, Manufactures,
+etc., £30; the carved emblematical figures of Europe, Asia, Africa and
+America, £110.  The sale of the remainder of the materials, etc., it is
+understood, will take place in about a month.”
+
+In the Mansion House Police Court, on 10 Jan., the Lord Mayor announced
+that he had received five letters relative to an individual who was going
+about the metropolitan suburbs frightening females to such an extent that
+they were afraid to go out at night, as they were met by a man, who,
+under different disguises, would suddenly appear before them, and as
+suddenly disappear with terrible bounds, which earned him the name of
+“Spring-heeled Jack,” and he inspired such terror, that the recital of
+the victim had to be taken with caution.  Whoever he was, or why he so
+acted, was never known, as he was never taken; but, certainly, robbery
+had no part in his escapades, for he was quite content with paralysing
+the poor women with fright.
+
+The first facts I can gather about Jack are at the latter end of 1837, at
+Barnes, where he appeared as a large white bull; at East Sheen he was a
+white bear; he then visited Richmond, and after having terrorised that
+town, he went to Ham, Kingston and Hampton, where he was clad in brass
+armour, with large claw-like gloves.  Teddington, Twickenham and Hounslow
+were all visited by him, and at Isleworth we hear of him wearing steel
+armour, in which he seems to have been attired when seen at Uxbridge,
+Hanwell, Brentford and Ealing.  At Hammersmith he took the form of a huge
+baboon, and as such was seen in the moonlight, dancing at Kensington
+Palace, ever and anon climbing over the forcing houses.  He varied his
+localities frequently, one day being at Peckham, another at St. John’s
+Wood, and anon at Forest Hill.
+
+This about brings up to the time of its being mentioned by the Lord
+Mayor, the consequence of which was that a Committee was formed at the
+Mansion House for the purpose of receiving subscriptions and deciding
+upon the best means of capturing this erratic genius.  Probably feeling
+that he had sufficiently terrorised the districts before mentioned, he
+turned his attention to the East end of London, and particularly favoured
+Bow.  A case is given in the _Times_ of 23 Feb.  A gentleman named Alsop,
+living between Bow and Old Ford, appeared before the police magistrate at
+Lambeth Street (then the Thames Police Office) accompanied by his three
+daughters, one of whom stated that at about a quarter to nine o’clock on
+the evening of the 21st February, 1838, she heard a violent ringing at
+the front gate of the house, and, on going to the door to see what was
+the cause, she saw a man standing outside, of whom she enquired what was
+the matter.  The person instantly replied that he was a policeman, and
+said, “For God’s sake bring me a light, for we have caught Spring-heeled
+Jack here in the lane.”  She returned to the house, and brought a candle,
+and handed it to the man, who was enveloped in a large cloak: The instant
+she had done so, he threw off his outer garments, and, applying the
+lighted candle to his breast, presented a most hideous and frightful
+appearance, vomiting forth a quantity of blue and white flame from his
+mouth, his eyes resembling red balls of fire.  From the hasty glance
+which her fright enabled her to get at his person, she observed that he
+wore a large helmet, and his dress, which appeared to fit him very
+tightly, seemed to her to resemble white oilskin.  Without uttering a
+sentence, he darted at her, and catching her partly by her dress and the
+back part of her neck, placed her head under one of his arms, and
+commenced tearing her clothes with his claws, which she was certain were
+made of some metallic substance.  She screamed out as loud as she could
+for assistance, and, by considerable exertion, got away from him, and ran
+towards the house to get in.  Her assailant followed, and caught her on
+the doorstep, when he again used considerable violence, tore her neck and
+arms with his claws, as well as a quantity of hair from her head; her
+story was fully corroborated by her parents and sisters, and her
+injuries, which were very considerable, bore unmistakable testimony to
+the truth of the assault.
+
+At the same police court, on 8 Mar., 1838, a Miss Scales deposed that as
+she and her sister were walking in Limehouse, about half-past eight in
+the evening, on coming to Green Dragon Alley, they observed some person
+standing in an angle in the passage.  She was in advance of her sister at
+the time, and just as she came up to the person, who was enveloped in a
+large cloak, he spirted a quantity of blue flame right in her face, which
+deprived her of sight, and so alarmed her, that she instantly dropped to
+the ground, and was seized with violent fits, which continued for several
+hours.  In this case no violence to the person was done.
+
+He had a literature of his own.  I know of three pamphlets on the
+subject; one, from which is taken the accompanying illustration, is
+entitled “Authentic particulars of the awful appearance of the London
+Monster, alias Spring-heeled Jack, together with his extraordinary life,
+wonderful adventures and secret amours.  Also an account of his horrible
+appearance to Miss N--- and his singular letter to the Lord Mayor of
+London.”
+
+    [Picture: Spring-heeled Jack.  Awful representation of the London
+                                 monster]
+
+There is much more to be related of Jack, but space will not permit; but,
+whether too much attention was beginning to be paid to him with a view to
+his capture, or whether his love of mischief had died out, cannot be
+told; but certain it was that nothing was known publicly of this singular
+being after April, 1838, having kept London in a ferment of excitement
+and terror for about six months.
+
+There is an amusing police case anent Lord John Russell’s hat.—_Times_, 8
+Feb.:
+
+    THAMES POLICE COURT.—Yesterday, a poor woman, named Mary Ann Blay,
+    who stated that she resided at Limehouse, applied to Mr. Ballantyne
+    and Mr. Broderip, the magistrates, to request their interference
+    under very odd circumstances.  The applicant stated that, about three
+    or four months ago, she was on her way home from Poplar, where she
+    had been purchasing some vegetables, when she saw something black
+    lying on the ground.  She first supposed it was a piece of coal, but,
+    on stooping to pick it up, discovered it was a hat.  She walked
+    onward, with the hat in her right hand, until she reached the
+    Commercial Road, when she was met by a policeman, who asked her where
+    she had got the hat.  She informed him that she had picked it up at
+    the corner of the New Road, and the policeman looked at it, and saw
+    the name of Lord John Russell in the inside.  He demanded the hat of
+    her, and, on her refusing to give it up to him, he seized the hat,
+    and took her into custody.  She was locked up in the station houses
+    and, on the following morning, was brought before the sitting
+    magistrate at that office.  The justice, after hearing the
+    policeman’s statement, directed her to be discharged, and gave orders
+    that the hat should be detained for a certain time, in the station
+    house; and, if no owner was discovered, that it should be given up to
+    her.  She had, since, made repeated inquiries of the police, but
+    could obtain no information from them, nor any redress for the false
+    imprisonment she had suffered.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne asked the applicant if she was sure the hat belonged
+    to Lord J. Russell.
+
+    The woman said there had been a whitebait Cabinet dinner at Mr.
+    Lovegrove’s, West India Dock Tavern, Blackwall, on the night she
+    found the hat, and Lord John Russell was one of the party.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne: Well, I don’t understand how his Lordship could lose
+    his hat at the corner of the New Road.
+
+    The woman said it was supposed that Lord J. Russell had put his head
+    out of the carriage window, and looked back to see if his friends
+    were following him, when his hat fell off his head, and, as he was a
+    Lord, he would not stop until it was picked up again (laughter).
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne: What do you want me to do in the matter?
+
+    The applicant said she wanted to know to whom the hat belonged.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne: Why, I should say it belonged to Lord John Russell.
+
+    The woman said the hat was worth a guinea, and that if she had
+    accepted 5/- from the policeman, and given it up to him, he would not
+    have taken her into custody.  She thought it was very hard to be
+    subject to such tyranny because she had picked up Lord John Russell’s
+    hat, for she had done no harm to the crown of it.  She supposed Lord
+    John Russell was in liquor, or he would have ordered his carriage to
+    stop, and picked up his hat.  (Roars of laughter, in which the
+    magistrates could not help joining.)  “You may laugh,” said the
+    woman; “but it’s all true what I say; you may depend upon it, the
+    Ministers don’t eat whitebait without drinking plenty of wine after
+    it, you may be sure.  (Increased laughter.)  I don’t know why the
+    gentlemen laugh, I am sure.  I was locked up all night away from my
+    husband and children.”
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne said it was very singular the woman could not
+    recollect what night it was she picked up the hat, and the number and
+    letter of the policeman who took her into custody.
+
+    The applicant said she was too much alarmed at being locked up in the
+    station house, and brought before the magistrate, to recollect what
+    night it was, or the policeman’s identity.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne said it was a very odd affair, and he would direct the
+    books to be searched to ascertain when the woman was brought before
+    the magistrate.
+
+    Soon afterwards, the woman was again brought up.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne said, it appeared from the minutes that she was
+    brought before him on Tuesday, the 3rd of October last, on suspicion
+    of stealing a hat, and that the policeman said that he had stopped
+    her at two o’clock in the morning with the hat in her possession.  It
+    appeared that he had discharged her, but no mention was made of the
+    hat belonging to Lord John Russell.  If that fact had been mentioned
+    to him, he would have ordered the hat to be restored to his Lordship
+    immediately.
+
+    The Applicant: I am sure it is his Lordship’s hat.  There is Lord
+    John Russell inside of it, quite plain; it’s a new one.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne: Very well; an inquiry shall be made about the hat,
+    and you can attend here to-morrow, and we will let you know what has
+    become of it.  I think Lord John Russell has the best claim to the
+    hat, if he has not already got it.
+
+The sequel:
+
+    _Times_, 10 Feb.:—On Thursday, Mary Ann Blay again appeared before
+    Mr. Ballantyne upon the subject of Lord John’s hat.  She adhered to
+    her old story, that the hat had the noble Home Secretary’s name in it
+    when she picked it up, but it had, subsequently, been torn out, after
+    it was taken out of her possession.  Mr. Ballantyne examined the hat,
+    and said it was a dirty, greasy hat—a boy’s hat, and that he would
+    not give 6d. for it.  The policeman who took the woman in custody
+    declared that the woman’s statement was, altogether, a fabrication,
+    and that the hat never had the name of Lord John Russell in it.  Mr.
+    Ballantyne said he would make no order about the hat; and, if the
+    woman thought she had been wrongly imprisoned, she might seek her
+    remedy elsewhere.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+Lords and pugilists—Penny “Gaffs”—Steam between England and America—A
+man-woman—Designs for Nelson Monument—A termagant—Scold’s bridles, &c.
+
+I must give another police case, as showing the manners and customs of
+the _jeunesse dorée_ of this period.
+
+_Times_, 19 Feb.:
+
+    MARLBOROUGH STREET.—On Saturday, Samuel Evans, better known as “Young
+    Dutch Sam,” a pugilist, was brought before Mr. Conant, charged with
+    having committed an unprovoked and violent assault on policeman
+    Mackenzie, C 182, and Lord Waldegrave was also charged with
+    attempting to rescue Evans from the police.
+
+    The defendant Evans, when sober, is civil and well-conducted, but,
+    when drunk, is one of the most dangerous ruffians connected with the
+    prize-fighting gang.  Lord Waldegrave is a very young nobleman, with
+    a fund of native simplicity in his countenance, rendered the more
+    conspicuous by the style of dress he had adopted, namely, a large
+    coloured shawl round his neck, and a rough pilot coat.  Both parties
+    exhibited unquestionable proofs of the effect of their previous
+    night’s potations.
+
+    Policeman Mackenzie, who had his arm in a sling, made the following
+    statement: About a quarter-past six that morning, after he had come
+    off duty, he went to the Standard public house, in Piccadilly, for
+    the purpose of getting some refreshment, but, on perceiving some of
+    the saloon frequenters there, to whom he was personally obnoxious, in
+    consequence of having taken disorderly persons of their acquaintance
+    into custody, he was about to go back, when he found himself suddenly
+    pushed into the house, with sufficient violence to cause his cape to
+    fall off.  While engaged in folding up his cape, the defendant Evans
+    said, “Will any gentleman like to see a policeman put on his back?”
+    Complainant had not exchanged a single word with anybody; he,
+    however, found himself suddenly and quite unexpectedly seized by the
+    defendant, who had come behind him, and then thrown with violence
+    upon the floor; the defendant Evans fell upon him at the same time;
+    and, as complainant lay almost stunned and unable to rise, some
+    persons called out “Shame!”  Complainant was then helped up and
+    assisted out of the house.  He went immediately to the station house,
+    and mentioned what had occurred to Inspector Beresford, who instantly
+    sent a sufficient force to take the offenders into custody.
+    Complainant went and pointed out Dutch Sam to his comrades, and the
+    defendant was taken into custody.  Lord Waldegrave, who was in the
+    pugilist’s company, declared the police should not take his friend,
+    and he attempted to prevent the police from doing their duty.
+    Complainant, feeling his shoulder pain him very much, went to the
+    surgeon, and, by that gentleman’s advice, proceeded to the Charing
+    Cross Hospital.  When he was examined, it was ascertained that one of
+    the bones of his shoulder was broken.
+
+    Another policeman stated that Lord Waldegrave was very drunk, and,
+    when his Lordship attempted to resist the police, he was,
+    accidentally, thrown down on the pavement, and witness picked him up.
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: He! he! he!  Picked me up, did you?  Oh!  He! he!
+    he!
+
+    Mr. Conant: This is no laughing matter, I can tell you; and it is
+    quite improper of you to make it a subject of merriment.
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: He! he! he!  I beg pardon, but I can’t help
+    laughing.
+
+    Mr. Conant asked Evans what he had to say in his defence?
+
+    Evans: Why, you see, Lord Waldegrave and me had been supping
+    together—hadn’t we, my Lord?
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: Yes, we had.
+
+    Evans: And when we went into the public house there, we saw the
+    policeman, who was drunk, and who had been drinking purl in the
+    house.  The policeman asked me to wrestle with him, and, as I thought
+    I could throw him, I accepted the challenge.
+
+    The Inspector proved that there was not one word of truth in Evans’s
+    defence as far as regarded the sobriety of Mackenzie.  The assault
+    took place within a few minutes after Mackenzie had come off duty,
+    and, certainly, before he could have time to get refreshment.
+
+    The policeman declared what the defendant asserted was entirely
+    false.  He had taken nothing to drink; and, as to challenging a man
+    like the defendant to wrestle, the assertion was improbable.
+
+    Inspector Beresford, on being asked if he was certain Evans was
+    drunk, answered that he was decidedly drunk.
+
+    Evans: Silence, sweep, let a gentleman speak.  I can get a dozen
+    oaths for half-a-crown.
+
+    Mr. Conant said the assault on the policeman was wanton and
+    unprovoked, and the matter was further aggravated by the fact that a
+    person of the defendant’s well-known pugilistic powers had chosen to
+    attack an unoffending party.  He should, therefore, call on the
+    defendant Evans to put in good bail.
+
+    Evans: Serve his Lordship the same; for I like to have such a pal.
+
+    Mr. Conant directed that Lord Waldegrave should be put back until a
+    second magistrate arrived.
+
+    Mr. Dyer having, soon afterwards, taken his seat on the bench, Lord
+    Waldegrave was placed at the bar.
+
+    Policeman Filmer, C 130, stated that he went with others to the
+    Standard public house, and took Evans into custody.  Lord Waldegrave
+    threw his arms round his friend, and swore he should not be taken.
+    Witness swung his Lordship away, and, in doing so, his Lordship fell
+    down.  Witness picked him up, and would have let him go had his
+    Lordship abstained from repeating his conduct.  As he would not allow
+    the police to do their duty, he took him into custody.
+
+    Mr. Conant asked his Lordship what he had to say?
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: I have nothing to say.  Perhaps I had taken too much
+    that night.
+
+    Policeman: His Lordship was very drunk.
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: Not very.
+
+    Mr. Conant: There has been no complaint of your conduct at the
+    station house, and I daresay your Lordship feels hurt at being in the
+    company of a person of the other defendant’s description.  Taking
+    into consideration the violence of the outrage committed by Evans, as
+    a warning, we must inflict a heavy fine.  You must, therefore, pay £5
+    to the Queen.
+
+    Mr. Dyer: And because—in our summary jurisdiction—we cannot go beyond
+    that sum, we inflict it as being the highest penalty in our power.
+
+    The sum was paid, and the noble defendant discharged.
+
+The whole social tone was low, from the highest to the lowest, and if the
+police court gives us occasional glimpses of aristocratic amusement, so
+it affords us a view of the entertainments provided for the lower
+classes.  Let us take one.
+
+_Times_, 10 March:
+
+    HATTON GARDEN.—For some time past, numerous complaints have been made
+    to the magistrates of this office of two penny theatres, one in
+    Mortimer Market, Tottenham Court Road, and the other in a field
+    adjacent to Bagnigge Wells Road, where gangs of young thieves nightly
+    assembled.  On Wednesday last, several inhabitants of Mortimer Market
+    attended at the Office to complain of the former establishment, when
+    Mr. Rogers granted a warrant to apprehend the whole of the parties
+    concerned, and on Thursday night, Duke, Baylis and Halls, of this
+    Office, in company with Inspector Jenkins and a body of constables,
+    proceeded to the theatre, and captured the manager, performers, and
+    musicians, and the whole of them were, yesterday, brought to the
+    office, and placed at the bar, when the office was excessively
+    crowded.
+
+    There were twelve prisoners, some of whom were attired in their
+    theatrical habiliments, with their countenances painted, which made a
+    very grotesque appearance.
+
+    Duke being sworn, stated that, in consequence of a warrant, on
+    Thursday night last, about 9 o’clock, he proceeded, with other
+    officers, to a penny theatre in Mortimer Market, St. Pancras, where
+    he found the whole of the prisoners, some of whom were engaged in
+    performing their parts, whilst Ewyn, the manager, was employed in
+    taking money at the doors, and the woman, Green, was acting as check
+    taker.  Campbell and Lewis were enacting their parts upon the stage,
+    and Joseph Burrows was in his theatrical dress between them, with his
+    face painted and wearing a huge pair of moustaches.  John Pillar was
+    in a temporary orchestra with a large violoncello, scraping away most
+    melodramatically, whilst the players were endeavouring to humour the
+    sounds, and to suit their action to the word, and the word to the
+    action; and just at that part of the performance when Burrows had to
+    exclaim, “The officers of justice are coming,” witness and his
+    brother officers rushed upon the stage, and apprehended the whole of
+    them.
+
+    Mr. Rogers: What description of audience was there?
+
+    Duke: A dirty, ragged set, principally consisting of boys and girls;
+    two of them were barefooted, and had scarce a rag to cover them, and
+    did not seem to have been washed for a month.  The theatre was of the
+    most wretched description; there was a temporary stage, and bits of
+    scenery.  The boys said they were errand boys and servants.  Brierly
+    and Smith said they were country actors out of an engagement, and had
+    visited the place out of curiosity.
+
+    Mr. Mallett: Had they an inscription that they were “Licensed
+    pursuant to Act of Parliament”?
+
+    Duke: They had not.  On the gates was written up, “For this evening’s
+    performance The Spectre of the Grave; after which, a comic song by
+    Mr. Ewyn; to conclude with The Key of the Little Door.”  They found
+    various theatrical dresses and other properties, with stars, swords,
+    etc., now produced.
+
+    Baylis proved having paid 1d. for admission.  He paid the money to
+    the woman Green.  Ewyn was at the door, and he confessed that he was
+    the manager.  He took him into custody, and, subsequently, he
+    apprehended Lewis and Campbell, at the back of the stage, in their
+    theatrical dresses.
+
+    Mr. Rogers: Have you got “The Spectre of the Grave” here?
+
+    Inspector Jenkins: No, your Worship, he vanished.  The other male
+    performers were dressed in sandals and armour, with their helmets up.
+
+    Hall and the other officers corroborated the above evidence.  Several
+    inhabitants of Mortimer Market proved that they were, every night,
+    alarmed by firing off guns, cries of “Fire,” clashing of swords, the
+    most boisterous ranting and shrieks from the voices of the ladies of
+    the _corps dramatique_, and the place was a perfect nuisance to the
+    neighbourhood.
+
+    The owner of the place stated that, on the 24th of January, he let
+    the place to a person named Summers, for chair making, when it was
+    turned into a theatre.
+
+    Ewyn said he had engaged with Summers to divide the profits of the
+    theatrical speculation.  Summers agreed to take the place, and he
+    (Ewyn) to provide the scenery and wardrobe; “and proud I am to say,
+    that I have conducted the consarn respectably, which some of the
+    neighbours can testify.  This is the head and front of my
+    offending—no more.”
+
+    Inspector Jenkins said that, about a month ago, he called on Ewyn and
+    cautioned him, but he said that the magistrates had nothing to do
+    with the matter.
+
+    Mr. Rogers, addressing the prisoners, said they had received a
+    warning which they did not heed.  He should not order them to find
+    bail, but would discharge them; and, if they dared to repeat their
+    performances after this admonition, he would grant a warrant for
+    their apprehension, and every one of them should find bail, or be
+    committed.  They held out temptation to the children of poor persons,
+    some of whom, it appears, were without shoes and nearly naked, who
+    robbed their parents, or others, for the purpose of procuring the
+    penny for admission.  He would order their paraphernalia to be
+    restored to them, but, on condition that they would remove their
+    fittings, and desist from any future performances.
+
+    Ewyn: You must give me time to take down the seats and decorations.
+
+    Mr. Rogers: You must take them down this day.
+
+    Ewyn (with a start): What! this day?  Impossible.
+
+    Mr. Rogers directed Inspector Jones to see the mandate obeyed.
+
+The month of April is famous for the inauguration of steam traffic
+between England and America.  A vessel named the _Savannah_ had in 1819
+crossed from America to England, but her steam was only intended to be
+auxiliary to her sailing power, for her boilers had only a pressure of 20
+lbs. to the square inch.  She sailed from New York on 28 Mar., 1819,
+reached Savannah on 7 Ap., and anchored at Liverpool on 19 June; on her
+return home her engines were taken out, and she was finally lost off Long
+Island.  In 1836 the Great Western Railway founded the Great Western
+Steam Co., whose vessels were intended to run from Bristol in
+co-operation with the railway, and the first ship built was the Great
+Western, the largest steamer then afloat.  She was 236 feet long and her
+engines showed 750 indicated horse power, her registered tonnage being
+1,300.  She was intended to be the pioneer ship, and was ready for sea in
+April, 1838; but competition was as keen then as now, and the St. Georges
+Steam Packet Coy. started their s.s. Sirius, for the voyage to New York,
+from London, on the 29th March.  She had a tonnage of 700 tons, and her
+engines were of 320 horse-power.  She was elegantly fitted-up, and
+started with 22 passengers, whose number was increased at Cork, and,
+being intended solely for a passenger boat, carried no cargo.  On going
+down the Thames, she encountered her rival, the Great Western, which had
+a pleasure party on board, and a trial of speed took place between the
+two, resulting in favour of the Sirius.  She sailed from Cork on 9th
+April.  The Great Western sailed from Bristol on the 12th April, and both
+reached New York on the same day, the Sirius being first.  The Great
+Western made, in all, 64 passages between the two countries, her fastest
+passage occupying 12 days, 7½ hours.  At the present writing, the record
+voyage for an English steamer (the _Lucania_) is 5 days, 7 hours, 23
+minutes.
+
+The _Manchester Guardian_ of 14th April gives an account of a woman
+living in that city, who for many years passed as a man, which has
+occurred before, but the extraordinary part of this story is that she
+_married another woman_.—“Subsequent inquiries confirm the truth of the
+statements made in the _Guardian_ of Wednesday last, as to this singular
+case.  This woman man, who, for probably more than 25 years, has
+succeeded in concealing her sex, and in pursuing a trade of more than
+ordinarily masculine and hazardous description, with a degree of skill
+and ability which has led to her establishment in a good business in this
+town, bound herself apprentice, at the age of 16 or 17 years, to a Mr.
+Peacock, a bricklayer and builder, at Bawtry, a small market town in the
+West Riding of Yorkshire.  She did not remain with Mr. Peacock during the
+whole period of her apprenticeship, but was ‘turned over,’ as it is
+called, to another person in the same business.  It was during her
+apprenticeship that she met with her present wife; and they were married
+at the old parish church of Sheffield, in the year 1816, when the wife
+was only 17 years old.  Since the investigation and disclosure of the
+circumstances, on Thursday week, the wife and husband have separated.
+She was, for many years, a special constable in the 13th division of that
+body, acting for this town; and we are assured that, on all occasions
+when the services of the division were required, as at elections, Orange
+processions, and meetings of trades’ unions, turn-outs, etc., so far from
+absenting herself from what, as in the case of well founded apprehension
+of a riot, must have been, to a woman, a post of some unpleasantness, she
+is remembered to have been one of the most punctual in attendance, and
+the most forward volunteer in actual duty, in that division.  We
+understand that she is no longer a special constable, because she did
+not, on the last annual special session, held for that purpose at the New
+Bailey, present herself to be resworn.  She was not discarded or
+discharged; there was no complaint against her; and, probably, the
+extension of her own business was her only motive for not resuming the
+duties of this office.  Altogether, this is the most singular case of the
+kind which has ever reached our knowledge.”
+
+The following is an advertisement which appeared in the _Times_ of 27th
+April:—“NELSON MONUMENT.—The Committee for erecting a Monument to the
+Memory of Lord Nelson hereby give notice that they are desirous of
+receiving from architects, artists, or other persons, DESIGNS for such a
+MONUMENT, to be erected in Trafalgar Square.
+
+“The Committee cannot, in the present state of the subscriptions, fix
+definitely the sum to be expended, but they recommend that the estimated
+cost of the several designs should be confined within the sums of £20,000
+and £30,000.  This condition, and that of the intended site, are the only
+restrictions to which the artists are limited.”
+
+In the same newspaper of 16 May, we read of a punishment which might,
+occasionally, be revived with advantage, as being less dangerous than the
+ducking stool, and, probably, quite as efficacious, although we have the
+authority of St. James, “For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of
+serpents, and of things of the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of
+mankind, but the tongue can no man tame.”  It relates how, “at the
+Mayor’s Court, Stafford, last week, Mary, wife of Thomas Careless, of the
+Broad Eye, a perfect termagant, was ordered to pay 1/- penalty, and 7/6
+costs, for an unprovoked assault on Mary, the wife of Lewis Bromley.
+During the investigation, her garrulity was so incessant that the mayor
+was under the necessity of sending for the ‘scold’s bridle,’ an iron
+instrument of very antique construction, which, in olden times, was
+occasionally called into use.  It is formed of an elliptical bow of iron,
+enclosing the head from the lower extremity of one ear to the other, with
+a transverse piece of iron from the nape of the neck to the mouth, and
+completely covers the tongue, preventing its movement, and the whole
+machinery, when adjusted, is locked at the back of the head.  The bridle
+is to be put in thorough repair, and hung _in terrorem_ in the Mayor’s
+office, to be used as occasion may call it forth.”
+
+These “scold’s bridles,” or “branks,” as they are sometimes called, are
+not uncommon.  The earliest dated one is preserved at Walton-on-Thames,
+and bears the date 1633, with the inscription:
+
+    “Chester presents Walton with a bridle,
+    To curb women’s tongues that talk to idle.”
+
+Brayley, in his “History of Surrey,” says that it was given by a
+gentleman named Chester, who lost a valuable estate through a gossiping,
+lying woman; but, as there are several examples of branks in the
+Palatinate, one being kept in the gaol at Chester, some people think it
+was a present from that city.  There is one at Leicester, and another at
+Newcastle-on-Tyne, which used to hang in the mayor’s parlour, and
+tradition has it that many cases of disputes between women have been
+speedily and satisfactorily settled on his worship’s pointing to these
+branks.
+
+There is one in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, which is very tender as
+far as the gag is concerned, but which has a leading chain fastened
+between the eyes.  Hainstall, Ridware, Lichfield, Morpeth, Shrewsbury,
+Holme, Kendal, Altrincham, Macclesfield, Congleton (where it was last
+used in 1824), all have examples, whilst Chester has four!  There are
+several in Scotland, and there are some in private hands, notably one
+which used to be in the Mayer Museum, Liverpool, which came from
+Warrington, where, however, the brank formerly used at Carrington is
+preserved, and there are several places—Newcastle-under-Lyne (now in the
+Mayer Collection), Manchester, and others—where they have existed.  There
+is a very grotesque one in Doddington Park, which is a mask, having
+eyeholes, and a long funnel-shaped peak projecting from the mouth; and
+there are some very terribly cruel ones, with fearful gags; but these can
+scarcely come under scold’s or gossip’s bridles.  There was one at
+Forfar, with a spiked gag, which pierced the tongue, and an even more
+severe one is at Stockport; whilst those at Ludlow and Worcester are,
+also, instruments of torture.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Thom, the religious fanatic—His riots and death—Delusions of his
+followers.
+
+From the earliest ages of Christianity _pseudo-Christoi_, or false
+Christs, existed.  Simon Magus, Dositheus, and the famous Barcochab were
+among the first of them, and they were followed by Moses, in Crete, in
+the fifth century; Julian, in Palestine, _circa_ A.D. 530; and Screnus,
+in Spain, _circa_ A.D. 714.  There were, in the 12th century, some seven
+or eight in France, Spain and Persia; and, coming to more modern times,
+there was Sabbatai Zewi, a native of Aleppo, or Smyrna, who proclaimed
+himself to be the Messiah, in Jerusalem, _circa_ 1666.  A list of
+religious fanatics would be a long one, but the _pseudo-Christos_ of
+modern times was, certainly, John Nicholl Thom, of St. Columb, Cornwall,
+_alias_ Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtenay, Knight of Malta, and King
+of Jerusalem; who also claimed to be Jesus Christ, in proof of which he
+shewed punctures in his hands, and a cicatrice on his side.
+
+He was first introduced to public notice in Michaelmas, 1832, when he
+paid a visit to Canterbury, and took up his abode, for some time, at the
+“Rose Inn,” where he was remarkable for his eccentric behaviour, passing
+under the name of Rothschild.  His countenance and costume denoted
+foreign extraction, while his language and conversation showed that he
+was well acquainted with almost every part of the kingdom.  He often
+dressed in a fine suit of Italian clothing, and, sometimes, in the gayer
+and more imposing costume of the east.  In December of the same year, he
+surprised the inhabitants of Canterbury by proposing himself as a
+candidate for the representation of that city in Parliament, under the
+name of Sir W. P. H. Courtenay.  His canvass proceeded with extraordinary
+success; and, such were his persuasive powers, that people of all ranks
+felt an interest in his society; some, however, considered him insane,
+while others were of a contrary opinion, and he did not succeed in his
+ambition.
+
+He next got mixed up in a smuggling affair, H.M. sloop _Lively_ having
+captured a smuggling craft (the _Admiral Hood_) off the Goodwin Sands.
+He attended the examination of the smugglers before the magistrates at
+Rochester, attired in a fancy costume, and having a small scimitar
+suspended from his neck, by a massive gold chain.  He defended one of the
+men, who, despite his advocacy, was convicted.  He then offered himself
+as a witness, swore that he had seen the whole transaction, that there
+was no smuggling, and that the _Lively_ was to blame.  This the
+prosecution could not stand; he was indicted for perjury, and was tried
+at Maidstone on 25 July, 1833.  The sentence of the Court was
+imprisonment and transportation, but, being proved to be insane, this was
+commuted to confinement in the lunatic asylum, at Barming Heath.  After
+about four years spent in this establishment, he was released, on
+security being given for his future good behaviour.  He then went to live
+at the residence of Mr. Francis, of Fairbrook, in the neighbourhood of
+Boughton, near Canterbury.  Owing to some misunderstanding with the
+family, he removed to an adjoining cottage, and, at the time of which I
+write, he lived at a farm-house, called Bossenden farm, occupied by a
+person named Culver.
+
+The influence obtained, by this maniac, over the small farmers and
+peasantry in his neighbourhood, is most astonishing.  They believed in
+all he told them; first that he should be a great chieftain in Kent, and
+that they should all live rent free on his land, and that if they would
+follow his advice, they should have good living and large estates, as he
+had great influence at Court, and was to sit at the Queen’s right hand,
+on the day of her Coronation.  It would seem as if his madness, then, was
+personal and political, but the religious mania speedily developed
+itself.  He told his deluded followers that they were oppressed by the
+laws in general, but more particularly by the new poor law; and called
+upon them to place themselves under his command.  Nearly 100 at once
+joined him, and as they marched through the neighbouring parishes their
+numbers increased.  It was then that he proclaimed his divinity—assuring
+them that both he and they were not only invincible, but bullet proof,
+and that they could never die.
+
+          [Picture: Death of Sir Wm. Courtenay.  (Thom).  1838]
+
+The following account, which appears to me to be the most succinct of
+those I have seen, is from the _Times_ of 1 June:
+
+    “On Monday (28 May) they sallied forth from the village of Boughton,
+    where they bought bread, and proceeded to Wills’s house, near
+    Fairbrook.  A loaf was broken asunder, and placed on a pole, with a
+    flag of white and blue, on which was a rampant lion.  Thence they
+    proceeded to Goodnestone, near Faversham, producing throughout the
+    whole neighbourhood the greatest excitement, and adding to their
+    numbers by the harangues occasionally delivered by this ill-fated
+    madman.  At this farm Courtenay stated that ‘he would strike the
+    bloody blow.’  A match was then taken from a bean stack, which had
+    been introduced by one of the party.  They next proceeded to a farm
+    at Herne Hill, where Courtenay requested the inmates to feed his
+    friends, which request was immediately complied with.  Their next
+    visit was at Dargate Common, where Sir William, taking off his shoes,
+    said, ‘I now stand on my own bottom.’  By Sir William’s request, his
+    party went to prayers, and then proceeded to Bossenden farm, where
+    they supped, and slept in the barn that night.  At 3 o’clock, on
+    Tuesday morning they left, and proceeded to Sittingbourne to
+    breakfast, where Sir William paid 25s.; they then visited Newnham,
+    where a similar treat was given at the ‘George.’  After visiting
+    Eastling, Throwley, Selwich Lees and Selling, and occasionally
+    addressing the populace, holding out to them such inducements as are
+    usually made by persons desirous of creating a disturbance, they
+    halted, in a chalk pit, to rest, and, on Wednesday evening, arrived
+    at Culver’s farm, called Bossenden, close to the scene of action.
+    Mr. Curling, having had some of his men enticed from their work,
+    applied for a warrant for their apprehension.  Mears, a constable, in
+    company with his brother, proceeded to Culver’s house, when, on
+    application being made for the men alluded to, Sir William
+    immediately shot the young man who accompanied his brother in the
+    execution of his duty.  Such was the excitement, and the desperate
+    menaces of Sir William and his party, that it became necessary for
+    the magistrates to interfere to put a stop to the proceedings, by the
+    capture of the ringleader of the party, from whose advice to his
+    followers the most serious consequences were likely to ensue.  At 12
+    o’clock, they assembled at a place called the Osier Bed, where every
+    means were resorted to, to quell the disturbance, but without
+    success.  Sir William defied interruption to his men, and fired on
+    the Rev. William Handley, of Herne Hill, who, with his brother, was
+    assisting to take him into custody.  They then made their way to
+    Bossenden Wood, where they lay in ambush; but, as no means appeared
+    to present themselves, by which the ringleader could safely be
+    secured, he being evidently mad, and in possession of loaded
+    firearms, threatening to shoot the first man who interfered with him,
+    it became necessary to apply for the assistance of the 45th regiment,
+    stationed in Canterbury barracks.  On the arrival of a detachment of
+    this regiment, they proceeded to the wood, where the party was
+    awaiting their arrival.
+
+    “A few minutes previous to the attack, Sir William loudly halloed to
+    his companions, supposed for the purpose of getting them prepared for
+    the fight.
+
+    “Sir William, on perceiving his opponents, advanced with the greatest
+    _sang froid_, and deliberately shot Lieutenant Bennett of the
+    regiment, before his own men.  This occasioned a return from the man
+    covering his officer, who advanced, and shot Sir William, who fell,
+    and died instantly.  The excitement, at that period, occasioned by
+    each party losing its commander, caused a desperate attack, which
+    terminated in the death of ten persons, besides the brother of the
+    constable shot in the morning, and several others seriously wounded,
+    of some of whom little hopes are entertained of their recovery.  The
+    weapons in the hands of the followers of Sir William, were chiefly,
+    if not altogether, heavy bludgeons.”
+
+The following, from a correspondent, goes far to show the delusions
+shared by this maniac and his followers:
+
+    “The mention of this lad’s name, reminds me that his mother is said
+    to have done more than any other person in the parish to foster and
+    encourage the belief which she herself entertained, that Thom was our
+    blessed Redeemer and Saviour.  So steadfast was she in her belief,
+    that when, after the battle in the wood, a neighbour went to tell her
+    ‘the awful news,’ that Thom was killed, and her own son wounded, she
+    would not credit the information.  ‘Sir William killed!’ said she,
+    ‘no, no, you can’t kill him; it is not the truth, it is not
+    possible.’  The reply to her was: ‘It is the truth, and it is
+    possible.’  She again asserted that it was not possible.  Again the
+    reply was: ‘It is possible, and it is as true as that your poor boy
+    has got a shot in his thigh.’  Then, and not till then, would she
+    credit that her son was hurt.  But as to Sir William, she still
+    remained incredulous, saying: ‘Mind, three days will show you and all
+    the world what Sir William is.  When that time is elapsed, you will
+    see whether he is not that which he professes to be.’
+
+    “Of the general belief in the neighbourhood that he was the Saviour,
+    I saw a strong proof in some writing which I found on the parsonage
+    barn at Herne Hill.  It has been there for the last ten days, and is
+    said to be in the handwriting of Wills.  On the left side of the door
+    is written, in one long line, these words, with spelling and capitals
+    just as I have copied them:—‘If you newho was on earth your harts Wod
+    turn’; then in another: ‘But dont Wate to late’; and then, in a
+    third, ‘They how R.’  On the right side of the door is the following:
+    ‘O that great day of gudgment, is close at hand’; in another: ‘it now
+    peps in the dor every man according to his woks’; and in a third:
+    ‘Our rites and liberties We Will have.’  I mentioned some of them in
+    a former communication.  At one of the places where he ordered
+    provisions for his followers, it was in these words: ‘Feed my sheep.’
+    To convince his disciples of his divine commission, he is said to
+    have pointed his pistol at the stars, and told him that he would make
+    them fall from their spheres.  He then fired at some particularly
+    bright star; and, his pistol having been rammed down with tow steeped
+    in oil, and sprinkled over with steel filings, produced, on being
+    fired, certain bright sparkles of light, which he immediately said
+    were falling stars.  Again, in the early part of his progress on
+    Monday, he went away from his followers with a man named Wills, and
+    two of the other rioters, saying to them, ‘Do you stay here, whilst I
+    go yonder,’ pointing to a bean stack, ‘and strike the bloody blow.’
+    When they arrived at the stack, to which they marched with a flag,
+    the flag bearer laid his flag on the ground, and knelt down to pray.
+    The others then put in, it is said, a lighted match; but Thom seized
+    it and forbade it to burn, and the fire was not kindled.  This, on
+    their return to the company, was announced as a miracle worked by the
+    Saviour.  There is another of his acts, which he mentioned as one of
+    the proofs of his Divinity, that I confess myself at a loss to
+    understand.  After he had fired one shot at the constable, Mears, and
+    subsequently chopped at him with his dirk, he went into the house,
+    seized a loaded pistol, and on coming out, said: ‘Now, am I not your
+    Saviour?’  The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when he pulled
+    the trigger of his pistol, and shot Mears a second time.”
+
+He administered a parody on the blessed Sacrament, in bread and water to
+his followers, before the encounter and harangued them.  He told them on
+this occasion, as he did on many others, that there was great opposition
+in the land, and, indeed, throughout the world, but, that if they would
+follow him, he would lead them on to glory.  He told them he had come to
+earth on a cloud, and that, on a cloud, he should some day be removed
+from them; that neither bullets nor weapons could injure him, or them, if
+they had but faith in him as their Saviour: and that if 10,000 soldiers
+came against them, they would either turn to their side, or fall dead at
+his command.  At the end of his harangue, Alexander Foad, a respectable
+farmer, and one of his followers, knelt down at his feet and worshipped
+him; and so did another man named Brankford.  Foad then asked Thom
+whether he should follow him in the body, or go home and follow him in
+heart.  To this Thom replied: “Follow me in the body.”  Foad then sprang
+on his feet in an ecstasy of joy, and, with a voice of great animation,
+exclaimed: “Oh, be joyful!  Oh, be joyful!  The Saviour has accepted me.
+Go on—go on, till I drop, I’ll follow thee!”  Brankford was also accepted
+as a follower, and exhibited the same enthusiastic fervour, while Thom
+uttered terrific denunciations of eternal torture in hell fire against
+all who should refuse to follow him.
+
+With the death of Thom and his deluded followers, the excitement calmed
+down, and entirely subsided after the trial of nine prisoners, which took
+place at Maidstone, on the 9th of August, before Lord Denman.  They were
+charged on two counts: first, with aiding and abetting John Thom, _alias_
+Courtenay, in the murder of Nicholas Mears, on the 31st of May, and
+second, with being principals in the murder.  Lord Denman charged the
+jury that, if they were of opinion that Thom was of unsound mind, so
+that, if he had been put upon his trial, he could not have been convicted
+of murder, the principal being acquitted, the accessories must also be
+acquitted, and the prisoners could not be found guilty on the first
+count.  This, the jury acquiesced in, and brought in a verdict of
+“guilty” on the second count, with a strong recommendation to mercy on
+account of the infatuation under which they were led astray by Courtenay.
+Lord Denman pronounced sentence of death upon the prisoners, but added,
+that their lives would be spared.  Two were sentenced to transportation
+for life; one to transportation for ten years; and the remainder to be
+imprisoned for one year, and kept to hard labour in the House of
+Correction, one month in solitary confinement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+The Queen’s Coronation—The Carriages—The fair and festivities in Hyde
+Park—The Marquis of Waterford’s drive—His pranks at Melton Mowbray—Steam
+carriages—Dog carriages—Grand dinner at Guildhall.
+
+The next event which occupied the public attention was the Queen’s
+Coronation, which took place on the 28th of June.  It was, like the “Half
+Crownation” of William IV., a much plainer affair than that of George the
+Magnificent, the walking procession of all the estates of the realm, and
+the banquet in Westminster Hall, with all the feudal services thereunto
+belonging, being wholly dispensed with.  The day began badly, with a cold
+shower about 8 a.m., but it cleared off, and the sun shone out fitfully,
+throughout the time the ceremony occupied—the head of the procession
+starting from Buckingham Palace at 10 a.m., and the Queen reaching
+Westminster Abbey at half-past eleven.  Next to the Queen herself, the
+principal attraction in the procession was the equipages and liveries of
+the Ambassadors Extraordinary, chief among which was the carriage of
+Marshal Soult (who represented France), which had formerly belonged to
+the last great prince of the House of Condé, the father of the Duc de
+Bourbon, and which, by its superior magnificence, eclipsed all other
+vehicles.  Besides which, it held the Duke of Dalmatia, Wellington’s old
+foe, who had now come to visit, in peace, the country he had so manfully
+fought against.
+
+Of the ceremony itself, I say nothing—everything was done decorously and
+in order.  It took a long time, for it was a quarter to four when the
+royal procession reformed and took its way through the nave of the abbey.
+The Queen entertained a party of 100 at dinner; and, in the evening,
+witnessed, from the roof of her palace, the fireworks discharged in the
+Green Park.  The Duke of Wellington gave a grand ball at Apsley House,
+for which cards of invitation were issued for 2,000 persons.
+
+As an indication of the numbers of people set down at the Abbey, I may
+mention that the carriages which were ordered to proceed (after setting
+down) to the south side of Westminster Bridge, occupied a line from the
+bridge to Kennington Cross (more than a mile).  The carriages which were
+to proceed, after setting down their company, to the west side of London,
+formed a line nearly to Kensington (a mile and a half).  Those ordered to
+wait in the Strand extended, in double lines, to St. Mary le Strand, and
+those directed to wait in Bird Cage Walk, St. James’s Park, occupied (in
+double rows) the whole line to Buckingham Palace.
+
+There was a balloon ascent from Hyde Park, which was a comparative
+failure, for it descended in Marylebone Lane, quite done up with its
+short journey, and another sent up from Vauxhall, which was more
+successful.  There were grand displays of fireworks in the Green and Hyde
+Parks, and all London was most beautifully and brilliantly illuminated.
+
+But the great thing was the Fair in Hyde Park, which had official leave
+to exist for two days—but which, in fact, lasted four.  The area allotted
+to it comprised nearly one third of the Park, extending from near the
+margin of the Serpentine to within a short distance of Grosvenor Gate.
+The best account I know of this Fair is in _The Morning Chronicle_ of 29
+June, and I here reproduce it:
+
+    “Of all the scenes which we witnessed, connected with the Coronation,
+    probably this was the most lively, and that in which there was the
+    least confusion, considering the mass of persons collected together.
+    Our readers are already aware that the Fair was permitted to take
+    place by the Government, on the petition of the present holders of
+    the show which formerly belonged to the celebrated Richardson; and it
+    was to their care, together with that of Mr. Mallalieu, the
+    Superintendent of Police, that its general management was entrusted.
+    In justice to those gentlemen, we must say that the arrangements made
+    for the accommodation of the public were admirable, while they were
+    carried out with the very greatest success.  The booths were arranged
+    in a square form, and covered a space of ground about 1,400 feet long
+    and about 1,000 feet broad.
+
+    “They were arranged in regular rows, ample space being allowed
+    between them for the free passage of the people; and they consisted
+    of every variety of shape, while they were decked with flags of all
+    colours and nations.  One portion of the fair was set apart
+    exclusively for ginger-bread and fancy booths, while those rows by
+    which these were surrounded were appropriated to the use of showmen,
+    and of persons who dealt in the more substantial articles of
+    refreshment.  Of the latter description, however, the readers would
+    recognize many as regular frequenters of such scenes; but, probably,
+    the booth which attracted the greatest attention, from its magnitude,
+    was that erected by Williams, the celebrated boiled beef monger of
+    the Old Bailey.  This was pitched in the broadest part of the fair,
+    and immediately adjoining Richardson’s show; and, at the top of it
+    was erected a gallery for the use of those who were desirous of
+    witnessing the fireworks in the evening, and, to which, access was to
+    be procured by payment of a small sum.
+
+    “While this person, and the no less celebrated Alger, the proprietor
+    of the Crown and Anchor, were astonishing the visitors with the
+    enormous extent of the accommodation which they could afford the
+    public, others set up claims of a character more agreeable to the age
+    in the exceedingly tasty mode in which they had decorated their
+    temporary houses.  Of these, that which struck us as most to be
+    admired, was a tent erected by a person named Bull, of Hackney, the
+    interior of which, decorated with fluted pillars of glazed calico,
+    had a really beautiful appearance.  It would be useless, however, to
+    attempt to particularize every booth, for each held out its alluring
+    attractions to the gaping crowd with equal force, and each appeared
+    to be sufficiently patronized by the friends of its proprietor.
+
+    “Not a few, in addition to the solid attractions of eating and
+    drinking, held out those of a more ‘airy’ description, and, in many,
+    it was announced that a ‘grand ball’ would be held in the evening,
+    ‘to commence at six o’clock’; whilst, in others, bands of music were
+    heard ‘in full play,’ joining their sweet sounds to the melodious
+    beatings of gongs and shouting through trumpets of the adjoining
+    shows.  In attractions of this kind we need only say that the fair
+    was, in most respects, fully equal to any other at which we ever had
+    the good fortune to be present, whether at Greenwich, or Croydon, or
+    in any other of the suburban or metropolitan districts.  Beef and
+    ham, beer and wine, chickens and salad, were all equally plentiful,
+    and the taste of the most fastidious might be pleased as to the
+    quality, or the quantity, of the provisions provided for him.  In the
+    pastry cooks’ booths, the usual variety of gingerbread nuts, and gilt
+    cocks in breeches, and kings and queens, were to be procured; while,
+    in some of them, the more refined luxury of ices was advertised, an
+    innovation upon the ancient style of refreshment which we, certainly,
+    had never expected to see introduced into the canvas shops of the
+    fair pastry cooks.
+
+    “While these _marchands_ were holding out their various attractions
+    to the physical tastes of the assembled multitude, the showkeepers
+    were not less actively employed in endeavouring to please the eye of
+    those who were willing to enjoy their buffooneries, or their wonders.
+    Fat boys and living skeletons, Irish giants and Welsh dwarfs,
+    children with two heads, and animals without any heads at all, were
+    among the least of the wonders to be seen; while the more rational
+    exhibition of wild beasts joined with the mysterious wonders of the
+    conjuror and the athletic performances of tumblers, in calling forth
+    expressions of surprise and delight from the old, as well as from the
+    young, who were induced to contribute their pennies ‘to see the
+    show.’
+
+    “Nor were these the only modes of procuring amusement which presented
+    themselves.  On the Serpentine river a number of boats had been
+    launched, which had been procured from the Thames, and watermen were
+    employed, during the whole day, in rowing about those who were
+    anxious to enjoy the refreshing coolness of the water after the
+    turmoil and heat of the fair.  Ponies and donkeys were in the
+    outskirts of the fair, plentiful, for the use of the young who were
+    inclined for equestrian exercise, while archery grounds and throw
+    sticks held out their attractions to the adepts in such practices,
+    and roundabouts and swings were ready to gratify the tastes of the
+    adventurous.  Kensington Gardens were, as usual, open to the public,
+    and not a few who were fearful of joining in the crowd, contented
+    themselves here, in viewing the gay scene from a distance.  Timorous,
+    however, as they might be, of personal inconvenience, they did not
+    fail to enjoy the opportunities which were afforded them of looking
+    into the book of fate; and we observed many of the fairest parts of
+    the creation busily engaged in deep and private confabulations with
+    those renowned seers, the gypsies.
+
+    “With regard to those persons who visited the fair, we must say we
+    never saw a more orderly body.  From an early hour the visitors were
+    flocking in; but it was not until Her Majesty had gone to Westminster
+    Abbey that the avenues approaching Hyde Park became crowded.  Then,
+    indeed, the countless thousands of London appeared to be poured
+    forth, and all seemed to be bound for the same point of destination.
+    Thousands who had taken up their standing places at Hyde Park Corner,
+    poured through the gate; whilst many who had assumed positions at a
+    greater distance from the Parks, passed through the squares and
+    through Grosvenor Gate.  Every avenue was soon filled, every booth
+    was soon crammed full of persons desirous of procuring refreshment
+    and rest after the fatigue of standing so long in the crowd to view
+    the procession.
+
+    “These, however, were not the only persons who joined the throng.
+    Every cab, coach, or omnibus which had been left disengaged, appeared
+    to be driving to the same point, full of passengers.  Fulham, Putney,
+    Mile End and Brixton alike contributed their vehicles to carry the
+    people to the Parks, and thousands from the very extremity of the
+    City were to be seen flocking towards the Fair.  All seemed bent on
+    the same object, that of procuring amusement, and work seemed to have
+    been suspended, as if by common consent.  While the East-end thrust
+    forth her less aristocratic workmen, the West-end was not altogether
+    idle in furnishing its quota to the throng, and we noticed many
+    really elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen alight from their
+    carriages to view the enlivening scene; and many of them, who were,
+    apparently, strangers to such exhibitions, were, evidently, not a
+    little amused at the grotesque imitations of those amusements in
+    which the aristocracy delight.
+
+    “Carriages of every description were admitted into the Parks, and the
+    splendid carriage of an aristocrat was not unfrequently followed by
+    the tilted waggon of some remover of furniture, with its load of men,
+    women and children, who had come to ‘see the fun.’  All seemed,
+    alike, bent on amusement; all, alike, appeared to throw aside those
+    restraints which rank, fashion, or station had placed upon them, and
+    to enter fully into the enjoyment of the busy scene in which they
+    were actors.  The delightful locality of the Fair, the bright
+    sunbeams playing upon the many-coloured tents, the joyous laughter of
+    the people, untouched by debauchery, and unseduced by the gross
+    pleasures of the appetite; the gay dresses of the women, all in their
+    best; joined in making the scene one which must live long in the
+    recollection of those who witnessed it.  All appeared to remember
+    that this was the day of the Coronation of a Queen, so youthful, so
+    beautiful, so pure, and all appeared to be determined that no act of
+    insubordination or of disorder on their part should sully the bright
+    opening of a reign so hopeful, and from which so much happiness is to
+    be expected.
+
+    “We have already said that the arrangements of the fair were
+    excellent; but, while these called forth our admiration, the
+    exceeding attention paid to the public by the police force appeared
+    to prevent the possibility of accident or robbery.  All gambling
+    booths and thimble riggers had, of course, been necessarily excluded,
+    but we fear it was not possible to shut out all those persons whose
+    recollection of the laws of _meum_ and _tuum_ was somewhat blunted.
+    We heard of numerous losses of small sums, and of handkerchiefs and
+    other trifles, but, throughout the day, we gained no information of
+    any robbery which was of sufficient extent to produce more than a
+    temporary inconvenience to the person robbed.  A temporary police
+    station was erected in the grounds, in which Mr. Mallalieu and a
+    considerable portion of his men were in attendance during the day;
+    but, although there were, necessarily, some cases in which slight
+    acts of intemperance were visible, nothing of any serious importance
+    occurred during the whole of the early part of the day.
+
+    “The orderly conduct of the people, which we have already described
+    as having been observable during the morning, was maintained through
+    the rest of the day.  Notwithstanding that the crowd, at three
+    o’clock, had increased tenfold, no disturbance nor riot occurred.
+    The return of Her Majesty attracted a few from the crowd, but nearly
+    every one returned, and all remained for the grand attraction of this
+    part of the day’s amusement—the fireworks.  As evening closed in, the
+    fatigue of the people rendered rest, as well as refreshment,
+    necessary, and every booth was, in a short time, crowded with eager
+    inquiries for eatables and drinkables.  The dancing booths were
+    crowded to suffocation, and the viands of the purveyors of grog were
+    soon put into requisition.”
+
+The next day was stormy and wet at first, but afterwards turned out fine,
+and the Fair was crowded.  On the third day, a booth caught fire, but no
+great damage was done.  On the fourth, and last day, the Queen drove as
+close to it as she well could do, and all the booths were cleared away
+that night.
+
+The Marquis of Waterford still continued his mad pranks, and he was
+brought before Mr. Dyer, the Magistrate at Marlborough Street, on 30
+June, charged with being drunk and disorderly in Piccadilly at 5 o’clock
+in the morning.
+
+Policeman Ellis, C 91, saw the Marquis, with two or three other persons
+and a woman in his cab, driving down the Haymarket, and committing the
+insane freak of making the foot pavement his road.  The policeman had no
+hope of overtaking the Marquis, from the speed at which his lordship was
+driving; he, however, followed as fast as he could, and, when the Marquis
+turned into Piccadilly, he saw his lordship again pull his horse on the
+pavement, and drive on, to the imminent danger of foot passengers.  The
+cab went against some posts, and this brought the horse to a standstill.
+The policeman ran up, and after much difficulty and opposition on the
+part of the Marquis’s friends, he succeeded in lodging his lordship in
+the station house.  His lordship was too drunk to allow his being
+enlarged on bail.
+
+In explanation, the Marquis said he had a young horse in his cab, which
+was very difficult to drive.  The animal, having a heavy load behind him,
+became unmanageable, and went, in spite of all he could do, on the
+pavement.
+
+The policeman, in the most positive manner, said he saw the Marquis pull
+his horse upon the foot pavement, and whip the animal to make him go the
+faster.
+
+The Marquis declared, “upon his honour,” he did not go more than five
+yards upon the pavement.
+
+The policeman declared the Marquis drove about 100 yards on the pavement
+in the Haymarket, and about 100 yards more upon the pavement in
+Piccadilly.  The concussion against the post was so great, that the woman
+was thrown six yards out of the cab.
+
+Marquis: I was thrown out myself.  The fact is, I consider this charge to
+be quite unwarranted.  No one was hurt, and the policeman exceeded his
+duty in taking me to the station house.
+
+Mr. Dyer: The policeman states you were intoxicated.
+
+Marquis: Why, I had been about all night, and I don’t think I was very
+sober.
+
+Policeman: You had your collar and shirt open, and your chest was quite
+exposed.
+
+Marquis: I was dressed just as I am at present.
+
+Policeman: Your coat is now buttoned up; it was not so when I took you in
+charge.  You said, when I took you, you would defy your brother to drive
+your horse.
+
+Marquis: I might have said so because none of my brothers are in town.
+But the horse is only four years old, has never had a collar on before,
+and I’ll defy any man to drive him the length of this street.
+
+Mr. Dyer: It was the more imprudent on your lordship’s part to bring such
+an unsafe animal into the public streets, especially at the present time,
+when the streets are more than usually thronged.  Have you any witnesses?
+
+Marquis: Yes, I can bring them, but I had rather not.
+
+Mr. Dyer: If they can allege anything in contradiction of the charge of
+wilful driving on the footpath, I am willing to hear it.
+
+Marquis: No.  It will be a fine, I suppose, and I had rather pay it than
+trouble my friends to come forward.  I’ll call my horse, if your Worship
+thinks proper.
+
+Mr. Dyer then inflicted a fine of 40s.
+
+The Marquis paid the money, and, turning to the policeman, made some
+unhandsome remarks on his evidence.
+
+Mr. Dyer said the policeman bore an excellent character, and, as far as
+the magistrates could judge, had always done his duty fairly and
+respectably.
+
+The Marquis took the arm of his friend, the Earl of Waldegrave, and left
+the office.
+
+We hear of him again very shortly afterwards, for on 31 July, at Derby
+assizes, came on an indictment charging the Marquis of Waterford, Sir F.
+Johnstone, Hon. A. C. H. Villiers, and E. H. Reynard, Esq., with a riot
+and assault.  On the 5th April were the Croxton Park races, about five
+miles distance from Melton Mowbray.  The four defendants had been dining
+out at Melton on the evening of that day; and about two in the morning of
+the following day, the watchmen on duty, hearing a noise, proceeded to
+the Market Place, and near Lord Rosebery’s house saw several gentlemen
+attempting to overturn a caravan, a man being inside; the watchmen
+succeeded in preventing this, when the Marquis of Waterford challenged
+one of them to fight, which the watchmen declined.  Subsequently, hearing
+a noise in the direction of the toll bar, they proceeded thither, and
+found the gate keeper had been screwed up in his house, and he had been
+calling out “Murder!”
+
+On coming up with the gentlemen a second time, it was observed that they
+had a pot of red paint with them, while one carried a paint brush, which
+one of the constables wrested from the hand of the person who held it;
+but, subsequently, they surrounded the man, threw him on his back, and
+painted his face and neck with red paint.  They then continued their
+games, painting the doors and windows of different persons; and, when one
+of their companions (Mr. Reynard) was put in the lock up, they forced the
+constable to give up the keys, and succeeded in getting him out.  The
+jury found the defendants (who were all identified as having taken part
+in the affray) guilty of the common assault, and they were sentenced to
+pay a fine of £100 each, and to be imprisoned till such fine be paid.
+
+Motor cars are not the modern invention we are apt to imagine them,
+except as regards the power used—which, until lately, was always steam.
+As far back as 1769, a Frenchman, named Cugnot, made a steam carriage
+which carried four people, and attained a speed of two and a quarter
+miles an hour!  But it was unfortunate to its inventor—for it came to
+grief in a street in Paris, and the unhappy man was imprisoned.  In
+England our engineers exercised their inventive power in making steam
+carriages—Murdock in 1782, Watt in 1784, Symington in 1786—and others
+made models, but the first which actually ran in England was made by
+Trevithick and Vivian in 1803, and this, in the streets of London (which
+were very far from being as good as they are now), attained a speed of
+eight or nine miles an hour.  Between the years 1827–34 there were
+numerous steam carriages built and tried, proving more or less
+successful.  One made by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney ran for three months in
+1831 with passengers between Cheltenham and Gloucester, while Hancock’s
+steam omnibuses (carrying 14 to 16 passengers) ran in London pretty
+constantly during the years 1833–36, and often at a speed of 10 or 12
+miles an hour; some of his coaches ran long journeys, such as from London
+to Brighton, and he was the most successful of all inventors in this
+line, unless we except Scott Russell, who, in 1834, ran six steam coaches
+between Glasgow and Paisley.
+
+We read in the _Standard_ of 21 June, 1838, that “Yesterday afternoon,
+Hyde Park presented a more than usually gay appearance, in consequence of
+a crowd of fashionables being assembled to witness the trial of a
+newly-constructed steam cab.  Among the many splendid equipages were
+observed those of the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland, the Marquis of
+Salisbury, the Marquis of Northampton, the Earl of Winchilsea, Lord
+Howick, Lord Holland, and many other distinguished personages.  About 3
+o’clock the object of attraction moved forward at a slow pace from the
+old Foot Guard Barracks, Knightsbridge, and threaded its way through the
+various vehicles into the Park, passing through the centre gate of the
+triumphal arch, and making, in the open space opposite the statue,
+several turns within its own length.  The vehicle after the date hereof,
+will render themselves liable to be hours round the Park, and, from the
+slight noise it made, the horses passing did not appear to be frightened.
+The average speed of the cab was about twelve miles an hour.  The vehicle
+was guided by Mr. Hancock, the inventor.”
+
+But, if mechanical science had advanced as far as motor cars, we were, in
+other ways, still as backward as Belgium and Germany are at the present,
+in using dogs as draught animals.  This practice had increased to such an
+extent that it was found necessary to placard the walls of the metropolis
+with the following notice.  “Notice is hereby given, that all persons
+using dogs under carts or trucks, as beasts of burden, after the date
+hereof, will render themselves liable to be prosecuted, and fined £2,
+according to the provisions of an obsolete Act lately discovered.
+London, 18 Aug., 1838.”  This scandal did not last long, for in “an Act
+for further improving the Police in and near the Metropolis,” 2 and 3
+Vict., c. 47 [17 Aug., 1839], we find that Section LVI. says, “And be it
+enacted, That after the First Day of _January_ next, every person who,
+within the Metropolitan Police District, shall use any Dog for the
+purpose of drawing, or helping to draw any Cart, Carriage, Truck, or
+Barrow, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than Forty Shillings for
+the first offence, and not more than Five Pounds for the Second, or any
+following offence.”  This act was extended to all parts of the Kingdom by
+the 17 and 18 Vict., c. 60.
+
+On the 13th July the Corporation of the City of London gave a grand
+banquet, at the Guildhall, to the foreign Princes, Ambassadors
+extraordinary, and _Corps Diplomatique_, then in the metropolis, in
+honour of the Queen’s Coronation; and in order to completely divest the
+occasion of anything like a political aspect, care was taken to invite,
+besides the Ministers, an equal number of the _élite_ of both parties in
+the State.  The principal guests went in their state carriages, and the
+streets were crowded with sightseers who especially welcomed the Duke of
+Wellington and Marshal Soult.  The arrangements and decorations in the
+Hall were almost the same as those used for the Royal banquet in the
+previous November, the tables and sideboards were ablaze with plate lent
+by the various City Companies, and the General Bill of Fare was as
+follows:
+
+One hundred and twenty tureens of turtle soup, of five pints each; 17
+dishes of fish, consisting of salmon, turbot, whitings, tench and eels;
+40 haunches of venison; 80 dishes of fowls, capons and pullets; 40
+cherry, gooseberry and currant tarts; 30 strawberry tarts; 40 dishes of
+potatos; 60 dishes of French beans; 30 French pies; 30 pigeon pies; 30
+hams; 30 tongues; 2 barons of beef; 37 Chantilly baskets; 30 dishes of
+peas; 10 sirloins, ribs and rumps of beef; 45 dishes of shell fish; 30
+ribs, chines and legs of lamb; 40 dishes of ducklings; 20 turkey poults;
+80 jellies; 20 creams; 40 salads and cucumbers; 20 dishes of
+cauliflowers.  DESSERT.—Seventy-five pine apples of 2lbs each; 100 dishes
+of hothouse grapes; 20 melons; 30 dishes of cherries; 100 dishes of
+strawberries; 40 dishes of currants and gooseberries; 120 cream and water
+ices, various; 40 dishes of dried fruit; 35 ornamented Savoy cakes; 30
+dishes of preserves, biscuits and olives.
+
+Marshal Soult stopped for some time in England, and visited many of the
+manufacturing towns.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+Genesis of “The Charter” - L. & N. W. Railway opened to
+Birmingham—Overland route to India—A bold smuggler—Bull baiting—Visitors
+to the Queen—“The Boy Jones.”
+
+Probably nearly all my readers have heard of the “Chartists,” but it is
+equally probable that few know when the agitation commenced, and the
+reason for its existence.  The “Charter,” as it was called, was the
+Radical outcome of the Reform Bill of 1832.  For a time, after the
+passing of that Bill, the land had peace, for all reasonable reforms had
+been granted, but the demagogues were not going to be quietly
+annihilated, and an agitation for more trenchant reform was got up, and a
+mass meeting in its favour was held at Birmingham, on the 6th of August,
+and at it were inaugurated the principles of “The People’s Charter,” as
+it was called.  It is currently reported that this “Charter” was drawn up
+by William Lovett, a carpenter and cabinet maker, who took an active part
+in getting rid of the stamp tax upon newspapers; and it is very likely
+that it was so, for he drew up most of the petitions and addresses for
+the movement, and, in connection with it, he, the following year,
+suffered 12 months’ imprisonment.  He died Aug. 1877.  The demands of
+this “Charter” were six, and they were familiarly known as the six
+points.  They were:
+
+    Universal Suffrage.
+    Vote by Ballot.
+    Annual Parliaments.
+    Payment of the Members.
+    Abolition of the Property Qualification.
+    Equal Electoral Districts.
+
+The meeting was got up by T. Atwood, Esq., M.P., and the site chosen for
+it was a large vacant piece of ground, at Birmingham, on the north-west
+side of the town, and there drinking booths galore were erected.  The
+morning began very wet, and the different divisions from the neighbouring
+country marched bemired and bedraggled to the rendezous.  There they soon
+filled the drinking booths, in which they abode; hence, probably, the
+very diverse statements as to the numbers present at the meeting, which
+vary from 10,000 to 200,000.  The ground chosen was a natural
+amphitheatre, and, if the weather had been finer, it would have been a
+pretty sight, enlivened by the bright banners of the different Trades’
+Societies.  However, Mr. Atwood read the Petition, which embodied the
+above six points, and moved its adoption.  Feargus O’Connor, a well-known
+firebrand, seconded it in a violent speech, in which occurred the
+following balderdash.
+
+   “On with your green standard rearing,
+      Go, flesh every sword to the hilt;
+   On our side is Virtue and Erin,
+      On yours is the _parson_ and guilt.”
+
+Of course the Motion was enthusiastically carried, and then a very heavy
+shower of rain terminated the proceedings.  The petition was afterwards
+presented to Parliament by Mr. Atwood on the 14th of June, 1839.
+
+On 17th Sept the London and North Western Railway (then called the London
+and Birmingham Rly.) was opened throughout to Birmingham; the first
+train, containing Directors and their friends, leaving Euston at 7.15
+a.m.  The times of this train are useful for comparing with the present
+time.  “The train left Euston at 15 minutes past 7, but did not take on
+locomotive until 20 minutes past.  It arrived at Tring station at 25
+minutes past 8, where there was five minutes’ delay.  Arrived at
+Wolverton at 6 minutes past 9, where the directors alighted and changed
+engines.  The train arrived at Rugby at 11 o’clock, where the Duke of
+Sussex and his suite alighted, and proceeded by carriage to the place of
+his destination.  The directors remained at Rugby 10 minutes, and arrived
+at Birmingham 3 minutes past 12, having performed the whole journey,
+including stoppages, in 4 hours 48 minutes, and, exclusive of stoppages,
+in 4 hours 14 minutes.  This is, unquestionably, the shortest time in
+which the journey from London to Birmingham has ever been performed,
+being upwards of two hours less than the time occupied by Marshal Soult
+and attendants a few weeks ago.”
+
+“The fare for one person from London to Birmingham, or back, by the ‘four
+inside’ carriages, by day, or the first class, ‘six inside’ by night,
+will be £1 12s. 6d; by the second-class carriages, open by day, which is
+the cheapest, it will be £1.  The intermediate fares will be £1 10s. and
+£1 5s.”
+
+It is not generally known that the two lodges at the entrance of Euston
+Station, were the original ticket office and waiting room.
+
+People were beginning to wake from the torpor in which they had hitherto
+slumbered, with regard to locomotion, and on 12th October an influential
+meeting of merchants and others was held at the Jerusalem Coffee House to
+hear a Captain Barber unfold his scheme for a quicker communication with
+India.  This was that passengers and goods should be taken by steam to
+Cairo, and thence, by omnibuses and vans to Suez—as was afterwards done
+by Waghorn, who was already forming an Overland Mail (see _Times_, 29
+Nov., 1838).
+
+With the very heavy duties on foreign goods, of course smuggling was very
+rife, and the Inland Revenue was defrauded on every possible occasion by
+the sharp wits opposed to it; and the difficulty of conviction, unless
+the smuggler was caught red-handed, was very considerable.  The following
+is a case in point, and for sheer impudence, it bears the palm.  17 Oct.:
+
+    MANSION HOUSE.—A Scotchwoman, named Frances Bodmore, the wife of a
+    Frenchman, who has been engaged in smuggling, appeared to answer for
+    her husband, on a charge of having two two-gallon bottles of French
+    brandy in his possession, without having paid the duty thereon.
+
+    Child, the constable, said he went into the house of the Frenchman,
+    in Sugarloaf Court; and, while searching for other things, found the
+    bottles under the pillows of the bed.
+
+    The Lord Mayor: Why don’t your husband attend?
+
+    Woman: Why, because he knows nothing at all about the business.  I
+    think he’d be a great fool to come here without knowing for what.
+
+    The Lord Mayor: How do you get your living?
+
+    Woman: Why, as well as I can.  I don’t get it without running some
+    risk for it, you may depend.
+
+    The Lord Mayor: We know you to be a consummate smuggler.
+
+    Woman: Whatever my business may be, I generally get through it like a
+    trump.  There’s no nonsense about me.
+
+    The Lord Mayor (to the Revenue officer): She is constantly backward
+    and forward between this and France, I daresay.
+
+    Woman: Yes, my Lord, I travel a good deal for the benefit of my
+    health, and I always come back stouter than I go.  (Laughter.)
+
+    Officer: She’s perfectly well known, my Lord, as one of a number that
+    are commissioned by parties in London.  They are all very clever, and
+    elude us in every possible way, and the steamers afford them great
+    facilities.
+
+    The Lord Mayor: I can’t send this woman to prison, and she knows it
+    well, but I shall punish every experienced smuggler I catch as
+    severely as I can.  They cheat the fair trader, they endanger the
+    vessel in which they come over, and they cheat the Government.
+
+    Woman: Ay, my Lord, that’s the cleverest thing of all.  Only think of
+    cheating the Government!  Well, well, I wonder where the villainy of
+    man will end!  (Laughter.)
+
+    The Lord Mayor: Take care of yourself.  You think you are secure.
+    You may go now.
+
+    Woman: Good morning, my Lord.  Although you are so kind, I hope I
+    shall never have the pleasure of seeing your face again.
+
+    The Lord Mayor was informed that great quantities of lace were
+    brought over by women.  Some had been found stitched up in the skins
+    of wildfowl, and there was scarcely an article, dead or alive, that
+    was not suspected of being a depository of contraband goods.  It was
+    but a short time ago, that a wretched-looking object was discovered
+    to be the carrier of a large stock of lace.  He had an old bedstead,
+    which, in his trips to Boulogne, he used to take with him.  At last,
+    somebody on board expressed his surprise, why a ricketty piece of
+    furniture, which looked as if it was the tenement of living animals,
+    should be so frequent a passenger.  Upon close examination, it was
+    found that the several pieces of the bedstead had been hollowed and
+    stuffed with lace.
+
+The cruel old English sport of bull baiting was still continued at
+Stamford, in Lincolnshire, where it is said to have existed since the
+year 1209, in the reign of King John.  The story goes that, in that year,
+William, Earl Warren, lord of the town, standing on the walls of his
+castle, saw two bulls fighting for a cow, in the castle meadow, till all
+the butchers dogs pursued one of the bulls (maddened by the noise and
+multitude) clean through the town.  This sight so pleased the Earl, that
+he gave the castle meadow, where the bulls’ duel began, for a common, to
+the butchers of the town, after the first grass was mown, on condition
+that they should find a mad bull the day six weeks before Christmas
+Day—for the continuation of that sport, for ever.
+
+But the time had come for putting an end to this barbarous practice, and
+it was this year put down by direct interference of the Secretary of
+State.  At Stamford, and elsewhere, it was believed that this bull
+baiting was legal, being established by custom; but the Society for the
+Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with a view of setting the question at
+rest by the decision of the Court of Queen’s Bench, caused an indictment
+to be preferred against several of the ringleaders.  The indictment was
+tried at Lincoln, before Mr. Justice Park and a special jury, when
+several of them were found guilty; and, upon their being brought up for
+judgment in the Court of Queen’s Bench, the Court unanimously declared
+the practice to be illegal; the Chief Justice, in particular, said: “It
+was supposed there was some matter of law—at first, there was a supposed
+old Charter—for the future, it must be considered as an illegal
+practice.”
+
+In consequence of this decision, a troop of the 14th Dragoons, together
+with 12 Metropolitan policemen, were sent into the town of Stamford.
+Placards, apprising the public of the illegality of the bull baiting,
+were posted in the town and neighbourhood, and the threatened and
+attempted repetition of this barbarous scene was prevented without any
+loss of life or serious injury.  The _bullards_ (as they were called)
+mustered in strong numbers.  They had provided two fierce bulls to be
+hunted and tormented; but the bulls were seized and pounded by the
+police; and, although the ruffian mob remained in considerable numbers,
+no serious breach of the peace took place.  But they were determined not
+to be altogether baulked of their _sport_; for a bull calf, enclosed in a
+cart, and followed by its lowing mother, entered the town, and was
+immediately seized on as a substitute for a bull.  It was taken out, and
+hunted through the town for some time, until rescued by the police.
+
+Every lunatic seems to have wanted to say something to the young Queen,
+and visitors to Buckingham Palace were very frequent, although the object
+of their wishes was never attained.  To show the nuisance involved by
+these fools let me give one paragraph out of the _Times_, 19 Dec.:
+
+    VISITORS TO HER MAJESTY.—On Saturday night, about 9 o’clock, a very
+    respectably dressed young man rang the bell at the tradesmen’s
+    entrance of the new Palace, and, upon being asked the nature of his
+    business, he said he had come for the direction of his house, as he
+    was tired, and wished to go home.  Upon being asked to explain
+    himself, he said he had just come from Sydney, and had been desired
+    to call at the Palace by the Queen, who told him he should have a
+    house to live in, and £150 a year, for some very important spiritual
+    communication he had made to her.  The young man, whose every action
+    showed he was a lunatic, was then told the Queen was not in town,
+    when he turned away, observing that he would go immediately to Lord
+    Hill, and lay his case before him.  Visits of the preceding kind are
+    very frequent at the Palace, and the tales told by the visitants are
+    of the very strangest nature.  It is only a few weeks since, an
+    elderly man, having the appearance of a farmer, called at the Palace,
+    and handing to the porter the certificate of his birth, requested him
+    to let Her Majesty sign it.  From inquiries made concerning this man,
+    it was discovered that he was a respectable farmer in the
+    neighbourhood of Exeter, from which distant place he had wandered on
+    so strange an errand.
+
+But of all visitors to the Royal Palace, THE BOY JONES was the most
+frequent and successful.  Who, in this generation, knows anything about
+THE BOY JONES?  Yet his escapades were very daring and his story is very
+true—but so strange is it that, in order to be believed, I must, at
+least, in part, give the chapter and verse for it:
+
+_The Times_, 15 Dec.:
+
+    QUEEN SQUARE.—Yesterday, a lad about 15 years of age, who gave his
+    name as Edward Cotton, whose dress was that of a sweep, but who was
+    stated to be the son of a respectable tradesman in Hertfordshire, was
+    charged with being found in the Marble hall of Buckingham Palace,
+    under circumstances of an extraordinary nature.  It should be stated
+    that Buckingham Palace, even during the absence of the Queen, is
+    guarded by the gentlemen porters of the establishment, two inspectors
+    of the A division of police, and sentries from the Foot Guards.  In
+    spite of this, a number of cases have lately occurred at this office,
+    where persons have been found in the interior of the Palace under
+    unaccountable circumstances.
+
+    George Cox, one of the porters, having been sworn, said, that at five
+    o’clock yesterday morning he saw the prisoner in the Marble hall.
+    The latter endeavoured to make his escape into the lobby, but he
+    pursued him, and he then took a contrary direction, across the lawn
+    at the back of the Palace.  Witness called for the sentry at the
+    gate, and a policeman of the B Division who was on duty in James
+    Street, caught the lad, after a long chase over the lawn.  Mr. Cox
+    added, that he found, in the lobby, a regimental sword, a quantity of
+    linen, and other articles, all of which had been purloined from the
+    Palace.  The sword was the property of the Hon. Augustus Murray, a
+    gentleman attached to the Queen’s establishment.  Witness went into
+    that gentleman’s bedroom, and the bedding was covered with soot.  The
+    prisoner had, evidently, endeavoured to get up the chimney, in order
+    to effect his escape; there was a valuable likeness of Her Majesty,
+    in the Marble hall, which was broken, and covered with soot; and it
+    was supposed that the lad, in the first instance, had descended from
+    the top of the building, and had endeavoured to make his way back
+    again in the same manner.
+
+    James Stone, 31 B, deposed that he was called upon by the last
+    witness to secure the prisoner.  There were marks of soot in several
+    of the bedchambers, as well as in one of the corridors of the Palace,
+    and the Grand (or Marble) hall.  He found upon him two letters, one
+    addressed to Her Majesty, and the other to the Hon. Mr. Murray.
+    These letters had been placed underneath Her Majesty’s portrait, and
+    had, no doubt, been taken by the prisoner at the time the picture was
+    destroyed.  Part of the scabbard of the sword was discovered in one
+    of the beds, and a quantity of bear’s grease, part of which he had
+    placed upon his flesh, was taken from him—it belonged to one of the
+    servants of the Palace.  Upon being taken to the station house, he
+    said he came from Hertfordshire, and that his father was a
+    respectable man.
+
+    Mr. White, the sitting magistrate, observed that it was a most
+    extraordinary thing that persons could get into the Palace under such
+    circumstances.
+
+    Several persons belonging to the Palace said that every inquiry had
+    been made, but it could not be accounted for.
+
+    Mr. White (to the prisoner): Where do you come from?
+
+    Prisoner: I came from Hertfordshire 12 months ago, and I met with a
+    man in a fustian jacket, who asked me to go with him to Buckingham
+    House.  I went, and have been there ever since.  I got my victuals in
+    the kitchen, and I thought myself very well off, because I came to
+    London to better myself.
+
+    Mr. White: Well, you could not go to a higher place.
+
+    Prisoner: I declare it to be the case, and I lived very well.  To be
+    sure, I was obliged to wash my shirt now and then.
+
+    Mr. White: You fared, then, altogether, pretty well?
+
+    Prisoner: Very well indeed, Sir, and I was always placed, when the
+    Queen had a meeting with the Ministers, behind a piece of furniture
+    in the room; but I, certainly, did live well.
+
+    Mr. White: Indeed!  And which was your favourite apartment?
+
+    Prisoner: The room in front of the gardens; but I was always in the
+    secret when the Ministers came.
+
+    Mr. White: Do you mean to tell me that you have lived in the Palace
+    upwards of 11 months, and been concealed when Her Majesty held a
+    Council?
+
+    Prisoner: I do.
+
+    Mr. White: Were you hid behind a chair?
+
+    Prisoner: No.  But the tables and other furniture concealed me.
+
+    Mr. White: Then you could hear all Her Majesty said?
+
+    Prisoner: Oh, yes! and her Ministers too.
+
+    The prisoner’s answers to the questions of the magistrate were given
+    in the most shrewd manner possible, and he evidently appeared to be a
+    lad of some education, but nothing further could be elicited from
+    him.
+
+    Mr. White said it was a most singular affair, and that it should be
+    strictly inquired into.  For the present, he should remand the
+    prisoner until Wednesday next.  The magistrate also told Cox that, as
+    he should be sitting there every day, he should be glad to receive
+    any information upon the subject.
+
+    The letters found upon the prisoner were directed to be sent to the
+    Palace, under seal of the Office, the prisoner having broken them
+    open.
+
+The case excited great interest, and, in the first instance, was sent to
+Bow Street; but Sir Frederick Roe being out of town, it was ordered to be
+heard at this office.
+
+    _The Times_, 20 Dec.—Yesterday, the lad found in Buckingham Palace,
+    who had given his name as Edward Cotton, and described himself as the
+    son of a respectable tradesman living in the town of Hertford, was
+    brought before Messrs. White and Gregorie for final examination.  It
+    will be recollected that he had purloined, amongst other articles,
+    two letters, which were immediately sealed up, and sent back to the
+    Palace.  The prisoner turns out to be the son of an industrious
+    tailor, named Jones, residing in York Street, Westminster; and, it
+    appears, had frequently expressed his intention to enter the Palace,
+    under any circumstances.  He had often stated that he wished to see
+    the grand staircase, in order to take a sketch of it, and had often
+    expressed his determination to see the Queen, and to hear her
+    sentiments when Her Majesty and her Ministers were assembled in
+    Council.
+
+    Frederick Blume now deposed that he was valet to the Hon. Mr. Murray,
+    and that a sword, a quantity of linen and other articles, had been
+    stolen from that gentleman’s apartments in the Palace.
+
+    Mr. White: When were they stolen?
+
+    Witness: I can’t recollect.
+
+    Mr. White: Was it a week, a month, or three or four months ago?
+
+    Witness: I cannot say.
+
+    Mr. White: Where was your master’s sword at the time you saw it last?
+
+    Witness: When I went to Windsor.
+
+    Mr. White: When was that?
+
+    Witness: I cannot exactly recollect, and then he added, that about a
+    week since, he had sent from Windsor to the Palace, a portmanteau
+    containing his linen, and three pairs of trousers, four of stockings,
+    and three cravats were missing.  The padlock of the portmanteau had
+    been forced by the sword having been applied to it.  The sword had
+    broken in the attempt.  He had also lost five 10 sous pieces, which
+    had been found upon the prisoner.
+
+    Mr. White: What is the value of the articles you have lost?
+
+    Witness: I don’t know; but I should like to give three guineas to get
+    them back.
+
+    Mr. White: Can you swear to the French coin found upon the prisoner
+    as being yours?
+
+    The witness was then shown the coin, and he said that he certainly
+    could.  They had been taken from his bedroom.
+
+                                  * * * * *
+
+    Mr. White: Can any information be given as to the manner in which the
+    prisoner gained access to the Palace?  Cox, one of the porters to the
+    Palace, said that the principal entrance door was always locked, and
+    the key in his possession.  At 5 o’clock on Saturday morning, just as
+    he was about to get out of bed, the prisoner opened the door of his
+    room, as witness considered, to obtain the key; his face and hands
+    were disguised with soot and bear’s grease, and he was asked whether
+    he came to sweep a chimney: he did not make any answer, but
+    endeavoured to escape.
+
+    Inspector Steed, A division, said that upon examining the gates of
+    the principal entrance of the Palace, he found that, at the Marble
+    Arch, there was a vacuum sufficient to admit a boy into the Palace,
+    without any inconvenience.
+
+    Mr. White: And is there no sentry at this gate?
+
+    Witness: There are two.
+
+    The inspector said that he had examined the boy’s boots, and the
+    gravel upon them corresponded with that lately laid down close to the
+    Marble Arch.  The boots had been taken off by the prisoner, and left
+    in one of the apartments appropriated to the use of the porters of
+    the Palace.
+
+    Mr. Griffiths, builder, Coventry Street, said that the lad had been
+    in his employment for a few months; he had always expressed his
+    intention to get into the interior of the Palace by some means or
+    other; he was a clever lad, and had made a sketch of the exterior,
+    and a view of the enclosure fronting the Palace.  He had left his
+    service two days since, and witness was very much distressed, as were
+    his parents, to know what had become of him.  Upon reading the
+    accounts in the newspapers, he immediately went to Tothill Fields,
+    and identified him, much to the gratification of his father, who
+    supposed that he had drowned himself, the latter having, on account
+    of his son’s bad conduct, turned him out of doors.
+
+    The Magistrate, after telling the boy that he would, most likely, be
+    committed for trial, asked him what he could say in his defence.
+
+    Prisoner: I wished to see the Palace, and I went in with a man in a
+    fustian jacket.  I had the whole range of the Palace for a day or
+    two, but the money found upon me I picked up in one of the rooms.
+
+    Mr. White: Tell me the truth, for I am about to send you for trial.
+
+    Prisoner: Oh, very well; with all my heart.
+
+    He was fully committed to the Westminster Sessions, and all parties
+    bound over to prosecute.
+
+He was tried on 28 Dec., and was most ably defended by his Counsel, Mr.
+Prendergast, who turned everything to ridicule, and the jury returned a
+verdict of Not Guilty, regarding the escapade in the light of a youthful
+folly, and being, also, mindful of the fact that the boy did not enter
+the Palace for the purpose of theft.
+
+But we shall hear of THE BOY JONES again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+Death of Lord Norbury—Birth of photography—Experimental street
+pavements—Forecast of the Queen’s marriage—Sad story of Lady Flora
+Hastings—Story of a climbing boy—Van Amburgh—Embanking the
+Thames—Victoria Park—Robbery of gold dust.
+
+In a book, professedly of Gossip, politics should be strictly kept in the
+background—but at this time Ireland was seething with sedition.  Still I
+should hardly have adverted to it, had not the deliberate and brutal
+murder of the Earl of Norbury, on 1 Jan., set all tongues wagging.  His
+Lordship was walking in the shrubbery, near his own house at Kilbeggan,
+in the county of Meath, talking to his steward, and pointing out to him
+some trees he wished to have cut down, when some miscreant, behind a
+hedge, fired a blunder-buss loaded with swan shot at him, and he fell,
+mortally wounded.  He lived for 43 hours afterwards—but his assassin ran
+away and escaped; nor, in spite of large rewards offered, was he ever
+discovered.
+
+Photography may be said to have been practically born early in this year,
+for, on 7 Jan., the French Academy reported on the invention of M.
+Daguerre, by which the pictures of the camera lucida were rendered
+permanent.  All former attempts may be regarded as scientific
+dilletanteism and nothing more.  The earliest known pictures caused by
+light on a sensitive surface were made by Thomas Wedgwood (a son of
+Josiah, the famous potter), whose researches were published in 1802 in
+the _Journal of the Royal Institution_, under the title: “An account of a
+Method of copying Paintings upon Glass, and making Profiles by the agency
+of Light upon Nitrate of Silver: with Observations by H. Davy.”
+Afterwards, came Nicephore Niepce, of Châlon sur Saône, who produced
+permanent light pictures in 1814, and he and Daguerre went into
+partnership in this matter, in 1829.  Fox Talbot was the first to invent
+a negative photograph, and he read a paper on “Photogenic Drawings”
+before the Royal Society, on 31 Jan., this year; and that scientific
+investigation of the new wonder excited the attention, even of amateurs,
+is shown by a letter in the _Times_ of 21 Feb.:
+
+“SIR,—Seeing in a newspaper, last week, that a German had found out M.
+Daguerre’s secret, I was so impressed with that testimony to the
+possibility of _seizing a shadow_, that I thought over all the little I
+knew of light, colours and chymistry.  The next day, I took a piece of
+writing paper, hastily prepared by myself, placed it behind the lens of a
+_camera obscura_, made on the spur of the moment, and obtained a
+satisfactory result; for the trees, in front of my house, were produced,
+but not the parts agitated by the wind.  Since that, I have obtained,
+progressively improving, several landscapes, which may be called, most
+appositely, ‘lucigraphs.’  I mention my humble effort as corroborative of
+the reality, or feasibility of M. Daguerre’s beautiful discovery; and I
+can readily conceive that, in a very short time, the traveller’s
+portmanteau will not be complete without the very portable means of
+procuring a lucigraph at pleasure.—Yours, etc., CLERICUS, Welney,
+Wisbeach.”  This gentleman’s prophecy has, long since, been verified, as
+the “Kodakers” all over the world can testify.  But the first public
+experiment in England (if we exclude Wedgwood’s) was made, on Sept. 13,
+1839, when M. St. Croix exhibited the whole process of Daguerreotype, in
+presence of a select party of scientific men and artists.  He also
+succeeded in producing a picture of the place of meeting; No. 7,
+Piccadilly.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+People were beginning to wake up as to social improvements, and the
+better paving of, at least, the most public thoroughfares, was loudly
+called for.  Hitherto people had been content with the old cobble stones,
+and wide kennels, or gutters—but henceforth there was to be inaugurated a
+newer and better _régime_, as we learn from the _Observer_ of 6 Jan.:
+
+    “EXPERIMENTAL PAVEMENT OF OXFORD STREET.—This, doubtless, the most
+    extraordinary and novel undertaking which has ever been attempted in
+    the annals of road making, is, to the gratification, not only to the
+    respectable inhabitants of Oxford Street, but to a curious public, at
+    last, completed.  On Friday (4 Jan.) at 2 o’clock, the line of this
+    great thoroughfare, occupied by the various specimens of paving,
+    extending from Charles Street to Tottenham Court Road, presented a
+    most animated spectacle, being thronged by thousands of spectators
+    anxious to witness its opening to the public.  Shortly after 2
+    o’clock, the Paving Committee appointed by the Marylebone Vestry to
+    superintend the arrangement of this work of art, headed by the parish
+    beadles, in full uniform, with their maces; and accompanied by the
+    respective projectors and the parochial authorities, arrived on the
+    spot in procession, and passed over the ground, followed by 21
+    omnibuses, after which, the road was thrown open to the public.  From
+    time to time, during the progress of the work, many erroneous
+    statements have gone the rounds of our daily contemporaries, with
+    respect to the extent of ground allotted to the experiments, and on
+    other matters connected with the arrangements.  The following,
+    however, being obtained from an official source, may be fully relied
+    upon as correct: The whole space between Charles Street and Tottenham
+    Court Road is occupied by 12 different specimens, which are completed
+    in the following order, commencing at Charles Street: viz.—40 feet of
+    Robinson’s Parisian bitumen—24 feet laid in straight courses, and 16
+    feet diagonally; 74 feet of parish stone paving, 54 feet of which is
+    laid in straight courses, the stones 9 inches deep, and the
+    interstices filled up with Claridge’s asphalte; the remaining 20 feet
+    consisting of stones only 4½ inches deep, but laid diagonally, and
+    filled up with the same composition; 60 feet of the Bastenne and
+    Gaujac bitumen, partly laid in straight courses, and partly
+    diagonally: 135 feet of parish stone paving, divided into three
+    sections, in the following order—1st, 70 feet of dressed Aberdeen
+    granite, with concrete bottom, and the joints grouted with lime and
+    sand; 2nd, 40 feet of the same, laid diagonally; and 3rd, 25 feet of
+    dressed Aberdeen granite, without concrete bottom, the joints filled
+    in with fine gravel; this is followed by 50 feet of the Scotch
+    asphaltum, which is entirely the produce of this country, laid down
+    in straight courses: 60 feet of Mr. Stead’s pavement, of wooden
+    blocks, of a sexagonal form, 12 inches deep, divided into three
+    compartments, one prepared with Kyan’s patent, part dipped in, and
+    joints run with asphalte, and part without any preparation whatever:
+    the last specimen, at Tottenham Court Road, is 60 feet of the Val de
+    Travers bitumen, a portion of which consists of square blocks, laid
+    in straight courses, and the remainder consisting of a layer of clean
+    Guernsey chippings cemented together by boiling asphalte, run among
+    them nearly to the surface, and a face made with asphalte, merely
+    showing the chippings, here and there, in patches.  The whole work
+    presents a most even and beautiful road, and, yesterday, during the
+    day, attracted the notice of many hundreds of persons.  The portion,
+    however, it is but justice to add, to which attention was more
+    particularly directed, was that of the wooden blocks, the noiseless
+    tendency of which, made the vehicles passing along, appear to be
+    rolling over a thick carpet or rug.  The time allowed by the Vestry
+    of St. Marylebone for the test of these experiments, is until the
+    last Saturday of June next, when the official report of the surveyors
+    will be laid before that body, and upon which the fate of Oxford
+    Street depends.”
+
+People began to feel that it was high time that the Queen should
+marry—but, as yet, no signs of such a thing, and no speculations, as far
+as I can see, were hazarded as to who her future consort should be.  At
+length, one newspaper, the _Sun_, seems to have been inspired, by
+authority, and is thus quoted in the _Times_ of 24 Jan.:—“‘MARRIAGE OF
+HER MAJESTY.—The country will learn with delight that the most
+interesting part of the speech from the throne {81a} to both Houses of
+Parliament, and the country at large, will be the announcement of Her
+Majesty’s intended marriage.  The happy object of Queen Victoria’s choice
+is Prince Albert, son of the reigning Duke of Saxe Coburg, and cousin of
+Her Majesty.  Prince Albert is handsome, and about 22 years of age.  He
+has resided, for some time, in this country, on a visit to his Royal
+relatives.  How soon the happy event is to take place, we are not
+prepared to say, but our readers may depend upon the authenticity of our
+information.’—_The Sun_.  Has not some wag been hoaxing the editor?  We
+suspect so, though, at the same time, we do not profess to have any
+knowledge on the subject.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Indeed, it was about time that the Queen married, and got out of the
+leading strings of the women folk who surrounded her.  Had she been
+married, we should, probably, have never heard of the sad episode of Lady
+Flora Hastings.
+
+This lady, who was highly accomplished, and the authoress of some pretty
+poems, {81b} which were published after her death, was the eldest
+daughter of Francis, Marquis of Hastings, and Flora, Countess of Loudon,
+and was lady of the bedchamber to the Duchess of Kent.  Two old
+busybodies, the Ladies Portman and Tavistock, spread the vile and
+unfounded rumour that the unfortunate lady was _enceinte_, and the Queen
+forbade Lady Flora to appear at Court until she had submitted to the
+indignity of a medical examination.  The case called forth some very
+strong feeling—and a vast quantity of correspondence was published on the
+subject, especially the indignant letters of the poor lady’s mother to
+the Queen; but, perhaps, the most temperate account of the whole affair,
+is in a letter from Lady Flora’s uncle, Mr. Hamilton Fitzgerald, which
+was published in the _Examiner_ of Sunday, 24th of March, and,
+afterwards, copied into all the daily papers.
+
+    “SIR,—Many false and contradictory reports of the deplorable insult
+    which has been lately offered to my niece, Lady Flora Hastings, at
+    Buckingham Palace, having appeared in the public papers, I, as her
+    ladyship’s nearest connection, feel it my duty to request of you to
+    publish the following account of the transaction, for the correctness
+    of which I vouch.
+
+    “Lady Flora arrived, some weeks since, from Scotland, very unwell.
+    She immediately consulted Sir James Clark, the physician to both Her
+    Majesty and the Duchess of Kent.  One symptom of her complaint was a
+    swelling of the stomach.  By dint of exercise and medical treatment,
+    she was getting better; the swelling had considerably subsided, and
+    she had every hope of a speedy recovery; when, on or about the 1st of
+    March, Sir James Clark went to her room, and announced to her the
+    conviction of the ladies of the Palace that she was pregnant.  In
+    answer to all his exhortations to confession, ‘as the only means of
+    saving her character,’ Lady Flora returned an indignant, but steady
+    denial that there was anything to confess.  Upon which, Sir James
+    Clark told her, ‘that nothing but her submitting to a medical
+    examination would ever satisfy them, or remove the stigma from her
+    name.’  Lady Flora found that the subject had been brought before the
+    Queen’s notice, and that all this had been discussed, arranged and
+    denounced to her, without one word having been said on the subject to
+    her own mistress, the Duchess of Kent; who had no suspicion of what
+    was going on, and whose sanction was not sought for the humiliating
+    proposition which had been made to Lady Flora.  On leaving Lady
+    Flora’s room, Sir James Clark went to the Duchess of Kent, and
+    announced his conviction that Lady Flora was with child; and was
+    followed by Lady Portman, who conveyed a message from Her Majesty to
+    her mother, that the Queen would not permit Lady Flora to appear till
+    the examination had taken place.  Lady Portman (who, with Lady
+    Tavistock, are mentioned as most active against Lady Flora) expressed
+    to the Duchess of Kent, her conviction of Lady Flora’s guilt.
+
+    “‘Her beloved mistress’ never, for a moment, doubted Lady Flora’s
+    innocence.  She said that she knew her, her principles, and her
+    family too well to listen to such a charge.  However, the edict was
+    given; and, the next day, Lady Flora having obtained the Duchess of
+    Kent’s very reluctant consent—‘for Her Royal Highness could not bear
+    the idea of her being exposed to such a humiliation’—but, Lady Flora,
+    ‘feeling it her duty to Her Royal Highness, to herself, and to her
+    family, that a point blank refutation should be instantly given to
+    the lie,’ submitted herself to the most rigid examination; and now
+    possesses a certificate, signed by Sir James Clark, and also by Sir
+    Charles Clark, stating, as strongly as language can state it, that
+    there are no grounds for believing that pregnancy does exist, or ever
+    has existed.  Lord Hastings, though, at the time very ill from
+    influenza, went to London immediately, and demanded, and obtained,
+    from Lord Melbourne, a distinct disavowal of his participation in the
+    affair; and demanded, and obtained, an audience of Her Majesty, in
+    which, while he disclaimed all idea that the Queen had any wish to
+    injure his sister, he plainly, though respectfully, stated his
+    opinion of those who had counselled her, and his resolution to find
+    out the originator of the slander, and bring him, or her, to
+    punishment.  Lady Flora is convinced that the Queen was surprised
+    into the order which was given, and that Her Majesty did not
+    understand what she was betrayed into; for, ever since the horrid
+    event, Her Majesty has shown her regret by the most gracious kindness
+    to Lady Flora, and expressed it warmly, with ‘tears in her eyes.’
+
+    “The Duchess of Kent’s conduct was perfect; ‘a mother could not have
+    been kinder.’  ‘She immediately dismissed Sir James Clark from her
+    service, and refused to see Lady Portman’; and has crowned her
+    goodness by a most beautiful letter she has written to the Dowager
+    Lady Hastings, from whom the accounts were kept, till all hope of
+    avoiding publicity was impossible.”
+
+Her brother, the Marquis of Hastings, was indefatigable in trying to
+unearth the promoters of the scandal, but, from the published letters,
+without much result; but the unfortunate affair involved the whole Court,
+for a time, in unpopularity—Lady Loudon, her mother, demanded from the
+Queen, Sir James Clark’s dismissal, but was not successful.  Meantime,
+the object of all this agitation, after resuming, for a time, the duties
+of her situation, grew gradually worse, and, at length, expired, on the
+5th July, at the age of 33.  By the desire of Lord Hastings, a _post
+mortem_ examination of the body took place, the particulars of which,
+attested by five of the most eminent surgeons of the metropolis, were
+published in the papers, and fully established the unfortunate lady’s
+complete innocence of the charge brought against her, the cause of death
+being clearly shown to be enlargement of the liver.
+
+Lady Flora’s remains were removed from the palace, at an early hour in
+the morning, to be conveyed, by steamboat, to Scotland.  Even as early as
+two o’clock, a considerable number of spectators were assembled, which
+increased in every street through which the procession passed.  Four
+Royal carriages, including those of the Queen and the Queen Dowager, and
+many belonging to the nobility, accompanied the hearse.  Lady Flora’s
+body was interred, on the 15th of July, in the family vault at Loudon,
+Ayrshire.
+
+There were many books and pamphlets published with regard to this affair,
+among which were her mother’s letters to the Queen: “The Lady Flora
+Hastings, a Brief Sketch”—“A Warning to the Baroness Lehzen, {84}
+etc.”—“The Palace Martyr, a Satire”—“The Dangers of Evil Council,
+etc.”—“A Dirge on the Death of Lady Flora Hastings”—“The late Lady Flora
+Hastings: Statements of the Marquis of Hastings, etc.”—“The Victim of
+Scandal.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+At the time of which I write, climbing boys were still employed to sweep
+chimneys, and as a sample of the manner in which they were treated by
+their masters, I give the following police case.  25 Jan.:
+
+    MARLBOROUGH STREET.—Henry Riddle, foreman to Robert Towser, a chimney
+    sweep, appeared before the magistrates on a summons charging him
+    under the 4 & 5 Wil. IV., c. 35, with the following act of cruelty
+    towards James Arnold, a boy about 12 years of age, and who, for some
+    time past, had been in Towser’s employ.
+
+    Mr. Rice, a baker, of 31, Up. Seymour St., Portman Sq., deposed that,
+    on the afternoon of the 18th instant, his kitchen chimney, by some
+    accident, caught fire; and, in consequence of information thereof
+    being communicated to the defendant Riddle, he, soon afterwards, came
+    to the house, bringing with him the boy Arnold, whom he, at once,
+    desired to ascend, notwithstanding that the lighted soot was, at the
+    time, coming down into the grate in large flakes.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: Did you remonstrate with Riddle upon the inhumanity of
+    his conduct?
+
+    Complainant: I did, and begged of him not to send the boy up, as he
+    would, inevitably, be suffocated; to which he replied, “Oh, d---n it,
+    I’ve many a time been up a chimney ten times worse than that, myself,
+    and why can’t he do it?”  At this period, I had occasion to go
+    upstairs, and made my way on to the roof, just as a friend of mine
+    was about to pour down a quantity of water, when I begged of him not
+    to do so, as I fancied I heard the voice of someone within a short
+    distance of the top of the chimney; we both listened, and heard
+    someone faintly say, “For God’s sake, take the chimney pot off, or I
+    shall be suffocated.”  With some difficulty we tore away the mortar,
+    and, having removed the pot, we beheld the poor boy Arnold, who kept
+    crying out, “Oh! pull me up, pull me up!”  My friend then thrust down
+    his arm, and, laying hold of the little sufferer, succeeded in
+    extricating him from his perilous situation.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: Was the chimney, at the time, still on fire?
+
+    Complainant: It was, Sir.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: In what condition did the boy seem when lifted out of
+    the chimney?
+
+    Complainant: He seemed almost in a lifeless state, and when carrying
+    him in my arms downstairs, I was fearful he would not recover.  After
+    the lapse of a little time, I gave him a small quantity of brandy,
+    and he, in a great measure, revived; Riddle then took hold of him,
+    and leading him to the roof of the house, insisted upon his
+    descending from the top to the bottom of the chimney, which he did,
+    and he and Riddle then left the place.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson (to Riddle): What answer have you to make for
+    ill-treating this poor boy in so shameful a manner?
+
+    Riddle: The boy is not an apprentice, and he was not sent up the
+    chimney until a quantity of water had been thrown down.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson, after remarking upon the atrocious nature of the
+    offence, ordered Riddle to find bail to answer the charge at the
+    Sessions; at the same time expressing a hope that a severe example
+    would be made of him.
+
+From 1838 to 1841, there was exhibiting in London a famous lion tamer
+named Van Amburgh, and, in January, 1839, the Queen went to Drury Lane
+Theatre to witness his performance, with which she was so pleased, that
+she commissioned Sir Edwin Landseer to paint a picture of Van Amburgh and
+his lions, which was exhibited in 1839, and is now in the Royal
+Collection at Osborne.  If I am not very much mistaken there is another,
+by the same artist, of the same subject, in the Duke of Wellington’s town
+mansion, at Apsley House.
+
+We can see how long it takes to carry out well-known and wanted
+improvements—take the Thames Embankment for example.  Originally
+suggested by Wren after the great fire of London in 1666, and afterwards
+by William Paterson, the founder of the Bank of England, about 1694, the
+matter slumbered until 1767, when the Corporation of the City of London
+embanked one mile of the river.  The question arose spasmodically until
+1838, when the Corporation consulted with the Government as to the
+advisability of embanking the Thames all the way between London and
+Vauxhall Bridges, and, in Jan., 1839, the Government sanctioned surveys
+being made and estimates prepared; the whole correspondence concerning
+which may be found in the _Times_ of 2 Feb., 1839.  But no practical
+steps were taken in the matter until 1860, when the Metropolitan Board of
+Works memorialised the House of Commons, and a Committee was appointed
+which sat for the first time on 30 Ap., 1861.  An Act for carrying out
+the scheme was passed on 7 Aug., 1862, and the work was commenced in Nov.
+of the same year.  The northern (Victoria) embankment, which terminated
+at Whitehall Stairs, was opened (as far as the footway went) to the
+public on 30 July, 1868.
+
+Victoria Park took a shorter time to mature.  The first mention of it,
+that I can find, is in the _Times_ of March, 1839: “The inhabitants of
+St. Mary, Whitechapel, are bestirring themselves to obtain the formation
+of a Royal Park in their neighbourhood, and the Vestry of the parish are
+about to bring the matter before the public.”  And they did so with such
+good effect that an Act was passed on 21 June, 1841 (4 & 5 Vic., c. 27),
+“To enable Her Majesty’s Commissioners of Works to complete the Contract
+for the Sale of York House, and to purchase certain lands for a Royal
+Park.”  York House was sold to the Duke of Sutherland, and with the
+whole, or part, of the purchase money, the Commissioners were to purchase
+certain lands or hereditaments containing about 290 acres, which “shall
+for ever, thereafter, be taken and be a Royal Park, by the name of
+‘Victoria Park.’”  The Park was completed, and opened to the public, in
+1845.
+
+On Monday, 25 March, occurred a most daring robbery of gold dust valued
+at £4,600, which, at the time, created a great sensation.  It seems that
+two boxes of gold dust were brought to this country from Mexico, in the
+Sea Gull Packet, consigned to the Brazilian Mining Co., and were landed
+at Falmouth.  They were, subsequently, transshipped on board the City of
+Limerick steamer, which arrived at Dublin on Sunday afternoon.  The boxes
+were not landed at the wharf until Monday morning, and, at noon on that
+day, the stranger who obtained possession of them drove up to the wharf
+in a cab which he had hired in the city.  The letter which he presented
+to the wharfinger for the delivery of the boxes was in the same
+handwriting as one which the wharfinger had received from Falmouth, and
+which bore the postmark of that place, in the morning.  It gave
+particular directions respecting the boxes, and that they were only to be
+delivered to a gentleman who would call in the course of the day, and
+present a letter in the same handwriting for their delivery.  The person
+who obtained the boxes accurately described their contents, the marks on
+them, and the time they were landed at Falmouth.  The wharfinger, as
+might be expected, was completely put off his guard by the ingenuity and
+cunning of the thief, and delivered them over to him.
+
+On 3 April, two Jews, Ellis and Lewis Caspar, father and son, were
+brought up at Lambeth Street Police Station for being concerned in the
+robbery; afterwards, two other prisoners, Emanuel Moses and his daughter,
+Alice Abrahams, were arrested, and all were committed for trial, the
+Caspars for stealing the gold, the other two for feloniously receiving
+the same, well knowing it to be stolen.  They were tried at the Central
+Criminal Court on 24 June, the trial lasting eight days.  The jury found
+them all guilty, but recommended Alice Abrahams to mercy, believing that
+she acted under the advice and influence of her father.  Judgment was not
+pronounced on them until 3 Feb., 1840, when the three male prisoners were
+sentenced to fourteen years’ transportation, and the female to four
+months’ hard labour.  The Jewish community tried all their influence to
+get these sentences modified, but the convicts sailed for Sydney in the
+following October.  The expenses of the prosecutor in connection with the
+trial amounted to £2,900!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+Queen Elizabeth’s Statue—The Ladies of the Bedchamber—The Queen hissed at
+Ascot Races—Land at Melbourne—Sunday Trading—New way of paying Church
+Rates.
+
+_Times_, 25 Ap.—“The workmen engaged some time since in taking down an
+old public house adjoining St. Dunstan’s Church, in Fleet St., discovered
+in one of the cellars the ancient stone statue of Queen Elizabeth, which
+formerly stood in the nave of the old church.  The parochial authorities
+have resolved to place it on the east end of the church, fronting Fleet
+Street.”  An unfortunate position, for many raw, unlettered Irishmen, or
+women, have mistaken it, owing to its environment, to be a statue of the
+Virgin Mary, and have devoutly crossed themselves, and said their “Aves.”
+
+About this time occurred a political complication which afforded great
+scope for gossip, and which showed that it was about time that the Queen
+was freed from her female _entourage_, and had the protective advice of a
+husband.  On the 7th May, Lord Melbourne, having been beaten, by a small
+majority, on the Bill concerning the Suspension of the Constitution in
+Jamaica, resigned, and Sir Robert Peel was commissioned by the Queen to
+form a new Ministry.  He did so, but, for valid reasons, he required the
+resignation, as was, and is, usual, of the ladies of the household.  In
+order that there shall be no bias on this divergence of opinion between
+the Sovereign and her Minister, I quote a portion of Sir Robert Peel’s
+speech in the House of Commons, on 13 May, taking it from the authorised
+version of _Hansard_.  Sir Robert said that there was but one subject of
+disunion between himself and Her Majesty.
+
+“The difficulty arose with respect to certain portions of that part of
+the establishment which is filled by the Ladies of the household.  Sir, I
+think it infinitely better, on this point—the one on which the difficulty
+arose—I think it infinitely better, after mature consideration—that I
+should not enter—in the first instance, at least, nor unless invited by
+the noble Lord (John Russell)—into any statement whatever of impressions
+on my own mind with respect to what took place—but that I should refer
+exclusively to the letters which passed on the subject; because if I were
+to state, here, impressions of my own, I must detail verbal
+communications that passed, where two parties only were present; and
+myself one of the party, being alone in this House to offer explanations
+of what occurred.  I approach, then, that point with respect to which the
+difficulty, on this occasion, arose; and, for the purpose of enabling the
+House to form a judgment with respect to the nature of that difficulty, I
+shall confine myself, altogether, to the written documents which passed
+on the occasion, in which are conveyed the impressions on the mind of Her
+Majesty, and the impressions on my own mind, with regard to the purport
+and effect of the communications which passed between Her Majesty and
+myself, in respect to certain appointments in the household, which are
+held by Ladies.  Now, whatever blame may attach on account of imperfect
+explanations, I am content to bear it; whatever consequences may result
+from misconception, let them be visited on me; but, as to my intentions
+in regard to the Ladies of the household, I must not only state them, but
+I must prove them by most unequivocable testimony.
+
+“On the Wednesday evening—that is, the day before I saw Her Majesty on
+this particular point—I had an opportunity of conferring with all those
+whom I proposed to submit to Her Majesty as Ministers.  I saw them on
+Wednesday night, at my own house, about ten o’clock.  I then stated to
+them—and there are four of them now present, who heard the communication,
+and can give their evidence upon it—I stated to them, and to the peers
+whom I have before named, the course which I meant to pursue with respect
+to the household, and had very little considered the matter (I am
+speaking of the female part of it); I, really, scarcely knew of whom it
+consisted.  I took the ‘Red Book’ into my hand, and saw there the
+different appointments of the household.  I said to those who were
+intended to be my future colleagues, that, with respect to all the
+subordinate appointments—meaning every appointment, without exception,
+below the rank of a Lady of the Bedchamber—I should propose to Her
+Majesty no change whatever with respect to those.  With respect to the
+superior classes, I stated, that those Ladies who held offices of that
+class, and who were immediate relatives of _our_ political opponents,
+would, I took it for granted, relieve us from any difficulty by, at once,
+relinquishing their offices.  But, I stated, at the same time, that I did
+think it of great importance, as conveying an indication of Her Majesty’s
+entire support and confidence, that certain offices in the household, of
+the higher rank, if not voluntarily relinquished by the Ladies holding
+them, should be submitted to some change Even with respect to the higher
+offices, namely, the Ladies of the Bedchamber, I did state, however, that
+there were some instances, in which, from the absence of any strong
+party, or political, connection, I thought it would be wholly unnecessary
+to propose a change.  My noble and Right Hon. friends will confirm what I
+assert.  This passed on the evening of Wednesday; and I mention it only
+in complete proof of my intentions, being perfectly willing, as I have
+before observed, to have transferred, exclusively to me, whatever blame
+may be attached to the imperfect explanation of my views.
+
+“I saw Her Majesty on Thursday, and verbal communications took place on
+this subject.  As I stated before, into the nature of those
+communications I shall not now enter in the slightest degree.  I shall
+merely read the two letters which passed; one conveying the impressions
+of Her Majesty, and the other my own.  The letter which I had the honour
+of receiving from Her Majesty is dated May the 10th, 1839.  I received it
+at an early hour on Friday morning, and it is as follows:
+
+                                        “‘Buckingham Palace.—May 10, 1839.
+
+    “‘The Queen, having considered the proposal made to her, yesterday,
+    by Sir Robert Peel, to remove the Ladies of her Bedchamber, cannot
+    consent to adopt a course which she conceives to be contrary to
+    usage, and which is repugnant to her feelings.’
+
+“Immediately—that is, in two or three hours after having received the
+letter from Her Majesty, I addressed to Her Majesty a letter, of which
+this is a copy:
+
+                                                “‘Whitehall.—May 10, 1839.
+
+    “‘Sir Robert Peel presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and has
+    had the honour of receiving your Majesty’s note of this morning.
+
+    “‘In respectfully submitting to your Majesty’s pleasure, and humbly
+    returning into your Majesty’s hands the important trust which your
+    Majesty had graciously pleased to commit to him, Sir Robert Peel
+    trusts that your Majesty will permit him to state to your Majesty his
+    impression with respect to the circumstances which have led to the
+    termination of his attempt to form an Administration for the conduct
+    of your Majesty’s service.
+
+    “‘In the interview with which your Majesty honoured Sir Robert Peel,
+    yesterday morning, after he had submitted to your Majesty the names
+    of those whom he proposed to recommend to your Majesty for the
+    principal executive appointments, he mentioned to your Majesty his
+    earnest wish, to be enabled, with your Majesty’s sanction, so to
+    constitute your Majesty’s household, that your Majesty’s confidential
+    servants might have the advantage of a public demonstration of your
+    Majesty’s full support and confidence; and that, at the same time, as
+    far as possible, consistently with that demonstration, each
+    individual appointment in the household should be entirely acceptable
+    to your Majesty’s personal feelings.
+
+    “‘On your Majesty’s expressing a desire that the Earl of Liverpool
+    should hold an office in the household, Sir Robert Peel requested
+    your Majesty’s permission at once to offer to Lord Liverpool the
+    office of Lord Steward, or any other which he might prefer.
+
+    “‘Sir Robert Peel then observed, that he should have every wish to
+    apply a similar principle to the chief appointments which are filled
+    by the Ladies of your Majesty’s household; upon which your Majesty
+    was pleased to remark, that you must reserve the whole of those
+    appointments, and that it was your Majesty’s pleasure, that the whole
+    should continue as at present, without any change.
+
+    “The Duke of Wellington, in the interview to which your Majesty
+    subsequently admitted him, understood, also, that this was your
+    Majesty’s determination, and concurred with Sir Robert Peel in
+    opinion that, considering the great difficulties of the present
+    crisis, and the expediency of making every effort, in the first
+    instance, to conduct the public business of the country with the aid
+    of the present Parliament, it was essential to the success of the
+    commission with which your Majesty had honoured Sir Robert Peel, that
+    he should have that public proof of your Majesty’s entire support and
+    confidence, which would be afforded by the permission to make some
+    changes in that part of your Majesty’s household, which your Majesty
+    resolved on maintaining entirely without change.
+
+    “Having had the opportunity, through your Majesty’s gracious
+    consideration, of reflecting upon this point, he humbly submits to
+    your Majesty that he is reluctantly compelled, by a sense of public
+    duty, and in interest of your Majesty’s service, to adhere to the
+    opinion which he ventured to express to your Majesty.”
+
+In a later portion of his speech, Sir Robert remarks:
+
+    “I, upon that very question of Ireland, should have begun in a
+    minority of upwards of twenty members.  A majority of twenty-two had
+    decided in favour of the policy of the Irish Government.  The chief
+    members of the Irish Government, whose policy was so approved of,
+    were the Marquis of Normanby and Lord Morpeth.  By whom are the two
+    chief offices in the household at this moment held?  By the sister of
+    Lord Morpeth, and the wife of Lord Normanby.  Let me not, for a
+    moment, be supposed to say a word not fraught with respect towards
+    those two ladies, who cast a lustre on the society in which they
+    move, less by their rank than their accomplishments and virtues; but
+    still, they stand in the situation of the nearest relatives of the
+    two Members of the Government, whose policy was approved by this
+    House, and disapproved by me.  Now, I ask any man in the House,
+    whether it is possible that I could, with propriety and honour,
+    undertake the conduct of an Administration, and the management of
+    Irish affairs in this House, consenting previously, as an express
+    preliminary stipulation, that the two ladies 1 have named, together
+    with all others, should be retained in their appointments about the
+    court and person of the Sovereign?  Sir, the policy of these things
+    depends not upon precedent—not upon what has been done in former
+    times; it mainly depends upon a consideration of the present.  The
+    household has been allowed to assume a completely political
+    character, and that on account of the nature of the appointments
+    which have been made by Her Majesty’s present Government I do not
+    complain of it—it may have been a wise policy to place in the chief
+    offices of the household, ladies closely connected with the Members
+    of the Administration; but, remember that this policy does seriously
+    to the public embarrassment of their successors, if ladies, being the
+    nearest relatives of the retired Ministers, are to continue in their
+    offices about the person of the Sovereign.”
+
+So Lord Melbourne, returned to power.
+
+  [Picture: Child’s play.  Chorus:—“Can’t get out!”—“Can’t get out.”  14
+                               June, 1939]
+
+The genial Caricaturist John Doyle, as there were no illustrated comic
+papers in those days, illustrated this incident in his H. B. Sketches.
+No. 591 is “A Scene from the farce of _The Invincibles_, as lately
+performed in the Queen’s Theatre”—in which the Duke of Wellington and Sir
+Robert Peel are being expelled at the point of the bayonet, by ladies
+clad as soldiers.  Sir Robert says: “These Household Troops charge in a
+most disorderly manner, but they are too many for us.”  While the Duke
+observes: “Our position is no longer tenable; draw off in good order,
+while I cover the retreat.”  No. 592 is “The Balance of Power.  The
+figure proposed to displace the old one of Justice at the top of
+Constitution Hill.”  It shows a statue of the Queen, as Justice, holding
+a pair of scales, in which “Private Friendship,” typified by two ladies
+of the household, weighs down “Public Service” full of Ministers.  I have
+here reproduced No. 597, “Child’s Play,” in which figure the Queen, the
+Duchess of Sutherland, the Marchioness of Normanby, and other ladies of
+the household.  No. 599 is a “Curious instance of (Ministerial)
+‘Resuscitation,’ effected by distinguished members of the _Royal_ Humane
+Society.”  Lord Melbourne is lying on a couch, attended by the Queen and
+ladies of the household.  The Queen holds a smelling bottle to his nose,
+and says: “Ah, there’s a dear, now do revive.”
+
+Whether it was owing to this affair, or not, I know not, but at Ascot
+races this year the Queen was absolutely hissed at by some one, or more
+persons—and the _Times_ of 25 June quotes from the _Morning Post_ thus:
+
+    “At the last Ascot races, we have reason to believe that the Duchess
+    of Montrose and Lady Sarah Ingestre received an intimation that Her
+    Majesty was impressed with the idea that they were among the persons
+    who had hissed at a moment when no sounds but those of applause,
+    gratulation and loyalty ought to have been heard.  It was, we
+    believe, further intimated to the noble ladies we have mentioned,
+    that the Royal ear had been abused, to the effect already stated, by
+    Lady Lichfield.  The ladies, who had reason to think that they had
+    been thus unjustly and ridiculously accused, applied immediately to
+    their supposed accuser, who denied that she had made any such
+    communication.  On being urged to give this denial in writing, she
+    declined to do so without first consulting her lord.  But, on the
+    application being renewed at a subsequent period, her ladyship, as we
+    understand, explicitly, and in writing, denied that she had given
+    utterance to the calumny in question.  Here the matter stood, until,
+    from some incidents connected with the late ball at Buckingham
+    Palace, the two ladies, thus impeached, saw reason to believe that
+    the erroneous impression communicated to Her Majesty at Ascot had not
+    been entirely removed.  It was an impression, however, which they
+    could not permit to remain without employing every means of removing
+    it; and, accordingly, the Duchess of Montrose went to Buckingham
+    Palace, and requested an audience of Her Majesty.  After waiting for
+    a considerable period (two hours, as we have been informed), her
+    Grace was informed by the Earl of Uxbridge, that she could not be
+    admitted to an audience, as none but Peers and Peeresses in their own
+    right could demand that privilege.  Her Grace then insisted upon Lord
+    Uxbridge taking down in writing what she had to say, and promising
+    her that the communication should immediately be laid before Her
+    Majesty.  In this state, we believe, the matter remains,
+    substantially, at the present moment, although it has taken a new
+    form, the Duke of Montrose having, we understand, thought it
+    necessary to open a correspondence upon the subject with Lord
+    Melbourne.”
+
+There was only a partial denial given to the above, which appeared in the
+_Times_ of 5 July.  “We are authorised to give the most positive denial
+to a report which has been inserted in most of the public papers, that
+the Countess of Lichfield informed the Queen that the Duchess of Montrose
+and Lady Sarah Ingestre hissed Her Majesty on the racecourse at Ascot.
+Lady Lichfield never insinuated, or countenanced any such report, and
+there could have been no foundation for so unjust an accusation.”
+
+Melbourne, in Australia (named, of course, after the Premier), was
+founded 1 June, 1837, and I mention the fact to shew the prosperity of
+the infant city—for in two years’ time, on this its second anniversary,
+certain lots of land had advanced in price from £7 to £600, and from £27
+to £930.
+
+I cannot help chronicling an amusing story anent Sunday trading.  For
+some time the parish authorities of Islington had been rigidly
+prosecuting shopkeepers for keeping open their shops on Sunday, for the
+sale of their goods, such not being “a work of necessity, or mercy,” and
+numerous convictions were recorded.  Most of the persons convicted were
+poor, and with large families, who sold tobacco, fruit, cakes and sweets,
+in a very humble way of business, and considerable discontent and
+indignation was manifested in the parish in consequence of such
+prosecutions; the outcry was raised that there was one law for the rich
+and another for the poor, and a party that strongly opposed the
+proceedings on the part of the parish, resolved to try the legality and
+justice of the question, by instituting proceedings against the vicar’s
+coachman, for “exercising his worldly calling on the Sabbath day,” by
+driving his reverend master to church, that not being a work of
+necessity, or mercy, as the reverend gentleman was able both to walk and
+preach on the same day.  For this purpose a party proceeded to the
+neighbourhood of the vicar’s stables one Sunday, and watched the
+proceedings of the coachman, whom they saw harness his horses, put them
+to the carriage, go to the vicar’s house, take him up, and drive him to
+church, where he entered the pulpit, and preached his sermon.  One day,
+the following week, they attended Hatton Garden Police Office and applied
+to Mr. Benett for a summons against the coachman.  The magistrate, on
+hearing the nature of the application, told them it was a doubtful case,
+and the clerk suggested that if they laid their information the
+magistrate might receive it, and decide on the legal merits of the case.
+This was done, the summons was granted, and a day appointed for hearing
+the case.
+
+This took place on June 14, when John Wells, coachman to the vicar of
+Islington, appeared to answer the complaint of Frederick Hill, a
+tobacconist, for exercising his worldly calling on the Sabbath day.
+
+John Hanbury, grocer, of 3, Pulteney Street, being sworn, stated that, on
+Sunday, the 9th inst, about 1 o’clock, he saw the defendant, who is
+coachman to the vicar of Islington, drive his coach to the Church of St.
+Mary, Islington, where he took up the vicar and his lady, and drove them
+to their residence in Barnsbury Park.
+
+Mr. Benett: Are you sure it was the vicar?
+
+Witness: I heard him preach.
+
+John Jones, of Felix Terrace, Islington, corroborated this evidence.
+
+Mr. Benett said, that the Act of Parliament laid down that no tradesman,
+labourer, or other person shall exercise his worldly calling on the
+Lord’s day, it not being a work of necessity or charity.  He would ask
+whether it was not a work of necessity for the vicar to proceed to church
+to preach.  A dissenter might say it was not a work of necessity.  The
+coachman was not an artificer who was paid by the hour or the day, but he
+was engaged by the year, or the quarter, and was not to be viewed in the
+light of a grocer, or tradesman, who opened his shop for the sale of his
+goods on the Sabbath day.  After explaining the law upon the subject, he
+said that he was of opinion that the defendant driving the vicar to
+church on Sundays, to perform his religious duties, was an act of
+necessity, and did not come within the meaning of the law, and he
+dismissed the case.
+
+The clergy did not seem to be much in favour with their flocks, for I
+read in the _Annual Register_, 1 Aug., of “A NEW WAY OF PAYING CHURCH
+RATES.—Mr. Osborne, a dissenter, of Tewkesbury, having declined to pay
+Church Rates, declaring that he could not conscientiously do so, a
+sergeant and two officers of the police went to his house for the purpose
+of levying under a distress warrant to the amount due from him.  The
+officers were asked to sit down, which they did, and Mr. Osborne went
+into his garden, procured a hive of bees, and threw it into the middle of
+the chamber.  The officers were, of course, obliged to retreat, but they
+secured enough of the property to pay the rate, and the costs of the
+levy, besides which, they obtained a warrant against Mr. Osborne, who
+would, most likely, pay dearly for his new and _conscientious_ method of
+settling Church Rate accounts.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+The Eglinton Tournament—Sale of Armour, &c.—The Queen of Beauty and her
+Cook—Newspapers and their Sales.
+
+The Earl of Eglinton had a “bee in his bonnet,” which was none other than
+reviving the tournaments of the Age of Chivalry, with real armour, horses
+and properties; and he inoculated with his craze most of the young
+aristocracy, and induced them to join him in carrying it out.  The
+preliminary rehearsals took place in the grounds of the Eyre Arms Tavern,
+Kilburn.  The last of these came off on 13 July, in the presence of some
+6,000 spectators, mostly composed of the aristocracy.  The following is a
+portion of the account which appeared in the _Times_ of 15 July:
+
+    “At 4 o’clock the business of the day commenced.  There might be seen
+    men in complete steel, riding with light lances at the ring,
+    attacking the ‘quintain,’ and manœuvering their steeds in every
+    variety of capricole.  Indeed, the show of horses was one of the best
+    parts of the sight.  Trumpeters were calling the jousters to horse,
+    and the wooden figure, encased in iron panoply, was prepared for the
+    attack.  A succession of chevaliers, _sans peur et sans reproche_,
+    rode at their hardy and unflinching antagonist, who was propelled to
+    the combat by the strength of several stout serving-men, in the
+    costume of the olden time, and made his helmet and breastplate rattle
+    beneath their strokes, but the wooden
+
+    . . . Knight
+    Was mickle of might,
+    And stiff in Stower did stand,
+
+    grinning defiance through the barred aventaile of his headpiece.  It
+    was a sight that might have roused the spirit of old Froissart, or
+    the ghost of Hotspur.  The Knight had, certainly, no easy task to
+    perform; the weight of armour was rather heavier than the usual
+    trappings of a modern dandy, and the heat of the sun appeared to be
+    baking the bones of some of the competitors.  Be this as it may,
+    there was no flinching.  The last part of the tournament consisted of
+    the Knights tilting at each other.  The Earl of Eglinton, in a
+    splendid suit of brass armour, with _garde de reins_ of plated chain
+    mail, and bearing on his casque a plume of ostrich feathers, was
+    assailed by Lord Cranstoun, in a suit of polished steel, which
+    covered him from top to toe, the steel shoes, or sollarets, being of
+    the immense square-toed fashion of the time of Henry VIII.  The
+    lances of these two champions were repeatedly shivered in the attack,
+    but neither was unhorsed; fresh lances were supplied by the esquires,
+    and the sport grew ‘fast and furious.’  Lord Glenlyon and another
+    knight, whose armour prevented him from being recognized, next tilted
+    at each other, but their horses were not sufficiently trained to
+    render the combat as it ought to have been, and swerved continually
+    from the barrier.  It was nearly eight o’clock before the whole of
+    the sports were concluded and the company withdrawn.  We believe no
+    accident happened, though several gentlemen who essayed to ‘witch the
+    world with noble horsemanship’ were thrown, amidst the laughter of
+    the spectators.  Captain Maynard proved himself a superior rider, by
+    the splendid style at which he leaped his horse, at speed, repeatedly
+    over the barrier, and the admirable manner in which he performed the
+    modern lance exercise, and made a very beautiful charger curvet round
+    and round his lance placed upright on the ground.  The whole of the
+    arrangements were under the direction of Mr. Pratt, to whose
+    discretion the ordering of the tilting, the armour and arming, and
+    all the appliances for the tournament have been entrusted.
+
+    “Considering that the business of Saturday was but a rehearsal, and,
+    putting entirely out of the question the folly, or wisdom, of the
+    whole thing, it must be acknowledged that it has been well got up.
+    Some of the heralds’ and pursuivants’ costumes are very splendid.
+    There is an immense store of armour of all sorts, pennons, lances,
+    trappings, and all the details of the wars of the middle ages.  The
+    display in Scotland will, certainly, be a gorgeous pageant, and a
+    most extraordinary, if not most rational, piece of pastime.”
+
+The three days’ jousting and hospitality at Eglinton Castle, Ayrshire,
+which commenced on the 28th, and ended on the 30th, August, are said to
+have cost the Earl of Eglinton the sum of £40,000.  He invited the flower
+of the aristocracy to attend—all the armour was choice and old, and the
+costumes were splendid.  Every accessory was perfect in its way; and so
+it should have been, for it was two years in preparation.  The Marquis of
+Londonderry was King of the Tourney, and Lady Seymour, a grand-daughter
+of _the_ Sheridan, was the “Queen of Love and Beauty.”
+
+By the evening of the 27th, Eglinton Castle was not only filled from
+cellar to garret, but the surrounding towns and villages were crammed
+full, and people had to rough it.  Accommodation for man, or beast, rose
+from 500 to 1,000 per cent.; houses in the neighbourhood, according to
+their dimensions, were let from £10 to £30 for the time; and single beds,
+in the second best apartments of a weaver’s cabin, fetched from 10/- to
+20/- a night, while the master and mistress of the household, with their
+little ones, coiled themselves up in any out of the way corner, as best
+they might.  Stables, byres, and sheds were in requisition for the
+horses, and, with every available atom of space of this description, it
+was found all too little, as people flocked from all parts of the
+country.
+
+The invitation given by the Earl was universal.  Those who applied for
+tickets of admission to the stands were requested to appear in ancient
+costume, fancy dresses, or uniforms, and farmers and others were asked to
+appear in bonnets and kilts, and many—very many—did so; but although all
+the bonnet makers in Kilmarnock, and all the plaid manufacturers in
+Scotland, had been employed from the time of the announcement, onwards,
+they could not provide for the wants of the immense crowd, and many had
+to go in their ordinary dress.
+
+Unfortunately, on the opening day, the weather utterly spoilt the show.
+Before one o’clock, the rain commenced, and continued, with very little
+intermission, until the evening.  This, necessarily, made it very
+uncomfortable for all, especially the spectators.  Many thousands left
+the field, and the enjoyment of those who remained was, in a great
+measure, destroyed.  The Grand Stand, alone, was covered in, and neither
+plaid, umbrella, nor great-coat could prevail against a deluge so heavy
+and unintermitting; thousands were thoroughly drenched to the skin; but
+the mass only squeezed the closer together, and the excitement of the
+moment overcame all external annoyances, although the men became sodden,
+and the finery of the ladies sadly bedraggled.
+
+It had been arranged that the procession should start from the Castle at
+one o’clock, but the state of the weather was so unfavourable, that it
+did not issue forth till about half-past two, and the weather compelled
+some modifications; for instance, the Queen of Beauty should have shown
+herself “in a rich costume, on a horse richly caparisoned, a silk canopy
+borne over her by attendants in costume,” but both she, and her attendant
+ladies, who were also to have been on horseback, did not so appear, but
+were in closed carriages, whilst their beautifully caparisoned
+palfreys—riderless—were led by their pages.
+
+There were 15 Knights, besides the “Lord of the Tournament,” the Earl of
+Eglinton, and much as I should like to give their description and
+following, I must refrain, merely giving two as a sample—
+
+                          “Retainers of the
+                             Lord of the
+                             Tournament.
+                          Halberdiers of the
+                         Lord, in Liveries of
+                             his Colours.
+     Man at Arms            The GONFALON,            Man at Arms
+   in half armour.        Borne by a Man at        in half armour.
+                                Arms.
+                           THE LORD OF THE
+                             TOURNAMENT.
+                          EARL OF EGLINGTON.
+        Groom.            In a suit of Gilt             Groom.
+                            Armour, richly
+                               chased,
+                             on a barded
+                         Charger—caparisons,
+                                 &c.,
+                          of blue and gold.
+                             THE BANNER.
+                           Borne by LORD A.
+                               SEYMOUR
+       Esquire.                Esquire.                Esquire.
+      G. DUNDAS.          F. CAVENDISH, Esq.       G. M’DONAL, Esq.
+                           Retainers of the
+                           Lord, as before.
+                         _Halberdiers of the
+                            Knight of the
+                              Griffin_,
+                          in Liveries of his
+                               Colours.
+     Man at Arms            THE GONFALON,            Man at Arms
+   in half armour.        Borne by a man at        in half armour.
+                                Arms.
+                          _The Knight of the
+                              Griffin_.
+                         THE EARL OF CRAVEN,
+        Groom.          In a suit of engraved           Groom.
+                           Milanese Armour
+                         inlaid with gold, on
+                          a barded charger.
+                         Caparisons, &c., of
+                          Scarlet, White and
+                                Gold.
+       Esquire.              THE BANNER,               Esquire.
+ The HON. F. CRAVEN.      Borne by a man at          The HON. F.
+                               Arms in                MACDONALD.
+                             Half Armour.
+                             Retainers—”
+
+
+
+The other Knights were:—_The Knight of the Dragon_, MARQUIS OF WATERFORD;
+_Knight of the Black Lion_, VISCOUNT ALFORD; _Knight of Gael_, VISCOUNT
+GLENLYON; _Knight of the Dolphin_, EARL OF CASSILIS; _Knight of the
+Crane_, LORD CRANSTOUN; _Knight of the Ram_, HON. CAPT. GAGE; _The Black
+Knight_, JOHN CAMPBELL, ESQ., of Saddell; _Knight of the Swan_, HON. MR.
+JERNINGHAM; _Knight of the Golden Lion_, CAPT. J. O. FAIRLIE; _Knight of
+the White Rose_, CHARLES LAMB, ESQ.; _Knight of the Stag’s Head_, CAPT.
+BERESFORD; _The Knight of the Border_, SIR F. JOHNSTONE; _Knight of the
+Burning Tower_, SIR F. HOPKINS; _The Knight of the Red Rose_, R. J.
+LECHMERE, ESQ.; _Knight of the Lion’s Paw_, CECIL BOOTHBY, ESQ.
+
+There were, besides, Knights Visitors, Swordsmen, Bowmen, the Seneschal
+of the Castle, Marshals and Deputy Marshals, Chamberlains of the
+household, servitors of the Castle, a Herald and two Pursuivants, a Judge
+of Peace, and a Jester—besides a horde of small fry.
+
+The first tilt was between the Knights of the Swan and the Red Rose, but
+it was uninteresting, the Knights passing each other twice, without
+touching, and, on the third course, the Knight of the Swan lost his
+lance.
+
+Then came the tilt of the day, when the Earl of Eglinton met the Marquis
+of Waterford.  The latter was particularly remarked, as the splendour of
+his brazen armour, the beauty of his charger, and his superior skill in
+the management of the animal, as well as in the bearing of his lance,
+attracted general observation.  But, alas! victory was not to be his,
+for, in the first tilt, the Earl of Eglinton shivered his lance on his
+opponent’s shield, and was duly cheered by all.  In the second, both
+Knights missed; but, in the third, the Earl again broke his lance on his
+opponent’s armour; at which there was renewed applause from the
+multitude; and, amidst the cheering and music, the noble Earl rode up to
+the Grand Stand, and bowed to the Queen of Beauty.
+
+There were three more tilts, and a combat of two-handed swords, which
+finished the outdoor amusements of the day, and, when the deluged guests
+found their way to the Banqueting Hall, they found that, and its sister
+tent, the Ballroom, utterly untenantable through the rain; so they had to
+improvise a meal within the Castle, and the Ball was postponed.
+
+Next day was wild with wind and rain, and nothing could be attempted out
+of doors, as the armour was all wet and rusty, and every article of dress
+that had been worn the preceding day completely soaked through, and the
+Dining Hall and the Great Pavilion required a thorough drying.  The
+former was given up to the cleansing of armour, etc., and, in the latter,
+there were various tilting matches on foot, the combatants being clothed
+in armour.  There was also fencing, both with sticks and broadsword,
+among the performers being Prince Louis Bonaparte, afterwards Napoleon
+III.  His opponent with the singlesticks was a very young gentleman, Mr.
+Charteris, and the Prince came off second best in the encounter, as he
+did, afterwards, in some bouts with broadswords with Mr. Charles Lamb.
+Luckily, in this latter contest, both fought in complete mail, with
+visors down, for had it not been so, and had the combat been for life or
+death, the Prince would have had no chance with his opponent.
+
+On the third day the weather was fine, and the procession was a success.
+There was tilting between eight couples of Knights, and tilting at the
+ring, and the tourney wound up with the Knights being halved, and started
+from either end of the lists, striking at each other with their swords in
+passing.  Only one or two cuts were given, but the Marquis of Waterford
+and Lord Alford fought seriously, and in right good earnest, until
+stopped by the Knight Marshal, Sir Charles Lamb.
+
+In the evening, a banquet was given to 300 guests; and, afterwards, a
+ball, in which 1,000 participated.  As the weather, next day, was so
+especially stormy, the party broke up, and the experimental revival has
+never again been attempted, except a Tourney on a much smaller scale,
+which was held on 31 Oct., 1839, at Irvine, by a party from Eglinton
+Castle; but this only lasted one day.
+
+I regret that I have been unable to find any authentic engravings of this
+celebrated tournament, but I reproduce a semi-comic contemporaneous
+etching from the _Satirical Prints_, _Brit. Mus._
+
+The armour and arms used in this tournament were shown in Feb., 1840, at
+the Gallery of Ancient Armour in Grosvenor Street, and they were
+subsequently sold by Auction on July 17 and 18 of that year.  They
+fetched ridiculously low prices, as the following example will show:
+
+A suit of polished steel _cap à pied_ armour, richly engraved and gilt,
+being the armour prepared for the Knight of the Lion’s Paw, with tilting
+shield, lance, plume and crest _en suite_, 32 guineas.
+
+The emblazoned banner and shield of the Knight of the Burning Tower, with
+the suit of polished steel, _cap-à-pied_ armour, with skirt of chain
+mail, 35 guineas.
+
+The splendid suit of armour worn by the Knight of the Ram, with crest and
+plume, 24 guineas.
+
+The magnificent suit of polished steel armour, worn by the Knight of the
+Swan, with the emblazoned tilting apparel, horse armour, and caparison,
+tilting saddle, lances to correspond, and a splendid modelled horse of
+life size, carved and painted after nature, £36.
+
+                    [Picture: The Eglinton Tournament]
+
+The armour worn as a Knight Visitor by Prince Louis Napoleon, with an
+elaborate visored headpiece, and other appurtenances complete, 9 guineas.
+
+The two beautifully-fashioned _mêlée_ swords, used in the combat between
+Prince Louis and the Knight of the White Rose, seven shillings.
+
+On the second day’s sale some of the suits fetched better prices.  The
+splendid suit of fluted mail, worn by the Marquis of Waterford, was the
+gem of the collection.  It was in the finest preservation, elaborately
+worked, and beautifully bright.  It was considered one of the most
+perfect and complete suits in existence, and was bought at 240 guineas
+for the Tower of London.  Lord Alford’s and Mr. Lechmere’s suits both
+went for 100 guineas each.
+
+The spirit of the Tournament seems even to have affected the ladies, for
+we read of a passage of arms between Lady Seymour, the Queen of Beauty,
+and Lady Shuckburgh.  It originally appeared in the _Observer_ of 8 Feb.,
+1840, but was copied into the _Times_ and other papers.
+
+    (Copy 1).  “Lady Seymour presents her compliments to Lady Shuckburgh,
+    and would be obliged to her for the character of Mary Stedman, who
+    states that she has lived twelve months, and still is, in Lady
+    Shuckburgh’s establishment.  Can Mary Stedman cook plain dishes well?
+    make bread? and is she honest, good tempered, sober, willing and
+    cleanly?  Lady Seymour would also like to know the reason why she
+    leaves Lady Shuckburgh’s service.  Direct, under cover, to Lord
+    Seymour, Maiden Bradley.”
+
+    (Copy 2.)  “Lady Shuckburgh presents her compliments to Lady Seymour.
+    Her Ladyship’s note, dated Oct. 28, only reached her yesterday, Nov.
+    3.  Lady Shuckburgh was unacquainted with the name of the
+    kitchenmaid, until mentioned by Lady Seymour, as it is her custom
+    neither to apply for, or give characters to any of the under
+    servants, this being always done by the housekeeper, Mrs. Couch, and
+    this was well known to the young woman; therefore Lady Shuckburgh is
+    surprised at her referring any lady to her for a character.  Lady
+    Shuckburgh having a professed cook, as well as a housekeeper, in her
+    establishment, it is not very likely she, herself, should know
+    anything about the ability or merits of the under-servants; therefore
+    she is unable to answer Lady Seymour’s note.  Lady Shuckburgh cannot
+    imagine Mary Stedman to be capable of cooking for any, except the
+    servants’ hall table.  Nov. 4, Pavilion, Hans Place.”
+
+    (Copy 3.)  “Lady Seymour presents her compliments to Lady Shuckburgh,
+    and begs she will order her housekeeper, Mrs. Pouch, to send the
+    girl’s character without delay; otherwise, another young woman will
+    be sought for elsewhere, as Lady Seymour’s children cannot remain
+    without their dinners, because Lady Shuckburgh, keeping ‘a proffessed
+    cook and a housekeeper,’ thinks a knowledge of the details of her
+    establishment beneath her notice.  Lady Seymour understood from
+    Stedman that, in addition to her other talents, she was actually
+    capable of dressing food for the little Shuckburghs to partake of,
+    when hungry.”
+
+[To this note was appended a clever pen-and-ink vignette, by the Queen of
+Beauty, representing the three little Shuckburghs, with large,
+turnip-looking heads and cauliflower wigs, sitting at a round table, and
+voraciously scrambling for mutton chops, dressed by Mary Stedman, who is
+seen looking on with supreme satisfaction, while Lady Shuckburgh appears
+in the distance, in evident dismay.]
+
+    (Copy 4.)  “MADAM,—Lady Shuckburgh has directed me to acquaint you
+    that she declines answering your note, the vulgarity of which is
+    beneath contempt; and, although it may be the characteristic of the
+    Sheridans to be vulgar, coarse and witty, it is not that of ‘a lady,’
+    unless she happens to be born in a garret and bred in a kitchen.
+    Mary Stedman informs me that your Ladyship does not keep either a
+    cook, or a housekeeper, and that you only require a girl who can cook
+    a mutton chop.  If so, I apprehend that Mary Stedman, or any other
+    scullion, will be found fully equal to cook for, or manage the
+    establishment of, the Queen of Beauty.
+
+    “I am, your Ladyship’s etc.—ELIZABETH COUCH (not Pouch.)”
+
+Even in those days, Newspapers were somewhat given to vaunt themselves as
+to their circulation, but they had no need to call in the aid of the
+chartered accountant, as they could get their facts from the number of
+stamps supplied—the stamp then being of the value of three halfpence per
+newspaper, an impost which was not removed until 15 June, 1855, by the
+Act 18 and 19 Vict., c. 27.  The _Times_ of 5 Aug., 1839, gives us
+
+    “A return of the number of Newspaper Stamps issued to the several
+    Newspapers in London, from 1 Ap. to 29 June, 1839, inclusive;
+    specifying each Newspaper by name, and the number of Stamps issued
+    each month during that period to each Newspaper.”
+
+                             April.         May.         June.
+Morning Chronicle              180,000       210,000       140,000
+Morning Post                    85,000        90,000        80,000
+Morning Herald                 140,000       175,000       140,000
+Times                          330,000       330,000       430,000
+Courier                         29,000        33,000        27,000
+Globe                           72,000        90,000        72,000
+Standard                        83,000        80,000       101,000
+Sun                            111,000       105,000       105,000
+Evening Chronicle               30,000        20,000        10,000
+Evening Mail                    25,000        50,000        35,000
+St. James’s Chronicle           52,000        58,000        66,000
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+The Chartists—Their going to church—Dissolution of the
+Convention—Approaching marriage of the Queen—The Queen and lunatics—Raid
+on a Gaming House—Act of Penance.
+
+This year Chartism was rampant and very militant.  On 1 April there were
+riots at Devizes, on 3 May, seven men were arrested at Manchester for
+drilling, and, on the 25th of that month a great meeting was held on
+Kersall Moor, four miles from Manchester.  On 4th July there were very
+serious riots at Birmingham, and again on the 15th.  On the same date
+between 3,000 and 4,000 Chartists met on Clerkenwell Green to condemn the
+action of the authorities at Birmingham, and, towards the end of the
+month, numerous meetings were held in the North of England, and there
+were riots at Newcastle and Stockport.  In August there was great unrest
+in the North, and some trials took place at Birmingham and Manchester for
+rioting and sedition.
+
+A new, and somewhat unexpected method of agitation, was, about this time,
+adopted by the Chartists.  They betook themselves, suddenly, to
+attendance in a body at public worship, taking early possession on the
+Sundays of the various cathedrals and parish churches, to the exclusion
+of the more regular attendants.  On the afternoon of Sunday, 11 Aug., a
+party of them, about 500 in number, met together in West Smithfield, and
+walked in procession to St. Paul’s Cathedral.  On arriving there, many of
+them refused to take off their hats; but, after some remonstrance from
+the Vergers, they submitted.  The majority of them wore a little piece of
+red ribbon in their button holes, and conducted themselves quite
+peaceably.  On the Sunday following, their brethren at Norwich pursued a
+similar course at the Cathedral of that city, which was crowded almost to
+suffocation.  The Bishop, who preached, took the opportunity to deliver
+an impressive remonstrance on the folly and danger of their proceedings.
+The Chartists behaved well in the Cathedral; but, at St. Stephen’s Church
+in the evening, they made a disturbance.  The Chartists at Manchester,
+following the advice of Feargus O’Connor, attended the Old Church (now
+the Cathedral) in great numbers.  The authorities, having been previously
+advised of their intention, had the military in readiness to act, should
+the Chartists behave in a disorderly manner: but they conducted
+themselves with great decorum.  It is said that, previous to Divine
+Service, they handed the clergyman a Chartist text to preach from, but he
+selected as his text, “My house is the house of prayer, but ye have made
+it a den of thieves”; on announcing which, the Chartists rose, and
+quitted the church.  The same tactics were followed in the principal
+towns all over the country, but, either from the success of them not
+being very apparent, or from the distastefulness of the method employed,
+the practice was not followed up for long—nor with any great regularity.
+
+On the 14th Sep. the Chartist National Convention was dissolved; and, on
+the 20th Feargus O’Connor was arrested for sedition, on a Judge’s
+Warrant, at Manchester, and things were fairly quiet during the remainder
+of the year, with the exception of a serious Chartist riot, on 4 Nov., at
+Newport, in Monmouthshire, where many rioters were killed.
+
+We have seen how, in the beginning of the year, the _Sun_ had prophesied
+the marriage of the Queen and Prince Albert, for which it was duly
+pooh-poohed by the _Times_—but on 22 Aug., the _Morning Post_ had the
+dreadful temerity to announce the same—and the _Court Circular_ of 11
+Oct. tells us, that “The Hereditary Prince (Ernest) and Prince Albert of
+Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, landed at the Tower, at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon,
+from the Continent.  Their Serene Highnesses were conveyed in two of the
+Royal landaus to the Royal Mews at Pimlico, and, shortly afterwards, left
+town with their suite in two carriages and four, for Windsor Castle, on a
+visit to the Queen.”
+
+On the 14th Oct., the Queen informed Lord Melbourne of her intention to
+marry Prince Albert, which met with the Premier’s warm approbation.  Next
+day she told the Prince that she wished to marry him.  He had been out
+early, with his brother, hunting, but returned at twelve, and
+half-an-hour afterwards, the Queen sent for him, and he found her alone
+in her room.  That it was a love match on both sides is well known, and,
+until the untimely death of the Prince Consort, they were models of
+conjugal love and felicity.
+
+On 14 Nov. the Prince and his brother left Windsor—and departed for the
+Continent, via Dover; and, at a Privy Council held at Buckingham Palace
+on 23rd of that month, the Queen communicated her intention of marriage.
+The declaration was as follows:
+
+    “I have caused you to be summoned at the present time, in order that
+    I may acquaint you with my resolution in a matter which deeply
+    concerns the welfare of my people, and the happiness of my future
+    life.
+
+    “It is my intention to ally myself in marriage with the Prince Albert
+    of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  Deeply impressed with the solemnity of the
+    engagement which I am about to contract, I have not come to this
+    decision without mature consideration, nor without feeling a strong
+    assurance that, with the blessing of Almighty God, it will at once
+    secure my domestic felicity, and serve the interests of my country.
+
+    “I have thought fit to make this resolution known to you, at the
+    earliest period, in order that you may be fully apprised of a matter
+    so highly important to me and to my Kingdom, and which, I persuade
+    myself, will be most acceptable to all my loving subjects.”
+
+Upon this announcement, all the Privy Councillors present made it their
+humble request that Her Majesty’s most gracious declaration to them might
+be made public; which Her Majesty was pleased to order accordingly.
+
+The Queen suffered severely from lunatics.  In June a man got into the
+gardens of Buckingham Palace, and, when arrested, declared he had come
+there for the sole purpose of killing Her Majesty, and was duly committed
+to Tothill Bridewell.  Within a day or two of his release, in the middle
+of October, he went to Windsor and broke three or four panes of glass in
+the Castle.  He was afterwards apprehended, but what became of him, I do
+not know; in all probability he was sent to a lunatic asylum.
+
+In the paper which gives the account of the above, I read, “James Bryan,
+the Queen’s Scotch suitor, was in Windsor the whole of yesterday (Sunday,
+13 Oct.).  In the morning, he was waiting, for a considerable period, at
+the door of St. George’s Chapel, leading to the Cloisters, to have a view
+of the Queen, as Her Majesty and the two Princes of Saxe-Coburg, and the
+Duchess of Kent left the Chapel.  In the afternoon, he walked on the
+Terrace, and conducted himself in his usual manner, very respectfully
+bowing to the Queen, as Her Majesty passed him on the New Terrace.”—By
+the above, he must have been well known.
+
+On 29 Nov., a respectably-dressed man got over the high iron gates
+leading to the Castle, a place at which there were no sentries, and
+walked across the Park, to the grand entrance to the Castle.  Upon seeing
+the porter in attendance at the lodge, he said: “I demand entrance into
+the Castle as King of England”; to which the porter replied: “Very well,
+your Majesty, but be pleased to wait until I get my hat,” and then taking
+him to the Castle, handed him over to the police.  He turned out to be a
+man named Stockledge, who was partner in an extensive wholesale business
+in Manchester.  He had been in two lunatic asylums, and when questioned
+by the Mayor of Windsor, as to the object of his visit, said that: “he
+was like all other men who wanted wives—he was looking after one,”
+evidently alluding to Her Majesty.  On being further questioned, he said
+“he was the King of England, and was impelled by the Spirit.”  He
+afterwards said that “an unknown power had done it,” and that “it was the
+Spirit which helped him over the gates.”  Of course he _was_ mad.
+
+There was yet another fool this year, but, this time, he was not a
+maniac—only a Post Office Clerk, who wanted to have an interview with Her
+Majesty.  On the afternoon of the 8th Dec., a carriage and four drove up
+to Windsor Castle, and, from it, alighted a personage wearing a foraging
+cap, a fur boa round his neck, and fur gloves, who announced himself as
+the bearer of important despatches which he must deliver into the Queen’s
+own hands.  This, of course, was not complied with, and as he would not
+part with the documents, he was handed over to the police, and taken to
+the station, where he made a sturdy resistance when they were taken from
+him.  He turned out to be a junior clerk in the Foreign Post Office,
+named William Saunders, who, being on duty when the Foreign Mails
+arrived, found some letters and papers addressed to the Queen, and put
+them into his pocket with the intention of delivering them himself.  He
+was suspended from his duties, but I do not know his ultimate fate.
+
+Gambling houses were still in existence, although the Police Act of this
+year (2 & 3 Vict., c. 47, s. 48) gave the police great and additional
+power towards suppressing them.  Here is a sample raid as reported in the
+_Observer_ of 15 Dec.:
+
+“Superintendent Baker, C, succeeded on Saturday night week, in breaking
+his way into a gambling house, 60 Jermyn Street (commonly called the
+Cottage), and some persons, therein found, were fined, on Monday, at
+Marlborough Street Office.  In all, seven persons were captured, of whom,
+two were connected with the management of the gambling house; the others
+were gentlemen players.  They were taken to the Station house in Vine
+Street; and, as we know it to be the anxious desire of the police
+authorities to suppress the nuisance of gaming houses, we feel that we
+are but lending our humble aid towards effecting that object in now
+publishing the real names of those gentlemen who were captured, and who
+passed themselves off to the police and the magistrate as being ‘Jones,’
+‘Smith,’ and other conventional misnomers.  (Here follow the names.)  Our
+Correspondent has told us of a certain noble lord, who was running here
+and there, on the night of the capture of his friends, striving, in the
+first instance, to get them bailed out, and, failing in that, to provide
+for them creature comforts in their cells.  We cannot avoid mentioning
+one or two little incidents connected with this affair.  The admission of
+spirits to prisoners in a station house is strictly forbidden, but, on
+this occasion, their friends outside succeeded in introducing eight soda
+water bottles filled with excellent pale brandy, so regularly corked and
+wired, as to deceive even the sharp eyes of the Inspector.
+
+“Next day (Sunday), at 12 o’clock, they were bailed out, but, on the
+following morning at Marlborough Street Office, a sad mishap had all but
+blown up the misnomers; for, when the name of ‘Jones’ was called from the
+police sheet, the gentleman who had honoured that name by assuming it,
+quite forgot his condescension, until one of his companions in trouble
+nudged him in the side, saying, ‘D---n it, that’s you.’  By the way, the
+croupier escaped through the skylight, with the bank, amounting, it is
+supposed, to, at least, £500.  He, and a boy who escaped with him, had
+but a minute or two the start of the police.  As it was, the croupier met
+with a most severe accident, having cut his thigh so deeply as to cause a
+most serious hemorrhage.  The gutter was flooded with his blood.”
+
+I wind up the year by chronicling an event which, I fancy, will never
+occur again, one of the most singular circumstances connected with it
+being, that the penitent was a Jewess.  It occurs in a letter in the
+_Times_ of 19 Dec.:
+
+                                 “ACT OF PENANCE, ST. JOHN’S, CLERKENWELL.
+
+“Sir.—Understanding that many stories are afloat concerning the above
+act, performed on Sunday last (15 Dec.) by a young woman of the Jewish
+persuasion, named Deborah Cohen, I thought the particulars might be
+acceptable.  This affair appears to have arisen from some family quarrel,
+the action in the Ecclesiastical Court, having been brought against her
+by her brother, for having made use to her sister-in-law, Rosetta Cohen,
+of a term contrary as well to this part of our laws, as to the usages of
+society.  To avoid expenses she had no means to meet, and the
+consequences thereof, her solicitor advised her to admit her fault, and
+abide the award of the Court.  This having got wind, the unpretending
+church of St. John’s was beset, early on Sunday last, by great crowds,
+amongst whom it required great exertion of the parish officers and the
+police to preserve a proper decorum.  The crowds were, however,
+disappointed in seeing this young woman exposed in the open church, with
+the covering of a white sheet, etc., the order from the Ecclesiastical
+Court only having enjoined her to appear in the vestry room of this
+church, on Sunday morning last, after service and a sermon, and before
+the minister, churchwardens, and five or six of the plaintiff’s friends
+(some of whom attended), to recite, after the minister, her regret, etc.,
+in the words laid down in the order.  This was carried into effect,
+accordingly, the crowds in the church and St. John’s Square remaining
+long after the ceremony had been performed, and the parties had left the
+vestry.
+
+                                                                      “W.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+Commencement of Penny Post—Postage Stamps—Prince Albert’s allowance—The
+_Times_ comments on the Marriage—Royal Wedding Cake—Louis Napoleon’s
+duel—Nelson Column—Noblemen’s servants—Uproar at the Italian Opera House.
+
+The most important event in the beginning of this year was the
+inauguration of the Penny Post on Jan. 10.  At the end of 1839, an
+uniform postage rate of 4d. per letter was tried on Dec. 5, which was so
+successful that the present penny postage was established, one feature of
+which, the prepayment of letters, was much appreciated by the public.
+The number of letters despatched by the Mails from the Metropolis, on the
+10th, was much greater than was expected, amounting to 112,000, the daily
+average for January, 1839, having been about 30,000 only.  Out of the
+112,000 letters there were only 13,000 or 14,000 unpaid, and this was
+probably owing to the fact that people could not get out of their old
+habits all at once.
+
+The Postage Stamps, however, were not ready, for we read in the _Times_
+of 17 Jan.: “The construction of the stamps is advancing with all speed,
+the several artists to whom they are intrusted being actively engaged
+upon them.  In the stamp for letter paper and the adhesive stamp, a
+profile of the Queen is the principal ornament.  The letter paper stamp
+is being engraved by Mr. Wyon, R.A., medallist to the Mint.  Charles
+Heath is engraving the drawing taken from Wyon’s City medal, by H.
+Corbould, intended for the adhesive stamp.  W. Mulready, R.A., has
+furnished the design for the cover and envelope, which is in the hands of
+John Thompson for engraving.”
+
+And, now, until the Queen was married, all the talk was of that event.
+First of all Prince Albert must be made a naturalised Englishman, and a
+bill to that effect was read for the third time in the House of Lords on
+21 Jan., in the Commons on the 22nd, and received the Royal Assent on the
+24th. {119a}  On the 23rd he was invested with the Order of the Garter at
+Gotha.  The second reading of the Act for his naturalization was heard in
+the House of Lords on the 27th, but owing to some dispute as to the
+question of his precedence, it was adjourned until the 31st, when it was
+read, and on 3 Feb. it was read a third time, and it received the Royal
+Assent on 7 Feb.  But there was another thing yet to be done, which was
+to supply His Serene Highness with Funds, and on Jan. 22 Lord John
+Russell proposed the sum of £50,000 per annum.  The discussion thereon
+was adjourned until the 24th, and re-adjourned until the 27th, when Mr.
+Hume moved a reduction to £21,000, which was lost by a majority of 267.
+Col. Sibthorp then proposed a sum of £30,000, which was agreed to, and
+the Act received the Royal Assent on 7 Feb.
+
+The feeling of the country on the subject of the Royal Marriage is, to my
+thinking, very fairly summarised in a leading article in the _Times_ of
+10 Feb., portions of which I transcribe: “It has followed from this
+policy, {119b} that an English monarch should, _cœteris paribus_, rather
+avoid than court an alliance with one of the first-rate powers of Europe,
+but should prefer security to aggrandizement, satisfied with a consort
+selected from a less prominent, and, therefore, less exposed, position.
+If there be safety, therefore, in comparative weakness and
+insignificance, we know not that, on such a ground, any other princely
+house throughout Europe, could offer inducements preferable to those
+possessed by those of Saxe-Coburg.  Objections against this individual
+member of the family might, perhaps, present themselves to reflecting
+minds, on the score of his close consanguinity to Queen Victoria, a
+circumstance not usually looked upon as propitious to the hope of a
+flourishing offspring.
+
+“Another argument might be urged against the match, from the undoubted
+fact that the name of Saxe-Coburg is not popular in this country, a
+misfortune for which we do not undertake to account; nor shall we longer
+dwell upon either of the above considerations, which we have hinted at,
+merely to shew that they have not wholly escaped our notice. . . .
+
+“Prince Albert has now become one of us.  He is, actually, now an English
+subject.  He is tied to us by law and self-interest.  Let us bind him to
+us by gratitude and affection.  The happiness of our youthful Queen is
+now in his hands.  He has the means of so directing and assisting her
+future footsteps, as to retrieve for Her Majesty (we speak with
+frankness, but with all respect) all she has forfeited in the hearts of
+the most loyal, enlightened and virtuous of her subjects, through her
+unhappy bias towards persons and principles which are hourly undermining
+the deep foundations of her Throne.
+
+“We have said that it devolves upon Prince Albert to counteract a host of
+‘evil influences,’ and to aid his Royal Consort in repairing ‘many very
+grievous errors’ into which selfish and treacherous counsellors have
+betrayed her, and which her constant separation (contrived by them) from
+all but one section, or coterie of her subjects, has served to render
+extremely difficult of correction.
+
+“Queen Victoria has scarcely been permitted to see the general aspect of
+the British aristocracy, or to become acquainted with their sentiments,
+their characters, or their manners.  The petty, artificial world framed
+and got up for her deception, is no more capable of suggesting to her
+mind the vast moral and social creation beyond its narrow boundaries,
+than one or two leaves of a _hortus siccus_ exemplify the productions of
+a noble forest, or a varied and inimitable landscape. . . .
+
+“Are the heads of the nation to be discovered at the Queen of England’s
+Court?  Has the worth, or wisdom, or eminence of the nation any access to
+the society of the Sovereign?  Have the clergy of England, or any of
+them—have their representatives—bishops, priests, or deacons, the
+opportunity of communicating personally with the temporal head of the
+Church of England?  Are they, or any of them, ever seated at the Royal
+table, or received into the Royal presence, or favoured with the Royal
+smile?  No; such associations comport not with the policy of her
+ministers; the ear of the Sovereign is whispered from the choicest of her
+subjects—the palace doors are locked inexorably against all but a certain
+clique.”
+
+Let us turn from this little lecture to the Queen, honest and faithful
+though it be, to the all-absorbing subject of Gossip, the Royal
+Marriage—and first, and foremost, comes the Royal Wedding Cake, which
+weighed nearly 300lbs.  It was three yards in circumference and about 14
+inches deep.  This was the cake itself, which, according to a
+contemporary account, “is covered with sugar of the purest white; on the
+top is seen the figure of Britannia in the act of blessing the
+illustrious bride and bridegroom, who are dressed, somewhat
+incongruously, in the costume of ancient Rome.  These figures are not
+quite a foot in height; at the feet of His Serene Highness is the effigy
+of a dog, said to denote fidelity; and, at the feet of the Queen is a
+pair of turtle doves, denoting the felicities of the marriage state.  A
+Cupid is writing in a volume expanded on his knees, the date of the
+marriage, and various other Cupids are sporting and enjoying themselves
+as such interesting little individuals generally do.  These little
+figures are well modelled.  On the top of the cake are numerous bouquets
+of white flowers tied with true lover’s knots of white satin ribbon,
+intended for presents to the guests at the nuptial breakfast.”
+
+On 6 Feb. the Prince landed at Dover from Ostend, and on the 7th went to
+Canterbury; on the 8th he reached London and Buckingham Palace; and, on
+the 10th they were married at the Chapel Royal, St. James’; spent the
+honeymoon at Windsor, and made their _rentrée_ into society on 26 Feb.,
+when they went, in State, to Drury Lane Theatre.
+
+Duelling, although on the wane, was far from dead.  I could have given
+numerous instances of duels in the earlier part of this reign, but have
+refrained, as they were of no particular interest; but the following is
+an exception, as it relates to one who, in after years, was to make a
+great name in history for himself.
+
+_Times_, 4 March:
+
+    BOW STREET.—Shortly after the opening of the court yesterday morning,
+    and before any of the night charges had been disposed of, Prince
+    Louis Napoleon and Le Comte Leon, who is said to be the son of
+    Bonaparte, to whom he hears a striking resemblance, were brought
+    before Mr. Jardine, charged by Nicholas Pearce, inspector of the A
+    division, with having met at Wimbledon Common, and attempted to
+    commit a breach of the peace, by fighting a duel with swords and
+    pistols.
+
+    Lieut.-Col. Jeremiah Ratcliffe, 6th Dragoons, as second to the last
+    defendant, and Col. Charles Parquin, second to the Prince, together
+    with Count D’Orsay, and a servant, named Mertial Kien, with aiding
+    and assisting the principals in the intended combat.
+
+    Previous to the evidence being taken, two brace of pistols, with
+    powder flasks, and a pair of rapiers, were laid on the table for the
+    inspection of the magistrate.
+
+    Inspector Pearce, being sworn, said, about 2 o’clock this morning he
+    received information from Superintendent Baker, that certain parties
+    had an intention of meeting in a hostile manner on Wimbledon Common,
+    some of whom were to start from Fenton’s Hotel and the others from
+    Carlton Gardens; in consequence of which I went into St. James’s
+    Street, where I saw a post-chaise drive up to the door of the hotel,
+    about 7 o’clock, but I could not ascertain if any person had got into
+    it.  After delaying a short time, it moved slowly on in the direction
+    of Piccadilly, followed by Col. Ratcliffe, and stopped again at
+    Tattersall’s, where another person followed towards Hyde Park Corner.
+    The chaise was then driven westward, and I followed it on horseback;
+    but, previous to arriving at Hyde Park Corner, the defendant
+    Ratcliffe passed, on horseback, in Piccadilly.
+
+    Mr. Jardine: What hour might it be then?
+
+    Witness: It was then nearly 7 o’clock.  On arriving at the Common, I
+    saw the entire party collected near to the Windmill, and the
+    post-chaise proceeding in that direction.  Having dismounted, and
+    left the horse in the care of a countryman, I proceeded to where the
+    chaises were standing, and then I saw the defendants walking away,
+    from them, some yards down, to a hollow part of the ground, each
+    party apparently making arrangements about the duel.  They then
+    stopped, and as I approached Col. Parquin, seeing two letters in one
+    hand, and the two swords produced, in the other, I took them from
+    him.  At that time, the pistols produced, in a case, were lying on
+    the ground, near to another brace, which were wrapped up in paper.
+    Some conversation passed between Count D’Orsay and Col. Parquin,
+    which appeared to be whether the combat was to be fought with pistols
+    or with swords, and the Count asked me what I wanted; my authority
+    for interfering; and who it was that gave me information of the
+    circumstance.  At that moment, Inspector Partridge, accompanied by
+    Sergt. Otway and other constables, came up, and, on Col. Ratcliffe
+    taking the pistols from the case, he was taken into custody.  I
+    instantly went to him, and, shewing him my staff, told him I was an
+    officer, and that I was, in duty, bound to take him into custody, for
+    attempting to commit a breach of the peace.  Count D’Orsay requested
+    to be told who it was who had given the information, and, on being
+    refused, the entire party were quietly conveyed to the station house.
+
+    Mr. Jardine: Have you since ascertained that the pistols contained
+    powder and balls?
+
+    Witness: Yes, Sir; there are balls in them, and caps upon them.
+
+    Colonel Ratcliffe declared there was no powder in the pistols, which
+    belonged to him, as could be seen; for it had been arranged that the
+    duel was to be fought with swords.
+
+    Mr. Jardine inquired if any of the defendants, who were foreigners,
+    and not sufficiently conversant with the English language, would wish
+    to hear the evidence read over to them in French?
+
+    Le Comte Leon replied in French, that he could not sufficiently
+    understand the evidence that had been given, but he was quite
+    satisfied that all the proceedings were perfectly legal and correct.
+
+    Prince Louis said, he was prepared, if required, to enter into an
+    explanation of the circumstances which gave rise to the offence with
+    which he was charged.
+
+    Mr. Jardine did not wish to hear any statement on either side, as his
+    duty was only to prevent a breach of the peace, and he hoped the
+    defendants were prepared with the sureties he would require, to
+    prevent further inconvenience.
+
+    Count D’Orsay said, he had come prepared with bail, which he thought
+    there could be no objection to.
+
+    Prince Louis requested that the two letters, which had been taken
+    from his friend, should be delivered up to him.
+
+    Mr. Jardine immediately delivered up the letters, saying he should
+    require the principals to enter into bail, themselves in £500 each,
+    and two sureties in £250 each, to keep the peace with all Her
+    Majesty’s subjects, and particularly with each other, for the next 12
+    months.
+
+    Count D’Orsay: One surety in £500, would, perhaps, answer as well as
+    two in £250 each, if it meets with your approbation.
+
+    Mr. Jardine said he had no objection to such a course, and, if the
+    other defendants were prepared with bail, it might be taken.
+
+    Col. Ratcliffe said his surety was present.
+
+    Mr. Jardine: The bail I shall require is, that each of the other
+    defendants enter into his own recognizance in £100, and two sureties
+    in £50 each, to keep the peace for the same period, with the
+    exception of the defendant Kien, who may put in his own recognizances
+    in £100.
+
+    Mr. Joshua Bates, of Portland Place, having offered himself as surety
+    for Prince Louis Napoleon and Col. Parquin, was accepted.
+
+    Mr. Fenton was accepted as bail for Le Comte Leon, and the Hon.
+    Francis Baring, M.P., became surety for Col. Ratcliffe and Count
+    D’Orsay.
+
+    The Chief Clerk having conducted the parties into the Magistrate’s
+    private room, where they were furnished with the requisite notices,
+    returned to the Court to take directions respecting the disposal of
+    the weapons and other articles which were found upon the defendants
+    on their being taken into custody.
+
+    Mr. Jardine said he could make no order about them, but he thought
+    that, as the defendants had put in bail, there could be very little
+    apprehension of their committing a similar offence, if they were
+    restored to their proper owners.
+
+    It appeared that the two letters had been written by the Comte Leon
+    to his cousin, as he was styled, demanding that he would retract
+    certain expressions respecting their relationship, which he was
+    alleged to have made use of; and, his not complying, gave rise to the
+    quarrel.
+
+    On the 10th of April the offer of Messrs. Grissell and Peto was
+    accepted, to erect the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, within two
+    years, for a sum of £17,860.
+
+    There is a curious police case as to the habits and customs of
+    Noblemen’s servants, which may be interesting to my readers.  It was
+    brought before the Magistrate at Queen Square on 14 April, when the
+    House Steward of the Earl of Galloway applied for summonses against
+    the footmen attending the carriages of Viscount Melbourne, the
+    Marquis of Normanby, the Marquis of Lansdowne and Lord Tankerville,
+    for assault and damage.
+
+    It appeared from the statement of the applicant, that the servants
+    attending the carriages of peers, to the House of Lords, have a
+    waiting room, which they call their Club room, and that they have
+    formed themselves into a society, governed by one of their body, whom
+    they call their “Constable.”  They have a set of rules, dated as far
+    back as 1759, obedience to which is strictly enforced under pain of
+    certain fines.
+
+    On Friday evening, the coachman of the Earl of Galloway set his
+    lordship down at the House of Lords, with orders to wait.  The
+    footman, who was, it appears, a new comer, was, on entering the club
+    room, called upon to pay a fine, or “footing” of two shillings, to be
+    spent in beer, but he replied that he had no money about him; and, on
+    their insisting on its being paid, he left the room, and got on the
+    carriage box, with the coachman, but the “members,” headed by their
+    Constable, with his staff of office, pursued him, insisted upon his
+    coming down, and were about to pull him off the box, when the
+    coachman told them that his fellow servant had no money with him,
+    but, if they would go, he would be answerable that it should be paid.
+    They, however, insisted that it should be spent in their Club, and
+    that the new servant should be present.
+
+    Mr. Burrell: How many were there of them?
+
+    Applicant said there were, he understood, 10 or 12, but it was only
+    intended to proceed against the four ringleaders.  The coachman,
+    finding that they were determined to have his fellow servant off the
+    box, drove on a little way, and, on returning to his place, Lord
+    Normanby’s carriage ran against his, and seriously damaged it.  The
+    footman was, at length, dragged from the box, and very roughly
+    handled: his foot was hurt.  The coachman was also struck with the
+    long “staff” carried by the “constable.”
+
+    Samuel Linturn, the footman, corroborated this statement.
+
+    The summonses were granted.
+
+    It was stated that Lord Normanby, at once, offered to make good the
+    damage done, but this the Earl of Galloway declined, having
+    determined that the whole matter should be publicly investigated by a
+    magistrate.
+
+    Two days afterwards, four footmen in the employ of Lords Melbourne,
+    Lansdowne, Normanby and Tankerville appeared to answer the summonses.
+
+    The complainant, in the course of his evidence, said that he had been
+    to the House of Lords on several previous occasions, but had never
+    been asked for anything, nor did he even know of the existence of
+    such a room.  Turk asked him whose servant he was, but he refused to
+    tell him.  Turk, at the time, had, in his hand, a pointed stick,
+    which he called a staff; he made no demand for money then, but went
+    away, and the complainant got on the box with the coachman, who took
+    the coach to the stand.  Turk, accompanied by several others, then
+    came up.  The Marquis of Bute’s footman said he would pay the fine,
+    or footing, and placed two shillings on the footboard of the carriage
+    for that purpose.  This did not satisfy them.  Several persons,
+    amongst whom were the defendants, got upon the coach, and swore that
+    if he did not come down, they would pull him down.  There were
+    several police about, and, although he called upon them for
+    assistance, they would not come.
+
+    Both he and the coachman told them that he had no money, and the
+    coachman said he would secure them payment, if they would go and
+    drink the beer, but they insisted upon the complainant’s presence in
+    the “club.”  He still refused, and then they brought a long pole,
+    which they called a “horse.”  The coachman drove up Abingdon Street
+    to avoid them, but several of the carriages drew out of the rank, and
+    followed them, and, as the coachman turned to regain his station,
+    Lord Normanby’s carriage was driven against him, and the Earl of
+    Galloway’s carriage sustained considerable damage; it was forced on
+    the footway, and was obliged to stop, upon which, several of the
+    footmen ran, and seized the horses by their heads.  The defendants
+    dragged the complainant off the box; one had hold of his foot, and
+    another, who seized upon his greatcoat, tore the buttons from it, and
+    from his gaiters and breeches.  They then placed him upon the pole,
+    which they called “putting him on horseback.”
+
+    They then rode him into the room mentioned, where Lord Holland’s
+    footman sat as chairman, and decided that he should pay two
+    shillings.  He borrowed the money from Lord Lansdowne’s servant, and
+    was about to leave the room, but he was forced to resume his seat, as
+    he was told he could, from the room, easily hear when the carriage
+    was called, and that “he must sit and drink his beer.”  He was also
+    told that he was now sworn in, and had only to kiss the staff, which
+    was presented to him, but he refused to do it.  He was detained
+    three-quarters of an hour, against his will.  His foot was hurt, and
+    the coachman was injured by a blow from the “staff.”
+
+    The coachman corroborated the evidence, and the defendants were fined
+    ten shillings each.
+
+On the 29th April, there was an uproar in the Italian Opera House, which
+might have expanded into another O.P. riot of 1809.  The Impresario, M.
+Laporte, had not engaged Tamburini, because his terms were too high, and
+the singer’s friends were highly indignant.  On this evening, at the
+conclusion of the opera of _I Puritani_, several voices began calling for
+M. Laporte, with shouts of “Tamburini!”  Poor M. Laporte appeared and
+began a speech in which he sought to excuse himself, but it was drowned
+by a torrent of groans and hisses, which came, principally, from the
+occupants of the “omnibus” box. {128}  M. Laporte so clearly perceived
+this, that, in a few minutes, his speech to the audience merged into a
+private conversation with its occupants.  The noise increased, and M.
+Laporte declared that he was not to be “intimidated,” a word which roused
+the “omnibus” party to perfect fury.  He retired, and the curtain rose
+for the ballet, in which a new dancer was to have made her appearance.
+The noise, now, became terrible; yells, hisses, and all sorts of uncouth
+sounds were blended in frightful discord.  The dancers, perceiving all
+attempts at a performance were in vain, and, at the same time, being
+afraid to quit the stage, sat quietly, all round.
+
+Again and again Laporte came forward, and tried to bring matters to a
+settlement, and once he ventured to say, that, as manager, he had a right
+to engage performers at his own discretion, and that he was not to be
+responsible to an audience—which, it is needless to say, added fuel to
+fire.  Then he told them his engagements would not allow him to employ
+Tamburini, which meant ruin to him, but it only provoked more noise.
+Then he appealed to their better feelings by telling them of the many
+years he had catered for their amusement, and this did bring him some
+support, for cries of “Shame,” “No Tamburini,” and “No Intimidation,”
+were heard, but this only had the effect of dividing the audience, and
+increasing the hubbub.
+
+Once again poor Laporte came forward, and talked of engaging Tamburini on
+“Conditions.”  This word upset all, and the Tamburinists asked: “Will you
+engage him?  Yes, or No?”  Laporte said he would make proposals, and, if
+those proposals, etc.  This would not do; “Yes, or No?” said his
+persevering interrogators.  “Say ‘No,’” said his supporters.  He began
+talking about terms.  “Same terms as last year,” shouted all the
+“Omnibus” party, upon which he retired, without proposing anything
+satisfactory.  Everyone was getting tired, when, at last, a gentleman, in
+a box opposite the “Omnibus,” stepped over the front of his box on to the
+stage, and was followed by a party; the “Omnibus” party entered the stage
+from the opposite side, and, at one o’clock, the Tamburinists had taken
+possession, and waved their hats triumphantly, on the stage, as the
+curtain fell.
+
+It was this episode that the Rev. R. H. Barham has immortalized in his
+_Ingoldsby Legends_, under the title of “A Row in an Omnibus (box),”
+beginning:
+
+    Doldrum the Manager sits in his chair,
+    With a gloomy brow and dissatisfied air,
+       And he says, as he slaps his hand on his knee,
+       ‘I’ll have nothing to do with Fiddle-de-dee!
+
+    ‘—But Fiddle-de-dee sings clear and loud,
+    And his trills and his quavers astonish the crowd.
+          Such a singer as he,
+          You’ll nowhere see,
+    They’ll all be screaming for Fiddle-de-dee!
+
+    ‘—Though Fiddle-de-dee sings loud and clear,
+    And his tones are sweet, yet his terms are dear!
+          The glove won’t fit!
+          The deuce a bit.
+    I shall give an engagement to Fal-de-ral-tit!’”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+The Mulready Envelope—Plans of Royal Exchange decided on—Fire at York
+Minster—Queen shot at by Oxford—Oxford in Bedlam—Scientific
+Agriculture—Electro-metallurgy—Embossed envelope—Sale of Louis Napoleon’s
+effects.
+
+On the 1st of May, the Post Office issued the long expected postal
+envelope designed by W. Mulready, R.A., and the opinion of _The Times_
+may be taken as the expression of most people’s feelings about it.
+
+    _Times_, 2 May.—“We have been favoured with a sight of one of the new
+    stamp covers, and we must say we never beheld anything more ludicrous
+    than the figures or allegorical device by which it is marked with its
+    official character—why not add embellished?  Cruickshank could
+    scarcely produce anything so laughable.  It is, apparently, a
+    spirited attempt to imitate the hieroglyphic which formed one of the
+    ornaments to _Moore’s Almanack_; Britannia is seated in the centre,
+    with the lion couchant (Whiggish) at her feet; her arms are extended,
+    scattering little flying children to some elephants on the left; and,
+    on the right, to a group of gentlemen, some of whom, at all events,
+    are not enclosed in _envelopes_, writing on their knees, evidently on
+    account of a paucity of tables.  There are, besides, sundry figures,
+    who, if they were to appear in the streets of London, or any of our
+    highways, would be liable to the penalties of the Vagrant Act for
+    indecent exposure.  Under the tableland by which these figures are
+    supported, some evidence of a laudable curiosity is depicted, by
+    three or four ladies, who are represented reading a billet doux, or
+    valentine, and some little boys, evidently learning to spell, by the
+    mental exertion which their anxious faces disclose.  One serious
+    omission we must notice.  Why have those Mercuries in red jackets,
+    who traverse London and its environs on lame ponies, been omitted?
+    We must admit that, as they have been, recently, better mounted, that
+    is one reason why they should not appear in this Government picture.”
+
+But the reader can judge how far this description is borne out.
+
+                       [Picture: Mulready envelope]
+
+As a matter of fact, it was so universally disapproved of by the public,
+and was the object of so much ridicule, as to necessitate the destruction
+of nearly all the vast number prepared for issue.  To do this, a machine
+had to be specially constructed; the attempt to do the work by fire, in
+close stoves (fear of robbery forbade the use of open ones), having
+absolutely failed.  They are now somewhat scarce, but are extensively
+forged.  It was satirized and laughed at by all, and a contemporary
+criticism, which has been reproduced in _The Philatelist_, vol. vii., p.
+145, is very amusing:
+
+    “Britannia is sending her messengers forth
+    To the East, to the West, to the South, to the North:
+       At her feet is a lion wot’s taking a nap,
+       And a dish-cover rests on her legs and her lap.
+    To the left is a Mussulman writing a letter,
+    His knees form a desk, for the want of a better;
+       Another believer’s apparently trying
+       To help him in telling the truth, or in lying.
+    Two slaves ’neath their burden seem ready to sink,
+    But a sly-looking elephant ‘tips us the wink’;
+       His brother behind, a most corpulent beast,
+       Just exhibits his face, like the moon in a mist.
+    On each is a gentleman riding astraddle,
+    With neat Turkey carpets in lieu of a saddle;
+       The camels, behind, seem disposed for a lark,
+       The taller’s a well-whisker’d, fierce-looking shark.
+    An Arab, arrayed with a coal-heaver’s hat,
+    With a friend from the desert is holding a chat;
+       The picture’s completed by well-tailed Chinese
+       A-purchasing opium, and selling of teas.
+    The minister’s navy is seen in the rear—
+    They long turned their backs on the service—’tis clear
+       That they now would declare, in their typical way,
+       That Britannia it is who has done it, not they.
+    A reindeer and Laplander cutting through snow,
+    The rate of their progress (down hill) seems to show.
+       To the right, is the King of the Cannibal Islands,
+       In the same pantaloons that they wear in the Highlands
+    Some squaws by his side, with their infantile varments,
+    And a friend, in the front, who’s forgotten his garments.
+       Frost, Williams and Jones {132} have this moment been hook
+       And are fixing the day they would choose to be cook’d.
+    There a planter is giving and watching the tasks
+    Of two worthy niggers, at work on two casks.
+       Below, to the left, as designed by Mulready,
+       Is sorrow’s effect on a very fat lady;
+    While joy at good news may be plainly descried,
+    In the trio engaged on the opposite side.”
+
+[Picture: Left—Lord Monteagle and Mr. Baring, Britannia, Lord Palmerston.
+               Right—O’Connell and the Duke of Wellington]
+
+There were very many pictorial satires on this unfortunate wrapper, but
+none bore so near a resemblance to it as the accompanying illustration by
+John Doyle (H.B. Sketches, 26 May, 1840, No. 639).  Lord Palmerston, as
+Britannia, is dispatching Mercuries with fire and sword, to the east,
+typical of the wars in Egypt and China.  On the other hand, he sends a
+flight of Cupids to Father Mathew, the apostle of Temperance, who was
+then doing such good work in Ireland, whilst a man is knocking the bung
+out of a whisky barrel.  Beneath this group is O’Connell, who is roaring
+out “Hurrah for Repeal!” to the horror of the Duke of Wellington, who is
+behind him.  On the left is Lord Monteagle, late Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, ill in bed; whilst his successor, Mr. Baring, reads to him the
+result of his policy: “Post Office deliveries in the quarter, £272,000!
+Total deficiency in the year, to be made up by new taxation, £2,000,000!”
+
+On 7 May, the Gresham Committee met to decide on the two plans for the
+New Royal Exchange, one prepared by Mr. Cockerell, R.A., and the other by
+Mr. Tite, President of the Architectural Society, which was in favour of
+the latter by 13 votes to 7.  The works were immediately proceeded with.
+
+Talking of one fire seems to lead on to another, for on 20 May, York
+Minster was for the second time visited with a conflagration—this time,
+however, it was caused accidentally, and not the work of an incendiary.
+
+The following extract from a letter dated York, 21 May, gives a graphic
+account of the fire, and is of especial interest, as being from the pen
+of a spectator.
+
+    “You may hear the rumour of the alarming and truly awful calamity
+    that has occurred in this city, before you receive this.  I have
+    witnessed it, and shall hold the recollection as long as my memory
+    exists.  About 20 minutes to 9 last evening, I was told the Minster
+    was on fire.  I ran out, immediately, towards it, and stood by it,
+    just as the flames had issued from the top part of the south-west
+    tower, at a height that an engine could not have played upon.  The
+    fire continued to rage until it had entire possession of the upper
+    part; flames issuing from every window, and piercing the roof.  To
+    describe the feelings under which I witnessed the devouring flames
+    preying upon a national monument, which every man must look upon with
+    admiration, requires a pen more descriptive than mine.  Grief, awe,
+    wonder and admiration were the emotions with which I regarded the
+    destruction of this venerable church.  I soon obtained admission into
+    the nave of the Cathedral, and observed the first falling down of the
+    burnt embers.  The flames illumined the interior with more than
+    mid-day brightness; the light, pouring through the crevices, threw a
+    brilliancy over the scene which imagination cannot paint.  The fire,
+    at this time, was wholly confined to the tower.
+
+    “After the space of half an hour, the flooring of the belfry in the
+    tower began to be forced by the falling bells and lighted beams.  At
+    this period, my nerves were strung to the highest excitement.  The
+    noise was extraordinary.  The shouting of the firemen, the roaring of
+    the flames rushing up the tower with the rapidity of a furnace
+    draught, sounded in the high and arched space, awful and terrific.
+    The falling masses of wood, and bells, sounded like the near
+    discharge of artillery, and were echoed back from the dark passages,
+    whose glomy shade, and hollow responses seemed mourning at the
+    funeral pile that burned so fiercely.  In one hour, the tower was
+    completely gutted, and masses of burning timber lay piled against the
+    south-west door.  The upper and under roof, composed principally of
+    fir timber, covering the nave, as far as the centre tower, had, by
+    this time, become fired, and burned with extraordinary rapidity.  The
+    firemen, by a well-managed direction of the water, prevented the
+    flames passing through the west windows of the centre tower, and
+    continued their exertions at that spot, until the whole of the roof
+    had fallen in, and lay, in the centre of the aisle, a sea of fire.
+
+    “The west doors had, now, become nearly burnt through, and planks
+    were brought to barricade them, and prevent the rushing of air to fan
+    the embers to flame, which might have communicated to the organ, and
+    thence, throughout the whole pile of buildings.
+
+    “At 1 o’clock, this morning, I again entered the Cathedral, and then
+    concluded there was no further danger of destruction.  The tower is
+    standing, also the walls and pillars of the nave; and, beyond that,
+    the building, I am happy to state, is saved.
+
+    “The fire is supposed to have originated from a clock maker, who has
+    been, for some time past, occupied in repairing the clock in that
+    tower, who might accidentally, have dropped a spark from a candle.”
+
+The repairs in 1829, when the Cathedral was fired by the fanatic, John
+Martin, cost £65,000, which was raised by subscription, and it was
+estimated that the cost of the present repairs would amount to about
+£20,000.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+I know of no other general topic of conversation in May, but, in June,
+there was one which set every one in the United Kingdom, and the whole
+civilized world, a talking.—THE QUEEN HAD BEEN SHOT AT!!!  A little after
+6 p.m. the Queen and Prince Albert left Buckingham Palace for their
+before-dinner drive, and had barely got one-third up Constitution Hill,
+when a young man, who had been walking backwards and forwards, as the
+carriage came near, and was nearly opposite him, turned round, and,
+drawing a pistol from his breast, fired at the carriage, which, however,
+went on its way.  The man then looked back, to see whether any person was
+standing near enough to prevent him, and drew another pistol, which he
+discharged at the carriage.  Prince Albert ordered the postillions to
+drive on, and they went as far as Hyde Park Corner, and thence to the
+Duchess of Kent’s mansion in Belgrave Square, and, after staying there
+some little time, drove to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen was
+received by crowds of her subjects, cheering vociferously.  To say that
+she was not affected by the incident would not be true, but she soon
+recovered from its effects.
+
+The person who shot at her was a little undersized boy (5ft. 4in.), about
+18, named Edward Oxford, a publican’s barman, out of work, and as “Satan
+finds work for idle hands to do,” this boy must needs buy two pistols,
+bullets, powder and caps, and begin practising shooting.  Whatever made
+it enter into his wicked little head to shoot at the Queen, no one knew,
+but he did, and was speedily in the hands of the police.  He was examined
+and re-examined, and finally tried at the Central Criminal Court on 9
+July, the trial lasting two days.  The defence was the plea of insanity,
+and, as no bullets could be found, the jury brought in a verdict of
+“Guilty, he being, at the time, insane”; and, in accordance with such
+verdict, the judge sentenced him to be imprisoned during Her Majesty’s
+pleasure.
+
+On the day after being shot at, the Queen and Prince Albert took their
+wonted drive in the Park, amidst the shouts of crowded thousands, and the
+next day, she, in State, received the congratulations of the Houses of
+Lords and Commons, the latter having the first audience.  At two o’clock,
+the state carriage of the Speaker entered the court, followed by 109
+carriages filled with members of the House of Commons; never before, it
+was said, was the Speaker followed by so numerous a _cortège_, on the
+occasion of presenting an address.  As soon as the carriages of the
+Commons had left the court, the procession of the Lords began to enter,
+the barons first, then the other peers, rising in rank to the royal
+dukes.  They wore all their stars and garters, and made a brave show.
+
+We get a glimpse of Oxford in prison in a paragraph of the _Times_, 28
+Feb., 1843, copied from a Sunday paper.
+
+    “As numberless strange and conflicting rumours have been propagated,
+    relative to the treatment experienced by Edward Oxford, in his place
+    of incarceration, the curiosity of the visitor on this head was,
+    naturally, great, especially as it is generally understood that those
+    who are favoured with permission to visit Bethlehem, are not allowed
+    to see Oxford.  This is not, however, the fact.  In a compartment of
+    the establishment, principally allotted to those who are supposed to
+    have committed heinous crimes in moments of madness, Edward Oxford is
+    confined.  He is not separated from the other unfortunate persons who
+    reside in that division of the building, but is allowed free
+    intercourse with them.  Among his comrades are Mr. Pierce, surgeon,
+    who shot his wife whilst labouring under a paroxysm of madness
+    produced by jealousy; and Captain Good, whose favourite phantasy is
+    the assumption of the attribute of Majesty.  There is, in the same
+    division of the establishment, a very diminutive man, who imagines
+    himself to be Lord John Russell.  He amuses himself, nearly all day
+    long, with knitting.  Captain Good is fond of smoking, and Pierce
+    hovers over the fireplace (a stove) all day.  Oxford diverts himself
+    with drawing and reading.  He told the visitor, who furnished us with
+    this account, that he had taught himself to read French with ease,
+    during his incarceration, but that he was unable to speak the
+    language, for want of an opportunity of studying the pronunciation.
+    He said that he was terribly tired of his sojourn at Bethlehem, and
+    that he wished he could obtain his liberty, even though he should be
+    placed under _surveillance_ during the remainder of his life.  The
+    visitor remarked that there was no such thing as _surveillance de
+    police_ in England.  To which Oxford replied that he was perfectly
+    acquainted with that fact; and that the condition upon which he thus
+    desired his liberty, was rather an imaginary one, than a strictly
+    legal and feasible one.  Upon another question being put to him, he
+    said he knew he had been placed in Bethlehem under an impression that
+    he was mad, but that he was, really, very far from being mad.  He
+    exhibited some of his drawings, which were uncommonly well executed,
+    and evinced a natural talent for the art.  There were a view of
+    Abbotsford, a horse’s head, a portrait of the Virgin Mary, and one or
+    two other designs, which were, really, most tastefully sketched and
+    shaded.  He appeared pleased when complimented on his proficiency in
+    the art of drawing, and observed that he was self-taught.  In
+    manners, he is modest, civil and unassuming, and certainly exhibits
+    not the slightest symptom of insanity.  We know that medical
+    jurisprudence admits that it is very difficult to determine the exact
+    line of demarcation where sound sense stops, and insanity commences;
+    but he, who has visited a receptacle for the insane, will speedily
+    observe the strange state and appearance of the eyes of those whose
+    intellects are unhinged.  This appearance cannot be mistaken either
+    in lucid or rabid intervals; it is still perceptible, although, of
+    course, in a greater or lesser degree.  Now, the visitor to
+    Bethlehem, on the occasion here refered to, particularly observed the
+    eyes of all the inmates; and those of one only showed not the
+    least—not the most remote symptoms of insanity.  This one individual
+    was Edward Oxford.  He appears in his conversation, his manners, his
+    countenance and his pursuits, as sane, collected, and intelligent as
+    possible.  Of course, the deed for which he is now in durance was not
+    touched upon; nor was any information relative to that subject sought
+    of the turnkeys, or keepers.  With respect to food, Oxford is not
+    treated one atom better than his fellow sufferers; the diet of the
+    inmates of the hospital is plentiful and good, but no favour is shown
+    to any particular individual, with regard either to quality, or
+    quantity.  Oxford appears to enjoy very excellent health; and he is
+    remarkably clean and neat in his person.”
+
+He was, afterwards, removed to Broadmoor, and I have been told, although
+I cannot vouch for the fact, that he was liberated some years ago, and
+sent to Australia.
+
+Early in July, we begin to hear of a higher style of farming than that
+previously in use, as we find the _Dumfries Courier_ advocating the use
+of nitrate of soda as a manure, but, yet, are cautious on the
+subject.—“An extensive trial of it will be necessary before any proper
+judgment can be pronounced.  It is, as yet, unknown whether its effects
+are lasting, and until this is ascertained, caution must be used.”
+
+Another thing, too, was just beginning to attract
+attention—Electro-metallurgy.  True it is that Wollaston applied the
+principle of the Voltaic pile to the deposition of one metal upon another
+in 1801, and it was further developed by Bessemer (1834), Jacobi and the
+Elkingtons in 1838, and Spencer in 1839, but for practical utility it was
+still in its infancy, and we can see how far it had advanced, in the
+following extract from a German Paper: “Munich, 22 July, 1840.—Much is at
+present said in the public papers respecting the imitations of medals,
+reliefs, etc., by means of a galvanic deposition of copper.  This art,
+called Galvano plastic, first discovered by Professor Jacobi of St.
+Petersburg, and brought to greater perfection by Mr. Spencer, of
+Liverpool, and by Professor Von Kebel, of Munich, may justly be classed
+as one of the most useful of modern inventions; and, from its great
+importance, its employment in technical operations must soon become
+general.  Indeed, some persons in England, perceiving the great influence
+which this invention is destined to have on manufacturing industry, are
+already applying it to the production of buttons, arabesques, and various
+ornaments in Copper.  Herr G. A. Muller, mechanician of Leipsic, has
+recently called attention to the application of Galvano plastic to
+typography.  He has, however, been, in some measure, anticipated by the
+experiments made in 1839, in Rosel’s printing office, in Munich; where,
+by following the methods of Jacobi and Spencer, the lines of copperplate
+were produced in relief.  Wood cuts were, also, converted into metallic
+plates, which, to say nothing of the advantage of the solidity of the
+metal, far exceeded the effect of the most perfect casting.  The
+experiments for making stereotype plates in copper have, also, been
+successful.  In short, the invention has now reached that stage which
+must secure for it the attention of all practical men.”
+
+Mulready’s postal wrapper having been killed by universal derision: in
+July was produced an envelope with an embossed head of the Queen thereon,
+and these could be bought until the close of her reign.
+
+Prince Louis Napoleon, previously to his ill-starred expedition to
+Boulogne, had left instructions for his furniture and jewellery to be
+sold; and sold they accordingly were by Christie and Manson on 21 Aug.,
+and Mr. Bernal and other _virtuosi_ went to the sale to see what
+Napoleonic relics they could pick up.  Among these were two silver cups,
+with the eagle and initial of Queen Hortense, £5 10/- and a casket of
+camei, formerly the property of the Empress Josephine, was divided into
+22 lots, one of which was a pair of earrings, the gift of Pius VI. to
+Josephine during the first campaign in Italy, in 1796, sold for £46 4/-,
+and the original marble bust of Napoleon, when Consul, dated 1804, by
+Canova, fetched £232 11/-.
+
+On 28 Aug. Prince Albert received the freedom of the City of London; and,
+on 11 Sep., he was made a Privy Councillor.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+Lord Cardigan and the “Black bottle” case—Lord Cardigan’s duel with
+Lieut. Tuckett—Steam to India—Nelson Column—Mormonism—“The Boy
+Jones”—Napoleon’s body transferred to France.
+
+About this time the Earl of Cardigan made himself particularly
+conspicuous before the public, and the commencement of it was the famous
+“black bottle” question, and I well remember that that useful utensil
+was, for many years, called a “Cardigan.”  My Lord was Colonel of the
+11th Hussars, “Prince Albert’s Own,” and it so happened that, on the 18th
+May, 1840, when the Inspecting Officer dined with the mess, Captain
+Reynolds of “Ours” ordered, at mess, a bottle of Moselle, which, instead
+of being decanted, was served in its original envelope, a proceeding
+which gave offence to the aristocratic taste of the Colonel, and,
+according to a statement which was published in many newspapers:
+
+    “The following morning Capt. Jones delivered the following message to
+    Capt. Reynolds: ‘The Colonel has desired me, as president of the mess
+    committee, to tell you that you were wrong in having a black bottle
+    placed on the table, at a great dinner like last night, as the mess
+    should be conducted like a gentleman’s table, and not like a tavern,
+    or pothouse,’ or words to that effect.  Capt. Reynolds received the
+    message with astonishment, but without remark, and, subsequently,
+    waited on the Earl of Cardigan, and complained of it, but received no
+    satisfactory answer.
+
+    “A short time afterwards, Capt. Reynolds met Capt. Jones in the
+    mess-room, and, in the presence of two officers, said to him:
+    ‘Captain Jones, I wish to speak to you about the message you brought
+    me this morning.  In the first place, I do not think you were
+    justified in giving it at all; as a brother captain, having no
+    possible control over me, it would have been better taste if you had
+    declined to deliver it.’  He replied: ‘I received it from the
+    Commanding Officer, and, as such, I gave it; and, if you refuse to
+    receive it from me, I shall report it.’  Capt. Reynolds replied: ‘Do
+    not misunderstand me, Captain Jones; I have received, and do receive
+    it; but the message was an offensive one; and I tell you, once for
+    all, that, in future, I will not allow you, or any man, to bring me
+    offensive messages.’  Capt. Jones said: ‘If I am ordered to give a
+    message, I shall give it.’  Capt. Reynolds said: ‘Well, you may do as
+    you please; but if you bring me improper messages, you must take the
+    consequences.’  Capt. Jones replied, ‘he should certainly do so,’ and
+    left the room.
+
+    “The two captains who were present (one not an officer of the
+    regiment) proved that Capt. Reynolds’ manner was quiet and
+    inoffensive.  Capt. Jones reported the conversation; and, soon
+    afterwards, Capt. Reynolds was summoned to the orderly room; where,
+    in presence of Major Jenkins, the adjutant, and Capt. Jones, Lord
+    Cardigan thus addressed Capt. Reynolds, in no very agreeable tone, or
+    manner: ‘If you cannot behave quietly, Sir, why don’t you leave the
+    regiment?  This is just the way with you Indian officers; you think
+    you know everything; but I tell you, Sir, that you neither know your
+    duty, nor discipline.  Oh, yes, you do know your duty, I believe, but
+    you have no idea whatever of discipline, and do not, at all, justify
+    my recommendation.’  Capt. Reynolds remained silent; when Lord
+    Cardigan added, ‘Well, I put you in arrest.’
+
+    “Capt. Jones then offered Capt. Reynolds his hand, upon which, Capt.
+    Reynolds, turning towards him, said, ‘No, Capt. Jones, I will not
+    shake hands with you; nothing has passed which renders it necessary.
+    I have no quarrel with you, and I deny having insulted you, and see
+    no reason why I should shake hands with you, or the contrary.’
+
+    “Lord Cardigan said, ‘But I say you have insulted Capt. Jones.’
+    Capt. Reynolds quietly replied, ‘I have not, my Lord’; upon which
+    Lord Cardigan said, ‘Well, I put you under arrest, and shall report
+    the matter to the Horse Guards.’  Capt. Reynolds said, ‘I am sorry
+    for it;’ and retired.
+
+    “The matter was reported to the Horse Guards, after Capt. Reynolds
+    had been in close arrest three days.  Lord Hill sent a memorandum,
+    recommending Capt. Reynolds to acknowledge the impropriety of his
+    conduct towards Lord Cardigan, and to declare his readiness to resume
+    friendly intercourse with Capt. Jones.  This recommendation Capt.
+    Reynolds obeyed; but he still refused to shake hands with Capt.
+    Jones, which would seem to imply a previous quarrel, or to drink wine
+    with him within any specified time.
+
+                                  * * * * *
+
+    “On the 9th of June, Gen. Sleigh went to Canterbury; had all the
+    officers of the regiment brought before him, and, without any
+    investigation, read to them a letter from Headquarters, condemning
+    Capt. Reynolds’s conduct in very strong language; approving of that
+    of Lord Cardigan, throughout, in every particular, stigmatizing Capt.
+    Reynolds’s motives as pernicious and vindictive, and refusing a
+    court-martial, because many things would be brought to light which
+    would not be for the good of the Service.
+
+    “Capt. Reynolds then requested that he might be brought to a
+    court-martial for the offences for which he had now been charged.
+    This was also refused, as it was stated Lord Hill had determined it
+    should be considered as settled.  And, as if this was not enough,
+    Gen. Sleigh told Capt. Reynolds that he had forfeited the sympathy of
+    every officer of rank in the Service.
+
+    “Capt. Reynolds applied for copies of all letters referred to in this
+    statement, which are not given at length, and was refused them.”
+
+He still kept in the regiment, which, perhaps, was unwise on his part, as
+the sequel shows.  Early in September, an evening party was given by the
+Earl of Cardigan, to which, as usual, several officers of the regiment
+were invited.  In the course of the evening, a young lady casually
+observed, aloud, that she “did not see Capt. Reynolds there.”  The Earl
+of Cardigan, who happened to be near, heard the remark, and replied, “Oh,
+no; he is not one of my visitors.”  The words were uttered without any
+marked expression, and did not, at the time, attract particular
+attention.  They were, however, carried to Capt. Reynolds, who,
+conceiving that the expression was calculated to affect him as a
+gentleman, wrote a letter to the Earl of Cardigan, to know if the
+expression had been used, and in what sense.  This letter remained
+unanswered, and the consequence was, that Capt. Reynolds, stung with this
+apparently further slight, was induced to send a second and a stronger
+letter, couched in terms which could bear no other interpretation than
+that of a challenge.
+
+On receiving this letter, the Earl of Cardigan consulted with his
+friends; and, after fairly considering the matter, it was determined to
+submit the letters with the whole of the circumstances connected with the
+case, to the consideration of the Colonel of the regiment, Prince Albert.
+The Prince, on receiving the papers, laid them before the
+Commander-in-Chief, Lord Hill, for his opinion thereon, when it was
+resolved, by the latter, to let the matter come fairly before the public,
+in the shape of a court-martial, which was, shortly afterwards, held at
+Brighton.  This court confined itself chiefly to the consideration of the
+second letter written by Capt. Reynolds, which they conceived to be
+couched in a spirit so insubordinate, ungentlemanly, and insolent, as to
+afford the writer no sort of excuse, or palliation for his conduct, on
+the alleged grounds of previous provocation on the part of his commanding
+officer, and they adjudged that Capt. Reynolds should be cashiered (Oct.
+20).
+
+It certainly was not from a wish not to fight a duel that Lord Cardigan
+thus acted with regard to Capt. Reynolds (and no one who remembers his
+heading the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, can question his
+courage), for he challenged and fought with Lieut. Tuckett, on 12th Sep.;
+a duel which was thus reported in the papers:
+
+In consequence of the Earl of Cardigan having ascertained that certain
+letters published recently in the _Morning Chronicle_, reflecting, as his
+lordship supposed, on his character as an officer and a gentleman, were
+written by Lieut. Tuckett, late of the same regiment (11th Hussars), the
+noble lord sent him, through Captain Douglas, of the 11th, a challenge,
+which was at once accepted, and Capt. Wainwright (half-pay) was the
+friend selected by Mr. Tuckett to arrange the preliminaries.  An apology
+was demanded by the noble lord, to which the reply was, that if he would
+deny the allegations contained in the letters referred to, it should be
+given.  Lord Cardigan declared that certain portions of those letters
+were true, but that the greater part were calumnies.  On this, the
+apology was refused, and a meeting was the consequence.  It took place on
+the afternoon of the 12th Sep., on Wimbledon Common.  The first shot was
+ineffectual, on both sides; but, on the second fire, Mr. Tuckett received
+his adversary’s ball in the back part of the lower ribs, which traversed
+round to the spine.  The ball was extracted, and Mr. Tuckett, after a
+time, recovered.
+
+Subsequently, warrants were issued, and Lord Cardigan and his second were
+brought before the Bench of Surrey Magistrates, at Wandsworth; and after
+several examinations, Lord Cardigan was committed for trial on the charge
+of “Shooting at Capt. H. Tuckett with a pistol, with intent to murder, or
+do him some bodily harm”; and his second, for aiding and abetting him.
+The charge was laid under “An Act to amend the Laws relating to Offences
+against the Person” (1 Vic., c. 85, s. 3), which makes the offence set
+forth in the charge, a felony, punishable, at the discretion of the
+Court, with transportation beyond the seas, for the term of his, or her,
+natural life, or for any term not less than fifteen years, or to be
+imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years.
+
+He was tried in the House of Lords, on 16 Feb., 1841, by his peers, and
+the case against him broke down through a technicality.  His counsel, Sir
+William Follett, pointed out that the prosecution had failed in proving a
+material part of their case, inasmuch as no evidence had been given that
+Captain Harvey Garnett Phipps Tuckett was the person alleged to have been
+on Wimbledon Common on the 12th September last, and whose card only bore
+the name of Captain Harvey Tuckett.  The peers present returned a verdict
+of “Not guilty,” with the exception of the Duke of Cleveland, who added
+“Not guilty, legally.”
+
+The use of steam at sea was beginning to assert itself.  It was only two
+years since, that I had to chronicle the voyages of the _Sirius_ and the
+_Great Western_ across the Atlantic—now we have the first steamship to
+India, sailing on 25 Sep.  She was called _The India_, and was 1,200 tons
+and nearly 400 horse-power.  She sailed for Calcutta, calling at the Cape
+of Good Hope, where she was to stop five days.  It was expected that she
+would complete her voyage, including stoppages, within 75 days.
+
+On 30 Sep. the foundation stone of the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square
+was laid, without ceremony.  It was a large block of Dartmoor granite,
+weighing 14 tons; and, on 16 Oct. the tenders for building the new Royal
+Exchange were settled.  They varied very considerably, and the contract
+was given to the lowest, that of Messrs. Webb, of Clerkenwell, whose
+tender was £2,000 under the architect’s estimate.
+
+About this time we begin to hear of Mormonism in England; not that it was
+absolutely new, for, on 20 July, 1837, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde,
+Willard Richards, Joseph Fielding and others, landed at Liverpool, on the
+first mission sent out by the Mormons.  Three days after landing they
+began preaching at Preston, and met with such remarkable success that,
+within the next eight months, at the expiration of which time, Kimball
+and Hyde returned to America, they had converted and baptised about 2,000
+people.  But the sect was uncommon, as we may see from the following
+extract from the _Leeds Times_, copied into the _Times_ of 31 Oct.:
+
+    “A NEW SECT.—One of the most recent developments of fanaticism is the
+    appearance of a new sect, in different parts of England, entitled
+    _Latter Day Saints_.  We believe that it made its first appearance in
+    Hertfordshire and Leicestershire, from which counties great numbers
+    of its members have lately emigrated to the United States.  The sect
+    has extended to Lancashire and Yorkshire; and, by the labours of its
+    preachers, is now travelling northward into Durham and
+    Northumberland.  The _Latter Day Saints_ assume to do many
+    extraordinary things.  Among other accomplishments peculiar to those
+    who believe in the new doctrines, they are declared to possess the
+    power of casting out devils, or curing the sick by laying hands on
+    them, of resisting the operation of the deadliest poisons, of
+    speaking with new tongues, and of working miracles of various kinds.
+    They state that no ministers, now on earth, preach the Gospel, but
+    themselves, and that, only to them have the supernatural gifts of the
+    Church been vouchsafed.  The Kingdom of God, they say, is only open
+    to those who have been baptised by immersion.  In addition to the
+    Bible, they state they are in possession of another work, of equal
+    authority, entitled _The Book of Mormon_, the original of which was
+    found engraved on brass plates, in the central land of America.
+    Finally, they consider this is the last generation of mankind, and
+    that they have been sent into the world, expressly to prepare the way
+    for the Son of Man!”
+
+Has my reader forgotten THE BOY JONES?  He turns up again in this
+chronicle, for, on Wednesday, the 2nd of December, the inmates of
+Buckingham Palace were, shortly after midnight, aroused by an alarm being
+given that a stranger had been discovered under the sofa in Her Majesty’s
+dressing-room, and the officers of the household were quickly on the
+alert.  It was soon ascertained that the alarm was not without
+foundation, and the daring intruder was immediately secured, and safely
+handed over to the tender mercies of the police.  The report of the
+occurrence spread very rapidly, and created the most lively interest in
+London, as it was feared that the consequent alarm might be attended with
+the most dangerous effects to the health of the Queen, who had been
+confined only eleven days previously.  Happily, neither mother, nor child
+suffered in any way.
+
+The facts, as far as can be gathered—the examination being a private one,
+conducted by the Privy Council—seem to have been as follows: Shortly
+after midnight, one of Her Majesty’s pages, accompanied by other
+domestics of the Royal household, was summoned into Her Majesty’s
+dressing-room, which adjoined the bed chamber in which Her Majesty’s
+accouchement had taken place, by Mrs. Lilly, the nurse, who thought she
+heard a noise.  A strict search was made; and, under the sofa on which
+Her Majesty had been sitting, only about two hours’ previously, they
+discovered a dirty, ill-looking fellow, who was immediately dragged from
+his hiding place, and given into custody.  The prisoner was searched, but
+nothing of a dangerous nature was found upon him, and the police, at
+once, recognised their captive as the Edward Jones, who had, two years
+previously, entered the palace in such a mysterious way.  He is described
+as being very short for his age, seventeen, and of a most repulsive
+appearance; but he was, apparently, unconscious of this defect, as he
+affected an air of great consequence, and repeatedly requested the police
+to address him in a becoming manner; also behaving with the greatest
+nonchalance at his examination before the Privy Council, the next day.
+
+His first version of the matter was this: On Monday night, the 30th of
+November, he scaled the wall of Buckingham Palace, about half-way up
+Constitution Hill; he then proceeded to the Palace, and gained an entry
+through one of the windows.  He had not, however, been long there, when
+he considered it unsafe for him to stay, as so many people were moving
+about; and he left by the same manner as he entered.  The next day,
+Tuesday, about nine o’clock in the evening, he again effected an entrance
+by the same means as before.  He then went on to state that he remained
+in the Palace the whole of Tuesday night, all Wednesday, and up to one
+o’clock on Thursday morning, when the inquisitive youth was captured.  He
+was not satisfied with this dull and prosaic account of his entry; but,
+on the following day, he tried to invent something marvellous, and
+alleged that he ascended the roof of the Palace, and got down the
+chimney; but there were no marks of soot on his person, and his first
+story was, doubtless, the correct one.
+
+The greatest mystery attending the affair was, how he could have found
+his way to the room adjoining that in which Her Majesty slept, without
+being observed.  The delinquent stated that, during the day, he secreted
+himself under different beds, and in cupboards, until, at length, he
+gained an entrance into the dressing room; he, moreover, alleged that he
+sat upon the throne, that he saw the Queen, and heard the Princess Royal
+cry, but his story was such a romance, that no reliance could be placed
+upon it.  He was extremely reticent as to the cause of his intrusion into
+the Palace, the only explanation which he vouchsafed, on being arrested,
+was, that he wanted to see what was going on in the Palace, that he might
+write about it, and, if discovered, he should be as well off as Oxford,
+who fared better in Bedlam, than he, Jones, did out of it.  Even the
+stern discipline of the treadmill, to which he was promptly consigned,
+failed to extract anything more out of him; his only remark, when
+interrogated, being that he had got into the scrape, and must do the best
+he could.
+
+His father stated that, in his belief, his unfortunate son was not of
+sound mind; but the medical evidence went to show that, though his head
+was of a most peculiar formation, he was not insane.  The Council,
+therefore, came to the decision that it would be better to inflict
+summary punishment, and he was committed to the House of Correction for
+three months, as a rogue and vagabond.
+
+If he is to be believed, he fared remarkably well whilst in his royal
+residence, as he said he helped himself to soup and other eatables from a
+room, which he called the “Cook’s Kitchen,” but no dependence whatever
+could be placed on his word.
+
+Prince Albert was taking leave of Her Majesty for the night, when the
+miscreant was discovered; and the Prince, hearing a noise proceeding from
+the adjoining apartment, opened the door, and ascertained the cause; but
+it was not made known to the Queen till the following day, so as to
+prevent any undue alarm on her part.
+
+It is needless to say that this event excited the greatest interest, and
+engrossed public attention, nothing else being talked of.  The punishment
+was considered far too light to deter a repetition of the offence, which
+opinion was subsequently justified.  Such an occurrence, of course, was
+considered fair material for the humourists of the day to exercise their
+wit upon, and there are many allusions to it in the _Age_ and _Satirist_
+of the period; but, as their remarks are not always conceived in the best
+taste, they are better left in the obscurity in which they now dwell.
+Perhaps, however, this little couplet from the _Satirist_ may be
+excepted:
+
+    “Now he in chains and in the prison garb is
+    Mourning the crime that couples Jones with darbies.” {151}
+
+It was Jones’s extraordinary powers of finding an entrance into the
+Palace that caused Samuel Rogers to declare that he must be a descendant
+of the illustrious In---i---go.
+
+On the 15 Dec. the remains of the Emperor Napoleon, which had been
+removed from St. Helena, were laid, with great pomp, into the tomb
+prepared for them at the Invalides, Paris; and, contrary to all
+expectation, there was no disturbance on the occasion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+Death of Scott, “the American Diver”—Prince Albert’s ducking—Monster
+cheese—“The Boy Jones”—“Tracts for the Times,” Tract XC—Earl of Cardigan
+flogs a soldier on Sunday—Dispute as to the discovery of Electric
+Telegraph—Sale of Shakspere autograph—The Census—Astley’s burnt—Behaviour
+of “gentlemen.”
+
+The first bit of gossip of this year was the tragic death of Sam Scott,
+“the American diver,” who was born at Philadelphia, and, at an early age,
+entered the American navy.  His extraordinary courage and prowess as a
+diver rendered him very popular, and, after quitting the naval service,
+he travelled about the Union exhibiting.  He, subsequently, visited
+Canada, and made some tremendous leaps from the banks of the St.
+Lawrence, and the lakes which intersect that country; but his _chef
+d’œuvre_ was leaping from a precipice below the Falls of Niagara, where,
+according to his own statement, he jumped the amazing distance of 595
+feet, into the water, which he accomplished without injury or
+inconvenience!
+
+He was performing in England in 1838, and came to London in the latter
+part of 1840; and we now hear of him as issuing a “Challenge to the World
+for 100 Guineas!  Monday next, Jan. 11, 1841, and during the week, Samuel
+Scott, the American diver, will run from Godfrey’s White Lion, Drury
+Lane, to Waterloo Bridge, and leap into the water, forty feet high from
+the bridge, and return back within the hour, every day during the week,
+between one and two o’clock.”  There were about 8,000 or 10,000 people
+assembled to see the feat, which was to be performed from a scaffolding
+overhanging the river.  Here he swung by a rope noose round his chin, and
+afterwards, with his head downwards and one of his feet in the noose.  He
+then again hung suspended by his chin, but the noose slipped, and he was
+hanged in sight of all that huge crowd.  This fatal accident created a
+great impression at the time.
+
+I do not know the Evening paper from which the following “small beer”
+chronicle is copied into the _Times_ of 12 Feb., but it purports to be an
+“authentic account” of an accident to Prince Albert: “It appears that His
+Royal Highness was walking in the Royal gardens, in company of Her
+Majesty, the only attendant present being the Hon. Miss Murray, one of
+the Maids of Honour in waiting upon the Queen.  It not being understood
+by Col. Bouverie and Lieut. Seymour that His Royal Highness intended to
+skate, they were not, as usual, in attendance on the Prince, who had left
+the Palace, with Her Majesty, without their knowledge.  After walking for
+a short time with the Queen, on the margin of the lake, His Royal
+Highness put on his skates, and left Her Majesty, who remained watching
+the movements of the Prince from the gardens.  He had not been on the ice
+more than two or three minutes, when, as he was proceeding at a rapid
+rate towards the spot where the Queen was standing, and had reached
+between three or four feet of the water’s edge, the ice suddenly broke,
+and, instantaneously he was immersed, head over ears, in the water.  His
+Royal Highness immediately rose to the surface, when Her Majesty, with
+great presence of mind, joined her hand to that of the Hon. Miss Murray
+(telling her to stand firm, and to betray no fear), and, extending her
+right hand to the Prince, dragged him to the shore.  Her Majesty
+manifested the greatest courage upon the occasion, and acted with the
+most intrepid coolness.  As soon as the Prince was safe on dry land, the
+Queen gave way to the natural emotions of joy and thankfulness at his
+providential escape.
+
+“The Prince then lost no time in proceeding to the Palace, where a warm
+bath was immediately prepared, and His Royal Highness, within an hour
+afterwards, was sufficiently well to receive the King of the Belgians,
+upon His Majesty’s arrival from Claremont.  The ice in the centre of the
+lake being nearly a foot in thickness, some surprise has been created
+that the accident should have occurred; but it appears that the keepers
+appointed to attend on the numerous and various aquatic birds which are
+preserved in the gardens of the palace, had broken the ice along the
+sides of the lake to enable them to take the water during the frost.
+These portions had again become slightly frozen over, since they were
+broken at an early part of the morning.  This was unknown to the Prince,
+or the Queen, and, hence, the accident occurred.  There was no person
+present, at the time, connected with the gardens, to point out his danger
+to His Royal Highness.  Yesterday morning, the Prince was suffering from
+the effects of a slight cold; but, beyond this, His Royal Highness has
+sustained no inconvenience.”
+
+On the 10th Feb. the Princess Royal was christened.
+
+On 19 Feb. the Queen had a monster cheese presented to her, “on which
+occasion, she was pleased to express her satisfaction.”  It was made from
+the morning’s milking of 737 cows, prepared by the labour of 50 dairy
+women, at West Pennard, Somersetshire, and it weighed 11 cwt.  It was
+octagon in shape, and its upper surface was decorated with the Royal
+Arms, surmounted with a wreath of roses, thistles and shamrocks.
+Unfortunately, although it had been made over two years, it was not
+considered to be fit to eat for another eighteen months.
+
+_Ecce iterum_ the irrepressible BOY JONES!  Prison evidently had no
+terrors for him; for, no sooner was he liberated from Tothill Fields, on
+2 Mar., than he, almost immediately, set to work to repeat his former
+escapades.  On the day previous to his liberation, he was visited by Mr.
+Hall, a magistrate, who tried to persuade him to go to sea; but Jones
+made certain conditions which could not be acceded to, and he did not go.
+This gave an opportunity for the _Satirist_ to come out with the
+following appropriate lines:
+
+    “The impudent urchin, whom sure the devil owns,
+       And Government wants to send into the Navy;
+    Will not go to sea—and ’tis cunning of Jones,
+       Who, thus, may avoid his relation, Old Davey.”
+
+He was then delivered into the care of his parents, with strict
+injunctions to them to watch his actions; and, for some days, his conduct
+was unexceptionable; he frequently attended a Methodist chapel, and
+expressed his intention of joining a teetotal society.  But the charms of
+notoriety were too strong for him; and, again, he was drawn, as it were
+by a magnet, to Buckingham Palace.  Indeed, it possessed such attractions
+for him, that, when required to pledge himself, before leaving prison,
+not to visit the Palace again, he said he would not promise, as his
+curiosity was so great.
+
+On 15 March, shortly after 1 a.m., the sergeant of police on duty at the
+Palace imagined, as he was going along the Grand Hall, that he saw
+someone peeping through the glass door, and this turned out to be the
+case; for, on his approach, Jones ran up against him, and was, of course,
+immediately secured.  In consequence of his previous visits, two extra
+policemen had been appointed, whose duty it was, on alternate nights, to
+watch all the staircases and interior of the building, and it was owing
+to this arrangement that Master Jones was stopped early in his career, on
+this last occasion.
+
+Like most boys, Jones had a keen appreciation of a feast, all the more
+enjoyable because irregularly come by; and, when he was arrested, he was
+found to have been sitting at his ease in one of the royal apartments,
+regaling himself with some cold meat and potatoes, which he had conveyed
+upstairs in his handkerchief.  On being questioned how he obtained an
+entrance, his reply was, “the same way as before”; and he boasted,
+moreover, that he could, at any time he pleased, get into the palace; but
+he was extremely taciturn, and refused to satisfy curiosity, more
+particularly on this point.
+
+What he confessed at his examination by the Privy Council is not known,
+as the proceedings were in private, reporters being excluded, and the
+public were left in possession of only the above bare facts.  He
+persisted that the only motive for his intrusion was to hear the
+conversation at Court, and to write an account of it; but this plea of
+simplicity did not save him from a repetition of his old sentence of
+three months imprisonment in the House of Correction, with the
+uncomfortable addition, this time, of hard labour.  Perhaps the best
+punishment for this juvenile addition of Paul Pry would have been that
+suggested by the _Satirist_, in the following paragraph: “As the urchin
+Jones, in a letter to his father, stated that his reason for entering the
+Queen’s house was to ‘seek for noose, in order to rite a book,’ it is a
+matter of general regret that, instead of magnifying the affair into Home
+Office importance, the young rogue was not accommodated with a rope’s
+end.”  His visit, however, necessitated the appointment of three
+additional sentries at the palace.
+
+What became of him afterwards, nobody knows and nobody cares, but, one
+thing is certain, he was _persuaded_ to go to sea, and _Punch_ (born 17
+July) devotes a page (vol. i., p. 46) to “The Boy Jones’s Log,” a portion
+of which is as follows:
+
+    “This mellancholly reflexion threw me into a poeticle fitte, and
+    though I was werry uneasy in my _stommik_, and had nothing to rite on
+    but my _chest_, I threw off as follows in a few 2nds, and arterards
+    sung it to the well-none hair of ‘Willy Reilly’:—
+
+    “Oakum to me, {156} ye sailors bold,
+       Wot plows upon the sea;
+    To you I mean for to unfold
+       My mournful historie.
+    So pay attention to my song,
+       And quick-el-ly shall appear,
+    How innocently, all along,
+       I was in-weigle-ed here.
+
+    “One night, returnin home to bed,
+       I walk’d through Pim-li-co,
+    And, twigging of the Palass, sed,
+       ‘I’m _Jones_ and In-i-go.’
+    But afore I could get out, my boys,
+       Pollise-man 20A,
+    He caught me by the corderoys,
+       And lugged me right a-way.
+
+    “My cuss upon Lord Melbun, and
+       On Jonny Russ-all-so,
+    That forc’d me from my native land,
+       Across the waves to go-o-oh!
+    But all their spiteful arts is wain,
+       My spirit down to keep;
+    I hopes I’ll soon git back again,
+       To take another peep.”
+
+To follow Chronology compels me to turn suddenly from gay to grave
+topics.  In September, 1833, Newman commenced the _Tracts for the Times_,
+which, according to its advertisement, had the object of “contributing
+something towards the practical revival of doctrines (such as the
+Apostolic Succession, and the Holy Catholic Church) which, although held
+by the great divines of our Church, have become practically obsolete with
+the majority of her members.”  Keble and others joined him at once, as
+did Pusey as soon as the state of his health permitted, together with
+nearly all the advanced thinkers at Oxford.  These Tracts, issued from
+time to time, caused a mighty upheaval in the Church of England, which
+was known as the “Tractarian movement,” the effects of which have lasted
+to this day, as may be witnessed in the vast extension of Church
+building, the larger attendance and more devout behaviour of
+congregations, the brighter and more ornate services, which are so great
+a contrast to the general sleepiness both of pastor and flock which then
+existed.
+
+Some of these Tracts went farther than people were, as yet, able to
+follow, they were “strong meat for babes,” and the publication of Tract
+XC., by Newman, on the Thirty-nine Articles, brought things to a climax,
+and on 15 March, the Vice-Chancellor and the Heads of Houses met to
+censure the publication; they came to the resolution: “That modes of
+interpretation, such as are suggested in the said Tract, evading rather
+than explaining the sense of the Thirty-nine Articles, and reconciling
+subscription to them, with the adoption of errors which they were
+designed to counteract, defeat the object, and are inconsistent with the
+due observance of the Statutes of the University.”  They only expressed
+their opinion which was all they could do, but Newman avowed the
+authorship of the Tract, and whilst he was still unconvinced of his
+error, he wrote, “I am sincerely sorry for the trouble and anxiety I have
+given to the members of the Board, and I beg to return my thanks to them,
+for an act which, even though founded on misapprehension, may be made as
+profitable to myself, as it is religiously and charitably intended.”
+
+At this time, neither the writers of the Tracts, nor their readers, had
+any intention of severing themselves from the Church of England, their
+sole endeavours were to wake it from the torpor into which it had fallen;
+and, had there been any tolerance on the other side, such men as Newman,
+Manning, and others, would have been kept to the Church, for they merely
+enunciated doctrine and practices which are now almost universal.
+
+The old flint-lock Brown Bess was still in use in the Army, although
+percussion arms were introduced in 1840; but we read (13 Ap.) that “the
+exchange of flint for percussion cap guns to the Army, will cost, this
+year, £130,000.”
+
+That amiable gentleman, the Earl of Cardigan, was still making himself
+notorious.  This time it was flogging a soldier on Easter Sunday, after
+Church; and the very first question asked in the House of Commons, when
+it met after the Easter recess, was by Mr. Hume, relating to it.  Mr.
+Macauly replied that: “Whatever other imputations there might be cast on
+Lord Cardigan, a disposition for the infliction of corporal punishment
+was not one which could justly be thrown on him.  From inquiries which he
+had made, he had found that, since 1839, up to the recent case, there was
+not an instance of the infliction of corporal punishment in this
+regiment.  The charge, however, for which he was justly liable to public
+censure, was the immediate infliction of punishment, on a Sunday, after
+Divine Service.  Such a proceeding was clearly contrary to the religious
+feelings and habits of the people of this country, and could not be
+reconciled with either good sense, or good feeling.”  Lord Hill, the
+Commander-in-Chief, only felt “surprised” at Lord Cardigan’s conduct; but
+the _Times_ of 24 Apl. had a most scathing leading article on the
+subject, winding up with “we trust some independent member of the House
+of Commons will take an early opportunity of cutting the Gordian knot,
+and move an address to the Crown for the removal of the Earl of Cardigan
+from the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the 11th Hussars.” {159}
+
+The Electric Telegraph being now a _fait accompli_, the honour of the
+discovery was disputed between Cooke and Wheatstone—both claiming it.  It
+was settled by arbitration, the referees being Marc Isimbard Brunel, the
+eminent civil engineer, and Professor Daniell, the inventor of the
+Galvanic battery which bears his name, and their Solomonian judgment was
+as follows: “While Mr. Cooke is entitled to stand alone, as the gentleman
+to whom this country is indebted for having practically introduced and
+carried out the Electric Telegraph as a useful undertaking, promising to
+be a work of national importance; and Professor Wheatstone is
+acknowledged as the scientific man, whose profound and scientific
+researches had, already, prepared the public to receive it as a project
+capable of practical application; it is to the united labours of two
+gentlemen so well qualified for mutual assistance, that we must attribute
+the rapid progress which this important invention has made during the
+five years since they have been associated.”
+
+On 24 May was sold by auction an undoubtedly authentic signature of
+Shakspere, attached to a deed, thus described in the catalogue:
+“Shakspere’s autograph affixed to a deed of bargain and sale of a house
+purchased by him, in Blackfriars, from Henry Walker, dated March 10,
+1612, with the seals attached.”  The poet is described as “Wm.
+Shakspeare, of Stratforde upon Avon, in the countie of Warwick,
+gentleman”; and the premises thus: “All that dwelling house, or tenement,
+with the appurtenance, situate and being within the precinct, circuit and
+compasse of the late black ffryers, London, sometymes in the tenure of
+James Gardiner, Esqre., and since that time, in the tenure of John
+Ffortescue, gent, and now, or late being in the tenure or occupacon of
+one William Ireland, or of his assignee or assignees; abutting upon a
+streete leading down to Pudle Wharffe on the east part, right against the
+King’s Majesties Wardrobe; part of wch said tenement is erected over a
+great gate leading to a capitall messuage, wch sometyme was in the tenure
+or occupacon of the Right Honourable Henry now Earle of Northumberland.”
+The deed, at the commencement is stated to be “betweene Henry Walker,
+Citizen and Minstrell, of London, of thone partie, and William
+Shakspeare, of Stratforde upon Avon, in the countie of Warwick,
+gentleman; William Johnson, Citizen and Vintner, of London; John Jackson
+and John Hemyng, of London, of thother partie”; and that the property was
+absolutely sold to all four, “theire heires and assigns for ever.”  The
+deed is regularly entered in the Rolls’ Court Sir F. Madden (continues
+the catalogue) states in his “Observations on the autograph of
+Shakspere,” in Florio’s translation of _Montaigne’s Essays_, which was
+sold in 1838: “There are five acknowledged genuine signatures in
+existence, exclusive of the one which forms the subject of this
+communication.  Of these, three are attached to his will in the
+Prerogative Court, executed the 25th March, 1615–16; the fourth is
+written on a mortgage deed, dated 11 March, 1612–13; of a small estate
+purchased by Shakspere, of Henry Walker, in Blackfriars; and the fifth,
+on the counterpart of the deed of bargain and sale of the said property,
+dated 10 March, 1612–13; and, speaking of the last, Sir F. Madden says,
+at p. 14: ‘What has become of this document?’ a query which the
+auctioneers say is answered.  Of these six signatures, three to the will
+are in Doctors’ Commons (two of them much injured by the hands of the
+lovers of Shakspere); the one in _Montaigne’s Essays_ is now in the
+British Museum; what has become of the mortgage deed is quite unknown:
+this, then, is the only autograph of Shakspere ever likely to be offered
+for sale.”  After many and very animated biddings it was eventually
+knocked down to Mr. Elkins for £165 15s.  These two deeds are now in safe
+keeping, one being in the British Museum, the other belonging to the
+Corporation of the City of London.  The authenticity of the signature in
+_Montaigne’s Essays_ is open to discussion.  At the same sale was sold
+“the Shakspere Cup,” made from the mulberry tree said to have been
+planted by Shakspere, carved on the sides with a medallion of Shakspere,
+and his Coat of Arms.  This was for nearly 30 years in the possession of
+Munden, the actor, and it realised £21.  In the British Museum is a
+beautifully-carved casket, made of the same wood, which, together with
+the freedom of Stratford-on-Avon, was given to Garrick by the Corporation
+of the town in 1769.
+
+The decennial Census, which began in 1801, was, according to the Act 3
+and 4 Vic., c. 29, taken of the number of individuals who slept in the
+respective houses in each parish, throughout England and Wales, on the
+night of Sunday, 6 June.  Scotland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of
+Man were also taken, but Ireland was not; and the following return
+includes only such part of the Army, Navy, and Merchant Seamen, as were,
+at the time of the Census, within the Kingdom on shore:
+
+                           Males.         Females.         Total.
+England                     7,321,875       7,673,633       14,995,508
+Wales                         447,533         463,788          911,321
+Persons ascertained             4,003             893            4,896
+to have been
+travelling by
+railroads and canals
+on night of 6 June
+Scotland                    1,241,276       1,379,334        2,620,610
+Islands in the                 57,598          66,481          124,079
+British Seas
+                                                Total       18,656,414
+
+On 8 June, Astley’s Amphitheatre was burnt down, one life being
+sacrificed, and causing a monetary loss of over £30,000.  This calamity
+so affected the proprietor, Mr. Ducrow, that he lost his reason, and died
+soon after, on 28 Jan., 1842.
+
+Here is another little story of the behaviour of gentlemen in those days,
+copied from the _Times_, 11 June:
+
+    “WINDSOR, 10 June.  Yesterday evening there was a large party
+    consisting of the officers of the 60th Rifles, and several of the 1st
+    Life Guards, at the mess of the infantry barracks, in Sheet Street,
+    in consequence of several promotions which have recently taken place
+    in the Rifles, occasioned by vacancies caused by the decease of the
+    Hon. Col. Molyneux.  The festivities of the evening were kept up till
+    past 12 o’clock, when a large party sallied forth for ‘a spree.’
+    They first proceeded to the extensive canvas amphitheatre of Mr. Van
+    Amburgh, in the Bachelor’s Acre, but, there, they were, fortunately,
+    kept at bay by several of Mr. Van Amburgh’s men, before they had
+    committed any excesses.  The knockers, bell handles and brass plates
+    from several doors in the neighbourhood were then wrenched off, and
+    the whole party then made for a well-known gambling house (which has
+    been tolerated in this town for upwards of twelve months), at No. 4,
+    Augusta Place, where they were immediately admitted.  What took place
+    there before the row commenced, or what was the occasion of the havoc
+    and destruction which almost immediately afterwards ensued, I have
+    not been able to ascertain.  However, they had not been there more
+    than half an hour before there was a scene of the greatest confusion
+    throughout the whole house, causing alarm and terror, from the noise
+    which was created, around the entire neighbourhood.  The police were
+    sent for soon after 1 o’clock, previously to which a portion of the
+    60th Rifles, who were on guard at the Castle, had been despatched to
+    the scene of action, and whom the police met on their return to the
+    guard room.  Upon the Superintendent, Sergeant and several policemen
+    entering the house (which they found empty, with the exception of one
+    of the gamblers, who, it appeared, had secreted himself) they found
+    scarcely one piece of furniture left whole.  The green baize was torn
+    from the billiard and other tables, the doors of the different rooms
+    broken down, the windows, with the sashes and frames, broken to
+    pieces; all the lamps smashed, chairs and tables dislocated, the
+    fanlight over the front door gone, and the balustrades upon the
+    stairs torn away.  At this time, the whole of the party had gone off;
+    and, as for the proprietors of the gaming house, they were glad to
+    effect their escape, across the garden, into a large piece of waste
+    land, called the Lammas.  It was expected that some complaint would
+    have been lodged before the borough magistrates, to-day, at the Town
+    Hall; but no application was made to the Bench on the subject during
+    the hours of business.  A large brass plate, which had been wrenched
+    from a garden gate, was found, this morning, by the police, in the
+    infantry barracks, where there are sundry knockers and bell handles
+    awaiting to be identified and returned to their respective owners.”
+    {163}
+
+The following incident is very little known, and is copied from the
+_Salopian Journal_ of 3 July: “It is known to many of our readers that
+the Whig-Radical faction in Shrewsbury, despairing (as the event has
+proved) of winning the election by fair and honest means, have resorted
+to the infamous trick of publishing anonymous slanders against Mr.
+Disraeli, one of the Tory Candidates.  He rebutted the slanders so
+promptly and effectually, that, at last, the opposite party resolved to
+try the desperate expedient of publishing them with a name attached, as a
+sort of guarantee.  Accordingly, a letter, repeating these slanders,
+“with additions,” appeared in the _Shrewsbury Chronicle_ on Friday,
+signed by a barrister, who had been employed by the Radical candidates to
+manage their part of the contest.  Mr. Disraeli, without any loss of
+time, issued a handbill commenting on conduct which appears to us at once
+ungentlemanly and unprofessional, and plainly designated the barrister’s
+statements as ‘utterly false.’  This handbill appeared early in the
+forenoon of Friday, and, at an advanced hour of the afternoon, a
+gentleman waited upon Mr. Disraeli with a hostile message from his
+calumniator.  He found Mr. Disraeli in company with his lady, and
+communicated that he had business of importance to settle with him.  A
+challenge from the barrister was then handed to Mr. Disraeli.  About an
+hour afterwards, Mr. Jonathan Sheppard having learnt that such a
+transaction had taken place—and it is certain that the information had
+not come from the challenged party—waited upon the Mayor, and, upon his
+information, our worthy Chief Magistrate called upon both parties to
+enter into recognizances to keep the peace.  How far Mr. Disraeli would
+have been justified in meeting a person who had acted as the barrister
+had acted, is a question which need not be discussed here.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+
+Story of an Irish informer—Steam Cars—Sale of Vauxhall Gardens—First
+Jewish Baronet—New Railways opened—High tide—Fire at the Tower—Birth of
+Prince of Wales—His patent as such—The Thames at length
+tunnelled—Antiquities found in Royal Exchange.
+
+We have known something about Irish crime, but the following true tale
+takes a lot of beating.  On the last day of the Clonmel Assizes, in July,
+Judge Torrens heard a case of arson, in which the prisoners, who were
+four in number, were all acquitted, after a trial which lasted eight
+hours.
+
+The principal witness for the prosecution was an approver, named Lysaght;
+and, in all the annals of informers, it would be extremely difficult to
+find a parallel to this same Lysaght.  Indeed, the admission by the Crown
+of the testimony of such a miscreant, in the matter of life or death,
+appears to be highly reprehensible, as the following abstract of his
+evidence will plainly evince:
+
+    John Lysaght examined: I remember the time when Walsh’s house was
+    burnt.  Anthony Ryan came to me before the house was burned to borrow
+    a gun.  I brought it to him on a Monday night, and he told me to come
+    with him to McCarthy’s house, who wanted to see me.  I went to
+    McCarthy’s, and near his place was an old house, in which some of our
+    party were assembled.  McCarthy brought some bread and spirits, and
+    we took share of it.  McCarthy asked me if I would go with the men to
+    frighten Walsh, and burn the house.  I promised to do so, and he then
+    furnished us with powder and ball; we went down to the river side,
+    and McCarthy gave his pistols and 7/6 in money to Anthony Ryan.  He
+    gave me some powder, flax, and something like saltpetre, and showed
+    me, by putting some powder into the pan, and snapping it, how the
+    flax was to be lighted.  McCarthy then parted with us, and we, after
+    eating the bread and meat, went to Walsh’s.  I lighted the tow, and
+    Paddy Ryan put the fire into the roof.  I and two of the party then
+    went and stood sentry near the road.  After a time, I heard a noise,
+    and ran back to give an alarm.  We then left, and went by Toom
+    homewards, and separated near Marshall’s gate; this was about three
+    or four in the morning.  I and Paddy Ryan had shot guns, Ned Ryan had
+    a long one, Darby Ryan a bayonet on a pole, and the two Ryans had
+    McCarthy’s pistols.  We left the house after it was in flames.  I
+    knew a man named Bryan Noonan; he is dead.
+
+    Judge Torrens: Was it you murdered Noonan?
+
+    Witness: No.  I joined in it.
+
+    Mr. Hatchell: How many men did you murder before this?
+
+    Witness: None.
+
+    You say it was Anthony Ryan went to you to get the gun?—It was.
+
+    He has, since, been transported?—Yes.
+
+    You went with the party to the burning for the love of
+    amusement?—They induced me to go with them, but did not force me; I
+    was not very unwilling to go after getting the liquor; but, when I
+    brought the gun, had no such intention.
+
+    Did you load the gun before you went out?—I did.
+
+    Had you liberty to carry a gun?—Yes, from a magistrate, Mr. Coates,
+    who is since dead.
+
+    Were you ever tried before you committed the murder on Noonan?—Indeed
+    I was; I was tried before, for posting a threatening notice, but it
+    was no such thing.
+
+    Were you not sentenced to be transported?—I was.
+
+    Did you not fire shots at the same time?—Yes.
+
+    Judge Torrens: And the reward you gave the Government for bringing
+    you back was murdering Noonan
+
+    Mr. Hatchell: Was not your brother Caravat tried?—Yes.
+
+    You say you were only present at the murder of Noonan; now, was it
+    not you who knocked down the unfortunate man with the butt-end of a
+    blunderbuss?—Yes, the very first.  (Sensation.)
+
+    And you don’t call that murdering the man?—We were all murdering him.
+
+    Were you not one of the men who carried him into the ditch to hide
+    the body?—I was.
+
+    Where is your brother, the Caravat?—I don’t know.
+
+    Was he at the burning of Walsh’s house?—No.
+
+    Did you know Leonard, the smith?—I did.
+
+    Did you see him killed?—I saw him struck, but was not looking on at
+    his killing.
+
+    Did you give him a blow then?—I did not strike a blow at the man.
+
+    Did you give a blow that day?—Yes, when myself was struck.
+
+    Do you remember Wat Hayes?—Yes.
+
+    You attacked him, but he shot you off?—No, he did not.
+
+    Was not one of your companions shot by Mr. Hayes?—No, but a man near
+    me.
+
+    Now, tell me, did he not kill one of your friends?—Oh, he had a party
+    against us, and waylaid us.
+
+    Did you remember Jemmy Hughes, who was killed with a hatchet?—I did.
+
+    Were you not looking at his murder?—Oh, no; he was married to my
+    first cousin.
+
+    Were you not taxed with the murder?—The whole country knew who was in
+    that affair.
+
+    You recollect David Hickey, who was killed at Bilboa?—I was in the
+    fair.
+
+    You were of the party?—I was looking at him.
+
+    That was your third murder.
+
+    A Juror: His fifth murder.
+
+    Did you rob Michael Rogers?—No, but I got the course of law, and was
+    acquitted.
+
+    You knew Mick Griffin, Lord Stradbroke’s herd?—I heard he was shot.
+
+    Was your brother Caravat accused of this business?—No, I never heard
+    of it.
+
+    Did you not say you would put a rope about McCarthy’s neck?—I did
+    not.  I remember when Kennedy was put out of possession.  McCarthy’s
+    cattle and premises were burned after this, but the country say it
+    was himself did it.  I never asked a farm of Lord Stradbroke, but my
+    father or brothers might.  I never heard that McCarthy prevented us
+    getting the farm, on the ground of our being so bad.
+
+    Do you remember you and your uncle carrying away a woman?—I do.
+
+    Your uncle was transported?—He was.
+
+    So you have been guilty of one abduction, five murders, and one
+    burning; what else did you do?  Would you suggest any other crime in
+    the catalogue, of which you were not guilty?
+
+    Judge Torrens: Did you commit a rape?—No.
+
+    Mr. Hatchell: Were any of your brothers convicted of a rape?—Yes.
+
+    Were you not charged with holding the unfortunate woman while your
+    brother committed the rape?—No, but another brother was.
+
+    Judge Torrens: Did you steal cattle?—No.
+
+    Mr. Hatchell: That would be too shabby an offence.  When you came to
+    Walsh’s house, you lifted one of the Ryans up in the roof?—Yes.
+
+    And you lit the fire?—I did.
+
+    Did you know there were women in the house?—I partly guessed there
+    were.
+
+    Did you mind how many innocent people might have been burned?—I did
+    not care.  (Great sensation.)
+
+    Judge and Counsel, with great disgust, ordered the wretch off the
+    table.
+
+In these days of Motor Cars, any gossip about their progenitors must be
+of interest.  On 7 Aug., a steam carriage, carrying 16 persons, belonging
+to the General Steam Company, was tried between the York and Albany,
+Regent’s Park, and the Manor House at Tottenham—i.e., along the Camden
+Road to Finsbury Park—doing the distance in rather less than
+half-an-hour.  Another ran on 13 Sep. from Deptford to Sevenoaks, about
+21 miles, in 2 hours 37 minutes, but there were small accidents by the
+way.  Later on in the month the first-named carriage performed about
+Windsor, Frogmore and Dachet, and frequently reached a speed of 18 to 20
+miles an hour; and on Oct. 1 it was shown to the Queen and Prince Albert,
+the latter expressing himself highly pleased with it.  It then only did
+16 miles an hour.
+
+On 9 Sep. Vauxhall Gardens, which had been a place of amusement since the
+time of Charles I., were sold for £20,000.  In _Punch_ of 14 Aug. we find
+a sad account of a last visit:
+
+    “Impelled by a sense of duty, we wended our way to the ‘Royal
+    property,’ {169a} to take a last look at the long expiring gardens.
+    It was a wet night—the lamps burnt dimly—the military band played in
+    the minor key—the waiters stalked about with so silent, melancholy a
+    tread, that we took their towels for pocket handkerchiefs; the
+    concert in the open _rain_ went off tamely—dirge-like, in spite of
+    the ‘Siege of Acre,’ which was described in a set of quadrilles,
+    embellished with blue fire and maroons, and adorned with a dozen
+    double drums, thumped at intervals, like death notes, in various
+    parts of the doomed gardens.  The _divertissement_ was anything but
+    diverting, when we reflected upon the impending fate of the
+    ‘Rotunda,’ in which it was performed.
+
+    “No such damp was, however, thrown over the evolutions of ‘Ducrow’s
+    beautiful horses and equestrian _artistes_,’ including the ‘new grand
+    _entrée_ and calvacade of Amazons.’  They had no sympathy with the
+    decline and fall of the _Simpsonian_ {169b} empire.  They were
+    strangers, interlopers, called in, like mutes and feathers, to grace
+    the ‘funeral show,’ to give a more graceful flourish to the final
+    exit.  The horses pawed the sawdust, evidently unconscious that the
+    earth it covered would soon be ‘let on lease for building ground’;
+    the riders seemed in the hey-day of their equestrian triumph.  Let
+    them, however, derive from the fate of Vauxhall a deep, a fearful
+    lesson!—though we shudder as we write, it shall not be said that
+    destruction came upon them unawares—that no warning voice had been
+    raised—that even the squeak of _Punch_ was silent!  Let them not
+    sneer, and call us superstitious—we do _not_ give credence to
+    supernatural agency as a fixed and general principle; but we did
+    believe in Simpson, and stake our professional reputation upon
+    Widdicomb! {170a}
+
+    “That Vauxhall Gardens were under the special protection of, that
+    they drew the very breath of their attractiveness from, the
+    ceremonial Simpson, who can deny?  When he flitted from walk to walk,
+    from box to box, and welcomed everybody to the ‘Royal property,’
+    right royally did things go on!  Who would _then_ have dreamt that
+    the illustrious George {170b}—he of the Piazza—would ever be
+    ‘honoured with instructions to sell’? that his eulogistic pen would
+    be employed in giving the puff superlative to the Elysian haunts of
+    quondam fashion—in other words—painting the lily-gilding refined
+    gold?  But, alas!  Simpson, the tutelar deity, departed (‘died,’ some
+    say, but we don’t believe it), and, at the moment he made his last
+    bow, Vauxhall ought to have been closed; it was madness—the madness
+    which will call us, peradventure, superstitious—which kept the gates
+    open when Simpson’s career closed—it was an anomaly, for, like Love
+    and Heaven, Simpson was Vauxhall, and Vauxhall was Simpson!
+
+    “Let Ducrow reflect upon these things—we dare not speak out—but a
+    tutelar being watches over, and giveth vitality to his arena—his ring
+    is, he may rely upon it, a fairy one—while _that_ mysterious being
+    dances and prances in it, all will go well; his horses will not
+    stumble, never will his clowns forget a syllable of their antiquated
+    jokes.  Oh! let him, then, whilst seriously reflecting upon Simpson
+    and the fate of Vauxhall, give good heed unto the Methuselah, who
+    hath already passed his second centenary in the circle!
+
+    “These were our awful reflections while viewing the scenes in the
+    circle, very properly constructed in the Rotunda.  They overpowered
+    us—we dared not stay to see the fireworks, ‘in the midst of which
+    Signora Rossini was to make her terrific ascent and descent on a rope
+    three hundred feet high.’  She _might_ have been the sprite of Madame
+    Saqui; {171} in fact, the ‘Vauxhall Papers,’ published in the
+    gardens, put forth a legend which favours such a dreadful
+    supposition.  We refer our readers to them—they are only sixpence
+    apiece.
+
+    “Of course, the gardens were full, in spite of the weather; for what
+    must be the callousness of that man who could let _the_ Gardens pass
+    under the hammer of George Robins, without bidding them an
+    affectionate farewell?  Good gracious! we can hardly believe such
+    insensibility does exist.  Hasten then, dear readers, as you would
+    fly to catch the expiring sigh of a fine old boon companion—hasten to
+    take your parting slice of ham, your last bowl of arrack—even now,
+    while the great auctioneer says ‘going.’”
+
+On 24 August Sir J. L. Goldsmid was made a Baronet, and was the first
+Jewish gentleman who ever received that title.  Perhaps it is not
+generally known that an honour, not much inferior, had, once, very nearly
+fallen to the lot of a brother Israelite.  At one of those festive
+meetings at Carlton House, in which George IV. sometimes allowed a few of
+his most favoured subjects to participate, Mr. Braham was introduced to
+sing his then newly-composed song, “A Bumper of Burgundy,” when the
+gratified monarch, rising from his chair, was, with difficulty,
+restrained from conferring immediate knighthood on the flattered
+musician.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Three well-known railways were opened this year; the Great Western, from
+London to Bristol, on 30 June; the London and Blackwall, on 2 Aug.; and
+the London and Brighton, on 21 Sep.
+
+On 18 Oct. was a remarkably high tide in the Thames, which did an immense
+amount of damage.  This, and another event were celebrated in a
+contemporary ballad, beginning:
+
+    “There’s lately been a great high tide,
+       Nor can it be surprising,
+    When everything is getting dear,
+       That water should be rising,”
+
+and after dealing with that event in a very witty manner, it went on:
+
+    “The Tower of London, envying
+       Father Thames’s notoriety,
+    Resolved to have a ‘flare up’
+       And be talked of in society;
+    Ten thousand guns were fired at once,
+       With very few escapers,
+    But, though no one heard the great report,
+       There was one in the papers.”
+
+This terrible conflagration was first noticed about half-past ten, on the
+night of 31 Oct., by a sentinel on duty on the terrace near the Jewel
+Office, whose attention was attracted to a glimmering light under the
+cupola of the Round, or Bowyer Tower—which was close to the Armoury, in
+which was deposited an immense amount of stores, such as muskets, etc.,
+and many priceless trophies of war.  When the sentinel found the light
+increased, he gave the alarm by firing his musket, and the whole of the
+garrison, officers and men, turned out; but the fire had got so great a
+hold that, before a sufficient supply of water could be obtained, the
+entire roof of the Armoury was in flames.
+
+Unfortunately, it was low tide in the Thames, and, although the
+fire-engines soon arrived, and there were the Garrison and 250 policemen
+to render assistance, the flames spread rapidly; so fast, indeed, that
+the only things then got out and saved, were the Duke of York’s sword and
+belt, and a beautiful Maltese gun.
+
+The grand staircase of this Armoury was considered one of the finest in
+Europe, and the following is a contemporary description of it.  “In a
+recess on the landing was a platform supported on eight brass six-pounder
+guns, taken at Waterloo, and which served as pillars.  On this was a
+splendid trophy, consisting of arms and weapons, ancient and modern,
+comprising nearly 200 varieties, and nearly all differing in form or
+pattern.  In the centre was a marble bust of William IV.  Upon the walls,
+at the sides, were two large stars, formed of swords, and their brass
+scabbards, bayonets and pistols, one representing the Star of the Garter,
+and the other of the Bath.  Also two figures in gilt suits of armour on
+ornamented pedestals.  The rails of the stairs and the cornice of the
+ceiling were ornamented with architectural figures, curiously formed with
+arms.  Below, upon pedestals, were two very striking groups, one
+representing a knight in gilt armour, preparing for action, attended by
+his esquire, who was in the act of buckling on his spurs, and a pikeman,
+with his 18 feet pike.  The other group was a knight in a handsome suit
+of bright armour, of the time of Elizabeth, in action, having seized a
+banner from the enemy, waving his followers on.  On each side of the
+entrance door was a knight in a suit of gilt armour, and two others,
+similarly clad, stood on brackets.  The whole of these were destroyed,
+with the exception of the Waterloo cannon.”
+
+The fire was soon perilously near to the Jewel Office, which was
+scorching hot—yet Mr. Swifte, the keeper of the jewels, saved the whole
+of the Regalia, down to the minutest article, and was earnestly begged to
+retire and leave the last thing, a huge silver wine fountain, to its
+fate, but he would not, and this, also, was salved.
+
+   “Then Mr. Swifte was nothing slow
+      The Crown and Jewels saving;
+   And to get the great Wine Cooler out,
+      Great danger he was braving.
+   Now, Mr. Swifte, of all the wine,
+      Should now be made the ruler,
+   For while the fire was getting hotter,
+      He was getting _the Wine Cooler_.”
+
+There was an awful scare as to the chance of the store of gunpowder
+catching alight—but 400 barrels of powder, and 200 boxes of grenades and
+ball cartridges, were removed to the magazine, and the remainder was
+thrown into the moat.
+
+On the 8th Dec. the general public were allowed to inspect the ruins, and
+to purchase mementos of the fire; the prices were, 6d. for half-a-dozen
+gun-flints, and the same amount for a few burnt percussion caps; pieces
+of fused iron and arms went at prices varying from 1s. to 20s., the
+latter, the maximum price.  For many years I had a fused cavalry pistol,
+and some calcined flints which were very pretty.  The fused cannon were
+sold as old metal.
+
+On the 9 Nov. His Majesty Edward VII. was born, and, on the 8th Dec. was
+created Prince of Wales.  His patent is as follows:
+
+    “Victoria, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great
+    Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith.
+
+    “To all Archbishops, Dukes, Earls, Viscounts, Bishops, Barons,
+    Baronets, Knights, Justices, Provosts, Ministers, and all other our
+    faithful subjects, greeting—
+
+    “Know ye, that we have made and created, and by these our letters
+    patent, do make and create, our most dear Son, the Prince of the
+    United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (Duke of Saxony, Duke of
+    Cornwall and Rothsay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the
+    Isles, and Great Steward of Scotland), Prince of Wales and Earl of
+    Chester; and to the same, our most dear Son, the Prince of the United
+    Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, have given and granted, and by
+    this our present Charter do give, grant and confirm, the name, style,
+    title, dignity and honour of the same Principality and Earldom, and
+    him, our said most dear Son, the Prince of the United Kingdom of
+    Great Britain and Ireland, as has been accustomed, we do ennoble and
+    invest with the said Principality and Earldom, by girting him with a
+    sword, by putting a coronet on his head, and a gold ring on his
+    finger, and, also, by delivering a gold rod into his hand, that he
+    may preside there, and may direct and defend those parts.  To hold to
+    him and his Heirs, Kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
+    Ireland, for ever, wherefore we will, and strictly command for us,
+    our heirs, and successors, that our said most dear Son, the Prince of
+    the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, may have the name,
+    style, title, state, dignity, and honour of the Principality of
+    Wales, and Earldom of Chester aforesaid, unto him and his heirs,
+    Kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, as is above
+    mentioned.
+
+    “In witness whereof, we have caused these, our letters, to be made
+    patent.  Witness ourself at Westminster, this 8th day of December,
+    1841.
+
+                                                     By the QUEEN herself.
+                                                                “Edmunds.”
+
+We read in the _Times_ of 25 Nov., anent the Thames Tunnel, that “a
+thoroughfare was, yesterday, effected in this work, and made use of, for
+the first time, by the whole of the directors, and some of the original
+subscribers, who had assembled upon the occasion.  The shield having been
+advanced to the shaft at Wapping, a considerable opening was cut in the
+brickwork, and it was through this the party, who had met at Rotherhithe,
+were enabled to pass, thus opening the first subterranean communication
+between the opposite shores of the river.  Upon their arrival at the
+shaft, the party was greeted by the workmen with most hearty cheers.  A
+curious and interesting incident was connected with the event; a few
+bottles of wine, preserved since the dinner given on the occasion when
+the foundation stone was laid, with the understanding that it was to be
+drunk only when it could be carried under the Thames, having been opened
+and enjoyed by the company, to the health of Her Majesty and the infant
+Prince.  It was remarked, too, as a singular coincidence, that a seal on
+one of the corks bore the impress of the Prince of Wales’s feathers, a
+circumstance that caused some merriment.  The engineer, Sir I. Brunel,
+appeared highly gratified at the happy result of his past anxiety and
+arduous labour.  The shield will continue its advance, until it has
+afforded space for the formation of the remainder of the tunnel, which is
+expected to be completed in about three weeks.”
+
+By the end of the year the foundations of the New Royal Exchange were dug
+out and concreted, and, as it was always anticipated that some important
+discoveries might take place in the course of the excavation, proper
+arrangements were made on the commencement of the work, that any articles
+of interest which might be disinterred, should be secured for the Gresham
+Committee.  In the Specification for the Works, issued in 1840, the
+Contractor and Excavator were required, in taking out the soil, to
+deliver up “any plate, coins, antiquities, or curiosities, whether in
+metal, or otherwise, or any carved stones, or carvings in marble,
+pottery, terra cotta, or tesseræ, which may be found in the course of the
+excavations; it being understood that all such matters, or things, are to
+be taken up with all requisite care, and are to remain the property of
+the Gresham Committee.”
+
+They found a portion of a Roman building, but the greatest haul was in an
+old gravel pit, some 50ft. by 34, filled with hardened mud, in which were
+contained considerable quantities of animal and vegetable remains,
+apparently the discarded refuse of the inhabitants of the vicinity.  In
+the same depository were also found very numerous fragments of the red
+Roman pottery, usually called “Samian Ware,” pieces of glass vessels,
+broken terra-cotta lamps, parts of amphoræ, mortaria, and other articles
+made of earth, and all the rubbish which might naturally become
+accumulated in a pond in the course of years.  In this mass likewise
+occurred a number of Imperial Roman coins, several bronze and iron
+styles, parts of writing tablets, a bather’s strigil, a large quantity of
+caliga soles, sandals and remains of leather, all of which can now be
+seen in the highly interesting Museum of the Corporation of the City of
+London, at the Guildhall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+
+Foundation of Royal Exchange laid—Medal connected therewith—Father
+Mathew’s miracle—Christening of the Prince of Wales—King Edward VII.—Hard
+work of the King of Prussia—The Earthquake in London—The Queen drinking
+“grog”—Photography-Talbotype—Sale at Strawberry Hill—Presents to the King
+of Prussia.
+
+The first event of note in this year was the laying, by Prince Albert, of
+the foundation stone of the Royal Exchange, on 17 Jan., with all the pomp
+at the command of the City authorities.  The usual coins, etc., were
+deposited in a cavity, together with a Latin inscription, engraved on
+zinc, of which the following is a translation: “Sir Thomas Gresham,
+Knight, erected, at his own charge, a building and colonnade for the
+convenience of those persons who, in this renowned Mart, might carry on
+the commerce of the World, adding thereto, for the relief of indigence,
+and for the advancement of literature and science, an Almshouse and
+College of Lecturers, the City of London aiding him, Queen Elizabeth
+favouring the design; and, when the work was complete, opening it in
+person with a solemn procession.  Having been reduced to ashes with
+almost the entire city, by a calamitous and wide spreading conflagration,
+they were rebuilt in a more splendid form by the City of London and the
+Ancient Company of Mercers, King Charles II. commencing the building on
+23 Oct., A.D. 1667; and, when they had been again destroyed by fire, on
+the 10th Jan., AD. 1838, the same Bodies, undertaking the work,
+determined to restore them at their own cost, on an enlarged and more
+ornamental plan; the munificence of Parliament providing the means of
+extending the site, and of widening the approaches and crooked streets,
+in every direction; in order that there might, at length, arise, under
+the auspices of Queen Victoria, built a third time from the ground, an
+Exchange, worthy of this great Nation and City, and suited to the
+vastness of a Commerce extending to the circumference of the habitable
+Globe.  His Royal Highness of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Consort of Her
+Sacred Majesty, laid the first stone on 17 Jan., 1842, in the Mayoralty
+of the Rt. Hon. John Pirie.  Architect, William Tite, F.R.S.  May God,
+our Preserver, ward off destruction from this building, and from the
+whole City.”
+
+After the manner of the City of London, a medal was struck to commemorate
+the event, having on the obverse a profile portrait of Prince Albert,
+with the legend “Albertus ubique honoratus,” the reverse having a view of
+the western portico of the Exchange.  On 13 Jan. Mr. Roach Smith
+exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries a medalet, found on the site of
+the Exchange, evidently struck to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s patronage
+of the original building, as it bore the Tudor Arms surrounded with the
+inscription “Angliœ Regina ubique honorata.”
+
+Father Mathew was still doing his grand work in Ireland, but there is a
+story told about him in the _Limerick Chronicle_, copied into the _Times_
+of 17 Jan., that is too good to be omitted: “The Rev. Mr. Mathew arrived
+in this city, last evening, by the Cork mail, _en route_ to Loughrea, and
+put up at Moore’s hotel.  Immediately after his arrival became known,
+hundreds of persons visited him at the hotel, where he administered the
+pledge.  One circumstance which came within public observation, we may
+mention here, as illustrative of the effects of breaking the temperance
+pledge:—A man, named Moynehan, a teetotaller, who worked at the Butter
+Weigh-house, got drunk on Christmas Eve, and the next day, became
+paralysed, his left arm, side and thigh being perfectly inanimate.  He
+was removed to Barrington’s Hospital, and remained there under the care
+of the surgeons, without improvement, until last evening, when his
+friends, having heard of Father Mathew’s arrival in town, went to the
+hospital, and brought him out of his bed, on a man’s back, to where the
+Rev. Mr. Mathew was staying; a crowd had collected round the door, when
+the unhappy invalid was carried into his presence, and the reverend
+gentleman administered to him the pledge again, in a kind and impressive
+manner, and the man instantly stood up, was assisted by his friends to
+dress; and, to the astonishment of all, walked up William Street to his
+home, followed by a crowd of people.”
+
+On 25 Jan., the Prince of Wales was christened in St. George’s Chapel,
+Windsor, by the name of Albert Edward, and on 20 Jan. appeared a letter
+in the _Times_ from “A Conservative”:
+
+    “Sir.—We learn from the _Times_ of to-day, that the Prince will be
+    called Albert Edward.
+
+    “It is natural, indeed, that the illustrious father, and still more,
+    that the illustrious mother, should prefer Albert Edward to Edward
+    Albert.
+
+    “But as I pray God that the boy may live to be King, to whatever
+    period his mother’s life may be graciously extended, so I trust that
+    he may have every qualification for popularity as well as goodness,
+    and, amongst others, an old, and beloved, and accustomed _English
+    name_.
+
+    “And what so fit as Edward?  Who more beloved, or glorious, than
+    Edward the Confessor—Edward I.—Edward III.—Edward VI.?  A Catholic
+    Saint—a law-giver—a conqueror—a Protestant Reformer?
+
+    “The Princess Alexandrina Victoria was known by her second name
+    before she ascended the throne.  So, I trust, may the young Prince be
+    known as Edward, Prince of Wales, to the people, hereafter, Edward
+    VII.”
+
+We all know how this gentleman’s aspirations have been verified.
+
+The King of Prussia was one of the Sponsors, and spent a few days after
+the christening in England.  Poor man! how they did make him work!
+
+On the 26th he had to be at the presentation of new colours to the 72nd
+Highlanders, and, in the afternoon, he visited Eton College.
+
+27th.—Came to London by railway, and held a Court at Buckingham Palace,
+where he received the _Corps Diplomatique_ and the Corporation of the
+City of London.  On his return to Windsor, he visited Hampton Court.
+
+28th.—Again came to London, visited the Zoological Gardens, lunched with
+Sir Robert Peel, and, afterwards, went to the Chapel Royal, Whitehall,
+and the National Gallery—dining at Windsor.
+
+29th.—Saw a review in the Home Park, then went to London, and dined with
+his Minister, Chevalier Bunsen, in Carlton Terrace.
+
+The 30th was Sunday, so the poor man was trotted off to St. Paul’s
+Cathedral to hear the Bishop of London preach.  Lunched at the Mansion
+House, visited the King of Hanover’s apartments in St. James’s Palace,
+and Stafford House; attended afternoon service at the Royal German
+Chapel, St. James’s; visited the Duchess of Gloucester, in Piccadilly,
+and returned to Windsor.
+
+After this rest on the 30th, he visited Newgate Prison, when he was
+received by the Lady Mayoress, Mrs. Fry, the Quaker philanthropist, the
+Sheriffs, etc., and thence proceeded to lunch with Mrs. Fry, at Upton,
+near Barking; at six he went to Drury Lane Theatre, and saw _The Two
+Gentlemen of Verona_; dined with the Duke of Sutherland at Stafford
+House, and slept at Buckingham Palace.
+
+Next day, 1 Feb., at 10 a.m., he visited the Royal Society, Society of
+Antiquaries and the Geological Society.  Thence he went to the British
+Museum, taking Mr. Solly’s collection of pictures _en route_; and after
+spending three hours at the Museum, he lunched with the Duke of Sussex at
+Kensington Palace.  In the evening, he underwent a dinner and concert
+given by the Duke of Wellington at Apsley House.
+
+Early in the morning of the 2nd, he sat to Mr. Hayter for his portrait in
+a picture of the Christening.  At 8.30 he embarked at Hungerford Wharf,
+on a steamer, bound for the Thames Tunnel; after visiting which, he went
+to the Tower of London.  At 12 he returned to Buckingham Palace, where he
+received addresses from the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of London;
+the members of King’s College, London; the Society for Promoting
+Christianity among the Jews; the Prussian subjects resident in London;
+and the German Lutheran clergy.  He also received deputations from the
+Bible Society, the Church Missionary Society, the Imperial Continental
+Gas Company; and gave audience to the Prince of Capua, etc.; visited the
+Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth; dined with the Duke of Cambridge;
+saw the _Merry Wives of Windsor_ played at Covent Garden, and afterwards
+attended an evening, party at Cambridge House.
+
+On the 3rd he was present at the Queen’s Opening of Parliament, then
+received a deputation from the general body of Protestant Dissenters; and
+visited the Queen Dowager, Earl of Jersey, the Dowager Duchess of
+Richmond, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Wellington; winding up
+with dining with the Queen.
+
+On the 4th they let him go—he paid a visit to the Queen at 9.30, went to
+Woolwich and saw a review of Royal Artillery, lunched there, visited
+Plumstead Marshes and the Arsenal, took leave of Prince Albert, and
+everyone else, and went off to Ostend.
+
+About this time was a curious craze, which took strange hold on the
+people, that London was to be destroyed on the 16th of March, a belief
+which seems to have been founded on two metrical prophecies, dated
+respectively A.D. 1203 and 1598, said to be in the British Museum, where,
+however, I have failed to find them; the former is:
+
+    “In eighteen hundred and forty-two
+    Four things the sun shall view;
+    London’s rich and famous town
+    Hungry earth shall swallow down;
+    Storm and rain in France shall be,
+    Till every river runs a sea;
+    Spain shall be rent in twain,
+    And famine waste the land again;
+    So say I, the Monk of Dree,
+    In the twelve hundredth year and three.”
+
+The other is fathered on the famous astrologer, Dr. Dee:
+
+    “The Lord have mercy on you all,
+    Prepare yourselves for dreadful fall
+    Of house and land and human soul—
+    The measure of your sin is full.
+
+    “In the year One, Eight, and Forty-two,
+    Of the year that is so new,
+    In the third month, of that sixteen,
+    It may be a day or two between.
+
+    “Perhaps you’ll soon be stiff and cold,
+    Dear Christian, be not stout and bold;
+    The mighty Kingly proud will see
+    This comes to pass, as my name’s Dee.”
+
+And people were found to believe in this doggerel—especially frightened
+were the Irish in London, and the lower classes generally.  There was a
+great exodus of the former, some even listening to the entreaties of
+their friends, and returning to Ireland, and many of the latter moved
+eastward of the church of St. Dunstan’s, Stepney, which they considered
+would be the last edifice to fall.  Nor was belief in the earthquake
+confined to the east end of London, for I read of a man, formerly a
+police constable, living in Paddington, St. Marylebone, who sold a good
+business to provide the means of his leaving London; and of a clerk, with
+a salary of £200 a year, residing in the same parish, resigning his post,
+so that he might escape the calamity.
+
+The fateful day arrived and passed, and, of course, the dreaded event did
+not take place, but the belief in it is evidenced in a paragraph in the
+_Times_ of 17 March:
+
+    “THE EARTHQUAKE.—The scene witnessed in the neighbourhoods of St.
+    Giles’s and Seven Dials during the whole of yesterday was, perhaps,
+    the most singular that has presented itself for many years.  Many of
+    the Irish resident in those localities have left for the shores of
+    the Emerald Isle, but by far the larger number, unblessed with this
+    world’s goods, have been compelled to remain where they are, and to
+    anticipate the fearful event which was to engulf them in the bowels
+    of the earth.  The frantic cries, the incessant appeals to Heaven for
+    deliverance, the invocations to the Virgin and the Saints for
+    mediation, the heartrending supplications for assistance, heard on
+    every side during the day, sufficiently evidenced the power with
+    which this popular delusion had seized the mind of these
+    superstitious people.  Towards the end of the day, a large number of
+    them determined not to remain in London during the night, and, with
+    what few things they possessed, took their departure for what they
+    considered more favoured spots.  Some violent contests arose between
+    the believers and the sceptics—contests, which in not a few cases,
+    were productive of serious results.
+
+    “The poor Irish, however, are not the only persons who have been
+    credulous in this matter; many persons from whom better things might
+    have been expected, were amongst the number who left London to avoid
+    the threatened catastrophe.  To the Gravesend steamboat companies the
+    ‘earthquake’ proved a source of immense gain; and the same may be
+    said with regard to the different railways.  Long before the hour
+    appointed for the starting of steamboats from London Bridge Wharf,
+    Hungerford Market, and other places, the shore was thronged by crowds
+    of decently attired people of both sexes; and, in many instances,
+    whole families were to be seen with an amount of eatables and
+    drinkables which would have led one to suppose that they were going a
+    six-weeks’ voyage.  About 11 o’clock, the _Planet_ came alongside the
+    London Bridge Wharf, and the rush to get on board of her was
+    tremendous, and, in a few minutes, there was scarcely standing room
+    on board.  The trains on the various railways were, during the whole
+    of Tuesday and yesterday morning, unusually busy in conveying
+    passengers without the proscribed limits of the Metropolitan
+    disaster.  To those who had not the means of taking trips to
+    Gravesend, or by railway, other places which were supposed to be
+    exempted from the influence of the ‘rude commotion’ about to take
+    place, were resorted to.  From an early hour in the morning, the
+    humbler classes from the east end of the Metropolis sought refuge in
+    the fields beyond the purlieus of Stepney.  On the north, Hampstead
+    and Highgate were favoured with a visit from large bodies of the
+    respectable inhabitants of St. Giles’s; and Primrose Hill, also, was
+    selected as a famous spot for viewing the demolition of the leviathan
+    city.  The darkness of the day, and the thickness of the atmosphere,
+    however, prevented it being seen.”
+
+Brighton, too, felt the advantage of the “earthquake,” as numbers of
+families of the middle and upper classes went there to avoid its
+consequences.  It was noted that on the night of the 15th nearly 20
+carriages arrived there, a circumstance that had not occurred since the
+opening of the London and Brighton Railway.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+To “talk scandal about Queen Elizabeth” is a matter serious enough, but
+to say that Queen Victoria drank grog on board one of her own ships is
+rank treason, and must be explained, as it was by the _John Bull_.  “The
+true version of Her Majesty’s tasting the grog on board of _The Queen_,
+during her late visit to Portsmouth, is as follows: Strict orders had
+been given to the men, that when Her Majesty came down to the lower deck,
+to see them at mess, they should not speak a word, but preserve as
+profound a silence as possible.  Jack, of course, was too much taken up
+with watching the Royal visitor, to think of talking, save, perhaps, the
+desire of whispering to his messmate a comment or so on the meteor
+passing before him.  All was still.  Her Majesty tasted the cocoa, and
+approved of it—yet all was still.  Her Majesty then inquired whether
+there was no stronger beverage allowed the men, and forthwith a tumbler
+of ‘three-water grog’ was handed her.  She raised it to her lips—when
+Jack forgot his orders, and three distinct cheers ran round the deck,
+with such ‘a will,’ that the ship’s sides seemed to start with the sudden
+explosion; the honour done was more than a sailor could bear without
+clearing his heart with an huzzah.”
+
+It was on 8 Feb., 1841, that Fox Talbot provisionally registered his
+patent “for improvements in obtaining pictures, or representations of
+objects,” which is now in vogue, his improvement being the printing of
+the photo on paper.  He, himself, made no public practical use of his
+invention, and one of the first, if not the first photographer who
+adopted it was Mr. Beard, of Parliament and King William Streets.  It was
+quite a new thing when Prince Albert went to his studio on 21 Mar., 1842,
+and sat for his portrait.  This made the process fashionable, and
+henceforth photography was a practical success.
+
+There is nothing much to gossip about, until the Strawberry Hill sale.
+It was all very well for the Earl of Bath to eulogise the place,
+
+    “Some cry up Gunnersbury,
+       For Sion some declare,
+    And some say that with Chiswick House
+       No villa can compare;
+    But, ask the beaux of Middlesex,
+       Who know the country well,
+    If Strawberry Hill, if Strawberry Hill
+       Don’t bear away the bell.”
+
+but I fancy no one can endorse the opinion, or see anything to admire in
+this heterogeneous pile of Carpenter’s and Churchwarden’s Gothic.  If it
+had applied to the contents that would have been another thing; for,
+although there was, as is the case in most large collections, an amount
+of rubbish, it was counterbalanced by the undoubted rarity of the greater
+portion, which are thus set forth by the perfervid auctioneer, George
+Robins, who, speaking of himself in the third person, says:
+
+    “When there pass before him, in review, the splendid gallery of
+    paintings, teeming with the finest works of the greatest
+    masters—matchless Enamels, of immortal bloom, by Petitot, Boit,
+    Bordier, and Zincke; Chasings, the work of Cellini and Jean de
+    Bologna; noble specimens of Faenza Ware, from the pencils of Robbia
+    and Bernard Palizzi; Glass, of the rarest hues and tints, executed by
+    Jean Cousin and other masters of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries;
+    Limoges enamels of the period of the Renaissance, by Leonard and
+    Courtoise; Roman and Greek antiquities in bronze and sculpture;
+    Oriental and European china, of the choicest forms and colours;
+    exquisite and matchless Missals, painted by Raphael and Julio Clovo;
+    magnificent specimens of Cinque-Cento Armour; Miniatures,
+    illustrative of the most interesting periods of history; a valuable
+    collection of Drawings and Manuscripts; Engravings in countless
+    numbers, and of infinite value; a costly Library, extending to
+    fifteen thousand volumes, abounding in splendid editions of the
+    Classics, illustrated, scarce and unique works, with ten thousand
+    other relics of the arts and history of bygone ages, he may well feel
+    overpowered at the evident impossibility of rendering to each that
+    lengthened notice which their merits and their value demand.”
+
+The first private view took place on 28 March, and the sale lasted 24
+days, commencing on 25 April and ending 21 May.  No one can hazard a
+guess as to what such a collection would fetch now, the sum then
+obtained, £33,450 11s. 9d., being utterly inadequate according to modern
+ideas.  The sale took place in a temporary shed, erected in the grounds,
+and on the first day of the sale, which was confined to books, there were
+not 200 persons present, and among them, not more than a dozen bidders.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+By way of recognition to the King of Prussia for his being sponsor of the
+Prince of Wales, the Queen sent him some presents, which, if the
+_Wurtzburg Gazette_ is to be credited, were of somewhat mixed
+description.  1.—A cradle with the figure of nurse holding an infant,
+representing the Prince of Wales, in her arms, all of pure gold.  2.—A
+pistol, which, when the trigger is pulled, opens and exhibits a
+completely furnished dressing-case.  3.—A gold mosaic snuff-box, upon
+which are seen allegorical _souvenirs_ relating to the baptism of the
+Prince of Wales.  4.—Four boxes containing snuff.  5.—A dozen knives and
+forks of gold, except the blades of the knives, which are of Damascus
+steel, and the handles ornamented with a crown set in brilliants.  6.—A
+stone vase, containing the rarest Indian fruits.  7.—Two extraordinarily
+large legs of mutton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+
+    The Royal “Bal Costumé”—The Queen shot at by Francis and by Bean—Duke
+    of Cambridge’s star—Chartism—Income Tax—Female Chartist Association—A
+    gipsey trial—Closing of the Fleet prison—Married in a sheet—Enormous
+    damages in a gambling case.
+
+There was a great flutter of excitement over the Queen’s Fancy Dress
+Ball, which took place in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace on 12th
+May.  Its leading feature was the assembling and meeting of the two
+Courts of Anne of Bretagne (the Duchess of Cambridge) and Edward III. and
+Queen Phillipa (The Queen and Prince Albert).
+
+A separate entrance to the Palace was set apart for the Court of
+Brittany, the Duchess of Cambridge assembling her Court in one of the
+lower rooms of the Palace, while the Queen and Prince Albert, surrounded
+by a numerous and brilliant circle, prepared to receive her Royal
+Highness in the Throne Room, which was altered so far, as to be made as
+much as possible to harmonise with the period.  The throne was removed
+and another erected, copied from an authentic source, of the time of
+Edward III.  It was lined (as well as the whole alcove in which it was
+placed) with purple velvet, having worked on it, in gold, the Crown of
+England, the Cross of St. George, and emblazoned shields with the Arms of
+England and France.  The state chairs were as near those of the period as
+the archæology of the time could compass, and the throne was surrounded
+with Gothic tracery.  At the back of the throne were emblazoned the Royal
+Arms of England in silver.  Seated on this throne, the Queen and Prince
+Albert awaited the arrival of Anne of Bretagne, which, ushered in by
+heralds, took place at half-past ten.
+
+The various characters then formed a procession divided into Quadrilles,
+the French, German, Spanish, Italian, Highland, Russian, Waverley and
+Crusaders Quadrilles, and marched into the Ball Room, where dancing at
+once commenced, the Queen and Prince Albert watching the scene, seated on
+a _haut pas_.  At one o’clock, the Earl of Liverpool, the Lord Steward,
+conducted the Queen and Prince Albert to supper; and when they had
+finished the guests were attended to.  After supper, the Queen danced a
+quadrille with Prince George of Cambridge, their _vis-a-vis_ being the
+Duchess of Buccleugh and the Duke of Beaufort; then some reels were
+danced, and the Queen retired at half-past two.
+
+This account would be strangely incomplete without some account of two or
+three of the principal dresses, to give an idea of the splendour of the
+show.  The Queen’s petticoat was of red velvet, trimmed with ermine.  The
+ground of the jacket was garter blue, with a large pattern of leaves
+woven in it, of gold, and ornamented with precious stones; hanging
+sleeves, lined with ermine.  The mantle was of cloth of gold, worked in
+silver, and trimmed with gold lace and pearls, lined with ermine, and
+fastened in front with a broad gold band, worked in diamonds and other
+precious stones.  Her shoes were red silk, worked with gold and diamonds.
+
+The crown was a _fac-simile_ of that worn by Queen Philippa, and was
+ornamented with diamonds and precious stones.  Under the crown,
+descending to the sides of the face, was a network of red velvet and
+diamonds.
+
+Prince Albert’s under dress, of a garter-blue ground, was worked in large
+gold flowers, lined with red silk.  The collar and cuffs were ornamented
+with diamonds and precious stones.  The cloak was of red velvet, trimmed
+with gold lace and pearls, and was fastened in front with a band of
+diamonds and different coloured precious stones, and was lined with
+ermine.  His hose were of red silk, and he wore shoes of red velvet,
+embroidered with gold and satin.  His crown was that of Edward III.,
+ornamented with diamonds and precious stones.  The sword-belt was of red
+velvet, studded with rosettes of gold and diamonds; the sword was richly
+ornamented with the rose, thistle, oak, and shamrock, in diamonds and
+precious stones, the cross, forming the handle, containing some very
+large emeralds.
+
+The mantle of the Duchess of Cambridge, as Anne of Bretagne, was of
+crimson velvet, bordered with ermine, looped up at the sides, displaying
+the petticoat of cloth of silver, worked in silver and gold, fastened
+with diamond ornaments; the top was edged with two rows of large pearls,
+having between them a variety of ornaments, formed of sapphires, emeralds
+and diamonds; the lower row of pearls had beneath it a fringe of large
+diamonds, formed into drops.  The stomacher had rows of large pearls, of
+very great value, mixed with diamonds.  Extending from the stomacher to
+the bottom of the mantle were rosettes and other ornaments of diamonds,
+sapphires and emeralds, forming a broad band down the mantle.  The
+_ceinture_ was also composed of brilliants, emeralds and sapphires.  The
+sleeves were fastened with diamonds and sapphires, and the necklace was
+of emeralds and brilliants.
+
+The diadem was composed wholly of pearls and diamonds, except the _fleur
+de lys_ by which it was surmounted, which was composed of emeralds and
+sapphires.  The head-dress was decorated with two rows of large diamonds
+and one of pearls.  The veil was of gold tulle.
+
+The Duke of Beaufort having been selected by the Duchess of Cambridge to
+personate Louis XII., in the French Quadrille, of which Her Royal
+Highness was the leader, His Grace appeared in one of the most splendid
+dresses handed down by Monfaucon, in his _Monarchie Francaise_.  The
+dress consisted of rich blue velvet, sumptuously embroidered in gold,
+with which were intermixed rubies, emeralds, pearls and other precious
+stones, with a large diamond star in the centre, and an opal, of
+priceless value, set with diamonds.  The cloak was of cloth of gold,
+lined with white satin, and trimmed over with powdered ermine.  The belt
+worn by the Noble Duke, on this occasion, was of crimson, richly studded
+with precious stones, and fastened in the centre by a large diamond
+buckle.  Sword, a valuable specimen of the art of that period, the hilt
+being of gold, exquisitely chased; a crimson velvet hat with feathers,
+confined in the front by a costly jewel.
+
+Space prevents my giving any more of the dresses, and I only notice that
+the Earl of Cardigan appeared in the French Quadrille, clad in armour, as
+_Bayard_, _the_ “_Chevalier sans reproche_”!!!
+
+As almost everyone’s dress was ablaze with diamonds and other jewels, it
+is pleasant to think, that very few losses were sustained, and those
+were, generally, of trifling value.  The only loss of any moment was that
+sustained by Prince Albert, from the girdle of whose gorgeous dress, is
+supposed to have dropped a valuable brilliant of great size.
+
+On 30 May, about half-past six in the evening, as the Queen was returning
+from her usual drive, and was close to Buckingham Palace, she was fired
+at by a young miscreant named John Francis, aged 20, described as a
+carpenter.  He was at once seized, and examined by the Privy Council.
+The simplest account of the event was given at the boy’s trial by Col.
+Arbuthnot, one of the Queen’s equerries, whose testimony was as follows:
+“My general position is about five yards in the rear of Her Majesty.
+Before we left the Palace, I had received an intimation which induced me
+to ride as close to Her Majesty as I could; and Colonel Wylde, Prince
+Albert’s equerry, rode in the same position, on the other side.  Between
+6 and 7 o’clock, we were coming down Constitution Hill, when, about
+halfway down the Hill, I observed the prisoner; and, on the carriage
+reaching him, he took a pistol from his side, and fired it in the
+direction of the Queen.  As quickly as I could, I pulled up my horse, and
+gave the prisoner into custody.  The prisoner had, before this, caught my
+attention as appearing anxious to see Her Majesty.  The Colonel went on
+to say that the utmost distance from the carriage, when Francis fired,
+was seven feet.  The _cortége_ had been going at the rate of eleven miles
+an hour; but the Colonel had given instructions at this spot, to go
+faster, and the postillions were driving at the rate of twelve or
+thirteen miles an hour.  The Queen was sitting on the back seat of the
+carriage, on the side nearest to the prisoner.  The pistol seemed to the
+witness to be pointed in the direct line of Her Majesty.”
+
+On the news being communicated to the Houses of Parliament, they
+adjourned in confusion, as it was found impossible to carry on the public
+business whilst in that state of excitement.  Next day both Houses voted
+congratulatory addresses, and the same were sent by every corporate body
+throughout the Kingdom.  The Queen, who could not fail to be affected by
+this attempt upon her life, nevertheless attended the Opera the same
+evening, and met with a most enthusiastic reception.
+
+Francis was tried, on the charge of High Treason, at the Central Criminal
+Court, on 17 June, and found guilty; there being no reasonable doubt but
+that the pistol was loaded with something more than gunpowder.  His
+sentence was: “That you, John Francis, be taken from hence to the place
+from whence you came, that you be drawn from thence on a hurdle to the
+place of execution, and that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead:
+that your head be, afterwards, severed from your body, and that your body
+be divided into four quarters, to be disposed of in such manner as Her
+Majesty shall deem fit.  And the Lord have mercy on your soul!”
+
+This sentence was commuted to transportation for life, and on 6 July he
+left Newgate for Gosport, and he was sent to Norfolk Island by the first
+transport sailing thither.
+
+This mania for shooting at the Queen was infectious.  If Oxford had not
+been treated so leniently, there would have been no Francis; and if there
+had been no Francis, there would have been no Bean.  This was another
+young miscreant, aged 18, deformed, and very short.  It was on Sunday, 3
+July, when the Queen was going from Buckingham Palace to the Chapel
+Royal, St. James’s, that, in the Mall, this boy was seen to present a
+pistol at the Queen.  A young man named Dassett saw the act, and this is
+a resumé of his evidence at the trial on 25 Aug.: He said he saw the
+royal carriages coming along, and saw the prisoner come from the crowd,
+draw a pistol from his breast, and present it at the carriage, at arm’s
+length, and breast high; and then he heard the click of a pistol hammer
+upon the pan; but there was no explosion.  He seized him, and, assisted
+by his brother, took him across the Mall, and gave him to Police
+Constable Hearn, who said “it did not amount to a charge.”  Another
+policeman, likewise, refused to take the prisoner, who only asked to have
+his pistol back again.  The pressure of the crowd was so great, that he
+was obliged to let Bean go; and, afterwards, the people said that witness
+himself had been shooting at the Queen, and a policeman took the pistol
+away from him.
+
+In his cross-examination, Dassett said that some person in the crowd
+laughed, and others called out that the pistol was not loaded.  An
+Inspector of Police deposed to having received the pistol from witness,
+and he unloaded it; the charge was not large, and consisted of coarse
+gunpowder, some short pieces of tobacco pipe, and four small pieces of
+gravel.
+
+Bean got away for a time, but was, afterwards, captured and tried, found
+guilty, and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in Millbank
+Penitentiary.
+
+The old Duke of Cambridge (the Queen’s uncle) had a fright, on the 6
+July, when he was at a fête at Jesus College, Cambridge, for he lost the
+diamond star from his breast, valued at £500.  Everybody thought it had
+been stolen by an expert thief, but it was afterwards found by a Police
+Inspector, in the gardens, much trodden on, and with three diamonds
+missing; so it was “All’s well that ends well.”
+
+There was great distress in the manufacturing districts, and disturbances
+originating in a strike for higher wages, were inflamed by the Chartists,
+and other political agitators.  Beginning in Lancashire, the riots spread
+through Cheshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire, and,
+finally, extended to the manufacturing towns of Scotland, and the
+collieries of Wales.  There were conflicts with the military, and people
+were killed; altogether, matters were very serious.
+
+It was better in London.  On 19 Aug. a Chartist meeting was to be held on
+Clerkenwell Green, but plenty of police were there to meet them.  Most of
+the mob were discouraged, and went home, but the police were obliged to
+arrest some 50 of them, and some banners were captured.  Then they went
+to Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and in Long Acre, they came into collision with
+the police, and some damage was done.  So serious was the outlook, that
+all the military in the Metropolis and the suburbs were kept under arms,
+and there were large reserves of police at every Station House; and, next
+day, the magistrate, at Bow Street, had a busy day, hearing cases arising
+from this outbreak.  On the 22nd Aug. there were Chartist meetings at
+Clerkenwell Green and Paddington (the latter numbering upwards of
+10,000), but the worst cases were managed by the police, and no very
+great harm came of them.
+
+On 22 June, Sir Robt. Peel’s Bill, imposing an Income Tax, received the
+Royal sanction.  It is 5 and 6 Vic., c. 35: “An Act for granting Her
+Majesty Duties on Profits arising from Property, Professions, Trades, and
+Offices, until the 6th day of April, 1845.”  We see that it was imposed
+only for three years, but the Old Man of the Sea, once on the popular
+back, has never come off; and, in all probability, never will.  It began
+at 7d. in the pound, has been as high as 16d., and as low as 2d.  There
+is in _Blackwood’s Magazine_ for Aug., 1842:
+
+                               “THE INCOME TAX.
+                            An excellent New Song.
+
+    All you who rents, or profits draw,
+    Enough to come within the law,
+    Your button’d pockets now relax,
+    And quickly pay your Income Tax.
+
+    A pleasant medicine’s sure to kill,
+    Your only cure’s a bitter pill:
+    The drugs of base deluding quacks
+    Made Peel prescribe the Income Tax.
+
+    You can’t enjoy your pint, or pot,
+    And then refuse to pay the shot;
+    You can’t pursue expensive tracks
+    With a toll, or Income Tax.
+
+    Ye Quakers, clad in sober suit,
+    And all ye Baptist tribes to boot,
+    ’Twas right, perhaps, to free the blacks,
+    But, thence arose this Income Tax.
+
+    Ye bagmen bold, ye lovers fond,
+    Who daily like to correspond,
+    Remember, as you break the wax,
+    Cheap postage means an Income Tax.
+
+    Ye noisy fools, who made a rout
+    To try and keep the Tories out,
+    The blunders of your Whiggish hacks
+    Have brought us to this Income Tax.
+
+    Old Cupid’s {194} wish to crush the Czar
+    Has cost us, in the Afghan war,
+    Both English lives and Indian lacs,
+    And hastened on the Income Tax.
+
+    Regardless of the price of teas,
+    They anger’d, too, the poor Chinese,
+    The Mandarins have shown their backs,
+    But war soon brings an Income Tax.
+
+    Yet now I hope the new tariff
+    Will something save in beer and beef;
+    If that be so, you’ll all go snacks,
+    And half escape your Income Tax.
+
+    At least, we poor folks fear no shock
+    At hearing the collector’s knock;
+    His jest, the poundless poet cracks
+    On him who calls for Income Tax.”
+
+The day of reckoning for the Rioters of August duly came, and both at
+York and Salford Assizes many were punished, and at the end of September
+Feargus O’Connor was arrested in London for sedition, as were other
+Chartist leaders at Manchester and Leeds.  In October, more rioters were
+tried, and sentenced, at Stafford and Liverpool.
+
+Even women meddled with Chartism, and on 17 Oct. a meeting of female
+Chartists was held at the National Charter Association in the Old Bailey,
+to form a female Chartist Association to co-operate with the original
+society.  A Mr. Cohen created some dissatisfaction by speaking _against_
+the interposition of women in political affairs; he “put it to the
+mothers present, whether they did not find themselves more happy in the
+peacefulness and usefulness of the domestic hearth, than in coming forth
+in public, and aspiring after political rights?”  Miss Inge asked Mr.
+Cohen, did he not consider women qualified to fill public offices? it did
+not require much “physical force” to vote!  Mr. Cohen replied with an
+_argumentum ad fœminam_:—He would, with all humility and respect, ask the
+young lady, what sort of office she would aspire to fill?  If she would
+fill one, she would fill all?  He was not going to treat the question
+with ridicule; but he would ask her to suppose herself in the House of
+Commons, as Member for a Parliamentary Borough, and that a young
+gentleman, a lover, in that House, were to try to influence her vote,
+through his sway over her affections; how would she act? whether, in
+other words, she could resist, and might not lose sight of the public
+interests?  (Order!  Order!)  He wished to be in order.  He was for
+maintaining the _social_ rights of women; _political_ rights, such as he
+understood that meeting to aspire to, she could never, in his opinion,
+attain.  This drew forth an energetic speech from Miss Mary Anne Walker;
+she “repudiated, with indignation, the insinuation that, if women were in
+Parliament, any man, be he husband, or be he lover, would dare to be so
+base a scoundrel as to attempt to sway her from the strict line of duty.”
+Miss Walker was much applauded; and, after the business of the evening,
+she received the thanks of the meeting.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+In the _Times_ of Oct. 5, there is a paragraph about a gipsey trial, and
+as that curious nomad race is fast disappearing, it may prove of interest
+to my readers:
+
+    “A short time since, a very remarkable circumstance took place in the
+    New Forest, Hampshire, in the instance of a gipsey, named Lee, being
+    cast out of the fraternity.  The spot where the scene took place was
+    at Bolton’s Bench, near Lyndhurst.  Between 300 and 400 gipsies,
+    belonging to different tribes, including the Lees, Stanleys, and
+    Coopers, were assembled upon this unusual occasion.  The concourse
+    consisted of a great many females; and so secretly had the meeting
+    been got up, that scarcely a person residing in the neighbourhood was
+    aware that a circumstance of the sort was about to take place.  The
+    offender, a handsome-looking man, apparently between 38 and 40 years
+    of age, was placed in the middle of a ring, composed of the King of
+    the Gipsies, and the patriarchs of different tribes.  This ring was
+    followed by a second, made up of the male portion of the assembly;
+    and an exterior circle was formed by the women.  The King (one of the
+    Lees), who was a venerable old man, and one who looked as though he
+    had seen upwards of 90 summers, then addressed the culprit for nearly
+    an hour, but in a tongue that was perfectly strange to the
+    bystanders.  The address was delivered in a most impressive manner,
+    as might be conceived by the vehemence of the gesticulations which
+    accompanied it.  None but the gipsies themselves had the slightest
+    knowledge of the crime which had been committed by the offender, but
+    it must have been one evidently very obnoxious to the tribe, as the
+    act of expulsion from among them is an exceedingly rare occurrence.
+    As soon as the King had finished his speech to the condemned man, he
+    turned round, and harangued the whole of the gipsies assembled; and,
+    expressing himself in English, he informed them that Jacob Lee had
+    been expelled from among them, that he was no longer one of their
+    fraternity, and that he must leave the camp of the gipsies for ever.
+    The King, then advancing towards him, spat upon him, and the circle
+    which enclosed him simultaneously opened to admit of his retreating
+    from among them, while they smote him with branches of trees, as he
+    left the ground.  The meeting then broke up, and the parties
+    assembled went their different ways; some of them having come some
+    considerable distance, in order to be present at the tribunal.”
+
+Early in November Mr. J. Simon, LL.B., was called to the Bar, being the
+first Jewish barrister connected with the Middle Temple.  A Hebrew bible
+had to be obtained, on which he could be sworn, and a difficulty having
+arisen, owing to the custom of Jews putting on their hats when taking an
+oath, the size of the wig rendering it impossible in this case, it was
+ruled that the head was sufficiently covered by the wig.
+
+On 31 May, 1842, an Act (5 & 6 Vic., c. 22) was passed for the demolition
+of the Fleet prison, and on 30 Nov., the records, books, etc., and the
+remaining prisoners, seventy in number, were removed to the Queen’s
+prison.  The Marshalsea was also closed, and its three prisoners were
+also transferred.  The Fleet had been a prison ever since the time of
+William the Conqueror.
+
+Writing about the Fleet prison sets one thinking of the marriages
+solemnized within its rules, and there is an entry in one of the
+registers: “The Woman ran across Ludgate Hill in her shift.”  In the
+_Times_ of 15 Dec., I find the following, copied from the _Boston
+Herald_:
+
+    “GEDNEY.—A most extravagant exhibition took place here on Friday.  A
+    widow, named Farrow, having four children, was married to a man named
+    David Wilkinson; and the woman having been told that if she was
+    married, covered by nothing but a sheet, her husband would not be
+    answerable for her debts, actually had the hardihood to go to church
+    with nothing on but a sheet, sewn up like a sack, with holes in the
+    sides for her arms, and in this way was married.”  I have come across
+    several instances of this vulgar error.
+
+On the 3rd Dec. was tried a famous gambling case which ended in the
+discomfiture of a notorious gaming-house keeper, named Bond.  It was a
+case in the Court of Exchequer—Smith _v._ Bond.  At the gaming house kept
+by the latter, the game played was, usually, “French Hazard”; and persons
+of rank were in the habit of staking large sums against the “bank” held
+by Bond, to whom reverted all the profits of the game; in one evening
+they amounted to £2,000 or £3,000.  Considerable losses were sustained,
+on various occasions, by Mr. Bredall, Capt. Courtney, Mr. Fitzroy
+Stanhope, the Marquis of Conyngham, Lord Cantelupe and General Churchill.
+The action was brought under the Act 9th Anne, c. 14, to recover from
+Bond the sums alleged to have been unlawfully won.  A verdict for the
+plaintiff was returned on five out of ten counts, with damages including
+the treble value of £3,508, the sum lost.  Half the damages went to the
+parish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+
+Murder of Mr. Drummond—Rebecca and her Daughters—Spread of the Movement
+through Wales—Its End—Rebecca Dramatised—Rebecca in London.
+
+The year opened badly, with the assassination of Edward Drummond, Esqre.,
+the private secretary of Sir Robert Peel.  Walking quietly down
+Parliament Street, he was suddenly fired at by a man named Daniel
+McNaughton.  Poor Mr. Drummond did not die at once, but lingered for a
+few hours.  It was believed by very many people, myself among the number,
+that it was a political assassination, the Secretary being taken for the
+Premier, but the man got off on a plea of insanity, a plea which was very
+fashionable in favour of criminals at that time, and highly conducive to
+their benefit.
+
+An episode in the Social History of England, almost unknown to the rising
+generation, was the reappearance, in Wales, of “Rebecca and her
+daughters,” a riotous mob, whose grievance was, at first, purely
+local—they resisted the heavy and vexatious tolls, to which, by the
+mismanagement and abuses of the turnpike system, they were subjected.
+Galled by this burden, to which they were rendered more sensitive by
+reason of their poverty, and hopeless of obtaining any assistance or
+relief by legitimate means, the people resolved to take the law in their
+own hands, and abate the source of so much annoyance and distress by the
+strong arm.
+
+The first act of destruction of the toll gates occurred in 1839, and the
+gates then destroyed were particularly obnoxious to the people, who
+entertained doubts of the legality of their erection.  They were broken
+down in open day, with no attempt at concealment, by a mob of persons
+rather in a spirit of mischievous frolic than otherwise.  The proposal to
+re-erect these gates, on the part of the trustees, was overruled by a
+large body of magistrates and gentlemen, many of whom qualified for
+trustees expressly for the occasion.  This decision gave strength and
+encouragement to the discontented, and, no doubt, prepared the way for
+further violence.  The gate breakers had learned their power and though
+they did not immediately renew the exercise of it, the lesson was not
+forgotten, although it slumbered until the commencement of 1843, when it
+appeared in a systematic and organised form.
+
+This organization was called “Rebecca and her daughters,” their leader
+having taken this scriptural name from a misconception of the meaning of
+_Genesis_ xxiv., 60: “And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her. . . .
+‘let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.’”  This captain
+of the gate breakers in the guise of a woman, always made her marches and
+attacks by night, and her conduct of the campaign manifested no small
+dexterity and address.  A sudden blowing of horns and firing of guns
+announced the arrival of the assailants at the turnpike selected for
+attack.  They were mounted on horseback, and generally appeared in
+considerable force.  The leader, who gave the word of command, and
+directed the motion of those whom she called her daughters, was attired
+in a female dress of some description, wearing, also, a bonnet, or
+head-dress, which served the purpose of disguise.  Her bodyguard were
+dressed up in similar manner.
+
+Immediately on arriving at the gate, they commenced the business of the
+night, and proceeded to raze gate, posts, and tollhouse, with an alacrity
+and perseverance which soon accomplished its purpose.  They, generally,
+sawed off the gate posts close to the ground, broke the gate to
+fragments, and pulled down the toll-house to its foundations.  To show
+that the abatement of the specific grievance was their only object, they,
+commonly, dealt very leniently with the toll-keeper, offering him, except
+in rare cases, no personal violence, and allowing him to remove his
+furniture and property, which they never attempted to destroy or plunder.
+The work was no sooner done than the mysterious assailants galloped off,
+firing their guns, and blowing their horns, as before.  No trace nor clue
+was to be found of the quarter whence they had come, or of the retreats
+to which they dispersed themselves; nor did anything in the outward
+appearance of the country, by day, even when these nightly outrages were
+at their height, give sign of the extension and compact organization
+which evidently subsisted among the population.
+
+   [Picture: Rebecca and her Daughters.  Ill. Lon. News, 11 Feb., 1843]
+
+The first notice I can find (in this year) of these riots is in the
+_Times_ of 10 Jan., in which is the following paragraph from the
+_Welshman_:
+
+    “The state of society in Wales may surprise some of our English
+    readers, especially when we acquaint them with the fact, that there
+    has been, for some months past, in the neighbourhood of St. Clear, a
+    mob of lawless depredators, amounting to about 600, who assembled
+    nightly, for the purpose of destroying the turnpike gates on the
+    various lines of road in the neighbourhood of St. Clear.  These
+    ruffians are headed by a very tall man, dressed, for disguise, as a
+    female, who goes by the name of Rebecca; and, as many of his
+    associates are likewise dressed as females, the whole gang have been
+    christened ‘Rebecca and her daughters.’  These men are nearly all
+    ably mounted, and are a terror to the neighbouring country.  The
+    Pwiltrap gate has been destroyed a great number of times and as
+    frequently replaced by the trustees of the road; but, immediately
+    after its re-erection, the fellows have invariably assembled in
+    greater force than before; and, riding up to the gate, the following
+    interesting colloquy has taken place.  The leader of the mob,
+    addressing the others in Welsh, says, ‘My children this gate has no
+    business here, has it?’ to which her children reply, that it has not;
+    the mother again asks, what is to be done with it, when the children
+    reply, that it should be levelled with the ground.  They then
+    immediately break it down, and disperse in different directions.
+
+    “This system has continued for a length of time; and, although a
+    reward of £50 has been offered, not one of the offenders has been
+    discovered.  About 100 constables have been sworn in, and three
+    constables from London are down there; but all precautions are
+    ineffectual; for so surely as the constables show the slightest
+    diminution of their vigilance, Rebecca and her daughters appear, and
+    level the gates.  A very short time ago, the policemen were after a
+    fellow whom they suspected to belong to the gang and, while at a
+    public house, baiting their horse, Rebecca and her daughters suddenly
+    came in sight, and the affrighted officers of the law were obliged to
+    fly for their lives.  The gates have now been re-erected, and no
+    fresh act of violence has occurred since the 16th ult., but the
+    organisation of the depredators still continues; and, it is feared,
+    will break out with fresh violence if the constabulary force be
+    removed.”
+
+That this movement was serious and no joke, is evidenced by the fact that
+I have, in my notes, 45 paragraphs in the _Times_ on the subject.
+
+From Pembroke and Caermarthen, it gradually spread to Cardiganshire, on
+one side, and to Radnorshire and Glamorganshire, on the other.
+Brecknockshire, alone of the South Wales counties, enjoyed exemption from
+these disturbances.  The destruction which the rioters effected in some
+of these districts was most extensive and unsparing.  There were, at the
+time of the outbreak, between 100 and 150 gates, including side bars and
+chains, in the county of Caermarthen; of these, no less than between 70
+and 80 were destroyed, the toll-houses, as well as the gates and posts,
+being, in many cases, razed to the ground; in some trusts not a single
+gate was left standing.  In Pembrokeshire, and in one of the divisions of
+Cardiganshire, the destruction was carried on in the same wholesale
+manner.  The trustees, at first, re-erected the gates which had been
+broken down, but they were again as speedily demolished by the rioters;
+again they were rebuilt, and again they were levelled with the ground.
+The trustees were, at length, compelled to desist, and the roads were
+left free of toll.  None of these counties, except Glamorgan, possessed a
+paid constabulary, or any other force which could be of avail in checking
+the proceedings of the rioters; and the magistrates finding all local
+efforts unavailing, were obliged to appeal to Government for protection
+and support.
+
+One of the boldest steps ventured on by the insurgents, whose confidence
+was, of course, much increased by their uninterrupted success, was an
+entry, which was made, at midday, into the town of Caermarthen, by a
+large body of persons on the 10th of June.  About noon, the rioters began
+to march into the town, through the Water Street gate, which they had
+destroyed some time before.  They were headed by a band.  The leading
+body consisted of some thousands on foot, many of whom were Chartists and
+rabble of the town; a large number of women was among the crowd, and men
+bearing inflammatory placards.  They were followed by a man in disguise,
+representing Rebecca; some bearing brooms with which to sweep the
+foundations of the tollhouse and the workhouse, and the rear was brought
+up by about 300 farmers on horseback.  They paraded the town, passing the
+Hall and hooting the magistrates, and proceeded to the workhouse, which
+they attacked.  They climbed over the high wall with which the building
+was surrounded, and then burst open the lodge gates and the porter’s
+door; the horsemen rode into the yard, and surrounded the premises; and
+the rioters on foot soon forced an entrance into the building, and
+commenced their work of destruction.  While the rioters were in the act
+of pulling down the inner doors and partitions of the Board Room, and
+other parts of the premises, and pitching the beds out of windows, the
+governor was ringing the alarm bell; and, in the midst of the tumult,
+came the military.
+
+Representations of the excited state of the neighbourhood had been sent
+to the Home Office, and a troop of the 4th Light Dragoons had been
+ordered from Cardiff.  An express from Caermarthen had met the Dragoons
+at four o’clock in the morning, just after they had passed through Neath,
+and were still 31 miles from their destination.  They pushed on, riding
+the last 15 miles in an hour and a half, two horses dying from fatigue as
+they entered the town.  They were met by one of the Magistrates, who led
+them to the Workhouse and read the Riot Act.  The rioters were summoned
+to surrender; but they made an attempt to rush on the military.  The
+Dragoons charged, using the flat of their swords, and soon put the
+rioters, outside the wall, to flight.  Those within offered some
+resistance; and, for a moment, the edge of the sword was turned upon
+them, when they succumbed.  Many escaped over the wall; but about 100
+were taken prisoners, and several horses were abandoned by their riders.
+The disturbance which menaced so seriously the safety of the town, was
+thus happily put an end to, without any bloodshed or calamitous result.
+
+As time advanced, the insurrection, which had at first been lightly
+thought of, and for which much allowance had been made, under the belief
+that the people had real grievances to complain of, assumed a more
+malignant and dangerous aspect.  The farmers and peasantry, who in their
+impatience under the vexations of the tolls, had commenced it, soon fell
+into the hands of ill-disposed and designing men, who aggravated the
+excitement that prevailed, and availed themselves of the name and
+disguise of “Rebecca,” in order to carry out their own evil and lawless
+purposes.  Threatening letters were one of the means most freely resorted
+to; and great numbers, under the signature of “Rebecca,” were sent about
+the country, conveying the most sanguinary menaces to those whose conduct
+had, in any way, given offence to the dastardly writers.  Certain rules
+were laid down by conclaves of the disaffected, respecting the occupation
+of farms; and all who presumed to contradict the edicts of this invisible
+authority, were marked out, and denounced as victims to the just
+vengeance of Rebecca.  The more active magistrates, as well as the
+tithe-owners and clergy, were made the special objects of this cowardly
+system of intimidation.  In some instances, the rioters proved that their
+threats were not without meaning.  Guns were fired into the houses of
+persons who had fallen under the popular displeasure.  Some had their
+property fired, or otherwise injured; and a growing feeling of alarm and
+insecurity began to pervade the peaceable and well-disposed portion of
+the community.  This feeling was further increased by a cold-blooded and
+shocking act of murder, committed on a poor old woman who kept a
+turnpike, called the Hendy gate, on the confines of Glamorganshire and
+Caermarthenshire.  A party of rioters came to attack the gate at which
+she lived, and one of the number, actuated by some motive which was not
+distinctly accounted for, fired at her, and shot her dead.  A coroner’s
+inquest sat upon the body, and all the facts attending the revolting
+transaction were fully and clearly stated in evidence; but, such was the
+excitement of feeling then prevailing in the neighbourhood, or such the
+influence of fear exercised over the minds of the jurymen who
+investigated the case, that they actually brought in a verdict: “That the
+deceased died from suffusion of blood, which produced suffocation, but
+from what cause, is, to the jurors, unknown!”
+
+By the continuance of these outrages, which threatened, ’ere long, to
+disorganise society, and render the tenure of life and property, in
+Wales, insecure, the Government were, at length, aroused to the necessity
+of adopting very vigorous measures for the enforcement and vindication of
+the law.  A large body of troops was sent down to Wales, and a general
+officer, of skill and experience, appointed to the command of the
+disturbed districts.  A strong body of London police was imported, to
+exercise their skill in ferreting out the actors in these lawless
+exploits, who had so long succeeded in eluding detection.  The districts
+most infested by the Rebeccaites were closely occupied by parties of
+soldiers, some of whom were quartered, at short intervals, in the
+villages and hamlets wherein mischief was suspected to lurk, and in the
+neighbourhood of turnpike gates, which had, previously, been the objects
+of attack.  It was not, however, the policy of the insurgents to place
+themselves in open collision with the soldiers; but the clandestine and
+shifting mode of warfare which they had adopted with so much success, was
+but imperfectly counteracted by the presence of a military force.  Under
+cover of the night, and with the advantages afforded by a knowledge of
+the country, and the sympathy of the population, they could sweep down a
+gate, which was but the work of a few minutes, with very little risk of
+interruption or discovery.  The presence of the police and soldiers, if
+it could not entirely put an end to the attacks on the turnpikes,
+prevented the disaffected from proceeding to further acts of violence,
+and checked the growth of a conspiracy which might, otherwise, have gone
+to the full length of open rebellion.  From this, and other causes, the
+spirit of disturbance in Wales began to decline, about the latter end of
+the summer.  The most obnoxious of the turnpike gates had been swept
+away; and, on some of the trusts, the trustees had announced their
+determination not to re-erect those which were most complained of as
+oppressive.  Some of the more active leaders of the riots were captured,
+in an affray with the County police, on the borders of Glamorganshire,
+and the terrors of a Special Commission impended over the Principality.
+
+The movement was even dramatised, and on 20 Sep., at the Royal
+Amphitheatre, Liverpool, was produced a new play, called: “Rebecca and
+her Daughters; or, Paddy the Policeman”; the programme of scenery etc.,
+as described on the play bill being: “Vigilance of the civil and military
+authorities; £100 reward for the apprehension of Rebecca, and £10 for
+each of her daughters; False alarm; Invincible courage of the Yeomanry;
+Arrival of the London Police in disguise; Paddy Whack undertakes to
+capture the delinquents; Admonitions to the Constabulary; The inspection;
+Mysterious appearance of Rebecca and her daughters in the Glen of
+Llandilo, at midnight; Tried before the Justice of the Peace; Happy
+_denouement_.”
+
+I can find only one reference to Rebecca in connection with London—and
+that refers to a bar in Gower Street, which was taken down some few years
+since.  It occurs in the _Times_ of 30 Sep.: “During the last two or
+three days, considerable excitement has prevailed in the northern suburbs
+of the Metropolis, in consequence of rumours obtaining circulation that
+threatening notices had been posted about, signed, ‘Rebecca,’ intimating
+that it was the intention of that lady and her daughters to destroy the
+various turnpike and other gates, which they were pleased to term ‘public
+obstructions.’  It appears that these rumours were not altogether
+unfounded; for, whether intended as a joke, or otherwise, the doings of
+the notorious Rebecca and her daughters in Wales, have, in reality, found
+persons foolhardy enough to follow their example in London.  A few
+evenings since, Mr. Hill, the porter and keeper of the gate at the London
+University College, which crosses Gower Street, and prevents carriages
+from passing along the front of University College Hospital, received a
+letter, with the signature of ‘Rebecca’ attached, declaring it to be the
+intention of herself and others to remove the ‘obstruction called a gate’
+on the following night.  Mr. Hill, thinking the matter a joke, took no
+notice of the circumstance; but, to his astonishment, early in the
+morning following the night on which the threatened attack was promised,
+he was awakened by the night porter, who informed him that the gate (a
+large wooden one, such as the ordinary toll bars) was gone.  On
+examination, it was found that not only had the large padlock by which it
+was fastened, been broken and carried away, but the gate had absolutely
+been filed off its hinges, and conveyed by the depredators into the
+College grounds, and hidden behind some shrubs.  The gate has again been
+re-instated; but, since the occurrence, Mr. Hill has received another
+threatening notice, informing him that it is the intention of Rebecca and
+her daughters, on Monday night next, to effect its entire destruction.
+What is most extraordinary in connection with the affair is, that the
+gate should have been removed without the knowledge of the police, the
+beats of two constables joining close to the spot, or that of the night
+porters, either at the College, or the Hospital.  It is to be remarked
+that frequent complaints have been made at the erection of the gate in
+question, as it interrupts the otherwise direct communication between
+Holborn and Broad Street, Bloomsbury, with the Hampstead Road, and
+compels carriages, etc., to go considerably out of the way round Sussex
+and University Streets, before they can get into the New Road.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+
+Gretna Green parsons—Number of marriages—Chinese indemnity—Thames
+tunnel—The aerial machine—Treasure trove—Accident to Mr.
+Brunel—Arkwright’s will—Secession in the Scotch Church—The
+“Gent”—Shakspere’s autograph.
+
+At this time, Gretna Green marriages were in full blast (they were only
+made unlawful in 1856), and we learn from the _Carlisle Journal_, copied
+into the _Times_ of 20 Feb., something about the Parsons: “We observe by
+announcement in some of the London papers, that some worthy gentlemen in
+London, are about to enlighten the public on the subject of Gretna Green
+marriages, by the publication of a book called _The Gretna Green
+Memoirs_, by Robert Elliott, with an introduction and appendix by the
+Rev. Caleb Brown.  In addition to this information, we have been honoured
+with a copy of what Mr. Elliott calls a ‘cercler,’ which he is desirous
+we should publish as a paragraph for the benefit of our readers.  From
+this ‘cercler’ we learn that ‘this interesting work contains an accurate
+account of remarkable elopements, pursuits, anecdotes, etc., never before
+published.’  Then we are further informed that there is ‘in the press,’
+to be published by subscription, _The Gretna Green Register_, containing
+the names of 7,744 persons married by Robert Elliott, the Gretna Green
+Parson.  It is added, that ‘the whole is being carefully printed from the
+original registers, written and kept by himself.’  The Gretna Green
+Parson, we suspect, has fallen into dishonest hands, or he would not have
+suffered it to be said that he was about to publish registers which never
+had existence.  The Gretna Green Parson is pretty well known in this
+neighbourhood.  He married a grand daughter of old Joe Paisley, the
+‘original’ blacksmith; and, after the death of that worthy ‘parson,’ he
+set up an opposition shop, in the marriage line to David Laing, who had
+acquired some notoriety in the business.  This was in 1811, and he
+continued to ‘trade’ until 1822, when it either fell away from him, or he
+from it.  His reverence subsequently condescended to act as horsekeeper,
+or hostler, at one of the inns in this city, and a few months ago was
+sent for to London, as a witness, in some marriage case, and is now set
+up as an author!  We suspect the whole thing is an attempt to gull the
+public into the purchase of a book of inventions.  If 7,000 were deducted
+from the names of those to be inserted in the ‘Register,’ the number
+would still exceed, by many a score, those who were actually ‘married,’
+as it is called, by ‘Robert Elliott, the Gretna Green Parson.’”
+
+The poor “Parson” could not stand this attack on his veracity, and wrote
+a letter to the _Times_, which appeared in its issue of 23 Feb., in which
+he does not deny the bulk of the paragraph taken from the _Carlisle
+Journal_, but gives his figures as to his matrimonial business: he says
+that in the following years; he married so many couples:
+
+1811             58  1821            152  1831            168
+1812             57  1822            178  1832            153
+1813             59  1823            188  1833            100
+1814             68  1824            196  1834            108
+1815             87  1825            198  1835            124
+1816             89  1826            187  1836             98
+1817             96  1827            188  1837             55
+1818            109  1828            186  1838             46
+1819            121  1829            180  1839             42
+1820            124  1830            179
+
+He says he married 7,744 persons, but, either his arithmetic, according
+to the above account, is faulty, or there is an inaccuracy in the _Times_
+figures.
+
+On 3 March arrived, in London, the first instalment of the Chinese
+indemnity—£1,000,000, all in silver.  I remember seeing the dock wagons
+guarded by soldiers, and wondering, until told, what they contained.
+Some more arrived on the 7th.
+
+The Thames Tunnel was opened to the public on 25 March, with as much
+ceremony as a private company could manage.  There were the Lord Mayor,
+the directors, and a host of scientific persons, who solemnly went in
+procession down the staircase on the Rotherhithe side, passed along the
+western archway of the Tunnel, ascended and descended the staircase at
+Wapping, and returned through the eastern archway.  In the evening there
+was a grand dinner at the “London Tavern,” where “Prosperity to the
+Thames Tunnel” was drunk in some wine which had been preserved from the
+commencement of the enterprise, to celebrate its completion.
+
+As with motor cars, so with aeronautics, the time of which I write, was
+well in advance.  We know of Sen. Santos Dumont’s performances with his
+motor balloon, in connection with the Eiffel Tower, but Mr. Samuel Henson
+was before him in applying mechanical power in aeronautics.  He took out
+a patent (No. 9,478), dated 29 Sep., 1842, for “Apparatus and machinery
+for conveying letters, goods and passengers, from place to place through
+the air.”
+
+It was an aeroplane.  The car which contained passengers, engineer,
+engines, etc., was suspended in the centre of a framework, which combined
+strength with lightness, covered with a light, but close, woven fabric.
+It was started by descending an inclined plane, the impetus from which
+caused it to rise in the air, when the steam engine was put in action, to
+continue its motion.  The area of the sustaining surface was some 4,500
+square feet, and the weight to be borne by it, including the carriage,
+etc., was estimated at 3,000lbs., which was claimed to be considerably
+less per square foot than that of many birds.
+
+In April, 1843—but on what exact date I do not know, an experimental
+voyage was made from the Hill of Dumbuck, near Glasgow, by Professor
+Geolls.  He successfully negotiated the descent of the inclined plane,
+and rapidly rose in the air, until he reached an altitude of nearly 3
+miles.  Feeling giddy, he determined to descend to a mile and a half
+above the earth.  “This I easily effected by depressing the tail of the
+machine, which, up to this moment, I had kept at an angle with the
+horizon of 9¾ degrees, to that of 45.  My course I had not varied since
+leaving the hill; it was, per compass, south-west, and by west,
+half-west, passing over Ayrshire, and in a direct line from Dumbuck to
+Ailsa Craig, whither, indeed, I was tending, with the view of landing,
+the latter being admirably suited for launching the machine in a similar
+way to that adopted at Dumbuck, on my return home again.
+
+“Daylight had now broken, and the scene was most gorgeous.  I passed many
+ships; and, in particular, one steamer, but whose paltry speed, in
+comparison with mine, was nothing.  Alas! however, this was not destined
+to last; for, just as I had shot ahead of the steamer, something went
+wrong with the machinery, and the fanners stopped.  This did not at all
+alarm me; for, as described by Mr. Henson, these fanners are only
+necessary for propulsion, and not at all requisite for maintaining the
+machine in the air.  Unfortunately, however, I perfectly forgot, in the
+hurry of the moment, to remove the weights from the safety valve, and the
+effects from this were disastrous in the extreme.  The great accumulation
+of steam that took place was too much for the pipes; and, consequently,
+bang went three of them, at the same instant.  The machine, at this exact
+moment, feeling its equilibrium altered, surged considerably, and the
+remaining pipes necessarily followed the example of the others:
+fizz—bizz—whizz, away they went, one after the other, like pop guns.
+Unfortunately, one of these pipes, in flying off, struck a bamboo
+stretcher, and shattered it so, that the machine, losing bearance on one
+side, toppled over and became perfectly unmanageable; she, in fact,
+whirled over and over in a way that may be imagined, but which it is
+altogether impossible to describe.
+
+“I, of course, was now descending with fearful rapidity, and nothing was
+left me to contemplate but death and destruction.  I can only compare my
+sensations at this moment to those experienced in a nightmare, which,
+everyone knows, are not the most agreeable in the world.  Sensibility now
+forsook me; and, indeed, this was not to be wondered at, in consequence
+of the whirling of the machine.  On coming to my senses again, I found
+myself in bed, with severe headache, nausea and vomiting, the usual
+accompaniments of such a flight through the air; but, thanks to
+Providence, I am now in a fair way of recovery, and willing to perform
+the same feat again.”
+
+Luckily for the aeronaut, the accident was seen by the master of a
+steamer, who sent a boat to his assistance, but the machine was lost.
+
+We often hear of “treasure trove,” but seldom find the owner.  However,
+here is a case: On 11 April, the magistrate at Clerkenwell Police Court
+had a man named Benjamin Thomas, and five other labourers, brought before
+him, under the following circumstances.  It seems they had been recently
+engaged in grubbing up the roots of some trees in Tufnell Park, Holloway,
+when they found, buried in the earth, two jars full of sovereigns,
+supposed to have amounted to £400.  They divided the money between them;
+but it was claimed by Mr. Henry Tufnell, as Lord of the Manor; and all of
+them consented to give up what they had, except Thomas, who said that his
+share was £51, but that he had spent, or lost it.  The sum recovered only
+amounted to £231 17s.  Thomas was remanded for a few days, but, in the
+interval, a new claimant appeared, in the person of Mr. Joseph Frost, of
+the firm of J. and J. Frost, brass founders in Clerkenwell.  It appeared
+that, some time in August last year, in a temporary fit of mental
+delusion, he had carried the money out at night, and buried it.  Mr.
+Tufnell waived his claim in favour of Mr. Frost, and Thomas was committed
+for trial, on the charge of feloniously appropriating the money to his
+own use.
+
+A very curious accident happened to Brunel, the eminent engineer.  He was
+playing with the child of a friend, pretending to swallow a
+half-sovereign, and bring it out at his ear, when it slipped, and stuck
+in his trachæa, whence it could not be disloged.  This must have been in
+the latter part of April, for it is mentioned in the _Times_ of 28 April,
+as having occurred some short time previously.  All efforts of the
+surgeons could not reach the coin, even though they constructed a machine
+which suspended him by the heels, when he was shaken and thumped.  On 27
+April Sir B. Brodie performed trachæotomy on the unfortunate gentleman,
+but without avail; so they waited until he had somewhat recovered, and
+again hung him up by his heels.  This was on 13 May, and, after a few
+gentle thumps, the half-sovereign quitted its place, and dropped out of
+his mouth, without causing him any pain or inconvenience.
+
+In these days, millionaires, and multi-millionaires are exceedingly
+common, but not so in the time of which I write, and much astonishment
+was created at the sum of money which Mr. Richard Arkwright, son of Sir
+Richard, the inventor of the spinning jinny, left behind him.  His will
+was proved, on 24 May, in Canterbury Prerogative Court, and his personal
+property was sworn to exceed £1,000,000; the stamp duty on the probate of
+which was £15,000, which was the highest duty then payable, when the
+testator’s personal estate was £1,000,000 or upwards.  In this case the
+deceased left behind him a fortune of nearly £3,000,000.
+
+The 18th of May is memorable in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, for
+the great secession of its members, and the foundation of the Free
+Church.  This was the day appointed for the opening of the General
+Assembly, and Dr. Welsh, the Moderator of the former Assembly, took the
+Chair.  As soon as business commenced, he read a protest from those who
+were dissatisfied with the then state of the Church.  It was a very long
+document, and having read it, the Doctor, and those who were of the same
+opinion, quietly left the Hall, forming a procession and marching four
+abreast, to a Hall in Canon-mills, where they elected Dr. Chalmers as
+their Moderator.
+
+A contemporary account of this movement is given in the _Observer_ of 29
+May: “The number of clergymen who have seceded from the Church of
+Scotland, is now 450; and it cannot be a question that, by the middle of
+the week, the number will be close on 500.  This is nearly the half of
+the entire clergy, the number being under 1,200.  Among the leaders will
+be found the name of almost every minister distinguished for talent,
+moral worth, or weight of character.  Nearly the whole of the people have
+left the Establishment with their ministers—so that the Free Presbyterian
+Church, instituted by those who have left the Establishment, may be
+considered the Church of Scotland.  The general impression in Scotland
+is, that the residuary church cannot long exist.  About £240,000 have
+been raised in less than ten weeks, for the erection of new churches, and
+for the support of the seceding clergy; and there can be no question
+that, in a few weeks, the amount will considerably exceed £300,000.
+Among the contributors, are the Marchioness of Breadalbane, £1,000; a
+Colonel in the Army, whose name we do not remember, £6,000, in three
+yearly instalments of £2,000; Mr. Henry Paul, a private gentleman,
+£2,000; Mr. Nisbet, bookseller, London, £1,000; a Dissenter, £500; and
+there are various other subscriptions of £2,000 and £1,000 each.  Mr. Fox
+Maule is to build and endow a church at his own expense; Mr. A. Campbell,
+member for Argyleshire, is to do the same.  In Elgin, the pious and
+spirited inhabitants have raised £1,000 to build a church for the Rev.
+Alexander Topp, a young and popular minister; and they will also
+liberally contribute to his support.  So that, in many instances,
+churches will be built, and ministers be provided for, solely by private
+munificence and local exertion, without requiring any aid from the
+general fund.  The General Assembly of the Establishment is now sitting
+in Edinburgh, but its proceedings excite little interest.  The General
+Assembly of the Free Church, which the people recognise as the Church of
+Scotland, is also sitting in Edinburgh, and its proceedings excite an
+intensity of interest hitherto unparalleled in the ecclesiastical history
+of Scotland.”
+
+About this time there arose an objectionable class of men, who tried to
+ape the gentleman, but could not, and they went by the generic term of
+“Gents.”  _Punch_ was death upon them, and I give one of the satirist’s
+onslaughts, as it reproduces the costumes and amusements of the day.
+First let us see the “Gent” pictorially, and then, afterwards, read what
+manner of animal he was.
+
+                    [Picture: Punch, vol. IV., p. 142]
+
+                                    AN ACT
+
+    _For amending the Public Deportment of certain individuals called_
+    “_Gents_,” _abiding in London and other places_.
+
+    WHEREAS it having been represented that there are, at present
+    existing in the Metropolis, as well as in the provincial districts,
+    certain individuals known and spoken of as “Gents,” whose bearing and
+    manners are perfectly at variance with the characters, which, from a
+    monomania, they appear desirous of assuming:
+
+    AND WHEREAS, in consequence of cheap clothes, imitative dispositions,
+    and intellectual poverty, this class is greatly on the increase, it
+    has been thought necessary that this Act should be framed to control
+    their vicious habits:
+
+    May it, therefore, please your Majesty, that it be enacted: AND BE IT
+    ENACTED henceforth, that all Gents, not actually in the employ of the
+    _Morning Post_, or Mr. Simpson, of the “Albion,” be prevented from
+    wearing white cravats at parties, the same being evidently an attempt
+    of sixth-rate individuals to ape the manners of first-class circles.
+    And that no Gent, who does not actually keep a horse, and is not in
+    the Army, be allowed to strut up and down the Burlington Arcade, with
+    a whip and moustachios, such imposition being exceedingly offensive,
+    and amounting to a passive swindling of the spectators.
+
+    AND BE IT ENACTED, that all such things as light-blue stocks, large
+    figured shawls, cheap primrose gloves, white Chesterfield coal sacks,
+    half-guinea Albert boots; in fact, all those articles ticketed in the
+    shop windows as “Gent’s last style,” be considered the distinctive
+    marks of the class, and condemned accordingly.  And that every
+    individual, moreover, smoking outside an omnibus, sticking large pins
+    in his cravat, wearing fierce studs in his shirt, walking with others
+    four abreast in Regent Street, reading slang publications, and
+    adopting their language, playing billiards in public rooms, sporting
+    dingy white gloves in the slips of the theatres, frequenting night
+    taverns, and being on terms of familiarity with the singers and
+    waiters, thinking great things of champagne, as if everything at a
+    party depended upon it; and, especially, wearing the hat on one side,
+    be the signs of most unmitigated Gents, and shunned equally with
+    hydrophobia.
+
+    AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED that no Gent be, in future, allowed to
+    cross a hired horse with a view to ten shillings worth of Sunday
+    display in the Parks, the turnout being always detected; nor shall be
+    permitted to drive a gig, in a fierce scarf, under similar
+    circumstances.  Nor shall any Gent imagine that an acquaintance with
+    all the questionable resorts of London is “knowing life”; or that
+    trousers of large check pattern are anything but exceeding Gentish.
+
+    SAVING ALWAYS that the Gents have not the sense to endeavour
+    bettering their condition, which is exceedingly probable; under which
+    circumstances they had better remain as they are, in ignorance of
+    their melancholy position.  But, on the other hand, it is commanded
+    that people of common intellect, henceforth cease to designate any of
+    their male friends as “Gents,” the word being one of exceedingly bad
+    style, and equally objectionable with “genteel,” which is, possibly,
+    derived from it.  And that if, after this, anyone speaks of a “Gent,”
+    or “Party” he knows, it is ordered that such speaker be immediately
+    set down as one of the unfortunate class in question.
+
+The Shakspere autograph which was sold on 24 May, 1841, came again into
+the market, and was bought on 19 May, for £145, by the Corporation of the
+City of London.  The _Patres Conscripti_ of the Common Council were not
+of one mind as to the eligibility of the purchase.  On the motion “that
+the Court agree to the report, and that the Chamberlain be instructed to
+pay the sum,” Mr. Warton rose to move, as an amendment, that the report
+should lie upon the table.  (A laugh, and loud cries of “Hear, hear.”)
+He had, he said, done all he could in the Committee, to prevail upon the
+members that the purchase of the autograph was a most wasteful and
+prodigal expenditure.  (“Hear, hear,” and “No, no.”)  The precedent was a
+most mischievous one.  If the Court sanctioned such a proceeding as that
+which the report had described, by and by the autographs of archbishops
+and bishops, and other individuals who had, in times long past,
+distinguished themselves, would supply apologies for wasting the City
+cash, in order to gratify gentlemen who were afflicted with that
+description of mania.  (Laughter.)  He hoped the Court would not catch
+the infection, but second his rational effort to check it, by condemning
+the report to its proper station on the table.  After all, the document
+was doubtful; but there was no doubt at all as to the profligacy of the
+expenditure.  (Laughter, and cries of “Hear, hear,” and “No, no.”)  Mr.
+Knott said it was quite ridiculous to think for a moment, of voting £145
+for a few doubtful, illegible, almost obliterated scratches of a pen.
+(Laughter, and cries of “Hear, hear.”)  He defied any man on earth to say
+what those scratches represented.  On a division there were, for the
+motion 41; for the amendment 31.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+
+Exhibition of cartoons—A duel—A monster—Gambling—The “Albert
+Hat”—Nelson’s statue—Fun thereon—Soldiers’ savings banks—A post boy and
+Lord Mayor’s show—M. Jullien and his orchestra—Prince Albert as a
+farmer—George IV.’s Statue—Ojibbeway Indians.
+
+The public exhibition of Cartoons for the frescoes for the new Palace of
+Westminster, took place in Westminster Hall, on 3 July.  There were 140
+subjects altogether, varying in size from 15ft. to 10ft. square, none
+being admitted over, or under those standards.  Prizes of £300 each were
+awarded to Armitage, Watts and Cope; of £200 to Calcott, Bell and
+Townsend; of £100 to Frost, Harris, Selous, Bridges and Severn; the
+judges being the Marquis of Lansdowne, Sir R. Peel and Messrs. S. Rogers,
+Westmacott, Cook and Etty.  The Cartoons remained in Westminster Hall for
+6 months; and, in Nov. were removed to the Suffolk Street Gallery.  They
+were finally adjudicated upon by the Royal Commission of Fine Arts, on 12
+July, 1844, the successful artists chosen to execute frescoes were Cope,
+Horsley, Dyce, Maclise, Redgrave, and Cave Thomas.
+
+The practice of duelling was fast dying out, and I give the following
+case as being nearly one of the last, and one in which the seconds and
+surgeon were tried for being accessory to murder.  Two
+brothers-in-law—Lt.-Col. Fawcett of the 55th Regiment and Lt. Munro of
+the Royal Horse Guards—quarrelled, and on the morning of the 1st July
+fought a duel with pistols in a field at the back of the “Brecknock Arms
+Tavern,” in Camden Road.  Lt.-Col. Fawcett fell, mortally wounded, and
+died on the 3rd July.  The Coroner’s jury found Lt. Munro, and the two
+seconds, guilty of wilful murder, and the surgeon as guilty in the second
+degree only, as it was believed he was present only as medical attendant.
+Lieut. Munro and his second got out of the way, but Lt-Col. Fawcett’s
+second and the surgeon were tried at the Central Criminal Court on 25
+Aug.  No evidence was tendered against the surgeon, and he was at once
+discharged, and the jury found the second “Not Guilty.”  Lt. Munro’s
+second surrendered himself, was tried on 14 Feb., 1844, and acquitted.
+Lieut. Munro was cashiered from the Army for being absent without leave;
+he afterwards surrendered, and was tried, 18 Aug., 1847, found guilty,
+and sentenced to death; which sentence was commuted to 12 months’
+imprisonment in Newgate.
+
+The _Times_ of 30 June, quoting the _Reading Mercury_, has the following:
+“A MONSTER.—A day or two since, a gentleman travelling along the road
+near Colnbrook, had his attention attracted to the screams of a child in
+the care of a tramping woman, who had with her, two other children
+totally blind.  The cries of the child were so distressing, that he
+insisted on knowing the cause; but; not getting a satisfactory answer, he
+forcibly removed a bandage from its eyes, when, horrid to relate, he
+found these encased with two small perforated shells, in which were two
+live black beetles, for the purpose of destroying the sight.  The woman
+was instantly seized, and given into custody; and, at the magistrate’s
+meeting, at Eton, on Wednesday last, committed for trial.  There is too
+much reason to fear that the wretch produced the blindness of the other
+two children, by similar means.”  This was rendered into a street ballad.
+
+A correspondent pointed out that it was well known to all who pass
+through the parish of St. James’s, at night, that the district absolutely
+swarmed with gaming houses; there was, in fact, no concealment about the
+matter, as the keepers vied with each other in illuminating their doors
+and windows to attract the notice of their victims.  How was it that this
+disgrace was permitted to exist from season to season?  The police seemed
+satisfied with the occasional conviction of one or more minor delinquents
+from the neighbourhood of Leicester Square, but the Leviathans in crime
+were allowed to continue their nightly course of profligacy and plunder
+with impunity.  The French authorities, by a law which was strictly
+enforced, entirely swept away this nuisance from their capital,
+notoriously, for years, the very hotbed of the vice of gaming; but we
+were lamentably behind our neighbours; for, while we boasted of a Court
+pure in morals, and strict in the performance of every religious duty, we
+allowed the Sabbath to be desecrated, and the Palace of the Sovereign to
+be contaminated by the close vicinage of houses expressly open for the
+practice of this demoralising habit.—Are we much better now?
+
+At the latter end of October, a new headdress for the infantry was
+proposed, and Prince Albert was universally credited as being its
+godfather—but public opinion was so unequivocally expressed against it,
+that it was never likely to be popular.  It was neither soldier-like, nor
+appropriate, and bore a strong resemblance to the old Hessian cap, which
+was introduced into the German service.  This headgear was covered with
+black cloth, the crown and brim being of black-varnished leather; the
+band was of white worsted, as was the tuft, which was placed on a ball of
+red worsted.  Beneath this ball was a royal crown, underneath which was a
+Maltese cross, in the centre of which was inscribed the number of the
+regiment.
+
+_Punch_ was especially severe upon the Albert hat—and with the pictorial
+satire of “Prince Albert’s Studio” (by the way the hat is in no ways
+exaggerated), is the following: “Ever since the accession of Prince
+Albert to the Royal Husband-ship of these realms, he has devoted the
+energies of his mind, and the ingenuity of his hands to the manufacture
+of Infantry caps, Cavalry trousers, and Regulation sabretaches.  One of
+his first measures was to transmogrify the pantaloons of the Eleventh
+Hussars; and, as the regiment alluded to is “Prince Albert’s Own,” His
+Royal Highness may do as he likes with his own, and no one can complain
+of his bedizening the legs of the unfortunate Eleventh, with scarlet
+cloth and gold door leather.  When, however, the Prince, throwing the
+whole of his energies into a hat, proposed to encase the heads of the
+British soldiery in a machine which seemed a decided cross between a
+muff, a coal scuttle and a slop pail, then _Punch_ was compelled to
+interfere, for the honour of the British Army.  The result has been that
+the headgear has been summarily withdrawn, by an order from the War
+Office, and the manufacture of more of the Albert hat has been absolutely
+prohibited.
+
+        [Picture: Prince Albert’s Studio.  Punch, vol. V., p. 179]
+
+“Greatness of mind is shown in various ways by different individuals.
+Hannibal was a great cutter out, for he cut a passage through the Alps;
+but Prince Albert cuts out Hannibal, inasmuch as His Royal Highness
+devotes his talent to the cutting out of coats, and ‘things
+inexpressible.’  The Prince’s studio could not fail to be an object of
+interest to the readers of _Punch_.  We have, therefore, at an enormous
+sacrifice of time and specie, obtained a view of it.”
+
+                        [Picture: Nelson’s Statue]
+
+On the morning of Nov. 3, at 4 a.m., the raising of a portion of the
+colossal statue of Nelson, on the pillar in Trafalgar Square, commenced.
+This figure is 17 feet high from its base to the top of the hat, and is
+made of stone from the Granton quarry, belonging to the Duke of
+Buccleugh.  It weighs nearly 18 tons, and, needless to say, is made in
+segments.  These were put together before it was raised, to show the
+public—and during the two days it was on view, it was visited by 100,000
+persons.
+
+The building this column had seemed slow, but that was nothing compared
+to its completion; the bas reliefs were long in being placed, and it was
+not till 31 Jan., 1867, that Landseer’s four couchant lions were exposed
+to public gaze.  Of the progress of its building, _Punch_ (25 Nov., 1843)
+has some very fine fooling.
+
+                        “THE NELSON COLUMN DRAMA.
+
+The earliest announcement of the late Covent Garden management, was a
+piece entitled ‘Trafalgar Square, or the Nelson Monument.’  We have
+obtained the following slight information respecting it.  The drama is
+described as ‘a grand architectural and historical burletta,’ in two
+acts; and the prologue was to have been spoken by Mr. Widdicomb, as
+_Time_.  The two acts comprise the commencement and completion, and a
+lapse of twenty years is supposed to take place between them, in which
+time ‘the boy,’ who is the principal character, becomes a middle-aged
+man.  The following speech is very fine.  The boy enquires of the mason
+when the column will be finished, who replies, in an interval of the
+steak banquet, which they are enjoying together:
+
+    _Mason_.—I’ve asked that fearful question of the stars,
+    Who wink responding—of the Board of Works,
+    Whose works have bored us—of the misty moon,
+    Towards whose lodgings, after years of toil,
+    We rise no nearer.  All were still, but now,
+    Whilst gazing on that steak of beef,
+    Sent up to form our capital repast,
+    And cheer us in our lonely solitude,
+    I hope the best—the best can hope no more.
+    ’Twill rise, like College honours, by degrees,
+    And to our limbs a pillar be, of ease:
+    Our hearts are warm—although upon the frieze.
+
+The following duet is also introduced by the man and the boy in the
+second act:
+
+                                    BOY.
+
+   I remember, I remember,
+      When I was a little boy,
+   On the column, in November,
+      I was given some employ.
+
+   I helped the man to build it,
+      And we labour’d hard and long,
+   But the granite came up slowly,
+      For we were not very strong.
+
+            I remember, I remember,
+               How we raised its form on high,
+            With one block in December,
+               And another in July.
+
+                                    BOTH.
+
+   We remember, we remember,
+      When St. Martin’s bells were rung,
+   In the laying of the first stone, for
+      We both were very young.
+
+   But weary years have past, now,
+      Since we our work begun;
+   We fear we shall not last now,
+      To see our labour done.
+
+            We remember, we remember,
+               But we heard it on the sly,
+            ’Twon’t be finished next November,
+               Nor the subsequent July.”
+
+Very early in November, a War Office circular (dated 31 Oct.) was issued,
+to regulate and establish regimental savings banks, which have done so
+much to encourage thrift among our soldiers.  The maximum of each
+soldier’s deposit was limited to £30 in any one year, and to £200 in the
+whole.  The rate of interest on deposits was fixed at £3 15 s. per cent
+per annum, but no interest was to be allowed upon less than 6s. 8d. and
+13s. 4d., nor upon any sums that had not remained on deposit for at least
+one month, to be reckoned from the last monthly muster day.
+
+In the _Times_ of 10 Nov. is the following: “A rather amusing scene took
+place in Cheapside, yesterday, shortly before the Lord Mayor’s procession
+to Westminster.  Whilst the streets were blocked up against the passage
+of vehicles and horses, one of those sharp little urchins, known by the
+generic title of the ‘twopenny cavalry,’ who rattle through the streets
+with Her Majesty’s suburban mails, was stopped, opposite Bow Church, by a
+party of police, who told him they acted under the orders of the Lord
+Mayor.  The post-boy, with all the dignity of Her Majesty’s
+representative, assuming an air of great condescension, assured the
+police that he had the highest possible respect for the Lord Mayor, but,
+being express upon Her Majesty’s business, he was determined to proceed.
+The police persisted in stopping him, a crowd collected, and it was clear
+their sympathies sided with the post-boy, who carried himself, throughout
+the controversy, with great courage, calmness, and self-possession.  The
+police had, by this time, seized the bridle, whilst the boy endeavoured
+to force his way forward, backed by the strenuous exertions of his steed,
+who also appeared as if inspired by the authority of a Royal Commission.
+The post-boy, finding physical force insufficient, tried what authority
+would do, and threatened them with the vengeance of the Home Secretary,
+for attempting to stop Her Majesty’s mails.  This had the desired effect
+of bringing the police to a parley; and, as the post-boy was backed by
+popular applause, he gained momentarily in the discussion, but did not
+complete his advantage until he took out a memorandum book, and began,
+coolly, to note down the numbers of the constables.  This stroke was
+decisive; they, at once, capitulated, merely stipulating that they should
+have his address in return.  To this, he readily assented, and searched
+diligently for his cardcase, but that mark of gentility was not at hand.
+He, however, made a page from his memorandum book serve his purpose, and
+took his leave amid the loud congratulations of the applauding crowd,
+with the following pithy address to the constables: ‘I can’t well see
+what use you are.  A hundred years ago there were no police, and Lord
+Mayor’s shows went off better than they do now.  For my part, I can’t see
+what you do here at all, for you know’—he added with a significant
+grin—‘you know you don’t look so very well in a procession.’  Shouts of
+laughter followed the post-boy’s brief speech, as he rode on
+triumphantly.”
+
+It was about this time that M. Louis Antoine Jullien, to whom we owe so
+much for the popularisation of good music, and for the improvement of our
+orchestras, came into notoriety as a caterer for the public’s amusement,
+and for his promenade concerts.  These had been popular in the open air
+at Vauxhall, Ranelagh, Marylebone, and other public gardens; but the
+first, under cover, was given in 1838 at the Lyceum Theatre, or, as it
+was then called, The English Opera House, when the pit was boarded over,
+and an orchestra erected on the stage exactly as we are now so familiar
+with.  Jullien, in 1838, had been unlucky in Paris, was bankrupt, and
+came to London, where, in 1840, he was assistant to Eliason, the
+violinist and conductor of an orchestra of 100 performers, and a small
+chorus.  Next year Jullien was the conductor; and, in 1842, on 2 Dec., he
+started for himself, at the English Opera House, the series of promenade
+concerts with which his name will always be associated.
+
+He always would have the very best musicians that he could find for his
+orchestra, and in this year (1843) among them were Barrett, Baumann,
+Harper, Kœnig, Richardson, Hill, Lazarus, Patey, Howell and Jarrett, and
+in after years he had such, soloists as Ernst, Sivori, Bottesini
+Wieniawski and Sainton.  In 1857 he came, financially, to grief; he then
+went to Paris, was imprisoned for debt in Clichy, in 1859, and died in a
+lunatic asylum on 14 March, 1860.
+
+       [Picture: M. Jullien.  Ill. Lon. News, 25 Nov. 1843, p. 348]
+
+In his later years he became much stouter than he is here represented,
+and, as a conductor, posed a great deal too much.  Those of my readers
+who recollect him will acknowledge the truth of the following description
+of him, when conducting his British Army Quadrilles, taken from his
+biography in _Grove’s History of Music and Musicians_: “With coat thrown
+widely open, white waistcoat, elaborately embroidered shirt front,
+wristbands of extravagant length, turned back over his cuffs, a wealth of
+black hair, and a black moustache—itself a striking novelty—he wielded
+his baton, encouraged his forces, repressed the turbulence of his
+audience with indescribable gravity and magnificence, went through all
+the pantomime of the British Army or Navy Quadrilles, seized a violin or
+a piccolo at the moment of climax, and, at last, sunk exhausted into his
+gorgeous velvet chair.  All pieces of Beethoven’s were conducted with a
+jewelled baton, and in a pair of clean kid gloves, handed him, at the
+moment, on a silver salver.”
+
+               [Picture: Prince Albert, the British Farmer]
+
+Prince Albert took a great interest in Agriculture, and his Flemish Farm
+at Windsor was a model; but it was hard to make the average Englishman
+believe that a foreigner could ever do any good as a Farmer, and John
+Leech drew a fancy portrait of the prince in _Punch_, 25 Nov., where it
+illustrates a portion of a speech of Sir Robert Peel at Tamworth: “Prince
+Albert has turned his attention to the promotion of agriculture; and, if
+you have seen, as most probably you have, an account of the sale of
+Prince Albert’s stock, and the price they fetched, I have not the
+slightest doubt you will give one cheer more to Prince Albert, as a
+British Farmer.”
+
+In the beginning of December the bronze equestrian statue of George IV.
+was set up on a pedestal at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square.
+It is the work of Chantrey, and was intended to be mounted on the Marble
+Arch, which was, originally, the gateway to Buckingham Palace, until its
+removal to Cumberland Gate, Hyde Park, in 1851.
+
+In the very early part of December, some of Her Majesty’s subjects,
+Canadian Indians, from the north-eastern shores of Lake Huron, came to
+visit England.  They were of the Ojibbeway tribe, and were nine in
+number, two old chiefs, four warriors, two women, and a little girl, 10
+years old.  On the 20 Dec. they were presented to the Queen at Windsor,
+and received from Her Majesty a cheque for £20, and a quantity of
+gorgeous plaid, with which to astonish the other natives, on their
+return.  They afterwards exhibited themselves, danced war dances, etc.,
+at the Egyptian Hall, at an admission fee of half-a-crown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+
+A child for sale—Trial, &c, of Daniel O’Connell—General Tom Thumb—His
+visit to the Queen—The Polka—How to dance it—“Jullien’s Grand Polka.”
+
+The _Times_ of 19 Jan. copies the following from the _Worcester
+Chronicle_: “A CHILD FOR SALE.—The following extraordinary letter was
+received, a short time ago, by a gentleman in the neighbourhood of
+Tewkesbury, from a person residing here.  The letter is dated from a
+certain court in this town, but we omit the precise locality, and the
+writer’s name, hoping that, without pursuing the exposure to that extent,
+it will be sufficient to teach him that natural affection is not to be
+made a matter of bargain and sale, and that it is the duty of a parent
+himself to cherish the child which he has been the means of bringing into
+the world:—‘Sir,—Having heard that you expressed a wish to have a child
+and did not mind giving a sum of money as an inducement i flatter myself
+that I have it in my power to furnish you with one to answer your purpose
+in every respect it is a boy 2 years old a good looking healthy spirited
+child and sound in wind and limb and that you can rair him up to suit
+your inclination you can send word by the bearer and appoint any time to
+inspect the child.’”
+
+With every wish, in this book of Gossip, to steer as clear of politics as
+possible, yet it would belie its name were the famous trial of Daniel
+O’Connell not to be mentioned.  “Repeal of the Union” was his watchword
+and perpetual cry, and with it he stirred up the Irish people to a pitch
+when he found it difficult to manage and restrain them.  On 16 March,
+1843, was held at Trim the first of great public meetings which he
+designed, but did not carry out; and on 15 Aug. was a monster meeting on
+the Hill of Tara; but the one to be held at Clontarf on 8 Oct. was to
+have eclipsed its predecessors.  But this was forbidden by the
+Government, and, a week later, warrants were issued for the arrest of
+O’Connell, his son John, and his chief colleagues, on a charge of
+conspiring to create discontent and disaffection among the liege subjects
+of the Queen, and with contriving, “by means of intimidation, and the
+demonstration of great physical force, to procure and effect changes to
+be made in the government, laws, and constitution of this realm.”
+O’Connell was allowed bail, but on 8 Nov. a true bill was found by the
+jury, yet the trial did not take place till the 15th Jan. of this year.
+On the 12th Feb., the jury returned a verdict of guilty of unlawful and
+seditious conspiracy, but judgment was not delivered till 30 May, when he
+was sentenced to imprisonment for twelve months, a fine of £2,000, and to
+find surety to keep the peace for seven years.  He had to go to prison,
+where he was well treated and allowed to see his friends; his sentence
+was appealed against, and reversed in the House of Lords, on 4 Sep.,
+1844, when he was instantly liberated.
+
+                         [Picture: Repeal button]
+
+During all this time there was great excitement, people wearing Repeal
+buttons, one of which is here delineated, and other emblems, while the
+uncrowned King of Ireland was presented, at Mullaghmast, with a velvet
+cap surmounted with shamrocks, and having a green tassel; the cap, in
+fact, with which readers of _Punch_ are so familiar.
+
+Of course, his release from prison was an occasion to be made the most
+of.  An amphitheatrical triumphal car was provided, and, upon it, were
+mounted O’Connell, his son, and the Rev. Dr. Miley, and this gimcrack
+piece of property was drawn by six horses ridden by postillions.  The
+following is an account by an eye witness:
+
+    “The ovation commenced at two o’clock.  First came the trades of
+    Dublin, each preceded by the banner of its body, and a band playing
+    such music as only temperance bands can play, and, generally, with
+    much discrimination, selecting rather difficult pieces for their
+    performance, and eschewing all national airs.  The banners were
+    usually displayed from coaches, intended to hold four, but contriving
+    to allow from sixteen to eighteen to fit into, and hang on by them.
+    Thus they came on: Bricklayers (with a painting of the Bank of
+    Ireland, and the superscription of ‘Our Old House at Home’); slaters,
+    woollen operatives (in a small open car); nailors (with a picture of
+    Brian Boroihme ‘nailing’ the Danes at Clontarf); coach makers,
+    tailors (with a very gorgeous equipage, six horses, postillions and
+    outriders); tinplate workers, displaying as their sign, a man with a
+    tin helmet on his head, and a dish cover of the same metal on his
+    arm—otherwise unassumingly attired in a blue coat and white trousers;
+    and other bodies of tradesmen too numerous to mention, with their
+    appropriate emblems and banners.
+
+                        [Picture: O’Connell’s Cap]
+
+    “Next came a number of Repeal wardens, bearing wands, and occupying
+    respectable-looking coaches and carriages.  After them drove the
+    committee of the political trades’ unions; the members of it attired
+    in green sashes and scarves, and bearing wands with green flags in
+    their hands.  Next in order were the various members of the
+    Corporation, aldermen, town councillors, and officers, dressed in
+    their robes of office and cocked hats, glittering with chains, and
+    furred from head to foot.  The majority of these gentlemen were in
+    their own carriages, into each of which were packed as many of the
+    owner’s friends as could find standing room, several private vehicles
+    being mixed up through the order of procession.  Then came the
+    private carriages of the Lord Mayor, who was in full dress; and then,
+    preceded by a confused mass of wand bearers, the triumphal chariot
+    itself, surrounded by a mob so dense that it was with great
+    difficulty that the six splendid dappled greys could force the
+    cumbrous vehicle along, which, every instant, seemed to become a
+    second Car of Juggernaut, and crush some of its adorers.  More
+    vehicles, a few horsemen, multitudes of hack cars and pedestrians, a
+    tail of old women and little boys, followed; and so the monster
+    procession, after winding its slow length along through the greater
+    part of Dublin, and causing a total cessation of business in the line
+    of its progress, terminated.”
+
+In February appeared, in London, at the Princess’s Theatre, “General Tom
+Thumb,” the most popular of modern dwarfs—thanks to the advertising
+qualities of his exhibitor, P. T. Barnum.  The real name of this mite was
+Charles S. Stratton, and he was said to have been born on 11 Jan., 1832,
+but this, as with all data connected with him, must be accepted with
+caution.  It was said of him, that, at his birth, he weighed 9 lbs. 2
+oz., somewhat more than the average weight of a newly born infant.  At
+about 5 months old, he weighed 15 lbs., and measured 25 inches in height;
+since which time he never increased in stature; and, at the time of his
+arrival in England, he weighed but 15 lbs. 2 oz.  He had, previously,
+been exhibited in New York and the principal cities of America, where his
+miniature palace, furniture and equipage excited considerable curiosity.
+When he embarked from New York for England, he was escorted to the packet
+by not less than 10,000 persons.
+
+On 1 April, he appeared, by command, before Her Majesty at Buckingham
+Palace, when the Queen presented him, _with her own hand_, with “a superb
+souvenir, of the most exquisite handicraft, manufactured of mother of
+pearl, and mounted with gold and precious stones.  On one side are the
+crown and Royal initials, V.R., and, on the reverse, bouquets of flowers
+in enamel and rubies.  In addition to this splendid gift, Her Majesty
+subsequently presented the General with a beautiful gold pencil case,
+with the initials of Tom Thumb, and his coat of arms, engraved on the
+emerald surmounting the case.”
+
+       [Picture: Tom Thumb.  Ill. Lon. News, 24 Feb., 1844, p. 124]
+
+Anent this, _Punch_ is exceedingly satirical: “Her Majesty has again
+commanded ‘the performances of _Tom Thumb_, the Yankee Dwarf.’  This,
+indeed, was to have been expected.  We have only to reflect upon the
+countless acts of patronage towards the Arts and Sciences—had only to
+remember a few of the numerous personal condescensions of the Queen
+towards men of letters, artists and philosophers—to be assured that even
+TOM THUMB would be welcomed with that graceful cordiality which has,
+heretofore, made Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle the homes of Poetry
+and Science.  _De minimis curat Regina_!  Continental monarchs stop short
+in their Royal favours at full-grown authors and artists; but the
+enthusiasm of Her Majesty QUEEN VICTORIA, not content with showering all
+sorts of favours and rewards upon the literary and artistic spirits of
+her own country and age, lavishes, with prodigal hand, most delicate
+honours upon an American TOM THUMB, whose astounding genius it is, to
+measure, in his boots, five-and-twenty inches!  To this, how small is
+VICTOR HUGO at the Tuileries; to this, how mean and petty Göthe at the
+Court of Saxe-Weimar!
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+“TOM THUMB being—according to the biography published by his showman,
+BARNUM—the son of a Yankee carpenter, we should much like to know the
+General’s arms.  Did Her Majesty, before the ‘performance,’ send to learn
+them, that they might be duly engraved? or were they, as MATHEW’S French
+Shoemaker made his little boot, struck off in ‘a moment of enthusiasm’?”
+
+About this time came to us “that sweet boon,” THE POLKA.  Originally a
+Bohemian Peasant dance, it was imported into fashionable saloons of
+Berlin and St. Petersburg.  It was, at this time, the rage in Paris, as
+the _Times_ observes: “The Paris papers are destitute of news.  Our
+private letters state that ‘politics are, for the moment, suspended in
+public regard, by the new and all-absorbing pursuit—the Polka—a dance
+recently imported from Bohemia, and which embraces in its qualities the
+intimacy of the waltz, with the vivacity of the Irish jig.  You may
+conceive how completely is ‘the Polka’ the rage, from the fact that the
+lady of a celebrated ex-minister, desiring to figure in it at a _soirée
+dansante_, monopolised the professor, _par excellence_, of that
+_specialité_ for three hours, on Wednesday morning last, at 200 francs
+the hour.’”
+
+On its first importation into England, it was used as a _ballet_, on the
+stage, with very fancy Bohemian costume, as we may see in the three
+following illustrations of Mdlle. Carlotta Grisi and M. Perrot, dancing
+their idea of it at Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1844.
+
+ [Picture: The Polka.—Figure 2.  Ill. Lon. News, 27 April, 1844, p. 301]
+
+But it soon became a Drawing-room dance, and it is edifying to know
+exactly how it was danced then.  It was found too elaborate, and the
+number of steps had to be reduced in quantity, and curtailed in quality.
+But this is the dance as given in the _Illustrated London News_ of 11
+May:
+
+                         “THE DRAWING-ROOM POLKA.
+
+We are much gratified in being enabled to lay before our readers an
+accurate description of the _véritable_, or _Drawing-room Polka_, as
+danced at Almack’s, and at the halls of the nobility and gentry of this
+country.
+
+_La Polka_ having appeared amongst us under so many different guises, we
+determined to spare no pains to procure a true description of its
+_danse_; for which we are indebted to Mrs. James Rae, who has been
+fortunate enough to secure the details from M. Coralli, fils, the
+instructor of the young noblemen and gentry in Paris.
+
+_La Polka_, like its predecessors, the waltz and galop, is a _danse à
+deux_, couples following each other in the _salle de danse_, commencing
+at pleasure, and adopting, of the following figures, that which pleases
+them most at the moment.  All those anxious to shine in _La Polka_, will
+dance the whole of them, returning from time to time, by way of rest, to
+the first figure.
+
+_The measure_, or time, is 2–4; but, to facilitate our definition, we
+subdivide each measure, or bar, into one—two—three—four; the accent on
+the two, etc., to be played not so fast as the galop.
+
+_The steps_ are two, and the following description may, in some measure,
+convey them to our readers; we commence with the first, and most general.
+At the one, hop on the right leg, lifting, or doubling up your left leg
+at the same moment; at the two, put your left leg boldly forward on the
+ground; at the three, bring your right toe up to your left heel; at the
+four, advance your left foot a short step forward: now, at the one, in
+the next measure, or bar of the time, hop on the left leg, doubling, or
+lifting up your right leg, and so on, proceeding in this step, with your
+arm encircling your partner’s waist, round the room.  This may be termed
+the first figure.
+
+Figure 2.—Still adopting the same step, with your right arm round your
+partner’s waist, and her right hand in your left, you place your lady
+exactly before you, and back all round the room, your lady pursuing you
+(as shown in the sketch); you then reverse this figure, and let your
+partner do the back step, whilst you pursue her, and, at the same time,
+carefully guide her round the room.
+
+   [Picture: The Drawing-room Polka.—Figure 2.  Ill. Lon. News, 11 May,
+                              1844, p. 301]
+
+In backing, the leg which in figure one, you put boldly forward on the
+ground, you now fling boldly backward, and are thus enabled to effect
+your progress round the room.
+
+Figure 3.—With the same step you waltz round the room—in other words, you
+perform the Galop waltz, substituting the Polka step as described.
+
+Figure 4.—This is also a waltz with the second step, which we will now
+describe as “the Heel and Toe step.”   At the one, make a little hop on
+your right leg, dropping your left heel close to your right foot; at the
+two, another little hop on the right leg, pointing your left toe (not
+forward, but as close to your right foot as possible); at the tree,
+another little hop on the right leg, advancing one step forward with the
+left foot; at the four, bring up the right foot, turning at the same
+instant, and passing your partner over to your left arm from your right
+arm; in your next measure, return your lady to your left arm, and so on.
+
+               [Picture: The Drawing-room Polka.—Figure 5]
+
+Figure 5.—This is termed the back waltz.  The step adopted in it by
+yourself and partner, is the back step described in figure two, and you
+turn in this waltz exactly the contrary way to that in which you turn in
+all other waltzes—hence its name.
+
+In _La Polka_, before commencing the figures we have just described,
+there is a short introduction (of which we give a sketch), consisting of
+four measures, danced thus; leading your partner from her seat, and
+giving her her place in the circle, and placing themselves _vis-à-vis_,
+you take her left hand in your right, and make the first step four
+times—first forward, then backward, forward again, and then backward,
+taking care to gain ground in the forward steps; you then start with the
+first figure.
+
+             [Picture: The Drawing-room Polka.—Introduction]
+
+There was a furore about the Polka; not only in dancing it, but there was
+an absolute mania for naming articles of dress after it.  Ladies wore
+Polka hats, Polka jackets and Polka boots, and men had Polka ties.
+Jullien published a new Polka about every fortnight, and the whole people
+were Polka mad.  Here is a street ballad on the subject:
+
+                           “JULLIEN’S GRAND POLKA.
+
+    Oh! sure the world is all run mad,
+    The lean, the fat, the gay, the sad—
+    All swear such pleasure they never had,
+    Till they did learn the Polka.
+
+                                  _Chorus_.
+
+       First cock up your right leg—so,
+       Balance on your left great toe,
+       Stamp your heels, and off you go
+       To the Original Polka.  Oh!
+
+    There’s Mrs. Tibbs, the tailor’s wife,
+    With Mother Briggs is sore at strife,
+    As if the first and last of life
+    Was but to learn the Polka.
+
+    Quadrilles and waltzes all give way,
+    For Jullien’s Polkas bear the sway,
+    The chimney sweeps, on first of May,
+    Do, in London, dance the Polka.
+
+    If a pretty girl you chance to meet,
+    With sparkling eyes and rosy cheek,
+    She’ll say, young man, we’ll have a treat,
+    If you can dance the Polka.
+
+    A lady who lives in this town,
+    Went and bought a Polka gown,
+    And for the same she gave five pound,
+    All for to dance the Polka.
+
+    But, going to the Ball one night,
+    On the way she got a dreadful fright,
+    She tumbled down and ruined quite
+    The gown to dance the Polka.
+
+    A Frenchman has arrived from France,
+    To teach the English how to dance,
+    And fill his pocket—“what a chance”—
+    By gammoning the Polka.
+
+    Professors swarm in every street,
+    ’Tis ground on barrel organs sweet;
+    And every friend you chance to meet
+    Asks, if you dance the Polka.
+
+    Then over Fanny Ellsler came,
+    Brilliant with trans-Atlantic fame;
+    Says she, I’m German by my name,
+    So best I know the Polka.
+
+    And the row de dow she danced,
+    And in short clothes and red heels pranced,
+    And, as she skipped, her red heels glanced
+    In the Bohemian Polka.
+
+    But, now, my song is near its close,
+    A secret, now, I will disclose,
+    Don’t tell, for it’s beneath the rose,
+    A humbug is the Polka.
+
+    Then heigh for humbug France or Spain,
+    Who brings back our old steps again,
+    Which John Bull will applaud amain,
+    Just as he does the Polka.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+
+An English dinner—Consols at par—The “Running Rein” case—Other
+frauds—Royal visitors—Opening letters by Government—Duke of Wellington’s
+Statue—Barry on the Thames—Visit of Louis Philippe—Guano—Queen opens
+Royal Exchange—Lord Mayor hissed.
+
+As the length of time between this date, and the present writing is
+great, and our social habits have somewhat changed, it may be interesting
+to some of my readers to hear a Frenchman’s account of an upper-class
+dinner.  It is taken from the _Constitutionel_, the organ of M. Thiers:
+
+    “Madeira wine has been out of fashion, in England, for some time.
+    Sherry and Port (to which are occasionally added Bordeaux and
+    Champagne, Rhenish wines and Hermitage) are, now, the only wines to
+    be seen on the tables of the rich.  As for beer (the national drink),
+    it only makes its appearance at a banquet, for remembrance sake, and
+    in very small quantity.  Port wine is held in especial favour by the
+    English, because, while it is more impregnated with alcohol than any
+    other, it is, at the same time the least irritating, and facilitates,
+    more than all the rest, the important operations of the digestive
+    organs.  In order, however, to be possessed of all the requisite
+    qualities, it must not only be of the finest growth, or have been
+    eight or nine years in the cellar, but the regular connoisseurs
+    insist that it must cross the line several times, in order to be
+    first-rate.  Five or six servants, with powdered wigs, in silk
+    stockings and knee breeches, hover about the table.  The covers are
+    always changed at every successive course, and there is no fear of
+    eating off the dirty plate of one’s neighbour, or using his knife or
+    fork, the sideboard being laden with piles of plates and conveniences
+    of every description.  After fish, which always constitutes the first
+    course, the host invites one of his guests to drink a glass of wine
+    with him, desiring him to help himself to that which he likes best.
+    You take that which is offered you.  Your host then pours out a glass
+    for himself, and sends you the bottle by a servant.  You fill your
+    glass, you raise it to your lips with a half bow, and drink as much
+    of it as you feel inclined.  The same ceremony is repeated among the
+    other guests.  It should be mentioned that, if you ask a lady to take
+    wine, you always fill her glass before your own; but, if you invite a
+    gentleman so to do, you never fail to help yourself first.  This
+    custom was, formerly, very inconvenient to strangers, it being, then,
+    absolutely necessary to empty one’s glass; at present, you need only
+    drink a portion, and ladies may satisfy the rules of etiquette by
+    merely moistening their lips.  After fish, come roast meats, boiled
+    vegetables, and various delicate sauces, with which you make your
+    _cuisine_ upon your own plate; puddings and game of all sorts follow,
+    amongst which there is, always, to begin with, one dish, especially
+    appropriate to the season.  It is to the former article of diet
+    (puddings), that English children are indebted, it is said, for their
+    excellent health, and their magnificent rosy complexions.  The cloth
+    is at length removed, and the mahogany table shines forth in all its
+    splendour.  Dessert follows, consisting of a few sweetmeats, or
+    _confitures_, but abounding in fruits from all five parts of the
+    world, and the produce of all the four seasons, and including superb
+    pineapples, Portugal grapes, almonds, red nuts of a delicious
+    flavour, dates, figs, rich juicy oranges, etc., etc.  The wine is
+    brought on in glass decanters, ticketed and placed in silver stands.
+    These stands glide along the shining table, which is as smooth as
+    ice, in the midst of silver, or crystal vases filled with fruit, etc.
+    The host, after helping himself to wine, pushes about the whole
+    ‘battery’ of decanters, which, going the round of the table, soon
+    regain their original situation.  A quarter of an hour elapses, when
+    the mistress of the house rises and retires, followed by all the
+    ladies.  It is then that the _séance de vin_ begins.  The subject of
+    conversation soon changes, and political questions are discussed.
+    The conversation, without getting stormy, acquires that degree of
+    warmth and animation, which a good dinner, when one is blessed with a
+    strong head and a good digestion, generally inspires.  Hard drinking
+    has, generally speaking, fallen into desuetude.  It is only
+    foxhunters and country gentlemen who remain faithful, nowadays, to
+    that ignoble custom.  A gentleman who has any self-respect, never so
+    far forgets himself as to get tipsy, for he would certainly be looked
+    upon with an evil eye, by the company, if he were to enter the
+    drawing-room with an indistinct articulation, or with trembling legs.
+    Dinner is over about half-past nine.  The gentlemen then rejoin the
+    ladies to take tea and coffee, and the conversation turns, as before,
+    upon the news of the day.”
+
+On 8 April, Consols rose to par, or £100 for £100 stock, for the first
+time for nearly a century.  The last time they were at £100 was in 1749,
+the year after the peace of Aix la Chapelle; at which period the public
+debt was rather more than £78,000,000.  The highest price the Three per
+Cents, ever rose to, previously, was in June, 1737, and again, in May,
+1739, when they attained the high price of £107.  In September, 1797,
+they fell to 47⅜, which is the lowest price to which they have ever
+fallen.
+
+On 23 May, the Derby was won by a horse called _Running Rein_, which was
+the occasion of an Action in the Court of Exchequer, on 1 July, before
+Baron Alderson.  It was alleged that the horse had not been truly
+described, that he was not of the age which qualified him to run for the
+Derby, and that he ought not, therefore, to be deemed the winner of the
+race.  Colonel Peel, the owner of Orlando, the second horse, claimed the
+stakes, on the ground that Running Rein was not the horse represented;
+and Mr. Wood, the owner of Running Rein, brought this action against the
+Colonel.
+
+Mr. Cockburn, who conducted the plaintiff’s case, gave the pedigree of
+Running Rein, and his whole history.  Among other things, Mr. Cockburn
+mentioned that, in October, 1843, Running Rein won a race at Newmarket;
+that he was objected to on the score of age; but, eventually, the
+stewards had decided in his favour.  The horse was, originally, the
+property of Mr. Goodman; and, Mr. Cockburn said, it was because suspicion
+attached to some transactions of Goodman, and because certain persons had
+betted heavily against Running Rein, that opposition was raised against
+Mr. Wood receiving the stakes.  He made a severe attack on Lord George
+Bentinck, who, he asserted, was the real party in the cause.  Witnesses
+for the plaintiff described the horse at various periods of its career;
+it was of a bay colour, with black legs, and a little white on the
+forehead; its heels were cracked, and, in 1842, it broke the skin on one
+leg, which left a scar.  George Hitchcock, a breaker of colts, employed
+to break Running Rein in October, 1842, was cross-examined to this
+effect:
+
+    “I know George Dockeray, the trainer.  I never said to him, ‘Damn it,
+    this colt has been broken before; here is the mark of the pad on his
+    back.’  I showed him the mark, but I never said those words, or any
+    words to that effect.  I don’t know why I showed him the mark.  It
+    was not big enough for the mark of a pad, and it was not the place
+    for the saddle to make it.  I told Lord George Bentinck the same.
+    The mark of the pad never wears out.  I recollect being asked, in the
+    presence of Mr. Smith, what I had there? and I recollect answering, a
+    four-year-old.  I have not the slightest doubt of it.  Mr. Smith
+    struck me for it.  I did not say, afterwards, that I had forgotten
+    all about the horsewhipping, and that the marks of the pad had worn
+    out.  I never said, either, that somebody had behaved very well to
+    me.”
+
+At an early period of the examination of witnesses, Mr. Baron Alderson
+expressed a wish that he and the jury should see the horse; and Mr.
+Cockburn said he had no objection.  On the cross-examination of William
+Smith, a training groom residing at Epsom, it came out that the horse had
+been smuggled out of the way, that it might not be seen by the
+defendant’s agents.  The judge, animadverting on this, and on the evident
+perjury of the witness, said it would be better that the horse should be
+seen by him and other parties.  The Solicitor-General, who appeared for
+the defendant, was anxious that the horse should be seen by veterinary
+surgeons.  To which the other side objected, maintaining that the mark of
+mouth, by which, alone, those surgeons could judge of the age of a horse,
+was a fallible criterion.
+
+On the conclusion of the evidence for the plaintiff, the
+Solicitor-General, in addressing the jury for the defence, denounced the
+case as a gross and scandalous fraud on the part of the plaintiff.  The
+case for the defendant was, that the horse was not Running Rein at all,
+but a colt by Gladiator, out of a dam belonging originally to Sir Charles
+Ibbotson; and that it had the name, Running Rein, imposed upon it, being
+originally called Maccabeus, and having been entered for certain stakes
+under that designation.  But his allegations were against Goodman, not
+against Mr. Wood; the former had entered into a conspiracy with other
+persons to run horses above the proper age.  The Gladiator colt had been
+entered for races, under the name of Maccabeus, before Goodman purchased
+him; and to run these races while the colt was in training for the Derby,
+for which he was entered as Running Rein, Goodman hired an Irish horse,
+which he disguised as Maccabeus, though a year older than that horse.
+The Gladiator colt, the _soi-disant_ Running Rein, when he ran for the
+Derby, in 1844, was four years old, the race being for three-year-old
+horses.  After hearing some evidence in support of these statements, the
+case was adjourned till the following day.
+
+The next day, when Mr. Baron Alderson took his seat upon the Bench, a
+conversation ensued between Mr. Cockburn and the Judge, respecting the
+production of the horse.  Mr. Cockburn asserted that it had been taken
+away without Mr. Wood’s knowledge, and thus it was out of his power to
+produce it; he felt it would be vain to strive against the effect which
+must be felt by the non-production of the horse, after the remarks of the
+learned Judge on that point.  After some conversation, however, the case
+proceeded, and two witnesses for the defence were examined, whose
+evidence went to prove that Running Rein was, in fact, the Gladiator
+colt.  Mr. George Odell, a horse dealer at Northampton, said he could
+swear to that fact; the colt had two marks on one leg.
+
+Mr. Baron Alderson remarked: “Now, if we could see the horse, that would
+prove the case.  Who keeps him away?  It is quite childish to act in this
+manner.”
+
+Mr. Cockburn now stated that Mr. Wood was convinced that he had been
+deceived, and gave up the case.
+
+Mr. Baron Alderson then briefly addressed the jury with much warmth, and
+in a most emphatic manner; directing them to find a verdict for the
+defendant, observing:
+
+“Since the opening of the case, a most atrocious fraud has proved to have
+been practised; and I have seen, with great regret, gentlemen associating
+themselves with persons much below themselves in station.  If gentlemen
+would associate with gentlemen, and race with gentlemen, we should have
+no such practices.  But, if gentlemen will condescend to race with
+blackguards, they must expect to be cheated.”
+
+The jury found for the defendant, and the effect of their verdict was,
+that the Derby Stakes went to Orlando, and that Crenoline should be
+considered the winner of the Two-Year-Old Plate at Newmarket, run the
+previous year.
+
+_Punch_, in commenting upon Mr. Baron Alderson’s remarks, says: “They”
+(the gentlemen) “go among these knaves and swindlers, these low-bred
+ruffians, reeking of gin and the stables, _to make money of them_.  They
+associate with boors and grooms, Jew gambling-house keepers, boxers and
+bullies, for money’s sake to be sure.  What other motive could bring such
+dandies into communication with such scoundrels, any more than he would
+willingly incur an infection, unless he had some end in view.  And the
+noble patrons of the Turf _have_ a great end in view—that of money.”
+
+This ought to have been sufficient roguery, one would think, for one
+race, but it was not.  A horse, named Rattan, was so evidently “nobbled,”
+that two men connected with it, Rogers and Braham, were warned off all
+the Jockey Club’s premises.
+
+And yet another case.  A horse, named Leander, ran in this race, and so
+injured its leg, that it was shot.  Shortly afterwards, it was suspected
+that it was four, instead of three years old; and, on its being exhumed,
+_the lower jaw was missing_.  The resurrectionists, however, cut off the
+head, and veterinary experts confirmed the previous suspicions.  For
+this, the owners, Messrs. Lichtwald, were, for ever, disqualified from
+racing.  This case occupied much time before the Select Committee of the
+House of Lords.
+
+The Select Committee on Gaming, in the Commons, in 1844, report that:
+“Your Committee have some evidence to show that frauds are, occasionally,
+committed in Horse Racing, and in betting on the Turf; but they feel
+difficulty in suggesting any remedy for this evil, more stringent, or
+more likely to be effectual, than those already in existence.”
+
+On June 1, two Royal visitors arrived here, the Emperor of Russia and the
+King of Saxony.  They had to pay the usual penalty of hard labour for a
+week.
+
+In the House of Commons, on 14 June, Mr. T. Duncombe presented a petition
+from W. J. Linton, Joseph Mazzini, and two others, complaining of their
+letters being opened before delivery, and praying that “The House would
+be pleased to grant, without delay, a Committee to inquire and give
+immediate redress to the petitioners, and prevent the recurrence of so
+unconstitutional and infamous a practice.”  Sir James Graham (Home
+Secretary) replied that “the House must be aware that from as early a
+period as the reign of Queen Anne, power existed in the hands of the
+Principal Secretary of State, to detain and open letters passing through
+the Post Office; and the House would also be aware that this power had
+come under the review of Parliament, at so late a period as the year
+1837, and by the Act of 1 Vic., this power of issuing warrants to open
+and detain letters, continued still vested in the Secretaries of State.
+He must, for fear of creating misapprehension by his answer, state that
+the circumstances mentioned in the petition were, to a great extent,
+untrue.  As to three of the petitioners, he doubted if their letters had
+ever been detained, and no warrant as to them had been issued; but, as to
+one of the petitioners, he had to state, that, on his responsibility, a
+warrant had been issued as to the correspondence of that person, which
+warrant was no longer in force.”
+
+On 2 July, a Committee of Secrecy was appointed “to inquire into the
+state of the Law in respect to the detaining and opening of Letters at
+the General Post Office, and into the mode under which the authority
+given for such detaining and opening has been exercised, and to report
+their opinion and observations thereupon to the House.”  The Committee
+met, took evidence, and duly reported, when it being shewn that the
+privilege was not often exercised (the total number of warrants issued
+between 1799 and 1844 being only 372), and that, of late years, the
+average of warrants had decreased, the public were satisfied, and the
+subject dropped.
+
+Chantrey’s equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, which stands in
+front of the Royal Exchange, was uncovered, amidst much cheering.  It
+cost £9,000 besides the metal.
+
+                [Picture: Barry, the Clown, on the Thames]
+
+On 23 Sept. Barry, a clown at Astley’s, fulfilled his promise of sailing
+in a washing-tub drawn by geese, from Vauxhall to Westminster.  He
+successfully accomplished his voyage, and repeated it on Oct. 11, from
+the Red House, Battersea (where now is Battersea Park), to Vauxhall.
+
+On 8 Oct. Louis Philippe, the King of the French, landed at Portsmouth on
+a visit to the Queen.  He was made a Knight of the Garter, and generally
+fêted, and should have returned to France, from Portsmouth on the 12th,
+but the sea was too rough, and he had to cross from Dover, instead; but
+even this trip was delayed by a great conflagration at New Cross Station,
+so that he really did not depart until the 13th.
+
+I meet with the first mention of that eminent fertiliser, Guano, in a
+commercial point of view, in the _Times_ of the 18 Oct., where it says
+that on 16th were put up for sale, at Liverpool, in lots of 10 tons each,
+180 tons of the best African guano.  But one lot of five tons was sold,
+and that fetched £5 12s. 6d.  The next lot was not sold, in consequence
+of the price offered being under that, and the whole of the remaining
+lots were withdrawn, there being no probability of the reserved price
+being realised.  It was then being fetched from Ichaboe, an island off
+the south-west coast of Africa—but it was afterwards procured in large
+quantities from the Chincha Islands, off the coast of Peru.
+
+On 28 Oct. the Queen opened the New Royal Exchange, with great State, and
+the Lord Mayor (W. Magnay, Esq.) was made a baronet; the reading-room at
+Lloyd’s was made into a Throne room for the occasion, and a sumptuous
+_déjeuner_ was served in the Underwriters’ room.  It was a very imposing
+pageant and pretty sight; but, although the Exchange was formally opened,
+no merchants assembled within its quadrangle until the first of the
+following January.
+
+Whilst on matters civic I must mention the very rare fact of Sir William
+Magnay’s successor in the office of Lord Mayor (Mr. Alderman Gibbs),
+being hooted and yelled at, on 9 Nov., whilst going to Westminster, and
+returning thence.  He had been churchwarden of St. Stephen’s, Walbrook,
+and the popular mind was imbued with the idea that something was wrong
+with his accounts, so they virtuously insulted him.  He had a hard enough
+time of it both by land and water, when going, what his returning was, is
+best told by a contemporary:
+
+“The ceremony within the Court of Exchequer having terminated, similar
+uproarious shouts to those which had hailed the arrival of the new Lord
+Mayor, now marked his embarcation for the city; and, in his passage down
+the Thames, with but here and there a solitary exception, the civic barge
+was the target of repeated vollies of yells and groans, levelled by no
+unskilful, or ineffective voices at it, from the banks and bridges of the
+river.  The landing at Blackfriars was attended with a more concentrated
+attack of ‘public execration,’ for, there, an immense multitude was
+wedged together, anxious to be spectators of the scene, though not
+inactive ones.  On the procession passed amid the continued
+manifestations of public disapprobation of the present, and respect for
+the retiring Lord Mayor.  Many interrogations of a searching nature were
+repeatedly bawled forth, not that they could reach the right honourable
+ear, but they were exercises in that peculiar art, styled ‘talking at
+folks.’  The same description must apply to Ludgate Hill, St. Paul’s
+Churchyard, and Cheapside, in which place some merriment was created by a
+party chanting in appropriate style:
+
+    ‘Oh, Alderman Gibbs,
+    Pray dub up the dibbs!’
+
+“It was somewhat after 4 o’clock, when the cortège arrived at the bottom
+of King Street, where, immediately before Guildhall Yard, about 2,000
+persons had collected, and others pressing out of the several streets,
+caused a dense mass to be formed.  This was the place where a parting
+salutation was to be presented to the new Lord Mayor, by his pitiless
+persecutors, and a very good view of the scene was attainable from an
+upper window at the western angle of Gresham Street.  Hearty and
+continued cheering announced the progress of Sir William Magnay; but, as
+soon as the State coach with the new Lord Mayor arrived, the yells and
+groans which broke forth, were perfectly stunning.  Never was the manner
+in which the two Lord Mayors had been received throughout the day, marked
+with stronger contrast.  The accumulation of carriages in Guildhall Yard,
+caused the detention of the State coach for some minutes, during which a
+real tempest of execration was poured forth upon the unfortunate
+gentleman; and many persons did not hesitate to testify their dislike to
+him in a manner to be condemned, by spitting at the carriage, their
+distance from which, however, defeated their intention.  In truth, Mr.
+Gibbs had to endure a perpetual and pitiless storm of hisses, yells,
+groans, gibes, sneers and jeers; and at every stoppage where the crowd
+was in close proximity to his carriage, unusually furious bursts of
+indignation broke forth; yet no missile was thrown during any portion of
+the day.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+
+Murder by Tawell—Curious story—King William IV.’s Statue—Visits by the
+Queen—Testimonial to Rowland Hill—Breaking the Portland Vase—Sad end of
+William Austin—Sale of Van Amburgh’s stud—Hungerford Suspension
+bridge—Accident at Yarmouth—An Excise case—Beginning of the Railway
+Mania—Sailing of Sir J. Franklin.
+
+This year begins badly—with a murder—which I should not chronicle, were
+it not that it was the first case in which the electric telegraph lent
+its services for the detection of a crime.  A man named John Tawell, a
+member of the Society of Friends, and who occupied a decent position in
+life, poisoned a poor woman at Salt Hill.  A Quaker who seemed much
+confused had been met close by her house, and he went by train from
+Slough to Paddington.  Suspicion being aroused, a message was sent from
+Slough, giving a description of him, and asking that he should be
+shadowed on his arrival.  This was done, and, next day, he was arrested.
+He was tried, found guilty, and duly executed.  The case, at the time,
+created an immense sensation, mainly because the villain was a member of
+the Society of Friends.  _Apropos_ of this, the _Observer_ of 23 March is
+responsible for the following:
+
+    “THE MURDERER TAWELL.—The following strange statement has been made
+    by a person, who is a Quaker, living near Berkhampstead, and who is
+    acquainted with Tawell: About a year ago, the stillness and decorum
+    of the Quakers’ meeting at Berkhampstead, at which Tawell attended,
+    was disturbed by one of the male members, who suddenly rose from his
+    seat and exclaimed, with frantic earnestness, that there was then
+    present, a person who was, at that very moment, meditating a most
+    fearful crime.  His conviction was so strong, that he passionately
+    besought this individual, whoever, he might be, to reflect upon the
+    wickedness of his intention, and to implore his Maker’s pardon for
+    his murderous thoughts.  As may be imagined, the Friends were thrown
+    into great consternation by this strange and impetuous appeal, and
+    the meeting broke up in alarm and confusion.  Tawell was present at
+    the time.”
+
+Early in January the statue of King William IV., by Samuel Nixon, was
+placed on its pedestal, fronting London Bridge; but, as far as I know,
+there was no public ceremony at its inauguration, for the _Times_ of 1
+Feb. says: “That workmen are now actively employed in cleansing down the
+colossal figure of King William IV., preparatory to the hoarding being
+removed, and the statue thrown open to the view of the public.  The base
+will present a very novel and pleasing appearance, it being ornamented
+with numerous naval trophies.  The four cross footpaths leading to the
+figure will be lighted by four gas lamps, on massive granite pillars.  In
+a few days the whole work will be completed, when it will be inspected by
+Her Majesty, the Queen Dowager, and His Royal Highness Prince Albert,
+those illustrious personages having intimated their desire to view it
+when finished.”@
+
+On 15 January the Queen paid a visit to the Duke of Buckingham, at Stowe,
+and the magnificence of her reception had much to do with the financial
+collapse of the too generous Duke.  On leaving Stowe she went to
+Strathfieldsaye to stay with the Duke of Wellington.  It was on this
+occasion that the old Duke gave a lesson to the gentlemen of the Press,
+which the interviewers of our times might well take to heart:
+“Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to Mr.
+---, and begs to say he does not see what his house at Strathfieldsaye
+has to do with the public press.”
+
+On 21 Jan. a National Testimonial was presented to Rowland Hill for his
+labours in connection with the introduction of the Penny Post, and Mr.
+Larpent, the Chairman of the City of London Mercantile Committee on
+Postage, handed him a cheque for £10,000, which handsome sum had been
+raised by a public subscription, which was not confined to the mercantile
+community alone, persons of every rank, and of both sexes, contributing
+amounts varying from large sums to a few pence.
+
+Just before the closing of the British Museum at 4 p.m. on 7 Feb., a
+crash was heard, and the famous Barberini, or Portland Vase, was found in
+pieces on the floor.  A man, named Lloyd, in a fit of delirium produced
+by drink, had smashed it out of pure wantonness.  The vase was valued at
+£1,000 by the Museum authorities, but, of course, that sum was purely
+nominal, as the vase was unique.  It was deposited in the British Museum
+in the year 1810 by the Duke of Portland, and was considered as his
+property; hence the name of the “Portland Vase.”  It was found about the
+middle of the 16th century, about two and a half miles from Rome, on the
+road leading from Frascati.  At the time of its discovery it was enclosed
+in a marble sarcophagus, within a sepulchral chamber, under the mount
+called Monte di Grano.  The material of which it is made is glass, the
+body being of a beautiful transparent dark blue, enriched with figures in
+relief, of opaque white glass.  For more than two centuries it was the
+principal object of admiration in the Barberini Palace.  It came into the
+possession of Sir William Hamilton, from whom it was purchased by the
+Duchess of Portland.
+
+On 11 Feb. the delinquent was brought before Mr. Jardine, at Bow Street,
+and the Museum authorities electing to prosecute him for the minor
+offence of breaking the glass case which held the vase, and which was
+under the value of £5, he was convicted of that offence, and sentenced to
+pay £3, or two months’ hard labour in the House of Correction.  He could
+not pay, and was committed to prison, in default, but on 13 Feb., someone
+paid the money, and the man was released.
+
+An employé of the British Museum, named Doubleday, undertook, and
+effected, the restoration of the Vase, and it may now be seen in the Gold
+Room of the British Museum, but, alas! “all the King’s horses, and all
+the King’s men,” can never make it as it was.  Wedgwood feebly reproduced
+it in ceramic ware, copies of which are now worth £200 each, and one
+copy, if not more, was made in silver.
+
+I come across a curious paragraph in the _Morning Post_ of March 13:
+“WILLIAM AUSTIN.—This person, whose name must be familiar to all who have
+had any acquaintance with the history of the Parliamentary proceedings in
+the case of the late Queen Caroline, or the eventful life of that unhappy
+Princess, arrived in London, last week, from Milan, where he has been
+residing for several years, for the most part, in a state of fatuity, the
+inmate of a lunatic asylum.  We understand that he has been removed to
+this country through the intervention of the British Government, under an
+authority from the Lord Chancellor, in whose care, his person, and some
+considerable property, left to him by the late Queen, have been placed by
+certain proceedings on the part of his relations.  He was conveyed hither
+from Milan under the charge of a medical and two other attendants; and
+immediately on his arrival, was visited by two London physicians, who,
+after an interview with him of some duration, at the hotel where he
+stopped, signed the necessary certificate for his detention in a private
+asylum, where he now remains.  Austin is a very good-looking man,
+apparently about 40 years of age; and though, beyond doubt, mentally
+enfeebled, has no betrayal of such imbecility in the expression of his
+face.  He has been in his present unfortunate condition since the year
+1830; and, for a great part of that time, he has maintained an immovable
+taciturnity.  No ingenuity has been able to extract a syllable from him.
+He answers no questions, nor asks any—enters into no conversation—and,
+even during the whole journey from Milan to London, he never spoke a word
+to his attendants, or any one else.  Neither could the medical gentlemen
+who waited upon him here induce him to reply to any of their inquiries;
+and no doubt, this fact, of itself, formed no inconsiderable ingredient
+in the judgment at which they arrived.  The unhappy man is extremely
+docile, has no disposition to violence, and readily understands and obeys
+any signs made to him.”
+
+Van Amburgh’s stud, lions, etc., were sold at Manchester on 17 March, and
+fetched high prices; a fine black maned lion, £350; another, 6 years old,
+£310; two lion cubs, eight months old, male and female, sold, the one for
+£12 10/-, the other for £35.  An elephant realised £750, and a giraffe
+£400.
+
+Hungerford Suspension Bridge, the first of its kind over the Thames, was
+opened on 1 May, and, although a toll was demanded, it was calculated
+that, before dusk, some 25,000 persons had crossed from one side of the
+Thames to the other.  It was taken down in July, 1862, to make room for
+the Charing Cross Railway Bridge.  It was transferred to Clifton, and
+there opened, on 8 Dec., 1864, and it now spans the Avon.
+
+On the next day (2 May) a terrible accident occurred at the Suspension
+bridge at Great Yarmouth.  A clown was to emulate Barry’s folly, and
+cross the river in a washing-tub drawn by geese; and thousands of people
+assembled to see him, of whom a great number (accounts vary from 300 to
+600), containing very many children, were on the bridge.  Some of the
+suspension rods snapped, and the crowd fell into the water.  Every
+assistance was rendered, but the number of recovered dead bodies, nearly
+all children, or young persons, was 77, and many are supposed to have
+been swept away by the current.
+
+On the 2nd of May, the famous Excise trial at Bar, _i.e._, before twelve
+judges, the Attorney General _v._ Smith, came to an end, after lasting
+eight days.  Mr. George Smith was a distiller, in a large way of
+business, at Whitechapel, and the premises of his brother James, who was
+a rectifier, adjoined his.  The law forbids the junction of the
+businesses of distilling and rectifying, or any communication between
+premises carrying on such businesses; and, in this case, it was presumed
+that all spirit would be conveyed from one to the other by means of the
+highway.  But the contention of the prosecution was, that the Excise
+officers, finding a great deficiency in the spirits ostensibly produced,
+as compared with the “wash,” had detected holes in a large receiver, and
+found, moreover, that they could themselves convey spirits from the
+distillery to the rectifying house, through pipes under ground, which
+were mixed up with those which supplied water, and so escaped detection.
+This the defendants denied, and brought forward evidence that the pipes
+were obsolete and disused.  In the end, the verdict of the jury was, “We
+find for the Crown; but we are anxious to express our opinion that there
+has not been any evidence adduced before us which shows that the pipe has
+been fraudently used by the defendant.”  The amount of damages claimed by
+the Crown was £150,000; but, by agreement, this was reduced to £76,000;
+and, finally, after an appeal from Mr. Smith, the Government were content
+with a cheque for £10,000.
+
+About this time commenced what is well termed “The Railway Mania,” or,
+rather, public attention was particularly called to it, as it was
+becoming a crying scandal.  So much so, that it attracted the notice of
+the legislature; and, if we look at a “Return to the Order of the
+Honourable the House of Commons, dated 8th April, 1845, for an
+alphabetical list of the Names, Description, and Places of Abode, of all
+Persons subscribing to the Amount of £2,000 and upwards to any Railway
+Subscription Contract deposited in the Private Bill Office during the
+present Session of Parliament,” we shall see that amongst the names will
+be found many of the leading nobility, large manufacturing firms, names
+well known in commerce and literature, mingled together in a most
+heterogeneous manner.  The same column shows a combination of peers and
+printers, vicars and vice-admirals, spinsters and half-pay officers,
+Members of Parliament and special pleaders, professors and cotton
+spinners, gentlemen’s cooks and KC.’s, attorneys’ clerks and college
+scouts, waiters at Lloyd’s, relieving officers and excisemen, editors and
+engineers, barristers and butchers, Catholic priests and coachmen,
+dairymen and dyers, braziers, bankers, beer sellers and butlers, domestic
+servants, footmen and mail guards, and almost every calling under the
+sun.
+
+And these, it must be remembered, were subscribers for £2,000 and
+upwards; those who put down their names for less were supposed to be
+holders of £21,386 6s. 4d. in Stock.
+
+Of course, _Punch_ could not overlook this mania for speculation, and we
+find the following in the number for 31 May:
+
+    “The night was stormy and dark.  The town was shut up in sleep;  Only
+    those were abroad who were out on a lark,  Or those, who’d no beds to
+    keep.
+
+       [Picture: “How many hundred shares have you wrote for?” Railroad
+                                 Speculators]
+
+    “I pass’d through the lonely street,  The wind did sing and blow;  I
+    could hear the policeman’s feet  Clapping to and fro.
+
+    “There stood a potato-man  In the midst of all the wet; He stood with
+    his ’tato can  In the lonely Haymarket.
+
+    “Two gents of dismal mien, And dank and greasy rags.  Came out of a
+    shop for gin,  Swaggering over the flags:
+
+    “Swaggering over the stones,  Those shabby bucks did walk;  And I
+    went and followed those needy ones,  And listened to their talk.
+
+    “Was I sober, or awake?  Could I believe my ears?  Those dismal
+    beggars spake  Of nothing but railroad shares.
+
+    “I wondered more and more; Says one, ‘Good friend of mine,  How many
+    shares have you wrote for  In the Diddlesex Junction Line?’
+
+    “‘I wrote for twenty,’ says Jim,  ‘But they wouldn’t give me one’;
+    His comrade straight rebuked him  For the folly he had done:
+
+    “‘Oh, Jim, you are unawares  Of the ways of this bad town;  _I_
+    always write for five hundred shares,  And _then_, they put me down.’
+
+    “‘And yet you got no shares,’  says Jim, ‘for all your boast’;  ‘I
+    _would_ have wrote,’ says Jack, ‘but where  Was the penny to pay the
+    post?’
+
+    “‘I lost, for I couldn’t pay  That first instalment up;  But, here’s
+    taters smoking hot, I say  Let’s stop, my boy, and sup.’
+
+    “And at this simple feast,  The while they did regale,  I drew each
+    ragged capitalist  Down on my left thumb nail.
+
+    “Their talk did me perplex,  All night I tumbled and tossed,  And I
+    thought of railroad specs,  And how money was won and lost.
+
+    “‘Bless railroads everywhere,’  I said, ‘and the world’s advance;
+    Bless every railroad share  In Italy, Ireland, France;  For never a
+    beggar need now despair,  And every rogue has a chance.’”
+
+And yet another extract.  Who does not remember Thackeray’s _Diary of C.
+Jeames de la Pluche_, _Esqre._? but few know how the idea was started.
+It was by W. M. T. himself in _Punch_ of Aug. 2:
+
+                           A LUCKY SPECULATOR.
+
+Considerable sensation has been excited in the upper and lower circles in
+the West End, by a startling piece of good fortune which has befallen
+JAMES PLUSH ESQ., lately footman in a respected family in Berkeley
+Square.
+
+One day, last week, MR. JAMES waited upon his master, who is a banker in
+the City; and, after a little blushing and hesitation, said he had saved
+a little money in service, and was anxious to retire, and invest his
+savings to advantage.
+
+His master (we believe we may mention, without offending delicacy, the
+well-known name of SIR GEORGE FLIMSY, of the firm of FLIMSY, DIDDLER AND
+FLASH) smilingly asked MR. JAMES what was the amount of his savings,
+wondering considerably how—out of an income of thirty guineas, the main
+part of which he spent in bouquets, silk stockings and perfumery—MR.
+PLUSH could have managed to lay by anything.
+
+MR. PLUSH, with some hesitation, said he had been _speculating in
+railroads_, and stated his winnings to have been thirty thousand pounds.
+He had commenced his speculations with twenty, borrowed from a
+fellow-servant.  He had dated his letters from the house in Berkeley
+Square, and humbly begged pardon of his master, for not having instructed
+the railway secretaries, who answered the applications, to apply at the
+area bell.
+
+SIR GEORGE, who was at breakfast, instantly arose, and shook Mr. P. by
+the hand; LADY FLIMSY begged him to be seated, and partake of the
+breakfast which he had laid on the table; and has, subsequently, invited
+him to her grand _déjeuner_ at Richmond, where it was observed that MISS
+EMILY FLIMSY, her beautiful and accomplished seventh daughter, paid the
+lucky gentleman _marked_ attention.
+
+We hear it stated that Mr. P. is of very ancient family (HUGO DE LA
+PLUCHE came over with the Conqueror); and the new Brougham which he has
+started, bears the ancient coat of his race.
+
+He has taken apartments at the Albany, and is a director of thirty-three
+railroads.  He purposes to stand for Parliament at the next general
+election, on decidedly conservative principles, which have always been
+the politics of his family.
+
+Report says that, even in his humble capacity, MISS EMILY FLIMSY had
+remarked his high demeanour.  Well, “none but the brave,” say we,
+“deserve the fair.”
+
+This we may call the commencement of the mania; in their proper places
+will be noticed its culmination and collapse.
+
+On 18 May sailed from Greenhithe the two Arctic discovery ships, the
+_Erebus_ and _Terror_, under the command of Sir John Franklin, whose
+instructions were “to push to the westward, without loss of time, in the
+latitude of about 74¼ degrees, till you have reached the longitude of
+that portion of land on which Cape Walker is situated, or about 98
+degrees west.  From that point we desire that every effort be used to
+endeavour to penetrate to the southward and westward, in a course as
+direct towards Behring’s Straits as the position and strength of the ice,
+or the existence of land, at present unknown, may admit.  We direct you
+to this particular part of the Polar Sea, as affording the best prospect
+of accomplishing the passage to the Pacific.”
+
+They were provisioned for three years, but when, in 1850, Captain
+Ommanney discovered, on Beechey Island, traces of the expedition having
+spent their first winter there, he found large stacks of preserved meat
+canisters, which, there is little doubt, contained putrid filth, and had
+been condemned by survey.
+
+As nothing was heard of the expedition, another was organised, in 1847,
+to start, for search and relief, from Hudson’s Bay; and, indeed, no one
+can say that the two exploring vessels were forgotten; for, from that
+date, till 1857, _thirty-nine different expeditions were sent to look
+after them_.  The first to find traces of them was that of Capt.
+Ommanney, in 1850; then, in April, 1854, Dr. Rae heard, from the natives,
+of a party of white men having been seen, four winters previously, and
+that their bodies had afterwards been seen.  From these Eskimo, Rae
+obtained some silver spoons and other small articles which left no doubt
+but that they had belonged to the ill-fated expedition.  But it was the
+_Fox_ yacht, which was fitted out by Lady Franklin, and commanded by
+Capt. McClintock, which settled the question of their fate.  Early in
+1859, a boat, a few skeletons, chronometers, clothing, instruments,
+watches, plate, books, etc., were discovered; and, towards the end of
+May, a written paper was found, which gave news of them up to 25 Apl.,
+1848, and told that “Sir John Franklin died on 11 June, 1847, and the
+total losses by deaths in the expedition has been, to this date, nine
+officers and 15 men; we start on, to-morrow, 26th, for Back’s Fish
+River.”  From the Eskimo was learned how one of the ships sunk in deep
+water, and the other was wrecked, after which they all perished
+miserably, some “falling down and dying as they walked,” as an old woman
+told Capt. McClintock.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+
+The Queen’s Costume Ball—Copper Coinage of William IV.—New Oxford Street
+opened—Sale of Napoleon’s relics—Story of Nelson’s coat—Visit of King of
+the Netherlands—Railway speculation—Hire of newspapers—Reverse of
+fortune—Prince Albert and his taxes—Waghorn’s overland route.
+
+The Queen gave a Costume Ball, at Buckingham Palace, on 6th June, which
+was a magnificent affair, and gave plenty of food for conversation.
+Every guest had to appear in a costume appropriate to the period of
+English history between 1740 and 1750; but, with the exception of the
+minuet, the dances were modern.
+
+I have only space for the dresses of the Queen and Prince Albert.  Her
+Majesty’s dress was composed of gold tissue, brocaded in coloured
+flowers, green leaves and silver, trimmed round the top, bottom and sides
+(the upper dress being open in front) with point lace over red ribbon;
+the dress looped up with red satin ribbons, and two large bows, in each
+of which was a diamond bow and tassel.  The stomacher was composed of two
+large diamond bows, and a diamond point; the sleeves, which were tight,
+finished with point lace ruffles, and trimmed with red ribbon; on the
+left arm, the Garter in diamonds, and, on the right, a diamond rosette.
+She wore the blue ribbon and diamond George as usual.  The under
+petticoat was of white and silver tissue, trimmed with a deep flounce of
+rich point lace (which had belonged to Queen Charlotte), headed by a
+quilling of red satin ribbon and bows; above, a narrower flounce of point
+lace, trimmed like the other; in each ribbon bow, a diamond rosette.
+
+Prince Albert wore a suit of the richest crimson velvet (of Spitalfields
+manufacture); the coat lined with white satin, edged throughout with
+gold; and the buttons were of gold.  On his left breast His Royal
+Highness wore a most splendid star of the order of the Garter, composed
+of diamonds, with the exception of the cross, which was formed of rubies.
+The badge of the Order was confined at the shoulder by an epaulette
+composed of large brilliants, and a most splendid George was suspended
+from the ribbon, wholly formed of brilliants.  The Prince also wore the
+insignia of the Golden Fleece, formed of opals and diamonds.  The Garter
+was set in brilliants, and the hilt of His Royal Highness’s sword was
+covered with diamonds.  The waistcoat was of white satin, richly and
+elegantly embroidered with gold, the buttons being of gold.  Shoe buckles
+of diamonds.  Hat, three cornered, edged with gold lace, with handsome
+diamond ornament in the cockade in front.
+
+The Earl of Cardigan could not masquerade as Bayard, but “he excited no
+little attention.  He wore the uniform of the 11th Dragoons at Culloden;
+and, with the costume, which became him extremely, he contrived to assume
+the portentous bearing, and the true jack-boot stride and swagger.”
+
+The _Morning Chronicle_ is answerable for the following: “For some time
+past the copper coinage of William IV. has been eagerly purchased by
+persons who are stated to be Jews, and a report has, in consequence,
+gained ground that gold is contained in it.  What reason there may be for
+this it is impossible to say; but it is a well-known fact, that agents
+have been at work for the last two months buying up those particular
+coins in Westminster, and they now fetch double the price of their legal
+issue.  The mania has extended eastward, and twopence for a penny piece,
+and a penny for a halfpenny, etc., are now asked for the ‘precious
+issue.’”
+
+On 9 June, the new street connecting Holborn with Oxford Street, and now
+called New Oxford Street, was thrown open for carriages.
+
+Messrs. Christie and Manson sold, at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, on 23
+June, the first portion of the “Napoleon Museum,” collected by Mrs.
+Sainsbury, and which had long been on exhibition.  The prices fetched
+were ridiculously low, as the following examples will show.  Among the
+bronzes, an infantine bust of the King of Rome, formerly in the
+possession of Josephine, at Malmaison, cost 20 guineas, sold for £1 10s.
+A drawing in sepia, by Debret, of Napoleon visiting the wounded on the
+field, after the battle of Eylau, £5 5s.  The pictures illustrative of
+the principal events in the life of Napoleon, were almost given away; the
+highest price obtained, being £12 for one by the great French painter
+David, of Napoleon, with the crown raised in both his hands, to place on
+the head of Josephine, at the Coronation in Notre Dame.  Twenty beautiful
+enamels by Lienard, of Napoleon, Ney, Berthier, Junot, Joseph, Lucien,
+Louis and Jerome Bonaparte, Murat, Caroline, the youngest sister of
+Napoleon, Cardinal Fesch, Marie Louise, etc., fetched but £76, and, on
+the other days’ sales, the lots went for far under their value.
+
+My readers may possibly remember how, on 8 Dec., 1900, a number of Nelson
+relics in the Painted Hall, at Greenwich Hospital, were stolen, during
+the night, by a burglar, who escaped; and may like to know the story of
+Nelson’s coat.  The _Times_ of 9 July, copies the following from the
+_Spectator_:
+
+    “An interesting relic of Nelson has been discovered; and some
+    interest also attaches to the manner in which it has been secured to
+    the nation.  Sir Harris Nicolas, in his laborious researches for
+    editing the hero’s Despatches, had satisfied himself that the coat
+    and waistcoat which Nelson wore when he fell at Trafalgar, were
+    carefully preserved.  In pursuance of the Admiral’s directions, they
+    were given, with several other things, by Sir Thomas Hardy, his
+    captain, to Lady Hamilton; by her, they were transferred, under
+    peculiar circumstances, to a late alderman of London, and they
+    remained in the possession of the alderman’s widow.  The lady is not
+    rich, and she asked £150 for the relic.  This sum being beyond his
+    own means, Sir Harris determined to raise it by subscription, in
+    order that the coat and waistcoat might be deposited, like the coat
+    which Nelson wore at the battle of the Nile, in Greenwich Hospital.
+    With that view, he put the proposition in writing, and had it printed
+    as a circular.  Before issuing this circular, however, he sent a copy
+    to Prince Albert, who immediately desired that the purchase might be
+    made for himself, as he should feel ‘pride and pleasure’ in
+    presenting the precious memorials to Greenwich Hospital.  Sir Harris
+    Nicolas took them to the Royal purchaser on Wednesday; and we
+    understand that the Prince manifested a very fine feeling on the
+    occasion.  There is kind and generous wisdom in this act; for nothing
+    could so help to identify the Queen’s husband with the British
+    people, as such little tributes to their maritime pride.  The coat is
+    thus described in Sir Harris Nicolas’s circular, and it will be seen
+    that it has an historic value: ‘The coat is the undress uniform of a
+    vice-admiral, lined with white silk, with lace on the cuffs, and
+    epaulettes.  Four stars—of the Order of the Bath, St. Ferdinand and
+    Merit, the Crescent, and St. Joachin—are sewn on the left breast, as
+    Nelson habitually wore them; which disproves the story that he
+    purposely adorned himself with his decorations on going into battle!
+    The course of the fatal ball is shewn by a hole over the left
+    shoulder, and part of the epaulette is torn away; which agrees with
+    Dr. Sir William Beattie’s account of Lord Nelson’s death, and with
+    the fact, that pieces of the bullion and pad of the epaulette adhered
+    to the ball, which is now in Her Majesty’s possession.  The coat and
+    waistcoat are stained in several places with the hero’s blood.”
+
+Further confirmatory evidence is given in the _Globe_, copied into the
+_Times_ of 22 July.  “It will scarcely be believed that the coat of the
+great naval hero, together with his cocked hat, and an immense quantity
+of his property, was, as it were, mortgaged for the sum of £120, yet such
+was the fact.  The late Alderman Jonathan Joshua Smith was executor of
+Lord Nelson with Lady Hamilton; and, prior to his death, goods sufficient
+to fill six crates (amongst which were the coat, hat, breeches, etc.),
+were placed in the Town Hall, Southwark, under the care of Mr. Kinsey,
+the chief officer, and who now attends the aldermen at the Central
+Criminal Court.  Kinsey was Alderman Smith’s confidential servant for a
+number of years, and to whom £120 was owing at his master’s death.
+Application was made to the Court of Aldermen, by some members of the
+Nelson family, for the restitution of the property; and, after a long
+discussion, Alderman Lucas consented to act as arbitrator between the
+family and Kinsey, and £30 was paid to the latter, in satisfaction of his
+claim, upon which, the things were repacked, and sent to Mrs. Smith, at
+Heron Court, Richmond, in whose possession they remained, until the
+purchase of the coat was made by Prince Albert.”
+
+The King of the Netherlands paid the Queen a visit on 24 July, and the
+good man must have thought well of us, inasmuch as he was very much let
+do as he liked.  In London he stopped at Mivart’s Hotel, went to the
+Opera, paid a few visits, was a guest of the Duke of Richmond for
+Goodwood Races, was made a Field Marshal, held a review in Hyde Park, and
+went back again; a far lighter sentence than is usually passed on Royalty
+when visiting this country.
+
+We now find the inflation of Railway speculation attracting attention;
+and, in the _Times_ of Aug. 1 is a letter, a column in length, of which I
+give the following extract, referring to the inquiry into the Dublin and
+Galway Railway:
+
+    “The next case is that of letters addressed to 1, Park Place,
+    Devonshire Street, Mile End Road.  So great is the number of letters
+    delivered here, that additional assistance has been given in the
+    duty.  Upwards of 1,000 letters have been delivered here within nine
+    months; only last week 120 were taken in on one day, of which, at one
+    time, no less than 16, and, at another, 30, letters were delivered.
+    This No. 1, Park Place, is up an obscure court, consisting of three
+    small houses, of about 5/6 rent per week.  No. 1 is occupied by a man
+    and woman, and the next door by their daughter.  The proceedings of
+    these persons have been closely watched.  Directly a packet of
+    letters has been received in the morning, off starts the old man and
+    woman, and, sometimes, the daughter, to the places appointed to meet
+    the receiver.  On the first occasion, the old woman, who had received
+    16 letters, evidently wanted to deposit her treasure at Crosby Hall
+    Chambers; for, opposite to them, she halted, carefully looking about
+    her; but, unfortunately, she found she was watched; and, escaping
+    through the Excise Office, hid herself somewhere, till her pursuer
+    lost her.  The next morning, another packet was received, with which
+    the old man was intrusted; he started immediately, and, after a most
+    circuitous route, to avoid detection as to where he deposited his
+    treasure, he was seen to enter the King’s Arms Tavern, Bishopsgate
+    Churchyard, where he was seen to deliver his despatches to a smart,
+    dapper Jew, well known, who, after a few moments’ deliberation, left
+    the house, and was speedily joined by several confederates at the top
+    of the churchyard, who, after dividing the letters, dispersed as
+    instantaneously as can be imagined.  The next day, it became
+    necessary to augment the detective force, for the old people became
+    more wary; the old man went out before post time, and the daughter
+    was selected as the messenger with despatches; she was fleet of foot,
+    but she had been carefully identified, therefore that did not avail
+    her much, as the detective force was divided, and stationed at such
+    places as were likely to succeed.  She took a most circuitous route,
+    but, eventually, found herself opposite the Auction Mart, evidently
+    looking out anxiously for someone; she saw she was watched, and away
+    she started, and, after a long round, found shelter in Maidenhead
+    Court, Aldersgate Street, in a little smith’s shop—which turned out
+    to belong to the identical party who resides at No. 1, Park Place,
+    where the letters were first delivered.  Here the pursuit was given
+    up.  No further attempt to trace the receiver was made, the inquiry
+    before the select committee coming on; but sufficient is shown to
+    exhibit the system existing to this hour.  How, it may be asked, do
+    they procure the signatures to the deed, one party holding so many
+    letters of allotment?  The system is this: one party signs the deed
+    as often as disguise will shield him from discovery; then the
+    practice is resorted to of procuring persons, from 15 years to 60, to
+    accompany the holder of the banker’s receipt to the Railway Office,
+    to sign the deed in such name as he may direct; for which, when done,
+    he receives remuneration, varying from one shilling to ten, according
+    to the premium the scrip may bear in the market.”  There were several
+    police cases as to writing and forging these bogus names, and prudent
+    people were beginning to look shy at railway scrip.
+
+Here is a case which we can hardly understand nowadays.  As long as
+Newspapers were stamped, it was a misdemeanour to allow anyone to read
+them, unless they purchased them, as it was considered a fraud upon the
+Revenue.  On 23 Aug., in the Court of Requests, Kingsgate Street, a case
+came before the Commissioners for adjudication, in which a newsvendor
+summoned a person for a small sum, for “reading” the various newspapers.
+The plaintiff, in stating the case, said the defendant had been in the
+habit of seeing the papers daily, for which a penny a day was charged,
+and the present proceedings were taken to recover a balance due on that
+account.  The Commissioners said that he could not recover, as he had
+been guilty of a gross fraud upon the Stamp Office in letting newspapers
+out for hire.  The plaintiff: But he was in the habit of coming to my
+shop, and seeing them.  The Commissioner: That don’t matter; it is a
+fraud upon the Stamp Office, and you render yourself liable to an
+information being laid against you for it.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Here is a little anecdote chronicled in the _Annual Register_ (6 Sep.):
+“REVERSE OF FORTUNE.—Edward Riley, living with his family in Hadley
+Street, Burton Crescent, having been proved next of kin to Maj.-Gen.
+Riley, who recently died at Madras, leaving property to the amount of
+£50,000, to the whole of which he has become entitled, has greatly amused
+the neighbourhood by his conduct.  From having been but a workman in the
+dust-yard in Maiden Lane, he has, now, become a man of independence.
+Some days after his sudden acquisition of wealth, he called, in his cab,
+on a tailor in Seymour Street, and, taking him to the dust yard, desired
+him to measure the whole of the men in the yard for a suit of clothes,
+which being accomplished, he ordered them to go to a bootmaker, where
+they were all served.  On the following Sunday, he ordered a butcher to
+supply each of them with a joint of meat.  Riley has taken a house in
+Argyle Square; and, upon entering it, purposes to give a dinner to all
+the dustmen in London, and illuminate the front of his house.”
+
+We have seen, in 1843, _Punch’s_ idea of Prince Albert as a farmer, and
+we next hear of him, in connection with this business, as refusing to pay
+parish rates for the Flemish Farm; so at a vestry meeting held at
+Windsor, on 18 Sep., the subject was brought forward.  It appeared that
+the estimated rental of the property was £450, and that the last rate, at
+8d. in the pound, amounting to £15, had not been paid.  It was stated
+that the Prince had refused to pay the rates on two grounds, first, that
+he had no “beneficial occupation,” and, secondly, that “the property
+belonged to the Queen.”  The reply to this was, that the Prince certainly
+had a beneficial occupation in the farm, for the two prize oxen sold by
+him, last year, at £70 and £80, were fatted on this farm, to say nothing
+of the crops and agricultural produce, from which His Royal Highness
+received great profits, and it was thought there was no reason why he
+should be let off, and the poorer farmers made to pay the rates.  It was
+settled that the collector should make application for the arrears,
+amounting to over £200.
+
+_Punch_ drew a harrowing picture, of the brokers being put into Windsor
+Castle, and of a paragraph which might appear in the _Court Circular_:
+“Yesterday, Her Gracious Majesty visited Prince Albert at her own Bench.”
+But matters did not go so far, for on 14 Jan. next following, the Prince
+vouchsafed an answer to the Vestry, in which he denied his liability _in
+toto_, acting on the advice of the Attorney and Solicitor General, and
+Sir Thomas Wilde; and, after crushing the poor vestry, the letter winds
+up thus: “And His Royal Highness feels himself at liberty to take the
+course which is most satisfactory to his own feelings, and to pay, as a
+voluntary contribution, a sum equal to the rate which would have been
+annually due, had the legal liability of His Royal Highness been
+established.  It is also His Royal Highness’s intention that the payment
+of the sum referred to should commence from the year 1841.”
+
+And so it has continued to the present day, if we may credit the
+authority quoted in the accompanying cutting from the _Globe_ of 8 June,
+1901: “HOW THE KING PAYS TAXES.—It is not generally known (says the _Free
+Lance_) that the King pays taxes under protest—that is to say, His
+Majesty, like Queen Victoria, claims to be exempt from impost, and yet is
+willing to contribute, without prejudice, to the rates.  For instance,
+part of the Windsor farm land lies within the radius of the borough.  The
+municipal authority issues demand notes for the rates.  The Royal
+officials respond by paying a sum just under the amount requested, and
+the collector is satisfied.  There is no question of going to law, for
+how can the King be summoned in his own Courts?”
+
+On 31 Oct. Lieut. Waghorn practically demonstrated the feasibility of his
+“Overland Route” to India.  The regular Mail and his Express arrived at
+Suez by the same steamer on 19 Oct.  The Express was given to a man on a
+dromedary, who, stopping nowhere, entered Alexandria on the 20th.  The
+Express was delivered to Mr. Waghorn, who started at 11 o’clock.  He had
+been waiting on board an Austrian steamer, which had remained in
+quarantine, so that he arrived at Trieste in free _pratique_.  He landed,
+however, at Divina, twelve miles nearer London than Trieste, and hurried
+through Austria, Prussia, Baden, and Bavaria, with a passport ready
+_viséd_ by the representatives of those countries.  He reached Mannheim
+in 84 hours, proceeded by a steamer to Cologne, thence by special train
+to Ostend, by boat to Dover, to London by railway, and arrived at 4.30 in
+the morning of the 31st.  The news from India thus brought, was published
+in all the London papers, which were in Paris before the Mail from
+Marseilles was on its way to London.
+
+                      [Picture: Punch Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+
+The Railway Mania—Deposit of plans.
+
+The accompanying illustration from _Punch_ (18 Oct.) justly holds up to
+ridicule the Railway Mania, which might then be said to have been at its
+height.  It is called “THE MARCH OF SPECULATION.—‘This is the young Gent,
+as takes my Business, Mem.  I’m agoin’ into the Railway—Director Line
+myself.’”
+
+As a proof of this Madness, see this paragraph: “Oct. 25.  During the
+past week there were announced, in three newspapers, eighty-nine new
+schemes, with a capital of £84,055,000; during the month, there were 357
+new schemes announced, with an aggregate capital of £332,000,000.”
+
+On 17 Nov. the _Times_ published a table of all the railway companies
+registered up to the 31st October, numbering 1,428, and involving an
+outlay of £701,243,208.  “Take away,” it said, “£140,000,000 for railways
+completed, or in progress, exclude all the most extravagant schemes, and
+divide the remainder by ten, can we add, from our present resources, even
+a tenth of the vast remainder?  Can we add £50,000,000 to the railway
+speculations we are irretrievably embarked in?  We cannot, without the
+most ruinous, universal and desperate confusion.”
+
+Here is a Parody on the situation, 1 Nov.:
+
+    “There was a sound, that ceased not day or night,
+       Of speculation.  London gathered then
+    Unwonted crowds, and moved by promise bright,
+       To Capel Court rushed women, boys and men,
+       All seeking railway shares and scrip; and when
+    The market rose, how many a lad could tell
+       With joyous glance, and eyes that spake again,
+    ’Twas e’en more lucrative than marrying well;—
+    When, hark, that warning voice strikes like a rising knell.
+
+    Nay, it is nothing, empty as the wind,
+       But a “bear” whisper down Throgmorton Street;
+    Wild enterprise shall still be unconfined;
+       No rest for us, when rising premiums greet
+       The morn, to pour their treasures at our feet;—
+    When, hark! that solemn sound is heard once more,
+       The gathering bears its echoes yet repeat—
+    ’Tis but too true, is now the general roar,
+    The Bank has raised her rate, as she has done before.
+
+    And then, and there were hurryings to and fro,
+       And anxious thoughts, and signs of sad distress,
+    Faces all pale, that, but an hour ago
+       Smiled at the thought of their own craftiness;
+       And there were sudden partings, such as press
+    The coins from hungry pockets, mutual sighs
+       Of brokers and their clients.  Who can guess
+    How many a “stag” already panting flies,
+    When upon times so bright, such awful panics rise?”
+
+Mr. Francis, in his _History of the English Railway_, says: “The daily
+press was thoroughly deluged with advertisements; double sheets did not
+supply space enough for them; double doubles were resorted to, and, then,
+frequently, insertions were delayed.  It has been estimated that the
+receipts of the leading journals averaged, at one period £12,000 and
+£14,000 a week, from this source.  The railway papers, on some occasions,
+contained advertisements that must have netted £700 to £800 on each
+publication.  The printer, the lithographer, and the stationer, with the
+preparation of prospectuses, the execution of maps, and the supply of
+other requisites, also made a considerable harvest.
+
+“The leading engineers were, necessarily, at a great premium.  Mr. Brunel
+was said to be connected with fourteen lines, Mr. Robert Stephenson with
+thirty-four, Mr. Locke with thirty-one, Mr. Rastrick with seventeen, and
+other engineers with one hundred and thirteen.
+
+“The novelist has appropriated this peculiar portion of commercial
+history, and, describing it, says gravely and graphically: ‘A colony of
+solicitors, engineers and seedy accountants, settled in the purlieus of
+Threadneedle Street.  Every town and parish in the Kingdom blazed out in
+zinc plates over the doorways.  From the cellar to the roof, every
+fragment of a room held its committee.  The darkest cupboard on the
+stairs contained a secretary, or a clerk.  Men, who were never seen east
+of Temple Bar before, or since, were, now, as familiar to the pavement of
+Moorgate Street, {279} as the stockbrokers; ladies of title, lords,
+Members of Parliament, and fashionable loungers thronged the noisy
+passages, and were jostled by adventurers, by gamblers, rogues and
+imposters.’
+
+“The advantages of competition were pointed out, with the choicest
+phraseology.  Lines which passed by barren districts, and by waste
+heaths, the termini of which were in uninhabitable places, reached a high
+premium.  The shares of one company rose 2,400 per cent.  Everything was
+to pay a large dividend; everything was to yield a large profit.  One
+railway was to cross the entire Principality without a single curve.
+
+“The shares of another were issued, the company formed, and the directors
+appointed, with only the terminal points surveyed.  In the Ely railway,
+not one person connected with the country through which it was to pass,
+subscribed the title deed.
+
+“The engineers who were examined in favour of particular lines, promised
+all and everything in their evidence.  It was humourously said of them,
+‘they plunge through the bowels of mountains; they undertake to drain
+lakes; they bridge valleys with viaducts; their steepest gradients are
+gentle undulations; their curves are lines of beauty; they interrupt no
+traffic; they touch no prejudice.’
+
+“Labour of all kinds increased in demand.  The price of iron rose from
+sixty-eight shillings to one-hundred-and-twenty per ton.  Money remained
+abundant.  Promoters received their tens and twenties of thousands.
+Rumours of sudden fortunes were very plentiful.  Estates were purchased
+by those who were content with their gains; and, to crown the whole, a
+grave report was circulated, that Northumberland House, with its princely
+reminiscences, and palatial grandeur, was to be bought by the South
+Western.  Many of the railways attained prices which staggered reasonable
+men.  The more worthless the article, the greater seemed the struggle to
+obtain it.  Premiums of £5 and £6 were matters of course, even where
+there were four or five competitors for the road.  One company, which
+contained a clause to lease it at three-and-a-half per Cent., for 999
+years, rose to twenty premium, so mad were the many to speculate.
+
+“Every branch of commerce participated in the advantages of an increased
+circulation.  The chief articles of trade met with large returns; profits
+were regular; and all luxuries which suited an affluent community,
+procured an augmented sale.  Banking credit remained facile; interest
+still kept low; money, speaking as they of the City speak, could be had
+for next to nothing.  It was advanced on everything which bore a value,
+whether readily convertible, or not.  Bill brokers would only allow
+one-and-a-half per cent. for cash; and what is one-and-a-half to men who
+revelled in the thought of two hundred?  The exchanges remained
+remarkably steady.  The employment of the labourer on the new lines, of
+the operative in the factory, of the skilled artisan in the workshop, of
+the clerk at the desk, tended to add to the delusive feeling, and was one
+of the forms in which, for a time, the population was benefitted.  But,
+when the strength of the Kingdom is wasted in gambling, temporary,
+indeed, is the good, compared with the cost.  Many, whose money was
+safely invested, sold at any price, to enter the share market.  Servants
+withdrew their hoards from the savings banks.  The tradesman crippled his
+business.  The legitimate love of money became a fierce lust.  The peer
+came from his club to his brokers; the clergyman came from his pulpit to
+the mart; the country gentleman forsook the calmness of his rural domain
+for the feverish excitement of Threadneedle Street.  Voluptuous tastes
+were indulged in by those who were previously starving.  The new men vied
+with the old, in the luxurious adornments of their houses.  Everyone
+smiled with contentment; every face wore a pleased expression.  Some,
+who, by virtue of their unabashed impudence, became provisional
+committee-men, supported the dignity of their position in a style which
+raised the mirth of many, and moved the envy of more.  Trustees, who had
+no money of their own, or who had lost it, used that which was confided
+to them; brothers speculated with the money of sisters; sons gambled with
+the money of their widowed mothers; children risked their patrimony; and
+it is no exaggeration to say, that the funds of hundreds were
+surreptitiously endangered by those in whose control they were placed.”
+
+But Railways had been projected, and, in order to carry them through, the
+plans must, by law, be deposited with the Board of Trade, before, or on
+30 Nov.; and, on this occasion, there was a scene, which is very well
+told in the _Annual Register_:
+
+“An extraordinary scene occurred at the office of the Railway Department
+of the Board of Trade on this day (Sunday, 30 Nov.), being the last day
+on which the plans of the new projects could be deposited with the
+Railway Board, in order to enable Bills to authorise them to be brought
+before Parliament, in compliance with the Standing Orders.
+
+“Last year, the number of projects, in respect of which plans were lodged
+with the Board of Trade, was 248; the number, this year, is stated to be
+815.  The projectors of the Scotch lines were mostly in advance, and had
+their plans duly lodged on Saturday.  The Irish projectors, too, and the
+old-established companies, seeking powers to construct branches, were
+among the more punctual.  But upwards of 600 plans remained to be
+deposited.  Towards the last, the utmost exertions were made to forward
+them.  The efforts of the lithographic draughtsmen and printers in London
+were excessive; people remained at work, night after night, snatching a
+hasty repose for a couple of hours, on lockers, benches, or the floor.
+Some found it impossible to execute their contracts; others did their
+work imperfectly.  One of the most eminent was compelled to bring over
+four hundred lithographers from Belgium, and failed, nevertheless, with
+this reinforcement, in completing some of his plans.  Post horses and
+express trains, to bring to town plans prepared in the country, were
+sought in all parts.  Horses were engaged days before, and kept, by
+persons specially appointed, under lock and key.  Some railway companies
+exercised their power of refusing express trains for rival projects, and
+clerks were obliged to make sudden and embarrassing changes of route, in
+order to travel by less hostile ways.  A large establishment of clerks
+were in attendance to register the deposits; and this arrangement went on
+very well, until eleven o’clock, when the delivery grew so rapid, that
+the clerks were quite unable to keep pace with the arrivals.  The
+entrance hall soon became inconveniently crowded, considerable anxiety
+being expressed lest twelve o’clock should arrive ’ere the requisite
+formalities should have been gone through.  This anxiety was allayed by
+the assurance that admission into the hall before that hour, would be
+sufficient to warrant the reception of the documents.
+
+   [Picture: Deposit of Railway Plans with the Board of Trade, 30 Nov.,
+               1845.  Ill. Lon. News, 6 Dec., 1845, p. 358]
+
+“As the clock struck twelve, the doors of the office were about to be
+closed, when a gentleman with the plans of one of the Surrey railways
+arrived, and, with the greatest difficulty, succeeded in obtaining
+admission.  A lull of a few minutes here occurred; but, just before the
+expiration of the first quarter of an hour, a post chaise, with reeking
+horses, drove up, in hot haste, to the entrance.  In a moment, its
+occupants (three gentlemen) alighted, and rushed down the passage,
+towards the office door, each bearing a plan of Brobdingnagian
+dimensions.  On reaching the door, and finding it closed, the
+countenances of all drooped; but one of them, more valorous than the
+rest, and prompted by the bystanders, gave a loud pull at the bell.  It
+was answered by Inspector Otway, who informed the ringer it was now too
+late, and that his plans could not be received.  The agents did not wait
+for the conclusion of the unpleasant communication, but took advantage of
+the door being opened, and threw in their papers, which broke the passage
+lamp in their fall.  They were thrown back into the street.  When the
+door was again opened, again went in the plans, only to meet a similar
+fate.
+
+“In the whole, upwards of 600 plans were duly deposited.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+
+Collapse of the Railway Mania—Sheriff’s Officers—Hudson, the Railway
+King—First “Ethiopian Serenaders”—The Nigger Minstrel Craze—Commencement
+of Irish Famine—“The Battle of the Gauges”—Railway Surveyors—Suicide of
+Haydon, the painter.
+
+Although the collapse of the Railway Mania really began in 1845, its
+effects were not fully felt until the commencement of this year, when 10
+per cent. on Railway Capital had to be lodged with the Accountant
+General, within seven days from the assembling of Parliament, which in
+this case meant the 29th Jan.  It really received its first serious wound
+when the Bank of England rose its rate of discount on 16 Oct., but it was
+only when the calls had to be paid, that it was found how rotten the
+whole concern was, as the Marquis of Clanricarde, in a speech, plainly
+exposed.  Said he: “One of the names to the deed, to which he was anxious
+to direct their attention, was that of a gentleman, said to reside in
+Finsbury Square, who had subscribed to the amount of £25,000; he was
+informed no such person was known at that address.  There was, also, in
+the Contract deed, the name of an individual who had figured in the
+Dublin and Galway Railway Case, who was down for £5,000, and who was
+understood to be a half-pay officer, in the receipt of £54 a year, but
+who appeared as a subscriber in different railway schemes to the amount
+of £41,500.  The address of another, whose name was down for £12,200, was
+stated to be in Watling Street, but it appeared he did not reside there.
+In the case of another individual down for £12,500, a false address was
+found to have been given.  Another individual, whom he would not name,
+was a curate in the parish in Kent; he might be worth all the money for
+which he appeared responsible in various railway schemes, but his name
+appeared for £25,000 in different projects, and stood for £10,000 in this
+line.  Another individual, who was down for £25,000, was represented to
+be in poor circumstances.  A clerk in a public company was down for
+upwards of £50,000.  There were several more cases of the same kind, but
+he trusted he had stated enough to establish the necessity of referring
+the matter to a Committee.  There were, also, two brothers, sons of a
+charwoman, living in a garret, one of whom had signed for £12,500, and
+the other for £25,000; these two brothers, excellent persons, no doubt,
+but who were receiving about a guinea and a half between them, were down
+for £37,000.”
+
+The story of the collapse is so admirably told by Mr. Francis, that I
+prefer giving his version than writing of it myself:
+
+    “Money was scarce, the price of stock and scrip lowered; the
+    confidence of the people was shaken, and a vision of a dark future on
+    every face.  Advertisements were suddenly withdrawn from the papers,
+    men of note were seen no more as provisional committeemen; distrust
+    followed the merchant to the mart and the jobber to the Exchange.
+    The new schemes ceased to be regarded; applications ceased to be
+    forwarded; premiums were either lowered, or ceased to exist.  Bankers
+    looked anxiously to the accounts of their customers; bill brokers
+    scrutinised their securities; and every man was suspicious of his
+    neighbour.
+
+    “But the distrust was not confined to projected lines.  Established
+    railways felt the shock, and were reduced in value.  Consols fell one
+    and a half per cent.; Exchequer bills declined in price, and other
+    markets sympathised.  The people had awoke from their dream, and
+    trembled.  It was a national alarm.
+
+    “Words are weak to express the fears and feelings which prevailed.
+    There was no village too remote to escape the shock, and there was,
+    probably, no house in town some occupant of which did not shrink from
+    the morrow.  The Statesman started to find his new Bank Charter so
+    sadly and so suddenly tried; the peer, who had so thoughtlessly
+    invested, saw ruin opening to his view.  Men hurried with bated
+    breath to their brokers; the allottee was uneasy and suspicious, the
+    provisional committeeman grew pale at his fearful responsibility;
+    directors ceased to boast their blushing honours, and promoters saw
+    their expected profits evaporate.  Shares which, the previous week,
+    were a fortune, were, the next, a fatality, to their owners.  The
+    reputed shareholders were not found when they were wanted;
+    provisional committeemen were not more easy of access.
+
+    “One Railway advertised the names and addresses of thirty—none of
+    whom were to be heard of at the residences ascribed to them.  Letters
+    were returned to the Post Office day after day.  Nor is this to be
+    wondered at, when it is said that, on one projected line, only £60
+    was received for deposits, which should have yielded £700,000.
+
+    “It was proved in the Committee of the House of Commons, that one
+    subscription list was formed of ‘lame ducks of the Alley’; and that,
+    in another, several of the Directors, including the Chairman, had,
+    also, altered their several subscriptions to the amount of £100,000,
+    the very evening on which the list was deposited, and that five
+    shillings a man was given to anyone who would sign for a certain
+    number of shares.
+
+    “Nothing more decidedly marked the crisis which had arrived, than the
+    fact that everyone hastened to disown railways.  Gentlemen who had
+    been buried in prospectuses, whose names and descriptions had been
+    published under every variation that could fascinate the public, who
+    had figured as Committeemen, and received the precious guineas for
+    their attendance, were eager to assure the world that they were
+    ignorant of this great transgression.  Men who, a month before, had
+    boasted of the large sums they had made by scrip, sent advertisements
+    to papers denying their responsibility, or appealed to the Lord Mayor
+    to protect their characters.  Members of Parliament who had remained
+    quiet under the infliction, while it was somewhat respectable, fell
+    back upon their privileges, when they saw their purses in danger.
+    There is no doubt that an unauthorised use of names was one feature
+    of fraudulent companies, and that, amidst a list of common names, it
+    was thought a distinguished one might pass unnoticed.  The
+    complaints, therefore, of those who were thus unceremoniously
+    treated, were just; but the great mass of denials emanated from
+    persons who, knowingly, encountered the risk, and, meanly, shrunk
+    from the danger.
+
+    “It is the conviction of those who were best informed, that no other
+    panic was ever so fatal to the middle class.  It reached every
+    hearth, it saddened every heart in the metropolis.  Entire families
+    were ruined.  There was scarcely an important town in England but
+    what beheld some wretched suicide.  Daughters, delicately nurtured,
+    went out to seek their bread; sons were recalled from academies;
+    households were separated, homes were desecrated by the emissaries of
+    the law.  There was a disruption of every social tie.  The debtors’
+    jails were peopled with promoters; Whitecross Street was filled with
+    speculators; and the Queen’s Bench was full to overflowing.  Men, who
+    had lived comfortably and independently, found themselves suddenly
+    responsible for sums they had no means of paying.  In some cases,
+    they yielded their all, and began the world anew; in others, they
+    left the country for the continent, laughed at their creditors, and
+    defied pursuit.  One gentleman was served with four hundred writs; a
+    peer, when similarly pressed, when offered to be relieved from all
+    liabilities for £15,000, betook himself to his yacht, and forgot, in
+    the beauties of the Mediterranean, the difficulties which had
+    surrounded him.  Another gentleman who, having nothing to lose,
+    surrendered himself to his creditors, was a director of more than
+    twenty lines.  A third was Provisional Committeeman to fifteen.  A
+    fourth, who commenced life as a printer, who became insolvent in 1832
+    and a bankrupt in 1837, who had negotiated partnerships, who had
+    arranged embarrassed affairs, who had collected debts, and turned his
+    attention to anything, did not disdain, also, to be a Railway
+    promoter, a Railway director, or to spell his name in a dozen
+    different ways.”
+
+The Sheriff’s Officers had a busy time of it, and _Punch_, in “GOING OUT
+ARRESTING,” gives the following colloquy between two of the fraternity:
+
+    “‘Vell, Aaron, my tear, have yer ’ad any sport?’
+
+    “‘Pretty vell, I’ve bagged four Allottees, and two Provisionals!’”
+
+                [Picture: Picture of two men in carriages]
+
+But a notice of the Railway Mania would be very incomplete without a
+mention of George Hudson, the Railway King.  He was born at Howsham, a
+village near York, in March, 1800; was apprenticed to a draper in York;
+and, subsequently, became principal in the business; thus, early in life,
+becoming well off, besides having £30,000 left him by a distant relative.
+In 1837, he was Lord Mayor of York; and, the same year, was made Chairman
+of the York and North Midland Railway, which was opened in 1839.  In
+1841, he was elected Chairman of the Great North of England Company; and,
+afterwards, held the same position in the Midland Railway Company.  He
+speculated largely in railways, and, in the Parliamentary return, already
+alluded to, his subscriptions appear as £319,835.
+
+He came to London, and inhabited the house at Albert Gate, Knightsbridge
+(now the French Embassy), where he entertained the Prince Consort, and
+the aristocracy generally.  He was elected M.P. for Sunderland in Aug.,
+1845, and again served as Lord Mayor of York in 1846.  The Railway smash
+came; and, year by year, things went worse with him, until, early in the
+year 1849, he had to resign the Chairmanship of the Eastern Central (now
+Great Eastern), Midland, York, Newcastle and Berwick, and the York and
+North Midland Railway Companies.  He went abroad, where he lived for some
+time, and tried, unavailingly, to retrieve his fortune.  In July, 1865,
+he was committed to York Castle for Contempt of the Court of Exchequer,
+in not paying a large debt, and was there incarcerated till the following
+October.
+
+He fell so low, that, in 1868, some friends took pity on him, and raised
+a subscription for him, thus obtaining £4,800, with which an annuity was
+purchased.  He died in London, 14 Dec., 1871.
+
+We have been so accustomed to have nigger minstrels with us that I
+suppose very few of us know when they began.  Of course, I do not mean
+the solitary minstrel like Rice of “Jump Jim Crow” fame, who was the
+first, coming over here in 1836; but the first troupe.  I find it in the
+_Illustrated News_ of 24 Jan., 1846, whence also comes this illustration:
+
+                   [Picture: The Ethiopian Serenaders]
+
+“A party of American minstrels, under the above designation, commenced on
+Wednesday night (21 Jan.), at the Hanover Square Rooms, a series of
+concerts, for the avowed purpose of affording an accurate notion of Negro
+character and melody.  These artists are remarkably clever, and admirably
+‘made up.’  They are painted jet black, with ruddy lips, and large
+mouths; and, being capital actors, the deception created is so great,
+that wagers have been offered that they are really ‘darkies.’  They dress
+in dandy costume, _à la Jullien_—that is, white waistcoated and
+wristbanded, turned up in the most approved D’Orsay fashion.  Of course,
+it is impossible to come to any right conclusion as to the authenticity
+of the African airs, especially as they have arranged the compositions of
+the great European masters in such a grotesque manner.  The executants
+are five in number; one plays the tambourine, Mr. Germon, who is the
+leader; another the bone castanet; the third, the accordion; and the two
+others, the banjo, or African guitar.  The castanet player does not sing;
+but his four colleagues have good voices, and, in glees, harmonize
+charmingly.  In a quartet, the parody on the Phantom Chorus, from
+Bellini’s ‘Sonnambula’; and in a glee, ‘You’ll See Them on the Ohio,’
+nothing can be more effective than the skilful blending of the parts.  It
+is, perhaps, the _buffo_ exhibition which will create the greatest
+sensation, and in this quality they are inimitable.  The tambourine
+performer affects a ludicrous air of pompous sentiment, while the
+castanet sable hero indulges in all kinds of buffoonery and antics.  He
+is a wonderful player—no Spaniard can rival him in rapidity, delicacy and
+precision.  A scene called a ‘Railway Overture,’ causes an explosion of
+laughter; they seem to be endowed with perpetual motion; and the scream
+of the whistle, at the same time as the noise of the engine, beggars all
+description.  The entertainment is quite a novelty, and will, no doubt,
+be attractive.  They have been provided with letters of recommendation
+from President Polk, and some leading persons in America, who must be
+better able to appreciate the accuracy of their African delineations than
+Europeans.”
+
+They _were_ popular, with a vengeance—for every little street arab had
+beef bones for castanets, and every new song was roared out in the
+streets until it nauseated.  _Punch_ drew policemen and dustmen as
+Ethiopian Serenaders, and even suggested that Lablache, Mario and
+Tamburini should adopt the style.
+
+                     [Picture: Picture of musicians]
+
+The Queen opened Parliament on 19 Jan., and in her speech, whilst
+deprecating “the very frequent instances in which the crime of deliberate
+assassination has been, of late, committed in Ireland,” she went on: “I
+have to lament that, in consequence of a failure of the potato crop in
+several parts of the United Kingdom, there will be a deficient supply of
+an article of food which forms the chief subsistence of great numbers of
+my people.  The disease by which the plant has been affected, has
+prevailed to the utmost extent in Ireland.  I have adopted all such
+precautions as it was in my power to adopt, for the purpose of
+alleviating the sufferings which may be caused by this calamity; and I
+shall confidently rely on your co-operation in devising such other means
+for effecting the same benevolent purpose, as may require the sanction of
+the Legislature.”
+
+On 13 March, Parliament talked somewhat about the matter, and Sir James
+Graham, the Home Secretary, confessed that distress “pervades the whole
+of Ireland.  It is to be found in every province, in every county, in
+every union; nay, almost in every parish in Ireland.  The course Her
+Majesty’s Government has taken, has been this.  We have, in particular
+parts of Ireland, established depôts, where food can be bought at an easy
+price, at the very lowest price, and, thinking that eleemosynary relief
+ought to be avoided as much as possible, we propose to afford, to the
+utmost possible extent, either by means of public works to be undertaken,
+or by works already established, the means by which the people may be
+enabled to earn wages, and so to purchase food at the moderate cost at
+which it will be supplied.”
+
+But, in spite of all the Government could do, with the very best
+intentions, gaunt famine was stalking through the land, and the hungry
+folk could not be quiet, with the sight of food before them.  They were
+not going to starve when they saw the bakers’ shops full of bread, and
+the butchers’, of meat.  Human nature and a hungry belly could not stand
+it—so we can scarcely wonder at the famine riots which ensued.  The shops
+were wrecked, the food was taken; they even laid their hands on a boat
+proceeding from Limerick to Clare with relief, and plundered it of its
+cargo of corn and maize flour.  But, alas! this was only the commencement
+of the sad story.
+
+There was an alternative, open to those who had the money—to emigrate—and
+this they did—see the following, from the _Cork Reporter_, copied into
+the _Times_ of 18 April: “For the last fortnight our quays have been
+daily thronged with the fine and stalwart peasantry of this and the
+adjoining counties, preparing to emigrate to various parts of the
+trans-Atlantic world.  Perhaps, upon no former occasion, even before the
+hope of railway employment was held out to the people, and when
+“Government grants” for their relief were never heard of, did the number
+of emigrants from this quarter exceed the proportion of this present
+year.  Besides the various large and full-freighted vessels, which have
+left the quays of Cork, direct for America, several ships were despatched
+to the west of the county, and had no difficulty in obtaining their full
+complement of passengers.  Two large ships went round to Berehaven, a few
+days ago, and have, since, left the shores of that bleak district, with
+over 200 passengers.  Several other vessels have proceeded, or are about
+to proceed, for Baltimore and Berehaven, localities in which the
+destitution of the present year has been severely felt.  Three hundred
+persons have been ready, for the last fortnight, to embark from Dingle;
+but, not being able to get a ship to visit them, sufficiently commodious
+for their accommodation, have been obliged to make the best of their way
+to Cork.  Several vessels, now lying at Passage, will sail this day,
+these taking five hundred and fifty passengers . . . At a moderate
+computation, about 9,000 emigrants have, or, within the next month, will
+have, left this port for America.  It is to be hoped their anticipations
+will be realised.  There can be little fear, however, that their
+condition could be worse, or their prospects more disheartening than
+those which the ‘potato famine’ in this country, little mended by the
+promise of Indian corn, had occasioned.  _La faim chasse le loup hors du
+bois_.  To starve, or emigrate, are the only alternatives of the people.”
+
+The _Waterford Chronicle_ thus comments: “There will have gone, after the
+season is over, upwards of 3,000 people, from this country, by this port
+alone.  Not to talk of the rearing of these people—the trouble and
+expense of bringing up a healthy man, woman, or child, and, especially,
+leaving out the irreparable loss to society, in this country, of their
+affections, hopes, and family ties—all, now, sundered and destroyed—not
+to talk of the countless living deaths of wholesale emigration from a
+feeling and warm-hearted mother country—the amount of capital taken by
+these 3,000 is immense.  Assuming that each individual spends £10 in his
+passage, and before he settles, and that he has £10 more to establish
+himself, here is direct taking away, in hard cash, of £60,000 gone out of
+the bleeding pores of Ireland, to increase the misery which is left
+behind.  We are in possession of facts which show that many cunning
+landlords are sending away their people yearly, but by degrees, and not
+in such a manner as to subject themselves to a ‘clearance notice.’  If
+this system be continued, we shall be tempted to give names.  After these
+things, who will blame the people for outbreaks occasioned by famine?
+There is nothing plentiful in the land but ruin!  Employment is
+scarce—money is scarce—the people are being thinned—farms are being
+consolidated—bullock land is progressing—
+
+    “Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
+    Where cows accumulate, and men decay.”
+
+For some long time there had been a conflict of opinion as to the merits
+of different sized gauges for railways.  Brunel, the magnificent,
+advocated a width of seven feet, and practised it on the Great Western;
+others wished for something far more modest.  Great was the wrangling
+over this “battle of the gauges,” and a Royal Commission was appointed to
+inquire into the matter.  They gave in their Report on 30 May, and the
+question was settled by “An Act for regulating the Gauge of Railways” (9
+and 10 Vic., c. 57—passed 18 Aug., 1846) by which it was settled that, in
+future, all Railway lines in England were to be 4 feet 8½ in. wide, and
+in Ireland, the width was to be 5 ft. 3 in.
+
+By the way, Railway surveyors were paid well, and almost everyone that
+had ever dragged a chain posed as a surveyor.  As a sample—on 23 Ap. is
+reported the case of White _v._ Koe and Maun—where a witness said
+“Levellers are always well paid.  I have received, before this £10 a
+mile, and I could level from seven to eight miles a day.  These are not
+extraordinary terms.  I had to find hands to help me.  I had three men at
+7s. a day each.”
+
+On 22 June poor Haydon, the painter, committed suicide.  He was extremely
+egotistical, and nothing could persuade him that he was not the best
+painter of his time.  His fixed idea was that he was without a peer—but
+no one else thought so.  His diary is very sad reading.  Here is an entry
+(Ap. 13) relative to the exhibition of his picture, “The Banishment of
+Aristides”: “Receipts £1 3s. 6d.  An advertisement of a finer description
+could not have been written to catch the public; but not a shilling more
+was added to the receipts.  They rush by thousands to see Tom Thumb.
+They push—they fight—they scream—they faint—they cry ‘Help!’ and
+‘Murder!’  They see my bills and caravans, but do not read them; their
+eyes are on them, but their sense is gone.  It is an insanity—a _rabies
+furor_—a dream—of which I would not have believed Englishmen could have
+been guilty.”  He even wrote to the _Times_ about it: “GENERAL TOM THUMB,
+last week, received 12,000 people, who paid him £600; B. R. HAYDON, who
+has devoted 42 years to elevate their taste, was honoured by the visits
+of 133½, producing £5 13s. 6d., being a reward for painting two of his
+finest works, ‘Aristides and Nero.’  HORACE VERNET, LA ROCHE, INGRES,
+CORNELIUS, HESS, SNORR, and SCHEFFER, hasten to this glorious country of
+fresco and patronage, and grand design, if you have a tender fancy to end
+your days in a Whig Union.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+
+The last Post Office Bellman—The “Corn Law” Act—Sir Walter Scott’s
+monument—The Irish famine—The Duke of Wellington’s statue—Gun
+cotton—Introduction of ether—Model dwelling houses—Baths and
+Wash-houses—Smithfield Cattle market—“The Bull Fight of Smithfield”—The
+first submarine telegraph.
+
+_The Illustrated London News_, of 27 June, gives us “THE LETTER CARRIER’S
+LAST KNELL.—We have just lost another of what poor Thomas Hood called,
+‘Those evening bells.’  The Postmaster General having issued his fiat for
+the abolition of ‘ringing bells’ by the Letter Carriers, the last knell
+was rung out on the evening of Wednesday last; and, as a memorial of the
+departure of what appeared to most persons, a very useful practice, our
+artist has sketched a Letter Carrier, on his last evening call at our
+office; and another hand has appended the following lament:
+
+   The Dustman was first to forego his brass clapper,
+      The Muffinboy speedily followed his shade;
+   And, now, ’tis the Postman—that double-tongued rapper—
+      Must give up his Bell for the eve’s promenade.
+   “_Tantæ Animis_?’ sage Legislators!
+      Why rage against trifles like these?  Prithee tell,
+   Why leave the solution to rude commentators,
+      Who say, that at home, you’ve enough in one _Belle_?”
+
+On 26 June the Royal Assent was given to an Act (9–10 Vic., c. 22),
+called “An Act to amend the Laws relating to the Importation of Corn.”
+This regulated the duty on corn by a sliding scale of prices, which was
+to be in force until 1 Feb., 1849, when it was fixed at 1s. per quarter.
+The passing of this Act caused general rejoicing throughout the country,
+and put an end to a great deal of political rancour.
+
+ [Picture: The last Post Office Bellman.  Ill. Lon. News, 27 June, 1846]
+
+The inauguration of Sir Walter Scott’s Monument, at Edinburgh, took place
+on 15 Aug., the anniversary of his birth.  It was erected in 1840–44,
+after designs by Mr. George M. Kemp, at a cost of £15,650.  It is
+cruciform, with a Gothic spire, chiefly modelled on the details of
+Melrose Abbey; and includes, beneath its basement arches, a Carrara
+marble sitting statue of Scott, with his dog _Maida_, by his side, which
+is the work of Mr. Steel, and cost £2,000.
+
+The potato crop utterly failed again in Ireland, and the outlook there
+was indeed black.  In the _Times_ of 2 Sep., its correspondent, writing
+from Dublin, on 31 Aug., says: “As it is now an admitted fact, on all
+sides, that the destruction of the early potato crop is complete, there
+can be no earthly use in loading your columns with repetitions of the sad
+details, as furnished day after day in the accounts published by the
+Irish newspapers.  It will, therefore, nearly suffice to say that,
+according to the reports from all quarters, the crisis of deep and
+general distress cannot be much longer averted, and that it will require
+all the energies of both Government and Landlords to mitigate the
+inevitable consequences of a calamity, of which both parties have been
+duly forewarned.  In the meantime, the following statement in a Limerick
+paper of Saturday, is another curious illustration of the Irish
+‘difficulty’.
+
+“‘In the Corn Market, this day, there appeared about 4,000 bushels of
+oats, and about an equal quantity of wheat.  All this grain was purchased
+up, principally for exportation, whilst the food of the people, as
+exhibited this day in the Potato Market, was a mass of disease and
+rottenness.  This is an anomaly which no intricacies of political
+economy—no legal quibbles, or crochets—no Government arrangements can
+reconcile.  In an agricultural country which produces the finest corn for
+the food of man, we have to record that the corn is sold and sent out of
+the country, whilst the individuals that raised it by their toil and
+labour, are threatened with all the horrors of starvation.’
+
+“From a multiplicity of concurrent statements respecting the pestilence,
+I shall merely subjoin one, which appears in the last _Tralee_ paper: ‘A
+man would hardly dig in a day, as much sound potatoes as himself would
+consume.  But that is not the worst of it.  Common cholera has set in
+among the people of the town, owing to the use of potatoes, which contain
+a large quantity of poisonous matter.  A professional gentleman in this
+town, of considerable experience and unquestioned integrity, assures me,
+that he has attended, within the last fortnight, in this town and
+neighbourhood, more than 12 cases of common cholera, and that he would
+think a person as safe in consuming a certain quantity of arsenic, as in
+using the potatoes now exposed for sale.’”
+
+This is how the Famine of 1846–7 began, and what followed is a matter of
+history, which everyone ought to know, and ponder well over, but it can
+hardly come under the name of Gossip.  There were, naturally, a few food
+riots in different parts of the country, but everyone tried to do their
+best, even in a blundering way, to alleviate the distress.  The
+Archbishop of Canterbury composed a Special Form of Prayer, to be used on
+Sunday, 11 Oct.
+
+On 29 Sep. the gigantic equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington,
+which used to crown the arch opposite Apsley House, and which was taken
+down 24 Jan., 1883, and then set up at Aldershot, was moved from the
+artist’s (Wyatt) studio, in Harrow Road, to Hyde Park.  It was 27 feet
+high, and weighed about 40 tons, being made of brass guns taken by the
+Duke in various victories.  Being of so great a weight, the appliances to
+remove it were on an equally massive scale, the carriage and framework in
+which it was placed weighing about 20 tons.  It took 100 soldiers to haul
+the statue out of the studio; and, when mounted on its carriage, it took
+29 huge dray horses, lent by Mr. Goding, of the Lion Brewery, Waterloo,
+to drag it to its destination.  It was escorted by soldiers and military
+bands, and did the distance in about an hour a half.  The next day was
+spent in preparing to hoist it; the day after, it was lifted some 50
+feet, and there remained all night—and the next day was safely landed and
+put in position.  From that time, until it was taken down, it was the
+butt of scoffs and jeers, and no one regretted its departure.
+
+Gun cotton was brought into public notice by some experiments by its
+inventor, Professor Schönbein, of Basel, before the chairman of the East
+India Company, and a number of scientists.  Professor Brande had
+previously lectured upon it, at the Royal Institution, on 15 Jan., when
+he stated that, about fifteen years before, Braconnot had ascertained
+that sawdust, wood shavings, starch, linen and cotton fabrics, when
+treated with concentrated nitric acid, produced a gelatinous substance,
+which coagulated into a white mass, on the addition of water; this
+substance, which he called “xyloidine,” was highly inflammable.
+Schönbein, however, made his explosive from purified cotton, steeped in a
+mixture of equal parts of nitric and sulphuric acids, which when
+carefully washed, and dried, kept its appearance of cotton wool.  In the
+_Times_ of 4 Nov., is a notice of Gun sawdust (a powder now much used),
+made by Mr. George Turner of Leeds.
+
+Whilst on the subject of Chemicals, I may as well mention, what was much
+talked of at the time—the discovery of sulphuric ether, when inhaled,
+being an anæsthetic.  Previous to this, Nitrous Oxide, or, as it was
+called, “Laughing Gas,” somewhat inadequately performed the same
+function.  This latter was discovered by Dr. Priestley, in 1776, and its
+use, as an anæsthetic, recommended by Sir H. Davey in 1880, was put into
+practice by Mr. Wells, in America, to lessen the pain in extracting teeth
+in 1844.
+
+The first notice of the inhalation of sulphuric ether that I know of, is
+in No. XLV. of the _British and Foreign Medical Review_, which says:
+“Just as our last proof was passing through our hands, we received from
+our medical friends in Boston, the account of a matter so interesting to
+surgeons, and, indeed to everyone, that we take the opportunity of
+introducing it here.  We know nothing more of this new method of
+eschewing pain than what is contained in the following extracts from two
+private letters, kindly written to us by our excellent friends Dr. Ware
+and Dr. Warren, of Boston—both men of the highest eminence in their
+profession in America—and, we may truly say, in Europe also.  It is
+impossible, however, not to regard the discovery as one of the very
+highest importance, not in the practice of operative surgery only, but,
+also, as Dr. Ware suggests, in practical medicine.  We trust our friends
+will forgive us for putting into print their private communications.  The
+importance of the subject, and the necessity of authenticating the
+statements, are our excuses.  The authors of the discovery are Dr. C. T.
+Jackson and Dr. Morton.
+
+Dr. Warren writes, under date of 24 Nov., that “In six cases, I have had
+it applied with satisfactory success, and no unpleasant sequel.”  And Dr.
+Ware (29 Nov.) says: “It was brought into use by a dentist, and is, now,
+chiefly employed by that class of practitioners.  He has taken out a
+patent for the discovery, and has despatched persons to Europe to secure
+one there also; so you will soon hear of it, and, probably, have an
+opportunity of witnessing its effects.”
+
+Then follows a long list of operations performed in America—wound up with
+this postscript: “Dec. 22.  Yesterday, we had, ourselves, this new mode
+of cheating pain put in practice by a master of chirurgery, on our own
+side of the Atlantic.  In the theatre of University College Hospital, Mr.
+Liston amputated the thigh of a man, previously narcotized by the
+inhalation of ether vapour.  Shortly after being placed on the operating
+table, the patient began to inhale, and became apparently insensible in
+the course of two or three minutes.  The operation was then commenced,
+and the limb was removed in, what seemed to us, a marvellously short
+time—certainly less than a minute; the patient remaining during the
+incisions and the tying of the arteries, perfectly still and motionless.
+While the vessels were being secured, on being spoken to, he roused up
+partially (still showing no signs of pain), and answered questions put to
+him, in a slow, drowsy manner.  He declared to us that at no part of the
+operation had he felt pain, though he seemed to be partially conscious;
+he had heard some words, and felt that something was being done to his
+limb.  He was not aware, till told, that the limb was off; and, when he
+knew it, expressed great gratification at having been saved from pain.
+The man seemed quite awake when removed from the operating room, and
+continued so.  Everything has since proceeded as usual, and very
+favourably.
+
+“Mr. Liston afterwards performed one of the minor—but most painful
+operations of surgery—the partial removal of the nail, in _onychia_, on a
+man similarly narcotised, and with precisely the same result.  The
+patient seemed to feel no pain; and, upon rousing up, after the
+operation, declared that he had felt none.”
+
+_Punch_ found another and more domestic use for this anæsthetic.
+
+Patient: “This is really most delightful—a most beautiful dream.”
+
+    [Picture: Wonderful effects of Ether in a case of a scolding wife]
+
+Not only was there advance in medicine, but, also, in social
+science—people began to think that the condition of the working classes
+might be ameliorated by giving them better dwellings.  As yet, little or
+nothing had been done, in this way, in London, but a grand opportunity
+occurred at Liverpool, in the building of Birkenhead, and an extensive
+range of model dwellings were erected, four-storied, with ornate
+exterior, the rents varying from 3s. to 5s. per set of rooms, according
+to position; but this included a constant supply of water, and the use of
+one gas burner in each set of rooms, and all rates and taxes; with,
+moreover, two iron bedsteads, a grate with an oven, and convenient
+fixtures; and they were found to answer financially.
+
+The Queen’s consent was given on 26 Aug. to an “Act to Encourage the
+Establishment of Public Baths and Wash-houses” (9–10 Vic., c. 74).  How
+it was appreciated by the animals called “Vestrymen” may be seen by the
+fact that at a Vestry meeting of the inhabitants of St. Leonard’s,
+Shoreditch, held 26 Oct., the subject was brought forward, when an
+amendment was moved “that it be taken into consideration that day six
+months.”  For the amendment, 28; against 20!
+
+The dangers of Smithfield Market were becoming too apparent, as we see by
+a letter in the _Times_ of 26 Nov.:
+
+                 [Picture: The Bull Fight of Smithfield]
+
+    “Sir,—Your paper of this morning again gives an account of more
+    accidents arising in consequence of cattle being driven along our
+    crowded streets, and we may expect to hear of numerous, probably some
+    fatal, injuries being sustained during the short, and, often, very
+    dark days, which are common for some months in the winter.  Everyone,
+    whose avocations call him into the city, has to complain of the delay
+    arising from the over-crowded state of the leading thoroughfares;
+    and, on Smithfield Market days, the obstruction is greatly increased
+    by the droves of cattle and sheep which, in a bewildered, and
+    frequently infuriated state, are being forced by crowds of men, boys,
+    and dogs, along the streets, to the great annoyance, and, often,
+    danger, of the passengers.  I do not here dwell on the revolting
+    scenes of cruelty to the animals, which everyone has to witness and
+    deplore; but, on the ground of danger to human life, and, also,
+    because of the seriously increased obstruction to the general
+    traffic, which is caused by having the cattle market in the heart of
+    the metropolis, I would urge the removal of Smithfield Market to some
+    more appropriate place.  When this has been effected—when _abattoirs_
+    have been constructed, where, alone, all the larger animals are
+    permitted to be slaughtered, and when cattle are allowed to be driven
+    through the streets only at hours before the business of the day has
+    commenced—then, and not before, will London be, in reference to its
+    cattle market and slaughter houses, what is required in the middle of
+    the nineteenth century.”
+
+_Punch_ gives us the following lyric on the subject:
+
+                        THE BULL FIGHT OF SMITHFIELD.
+
+    There’s trampling feet in Goswell Street, there’s row on Holborn
+    Hill,
+    There’s crush and crowd, and swearing loud, from bass to treble
+    shrill;
+    From grazier cad, and drover lad, and butcher shining greasy,
+    And slaughter men, and knacker’s men, and policemen free and easy.
+
+    ’Tis Monday morn, and onward borne to Smithfield’s mart repair
+    The pigs and sheep, and, lowing deep, the oxen fine and fair;
+    They’re trooping on from Islington, and down Whitechapel road,
+    To wild halloo of a shouting crew, and yelp, and bite, and goad.
+
+    From combs of distant Devonshire, from sunny Sussex wold,
+    From where their Durham pastures the stately short-horns hold;
+    From Herefordshire marches, from fenny Cambridge flat,
+    For London’s maw they gather—those oxen fair and fat.
+
+    The stunted stocks of Cambria’s rocks uneasily are lowing,
+    With redder blaze of wild amaze their eyes around them throwing;
+    And the unkempt stot of Galloway, and the Kyloe of the Mearns,
+    Whose hoof, that crush’d the heather tuft, the mild MACADAM spurns.
+
+    They may talk of _plaza mayors_, of _torero’s_ nimble feat,
+    Of MONTEZ, the famed _matador_ of _picadors_ so fleet;
+    But what is Spanish Bull fight to deeds which we can show,
+    When through the street, at all they meet, the Smithfield oxen go?
+
+    See there, see there, where, high in air, the nurse and nurseling
+    fly!
+    Into a first-floor window, see, where that old gent, they shy!
+    Now they’re bolting into parlours, now they’re tumbling into cellars,
+    To the great disgust and terror of the peaceable indwellers.
+
+    Who rides so neat down Chiswell Street?  A City Knight, I ween;
+    By girth and span an alderman, nor less by port and mien.
+    Look out, look out! that sudden shout! the Smithfield herd is nigh!
+    Now turn, Sir Knight, and boldly fight, or, more discreetly, fly.
+
+    He hath eased round on his saddle, all fidgetty and fast;
+    There’s another herd behind him, and the time for flight is past.
+    Full in his front glares a rabid runt, thro’ tears of pain that blind
+    him,
+    For the drover’s almost twisted off the tail that hangs behind him.
+
+    All lightly armed for such a shock was stout SIR CALIPEE,
+    But he couched his new umbrella, and “Police” aloud cried he!
+    Crash—smash—slap-dash!  The whalebone snaps, the saddle seat is bare,
+    And the Knight, in mazy circles, is flying thro’ the air!
+
+    The runt tears on, the rout is gone, the street is calm once more,
+    And to Bartlemy’s they bear him, extended on a door;
+    Now, gramercy, good SIR CALIPEE, to the turtle and the haunch,
+    That padded out thy civic ribs, and lined thy stately paunch.
+
+    No ribs are broke, but a shattering stroke thy system has sustain’d;
+    Any other than an alderman had certainly been brained.
+    And, soon as he had breath to swear, the Knight right roundly swore
+    That, straight, he’d put down Smithfield, and set up an _abattoir_.
+
+In this year there were sold at Smithfield 226,132 beasts, 1,593,270
+sheep and lambs, 26,356 calves, and 33,531 pigs—to deal with which there
+were about 160 salesmen.  Things went on very much in the same style as
+described in _Punch_ until 1851, when the contracted space of the market,
+the slaughtering places adjoining, and many other nuisances, gave grounds
+for general dissatisfaction, and after an investigation, an Act (14–15
+Vic., c. 61) was passed on 1 Aug. “For providing a Metropolitan Market,
+and conveniences therewith, in lieu of the Cattle Market at Smithfield.”
+A suitable site was found in Copenhagen Fields, Islington; the last
+market at Smithfield was held on 11 June, and the first at the new one on
+13 June, 1855.
+
+The _Hampshire Guardian_, copied into the _Times_ of 12 Dec., gives us
+the story of the first submarine Telegraph: “We are enabled to supply the
+following additional particulars respecting the submarine Telegraph laid
+down across our harbour.  It is now about three years since the telegraph
+from the Nine Elms terminus to the terminus at Gosport was first
+established.  Subsequently, from the inconvenience experienced at the
+Admiralty Office here, because of the distance to the telegraph station,
+the wires were continued from that place to the Royal Clarence Yard.
+With this addition, although the inconvenience was lessened, it was far
+from being removed, the harbour intervening, leaving a distance of
+upwards of a mile, to the Admiral’s house, unconnected; and,
+notwithstanding the wish of the authorities, both here and in London,
+that the telegraph should be carried to the Dockyard, no attempt has,
+hitherto, been made to do so, because it has been considered almost
+impossible to convey it under water.  An offer, indeed, was made to the
+Admiralty, to lay down a telegraph enclosed in metallic pipes, which were
+to be fixed under the water by the aid of diving bells.  This scheme,
+having been found to be impracticable, has been very prudently abandoned.
+Whatever difficulties may have hitherto interfered to prevent the
+establishment of submarine telegraphs, appear, now, to have been entirely
+overcome, for the time occupied from the commencement of carrying the
+telegraph from shore to shore, and transmitting signals, did not occupy a
+quarter of an hour.  The telegraph, which has the appearance of an
+ordinary rope, was coiled into one of the dockyard boats, one end of it
+being made fast on shore, and, as the boat was pulled across, the
+telegraphic rope was gradually paid out over the stern, its superior
+gravity causing it to sink to the bottom immediately. . . . Independently
+of the simplicity of this submarine telegraph, it has an advantage which
+even the telegraphs on land do not possess—in the event of an accident,
+it can be replaced in ten minutes.  The success of the trial here has, we
+understand, determined the inventors to lay down their contemplated line
+across the Channel, from England to France, under the sanction of the
+respective Governments.”
+
+Such was the germ of the multitudinous cables which now span every ocean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+
+Medals for Army and Navy—Grenville library—Day of fasting—“Binding of
+Satan”—Suspension of transportation—New House of Lords—Jenny Lind—_Bunn
+v. Lind_—“Jenny Linden”—Death of O’Connell—Story of the Duke of
+Buccleugh—Abolition of Eton “Montem.”
+
+At this time, at all events, we did not plaster our soldiers with medals
+for every trifling deed of duty, and it was not until January of this
+year, that a Commission was appointed to decide upon the medals which
+were to be presented to the officers and men who served in the Peninsula,
+under Wellington and other commanders.  And it was not till the 1st of
+June, that an Order was issued from the Horse Guards, that claims might
+be sent in by those who were present in battles from 1793 to 1814—or,
+rather, the list began with Maida, 1806, and ended with Toulouse, 1814.
+The medals for naval service began with the “Glorious First of June,”
+1794, and ended with the fight between the Endymion and President on 25
+Jan., 1815.  The Medal for Waterloo was granted some long time
+afterwards.
+
+In January, the British Museum received the splendid bequest of the
+Library of Thomas Grenville, Esqre., who died 17 Dec., 1846.  This
+magnificent library of over 20,000 volumes, valued at the very low
+estimate of £50,000, contains two copies of the Mazarin bible, one on
+vellum, a first folio of Shakespere, Caxton’s “Reynard the Fox,” and
+countless other literary treasures and rarities.  He had intended to
+leave this library to the Duke of Buckingham—but, reflecting that as most
+of the books had been paid for with the proceeds of a sinecure office
+(Chief Justice in eyre, south of the Trent) of £2,000 a year, which he
+had held from 1800 to 1817, when it was abolished, he felt it only just
+that they should be given to the nation, who had virtually paid for them.
+With them came, as curator, his valet, Mr. Holden, who remained with his
+master’s beloved books until three or four years since.
+
+On 9 March a Royal Proclamation was issued for a day of Fasting and
+humiliation on account of the famine and distress in Ireland, and it was
+duly kept on the day set apart for it, 24 March.
+
+There is a curious paragraph in the _Times_ of 23 March: “BINDING OF
+SATAN.—During the past two or three weeks, a number of persons have been
+going round the streets, on the Surrey side of the water, wearing belts,
+like those worn by the fire brigade, on which passages from the
+Scriptures are painted, carrying with them an inkhorn and long sheets of
+paper, soliciting signatures to what they pretend to be a petition to
+Heaven, for the binding of Satan, the Prince of darkness.  So eager are
+those persons to get the paper signed, that men, women, and children are
+stopped indiscriminately, and requested to sign.  Those who are too young
+to sign, or unable to write their names, have the same done for them by
+the men, who do not attempt to disguise the fact of belonging to the
+followers of Joanna Southcote.  Upon several occasions, a great deal of
+confusion has been created by the parties, for they generally manage to
+go about with knots of forty or fifty persons; and, occasionally,
+discussions ensue, which are calculated to bring the Scriptures into
+perfect ridicule.  One person, more intelligent than the persons who are
+hawking the petitions about, inquired who it is that will present the
+petition? when the man replied, with the greatest coolness, that as soon
+as a sufficient number of names are attached to the petition, it will be
+presented to the Throne of Mercy by Joanna Southcote herself.  Surely it
+is high time that such exhibitions were put down by the police.”
+
+Early in April a circular from the Home Secretary was forwarded to the
+magistrates at the various gaols, telling them that, in consequence of
+the suspension of transportation of male convicts to Van Diemen’s Land,
+it would be requisite for them to make immediate provision for the
+confinement and employment, in this country, of a great number of such
+offenders.
+
+On the 14th of April the Queen paid a visit of inspection to the New
+House of Lords, and, on the next day, the Peers took possession of it,
+and transacted business there for the first time.
+
+Talk of Gossip, was there ever such food for it as the arrival of Jenny
+Lind—it was a furore, a madness.  She arrived in London late on the
+afternoon of Ap. 17, and was present in the evening at the performance at
+Her Majesty’s Theatre.  On May 4 she made her first appearance on the
+Stage in England—in this Theatre—where she played in “Robert le Diable,”
+and, from that moment, until the end of the season, nothing else was
+thought of—nothing else talked of—but Jenny Lind, and it was no
+short-lived fit of enthusiasm, for she was _the_ favourite of the public
+until her retirement; her beautiful voice and simplicity of manner
+charming everyone, from Royalty downwards.  Unfortunately her dêbut was
+somewhat marred by a pecuniary squabble between her and Bunn, the
+operatic poet, a rival _impresario_, Lumley, having secured her services.
+Here is Punch’s version of the squabble:
+
+                                “JENNY-LINDEN.
+
+    A DREADFUL ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE AND THE POET
+    BUNN.
+
+    On LIND, when Drury’s sun was low,
+    And bootless was the wild-beast show,
+    The lessee counted for a flow
+          Of rhino to the treasury.
+
+    But JENNY LIND, whose waken’d sight
+    Saw Drury in a proper light,
+    Refused, for any sum per night,
+          To sing at the Menagerie.
+
+    With rage and ire in vain display’d,
+    Each super drew his wooden blade,
+    In fury half, and half afraid
+          For his prospective salary.
+
+    BUNN in a flaming frenzy flew,
+    And speedily the goose quill drew,
+    With which he was accustomed to
+          Pen such a deal of poetry.
+
+    He wrote the maiden to remind
+    Her of a compact she had signed,
+    To Drury Lane’s condition blind,
+          And threatened law accordingly.
+
+    Fair as in face, in nature, she
+    Implored the man to set her free,
+    Assuring him that he should be
+          Remunerated handsomely.
+
+    Two thousand pounds she offered, so
+    That he would only let her go;
+    BUNN, who would have his bond, said NO!
+          With dogged pertinacity.
+
+    And, now, his action let him bring, {310}
+    And try how much the law will wring
+    From her to do the handsome thing,
+          Who had proposed so readily!
+
+    The Swedish Nightingale to cage,
+    He failed; she sought a fitting stage,
+    And left him to digest his rage,
+          And seek his legal remedy.
+
+    Then shook the House, with plaudits riven,
+    When JENNY’S opening note was given,
+    The sweetest songstress under heaven
+          Forth bursting into melody.
+
+    But fainter the applause shall grow,
+    At waning Drury’s wild-beast show,
+    And feebler still shall be the flow
+          Of rhino to the treasury.
+
+    The Opera triumphs!  LUMLEY brave,
+    Thy bacon thou shalt more than save;
+    Wave, London, all thy ’kerchiefs wave,
+          And cheer with all thy chivalry.
+
+    ’Tis night; and still yon star doth run;
+    But all in vain for treasurer DUNN,
+    And Mr. HUGHES, and poet BUNN,
+          And quadrupeds, and company.
+
+    For Sweden’s Nightingale so sweet,
+    Their fellowship had been unmeet,
+    The sawdust underneath whose feet
+          Hath been the Drama’s sepulchre.”
+
+Died on 15th May, at Genoa, on his route to Rome, aged 72, Daniel
+O’Connell, the erst “uncrowned King of Ireland,” who, during his
+lifetime, had been a thorn (and a very troublesome one) in the side of
+every English government.  His heart was forwarded to Rome, but his body
+was embalmed, and, in due time, was sent to Ireland for interment.
+
+The _Liverpool Albion_, quoted in the _Times_ of 14 May, is responsible
+for the following story: “Some time ago, the Duke of Buccleugh, in one of
+his walks, purchased a cow from a person in the neighbourhood of
+Dalkeith, and left orders to send it to his palace on the following
+morning.  According to agreement, the cow was sent, and the Duke, who
+happened to be _en déshabille_, and walking in the avenue, espied a
+little fellow ineffectually attempting to drive the animal to its
+destination.  The boy, not knowing the Duke, bawled out to him: ‘Hi! mun,
+come here an’ gi’us a han’ wi’ this beast.’  The Duke saw the mistake,
+and determined to have a joke with the little fellow.  Pretending,
+therefore, not to understand him, the Duke walked on slowly, the boy
+still craving his assistance.  At last, he cried in a tone of apparent
+distress: ‘Come here, mun, an’ help us, an’ as sure as onything, I’ll
+give ye half I get.’  This last solicitation had the desired effect.  The
+Duke went and lent a helping hand.  ‘And now,’ said the Duke, as they
+trudged along, ‘how much do you think you will get for this job?’  ‘Oh,
+dinna ken,’ said the boy, ‘but I am sure o’ something, for the folk up at
+the house are good to a’ bodies.’  As they approached the house, the Duke
+darted from the boy, and entered by a different way.  He called a
+servant, and put a sovereign into his hand, saying, ‘Give that to the boy
+that has brought the cow.’  The Duke returned to the avenue, and was soon
+rejoined by the boy.  ‘Well, how much did you get?’ said the Duke.  ‘A
+shilling,’ said the boy, ‘an’ there’s the half o’t to ye.’  ‘But, surely,
+you got more than a shilling,’ said the Duke.  ‘No,’ said the boy, with
+the utmost earnestness, ‘as sure’s death, that’s a’ I got—an’ d’ye not
+think it’s a plenty?’  ‘I do not,’ said the Duke; ‘there must be some
+mistake; and, as I am acquainted with the Duke, if you return, I think
+I’ll get you more.’  The boy consented; back they went.  The Duke rang
+the bell, and ordered all the servants to be assembled.  ‘Now,’ said the
+Duke to the boy, ‘point out the person who gave you the shilling.’  ‘It
+was that chap, there, with the apron,’ pointing to the butler.  The
+delinquent confessed, fell on his knees, and attempted an apology; but
+the Duke interrupted him, indignantly ordered him to give the boy the
+sovereign, and quit his service instantly.  ‘You have lost,’ said the
+Duke, ‘your money, your situation, and your character, by your
+covetousness; learn, henceforth, that honesty is the best policy.’  The
+boy, by this time, recognised his assistant, in the person of the Duke,
+and the Duke was so delighted with the sterling worth and honesty of the
+boy, that he ordered him to be sent to school, kept there, and provided
+for at his own expense.”
+
+Eton “Montem” was abolished this year.  It was a triennial custom, and
+had for its purpose the presentation of a sum of money to the Captain of
+the school on his departure to the University.  Every third year, on
+Whitsun Tuesday, some of the Eton boys, clad in fancy costume (as is here
+given from the Montem of 1844), went to Salt Hill, and the neighbourhood
+generally, and levied contributions, or “Salt,” from all passers-by.  The
+custom led to grave abuses, and the Provost and Head Master determined
+that it should end, but, that the boy who benefited by it should not be a
+loser, the latter, Dr. Hawtrey, gave him £200 out of his own pocket.  The
+following is an account of the death and burial of Eton “Montem”:
+
+    “Tuesday, 25 May.—This being the day on which the triennial festival
+    of ‘Montem’ would have been celebrated at Eton and Salt Hill, had it
+    not been abolished by the Provost and the authorities of Eton,
+    considerable excitement prevailed in the vicinity of the College from
+    an early hour this morning, in consequence (from rumours which had
+    been in circulation for some time past) of its being apprehended that
+    some ‘demonstration’ would be made by the boys, assisted by several
+    old Etonians from Oxford and Cambridge (who are strongly opposed to
+    the abolition of the ceremony), which might lead to a breach of the
+    peace.  With the exception of about a thousand small squares of glass
+    being demolished in the vicinity of the lower school, and similar
+    breakages, but to a much smaller extent, at the houses of parties who
+    were supposed to be in favour of the determination which had been
+    come to by the Provost, we have heard of no demonstration of a
+    riotous character on the part of the boys.  This being a ‘whole
+    holiday,’ several of the head boys had permission to proceed in
+    boats, up the Thames, for the day, as far as Cliefden.  Between 100
+    and 200 have, also, left for the Whitsun holidays; thus thinning the
+    number remaining at College to a considerable extent.
+
+                 [Picture: Dresses, Eton “Montem.”  1844]
+
+    “As soon as ‘absence’ had been called by the head master, the Rev.
+    Dr. Hawtrey, shortly after 12 o’clock, the boys, numbering between
+    200 and 300, formed in procession in the playing fields, and marched
+    across the fields, preceded by a black flag, to the celebrated mount
+    at Salt Hill.  They were joined by a great many of the old Etonians
+    from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, who arrived at Eton
+    this morning.  Each wore, on his left arm, a band and rosette of
+    black crape, and many had white hatbands and scarves.  As they were
+    seen wending their way towards Salt Hill, they had all the appearance
+    of mourners (merry though they might be) in a funeral procession.
+    Upon their arrival at the Mount, the black flag was waved in solemn
+    silence, and, afterwards, placed on the summit, drooping on the
+    ground, typical of the lost glories of Montem.  The large party then
+    proceeded to Botham’s, at the Windmill Hotel, whence, after partaking
+    of a luncheon, they again returned to the Mount, and, with the flag,
+    retraced their steps back to College.
+
+    “A match at cricket was played during the day, between the Oxonians
+    and the present Etonians, in the shooting fields attached to the
+    College.  A splendid cold collation was provided, in the evening, for
+    the players, by Mr. Clarke, of the Christopher Inn.  The waiters who
+    attended upon the guests were compelled to wear black crape around
+    their arms, ‘in keeping,’ as it was observed, ‘with the solemnity of
+    the occasion.’  Such were the fears entertained by some of the
+    College authorities that a disturbance might take place in the course
+    of the day, that a strong body of the Metropolitan A division of
+    police was stationed at Slough, in plain clothes (as we are
+    informed), to be in readiness to assist the local authorities, in the
+    event of their services being required, it being expected that a mob,
+    composed of the idle and lazy of the two towns, might, in the course
+    of the evening, show some disposition to create a disturbance.  The
+    abolition of Montem is not only considered to be a most unpopular
+    proceeding on the part of the old and present Etonians; but, also, by
+    the tradesmen of Eton and Windsor, amongst the former of whom a large
+    sum of money was triennially circulated, both before and during the
+    festival.”
+
+_Punch_ has a lament on it, of which I reproduce three verses:
+
+    “Say, Hill of Salt, for thou hast seen
+       Full many a noble race
+    Do what might be considered mean
+       In any other case—
+    With cap in hand, and courtly leg,
+    Waylay the traveller, and beg;
+       Say, was it not a pleasing sight
+    Those young Etonians to behold,
+    For eleemosynary gold,
+       Arrest the passing wight.
+
+    Whilst some, of more excursive bent,
+       Their vagrant arts to ply,
+    To all the various places went,
+       That in the neighbourhood lie;
+    To Datchet, Slough, or Horton they,
+    Or e’en to Colnbrook, took their way,
+       Or ancient Windsor’s regal town;
+    Stopp’d every body they could meet,
+    Knocked at each house, in every street,
+       In hopes of half a crown.
+
+    Gay clothes were theirs, by fancy made;
+       Some were as Romans drest,
+    Some in the Grecian garb array’d,
+       Some bore the knightly crest;
+    Theirs was attire of every hue,
+    Of every fashion, old, or new,
+       Various as Nathan’s ample store.
+    Angelic beings!  Ladies! say
+    Will ye let these things pass away?
+       Must Montem be no more?”
+
+From this, to the Accession of the Queen, there is no more Gossip to
+chronicle.
+
+            [Picture: Decorative picture of person with crown]
+
+
+
+
+Footnotes:
+
+
+{10}  Then a very active M.P.; afterwards Judge in the Admiralty and
+Probate Courts, Dean of Arches, &c.
+
+{23}  It is said that this was the last chime rung.
+
+{27}  Still in use on the Royal Exchange.
+
+{81a}  It is needless to say that the Queen’s Speech to Parliament on 5th
+Feb. was absolutely silent on the matter; indeed, the Queen did not
+inform her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, of her choice until October of
+this year.
+
+{81b}  Poems by the Lady Flora Hastings, edited by her sister.
+Edinburgh, 1841, 8vo.
+
+{84}  The Queen’s most intimate companion from her childhood.
+
+{119a}  This was preliminary, and was entitled “An Act for Exhibiting a
+Bill in this present Parliament for naturalising His Serene Highness
+Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.”
+
+{119b}  That of intermarriage with Protestants only.
+
+{128}  A private box, on the level of the stage, with which it
+communicated.
+
+{132}  Three Chartist leaders, who were condemned to death on 16 Jan.,
+1840, but were never executed, and subsequently pardoned.
+
+{151}  Handcuffs.
+
+{156}  The nautical way of writing “Oh, come to me.”
+
+                                                        _Printer’s Devil_.
+
+{159}  He put up for election at the Senior United Service Club, was
+balloted for on 6 June, 1840, when out of 194 balls, 166 were black.
+
+{163}  An action was brought against them at Reading, and on 24 Feb.,
+1843, the jury found for the plaintiff against all the defendants, and
+gave 1_s._ damages for the assault, and £55 for the injury done to the
+house and furniture.
+
+{169a}  It was held copyhold of the Queen, as Lord of the Manor.
+
+{169b}  Mr. Simpson had been a famous Master of the Ceremonies.
+
+{170a}  Ring Master at Astley’s.
+
+{170b}  George Robins, a famous auctioneer.
+
+{171}  A famous Rope dancer.
+
+{194}  A well known nick-name for Lord Palmerston.
+
+{279}  From Moorgate Street 83 prospectuses, demanding £90,175,000, were
+sent out.  Gresham Street issued 20, requiring £17,580,000.
+
+{310}  The case of _Bunn v. Lind_ came on, in the Court of Queen’s Bench,
+on 22 Feb., 1848.  Damages laid at £10,000.  The jury found a verdict for
+the plaintiff, and the case was ultimately settled by a payment of
+£2,000.
+
+
+
+
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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" />
+<title>Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign, by John Ashton</title>
+    <style type="text/css">
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's
+Reign, by John Ashton
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign
+
+
+Author: John Ashton
+
+
+
+Release Date: December 13, 2009  [eBook #30665]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOSSIP IN THE FIRST DECADE OF
+VICTORIA'S REIGN***
+</pre>
+<p>Transcribed from the 1903 Hurst and Blackett edition by David
+Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p0b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Susannah and the elders"
+title=
+"Susannah and the elders"
+src="images/p0s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h1>GOSSIP<br />
+IN THE FIRST DECADE OF<br />
+VICTORIA&rsquo;S REIGN</h1>
+<p style="text-align: center">By<br />
+John Ashton<br />
+<span class="smcap">author of</span><br />
+&ldquo;<i>Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne</i>&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">illustrated by
+reproductions from cartoons</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">and other drawings</span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span
+class="smcap">london</span><br />
+HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED<br />
+13, Gt. Marlborough St., W.<br />
+1903</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><i>All rights reserved</i></p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><!-- page vi--><a
+name="pagevi"></a><span class="pagenum">p. vi</span><span
+class="smcap">Printed by Kelly&rsquo;s Directories Ltd.</span><br
+/>
+<span class="smcap">London and Kingston</span>.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p0ab.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Decorative flower"
+title=
+"Decorative flower"
+src="images/p0as.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h2><!-- page vii--><a name="pagevii"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. vii</span>PREFACE.</h2>
+<p>I have written this Gossip not only for the edification of
+those to whom a portion, more or less, may be news, but for those
+who, like myself, have lived through the whole of Queen
+Victoria&rsquo;s reign, to whom the remembrance of things, almost
+forgotten, may bring pleasure and excite interest.&nbsp; The
+items, herein displayed, have been gathered from many sources,
+and their authenticity is guaranteed by giving the name of the
+authority whence they were taken, in very many instances
+<i>ipsissima verba</i>, as paraphrasing would rob them of their
+freshness and individuality.&nbsp; All the illustrations are
+contemporaneous, and, good or bad, belong to the text and should
+not be altered.</p>
+<p style="text-align: right">JOHN ASHTON.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p0bb.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Decorative flower"
+title=
+"Decorative flower"
+src="images/p0bs.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h2><!-- page ix--><a name="pageix"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+ix</span>CONTENTS.</h2>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p0cb.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Decorative flower"
+title=
+"Decorative flower"
+src="images/p0cs.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<table>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER I.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1837</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Queen&rsquo;s
+Accession&mdash;Proclamation&mdash;Funeral of the King&mdash;The
+Queen and Social Functions&mdash;Mr. Montefiore&mdash;Amusing
+Letter&mdash;Electric Telegraph&mdash;Knocker-wrenching:
+Amusements of the Young Aristocracy</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page1">1</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER II.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Thames Tunnel Flooded&mdash;First Mention of the Nelson
+Column&mdash;Sale of the King&rsquo;s Stud&mdash;Marriage by
+Registrar&mdash;Commencement of New Houses of
+Parliament&mdash;Lunatics and the Queen&mdash;The Queen&rsquo;s
+Visit to the Guildhall&mdash;Lord Beaconsfield&rsquo;s Maiden
+Speech</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page12">12</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER III.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1838</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Destruction of the Royal Exchange&mdash;Sale of the
+Salvage&mdash;Spring-heeled Jack and his Pranks&mdash;Lord John
+Russell&rsquo;s Hat</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page23">23</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER IV.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Lords and Pugilists&mdash;&ldquo;Penny
+Gaffs&rdquo;&mdash;Steam between England and America&mdash;A
+Man-Woman&mdash;Designs for Nelson&rsquo;s Monument&mdash;A
+Termagant&mdash;Scold&rsquo;s Bridles, &amp;c.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page34">34</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center"><!-- page x--><a
+name="pagex"></a><span class="pagenum">p. x</span>CHAPTER V.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Thom, the Religious Fanatic&mdash;His Riots and
+Death&mdash;Delusions of his Followers</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page45">45</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER VI.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Queen&rsquo;s Coronation&mdash;The Carriages&mdash;The
+Fair and Festivities in Hyde Park&mdash;The Marquis of
+Waterford&rsquo;s Drive: His Freaks at Melton Mowbray&mdash;Steam
+Carriages&mdash;Dog Carriages&mdash;Grand Dinner at Guildhall</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page53">53</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER VII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Genesis of the &ldquo;Charter&rdquo;&mdash;London and
+North-Western Railway opened to Birmingham&mdash;Overland Route
+to India&mdash;A Bold Smuggler&mdash;Visitors to the
+Queen&mdash;&ldquo;The Boy Jones&rdquo;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page65">65</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER VIII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1839</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Death of Lord Norbury&mdash;Birth of
+Photography&mdash;Experimental Street Pavements&mdash;Forecast of
+the Queen&rsquo;s Marriage&mdash;Sad Story of Lady Flora
+Hastings&mdash;Story of a Climbing Boy&mdash;Van
+Amburgh&mdash;Embanking the Thames&mdash;Victoria
+Park&mdash;Robbery of Gold Dust</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page77">77</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER IX.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Queen Elizabeth&rsquo;s Statue&mdash;The Ladies of the
+Bed-chamber&mdash;The Queen hissed at Ascot Races&mdash;Land at
+Melbourne&mdash;Sunday Trading&mdash;New Way of Paying Church
+Rates</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page89">89</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER X.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Eglinton Tournament&mdash;Sale of Armour,
+&amp;c.&mdash;The Queen of Beauty and the Cook&mdash;Newspapers
+and their Sales</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page100">100</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XI.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Chartists: Their going to Church&mdash;Dissolution of
+the Convention&mdash;Approaching Marriage of the Queen&mdash;The
+Queen and Lunatics&mdash;Raid on a Gaming House&mdash;Act of
+Penance</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page111">111</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1840</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Commencement of Penny Post&mdash;Postage
+Stamps&mdash;Prince Albert&rsquo;s Allowance&mdash;<i>The
+Times</i>&rsquo; Comments on the Marriage&mdash;Royal Wedding
+Cake&mdash;<!-- page xi--><a name="pagexi"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. xi</span>Louis Napoleon&rsquo;s
+Duel&mdash;Nelson Column&mdash;Noblemen&rsquo;s
+Servants&mdash;Uproar at the Royal Italian Opera House</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page118">118</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XIII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Mulready Envelope&mdash;Plans of Royal Exchange
+decided on&mdash;Fire at York Minster&mdash;Queen shot at by
+Oxford&mdash;Oxford in Bedlam&mdash;Scientific
+Agriculture&mdash;Electro Metallurgy&mdash;Embossed
+Envelopes&mdash;Sale of Louis Napoleon&rsquo;s Effects</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page130">130</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XIV.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Lord Cardigan and the &ldquo;Black Bottle&rdquo;
+Case&mdash;Lord Cardigan&rsquo;s Duel with Lieut.
+Tuckett&mdash;Steam to India&mdash;Nelson
+Column&mdash;Mormonism&mdash;&ldquo;The Boy
+Jones&rdquo;&mdash;Napoleon&rsquo;s Body transferred to
+France</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page142">142</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XV.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1841</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Death of Scott, &ldquo;the American
+Diver&rdquo;&mdash;Prince Albert&rsquo;s Ducking&mdash;Monster
+Cheese&mdash;&ldquo;The Boy Jones&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Tracts for
+the Times&rdquo;&mdash;Tract XC.&mdash;Earl of Cardigan flogs a
+Soldier on Sunday&mdash;Dispute as to the Discovery of the
+Electric Telegraph&mdash;Sale of Shakspere Autograph&mdash;The
+Census&mdash;Astley&rsquo;s Amphitheatre Burnt&mdash;Behaviour of
+&ldquo;Gentlemen&rdquo;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page152">152</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XVI.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Story of an Irish Informer&mdash;Steam Cars&mdash;Sale of
+Vauxhall Gardens&mdash;First Jewish Baronet&mdash;New Railway
+opened&mdash;High Tide&mdash;Fire at the Tower&mdash;Birth of
+Prince of Wales: His Patent as such&mdash;The Thames at length
+Tunnelled&mdash;Antiquities found in the Royal Exchange</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page165">165</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XVII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1842</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Foundation of Royal Exchange laid&mdash;Medal connected
+therewith&mdash;Father Mathew&rsquo;s Miracle&mdash;Christening
+of the Prince of Wales&mdash;King Edward VII.&mdash;Hard Work of
+the King of Prussia&mdash;The Earthquake in London&mdash;The
+Queen drinking
+&ldquo;Grog&rdquo;&mdash;Photography&mdash;Talbotype&mdash;Sale
+at Strawberry Hill&mdash;Presents to the King of Prussia</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page177">177</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XVIII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Royal &ldquo;Bal Costum&eacute;&rdquo;&mdash;The Queen
+shot at by Francis and by Bean&mdash;Duke of Cambridge&rsquo;s
+Star&mdash;Chartism&mdash;Income Tax&mdash;Female Chartist
+Association&mdash;A Gipsy Trial&mdash;Closing of the Fleet
+Prison&mdash;Married in a Sheet&mdash;Enormous Damages in a
+Gambling Case</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page187">187</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center"><!-- page xii--><a
+name="pagexii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. xii</span>CHAPTER
+XIX.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1843</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Murder of Mr. Drummond&mdash;Rebecca and her
+Daughters&mdash;Spread of the Movement through Wales&mdash;Its
+End&mdash;Rebecca Dramatised&mdash;Rebecca in London</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page199">199</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XX.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Gretna Green Parsons&mdash;Number of
+Marriages&mdash;Chinese Indemnity&mdash;Thames Tunnel&mdash;The
+Aerial Machine&mdash;Treasure Trove&mdash;Accident to Mr.
+Brunel&mdash;Arkwright&rsquo;s Will&mdash;Secession in the Scotch
+Church&mdash;The &ldquo;Gent&rdquo;&mdash;Shakspere&rsquo;s
+Autograph</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page209">209</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXI.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Exhibition of Cartoons&mdash;A
+Duel&mdash;Gambling&mdash;The &ldquo;Albert
+Hat&rdquo;&mdash;Nelson&rsquo;s Statue: Fun
+thereon&mdash;Soldier&rsquo;s Savings Banks&mdash;A Post Boy and
+Lord Mayor&rsquo;s Show&mdash;M. Jullien and his
+Orchestra&mdash;Prince Albert as a Farmer&mdash;George
+IV.&rsquo;s Statue&mdash;Ojibbeway Indians</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page220">220</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1844</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>A Child for Sale&mdash;Trial, &amp;c. of Daniel
+O&rsquo;Connell&mdash;General Tom Thumb: His Visit to the
+Queen&mdash;The Polka&mdash;How to dance
+it&mdash;&ldquo;Jullien&rsquo;s Grand Polka&rdquo;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page232">232</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXIII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>An English Dinner&mdash;Consols at Par&mdash;The
+&ldquo;Running Rein&rdquo; Case&mdash;Other Frauds&mdash;Royal
+Visitors&mdash;Opening Letters by Government&mdash;Duke of
+Wellington&rsquo;s Statue&mdash;Barry on the Thames&mdash;Visit
+of Louis Philippe&mdash;Guano&mdash;Queen opens Royal
+Exchange&mdash;Lord Mayor Hissed</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page245">245</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXIV.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1845</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Murder by Tawell&mdash;Curious Story&mdash;Statue of King
+William IV.&mdash;Visits by the Queen&mdash;Testimonial to
+Rowland Hill&mdash;Breaking the Portland Vase&mdash;Sad End of
+William Austin&mdash;Sale of Van Amburgh&rsquo;s
+Stud&mdash;Hungerford Suspension Bridge&mdash;Accident at
+Yarmouth&mdash;An Excise Case&mdash;Beginning of the Railway
+Mania&mdash;Sailing of Sir John Franklin</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page256">256</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXV.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Queen&rsquo;s Costume Ball&mdash;Copper Coinage of
+William IV.&mdash;New Oxford Street opened&mdash;Sale of Napoleon
+Relics&mdash;Story of Nelson&rsquo;s Coat&mdash;Visit of the King
+of the Netherlands&mdash;Railway Speculation&mdash;Hire of
+Newspapers&mdash;<!-- page xiii--><a name="pagexiii"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. xiii</span>Reverse of Fortune&mdash;Prince
+Albert and his Taxes&mdash;Waghorn&rsquo;s Overland Route</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page267">267</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXVI.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Railway Mania&mdash;Deposit of Plans</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page277">277</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXVII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1846</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Collapse of the Railway Mania&mdash;Sheriffs&rsquo;
+Officers&mdash;Hudson, the Railway King&mdash;First
+&ldquo;Ethiopian Serenaders&rdquo;&mdash;The Nigger Minstrel
+Craze&mdash;Commencement of Irish Famine&mdash;&ldquo;The Battle
+of the Gauges&rdquo;&mdash;Railway Surveyors&mdash;Suicide of
+Haydon, the Painter</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page284">284</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXVIII.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>The Last Post Office Bell-man&mdash;The &ldquo;Corn
+Law&rdquo; Act&mdash;Sir Walter Scott&rsquo;s Monument&mdash;The
+Irish Famine&mdash;The Duke of Wellington&rsquo;s
+Statue&mdash;Gun Cotton&mdash;Introduction of Ether&mdash;Model
+Dwelling Houses&mdash;Baths and Washhouses&mdash;Smithfield
+Cattle Market&mdash;&ldquo;The Bull Fight of
+Smithfield&rdquo;&mdash;The first Submarine Telegraph</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page296">296</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER XXIX.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1847</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>Medals for the Army and Navy&mdash;Grenville
+Library&mdash;Day of Fasting&mdash;&ldquo;Binding of
+Satan&rdquo;&mdash;Suspension of Transportation&mdash;New House
+of Lords&mdash;Jenny Lind&mdash;<i>Bunn v.
+Lind</i>&mdash;&ldquo;Jenny Linden&rdquo;&mdash;Death of
+O&rsquo;Connell&mdash;Story of the Duke of
+Buccleugh&mdash;Abolition of Eton &ldquo;Montem&rdquo;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page307">307</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p0db.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Decorative flower"
+title=
+"Decorative flower"
+src="images/p0ds.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h2><!-- page xv--><a name="pagexv"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+xv</span>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p0eb.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Decorative flower"
+title=
+"Decorative flower"
+src="images/p0es.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<table>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Susannah and the Elders</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">(<i>Frontispiece</i>)</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Suggested Monument to the Marquis of Waterford</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page7">7</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Spring-heeled Jack</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page31">31</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Death of Sir William Courtenay (<i>Thom</i>)</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page48">48</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&ldquo;Child&rsquo;s Play&rdquo;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page94">94</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The Eglinton Tournament</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page107">107</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The Mulready Envelope</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page131">131</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The Mulready Envelope (<i>H. B. Caricature</i>)</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page132">132</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Rebecca and her Daughters</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page201">201</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&ldquo;The Gent&rdquo;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page216">216</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Prince Albert&rsquo;s Studio</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page223">223</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Nelson&rsquo;s Statue</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page224">224</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>M. Jullien</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page229">229</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Prince Albert, the British Farmer</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page230">230</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&ldquo;Repeal&rdquo; Button</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page233">233</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>O&rsquo;Connell&rsquo;s Cap</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page234">234</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Tom Thumb</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page236">236</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The Stage Polka (<i>Three Illustrations</i>)</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page238">238</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The Drawing Room Polka (<i>Three Illustrations</i>)</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page240">240</a></span>&ndash;41&ndash;42</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><!-- page xvi--><a name="pagexvi"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. xvi</span>Barry, the Clown, on the Thames</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page252">252</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Railway Speculators</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page262">262</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The March of Speculation</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page276">276</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Deposit of Railway Plans</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page282">282</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Sheriffs&rsquo; Officers</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page288">288</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The Original Ethiopian Serenaders</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page289">289</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Lablache, Mario, and Tamburini</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page291">291</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The Last Post Office Bell-man</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page297">297</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Wonderful effects of Ether in a case of a Scolding
+Wife</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page302">302</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>The Bull Fight of Smithfield</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page303">303</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Eton &ldquo;Montem&rdquo; Costumes</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page314">314</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p0fb.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Decorative flower"
+title=
+"Decorative flower"
+src="images/p0fs.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h2><!-- page 1--><a name="page1"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+1</span>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p1b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Decorative flower"
+title=
+"Decorative flower"
+src="images/p1s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p class="gutsumm">The Queen&rsquo;s
+Accession&mdash;Proclamation&mdash;Funeral of the King&mdash;The
+Queen and social functions&mdash;Mr. Montefiore&mdash;Amusing
+letter&mdash;Electric telegraph&mdash;Knocker
+wrenching&mdash;Amusements of the young aristocracy.</p>
+<p>King William the Fourth was as sincerely fond of his niece,
+Alexandrina Victoria, as he cordially detested her mother, and he
+earnestly hoped that she might obtain her majority, which took
+place on the 24th of May, 1837, before he died, for he had a
+horror of the Duchess of Kent having even the shadowy power of a
+Regent.&nbsp; Greville, in his <i>Memoirs</i>, writing on 23rd of
+May, says: &ldquo;The King prayed that he might live till the
+Princess Victoria was of age, and he was very nearly dying just
+as the event arrived.&nbsp; He is better, but supposed to be in a
+very precarious state.&nbsp; There has been a fresh squabble
+between Windsor and Kensington about a proposed allowance to the
+Princess.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The old King lived but a very short time after the desired
+event, for he expired at 2.12 on the morning of the 20th of June,
+1837, and how the sad news was broken to the young Sovereign may
+best be told in the words of that mine of anecdote, Miss Frances
+Williams Wynn, the daughter of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn (the
+fourth baronet):</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;On Monday we were listening all day for the
+tolling of the bells, watching whether the guests were going to
+the Waterloo dinner at Apsley House.&nbsp; On Tuesday, at
+2&frac12; <!-- page 2--><a name="page2"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 2</span>a.m., the scene closed, and in a very
+short time the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham, the
+Chamberlain, set out to announce the event to their young
+Sovereign.&nbsp; They reached Kensington Palace at about five;
+they knocked, they rang, they thumped for a considerable time
+before they could rouse the porter at the gates; they were again
+kept waiting in the courtyard, then turned into one of the lower
+rooms, where they seemed forgotten by everybody.&nbsp; They rang
+the bell, desiring that the attendant of the Princess Victoria
+might be sent to inform H.R.H. that they requested an audience on
+business of importance.&nbsp; After another delay, and another
+ringing to enquire the cause, the attendant was summoned, who
+stated that the <i>Princess</i> was in such a sweet sleep, she
+could not venture to disturb her.&nbsp; Then they said, &lsquo;We
+come to the <i>Queen</i> on business of State, and even her sleep
+must give way to that.&rsquo;&nbsp; It did; and, to prove that
+<i>she</i> did not keep them waiting, in a few minutes she came
+into the room in a loose white night-gown and shawl, her nightcap
+thrown off, and her hair falling upon her shoulders, her feet in
+slippers, tears in her eyes, but perfectly collected and
+dignified.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Lord Melbourne was summoned to Kensington Palace by the Queen
+at 9 a.m., and a Privy Council was called for 11 a.m., but the
+notice was so short that several of the Privy Councillors had no
+time to put on their official costume, and were obliged to attend
+in undress.&nbsp; Amongst others who made their appearance at
+Court in this novel fashion were the Duke of Cumberland (then, by
+the fact of the King&rsquo;s death, King of Hanover) and Lord
+Glenelg.</p>
+<p>The Queen was proclaimed the next day, but there is no need to
+detail the ceremony, as we have all experienced a similar scene
+lately.&nbsp; The existing ministry was retained, and things
+settled down in their places, yet not quite all at once, for
+<i>The Western Luminary</i>, a paper long since defunct, says,
+&ldquo;In one writ which came down to this city, a ludicrous
+mistake was made in the date, as follows: &lsquo;In the year of
+Our Lady 1837,&rsquo; instead of &lsquo;Our
+Lord.&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp; And the Royal Arms had to be altered
+from those borne by Her Majesty&rsquo;s five predecessors.&nbsp;
+<!-- page 3--><a name="page3"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+3</span>Being a female, they had to be borne on a lozenge,
+instead of a shield; the crest of a lion surmounting a crown was
+discontinued, as was also the escutcheon of pretence bearing the
+arms of Hanover, surmounted by the crown of that country.</p>
+<p>The preparations for the funeral of the late King were at once
+commenced; and, in connection therewith, I cannot help quoting
+from <i>The Times</i>&rsquo; Windsor Correspondent (28 June):
+&ldquo;In the platform erected for the interment of George IV.,
+there were more than 70,000 superficial feet of boarding, and
+49,000 feet of quartering.&nbsp; The quantity of black cloth used
+for covering the floor of, and the roof over, amounted to more
+than 10,000 yards.&nbsp; I understand that, after the interment,
+it becomes the perquisite of the clergy of the chapel, as do,
+also, many of the decorative ornaments placed on, and suspended
+over, the coffin.&nbsp; You will, perhaps, recollect what some
+people would willingly have you forget&mdash;I mean the
+squabbling which occurred respecting the velvet cushion upon
+which the coronet of the late Princess Charlotte rested at her
+funeral, and the scramble which took place for the real or
+supposed baton of the Duke of York, on the occasion of his
+burial.&nbsp; Care was taken to prevent the occurrence of any
+such indecent proceedings at the funeral of George IV., and,
+hence, I do not anticipate any such scenes on the present
+occasion.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The King was buried with great pomp on the night of the 8th of
+July, the Duke of Sussex being chief mourner, and Queen Adelaide
+occupying the Royal Closet.&nbsp; At the close of the ceremony,
+the members of the procession, who were much fatigued by the toil
+they had undergone and by the sultry heat of the chapel,
+proceeded to quit as quickly and as quietly as possible, but
+nothing like order was observed in the return to the
+Palace.&nbsp; In fact, it was, for a considerable time, a scene
+of indescribable confusion.&nbsp; Arrangements had been made, by
+orders of the Earl Marshal, for the places at which the carriages
+of those who had to take part in the procession were to set down
+and take up; but, owing to the immense number of the carriages,
+the ignorance of many of the coachmen as to the prescribed
+regulations, and the obstinacy of <!-- page 4--><a
+name="page4"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 4</span>others, the
+rules very soon became a dead letter, and every man seemed
+disposed to take his own way.&nbsp; This, as might be expected,
+caused such confusion that it was long past midnight before
+anything like order was restored.&nbsp; There were smashed panels
+and broken windows in abundance, but no serious accidents were
+recorded.</p>
+<p>The Queen soon had plenty of business on her hands, and on
+30th June she gave her assent to forty Bills, one of which (a
+remarkably short one), the 7 Gul., iv. and i. Vic., c. 23,
+enacted: &ldquo;That from and after the passing of this Act,
+Judgment shall not be given and awarded against any Person or
+Persons convicted of any Offence that such Person or Persons do
+stand in, or upon the Pillory.&rdquo;&nbsp; Owing to the recent
+change in Sovereigns, there were a few slips in &ldquo;Her
+Majesty,&rdquo; and &ldquo;La Reine le veult.&rdquo;&nbsp; On the
+13th July the Queen and her mother left Kensington Palace and
+took up their residence in Buckingham Palace.&nbsp; On the 17th,
+the Queen dissolved Parliament in person, dressed in white satin,
+decorated with gold and jewels, wearing the Order of the Garter
+and a rich diadem and necklace of diamonds.&nbsp; She bore the
+function remarkably well, although one evening paper said that
+&ldquo;Her emotion was plainly discernible in the rapid heaving
+of her bosom, and the brilliancy of her diamond stomacher, which
+sparkled out occasionally from the dark recess in which the
+throne was placed, like the sun on the swell of the smooth ocean,
+as the billows rise and fall&rdquo;!&nbsp; On the 19th July she
+held her first lev&eacute;e, and on the 20th her first drawing
+room.</p>
+<p>Having dutifully chronicled the doings of Royalty, let us do
+the same by meaner folk.&nbsp; On 24th June, Mr. Moses
+Montefiore, the celebrated Jewish philanthropist, who lived over
+one hundred years, was elected Sheriff of London, and, on the 9th
+Nov. following, he received the honour of Knighthood.&nbsp; He
+was the first Jew who ever served the office of Sheriff, or who
+had been made a Knight, in England.</p>
+<p>Of course, there were no Board Schools in those days, and
+education was somewhat lax, but it will do no harm to note a
+piece of orthography, which will show the standard at which the
+middle lower class had then arrived.&nbsp; It is copied from <!--
+page 5--><a name="page5"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+5</span><i>The Times</i> of 29 June, 1837.&nbsp; &ldquo;(<i>From
+an Evening Paper</i>)&mdash;Last autumn, Mrs. C---, of London,
+during a visit to --- House, in the West of Scotland, called one
+day, along with some other ladies, in the family carriage, at the
+Golden Arms Inn, of a sea bathing place on the coast, and stopped
+for about an hour.&nbsp; Some time after the party had returned
+to D--- House, Mrs. C--- discovered that she had lost a very fine
+boa, which she supposed she must have left at the Inn.&nbsp; On
+enquiry, no trace of the boa could be found; but, about two
+months after Mrs. C---&rsquo;s return to London, she received a
+parcel with a boa somewhat torn, accompanied by the accompanying
+(<i>sic</i>) epistle, which we give as rather a curiosity of its
+kind:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: right">&ldquo;Golden Arms
+Inn&mdash;29 Oct., 1836.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mrs. C---, London,</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Madum</span>,&mdash;I was sorry to
+heer that when you lost your Bowa in my huse, that the Bowa was
+stole by my sarvant lasses; and the sarvants at D--- House spred
+a report against my huses karakter, which no person ever
+questioned afore.&nbsp; My wiffe, Peggy, was muckle vexed at the
+report, and sershed the trunks of all the lasses, but did not
+find your Bowa; she fund in Jenny McTavish&rsquo;s kist half a
+pund of tea which Jenny had stole from my wiffes cupboard.&nbsp;
+Jenny denied taking your Bowa; but not doubting that you would
+tell a lee, and as Jenny tuke the tea, my wife thocht she must
+have taken your Bowa too, so I turned off Jeny for your
+satisfaction.&nbsp; She went home to her mithers house in ---,
+and four Sundays after, wha should be cocken in the breist of the
+laft, all set round with ribbons in her heed, but Miss Jeny with
+your Bowa on her shoulders, like a sow with a saddle on its
+back.&nbsp; I stopped her coming out of the kirk.&nbsp; So So,
+Miss Jeny (says I) hae ye stumped the cow of her tale, or is this
+the ladies Bowa ye have on your sholders?&nbsp; The brazen faced
+woman had the impudence to deny the Bowa was yours, and said her
+sweetheart had bot it for her in a secondhand shop in the Salt
+Market of Glasgow.&nbsp; But I cut matters short wi&rsquo; Jeny;
+I een, as if by your authority, tuke <!-- page 6--><a
+name="page6"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 6</span>the law in my
+own hand, and tore the Bowa from her sholders; it was torn a
+little in the scuffle wi&rsquo; Jeny and me afore the
+congregation in the kirk yard, but I carried it off in spite of
+her, and now send it to you, hopping you will put a letter in the
+newspaper of Lundon cleering the karacter of me and my wiffe
+Peggy, and my Inn of the Golden Arms.&nbsp; As for Miss Jeny ye
+may mak her as black as auld nick, for over and above Peggies
+half pund of tea, and your Bowa, Jeny (I hae good reason to
+believe) is no better than she should be.&nbsp; I am, Madum, your
+vera humbel sarvint,</p>
+<p style="text-align: right">&ldquo;John ---.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>It will hardly be credited that at the commencement of 1837
+there was only one railway running out of London, and that was
+the Greenwich railway, which, however, only went as far as
+Deptford, where it deposited its passengers in the midst of
+market gardens, leaving them to walk or ride to Greenwich.&nbsp;
+But there were several running in the midlands (six railways in
+all England), and what was then called &ldquo;The Grand Junction
+Railway,&rdquo; from Liverpool to Birmingham, was opened on the
+4th July of this year.&nbsp; Cognate with railways is the
+practical working of the Electric Telegraph, now so necessary to
+their being.&nbsp; On 12 June, 1837, a patent was granted (No.
+7390) to William Fothergill Cooke, of Breeds Place, Hastings, and
+Charles Wheatstone, of Conduit Street, Hanover Square, for their
+invention of &ldquo;Improvements in giving signals and sounding
+alarums at distant places by means of electric currents
+transmitted through metallic circuits.&rdquo;&nbsp; This hitherto
+scientific toy was first tried on 25 July by permission of the
+London and North Western Railway (then in progress) between
+Euston and Camden Town stations, and its successful operation was
+witnessed with delight by Fox and R. Stephenson, amongst many
+others.</p>
+<p>A great feature in this year was the &ldquo;Tom and
+Jerryism&rdquo; (so called from Pierce Egan&rsquo;s &ldquo;Life
+in London,&rdquo; 1821) that existed, especially among the upper
+class of young men.&nbsp; Foremost of all was the Marquis of
+Waterford, whose delight was in the company of prize fighters,
+<i>et hoc genus omne</i>, and <!-- page 7--><a
+name="page7"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 7</span>whose idea of
+amusement consisted in visiting the lowest public houses, and
+treating everybody with liquor, even pails full of gin being
+distributed to whoever would partake of it&mdash;being never so
+happy as when the debauch ended in a fight.&nbsp; Knocker
+wrenching and similar pranks were his delight, and <i>Punch</i>,
+at the very commencement of vol. i., gives a suggestion for a
+monument to him.&nbsp; His pranks would fill a volume, and in
+August of this year (during a yachting trip), whilst at Bergen,
+he received a blow on the head from a stalwart watchman that
+nearly killed him.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p7b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Punch, vol. I., p. 14.  July, 1841"
+title=
+"Punch, vol. I., p. 14.  July, 1841"
+src="images/p7s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>Here is a specimen police case.&nbsp; <i>Times</i>, 10
+<i>July</i>, 1837:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Bow Street</span>.&mdash;On
+Saturday (8th July) three persons were brought before Mr.
+Minshull, charged with twisting knockers off hall doors,
+assaulting the police, and other disorderly conduct; and, it
+having been rumoured that one of the parties charged was the
+Marquis of Waterford, a great <!-- page 8--><a
+name="page8"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 8</span>crowd of
+persons assembled in front of the Office to catch a glimpse of
+his Lordship.&nbsp; It proved, however, that the gentleman
+alluded to was not the noble Marquis himself, but his brother,
+Lord William Beresford, who gave the name of Charles
+Ferguson.&nbsp; Two other persons were placed in the dock besides
+his Lordship, one of whom gave the name of Edward Hammersley, of
+41, St. James&rsquo;s Street, and the other, who was equipped in
+the garb of a waterman, said his name was George Elliott, and
+that he was his Lordship&rsquo;s coxswain.</p>
+<p>William Dodds, a police constable of the E division, No. 9,
+then stated that he was on duty in Museum Street, between 1 and
+2, on the previous night, when he saw the two gentlemen at the
+bar go up to the house, No. 49, and wrench the knocker from the
+door.&nbsp; Witness expostulated with them, and, seeing another
+knocker in the hand of the prisoner Elliott, he took him by the
+collar, upon which the prisoner Hammersley dropped the knocker
+which he had just carried off.&nbsp; The prisoner Ferguson then
+came up, and said, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all right, old boy,&rdquo;
+and offered him money, which witness refused to take.&nbsp; The
+two gentlemen then ran away, but were soon apprehended, witness
+still retaining hold of Elliott.&nbsp; They were then conveyed to
+the police station, where Ferguson refused to be searched,
+declaring that he would not submit to such a rascally
+degradation, and, having said so, he struck witness.&nbsp; The
+prisoners were then locked up.</p>
+<p>Mr. William Gibson, of 49, Museum Street, proved that one of
+the knockers produced belonged to him, and had been wrenched off
+his street door.</p>
+<p>Ferguson, in his defence, said he had been up the river on a
+boating excursion, and had taken &ldquo;rather too much
+wine.&rdquo;&nbsp; The other two prisoners also pleaded having
+taken a drop too much.</p>
+<p>Mr. Minshull observed that there were two charges against
+Ferguson, whom he should consider as the principal offender, and
+should fine him &pound;5 for unlawful possession of one of the
+knockers, and &pound;5 for assaulting the police constable in the
+execution of his duty.&nbsp; He should not fine the other
+two.</p>
+<p><!-- page 9--><a name="page9"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+9</span>Ferguson said he had no objection to pay &pound;5 for the
+knocker, but, as he denied the assault, he should appeal against
+the fine.</p>
+<p>Mr. Minshull informed him that there was no appeal in the
+case, but he intimated that Mr. Ferguson might go to prison, if
+he pleased, instead of paying the fine.</p>
+<p>Ferguson: Oh, there&rsquo;s no occasion for that; I shall pay
+the fine.</p>
+<p>Mr. Minshull then desired him to come round in front of the
+bench, and said to him: &ldquo;I dare say, Sir, you have money
+enough at your disposal, but I pray you not to entertain the
+notion that you can therefore do as you think fit in the streets
+of this metropolis, either by night, or by day.&nbsp; You were
+brought before me, recently, for a similar offence, when I fined
+you &pound;5, and I now warn you, that if you should again appear
+before me, under circumstances like the present, I shall, most
+assuredly, feel it to be my duty, not to inflict a pecuniary fine
+upon you&mdash;for that is no punishment to a person in your
+station&mdash;but I shall send you, at once, as I am authorized
+to do, to hard labour in the House of Correction, and you will
+then see that neither rank, nor riches, can entitle you to the
+privilege of committing depredations upon the property of
+peaceable and industrious persons, or of disturbing the peace and
+quiet of this town with impunity.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The noble Lord was then handed over to the custody of the
+gaoler, and his two companions were discharged.&nbsp; It appeared
+that he had not sufficient money about him to pay the fines, but
+his brother, the Marquis of Waterford, after visiting him in
+&ldquo;durance vile,&rdquo; released him from his ignoble
+captivity by paying the fines.</p>
+<p>On the same day, his brother, Lord James Beresford, was
+arrested for disgusting behaviour, and two &ldquo;young men of
+genteel appearance,&rdquo; who gave false names, were taken in
+custody by the police for maliciously upsetting a shell-fish
+stall.</p>
+<p>One more illustration of the amusements and behaviour of the
+<i>jeunesse dor&eacute;e</i> of that period will suffice.&nbsp;
+<i>Times</i>, 25 <i>Nov.</i></p>
+<blockquote><p><!-- page 10--><a name="page10"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 10</span><span class="smcap">Marlborough
+Street</span>.&mdash;Lord Harley, of Chester Place, Capt. W. E.
+Reynolds, of Jermyn Street, and Mr. Charles Lushington, of
+Tavistock Hotel, were on Thursday (23 Nov.) brought before Mr.
+Chambers, charged with having practised the fashionable amusement
+of ringing door bells.</p>
+<p>Mr. Young, surgeon, Piccadilly, said, about 5 o&rsquo;clock
+that morning he was roused by a violent ringing at his
+bell.&nbsp; He answered the summons immediately.</p>
+<p>Capt. Reynolds: It&rsquo;s a --- lie.&nbsp; You have committed
+perjury.</p>
+<p>Mr. Lushington (to the complainant): You are a --- liar.&nbsp;
+The fact is, I hurt my fingers and wanted some diachylum
+plaister, and I therefore rang the bell of the first surgeon I
+came to.&nbsp; This is the truth.&nbsp; So help me, God.</p>
+<p>Mr. Young continued: When he got to the door, he found that
+all the three defendants had gone away; and he immediately
+followed them, and demanded their reason for disturbing
+him.&nbsp; The defendants turned upon him, and made use of
+language and epithets which he would not pollute his lips by
+repeating.</p>
+<p>Capt. Reynolds (shaking his stick at the witness): I wish I
+had you elsewhere.</p>
+<p>Mr. Lushington: I&rsquo;d roll you in the kennel, if it was
+worth while.</p>
+<p>Mr. Young continued: The altercation attracted the notice of
+the police, and witness gave them into custody.&nbsp; When they
+got to the station house, and witness was proceeding to make the
+charge, the defendants repeated their disgusting epithets and
+language.</p>
+<p>It is impossible to do more than to remark that the language
+was of a description hitherto presumed to be confined to the
+vilest class of the community.</p>
+<p>Mr. Young added that all the defendants appeared to be
+intoxicated.</p>
+<p>Lord Harley: I beg pardon, I was sober.</p>
+<p>Inspector Beresford was sworn to the fact.</p>
+<p>Inspector: His Lordship was more intoxicated than the
+others.</p>
+<p><!-- page 11--><a name="page11"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+11</span>Mr. Lushington (falling on his knees, and holding up his
+hands): I was not drunk this night&mdash;so help me, C---t.</p>
+<p>The Inspector swore that none of the defendants were
+sober.</p>
+<p>Mr. Lushington: The case shall be carried to a higher
+court.</p>
+<p>Mr. Chambers: Then, to give you an opportunity of taking your
+case elsewhere, I shall make you all find bail; and Mr. Young, if
+he pleases, may prefer an indictment against you.</p>
+<p>Mr. Chambers asked Mr. Lushington if he was a relative of Dr.
+Lushington, <a name="citation10"></a><a href="#footnote10"
+class="citation">[10]</a> and received a reply in the
+affirmative.</p>
+<p>Capt. Reynolds said, if his language had been offensive
+towards the bench, he was sorry for having used it.</p>
+<p>Mr. Chambers said, personally, he was indifferent to the
+language used to him.</p>
+<p>The parties having left the box, Mr. Young told Mr. Chambers
+that he had no wish to press the case further.&nbsp; He wished an
+arrangement could be made, so that the bench could decide the
+matter summarily.</p>
+<p>The defendants were acquainted with this very handsome conduct
+on the part of the complainant, and, after some discussion, Capt.
+Reynolds and Mr. Lushington agreed to pay &pound;5 each to a
+charity.</p>
+<p>Lord Harley was fined 5/- for being intoxicated.</p>
+<p>When Mr. Chambers was inflicting the latter fine, he said to
+Lord Harley that he hoped he would exert his influence, if he had
+any, with some members of the Legislature, to get the fine for
+drunkenness increased to &pound;1 where the party was a
+gentleman.</p>
+<p>The defendants paid the fines, and went away.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<h2><!-- page 12--><a name="page12"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+12</span>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Thames Tunnel flooded&mdash;First mention of
+the Nelson column&mdash;Moustaches&mdash;Sale of the King&rsquo;s
+stud&mdash;Marriage by Registrar&mdash;Commencement of New Houses
+of Parliament&mdash;Lunatics and the Queen&mdash;The
+Queen&rsquo;s visit to the Guildhall&mdash;Lord
+Beaconsfield&rsquo;s maiden speech.</p>
+<p>Nowadays very little is thought of making a tunnel under the
+Thames, but the first one, designed and carried out by Sir Marc
+Isambard Brunel, was regarded, and rightly so, as a most
+wonderful feat of engineering.&nbsp; One was proposed in 1799,
+and a shaft was sunk in 1804, but the work went no further.&nbsp;
+The one now spoken of was approved by Act of Parliament 24 June,
+1824, and the shaft was begun and the first brick laid on 2
+March, 1825.&nbsp; It suffered several times from irruptions of
+water; one, on 18 May, 1827; another, in which six lives were
+lost, on 12 Jan. 1828.&nbsp; In 1837 there were two irruptions,
+the first taking place on 23 August, and it is thus described by
+one of Brunel&rsquo;s assistants: &ldquo;We were at work about
+two o&rsquo;clock on Wednesday, when we found the water coming in
+faster than usual.&nbsp; At first, we observed a quantity of
+loose sand falling near the gallery, which changed to thin, muddy
+drops.&nbsp; This convinced us that the <i>stratum</i> in which
+the men were working was bad, loose soil.&nbsp; The increase of
+water made it necessary to withdraw the men, which was done by a
+passage under the crown of the arch, made for their safety in
+case of accidents.&nbsp; No injury was sustained by any of the
+men.&nbsp; I was not satisfied, at the time, of the real extent
+of the bad soil, and I ordered a boat to be brought, with a rope
+of sufficient length to enable us to float to the shield.&nbsp;
+The boat was brought, but the rope attached <!-- page 13--><a
+name="page13"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 13</span>to it, and by
+which we were to be hauled into the shaft, was shorter than we
+had ordered it.&nbsp; This deficiency probably saved our
+lives.&nbsp; We had not proceeded far in the boat when I
+perceived, by the twinkling of the lights in the tunnel, and
+other indications of inundation, that the waters came in with
+increased rapidity.&nbsp; I then gave the signal to be hauled
+into the shaft, and had scarcely done so when I observed the
+ground above give way, and the water descending in a thousand
+streams, like a cascade, or the Falls of Niagara.&nbsp; We were
+rescued, but, had the rope by which we were relieved from our
+perilous situation been of a length to allow the boat to go to
+the extremity of the tunnel, in all probability we should have
+been drowned.&nbsp; This happened about four o&rsquo;clock, and,
+soon after five, the tunnel was entirely filled.&nbsp; No lives
+were lost.&nbsp; The only injury done is the suspension of the
+works.&nbsp; The steam engine, when the leak is stopped, will
+throw out a ton of water per minute; and, in three days and
+nights, the whole of the tunnel may be pumped dry.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The second irruption, on 3 Nov., also filled the Tunnel, but
+on this occasion one man lost his life.</p>
+<p>In the <i>Times</i> of 9 Sep. of this year I find the first
+suggestion of a monument to Nelson, in Trafalgar Square:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Sir, I observe in your paper of Tuesday
+last, that a correspondent has commented upon the proposed plan
+for laying out Trafalgar Square.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Allow me to suggest through your columns the favourable
+opportunity and most appropriate situation, now afforded, of
+erecting in the centre of the Square some worthy trophy, or
+statue, commemorating the glorious victories of the immortal
+Nelson.&nbsp; Whilst other great commanders and statesmen are
+honoured with suitable public monuments to their fame, surely the
+British nation would be eager, if called on, to pay this tribute
+to the valour, intrepidity and success of this illustrious
+hero.&nbsp; Yours, etc.&mdash;J. B.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>In those days every man went clean shaven, or only had side
+whiskers, a full beard being unknown, and moustaches were
+confined to foreigners and to a few cavalry regiments, so that
+for a working man to sport them (although now so <!-- page
+14--><a name="page14"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+14</span>exceedingly common) would probably lead to derision and
+persecution, as in the following police case reported in the
+<i>Times</i> of 21 Sep.:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Marlborough
+Street</span>.&mdash;Yesterday, a young man, &ldquo;bearded like
+the pard,&rdquo; who said he was a carpenter employed on the
+London and Birmingham Railroad, applied to Mr. Rawlinson, the
+sitting magistrate, for an assault warrant, under the following
+ludicrous circumstances:</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: What do you want the warrant for?</p>
+<p>Applicant: I&rsquo;ll tell your worship, and you&rsquo;ll say
+it&rsquo;s the most haggrawating and provoking thing as ever was
+heard on.&nbsp; Veil, then, I goes to my vork, as usual, this
+&rsquo;ere morning, ven one of my shopmates said to me,
+&ldquo;Bill, you arn&rsquo;t shaved your hupper lip
+lately.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t mean it,&rdquo; says
+I.&nbsp; &ldquo;Vy?&rdquo; says he.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;&rsquo;Cos,&rdquo; I replied, &ldquo;I intends vearing
+mustachios to look like a gentleman.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Vell,
+then,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;as you intends to become a
+fashionable gentleman, p&rsquo;raps you&rsquo;ll have no
+objection to forfeit half-a-gallon of ale, as it&rsquo;s a rule
+here that every workman vot sports mustachios, to have them
+vetted a bit.&rdquo;&nbsp; Veil, has I refused to have my
+mustachios christened, they made game of them, and said they
+weren&rsquo;t half fledged; and, more nor all that, they hustled
+me about, and stole my dinner out of the pot, and treated me
+shameful, and so I want your advice respecting my mustachios.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: My advice is, to go to a barber and have them
+shaved off without loss of time.</p>
+<p>Applicant: Can&rsquo;t part with a single hair.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: You want to look like a grenadier, I
+suppose?</p>
+<p>Applicant: My granny-dear (God bless her old soul!), she never
+had such a fashionable and warlike appendage in her life.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: What business has a carpenter with a quantity
+of long hair hanging from his lip?</p>
+<p>Applicant: The reason vy I vears it is &rsquo;cos it&rsquo;s
+fashionable, and makes me look like a man of some courage.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: Fashionable, indeed!&nbsp; I wish, with all my
+<!-- page 15--><a name="page15"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+15</span>heart, that the fashion was discontinued.&nbsp; Why need
+an Englishman make a Jew of himself?&nbsp; It is disgusting to
+see persons strutting through the streets with mustachios, and,
+sometimes, a fringe of hair round the face and chin, which is
+dignified by the name of whiskers.&nbsp; As you won&rsquo;t take
+my advice, I can&rsquo;t assist you.</p>
+<p>Applicant: Vot! not for striking me on the hupper lip?</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: Then your mustachios must have saved you.</p>
+<p>Applicant: No, they didn&rsquo;t.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: How&rsquo;s that?</p>
+<p>Applicant: &rsquo;Cos the hair ain&rsquo;t long and thick
+enough; they&rsquo;re only young &rsquo;uns as yet.&nbsp; There
+was no occasion to strike me.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: And there&rsquo;s no occasion for you to wear
+mustachios.&nbsp; You may have a warrant, if you like, but I
+think you had better not.</p>
+<p>The man with mustachios then withdrew.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The late King&rsquo;s stud at Hampton was doomed to be sold,
+and the sale thereof created something of a sensation.&nbsp; On
+this subject there is, in a little twopenny weekly magazine,
+called <i>The Torch</i>, 9 Sep., &rsquo;37 (vol. i., p. 19), a
+periodical now long forgotten, a poem by Tom Hood, which I have
+not seen in any collection of his poems.&nbsp; It is a</p>
+<h3><span class="smcap">Petition to Her Majesty for Preserving
+the Royal Stud at Hampton Court</span>.</h3>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">By Thomas
+Hood</span>.</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">I.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Liege Lady</span>, all the nation&rsquo;s
+in high dud-<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; geon that Lord Melbourne&rsquo;s brains should be so
+muddy<br />
+As to advise you sell your royal <i>stud</i>,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Which to preserve, should be your royal study.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">II.</p>
+<p>Poor nags you would not in your stable find,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Like cavalry of Evans called De Lacey,<br />
+No!&nbsp; I do rather hope your royal mind<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Is naturally fond of something racy.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><!-- page 16--><a
+name="page16"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 16</span>III.</p>
+<p>Pray, what has Hampton done that you should trounce ill-<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; naturedly its prancers and its sport?<br />
+You have a breed of <i>asses</i> in the <i>Council</i>,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Do keep a breed of <i>horses</i> in the
+<i>Court</i>.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">IV.</p>
+<p>His truth who says that you should sell them, fails.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Believe me, Lady liege, he tells a crammer;<br />
+You&rsquo;ll set your people biting all their <i>nails</i>,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; If you put up your horses to the <i>hammer</i>.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">V.</p>
+<p>I like these money-turning Whigs, indeed;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Who, into coin, change everything they&rsquo;re
+able.<br />
+You&rsquo;re just installed, and they would sell <i>the
+steed</i>,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; It doesn&rsquo;t make me think they&rsquo;re very
+<i>stable</i>.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">VI.</p>
+<p>I daresay they believe they&rsquo;re very knowing,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; I think they&rsquo;re close to their official
+shelves:<br />
+And, when they set the horses &ldquo;Going, going,&rdquo;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; It&rsquo;s nearly time they should be gone
+themselves.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">VII.</p>
+<p>The nation quite in Hampton Court rejoices,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; What! sell its stud of steeds beyond all praise!<br
+/>
+<i>Nay</i>, shout the people with indignant voices,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And the stud echoes with a hundred
+<i>neighs</i>.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">VIII.</p>
+<p>Then sell them not, dear lady, I implore ye;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Of tears &rsquo;twill set your people shedding
+floods;&mdash;<br />
+I tell ye what will make &rsquo;em all adore ye,&mdash;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Kick out your ministers and keep your bloods!</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>But Hood must have laboured under a misapprehension, for the
+horses were the private property of the late King, and his
+executors had no option but to sell them.&nbsp; It was said that
+William IV. in his lifetime wished the country to take the stud
+over, at a valuation, and, after his death, it was offered to
+Queen Victoria for &pound;16,000.&nbsp; The sale took place on
+Oct. 25, and there were 80 lots, which did not fetch particularly
+high prices, the highest being &ldquo;The Colonel,&rdquo; who was
+bought, after winning the St. Leger, by George IV. for 4,000 <!--
+page 17--><a name="page17"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+17</span>guineas; but the horse broke down after running a dead
+heat at Ascot in 1831.&nbsp; He only realised 1,150 guineas, and
+was bought by the auctioneer, Mr. Tattersall.&nbsp; The next
+highest price given was for &ldquo;Act&aelig;on,&rdquo; which
+fetched 920 guineas.&nbsp; The total proceeds of the sale was
+15,692 guineas.</p>
+<p>In October a great change was made in the matter of marriage,
+which had, hitherto, been a purely ecclesiastical affair, but by
+the 6 &amp; 7 Gul. iv., cap. 85, Registrars of births and deaths
+were empowered to marry couples, and it became a purely civil
+contract.&nbsp; This Act was to have come into force on the first
+day of March; but a subsequent Act postponed it to the last day
+of June, and it really only became effective in October.&nbsp; It
+surprised people by its simplicity, and the gist of the Act is in
+Section xx.: &ldquo;And be it enacted, That after the expiration
+of the said Period of Twenty-one Days or of Seven Days, if the
+Marriage is by Licence, Marriages may be solemnized in the
+registered Building stated as aforesaid in the notice of such
+Marriage, between and by the Parties described in the Notice and
+Certificate, according to such form and ceremony as they may see
+fit to adopt: Provided nevertheless, that every such Marriage
+shall be solemnized with open doors, between the Hours of Eight
+and Twelve in the Forenoon, in the Presence of some Registrar of
+the District in which such registered Building is situated, and
+of Two, or more, credible Witnesses; provided also, that in some
+Part of the Ceremony, and in the Presence of such Registrar and
+Witnesses, each of the Parties shall declare:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I do solemnly declare, That I know not of any
+lawful Impediment why I, A. B., may not be joined in Matrimony to
+C. D.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And each of the Parties shall say to the other:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I call upon these Persons here present to
+witness that I, A. B., do take thee, C. D., to be my lawful
+wedded Wife [or Husband].&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Provided also, that there be no lawful Impediment to
+the Marriage of such Parties.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The old House of Commons was destroyed by fire on 16 Oct.,
+1834, and it was not until September, 1837, that the <!-- page
+18--><a name="page18"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 18</span>first
+contracts for the commencement of the construction of the new
+works, in connection with the present building, were entered
+into.&nbsp; They were for the formation of an embankment 886 feet
+in length, projecting into the river 98 feet further than that
+then existing, to be faced with granite, and a terrace 673 feet
+long next the river, and 35 feet wide, in front of the new
+Houses, with an esplanade at each end 100 feet square, with
+landing stairs from the river 12 feet wide.&nbsp; The whole
+surface of the front building was to be excavated, and filled in
+with concrete 12 feet thick, thus forming a permanent and solid
+foundation for the superstructure.&nbsp; Towards the end of this
+year, the Queen was somewhat pestered with lunatics.&nbsp; On
+Nov. 4, as she was going through Birdcage Walk on her return from
+Brighton, a man of respectable appearance went near the
+Queen&rsquo;s carriage, held up his fist, and made use of most
+insulting language towards Her Majesty and the Duchess of Kent,
+declaring that the Queen was an usurper, and he would have her
+off her Throne before a week was out.&nbsp; He was afterwards
+arrested, and turned out to be Mr. John Goode, a gentleman of
+large property in Devonshire, who had been previously in custody
+on 24th of May (Her Majesty&rsquo;s birthday) for creating a
+disturbance and forcibly entering the enclosure of Kensington
+Palace.&nbsp; He was taken before the Privy Council, and when
+examined, declared that he was a son of George IV. and Queen
+Caroline, born at Montague House, Blackheath, and that, if he
+could but get hold of the Queen, he would tear her in
+pieces.&nbsp; He was told to find bail, himself in &pound;1,000,
+and two sureties of &pound;500 each; but these not being
+forthcoming, he was sent to prison.&nbsp; On entering the hackney
+coach, he instantly smashed the windows with his elbows, and
+screamed out to the sentinels: &ldquo;Guards of England, do your
+duty, and rescue your Sovereign.&rdquo;&nbsp; He was, after a
+very short imprisonment, confined in a lunatic asylum.</p>
+<p>The other case was a German baker, but he only uttered threats
+against the Queen and her mother, and he, too, was put in an
+asylum.</p>
+<p>A great event, and a very grand sight, was the Queen&rsquo;s
+<!-- page 19--><a name="page19"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+19</span>visit to the City of London on 9 Nov., when Alderman
+Cowan inaugurated his mayoralty.&nbsp; The Queen went in State,
+attended by all her Court, her Ministers, the Judges, etc.&nbsp;
+The procession started from Buckingham Palace soon after 2 p.m.
+and reached Guildhall about 3.30.</p>
+<p>The interior of the Guildhall was &ldquo;exceeding
+magnifical.&rdquo;&nbsp; There was a canopy of carved gilt, with
+draperies of crimson velvet and gold fringe and tassels, its
+interior, being also of crimson velvet, was relieved by ornaments
+in silver and a radiated oval of white satin with golden
+rays.&nbsp; The back was fluted in white satin, enriched with the
+Royal Arms in burnished gold.&nbsp; The State chair was covered
+with crimson velvet with the Royal Arms and Crown, with the rose,
+thistle and shamrock tastefully interwoven.</p>
+<p>At each end of the Hall, the walls were covered with immense
+plates of looking-glass.&nbsp; The window at the eastern end of
+the Hall, above the throne, having been removed, a gigantic
+wooden framework was substituted, on which was erected a gorgeous
+piece of gas illumination.&nbsp; Above the mouldings of the
+windows, and over the City Arms, waved the Royal Standard and the
+Union Jack.&nbsp; Above was the Royal cypher, V.R., in very large
+characters, surmounted by the appropriate word
+&ldquo;Welcome,&rdquo; the whole being encircled by an immense
+wreath of laurels, which terminated, at the lower extremity of
+the framework, with the rose, thistle and shamrock.&nbsp; Over
+the clock at the western end, and reaching nearly the whole
+breadth of the Hall, with Gog and Magog on the right and left,
+was placed an immense stack of armour, with upwards of 30 furled
+flags as an appropriate background.&nbsp; Immediately above was
+the magnificently radiated star of the Order of the Garter,
+surrounded by crimson drapery, and the scroll &ldquo;God save the
+Queen&rdquo; entirely composed of cut glass, which, when lit up,
+seemed, literally, one continued blaze of diamonds.&nbsp; The
+whole was surmounted by the imperial crown and wreaths of laurel,
+intermingled with the rose, thistle and shamrock, covering the
+entire outline of the window.&nbsp; Where, formerly, was the
+musicians&rsquo; gallery, on the opposite side, was occupied by
+three stacks of armour; complete <!-- page 20--><a
+name="page20"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 20</span>coats of mail
+were, likewise, suspended in other parts of the Hall; two knights
+in complete armour guarded the entrance of the Hall and Council
+Chamber, which latter was fitted up for the Queen&rsquo;s
+reception room, and hung throughout with crimson fluted cloth,
+finished with gold mouldings and festoons of red and white
+flowers.&nbsp; Upon a platform stood a chair of state, splendidly
+gilt and covered with crimson velvet, and there was no other
+chair nor seat of any kind in the apartment.&nbsp; The
+Queen&rsquo;s retiring-room was the Aldermen&rsquo;s Court, and
+was superbly decorated, having a magnificent toilet table covered
+with white satin, embroidered with the initials V.R., a crown and
+wreath in gold, and looped with gold silk rope and tassels.</p>
+<p>After the Queen&rsquo;s arrival at the Guildhall, and having
+spent some little time on her toilet, her Majesty was conducted
+to the Council Chamber, where&mdash;seated on her throne, and
+surrounded by Royal Dukes and Duchesses, etc.&mdash;she listened
+to a dutiful address read by the Recorder, and, at its
+conclusion, she was graciously pleased to order letters patent to
+be made out conferring a baronetcy on the Lord Mayor and
+knighthood on the two Sheriffs, John Carroll and Moses
+Montefiore, Esquires, the latter, as before mentioned, being the
+first Jew who had received that honour.</p>
+<p>At 20 minutes past 5 the Queen entered the Hall, in which was
+the banquet, wearing a rich pink satin dress, ornamented with
+gold and silver, a splendid pearl necklace, diamond earrings, and
+a tiara of diamonds.&nbsp; She occupied the centre of the Royal
+table, having on her right the Duke of Sussex, the Duchess of
+Gloucester, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge
+and the Duchess of Sutherland; and on her left, the Duke of
+Cambridge, the Duchess of Kent, the Princess Augusta of Cambridge
+and the Countess of Mulgrave.&nbsp; As a specimen of the
+magnificence of this banquet, it may be mentioned that at the
+Royal table the whole of the service was of gold, as were the
+candelabra, epergnes, soup tureens, cellarets, etc.; one firm
+furnished gold plate for the Queen&rsquo;s table and sideboard to
+the value of &pound;115,000, and another firm nearly the same
+amount, whilst the value of <!-- page 21--><a
+name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 21</span>plate lent by
+various gentlemen was assessed at &pound;400,000, besides which
+there was the Civic plate.&nbsp; The china dessert plates at the
+Queen&rsquo;s table cost 10 guineas each, and all the glass
+decanters and china were specially made for the occasion.</p>
+<p>At 20 minutes past 8, the Queen left the Hall, and in her
+retiring room was served with tea from a splendid gold service
+made for the occasion, and she reached Buckingham Palace about
+half-past 9&mdash;highly delighted with her entertainment.</p>
+<p>There is nothing more of interest in this year, if we except
+the maiden speech of Lord Beaconsfield, in the House of Commons,
+which took place on 7th Dec.&nbsp; Mr. Disraeli (as he then was)
+had the disadvantage of following O&rsquo;Connell, in a noisy
+debate on the legality of the Irish Election Petition Fund.&nbsp;
+He was not listened to from the first, and, in the middle of his
+speech, as reported by <i>Hansard</i>, after begging the House to
+give him five minutes, he said: &ldquo;He stood there to-night,
+not formally, but, in some degree, virtually, as the
+representative of a considerable number of Members of Parliament
+(<i>laughter</i>).&nbsp; Now, why smile?&nbsp; Why envy
+him?&nbsp; Why not let him enjoy that reflection, if only for one
+night?&rdquo;&nbsp; All through his speech he was interrupted,
+and this is its close, as reported in <i>Hansard</i>.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;When they recollected the &lsquo;new loves&rsquo; and the
+&lsquo;old loves&rsquo; in which so much passion and
+recrimination was mixed up between the noble Tityrus of the
+Treasury Bench, and the learned Daphne of Liskeard&mdash;(<i>loud
+laughter</i>)&mdash;notwithstanding the <i>amantium ira</i> had
+resulted, as he always expected, in the <i>amoris
+integratio</i>&mdash;(<i>renewed
+laughter</i>)&mdash;notwithstanding that political duel had been
+fought, in which more than one shot was interchanged, but in
+which recourse was had to the secure arbitrament of blank
+cartridges&mdash;(<i>laughter</i>)&mdash;notwithstanding
+emancipated Ireland and enslaved England, the noble lord might
+wave in one hand the keys of St. Peter, and in the
+other&mdash;(<i>the shouts that followed drowned the conclusion
+of the sentence</i>).&nbsp; Let them see the philosophical
+prejudice of Man.&nbsp; He would, certainly, gladly hear a cheer
+from the lips of a popular opponent.&nbsp; He was not at all
+surprised at the reception which he had experienced.&nbsp; He had
+begun several things many times, and <!-- page 22--><a
+name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 22</span>he had often
+succeeded at last.&nbsp; He would sit down now, but the time
+would come when they would hear him.&nbsp; (<i>The impatience of
+the House would not allow the hon. member to finish his
+speech</i>; <i>and during the greater part of the time the hon.
+member was on his legs</i>, <i>he was so much interrupted that it
+was impossible to hear what the hon. member said</i>).&rdquo;</p>
+<h2><!-- page 23--><a name="page23"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+23</span>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Destruction of Royal Exchange&mdash;Sale of
+the salvage&mdash;Spring-heeled Jack and his pranks&mdash;Lord
+John Russell&rsquo;s hat.</p>
+<p>As a sad pendant to the Civic festivities at the close of 1837
+comes the destruction by fire of the Royal Exchange on the night
+of the 10th of January following.</p>
+<p>It was first noticed a little after 10 p.m., when flames were
+observed in Lloyd&rsquo;s Coffee Room in the north-east corner of
+the building, opposite the Bank, the firemen of which
+establishment were soon on the spot, as well as many other of the
+metropolitan engines.&nbsp; But, before any water could be thrown
+upon the building, it was necessary to thaw the hose and works of
+the engines by pouring hot water upon them, as the frost was so
+very severe; so that, by 11 p.m., all Lloyd&rsquo;s was a mass of
+flame.&nbsp; Nothing could be done to stop the conflagration, it
+having got too great a hold, and great fears were entertained
+that it would spread to the Bank and surrounding buildings, the
+which, however, was fortunately prevented.&nbsp; The Lord Mayor
+was present, and a large body of soldiers from the Tower assisted
+the Police in keeping the crowd away from the immediate
+scene.</p>
+<p>It must have been a magnificent sight, and somewhat curious,
+for amidst the roar of the flames, and until the chiming
+apparatus was destroyed, and the bells dropped one by one, the
+chimes went on pealing &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nae luck about the
+house,&rdquo; <a name="citation23"></a><a href="#footnote23"
+class="citation">[23]</a> &ldquo;Life let us cherish,&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;God save the Queen.&rdquo;&nbsp; The fire was not
+completely got under until noon the next day, but, practically,
+the building was destroyed by 5 am., and, <!-- page 24--><a
+name="page24"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 24</span>so bright was
+the conflagration, that it was visible at
+Windsor&mdash;twenty-four miles off, and at Theydon, in Essex, a
+distance of eighteen miles; whilst from the heights of Surrey on
+the south, and Highgate and Hampstead on the north, the progress
+of the fire was watched by crowds of people.</p>
+<p>The following account of the Exchange after the fire is taken
+from the <i>Times</i> of 13 Jan.:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Yesterday afternoon the ruins of the
+Exchange were sufficiently cooled to allow the firemen and a
+party of gentlemen, amongst whom we noticed the Lord Mayor, Mr.
+Alderman Copeland, several members of the Gresham Committee, and
+other persons connected with the mercantile interest, to inspect
+them.&nbsp; In consequence of the loose fragments of stone work
+belonging to the balustrades and ornamental parts of the building
+being covered over with ice, the difficulty of walking over the
+ruins was very great, and the chief magistrate fell more than
+once, receiving sundry bumps.&nbsp; The lofty chimnies standing
+appeared to be in such a dangerous condition, that they were
+hauled down with ropes, to prevent their falling on the people
+below.&nbsp; The iron chests belonging to the Royal Exchange
+Assurance Company could be distinctly seen, from the area,
+inserted in the walls.&nbsp; Ladders were raised, and they were
+opened, when it was discovered that their contents, consisting of
+deeds and other papers connected with the Company and their
+insurances, were uninjured.&nbsp; This afforded much satisfaction
+to the directors.&nbsp; Another iron safe, belonging to Mr.
+Hathway, whose office, under the tower, was consumed, which was
+also in a recess in the wall, was opened at the same time, and a
+considerable sum in francs and bank-notes was taken out.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The walls of the west wing of the building, which
+seemed to bulge outward, were shored up in the afternoon, and
+they are not, now, likely to fall.&nbsp; Cornhill presented a
+most desolate appearance, the shops, from Finch Lane to the
+termination of the street near the Mansion House, were all
+closed, and the place presented a deserted and desolated
+appearance; which, contrasted with the bustle hitherto observed
+during business hours, and the sight of the ruins, forced very
+unpleasant <!-- page 25--><a name="page25"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 25</span>reflections on the mind.&nbsp;
+Barriers were placed at the Mansion House end of Cornhill, and
+across that part of the street between Finch and Birchin Lanes,
+and no person was allowed to pass except the firemen and persons
+on business.&nbsp; All the avenues leading to Cornhill were also
+blocked up in like manner; and, at each barrier, police officers
+and ward constables were placed to prevent people passing.&nbsp;
+Various schemes were devised, by numerous individuals, to pass
+these barriers, and sums were, occasionally, offered to the
+police to be allowed to visit the ruins, but without
+effect.&nbsp; The City police kept the thieves away by their
+presence and activity, and the conduct of the people was,
+yesterday, very quiet, forming a contrast with the disorder got
+up by the swell mob on Thursday last.&nbsp; Those who viewed the
+ruins at a distance appeared to wear an air of melancholy, and no
+fire has occurred, for centuries, which has caused more universal
+regret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On searching the ruins under the Lord Mayor&rsquo;s
+Court Office, the great City seal was picked up, with two bags,
+containing &pound;200 in gold, uninjured.&nbsp; On this discovery
+being communicated to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, it caused much
+gratification, it having been rumoured that the Corporation would
+lose their Charter by the loss of the seal, but we did not hear
+it explained how this could be.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Owing to the great body of fire underneath the ruins at
+the north-east angle of the Exchange, it was impossible for the
+firemen to ascertain, until a late hour, whether any injury had
+been done to Lloyd&rsquo;s books, which were deposited in a large
+iron safe inserted in the wall.&nbsp; Two engines had been
+playing on it during the latter portion of the day.&nbsp; In the
+presence of several of the Committee it was opened, when it was
+discovered that the fire had reached the books, and partially
+consumed them.&nbsp; In the drawers were cheques on the Bank of
+England to a large amount, and also Bank of England notes to the
+amount of, it is said, &pound;2,560.&nbsp; The notes were reduced
+to a cinder, and, on the drawers being opened, the air rushing in
+on the tender fragments blew them over the Exchange.&nbsp; They
+were, however, very carefully <!-- page 26--><a
+name="page26"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 26</span>collected,
+and the cinders of the notes were, with much trouble and caution,
+put into a tin case, which was taken to the Bank, and the words
+&lsquo;Bank of England,&rsquo; with the numbers and dates, were
+distinctly traced.&nbsp; The amount will, in consequence, be paid
+to the owners.&nbsp; From what information could be obtained from
+the gentlemen who took possession of the box, and who were
+understood to be underwriters, it was the usual custom of the
+secretary not to leave any money or notes in the safe, but to
+deposit the money in the Bank, which was done on the evening the
+fire took place.&nbsp; The money and notes above mentioned, and
+which were found in the safe, belonged to a subscriber who, on
+the afternoon of Wednesday, asked permission to deposit his money
+in the safe until the next day, which was acceded to by the
+secretary.&nbsp; Some idea may be formed of his state of mind on
+arriving at the Exchange on the following morning, to see it on
+fire, and he was in a state of distraction until the finding of
+the cinders of the notes yesterday, which has, in some measure,
+calmed his feelings.&nbsp; The underwriters are severe sufferers,
+having left sums of money, to a large amount, in their desks,
+which, no doubt, will never be recovered.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;During the confusion on the discovery of the fire, in
+removing some books from a room in the north-east corner, in
+addition to &pound;500 in Bank of England notes, which were taken
+to St. Michael&rsquo;s Church, twenty sovereigns, in a bag, were
+thrown out of the windows.&nbsp; The bag broke, and the
+sovereigns rolled about the pavement; they were all picked up by
+the mob, who appropriated them to their own use.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is firmly believed that the overheating of the
+stoves caused the disaster which the nation has now to
+deplore.&nbsp; Wednesday was an exceedingly cold day, and large
+fires had been kept up from morning till night in the
+building.&nbsp; There is no doubt the fire had been spreading, to
+some extent, in Lloyd&rsquo;s rooms, long before it was seen in
+the street.&nbsp; Some few months back, two watchmen were on the
+premises all night, but, on the miserable plea of economy, they
+were discharged, and the sacrifice of one of the finest buildings
+in the Kingdom has been the consequence.&nbsp; We believe that
+<!-- page 27--><a name="page27"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+27</span>most of our cathedrals and large public buildings are
+left without watchmen during the night, and we hope that the fate
+of the Royal Exchange will bring about a change in this
+respect.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The merchants, who used to congregate &ldquo;on
+&rsquo;Change,&rdquo; were accommodated in the Guildhall, and the
+members of Lloyd&rsquo;s met at the Jerusalem Coffee
+House&mdash;but these arrangements were, afterwards,
+modified.&nbsp; The Royal Exchange Insurance Coy. took Sir James
+Esdaile&rsquo;s house, in Lombard Street.</p>
+<p><i>Times</i>, 4 Ap., 1838:&mdash;&ldquo;<span
+class="smcap">The Royal Exchange</span>.&mdash;Yesterday, the
+first day&rsquo;s sale of the materials of the Royal Exchange
+took place.&nbsp; It produced nearly &pound;2,000.&nbsp; The
+porter&rsquo;s large hand-bell (rung every day at half-past four
+p.m. to warn the merchants and others that &rsquo;Change ought to
+be closed), with the handle consumed, and valued at 10/-, was
+sold for &pound;3 3/-; the two carved griffins, holding shields
+of the City arms, facing the quadrangle, &pound;35; the two busts
+of Queen Elizabeth, on the east and west sides, &pound;10 15/-;
+the copper grasshopper vane, <a name="citation27"></a><a
+href="#footnote27" class="citation">[27]</a> with the iron
+upright, was reserved by the Committee; the alto relievo, in
+artificial stone, representing Queen Elizabeth proclaiming the
+Royal Exchange, &pound;21; the corresponding alto relievo,
+representing Britannia seated amidst the emblems of Commerce,
+accompanied by Science, Agriculture, Manufactures, etc.,
+&pound;30; the carved emblematical figures of Europe, Asia,
+Africa and America, &pound;110.&nbsp; The sale of the remainder
+of the materials, etc., it is understood, will take place in
+about a month.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In the Mansion House Police Court, on 10 Jan., the Lord Mayor
+announced that he had received five letters relative to an
+individual who was going about the metropolitan suburbs
+frightening females to such an extent that they were afraid to go
+out at night, as they were met by a man, who, under different
+disguises, would suddenly appear before them, and as suddenly
+disappear with terrible bounds, which earned him the name of
+&ldquo;Spring-heeled Jack,&rdquo; and he inspired such <!-- page
+28--><a name="page28"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+28</span>terror, that the recital of the victim had to be taken
+with caution.&nbsp; Whoever he was, or why he so acted, was never
+known, as he was never taken; but, certainly, robbery had no part
+in his escapades, for he was quite content with paralysing the
+poor women with fright.</p>
+<p>The first facts I can gather about Jack are at the latter end
+of 1837, at Barnes, where he appeared as a large white bull; at
+East Sheen he was a white bear; he then visited Richmond, and
+after having terrorised that town, he went to Ham, Kingston and
+Hampton, where he was clad in brass armour, with large claw-like
+gloves.&nbsp; Teddington, Twickenham and Hounslow were all
+visited by him, and at Isleworth we hear of him wearing steel
+armour, in which he seems to have been attired when seen at
+Uxbridge, Hanwell, Brentford and Ealing.&nbsp; At Hammersmith he
+took the form of a huge baboon, and as such was seen in the
+moonlight, dancing at Kensington Palace, ever and anon climbing
+over the forcing houses.&nbsp; He varied his localities
+frequently, one day being at Peckham, another at St. John&rsquo;s
+Wood, and anon at Forest Hill.</p>
+<p>This about brings up to the time of its being mentioned by the
+Lord Mayor, the consequence of which was that a Committee was
+formed at the Mansion House for the purpose of receiving
+subscriptions and deciding upon the best means of capturing this
+erratic genius.&nbsp; Probably feeling that he had sufficiently
+terrorised the districts before mentioned, he turned his
+attention to the East end of London, and particularly favoured
+Bow.&nbsp; A case is given in the <i>Times</i> of 23 Feb.&nbsp; A
+gentleman named Alsop, living between Bow and Old Ford, appeared
+before the police magistrate at Lambeth Street (then the Thames
+Police Office) accompanied by his three daughters, one of whom
+stated that at about a quarter to nine o&rsquo;clock on the
+evening of the 21st February, 1838, she heard a violent ringing
+at the front gate of the house, and, on going to the door to see
+what was the cause, she saw a man standing outside, of whom she
+enquired what was the matter.&nbsp; The person instantly replied
+that he was a policeman, and said, &ldquo;For God&rsquo;s sake
+bring me a light, for we have caught Spring-heeled <!-- page
+29--><a name="page29"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 29</span>Jack
+here in the lane.&rdquo;&nbsp; She returned to the house, and
+brought a candle, and handed it to the man, who was enveloped in
+a large cloak: The instant she had done so, he threw off his
+outer garments, and, applying the lighted candle to his breast,
+presented a most hideous and frightful appearance, vomiting forth
+a quantity of blue and white flame from his mouth, his eyes
+resembling red balls of fire.&nbsp; From the hasty glance which
+her fright enabled her to get at his person, she observed that he
+wore a large helmet, and his dress, which appeared to fit him
+very tightly, seemed to her to resemble white oilskin.&nbsp;
+Without uttering a sentence, he darted at her, and catching her
+partly by her dress and the back part of her neck, placed her
+head under one of his arms, and commenced tearing her clothes
+with his claws, which she was certain were made of some metallic
+substance.&nbsp; She screamed out as loud as she could for
+assistance, and, by considerable exertion, got away from him, and
+ran towards the house to get in.&nbsp; Her assailant followed,
+and caught her on the doorstep, when he again used considerable
+violence, tore her neck and arms with his claws, as well as a
+quantity of hair from her head; her story was fully corroborated
+by her parents and sisters, and her injuries, which were very
+considerable, bore unmistakable testimony to the truth of the
+assault.</p>
+<p>At the same police court, on 8 Mar., 1838, a Miss Scales
+deposed that as she and her sister were walking in Limehouse,
+about half-past eight in the evening, on coming to Green Dragon
+Alley, they observed some person standing in an angle in the
+passage.&nbsp; She was in advance of her sister at the time, and
+just as she came up to the person, who was enveloped in a large
+cloak, he spirted a quantity of blue flame right in her face,
+which deprived her of sight, and so alarmed her, that she
+instantly dropped to the ground, and was seized with violent
+fits, which continued for several hours.&nbsp; In this case no
+violence to the person was done.</p>
+<p>He had a literature of his own.&nbsp; I know of three
+pamphlets on the subject; one, from which is taken the
+accompanying illustration, is entitled &ldquo;Authentic
+particulars of the awful <!-- page 30--><a
+name="page30"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 30</span>appearance of
+the London Monster, alias Spring-heeled Jack, together with his
+extraordinary life, wonderful adventures and secret amours.&nbsp;
+Also an account of his horrible appearance to Miss N--- and his
+singular letter to the Lord Mayor of London.&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p30b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Spring-heeled Jack.  Awful representation of the London monster"
+title=
+"Spring-heeled Jack.  Awful representation of the London monster"
+src="images/p30s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>There is much more to be related of Jack, but space will not
+permit; but, whether too much attention was beginning to be paid
+to him with a view to his capture, or whether his love of
+mischief had died out, cannot be told; but certain it was that
+nothing was known publicly of this singular being after April,
+1838, having kept London in a ferment of excitement and terror
+for about six months.</p>
+<p>There is an amusing police case anent Lord John
+Russell&rsquo;s hat.&mdash;<i>Times</i>, 8 Feb.:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Thames Police
+Court</span>.&mdash;Yesterday, a poor woman, named Mary Ann Blay,
+who stated that she resided at Limehouse, applied to Mr.
+Ballantyne and Mr. Broderip, the magistrates, to request their
+interference under very odd circumstances.&nbsp; <!-- page
+31--><a name="page31"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 31</span>The
+applicant stated that, about three or four months ago, she was on
+her way home from Poplar, where she had been purchasing some
+vegetables, when she saw something black lying on the
+ground.&nbsp; She first supposed it was a piece of coal, but, on
+stooping to pick it up, discovered it was a hat.&nbsp; She walked
+onward, with the hat in her right hand, until she reached the
+Commercial Road, when she was met by a policeman, who asked her
+where she had got the hat.&nbsp; She informed him that she had
+picked it up at the corner of the New Road, and the policeman
+looked at it, and saw the name of Lord John Russell in the
+inside.&nbsp; He demanded the hat of her, and, on her refusing to
+give it up to him, he seized the hat, and took her into
+custody.&nbsp; She was locked up in the station houses and, on
+the following morning, was brought before the sitting magistrate
+at that office.&nbsp; The justice, after hearing the
+policeman&rsquo;s statement, directed her to be discharged, and
+gave orders that the hat should be detained for a certain time,
+in the station house; and, if no owner was discovered, that it
+should be given up to her.&nbsp; She had, since, made repeated
+inquiries of the police, but could obtain no information from
+them, nor any redress for the false imprisonment she had
+suffered.</p>
+<p>Mr. Ballantyne asked the applicant if she was sure the hat
+belonged to Lord J. Russell.</p>
+<p>The woman said there had been a whitebait Cabinet dinner at
+Mr. Lovegrove&rsquo;s, West India Dock Tavern, Blackwall, on the
+night she found the hat, and Lord John Russell was one of the
+party.</p>
+<p>Mr. Ballantyne: Well, I don&rsquo;t understand how his
+Lordship could lose his hat at the corner of the New Road.</p>
+<p>The woman said it was supposed that Lord J. Russell had put
+his head out of the carriage window, and looked back to see if
+his friends were following him, when his hat fell off his head,
+and, as he was a Lord, he would not stop until it was picked up
+again (laughter).</p>
+<p>Mr. Ballantyne: What do you want me to do in the matter?</p>
+<p>The applicant said she wanted to know to whom the hat
+belonged.</p>
+<p><!-- page 32--><a name="page32"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+32</span>Mr. Ballantyne: Why, I should say it belonged to Lord
+John Russell.</p>
+<p>The woman said the hat was worth a guinea, and that if she had
+accepted 5/- from the policeman, and given it up to him, he would
+not have taken her into custody.&nbsp; She thought it was very
+hard to be subject to such tyranny because she had picked up Lord
+John Russell&rsquo;s hat, for she had done no harm to the crown
+of it.&nbsp; She supposed Lord John Russell was in liquor, or he
+would have ordered his carriage to stop, and picked up his
+hat.&nbsp; (Roars of laughter, in which the magistrates could not
+help joining.)&nbsp; &ldquo;You may laugh,&rdquo; said the woman;
+&ldquo;but it&rsquo;s all true what I say; you may depend upon
+it, the Ministers don&rsquo;t eat whitebait without drinking
+plenty of wine after it, you may be sure.&nbsp; (Increased
+laughter.)&nbsp; I don&rsquo;t know why the gentlemen laugh, I am
+sure.&nbsp; I was locked up all night away from my husband and
+children.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr. Ballantyne said it was very singular the woman could not
+recollect what night it was she picked up the hat, and the number
+and letter of the policeman who took her into custody.</p>
+<p>The applicant said she was too much alarmed at being locked up
+in the station house, and brought before the magistrate, to
+recollect what night it was, or the policeman&rsquo;s
+identity.</p>
+<p>Mr. Ballantyne said it was a very odd affair, and he would
+direct the books to be searched to ascertain when the woman was
+brought before the magistrate.</p>
+<p>Soon afterwards, the woman was again brought up.</p>
+<p>Mr. Ballantyne said, it appeared from the minutes that she was
+brought before him on Tuesday, the 3rd of October last, on
+suspicion of stealing a hat, and that the policeman said that he
+had stopped her at two o&rsquo;clock in the morning with the hat
+in her possession.&nbsp; It appeared that he had discharged her,
+but no mention was made of the hat belonging to Lord John
+Russell.&nbsp; If that fact had been mentioned to him, he would
+have ordered the hat to be restored to his Lordship
+immediately.</p>
+<p>The Applicant: I am sure it is his Lordship&rsquo;s hat.&nbsp;
+There is Lord John Russell inside of it, quite plain; it&rsquo;s
+a new one.</p>
+<p><!-- page 33--><a name="page33"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+33</span>Mr. Ballantyne: Very well; an inquiry shall be made
+about the hat, and you can attend here to-morrow, and we will let
+you know what has become of it.&nbsp; I think Lord John Russell
+has the best claim to the hat, if he has not already got it.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The sequel:</p>
+<blockquote><p><i>Times</i>, 10 Feb.:&mdash;On Thursday, Mary Ann
+Blay again appeared before Mr. Ballantyne upon the subject of
+Lord John&rsquo;s hat.&nbsp; She adhered to her old story, that
+the hat had the noble Home Secretary&rsquo;s name in it when she
+picked it up, but it had, subsequently, been torn out, after it
+was taken out of her possession.&nbsp; Mr. Ballantyne examined
+the hat, and said it was a dirty, greasy hat&mdash;a boy&rsquo;s
+hat, and that he would not give 6d. for it.&nbsp; The policeman
+who took the woman in custody declared that the woman&rsquo;s
+statement was, altogether, a fabrication, and that the hat never
+had the name of Lord John Russell in it.&nbsp; Mr. Ballantyne
+said he would make no order about the hat; and, if the woman
+thought she had been wrongly imprisoned, she might seek her
+remedy elsewhere.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<h2><!-- page 34--><a name="page34"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+34</span>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Lords and pugilists&mdash;Penny
+&ldquo;Gaffs&rdquo;&mdash;Steam between England and
+America&mdash;A man-woman&mdash;Designs for Nelson
+Monument&mdash;A termagant&mdash;Scold&rsquo;s bridles,
+&amp;c.</p>
+<p>I must give another police case, as showing the manners and
+customs of the <i>jeunesse dor&eacute;e</i> of this period.</p>
+<p><i>Times</i>, 19 Feb.:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Marlborough
+Street</span>.&mdash;On Saturday, Samuel Evans, better known as
+&ldquo;Young Dutch Sam,&rdquo; a pugilist, was brought before Mr.
+Conant, charged with having committed an unprovoked and violent
+assault on policeman Mackenzie, C 182, and Lord Waldegrave was
+also charged with attempting to rescue Evans from the police.</p>
+<p>The defendant Evans, when sober, is civil and well-conducted,
+but, when drunk, is one of the most dangerous ruffians connected
+with the prize-fighting gang.&nbsp; Lord Waldegrave is a very
+young nobleman, with a fund of native simplicity in his
+countenance, rendered the more conspicuous by the style of dress
+he had adopted, namely, a large coloured shawl round his neck,
+and a rough pilot coat.&nbsp; Both parties exhibited
+unquestionable proofs of the effect of their previous
+night&rsquo;s potations.</p>
+<p>Policeman Mackenzie, who had his arm in a sling, made the
+following statement: About a quarter-past six that morning, after
+he had come off duty, he went to the Standard public house, in
+Piccadilly, for the purpose of getting some refreshment, but, on
+perceiving some of the saloon frequenters there, to whom he was
+personally obnoxious, in consequence of having taken disorderly
+persons of their acquaintance into <!-- page 35--><a
+name="page35"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 35</span>custody, he
+was about to go back, when he found himself suddenly pushed into
+the house, with sufficient violence to cause his cape to fall
+off.&nbsp; While engaged in folding up his cape, the defendant
+Evans said, &ldquo;Will any gentleman like to see a policeman put
+on his back?&rdquo;&nbsp; Complainant had not exchanged a single
+word with anybody; he, however, found himself suddenly and quite
+unexpectedly seized by the defendant, who had come behind him,
+and then thrown with violence upon the floor; the defendant Evans
+fell upon him at the same time; and, as complainant lay almost
+stunned and unable to rise, some persons called out
+&ldquo;Shame!&rdquo;&nbsp; Complainant was then helped up and
+assisted out of the house.&nbsp; He went immediately to the
+station house, and mentioned what had occurred to Inspector
+Beresford, who instantly sent a sufficient force to take the
+offenders into custody.&nbsp; Complainant went and pointed out
+Dutch Sam to his comrades, and the defendant was taken into
+custody.&nbsp; Lord Waldegrave, who was in the pugilist&rsquo;s
+company, declared the police should not take his friend, and he
+attempted to prevent the police from doing their duty.&nbsp;
+Complainant, feeling his shoulder pain him very much, went to the
+surgeon, and, by that gentleman&rsquo;s advice, proceeded to the
+Charing Cross Hospital.&nbsp; When he was examined, it was
+ascertained that one of the bones of his shoulder was broken.</p>
+<p>Another policeman stated that Lord Waldegrave was very drunk,
+and, when his Lordship attempted to resist the police, he was,
+accidentally, thrown down on the pavement, and witness picked him
+up.</p>
+<p>Lord Waldegrave: He! he! he!&nbsp; Picked me up, did
+you?&nbsp; Oh!&nbsp; He! he! he!</p>
+<p>Mr. Conant: This is no laughing matter, I can tell you; and it
+is quite improper of you to make it a subject of merriment.</p>
+<p>Lord Waldegrave: He! he! he!&nbsp; I beg pardon, but I
+can&rsquo;t help laughing.</p>
+<p>Mr. Conant asked Evans what he had to say in his defence?</p>
+<p>Evans: Why, you see, Lord Waldegrave and me had been supping
+together&mdash;hadn&rsquo;t we, my Lord?</p>
+<p><!-- page 36--><a name="page36"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+36</span>Lord Waldegrave: Yes, we had.</p>
+<p>Evans: And when we went into the public house there, we saw
+the policeman, who was drunk, and who had been drinking purl in
+the house.&nbsp; The policeman asked me to wrestle with him, and,
+as I thought I could throw him, I accepted the challenge.</p>
+<p>The Inspector proved that there was not one word of truth in
+Evans&rsquo;s defence as far as regarded the sobriety of
+Mackenzie.&nbsp; The assault took place within a few minutes
+after Mackenzie had come off duty, and, certainly, before he
+could have time to get refreshment.</p>
+<p>The policeman declared what the defendant asserted was
+entirely false.&nbsp; He had taken nothing to drink; and, as to
+challenging a man like the defendant to wrestle, the assertion
+was improbable.</p>
+<p>Inspector Beresford, on being asked if he was certain Evans
+was drunk, answered that he was decidedly drunk.</p>
+<p>Evans: Silence, sweep, let a gentleman speak.&nbsp; I can get
+a dozen oaths for half-a-crown.</p>
+<p>Mr. Conant said the assault on the policeman was wanton and
+unprovoked, and the matter was further aggravated by the fact
+that a person of the defendant&rsquo;s well-known pugilistic
+powers had chosen to attack an unoffending party.&nbsp; He
+should, therefore, call on the defendant Evans to put in good
+bail.</p>
+<p>Evans: Serve his Lordship the same; for I like to have such a
+pal.</p>
+<p>Mr. Conant directed that Lord Waldegrave should be put back
+until a second magistrate arrived.</p>
+<p>Mr. Dyer having, soon afterwards, taken his seat on the bench,
+Lord Waldegrave was placed at the bar.</p>
+<p>Policeman Filmer, C 130, stated that he went with others to
+the Standard public house, and took Evans into custody.&nbsp;
+Lord Waldegrave threw his arms round his friend, and swore he
+should not be taken.&nbsp; Witness swung his Lordship away, and,
+in doing so, his Lordship fell down.&nbsp; Witness picked him up,
+and would have let him go had his Lordship abstained <!-- page
+37--><a name="page37"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 37</span>from
+repeating his conduct.&nbsp; As he would not allow the police to
+do their duty, he took him into custody.</p>
+<p>Mr. Conant asked his Lordship what he had to say?</p>
+<p>Lord Waldegrave: I have nothing to say.&nbsp; Perhaps I had
+taken too much that night.</p>
+<p>Policeman: His Lordship was very drunk.</p>
+<p>Lord Waldegrave: Not very.</p>
+<p>Mr. Conant: There has been no complaint of your conduct at the
+station house, and I daresay your Lordship feels hurt at being in
+the company of a person of the other defendant&rsquo;s
+description.&nbsp; Taking into consideration the violence of the
+outrage committed by Evans, as a warning, we must inflict a heavy
+fine.&nbsp; You must, therefore, pay &pound;5 to the Queen.</p>
+<p>Mr. Dyer: And because&mdash;in our summary
+jurisdiction&mdash;we cannot go beyond that sum, we inflict it as
+being the highest penalty in our power.</p>
+<p>The sum was paid, and the noble defendant discharged.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The whole social tone was low, from the highest to the lowest,
+and if the police court gives us occasional glimpses of
+aristocratic amusement, so it affords us a view of the
+entertainments provided for the lower classes.&nbsp; Let us take
+one.</p>
+<p><i>Times</i>, 10 March:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Hatton
+Garden</span>.&mdash;For some time past, numerous complaints have
+been made to the magistrates of this office of two penny
+theatres, one in Mortimer Market, Tottenham Court Road, and the
+other in a field adjacent to Bagnigge Wells Road, where gangs of
+young thieves nightly assembled.&nbsp; On Wednesday last, several
+inhabitants of Mortimer Market attended at the Office to complain
+of the former establishment, when Mr. Rogers granted a warrant to
+apprehend the whole of the parties concerned, and on Thursday
+night, Duke, Baylis and Halls, of this Office, in company with
+Inspector Jenkins and a body of constables, proceeded to the
+theatre, and captured the manager, performers, and musicians, and
+the whole of them were, yesterday, brought to the office, and
+placed at the bar, when the office was excessively crowded.</p>
+<p><!-- page 38--><a name="page38"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+38</span>There were twelve prisoners, some of whom were attired
+in their theatrical habiliments, with their countenances painted,
+which made a very grotesque appearance.</p>
+<p>Duke being sworn, stated that, in consequence of a warrant, on
+Thursday night last, about 9 o&rsquo;clock, he proceeded, with
+other officers, to a penny theatre in Mortimer Market, St.
+Pancras, where he found the whole of the prisoners, some of whom
+were engaged in performing their parts, whilst Ewyn, the manager,
+was employed in taking money at the doors, and the woman, Green,
+was acting as check taker.&nbsp; Campbell and Lewis were enacting
+their parts upon the stage, and Joseph Burrows was in his
+theatrical dress between them, with his face painted and wearing
+a huge pair of moustaches.&nbsp; John Pillar was in a temporary
+orchestra with a large violoncello, scraping away most
+melodramatically, whilst the players were endeavouring to humour
+the sounds, and to suit their action to the word, and the word to
+the action; and just at that part of the performance when Burrows
+had to exclaim, &ldquo;The officers of justice are coming,&rdquo;
+witness and his brother officers rushed upon the stage, and
+apprehended the whole of them.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rogers: What description of audience was there?</p>
+<p>Duke: A dirty, ragged set, principally consisting of boys and
+girls; two of them were barefooted, and had scarce a rag to cover
+them, and did not seem to have been washed for a month.&nbsp; The
+theatre was of the most wretched description; there was a
+temporary stage, and bits of scenery.&nbsp; The boys said they
+were errand boys and servants.&nbsp; Brierly and Smith said they
+were country actors out of an engagement, and had visited the
+place out of curiosity.</p>
+<p>Mr. Mallett: Had they an inscription that they were
+&ldquo;Licensed pursuant to Act of Parliament&rdquo;?</p>
+<p>Duke: They had not.&nbsp; On the gates was written up,
+&ldquo;For this evening&rsquo;s performance The Spectre of the
+Grave; after which, a comic song by Mr. Ewyn; to conclude with
+The Key of the Little Door.&rdquo;&nbsp; They found various
+theatrical dresses and other properties, with stars, swords,
+etc., now produced.</p>
+<p><!-- page 39--><a name="page39"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+39</span>Baylis proved having paid 1d. for admission.&nbsp; He
+paid the money to the woman Green.&nbsp; Ewyn was at the door,
+and he confessed that he was the manager.&nbsp; He took him into
+custody, and, subsequently, he apprehended Lewis and Campbell, at
+the back of the stage, in their theatrical dresses.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rogers: Have you got &ldquo;The Spectre of the
+Grave&rdquo; here?</p>
+<p>Inspector Jenkins: No, your Worship, he vanished.&nbsp; The
+other male performers were dressed in sandals and armour, with
+their helmets up.</p>
+<p>Hall and the other officers corroborated the above
+evidence.&nbsp; Several inhabitants of Mortimer Market proved
+that they were, every night, alarmed by firing off guns, cries of
+&ldquo;Fire,&rdquo; clashing of swords, the most boisterous
+ranting and shrieks from the voices of the ladies of the <i>corps
+dramatique</i>, and the place was a perfect nuisance to the
+neighbourhood.</p>
+<p>The owner of the place stated that, on the 24th of January, he
+let the place to a person named Summers, for chair making, when
+it was turned into a theatre.</p>
+<p>Ewyn said he had engaged with Summers to divide the profits of
+the theatrical speculation.&nbsp; Summers agreed to take the
+place, and he (Ewyn) to provide the scenery and wardrobe;
+&ldquo;and proud I am to say, that I have conducted the consarn
+respectably, which some of the neighbours can testify.&nbsp; This
+is the head and front of my offending&mdash;no more.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Inspector Jenkins said that, about a month ago, he called on
+Ewyn and cautioned him, but he said that the magistrates had
+nothing to do with the matter.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rogers, addressing the prisoners, said they had received a
+warning which they did not heed.&nbsp; He should not order them
+to find bail, but would discharge them; and, if they dared to
+repeat their performances after this admonition, he would grant a
+warrant for their apprehension, and every one of them should find
+bail, or be committed.&nbsp; They held out temptation to the
+children of poor persons, some of whom, it appears, were without
+shoes and nearly naked, who robbed <!-- page 40--><a
+name="page40"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 40</span>their
+parents, or others, for the purpose of procuring the penny for
+admission.&nbsp; He would order their paraphernalia to be
+restored to them, but, on condition that they would remove their
+fittings, and desist from any future performances.</p>
+<p>Ewyn: You must give me time to take down the seats and
+decorations.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rogers: You must take them down this day.</p>
+<p>Ewyn (with a start): What! this day?&nbsp; Impossible.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rogers directed Inspector Jones to see the mandate
+obeyed.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The month of April is famous for the inauguration of steam
+traffic between England and America.&nbsp; A vessel named the
+<i>Savannah</i> had in 1819 crossed from America to England, but
+her steam was only intended to be auxiliary to her sailing power,
+for her boilers had only a pressure of 20 lbs. to the square
+inch.&nbsp; She sailed from New York on 28 Mar., 1819, reached
+Savannah on 7 Ap., and anchored at Liverpool on 19 June; on her
+return home her engines were taken out, and she was finally lost
+off Long Island.&nbsp; In 1836 the Great Western Railway founded
+the Great Western Steam Co., whose vessels were intended to run
+from Bristol in co-operation with the railway, and the first ship
+built was the Great Western, the largest steamer then
+afloat.&nbsp; She was 236 feet long and her engines showed 750
+indicated horse power, her registered tonnage being 1,300.&nbsp;
+She was intended to be the pioneer ship, and was ready for sea in
+April, 1838; but competition was as keen then as now, and the St.
+Georges Steam Packet Coy. started their s.s. Sirius, for the
+voyage to New York, from London, on the 29th March.&nbsp; She had
+a tonnage of 700 tons, and her engines were of 320
+horse-power.&nbsp; She was elegantly fitted-up, and started with
+22 passengers, whose number was increased at Cork, and, being
+intended solely for a passenger boat, carried no cargo.&nbsp; On
+going down the Thames, she encountered her rival, the Great
+Western, which had a pleasure party on board, and a trial of
+speed took place between the two, resulting in favour of the
+Sirius.&nbsp; She sailed from Cork on 9th April.&nbsp; The Great
+<!-- page 41--><a name="page41"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+41</span>Western sailed from Bristol on the 12th April, and both
+reached New York on the same day, the Sirius being first.&nbsp;
+The Great Western made, in all, 64 passages between the two
+countries, her fastest passage occupying 12 days, 7&frac12;
+hours.&nbsp; At the present writing, the record voyage for an
+English steamer (the <i>Lucania</i>) is 5 days, 7 hours, 23
+minutes.</p>
+<p>The <i>Manchester Guardian</i> of 14th April gives an account
+of a woman living in that city, who for many years passed as a
+man, which has occurred before, but the extraordinary part of
+this story is that she <i>married another
+woman</i>.&mdash;&ldquo;Subsequent inquiries confirm the truth of
+the statements made in the <i>Guardian</i> of Wednesday last, as
+to this singular case.&nbsp; This woman man, who, for probably
+more than 25 years, has succeeded in concealing her sex, and in
+pursuing a trade of more than ordinarily masculine and hazardous
+description, with a degree of skill and ability which has led to
+her establishment in a good business in this town, bound herself
+apprentice, at the age of 16 or 17 years, to a Mr. Peacock, a
+bricklayer and builder, at Bawtry, a small market town in the
+West Riding of Yorkshire.&nbsp; She did not remain with Mr.
+Peacock during the whole period of her apprenticeship, but was
+&lsquo;turned over,&rsquo; as it is called, to another person in
+the same business.&nbsp; It was during her apprenticeship that
+she met with her present wife; and they were married at the old
+parish church of Sheffield, in the year 1816, when the wife was
+only 17 years old.&nbsp; Since the investigation and disclosure
+of the circumstances, on Thursday week, the wife and husband have
+separated.&nbsp; She was, for many years, a special constable in
+the 13th division of that body, acting for this town; and we are
+assured that, on all occasions when the services of the division
+were required, as at elections, Orange processions, and meetings
+of trades&rsquo; unions, turn-outs, etc., so far from absenting
+herself from what, as in the case of well founded apprehension of
+a riot, must have been, to a woman, a post of some
+unpleasantness, she is remembered to have been one of the most
+punctual in attendance, and the most forward volunteer in actual
+duty, in that division.&nbsp; We <!-- page 42--><a
+name="page42"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 42</span>understand
+that she is no longer a special constable, because she did not,
+on the last annual special session, held for that purpose at the
+New Bailey, present herself to be resworn.&nbsp; She was not
+discarded or discharged; there was no complaint against her; and,
+probably, the extension of her own business was her only motive
+for not resuming the duties of this office.&nbsp; Altogether,
+this is the most singular case of the kind which has ever reached
+our knowledge.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The following is an advertisement which appeared in the
+<i>Times</i> of 27th April:&mdash;&ldquo;<span
+class="smcap">Nelson Monument</span>.&mdash;The Committee for
+erecting a Monument to the Memory of Lord Nelson hereby give
+notice that they are desirous of receiving from architects,
+artists, or other persons, <span class="smcap">Designs</span> for
+such a <span class="smcap">Monument</span>, to be erected in
+Trafalgar Square.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Committee cannot, in the present state of the
+subscriptions, fix definitely the sum to be expended, but they
+recommend that the estimated cost of the several designs should
+be confined within the sums of &pound;20,000 and
+&pound;30,000.&nbsp; This condition, and that of the intended
+site, are the only restrictions to which the artists are
+limited.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In the same newspaper of 16 May, we read of a punishment which
+might, occasionally, be revived with advantage, as being less
+dangerous than the ducking stool, and, probably, quite as
+efficacious, although we have the authority of St. James,
+&ldquo;For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents,
+and of things of the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of
+mankind, but the tongue can no man tame.&rdquo;&nbsp; It relates
+how, &ldquo;at the Mayor&rsquo;s Court, Stafford, last week,
+Mary, wife of Thomas Careless, of the Broad Eye, a perfect
+termagant, was ordered to pay 1/- penalty, and 7/6 costs, for an
+unprovoked assault on Mary, the wife of Lewis Bromley.&nbsp;
+During the investigation, her garrulity was so incessant that the
+mayor was under the necessity of sending for the
+&lsquo;scold&rsquo;s bridle,&rsquo; an iron instrument of very
+antique construction, which, in olden times, was occasionally
+called into use.&nbsp; It is formed of an elliptical bow of iron,
+enclosing the head from the lower extremity of one ear to the
+other, with a transverse piece of iron from the nape of the neck
+to the mouth, and completely <!-- page 43--><a
+name="page43"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 43</span>covers the
+tongue, preventing its movement, and the whole machinery, when
+adjusted, is locked at the back of the head.&nbsp; The bridle is
+to be put in thorough repair, and hung <i>in terrorem</i> in the
+Mayor&rsquo;s office, to be used as occasion may call it
+forth.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>These &ldquo;scold&rsquo;s bridles,&rdquo; or
+&ldquo;branks,&rdquo; as they are sometimes called, are not
+uncommon.&nbsp; The earliest dated one is preserved at
+Walton-on-Thames, and bears the date 1633, with the
+inscription:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Chester presents Walton with a bridle,<br
+/>
+To curb women&rsquo;s tongues that talk to idle.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Brayley, in his &ldquo;History of Surrey,&rdquo; says that it
+was given by a gentleman named Chester, who lost a valuable
+estate through a gossiping, lying woman; but, as there are
+several examples of branks in the Palatinate, one being kept in
+the gaol at Chester, some people think it was a present from that
+city.&nbsp; There is one at Leicester, and another at
+Newcastle-on-Tyne, which used to hang in the mayor&rsquo;s
+parlour, and tradition has it that many cases of disputes between
+women have been speedily and satisfactorily settled on his
+worship&rsquo;s pointing to these branks.</p>
+<p>There is one in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, which is very
+tender as far as the gag is concerned, but which has a leading
+chain fastened between the eyes.&nbsp; Hainstall, Ridware,
+Lichfield, Morpeth, Shrewsbury, Holme, Kendal, Altrincham,
+Macclesfield, Congleton (where it was last used in 1824), all
+have examples, whilst Chester has four!&nbsp; There are several
+in Scotland, and there are some in private hands, notably one
+which used to be in the Mayer Museum, Liverpool, which came from
+Warrington, where, however, the brank formerly used at Carrington
+is preserved, and there are several
+places&mdash;Newcastle-under-Lyne (now in the Mayer Collection),
+Manchester, and others&mdash;where they have existed.&nbsp; There
+is a very grotesque one in Doddington Park, which is a mask,
+having eyeholes, and a long funnel-shaped peak projecting from
+the mouth; and there are some very terribly cruel ones, <!-- page
+44--><a name="page44"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 44</span>with
+fearful gags; but these can scarcely come under scold&rsquo;s or
+gossip&rsquo;s bridles.&nbsp; There was one at Forfar, with a
+spiked gag, which pierced the tongue, and an even more severe one
+is at Stockport; whilst those at Ludlow and Worcester are, also,
+instruments of torture.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 45--><a name="page45"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+45</span>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Thom, the religious fanatic&mdash;His riots
+and death&mdash;Delusions of his followers.</p>
+<p>From the earliest ages of Christianity <i>pseudo-Christoi</i>,
+or false Christs, existed.&nbsp; Simon Magus, Dositheus, and the
+famous Barcochab were among the first of them, and they were
+followed by Moses, in Crete, in the fifth century; Julian, in
+Palestine, <i>circa</i> A.D. 530; and Screnus, in Spain,
+<i>circa</i> A.D. 714.&nbsp; There were, in the 12th century,
+some seven or eight in France, Spain and Persia; and, coming to
+more modern times, there was Sabbatai Zewi, a native of Aleppo,
+or Smyrna, who proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, in
+Jerusalem, <i>circa</i> 1666.&nbsp; A list of religious fanatics
+would be a long one, but the <i>pseudo-Christos</i> of modern
+times was, certainly, John Nicholl Thom, of St. Columb, Cornwall,
+<i>alias</i> Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtenay, Knight of
+Malta, and King of Jerusalem; who also claimed to be Jesus
+Christ, in proof of which he shewed punctures in his hands, and a
+cicatrice on his side.</p>
+<p>He was first introduced to public notice in Michaelmas, 1832,
+when he paid a visit to Canterbury, and took up his abode, for
+some time, at the &ldquo;Rose Inn,&rdquo; where he was remarkable
+for his eccentric behaviour, passing under the name of
+Rothschild.&nbsp; His countenance and costume denoted foreign
+extraction, while his language and conversation showed that he
+was well acquainted with almost every part of the kingdom.&nbsp;
+He often dressed in a fine suit of Italian clothing, and,
+sometimes, in the gayer and more imposing costume of the
+east.&nbsp; In December of the same year, he surprised the
+inhabitants of Canterbury by proposing himself as a candidate
+<!-- page 46--><a name="page46"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+46</span>for the representation of that city in Parliament, under
+the name of Sir W. P. H. Courtenay.&nbsp; His canvass proceeded
+with extraordinary success; and, such were his persuasive powers,
+that people of all ranks felt an interest in his society; some,
+however, considered him insane, while others were of a contrary
+opinion, and he did not succeed in his ambition.</p>
+<p>He next got mixed up in a smuggling affair, H.M. sloop
+<i>Lively</i> having captured a smuggling craft (the <i>Admiral
+Hood</i>) off the Goodwin Sands.&nbsp; He attended the
+examination of the smugglers before the magistrates at Rochester,
+attired in a fancy costume, and having a small scimitar suspended
+from his neck, by a massive gold chain.&nbsp; He defended one of
+the men, who, despite his advocacy, was convicted.&nbsp; He then
+offered himself as a witness, swore that he had seen the whole
+transaction, that there was no smuggling, and that the
+<i>Lively</i> was to blame.&nbsp; This the prosecution could not
+stand; he was indicted for perjury, and was tried at Maidstone on
+25 July, 1833.&nbsp; The sentence of the Court was imprisonment
+and transportation, but, being proved to be insane, this was
+commuted to confinement in the lunatic asylum, at Barming
+Heath.&nbsp; After about four years spent in this establishment,
+he was released, on security being given for his future good
+behaviour.&nbsp; He then went to live at the residence of Mr.
+Francis, of Fairbrook, in the neighbourhood of Boughton, near
+Canterbury.&nbsp; Owing to some misunderstanding with the family,
+he removed to an adjoining cottage, and, at the time of which I
+write, he lived at a farm-house, called Bossenden farm, occupied
+by a person named Culver.</p>
+<p>The influence obtained, by this maniac, over the small farmers
+and peasantry in his neighbourhood, is most astonishing.&nbsp;
+They believed in all he told them; first that he should be a
+great chieftain in Kent, and that they should all live rent free
+on his land, and that if they would follow his advice, they
+should have good living and large estates, as he had great
+influence at Court, and was to sit at the Queen&rsquo;s right
+hand, on the day of her Coronation.&nbsp; It would seem as if his
+madness, then, was personal and political, but the religious
+mania speedily developed itself.&nbsp; He told his deluded <!--
+page 48--><a name="page48"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+48</span>followers that they were oppressed by the laws in
+general, but more particularly by the new poor law; and called
+upon them to place themselves under his command.&nbsp; Nearly 100
+at once joined him, and as they marched through the neighbouring
+parishes their numbers increased.&nbsp; It was then that he
+proclaimed his divinity&mdash;assuring them that both he and they
+were not only invincible, but bullet proof, and that they could
+never die.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p47b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Death of Sir Wm. Courtenay.  (Thom).  1838"
+title=
+"Death of Sir Wm. Courtenay.  (Thom).  1838"
+src="images/p47s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>The following account, which appears to me to be the most
+succinct of those I have seen, is from the <i>Times</i> of 1
+June:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;On Monday (28 May) they sallied forth from
+the village of Boughton, where they bought bread, and proceeded
+to Wills&rsquo;s house, near Fairbrook.&nbsp; A loaf was broken
+asunder, and placed on a pole, with a flag of white and blue, on
+which was a rampant lion.&nbsp; Thence they proceeded to
+Goodnestone, near Faversham, producing throughout the whole
+neighbourhood the greatest excitement, and adding to their
+numbers by the harangues occasionally delivered by this ill-fated
+madman.&nbsp; At this farm Courtenay stated that &lsquo;he would
+strike the bloody blow.&rsquo;&nbsp; A match was then taken from
+a bean stack, which had been introduced by one of the
+party.&nbsp; They next proceeded to a farm at Herne Hill, where
+Courtenay requested the inmates to feed his friends, which
+request was immediately complied with.&nbsp; Their next visit was
+at Dargate Common, where Sir William, taking off his shoes, said,
+&lsquo;I now stand on my own bottom.&rsquo;&nbsp; By Sir
+William&rsquo;s request, his party went to prayers, and then
+proceeded to Bossenden farm, where they supped, and slept in the
+barn that night.&nbsp; At 3 o&rsquo;clock, on Tuesday morning
+they left, and proceeded to Sittingbourne to breakfast, where Sir
+William paid 25s.; they then visited Newnham, where a similar
+treat was given at the &lsquo;George.&rsquo;&nbsp; After visiting
+Eastling, Throwley, Selwich Lees and Selling, and occasionally
+addressing the populace, holding out to them such inducements as
+are usually made by persons desirous of creating a disturbance,
+they halted, in a chalk pit, to rest, and, on Wednesday evening,
+arrived at Culver&rsquo;s farm, called Bossenden, <!-- page
+49--><a name="page49"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 49</span>close
+to the scene of action.&nbsp; Mr. Curling, having had some of his
+men enticed from their work, applied for a warrant for their
+apprehension.&nbsp; Mears, a constable, in company with his
+brother, proceeded to Culver&rsquo;s house, when, on application
+being made for the men alluded to, Sir William immediately shot
+the young man who accompanied his brother in the execution of his
+duty.&nbsp; Such was the excitement, and the desperate menaces of
+Sir William and his party, that it became necessary for the
+magistrates to interfere to put a stop to the proceedings, by the
+capture of the ringleader of the party, from whose advice to his
+followers the most serious consequences were likely to
+ensue.&nbsp; At 12 o&rsquo;clock, they assembled at a place
+called the Osier Bed, where every means were resorted to, to
+quell the disturbance, but without success.&nbsp; Sir William
+defied interruption to his men, and fired on the Rev. William
+Handley, of Herne Hill, who, with his brother, was assisting to
+take him into custody.&nbsp; They then made their way to
+Bossenden Wood, where they lay in ambush; but, as no means
+appeared to present themselves, by which the ringleader could
+safely be secured, he being evidently mad, and in possession of
+loaded firearms, threatening to shoot the first man who
+interfered with him, it became necessary to apply for the
+assistance of the 45th regiment, stationed in Canterbury
+barracks.&nbsp; On the arrival of a detachment of this regiment,
+they proceeded to the wood, where the party was awaiting their
+arrival.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A few minutes previous to the attack, Sir William
+loudly halloed to his companions, supposed for the purpose of
+getting them prepared for the fight.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sir William, on perceiving his opponents, advanced with
+the greatest <i>sang froid</i>, and deliberately shot Lieutenant
+Bennett of the regiment, before his own men.&nbsp; This
+occasioned a return from the man covering his officer, who
+advanced, and shot Sir William, who fell, and died
+instantly.&nbsp; The excitement, at that period, occasioned by
+each party losing its commander, caused a desperate attack, which
+terminated in the death of ten persons, besides the brother of
+the constable shot in the morning, and several others seriously
+<!-- page 50--><a name="page50"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+50</span>wounded, of some of whom little hopes are entertained of
+their recovery.&nbsp; The weapons in the hands of the followers
+of Sir William, were chiefly, if not altogether, heavy
+bludgeons.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The following, from a correspondent, goes far to show the
+delusions shared by this maniac and his followers:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The mention of this lad&rsquo;s name,
+reminds me that his mother is said to have done more than any
+other person in the parish to foster and encourage the belief
+which she herself entertained, that Thom was our blessed Redeemer
+and Saviour.&nbsp; So steadfast was she in her belief, that when,
+after the battle in the wood, a neighbour went to tell her
+&lsquo;the awful news,&rsquo; that Thom was killed, and her own
+son wounded, she would not credit the information.&nbsp;
+&lsquo;Sir William killed!&rsquo; said she, &lsquo;no, no, you
+can&rsquo;t kill him; it is not the truth, it is not
+possible.&rsquo;&nbsp; The reply to her was: &lsquo;It is the
+truth, and it is possible.&rsquo;&nbsp; She again asserted that
+it was not possible.&nbsp; Again the reply was: &lsquo;It is
+possible, and it is as true as that your poor boy has got a shot
+in his thigh.&rsquo;&nbsp; Then, and not till then, would she
+credit that her son was hurt.&nbsp; But as to Sir William, she
+still remained incredulous, saying: &lsquo;Mind, three days will
+show you and all the world what Sir William is.&nbsp; When that
+time is elapsed, you will see whether he is not that which he
+professes to be.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of the general belief in the neighbourhood that he was
+the Saviour, I saw a strong proof in some writing which I found
+on the parsonage barn at Herne Hill.&nbsp; It has been there for
+the last ten days, and is said to be in the handwriting of
+Wills.&nbsp; On the left side of the door is written, in one long
+line, these words, with spelling and capitals just as I have
+copied them:&mdash;&lsquo;If you newho was on earth your harts
+Wod turn&rsquo;; then in another: &lsquo;But dont Wate to
+late&rsquo;; and then, in a third, &lsquo;They how
+R.&rsquo;&nbsp; On the right side of the door is the following:
+&lsquo;O that great day of gudgment, is close at hand&rsquo;; in
+another: &lsquo;it now peps in the dor every man according to his
+woks&rsquo;; and in a third: &lsquo;Our rites and liberties We
+Will have.&rsquo;&nbsp; I mentioned some of them in a former
+communication.&nbsp; At one of the places where he <!-- page
+51--><a name="page51"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+51</span>ordered provisions for his followers, it was in these
+words: &lsquo;Feed my sheep.&rsquo;&nbsp; To convince his
+disciples of his divine commission, he is said to have pointed
+his pistol at the stars, and told him that he would make them
+fall from their spheres.&nbsp; He then fired at some particularly
+bright star; and, his pistol having been rammed down with tow
+steeped in oil, and sprinkled over with steel filings, produced,
+on being fired, certain bright sparkles of light, which he
+immediately said were falling stars.&nbsp; Again, in the early
+part of his progress on Monday, he went away from his followers
+with a man named Wills, and two of the other rioters, saying to
+them, &lsquo;Do you stay here, whilst I go yonder,&rsquo;
+pointing to a bean stack, &lsquo;and strike the bloody
+blow.&rsquo;&nbsp; When they arrived at the stack, to which they
+marched with a flag, the flag bearer laid his flag on the ground,
+and knelt down to pray.&nbsp; The others then put in, it is said,
+a lighted match; but Thom seized it and forbade it to burn, and
+the fire was not kindled.&nbsp; This, on their return to the
+company, was announced as a miracle worked by the Saviour.&nbsp;
+There is another of his acts, which he mentioned as one of the
+proofs of his Divinity, that I confess myself at a loss to
+understand.&nbsp; After he had fired one shot at the constable,
+Mears, and subsequently chopped at him with his dirk, he went
+into the house, seized a loaded pistol, and on coming out, said:
+&lsquo;Now, am I not your Saviour?&rsquo;&nbsp; The words were
+scarcely out of his mouth, when he pulled the trigger of his
+pistol, and shot Mears a second time.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>He administered a parody on the blessed Sacrament, in bread
+and water to his followers, before the encounter and harangued
+them.&nbsp; He told them on this occasion, as he did on many
+others, that there was great opposition in the land, and, indeed,
+throughout the world, but, that if they would follow him, he
+would lead them on to glory.&nbsp; He told them he had come to
+earth on a cloud, and that, on a cloud, he should some day be
+removed from them; that neither bullets nor weapons could injure
+him, or them, if they had but faith in him as their Saviour: and
+that if 10,000 soldiers came against them, they would either turn
+to their side, or <!-- page 52--><a name="page52"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 52</span>fall dead at his command.&nbsp; At
+the end of his harangue, Alexander Foad, a respectable farmer,
+and one of his followers, knelt down at his feet and worshipped
+him; and so did another man named Brankford.&nbsp; Foad then
+asked Thom whether he should follow him in the body, or go home
+and follow him in heart.&nbsp; To this Thom replied:
+&ldquo;Follow me in the body.&rdquo;&nbsp; Foad then sprang on
+his feet in an ecstasy of joy, and, with a voice of great
+animation, exclaimed: &ldquo;Oh, be joyful!&nbsp; Oh, be
+joyful!&nbsp; The Saviour has accepted me.&nbsp; Go on&mdash;go
+on, till I drop, I&rsquo;ll follow thee!&rdquo;&nbsp; Brankford
+was also accepted as a follower, and exhibited the same
+enthusiastic fervour, while Thom uttered terrific denunciations
+of eternal torture in hell fire against all who should refuse to
+follow him.</p>
+<p>With the death of Thom and his deluded followers, the
+excitement calmed down, and entirely subsided after the trial of
+nine prisoners, which took place at Maidstone, on the 9th of
+August, before Lord Denman.&nbsp; They were charged on two
+counts: first, with aiding and abetting John Thom, <i>alias</i>
+Courtenay, in the murder of Nicholas Mears, on the 31st of May,
+and second, with being principals in the murder.&nbsp; Lord
+Denman charged the jury that, if they were of opinion that Thom
+was of unsound mind, so that, if he had been put upon his trial,
+he could not have been convicted of murder, the principal being
+acquitted, the accessories must also be acquitted, and the
+prisoners could not be found guilty on the first count.&nbsp;
+This, the jury acquiesced in, and brought in a verdict of
+&ldquo;guilty&rdquo; on the second count, with a strong
+recommendation to mercy on account of the infatuation under which
+they were led astray by Courtenay.&nbsp; Lord Denman pronounced
+sentence of death upon the prisoners, but added, that their lives
+would be spared.&nbsp; Two were sentenced to transportation for
+life; one to transportation for ten years; and the remainder to
+be imprisoned for one year, and kept to hard labour in the House
+of Correction, one month in solitary confinement.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 53--><a name="page53"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+53</span>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">The Queen&rsquo;s Coronation&mdash;The
+Carriages&mdash;The fair and festivities in Hyde Park&mdash;The
+Marquis of Waterford&rsquo;s drive&mdash;His pranks at Melton
+Mowbray&mdash;Steam carriages&mdash;Dog carriages&mdash;Grand
+dinner at Guildhall.</p>
+<p>The next event which occupied the public attention was the
+Queen&rsquo;s Coronation, which took place on the 28th of
+June.&nbsp; It was, like the &ldquo;Half Crownation&rdquo; of
+William IV., a much plainer affair than that of George the
+Magnificent, the walking procession of all the estates of the
+realm, and the banquet in Westminster Hall, with all the feudal
+services thereunto belonging, being wholly dispensed with.&nbsp;
+The day began badly, with a cold shower about 8 a.m., but it
+cleared off, and the sun shone out fitfully, throughout the time
+the ceremony occupied&mdash;the head of the procession starting
+from Buckingham Palace at 10 a.m., and the Queen reaching
+Westminster Abbey at half-past eleven.&nbsp; Next to the Queen
+herself, the principal attraction in the procession was the
+equipages and liveries of the Ambassadors Extraordinary, chief
+among which was the carriage of Marshal Soult (who represented
+France), which had formerly belonged to the last great prince of
+the House of Cond&eacute;, the father of the Duc de Bourbon, and
+which, by its superior magnificence, eclipsed all other
+vehicles.&nbsp; Besides which, it held the Duke of Dalmatia,
+Wellington&rsquo;s old foe, who had now come to visit, in peace,
+the country he had so manfully fought against.</p>
+<p>Of the ceremony itself, I say nothing&mdash;everything was
+done decorously and in order.&nbsp; It took a long time, for it
+was a quarter to four when the royal procession reformed and took
+its way through the nave of the abbey.&nbsp; The Queen
+entertained a party of 100 at dinner; and, in the evening,
+witnessed, <!-- page 54--><a name="page54"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 54</span>from the roof of her palace, the
+fireworks discharged in the Green Park.&nbsp; The Duke of
+Wellington gave a grand ball at Apsley House, for which cards of
+invitation were issued for 2,000 persons.</p>
+<p>As an indication of the numbers of people set down at the
+Abbey, I may mention that the carriages which were ordered to
+proceed (after setting down) to the south side of Westminster
+Bridge, occupied a line from the bridge to Kennington Cross (more
+than a mile).&nbsp; The carriages which were to proceed, after
+setting down their company, to the west side of London, formed a
+line nearly to Kensington (a mile and a half).&nbsp; Those
+ordered to wait in the Strand extended, in double lines, to St.
+Mary le Strand, and those directed to wait in Bird Cage Walk, St.
+James&rsquo;s Park, occupied (in double rows) the whole line to
+Buckingham Palace.</p>
+<p>There was a balloon ascent from Hyde Park, which was a
+comparative failure, for it descended in Marylebone Lane, quite
+done up with its short journey, and another sent up from
+Vauxhall, which was more successful.&nbsp; There were grand
+displays of fireworks in the Green and Hyde Parks, and all London
+was most beautifully and brilliantly illuminated.</p>
+<p>But the great thing was the Fair in Hyde Park, which had
+official leave to exist for two days&mdash;but which, in fact,
+lasted four.&nbsp; The area allotted to it comprised nearly one
+third of the Park, extending from near the margin of the
+Serpentine to within a short distance of Grosvenor Gate.&nbsp;
+The best account I know of this Fair is in <i>The Morning
+Chronicle</i> of 29 June, and I here reproduce it:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Of all the scenes which we witnessed,
+connected with the Coronation, probably this was the most lively,
+and that in which there was the least confusion, considering the
+mass of persons collected together.&nbsp; Our readers are already
+aware that the Fair was permitted to take place by the
+Government, on the petition of the present holders of the show
+which formerly belonged to the celebrated Richardson; and it was
+to their care, together with that of Mr. Mallalieu, the
+Superintendent of Police, that its general management was
+entrusted.&nbsp; In justice to those gentlemen, we must say that
+the arrangements <!-- page 55--><a name="page55"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 55</span>made for the accommodation of the
+public were admirable, while they were carried out with the very
+greatest success.&nbsp; The booths were arranged in a square
+form, and covered a space of ground about 1,400 feet long and
+about 1,000 feet broad.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They were arranged in regular rows, ample space being
+allowed between them for the free passage of the people; and they
+consisted of every variety of shape, while they were decked with
+flags of all colours and nations.&nbsp; One portion of the fair
+was set apart exclusively for ginger-bread and fancy booths,
+while those rows by which these were surrounded were appropriated
+to the use of showmen, and of persons who dealt in the more
+substantial articles of refreshment.&nbsp; Of the latter
+description, however, the readers would recognize many as regular
+frequenters of such scenes; but, probably, the booth which
+attracted the greatest attention, from its magnitude, was that
+erected by Williams, the celebrated boiled beef monger of the Old
+Bailey.&nbsp; This was pitched in the broadest part of the fair,
+and immediately adjoining Richardson&rsquo;s show; and, at the
+top of it was erected a gallery for the use of those who were
+desirous of witnessing the fireworks in the evening, and, to
+which, access was to be procured by payment of a small sum.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;While this person, and the no less celebrated Alger,
+the proprietor of the Crown and Anchor, were astonishing the
+visitors with the enormous extent of the accommodation which they
+could afford the public, others set up claims of a character more
+agreeable to the age in the exceedingly tasty mode in which they
+had decorated their temporary houses.&nbsp; Of these, that which
+struck us as most to be admired, was a tent erected by a person
+named Bull, of Hackney, the interior of which, decorated with
+fluted pillars of glazed calico, had a really beautiful
+appearance.&nbsp; It would be useless, however, to attempt to
+particularize every booth, for each held out its alluring
+attractions to the gaping crowd with equal force, and each
+appeared to be sufficiently patronized by the friends of its
+proprietor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not a few, in addition to the solid attractions of
+eating <!-- page 56--><a name="page56"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 56</span>and drinking, held out those of a
+more &lsquo;airy&rsquo; description, and, in many, it was
+announced that a &lsquo;grand ball&rsquo; would be held in the
+evening, &lsquo;to commence at six o&rsquo;clock&rsquo;; whilst,
+in others, bands of music were heard &lsquo;in full play,&rsquo;
+joining their sweet sounds to the melodious beatings of gongs and
+shouting through trumpets of the adjoining shows.&nbsp; In
+attractions of this kind we need only say that the fair was, in
+most respects, fully equal to any other at which we ever had the
+good fortune to be present, whether at Greenwich, or Croydon, or
+in any other of the suburban or metropolitan districts.&nbsp;
+Beef and ham, beer and wine, chickens and salad, were all equally
+plentiful, and the taste of the most fastidious might be pleased
+as to the quality, or the quantity, of the provisions provided
+for him.&nbsp; In the pastry cooks&rsquo; booths, the usual
+variety of gingerbread nuts, and gilt cocks in breeches, and
+kings and queens, were to be procured; while, in some of them,
+the more refined luxury of ices was advertised, an innovation
+upon the ancient style of refreshment which we, certainly, had
+never expected to see introduced into the canvas shops of the
+fair pastry cooks.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;While these <i>marchands</i> were holding out their
+various attractions to the physical tastes of the assembled
+multitude, the showkeepers were not less actively employed in
+endeavouring to please the eye of those who were willing to enjoy
+their buffooneries, or their wonders.&nbsp; Fat boys and living
+skeletons, Irish giants and Welsh dwarfs, children with two
+heads, and animals without any heads at all, were among the least
+of the wonders to be seen; while the more rational exhibition of
+wild beasts joined with the mysterious wonders of the conjuror
+and the athletic performances of tumblers, in calling forth
+expressions of surprise and delight from the old, as well as from
+the young, who were induced to contribute their pennies &lsquo;to
+see the show.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nor were these the only modes of procuring amusement
+which presented themselves.&nbsp; On the Serpentine river a
+number of boats had been launched, which had been procured from
+the Thames, and watermen were employed, during the whole day, in
+rowing about those who were anxious to enjoy <!-- page 57--><a
+name="page57"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 57</span>the
+refreshing coolness of the water after the turmoil and heat of
+the fair.&nbsp; Ponies and donkeys were in the outskirts of the
+fair, plentiful, for the use of the young who were inclined for
+equestrian exercise, while archery grounds and throw sticks held
+out their attractions to the adepts in such practices, and
+roundabouts and swings were ready to gratify the tastes of the
+adventurous.&nbsp; Kensington Gardens were, as usual, open to the
+public, and not a few who were fearful of joining in the crowd,
+contented themselves here, in viewing the gay scene from a
+distance.&nbsp; Timorous, however, as they might be, of personal
+inconvenience, they did not fail to enjoy the opportunities which
+were afforded them of looking into the book of fate; and we
+observed many of the fairest parts of the creation busily engaged
+in deep and private confabulations with those renowned seers, the
+gypsies.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;With regard to those persons who visited the fair, we
+must say we never saw a more orderly body.&nbsp; From an early
+hour the visitors were flocking in; but it was not until Her
+Majesty had gone to Westminster Abbey that the avenues
+approaching Hyde Park became crowded.&nbsp; Then, indeed, the
+countless thousands of London appeared to be poured forth, and
+all seemed to be bound for the same point of destination.&nbsp;
+Thousands who had taken up their standing places at Hyde Park
+Corner, poured through the gate; whilst many who had assumed
+positions at a greater distance from the Parks, passed through
+the squares and through Grosvenor Gate.&nbsp; Every avenue was
+soon filled, every booth was soon crammed full of persons
+desirous of procuring refreshment and rest after the fatigue of
+standing so long in the crowd to view the procession.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These, however, were not the only persons who joined
+the throng.&nbsp; Every cab, coach, or omnibus which had been
+left disengaged, appeared to be driving to the same point, full
+of passengers.&nbsp; Fulham, Putney, Mile End and Brixton alike
+contributed their vehicles to carry the people to the Parks, and
+thousands from the very extremity of the City were to be seen
+flocking towards the Fair.&nbsp; All seemed bent on the same
+object, that of procuring amusement, and work <!-- page 58--><a
+name="page58"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 58</span>seemed to
+have been suspended, as if by common consent.&nbsp; While the
+East-end thrust forth her less aristocratic workmen, the West-end
+was not altogether idle in furnishing its quota to the throng,
+and we noticed many really elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen
+alight from their carriages to view the enlivening scene; and
+many of them, who were, apparently, strangers to such
+exhibitions, were, evidently, not a little amused at the
+grotesque imitations of those amusements in which the aristocracy
+delight.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Carriages of every description were admitted into the
+Parks, and the splendid carriage of an aristocrat was not
+unfrequently followed by the tilted waggon of some remover of
+furniture, with its load of men, women and children, who had come
+to &lsquo;see the fun.&rsquo;&nbsp; All seemed, alike, bent on
+amusement; all, alike, appeared to throw aside those restraints
+which rank, fashion, or station had placed upon them, and to
+enter fully into the enjoyment of the busy scene in which they
+were actors.&nbsp; The delightful locality of the Fair, the
+bright sunbeams playing upon the many-coloured tents, the joyous
+laughter of the people, untouched by debauchery, and unseduced by
+the gross pleasures of the appetite; the gay dresses of the
+women, all in their best; joined in making the scene one which
+must live long in the recollection of those who witnessed
+it.&nbsp; All appeared to remember that this was the day of the
+Coronation of a Queen, so youthful, so beautiful, so pure, and
+all appeared to be determined that no act of insubordination or
+of disorder on their part should sully the bright opening of a
+reign so hopeful, and from which so much happiness is to be
+expected.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have already said that the arrangements of the fair
+were excellent; but, while these called forth our admiration, the
+exceeding attention paid to the public by the police force
+appeared to prevent the possibility of accident or robbery.&nbsp;
+All gambling booths and thimble riggers had, of course, been
+necessarily excluded, but we fear it was not possible to shut out
+all those persons whose recollection of the laws of <i>meum</i>
+and <i>tuum</i> was somewhat blunted.&nbsp; We heard of numerous
+losses of small sums, and of handkerchiefs and other trifles,
+<!-- page 59--><a name="page59"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+59</span>but, throughout the day, we gained no information of any
+robbery which was of sufficient extent to produce more than a
+temporary inconvenience to the person robbed.&nbsp; A temporary
+police station was erected in the grounds, in which Mr. Mallalieu
+and a considerable portion of his men were in attendance during
+the day; but, although there were, necessarily, some cases in
+which slight acts of intemperance were visible, nothing of any
+serious importance occurred during the whole of the early part of
+the day.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The orderly conduct of the people, which we have
+already described as having been observable during the morning,
+was maintained through the rest of the day.&nbsp; Notwithstanding
+that the crowd, at three o&rsquo;clock, had increased tenfold, no
+disturbance nor riot occurred.&nbsp; The return of Her Majesty
+attracted a few from the crowd, but nearly every one returned,
+and all remained for the grand attraction of this part of the
+day&rsquo;s amusement&mdash;the fireworks.&nbsp; As evening
+closed in, the fatigue of the people rendered rest, as well as
+refreshment, necessary, and every booth was, in a short time,
+crowded with eager inquiries for eatables and drinkables.&nbsp;
+The dancing booths were crowded to suffocation, and the viands of
+the purveyors of grog were soon put into requisition.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The next day was stormy and wet at first, but afterwards
+turned out fine, and the Fair was crowded.&nbsp; On the third
+day, a booth caught fire, but no great damage was done.&nbsp; On
+the fourth, and last day, the Queen drove as close to it as she
+well could do, and all the booths were cleared away that
+night.</p>
+<p>The Marquis of Waterford still continued his mad pranks, and
+he was brought before Mr. Dyer, the Magistrate at Marlborough
+Street, on 30 June, charged with being drunk and disorderly in
+Piccadilly at 5 o&rsquo;clock in the morning.</p>
+<p>Policeman Ellis, C 91, saw the Marquis, with two or three
+other persons and a woman in his cab, driving down the Haymarket,
+and committing the insane freak of making the foot pavement his
+road.&nbsp; The policeman had no hope of overtaking the Marquis,
+from the speed at which his lordship was driving; he, however,
+followed as fast as he could, and, <!-- page 60--><a
+name="page60"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 60</span>when the
+Marquis turned into Piccadilly, he saw his lordship again pull
+his horse on the pavement, and drive on, to the imminent danger
+of foot passengers.&nbsp; The cab went against some posts, and
+this brought the horse to a standstill.&nbsp; The policeman ran
+up, and after much difficulty and opposition on the part of the
+Marquis&rsquo;s friends, he succeeded in lodging his lordship in
+the station house.&nbsp; His lordship was too drunk to allow his
+being enlarged on bail.</p>
+<p>In explanation, the Marquis said he had a young horse in his
+cab, which was very difficult to drive.&nbsp; The animal, having
+a heavy load behind him, became unmanageable, and went, in spite
+of all he could do, on the pavement.</p>
+<p>The policeman, in the most positive manner, said he saw the
+Marquis pull his horse upon the foot pavement, and whip the
+animal to make him go the faster.</p>
+<p>The Marquis declared, &ldquo;upon his honour,&rdquo; he did
+not go more than five yards upon the pavement.</p>
+<p>The policeman declared the Marquis drove about 100 yards on
+the pavement in the Haymarket, and about 100 yards more upon the
+pavement in Piccadilly.&nbsp; The concussion against the post was
+so great, that the woman was thrown six yards out of the cab.</p>
+<p>Marquis: I was thrown out myself.&nbsp; The fact is, I
+consider this charge to be quite unwarranted.&nbsp; No one was
+hurt, and the policeman exceeded his duty in taking me to the
+station house.</p>
+<p>Mr. Dyer: The policeman states you were intoxicated.</p>
+<p>Marquis: Why, I had been about all night, and I don&rsquo;t
+think I was very sober.</p>
+<p>Policeman: You had your collar and shirt open, and your chest
+was quite exposed.</p>
+<p>Marquis: I was dressed just as I am at present.</p>
+<p>Policeman: Your coat is now buttoned up; it was not so when I
+took you in charge.&nbsp; You said, when I took you, you would
+defy your brother to drive your horse.</p>
+<p>Marquis: I might have said so because none of my brothers are
+in town.&nbsp; But the horse is only four years old, has never
+<!-- page 61--><a name="page61"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+61</span>had a collar on before, and I&rsquo;ll defy any man to
+drive him the length of this street.</p>
+<p>Mr. Dyer: It was the more imprudent on your lordship&rsquo;s
+part to bring such an unsafe animal into the public streets,
+especially at the present time, when the streets are more than
+usually thronged.&nbsp; Have you any witnesses?</p>
+<p>Marquis: Yes, I can bring them, but I had rather not.</p>
+<p>Mr. Dyer: If they can allege anything in contradiction of the
+charge of wilful driving on the footpath, I am willing to hear
+it.</p>
+<p>Marquis: No.&nbsp; It will be a fine, I suppose, and I had
+rather pay it than trouble my friends to come forward.&nbsp;
+I&rsquo;ll call my horse, if your Worship thinks proper.</p>
+<p>Mr. Dyer then inflicted a fine of 40s.</p>
+<p>The Marquis paid the money, and, turning to the policeman,
+made some unhandsome remarks on his evidence.</p>
+<p>Mr. Dyer said the policeman bore an excellent character, and,
+as far as the magistrates could judge, had always done his duty
+fairly and respectably.</p>
+<p>The Marquis took the arm of his friend, the Earl of
+Waldegrave, and left the office.</p>
+<p>We hear of him again very shortly afterwards, for on 31 July,
+at Derby assizes, came on an indictment charging the Marquis of
+Waterford, Sir F. Johnstone, Hon. A. C. H. Villiers, and E. H.
+Reynard, Esq., with a riot and assault.&nbsp; On the 5th April
+were the Croxton Park races, about five miles distance from
+Melton Mowbray.&nbsp; The four defendants had been dining out at
+Melton on the evening of that day; and about two in the morning
+of the following day, the watchmen on duty, hearing a noise,
+proceeded to the Market Place, and near Lord Rosebery&rsquo;s
+house saw several gentlemen attempting to overturn a caravan, a
+man being inside; the watchmen succeeded in preventing this, when
+the Marquis of Waterford challenged one of them to fight, which
+the watchmen declined.&nbsp; Subsequently, hearing a noise in the
+direction of the toll bar, they proceeded thither, and found the
+gate keeper had been screwed up in his house, and he had been
+calling out &ldquo;Murder!&rdquo;</p>
+<p><!-- page 62--><a name="page62"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+62</span>On coming up with the gentlemen a second time, it was
+observed that they had a pot of red paint with them, while one
+carried a paint brush, which one of the constables wrested from
+the hand of the person who held it; but, subsequently, they
+surrounded the man, threw him on his back, and painted his face
+and neck with red paint.&nbsp; They then continued their games,
+painting the doors and windows of different persons; and, when
+one of their companions (Mr. Reynard) was put in the lock up,
+they forced the constable to give up the keys, and succeeded in
+getting him out.&nbsp; The jury found the defendants (who were
+all identified as having taken part in the affray) guilty of the
+common assault, and they were sentenced to pay a fine of
+&pound;100 each, and to be imprisoned till such fine be paid.</p>
+<p>Motor cars are not the modern invention we are apt to imagine
+them, except as regards the power used&mdash;which, until lately,
+was always steam.&nbsp; As far back as 1769, a Frenchman, named
+Cugnot, made a steam carriage which carried four people, and
+attained a speed of two and a quarter miles an hour!&nbsp; But it
+was unfortunate to its inventor&mdash;for it came to grief in a
+street in Paris, and the unhappy man was imprisoned.&nbsp; In
+England our engineers exercised their inventive power in making
+steam carriages&mdash;Murdock in 1782, Watt in 1784, Symington in
+1786&mdash;and others made models, but the first which actually
+ran in England was made by Trevithick and Vivian in 1803, and
+this, in the streets of London (which were very far from being as
+good as they are now), attained a speed of eight or nine miles an
+hour.&nbsp; Between the years 1827&ndash;34 there were numerous
+steam carriages built and tried, proving more or less
+successful.&nbsp; One made by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney ran for
+three months in 1831 with passengers between Cheltenham and
+Gloucester, while Hancock&rsquo;s steam omnibuses (carrying 14 to
+16 passengers) ran in London pretty constantly during the years
+1833&ndash;36, and often at a speed of 10 or 12 miles an hour;
+some of his coaches ran long journeys, such as from London to
+Brighton, and he was the most successful of all inventors in this
+line, <!-- page 63--><a name="page63"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 63</span>unless we except Scott Russell, who,
+in 1834, ran six steam coaches between Glasgow and Paisley.</p>
+<p>We read in the <i>Standard</i> of 21 June, 1838, that
+&ldquo;Yesterday afternoon, Hyde Park presented a more than
+usually gay appearance, in consequence of a crowd of fashionables
+being assembled to witness the trial of a newly-constructed steam
+cab.&nbsp; Among the many splendid equipages were observed those
+of the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland, the Marquis of Salisbury,
+the Marquis of Northampton, the Earl of Winchilsea, Lord Howick,
+Lord Holland, and many other distinguished personages.&nbsp;
+About 3 o&rsquo;clock the object of attraction moved forward at a
+slow pace from the old Foot Guard Barracks, Knightsbridge, and
+threaded its way through the various vehicles into the Park,
+passing through the centre gate of the triumphal arch, and
+making, in the open space opposite the statue, several turns
+within its own length.&nbsp; The vehicle after the date hereof,
+will render themselves liable to be hours round the Park, and,
+from the slight noise it made, the horses passing did not appear
+to be frightened.&nbsp; The average speed of the cab was about
+twelve miles an hour.&nbsp; The vehicle was guided by Mr.
+Hancock, the inventor.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>But, if mechanical science had advanced as far as motor cars,
+we were, in other ways, still as backward as Belgium and Germany
+are at the present, in using dogs as draught animals.&nbsp; This
+practice had increased to such an extent that it was found
+necessary to placard the walls of the metropolis with the
+following notice.&nbsp; &ldquo;Notice is hereby given, that all
+persons using dogs under carts or trucks, as beasts of burden,
+after the date hereof, will render themselves liable to be
+prosecuted, and fined &pound;2, according to the provisions of an
+obsolete Act lately discovered.&nbsp; London, 18 Aug.,
+1838.&rdquo;&nbsp; This scandal did not last long, for in
+&ldquo;an Act for further improving the Police in and near the
+Metropolis,&rdquo; 2 and 3 Vict., c. 47 [17 Aug., 1839], we find
+that Section LVI. says, &ldquo;And be it enacted, That after the
+First Day of <i>January</i> next, every person who, within the
+Metropolitan Police District, shall use any Dog for the purpose
+of drawing, or helping to draw any Cart, Carriage, Truck, or
+Barrow, shall be liable to a <!-- page 64--><a
+name="page64"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 64</span>penalty of
+not more than Forty Shillings for the first offence, and not more
+than Five Pounds for the Second, or any following
+offence.&rdquo;&nbsp; This act was extended to all parts of the
+Kingdom by the 17 and 18 Vict., c. 60.</p>
+<p>On the 13th July the Corporation of the City of London gave a
+grand banquet, at the Guildhall, to the foreign Princes,
+Ambassadors extraordinary, and <i>Corps Diplomatique</i>, then in
+the metropolis, in honour of the Queen&rsquo;s Coronation; and in
+order to completely divest the occasion of anything like a
+political aspect, care was taken to invite, besides the
+Ministers, an equal number of the <i>&eacute;lite</i> of both
+parties in the State.&nbsp; The principal guests went in their
+state carriages, and the streets were crowded with sightseers who
+especially welcomed the Duke of Wellington and Marshal
+Soult.&nbsp; The arrangements and decorations in the Hall were
+almost the same as those used for the Royal banquet in the
+previous November, the tables and sideboards were ablaze with
+plate lent by the various City Companies, and the General Bill of
+Fare was as follows:</p>
+<p>One hundred and twenty tureens of turtle soup, of five pints
+each; 17 dishes of fish, consisting of salmon, turbot, whitings,
+tench and eels; 40 haunches of venison; 80 dishes of fowls,
+capons and pullets; 40 cherry, gooseberry and currant tarts; 30
+strawberry tarts; 40 dishes of potatos; 60 dishes of French
+beans; 30 French pies; 30 pigeon pies; 30 hams; 30 tongues; 2
+barons of beef; 37 Chantilly baskets; 30 dishes of peas; 10
+sirloins, ribs and rumps of beef; 45 dishes of shell fish; 30
+ribs, chines and legs of lamb; 40 dishes of ducklings; 20 turkey
+poults; 80 jellies; 20 creams; 40 salads and cucumbers; 20 dishes
+of cauliflowers.&nbsp; <span
+class="smcap">Dessert</span>.&mdash;Seventy-five pine apples of
+2lbs each; 100 dishes of hothouse grapes; 20 melons; 30 dishes of
+cherries; 100 dishes of strawberries; 40 dishes of currants and
+gooseberries; 120 cream and water ices, various; 40 dishes of
+dried fruit; 35 ornamented Savoy cakes; 30 dishes of preserves,
+biscuits and olives.</p>
+<p>Marshal Soult stopped for some time in England, and visited
+many of the manufacturing towns.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 65--><a name="page65"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+65</span>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Genesis of &ldquo;The Charter&rdquo; - L.
+&amp; N. W. Railway opened to Birmingham&mdash;Overland route to
+India&mdash;A bold smuggler&mdash;Bull baiting&mdash;Visitors to
+the Queen&mdash;&ldquo;The Boy Jones.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Probably nearly all my readers have heard of the
+&ldquo;Chartists,&rdquo; but it is equally probable that few know
+when the agitation commenced, and the reason for its
+existence.&nbsp; The &ldquo;Charter,&rdquo; as it was called, was
+the Radical outcome of the Reform Bill of 1832.&nbsp; For a time,
+after the passing of that Bill, the land had peace, for all
+reasonable reforms had been granted, but the demagogues were not
+going to be quietly annihilated, and an agitation for more
+trenchant reform was got up, and a mass meeting in its favour was
+held at Birmingham, on the 6th of August, and at it were
+inaugurated the principles of &ldquo;The People&rsquo;s
+Charter,&rdquo; as it was called.&nbsp; It is currently reported
+that this &ldquo;Charter&rdquo; was drawn up by William Lovett, a
+carpenter and cabinet maker, who took an active part in getting
+rid of the stamp tax upon newspapers; and it is very likely that
+it was so, for he drew up most of the petitions and addresses for
+the movement, and, in connection with it, he, the following year,
+suffered 12 months&rsquo; imprisonment.&nbsp; He died Aug.
+1877.&nbsp; The demands of this &ldquo;Charter&rdquo; were six,
+and they were familiarly known as the six points.&nbsp; They
+were:</p>
+<blockquote><p>Universal Suffrage.<br />
+Vote by Ballot.<br />
+Annual Parliaments.<br />
+Payment of the Members.<br />
+Abolition of the Property Qualification.<br />
+Equal Electoral Districts.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><!-- page 66--><a name="page66"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+66</span>The meeting was got up by T. Atwood, Esq., M.P., and the
+site chosen for it was a large vacant piece of ground, at
+Birmingham, on the north-west side of the town, and there
+drinking booths galore were erected.&nbsp; The morning began very
+wet, and the different divisions from the neighbouring country
+marched bemired and bedraggled to the rendezous.&nbsp; There they
+soon filled the drinking booths, in which they abode; hence,
+probably, the very diverse statements as to the numbers present
+at the meeting, which vary from 10,000 to 200,000.&nbsp; The
+ground chosen was a natural amphitheatre, and, if the weather had
+been finer, it would have been a pretty sight, enlivened by the
+bright banners of the different Trades&rsquo; Societies.&nbsp;
+However, Mr. Atwood read the Petition, which embodied the above
+six points, and moved its adoption.&nbsp; Feargus O&rsquo;Connor,
+a well-known firebrand, seconded it in a violent speech, in which
+occurred the following balderdash.</p>
+<p class="poetry">&ldquo;On with your green standard rearing,<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Go, flesh every sword to the hilt;<br />
+On our side is Virtue and Erin,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; On yours is the <i>parson</i> and guilt.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Of course the Motion was enthusiastically carried, and then a
+very heavy shower of rain terminated the proceedings.&nbsp; The
+petition was afterwards presented to Parliament by Mr. Atwood on
+the 14th of June, 1839.</p>
+<p>On 17th Sept the London and North Western Railway (then called
+the London and Birmingham Rly.) was opened throughout to
+Birmingham; the first train, containing Directors and their
+friends, leaving Euston at 7.15 a.m.&nbsp; The times of this
+train are useful for comparing with the present time.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;The train left Euston at 15 minutes past 7, but did not
+take on locomotive until 20 minutes past.&nbsp; It arrived at
+Tring station at 25 minutes past 8, where there was five
+minutes&rsquo; delay.&nbsp; Arrived at Wolverton at 6 minutes
+past 9, where the directors alighted and changed engines.&nbsp;
+The train arrived at Rugby at 11 o&rsquo;clock, where the Duke of
+Sussex and his suite alighted, and proceeded by carriage to the
+place of his destination.&nbsp; The directors remained at Rugby
+10 minutes, <!-- page 67--><a name="page67"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 67</span>and arrived at Birmingham 3 minutes
+past 12, having performed the whole journey, including stoppages,
+in 4 hours 48 minutes, and, exclusive of stoppages, in 4 hours 14
+minutes.&nbsp; This is, unquestionably, the shortest time in
+which the journey from London to Birmingham has ever been
+performed, being upwards of two hours less than the time occupied
+by Marshal Soult and attendants a few weeks ago.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The fare for one person from London to Birmingham, or
+back, by the &lsquo;four inside&rsquo; carriages, by day, or the
+first class, &lsquo;six inside&rsquo; by night, will be &pound;1
+12s. 6d; by the second-class carriages, open by day, which is the
+cheapest, it will be &pound;1.&nbsp; The intermediate fares will
+be &pound;1 10s. and &pound;1 5s.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It is not generally known that the two lodges at the entrance
+of Euston Station, were the original ticket office and waiting
+room.</p>
+<p>People were beginning to wake from the torpor in which they
+had hitherto slumbered, with regard to locomotion, and on 12th
+October an influential meeting of merchants and others was held
+at the Jerusalem Coffee House to hear a Captain Barber unfold his
+scheme for a quicker communication with India.&nbsp; This was
+that passengers and goods should be taken by steam to Cairo, and
+thence, by omnibuses and vans to Suez&mdash;as was afterwards
+done by Waghorn, who was already forming an Overland Mail (see
+<i>Times</i>, 29 Nov., 1838).</p>
+<p>With the very heavy duties on foreign goods, of course
+smuggling was very rife, and the Inland Revenue was defrauded on
+every possible occasion by the sharp wits opposed to it; and the
+difficulty of conviction, unless the smuggler was caught
+red-handed, was very considerable.&nbsp; The following is a case
+in point, and for sheer impudence, it bears the palm.&nbsp; 17
+Oct.:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Mansion House</span>.&mdash;A
+Scotchwoman, named Frances Bodmore, the wife of a Frenchman, who
+has been engaged in smuggling, appeared to answer for her
+husband, on a charge of having two two-gallon bottles of French
+brandy in his possession, without having paid the duty
+thereon.</p>
+<p><!-- page 68--><a name="page68"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+68</span>Child, the constable, said he went into the house of the
+Frenchman, in Sugarloaf Court; and, while searching for other
+things, found the bottles under the pillows of the bed.</p>
+<p>The Lord Mayor: Why don&rsquo;t your husband attend?</p>
+<p>Woman: Why, because he knows nothing at all about the
+business.&nbsp; I think he&rsquo;d be a great fool to come here
+without knowing for what.</p>
+<p>The Lord Mayor: How do you get your living?</p>
+<p>Woman: Why, as well as I can.&nbsp; I don&rsquo;t get it
+without running some risk for it, you may depend.</p>
+<p>The Lord Mayor: We know you to be a consummate smuggler.</p>
+<p>Woman: Whatever my business may be, I generally get through it
+like a trump.&nbsp; There&rsquo;s no nonsense about me.</p>
+<p>The Lord Mayor (to the Revenue officer): She is constantly
+backward and forward between this and France, I daresay.</p>
+<p>Woman: Yes, my Lord, I travel a good deal for the benefit of
+my health, and I always come back stouter than I go.&nbsp;
+(Laughter.)</p>
+<p>Officer: She&rsquo;s perfectly well known, my Lord, as one of
+a number that are commissioned by parties in London.&nbsp; They
+are all very clever, and elude us in every possible way, and the
+steamers afford them great facilities.</p>
+<p>The Lord Mayor: I can&rsquo;t send this woman to prison, and
+she knows it well, but I shall punish every experienced smuggler
+I catch as severely as I can.&nbsp; They cheat the fair trader,
+they endanger the vessel in which they come over, and they cheat
+the Government.</p>
+<p>Woman: Ay, my Lord, that&rsquo;s the cleverest thing of
+all.&nbsp; Only think of cheating the Government!&nbsp; Well,
+well, I wonder where the villainy of man will end!&nbsp;
+(Laughter.)</p>
+<p>The Lord Mayor: Take care of yourself.&nbsp; You think you are
+secure.&nbsp; You may go now.</p>
+<p>Woman: Good morning, my Lord.&nbsp; Although you are so kind,
+I hope I shall never have the pleasure of seeing your face
+again.</p>
+<p>The Lord Mayor was informed that great quantities of <!-- page
+69--><a name="page69"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 69</span>lace
+were brought over by women.&nbsp; Some had been found stitched up
+in the skins of wildfowl, and there was scarcely an article, dead
+or alive, that was not suspected of being a depository of
+contraband goods.&nbsp; It was but a short time ago, that a
+wretched-looking object was discovered to be the carrier of a
+large stock of lace.&nbsp; He had an old bedstead, which, in his
+trips to Boulogne, he used to take with him.&nbsp; At last,
+somebody on board expressed his surprise, why a ricketty piece of
+furniture, which looked as if it was the tenement of living
+animals, should be so frequent a passenger.&nbsp; Upon close
+examination, it was found that the several pieces of the bedstead
+had been hollowed and stuffed with lace.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The cruel old English sport of bull baiting was still
+continued at Stamford, in Lincolnshire, where it is said to have
+existed since the year 1209, in the reign of King John.&nbsp; The
+story goes that, in that year, William, Earl Warren, lord of the
+town, standing on the walls of his castle, saw two bulls fighting
+for a cow, in the castle meadow, till all the butchers dogs
+pursued one of the bulls (maddened by the noise and multitude)
+clean through the town.&nbsp; This sight so pleased the Earl,
+that he gave the castle meadow, where the bulls&rsquo; duel
+began, for a common, to the butchers of the town, after the first
+grass was mown, on condition that they should find a mad bull the
+day six weeks before Christmas Day&mdash;for the continuation of
+that sport, for ever.</p>
+<p>But the time had come for putting an end to this barbarous
+practice, and it was this year put down by direct interference of
+the Secretary of State.&nbsp; At Stamford, and elsewhere, it was
+believed that this bull baiting was legal, being established by
+custom; but the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
+with a view of setting the question at rest by the decision of
+the Court of Queen&rsquo;s Bench, caused an indictment to be
+preferred against several of the ringleaders.&nbsp; The
+indictment was tried at Lincoln, before Mr. Justice Park and a
+special jury, when several of them were found guilty; and, upon
+their being brought up for judgment in the Court of Queen&rsquo;s
+Bench, the Court unanimously declared the practice <!-- page
+70--><a name="page70"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 70</span>to be
+illegal; the Chief Justice, in particular, said: &ldquo;It was
+supposed there was some matter of law&mdash;at first, there was a
+supposed old Charter&mdash;for the future, it must be considered
+as an illegal practice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In consequence of this decision, a troop of the 14th Dragoons,
+together with 12 Metropolitan policemen, were sent into the town
+of Stamford.&nbsp; Placards, apprising the public of the
+illegality of the bull baiting, were posted in the town and
+neighbourhood, and the threatened and attempted repetition of
+this barbarous scene was prevented without any loss of life or
+serious injury.&nbsp; The <i>bullards</i> (as they were called)
+mustered in strong numbers.&nbsp; They had provided two fierce
+bulls to be hunted and tormented; but the bulls were seized and
+pounded by the police; and, although the ruffian mob remained in
+considerable numbers, no serious breach of the peace took
+place.&nbsp; But they were determined not to be altogether
+baulked of their <i>sport</i>; for a bull calf, enclosed in a
+cart, and followed by its lowing mother, entered the town, and
+was immediately seized on as a substitute for a bull.&nbsp; It
+was taken out, and hunted through the town for some time, until
+rescued by the police.</p>
+<p>Every lunatic seems to have wanted to say something to the
+young Queen, and visitors to Buckingham Palace were very
+frequent, although the object of their wishes was never
+attained.&nbsp; To show the nuisance involved by these fools let
+me give one paragraph out of the <i>Times</i>, 19 Dec.:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Visitors to Her
+Majesty</span>.&mdash;On Saturday night, about 9 o&rsquo;clock, a
+very respectably dressed young man rang the bell at the
+tradesmen&rsquo;s entrance of the new Palace, and, upon being
+asked the nature of his business, he said he had come for the
+direction of his house, as he was tired, and wished to go
+home.&nbsp; Upon being asked to explain himself, he said he had
+just come from Sydney, and had been desired to call at the Palace
+by the Queen, who told him he should have a house to live in, and
+&pound;150 a year, for some very important spiritual
+communication he had made to her.&nbsp; The young man, whose
+every action showed he was a lunatic, was <!-- page 71--><a
+name="page71"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 71</span>then told the
+Queen was not in town, when he turned away, observing that he
+would go immediately to Lord Hill, and lay his case before
+him.&nbsp; Visits of the preceding kind are very frequent at the
+Palace, and the tales told by the visitants are of the very
+strangest nature.&nbsp; It is only a few weeks since, an elderly
+man, having the appearance of a farmer, called at the Palace, and
+handing to the porter the certificate of his birth, requested him
+to let Her Majesty sign it.&nbsp; From inquiries made concerning
+this man, it was discovered that he was a respectable farmer in
+the neighbourhood of Exeter, from which distant place he had
+wandered on so strange an errand.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>But of all visitors to the Royal Palace, <span
+class="smcap">the Boy Jones</span> was the most frequent and
+successful.&nbsp; Who, in this generation, knows anything about
+<span class="smcap">the Boy Jones</span>?&nbsp; Yet his escapades
+were very daring and his story is very true&mdash;but so strange
+is it that, in order to be believed, I must, at least, in part,
+give the chapter and verse for it:</p>
+<p><i>The Times</i>, 15 Dec.:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Queen
+Square</span>.&mdash;Yesterday, a lad about 15 years of age, who
+gave his name as Edward Cotton, whose dress was that of a sweep,
+but who was stated to be the son of a respectable tradesman in
+Hertfordshire, was charged with being found in the Marble hall of
+Buckingham Palace, under circumstances of an extraordinary
+nature.&nbsp; It should be stated that Buckingham Palace, even
+during the absence of the Queen, is guarded by the gentlemen
+porters of the establishment, two inspectors of the A division of
+police, and sentries from the Foot Guards.&nbsp; In spite of
+this, a number of cases have lately occurred at this office,
+where persons have been found in the interior of the Palace under
+unaccountable circumstances.</p>
+<p>George Cox, one of the porters, having been sworn, said, that
+at five o&rsquo;clock yesterday morning he saw the prisoner in
+the Marble hall.&nbsp; The latter endeavoured to make his escape
+into the lobby, but he pursued him, and he then took <!-- page
+72--><a name="page72"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 72</span>a
+contrary direction, across the lawn at the back of the
+Palace.&nbsp; Witness called for the sentry at the gate, and a
+policeman of the B Division who was on duty in James Street,
+caught the lad, after a long chase over the lawn.&nbsp; Mr. Cox
+added, that he found, in the lobby, a regimental sword, a
+quantity of linen, and other articles, all of which had been
+purloined from the Palace.&nbsp; The sword was the property of
+the Hon. Augustus Murray, a gentleman attached to the
+Queen&rsquo;s establishment.&nbsp; Witness went into that
+gentleman&rsquo;s bedroom, and the bedding was covered with
+soot.&nbsp; The prisoner had, evidently, endeavoured to get up
+the chimney, in order to effect his escape; there was a valuable
+likeness of Her Majesty, in the Marble hall, which was broken,
+and covered with soot; and it was supposed that the lad, in the
+first instance, had descended from the top of the building, and
+had endeavoured to make his way back again in the same
+manner.</p>
+<p>James Stone, 31 B, deposed that he was called upon by the last
+witness to secure the prisoner.&nbsp; There were marks of soot in
+several of the bedchambers, as well as in one of the corridors of
+the Palace, and the Grand (or Marble) hall.&nbsp; He found upon
+him two letters, one addressed to Her Majesty, and the other to
+the Hon. Mr. Murray.&nbsp; These letters had been placed
+underneath Her Majesty&rsquo;s portrait, and had, no doubt, been
+taken by the prisoner at the time the picture was
+destroyed.&nbsp; Part of the scabbard of the sword was discovered
+in one of the beds, and a quantity of bear&rsquo;s grease, part
+of which he had placed upon his flesh, was taken from
+him&mdash;it belonged to one of the servants of the Palace.&nbsp;
+Upon being taken to the station house, he said he came from
+Hertfordshire, and that his father was a respectable man.</p>
+<p>Mr. White, the sitting magistrate, observed that it was a most
+extraordinary thing that persons could get into the Palace under
+such circumstances.</p>
+<p>Several persons belonging to the Palace said that every
+inquiry had been made, but it could not be accounted for.</p>
+<p>Mr. White (to the prisoner): Where do you come from?</p>
+<p>Prisoner: I came from Hertfordshire 12 months ago, <!-- page
+73--><a name="page73"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 73</span>and I
+met with a man in a fustian jacket, who asked me to go with him
+to Buckingham House.&nbsp; I went, and have been there ever
+since.&nbsp; I got my victuals in the kitchen, and I thought
+myself very well off, because I came to London to better
+myself.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Well, you could not go to a higher place.</p>
+<p>Prisoner: I declare it to be the case, and I lived very
+well.&nbsp; To be sure, I was obliged to wash my shirt now and
+then.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: You fared, then, altogether, pretty well?</p>
+<p>Prisoner: Very well indeed, Sir, and I was always placed, when
+the Queen had a meeting with the Ministers, behind a piece of
+furniture in the room; but I, certainly, did live well.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Indeed!&nbsp; And which was your favourite
+apartment?</p>
+<p>Prisoner: The room in front of the gardens; but I was always
+in the secret when the Ministers came.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Do you mean to tell me that you have lived in the
+Palace upwards of 11 months, and been concealed when Her Majesty
+held a Council?</p>
+<p>Prisoner: I do.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Were you hid behind a chair?</p>
+<p>Prisoner: No.&nbsp; But the tables and other furniture
+concealed me.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Then you could hear all Her Majesty said?</p>
+<p>Prisoner: Oh, yes! and her Ministers too.</p>
+<p>The prisoner&rsquo;s answers to the questions of the
+magistrate were given in the most shrewd manner possible, and he
+evidently appeared to be a lad of some education, but nothing
+further could be elicited from him.</p>
+<p>Mr. White said it was a most singular affair, and that it
+should be strictly inquired into.&nbsp; For the present, he
+should remand the prisoner until Wednesday next.&nbsp; The
+magistrate also told Cox that, as he should be sitting there
+every day, he should be glad to receive any information upon the
+subject.</p>
+<p>The letters found upon the prisoner were directed to be sent
+to the Palace, under seal of the Office, the prisoner having
+broken them open.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><!-- page 74--><a name="page74"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+74</span>The case excited great interest, and, in the first
+instance, was sent to Bow Street; but Sir Frederick Roe being out
+of town, it was ordered to be heard at this office.</p>
+<blockquote><p><i>The Times</i>, 20 Dec.&mdash;Yesterday, the lad
+found in Buckingham Palace, who had given his name as Edward
+Cotton, and described himself as the son of a respectable
+tradesman living in the town of Hertford, was brought before
+Messrs. White and Gregorie for final examination.&nbsp; It will
+be recollected that he had purloined, amongst other articles, two
+letters, which were immediately sealed up, and sent back to the
+Palace.&nbsp; The prisoner turns out to be the son of an
+industrious tailor, named Jones, residing in York Street,
+Westminster; and, it appears, had frequently expressed his
+intention to enter the Palace, under any circumstances.&nbsp; He
+had often stated that he wished to see the grand staircase, in
+order to take a sketch of it, and had often expressed his
+determination to see the Queen, and to hear her sentiments when
+Her Majesty and her Ministers were assembled in Council.</p>
+<p>Frederick Blume now deposed that he was valet to the Hon. Mr.
+Murray, and that a sword, a quantity of linen and other articles,
+had been stolen from that gentleman&rsquo;s apartments in the
+Palace.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: When were they stolen?</p>
+<p>Witness: I can&rsquo;t recollect.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Was it a week, a month, or three or four months
+ago?</p>
+<p>Witness: I cannot say.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Where was your master&rsquo;s sword at the time you
+saw it last?</p>
+<p>Witness: When I went to Windsor.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: When was that?</p>
+<p>Witness: I cannot exactly recollect, and then he added, that
+about a week since, he had sent from Windsor to the Palace, a
+portmanteau containing his linen, and three pairs of trousers,
+four of stockings, and three cravats were missing.&nbsp; The
+padlock of the portmanteau had been forced by the sword having
+been applied to it.&nbsp; The sword had broken in <!-- page
+75--><a name="page75"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 75</span>the
+attempt.&nbsp; He had also lost five 10 sous pieces, which had
+been found upon the prisoner.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: What is the value of the articles you have
+lost?</p>
+<p>Witness: I don&rsquo;t know; but I should like to give three
+guineas to get them back.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Can you swear to the French coin found upon the
+prisoner as being yours?</p>
+<p>The witness was then shown the coin, and he said that he
+certainly could.&nbsp; They had been taken from his bedroom.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Can any information be given as to the manner in
+which the prisoner gained access to the Palace?&nbsp; Cox, one of
+the porters to the Palace, said that the principal entrance door
+was always locked, and the key in his possession.&nbsp; At 5
+o&rsquo;clock on Saturday morning, just as he was about to get
+out of bed, the prisoner opened the door of his room, as witness
+considered, to obtain the key; his face and hands were disguised
+with soot and bear&rsquo;s grease, and he was asked whether he
+came to sweep a chimney: he did not make any answer, but
+endeavoured to escape.</p>
+<p>Inspector Steed, A division, said that upon examining the
+gates of the principal entrance of the Palace, he found that, at
+the Marble Arch, there was a vacuum sufficient to admit a boy
+into the Palace, without any inconvenience.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: And is there no sentry at this gate?</p>
+<p>Witness: There are two.</p>
+<p>The inspector said that he had examined the boy&rsquo;s boots,
+and the gravel upon them corresponded with that lately laid down
+close to the Marble Arch.&nbsp; The boots had been taken off by
+the prisoner, and left in one of the apartments appropriated to
+the use of the porters of the Palace.</p>
+<p>Mr. Griffiths, builder, Coventry Street, said that the lad had
+been in his employment for a few months; he had always expressed
+his intention to get into the interior of the Palace by some
+means or other; he was a clever lad, <!-- page 76--><a
+name="page76"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 76</span>and had made
+a sketch of the exterior, and a view of the enclosure fronting
+the Palace.&nbsp; He had left his service two days since, and
+witness was very much distressed, as were his parents, to know
+what had become of him.&nbsp; Upon reading the accounts in the
+newspapers, he immediately went to Tothill Fields, and identified
+him, much to the gratification of his father, who supposed that
+he had drowned himself, the latter having, on account of his
+son&rsquo;s bad conduct, turned him out of doors.</p>
+<p>The Magistrate, after telling the boy that he would, most
+likely, be committed for trial, asked him what he could say in
+his defence.</p>
+<p>Prisoner: I wished to see the Palace, and I went in with a man
+in a fustian jacket.&nbsp; I had the whole range of the Palace
+for a day or two, but the money found upon me I picked up in one
+of the rooms.</p>
+<p>Mr. White: Tell me the truth, for I am about to send you for
+trial.</p>
+<p>Prisoner: Oh, very well; with all my heart.</p>
+<p>He was fully committed to the Westminster Sessions, and all
+parties bound over to prosecute.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>He was tried on 28 Dec., and was most ably defended by his
+Counsel, Mr. Prendergast, who turned everything to ridicule, and
+the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty, regarding the escapade
+in the light of a youthful folly, and being, also, mindful of the
+fact that the boy did not enter the Palace for the purpose of
+theft.</p>
+<p>But we shall hear of <span class="smcap">the Boy Jones</span>
+again.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 77--><a name="page77"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+77</span>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Death of Lord Norbury&mdash;Birth of
+photography&mdash;Experimental street pavements&mdash;Forecast of
+the Queen&rsquo;s marriage&mdash;Sad story of Lady Flora
+Hastings&mdash;Story of a climbing boy&mdash;Van
+Amburgh&mdash;Embanking the Thames&mdash;Victoria
+Park&mdash;Robbery of gold dust.</p>
+<p>In a book, professedly of Gossip, politics should be strictly
+kept in the background&mdash;but at this time Ireland was
+seething with sedition.&nbsp; Still I should hardly have adverted
+to it, had not the deliberate and brutal murder of the Earl of
+Norbury, on 1 Jan., set all tongues wagging.&nbsp; His Lordship
+was walking in the shrubbery, near his own house at Kilbeggan, in
+the county of Meath, talking to his steward, and pointing out to
+him some trees he wished to have cut down, when some miscreant,
+behind a hedge, fired a blunder-buss loaded with swan shot at
+him, and he fell, mortally wounded.&nbsp; He lived for 43 hours
+afterwards&mdash;but his assassin ran away and escaped; nor, in
+spite of large rewards offered, was he ever discovered.</p>
+<p>Photography may be said to have been practically born early in
+this year, for, on 7 Jan., the French Academy reported on the
+invention of M. Daguerre, by which the pictures of the camera
+lucida were rendered permanent.&nbsp; All former attempts may be
+regarded as scientific dilletanteism and nothing more.&nbsp; The
+earliest known pictures caused by light on a sensitive surface
+were made by Thomas Wedgwood (a son of Josiah, the famous
+potter), whose researches were published in 1802 in the
+<i>Journal of the Royal Institution</i>, under the title:
+&ldquo;An account of a Method of copying Paintings upon Glass,
+and making Profiles by the agency of Light upon Nitrate of
+Silver: with Observations by H. Davy.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+Afterwards, <!-- page 78--><a name="page78"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 78</span>came Nicephore Niepce, of
+Ch&acirc;lon sur Sa&ocirc;ne, who produced permanent light
+pictures in 1814, and he and Daguerre went into partnership in
+this matter, in 1829.&nbsp; Fox Talbot was the first to invent a
+negative photograph, and he read a paper on &ldquo;Photogenic
+Drawings&rdquo; before the Royal Society, on 31 Jan., this year;
+and that scientific investigation of the new wonder excited the
+attention, even of amateurs, is shown by a letter in the
+<i>Times</i> of 21 Feb.:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,&mdash;Seeing in a
+newspaper, last week, that a German had found out M.
+Daguerre&rsquo;s secret, I was so impressed with that testimony
+to the possibility of <i>seizing a shadow</i>, that I thought
+over all the little I knew of light, colours and chymistry.&nbsp;
+The next day, I took a piece of writing paper, hastily prepared
+by myself, placed it behind the lens of a <i>camera obscura</i>,
+made on the spur of the moment, and obtained a satisfactory
+result; for the trees, in front of my house, were produced, but
+not the parts agitated by the wind.&nbsp; Since that, I have
+obtained, progressively improving, several landscapes, which may
+be called, most appositely, &lsquo;lucigraphs.&rsquo;&nbsp; I
+mention my humble effort as corroborative of the reality, or
+feasibility of M. Daguerre&rsquo;s beautiful discovery; and I can
+readily conceive that, in a very short time, the
+traveller&rsquo;s portmanteau will not be complete without the
+very portable means of procuring a lucigraph at
+pleasure.&mdash;Yours, etc., <span class="smcap">Clericus</span>,
+Welney, Wisbeach.&rdquo;&nbsp; This gentleman&rsquo;s prophecy
+has, long since, been verified, as the &ldquo;Kodakers&rdquo; all
+over the world can testify.&nbsp; But the first public experiment
+in England (if we exclude Wedgwood&rsquo;s) was made, on Sept.
+13, 1839, when M. St. Croix exhibited the whole process of
+Daguerreotype, in presence of a select party of scientific men
+and artists.&nbsp; He also succeeded in producing a picture of
+the place of meeting; No. 7, Piccadilly.</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>People were beginning to wake up as to social improvements,
+and the better paving of, at least, the most public
+thoroughfares, was loudly called for.&nbsp; Hitherto people had
+been content with the old cobble stones, and wide kennels, <!--
+page 79--><a name="page79"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+79</span>or gutters&mdash;but henceforth there was to be
+inaugurated a newer and better <i>r&eacute;gime</i>, as we learn
+from the <i>Observer</i> of 6 Jan.:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Experimental Pavement
+of Oxford Street</span>.&mdash;This, doubtless, the most
+extraordinary and novel undertaking which has ever been attempted
+in the annals of road making, is, to the gratification, not only
+to the respectable inhabitants of Oxford Street, but to a curious
+public, at last, completed.&nbsp; On Friday (4 Jan.) at 2
+o&rsquo;clock, the line of this great thoroughfare, occupied by
+the various specimens of paving, extending from Charles Street to
+Tottenham Court Road, presented a most animated spectacle, being
+thronged by thousands of spectators anxious to witness its
+opening to the public.&nbsp; Shortly after 2 o&rsquo;clock, the
+Paving Committee appointed by the Marylebone Vestry to
+superintend the arrangement of this work of art, headed by the
+parish beadles, in full uniform, with their maces; and
+accompanied by the respective projectors and the parochial
+authorities, arrived on the spot in procession, and passed over
+the ground, followed by 21 omnibuses, after which, the road was
+thrown open to the public.&nbsp; From time to time, during the
+progress of the work, many erroneous statements have gone the
+rounds of our daily contemporaries, with respect to the extent of
+ground allotted to the experiments, and on other matters
+connected with the arrangements.&nbsp; The following, however,
+being obtained from an official source, may be fully relied upon
+as correct: The whole space between Charles Street and Tottenham
+Court Road is occupied by 12 different specimens, which are
+completed in the following order, commencing at Charles Street:
+viz.&mdash;40 feet of Robinson&rsquo;s Parisian bitumen&mdash;24
+feet laid in straight courses, and 16 feet diagonally; 74 feet of
+parish stone paving, 54 feet of which is laid in straight
+courses, the stones 9 inches deep, and the interstices filled up
+with Claridge&rsquo;s asphalte; the remaining 20 feet consisting
+of stones only 4&frac12; inches deep, but laid diagonally, and
+filled up with the same composition; 60 feet of the Bastenne and
+Gaujac bitumen, partly laid in straight courses, and partly
+diagonally: <!-- page 80--><a name="page80"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 80</span>135 feet of parish stone paving,
+divided into three sections, in the following order&mdash;1st, 70
+feet of dressed Aberdeen granite, with concrete bottom, and the
+joints grouted with lime and sand; 2nd, 40 feet of the same, laid
+diagonally; and 3rd, 25 feet of dressed Aberdeen granite, without
+concrete bottom, the joints filled in with fine gravel; this is
+followed by 50 feet of the Scotch asphaltum, which is entirely
+the produce of this country, laid down in straight courses: 60
+feet of Mr. Stead&rsquo;s pavement, of wooden blocks, of a
+sexagonal form, 12 inches deep, divided into three compartments,
+one prepared with Kyan&rsquo;s patent, part dipped in, and joints
+run with asphalte, and part without any preparation whatever: the
+last specimen, at Tottenham Court Road, is 60 feet of the Val de
+Travers bitumen, a portion of which consists of square blocks,
+laid in straight courses, and the remainder consisting of a layer
+of clean Guernsey chippings cemented together by boiling
+asphalte, run among them nearly to the surface, and a face made
+with asphalte, merely showing the chippings, here and there, in
+patches.&nbsp; The whole work presents a most even and beautiful
+road, and, yesterday, during the day, attracted the notice of
+many hundreds of persons.&nbsp; The portion, however, it is but
+justice to add, to which attention was more particularly
+directed, was that of the wooden blocks, the noiseless tendency
+of which, made the vehicles passing along, appear to be rolling
+over a thick carpet or rug.&nbsp; The time allowed by the Vestry
+of St. Marylebone for the test of these experiments, is until the
+last Saturday of June next, when the official report of the
+surveyors will be laid before that body, and upon which the fate
+of Oxford Street depends.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>People began to feel that it was high time that the Queen
+should marry&mdash;but, as yet, no signs of such a thing, and no
+speculations, as far as I can see, were hazarded as to who her
+future consort should be.&nbsp; At length, one newspaper, the
+<i>Sun</i>, seems to have been inspired, by authority, and is
+thus quoted in the <i>Times</i> of 24
+Jan.:&mdash;&ldquo;&lsquo;<span class="smcap">Marriage of Her
+Majesty</span>.&mdash;The country will learn with delight that
+the most <!-- page 81--><a name="page81"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 81</span>interesting part of the speech from
+the throne <a name="citation81a"></a><a href="#footnote81a"
+class="citation">[81a]</a> to both Houses of Parliament, and the
+country at large, will be the announcement of Her Majesty&rsquo;s
+intended marriage.&nbsp; The happy object of Queen
+Victoria&rsquo;s choice is Prince Albert, son of the reigning
+Duke of Saxe Coburg, and cousin of Her Majesty.&nbsp; Prince
+Albert is handsome, and about 22 years of age.&nbsp; He has
+resided, for some time, in this country, on a visit to his Royal
+relatives.&nbsp; How soon the happy event is to take place, we
+are not prepared to say, but our readers may depend upon the
+authenticity of our information.&rsquo;&mdash;<i>The
+Sun</i>.&nbsp; Has not some wag been hoaxing the editor?&nbsp; We
+suspect so, though, at the same time, we do not profess to have
+any knowledge on the subject.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Indeed, it was about time that the Queen married, and got out
+of the leading strings of the women folk who surrounded
+her.&nbsp; Had she been married, we should, probably, have never
+heard of the sad episode of Lady Flora Hastings.</p>
+<p>This lady, who was highly accomplished, and the authoress of
+some pretty poems, <a name="citation81b"></a><a
+href="#footnote81b" class="citation">[81b]</a> which were
+published after her death, was the eldest daughter of Francis,
+Marquis of Hastings, and Flora, Countess of Loudon, and was lady
+of the bedchamber to the Duchess of Kent.&nbsp; Two old
+busybodies, the Ladies Portman and Tavistock, spread the vile and
+unfounded rumour that the unfortunate lady was <i>enceinte</i>,
+and the Queen forbade Lady Flora to appear at Court until she had
+submitted to the indignity of a medical examination.&nbsp; The
+case called forth some very strong feeling&mdash;and a vast
+quantity of correspondence was published on the subject,
+especially the indignant letters of the poor lady&rsquo;s mother
+to the Queen; but, perhaps, the most temperate account of the
+whole affair, is in a letter from Lady Flora&rsquo;s uncle, Mr.
+Hamilton Fitzgerald, which <!-- page 82--><a
+name="page82"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 82</span>was published
+in the <i>Examiner</i> of Sunday, 24th of March, and, afterwards,
+copied into all the daily papers.</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,&mdash;Many
+false and contradictory reports of the deplorable insult which
+has been lately offered to my niece, Lady Flora Hastings, at
+Buckingham Palace, having appeared in the public papers, I, as
+her ladyship&rsquo;s nearest connection, feel it my duty to
+request of you to publish the following account of the
+transaction, for the correctness of which I vouch.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Lady Flora arrived, some weeks since, from Scotland,
+very unwell.&nbsp; She immediately consulted Sir James Clark, the
+physician to both Her Majesty and the Duchess of Kent.&nbsp; One
+symptom of her complaint was a swelling of the stomach.&nbsp; By
+dint of exercise and medical treatment, she was getting better;
+the swelling had considerably subsided, and she had every hope of
+a speedy recovery; when, on or about the 1st of March, Sir James
+Clark went to her room, and announced to her the conviction of
+the ladies of the Palace that she was pregnant.&nbsp; In answer
+to all his exhortations to confession, &lsquo;as the only means
+of saving her character,&rsquo; Lady Flora returned an indignant,
+but steady denial that there was anything to confess.&nbsp; Upon
+which, Sir James Clark told her, &lsquo;that nothing but her
+submitting to a medical examination would ever satisfy them, or
+remove the stigma from her name.&rsquo;&nbsp; Lady Flora found
+that the subject had been brought before the Queen&rsquo;s
+notice, and that all this had been discussed, arranged and
+denounced to her, without one word having been said on the
+subject to her own mistress, the Duchess of Kent; who had no
+suspicion of what was going on, and whose sanction was not sought
+for the humiliating proposition which had been made to Lady
+Flora.&nbsp; On leaving Lady Flora&rsquo;s room, Sir James Clark
+went to the Duchess of Kent, and announced his conviction that
+Lady Flora was with child; and was followed by Lady Portman, who
+conveyed a message from Her Majesty to her mother, that the Queen
+would not permit Lady Flora to appear till the examination had
+taken place.&nbsp; Lady Portman (who, with Lady Tavistock, are
+mentioned <!-- page 83--><a name="page83"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 83</span>as most active against Lady Flora)
+expressed to the Duchess of Kent, her conviction of Lady
+Flora&rsquo;s guilt.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Her beloved mistress&rsquo; never, for a moment,
+doubted Lady Flora&rsquo;s innocence.&nbsp; She said that she
+knew her, her principles, and her family too well to listen to
+such a charge.&nbsp; However, the edict was given; and, the next
+day, Lady Flora having obtained the Duchess of Kent&rsquo;s very
+reluctant consent&mdash;&lsquo;for Her Royal Highness could not
+bear the idea of her being exposed to such a
+humiliation&rsquo;&mdash;but, Lady Flora, &lsquo;feeling it her
+duty to Her Royal Highness, to herself, and to her family, that a
+point blank refutation should be instantly given to the
+lie,&rsquo; submitted herself to the most rigid examination; and
+now possesses a certificate, signed by Sir James Clark, and also
+by Sir Charles Clark, stating, as strongly as language can state
+it, that there are no grounds for believing that pregnancy does
+exist, or ever has existed.&nbsp; Lord Hastings, though, at the
+time very ill from influenza, went to London immediately, and
+demanded, and obtained, from Lord Melbourne, a distinct disavowal
+of his participation in the affair; and demanded, and obtained,
+an audience of Her Majesty, in which, while he disclaimed all
+idea that the Queen had any wish to injure his sister, he
+plainly, though respectfully, stated his opinion of those who had
+counselled her, and his resolution to find out the originator of
+the slander, and bring him, or her, to punishment.&nbsp; Lady
+Flora is convinced that the Queen was surprised into the order
+which was given, and that Her Majesty did not understand what she
+was betrayed into; for, ever since the horrid event, Her Majesty
+has shown her regret by the most gracious kindness to Lady Flora,
+and expressed it warmly, with &lsquo;tears in her
+eyes.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Duchess of Kent&rsquo;s conduct was perfect;
+&lsquo;a mother could not have been kinder.&rsquo;&nbsp;
+&lsquo;She immediately dismissed Sir James Clark from her
+service, and refused to see Lady Portman&rsquo;; and has crowned
+her goodness by a most beautiful letter she has written to the
+Dowager Lady Hastings, from whom the accounts were kept, till all
+hope of avoiding publicity was impossible.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><!-- page 84--><a name="page84"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+84</span>Her brother, the Marquis of Hastings, was indefatigable
+in trying to unearth the promoters of the scandal, but, from the
+published letters, without much result; but the unfortunate
+affair involved the whole Court, for a time, in
+unpopularity&mdash;Lady Loudon, her mother, demanded from the
+Queen, Sir James Clark&rsquo;s dismissal, but was not
+successful.&nbsp; Meantime, the object of all this agitation,
+after resuming, for a time, the duties of her situation, grew
+gradually worse, and, at length, expired, on the 5th July, at the
+age of 33.&nbsp; By the desire of Lord Hastings, a <i>post
+mortem</i> examination of the body took place, the particulars of
+which, attested by five of the most eminent surgeons of the
+metropolis, were published in the papers, and fully established
+the unfortunate lady&rsquo;s complete innocence of the charge
+brought against her, the cause of death being clearly shown to be
+enlargement of the liver.</p>
+<p>Lady Flora&rsquo;s remains were removed from the palace, at an
+early hour in the morning, to be conveyed, by steamboat, to
+Scotland.&nbsp; Even as early as two o&rsquo;clock, a
+considerable number of spectators were assembled, which increased
+in every street through which the procession passed.&nbsp; Four
+Royal carriages, including those of the Queen and the Queen
+Dowager, and many belonging to the nobility, accompanied the
+hearse.&nbsp; Lady Flora&rsquo;s body was interred, on the 15th
+of July, in the family vault at Loudon, Ayrshire.</p>
+<p>There were many books and pamphlets published with regard to
+this affair, among which were her mother&rsquo;s letters to the
+Queen: &ldquo;The Lady Flora Hastings, a Brief
+Sketch&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;A Warning to the Baroness Lehzen, <a
+name="citation84"></a><a href="#footnote84"
+class="citation">[84]</a> etc.&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;The Palace
+Martyr, a Satire&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;The Dangers of Evil Council,
+etc.&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;A Dirge on the Death of Lady Flora
+Hastings&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;The late Lady Flora Hastings:
+Statements of the Marquis of Hastings,
+etc.&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;The Victim of Scandal.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>At the time of which I write, climbing boys were still
+employed to sweep chimneys, and as a sample of the manner <!--
+page 85--><a name="page85"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+85</span>in which they were treated by their masters, I give the
+following police case.&nbsp; 25 Jan.:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Marlborough
+Street</span>.&mdash;Henry Riddle, foreman to Robert Towser, a
+chimney sweep, appeared before the magistrates on a summons
+charging him under the 4 &amp; 5 Wil. IV., c. 35, with the
+following act of cruelty towards James Arnold, a boy about 12
+years of age, and who, for some time past, had been in
+Towser&rsquo;s employ.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rice, a baker, of 31, Up. Seymour St., Portman Sq.,
+deposed that, on the afternoon of the 18th instant, his kitchen
+chimney, by some accident, caught fire; and, in consequence of
+information thereof being communicated to the defendant Riddle,
+he, soon afterwards, came to the house, bringing with him the boy
+Arnold, whom he, at once, desired to ascend, notwithstanding that
+the lighted soot was, at the time, coming down into the grate in
+large flakes.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: Did you remonstrate with Riddle upon the
+inhumanity of his conduct?</p>
+<p>Complainant: I did, and begged of him not to send the boy up,
+as he would, inevitably, be suffocated; to which he replied,
+&ldquo;Oh, d---n it, I&rsquo;ve many a time been up a chimney ten
+times worse than that, myself, and why can&rsquo;t he do
+it?&rdquo;&nbsp; At this period, I had occasion to go upstairs,
+and made my way on to the roof, just as a friend of mine was
+about to pour down a quantity of water, when I begged of him not
+to do so, as I fancied I heard the voice of someone within a
+short distance of the top of the chimney; we both listened, and
+heard someone faintly say, &ldquo;For God&rsquo;s sake, take the
+chimney pot off, or I shall be suffocated.&rdquo;&nbsp; With some
+difficulty we tore away the mortar, and, having removed the pot,
+we beheld the poor boy Arnold, who kept crying out, &ldquo;Oh!
+pull me up, pull me up!&rdquo;&nbsp; My friend then thrust down
+his arm, and, laying hold of the little sufferer, succeeded in
+extricating him from his perilous situation.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson: Was the chimney, at the time, still on
+fire?</p>
+<p>Complainant: It was, Sir.</p>
+<p><!-- page 86--><a name="page86"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+86</span>Mr. Rawlinson: In what condition did the boy seem when
+lifted out of the chimney?</p>
+<p>Complainant: He seemed almost in a lifeless state, and when
+carrying him in my arms downstairs, I was fearful he would not
+recover.&nbsp; After the lapse of a little time, I gave him a
+small quantity of brandy, and he, in a great measure, revived;
+Riddle then took hold of him, and leading him to the roof of the
+house, insisted upon his descending from the top to the bottom of
+the chimney, which he did, and he and Riddle then left the
+place.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson (to Riddle): What answer have you to make for
+ill-treating this poor boy in so shameful a manner?</p>
+<p>Riddle: The boy is not an apprentice, and he was not sent up
+the chimney until a quantity of water had been thrown down.</p>
+<p>Mr. Rawlinson, after remarking upon the atrocious nature of
+the offence, ordered Riddle to find bail to answer the charge at
+the Sessions; at the same time expressing a hope that a severe
+example would be made of him.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>From 1838 to 1841, there was exhibiting in London a famous
+lion tamer named Van Amburgh, and, in January, 1839, the Queen
+went to Drury Lane Theatre to witness his performance, with which
+she was so pleased, that she commissioned Sir Edwin Landseer to
+paint a picture of Van Amburgh and his lions, which was exhibited
+in 1839, and is now in the Royal Collection at Osborne.&nbsp; If
+I am not very much mistaken there is another, by the same artist,
+of the same subject, in the Duke of Wellington&rsquo;s town
+mansion, at Apsley House.</p>
+<p>We can see how long it takes to carry out well-known and
+wanted improvements&mdash;take the Thames Embankment for
+example.&nbsp; Originally suggested by Wren after the great fire
+of London in 1666, and afterwards by William Paterson, the
+founder of the Bank of England, about 1694, the matter slumbered
+until 1767, when the Corporation of the City of London embanked
+one mile of the river.&nbsp; The question arose spasmodically
+until 1838, when the Corporation consulted with <!-- page 87--><a
+name="page87"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 87</span>the
+Government as to the advisability of embanking the Thames all the
+way between London and Vauxhall Bridges, and, in Jan., 1839, the
+Government sanctioned surveys being made and estimates prepared;
+the whole correspondence concerning which may be found in the
+<i>Times</i> of 2 Feb., 1839.&nbsp; But no practical steps were
+taken in the matter until 1860, when the Metropolitan Board of
+Works memorialised the House of Commons, and a Committee was
+appointed which sat for the first time on 30 Ap., 1861.&nbsp; An
+Act for carrying out the scheme was passed on 7 Aug., 1862, and
+the work was commenced in Nov. of the same year.&nbsp; The
+northern (Victoria) embankment, which terminated at Whitehall
+Stairs, was opened (as far as the footway went) to the public on
+30 July, 1868.</p>
+<p>Victoria Park took a shorter time to mature.&nbsp; The first
+mention of it, that I can find, is in the <i>Times</i> of March,
+1839: &ldquo;The inhabitants of St. Mary, Whitechapel, are
+bestirring themselves to obtain the formation of a Royal Park in
+their neighbourhood, and the Vestry of the parish are about to
+bring the matter before the public.&rdquo;&nbsp; And they did so
+with such good effect that an Act was passed on 21 June, 1841 (4
+&amp; 5 Vic., c. 27), &ldquo;To enable Her Majesty&rsquo;s
+Commissioners of Works to complete the Contract for the Sale of
+York House, and to purchase certain lands for a Royal
+Park.&rdquo;&nbsp; York House was sold to the Duke of Sutherland,
+and with the whole, or part, of the purchase money, the
+Commissioners were to purchase certain lands or hereditaments
+containing about 290 acres, which &ldquo;shall for ever,
+thereafter, be taken and be a Royal Park, by the name of
+&lsquo;Victoria Park.&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp; The Park was completed,
+and opened to the public, in 1845.</p>
+<p>On Monday, 25 March, occurred a most daring robbery of gold
+dust valued at &pound;4,600, which, at the time, created a great
+sensation.&nbsp; It seems that two boxes of gold dust were
+brought to this country from Mexico, in the Sea Gull Packet,
+consigned to the Brazilian Mining Co., and were landed at
+Falmouth.&nbsp; They were, subsequently, transshipped on board
+the City of Limerick steamer, which arrived at Dublin on Sunday
+afternoon.&nbsp; The boxes were not landed at the wharf <!-- page
+88--><a name="page88"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 88</span>until
+Monday morning, and, at noon on that day, the stranger who
+obtained possession of them drove up to the wharf in a cab which
+he had hired in the city.&nbsp; The letter which he presented to
+the wharfinger for the delivery of the boxes was in the same
+handwriting as one which the wharfinger had received from
+Falmouth, and which bore the postmark of that place, in the
+morning.&nbsp; It gave particular directions respecting the
+boxes, and that they were only to be delivered to a gentleman who
+would call in the course of the day, and present a letter in the
+same handwriting for their delivery.&nbsp; The person who
+obtained the boxes accurately described their contents, the marks
+on them, and the time they were landed at Falmouth.&nbsp; The
+wharfinger, as might be expected, was completely put off his
+guard by the ingenuity and cunning of the thief, and delivered
+them over to him.</p>
+<p>On 3 April, two Jews, Ellis and Lewis Caspar, father and son,
+were brought up at Lambeth Street Police Station for being
+concerned in the robbery; afterwards, two other prisoners,
+Emanuel Moses and his daughter, Alice Abrahams, were arrested,
+and all were committed for trial, the Caspars for stealing the
+gold, the other two for feloniously receiving the same, well
+knowing it to be stolen.&nbsp; They were tried at the Central
+Criminal Court on 24 June, the trial lasting eight days.&nbsp;
+The jury found them all guilty, but recommended Alice Abrahams to
+mercy, believing that she acted under the advice and influence of
+her father.&nbsp; Judgment was not pronounced on them until 3
+Feb., 1840, when the three male prisoners were sentenced to
+fourteen years&rsquo; transportation, and the female to four
+months&rsquo; hard labour.&nbsp; The Jewish community tried all
+their influence to get these sentences modified, but the convicts
+sailed for Sydney in the following October.&nbsp; The expenses of
+the prosecutor in connection with the trial amounted to
+&pound;2,900!</p>
+<h2><!-- page 89--><a name="page89"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+89</span>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Queen Elizabeth&rsquo;s Statue&mdash;The
+Ladies of the Bedchamber&mdash;The Queen hissed at Ascot
+Races&mdash;Land at Melbourne&mdash;Sunday Trading&mdash;New way
+of paying Church Rates.</p>
+<p><i>Times</i>, 25 Ap.&mdash;&ldquo;The workmen engaged some
+time since in taking down an old public house adjoining St.
+Dunstan&rsquo;s Church, in Fleet St., discovered in one of the
+cellars the ancient stone statue of Queen Elizabeth, which
+formerly stood in the nave of the old church.&nbsp; The parochial
+authorities have resolved to place it on the east end of the
+church, fronting Fleet Street.&rdquo;&nbsp; An unfortunate
+position, for many raw, unlettered Irishmen, or women, have
+mistaken it, owing to its environment, to be a statue of the
+Virgin Mary, and have devoutly crossed themselves, and said their
+&ldquo;Aves.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>About this time occurred a political complication which
+afforded great scope for gossip, and which showed that it was
+about time that the Queen was freed from her female
+<i>entourage</i>, and had the protective advice of a
+husband.&nbsp; On the 7th May, Lord Melbourne, having been
+beaten, by a small majority, on the Bill concerning the
+Suspension of the Constitution in Jamaica, resigned, and Sir
+Robert Peel was commissioned by the Queen to form a new
+Ministry.&nbsp; He did so, but, for valid reasons, he required
+the resignation, as was, and is, usual, of the ladies of the
+household.&nbsp; In order that there shall be no bias on this
+divergence of opinion between the Sovereign and her Minister, I
+quote a portion of Sir Robert Peel&rsquo;s speech in the House of
+Commons, on 13 May, taking it from the authorised version of
+<i>Hansard</i>.&nbsp; Sir Robert said that there was but one
+subject of disunion between himself and Her Majesty.</p>
+<p><!-- page 90--><a name="page90"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+90</span>&ldquo;The difficulty arose with respect to certain
+portions of that part of the establishment which is filled by the
+Ladies of the household.&nbsp; Sir, I think it infinitely better,
+on this point&mdash;the one on which the difficulty arose&mdash;I
+think it infinitely better, after mature consideration&mdash;that
+I should not enter&mdash;in the first instance, at least, nor
+unless invited by the noble Lord (John Russell)&mdash;into any
+statement whatever of impressions on my own mind with respect to
+what took place&mdash;but that I should refer exclusively to the
+letters which passed on the subject; because if I were to state,
+here, impressions of my own, I must detail verbal communications
+that passed, where two parties only were present; and myself one
+of the party, being alone in this House to offer explanations of
+what occurred.&nbsp; I approach, then, that point with respect to
+which the difficulty, on this occasion, arose; and, for the
+purpose of enabling the House to form a judgment with respect to
+the nature of that difficulty, I shall confine myself,
+altogether, to the written documents which passed on the
+occasion, in which are conveyed the impressions on the mind of
+Her Majesty, and the impressions on my own mind, with regard to
+the purport and effect of the communications which passed between
+Her Majesty and myself, in respect to certain appointments in the
+household, which are held by Ladies.&nbsp; Now, whatever blame
+may attach on account of imperfect explanations, I am content to
+bear it; whatever consequences may result from misconception, let
+them be visited on me; but, as to my intentions in regard to the
+Ladies of the household, I must not only state them, but I must
+prove them by most unequivocable testimony.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the Wednesday evening&mdash;that is, the day before
+I saw Her Majesty on this particular point&mdash;I had an
+opportunity of conferring with all those whom I proposed to
+submit to Her Majesty as Ministers.&nbsp; I saw them on Wednesday
+night, at my own house, about ten o&rsquo;clock.&nbsp; I then
+stated to them&mdash;and there are four of them now present, who
+heard the communication, and can give their evidence upon
+it&mdash;I stated to them, and to the peers whom I have before
+named, the course which I meant to pursue with respect to the
+household, <!-- page 91--><a name="page91"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 91</span>and had very little considered the
+matter (I am speaking of the female part of it); I, really,
+scarcely knew of whom it consisted.&nbsp; I took the &lsquo;Red
+Book&rsquo; into my hand, and saw there the different
+appointments of the household.&nbsp; I said to those who were
+intended to be my future colleagues, that, with respect to all
+the subordinate appointments&mdash;meaning every appointment,
+without exception, below the rank of a Lady of the
+Bedchamber&mdash;I should propose to Her Majesty no change
+whatever with respect to those.&nbsp; With respect to the
+superior classes, I stated, that those Ladies who held offices of
+that class, and who were immediate relatives of <i>our</i>
+political opponents, would, I took it for granted, relieve us
+from any difficulty by, at once, relinquishing their
+offices.&nbsp; But, I stated, at the same time, that I did think
+it of great importance, as conveying an indication of Her
+Majesty&rsquo;s entire support and confidence, that certain
+offices in the household, of the higher rank, if not voluntarily
+relinquished by the Ladies holding them, should be submitted to
+some change Even with respect to the higher offices, namely, the
+Ladies of the Bedchamber, I did state, however, that there were
+some instances, in which, from the absence of any strong party,
+or political, connection, I thought it would be wholly
+unnecessary to propose a change.&nbsp; My noble and Right Hon.
+friends will confirm what I assert.&nbsp; This passed on the
+evening of Wednesday; and I mention it only in complete proof of
+my intentions, being perfectly willing, as I have before
+observed, to have transferred, exclusively to me, whatever blame
+may be attached to the imperfect explanation of my views.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I saw Her Majesty on Thursday, and verbal
+communications took place on this subject.&nbsp; As I stated
+before, into the nature of those communications I shall not now
+enter in the slightest degree.&nbsp; I shall merely read the two
+letters which passed; one conveying the impressions of Her
+Majesty, and the other my own.&nbsp; The letter which I had the
+honour of receiving from Her Majesty is dated May the 10th,
+1839.&nbsp; I received it at an early hour on Friday morning, and
+it is as follows:</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: right"><!-- page 92--><a
+name="page92"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+92</span>&ldquo;&lsquo;Buckingham Palace.&mdash;May 10, 1839.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;The Queen, having considered the proposal made
+to her, yesterday, by Sir Robert Peel, to remove the Ladies of
+her Bedchamber, cannot consent to adopt a course which she
+conceives to be contrary to usage, and which is repugnant to her
+feelings.&rsquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>&ldquo;Immediately&mdash;that is, in two or three hours after
+having received the letter from Her Majesty, I addressed to Her
+Majesty a letter, of which this is a copy:</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align:
+right">&ldquo;&lsquo;Whitehall.&mdash;May 10, 1839.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Sir Robert Peel presents his humble duty to your
+Majesty, and has had the honour of receiving your Majesty&rsquo;s
+note of this morning.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;In respectfully submitting to your
+Majesty&rsquo;s pleasure, and humbly returning into your
+Majesty&rsquo;s hands the important trust which your Majesty had
+graciously pleased to commit to him, Sir Robert Peel trusts that
+your Majesty will permit him to state to your Majesty his
+impression with respect to the circumstances which have led to
+the termination of his attempt to form an Administration for the
+conduct of your Majesty&rsquo;s service.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;In the interview with which your Majesty
+honoured Sir Robert Peel, yesterday morning, after he had
+submitted to your Majesty the names of those whom he proposed to
+recommend to your Majesty for the principal executive
+appointments, he mentioned to your Majesty his earnest wish, to
+be enabled, with your Majesty&rsquo;s sanction, so to constitute
+your Majesty&rsquo;s household, that your Majesty&rsquo;s
+confidential servants might have the advantage of a public
+demonstration of your Majesty&rsquo;s full support and
+confidence; and that, at the same time, as far as possible,
+consistently with that demonstration, each individual appointment
+in the household should be entirely acceptable to your
+Majesty&rsquo;s personal feelings.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;On your Majesty&rsquo;s expressing a desire that
+the Earl of Liverpool should hold an office in the household, Sir
+Robert Peel requested your Majesty&rsquo;s permission at once to
+offer <!-- page 93--><a name="page93"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 93</span>to Lord Liverpool the office of Lord
+Steward, or any other which he might prefer.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Sir Robert Peel then observed, that he should
+have every wish to apply a similar principle to the chief
+appointments which are filled by the Ladies of your
+Majesty&rsquo;s household; upon which your Majesty was pleased to
+remark, that you must reserve the whole of those appointments,
+and that it was your Majesty&rsquo;s pleasure, that the whole
+should continue as at present, without any change.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Duke of Wellington, in the interview to which your
+Majesty subsequently admitted him, understood, also, that this
+was your Majesty&rsquo;s determination, and concurred with Sir
+Robert Peel in opinion that, considering the great difficulties
+of the present crisis, and the expediency of making every effort,
+in the first instance, to conduct the public business of the
+country with the aid of the present Parliament, it was essential
+to the success of the commission with which your Majesty had
+honoured Sir Robert Peel, that he should have that public proof
+of your Majesty&rsquo;s entire support and confidence, which
+would be afforded by the permission to make some changes in that
+part of your Majesty&rsquo;s household, which your Majesty
+resolved on maintaining entirely without change.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Having had the opportunity, through your
+Majesty&rsquo;s gracious consideration, of reflecting upon this
+point, he humbly submits to your Majesty that he is reluctantly
+compelled, by a sense of public duty, and in interest of your
+Majesty&rsquo;s service, to adhere to the opinion which he
+ventured to express to your Majesty.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>In a later portion of his speech, Sir Robert remarks:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;I, upon that very question of Ireland,
+should have begun in a minority of upwards of twenty
+members.&nbsp; A majority of twenty-two had decided in favour of
+the policy of the Irish Government.&nbsp; The chief members of
+the Irish Government, whose policy was so approved of, were the
+Marquis <!-- page 94--><a name="page94"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 94</span>of Normanby and Lord Morpeth.&nbsp;
+By whom are the two chief offices in the household at this moment
+held?&nbsp; By the sister of Lord Morpeth, and the wife of Lord
+Normanby.&nbsp; Let me not, for a moment, be supposed to say a
+word not fraught with respect towards those two ladies, who cast
+a lustre on the society in which they move, less by their rank
+than their accomplishments and virtues; but still, they stand in
+the situation of the nearest relatives of the two Members of the
+Government, whose policy was approved by this House, and
+disapproved by me.&nbsp; Now, I ask any man in the House, whether
+it is possible that I could, with propriety and honour, undertake
+the conduct of an Administration, and the management of Irish
+affairs in this House, consenting previously, as an express
+preliminary stipulation, that the two ladies 1 have named,
+together with all others, should be retained in their
+appointments about the court and person of the Sovereign?&nbsp;
+Sir, the policy of these things depends not upon
+precedent&mdash;not upon what has been done in former times; it
+mainly depends upon a consideration of the present.&nbsp; The
+household has been allowed to assume a completely political
+character, and that on account of the nature of the appointments
+which have been made by Her Majesty&rsquo;s present Government I
+do not complain of it&mdash;it may have been a wise policy to
+place in the chief offices of the household, ladies closely
+connected with the Members of the Administration; but, remember
+that this policy does seriously to the public embarrassment of
+their successors, if ladies, being the nearest relatives of the
+retired Ministers, are to continue in their offices about the
+person of the Sovereign.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>So Lord Melbourne, returned to power.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p95b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Child&rsquo;s play.  Chorus:&mdash;&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t get
+out!&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t get out.&rdquo;  14 June,
+1939"
+title=
+"Child&rsquo;s play.  Chorus:&mdash;&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t get
+out!&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t get out.&rdquo;  14 June,
+1939"
+src="images/p95s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>The genial Caricaturist John Doyle, as there were no
+illustrated comic papers in those days, illustrated this incident
+in his H. B. Sketches.&nbsp; No. 591 is &ldquo;A Scene from the
+farce of <i>The Invincibles</i>, as lately performed in the
+Queen&rsquo;s Theatre&rdquo;&mdash;in which the Duke of
+Wellington and Sir Robert Peel are being expelled at the point of
+the bayonet, by ladies clad as soldiers.&nbsp; Sir Robert says:
+&ldquo;These Household Troops charge <!-- page 96--><a
+name="page96"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 96</span>in a most
+disorderly manner, but they are too many for us.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+While the Duke observes: &ldquo;Our position is no longer
+tenable; draw off in good order, while I cover the
+retreat.&rdquo;&nbsp; No. 592 is &ldquo;The Balance of
+Power.&nbsp; The figure proposed to displace the old one of
+Justice at the top of Constitution Hill.&rdquo;&nbsp; It shows a
+statue of the Queen, as Justice, holding a pair of scales, in
+which &ldquo;Private Friendship,&rdquo; typified by two ladies of
+the household, weighs down &ldquo;Public Service&rdquo; full of
+Ministers.&nbsp; I have here reproduced No. 597,
+&ldquo;Child&rsquo;s Play,&rdquo; in which figure the Queen, the
+Duchess of Sutherland, the Marchioness of Normanby, and other
+ladies of the household.&nbsp; No. 599 is a &ldquo;Curious
+instance of (Ministerial) &lsquo;Resuscitation,&rsquo; effected
+by distinguished members of the <i>Royal</i> Humane
+Society.&rdquo;&nbsp; Lord Melbourne is lying on a couch,
+attended by the Queen and ladies of the household.&nbsp; The
+Queen holds a smelling bottle to his nose, and says: &ldquo;Ah,
+there&rsquo;s a dear, now do revive.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Whether it was owing to this affair, or not, I know not, but
+at Ascot races this year the Queen was absolutely hissed at by
+some one, or more persons&mdash;and the <i>Times</i> of 25 June
+quotes from the <i>Morning Post</i> thus:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;At the last Ascot races, we have reason to
+believe that the Duchess of Montrose and Lady Sarah Ingestre
+received an intimation that Her Majesty was impressed with the
+idea that they were among the persons who had hissed at a moment
+when no sounds but those of applause, gratulation and loyalty
+ought to have been heard.&nbsp; It was, we believe, further
+intimated to the noble ladies we have mentioned, that the Royal
+ear had been abused, to the effect already stated, by Lady
+Lichfield.&nbsp; The ladies, who had reason to think that they
+had been thus unjustly and ridiculously accused, applied
+immediately to their supposed accuser, who denied that she had
+made any such communication.&nbsp; On being urged to give this
+denial in writing, she declined to do so without first consulting
+her lord.&nbsp; But, on the application being renewed at a
+subsequent period, her ladyship, as we understand, explicitly,
+and in writing, denied that she had given utterance <!-- page
+97--><a name="page97"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 97</span>to
+the calumny in question.&nbsp; Here the matter stood, until, from
+some incidents connected with the late ball at Buckingham Palace,
+the two ladies, thus impeached, saw reason to believe that the
+erroneous impression communicated to Her Majesty at Ascot had not
+been entirely removed.&nbsp; It was an impression, however, which
+they could not permit to remain without employing every means of
+removing it; and, accordingly, the Duchess of Montrose went to
+Buckingham Palace, and requested an audience of Her
+Majesty.&nbsp; After waiting for a considerable period (two
+hours, as we have been informed), her Grace was informed by the
+Earl of Uxbridge, that she could not be admitted to an audience,
+as none but Peers and Peeresses in their own right could demand
+that privilege.&nbsp; Her Grace then insisted upon Lord Uxbridge
+taking down in writing what she had to say, and promising her
+that the communication should immediately be laid before Her
+Majesty.&nbsp; In this state, we believe, the matter remains,
+substantially, at the present moment, although it has taken a new
+form, the Duke of Montrose having, we understand, thought it
+necessary to open a correspondence upon the subject with Lord
+Melbourne.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>There was only a partial denial given to the above, which
+appeared in the <i>Times</i> of 5 July.&nbsp; &ldquo;We are
+authorised to give the most positive denial to a report which has
+been inserted in most of the public papers, that the Countess of
+Lichfield informed the Queen that the Duchess of Montrose and
+Lady Sarah Ingestre hissed Her Majesty on the racecourse at
+Ascot.&nbsp; Lady Lichfield never insinuated, or countenanced any
+such report, and there could have been no foundation for so
+unjust an accusation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Melbourne, in Australia (named, of course, after the Premier),
+was founded 1 June, 1837, and I mention the fact to shew the
+prosperity of the infant city&mdash;for in two years&rsquo; time,
+on this its second anniversary, certain lots of land had advanced
+in price from &pound;7 to &pound;600, and from &pound;27 to
+&pound;930.</p>
+<p>I cannot help chronicling an amusing story anent Sunday
+trading.&nbsp; For some time the parish authorities of Islington
+<!-- page 98--><a name="page98"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+98</span>had been rigidly prosecuting shopkeepers for keeping
+open their shops on Sunday, for the sale of their goods, such not
+being &ldquo;a work of necessity, or mercy,&rdquo; and numerous
+convictions were recorded.&nbsp; Most of the persons convicted
+were poor, and with large families, who sold tobacco, fruit,
+cakes and sweets, in a very humble way of business, and
+considerable discontent and indignation was manifested in the
+parish in consequence of such prosecutions; the outcry was raised
+that there was one law for the rich and another for the poor, and
+a party that strongly opposed the proceedings on the part of the
+parish, resolved to try the legality and justice of the question,
+by instituting proceedings against the vicar&rsquo;s coachman,
+for &ldquo;exercising his worldly calling on the Sabbath
+day,&rdquo; by driving his reverend master to church, that not
+being a work of necessity, or mercy, as the reverend gentleman
+was able both to walk and preach on the same day.&nbsp; For this
+purpose a party proceeded to the neighbourhood of the
+vicar&rsquo;s stables one Sunday, and watched the proceedings of
+the coachman, whom they saw harness his horses, put them to the
+carriage, go to the vicar&rsquo;s house, take him up, and drive
+him to church, where he entered the pulpit, and preached his
+sermon.&nbsp; One day, the following week, they attended Hatton
+Garden Police Office and applied to Mr. Benett for a summons
+against the coachman.&nbsp; The magistrate, on hearing the nature
+of the application, told them it was a doubtful case, and the
+clerk suggested that if they laid their information the
+magistrate might receive it, and decide on the legal merits of
+the case.&nbsp; This was done, the summons was granted, and a day
+appointed for hearing the case.</p>
+<p>This took place on June 14, when John Wells, coachman to the
+vicar of Islington, appeared to answer the complaint of Frederick
+Hill, a tobacconist, for exercising his worldly calling on the
+Sabbath day.</p>
+<p>John Hanbury, grocer, of 3, Pulteney Street, being sworn,
+stated that, on Sunday, the 9th inst, about 1 o&rsquo;clock, he
+saw the defendant, who is coachman to the vicar of Islington,
+drive his coach to the Church of St. Mary, Islington, where he
+<!-- page 99--><a name="page99"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+99</span>took up the vicar and his lady, and drove them to their
+residence in Barnsbury Park.</p>
+<p>Mr. Benett: Are you sure it was the vicar?</p>
+<p>Witness: I heard him preach.</p>
+<p>John Jones, of Felix Terrace, Islington, corroborated this
+evidence.</p>
+<p>Mr. Benett said, that the Act of Parliament laid down that no
+tradesman, labourer, or other person shall exercise his worldly
+calling on the Lord&rsquo;s day, it not being a work of necessity
+or charity.&nbsp; He would ask whether it was not a work of
+necessity for the vicar to proceed to church to preach.&nbsp; A
+dissenter might say it was not a work of necessity.&nbsp; The
+coachman was not an artificer who was paid by the hour or the
+day, but he was engaged by the year, or the quarter, and was not
+to be viewed in the light of a grocer, or tradesman, who opened
+his shop for the sale of his goods on the Sabbath day.&nbsp;
+After explaining the law upon the subject, he said that he was of
+opinion that the defendant driving the vicar to church on
+Sundays, to perform his religious duties, was an act of
+necessity, and did not come within the meaning of the law, and he
+dismissed the case.</p>
+<p>The clergy did not seem to be much in favour with their
+flocks, for I read in the <i>Annual Register</i>, 1 Aug., of
+&ldquo;<span class="smcap">A New Way of Paying Church
+Rates</span>.&mdash;Mr. Osborne, a dissenter, of Tewkesbury,
+having declined to pay Church Rates, declaring that he could not
+conscientiously do so, a sergeant and two officers of the police
+went to his house for the purpose of levying under a distress
+warrant to the amount due from him.&nbsp; The officers were asked
+to sit down, which they did, and Mr. Osborne went into his
+garden, procured a hive of bees, and threw it into the middle of
+the chamber.&nbsp; The officers were, of course, obliged to
+retreat, but they secured enough of the property to pay the rate,
+and the costs of the levy, besides which, they obtained a warrant
+against Mr. Osborne, who would, most likely, pay dearly for his
+new and <i>conscientious</i> method of settling Church Rate
+accounts.&rdquo;</p>
+<h2><!-- page 100--><a name="page100"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 100</span>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">The Eglinton Tournament&mdash;Sale of Armour,
+&amp;c.&mdash;The Queen of Beauty and her Cook&mdash;Newspapers
+and their Sales.</p>
+<p>The Earl of Eglinton had a &ldquo;bee in his bonnet,&rdquo;
+which was none other than reviving the tournaments of the Age of
+Chivalry, with real armour, horses and properties; and he
+inoculated with his craze most of the young aristocracy, and
+induced them to join him in carrying it out.&nbsp; The
+preliminary rehearsals took place in the grounds of the Eyre Arms
+Tavern, Kilburn.&nbsp; The last of these came off on 13 July, in
+the presence of some 6,000 spectators, mostly composed of the
+aristocracy.&nbsp; The following is a portion of the account
+which appeared in the <i>Times</i> of 15 July:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;At 4 o&rsquo;clock the business of the day
+commenced.&nbsp; There might be seen men in complete steel,
+riding with light lances at the ring, attacking the
+&lsquo;quintain,&rsquo; and man&oelig;uvering their steeds in
+every variety of capricole.&nbsp; Indeed, the show of horses was
+one of the best parts of the sight.&nbsp; Trumpeters were calling
+the jousters to horse, and the wooden figure, encased in iron
+panoply, was prepared for the attack.&nbsp; A succession of
+chevaliers, <i>sans peur et sans reproche</i>, rode at their
+hardy and unflinching antagonist, who was propelled to the combat
+by the strength of several stout serving-men, in the costume of
+the olden time, and made his helmet and breastplate rattle
+beneath their strokes, but the wooden</p>
+<p>. . . Knight<br />
+Was mickle of might,<br />
+And stiff in Stower did stand,</p>
+<p><!-- page 101--><a name="page101"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+101</span>grinning defiance through the barred aventaile of his
+headpiece.&nbsp; It was a sight that might have roused the spirit
+of old Froissart, or the ghost of Hotspur.&nbsp; The Knight had,
+certainly, no easy task to perform; the weight of armour was
+rather heavier than the usual trappings of a modern dandy, and
+the heat of the sun appeared to be baking the bones of some of
+the competitors.&nbsp; Be this as it may, there was no
+flinching.&nbsp; The last part of the tournament consisted of the
+Knights tilting at each other.&nbsp; The Earl of Eglinton, in a
+splendid suit of brass armour, with <i>garde de reins</i> of
+plated chain mail, and bearing on his casque a plume of ostrich
+feathers, was assailed by Lord Cranstoun, in a suit of polished
+steel, which covered him from top to toe, the steel shoes, or
+sollarets, being of the immense square-toed fashion of the time
+of Henry VIII.&nbsp; The lances of these two champions were
+repeatedly shivered in the attack, but neither was unhorsed;
+fresh lances were supplied by the esquires, and the sport grew
+&lsquo;fast and furious.&rsquo;&nbsp; Lord Glenlyon and another
+knight, whose armour prevented him from being recognized, next
+tilted at each other, but their horses were not sufficiently
+trained to render the combat as it ought to have been, and
+swerved continually from the barrier.&nbsp; It was nearly eight
+o&rsquo;clock before the whole of the sports were concluded and
+the company withdrawn.&nbsp; We believe no accident happened,
+though several gentlemen who essayed to &lsquo;witch the world
+with noble horsemanship&rsquo; were thrown, amidst the laughter
+of the spectators.&nbsp; Captain Maynard proved himself a
+superior rider, by the splendid style at which he leaped his
+horse, at speed, repeatedly over the barrier, and the admirable
+manner in which he performed the modern lance exercise, and made
+a very beautiful charger curvet round and round his lance placed
+upright on the ground.&nbsp; The whole of the arrangements were
+under the direction of Mr. Pratt, to whose discretion the
+ordering of the tilting, the armour and arming, and all the
+appliances for the tournament have been entrusted.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Considering that the business of Saturday was but a
+rehearsal, and, putting entirely out of the question the folly,
+or wisdom, of the whole thing, it must be acknowledged that <!--
+page 102--><a name="page102"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+102</span>it has been well got up.&nbsp; Some of the
+heralds&rsquo; and pursuivants&rsquo; costumes are very
+splendid.&nbsp; There is an immense store of armour of all sorts,
+pennons, lances, trappings, and all the details of the wars of
+the middle ages.&nbsp; The display in Scotland will, certainly,
+be a gorgeous pageant, and a most extraordinary, if not most
+rational, piece of pastime.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The three days&rsquo; jousting and hospitality at Eglinton
+Castle, Ayrshire, which commenced on the 28th, and ended on the
+30th, August, are said to have cost the Earl of Eglinton the sum
+of &pound;40,000.&nbsp; He invited the flower of the aristocracy
+to attend&mdash;all the armour was choice and old, and the
+costumes were splendid.&nbsp; Every accessory was perfect in its
+way; and so it should have been, for it was two years in
+preparation.&nbsp; The Marquis of Londonderry was King of the
+Tourney, and Lady Seymour, a grand-daughter of <i>the</i>
+Sheridan, was the &ldquo;Queen of Love and Beauty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>By the evening of the 27th, Eglinton Castle was not only
+filled from cellar to garret, but the surrounding towns and
+villages were crammed full, and people had to rough it.&nbsp;
+Accommodation for man, or beast, rose from 500 to 1,000 per
+cent.; houses in the neighbourhood, according to their
+dimensions, were let from &pound;10 to &pound;30 for the time;
+and single beds, in the second best apartments of a
+weaver&rsquo;s cabin, fetched from 10/- to 20/- a night, while
+the master and mistress of the household, with their little ones,
+coiled themselves up in any out of the way corner, as best they
+might.&nbsp; Stables, byres, and sheds were in requisition for
+the horses, and, with every available atom of space of this
+description, it was found all too little, as people flocked from
+all parts of the country.</p>
+<p>The invitation given by the Earl was universal.&nbsp; Those
+who applied for tickets of admission to the stands were requested
+to appear in ancient costume, fancy dresses, or uniforms, and
+farmers and others were asked to appear in bonnets and kilts, and
+many&mdash;very many&mdash;did so; but although all the bonnet
+makers in Kilmarnock, and all the plaid manufacturers in
+Scotland, had been employed from the time of the announcement,
+onwards, they could not provide <!-- page 103--><a
+name="page103"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 103</span>for the
+wants of the immense crowd, and many had to go in their ordinary
+dress.</p>
+<p>Unfortunately, on the opening day, the weather utterly spoilt
+the show.&nbsp; Before one o&rsquo;clock, the rain commenced, and
+continued, with very little intermission, until the
+evening.&nbsp; This, necessarily, made it very uncomfortable for
+all, especially the spectators.&nbsp; Many thousands left the
+field, and the enjoyment of those who remained was, in a great
+measure, destroyed.&nbsp; The Grand Stand, alone, was covered in,
+and neither plaid, umbrella, nor great-coat could prevail against
+a deluge so heavy and unintermitting; thousands were thoroughly
+drenched to the skin; but the mass only squeezed the closer
+together, and the excitement of the moment overcame all external
+annoyances, although the men became sodden, and the finery of the
+ladies sadly bedraggled.</p>
+<p>It had been arranged that the procession should start from the
+Castle at one o&rsquo;clock, but the state of the weather was so
+unfavourable, that it did not issue forth till about half-past
+two, and the weather compelled some modifications; for instance,
+the Queen of Beauty should have shown herself &ldquo;in a rich
+costume, on a horse richly caparisoned, a silk canopy borne over
+her by attendants in costume,&rdquo; but both she, and her
+attendant ladies, who were also to have been on horseback, did
+not so appear, but were in closed carriages, whilst their
+beautifully caparisoned palfreys&mdash;riderless&mdash;were led
+by their pages.</p>
+<p>There were 15 Knights, besides the &ldquo;Lord of the
+Tournament,&rdquo; the Earl of Eglinton, and much as I should
+like to give their description and following, I must refrain,
+merely giving two as a sample&mdash;</p>
+<table>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&ldquo;Retainers of the Lord of
+the Tournament.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Halberdiers of the Lord, in
+Liveries of his Colours.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Man at Arms<br />
+in half armour.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">The <span
+class="smcap">Gonfalon,</span><br />
+Borne by a Man at Arms.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Man at Arms<br />
+in half armour.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">THE LORD OF THE TOURNAMENT.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">Earl of
+Eglington</span>.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Groom.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">In a suit of Gilt Armour,
+richly chased,<br />
+on a barded Charger&mdash;caparisons, &amp;c.,<br />
+of blue and gold.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Groom.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><!-- page 104--><a
+name="page104"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 104</span><span
+class="smcap">The Banner</span>.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Borne by <span
+class="smcap">Lord A. Seymour</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Esquire.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Esquire.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Esquire.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">G.
+Dundas.</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">F.
+Cavendish</span>, Esq.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">G.
+M&rsquo;Donal</span>, Esq.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Retainers of the Lord, as
+before.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><i>Halberdiers of the Knight of
+the Griffin</i>,<br />
+in Liveries of his Colours.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Man at Arms<br />
+in half armour.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">The
+Gonfalon</span>,<br />
+Borne by a man at Arms.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Man at Arms<br />
+in half armour.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><i>The Knight of the
+Griffin</i>.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">The Earl of
+Craven</span>,</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Groom.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">In a suit of engraved Milanese
+Armour<br />
+inlaid with gold, on a barded charger.<br />
+Caparisons, &amp;c., of Scarlet, White and Gold.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Groom.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Esquire.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">The
+Banner</span>,</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Esquire.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">The <span class="smcap">Hon. F.
+Craven</span>.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Borne by a man at Arms in<br />
+Half Armour.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">The <span class="smcap">Hon. F.
+Macdonald</span>.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Retainers&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
+<p>The other Knights were:&mdash;<i>The Knight of the Dragon</i>,
+<span class="smcap">Marquis of Waterford</span>; <i>Knight of the
+Black Lion</i>, <span class="smcap">Viscount Alford</span>;
+<i>Knight of Gael</i>, <span class="smcap">Viscount
+Glenlyon</span>; <i>Knight of the Dolphin</i>, <span
+class="smcap">Earl of Cassilis</span>; <i>Knight of the
+Crane</i>, <span class="smcap">Lord Cranstoun</span>; <i>Knight
+of the Ram</i>, <span class="smcap">Hon. Capt. Gage</span>;
+<i>The Black Knight</i>, <span class="smcap">John
+Campbell</span>, <span class="smcap">Esq.</span>, of Saddell;
+<i>Knight of the Swan</i>, <span class="smcap">Hon. Mr.
+Jerningham</span>; <i>Knight of the Golden Lion</i>, <span
+class="smcap">Capt. J. O. Fairlie</span>; <i>Knight of the White
+Rose</i>, <span class="smcap">Charles Lamb</span>,<span
+class="smcap"> Esq.</span>; <i>Knight of the Stag&rsquo;s
+Head</i>, <span class="smcap">Capt. Beresford</span>; <i>The
+Knight of the Border</i>, <span class="smcap">Sir F.
+Johnstone</span>; <i>Knight of the Burning Tower</i>, <span
+class="smcap">Sir F. Hopkins</span>; <i>The Knight of the Red
+Rose</i>, <span class="smcap">R. J. Lechmere</span>, <span
+class="smcap">Esq.</span>; <i>Knight of the Lion&rsquo;s Paw</i>,
+<span class="smcap">Cecil Boothby</span>, <span
+class="smcap">Esq.</span></p>
+<p>There were, besides, Knights Visitors, Swordsmen, Bowmen, the
+Seneschal of the Castle, Marshals and Deputy Marshals,
+Chamberlains of the household, servitors of the Castle, a Herald
+and two Pursuivants, a Judge of Peace, and a Jester&mdash;besides
+a horde of small fry.</p>
+<p>The first tilt was between the Knights of the Swan and the Red
+Rose, but it was uninteresting, the Knights passing each other
+twice, without touching, and, on the third course, the Knight of
+the Swan lost his lance.</p>
+<p><!-- page 105--><a name="page105"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+105</span>Then came the tilt of the day, when the Earl of
+Eglinton met the Marquis of Waterford.&nbsp; The latter was
+particularly remarked, as the splendour of his brazen armour, the
+beauty of his charger, and his superior skill in the management
+of the animal, as well as in the bearing of his lance, attracted
+general observation.&nbsp; But, alas! victory was not to be his,
+for, in the first tilt, the Earl of Eglinton shivered his lance
+on his opponent&rsquo;s shield, and was duly cheered by
+all.&nbsp; In the second, both Knights missed; but, in the third,
+the Earl again broke his lance on his opponent&rsquo;s armour; at
+which there was renewed applause from the multitude; and, amidst
+the cheering and music, the noble Earl rode up to the Grand
+Stand, and bowed to the Queen of Beauty.</p>
+<p>There were three more tilts, and a combat of two-handed
+swords, which finished the outdoor amusements of the day, and,
+when the deluged guests found their way to the Banqueting Hall,
+they found that, and its sister tent, the Ballroom, utterly
+untenantable through the rain; so they had to improvise a meal
+within the Castle, and the Ball was postponed.</p>
+<p>Next day was wild with wind and rain, and nothing could be
+attempted out of doors, as the armour was all wet and rusty, and
+every article of dress that had been worn the preceding day
+completely soaked through, and the Dining Hall and the Great
+Pavilion required a thorough drying.&nbsp; The former was given
+up to the cleansing of armour, etc., and, in the latter, there
+were various tilting matches on foot, the combatants being
+clothed in armour.&nbsp; There was also fencing, both with sticks
+and broadsword, among the performers being Prince Louis
+Bonaparte, afterwards Napoleon III.&nbsp; His opponent with the
+singlesticks was a very young gentleman, Mr. Charteris, and the
+Prince came off second best in the encounter, as he did,
+afterwards, in some bouts with broadswords with Mr. Charles
+Lamb.&nbsp; Luckily, in this latter contest, both fought in
+complete mail, with visors down, for had it not been so, and had
+the combat been for life or death, the Prince would have had no
+chance with his opponent.</p>
+<p>On the third day the weather was fine, and the procession <!--
+page 106--><a name="page106"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+106</span>was a success.&nbsp; There was tilting between eight
+couples of Knights, and tilting at the ring, and the tourney
+wound up with the Knights being halved, and started from either
+end of the lists, striking at each other with their swords in
+passing.&nbsp; Only one or two cuts were given, but the Marquis
+of Waterford and Lord Alford fought seriously, and in right good
+earnest, until stopped by the Knight Marshal, Sir Charles
+Lamb.</p>
+<p>In the evening, a banquet was given to 300 guests; and,
+afterwards, a ball, in which 1,000 participated.&nbsp; As the
+weather, next day, was so especially stormy, the party broke up,
+and the experimental revival has never again been attempted,
+except a Tourney on a much smaller scale, which was held on 31
+Oct., 1839, at Irvine, by a party from Eglinton Castle; but this
+only lasted one day.</p>
+<p>I regret that I have been unable to find any authentic
+engravings of this celebrated tournament, but I reproduce a
+semi-comic contemporaneous etching from the <i>Satirical
+Prints</i>, <i>Brit. Mus.</i></p>
+<p>The armour and arms used in this tournament were shown in
+Feb., 1840, at the Gallery of Ancient Armour in Grosvenor Street,
+and they were subsequently sold by Auction on July 17 and 18 of
+that year.&nbsp; They fetched ridiculously low prices, as the
+following example will show:</p>
+<p>A suit of polished steel <i>cap &agrave; pied</i> armour,
+richly engraved and gilt, being the armour prepared for the
+Knight of the Lion&rsquo;s Paw, with tilting shield, lance, plume
+and crest <i>en suite</i>, 32 guineas.</p>
+<p>The emblazoned banner and shield of the Knight of the Burning
+Tower, with the suit of polished steel, <i>cap-&agrave;-pied</i>
+armour, with skirt of chain mail, 35 guineas.</p>
+<p>The splendid suit of armour worn by the Knight of the Ram,
+with crest and plume, 24 guineas.</p>
+<p>The magnificent suit of polished steel armour, worn by the
+Knight of the Swan, with the emblazoned tilting apparel, horse
+armour, and caparison, tilting saddle, lances to correspond, and
+a splendid modelled horse of life size, carved and painted after
+nature, &pound;36.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><!-- page 107--><a
+name="page107"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 107</span>
+<a href="images/p107b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"The Eglinton Tournament"
+title=
+"The Eglinton Tournament"
+src="images/p107s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p><!-- page 108--><a name="page108"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+108</span>The armour worn as a Knight Visitor by Prince Louis
+Napoleon, with an elaborate visored headpiece, and other
+appurtenances complete, 9 guineas.</p>
+<p>The two beautifully-fashioned <i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;e</i>
+swords, used in the combat between Prince Louis and the Knight of
+the White Rose, seven shillings.</p>
+<p>On the second day&rsquo;s sale some of the suits fetched
+better prices.&nbsp; The splendid suit of fluted mail, worn by
+the Marquis of Waterford, was the gem of the collection.&nbsp; It
+was in the finest preservation, elaborately worked, and
+beautifully bright.&nbsp; It was considered one of the most
+perfect and complete suits in existence, and was bought at 240
+guineas for the Tower of London.&nbsp; Lord Alford&rsquo;s and
+Mr. Lechmere&rsquo;s suits both went for 100 guineas each.</p>
+<p>The spirit of the Tournament seems even to have affected the
+ladies, for we read of a passage of arms between Lady Seymour,
+the Queen of Beauty, and Lady Shuckburgh.&nbsp; It originally
+appeared in the <i>Observer</i> of 8 Feb., 1840, but was copied
+into the <i>Times</i> and other papers.</p>
+<blockquote><p>(Copy 1).&nbsp; &ldquo;Lady Seymour presents her
+compliments to Lady Shuckburgh, and would be obliged to her for
+the character of Mary Stedman, who states that she has lived
+twelve months, and still is, in Lady Shuckburgh&rsquo;s
+establishment.&nbsp; Can Mary Stedman cook plain dishes well?
+make bread? and is she honest, good tempered, sober, willing and
+cleanly?&nbsp; Lady Seymour would also like to know the reason
+why she leaves Lady Shuckburgh&rsquo;s service.&nbsp; Direct,
+under cover, to Lord Seymour, Maiden Bradley.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>(Copy 2.)&nbsp; &ldquo;Lady Shuckburgh presents her
+compliments to Lady Seymour.&nbsp; Her Ladyship&rsquo;s note,
+dated Oct. 28, only reached her yesterday, Nov. 3.&nbsp; Lady
+Shuckburgh was unacquainted with the name of the kitchenmaid,
+until mentioned by Lady Seymour, as it is her custom neither to
+apply for, or give characters to any of the under servants, this
+being always done by the housekeeper, Mrs. Couch, and this was
+well known to the young woman; therefore Lady Shuckburgh <!--
+page 109--><a name="page109"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+109</span>is surprised at her referring any lady to her for a
+character.&nbsp; Lady Shuckburgh having a professed cook, as well
+as a housekeeper, in her establishment, it is not very likely
+she, herself, should know anything about the ability or merits of
+the under-servants; therefore she is unable to answer Lady
+Seymour&rsquo;s note.&nbsp; Lady Shuckburgh cannot imagine Mary
+Stedman to be capable of cooking for any, except the
+servants&rsquo; hall table.&nbsp; Nov. 4, Pavilion, Hans
+Place.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>(Copy 3.)&nbsp; &ldquo;Lady Seymour presents her compliments
+to Lady Shuckburgh, and begs she will order her housekeeper, Mrs.
+Pouch, to send the girl&rsquo;s character without delay;
+otherwise, another young woman will be sought for elsewhere, as
+Lady Seymour&rsquo;s children cannot remain without their
+dinners, because Lady Shuckburgh, keeping &lsquo;a proffessed
+cook and a housekeeper,&rsquo; thinks a knowledge of the details
+of her establishment beneath her notice.&nbsp; Lady Seymour
+understood from Stedman that, in addition to her other talents,
+she was actually capable of dressing food for the little
+Shuckburghs to partake of, when hungry.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>[To this note was appended a clever pen-and-ink vignette, by
+the Queen of Beauty, representing the three little Shuckburghs,
+with large, turnip-looking heads and cauliflower wigs, sitting at
+a round table, and voraciously scrambling for mutton chops,
+dressed by Mary Stedman, who is seen looking on with supreme
+satisfaction, while Lady Shuckburgh appears in the distance, in
+evident dismay.]</p>
+<blockquote><p>(Copy 4.)&nbsp; &ldquo;<span
+class="smcap">Madam</span>,&mdash;Lady Shuckburgh has directed me
+to acquaint you that she declines answering your note, the
+vulgarity of which is beneath contempt; and, although it may be
+the characteristic of the Sheridans to be vulgar, coarse and
+witty, it is not that of &lsquo;a lady,&rsquo; unless she happens
+to be born in a garret and bred in a kitchen.&nbsp; Mary Stedman
+informs me that your Ladyship does not keep either a cook, or a
+housekeeper, and that you only require a girl who can cook a
+mutton chop.&nbsp; If so, I apprehend that Mary Stedman, <!--
+page 110--><a name="page110"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+110</span>or any other scullion, will be found fully equal to
+cook for, or manage the establishment of, the Queen of
+Beauty.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am, your Ladyship&rsquo;s etc.&mdash;<span
+class="smcap">Elizabeth Couch</span> (not Pouch.)&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Even in those days, Newspapers were somewhat given to vaunt
+themselves as to their circulation, but they had no need to call
+in the aid of the chartered accountant, as they could get their
+facts from the number of stamps supplied&mdash;the stamp then
+being of the value of three halfpence per newspaper, an impost
+which was not removed until 15 June, 1855, by the Act 18 and 19
+Vict., c. 27.&nbsp; The <i>Times</i> of 5 Aug., 1839, gives
+us</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;A return of the number of Newspaper Stamps
+issued to the several Newspapers in London, from 1 Ap. to 29
+June, 1839, inclusive; specifying each Newspaper by name, and the
+number of Stamps issued each month during that period to each
+Newspaper.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<table>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">April.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">May.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">June.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Morning Chronicle</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">180,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">210,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">140,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Morning Post</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">85,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">90,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">80,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Morning Herald</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">140,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">175,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">140,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Times</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">330,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">330,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">430,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Courier</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">29,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">33,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">27,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Globe</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">72,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">90,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">72,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Standard</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">83,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">80,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">101,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Sun</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">111,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">105,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">105,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Evening Chronicle</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">30,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">20,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">10,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Evening Mail</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">25,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">50,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">35,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>St. James&rsquo;s Chronicle</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">52,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">58,000</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">66,000</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h2><!-- page 111--><a name="page111"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 111</span>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">The Chartists&mdash;Their going to
+church&mdash;Dissolution of the Convention&mdash;Approaching
+marriage of the Queen&mdash;The Queen and lunatics&mdash;Raid on
+a Gaming House&mdash;Act of Penance.</p>
+<p>This year Chartism was rampant and very militant.&nbsp; On 1
+April there were riots at Devizes, on 3 May, seven men were
+arrested at Manchester for drilling, and, on the 25th of that
+month a great meeting was held on Kersall Moor, four miles from
+Manchester.&nbsp; On 4th July there were very serious riots at
+Birmingham, and again on the 15th.&nbsp; On the same date between
+3,000 and 4,000 Chartists met on Clerkenwell Green to condemn the
+action of the authorities at Birmingham, and, towards the end of
+the month, numerous meetings were held in the North of England,
+and there were riots at Newcastle and Stockport.&nbsp; In August
+there was great unrest in the North, and some trials took place
+at Birmingham and Manchester for rioting and sedition.</p>
+<p>A new, and somewhat unexpected method of agitation, was, about
+this time, adopted by the Chartists.&nbsp; They betook
+themselves, suddenly, to attendance in a body at public worship,
+taking early possession on the Sundays of the various cathedrals
+and parish churches, to the exclusion of the more regular
+attendants.&nbsp; On the afternoon of Sunday, 11 Aug., a party of
+them, about 500 in number, met together in West Smithfield, and
+walked in procession to St. Paul&rsquo;s Cathedral.&nbsp; On
+arriving there, many of them refused to take off their hats; but,
+after some remonstrance from the Vergers, they submitted.&nbsp;
+The majority of them wore a little piece of red ribbon in their
+button holes, and conducted themselves quite peaceably.&nbsp; On
+the Sunday following, their brethren at Norwich <!-- page
+112--><a name="page112"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+112</span>pursued a similar course at the Cathedral of that city,
+which was crowded almost to suffocation.&nbsp; The Bishop, who
+preached, took the opportunity to deliver an impressive
+remonstrance on the folly and danger of their proceedings.&nbsp;
+The Chartists behaved well in the Cathedral; but, at St.
+Stephen&rsquo;s Church in the evening, they made a
+disturbance.&nbsp; The Chartists at Manchester, following the
+advice of Feargus O&rsquo;Connor, attended the Old Church (now
+the Cathedral) in great numbers.&nbsp; The authorities, having
+been previously advised of their intention, had the military in
+readiness to act, should the Chartists behave in a disorderly
+manner: but they conducted themselves with great decorum.&nbsp;
+It is said that, previous to Divine Service, they handed the
+clergyman a Chartist text to preach from, but he selected as his
+text, &ldquo;My house is the house of prayer, but ye have made it
+a den of thieves&rdquo;; on announcing which, the Chartists rose,
+and quitted the church.&nbsp; The same tactics were followed in
+the principal towns all over the country, but, either from the
+success of them not being very apparent, or from the
+distastefulness of the method employed, the practice was not
+followed up for long&mdash;nor with any great regularity.</p>
+<p>On the 14th Sep. the Chartist National Convention was
+dissolved; and, on the 20th Feargus O&rsquo;Connor was arrested
+for sedition, on a Judge&rsquo;s Warrant, at Manchester, and
+things were fairly quiet during the remainder of the year, with
+the exception of a serious Chartist riot, on 4 Nov., at Newport,
+in Monmouthshire, where many rioters were killed.</p>
+<p>We have seen how, in the beginning of the year, the <i>Sun</i>
+had prophesied the marriage of the Queen and Prince Albert, for
+which it was duly pooh-poohed by the <i>Times</i>&mdash;but on 22
+Aug., the <i>Morning Post</i> had the dreadful temerity to
+announce the same&mdash;and the <i>Court Circular</i> of 11 Oct.
+tells us, that &ldquo;The Hereditary Prince (Ernest) and Prince
+Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, landed at the Tower, at 4
+o&rsquo;clock yesterday afternoon, from the Continent.&nbsp;
+Their Serene Highnesses were conveyed in two of the Royal landaus
+to the Royal Mews at Pimlico, and, shortly afterwards, left town
+<!-- page 113--><a name="page113"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+113</span>with their suite in two carriages and four, for Windsor
+Castle, on a visit to the Queen.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On the 14th Oct., the Queen informed Lord Melbourne of her
+intention to marry Prince Albert, which met with the
+Premier&rsquo;s warm approbation.&nbsp; Next day she told the
+Prince that she wished to marry him.&nbsp; He had been out early,
+with his brother, hunting, but returned at twelve, and
+half-an-hour afterwards, the Queen sent for him, and he found her
+alone in her room.&nbsp; That it was a love match on both sides
+is well known, and, until the untimely death of the Prince
+Consort, they were models of conjugal love and felicity.</p>
+<p>On 14 Nov. the Prince and his brother left Windsor&mdash;and
+departed for the Continent, via Dover; and, at a Privy Council
+held at Buckingham Palace on 23rd of that month, the Queen
+communicated her intention of marriage.&nbsp; The declaration was
+as follows:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;I have caused you to be summoned at the
+present time, in order that I may acquaint you with my resolution
+in a matter which deeply concerns the welfare of my people, and
+the happiness of my future life.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is my intention to ally myself in marriage with the
+Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.&nbsp; Deeply impressed
+with the solemnity of the engagement which I am about to
+contract, I have not come to this decision without mature
+consideration, nor without feeling a strong assurance that, with
+the blessing of Almighty God, it will at once secure my domestic
+felicity, and serve the interests of my country.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have thought fit to make this resolution known to
+you, at the earliest period, in order that you may be fully
+apprised of a matter so highly important to me and to my Kingdom,
+and which, I persuade myself, will be most acceptable to all my
+loving subjects.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Upon this announcement, all the Privy Councillors present made
+it their humble request that Her Majesty&rsquo;s most gracious
+declaration to them might be made public; which Her Majesty was
+pleased to order accordingly.</p>
+<p><!-- page 114--><a name="page114"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+114</span>The Queen suffered severely from lunatics.&nbsp; In
+June a man got into the gardens of Buckingham Palace, and, when
+arrested, declared he had come there for the sole purpose of
+killing Her Majesty, and was duly committed to Tothill
+Bridewell.&nbsp; Within a day or two of his release, in the
+middle of October, he went to Windsor and broke three or four
+panes of glass in the Castle.&nbsp; He was afterwards
+apprehended, but what became of him, I do not know; in all
+probability he was sent to a lunatic asylum.</p>
+<p>In the paper which gives the account of the above, I read,
+&ldquo;James Bryan, the Queen&rsquo;s Scotch suitor, was in
+Windsor the whole of yesterday (Sunday, 13 Oct.).&nbsp; In the
+morning, he was waiting, for a considerable period, at the door
+of St. George&rsquo;s Chapel, leading to the Cloisters, to have a
+view of the Queen, as Her Majesty and the two Princes of
+Saxe-Coburg, and the Duchess of Kent left the Chapel.&nbsp; In
+the afternoon, he walked on the Terrace, and conducted himself in
+his usual manner, very respectfully bowing to the Queen, as Her
+Majesty passed him on the New Terrace.&rdquo;&mdash;By the above,
+he must have been well known.</p>
+<p>On 29 Nov., a respectably-dressed man got over the high iron
+gates leading to the Castle, a place at which there were no
+sentries, and walked across the Park, to the grand entrance to
+the Castle.&nbsp; Upon seeing the porter in attendance at the
+lodge, he said: &ldquo;I demand entrance into the Castle as King
+of England&rdquo;; to which the porter replied: &ldquo;Very well,
+your Majesty, but be pleased to wait until I get my hat,&rdquo;
+and then taking him to the Castle, handed him over to the
+police.&nbsp; He turned out to be a man named Stockledge, who was
+partner in an extensive wholesale business in Manchester.&nbsp;
+He had been in two lunatic asylums, and when questioned by the
+Mayor of Windsor, as to the object of his visit, said that:
+&ldquo;he was like all other men who wanted wives&mdash;he was
+looking after one,&rdquo; evidently alluding to Her
+Majesty.&nbsp; On being further questioned, he said &ldquo;he was
+the King of England, and was impelled by the Spirit.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+He afterwards said that &ldquo;an unknown power had done
+it,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;it was the Spirit which helped him
+over the gates.&rdquo;&nbsp; Of course he <i>was</i> mad.</p>
+<p><!-- page 115--><a name="page115"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+115</span>There was yet another fool this year, but, this time,
+he was not a maniac&mdash;only a Post Office Clerk, who wanted to
+have an interview with Her Majesty.&nbsp; On the afternoon of the
+8th Dec., a carriage and four drove up to Windsor Castle, and,
+from it, alighted a personage wearing a foraging cap, a fur boa
+round his neck, and fur gloves, who announced himself as the
+bearer of important despatches which he must deliver into the
+Queen&rsquo;s own hands.&nbsp; This, of course, was not complied
+with, and as he would not part with the documents, he was handed
+over to the police, and taken to the station, where he made a
+sturdy resistance when they were taken from him.&nbsp; He turned
+out to be a junior clerk in the Foreign Post Office, named
+William Saunders, who, being on duty when the Foreign Mails
+arrived, found some letters and papers addressed to the Queen,
+and put them into his pocket with the intention of delivering
+them himself.&nbsp; He was suspended from his duties, but I do
+not know his ultimate fate.</p>
+<p>Gambling houses were still in existence, although the Police
+Act of this year (2 &amp; 3 Vict., c. 47, s. 48) gave the police
+great and additional power towards suppressing them.&nbsp; Here
+is a sample raid as reported in the <i>Observer</i> of 15
+Dec.:</p>
+<p class="gutsumm">&ldquo;Superintendent Baker, C, succeeded on
+Saturday night week, in breaking his way into a gambling house,
+60 Jermyn Street (commonly called the Cottage), and some persons,
+therein found, were fined, on Monday, at Marlborough Street
+Office.&nbsp; In all, seven persons were captured, of whom, two
+were connected with the management of the gambling house; the
+others were gentlemen players.&nbsp; They were taken to the
+Station house in Vine Street; and, as we know it to be the
+anxious desire of the police authorities to suppress the nuisance
+of gaming houses, we feel that we are but lending our humble aid
+towards effecting that object in now publishing the real names of
+those gentlemen who were captured, and who passed themselves off
+to the police and the magistrate as being &lsquo;Jones,&rsquo;
+&lsquo;Smith,&rsquo; and other conventional misnomers.&nbsp;
+(Here follow the names.)&nbsp; Our Correspondent has told us of a
+certain noble lord, who was running here and there, on the <!--
+page 116--><a name="page116"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+116</span>night of the capture of his friends, striving, in the
+first instance, to get them bailed out, and, failing in that, to
+provide for them creature comforts in their cells.&nbsp; We
+cannot avoid mentioning one or two little incidents connected
+with this affair.&nbsp; The admission of spirits to prisoners in
+a station house is strictly forbidden, but, on this occasion,
+their friends outside succeeded in introducing eight soda water
+bottles filled with excellent pale brandy, so regularly corked
+and wired, as to deceive even the sharp eyes of the
+Inspector.</p>
+<p class="gutsumm">&ldquo;Next day (Sunday), at 12 o&rsquo;clock,
+they were bailed out, but, on the following morning at
+Marlborough Street Office, a sad mishap had all but blown up the
+misnomers; for, when the name of &lsquo;Jones&rsquo; was called
+from the police sheet, the gentleman who had honoured that name
+by assuming it, quite forgot his condescension, until one of his
+companions in trouble nudged him in the side, saying,
+&lsquo;D---n it, that&rsquo;s you.&rsquo;&nbsp; By the way, the
+croupier escaped through the skylight, with the bank, amounting,
+it is supposed, to, at least, &pound;500.&nbsp; He, and a boy who
+escaped with him, had but a minute or two the start of the
+police.&nbsp; As it was, the croupier met with a most severe
+accident, having cut his thigh so deeply as to cause a most
+serious hemorrhage.&nbsp; The gutter was flooded with his
+blood.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>I wind up the year by chronicling an event which, I fancy,
+will never occur again, one of the most singular circumstances
+connected with it being, that the penitent was a Jewess.&nbsp; It
+occurs in a letter in the <i>Times</i> of 19 Dec.:</p>
+<p style="text-align: right" class="gutsumm">&ldquo;<span
+class="smcap">Act of Penance</span>, <span class="smcap">St.
+John&rsquo;s</span>, <span class="smcap">Clerkenwell</span>.</p>
+<p class="gutsumm">&ldquo;Sir.&mdash;Understanding that many
+stories are afloat concerning the above act, performed on Sunday
+last (15 Dec.) by a young woman of the Jewish persuasion, named
+Deborah Cohen, I thought the particulars might be
+acceptable.&nbsp; This affair appears to have arisen from some
+family quarrel, the action in the Ecclesiastical Court, having
+been brought against her by her brother, for having made use to
+her sister-in-law, Rosetta Cohen, of a term contrary as well to
+this part of our <!-- page 117--><a name="page117"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 117</span>laws, as to the usages of
+society.&nbsp; To avoid expenses she had no means to meet, and
+the consequences thereof, her solicitor advised her to admit her
+fault, and abide the award of the Court.&nbsp; This having got
+wind, the unpretending church of St. John&rsquo;s was beset,
+early on Sunday last, by great crowds, amongst whom it required
+great exertion of the parish officers and the police to preserve
+a proper decorum.&nbsp; The crowds were, however, disappointed in
+seeing this young woman exposed in the open church, with the
+covering of a white sheet, etc., the order from the
+Ecclesiastical Court only having enjoined her to appear in the
+vestry room of this church, on Sunday morning last, after service
+and a sermon, and before the minister, churchwardens, and five or
+six of the plaintiff&rsquo;s friends (some of whom attended), to
+recite, after the minister, her regret, etc., in the words laid
+down in the order.&nbsp; This was carried into effect,
+accordingly, the crowds in the church and St. John&rsquo;s Square
+remaining long after the ceremony had been performed, and the
+parties had left the vestry.</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: right">&ldquo;W.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<h2><!-- page 118--><a name="page118"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 118</span>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Commencement of Penny Post&mdash;Postage
+Stamps&mdash;Prince Albert&rsquo;s allowance&mdash;The
+<i>Times</i> comments on the Marriage&mdash;Royal Wedding
+Cake&mdash;Louis Napoleon&rsquo;s duel&mdash;Nelson
+Column&mdash;Noblemen&rsquo;s servants&mdash;Uproar at the
+Italian Opera House.</p>
+<p>The most important event in the beginning of this year was the
+inauguration of the Penny Post on Jan. 10.&nbsp; At the end of
+1839, an uniform postage rate of 4d. per letter was tried on Dec.
+5, which was so successful that the present penny postage was
+established, one feature of which, the prepayment of letters, was
+much appreciated by the public.&nbsp; The number of letters
+despatched by the Mails from the Metropolis, on the 10th, was
+much greater than was expected, amounting to 112,000, the daily
+average for January, 1839, having been about 30,000 only.&nbsp;
+Out of the 112,000 letters there were only 13,000 or 14,000
+unpaid, and this was probably owing to the fact that people could
+not get out of their old habits all at once.</p>
+<p>The Postage Stamps, however, were not ready, for we read in
+the <i>Times</i> of 17 Jan.: &ldquo;The construction of the
+stamps is advancing with all speed, the several artists to whom
+they are intrusted being actively engaged upon them.&nbsp; In the
+stamp for letter paper and the adhesive stamp, a profile of the
+Queen is the principal ornament.&nbsp; The letter paper stamp is
+being engraved by Mr. Wyon, R.A., medallist to the Mint.&nbsp;
+Charles Heath is engraving the drawing taken from Wyon&rsquo;s
+City medal, by H. Corbould, intended for the adhesive
+stamp.&nbsp; W. Mulready, R.A., has furnished the design for the
+cover and envelope, which is in the hands of John Thompson for
+engraving.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><!-- page 119--><a name="page119"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+119</span>And, now, until the Queen was married, all the talk was
+of that event.&nbsp; First of all Prince Albert must be made a
+naturalised Englishman, and a bill to that effect was read for
+the third time in the House of Lords on 21 Jan., in the Commons
+on the 22nd, and received the Royal Assent on the 24th. <a
+name="citation119a"></a><a href="#footnote119a"
+class="citation">[119a]</a>&nbsp; On the 23rd he was invested
+with the Order of the Garter at Gotha.&nbsp; The second reading
+of the Act for his naturalization was heard in the House of Lords
+on the 27th, but owing to some dispute as to the question of his
+precedence, it was adjourned until the 31st, when it was read,
+and on 3 Feb. it was read a third time, and it received the Royal
+Assent on 7 Feb.&nbsp; But there was another thing yet to be
+done, which was to supply His Serene Highness with Funds, and on
+Jan. 22 Lord John Russell proposed the sum of &pound;50,000 per
+annum.&nbsp; The discussion thereon was adjourned until the 24th,
+and re-adjourned until the 27th, when Mr. Hume moved a reduction
+to &pound;21,000, which was lost by a majority of 267.&nbsp; Col.
+Sibthorp then proposed a sum of &pound;30,000, which was agreed
+to, and the Act received the Royal Assent on 7 Feb.</p>
+<p>The feeling of the country on the subject of the Royal
+Marriage is, to my thinking, very fairly summarised in a leading
+article in the <i>Times</i> of 10 Feb., portions of which I
+transcribe: &ldquo;It has followed from this policy, <a
+name="citation119b"></a><a href="#footnote119b"
+class="citation">[119b]</a> that an English monarch should,
+<i>c&oelig;teris paribus</i>, rather avoid than court an alliance
+with one of the first-rate powers of Europe, but should prefer
+security to aggrandizement, satisfied with a consort selected
+from a less prominent, and, therefore, less exposed,
+position.&nbsp; If there be safety, therefore, in comparative
+weakness and insignificance, we know not that, on such a ground,
+any other princely house throughout Europe, could offer
+inducements preferable to those possessed by those of
+Saxe-Coburg.&nbsp; Objections against this individual member of
+<!-- page 120--><a name="page120"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+120</span>the family might, perhaps, present themselves to
+reflecting minds, on the score of his close consanguinity to
+Queen Victoria, a circumstance not usually looked upon as
+propitious to the hope of a flourishing offspring.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another argument might be urged against the match, from
+the undoubted fact that the name of Saxe-Coburg is not popular in
+this country, a misfortune for which we do not undertake to
+account; nor shall we longer dwell upon either of the above
+considerations, which we have hinted at, merely to shew that they
+have not wholly escaped our notice. . . .</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Prince Albert has now become one of us.&nbsp; He is,
+actually, now an English subject.&nbsp; He is tied to us by law
+and self-interest.&nbsp; Let us bind him to us by gratitude and
+affection.&nbsp; The happiness of our youthful Queen is now in
+his hands.&nbsp; He has the means of so directing and assisting
+her future footsteps, as to retrieve for Her Majesty (we speak
+with frankness, but with all respect) all she has forfeited in
+the hearts of the most loyal, enlightened and virtuous of her
+subjects, through her unhappy bias towards persons and principles
+which are hourly undermining the deep foundations of her
+Throne.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have said that it devolves upon Prince Albert to
+counteract a host of &lsquo;evil influences,&rsquo; and to aid
+his Royal Consort in repairing &lsquo;many very grievous
+errors&rsquo; into which selfish and treacherous counsellors have
+betrayed her, and which her constant separation (contrived by
+them) from all but one section, or coterie of her subjects, has
+served to render extremely difficult of correction.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Queen Victoria has scarcely been permitted to see the
+general aspect of the British aristocracy, or to become
+acquainted with their sentiments, their characters, or their
+manners.&nbsp; The petty, artificial world framed and got up for
+her deception, is no more capable of suggesting to her mind the
+vast moral and social creation beyond its narrow boundaries, than
+one or two leaves of a <i>hortus siccus</i> exemplify the
+productions of a noble forest, or a varied and inimitable
+landscape. . . .</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are the heads of the nation to be discovered at the
+Queen <!-- page 121--><a name="page121"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 121</span>of England&rsquo;s Court?&nbsp; Has
+the worth, or wisdom, or eminence of the nation any access to the
+society of the Sovereign?&nbsp; Have the clergy of England, or
+any of them&mdash;have their representatives&mdash;bishops,
+priests, or deacons, the opportunity of communicating personally
+with the temporal head of the Church of England?&nbsp; Are they,
+or any of them, ever seated at the Royal table, or received into
+the Royal presence, or favoured with the Royal smile?&nbsp; No;
+such associations comport not with the policy of her ministers;
+the ear of the Sovereign is whispered from the choicest of her
+subjects&mdash;the palace doors are locked inexorably against all
+but a certain clique.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Let us turn from this little lecture to the Queen, honest and
+faithful though it be, to the all-absorbing subject of Gossip,
+the Royal Marriage&mdash;and first, and foremost, comes the Royal
+Wedding Cake, which weighed nearly 300lbs.&nbsp; It was three
+yards in circumference and about 14 inches deep.&nbsp; This was
+the cake itself, which, according to a contemporary account,
+&ldquo;is covered with sugar of the purest white; on the top is
+seen the figure of Britannia in the act of blessing the
+illustrious bride and bridegroom, who are dressed, somewhat
+incongruously, in the costume of ancient Rome.&nbsp; These
+figures are not quite a foot in height; at the feet of His Serene
+Highness is the effigy of a dog, said to denote fidelity; and, at
+the feet of the Queen is a pair of turtle doves, denoting the
+felicities of the marriage state.&nbsp; A Cupid is writing in a
+volume expanded on his knees, the date of the marriage, and
+various other Cupids are sporting and enjoying themselves as such
+interesting little individuals generally do.&nbsp; These little
+figures are well modelled.&nbsp; On the top of the cake are
+numerous bouquets of white flowers tied with true lover&rsquo;s
+knots of white satin ribbon, intended for presents to the guests
+at the nuptial breakfast.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 6 Feb. the Prince landed at Dover from Ostend, and on the
+7th went to Canterbury; on the 8th he reached London and
+Buckingham Palace; and, on the 10th they were married at the
+Chapel Royal, St. James&rsquo;; spent the honeymoon at Windsor,
+and made their <i>rentr&eacute;e</i> into society on 26 Feb.,
+when they went, in State, to Drury Lane Theatre.</p>
+<p><!-- page 122--><a name="page122"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+122</span>Duelling, although on the wane, was far from
+dead.&nbsp; I could have given numerous instances of duels in the
+earlier part of this reign, but have refrained, as they were of
+no particular interest; but the following is an exception, as it
+relates to one who, in after years, was to make a great name in
+history for himself.</p>
+<p><i>Times</i>, 4 March:</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Bow
+Street</span>.&mdash;Shortly after the opening of the court
+yesterday morning, and before any of the night charges had been
+disposed of, Prince Louis Napoleon and Le Comte Leon, who is said
+to be the son of Bonaparte, to whom he hears a striking
+resemblance, were brought before Mr. Jardine, charged by Nicholas
+Pearce, inspector of the A division, with having met at Wimbledon
+Common, and attempted to commit a breach of the peace, by
+fighting a duel with swords and pistols.</p>
+<p>Lieut.-Col. Jeremiah Ratcliffe, 6th Dragoons, as second to the
+last defendant, and Col. Charles Parquin, second to the Prince,
+together with Count D&rsquo;Orsay, and a servant, named Mertial
+Kien, with aiding and assisting the principals in the intended
+combat.</p>
+<p>Previous to the evidence being taken, two brace of pistols,
+with powder flasks, and a pair of rapiers, were laid on the table
+for the inspection of the magistrate.</p>
+<p>Inspector Pearce, being sworn, said, about 2 o&rsquo;clock
+this morning he received information from Superintendent Baker,
+that certain parties had an intention of meeting in a hostile
+manner on Wimbledon Common, some of whom were to start from
+Fenton&rsquo;s Hotel and the others from Carlton Gardens; in
+consequence of which I went into St. James&rsquo;s Street, where
+I saw a post-chaise drive up to the door of the hotel, about 7
+o&rsquo;clock, but I could not ascertain if any person had got
+into it.&nbsp; After delaying a short time, it moved slowly on in
+the direction of Piccadilly, followed by Col. Ratcliffe, and
+stopped again at Tattersall&rsquo;s, where another person
+followed towards Hyde Park Corner.&nbsp; The chaise was then
+driven westward, and I followed it on horseback; but, previous to
+arriving <!-- page 123--><a name="page123"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 123</span>at Hyde Park Corner, the defendant
+Ratcliffe passed, on horseback, in Piccadilly.</p>
+<p>Mr. Jardine: What hour might it be then?</p>
+<p>Witness: It was then nearly 7 o&rsquo;clock.&nbsp; On arriving
+at the Common, I saw the entire party collected near to the
+Windmill, and the post-chaise proceeding in that direction.&nbsp;
+Having dismounted, and left the horse in the care of a
+countryman, I proceeded to where the chaises were standing, and
+then I saw the defendants walking away, from them, some yards
+down, to a hollow part of the ground, each party apparently
+making arrangements about the duel.&nbsp; They then stopped, and
+as I approached Col. Parquin, seeing two letters in one hand, and
+the two swords produced, in the other, I took them from
+him.&nbsp; At that time, the pistols produced, in a case, were
+lying on the ground, near to another brace, which were wrapped up
+in paper.&nbsp; Some conversation passed between Count
+D&rsquo;Orsay and Col. Parquin, which appeared to be whether the
+combat was to be fought with pistols or with swords, and the
+Count asked me what I wanted; my authority for interfering; and
+who it was that gave me information of the circumstance.&nbsp; At
+that moment, Inspector Partridge, accompanied by Sergt. Otway and
+other constables, came up, and, on Col. Ratcliffe taking the
+pistols from the case, he was taken into custody.&nbsp; I
+instantly went to him, and, shewing him my staff, told him I was
+an officer, and that I was, in duty, bound to take him into
+custody, for attempting to commit a breach of the peace.&nbsp;
+Count D&rsquo;Orsay requested to be told who it was who had given
+the information, and, on being refused, the entire party were
+quietly conveyed to the station house.</p>
+<p>Mr. Jardine: Have you since ascertained that the pistols
+contained powder and balls?</p>
+<p>Witness: Yes, Sir; there are balls in them, and caps upon
+them.</p>
+<p>Colonel Ratcliffe declared there was no powder in the pistols,
+which belonged to him, as could be seen; for it had been arranged
+that the duel was to be fought with swords.</p>
+<p>Mr. Jardine inquired if any of the defendants, who were <!--
+page 124--><a name="page124"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+124</span>foreigners, and not sufficiently conversant with the
+English language, would wish to hear the evidence read over to
+them in French?</p>
+<p>Le Comte Leon replied in French, that he could not
+sufficiently understand the evidence that had been given, but he
+was quite satisfied that all the proceedings were perfectly legal
+and correct.</p>
+<p>Prince Louis said, he was prepared, if required, to enter into
+an explanation of the circumstances which gave rise to the
+offence with which he was charged.</p>
+<p>Mr. Jardine did not wish to hear any statement on either side,
+as his duty was only to prevent a breach of the peace, and he
+hoped the defendants were prepared with the sureties he would
+require, to prevent further inconvenience.</p>
+<p>Count D&rsquo;Orsay said, he had come prepared with bail,
+which he thought there could be no objection to.</p>
+<p>Prince Louis requested that the two letters, which had been
+taken from his friend, should be delivered up to him.</p>
+<p>Mr. Jardine immediately delivered up the letters, saying he
+should require the principals to enter into bail, themselves in
+&pound;500 each, and two sureties in &pound;250 each, to keep the
+peace with all Her Majesty&rsquo;s subjects, and particularly
+with each other, for the next 12 months.</p>
+<p>Count D&rsquo;Orsay: One surety in &pound;500, would, perhaps,
+answer as well as two in &pound;250 each, if it meets with your
+approbation.</p>
+<p>Mr. Jardine said he had no objection to such a course, and, if
+the other defendants were prepared with bail, it might be
+taken.</p>
+<p>Col. Ratcliffe said his surety was present.</p>
+<p>Mr. Jardine: The bail I shall require is, that each of the
+other defendants enter into his own recognizance in &pound;100,
+and two sureties in &pound;50 each, to keep the peace for the
+same period, with the exception of the defendant Kien, who may
+put in his own recognizances in &pound;100.</p>
+<p>Mr. Joshua Bates, of Portland Place, having offered himself as
+surety for Prince Louis Napoleon and Col. Parquin, was
+accepted.</p>
+<p>Mr. Fenton was accepted as bail for Le Comte Leon, and <!--
+page 125--><a name="page125"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+125</span>the Hon. Francis Baring, M.P., became surety for Col.
+Ratcliffe and Count D&rsquo;Orsay.</p>
+<p>The Chief Clerk having conducted the parties into the
+Magistrate&rsquo;s private room, where they were furnished with
+the requisite notices, returned to the Court to take directions
+respecting the disposal of the weapons and other articles which
+were found upon the defendants on their being taken into
+custody.</p>
+<p>Mr. Jardine said he could make no order about them, but he
+thought that, as the defendants had put in bail, there could be
+very little apprehension of their committing a similar offence,
+if they were restored to their proper owners.</p>
+<p>It appeared that the two letters had been written by the Comte
+Leon to his cousin, as he was styled, demanding that he would
+retract certain expressions respecting their relationship, which
+he was alleged to have made use of; and, his not complying, gave
+rise to the quarrel.</p>
+<p>On the 10th of April the offer of Messrs. Grissell and Peto
+was accepted, to erect the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square,
+within two years, for a sum of &pound;17,860.</p>
+<p>There is a curious police case as to the habits and customs of
+Noblemen&rsquo;s servants, which may be interesting to my
+readers.&nbsp; It was brought before the Magistrate at Queen
+Square on 14 April, when the House Steward of the Earl of
+Galloway applied for summonses against the footmen attending the
+carriages of Viscount Melbourne, the Marquis of Normanby, the
+Marquis of Lansdowne and Lord Tankerville, for assault and
+damage.</p>
+<p>It appeared from the statement of the applicant, that the
+servants attending the carriages of peers, to the House of Lords,
+have a waiting room, which they call their Club room, and that
+they have formed themselves into a society, governed by one of
+their body, whom they call their &ldquo;Constable.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+They have a set of rules, dated as far back as 1759, obedience to
+which is strictly enforced under pain of certain fines.</p>
+<p>On Friday evening, the coachman of the Earl of Galloway set
+his lordship down at the House of Lords, with orders <!-- page
+126--><a name="page126"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 126</span>to
+wait.&nbsp; The footman, who was, it appears, a new comer, was,
+on entering the club room, called upon to pay a fine, or
+&ldquo;footing&rdquo; of two shillings, to be spent in beer, but
+he replied that he had no money about him; and, on their
+insisting on its being paid, he left the room, and got on the
+carriage box, with the coachman, but the &ldquo;members,&rdquo;
+headed by their Constable, with his staff of office, pursued him,
+insisted upon his coming down, and were about to pull him off the
+box, when the coachman told them that his fellow servant had no
+money with him, but, if they would go, he would be answerable
+that it should be paid.&nbsp; They, however, insisted that it
+should be spent in their Club, and that the new servant should be
+present.</p>
+<p>Mr. Burrell: How many were there of them?</p>
+<p>Applicant said there were, he understood, 10 or 12, but it was
+only intended to proceed against the four ringleaders.&nbsp; The
+coachman, finding that they were determined to have his fellow
+servant off the box, drove on a little way, and, on returning to
+his place, Lord Normanby&rsquo;s carriage ran against his, and
+seriously damaged it.&nbsp; The footman was, at length, dragged
+from the box, and very roughly handled: his foot was hurt.&nbsp;
+The coachman was also struck with the long &ldquo;staff&rdquo;
+carried by the &ldquo;constable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Samuel Linturn, the footman, corroborated this statement.</p>
+<p>The summonses were granted.</p>
+<p>It was stated that Lord Normanby, at once, offered to make
+good the damage done, but this the Earl of Galloway declined,
+having determined that the whole matter should be publicly
+investigated by a magistrate.</p>
+<p>Two days afterwards, four footmen in the employ of Lords
+Melbourne, Lansdowne, Normanby and Tankerville appeared to answer
+the summonses.</p>
+<p>The complainant, in the course of his evidence, said that he
+had been to the House of Lords on several previous occasions, but
+had never been asked for anything, nor did he even know of the
+existence of such a room.&nbsp; Turk asked him whose servant he
+was, but he refused to tell him.&nbsp; Turk, at the time, had, in
+his hand, a pointed stick, which he called <!-- page 127--><a
+name="page127"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 127</span>a staff; he
+made no demand for money then, but went away, and the complainant
+got on the box with the coachman, who took the coach to the
+stand.&nbsp; Turk, accompanied by several others, then came
+up.&nbsp; The Marquis of Bute&rsquo;s footman said he would pay
+the fine, or footing, and placed two shillings on the footboard
+of the carriage for that purpose.&nbsp; This did not satisfy
+them.&nbsp; Several persons, amongst whom were the defendants,
+got upon the coach, and swore that if he did not come down, they
+would pull him down.&nbsp; There were several police about, and,
+although he called upon them for assistance, they would not
+come.</p>
+<p>Both he and the coachman told them that he had no money, and
+the coachman said he would secure them payment, if they would go
+and drink the beer, but they insisted upon the
+complainant&rsquo;s presence in the &ldquo;club.&rdquo;&nbsp; He
+still refused, and then they brought a long pole, which they
+called a &ldquo;horse.&rdquo;&nbsp; The coachman drove up
+Abingdon Street to avoid them, but several of the carriages drew
+out of the rank, and followed them, and, as the coachman turned
+to regain his station, Lord Normanby&rsquo;s carriage was driven
+against him, and the Earl of Galloway&rsquo;s carriage sustained
+considerable damage; it was forced on the footway, and was
+obliged to stop, upon which, several of the footmen ran, and
+seized the horses by their heads.&nbsp; The defendants dragged
+the complainant off the box; one had hold of his foot, and
+another, who seized upon his greatcoat, tore the buttons from it,
+and from his gaiters and breeches.&nbsp; They then placed him
+upon the pole, which they called &ldquo;putting him on
+horseback.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They then rode him into the room mentioned, where Lord
+Holland&rsquo;s footman sat as chairman, and decided that he
+should pay two shillings.&nbsp; He borrowed the money from Lord
+Lansdowne&rsquo;s servant, and was about to leave the room, but
+he was forced to resume his seat, as he was told he could, from
+the room, easily hear when the carriage was called, and that
+&ldquo;he must sit and drink his beer.&rdquo;&nbsp; He was also
+told that he was now sworn in, and had only to kiss the staff,
+which was presented to him, but he refused to do it.&nbsp; He was
+detained three-quarters of an hour, against his will.&nbsp; His
+<!-- page 128--><a name="page128"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+128</span>foot was hurt, and the coachman was injured by a blow
+from the &ldquo;staff.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The coachman corroborated the evidence, and the defendants
+were fined ten shillings each.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>On the 29th April, there was an uproar in the Italian Opera
+House, which might have expanded into another O.P. riot of
+1809.&nbsp; The Impresario, M. Laporte, had not engaged
+Tamburini, because his terms were too high, and the
+singer&rsquo;s friends were highly indignant.&nbsp; On this
+evening, at the conclusion of the opera of <i>I Puritani</i>,
+several voices began calling for M. Laporte, with shouts of
+&ldquo;Tamburini!&rdquo;&nbsp; Poor M. Laporte appeared and began
+a speech in which he sought to excuse himself, but it was drowned
+by a torrent of groans and hisses, which came, principally, from
+the occupants of the &ldquo;omnibus&rdquo; box. <a
+name="citation128"></a><a href="#footnote128"
+class="citation">[128]</a>&nbsp; M. Laporte so clearly perceived
+this, that, in a few minutes, his speech to the audience merged
+into a private conversation with its occupants.&nbsp; The noise
+increased, and M. Laporte declared that he was not to be
+&ldquo;intimidated,&rdquo; a word which roused the
+&ldquo;omnibus&rdquo; party to perfect fury.&nbsp; He retired,
+and the curtain rose for the ballet, in which a new dancer was to
+have made her appearance.&nbsp; The noise, now, became terrible;
+yells, hisses, and all sorts of uncouth sounds were blended in
+frightful discord.&nbsp; The dancers, perceiving all attempts at
+a performance were in vain, and, at the same time, being afraid
+to quit the stage, sat quietly, all round.</p>
+<p>Again and again Laporte came forward, and tried to bring
+matters to a settlement, and once he ventured to say, that, as
+manager, he had a right to engage performers at his own
+discretion, and that he was not to be responsible to an
+audience&mdash;which, it is needless to say, added fuel to
+fire.&nbsp; Then he told them his engagements would not allow him
+to employ Tamburini, which meant ruin to him, but it only
+provoked more noise.&nbsp; Then he appealed to their better
+feelings by telling them of the many years he had catered for
+their amusement, and this did bring him some support, for cries
+of <!-- page 129--><a name="page129"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+129</span>&ldquo;Shame,&rdquo; &ldquo;No Tamburini,&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;No Intimidation,&rdquo; were heard, but this only had the
+effect of dividing the audience, and increasing the hubbub.</p>
+<p>Once again poor Laporte came forward, and talked of engaging
+Tamburini on &ldquo;Conditions.&rdquo;&nbsp; This word upset all,
+and the Tamburinists asked: &ldquo;Will you engage him?&nbsp;
+Yes, or No?&rdquo;&nbsp; Laporte said he would make proposals,
+and, if those proposals, etc.&nbsp; This would not do;
+&ldquo;Yes, or No?&rdquo; said his persevering
+interrogators.&nbsp; &ldquo;Say &lsquo;No,&rsquo;&rdquo; said his
+supporters.&nbsp; He began talking about terms.&nbsp; &ldquo;Same
+terms as last year,&rdquo; shouted all the &ldquo;Omnibus&rdquo;
+party, upon which he retired, without proposing anything
+satisfactory.&nbsp; Everyone was getting tired, when, at last, a
+gentleman, in a box opposite the &ldquo;Omnibus,&rdquo; stepped
+over the front of his box on to the stage, and was followed by a
+party; the &ldquo;Omnibus&rdquo; party entered the stage from the
+opposite side, and, at one o&rsquo;clock, the Tamburinists had
+taken possession, and waved their hats triumphantly, on the
+stage, as the curtain fell.</p>
+<p>It was this episode that the Rev. R. H. Barham has
+immortalized in his <i>Ingoldsby Legends</i>, under the title of
+&ldquo;A Row in an Omnibus (box),&rdquo; beginning:</p>
+<blockquote><p>Doldrum the Manager sits in his chair,<br />
+With a gloomy brow and dissatisfied air,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And he says, as he slaps his hand on his knee,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll have nothing to do with
+Fiddle-de-dee!</p>
+<p>&lsquo;&mdash;But Fiddle-de-dee sings clear and loud,<br />
+And his trills and his quavers astonish the crowd.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Such a singer as he,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You&rsquo;ll nowhere see,<br />
+They&rsquo;ll all be screaming for Fiddle-de-dee!</p>
+<p>&lsquo;&mdash;Though Fiddle-de-dee sings loud and clear,<br />
+And his tones are sweet, yet his terms are dear!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The glove won&rsquo;t fit!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The deuce a bit.<br />
+I shall give an engagement to Fal-de-ral-tit!&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<h2><!-- page 130--><a name="page130"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 130</span>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">The Mulready Envelope&mdash;Plans of Royal
+Exchange decided on&mdash;Fire at York Minster&mdash;Queen shot
+at by Oxford&mdash;Oxford in Bedlam&mdash;Scientific
+Agriculture&mdash;Electro-metallurgy&mdash;Embossed
+envelope&mdash;Sale of Louis Napoleon&rsquo;s effects.</p>
+<p>On the 1st of May, the Post Office issued the long expected
+postal envelope designed by W. Mulready, R.A., and the opinion of
+<i>The Times</i> may be taken as the expression of most
+people&rsquo;s feelings about it.</p>
+<blockquote><p><i>Times</i>, 2 May.&mdash;&ldquo;We have been
+favoured with a sight of one of the new stamp covers, and we must
+say we never beheld anything more ludicrous than the figures or
+allegorical device by which it is marked with its official
+character&mdash;why not add embellished?&nbsp; Cruickshank could
+scarcely produce anything so laughable.&nbsp; It is, apparently,
+a spirited attempt to imitate the hieroglyphic which formed one
+of the ornaments to <i>Moore&rsquo;s Almanack</i>; Britannia is
+seated in the centre, with the lion couchant (Whiggish) at her
+feet; her arms are extended, scattering little flying children to
+some elephants on the left; and, on the right, to a group of
+gentlemen, some of whom, at all events, are not enclosed in
+<i>envelopes</i>, writing on their knees, evidently on account of
+a paucity of tables.&nbsp; There are, besides, sundry figures,
+who, if they were to appear in the streets of London, or any of
+our highways, would be liable to the penalties of the Vagrant Act
+for indecent exposure.&nbsp; Under the tableland by which these
+figures are supported, some evidence of a laudable curiosity is
+depicted, by three or four ladies, who are represented reading a
+billet doux, or valentine, and some little boys, evidently
+learning <!-- page 131--><a name="page131"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 131</span>to spell, by the mental exertion
+which their anxious faces disclose.&nbsp; One serious omission we
+must notice.&nbsp; Why have those Mercuries in red jackets, who
+traverse London and its environs on lame ponies, been
+omitted?&nbsp; We must admit that, as they have been, recently,
+better mounted, that is one reason why they should not appear in
+this Government picture.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>But the reader can judge how far this description is borne
+out.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p131b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Mulready envelope"
+title=
+"Mulready envelope"
+src="images/p131s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>As a matter of fact, it was so universally disapproved of by
+the public, and was the object of so much ridicule, as to <!--
+page 132--><a name="page132"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+132</span>necessitate the destruction of nearly all the vast
+number prepared for issue.&nbsp; To do this, a machine had to be
+specially constructed; the attempt to do the work by fire, in
+close stoves (fear of robbery forbade the use of open ones),
+having absolutely failed.&nbsp; They are now somewhat scarce, but
+are extensively forged.&nbsp; It was satirized and laughed at by
+all, and a contemporary criticism, which has been reproduced in
+<i>The Philatelist</i>, vol. vii., p. 145, is very amusing:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Britannia is sending her messengers
+forth<br />
+To the East, to the West, to the South, to the North:<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; At her feet is a lion wot&rsquo;s taking a nap,<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And a dish-cover rests on her legs and her lap.<br
+/>
+To the left is a Mussulman writing a letter,<br />
+His knees form a desk, for the want of a better;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Another believer&rsquo;s apparently trying<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To help him in telling the truth, or in lying.<br />
+Two slaves &rsquo;neath their burden seem ready to sink,<br />
+But a sly-looking elephant &lsquo;tips us the wink&rsquo;;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; His brother behind, a most corpulent beast,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Just exhibits his face, like the moon in a mist.<br
+/>
+On each is a gentleman riding astraddle,<br />
+With neat Turkey carpets in lieu of a saddle;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The camels, behind, seem disposed for a lark,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The taller&rsquo;s a well-whisker&rsquo;d,
+fierce-looking shark.<br />
+An Arab, arrayed with a coal-heaver&rsquo;s hat,<br />
+With a friend from the desert is holding a chat;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The picture&rsquo;s completed by well-tailed
+Chinese<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; A-purchasing opium, and selling of teas.<br />
+The minister&rsquo;s navy is seen in the rear&mdash;<br />
+They long turned their backs on the service&mdash;&rsquo;tis
+clear<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; That they now would declare, in their typical
+way,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; That Britannia it is who has done it, not they.<br
+/>
+A reindeer and Laplander cutting through snow,<br />
+The rate of their progress (down hill) seems to show.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To the right, is the King of the Cannibal
+Islands,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; In the same pantaloons that they wear in the
+Highlands<br />
+Some squaws by his side, with their infantile varments,<br />
+And a friend, in the front, who&rsquo;s forgotten his
+garments.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Frost, Williams and Jones <a
+name="citation132"></a><a href="#footnote132"
+class="citation">[132]</a> have this moment been hook<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And are fixing the day they would choose to be
+cook&rsquo;d.<br />
+<!-- page 134--><a name="page134"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+134</span>There a planter is giving and watching the tasks<br />
+Of two worthy niggers, at work on two casks.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Below, to the left, as designed by Mulready,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Is sorrow&rsquo;s effect on a very fat lady;<br />
+While joy at good news may be plainly descried,<br />
+In the trio engaged on the opposite side.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p133b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Left&mdash;Lord Monteagle and Mr. Baring, Britannia, Lord
+Palmerston.  Right&mdash;O&rsquo;Connell and the Duke of
+Wellington"
+title=
+"Left&mdash;Lord Monteagle and Mr. Baring, Britannia, Lord
+Palmerston.  Right&mdash;O&rsquo;Connell and the Duke of
+Wellington"
+src="images/p133s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>There were very many pictorial satires on this unfortunate
+wrapper, but none bore so near a resemblance to it as the
+accompanying illustration by John Doyle (H.B. Sketches, 26 May,
+1840, No. 639).&nbsp; Lord Palmerston, as Britannia, is
+dispatching Mercuries with fire and sword, to the east, typical
+of the wars in Egypt and China.&nbsp; On the other hand, he sends
+a flight of Cupids to Father Mathew, the apostle of Temperance,
+who was then doing such good work in Ireland, whilst a man is
+knocking the bung out of a whisky barrel.&nbsp; Beneath this
+group is O&rsquo;Connell, who is roaring out &ldquo;Hurrah for
+Repeal!&rdquo; to the horror of the Duke of Wellington, who is
+behind him.&nbsp; On the left is Lord Monteagle, late Chancellor
+of the Exchequer, ill in bed; whilst his successor, Mr. Baring,
+reads to him the result of his policy: &ldquo;Post Office
+deliveries in the quarter, &pound;272,000!&nbsp; Total deficiency
+in the year, to be made up by new taxation,
+&pound;2,000,000!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 7 May, the Gresham Committee met to decide on the two plans
+for the New Royal Exchange, one prepared by Mr. Cockerell, R.A.,
+and the other by Mr. Tite, President of the Architectural
+Society, which was in favour of the latter by 13 votes to
+7.&nbsp; The works were immediately proceeded with.</p>
+<p>Talking of one fire seems to lead on to another, for on 20
+May, York Minster was for the second time visited with a
+conflagration&mdash;this time, however, it was caused
+accidentally, and not the work of an incendiary.</p>
+<p>The following extract from a letter dated York, 21 May, gives
+a graphic account of the fire, and is of especial interest, as
+being from the pen of a spectator.</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;You may hear the rumour of the alarming and
+truly awful calamity that has occurred in this city, before you
+receive this.&nbsp; <!-- page 135--><a name="page135"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 135</span>I have witnessed it, and shall hold
+the recollection as long as my memory exists.&nbsp; About 20
+minutes to 9 last evening, I was told the Minster was on
+fire.&nbsp; I ran out, immediately, towards it, and stood by it,
+just as the flames had issued from the top part of the south-west
+tower, at a height that an engine could not have played
+upon.&nbsp; The fire continued to rage until it had entire
+possession of the upper part; flames issuing from every window,
+and piercing the roof.&nbsp; To describe the feelings under which
+I witnessed the devouring flames preying upon a national
+monument, which every man must look upon with admiration,
+requires a pen more descriptive than mine.&nbsp; Grief, awe,
+wonder and admiration were the emotions with which I regarded the
+destruction of this venerable church.&nbsp; I soon obtained
+admission into the nave of the Cathedral, and observed the first
+falling down of the burnt embers.&nbsp; The flames illumined the
+interior with more than mid-day brightness; the light, pouring
+through the crevices, threw a brilliancy over the scene which
+imagination cannot paint.&nbsp; The fire, at this time, was
+wholly confined to the tower.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;After the space of half an hour, the flooring of the
+belfry in the tower began to be forced by the falling bells and
+lighted beams.&nbsp; At this period, my nerves were strung to the
+highest excitement.&nbsp; The noise was extraordinary.&nbsp; The
+shouting of the firemen, the roaring of the flames rushing up the
+tower with the rapidity of a furnace draught, sounded in the high
+and arched space, awful and terrific.&nbsp; The falling masses of
+wood, and bells, sounded like the near discharge of artillery,
+and were echoed back from the dark passages, whose glomy shade,
+and hollow responses seemed mourning at the funeral pile that
+burned so fiercely.&nbsp; In one hour, the tower was completely
+gutted, and masses of burning timber lay piled against the
+south-west door.&nbsp; The upper and under roof, composed
+principally of fir timber, covering the nave, as far as the
+centre tower, had, by this time, become fired, and burned with
+extraordinary rapidity.&nbsp; The firemen, by a well-managed
+direction of the water, prevented the flames passing through the
+west windows of the centre tower, and continued <!-- page
+136--><a name="page136"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+136</span>their exertions at that spot, until the whole of the
+roof had fallen in, and lay, in the centre of the aisle, a sea of
+fire.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The west doors had, now, become nearly burnt through,
+and planks were brought to barricade them, and prevent the
+rushing of air to fan the embers to flame, which might have
+communicated to the organ, and thence, throughout the whole pile
+of buildings.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At 1 o&rsquo;clock, this morning, I again entered the
+Cathedral, and then concluded there was no further danger of
+destruction.&nbsp; The tower is standing, also the walls and
+pillars of the nave; and, beyond that, the building, I am happy
+to state, is saved.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The fire is supposed to have originated from a clock
+maker, who has been, for some time past, occupied in repairing
+the clock in that tower, who might accidentally, have dropped a
+spark from a candle.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The repairs in 1829, when the Cathedral was fired by the
+fanatic, John Martin, cost &pound;65,000, which was raised by
+subscription, and it was estimated that the cost of the present
+repairs would amount to about &pound;20,000.</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>I know of no other general topic of conversation in May, but,
+in June, there was one which set every one in the United Kingdom,
+and the whole civilized world, a talking.&mdash;<span
+class="smcap">The Queen had been Shot at</span>!!!&nbsp; A little
+after 6 p.m. the Queen and Prince Albert left Buckingham Palace
+for their before-dinner drive, and had barely got one-third up
+Constitution Hill, when a young man, who had been walking
+backwards and forwards, as the carriage came near, and was nearly
+opposite him, turned round, and, drawing a pistol from his
+breast, fired at the carriage, which, however, went on its
+way.&nbsp; The man then looked back, to see whether any person
+was standing near enough to prevent him, and drew another pistol,
+which he discharged at the carriage.&nbsp; Prince Albert ordered
+the postillions to drive on, and they went as far as Hyde Park
+Corner, and thence to the Duchess of Kent&rsquo;s mansion in
+Belgrave Square, and, after staying there some little time, drove
+to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen was <!-- page 137--><a
+name="page137"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 137</span>received by
+crowds of her subjects, cheering vociferously.&nbsp; To say that
+she was not affected by the incident would not be true, but she
+soon recovered from its effects.</p>
+<p>The person who shot at her was a little undersized boy (5ft.
+4in.), about 18, named Edward Oxford, a publican&rsquo;s barman,
+out of work, and as &ldquo;Satan finds work for idle hands to
+do,&rdquo; this boy must needs buy two pistols, bullets, powder
+and caps, and begin practising shooting.&nbsp; Whatever made it
+enter into his wicked little head to shoot at the Queen, no one
+knew, but he did, and was speedily in the hands of the
+police.&nbsp; He was examined and re-examined, and finally tried
+at the Central Criminal Court on 9 July, the trial lasting two
+days.&nbsp; The defence was the plea of insanity, and, as no
+bullets could be found, the jury brought in a verdict of
+&ldquo;Guilty, he being, at the time, insane&rdquo;; and, in
+accordance with such verdict, the judge sentenced him to be
+imprisoned during Her Majesty&rsquo;s pleasure.</p>
+<p>On the day after being shot at, the Queen and Prince Albert
+took their wonted drive in the Park, amidst the shouts of crowded
+thousands, and the next day, she, in State, received the
+congratulations of the Houses of Lords and Commons, the latter
+having the first audience.&nbsp; At two o&rsquo;clock, the state
+carriage of the Speaker entered the court, followed by 109
+carriages filled with members of the House of Commons; never
+before, it was said, was the Speaker followed by so numerous a
+<i>cort&egrave;ge</i>, on the occasion of presenting an
+address.&nbsp; As soon as the carriages of the Commons had left
+the court, the procession of the Lords began to enter, the barons
+first, then the other peers, rising in rank to the royal
+dukes.&nbsp; They wore all their stars and garters, and made a
+brave show.</p>
+<p>We get a glimpse of Oxford in prison in a paragraph of the
+<i>Times</i>, 28 Feb., 1843, copied from a Sunday paper.</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;As numberless strange and conflicting
+rumours have been propagated, relative to the treatment
+experienced by Edward Oxford, in his place of incarceration, the
+curiosity of the visitor on this head was, naturally, great,
+especially as it is generally understood that those who are
+favoured with permission <!-- page 138--><a
+name="page138"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 138</span>to visit
+Bethlehem, are not allowed to see Oxford.&nbsp; This is not,
+however, the fact.&nbsp; In a compartment of the establishment,
+principally allotted to those who are supposed to have committed
+heinous crimes in moments of madness, Edward Oxford is
+confined.&nbsp; He is not separated from the other unfortunate
+persons who reside in that division of the building, but is
+allowed free intercourse with them.&nbsp; Among his comrades are
+Mr. Pierce, surgeon, who shot his wife whilst labouring under a
+paroxysm of madness produced by jealousy; and Captain Good, whose
+favourite phantasy is the assumption of the attribute of
+Majesty.&nbsp; There is, in the same division of the
+establishment, a very diminutive man, who imagines himself to be
+Lord John Russell.&nbsp; He amuses himself, nearly all day long,
+with knitting.&nbsp; Captain Good is fond of smoking, and Pierce
+hovers over the fireplace (a stove) all day.&nbsp; Oxford diverts
+himself with drawing and reading.&nbsp; He told the visitor, who
+furnished us with this account, that he had taught himself to
+read French with ease, during his incarceration, but that he was
+unable to speak the language, for want of an opportunity of
+studying the pronunciation.&nbsp; He said that he was terribly
+tired of his sojourn at Bethlehem, and that he wished he could
+obtain his liberty, even though he should be placed under
+<i>surveillance</i> during the remainder of his life.&nbsp; The
+visitor remarked that there was no such thing as <i>surveillance
+de police</i> in England.&nbsp; To which Oxford replied that he
+was perfectly acquainted with that fact; and that the condition
+upon which he thus desired his liberty, was rather an imaginary
+one, than a strictly legal and feasible one.&nbsp; Upon another
+question being put to him, he said he knew he had been placed in
+Bethlehem under an impression that he was mad, but that he was,
+really, very far from being mad.&nbsp; He exhibited some of his
+drawings, which were uncommonly well executed, and evinced a
+natural talent for the art.&nbsp; There were a view of
+Abbotsford, a horse&rsquo;s head, a portrait of the Virgin Mary,
+and one or two other designs, which were, really, most tastefully
+sketched and shaded.&nbsp; He appeared pleased when complimented
+on his proficiency in the art of drawing, and observed that he
+was self-taught.&nbsp; In <!-- page 139--><a
+name="page139"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 139</span>manners, he
+is modest, civil and unassuming, and certainly exhibits not the
+slightest symptom of insanity.&nbsp; We know that medical
+jurisprudence admits that it is very difficult to determine the
+exact line of demarcation where sound sense stops, and insanity
+commences; but he, who has visited a receptacle for the insane,
+will speedily observe the strange state and appearance of the
+eyes of those whose intellects are unhinged.&nbsp; This
+appearance cannot be mistaken either in lucid or rabid intervals;
+it is still perceptible, although, of course, in a greater or
+lesser degree.&nbsp; Now, the visitor to Bethlehem, on the
+occasion here refered to, particularly observed the eyes of all
+the inmates; and those of one only showed not the least&mdash;not
+the most remote symptoms of insanity.&nbsp; This one individual
+was Edward Oxford.&nbsp; He appears in his conversation, his
+manners, his countenance and his pursuits, as sane, collected,
+and intelligent as possible.&nbsp; Of course, the deed for which
+he is now in durance was not touched upon; nor was any
+information relative to that subject sought of the turnkeys, or
+keepers.&nbsp; With respect to food, Oxford is not treated one
+atom better than his fellow sufferers; the diet of the inmates of
+the hospital is plentiful and good, but no favour is shown to any
+particular individual, with regard either to quality, or
+quantity.&nbsp; Oxford appears to enjoy very excellent health;
+and he is remarkably clean and neat in his person.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>He was, afterwards, removed to Broadmoor, and I have been
+told, although I cannot vouch for the fact, that he was liberated
+some years ago, and sent to Australia.</p>
+<p>Early in July, we begin to hear of a higher style of farming
+than that previously in use, as we find the <i>Dumfries
+Courier</i> advocating the use of nitrate of soda as a manure,
+but, yet, are cautious on the subject.&mdash;&ldquo;An extensive
+trial of it will be necessary before any proper judgment can be
+pronounced.&nbsp; It is, as yet, unknown whether its effects are
+lasting, and until this is ascertained, caution must be
+used.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Another thing, too, was just beginning to attract
+attention&mdash;Electro-metallurgy.&nbsp; True it is that
+Wollaston applied the <!-- page 140--><a name="page140"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 140</span>principle of the Voltaic pile to the
+deposition of one metal upon another in 1801, and it was further
+developed by Bessemer (1834), Jacobi and the Elkingtons in 1838,
+and Spencer in 1839, but for practical utility it was still in
+its infancy, and we can see how far it had advanced, in the
+following extract from a German Paper: &ldquo;Munich, 22 July,
+1840.&mdash;Much is at present said in the public papers
+respecting the imitations of medals, reliefs, etc., by means of a
+galvanic deposition of copper.&nbsp; This art, called Galvano
+plastic, first discovered by Professor Jacobi of St. Petersburg,
+and brought to greater perfection by Mr. Spencer, of Liverpool,
+and by Professor Von Kebel, of Munich, may justly be classed as
+one of the most useful of modern inventions; and, from its great
+importance, its employment in technical operations must soon
+become general.&nbsp; Indeed, some persons in England, perceiving
+the great influence which this invention is destined to have on
+manufacturing industry, are already applying it to the production
+of buttons, arabesques, and various ornaments in Copper.&nbsp;
+Herr G. A. Muller, mechanician of Leipsic, has recently called
+attention to the application of Galvano plastic to
+typography.&nbsp; He has, however, been, in some measure,
+anticipated by the experiments made in 1839, in Rosel&rsquo;s
+printing office, in Munich; where, by following the methods of
+Jacobi and Spencer, the lines of copperplate were produced in
+relief.&nbsp; Wood cuts were, also, converted into metallic
+plates, which, to say nothing of the advantage of the solidity of
+the metal, far exceeded the effect of the most perfect
+casting.&nbsp; The experiments for making stereotype plates in
+copper have, also, been successful.&nbsp; In short, the invention
+has now reached that stage which must secure for it the attention
+of all practical men.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mulready&rsquo;s postal wrapper having been killed by
+universal derision: in July was produced an envelope with an
+embossed head of the Queen thereon, and these could be bought
+until the close of her reign.</p>
+<p>Prince Louis Napoleon, previously to his ill-starred
+expedition to Boulogne, had left instructions for his furniture
+and jewellery to be sold; and sold they accordingly were by <!--
+page 141--><a name="page141"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+141</span>Christie and Manson on 21 Aug., and Mr. Bernal and
+other <i>virtuosi</i> went to the sale to see what Napoleonic
+relics they could pick up.&nbsp; Among these were two silver
+cups, with the eagle and initial of Queen Hortense, &pound;5 10/-
+and a casket of camei, formerly the property of the Empress
+Josephine, was divided into 22 lots, one of which was a pair of
+earrings, the gift of Pius VI. to Josephine during the first
+campaign in Italy, in 1796, sold for &pound;46 4/-, and the
+original marble bust of Napoleon, when Consul, dated 1804, by
+Canova, fetched &pound;232 11/-.</p>
+<p>On 28 Aug. Prince Albert received the freedom of the City of
+London; and, on 11 Sep., he was made a Privy Councillor.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 142--><a name="page142"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 142</span>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Lord Cardigan and the &ldquo;Black
+bottle&rdquo; case&mdash;Lord Cardigan&rsquo;s duel with Lieut.
+Tuckett&mdash;Steam to India&mdash;Nelson
+Column&mdash;Mormonism&mdash;&ldquo;The Boy
+Jones&rdquo;&mdash;Napoleon&rsquo;s body transferred to
+France.</p>
+<p>About this time the Earl of Cardigan made himself particularly
+conspicuous before the public, and the commencement of it was the
+famous &ldquo;black bottle&rdquo; question, and I well remember
+that that useful utensil was, for many years, called a
+&ldquo;Cardigan.&rdquo;&nbsp; My Lord was Colonel of the 11th
+Hussars, &ldquo;Prince Albert&rsquo;s Own,&rdquo; and it so
+happened that, on the 18th May, 1840, when the Inspecting Officer
+dined with the mess, Captain Reynolds of &ldquo;Ours&rdquo;
+ordered, at mess, a bottle of Moselle, which, instead of being
+decanted, was served in its original envelope, a proceeding which
+gave offence to the aristocratic taste of the Colonel, and,
+according to a statement which was published in many
+newspapers:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The following morning Capt. Jones delivered
+the following message to Capt. Reynolds: &lsquo;The Colonel has
+desired me, as president of the mess committee, to tell you that
+you were wrong in having a black bottle placed on the table, at a
+great dinner like last night, as the mess should be conducted
+like a gentleman&rsquo;s table, and not like a tavern, or
+pothouse,&rsquo; or words to that effect.&nbsp; Capt. Reynolds
+received the message with astonishment, but without remark, and,
+subsequently, waited on the Earl of Cardigan, and complained of
+it, but received no satisfactory answer.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A short time afterwards, Capt. Reynolds met Capt. Jones
+in the mess-room, and, in the presence of two officers, said to
+him: &lsquo;Captain Jones, I wish to speak to you about the <!--
+page 143--><a name="page143"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+143</span>message you brought me this morning.&nbsp; In the first
+place, I do not think you were justified in giving it at all; as
+a brother captain, having no possible control over me, it would
+have been better taste if you had declined to deliver
+it.&rsquo;&nbsp; He replied: &lsquo;I received it from the
+Commanding Officer, and, as such, I gave it; and, if you refuse
+to receive it from me, I shall report it.&rsquo;&nbsp; Capt.
+Reynolds replied: &lsquo;Do not misunderstand me, Captain Jones;
+I have received, and do receive it; but the message was an
+offensive one; and I tell you, once for all, that, in future, I
+will not allow you, or any man, to bring me offensive
+messages.&rsquo;&nbsp; Capt. Jones said: &lsquo;If I am ordered
+to give a message, I shall give it.&rsquo;&nbsp; Capt. Reynolds
+said: &lsquo;Well, you may do as you please; but if you bring me
+improper messages, you must take the consequences.&rsquo;&nbsp;
+Capt. Jones replied, &lsquo;he should certainly do so,&rsquo; and
+left the room.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The two captains who were present (one not an officer
+of the regiment) proved that Capt. Reynolds&rsquo; manner was
+quiet and inoffensive.&nbsp; Capt. Jones reported the
+conversation; and, soon afterwards, Capt. Reynolds was summoned
+to the orderly room; where, in presence of Major Jenkins, the
+adjutant, and Capt. Jones, Lord Cardigan thus addressed Capt.
+Reynolds, in no very agreeable tone, or manner: &lsquo;If you
+cannot behave quietly, Sir, why don&rsquo;t you leave the
+regiment?&nbsp; This is just the way with you Indian officers;
+you think you know everything; but I tell you, Sir, that you
+neither know your duty, nor discipline.&nbsp; Oh, yes, you do
+know your duty, I believe, but you have no idea whatever of
+discipline, and do not, at all, justify my
+recommendation.&rsquo;&nbsp; Capt. Reynolds remained silent; when
+Lord Cardigan added, &lsquo;Well, I put you in arrest.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Capt. Jones then offered Capt. Reynolds his hand, upon
+which, Capt. Reynolds, turning towards him, said, &lsquo;No,
+Capt. Jones, I will not shake hands with you; nothing has passed
+which renders it necessary.&nbsp; I have no quarrel with you, and
+I deny having insulted you, and see no reason why I should shake
+hands with you, or the contrary.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Lord Cardigan said, &lsquo;But I say you have insulted
+Capt. Jones.&rsquo;&nbsp; Capt. Reynolds quietly replied,
+&lsquo;I have not, my <!-- page 144--><a name="page144"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 144</span>Lord&rsquo;; upon which Lord
+Cardigan said, &lsquo;Well, I put you under arrest, and shall
+report the matter to the Horse Guards.&rsquo;&nbsp; Capt.
+Reynolds said, &lsquo;I am sorry for it;&rsquo; and retired.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The matter was reported to the Horse Guards, after
+Capt. Reynolds had been in close arrest three days.&nbsp; Lord
+Hill sent a memorandum, recommending Capt. Reynolds to
+acknowledge the impropriety of his conduct towards Lord Cardigan,
+and to declare his readiness to resume friendly intercourse with
+Capt. Jones.&nbsp; This recommendation Capt. Reynolds obeyed; but
+he still refused to shake hands with Capt. Jones, which would
+seem to imply a previous quarrel, or to drink wine with him
+within any specified time.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the 9th of June, Gen. Sleigh went to Canterbury; had
+all the officers of the regiment brought before him, and, without
+any investigation, read to them a letter from Headquarters,
+condemning Capt. Reynolds&rsquo;s conduct in very strong
+language; approving of that of Lord Cardigan, throughout, in
+every particular, stigmatizing Capt. Reynolds&rsquo;s motives as
+pernicious and vindictive, and refusing a court-martial, because
+many things would be brought to light which would not be for the
+good of the Service.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Capt. Reynolds then requested that he might be brought
+to a court-martial for the offences for which he had now been
+charged.&nbsp; This was also refused, as it was stated Lord Hill
+had determined it should be considered as settled.&nbsp; And, as
+if this was not enough, Gen. Sleigh told Capt. Reynolds that he
+had forfeited the sympathy of every officer of rank in the
+Service.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Capt. Reynolds applied for copies of all letters
+referred to in this statement, which are not given at length, and
+was refused them.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>He still kept in the regiment, which, perhaps, was unwise on
+his part, as the sequel shows.&nbsp; Early in September, an
+evening party was given by the Earl of Cardigan, to which, <!--
+page 145--><a name="page145"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+145</span>as usual, several officers of the regiment were
+invited.&nbsp; In the course of the evening, a young lady
+casually observed, aloud, that she &ldquo;did not see Capt.
+Reynolds there.&rdquo;&nbsp; The Earl of Cardigan, who happened
+to be near, heard the remark, and replied, &ldquo;Oh, no; he is
+not one of my visitors.&rdquo;&nbsp; The words were uttered
+without any marked expression, and did not, at the time, attract
+particular attention.&nbsp; They were, however, carried to Capt.
+Reynolds, who, conceiving that the expression was calculated to
+affect him as a gentleman, wrote a letter to the Earl of
+Cardigan, to know if the expression had been used, and in what
+sense.&nbsp; This letter remained unanswered, and the consequence
+was, that Capt. Reynolds, stung with this apparently further
+slight, was induced to send a second and a stronger letter,
+couched in terms which could bear no other interpretation than
+that of a challenge.</p>
+<p>On receiving this letter, the Earl of Cardigan consulted with
+his friends; and, after fairly considering the matter, it was
+determined to submit the letters with the whole of the
+circumstances connected with the case, to the consideration of
+the Colonel of the regiment, Prince Albert.&nbsp; The Prince, on
+receiving the papers, laid them before the Commander-in-Chief,
+Lord Hill, for his opinion thereon, when it was resolved, by the
+latter, to let the matter come fairly before the public, in the
+shape of a court-martial, which was, shortly afterwards, held at
+Brighton.&nbsp; This court confined itself chiefly to the
+consideration of the second letter written by Capt. Reynolds,
+which they conceived to be couched in a spirit so insubordinate,
+ungentlemanly, and insolent, as to afford the writer no sort of
+excuse, or palliation for his conduct, on the alleged grounds of
+previous provocation on the part of his commanding officer, and
+they adjudged that Capt. Reynolds should be cashiered (Oct.
+20).</p>
+<p>It certainly was not from a wish not to fight a duel that Lord
+Cardigan thus acted with regard to Capt. Reynolds (and no one who
+remembers his heading the charge of the Light Brigade at
+Balaclava, can question his courage), for he challenged and
+fought with Lieut. Tuckett, on 12th Sep.; a duel which was thus
+reported in the papers:</p>
+<p><!-- page 146--><a name="page146"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+146</span>In consequence of the Earl of Cardigan having
+ascertained that certain letters published recently in the
+<i>Morning Chronicle</i>, reflecting, as his lordship supposed,
+on his character as an officer and a gentleman, were written by
+Lieut. Tuckett, late of the same regiment (11th Hussars), the
+noble lord sent him, through Captain Douglas, of the 11th, a
+challenge, which was at once accepted, and Capt. Wainwright
+(half-pay) was the friend selected by Mr. Tuckett to arrange the
+preliminaries.&nbsp; An apology was demanded by the noble lord,
+to which the reply was, that if he would deny the allegations
+contained in the letters referred to, it should be given.&nbsp;
+Lord Cardigan declared that certain portions of those letters
+were true, but that the greater part were calumnies.&nbsp; On
+this, the apology was refused, and a meeting was the
+consequence.&nbsp; It took place on the afternoon of the 12th
+Sep., on Wimbledon Common.&nbsp; The first shot was ineffectual,
+on both sides; but, on the second fire, Mr. Tuckett received his
+adversary&rsquo;s ball in the back part of the lower ribs, which
+traversed round to the spine.&nbsp; The ball was extracted, and
+Mr. Tuckett, after a time, recovered.</p>
+<p>Subsequently, warrants were issued, and Lord Cardigan and his
+second were brought before the Bench of Surrey Magistrates, at
+Wandsworth; and after several examinations, Lord Cardigan was
+committed for trial on the charge of &ldquo;Shooting at Capt. H.
+Tuckett with a pistol, with intent to murder, or do him some
+bodily harm&rdquo;; and his second, for aiding and abetting
+him.&nbsp; The charge was laid under &ldquo;An Act to amend the
+Laws relating to Offences against the Person&rdquo; (1 Vic., c.
+85, s. 3), which makes the offence set forth in the charge, a
+felony, punishable, at the discretion of the Court, with
+transportation beyond the seas, for the term of his, or her,
+natural life, or for any term not less than fifteen years, or to
+be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years.</p>
+<p>He was tried in the House of Lords, on 16 Feb., 1841, by his
+peers, and the case against him broke down through a
+technicality.&nbsp; His counsel, Sir William Follett, pointed out
+that the prosecution had failed in proving a material part <!--
+page 147--><a name="page147"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+147</span>of their case, inasmuch as no evidence had been given
+that Captain Harvey Garnett Phipps Tuckett was the person alleged
+to have been on Wimbledon Common on the 12th September last, and
+whose card only bore the name of Captain Harvey Tuckett.&nbsp;
+The peers present returned a verdict of &ldquo;Not guilty,&rdquo;
+with the exception of the Duke of Cleveland, who added &ldquo;Not
+guilty, legally.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The use of steam at sea was beginning to assert itself.&nbsp;
+It was only two years since, that I had to chronicle the voyages
+of the <i>Sirius</i> and the <i>Great Western</i> across the
+Atlantic&mdash;now we have the first steamship to India, sailing
+on 25 Sep.&nbsp; She was called <i>The India</i>, and was 1,200
+tons and nearly 400 horse-power.&nbsp; She sailed for Calcutta,
+calling at the Cape of Good Hope, where she was to stop five
+days.&nbsp; It was expected that she would complete her voyage,
+including stoppages, within 75 days.</p>
+<p>On 30 Sep. the foundation stone of the Nelson Column in
+Trafalgar Square was laid, without ceremony.&nbsp; It was a large
+block of Dartmoor granite, weighing 14 tons; and, on 16 Oct. the
+tenders for building the new Royal Exchange were settled.&nbsp;
+They varied very considerably, and the contract was given to the
+lowest, that of Messrs. Webb, of Clerkenwell, whose tender was
+&pound;2,000 under the architect&rsquo;s estimate.</p>
+<p>About this time we begin to hear of Mormonism in England; not
+that it was absolutely new, for, on 20 July, 1837, Heber C.
+Kimball, Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, Joseph Fielding and
+others, landed at Liverpool, on the first mission sent out by the
+Mormons.&nbsp; Three days after landing they began preaching at
+Preston, and met with such remarkable success that, within the
+next eight months, at the expiration of which time, Kimball and
+Hyde returned to America, they had converted and baptised about
+2,000 people.&nbsp; But the sect was uncommon, as we may see from
+the following extract from the <i>Leeds Times</i>, copied into
+the <i>Times</i> of 31 Oct.:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">A New
+Sect</span>.&mdash;One of the most recent developments <!-- page
+148--><a name="page148"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 148</span>of
+fanaticism is the appearance of a new sect, in different parts of
+England, entitled <i>Latter Day Saints</i>.&nbsp; We believe that
+it made its first appearance in Hertfordshire and Leicestershire,
+from which counties great numbers of its members have lately
+emigrated to the United States.&nbsp; The sect has extended to
+Lancashire and Yorkshire; and, by the labours of its preachers,
+is now travelling northward into Durham and Northumberland.&nbsp;
+The <i>Latter Day Saints</i> assume to do many extraordinary
+things.&nbsp; Among other accomplishments peculiar to those who
+believe in the new doctrines, they are declared to possess the
+power of casting out devils, or curing the sick by laying hands
+on them, of resisting the operation of the deadliest poisons, of
+speaking with new tongues, and of working miracles of various
+kinds.&nbsp; They state that no ministers, now on earth, preach
+the Gospel, but themselves, and that, only to them have the
+supernatural gifts of the Church been vouchsafed.&nbsp; The
+Kingdom of God, they say, is only open to those who have been
+baptised by immersion.&nbsp; In addition to the Bible, they state
+they are in possession of another work, of equal authority,
+entitled <i>The Book of Mormon</i>, the original of which was
+found engraved on brass plates, in the central land of
+America.&nbsp; Finally, they consider this is the last generation
+of mankind, and that they have been sent into the world,
+expressly to prepare the way for the Son of Man!&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Has my reader forgotten <span class="smcap">The Boy
+Jones</span>?&nbsp; He turns up again in this chronicle, for, on
+Wednesday, the 2nd of December, the inmates of Buckingham Palace
+were, shortly after midnight, aroused by an alarm being given
+that a stranger had been discovered under the sofa in Her
+Majesty&rsquo;s dressing-room, and the officers of the household
+were quickly on the alert.&nbsp; It was soon ascertained that the
+alarm was not without foundation, and the daring intruder was
+immediately secured, and safely handed over to the tender mercies
+of the police.&nbsp; The report of the occurrence spread very
+rapidly, and created the most lively interest in London, as it
+was feared that the consequent alarm might be attended with <!--
+page 149--><a name="page149"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+149</span>the most dangerous effects to the health of the Queen,
+who had been confined only eleven days previously.&nbsp; Happily,
+neither mother, nor child suffered in any way.</p>
+<p>The facts, as far as can be gathered&mdash;the examination
+being a private one, conducted by the Privy Council&mdash;seem to
+have been as follows: Shortly after midnight, one of Her
+Majesty&rsquo;s pages, accompanied by other domestics of the
+Royal household, was summoned into Her Majesty&rsquo;s
+dressing-room, which adjoined the bed chamber in which Her
+Majesty&rsquo;s accouchement had taken place, by Mrs. Lilly, the
+nurse, who thought she heard a noise.&nbsp; A strict search was
+made; and, under the sofa on which Her Majesty had been sitting,
+only about two hours&rsquo; previously, they discovered a dirty,
+ill-looking fellow, who was immediately dragged from his hiding
+place, and given into custody.&nbsp; The prisoner was searched,
+but nothing of a dangerous nature was found upon him, and the
+police, at once, recognised their captive as the Edward Jones,
+who had, two years previously, entered the palace in such a
+mysterious way.&nbsp; He is described as being very short for his
+age, seventeen, and of a most repulsive appearance; but he was,
+apparently, unconscious of this defect, as he affected an air of
+great consequence, and repeatedly requested the police to address
+him in a becoming manner; also behaving with the greatest
+nonchalance at his examination before the Privy Council, the next
+day.</p>
+<p>His first version of the matter was this: On Monday night, the
+30th of November, he scaled the wall of Buckingham Palace, about
+half-way up Constitution Hill; he then proceeded to the Palace,
+and gained an entry through one of the windows.&nbsp; He had not,
+however, been long there, when he considered it unsafe for him to
+stay, as so many people were moving about; and he left by the
+same manner as he entered.&nbsp; The next day, Tuesday, about
+nine o&rsquo;clock in the evening, he again effected an entrance
+by the same means as before.&nbsp; He then went on to state that
+he remained in the Palace the whole of Tuesday night, all
+Wednesday, and up to one o&rsquo;clock on Thursday morning, when
+the inquisitive youth was captured.&nbsp; He was not satisfied
+with this dull and prosaic account <!-- page 150--><a
+name="page150"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 150</span>of his
+entry; but, on the following day, he tried to invent something
+marvellous, and alleged that he ascended the roof of the Palace,
+and got down the chimney; but there were no marks of soot on his
+person, and his first story was, doubtless, the correct one.</p>
+<p>The greatest mystery attending the affair was, how he could
+have found his way to the room adjoining that in which Her
+Majesty slept, without being observed.&nbsp; The delinquent
+stated that, during the day, he secreted himself under different
+beds, and in cupboards, until, at length, he gained an entrance
+into the dressing room; he, moreover, alleged that he sat upon
+the throne, that he saw the Queen, and heard the Princess Royal
+cry, but his story was such a romance, that no reliance could be
+placed upon it.&nbsp; He was extremely reticent as to the cause
+of his intrusion into the Palace, the only explanation which he
+vouchsafed, on being arrested, was, that he wanted to see what
+was going on in the Palace, that he might write about it, and, if
+discovered, he should be as well off as Oxford, who fared better
+in Bedlam, than he, Jones, did out of it.&nbsp; Even the stern
+discipline of the treadmill, to which he was promptly consigned,
+failed to extract anything more out of him; his only remark, when
+interrogated, being that he had got into the scrape, and must do
+the best he could.</p>
+<p>His father stated that, in his belief, his unfortunate son was
+not of sound mind; but the medical evidence went to show that,
+though his head was of a most peculiar formation, he was not
+insane.&nbsp; The Council, therefore, came to the decision that
+it would be better to inflict summary punishment, and he was
+committed to the House of Correction for three months, as a rogue
+and vagabond.</p>
+<p>If he is to be believed, he fared remarkably well whilst in
+his royal residence, as he said he helped himself to soup and
+other eatables from a room, which he called the
+&ldquo;Cook&rsquo;s Kitchen,&rdquo; but no dependence whatever
+could be placed on his word.</p>
+<p>Prince Albert was taking leave of Her Majesty for the night,
+when the miscreant was discovered; and the Prince, <!-- page
+151--><a name="page151"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+151</span>hearing a noise proceeding from the adjoining
+apartment, opened the door, and ascertained the cause; but it was
+not made known to the Queen till the following day, so as to
+prevent any undue alarm on her part.</p>
+<p>It is needless to say that this event excited the greatest
+interest, and engrossed public attention, nothing else being
+talked of.&nbsp; The punishment was considered far too light to
+deter a repetition of the offence, which opinion was subsequently
+justified.&nbsp; Such an occurrence, of course, was considered
+fair material for the humourists of the day to exercise their wit
+upon, and there are many allusions to it in the <i>Age</i> and
+<i>Satirist</i> of the period; but, as their remarks are not
+always conceived in the best taste, they are better left in the
+obscurity in which they now dwell.&nbsp; Perhaps, however, this
+little couplet from the <i>Satirist</i> may be excepted:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Now he in chains and in the prison garb
+is<br />
+Mourning the crime that couples Jones with darbies.&rdquo; <a
+name="citation151"></a><a href="#footnote151"
+class="citation">[151]</a></p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>It was Jones&rsquo;s extraordinary powers of finding an
+entrance into the Palace that caused Samuel Rogers to declare
+that he must be a descendant of the illustrious In---i---go.</p>
+<p>On the 15 Dec. the remains of the Emperor Napoleon, which had
+been removed from St. Helena, were laid, with great pomp, into
+the tomb prepared for them at the Invalides, Paris; and, contrary
+to all expectation, there was no disturbance on the occasion.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 152--><a name="page152"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 152</span>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Death of Scott, &ldquo;the American
+Diver&rdquo;&mdash;Prince Albert&rsquo;s ducking&mdash;Monster
+cheese&mdash;&ldquo;The Boy Jones&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Tracts for
+the Times,&rdquo; Tract XC&mdash;Earl of Cardigan flogs a soldier
+on Sunday&mdash;Dispute as to the discovery of Electric
+Telegraph&mdash;Sale of Shakspere autograph&mdash;The
+Census&mdash;Astley&rsquo;s burnt&mdash;Behaviour of
+&ldquo;gentlemen.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The first bit of gossip of this year was the tragic death of
+Sam Scott, &ldquo;the American diver,&rdquo; who was born at
+Philadelphia, and, at an early age, entered the American
+navy.&nbsp; His extraordinary courage and prowess as a diver
+rendered him very popular, and, after quitting the naval service,
+he travelled about the Union exhibiting.&nbsp; He, subsequently,
+visited Canada, and made some tremendous leaps from the banks of
+the St. Lawrence, and the lakes which intersect that country; but
+his <i>chef d&rsquo;&oelig;uvre</i> was leaping from a precipice
+below the Falls of Niagara, where, according to his own
+statement, he jumped the amazing distance of 595 feet, into the
+water, which he accomplished without injury or inconvenience!</p>
+<p>He was performing in England in 1838, and came to London in
+the latter part of 1840; and we now hear of him as issuing a
+&ldquo;Challenge to the World for 100 Guineas!&nbsp; Monday next,
+Jan. 11, 1841, and during the week, Samuel Scott, the American
+diver, will run from Godfrey&rsquo;s White Lion, Drury Lane, to
+Waterloo Bridge, and leap into the water, forty feet high from
+the bridge, and return back within the hour, every day during the
+week, between one and two o&rsquo;clock.&rdquo;&nbsp; There were
+about 8,000 or 10,000 people assembled to see the feat, which was
+to be performed from a scaffolding overhanging the river.&nbsp;
+Here he swung by a rope noose round his chin, and afterwards,
+with his head downwards and one <!-- page 153--><a
+name="page153"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 153</span>of his feet
+in the noose.&nbsp; He then again hung suspended by his chin, but
+the noose slipped, and he was hanged in sight of all that huge
+crowd.&nbsp; This fatal accident created a great impression at
+the time.</p>
+<p>I do not know the Evening paper from which the following
+&ldquo;small beer&rdquo; chronicle is copied into the
+<i>Times</i> of 12 Feb., but it purports to be an
+&ldquo;authentic account&rdquo; of an accident to Prince Albert:
+&ldquo;It appears that His Royal Highness was walking in the
+Royal gardens, in company of Her Majesty, the only attendant
+present being the Hon. Miss Murray, one of the Maids of Honour in
+waiting upon the Queen.&nbsp; It not being understood by Col.
+Bouverie and Lieut. Seymour that His Royal Highness intended to
+skate, they were not, as usual, in attendance on the Prince, who
+had left the Palace, with Her Majesty, without their
+knowledge.&nbsp; After walking for a short time with the Queen,
+on the margin of the lake, His Royal Highness put on his skates,
+and left Her Majesty, who remained watching the movements of the
+Prince from the gardens.&nbsp; He had not been on the ice more
+than two or three minutes, when, as he was proceeding at a rapid
+rate towards the spot where the Queen was standing, and had
+reached between three or four feet of the water&rsquo;s edge, the
+ice suddenly broke, and, instantaneously he was immersed, head
+over ears, in the water.&nbsp; His Royal Highness immediately
+rose to the surface, when Her Majesty, with great presence of
+mind, joined her hand to that of the Hon. Miss Murray (telling
+her to stand firm, and to betray no fear), and, extending her
+right hand to the Prince, dragged him to the shore.&nbsp; Her
+Majesty manifested the greatest courage upon the occasion, and
+acted with the most intrepid coolness.&nbsp; As soon as the
+Prince was safe on dry land, the Queen gave way to the natural
+emotions of joy and thankfulness at his providential escape.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Prince then lost no time in proceeding to the
+Palace, where a warm bath was immediately prepared, and His Royal
+Highness, within an hour afterwards, was sufficiently well to
+receive the King of the Belgians, upon His Majesty&rsquo;s
+arrival from Claremont.&nbsp; The ice in the centre of the lake
+being <!-- page 154--><a name="page154"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 154</span>nearly a foot in thickness, some
+surprise has been created that the accident should have occurred;
+but it appears that the keepers appointed to attend on the
+numerous and various aquatic birds which are preserved in the
+gardens of the palace, had broken the ice along the sides of the
+lake to enable them to take the water during the frost.&nbsp;
+These portions had again become slightly frozen over, since they
+were broken at an early part of the morning.&nbsp; This was
+unknown to the Prince, or the Queen, and, hence, the accident
+occurred.&nbsp; There was no person present, at the time,
+connected with the gardens, to point out his danger to His Royal
+Highness.&nbsp; Yesterday morning, the Prince was suffering from
+the effects of a slight cold; but, beyond this, His Royal
+Highness has sustained no inconvenience.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On the 10th Feb. the Princess Royal was christened.</p>
+<p>On 19 Feb. the Queen had a monster cheese presented to her,
+&ldquo;on which occasion, she was pleased to express her
+satisfaction.&rdquo;&nbsp; It was made from the morning&rsquo;s
+milking of 737 cows, prepared by the labour of 50 dairy women, at
+West Pennard, Somersetshire, and it weighed 11 cwt.&nbsp; It was
+octagon in shape, and its upper surface was decorated with the
+Royal Arms, surmounted with a wreath of roses, thistles and
+shamrocks.&nbsp; Unfortunately, although it had been made over
+two years, it was not considered to be fit to eat for another
+eighteen months.</p>
+<p><i>Ecce iterum</i> the irrepressible <span class="smcap">Boy
+Jones</span>!&nbsp; Prison evidently had no terrors for him; for,
+no sooner was he liberated from Tothill Fields, on 2 Mar., than
+he, almost immediately, set to work to repeat his former
+escapades.&nbsp; On the day previous to his liberation, he was
+visited by Mr. Hall, a magistrate, who tried to persuade him to
+go to sea; but Jones made certain conditions which could not be
+acceded to, and he did not go.&nbsp; This gave an opportunity for
+the <i>Satirist</i> to come out with the following appropriate
+lines:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The impudent urchin, whom sure the devil
+owns,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And Government wants to send into the Navy;<br />
+Will not go to sea&mdash;and &rsquo;tis cunning of Jones,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Who, thus, may avoid his relation, Old
+Davey.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><!-- page 155--><a name="page155"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+155</span>He was then delivered into the care of his parents,
+with strict injunctions to them to watch his actions; and, for
+some days, his conduct was unexceptionable; he frequently
+attended a Methodist chapel, and expressed his intention of
+joining a teetotal society.&nbsp; But the charms of notoriety
+were too strong for him; and, again, he was drawn, as it were by
+a magnet, to Buckingham Palace.&nbsp; Indeed, it possessed such
+attractions for him, that, when required to pledge himself,
+before leaving prison, not to visit the Palace again, he said he
+would not promise, as his curiosity was so great.</p>
+<p>On 15 March, shortly after 1 a.m., the sergeant of police on
+duty at the Palace imagined, as he was going along the Grand
+Hall, that he saw someone peeping through the glass door, and
+this turned out to be the case; for, on his approach, Jones ran
+up against him, and was, of course, immediately secured.&nbsp; In
+consequence of his previous visits, two extra policemen had been
+appointed, whose duty it was, on alternate nights, to watch all
+the staircases and interior of the building, and it was owing to
+this arrangement that Master Jones was stopped early in his
+career, on this last occasion.</p>
+<p>Like most boys, Jones had a keen appreciation of a feast, all
+the more enjoyable because irregularly come by; and, when he was
+arrested, he was found to have been sitting at his ease in one of
+the royal apartments, regaling himself with some cold meat and
+potatoes, which he had conveyed upstairs in his
+handkerchief.&nbsp; On being questioned how he obtained an
+entrance, his reply was, &ldquo;the same way as before&rdquo;;
+and he boasted, moreover, that he could, at any time he pleased,
+get into the palace; but he was extremely taciturn, and refused
+to satisfy curiosity, more particularly on this point.</p>
+<p>What he confessed at his examination by the Privy Council is
+not known, as the proceedings were in private, reporters being
+excluded, and the public were left in possession of only the
+above bare facts.&nbsp; He persisted that the only motive for his
+intrusion was to hear the conversation at Court, and to write an
+account of it; but this plea of simplicity did not save him from
+a repetition of his old sentence of three months <!-- page
+156--><a name="page156"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+156</span>imprisonment in the House of Correction, with the
+uncomfortable addition, this time, of hard labour.&nbsp; Perhaps
+the best punishment for this juvenile addition of Paul Pry would
+have been that suggested by the <i>Satirist</i>, in the following
+paragraph: &ldquo;As the urchin Jones, in a letter to his father,
+stated that his reason for entering the Queen&rsquo;s house was
+to &lsquo;seek for noose, in order to rite a book,&rsquo; it is a
+matter of general regret that, instead of magnifying the affair
+into Home Office importance, the young rogue was not accommodated
+with a rope&rsquo;s end.&rdquo;&nbsp; His visit, however,
+necessitated the appointment of three additional sentries at the
+palace.</p>
+<p>What became of him afterwards, nobody knows and nobody cares,
+but, one thing is certain, he was <i>persuaded</i> to go to sea,
+and <i>Punch</i> (born 17 July) devotes a page (vol. i., p. 46)
+to &ldquo;The Boy Jones&rsquo;s Log,&rdquo; a portion of which is
+as follows:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;This mellancholly reflexion threw me into a
+poeticle fitte, and though I was werry uneasy in my
+<i>stommik</i>, and had nothing to rite on but my <i>chest</i>, I
+threw off as follows in a few 2nds, and arterards sung it to the
+well-none hair of &lsquo;Willy Reilly&rsquo;:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oakum to me, <a name="citation156"></a><a
+href="#footnote156" class="citation">[156]</a> ye sailors
+bold,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Wot plows upon the sea;<br />
+To you I mean for to unfold<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; My mournful historie.<br />
+So pay attention to my song,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And quick-el-ly shall appear,<br />
+How innocently, all along,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; I was in-weigle-ed here.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One night, returnin home to bed,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; I walk&rsquo;d through Pim-li-co,<br />
+And, twigging of the Palass, sed,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; &lsquo;I&rsquo;m <i>Jones</i> and In-i-go.&rsquo;<br
+/>
+But afore I could get out, my boys,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Pollise-man 20A,<br />
+He caught me by the corderoys,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And lugged me right a-way.</p>
+<p><!-- page 157--><a name="page157"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+157</span>&ldquo;My cuss upon Lord Melbun, and<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; On Jonny Russ-all-so,<br />
+That forc&rsquo;d me from my native land,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Across the waves to go-o-oh!<br />
+But all their spiteful arts is wain,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; My spirit down to keep;<br />
+I hopes I&rsquo;ll soon git back again,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To take another peep.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>To follow Chronology compels me to turn suddenly from gay to
+grave topics.&nbsp; In September, 1833, Newman commenced the
+<i>Tracts for the Times</i>, which, according to its
+advertisement, had the object of &ldquo;contributing something
+towards the practical revival of doctrines (such as the Apostolic
+Succession, and the Holy Catholic Church) which, although held by
+the great divines of our Church, have become practically obsolete
+with the majority of her members.&rdquo;&nbsp; Keble and others
+joined him at once, as did Pusey as soon as the state of his
+health permitted, together with nearly all the advanced thinkers
+at Oxford.&nbsp; These Tracts, issued from time to time, caused a
+mighty upheaval in the Church of England, which was known as the
+&ldquo;Tractarian movement,&rdquo; the effects of which have
+lasted to this day, as may be witnessed in the vast extension of
+Church building, the larger attendance and more devout behaviour
+of congregations, the brighter and more ornate services, which
+are so great a contrast to the general sleepiness both of pastor
+and flock which then existed.</p>
+<p>Some of these Tracts went farther than people were, as yet,
+able to follow, they were &ldquo;strong meat for babes,&rdquo;
+and the publication of Tract XC., by Newman, on the Thirty-nine
+Articles, brought things to a climax, and on 15 March, the
+Vice-Chancellor and the Heads of Houses met to censure the
+publication; they came to the resolution: &ldquo;That modes of
+interpretation, such as are suggested in the said Tract, evading
+rather than explaining the sense of the Thirty-nine Articles, and
+reconciling subscription to them, with the adoption of errors
+which they were designed to counteract, defeat the object, and
+are inconsistent with the due observance of <!-- page 158--><a
+name="page158"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 158</span>the
+Statutes of the University.&rdquo;&nbsp; They only expressed
+their opinion which was all they could do, but Newman avowed the
+authorship of the Tract, and whilst he was still unconvinced of
+his error, he wrote, &ldquo;I am sincerely sorry for the trouble
+and anxiety I have given to the members of the Board, and I beg
+to return my thanks to them, for an act which, even though
+founded on misapprehension, may be made as profitable to myself,
+as it is religiously and charitably intended.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At this time, neither the writers of the Tracts, nor their
+readers, had any intention of severing themselves from the Church
+of England, their sole endeavours were to wake it from the torpor
+into which it had fallen; and, had there been any tolerance on
+the other side, such men as Newman, Manning, and others, would
+have been kept to the Church, for they merely enunciated doctrine
+and practices which are now almost universal.</p>
+<p>The old flint-lock Brown Bess was still in use in the Army,
+although percussion arms were introduced in 1840; but we read (13
+Ap.) that &ldquo;the exchange of flint for percussion cap guns to
+the Army, will cost, this year, &pound;130,000.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>That amiable gentleman, the Earl of Cardigan, was still making
+himself notorious.&nbsp; This time it was flogging a soldier on
+Easter Sunday, after Church; and the very first question asked in
+the House of Commons, when it met after the Easter recess, was by
+Mr. Hume, relating to it.&nbsp; Mr. Macauly replied that:
+&ldquo;Whatever other imputations there might be cast on Lord
+Cardigan, a disposition for the infliction of corporal punishment
+was not one which could justly be thrown on him.&nbsp; From
+inquiries which he had made, he had found that, since 1839, up to
+the recent case, there was not an instance of the infliction of
+corporal punishment in this regiment.&nbsp; The charge, however,
+for which he was justly liable to public censure, was the
+immediate infliction of punishment, on a Sunday, after Divine
+Service.&nbsp; Such a proceeding was clearly contrary to the
+religious feelings and habits of the people of this country, and
+could not be reconciled with either good sense, or good
+feeling.&rdquo;&nbsp; Lord Hill, the Commander-in-Chief, only
+felt &ldquo;surprised&rdquo; at Lord Cardigan&rsquo;s conduct;
+but the <!-- page 159--><a name="page159"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 159</span><i>Times</i> of 24 Apl. had a most
+scathing leading article on the subject, winding up with
+&ldquo;we trust some independent member of the House of Commons
+will take an early opportunity of cutting the Gordian knot, and
+move an address to the Crown for the removal of the Earl of
+Cardigan from the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the 11th Hussars.&rdquo; <a
+name="citation159"></a><a href="#footnote159"
+class="citation">[159]</a></p>
+<p>The Electric Telegraph being now a <i>fait accompli</i>, the
+honour of the discovery was disputed between Cooke and
+Wheatstone&mdash;both claiming it.&nbsp; It was settled by
+arbitration, the referees being Marc Isimbard Brunel, the eminent
+civil engineer, and Professor Daniell, the inventor of the
+Galvanic battery which bears his name, and their Solomonian
+judgment was as follows: &ldquo;While Mr. Cooke is entitled to
+stand alone, as the gentleman to whom this country is indebted
+for having practically introduced and carried out the Electric
+Telegraph as a useful undertaking, promising to be a work of
+national importance; and Professor Wheatstone is acknowledged as
+the scientific man, whose profound and scientific researches had,
+already, prepared the public to receive it as a project capable
+of practical application; it is to the united labours of two
+gentlemen so well qualified for mutual assistance, that we must
+attribute the rapid progress which this important invention has
+made during the five years since they have been
+associated.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 24 May was sold by auction an undoubtedly authentic
+signature of Shakspere, attached to a deed, thus described in the
+catalogue: &ldquo;Shakspere&rsquo;s autograph affixed to a deed
+of bargain and sale of a house purchased by him, in Blackfriars,
+from Henry Walker, dated March 10, 1612, with the seals
+attached.&rdquo;&nbsp; The poet is described as &ldquo;Wm.
+Shakspeare, of Stratforde upon Avon, in the countie of Warwick,
+gentleman&rdquo;; and the premises thus: &ldquo;All that dwelling
+house, or tenement, with the appurtenance, situate and being
+within the precinct, circuit and compasse of the late black
+ffryers, London, sometymes in the tenure of James Gardiner,
+Esqre., and <!-- page 160--><a name="page160"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 160</span>since that time, in the tenure of
+John Ffortescue, gent, and now, or late being in the tenure or
+occupacon of one William Ireland, or of his assignee or
+assignees; abutting upon a streete leading down to Pudle Wharffe
+on the east part, right against the King&rsquo;s Majesties
+Wardrobe; part of wch said tenement is erected over a great gate
+leading to a capitall messuage, wch sometyme was in the tenure or
+occupacon of the Right Honourable Henry now Earle of
+Northumberland.&rdquo;&nbsp; The deed, at the commencement is
+stated to be &ldquo;betweene Henry Walker, Citizen and Minstrell,
+of London, of thone partie, and William Shakspeare, of Stratforde
+upon Avon, in the countie of Warwick, gentleman; William Johnson,
+Citizen and Vintner, of London; John Jackson and John Hemyng, of
+London, of thother partie&rdquo;; and that the property was
+absolutely sold to all four, &ldquo;theire heires and assigns for
+ever.&rdquo;&nbsp; The deed is regularly entered in the
+Rolls&rsquo; Court Sir F. Madden (continues the catalogue) states
+in his &ldquo;Observations on the autograph of Shakspere,&rdquo;
+in Florio&rsquo;s translation of <i>Montaigne&rsquo;s Essays</i>,
+which was sold in 1838: &ldquo;There are five acknowledged
+genuine signatures in existence, exclusive of the one which forms
+the subject of this communication.&nbsp; Of these, three are
+attached to his will in the Prerogative Court, executed the 25th
+March, 1615&ndash;16; the fourth is written on a mortgage deed,
+dated 11 March, 1612&ndash;13; of a small estate purchased by
+Shakspere, of Henry Walker, in Blackfriars; and the fifth, on the
+counterpart of the deed of bargain and sale of the said property,
+dated 10 March, 1612&ndash;13; and, speaking of the last, Sir F.
+Madden says, at p. 14: &lsquo;What has become of this
+document?&rsquo; a query which the auctioneers say is
+answered.&nbsp; Of these six signatures, three to the will are in
+Doctors&rsquo; Commons (two of them much injured by the hands of
+the lovers of Shakspere); the one in <i>Montaigne&rsquo;s
+Essays</i> is now in the British Museum; what has become of the
+mortgage deed is quite unknown: this, then, is the only autograph
+of Shakspere ever likely to be offered for sale.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+After many and very animated biddings it was eventually knocked
+down to Mr. Elkins for &pound;165 15s.&nbsp; These two deeds are
+now in safe keeping, one being in the <!-- page 161--><a
+name="page161"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 161</span>British
+Museum, the other belonging to the Corporation of the City of
+London.&nbsp; The authenticity of the signature in
+<i>Montaigne&rsquo;s Essays</i> is open to discussion.&nbsp; At
+the same sale was sold &ldquo;the Shakspere Cup,&rdquo; made from
+the mulberry tree said to have been planted by Shakspere, carved
+on the sides with a medallion of Shakspere, and his Coat of
+Arms.&nbsp; This was for nearly 30 years in the possession of
+Munden, the actor, and it realised &pound;21.&nbsp; In the
+British Museum is a beautifully-carved casket, made of the same
+wood, which, together with the freedom of Stratford-on-Avon, was
+given to Garrick by the Corporation of the town in 1769.</p>
+<p>The decennial Census, which began in 1801, was, according to
+the Act 3 and 4 Vic., c. 29, taken of the number of individuals
+who slept in the respective houses in each parish, throughout
+England and Wales, on the night of Sunday, 6 June.&nbsp;
+Scotland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man were also
+taken, but Ireland was not; and the following return includes
+only such part of the Army, Navy, and Merchant Seamen, as were,
+at the time of the Census, within the Kingdom on shore:</p>
+<table>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Males.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Females.</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: center">Total.</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>England</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">7,321,875</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">7,673,633</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">14,995,508</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Wales</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">447,533</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">463,788</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">911,321</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Persons ascertained to have been travelling by railroads
+and canals on night of 6 June</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">4,003</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">893</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">4,896</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Scotland</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">1,241,276</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">1,379,334</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">2,620,610</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>Islands in the British Seas</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">57,598</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">66,481</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">124,079</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">Total</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">18,656,414</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p>On 8 June, Astley&rsquo;s Amphitheatre was burnt down, one
+life being sacrificed, and causing a monetary loss of over
+&pound;30,000.&nbsp; This calamity so affected the proprietor,
+Mr. Ducrow, that he lost his reason, and died soon after, on 28
+Jan., 1842.</p>
+<p>Here is another little story of the behaviour of gentlemen in
+those days, copied from the <i>Times</i>, 11 June:</p>
+<blockquote><p><!-- page 162--><a name="page162"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 162</span>&ldquo;<span
+class="smcap">Windsor</span>, 10 June.&nbsp; Yesterday evening
+there was a large party consisting of the officers of the 60th
+Rifles, and several of the 1st Life Guards, at the mess of the
+infantry barracks, in Sheet Street, in consequence of several
+promotions which have recently taken place in the Rifles,
+occasioned by vacancies caused by the decease of the Hon. Col.
+Molyneux.&nbsp; The festivities of the evening were kept up till
+past 12 o&rsquo;clock, when a large party sallied forth for
+&lsquo;a spree.&rsquo;&nbsp; They first proceeded to the
+extensive canvas amphitheatre of Mr. Van Amburgh, in the
+Bachelor&rsquo;s Acre, but, there, they were, fortunately, kept
+at bay by several of Mr. Van Amburgh&rsquo;s men, before they had
+committed any excesses.&nbsp; The knockers, bell handles and
+brass plates from several doors in the neighbourhood were then
+wrenched off, and the whole party then made for a well-known
+gambling house (which has been tolerated in this town for upwards
+of twelve months), at No. 4, Augusta Place, where they were
+immediately admitted.&nbsp; What took place there before the row
+commenced, or what was the occasion of the havoc and destruction
+which almost immediately afterwards ensued, I have not been able
+to ascertain.&nbsp; However, they had not been there more than
+half an hour before there was a scene of the greatest confusion
+throughout the whole house, causing alarm and terror, from the
+noise which was created, around the entire neighbourhood.&nbsp;
+The police were sent for soon after 1 o&rsquo;clock, previously
+to which a portion of the 60th Rifles, who were on guard at the
+Castle, had been despatched to the scene of action, and whom the
+police met on their return to the guard room.&nbsp; Upon the
+Superintendent, Sergeant and several policemen entering the house
+(which they found empty, with the exception of one of the
+gamblers, who, it appeared, had secreted himself) they found
+scarcely one piece of furniture left whole.&nbsp; The green baize
+was torn from the billiard and other tables, the doors of the
+different rooms broken down, the windows, with the sashes and
+frames, broken to pieces; all the lamps smashed, chairs and
+tables dislocated, the fanlight over the front door gone, and the
+balustrades upon the stairs torn away.&nbsp; At this time, the
+whole of the party had <!-- page 163--><a
+name="page163"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 163</span>gone off;
+and, as for the proprietors of the gaming house, they were glad
+to effect their escape, across the garden, into a large piece of
+waste land, called the Lammas.&nbsp; It was expected that some
+complaint would have been lodged before the borough magistrates,
+to-day, at the Town Hall; but no application was made to the
+Bench on the subject during the hours of business.&nbsp; A large
+brass plate, which had been wrenched from a garden gate, was
+found, this morning, by the police, in the infantry barracks,
+where there are sundry knockers and bell handles awaiting to be
+identified and returned to their respective owners.&rdquo; <a
+name="citation163"></a><a href="#footnote163"
+class="citation">[163]</a></p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The following incident is very little known, and is copied
+from the <i>Salopian Journal</i> of 3 July: &ldquo;It is known to
+many of our readers that the Whig-Radical faction in Shrewsbury,
+despairing (as the event has proved) of winning the election by
+fair and honest means, have resorted to the infamous trick of
+publishing anonymous slanders against Mr. Disraeli, one of the
+Tory Candidates.&nbsp; He rebutted the slanders so promptly and
+effectually, that, at last, the opposite party resolved to try
+the desperate expedient of publishing them with a name attached,
+as a sort of guarantee.&nbsp; Accordingly, a letter, repeating
+these slanders, &ldquo;with additions,&rdquo; appeared in the
+<i>Shrewsbury Chronicle</i> on Friday, signed by a barrister, who
+had been employed by the Radical candidates to manage their part
+of the contest.&nbsp; Mr. Disraeli, without any loss of time,
+issued a handbill commenting on conduct which appears to us at
+once ungentlemanly and unprofessional, and plainly designated the
+barrister&rsquo;s statements as &lsquo;utterly
+false.&rsquo;&nbsp; This handbill appeared early in the forenoon
+of Friday, and, at an advanced hour of the afternoon, a gentleman
+waited upon Mr. Disraeli with a hostile message from his
+calumniator.&nbsp; He found Mr. Disraeli in company with his
+lady, and communicated that he had business of <!-- page 164--><a
+name="page164"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 164</span>importance
+to settle with him.&nbsp; A challenge from the barrister was then
+handed to Mr. Disraeli.&nbsp; About an hour afterwards, Mr.
+Jonathan Sheppard having learnt that such a transaction had taken
+place&mdash;and it is certain that the information had not come
+from the challenged party&mdash;waited upon the Mayor, and, upon
+his information, our worthy Chief Magistrate called upon both
+parties to enter into recognizances to keep the peace.&nbsp; How
+far Mr. Disraeli would have been justified in meeting a person
+who had acted as the barrister had acted, is a question which
+need not be discussed here.&rdquo;</p>
+<h2><!-- page 165--><a name="page165"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 165</span>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Story of an Irish informer&mdash;Steam
+Cars&mdash;Sale of Vauxhall Gardens&mdash;First Jewish
+Baronet&mdash;New Railways opened&mdash;High tide&mdash;Fire at
+the Tower&mdash;Birth of Prince of Wales&mdash;His patent as
+such&mdash;The Thames at length tunnelled&mdash;Antiquities found
+in Royal Exchange.</p>
+<p>We have known something about Irish crime, but the following
+true tale takes a lot of beating.&nbsp; On the last day of the
+Clonmel Assizes, in July, Judge Torrens heard a case of arson, in
+which the prisoners, who were four in number, were all acquitted,
+after a trial which lasted eight hours.</p>
+<p>The principal witness for the prosecution was an approver,
+named Lysaght; and, in all the annals of informers, it would be
+extremely difficult to find a parallel to this same
+Lysaght.&nbsp; Indeed, the admission by the Crown of the
+testimony of such a miscreant, in the matter of life or death,
+appears to be highly reprehensible, as the following abstract of
+his evidence will plainly evince:</p>
+<blockquote><p>John Lysaght examined: I remember the time when
+Walsh&rsquo;s house was burnt.&nbsp; Anthony Ryan came to me
+before the house was burned to borrow a gun.&nbsp; I brought it
+to him on a Monday night, and he told me to come with him to
+McCarthy&rsquo;s house, who wanted to see me.&nbsp; I went to
+McCarthy&rsquo;s, and near his place was an old house, in which
+some of our party were assembled.&nbsp; McCarthy brought some
+bread and spirits, and we took share of it.&nbsp; McCarthy asked
+me if I would go with the men to frighten Walsh, and burn the
+house.&nbsp; I promised to do so, and he then furnished us with
+powder and ball; we went down to the river side, and McCarthy
+gave his pistols and 7/6 in money to Anthony <!-- page 166--><a
+name="page166"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 166</span>Ryan.&nbsp;
+He gave me some powder, flax, and something like saltpetre, and
+showed me, by putting some powder into the pan, and snapping it,
+how the flax was to be lighted.&nbsp; McCarthy then parted with
+us, and we, after eating the bread and meat, went to
+Walsh&rsquo;s.&nbsp; I lighted the tow, and Paddy Ryan put the
+fire into the roof.&nbsp; I and two of the party then went and
+stood sentry near the road.&nbsp; After a time, I heard a noise,
+and ran back to give an alarm.&nbsp; We then left, and went by
+Toom homewards, and separated near Marshall&rsquo;s gate; this
+was about three or four in the morning.&nbsp; I and Paddy Ryan
+had shot guns, Ned Ryan had a long one, Darby Ryan a bayonet on a
+pole, and the two Ryans had McCarthy&rsquo;s pistols.&nbsp; We
+left the house after it was in flames.&nbsp; I knew a man named
+Bryan Noonan; he is dead.</p>
+<p>Judge Torrens: Was it you murdered Noonan?</p>
+<p>Witness: No.&nbsp; I joined in it.</p>
+<p>Mr. Hatchell: How many men did you murder before this?</p>
+<p>Witness: None.</p>
+<p>You say it was Anthony Ryan went to you to get the
+gun?&mdash;It was.</p>
+<p>He has, since, been transported?&mdash;Yes.</p>
+<p>You went with the party to the burning for the love of
+amusement?&mdash;They induced me to go with them, but did not
+force me; I was not very unwilling to go after getting the
+liquor; but, when I brought the gun, had no such intention.</p>
+<p>Did you load the gun before you went out?&mdash;I did.</p>
+<p>Had you liberty to carry a gun?&mdash;Yes, from a magistrate,
+Mr. Coates, who is since dead.</p>
+<p>Were you ever tried before you committed the murder on
+Noonan?&mdash;Indeed I was; I was tried before, for posting a
+threatening notice, but it was no such thing.</p>
+<p>Were you not sentenced to be transported?&mdash;I was.</p>
+<p>Did you not fire shots at the same time?&mdash;Yes.</p>
+<p>Judge Torrens: And the reward you gave the Government for
+bringing you back was murdering Noonan</p>
+<p>Mr. Hatchell: Was not your brother Caravat
+tried?&mdash;Yes.</p>
+<p>You say you were only present at the murder of Noonan; now,
+was it not you who knocked down the unfortunate man <!-- page
+167--><a name="page167"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+167</span>with the butt-end of a blunderbuss?&mdash;Yes, the very
+first.&nbsp; (Sensation.)</p>
+<p>And you don&rsquo;t call that murdering the man?&mdash;We were
+all murdering him.</p>
+<p>Were you not one of the men who carried him into the ditch to
+hide the body?&mdash;I was.</p>
+<p>Where is your brother, the Caravat?&mdash;I don&rsquo;t
+know.</p>
+<p>Was he at the burning of Walsh&rsquo;s house?&mdash;No.</p>
+<p>Did you know Leonard, the smith?&mdash;I did.</p>
+<p>Did you see him killed?&mdash;I saw him struck, but was not
+looking on at his killing.</p>
+<p>Did you give him a blow then?&mdash;I did not strike a blow at
+the man.</p>
+<p>Did you give a blow that day?&mdash;Yes, when myself was
+struck.</p>
+<p>Do you remember Wat Hayes?&mdash;Yes.</p>
+<p>You attacked him, but he shot you off?&mdash;No, he did
+not.</p>
+<p>Was not one of your companions shot by Mr. Hayes?&mdash;No,
+but a man near me.</p>
+<p>Now, tell me, did he not kill one of your friends?&mdash;Oh,
+he had a party against us, and waylaid us.</p>
+<p>Did you remember Jemmy Hughes, who was killed with a
+hatchet?&mdash;I did.</p>
+<p>Were you not looking at his murder?&mdash;Oh, no; he was
+married to my first cousin.</p>
+<p>Were you not taxed with the murder?&mdash;The whole country
+knew who was in that affair.</p>
+<p>You recollect David Hickey, who was killed at Bilboa?&mdash;I
+was in the fair.</p>
+<p>You were of the party?&mdash;I was looking at him.</p>
+<p>That was your third murder.</p>
+<p>A Juror: His fifth murder.</p>
+<p>Did you rob Michael Rogers?&mdash;No, but I got the course of
+law, and was acquitted.</p>
+<p>You knew Mick Griffin, Lord Stradbroke&rsquo;s herd?&mdash;I
+heard he was shot.</p>
+<p>Was your brother Caravat accused of this business?&mdash;No, I
+never heard of it.</p>
+<p><!-- page 168--><a name="page168"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+168</span>Did you not say you would put a rope about
+McCarthy&rsquo;s neck?&mdash;I did not.&nbsp; I remember when
+Kennedy was put out of possession.&nbsp; McCarthy&rsquo;s cattle
+and premises were burned after this, but the country say it was
+himself did it.&nbsp; I never asked a farm of Lord Stradbroke,
+but my father or brothers might.&nbsp; I never heard that
+McCarthy prevented us getting the farm, on the ground of our
+being so bad.</p>
+<p>Do you remember you and your uncle carrying away a
+woman?&mdash;I do.</p>
+<p>Your uncle was transported?&mdash;He was.</p>
+<p>So you have been guilty of one abduction, five murders, and
+one burning; what else did you do?&nbsp; Would you suggest any
+other crime in the catalogue, of which you were not guilty?</p>
+<p>Judge Torrens: Did you commit a rape?&mdash;No.</p>
+<p>Mr. Hatchell: Were any of your brothers convicted of a
+rape?&mdash;Yes.</p>
+<p>Were you not charged with holding the unfortunate woman while
+your brother committed the rape?&mdash;No, but another brother
+was.</p>
+<p>Judge Torrens: Did you steal cattle?&mdash;No.</p>
+<p>Mr. Hatchell: That would be too shabby an offence.&nbsp; When
+you came to Walsh&rsquo;s house, you lifted one of the Ryans up
+in the roof?&mdash;Yes.</p>
+<p>And you lit the fire?&mdash;I did.</p>
+<p>Did you know there were women in the house?&mdash;I partly
+guessed there were.</p>
+<p>Did you mind how many innocent people might have been
+burned?&mdash;I did not care.&nbsp; (Great sensation.)</p>
+<p>Judge and Counsel, with great disgust, ordered the wretch off
+the table.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>In these days of Motor Cars, any gossip about their
+progenitors must be of interest.&nbsp; On 7 Aug., a steam
+carriage, carrying 16 persons, belonging to the General Steam
+Company, was tried between the York and Albany, Regent&rsquo;s
+Park, and the Manor House at Tottenham&mdash;i.e., along the
+Camden Road to Finsbury Park&mdash;doing the distance in rather
+<!-- page 169--><a name="page169"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+169</span>less than half-an-hour.&nbsp; Another ran on 13 Sep.
+from Deptford to Sevenoaks, about 21 miles, in 2 hours 37
+minutes, but there were small accidents by the way.&nbsp; Later
+on in the month the first-named carriage performed about Windsor,
+Frogmore and Dachet, and frequently reached a speed of 18 to 20
+miles an hour; and on Oct. 1 it was shown to the Queen and Prince
+Albert, the latter expressing himself highly pleased with
+it.&nbsp; It then only did 16 miles an hour.</p>
+<p>On 9 Sep. Vauxhall Gardens, which had been a place of
+amusement since the time of Charles I., were sold for
+&pound;20,000.&nbsp; In <i>Punch</i> of 14 Aug. we find a sad
+account of a last visit:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Impelled by a sense of duty, we wended our
+way to the &lsquo;Royal property,&rsquo; <a
+name="citation169a"></a><a href="#footnote169a"
+class="citation">[169a]</a> to take a last look at the long
+expiring gardens.&nbsp; It was a wet night&mdash;the lamps burnt
+dimly&mdash;the military band played in the minor key&mdash;the
+waiters stalked about with so silent, melancholy a tread, that we
+took their towels for pocket handkerchiefs; the concert in the
+open <i>rain</i> went off tamely&mdash;dirge-like, in spite of
+the &lsquo;Siege of Acre,&rsquo; which was described in a set of
+quadrilles, embellished with blue fire and maroons, and adorned
+with a dozen double drums, thumped at intervals, like death
+notes, in various parts of the doomed gardens.&nbsp; The
+<i>divertissement</i> was anything but diverting, when we
+reflected upon the impending fate of the &lsquo;Rotunda,&rsquo;
+in which it was performed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No such damp was, however, thrown over the evolutions
+of &lsquo;Ducrow&rsquo;s beautiful horses and equestrian
+<i>artistes</i>,&rsquo; including the &lsquo;new grand
+<i>entr&eacute;e</i> and calvacade of Amazons.&rsquo;&nbsp; They
+had no sympathy with the decline and fall of the
+<i>Simpsonian</i> <a name="citation169b"></a><a
+href="#footnote169b" class="citation">[169b]</a> empire.&nbsp;
+They were strangers, interlopers, called in, like mutes and
+feathers, to grace the &lsquo;funeral show,&rsquo; to give a more
+graceful flourish to the final exit.&nbsp; The horses pawed the
+sawdust, evidently unconscious that the earth it covered would
+soon be &lsquo;let on lease for building ground&rsquo;; the
+riders seemed in the hey-day of their equestrian triumph.&nbsp;
+Let them, however, <!-- page 170--><a name="page170"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 170</span>derive from the fate of Vauxhall a
+deep, a fearful lesson!&mdash;though we shudder as we write, it
+shall not be said that destruction came upon them
+unawares&mdash;that no warning voice had been raised&mdash;that
+even the squeak of <i>Punch</i> was silent!&nbsp; Let them not
+sneer, and call us superstitious&mdash;we do <i>not</i> give
+credence to supernatural agency as a fixed and general principle;
+but we did believe in Simpson, and stake our professional
+reputation upon Widdicomb! <a name="citation170a"></a><a
+href="#footnote170a" class="citation">[170a]</a></p>
+<p>&ldquo;That Vauxhall Gardens were under the special protection
+of, that they drew the very breath of their attractiveness from,
+the ceremonial Simpson, who can deny?&nbsp; When he flitted from
+walk to walk, from box to box, and welcomed everybody to the
+&lsquo;Royal property,&rsquo; right royally did things go
+on!&nbsp; Who would <i>then</i> have dreamt that the illustrious
+George <a name="citation170b"></a><a href="#footnote170b"
+class="citation">[170b]</a>&mdash;he of the Piazza&mdash;would
+ever be &lsquo;honoured with instructions to sell&rsquo;? that
+his eulogistic pen would be employed in giving the puff
+superlative to the Elysian haunts of quondam fashion&mdash;in
+other words&mdash;painting the lily-gilding refined gold?&nbsp;
+But, alas!&nbsp; Simpson, the tutelar deity, departed
+(&lsquo;died,&rsquo; some say, but we don&rsquo;t believe it),
+and, at the moment he made his last bow, Vauxhall ought to have
+been closed; it was madness&mdash;the madness which will call us,
+peradventure, superstitious&mdash;which kept the gates open when
+Simpson&rsquo;s career closed&mdash;it was an anomaly, for, like
+Love and Heaven, Simpson was Vauxhall, and Vauxhall was
+Simpson!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let Ducrow reflect upon these things&mdash;we dare not
+speak out&mdash;but a tutelar being watches over, and giveth
+vitality to his arena&mdash;his ring is, he may rely upon it, a
+fairy one&mdash;while <i>that</i> mysterious being dances and
+prances in it, all will go well; his horses will not stumble,
+never will his clowns forget a syllable of their antiquated
+jokes.&nbsp; Oh! let him, then, whilst seriously reflecting upon
+Simpson and the fate of Vauxhall, give good heed unto the
+Methuselah, who hath already passed his second centenary in the
+circle!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These were our awful reflections while viewing the <!--
+page 171--><a name="page171"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+171</span>scenes in the circle, very properly constructed in the
+Rotunda.&nbsp; They overpowered us&mdash;we dared not stay to see
+the fireworks, &lsquo;in the midst of which Signora Rossini was
+to make her terrific ascent and descent on a rope three hundred
+feet high.&rsquo;&nbsp; She <i>might</i> have been the sprite of
+Madame Saqui; <a name="citation171"></a><a href="#footnote171"
+class="citation">[171]</a> in fact, the &lsquo;Vauxhall
+Papers,&rsquo; published in the gardens, put forth a legend which
+favours such a dreadful supposition.&nbsp; We refer our readers
+to them&mdash;they are only sixpence apiece.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course, the gardens were full, in spite of the
+weather; for what must be the callousness of that man who could
+let <i>the</i> Gardens pass under the hammer of George Robins,
+without bidding them an affectionate farewell?&nbsp; Good
+gracious! we can hardly believe such insensibility does
+exist.&nbsp; Hasten then, dear readers, as you would fly to catch
+the expiring sigh of a fine old boon companion&mdash;hasten to
+take your parting slice of ham, your last bowl of
+arrack&mdash;even now, while the great auctioneer says
+&lsquo;going.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>On 24 August Sir J. L. Goldsmid was made a Baronet, and was
+the first Jewish gentleman who ever received that title.&nbsp;
+Perhaps it is not generally known that an honour, not much
+inferior, had, once, very nearly fallen to the lot of a brother
+Israelite.&nbsp; At one of those festive meetings at Carlton
+House, in which George IV. sometimes allowed a few of his most
+favoured subjects to participate, Mr. Braham was introduced to
+sing his then newly-composed song, &ldquo;A Bumper of
+Burgundy,&rdquo; when the gratified monarch, rising from his
+chair, was, with difficulty, restrained from conferring immediate
+knighthood on the flattered musician.</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Three well-known railways were opened this year; the Great
+Western, from London to Bristol, on 30 June; the London and
+Blackwall, on 2 Aug.; and the London and Brighton, on 21 Sep.</p>
+<p>On 18 Oct. was a remarkably high tide in the Thames, which did
+an immense amount of damage.&nbsp; This, and another event were
+celebrated in a contemporary ballad, beginning:</p>
+<blockquote><p><!-- page 172--><a name="page172"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 172</span>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s lately been a
+great high tide,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Nor can it be surprising,<br />
+When everything is getting dear,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; That water should be rising,&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>and after dealing with that event in a very witty manner, it
+went on:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The Tower of London, envying<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Father Thames&rsquo;s notoriety,<br />
+Resolved to have a &lsquo;flare up&rsquo;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And be talked of in society;<br />
+Ten thousand guns were fired at once,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; With very few escapers,<br />
+But, though no one heard the great report,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; There was one in the papers.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>This terrible conflagration was first noticed about half-past
+ten, on the night of 31 Oct., by a sentinel on duty on the
+terrace near the Jewel Office, whose attention was attracted to a
+glimmering light under the cupola of the Round, or Bowyer
+Tower&mdash;which was close to the Armoury, in which was
+deposited an immense amount of stores, such as muskets, etc., and
+many priceless trophies of war.&nbsp; When the sentinel found the
+light increased, he gave the alarm by firing his musket, and the
+whole of the garrison, officers and men, turned out; but the fire
+had got so great a hold that, before a sufficient supply of water
+could be obtained, the entire roof of the Armoury was in
+flames.</p>
+<p>Unfortunately, it was low tide in the Thames, and, although
+the fire-engines soon arrived, and there were the Garrison and
+250 policemen to render assistance, the flames spread rapidly; so
+fast, indeed, that the only things then got out and saved, were
+the Duke of York&rsquo;s sword and belt, and a beautiful Maltese
+gun.</p>
+<p>The grand staircase of this Armoury was considered one of the
+finest in Europe, and the following is a contemporary description
+of it.&nbsp; &ldquo;In a recess on the landing was a platform
+supported on eight brass six-pounder guns, taken at Waterloo, and
+which served as pillars.&nbsp; On this was a splendid trophy,
+<!-- page 173--><a name="page173"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+173</span>consisting of arms and weapons, ancient and modern,
+comprising nearly 200 varieties, and nearly all differing in form
+or pattern.&nbsp; In the centre was a marble bust of William
+IV.&nbsp; Upon the walls, at the sides, were two large stars,
+formed of swords, and their brass scabbards, bayonets and
+pistols, one representing the Star of the Garter, and the other
+of the Bath.&nbsp; Also two figures in gilt suits of armour on
+ornamented pedestals.&nbsp; The rails of the stairs and the
+cornice of the ceiling were ornamented with architectural
+figures, curiously formed with arms.&nbsp; Below, upon pedestals,
+were two very striking groups, one representing a knight in gilt
+armour, preparing for action, attended by his esquire, who was in
+the act of buckling on his spurs, and a pikeman, with his 18 feet
+pike.&nbsp; The other group was a knight in a handsome suit of
+bright armour, of the time of Elizabeth, in action, having seized
+a banner from the enemy, waving his followers on.&nbsp; On each
+side of the entrance door was a knight in a suit of gilt armour,
+and two others, similarly clad, stood on brackets.&nbsp; The
+whole of these were destroyed, with the exception of the Waterloo
+cannon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The fire was soon perilously near to the Jewel Office, which
+was scorching hot&mdash;yet Mr. Swifte, the keeper of the jewels,
+saved the whole of the Regalia, down to the minutest article, and
+was earnestly begged to retire and leave the last thing, a huge
+silver wine fountain, to its fate, but he would not, and this,
+also, was salved.</p>
+<p class="poetry">&ldquo;Then Mr. Swifte was nothing slow<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The Crown and Jewels saving;<br />
+And to get the great Wine Cooler out,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Great danger he was braving.<br />
+Now, Mr. Swifte, of all the wine,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Should now be made the ruler,<br />
+For while the fire was getting hotter,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; He was getting <i>the Wine Cooler</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was an awful scare as to the chance of the store of
+gunpowder catching alight&mdash;but 400 barrels of powder, and
+200 boxes of grenades and ball cartridges, were removed to the
+magazine, and the remainder was thrown into the moat.</p>
+<p><!-- page 174--><a name="page174"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+174</span>On the 8th Dec. the general public were allowed to
+inspect the ruins, and to purchase mementos of the fire; the
+prices were, 6d. for half-a-dozen gun-flints, and the same amount
+for a few burnt percussion caps; pieces of fused iron and arms
+went at prices varying from 1s. to 20s., the latter, the maximum
+price.&nbsp; For many years I had a fused cavalry pistol, and
+some calcined flints which were very pretty.&nbsp; The fused
+cannon were sold as old metal.</p>
+<p>On the 9 Nov. His Majesty Edward VII. was born, and, on the
+8th Dec. was created Prince of Wales.&nbsp; His patent is as
+follows:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Victoria, by the grace of God, of the
+United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of
+the Faith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To all Archbishops, Dukes, Earls, Viscounts, Bishops,
+Barons, Baronets, Knights, Justices, Provosts, Ministers, and all
+other our faithful subjects, greeting&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Know ye, that we have made and created, and by these
+our letters patent, do make and create, our most dear Son, the
+Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (Duke
+of Saxony, Duke of Cornwall and Rothsay, Earl of Carrick, Baron
+Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Great Steward of Scotland),
+Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester; and to the same, our most
+dear Son, the Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
+Ireland, have given and granted, and by this our present Charter
+do give, grant and confirm, the name, style, title, dignity and
+honour of the same Principality and Earldom, and him, our said
+most dear Son, the Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
+and Ireland, as has been accustomed, we do ennoble and invest
+with the said Principality and Earldom, by girting him with a
+sword, by putting a coronet on his head, and a gold ring on his
+finger, and, also, by delivering a gold rod into his hand, that
+he may preside there, and may direct and defend those
+parts.&nbsp; To hold to him and his Heirs, Kings of the United
+Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for ever, wherefore we
+will, and strictly command for us, our heirs, and successors,
+that our said most dear Son, the Prince of the United <!-- page
+175--><a name="page175"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+175</span>Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, may have the
+name, style, title, state, dignity, and honour of the
+Principality of Wales, and Earldom of Chester aforesaid, unto him
+and his heirs, Kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
+Ireland, as is above mentioned.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In witness whereof, we have caused these, our letters,
+to be made patent.&nbsp; Witness ourself at Westminster, this 8th
+day of December, 1841.</p>
+<p style="text-align: right">By the <span
+class="smcap">Queen</span> herself.<br />
+&ldquo;Edmunds.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>We read in the <i>Times</i> of 25 Nov., anent the Thames
+Tunnel, that &ldquo;a thoroughfare was, yesterday, effected in
+this work, and made use of, for the first time, by the whole of
+the directors, and some of the original subscribers, who had
+assembled upon the occasion.&nbsp; The shield having been
+advanced to the shaft at Wapping, a considerable opening was cut
+in the brickwork, and it was through this the party, who had met
+at Rotherhithe, were enabled to pass, thus opening the first
+subterranean communication between the opposite shores of the
+river.&nbsp; Upon their arrival at the shaft, the party was
+greeted by the workmen with most hearty cheers.&nbsp; A curious
+and interesting incident was connected with the event; a few
+bottles of wine, preserved since the dinner given on the occasion
+when the foundation stone was laid, with the understanding that
+it was to be drunk only when it could be carried under the
+Thames, having been opened and enjoyed by the company, to the
+health of Her Majesty and the infant Prince.&nbsp; It was
+remarked, too, as a singular coincidence, that a seal on one of
+the corks bore the impress of the Prince of Wales&rsquo;s
+feathers, a circumstance that caused some merriment.&nbsp; The
+engineer, Sir I. Brunel, appeared highly gratified at the happy
+result of his past anxiety and arduous labour.&nbsp; The shield
+will continue its advance, until it has afforded space for the
+formation of the remainder of the tunnel, which is expected to be
+completed in about three weeks.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>By the end of the year the foundations of the New Royal <!--
+page 176--><a name="page176"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+176</span>Exchange were dug out and concreted, and, as it was
+always anticipated that some important discoveries might take
+place in the course of the excavation, proper arrangements were
+made on the commencement of the work, that any articles of
+interest which might be disinterred, should be secured for the
+Gresham Committee.&nbsp; In the Specification for the Works,
+issued in 1840, the Contractor and Excavator were required, in
+taking out the soil, to deliver up &ldquo;any plate, coins,
+antiquities, or curiosities, whether in metal, or otherwise, or
+any carved stones, or carvings in marble, pottery, terra cotta,
+or tesser&aelig;, which may be found in the course of the
+excavations; it being understood that all such matters, or
+things, are to be taken up with all requisite care, and are to
+remain the property of the Gresham Committee.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They found a portion of a Roman building, but the greatest
+haul was in an old gravel pit, some 50ft. by 34, filled with
+hardened mud, in which were contained considerable quantities of
+animal and vegetable remains, apparently the discarded refuse of
+the inhabitants of the vicinity.&nbsp; In the same depository
+were also found very numerous fragments of the red Roman pottery,
+usually called &ldquo;Samian Ware,&rdquo; pieces of glass
+vessels, broken terra-cotta lamps, parts of amphor&aelig;,
+mortaria, and other articles made of earth, and all the rubbish
+which might naturally become accumulated in a pond in the course
+of years.&nbsp; In this mass likewise occurred a number of
+Imperial Roman coins, several bronze and iron styles, parts of
+writing tablets, a bather&rsquo;s strigil, a large quantity of
+caliga soles, sandals and remains of leather, all of which can
+now be seen in the highly interesting Museum of the Corporation
+of the City of London, at the Guildhall.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 177--><a name="page177"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 177</span>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Foundation of Royal Exchange laid&mdash;Medal
+connected therewith&mdash;Father Mathew&rsquo;s
+miracle&mdash;Christening of the Prince of Wales&mdash;King
+Edward VII.&mdash;Hard work of the King of Prussia&mdash;The
+Earthquake in London&mdash;The Queen drinking
+&ldquo;grog&rdquo;&mdash;Photography-Talbotype&mdash;Sale at
+Strawberry Hill&mdash;Presents to the King of Prussia.</p>
+<p>The first event of note in this year was the laying, by Prince
+Albert, of the foundation stone of the Royal Exchange, on 17
+Jan., with all the pomp at the command of the City
+authorities.&nbsp; The usual coins, etc., were deposited in a
+cavity, together with a Latin inscription, engraved on zinc, of
+which the following is a translation: &ldquo;Sir Thomas Gresham,
+Knight, erected, at his own charge, a building and colonnade for
+the convenience of those persons who, in this renowned Mart,
+might carry on the commerce of the World, adding thereto, for the
+relief of indigence, and for the advancement of literature and
+science, an Almshouse and College of Lecturers, the City of
+London aiding him, Queen Elizabeth favouring the design; and,
+when the work was complete, opening it in person with a solemn
+procession.&nbsp; Having been reduced to ashes with almost the
+entire city, by a calamitous and wide spreading conflagration,
+they were rebuilt in a more splendid form by the City of London
+and the Ancient Company of Mercers, King Charles II. commencing
+the building on 23 Oct., A.D. 1667; and, when they had been again
+destroyed by fire, on the 10th Jan., AD. 1838, the same Bodies,
+undertaking the work, determined to restore them at their own
+cost, on an enlarged and more ornamental plan; the munificence of
+Parliament providing the means of extending the site, and of
+widening the approaches and crooked streets, in every direction;
+in order that there might, at length, arise, <!-- page 178--><a
+name="page178"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 178</span>under the
+auspices of Queen Victoria, built a third time from the ground,
+an Exchange, worthy of this great Nation and City, and suited to
+the vastness of a Commerce extending to the circumference of the
+habitable Globe.&nbsp; His Royal Highness of Saxe-Coburg and
+Gotha, Consort of Her Sacred Majesty, laid the first stone on 17
+Jan., 1842, in the Mayoralty of the Rt. Hon. John Pirie.&nbsp;
+Architect, William Tite, F.R.S.&nbsp; May God, our Preserver,
+ward off destruction from this building, and from the whole
+City.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>After the manner of the City of London, a medal was struck to
+commemorate the event, having on the obverse a profile portrait
+of Prince Albert, with the legend &ldquo;Albertus ubique
+honoratus,&rdquo; the reverse having a view of the western
+portico of the Exchange.&nbsp; On 13 Jan. Mr. Roach Smith
+exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries a medalet, found on the
+site of the Exchange, evidently struck to commemorate Queen
+Elizabeth&rsquo;s patronage of the original building, as it bore
+the Tudor Arms surrounded with the inscription
+&ldquo;Angli&oelig; Regina ubique honorata.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Father Mathew was still doing his grand work in Ireland, but
+there is a story told about him in the <i>Limerick Chronicle</i>,
+copied into the <i>Times</i> of 17 Jan., that is too good to be
+omitted: &ldquo;The Rev. Mr. Mathew arrived in this city, last
+evening, by the Cork mail, <i>en route</i> to Loughrea, and put
+up at Moore&rsquo;s hotel.&nbsp; Immediately after his arrival
+became known, hundreds of persons visited him at the hotel, where
+he administered the pledge.&nbsp; One circumstance which came
+within public observation, we may mention here, as illustrative
+of the effects of breaking the temperance pledge:&mdash;A man,
+named Moynehan, a teetotaller, who worked at the Butter
+Weigh-house, got drunk on Christmas Eve, and the next day, became
+paralysed, his left arm, side and thigh being perfectly
+inanimate.&nbsp; He was removed to Barrington&rsquo;s Hospital,
+and remained there under the care of the surgeons, without
+improvement, until last evening, when his friends, having heard
+of Father Mathew&rsquo;s arrival in town, went to the hospital,
+and brought him out of his bed, on a man&rsquo;s back, to where
+the Rev. Mr. Mathew was staying; a crowd had collected round <!--
+page 179--><a name="page179"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+179</span>the door, when the unhappy invalid was carried into his
+presence, and the reverend gentleman administered to him the
+pledge again, in a kind and impressive manner, and the man
+instantly stood up, was assisted by his friends to dress; and, to
+the astonishment of all, walked up William Street to his home,
+followed by a crowd of people.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 25 Jan., the Prince of Wales was christened in St.
+George&rsquo;s Chapel, Windsor, by the name of Albert Edward, and
+on 20 Jan. appeared a letter in the <i>Times</i> from &ldquo;A
+Conservative&rdquo;:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Sir.&mdash;We learn from the <i>Times</i>
+of to-day, that the Prince will be called Albert Edward.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is natural, indeed, that the illustrious father, and
+still more, that the illustrious mother, should prefer Albert
+Edward to Edward Albert.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But as I pray God that the boy may live to be King, to
+whatever period his mother&rsquo;s life may be graciously
+extended, so I trust that he may have every qualification for
+popularity as well as goodness, and, amongst others, an old, and
+beloved, and accustomed <i>English name</i>.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And what so fit as Edward?&nbsp; Who more beloved, or
+glorious, than Edward the Confessor&mdash;Edward I.&mdash;Edward
+III.&mdash;Edward VI.?&nbsp; A Catholic Saint&mdash;a
+law-giver&mdash;a conqueror&mdash;a Protestant Reformer?</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Princess Alexandrina Victoria was known by her
+second name before she ascended the throne.&nbsp; So, I trust,
+may the young Prince be known as Edward, Prince of Wales, to the
+people, hereafter, Edward VII.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>We all know how this gentleman&rsquo;s aspirations have been
+verified.</p>
+<p>The King of Prussia was one of the Sponsors, and spent a few
+days after the christening in England.&nbsp; Poor man! how they
+did make him work!</p>
+<p>On the 26th he had to be at the presentation of new colours to
+the 72nd Highlanders, and, in the afternoon, he visited Eton
+College.</p>
+<p><!-- page 180--><a name="page180"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+180</span>27th.&mdash;Came to London by railway, and held a Court
+at Buckingham Palace, where he received the <i>Corps
+Diplomatique</i> and the Corporation of the City of London.&nbsp;
+On his return to Windsor, he visited Hampton Court.</p>
+<p>28th.&mdash;Again came to London, visited the Zoological
+Gardens, lunched with Sir Robert Peel, and, afterwards, went to
+the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, and the National
+Gallery&mdash;dining at Windsor.</p>
+<p>29th.&mdash;Saw a review in the Home Park, then went to
+London, and dined with his Minister, Chevalier Bunsen, in Carlton
+Terrace.</p>
+<p>The 30th was Sunday, so the poor man was trotted off to St.
+Paul&rsquo;s Cathedral to hear the Bishop of London preach.&nbsp;
+Lunched at the Mansion House, visited the King of Hanover&rsquo;s
+apartments in St. James&rsquo;s Palace, and Stafford House;
+attended afternoon service at the Royal German Chapel, St.
+James&rsquo;s; visited the Duchess of Gloucester, in Piccadilly,
+and returned to Windsor.</p>
+<p>After this rest on the 30th, he visited Newgate Prison, when
+he was received by the Lady Mayoress, Mrs. Fry, the Quaker
+philanthropist, the Sheriffs, etc., and thence proceeded to lunch
+with Mrs. Fry, at Upton, near Barking; at six he went to Drury
+Lane Theatre, and saw <i>The Two Gentlemen of Verona</i>; dined
+with the Duke of Sutherland at Stafford House, and slept at
+Buckingham Palace.</p>
+<p>Next day, 1 Feb., at 10 a.m., he visited the Royal Society,
+Society of Antiquaries and the Geological Society.&nbsp; Thence
+he went to the British Museum, taking Mr. Solly&rsquo;s
+collection of pictures <i>en route</i>; and after spending three
+hours at the Museum, he lunched with the Duke of Sussex at
+Kensington Palace.&nbsp; In the evening, he underwent a dinner
+and concert given by the Duke of Wellington at Apsley House.</p>
+<p>Early in the morning of the 2nd, he sat to Mr. Hayter for his
+portrait in a picture of the Christening.&nbsp; At 8.30 he
+embarked at Hungerford Wharf, on a steamer, bound for the Thames
+Tunnel; after visiting which, he went to the Tower of
+London.&nbsp; At 12 he returned to Buckingham Palace, where he
+received addresses from the Bishop and Clergy of the <!-- page
+181--><a name="page181"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+181</span>Diocese of London; the members of King&rsquo;s College,
+London; the Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews;
+the Prussian subjects resident in London; and the German Lutheran
+clergy.&nbsp; He also received deputations from the Bible
+Society, the Church Missionary Society, the Imperial Continental
+Gas Company; and gave audience to the Prince of Capua, etc.;
+visited the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth; dined with the
+Duke of Cambridge; saw the <i>Merry Wives of Windsor</i> played
+at Covent Garden, and afterwards attended an evening, party at
+Cambridge House.</p>
+<p>On the 3rd he was present at the Queen&rsquo;s Opening of
+Parliament, then received a deputation from the general body of
+Protestant Dissenters; and visited the Queen Dowager, Earl of
+Jersey, the Dowager Duchess of Richmond, the Duke of Cambridge
+and the Duke of Wellington; winding up with dining with the
+Queen.</p>
+<p>On the 4th they let him go&mdash;he paid a visit to the Queen
+at 9.30, went to Woolwich and saw a review of Royal Artillery,
+lunched there, visited Plumstead Marshes and the Arsenal, took
+leave of Prince Albert, and everyone else, and went off to
+Ostend.</p>
+<p>About this time was a curious craze, which took strange hold
+on the people, that London was to be destroyed on the 16th of
+March, a belief which seems to have been founded on two metrical
+prophecies, dated respectively A.D. 1203 and 1598, said to be in
+the British Museum, where, however, I have failed to find them;
+the former is:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;In eighteen hundred and forty-two<br />
+Four things the sun shall view;<br />
+London&rsquo;s rich and famous town<br />
+Hungry earth shall swallow down;<br />
+Storm and rain in France shall be,<br />
+Till every river runs a sea;<br />
+Spain shall be rent in twain,<br />
+And famine waste the land again;<br />
+So say I, the Monk of Dree,<br />
+In the twelve hundredth year and three.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><!-- page 182--><a name="page182"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+182</span>The other is fathered on the famous astrologer, Dr.
+Dee:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The Lord have mercy on you all,<br />
+Prepare yourselves for dreadful fall<br />
+Of house and land and human soul&mdash;<br />
+The measure of your sin is full.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the year One, Eight, and Forty-two,<br />
+Of the year that is so new,<br />
+In the third month, of that sixteen,<br />
+It may be a day or two between.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps you&rsquo;ll soon be stiff and cold,<br />
+Dear Christian, be not stout and bold;<br />
+The mighty Kingly proud will see<br />
+This comes to pass, as my name&rsquo;s Dee.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>And people were found to believe in this
+doggerel&mdash;especially frightened were the Irish in London,
+and the lower classes generally.&nbsp; There was a great exodus
+of the former, some even listening to the entreaties of their
+friends, and returning to Ireland, and many of the latter moved
+eastward of the church of St. Dunstan&rsquo;s, Stepney, which
+they considered would be the last edifice to fall.&nbsp; Nor was
+belief in the earthquake confined to the east end of London, for
+I read of a man, formerly a police constable, living in
+Paddington, St. Marylebone, who sold a good business to provide
+the means of his leaving London; and of a clerk, with a salary of
+&pound;200 a year, residing in the same parish, resigning his
+post, so that he might escape the calamity.</p>
+<p>The fateful day arrived and passed, and, of course, the
+dreaded event did not take place, but the belief in it is
+evidenced in a paragraph in the <i>Times</i> of 17 March:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">The
+Earthquake</span>.&mdash;The scene witnessed in the
+neighbourhoods of St. Giles&rsquo;s and Seven Dials during the
+whole of yesterday was, perhaps, the most singular that has
+presented itself for many years.&nbsp; Many of the Irish resident
+in those localities have left for the shores of the Emerald Isle,
+but by far the larger number, unblessed with this world&rsquo;s
+goods, have been compelled to remain where they are, and to
+anticipate the fearful event which was to engulf them in <!--
+page 183--><a name="page183"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+183</span>the bowels of the earth.&nbsp; The frantic cries, the
+incessant appeals to Heaven for deliverance, the invocations to
+the Virgin and the Saints for mediation, the heartrending
+supplications for assistance, heard on every side during the day,
+sufficiently evidenced the power with which this popular delusion
+had seized the mind of these superstitious people.&nbsp; Towards
+the end of the day, a large number of them determined not to
+remain in London during the night, and, with what few things they
+possessed, took their departure for what they considered more
+favoured spots.&nbsp; Some violent contests arose between the
+believers and the sceptics&mdash;contests, which in not a few
+cases, were productive of serious results.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The poor Irish, however, are not the only persons who
+have been credulous in this matter; many persons from whom better
+things might have been expected, were amongst the number who left
+London to avoid the threatened catastrophe.&nbsp; To the
+Gravesend steamboat companies the &lsquo;earthquake&rsquo; proved
+a source of immense gain; and the same may be said with regard to
+the different railways.&nbsp; Long before the hour appointed for
+the starting of steamboats from London Bridge Wharf, Hungerford
+Market, and other places, the shore was thronged by crowds of
+decently attired people of both sexes; and, in many instances,
+whole families were to be seen with an amount of eatables and
+drinkables which would have led one to suppose that they were
+going a six-weeks&rsquo; voyage.&nbsp; About 11 o&rsquo;clock,
+the <i>Planet</i> came alongside the London Bridge Wharf, and the
+rush to get on board of her was tremendous, and, in a few
+minutes, there was scarcely standing room on board.&nbsp; The
+trains on the various railways were, during the whole of Tuesday
+and yesterday morning, unusually busy in conveying passengers
+without the proscribed limits of the Metropolitan disaster.&nbsp;
+To those who had not the means of taking trips to Gravesend, or
+by railway, other places which were supposed to be exempted from
+the influence of the &lsquo;rude commotion&rsquo; about to take
+place, were resorted to.&nbsp; From an early hour in the morning,
+the humbler classes from the east end of the Metropolis sought
+refuge in the fields beyond the purlieus of Stepney.&nbsp; On the
+north, Hampstead <!-- page 184--><a name="page184"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 184</span>and Highgate were favoured with a
+visit from large bodies of the respectable inhabitants of St.
+Giles&rsquo;s; and Primrose Hill, also, was selected as a famous
+spot for viewing the demolition of the leviathan city.&nbsp; The
+darkness of the day, and the thickness of the atmosphere,
+however, prevented it being seen.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Brighton, too, felt the advantage of the
+&ldquo;earthquake,&rdquo; as numbers of families of the middle
+and upper classes went there to avoid its consequences.&nbsp; It
+was noted that on the night of the 15th nearly 20 carriages
+arrived there, a circumstance that had not occurred since the
+opening of the London and Brighton Railway.</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>To &ldquo;talk scandal about Queen Elizabeth&rdquo; is a
+matter serious enough, but to say that Queen Victoria drank grog
+on board one of her own ships is rank treason, and must be
+explained, as it was by the <i>John Bull</i>.&nbsp; &ldquo;The
+true version of Her Majesty&rsquo;s tasting the grog on board of
+<i>The Queen</i>, during her late visit to Portsmouth, is as
+follows: Strict orders had been given to the men, that when Her
+Majesty came down to the lower deck, to see them at mess, they
+should not speak a word, but preserve as profound a silence as
+possible.&nbsp; Jack, of course, was too much taken up with
+watching the Royal visitor, to think of talking, save, perhaps,
+the desire of whispering to his messmate a comment or so on the
+meteor passing before him.&nbsp; All was still.&nbsp; Her Majesty
+tasted the cocoa, and approved of it&mdash;yet all was
+still.&nbsp; Her Majesty then inquired whether there was no
+stronger beverage allowed the men, and forthwith a tumbler of
+&lsquo;three-water grog&rsquo; was handed her.&nbsp; She raised
+it to her lips&mdash;when Jack forgot his orders, and three
+distinct cheers ran round the deck, with such &lsquo;a
+will,&rsquo; that the ship&rsquo;s sides seemed to start with the
+sudden explosion; the honour done was more than a sailor could
+bear without clearing his heart with an huzzah.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was on 8 Feb., 1841, that Fox Talbot provisionally
+registered his patent &ldquo;for improvements in obtaining
+pictures, or representations of objects,&rdquo; which is now in
+vogue, his improvement being the printing of the photo on
+paper.&nbsp; He, <!-- page 185--><a name="page185"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 185</span>himself, made no public practical
+use of his invention, and one of the first, if not the first
+photographer who adopted it was Mr. Beard, of Parliament and King
+William Streets.&nbsp; It was quite a new thing when Prince
+Albert went to his studio on 21 Mar., 1842, and sat for his
+portrait.&nbsp; This made the process fashionable, and henceforth
+photography was a practical success.</p>
+<p>There is nothing much to gossip about, until the Strawberry
+Hill sale.&nbsp; It was all very well for the Earl of Bath to
+eulogise the place,</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Some cry up Gunnersbury,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; For Sion some declare,<br />
+And some say that with Chiswick House<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; No villa can compare;<br />
+But, ask the beaux of Middlesex,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Who know the country well,<br />
+If Strawberry Hill, if Strawberry Hill<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Don&rsquo;t bear away the bell.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>but I fancy no one can endorse the opinion, or see anything to
+admire in this heterogeneous pile of Carpenter&rsquo;s and
+Churchwarden&rsquo;s Gothic.&nbsp; If it had applied to the
+contents that would have been another thing; for, although there
+was, as is the case in most large collections, an amount of
+rubbish, it was counterbalanced by the undoubted rarity of the
+greater portion, which are thus set forth by the perfervid
+auctioneer, George Robins, who, speaking of himself in the third
+person, says:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;When there pass before him, in review, the
+splendid gallery of paintings, teeming with the finest works of
+the greatest masters&mdash;matchless Enamels, of immortal bloom,
+by Petitot, Boit, Bordier, and Zincke; Chasings, the work of
+Cellini and Jean de Bologna; noble specimens of Faenza Ware, from
+the pencils of Robbia and Bernard Palizzi; Glass, of the rarest
+hues and tints, executed by Jean Cousin and other masters of the
+15th, 16th and 17th centuries; Limoges enamels of the period of
+the Renaissance, by Leonard and Courtoise; Roman and Greek
+antiquities in bronze and sculpture; <!-- page 186--><a
+name="page186"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 186</span>Oriental
+and European china, of the choicest forms and colours; exquisite
+and matchless Missals, painted by Raphael and Julio Clovo;
+magnificent specimens of Cinque-Cento Armour; Miniatures,
+illustrative of the most interesting periods of history; a
+valuable collection of Drawings and Manuscripts; Engravings in
+countless numbers, and of infinite value; a costly Library,
+extending to fifteen thousand volumes, abounding in splendid
+editions of the Classics, illustrated, scarce and unique works,
+with ten thousand other relics of the arts and history of bygone
+ages, he may well feel overpowered at the evident impossibility
+of rendering to each that lengthened notice which their merits
+and their value demand.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The first private view took place on 28 March, and the sale
+lasted 24 days, commencing on 25 April and ending 21 May.&nbsp;
+No one can hazard a guess as to what such a collection would
+fetch now, the sum then obtained, &pound;33,450 11s. 9d., being
+utterly inadequate according to modern ideas.&nbsp; The sale took
+place in a temporary shed, erected in the grounds, and on the
+first day of the sale, which was confined to books, there were
+not 200 persons present, and among them, not more than a dozen
+bidders.</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>By way of recognition to the King of Prussia for his being
+sponsor of the Prince of Wales, the Queen sent him some presents,
+which, if the <i>Wurtzburg Gazette</i> is to be credited, were of
+somewhat mixed description.&nbsp; 1.&mdash;A cradle with the
+figure of nurse holding an infant, representing the Prince of
+Wales, in her arms, all of pure gold.&nbsp; 2.&mdash;A pistol,
+which, when the trigger is pulled, opens and exhibits a
+completely furnished dressing-case.&nbsp; 3.&mdash;A gold mosaic
+snuff-box, upon which are seen allegorical <i>souvenirs</i>
+relating to the baptism of the Prince of Wales.&nbsp;
+4.&mdash;Four boxes containing snuff.&nbsp; 5.&mdash;A dozen
+knives and forks of gold, except the blades of the knives, which
+are of Damascus steel, and the handles ornamented with a crown
+set in brilliants.&nbsp; 6.&mdash;A stone vase, containing the
+rarest Indian fruits.&nbsp; 7.&mdash;Two extraordinarily large
+legs of mutton.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 187--><a name="page187"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 187</span>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+<blockquote><p>The Royal &ldquo;Bal
+Costum&eacute;&rdquo;&mdash;The Queen shot at by Francis and by
+Bean&mdash;Duke of Cambridge&rsquo;s
+star&mdash;Chartism&mdash;Income Tax&mdash;Female Chartist
+Association&mdash;A gipsey trial&mdash;Closing of the Fleet
+prison&mdash;Married in a sheet&mdash;Enormous damages in a
+gambling case.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>There was a great flutter of excitement over the Queen&rsquo;s
+Fancy Dress Ball, which took place in the Throne Room of
+Buckingham Palace on 12th May.&nbsp; Its leading feature was the
+assembling and meeting of the two Courts of Anne of Bretagne (the
+Duchess of Cambridge) and Edward III. and Queen Phillipa (The
+Queen and Prince Albert).</p>
+<p>A separate entrance to the Palace was set apart for the Court
+of Brittany, the Duchess of Cambridge assembling her Court in one
+of the lower rooms of the Palace, while the Queen and Prince
+Albert, surrounded by a numerous and brilliant circle, prepared
+to receive her Royal Highness in the Throne Room, which was
+altered so far, as to be made as much as possible to harmonise
+with the period.&nbsp; The throne was removed and another
+erected, copied from an authentic source, of the time of Edward
+III.&nbsp; It was lined (as well as the whole alcove in which it
+was placed) with purple velvet, having worked on it, in gold, the
+Crown of England, the Cross of St. George, and emblazoned shields
+with the Arms of England and France.&nbsp; The state chairs were
+as near those of the period as the arch&aelig;ology of the time
+could compass, and the throne was surrounded with Gothic
+tracery.&nbsp; At the back of the throne were emblazoned the
+Royal Arms of England in silver.&nbsp; Seated on this throne, the
+Queen and Prince Albert awaited the arrival of Anne <!-- page
+188--><a name="page188"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 188</span>of
+Bretagne, which, ushered in by heralds, took place at half-past
+ten.</p>
+<p>The various characters then formed a procession divided into
+Quadrilles, the French, German, Spanish, Italian, Highland,
+Russian, Waverley and Crusaders Quadrilles, and marched into the
+Ball Room, where dancing at once commenced, the Queen and Prince
+Albert watching the scene, seated on a <i>haut pas</i>.&nbsp; At
+one o&rsquo;clock, the Earl of Liverpool, the Lord Steward,
+conducted the Queen and Prince Albert to supper; and when they
+had finished the guests were attended to.&nbsp; After supper, the
+Queen danced a quadrille with Prince George of Cambridge, their
+<i>vis-a-vis</i> being the Duchess of Buccleugh and the Duke of
+Beaufort; then some reels were danced, and the Queen retired at
+half-past two.</p>
+<p>This account would be strangely incomplete without some
+account of two or three of the principal dresses, to give an idea
+of the splendour of the show.&nbsp; The Queen&rsquo;s petticoat
+was of red velvet, trimmed with ermine.&nbsp; The ground of the
+jacket was garter blue, with a large pattern of leaves woven in
+it, of gold, and ornamented with precious stones; hanging
+sleeves, lined with ermine.&nbsp; The mantle was of cloth of
+gold, worked in silver, and trimmed with gold lace and pearls,
+lined with ermine, and fastened in front with a broad gold band,
+worked in diamonds and other precious stones.&nbsp; Her shoes
+were red silk, worked with gold and diamonds.</p>
+<p>The crown was a <i>fac-simile</i> of that worn by Queen
+Philippa, and was ornamented with diamonds and precious
+stones.&nbsp; Under the crown, descending to the sides of the
+face, was a network of red velvet and diamonds.</p>
+<p>Prince Albert&rsquo;s under dress, of a garter-blue ground,
+was worked in large gold flowers, lined with red silk.&nbsp; The
+collar and cuffs were ornamented with diamonds and precious
+stones.&nbsp; The cloak was of red velvet, trimmed with gold lace
+and pearls, and was fastened in front with a band of diamonds and
+different coloured precious stones, and was lined with
+ermine.&nbsp; His hose were of red silk, and he wore shoes of red
+velvet, embroidered with gold and satin.&nbsp; His crown was that
+of Edward III., ornamented with diamonds and precious <!-- page
+189--><a name="page189"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+189</span>stones.&nbsp; The sword-belt was of red velvet, studded
+with rosettes of gold and diamonds; the sword was richly
+ornamented with the rose, thistle, oak, and shamrock, in diamonds
+and precious stones, the cross, forming the handle, containing
+some very large emeralds.</p>
+<p>The mantle of the Duchess of Cambridge, as Anne of Bretagne,
+was of crimson velvet, bordered with ermine, looped up at the
+sides, displaying the petticoat of cloth of silver, worked in
+silver and gold, fastened with diamond ornaments; the top was
+edged with two rows of large pearls, having between them a
+variety of ornaments, formed of sapphires, emeralds and diamonds;
+the lower row of pearls had beneath it a fringe of large
+diamonds, formed into drops.&nbsp; The stomacher had rows of
+large pearls, of very great value, mixed with diamonds.&nbsp;
+Extending from the stomacher to the bottom of the mantle were
+rosettes and other ornaments of diamonds, sapphires and emeralds,
+forming a broad band down the mantle.&nbsp; The <i>ceinture</i>
+was also composed of brilliants, emeralds and sapphires.&nbsp;
+The sleeves were fastened with diamonds and sapphires, and the
+necklace was of emeralds and brilliants.</p>
+<p>The diadem was composed wholly of pearls and diamonds, except
+the <i>fleur de lys</i> by which it was surmounted, which was
+composed of emeralds and sapphires.&nbsp; The head-dress was
+decorated with two rows of large diamonds and one of
+pearls.&nbsp; The veil was of gold tulle.</p>
+<p>The Duke of Beaufort having been selected by the Duchess of
+Cambridge to personate Louis XII., in the French Quadrille, of
+which Her Royal Highness was the leader, His Grace appeared in
+one of the most splendid dresses handed down by Monfaucon, in his
+<i>Monarchie Francaise</i>.&nbsp; The dress consisted of rich
+blue velvet, sumptuously embroidered in gold, with which were
+intermixed rubies, emeralds, pearls and other precious stones,
+with a large diamond star in the centre, and an opal, of
+priceless value, set with diamonds.&nbsp; The cloak was of cloth
+of gold, lined with white satin, and trimmed over with powdered
+ermine.&nbsp; The belt worn by the Noble Duke, on this occasion,
+was of crimson, richly studded with <!-- page 190--><a
+name="page190"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 190</span>precious
+stones, and fastened in the centre by a large diamond
+buckle.&nbsp; Sword, a valuable specimen of the art of that
+period, the hilt being of gold, exquisitely chased; a crimson
+velvet hat with feathers, confined in the front by a costly
+jewel.</p>
+<p>Space prevents my giving any more of the dresses, and I only
+notice that the Earl of Cardigan appeared in the French
+Quadrille, clad in armour, as <i>Bayard</i>, <i>the</i>
+&ldquo;<i>Chevalier sans reproche</i>&rdquo;!!!</p>
+<p>As almost everyone&rsquo;s dress was ablaze with diamonds and
+other jewels, it is pleasant to think, that very few losses were
+sustained, and those were, generally, of trifling value.&nbsp;
+The only loss of any moment was that sustained by Prince Albert,
+from the girdle of whose gorgeous dress, is supposed to have
+dropped a valuable brilliant of great size.</p>
+<p>On 30 May, about half-past six in the evening, as the Queen
+was returning from her usual drive, and was close to Buckingham
+Palace, she was fired at by a young miscreant named John Francis,
+aged 20, described as a carpenter.&nbsp; He was at once seized,
+and examined by the Privy Council.&nbsp; The simplest account of
+the event was given at the boy&rsquo;s trial by Col. Arbuthnot,
+one of the Queen&rsquo;s equerries, whose testimony was as
+follows: &ldquo;My general position is about five yards in the
+rear of Her Majesty.&nbsp; Before we left the Palace, I had
+received an intimation which induced me to ride as close to Her
+Majesty as I could; and Colonel Wylde, Prince Albert&rsquo;s
+equerry, rode in the same position, on the other side.&nbsp;
+Between 6 and 7 o&rsquo;clock, we were coming down Constitution
+Hill, when, about halfway down the Hill, I observed the prisoner;
+and, on the carriage reaching him, he took a pistol from his
+side, and fired it in the direction of the Queen.&nbsp; As
+quickly as I could, I pulled up my horse, and gave the prisoner
+into custody.&nbsp; The prisoner had, before this, caught my
+attention as appearing anxious to see Her Majesty.&nbsp; The
+Colonel went on to say that the utmost distance from the
+carriage, when Francis fired, was seven feet.&nbsp; The
+<i>cort&eacute;ge</i> had been going at the rate of eleven miles
+an hour; but the Colonel had given instructions at this spot, to
+go faster, and the postillions were driving at the rate of twelve
+or thirteen <!-- page 191--><a name="page191"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 191</span>miles an hour.&nbsp; The Queen was
+sitting on the back seat of the carriage, on the side nearest to
+the prisoner.&nbsp; The pistol seemed to the witness to be
+pointed in the direct line of Her Majesty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On the news being communicated to the Houses of Parliament,
+they adjourned in confusion, as it was found impossible to carry
+on the public business whilst in that state of excitement.&nbsp;
+Next day both Houses voted congratulatory addresses, and the same
+were sent by every corporate body throughout the Kingdom.&nbsp;
+The Queen, who could not fail to be affected by this attempt upon
+her life, nevertheless attended the Opera the same evening, and
+met with a most enthusiastic reception.</p>
+<p>Francis was tried, on the charge of High Treason, at the
+Central Criminal Court, on 17 June, and found guilty; there being
+no reasonable doubt but that the pistol was loaded with something
+more than gunpowder.&nbsp; His sentence was: &ldquo;That you,
+John Francis, be taken from hence to the place from whence you
+came, that you be drawn from thence on a hurdle to the place of
+execution, and that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead:
+that your head be, afterwards, severed from your body, and that
+your body be divided into four quarters, to be disposed of in
+such manner as Her Majesty shall deem fit.&nbsp; And the Lord
+have mercy on your soul!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This sentence was commuted to transportation for life, and on
+6 July he left Newgate for Gosport, and he was sent to Norfolk
+Island by the first transport sailing thither.</p>
+<p>This mania for shooting at the Queen was infectious.&nbsp; If
+Oxford had not been treated so leniently, there would have been
+no Francis; and if there had been no Francis, there would have
+been no Bean.&nbsp; This was another young miscreant, aged 18,
+deformed, and very short.&nbsp; It was on Sunday, 3 July, when
+the Queen was going from Buckingham Palace to the Chapel Royal,
+St. James&rsquo;s, that, in the Mall, this boy was seen to
+present a pistol at the Queen.&nbsp; A young man named Dassett
+saw the act, and this is a resum&eacute; of his evidence at the
+trial on 25 Aug.: He said he saw the royal carriages coming
+along, and saw the prisoner come from the <!-- page 192--><a
+name="page192"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 192</span>crowd, draw
+a pistol from his breast, and present it at the carriage, at
+arm&rsquo;s length, and breast high; and then he heard the click
+of a pistol hammer upon the pan; but there was no
+explosion.&nbsp; He seized him, and, assisted by his brother,
+took him across the Mall, and gave him to Police Constable Hearn,
+who said &ldquo;it did not amount to a charge.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Another policeman, likewise, refused to take the prisoner, who
+only asked to have his pistol back again.&nbsp; The pressure of
+the crowd was so great, that he was obliged to let Bean go; and,
+afterwards, the people said that witness himself had been
+shooting at the Queen, and a policeman took the pistol away from
+him.</p>
+<p>In his cross-examination, Dassett said that some person in the
+crowd laughed, and others called out that the pistol was not
+loaded.&nbsp; An Inspector of Police deposed to having received
+the pistol from witness, and he unloaded it; the charge was not
+large, and consisted of coarse gunpowder, some short pieces of
+tobacco pipe, and four small pieces of gravel.</p>
+<p>Bean got away for a time, but was, afterwards, captured and
+tried, found guilty, and sentenced to 18 months&rsquo;
+imprisonment in Millbank Penitentiary.</p>
+<p>The old Duke of Cambridge (the Queen&rsquo;s uncle) had a
+fright, on the 6 July, when he was at a f&ecirc;te at Jesus
+College, Cambridge, for he lost the diamond star from his breast,
+valued at &pound;500.&nbsp; Everybody thought it had been stolen
+by an expert thief, but it was afterwards found by a Police
+Inspector, in the gardens, much trodden on, and with three
+diamonds missing; so it was &ldquo;All&rsquo;s well that ends
+well.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was great distress in the manufacturing districts, and
+disturbances originating in a strike for higher wages, were
+inflamed by the Chartists, and other political agitators.&nbsp;
+Beginning in Lancashire, the riots spread through Cheshire,
+Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire, and, finally, extended
+to the manufacturing towns of Scotland, and the collieries of
+Wales.&nbsp; There were conflicts with the military, and people
+were killed; altogether, matters were very serious.</p>
+<p>It was better in London.&nbsp; On 19 Aug. a Chartist meeting
+was to be held on Clerkenwell Green, but plenty of police <!--
+page 193--><a name="page193"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+193</span>were there to meet them.&nbsp; Most of the mob were
+discouraged, and went home, but the police were obliged to arrest
+some 50 of them, and some banners were captured.&nbsp; Then they
+went to Lincoln&rsquo;s Inn Fields, and in Long Acre, they came
+into collision with the police, and some damage was done.&nbsp;
+So serious was the outlook, that all the military in the
+Metropolis and the suburbs were kept under arms, and there were
+large reserves of police at every Station House; and, next day,
+the magistrate, at Bow Street, had a busy day, hearing cases
+arising from this outbreak.&nbsp; On the 22nd Aug. there were
+Chartist meetings at Clerkenwell Green and Paddington (the latter
+numbering upwards of 10,000), but the worst cases were managed by
+the police, and no very great harm came of them.</p>
+<p>On 22 June, Sir Robt. Peel&rsquo;s Bill, imposing an Income
+Tax, received the Royal sanction.&nbsp; It is 5 and 6 Vic., c.
+35: &ldquo;An Act for granting Her Majesty Duties on Profits
+arising from Property, Professions, Trades, and Offices, until
+the 6th day of April, 1845.&rdquo;&nbsp; We see that it was
+imposed only for three years, but the Old Man of the Sea, once on
+the popular back, has never come off; and, in all probability,
+never will.&nbsp; It began at 7d. in the pound, has been as high
+as 16d., and as low as 2d.&nbsp; There is in <i>Blackwood&rsquo;s
+Magazine</i> for Aug., 1842:</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">&ldquo;<span
+class="smcap">The Income Tax</span>.<br />
+An excellent New Song.</p>
+<p>All you who rents, or profits draw,<br />
+Enough to come within the law,<br />
+Your button&rsquo;d pockets now relax,<br />
+And quickly pay your Income Tax.</p>
+<p>A pleasant medicine&rsquo;s sure to kill,<br />
+Your only cure&rsquo;s a bitter pill:<br />
+The drugs of base deluding quacks<br />
+Made Peel prescribe the Income Tax.</p>
+<p>You can&rsquo;t enjoy your pint, or pot,<br />
+And then refuse to pay the shot;<br />
+<!-- page 194--><a name="page194"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+194</span>You can&rsquo;t pursue expensive tracks<br />
+With a toll, or Income Tax.</p>
+<p>Ye Quakers, clad in sober suit,<br />
+And all ye Baptist tribes to boot,<br />
+&rsquo;Twas right, perhaps, to free the blacks,<br />
+But, thence arose this Income Tax.</p>
+<p>Ye bagmen bold, ye lovers fond,<br />
+Who daily like to correspond,<br />
+Remember, as you break the wax,<br />
+Cheap postage means an Income Tax.</p>
+<p>Ye noisy fools, who made a rout<br />
+To try and keep the Tories out,<br />
+The blunders of your Whiggish hacks<br />
+Have brought us to this Income Tax.</p>
+<p>Old Cupid&rsquo;s <a name="citation194"></a><a
+href="#footnote194" class="citation">[194]</a> wish to crush the
+Czar<br />
+Has cost us, in the Afghan war,<br />
+Both English lives and Indian lacs,<br />
+And hastened on the Income Tax.</p>
+<p>Regardless of the price of teas,<br />
+They anger&rsquo;d, too, the poor Chinese,<br />
+The Mandarins have shown their backs,<br />
+But war soon brings an Income Tax.</p>
+<p>Yet now I hope the new tariff<br />
+Will something save in beer and beef;<br />
+If that be so, you&rsquo;ll all go snacks,<br />
+And half escape your Income Tax.</p>
+<p>At least, we poor folks fear no shock<br />
+At hearing the collector&rsquo;s knock;<br />
+His jest, the poundless poet cracks<br />
+On him who calls for Income Tax.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The day of reckoning for the Rioters of August duly came, and
+both at York and Salford Assizes many were punished, and at the
+end of September Feargus O&rsquo;Connor was arrested in London
+for sedition, as were other Chartist leaders at Manchester and
+Leeds.&nbsp; In October, more rioters were tried, and sentenced,
+at Stafford and Liverpool.</p>
+<p>Even women meddled with Chartism, and on 17 Oct. a <!-- page
+195--><a name="page195"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+195</span>meeting of female Chartists was held at the National
+Charter Association in the Old Bailey, to form a female Chartist
+Association to co-operate with the original society.&nbsp; A Mr.
+Cohen created some dissatisfaction by speaking <i>against</i> the
+interposition of women in political affairs; he &ldquo;put it to
+the mothers present, whether they did not find themselves more
+happy in the peacefulness and usefulness of the domestic hearth,
+than in coming forth in public, and aspiring after political
+rights?&rdquo;&nbsp; Miss Inge asked Mr. Cohen, did he not
+consider women qualified to fill public offices? it did not
+require much &ldquo;physical force&rdquo; to vote!&nbsp; Mr.
+Cohen replied with an <i>argumentum ad
+f&oelig;minam</i>:&mdash;He would, with all humility and respect,
+ask the young lady, what sort of office she would aspire to
+fill?&nbsp; If she would fill one, she would fill all?&nbsp; He
+was not going to treat the question with ridicule; but he would
+ask her to suppose herself in the House of Commons, as Member for
+a Parliamentary Borough, and that a young gentleman, a lover, in
+that House, were to try to influence her vote, through his sway
+over her affections; how would she act? whether, in other words,
+she could resist, and might not lose sight of the public
+interests?&nbsp; (Order!&nbsp; Order!)&nbsp; He wished to be in
+order.&nbsp; He was for maintaining the <i>social</i> rights of
+women; <i>political</i> rights, such as he understood that
+meeting to aspire to, she could never, in his opinion,
+attain.&nbsp; This drew forth an energetic speech from Miss Mary
+Anne Walker; she &ldquo;repudiated, with indignation, the
+insinuation that, if women were in Parliament, any man, be he
+husband, or be he lover, would dare to be so base a scoundrel as
+to attempt to sway her from the strict line of duty.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Miss Walker was much applauded; and, after the business of the
+evening, she received the thanks of the meeting.</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>In the <i>Times</i> of Oct. 5, there is a paragraph about a
+gipsey trial, and as that curious nomad race is fast
+disappearing, it may prove of interest to my readers:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;A short time since, a very remarkable
+circumstance took place in the New Forest, Hampshire, in the
+instance of a gipsey, named Lee, being cast out of the
+fraternity.&nbsp; The <!-- page 196--><a name="page196"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 196</span>spot where the scene took place was
+at Bolton&rsquo;s Bench, near Lyndhurst.&nbsp; Between 300 and
+400 gipsies, belonging to different tribes, including the Lees,
+Stanleys, and Coopers, were assembled upon this unusual
+occasion.&nbsp; The concourse consisted of a great many females;
+and so secretly had the meeting been got up, that scarcely a
+person residing in the neighbourhood was aware that a
+circumstance of the sort was about to take place.&nbsp; The
+offender, a handsome-looking man, apparently between 38 and 40
+years of age, was placed in the middle of a ring, composed of the
+King of the Gipsies, and the patriarchs of different
+tribes.&nbsp; This ring was followed by a second, made up of the
+male portion of the assembly; and an exterior circle was formed
+by the women.&nbsp; The King (one of the Lees), who was a
+venerable old man, and one who looked as though he had seen
+upwards of 90 summers, then addressed the culprit for nearly an
+hour, but in a tongue that was perfectly strange to the
+bystanders.&nbsp; The address was delivered in a most impressive
+manner, as might be conceived by the vehemence of the
+gesticulations which accompanied it.&nbsp; None but the gipsies
+themselves had the slightest knowledge of the crime which had
+been committed by the offender, but it must have been one
+evidently very obnoxious to the tribe, as the act of expulsion
+from among them is an exceedingly rare occurrence.&nbsp; As soon
+as the King had finished his speech to the condemned man, he
+turned round, and harangued the whole of the gipsies assembled;
+and, expressing himself in English, he informed them that Jacob
+Lee had been expelled from among them, that he was no longer one
+of their fraternity, and that he must leave the camp of the
+gipsies for ever.&nbsp; The King, then advancing towards him,
+spat upon him, and the circle which enclosed him simultaneously
+opened to admit of his retreating from among them, while they
+smote him with branches of trees, as he left the ground.&nbsp;
+The meeting then broke up, and the parties assembled went their
+different ways; some of them having come some considerable
+distance, in order to be present at the tribunal.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Early in November Mr. J. Simon, LL.B., was called to the <!--
+page 197--><a name="page197"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+197</span>Bar, being the first Jewish barrister connected with
+the Middle Temple.&nbsp; A Hebrew bible had to be obtained, on
+which he could be sworn, and a difficulty having arisen, owing to
+the custom of Jews putting on their hats when taking an oath, the
+size of the wig rendering it impossible in this case, it was
+ruled that the head was sufficiently covered by the wig.</p>
+<p>On 31 May, 1842, an Act (5 &amp; 6 Vic., c. 22) was passed for
+the demolition of the Fleet prison, and on 30 Nov., the records,
+books, etc., and the remaining prisoners, seventy in number, were
+removed to the Queen&rsquo;s prison.&nbsp; The Marshalsea was
+also closed, and its three prisoners were also transferred.&nbsp;
+The Fleet had been a prison ever since the time of William the
+Conqueror.</p>
+<p>Writing about the Fleet prison sets one thinking of the
+marriages solemnized within its rules, and there is an entry in
+one of the registers: &ldquo;The Woman ran across Ludgate Hill in
+her shift.&rdquo;&nbsp; In the <i>Times</i> of 15 Dec., I find
+the following, copied from the <i>Boston Herald</i>:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Gedney</span>.&mdash;A
+most extravagant exhibition took place here on Friday.&nbsp; A
+widow, named Farrow, having four children, was married to a man
+named David Wilkinson; and the woman having been told that if she
+was married, covered by nothing but a sheet, her husband would
+not be answerable for her debts, actually had the hardihood to go
+to church with nothing on but a sheet, sewn up like a sack, with
+holes in the sides for her arms, and in this way was
+married.&rdquo;&nbsp; I have come across several instances of
+this vulgar error.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>On the 3rd Dec. was tried a famous gambling case which ended
+in the discomfiture of a notorious gaming-house keeper, named
+Bond.&nbsp; It was a case in the Court of Exchequer&mdash;Smith
+<i>v.</i> Bond.&nbsp; At the gaming house kept by the latter, the
+game played was, usually, &ldquo;French Hazard&rdquo;; and
+persons of rank were in the habit of staking large sums against
+the &ldquo;bank&rdquo; held by Bond, to whom reverted all the
+profits of the game; in one evening they amounted to &pound;2,000
+or &pound;3,000.&nbsp; Considerable losses were sustained, on
+various occasions, by <!-- page 198--><a name="page198"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 198</span>Mr. Bredall, Capt. Courtney, Mr.
+Fitzroy Stanhope, the Marquis of Conyngham, Lord Cantelupe and
+General Churchill.&nbsp; The action was brought under the Act 9th
+Anne, c. 14, to recover from Bond the sums alleged to have been
+unlawfully won.&nbsp; A verdict for the plaintiff was returned on
+five out of ten counts, with damages including the treble value
+of &pound;3,508, the sum lost.&nbsp; Half the damages went to the
+parish.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 199--><a name="page199"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 199</span>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Murder of Mr. Drummond&mdash;Rebecca and her
+Daughters&mdash;Spread of the Movement through Wales&mdash;Its
+End&mdash;Rebecca Dramatised&mdash;Rebecca in London.</p>
+<p>The year opened badly, with the assassination of Edward
+Drummond, Esqre., the private secretary of Sir Robert Peel.&nbsp;
+Walking quietly down Parliament Street, he was suddenly fired at
+by a man named Daniel McNaughton.&nbsp; Poor Mr. Drummond did not
+die at once, but lingered for a few hours.&nbsp; It was believed
+by very many people, myself among the number, that it was a
+political assassination, the Secretary being taken for the
+Premier, but the man got off on a plea of insanity, a plea which
+was very fashionable in favour of criminals at that time, and
+highly conducive to their benefit.</p>
+<p>An episode in the Social History of England, almost unknown to
+the rising generation, was the reappearance, in Wales, of
+&ldquo;Rebecca and her daughters,&rdquo; a riotous mob, whose
+grievance was, at first, purely local&mdash;they resisted the
+heavy and vexatious tolls, to which, by the mismanagement and
+abuses of the turnpike system, they were subjected.&nbsp; Galled
+by this burden, to which they were rendered more sensitive by
+reason of their poverty, and hopeless of obtaining any assistance
+or relief by legitimate means, the people resolved to take the
+law in their own hands, and abate the source of so much annoyance
+and distress by the strong arm.</p>
+<p>The first act of destruction of the toll gates occurred in
+1839, and the gates then destroyed were particularly obnoxious to
+the people, who entertained doubts of the legality of their
+erection.&nbsp; They were broken down in open day, with no
+attempt at concealment, by a mob of persons rather in a spirit
+<!-- page 200--><a name="page200"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+200</span>of mischievous frolic than otherwise.&nbsp; The
+proposal to re-erect these gates, on the part of the trustees,
+was overruled by a large body of magistrates and gentlemen, many
+of whom qualified for trustees expressly for the occasion.&nbsp;
+This decision gave strength and encouragement to the
+discontented, and, no doubt, prepared the way for further
+violence.&nbsp; The gate breakers had learned their power and
+though they did not immediately renew the exercise of it, the
+lesson was not forgotten, although it slumbered until the
+commencement of 1843, when it appeared in a systematic and
+organised form.</p>
+<p>This organization was called &ldquo;Rebecca and her
+daughters,&rdquo; their leader having taken this scriptural name
+from a misconception of the meaning of <i>Genesis</i> xxiv., 60:
+&ldquo;And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her. . . .
+&lsquo;let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate
+them.&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp; This captain of the gate breakers in
+the guise of a woman, always made her marches and attacks by
+night, and her conduct of the campaign manifested no small
+dexterity and address.&nbsp; A sudden blowing of horns and firing
+of guns announced the arrival of the assailants at the turnpike
+selected for attack.&nbsp; They were mounted on horseback, and
+generally appeared in considerable force.&nbsp; The leader, who
+gave the word of command, and directed the motion of those whom
+she called her daughters, was attired in a female dress of some
+description, wearing, also, a bonnet, or head-dress, which served
+the purpose of disguise.&nbsp; Her bodyguard were dressed up in
+similar manner.</p>
+<p>Immediately on arriving at the gate, they commenced the
+business of the night, and proceeded to raze gate, posts, and
+tollhouse, with an alacrity and perseverance which soon
+accomplished its purpose.&nbsp; They, generally, sawed off the
+gate posts close to the ground, broke the gate to fragments, and
+pulled down the toll-house to its foundations.&nbsp; To show that
+the abatement of the specific grievance was their only object,
+they, commonly, dealt very leniently with the toll-keeper,
+offering him, except in rare cases, no personal violence, and
+allowing him to remove his furniture and property, which they
+never attempted to destroy or plunder.&nbsp; The work was <!--
+page 201--><a name="page201"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+201</span>no sooner done than the mysterious assailants galloped
+off, firing their guns, and blowing their horns, as before.&nbsp;
+No trace nor clue was to be found of the quarter whence they had
+come, or of the retreats to which they dispersed themselves; nor
+did anything in the outward appearance of the country, by day,
+even when these nightly outrages were at their height, give sign
+of the extension and compact organization which evidently
+subsisted among the population.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p201b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Rebecca and her Daughters.  Ill. Lon. News, 11 Feb., 1843"
+title=
+"Rebecca and her Daughters.  Ill. Lon. News, 11 Feb., 1843"
+src="images/p201s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>The first notice I can find (in this year) of these riots is
+in the <i>Times</i> of 10 Jan., in which is the following
+paragraph from the <i>Welshman</i>:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The state of society in Wales may surprise
+some of our English readers, especially when we acquaint them
+with the fact, that there has been, for some months past, in the
+neighbourhood of St. Clear, a mob of lawless depredators,
+amounting to about 600, who assembled nightly, for the purpose of
+destroying the turnpike gates on the various lines of road in the
+neighbourhood of St. Clear.&nbsp; These ruffians are headed by a
+very tall man, dressed, for disguise, as a female, who <!-- page
+202--><a name="page202"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+202</span>goes by the name of Rebecca; and, as many of his
+associates are likewise dressed as females, the whole gang have
+been christened &lsquo;Rebecca and her daughters.&rsquo;&nbsp;
+These men are nearly all ably mounted, and are a terror to the
+neighbouring country.&nbsp; The Pwiltrap gate has been destroyed
+a great number of times and as frequently replaced by the
+trustees of the road; but, immediately after its re-erection, the
+fellows have invariably assembled in greater force than before;
+and, riding up to the gate, the following interesting colloquy
+has taken place.&nbsp; The leader of the mob, addressing the
+others in Welsh, says, &lsquo;My children this gate has no
+business here, has it?&rsquo; to which her children reply, that
+it has not; the mother again asks, what is to be done with it,
+when the children reply, that it should be levelled with the
+ground.&nbsp; They then immediately break it down, and disperse
+in different directions.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This system has continued for a length of time; and,
+although a reward of &pound;50 has been offered, not one of the
+offenders has been discovered.&nbsp; About 100 constables have
+been sworn in, and three constables from London are down there;
+but all precautions are ineffectual; for so surely as the
+constables show the slightest diminution of their vigilance,
+Rebecca and her daughters appear, and level the gates.&nbsp; A
+very short time ago, the policemen were after a fellow whom they
+suspected to belong to the gang and, while at a public house,
+baiting their horse, Rebecca and her daughters suddenly came in
+sight, and the affrighted officers of the law were obliged to fly
+for their lives.&nbsp; The gates have now been re-erected, and no
+fresh act of violence has occurred since the 16th ult., but the
+organisation of the depredators still continues; and, it is
+feared, will break out with fresh violence if the constabulary
+force be removed.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>That this movement was serious and no joke, is evidenced by
+the fact that I have, in my notes, 45 paragraphs in the
+<i>Times</i> on the subject.</p>
+<p>From Pembroke and Caermarthen, it gradually spread to
+Cardiganshire, on one side, and to Radnorshire and
+Glamorganshire, on the other.&nbsp; Brecknockshire, alone of the
+South <!-- page 203--><a name="page203"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 203</span>Wales counties, enjoyed exemption
+from these disturbances.&nbsp; The destruction which the rioters
+effected in some of these districts was most extensive and
+unsparing.&nbsp; There were, at the time of the outbreak, between
+100 and 150 gates, including side bars and chains, in the county
+of Caermarthen; of these, no less than between 70 and 80 were
+destroyed, the toll-houses, as well as the gates and posts,
+being, in many cases, razed to the ground; in some trusts not a
+single gate was left standing.&nbsp; In Pembrokeshire, and in one
+of the divisions of Cardiganshire, the destruction was carried on
+in the same wholesale manner.&nbsp; The trustees, at first,
+re-erected the gates which had been broken down, but they were
+again as speedily demolished by the rioters; again they were
+rebuilt, and again they were levelled with the ground.&nbsp; The
+trustees were, at length, compelled to desist, and the roads were
+left free of toll.&nbsp; None of these counties, except
+Glamorgan, possessed a paid constabulary, or any other force
+which could be of avail in checking the proceedings of the
+rioters; and the magistrates finding all local efforts
+unavailing, were obliged to appeal to Government for protection
+and support.</p>
+<p>One of the boldest steps ventured on by the insurgents, whose
+confidence was, of course, much increased by their uninterrupted
+success, was an entry, which was made, at midday, into the town
+of Caermarthen, by a large body of persons on the 10th of
+June.&nbsp; About noon, the rioters began to march into the town,
+through the Water Street gate, which they had destroyed some time
+before.&nbsp; They were headed by a band.&nbsp; The leading body
+consisted of some thousands on foot, many of whom were Chartists
+and rabble of the town; a large number of women was among the
+crowd, and men bearing inflammatory placards.&nbsp; They were
+followed by a man in disguise, representing Rebecca; some bearing
+brooms with which to sweep the foundations of the tollhouse and
+the workhouse, and the rear was brought up by about 300 farmers
+on horseback.&nbsp; They paraded the town, passing the Hall and
+hooting the magistrates, and proceeded to the workhouse, which
+they attacked.&nbsp; They climbed over the high wall with which
+the building was surrounded, and then burst open <!-- page
+204--><a name="page204"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+204</span>the lodge gates and the porter&rsquo;s door; the
+horsemen rode into the yard, and surrounded the premises; and the
+rioters on foot soon forced an entrance into the building, and
+commenced their work of destruction.&nbsp; While the rioters were
+in the act of pulling down the inner doors and partitions of the
+Board Room, and other parts of the premises, and pitching the
+beds out of windows, the governor was ringing the alarm bell;
+and, in the midst of the tumult, came the military.</p>
+<p>Representations of the excited state of the neighbourhood had
+been sent to the Home Office, and a troop of the 4th Light
+Dragoons had been ordered from Cardiff.&nbsp; An express from
+Caermarthen had met the Dragoons at four o&rsquo;clock in the
+morning, just after they had passed through Neath, and were still
+31 miles from their destination.&nbsp; They pushed on, riding the
+last 15 miles in an hour and a half, two horses dying from
+fatigue as they entered the town.&nbsp; They were met by one of
+the Magistrates, who led them to the Workhouse and read the Riot
+Act.&nbsp; The rioters were summoned to surrender; but they made
+an attempt to rush on the military.&nbsp; The Dragoons charged,
+using the flat of their swords, and soon put the rioters, outside
+the wall, to flight.&nbsp; Those within offered some resistance;
+and, for a moment, the edge of the sword was turned upon them,
+when they succumbed.&nbsp; Many escaped over the wall; but about
+100 were taken prisoners, and several horses were abandoned by
+their riders.&nbsp; The disturbance which menaced so seriously
+the safety of the town, was thus happily put an end to, without
+any bloodshed or calamitous result.</p>
+<p>As time advanced, the insurrection, which had at first been
+lightly thought of, and for which much allowance had been made,
+under the belief that the people had real grievances to complain
+of, assumed a more malignant and dangerous aspect.&nbsp; The
+farmers and peasantry, who in their impatience under the
+vexations of the tolls, had commenced it, soon fell into the
+hands of ill-disposed and designing men, who aggravated the
+excitement that prevailed, and availed themselves of the name and
+disguise of &ldquo;Rebecca,&rdquo; in order to carry out their
+own evil and lawless purposes.&nbsp; Threatening <!-- page
+205--><a name="page205"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+205</span>letters were one of the means most freely resorted to;
+and great numbers, under the signature of &ldquo;Rebecca,&rdquo;
+were sent about the country, conveying the most sanguinary
+menaces to those whose conduct had, in any way, given offence to
+the dastardly writers.&nbsp; Certain rules were laid down by
+conclaves of the disaffected, respecting the occupation of farms;
+and all who presumed to contradict the edicts of this invisible
+authority, were marked out, and denounced as victims to the just
+vengeance of Rebecca.&nbsp; The more active magistrates, as well
+as the tithe-owners and clergy, were made the special objects of
+this cowardly system of intimidation.&nbsp; In some instances,
+the rioters proved that their threats were not without
+meaning.&nbsp; Guns were fired into the houses of persons who had
+fallen under the popular displeasure.&nbsp; Some had their
+property fired, or otherwise injured; and a growing feeling of
+alarm and insecurity began to pervade the peaceable and
+well-disposed portion of the community.&nbsp; This feeling was
+further increased by a cold-blooded and shocking act of murder,
+committed on a poor old woman who kept a turnpike, called the
+Hendy gate, on the confines of Glamorganshire and
+Caermarthenshire.&nbsp; A party of rioters came to attack the
+gate at which she lived, and one of the number, actuated by some
+motive which was not distinctly accounted for, fired at her, and
+shot her dead.&nbsp; A coroner&rsquo;s inquest sat upon the body,
+and all the facts attending the revolting transaction were fully
+and clearly stated in evidence; but, such was the excitement of
+feeling then prevailing in the neighbourhood, or such the
+influence of fear exercised over the minds of the jurymen who
+investigated the case, that they actually brought in a verdict:
+&ldquo;That the deceased died from suffusion of blood, which
+produced suffocation, but from what cause, is, to the jurors,
+unknown!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>By the continuance of these outrages, which threatened,
+&rsquo;ere long, to disorganise society, and render the tenure of
+life and property, in Wales, insecure, the Government were, at
+length, aroused to the necessity of adopting very vigorous
+measures for the enforcement and vindication of the law.&nbsp; A
+large body of troops was sent down to Wales, and a general <!--
+page 206--><a name="page206"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+206</span>officer, of skill and experience, appointed to the
+command of the disturbed districts.&nbsp; A strong body of London
+police was imported, to exercise their skill in ferreting out the
+actors in these lawless exploits, who had so long succeeded in
+eluding detection.&nbsp; The districts most infested by the
+Rebeccaites were closely occupied by parties of soldiers, some of
+whom were quartered, at short intervals, in the villages and
+hamlets wherein mischief was suspected to lurk, and in the
+neighbourhood of turnpike gates, which had, previously, been the
+objects of attack.&nbsp; It was not, however, the policy of the
+insurgents to place themselves in open collision with the
+soldiers; but the clandestine and shifting mode of warfare which
+they had adopted with so much success, was but imperfectly
+counteracted by the presence of a military force.&nbsp; Under
+cover of the night, and with the advantages afforded by a
+knowledge of the country, and the sympathy of the population,
+they could sweep down a gate, which was but the work of a few
+minutes, with very little risk of interruption or
+discovery.&nbsp; The presence of the police and soldiers, if it
+could not entirely put an end to the attacks on the turnpikes,
+prevented the disaffected from proceeding to further acts of
+violence, and checked the growth of a conspiracy which might,
+otherwise, have gone to the full length of open rebellion.&nbsp;
+From this, and other causes, the spirit of disturbance in Wales
+began to decline, about the latter end of the summer.&nbsp; The
+most obnoxious of the turnpike gates had been swept away; and, on
+some of the trusts, the trustees had announced their
+determination not to re-erect those which were most complained of
+as oppressive.&nbsp; Some of the more active leaders of the riots
+were captured, in an affray with the County police, on the
+borders of Glamorganshire, and the terrors of a Special
+Commission impended over the Principality.</p>
+<p>The movement was even dramatised, and on 20 Sep., at the Royal
+Amphitheatre, Liverpool, was produced a new play, called:
+&ldquo;Rebecca and her Daughters; or, Paddy the Policeman&rdquo;;
+the programme of scenery etc., as described on the play bill
+being: &ldquo;Vigilance of the civil and military <!-- page
+207--><a name="page207"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+207</span>authorities; &pound;100 reward for the apprehension of
+Rebecca, and &pound;10 for each of her daughters; False alarm;
+Invincible courage of the Yeomanry; Arrival of the London Police
+in disguise; Paddy Whack undertakes to capture the delinquents;
+Admonitions to the Constabulary; The inspection; Mysterious
+appearance of Rebecca and her daughters in the Glen of Llandilo,
+at midnight; Tried before the Justice of the Peace; Happy
+<i>denouement</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>I can find only one reference to Rebecca in connection with
+London&mdash;and that refers to a bar in Gower Street, which was
+taken down some few years since.&nbsp; It occurs in the
+<i>Times</i> of 30 Sep.: &ldquo;During the last two or three
+days, considerable excitement has prevailed in the northern
+suburbs of the Metropolis, in consequence of rumours obtaining
+circulation that threatening notices had been posted about,
+signed, &lsquo;Rebecca,&rsquo; intimating that it was the
+intention of that lady and her daughters to destroy the various
+turnpike and other gates, which they were pleased to term
+&lsquo;public obstructions.&rsquo;&nbsp; It appears that these
+rumours were not altogether unfounded; for, whether intended as a
+joke, or otherwise, the doings of the notorious Rebecca and her
+daughters in Wales, have, in reality, found persons foolhardy
+enough to follow their example in London.&nbsp; A few evenings
+since, Mr. Hill, the porter and keeper of the gate at the London
+University College, which crosses Gower Street, and prevents
+carriages from passing along the front of University College
+Hospital, received a letter, with the signature of
+&lsquo;Rebecca&rsquo; attached, declaring it to be the intention
+of herself and others to remove the &lsquo;obstruction called a
+gate&rsquo; on the following night.&nbsp; Mr. Hill, thinking the
+matter a joke, took no notice of the circumstance; but, to his
+astonishment, early in the morning following the night on which
+the threatened attack was promised, he was awakened by the night
+porter, who informed him that the gate (a large wooden one, such
+as the ordinary toll bars) was gone.&nbsp; On examination, it was
+found that not only had the large padlock by which it was
+fastened, been broken and carried away, but the gate had
+absolutely been filed off its hinges, and conveyed by the
+depredators into the College <!-- page 208--><a
+name="page208"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 208</span>grounds,
+and hidden behind some shrubs.&nbsp; The gate has again been
+re-instated; but, since the occurrence, Mr. Hill has received
+another threatening notice, informing him that it is the
+intention of Rebecca and her daughters, on Monday night next, to
+effect its entire destruction.&nbsp; What is most extraordinary
+in connection with the affair is, that the gate should have been
+removed without the knowledge of the police, the beats of two
+constables joining close to the spot, or that of the night
+porters, either at the College, or the Hospital.&nbsp; It is to
+be remarked that frequent complaints have been made at the
+erection of the gate in question, as it interrupts the otherwise
+direct communication between Holborn and Broad Street,
+Bloomsbury, with the Hampstead Road, and compels carriages, etc.,
+to go considerably out of the way round Sussex and University
+Streets, before they can get into the New Road.&rdquo;</p>
+<h2><!-- page 209--><a name="page209"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 209</span>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Gretna Green parsons&mdash;Number of
+marriages&mdash;Chinese indemnity&mdash;Thames tunnel&mdash;The
+aerial machine&mdash;Treasure trove&mdash;Accident to Mr.
+Brunel&mdash;Arkwright&rsquo;s will&mdash;Secession in the Scotch
+Church&mdash;The &ldquo;Gent&rdquo;&mdash;Shakspere&rsquo;s
+autograph.</p>
+<p>At this time, Gretna Green marriages were in full blast (they
+were only made unlawful in 1856), and we learn from the
+<i>Carlisle Journal</i>, copied into the <i>Times</i> of 20 Feb.,
+something about the Parsons: &ldquo;We observe by announcement in
+some of the London papers, that some worthy gentlemen in London,
+are about to enlighten the public on the subject of Gretna Green
+marriages, by the publication of a book called <i>The Gretna
+Green Memoirs</i>, by Robert Elliott, with an introduction and
+appendix by the Rev. Caleb Brown.&nbsp; In addition to this
+information, we have been honoured with a copy of what Mr.
+Elliott calls a &lsquo;cercler,&rsquo; which he is desirous we
+should publish as a paragraph for the benefit of our
+readers.&nbsp; From this &lsquo;cercler&rsquo; we learn that
+&lsquo;this interesting work contains an accurate account of
+remarkable elopements, pursuits, anecdotes, etc., never before
+published.&rsquo;&nbsp; Then we are further informed that there
+is &lsquo;in the press,&rsquo; to be published by subscription,
+<i>The Gretna Green Register</i>, containing the names of 7,744
+persons married by Robert Elliott, the Gretna Green Parson.&nbsp;
+It is added, that &lsquo;the whole is being carefully printed
+from the original registers, written and kept by
+himself.&rsquo;&nbsp; The Gretna Green Parson, we suspect, has
+fallen into dishonest hands, or he would not have suffered it to
+be said that he was about to publish registers which never had
+existence.&nbsp; The Gretna Green Parson is pretty well known in
+this neighbourhood.&nbsp; He married a grand daughter of old Joe
+Paisley, <!-- page 210--><a name="page210"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 210</span>the &lsquo;original&rsquo;
+blacksmith; and, after the death of that worthy
+&lsquo;parson,&rsquo; he set up an opposition shop, in the
+marriage line to David Laing, who had acquired some notoriety in
+the business.&nbsp; This was in 1811, and he continued to
+&lsquo;trade&rsquo; until 1822, when it either fell away from
+him, or he from it.&nbsp; His reverence subsequently condescended
+to act as horsekeeper, or hostler, at one of the inns in this
+city, and a few months ago was sent for to London, as a witness,
+in some marriage case, and is now set up as an author!&nbsp; We
+suspect the whole thing is an attempt to gull the public into the
+purchase of a book of inventions.&nbsp; If 7,000 were deducted
+from the names of those to be inserted in the
+&lsquo;Register,&rsquo; the number would still exceed, by many a
+score, those who were actually &lsquo;married,&rsquo; as it is
+called, by &lsquo;Robert Elliott, the Gretna Green
+Parson.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The poor &ldquo;Parson&rdquo; could not stand this attack on
+his veracity, and wrote a letter to the <i>Times</i>, which
+appeared in its issue of 23 Feb., in which he does not deny the
+bulk of the paragraph taken from the <i>Carlisle Journal</i>, but
+gives his figures as to his matrimonial business: he says that in
+the following years; he married so many couples:</p>
+<table>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1811</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">58</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1821</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">152</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1831</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">168</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1812</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">57</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1822</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">178</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1832</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">153</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1813</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">59</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1823</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">188</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1833</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">100</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1814</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">68</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1824</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">196</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1834</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">108</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1815</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">87</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1825</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">198</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1835</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">124</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1816</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">89</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1826</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">187</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1836</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">98</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1817</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">96</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1827</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">188</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1837</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">55</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1818</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">109</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1828</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">186</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1838</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">46</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1819</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">121</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1829</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">180</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1839</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">42</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p>1820</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">124</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>1830</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">179</p>
+</td>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right">&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p>He says he married 7,744 persons, but, either his arithmetic,
+according to the above account, is faulty, or there is an
+inaccuracy in the <i>Times</i> figures.</p>
+<p>On 3 March arrived, in London, the first instalment of the
+Chinese indemnity&mdash;&pound;1,000,000, all in silver.&nbsp; I
+remember seeing the dock wagons guarded by soldiers, and
+wondering, <!-- page 211--><a name="page211"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 211</span>until told, what they
+contained.&nbsp; Some more arrived on the 7th.</p>
+<p>The Thames Tunnel was opened to the public on 25 March, with
+as much ceremony as a private company could manage.&nbsp; There
+were the Lord Mayor, the directors, and a host of scientific
+persons, who solemnly went in procession down the staircase on
+the Rotherhithe side, passed along the western archway of the
+Tunnel, ascended and descended the staircase at Wapping, and
+returned through the eastern archway.&nbsp; In the evening there
+was a grand dinner at the &ldquo;London Tavern,&rdquo; where
+&ldquo;Prosperity to the Thames Tunnel&rdquo; was drunk in some
+wine which had been preserved from the commencement of the
+enterprise, to celebrate its completion.</p>
+<p>As with motor cars, so with aeronautics, the time of which I
+write, was well in advance.&nbsp; We know of Sen. Santos
+Dumont&rsquo;s performances with his motor balloon, in connection
+with the Eiffel Tower, but Mr. Samuel Henson was before him in
+applying mechanical power in aeronautics.&nbsp; He took out a
+patent (No. 9,478), dated 29 Sep., 1842, for &ldquo;Apparatus and
+machinery for conveying letters, goods and passengers, from place
+to place through the air.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was an aeroplane.&nbsp; The car which contained passengers,
+engineer, engines, etc., was suspended in the centre of a
+framework, which combined strength with lightness, covered with a
+light, but close, woven fabric.&nbsp; It was started by
+descending an inclined plane, the impetus from which caused it to
+rise in the air, when the steam engine was put in action, to
+continue its motion.&nbsp; The area of the sustaining surface was
+some 4,500 square feet, and the weight to be borne by it,
+including the carriage, etc., was estimated at 3,000lbs., which
+was claimed to be considerably less per square foot than that of
+many birds.</p>
+<p>In April, 1843&mdash;but on what exact date I do not know, an
+experimental voyage was made from the Hill of Dumbuck, near
+Glasgow, by Professor Geolls.&nbsp; He successfully negotiated
+the descent of the inclined plane, and rapidly rose in the air,
+until he reached an altitude of nearly 3 miles.&nbsp; Feeling
+giddy, he determined to descend to a mile and a half <!-- page
+212--><a name="page212"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+212</span>above the earth.&nbsp; &ldquo;This I easily effected by
+depressing the tail of the machine, which, up to this moment, I
+had kept at an angle with the horizon of 9&frac34; degrees, to
+that of 45.&nbsp; My course I had not varied since leaving the
+hill; it was, per compass, south-west, and by west, half-west,
+passing over Ayrshire, and in a direct line from Dumbuck to Ailsa
+Craig, whither, indeed, I was tending, with the view of landing,
+the latter being admirably suited for launching the machine in a
+similar way to that adopted at Dumbuck, on my return home
+again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Daylight had now broken, and the scene was most
+gorgeous.&nbsp; I passed many ships; and, in particular, one
+steamer, but whose paltry speed, in comparison with mine, was
+nothing.&nbsp; Alas! however, this was not destined to last; for,
+just as I had shot ahead of the steamer, something went wrong
+with the machinery, and the fanners stopped.&nbsp; This did not
+at all alarm me; for, as described by Mr. Henson, these fanners
+are only necessary for propulsion, and not at all requisite for
+maintaining the machine in the air.&nbsp; Unfortunately, however,
+I perfectly forgot, in the hurry of the moment, to remove the
+weights from the safety valve, and the effects from this were
+disastrous in the extreme.&nbsp; The great accumulation of steam
+that took place was too much for the pipes; and, consequently,
+bang went three of them, at the same instant.&nbsp; The machine,
+at this exact moment, feeling its equilibrium altered, surged
+considerably, and the remaining pipes necessarily followed the
+example of the others: fizz&mdash;bizz&mdash;whizz, away they
+went, one after the other, like pop guns.&nbsp; Unfortunately,
+one of these pipes, in flying off, struck a bamboo stretcher, and
+shattered it so, that the machine, losing bearance on one side,
+toppled over and became perfectly unmanageable; she, in fact,
+whirled over and over in a way that may be imagined, but which it
+is altogether impossible to describe.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I, of course, was now descending with fearful rapidity,
+and nothing was left me to contemplate but death and
+destruction.&nbsp; I can only compare my sensations at this
+moment to those experienced in a nightmare, which, everyone
+knows, are not <!-- page 213--><a name="page213"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 213</span>the most agreeable in the
+world.&nbsp; Sensibility now forsook me; and, indeed, this was
+not to be wondered at, in consequence of the whirling of the
+machine.&nbsp; On coming to my senses again, I found myself in
+bed, with severe headache, nausea and vomiting, the usual
+accompaniments of such a flight through the air; but, thanks to
+Providence, I am now in a fair way of recovery, and willing to
+perform the same feat again.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Luckily for the aeronaut, the accident was seen by the master
+of a steamer, who sent a boat to his assistance, but the machine
+was lost.</p>
+<p>We often hear of &ldquo;treasure trove,&rdquo; but seldom find
+the owner.&nbsp; However, here is a case: On 11 April, the
+magistrate at Clerkenwell Police Court had a man named Benjamin
+Thomas, and five other labourers, brought before him, under the
+following circumstances.&nbsp; It seems they had been recently
+engaged in grubbing up the roots of some trees in Tufnell Park,
+Holloway, when they found, buried in the earth, two jars full of
+sovereigns, supposed to have amounted to &pound;400.&nbsp; They
+divided the money between them; but it was claimed by Mr. Henry
+Tufnell, as Lord of the Manor; and all of them consented to give
+up what they had, except Thomas, who said that his share was
+&pound;51, but that he had spent, or lost it.&nbsp; The sum
+recovered only amounted to &pound;231 17s.&nbsp; Thomas was
+remanded for a few days, but, in the interval, a new claimant
+appeared, in the person of Mr. Joseph Frost, of the firm of J.
+and J. Frost, brass founders in Clerkenwell.&nbsp; It appeared
+that, some time in August last year, in a temporary fit of mental
+delusion, he had carried the money out at night, and buried
+it.&nbsp; Mr. Tufnell waived his claim in favour of Mr. Frost,
+and Thomas was committed for trial, on the charge of feloniously
+appropriating the money to his own use.</p>
+<p>A very curious accident happened to Brunel, the eminent
+engineer.&nbsp; He was playing with the child of a friend,
+pretending to swallow a half-sovereign, and bring it out at his
+ear, when it slipped, and stuck in his trach&aelig;a, whence it
+could not be disloged.&nbsp; This must have been in the latter
+part of April, for it is mentioned in the <i>Times</i> of 28
+April, as having occurred some short time previously.&nbsp; All
+efforts of <!-- page 214--><a name="page214"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 214</span>the surgeons could not reach the
+coin, even though they constructed a machine which suspended him
+by the heels, when he was shaken and thumped.&nbsp; On 27 April
+Sir B. Brodie performed trach&aelig;otomy on the unfortunate
+gentleman, but without avail; so they waited until he had
+somewhat recovered, and again hung him up by his heels.&nbsp;
+This was on 13 May, and, after a few gentle thumps, the
+half-sovereign quitted its place, and dropped out of his mouth,
+without causing him any pain or inconvenience.</p>
+<p>In these days, millionaires, and multi-millionaires are
+exceedingly common, but not so in the time of which I write, and
+much astonishment was created at the sum of money which Mr.
+Richard Arkwright, son of Sir Richard, the inventor of the
+spinning jinny, left behind him.&nbsp; His will was proved, on 24
+May, in Canterbury Prerogative Court, and his personal property
+was sworn to exceed &pound;1,000,000; the stamp duty on the
+probate of which was &pound;15,000, which was the highest duty
+then payable, when the testator&rsquo;s personal estate was
+&pound;1,000,000 or upwards.&nbsp; In this case the deceased left
+behind him a fortune of nearly &pound;3,000,000.</p>
+<p>The 18th of May is memorable in the Presbyterian Church of
+Scotland, for the great secession of its members, and the
+foundation of the Free Church.&nbsp; This was the day appointed
+for the opening of the General Assembly, and Dr. Welsh, the
+Moderator of the former Assembly, took the Chair.&nbsp; As soon
+as business commenced, he read a protest from those who were
+dissatisfied with the then state of the Church.&nbsp; It was a
+very long document, and having read it, the Doctor, and those who
+were of the same opinion, quietly left the Hall, forming a
+procession and marching four abreast, to a Hall in Canon-mills,
+where they elected Dr. Chalmers as their Moderator.</p>
+<p>A contemporary account of this movement is given in the
+<i>Observer</i> of 29 May: &ldquo;The number of clergymen who
+have seceded from the Church of Scotland, is now 450; and it
+cannot be a question that, by the middle of the week, the number
+will be close on 500.&nbsp; This is nearly the half of the entire
+clergy, the number being under 1,200.&nbsp; Among the <!-- page
+215--><a name="page215"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+215</span>leaders will be found the name of almost every minister
+distinguished for talent, moral worth, or weight of
+character.&nbsp; Nearly the whole of the people have left the
+Establishment with their ministers&mdash;so that the Free
+Presbyterian Church, instituted by those who have left the
+Establishment, may be considered the Church of Scotland.&nbsp;
+The general impression in Scotland is, that the residuary church
+cannot long exist.&nbsp; About &pound;240,000 have been raised in
+less than ten weeks, for the erection of new churches, and for
+the support of the seceding clergy; and there can be no question
+that, in a few weeks, the amount will considerably exceed
+&pound;300,000.&nbsp; Among the contributors, are the Marchioness
+of Breadalbane, &pound;1,000; a Colonel in the Army, whose name
+we do not remember, &pound;6,000, in three yearly instalments of
+&pound;2,000; Mr. Henry Paul, a private gentleman, &pound;2,000;
+Mr. Nisbet, bookseller, London, &pound;1,000; a Dissenter,
+&pound;500; and there are various other subscriptions of
+&pound;2,000 and &pound;1,000 each.&nbsp; Mr. Fox Maule is to
+build and endow a church at his own expense; Mr. A. Campbell,
+member for Argyleshire, is to do the same.&nbsp; In Elgin, the
+pious and spirited inhabitants have raised &pound;1,000 to build
+a church for the Rev. Alexander Topp, a young and popular
+minister; and they will also liberally contribute to his
+support.&nbsp; So that, in many instances, churches will be
+built, and ministers be provided for, solely by private
+munificence and local exertion, without requiring any aid from
+the general fund.&nbsp; The General Assembly of the Establishment
+is now sitting in Edinburgh, but its proceedings excite little
+interest.&nbsp; The General Assembly of the Free Church, which
+the people recognise as the Church of Scotland, is also sitting
+in Edinburgh, and its proceedings excite an intensity of interest
+hitherto unparalleled in the ecclesiastical history of
+Scotland.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>About this time there arose an objectionable class of men, who
+tried to ape the gentleman, but could not, and they went by the
+generic term of &ldquo;Gents.&rdquo;&nbsp; <i>Punch</i> was death
+upon them, and I give one of the satirist&rsquo;s onslaughts, as
+it reproduces the costumes and amusements of the day.&nbsp; First
+let us see the <!-- page 216--><a name="page216"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 216</span>&ldquo;Gent&rdquo; pictorially, and
+then, afterwards, read what manner of animal he was.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p216b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Punch, vol. IV., p. 142"
+title=
+"Punch, vol. IV., p. 142"
+src="images/p216s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">AN ACT</p>
+<p><i>For amending the Public Deportment of certain individuals
+called</i> &ldquo;<i>Gents</i>,&rdquo; <i>abiding in London and
+other places</i>.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Whereas</span> it having been represented
+that there are, at present existing in the Metropolis, as well as
+in the provincial districts, certain individuals known and spoken
+of as &ldquo;Gents,&rdquo; whose bearing and manners are
+perfectly at variance with the characters, which, from a
+monomania, they appear desirous of assuming:</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">And Whereas</span>, in consequence of
+cheap clothes, imitative <!-- page 217--><a
+name="page217"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+217</span>dispositions, and intellectual poverty, this class is
+greatly on the increase, it has been thought necessary that this
+Act should be framed to control their vicious habits:</p>
+<p>May it, therefore, please your Majesty, that it be enacted:
+<span class="smcap">And be it enacted</span> henceforth, that all
+Gents, not actually in the employ of the <i>Morning Post</i>, or
+Mr. Simpson, of the &ldquo;Albion,&rdquo; be prevented from
+wearing white cravats at parties, the same being evidently an
+attempt of sixth-rate individuals to ape the manners of
+first-class circles.&nbsp; And that no Gent, who does not
+actually keep a horse, and is not in the Army, be allowed to
+strut up and down the Burlington Arcade, with a whip and
+moustachios, such imposition being exceedingly offensive, and
+amounting to a passive swindling of the spectators.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">And be it enacted</span>, that all such
+things as light-blue stocks, large figured shawls, cheap primrose
+gloves, white Chesterfield coal sacks, half-guinea Albert boots;
+in fact, all those articles ticketed in the shop windows as
+&ldquo;Gent&rsquo;s last style,&rdquo; be considered the
+distinctive marks of the class, and condemned accordingly.&nbsp;
+And that every individual, moreover, smoking outside an omnibus,
+sticking large pins in his cravat, wearing fierce studs in his
+shirt, walking with others four abreast in Regent Street, reading
+slang publications, and adopting their language, playing
+billiards in public rooms, sporting dingy white gloves in the
+slips of the theatres, frequenting night taverns, and being on
+terms of familiarity with the singers and waiters, thinking great
+things of champagne, as if everything at a party depended upon
+it; and, especially, wearing the hat on one side, be the signs of
+most unmitigated Gents, and shunned equally with hydrophobia.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">And be it further enacted</span> that no
+Gent be, in future, allowed to cross a hired horse with a view to
+ten shillings worth of Sunday display in the Parks, the turnout
+being always detected; nor shall be permitted to drive a gig, in
+a fierce scarf, under similar circumstances.&nbsp; Nor shall any
+Gent imagine that an acquaintance with all the questionable
+resorts of London is &ldquo;knowing life&rdquo;; or that trousers
+of large check pattern are anything but exceeding Gentish.</p>
+<p><!-- page 218--><a name="page218"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+218</span><span class="smcap">Saving always</span> that the Gents
+have not the sense to endeavour bettering their condition, which
+is exceedingly probable; under which circumstances they had
+better remain as they are, in ignorance of their melancholy
+position.&nbsp; But, on the other hand, it is commanded that
+people of common intellect, henceforth cease to designate any of
+their male friends as &ldquo;Gents,&rdquo; the word being one of
+exceedingly bad style, and equally objectionable with
+&ldquo;genteel,&rdquo; which is, possibly, derived from it.&nbsp;
+And that if, after this, anyone speaks of a &ldquo;Gent,&rdquo;
+or &ldquo;Party&rdquo; he knows, it is ordered that such speaker
+be immediately set down as one of the unfortunate class in
+question.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The Shakspere autograph which was sold on 24 May, 1841, came
+again into the market, and was bought on 19 May, for &pound;145,
+by the Corporation of the City of London.&nbsp; The <i>Patres
+Conscripti</i> of the Common Council were not of one mind as to
+the eligibility of the purchase.&nbsp; On the motion &ldquo;that
+the Court agree to the report, and that the Chamberlain be
+instructed to pay the sum,&rdquo; Mr. Warton rose to move, as an
+amendment, that the report should lie upon the table.&nbsp; (A
+laugh, and loud cries of &ldquo;Hear, hear.&rdquo;)&nbsp; He had,
+he said, done all he could in the Committee, to prevail upon the
+members that the purchase of the autograph was a most wasteful
+and prodigal expenditure.&nbsp; (&ldquo;Hear, hear,&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;No, no.&rdquo;)&nbsp; The precedent was a most mischievous
+one.&nbsp; If the Court sanctioned such a proceeding as that
+which the report had described, by and by the autographs of
+archbishops and bishops, and other individuals who had, in times
+long past, distinguished themselves, would supply apologies for
+wasting the City cash, in order to gratify gentlemen who were
+afflicted with that description of mania.&nbsp; (Laughter.)&nbsp;
+He hoped the Court would not catch the infection, but second his
+rational effort to check it, by condemning the report to its
+proper station on the table.&nbsp; After all, the document was
+doubtful; but there was no doubt at all as to the profligacy of
+the expenditure.&nbsp; (Laughter, and cries of &ldquo;Hear,
+hear,&rdquo; and &ldquo;No, no.&rdquo;)&nbsp; Mr. Knott said it
+was quite ridiculous to think for a <!-- page 219--><a
+name="page219"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 219</span>moment, of
+voting &pound;145 for a few doubtful, illegible, almost
+obliterated scratches of a pen.&nbsp; (Laughter, and cries of
+&ldquo;Hear, hear.&rdquo;)&nbsp; He defied any man on earth to
+say what those scratches represented.&nbsp; On a division there
+were, for the motion 41; for the amendment 31.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 220--><a name="page220"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 220</span>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Exhibition of cartoons&mdash;A duel&mdash;A
+monster&mdash;Gambling&mdash;The &ldquo;Albert
+Hat&rdquo;&mdash;Nelson&rsquo;s statue&mdash;Fun
+thereon&mdash;Soldiers&rsquo; savings banks&mdash;A post boy and
+Lord Mayor&rsquo;s show&mdash;M. Jullien and his
+orchestra&mdash;Prince Albert as a farmer&mdash;George
+IV.&rsquo;s Statue&mdash;Ojibbeway Indians.</p>
+<p>The public exhibition of Cartoons for the frescoes for the new
+Palace of Westminster, took place in Westminster Hall, on 3
+July.&nbsp; There were 140 subjects altogether, varying in size
+from 15ft. to 10ft. square, none being admitted over, or under
+those standards.&nbsp; Prizes of &pound;300 each were awarded to
+Armitage, Watts and Cope; of &pound;200 to Calcott, Bell and
+Townsend; of &pound;100 to Frost, Harris, Selous, Bridges and
+Severn; the judges being the Marquis of Lansdowne, Sir R. Peel
+and Messrs. S. Rogers, Westmacott, Cook and Etty.&nbsp; The
+Cartoons remained in Westminster Hall for 6 months; and, in Nov.
+were removed to the Suffolk Street Gallery.&nbsp; They were
+finally adjudicated upon by the Royal Commission of Fine Arts, on
+12 July, 1844, the successful artists chosen to execute frescoes
+were Cope, Horsley, Dyce, Maclise, Redgrave, and Cave Thomas.</p>
+<p>The practice of duelling was fast dying out, and I give the
+following case as being nearly one of the last, and one in which
+the seconds and surgeon were tried for being accessory to
+murder.&nbsp; Two brothers-in-law&mdash;Lt.-Col. Fawcett of the
+55th Regiment and Lt. Munro of the Royal Horse
+Guards&mdash;quarrelled, and on the morning of the 1st July
+fought a duel with pistols in a field at the back of the
+&ldquo;Brecknock Arms Tavern,&rdquo; in Camden Road.&nbsp;
+Lt.-Col. Fawcett fell, mortally wounded, and died on the 3rd
+July.&nbsp; The Coroner&rsquo;s jury found Lt. Munro, and the two
+seconds, guilty of wilful murder, <!-- page 221--><a
+name="page221"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 221</span>and the
+surgeon as guilty in the second degree only, as it was believed
+he was present only as medical attendant.&nbsp; Lieut. Munro and
+his second got out of the way, but Lt-Col. Fawcett&rsquo;s second
+and the surgeon were tried at the Central Criminal Court on 25
+Aug.&nbsp; No evidence was tendered against the surgeon, and he
+was at once discharged, and the jury found the second &ldquo;Not
+Guilty.&rdquo;&nbsp; Lt. Munro&rsquo;s second surrendered
+himself, was tried on 14 Feb., 1844, and acquitted.&nbsp; Lieut.
+Munro was cashiered from the Army for being absent without leave;
+he afterwards surrendered, and was tried, 18 Aug., 1847, found
+guilty, and sentenced to death; which sentence was commuted to 12
+months&rsquo; imprisonment in Newgate.</p>
+<p>The <i>Times</i> of 30 June, quoting the <i>Reading
+Mercury</i>, has the following: &ldquo;<span class="smcap">A
+Monster</span>.&mdash;A day or two since, a gentleman travelling
+along the road near Colnbrook, had his attention attracted to the
+screams of a child in the care of a tramping woman, who had with
+her, two other children totally blind.&nbsp; The cries of the
+child were so distressing, that he insisted on knowing the cause;
+but; not getting a satisfactory answer, he forcibly removed a
+bandage from its eyes, when, horrid to relate, he found these
+encased with two small perforated shells, in which were two live
+black beetles, for the purpose of destroying the sight.&nbsp; The
+woman was instantly seized, and given into custody; and, at the
+magistrate&rsquo;s meeting, at Eton, on Wednesday last, committed
+for trial.&nbsp; There is too much reason to fear that the wretch
+produced the blindness of the other two children, by similar
+means.&rdquo;&nbsp; This was rendered into a street ballad.</p>
+<p>A correspondent pointed out that it was well known to all who
+pass through the parish of St. James&rsquo;s, at night, that the
+district absolutely swarmed with gaming houses; there was, in
+fact, no concealment about the matter, as the keepers vied with
+each other in illuminating their doors and windows to attract the
+notice of their victims.&nbsp; How was it that this disgrace was
+permitted to exist from season to season?&nbsp; The police seemed
+satisfied with the occasional conviction of one or more minor
+delinquents from the neighbourhood of Leicester <!-- page
+222--><a name="page222"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+222</span>Square, but the Leviathans in crime were allowed to
+continue their nightly course of profligacy and plunder with
+impunity.&nbsp; The French authorities, by a law which was
+strictly enforced, entirely swept away this nuisance from their
+capital, notoriously, for years, the very hotbed of the vice of
+gaming; but we were lamentably behind our neighbours; for, while
+we boasted of a Court pure in morals, and strict in the
+performance of every religious duty, we allowed the Sabbath to be
+desecrated, and the Palace of the Sovereign to be contaminated by
+the close vicinage of houses expressly open for the practice of
+this demoralising habit.&mdash;Are we much better now?</p>
+<p>At the latter end of October, a new headdress for the infantry
+was proposed, and Prince Albert was universally credited as being
+its godfather&mdash;but public opinion was so unequivocally
+expressed against it, that it was never likely to be
+popular.&nbsp; It was neither soldier-like, nor appropriate, and
+bore a strong resemblance to the old Hessian cap, which was
+introduced into the German service.&nbsp; This headgear was
+covered with black cloth, the crown and brim being of
+black-varnished leather; the band was of white worsted, as was
+the tuft, which was placed on a ball of red worsted.&nbsp;
+Beneath this ball was a royal crown, underneath which was a
+Maltese cross, in the centre of which was inscribed the number of
+the regiment.</p>
+<p><i>Punch</i> was especially severe upon the Albert
+hat&mdash;and with the pictorial satire of &ldquo;Prince
+Albert&rsquo;s Studio&rdquo; (by the way the hat is in no ways
+exaggerated), is the following: &ldquo;Ever since the accession
+of Prince Albert to the Royal Husband-ship of these realms, he
+has devoted the energies of his mind, and the ingenuity of his
+hands to the manufacture of Infantry caps, Cavalry trousers, and
+Regulation sabretaches.&nbsp; One of his first measures was to
+transmogrify the pantaloons of the Eleventh Hussars; and, as the
+regiment alluded to is &ldquo;Prince Albert&rsquo;s Own,&rdquo;
+His Royal Highness may do as he likes with his own, and no one
+can complain of his bedizening the legs of the unfortunate
+Eleventh, with scarlet cloth and gold door leather.&nbsp; When,
+however, the Prince, throwing the whole <!-- page 223--><a
+name="page223"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 223</span>of his
+energies into a hat, proposed to encase the heads of the British
+soldiery in a machine which seemed a decided cross between a
+muff, a coal scuttle and a slop pail, then <i>Punch</i> was
+compelled to interfere, for the honour of the British Army.&nbsp;
+The result has been that the headgear has <!-- page 224--><a
+name="page224"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 224</span>been
+summarily withdrawn, by an order from the War Office, and the
+manufacture of more of the Albert hat has been absolutely
+prohibited.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p223b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Prince Albert&rsquo;s Studio.  Punch, vol. V., p. 179"
+title=
+"Prince Albert&rsquo;s Studio.  Punch, vol. V., p. 179"
+src="images/p223s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>&ldquo;Greatness of mind is shown in various ways by different
+individuals.&nbsp; Hannibal was a great cutter out, for he cut a
+passage through the Alps; but Prince Albert cuts out Hannibal,
+inasmuch as His Royal Highness devotes his talent to the cutting
+out of coats, and &lsquo;things inexpressible.&rsquo;&nbsp; The
+Prince&rsquo;s studio could not fail to be an object of interest
+to the <!-- page 225--><a name="page225"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 225</span>readers of <i>Punch</i>.&nbsp; We
+have, therefore, at an enormous sacrifice of time and specie,
+obtained a view of it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p224b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Nelson&rsquo;s Statue"
+title=
+"Nelson&rsquo;s Statue"
+src="images/p224s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>On the morning of Nov. 3, at 4 a.m., the raising of a portion
+of the colossal statue of Nelson, on the pillar in Trafalgar
+Square, commenced.&nbsp; This figure is 17 feet high from its
+base to the top of the hat, and is made of stone from the Granton
+quarry, belonging to the Duke of Buccleugh.&nbsp; It weighs
+nearly 18 tons, and, needless to say, is made in segments.&nbsp;
+These were put together before it was raised, to show the
+public&mdash;and during the two days it was on view, it was
+visited by 100,000 persons.</p>
+<p>The building this column had seemed slow, but that was nothing
+compared to its completion; the bas reliefs were long in being
+placed, and it was not till 31 Jan., 1867, that Landseer&rsquo;s
+four couchant lions were exposed to public gaze.&nbsp; Of the
+progress of its building, <i>Punch</i> (25 Nov., 1843) has some
+very fine fooling.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">&ldquo;THE NELSON COLUMN DRAMA.</p>
+<p>The earliest announcement of the late Covent Garden
+management, was a piece entitled &lsquo;Trafalgar Square, or the
+Nelson Monument.&rsquo;&nbsp; We have obtained the following
+slight information respecting it.&nbsp; The drama is described as
+&lsquo;a grand architectural and historical burletta,&rsquo; in
+two acts; and the prologue was to have been spoken by Mr.
+Widdicomb, as <i>Time</i>.&nbsp; The two acts comprise the
+commencement and completion, and a lapse of twenty years is
+supposed to take place between them, in which time &lsquo;the
+boy,&rsquo; who is the principal character, becomes a middle-aged
+man.&nbsp; The following speech is very fine.&nbsp; The boy
+enquires of the mason when the column will be finished, who
+replies, in an interval of the steak banquet, which they are
+enjoying together:</p>
+<blockquote><p><i>Mason</i>.&mdash;I&rsquo;ve asked that fearful
+question of the stars,<br />
+Who wink responding&mdash;of the Board of Works,<br />
+Whose works have bored us&mdash;of the misty moon,<br />
+Towards whose lodgings, after years of toil,<br />
+We rise no nearer.&nbsp; All were still, but now,<br />
+Whilst gazing on that steak of beef,<br />
+<!-- page 226--><a name="page226"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+226</span>Sent up to form our capital repast,<br />
+And cheer us in our lonely solitude,<br />
+I hope the best&mdash;the best can hope no more.<br />
+&rsquo;Twill rise, like College honours, by degrees,<br />
+And to our limbs a pillar be, of ease:<br />
+Our hearts are warm&mdash;although upon the frieze.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The following duet is also introduced by the man and the boy
+in the second act:</p>
+<p style="text-align: center" class="poetry"><span
+class="smcap">Boy</span>.</p>
+<p class="poetry">I remember, I remember,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; When I was a little boy,<br />
+On the column, in November,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; I was given some employ.</p>
+<p class="poetry">I helped the man to build it,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And we labour&rsquo;d hard and long,<br />
+But the granite came up slowly,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; For we were not very strong.</p>
+<p
+class="poetry">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I
+remember, I remember,<br />
+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+How we raised its form on high,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; With one block
+in December,<br />
+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+And another in July.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center" class="poetry"><span
+class="smcap">Both</span>.</p>
+<p class="poetry">We remember, we remember,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; When St. Martin&rsquo;s bells were rung,<br />
+In the laying of the first stone, for<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; We both were very young.</p>
+<p class="poetry">But weary years have past, now,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Since we our work begun;<br />
+We fear we shall not last now,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To see our labour done.</p>
+<p
+class="poetry">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We
+remember, we remember,<br />
+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+But we heard it on the sly,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+&rsquo;Twon&rsquo;t be finished next November,<br />
+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+Nor the subsequent July.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Very early in November, a War Office circular (dated 31 Oct.)
+was issued, to regulate and establish regimental savings banks,
+which have done so much to encourage thrift among our
+soldiers.&nbsp; The maximum of each soldier&rsquo;s deposit was
+<!-- page 227--><a name="page227"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+227</span>limited to &pound;30 in any one year, and to &pound;200
+in the whole.&nbsp; The rate of interest on deposits was fixed at
+&pound;3 15 s. per cent per annum, but no interest was to be
+allowed upon less than 6s. 8d. and 13s. 4d., nor upon any sums
+that had not remained on deposit for at least one month, to be
+reckoned from the last monthly muster day.</p>
+<p>In the <i>Times</i> of 10 Nov. is the following: &ldquo;A
+rather amusing scene took place in Cheapside, yesterday, shortly
+before the Lord Mayor&rsquo;s procession to Westminster.&nbsp;
+Whilst the streets were blocked up against the passage of
+vehicles and horses, one of those sharp little urchins, known by
+the generic title of the &lsquo;twopenny cavalry,&rsquo; who
+rattle through the streets with Her Majesty&rsquo;s suburban
+mails, was stopped, opposite Bow Church, by a party of police,
+who told him they acted under the orders of the Lord Mayor.&nbsp;
+The post-boy, with all the dignity of Her Majesty&rsquo;s
+representative, assuming an air of great condescension, assured
+the police that he had the highest possible respect for the Lord
+Mayor, but, being express upon Her Majesty&rsquo;s business, he
+was determined to proceed.&nbsp; The police persisted in stopping
+him, a crowd collected, and it was clear their sympathies sided
+with the post-boy, who carried himself, throughout the
+controversy, with great courage, calmness, and
+self-possession.&nbsp; The police had, by this time, seized the
+bridle, whilst the boy endeavoured to force his way forward,
+backed by the strenuous exertions of his steed, who also appeared
+as if inspired by the authority of a Royal Commission.&nbsp; The
+post-boy, finding physical force insufficient, tried what
+authority would do, and threatened them with the vengeance of the
+Home Secretary, for attempting to stop Her Majesty&rsquo;s
+mails.&nbsp; This had the desired effect of bringing the police
+to a parley; and, as the post-boy was backed by popular applause,
+he gained momentarily in the discussion, but did not complete his
+advantage until he took out a memorandum book, and began, coolly,
+to note down the numbers of the constables.&nbsp; This stroke was
+decisive; they, at once, capitulated, merely stipulating that
+they should have his address in return.&nbsp; To this, he readily
+assented, and searched diligently for his cardcase, but that mark
+of gentility <!-- page 228--><a name="page228"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 228</span>was not at hand.&nbsp; He, however,
+made a page from his memorandum book serve his purpose, and took
+his leave amid the loud congratulations of the applauding crowd,
+with the following pithy address to the constables: &lsquo;I
+can&rsquo;t well see what use you are.&nbsp; A hundred years ago
+there were no police, and Lord Mayor&rsquo;s shows went off
+better than they do now.&nbsp; For my part, I can&rsquo;t see
+what you do here at all, for you know&rsquo;&mdash;he added with
+a significant grin&mdash;&lsquo;you know you don&rsquo;t look so
+very well in a procession.&rsquo;&nbsp; Shouts of laughter
+followed the post-boy&rsquo;s brief speech, as he rode on
+triumphantly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was about this time that M. Louis Antoine Jullien, to whom
+we owe so much for the popularisation of good music, and for the
+improvement of our orchestras, came into notoriety as a caterer
+for the public&rsquo;s amusement, and for his promenade
+concerts.&nbsp; These had been popular in the open air at
+Vauxhall, Ranelagh, Marylebone, and other public gardens; but the
+first, under cover, was given in 1838 at the Lyceum Theatre, or,
+as it was then called, The English Opera House, when the pit was
+boarded over, and an orchestra erected on the stage exactly as we
+are now so familiar with.&nbsp; Jullien, in 1838, had been
+unlucky in Paris, was bankrupt, and came to London, where, in
+1840, he was assistant to Eliason, the violinist and conductor of
+an orchestra of 100 performers, and a small chorus.&nbsp; Next
+year Jullien was the conductor; and, in 1842, on 2 Dec., he
+started for himself, at the English Opera House, the series of
+promenade concerts with which his name will always be
+associated.</p>
+<p>He always would have the very best musicians that he could
+find for his orchestra, and in this year (1843) among them were
+Barrett, Baumann, Harper, K&oelig;nig, Richardson, Hill, Lazarus,
+Patey, Howell and Jarrett, and in after years he had such,
+soloists as Ernst, Sivori, Bottesini Wieniawski and
+Sainton.&nbsp; In 1857 he came, financially, to grief; he then
+went to Paris, was imprisoned for debt in Clichy, in 1859, and
+died in a lunatic asylum on 14 March, 1860.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p229b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"M. Jullien.  Ill. Lon. News, 25 Nov. 1843, p. 348"
+title=
+"M. Jullien.  Ill. Lon. News, 25 Nov. 1843, p. 348"
+src="images/p229s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>In his later years he became much stouter than he is here
+represented, and, as a conductor, posed a great deal too
+much.&nbsp; <!-- page 229--><a name="page229"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 229</span>Those of my readers who recollect
+him will acknowledge the truth of the following description of
+him, when conducting his British Army Quadrilles, taken from his
+biography in <i>Grove&rsquo;s History of Music and Musicians</i>:
+&ldquo;With coat thrown widely open, white waistcoat, elaborately
+embroidered shirt front, wristbands of extravagant length, turned
+back over his cuffs, a wealth of black hair, and a black
+moustache&mdash;itself a striking novelty&mdash;he wielded his
+baton, encouraged his forces, repressed the turbulence of his
+audience with indescribable gravity and magnificence, went
+through all the pantomime of the British Army or Navy Quadrilles,
+seized a violin or a piccolo at the moment of climax, and, at
+last, sunk exhausted into his gorgeous velvet chair.&nbsp; All
+pieces of Beethoven&rsquo;s were conducted with a jewelled baton,
+and in <!-- page 230--><a name="page230"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 230</span>a pair of clean kid gloves, handed
+him, at the moment, on a silver salver.&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p230b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Prince Albert, the British Farmer"
+title=
+"Prince Albert, the British Farmer"
+src="images/p230s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>Prince Albert took a great interest in Agriculture, and his
+Flemish Farm at Windsor was a model; but it was hard to make the
+average Englishman believe that a foreigner could ever do any
+good as a Farmer, and John Leech drew a fancy portrait of the
+prince in <i>Punch</i>, 25 Nov., where it illustrates a portion
+of a speech of Sir Robert Peel at Tamworth: &ldquo;Prince Albert
+has turned his attention to the promotion of agriculture; and, if
+you have seen, as most probably you have, an account of the sale
+of Prince Albert&rsquo;s stock, and the price they fetched, I
+have not the slightest doubt you will give one cheer more to
+Prince Albert, as a British Farmer.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In the beginning of December the bronze equestrian statue <!--
+page 231--><a name="page231"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+231</span>of George IV. was set up on a pedestal at the
+north-east corner of Trafalgar Square.&nbsp; It is the work of
+Chantrey, and was intended to be mounted on the Marble Arch,
+which was, originally, the gateway to Buckingham Palace, until
+its removal to Cumberland Gate, Hyde Park, in 1851.</p>
+<p>In the very early part of December, some of Her
+Majesty&rsquo;s subjects, Canadian Indians, from the
+north-eastern shores of Lake Huron, came to visit England.&nbsp;
+They were of the Ojibbeway tribe, and were nine in number, two
+old chiefs, four warriors, two women, and a little girl, 10 years
+old.&nbsp; On the 20 Dec. they were presented to the Queen at
+Windsor, and received from Her Majesty a cheque for &pound;20,
+and a quantity of gorgeous plaid, with which to astonish the
+other natives, on their return.&nbsp; They afterwards exhibited
+themselves, danced war dances, etc., at the Egyptian Hall, at an
+admission fee of half-a-crown.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 232--><a name="page232"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 232</span>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">A child for sale&mdash;Trial, &amp;c, of
+Daniel O&rsquo;Connell&mdash;General Tom Thumb&mdash;His visit to
+the Queen&mdash;The Polka&mdash;How to dance
+it&mdash;&ldquo;Jullien&rsquo;s Grand Polka.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The <i>Times</i> of 19 Jan. copies the following from the
+<i>Worcester Chronicle</i>: &ldquo;<span class="smcap">A Child
+for Sale</span>.&mdash;The following extraordinary letter was
+received, a short time ago, by a gentleman in the neighbourhood
+of Tewkesbury, from a person residing here.&nbsp; The letter is
+dated from a certain court in this town, but we omit the precise
+locality, and the writer&rsquo;s name, hoping that, without
+pursuing the exposure to that extent, it will be sufficient to
+teach him that natural affection is not to be made a matter of
+bargain and sale, and that it is the duty of a parent himself to
+cherish the child which he has been the means of bringing into
+the world:&mdash;&lsquo;Sir,&mdash;Having heard that you
+expressed a wish to have a child and did not mind giving a sum of
+money as an inducement i flatter myself that I have it in my
+power to furnish you with one to answer your purpose in every
+respect it is a boy 2 years old a good looking healthy spirited
+child and sound in wind and limb and that you can rair him up to
+suit your inclination you can send word by the bearer and appoint
+any time to inspect the child.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>With every wish, in this book of Gossip, to steer as clear of
+politics as possible, yet it would belie its name were the famous
+trial of Daniel O&rsquo;Connell not to be mentioned.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Repeal of the Union&rdquo; was his watchword and perpetual
+cry, and with it he stirred up the Irish people to a pitch when
+he found it difficult to manage and restrain them.&nbsp; On 16
+March, 1843, was held at Trim the first of great public meetings
+which he designed, but did not carry out; and on 15 Aug. was a
+monster meeting on the Hill of Tara; but <!-- page 233--><a
+name="page233"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 233</span>the one to
+be held at Clontarf on 8 Oct. was to have eclipsed its
+predecessors.&nbsp; But this was forbidden by the Government,
+and, a week later, warrants were issued for the arrest of
+O&rsquo;Connell, his son John, and his chief colleagues, on a
+charge of conspiring to create discontent and disaffection among
+the liege subjects of the Queen, and with contriving, &ldquo;by
+means of intimidation, and the demonstration of great physical
+force, to procure and effect changes to be made in the
+government, laws, and constitution of this realm.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+O&rsquo;Connell was allowed bail, but on 8 Nov. a true bill was
+found by the jury, yet the trial did not take place till the 15th
+Jan. of this year.&nbsp; On the 12th Feb., the jury returned a
+verdict of guilty of unlawful and seditious conspiracy, but
+judgment was not delivered till 30 May, when he was sentenced to
+imprisonment for twelve months, a fine of &pound;2,000, and to
+find surety to keep the peace for seven years.&nbsp; He had to go
+to prison, where he was well treated and allowed to see his
+friends; his sentence was appealed against, and reversed in the
+House of Lords, on 4 Sep., 1844, when he was instantly
+liberated.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p233b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Repeal button"
+title=
+"Repeal button"
+src="images/p233s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>During all this time there was great excitement, people
+wearing Repeal buttons, one of which is here delineated, and
+other emblems, while the uncrowned King of Ireland was presented,
+at Mullaghmast, with a velvet cap surmounted with shamrocks, and
+having a green tassel; the cap, in fact, with which readers of
+<i>Punch</i> are so familiar.</p>
+<p>Of course, his release from prison was an occasion to be made
+the most of.&nbsp; An amphitheatrical triumphal car was provided,
+and, upon it, were mounted O&rsquo;Connell, his son, and the Rev.
+Dr. Miley, and this gimcrack piece of property was drawn by six
+horses ridden by postillions.&nbsp; The following is an account
+by an eye witness:</p>
+<blockquote><p><!-- page 234--><a name="page234"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 234</span>&ldquo;The ovation commenced at two
+o&rsquo;clock.&nbsp; First came the trades of Dublin, each
+preceded by the banner of its body, and a band playing such music
+as only temperance bands can play, and, generally, with much
+discrimination, selecting rather difficult pieces for their
+performance, and eschewing all national airs.&nbsp; The banners
+were usually displayed from coaches, intended to hold four, but
+contriving to allow from sixteen to eighteen to fit into, and
+hang on by them.&nbsp; Thus they came on: Bricklayers (with a
+painting of the Bank of Ireland, and the superscription of
+&lsquo;Our Old House at Home&rsquo;); slaters, woollen operatives
+(in a small open car); nailors (with a picture of Brian Boroihme
+&lsquo;nailing&rsquo; the Danes at Clontarf); coach makers,
+tailors (with a very gorgeous equipage, six horses, postillions
+and outriders); tinplate workers, displaying as their sign, a man
+with a tin helmet on his head, and a dish cover of the same metal
+on his arm&mdash;otherwise unassumingly attired in a blue coat
+and white trousers; and other bodies of tradesmen too numerous to
+mention, with their appropriate emblems and banners.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p234b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"O&rsquo;Connell&rsquo;s Cap"
+title=
+"O&rsquo;Connell&rsquo;s Cap"
+src="images/p234s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Next came a number of Repeal wardens,
+bearing wands, and occupying respectable-looking coaches and
+carriages.&nbsp; After them drove the committee of the political
+trades&rsquo; unions; the members of it attired in green sashes
+and scarves, and bearing wands with green flags in their
+hands.&nbsp; Next in order were the various members of the
+Corporation, aldermen, town councillors, and officers, dressed in
+their robes of office and <!-- page 235--><a
+name="page235"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 235</span>cocked
+hats, glittering with chains, and furred from head to foot.&nbsp;
+The majority of these gentlemen were in their own carriages, into
+each of which were packed as many of the owner&rsquo;s friends as
+could find standing room, several private vehicles being mixed up
+through the order of procession.&nbsp; Then came the private
+carriages of the Lord Mayor, who was in full dress; and then,
+preceded by a confused mass of wand bearers, the triumphal
+chariot itself, surrounded by a mob so dense that it was with
+great difficulty that the six splendid dappled greys could force
+the cumbrous vehicle along, which, every instant, seemed to
+become a second Car of Juggernaut, and crush some of its
+adorers.&nbsp; More vehicles, a few horsemen, multitudes of hack
+cars and pedestrians, a tail of old women and little boys,
+followed; and so the monster procession, after winding its slow
+length along through the greater part of Dublin, and causing a
+total cessation of business in the line of its progress,
+terminated.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>In February appeared, in London, at the Princess&rsquo;s
+Theatre, &ldquo;General Tom Thumb,&rdquo; the most popular of
+modern dwarfs&mdash;thanks to the advertising qualities of his
+exhibitor, P. T. Barnum.&nbsp; The real name of this mite was
+Charles S. Stratton, and he was said to have been born on 11
+Jan., 1832, but this, as with all data connected with him, must
+be accepted with caution.&nbsp; It was said of him, that, at his
+birth, he weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz., somewhat more than the average
+weight of a newly born infant.&nbsp; At about 5 months old, he
+weighed 15 lbs., and measured 25 inches in height; since which
+time he never increased in stature; and, at the time of his
+arrival in England, he weighed but 15 lbs. 2 oz.&nbsp; He had,
+previously, been exhibited in New York and the principal cities
+of America, where his miniature palace, furniture and equipage
+excited considerable curiosity.&nbsp; When he embarked from New
+York for England, he was escorted to the packet by not less than
+10,000 persons.</p>
+<p>On 1 April, he appeared, by command, before Her Majesty at
+Buckingham Palace, when the Queen presented him, <i>with her own
+hand</i>, with &ldquo;a superb souvenir, of the most exquisite
+<!-- page 236--><a name="page236"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+236</span>handicraft, manufactured of mother of pearl, and
+mounted with gold and precious stones.&nbsp; On one side are the
+crown and Royal initials, V.R., and, on the reverse, bouquets of
+flowers in enamel and rubies.&nbsp; In addition to this splendid
+gift, Her Majesty subsequently presented the General with a
+beautiful gold pencil case, with the initials of Tom Thumb, and
+his coat of arms, engraved on the emerald surmounting the
+case.&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p236b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Tom Thumb.  Ill. Lon. News, 24 Feb., 1844, p. 124"
+title=
+"Tom Thumb.  Ill. Lon. News, 24 Feb., 1844, p. 124"
+src="images/p236s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>Anent this, <i>Punch</i> is exceedingly satirical: &ldquo;Her
+Majesty has again commanded &lsquo;the performances of <i>Tom
+Thumb</i>, the Yankee Dwarf.&rsquo;&nbsp; This, indeed, was to
+have been expected.&nbsp; We have only to reflect upon the
+countless acts of patronage towards the Arts and
+Sciences&mdash;had only to remember a few of the numerous
+personal condescensions of the Queen towards men of letters,
+artists and philosophers&mdash;to be assured that even <span
+class="smcap">Tom Thumb</span> would be welcomed with that
+graceful cordiality which has, heretofore, made Buckingham Palace
+and Windsor Castle the homes of Poetry and Science.&nbsp; <i>De
+minimis curat Regina</i>!&nbsp; Continental monarchs stop short
+in <!-- page 237--><a name="page237"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+237</span>their Royal favours at full-grown authors and artists;
+but the enthusiasm of Her Majesty <span class="smcap">Queen
+Victoria</span>, not content with showering all sorts of favours
+and rewards upon the literary and artistic spirits of her own
+country and age, lavishes, with prodigal hand, most delicate
+honours upon an American <span class="smcap">Tom Thumb</span>,
+whose astounding genius it is, to measure, in his boots,
+five-and-twenty inches!&nbsp; To this, how small is <span
+class="smcap">Victor Hugo</span> at the Tuileries; to this, how
+mean and petty G&ouml;the at the Court of Saxe-Weimar!</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Tom Thumb</span>
+being&mdash;according to the biography published by his showman,
+<span class="smcap">Barnum</span>&mdash;the son of a Yankee
+carpenter, we should much like to know the General&rsquo;s
+arms.&nbsp; Did Her Majesty, before the
+&lsquo;performance,&rsquo; send to learn them, that they might be
+duly engraved? or were they, as <span
+class="smcap">Mathew&rsquo;s</span> French Shoemaker made his
+little boot, struck off in &lsquo;a moment of
+enthusiasm&rsquo;?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>About this time came to us &ldquo;that sweet boon,&rdquo;
+<span class="smcap">the Polka</span>.&nbsp; Originally a Bohemian
+Peasant dance, it was imported into fashionable saloons of Berlin
+and St. Petersburg.&nbsp; It was, at this time, the rage in
+Paris, as the <i>Times</i> observes: &ldquo;The Paris papers are
+destitute of news.&nbsp; Our private letters state that
+&lsquo;politics are, for the moment, suspended in public regard,
+by the new and all-absorbing pursuit&mdash;the Polka&mdash;a
+dance recently imported from Bohemia, and which embraces in its
+qualities the intimacy of the waltz, with the vivacity of the
+Irish jig.&nbsp; You may conceive how completely is &lsquo;the
+Polka&rsquo; the rage, from the fact that the lady of a
+celebrated ex-minister, desiring to figure in it at a
+<i>soir&eacute;e dansante</i>, monopolised the professor, <i>par
+excellence</i>, of that <i>specialit&eacute;</i> for three hours,
+on Wednesday morning last, at 200 francs the
+hour.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On its first importation into England, it was used as a
+<i>ballet</i>, on the stage, with very fancy Bohemian costume, as
+we may see in the three following illustrations of Mdlle.
+Carlotta Grisi and M. Perrot, dancing their idea of it at Her
+Majesty&rsquo;s Theatre in 1844.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><!-- page 238--><a
+name="page238"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 238</span>
+<a href="images/p238b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"The Polka.&mdash;Figure 2.  Ill. Lon. News, 27 April, 1844, p.
+301"
+title=
+"The Polka.&mdash;Figure 2.  Ill. Lon. News, 27 April, 1844, p.
+301"
+src="images/p238s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p><!-- page 239--><a name="page239"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+239</span>But it soon became a Drawing-room dance, and it is
+edifying to know exactly how it was danced then.&nbsp; It was
+found too elaborate, and the number of steps had to be reduced in
+quantity, and curtailed in quality.&nbsp; But this is the dance
+as given in the <i>Illustrated London News</i> of 11 May:</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">&ldquo;THE DRAWING-ROOM POLKA.</p>
+<p>We are much gratified in being enabled to lay before our
+readers an accurate description of the <i>v&eacute;ritable</i>,
+or <i>Drawing-room Polka</i>, as danced at Almack&rsquo;s, and at
+the halls of the nobility and gentry of this country.</p>
+<p><i>La Polka</i> having appeared amongst us under so many
+different guises, we determined to spare no pains to procure a
+true description of its <i>danse</i>; for which we are indebted
+to Mrs. James Rae, who has been fortunate enough to secure the
+details from M. Coralli, fils, the instructor of the young
+noblemen and gentry in Paris.</p>
+<p><i>La Polka</i>, like its predecessors, the waltz and galop,
+is a <i>danse &agrave; deux</i>, couples following each other in
+the <i>salle de danse</i>, commencing at pleasure, and adopting,
+of the following figures, that which pleases them most at the
+moment.&nbsp; All those anxious to shine in <i>La Polka</i>, will
+dance the whole of them, returning from time to time, by way of
+rest, to the first figure.</p>
+<p><i>The measure</i>, or time, is 2&ndash;4; but, to facilitate
+our definition, we subdivide each measure, or bar, into
+one&mdash;two&mdash;three&mdash;four; the accent on the two,
+etc., to be played not so fast as the galop.</p>
+<p><i>The steps</i> are two, and the following description may,
+in some measure, convey them to our readers; we commence with the
+first, and most general.&nbsp; At the one, hop on the right leg,
+lifting, or doubling up your left leg at the same moment; at the
+two, put your left leg boldly forward on the ground; at the
+three, bring your right toe up to your left heel; at the four,
+advance your left foot a short step forward: now, at the one, in
+the next measure, or bar of the time, hop on the left leg,
+doubling, or lifting up your right leg, and <!-- page 240--><a
+name="page240"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 240</span>so on,
+proceeding in this step, with your arm encircling your
+partner&rsquo;s waist, round the room.&nbsp; This may be termed
+the first figure.</p>
+<p>Figure 2.&mdash;Still adopting the same step, with your right
+arm round your partner&rsquo;s waist, and her right hand in your
+left, you place your lady exactly before you, and back all round
+the room, your lady pursuing you (as shown in the sketch); you
+then reverse this figure, and let your partner do the back step,
+whilst you pursue her, and, at the same time, carefully guide her
+round the room.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p240b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"The Drawing-room Polka.&mdash;Figure 2.  Ill. Lon. News, 11 May,
+1844, p. 301"
+title=
+"The Drawing-room Polka.&mdash;Figure 2.  Ill. Lon. News, 11 May,
+1844, p. 301"
+src="images/p240s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>In backing, the leg which in figure one, you put boldly
+forward on the ground, you now fling boldly backward, and are
+thus enabled to effect your progress round the room.</p>
+<p>Figure 3.&mdash;With the same step you waltz round the
+room&mdash;in other words, you perform the Galop waltz,
+substituting the Polka step as described.</p>
+<p><!-- page 241--><a name="page241"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+241</span>Figure 4.&mdash;This is also a waltz with the second
+step, which we will now describe as &ldquo;the Heel and Toe
+step.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the one, make a little hop on your
+right leg, dropping your left heel close to your right foot; at
+the two, another little hop on the right leg, pointing your left
+toe (not forward, but as close to your right foot as possible);
+at the tree, another little hop on the right leg, advancing one
+step forward with the left foot; at the four, bring up the right
+foot, turning at the same instant, and passing your partner over
+to your left arm from your right arm; in your next measure,
+return your lady to your left arm, and so on.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p241b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"The Drawing-room Polka.&mdash;Figure 5"
+title=
+"The Drawing-room Polka.&mdash;Figure 5"
+src="images/p241s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>Figure 5.&mdash;This is termed the back waltz.&nbsp; The step
+adopted in it by yourself and partner, is the back step described
+in figure two, and you turn in this waltz exactly the contrary
+way to that in which you turn in all other waltzes&mdash;hence
+its name.</p>
+<p><!-- page 242--><a name="page242"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+242</span>In <i>La Polka</i>, before commencing the figures we
+have just described, there is a short introduction (of which we
+give a sketch), consisting of four measures, danced thus; leading
+your partner from her seat, and giving her her place in the
+circle, and placing themselves <i>vis-&agrave;-vis</i>, you take
+her left hand in your right, and make the first step four
+times&mdash;first forward, then backward, forward again, and then
+backward, taking care to gain ground in the forward steps; you
+then start with the first figure.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p242b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"The Drawing-room Polka.&mdash;Introduction"
+title=
+"The Drawing-room Polka.&mdash;Introduction"
+src="images/p242s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>There was a furore about the Polka; not only in dancing it,
+but there was an absolute mania for naming articles of dress
+after it.&nbsp; Ladies wore Polka hats, Polka jackets and Polka
+boots, and men had Polka ties.&nbsp; Jullien published a new
+Polka about every fortnight, and the whole people were Polka
+mad.&nbsp; Here is a street ballad on the subject:</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center"><!-- page 243--><a
+name="page243"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+243</span>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Jullien&rsquo;s Grand
+Polka</span>.</p>
+<p>Oh! sure the world is all run mad,<br />
+The lean, the fat, the gay, the sad&mdash;<br />
+All swear such pleasure they never had,<br />
+Till they did learn the Polka.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><i>Chorus</i>.</p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;First cock up your right leg&mdash;so,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Balance on your left great toe,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Stamp your heels, and off you go<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To the Original Polka.&nbsp; Oh!</p>
+<p>There&rsquo;s Mrs. Tibbs, the tailor&rsquo;s wife,<br />
+With Mother Briggs is sore at strife,<br />
+As if the first and last of life<br />
+Was but to learn the Polka.</p>
+<p>Quadrilles and waltzes all give way,<br />
+For Jullien&rsquo;s Polkas bear the sway,<br />
+The chimney sweeps, on first of May,<br />
+Do, in London, dance the Polka.</p>
+<p>If a pretty girl you chance to meet,<br />
+With sparkling eyes and rosy cheek,<br />
+She&rsquo;ll say, young man, we&rsquo;ll have a treat,<br />
+If you can dance the Polka.</p>
+<p>A lady who lives in this town,<br />
+Went and bought a Polka gown,<br />
+And for the same she gave five pound,<br />
+All for to dance the Polka.</p>
+<p>But, going to the Ball one night,<br />
+On the way she got a dreadful fright,<br />
+She tumbled down and ruined quite<br />
+The gown to dance the Polka.</p>
+<p>A Frenchman has arrived from France,<br />
+To teach the English how to dance,<br />
+And fill his pocket&mdash;&ldquo;what a chance&rdquo;&mdash;<br
+/>
+By gammoning the Polka.</p>
+<p>Professors swarm in every street,<br />
+&rsquo;Tis ground on barrel organs sweet;<br />
+And every friend you chance to meet<br />
+Asks, if you dance the Polka.</p>
+<p><!-- page 244--><a name="page244"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+244</span>Then over Fanny Ellsler came,<br />
+Brilliant with trans-Atlantic fame;<br />
+Says she, I&rsquo;m German by my name,<br />
+So best I know the Polka.</p>
+<p>And the row de dow she danced,<br />
+And in short clothes and red heels pranced,<br />
+And, as she skipped, her red heels glanced<br />
+In the Bohemian Polka.</p>
+<p>But, now, my song is near its close,<br />
+A secret, now, I will disclose,<br />
+Don&rsquo;t tell, for it&rsquo;s beneath the rose,<br />
+A humbug is the Polka.</p>
+<p>Then heigh for humbug France or Spain,<br />
+Who brings back our old steps again,<br />
+Which John Bull will applaud amain,<br />
+Just as he does the Polka.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<h2><!-- page 245--><a name="page245"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 245</span>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">An English dinner&mdash;Consols at
+par&mdash;The &ldquo;Running Rein&rdquo; case&mdash;Other
+frauds&mdash;Royal visitors&mdash;Opening letters by
+Government&mdash;Duke of Wellington&rsquo;s Statue&mdash;Barry on
+the Thames&mdash;Visit of Louis Philippe&mdash;Guano&mdash;Queen
+opens Royal Exchange&mdash;Lord Mayor hissed.</p>
+<p>As the length of time between this date, and the present
+writing is great, and our social habits have somewhat changed, it
+may be interesting to some of my readers to hear a
+Frenchman&rsquo;s account of an upper-class dinner.&nbsp; It is
+taken from the <i>Constitutionel</i>, the organ of M. Thiers:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Madeira wine has been out of fashion, in
+England, for some time.&nbsp; Sherry and Port (to which are
+occasionally added Bordeaux and Champagne, Rhenish wines and
+Hermitage) are, now, the only wines to be seen on the tables of
+the rich.&nbsp; As for beer (the national drink), it only makes
+its appearance at a banquet, for remembrance sake, and in very
+small quantity.&nbsp; Port wine is held in especial favour by the
+English, because, while it is more impregnated with alcohol than
+any other, it is, at the same time the least irritating, and
+facilitates, more than all the rest, the important operations of
+the digestive organs.&nbsp; In order, however, to be possessed of
+all the requisite qualities, it must not only be of the finest
+growth, or have been eight or nine years in the cellar, but the
+regular connoisseurs insist that it must cross the line several
+times, in order to be first-rate.&nbsp; Five or six servants,
+with powdered wigs, in silk stockings and knee breeches, hover
+about the table.&nbsp; The covers are always changed at every
+successive course, and there is no fear of eating off the dirty
+plate of one&rsquo;s neighbour, or using his knife or fork, the
+<!-- page 246--><a name="page246"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+246</span>sideboard being laden with piles of plates and
+conveniences of every description.&nbsp; After fish, which always
+constitutes the first course, the host invites one of his guests
+to drink a glass of wine with him, desiring him to help himself
+to that which he likes best.&nbsp; You take that which is offered
+you.&nbsp; Your host then pours out a glass for himself, and
+sends you the bottle by a servant.&nbsp; You fill your glass, you
+raise it to your lips with a half bow, and drink as much of it as
+you feel inclined.&nbsp; The same ceremony is repeated among the
+other guests.&nbsp; It should be mentioned that, if you ask a
+lady to take wine, you always fill her glass before your own;
+but, if you invite a gentleman so to do, you never fail to help
+yourself first.&nbsp; This custom was, formerly, very
+inconvenient to strangers, it being, then, absolutely necessary
+to empty one&rsquo;s glass; at present, you need only drink a
+portion, and ladies may satisfy the rules of etiquette by merely
+moistening their lips.&nbsp; After fish, come roast meats, boiled
+vegetables, and various delicate sauces, with which you make your
+<i>cuisine</i> upon your own plate; puddings and game of all
+sorts follow, amongst which there is, always, to begin with, one
+dish, especially appropriate to the season.&nbsp; It is to the
+former article of diet (puddings), that English children are
+indebted, it is said, for their excellent health, and their
+magnificent rosy complexions.&nbsp; The cloth is at length
+removed, and the mahogany table shines forth in all its
+splendour.&nbsp; Dessert follows, consisting of a few sweetmeats,
+or <i>confitures</i>, but abounding in fruits from all five parts
+of the world, and the produce of all the four seasons, and
+including superb pineapples, Portugal grapes, almonds, red nuts
+of a delicious flavour, dates, figs, rich juicy oranges, etc.,
+etc.&nbsp; The wine is brought on in glass decanters, ticketed
+and placed in silver stands.&nbsp; These stands glide along the
+shining table, which is as smooth as ice, in the midst of silver,
+or crystal vases filled with fruit, etc.&nbsp; The host, after
+helping himself to wine, pushes about the whole
+&lsquo;battery&rsquo; of decanters, which, going the round of the
+table, soon regain their original situation.&nbsp; A quarter of
+an hour elapses, when the mistress of the house rises and
+retires, followed by all the ladies.&nbsp; It is then that <!--
+page 247--><a name="page247"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+247</span>the <i>s&eacute;ance de vin</i> begins.&nbsp; The
+subject of conversation soon changes, and political questions are
+discussed.&nbsp; The conversation, without getting stormy,
+acquires that degree of warmth and animation, which a good
+dinner, when one is blessed with a strong head and a good
+digestion, generally inspires.&nbsp; Hard drinking has, generally
+speaking, fallen into desuetude.&nbsp; It is only foxhunters and
+country gentlemen who remain faithful, nowadays, to that ignoble
+custom.&nbsp; A gentleman who has any self-respect, never so far
+forgets himself as to get tipsy, for he would certainly be looked
+upon with an evil eye, by the company, if he were to enter the
+drawing-room with an indistinct articulation, or with trembling
+legs.&nbsp; Dinner is over about half-past nine.&nbsp; The
+gentlemen then rejoin the ladies to take tea and coffee, and the
+conversation turns, as before, upon the news of the
+day.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>On 8 April, Consols rose to par, or &pound;100 for &pound;100
+stock, for the first time for nearly a century.&nbsp; The last
+time they were at &pound;100 was in 1749, the year after the
+peace of Aix la Chapelle; at which period the public debt was
+rather more than &pound;78,000,000.&nbsp; The highest price the
+Three per Cents, ever rose to, previously, was in June, 1737, and
+again, in May, 1739, when they attained the high price of
+&pound;107.&nbsp; In September, 1797, they fell to 47&#8540;,
+which is the lowest price to which they have ever fallen.</p>
+<p>On 23 May, the Derby was won by a horse called <i>Running
+Rein</i>, which was the occasion of an Action in the Court of
+Exchequer, on 1 July, before Baron Alderson.&nbsp; It was alleged
+that the horse had not been truly described, that he was not of
+the age which qualified him to run for the Derby, and that he
+ought not, therefore, to be deemed the winner of the race.&nbsp;
+Colonel Peel, the owner of Orlando, the second horse, claimed the
+stakes, on the ground that Running Rein was not the horse
+represented; and Mr. Wood, the owner of Running Rein, brought
+this action against the Colonel.</p>
+<p>Mr. Cockburn, who conducted the plaintiff&rsquo;s case, gave
+the pedigree of Running Rein, and his whole history.&nbsp; Among
+other things, Mr. Cockburn mentioned that, in October, 1843, <!--
+page 248--><a name="page248"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+248</span>Running Rein won a race at Newmarket; that he was
+objected to on the score of age; but, eventually, the stewards
+had decided in his favour.&nbsp; The horse was, originally, the
+property of Mr. Goodman; and, Mr. Cockburn said, it was because
+suspicion attached to some transactions of Goodman, and because
+certain persons had betted heavily against Running Rein, that
+opposition was raised against Mr. Wood receiving the
+stakes.&nbsp; He made a severe attack on Lord George Bentinck,
+who, he asserted, was the real party in the cause.&nbsp;
+Witnesses for the plaintiff described the horse at various
+periods of its career; it was of a bay colour, with black legs,
+and a little white on the forehead; its heels were cracked, and,
+in 1842, it broke the skin on one leg, which left a scar.&nbsp;
+George Hitchcock, a breaker of colts, employed to break Running
+Rein in October, 1842, was cross-examined to this effect:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;I know George Dockeray, the trainer.&nbsp;
+I never said to him, &lsquo;Damn it, this colt has been broken
+before; here is the mark of the pad on his back.&rsquo;&nbsp; I
+showed him the mark, but I never said those words, or any words
+to that effect.&nbsp; I don&rsquo;t know why I showed him the
+mark.&nbsp; It was not big enough for the mark of a pad, and it
+was not the place for the saddle to make it.&nbsp; I told Lord
+George Bentinck the same.&nbsp; The mark of the pad never wears
+out.&nbsp; I recollect being asked, in the presence of Mr. Smith,
+what I had there? and I recollect answering, a
+four-year-old.&nbsp; I have not the slightest doubt of it.&nbsp;
+Mr. Smith struck me for it.&nbsp; I did not say, afterwards, that
+I had forgotten all about the horsewhipping, and that the marks
+of the pad had worn out.&nbsp; I never said, either, that
+somebody had behaved very well to me.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>At an early period of the examination of witnesses, Mr. Baron
+Alderson expressed a wish that he and the jury should see the
+horse; and Mr. Cockburn said he had no objection.&nbsp; On the
+cross-examination of William Smith, a training groom residing at
+Epsom, it came out that the horse had been smuggled out of the
+way, that it might not be seen by the defendant&rsquo;s
+agents.&nbsp; The judge, animadverting on this, and on the
+evident perjury of the witness, said it would be better <!-- page
+249--><a name="page249"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+249</span>that the horse should be seen by him and other
+parties.&nbsp; The Solicitor-General, who appeared for the
+defendant, was anxious that the horse should be seen by
+veterinary surgeons.&nbsp; To which the other side objected,
+maintaining that the mark of mouth, by which, alone, those
+surgeons could judge of the age of a horse, was a fallible
+criterion.</p>
+<p>On the conclusion of the evidence for the plaintiff, the
+Solicitor-General, in addressing the jury for the defence,
+denounced the case as a gross and scandalous fraud on the part of
+the plaintiff.&nbsp; The case for the defendant was, that the
+horse was not Running Rein at all, but a colt by Gladiator, out
+of a dam belonging originally to Sir Charles Ibbotson; and that
+it had the name, Running Rein, imposed upon it, being originally
+called Maccabeus, and having been entered for certain stakes
+under that designation.&nbsp; But his allegations were against
+Goodman, not against Mr. Wood; the former had entered into a
+conspiracy with other persons to run horses above the proper
+age.&nbsp; The Gladiator colt had been entered for races, under
+the name of Maccabeus, before Goodman purchased him; and to run
+these races while the colt was in training for the Derby, for
+which he was entered as Running Rein, Goodman hired an Irish
+horse, which he disguised as Maccabeus, though a year older than
+that horse.&nbsp; The Gladiator colt, the <i>soi-disant</i>
+Running Rein, when he ran for the Derby, in 1844, was four years
+old, the race being for three-year-old horses.&nbsp; After
+hearing some evidence in support of these statements, the case
+was adjourned till the following day.</p>
+<p>The next day, when Mr. Baron Alderson took his seat upon the
+Bench, a conversation ensued between Mr. Cockburn and the Judge,
+respecting the production of the horse.&nbsp; Mr. Cockburn
+asserted that it had been taken away without Mr. Wood&rsquo;s
+knowledge, and thus it was out of his power to produce it; he
+felt it would be vain to strive against the effect which must be
+felt by the non-production of the horse, after the remarks of the
+learned Judge on that point.&nbsp; After some conversation,
+however, the case proceeded, and two witnesses for the defence
+were examined, whose evidence <!-- page 250--><a
+name="page250"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 250</span>went to
+prove that Running Rein was, in fact, the Gladiator colt.&nbsp;
+Mr. George Odell, a horse dealer at Northampton, said he could
+swear to that fact; the colt had two marks on one leg.</p>
+<p>Mr. Baron Alderson remarked: &ldquo;Now, if we could see the
+horse, that would prove the case.&nbsp; Who keeps him away?&nbsp;
+It is quite childish to act in this manner.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr. Cockburn now stated that Mr. Wood was convinced that he
+had been deceived, and gave up the case.</p>
+<p>Mr. Baron Alderson then briefly addressed the jury with much
+warmth, and in a most emphatic manner; directing them to find a
+verdict for the defendant, observing:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Since the opening of the case, a most atrocious fraud
+has proved to have been practised; and I have seen, with great
+regret, gentlemen associating themselves with persons much below
+themselves in station.&nbsp; If gentlemen would associate with
+gentlemen, and race with gentlemen, we should have no such
+practices.&nbsp; But, if gentlemen will condescend to race with
+blackguards, they must expect to be cheated.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The jury found for the defendant, and the effect of their
+verdict was, that the Derby Stakes went to Orlando, and that
+Crenoline should be considered the winner of the Two-Year-Old
+Plate at Newmarket, run the previous year.</p>
+<p><i>Punch</i>, in commenting upon Mr. Baron Alderson&rsquo;s
+remarks, says: &ldquo;They&rdquo; (the gentlemen) &ldquo;go among
+these knaves and swindlers, these low-bred ruffians, reeking of
+gin and the stables, <i>to make money of them</i>.&nbsp; They
+associate with boors and grooms, Jew gambling-house keepers,
+boxers and bullies, for money&rsquo;s sake to be sure.&nbsp; What
+other motive could bring such dandies into communication with
+such scoundrels, any more than he would willingly incur an
+infection, unless he had some end in view.&nbsp; And the noble
+patrons of the Turf <i>have</i> a great end in view&mdash;that of
+money.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This ought to have been sufficient roguery, one would think,
+for one race, but it was not.&nbsp; A horse, named Rattan, was so
+evidently &ldquo;nobbled,&rdquo; that two men connected with it,
+Rogers and Braham, were warned off all the Jockey Club&rsquo;s
+premises.</p>
+<p><!-- page 251--><a name="page251"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+251</span>And yet another case.&nbsp; A horse, named Leander, ran
+in this race, and so injured its leg, that it was shot.&nbsp;
+Shortly afterwards, it was suspected that it was four, instead of
+three years old; and, on its being exhumed, <i>the lower jaw was
+missing</i>.&nbsp; The resurrectionists, however, cut off the
+head, and veterinary experts confirmed the previous
+suspicions.&nbsp; For this, the owners, Messrs. Lichtwald, were,
+for ever, disqualified from racing.&nbsp; This case occupied much
+time before the Select Committee of the House of Lords.</p>
+<p>The Select Committee on Gaming, in the Commons, in 1844,
+report that: &ldquo;Your Committee have some evidence to show
+that frauds are, occasionally, committed in Horse Racing, and in
+betting on the Turf; but they feel difficulty in suggesting any
+remedy for this evil, more stringent, or more likely to be
+effectual, than those already in existence.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On June 1, two Royal visitors arrived here, the Emperor of
+Russia and the King of Saxony.&nbsp; They had to pay the usual
+penalty of hard labour for a week.</p>
+<p>In the House of Commons, on 14 June, Mr. T. Duncombe presented
+a petition from W. J. Linton, Joseph Mazzini, and two others,
+complaining of their letters being opened before delivery, and
+praying that &ldquo;The House would be pleased to grant, without
+delay, a Committee to inquire and give immediate redress to the
+petitioners, and prevent the recurrence of so unconstitutional
+and infamous a practice.&rdquo;&nbsp; Sir James Graham (Home
+Secretary) replied that &ldquo;the House must be aware that from
+as early a period as the reign of Queen Anne, power existed in
+the hands of the Principal Secretary of State, to detain and open
+letters passing through the Post Office; and the House would also
+be aware that this power had come under the review of Parliament,
+at so late a period as the year 1837, and by the Act of 1 Vic.,
+this power of issuing warrants to open and detain letters,
+continued still vested in the Secretaries of State.&nbsp; He
+must, for fear of creating misapprehension by his answer, state
+that the circumstances mentioned in the petition were, to a great
+extent, untrue.&nbsp; As to three of the petitioners, he doubted
+if their letters had ever been detained, and no warrant as to
+them <!-- page 252--><a name="page252"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 252</span>had been issued; but, as to one of
+the petitioners, he had to state, that, on his responsibility, a
+warrant had been issued as to the correspondence of that person,
+which warrant was no longer in force.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 2 July, a Committee of Secrecy was appointed &ldquo;to
+inquire into the state of the Law in respect to the detaining and
+opening of Letters at the General Post Office, and into the mode
+under which the authority given for such detaining and opening
+has been exercised, and to report their opinion and observations
+thereupon to the House.&rdquo;&nbsp; The Committee met, took
+evidence, and duly reported, when it being shewn that the
+privilege was not often exercised (the total number of warrants
+issued between 1799 and 1844 being only 372), and that, of late
+years, the average of warrants had decreased, the public were
+satisfied, and the subject dropped.</p>
+<p>Chantrey&rsquo;s equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington,
+which stands in front of the Royal Exchange, was uncovered,
+amidst much cheering.&nbsp; It cost &pound;9,000 besides the
+metal.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p252b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Barry, the Clown, on the Thames"
+title=
+"Barry, the Clown, on the Thames"
+src="images/p252s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>On 23 Sept. Barry, a clown at Astley&rsquo;s, fulfilled his
+promise of sailing in a washing-tub drawn by geese, from Vauxhall
+to Westminster.&nbsp; He successfully accomplished his voyage,
+and repeated it on Oct. 11, from the Red House, Battersea (where
+now is Battersea Park), to Vauxhall.</p>
+<p>On 8 Oct. Louis Philippe, the King of the French, landed at
+Portsmouth on a visit to the Queen.&nbsp; He was made a Knight of
+the Garter, and generally f&ecirc;ted, and should have returned
+to France, from Portsmouth on the 12th, but the <!-- page
+253--><a name="page253"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+253</span>sea was too rough, and he had to cross from Dover,
+instead; but even this trip was delayed by a great conflagration
+at New Cross Station, so that he really did not depart until the
+13th.</p>
+<p>I meet with the first mention of that eminent fertiliser,
+Guano, in a commercial point of view, in the <i>Times</i> of the
+18 Oct., where it says that on 16th were put up for sale, at
+Liverpool, in lots of 10 tons each, 180 tons of the best African
+guano.&nbsp; But one lot of five tons was sold, and that fetched
+&pound;5 12s. 6d.&nbsp; The next lot was not sold, in consequence
+of the price offered being under that, and the whole of the
+remaining lots were withdrawn, there being no probability of the
+reserved price being realised.&nbsp; It was then being fetched
+from Ichaboe, an island off the south-west coast of
+Africa&mdash;but it was afterwards procured in large quantities
+from the Chincha Islands, off the coast of Peru.</p>
+<p>On 28 Oct. the Queen opened the New Royal Exchange, with great
+State, and the Lord Mayor (W. Magnay, Esq.) was made a baronet;
+the reading-room at Lloyd&rsquo;s was made into a Throne room for
+the occasion, and a sumptuous <i>d&eacute;jeuner</i> was served
+in the Underwriters&rsquo; room.&nbsp; It was a very imposing
+pageant and pretty sight; but, although the Exchange was formally
+opened, no merchants assembled within its quadrangle until the
+first of the following January.</p>
+<p>Whilst on matters civic I must mention the very rare fact of
+Sir William Magnay&rsquo;s successor in the office of Lord Mayor
+(Mr. Alderman Gibbs), being hooted and yelled at, on 9 Nov.,
+whilst going to Westminster, and returning thence.&nbsp; He had
+been churchwarden of St. Stephen&rsquo;s, Walbrook, and the
+popular mind was imbued with the idea that something was wrong
+with his accounts, so they virtuously insulted him.&nbsp; He had
+a hard enough time of it both by land and water, when going, what
+his returning was, is best told by a contemporary:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The ceremony within the Court of Exchequer having
+terminated, similar uproarious shouts to those which had hailed
+the arrival of the new Lord Mayor, now marked his embarcation for
+the city; and, in his passage down the Thames, with but here and
+there a solitary exception, the civic barge was <!-- page
+254--><a name="page254"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+254</span>the target of repeated vollies of yells and groans,
+levelled by no unskilful, or ineffective voices at it, from the
+banks and bridges of the river.&nbsp; The landing at Blackfriars
+was attended with a more concentrated attack of &lsquo;public
+execration,&rsquo; for, there, an immense multitude was wedged
+together, anxious to be spectators of the scene, though not
+inactive ones.&nbsp; On the procession passed amid the continued
+manifestations of public disapprobation of the present, and
+respect for the retiring Lord Mayor.&nbsp; Many interrogations of
+a searching nature were repeatedly bawled forth, not that they
+could reach the right honourable ear, but they were exercises in
+that peculiar art, styled &lsquo;talking at folks.&rsquo;&nbsp;
+The same description must apply to Ludgate Hill, St. Paul&rsquo;s
+Churchyard, and Cheapside, in which place some merriment was
+created by a party chanting in appropriate style:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&lsquo;Oh, Alderman Gibbs,<br />
+Pray dub up the dibbs!&rsquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>&ldquo;It was somewhat after 4 o&rsquo;clock, when the
+cort&egrave;ge arrived at the bottom of King Street, where,
+immediately before Guildhall Yard, about 2,000 persons had
+collected, and others pressing out of the several streets, caused
+a dense mass to be formed.&nbsp; This was the place where a
+parting salutation was to be presented to the new Lord Mayor, by
+his pitiless persecutors, and a very good view of the scene was
+attainable from an upper window at the western angle of Gresham
+Street.&nbsp; Hearty and continued cheering announced the
+progress of Sir William Magnay; but, as soon as the State coach
+with the new Lord Mayor arrived, the yells and groans which broke
+forth, were perfectly stunning.&nbsp; Never was the manner in
+which the two Lord Mayors had been received throughout the day,
+marked with stronger contrast.&nbsp; The accumulation of
+carriages in Guildhall Yard, caused the detention of the State
+coach for some minutes, during which a real tempest of execration
+was poured forth upon the unfortunate gentleman; and many persons
+did not hesitate to testify their dislike to him in a manner to
+be condemned, by spitting at the carriage, their distance from
+which, however, defeated their <!-- page 255--><a
+name="page255"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+255</span>intention.&nbsp; In truth, Mr. Gibbs had to endure a
+perpetual and pitiless storm of hisses, yells, groans, gibes,
+sneers and jeers; and at every stoppage where the crowd was in
+close proximity to his carriage, unusually furious bursts of
+indignation broke forth; yet no missile was thrown during any
+portion of the day.&rdquo;</p>
+<h2><!-- page 256--><a name="page256"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 256</span>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Murder by Tawell&mdash;Curious
+story&mdash;King William IV.&rsquo;s Statue&mdash;Visits by the
+Queen&mdash;Testimonial to Rowland Hill&mdash;Breaking the
+Portland Vase&mdash;Sad end of William Austin&mdash;Sale of Van
+Amburgh&rsquo;s stud&mdash;Hungerford Suspension
+bridge&mdash;Accident at Yarmouth&mdash;An Excise
+case&mdash;Beginning of the Railway Mania&mdash;Sailing of Sir J.
+Franklin.</p>
+<p>This year begins badly&mdash;with a murder&mdash;which I
+should not chronicle, were it not that it was the first case in
+which the electric telegraph lent its services for the detection
+of a crime.&nbsp; A man named John Tawell, a member of the
+Society of Friends, and who occupied a decent position in life,
+poisoned a poor woman at Salt Hill.&nbsp; A Quaker who seemed
+much confused had been met close by her house, and he went by
+train from Slough to Paddington.&nbsp; Suspicion being aroused, a
+message was sent from Slough, giving a description of him, and
+asking that he should be shadowed on his arrival.&nbsp; This was
+done, and, next day, he was arrested.&nbsp; He was tried, found
+guilty, and duly executed.&nbsp; The case, at the time, created
+an immense sensation, mainly because the villain was a member of
+the Society of Friends.&nbsp; <i>Apropos</i> of this, the
+<i>Observer</i> of 23 March is responsible for the following:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;<span class="smcap">The Murderer
+Tawell</span>.&mdash;The following strange statement has been
+made by a person, who is a Quaker, living near Berkhampstead, and
+who is acquainted with Tawell: About a year ago, the stillness
+and decorum of the Quakers&rsquo; meeting at Berkhampstead, at
+which Tawell attended, was disturbed by one of the male members,
+who suddenly rose from his seat and exclaimed, with frantic
+earnestness, that there was then present, a person who was, at
+that very moment, <!-- page 257--><a name="page257"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 257</span>meditating a most fearful
+crime.&nbsp; His conviction was so strong, that he passionately
+besought this individual, whoever, he might be, to reflect upon
+the wickedness of his intention, and to implore his Maker&rsquo;s
+pardon for his murderous thoughts.&nbsp; As may be imagined, the
+Friends were thrown into great consternation by this strange and
+impetuous appeal, and the meeting broke up in alarm and
+confusion.&nbsp; Tawell was present at the time.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Early in January the statue of King William IV., by Samuel
+Nixon, was placed on its pedestal, fronting London Bridge; but,
+as far as I know, there was no public ceremony at its
+inauguration, for the <i>Times</i> of 1 Feb. says: &ldquo;That
+workmen are now actively employed in cleansing down the colossal
+figure of King William IV., preparatory to the hoarding being
+removed, and the statue thrown open to the view of the
+public.&nbsp; The base will present a very novel and pleasing
+appearance, it being ornamented with numerous naval
+trophies.&nbsp; The four cross footpaths leading to the figure
+will be lighted by four gas lamps, on massive granite
+pillars.&nbsp; In a few days the whole work will be completed,
+when it will be inspected by Her Majesty, the Queen Dowager, and
+His Royal Highness Prince Albert, those illustrious personages
+having intimated their desire to view it when
+finished.&rdquo;@</p>
+<p>On 15 January the Queen paid a visit to the Duke of
+Buckingham, at Stowe, and the magnificence of her reception had
+much to do with the financial collapse of the too generous
+Duke.&nbsp; On leaving Stowe she went to Strathfieldsaye to stay
+with the Duke of Wellington.&nbsp; It was on this occasion that
+the old Duke gave a lesson to the gentlemen of the Press, which
+the interviewers of our times might well take to heart:
+&ldquo;Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington presents his
+compliments to Mr. ---, and begs to say he does not see what his
+house at Strathfieldsaye has to do with the public
+press.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 21 Jan. a National Testimonial was presented to Rowland
+Hill for his labours in connection with the introduction of the
+Penny Post, and Mr. Larpent, the Chairman of the City of London
+Mercantile Committee on Postage, handed him <!-- page 258--><a
+name="page258"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 258</span>a cheque
+for &pound;10,000, which handsome sum had been raised by a public
+subscription, which was not confined to the mercantile community
+alone, persons of every rank, and of both sexes, contributing
+amounts varying from large sums to a few pence.</p>
+<p>Just before the closing of the British Museum at 4 p.m. on 7
+Feb., a crash was heard, and the famous Barberini, or Portland
+Vase, was found in pieces on the floor.&nbsp; A man, named Lloyd,
+in a fit of delirium produced by drink, had smashed it out of
+pure wantonness.&nbsp; The vase was valued at &pound;1,000 by the
+Museum authorities, but, of course, that sum was purely nominal,
+as the vase was unique.&nbsp; It was deposited in the British
+Museum in the year 1810 by the Duke of Portland, and was
+considered as his property; hence the name of the &ldquo;Portland
+Vase.&rdquo;&nbsp; It was found about the middle of the 16th
+century, about two and a half miles from Rome, on the road
+leading from Frascati.&nbsp; At the time of its discovery it was
+enclosed in a marble sarcophagus, within a sepulchral chamber,
+under the mount called Monte di Grano.&nbsp; The material of
+which it is made is glass, the body being of a beautiful
+transparent dark blue, enriched with figures in relief, of opaque
+white glass.&nbsp; For more than two centuries it was the
+principal object of admiration in the Barberini Palace.&nbsp; It
+came into the possession of Sir William Hamilton, from whom it
+was purchased by the Duchess of Portland.</p>
+<p>On 11 Feb. the delinquent was brought before Mr. Jardine, at
+Bow Street, and the Museum authorities electing to prosecute him
+for the minor offence of breaking the glass case which held the
+vase, and which was under the value of &pound;5, he was convicted
+of that offence, and sentenced to pay &pound;3, or two
+months&rsquo; hard labour in the House of Correction.&nbsp; He
+could not pay, and was committed to prison, in default, but on 13
+Feb., someone paid the money, and the man was released.</p>
+<p>An employ&eacute; of the British Museum, named Doubleday,
+undertook, and effected, the restoration of the Vase, and it may
+now be seen in the Gold Room of the British Museum, but, alas!
+&ldquo;all the King&rsquo;s horses, and all the King&rsquo;s
+men,&rdquo; <!-- page 259--><a name="page259"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 259</span>can never make it as it was.&nbsp;
+Wedgwood feebly reproduced it in ceramic ware, copies of which
+are now worth &pound;200 each, and one copy, if not more, was
+made in silver.</p>
+<p>I come across a curious paragraph in the <i>Morning Post</i>
+of March 13: &ldquo;<span class="smcap">William
+Austin</span>.&mdash;This person, whose name must be familiar to
+all who have had any acquaintance with the history of the
+Parliamentary proceedings in the case of the late Queen Caroline,
+or the eventful life of that unhappy Princess, arrived in London,
+last week, from Milan, where he has been residing for several
+years, for the most part, in a state of fatuity, the inmate of a
+lunatic asylum.&nbsp; We understand that he has been removed to
+this country through the intervention of the British Government,
+under an authority from the Lord Chancellor, in whose care, his
+person, and some considerable property, left to him by the late
+Queen, have been placed by certain proceedings on the part of his
+relations.&nbsp; He was conveyed hither from Milan under the
+charge of a medical and two other attendants; and immediately on
+his arrival, was visited by two London physicians, who, after an
+interview with him of some duration, at the hotel where he
+stopped, signed the necessary certificate for his detention in a
+private asylum, where he now remains.&nbsp; Austin is a very
+good-looking man, apparently about 40 years of age; and though,
+beyond doubt, mentally enfeebled, has no betrayal of such
+imbecility in the expression of his face.&nbsp; He has been in
+his present unfortunate condition since the year 1830; and, for a
+great part of that time, he has maintained an immovable
+taciturnity.&nbsp; No ingenuity has been able to extract a
+syllable from him.&nbsp; He answers no questions, nor asks
+any&mdash;enters into no conversation&mdash;and, even during the
+whole journey from Milan to London, he never spoke a word to his
+attendants, or any one else.&nbsp; Neither could the medical
+gentlemen who waited upon him here induce him to reply to any of
+their inquiries; and no doubt, this fact, of itself, formed no
+inconsiderable ingredient in the judgment at which they
+arrived.&nbsp; The unhappy man is extremely docile, has no
+disposition to violence, and readily understands and obeys any
+signs made to him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><!-- page 260--><a name="page260"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+260</span>Van Amburgh&rsquo;s stud, lions, etc., were sold at
+Manchester on 17 March, and fetched high prices; a fine black
+maned lion, &pound;350; another, 6 years old, &pound;310; two
+lion cubs, eight months old, male and female, sold, the one for
+&pound;12 10/-, the other for &pound;35.&nbsp; An elephant
+realised &pound;750, and a giraffe &pound;400.</p>
+<p>Hungerford Suspension Bridge, the first of its kind over the
+Thames, was opened on 1 May, and, although a toll was demanded,
+it was calculated that, before dusk, some 25,000 persons had
+crossed from one side of the Thames to the other.&nbsp; It was
+taken down in July, 1862, to make room for the Charing Cross
+Railway Bridge.&nbsp; It was transferred to Clifton, and there
+opened, on 8 Dec., 1864, and it now spans the Avon.</p>
+<p>On the next day (2 May) a terrible accident occurred at the
+Suspension bridge at Great Yarmouth.&nbsp; A clown was to emulate
+Barry&rsquo;s folly, and cross the river in a washing-tub drawn
+by geese; and thousands of people assembled to see him, of whom a
+great number (accounts vary from 300 to 600), containing very
+many children, were on the bridge.&nbsp; Some of the suspension
+rods snapped, and the crowd fell into the water.&nbsp; Every
+assistance was rendered, but the number of recovered dead bodies,
+nearly all children, or young persons, was 77, and many are
+supposed to have been swept away by the current.</p>
+<p>On the 2nd of May, the famous Excise trial at Bar,
+<i>i.e.</i>, before twelve judges, the Attorney General <i>v.</i>
+Smith, came to an end, after lasting eight days.&nbsp; Mr. George
+Smith was a distiller, in a large way of business, at
+Whitechapel, and the premises of his brother James, who was a
+rectifier, adjoined his.&nbsp; The law forbids the junction of
+the businesses of distilling and rectifying, or any communication
+between premises carrying on such businesses; and, in this case,
+it was presumed that all spirit would be conveyed from one to the
+other by means of the highway.&nbsp; But the contention of the
+prosecution was, that the Excise officers, finding a great
+deficiency in the spirits ostensibly produced, as compared with
+the &ldquo;wash,&rdquo; had detected holes in a large receiver,
+and found, moreover, that they could themselves convey spirits
+from the distillery <!-- page 261--><a name="page261"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 261</span>to the rectifying house, through
+pipes under ground, which were mixed up with those which supplied
+water, and so escaped detection.&nbsp; This the defendants
+denied, and brought forward evidence that the pipes were obsolete
+and disused.&nbsp; In the end, the verdict of the jury was,
+&ldquo;We find for the Crown; but we are anxious to express our
+opinion that there has not been any evidence adduced before us
+which shows that the pipe has been fraudently used by the
+defendant.&rdquo;&nbsp; The amount of damages claimed by the
+Crown was &pound;150,000; but, by agreement, this was reduced to
+&pound;76,000; and, finally, after an appeal from Mr. Smith, the
+Government were content with a cheque for &pound;10,000.</p>
+<p>About this time commenced what is well termed &ldquo;The
+Railway Mania,&rdquo; or, rather, public attention was
+particularly called to it, as it was becoming a crying
+scandal.&nbsp; So much so, that it attracted the notice of the
+legislature; and, if we look at a &ldquo;Return to the Order of
+the Honourable the House of Commons, dated 8th April, 1845, for
+an alphabetical list of the Names, Description, and Places of
+Abode, of all Persons subscribing to the Amount of &pound;2,000
+and upwards to any Railway Subscription Contract deposited in the
+Private Bill Office during the present Session of
+Parliament,&rdquo; we shall see that amongst the names will be
+found many of the leading nobility, large manufacturing firms,
+names well known in commerce and literature, mingled together in
+a most heterogeneous manner.&nbsp; The same column shows a
+combination of peers and printers, vicars and vice-admirals,
+spinsters and half-pay officers, Members of Parliament and
+special pleaders, professors and cotton spinners,
+gentlemen&rsquo;s cooks and KC.&rsquo;s, attorneys&rsquo; clerks
+and college scouts, waiters at Lloyd&rsquo;s, relieving officers
+and excisemen, editors and engineers, barristers and butchers,
+Catholic priests and coachmen, dairymen and dyers, braziers,
+bankers, beer sellers and butlers, domestic servants, footmen and
+mail guards, and almost every calling under the sun.</p>
+<p>And these, it must be remembered, were subscribers for
+&pound;2,000 and upwards; those who put down their names for less
+were supposed to be holders of &pound;21,386 6s. 4d. in
+Stock.</p>
+<p><!-- page 262--><a name="page262"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+262</span>Of course, <i>Punch</i> could not overlook this mania
+for speculation, and we find the following in the number for 31
+May:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The night was stormy and dark.&nbsp; The
+town was shut up in sleep;&nbsp; Only those were abroad who were
+out on a lark,&nbsp; Or those, who&rsquo;d no beds to keep.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p262b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"&ldquo;How many hundred shares have you wrote for?&rdquo;
+Railroad Speculators"
+title=
+"&ldquo;How many hundred shares have you wrote for?&rdquo;
+Railroad Speculators"
+src="images/p262s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>&ldquo;I pass&rsquo;d through the lonely street,&nbsp; The
+wind did sing and blow;&nbsp; I could hear the policeman&rsquo;s
+feet&nbsp; Clapping to and fro.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There stood a potato-man&nbsp; In the midst of all the
+wet; He stood with his &rsquo;tato can&nbsp; In the lonely
+Haymarket.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Two gents of dismal mien, And dank and greasy
+rags.&nbsp; Came out of a shop for gin,&nbsp; Swaggering over the
+flags:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Swaggering over the stones,&nbsp; Those shabby bucks
+did walk;&nbsp; And I went and followed those needy ones,&nbsp;
+And listened to their talk.</p>
+<p><!-- page 263--><a name="page263"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+263</span>&ldquo;Was I sober, or awake?&nbsp; Could I believe my
+ears?&nbsp; Those dismal beggars spake&nbsp; Of nothing but
+railroad shares.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wondered more and more; Says one, &lsquo;Good friend
+of mine,&nbsp; How many shares have you wrote for&nbsp; In the
+Diddlesex Junction Line?&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I wrote for twenty,&rsquo; says Jim,&nbsp;
+&lsquo;But they wouldn&rsquo;t give me one&rsquo;;&nbsp; His
+comrade straight rebuked him&nbsp; For the folly he had done:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Oh, Jim, you are unawares&nbsp; Of the ways of
+this bad town;&nbsp; <i>I</i> always write for five hundred
+shares,&nbsp; And <i>then</i>, they put me down.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;And yet you got no shares,&rsquo;&nbsp; says
+Jim, &lsquo;for all your boast&rsquo;;&nbsp; &lsquo;I
+<i>would</i> have wrote,&rsquo; says Jack, &lsquo;but where&nbsp;
+Was the penny to pay the post?&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I lost, for I couldn&rsquo;t pay&nbsp; That
+first instalment up;&nbsp; But, here&rsquo;s taters smoking hot,
+I say&nbsp; Let&rsquo;s stop, my boy, and sup.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And at this simple feast,&nbsp; The while they did
+regale,&nbsp; I drew each ragged capitalist&nbsp; Down on my left
+thumb nail.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Their talk did me perplex,&nbsp; All night I tumbled
+and tossed,&nbsp; And I thought of railroad specs,&nbsp; And how
+money was won and lost.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Bless railroads everywhere,&rsquo;&nbsp; I said,
+&lsquo;and the world&rsquo;s advance;&nbsp; Bless every railroad
+share&nbsp; In Italy, Ireland, France;&nbsp; For never a beggar
+need now despair,&nbsp; And every rogue has a
+chance.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>And yet another extract.&nbsp; Who does not remember
+Thackeray&rsquo;s <i>Diary of C. Jeames de la Pluche</i>,
+<i>Esqre.</i>? but few know how the idea was started.&nbsp; It
+was by W. M. T. himself in <i>Punch</i> of Aug. 2:</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">A LUCKY SPECULATOR.</p>
+<p>Considerable sensation has been excited in the upper and lower
+circles in the West End, by a startling piece of good fortune
+which has befallen <span class="smcap">James Plush Esq.</span>,
+lately footman in a respected family in Berkeley Square.</p>
+<p>One day, last week, <span class="smcap">Mr. James</span>
+waited upon his master, who is a banker in the City; and, after a
+little blushing and <!-- page 264--><a name="page264"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 264</span>hesitation, said he had saved a
+little money in service, and was anxious to retire, and invest
+his savings to advantage.</p>
+<p>His master (we believe we may mention, without offending
+delicacy, the well-known name of <span class="smcap">Sir George
+Flimsy</span>, of the firm of <span class="smcap">Flimsy</span>,
+<span class="smcap">Diddler and Flash</span>) smilingly asked
+<span class="smcap">Mr. James</span> what was the amount of his
+savings, wondering considerably how&mdash;out of an income of
+thirty guineas, the main part of which he spent in bouquets, silk
+stockings and perfumery&mdash;<span class="smcap">Mr.
+Plush</span> could have managed to lay by anything.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Plush</span>, with some hesitation,
+said he had been <i>speculating in railroads</i>, and stated his
+winnings to have been thirty thousand pounds.&nbsp; He had
+commenced his speculations with twenty, borrowed from a
+fellow-servant.&nbsp; He had dated his letters from the house in
+Berkeley Square, and humbly begged pardon of his master, for not
+having instructed the railway secretaries, who answered the
+applications, to apply at the area bell.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Sir George</span>, who was at breakfast,
+instantly arose, and shook Mr. P. by the hand; <span
+class="smcap">Lady Flimsy</span> begged him to be seated, and
+partake of the breakfast which he had laid on the table; and has,
+subsequently, invited him to her grand <i>d&eacute;jeuner</i> at
+Richmond, where it was observed that <span class="smcap">Miss
+Emily Flimsy</span>, her beautiful and accomplished seventh
+daughter, paid the lucky gentleman <i>marked</i> attention.</p>
+<p>We hear it stated that Mr. P. is of very ancient family (<span
+class="smcap">Hugo de la Pluche</span> came over with the
+Conqueror); and the new Brougham which he has started, bears the
+ancient coat of his race.</p>
+<p>He has taken apartments at the Albany, and is a director of
+thirty-three railroads.&nbsp; He purposes to stand for Parliament
+at the next general election, on decidedly conservative
+principles, which have always been the politics of his
+family.</p>
+<p>Report says that, even in his humble capacity, <span
+class="smcap">Miss Emily Flimsy</span> had remarked his high
+demeanour.&nbsp; Well, &ldquo;none but the brave,&rdquo; say we,
+&ldquo;deserve the fair.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This we may call the commencement of the mania; in their
+proper places will be noticed its culmination and collapse.</p>
+<p><!-- page 265--><a name="page265"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+265</span>On 18 May sailed from Greenhithe the two Arctic
+discovery ships, the <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>, under the
+command of Sir John Franklin, whose instructions were &ldquo;to
+push to the westward, without loss of time, in the latitude of
+about 74&frac14; degrees, till you have reached the longitude of
+that portion of land on which Cape Walker is situated, or about
+98 degrees west.&nbsp; From that point we desire that every
+effort be used to endeavour to penetrate to the southward and
+westward, in a course as direct towards Behring&rsquo;s Straits
+as the position and strength of the ice, or the existence of
+land, at present unknown, may admit.&nbsp; We direct you to this
+particular part of the Polar Sea, as affording the best prospect
+of accomplishing the passage to the Pacific.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They were provisioned for three years, but when, in 1850,
+Captain Ommanney discovered, on Beechey Island, traces of the
+expedition having spent their first winter there, he found large
+stacks of preserved meat canisters, which, there is little doubt,
+contained putrid filth, and had been condemned by survey.</p>
+<p>As nothing was heard of the expedition, another was organised,
+in 1847, to start, for search and relief, from Hudson&rsquo;s
+Bay; and, indeed, no one can say that the two exploring vessels
+were forgotten; for, from that date, till 1857, <i>thirty-nine
+different expeditions were sent to look after them</i>.&nbsp; The
+first to find traces of them was that of Capt. Ommanney, in 1850;
+then, in April, 1854, Dr. Rae heard, from the natives, of a party
+of white men having been seen, four winters previously, and that
+their bodies had afterwards been seen.&nbsp; From these Eskimo,
+Rae obtained some silver spoons and other small articles which
+left no doubt but that they had belonged to the ill-fated
+expedition.&nbsp; But it was the <i>Fox</i> yacht, which was
+fitted out by Lady Franklin, and commanded by Capt. McClintock,
+which settled the question of their fate.&nbsp; Early in 1859, a
+boat, a few skeletons, chronometers, clothing, instruments,
+watches, plate, books, etc., were discovered; and, towards the
+end of May, a written paper was found, which gave news of them up
+to 25 Apl., 1848, and told that &ldquo;Sir John Franklin died on
+11 June, 1847, and the total losses <!-- page 266--><a
+name="page266"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 266</span>by deaths
+in the expedition has been, to this date, nine officers and 15
+men; we start on, to-morrow, 26th, for Back&rsquo;s Fish
+River.&rdquo;&nbsp; From the Eskimo was learned how one of the
+ships sunk in deep water, and the other was wrecked, after which
+they all perished miserably, some &ldquo;falling down and dying
+as they walked,&rdquo; as an old woman told Capt. McClintock.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 267--><a name="page267"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 267</span>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">The Queen&rsquo;s Costume Ball&mdash;Copper
+Coinage of William IV.&mdash;New Oxford Street opened&mdash;Sale
+of Napoleon&rsquo;s relics&mdash;Story of Nelson&rsquo;s
+coat&mdash;Visit of King of the Netherlands&mdash;Railway
+speculation&mdash;Hire of newspapers&mdash;Reverse of
+fortune&mdash;Prince Albert and his taxes&mdash;Waghorn&rsquo;s
+overland route.</p>
+<p>The Queen gave a Costume Ball, at Buckingham Palace, on 6th
+June, which was a magnificent affair, and gave plenty of food for
+conversation.&nbsp; Every guest had to appear in a costume
+appropriate to the period of English history between 1740 and
+1750; but, with the exception of the minuet, the dances were
+modern.</p>
+<p>I have only space for the dresses of the Queen and Prince
+Albert.&nbsp; Her Majesty&rsquo;s dress was composed of gold
+tissue, brocaded in coloured flowers, green leaves and silver,
+trimmed round the top, bottom and sides (the upper dress being
+open in front) with point lace over red ribbon; the dress looped
+up with red satin ribbons, and two large bows, in each of which
+was a diamond bow and tassel.&nbsp; The stomacher was composed of
+two large diamond bows, and a diamond point; the sleeves, which
+were tight, finished with point lace ruffles, and trimmed with
+red ribbon; on the left arm, the Garter in diamonds, and, on the
+right, a diamond rosette.&nbsp; She wore the blue ribbon and
+diamond George as usual.&nbsp; The under petticoat was of white
+and silver tissue, trimmed with a deep flounce of rich point lace
+(which had belonged to Queen Charlotte), headed by a quilling of
+red satin ribbon and bows; above, a narrower flounce of point
+lace, trimmed like the other; in each ribbon bow, a diamond
+rosette.</p>
+<p>Prince Albert wore a suit of the richest crimson velvet <!--
+page 268--><a name="page268"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+268</span>(of Spitalfields manufacture); the coat lined with
+white satin, edged throughout with gold; and the buttons were of
+gold.&nbsp; On his left breast His Royal Highness wore a most
+splendid star of the order of the Garter, composed of diamonds,
+with the exception of the cross, which was formed of
+rubies.&nbsp; The badge of the Order was confined at the shoulder
+by an epaulette composed of large brilliants, and a most splendid
+George was suspended from the ribbon, wholly formed of
+brilliants.&nbsp; The Prince also wore the insignia of the Golden
+Fleece, formed of opals and diamonds.&nbsp; The Garter was set in
+brilliants, and the hilt of His Royal Highness&rsquo;s sword was
+covered with diamonds.&nbsp; The waistcoat was of white satin,
+richly and elegantly embroidered with gold, the buttons being of
+gold.&nbsp; Shoe buckles of diamonds.&nbsp; Hat, three cornered,
+edged with gold lace, with handsome diamond ornament in the
+cockade in front.</p>
+<p>The Earl of Cardigan could not masquerade as Bayard, but
+&ldquo;he excited no little attention.&nbsp; He wore the uniform
+of the 11th Dragoons at Culloden; and, with the costume, which
+became him extremely, he contrived to assume the portentous
+bearing, and the true jack-boot stride and swagger.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The <i>Morning Chronicle</i> is answerable for the following:
+&ldquo;For some time past the copper coinage of William IV. has
+been eagerly purchased by persons who are stated to be Jews, and
+a report has, in consequence, gained ground that gold is
+contained in it.&nbsp; What reason there may be for this it is
+impossible to say; but it is a well-known fact, that agents have
+been at work for the last two months buying up those particular
+coins in Westminster, and they now fetch double the price of
+their legal issue.&nbsp; The mania has extended eastward, and
+twopence for a penny piece, and a penny for a halfpenny, etc.,
+are now asked for the &lsquo;precious issue.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 9 June, the new street connecting Holborn with Oxford
+Street, and now called New Oxford Street, was thrown open for
+carriages.</p>
+<p>Messrs. Christie and Manson sold, at the Egyptian Hall,
+Piccadilly, on 23 June, the first portion of the &ldquo;Napoleon
+Museum,&rdquo; collected by Mrs. Sainsbury, and which had long
+<!-- page 269--><a name="page269"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+269</span>been on exhibition.&nbsp; The prices fetched were
+ridiculously low, as the following examples will show.&nbsp;
+Among the bronzes, an infantine bust of the King of Rome,
+formerly in the possession of Josephine, at Malmaison, cost 20
+guineas, sold for &pound;1 10s.&nbsp; A drawing in sepia, by
+Debret, of Napoleon visiting the wounded on the field, after the
+battle of Eylau, &pound;5 5s.&nbsp; The pictures illustrative of
+the principal events in the life of Napoleon, were almost given
+away; the highest price obtained, being &pound;12 for one by the
+great French painter David, of Napoleon, with the crown raised in
+both his hands, to place on the head of Josephine, at the
+Coronation in Notre Dame.&nbsp; Twenty beautiful enamels by
+Lienard, of Napoleon, Ney, Berthier, Junot, Joseph, Lucien, Louis
+and Jerome Bonaparte, Murat, Caroline, the youngest sister of
+Napoleon, Cardinal Fesch, Marie Louise, etc., fetched but
+&pound;76, and, on the other days&rsquo; sales, the lots went for
+far under their value.</p>
+<p>My readers may possibly remember how, on 8 Dec., 1900, a
+number of Nelson relics in the Painted Hall, at Greenwich
+Hospital, were stolen, during the night, by a burglar, who
+escaped; and may like to know the story of Nelson&rsquo;s
+coat.&nbsp; The <i>Times</i> of 9 July, copies the following from
+the <i>Spectator</i>:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;An interesting relic of Nelson has been
+discovered; and some interest also attaches to the manner in
+which it has been secured to the nation.&nbsp; Sir Harris
+Nicolas, in his laborious researches for editing the hero&rsquo;s
+Despatches, had satisfied himself that the coat and waistcoat
+which Nelson wore when he fell at Trafalgar, were carefully
+preserved.&nbsp; In pursuance of the Admiral&rsquo;s directions,
+they were given, with several other things, by Sir Thomas Hardy,
+his captain, to Lady Hamilton; by her, they were transferred,
+under peculiar circumstances, to a late alderman of London, and
+they remained in the possession of the alderman&rsquo;s
+widow.&nbsp; The lady is not rich, and she asked &pound;150 for
+the relic.&nbsp; This sum being beyond his own means, Sir Harris
+determined to raise it by subscription, in order that the coat
+and waistcoat might be deposited, like the coat which Nelson wore
+at the battle of the Nile, in Greenwich Hospital.&nbsp; With that
+view, he put <!-- page 270--><a name="page270"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 270</span>the proposition in writing, and had
+it printed as a circular.&nbsp; Before issuing this circular,
+however, he sent a copy to Prince Albert, who immediately desired
+that the purchase might be made for himself, as he should feel
+&lsquo;pride and pleasure&rsquo; in presenting the precious
+memorials to Greenwich Hospital.&nbsp; Sir Harris Nicolas took
+them to the Royal purchaser on Wednesday; and we understand that
+the Prince manifested a very fine feeling on the occasion.&nbsp;
+There is kind and generous wisdom in this act; for nothing could
+so help to identify the Queen&rsquo;s husband with the British
+people, as such little tributes to their maritime pride.&nbsp;
+The coat is thus described in Sir Harris Nicolas&rsquo;s
+circular, and it will be seen that it has an historic value:
+&lsquo;The coat is the undress uniform of a vice-admiral, lined
+with white silk, with lace on the cuffs, and epaulettes.&nbsp;
+Four stars&mdash;of the Order of the Bath, St. Ferdinand and
+Merit, the Crescent, and St. Joachin&mdash;are sewn on the left
+breast, as Nelson habitually wore them; which disproves the story
+that he purposely adorned himself with his decorations on going
+into battle!&nbsp; The course of the fatal ball is shewn by a
+hole over the left shoulder, and part of the epaulette is torn
+away; which agrees with Dr. Sir William Beattie&rsquo;s account
+of Lord Nelson&rsquo;s death, and with the fact, that pieces of
+the bullion and pad of the epaulette adhered to the ball, which
+is now in Her Majesty&rsquo;s possession.&nbsp; The coat and
+waistcoat are stained in several places with the hero&rsquo;s
+blood.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Further confirmatory evidence is given in the <i>Globe</i>,
+copied into the <i>Times</i> of 22 July.&nbsp; &ldquo;It will
+scarcely be believed that the coat of the great naval hero,
+together with his cocked hat, and an immense quantity of his
+property, was, as it were, mortgaged for the sum of &pound;120,
+yet such was the fact.&nbsp; The late Alderman Jonathan Joshua
+Smith was executor of Lord Nelson with Lady Hamilton; and, prior
+to his death, goods sufficient to fill six crates (amongst which
+were the coat, hat, breeches, etc.), were placed in the Town
+Hall, Southwark, under the care of Mr. Kinsey, the chief officer,
+and who now attends the aldermen at the Central Criminal
+Court.&nbsp; Kinsey was Alderman Smith&rsquo;s confidential
+servant for a number of <!-- page 271--><a
+name="page271"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 271</span>years, and
+to whom &pound;120 was owing at his master&rsquo;s death.&nbsp;
+Application was made to the Court of Aldermen, by some members of
+the Nelson family, for the restitution of the property; and,
+after a long discussion, Alderman Lucas consented to act as
+arbitrator between the family and Kinsey, and &pound;30 was paid
+to the latter, in satisfaction of his claim, upon which, the
+things were repacked, and sent to Mrs. Smith, at Heron Court,
+Richmond, in whose possession they remained, until the purchase
+of the coat was made by Prince Albert.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The King of the Netherlands paid the Queen a visit on 24 July,
+and the good man must have thought well of us, inasmuch as he was
+very much let do as he liked.&nbsp; In London he stopped at
+Mivart&rsquo;s Hotel, went to the Opera, paid a few visits, was a
+guest of the Duke of Richmond for Goodwood Races, was made a
+Field Marshal, held a review in Hyde Park, and went back again; a
+far lighter sentence than is usually passed on Royalty when
+visiting this country.</p>
+<p>We now find the inflation of Railway speculation attracting
+attention; and, in the <i>Times</i> of Aug. 1 is a letter, a
+column in length, of which I give the following extract,
+referring to the inquiry into the Dublin and Galway Railway:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The next case is that of letters addressed
+to 1, Park Place, Devonshire Street, Mile End Road.&nbsp; So
+great is the number of letters delivered here, that additional
+assistance has been given in the duty.&nbsp; Upwards of 1,000
+letters have been delivered here within nine months; only last
+week 120 were taken in on one day, of which, at one time, no less
+than 16, and, at another, 30, letters were delivered.&nbsp; This
+No. 1, Park Place, is up an obscure court, consisting of three
+small houses, of about 5/6 rent per week.&nbsp; No. 1 is occupied
+by a man and woman, and the next door by their daughter.&nbsp;
+The proceedings of these persons have been closely watched.&nbsp;
+Directly a packet of letters has been received in the morning,
+off starts the old man and woman, and, sometimes, the daughter,
+to the places appointed to meet the receiver.&nbsp; On the first
+occasion, the old woman, who had received 16 letters, evidently
+wanted to deposit her treasure at Crosby Hall Chambers; for,
+opposite to them, she halted, carefully looking <!-- page
+272--><a name="page272"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+272</span>about her; but, unfortunately, she found she was
+watched; and, escaping through the Excise Office, hid herself
+somewhere, till her pursuer lost her.&nbsp; The next morning,
+another packet was received, with which the old man was
+intrusted; he started immediately, and, after a most circuitous
+route, to avoid detection as to where he deposited his treasure,
+he was seen to enter the King&rsquo;s Arms Tavern, Bishopsgate
+Churchyard, where he was seen to deliver his despatches to a
+smart, dapper Jew, well known, who, after a few moments&rsquo;
+deliberation, left the house, and was speedily joined by several
+confederates at the top of the churchyard, who, after dividing
+the letters, dispersed as instantaneously as can be
+imagined.&nbsp; The next day, it became necessary to augment the
+detective force, for the old people became more wary; the old man
+went out before post time, and the daughter was selected as the
+messenger with despatches; she was fleet of foot, but she had
+been carefully identified, therefore that did not avail her much,
+as the detective force was divided, and stationed at such places
+as were likely to succeed.&nbsp; She took a most circuitous
+route, but, eventually, found herself opposite the Auction Mart,
+evidently looking out anxiously for someone; she saw she was
+watched, and away she started, and, after a long round, found
+shelter in Maidenhead Court, Aldersgate Street, in a little
+smith&rsquo;s shop&mdash;which turned out to belong to the
+identical party who resides at No. 1, Park Place, where the
+letters were first delivered.&nbsp; Here the pursuit was given
+up.&nbsp; No further attempt to trace the receiver was made, the
+inquiry before the select committee coming on; but sufficient is
+shown to exhibit the system existing to this hour.&nbsp; How, it
+may be asked, do they procure the signatures to the deed, one
+party holding so many letters of allotment?&nbsp; The system is
+this: one party signs the deed as often as disguise will shield
+him from discovery; then the practice is resorted to of procuring
+persons, from 15 years to 60, to accompany the holder of the
+banker&rsquo;s receipt to the Railway Office, to sign the deed in
+such name as he may direct; for which, when done, he receives
+remuneration, varying from one shilling to ten, according to the
+premium the scrip may bear in the market.&rdquo;&nbsp; <!-- page
+273--><a name="page273"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+273</span>There were several police cases as to writing and
+forging these bogus names, and prudent people were beginning to
+look shy at railway scrip.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Here is a case which we can hardly understand nowadays.&nbsp;
+As long as Newspapers were stamped, it was a misdemeanour to
+allow anyone to read them, unless they purchased them, as it was
+considered a fraud upon the Revenue.&nbsp; On 23 Aug., in the
+Court of Requests, Kingsgate Street, a case came before the
+Commissioners for adjudication, in which a newsvendor summoned a
+person for a small sum, for &ldquo;reading&rdquo; the various
+newspapers.&nbsp; The plaintiff, in stating the case, said the
+defendant had been in the habit of seeing the papers daily, for
+which a penny a day was charged, and the present proceedings were
+taken to recover a balance due on that account.&nbsp; The
+Commissioners said that he could not recover, as he had been
+guilty of a gross fraud upon the Stamp Office in letting
+newspapers out for hire.&nbsp; The plaintiff: But he was in the
+habit of coming to my shop, and seeing them.&nbsp; The
+Commissioner: That don&rsquo;t matter; it is a fraud upon the
+Stamp Office, and you render yourself liable to an information
+being laid against you for it.</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Here is a little anecdote chronicled in the <i>Annual
+Register</i> (6 Sep.): &ldquo;<span class="smcap">Reverse of
+Fortune</span>.&mdash;Edward Riley, living with his family in
+Hadley Street, Burton Crescent, having been proved next of kin to
+Maj.-Gen. Riley, who recently died at Madras, leaving property to
+the amount of &pound;50,000, to the whole of which he has become
+entitled, has greatly amused the neighbourhood by his
+conduct.&nbsp; From having been but a workman in the dust-yard in
+Maiden Lane, he has, now, become a man of independence.&nbsp;
+Some days after his sudden acquisition of wealth, he called, in
+his cab, on a tailor in Seymour Street, and, taking him to the
+dust yard, desired him to measure the whole of the men in the
+yard for a suit of clothes, which being accomplished, he ordered
+them to go to a bootmaker, where they were all served.&nbsp; On
+the following Sunday, he ordered a butcher to supply each of them
+with a joint of meat.&nbsp; Riley has taken a house in Argyle
+<!-- page 274--><a name="page274"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+274</span>Square; and, upon entering it, purposes to give a
+dinner to all the dustmen in London, and illuminate the front of
+his house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>We have seen, in 1843, <i>Punch&rsquo;s</i> idea of Prince
+Albert as a farmer, and we next hear of him, in connection with
+this business, as refusing to pay parish rates for the Flemish
+Farm; so at a vestry meeting held at Windsor, on 18 Sep., the
+subject was brought forward.&nbsp; It appeared that the estimated
+rental of the property was &pound;450, and that the last rate, at
+8d. in the pound, amounting to &pound;15, had not been
+paid.&nbsp; It was stated that the Prince had refused to pay the
+rates on two grounds, first, that he had no &ldquo;beneficial
+occupation,&rdquo; and, secondly, that &ldquo;the property
+belonged to the Queen.&rdquo;&nbsp; The reply to this was, that
+the Prince certainly had a beneficial occupation in the farm, for
+the two prize oxen sold by him, last year, at &pound;70 and
+&pound;80, were fatted on this farm, to say nothing of the crops
+and agricultural produce, from which His Royal Highness received
+great profits, and it was thought there was no reason why he
+should be let off, and the poorer farmers made to pay the
+rates.&nbsp; It was settled that the collector should make
+application for the arrears, amounting to over &pound;200.</p>
+<p><i>Punch</i> drew a harrowing picture, of the brokers being
+put into Windsor Castle, and of a paragraph which might appear in
+the <i>Court Circular</i>: &ldquo;Yesterday, Her Gracious Majesty
+visited Prince Albert at her own Bench.&rdquo;&nbsp; But matters
+did not go so far, for on 14 Jan. next following, the Prince
+vouchsafed an answer to the Vestry, in which he denied his
+liability <i>in toto</i>, acting on the advice of the Attorney
+and Solicitor General, and Sir Thomas Wilde; and, after crushing
+the poor vestry, the letter winds up thus: &ldquo;And His Royal
+Highness feels himself at liberty to take the course which is
+most satisfactory to his own feelings, and to pay, as a voluntary
+contribution, a sum equal to the rate which would have been
+annually due, had the legal liability of His Royal Highness been
+established.&nbsp; It is also His Royal Highness&rsquo;s
+intention that the payment of the sum referred to should commence
+from the year 1841.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><!-- page 275--><a name="page275"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+275</span>And so it has continued to the present day, if we may
+credit the authority quoted in the accompanying cutting from the
+<i>Globe</i> of 8 June, 1901: &ldquo;<span class="smcap">How the
+King Pays Taxes</span>.&mdash;It is not generally known (says the
+<i>Free Lance</i>) that the King pays taxes under
+protest&mdash;that is to say, His Majesty, like Queen Victoria,
+claims to be exempt from impost, and yet is willing to
+contribute, without prejudice, to the rates.&nbsp; For instance,
+part of the Windsor farm land lies within the radius of the
+borough.&nbsp; The municipal authority issues demand notes for
+the rates.&nbsp; The Royal officials respond by paying a sum just
+under the amount requested, and the collector is satisfied.&nbsp;
+There is no question of going to law, for how can the King be
+summoned in his own Courts?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 31 Oct. Lieut. Waghorn practically demonstrated the
+feasibility of his &ldquo;Overland Route&rdquo; to India.&nbsp;
+The regular Mail and his Express arrived at Suez by the same
+steamer on 19 Oct.&nbsp; The Express was given to a man on a
+dromedary, who, stopping nowhere, entered Alexandria on the
+20th.&nbsp; The Express was delivered to Mr. Waghorn, who started
+at 11 o&rsquo;clock.&nbsp; He had been waiting on board an
+Austrian steamer, which had remained in quarantine, so that he
+arrived at Trieste in free <i>pratique</i>.&nbsp; He landed,
+however, at Divina, twelve miles nearer London than Trieste, and
+hurried through Austria, Prussia, Baden, and Bavaria, with a
+passport ready <i>vis&eacute;d</i> by the representatives of
+those countries.&nbsp; He reached Mannheim in 84 hours, proceeded
+by a steamer to Cologne, thence by special train to Ostend, by
+boat to Dover, to London by railway, and arrived at 4.30 in the
+morning of the 31st.&nbsp; The news from India thus brought, was
+published in all the London papers, which were in Paris before
+the Mail from Marseilles was on its way to London.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><!-- page 276--><a
+name="page276"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 276</span>
+<a href="images/p276b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Punch Illustration"
+title=
+"Punch Illustration"
+src="images/p276s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h2><!-- page 277--><a name="page277"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 277</span>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">The Railway Mania&mdash;Deposit of plans.</p>
+<p>The accompanying illustration from <i>Punch</i> (18 Oct.)
+justly holds up to ridicule the Railway Mania, which might then
+be said to have been at its height.&nbsp; It is called
+&ldquo;<span class="smcap">The March of
+Speculation</span>.&mdash;&lsquo;This is the young Gent, as takes
+my Business, Mem.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m agoin&rsquo; into the
+Railway&mdash;Director Line myself.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As a proof of this Madness, see this paragraph: &ldquo;Oct.
+25.&nbsp; During the past week there were announced, in three
+newspapers, eighty-nine new schemes, with a capital of
+&pound;84,055,000; during the month, there were 357 new schemes
+announced, with an aggregate capital of
+&pound;332,000,000.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 17 Nov. the <i>Times</i> published a table of all the
+railway companies registered up to the 31st October, numbering
+1,428, and involving an outlay of &pound;701,243,208.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Take away,&rdquo; it said, &ldquo;&pound;140,000,000 for
+railways completed, or in progress, exclude all the most
+extravagant schemes, and divide the remainder by ten, can we add,
+from our present resources, even a tenth of the vast
+remainder?&nbsp; Can we add &pound;50,000,000 to the railway
+speculations we are irretrievably embarked in?&nbsp; We cannot,
+without the most ruinous, universal and desperate
+confusion.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here is a Parody on the situation, 1 Nov.:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;There was a sound, that ceased not day or
+night,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Of speculation.&nbsp; London gathered then<br />
+Unwonted crowds, and moved by promise bright,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To Capel Court rushed women, boys and men,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- page 278--><a name="page278"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 278</span>All seeking railway shares and
+scrip; and when<br />
+The market rose, how many a lad could tell<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; With joyous glance, and eyes that spake again,<br />
+&rsquo;Twas e&rsquo;en more lucrative than marrying
+well;&mdash;<br />
+When, hark, that warning voice strikes like a rising knell.</p>
+<p>Nay, it is nothing, empty as the wind,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; But a &ldquo;bear&rdquo; whisper down Throgmorton
+Street;<br />
+Wild enterprise shall still be unconfined;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; No rest for us, when rising premiums greet<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The morn, to pour their treasures at our
+feet;&mdash;<br />
+When, hark! that solemn sound is heard once more,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The gathering bears its echoes yet repeat&mdash;<br
+/>
+&rsquo;Tis but too true, is now the general roar,<br />
+The Bank has raised her rate, as she has done before.</p>
+<p>And then, and there were hurryings to and fro,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And anxious thoughts, and signs of sad distress,<br
+/>
+Faces all pale, that, but an hour ago<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Smiled at the thought of their own craftiness;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And there were sudden partings, such as press<br />
+The coins from hungry pockets, mutual sighs<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Of brokers and their clients.&nbsp; Who can guess<br
+/>
+How many a &ldquo;stag&rdquo; already panting flies,<br />
+When upon times so bright, such awful panics rise?&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Mr. Francis, in his <i>History of the English Railway</i>,
+says: &ldquo;The daily press was thoroughly deluged with
+advertisements; double sheets did not supply space enough for
+them; double doubles were resorted to, and, then, frequently,
+insertions were delayed.&nbsp; It has been estimated that the
+receipts of the leading journals averaged, at one period
+&pound;12,000 and &pound;14,000 a week, from this source.&nbsp;
+The railway papers, on some occasions, contained advertisements
+that must have netted &pound;700 to &pound;800 on each
+publication.&nbsp; The printer, the lithographer, and the
+stationer, with the preparation of prospectuses, the execution of
+maps, and the supply of other requisites, also made a
+considerable harvest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The leading engineers were, necessarily, at a great
+premium.&nbsp; Mr. Brunel was said to be connected with fourteen
+lines, Mr. Robert Stephenson with thirty-four, Mr. Locke with
+thirty-one, Mr. Rastrick with seventeen, and other engineers with
+one hundred and thirteen.</p>
+<p><!-- page 279--><a name="page279"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+279</span>&ldquo;The novelist has appropriated this peculiar
+portion of commercial history, and, describing it, says gravely
+and graphically: &lsquo;A colony of solicitors, engineers and
+seedy accountants, settled in the purlieus of Threadneedle
+Street.&nbsp; Every town and parish in the Kingdom blazed out in
+zinc plates over the doorways.&nbsp; From the cellar to the roof,
+every fragment of a room held its committee.&nbsp; The darkest
+cupboard on the stairs contained a secretary, or a clerk.&nbsp;
+Men, who were never seen east of Temple Bar before, or since,
+were, now, as familiar to the pavement of Moorgate Street, <a
+name="citation279"></a><a href="#footnote279"
+class="citation">[279]</a> as the stockbrokers; ladies of title,
+lords, Members of Parliament, and fashionable loungers thronged
+the noisy passages, and were jostled by adventurers, by gamblers,
+rogues and imposters.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The advantages of competition were pointed out, with
+the choicest phraseology.&nbsp; Lines which passed by barren
+districts, and by waste heaths, the termini of which were in
+uninhabitable places, reached a high premium.&nbsp; The shares of
+one company rose 2,400 per cent.&nbsp; Everything was to pay a
+large dividend; everything was to yield a large profit.&nbsp; One
+railway was to cross the entire Principality without a single
+curve.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The shares of another were issued, the company formed,
+and the directors appointed, with only the terminal points
+surveyed.&nbsp; In the Ely railway, not one person connected with
+the country through which it was to pass, subscribed the title
+deed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The engineers who were examined in favour of particular
+lines, promised all and everything in their evidence.&nbsp; It
+was humourously said of them, &lsquo;they plunge through the
+bowels of mountains; they undertake to drain lakes; they bridge
+valleys with viaducts; their steepest gradients are gentle
+undulations; their curves are lines of beauty; they interrupt no
+traffic; they touch no prejudice.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Labour of all kinds increased in demand.&nbsp; The
+price of iron rose from sixty-eight shillings to
+one-hundred-and-twenty <!-- page 280--><a
+name="page280"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 280</span>per
+ton.&nbsp; Money remained abundant.&nbsp; Promoters received
+their tens and twenties of thousands.&nbsp; Rumours of sudden
+fortunes were very plentiful.&nbsp; Estates were purchased by
+those who were content with their gains; and, to crown the whole,
+a grave report was circulated, that Northumberland House, with
+its princely reminiscences, and palatial grandeur, was to be
+bought by the South Western.&nbsp; Many of the railways attained
+prices which staggered reasonable men.&nbsp; The more worthless
+the article, the greater seemed the struggle to obtain it.&nbsp;
+Premiums of &pound;5 and &pound;6 were matters of course, even
+where there were four or five competitors for the road.&nbsp; One
+company, which contained a clause to lease it at three-and-a-half
+per Cent., for 999 years, rose to twenty premium, so mad were the
+many to speculate.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Every branch of commerce participated in the advantages
+of an increased circulation.&nbsp; The chief articles of trade
+met with large returns; profits were regular; and all luxuries
+which suited an affluent community, procured an augmented
+sale.&nbsp; Banking credit remained facile; interest still kept
+low; money, speaking as they of the City speak, could be had for
+next to nothing.&nbsp; It was advanced on everything which bore a
+value, whether readily convertible, or not.&nbsp; Bill brokers
+would only allow one-and-a-half per cent. for cash; and what is
+one-and-a-half to men who revelled in the thought of two
+hundred?&nbsp; The exchanges remained remarkably steady.&nbsp;
+The employment of the labourer on the new lines, of the operative
+in the factory, of the skilled artisan in the workshop, of the
+clerk at the desk, tended to add to the delusive feeling, and was
+one of the forms in which, for a time, the population was
+benefitted.&nbsp; But, when the strength of the Kingdom is wasted
+in gambling, temporary, indeed, is the good, compared with the
+cost.&nbsp; Many, whose money was safely invested, sold at any
+price, to enter the share market.&nbsp; Servants withdrew their
+hoards from the savings banks.&nbsp; The tradesman crippled his
+business.&nbsp; The legitimate love of money became a fierce
+lust.&nbsp; The peer came from his club to his brokers; the
+clergyman came from his pulpit to the mart; the country gentleman
+forsook the calmness of his rural domain for the feverish
+excitement <!-- page 281--><a name="page281"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 281</span>of Threadneedle Street.&nbsp;
+Voluptuous tastes were indulged in by those who were previously
+starving.&nbsp; The new men vied with the old, in the luxurious
+adornments of their houses.&nbsp; Everyone smiled with
+contentment; every face wore a pleased expression.&nbsp; Some,
+who, by virtue of their unabashed impudence, became provisional
+committee-men, supported the dignity of their position in a style
+which raised the mirth of many, and moved the envy of more.&nbsp;
+Trustees, who had no money of their own, or who had lost it, used
+that which was confided to them; brothers speculated with the
+money of sisters; sons gambled with the money of their widowed
+mothers; children risked their patrimony; and it is no
+exaggeration to say, that the funds of hundreds were
+surreptitiously endangered by those in whose control they were
+placed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>But Railways had been projected, and, in order to carry them
+through, the plans must, by law, be deposited with the Board of
+Trade, before, or on 30 Nov.; and, on this occasion, there was a
+scene, which is very well told in the <i>Annual Register</i>:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;An extraordinary scene occurred at the office of the
+Railway Department of the Board of Trade on this day (Sunday, 30
+Nov.), being the last day on which the plans of the new projects
+could be deposited with the Railway Board, in order to enable
+Bills to authorise them to be brought before Parliament, in
+compliance with the Standing Orders.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Last year, the number of projects, in respect of which
+plans were lodged with the Board of Trade, was 248; the number,
+this year, is stated to be 815.&nbsp; The projectors of the
+Scotch lines were mostly in advance, and had their plans duly
+lodged on Saturday.&nbsp; The Irish projectors, too, and the
+old-established companies, seeking powers to construct branches,
+were among the more punctual.&nbsp; But upwards of 600 plans
+remained to be deposited.&nbsp; Towards the last, the utmost
+exertions were made to forward them.&nbsp; The efforts of the
+lithographic draughtsmen and printers in London were excessive;
+people remained at work, night after night, snatching a hasty
+repose for a couple of hours, on lockers, benches, or the
+floor.&nbsp; <!-- page 282--><a name="page282"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 282</span>Some found it impossible to execute
+their contracts; others did their work imperfectly.&nbsp; One of
+the most eminent was compelled to bring over four hundred
+lithographers from Belgium, and failed, nevertheless, with this
+reinforcement, in completing some of his plans.&nbsp; Post horses
+and express trains, to bring to town plans prepared in the
+country, were sought in all parts.&nbsp; Horses were engaged days
+before, and kept, by persons specially appointed, under lock and
+key.&nbsp; Some railway companies exercised their power of
+refusing express trains for rival projects, and clerks were
+obliged to make sudden and embarrassing changes of route, in
+order to travel by less hostile ways.&nbsp; A large establishment
+of clerks <!-- page 283--><a name="page283"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 283</span>were in attendance to register the
+deposits; and this arrangement went on very well, until eleven
+o&rsquo;clock, when the delivery grew so rapid, that the clerks
+were quite unable to keep pace with the arrivals.&nbsp; The
+entrance hall soon became inconveniently crowded, considerable
+anxiety being expressed lest twelve o&rsquo;clock should arrive
+&rsquo;ere the requisite formalities should have been gone
+through.&nbsp; This anxiety was allayed by the assurance that
+admission into the hall before that hour, would be sufficient to
+warrant the reception of the documents.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p282b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Deposit of Railway Plans with the Board of Trade, 30 Nov., 1845.
+ Ill. Lon. News, 6 Dec., 1845, p. 358"
+title=
+"Deposit of Railway Plans with the Board of Trade, 30 Nov., 1845.
+ Ill. Lon. News, 6 Dec., 1845, p. 358"
+src="images/p282s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>&ldquo;As the clock struck twelve, the doors of the office
+were about to be closed, when a gentleman with the plans of one
+of the Surrey railways arrived, and, with the greatest
+difficulty, succeeded in obtaining admission.&nbsp; A lull of a
+few minutes here occurred; but, just before the expiration of the
+first quarter of an hour, a post chaise, with reeking horses,
+drove up, in hot haste, to the entrance.&nbsp; In a moment, its
+occupants (three gentlemen) alighted, and rushed down the
+passage, towards the office door, each bearing a plan of
+Brobdingnagian dimensions.&nbsp; On reaching the door, and
+finding it closed, the countenances of all drooped; but one of
+them, more valorous than the rest, and prompted by the
+bystanders, gave a loud pull at the bell.&nbsp; It was answered
+by Inspector Otway, who informed the ringer it was now too late,
+and that his plans could not be received.&nbsp; The agents did
+not wait for the conclusion of the unpleasant communication, but
+took advantage of the door being opened, and threw in their
+papers, which broke the passage lamp in their fall.&nbsp; They
+were thrown back into the street.&nbsp; When the door was again
+opened, again went in the plans, only to meet a similar fate.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the whole, upwards of 600 plans were duly
+deposited.&rdquo;</p>
+<h2><!-- page 284--><a name="page284"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 284</span>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Collapse of the Railway
+Mania&mdash;Sheriff&rsquo;s Officers&mdash;Hudson, the Railway
+King&mdash;First &ldquo;Ethiopian Serenaders&rdquo;&mdash;The
+Nigger Minstrel Craze&mdash;Commencement of Irish
+Famine&mdash;&ldquo;The Battle of the Gauges&rdquo;&mdash;Railway
+Surveyors&mdash;Suicide of Haydon, the painter.</p>
+<p>Although the collapse of the Railway Mania really began in
+1845, its effects were not fully felt until the commencement of
+this year, when 10 per cent. on Railway Capital had to be lodged
+with the Accountant General, within seven days from the
+assembling of Parliament, which in this case meant the 29th
+Jan.&nbsp; It really received its first serious wound when the
+Bank of England rose its rate of discount on 16 Oct., but it was
+only when the calls had to be paid, that it was found how rotten
+the whole concern was, as the Marquis of Clanricarde, in a
+speech, plainly exposed.&nbsp; Said he: &ldquo;One of the names
+to the deed, to which he was anxious to direct their attention,
+was that of a gentleman, said to reside in Finsbury Square, who
+had subscribed to the amount of &pound;25,000; he was informed no
+such person was known at that address.&nbsp; There was, also, in
+the Contract deed, the name of an individual who had figured in
+the Dublin and Galway Railway Case, who was down for
+&pound;5,000, and who was understood to be a half-pay officer, in
+the receipt of &pound;54 a year, but who appeared as a subscriber
+in different railway schemes to the amount of
+&pound;41,500.&nbsp; The address of another, whose name was down
+for &pound;12,200, was stated to be in Watling Street, but it
+appeared he did not reside there.&nbsp; In the case of another
+individual down for &pound;12,500, a false address was found to
+have been given.&nbsp; Another individual, whom he would not
+name, was a curate in the parish in Kent; he might <!-- page
+285--><a name="page285"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 285</span>be
+worth all the money for which he appeared responsible in various
+railway schemes, but his name appeared for &pound;25,000 in
+different projects, and stood for &pound;10,000 in this
+line.&nbsp; Another individual, who was down for &pound;25,000,
+was represented to be in poor circumstances.&nbsp; A clerk in a
+public company was down for upwards of &pound;50,000.&nbsp; There
+were several more cases of the same kind, but he trusted he had
+stated enough to establish the necessity of referring the matter
+to a Committee.&nbsp; There were, also, two brothers, sons of a
+charwoman, living in a garret, one of whom had signed for
+&pound;12,500, and the other for &pound;25,000; these two
+brothers, excellent persons, no doubt, but who were receiving
+about a guinea and a half between them, were down for
+&pound;37,000.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The story of the collapse is so admirably told by Mr. Francis,
+that I prefer giving his version than writing of it myself:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Money was scarce, the price of stock and
+scrip lowered; the confidence of the people was shaken, and a
+vision of a dark future on every face.&nbsp; Advertisements were
+suddenly withdrawn from the papers, men of note were seen no more
+as provisional committeemen; distrust followed the merchant to
+the mart and the jobber to the Exchange.&nbsp; The new schemes
+ceased to be regarded; applications ceased to be forwarded;
+premiums were either lowered, or ceased to exist.&nbsp; Bankers
+looked anxiously to the accounts of their customers; bill brokers
+scrutinised their securities; and every man was suspicious of his
+neighbour.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But the distrust was not confined to projected
+lines.&nbsp; Established railways felt the shock, and were
+reduced in value.&nbsp; Consols fell one and a half per cent.;
+Exchequer bills declined in price, and other markets
+sympathised.&nbsp; The people had awoke from their dream, and
+trembled.&nbsp; It was a national alarm.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Words are weak to express the fears and feelings which
+prevailed.&nbsp; There was no village too remote to escape the
+shock, and there was, probably, no house in town some occupant of
+which did not shrink from the morrow.&nbsp; The Statesman started
+to find his new Bank Charter so sadly and <!-- page 286--><a
+name="page286"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 286</span>so suddenly
+tried; the peer, who had so thoughtlessly invested, saw ruin
+opening to his view.&nbsp; Men hurried with bated breath to their
+brokers; the allottee was uneasy and suspicious, the provisional
+committeeman grew pale at his fearful responsibility; directors
+ceased to boast their blushing honours, and promoters saw their
+expected profits evaporate.&nbsp; Shares which, the previous
+week, were a fortune, were, the next, a fatality, to their
+owners.&nbsp; The reputed shareholders were not found when they
+were wanted; provisional committeemen were not more easy of
+access.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One Railway advertised the names and addresses of
+thirty&mdash;none of whom were to be heard of at the residences
+ascribed to them.&nbsp; Letters were returned to the Post Office
+day after day.&nbsp; Nor is this to be wondered at, when it is
+said that, on one projected line, only &pound;60 was received for
+deposits, which should have yielded &pound;700,000.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was proved in the Committee of the House of Commons,
+that one subscription list was formed of &lsquo;lame ducks of the
+Alley&rsquo;; and that, in another, several of the Directors,
+including the Chairman, had, also, altered their several
+subscriptions to the amount of &pound;100,000, the very evening
+on which the list was deposited, and that five shillings a man
+was given to anyone who would sign for a certain number of
+shares.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing more decidedly marked the crisis which had
+arrived, than the fact that everyone hastened to disown
+railways.&nbsp; Gentlemen who had been buried in prospectuses,
+whose names and descriptions had been published under every
+variation that could fascinate the public, who had figured as
+Committeemen, and received the precious guineas for their
+attendance, were eager to assure the world that they were
+ignorant of this great transgression.&nbsp; Men who, a month
+before, had boasted of the large sums they had made by scrip,
+sent advertisements to papers denying their responsibility, or
+appealed to the Lord Mayor to protect their characters.&nbsp;
+Members of Parliament who had remained quiet under the
+infliction, while it was somewhat respectable, fell back upon
+their privileges, when they saw their purses in danger.&nbsp;
+There is no doubt that an unauthorised use of names was one
+feature <!-- page 287--><a name="page287"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 287</span>of fraudulent companies, and that,
+amidst a list of common names, it was thought a distinguished one
+might pass unnoticed.&nbsp; The complaints, therefore, of those
+who were thus unceremoniously treated, were just; but the great
+mass of denials emanated from persons who, knowingly, encountered
+the risk, and, meanly, shrunk from the danger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is the conviction of those who were best informed,
+that no other panic was ever so fatal to the middle class.&nbsp;
+It reached every hearth, it saddened every heart in the
+metropolis.&nbsp; Entire families were ruined.&nbsp; There was
+scarcely an important town in England but what beheld some
+wretched suicide.&nbsp; Daughters, delicately nurtured, went out
+to seek their bread; sons were recalled from academies;
+households were separated, homes were desecrated by the
+emissaries of the law.&nbsp; There was a disruption of every
+social tie.&nbsp; The debtors&rsquo; jails were peopled with
+promoters; Whitecross Street was filled with speculators; and the
+Queen&rsquo;s Bench was full to overflowing.&nbsp; Men, who had
+lived comfortably and independently, found themselves suddenly
+responsible for sums they had no means of paying.&nbsp; In some
+cases, they yielded their all, and began the world anew; in
+others, they left the country for the continent, laughed at their
+creditors, and defied pursuit.&nbsp; One gentleman was served
+with four hundred writs; a peer, when similarly pressed, when
+offered to be relieved from all liabilities for &pound;15,000,
+betook himself to his yacht, and forgot, in the beauties of the
+Mediterranean, the difficulties which had surrounded him.&nbsp;
+Another gentleman who, having nothing to lose, surrendered
+himself to his creditors, was a director of more than twenty
+lines.&nbsp; A third was Provisional Committeeman to
+fifteen.&nbsp; A fourth, who commenced life as a printer, who
+became insolvent in 1832 and a bankrupt in 1837, who had
+negotiated partnerships, who had arranged embarrassed affairs,
+who had collected debts, and turned his attention to anything,
+did not disdain, also, to be a Railway promoter, a Railway
+director, or to spell his name in a dozen different
+ways.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><!-- page 288--><a name="page288"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+288</span>The Sheriff&rsquo;s Officers had a busy time of it, and
+<i>Punch</i>, in &ldquo;<span class="smcap">Going Out
+Arresting</span>,&rdquo; gives the following colloquy between two
+of the fraternity:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Vell, Aaron, my tear, have yer
+&rsquo;ad any sport?&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Pretty vell, I&rsquo;ve bagged four Allottees,
+and two Provisionals!&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p288b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Picture of two men in carriages"
+title=
+"Picture of two men in carriages"
+src="images/p288s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>But a notice of the Railway Mania would be very incomplete
+without a mention of George Hudson, the Railway King.&nbsp; He
+was born at Howsham, a village near York, in March, 1800; was
+apprenticed to a draper in York; and, subsequently, became
+principal in the business; thus, early in life, becoming well
+off, besides having &pound;30,000 left him by a distant
+relative.&nbsp; In 1837, he was Lord Mayor of York; and, the same
+year, was made Chairman of the York and North Midland Railway,
+which was opened in 1839.&nbsp; In 1841, he was elected Chairman
+of the Great North of England Company; and, afterwards, held the
+same position in the Midland Railway Company.&nbsp; He speculated
+largely in railways, and, in the Parliamentary return, already
+alluded to, his subscriptions appear as &pound;319,835.</p>
+<p>He came to London, and inhabited the house at Albert Gate,
+Knightsbridge (now the French Embassy), where he entertained the
+Prince Consort, and the aristocracy generally.&nbsp; <!-- page
+289--><a name="page289"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 289</span>He
+was elected M.P. for Sunderland in Aug., 1845, and again served
+as Lord Mayor of York in 1846.&nbsp; The Railway smash came; and,
+year by year, things went worse with him, until, early in the
+year 1849, he had to resign the Chairmanship of the Eastern
+Central (now Great Eastern), Midland, York, Newcastle and
+Berwick, and the York and North Midland Railway Companies.&nbsp;
+He went abroad, where he lived for some time, and tried,
+unavailingly, to retrieve his fortune.&nbsp; In July, 1865, he
+was committed to York Castle for Contempt of the Court of
+Exchequer, in not paying a large debt, and was there incarcerated
+till the following October.</p>
+<p>He fell so low, that, in 1868, some friends took pity on him,
+and raised a subscription for him, thus obtaining &pound;4,800,
+with which an annuity was purchased.&nbsp; He died in London, 14
+Dec., 1871.</p>
+<p>We have been so accustomed to have nigger minstrels with us
+that I suppose very few of us know when they began.&nbsp; Of
+course, I do not mean the solitary minstrel like Rice of
+&ldquo;Jump Jim Crow&rdquo; fame, who was the first, coming over
+here in 1836; but the first troupe.&nbsp; I find it in the
+<i>Illustrated News</i> of 24 Jan., 1846, whence also comes this
+illustration:</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p289b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"The Ethiopian Serenaders"
+title=
+"The Ethiopian Serenaders"
+src="images/p289s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>&ldquo;A party of American minstrels, under the above
+designation, commenced on Wednesday night (21 Jan.), at the
+Hanover Square Rooms, a series of concerts, for the avowed <!--
+page 290--><a name="page290"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+290</span>purpose of affording an accurate notion of Negro
+character and melody.&nbsp; These artists are remarkably clever,
+and admirably &lsquo;made up.&rsquo;&nbsp; They are painted jet
+black, with ruddy lips, and large mouths; and, being capital
+actors, the deception created is so great, that wagers have been
+offered that they are really &lsquo;darkies.&rsquo;&nbsp; They
+dress in dandy costume, <i>&agrave; la Jullien</i>&mdash;that is,
+white waistcoated and wristbanded, turned up in the most approved
+D&rsquo;Orsay fashion.&nbsp; Of course, it is impossible to come
+to any right conclusion as to the authenticity of the African
+airs, especially as they have arranged the compositions of the
+great European masters in such a grotesque manner.&nbsp; The
+executants are five in number; one plays the tambourine, Mr.
+Germon, who is the leader; another the bone castanet; the third,
+the accordion; and the two others, the banjo, or African
+guitar.&nbsp; The castanet player does not sing; but his four
+colleagues have good voices, and, in glees, harmonize
+charmingly.&nbsp; In a quartet, the parody on the Phantom Chorus,
+from Bellini&rsquo;s &lsquo;Sonnambula&rsquo;; and in a glee,
+&lsquo;You&rsquo;ll See Them on the Ohio,&rsquo; nothing can be
+more effective than the skilful blending of the parts.&nbsp; It
+is, perhaps, the <i>buffo</i> exhibition which will create the
+greatest sensation, and in this quality they are
+inimitable.&nbsp; The tambourine performer affects a ludicrous
+air of pompous sentiment, while the castanet sable hero indulges
+in all kinds of buffoonery and antics.&nbsp; He is a wonderful
+player&mdash;no Spaniard can rival him in rapidity, delicacy and
+precision.&nbsp; A scene called a &lsquo;Railway Overture,&rsquo;
+causes an explosion of laughter; they seem to be endowed with
+perpetual motion; and the scream of the whistle, at the same time
+as the noise of the engine, beggars all description.&nbsp; The
+entertainment is quite a novelty, and will, no doubt, be
+attractive.&nbsp; They have been provided with letters of
+recommendation from President Polk, and some leading persons in
+America, who must be better able to appreciate the accuracy of
+their African delineations than Europeans.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They <i>were</i> popular, with a vengeance&mdash;for every
+little street arab had beef bones for castanets, and every new
+song was roared out in the streets until it nauseated.&nbsp;
+<i>Punch</i> drew <!-- page 291--><a name="page291"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 291</span>policemen and dustmen as Ethiopian
+Serenaders, and even suggested that Lablache, Mario and Tamburini
+should adopt the style.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p291b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Picture of musicians"
+title=
+"Picture of musicians"
+src="images/p291s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>The Queen opened Parliament on 19 Jan., and in her speech,
+whilst deprecating &ldquo;the very frequent instances in which
+the crime of deliberate assassination has been, of late,
+committed in Ireland,&rdquo; she went on: &ldquo;I have to lament
+that, in consequence of a failure of the potato crop in several
+parts of the United Kingdom, there will be a deficient supply of
+an article of food which forms the chief subsistence of great
+numbers of my people.&nbsp; The disease by which the plant has
+been affected, has prevailed to the utmost extent in
+Ireland.&nbsp; I have adopted all such precautions as it was in
+my power to adopt, for the purpose of alleviating the sufferings
+which may be caused by this calamity; and I shall confidently
+rely on your co-operation in devising such other means for
+effecting the same benevolent purpose, as may require the
+sanction of the Legislature.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 13 March, Parliament talked somewhat about the matter, and
+Sir James Graham, the Home Secretary, confessed that distress
+&ldquo;pervades the whole of Ireland.&nbsp; It is to be found in
+every province, in every county, in every union; nay, almost in
+every parish in Ireland.&nbsp; The course Her Majesty&rsquo;s
+<!-- page 292--><a name="page292"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+292</span>Government has taken, has been this.&nbsp; We have, in
+particular parts of Ireland, established dep&ocirc;ts, where food
+can be bought at an easy price, at the very lowest price, and,
+thinking that eleemosynary relief ought to be avoided as much as
+possible, we propose to afford, to the utmost possible extent,
+either by means of public works to be undertaken, or by works
+already established, the means by which the people may be enabled
+to earn wages, and so to purchase food at the moderate cost at
+which it will be supplied.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>But, in spite of all the Government could do, with the very
+best intentions, gaunt famine was stalking through the land, and
+the hungry folk could not be quiet, with the sight of food before
+them.&nbsp; They were not going to starve when they saw the
+bakers&rsquo; shops full of bread, and the butchers&rsquo;, of
+meat.&nbsp; Human nature and a hungry belly could not stand
+it&mdash;so we can scarcely wonder at the famine riots which
+ensued.&nbsp; The shops were wrecked, the food was taken; they
+even laid their hands on a boat proceeding from Limerick to Clare
+with relief, and plundered it of its cargo of corn and maize
+flour.&nbsp; But, alas! this was only the commencement of the sad
+story.</p>
+<p>There was an alternative, open to those who had the
+money&mdash;to emigrate&mdash;and this they did&mdash;see the
+following, from the <i>Cork Reporter</i>, copied into the
+<i>Times</i> of 18 April: &ldquo;For the last fortnight our quays
+have been daily thronged with the fine and stalwart peasantry of
+this and the adjoining counties, preparing to emigrate to various
+parts of the trans-Atlantic world.&nbsp; Perhaps, upon no former
+occasion, even before the hope of railway employment was held out
+to the people, and when &ldquo;Government grants&rdquo; for their
+relief were never heard of, did the number of emigrants from this
+quarter exceed the proportion of this present year.&nbsp; Besides
+the various large and full-freighted vessels, which have left the
+quays of Cork, direct for America, several ships were despatched
+to the west of the county, and had no difficulty in obtaining
+their full complement of passengers.&nbsp; Two large ships went
+round to Berehaven, a few days ago, and have, since, left the
+shores of that bleak district, with over 200 passengers.&nbsp;
+<!-- page 293--><a name="page293"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+293</span>Several other vessels have proceeded, or are about to
+proceed, for Baltimore and Berehaven, localities in which the
+destitution of the present year has been severely felt.&nbsp;
+Three hundred persons have been ready, for the last fortnight, to
+embark from Dingle; but, not being able to get a ship to visit
+them, sufficiently commodious for their accommodation, have been
+obliged to make the best of their way to Cork.&nbsp; Several
+vessels, now lying at Passage, will sail this day, these taking
+five hundred and fifty passengers . . . At a moderate
+computation, about 9,000 emigrants have, or, within the next
+month, will have, left this port for America.&nbsp; It is to be
+hoped their anticipations will be realised.&nbsp; There can be
+little fear, however, that their condition could be worse, or
+their prospects more disheartening than those which the
+&lsquo;potato famine&rsquo; in this country, little mended by the
+promise of Indian corn, had occasioned.&nbsp; <i>La faim chasse
+le loup hors du bois</i>.&nbsp; To starve, or emigrate, are the
+only alternatives of the people.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The <i>Waterford Chronicle</i> thus comments: &ldquo;There
+will have gone, after the season is over, upwards of 3,000
+people, from this country, by this port alone.&nbsp; Not to talk
+of the rearing of these people&mdash;the trouble and expense of
+bringing up a healthy man, woman, or child, and, especially,
+leaving out the irreparable loss to society, in this country, of
+their affections, hopes, and family ties&mdash;all, now, sundered
+and destroyed&mdash;not to talk of the countless living deaths of
+wholesale emigration from a feeling and warm-hearted mother
+country&mdash;the amount of capital taken by these 3,000 is
+immense.&nbsp; Assuming that each individual spends &pound;10 in
+his passage, and before he settles, and that he has &pound;10
+more to establish himself, here is direct taking away, in hard
+cash, of &pound;60,000 gone out of the bleeding pores of Ireland,
+to increase the misery which is left behind.&nbsp; We are in
+possession of facts which show that many cunning landlords are
+sending away their people yearly, but by degrees, and not in such
+a manner as to subject themselves to a &lsquo;clearance
+notice.&rsquo;&nbsp; If this system be continued, we shall be
+tempted to give names.&nbsp; After these things, who will blame
+the people for outbreaks <!-- page 294--><a
+name="page294"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 294</span>occasioned
+by famine?&nbsp; There is nothing plentiful in the land but
+ruin!&nbsp; Employment is scarce&mdash;money is scarce&mdash;the
+people are being thinned&mdash;farms are being
+consolidated&mdash;bullock land is progressing&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a
+prey,<br />
+Where cows accumulate, and men decay.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>For some long time there had been a conflict of opinion as to
+the merits of different sized gauges for railways.&nbsp; Brunel,
+the magnificent, advocated a width of seven feet, and practised
+it on the Great Western; others wished for something far more
+modest.&nbsp; Great was the wrangling over this &ldquo;battle of
+the gauges,&rdquo; and a Royal Commission was appointed to
+inquire into the matter.&nbsp; They gave in their Report on 30
+May, and the question was settled by &ldquo;An Act for regulating
+the Gauge of Railways&rdquo; (9 and 10 Vic., c. 57&mdash;passed
+18 Aug., 1846) by which it was settled that, in future, all
+Railway lines in England were to be 4 feet 8&frac12; in. wide,
+and in Ireland, the width was to be 5 ft. 3 in.</p>
+<p>By the way, Railway surveyors were paid well, and almost
+everyone that had ever dragged a chain posed as a surveyor.&nbsp;
+As a sample&mdash;on 23 Ap. is reported the case of White
+<i>v.</i> Koe and Maun&mdash;where a witness said
+&ldquo;Levellers are always well paid.&nbsp; I have received,
+before this &pound;10 a mile, and I could level from seven to
+eight miles a day.&nbsp; These are not extraordinary terms.&nbsp;
+I had to find hands to help me.&nbsp; I had three men at 7s. a
+day each.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 22 June poor Haydon, the painter, committed suicide.&nbsp;
+He was extremely egotistical, and nothing could persuade him that
+he was not the best painter of his time.&nbsp; His fixed idea was
+that he was without a peer&mdash;but no one else thought
+so.&nbsp; His diary is very sad reading.&nbsp; Here is an entry
+(Ap. 13) relative to the exhibition of his picture, &ldquo;The
+Banishment of Aristides&rdquo;: &ldquo;Receipts &pound;1 3s.
+6d.&nbsp; An advertisement of a finer description could not have
+been written to catch the public; but not a shilling more was
+added to the receipts.&nbsp; They rush by thousands to see Tom
+Thumb.&nbsp; They push&mdash;they fight&mdash;they
+scream&mdash;they faint&mdash;they cry &lsquo;Help!&rsquo; and
+<!-- page 295--><a name="page295"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+295</span>&lsquo;Murder!&rsquo;&nbsp; They see my bills and
+caravans, but do not read them; their eyes are on them, but their
+sense is gone.&nbsp; It is an insanity&mdash;a <i>rabies
+furor</i>&mdash;a dream&mdash;of which I would not have believed
+Englishmen could have been guilty.&rdquo;&nbsp; He even wrote to
+the <i>Times</i> about it: &ldquo;<span class="smcap">General Tom
+Thumb</span>, last week, received 12,000 people, who paid him
+&pound;600; <span class="smcap">B. R. Haydon</span>, who has
+devoted 42 years to elevate their taste, was honoured by the
+visits of 133&frac12;, producing &pound;5 13s. 6d., being a
+reward for painting two of his finest works, &lsquo;Aristides and
+Nero.&rsquo;&nbsp; <span class="smcap">Horace Vernet</span>,
+<span class="smcap">La Roche</span>, <span
+class="smcap">Ingres</span>, <span
+class="smcap">Cornelius</span>, <span class="smcap">Hess</span>,
+<span class="smcap">Snorr</span>, and <span
+class="smcap">Scheffer</span>, hasten to this glorious country of
+fresco and patronage, and grand design, if you have a tender
+fancy to end your days in a Whig Union.&rdquo;</p>
+<h2><!-- page 296--><a name="page296"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 296</span>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">The last Post Office Bellman&mdash;The
+&ldquo;Corn Law&rdquo; Act&mdash;Sir Walter Scott&rsquo;s
+monument&mdash;The Irish famine&mdash;The Duke of
+Wellington&rsquo;s statue&mdash;Gun cotton&mdash;Introduction of
+ether&mdash;Model dwelling houses&mdash;Baths and
+Wash-houses&mdash;Smithfield Cattle market&mdash;&ldquo;The Bull
+Fight of Smithfield&rdquo;&mdash;The first submarine
+telegraph.</p>
+<p><i>The Illustrated London News</i>, of 27 June, gives us
+&ldquo;<span class="smcap">The Letter Carrier&rsquo;s Last
+Knell</span>.&mdash;We have just lost another of what poor Thomas
+Hood called, &lsquo;Those evening bells.&rsquo;&nbsp; The
+Postmaster General having issued his fiat for the abolition of
+&lsquo;ringing bells&rsquo; by the Letter Carriers, the last
+knell was rung out on the evening of Wednesday last; and, as a
+memorial of the departure of what appeared to most persons, a
+very useful practice, our artist has sketched a Letter Carrier,
+on his last evening call at our office; and another hand has
+appended the following lament:</p>
+<p class="poetry">The Dustman was first to forego his brass
+clapper,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The Muffinboy speedily followed his shade;<br />
+And, now, &rsquo;tis the Postman&mdash;that double-tongued
+rapper&mdash;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Must give up his Bell for the eve&rsquo;s
+promenade.<br />
+&ldquo;<i>Tant&aelig; Animis</i>?&rsquo; sage Legislators!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Why rage against trifles like these?&nbsp; Prithee
+tell,<br />
+Why leave the solution to rude commentators,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Who say, that at home, you&rsquo;ve enough in one
+<i>Belle</i>?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On 26 June the Royal Assent was given to an Act (9&ndash;10
+Vic., c. 22), called &ldquo;An Act to amend the Laws relating to
+the Importation of Corn.&rdquo;&nbsp; This regulated the duty on
+corn by a sliding scale of prices, which was to be in force until
+<!-- page 297--><a name="page297"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+297</span>1 Feb., 1849, when it was fixed at 1s. per
+quarter.&nbsp; The passing of this Act caused general rejoicing
+throughout the country, and put an end to a great deal of
+political rancour.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p297b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"The last Post Office Bellman.  Ill. Lon. News, 27 June, 1846"
+title=
+"The last Post Office Bellman.  Ill. Lon. News, 27 June, 1846"
+src="images/p297s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>The inauguration of Sir Walter Scott&rsquo;s Monument, at
+Edinburgh, took place on 15 Aug., the anniversary of his
+birth.&nbsp; It was erected in 1840&ndash;44, after designs by
+Mr. George M. Kemp, at a cost of &pound;15,650.&nbsp; It is
+cruciform, with a Gothic spire, chiefly modelled on the details
+of Melrose Abbey; and includes, beneath its basement arches, a
+Carrara marble sitting statue of Scott, with his dog
+<i>Maida</i>, by his side, which is the work of Mr. Steel, and
+cost &pound;2,000.</p>
+<p>The potato crop utterly failed again in Ireland, and the
+outlook there was indeed black.&nbsp; In the <i>Times</i> of 2
+Sep., its correspondent, writing from Dublin, on 31 Aug., says:
+&ldquo;As it is now an admitted fact, on all sides, that the
+destruction of the early potato crop is complete, there can be no
+earthly use <!-- page 298--><a name="page298"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 298</span>in loading your columns with
+repetitions of the sad details, as furnished day after day in the
+accounts published by the Irish newspapers.&nbsp; It will,
+therefore, nearly suffice to say that, according to the reports
+from all quarters, the crisis of deep and general distress cannot
+be much longer averted, and that it will require all the energies
+of both Government and Landlords to mitigate the inevitable
+consequences of a calamity, of which both parties have been duly
+forewarned.&nbsp; In the meantime, the following statement in a
+Limerick paper of Saturday, is another curious illustration of
+the Irish &lsquo;difficulty&rsquo;.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;In the Corn Market, this day, there appeared
+about 4,000 bushels of oats, and about an equal quantity of
+wheat.&nbsp; All this grain was purchased up, principally for
+exportation, whilst the food of the people, as exhibited this day
+in the Potato Market, was a mass of disease and rottenness.&nbsp;
+This is an anomaly which no intricacies of political
+economy&mdash;no legal quibbles, or crochets&mdash;no Government
+arrangements can reconcile.&nbsp; In an agricultural country
+which produces the finest corn for the food of man, we have to
+record that the corn is sold and sent out of the country, whilst
+the individuals that raised it by their toil and labour, are
+threatened with all the horrors of starvation.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;From a multiplicity of concurrent statements respecting
+the pestilence, I shall merely subjoin one, which appears in the
+last <i>Tralee</i> paper: &lsquo;A man would hardly dig in a day,
+as much sound potatoes as himself would consume.&nbsp; But that
+is not the worst of it.&nbsp; Common cholera has set in among the
+people of the town, owing to the use of potatoes, which contain a
+large quantity of poisonous matter.&nbsp; A professional
+gentleman in this town, of considerable experience and
+unquestioned integrity, assures me, that he has attended, within
+the last fortnight, in this town and neighbourhood, more than 12
+cases of common cholera, and that he would think a person as safe
+in consuming a certain quantity of arsenic, as in using the
+potatoes now exposed for sale.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This is how the Famine of 1846&ndash;7 began, and what
+followed is a matter of history, which everyone ought to know,
+and <!-- page 299--><a name="page299"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 299</span>ponder well over, but it can hardly
+come under the name of Gossip.&nbsp; There were, naturally, a few
+food riots in different parts of the country, but everyone tried
+to do their best, even in a blundering way, to alleviate the
+distress.&nbsp; The Archbishop of Canterbury composed a Special
+Form of Prayer, to be used on Sunday, 11 Oct.</p>
+<p>On 29 Sep. the gigantic equestrian statue of the Duke of
+Wellington, which used to crown the arch opposite Apsley House,
+and which was taken down 24 Jan., 1883, and then set up at
+Aldershot, was moved from the artist&rsquo;s (Wyatt) studio, in
+Harrow Road, to Hyde Park.&nbsp; It was 27 feet high, and weighed
+about 40 tons, being made of brass guns taken by the Duke in
+various victories.&nbsp; Being of so great a weight, the
+appliances to remove it were on an equally massive scale, the
+carriage and framework in which it was placed weighing about 20
+tons.&nbsp; It took 100 soldiers to haul the statue out of the
+studio; and, when mounted on its carriage, it took 29 huge dray
+horses, lent by Mr. Goding, of the Lion Brewery, Waterloo, to
+drag it to its destination.&nbsp; It was escorted by soldiers and
+military bands, and did the distance in about an hour a
+half.&nbsp; The next day was spent in preparing to hoist it; the
+day after, it was lifted some 50 feet, and there remained all
+night&mdash;and the next day was safely landed and put in
+position.&nbsp; From that time, until it was taken down, it was
+the butt of scoffs and jeers, and no one regretted its
+departure.</p>
+<p>Gun cotton was brought into public notice by some experiments
+by its inventor, Professor Sch&ouml;nbein, of Basel, before the
+chairman of the East India Company, and a number of
+scientists.&nbsp; Professor Brande had previously lectured upon
+it, at the Royal Institution, on 15 Jan., when he stated that,
+about fifteen years before, Braconnot had ascertained that
+sawdust, wood shavings, starch, linen and cotton fabrics, when
+treated with concentrated nitric acid, produced a gelatinous
+substance, which coagulated into a white mass, on the addition of
+water; this substance, which he called &ldquo;xyloidine,&rdquo;
+was highly inflammable.&nbsp; Sch&ouml;nbein, however, made his
+explosive from purified cotton, steeped in a mixture of equal
+parts of <!-- page 300--><a name="page300"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 300</span>nitric and sulphuric acids, which
+when carefully washed, and dried, kept its appearance of cotton
+wool.&nbsp; In the <i>Times</i> of 4 Nov., is a notice of Gun
+sawdust (a powder now much used), made by Mr. George Turner of
+Leeds.</p>
+<p>Whilst on the subject of Chemicals, I may as well mention,
+what was much talked of at the time&mdash;the discovery of
+sulphuric ether, when inhaled, being an an&aelig;sthetic.&nbsp;
+Previous to this, Nitrous Oxide, or, as it was called,
+&ldquo;Laughing Gas,&rdquo; somewhat inadequately performed the
+same function.&nbsp; This latter was discovered by Dr. Priestley,
+in 1776, and its use, as an an&aelig;sthetic, recommended by Sir
+H. Davey in 1880, was put into practice by Mr. Wells, in America,
+to lessen the pain in extracting teeth in 1844.</p>
+<p>The first notice of the inhalation of sulphuric ether that I
+know of, is in No. XLV. of the <i>British and Foreign Medical
+Review</i>, which says: &ldquo;Just as our last proof was passing
+through our hands, we received from our medical friends in
+Boston, the account of a matter so interesting to surgeons, and,
+indeed to everyone, that we take the opportunity of introducing
+it here.&nbsp; We know nothing more of this new method of
+eschewing pain than what is contained in the following extracts
+from two private letters, kindly written to us by our excellent
+friends Dr. Ware and Dr. Warren, of Boston&mdash;both men of the
+highest eminence in their profession in America&mdash;and, we may
+truly say, in Europe also.&nbsp; It is impossible, however, not
+to regard the discovery as one of the very highest importance,
+not in the practice of operative surgery only, but, also, as Dr.
+Ware suggests, in practical medicine.&nbsp; We trust our friends
+will forgive us for putting into print their private
+communications.&nbsp; The importance of the subject, and the
+necessity of authenticating the statements, are our
+excuses.&nbsp; The authors of the discovery are Dr. C. T. Jackson
+and Dr. Morton.</p>
+<p>Dr. Warren writes, under date of 24 Nov., that &ldquo;In six
+cases, I have had it applied with satisfactory success, and no
+unpleasant sequel.&rdquo;&nbsp; And Dr. Ware (29 Nov.) says:
+&ldquo;It was brought into use by a dentist, and is, now, chiefly
+employed by that class of practitioners.&nbsp; He has taken out a
+patent for <!-- page 301--><a name="page301"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 301</span>the discovery, and has despatched
+persons to Europe to secure one there also; so you will soon hear
+of it, and, probably, have an opportunity of witnessing its
+effects.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Then follows a long list of operations performed in
+America&mdash;wound up with this postscript: &ldquo;Dec.
+22.&nbsp; Yesterday, we had, ourselves, this new mode of cheating
+pain put in practice by a master of chirurgery, on our own side
+of the Atlantic.&nbsp; In the theatre of University College
+Hospital, Mr. Liston amputated the thigh of a man, previously
+narcotized by the inhalation of ether vapour.&nbsp; Shortly after
+being placed on the operating table, the patient began to inhale,
+and became apparently insensible in the course of two or three
+minutes.&nbsp; The operation was then commenced, and the limb was
+removed in, what seemed to us, a marvellously short
+time&mdash;certainly less than a minute; the patient remaining
+during the incisions and the tying of the arteries, perfectly
+still and motionless.&nbsp; While the vessels were being secured,
+on being spoken to, he roused up partially (still showing no
+signs of pain), and answered questions put to him, in a slow,
+drowsy manner.&nbsp; He declared to us that at no part of the
+operation had he felt pain, though he seemed to be partially
+conscious; he had heard some words, and felt that something was
+being done to his limb.&nbsp; He was not aware, till told, that
+the limb was off; and, when he knew it, expressed great
+gratification at having been saved from pain.&nbsp; The man
+seemed quite awake when removed from the operating room, and
+continued so.&nbsp; Everything has since proceeded as usual, and
+very favourably.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr. Liston afterwards performed one of the
+minor&mdash;but most painful operations of surgery&mdash;the
+partial removal of the nail, in <i>onychia</i>, on a man
+similarly narcotised, and with precisely the same result.&nbsp;
+The patient seemed to feel no pain; and, upon rousing up, after
+the operation, declared that he had felt none.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>Punch</i> found another and more domestic use for this
+an&aelig;sthetic.</p>
+<p><!-- page 302--><a name="page302"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+302</span>Patient: &ldquo;This is really most delightful&mdash;a
+most beautiful dream.&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p302b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Wonderful effects of Ether in a case of a scolding wife"
+title=
+"Wonderful effects of Ether in a case of a scolding wife"
+src="images/p302s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p>Not only was there advance in medicine, but, also, in social
+science&mdash;people began to think that the condition of the
+working classes might be ameliorated by giving them better
+dwellings.&nbsp; As yet, little or nothing had been done, in this
+way, in London, but a grand opportunity occurred at Liverpool, in
+the building of Birkenhead, and an extensive range of model
+dwellings were erected, four-storied, with ornate exterior, the
+rents varying from 3s. to 5s. per set of rooms, according to
+position; but this included a constant supply of water, and the
+use of one gas burner in each set of rooms, and all rates and
+taxes; with, moreover, two iron bedsteads, a grate with an oven,
+and convenient fixtures; and they were found to answer
+financially.</p>
+<p>The Queen&rsquo;s consent was given on 26 Aug. to an
+&ldquo;Act to Encourage the Establishment of Public Baths and
+Wash-houses&rdquo; (9&ndash;10 Vic., c. 74).&nbsp; How it was
+appreciated by the animals called &ldquo;Vestrymen&rdquo; may be
+seen by the fact that at a Vestry meeting of the inhabitants of
+St. Leonard&rsquo;s, Shoreditch, <!-- page 303--><a
+name="page303"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 303</span>held 26
+Oct., the subject was brought forward, when an amendment was
+moved &ldquo;that it be taken into consideration that day six
+months.&rdquo;&nbsp; For the amendment, 28; against 20!</p>
+<p>The dangers of Smithfield Market were becoming too apparent,
+as we see by a letter in the <i>Times</i> of 26 Nov.:</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p303b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"The Bull Fight of Smithfield"
+title=
+"The Bull Fight of Smithfield"
+src="images/p303s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Sir,&mdash;Your paper of this morning again
+gives an account of more accidents arising in consequence of
+cattle being driven along our crowded streets, and we may expect
+to hear of numerous, probably some fatal, injuries being
+sustained during the short, and, often, very dark days, which are
+common for some months in the winter.&nbsp; Everyone, whose
+avocations call him into the city, has to complain of the delay
+arising from the over-crowded state of the leading thoroughfares;
+and, on Smithfield Market days, the obstruction is greatly
+increased by the droves of cattle and sheep which, in a
+bewildered, and frequently infuriated state, are being forced by
+crowds of men, boys, and dogs, along the streets, to the great
+annoyance, and, often, danger, of the passengers.&nbsp; I do not
+here dwell on the revolting scenes of cruelty to the animals,
+which everyone has to witness and deplore; but, on the ground of
+danger to <!-- page 304--><a name="page304"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 304</span>human life, and, also, because of
+the seriously increased obstruction to the general traffic, which
+is caused by having the cattle market in the heart of the
+metropolis, I would urge the removal of Smithfield Market to some
+more appropriate place.&nbsp; When this has been
+effected&mdash;when <i>abattoirs</i> have been constructed,
+where, alone, all the larger animals are permitted to be
+slaughtered, and when cattle are allowed to be driven through the
+streets only at hours before the business of the day has
+commenced&mdash;then, and not before, will London be, in
+reference to its cattle market and slaughter houses, what is
+required in the middle of the nineteenth century.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><i>Punch</i> gives us the following lyric on the subject:</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">The
+Bull Fight of Smithfield</span>.</p>
+<p>There&rsquo;s trampling feet in Goswell Street, there&rsquo;s
+row on Holborn Hill,<br />
+There&rsquo;s crush and crowd, and swearing loud, from bass to
+treble shrill;<br />
+From grazier cad, and drover lad, and butcher shining greasy,<br
+/>
+And slaughter men, and knacker&rsquo;s men, and policemen free
+and easy.</p>
+<p>&rsquo;Tis Monday morn, and onward borne to Smithfield&rsquo;s
+mart repair<br />
+The pigs and sheep, and, lowing deep, the oxen fine and fair;<br
+/>
+They&rsquo;re trooping on from Islington, and down Whitechapel
+road,<br />
+To wild halloo of a shouting crew, and yelp, and bite, and
+goad.</p>
+<p>From combs of distant Devonshire, from sunny Sussex wold,<br
+/>
+From where their Durham pastures the stately short-horns hold;<br
+/>
+From Herefordshire marches, from fenny Cambridge flat,<br />
+For London&rsquo;s maw they gather&mdash;those oxen fair and
+fat.</p>
+<p>The stunted stocks of Cambria&rsquo;s rocks uneasily are
+lowing,<br />
+With redder blaze of wild amaze their eyes around them
+throwing;<br />
+And the unkempt stot of Galloway, and the Kyloe of the Mearns,<br
+/>
+Whose hoof, that crush&rsquo;d the heather tuft, the mild <span
+class="smcap">Macadam</span> spurns.</p>
+<p>They may talk of <i>plaza mayors</i>, of <i>torero&rsquo;s</i>
+nimble feat,<br />
+Of <span class="smcap">Montez</span>, the famed <i>matador</i> of
+<i>picadors</i> so fleet;<br />
+But what is Spanish Bull fight to deeds which we can show,<br />
+When through the street, at all they meet, the Smithfield oxen
+go?</p>
+<p>See there, see there, where, high in air, the nurse and
+nurseling fly!<br />
+Into a first-floor window, see, where that old gent, they shy!<br
+/>
+Now they&rsquo;re bolting into parlours, now they&rsquo;re
+tumbling into cellars,<br />
+To the great disgust and terror of the peaceable indwellers.</p>
+<p><!-- page 305--><a name="page305"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+305</span>Who rides so neat down Chiswell Street?&nbsp; A City
+Knight, I ween;<br />
+By girth and span an alderman, nor less by port and mien.<br />
+Look out, look out! that sudden shout! the Smithfield herd is
+nigh!<br />
+Now turn, Sir Knight, and boldly fight, or, more discreetly,
+fly.</p>
+<p>He hath eased round on his saddle, all fidgetty and fast;<br
+/>
+There&rsquo;s another herd behind him, and the time for flight is
+past.<br />
+Full in his front glares a rabid runt, thro&rsquo; tears of pain
+that blind him,<br />
+For the drover&rsquo;s almost twisted off the tail that hangs
+behind him.</p>
+<p>All lightly armed for such a shock was stout <span
+class="smcap">Sir Calipee</span>,<br />
+But he couched his new umbrella, and &ldquo;Police&rdquo; aloud
+cried he!<br />
+Crash&mdash;smash&mdash;slap-dash!&nbsp; The whalebone snaps, the
+saddle seat is bare,<br />
+And the Knight, in mazy circles, is flying thro&rsquo; the
+air!</p>
+<p>The runt tears on, the rout is gone, the street is calm once
+more,<br />
+And to Bartlemy&rsquo;s they bear him, extended on a door;<br />
+Now, gramercy, good <span class="smcap">Sir Calipee</span>, to
+the turtle and the haunch,<br />
+That padded out thy civic ribs, and lined thy stately paunch.</p>
+<p>No ribs are broke, but a shattering stroke thy system has
+sustain&rsquo;d;<br />
+Any other than an alderman had certainly been brained.<br />
+And, soon as he had breath to swear, the Knight right roundly
+swore<br />
+That, straight, he&rsquo;d put down Smithfield, and set up an
+<i>abattoir</i>.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>In this year there were sold at Smithfield 226,132 beasts,
+1,593,270 sheep and lambs, 26,356 calves, and 33,531
+pigs&mdash;to deal with which there were about 160
+salesmen.&nbsp; Things went on very much in the same style as
+described in <i>Punch</i> until 1851, when the contracted space
+of the market, the slaughtering places adjoining, and many other
+nuisances, gave grounds for general dissatisfaction, and after an
+investigation, an Act (14&ndash;15 Vic., c. 61) was passed on 1
+Aug. &ldquo;For providing a Metropolitan Market, and conveniences
+therewith, in lieu of the Cattle Market at
+Smithfield.&rdquo;&nbsp; A suitable site was found in Copenhagen
+Fields, Islington; the last market at Smithfield was held on 11
+June, and the first at the new one on 13 June, 1855.</p>
+<p>The <i>Hampshire Guardian</i>, copied into the <i>Times</i> of
+12 Dec., gives us the story of the first submarine Telegraph:
+&ldquo;We are enabled to supply the following additional
+particulars respecting the submarine Telegraph laid down across
+our harbour.&nbsp; It is now about three years since the
+telegraph <!-- page 306--><a name="page306"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 306</span>from the Nine Elms terminus to the
+terminus at Gosport was first established.&nbsp; Subsequently,
+from the inconvenience experienced at the Admiralty Office here,
+because of the distance to the telegraph station, the wires were
+continued from that place to the Royal Clarence Yard.&nbsp; With
+this addition, although the inconvenience was lessened, it was
+far from being removed, the harbour intervening, leaving a
+distance of upwards of a mile, to the Admiral&rsquo;s house,
+unconnected; and, notwithstanding the wish of the authorities,
+both here and in London, that the telegraph should be carried to
+the Dockyard, no attempt has, hitherto, been made to do so,
+because it has been considered almost impossible to convey it
+under water.&nbsp; An offer, indeed, was made to the Admiralty,
+to lay down a telegraph enclosed in metallic pipes, which were to
+be fixed under the water by the aid of diving bells.&nbsp; This
+scheme, having been found to be impracticable, has been very
+prudently abandoned.&nbsp; Whatever difficulties may have
+hitherto interfered to prevent the establishment of submarine
+telegraphs, appear, now, to have been entirely overcome, for the
+time occupied from the commencement of carrying the telegraph
+from shore to shore, and transmitting signals, did not occupy a
+quarter of an hour.&nbsp; The telegraph, which has the appearance
+of an ordinary rope, was coiled into one of the dockyard boats,
+one end of it being made fast on shore, and, as the boat was
+pulled across, the telegraphic rope was gradually paid out over
+the stern, its superior gravity causing it to sink to the bottom
+immediately. . . . Independently of the simplicity of this
+submarine telegraph, it has an advantage which even the
+telegraphs on land do not possess&mdash;in the event of an
+accident, it can be replaced in ten minutes.&nbsp; The success of
+the trial here has, we understand, determined the inventors to
+lay down their contemplated line across the Channel, from England
+to France, under the sanction of the respective
+Governments.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Such was the germ of the multitudinous cables which now span
+every ocean.</p>
+<h2><!-- page 307--><a name="page307"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 307</span>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">Medals for Army and Navy&mdash;Grenville
+library&mdash;Day of fasting&mdash;&ldquo;Binding of
+Satan&rdquo;&mdash;Suspension of transportation&mdash;New House
+of Lords&mdash;Jenny Lind&mdash;<i>Bunn v.
+Lind</i>&mdash;&ldquo;Jenny Linden&rdquo;&mdash;Death of
+O&rsquo;Connell&mdash;Story of the Duke of
+Buccleugh&mdash;Abolition of Eton &ldquo;Montem.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At this time, at all events, we did not plaster our soldiers
+with medals for every trifling deed of duty, and it was not until
+January of this year, that a Commission was appointed to decide
+upon the medals which were to be presented to the officers and
+men who served in the Peninsula, under Wellington and other
+commanders.&nbsp; And it was not till the 1st of June, that an
+Order was issued from the Horse Guards, that claims might be sent
+in by those who were present in battles from 1793 to
+1814&mdash;or, rather, the list began with Maida, 1806, and ended
+with Toulouse, 1814.&nbsp; The medals for naval service began
+with the &ldquo;Glorious First of June,&rdquo; 1794, and ended
+with the fight between the Endymion and President on 25 Jan.,
+1815.&nbsp; The Medal for Waterloo was granted some long time
+afterwards.</p>
+<p>In January, the British Museum received the splendid bequest
+of the Library of Thomas Grenville, Esqre., who died 17 Dec.,
+1846.&nbsp; This magnificent library of over 20,000 volumes,
+valued at the very low estimate of &pound;50,000, contains two
+copies of the Mazarin bible, one on vellum, a first folio of
+Shakespere, Caxton&rsquo;s &ldquo;Reynard the Fox,&rdquo; and
+countless other literary treasures and rarities.&nbsp; He had
+intended to leave this library to the Duke of
+Buckingham&mdash;but, reflecting that as most of the books had
+been paid for with the proceeds of a sinecure office (Chief
+Justice in eyre, south of the Trent) <!-- page 308--><a
+name="page308"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 308</span>of
+&pound;2,000 a year, which he had held from 1800 to 1817, when it
+was abolished, he felt it only just that they should be given to
+the nation, who had virtually paid for them.&nbsp; With them
+came, as curator, his valet, Mr. Holden, who remained with his
+master&rsquo;s beloved books until three or four years since.</p>
+<p>On 9 March a Royal Proclamation was issued for a day of
+Fasting and humiliation on account of the famine and distress in
+Ireland, and it was duly kept on the day set apart for it, 24
+March.</p>
+<p>There is a curious paragraph in the <i>Times</i> of 23 March:
+&ldquo;<span class="smcap">Binding of Satan</span>.&mdash;During
+the past two or three weeks, a number of persons have been going
+round the streets, on the Surrey side of the water, wearing
+belts, like those worn by the fire brigade, on which passages
+from the Scriptures are painted, carrying with them an inkhorn
+and long sheets of paper, soliciting signatures to what they
+pretend to be a petition to Heaven, for the binding of Satan, the
+Prince of darkness.&nbsp; So eager are those persons to get the
+paper signed, that men, women, and children are stopped
+indiscriminately, and requested to sign.&nbsp; Those who are too
+young to sign, or unable to write their names, have the same done
+for them by the men, who do not attempt to disguise the fact of
+belonging to the followers of Joanna Southcote.&nbsp; Upon
+several occasions, a great deal of confusion has been created by
+the parties, for they generally manage to go about with knots of
+forty or fifty persons; and, occasionally, discussions ensue,
+which are calculated to bring the Scriptures into perfect
+ridicule.&nbsp; One person, more intelligent than the persons who
+are hawking the petitions about, inquired who it is that will
+present the petition? when the man replied, with the greatest
+coolness, that as soon as a sufficient number of names are
+attached to the petition, it will be presented to the Throne of
+Mercy by Joanna Southcote herself.&nbsp; Surely it is high time
+that such exhibitions were put down by the police.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Early in April a circular from the Home Secretary was
+forwarded to the magistrates at the various gaols, telling them
+that, in consequence of the suspension of transportation of <!--
+page 309--><a name="page309"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+309</span>male convicts to Van Diemen&rsquo;s Land, it would be
+requisite for them to make immediate provision for the
+confinement and employment, in this country, of a great number of
+such offenders.</p>
+<p>On the 14th of April the Queen paid a visit of inspection to
+the New House of Lords, and, on the next day, the Peers took
+possession of it, and transacted business there for the first
+time.</p>
+<p>Talk of Gossip, was there ever such food for it as the arrival
+of Jenny Lind&mdash;it was a furore, a madness.&nbsp; She arrived
+in London late on the afternoon of Ap. 17, and was present in the
+evening at the performance at Her Majesty&rsquo;s Theatre.&nbsp;
+On May 4 she made her first appearance on the Stage in
+England&mdash;in this Theatre&mdash;where she played in
+&ldquo;Robert le Diable,&rdquo; and, from that moment, until the
+end of the season, nothing else was thought of&mdash;nothing else
+talked of&mdash;but Jenny Lind, and it was no short-lived fit of
+enthusiasm, for she was <i>the</i> favourite of the public until
+her retirement; her beautiful voice and simplicity of manner
+charming everyone, from Royalty downwards.&nbsp; Unfortunately
+her d&ecirc;but was somewhat marred by a pecuniary squabble
+between her and Bunn, the operatic poet, a rival
+<i>impresario</i>, Lumley, having secured her services.&nbsp;
+Here is Punch&rsquo;s version of the squabble:</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align:
+center">&ldquo;JENNY-LINDEN.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">A dreadful engagement between the Swedish
+Nightingale and the poet Bunn</span>.</p>
+<p>On <span class="smcap">Lind</span>, when Drury&rsquo;s sun was
+low,<br />
+And bootless was the wild-beast show,<br />
+The lessee counted for a flow<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of rhino to the treasury.</p>
+<p>But <span class="smcap">Jenny Lind</span>, whose waken&rsquo;d
+sight<br />
+Saw Drury in a proper light,<br />
+Refused, for any sum per night,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To sing at the Menagerie.</p>
+<p><!-- page 310--><a name="page310"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+310</span>With rage and ire in vain display&rsquo;d,<br />
+Each super drew his wooden blade,<br />
+In fury half, and half afraid<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For his prospective salary.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Bunn</span> in a flaming frenzy flew,<br
+/>
+And speedily the goose quill drew,<br />
+With which he was accustomed to<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pen such a deal of poetry.</p>
+<p>He wrote the maiden to remind<br />
+Her of a compact she had signed,<br />
+To Drury Lane&rsquo;s condition blind,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And threatened law
+accordingly.</p>
+<p>Fair as in face, in nature, she<br />
+Implored the man to set her free,<br />
+Assuring him that he should be<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Remunerated handsomely.</p>
+<p>Two thousand pounds she offered, so<br />
+That he would only let her go;<br />
+<span class="smcap">Bunn</span>, who would have his bond, said
+<span class="smcap">No</span>!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; With dogged pertinacity.</p>
+<p>And, now, his action let him bring, <a
+name="citation310"></a><a href="#footnote310"
+class="citation">[310]</a><br />
+And try how much the law will wring<br />
+From her to do the handsome thing,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Who had proposed so readily!</p>
+<p>The Swedish Nightingale to cage,<br />
+He failed; she sought a fitting stage,<br />
+And left him to digest his rage,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And seek his legal remedy.</p>
+<p>Then shook the House, with plaudits riven,<br />
+When <span class="smcap">Jenny&rsquo;s</span> opening note was
+given,<br />
+The sweetest songstress under heaven<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Forth bursting into melody.</p>
+<p>But fainter the applause shall grow,<br />
+At waning Drury&rsquo;s wild-beast show,<br />
+And feebler still shall be the flow<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of rhino to the treasury.</p>
+<p><!-- page 311--><a name="page311"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+311</span>The Opera triumphs!&nbsp; <span
+class="smcap">Lumley</span> brave,<br />
+Thy bacon thou shalt more than save;<br />
+Wave, London, all thy &rsquo;kerchiefs wave,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And cheer with all thy
+chivalry.</p>
+<p>&rsquo;Tis night; and still yon star doth run;<br />
+But all in vain for treasurer <span class="smcap">Dunn</span>,<br
+/>
+And Mr. <span class="smcap">Hughes</span>, and poet <span
+class="smcap">Bunn</span>,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And quadrupeds, and company.</p>
+<p>For Sweden&rsquo;s Nightingale so sweet,<br />
+Their fellowship had been unmeet,<br />
+The sawdust underneath whose feet<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hath been the Drama&rsquo;s
+sepulchre.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Died on 15th May, at Genoa, on his route to Rome, aged 72,
+Daniel O&rsquo;Connell, the erst &ldquo;uncrowned King of
+Ireland,&rdquo; who, during his lifetime, had been a thorn (and a
+very troublesome one) in the side of every English
+government.&nbsp; His heart was forwarded to Rome, but his body
+was embalmed, and, in due time, was sent to Ireland for
+interment.</p>
+<p>The <i>Liverpool Albion</i>, quoted in the <i>Times</i> of 14
+May, is responsible for the following story: &ldquo;Some time
+ago, the Duke of Buccleugh, in one of his walks, purchased a cow
+from a person in the neighbourhood of Dalkeith, and left orders
+to send it to his palace on the following morning.&nbsp;
+According to agreement, the cow was sent, and the Duke, who
+happened to be <i>en d&eacute;shabille</i>, and walking in the
+avenue, espied a little fellow ineffectually attempting to drive
+the animal to its destination.&nbsp; The boy, not knowing the
+Duke, bawled out to him: &lsquo;Hi! mun, come here an&rsquo;
+gi&rsquo;us a han&rsquo; wi&rsquo; this beast.&rsquo;&nbsp; The
+Duke saw the mistake, and determined to have a joke with the
+little fellow.&nbsp; Pretending, therefore, not to understand
+him, the Duke walked on slowly, the boy still craving his
+assistance.&nbsp; At last, he cried in a tone of apparent
+distress: &lsquo;Come here, mun, an&rsquo; help us, an&rsquo; as
+sure as onything, I&rsquo;ll give ye half I get.&rsquo;&nbsp;
+This last solicitation had the desired effect.&nbsp; The Duke
+went and lent a helping hand.&nbsp; &lsquo;And now,&rsquo; said
+the Duke, as they trudged along, &lsquo;how much do you think you
+will get for this job?&rsquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;Oh, dinna ken,&rsquo;
+said the boy, &lsquo;but I am sure o&rsquo; something, for the
+folk up at <!-- page 312--><a name="page312"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 312</span>the house are good to a&rsquo;
+bodies.&rsquo;&nbsp; As they approached the house, the Duke
+darted from the boy, and entered by a different way.&nbsp; He
+called a servant, and put a sovereign into his hand, saying,
+&lsquo;Give that to the boy that has brought the
+cow.&rsquo;&nbsp; The Duke returned to the avenue, and was soon
+rejoined by the boy.&nbsp; &lsquo;Well, how much did you
+get?&rsquo; said the Duke.&nbsp; &lsquo;A shilling,&rsquo; said
+the boy, &lsquo;an&rsquo; there&rsquo;s the half o&rsquo;t to
+ye.&rsquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;But, surely, you got more than a
+shilling,&rsquo; said the Duke.&nbsp; &lsquo;No,&rsquo; said the
+boy, with the utmost earnestness, &lsquo;as sure&rsquo;s death,
+that&rsquo;s a&rsquo; I got&mdash;an&rsquo; d&rsquo;ye not think
+it&rsquo;s a plenty?&rsquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;I do not,&rsquo; said
+the Duke; &lsquo;there must be some mistake; and, as I am
+acquainted with the Duke, if you return, I think I&rsquo;ll get
+you more.&rsquo;&nbsp; The boy consented; back they went.&nbsp;
+The Duke rang the bell, and ordered all the servants to be
+assembled.&nbsp; &lsquo;Now,&rsquo; said the Duke to the boy,
+&lsquo;point out the person who gave you the
+shilling.&rsquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;It was that chap, there, with the
+apron,&rsquo; pointing to the butler.&nbsp; The delinquent
+confessed, fell on his knees, and attempted an apology; but the
+Duke interrupted him, indignantly ordered him to give the boy the
+sovereign, and quit his service instantly.&nbsp; &lsquo;You have
+lost,&rsquo; said the Duke, &lsquo;your money, your situation,
+and your character, by your covetousness; learn, henceforth, that
+honesty is the best policy.&rsquo;&nbsp; The boy, by this time,
+recognised his assistant, in the person of the Duke, and the Duke
+was so delighted with the sterling worth and honesty of the boy,
+that he ordered him to be sent to school, kept there, and
+provided for at his own expense.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Eton &ldquo;Montem&rdquo; was abolished this year.&nbsp; It
+was a triennial custom, and had for its purpose the presentation
+of a sum of money to the Captain of the school on his departure
+to the University.&nbsp; Every third year, on Whitsun Tuesday,
+some of the Eton boys, clad in fancy costume (as is here given
+from the Montem of 1844), went to Salt Hill, and the
+neighbourhood generally, and levied contributions, or
+&ldquo;Salt,&rdquo; from all passers-by.&nbsp; The custom led to
+grave abuses, and the Provost and Head Master determined that it
+should end, but, that the boy who benefited by it should not be a
+loser, the latter, Dr. Hawtrey, gave him &pound;200 out of his
+own pocket.&nbsp; <!-- page 313--><a name="page313"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 313</span>The following is an account of the
+death and burial of Eton &ldquo;Montem&rdquo;:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Tuesday, 25 May.&mdash;This being the day
+on which the triennial festival of &lsquo;Montem&rsquo; would
+have been celebrated at Eton and Salt Hill, had it not been
+abolished by the Provost and the authorities of Eton,
+considerable excitement prevailed in the vicinity of the College
+from an early hour this morning, in consequence (from rumours
+which had been in circulation for some time past) of its being
+apprehended that some &lsquo;demonstration&rsquo; would be made
+by the boys, assisted by several old Etonians from Oxford and
+Cambridge (who are strongly opposed to the abolition of the
+ceremony), which might lead to a breach of the peace.&nbsp; With
+the exception of about a thousand small squares of glass being
+demolished in the vicinity of the lower school, and similar
+breakages, but to a much smaller extent, at the houses of parties
+who were supposed to be in favour of the determination which had
+been come to by the Provost, we have heard of no demonstration of
+a riotous character on the part of the boys.&nbsp; This being a
+&lsquo;whole holiday,&rsquo; several of the head boys had
+permission to proceed in boats, up the Thames, for the <!-- page
+314--><a name="page314"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+314</span>day, as far as Cliefden.&nbsp; Between 100 and 200
+have, also, left for the Whitsun holidays; thus thinning the
+number remaining at College to a considerable extent.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/p313b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Dresses, Eton &ldquo;Montem.&rdquo;  1844"
+title=
+"Dresses, Eton &ldquo;Montem.&rdquo;  1844"
+src="images/p313s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;As soon as &lsquo;absence&rsquo; had been
+called by the head master, the Rev. Dr. Hawtrey, shortly after 12
+o&rsquo;clock, the boys, numbering between 200 and 300, formed in
+procession in the playing fields, and marched across the fields,
+preceded by a black flag, to the celebrated mount at Salt
+Hill.&nbsp; They were joined by a great many of the old Etonians
+from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, who arrived at
+Eton this morning.&nbsp; Each wore, on his left arm, a band and
+rosette of black crape, and many had white hatbands and
+scarves.&nbsp; As they were seen wending their way towards Salt
+Hill, they had all the appearance of mourners (merry though they
+might be) in a funeral procession.&nbsp; Upon their arrival at
+the Mount, the black flag was waved in solemn silence, and,
+afterwards, placed on the summit, drooping on the ground, typical
+of the lost glories of Montem.&nbsp; The large party then
+proceeded to Botham&rsquo;s, at the Windmill Hotel, whence, after
+partaking of a luncheon, they again returned to the Mount, and,
+with the flag, retraced their steps back to College.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A match at cricket was played during the day, between
+the Oxonians and the present Etonians, in the shooting fields
+attached to the College.&nbsp; A splendid cold collation was
+provided, in the evening, for the players, by Mr. Clarke, of the
+Christopher Inn.&nbsp; The waiters who attended upon the guests
+were compelled to wear black crape around their arms, &lsquo;in
+keeping,&rsquo; as it was observed, &lsquo;with the solemnity of
+the occasion.&rsquo;&nbsp; Such were the fears entertained by
+some of the College authorities that a disturbance might take
+place in the course of the day, that a strong body of the
+Metropolitan A division of police was stationed at Slough, in
+plain clothes (as we are informed), to be in readiness to assist
+the local authorities, in the event of their services being
+required, it being expected that a mob, composed of the idle and
+lazy of the two towns, might, in the course of the evening, show
+some disposition to create a disturbance.&nbsp; The abolition of
+Montem is not only considered to be a most unpopular proceeding
+<!-- page 315--><a name="page315"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+315</span>on the part of the old and present Etonians; but, also,
+by the tradesmen of Eton and Windsor, amongst the former of whom
+a large sum of money was triennially circulated, both before and
+during the festival.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><i>Punch</i> has a lament on it, of which I reproduce three
+verses:</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Say, Hill of Salt, for thou hast seen<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Full many a noble race<br />
+Do what might be considered mean<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; In any other case&mdash;<br />
+With cap in hand, and courtly leg,<br />
+Waylay the traveller, and beg;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Say, was it not a pleasing sight<br />
+Those young Etonians to behold,<br />
+For eleemosynary gold,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Arrest the passing wight.</p>
+<p>Whilst some, of more excursive bent,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Their vagrant arts to ply,<br />
+To all the various places went,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; That in the neighbourhood lie;<br />
+To Datchet, Slough, or Horton they,<br />
+Or e&rsquo;en to Colnbrook, took their way,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Or ancient Windsor&rsquo;s regal town;<br />
+Stopp&rsquo;d every body they could meet,<br />
+Knocked at each house, in every street,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; In hopes of half a crown.</p>
+<p>Gay clothes were theirs, by fancy made;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Some were as Romans drest,<br />
+Some in the Grecian garb array&rsquo;d,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Some bore the knightly crest;<br />
+Theirs was attire of every hue,<br />
+Of every fashion, old, or new,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Various as Nathan&rsquo;s ample store.<br />
+Angelic beings!&nbsp; Ladies! say<br />
+Will ye let these things pass away?<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Must Montem be no more?&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>From this, to the Accession of the Queen, there is no more
+Gossip to chronicle.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><!-- page 316--><a
+name="page316"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 316</span>
+<a href="images/p316b.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Decorative picture of person with crown"
+title=
+"Decorative picture of person with crown"
+src="images/p316s.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h2>Footnotes:</h2>
+<p><a name="footnote10"></a><a href="#citation10"
+class="footnote">[10]</a>&nbsp; Then a very active M.P.;
+afterwards Judge in the Admiralty and Probate Courts, Dean of
+Arches, &amp;c.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote23"></a><a href="#citation23"
+class="footnote">[23]</a>&nbsp; It is said that this was the last
+chime rung.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote27"></a><a href="#citation27"
+class="footnote">[27]</a>&nbsp; Still in use on the Royal
+Exchange.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote81a"></a><a href="#citation81a"
+class="footnote">[81a]</a>&nbsp; It is needless to say that the
+Queen&rsquo;s Speech to Parliament on 5th Feb. was absolutely
+silent on the matter; indeed, the Queen did not inform her Prime
+Minister, Lord Melbourne, of her choice until October of this
+year.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote81b"></a><a href="#citation81b"
+class="footnote">[81b]</a>&nbsp; Poems by the Lady Flora
+Hastings, edited by her sister.&nbsp; Edinburgh, 1841, 8vo.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote84"></a><a href="#citation84"
+class="footnote">[84]</a>&nbsp; The Queen&rsquo;s most intimate
+companion from her childhood.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote119a"></a><a href="#citation119a"
+class="footnote">[119a]</a>&nbsp; This was preliminary, and was
+entitled &ldquo;An Act for Exhibiting a Bill in this present
+Parliament for naturalising His Serene Highness Prince Albert of
+Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="footnote119b"></a><a href="#citation119b"
+class="footnote">[119b]</a>&nbsp; That of intermarriage with
+Protestants only.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote128"></a><a href="#citation128"
+class="footnote">[128]</a>&nbsp; A private box, on the level of
+the stage, with which it communicated.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote132"></a><a href="#citation132"
+class="footnote">[132]</a>&nbsp; Three Chartist leaders, who were
+condemned to death on 16 Jan., 1840, but were never executed, and
+subsequently pardoned.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote151"></a><a href="#citation151"
+class="footnote">[151]</a>&nbsp; Handcuffs.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote156"></a><a href="#citation156"
+class="footnote">[156]</a>&nbsp; The nautical way of writing
+&ldquo;Oh, come to me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: right"><i>Printer&rsquo;s Devil</i>.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote159"></a><a href="#citation159"
+class="footnote">[159]</a>&nbsp; He put up for election at the
+Senior United Service Club, was balloted for on 6 June, 1840,
+when out of 194 balls, 166 were black.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote163"></a><a href="#citation163"
+class="footnote">[163]</a>&nbsp; An action was brought against
+them at Reading, and on 24 Feb., 1843, the jury found for the
+plaintiff against all the defendants, and gave 1<i>s.</i> damages
+for the assault, and &pound;55 for the injury done to the house
+and furniture.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote169a"></a><a href="#citation169a"
+class="footnote">[169a]</a>&nbsp; It was held copyhold of the
+Queen, as Lord of the Manor.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote169b"></a><a href="#citation169b"
+class="footnote">[169b]</a>&nbsp; Mr. Simpson had been a famous
+Master of the Ceremonies.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote170a"></a><a href="#citation170a"
+class="footnote">[170a]</a>&nbsp; Ring Master at
+Astley&rsquo;s.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote170b"></a><a href="#citation170b"
+class="footnote">[170b]</a>&nbsp; George Robins, a famous
+auctioneer.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote171"></a><a href="#citation171"
+class="footnote">[171]</a>&nbsp; A famous Rope dancer.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote194"></a><a href="#citation194"
+class="footnote">[194]</a>&nbsp; A well known nick-name for Lord
+Palmerston.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote279"></a><a href="#citation279"
+class="footnote">[279]</a>&nbsp; From Moorgate Street 83
+prospectuses, demanding &pound;90,175,000, were sent out.&nbsp;
+Gresham Street issued 20, requiring &pound;17,580,000.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote310"></a><a href="#citation310"
+class="footnote">[310]</a>&nbsp; The case of <i>Bunn v. Lind</i>
+came on, in the Court of Queen&rsquo;s Bench, on 22 Feb.,
+1848.&nbsp; Damages laid at &pound;10,000.&nbsp; The jury found a
+verdict for the plaintiff, and the case was ultimately settled by
+a payment of &pound;2,000.</p>
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOSSIP IN THE FIRST DECADE OF
+VICTORIA'S REIGN***</p>
+<pre>
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's
+Reign, by John Ashton
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign
+
+
+Author: John Ashton
+
+
+
+Release Date: December 13, 2009  [eBook #30665]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOSSIP IN THE FIRST DECADE OF
+VICTORIA'S REIGN***
+
+
+Transcribed from the 1903 Hurst and Blackett edition by David Price,
+email ccx074@pglaf.org
+
+                    [Picture: Susannah and the elders]
+
+
+
+
+
+                                  GOSSIP
+                          IN THE FIRST DECADE OF
+                             VICTORIA'S REIGN
+
+
+                                    By
+                               John Ashton
+                                AUTHOR OF
+                "_Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne_"
+
+                ILLUSTRATED BY REPRODUCTIONS FROM CARTOONS
+                            AND OTHER DRAWINGS
+
+                                  LONDON
+                       HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED
+                       13, Gt. Marlborough St., W.
+                                   1903
+
+                          _All rights reserved_
+
+                   PRINTED BY KELLY'S DIRECTORIES LTD.
+                           LONDON AND KINGSTON.
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+I have written this Gossip not only for the edification of those to whom
+a portion, more or less, may be news, but for those who, like myself,
+have lived through the whole of Queen Victoria's reign, to whom the
+remembrance of things, almost forgotten, may bring pleasure and excite
+interest.  The items, herein displayed, have been gathered from many
+sources, and their authenticity is guaranteed by giving the name of the
+authority whence they were taken, in very many instances _ipsissima
+verba_, as paraphrasing would rob them of their freshness and
+individuality.  All the illustrations are contemporaneous, and, good or
+bad, belong to the text and should not be altered.
+
+                                                              JOHN ASHTON.
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+                              CHAPTER I.
+1837       The Queen's Accession--Proclamation--Funeral of           1
+           the King--The Queen and Social Functions--Mr.
+           Montefiore--Amusing Letter--Electric
+           Telegraph--Knocker-wrenching: Amusements of the
+           Young Aristocracy
+                             CHAPTER II.
+           Thames Tunnel Flooded--First Mention of the Nelson       12
+           Column--Sale of the King's Stud--Marriage by
+           Registrar--Commencement of New Houses of
+           Parliament--Lunatics and the Queen--The Queen's
+           Visit to the Guildhall--Lord Beaconsfield's Maiden
+           Speech
+                             CHAPTER III.
+1838       Destruction of the Royal Exchange--Sale of the           23
+           Salvage--Spring-heeled Jack and his Pranks--Lord
+           John Russell's Hat
+                             CHAPTER IV.
+           Lords and Pugilists--"Penny Gaffs"--Steam between        34
+           England and America--A Man-Woman--Designs for
+           Nelson's Monument--A Termagant--Scold's Bridles,
+           &c.
+                              CHAPTER V.
+           Thom, the Religious Fanatic--His Riots and               45
+           Death--Delusions of his Followers
+                             CHAPTER VI.
+           The Queen's Coronation--The Carriages--The Fair          53
+           and Festivities in Hyde Park--The Marquis of
+           Waterford's Drive: His Freaks at Melton
+           Mowbray--Steam Carriages--Dog Carriages--Grand
+           Dinner at Guildhall
+                             CHAPTER VII.
+           Genesis of the "Charter"--London and North-Western       65
+           Railway opened to Birmingham--Overland Route to
+           India--A Bold Smuggler--Visitors to the
+           Queen--"The Boy Jones"
+                            CHAPTER VIII.
+1839       Death of Lord Norbury--Birth of                          77
+           Photography--Experimental Street
+           Pavements--Forecast of the Queen's Marriage--Sad
+           Story of Lady Flora Hastings--Story of a Climbing
+           Boy--Van Amburgh--Embanking the Thames--Victoria
+           Park--Robbery of Gold Dust
+                             CHAPTER IX.
+           Queen Elizabeth's Statue--The Ladies of the              89
+           Bed-chamber--The Queen hissed at Ascot Races--Land
+           at Melbourne--Sunday Trading--New Way of Paying
+           Church Rates
+                              CHAPTER X.
+           The Eglinton Tournament--Sale of Armour, &c.--The       100
+           Queen of Beauty and the Cook--Newspapers and their
+           Sales
+                             CHAPTER XI.
+           The Chartists: Their going to Church--Dissolution       111
+           of the Convention--Approaching Marriage of the
+           Queen--The Queen and Lunatics--Raid on a Gaming
+           House--Act of Penance
+                             CHAPTER XII.
+1840       Commencement of Penny Post--Postage Stamps--Prince      118
+           Albert's Allowance--_The Times_' Comments on the
+           Marriage--Royal Wedding Cake--Louis Napoleon's
+           Duel--Nelson Column--Noblemen's Servants--Uproar
+           at the Royal Italian Opera House
+                            CHAPTER XIII.
+           The Mulready Envelope--Plans of Royal Exchange          130
+           decided on--Fire at York Minster--Queen shot at by
+           Oxford--Oxford in Bedlam--Scientific
+           Agriculture--Electro Metallurgy--Embossed
+           Envelopes--Sale of Louis Napoleon's Effects
+                             CHAPTER XIV.
+           Lord Cardigan and the "Black Bottle" Case--Lord         142
+           Cardigan's Duel with Lieut. Tuckett--Steam to
+           India--Nelson Column--Mormonism--"The Boy
+           Jones"--Napoleon's Body transferred to France
+                             CHAPTER XV.
+1841       Death of Scott, "the American Diver"--Prince            152
+           Albert's Ducking--Monster Cheese--"The Boy
+           Jones"--"Tracts for the Times"--Tract XC.--Earl of
+           Cardigan flogs a Soldier on Sunday--Dispute as to
+           the Discovery of the Electric Telegraph--Sale of
+           Shakspere Autograph--The Census--Astley's
+           Amphitheatre Burnt--Behaviour of "Gentlemen"
+                             CHAPTER XVI.
+           Story of an Irish Informer--Steam Cars--Sale of         165
+           Vauxhall Gardens--First Jewish Baronet--New
+           Railway opened--High Tide--Fire at the
+           Tower--Birth of Prince of Wales: His Patent as
+           such--The Thames at length Tunnelled--Antiquities
+           found in the Royal Exchange
+                            CHAPTER XVII.
+1842       Foundation of Royal Exchange laid--Medal connected      177
+           therewith--Father Mathew's Miracle--Christening of
+           the Prince of Wales--King Edward VII.--Hard Work
+           of the King of Prussia--The Earthquake in
+           London--The Queen drinking
+           "Grog"--Photography--Talbotype--Sale at Strawberry
+           Hill--Presents to the King of Prussia
+                            CHAPTER XVIII.
+           The Royal "Bal Costume"--The Queen shot at by           187
+           Francis and by Bean--Duke of Cambridge's
+           Star--Chartism--Income Tax--Female Chartist
+           Association--A Gipsy Trial--Closing of the Fleet
+           Prison--Married in a Sheet--Enormous Damages in a
+           Gambling Case
+                             CHAPTER XIX.
+1843       Murder of Mr. Drummond--Rebecca and her                 199
+           Daughters--Spread of the Movement through
+           Wales--Its End--Rebecca Dramatised--Rebecca in
+           London
+                             CHAPTER XX.
+           Gretna Green Parsons--Number of Marriages--Chinese      209
+           Indemnity--Thames Tunnel--The Aerial
+           Machine--Treasure Trove--Accident to Mr.
+           Brunel--Arkwright's Will--Secession in the Scotch
+           Church--The "Gent"--Shakspere's Autograph
+                             CHAPTER XXI.
+           Exhibition of Cartoons--A Duel--Gambling--The           220
+           "Albert Hat"--Nelson's Statue: Fun
+           thereon--Soldier's Savings Banks--A Post Boy and
+           Lord Mayor's Show--M. Jullien and his
+           Orchestra--Prince Albert as a Farmer--George IV.'s
+           Statue--Ojibbeway Indians
+                            CHAPTER XXII.
+1844       A Child for Sale--Trial, &c. of Daniel                  232
+           O'Connell--General Tom Thumb: His Visit to the
+           Queen--The Polka--How to dance it--"Jullien's
+           Grand Polka"
+                            CHAPTER XXIII.
+           An English Dinner--Consols at Par--The "Running         245
+           Rein" Case--Other Frauds--Royal Visitors--Opening
+           Letters by Government--Duke of Wellington's
+           Statue--Barry on the Thames--Visit of Louis
+           Philippe--Guano--Queen opens Royal Exchange--Lord
+           Mayor Hissed
+                            CHAPTER XXIV.
+1845       Murder by Tawell--Curious Story--Statue of King         256
+           William IV.--Visits by the Queen--Testimonial to
+           Rowland Hill--Breaking the Portland Vase--Sad End
+           of William Austin--Sale of Van Amburgh's
+           Stud--Hungerford Suspension Bridge--Accident at
+           Yarmouth--An Excise Case--Beginning of the Railway
+           Mania--Sailing of Sir John Franklin
+                             CHAPTER XXV.
+           The Queen's Costume Ball--Copper Coinage of             267
+           William IV.--New Oxford Street opened--Sale of
+           Napoleon Relics--Story of Nelson's Coat--Visit of
+           the King of the Netherlands--Railway
+           Speculation--Hire of Newspapers--Reverse of
+           Fortune--Prince Albert and his Taxes--Waghorn's
+           Overland Route
+                            CHAPTER XXVI.
+           The Railway Mania--Deposit of Plans                     277
+                            CHAPTER XXVII.
+1846       Collapse of the Railway Mania--Sheriffs'                284
+           Officers--Hudson, the Railway King--First
+           "Ethiopian Serenaders"--The Nigger Minstrel
+           Craze--Commencement of Irish Famine--"The Battle
+           of the Gauges"--Railway Surveyors--Suicide of
+           Haydon, the Painter
+                           CHAPTER XXVIII.
+           The Last Post Office Bell-man--The "Corn Law"           296
+           Act--Sir Walter Scott's Monument--The Irish
+           Famine--The Duke of Wellington's Statue--Gun
+           Cotton--Introduction of Ether--Model Dwelling
+           Houses--Baths and Washhouses--Smithfield Cattle
+           Market--"The Bull Fight of Smithfield"--The first
+           Submarine Telegraph
+                            CHAPTER XXIX.
+1847       Medals for the Army and Navy--Grenville                 307
+           Library--Day of Fasting--"Binding of
+           Satan"--Suspension of Transportation--New House of
+           Lords--Jenny Lind--_Bunn v. Lind_--"Jenny
+           Linden"--Death of O'Connell--Story of the Duke of
+           Buccleugh--Abolition of Eton "Montem"
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+Susannah and the Elders                               (_Frontispiece_)
+Suggested Monument to the Marquis of Waterford                       7
+Spring-heeled Jack                                                  31
+Death of Sir William Courtenay (_Thom_)                             48
+"Child's Play"                                                      94
+The Eglinton Tournament                                            107
+The Mulready Envelope                                              131
+The Mulready Envelope (_H. B. Caricature_)                         132
+Rebecca and her Daughters                                          201
+"The Gent"                                                         216
+Prince Albert's Studio                                             223
+Nelson's Statue                                                    224
+M. Jullien                                                         229
+Prince Albert, the British Farmer                                  230
+"Repeal" Button                                                    233
+O'Connell's Cap                                                    234
+Tom Thumb                                                          236
+The Stage Polka (_Three Illustrations_)                            238
+The Drawing Room Polka (_Three Illustrations_)               240-41-42
+Barry, the Clown, on the Thames                                    252
+Railway Speculators                                                262
+The March of Speculation                                           276
+Deposit of Railway Plans                                           282
+Sheriffs' Officers                                                 288
+The Original Ethiopian Serenaders                                  289
+Lablache, Mario, and Tamburini                                     291
+The Last Post Office Bell-man                                      297
+Wonderful effects of Ether in a case of a                          302
+Scolding Wife
+The Bull Fight of Smithfield                                       303
+Eton "Montem" Costumes                                             314
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+                       [Picture: Decorative flower]
+
+The Queen's Accession--Proclamation--Funeral of the King--The Queen and
+social functions--Mr. Montefiore--Amusing letter--Electric
+telegraph--Knocker wrenching--Amusements of the young aristocracy.
+
+King William the Fourth was as sincerely fond of his niece, Alexandrina
+Victoria, as he cordially detested her mother, and he earnestly hoped
+that she might obtain her majority, which took place on the 24th of May,
+1837, before he died, for he had a horror of the Duchess of Kent having
+even the shadowy power of a Regent.  Greville, in his _Memoirs_, writing
+on 23rd of May, says: "The King prayed that he might live till the
+Princess Victoria was of age, and he was very nearly dying just as the
+event arrived.  He is better, but supposed to be in a very precarious
+state.  There has been a fresh squabble between Windsor and Kensington
+about a proposed allowance to the Princess."
+
+The old King lived but a very short time after the desired event, for he
+expired at 2.12 on the morning of the 20th of June, 1837, and how the sad
+news was broken to the young Sovereign may best be told in the words of
+that mine of anecdote, Miss Frances Williams Wynn, the daughter of Sir
+Watkin Williams Wynn (the fourth baronet):
+
+    "On Monday we were listening all day for the tolling of the bells,
+    watching whether the guests were going to the Waterloo dinner at
+    Apsley House.  On Tuesday, at 2.30 a.m., the scene closed, and in a
+    very short time the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham, the
+    Chamberlain, set out to announce the event to their young Sovereign.
+    They reached Kensington Palace at about five; they knocked, they
+    rang, they thumped for a considerable time before they could rouse
+    the porter at the gates; they were again kept waiting in the
+    courtyard, then turned into one of the lower rooms, where they seemed
+    forgotten by everybody.  They rang the bell, desiring that the
+    attendant of the Princess Victoria might be sent to inform H.R.H.
+    that they requested an audience on business of importance.  After
+    another delay, and another ringing to enquire the cause, the
+    attendant was summoned, who stated that the _Princess_ was in such a
+    sweet sleep, she could not venture to disturb her.  Then they said,
+    'We come to the _Queen_ on business of State, and even her sleep must
+    give way to that.'  It did; and, to prove that _she_ did not keep
+    them waiting, in a few minutes she came into the room in a loose
+    white night-gown and shawl, her nightcap thrown off, and her hair
+    falling upon her shoulders, her feet in slippers, tears in her eyes,
+    but perfectly collected and dignified."
+
+Lord Melbourne was summoned to Kensington Palace by the Queen at 9 a.m.,
+and a Privy Council was called for 11 a.m., but the notice was so short
+that several of the Privy Councillors had no time to put on their
+official costume, and were obliged to attend in undress.  Amongst others
+who made their appearance at Court in this novel fashion were the Duke of
+Cumberland (then, by the fact of the King's death, King of Hanover) and
+Lord Glenelg.
+
+The Queen was proclaimed the next day, but there is no need to detail the
+ceremony, as we have all experienced a similar scene lately.  The
+existing ministry was retained, and things settled down in their places,
+yet not quite all at once, for _The Western Luminary_, a paper long since
+defunct, says, "In one writ which came down to this city, a ludicrous
+mistake was made in the date, as follows: 'In the year of Our Lady 1837,'
+instead of 'Our Lord.'"  And the Royal Arms had to be altered from those
+borne by Her Majesty's five predecessors.  Being a female, they had to be
+borne on a lozenge, instead of a shield; the crest of a lion surmounting
+a crown was discontinued, as was also the escutcheon of pretence bearing
+the arms of Hanover, surmounted by the crown of that country.
+
+The preparations for the funeral of the late King were at once commenced;
+and, in connection therewith, I cannot help quoting from _The Times_'
+Windsor Correspondent (28 June): "In the platform erected for the
+interment of George IV., there were more than 70,000 superficial feet of
+boarding, and 49,000 feet of quartering.  The quantity of black cloth
+used for covering the floor of, and the roof over, amounted to more than
+10,000 yards.  I understand that, after the interment, it becomes the
+perquisite of the clergy of the chapel, as do, also, many of the
+decorative ornaments placed on, and suspended over, the coffin.  You
+will, perhaps, recollect what some people would willingly have you
+forget--I mean the squabbling which occurred respecting the velvet
+cushion upon which the coronet of the late Princess Charlotte rested at
+her funeral, and the scramble which took place for the real or supposed
+baton of the Duke of York, on the occasion of his burial.  Care was taken
+to prevent the occurrence of any such indecent proceedings at the funeral
+of George IV., and, hence, I do not anticipate any such scenes on the
+present occasion."
+
+The King was buried with great pomp on the night of the 8th of July, the
+Duke of Sussex being chief mourner, and Queen Adelaide occupying the
+Royal Closet.  At the close of the ceremony, the members of the
+procession, who were much fatigued by the toil they had undergone and by
+the sultry heat of the chapel, proceeded to quit as quickly and as
+quietly as possible, but nothing like order was observed in the return to
+the Palace.  In fact, it was, for a considerable time, a scene of
+indescribable confusion.  Arrangements had been made, by orders of the
+Earl Marshal, for the places at which the carriages of those who had to
+take part in the procession were to set down and take up; but, owing to
+the immense number of the carriages, the ignorance of many of the
+coachmen as to the prescribed regulations, and the obstinacy of others,
+the rules very soon became a dead letter, and every man seemed disposed
+to take his own way.  This, as might be expected, caused such confusion
+that it was long past midnight before anything like order was restored.
+There were smashed panels and broken windows in abundance, but no serious
+accidents were recorded.
+
+The Queen soon had plenty of business on her hands, and on 30th June she
+gave her assent to forty Bills, one of which (a remarkably short one),
+the 7 Gul., iv. and i. Vic., c. 23, enacted: "That from and after the
+passing of this Act, Judgment shall not be given and awarded against any
+Person or Persons convicted of any Offence that such Person or Persons do
+stand in, or upon the Pillory."  Owing to the recent change in
+Sovereigns, there were a few slips in "Her Majesty," and "La Reine le
+veult."  On the 13th July the Queen and her mother left Kensington Palace
+and took up their residence in Buckingham Palace.  On the 17th, the Queen
+dissolved Parliament in person, dressed in white satin, decorated with
+gold and jewels, wearing the Order of the Garter and a rich diadem and
+necklace of diamonds.  She bore the function remarkably well, although
+one evening paper said that "Her emotion was plainly discernible in the
+rapid heaving of her bosom, and the brilliancy of her diamond stomacher,
+which sparkled out occasionally from the dark recess in which the throne
+was placed, like the sun on the swell of the smooth ocean, as the billows
+rise and fall"!  On the 19th July she held her first levee, and on the
+20th her first drawing room.
+
+Having dutifully chronicled the doings of Royalty, let us do the same by
+meaner folk.  On 24th June, Mr. Moses Montefiore, the celebrated Jewish
+philanthropist, who lived over one hundred years, was elected Sheriff of
+London, and, on the 9th Nov. following, he received the honour of
+Knighthood.  He was the first Jew who ever served the office of Sheriff,
+or who had been made a Knight, in England.
+
+Of course, there were no Board Schools in those days, and education was
+somewhat lax, but it will do no harm to note a piece of orthography,
+which will show the standard at which the middle lower class had then
+arrived.  It is copied from _The Times_ of 29 June, 1837.  "(_From an
+Evening Paper_)--Last autumn, Mrs. C---, of London, during a visit to ---
+House, in the West of Scotland, called one day, along with some other
+ladies, in the family carriage, at the Golden Arms Inn, of a sea bathing
+place on the coast, and stopped for about an hour.  Some time after the
+party had returned to D--- House, Mrs. C--- discovered that she had lost
+a very fine boa, which she supposed she must have left at the Inn.  On
+enquiry, no trace of the boa could be found; but, about two months after
+Mrs. C---'s return to London, she received a parcel with a boa somewhat
+torn, accompanied by the accompanying (_sic_) epistle, which we give as
+rather a curiosity of its kind:--
+
+                                          "Golden Arms Inn--29 Oct., 1836.
+
+    "Mrs. C---, London,
+
+    "MADUM,--I was sorry to heer that when you lost your Bowa in my huse,
+    that the Bowa was stole by my sarvant lasses; and the sarvants at
+    D--- House spred a report against my huses karakter, which no person
+    ever questioned afore.  My wiffe, Peggy, was muckle vexed at the
+    report, and sershed the trunks of all the lasses, but did not find
+    your Bowa; she fund in Jenny McTavish's kist half a pund of tea which
+    Jenny had stole from my wiffes cupboard.  Jenny denied taking your
+    Bowa; but not doubting that you would tell a lee, and as Jenny tuke
+    the tea, my wife thocht she must have taken your Bowa too, so I
+    turned off Jeny for your satisfaction.  She went home to her mithers
+    house in ---, and four Sundays after, wha should be cocken in the
+    breist of the laft, all set round with ribbons in her heed, but Miss
+    Jeny with your Bowa on her shoulders, like a sow with a saddle on its
+    back.  I stopped her coming out of the kirk.  So So, Miss Jeny (says
+    I) hae ye stumped the cow of her tale, or is this the ladies Bowa ye
+    have on your sholders?  The brazen faced woman had the impudence to
+    deny the Bowa was yours, and said her sweetheart had bot it for her
+    in a secondhand shop in the Salt Market of Glasgow.  But I cut
+    matters short wi' Jeny; I een, as if by your authority, tuke the law
+    in my own hand, and tore the Bowa from her sholders; it was torn a
+    little in the scuffle wi' Jeny and me afore the congregation in the
+    kirk yard, but I carried it off in spite of her, and now send it to
+    you, hopping you will put a letter in the newspaper of Lundon
+    cleering the karacter of me and my wiffe Peggy, and my Inn of the
+    Golden Arms.  As for Miss Jeny ye may mak her as black as auld nick,
+    for over and above Peggies half pund of tea, and your Bowa, Jeny (I
+    hae good reason to believe) is no better than she should be.  I am,
+    Madum, your vera humbel sarvint,
+
+                                                               "John ---."
+
+It will hardly be credited that at the commencement of 1837 there was
+only one railway running out of London, and that was the Greenwich
+railway, which, however, only went as far as Deptford, where it deposited
+its passengers in the midst of market gardens, leaving them to walk or
+ride to Greenwich.  But there were several running in the midlands (six
+railways in all England), and what was then called "The Grand Junction
+Railway," from Liverpool to Birmingham, was opened on the 4th July of
+this year.  Cognate with railways is the practical working of the
+Electric Telegraph, now so necessary to their being.  On 12 June, 1837, a
+patent was granted (No. 7390) to William Fothergill Cooke, of Breeds
+Place, Hastings, and Charles Wheatstone, of Conduit Street, Hanover
+Square, for their invention of "Improvements in giving signals and
+sounding alarums at distant places by means of electric currents
+transmitted through metallic circuits."  This hitherto scientific toy was
+first tried on 25 July by permission of the London and North Western
+Railway (then in progress) between Euston and Camden Town stations, and
+its successful operation was witnessed with delight by Fox and R.
+Stephenson, amongst many others.
+
+A great feature in this year was the "Tom and Jerryism" (so called from
+Pierce Egan's "Life in London," 1821) that existed, especially among the
+upper class of young men.  Foremost of all was the Marquis of Waterford,
+whose delight was in the company of prize fighters, _et hoc genus omne_,
+and whose idea of amusement consisted in visiting the lowest public
+houses, and treating everybody with liquor, even pails full of gin being
+distributed to whoever would partake of it--being never so happy as when
+the debauch ended in a fight.  Knocker wrenching and similar pranks were
+his delight, and _Punch_, at the very commencement of vol. i., gives a
+suggestion for a monument to him.  His pranks would fill a volume, and in
+August of this year (during a yachting trip), whilst at Bergen, he
+received a blow on the head from a stalwart watchman that nearly killed
+him.
+
+              [Picture: Punch, vol. I., p. 14.  July, 1841]
+
+Here is a specimen police case.  _Times_, 10 _July_, 1837:
+
+    BOW STREET.--On Saturday (8th July) three persons were brought before
+    Mr. Minshull, charged with twisting knockers off hall doors,
+    assaulting the police, and other disorderly conduct; and, it having
+    been rumoured that one of the parties charged was the Marquis of
+    Waterford, a great crowd of persons assembled in front of the Office
+    to catch a glimpse of his Lordship.  It proved, however, that the
+    gentleman alluded to was not the noble Marquis himself, but his
+    brother, Lord William Beresford, who gave the name of Charles
+    Ferguson.  Two other persons were placed in the dock besides his
+    Lordship, one of whom gave the name of Edward Hammersley, of 41, St.
+    James's Street, and the other, who was equipped in the garb of a
+    waterman, said his name was George Elliott, and that he was his
+    Lordship's coxswain.
+
+    William Dodds, a police constable of the E division, No. 9, then
+    stated that he was on duty in Museum Street, between 1 and 2, on the
+    previous night, when he saw the two gentlemen at the bar go up to the
+    house, No. 49, and wrench the knocker from the door.  Witness
+    expostulated with them, and, seeing another knocker in the hand of
+    the prisoner Elliott, he took him by the collar, upon which the
+    prisoner Hammersley dropped the knocker which he had just carried
+    off.  The prisoner Ferguson then came up, and said, "It's all right,
+    old boy," and offered him money, which witness refused to take.  The
+    two gentlemen then ran away, but were soon apprehended, witness still
+    retaining hold of Elliott.  They were then conveyed to the police
+    station, where Ferguson refused to be searched, declaring that he
+    would not submit to such a rascally degradation, and, having said so,
+    he struck witness.  The prisoners were then locked up.
+
+    Mr. William Gibson, of 49, Museum Street, proved that one of the
+    knockers produced belonged to him, and had been wrenched off his
+    street door.
+
+    Ferguson, in his defence, said he had been up the river on a boating
+    excursion, and had taken "rather too much wine."  The other two
+    prisoners also pleaded having taken a drop too much.
+
+    Mr. Minshull observed that there were two charges against Ferguson,
+    whom he should consider as the principal offender, and should fine
+    him 5 pounds for unlawful possession of one of the knockers, and 5
+    pounds for assaulting the police constable in the execution of his
+    duty.  He should not fine the other two.
+
+    Ferguson said he had no objection to pay 5 pounds for the knocker,
+    but, as he denied the assault, he should appeal against the fine.
+
+    Mr. Minshull informed him that there was no appeal in the case, but
+    he intimated that Mr. Ferguson might go to prison, if he pleased,
+    instead of paying the fine.
+
+    Ferguson: Oh, there's no occasion for that; I shall pay the fine.
+
+    Mr. Minshull then desired him to come round in front of the bench,
+    and said to him: "I dare say, Sir, you have money enough at your
+    disposal, but I pray you not to entertain the notion that you can
+    therefore do as you think fit in the streets of this metropolis,
+    either by night, or by day.  You were brought before me, recently,
+    for a similar offence, when I fined you 5 pounds, and I now warn you,
+    that if you should again appear before me, under circumstances like
+    the present, I shall, most assuredly, feel it to be my duty, not to
+    inflict a pecuniary fine upon you--for that is no punishment to a
+    person in your station--but I shall send you, at once, as I am
+    authorized to do, to hard labour in the House of Correction, and you
+    will then see that neither rank, nor riches, can entitle you to the
+    privilege of committing depredations upon the property of peaceable
+    and industrious persons, or of disturbing the peace and quiet of this
+    town with impunity."
+
+The noble Lord was then handed over to the custody of the gaoler, and his
+two companions were discharged.  It appeared that he had not sufficient
+money about him to pay the fines, but his brother, the Marquis of
+Waterford, after visiting him in "durance vile," released him from his
+ignoble captivity by paying the fines.
+
+On the same day, his brother, Lord James Beresford, was arrested for
+disgusting behaviour, and two "young men of genteel appearance," who gave
+false names, were taken in custody by the police for maliciously
+upsetting a shell-fish stall.
+
+One more illustration of the amusements and behaviour of the _jeunesse
+doree_ of that period will suffice.  _Times_, 25 _Nov._
+
+    MARLBOROUGH STREET.--Lord Harley, of Chester Place, Capt. W. E.
+    Reynolds, of Jermyn Street, and Mr. Charles Lushington, of Tavistock
+    Hotel, were on Thursday (23 Nov.) brought before Mr. Chambers,
+    charged with having practised the fashionable amusement of ringing
+    door bells.
+
+    Mr. Young, surgeon, Piccadilly, said, about 5 o'clock that morning he
+    was roused by a violent ringing at his bell.  He answered the summons
+    immediately.
+
+    Capt. Reynolds: It's a --- lie.  You have committed perjury.
+
+    Mr. Lushington (to the complainant): You are a --- liar.  The fact
+    is, I hurt my fingers and wanted some diachylum plaister, and I
+    therefore rang the bell of the first surgeon I came to.  This is the
+    truth.  So help me, God.
+
+    Mr. Young continued: When he got to the door, he found that all the
+    three defendants had gone away; and he immediately followed them, and
+    demanded their reason for disturbing him.  The defendants turned upon
+    him, and made use of language and epithets which he would not pollute
+    his lips by repeating.
+
+    Capt. Reynolds (shaking his stick at the witness): I wish I had you
+    elsewhere.
+
+    Mr. Lushington: I'd roll you in the kennel, if it was worth while.
+
+    Mr. Young continued: The altercation attracted the notice of the
+    police, and witness gave them into custody.  When they got to the
+    station house, and witness was proceeding to make the charge, the
+    defendants repeated their disgusting epithets and language.
+
+    It is impossible to do more than to remark that the language was of a
+    description hitherto presumed to be confined to the vilest class of
+    the community.
+
+    Mr. Young added that all the defendants appeared to be intoxicated.
+
+    Lord Harley: I beg pardon, I was sober.
+
+    Inspector Beresford was sworn to the fact.
+
+    Inspector: His Lordship was more intoxicated than the others.
+
+    Mr. Lushington (falling on his knees, and holding up his hands): I
+    was not drunk this night--so help me, C---t.
+
+    The Inspector swore that none of the defendants were sober.
+
+    Mr. Lushington: The case shall be carried to a higher court.
+
+    Mr. Chambers: Then, to give you an opportunity of taking your case
+    elsewhere, I shall make you all find bail; and Mr. Young, if he
+    pleases, may prefer an indictment against you.
+
+    Mr. Chambers asked Mr. Lushington if he was a relative of Dr.
+    Lushington, {10} and received a reply in the affirmative.
+
+    Capt. Reynolds said, if his language had been offensive towards the
+    bench, he was sorry for having used it.
+
+    Mr. Chambers said, personally, he was indifferent to the language
+    used to him.
+
+    The parties having left the box, Mr. Young told Mr. Chambers that he
+    had no wish to press the case further.  He wished an arrangement
+    could be made, so that the bench could decide the matter summarily.
+
+    The defendants were acquainted with this very handsome conduct on the
+    part of the complainant, and, after some discussion, Capt. Reynolds
+    and Mr. Lushington agreed to pay 5 pounds each to a charity.
+
+    Lord Harley was fined 5/- for being intoxicated.
+
+    When Mr. Chambers was inflicting the latter fine, he said to Lord
+    Harley that he hoped he would exert his influence, if he had any,
+    with some members of the Legislature, to get the fine for drunkenness
+    increased to 1 pound where the party was a gentleman.
+
+    The defendants paid the fines, and went away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Thames Tunnel flooded--First mention of the Nelson
+column--Moustaches--Sale of the King's stud--Marriage by
+Registrar--Commencement of New Houses of Parliament--Lunatics and the
+Queen--The Queen's visit to the Guildhall--Lord Beaconsfield's maiden
+speech.
+
+Nowadays very little is thought of making a tunnel under the Thames, but
+the first one, designed and carried out by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, was
+regarded, and rightly so, as a most wonderful feat of engineering.  One
+was proposed in 1799, and a shaft was sunk in 1804, but the work went no
+further.  The one now spoken of was approved by Act of Parliament 24
+June, 1824, and the shaft was begun and the first brick laid on 2 March,
+1825.  It suffered several times from irruptions of water; one, on 18
+May, 1827; another, in which six lives were lost, on 12 Jan. 1828.  In
+1837 there were two irruptions, the first taking place on 23 August, and
+it is thus described by one of Brunel's assistants: "We were at work
+about two o'clock on Wednesday, when we found the water coming in faster
+than usual.  At first, we observed a quantity of loose sand falling near
+the gallery, which changed to thin, muddy drops.  This convinced us that
+the _stratum_ in which the men were working was bad, loose soil.  The
+increase of water made it necessary to withdraw the men, which was done
+by a passage under the crown of the arch, made for their safety in case
+of accidents.  No injury was sustained by any of the men.  I was not
+satisfied, at the time, of the real extent of the bad soil, and I ordered
+a boat to be brought, with a rope of sufficient length to enable us to
+float to the shield.  The boat was brought, but the rope attached to it,
+and by which we were to be hauled into the shaft, was shorter than we had
+ordered it.  This deficiency probably saved our lives.  We had not
+proceeded far in the boat when I perceived, by the twinkling of the
+lights in the tunnel, and other indications of inundation, that the
+waters came in with increased rapidity.  I then gave the signal to be
+hauled into the shaft, and had scarcely done so when I observed the
+ground above give way, and the water descending in a thousand streams,
+like a cascade, or the Falls of Niagara.  We were rescued, but, had the
+rope by which we were relieved from our perilous situation been of a
+length to allow the boat to go to the extremity of the tunnel, in all
+probability we should have been drowned.  This happened about four
+o'clock, and, soon after five, the tunnel was entirely filled.  No lives
+were lost.  The only injury done is the suspension of the works.  The
+steam engine, when the leak is stopped, will throw out a ton of water per
+minute; and, in three days and nights, the whole of the tunnel may be
+pumped dry."
+
+The second irruption, on 3 Nov., also filled the Tunnel, but on this
+occasion one man lost his life.
+
+In the _Times_ of 9 Sep. of this year I find the first suggestion of a
+monument to Nelson, in Trafalgar Square:
+
+    "Sir, I observe in your paper of Tuesday last, that a correspondent
+    has commented upon the proposed plan for laying out Trafalgar Square.
+
+    "Allow me to suggest through your columns the favourable opportunity
+    and most appropriate situation, now afforded, of erecting in the
+    centre of the Square some worthy trophy, or statue, commemorating the
+    glorious victories of the immortal Nelson.  Whilst other great
+    commanders and statesmen are honoured with suitable public monuments
+    to their fame, surely the British nation would be eager, if called
+    on, to pay this tribute to the valour, intrepidity and success of
+    this illustrious hero.  Yours, etc.--J. B."
+
+In those days every man went clean shaven, or only had side whiskers, a
+full beard being unknown, and moustaches were confined to foreigners and
+to a few cavalry regiments, so that for a working man to sport them
+(although now so exceedingly common) would probably lead to derision and
+persecution, as in the following police case reported in the _Times_ of
+21 Sep.:
+
+    MARLBOROUGH STREET.--Yesterday, a young man, "bearded like the pard,"
+    who said he was a carpenter employed on the London and Birmingham
+    Railroad, applied to Mr. Rawlinson, the sitting magistrate, for an
+    assault warrant, under the following ludicrous circumstances:
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: What do you want the warrant for?
+
+    Applicant: I'll tell your worship, and you'll say it's the most
+    haggrawating and provoking thing as ever was heard on.  Veil, then, I
+    goes to my vork, as usual, this 'ere morning, ven one of my shopmates
+    said to me, "Bill, you arn't shaved your hupper lip lately."  "Don't
+    mean it," says I.  "Vy?" says he.  "'Cos," I replied, "I intends
+    vearing mustachios to look like a gentleman."  "Vell, then," says he,
+    "as you intends to become a fashionable gentleman, p'raps you'll have
+    no objection to forfeit half-a-gallon of ale, as it's a rule here
+    that every workman vot sports mustachios, to have them vetted a bit."
+    Veil, has I refused to have my mustachios christened, they made game
+    of them, and said they weren't half fledged; and, more nor all that,
+    they hustled me about, and stole my dinner out of the pot, and
+    treated me shameful, and so I want your advice respecting my
+    mustachios.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: My advice is, to go to a barber and have them shaved
+    off without loss of time.
+
+    Applicant: Can't part with a single hair.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: You want to look like a grenadier, I suppose?
+
+    Applicant: My granny-dear (God bless her old soul!), she never had
+    such a fashionable and warlike appendage in her life.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: What business has a carpenter with a quantity of long
+    hair hanging from his lip?
+
+    Applicant: The reason vy I vears it is 'cos it's fashionable, and
+    makes me look like a man of some courage.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: Fashionable, indeed!  I wish, with all my heart, that
+    the fashion was discontinued.  Why need an Englishman make a Jew of
+    himself?  It is disgusting to see persons strutting through the
+    streets with mustachios, and, sometimes, a fringe of hair round the
+    face and chin, which is dignified by the name of whiskers.  As you
+    won't take my advice, I can't assist you.
+
+    Applicant: Vot! not for striking me on the hupper lip?
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: Then your mustachios must have saved you.
+
+    Applicant: No, they didn't.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: How's that?
+
+    Applicant: 'Cos the hair ain't long and thick enough; they're only
+    young 'uns as yet.  There was no occasion to strike me.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: And there's no occasion for you to wear mustachios.
+    You may have a warrant, if you like, but I think you had better not.
+
+    The man with mustachios then withdrew.
+
+The late King's stud at Hampton was doomed to be sold, and the sale
+thereof created something of a sensation.  On this subject there is, in a
+little twopenny weekly magazine, called _The Torch_, 9 Sep., '37 (vol.
+i., p. 19), a periodical now long forgotten, a poem by Tom Hood, which I
+have not seen in any collection of his poems.  It is a
+
+
+
+PETITION TO HER MAJESTY FOR PRESERVING THE ROYAL STUD AT HAMPTON COURT.
+
+
+                             BY THOMAS HOOD.
+
+                                      I.
+
+    LIEGE LADY, all the nation's in high dud-
+       geon that Lord Melbourne's brains should be so muddy
+    As to advise you sell your royal _stud_,
+       Which to preserve, should be your royal study.
+
+                                     II.
+
+    Poor nags you would not in your stable find,
+       Like cavalry of Evans called De Lacey,
+    No!  I do rather hope your royal mind
+       Is naturally fond of something racy.
+
+                                     III.
+
+    Pray, what has Hampton done that you should trounce ill-
+       naturedly its prancers and its sport?
+    You have a breed of _asses_ in the _Council_,
+       Do keep a breed of _horses_ in the _Court_.
+
+                                     IV.
+
+    His truth who says that you should sell them, fails.
+       Believe me, Lady liege, he tells a crammer;
+    You'll set your people biting all their _nails_,
+       If you put up your horses to the _hammer_.
+
+                                      V.
+
+    I like these money-turning Whigs, indeed;
+       Who, into coin, change everything they're able.
+    You're just installed, and they would sell _the steed_,
+       It doesn't make me think they're very _stable_.
+
+                                     VI.
+
+    I daresay they believe they're very knowing,
+       I think they're close to their official shelves:
+    And, when they set the horses "Going, going,"
+       It's nearly time they should be gone themselves.
+
+                                     VII.
+
+    The nation quite in Hampton Court rejoices,
+       What! sell its stud of steeds beyond all praise!
+    _Nay_, shout the people with indignant voices,
+       And the stud echoes with a hundred _neighs_.
+
+                                    VIII.
+
+    Then sell them not, dear lady, I implore ye;
+       Of tears 'twill set your people shedding floods;--
+    I tell ye what will make 'em all adore ye,--
+       Kick out your ministers and keep your bloods!
+
+But Hood must have laboured under a misapprehension, for the horses were
+the private property of the late King, and his executors had no option
+but to sell them.  It was said that William IV. in his lifetime wished
+the country to take the stud over, at a valuation, and, after his death,
+it was offered to Queen Victoria for 16,000 pounds.  The sale took place
+on Oct. 25, and there were 80 lots, which did not fetch particularly high
+prices, the highest being "The Colonel," who was bought, after winning
+the St. Leger, by George IV. for 4,000 guineas; but the horse broke down
+after running a dead heat at Ascot in 1831.  He only realised 1,150
+guineas, and was bought by the auctioneer, Mr. Tattersall.  The next
+highest price given was for "Actaeon," which fetched 920 guineas.  The
+total proceeds of the sale was 15,692 guineas.
+
+In October a great change was made in the matter of marriage, which had,
+hitherto, been a purely ecclesiastical affair, but by the 6 & 7 Gul. iv.,
+cap. 85, Registrars of births and deaths were empowered to marry couples,
+and it became a purely civil contract.  This Act was to have come into
+force on the first day of March; but a subsequent Act postponed it to the
+last day of June, and it really only became effective in October.  It
+surprised people by its simplicity, and the gist of the Act is in Section
+xx.: "And be it enacted, That after the expiration of the said Period of
+Twenty-one Days or of Seven Days, if the Marriage is by Licence,
+Marriages may be solemnized in the registered Building stated as
+aforesaid in the notice of such Marriage, between and by the Parties
+described in the Notice and Certificate, according to such form and
+ceremony as they may see fit to adopt: Provided nevertheless, that every
+such Marriage shall be solemnized with open doors, between the Hours of
+Eight and Twelve in the Forenoon, in the Presence of some Registrar of
+the District in which such registered Building is situated, and of Two,
+or more, credible Witnesses; provided also, that in some Part of the
+Ceremony, and in the Presence of such Registrar and Witnesses, each of
+the Parties shall declare:
+
+"'I do solemnly declare, That I know not of any lawful Impediment why I,
+A. B., may not be joined in Matrimony to C. D.'
+
+"And each of the Parties shall say to the other:
+
+"'I call upon these Persons here present to witness that I, A. B., do
+take thee, C. D., to be my lawful wedded Wife [or Husband].'
+
+"Provided also, that there be no lawful Impediment to the Marriage of
+such Parties."
+
+The old House of Commons was destroyed by fire on 16 Oct., 1834, and it
+was not until September, 1837, that the first contracts for the
+commencement of the construction of the new works, in connection with the
+present building, were entered into.  They were for the formation of an
+embankment 886 feet in length, projecting into the river 98 feet further
+than that then existing, to be faced with granite, and a terrace 673 feet
+long next the river, and 35 feet wide, in front of the new Houses, with
+an esplanade at each end 100 feet square, with landing stairs from the
+river 12 feet wide.  The whole surface of the front building was to be
+excavated, and filled in with concrete 12 feet thick, thus forming a
+permanent and solid foundation for the superstructure.  Towards the end
+of this year, the Queen was somewhat pestered with lunatics.  On Nov. 4,
+as she was going through Birdcage Walk on her return from Brighton, a man
+of respectable appearance went near the Queen's carriage, held up his
+fist, and made use of most insulting language towards Her Majesty and the
+Duchess of Kent, declaring that the Queen was an usurper, and he would
+have her off her Throne before a week was out.  He was afterwards
+arrested, and turned out to be Mr. John Goode, a gentleman of large
+property in Devonshire, who had been previously in custody on 24th of May
+(Her Majesty's birthday) for creating a disturbance and forcibly entering
+the enclosure of Kensington Palace.  He was taken before the Privy
+Council, and when examined, declared that he was a son of George IV. and
+Queen Caroline, born at Montague House, Blackheath, and that, if he could
+but get hold of the Queen, he would tear her in pieces.  He was told to
+find bail, himself in 1,000 pounds, and two sureties of 500 pounds each;
+but these not being forthcoming, he was sent to prison.  On entering the
+hackney coach, he instantly smashed the windows with his elbows, and
+screamed out to the sentinels: "Guards of England, do your duty, and
+rescue your Sovereign."  He was, after a very short imprisonment,
+confined in a lunatic asylum.
+
+The other case was a German baker, but he only uttered threats against
+the Queen and her mother, and he, too, was put in an asylum.
+
+A great event, and a very grand sight, was the Queen's visit to the City
+of London on 9 Nov., when Alderman Cowan inaugurated his mayoralty.  The
+Queen went in State, attended by all her Court, her Ministers, the
+Judges, etc.  The procession started from Buckingham Palace soon after 2
+p.m. and reached Guildhall about 3.30.
+
+The interior of the Guildhall was "exceeding magnifical."  There was a
+canopy of carved gilt, with draperies of crimson velvet and gold fringe
+and tassels, its interior, being also of crimson velvet, was relieved by
+ornaments in silver and a radiated oval of white satin with golden rays.
+The back was fluted in white satin, enriched with the Royal Arms in
+burnished gold.  The State chair was covered with crimson velvet with the
+Royal Arms and Crown, with the rose, thistle and shamrock tastefully
+interwoven.
+
+At each end of the Hall, the walls were covered with immense plates of
+looking-glass.  The window at the eastern end of the Hall, above the
+throne, having been removed, a gigantic wooden framework was substituted,
+on which was erected a gorgeous piece of gas illumination.  Above the
+mouldings of the windows, and over the City Arms, waved the Royal
+Standard and the Union Jack.  Above was the Royal cypher, V.R., in very
+large characters, surmounted by the appropriate word "Welcome," the whole
+being encircled by an immense wreath of laurels, which terminated, at the
+lower extremity of the framework, with the rose, thistle and shamrock.
+Over the clock at the western end, and reaching nearly the whole breadth
+of the Hall, with Gog and Magog on the right and left, was placed an
+immense stack of armour, with upwards of 30 furled flags as an
+appropriate background.  Immediately above was the magnificently radiated
+star of the Order of the Garter, surrounded by crimson drapery, and the
+scroll "God save the Queen" entirely composed of cut glass, which, when
+lit up, seemed, literally, one continued blaze of diamonds.  The whole
+was surmounted by the imperial crown and wreaths of laurel, intermingled
+with the rose, thistle and shamrock, covering the entire outline of the
+window.  Where, formerly, was the musicians' gallery, on the opposite
+side, was occupied by three stacks of armour; complete coats of mail
+were, likewise, suspended in other parts of the Hall; two knights in
+complete armour guarded the entrance of the Hall and Council Chamber,
+which latter was fitted up for the Queen's reception room, and hung
+throughout with crimson fluted cloth, finished with gold mouldings and
+festoons of red and white flowers.  Upon a platform stood a chair of
+state, splendidly gilt and covered with crimson velvet, and there was no
+other chair nor seat of any kind in the apartment.  The Queen's
+retiring-room was the Aldermen's Court, and was superbly decorated,
+having a magnificent toilet table covered with white satin, embroidered
+with the initials V.R., a crown and wreath in gold, and looped with gold
+silk rope and tassels.
+
+After the Queen's arrival at the Guildhall, and having spent some little
+time on her toilet, her Majesty was conducted to the Council Chamber,
+where--seated on her throne, and surrounded by Royal Dukes and Duchesses,
+etc.--she listened to a dutiful address read by the Recorder, and, at its
+conclusion, she was graciously pleased to order letters patent to be made
+out conferring a baronetcy on the Lord Mayor and knighthood on the two
+Sheriffs, John Carroll and Moses Montefiore, Esquires, the latter, as
+before mentioned, being the first Jew who had received that honour.
+
+At 20 minutes past 5 the Queen entered the Hall, in which was the
+banquet, wearing a rich pink satin dress, ornamented with gold and
+silver, a splendid pearl necklace, diamond earrings, and a tiara of
+diamonds.  She occupied the centre of the Royal table, having on her
+right the Duke of Sussex, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of
+Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sutherland; and
+on her left, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Kent, the Princess
+Augusta of Cambridge and the Countess of Mulgrave.  As a specimen of the
+magnificence of this banquet, it may be mentioned that at the Royal table
+the whole of the service was of gold, as were the candelabra, epergnes,
+soup tureens, cellarets, etc.; one firm furnished gold plate for the
+Queen's table and sideboard to the value of 115,000 pounds, and another
+firm nearly the same amount, whilst the value of plate lent by various
+gentlemen was assessed at 400,000 pounds, besides which there was the
+Civic plate.  The china dessert plates at the Queen's table cost 10
+guineas each, and all the glass decanters and china were specially made
+for the occasion.
+
+At 20 minutes past 8, the Queen left the Hall, and in her retiring room
+was served with tea from a splendid gold service made for the occasion,
+and she reached Buckingham Palace about half-past 9--highly delighted
+with her entertainment.
+
+There is nothing more of interest in this year, if we except the maiden
+speech of Lord Beaconsfield, in the House of Commons, which took place on
+7th Dec.  Mr. Disraeli (as he then was) had the disadvantage of following
+O'Connell, in a noisy debate on the legality of the Irish Election
+Petition Fund.  He was not listened to from the first, and, in the middle
+of his speech, as reported by _Hansard_, after begging the House to give
+him five minutes, he said: "He stood there to-night, not formally, but,
+in some degree, virtually, as the representative of a considerable number
+of Members of Parliament (_laughter_).  Now, why smile?  Why envy him?
+Why not let him enjoy that reflection, if only for one night?"  All
+through his speech he was interrupted, and this is its close, as reported
+in _Hansard_.  "When they recollected the 'new loves' and the 'old loves'
+in which so much passion and recrimination was mixed up between the noble
+Tityrus of the Treasury Bench, and the learned Daphne of Liskeard--(_loud
+laughter_)--notwithstanding the _amantium ira_ had resulted, as he always
+expected, in the _amoris integratio_--(_renewed
+laughter_)--notwithstanding that political duel had been fought, in which
+more than one shot was interchanged, but in which recourse was had to the
+secure arbitrament of blank cartridges--(_laughter_)--notwithstanding
+emancipated Ireland and enslaved England, the noble lord might wave in
+one hand the keys of St. Peter, and in the other--(_the shouts that
+followed drowned the conclusion of the sentence_).  Let them see the
+philosophical prejudice of Man.  He would, certainly, gladly hear a cheer
+from the lips of a popular opponent.  He was not at all surprised at the
+reception which he had experienced.  He had begun several things many
+times, and he had often succeeded at last.  He would sit down now, but
+the time would come when they would hear him.  (_The impatience of the
+House would not allow the hon. member to finish his speech_; _and during
+the greater part of the time the hon. member was on his legs_, _he was so
+much interrupted that it was impossible to hear what the hon. member
+said_)."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+Destruction of Royal Exchange--Sale of the salvage--Spring-heeled Jack
+and his pranks--Lord John Russell's hat.
+
+As a sad pendant to the Civic festivities at the close of 1837 comes the
+destruction by fire of the Royal Exchange on the night of the 10th of
+January following.
+
+It was first noticed a little after 10 p.m., when flames were observed in
+Lloyd's Coffee Room in the north-east corner of the building, opposite
+the Bank, the firemen of which establishment were soon on the spot, as
+well as many other of the metropolitan engines.  But, before any water
+could be thrown upon the building, it was necessary to thaw the hose and
+works of the engines by pouring hot water upon them, as the frost was so
+very severe; so that, by 11 p.m., all Lloyd's was a mass of flame.
+Nothing could be done to stop the conflagration, it having got too great
+a hold, and great fears were entertained that it would spread to the Bank
+and surrounding buildings, the which, however, was fortunately prevented.
+The Lord Mayor was present, and a large body of soldiers from the Tower
+assisted the Police in keeping the crowd away from the immediate scene.
+
+It must have been a magnificent sight, and somewhat curious, for amidst
+the roar of the flames, and until the chiming apparatus was destroyed,
+and the bells dropped one by one, the chimes went on pealing "There's nae
+luck about the house," {23} "Life let us cherish," and "God save the
+Queen."  The fire was not completely got under until noon the next day,
+but, practically, the building was destroyed by 5 am., and, so bright was
+the conflagration, that it was visible at Windsor--twenty-four miles off,
+and at Theydon, in Essex, a distance of eighteen miles; whilst from the
+heights of Surrey on the south, and Highgate and Hampstead on the north,
+the progress of the fire was watched by crowds of people.
+
+The following account of the Exchange after the fire is taken from the
+_Times_ of 13 Jan.:
+
+    "Yesterday afternoon the ruins of the Exchange were sufficiently
+    cooled to allow the firemen and a party of gentlemen, amongst whom we
+    noticed the Lord Mayor, Mr. Alderman Copeland, several members of the
+    Gresham Committee, and other persons connected with the mercantile
+    interest, to inspect them.  In consequence of the loose fragments of
+    stone work belonging to the balustrades and ornamental parts of the
+    building being covered over with ice, the difficulty of walking over
+    the ruins was very great, and the chief magistrate fell more than
+    once, receiving sundry bumps.  The lofty chimnies standing appeared
+    to be in such a dangerous condition, that they were hauled down with
+    ropes, to prevent their falling on the people below.  The iron chests
+    belonging to the Royal Exchange Assurance Company could be distinctly
+    seen, from the area, inserted in the walls.  Ladders were raised, and
+    they were opened, when it was discovered that their contents,
+    consisting of deeds and other papers connected with the Company and
+    their insurances, were uninjured.  This afforded much satisfaction to
+    the directors.  Another iron safe, belonging to Mr. Hathway, whose
+    office, under the tower, was consumed, which was also in a recess in
+    the wall, was opened at the same time, and a considerable sum in
+    francs and bank-notes was taken out.
+
+    "The walls of the west wing of the building, which seemed to bulge
+    outward, were shored up in the afternoon, and they are not, now,
+    likely to fall.  Cornhill presented a most desolate appearance, the
+    shops, from Finch Lane to the termination of the street near the
+    Mansion House, were all closed, and the place presented a deserted
+    and desolated appearance; which, contrasted with the bustle hitherto
+    observed during business hours, and the sight of the ruins, forced
+    very unpleasant reflections on the mind.  Barriers were placed at the
+    Mansion House end of Cornhill, and across that part of the street
+    between Finch and Birchin Lanes, and no person was allowed to pass
+    except the firemen and persons on business.  All the avenues leading
+    to Cornhill were also blocked up in like manner; and, at each
+    barrier, police officers and ward constables were placed to prevent
+    people passing.  Various schemes were devised, by numerous
+    individuals, to pass these barriers, and sums were, occasionally,
+    offered to the police to be allowed to visit the ruins, but without
+    effect.  The City police kept the thieves away by their presence and
+    activity, and the conduct of the people was, yesterday, very quiet,
+    forming a contrast with the disorder got up by the swell mob on
+    Thursday last.  Those who viewed the ruins at a distance appeared to
+    wear an air of melancholy, and no fire has occurred, for centuries,
+    which has caused more universal regret.
+
+    "On searching the ruins under the Lord Mayor's Court Office, the
+    great City seal was picked up, with two bags, containing 200 pounds
+    in gold, uninjured.  On this discovery being communicated to the Lord
+    Mayor and Aldermen, it caused much gratification, it having been
+    rumoured that the Corporation would lose their Charter by the loss of
+    the seal, but we did not hear it explained how this could be.
+
+    "Owing to the great body of fire underneath the ruins at the
+    north-east angle of the Exchange, it was impossible for the firemen
+    to ascertain, until a late hour, whether any injury had been done to
+    Lloyd's books, which were deposited in a large iron safe inserted in
+    the wall.  Two engines had been playing on it during the latter
+    portion of the day.  In the presence of several of the Committee it
+    was opened, when it was discovered that the fire had reached the
+    books, and partially consumed them.  In the drawers were cheques on
+    the Bank of England to a large amount, and also Bank of England notes
+    to the amount of, it is said, 2,560 pounds.  The notes were reduced
+    to a cinder, and, on the drawers being opened, the air rushing in on
+    the tender fragments blew them over the Exchange.  They were,
+    however, very carefully collected, and the cinders of the notes were,
+    with much trouble and caution, put into a tin case, which was taken
+    to the Bank, and the words 'Bank of England,' with the numbers and
+    dates, were distinctly traced.  The amount will, in consequence, be
+    paid to the owners.  From what information could be obtained from the
+    gentlemen who took possession of the box, and who were understood to
+    be underwriters, it was the usual custom of the secretary not to
+    leave any money or notes in the safe, but to deposit the money in the
+    Bank, which was done on the evening the fire took place.  The money
+    and notes above mentioned, and which were found in the safe, belonged
+    to a subscriber who, on the afternoon of Wednesday, asked permission
+    to deposit his money in the safe until the next day, which was
+    acceded to by the secretary.  Some idea may be formed of his state of
+    mind on arriving at the Exchange on the following morning, to see it
+    on fire, and he was in a state of distraction until the finding of
+    the cinders of the notes yesterday, which has, in some measure,
+    calmed his feelings.  The underwriters are severe sufferers, having
+    left sums of money, to a large amount, in their desks, which, no
+    doubt, will never be recovered.
+
+    "During the confusion on the discovery of the fire, in removing some
+    books from a room in the north-east corner, in addition to 500 pounds
+    in Bank of England notes, which were taken to St. Michael's Church,
+    twenty sovereigns, in a bag, were thrown out of the windows.  The bag
+    broke, and the sovereigns rolled about the pavement; they were all
+    picked up by the mob, who appropriated them to their own use.
+
+    "It is firmly believed that the overheating of the stoves caused the
+    disaster which the nation has now to deplore.  Wednesday was an
+    exceedingly cold day, and large fires had been kept up from morning
+    till night in the building.  There is no doubt the fire had been
+    spreading, to some extent, in Lloyd's rooms, long before it was seen
+    in the street.  Some few months back, two watchmen were on the
+    premises all night, but, on the miserable plea of economy, they were
+    discharged, and the sacrifice of one of the finest buildings in the
+    Kingdom has been the consequence.  We believe that most of our
+    cathedrals and large public buildings are left without watchmen
+    during the night, and we hope that the fate of the Royal Exchange
+    will bring about a change in this respect."
+
+The merchants, who used to congregate "on 'Change," were accommodated in
+the Guildhall, and the members of Lloyd's met at the Jerusalem Coffee
+House--but these arrangements were, afterwards, modified.  The Royal
+Exchange Insurance Coy. took Sir James Esdaile's house, in Lombard
+Street.
+
+_Times_, 4 Ap., 1838:--"THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.--Yesterday, the first day's
+sale of the materials of the Royal Exchange took place.  It produced
+nearly 2,000 pounds.  The porter's large hand-bell (rung every day at
+half-past four p.m. to warn the merchants and others that 'Change ought
+to be closed), with the handle consumed, and valued at 10/-, was sold for
+3 pounds 3/-; the two carved griffins, holding shields of the City arms,
+facing the quadrangle, 35 pounds; the two busts of Queen Elizabeth, on
+the east and west sides, 10 pounds 15/-; the copper grasshopper vane,
+{27} with the iron upright, was reserved by the Committee; the alto
+relievo, in artificial stone, representing Queen Elizabeth proclaiming
+the Royal Exchange, 21 pounds; the corresponding alto relievo,
+representing Britannia seated amidst the emblems of Commerce, accompanied
+by Science, Agriculture, Manufactures, etc., 30 pounds; the carved
+emblematical figures of Europe, Asia, Africa and America, 110 pounds.
+The sale of the remainder of the materials, etc., it is understood, will
+take place in about a month."
+
+In the Mansion House Police Court, on 10 Jan., the Lord Mayor announced
+that he had received five letters relative to an individual who was going
+about the metropolitan suburbs frightening females to such an extent that
+they were afraid to go out at night, as they were met by a man, who,
+under different disguises, would suddenly appear before them, and as
+suddenly disappear with terrible bounds, which earned him the name of
+"Spring-heeled Jack," and he inspired such terror, that the recital of
+the victim had to be taken with caution.  Whoever he was, or why he so
+acted, was never known, as he was never taken; but, certainly, robbery
+had no part in his escapades, for he was quite content with paralysing
+the poor women with fright.
+
+The first facts I can gather about Jack are at the latter end of 1837, at
+Barnes, where he appeared as a large white bull; at East Sheen he was a
+white bear; he then visited Richmond, and after having terrorised that
+town, he went to Ham, Kingston and Hampton, where he was clad in brass
+armour, with large claw-like gloves.  Teddington, Twickenham and Hounslow
+were all visited by him, and at Isleworth we hear of him wearing steel
+armour, in which he seems to have been attired when seen at Uxbridge,
+Hanwell, Brentford and Ealing.  At Hammersmith he took the form of a huge
+baboon, and as such was seen in the moonlight, dancing at Kensington
+Palace, ever and anon climbing over the forcing houses.  He varied his
+localities frequently, one day being at Peckham, another at St. John's
+Wood, and anon at Forest Hill.
+
+This about brings up to the time of its being mentioned by the Lord
+Mayor, the consequence of which was that a Committee was formed at the
+Mansion House for the purpose of receiving subscriptions and deciding
+upon the best means of capturing this erratic genius.  Probably feeling
+that he had sufficiently terrorised the districts before mentioned, he
+turned his attention to the East end of London, and particularly favoured
+Bow.  A case is given in the _Times_ of 23 Feb.  A gentleman named Alsop,
+living between Bow and Old Ford, appeared before the police magistrate at
+Lambeth Street (then the Thames Police Office) accompanied by his three
+daughters, one of whom stated that at about a quarter to nine o'clock on
+the evening of the 21st February, 1838, she heard a violent ringing at
+the front gate of the house, and, on going to the door to see what was
+the cause, she saw a man standing outside, of whom she enquired what was
+the matter.  The person instantly replied that he was a policeman, and
+said, "For God's sake bring me a light, for we have caught Spring-heeled
+Jack here in the lane."  She returned to the house, and brought a candle,
+and handed it to the man, who was enveloped in a large cloak: The instant
+she had done so, he threw off his outer garments, and, applying the
+lighted candle to his breast, presented a most hideous and frightful
+appearance, vomiting forth a quantity of blue and white flame from his
+mouth, his eyes resembling red balls of fire.  From the hasty glance
+which her fright enabled her to get at his person, she observed that he
+wore a large helmet, and his dress, which appeared to fit him very
+tightly, seemed to her to resemble white oilskin.  Without uttering a
+sentence, he darted at her, and catching her partly by her dress and the
+back part of her neck, placed her head under one of his arms, and
+commenced tearing her clothes with his claws, which she was certain were
+made of some metallic substance.  She screamed out as loud as she could
+for assistance, and, by considerable exertion, got away from him, and ran
+towards the house to get in.  Her assailant followed, and caught her on
+the doorstep, when he again used considerable violence, tore her neck and
+arms with his claws, as well as a quantity of hair from her head; her
+story was fully corroborated by her parents and sisters, and her
+injuries, which were very considerable, bore unmistakable testimony to
+the truth of the assault.
+
+At the same police court, on 8 Mar., 1838, a Miss Scales deposed that as
+she and her sister were walking in Limehouse, about half-past eight in
+the evening, on coming to Green Dragon Alley, they observed some person
+standing in an angle in the passage.  She was in advance of her sister at
+the time, and just as she came up to the person, who was enveloped in a
+large cloak, he spirted a quantity of blue flame right in her face, which
+deprived her of sight, and so alarmed her, that she instantly dropped to
+the ground, and was seized with violent fits, which continued for several
+hours.  In this case no violence to the person was done.
+
+He had a literature of his own.  I know of three pamphlets on the
+subject; one, from which is taken the accompanying illustration, is
+entitled "Authentic particulars of the awful appearance of the London
+Monster, alias Spring-heeled Jack, together with his extraordinary life,
+wonderful adventures and secret amours.  Also an account of his horrible
+appearance to Miss N--- and his singular letter to the Lord Mayor of
+London."
+
+    [Picture: Spring-heeled Jack.  Awful representation of the London
+                                 monster]
+
+There is much more to be related of Jack, but space will not permit; but,
+whether too much attention was beginning to be paid to him with a view to
+his capture, or whether his love of mischief had died out, cannot be
+told; but certain it was that nothing was known publicly of this singular
+being after April, 1838, having kept London in a ferment of excitement
+and terror for about six months.
+
+There is an amusing police case anent Lord John Russell's hat.--_Times_,
+8 Feb.:
+
+    THAMES POLICE COURT.--Yesterday, a poor woman, named Mary Ann Blay,
+    who stated that she resided at Limehouse, applied to Mr. Ballantyne
+    and Mr. Broderip, the magistrates, to request their interference
+    under very odd circumstances.  The applicant stated that, about three
+    or four months ago, she was on her way home from Poplar, where she
+    had been purchasing some vegetables, when she saw something black
+    lying on the ground.  She first supposed it was a piece of coal, but,
+    on stooping to pick it up, discovered it was a hat.  She walked
+    onward, with the hat in her right hand, until she reached the
+    Commercial Road, when she was met by a policeman, who asked her where
+    she had got the hat.  She informed him that she had picked it up at
+    the corner of the New Road, and the policeman looked at it, and saw
+    the name of Lord John Russell in the inside.  He demanded the hat of
+    her, and, on her refusing to give it up to him, he seized the hat,
+    and took her into custody.  She was locked up in the station houses
+    and, on the following morning, was brought before the sitting
+    magistrate at that office.  The justice, after hearing the
+    policeman's statement, directed her to be discharged, and gave orders
+    that the hat should be detained for a certain time, in the station
+    house; and, if no owner was discovered, that it should be given up to
+    her.  She had, since, made repeated inquiries of the police, but
+    could obtain no information from them, nor any redress for the false
+    imprisonment she had suffered.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne asked the applicant if she was sure the hat belonged
+    to Lord J. Russell.
+
+    The woman said there had been a whitebait Cabinet dinner at Mr.
+    Lovegrove's, West India Dock Tavern, Blackwall, on the night she
+    found the hat, and Lord John Russell was one of the party.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne: Well, I don't understand how his Lordship could lose
+    his hat at the corner of the New Road.
+
+    The woman said it was supposed that Lord J. Russell had put his head
+    out of the carriage window, and looked back to see if his friends
+    were following him, when his hat fell off his head, and, as he was a
+    Lord, he would not stop until it was picked up again (laughter).
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne: What do you want me to do in the matter?
+
+    The applicant said she wanted to know to whom the hat belonged.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne: Why, I should say it belonged to Lord John Russell.
+
+    The woman said the hat was worth a guinea, and that if she had
+    accepted 5/- from the policeman, and given it up to him, he would not
+    have taken her into custody.  She thought it was very hard to be
+    subject to such tyranny because she had picked up Lord John Russell's
+    hat, for she had done no harm to the crown of it.  She supposed Lord
+    John Russell was in liquor, or he would have ordered his carriage to
+    stop, and picked up his hat.  (Roars of laughter, in which the
+    magistrates could not help joining.)  "You may laugh," said the
+    woman; "but it's all true what I say; you may depend upon it, the
+    Ministers don't eat whitebait without drinking plenty of wine after
+    it, you may be sure.  (Increased laughter.)  I don't know why the
+    gentlemen laugh, I am sure.  I was locked up all night away from my
+    husband and children."
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne said it was very singular the woman could not
+    recollect what night it was she picked up the hat, and the number and
+    letter of the policeman who took her into custody.
+
+    The applicant said she was too much alarmed at being locked up in the
+    station house, and brought before the magistrate, to recollect what
+    night it was, or the policeman's identity.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne said it was a very odd affair, and he would direct the
+    books to be searched to ascertain when the woman was brought before
+    the magistrate.
+
+    Soon afterwards, the woman was again brought up.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne said, it appeared from the minutes that she was
+    brought before him on Tuesday, the 3rd of October last, on suspicion
+    of stealing a hat, and that the policeman said that he had stopped
+    her at two o'clock in the morning with the hat in her possession.  It
+    appeared that he had discharged her, but no mention was made of the
+    hat belonging to Lord John Russell.  If that fact had been mentioned
+    to him, he would have ordered the hat to be restored to his Lordship
+    immediately.
+
+    The Applicant: I am sure it is his Lordship's hat.  There is Lord
+    John Russell inside of it, quite plain; it's a new one.
+
+    Mr. Ballantyne: Very well; an inquiry shall be made about the hat,
+    and you can attend here to-morrow, and we will let you know what has
+    become of it.  I think Lord John Russell has the best claim to the
+    hat, if he has not already got it.
+
+The sequel:
+
+    _Times_, 10 Feb.:--On Thursday, Mary Ann Blay again appeared before
+    Mr. Ballantyne upon the subject of Lord John's hat.  She adhered to
+    her old story, that the hat had the noble Home Secretary's name in it
+    when she picked it up, but it had, subsequently, been torn out, after
+    it was taken out of her possession.  Mr. Ballantyne examined the hat,
+    and said it was a dirty, greasy hat--a boy's hat, and that he would
+    not give 6d. for it.  The policeman who took the woman in custody
+    declared that the woman's statement was, altogether, a fabrication,
+    and that the hat never had the name of Lord John Russell in it.  Mr.
+    Ballantyne said he would make no order about the hat; and, if the
+    woman thought she had been wrongly imprisoned, she might seek her
+    remedy elsewhere.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+Lords and pugilists--Penny "Gaffs"--Steam between England and America--A
+man-woman--Designs for Nelson Monument--A termagant--Scold's bridles, &c.
+
+I must give another police case, as showing the manners and customs of
+the _jeunesse doree_ of this period.
+
+_Times_, 19 Feb.:
+
+    MARLBOROUGH STREET.--On Saturday, Samuel Evans, better known as
+    "Young Dutch Sam," a pugilist, was brought before Mr. Conant, charged
+    with having committed an unprovoked and violent assault on policeman
+    Mackenzie, C 182, and Lord Waldegrave was also charged with
+    attempting to rescue Evans from the police.
+
+    The defendant Evans, when sober, is civil and well-conducted, but,
+    when drunk, is one of the most dangerous ruffians connected with the
+    prize-fighting gang.  Lord Waldegrave is a very young nobleman, with
+    a fund of native simplicity in his countenance, rendered the more
+    conspicuous by the style of dress he had adopted, namely, a large
+    coloured shawl round his neck, and a rough pilot coat.  Both parties
+    exhibited unquestionable proofs of the effect of their previous
+    night's potations.
+
+    Policeman Mackenzie, who had his arm in a sling, made the following
+    statement: About a quarter-past six that morning, after he had come
+    off duty, he went to the Standard public house, in Piccadilly, for
+    the purpose of getting some refreshment, but, on perceiving some of
+    the saloon frequenters there, to whom he was personally obnoxious, in
+    consequence of having taken disorderly persons of their acquaintance
+    into custody, he was about to go back, when he found himself suddenly
+    pushed into the house, with sufficient violence to cause his cape to
+    fall off.  While engaged in folding up his cape, the defendant Evans
+    said, "Will any gentleman like to see a policeman put on his back?"
+    Complainant had not exchanged a single word with anybody; he,
+    however, found himself suddenly and quite unexpectedly seized by the
+    defendant, who had come behind him, and then thrown with violence
+    upon the floor; the defendant Evans fell upon him at the same time;
+    and, as complainant lay almost stunned and unable to rise, some
+    persons called out "Shame!"  Complainant was then helped up and
+    assisted out of the house.  He went immediately to the station house,
+    and mentioned what had occurred to Inspector Beresford, who instantly
+    sent a sufficient force to take the offenders into custody.
+    Complainant went and pointed out Dutch Sam to his comrades, and the
+    defendant was taken into custody.  Lord Waldegrave, who was in the
+    pugilist's company, declared the police should not take his friend,
+    and he attempted to prevent the police from doing their duty.
+    Complainant, feeling his shoulder pain him very much, went to the
+    surgeon, and, by that gentleman's advice, proceeded to the Charing
+    Cross Hospital.  When he was examined, it was ascertained that one of
+    the bones of his shoulder was broken.
+
+    Another policeman stated that Lord Waldegrave was very drunk, and,
+    when his Lordship attempted to resist the police, he was,
+    accidentally, thrown down on the pavement, and witness picked him up.
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: He! he! he!  Picked me up, did you?  Oh!  He! he!
+    he!
+
+    Mr. Conant: This is no laughing matter, I can tell you; and it is
+    quite improper of you to make it a subject of merriment.
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: He! he! he!  I beg pardon, but I can't help
+    laughing.
+
+    Mr. Conant asked Evans what he had to say in his defence?
+
+    Evans: Why, you see, Lord Waldegrave and me had been supping
+    together--hadn't we, my Lord?
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: Yes, we had.
+
+    Evans: And when we went into the public house there, we saw the
+    policeman, who was drunk, and who had been drinking purl in the
+    house.  The policeman asked me to wrestle with him, and, as I thought
+    I could throw him, I accepted the challenge.
+
+    The Inspector proved that there was not one word of truth in Evans's
+    defence as far as regarded the sobriety of Mackenzie.  The assault
+    took place within a few minutes after Mackenzie had come off duty,
+    and, certainly, before he could have time to get refreshment.
+
+    The policeman declared what the defendant asserted was entirely
+    false.  He had taken nothing to drink; and, as to challenging a man
+    like the defendant to wrestle, the assertion was improbable.
+
+    Inspector Beresford, on being asked if he was certain Evans was
+    drunk, answered that he was decidedly drunk.
+
+    Evans: Silence, sweep, let a gentleman speak.  I can get a dozen
+    oaths for half-a-crown.
+
+    Mr. Conant said the assault on the policeman was wanton and
+    unprovoked, and the matter was further aggravated by the fact that a
+    person of the defendant's well-known pugilistic powers had chosen to
+    attack an unoffending party.  He should, therefore, call on the
+    defendant Evans to put in good bail.
+
+    Evans: Serve his Lordship the same; for I like to have such a pal.
+
+    Mr. Conant directed that Lord Waldegrave should be put back until a
+    second magistrate arrived.
+
+    Mr. Dyer having, soon afterwards, taken his seat on the bench, Lord
+    Waldegrave was placed at the bar.
+
+    Policeman Filmer, C 130, stated that he went with others to the
+    Standard public house, and took Evans into custody.  Lord Waldegrave
+    threw his arms round his friend, and swore he should not be taken.
+    Witness swung his Lordship away, and, in doing so, his Lordship fell
+    down.  Witness picked him up, and would have let him go had his
+    Lordship abstained from repeating his conduct.  As he would not allow
+    the police to do their duty, he took him into custody.
+
+    Mr. Conant asked his Lordship what he had to say?
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: I have nothing to say.  Perhaps I had taken too much
+    that night.
+
+    Policeman: His Lordship was very drunk.
+
+    Lord Waldegrave: Not very.
+
+    Mr. Conant: There has been no complaint of your conduct at the
+    station house, and I daresay your Lordship feels hurt at being in the
+    company of a person of the other defendant's description.  Taking
+    into consideration the violence of the outrage committed by Evans, as
+    a warning, we must inflict a heavy fine.  You must, therefore, pay 5
+    pounds to the Queen.
+
+    Mr. Dyer: And because--in our summary jurisdiction--we cannot go
+    beyond that sum, we inflict it as being the highest penalty in our
+    power.
+
+    The sum was paid, and the noble defendant discharged.
+
+The whole social tone was low, from the highest to the lowest, and if the
+police court gives us occasional glimpses of aristocratic amusement, so
+it affords us a view of the entertainments provided for the lower
+classes.  Let us take one.
+
+_Times_, 10 March:
+
+    HATTON GARDEN.--For some time past, numerous complaints have been
+    made to the magistrates of this office of two penny theatres, one in
+    Mortimer Market, Tottenham Court Road, and the other in a field
+    adjacent to Bagnigge Wells Road, where gangs of young thieves nightly
+    assembled.  On Wednesday last, several inhabitants of Mortimer Market
+    attended at the Office to complain of the former establishment, when
+    Mr. Rogers granted a warrant to apprehend the whole of the parties
+    concerned, and on Thursday night, Duke, Baylis and Halls, of this
+    Office, in company with Inspector Jenkins and a body of constables,
+    proceeded to the theatre, and captured the manager, performers, and
+    musicians, and the whole of them were, yesterday, brought to the
+    office, and placed at the bar, when the office was excessively
+    crowded.
+
+    There were twelve prisoners, some of whom were attired in their
+    theatrical habiliments, with their countenances painted, which made a
+    very grotesque appearance.
+
+    Duke being sworn, stated that, in consequence of a warrant, on
+    Thursday night last, about 9 o'clock, he proceeded, with other
+    officers, to a penny theatre in Mortimer Market, St. Pancras, where
+    he found the whole of the prisoners, some of whom were engaged in
+    performing their parts, whilst Ewyn, the manager, was employed in
+    taking money at the doors, and the woman, Green, was acting as check
+    taker.  Campbell and Lewis were enacting their parts upon the stage,
+    and Joseph Burrows was in his theatrical dress between them, with his
+    face painted and wearing a huge pair of moustaches.  John Pillar was
+    in a temporary orchestra with a large violoncello, scraping away most
+    melodramatically, whilst the players were endeavouring to humour the
+    sounds, and to suit their action to the word, and the word to the
+    action; and just at that part of the performance when Burrows had to
+    exclaim, "The officers of justice are coming," witness and his
+    brother officers rushed upon the stage, and apprehended the whole of
+    them.
+
+    Mr. Rogers: What description of audience was there?
+
+    Duke: A dirty, ragged set, principally consisting of boys and girls;
+    two of them were barefooted, and had scarce a rag to cover them, and
+    did not seem to have been washed for a month.  The theatre was of the
+    most wretched description; there was a temporary stage, and bits of
+    scenery.  The boys said they were errand boys and servants.  Brierly
+    and Smith said they were country actors out of an engagement, and had
+    visited the place out of curiosity.
+
+    Mr. Mallett: Had they an inscription that they were "Licensed
+    pursuant to Act of Parliament"?
+
+    Duke: They had not.  On the gates was written up, "For this evening's
+    performance The Spectre of the Grave; after which, a comic song by
+    Mr. Ewyn; to conclude with The Key of the Little Door."  They found
+    various theatrical dresses and other properties, with stars, swords,
+    etc., now produced.
+
+    Baylis proved having paid 1d. for admission.  He paid the money to
+    the woman Green.  Ewyn was at the door, and he confessed that he was
+    the manager.  He took him into custody, and, subsequently, he
+    apprehended Lewis and Campbell, at the back of the stage, in their
+    theatrical dresses.
+
+    Mr. Rogers: Have you got "The Spectre of the Grave" here?
+
+    Inspector Jenkins: No, your Worship, he vanished.  The other male
+    performers were dressed in sandals and armour, with their helmets up.
+
+    Hall and the other officers corroborated the above evidence.  Several
+    inhabitants of Mortimer Market proved that they were, every night,
+    alarmed by firing off guns, cries of "Fire," clashing of swords, the
+    most boisterous ranting and shrieks from the voices of the ladies of
+    the _corps dramatique_, and the place was a perfect nuisance to the
+    neighbourhood.
+
+    The owner of the place stated that, on the 24th of January, he let
+    the place to a person named Summers, for chair making, when it was
+    turned into a theatre.
+
+    Ewyn said he had engaged with Summers to divide the profits of the
+    theatrical speculation.  Summers agreed to take the place, and he
+    (Ewyn) to provide the scenery and wardrobe; "and proud I am to say,
+    that I have conducted the consarn respectably, which some of the
+    neighbours can testify.  This is the head and front of my
+    offending--no more."
+
+    Inspector Jenkins said that, about a month ago, he called on Ewyn and
+    cautioned him, but he said that the magistrates had nothing to do
+    with the matter.
+
+    Mr. Rogers, addressing the prisoners, said they had received a
+    warning which they did not heed.  He should not order them to find
+    bail, but would discharge them; and, if they dared to repeat their
+    performances after this admonition, he would grant a warrant for
+    their apprehension, and every one of them should find bail, or be
+    committed.  They held out temptation to the children of poor persons,
+    some of whom, it appears, were without shoes and nearly naked, who
+    robbed their parents, or others, for the purpose of procuring the
+    penny for admission.  He would order their paraphernalia to be
+    restored to them, but, on condition that they would remove their
+    fittings, and desist from any future performances.
+
+    Ewyn: You must give me time to take down the seats and decorations.
+
+    Mr. Rogers: You must take them down this day.
+
+    Ewyn (with a start): What! this day?  Impossible.
+
+    Mr. Rogers directed Inspector Jones to see the mandate obeyed.
+
+The month of April is famous for the inauguration of steam traffic
+between England and America.  A vessel named the _Savannah_ had in 1819
+crossed from America to England, but her steam was only intended to be
+auxiliary to her sailing power, for her boilers had only a pressure of 20
+lbs. to the square inch.  She sailed from New York on 28 Mar., 1819,
+reached Savannah on 7 Ap., and anchored at Liverpool on 19 June; on her
+return home her engines were taken out, and she was finally lost off Long
+Island.  In 1836 the Great Western Railway founded the Great Western
+Steam Co., whose vessels were intended to run from Bristol in
+co-operation with the railway, and the first ship built was the Great
+Western, the largest steamer then afloat.  She was 236 feet long and her
+engines showed 750 indicated horse power, her registered tonnage being
+1,300.  She was intended to be the pioneer ship, and was ready for sea in
+April, 1838; but competition was as keen then as now, and the St. Georges
+Steam Packet Coy. started their s.s. Sirius, for the voyage to New York,
+from London, on the 29th March.  She had a tonnage of 700 tons, and her
+engines were of 320 horse-power.  She was elegantly fitted-up, and
+started with 22 passengers, whose number was increased at Cork, and,
+being intended solely for a passenger boat, carried no cargo.  On going
+down the Thames, she encountered her rival, the Great Western, which had
+a pleasure party on board, and a trial of speed took place between the
+two, resulting in favour of the Sirius.  She sailed from Cork on 9th
+April.  The Great Western sailed from Bristol on the 12th April, and both
+reached New York on the same day, the Sirius being first.  The Great
+Western made, in all, 64 passages between the two countries, her fastest
+passage occupying 12 days, 7.5 hours.  At the present writing, the record
+voyage for an English steamer (the _Lucania_) is 5 days, 7 hours, 23
+minutes.
+
+The _Manchester Guardian_ of 14th April gives an account of a woman
+living in that city, who for many years passed as a man, which has
+occurred before, but the extraordinary part of this story is that she
+_married another woman_.--"Subsequent inquiries confirm the truth of the
+statements made in the _Guardian_ of Wednesday last, as to this singular
+case.  This woman man, who, for probably more than 25 years, has
+succeeded in concealing her sex, and in pursuing a trade of more than
+ordinarily masculine and hazardous description, with a degree of skill
+and ability which has led to her establishment in a good business in this
+town, bound herself apprentice, at the age of 16 or 17 years, to a Mr.
+Peacock, a bricklayer and builder, at Bawtry, a small market town in the
+West Riding of Yorkshire.  She did not remain with Mr. Peacock during the
+whole period of her apprenticeship, but was 'turned over,' as it is
+called, to another person in the same business.  It was during her
+apprenticeship that she met with her present wife; and they were married
+at the old parish church of Sheffield, in the year 1816, when the wife
+was only 17 years old.  Since the investigation and disclosure of the
+circumstances, on Thursday week, the wife and husband have separated.
+She was, for many years, a special constable in the 13th division of that
+body, acting for this town; and we are assured that, on all occasions
+when the services of the division were required, as at elections, Orange
+processions, and meetings of trades' unions, turn-outs, etc., so far from
+absenting herself from what, as in the case of well founded apprehension
+of a riot, must have been, to a woman, a post of some unpleasantness, she
+is remembered to have been one of the most punctual in attendance, and
+the most forward volunteer in actual duty, in that division.  We
+understand that she is no longer a special constable, because she did
+not, on the last annual special session, held for that purpose at the New
+Bailey, present herself to be resworn.  She was not discarded or
+discharged; there was no complaint against her; and, probably, the
+extension of her own business was her only motive for not resuming the
+duties of this office.  Altogether, this is the most singular case of the
+kind which has ever reached our knowledge."
+
+The following is an advertisement which appeared in the _Times_ of 27th
+April:--"NELSON MONUMENT.--The Committee for erecting a Monument to the
+Memory of Lord Nelson hereby give notice that they are desirous of
+receiving from architects, artists, or other persons, DESIGNS for such a
+MONUMENT, to be erected in Trafalgar Square.
+
+"The Committee cannot, in the present state of the subscriptions, fix
+definitely the sum to be expended, but they recommend that the estimated
+cost of the several designs should be confined within the sums of 20,000
+and 30,000 pounds.  This condition, and that of the intended site, are
+the only restrictions to which the artists are limited."
+
+In the same newspaper of 16 May, we read of a punishment which might,
+occasionally, be revived with advantage, as being less dangerous than the
+ducking stool, and, probably, quite as efficacious, although we have the
+authority of St. James, "For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of
+serpents, and of things of the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of
+mankind, but the tongue can no man tame."  It relates how, "at the
+Mayor's Court, Stafford, last week, Mary, wife of Thomas Careless, of the
+Broad Eye, a perfect termagant, was ordered to pay 1/- penalty, and 7/6
+costs, for an unprovoked assault on Mary, the wife of Lewis Bromley.
+During the investigation, her garrulity was so incessant that the mayor
+was under the necessity of sending for the 'scold's bridle,' an iron
+instrument of very antique construction, which, in olden times, was
+occasionally called into use.  It is formed of an elliptical bow of iron,
+enclosing the head from the lower extremity of one ear to the other, with
+a transverse piece of iron from the nape of the neck to the mouth, and
+completely covers the tongue, preventing its movement, and the whole
+machinery, when adjusted, is locked at the back of the head.  The bridle
+is to be put in thorough repair, and hung _in terrorem_ in the Mayor's
+office, to be used as occasion may call it forth."
+
+These "scold's bridles," or "branks," as they are sometimes called, are
+not uncommon.  The earliest dated one is preserved at Walton-on-Thames,
+and bears the date 1633, with the inscription:
+
+    "Chester presents Walton with a bridle,
+    To curb women's tongues that talk to idle."
+
+Brayley, in his "History of Surrey," says that it was given by a
+gentleman named Chester, who lost a valuable estate through a gossiping,
+lying woman; but, as there are several examples of branks in the
+Palatinate, one being kept in the gaol at Chester, some people think it
+was a present from that city.  There is one at Leicester, and another at
+Newcastle-on-Tyne, which used to hang in the mayor's parlour, and
+tradition has it that many cases of disputes between women have been
+speedily and satisfactorily settled on his worship's pointing to these
+branks.
+
+There is one in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, which is very tender as
+far as the gag is concerned, but which has a leading chain fastened
+between the eyes.  Hainstall, Ridware, Lichfield, Morpeth, Shrewsbury,
+Holme, Kendal, Altrincham, Macclesfield, Congleton (where it was last
+used in 1824), all have examples, whilst Chester has four!  There are
+several in Scotland, and there are some in private hands, notably one
+which used to be in the Mayer Museum, Liverpool, which came from
+Warrington, where, however, the brank formerly used at Carrington is
+preserved, and there are several places--Newcastle-under-Lyne (now in the
+Mayer Collection), Manchester, and others--where they have existed.
+There is a very grotesque one in Doddington Park, which is a mask, having
+eyeholes, and a long funnel-shaped peak projecting from the mouth; and
+there are some very terribly cruel ones, with fearful gags; but these can
+scarcely come under scold's or gossip's bridles.  There was one at
+Forfar, with a spiked gag, which pierced the tongue, and an even more
+severe one is at Stockport; whilst those at Ludlow and Worcester are,
+also, instruments of torture.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Thom, the religious fanatic--His riots and death--Delusions of his
+followers.
+
+From the earliest ages of Christianity _pseudo-Christoi_, or false
+Christs, existed.  Simon Magus, Dositheus, and the famous Barcochab were
+among the first of them, and they were followed by Moses, in Crete, in
+the fifth century; Julian, in Palestine, _circa_ A.D. 530; and Screnus,
+in Spain, _circa_ A.D. 714.  There were, in the 12th century, some seven
+or eight in France, Spain and Persia; and, coming to more modern times,
+there was Sabbatai Zewi, a native of Aleppo, or Smyrna, who proclaimed
+himself to be the Messiah, in Jerusalem, _circa_ 1666.  A list of
+religious fanatics would be a long one, but the _pseudo-Christos_ of
+modern times was, certainly, John Nicholl Thom, of St. Columb, Cornwall,
+_alias_ Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtenay, Knight of Malta, and King
+of Jerusalem; who also claimed to be Jesus Christ, in proof of which he
+shewed punctures in his hands, and a cicatrice on his side.
+
+He was first introduced to public notice in Michaelmas, 1832, when he
+paid a visit to Canterbury, and took up his abode, for some time, at the
+"Rose Inn," where he was remarkable for his eccentric behaviour, passing
+under the name of Rothschild.  His countenance and costume denoted
+foreign extraction, while his language and conversation showed that he
+was well acquainted with almost every part of the kingdom.  He often
+dressed in a fine suit of Italian clothing, and, sometimes, in the gayer
+and more imposing costume of the east.  In December of the same year, he
+surprised the inhabitants of Canterbury by proposing himself as a
+candidate for the representation of that city in Parliament, under the
+name of Sir W. P. H. Courtenay.  His canvass proceeded with extraordinary
+success; and, such were his persuasive powers, that people of all ranks
+felt an interest in his society; some, however, considered him insane,
+while others were of a contrary opinion, and he did not succeed in his
+ambition.
+
+He next got mixed up in a smuggling affair, H.M. sloop _Lively_ having
+captured a smuggling craft (the _Admiral Hood_) off the Goodwin Sands.
+He attended the examination of the smugglers before the magistrates at
+Rochester, attired in a fancy costume, and having a small scimitar
+suspended from his neck, by a massive gold chain.  He defended one of the
+men, who, despite his advocacy, was convicted.  He then offered himself
+as a witness, swore that he had seen the whole transaction, that there
+was no smuggling, and that the _Lively_ was to blame.  This the
+prosecution could not stand; he was indicted for perjury, and was tried
+at Maidstone on 25 July, 1833.  The sentence of the Court was
+imprisonment and transportation, but, being proved to be insane, this was
+commuted to confinement in the lunatic asylum, at Barming Heath.  After
+about four years spent in this establishment, he was released, on
+security being given for his future good behaviour.  He then went to live
+at the residence of Mr. Francis, of Fairbrook, in the neighbourhood of
+Boughton, near Canterbury.  Owing to some misunderstanding with the
+family, he removed to an adjoining cottage, and, at the time of which I
+write, he lived at a farm-house, called Bossenden farm, occupied by a
+person named Culver.
+
+The influence obtained, by this maniac, over the small farmers and
+peasantry in his neighbourhood, is most astonishing.  They believed in
+all he told them; first that he should be a great chieftain in Kent, and
+that they should all live rent free on his land, and that if they would
+follow his advice, they should have good living and large estates, as he
+had great influence at Court, and was to sit at the Queen's right hand,
+on the day of her Coronation.  It would seem as if his madness, then, was
+personal and political, but the religious mania speedily developed
+itself.  He told his deluded followers that they were oppressed by the
+laws in general, but more particularly by the new poor law; and called
+upon them to place themselves under his command.  Nearly 100 at once
+joined him, and as they marched through the neighbouring parishes their
+numbers increased.  It was then that he proclaimed his divinity--assuring
+them that both he and they were not only invincible, but bullet proof,
+and that they could never die.
+
+          [Picture: Death of Sir Wm. Courtenay.  (Thom).  1838]
+
+The following account, which appears to me to be the most succinct of
+those I have seen, is from the _Times_ of 1 June:
+
+    "On Monday (28 May) they sallied forth from the village of Boughton,
+    where they bought bread, and proceeded to Wills's house, near
+    Fairbrook.  A loaf was broken asunder, and placed on a pole, with a
+    flag of white and blue, on which was a rampant lion.  Thence they
+    proceeded to Goodnestone, near Faversham, producing throughout the
+    whole neighbourhood the greatest excitement, and adding to their
+    numbers by the harangues occasionally delivered by this ill-fated
+    madman.  At this farm Courtenay stated that 'he would strike the
+    bloody blow.'  A match was then taken from a bean stack, which had
+    been introduced by one of the party.  They next proceeded to a farm
+    at Herne Hill, where Courtenay requested the inmates to feed his
+    friends, which request was immediately complied with.  Their next
+    visit was at Dargate Common, where Sir William, taking off his shoes,
+    said, 'I now stand on my own bottom.'  By Sir William's request, his
+    party went to prayers, and then proceeded to Bossenden farm, where
+    they supped, and slept in the barn that night.  At 3 o'clock, on
+    Tuesday morning they left, and proceeded to Sittingbourne to
+    breakfast, where Sir William paid 25s.; they then visited Newnham,
+    where a similar treat was given at the 'George.'  After visiting
+    Eastling, Throwley, Selwich Lees and Selling, and occasionally
+    addressing the populace, holding out to them such inducements as are
+    usually made by persons desirous of creating a disturbance, they
+    halted, in a chalk pit, to rest, and, on Wednesday evening, arrived
+    at Culver's farm, called Bossenden, close to the scene of action.
+    Mr. Curling, having had some of his men enticed from their work,
+    applied for a warrant for their apprehension.  Mears, a constable, in
+    company with his brother, proceeded to Culver's house, when, on
+    application being made for the men alluded to, Sir William
+    immediately shot the young man who accompanied his brother in the
+    execution of his duty.  Such was the excitement, and the desperate
+    menaces of Sir William and his party, that it became necessary for
+    the magistrates to interfere to put a stop to the proceedings, by the
+    capture of the ringleader of the party, from whose advice to his
+    followers the most serious consequences were likely to ensue.  At 12
+    o'clock, they assembled at a place called the Osier Bed, where every
+    means were resorted to, to quell the disturbance, but without
+    success.  Sir William defied interruption to his men, and fired on
+    the Rev. William Handley, of Herne Hill, who, with his brother, was
+    assisting to take him into custody.  They then made their way to
+    Bossenden Wood, where they lay in ambush; but, as no means appeared
+    to present themselves, by which the ringleader could safely be
+    secured, he being evidently mad, and in possession of loaded
+    firearms, threatening to shoot the first man who interfered with him,
+    it became necessary to apply for the assistance of the 45th regiment,
+    stationed in Canterbury barracks.  On the arrival of a detachment of
+    this regiment, they proceeded to the wood, where the party was
+    awaiting their arrival.
+
+    "A few minutes previous to the attack, Sir William loudly halloed to
+    his companions, supposed for the purpose of getting them prepared for
+    the fight.
+
+    "Sir William, on perceiving his opponents, advanced with the greatest
+    _sang froid_, and deliberately shot Lieutenant Bennett of the
+    regiment, before his own men.  This occasioned a return from the man
+    covering his officer, who advanced, and shot Sir William, who fell,
+    and died instantly.  The excitement, at that period, occasioned by
+    each party losing its commander, caused a desperate attack, which
+    terminated in the death of ten persons, besides the brother of the
+    constable shot in the morning, and several others seriously wounded,
+    of some of whom little hopes are entertained of their recovery.  The
+    weapons in the hands of the followers of Sir William, were chiefly,
+    if not altogether, heavy bludgeons."
+
+The following, from a correspondent, goes far to show the delusions
+shared by this maniac and his followers:
+
+    "The mention of this lad's name, reminds me that his mother is said
+    to have done more than any other person in the parish to foster and
+    encourage the belief which she herself entertained, that Thom was our
+    blessed Redeemer and Saviour.  So steadfast was she in her belief,
+    that when, after the battle in the wood, a neighbour went to tell her
+    'the awful news,' that Thom was killed, and her own son wounded, she
+    would not credit the information.  'Sir William killed!' said she,
+    'no, no, you can't kill him; it is not the truth, it is not
+    possible.'  The reply to her was: 'It is the truth, and it is
+    possible.'  She again asserted that it was not possible.  Again the
+    reply was: 'It is possible, and it is as true as that your poor boy
+    has got a shot in his thigh.'  Then, and not till then, would she
+    credit that her son was hurt.  But as to Sir William, she still
+    remained incredulous, saying: 'Mind, three days will show you and all
+    the world what Sir William is.  When that time is elapsed, you will
+    see whether he is not that which he professes to be.'
+
+    "Of the general belief in the neighbourhood that he was the Saviour,
+    I saw a strong proof in some writing which I found on the parsonage
+    barn at Herne Hill.  It has been there for the last ten days, and is
+    said to be in the handwriting of Wills.  On the left side of the door
+    is written, in one long line, these words, with spelling and capitals
+    just as I have copied them:--'If you newho was on earth your harts
+    Wod turn'; then in another: 'But dont Wate to late'; and then, in a
+    third, 'They how R.'  On the right side of the door is the following:
+    'O that great day of gudgment, is close at hand'; in another: 'it now
+    peps in the dor every man according to his woks'; and in a third:
+    'Our rites and liberties We Will have.'  I mentioned some of them in
+    a former communication.  At one of the places where he ordered
+    provisions for his followers, it was in these words: 'Feed my sheep.'
+    To convince his disciples of his divine commission, he is said to
+    have pointed his pistol at the stars, and told him that he would make
+    them fall from their spheres.  He then fired at some particularly
+    bright star; and, his pistol having been rammed down with tow steeped
+    in oil, and sprinkled over with steel filings, produced, on being
+    fired, certain bright sparkles of light, which he immediately said
+    were falling stars.  Again, in the early part of his progress on
+    Monday, he went away from his followers with a man named Wills, and
+    two of the other rioters, saying to them, 'Do you stay here, whilst I
+    go yonder,' pointing to a bean stack, 'and strike the bloody blow.'
+    When they arrived at the stack, to which they marched with a flag,
+    the flag bearer laid his flag on the ground, and knelt down to pray.
+    The others then put in, it is said, a lighted match; but Thom seized
+    it and forbade it to burn, and the fire was not kindled.  This, on
+    their return to the company, was announced as a miracle worked by the
+    Saviour.  There is another of his acts, which he mentioned as one of
+    the proofs of his Divinity, that I confess myself at a loss to
+    understand.  After he had fired one shot at the constable, Mears, and
+    subsequently chopped at him with his dirk, he went into the house,
+    seized a loaded pistol, and on coming out, said: 'Now, am I not your
+    Saviour?'  The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when he pulled
+    the trigger of his pistol, and shot Mears a second time."
+
+He administered a parody on the blessed Sacrament, in bread and water to
+his followers, before the encounter and harangued them.  He told them on
+this occasion, as he did on many others, that there was great opposition
+in the land, and, indeed, throughout the world, but, that if they would
+follow him, he would lead them on to glory.  He told them he had come to
+earth on a cloud, and that, on a cloud, he should some day be removed
+from them; that neither bullets nor weapons could injure him, or them, if
+they had but faith in him as their Saviour: and that if 10,000 soldiers
+came against them, they would either turn to their side, or fall dead at
+his command.  At the end of his harangue, Alexander Foad, a respectable
+farmer, and one of his followers, knelt down at his feet and worshipped
+him; and so did another man named Brankford.  Foad then asked Thom
+whether he should follow him in the body, or go home and follow him in
+heart.  To this Thom replied: "Follow me in the body."  Foad then sprang
+on his feet in an ecstasy of joy, and, with a voice of great animation,
+exclaimed: "Oh, be joyful!  Oh, be joyful!  The Saviour has accepted me.
+Go on--go on, till I drop, I'll follow thee!"  Brankford was also
+accepted as a follower, and exhibited the same enthusiastic fervour,
+while Thom uttered terrific denunciations of eternal torture in hell fire
+against all who should refuse to follow him.
+
+With the death of Thom and his deluded followers, the excitement calmed
+down, and entirely subsided after the trial of nine prisoners, which took
+place at Maidstone, on the 9th of August, before Lord Denman.  They were
+charged on two counts: first, with aiding and abetting John Thom, _alias_
+Courtenay, in the murder of Nicholas Mears, on the 31st of May, and
+second, with being principals in the murder.  Lord Denman charged the
+jury that, if they were of opinion that Thom was of unsound mind, so
+that, if he had been put upon his trial, he could not have been convicted
+of murder, the principal being acquitted, the accessories must also be
+acquitted, and the prisoners could not be found guilty on the first
+count.  This, the jury acquiesced in, and brought in a verdict of
+"guilty" on the second count, with a strong recommendation to mercy on
+account of the infatuation under which they were led astray by Courtenay.
+Lord Denman pronounced sentence of death upon the prisoners, but added,
+that their lives would be spared.  Two were sentenced to transportation
+for life; one to transportation for ten years; and the remainder to be
+imprisoned for one year, and kept to hard labour in the House of
+Correction, one month in solitary confinement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+The Queen's Coronation--The Carriages--The fair and festivities in Hyde
+Park--The Marquis of Waterford's drive--His pranks at Melton
+Mowbray--Steam carriages--Dog carriages--Grand dinner at Guildhall.
+
+The next event which occupied the public attention was the Queen's
+Coronation, which took place on the 28th of June.  It was, like the "Half
+Crownation" of William IV., a much plainer affair than that of George the
+Magnificent, the walking procession of all the estates of the realm, and
+the banquet in Westminster Hall, with all the feudal services thereunto
+belonging, being wholly dispensed with.  The day began badly, with a cold
+shower about 8 a.m., but it cleared off, and the sun shone out fitfully,
+throughout the time the ceremony occupied--the head of the procession
+starting from Buckingham Palace at 10 a.m., and the Queen reaching
+Westminster Abbey at half-past eleven.  Next to the Queen herself, the
+principal attraction in the procession was the equipages and liveries of
+the Ambassadors Extraordinary, chief among which was the carriage of
+Marshal Soult (who represented France), which had formerly belonged to
+the last great prince of the House of Conde, the father of the Duc de
+Bourbon, and which, by its superior magnificence, eclipsed all other
+vehicles.  Besides which, it held the Duke of Dalmatia, Wellington's old
+foe, who had now come to visit, in peace, the country he had so manfully
+fought against.
+
+Of the ceremony itself, I say nothing--everything was done decorously and
+in order.  It took a long time, for it was a quarter to four when the
+royal procession reformed and took its way through the nave of the abbey.
+The Queen entertained a party of 100 at dinner; and, in the evening,
+witnessed, from the roof of her palace, the fireworks discharged in the
+Green Park.  The Duke of Wellington gave a grand ball at Apsley House,
+for which cards of invitation were issued for 2,000 persons.
+
+As an indication of the numbers of people set down at the Abbey, I may
+mention that the carriages which were ordered to proceed (after setting
+down) to the south side of Westminster Bridge, occupied a line from the
+bridge to Kennington Cross (more than a mile).  The carriages which were
+to proceed, after setting down their company, to the west side of London,
+formed a line nearly to Kensington (a mile and a half).  Those ordered to
+wait in the Strand extended, in double lines, to St. Mary le Strand, and
+those directed to wait in Bird Cage Walk, St. James's Park, occupied (in
+double rows) the whole line to Buckingham Palace.
+
+There was a balloon ascent from Hyde Park, which was a comparative
+failure, for it descended in Marylebone Lane, quite done up with its
+short journey, and another sent up from Vauxhall, which was more
+successful.  There were grand displays of fireworks in the Green and Hyde
+Parks, and all London was most beautifully and brilliantly illuminated.
+
+But the great thing was the Fair in Hyde Park, which had official leave
+to exist for two days--but which, in fact, lasted four.  The area
+allotted to it comprised nearly one third of the Park, extending from
+near the margin of the Serpentine to within a short distance of Grosvenor
+Gate.  The best account I know of this Fair is in _The Morning Chronicle_
+of 29 June, and I here reproduce it:
+
+    "Of all the scenes which we witnessed, connected with the Coronation,
+    probably this was the most lively, and that in which there was the
+    least confusion, considering the mass of persons collected together.
+    Our readers are already aware that the Fair was permitted to take
+    place by the Government, on the petition of the present holders of
+    the show which formerly belonged to the celebrated Richardson; and it
+    was to their care, together with that of Mr. Mallalieu, the
+    Superintendent of Police, that its general management was entrusted.
+    In justice to those gentlemen, we must say that the arrangements made
+    for the accommodation of the public were admirable, while they were
+    carried out with the very greatest success.  The booths were arranged
+    in a square form, and covered a space of ground about 1,400 feet long
+    and about 1,000 feet broad.
+
+    "They were arranged in regular rows, ample space being allowed
+    between them for the free passage of the people; and they consisted
+    of every variety of shape, while they were decked with flags of all
+    colours and nations.  One portion of the fair was set apart
+    exclusively for ginger-bread and fancy booths, while those rows by
+    which these were surrounded were appropriated to the use of showmen,
+    and of persons who dealt in the more substantial articles of
+    refreshment.  Of the latter description, however, the readers would
+    recognize many as regular frequenters of such scenes; but, probably,
+    the booth which attracted the greatest attention, from its magnitude,
+    was that erected by Williams, the celebrated boiled beef monger of
+    the Old Bailey.  This was pitched in the broadest part of the fair,
+    and immediately adjoining Richardson's show; and, at the top of it
+    was erected a gallery for the use of those who were desirous of
+    witnessing the fireworks in the evening, and, to which, access was to
+    be procured by payment of a small sum.
+
+    "While this person, and the no less celebrated Alger, the proprietor
+    of the Crown and Anchor, were astonishing the visitors with the
+    enormous extent of the accommodation which they could afford the
+    public, others set up claims of a character more agreeable to the age
+    in the exceedingly tasty mode in which they had decorated their
+    temporary houses.  Of these, that which struck us as most to be
+    admired, was a tent erected by a person named Bull, of Hackney, the
+    interior of which, decorated with fluted pillars of glazed calico,
+    had a really beautiful appearance.  It would be useless, however, to
+    attempt to particularize every booth, for each held out its alluring
+    attractions to the gaping crowd with equal force, and each appeared
+    to be sufficiently patronized by the friends of its proprietor.
+
+    "Not a few, in addition to the solid attractions of eating and
+    drinking, held out those of a more 'airy' description, and, in many,
+    it was announced that a 'grand ball' would be held in the evening,
+    'to commence at six o'clock'; whilst, in others, bands of music were
+    heard 'in full play,' joining their sweet sounds to the melodious
+    beatings of gongs and shouting through trumpets of the adjoining
+    shows.  In attractions of this kind we need only say that the fair
+    was, in most respects, fully equal to any other at which we ever had
+    the good fortune to be present, whether at Greenwich, or Croydon, or
+    in any other of the suburban or metropolitan districts.  Beef and
+    ham, beer and wine, chickens and salad, were all equally plentiful,
+    and the taste of the most fastidious might be pleased as to the
+    quality, or the quantity, of the provisions provided for him.  In the
+    pastry cooks' booths, the usual variety of gingerbread nuts, and gilt
+    cocks in breeches, and kings and queens, were to be procured; while,
+    in some of them, the more refined luxury of ices was advertised, an
+    innovation upon the ancient style of refreshment which we, certainly,
+    had never expected to see introduced into the canvas shops of the
+    fair pastry cooks.
+
+    "While these _marchands_ were holding out their various attractions
+    to the physical tastes of the assembled multitude, the showkeepers
+    were not less actively employed in endeavouring to please the eye of
+    those who were willing to enjoy their buffooneries, or their wonders.
+    Fat boys and living skeletons, Irish giants and Welsh dwarfs,
+    children with two heads, and animals without any heads at all, were
+    among the least of the wonders to be seen; while the more rational
+    exhibition of wild beasts joined with the mysterious wonders of the
+    conjuror and the athletic performances of tumblers, in calling forth
+    expressions of surprise and delight from the old, as well as from the
+    young, who were induced to contribute their pennies 'to see the
+    show.'
+
+    "Nor were these the only modes of procuring amusement which presented
+    themselves.  On the Serpentine river a number of boats had been
+    launched, which had been procured from the Thames, and watermen were
+    employed, during the whole day, in rowing about those who were
+    anxious to enjoy the refreshing coolness of the water after the
+    turmoil and heat of the fair.  Ponies and donkeys were in the
+    outskirts of the fair, plentiful, for the use of the young who were
+    inclined for equestrian exercise, while archery grounds and throw
+    sticks held out their attractions to the adepts in such practices,
+    and roundabouts and swings were ready to gratify the tastes of the
+    adventurous.  Kensington Gardens were, as usual, open to the public,
+    and not a few who were fearful of joining in the crowd, contented
+    themselves here, in viewing the gay scene from a distance.  Timorous,
+    however, as they might be, of personal inconvenience, they did not
+    fail to enjoy the opportunities which were afforded them of looking
+    into the book of fate; and we observed many of the fairest parts of
+    the creation busily engaged in deep and private confabulations with
+    those renowned seers, the gypsies.
+
+    "With regard to those persons who visited the fair, we must say we
+    never saw a more orderly body.  From an early hour the visitors were
+    flocking in; but it was not until Her Majesty had gone to Westminster
+    Abbey that the avenues approaching Hyde Park became crowded.  Then,
+    indeed, the countless thousands of London appeared to be poured
+    forth, and all seemed to be bound for the same point of destination.
+    Thousands who had taken up their standing places at Hyde Park Corner,
+    poured through the gate; whilst many who had assumed positions at a
+    greater distance from the Parks, passed through the squares and
+    through Grosvenor Gate.  Every avenue was soon filled, every booth
+    was soon crammed full of persons desirous of procuring refreshment
+    and rest after the fatigue of standing so long in the crowd to view
+    the procession.
+
+    "These, however, were not the only persons who joined the throng.
+    Every cab, coach, or omnibus which had been left disengaged, appeared
+    to be driving to the same point, full of passengers.  Fulham, Putney,
+    Mile End and Brixton alike contributed their vehicles to carry the
+    people to the Parks, and thousands from the very extremity of the
+    City were to be seen flocking towards the Fair.  All seemed bent on
+    the same object, that of procuring amusement, and work seemed to have
+    been suspended, as if by common consent.  While the East-end thrust
+    forth her less aristocratic workmen, the West-end was not altogether
+    idle in furnishing its quota to the throng, and we noticed many
+    really elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen alight from their
+    carriages to view the enlivening scene; and many of them, who were,
+    apparently, strangers to such exhibitions, were, evidently, not a
+    little amused at the grotesque imitations of those amusements in
+    which the aristocracy delight.
+
+    "Carriages of every description were admitted into the Parks, and the
+    splendid carriage of an aristocrat was not unfrequently followed by
+    the tilted waggon of some remover of furniture, with its load of men,
+    women and children, who had come to 'see the fun.'  All seemed,
+    alike, bent on amusement; all, alike, appeared to throw aside those
+    restraints which rank, fashion, or station had placed upon them, and
+    to enter fully into the enjoyment of the busy scene in which they
+    were actors.  The delightful locality of the Fair, the bright
+    sunbeams playing upon the many-coloured tents, the joyous laughter of
+    the people, untouched by debauchery, and unseduced by the gross
+    pleasures of the appetite; the gay dresses of the women, all in their
+    best; joined in making the scene one which must live long in the
+    recollection of those who witnessed it.  All appeared to remember
+    that this was the day of the Coronation of a Queen, so youthful, so
+    beautiful, so pure, and all appeared to be determined that no act of
+    insubordination or of disorder on their part should sully the bright
+    opening of a reign so hopeful, and from which so much happiness is to
+    be expected.
+
+    "We have already said that the arrangements of the fair were
+    excellent; but, while these called forth our admiration, the
+    exceeding attention paid to the public by the police force appeared
+    to prevent the possibility of accident or robbery.  All gambling
+    booths and thimble riggers had, of course, been necessarily excluded,
+    but we fear it was not possible to shut out all those persons whose
+    recollection of the laws of _meum_ and _tuum_ was somewhat blunted.
+    We heard of numerous losses of small sums, and of handkerchiefs and
+    other trifles, but, throughout the day, we gained no information of
+    any robbery which was of sufficient extent to produce more than a
+    temporary inconvenience to the person robbed.  A temporary police
+    station was erected in the grounds, in which Mr. Mallalieu and a
+    considerable portion of his men were in attendance during the day;
+    but, although there were, necessarily, some cases in which slight
+    acts of intemperance were visible, nothing of any serious importance
+    occurred during the whole of the early part of the day.
+
+    "The orderly conduct of the people, which we have already described
+    as having been observable during the morning, was maintained through
+    the rest of the day.  Notwithstanding that the crowd, at three
+    o'clock, had increased tenfold, no disturbance nor riot occurred.
+    The return of Her Majesty attracted a few from the crowd, but nearly
+    every one returned, and all remained for the grand attraction of this
+    part of the day's amusement--the fireworks.  As evening closed in,
+    the fatigue of the people rendered rest, as well as refreshment,
+    necessary, and every booth was, in a short time, crowded with eager
+    inquiries for eatables and drinkables.  The dancing booths were
+    crowded to suffocation, and the viands of the purveyors of grog were
+    soon put into requisition."
+
+The next day was stormy and wet at first, but afterwards turned out fine,
+and the Fair was crowded.  On the third day, a booth caught fire, but no
+great damage was done.  On the fourth, and last day, the Queen drove as
+close to it as she well could do, and all the booths were cleared away
+that night.
+
+The Marquis of Waterford still continued his mad pranks, and he was
+brought before Mr. Dyer, the Magistrate at Marlborough Street, on 30
+June, charged with being drunk and disorderly in Piccadilly at 5 o'clock
+in the morning.
+
+Policeman Ellis, C 91, saw the Marquis, with two or three other persons
+and a woman in his cab, driving down the Haymarket, and committing the
+insane freak of making the foot pavement his road.  The policeman had no
+hope of overtaking the Marquis, from the speed at which his lordship was
+driving; he, however, followed as fast as he could, and, when the Marquis
+turned into Piccadilly, he saw his lordship again pull his horse on the
+pavement, and drive on, to the imminent danger of foot passengers.  The
+cab went against some posts, and this brought the horse to a standstill.
+The policeman ran up, and after much difficulty and opposition on the
+part of the Marquis's friends, he succeeded in lodging his lordship in
+the station house.  His lordship was too drunk to allow his being
+enlarged on bail.
+
+In explanation, the Marquis said he had a young horse in his cab, which
+was very difficult to drive.  The animal, having a heavy load behind him,
+became unmanageable, and went, in spite of all he could do, on the
+pavement.
+
+The policeman, in the most positive manner, said he saw the Marquis pull
+his horse upon the foot pavement, and whip the animal to make him go the
+faster.
+
+The Marquis declared, "upon his honour," he did not go more than five
+yards upon the pavement.
+
+The policeman declared the Marquis drove about 100 yards on the pavement
+in the Haymarket, and about 100 yards more upon the pavement in
+Piccadilly.  The concussion against the post was so great, that the woman
+was thrown six yards out of the cab.
+
+Marquis: I was thrown out myself.  The fact is, I consider this charge to
+be quite unwarranted.  No one was hurt, and the policeman exceeded his
+duty in taking me to the station house.
+
+Mr. Dyer: The policeman states you were intoxicated.
+
+Marquis: Why, I had been about all night, and I don't think I was very
+sober.
+
+Policeman: You had your collar and shirt open, and your chest was quite
+exposed.
+
+Marquis: I was dressed just as I am at present.
+
+Policeman: Your coat is now buttoned up; it was not so when I took you in
+charge.  You said, when I took you, you would defy your brother to drive
+your horse.
+
+Marquis: I might have said so because none of my brothers are in town.
+But the horse is only four years old, has never had a collar on before,
+and I'll defy any man to drive him the length of this street.
+
+Mr. Dyer: It was the more imprudent on your lordship's part to bring such
+an unsafe animal into the public streets, especially at the present time,
+when the streets are more than usually thronged.  Have you any witnesses?
+
+Marquis: Yes, I can bring them, but I had rather not.
+
+Mr. Dyer: If they can allege anything in contradiction of the charge of
+wilful driving on the footpath, I am willing to hear it.
+
+Marquis: No.  It will be a fine, I suppose, and I had rather pay it than
+trouble my friends to come forward.  I'll call my horse, if your Worship
+thinks proper.
+
+Mr. Dyer then inflicted a fine of 40s.
+
+The Marquis paid the money, and, turning to the policeman, made some
+unhandsome remarks on his evidence.
+
+Mr. Dyer said the policeman bore an excellent character, and, as far as
+the magistrates could judge, had always done his duty fairly and
+respectably.
+
+The Marquis took the arm of his friend, the Earl of Waldegrave, and left
+the office.
+
+We hear of him again very shortly afterwards, for on 31 July, at Derby
+assizes, came on an indictment charging the Marquis of Waterford, Sir F.
+Johnstone, Hon. A. C. H. Villiers, and E. H. Reynard, Esq., with a riot
+and assault.  On the 5th April were the Croxton Park races, about five
+miles distance from Melton Mowbray.  The four defendants had been dining
+out at Melton on the evening of that day; and about two in the morning of
+the following day, the watchmen on duty, hearing a noise, proceeded to
+the Market Place, and near Lord Rosebery's house saw several gentlemen
+attempting to overturn a caravan, a man being inside; the watchmen
+succeeded in preventing this, when the Marquis of Waterford challenged
+one of them to fight, which the watchmen declined.  Subsequently, hearing
+a noise in the direction of the toll bar, they proceeded thither, and
+found the gate keeper had been screwed up in his house, and he had been
+calling out "Murder!"
+
+On coming up with the gentlemen a second time, it was observed that they
+had a pot of red paint with them, while one carried a paint brush, which
+one of the constables wrested from the hand of the person who held it;
+but, subsequently, they surrounded the man, threw him on his back, and
+painted his face and neck with red paint.  They then continued their
+games, painting the doors and windows of different persons; and, when one
+of their companions (Mr. Reynard) was put in the lock up, they forced the
+constable to give up the keys, and succeeded in getting him out.  The
+jury found the defendants (who were all identified as having taken part
+in the affray) guilty of the common assault, and they were sentenced to
+pay a fine of 100 pounds each, and to be imprisoned till such fine be
+paid.
+
+Motor cars are not the modern invention we are apt to imagine them,
+except as regards the power used--which, until lately, was always steam.
+As far back as 1769, a Frenchman, named Cugnot, made a steam carriage
+which carried four people, and attained a speed of two and a quarter
+miles an hour!  But it was unfortunate to its inventor--for it came to
+grief in a street in Paris, and the unhappy man was imprisoned.  In
+England our engineers exercised their inventive power in making steam
+carriages--Murdock in 1782, Watt in 1784, Symington in 1786--and others
+made models, but the first which actually ran in England was made by
+Trevithick and Vivian in 1803, and this, in the streets of London (which
+were very far from being as good as they are now), attained a speed of
+eight or nine miles an hour.  Between the years 1827-34 there were
+numerous steam carriages built and tried, proving more or less
+successful.  One made by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney ran for three months in
+1831 with passengers between Cheltenham and Gloucester, while Hancock's
+steam omnibuses (carrying 14 to 16 passengers) ran in London pretty
+constantly during the years 1833-36, and often at a speed of 10 or 12
+miles an hour; some of his coaches ran long journeys, such as from London
+to Brighton, and he was the most successful of all inventors in this
+line, unless we except Scott Russell, who, in 1834, ran six steam coaches
+between Glasgow and Paisley.
+
+We read in the _Standard_ of 21 June, 1838, that "Yesterday afternoon,
+Hyde Park presented a more than usually gay appearance, in consequence of
+a crowd of fashionables being assembled to witness the trial of a
+newly-constructed steam cab.  Among the many splendid equipages were
+observed those of the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland, the Marquis of
+Salisbury, the Marquis of Northampton, the Earl of Winchilsea, Lord
+Howick, Lord Holland, and many other distinguished personages.  About 3
+o'clock the object of attraction moved forward at a slow pace from the
+old Foot Guard Barracks, Knightsbridge, and threaded its way through the
+various vehicles into the Park, passing through the centre gate of the
+triumphal arch, and making, in the open space opposite the statue,
+several turns within its own length.  The vehicle after the date hereof,
+will render themselves liable to be hours round the Park, and, from the
+slight noise it made, the horses passing did not appear to be frightened.
+The average speed of the cab was about twelve miles an hour.  The vehicle
+was guided by Mr. Hancock, the inventor."
+
+But, if mechanical science had advanced as far as motor cars, we were, in
+other ways, still as backward as Belgium and Germany are at the present,
+in using dogs as draught animals.  This practice had increased to such an
+extent that it was found necessary to placard the walls of the metropolis
+with the following notice.  "Notice is hereby given, that all persons
+using dogs under carts or trucks, as beasts of burden, after the date
+hereof, will render themselves liable to be prosecuted, and fined 2
+pounds, according to the provisions of an obsolete Act lately discovered.
+London, 18 Aug., 1838."  This scandal did not last long, for in "an Act
+for further improving the Police in and near the Metropolis," 2 and 3
+Vict., c. 47 [17 Aug., 1839], we find that Section LVI. says, "And be it
+enacted, That after the First Day of _January_ next, every person who,
+within the Metropolitan Police District, shall use any Dog for the
+purpose of drawing, or helping to draw any Cart, Carriage, Truck, or
+Barrow, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than Forty Shillings for
+the first offence, and not more than Five Pounds for the Second, or any
+following offence."  This act was extended to all parts of the Kingdom by
+the 17 and 18 Vict., c. 60.
+
+On the 13th July the Corporation of the City of London gave a grand
+banquet, at the Guildhall, to the foreign Princes, Ambassadors
+extraordinary, and _Corps Diplomatique_, then in the metropolis, in
+honour of the Queen's Coronation; and in order to completely divest the
+occasion of anything like a political aspect, care was taken to invite,
+besides the Ministers, an equal number of the _elite_ of both parties in
+the State.  The principal guests went in their state carriages, and the
+streets were crowded with sightseers who especially welcomed the Duke of
+Wellington and Marshal Soult.  The arrangements and decorations in the
+Hall were almost the same as those used for the Royal banquet in the
+previous November, the tables and sideboards were ablaze with plate lent
+by the various City Companies, and the General Bill of Fare was as
+follows:
+
+One hundred and twenty tureens of turtle soup, of five pints each; 17
+dishes of fish, consisting of salmon, turbot, whitings, tench and eels;
+40 haunches of venison; 80 dishes of fowls, capons and pullets; 40
+cherry, gooseberry and currant tarts; 30 strawberry tarts; 40 dishes of
+potatos; 60 dishes of French beans; 30 French pies; 30 pigeon pies; 30
+hams; 30 tongues; 2 barons of beef; 37 Chantilly baskets; 30 dishes of
+peas; 10 sirloins, ribs and rumps of beef; 45 dishes of shell fish; 30
+ribs, chines and legs of lamb; 40 dishes of ducklings; 20 turkey poults;
+80 jellies; 20 creams; 40 salads and cucumbers; 20 dishes of
+cauliflowers.  DESSERT.--Seventy-five pine apples of 2lbs each; 100
+dishes of hothouse grapes; 20 melons; 30 dishes of cherries; 100 dishes
+of strawberries; 40 dishes of currants and gooseberries; 120 cream and
+water ices, various; 40 dishes of dried fruit; 35 ornamented Savoy cakes;
+30 dishes of preserves, biscuits and olives.
+
+Marshal Soult stopped for some time in England, and visited many of the
+manufacturing towns.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+Genesis of "The Charter" - L. & N. W. Railway opened to
+Birmingham--Overland route to India--A bold smuggler--Bull
+baiting--Visitors to the Queen--"The Boy Jones."
+
+Probably nearly all my readers have heard of the "Chartists," but it is
+equally probable that few know when the agitation commenced, and the
+reason for its existence.  The "Charter," as it was called, was the
+Radical outcome of the Reform Bill of 1832.  For a time, after the
+passing of that Bill, the land had peace, for all reasonable reforms had
+been granted, but the demagogues were not going to be quietly
+annihilated, and an agitation for more trenchant reform was got up, and a
+mass meeting in its favour was held at Birmingham, on the 6th of August,
+and at it were inaugurated the principles of "The People's Charter," as
+it was called.  It is currently reported that this "Charter" was drawn up
+by William Lovett, a carpenter and cabinet maker, who took an active part
+in getting rid of the stamp tax upon newspapers; and it is very likely
+that it was so, for he drew up most of the petitions and addresses for
+the movement, and, in connection with it, he, the following year,
+suffered 12 months' imprisonment.  He died Aug. 1877.  The demands of
+this "Charter" were six, and they were familiarly known as the six
+points.  They were:
+
+    Universal Suffrage.
+    Vote by Ballot.
+    Annual Parliaments.
+    Payment of the Members.
+    Abolition of the Property Qualification.
+    Equal Electoral Districts.
+
+The meeting was got up by T. Atwood, Esq., M.P., and the site chosen for
+it was a large vacant piece of ground, at Birmingham, on the north-west
+side of the town, and there drinking booths galore were erected.  The
+morning began very wet, and the different divisions from the neighbouring
+country marched bemired and bedraggled to the rendezous.  There they soon
+filled the drinking booths, in which they abode; hence, probably, the
+very diverse statements as to the numbers present at the meeting, which
+vary from 10,000 to 200,000.  The ground chosen was a natural
+amphitheatre, and, if the weather had been finer, it would have been a
+pretty sight, enlivened by the bright banners of the different Trades'
+Societies.  However, Mr. Atwood read the Petition, which embodied the
+above six points, and moved its adoption.  Feargus O'Connor, a well-known
+firebrand, seconded it in a violent speech, in which occurred the
+following balderdash.
+
+   "On with your green standard rearing,
+      Go, flesh every sword to the hilt;
+   On our side is Virtue and Erin,
+      On yours is the _parson_ and guilt."
+
+Of course the Motion was enthusiastically carried, and then a very heavy
+shower of rain terminated the proceedings.  The petition was afterwards
+presented to Parliament by Mr. Atwood on the 14th of June, 1839.
+
+On 17th Sept the London and North Western Railway (then called the London
+and Birmingham Rly.) was opened throughout to Birmingham; the first
+train, containing Directors and their friends, leaving Euston at 7.15
+a.m.  The times of this train are useful for comparing with the present
+time.  "The train left Euston at 15 minutes past 7, but did not take on
+locomotive until 20 minutes past.  It arrived at Tring station at 25
+minutes past 8, where there was five minutes' delay.  Arrived at
+Wolverton at 6 minutes past 9, where the directors alighted and changed
+engines.  The train arrived at Rugby at 11 o'clock, where the Duke of
+Sussex and his suite alighted, and proceeded by carriage to the place of
+his destination.  The directors remained at Rugby 10 minutes, and arrived
+at Birmingham 3 minutes past 12, having performed the whole journey,
+including stoppages, in 4 hours 48 minutes, and, exclusive of stoppages,
+in 4 hours 14 minutes.  This is, unquestionably, the shortest time in
+which the journey from London to Birmingham has ever been performed,
+being upwards of two hours less than the time occupied by Marshal Soult
+and attendants a few weeks ago."
+
+"The fare for one person from London to Birmingham, or back, by the 'four
+inside' carriages, by day, or the first class, 'six inside' by night,
+will be 1 pound 12s. 6d; by the second-class carriages, open by day,
+which is the cheapest, it will be 1 pound.  The intermediate fares will
+be 1 pound 10s. and 1 pound 5s."
+
+It is not generally known that the two lodges at the entrance of Euston
+Station, were the original ticket office and waiting room.
+
+People were beginning to wake from the torpor in which they had hitherto
+slumbered, with regard to locomotion, and on 12th October an influential
+meeting of merchants and others was held at the Jerusalem Coffee House to
+hear a Captain Barber unfold his scheme for a quicker communication with
+India.  This was that passengers and goods should be taken by steam to
+Cairo, and thence, by omnibuses and vans to Suez--as was afterwards done
+by Waghorn, who was already forming an Overland Mail (see _Times_, 29
+Nov., 1838).
+
+With the very heavy duties on foreign goods, of course smuggling was very
+rife, and the Inland Revenue was defrauded on every possible occasion by
+the sharp wits opposed to it; and the difficulty of conviction, unless
+the smuggler was caught red-handed, was very considerable.  The following
+is a case in point, and for sheer impudence, it bears the palm.  17 Oct.:
+
+    MANSION HOUSE.--A Scotchwoman, named Frances Bodmore, the wife of a
+    Frenchman, who has been engaged in smuggling, appeared to answer for
+    her husband, on a charge of having two two-gallon bottles of French
+    brandy in his possession, without having paid the duty thereon.
+
+    Child, the constable, said he went into the house of the Frenchman,
+    in Sugarloaf Court; and, while searching for other things, found the
+    bottles under the pillows of the bed.
+
+    The Lord Mayor: Why don't your husband attend?
+
+    Woman: Why, because he knows nothing at all about the business.  I
+    think he'd be a great fool to come here without knowing for what.
+
+    The Lord Mayor: How do you get your living?
+
+    Woman: Why, as well as I can.  I don't get it without running some
+    risk for it, you may depend.
+
+    The Lord Mayor: We know you to be a consummate smuggler.
+
+    Woman: Whatever my business may be, I generally get through it like a
+    trump.  There's no nonsense about me.
+
+    The Lord Mayor (to the Revenue officer): She is constantly backward
+    and forward between this and France, I daresay.
+
+    Woman: Yes, my Lord, I travel a good deal for the benefit of my
+    health, and I always come back stouter than I go.  (Laughter.)
+
+    Officer: She's perfectly well known, my Lord, as one of a number that
+    are commissioned by parties in London.  They are all very clever, and
+    elude us in every possible way, and the steamers afford them great
+    facilities.
+
+    The Lord Mayor: I can't send this woman to prison, and she knows it
+    well, but I shall punish every experienced smuggler I catch as
+    severely as I can.  They cheat the fair trader, they endanger the
+    vessel in which they come over, and they cheat the Government.
+
+    Woman: Ay, my Lord, that's the cleverest thing of all.  Only think of
+    cheating the Government!  Well, well, I wonder where the villainy of
+    man will end!  (Laughter.)
+
+    The Lord Mayor: Take care of yourself.  You think you are secure.
+    You may go now.
+
+    Woman: Good morning, my Lord.  Although you are so kind, I hope I
+    shall never have the pleasure of seeing your face again.
+
+    The Lord Mayor was informed that great quantities of lace were
+    brought over by women.  Some had been found stitched up in the skins
+    of wildfowl, and there was scarcely an article, dead or alive, that
+    was not suspected of being a depository of contraband goods.  It was
+    but a short time ago, that a wretched-looking object was discovered
+    to be the carrier of a large stock of lace.  He had an old bedstead,
+    which, in his trips to Boulogne, he used to take with him.  At last,
+    somebody on board expressed his surprise, why a ricketty piece of
+    furniture, which looked as if it was the tenement of living animals,
+    should be so frequent a passenger.  Upon close examination, it was
+    found that the several pieces of the bedstead had been hollowed and
+    stuffed with lace.
+
+The cruel old English sport of bull baiting was still continued at
+Stamford, in Lincolnshire, where it is said to have existed since the
+year 1209, in the reign of King John.  The story goes that, in that year,
+William, Earl Warren, lord of the town, standing on the walls of his
+castle, saw two bulls fighting for a cow, in the castle meadow, till all
+the butchers dogs pursued one of the bulls (maddened by the noise and
+multitude) clean through the town.  This sight so pleased the Earl, that
+he gave the castle meadow, where the bulls' duel began, for a common, to
+the butchers of the town, after the first grass was mown, on condition
+that they should find a mad bull the day six weeks before Christmas
+Day--for the continuation of that sport, for ever.
+
+But the time had come for putting an end to this barbarous practice, and
+it was this year put down by direct interference of the Secretary of
+State.  At Stamford, and elsewhere, it was believed that this bull
+baiting was legal, being established by custom; but the Society for the
+Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with a view of setting the question at
+rest by the decision of the Court of Queen's Bench, caused an indictment
+to be preferred against several of the ringleaders.  The indictment was
+tried at Lincoln, before Mr. Justice Park and a special jury, when
+several of them were found guilty; and, upon their being brought up for
+judgment in the Court of Queen's Bench, the Court unanimously declared
+the practice to be illegal; the Chief Justice, in particular, said: "It
+was supposed there was some matter of law--at first, there was a supposed
+old Charter--for the future, it must be considered as an illegal
+practice."
+
+In consequence of this decision, a troop of the 14th Dragoons, together
+with 12 Metropolitan policemen, were sent into the town of Stamford.
+Placards, apprising the public of the illegality of the bull baiting,
+were posted in the town and neighbourhood, and the threatened and
+attempted repetition of this barbarous scene was prevented without any
+loss of life or serious injury.  The _bullards_ (as they were called)
+mustered in strong numbers.  They had provided two fierce bulls to be
+hunted and tormented; but the bulls were seized and pounded by the
+police; and, although the ruffian mob remained in considerable numbers,
+no serious breach of the peace took place.  But they were determined not
+to be altogether baulked of their _sport_; for a bull calf, enclosed in a
+cart, and followed by its lowing mother, entered the town, and was
+immediately seized on as a substitute for a bull.  It was taken out, and
+hunted through the town for some time, until rescued by the police.
+
+Every lunatic seems to have wanted to say something to the young Queen,
+and visitors to Buckingham Palace were very frequent, although the object
+of their wishes was never attained.  To show the nuisance involved by
+these fools let me give one paragraph out of the _Times_, 19 Dec.:
+
+    VISITORS TO HER MAJESTY.--On Saturday night, about 9 o'clock, a very
+    respectably dressed young man rang the bell at the tradesmen's
+    entrance of the new Palace, and, upon being asked the nature of his
+    business, he said he had come for the direction of his house, as he
+    was tired, and wished to go home.  Upon being asked to explain
+    himself, he said he had just come from Sydney, and had been desired
+    to call at the Palace by the Queen, who told him he should have a
+    house to live in, and 150 pounds a year, for some very important
+    spiritual communication he had made to her.  The young man, whose
+    every action showed he was a lunatic, was then told the Queen was not
+    in town, when he turned away, observing that he would go immediately
+    to Lord Hill, and lay his case before him.  Visits of the preceding
+    kind are very frequent at the Palace, and the tales told by the
+    visitants are of the very strangest nature.  It is only a few weeks
+    since, an elderly man, having the appearance of a farmer, called at
+    the Palace, and handing to the porter the certificate of his birth,
+    requested him to let Her Majesty sign it.  From inquiries made
+    concerning this man, it was discovered that he was a respectable
+    farmer in the neighbourhood of Exeter, from which distant place he
+    had wandered on so strange an errand.
+
+But of all visitors to the Royal Palace, THE BOY JONES was the most
+frequent and successful.  Who, in this generation, knows anything about
+THE BOY JONES?  Yet his escapades were very daring and his story is very
+true--but so strange is it that, in order to be believed, I must, at
+least, in part, give the chapter and verse for it:
+
+_The Times_, 15 Dec.:
+
+    QUEEN SQUARE.--Yesterday, a lad about 15 years of age, who gave his
+    name as Edward Cotton, whose dress was that of a sweep, but who was
+    stated to be the son of a respectable tradesman in Hertfordshire, was
+    charged with being found in the Marble hall of Buckingham Palace,
+    under circumstances of an extraordinary nature.  It should be stated
+    that Buckingham Palace, even during the absence of the Queen, is
+    guarded by the gentlemen porters of the establishment, two inspectors
+    of the A division of police, and sentries from the Foot Guards.  In
+    spite of this, a number of cases have lately occurred at this office,
+    where persons have been found in the interior of the Palace under
+    unaccountable circumstances.
+
+    George Cox, one of the porters, having been sworn, said, that at five
+    o'clock yesterday morning he saw the prisoner in the Marble hall.
+    The latter endeavoured to make his escape into the lobby, but he
+    pursued him, and he then took a contrary direction, across the lawn
+    at the back of the Palace.  Witness called for the sentry at the
+    gate, and a policeman of the B Division who was on duty in James
+    Street, caught the lad, after a long chase over the lawn.  Mr. Cox
+    added, that he found, in the lobby, a regimental sword, a quantity of
+    linen, and other articles, all of which had been purloined from the
+    Palace.  The sword was the property of the Hon. Augustus Murray, a
+    gentleman attached to the Queen's establishment.  Witness went into
+    that gentleman's bedroom, and the bedding was covered with soot.  The
+    prisoner had, evidently, endeavoured to get up the chimney, in order
+    to effect his escape; there was a valuable likeness of Her Majesty,
+    in the Marble hall, which was broken, and covered with soot; and it
+    was supposed that the lad, in the first instance, had descended from
+    the top of the building, and had endeavoured to make his way back
+    again in the same manner.
+
+    James Stone, 31 B, deposed that he was called upon by the last
+    witness to secure the prisoner.  There were marks of soot in several
+    of the bedchambers, as well as in one of the corridors of the Palace,
+    and the Grand (or Marble) hall.  He found upon him two letters, one
+    addressed to Her Majesty, and the other to the Hon. Mr. Murray.
+    These letters had been placed underneath Her Majesty's portrait, and
+    had, no doubt, been taken by the prisoner at the time the picture was
+    destroyed.  Part of the scabbard of the sword was discovered in one
+    of the beds, and a quantity of bear's grease, part of which he had
+    placed upon his flesh, was taken from him--it belonged to one of the
+    servants of the Palace.  Upon being taken to the station house, he
+    said he came from Hertfordshire, and that his father was a
+    respectable man.
+
+    Mr. White, the sitting magistrate, observed that it was a most
+    extraordinary thing that persons could get into the Palace under such
+    circumstances.
+
+    Several persons belonging to the Palace said that every inquiry had
+    been made, but it could not be accounted for.
+
+    Mr. White (to the prisoner): Where do you come from?
+
+    Prisoner: I came from Hertfordshire 12 months ago, and I met with a
+    man in a fustian jacket, who asked me to go with him to Buckingham
+    House.  I went, and have been there ever since.  I got my victuals in
+    the kitchen, and I thought myself very well off, because I came to
+    London to better myself.
+
+    Mr. White: Well, you could not go to a higher place.
+
+    Prisoner: I declare it to be the case, and I lived very well.  To be
+    sure, I was obliged to wash my shirt now and then.
+
+    Mr. White: You fared, then, altogether, pretty well?
+
+    Prisoner: Very well indeed, Sir, and I was always placed, when the
+    Queen had a meeting with the Ministers, behind a piece of furniture
+    in the room; but I, certainly, did live well.
+
+    Mr. White: Indeed!  And which was your favourite apartment?
+
+    Prisoner: The room in front of the gardens; but I was always in the
+    secret when the Ministers came.
+
+    Mr. White: Do you mean to tell me that you have lived in the Palace
+    upwards of 11 months, and been concealed when Her Majesty held a
+    Council?
+
+    Prisoner: I do.
+
+    Mr. White: Were you hid behind a chair?
+
+    Prisoner: No.  But the tables and other furniture concealed me.
+
+    Mr. White: Then you could hear all Her Majesty said?
+
+    Prisoner: Oh, yes! and her Ministers too.
+
+    The prisoner's answers to the questions of the magistrate were given
+    in the most shrewd manner possible, and he evidently appeared to be a
+    lad of some education, but nothing further could be elicited from
+    him.
+
+    Mr. White said it was a most singular affair, and that it should be
+    strictly inquired into.  For the present, he should remand the
+    prisoner until Wednesday next.  The magistrate also told Cox that, as
+    he should be sitting there every day, he should be glad to receive
+    any information upon the subject.
+
+    The letters found upon the prisoner were directed to be sent to the
+    Palace, under seal of the Office, the prisoner having broken them
+    open.
+
+The case excited great interest, and, in the first instance, was sent to
+Bow Street; but Sir Frederick Roe being out of town, it was ordered to be
+heard at this office.
+
+    _The Times_, 20 Dec.--Yesterday, the lad found in Buckingham Palace,
+    who had given his name as Edward Cotton, and described himself as the
+    son of a respectable tradesman living in the town of Hertford, was
+    brought before Messrs. White and Gregorie for final examination.  It
+    will be recollected that he had purloined, amongst other articles,
+    two letters, which were immediately sealed up, and sent back to the
+    Palace.  The prisoner turns out to be the son of an industrious
+    tailor, named Jones, residing in York Street, Westminster; and, it
+    appears, had frequently expressed his intention to enter the Palace,
+    under any circumstances.  He had often stated that he wished to see
+    the grand staircase, in order to take a sketch of it, and had often
+    expressed his determination to see the Queen, and to hear her
+    sentiments when Her Majesty and her Ministers were assembled in
+    Council.
+
+    Frederick Blume now deposed that he was valet to the Hon. Mr. Murray,
+    and that a sword, a quantity of linen and other articles, had been
+    stolen from that gentleman's apartments in the Palace.
+
+    Mr. White: When were they stolen?
+
+    Witness: I can't recollect.
+
+    Mr. White: Was it a week, a month, or three or four months ago?
+
+    Witness: I cannot say.
+
+    Mr. White: Where was your master's sword at the time you saw it last?
+
+    Witness: When I went to Windsor.
+
+    Mr. White: When was that?
+
+    Witness: I cannot exactly recollect, and then he added, that about a
+    week since, he had sent from Windsor to the Palace, a portmanteau
+    containing his linen, and three pairs of trousers, four of stockings,
+    and three cravats were missing.  The padlock of the portmanteau had
+    been forced by the sword having been applied to it.  The sword had
+    broken in the attempt.  He had also lost five 10 sous pieces, which
+    had been found upon the prisoner.
+
+    Mr. White: What is the value of the articles you have lost?
+
+    Witness: I don't know; but I should like to give three guineas to get
+    them back.
+
+    Mr. White: Can you swear to the French coin found upon the prisoner
+    as being yours?
+
+    The witness was then shown the coin, and he said that he certainly
+    could.  They had been taken from his bedroom.
+
+                                  * * * * *
+
+    Mr. White: Can any information be given as to the manner in which the
+    prisoner gained access to the Palace?  Cox, one of the porters to the
+    Palace, said that the principal entrance door was always locked, and
+    the key in his possession.  At 5 o'clock on Saturday morning, just as
+    he was about to get out of bed, the prisoner opened the door of his
+    room, as witness considered, to obtain the key; his face and hands
+    were disguised with soot and bear's grease, and he was asked whether
+    he came to sweep a chimney: he did not make any answer, but
+    endeavoured to escape.
+
+    Inspector Steed, A division, said that upon examining the gates of
+    the principal entrance of the Palace, he found that, at the Marble
+    Arch, there was a vacuum sufficient to admit a boy into the Palace,
+    without any inconvenience.
+
+    Mr. White: And is there no sentry at this gate?
+
+    Witness: There are two.
+
+    The inspector said that he had examined the boy's boots, and the
+    gravel upon them corresponded with that lately laid down close to the
+    Marble Arch.  The boots had been taken off by the prisoner, and left
+    in one of the apartments appropriated to the use of the porters of
+    the Palace.
+
+    Mr. Griffiths, builder, Coventry Street, said that the lad had been
+    in his employment for a few months; he had always expressed his
+    intention to get into the interior of the Palace by some means or
+    other; he was a clever lad, and had made a sketch of the exterior,
+    and a view of the enclosure fronting the Palace.  He had left his
+    service two days since, and witness was very much distressed, as were
+    his parents, to know what had become of him.  Upon reading the
+    accounts in the newspapers, he immediately went to Tothill Fields,
+    and identified him, much to the gratification of his father, who
+    supposed that he had drowned himself, the latter having, on account
+    of his son's bad conduct, turned him out of doors.
+
+    The Magistrate, after telling the boy that he would, most likely, be
+    committed for trial, asked him what he could say in his defence.
+
+    Prisoner: I wished to see the Palace, and I went in with a man in a
+    fustian jacket.  I had the whole range of the Palace for a day or
+    two, but the money found upon me I picked up in one of the rooms.
+
+    Mr. White: Tell me the truth, for I am about to send you for trial.
+
+    Prisoner: Oh, very well; with all my heart.
+
+    He was fully committed to the Westminster Sessions, and all parties
+    bound over to prosecute.
+
+He was tried on 28 Dec., and was most ably defended by his Counsel, Mr.
+Prendergast, who turned everything to ridicule, and the jury returned a
+verdict of Not Guilty, regarding the escapade in the light of a youthful
+folly, and being, also, mindful of the fact that the boy did not enter
+the Palace for the purpose of theft.
+
+But we shall hear of THE BOY JONES again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+Death of Lord Norbury--Birth of photography--Experimental street
+pavements--Forecast of the Queen's marriage--Sad story of Lady Flora
+Hastings--Story of a climbing boy--Van Amburgh--Embanking the
+Thames--Victoria Park--Robbery of gold dust.
+
+In a book, professedly of Gossip, politics should be strictly kept in the
+background--but at this time Ireland was seething with sedition.  Still I
+should hardly have adverted to it, had not the deliberate and brutal
+murder of the Earl of Norbury, on 1 Jan., set all tongues wagging.  His
+Lordship was walking in the shrubbery, near his own house at Kilbeggan,
+in the county of Meath, talking to his steward, and pointing out to him
+some trees he wished to have cut down, when some miscreant, behind a
+hedge, fired a blunder-buss loaded with swan shot at him, and he fell,
+mortally wounded.  He lived for 43 hours afterwards--but his assassin ran
+away and escaped; nor, in spite of large rewards offered, was he ever
+discovered.
+
+Photography may be said to have been practically born early in this year,
+for, on 7 Jan., the French Academy reported on the invention of M.
+Daguerre, by which the pictures of the camera lucida were rendered
+permanent.  All former attempts may be regarded as scientific
+dilletanteism and nothing more.  The earliest known pictures caused by
+light on a sensitive surface were made by Thomas Wedgwood (a son of
+Josiah, the famous potter), whose researches were published in 1802 in
+the _Journal of the Royal Institution_, under the title: "An account of a
+Method of copying Paintings upon Glass, and making Profiles by the agency
+of Light upon Nitrate of Silver: with Observations by H. Davy."
+Afterwards, came Nicephore Niepce, of Chalon sur Saone, who produced
+permanent light pictures in 1814, and he and Daguerre went into
+partnership in this matter, in 1829.  Fox Talbot was the first to invent
+a negative photograph, and he read a paper on "Photogenic Drawings"
+before the Royal Society, on 31 Jan., this year; and that scientific
+investigation of the new wonder excited the attention, even of amateurs,
+is shown by a letter in the _Times_ of 21 Feb.:
+
+"SIR,--Seeing in a newspaper, last week, that a German had found out M.
+Daguerre's secret, I was so impressed with that testimony to the
+possibility of _seizing a shadow_, that I thought over all the little I
+knew of light, colours and chymistry.  The next day, I took a piece of
+writing paper, hastily prepared by myself, placed it behind the lens of a
+_camera obscura_, made on the spur of the moment, and obtained a
+satisfactory result; for the trees, in front of my house, were produced,
+but not the parts agitated by the wind.  Since that, I have obtained,
+progressively improving, several landscapes, which may be called, most
+appositely, 'lucigraphs.'  I mention my humble effort as corroborative of
+the reality, or feasibility of M. Daguerre's beautiful discovery; and I
+can readily conceive that, in a very short time, the traveller's
+portmanteau will not be complete without the very portable means of
+procuring a lucigraph at pleasure.--Yours, etc., CLERICUS, Welney,
+Wisbeach."  This gentleman's prophecy has, long since, been verified, as
+the "Kodakers" all over the world can testify.  But the first public
+experiment in England (if we exclude Wedgwood's) was made, on Sept. 13,
+1839, when M. St. Croix exhibited the whole process of Daguerreotype, in
+presence of a select party of scientific men and artists.  He also
+succeeded in producing a picture of the place of meeting; No. 7,
+Piccadilly.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+People were beginning to wake up as to social improvements, and the
+better paving of, at least, the most public thoroughfares, was loudly
+called for.  Hitherto people had been content with the old cobble stones,
+and wide kennels, or gutters--but henceforth there was to be inaugurated
+a newer and better _regime_, as we learn from the _Observer_ of 6 Jan.:
+
+    "EXPERIMENTAL PAVEMENT OF OXFORD STREET.--This, doubtless, the most
+    extraordinary and novel undertaking which has ever been attempted in
+    the annals of road making, is, to the gratification, not only to the
+    respectable inhabitants of Oxford Street, but to a curious public, at
+    last, completed.  On Friday (4 Jan.) at 2 o'clock, the line of this
+    great thoroughfare, occupied by the various specimens of paving,
+    extending from Charles Street to Tottenham Court Road, presented a
+    most animated spectacle, being thronged by thousands of spectators
+    anxious to witness its opening to the public.  Shortly after 2
+    o'clock, the Paving Committee appointed by the Marylebone Vestry to
+    superintend the arrangement of this work of art, headed by the parish
+    beadles, in full uniform, with their maces; and accompanied by the
+    respective projectors and the parochial authorities, arrived on the
+    spot in procession, and passed over the ground, followed by 21
+    omnibuses, after which, the road was thrown open to the public.  From
+    time to time, during the progress of the work, many erroneous
+    statements have gone the rounds of our daily contemporaries, with
+    respect to the extent of ground allotted to the experiments, and on
+    other matters connected with the arrangements.  The following,
+    however, being obtained from an official source, may be fully relied
+    upon as correct: The whole space between Charles Street and Tottenham
+    Court Road is occupied by 12 different specimens, which are completed
+    in the following order, commencing at Charles Street: viz.--40 feet
+    of Robinson's Parisian bitumen--24 feet laid in straight courses, and
+    16 feet diagonally; 74 feet of parish stone paving, 54 feet of which
+    is laid in straight courses, the stones 9 inches deep, and the
+    interstices filled up with Claridge's asphalte; the remaining 20 feet
+    consisting of stones only 4.5 inches deep, but laid diagonally, and
+    filled up with the same composition; 60 feet of the Bastenne and
+    Gaujac bitumen, partly laid in straight courses, and partly
+    diagonally: 135 feet of parish stone paving, divided into three
+    sections, in the following order--1st, 70 feet of dressed Aberdeen
+    granite, with concrete bottom, and the joints grouted with lime and
+    sand; 2nd, 40 feet of the same, laid diagonally; and 3rd, 25 feet of
+    dressed Aberdeen granite, without concrete bottom, the joints filled
+    in with fine gravel; this is followed by 50 feet of the Scotch
+    asphaltum, which is entirely the produce of this country, laid down
+    in straight courses: 60 feet of Mr. Stead's pavement, of wooden
+    blocks, of a sexagonal form, 12 inches deep, divided into three
+    compartments, one prepared with Kyan's patent, part dipped in, and
+    joints run with asphalte, and part without any preparation whatever:
+    the last specimen, at Tottenham Court Road, is 60 feet of the Val de
+    Travers bitumen, a portion of which consists of square blocks, laid
+    in straight courses, and the remainder consisting of a layer of clean
+    Guernsey chippings cemented together by boiling asphalte, run among
+    them nearly to the surface, and a face made with asphalte, merely
+    showing the chippings, here and there, in patches.  The whole work
+    presents a most even and beautiful road, and, yesterday, during the
+    day, attracted the notice of many hundreds of persons.  The portion,
+    however, it is but justice to add, to which attention was more
+    particularly directed, was that of the wooden blocks, the noiseless
+    tendency of which, made the vehicles passing along, appear to be
+    rolling over a thick carpet or rug.  The time allowed by the Vestry
+    of St. Marylebone for the test of these experiments, is until the
+    last Saturday of June next, when the official report of the surveyors
+    will be laid before that body, and upon which the fate of Oxford
+    Street depends."
+
+People began to feel that it was high time that the Queen should
+marry--but, as yet, no signs of such a thing, and no speculations, as far
+as I can see, were hazarded as to who her future consort should be.  At
+length, one newspaper, the _Sun_, seems to have been inspired, by
+authority, and is thus quoted in the _Times_ of 24 Jan.:--"'MARRIAGE OF
+HER MAJESTY.--The country will learn with delight that the most
+interesting part of the speech from the throne {81a} to both Houses of
+Parliament, and the country at large, will be the announcement of Her
+Majesty's intended marriage.  The happy object of Queen Victoria's choice
+is Prince Albert, son of the reigning Duke of Saxe Coburg, and cousin of
+Her Majesty.  Prince Albert is handsome, and about 22 years of age.  He
+has resided, for some time, in this country, on a visit to his Royal
+relatives.  How soon the happy event is to take place, we are not
+prepared to say, but our readers may depend upon the authenticity of our
+information.'--_The Sun_.  Has not some wag been hoaxing the editor?  We
+suspect so, though, at the same time, we do not profess to have any
+knowledge on the subject."
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Indeed, it was about time that the Queen married, and got out of the
+leading strings of the women folk who surrounded her.  Had she been
+married, we should, probably, have never heard of the sad episode of Lady
+Flora Hastings.
+
+This lady, who was highly accomplished, and the authoress of some pretty
+poems, {81b} which were published after her death, was the eldest
+daughter of Francis, Marquis of Hastings, and Flora, Countess of Loudon,
+and was lady of the bedchamber to the Duchess of Kent.  Two old
+busybodies, the Ladies Portman and Tavistock, spread the vile and
+unfounded rumour that the unfortunate lady was _enceinte_, and the Queen
+forbade Lady Flora to appear at Court until she had submitted to the
+indignity of a medical examination.  The case called forth some very
+strong feeling--and a vast quantity of correspondence was published on
+the subject, especially the indignant letters of the poor lady's mother
+to the Queen; but, perhaps, the most temperate account of the whole
+affair, is in a letter from Lady Flora's uncle, Mr. Hamilton Fitzgerald,
+which was published in the _Examiner_ of Sunday, 24th of March, and,
+afterwards, copied into all the daily papers.
+
+    "SIR,--Many false and contradictory reports of the deplorable insult
+    which has been lately offered to my niece, Lady Flora Hastings, at
+    Buckingham Palace, having appeared in the public papers, I, as her
+    ladyship's nearest connection, feel it my duty to request of you to
+    publish the following account of the transaction, for the correctness
+    of which I vouch.
+
+    "Lady Flora arrived, some weeks since, from Scotland, very unwell.
+    She immediately consulted Sir James Clark, the physician to both Her
+    Majesty and the Duchess of Kent.  One symptom of her complaint was a
+    swelling of the stomach.  By dint of exercise and medical treatment,
+    she was getting better; the swelling had considerably subsided, and
+    she had every hope of a speedy recovery; when, on or about the 1st of
+    March, Sir James Clark went to her room, and announced to her the
+    conviction of the ladies of the Palace that she was pregnant.  In
+    answer to all his exhortations to confession, 'as the only means of
+    saving her character,' Lady Flora returned an indignant, but steady
+    denial that there was anything to confess.  Upon which, Sir James
+    Clark told her, 'that nothing but her submitting to a medical
+    examination would ever satisfy them, or remove the stigma from her
+    name.'  Lady Flora found that the subject had been brought before the
+    Queen's notice, and that all this had been discussed, arranged and
+    denounced to her, without one word having been said on the subject to
+    her own mistress, the Duchess of Kent; who had no suspicion of what
+    was going on, and whose sanction was not sought for the humiliating
+    proposition which had been made to Lady Flora.  On leaving Lady
+    Flora's room, Sir James Clark went to the Duchess of Kent, and
+    announced his conviction that Lady Flora was with child; and was
+    followed by Lady Portman, who conveyed a message from Her Majesty to
+    her mother, that the Queen would not permit Lady Flora to appear till
+    the examination had taken place.  Lady Portman (who, with Lady
+    Tavistock, are mentioned as most active against Lady Flora) expressed
+    to the Duchess of Kent, her conviction of Lady Flora's guilt.
+
+    "'Her beloved mistress' never, for a moment, doubted Lady Flora's
+    innocence.  She said that she knew her, her principles, and her
+    family too well to listen to such a charge.  However, the edict was
+    given; and, the next day, Lady Flora having obtained the Duchess of
+    Kent's very reluctant consent--'for Her Royal Highness could not bear
+    the idea of her being exposed to such a humiliation'--but, Lady
+    Flora, 'feeling it her duty to Her Royal Highness, to herself, and to
+    her family, that a point blank refutation should be instantly given
+    to the lie,' submitted herself to the most rigid examination; and now
+    possesses a certificate, signed by Sir James Clark, and also by Sir
+    Charles Clark, stating, as strongly as language can state it, that
+    there are no grounds for believing that pregnancy does exist, or ever
+    has existed.  Lord Hastings, though, at the time very ill from
+    influenza, went to London immediately, and demanded, and obtained,
+    from Lord Melbourne, a distinct disavowal of his participation in the
+    affair; and demanded, and obtained, an audience of Her Majesty, in
+    which, while he disclaimed all idea that the Queen had any wish to
+    injure his sister, he plainly, though respectfully, stated his
+    opinion of those who had counselled her, and his resolution to find
+    out the originator of the slander, and bring him, or her, to
+    punishment.  Lady Flora is convinced that the Queen was surprised
+    into the order which was given, and that Her Majesty did not
+    understand what she was betrayed into; for, ever since the horrid
+    event, Her Majesty has shown her regret by the most gracious kindness
+    to Lady Flora, and expressed it warmly, with 'tears in her eyes.'
+
+    "The Duchess of Kent's conduct was perfect; 'a mother could not have
+    been kinder.'  'She immediately dismissed Sir James Clark from her
+    service, and refused to see Lady Portman'; and has crowned her
+    goodness by a most beautiful letter she has written to the Dowager
+    Lady Hastings, from whom the accounts were kept, till all hope of
+    avoiding publicity was impossible."
+
+Her brother, the Marquis of Hastings, was indefatigable in trying to
+unearth the promoters of the scandal, but, from the published letters,
+without much result; but the unfortunate affair involved the whole Court,
+for a time, in unpopularity--Lady Loudon, her mother, demanded from the
+Queen, Sir James Clark's dismissal, but was not successful.  Meantime,
+the object of all this agitation, after resuming, for a time, the duties
+of her situation, grew gradually worse, and, at length, expired, on the
+5th July, at the age of 33.  By the desire of Lord Hastings, a _post
+mortem_ examination of the body took place, the particulars of which,
+attested by five of the most eminent surgeons of the metropolis, were
+published in the papers, and fully established the unfortunate lady's
+complete innocence of the charge brought against her, the cause of death
+being clearly shown to be enlargement of the liver.
+
+Lady Flora's remains were removed from the palace, at an early hour in
+the morning, to be conveyed, by steamboat, to Scotland.  Even as early as
+two o'clock, a considerable number of spectators were assembled, which
+increased in every street through which the procession passed.  Four
+Royal carriages, including those of the Queen and the Queen Dowager, and
+many belonging to the nobility, accompanied the hearse.  Lady Flora's
+body was interred, on the 15th of July, in the family vault at Loudon,
+Ayrshire.
+
+There were many books and pamphlets published with regard to this affair,
+among which were her mother's letters to the Queen: "The Lady Flora
+Hastings, a Brief Sketch"--"A Warning to the Baroness Lehzen, {84}
+etc."--"The Palace Martyr, a Satire"--"The Dangers of Evil Council,
+etc."--"A Dirge on the Death of Lady Flora Hastings"--"The late Lady
+Flora Hastings: Statements of the Marquis of Hastings, etc."--"The Victim
+of Scandal."
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+At the time of which I write, climbing boys were still employed to sweep
+chimneys, and as a sample of the manner in which they were treated by
+their masters, I give the following police case.  25 Jan.:
+
+    MARLBOROUGH STREET.--Henry Riddle, foreman to Robert Towser, a
+    chimney sweep, appeared before the magistrates on a summons charging
+    him under the 4 & 5 Wil. IV., c. 35, with the following act of
+    cruelty towards James Arnold, a boy about 12 years of age, and who,
+    for some time past, had been in Towser's employ.
+
+    Mr. Rice, a baker, of 31, Up. Seymour St., Portman Sq., deposed that,
+    on the afternoon of the 18th instant, his kitchen chimney, by some
+    accident, caught fire; and, in consequence of information thereof
+    being communicated to the defendant Riddle, he, soon afterwards, came
+    to the house, bringing with him the boy Arnold, whom he, at once,
+    desired to ascend, notwithstanding that the lighted soot was, at the
+    time, coming down into the grate in large flakes.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: Did you remonstrate with Riddle upon the inhumanity of
+    his conduct?
+
+    Complainant: I did, and begged of him not to send the boy up, as he
+    would, inevitably, be suffocated; to which he replied, "Oh, d---n it,
+    I've many a time been up a chimney ten times worse than that, myself,
+    and why can't he do it?"  At this period, I had occasion to go
+    upstairs, and made my way on to the roof, just as a friend of mine
+    was about to pour down a quantity of water, when I begged of him not
+    to do so, as I fancied I heard the voice of someone within a short
+    distance of the top of the chimney; we both listened, and heard
+    someone faintly say, "For God's sake, take the chimney pot off, or I
+    shall be suffocated."  With some difficulty we tore away the mortar,
+    and, having removed the pot, we beheld the poor boy Arnold, who kept
+    crying out, "Oh! pull me up, pull me up!"  My friend then thrust down
+    his arm, and, laying hold of the little sufferer, succeeded in
+    extricating him from his perilous situation.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: Was the chimney, at the time, still on fire?
+
+    Complainant: It was, Sir.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson: In what condition did the boy seem when lifted out of
+    the chimney?
+
+    Complainant: He seemed almost in a lifeless state, and when carrying
+    him in my arms downstairs, I was fearful he would not recover.  After
+    the lapse of a little time, I gave him a small quantity of brandy,
+    and he, in a great measure, revived; Riddle then took hold of him,
+    and leading him to the roof of the house, insisted upon his
+    descending from the top to the bottom of the chimney, which he did,
+    and he and Riddle then left the place.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson (to Riddle): What answer have you to make for
+    ill-treating this poor boy in so shameful a manner?
+
+    Riddle: The boy is not an apprentice, and he was not sent up the
+    chimney until a quantity of water had been thrown down.
+
+    Mr. Rawlinson, after remarking upon the atrocious nature of the
+    offence, ordered Riddle to find bail to answer the charge at the
+    Sessions; at the same time expressing a hope that a severe example
+    would be made of him.
+
+From 1838 to 1841, there was exhibiting in London a famous lion tamer
+named Van Amburgh, and, in January, 1839, the Queen went to Drury Lane
+Theatre to witness his performance, with which she was so pleased, that
+she commissioned Sir Edwin Landseer to paint a picture of Van Amburgh and
+his lions, which was exhibited in 1839, and is now in the Royal
+Collection at Osborne.  If I am not very much mistaken there is another,
+by the same artist, of the same subject, in the Duke of Wellington's town
+mansion, at Apsley House.
+
+We can see how long it takes to carry out well-known and wanted
+improvements--take the Thames Embankment for example.  Originally
+suggested by Wren after the great fire of London in 1666, and afterwards
+by William Paterson, the founder of the Bank of England, about 1694, the
+matter slumbered until 1767, when the Corporation of the City of London
+embanked one mile of the river.  The question arose spasmodically until
+1838, when the Corporation consulted with the Government as to the
+advisability of embanking the Thames all the way between London and
+Vauxhall Bridges, and, in Jan., 1839, the Government sanctioned surveys
+being made and estimates prepared; the whole correspondence concerning
+which may be found in the _Times_ of 2 Feb., 1839.  But no practical
+steps were taken in the matter until 1860, when the Metropolitan Board of
+Works memorialised the House of Commons, and a Committee was appointed
+which sat for the first time on 30 Ap., 1861.  An Act for carrying out
+the scheme was passed on 7 Aug., 1862, and the work was commenced in Nov.
+of the same year.  The northern (Victoria) embankment, which terminated
+at Whitehall Stairs, was opened (as far as the footway went) to the
+public on 30 July, 1868.
+
+Victoria Park took a shorter time to mature.  The first mention of it,
+that I can find, is in the _Times_ of March, 1839: "The inhabitants of
+St. Mary, Whitechapel, are bestirring themselves to obtain the formation
+of a Royal Park in their neighbourhood, and the Vestry of the parish are
+about to bring the matter before the public."  And they did so with such
+good effect that an Act was passed on 21 June, 1841 (4 & 5 Vic., c. 27),
+"To enable Her Majesty's Commissioners of Works to complete the Contract
+for the Sale of York House, and to purchase certain lands for a Royal
+Park."  York House was sold to the Duke of Sutherland, and with the
+whole, or part, of the purchase money, the Commissioners were to purchase
+certain lands or hereditaments containing about 290 acres, which "shall
+for ever, thereafter, be taken and be a Royal Park, by the name of
+'Victoria Park.'"  The Park was completed, and opened to the public, in
+1845.
+
+On Monday, 25 March, occurred a most daring robbery of gold dust valued
+at 4,600 pounds, which, at the time, created a great sensation.  It seems
+that two boxes of gold dust were brought to this country from Mexico, in
+the Sea Gull Packet, consigned to the Brazilian Mining Co., and were
+landed at Falmouth.  They were, subsequently, transshipped on board the
+City of Limerick steamer, which arrived at Dublin on Sunday afternoon.
+The boxes were not landed at the wharf until Monday morning, and, at noon
+on that day, the stranger who obtained possession of them drove up to the
+wharf in a cab which he had hired in the city.  The letter which he
+presented to the wharfinger for the delivery of the boxes was in the same
+handwriting as one which the wharfinger had received from Falmouth, and
+which bore the postmark of that place, in the morning.  It gave
+particular directions respecting the boxes, and that they were only to be
+delivered to a gentleman who would call in the course of the day, and
+present a letter in the same handwriting for their delivery.  The person
+who obtained the boxes accurately described their contents, the marks on
+them, and the time they were landed at Falmouth.  The wharfinger, as
+might be expected, was completely put off his guard by the ingenuity and
+cunning of the thief, and delivered them over to him.
+
+On 3 April, two Jews, Ellis and Lewis Caspar, father and son, were
+brought up at Lambeth Street Police Station for being concerned in the
+robbery; afterwards, two other prisoners, Emanuel Moses and his daughter,
+Alice Abrahams, were arrested, and all were committed for trial, the
+Caspars for stealing the gold, the other two for feloniously receiving
+the same, well knowing it to be stolen.  They were tried at the Central
+Criminal Court on 24 June, the trial lasting eight days.  The jury found
+them all guilty, but recommended Alice Abrahams to mercy, believing that
+she acted under the advice and influence of her father.  Judgment was not
+pronounced on them until 3 Feb., 1840, when the three male prisoners were
+sentenced to fourteen years' transportation, and the female to four
+months' hard labour.  The Jewish community tried all their influence to
+get these sentences modified, but the convicts sailed for Sydney in the
+following October.  The expenses of the prosecutor in connection with the
+trial amounted to 2,900 pounds!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+Queen Elizabeth's Statue--The Ladies of the Bedchamber--The Queen hissed
+at Ascot Races--Land at Melbourne--Sunday Trading--New way of paying
+Church Rates.
+
+_Times_, 25 Ap.--"The workmen engaged some time since in taking down an
+old public house adjoining St. Dunstan's Church, in Fleet St., discovered
+in one of the cellars the ancient stone statue of Queen Elizabeth, which
+formerly stood in the nave of the old church.  The parochial authorities
+have resolved to place it on the east end of the church, fronting Fleet
+Street."  An unfortunate position, for many raw, unlettered Irishmen, or
+women, have mistaken it, owing to its environment, to be a statue of the
+Virgin Mary, and have devoutly crossed themselves, and said their "Aves."
+
+About this time occurred a political complication which afforded great
+scope for gossip, and which showed that it was about time that the Queen
+was freed from her female _entourage_, and had the protective advice of a
+husband.  On the 7th May, Lord Melbourne, having been beaten, by a small
+majority, on the Bill concerning the Suspension of the Constitution in
+Jamaica, resigned, and Sir Robert Peel was commissioned by the Queen to
+form a new Ministry.  He did so, but, for valid reasons, he required the
+resignation, as was, and is, usual, of the ladies of the household.  In
+order that there shall be no bias on this divergence of opinion between
+the Sovereign and her Minister, I quote a portion of Sir Robert Peel's
+speech in the House of Commons, on 13 May, taking it from the authorised
+version of _Hansard_.  Sir Robert said that there was but one subject of
+disunion between himself and Her Majesty.
+
+"The difficulty arose with respect to certain portions of that part of
+the establishment which is filled by the Ladies of the household.  Sir, I
+think it infinitely better, on this point--the one on which the
+difficulty arose--I think it infinitely better, after mature
+consideration--that I should not enter--in the first instance, at least,
+nor unless invited by the noble Lord (John Russell)--into any statement
+whatever of impressions on my own mind with respect to what took
+place--but that I should refer exclusively to the letters which passed on
+the subject; because if I were to state, here, impressions of my own, I
+must detail verbal communications that passed, where two parties only
+were present; and myself one of the party, being alone in this House to
+offer explanations of what occurred.  I approach, then, that point with
+respect to which the difficulty, on this occasion, arose; and, for the
+purpose of enabling the House to form a judgment with respect to the
+nature of that difficulty, I shall confine myself, altogether, to the
+written documents which passed on the occasion, in which are conveyed the
+impressions on the mind of Her Majesty, and the impressions on my own
+mind, with regard to the purport and effect of the communications which
+passed between Her Majesty and myself, in respect to certain appointments
+in the household, which are held by Ladies.  Now, whatever blame may
+attach on account of imperfect explanations, I am content to bear it;
+whatever consequences may result from misconception, let them be visited
+on me; but, as to my intentions in regard to the Ladies of the household,
+I must not only state them, but I must prove them by most unequivocable
+testimony.
+
+"On the Wednesday evening--that is, the day before I saw Her Majesty on
+this particular point--I had an opportunity of conferring with all those
+whom I proposed to submit to Her Majesty as Ministers.  I saw them on
+Wednesday night, at my own house, about ten o'clock.  I then stated to
+them--and there are four of them now present, who heard the
+communication, and can give their evidence upon it--I stated to them, and
+to the peers whom I have before named, the course which I meant to pursue
+with respect to the household, and had very little considered the matter
+(I am speaking of the female part of it); I, really, scarcely knew of
+whom it consisted.  I took the 'Red Book' into my hand, and saw there the
+different appointments of the household.  I said to those who were
+intended to be my future colleagues, that, with respect to all the
+subordinate appointments--meaning every appointment, without exception,
+below the rank of a Lady of the Bedchamber--I should propose to Her
+Majesty no change whatever with respect to those.  With respect to the
+superior classes, I stated, that those Ladies who held offices of that
+class, and who were immediate relatives of _our_ political opponents,
+would, I took it for granted, relieve us from any difficulty by, at once,
+relinquishing their offices.  But, I stated, at the same time, that I did
+think it of great importance, as conveying an indication of Her Majesty's
+entire support and confidence, that certain offices in the household, of
+the higher rank, if not voluntarily relinquished by the Ladies holding
+them, should be submitted to some change Even with respect to the higher
+offices, namely, the Ladies of the Bedchamber, I did state, however, that
+there were some instances, in which, from the absence of any strong
+party, or political, connection, I thought it would be wholly unnecessary
+to propose a change.  My noble and Right Hon. friends will confirm what I
+assert.  This passed on the evening of Wednesday; and I mention it only
+in complete proof of my intentions, being perfectly willing, as I have
+before observed, to have transferred, exclusively to me, whatever blame
+may be attached to the imperfect explanation of my views.
+
+"I saw Her Majesty on Thursday, and verbal communications took place on
+this subject.  As I stated before, into the nature of those
+communications I shall not now enter in the slightest degree.  I shall
+merely read the two letters which passed; one conveying the impressions
+of Her Majesty, and the other my own.  The letter which I had the honour
+of receiving from Her Majesty is dated May the 10th, 1839.  I received it
+at an early hour on Friday morning, and it is as follows:
+
+                                       "'Buckingham Palace.--May 10, 1839.
+
+    "'The Queen, having considered the proposal made to her, yesterday,
+    by Sir Robert Peel, to remove the Ladies of her Bedchamber, cannot
+    consent to adopt a course which she conceives to be contrary to
+    usage, and which is repugnant to her feelings.'
+
+"Immediately--that is, in two or three hours after having received the
+letter from Her Majesty, I addressed to Her Majesty a letter, of which
+this is a copy:
+
+                                               "'Whitehall.--May 10, 1839.
+
+    "'Sir Robert Peel presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and has
+    had the honour of receiving your Majesty's note of this morning.
+
+    "'In respectfully submitting to your Majesty's pleasure, and humbly
+    returning into your Majesty's hands the important trust which your
+    Majesty had graciously pleased to commit to him, Sir Robert Peel
+    trusts that your Majesty will permit him to state to your Majesty his
+    impression with respect to the circumstances which have led to the
+    termination of his attempt to form an Administration for the conduct
+    of your Majesty's service.
+
+    "'In the interview with which your Majesty honoured Sir Robert Peel,
+    yesterday morning, after he had submitted to your Majesty the names
+    of those whom he proposed to recommend to your Majesty for the
+    principal executive appointments, he mentioned to your Majesty his
+    earnest wish, to be enabled, with your Majesty's sanction, so to
+    constitute your Majesty's household, that your Majesty's confidential
+    servants might have the advantage of a public demonstration of your
+    Majesty's full support and confidence; and that, at the same time, as
+    far as possible, consistently with that demonstration, each
+    individual appointment in the household should be entirely acceptable
+    to your Majesty's personal feelings.
+
+    "'On your Majesty's expressing a desire that the Earl of Liverpool
+    should hold an office in the household, Sir Robert Peel requested
+    your Majesty's permission at once to offer to Lord Liverpool the
+    office of Lord Steward, or any other which he might prefer.
+
+    "'Sir Robert Peel then observed, that he should have every wish to
+    apply a similar principle to the chief appointments which are filled
+    by the Ladies of your Majesty's household; upon which your Majesty
+    was pleased to remark, that you must reserve the whole of those
+    appointments, and that it was your Majesty's pleasure, that the whole
+    should continue as at present, without any change.
+
+    "The Duke of Wellington, in the interview to which your Majesty
+    subsequently admitted him, understood, also, that this was your
+    Majesty's determination, and concurred with Sir Robert Peel in
+    opinion that, considering the great difficulties of the present
+    crisis, and the expediency of making every effort, in the first
+    instance, to conduct the public business of the country with the aid
+    of the present Parliament, it was essential to the success of the
+    commission with which your Majesty had honoured Sir Robert Peel, that
+    he should have that public proof of your Majesty's entire support and
+    confidence, which would be afforded by the permission to make some
+    changes in that part of your Majesty's household, which your Majesty
+    resolved on maintaining entirely without change.
+
+    "Having had the opportunity, through your Majesty's gracious
+    consideration, of reflecting upon this point, he humbly submits to
+    your Majesty that he is reluctantly compelled, by a sense of public
+    duty, and in interest of your Majesty's service, to adhere to the
+    opinion which he ventured to express to your Majesty."
+
+In a later portion of his speech, Sir Robert remarks:
+
+    "I, upon that very question of Ireland, should have begun in a
+    minority of upwards of twenty members.  A majority of twenty-two had
+    decided in favour of the policy of the Irish Government.  The chief
+    members of the Irish Government, whose policy was so approved of,
+    were the Marquis of Normanby and Lord Morpeth.  By whom are the two
+    chief offices in the household at this moment held?  By the sister of
+    Lord Morpeth, and the wife of Lord Normanby.  Let me not, for a
+    moment, be supposed to say a word not fraught with respect towards
+    those two ladies, who cast a lustre on the society in which they
+    move, less by their rank than their accomplishments and virtues; but
+    still, they stand in the situation of the nearest relatives of the
+    two Members of the Government, whose policy was approved by this
+    House, and disapproved by me.  Now, I ask any man in the House,
+    whether it is possible that I could, with propriety and honour,
+    undertake the conduct of an Administration, and the management of
+    Irish affairs in this House, consenting previously, as an express
+    preliminary stipulation, that the two ladies 1 have named, together
+    with all others, should be retained in their appointments about the
+    court and person of the Sovereign?  Sir, the policy of these things
+    depends not upon precedent--not upon what has been done in former
+    times; it mainly depends upon a consideration of the present.  The
+    household has been allowed to assume a completely political
+    character, and that on account of the nature of the appointments
+    which have been made by Her Majesty's present Government I do not
+    complain of it--it may have been a wise policy to place in the chief
+    offices of the household, ladies closely connected with the Members
+    of the Administration; but, remember that this policy does seriously
+    to the public embarrassment of their successors, if ladies, being the
+    nearest relatives of the retired Ministers, are to continue in their
+    offices about the person of the Sovereign."
+
+So Lord Melbourne, returned to power.
+
+ [Picture: Child's play.  Chorus:--"Can't get out!"--"Can't get out."  14
+                               June, 1939]
+
+The genial Caricaturist John Doyle, as there were no illustrated comic
+papers in those days, illustrated this incident in his H. B. Sketches.
+No. 591 is "A Scene from the farce of _The Invincibles_, as lately
+performed in the Queen's Theatre"--in which the Duke of Wellington and
+Sir Robert Peel are being expelled at the point of the bayonet, by ladies
+clad as soldiers.  Sir Robert says: "These Household Troops charge in a
+most disorderly manner, but they are too many for us."  While the Duke
+observes: "Our position is no longer tenable; draw off in good order,
+while I cover the retreat."  No. 592 is "The Balance of Power.  The
+figure proposed to displace the old one of Justice at the top of
+Constitution Hill."  It shows a statue of the Queen, as Justice, holding
+a pair of scales, in which "Private Friendship," typified by two ladies
+of the household, weighs down "Public Service" full of Ministers.  I have
+here reproduced No. 597, "Child's Play," in which figure the Queen, the
+Duchess of Sutherland, the Marchioness of Normanby, and other ladies of
+the household.  No. 599 is a "Curious instance of (Ministerial)
+'Resuscitation,' effected by distinguished members of the _Royal_ Humane
+Society."  Lord Melbourne is lying on a couch, attended by the Queen and
+ladies of the household.  The Queen holds a smelling bottle to his nose,
+and says: "Ah, there's a dear, now do revive."
+
+Whether it was owing to this affair, or not, I know not, but at Ascot
+races this year the Queen was absolutely hissed at by some one, or more
+persons--and the _Times_ of 25 June quotes from the _Morning Post_ thus:
+
+    "At the last Ascot races, we have reason to believe that the Duchess
+    of Montrose and Lady Sarah Ingestre received an intimation that Her
+    Majesty was impressed with the idea that they were among the persons
+    who had hissed at a moment when no sounds but those of applause,
+    gratulation and loyalty ought to have been heard.  It was, we
+    believe, further intimated to the noble ladies we have mentioned,
+    that the Royal ear had been abused, to the effect already stated, by
+    Lady Lichfield.  The ladies, who had reason to think that they had
+    been thus unjustly and ridiculously accused, applied immediately to
+    their supposed accuser, who denied that she had made any such
+    communication.  On being urged to give this denial in writing, she
+    declined to do so without first consulting her lord.  But, on the
+    application being renewed at a subsequent period, her ladyship, as we
+    understand, explicitly, and in writing, denied that she had given
+    utterance to the calumny in question.  Here the matter stood, until,
+    from some incidents connected with the late ball at Buckingham
+    Palace, the two ladies, thus impeached, saw reason to believe that
+    the erroneous impression communicated to Her Majesty at Ascot had not
+    been entirely removed.  It was an impression, however, which they
+    could not permit to remain without employing every means of removing
+    it; and, accordingly, the Duchess of Montrose went to Buckingham
+    Palace, and requested an audience of Her Majesty.  After waiting for
+    a considerable period (two hours, as we have been informed), her
+    Grace was informed by the Earl of Uxbridge, that she could not be
+    admitted to an audience, as none but Peers and Peeresses in their own
+    right could demand that privilege.  Her Grace then insisted upon Lord
+    Uxbridge taking down in writing what she had to say, and promising
+    her that the communication should immediately be laid before Her
+    Majesty.  In this state, we believe, the matter remains,
+    substantially, at the present moment, although it has taken a new
+    form, the Duke of Montrose having, we understand, thought it
+    necessary to open a correspondence upon the subject with Lord
+    Melbourne."
+
+There was only a partial denial given to the above, which appeared in the
+_Times_ of 5 July.  "We are authorised to give the most positive denial
+to a report which has been inserted in most of the public papers, that
+the Countess of Lichfield informed the Queen that the Duchess of Montrose
+and Lady Sarah Ingestre hissed Her Majesty on the racecourse at Ascot.
+Lady Lichfield never insinuated, or countenanced any such report, and
+there could have been no foundation for so unjust an accusation."
+
+Melbourne, in Australia (named, of course, after the Premier), was
+founded 1 June, 1837, and I mention the fact to shew the prosperity of
+the infant city--for in two years' time, on this its second anniversary,
+certain lots of land had advanced in price from 7 to 600 pounds, and from
+27 to 930 pounds.
+
+I cannot help chronicling an amusing story anent Sunday trading.  For
+some time the parish authorities of Islington had been rigidly
+prosecuting shopkeepers for keeping open their shops on Sunday, for the
+sale of their goods, such not being "a work of necessity, or mercy," and
+numerous convictions were recorded.  Most of the persons convicted were
+poor, and with large families, who sold tobacco, fruit, cakes and sweets,
+in a very humble way of business, and considerable discontent and
+indignation was manifested in the parish in consequence of such
+prosecutions; the outcry was raised that there was one law for the rich
+and another for the poor, and a party that strongly opposed the
+proceedings on the part of the parish, resolved to try the legality and
+justice of the question, by instituting proceedings against the vicar's
+coachman, for "exercising his worldly calling on the Sabbath day," by
+driving his reverend master to church, that not being a work of
+necessity, or mercy, as the reverend gentleman was able both to walk and
+preach on the same day.  For this purpose a party proceeded to the
+neighbourhood of the vicar's stables one Sunday, and watched the
+proceedings of the coachman, whom they saw harness his horses, put them
+to the carriage, go to the vicar's house, take him up, and drive him to
+church, where he entered the pulpit, and preached his sermon.  One day,
+the following week, they attended Hatton Garden Police Office and applied
+to Mr. Benett for a summons against the coachman.  The magistrate, on
+hearing the nature of the application, told them it was a doubtful case,
+and the clerk suggested that if they laid their information the
+magistrate might receive it, and decide on the legal merits of the case.
+This was done, the summons was granted, and a day appointed for hearing
+the case.
+
+This took place on June 14, when John Wells, coachman to the vicar of
+Islington, appeared to answer the complaint of Frederick Hill, a
+tobacconist, for exercising his worldly calling on the Sabbath day.
+
+John Hanbury, grocer, of 3, Pulteney Street, being sworn, stated that, on
+Sunday, the 9th inst, about 1 o'clock, he saw the defendant, who is
+coachman to the vicar of Islington, drive his coach to the Church of St.
+Mary, Islington, where he took up the vicar and his lady, and drove them
+to their residence in Barnsbury Park.
+
+Mr. Benett: Are you sure it was the vicar?
+
+Witness: I heard him preach.
+
+John Jones, of Felix Terrace, Islington, corroborated this evidence.
+
+Mr. Benett said, that the Act of Parliament laid down that no tradesman,
+labourer, or other person shall exercise his worldly calling on the
+Lord's day, it not being a work of necessity or charity.  He would ask
+whether it was not a work of necessity for the vicar to proceed to church
+to preach.  A dissenter might say it was not a work of necessity.  The
+coachman was not an artificer who was paid by the hour or the day, but he
+was engaged by the year, or the quarter, and was not to be viewed in the
+light of a grocer, or tradesman, who opened his shop for the sale of his
+goods on the Sabbath day.  After explaining the law upon the subject, he
+said that he was of opinion that the defendant driving the vicar to
+church on Sundays, to perform his religious duties, was an act of
+necessity, and did not come within the meaning of the law, and he
+dismissed the case.
+
+The clergy did not seem to be much in favour with their flocks, for I
+read in the _Annual Register_, 1 Aug., of "A NEW WAY OF PAYING CHURCH
+RATES.--Mr. Osborne, a dissenter, of Tewkesbury, having declined to pay
+Church Rates, declaring that he could not conscientiously do so, a
+sergeant and two officers of the police went to his house for the purpose
+of levying under a distress warrant to the amount due from him.  The
+officers were asked to sit down, which they did, and Mr. Osborne went
+into his garden, procured a hive of bees, and threw it into the middle of
+the chamber.  The officers were, of course, obliged to retreat, but they
+secured enough of the property to pay the rate, and the costs of the
+levy, besides which, they obtained a warrant against Mr. Osborne, who
+would, most likely, pay dearly for his new and _conscientious_ method of
+settling Church Rate accounts."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+The Eglinton Tournament--Sale of Armour, &c.--The Queen of Beauty and her
+Cook--Newspapers and their Sales.
+
+The Earl of Eglinton had a "bee in his bonnet," which was none other than
+reviving the tournaments of the Age of Chivalry, with real armour, horses
+and properties; and he inoculated with his craze most of the young
+aristocracy, and induced them to join him in carrying it out.  The
+preliminary rehearsals took place in the grounds of the Eyre Arms Tavern,
+Kilburn.  The last of these came off on 13 July, in the presence of some
+6,000 spectators, mostly composed of the aristocracy.  The following is a
+portion of the account which appeared in the _Times_ of 15 July:
+
+    "At 4 o'clock the business of the day commenced.  There might be seen
+    men in complete steel, riding with light lances at the ring,
+    attacking the 'quintain,' and manoeuvering their steeds in every
+    variety of capricole.  Indeed, the show of horses was one of the best
+    parts of the sight.  Trumpeters were calling the jousters to horse,
+    and the wooden figure, encased in iron panoply, was prepared for the
+    attack.  A succession of chevaliers, _sans peur et sans reproche_,
+    rode at their hardy and unflinching antagonist, who was propelled to
+    the combat by the strength of several stout serving-men, in the
+    costume of the olden time, and made his helmet and breastplate rattle
+    beneath their strokes, but the wooden
+
+    . . . Knight
+    Was mickle of might,
+    And stiff in Stower did stand,
+
+    grinning defiance through the barred aventaile of his headpiece.  It
+    was a sight that might have roused the spirit of old Froissart, or
+    the ghost of Hotspur.  The Knight had, certainly, no easy task to
+    perform; the weight of armour was rather heavier than the usual
+    trappings of a modern dandy, and the heat of the sun appeared to be
+    baking the bones of some of the competitors.  Be this as it may,
+    there was no flinching.  The last part of the tournament consisted of
+    the Knights tilting at each other.  The Earl of Eglinton, in a
+    splendid suit of brass armour, with _garde de reins_ of plated chain
+    mail, and bearing on his casque a plume of ostrich feathers, was
+    assailed by Lord Cranstoun, in a suit of polished steel, which
+    covered him from top to toe, the steel shoes, or sollarets, being of
+    the immense square-toed fashion of the time of Henry VIII.  The
+    lances of these two champions were repeatedly shivered in the attack,
+    but neither was unhorsed; fresh lances were supplied by the esquires,
+    and the sport grew 'fast and furious.'  Lord Glenlyon and another
+    knight, whose armour prevented him from being recognized, next tilted
+    at each other, but their horses were not sufficiently trained to
+    render the combat as it ought to have been, and swerved continually
+    from the barrier.  It was nearly eight o'clock before the whole of
+    the sports were concluded and the company withdrawn.  We believe no
+    accident happened, though several gentlemen who essayed to 'witch the
+    world with noble horsemanship' were thrown, amidst the laughter of
+    the spectators.  Captain Maynard proved himself a superior rider, by
+    the splendid style at which he leaped his horse, at speed, repeatedly
+    over the barrier, and the admirable manner in which he performed the
+    modern lance exercise, and made a very beautiful charger curvet round
+    and round his lance placed upright on the ground.  The whole of the
+    arrangements were under the direction of Mr. Pratt, to whose
+    discretion the ordering of the tilting, the armour and arming, and
+    all the appliances for the tournament have been entrusted.
+
+    "Considering that the business of Saturday was but a rehearsal, and,
+    putting entirely out of the question the folly, or wisdom, of the
+    whole thing, it must be acknowledged that it has been well got up.
+    Some of the heralds' and pursuivants' costumes are very splendid.
+    There is an immense store of armour of all sorts, pennons, lances,
+    trappings, and all the details of the wars of the middle ages.  The
+    display in Scotland will, certainly, be a gorgeous pageant, and a
+    most extraordinary, if not most rational, piece of pastime."
+
+The three days' jousting and hospitality at Eglinton Castle, Ayrshire,
+which commenced on the 28th, and ended on the 30th, August, are said to
+have cost the Earl of Eglinton the sum of 40,000 pounds.  He invited the
+flower of the aristocracy to attend--all the armour was choice and old,
+and the costumes were splendid.  Every accessory was perfect in its way;
+and so it should have been, for it was two years in preparation.  The
+Marquis of Londonderry was King of the Tourney, and Lady Seymour, a
+grand-daughter of _the_ Sheridan, was the "Queen of Love and Beauty."
+
+By the evening of the 27th, Eglinton Castle was not only filled from
+cellar to garret, but the surrounding towns and villages were crammed
+full, and people had to rough it.  Accommodation for man, or beast, rose
+from 500 to 1,000 per cent.; houses in the neighbourhood, according to
+their dimensions, were let from 10 to 30 pounds for the time; and single
+beds, in the second best apartments of a weaver's cabin, fetched from
+10/- to 20/- a night, while the master and mistress of the household,
+with their little ones, coiled themselves up in any out of the way
+corner, as best they might.  Stables, byres, and sheds were in
+requisition for the horses, and, with every available atom of space of
+this description, it was found all too little, as people flocked from all
+parts of the country.
+
+The invitation given by the Earl was universal.  Those who applied for
+tickets of admission to the stands were requested to appear in ancient
+costume, fancy dresses, or uniforms, and farmers and others were asked to
+appear in bonnets and kilts, and many--very many--did so; but although
+all the bonnet makers in Kilmarnock, and all the plaid manufacturers in
+Scotland, had been employed from the time of the announcement, onwards,
+they could not provide for the wants of the immense crowd, and many had
+to go in their ordinary dress.
+
+Unfortunately, on the opening day, the weather utterly spoilt the show.
+Before one o'clock, the rain commenced, and continued, with very little
+intermission, until the evening.  This, necessarily, made it very
+uncomfortable for all, especially the spectators.  Many thousands left
+the field, and the enjoyment of those who remained was, in a great
+measure, destroyed.  The Grand Stand, alone, was covered in, and neither
+plaid, umbrella, nor great-coat could prevail against a deluge so heavy
+and unintermitting; thousands were thoroughly drenched to the skin; but
+the mass only squeezed the closer together, and the excitement of the
+moment overcame all external annoyances, although the men became sodden,
+and the finery of the ladies sadly bedraggled.
+
+It had been arranged that the procession should start from the Castle at
+one o'clock, but the state of the weather was so unfavourable, that it
+did not issue forth till about half-past two, and the weather compelled
+some modifications; for instance, the Queen of Beauty should have shown
+herself "in a rich costume, on a horse richly caparisoned, a silk canopy
+borne over her by attendants in costume," but both she, and her attendant
+ladies, who were also to have been on horseback, did not so appear, but
+were in closed carriages, whilst their beautifully caparisoned
+palfreys--riderless--were led by their pages.
+
+There were 15 Knights, besides the "Lord of the Tournament," the Earl of
+Eglinton, and much as I should like to give their description and
+following, I must refrain, merely giving two as a sample--
+
+                          "Retainers of the
+                             Lord of the
+                             Tournament.
+                          Halberdiers of the
+                         Lord, in Liveries of
+                             his Colours.
+     Man at Arms            The GONFALON,            Man at Arms
+   in half armour.        Borne by a Man at        in half armour.
+                                Arms.
+                           THE LORD OF THE
+                             TOURNAMENT.
+                          EARL OF EGLINGTON.
+        Groom.            In a suit of Gilt             Groom.
+                            Armour, richly
+                               chased,
+                             on a barded
+                         Charger--caparisons,
+                                 &c.,
+                          of blue and gold.
+                             THE BANNER.
+                           Borne by LORD A.
+                               SEYMOUR
+       Esquire.                Esquire.                Esquire.
+      G. DUNDAS.          F. CAVENDISH, Esq.       G. M'DONAL, Esq.
+                           Retainers of the
+                           Lord, as before.
+                         _Halberdiers of the
+                            Knight of the
+                              Griffin_,
+                          in Liveries of his
+                               Colours.
+     Man at Arms            THE GONFALON,            Man at Arms
+   in half armour.        Borne by a man at        in half armour.
+                                Arms.
+                          _The Knight of the
+                              Griffin_.
+                         THE EARL OF CRAVEN,
+        Groom.          In a suit of engraved           Groom.
+                           Milanese Armour
+                         inlaid with gold, on
+                          a barded charger.
+                         Caparisons, &c., of
+                          Scarlet, White and
+                                Gold.
+       Esquire.              THE BANNER,               Esquire.
+ The HON. F. CRAVEN.      Borne by a man at          The HON. F.
+                               Arms in                MACDONALD.
+                             Half Armour.
+                             Retainers--"
+
+
+
+The other Knights were:--_The Knight of the Dragon_, MARQUIS OF
+WATERFORD; _Knight of the Black Lion_, VISCOUNT ALFORD; _Knight of Gael_,
+VISCOUNT GLENLYON; _Knight of the Dolphin_, EARL OF CASSILIS; _Knight of
+the Crane_, LORD CRANSTOUN; _Knight of the Ram_, HON. CAPT. GAGE; _The
+Black Knight_, JOHN CAMPBELL, ESQ., of Saddell; _Knight of the Swan_,
+HON. MR. JERNINGHAM; _Knight of the Golden Lion_, CAPT. J. O. FAIRLIE;
+_Knight of the White Rose_, CHARLES LAMB, ESQ.; _Knight of the Stag's
+Head_, CAPT. BERESFORD; _The Knight of the Border_, SIR F. JOHNSTONE;
+_Knight of the Burning Tower_, SIR F. HOPKINS; _The Knight of the Red
+Rose_, R. J. LECHMERE, ESQ.; _Knight of the Lion's Paw_, CECIL BOOTHBY,
+ESQ.
+
+There were, besides, Knights Visitors, Swordsmen, Bowmen, the Seneschal
+of the Castle, Marshals and Deputy Marshals, Chamberlains of the
+household, servitors of the Castle, a Herald and two Pursuivants, a Judge
+of Peace, and a Jester--besides a horde of small fry.
+
+The first tilt was between the Knights of the Swan and the Red Rose, but
+it was uninteresting, the Knights passing each other twice, without
+touching, and, on the third course, the Knight of the Swan lost his
+lance.
+
+Then came the tilt of the day, when the Earl of Eglinton met the Marquis
+of Waterford.  The latter was particularly remarked, as the splendour of
+his brazen armour, the beauty of his charger, and his superior skill in
+the management of the animal, as well as in the bearing of his lance,
+attracted general observation.  But, alas! victory was not to be his,
+for, in the first tilt, the Earl of Eglinton shivered his lance on his
+opponent's shield, and was duly cheered by all.  In the second, both
+Knights missed; but, in the third, the Earl again broke his lance on his
+opponent's armour; at which there was renewed applause from the
+multitude; and, amidst the cheering and music, the noble Earl rode up to
+the Grand Stand, and bowed to the Queen of Beauty.
+
+There were three more tilts, and a combat of two-handed swords, which
+finished the outdoor amusements of the day, and, when the deluged guests
+found their way to the Banqueting Hall, they found that, and its sister
+tent, the Ballroom, utterly untenantable through the rain; so they had to
+improvise a meal within the Castle, and the Ball was postponed.
+
+Next day was wild with wind and rain, and nothing could be attempted out
+of doors, as the armour was all wet and rusty, and every article of dress
+that had been worn the preceding day completely soaked through, and the
+Dining Hall and the Great Pavilion required a thorough drying.  The
+former was given up to the cleansing of armour, etc., and, in the latter,
+there were various tilting matches on foot, the combatants being clothed
+in armour.  There was also fencing, both with sticks and broadsword,
+among the performers being Prince Louis Bonaparte, afterwards Napoleon
+III.  His opponent with the singlesticks was a very young gentleman, Mr.
+Charteris, and the Prince came off second best in the encounter, as he
+did, afterwards, in some bouts with broadswords with Mr. Charles Lamb.
+Luckily, in this latter contest, both fought in complete mail, with
+visors down, for had it not been so, and had the combat been for life or
+death, the Prince would have had no chance with his opponent.
+
+On the third day the weather was fine, and the procession was a success.
+There was tilting between eight couples of Knights, and tilting at the
+ring, and the tourney wound up with the Knights being halved, and started
+from either end of the lists, striking at each other with their swords in
+passing.  Only one or two cuts were given, but the Marquis of Waterford
+and Lord Alford fought seriously, and in right good earnest, until
+stopped by the Knight Marshal, Sir Charles Lamb.
+
+In the evening, a banquet was given to 300 guests; and, afterwards, a
+ball, in which 1,000 participated.  As the weather, next day, was so
+especially stormy, the party broke up, and the experimental revival has
+never again been attempted, except a Tourney on a much smaller scale,
+which was held on 31 Oct., 1839, at Irvine, by a party from Eglinton
+Castle; but this only lasted one day.
+
+I regret that I have been unable to find any authentic engravings of this
+celebrated tournament, but I reproduce a semi-comic contemporaneous
+etching from the _Satirical Prints_, _Brit. Mus._
+
+The armour and arms used in this tournament were shown in Feb., 1840, at
+the Gallery of Ancient Armour in Grosvenor Street, and they were
+subsequently sold by Auction on July 17 and 18 of that year.  They
+fetched ridiculously low prices, as the following example will show:
+
+A suit of polished steel _cap a pied_ armour, richly engraved and gilt,
+being the armour prepared for the Knight of the Lion's Paw, with tilting
+shield, lance, plume and crest _en suite_, 32 guineas.
+
+The emblazoned banner and shield of the Knight of the Burning Tower, with
+the suit of polished steel, _cap-a-pied_ armour, with skirt of chain
+mail, 35 guineas.
+
+The splendid suit of armour worn by the Knight of the Ram, with crest and
+plume, 24 guineas.
+
+The magnificent suit of polished steel armour, worn by the Knight of the
+Swan, with the emblazoned tilting apparel, horse armour, and caparison,
+tilting saddle, lances to correspond, and a splendid modelled horse of
+life size, carved and painted after nature, 36 pounds.
+
+                    [Picture: The Eglinton Tournament]
+
+The armour worn as a Knight Visitor by Prince Louis Napoleon, with an
+elaborate visored headpiece, and other appurtenances complete, 9 guineas.
+
+The two beautifully-fashioned _melee_ swords, used in the combat between
+Prince Louis and the Knight of the White Rose, seven shillings.
+
+On the second day's sale some of the suits fetched better prices.  The
+splendid suit of fluted mail, worn by the Marquis of Waterford, was the
+gem of the collection.  It was in the finest preservation, elaborately
+worked, and beautifully bright.  It was considered one of the most
+perfect and complete suits in existence, and was bought at 240 guineas
+for the Tower of London.  Lord Alford's and Mr. Lechmere's suits both
+went for 100 guineas each.
+
+The spirit of the Tournament seems even to have affected the ladies, for
+we read of a passage of arms between Lady Seymour, the Queen of Beauty,
+and Lady Shuckburgh.  It originally appeared in the _Observer_ of 8 Feb.,
+1840, but was copied into the _Times_ and other papers.
+
+    (Copy 1).  "Lady Seymour presents her compliments to Lady Shuckburgh,
+    and would be obliged to her for the character of Mary Stedman, who
+    states that she has lived twelve months, and still is, in Lady
+    Shuckburgh's establishment.  Can Mary Stedman cook plain dishes well?
+    make bread? and is she honest, good tempered, sober, willing and
+    cleanly?  Lady Seymour would also like to know the reason why she
+    leaves Lady Shuckburgh's service.  Direct, under cover, to Lord
+    Seymour, Maiden Bradley."
+
+    (Copy 2.)  "Lady Shuckburgh presents her compliments to Lady Seymour.
+    Her Ladyship's note, dated Oct. 28, only reached her yesterday, Nov.
+    3.  Lady Shuckburgh was unacquainted with the name of the
+    kitchenmaid, until mentioned by Lady Seymour, as it is her custom
+    neither to apply for, or give characters to any of the under
+    servants, this being always done by the housekeeper, Mrs. Couch, and
+    this was well known to the young woman; therefore Lady Shuckburgh is
+    surprised at her referring any lady to her for a character.  Lady
+    Shuckburgh having a professed cook, as well as a housekeeper, in her
+    establishment, it is not very likely she, herself, should know
+    anything about the ability or merits of the under-servants; therefore
+    she is unable to answer Lady Seymour's note.  Lady Shuckburgh cannot
+    imagine Mary Stedman to be capable of cooking for any, except the
+    servants' hall table.  Nov. 4, Pavilion, Hans Place."
+
+    (Copy 3.)  "Lady Seymour presents her compliments to Lady Shuckburgh,
+    and begs she will order her housekeeper, Mrs. Pouch, to send the
+    girl's character without delay; otherwise, another young woman will
+    be sought for elsewhere, as Lady Seymour's children cannot remain
+    without their dinners, because Lady Shuckburgh, keeping 'a proffessed
+    cook and a housekeeper,' thinks a knowledge of the details of her
+    establishment beneath her notice.  Lady Seymour understood from
+    Stedman that, in addition to her other talents, she was actually
+    capable of dressing food for the little Shuckburghs to partake of,
+    when hungry."
+
+[To this note was appended a clever pen-and-ink vignette, by the Queen of
+Beauty, representing the three little Shuckburghs, with large,
+turnip-looking heads and cauliflower wigs, sitting at a round table, and
+voraciously scrambling for mutton chops, dressed by Mary Stedman, who is
+seen looking on with supreme satisfaction, while Lady Shuckburgh appears
+in the distance, in evident dismay.]
+
+    (Copy 4.)  "MADAM,--Lady Shuckburgh has directed me to acquaint you
+    that she declines answering your note, the vulgarity of which is
+    beneath contempt; and, although it may be the characteristic of the
+    Sheridans to be vulgar, coarse and witty, it is not that of 'a lady,'
+    unless she happens to be born in a garret and bred in a kitchen.
+    Mary Stedman informs me that your Ladyship does not keep either a
+    cook, or a housekeeper, and that you only require a girl who can cook
+    a mutton chop.  If so, I apprehend that Mary Stedman, or any other
+    scullion, will be found fully equal to cook for, or manage the
+    establishment of, the Queen of Beauty.
+
+    "I am, your Ladyship's etc.--ELIZABETH COUCH (not Pouch.)"
+
+Even in those days, Newspapers were somewhat given to vaunt themselves as
+to their circulation, but they had no need to call in the aid of the
+chartered accountant, as they could get their facts from the number of
+stamps supplied--the stamp then being of the value of three halfpence per
+newspaper, an impost which was not removed until 15 June, 1855, by the
+Act 18 and 19 Vict., c. 27.  The _Times_ of 5 Aug., 1839, gives us
+
+    "A return of the number of Newspaper Stamps issued to the several
+    Newspapers in London, from 1 Ap. to 29 June, 1839, inclusive;
+    specifying each Newspaper by name, and the number of Stamps issued
+    each month during that period to each Newspaper."
+
+                             April.         May.         June.
+Morning Chronicle              180,000       210,000       140,000
+Morning Post                    85,000        90,000        80,000
+Morning Herald                 140,000       175,000       140,000
+Times                          330,000       330,000       430,000
+Courier                         29,000        33,000        27,000
+Globe                           72,000        90,000        72,000
+Standard                        83,000        80,000       101,000
+Sun                            111,000       105,000       105,000
+Evening Chronicle               30,000        20,000        10,000
+Evening Mail                    25,000        50,000        35,000
+St. James's Chronicle           52,000        58,000        66,000
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+The Chartists--Their going to church--Dissolution of the
+Convention--Approaching marriage of the Queen--The Queen and
+lunatics--Raid on a Gaming House--Act of Penance.
+
+This year Chartism was rampant and very militant.  On 1 April there were
+riots at Devizes, on 3 May, seven men were arrested at Manchester for
+drilling, and, on the 25th of that month a great meeting was held on
+Kersall Moor, four miles from Manchester.  On 4th July there were very
+serious riots at Birmingham, and again on the 15th.  On the same date
+between 3,000 and 4,000 Chartists met on Clerkenwell Green to condemn the
+action of the authorities at Birmingham, and, towards the end of the
+month, numerous meetings were held in the North of England, and there
+were riots at Newcastle and Stockport.  In August there was great unrest
+in the North, and some trials took place at Birmingham and Manchester for
+rioting and sedition.
+
+A new, and somewhat unexpected method of agitation, was, about this time,
+adopted by the Chartists.  They betook themselves, suddenly, to
+attendance in a body at public worship, taking early possession on the
+Sundays of the various cathedrals and parish churches, to the exclusion
+of the more regular attendants.  On the afternoon of Sunday, 11 Aug., a
+party of them, about 500 in number, met together in West Smithfield, and
+walked in procession to St. Paul's Cathedral.  On arriving there, many of
+them refused to take off their hats; but, after some remonstrance from
+the Vergers, they submitted.  The majority of them wore a little piece of
+red ribbon in their button holes, and conducted themselves quite
+peaceably.  On the Sunday following, their brethren at Norwich pursued a
+similar course at the Cathedral of that city, which was crowded almost to
+suffocation.  The Bishop, who preached, took the opportunity to deliver
+an impressive remonstrance on the folly and danger of their proceedings.
+The Chartists behaved well in the Cathedral; but, at St. Stephen's Church
+in the evening, they made a disturbance.  The Chartists at Manchester,
+following the advice of Feargus O'Connor, attended the Old Church (now
+the Cathedral) in great numbers.  The authorities, having been previously
+advised of their intention, had the military in readiness to act, should
+the Chartists behave in a disorderly manner: but they conducted
+themselves with great decorum.  It is said that, previous to Divine
+Service, they handed the clergyman a Chartist text to preach from, but he
+selected as his text, "My house is the house of prayer, but ye have made
+it a den of thieves"; on announcing which, the Chartists rose, and
+quitted the church.  The same tactics were followed in the principal
+towns all over the country, but, either from the success of them not
+being very apparent, or from the distastefulness of the method employed,
+the practice was not followed up for long--nor with any great regularity.
+
+On the 14th Sep. the Chartist National Convention was dissolved; and, on
+the 20th Feargus O'Connor was arrested for sedition, on a Judge's
+Warrant, at Manchester, and things were fairly quiet during the remainder
+of the year, with the exception of a serious Chartist riot, on 4 Nov., at
+Newport, in Monmouthshire, where many rioters were killed.
+
+We have seen how, in the beginning of the year, the _Sun_ had prophesied
+the marriage of the Queen and Prince Albert, for which it was duly
+pooh-poohed by the _Times_--but on 22 Aug., the _Morning Post_ had the
+dreadful temerity to announce the same--and the _Court Circular_ of 11
+Oct. tells us, that "The Hereditary Prince (Ernest) and Prince Albert of
+Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, landed at the Tower, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon,
+from the Continent.  Their Serene Highnesses were conveyed in two of the
+Royal landaus to the Royal Mews at Pimlico, and, shortly afterwards, left
+town with their suite in two carriages and four, for Windsor Castle, on a
+visit to the Queen."
+
+On the 14th Oct., the Queen informed Lord Melbourne of her intention to
+marry Prince Albert, which met with the Premier's warm approbation.  Next
+day she told the Prince that she wished to marry him.  He had been out
+early, with his brother, hunting, but returned at twelve, and
+half-an-hour afterwards, the Queen sent for him, and he found her alone
+in her room.  That it was a love match on both sides is well known, and,
+until the untimely death of the Prince Consort, they were models of
+conjugal love and felicity.
+
+On 14 Nov. the Prince and his brother left Windsor--and departed for the
+Continent, via Dover; and, at a Privy Council held at Buckingham Palace
+on 23rd of that month, the Queen communicated her intention of marriage.
+The declaration was as follows:
+
+    "I have caused you to be summoned at the present time, in order that
+    I may acquaint you with my resolution in a matter which deeply
+    concerns the welfare of my people, and the happiness of my future
+    life.
+
+    "It is my intention to ally myself in marriage with the Prince Albert
+    of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  Deeply impressed with the solemnity of the
+    engagement which I am about to contract, I have not come to this
+    decision without mature consideration, nor without feeling a strong
+    assurance that, with the blessing of Almighty God, it will at once
+    secure my domestic felicity, and serve the interests of my country.
+
+    "I have thought fit to make this resolution known to you, at the
+    earliest period, in order that you may be fully apprised of a matter
+    so highly important to me and to my Kingdom, and which, I persuade
+    myself, will be most acceptable to all my loving subjects."
+
+Upon this announcement, all the Privy Councillors present made it their
+humble request that Her Majesty's most gracious declaration to them might
+be made public; which Her Majesty was pleased to order accordingly.
+
+The Queen suffered severely from lunatics.  In June a man got into the
+gardens of Buckingham Palace, and, when arrested, declared he had come
+there for the sole purpose of killing Her Majesty, and was duly committed
+to Tothill Bridewell.  Within a day or two of his release, in the middle
+of October, he went to Windsor and broke three or four panes of glass in
+the Castle.  He was afterwards apprehended, but what became of him, I do
+not know; in all probability he was sent to a lunatic asylum.
+
+In the paper which gives the account of the above, I read, "James Bryan,
+the Queen's Scotch suitor, was in Windsor the whole of yesterday (Sunday,
+13 Oct.).  In the morning, he was waiting, for a considerable period, at
+the door of St. George's Chapel, leading to the Cloisters, to have a view
+of the Queen, as Her Majesty and the two Princes of Saxe-Coburg, and the
+Duchess of Kent left the Chapel.  In the afternoon, he walked on the
+Terrace, and conducted himself in his usual manner, very respectfully
+bowing to the Queen, as Her Majesty passed him on the New Terrace."--By
+the above, he must have been well known.
+
+On 29 Nov., a respectably-dressed man got over the high iron gates
+leading to the Castle, a place at which there were no sentries, and
+walked across the Park, to the grand entrance to the Castle.  Upon seeing
+the porter in attendance at the lodge, he said: "I demand entrance into
+the Castle as King of England"; to which the porter replied: "Very well,
+your Majesty, but be pleased to wait until I get my hat," and then taking
+him to the Castle, handed him over to the police.  He turned out to be a
+man named Stockledge, who was partner in an extensive wholesale business
+in Manchester.  He had been in two lunatic asylums, and when questioned
+by the Mayor of Windsor, as to the object of his visit, said that: "he
+was like all other men who wanted wives--he was looking after one,"
+evidently alluding to Her Majesty.  On being further questioned, he said
+"he was the King of England, and was impelled by the Spirit."  He
+afterwards said that "an unknown power had done it," and that "it was the
+Spirit which helped him over the gates."  Of course he _was_ mad.
+
+There was yet another fool this year, but, this time, he was not a
+maniac--only a Post Office Clerk, who wanted to have an interview with
+Her Majesty.  On the afternoon of the 8th Dec., a carriage and four drove
+up to Windsor Castle, and, from it, alighted a personage wearing a
+foraging cap, a fur boa round his neck, and fur gloves, who announced
+himself as the bearer of important despatches which he must deliver into
+the Queen's own hands.  This, of course, was not complied with, and as he
+would not part with the documents, he was handed over to the police, and
+taken to the station, where he made a sturdy resistance when they were
+taken from him.  He turned out to be a junior clerk in the Foreign Post
+Office, named William Saunders, who, being on duty when the Foreign Mails
+arrived, found some letters and papers addressed to the Queen, and put
+them into his pocket with the intention of delivering them himself.  He
+was suspended from his duties, but I do not know his ultimate fate.
+
+Gambling houses were still in existence, although the Police Act of this
+year (2 & 3 Vict., c. 47, s. 48) gave the police great and additional
+power towards suppressing them.  Here is a sample raid as reported in the
+_Observer_ of 15 Dec.:
+
+"Superintendent Baker, C, succeeded on Saturday night week, in breaking
+his way into a gambling house, 60 Jermyn Street (commonly called the
+Cottage), and some persons, therein found, were fined, on Monday, at
+Marlborough Street Office.  In all, seven persons were captured, of whom,
+two were connected with the management of the gambling house; the others
+were gentlemen players.  They were taken to the Station house in Vine
+Street; and, as we know it to be the anxious desire of the police
+authorities to suppress the nuisance of gaming houses, we feel that we
+are but lending our humble aid towards effecting that object in now
+publishing the real names of those gentlemen who were captured, and who
+passed themselves off to the police and the magistrate as being 'Jones,'
+'Smith,' and other conventional misnomers.  (Here follow the names.)  Our
+Correspondent has told us of a certain noble lord, who was running here
+and there, on the night of the capture of his friends, striving, in the
+first instance, to get them bailed out, and, failing in that, to provide
+for them creature comforts in their cells.  We cannot avoid mentioning
+one or two little incidents connected with this affair.  The admission of
+spirits to prisoners in a station house is strictly forbidden, but, on
+this occasion, their friends outside succeeded in introducing eight soda
+water bottles filled with excellent pale brandy, so regularly corked and
+wired, as to deceive even the sharp eyes of the Inspector.
+
+"Next day (Sunday), at 12 o'clock, they were bailed out, but, on the
+following morning at Marlborough Street Office, a sad mishap had all but
+blown up the misnomers; for, when the name of 'Jones' was called from the
+police sheet, the gentleman who had honoured that name by assuming it,
+quite forgot his condescension, until one of his companions in trouble
+nudged him in the side, saying, 'D---n it, that's you.'  By the way, the
+croupier escaped through the skylight, with the bank, amounting, it is
+supposed, to, at least, 500 pounds.  He, and a boy who escaped with him,
+had but a minute or two the start of the police.  As it was, the croupier
+met with a most severe accident, having cut his thigh so deeply as to
+cause a most serious hemorrhage.  The gutter was flooded with his blood."
+
+I wind up the year by chronicling an event which, I fancy, will never
+occur again, one of the most singular circumstances connected with it
+being, that the penitent was a Jewess.  It occurs in a letter in the
+_Times_ of 19 Dec.:
+
+                                 "ACT OF PENANCE, ST. JOHN'S, CLERKENWELL.
+
+"Sir.--Understanding that many stories are afloat concerning the above
+act, performed on Sunday last (15 Dec.) by a young woman of the Jewish
+persuasion, named Deborah Cohen, I thought the particulars might be
+acceptable.  This affair appears to have arisen from some family quarrel,
+the action in the Ecclesiastical Court, having been brought against her
+by her brother, for having made use to her sister-in-law, Rosetta Cohen,
+of a term contrary as well to this part of our laws, as to the usages of
+society.  To avoid expenses she had no means to meet, and the
+consequences thereof, her solicitor advised her to admit her fault, and
+abide the award of the Court.  This having got wind, the unpretending
+church of St. John's was beset, early on Sunday last, by great crowds,
+amongst whom it required great exertion of the parish officers and the
+police to preserve a proper decorum.  The crowds were, however,
+disappointed in seeing this young woman exposed in the open church, with
+the covering of a white sheet, etc., the order from the Ecclesiastical
+Court only having enjoined her to appear in the vestry room of this
+church, on Sunday morning last, after service and a sermon, and before
+the minister, churchwardens, and five or six of the plaintiff's friends
+(some of whom attended), to recite, after the minister, her regret, etc.,
+in the words laid down in the order.  This was carried into effect,
+accordingly, the crowds in the church and St. John's Square remaining
+long after the ceremony had been performed, and the parties had left the
+vestry.
+
+                                                                      "W."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+Commencement of Penny Post--Postage Stamps--Prince Albert's
+allowance--The _Times_ comments on the Marriage--Royal Wedding
+Cake--Louis Napoleon's duel--Nelson Column--Noblemen's servants--Uproar
+at the Italian Opera House.
+
+The most important event in the beginning of this year was the
+inauguration of the Penny Post on Jan. 10.  At the end of 1839, an
+uniform postage rate of 4d. per letter was tried on Dec. 5, which was so
+successful that the present penny postage was established, one feature of
+which, the prepayment of letters, was much appreciated by the public.
+The number of letters despatched by the Mails from the Metropolis, on the
+10th, was much greater than was expected, amounting to 112,000, the daily
+average for January, 1839, having been about 30,000 only.  Out of the
+112,000 letters there were only 13,000 or 14,000 unpaid, and this was
+probably owing to the fact that people could not get out of their old
+habits all at once.
+
+The Postage Stamps, however, were not ready, for we read in the _Times_
+of 17 Jan.: "The construction of the stamps is advancing with all speed,
+the several artists to whom they are intrusted being actively engaged
+upon them.  In the stamp for letter paper and the adhesive stamp, a
+profile of the Queen is the principal ornament.  The letter paper stamp
+is being engraved by Mr. Wyon, R.A., medallist to the Mint.  Charles
+Heath is engraving the drawing taken from Wyon's City medal, by H.
+Corbould, intended for the adhesive stamp.  W. Mulready, R.A., has
+furnished the design for the cover and envelope, which is in the hands of
+John Thompson for engraving."
+
+And, now, until the Queen was married, all the talk was of that event.
+First of all Prince Albert must be made a naturalised Englishman, and a
+bill to that effect was read for the third time in the House of Lords on
+21 Jan., in the Commons on the 22nd, and received the Royal Assent on the
+24th. {119a}  On the 23rd he was invested with the Order of the Garter at
+Gotha.  The second reading of the Act for his naturalization was heard in
+the House of Lords on the 27th, but owing to some dispute as to the
+question of his precedence, it was adjourned until the 31st, when it was
+read, and on 3 Feb. it was read a third time, and it received the Royal
+Assent on 7 Feb.  But there was another thing yet to be done, which was
+to supply His Serene Highness with Funds, and on Jan. 22 Lord John
+Russell proposed the sum of 50,000 pounds per annum.  The discussion
+thereon was adjourned until the 24th, and re-adjourned until the 27th,
+when Mr. Hume moved a reduction to 21,000 pounds, which was lost by a
+majority of 267.  Col. Sibthorp then proposed a sum of 30,000 pounds,
+which was agreed to, and the Act received the Royal Assent on 7 Feb.
+
+The feeling of the country on the subject of the Royal Marriage is, to my
+thinking, very fairly summarised in a leading article in the _Times_ of
+10 Feb., portions of which I transcribe: "It has followed from this
+policy, {119b} that an English monarch should, _coeteris paribus_, rather
+avoid than court an alliance with one of the first-rate powers of Europe,
+but should prefer security to aggrandizement, satisfied with a consort
+selected from a less prominent, and, therefore, less exposed, position.
+If there be safety, therefore, in comparative weakness and
+insignificance, we know not that, on such a ground, any other princely
+house throughout Europe, could offer inducements preferable to those
+possessed by those of Saxe-Coburg.  Objections against this individual
+member of the family might, perhaps, present themselves to reflecting
+minds, on the score of his close consanguinity to Queen Victoria, a
+circumstance not usually looked upon as propitious to the hope of a
+flourishing offspring.
+
+"Another argument might be urged against the match, from the undoubted
+fact that the name of Saxe-Coburg is not popular in this country, a
+misfortune for which we do not undertake to account; nor shall we longer
+dwell upon either of the above considerations, which we have hinted at,
+merely to shew that they have not wholly escaped our notice. . . .
+
+"Prince Albert has now become one of us.  He is, actually, now an English
+subject.  He is tied to us by law and self-interest.  Let us bind him to
+us by gratitude and affection.  The happiness of our youthful Queen is
+now in his hands.  He has the means of so directing and assisting her
+future footsteps, as to retrieve for Her Majesty (we speak with
+frankness, but with all respect) all she has forfeited in the hearts of
+the most loyal, enlightened and virtuous of her subjects, through her
+unhappy bias towards persons and principles which are hourly undermining
+the deep foundations of her Throne.
+
+"We have said that it devolves upon Prince Albert to counteract a host of
+'evil influences,' and to aid his Royal Consort in repairing 'many very
+grievous errors' into which selfish and treacherous counsellors have
+betrayed her, and which her constant separation (contrived by them) from
+all but one section, or coterie of her subjects, has served to render
+extremely difficult of correction.
+
+"Queen Victoria has scarcely been permitted to see the general aspect of
+the British aristocracy, or to become acquainted with their sentiments,
+their characters, or their manners.  The petty, artificial world framed
+and got up for her deception, is no more capable of suggesting to her
+mind the vast moral and social creation beyond its narrow boundaries,
+than one or two leaves of a _hortus siccus_ exemplify the productions of
+a noble forest, or a varied and inimitable landscape. . . .
+
+"Are the heads of the nation to be discovered at the Queen of England's
+Court?  Has the worth, or wisdom, or eminence of the nation any access to
+the society of the Sovereign?  Have the clergy of England, or any of
+them--have their representatives--bishops, priests, or deacons, the
+opportunity of communicating personally with the temporal head of the
+Church of England?  Are they, or any of them, ever seated at the Royal
+table, or received into the Royal presence, or favoured with the Royal
+smile?  No; such associations comport not with the policy of her
+ministers; the ear of the Sovereign is whispered from the choicest of her
+subjects--the palace doors are locked inexorably against all but a
+certain clique."
+
+Let us turn from this little lecture to the Queen, honest and faithful
+though it be, to the all-absorbing subject of Gossip, the Royal
+Marriage--and first, and foremost, comes the Royal Wedding Cake, which
+weighed nearly 300lbs.  It was three yards in circumference and about 14
+inches deep.  This was the cake itself, which, according to a
+contemporary account, "is covered with sugar of the purest white; on the
+top is seen the figure of Britannia in the act of blessing the
+illustrious bride and bridegroom, who are dressed, somewhat
+incongruously, in the costume of ancient Rome.  These figures are not
+quite a foot in height; at the feet of His Serene Highness is the effigy
+of a dog, said to denote fidelity; and, at the feet of the Queen is a
+pair of turtle doves, denoting the felicities of the marriage state.  A
+Cupid is writing in a volume expanded on his knees, the date of the
+marriage, and various other Cupids are sporting and enjoying themselves
+as such interesting little individuals generally do.  These little
+figures are well modelled.  On the top of the cake are numerous bouquets
+of white flowers tied with true lover's knots of white satin ribbon,
+intended for presents to the guests at the nuptial breakfast."
+
+On 6 Feb. the Prince landed at Dover from Ostend, and on the 7th went to
+Canterbury; on the 8th he reached London and Buckingham Palace; and, on
+the 10th they were married at the Chapel Royal, St. James'; spent the
+honeymoon at Windsor, and made their _rentree_ into society on 26 Feb.,
+when they went, in State, to Drury Lane Theatre.
+
+Duelling, although on the wane, was far from dead.  I could have given
+numerous instances of duels in the earlier part of this reign, but have
+refrained, as they were of no particular interest; but the following is
+an exception, as it relates to one who, in after years, was to make a
+great name in history for himself.
+
+_Times_, 4 March:
+
+    BOW STREET.--Shortly after the opening of the court yesterday
+    morning, and before any of the night charges had been disposed of,
+    Prince Louis Napoleon and Le Comte Leon, who is said to be the son of
+    Bonaparte, to whom he hears a striking resemblance, were brought
+    before Mr. Jardine, charged by Nicholas Pearce, inspector of the A
+    division, with having met at Wimbledon Common, and attempted to
+    commit a breach of the peace, by fighting a duel with swords and
+    pistols.
+
+    Lieut.-Col. Jeremiah Ratcliffe, 6th Dragoons, as second to the last
+    defendant, and Col. Charles Parquin, second to the Prince, together
+    with Count D'Orsay, and a servant, named Mertial Kien, with aiding
+    and assisting the principals in the intended combat.
+
+    Previous to the evidence being taken, two brace of pistols, with
+    powder flasks, and a pair of rapiers, were laid on the table for the
+    inspection of the magistrate.
+
+    Inspector Pearce, being sworn, said, about 2 o'clock this morning he
+    received information from Superintendent Baker, that certain parties
+    had an intention of meeting in a hostile manner on Wimbledon Common,
+    some of whom were to start from Fenton's Hotel and the others from
+    Carlton Gardens; in consequence of which I went into St. James's
+    Street, where I saw a post-chaise drive up to the door of the hotel,
+    about 7 o'clock, but I could not ascertain if any person had got into
+    it.  After delaying a short time, it moved slowly on in the direction
+    of Piccadilly, followed by Col. Ratcliffe, and stopped again at
+    Tattersall's, where another person followed towards Hyde Park Corner.
+    The chaise was then driven westward, and I followed it on horseback;
+    but, previous to arriving at Hyde Park Corner, the defendant
+    Ratcliffe passed, on horseback, in Piccadilly.
+
+    Mr. Jardine: What hour might it be then?
+
+    Witness: It was then nearly 7 o'clock.  On arriving at the Common, I
+    saw the entire party collected near to the Windmill, and the
+    post-chaise proceeding in that direction.  Having dismounted, and
+    left the horse in the care of a countryman, I proceeded to where the
+    chaises were standing, and then I saw the defendants walking away,
+    from them, some yards down, to a hollow part of the ground, each
+    party apparently making arrangements about the duel.  They then
+    stopped, and as I approached Col. Parquin, seeing two letters in one
+    hand, and the two swords produced, in the other, I took them from
+    him.  At that time, the pistols produced, in a case, were lying on
+    the ground, near to another brace, which were wrapped up in paper.
+    Some conversation passed between Count D'Orsay and Col. Parquin,
+    which appeared to be whether the combat was to be fought with pistols
+    or with swords, and the Count asked me what I wanted; my authority
+    for interfering; and who it was that gave me information of the
+    circumstance.  At that moment, Inspector Partridge, accompanied by
+    Sergt. Otway and other constables, came up, and, on Col. Ratcliffe
+    taking the pistols from the case, he was taken into custody.  I
+    instantly went to him, and, shewing him my staff, told him I was an
+    officer, and that I was, in duty, bound to take him into custody, for
+    attempting to commit a breach of the peace.  Count D'Orsay requested
+    to be told who it was who had given the information, and, on being
+    refused, the entire party were quietly conveyed to the station house.
+
+    Mr. Jardine: Have you since ascertained that the pistols contained
+    powder and balls?
+
+    Witness: Yes, Sir; there are balls in them, and caps upon them.
+
+    Colonel Ratcliffe declared there was no powder in the pistols, which
+    belonged to him, as could be seen; for it had been arranged that the
+    duel was to be fought with swords.
+
+    Mr. Jardine inquired if any of the defendants, who were foreigners,
+    and not sufficiently conversant with the English language, would wish
+    to hear the evidence read over to them in French?
+
+    Le Comte Leon replied in French, that he could not sufficiently
+    understand the evidence that had been given, but he was quite
+    satisfied that all the proceedings were perfectly legal and correct.
+
+    Prince Louis said, he was prepared, if required, to enter into an
+    explanation of the circumstances which gave rise to the offence with
+    which he was charged.
+
+    Mr. Jardine did not wish to hear any statement on either side, as his
+    duty was only to prevent a breach of the peace, and he hoped the
+    defendants were prepared with the sureties he would require, to
+    prevent further inconvenience.
+
+    Count D'Orsay said, he had come prepared with bail, which he thought
+    there could be no objection to.
+
+    Prince Louis requested that the two letters, which had been taken
+    from his friend, should be delivered up to him.
+
+    Mr. Jardine immediately delivered up the letters, saying he should
+    require the principals to enter into bail, themselves in 500 pounds
+    each, and two sureties in 250 pounds each, to keep the peace with all
+    Her Majesty's subjects, and particularly with each other, for the
+    next 12 months.
+
+    Count D'Orsay: One surety in 500 pounds, would, perhaps, answer as
+    well as two in 250 pounds each, if it meets with your approbation.
+
+    Mr. Jardine said he had no objection to such a course, and, if the
+    other defendants were prepared with bail, it might be taken.
+
+    Col. Ratcliffe said his surety was present.
+
+    Mr. Jardine: The bail I shall require is, that each of the other
+    defendants enter into his own recognizance in 100 pounds, and two
+    sureties in 50 pounds each, to keep the peace for the same period,
+    with the exception of the defendant Kien, who may put in his own
+    recognizances in 100 pounds.
+
+    Mr. Joshua Bates, of Portland Place, having offered himself as surety
+    for Prince Louis Napoleon and Col. Parquin, was accepted.
+
+    Mr. Fenton was accepted as bail for Le Comte Leon, and the Hon.
+    Francis Baring, M.P., became surety for Col. Ratcliffe and Count
+    D'Orsay.
+
+    The Chief Clerk having conducted the parties into the Magistrate's
+    private room, where they were furnished with the requisite notices,
+    returned to the Court to take directions respecting the disposal of
+    the weapons and other articles which were found upon the defendants
+    on their being taken into custody.
+
+    Mr. Jardine said he could make no order about them, but he thought
+    that, as the defendants had put in bail, there could be very little
+    apprehension of their committing a similar offence, if they were
+    restored to their proper owners.
+
+    It appeared that the two letters had been written by the Comte Leon
+    to his cousin, as he was styled, demanding that he would retract
+    certain expressions respecting their relationship, which he was
+    alleged to have made use of; and, his not complying, gave rise to the
+    quarrel.
+
+    On the 10th of April the offer of Messrs. Grissell and Peto was
+    accepted, to erect the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, within two
+    years, for a sum of 17,860 pounds.
+
+    There is a curious police case as to the habits and customs of
+    Noblemen's servants, which may be interesting to my readers.  It was
+    brought before the Magistrate at Queen Square on 14 April, when the
+    House Steward of the Earl of Galloway applied for summonses against
+    the footmen attending the carriages of Viscount Melbourne, the
+    Marquis of Normanby, the Marquis of Lansdowne and Lord Tankerville,
+    for assault and damage.
+
+    It appeared from the statement of the applicant, that the servants
+    attending the carriages of peers, to the House of Lords, have a
+    waiting room, which they call their Club room, and that they have
+    formed themselves into a society, governed by one of their body, whom
+    they call their "Constable."  They have a set of rules, dated as far
+    back as 1759, obedience to which is strictly enforced under pain of
+    certain fines.
+
+    On Friday evening, the coachman of the Earl of Galloway set his
+    lordship down at the House of Lords, with orders to wait.  The
+    footman, who was, it appears, a new comer, was, on entering the club
+    room, called upon to pay a fine, or "footing" of two shillings, to be
+    spent in beer, but he replied that he had no money about him; and, on
+    their insisting on its being paid, he left the room, and got on the
+    carriage box, with the coachman, but the "members," headed by their
+    Constable, with his staff of office, pursued him, insisted upon his
+    coming down, and were about to pull him off the box, when the
+    coachman told them that his fellow servant had no money with him,
+    but, if they would go, he would be answerable that it should be paid.
+    They, however, insisted that it should be spent in their Club, and
+    that the new servant should be present.
+
+    Mr. Burrell: How many were there of them?
+
+    Applicant said there were, he understood, 10 or 12, but it was only
+    intended to proceed against the four ringleaders.  The coachman,
+    finding that they were determined to have his fellow servant off the
+    box, drove on a little way, and, on returning to his place, Lord
+    Normanby's carriage ran against his, and seriously damaged it.  The
+    footman was, at length, dragged from the box, and very roughly
+    handled: his foot was hurt.  The coachman was also struck with the
+    long "staff" carried by the "constable."
+
+    Samuel Linturn, the footman, corroborated this statement.
+
+    The summonses were granted.
+
+    It was stated that Lord Normanby, at once, offered to make good the
+    damage done, but this the Earl of Galloway declined, having
+    determined that the whole matter should be publicly investigated by a
+    magistrate.
+
+    Two days afterwards, four footmen in the employ of Lords Melbourne,
+    Lansdowne, Normanby and Tankerville appeared to answer the summonses.
+
+    The complainant, in the course of his evidence, said that he had been
+    to the House of Lords on several previous occasions, but had never
+    been asked for anything, nor did he even know of the existence of
+    such a room.  Turk asked him whose servant he was, but he refused to
+    tell him.  Turk, at the time, had, in his hand, a pointed stick,
+    which he called a staff; he made no demand for money then, but went
+    away, and the complainant got on the box with the coachman, who took
+    the coach to the stand.  Turk, accompanied by several others, then
+    came up.  The Marquis of Bute's footman said he would pay the fine,
+    or footing, and placed two shillings on the footboard of the carriage
+    for that purpose.  This did not satisfy them.  Several persons,
+    amongst whom were the defendants, got upon the coach, and swore that
+    if he did not come down, they would pull him down.  There were
+    several police about, and, although he called upon them for
+    assistance, they would not come.
+
+    Both he and the coachman told them that he had no money, and the
+    coachman said he would secure them payment, if they would go and
+    drink the beer, but they insisted upon the complainant's presence in
+    the "club."  He still refused, and then they brought a long pole,
+    which they called a "horse."  The coachman drove up Abingdon Street
+    to avoid them, but several of the carriages drew out of the rank, and
+    followed them, and, as the coachman turned to regain his station,
+    Lord Normanby's carriage was driven against him, and the Earl of
+    Galloway's carriage sustained considerable damage; it was forced on
+    the footway, and was obliged to stop, upon which, several of the
+    footmen ran, and seized the horses by their heads.  The defendants
+    dragged the complainant off the box; one had hold of his foot, and
+    another, who seized upon his greatcoat, tore the buttons from it, and
+    from his gaiters and breeches.  They then placed him upon the pole,
+    which they called "putting him on horseback."
+
+    They then rode him into the room mentioned, where Lord Holland's
+    footman sat as chairman, and decided that he should pay two
+    shillings.  He borrowed the money from Lord Lansdowne's servant, and
+    was about to leave the room, but he was forced to resume his seat, as
+    he was told he could, from the room, easily hear when the carriage
+    was called, and that "he must sit and drink his beer."  He was also
+    told that he was now sworn in, and had only to kiss the staff, which
+    was presented to him, but he refused to do it.  He was detained
+    three-quarters of an hour, against his will.  His foot was hurt, and
+    the coachman was injured by a blow from the "staff."
+
+    The coachman corroborated the evidence, and the defendants were fined
+    ten shillings each.
+
+On the 29th April, there was an uproar in the Italian Opera House, which
+might have expanded into another O.P. riot of 1809.  The Impresario, M.
+Laporte, had not engaged Tamburini, because his terms were too high, and
+the singer's friends were highly indignant.  On this evening, at the
+conclusion of the opera of _I Puritani_, several voices began calling for
+M. Laporte, with shouts of "Tamburini!"  Poor M. Laporte appeared and
+began a speech in which he sought to excuse himself, but it was drowned
+by a torrent of groans and hisses, which came, principally, from the
+occupants of the "omnibus" box. {128}  M. Laporte so clearly perceived
+this, that, in a few minutes, his speech to the audience merged into a
+private conversation with its occupants.  The noise increased, and M.
+Laporte declared that he was not to be "intimidated," a word which roused
+the "omnibus" party to perfect fury.  He retired, and the curtain rose
+for the ballet, in which a new dancer was to have made her appearance.
+The noise, now, became terrible; yells, hisses, and all sorts of uncouth
+sounds were blended in frightful discord.  The dancers, perceiving all
+attempts at a performance were in vain, and, at the same time, being
+afraid to quit the stage, sat quietly, all round.
+
+Again and again Laporte came forward, and tried to bring matters to a
+settlement, and once he ventured to say, that, as manager, he had a right
+to engage performers at his own discretion, and that he was not to be
+responsible to an audience--which, it is needless to say, added fuel to
+fire.  Then he told them his engagements would not allow him to employ
+Tamburini, which meant ruin to him, but it only provoked more noise.
+Then he appealed to their better feelings by telling them of the many
+years he had catered for their amusement, and this did bring him some
+support, for cries of "Shame," "No Tamburini," and "No Intimidation,"
+were heard, but this only had the effect of dividing the audience, and
+increasing the hubbub.
+
+Once again poor Laporte came forward, and talked of engaging Tamburini on
+"Conditions."  This word upset all, and the Tamburinists asked: "Will you
+engage him?  Yes, or No?"  Laporte said he would make proposals, and, if
+those proposals, etc.  This would not do; "Yes, or No?" said his
+persevering interrogators.  "Say 'No,'" said his supporters.  He began
+talking about terms.  "Same terms as last year," shouted all the
+"Omnibus" party, upon which he retired, without proposing anything
+satisfactory.  Everyone was getting tired, when, at last, a gentleman, in
+a box opposite the "Omnibus," stepped over the front of his box on to the
+stage, and was followed by a party; the "Omnibus" party entered the stage
+from the opposite side, and, at one o'clock, the Tamburinists had taken
+possession, and waved their hats triumphantly, on the stage, as the
+curtain fell.
+
+It was this episode that the Rev. R. H. Barham has immortalized in his
+_Ingoldsby Legends_, under the title of "A Row in an Omnibus (box),"
+beginning:
+
+    Doldrum the Manager sits in his chair,
+    With a gloomy brow and dissatisfied air,
+       And he says, as he slaps his hand on his knee,
+       'I'll have nothing to do with Fiddle-de-dee!
+
+    '--But Fiddle-de-dee sings clear and loud,
+    And his trills and his quavers astonish the crowd.
+          Such a singer as he,
+          You'll nowhere see,
+    They'll all be screaming for Fiddle-de-dee!
+
+    '--Though Fiddle-de-dee sings loud and clear,
+    And his tones are sweet, yet his terms are dear!
+          The glove won't fit!
+          The deuce a bit.
+    I shall give an engagement to Fal-de-ral-tit!'"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+The Mulready Envelope--Plans of Royal Exchange decided on--Fire at York
+Minster--Queen shot at by Oxford--Oxford in Bedlam--Scientific
+Agriculture--Electro-metallurgy--Embossed envelope--Sale of Louis
+Napoleon's effects.
+
+On the 1st of May, the Post Office issued the long expected postal
+envelope designed by W. Mulready, R.A., and the opinion of _The Times_
+may be taken as the expression of most people's feelings about it.
+
+    _Times_, 2 May.--"We have been favoured with a sight of one of the
+    new stamp covers, and we must say we never beheld anything more
+    ludicrous than the figures or allegorical device by which it is
+    marked with its official character--why not add embellished?
+    Cruickshank could scarcely produce anything so laughable.  It is,
+    apparently, a spirited attempt to imitate the hieroglyphic which
+    formed one of the ornaments to _Moore's Almanack_; Britannia is
+    seated in the centre, with the lion couchant (Whiggish) at her feet;
+    her arms are extended, scattering little flying children to some
+    elephants on the left; and, on the right, to a group of gentlemen,
+    some of whom, at all events, are not enclosed in _envelopes_, writing
+    on their knees, evidently on account of a paucity of tables.  There
+    are, besides, sundry figures, who, if they were to appear in the
+    streets of London, or any of our highways, would be liable to the
+    penalties of the Vagrant Act for indecent exposure.  Under the
+    tableland by which these figures are supported, some evidence of a
+    laudable curiosity is depicted, by three or four ladies, who are
+    represented reading a billet doux, or valentine, and some little
+    boys, evidently learning to spell, by the mental exertion which their
+    anxious faces disclose.  One serious omission we must notice.  Why
+    have those Mercuries in red jackets, who traverse London and its
+    environs on lame ponies, been omitted?  We must admit that, as they
+    have been, recently, better mounted, that is one reason why they
+    should not appear in this Government picture."
+
+But the reader can judge how far this description is borne out.
+
+                       [Picture: Mulready envelope]
+
+As a matter of fact, it was so universally disapproved of by the public,
+and was the object of so much ridicule, as to necessitate the destruction
+of nearly all the vast number prepared for issue.  To do this, a machine
+had to be specially constructed; the attempt to do the work by fire, in
+close stoves (fear of robbery forbade the use of open ones), having
+absolutely failed.  They are now somewhat scarce, but are extensively
+forged.  It was satirized and laughed at by all, and a contemporary
+criticism, which has been reproduced in _The Philatelist_, vol. vii., p.
+145, is very amusing:
+
+    "Britannia is sending her messengers forth
+    To the East, to the West, to the South, to the North:
+       At her feet is a lion wot's taking a nap,
+       And a dish-cover rests on her legs and her lap.
+    To the left is a Mussulman writing a letter,
+    His knees form a desk, for the want of a better;
+       Another believer's apparently trying
+       To help him in telling the truth, or in lying.
+    Two slaves 'neath their burden seem ready to sink,
+    But a sly-looking elephant 'tips us the wink';
+       His brother behind, a most corpulent beast,
+       Just exhibits his face, like the moon in a mist.
+    On each is a gentleman riding astraddle,
+    With neat Turkey carpets in lieu of a saddle;
+       The camels, behind, seem disposed for a lark,
+       The taller's a well-whisker'd, fierce-looking shark.
+    An Arab, arrayed with a coal-heaver's hat,
+    With a friend from the desert is holding a chat;
+       The picture's completed by well-tailed Chinese
+       A-purchasing opium, and selling of teas.
+    The minister's navy is seen in the rear--
+    They long turned their backs on the service--'tis clear
+       That they now would declare, in their typical way,
+       That Britannia it is who has done it, not they.
+    A reindeer and Laplander cutting through snow,
+    The rate of their progress (down hill) seems to show.
+       To the right, is the King of the Cannibal Islands,
+       In the same pantaloons that they wear in the Highlands
+    Some squaws by his side, with their infantile varments,
+    And a friend, in the front, who's forgotten his garments.
+       Frost, Williams and Jones {132} have this moment been hook
+       And are fixing the day they would choose to be cook'd.
+    There a planter is giving and watching the tasks
+    Of two worthy niggers, at work on two casks.
+       Below, to the left, as designed by Mulready,
+       Is sorrow's effect on a very fat lady;
+    While joy at good news may be plainly descried,
+    In the trio engaged on the opposite side."
+
+      [Picture: Left--Lord Monteagle and Mr. Baring, Britannia, Lord
+        Palmerston.  Right--O'Connell and the Duke of Wellington]
+
+There were very many pictorial satires on this unfortunate wrapper, but
+none bore so near a resemblance to it as the accompanying illustration by
+John Doyle (H.B. Sketches, 26 May, 1840, No. 639).  Lord Palmerston, as
+Britannia, is dispatching Mercuries with fire and sword, to the east,
+typical of the wars in Egypt and China.  On the other hand, he sends a
+flight of Cupids to Father Mathew, the apostle of Temperance, who was
+then doing such good work in Ireland, whilst a man is knocking the bung
+out of a whisky barrel.  Beneath this group is O'Connell, who is roaring
+out "Hurrah for Repeal!" to the horror of the Duke of Wellington, who is
+behind him.  On the left is Lord Monteagle, late Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, ill in bed; whilst his successor, Mr. Baring, reads to him the
+result of his policy: "Post Office deliveries in the quarter, 272,000
+pounds!  Total deficiency in the year, to be made up by new taxation,
+2,000,000 pounds!"
+
+On 7 May, the Gresham Committee met to decide on the two plans for the
+New Royal Exchange, one prepared by Mr. Cockerell, R.A., and the other by
+Mr. Tite, President of the Architectural Society, which was in favour of
+the latter by 13 votes to 7.  The works were immediately proceeded with.
+
+Talking of one fire seems to lead on to another, for on 20 May, York
+Minster was for the second time visited with a conflagration--this time,
+however, it was caused accidentally, and not the work of an incendiary.
+
+The following extract from a letter dated York, 21 May, gives a graphic
+account of the fire, and is of especial interest, as being from the pen
+of a spectator.
+
+    "You may hear the rumour of the alarming and truly awful calamity
+    that has occurred in this city, before you receive this.  I have
+    witnessed it, and shall hold the recollection as long as my memory
+    exists.  About 20 minutes to 9 last evening, I was told the Minster
+    was on fire.  I ran out, immediately, towards it, and stood by it,
+    just as the flames had issued from the top part of the south-west
+    tower, at a height that an engine could not have played upon.  The
+    fire continued to rage until it had entire possession of the upper
+    part; flames issuing from every window, and piercing the roof.  To
+    describe the feelings under which I witnessed the devouring flames
+    preying upon a national monument, which every man must look upon with
+    admiration, requires a pen more descriptive than mine.  Grief, awe,
+    wonder and admiration were the emotions with which I regarded the
+    destruction of this venerable church.  I soon obtained admission into
+    the nave of the Cathedral, and observed the first falling down of the
+    burnt embers.  The flames illumined the interior with more than
+    mid-day brightness; the light, pouring through the crevices, threw a
+    brilliancy over the scene which imagination cannot paint.  The fire,
+    at this time, was wholly confined to the tower.
+
+    "After the space of half an hour, the flooring of the belfry in the
+    tower began to be forced by the falling bells and lighted beams.  At
+    this period, my nerves were strung to the highest excitement.  The
+    noise was extraordinary.  The shouting of the firemen, the roaring of
+    the flames rushing up the tower with the rapidity of a furnace
+    draught, sounded in the high and arched space, awful and terrific.
+    The falling masses of wood, and bells, sounded like the near
+    discharge of artillery, and were echoed back from the dark passages,
+    whose glomy shade, and hollow responses seemed mourning at the
+    funeral pile that burned so fiercely.  In one hour, the tower was
+    completely gutted, and masses of burning timber lay piled against the
+    south-west door.  The upper and under roof, composed principally of
+    fir timber, covering the nave, as far as the centre tower, had, by
+    this time, become fired, and burned with extraordinary rapidity.  The
+    firemen, by a well-managed direction of the water, prevented the
+    flames passing through the west windows of the centre tower, and
+    continued their exertions at that spot, until the whole of the roof
+    had fallen in, and lay, in the centre of the aisle, a sea of fire.
+
+    "The west doors had, now, become nearly burnt through, and planks
+    were brought to barricade them, and prevent the rushing of air to fan
+    the embers to flame, which might have communicated to the organ, and
+    thence, throughout the whole pile of buildings.
+
+    "At 1 o'clock, this morning, I again entered the Cathedral, and then
+    concluded there was no further danger of destruction.  The tower is
+    standing, also the walls and pillars of the nave; and, beyond that,
+    the building, I am happy to state, is saved.
+
+    "The fire is supposed to have originated from a clock maker, who has
+    been, for some time past, occupied in repairing the clock in that
+    tower, who might accidentally, have dropped a spark from a candle."
+
+The repairs in 1829, when the Cathedral was fired by the fanatic, John
+Martin, cost 65,000 pounds, which was raised by subscription, and it was
+estimated that the cost of the present repairs would amount to about
+20,000 pounds.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+I know of no other general topic of conversation in May, but, in June,
+there was one which set every one in the United Kingdom, and the whole
+civilized world, a talking.--THE QUEEN HAD BEEN SHOT AT!!!  A little
+after 6 p.m. the Queen and Prince Albert left Buckingham Palace for their
+before-dinner drive, and had barely got one-third up Constitution Hill,
+when a young man, who had been walking backwards and forwards, as the
+carriage came near, and was nearly opposite him, turned round, and,
+drawing a pistol from his breast, fired at the carriage, which, however,
+went on its way.  The man then looked back, to see whether any person was
+standing near enough to prevent him, and drew another pistol, which he
+discharged at the carriage.  Prince Albert ordered the postillions to
+drive on, and they went as far as Hyde Park Corner, and thence to the
+Duchess of Kent's mansion in Belgrave Square, and, after staying there
+some little time, drove to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen was
+received by crowds of her subjects, cheering vociferously.  To say that
+she was not affected by the incident would not be true, but she soon
+recovered from its effects.
+
+The person who shot at her was a little undersized boy (5ft. 4in.), about
+18, named Edward Oxford, a publican's barman, out of work, and as "Satan
+finds work for idle hands to do," this boy must needs buy two pistols,
+bullets, powder and caps, and begin practising shooting.  Whatever made
+it enter into his wicked little head to shoot at the Queen, no one knew,
+but he did, and was speedily in the hands of the police.  He was examined
+and re-examined, and finally tried at the Central Criminal Court on 9
+July, the trial lasting two days.  The defence was the plea of insanity,
+and, as no bullets could be found, the jury brought in a verdict of
+"Guilty, he being, at the time, insane"; and, in accordance with such
+verdict, the judge sentenced him to be imprisoned during Her Majesty's
+pleasure.
+
+On the day after being shot at, the Queen and Prince Albert took their
+wonted drive in the Park, amidst the shouts of crowded thousands, and the
+next day, she, in State, received the congratulations of the Houses of
+Lords and Commons, the latter having the first audience.  At two o'clock,
+the state carriage of the Speaker entered the court, followed by 109
+carriages filled with members of the House of Commons; never before, it
+was said, was the Speaker followed by so numerous a _cortege_, on the
+occasion of presenting an address.  As soon as the carriages of the
+Commons had left the court, the procession of the Lords began to enter,
+the barons first, then the other peers, rising in rank to the royal
+dukes.  They wore all their stars and garters, and made a brave show.
+
+We get a glimpse of Oxford in prison in a paragraph of the _Times_, 28
+Feb., 1843, copied from a Sunday paper.
+
+    "As numberless strange and conflicting rumours have been propagated,
+    relative to the treatment experienced by Edward Oxford, in his place
+    of incarceration, the curiosity of the visitor on this head was,
+    naturally, great, especially as it is generally understood that those
+    who are favoured with permission to visit Bethlehem, are not allowed
+    to see Oxford.  This is not, however, the fact.  In a compartment of
+    the establishment, principally allotted to those who are supposed to
+    have committed heinous crimes in moments of madness, Edward Oxford is
+    confined.  He is not separated from the other unfortunate persons who
+    reside in that division of the building, but is allowed free
+    intercourse with them.  Among his comrades are Mr. Pierce, surgeon,
+    who shot his wife whilst labouring under a paroxysm of madness
+    produced by jealousy; and Captain Good, whose favourite phantasy is
+    the assumption of the attribute of Majesty.  There is, in the same
+    division of the establishment, a very diminutive man, who imagines
+    himself to be Lord John Russell.  He amuses himself, nearly all day
+    long, with knitting.  Captain Good is fond of smoking, and Pierce
+    hovers over the fireplace (a stove) all day.  Oxford diverts himself
+    with drawing and reading.  He told the visitor, who furnished us with
+    this account, that he had taught himself to read French with ease,
+    during his incarceration, but that he was unable to speak the
+    language, for want of an opportunity of studying the pronunciation.
+    He said that he was terribly tired of his sojourn at Bethlehem, and
+    that he wished he could obtain his liberty, even though he should be
+    placed under _surveillance_ during the remainder of his life.  The
+    visitor remarked that there was no such thing as _surveillance de
+    police_ in England.  To which Oxford replied that he was perfectly
+    acquainted with that fact; and that the condition upon which he thus
+    desired his liberty, was rather an imaginary one, than a strictly
+    legal and feasible one.  Upon another question being put to him, he
+    said he knew he had been placed in Bethlehem under an impression that
+    he was mad, but that he was, really, very far from being mad.  He
+    exhibited some of his drawings, which were uncommonly well executed,
+    and evinced a natural talent for the art.  There were a view of
+    Abbotsford, a horse's head, a portrait of the Virgin Mary, and one or
+    two other designs, which were, really, most tastefully sketched and
+    shaded.  He appeared pleased when complimented on his proficiency in
+    the art of drawing, and observed that he was self-taught.  In
+    manners, he is modest, civil and unassuming, and certainly exhibits
+    not the slightest symptom of insanity.  We know that medical
+    jurisprudence admits that it is very difficult to determine the exact
+    line of demarcation where sound sense stops, and insanity commences;
+    but he, who has visited a receptacle for the insane, will speedily
+    observe the strange state and appearance of the eyes of those whose
+    intellects are unhinged.  This appearance cannot be mistaken either
+    in lucid or rabid intervals; it is still perceptible, although, of
+    course, in a greater or lesser degree.  Now, the visitor to
+    Bethlehem, on the occasion here refered to, particularly observed the
+    eyes of all the inmates; and those of one only showed not the
+    least--not the most remote symptoms of insanity.  This one individual
+    was Edward Oxford.  He appears in his conversation, his manners, his
+    countenance and his pursuits, as sane, collected, and intelligent as
+    possible.  Of course, the deed for which he is now in durance was not
+    touched upon; nor was any information relative to that subject sought
+    of the turnkeys, or keepers.  With respect to food, Oxford is not
+    treated one atom better than his fellow sufferers; the diet of the
+    inmates of the hospital is plentiful and good, but no favour is shown
+    to any particular individual, with regard either to quality, or
+    quantity.  Oxford appears to enjoy very excellent health; and he is
+    remarkably clean and neat in his person."
+
+He was, afterwards, removed to Broadmoor, and I have been told, although
+I cannot vouch for the fact, that he was liberated some years ago, and
+sent to Australia.
+
+Early in July, we begin to hear of a higher style of farming than that
+previously in use, as we find the _Dumfries Courier_ advocating the use
+of nitrate of soda as a manure, but, yet, are cautious on the
+subject.--"An extensive trial of it will be necessary before any proper
+judgment can be pronounced.  It is, as yet, unknown whether its effects
+are lasting, and until this is ascertained, caution must be used."
+
+Another thing, too, was just beginning to attract
+attention--Electro-metallurgy.  True it is that Wollaston applied the
+principle of the Voltaic pile to the deposition of one metal upon another
+in 1801, and it was further developed by Bessemer (1834), Jacobi and the
+Elkingtons in 1838, and Spencer in 1839, but for practical utility it was
+still in its infancy, and we can see how far it had advanced, in the
+following extract from a German Paper: "Munich, 22 July, 1840.--Much is
+at present said in the public papers respecting the imitations of medals,
+reliefs, etc., by means of a galvanic deposition of copper.  This art,
+called Galvano plastic, first discovered by Professor Jacobi of St.
+Petersburg, and brought to greater perfection by Mr. Spencer, of
+Liverpool, and by Professor Von Kebel, of Munich, may justly be classed
+as one of the most useful of modern inventions; and, from its great
+importance, its employment in technical operations must soon become
+general.  Indeed, some persons in England, perceiving the great influence
+which this invention is destined to have on manufacturing industry, are
+already applying it to the production of buttons, arabesques, and various
+ornaments in Copper.  Herr G. A. Muller, mechanician of Leipsic, has
+recently called attention to the application of Galvano plastic to
+typography.  He has, however, been, in some measure, anticipated by the
+experiments made in 1839, in Rosel's printing office, in Munich; where,
+by following the methods of Jacobi and Spencer, the lines of copperplate
+were produced in relief.  Wood cuts were, also, converted into metallic
+plates, which, to say nothing of the advantage of the solidity of the
+metal, far exceeded the effect of the most perfect casting.  The
+experiments for making stereotype plates in copper have, also, been
+successful.  In short, the invention has now reached that stage which
+must secure for it the attention of all practical men."
+
+Mulready's postal wrapper having been killed by universal derision: in
+July was produced an envelope with an embossed head of the Queen thereon,
+and these could be bought until the close of her reign.
+
+Prince Louis Napoleon, previously to his ill-starred expedition to
+Boulogne, had left instructions for his furniture and jewellery to be
+sold; and sold they accordingly were by Christie and Manson on 21 Aug.,
+and Mr. Bernal and other _virtuosi_ went to the sale to see what
+Napoleonic relics they could pick up.  Among these were two silver cups,
+with the eagle and initial of Queen Hortense, 5 pounds 10/- and a casket
+of camei, formerly the property of the Empress Josephine, was divided
+into 22 lots, one of which was a pair of earrings, the gift of Pius VI.
+to Josephine during the first campaign in Italy, in 1796, sold for 46
+pounds 4/-, and the original marble bust of Napoleon, when Consul, dated
+1804, by Canova, fetched 232 pounds 11/-.
+
+On 28 Aug. Prince Albert received the freedom of the City of London; and,
+on 11 Sep., he was made a Privy Councillor.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+Lord Cardigan and the "Black bottle" case--Lord Cardigan's duel with
+Lieut. Tuckett--Steam to India--Nelson Column--Mormonism--"The Boy
+Jones"--Napoleon's body transferred to France.
+
+About this time the Earl of Cardigan made himself particularly
+conspicuous before the public, and the commencement of it was the famous
+"black bottle" question, and I well remember that that useful utensil
+was, for many years, called a "Cardigan."  My Lord was Colonel of the
+11th Hussars, "Prince Albert's Own," and it so happened that, on the 18th
+May, 1840, when the Inspecting Officer dined with the mess, Captain
+Reynolds of "Ours" ordered, at mess, a bottle of Moselle, which, instead
+of being decanted, was served in its original envelope, a proceeding
+which gave offence to the aristocratic taste of the Colonel, and,
+according to a statement which was published in many newspapers:
+
+    "The following morning Capt. Jones delivered the following message to
+    Capt. Reynolds: 'The Colonel has desired me, as president of the mess
+    committee, to tell you that you were wrong in having a black bottle
+    placed on the table, at a great dinner like last night, as the mess
+    should be conducted like a gentleman's table, and not like a tavern,
+    or pothouse,' or words to that effect.  Capt. Reynolds received the
+    message with astonishment, but without remark, and, subsequently,
+    waited on the Earl of Cardigan, and complained of it, but received no
+    satisfactory answer.
+
+    "A short time afterwards, Capt. Reynolds met Capt. Jones in the
+    mess-room, and, in the presence of two officers, said to him:
+    'Captain Jones, I wish to speak to you about the message you brought
+    me this morning.  In the first place, I do not think you were
+    justified in giving it at all; as a brother captain, having no
+    possible control over me, it would have been better taste if you had
+    declined to deliver it.'  He replied: 'I received it from the
+    Commanding Officer, and, as such, I gave it; and, if you refuse to
+    receive it from me, I shall report it.'  Capt. Reynolds replied: 'Do
+    not misunderstand me, Captain Jones; I have received, and do receive
+    it; but the message was an offensive one; and I tell you, once for
+    all, that, in future, I will not allow you, or any man, to bring me
+    offensive messages.'  Capt. Jones said: 'If I am ordered to give a
+    message, I shall give it.'  Capt. Reynolds said: 'Well, you may do as
+    you please; but if you bring me improper messages, you must take the
+    consequences.'  Capt. Jones replied, 'he should certainly do so,' and
+    left the room.
+
+    "The two captains who were present (one not an officer of the
+    regiment) proved that Capt. Reynolds' manner was quiet and
+    inoffensive.  Capt. Jones reported the conversation; and, soon
+    afterwards, Capt. Reynolds was summoned to the orderly room; where,
+    in presence of Major Jenkins, the adjutant, and Capt. Jones, Lord
+    Cardigan thus addressed Capt. Reynolds, in no very agreeable tone, or
+    manner: 'If you cannot behave quietly, Sir, why don't you leave the
+    regiment?  This is just the way with you Indian officers; you think
+    you know everything; but I tell you, Sir, that you neither know your
+    duty, nor discipline.  Oh, yes, you do know your duty, I believe, but
+    you have no idea whatever of discipline, and do not, at all, justify
+    my recommendation.'  Capt. Reynolds remained silent; when Lord
+    Cardigan added, 'Well, I put you in arrest.'
+
+    "Capt. Jones then offered Capt. Reynolds his hand, upon which, Capt.
+    Reynolds, turning towards him, said, 'No, Capt. Jones, I will not
+    shake hands with you; nothing has passed which renders it necessary.
+    I have no quarrel with you, and I deny having insulted you, and see
+    no reason why I should shake hands with you, or the contrary.'
+
+    "Lord Cardigan said, 'But I say you have insulted Capt. Jones.'
+    Capt. Reynolds quietly replied, 'I have not, my Lord'; upon which
+    Lord Cardigan said, 'Well, I put you under arrest, and shall report
+    the matter to the Horse Guards.'  Capt. Reynolds said, 'I am sorry
+    for it;' and retired.
+
+    "The matter was reported to the Horse Guards, after Capt. Reynolds
+    had been in close arrest three days.  Lord Hill sent a memorandum,
+    recommending Capt. Reynolds to acknowledge the impropriety of his
+    conduct towards Lord Cardigan, and to declare his readiness to resume
+    friendly intercourse with Capt. Jones.  This recommendation Capt.
+    Reynolds obeyed; but he still refused to shake hands with Capt.
+    Jones, which would seem to imply a previous quarrel, or to drink wine
+    with him within any specified time.
+
+                                  * * * * *
+
+    "On the 9th of June, Gen. Sleigh went to Canterbury; had all the
+    officers of the regiment brought before him, and, without any
+    investigation, read to them a letter from Headquarters, condemning
+    Capt. Reynolds's conduct in very strong language; approving of that
+    of Lord Cardigan, throughout, in every particular, stigmatizing Capt.
+    Reynolds's motives as pernicious and vindictive, and refusing a
+    court-martial, because many things would be brought to light which
+    would not be for the good of the Service.
+
+    "Capt. Reynolds then requested that he might be brought to a
+    court-martial for the offences for which he had now been charged.
+    This was also refused, as it was stated Lord Hill had determined it
+    should be considered as settled.  And, as if this was not enough,
+    Gen. Sleigh told Capt. Reynolds that he had forfeited the sympathy of
+    every officer of rank in the Service.
+
+    "Capt. Reynolds applied for copies of all letters referred to in this
+    statement, which are not given at length, and was refused them."
+
+He still kept in the regiment, which, perhaps, was unwise on his part, as
+the sequel shows.  Early in September, an evening party was given by the
+Earl of Cardigan, to which, as usual, several officers of the regiment
+were invited.  In the course of the evening, a young lady casually
+observed, aloud, that she "did not see Capt. Reynolds there."  The Earl
+of Cardigan, who happened to be near, heard the remark, and replied, "Oh,
+no; he is not one of my visitors."  The words were uttered without any
+marked expression, and did not, at the time, attract particular
+attention.  They were, however, carried to Capt. Reynolds, who,
+conceiving that the expression was calculated to affect him as a
+gentleman, wrote a letter to the Earl of Cardigan, to know if the
+expression had been used, and in what sense.  This letter remained
+unanswered, and the consequence was, that Capt. Reynolds, stung with this
+apparently further slight, was induced to send a second and a stronger
+letter, couched in terms which could bear no other interpretation than
+that of a challenge.
+
+On receiving this letter, the Earl of Cardigan consulted with his
+friends; and, after fairly considering the matter, it was determined to
+submit the letters with the whole of the circumstances connected with the
+case, to the consideration of the Colonel of the regiment, Prince Albert.
+The Prince, on receiving the papers, laid them before the
+Commander-in-Chief, Lord Hill, for his opinion thereon, when it was
+resolved, by the latter, to let the matter come fairly before the public,
+in the shape of a court-martial, which was, shortly afterwards, held at
+Brighton.  This court confined itself chiefly to the consideration of the
+second letter written by Capt. Reynolds, which they conceived to be
+couched in a spirit so insubordinate, ungentlemanly, and insolent, as to
+afford the writer no sort of excuse, or palliation for his conduct, on
+the alleged grounds of previous provocation on the part of his commanding
+officer, and they adjudged that Capt. Reynolds should be cashiered (Oct.
+20).
+
+It certainly was not from a wish not to fight a duel that Lord Cardigan
+thus acted with regard to Capt. Reynolds (and no one who remembers his
+heading the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, can question his
+courage), for he challenged and fought with Lieut. Tuckett, on 12th Sep.;
+a duel which was thus reported in the papers:
+
+In consequence of the Earl of Cardigan having ascertained that certain
+letters published recently in the _Morning Chronicle_, reflecting, as his
+lordship supposed, on his character as an officer and a gentleman, were
+written by Lieut. Tuckett, late of the same regiment (11th Hussars), the
+noble lord sent him, through Captain Douglas, of the 11th, a challenge,
+which was at once accepted, and Capt. Wainwright (half-pay) was the
+friend selected by Mr. Tuckett to arrange the preliminaries.  An apology
+was demanded by the noble lord, to which the reply was, that if he would
+deny the allegations contained in the letters referred to, it should be
+given.  Lord Cardigan declared that certain portions of those letters
+were true, but that the greater part were calumnies.  On this, the
+apology was refused, and a meeting was the consequence.  It took place on
+the afternoon of the 12th Sep., on Wimbledon Common.  The first shot was
+ineffectual, on both sides; but, on the second fire, Mr. Tuckett received
+his adversary's ball in the back part of the lower ribs, which traversed
+round to the spine.  The ball was extracted, and Mr. Tuckett, after a
+time, recovered.
+
+Subsequently, warrants were issued, and Lord Cardigan and his second were
+brought before the Bench of Surrey Magistrates, at Wandsworth; and after
+several examinations, Lord Cardigan was committed for trial on the charge
+of "Shooting at Capt. H. Tuckett with a pistol, with intent to murder, or
+do him some bodily harm"; and his second, for aiding and abetting him.
+The charge was laid under "An Act to amend the Laws relating to Offences
+against the Person" (1 Vic., c. 85, s. 3), which makes the offence set
+forth in the charge, a felony, punishable, at the discretion of the
+Court, with transportation beyond the seas, for the term of his, or her,
+natural life, or for any term not less than fifteen years, or to be
+imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years.
+
+He was tried in the House of Lords, on 16 Feb., 1841, by his peers, and
+the case against him broke down through a technicality.  His counsel, Sir
+William Follett, pointed out that the prosecution had failed in proving a
+material part of their case, inasmuch as no evidence had been given that
+Captain Harvey Garnett Phipps Tuckett was the person alleged to have been
+on Wimbledon Common on the 12th September last, and whose card only bore
+the name of Captain Harvey Tuckett.  The peers present returned a verdict
+of "Not guilty," with the exception of the Duke of Cleveland, who added
+"Not guilty, legally."
+
+The use of steam at sea was beginning to assert itself.  It was only two
+years since, that I had to chronicle the voyages of the _Sirius_ and the
+_Great Western_ across the Atlantic--now we have the first steamship to
+India, sailing on 25 Sep.  She was called _The India_, and was 1,200 tons
+and nearly 400 horse-power.  She sailed for Calcutta, calling at the Cape
+of Good Hope, where she was to stop five days.  It was expected that she
+would complete her voyage, including stoppages, within 75 days.
+
+On 30 Sep. the foundation stone of the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square
+was laid, without ceremony.  It was a large block of Dartmoor granite,
+weighing 14 tons; and, on 16 Oct. the tenders for building the new Royal
+Exchange were settled.  They varied very considerably, and the contract
+was given to the lowest, that of Messrs. Webb, of Clerkenwell, whose
+tender was 2,000 pounds under the architect's estimate.
+
+About this time we begin to hear of Mormonism in England; not that it was
+absolutely new, for, on 20 July, 1837, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde,
+Willard Richards, Joseph Fielding and others, landed at Liverpool, on the
+first mission sent out by the Mormons.  Three days after landing they
+began preaching at Preston, and met with such remarkable success that,
+within the next eight months, at the expiration of which time, Kimball
+and Hyde returned to America, they had converted and baptised about 2,000
+people.  But the sect was uncommon, as we may see from the following
+extract from the _Leeds Times_, copied into the _Times_ of 31 Oct.:
+
+    "A NEW SECT.--One of the most recent developments of fanaticism is
+    the appearance of a new sect, in different parts of England, entitled
+    _Latter Day Saints_.  We believe that it made its first appearance in
+    Hertfordshire and Leicestershire, from which counties great numbers
+    of its members have lately emigrated to the United States.  The sect
+    has extended to Lancashire and Yorkshire; and, by the labours of its
+    preachers, is now travelling northward into Durham and
+    Northumberland.  The _Latter Day Saints_ assume to do many
+    extraordinary things.  Among other accomplishments peculiar to those
+    who believe in the new doctrines, they are declared to possess the
+    power of casting out devils, or curing the sick by laying hands on
+    them, of resisting the operation of the deadliest poisons, of
+    speaking with new tongues, and of working miracles of various kinds.
+    They state that no ministers, now on earth, preach the Gospel, but
+    themselves, and that, only to them have the supernatural gifts of the
+    Church been vouchsafed.  The Kingdom of God, they say, is only open
+    to those who have been baptised by immersion.  In addition to the
+    Bible, they state they are in possession of another work, of equal
+    authority, entitled _The Book of Mormon_, the original of which was
+    found engraved on brass plates, in the central land of America.
+    Finally, they consider this is the last generation of mankind, and
+    that they have been sent into the world, expressly to prepare the way
+    for the Son of Man!"
+
+Has my reader forgotten THE BOY JONES?  He turns up again in this
+chronicle, for, on Wednesday, the 2nd of December, the inmates of
+Buckingham Palace were, shortly after midnight, aroused by an alarm being
+given that a stranger had been discovered under the sofa in Her Majesty's
+dressing-room, and the officers of the household were quickly on the
+alert.  It was soon ascertained that the alarm was not without
+foundation, and the daring intruder was immediately secured, and safely
+handed over to the tender mercies of the police.  The report of the
+occurrence spread very rapidly, and created the most lively interest in
+London, as it was feared that the consequent alarm might be attended with
+the most dangerous effects to the health of the Queen, who had been
+confined only eleven days previously.  Happily, neither mother, nor child
+suffered in any way.
+
+The facts, as far as can be gathered--the examination being a private
+one, conducted by the Privy Council--seem to have been as follows:
+Shortly after midnight, one of Her Majesty's pages, accompanied by other
+domestics of the Royal household, was summoned into Her Majesty's
+dressing-room, which adjoined the bed chamber in which Her Majesty's
+accouchement had taken place, by Mrs. Lilly, the nurse, who thought she
+heard a noise.  A strict search was made; and, under the sofa on which
+Her Majesty had been sitting, only about two hours' previously, they
+discovered a dirty, ill-looking fellow, who was immediately dragged from
+his hiding place, and given into custody.  The prisoner was searched, but
+nothing of a dangerous nature was found upon him, and the police, at
+once, recognised their captive as the Edward Jones, who had, two years
+previously, entered the palace in such a mysterious way.  He is described
+as being very short for his age, seventeen, and of a most repulsive
+appearance; but he was, apparently, unconscious of this defect, as he
+affected an air of great consequence, and repeatedly requested the police
+to address him in a becoming manner; also behaving with the greatest
+nonchalance at his examination before the Privy Council, the next day.
+
+His first version of the matter was this: On Monday night, the 30th of
+November, he scaled the wall of Buckingham Palace, about half-way up
+Constitution Hill; he then proceeded to the Palace, and gained an entry
+through one of the windows.  He had not, however, been long there, when
+he considered it unsafe for him to stay, as so many people were moving
+about; and he left by the same manner as he entered.  The next day,
+Tuesday, about nine o'clock in the evening, he again effected an entrance
+by the same means as before.  He then went on to state that he remained
+in the Palace the whole of Tuesday night, all Wednesday, and up to one
+o'clock on Thursday morning, when the inquisitive youth was captured.  He
+was not satisfied with this dull and prosaic account of his entry; but,
+on the following day, he tried to invent something marvellous, and
+alleged that he ascended the roof of the Palace, and got down the
+chimney; but there were no marks of soot on his person, and his first
+story was, doubtless, the correct one.
+
+The greatest mystery attending the affair was, how he could have found
+his way to the room adjoining that in which Her Majesty slept, without
+being observed.  The delinquent stated that, during the day, he secreted
+himself under different beds, and in cupboards, until, at length, he
+gained an entrance into the dressing room; he, moreover, alleged that he
+sat upon the throne, that he saw the Queen, and heard the Princess Royal
+cry, but his story was such a romance, that no reliance could be placed
+upon it.  He was extremely reticent as to the cause of his intrusion into
+the Palace, the only explanation which he vouchsafed, on being arrested,
+was, that he wanted to see what was going on in the Palace, that he might
+write about it, and, if discovered, he should be as well off as Oxford,
+who fared better in Bedlam, than he, Jones, did out of it.  Even the
+stern discipline of the treadmill, to which he was promptly consigned,
+failed to extract anything more out of him; his only remark, when
+interrogated, being that he had got into the scrape, and must do the best
+he could.
+
+His father stated that, in his belief, his unfortunate son was not of
+sound mind; but the medical evidence went to show that, though his head
+was of a most peculiar formation, he was not insane.  The Council,
+therefore, came to the decision that it would be better to inflict
+summary punishment, and he was committed to the House of Correction for
+three months, as a rogue and vagabond.
+
+If he is to be believed, he fared remarkably well whilst in his royal
+residence, as he said he helped himself to soup and other eatables from a
+room, which he called the "Cook's Kitchen," but no dependence whatever
+could be placed on his word.
+
+Prince Albert was taking leave of Her Majesty for the night, when the
+miscreant was discovered; and the Prince, hearing a noise proceeding from
+the adjoining apartment, opened the door, and ascertained the cause; but
+it was not made known to the Queen till the following day, so as to
+prevent any undue alarm on her part.
+
+It is needless to say that this event excited the greatest interest, and
+engrossed public attention, nothing else being talked of.  The punishment
+was considered far too light to deter a repetition of the offence, which
+opinion was subsequently justified.  Such an occurrence, of course, was
+considered fair material for the humourists of the day to exercise their
+wit upon, and there are many allusions to it in the _Age_ and _Satirist_
+of the period; but, as their remarks are not always conceived in the best
+taste, they are better left in the obscurity in which they now dwell.
+Perhaps, however, this little couplet from the _Satirist_ may be
+excepted:
+
+    "Now he in chains and in the prison garb is
+    Mourning the crime that couples Jones with darbies." {151}
+
+It was Jones's extraordinary powers of finding an entrance into the
+Palace that caused Samuel Rogers to declare that he must be a descendant
+of the illustrious In---i---go.
+
+On the 15 Dec. the remains of the Emperor Napoleon, which had been
+removed from St. Helena, were laid, with great pomp, into the tomb
+prepared for them at the Invalides, Paris; and, contrary to all
+expectation, there was no disturbance on the occasion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+Death of Scott, "the American Diver"--Prince Albert's ducking--Monster
+cheese--"The Boy Jones"--"Tracts for the Times," Tract XC--Earl of
+Cardigan flogs a soldier on Sunday--Dispute as to the discovery of
+Electric Telegraph--Sale of Shakspere autograph--The Census--Astley's
+burnt--Behaviour of "gentlemen."
+
+The first bit of gossip of this year was the tragic death of Sam Scott,
+"the American diver," who was born at Philadelphia, and, at an early age,
+entered the American navy.  His extraordinary courage and prowess as a
+diver rendered him very popular, and, after quitting the naval service,
+he travelled about the Union exhibiting.  He, subsequently, visited
+Canada, and made some tremendous leaps from the banks of the St.
+Lawrence, and the lakes which intersect that country; but his _chef
+d'oeuvre_ was leaping from a precipice below the Falls of Niagara, where,
+according to his own statement, he jumped the amazing distance of 595
+feet, into the water, which he accomplished without injury or
+inconvenience!
+
+He was performing in England in 1838, and came to London in the latter
+part of 1840; and we now hear of him as issuing a "Challenge to the World
+for 100 Guineas!  Monday next, Jan. 11, 1841, and during the week, Samuel
+Scott, the American diver, will run from Godfrey's White Lion, Drury
+Lane, to Waterloo Bridge, and leap into the water, forty feet high from
+the bridge, and return back within the hour, every day during the week,
+between one and two o'clock."  There were about 8,000 or 10,000 people
+assembled to see the feat, which was to be performed from a scaffolding
+overhanging the river.  Here he swung by a rope noose round his chin, and
+afterwards, with his head downwards and one of his feet in the noose.  He
+then again hung suspended by his chin, but the noose slipped, and he was
+hanged in sight of all that huge crowd.  This fatal accident created a
+great impression at the time.
+
+I do not know the Evening paper from which the following "small beer"
+chronicle is copied into the _Times_ of 12 Feb., but it purports to be an
+"authentic account" of an accident to Prince Albert: "It appears that His
+Royal Highness was walking in the Royal gardens, in company of Her
+Majesty, the only attendant present being the Hon. Miss Murray, one of
+the Maids of Honour in waiting upon the Queen.  It not being understood
+by Col. Bouverie and Lieut. Seymour that His Royal Highness intended to
+skate, they were not, as usual, in attendance on the Prince, who had left
+the Palace, with Her Majesty, without their knowledge.  After walking for
+a short time with the Queen, on the margin of the lake, His Royal
+Highness put on his skates, and left Her Majesty, who remained watching
+the movements of the Prince from the gardens.  He had not been on the ice
+more than two or three minutes, when, as he was proceeding at a rapid
+rate towards the spot where the Queen was standing, and had reached
+between three or four feet of the water's edge, the ice suddenly broke,
+and, instantaneously he was immersed, head over ears, in the water.  His
+Royal Highness immediately rose to the surface, when Her Majesty, with
+great presence of mind, joined her hand to that of the Hon. Miss Murray
+(telling her to stand firm, and to betray no fear), and, extending her
+right hand to the Prince, dragged him to the shore.  Her Majesty
+manifested the greatest courage upon the occasion, and acted with the
+most intrepid coolness.  As soon as the Prince was safe on dry land, the
+Queen gave way to the natural emotions of joy and thankfulness at his
+providential escape.
+
+"The Prince then lost no time in proceeding to the Palace, where a warm
+bath was immediately prepared, and His Royal Highness, within an hour
+afterwards, was sufficiently well to receive the King of the Belgians,
+upon His Majesty's arrival from Claremont.  The ice in the centre of the
+lake being nearly a foot in thickness, some surprise has been created
+that the accident should have occurred; but it appears that the keepers
+appointed to attend on the numerous and various aquatic birds which are
+preserved in the gardens of the palace, had broken the ice along the
+sides of the lake to enable them to take the water during the frost.
+These portions had again become slightly frozen over, since they were
+broken at an early part of the morning.  This was unknown to the Prince,
+or the Queen, and, hence, the accident occurred.  There was no person
+present, at the time, connected with the gardens, to point out his danger
+to His Royal Highness.  Yesterday morning, the Prince was suffering from
+the effects of a slight cold; but, beyond this, His Royal Highness has
+sustained no inconvenience."
+
+On the 10th Feb. the Princess Royal was christened.
+
+On 19 Feb. the Queen had a monster cheese presented to her, "on which
+occasion, she was pleased to express her satisfaction."  It was made from
+the morning's milking of 737 cows, prepared by the labour of 50 dairy
+women, at West Pennard, Somersetshire, and it weighed 11 cwt.  It was
+octagon in shape, and its upper surface was decorated with the Royal
+Arms, surmounted with a wreath of roses, thistles and shamrocks.
+Unfortunately, although it had been made over two years, it was not
+considered to be fit to eat for another eighteen months.
+
+_Ecce iterum_ the irrepressible BOY JONES!  Prison evidently had no
+terrors for him; for, no sooner was he liberated from Tothill Fields, on
+2 Mar., than he, almost immediately, set to work to repeat his former
+escapades.  On the day previous to his liberation, he was visited by Mr.
+Hall, a magistrate, who tried to persuade him to go to sea; but Jones
+made certain conditions which could not be acceded to, and he did not go.
+This gave an opportunity for the _Satirist_ to come out with the
+following appropriate lines:
+
+    "The impudent urchin, whom sure the devil owns,
+       And Government wants to send into the Navy;
+    Will not go to sea--and 'tis cunning of Jones,
+       Who, thus, may avoid his relation, Old Davey."
+
+He was then delivered into the care of his parents, with strict
+injunctions to them to watch his actions; and, for some days, his conduct
+was unexceptionable; he frequently attended a Methodist chapel, and
+expressed his intention of joining a teetotal society.  But the charms of
+notoriety were too strong for him; and, again, he was drawn, as it were
+by a magnet, to Buckingham Palace.  Indeed, it possessed such attractions
+for him, that, when required to pledge himself, before leaving prison,
+not to visit the Palace again, he said he would not promise, as his
+curiosity was so great.
+
+On 15 March, shortly after 1 a.m., the sergeant of police on duty at the
+Palace imagined, as he was going along the Grand Hall, that he saw
+someone peeping through the glass door, and this turned out to be the
+case; for, on his approach, Jones ran up against him, and was, of course,
+immediately secured.  In consequence of his previous visits, two extra
+policemen had been appointed, whose duty it was, on alternate nights, to
+watch all the staircases and interior of the building, and it was owing
+to this arrangement that Master Jones was stopped early in his career, on
+this last occasion.
+
+Like most boys, Jones had a keen appreciation of a feast, all the more
+enjoyable because irregularly come by; and, when he was arrested, he was
+found to have been sitting at his ease in one of the royal apartments,
+regaling himself with some cold meat and potatoes, which he had conveyed
+upstairs in his handkerchief.  On being questioned how he obtained an
+entrance, his reply was, "the same way as before"; and he boasted,
+moreover, that he could, at any time he pleased, get into the palace; but
+he was extremely taciturn, and refused to satisfy curiosity, more
+particularly on this point.
+
+What he confessed at his examination by the Privy Council is not known,
+as the proceedings were in private, reporters being excluded, and the
+public were left in possession of only the above bare facts.  He
+persisted that the only motive for his intrusion was to hear the
+conversation at Court, and to write an account of it; but this plea of
+simplicity did not save him from a repetition of his old sentence of
+three months imprisonment in the House of Correction, with the
+uncomfortable addition, this time, of hard labour.  Perhaps the best
+punishment for this juvenile addition of Paul Pry would have been that
+suggested by the _Satirist_, in the following paragraph: "As the urchin
+Jones, in a letter to his father, stated that his reason for entering the
+Queen's house was to 'seek for noose, in order to rite a book,' it is a
+matter of general regret that, instead of magnifying the affair into Home
+Office importance, the young rogue was not accommodated with a rope's
+end."  His visit, however, necessitated the appointment of three
+additional sentries at the palace.
+
+What became of him afterwards, nobody knows and nobody cares, but, one
+thing is certain, he was _persuaded_ to go to sea, and _Punch_ (born 17
+July) devotes a page (vol. i., p. 46) to "The Boy Jones's Log," a portion
+of which is as follows:
+
+    "This mellancholly reflexion threw me into a poeticle fitte, and
+    though I was werry uneasy in my _stommik_, and had nothing to rite on
+    but my _chest_, I threw off as follows in a few 2nds, and arterards
+    sung it to the well-none hair of 'Willy Reilly':--
+
+    "Oakum to me, {156} ye sailors bold,
+       Wot plows upon the sea;
+    To you I mean for to unfold
+       My mournful historie.
+    So pay attention to my song,
+       And quick-el-ly shall appear,
+    How innocently, all along,
+       I was in-weigle-ed here.
+
+    "One night, returnin home to bed,
+       I walk'd through Pim-li-co,
+    And, twigging of the Palass, sed,
+       'I'm _Jones_ and In-i-go.'
+    But afore I could get out, my boys,
+       Pollise-man 20A,
+    He caught me by the corderoys,
+       And lugged me right a-way.
+
+    "My cuss upon Lord Melbun, and
+       On Jonny Russ-all-so,
+    That forc'd me from my native land,
+       Across the waves to go-o-oh!
+    But all their spiteful arts is wain,
+       My spirit down to keep;
+    I hopes I'll soon git back again,
+       To take another peep."
+
+To follow Chronology compels me to turn suddenly from gay to grave
+topics.  In September, 1833, Newman commenced the _Tracts for the Times_,
+which, according to its advertisement, had the object of "contributing
+something towards the practical revival of doctrines (such as the
+Apostolic Succession, and the Holy Catholic Church) which, although held
+by the great divines of our Church, have become practically obsolete with
+the majority of her members."  Keble and others joined him at once, as
+did Pusey as soon as the state of his health permitted, together with
+nearly all the advanced thinkers at Oxford.  These Tracts, issued from
+time to time, caused a mighty upheaval in the Church of England, which
+was known as the "Tractarian movement," the effects of which have lasted
+to this day, as may be witnessed in the vast extension of Church
+building, the larger attendance and more devout behaviour of
+congregations, the brighter and more ornate services, which are so great
+a contrast to the general sleepiness both of pastor and flock which then
+existed.
+
+Some of these Tracts went farther than people were, as yet, able to
+follow, they were "strong meat for babes," and the publication of Tract
+XC., by Newman, on the Thirty-nine Articles, brought things to a climax,
+and on 15 March, the Vice-Chancellor and the Heads of Houses met to
+censure the publication; they came to the resolution: "That modes of
+interpretation, such as are suggested in the said Tract, evading rather
+than explaining the sense of the Thirty-nine Articles, and reconciling
+subscription to them, with the adoption of errors which they were
+designed to counteract, defeat the object, and are inconsistent with the
+due observance of the Statutes of the University."  They only expressed
+their opinion which was all they could do, but Newman avowed the
+authorship of the Tract, and whilst he was still unconvinced of his
+error, he wrote, "I am sincerely sorry for the trouble and anxiety I have
+given to the members of the Board, and I beg to return my thanks to them,
+for an act which, even though founded on misapprehension, may be made as
+profitable to myself, as it is religiously and charitably intended."
+
+At this time, neither the writers of the Tracts, nor their readers, had
+any intention of severing themselves from the Church of England, their
+sole endeavours were to wake it from the torpor into which it had fallen;
+and, had there been any tolerance on the other side, such men as Newman,
+Manning, and others, would have been kept to the Church, for they merely
+enunciated doctrine and practices which are now almost universal.
+
+The old flint-lock Brown Bess was still in use in the Army, although
+percussion arms were introduced in 1840; but we read (13 Ap.) that "the
+exchange of flint for percussion cap guns to the Army, will cost, this
+year, 130,000 pounds."
+
+That amiable gentleman, the Earl of Cardigan, was still making himself
+notorious.  This time it was flogging a soldier on Easter Sunday, after
+Church; and the very first question asked in the House of Commons, when
+it met after the Easter recess, was by Mr. Hume, relating to it.  Mr.
+Macauly replied that: "Whatever other imputations there might be cast on
+Lord Cardigan, a disposition for the infliction of corporal punishment
+was not one which could justly be thrown on him.  From inquiries which he
+had made, he had found that, since 1839, up to the recent case, there was
+not an instance of the infliction of corporal punishment in this
+regiment.  The charge, however, for which he was justly liable to public
+censure, was the immediate infliction of punishment, on a Sunday, after
+Divine Service.  Such a proceeding was clearly contrary to the religious
+feelings and habits of the people of this country, and could not be
+reconciled with either good sense, or good feeling."  Lord Hill, the
+Commander-in-Chief, only felt "surprised" at Lord Cardigan's conduct; but
+the _Times_ of 24 Apl. had a most scathing leading article on the
+subject, winding up with "we trust some independent member of the House
+of Commons will take an early opportunity of cutting the Gordian knot,
+and move an address to the Crown for the removal of the Earl of Cardigan
+from the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the 11th Hussars." {159}
+
+The Electric Telegraph being now a _fait accompli_, the honour of the
+discovery was disputed between Cooke and Wheatstone--both claiming it.
+It was settled by arbitration, the referees being Marc Isimbard Brunel,
+the eminent civil engineer, and Professor Daniell, the inventor of the
+Galvanic battery which bears his name, and their Solomonian judgment was
+as follows: "While Mr. Cooke is entitled to stand alone, as the gentleman
+to whom this country is indebted for having practically introduced and
+carried out the Electric Telegraph as a useful undertaking, promising to
+be a work of national importance; and Professor Wheatstone is
+acknowledged as the scientific man, whose profound and scientific
+researches had, already, prepared the public to receive it as a project
+capable of practical application; it is to the united labours of two
+gentlemen so well qualified for mutual assistance, that we must attribute
+the rapid progress which this important invention has made during the
+five years since they have been associated."
+
+On 24 May was sold by auction an undoubtedly authentic signature of
+Shakspere, attached to a deed, thus described in the catalogue:
+"Shakspere's autograph affixed to a deed of bargain and sale of a house
+purchased by him, in Blackfriars, from Henry Walker, dated March 10,
+1612, with the seals attached."  The poet is described as "Wm.
+Shakspeare, of Stratforde upon Avon, in the countie of Warwick,
+gentleman"; and the premises thus: "All that dwelling house, or tenement,
+with the appurtenance, situate and being within the precinct, circuit and
+compasse of the late black ffryers, London, sometymes in the tenure of
+James Gardiner, Esqre., and since that time, in the tenure of John
+Ffortescue, gent, and now, or late being in the tenure or occupacon of
+one William Ireland, or of his assignee or assignees; abutting upon a
+streete leading down to Pudle Wharffe on the east part, right against the
+King's Majesties Wardrobe; part of wch said tenement is erected over a
+great gate leading to a capitall messuage, wch sometyme was in the tenure
+or occupacon of the Right Honourable Henry now Earle of Northumberland."
+The deed, at the commencement is stated to be "betweene Henry Walker,
+Citizen and Minstrell, of London, of thone partie, and William
+Shakspeare, of Stratforde upon Avon, in the countie of Warwick,
+gentleman; William Johnson, Citizen and Vintner, of London; John Jackson
+and John Hemyng, of London, of thother partie"; and that the property was
+absolutely sold to all four, "theire heires and assigns for ever."  The
+deed is regularly entered in the Rolls' Court Sir F. Madden (continues
+the catalogue) states in his "Observations on the autograph of
+Shakspere," in Florio's translation of _Montaigne's Essays_, which was
+sold in 1838: "There are five acknowledged genuine signatures in
+existence, exclusive of the one which forms the subject of this
+communication.  Of these, three are attached to his will in the
+Prerogative Court, executed the 25th March, 1615-16; the fourth is
+written on a mortgage deed, dated 11 March, 1612-13; of a small estate
+purchased by Shakspere, of Henry Walker, in Blackfriars; and the fifth,
+on the counterpart of the deed of bargain and sale of the said property,
+dated 10 March, 1612-13; and, speaking of the last, Sir F. Madden says,
+at p. 14: 'What has become of this document?' a query which the
+auctioneers say is answered.  Of these six signatures, three to the will
+are in Doctors' Commons (two of them much injured by the hands of the
+lovers of Shakspere); the one in _Montaigne's Essays_ is now in the
+British Museum; what has become of the mortgage deed is quite unknown:
+this, then, is the only autograph of Shakspere ever likely to be offered
+for sale."  After many and very animated biddings it was eventually
+knocked down to Mr. Elkins for 165 pounds 15s.  These two deeds are now
+in safe keeping, one being in the British Museum, the other belonging to
+the Corporation of the City of London.  The authenticity of the signature
+in _Montaigne's Essays_ is open to discussion.  At the same sale was sold
+"the Shakspere Cup," made from the mulberry tree said to have been
+planted by Shakspere, carved on the sides with a medallion of Shakspere,
+and his Coat of Arms.  This was for nearly 30 years in the possession of
+Munden, the actor, and it realised 21 pounds.  In the British Museum is a
+beautifully-carved casket, made of the same wood, which, together with
+the freedom of Stratford-on-Avon, was given to Garrick by the Corporation
+of the town in 1769.
+
+The decennial Census, which began in 1801, was, according to the Act 3
+and 4 Vic., c. 29, taken of the number of individuals who slept in the
+respective houses in each parish, throughout England and Wales, on the
+night of Sunday, 6 June.  Scotland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of
+Man were also taken, but Ireland was not; and the following return
+includes only such part of the Army, Navy, and Merchant Seamen, as were,
+at the time of the Census, within the Kingdom on shore:
+
+                           Males.         Females.         Total.
+England                     7,321,875       7,673,633       14,995,508
+Wales                         447,533         463,788          911,321
+Persons ascertained             4,003             893            4,896
+to have been
+travelling by
+railroads and canals
+on night of 6 June
+Scotland                    1,241,276       1,379,334        2,620,610
+Islands in the                 57,598          66,481          124,079
+British Seas
+                                                Total       18,656,414
+
+On 8 June, Astley's Amphitheatre was burnt down, one life being
+sacrificed, and causing a monetary loss of over 30,000 pounds.  This
+calamity so affected the proprietor, Mr. Ducrow, that he lost his reason,
+and died soon after, on 28 Jan., 1842.
+
+Here is another little story of the behaviour of gentlemen in those days,
+copied from the _Times_, 11 June:
+
+    "WINDSOR, 10 June.  Yesterday evening there was a large party
+    consisting of the officers of the 60th Rifles, and several of the 1st
+    Life Guards, at the mess of the infantry barracks, in Sheet Street,
+    in consequence of several promotions which have recently taken place
+    in the Rifles, occasioned by vacancies caused by the decease of the
+    Hon. Col. Molyneux.  The festivities of the evening were kept up till
+    past 12 o'clock, when a large party sallied forth for 'a spree.'
+    They first proceeded to the extensive canvas amphitheatre of Mr. Van
+    Amburgh, in the Bachelor's Acre, but, there, they were, fortunately,
+    kept at bay by several of Mr. Van Amburgh's men, before they had
+    committed any excesses.  The knockers, bell handles and brass plates
+    from several doors in the neighbourhood were then wrenched off, and
+    the whole party then made for a well-known gambling house (which has
+    been tolerated in this town for upwards of twelve months), at No. 4,
+    Augusta Place, where they were immediately admitted.  What took place
+    there before the row commenced, or what was the occasion of the havoc
+    and destruction which almost immediately afterwards ensued, I have
+    not been able to ascertain.  However, they had not been there more
+    than half an hour before there was a scene of the greatest confusion
+    throughout the whole house, causing alarm and terror, from the noise
+    which was created, around the entire neighbourhood.  The police were
+    sent for soon after 1 o'clock, previously to which a portion of the
+    60th Rifles, who were on guard at the Castle, had been despatched to
+    the scene of action, and whom the police met on their return to the
+    guard room.  Upon the Superintendent, Sergeant and several policemen
+    entering the house (which they found empty, with the exception of one
+    of the gamblers, who, it appeared, had secreted himself) they found
+    scarcely one piece of furniture left whole.  The green baize was torn
+    from the billiard and other tables, the doors of the different rooms
+    broken down, the windows, with the sashes and frames, broken to
+    pieces; all the lamps smashed, chairs and tables dislocated, the
+    fanlight over the front door gone, and the balustrades upon the
+    stairs torn away.  At this time, the whole of the party had gone off;
+    and, as for the proprietors of the gaming house, they were glad to
+    effect their escape, across the garden, into a large piece of waste
+    land, called the Lammas.  It was expected that some complaint would
+    have been lodged before the borough magistrates, to-day, at the Town
+    Hall; but no application was made to the Bench on the subject during
+    the hours of business.  A large brass plate, which had been wrenched
+    from a garden gate, was found, this morning, by the police, in the
+    infantry barracks, where there are sundry knockers and bell handles
+    awaiting to be identified and returned to their respective owners."
+    {163}
+
+The following incident is very little known, and is copied from the
+_Salopian Journal_ of 3 July: "It is known to many of our readers that
+the Whig-Radical faction in Shrewsbury, despairing (as the event has
+proved) of winning the election by fair and honest means, have resorted
+to the infamous trick of publishing anonymous slanders against Mr.
+Disraeli, one of the Tory Candidates.  He rebutted the slanders so
+promptly and effectually, that, at last, the opposite party resolved to
+try the desperate expedient of publishing them with a name attached, as a
+sort of guarantee.  Accordingly, a letter, repeating these slanders,
+"with additions," appeared in the _Shrewsbury Chronicle_ on Friday,
+signed by a barrister, who had been employed by the Radical candidates to
+manage their part of the contest.  Mr. Disraeli, without any loss of
+time, issued a handbill commenting on conduct which appears to us at once
+ungentlemanly and unprofessional, and plainly designated the barrister's
+statements as 'utterly false.'  This handbill appeared early in the
+forenoon of Friday, and, at an advanced hour of the afternoon, a
+gentleman waited upon Mr. Disraeli with a hostile message from his
+calumniator.  He found Mr. Disraeli in company with his lady, and
+communicated that he had business of importance to settle with him.  A
+challenge from the barrister was then handed to Mr. Disraeli.  About an
+hour afterwards, Mr. Jonathan Sheppard having learnt that such a
+transaction had taken place--and it is certain that the information had
+not come from the challenged party--waited upon the Mayor, and, upon his
+information, our worthy Chief Magistrate called upon both parties to
+enter into recognizances to keep the peace.  How far Mr. Disraeli would
+have been justified in meeting a person who had acted as the barrister
+had acted, is a question which need not be discussed here."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+
+Story of an Irish informer--Steam Cars--Sale of Vauxhall Gardens--First
+Jewish Baronet--New Railways opened--High tide--Fire at the Tower--Birth
+of Prince of Wales--His patent as such--The Thames at length
+tunnelled--Antiquities found in Royal Exchange.
+
+We have known something about Irish crime, but the following true tale
+takes a lot of beating.  On the last day of the Clonmel Assizes, in July,
+Judge Torrens heard a case of arson, in which the prisoners, who were
+four in number, were all acquitted, after a trial which lasted eight
+hours.
+
+The principal witness for the prosecution was an approver, named Lysaght;
+and, in all the annals of informers, it would be extremely difficult to
+find a parallel to this same Lysaght.  Indeed, the admission by the Crown
+of the testimony of such a miscreant, in the matter of life or death,
+appears to be highly reprehensible, as the following abstract of his
+evidence will plainly evince:
+
+    John Lysaght examined: I remember the time when Walsh's house was
+    burnt.  Anthony Ryan came to me before the house was burned to borrow
+    a gun.  I brought it to him on a Monday night, and he told me to come
+    with him to McCarthy's house, who wanted to see me.  I went to
+    McCarthy's, and near his place was an old house, in which some of our
+    party were assembled.  McCarthy brought some bread and spirits, and
+    we took share of it.  McCarthy asked me if I would go with the men to
+    frighten Walsh, and burn the house.  I promised to do so, and he then
+    furnished us with powder and ball; we went down to the river side,
+    and McCarthy gave his pistols and 7/6 in money to Anthony Ryan.  He
+    gave me some powder, flax, and something like saltpetre, and showed
+    me, by putting some powder into the pan, and snapping it, how the
+    flax was to be lighted.  McCarthy then parted with us, and we, after
+    eating the bread and meat, went to Walsh's.  I lighted the tow, and
+    Paddy Ryan put the fire into the roof.  I and two of the party then
+    went and stood sentry near the road.  After a time, I heard a noise,
+    and ran back to give an alarm.  We then left, and went by Toom
+    homewards, and separated near Marshall's gate; this was about three
+    or four in the morning.  I and Paddy Ryan had shot guns, Ned Ryan had
+    a long one, Darby Ryan a bayonet on a pole, and the two Ryans had
+    McCarthy's pistols.  We left the house after it was in flames.  I
+    knew a man named Bryan Noonan; he is dead.
+
+    Judge Torrens: Was it you murdered Noonan?
+
+    Witness: No.  I joined in it.
+
+    Mr. Hatchell: How many men did you murder before this?
+
+    Witness: None.
+
+    You say it was Anthony Ryan went to you to get the gun?--It was.
+
+    He has, since, been transported?--Yes.
+
+    You went with the party to the burning for the love of
+    amusement?--They induced me to go with them, but did not force me; I
+    was not very unwilling to go after getting the liquor; but, when I
+    brought the gun, had no such intention.
+
+    Did you load the gun before you went out?--I did.
+
+    Had you liberty to carry a gun?--Yes, from a magistrate, Mr. Coates,
+    who is since dead.
+
+    Were you ever tried before you committed the murder on
+    Noonan?--Indeed I was; I was tried before, for posting a threatening
+    notice, but it was no such thing.
+
+    Were you not sentenced to be transported?--I was.
+
+    Did you not fire shots at the same time?--Yes.
+
+    Judge Torrens: And the reward you gave the Government for bringing
+    you back was murdering Noonan
+
+    Mr. Hatchell: Was not your brother Caravat tried?--Yes.
+
+    You say you were only present at the murder of Noonan; now, was it
+    not you who knocked down the unfortunate man with the butt-end of a
+    blunderbuss?--Yes, the very first.  (Sensation.)
+
+    And you don't call that murdering the man?--We were all murdering
+    him.
+
+    Were you not one of the men who carried him into the ditch to hide
+    the body?--I was.
+
+    Where is your brother, the Caravat?--I don't know.
+
+    Was he at the burning of Walsh's house?--No.
+
+    Did you know Leonard, the smith?--I did.
+
+    Did you see him killed?--I saw him struck, but was not looking on at
+    his killing.
+
+    Did you give him a blow then?--I did not strike a blow at the man.
+
+    Did you give a blow that day?--Yes, when myself was struck.
+
+    Do you remember Wat Hayes?--Yes.
+
+    You attacked him, but he shot you off?--No, he did not.
+
+    Was not one of your companions shot by Mr. Hayes?--No, but a man near
+    me.
+
+    Now, tell me, did he not kill one of your friends?--Oh, he had a
+    party against us, and waylaid us.
+
+    Did you remember Jemmy Hughes, who was killed with a hatchet?--I did.
+
+    Were you not looking at his murder?--Oh, no; he was married to my
+    first cousin.
+
+    Were you not taxed with the murder?--The whole country knew who was
+    in that affair.
+
+    You recollect David Hickey, who was killed at Bilboa?--I was in the
+    fair.
+
+    You were of the party?--I was looking at him.
+
+    That was your third murder.
+
+    A Juror: His fifth murder.
+
+    Did you rob Michael Rogers?--No, but I got the course of law, and was
+    acquitted.
+
+    You knew Mick Griffin, Lord Stradbroke's herd?--I heard he was shot.
+
+    Was your brother Caravat accused of this business?--No, I never heard
+    of it.
+
+    Did you not say you would put a rope about McCarthy's neck?--I did
+    not.  I remember when Kennedy was put out of possession.  McCarthy's
+    cattle and premises were burned after this, but the country say it
+    was himself did it.  I never asked a farm of Lord Stradbroke, but my
+    father or brothers might.  I never heard that McCarthy prevented us
+    getting the farm, on the ground of our being so bad.
+
+    Do you remember you and your uncle carrying away a woman?--I do.
+
+    Your uncle was transported?--He was.
+
+    So you have been guilty of one abduction, five murders, and one
+    burning; what else did you do?  Would you suggest any other crime in
+    the catalogue, of which you were not guilty?
+
+    Judge Torrens: Did you commit a rape?--No.
+
+    Mr. Hatchell: Were any of your brothers convicted of a rape?--Yes.
+
+    Were you not charged with holding the unfortunate woman while your
+    brother committed the rape?--No, but another brother was.
+
+    Judge Torrens: Did you steal cattle?--No.
+
+    Mr. Hatchell: That would be too shabby an offence.  When you came to
+    Walsh's house, you lifted one of the Ryans up in the roof?--Yes.
+
+    And you lit the fire?--I did.
+
+    Did you know there were women in the house?--I partly guessed there
+    were.
+
+    Did you mind how many innocent people might have been burned?--I did
+    not care.  (Great sensation.)
+
+    Judge and Counsel, with great disgust, ordered the wretch off the
+    table.
+
+In these days of Motor Cars, any gossip about their progenitors must be
+of interest.  On 7 Aug., a steam carriage, carrying 16 persons, belonging
+to the General Steam Company, was tried between the York and Albany,
+Regent's Park, and the Manor House at Tottenham--i.e., along the Camden
+Road to Finsbury Park--doing the distance in rather less than
+half-an-hour.  Another ran on 13 Sep. from Deptford to Sevenoaks, about
+21 miles, in 2 hours 37 minutes, but there were small accidents by the
+way.  Later on in the month the first-named carriage performed about
+Windsor, Frogmore and Dachet, and frequently reached a speed of 18 to 20
+miles an hour; and on Oct. 1 it was shown to the Queen and Prince Albert,
+the latter expressing himself highly pleased with it.  It then only did
+16 miles an hour.
+
+On 9 Sep. Vauxhall Gardens, which had been a place of amusement since the
+time of Charles I., were sold for 20,000 pounds.  In _Punch_ of 14 Aug.
+we find a sad account of a last visit:
+
+    "Impelled by a sense of duty, we wended our way to the 'Royal
+    property,' {169a} to take a last look at the long expiring gardens.
+    It was a wet night--the lamps burnt dimly--the military band played
+    in the minor key--the waiters stalked about with so silent,
+    melancholy a tread, that we took their towels for pocket
+    handkerchiefs; the concert in the open _rain_ went off
+    tamely--dirge-like, in spite of the 'Siege of Acre,' which was
+    described in a set of quadrilles, embellished with blue fire and
+    maroons, and adorned with a dozen double drums, thumped at intervals,
+    like death notes, in various parts of the doomed gardens.  The
+    _divertissement_ was anything but diverting, when we reflected upon
+    the impending fate of the 'Rotunda,' in which it was performed.
+
+    "No such damp was, however, thrown over the evolutions of 'Ducrow's
+    beautiful horses and equestrian _artistes_,' including the 'new grand
+    _entree_ and calvacade of Amazons.'  They had no sympathy with the
+    decline and fall of the _Simpsonian_ {169b} empire.  They were
+    strangers, interlopers, called in, like mutes and feathers, to grace
+    the 'funeral show,' to give a more graceful flourish to the final
+    exit.  The horses pawed the sawdust, evidently unconscious that the
+    earth it covered would soon be 'let on lease for building ground';
+    the riders seemed in the hey-day of their equestrian triumph.  Let
+    them, however, derive from the fate of Vauxhall a deep, a fearful
+    lesson!--though we shudder as we write, it shall not be said that
+    destruction came upon them unawares--that no warning voice had been
+    raised--that even the squeak of _Punch_ was silent!  Let them not
+    sneer, and call us superstitious--we do _not_ give credence to
+    supernatural agency as a fixed and general principle; but we did
+    believe in Simpson, and stake our professional reputation upon
+    Widdicomb! {170a}
+
+    "That Vauxhall Gardens were under the special protection of, that
+    they drew the very breath of their attractiveness from, the
+    ceremonial Simpson, who can deny?  When he flitted from walk to walk,
+    from box to box, and welcomed everybody to the 'Royal property,'
+    right royally did things go on!  Who would _then_ have dreamt that
+    the illustrious George {170b}--he of the Piazza--would ever be
+    'honoured with instructions to sell'? that his eulogistic pen would
+    be employed in giving the puff superlative to the Elysian haunts of
+    quondam fashion--in other words--painting the lily-gilding refined
+    gold?  But, alas!  Simpson, the tutelar deity, departed ('died,' some
+    say, but we don't believe it), and, at the moment he made his last
+    bow, Vauxhall ought to have been closed; it was madness--the madness
+    which will call us, peradventure, superstitious--which kept the gates
+    open when Simpson's career closed--it was an anomaly, for, like Love
+    and Heaven, Simpson was Vauxhall, and Vauxhall was Simpson!
+
+    "Let Ducrow reflect upon these things--we dare not speak out--but a
+    tutelar being watches over, and giveth vitality to his arena--his
+    ring is, he may rely upon it, a fairy one--while _that_ mysterious
+    being dances and prances in it, all will go well; his horses will not
+    stumble, never will his clowns forget a syllable of their antiquated
+    jokes.  Oh! let him, then, whilst seriously reflecting upon Simpson
+    and the fate of Vauxhall, give good heed unto the Methuselah, who
+    hath already passed his second centenary in the circle!
+
+    "These were our awful reflections while viewing the scenes in the
+    circle, very properly constructed in the Rotunda.  They overpowered
+    us--we dared not stay to see the fireworks, 'in the midst of which
+    Signora Rossini was to make her terrific ascent and descent on a rope
+    three hundred feet high.'  She _might_ have been the sprite of Madame
+    Saqui; {171} in fact, the 'Vauxhall Papers,' published in the
+    gardens, put forth a legend which favours such a dreadful
+    supposition.  We refer our readers to them--they are only sixpence
+    apiece.
+
+    "Of course, the gardens were full, in spite of the weather; for what
+    must be the callousness of that man who could let _the_ Gardens pass
+    under the hammer of George Robins, without bidding them an
+    affectionate farewell?  Good gracious! we can hardly believe such
+    insensibility does exist.  Hasten then, dear readers, as you would
+    fly to catch the expiring sigh of a fine old boon companion--hasten
+    to take your parting slice of ham, your last bowl of arrack--even
+    now, while the great auctioneer says 'going.'"
+
+On 24 August Sir J. L. Goldsmid was made a Baronet, and was the first
+Jewish gentleman who ever received that title.  Perhaps it is not
+generally known that an honour, not much inferior, had, once, very nearly
+fallen to the lot of a brother Israelite.  At one of those festive
+meetings at Carlton House, in which George IV. sometimes allowed a few of
+his most favoured subjects to participate, Mr. Braham was introduced to
+sing his then newly-composed song, "A Bumper of Burgundy," when the
+gratified monarch, rising from his chair, was, with difficulty,
+restrained from conferring immediate knighthood on the flattered
+musician.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Three well-known railways were opened this year; the Great Western, from
+London to Bristol, on 30 June; the London and Blackwall, on 2 Aug.; and
+the London and Brighton, on 21 Sep.
+
+On 18 Oct. was a remarkably high tide in the Thames, which did an immense
+amount of damage.  This, and another event were celebrated in a
+contemporary ballad, beginning:
+
+    "There's lately been a great high tide,
+       Nor can it be surprising,
+    When everything is getting dear,
+       That water should be rising,"
+
+and after dealing with that event in a very witty manner, it went on:
+
+    "The Tower of London, envying
+       Father Thames's notoriety,
+    Resolved to have a 'flare up'
+       And be talked of in society;
+    Ten thousand guns were fired at once,
+       With very few escapers,
+    But, though no one heard the great report,
+       There was one in the papers."
+
+This terrible conflagration was first noticed about half-past ten, on the
+night of 31 Oct., by a sentinel on duty on the terrace near the Jewel
+Office, whose attention was attracted to a glimmering light under the
+cupola of the Round, or Bowyer Tower--which was close to the Armoury, in
+which was deposited an immense amount of stores, such as muskets, etc.,
+and many priceless trophies of war.  When the sentinel found the light
+increased, he gave the alarm by firing his musket, and the whole of the
+garrison, officers and men, turned out; but the fire had got so great a
+hold that, before a sufficient supply of water could be obtained, the
+entire roof of the Armoury was in flames.
+
+Unfortunately, it was low tide in the Thames, and, although the
+fire-engines soon arrived, and there were the Garrison and 250 policemen
+to render assistance, the flames spread rapidly; so fast, indeed, that
+the only things then got out and saved, were the Duke of York's sword and
+belt, and a beautiful Maltese gun.
+
+The grand staircase of this Armoury was considered one of the finest in
+Europe, and the following is a contemporary description of it.  "In a
+recess on the landing was a platform supported on eight brass six-pounder
+guns, taken at Waterloo, and which served as pillars.  On this was a
+splendid trophy, consisting of arms and weapons, ancient and modern,
+comprising nearly 200 varieties, and nearly all differing in form or
+pattern.  In the centre was a marble bust of William IV.  Upon the walls,
+at the sides, were two large stars, formed of swords, and their brass
+scabbards, bayonets and pistols, one representing the Star of the Garter,
+and the other of the Bath.  Also two figures in gilt suits of armour on
+ornamented pedestals.  The rails of the stairs and the cornice of the
+ceiling were ornamented with architectural figures, curiously formed with
+arms.  Below, upon pedestals, were two very striking groups, one
+representing a knight in gilt armour, preparing for action, attended by
+his esquire, who was in the act of buckling on his spurs, and a pikeman,
+with his 18 feet pike.  The other group was a knight in a handsome suit
+of bright armour, of the time of Elizabeth, in action, having seized a
+banner from the enemy, waving his followers on.  On each side of the
+entrance door was a knight in a suit of gilt armour, and two others,
+similarly clad, stood on brackets.  The whole of these were destroyed,
+with the exception of the Waterloo cannon."
+
+The fire was soon perilously near to the Jewel Office, which was
+scorching hot--yet Mr. Swifte, the keeper of the jewels, saved the whole
+of the Regalia, down to the minutest article, and was earnestly begged to
+retire and leave the last thing, a huge silver wine fountain, to its
+fate, but he would not, and this, also, was salved.
+
+   "Then Mr. Swifte was nothing slow
+      The Crown and Jewels saving;
+   And to get the great Wine Cooler out,
+      Great danger he was braving.
+   Now, Mr. Swifte, of all the wine,
+      Should now be made the ruler,
+   For while the fire was getting hotter,
+      He was getting _the Wine Cooler_."
+
+There was an awful scare as to the chance of the store of gunpowder
+catching alight--but 400 barrels of powder, and 200 boxes of grenades and
+ball cartridges, were removed to the magazine, and the remainder was
+thrown into the moat.
+
+On the 8th Dec. the general public were allowed to inspect the ruins, and
+to purchase mementos of the fire; the prices were, 6d. for half-a-dozen
+gun-flints, and the same amount for a few burnt percussion caps; pieces
+of fused iron and arms went at prices varying from 1s. to 20s., the
+latter, the maximum price.  For many years I had a fused cavalry pistol,
+and some calcined flints which were very pretty.  The fused cannon were
+sold as old metal.
+
+On the 9 Nov. His Majesty Edward VII. was born, and, on the 8th Dec. was
+created Prince of Wales.  His patent is as follows:
+
+    "Victoria, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great
+    Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith.
+
+    "To all Archbishops, Dukes, Earls, Viscounts, Bishops, Barons,
+    Baronets, Knights, Justices, Provosts, Ministers, and all other our
+    faithful subjects, greeting--
+
+    "Know ye, that we have made and created, and by these our letters
+    patent, do make and create, our most dear Son, the Prince of the
+    United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (Duke of Saxony, Duke of
+    Cornwall and Rothsay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the
+    Isles, and Great Steward of Scotland), Prince of Wales and Earl of
+    Chester; and to the same, our most dear Son, the Prince of the United
+    Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, have given and granted, and by
+    this our present Charter do give, grant and confirm, the name, style,
+    title, dignity and honour of the same Principality and Earldom, and
+    him, our said most dear Son, the Prince of the United Kingdom of
+    Great Britain and Ireland, as has been accustomed, we do ennoble and
+    invest with the said Principality and Earldom, by girting him with a
+    sword, by putting a coronet on his head, and a gold ring on his
+    finger, and, also, by delivering a gold rod into his hand, that he
+    may preside there, and may direct and defend those parts.  To hold to
+    him and his Heirs, Kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
+    Ireland, for ever, wherefore we will, and strictly command for us,
+    our heirs, and successors, that our said most dear Son, the Prince of
+    the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, may have the name,
+    style, title, state, dignity, and honour of the Principality of
+    Wales, and Earldom of Chester aforesaid, unto him and his heirs,
+    Kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, as is above
+    mentioned.
+
+    "In witness whereof, we have caused these, our letters, to be made
+    patent.  Witness ourself at Westminster, this 8th day of December,
+    1841.
+
+                                                     By the QUEEN herself.
+                                                                "Edmunds."
+
+We read in the _Times_ of 25 Nov., anent the Thames Tunnel, that "a
+thoroughfare was, yesterday, effected in this work, and made use of, for
+the first time, by the whole of the directors, and some of the original
+subscribers, who had assembled upon the occasion.  The shield having been
+advanced to the shaft at Wapping, a considerable opening was cut in the
+brickwork, and it was through this the party, who had met at Rotherhithe,
+were enabled to pass, thus opening the first subterranean communication
+between the opposite shores of the river.  Upon their arrival at the
+shaft, the party was greeted by the workmen with most hearty cheers.  A
+curious and interesting incident was connected with the event; a few
+bottles of wine, preserved since the dinner given on the occasion when
+the foundation stone was laid, with the understanding that it was to be
+drunk only when it could be carried under the Thames, having been opened
+and enjoyed by the company, to the health of Her Majesty and the infant
+Prince.  It was remarked, too, as a singular coincidence, that a seal on
+one of the corks bore the impress of the Prince of Wales's feathers, a
+circumstance that caused some merriment.  The engineer, Sir I. Brunel,
+appeared highly gratified at the happy result of his past anxiety and
+arduous labour.  The shield will continue its advance, until it has
+afforded space for the formation of the remainder of the tunnel, which is
+expected to be completed in about three weeks."
+
+By the end of the year the foundations of the New Royal Exchange were dug
+out and concreted, and, as it was always anticipated that some important
+discoveries might take place in the course of the excavation, proper
+arrangements were made on the commencement of the work, that any articles
+of interest which might be disinterred, should be secured for the Gresham
+Committee.  In the Specification for the Works, issued in 1840, the
+Contractor and Excavator were required, in taking out the soil, to
+deliver up "any plate, coins, antiquities, or curiosities, whether in
+metal, or otherwise, or any carved stones, or carvings in marble,
+pottery, terra cotta, or tesserae, which may be found in the course of
+the excavations; it being understood that all such matters, or things,
+are to be taken up with all requisite care, and are to remain the
+property of the Gresham Committee."
+
+They found a portion of a Roman building, but the greatest haul was in an
+old gravel pit, some 50ft. by 34, filled with hardened mud, in which were
+contained considerable quantities of animal and vegetable remains,
+apparently the discarded refuse of the inhabitants of the vicinity.  In
+the same depository were also found very numerous fragments of the red
+Roman pottery, usually called "Samian Ware," pieces of glass vessels,
+broken terra-cotta lamps, parts of amphorae, mortaria, and other articles
+made of earth, and all the rubbish which might naturally become
+accumulated in a pond in the course of years.  In this mass likewise
+occurred a number of Imperial Roman coins, several bronze and iron
+styles, parts of writing tablets, a bather's strigil, a large quantity of
+caliga soles, sandals and remains of leather, all of which can now be
+seen in the highly interesting Museum of the Corporation of the City of
+London, at the Guildhall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+
+Foundation of Royal Exchange laid--Medal connected therewith--Father
+Mathew's miracle--Christening of the Prince of Wales--King Edward
+VII.--Hard work of the King of Prussia--The Earthquake in London--The
+Queen drinking "grog"--Photography-Talbotype--Sale at Strawberry
+Hill--Presents to the King of Prussia.
+
+The first event of note in this year was the laying, by Prince Albert, of
+the foundation stone of the Royal Exchange, on 17 Jan., with all the pomp
+at the command of the City authorities.  The usual coins, etc., were
+deposited in a cavity, together with a Latin inscription, engraved on
+zinc, of which the following is a translation: "Sir Thomas Gresham,
+Knight, erected, at his own charge, a building and colonnade for the
+convenience of those persons who, in this renowned Mart, might carry on
+the commerce of the World, adding thereto, for the relief of indigence,
+and for the advancement of literature and science, an Almshouse and
+College of Lecturers, the City of London aiding him, Queen Elizabeth
+favouring the design; and, when the work was complete, opening it in
+person with a solemn procession.  Having been reduced to ashes with
+almost the entire city, by a calamitous and wide spreading conflagration,
+they were rebuilt in a more splendid form by the City of London and the
+Ancient Company of Mercers, King Charles II. commencing the building on
+23 Oct., A.D. 1667; and, when they had been again destroyed by fire, on
+the 10th Jan., AD. 1838, the same Bodies, undertaking the work,
+determined to restore them at their own cost, on an enlarged and more
+ornamental plan; the munificence of Parliament providing the means of
+extending the site, and of widening the approaches and crooked streets,
+in every direction; in order that there might, at length, arise, under
+the auspices of Queen Victoria, built a third time from the ground, an
+Exchange, worthy of this great Nation and City, and suited to the
+vastness of a Commerce extending to the circumference of the habitable
+Globe.  His Royal Highness of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Consort of Her
+Sacred Majesty, laid the first stone on 17 Jan., 1842, in the Mayoralty
+of the Rt. Hon. John Pirie.  Architect, William Tite, F.R.S.  May God,
+our Preserver, ward off destruction from this building, and from the
+whole City."
+
+After the manner of the City of London, a medal was struck to commemorate
+the event, having on the obverse a profile portrait of Prince Albert,
+with the legend "Albertus ubique honoratus," the reverse having a view of
+the western portico of the Exchange.  On 13 Jan. Mr. Roach Smith
+exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries a medalet, found on the site of
+the Exchange, evidently struck to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's patronage
+of the original building, as it bore the Tudor Arms surrounded with the
+inscription "Anglioe Regina ubique honorata."
+
+Father Mathew was still doing his grand work in Ireland, but there is a
+story told about him in the _Limerick Chronicle_, copied into the _Times_
+of 17 Jan., that is too good to be omitted: "The Rev. Mr. Mathew arrived
+in this city, last evening, by the Cork mail, _en route_ to Loughrea, and
+put up at Moore's hotel.  Immediately after his arrival became known,
+hundreds of persons visited him at the hotel, where he administered the
+pledge.  One circumstance which came within public observation, we may
+mention here, as illustrative of the effects of breaking the temperance
+pledge:--A man, named Moynehan, a teetotaller, who worked at the Butter
+Weigh-house, got drunk on Christmas Eve, and the next day, became
+paralysed, his left arm, side and thigh being perfectly inanimate.  He
+was removed to Barrington's Hospital, and remained there under the care
+of the surgeons, without improvement, until last evening, when his
+friends, having heard of Father Mathew's arrival in town, went to the
+hospital, and brought him out of his bed, on a man's back, to where the
+Rev. Mr. Mathew was staying; a crowd had collected round the door, when
+the unhappy invalid was carried into his presence, and the reverend
+gentleman administered to him the pledge again, in a kind and impressive
+manner, and the man instantly stood up, was assisted by his friends to
+dress; and, to the astonishment of all, walked up William Street to his
+home, followed by a crowd of people."
+
+On 25 Jan., the Prince of Wales was christened in St. George's Chapel,
+Windsor, by the name of Albert Edward, and on 20 Jan. appeared a letter
+in the _Times_ from "A Conservative":
+
+    "Sir.--We learn from the _Times_ of to-day, that the Prince will be
+    called Albert Edward.
+
+    "It is natural, indeed, that the illustrious father, and still more,
+    that the illustrious mother, should prefer Albert Edward to Edward
+    Albert.
+
+    "But as I pray God that the boy may live to be King, to whatever
+    period his mother's life may be graciously extended, so I trust that
+    he may have every qualification for popularity as well as goodness,
+    and, amongst others, an old, and beloved, and accustomed _English
+    name_.
+
+    "And what so fit as Edward?  Who more beloved, or glorious, than
+    Edward the Confessor--Edward I.--Edward III.--Edward VI.?  A Catholic
+    Saint--a law-giver--a conqueror--a Protestant Reformer?
+
+    "The Princess Alexandrina Victoria was known by her second name
+    before she ascended the throne.  So, I trust, may the young Prince be
+    known as Edward, Prince of Wales, to the people, hereafter, Edward
+    VII."
+
+We all know how this gentleman's aspirations have been verified.
+
+The King of Prussia was one of the Sponsors, and spent a few days after
+the christening in England.  Poor man! how they did make him work!
+
+On the 26th he had to be at the presentation of new colours to the 72nd
+Highlanders, and, in the afternoon, he visited Eton College.
+
+27th.--Came to London by railway, and held a Court at Buckingham Palace,
+where he received the _Corps Diplomatique_ and the Corporation of the
+City of London.  On his return to Windsor, he visited Hampton Court.
+
+28th.--Again came to London, visited the Zoological Gardens, lunched with
+Sir Robert Peel, and, afterwards, went to the Chapel Royal, Whitehall,
+and the National Gallery--dining at Windsor.
+
+29th.--Saw a review in the Home Park, then went to London, and dined with
+his Minister, Chevalier Bunsen, in Carlton Terrace.
+
+The 30th was Sunday, so the poor man was trotted off to St. Paul's
+Cathedral to hear the Bishop of London preach.  Lunched at the Mansion
+House, visited the King of Hanover's apartments in St. James's Palace,
+and Stafford House; attended afternoon service at the Royal German
+Chapel, St. James's; visited the Duchess of Gloucester, in Piccadilly,
+and returned to Windsor.
+
+After this rest on the 30th, he visited Newgate Prison, when he was
+received by the Lady Mayoress, Mrs. Fry, the Quaker philanthropist, the
+Sheriffs, etc., and thence proceeded to lunch with Mrs. Fry, at Upton,
+near Barking; at six he went to Drury Lane Theatre, and saw _The Two
+Gentlemen of Verona_; dined with the Duke of Sutherland at Stafford
+House, and slept at Buckingham Palace.
+
+Next day, 1 Feb., at 10 a.m., he visited the Royal Society, Society of
+Antiquaries and the Geological Society.  Thence he went to the British
+Museum, taking Mr. Solly's collection of pictures _en route_; and after
+spending three hours at the Museum, he lunched with the Duke of Sussex at
+Kensington Palace.  In the evening, he underwent a dinner and concert
+given by the Duke of Wellington at Apsley House.
+
+Early in the morning of the 2nd, he sat to Mr. Hayter for his portrait in
+a picture of the Christening.  At 8.30 he embarked at Hungerford Wharf,
+on a steamer, bound for the Thames Tunnel; after visiting which, he went
+to the Tower of London.  At 12 he returned to Buckingham Palace, where he
+received addresses from the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of London;
+the members of King's College, London; the Society for Promoting
+Christianity among the Jews; the Prussian subjects resident in London;
+and the German Lutheran clergy.  He also received deputations from the
+Bible Society, the Church Missionary Society, the Imperial Continental
+Gas Company; and gave audience to the Prince of Capua, etc.; visited the
+Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth; dined with the Duke of Cambridge;
+saw the _Merry Wives of Windsor_ played at Covent Garden, and afterwards
+attended an evening, party at Cambridge House.
+
+On the 3rd he was present at the Queen's Opening of Parliament, then
+received a deputation from the general body of Protestant Dissenters; and
+visited the Queen Dowager, Earl of Jersey, the Dowager Duchess of
+Richmond, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Wellington; winding up
+with dining with the Queen.
+
+On the 4th they let him go--he paid a visit to the Queen at 9.30, went to
+Woolwich and saw a review of Royal Artillery, lunched there, visited
+Plumstead Marshes and the Arsenal, took leave of Prince Albert, and
+everyone else, and went off to Ostend.
+
+About this time was a curious craze, which took strange hold on the
+people, that London was to be destroyed on the 16th of March, a belief
+which seems to have been founded on two metrical prophecies, dated
+respectively A.D. 1203 and 1598, said to be in the British Museum, where,
+however, I have failed to find them; the former is:
+
+    "In eighteen hundred and forty-two
+    Four things the sun shall view;
+    London's rich and famous town
+    Hungry earth shall swallow down;
+    Storm and rain in France shall be,
+    Till every river runs a sea;
+    Spain shall be rent in twain,
+    And famine waste the land again;
+    So say I, the Monk of Dree,
+    In the twelve hundredth year and three."
+
+The other is fathered on the famous astrologer, Dr. Dee:
+
+    "The Lord have mercy on you all,
+    Prepare yourselves for dreadful fall
+    Of house and land and human soul--
+    The measure of your sin is full.
+
+    "In the year One, Eight, and Forty-two,
+    Of the year that is so new,
+    In the third month, of that sixteen,
+    It may be a day or two between.
+
+    "Perhaps you'll soon be stiff and cold,
+    Dear Christian, be not stout and bold;
+    The mighty Kingly proud will see
+    This comes to pass, as my name's Dee."
+
+And people were found to believe in this doggerel--especially frightened
+were the Irish in London, and the lower classes generally.  There was a
+great exodus of the former, some even listening to the entreaties of
+their friends, and returning to Ireland, and many of the latter moved
+eastward of the church of St. Dunstan's, Stepney, which they considered
+would be the last edifice to fall.  Nor was belief in the earthquake
+confined to the east end of London, for I read of a man, formerly a
+police constable, living in Paddington, St. Marylebone, who sold a good
+business to provide the means of his leaving London; and of a clerk, with
+a salary of 200 pounds a year, residing in the same parish, resigning his
+post, so that he might escape the calamity.
+
+The fateful day arrived and passed, and, of course, the dreaded event did
+not take place, but the belief in it is evidenced in a paragraph in the
+_Times_ of 17 March:
+
+    "THE EARTHQUAKE.--The scene witnessed in the neighbourhoods of St.
+    Giles's and Seven Dials during the whole of yesterday was, perhaps,
+    the most singular that has presented itself for many years.  Many of
+    the Irish resident in those localities have left for the shores of
+    the Emerald Isle, but by far the larger number, unblessed with this
+    world's goods, have been compelled to remain where they are, and to
+    anticipate the fearful event which was to engulf them in the bowels
+    of the earth.  The frantic cries, the incessant appeals to Heaven for
+    deliverance, the invocations to the Virgin and the Saints for
+    mediation, the heartrending supplications for assistance, heard on
+    every side during the day, sufficiently evidenced the power with
+    which this popular delusion had seized the mind of these
+    superstitious people.  Towards the end of the day, a large number of
+    them determined not to remain in London during the night, and, with
+    what few things they possessed, took their departure for what they
+    considered more favoured spots.  Some violent contests arose between
+    the believers and the sceptics--contests, which in not a few cases,
+    were productive of serious results.
+
+    "The poor Irish, however, are not the only persons who have been
+    credulous in this matter; many persons from whom better things might
+    have been expected, were amongst the number who left London to avoid
+    the threatened catastrophe.  To the Gravesend steamboat companies the
+    'earthquake' proved a source of immense gain; and the same may be
+    said with regard to the different railways.  Long before the hour
+    appointed for the starting of steamboats from London Bridge Wharf,
+    Hungerford Market, and other places, the shore was thronged by crowds
+    of decently attired people of both sexes; and, in many instances,
+    whole families were to be seen with an amount of eatables and
+    drinkables which would have led one to suppose that they were going a
+    six-weeks' voyage.  About 11 o'clock, the _Planet_ came alongside the
+    London Bridge Wharf, and the rush to get on board of her was
+    tremendous, and, in a few minutes, there was scarcely standing room
+    on board.  The trains on the various railways were, during the whole
+    of Tuesday and yesterday morning, unusually busy in conveying
+    passengers without the proscribed limits of the Metropolitan
+    disaster.  To those who had not the means of taking trips to
+    Gravesend, or by railway, other places which were supposed to be
+    exempted from the influence of the 'rude commotion' about to take
+    place, were resorted to.  From an early hour in the morning, the
+    humbler classes from the east end of the Metropolis sought refuge in
+    the fields beyond the purlieus of Stepney.  On the north, Hampstead
+    and Highgate were favoured with a visit from large bodies of the
+    respectable inhabitants of St. Giles's; and Primrose Hill, also, was
+    selected as a famous spot for viewing the demolition of the leviathan
+    city.  The darkness of the day, and the thickness of the atmosphere,
+    however, prevented it being seen."
+
+Brighton, too, felt the advantage of the "earthquake," as numbers of
+families of the middle and upper classes went there to avoid its
+consequences.  It was noted that on the night of the 15th nearly 20
+carriages arrived there, a circumstance that had not occurred since the
+opening of the London and Brighton Railway.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+To "talk scandal about Queen Elizabeth" is a matter serious enough, but
+to say that Queen Victoria drank grog on board one of her own ships is
+rank treason, and must be explained, as it was by the _John Bull_.  "The
+true version of Her Majesty's tasting the grog on board of _The Queen_,
+during her late visit to Portsmouth, is as follows: Strict orders had
+been given to the men, that when Her Majesty came down to the lower deck,
+to see them at mess, they should not speak a word, but preserve as
+profound a silence as possible.  Jack, of course, was too much taken up
+with watching the Royal visitor, to think of talking, save, perhaps, the
+desire of whispering to his messmate a comment or so on the meteor
+passing before him.  All was still.  Her Majesty tasted the cocoa, and
+approved of it--yet all was still.  Her Majesty then inquired whether
+there was no stronger beverage allowed the men, and forthwith a tumbler
+of 'three-water grog' was handed her.  She raised it to her lips--when
+Jack forgot his orders, and three distinct cheers ran round the deck,
+with such 'a will,' that the ship's sides seemed to start with the sudden
+explosion; the honour done was more than a sailor could bear without
+clearing his heart with an huzzah."
+
+It was on 8 Feb., 1841, that Fox Talbot provisionally registered his
+patent "for improvements in obtaining pictures, or representations of
+objects," which is now in vogue, his improvement being the printing of
+the photo on paper.  He, himself, made no public practical use of his
+invention, and one of the first, if not the first photographer who
+adopted it was Mr. Beard, of Parliament and King William Streets.  It was
+quite a new thing when Prince Albert went to his studio on 21 Mar., 1842,
+and sat for his portrait.  This made the process fashionable, and
+henceforth photography was a practical success.
+
+There is nothing much to gossip about, until the Strawberry Hill sale.
+It was all very well for the Earl of Bath to eulogise the place,
+
+    "Some cry up Gunnersbury,
+       For Sion some declare,
+    And some say that with Chiswick House
+       No villa can compare;
+    But, ask the beaux of Middlesex,
+       Who know the country well,
+    If Strawberry Hill, if Strawberry Hill
+       Don't bear away the bell."
+
+but I fancy no one can endorse the opinion, or see anything to admire in
+this heterogeneous pile of Carpenter's and Churchwarden's Gothic.  If it
+had applied to the contents that would have been another thing; for,
+although there was, as is the case in most large collections, an amount
+of rubbish, it was counterbalanced by the undoubted rarity of the greater
+portion, which are thus set forth by the perfervid auctioneer, George
+Robins, who, speaking of himself in the third person, says:
+
+    "When there pass before him, in review, the splendid gallery of
+    paintings, teeming with the finest works of the greatest
+    masters--matchless Enamels, of immortal bloom, by Petitot, Boit,
+    Bordier, and Zincke; Chasings, the work of Cellini and Jean de
+    Bologna; noble specimens of Faenza Ware, from the pencils of Robbia
+    and Bernard Palizzi; Glass, of the rarest hues and tints, executed by
+    Jean Cousin and other masters of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries;
+    Limoges enamels of the period of the Renaissance, by Leonard and
+    Courtoise; Roman and Greek antiquities in bronze and sculpture;
+    Oriental and European china, of the choicest forms and colours;
+    exquisite and matchless Missals, painted by Raphael and Julio Clovo;
+    magnificent specimens of Cinque-Cento Armour; Miniatures,
+    illustrative of the most interesting periods of history; a valuable
+    collection of Drawings and Manuscripts; Engravings in countless
+    numbers, and of infinite value; a costly Library, extending to
+    fifteen thousand volumes, abounding in splendid editions of the
+    Classics, illustrated, scarce and unique works, with ten thousand
+    other relics of the arts and history of bygone ages, he may well feel
+    overpowered at the evident impossibility of rendering to each that
+    lengthened notice which their merits and their value demand."
+
+The first private view took place on 28 March, and the sale lasted 24
+days, commencing on 25 April and ending 21 May.  No one can hazard a
+guess as to what such a collection would fetch now, the sum then
+obtained, 33,450 pounds 11s. 9d., being utterly inadequate according to
+modern ideas.  The sale took place in a temporary shed, erected in the
+grounds, and on the first day of the sale, which was confined to books,
+there were not 200 persons present, and among them, not more than a dozen
+bidders.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+By way of recognition to the King of Prussia for his being sponsor of the
+Prince of Wales, the Queen sent him some presents, which, if the
+_Wurtzburg Gazette_ is to be credited, were of somewhat mixed
+description.  1.--A cradle with the figure of nurse holding an infant,
+representing the Prince of Wales, in her arms, all of pure gold.  2.--A
+pistol, which, when the trigger is pulled, opens and exhibits a
+completely furnished dressing-case.  3.--A gold mosaic snuff-box, upon
+which are seen allegorical _souvenirs_ relating to the baptism of the
+Prince of Wales.  4.--Four boxes containing snuff.  5.--A dozen knives
+and forks of gold, except the blades of the knives, which are of Damascus
+steel, and the handles ornamented with a crown set in brilliants.  6.--A
+stone vase, containing the rarest Indian fruits.  7.--Two extraordinarily
+large legs of mutton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+
+    The Royal "Bal Costume"--The Queen shot at by Francis and by
+    Bean--Duke of Cambridge's star--Chartism--Income Tax--Female Chartist
+    Association--A gipsey trial--Closing of the Fleet prison--Married in
+    a sheet--Enormous damages in a gambling case.
+
+There was a great flutter of excitement over the Queen's Fancy Dress
+Ball, which took place in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace on 12th
+May.  Its leading feature was the assembling and meeting of the two
+Courts of Anne of Bretagne (the Duchess of Cambridge) and Edward III. and
+Queen Phillipa (The Queen and Prince Albert).
+
+A separate entrance to the Palace was set apart for the Court of
+Brittany, the Duchess of Cambridge assembling her Court in one of the
+lower rooms of the Palace, while the Queen and Prince Albert, surrounded
+by a numerous and brilliant circle, prepared to receive her Royal
+Highness in the Throne Room, which was altered so far, as to be made as
+much as possible to harmonise with the period.  The throne was removed
+and another erected, copied from an authentic source, of the time of
+Edward III.  It was lined (as well as the whole alcove in which it was
+placed) with purple velvet, having worked on it, in gold, the Crown of
+England, the Cross of St. George, and emblazoned shields with the Arms of
+England and France.  The state chairs were as near those of the period as
+the archaeology of the time could compass, and the throne was surrounded
+with Gothic tracery.  At the back of the throne were emblazoned the Royal
+Arms of England in silver.  Seated on this throne, the Queen and Prince
+Albert awaited the arrival of Anne of Bretagne, which, ushered in by
+heralds, took place at half-past ten.
+
+The various characters then formed a procession divided into Quadrilles,
+the French, German, Spanish, Italian, Highland, Russian, Waverley and
+Crusaders Quadrilles, and marched into the Ball Room, where dancing at
+once commenced, the Queen and Prince Albert watching the scene, seated on
+a _haut pas_.  At one o'clock, the Earl of Liverpool, the Lord Steward,
+conducted the Queen and Prince Albert to supper; and when they had
+finished the guests were attended to.  After supper, the Queen danced a
+quadrille with Prince George of Cambridge, their _vis-a-vis_ being the
+Duchess of Buccleugh and the Duke of Beaufort; then some reels were
+danced, and the Queen retired at half-past two.
+
+This account would be strangely incomplete without some account of two or
+three of the principal dresses, to give an idea of the splendour of the
+show.  The Queen's petticoat was of red velvet, trimmed with ermine.  The
+ground of the jacket was garter blue, with a large pattern of leaves
+woven in it, of gold, and ornamented with precious stones; hanging
+sleeves, lined with ermine.  The mantle was of cloth of gold, worked in
+silver, and trimmed with gold lace and pearls, lined with ermine, and
+fastened in front with a broad gold band, worked in diamonds and other
+precious stones.  Her shoes were red silk, worked with gold and diamonds.
+
+The crown was a _fac-simile_ of that worn by Queen Philippa, and was
+ornamented with diamonds and precious stones.  Under the crown,
+descending to the sides of the face, was a network of red velvet and
+diamonds.
+
+Prince Albert's under dress, of a garter-blue ground, was worked in large
+gold flowers, lined with red silk.  The collar and cuffs were ornamented
+with diamonds and precious stones.  The cloak was of red velvet, trimmed
+with gold lace and pearls, and was fastened in front with a band of
+diamonds and different coloured precious stones, and was lined with
+ermine.  His hose were of red silk, and he wore shoes of red velvet,
+embroidered with gold and satin.  His crown was that of Edward III.,
+ornamented with diamonds and precious stones.  The sword-belt was of red
+velvet, studded with rosettes of gold and diamonds; the sword was richly
+ornamented with the rose, thistle, oak, and shamrock, in diamonds and
+precious stones, the cross, forming the handle, containing some very
+large emeralds.
+
+The mantle of the Duchess of Cambridge, as Anne of Bretagne, was of
+crimson velvet, bordered with ermine, looped up at the sides, displaying
+the petticoat of cloth of silver, worked in silver and gold, fastened
+with diamond ornaments; the top was edged with two rows of large pearls,
+having between them a variety of ornaments, formed of sapphires, emeralds
+and diamonds; the lower row of pearls had beneath it a fringe of large
+diamonds, formed into drops.  The stomacher had rows of large pearls, of
+very great value, mixed with diamonds.  Extending from the stomacher to
+the bottom of the mantle were rosettes and other ornaments of diamonds,
+sapphires and emeralds, forming a broad band down the mantle.  The
+_ceinture_ was also composed of brilliants, emeralds and sapphires.  The
+sleeves were fastened with diamonds and sapphires, and the necklace was
+of emeralds and brilliants.
+
+The diadem was composed wholly of pearls and diamonds, except the _fleur
+de lys_ by which it was surmounted, which was composed of emeralds and
+sapphires.  The head-dress was decorated with two rows of large diamonds
+and one of pearls.  The veil was of gold tulle.
+
+The Duke of Beaufort having been selected by the Duchess of Cambridge to
+personate Louis XII., in the French Quadrille, of which Her Royal
+Highness was the leader, His Grace appeared in one of the most splendid
+dresses handed down by Monfaucon, in his _Monarchie Francaise_.  The
+dress consisted of rich blue velvet, sumptuously embroidered in gold,
+with which were intermixed rubies, emeralds, pearls and other precious
+stones, with a large diamond star in the centre, and an opal, of
+priceless value, set with diamonds.  The cloak was of cloth of gold,
+lined with white satin, and trimmed over with powdered ermine.  The belt
+worn by the Noble Duke, on this occasion, was of crimson, richly studded
+with precious stones, and fastened in the centre by a large diamond
+buckle.  Sword, a valuable specimen of the art of that period, the hilt
+being of gold, exquisitely chased; a crimson velvet hat with feathers,
+confined in the front by a costly jewel.
+
+Space prevents my giving any more of the dresses, and I only notice that
+the Earl of Cardigan appeared in the French Quadrille, clad in armour, as
+_Bayard_, _the_ "_Chevalier sans reproche_"!!!
+
+As almost everyone's dress was ablaze with diamonds and other jewels, it
+is pleasant to think, that very few losses were sustained, and those
+were, generally, of trifling value.  The only loss of any moment was that
+sustained by Prince Albert, from the girdle of whose gorgeous dress, is
+supposed to have dropped a valuable brilliant of great size.
+
+On 30 May, about half-past six in the evening, as the Queen was returning
+from her usual drive, and was close to Buckingham Palace, she was fired
+at by a young miscreant named John Francis, aged 20, described as a
+carpenter.  He was at once seized, and examined by the Privy Council.
+The simplest account of the event was given at the boy's trial by Col.
+Arbuthnot, one of the Queen's equerries, whose testimony was as follows:
+"My general position is about five yards in the rear of Her Majesty.
+Before we left the Palace, I had received an intimation which induced me
+to ride as close to Her Majesty as I could; and Colonel Wylde, Prince
+Albert's equerry, rode in the same position, on the other side.  Between
+6 and 7 o'clock, we were coming down Constitution Hill, when, about
+halfway down the Hill, I observed the prisoner; and, on the carriage
+reaching him, he took a pistol from his side, and fired it in the
+direction of the Queen.  As quickly as I could, I pulled up my horse, and
+gave the prisoner into custody.  The prisoner had, before this, caught my
+attention as appearing anxious to see Her Majesty.  The Colonel went on
+to say that the utmost distance from the carriage, when Francis fired,
+was seven feet.  The _cortege_ had been going at the rate of eleven miles
+an hour; but the Colonel had given instructions at this spot, to go
+faster, and the postillions were driving at the rate of twelve or
+thirteen miles an hour.  The Queen was sitting on the back seat of the
+carriage, on the side nearest to the prisoner.  The pistol seemed to the
+witness to be pointed in the direct line of Her Majesty."
+
+On the news being communicated to the Houses of Parliament, they
+adjourned in confusion, as it was found impossible to carry on the public
+business whilst in that state of excitement.  Next day both Houses voted
+congratulatory addresses, and the same were sent by every corporate body
+throughout the Kingdom.  The Queen, who could not fail to be affected by
+this attempt upon her life, nevertheless attended the Opera the same
+evening, and met with a most enthusiastic reception.
+
+Francis was tried, on the charge of High Treason, at the Central Criminal
+Court, on 17 June, and found guilty; there being no reasonable doubt but
+that the pistol was loaded with something more than gunpowder.  His
+sentence was: "That you, John Francis, be taken from hence to the place
+from whence you came, that you be drawn from thence on a hurdle to the
+place of execution, and that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead:
+that your head be, afterwards, severed from your body, and that your body
+be divided into four quarters, to be disposed of in such manner as Her
+Majesty shall deem fit.  And the Lord have mercy on your soul!"
+
+This sentence was commuted to transportation for life, and on 6 July he
+left Newgate for Gosport, and he was sent to Norfolk Island by the first
+transport sailing thither.
+
+This mania for shooting at the Queen was infectious.  If Oxford had not
+been treated so leniently, there would have been no Francis; and if there
+had been no Francis, there would have been no Bean.  This was another
+young miscreant, aged 18, deformed, and very short.  It was on Sunday, 3
+July, when the Queen was going from Buckingham Palace to the Chapel
+Royal, St. James's, that, in the Mall, this boy was seen to present a
+pistol at the Queen.  A young man named Dassett saw the act, and this is
+a resume of his evidence at the trial on 25 Aug.: He said he saw the
+royal carriages coming along, and saw the prisoner come from the crowd,
+draw a pistol from his breast, and present it at the carriage, at arm's
+length, and breast high; and then he heard the click of a pistol hammer
+upon the pan; but there was no explosion.  He seized him, and, assisted
+by his brother, took him across the Mall, and gave him to Police
+Constable Hearn, who said "it did not amount to a charge."  Another
+policeman, likewise, refused to take the prisoner, who only asked to have
+his pistol back again.  The pressure of the crowd was so great, that he
+was obliged to let Bean go; and, afterwards, the people said that witness
+himself had been shooting at the Queen, and a policeman took the pistol
+away from him.
+
+In his cross-examination, Dassett said that some person in the crowd
+laughed, and others called out that the pistol was not loaded.  An
+Inspector of Police deposed to having received the pistol from witness,
+and he unloaded it; the charge was not large, and consisted of coarse
+gunpowder, some short pieces of tobacco pipe, and four small pieces of
+gravel.
+
+Bean got away for a time, but was, afterwards, captured and tried, found
+guilty, and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment in Millbank
+Penitentiary.
+
+The old Duke of Cambridge (the Queen's uncle) had a fright, on the 6
+July, when he was at a fete at Jesus College, Cambridge, for he lost the
+diamond star from his breast, valued at 500 pounds.  Everybody thought it
+had been stolen by an expert thief, but it was afterwards found by a
+Police Inspector, in the gardens, much trodden on, and with three
+diamonds missing; so it was "All's well that ends well."
+
+There was great distress in the manufacturing districts, and disturbances
+originating in a strike for higher wages, were inflamed by the Chartists,
+and other political agitators.  Beginning in Lancashire, the riots spread
+through Cheshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire, and,
+finally, extended to the manufacturing towns of Scotland, and the
+collieries of Wales.  There were conflicts with the military, and people
+were killed; altogether, matters were very serious.
+
+It was better in London.  On 19 Aug. a Chartist meeting was to be held on
+Clerkenwell Green, but plenty of police were there to meet them.  Most of
+the mob were discouraged, and went home, but the police were obliged to
+arrest some 50 of them, and some banners were captured.  Then they went
+to Lincoln's Inn Fields, and in Long Acre, they came into collision with
+the police, and some damage was done.  So serious was the outlook, that
+all the military in the Metropolis and the suburbs were kept under arms,
+and there were large reserves of police at every Station House; and, next
+day, the magistrate, at Bow Street, had a busy day, hearing cases arising
+from this outbreak.  On the 22nd Aug. there were Chartist meetings at
+Clerkenwell Green and Paddington (the latter numbering upwards of
+10,000), but the worst cases were managed by the police, and no very
+great harm came of them.
+
+On 22 June, Sir Robt. Peel's Bill, imposing an Income Tax, received the
+Royal sanction.  It is 5 and 6 Vic., c. 35: "An Act for granting Her
+Majesty Duties on Profits arising from Property, Professions, Trades, and
+Offices, until the 6th day of April, 1845."  We see that it was imposed
+only for three years, but the Old Man of the Sea, once on the popular
+back, has never come off; and, in all probability, never will.  It began
+at 7d. in the pound, has been as high as 16d., and as low as 2d.  There
+is in _Blackwood's Magazine_ for Aug., 1842:
+
+                               "THE INCOME TAX.
+                            An excellent New Song.
+
+    All you who rents, or profits draw,
+    Enough to come within the law,
+    Your button'd pockets now relax,
+    And quickly pay your Income Tax.
+
+    A pleasant medicine's sure to kill,
+    Your only cure's a bitter pill:
+    The drugs of base deluding quacks
+    Made Peel prescribe the Income Tax.
+
+    You can't enjoy your pint, or pot,
+    And then refuse to pay the shot;
+    You can't pursue expensive tracks
+    With a toll, or Income Tax.
+
+    Ye Quakers, clad in sober suit,
+    And all ye Baptist tribes to boot,
+    'Twas right, perhaps, to free the blacks,
+    But, thence arose this Income Tax.
+
+    Ye bagmen bold, ye lovers fond,
+    Who daily like to correspond,
+    Remember, as you break the wax,
+    Cheap postage means an Income Tax.
+
+    Ye noisy fools, who made a rout
+    To try and keep the Tories out,
+    The blunders of your Whiggish hacks
+    Have brought us to this Income Tax.
+
+    Old Cupid's {194} wish to crush the Czar
+    Has cost us, in the Afghan war,
+    Both English lives and Indian lacs,
+    And hastened on the Income Tax.
+
+    Regardless of the price of teas,
+    They anger'd, too, the poor Chinese,
+    The Mandarins have shown their backs,
+    But war soon brings an Income Tax.
+
+    Yet now I hope the new tariff
+    Will something save in beer and beef;
+    If that be so, you'll all go snacks,
+    And half escape your Income Tax.
+
+    At least, we poor folks fear no shock
+    At hearing the collector's knock;
+    His jest, the poundless poet cracks
+    On him who calls for Income Tax."
+
+The day of reckoning for the Rioters of August duly came, and both at
+York and Salford Assizes many were punished, and at the end of September
+Feargus O'Connor was arrested in London for sedition, as were other
+Chartist leaders at Manchester and Leeds.  In October, more rioters were
+tried, and sentenced, at Stafford and Liverpool.
+
+Even women meddled with Chartism, and on 17 Oct. a meeting of female
+Chartists was held at the National Charter Association in the Old Bailey,
+to form a female Chartist Association to co-operate with the original
+society.  A Mr. Cohen created some dissatisfaction by speaking _against_
+the interposition of women in political affairs; he "put it to the
+mothers present, whether they did not find themselves more happy in the
+peacefulness and usefulness of the domestic hearth, than in coming forth
+in public, and aspiring after political rights?"  Miss Inge asked Mr.
+Cohen, did he not consider women qualified to fill public offices? it did
+not require much "physical force" to vote!  Mr. Cohen replied with an
+_argumentum ad foeminam_:--He would, with all humility and respect, ask
+the young lady, what sort of office she would aspire to fill?  If she
+would fill one, she would fill all?  He was not going to treat the
+question with ridicule; but he would ask her to suppose herself in the
+House of Commons, as Member for a Parliamentary Borough, and that a young
+gentleman, a lover, in that House, were to try to influence her vote,
+through his sway over her affections; how would she act? whether, in
+other words, she could resist, and might not lose sight of the public
+interests?  (Order!  Order!)  He wished to be in order.  He was for
+maintaining the _social_ rights of women; _political_ rights, such as he
+understood that meeting to aspire to, she could never, in his opinion,
+attain.  This drew forth an energetic speech from Miss Mary Anne Walker;
+she "repudiated, with indignation, the insinuation that, if women were in
+Parliament, any man, be he husband, or be he lover, would dare to be so
+base a scoundrel as to attempt to sway her from the strict line of duty."
+Miss Walker was much applauded; and, after the business of the evening,
+she received the thanks of the meeting.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+In the _Times_ of Oct. 5, there is a paragraph about a gipsey trial, and
+as that curious nomad race is fast disappearing, it may prove of interest
+to my readers:
+
+    "A short time since, a very remarkable circumstance took place in the
+    New Forest, Hampshire, in the instance of a gipsey, named Lee, being
+    cast out of the fraternity.  The spot where the scene took place was
+    at Bolton's Bench, near Lyndhurst.  Between 300 and 400 gipsies,
+    belonging to different tribes, including the Lees, Stanleys, and
+    Coopers, were assembled upon this unusual occasion.  The concourse
+    consisted of a great many females; and so secretly had the meeting
+    been got up, that scarcely a person residing in the neighbourhood was
+    aware that a circumstance of the sort was about to take place.  The
+    offender, a handsome-looking man, apparently between 38 and 40 years
+    of age, was placed in the middle of a ring, composed of the King of
+    the Gipsies, and the patriarchs of different tribes.  This ring was
+    followed by a second, made up of the male portion of the assembly;
+    and an exterior circle was formed by the women.  The King (one of the
+    Lees), who was a venerable old man, and one who looked as though he
+    had seen upwards of 90 summers, then addressed the culprit for nearly
+    an hour, but in a tongue that was perfectly strange to the
+    bystanders.  The address was delivered in a most impressive manner,
+    as might be conceived by the vehemence of the gesticulations which
+    accompanied it.  None but the gipsies themselves had the slightest
+    knowledge of the crime which had been committed by the offender, but
+    it must have been one evidently very obnoxious to the tribe, as the
+    act of expulsion from among them is an exceedingly rare occurrence.
+    As soon as the King had finished his speech to the condemned man, he
+    turned round, and harangued the whole of the gipsies assembled; and,
+    expressing himself in English, he informed them that Jacob Lee had
+    been expelled from among them, that he was no longer one of their
+    fraternity, and that he must leave the camp of the gipsies for ever.
+    The King, then advancing towards him, spat upon him, and the circle
+    which enclosed him simultaneously opened to admit of his retreating
+    from among them, while they smote him with branches of trees, as he
+    left the ground.  The meeting then broke up, and the parties
+    assembled went their different ways; some of them having come some
+    considerable distance, in order to be present at the tribunal."
+
+Early in November Mr. J. Simon, LL.B., was called to the Bar, being the
+first Jewish barrister connected with the Middle Temple.  A Hebrew bible
+had to be obtained, on which he could be sworn, and a difficulty having
+arisen, owing to the custom of Jews putting on their hats when taking an
+oath, the size of the wig rendering it impossible in this case, it was
+ruled that the head was sufficiently covered by the wig.
+
+On 31 May, 1842, an Act (5 & 6 Vic., c. 22) was passed for the demolition
+of the Fleet prison, and on 30 Nov., the records, books, etc., and the
+remaining prisoners, seventy in number, were removed to the Queen's
+prison.  The Marshalsea was also closed, and its three prisoners were
+also transferred.  The Fleet had been a prison ever since the time of
+William the Conqueror.
+
+Writing about the Fleet prison sets one thinking of the marriages
+solemnized within its rules, and there is an entry in one of the
+registers: "The Woman ran across Ludgate Hill in her shift."  In the
+_Times_ of 15 Dec., I find the following, copied from the _Boston
+Herald_:
+
+    "GEDNEY.--A most extravagant exhibition took place here on Friday.  A
+    widow, named Farrow, having four children, was married to a man named
+    David Wilkinson; and the woman having been told that if she was
+    married, covered by nothing but a sheet, her husband would not be
+    answerable for her debts, actually had the hardihood to go to church
+    with nothing on but a sheet, sewn up like a sack, with holes in the
+    sides for her arms, and in this way was married."  I have come across
+    several instances of this vulgar error.
+
+On the 3rd Dec. was tried a famous gambling case which ended in the
+discomfiture of a notorious gaming-house keeper, named Bond.  It was a
+case in the Court of Exchequer--Smith _v._ Bond.  At the gaming house
+kept by the latter, the game played was, usually, "French Hazard"; and
+persons of rank were in the habit of staking large sums against the
+"bank" held by Bond, to whom reverted all the profits of the game; in one
+evening they amounted to 2,000 or 3,000 pounds.  Considerable losses were
+sustained, on various occasions, by Mr. Bredall, Capt. Courtney, Mr.
+Fitzroy Stanhope, the Marquis of Conyngham, Lord Cantelupe and General
+Churchill.  The action was brought under the Act 9th Anne, c. 14, to
+recover from Bond the sums alleged to have been unlawfully won.  A
+verdict for the plaintiff was returned on five out of ten counts, with
+damages including the treble value of 3,508 pounds, the sum lost.  Half
+the damages went to the parish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+
+Murder of Mr. Drummond--Rebecca and her Daughters--Spread of the Movement
+through Wales--Its End--Rebecca Dramatised--Rebecca in London.
+
+The year opened badly, with the assassination of Edward Drummond, Esqre.,
+the private secretary of Sir Robert Peel.  Walking quietly down
+Parliament Street, he was suddenly fired at by a man named Daniel
+McNaughton.  Poor Mr. Drummond did not die at once, but lingered for a
+few hours.  It was believed by very many people, myself among the number,
+that it was a political assassination, the Secretary being taken for the
+Premier, but the man got off on a plea of insanity, a plea which was very
+fashionable in favour of criminals at that time, and highly conducive to
+their benefit.
+
+An episode in the Social History of England, almost unknown to the rising
+generation, was the reappearance, in Wales, of "Rebecca and her
+daughters," a riotous mob, whose grievance was, at first, purely
+local--they resisted the heavy and vexatious tolls, to which, by the
+mismanagement and abuses of the turnpike system, they were subjected.
+Galled by this burden, to which they were rendered more sensitive by
+reason of their poverty, and hopeless of obtaining any assistance or
+relief by legitimate means, the people resolved to take the law in their
+own hands, and abate the source of so much annoyance and distress by the
+strong arm.
+
+The first act of destruction of the toll gates occurred in 1839, and the
+gates then destroyed were particularly obnoxious to the people, who
+entertained doubts of the legality of their erection.  They were broken
+down in open day, with no attempt at concealment, by a mob of persons
+rather in a spirit of mischievous frolic than otherwise.  The proposal to
+re-erect these gates, on the part of the trustees, was overruled by a
+large body of magistrates and gentlemen, many of whom qualified for
+trustees expressly for the occasion.  This decision gave strength and
+encouragement to the discontented, and, no doubt, prepared the way for
+further violence.  The gate breakers had learned their power and though
+they did not immediately renew the exercise of it, the lesson was not
+forgotten, although it slumbered until the commencement of 1843, when it
+appeared in a systematic and organised form.
+
+This organization was called "Rebecca and her daughters," their leader
+having taken this scriptural name from a misconception of the meaning of
+_Genesis_ xxiv., 60: "And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her. . . .
+'let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.'"  This captain
+of the gate breakers in the guise of a woman, always made her marches and
+attacks by night, and her conduct of the campaign manifested no small
+dexterity and address.  A sudden blowing of horns and firing of guns
+announced the arrival of the assailants at the turnpike selected for
+attack.  They were mounted on horseback, and generally appeared in
+considerable force.  The leader, who gave the word of command, and
+directed the motion of those whom she called her daughters, was attired
+in a female dress of some description, wearing, also, a bonnet, or
+head-dress, which served the purpose of disguise.  Her bodyguard were
+dressed up in similar manner.
+
+Immediately on arriving at the gate, they commenced the business of the
+night, and proceeded to raze gate, posts, and tollhouse, with an alacrity
+and perseverance which soon accomplished its purpose.  They, generally,
+sawed off the gate posts close to the ground, broke the gate to
+fragments, and pulled down the toll-house to its foundations.  To show
+that the abatement of the specific grievance was their only object, they,
+commonly, dealt very leniently with the toll-keeper, offering him, except
+in rare cases, no personal violence, and allowing him to remove his
+furniture and property, which they never attempted to destroy or plunder.
+The work was no sooner done than the mysterious assailants galloped off,
+firing their guns, and blowing their horns, as before.  No trace nor clue
+was to be found of the quarter whence they had come, or of the retreats
+to which they dispersed themselves; nor did anything in the outward
+appearance of the country, by day, even when these nightly outrages were
+at their height, give sign of the extension and compact organization
+which evidently subsisted among the population.
+
+   [Picture: Rebecca and her Daughters.  Ill. Lon. News, 11 Feb., 1843]
+
+The first notice I can find (in this year) of these riots is in the
+_Times_ of 10 Jan., in which is the following paragraph from the
+_Welshman_:
+
+    "The state of society in Wales may surprise some of our English
+    readers, especially when we acquaint them with the fact, that there
+    has been, for some months past, in the neighbourhood of St. Clear, a
+    mob of lawless depredators, amounting to about 600, who assembled
+    nightly, for the purpose of destroying the turnpike gates on the
+    various lines of road in the neighbourhood of St. Clear.  These
+    ruffians are headed by a very tall man, dressed, for disguise, as a
+    female, who goes by the name of Rebecca; and, as many of his
+    associates are likewise dressed as females, the whole gang have been
+    christened 'Rebecca and her daughters.'  These men are nearly all
+    ably mounted, and are a terror to the neighbouring country.  The
+    Pwiltrap gate has been destroyed a great number of times and as
+    frequently replaced by the trustees of the road; but, immediately
+    after its re-erection, the fellows have invariably assembled in
+    greater force than before; and, riding up to the gate, the following
+    interesting colloquy has taken place.  The leader of the mob,
+    addressing the others in Welsh, says, 'My children this gate has no
+    business here, has it?' to which her children reply, that it has not;
+    the mother again asks, what is to be done with it, when the children
+    reply, that it should be levelled with the ground.  They then
+    immediately break it down, and disperse in different directions.
+
+    "This system has continued for a length of time; and, although a
+    reward of 50 pounds has been offered, not one of the offenders has
+    been discovered.  About 100 constables have been sworn in, and three
+    constables from London are down there; but all precautions are
+    ineffectual; for so surely as the constables show the slightest
+    diminution of their vigilance, Rebecca and her daughters appear, and
+    level the gates.  A very short time ago, the policemen were after a
+    fellow whom they suspected to belong to the gang and, while at a
+    public house, baiting their horse, Rebecca and her daughters suddenly
+    came in sight, and the affrighted officers of the law were obliged to
+    fly for their lives.  The gates have now been re-erected, and no
+    fresh act of violence has occurred since the 16th ult., but the
+    organisation of the depredators still continues; and, it is feared,
+    will break out with fresh violence if the constabulary force be
+    removed."
+
+That this movement was serious and no joke, is evidenced by the fact that
+I have, in my notes, 45 paragraphs in the _Times_ on the subject.
+
+From Pembroke and Caermarthen, it gradually spread to Cardiganshire, on
+one side, and to Radnorshire and Glamorganshire, on the other.
+Brecknockshire, alone of the South Wales counties, enjoyed exemption from
+these disturbances.  The destruction which the rioters effected in some
+of these districts was most extensive and unsparing.  There were, at the
+time of the outbreak, between 100 and 150 gates, including side bars and
+chains, in the county of Caermarthen; of these, no less than between 70
+and 80 were destroyed, the toll-houses, as well as the gates and posts,
+being, in many cases, razed to the ground; in some trusts not a single
+gate was left standing.  In Pembrokeshire, and in one of the divisions of
+Cardiganshire, the destruction was carried on in the same wholesale
+manner.  The trustees, at first, re-erected the gates which had been
+broken down, but they were again as speedily demolished by the rioters;
+again they were rebuilt, and again they were levelled with the ground.
+The trustees were, at length, compelled to desist, and the roads were
+left free of toll.  None of these counties, except Glamorgan, possessed a
+paid constabulary, or any other force which could be of avail in checking
+the proceedings of the rioters; and the magistrates finding all local
+efforts unavailing, were obliged to appeal to Government for protection
+and support.
+
+One of the boldest steps ventured on by the insurgents, whose confidence
+was, of course, much increased by their uninterrupted success, was an
+entry, which was made, at midday, into the town of Caermarthen, by a
+large body of persons on the 10th of June.  About noon, the rioters began
+to march into the town, through the Water Street gate, which they had
+destroyed some time before.  They were headed by a band.  The leading
+body consisted of some thousands on foot, many of whom were Chartists and
+rabble of the town; a large number of women was among the crowd, and men
+bearing inflammatory placards.  They were followed by a man in disguise,
+representing Rebecca; some bearing brooms with which to sweep the
+foundations of the tollhouse and the workhouse, and the rear was brought
+up by about 300 farmers on horseback.  They paraded the town, passing the
+Hall and hooting the magistrates, and proceeded to the workhouse, which
+they attacked.  They climbed over the high wall with which the building
+was surrounded, and then burst open the lodge gates and the porter's
+door; the horsemen rode into the yard, and surrounded the premises; and
+the rioters on foot soon forced an entrance into the building, and
+commenced their work of destruction.  While the rioters were in the act
+of pulling down the inner doors and partitions of the Board Room, and
+other parts of the premises, and pitching the beds out of windows, the
+governor was ringing the alarm bell; and, in the midst of the tumult,
+came the military.
+
+Representations of the excited state of the neighbourhood had been sent
+to the Home Office, and a troop of the 4th Light Dragoons had been
+ordered from Cardiff.  An express from Caermarthen had met the Dragoons
+at four o'clock in the morning, just after they had passed through Neath,
+and were still 31 miles from their destination.  They pushed on, riding
+the last 15 miles in an hour and a half, two horses dying from fatigue as
+they entered the town.  They were met by one of the Magistrates, who led
+them to the Workhouse and read the Riot Act.  The rioters were summoned
+to surrender; but they made an attempt to rush on the military.  The
+Dragoons charged, using the flat of their swords, and soon put the
+rioters, outside the wall, to flight.  Those within offered some
+resistance; and, for a moment, the edge of the sword was turned upon
+them, when they succumbed.  Many escaped over the wall; but about 100
+were taken prisoners, and several horses were abandoned by their riders.
+The disturbance which menaced so seriously the safety of the town, was
+thus happily put an end to, without any bloodshed or calamitous result.
+
+As time advanced, the insurrection, which had at first been lightly
+thought of, and for which much allowance had been made, under the belief
+that the people had real grievances to complain of, assumed a more
+malignant and dangerous aspect.  The farmers and peasantry, who in their
+impatience under the vexations of the tolls, had commenced it, soon fell
+into the hands of ill-disposed and designing men, who aggravated the
+excitement that prevailed, and availed themselves of the name and
+disguise of "Rebecca," in order to carry out their own evil and lawless
+purposes.  Threatening letters were one of the means most freely resorted
+to; and great numbers, under the signature of "Rebecca," were sent about
+the country, conveying the most sanguinary menaces to those whose conduct
+had, in any way, given offence to the dastardly writers.  Certain rules
+were laid down by conclaves of the disaffected, respecting the occupation
+of farms; and all who presumed to contradict the edicts of this invisible
+authority, were marked out, and denounced as victims to the just
+vengeance of Rebecca.  The more active magistrates, as well as the
+tithe-owners and clergy, were made the special objects of this cowardly
+system of intimidation.  In some instances, the rioters proved that their
+threats were not without meaning.  Guns were fired into the houses of
+persons who had fallen under the popular displeasure.  Some had their
+property fired, or otherwise injured; and a growing feeling of alarm and
+insecurity began to pervade the peaceable and well-disposed portion of
+the community.  This feeling was further increased by a cold-blooded and
+shocking act of murder, committed on a poor old woman who kept a
+turnpike, called the Hendy gate, on the confines of Glamorganshire and
+Caermarthenshire.  A party of rioters came to attack the gate at which
+she lived, and one of the number, actuated by some motive which was not
+distinctly accounted for, fired at her, and shot her dead.  A coroner's
+inquest sat upon the body, and all the facts attending the revolting
+transaction were fully and clearly stated in evidence; but, such was the
+excitement of feeling then prevailing in the neighbourhood, or such the
+influence of fear exercised over the minds of the jurymen who
+investigated the case, that they actually brought in a verdict: "That the
+deceased died from suffusion of blood, which produced suffocation, but
+from what cause, is, to the jurors, unknown!"
+
+By the continuance of these outrages, which threatened, 'ere long, to
+disorganise society, and render the tenure of life and property, in
+Wales, insecure, the Government were, at length, aroused to the necessity
+of adopting very vigorous measures for the enforcement and vindication of
+the law.  A large body of troops was sent down to Wales, and a general
+officer, of skill and experience, appointed to the command of the
+disturbed districts.  A strong body of London police was imported, to
+exercise their skill in ferreting out the actors in these lawless
+exploits, who had so long succeeded in eluding detection.  The districts
+most infested by the Rebeccaites were closely occupied by parties of
+soldiers, some of whom were quartered, at short intervals, in the
+villages and hamlets wherein mischief was suspected to lurk, and in the
+neighbourhood of turnpike gates, which had, previously, been the objects
+of attack.  It was not, however, the policy of the insurgents to place
+themselves in open collision with the soldiers; but the clandestine and
+shifting mode of warfare which they had adopted with so much success, was
+but imperfectly counteracted by the presence of a military force.  Under
+cover of the night, and with the advantages afforded by a knowledge of
+the country, and the sympathy of the population, they could sweep down a
+gate, which was but the work of a few minutes, with very little risk of
+interruption or discovery.  The presence of the police and soldiers, if
+it could not entirely put an end to the attacks on the turnpikes,
+prevented the disaffected from proceeding to further acts of violence,
+and checked the growth of a conspiracy which might, otherwise, have gone
+to the full length of open rebellion.  From this, and other causes, the
+spirit of disturbance in Wales began to decline, about the latter end of
+the summer.  The most obnoxious of the turnpike gates had been swept
+away; and, on some of the trusts, the trustees had announced their
+determination not to re-erect those which were most complained of as
+oppressive.  Some of the more active leaders of the riots were captured,
+in an affray with the County police, on the borders of Glamorganshire,
+and the terrors of a Special Commission impended over the Principality.
+
+The movement was even dramatised, and on 20 Sep., at the Royal
+Amphitheatre, Liverpool, was produced a new play, called: "Rebecca and
+her Daughters; or, Paddy the Policeman"; the programme of scenery etc.,
+as described on the play bill being: "Vigilance of the civil and military
+authorities; 100 pounds reward for the apprehension of Rebecca, and 10
+pounds for each of her daughters; False alarm; Invincible courage of the
+Yeomanry; Arrival of the London Police in disguise; Paddy Whack
+undertakes to capture the delinquents; Admonitions to the Constabulary;
+The inspection; Mysterious appearance of Rebecca and her daughters in the
+Glen of Llandilo, at midnight; Tried before the Justice of the Peace;
+Happy _denouement_."
+
+I can find only one reference to Rebecca in connection with London--and
+that refers to a bar in Gower Street, which was taken down some few years
+since.  It occurs in the _Times_ of 30 Sep.: "During the last two or
+three days, considerable excitement has prevailed in the northern suburbs
+of the Metropolis, in consequence of rumours obtaining circulation that
+threatening notices had been posted about, signed, 'Rebecca,' intimating
+that it was the intention of that lady and her daughters to destroy the
+various turnpike and other gates, which they were pleased to term 'public
+obstructions.'  It appears that these rumours were not altogether
+unfounded; for, whether intended as a joke, or otherwise, the doings of
+the notorious Rebecca and her daughters in Wales, have, in reality, found
+persons foolhardy enough to follow their example in London.  A few
+evenings since, Mr. Hill, the porter and keeper of the gate at the London
+University College, which crosses Gower Street, and prevents carriages
+from passing along the front of University College Hospital, received a
+letter, with the signature of 'Rebecca' attached, declaring it to be the
+intention of herself and others to remove the 'obstruction called a gate'
+on the following night.  Mr. Hill, thinking the matter a joke, took no
+notice of the circumstance; but, to his astonishment, early in the
+morning following the night on which the threatened attack was promised,
+he was awakened by the night porter, who informed him that the gate (a
+large wooden one, such as the ordinary toll bars) was gone.  On
+examination, it was found that not only had the large padlock by which it
+was fastened, been broken and carried away, but the gate had absolutely
+been filed off its hinges, and conveyed by the depredators into the
+College grounds, and hidden behind some shrubs.  The gate has again been
+re-instated; but, since the occurrence, Mr. Hill has received another
+threatening notice, informing him that it is the intention of Rebecca and
+her daughters, on Monday night next, to effect its entire destruction.
+What is most extraordinary in connection with the affair is, that the
+gate should have been removed without the knowledge of the police, the
+beats of two constables joining close to the spot, or that of the night
+porters, either at the College, or the Hospital.  It is to be remarked
+that frequent complaints have been made at the erection of the gate in
+question, as it interrupts the otherwise direct communication between
+Holborn and Broad Street, Bloomsbury, with the Hampstead Road, and
+compels carriages, etc., to go considerably out of the way round Sussex
+and University Streets, before they can get into the New Road."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+
+Gretna Green parsons--Number of marriages--Chinese indemnity--Thames
+tunnel--The aerial machine--Treasure trove--Accident to Mr.
+Brunel--Arkwright's will--Secession in the Scotch Church--The
+"Gent"--Shakspere's autograph.
+
+At this time, Gretna Green marriages were in full blast (they were only
+made unlawful in 1856), and we learn from the _Carlisle Journal_, copied
+into the _Times_ of 20 Feb., something about the Parsons: "We observe by
+announcement in some of the London papers, that some worthy gentlemen in
+London, are about to enlighten the public on the subject of Gretna Green
+marriages, by the publication of a book called _The Gretna Green
+Memoirs_, by Robert Elliott, with an introduction and appendix by the
+Rev. Caleb Brown.  In addition to this information, we have been honoured
+with a copy of what Mr. Elliott calls a 'cercler,' which he is desirous
+we should publish as a paragraph for the benefit of our readers.  From
+this 'cercler' we learn that 'this interesting work contains an accurate
+account of remarkable elopements, pursuits, anecdotes, etc., never before
+published.'  Then we are further informed that there is 'in the press,'
+to be published by subscription, _The Gretna Green Register_, containing
+the names of 7,744 persons married by Robert Elliott, the Gretna Green
+Parson.  It is added, that 'the whole is being carefully printed from the
+original registers, written and kept by himself.'  The Gretna Green
+Parson, we suspect, has fallen into dishonest hands, or he would not have
+suffered it to be said that he was about to publish registers which never
+had existence.  The Gretna Green Parson is pretty well known in this
+neighbourhood.  He married a grand daughter of old Joe Paisley, the
+'original' blacksmith; and, after the death of that worthy 'parson,' he
+set up an opposition shop, in the marriage line to David Laing, who had
+acquired some notoriety in the business.  This was in 1811, and he
+continued to 'trade' until 1822, when it either fell away from him, or he
+from it.  His reverence subsequently condescended to act as horsekeeper,
+or hostler, at one of the inns in this city, and a few months ago was
+sent for to London, as a witness, in some marriage case, and is now set
+up as an author!  We suspect the whole thing is an attempt to gull the
+public into the purchase of a book of inventions.  If 7,000 were deducted
+from the names of those to be inserted in the 'Register,' the number
+would still exceed, by many a score, those who were actually 'married,'
+as it is called, by 'Robert Elliott, the Gretna Green Parson.'"
+
+The poor "Parson" could not stand this attack on his veracity, and wrote
+a letter to the _Times_, which appeared in its issue of 23 Feb., in which
+he does not deny the bulk of the paragraph taken from the _Carlisle
+Journal_, but gives his figures as to his matrimonial business: he says
+that in the following years; he married so many couples:
+
+1811             58  1821            152  1831            168
+1812             57  1822            178  1832            153
+1813             59  1823            188  1833            100
+1814             68  1824            196  1834            108
+1815             87  1825            198  1835            124
+1816             89  1826            187  1836             98
+1817             96  1827            188  1837             55
+1818            109  1828            186  1838             46
+1819            121  1829            180  1839             42
+1820            124  1830            179
+
+He says he married 7,744 persons, but, either his arithmetic, according
+to the above account, is faulty, or there is an inaccuracy in the _Times_
+figures.
+
+On 3 March arrived, in London, the first instalment of the Chinese
+indemnity--1,000,000 pounds, all in silver.  I remember seeing the dock
+wagons guarded by soldiers, and wondering, until told, what they
+contained.  Some more arrived on the 7th.
+
+The Thames Tunnel was opened to the public on 25 March, with as much
+ceremony as a private company could manage.  There were the Lord Mayor,
+the directors, and a host of scientific persons, who solemnly went in
+procession down the staircase on the Rotherhithe side, passed along the
+western archway of the Tunnel, ascended and descended the staircase at
+Wapping, and returned through the eastern archway.  In the evening there
+was a grand dinner at the "London Tavern," where "Prosperity to the
+Thames Tunnel" was drunk in some wine which had been preserved from the
+commencement of the enterprise, to celebrate its completion.
+
+As with motor cars, so with aeronautics, the time of which I write, was
+well in advance.  We know of Sen. Santos Dumont's performances with his
+motor balloon, in connection with the Eiffel Tower, but Mr. Samuel Henson
+was before him in applying mechanical power in aeronautics.  He took out
+a patent (No. 9,478), dated 29 Sep., 1842, for "Apparatus and machinery
+for conveying letters, goods and passengers, from place to place through
+the air."
+
+It was an aeroplane.  The car which contained passengers, engineer,
+engines, etc., was suspended in the centre of a framework, which combined
+strength with lightness, covered with a light, but close, woven fabric.
+It was started by descending an inclined plane, the impetus from which
+caused it to rise in the air, when the steam engine was put in action, to
+continue its motion.  The area of the sustaining surface was some 4,500
+square feet, and the weight to be borne by it, including the carriage,
+etc., was estimated at 3,000lbs., which was claimed to be considerably
+less per square foot than that of many birds.
+
+In April, 1843--but on what exact date I do not know, an experimental
+voyage was made from the Hill of Dumbuck, near Glasgow, by Professor
+Geolls.  He successfully negotiated the descent of the inclined plane,
+and rapidly rose in the air, until he reached an altitude of nearly 3
+miles.  Feeling giddy, he determined to descend to a mile and a half
+above the earth.  "This I easily effected by depressing the tail of the
+machine, which, up to this moment, I had kept at an angle with the
+horizon of 9.75 degrees, to that of 45.  My course I had not varied since
+leaving the hill; it was, per compass, south-west, and by west,
+half-west, passing over Ayrshire, and in a direct line from Dumbuck to
+Ailsa Craig, whither, indeed, I was tending, with the view of landing,
+the latter being admirably suited for launching the machine in a similar
+way to that adopted at Dumbuck, on my return home again.
+
+"Daylight had now broken, and the scene was most gorgeous.  I passed many
+ships; and, in particular, one steamer, but whose paltry speed, in
+comparison with mine, was nothing.  Alas! however, this was not destined
+to last; for, just as I had shot ahead of the steamer, something went
+wrong with the machinery, and the fanners stopped.  This did not at all
+alarm me; for, as described by Mr. Henson, these fanners are only
+necessary for propulsion, and not at all requisite for maintaining the
+machine in the air.  Unfortunately, however, I perfectly forgot, in the
+hurry of the moment, to remove the weights from the safety valve, and the
+effects from this were disastrous in the extreme.  The great accumulation
+of steam that took place was too much for the pipes; and, consequently,
+bang went three of them, at the same instant.  The machine, at this exact
+moment, feeling its equilibrium altered, surged considerably, and the
+remaining pipes necessarily followed the example of the others:
+fizz--bizz--whizz, away they went, one after the other, like pop guns.
+Unfortunately, one of these pipes, in flying off, struck a bamboo
+stretcher, and shattered it so, that the machine, losing bearance on one
+side, toppled over and became perfectly unmanageable; she, in fact,
+whirled over and over in a way that may be imagined, but which it is
+altogether impossible to describe.
+
+"I, of course, was now descending with fearful rapidity, and nothing was
+left me to contemplate but death and destruction.  I can only compare my
+sensations at this moment to those experienced in a nightmare, which,
+everyone knows, are not the most agreeable in the world.  Sensibility now
+forsook me; and, indeed, this was not to be wondered at, in consequence
+of the whirling of the machine.  On coming to my senses again, I found
+myself in bed, with severe headache, nausea and vomiting, the usual
+accompaniments of such a flight through the air; but, thanks to
+Providence, I am now in a fair way of recovery, and willing to perform
+the same feat again."
+
+Luckily for the aeronaut, the accident was seen by the master of a
+steamer, who sent a boat to his assistance, but the machine was lost.
+
+We often hear of "treasure trove," but seldom find the owner.  However,
+here is a case: On 11 April, the magistrate at Clerkenwell Police Court
+had a man named Benjamin Thomas, and five other labourers, brought before
+him, under the following circumstances.  It seems they had been recently
+engaged in grubbing up the roots of some trees in Tufnell Park, Holloway,
+when they found, buried in the earth, two jars full of sovereigns,
+supposed to have amounted to 400 pounds.  They divided the money between
+them; but it was claimed by Mr. Henry Tufnell, as Lord of the Manor; and
+all of them consented to give up what they had, except Thomas, who said
+that his share was 51 pounds, but that he had spent, or lost it.  The sum
+recovered only amounted to 231 pounds 17s.  Thomas was remanded for a few
+days, but, in the interval, a new claimant appeared, in the person of Mr.
+Joseph Frost, of the firm of J. and J. Frost, brass founders in
+Clerkenwell.  It appeared that, some time in August last year, in a
+temporary fit of mental delusion, he had carried the money out at night,
+and buried it.  Mr. Tufnell waived his claim in favour of Mr. Frost, and
+Thomas was committed for trial, on the charge of feloniously
+appropriating the money to his own use.
+
+A very curious accident happened to Brunel, the eminent engineer.  He was
+playing with the child of a friend, pretending to swallow a
+half-sovereign, and bring it out at his ear, when it slipped, and stuck
+in his trachaea, whence it could not be disloged.  This must have been in
+the latter part of April, for it is mentioned in the _Times_ of 28 April,
+as having occurred some short time previously.  All efforts of the
+surgeons could not reach the coin, even though they constructed a machine
+which suspended him by the heels, when he was shaken and thumped.  On 27
+April Sir B. Brodie performed trachaeotomy on the unfortunate gentleman,
+but without avail; so they waited until he had somewhat recovered, and
+again hung him up by his heels.  This was on 13 May, and, after a few
+gentle thumps, the half-sovereign quitted its place, and dropped out of
+his mouth, without causing him any pain or inconvenience.
+
+In these days, millionaires, and multi-millionaires are exceedingly
+common, but not so in the time of which I write, and much astonishment
+was created at the sum of money which Mr. Richard Arkwright, son of Sir
+Richard, the inventor of the spinning jinny, left behind him.  His will
+was proved, on 24 May, in Canterbury Prerogative Court, and his personal
+property was sworn to exceed 1,000,000 pounds; the stamp duty on the
+probate of which was 15,000 pounds, which was the highest duty then
+payable, when the testator's personal estate was 1,000,000 pounds or
+upwards.  In this case the deceased left behind him a fortune of nearly
+3,000,000 pounds.
+
+The 18th of May is memorable in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, for
+the great secession of its members, and the foundation of the Free
+Church.  This was the day appointed for the opening of the General
+Assembly, and Dr. Welsh, the Moderator of the former Assembly, took the
+Chair.  As soon as business commenced, he read a protest from those who
+were dissatisfied with the then state of the Church.  It was a very long
+document, and having read it, the Doctor, and those who were of the same
+opinion, quietly left the Hall, forming a procession and marching four
+abreast, to a Hall in Canon-mills, where they elected Dr. Chalmers as
+their Moderator.
+
+A contemporary account of this movement is given in the _Observer_ of 29
+May: "The number of clergymen who have seceded from the Church of
+Scotland, is now 450; and it cannot be a question that, by the middle of
+the week, the number will be close on 500.  This is nearly the half of
+the entire clergy, the number being under 1,200.  Among the leaders will
+be found the name of almost every minister distinguished for talent,
+moral worth, or weight of character.  Nearly the whole of the people have
+left the Establishment with their ministers--so that the Free
+Presbyterian Church, instituted by those who have left the Establishment,
+may be considered the Church of Scotland.  The general impression in
+Scotland is, that the residuary church cannot long exist.  About 240,000
+pounds have been raised in less than ten weeks, for the erection of new
+churches, and for the support of the seceding clergy; and there can be no
+question that, in a few weeks, the amount will considerably exceed
+300,000 pounds.  Among the contributors, are the Marchioness of
+Breadalbane, 1,000 pounds; a Colonel in the Army, whose name we do not
+remember, 6,000 pounds, in three yearly instalments of 2,000 pounds; Mr.
+Henry Paul, a private gentleman, 2,000 pounds; Mr. Nisbet, bookseller,
+London, 1,000 pounds; a Dissenter, 500 pounds; and there are various
+other subscriptions of 2,000 and 1,000 pounds each.  Mr. Fox Maule is to
+build and endow a church at his own expense; Mr. A. Campbell, member for
+Argyleshire, is to do the same.  In Elgin, the pious and spirited
+inhabitants have raised 1,000 pounds to build a church for the Rev.
+Alexander Topp, a young and popular minister; and they will also
+liberally contribute to his support.  So that, in many instances,
+churches will be built, and ministers be provided for, solely by private
+munificence and local exertion, without requiring any aid from the
+general fund.  The General Assembly of the Establishment is now sitting
+in Edinburgh, but its proceedings excite little interest.  The General
+Assembly of the Free Church, which the people recognise as the Church of
+Scotland, is also sitting in Edinburgh, and its proceedings excite an
+intensity of interest hitherto unparalleled in the ecclesiastical history
+of Scotland."
+
+About this time there arose an objectionable class of men, who tried to
+ape the gentleman, but could not, and they went by the generic term of
+"Gents."  _Punch_ was death upon them, and I give one of the satirist's
+onslaughts, as it reproduces the costumes and amusements of the day.
+First let us see the "Gent" pictorially, and then, afterwards, read what
+manner of animal he was.
+
+                    [Picture: Punch, vol. IV., p. 142]
+
+                                    AN ACT
+
+    _For amending the Public Deportment of certain individuals called_
+    "_Gents_," _abiding in London and other places_.
+
+    WHEREAS it having been represented that there are, at present
+    existing in the Metropolis, as well as in the provincial districts,
+    certain individuals known and spoken of as "Gents," whose bearing and
+    manners are perfectly at variance with the characters, which, from a
+    monomania, they appear desirous of assuming:
+
+    AND WHEREAS, in consequence of cheap clothes, imitative dispositions,
+    and intellectual poverty, this class is greatly on the increase, it
+    has been thought necessary that this Act should be framed to control
+    their vicious habits:
+
+    May it, therefore, please your Majesty, that it be enacted: AND BE IT
+    ENACTED henceforth, that all Gents, not actually in the employ of the
+    _Morning Post_, or Mr. Simpson, of the "Albion," be prevented from
+    wearing white cravats at parties, the same being evidently an attempt
+    of sixth-rate individuals to ape the manners of first-class circles.
+    And that no Gent, who does not actually keep a horse, and is not in
+    the Army, be allowed to strut up and down the Burlington Arcade, with
+    a whip and moustachios, such imposition being exceedingly offensive,
+    and amounting to a passive swindling of the spectators.
+
+    AND BE IT ENACTED, that all such things as light-blue stocks, large
+    figured shawls, cheap primrose gloves, white Chesterfield coal sacks,
+    half-guinea Albert boots; in fact, all those articles ticketed in the
+    shop windows as "Gent's last style," be considered the distinctive
+    marks of the class, and condemned accordingly.  And that every
+    individual, moreover, smoking outside an omnibus, sticking large pins
+    in his cravat, wearing fierce studs in his shirt, walking with others
+    four abreast in Regent Street, reading slang publications, and
+    adopting their language, playing billiards in public rooms, sporting
+    dingy white gloves in the slips of the theatres, frequenting night
+    taverns, and being on terms of familiarity with the singers and
+    waiters, thinking great things of champagne, as if everything at a
+    party depended upon it; and, especially, wearing the hat on one side,
+    be the signs of most unmitigated Gents, and shunned equally with
+    hydrophobia.
+
+    AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED that no Gent be, in future, allowed to
+    cross a hired horse with a view to ten shillings worth of Sunday
+    display in the Parks, the turnout being always detected; nor shall be
+    permitted to drive a gig, in a fierce scarf, under similar
+    circumstances.  Nor shall any Gent imagine that an acquaintance with
+    all the questionable resorts of London is "knowing life"; or that
+    trousers of large check pattern are anything but exceeding Gentish.
+
+    SAVING ALWAYS that the Gents have not the sense to endeavour
+    bettering their condition, which is exceedingly probable; under which
+    circumstances they had better remain as they are, in ignorance of
+    their melancholy position.  But, on the other hand, it is commanded
+    that people of common intellect, henceforth cease to designate any of
+    their male friends as "Gents," the word being one of exceedingly bad
+    style, and equally objectionable with "genteel," which is, possibly,
+    derived from it.  And that if, after this, anyone speaks of a "Gent,"
+    or "Party" he knows, it is ordered that such speaker be immediately
+    set down as one of the unfortunate class in question.
+
+The Shakspere autograph which was sold on 24 May, 1841, came again into
+the market, and was bought on 19 May, for 145 pounds, by the Corporation
+of the City of London.  The _Patres Conscripti_ of the Common Council
+were not of one mind as to the eligibility of the purchase.  On the
+motion "that the Court agree to the report, and that the Chamberlain be
+instructed to pay the sum," Mr. Warton rose to move, as an amendment,
+that the report should lie upon the table.  (A laugh, and loud cries of
+"Hear, hear.")  He had, he said, done all he could in the Committee, to
+prevail upon the members that the purchase of the autograph was a most
+wasteful and prodigal expenditure.  ("Hear, hear," and "No, no.")  The
+precedent was a most mischievous one.  If the Court sanctioned such a
+proceeding as that which the report had described, by and by the
+autographs of archbishops and bishops, and other individuals who had, in
+times long past, distinguished themselves, would supply apologies for
+wasting the City cash, in order to gratify gentlemen who were afflicted
+with that description of mania.  (Laughter.)  He hoped the Court would
+not catch the infection, but second his rational effort to check it, by
+condemning the report to its proper station on the table.  After all, the
+document was doubtful; but there was no doubt at all as to the profligacy
+of the expenditure.  (Laughter, and cries of "Hear, hear," and "No, no.")
+Mr. Knott said it was quite ridiculous to think for a moment, of voting
+145 pounds for a few doubtful, illegible, almost obliterated scratches of
+a pen.  (Laughter, and cries of "Hear, hear.")  He defied any man on
+earth to say what those scratches represented.  On a division there were,
+for the motion 41; for the amendment 31.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+
+Exhibition of cartoons--A duel--A monster--Gambling--The "Albert
+Hat"--Nelson's statue--Fun thereon--Soldiers' savings banks--A post boy
+and Lord Mayor's show--M. Jullien and his orchestra--Prince Albert as a
+farmer--George IV.'s Statue--Ojibbeway Indians.
+
+The public exhibition of Cartoons for the frescoes for the new Palace of
+Westminster, took place in Westminster Hall, on 3 July.  There were 140
+subjects altogether, varying in size from 15ft. to 10ft. square, none
+being admitted over, or under those standards.  Prizes of 300 pounds each
+were awarded to Armitage, Watts and Cope; of 200 pounds to Calcott, Bell
+and Townsend; of 100 pounds to Frost, Harris, Selous, Bridges and Severn;
+the judges being the Marquis of Lansdowne, Sir R. Peel and Messrs. S.
+Rogers, Westmacott, Cook and Etty.  The Cartoons remained in Westminster
+Hall for 6 months; and, in Nov. were removed to the Suffolk Street
+Gallery.  They were finally adjudicated upon by the Royal Commission of
+Fine Arts, on 12 July, 1844, the successful artists chosen to execute
+frescoes were Cope, Horsley, Dyce, Maclise, Redgrave, and Cave Thomas.
+
+The practice of duelling was fast dying out, and I give the following
+case as being nearly one of the last, and one in which the seconds and
+surgeon were tried for being accessory to murder.  Two
+brothers-in-law--Lt.-Col. Fawcett of the 55th Regiment and Lt. Munro of
+the Royal Horse Guards--quarrelled, and on the morning of the 1st July
+fought a duel with pistols in a field at the back of the "Brecknock Arms
+Tavern," in Camden Road.  Lt.-Col. Fawcett fell, mortally wounded, and
+died on the 3rd July.  The Coroner's jury found Lt. Munro, and the two
+seconds, guilty of wilful murder, and the surgeon as guilty in the second
+degree only, as it was believed he was present only as medical attendant.
+Lieut. Munro and his second got out of the way, but Lt-Col. Fawcett's
+second and the surgeon were tried at the Central Criminal Court on 25
+Aug.  No evidence was tendered against the surgeon, and he was at once
+discharged, and the jury found the second "Not Guilty."  Lt. Munro's
+second surrendered himself, was tried on 14 Feb., 1844, and acquitted.
+Lieut. Munro was cashiered from the Army for being absent without leave;
+he afterwards surrendered, and was tried, 18 Aug., 1847, found guilty,
+and sentenced to death; which sentence was commuted to 12 months'
+imprisonment in Newgate.
+
+The _Times_ of 30 June, quoting the _Reading Mercury_, has the following:
+"A MONSTER.--A day or two since, a gentleman travelling along the road
+near Colnbrook, had his attention attracted to the screams of a child in
+the care of a tramping woman, who had with her, two other children
+totally blind.  The cries of the child were so distressing, that he
+insisted on knowing the cause; but; not getting a satisfactory answer, he
+forcibly removed a bandage from its eyes, when, horrid to relate, he
+found these encased with two small perforated shells, in which were two
+live black beetles, for the purpose of destroying the sight.  The woman
+was instantly seized, and given into custody; and, at the magistrate's
+meeting, at Eton, on Wednesday last, committed for trial.  There is too
+much reason to fear that the wretch produced the blindness of the other
+two children, by similar means."  This was rendered into a street ballad.
+
+A correspondent pointed out that it was well known to all who pass
+through the parish of St. James's, at night, that the district absolutely
+swarmed with gaming houses; there was, in fact, no concealment about the
+matter, as the keepers vied with each other in illuminating their doors
+and windows to attract the notice of their victims.  How was it that this
+disgrace was permitted to exist from season to season?  The police seemed
+satisfied with the occasional conviction of one or more minor delinquents
+from the neighbourhood of Leicester Square, but the Leviathans in crime
+were allowed to continue their nightly course of profligacy and plunder
+with impunity.  The French authorities, by a law which was strictly
+enforced, entirely swept away this nuisance from their capital,
+notoriously, for years, the very hotbed of the vice of gaming; but we
+were lamentably behind our neighbours; for, while we boasted of a Court
+pure in morals, and strict in the performance of every religious duty, we
+allowed the Sabbath to be desecrated, and the Palace of the Sovereign to
+be contaminated by the close vicinage of houses expressly open for the
+practice of this demoralising habit.--Are we much better now?
+
+At the latter end of October, a new headdress for the infantry was
+proposed, and Prince Albert was universally credited as being its
+godfather--but public opinion was so unequivocally expressed against it,
+that it was never likely to be popular.  It was neither soldier-like, nor
+appropriate, and bore a strong resemblance to the old Hessian cap, which
+was introduced into the German service.  This headgear was covered with
+black cloth, the crown and brim being of black-varnished leather; the
+band was of white worsted, as was the tuft, which was placed on a ball of
+red worsted.  Beneath this ball was a royal crown, underneath which was a
+Maltese cross, in the centre of which was inscribed the number of the
+regiment.
+
+_Punch_ was especially severe upon the Albert hat--and with the pictorial
+satire of "Prince Albert's Studio" (by the way the hat is in no ways
+exaggerated), is the following: "Ever since the accession of Prince
+Albert to the Royal Husband-ship of these realms, he has devoted the
+energies of his mind, and the ingenuity of his hands to the manufacture
+of Infantry caps, Cavalry trousers, and Regulation sabretaches.  One of
+his first measures was to transmogrify the pantaloons of the Eleventh
+Hussars; and, as the regiment alluded to is "Prince Albert's Own," His
+Royal Highness may do as he likes with his own, and no one can complain
+of his bedizening the legs of the unfortunate Eleventh, with scarlet
+cloth and gold door leather.  When, however, the Prince, throwing the
+whole of his energies into a hat, proposed to encase the heads of the
+British soldiery in a machine which seemed a decided cross between a
+muff, a coal scuttle and a slop pail, then _Punch_ was compelled to
+interfere, for the honour of the British Army.  The result has been that
+the headgear has been summarily withdrawn, by an order from the War
+Office, and the manufacture of more of the Albert hat has been absolutely
+prohibited.
+
+        [Picture: Prince Albert's Studio.  Punch, vol. V., p. 179]
+
+"Greatness of mind is shown in various ways by different individuals.
+Hannibal was a great cutter out, for he cut a passage through the Alps;
+but Prince Albert cuts out Hannibal, inasmuch as His Royal Highness
+devotes his talent to the cutting out of coats, and 'things
+inexpressible.'  The Prince's studio could not fail to be an object of
+interest to the readers of _Punch_.  We have, therefore, at an enormous
+sacrifice of time and specie, obtained a view of it."
+
+                        [Picture: Nelson's Statue]
+
+On the morning of Nov. 3, at 4 a.m., the raising of a portion of the
+colossal statue of Nelson, on the pillar in Trafalgar Square, commenced.
+This figure is 17 feet high from its base to the top of the hat, and is
+made of stone from the Granton quarry, belonging to the Duke of
+Buccleugh.  It weighs nearly 18 tons, and, needless to say, is made in
+segments.  These were put together before it was raised, to show the
+public--and during the two days it was on view, it was visited by 100,000
+persons.
+
+The building this column had seemed slow, but that was nothing compared
+to its completion; the bas reliefs were long in being placed, and it was
+not till 31 Jan., 1867, that Landseer's four couchant lions were exposed
+to public gaze.  Of the progress of its building, _Punch_ (25 Nov., 1843)
+has some very fine fooling.
+
+                        "THE NELSON COLUMN DRAMA.
+
+The earliest announcement of the late Covent Garden management, was a
+piece entitled 'Trafalgar Square, or the Nelson Monument.'  We have
+obtained the following slight information respecting it.  The drama is
+described as 'a grand architectural and historical burletta,' in two
+acts; and the prologue was to have been spoken by Mr. Widdicomb, as
+_Time_.  The two acts comprise the commencement and completion, and a
+lapse of twenty years is supposed to take place between them, in which
+time 'the boy,' who is the principal character, becomes a middle-aged
+man.  The following speech is very fine.  The boy enquires of the mason
+when the column will be finished, who replies, in an interval of the
+steak banquet, which they are enjoying together:
+
+    _Mason_.--I've asked that fearful question of the stars,
+    Who wink responding--of the Board of Works,
+    Whose works have bored us--of the misty moon,
+    Towards whose lodgings, after years of toil,
+    We rise no nearer.  All were still, but now,
+    Whilst gazing on that steak of beef,
+    Sent up to form our capital repast,
+    And cheer us in our lonely solitude,
+    I hope the best--the best can hope no more.
+    'Twill rise, like College honours, by degrees,
+    And to our limbs a pillar be, of ease:
+    Our hearts are warm--although upon the frieze.
+
+The following duet is also introduced by the man and the boy in the
+second act:
+
+                                    BOY.
+
+   I remember, I remember,
+      When I was a little boy,
+   On the column, in November,
+      I was given some employ.
+
+   I helped the man to build it,
+      And we labour'd hard and long,
+   But the granite came up slowly,
+      For we were not very strong.
+
+            I remember, I remember,
+               How we raised its form on high,
+            With one block in December,
+               And another in July.
+
+                                    BOTH.
+
+   We remember, we remember,
+      When St. Martin's bells were rung,
+   In the laying of the first stone, for
+      We both were very young.
+
+   But weary years have past, now,
+      Since we our work begun;
+   We fear we shall not last now,
+      To see our labour done.
+
+            We remember, we remember,
+               But we heard it on the sly,
+            'Twon't be finished next November,
+               Nor the subsequent July."
+
+Very early in November, a War Office circular (dated 31 Oct.) was issued,
+to regulate and establish regimental savings banks, which have done so
+much to encourage thrift among our soldiers.  The maximum of each
+soldier's deposit was limited to 30 pounds in any one year, and to 200
+pounds in the whole.  The rate of interest on deposits was fixed at 3
+pounds 15 s. per cent per annum, but no interest was to be allowed upon
+less than 6s. 8d. and 13s. 4d., nor upon any sums that had not remained
+on deposit for at least one month, to be reckoned from the last monthly
+muster day.
+
+In the _Times_ of 10 Nov. is the following: "A rather amusing scene took
+place in Cheapside, yesterday, shortly before the Lord Mayor's procession
+to Westminster.  Whilst the streets were blocked up against the passage
+of vehicles and horses, one of those sharp little urchins, known by the
+generic title of the 'twopenny cavalry,' who rattle through the streets
+with Her Majesty's suburban mails, was stopped, opposite Bow Church, by a
+party of police, who told him they acted under the orders of the Lord
+Mayor.  The post-boy, with all the dignity of Her Majesty's
+representative, assuming an air of great condescension, assured the
+police that he had the highest possible respect for the Lord Mayor, but,
+being express upon Her Majesty's business, he was determined to proceed.
+The police persisted in stopping him, a crowd collected, and it was clear
+their sympathies sided with the post-boy, who carried himself, throughout
+the controversy, with great courage, calmness, and self-possession.  The
+police had, by this time, seized the bridle, whilst the boy endeavoured
+to force his way forward, backed by the strenuous exertions of his steed,
+who also appeared as if inspired by the authority of a Royal Commission.
+The post-boy, finding physical force insufficient, tried what authority
+would do, and threatened them with the vengeance of the Home Secretary,
+for attempting to stop Her Majesty's mails.  This had the desired effect
+of bringing the police to a parley; and, as the post-boy was backed by
+popular applause, he gained momentarily in the discussion, but did not
+complete his advantage until he took out a memorandum book, and began,
+coolly, to note down the numbers of the constables.  This stroke was
+decisive; they, at once, capitulated, merely stipulating that they should
+have his address in return.  To this, he readily assented, and searched
+diligently for his cardcase, but that mark of gentility was not at hand.
+He, however, made a page from his memorandum book serve his purpose, and
+took his leave amid the loud congratulations of the applauding crowd,
+with the following pithy address to the constables: 'I can't well see
+what use you are.  A hundred years ago there were no police, and Lord
+Mayor's shows went off better than they do now.  For my part, I can't see
+what you do here at all, for you know'--he added with a significant
+grin--'you know you don't look so very well in a procession.'  Shouts of
+laughter followed the post-boy's brief speech, as he rode on
+triumphantly."
+
+It was about this time that M. Louis Antoine Jullien, to whom we owe so
+much for the popularisation of good music, and for the improvement of our
+orchestras, came into notoriety as a caterer for the public's amusement,
+and for his promenade concerts.  These had been popular in the open air
+at Vauxhall, Ranelagh, Marylebone, and other public gardens; but the
+first, under cover, was given in 1838 at the Lyceum Theatre, or, as it
+was then called, The English Opera House, when the pit was boarded over,
+and an orchestra erected on the stage exactly as we are now so familiar
+with.  Jullien, in 1838, had been unlucky in Paris, was bankrupt, and
+came to London, where, in 1840, he was assistant to Eliason, the
+violinist and conductor of an orchestra of 100 performers, and a small
+chorus.  Next year Jullien was the conductor; and, in 1842, on 2 Dec., he
+started for himself, at the English Opera House, the series of promenade
+concerts with which his name will always be associated.
+
+He always would have the very best musicians that he could find for his
+orchestra, and in this year (1843) among them were Barrett, Baumann,
+Harper, Koenig, Richardson, Hill, Lazarus, Patey, Howell and Jarrett, and
+in after years he had such, soloists as Ernst, Sivori, Bottesini
+Wieniawski and Sainton.  In 1857 he came, financially, to grief; he then
+went to Paris, was imprisoned for debt in Clichy, in 1859, and died in a
+lunatic asylum on 14 March, 1860.
+
+       [Picture: M. Jullien.  Ill. Lon. News, 25 Nov. 1843, p. 348]
+
+In his later years he became much stouter than he is here represented,
+and, as a conductor, posed a great deal too much.  Those of my readers
+who recollect him will acknowledge the truth of the following description
+of him, when conducting his British Army Quadrilles, taken from his
+biography in _Grove's History of Music and Musicians_: "With coat thrown
+widely open, white waistcoat, elaborately embroidered shirt front,
+wristbands of extravagant length, turned back over his cuffs, a wealth of
+black hair, and a black moustache--itself a striking novelty--he wielded
+his baton, encouraged his forces, repressed the turbulence of his
+audience with indescribable gravity and magnificence, went through all
+the pantomime of the British Army or Navy Quadrilles, seized a violin or
+a piccolo at the moment of climax, and, at last, sunk exhausted into his
+gorgeous velvet chair.  All pieces of Beethoven's were conducted with a
+jewelled baton, and in a pair of clean kid gloves, handed him, at the
+moment, on a silver salver."
+
+               [Picture: Prince Albert, the British Farmer]
+
+Prince Albert took a great interest in Agriculture, and his Flemish Farm
+at Windsor was a model; but it was hard to make the average Englishman
+believe that a foreigner could ever do any good as a Farmer, and John
+Leech drew a fancy portrait of the prince in _Punch_, 25 Nov., where it
+illustrates a portion of a speech of Sir Robert Peel at Tamworth: "Prince
+Albert has turned his attention to the promotion of agriculture; and, if
+you have seen, as most probably you have, an account of the sale of
+Prince Albert's stock, and the price they fetched, I have not the
+slightest doubt you will give one cheer more to Prince Albert, as a
+British Farmer."
+
+In the beginning of December the bronze equestrian statue of George IV.
+was set up on a pedestal at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square.
+It is the work of Chantrey, and was intended to be mounted on the Marble
+Arch, which was, originally, the gateway to Buckingham Palace, until its
+removal to Cumberland Gate, Hyde Park, in 1851.
+
+In the very early part of December, some of Her Majesty's subjects,
+Canadian Indians, from the north-eastern shores of Lake Huron, came to
+visit England.  They were of the Ojibbeway tribe, and were nine in
+number, two old chiefs, four warriors, two women, and a little girl, 10
+years old.  On the 20 Dec. they were presented to the Queen at Windsor,
+and received from Her Majesty a cheque for 20 pounds, and a quantity of
+gorgeous plaid, with which to astonish the other natives, on their
+return.  They afterwards exhibited themselves, danced war dances, etc.,
+at the Egyptian Hall, at an admission fee of half-a-crown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+
+A child for sale--Trial, &c, of Daniel O'Connell--General Tom Thumb--His
+visit to the Queen--The Polka--How to dance it--"Jullien's Grand Polka."
+
+The _Times_ of 19 Jan. copies the following from the _Worcester
+Chronicle_: "A CHILD FOR SALE.--The following extraordinary letter was
+received, a short time ago, by a gentleman in the neighbourhood of
+Tewkesbury, from a person residing here.  The letter is dated from a
+certain court in this town, but we omit the precise locality, and the
+writer's name, hoping that, without pursuing the exposure to that extent,
+it will be sufficient to teach him that natural affection is not to be
+made a matter of bargain and sale, and that it is the duty of a parent
+himself to cherish the child which he has been the means of bringing into
+the world:--'Sir,--Having heard that you expressed a wish to have a child
+and did not mind giving a sum of money as an inducement i flatter myself
+that I have it in my power to furnish you with one to answer your purpose
+in every respect it is a boy 2 years old a good looking healthy spirited
+child and sound in wind and limb and that you can rair him up to suit
+your inclination you can send word by the bearer and appoint any time to
+inspect the child.'"
+
+With every wish, in this book of Gossip, to steer as clear of politics as
+possible, yet it would belie its name were the famous trial of Daniel
+O'Connell not to be mentioned.  "Repeal of the Union" was his watchword
+and perpetual cry, and with it he stirred up the Irish people to a pitch
+when he found it difficult to manage and restrain them.  On 16 March,
+1843, was held at Trim the first of great public meetings which he
+designed, but did not carry out; and on 15 Aug. was a monster meeting on
+the Hill of Tara; but the one to be held at Clontarf on 8 Oct. was to
+have eclipsed its predecessors.  But this was forbidden by the
+Government, and, a week later, warrants were issued for the arrest of
+O'Connell, his son John, and his chief colleagues, on a charge of
+conspiring to create discontent and disaffection among the liege subjects
+of the Queen, and with contriving, "by means of intimidation, and the
+demonstration of great physical force, to procure and effect changes to
+be made in the government, laws, and constitution of this realm."
+O'Connell was allowed bail, but on 8 Nov. a true bill was found by the
+jury, yet the trial did not take place till the 15th Jan. of this year.
+On the 12th Feb., the jury returned a verdict of guilty of unlawful and
+seditious conspiracy, but judgment was not delivered till 30 May, when he
+was sentenced to imprisonment for twelve months, a fine of 2,000 pounds,
+and to find surety to keep the peace for seven years.  He had to go to
+prison, where he was well treated and allowed to see his friends; his
+sentence was appealed against, and reversed in the House of Lords, on 4
+Sep., 1844, when he was instantly liberated.
+
+                         [Picture: Repeal button]
+
+During all this time there was great excitement, people wearing Repeal
+buttons, one of which is here delineated, and other emblems, while the
+uncrowned King of Ireland was presented, at Mullaghmast, with a velvet
+cap surmounted with shamrocks, and having a green tassel; the cap, in
+fact, with which readers of _Punch_ are so familiar.
+
+Of course, his release from prison was an occasion to be made the most
+of.  An amphitheatrical triumphal car was provided, and, upon it, were
+mounted O'Connell, his son, and the Rev. Dr. Miley, and this gimcrack
+piece of property was drawn by six horses ridden by postillions.  The
+following is an account by an eye witness:
+
+    "The ovation commenced at two o'clock.  First came the trades of
+    Dublin, each preceded by the banner of its body, and a band playing
+    such music as only temperance bands can play, and, generally, with
+    much discrimination, selecting rather difficult pieces for their
+    performance, and eschewing all national airs.  The banners were
+    usually displayed from coaches, intended to hold four, but contriving
+    to allow from sixteen to eighteen to fit into, and hang on by them.
+    Thus they came on: Bricklayers (with a painting of the Bank of
+    Ireland, and the superscription of 'Our Old House at Home'); slaters,
+    woollen operatives (in a small open car); nailors (with a picture of
+    Brian Boroihme 'nailing' the Danes at Clontarf); coach makers,
+    tailors (with a very gorgeous equipage, six horses, postillions and
+    outriders); tinplate workers, displaying as their sign, a man with a
+    tin helmet on his head, and a dish cover of the same metal on his
+    arm--otherwise unassumingly attired in a blue coat and white
+    trousers; and other bodies of tradesmen too numerous to mention, with
+    their appropriate emblems and banners.
+
+                        [Picture: O'Connell's Cap]
+
+    "Next came a number of Repeal wardens, bearing wands, and occupying
+    respectable-looking coaches and carriages.  After them drove the
+    committee of the political trades' unions; the members of it attired
+    in green sashes and scarves, and bearing wands with green flags in
+    their hands.  Next in order were the various members of the
+    Corporation, aldermen, town councillors, and officers, dressed in
+    their robes of office and cocked hats, glittering with chains, and
+    furred from head to foot.  The majority of these gentlemen were in
+    their own carriages, into each of which were packed as many of the
+    owner's friends as could find standing room, several private vehicles
+    being mixed up through the order of procession.  Then came the
+    private carriages of the Lord Mayor, who was in full dress; and then,
+    preceded by a confused mass of wand bearers, the triumphal chariot
+    itself, surrounded by a mob so dense that it was with great
+    difficulty that the six splendid dappled greys could force the
+    cumbrous vehicle along, which, every instant, seemed to become a
+    second Car of Juggernaut, and crush some of its adorers.  More
+    vehicles, a few horsemen, multitudes of hack cars and pedestrians, a
+    tail of old women and little boys, followed; and so the monster
+    procession, after winding its slow length along through the greater
+    part of Dublin, and causing a total cessation of business in the line
+    of its progress, terminated."
+
+In February appeared, in London, at the Princess's Theatre, "General Tom
+Thumb," the most popular of modern dwarfs--thanks to the advertising
+qualities of his exhibitor, P. T. Barnum.  The real name of this mite was
+Charles S. Stratton, and he was said to have been born on 11 Jan., 1832,
+but this, as with all data connected with him, must be accepted with
+caution.  It was said of him, that, at his birth, he weighed 9 lbs. 2
+oz., somewhat more than the average weight of a newly born infant.  At
+about 5 months old, he weighed 15 lbs., and measured 25 inches in height;
+since which time he never increased in stature; and, at the time of his
+arrival in England, he weighed but 15 lbs. 2 oz.  He had, previously,
+been exhibited in New York and the principal cities of America, where his
+miniature palace, furniture and equipage excited considerable curiosity.
+When he embarked from New York for England, he was escorted to the packet
+by not less than 10,000 persons.
+
+On 1 April, he appeared, by command, before Her Majesty at Buckingham
+Palace, when the Queen presented him, _with her own hand_, with "a superb
+souvenir, of the most exquisite handicraft, manufactured of mother of
+pearl, and mounted with gold and precious stones.  On one side are the
+crown and Royal initials, V.R., and, on the reverse, bouquets of flowers
+in enamel and rubies.  In addition to this splendid gift, Her Majesty
+subsequently presented the General with a beautiful gold pencil case,
+with the initials of Tom Thumb, and his coat of arms, engraved on the
+emerald surmounting the case."
+
+       [Picture: Tom Thumb.  Ill. Lon. News, 24 Feb., 1844, p. 124]
+
+Anent this, _Punch_ is exceedingly satirical: "Her Majesty has again
+commanded 'the performances of _Tom Thumb_, the Yankee Dwarf.'  This,
+indeed, was to have been expected.  We have only to reflect upon the
+countless acts of patronage towards the Arts and Sciences--had only to
+remember a few of the numerous personal condescensions of the Queen
+towards men of letters, artists and philosophers--to be assured that even
+TOM THUMB would be welcomed with that graceful cordiality which has,
+heretofore, made Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle the homes of Poetry
+and Science.  _De minimis curat Regina_!  Continental monarchs stop short
+in their Royal favours at full-grown authors and artists; but the
+enthusiasm of Her Majesty QUEEN VICTORIA, not content with showering all
+sorts of favours and rewards upon the literary and artistic spirits of
+her own country and age, lavishes, with prodigal hand, most delicate
+honours upon an American TOM THUMB, whose astounding genius it is, to
+measure, in his boots, five-and-twenty inches!  To this, how small is
+VICTOR HUGO at the Tuileries; to this, how mean and petty Gothe at the
+Court of Saxe-Weimar!
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+"TOM THUMB being--according to the biography published by his showman,
+BARNUM--the son of a Yankee carpenter, we should much like to know the
+General's arms.  Did Her Majesty, before the 'performance,' send to learn
+them, that they might be duly engraved? or were they, as MATHEW'S French
+Shoemaker made his little boot, struck off in 'a moment of enthusiasm'?"
+
+About this time came to us "that sweet boon," THE POLKA.  Originally a
+Bohemian Peasant dance, it was imported into fashionable saloons of
+Berlin and St. Petersburg.  It was, at this time, the rage in Paris, as
+the _Times_ observes: "The Paris papers are destitute of news.  Our
+private letters state that 'politics are, for the moment, suspended in
+public regard, by the new and all-absorbing pursuit--the Polka--a dance
+recently imported from Bohemia, and which embraces in its qualities the
+intimacy of the waltz, with the vivacity of the Irish jig.  You may
+conceive how completely is 'the Polka' the rage, from the fact that the
+lady of a celebrated ex-minister, desiring to figure in it at a _soiree
+dansante_, monopolised the professor, _par excellence_, of that
+_specialite_ for three hours, on Wednesday morning last, at 200 francs
+the hour.'"
+
+On its first importation into England, it was used as a _ballet_, on the
+stage, with very fancy Bohemian costume, as we may see in the three
+following illustrations of Mdlle. Carlotta Grisi and M. Perrot, dancing
+their idea of it at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1844.
+
+ [Picture: The Polka.--Figure 2.  Ill. Lon. News, 27 April, 1844, p. 301]
+
+But it soon became a Drawing-room dance, and it is edifying to know
+exactly how it was danced then.  It was found too elaborate, and the
+number of steps had to be reduced in quantity, and curtailed in quality.
+But this is the dance as given in the _Illustrated London News_ of 11
+May:
+
+                         "THE DRAWING-ROOM POLKA.
+
+We are much gratified in being enabled to lay before our readers an
+accurate description of the _veritable_, or _Drawing-room Polka_, as
+danced at Almack's, and at the halls of the nobility and gentry of this
+country.
+
+_La Polka_ having appeared amongst us under so many different guises, we
+determined to spare no pains to procure a true description of its
+_danse_; for which we are indebted to Mrs. James Rae, who has been
+fortunate enough to secure the details from M. Coralli, fils, the
+instructor of the young noblemen and gentry in Paris.
+
+_La Polka_, like its predecessors, the waltz and galop, is a _danse a
+deux_, couples following each other in the _salle de danse_, commencing
+at pleasure, and adopting, of the following figures, that which pleases
+them most at the moment.  All those anxious to shine in _La Polka_, will
+dance the whole of them, returning from time to time, by way of rest, to
+the first figure.
+
+_The measure_, or time, is 2-4; but, to facilitate our definition, we
+subdivide each measure, or bar, into one--two--three--four; the accent on
+the two, etc., to be played not so fast as the galop.
+
+_The steps_ are two, and the following description may, in some measure,
+convey them to our readers; we commence with the first, and most general.
+At the one, hop on the right leg, lifting, or doubling up your left leg
+at the same moment; at the two, put your left leg boldly forward on the
+ground; at the three, bring your right toe up to your left heel; at the
+four, advance your left foot a short step forward: now, at the one, in
+the next measure, or bar of the time, hop on the left leg, doubling, or
+lifting up your right leg, and so on, proceeding in this step, with your
+arm encircling your partner's waist, round the room.  This may be termed
+the first figure.
+
+Figure 2.--Still adopting the same step, with your right arm round your
+partner's waist, and her right hand in your left, you place your lady
+exactly before you, and back all round the room, your lady pursuing you
+(as shown in the sketch); you then reverse this figure, and let your
+partner do the back step, whilst you pursue her, and, at the same time,
+carefully guide her round the room.
+
+  [Picture: The Drawing-room Polka.--Figure 2.  Ill. Lon. News, 11 May,
+                              1844, p. 301]
+
+In backing, the leg which in figure one, you put boldly forward on the
+ground, you now fling boldly backward, and are thus enabled to effect
+your progress round the room.
+
+Figure 3.--With the same step you waltz round the room--in other words,
+you perform the Galop waltz, substituting the Polka step as described.
+
+Figure 4.--This is also a waltz with the second step, which we will now
+describe as "the Heel and Toe step."   At the one, make a little hop on
+your right leg, dropping your left heel close to your right foot; at the
+two, another little hop on the right leg, pointing your left toe (not
+forward, but as close to your right foot as possible); at the tree,
+another little hop on the right leg, advancing one step forward with the
+left foot; at the four, bring up the right foot, turning at the same
+instant, and passing your partner over to your left arm from your right
+arm; in your next measure, return your lady to your left arm, and so on.
+
+               [Picture: The Drawing-room Polka.--Figure 5]
+
+Figure 5.--This is termed the back waltz.  The step adopted in it by
+yourself and partner, is the back step described in figure two, and you
+turn in this waltz exactly the contrary way to that in which you turn in
+all other waltzes--hence its name.
+
+In _La Polka_, before commencing the figures we have just described,
+there is a short introduction (of which we give a sketch), consisting of
+four measures, danced thus; leading your partner from her seat, and
+giving her her place in the circle, and placing themselves _vis-a-vis_,
+you take her left hand in your right, and make the first step four
+times--first forward, then backward, forward again, and then backward,
+taking care to gain ground in the forward steps; you then start with the
+first figure.
+
+             [Picture: The Drawing-room Polka.--Introduction]
+
+There was a furore about the Polka; not only in dancing it, but there was
+an absolute mania for naming articles of dress after it.  Ladies wore
+Polka hats, Polka jackets and Polka boots, and men had Polka ties.
+Jullien published a new Polka about every fortnight, and the whole people
+were Polka mad.  Here is a street ballad on the subject:
+
+                           "JULLIEN'S GRAND POLKA.
+
+    Oh! sure the world is all run mad,
+    The lean, the fat, the gay, the sad--
+    All swear such pleasure they never had,
+    Till they did learn the Polka.
+
+                                  _Chorus_.
+
+       First cock up your right leg--so,
+       Balance on your left great toe,
+       Stamp your heels, and off you go
+       To the Original Polka.  Oh!
+
+    There's Mrs. Tibbs, the tailor's wife,
+    With Mother Briggs is sore at strife,
+    As if the first and last of life
+    Was but to learn the Polka.
+
+    Quadrilles and waltzes all give way,
+    For Jullien's Polkas bear the sway,
+    The chimney sweeps, on first of May,
+    Do, in London, dance the Polka.
+
+    If a pretty girl you chance to meet,
+    With sparkling eyes and rosy cheek,
+    She'll say, young man, we'll have a treat,
+    If you can dance the Polka.
+
+    A lady who lives in this town,
+    Went and bought a Polka gown,
+    And for the same she gave five pound,
+    All for to dance the Polka.
+
+    But, going to the Ball one night,
+    On the way she got a dreadful fright,
+    She tumbled down and ruined quite
+    The gown to dance the Polka.
+
+    A Frenchman has arrived from France,
+    To teach the English how to dance,
+    And fill his pocket--"what a chance"--
+    By gammoning the Polka.
+
+    Professors swarm in every street,
+    'Tis ground on barrel organs sweet;
+    And every friend you chance to meet
+    Asks, if you dance the Polka.
+
+    Then over Fanny Ellsler came,
+    Brilliant with trans-Atlantic fame;
+    Says she, I'm German by my name,
+    So best I know the Polka.
+
+    And the row de dow she danced,
+    And in short clothes and red heels pranced,
+    And, as she skipped, her red heels glanced
+    In the Bohemian Polka.
+
+    But, now, my song is near its close,
+    A secret, now, I will disclose,
+    Don't tell, for it's beneath the rose,
+    A humbug is the Polka.
+
+    Then heigh for humbug France or Spain,
+    Who brings back our old steps again,
+    Which John Bull will applaud amain,
+    Just as he does the Polka."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+
+An English dinner--Consols at par--The "Running Rein" case--Other
+frauds--Royal visitors--Opening letters by Government--Duke of
+Wellington's Statue--Barry on the Thames--Visit of Louis
+Philippe--Guano--Queen opens Royal Exchange--Lord Mayor hissed.
+
+As the length of time between this date, and the present writing is
+great, and our social habits have somewhat changed, it may be interesting
+to some of my readers to hear a Frenchman's account of an upper-class
+dinner.  It is taken from the _Constitutionel_, the organ of M. Thiers:
+
+    "Madeira wine has been out of fashion, in England, for some time.
+    Sherry and Port (to which are occasionally added Bordeaux and
+    Champagne, Rhenish wines and Hermitage) are, now, the only wines to
+    be seen on the tables of the rich.  As for beer (the national drink),
+    it only makes its appearance at a banquet, for remembrance sake, and
+    in very small quantity.  Port wine is held in especial favour by the
+    English, because, while it is more impregnated with alcohol than any
+    other, it is, at the same time the least irritating, and facilitates,
+    more than all the rest, the important operations of the digestive
+    organs.  In order, however, to be possessed of all the requisite
+    qualities, it must not only be of the finest growth, or have been
+    eight or nine years in the cellar, but the regular connoisseurs
+    insist that it must cross the line several times, in order to be
+    first-rate.  Five or six servants, with powdered wigs, in silk
+    stockings and knee breeches, hover about the table.  The covers are
+    always changed at every successive course, and there is no fear of
+    eating off the dirty plate of one's neighbour, or using his knife or
+    fork, the sideboard being laden with piles of plates and conveniences
+    of every description.  After fish, which always constitutes the first
+    course, the host invites one of his guests to drink a glass of wine
+    with him, desiring him to help himself to that which he likes best.
+    You take that which is offered you.  Your host then pours out a glass
+    for himself, and sends you the bottle by a servant.  You fill your
+    glass, you raise it to your lips with a half bow, and drink as much
+    of it as you feel inclined.  The same ceremony is repeated among the
+    other guests.  It should be mentioned that, if you ask a lady to take
+    wine, you always fill her glass before your own; but, if you invite a
+    gentleman so to do, you never fail to help yourself first.  This
+    custom was, formerly, very inconvenient to strangers, it being, then,
+    absolutely necessary to empty one's glass; at present, you need only
+    drink a portion, and ladies may satisfy the rules of etiquette by
+    merely moistening their lips.  After fish, come roast meats, boiled
+    vegetables, and various delicate sauces, with which you make your
+    _cuisine_ upon your own plate; puddings and game of all sorts follow,
+    amongst which there is, always, to begin with, one dish, especially
+    appropriate to the season.  It is to the former article of diet
+    (puddings), that English children are indebted, it is said, for their
+    excellent health, and their magnificent rosy complexions.  The cloth
+    is at length removed, and the mahogany table shines forth in all its
+    splendour.  Dessert follows, consisting of a few sweetmeats, or
+    _confitures_, but abounding in fruits from all five parts of the
+    world, and the produce of all the four seasons, and including superb
+    pineapples, Portugal grapes, almonds, red nuts of a delicious
+    flavour, dates, figs, rich juicy oranges, etc., etc.  The wine is
+    brought on in glass decanters, ticketed and placed in silver stands.
+    These stands glide along the shining table, which is as smooth as
+    ice, in the midst of silver, or crystal vases filled with fruit, etc.
+    The host, after helping himself to wine, pushes about the whole
+    'battery' of decanters, which, going the round of the table, soon
+    regain their original situation.  A quarter of an hour elapses, when
+    the mistress of the house rises and retires, followed by all the
+    ladies.  It is then that the _seance de vin_ begins.  The subject of
+    conversation soon changes, and political questions are discussed.
+    The conversation, without getting stormy, acquires that degree of
+    warmth and animation, which a good dinner, when one is blessed with a
+    strong head and a good digestion, generally inspires.  Hard drinking
+    has, generally speaking, fallen into desuetude.  It is only
+    foxhunters and country gentlemen who remain faithful, nowadays, to
+    that ignoble custom.  A gentleman who has any self-respect, never so
+    far forgets himself as to get tipsy, for he would certainly be looked
+    upon with an evil eye, by the company, if he were to enter the
+    drawing-room with an indistinct articulation, or with trembling legs.
+    Dinner is over about half-past nine.  The gentlemen then rejoin the
+    ladies to take tea and coffee, and the conversation turns, as before,
+    upon the news of the day."
+
+On 8 April, Consols rose to par, or 100 pounds for 100 pounds stock, for
+the first time for nearly a century.  The last time they were at 100
+pounds was in 1749, the year after the peace of Aix la Chapelle; at which
+period the public debt was rather more than 78,000,000 pounds.  The
+highest price the Three per Cents, ever rose to, previously, was in June,
+1737, and again, in May, 1739, when they attained the high price of 107
+pounds.  In September, 1797, they fell to 47.375, which is the lowest
+price to which they have ever fallen.
+
+On 23 May, the Derby was won by a horse called _Running Rein_, which was
+the occasion of an Action in the Court of Exchequer, on 1 July, before
+Baron Alderson.  It was alleged that the horse had not been truly
+described, that he was not of the age which qualified him to run for the
+Derby, and that he ought not, therefore, to be deemed the winner of the
+race.  Colonel Peel, the owner of Orlando, the second horse, claimed the
+stakes, on the ground that Running Rein was not the horse represented;
+and Mr. Wood, the owner of Running Rein, brought this action against the
+Colonel.
+
+Mr. Cockburn, who conducted the plaintiff's case, gave the pedigree of
+Running Rein, and his whole history.  Among other things, Mr. Cockburn
+mentioned that, in October, 1843, Running Rein won a race at Newmarket;
+that he was objected to on the score of age; but, eventually, the
+stewards had decided in his favour.  The horse was, originally, the
+property of Mr. Goodman; and, Mr. Cockburn said, it was because suspicion
+attached to some transactions of Goodman, and because certain persons had
+betted heavily against Running Rein, that opposition was raised against
+Mr. Wood receiving the stakes.  He made a severe attack on Lord George
+Bentinck, who, he asserted, was the real party in the cause.  Witnesses
+for the plaintiff described the horse at various periods of its career;
+it was of a bay colour, with black legs, and a little white on the
+forehead; its heels were cracked, and, in 1842, it broke the skin on one
+leg, which left a scar.  George Hitchcock, a breaker of colts, employed
+to break Running Rein in October, 1842, was cross-examined to this
+effect:
+
+    "I know George Dockeray, the trainer.  I never said to him, 'Damn it,
+    this colt has been broken before; here is the mark of the pad on his
+    back.'  I showed him the mark, but I never said those words, or any
+    words to that effect.  I don't know why I showed him the mark.  It
+    was not big enough for the mark of a pad, and it was not the place
+    for the saddle to make it.  I told Lord George Bentinck the same.
+    The mark of the pad never wears out.  I recollect being asked, in the
+    presence of Mr. Smith, what I had there? and I recollect answering, a
+    four-year-old.  I have not the slightest doubt of it.  Mr. Smith
+    struck me for it.  I did not say, afterwards, that I had forgotten
+    all about the horsewhipping, and that the marks of the pad had worn
+    out.  I never said, either, that somebody had behaved very well to
+    me."
+
+At an early period of the examination of witnesses, Mr. Baron Alderson
+expressed a wish that he and the jury should see the horse; and Mr.
+Cockburn said he had no objection.  On the cross-examination of William
+Smith, a training groom residing at Epsom, it came out that the horse had
+been smuggled out of the way, that it might not be seen by the
+defendant's agents.  The judge, animadverting on this, and on the evident
+perjury of the witness, said it would be better that the horse should be
+seen by him and other parties.  The Solicitor-General, who appeared for
+the defendant, was anxious that the horse should be seen by veterinary
+surgeons.  To which the other side objected, maintaining that the mark of
+mouth, by which, alone, those surgeons could judge of the age of a horse,
+was a fallible criterion.
+
+On the conclusion of the evidence for the plaintiff, the
+Solicitor-General, in addressing the jury for the defence, denounced the
+case as a gross and scandalous fraud on the part of the plaintiff.  The
+case for the defendant was, that the horse was not Running Rein at all,
+but a colt by Gladiator, out of a dam belonging originally to Sir Charles
+Ibbotson; and that it had the name, Running Rein, imposed upon it, being
+originally called Maccabeus, and having been entered for certain stakes
+under that designation.  But his allegations were against Goodman, not
+against Mr. Wood; the former had entered into a conspiracy with other
+persons to run horses above the proper age.  The Gladiator colt had been
+entered for races, under the name of Maccabeus, before Goodman purchased
+him; and to run these races while the colt was in training for the Derby,
+for which he was entered as Running Rein, Goodman hired an Irish horse,
+which he disguised as Maccabeus, though a year older than that horse.
+The Gladiator colt, the _soi-disant_ Running Rein, when he ran for the
+Derby, in 1844, was four years old, the race being for three-year-old
+horses.  After hearing some evidence in support of these statements, the
+case was adjourned till the following day.
+
+The next day, when Mr. Baron Alderson took his seat upon the Bench, a
+conversation ensued between Mr. Cockburn and the Judge, respecting the
+production of the horse.  Mr. Cockburn asserted that it had been taken
+away without Mr. Wood's knowledge, and thus it was out of his power to
+produce it; he felt it would be vain to strive against the effect which
+must be felt by the non-production of the horse, after the remarks of the
+learned Judge on that point.  After some conversation, however, the case
+proceeded, and two witnesses for the defence were examined, whose
+evidence went to prove that Running Rein was, in fact, the Gladiator
+colt.  Mr. George Odell, a horse dealer at Northampton, said he could
+swear to that fact; the colt had two marks on one leg.
+
+Mr. Baron Alderson remarked: "Now, if we could see the horse, that would
+prove the case.  Who keeps him away?  It is quite childish to act in this
+manner."
+
+Mr. Cockburn now stated that Mr. Wood was convinced that he had been
+deceived, and gave up the case.
+
+Mr. Baron Alderson then briefly addressed the jury with much warmth, and
+in a most emphatic manner; directing them to find a verdict for the
+defendant, observing:
+
+"Since the opening of the case, a most atrocious fraud has proved to have
+been practised; and I have seen, with great regret, gentlemen associating
+themselves with persons much below themselves in station.  If gentlemen
+would associate with gentlemen, and race with gentlemen, we should have
+no such practices.  But, if gentlemen will condescend to race with
+blackguards, they must expect to be cheated."
+
+The jury found for the defendant, and the effect of their verdict was,
+that the Derby Stakes went to Orlando, and that Crenoline should be
+considered the winner of the Two-Year-Old Plate at Newmarket, run the
+previous year.
+
+_Punch_, in commenting upon Mr. Baron Alderson's remarks, says: "They"
+(the gentlemen) "go among these knaves and swindlers, these low-bred
+ruffians, reeking of gin and the stables, _to make money of them_.  They
+associate with boors and grooms, Jew gambling-house keepers, boxers and
+bullies, for money's sake to be sure.  What other motive could bring such
+dandies into communication with such scoundrels, any more than he would
+willingly incur an infection, unless he had some end in view.  And the
+noble patrons of the Turf _have_ a great end in view--that of money."
+
+This ought to have been sufficient roguery, one would think, for one
+race, but it was not.  A horse, named Rattan, was so evidently "nobbled,"
+that two men connected with it, Rogers and Braham, were warned off all
+the Jockey Club's premises.
+
+And yet another case.  A horse, named Leander, ran in this race, and so
+injured its leg, that it was shot.  Shortly afterwards, it was suspected
+that it was four, instead of three years old; and, on its being exhumed,
+_the lower jaw was missing_.  The resurrectionists, however, cut off the
+head, and veterinary experts confirmed the previous suspicions.  For
+this, the owners, Messrs. Lichtwald, were, for ever, disqualified from
+racing.  This case occupied much time before the Select Committee of the
+House of Lords.
+
+The Select Committee on Gaming, in the Commons, in 1844, report that:
+"Your Committee have some evidence to show that frauds are, occasionally,
+committed in Horse Racing, and in betting on the Turf; but they feel
+difficulty in suggesting any remedy for this evil, more stringent, or
+more likely to be effectual, than those already in existence."
+
+On June 1, two Royal visitors arrived here, the Emperor of Russia and the
+King of Saxony.  They had to pay the usual penalty of hard labour for a
+week.
+
+In the House of Commons, on 14 June, Mr. T. Duncombe presented a petition
+from W. J. Linton, Joseph Mazzini, and two others, complaining of their
+letters being opened before delivery, and praying that "The House would
+be pleased to grant, without delay, a Committee to inquire and give
+immediate redress to the petitioners, and prevent the recurrence of so
+unconstitutional and infamous a practice."  Sir James Graham (Home
+Secretary) replied that "the House must be aware that from as early a
+period as the reign of Queen Anne, power existed in the hands of the
+Principal Secretary of State, to detain and open letters passing through
+the Post Office; and the House would also be aware that this power had
+come under the review of Parliament, at so late a period as the year
+1837, and by the Act of 1 Vic., this power of issuing warrants to open
+and detain letters, continued still vested in the Secretaries of State.
+He must, for fear of creating misapprehension by his answer, state that
+the circumstances mentioned in the petition were, to a great extent,
+untrue.  As to three of the petitioners, he doubted if their letters had
+ever been detained, and no warrant as to them had been issued; but, as to
+one of the petitioners, he had to state, that, on his responsibility, a
+warrant had been issued as to the correspondence of that person, which
+warrant was no longer in force."
+
+On 2 July, a Committee of Secrecy was appointed "to inquire into the
+state of the Law in respect to the detaining and opening of Letters at
+the General Post Office, and into the mode under which the authority
+given for such detaining and opening has been exercised, and to report
+their opinion and observations thereupon to the House."  The Committee
+met, took evidence, and duly reported, when it being shewn that the
+privilege was not often exercised (the total number of warrants issued
+between 1799 and 1844 being only 372), and that, of late years, the
+average of warrants had decreased, the public were satisfied, and the
+subject dropped.
+
+Chantrey's equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, which stands in
+front of the Royal Exchange, was uncovered, amidst much cheering.  It
+cost 9,000 pounds besides the metal.
+
+                [Picture: Barry, the Clown, on the Thames]
+
+On 23 Sept. Barry, a clown at Astley's, fulfilled his promise of sailing
+in a washing-tub drawn by geese, from Vauxhall to Westminster.  He
+successfully accomplished his voyage, and repeated it on Oct. 11, from
+the Red House, Battersea (where now is Battersea Park), to Vauxhall.
+
+On 8 Oct. Louis Philippe, the King of the French, landed at Portsmouth on
+a visit to the Queen.  He was made a Knight of the Garter, and generally
+feted, and should have returned to France, from Portsmouth on the 12th,
+but the sea was too rough, and he had to cross from Dover, instead; but
+even this trip was delayed by a great conflagration at New Cross Station,
+so that he really did not depart until the 13th.
+
+I meet with the first mention of that eminent fertiliser, Guano, in a
+commercial point of view, in the _Times_ of the 18 Oct., where it says
+that on 16th were put up for sale, at Liverpool, in lots of 10 tons each,
+180 tons of the best African guano.  But one lot of five tons was sold,
+and that fetched 5 pounds 12s. 6d.  The next lot was not sold, in
+consequence of the price offered being under that, and the whole of the
+remaining lots were withdrawn, there being no probability of the reserved
+price being realised.  It was then being fetched from Ichaboe, an island
+off the south-west coast of Africa--but it was afterwards procured in
+large quantities from the Chincha Islands, off the coast of Peru.
+
+On 28 Oct. the Queen opened the New Royal Exchange, with great State, and
+the Lord Mayor (W. Magnay, Esq.) was made a baronet; the reading-room at
+Lloyd's was made into a Throne room for the occasion, and a sumptuous
+_dejeuner_ was served in the Underwriters' room.  It was a very imposing
+pageant and pretty sight; but, although the Exchange was formally opened,
+no merchants assembled within its quadrangle until the first of the
+following January.
+
+Whilst on matters civic I must mention the very rare fact of Sir William
+Magnay's successor in the office of Lord Mayor (Mr. Alderman Gibbs),
+being hooted and yelled at, on 9 Nov., whilst going to Westminster, and
+returning thence.  He had been churchwarden of St. Stephen's, Walbrook,
+and the popular mind was imbued with the idea that something was wrong
+with his accounts, so they virtuously insulted him.  He had a hard enough
+time of it both by land and water, when going, what his returning was, is
+best told by a contemporary:
+
+"The ceremony within the Court of Exchequer having terminated, similar
+uproarious shouts to those which had hailed the arrival of the new Lord
+Mayor, now marked his embarcation for the city; and, in his passage down
+the Thames, with but here and there a solitary exception, the civic barge
+was the target of repeated vollies of yells and groans, levelled by no
+unskilful, or ineffective voices at it, from the banks and bridges of the
+river.  The landing at Blackfriars was attended with a more concentrated
+attack of 'public execration,' for, there, an immense multitude was
+wedged together, anxious to be spectators of the scene, though not
+inactive ones.  On the procession passed amid the continued
+manifestations of public disapprobation of the present, and respect for
+the retiring Lord Mayor.  Many interrogations of a searching nature were
+repeatedly bawled forth, not that they could reach the right honourable
+ear, but they were exercises in that peculiar art, styled 'talking at
+folks.'  The same description must apply to Ludgate Hill, St. Paul's
+Churchyard, and Cheapside, in which place some merriment was created by a
+party chanting in appropriate style:
+
+    'Oh, Alderman Gibbs,
+    Pray dub up the dibbs!'
+
+"It was somewhat after 4 o'clock, when the cortege arrived at the bottom
+of King Street, where, immediately before Guildhall Yard, about 2,000
+persons had collected, and others pressing out of the several streets,
+caused a dense mass to be formed.  This was the place where a parting
+salutation was to be presented to the new Lord Mayor, by his pitiless
+persecutors, and a very good view of the scene was attainable from an
+upper window at the western angle of Gresham Street.  Hearty and
+continued cheering announced the progress of Sir William Magnay; but, as
+soon as the State coach with the new Lord Mayor arrived, the yells and
+groans which broke forth, were perfectly stunning.  Never was the manner
+in which the two Lord Mayors had been received throughout the day, marked
+with stronger contrast.  The accumulation of carriages in Guildhall Yard,
+caused the detention of the State coach for some minutes, during which a
+real tempest of execration was poured forth upon the unfortunate
+gentleman; and many persons did not hesitate to testify their dislike to
+him in a manner to be condemned, by spitting at the carriage, their
+distance from which, however, defeated their intention.  In truth, Mr.
+Gibbs had to endure a perpetual and pitiless storm of hisses, yells,
+groans, gibes, sneers and jeers; and at every stoppage where the crowd
+was in close proximity to his carriage, unusually furious bursts of
+indignation broke forth; yet no missile was thrown during any portion of
+the day."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+
+Murder by Tawell--Curious story--King William IV.'s Statue--Visits by the
+Queen--Testimonial to Rowland Hill--Breaking the Portland Vase--Sad end
+of William Austin--Sale of Van Amburgh's stud--Hungerford Suspension
+bridge--Accident at Yarmouth--An Excise case--Beginning of the Railway
+Mania--Sailing of Sir J. Franklin.
+
+This year begins badly--with a murder--which I should not chronicle, were
+it not that it was the first case in which the electric telegraph lent
+its services for the detection of a crime.  A man named John Tawell, a
+member of the Society of Friends, and who occupied a decent position in
+life, poisoned a poor woman at Salt Hill.  A Quaker who seemed much
+confused had been met close by her house, and he went by train from
+Slough to Paddington.  Suspicion being aroused, a message was sent from
+Slough, giving a description of him, and asking that he should be
+shadowed on his arrival.  This was done, and, next day, he was arrested.
+He was tried, found guilty, and duly executed.  The case, at the time,
+created an immense sensation, mainly because the villain was a member of
+the Society of Friends.  _Apropos_ of this, the _Observer_ of 23 March is
+responsible for the following:
+
+    "THE MURDERER TAWELL.--The following strange statement has been made
+    by a person, who is a Quaker, living near Berkhampstead, and who is
+    acquainted with Tawell: About a year ago, the stillness and decorum
+    of the Quakers' meeting at Berkhampstead, at which Tawell attended,
+    was disturbed by one of the male members, who suddenly rose from his
+    seat and exclaimed, with frantic earnestness, that there was then
+    present, a person who was, at that very moment, meditating a most
+    fearful crime.  His conviction was so strong, that he passionately
+    besought this individual, whoever, he might be, to reflect upon the
+    wickedness of his intention, and to implore his Maker's pardon for
+    his murderous thoughts.  As may be imagined, the Friends were thrown
+    into great consternation by this strange and impetuous appeal, and
+    the meeting broke up in alarm and confusion.  Tawell was present at
+    the time."
+
+Early in January the statue of King William IV., by Samuel Nixon, was
+placed on its pedestal, fronting London Bridge; but, as far as I know,
+there was no public ceremony at its inauguration, for the _Times_ of 1
+Feb. says: "That workmen are now actively employed in cleansing down the
+colossal figure of King William IV., preparatory to the hoarding being
+removed, and the statue thrown open to the view of the public.  The base
+will present a very novel and pleasing appearance, it being ornamented
+with numerous naval trophies.  The four cross footpaths leading to the
+figure will be lighted by four gas lamps, on massive granite pillars.  In
+a few days the whole work will be completed, when it will be inspected by
+Her Majesty, the Queen Dowager, and His Royal Highness Prince Albert,
+those illustrious personages having intimated their desire to view it
+when finished."@
+
+On 15 January the Queen paid a visit to the Duke of Buckingham, at Stowe,
+and the magnificence of her reception had much to do with the financial
+collapse of the too generous Duke.  On leaving Stowe she went to
+Strathfieldsaye to stay with the Duke of Wellington.  It was on this
+occasion that the old Duke gave a lesson to the gentlemen of the Press,
+which the interviewers of our times might well take to heart:
+"Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to Mr.
+---, and begs to say he does not see what his house at Strathfieldsaye
+has to do with the public press."
+
+On 21 Jan. a National Testimonial was presented to Rowland Hill for his
+labours in connection with the introduction of the Penny Post, and Mr.
+Larpent, the Chairman of the City of London Mercantile Committee on
+Postage, handed him a cheque for 10,000 pounds, which handsome sum had
+been raised by a public subscription, which was not confined to the
+mercantile community alone, persons of every rank, and of both sexes,
+contributing amounts varying from large sums to a few pence.
+
+Just before the closing of the British Museum at 4 p.m. on 7 Feb., a
+crash was heard, and the famous Barberini, or Portland Vase, was found in
+pieces on the floor.  A man, named Lloyd, in a fit of delirium produced
+by drink, had smashed it out of pure wantonness.  The vase was valued at
+1,000 pounds by the Museum authorities, but, of course, that sum was
+purely nominal, as the vase was unique.  It was deposited in the British
+Museum in the year 1810 by the Duke of Portland, and was considered as
+his property; hence the name of the "Portland Vase."  It was found about
+the middle of the 16th century, about two and a half miles from Rome, on
+the road leading from Frascati.  At the time of its discovery it was
+enclosed in a marble sarcophagus, within a sepulchral chamber, under the
+mount called Monte di Grano.  The material of which it is made is glass,
+the body being of a beautiful transparent dark blue, enriched with
+figures in relief, of opaque white glass.  For more than two centuries it
+was the principal object of admiration in the Barberini Palace.  It came
+into the possession of Sir William Hamilton, from whom it was purchased
+by the Duchess of Portland.
+
+On 11 Feb. the delinquent was brought before Mr. Jardine, at Bow Street,
+and the Museum authorities electing to prosecute him for the minor
+offence of breaking the glass case which held the vase, and which was
+under the value of 5 pounds, he was convicted of that offence, and
+sentenced to pay 3 pounds, or two months' hard labour in the House of
+Correction.  He could not pay, and was committed to prison, in default,
+but on 13 Feb., someone paid the money, and the man was released.
+
+An employe of the British Museum, named Doubleday, undertook, and
+effected, the restoration of the Vase, and it may now be seen in the Gold
+Room of the British Museum, but, alas! "all the King's horses, and all
+the King's men," can never make it as it was.  Wedgwood feebly reproduced
+it in ceramic ware, copies of which are now worth 200 pounds each, and
+one copy, if not more, was made in silver.
+
+I come across a curious paragraph in the _Morning Post_ of March 13:
+"WILLIAM AUSTIN.--This person, whose name must be familiar to all who
+have had any acquaintance with the history of the Parliamentary
+proceedings in the case of the late Queen Caroline, or the eventful life
+of that unhappy Princess, arrived in London, last week, from Milan, where
+he has been residing for several years, for the most part, in a state of
+fatuity, the inmate of a lunatic asylum.  We understand that he has been
+removed to this country through the intervention of the British
+Government, under an authority from the Lord Chancellor, in whose care,
+his person, and some considerable property, left to him by the late
+Queen, have been placed by certain proceedings on the part of his
+relations.  He was conveyed hither from Milan under the charge of a
+medical and two other attendants; and immediately on his arrival, was
+visited by two London physicians, who, after an interview with him of
+some duration, at the hotel where he stopped, signed the necessary
+certificate for his detention in a private asylum, where he now remains.
+Austin is a very good-looking man, apparently about 40 years of age; and
+though, beyond doubt, mentally enfeebled, has no betrayal of such
+imbecility in the expression of his face.  He has been in his present
+unfortunate condition since the year 1830; and, for a great part of that
+time, he has maintained an immovable taciturnity.  No ingenuity has been
+able to extract a syllable from him.  He answers no questions, nor asks
+any--enters into no conversation--and, even during the whole journey from
+Milan to London, he never spoke a word to his attendants, or any one
+else.  Neither could the medical gentlemen who waited upon him here
+induce him to reply to any of their inquiries; and no doubt, this fact,
+of itself, formed no inconsiderable ingredient in the judgment at which
+they arrived.  The unhappy man is extremely docile, has no disposition to
+violence, and readily understands and obeys any signs made to him."
+
+Van Amburgh's stud, lions, etc., were sold at Manchester on 17 March, and
+fetched high prices; a fine black maned lion, 350 pounds; another, 6
+years old, 310 pounds; two lion cubs, eight months old, male and female,
+sold, the one for 12 pounds 10/-, the other for 35 pounds.  An elephant
+realised 750 pounds, and a giraffe 400 pounds.
+
+Hungerford Suspension Bridge, the first of its kind over the Thames, was
+opened on 1 May, and, although a toll was demanded, it was calculated
+that, before dusk, some 25,000 persons had crossed from one side of the
+Thames to the other.  It was taken down in July, 1862, to make room for
+the Charing Cross Railway Bridge.  It was transferred to Clifton, and
+there opened, on 8 Dec., 1864, and it now spans the Avon.
+
+On the next day (2 May) a terrible accident occurred at the Suspension
+bridge at Great Yarmouth.  A clown was to emulate Barry's folly, and
+cross the river in a washing-tub drawn by geese; and thousands of people
+assembled to see him, of whom a great number (accounts vary from 300 to
+600), containing very many children, were on the bridge.  Some of the
+suspension rods snapped, and the crowd fell into the water.  Every
+assistance was rendered, but the number of recovered dead bodies, nearly
+all children, or young persons, was 77, and many are supposed to have
+been swept away by the current.
+
+On the 2nd of May, the famous Excise trial at Bar, _i.e._, before twelve
+judges, the Attorney General _v._ Smith, came to an end, after lasting
+eight days.  Mr. George Smith was a distiller, in a large way of
+business, at Whitechapel, and the premises of his brother James, who was
+a rectifier, adjoined his.  The law forbids the junction of the
+businesses of distilling and rectifying, or any communication between
+premises carrying on such businesses; and, in this case, it was presumed
+that all spirit would be conveyed from one to the other by means of the
+highway.  But the contention of the prosecution was, that the Excise
+officers, finding a great deficiency in the spirits ostensibly produced,
+as compared with the "wash," had detected holes in a large receiver, and
+found, moreover, that they could themselves convey spirits from the
+distillery to the rectifying house, through pipes under ground, which
+were mixed up with those which supplied water, and so escaped detection.
+This the defendants denied, and brought forward evidence that the pipes
+were obsolete and disused.  In the end, the verdict of the jury was, "We
+find for the Crown; but we are anxious to express our opinion that there
+has not been any evidence adduced before us which shows that the pipe has
+been fraudently used by the defendant."  The amount of damages claimed by
+the Crown was 150,000 pounds; but, by agreement, this was reduced to
+76,000 pounds; and, finally, after an appeal from Mr. Smith, the
+Government were content with a cheque for 10,000 pounds.
+
+About this time commenced what is well termed "The Railway Mania," or,
+rather, public attention was particularly called to it, as it was
+becoming a crying scandal.  So much so, that it attracted the notice of
+the legislature; and, if we look at a "Return to the Order of the
+Honourable the House of Commons, dated 8th April, 1845, for an
+alphabetical list of the Names, Description, and Places of Abode, of all
+Persons subscribing to the Amount of 2,000 pounds and upwards to any
+Railway Subscription Contract deposited in the Private Bill Office during
+the present Session of Parliament," we shall see that amongst the names
+will be found many of the leading nobility, large manufacturing firms,
+names well known in commerce and literature, mingled together in a most
+heterogeneous manner.  The same column shows a combination of peers and
+printers, vicars and vice-admirals, spinsters and half-pay officers,
+Members of Parliament and special pleaders, professors and cotton
+spinners, gentlemen's cooks and KC.'s, attorneys' clerks and college
+scouts, waiters at Lloyd's, relieving officers and excisemen, editors and
+engineers, barristers and butchers, Catholic priests and coachmen,
+dairymen and dyers, braziers, bankers, beer sellers and butlers, domestic
+servants, footmen and mail guards, and almost every calling under the
+sun.
+
+And these, it must be remembered, were subscribers for 2,000 pounds and
+upwards; those who put down their names for less were supposed to be
+holders of 21,386 pounds 6s. 4d. in Stock.
+
+Of course, _Punch_ could not overlook this mania for speculation, and we
+find the following in the number for 31 May:
+
+    "The night was stormy and dark.  The town was shut up in sleep;  Only
+    those were abroad who were out on a lark,  Or those, who'd no beds to
+    keep.
+
+       [Picture: "How many hundred shares have you wrote for?" Railroad
+                                 Speculators]
+
+    "I pass'd through the lonely street,  The wind did sing and blow;  I
+    could hear the policeman's feet  Clapping to and fro.
+
+    "There stood a potato-man  In the midst of all the wet; He stood with
+    his 'tato can  In the lonely Haymarket.
+
+    "Two gents of dismal mien, And dank and greasy rags.  Came out of a
+    shop for gin,  Swaggering over the flags:
+
+    "Swaggering over the stones,  Those shabby bucks did walk;  And I
+    went and followed those needy ones,  And listened to their talk.
+
+    "Was I sober, or awake?  Could I believe my ears?  Those dismal
+    beggars spake  Of nothing but railroad shares.
+
+    "I wondered more and more; Says one, 'Good friend of mine,  How many
+    shares have you wrote for  In the Diddlesex Junction Line?'
+
+    "'I wrote for twenty,' says Jim,  'But they wouldn't give me one';
+    His comrade straight rebuked him  For the folly he had done:
+
+    "'Oh, Jim, you are unawares  Of the ways of this bad town;  _I_
+    always write for five hundred shares,  And _then_, they put me down.'
+
+    "'And yet you got no shares,'  says Jim, 'for all your boast';  'I
+    _would_ have wrote,' says Jack, 'but where  Was the penny to pay the
+    post?'
+
+    "'I lost, for I couldn't pay  That first instalment up;  But, here's
+    taters smoking hot, I say  Let's stop, my boy, and sup.'
+
+    "And at this simple feast,  The while they did regale,  I drew each
+    ragged capitalist  Down on my left thumb nail.
+
+    "Their talk did me perplex,  All night I tumbled and tossed,  And I
+    thought of railroad specs,  And how money was won and lost.
+
+    "'Bless railroads everywhere,'  I said, 'and the world's advance;
+    Bless every railroad share  In Italy, Ireland, France;  For never a
+    beggar need now despair,  And every rogue has a chance.'"
+
+And yet another extract.  Who does not remember Thackeray's _Diary of C.
+Jeames de la Pluche_, _Esqre._? but few know how the idea was started.
+It was by W. M. T. himself in _Punch_ of Aug. 2:
+
+                           A LUCKY SPECULATOR.
+
+Considerable sensation has been excited in the upper and lower circles in
+the West End, by a startling piece of good fortune which has befallen
+JAMES PLUSH ESQ., lately footman in a respected family in Berkeley
+Square.
+
+One day, last week, MR. JAMES waited upon his master, who is a banker in
+the City; and, after a little blushing and hesitation, said he had saved
+a little money in service, and was anxious to retire, and invest his
+savings to advantage.
+
+His master (we believe we may mention, without offending delicacy, the
+well-known name of SIR GEORGE FLIMSY, of the firm of FLIMSY, DIDDLER AND
+FLASH) smilingly asked MR. JAMES what was the amount of his savings,
+wondering considerably how--out of an income of thirty guineas, the main
+part of which he spent in bouquets, silk stockings and perfumery--MR.
+PLUSH could have managed to lay by anything.
+
+MR. PLUSH, with some hesitation, said he had been _speculating in
+railroads_, and stated his winnings to have been thirty thousand pounds.
+He had commenced his speculations with twenty, borrowed from a
+fellow-servant.  He had dated his letters from the house in Berkeley
+Square, and humbly begged pardon of his master, for not having instructed
+the railway secretaries, who answered the applications, to apply at the
+area bell.
+
+SIR GEORGE, who was at breakfast, instantly arose, and shook Mr. P. by
+the hand; LADY FLIMSY begged him to be seated, and partake of the
+breakfast which he had laid on the table; and has, subsequently, invited
+him to her grand _dejeuner_ at Richmond, where it was observed that MISS
+EMILY FLIMSY, her beautiful and accomplished seventh daughter, paid the
+lucky gentleman _marked_ attention.
+
+We hear it stated that Mr. P. is of very ancient family (HUGO DE LA
+PLUCHE came over with the Conqueror); and the new Brougham which he has
+started, bears the ancient coat of his race.
+
+He has taken apartments at the Albany, and is a director of thirty-three
+railroads.  He purposes to stand for Parliament at the next general
+election, on decidedly conservative principles, which have always been
+the politics of his family.
+
+Report says that, even in his humble capacity, MISS EMILY FLIMSY had
+remarked his high demeanour.  Well, "none but the brave," say we,
+"deserve the fair."
+
+This we may call the commencement of the mania; in their proper places
+will be noticed its culmination and collapse.
+
+On 18 May sailed from Greenhithe the two Arctic discovery ships, the
+_Erebus_ and _Terror_, under the command of Sir John Franklin, whose
+instructions were "to push to the westward, without loss of time, in the
+latitude of about 74.25 degrees, till you have reached the longitude of
+that portion of land on which Cape Walker is situated, or about 98
+degrees west.  From that point we desire that every effort be used to
+endeavour to penetrate to the southward and westward, in a course as
+direct towards Behring's Straits as the position and strength of the ice,
+or the existence of land, at present unknown, may admit.  We direct you
+to this particular part of the Polar Sea, as affording the best prospect
+of accomplishing the passage to the Pacific."
+
+They were provisioned for three years, but when, in 1850, Captain
+Ommanney discovered, on Beechey Island, traces of the expedition having
+spent their first winter there, he found large stacks of preserved meat
+canisters, which, there is little doubt, contained putrid filth, and had
+been condemned by survey.
+
+As nothing was heard of the expedition, another was organised, in 1847,
+to start, for search and relief, from Hudson's Bay; and, indeed, no one
+can say that the two exploring vessels were forgotten; for, from that
+date, till 1857, _thirty-nine different expeditions were sent to look
+after them_.  The first to find traces of them was that of Capt.
+Ommanney, in 1850; then, in April, 1854, Dr. Rae heard, from the natives,
+of a party of white men having been seen, four winters previously, and
+that their bodies had afterwards been seen.  From these Eskimo, Rae
+obtained some silver spoons and other small articles which left no doubt
+but that they had belonged to the ill-fated expedition.  But it was the
+_Fox_ yacht, which was fitted out by Lady Franklin, and commanded by
+Capt. McClintock, which settled the question of their fate.  Early in
+1859, a boat, a few skeletons, chronometers, clothing, instruments,
+watches, plate, books, etc., were discovered; and, towards the end of
+May, a written paper was found, which gave news of them up to 25 Apl.,
+1848, and told that "Sir John Franklin died on 11 June, 1847, and the
+total losses by deaths in the expedition has been, to this date, nine
+officers and 15 men; we start on, to-morrow, 26th, for Back's Fish
+River."  From the Eskimo was learned how one of the ships sunk in deep
+water, and the other was wrecked, after which they all perished
+miserably, some "falling down and dying as they walked," as an old woman
+told Capt. McClintock.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+
+The Queen's Costume Ball--Copper Coinage of William IV.--New Oxford
+Street opened--Sale of Napoleon's relics--Story of Nelson's coat--Visit
+of King of the Netherlands--Railway speculation--Hire of
+newspapers--Reverse of fortune--Prince Albert and his taxes--Waghorn's
+overland route.
+
+The Queen gave a Costume Ball, at Buckingham Palace, on 6th June, which
+was a magnificent affair, and gave plenty of food for conversation.
+Every guest had to appear in a costume appropriate to the period of
+English history between 1740 and 1750; but, with the exception of the
+minuet, the dances were modern.
+
+I have only space for the dresses of the Queen and Prince Albert.  Her
+Majesty's dress was composed of gold tissue, brocaded in coloured
+flowers, green leaves and silver, trimmed round the top, bottom and sides
+(the upper dress being open in front) with point lace over red ribbon;
+the dress looped up with red satin ribbons, and two large bows, in each
+of which was a diamond bow and tassel.  The stomacher was composed of two
+large diamond bows, and a diamond point; the sleeves, which were tight,
+finished with point lace ruffles, and trimmed with red ribbon; on the
+left arm, the Garter in diamonds, and, on the right, a diamond rosette.
+She wore the blue ribbon and diamond George as usual.  The under
+petticoat was of white and silver tissue, trimmed with a deep flounce of
+rich point lace (which had belonged to Queen Charlotte), headed by a
+quilling of red satin ribbon and bows; above, a narrower flounce of point
+lace, trimmed like the other; in each ribbon bow, a diamond rosette.
+
+Prince Albert wore a suit of the richest crimson velvet (of Spitalfields
+manufacture); the coat lined with white satin, edged throughout with
+gold; and the buttons were of gold.  On his left breast His Royal
+Highness wore a most splendid star of the order of the Garter, composed
+of diamonds, with the exception of the cross, which was formed of rubies.
+The badge of the Order was confined at the shoulder by an epaulette
+composed of large brilliants, and a most splendid George was suspended
+from the ribbon, wholly formed of brilliants.  The Prince also wore the
+insignia of the Golden Fleece, formed of opals and diamonds.  The Garter
+was set in brilliants, and the hilt of His Royal Highness's sword was
+covered with diamonds.  The waistcoat was of white satin, richly and
+elegantly embroidered with gold, the buttons being of gold.  Shoe buckles
+of diamonds.  Hat, three cornered, edged with gold lace, with handsome
+diamond ornament in the cockade in front.
+
+The Earl of Cardigan could not masquerade as Bayard, but "he excited no
+little attention.  He wore the uniform of the 11th Dragoons at Culloden;
+and, with the costume, which became him extremely, he contrived to assume
+the portentous bearing, and the true jack-boot stride and swagger."
+
+The _Morning Chronicle_ is answerable for the following: "For some time
+past the copper coinage of William IV. has been eagerly purchased by
+persons who are stated to be Jews, and a report has, in consequence,
+gained ground that gold is contained in it.  What reason there may be for
+this it is impossible to say; but it is a well-known fact, that agents
+have been at work for the last two months buying up those particular
+coins in Westminster, and they now fetch double the price of their legal
+issue.  The mania has extended eastward, and twopence for a penny piece,
+and a penny for a halfpenny, etc., are now asked for the 'precious
+issue.'"
+
+On 9 June, the new street connecting Holborn with Oxford Street, and now
+called New Oxford Street, was thrown open for carriages.
+
+Messrs. Christie and Manson sold, at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, on 23
+June, the first portion of the "Napoleon Museum," collected by Mrs.
+Sainsbury, and which had long been on exhibition.  The prices fetched
+were ridiculously low, as the following examples will show.  Among the
+bronzes, an infantine bust of the King of Rome, formerly in the
+possession of Josephine, at Malmaison, cost 20 guineas, sold for 1 pound
+10s.  A drawing in sepia, by Debret, of Napoleon visiting the wounded on
+the field, after the battle of Eylau, 5 pounds 5s.  The pictures
+illustrative of the principal events in the life of Napoleon, were almost
+given away; the highest price obtained, being 12 pounds for one by the
+great French painter David, of Napoleon, with the crown raised in both
+his hands, to place on the head of Josephine, at the Coronation in Notre
+Dame.  Twenty beautiful enamels by Lienard, of Napoleon, Ney, Berthier,
+Junot, Joseph, Lucien, Louis and Jerome Bonaparte, Murat, Caroline, the
+youngest sister of Napoleon, Cardinal Fesch, Marie Louise, etc., fetched
+but 76 pounds, and, on the other days' sales, the lots went for far under
+their value.
+
+My readers may possibly remember how, on 8 Dec., 1900, a number of Nelson
+relics in the Painted Hall, at Greenwich Hospital, were stolen, during
+the night, by a burglar, who escaped; and may like to know the story of
+Nelson's coat.  The _Times_ of 9 July, copies the following from the
+_Spectator_:
+
+    "An interesting relic of Nelson has been discovered; and some
+    interest also attaches to the manner in which it has been secured to
+    the nation.  Sir Harris Nicolas, in his laborious researches for
+    editing the hero's Despatches, had satisfied himself that the coat
+    and waistcoat which Nelson wore when he fell at Trafalgar, were
+    carefully preserved.  In pursuance of the Admiral's directions, they
+    were given, with several other things, by Sir Thomas Hardy, his
+    captain, to Lady Hamilton; by her, they were transferred, under
+    peculiar circumstances, to a late alderman of London, and they
+    remained in the possession of the alderman's widow.  The lady is not
+    rich, and she asked 150 pounds for the relic.  This sum being beyond
+    his own means, Sir Harris determined to raise it by subscription, in
+    order that the coat and waistcoat might be deposited, like the coat
+    which Nelson wore at the battle of the Nile, in Greenwich Hospital.
+    With that view, he put the proposition in writing, and had it printed
+    as a circular.  Before issuing this circular, however, he sent a copy
+    to Prince Albert, who immediately desired that the purchase might be
+    made for himself, as he should feel 'pride and pleasure' in
+    presenting the precious memorials to Greenwich Hospital.  Sir Harris
+    Nicolas took them to the Royal purchaser on Wednesday; and we
+    understand that the Prince manifested a very fine feeling on the
+    occasion.  There is kind and generous wisdom in this act; for nothing
+    could so help to identify the Queen's husband with the British
+    people, as such little tributes to their maritime pride.  The coat is
+    thus described in Sir Harris Nicolas's circular, and it will be seen
+    that it has an historic value: 'The coat is the undress uniform of a
+    vice-admiral, lined with white silk, with lace on the cuffs, and
+    epaulettes.  Four stars--of the Order of the Bath, St. Ferdinand and
+    Merit, the Crescent, and St. Joachin--are sewn on the left breast, as
+    Nelson habitually wore them; which disproves the story that he
+    purposely adorned himself with his decorations on going into battle!
+    The course of the fatal ball is shewn by a hole over the left
+    shoulder, and part of the epaulette is torn away; which agrees with
+    Dr. Sir William Beattie's account of Lord Nelson's death, and with
+    the fact, that pieces of the bullion and pad of the epaulette adhered
+    to the ball, which is now in Her Majesty's possession.  The coat and
+    waistcoat are stained in several places with the hero's blood."
+
+Further confirmatory evidence is given in the _Globe_, copied into the
+_Times_ of 22 July.  "It will scarcely be believed that the coat of the
+great naval hero, together with his cocked hat, and an immense quantity
+of his property, was, as it were, mortgaged for the sum of 120 pounds,
+yet such was the fact.  The late Alderman Jonathan Joshua Smith was
+executor of Lord Nelson with Lady Hamilton; and, prior to his death,
+goods sufficient to fill six crates (amongst which were the coat, hat,
+breeches, etc.), were placed in the Town Hall, Southwark, under the care
+of Mr. Kinsey, the chief officer, and who now attends the aldermen at the
+Central Criminal Court.  Kinsey was Alderman Smith's confidential servant
+for a number of years, and to whom 120 pounds was owing at his master's
+death.  Application was made to the Court of Aldermen, by some members of
+the Nelson family, for the restitution of the property; and, after a long
+discussion, Alderman Lucas consented to act as arbitrator between the
+family and Kinsey, and 30 pounds was paid to the latter, in satisfaction
+of his claim, upon which, the things were repacked, and sent to Mrs.
+Smith, at Heron Court, Richmond, in whose possession they remained, until
+the purchase of the coat was made by Prince Albert."
+
+The King of the Netherlands paid the Queen a visit on 24 July, and the
+good man must have thought well of us, inasmuch as he was very much let
+do as he liked.  In London he stopped at Mivart's Hotel, went to the
+Opera, paid a few visits, was a guest of the Duke of Richmond for
+Goodwood Races, was made a Field Marshal, held a review in Hyde Park, and
+went back again; a far lighter sentence than is usually passed on Royalty
+when visiting this country.
+
+We now find the inflation of Railway speculation attracting attention;
+and, in the _Times_ of Aug. 1 is a letter, a column in length, of which I
+give the following extract, referring to the inquiry into the Dublin and
+Galway Railway:
+
+    "The next case is that of letters addressed to 1, Park Place,
+    Devonshire Street, Mile End Road.  So great is the number of letters
+    delivered here, that additional assistance has been given in the
+    duty.  Upwards of 1,000 letters have been delivered here within nine
+    months; only last week 120 were taken in on one day, of which, at one
+    time, no less than 16, and, at another, 30, letters were delivered.
+    This No. 1, Park Place, is up an obscure court, consisting of three
+    small houses, of about 5/6 rent per week.  No. 1 is occupied by a man
+    and woman, and the next door by their daughter.  The proceedings of
+    these persons have been closely watched.  Directly a packet of
+    letters has been received in the morning, off starts the old man and
+    woman, and, sometimes, the daughter, to the places appointed to meet
+    the receiver.  On the first occasion, the old woman, who had received
+    16 letters, evidently wanted to deposit her treasure at Crosby Hall
+    Chambers; for, opposite to them, she halted, carefully looking about
+    her; but, unfortunately, she found she was watched; and, escaping
+    through the Excise Office, hid herself somewhere, till her pursuer
+    lost her.  The next morning, another packet was received, with which
+    the old man was intrusted; he started immediately, and, after a most
+    circuitous route, to avoid detection as to where he deposited his
+    treasure, he was seen to enter the King's Arms Tavern, Bishopsgate
+    Churchyard, where he was seen to deliver his despatches to a smart,
+    dapper Jew, well known, who, after a few moments' deliberation, left
+    the house, and was speedily joined by several confederates at the top
+    of the churchyard, who, after dividing the letters, dispersed as
+    instantaneously as can be imagined.  The next day, it became
+    necessary to augment the detective force, for the old people became
+    more wary; the old man went out before post time, and the daughter
+    was selected as the messenger with despatches; she was fleet of foot,
+    but she had been carefully identified, therefore that did not avail
+    her much, as the detective force was divided, and stationed at such
+    places as were likely to succeed.  She took a most circuitous route,
+    but, eventually, found herself opposite the Auction Mart, evidently
+    looking out anxiously for someone; she saw she was watched, and away
+    she started, and, after a long round, found shelter in Maidenhead
+    Court, Aldersgate Street, in a little smith's shop--which turned out
+    to belong to the identical party who resides at No. 1, Park Place,
+    where the letters were first delivered.  Here the pursuit was given
+    up.  No further attempt to trace the receiver was made, the inquiry
+    before the select committee coming on; but sufficient is shown to
+    exhibit the system existing to this hour.  How, it may be asked, do
+    they procure the signatures to the deed, one party holding so many
+    letters of allotment?  The system is this: one party signs the deed
+    as often as disguise will shield him from discovery; then the
+    practice is resorted to of procuring persons, from 15 years to 60, to
+    accompany the holder of the banker's receipt to the Railway Office,
+    to sign the deed in such name as he may direct; for which, when done,
+    he receives remuneration, varying from one shilling to ten, according
+    to the premium the scrip may bear in the market."  There were several
+    police cases as to writing and forging these bogus names, and prudent
+    people were beginning to look shy at railway scrip.
+
+Here is a case which we can hardly understand nowadays.  As long as
+Newspapers were stamped, it was a misdemeanour to allow anyone to read
+them, unless they purchased them, as it was considered a fraud upon the
+Revenue.  On 23 Aug., in the Court of Requests, Kingsgate Street, a case
+came before the Commissioners for adjudication, in which a newsvendor
+summoned a person for a small sum, for "reading" the various newspapers.
+The plaintiff, in stating the case, said the defendant had been in the
+habit of seeing the papers daily, for which a penny a day was charged,
+and the present proceedings were taken to recover a balance due on that
+account.  The Commissioners said that he could not recover, as he had
+been guilty of a gross fraud upon the Stamp Office in letting newspapers
+out for hire.  The plaintiff: But he was in the habit of coming to my
+shop, and seeing them.  The Commissioner: That don't matter; it is a
+fraud upon the Stamp Office, and you render yourself liable to an
+information being laid against you for it.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Here is a little anecdote chronicled in the _Annual Register_ (6 Sep.):
+"REVERSE OF FORTUNE.--Edward Riley, living with his family in Hadley
+Street, Burton Crescent, having been proved next of kin to Maj.-Gen.
+Riley, who recently died at Madras, leaving property to the amount of
+50,000 pounds, to the whole of which he has become entitled, has greatly
+amused the neighbourhood by his conduct.  From having been but a workman
+in the dust-yard in Maiden Lane, he has, now, become a man of
+independence.  Some days after his sudden acquisition of wealth, he
+called, in his cab, on a tailor in Seymour Street, and, taking him to the
+dust yard, desired him to measure the whole of the men in the yard for a
+suit of clothes, which being accomplished, he ordered them to go to a
+bootmaker, where they were all served.  On the following Sunday, he
+ordered a butcher to supply each of them with a joint of meat.  Riley has
+taken a house in Argyle Square; and, upon entering it, purposes to give a
+dinner to all the dustmen in London, and illuminate the front of his
+house."
+
+We have seen, in 1843, _Punch's_ idea of Prince Albert as a farmer, and
+we next hear of him, in connection with this business, as refusing to pay
+parish rates for the Flemish Farm; so at a vestry meeting held at
+Windsor, on 18 Sep., the subject was brought forward.  It appeared that
+the estimated rental of the property was 450 pounds, and that the last
+rate, at 8d. in the pound, amounting to 15 pounds, had not been paid.  It
+was stated that the Prince had refused to pay the rates on two grounds,
+first, that he had no "beneficial occupation," and, secondly, that "the
+property belonged to the Queen."  The reply to this was, that the Prince
+certainly had a beneficial occupation in the farm, for the two prize oxen
+sold by him, last year, at 70 and 80 pounds, were fatted on this farm, to
+say nothing of the crops and agricultural produce, from which His Royal
+Highness received great profits, and it was thought there was no reason
+why he should be let off, and the poorer farmers made to pay the rates.
+It was settled that the collector should make application for the
+arrears, amounting to over 200 pounds.
+
+_Punch_ drew a harrowing picture, of the brokers being put into Windsor
+Castle, and of a paragraph which might appear in the _Court Circular_:
+"Yesterday, Her Gracious Majesty visited Prince Albert at her own Bench."
+But matters did not go so far, for on 14 Jan. next following, the Prince
+vouchsafed an answer to the Vestry, in which he denied his liability _in
+toto_, acting on the advice of the Attorney and Solicitor General, and
+Sir Thomas Wilde; and, after crushing the poor vestry, the letter winds
+up thus: "And His Royal Highness feels himself at liberty to take the
+course which is most satisfactory to his own feelings, and to pay, as a
+voluntary contribution, a sum equal to the rate which would have been
+annually due, had the legal liability of His Royal Highness been
+established.  It is also His Royal Highness's intention that the payment
+of the sum referred to should commence from the year 1841."
+
+And so it has continued to the present day, if we may credit the
+authority quoted in the accompanying cutting from the _Globe_ of 8 June,
+1901: "HOW THE KING PAYS TAXES.--It is not generally known (says the
+_Free Lance_) that the King pays taxes under protest--that is to say, His
+Majesty, like Queen Victoria, claims to be exempt from impost, and yet is
+willing to contribute, without prejudice, to the rates.  For instance,
+part of the Windsor farm land lies within the radius of the borough.  The
+municipal authority issues demand notes for the rates.  The Royal
+officials respond by paying a sum just under the amount requested, and
+the collector is satisfied.  There is no question of going to law, for
+how can the King be summoned in his own Courts?"
+
+On 31 Oct. Lieut. Waghorn practically demonstrated the feasibility of his
+"Overland Route" to India.  The regular Mail and his Express arrived at
+Suez by the same steamer on 19 Oct.  The Express was given to a man on a
+dromedary, who, stopping nowhere, entered Alexandria on the 20th.  The
+Express was delivered to Mr. Waghorn, who started at 11 o'clock.  He had
+been waiting on board an Austrian steamer, which had remained in
+quarantine, so that he arrived at Trieste in free _pratique_.  He landed,
+however, at Divina, twelve miles nearer London than Trieste, and hurried
+through Austria, Prussia, Baden, and Bavaria, with a passport ready
+_vised_ by the representatives of those countries.  He reached Mannheim
+in 84 hours, proceeded by a steamer to Cologne, thence by special train
+to Ostend, by boat to Dover, to London by railway, and arrived at 4.30 in
+the morning of the 31st.  The news from India thus brought, was published
+in all the London papers, which were in Paris before the Mail from
+Marseilles was on its way to London.
+
+                      [Picture: Punch Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+
+The Railway Mania--Deposit of plans.
+
+The accompanying illustration from _Punch_ (18 Oct.) justly holds up to
+ridicule the Railway Mania, which might then be said to have been at its
+height.  It is called "THE MARCH OF SPECULATION.--'This is the young
+Gent, as takes my Business, Mem.  I'm agoin' into the Railway--Director
+Line myself.'"
+
+As a proof of this Madness, see this paragraph: "Oct. 25.  During the
+past week there were announced, in three newspapers, eighty-nine new
+schemes, with a capital of 84,055,000 pounds; during the month, there
+were 357 new schemes announced, with an aggregate capital of 332,000,000
+pounds."
+
+On 17 Nov. the _Times_ published a table of all the railway companies
+registered up to the 31st October, numbering 1,428, and involving an
+outlay of 701,243,208 pounds.  "Take away," it said, "140,000,000 pounds
+for railways completed, or in progress, exclude all the most extravagant
+schemes, and divide the remainder by ten, can we add, from our present
+resources, even a tenth of the vast remainder?  Can we add 50,000,000
+pounds to the railway speculations we are irretrievably embarked in?  We
+cannot, without the most ruinous, universal and desperate confusion."
+
+Here is a Parody on the situation, 1 Nov.:
+
+    "There was a sound, that ceased not day or night,
+       Of speculation.  London gathered then
+    Unwonted crowds, and moved by promise bright,
+       To Capel Court rushed women, boys and men,
+       All seeking railway shares and scrip; and when
+    The market rose, how many a lad could tell
+       With joyous glance, and eyes that spake again,
+    'Twas e'en more lucrative than marrying well;--
+    When, hark, that warning voice strikes like a rising knell.
+
+    Nay, it is nothing, empty as the wind,
+       But a "bear" whisper down Throgmorton Street;
+    Wild enterprise shall still be unconfined;
+       No rest for us, when rising premiums greet
+       The morn, to pour their treasures at our feet;--
+    When, hark! that solemn sound is heard once more,
+       The gathering bears its echoes yet repeat--
+    'Tis but too true, is now the general roar,
+    The Bank has raised her rate, as she has done before.
+
+    And then, and there were hurryings to and fro,
+       And anxious thoughts, and signs of sad distress,
+    Faces all pale, that, but an hour ago
+       Smiled at the thought of their own craftiness;
+       And there were sudden partings, such as press
+    The coins from hungry pockets, mutual sighs
+       Of brokers and their clients.  Who can guess
+    How many a "stag" already panting flies,
+    When upon times so bright, such awful panics rise?"
+
+Mr. Francis, in his _History of the English Railway_, says: "The daily
+press was thoroughly deluged with advertisements; double sheets did not
+supply space enough for them; double doubles were resorted to, and, then,
+frequently, insertions were delayed.  It has been estimated that the
+receipts of the leading journals averaged, at one period 12,000 and
+14,000 pounds a week, from this source.  The railway papers, on some
+occasions, contained advertisements that must have netted 700 to 800
+pounds on each publication.  The printer, the lithographer, and the
+stationer, with the preparation of prospectuses, the execution of maps,
+and the supply of other requisites, also made a considerable harvest.
+
+"The leading engineers were, necessarily, at a great premium.  Mr. Brunel
+was said to be connected with fourteen lines, Mr. Robert Stephenson with
+thirty-four, Mr. Locke with thirty-one, Mr. Rastrick with seventeen, and
+other engineers with one hundred and thirteen.
+
+"The novelist has appropriated this peculiar portion of commercial
+history, and, describing it, says gravely and graphically: 'A colony of
+solicitors, engineers and seedy accountants, settled in the purlieus of
+Threadneedle Street.  Every town and parish in the Kingdom blazed out in
+zinc plates over the doorways.  From the cellar to the roof, every
+fragment of a room held its committee.  The darkest cupboard on the
+stairs contained a secretary, or a clerk.  Men, who were never seen east
+of Temple Bar before, or since, were, now, as familiar to the pavement of
+Moorgate Street, {279} as the stockbrokers; ladies of title, lords,
+Members of Parliament, and fashionable loungers thronged the noisy
+passages, and were jostled by adventurers, by gamblers, rogues and
+imposters.'
+
+"The advantages of competition were pointed out, with the choicest
+phraseology.  Lines which passed by barren districts, and by waste
+heaths, the termini of which were in uninhabitable places, reached a high
+premium.  The shares of one company rose 2,400 per cent.  Everything was
+to pay a large dividend; everything was to yield a large profit.  One
+railway was to cross the entire Principality without a single curve.
+
+"The shares of another were issued, the company formed, and the directors
+appointed, with only the terminal points surveyed.  In the Ely railway,
+not one person connected with the country through which it was to pass,
+subscribed the title deed.
+
+"The engineers who were examined in favour of particular lines, promised
+all and everything in their evidence.  It was humourously said of them,
+'they plunge through the bowels of mountains; they undertake to drain
+lakes; they bridge valleys with viaducts; their steepest gradients are
+gentle undulations; their curves are lines of beauty; they interrupt no
+traffic; they touch no prejudice.'
+
+"Labour of all kinds increased in demand.  The price of iron rose from
+sixty-eight shillings to one-hundred-and-twenty per ton.  Money remained
+abundant.  Promoters received their tens and twenties of thousands.
+Rumours of sudden fortunes were very plentiful.  Estates were purchased
+by those who were content with their gains; and, to crown the whole, a
+grave report was circulated, that Northumberland House, with its princely
+reminiscences, and palatial grandeur, was to be bought by the South
+Western.  Many of the railways attained prices which staggered reasonable
+men.  The more worthless the article, the greater seemed the struggle to
+obtain it.  Premiums of 5 and 6 pounds were matters of course, even where
+there were four or five competitors for the road.  One company, which
+contained a clause to lease it at three-and-a-half per Cent., for 999
+years, rose to twenty premium, so mad were the many to speculate.
+
+"Every branch of commerce participated in the advantages of an increased
+circulation.  The chief articles of trade met with large returns; profits
+were regular; and all luxuries which suited an affluent community,
+procured an augmented sale.  Banking credit remained facile; interest
+still kept low; money, speaking as they of the City speak, could be had
+for next to nothing.  It was advanced on everything which bore a value,
+whether readily convertible, or not.  Bill brokers would only allow
+one-and-a-half per cent. for cash; and what is one-and-a-half to men who
+revelled in the thought of two hundred?  The exchanges remained
+remarkably steady.  The employment of the labourer on the new lines, of
+the operative in the factory, of the skilled artisan in the workshop, of
+the clerk at the desk, tended to add to the delusive feeling, and was one
+of the forms in which, for a time, the population was benefitted.  But,
+when the strength of the Kingdom is wasted in gambling, temporary,
+indeed, is the good, compared with the cost.  Many, whose money was
+safely invested, sold at any price, to enter the share market.  Servants
+withdrew their hoards from the savings banks.  The tradesman crippled his
+business.  The legitimate love of money became a fierce lust.  The peer
+came from his club to his brokers; the clergyman came from his pulpit to
+the mart; the country gentleman forsook the calmness of his rural domain
+for the feverish excitement of Threadneedle Street.  Voluptuous tastes
+were indulged in by those who were previously starving.  The new men vied
+with the old, in the luxurious adornments of their houses.  Everyone
+smiled with contentment; every face wore a pleased expression.  Some,
+who, by virtue of their unabashed impudence, became provisional
+committee-men, supported the dignity of their position in a style which
+raised the mirth of many, and moved the envy of more.  Trustees, who had
+no money of their own, or who had lost it, used that which was confided
+to them; brothers speculated with the money of sisters; sons gambled with
+the money of their widowed mothers; children risked their patrimony; and
+it is no exaggeration to say, that the funds of hundreds were
+surreptitiously endangered by those in whose control they were placed."
+
+But Railways had been projected, and, in order to carry them through, the
+plans must, by law, be deposited with the Board of Trade, before, or on
+30 Nov.; and, on this occasion, there was a scene, which is very well
+told in the _Annual Register_:
+
+"An extraordinary scene occurred at the office of the Railway Department
+of the Board of Trade on this day (Sunday, 30 Nov.), being the last day
+on which the plans of the new projects could be deposited with the
+Railway Board, in order to enable Bills to authorise them to be brought
+before Parliament, in compliance with the Standing Orders.
+
+"Last year, the number of projects, in respect of which plans were lodged
+with the Board of Trade, was 248; the number, this year, is stated to be
+815.  The projectors of the Scotch lines were mostly in advance, and had
+their plans duly lodged on Saturday.  The Irish projectors, too, and the
+old-established companies, seeking powers to construct branches, were
+among the more punctual.  But upwards of 600 plans remained to be
+deposited.  Towards the last, the utmost exertions were made to forward
+them.  The efforts of the lithographic draughtsmen and printers in London
+were excessive; people remained at work, night after night, snatching a
+hasty repose for a couple of hours, on lockers, benches, or the floor.
+Some found it impossible to execute their contracts; others did their
+work imperfectly.  One of the most eminent was compelled to bring over
+four hundred lithographers from Belgium, and failed, nevertheless, with
+this reinforcement, in completing some of his plans.  Post horses and
+express trains, to bring to town plans prepared in the country, were
+sought in all parts.  Horses were engaged days before, and kept, by
+persons specially appointed, under lock and key.  Some railway companies
+exercised their power of refusing express trains for rival projects, and
+clerks were obliged to make sudden and embarrassing changes of route, in
+order to travel by less hostile ways.  A large establishment of clerks
+were in attendance to register the deposits; and this arrangement went on
+very well, until eleven o'clock, when the delivery grew so rapid, that
+the clerks were quite unable to keep pace with the arrivals.  The
+entrance hall soon became inconveniently crowded, considerable anxiety
+being expressed lest twelve o'clock should arrive 'ere the requisite
+formalities should have been gone through.  This anxiety was allayed by
+the assurance that admission into the hall before that hour, would be
+sufficient to warrant the reception of the documents.
+
+   [Picture: Deposit of Railway Plans with the Board of Trade, 30 Nov.,
+               1845.  Ill. Lon. News, 6 Dec., 1845, p. 358]
+
+"As the clock struck twelve, the doors of the office were about to be
+closed, when a gentleman with the plans of one of the Surrey railways
+arrived, and, with the greatest difficulty, succeeded in obtaining
+admission.  A lull of a few minutes here occurred; but, just before the
+expiration of the first quarter of an hour, a post chaise, with reeking
+horses, drove up, in hot haste, to the entrance.  In a moment, its
+occupants (three gentlemen) alighted, and rushed down the passage,
+towards the office door, each bearing a plan of Brobdingnagian
+dimensions.  On reaching the door, and finding it closed, the
+countenances of all drooped; but one of them, more valorous than the
+rest, and prompted by the bystanders, gave a loud pull at the bell.  It
+was answered by Inspector Otway, who informed the ringer it was now too
+late, and that his plans could not be received.  The agents did not wait
+for the conclusion of the unpleasant communication, but took advantage of
+the door being opened, and threw in their papers, which broke the passage
+lamp in their fall.  They were thrown back into the street.  When the
+door was again opened, again went in the plans, only to meet a similar
+fate.
+
+"In the whole, upwards of 600 plans were duly deposited."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+
+Collapse of the Railway Mania--Sheriff's Officers--Hudson, the Railway
+King--First "Ethiopian Serenaders"--The Nigger Minstrel
+Craze--Commencement of Irish Famine--"The Battle of the Gauges"--Railway
+Surveyors--Suicide of Haydon, the painter.
+
+Although the collapse of the Railway Mania really began in 1845, its
+effects were not fully felt until the commencement of this year, when 10
+per cent. on Railway Capital had to be lodged with the Accountant
+General, within seven days from the assembling of Parliament, which in
+this case meant the 29th Jan.  It really received its first serious wound
+when the Bank of England rose its rate of discount on 16 Oct., but it was
+only when the calls had to be paid, that it was found how rotten the
+whole concern was, as the Marquis of Clanricarde, in a speech, plainly
+exposed.  Said he: "One of the names to the deed, to which he was anxious
+to direct their attention, was that of a gentleman, said to reside in
+Finsbury Square, who had subscribed to the amount of 25,000 pounds; he
+was informed no such person was known at that address.  There was, also,
+in the Contract deed, the name of an individual who had figured in the
+Dublin and Galway Railway Case, who was down for 5,000 pounds, and who
+was understood to be a half-pay officer, in the receipt of 54 pounds a
+year, but who appeared as a subscriber in different railway schemes to
+the amount of 41,500 pounds.  The address of another, whose name was down
+for 12,200 pounds, was stated to be in Watling Street, but it appeared he
+did not reside there.  In the case of another individual down for 12,500
+pounds, a false address was found to have been given.  Another
+individual, whom he would not name, was a curate in the parish in Kent;
+he might be worth all the money for which he appeared responsible in
+various railway schemes, but his name appeared for 25,000 pounds in
+different projects, and stood for 10,000 pounds in this line.  Another
+individual, who was down for 25,000 pounds, was represented to be in poor
+circumstances.  A clerk in a public company was down for upwards of
+50,000 pounds.  There were several more cases of the same kind, but he
+trusted he had stated enough to establish the necessity of referring the
+matter to a Committee.  There were, also, two brothers, sons of a
+charwoman, living in a garret, one of whom had signed for 12,500 pounds,
+and the other for 25,000 pounds; these two brothers, excellent persons,
+no doubt, but who were receiving about a guinea and a half between them,
+were down for 37,000 pounds."
+
+The story of the collapse is so admirably told by Mr. Francis, that I
+prefer giving his version than writing of it myself:
+
+    "Money was scarce, the price of stock and scrip lowered; the
+    confidence of the people was shaken, and a vision of a dark future on
+    every face.  Advertisements were suddenly withdrawn from the papers,
+    men of note were seen no more as provisional committeemen; distrust
+    followed the merchant to the mart and the jobber to the Exchange.
+    The new schemes ceased to be regarded; applications ceased to be
+    forwarded; premiums were either lowered, or ceased to exist.  Bankers
+    looked anxiously to the accounts of their customers; bill brokers
+    scrutinised their securities; and every man was suspicious of his
+    neighbour.
+
+    "But the distrust was not confined to projected lines.  Established
+    railways felt the shock, and were reduced in value.  Consols fell one
+    and a half per cent.; Exchequer bills declined in price, and other
+    markets sympathised.  The people had awoke from their dream, and
+    trembled.  It was a national alarm.
+
+    "Words are weak to express the fears and feelings which prevailed.
+    There was no village too remote to escape the shock, and there was,
+    probably, no house in town some occupant of which did not shrink from
+    the morrow.  The Statesman started to find his new Bank Charter so
+    sadly and so suddenly tried; the peer, who had so thoughtlessly
+    invested, saw ruin opening to his view.  Men hurried with bated
+    breath to their brokers; the allottee was uneasy and suspicious, the
+    provisional committeeman grew pale at his fearful responsibility;
+    directors ceased to boast their blushing honours, and promoters saw
+    their expected profits evaporate.  Shares which, the previous week,
+    were a fortune, were, the next, a fatality, to their owners.  The
+    reputed shareholders were not found when they were wanted;
+    provisional committeemen were not more easy of access.
+
+    "One Railway advertised the names and addresses of thirty--none of
+    whom were to be heard of at the residences ascribed to them.  Letters
+    were returned to the Post Office day after day.  Nor is this to be
+    wondered at, when it is said that, on one projected line, only 60
+    pounds was received for deposits, which should have yielded 700,000
+    pounds.
+
+    "It was proved in the Committee of the House of Commons, that one
+    subscription list was formed of 'lame ducks of the Alley'; and that,
+    in another, several of the Directors, including the Chairman, had,
+    also, altered their several subscriptions to the amount of 100,000
+    pounds, the very evening on which the list was deposited, and that
+    five shillings a man was given to anyone who would sign for a certain
+    number of shares.
+
+    "Nothing more decidedly marked the crisis which had arrived, than the
+    fact that everyone hastened to disown railways.  Gentlemen who had
+    been buried in prospectuses, whose names and descriptions had been
+    published under every variation that could fascinate the public, who
+    had figured as Committeemen, and received the precious guineas for
+    their attendance, were eager to assure the world that they were
+    ignorant of this great transgression.  Men who, a month before, had
+    boasted of the large sums they had made by scrip, sent advertisements
+    to papers denying their responsibility, or appealed to the Lord Mayor
+    to protect their characters.  Members of Parliament who had remained
+    quiet under the infliction, while it was somewhat respectable, fell
+    back upon their privileges, when they saw their purses in danger.
+    There is no doubt that an unauthorised use of names was one feature
+    of fraudulent companies, and that, amidst a list of common names, it
+    was thought a distinguished one might pass unnoticed.  The
+    complaints, therefore, of those who were thus unceremoniously
+    treated, were just; but the great mass of denials emanated from
+    persons who, knowingly, encountered the risk, and, meanly, shrunk
+    from the danger.
+
+    "It is the conviction of those who were best informed, that no other
+    panic was ever so fatal to the middle class.  It reached every
+    hearth, it saddened every heart in the metropolis.  Entire families
+    were ruined.  There was scarcely an important town in England but
+    what beheld some wretched suicide.  Daughters, delicately nurtured,
+    went out to seek their bread; sons were recalled from academies;
+    households were separated, homes were desecrated by the emissaries of
+    the law.  There was a disruption of every social tie.  The debtors'
+    jails were peopled with promoters; Whitecross Street was filled with
+    speculators; and the Queen's Bench was full to overflowing.  Men, who
+    had lived comfortably and independently, found themselves suddenly
+    responsible for sums they had no means of paying.  In some cases,
+    they yielded their all, and began the world anew; in others, they
+    left the country for the continent, laughed at their creditors, and
+    defied pursuit.  One gentleman was served with four hundred writs; a
+    peer, when similarly pressed, when offered to be relieved from all
+    liabilities for 15,000 pounds, betook himself to his yacht, and
+    forgot, in the beauties of the Mediterranean, the difficulties which
+    had surrounded him.  Another gentleman who, having nothing to lose,
+    surrendered himself to his creditors, was a director of more than
+    twenty lines.  A third was Provisional Committeeman to fifteen.  A
+    fourth, who commenced life as a printer, who became insolvent in 1832
+    and a bankrupt in 1837, who had negotiated partnerships, who had
+    arranged embarrassed affairs, who had collected debts, and turned his
+    attention to anything, did not disdain, also, to be a Railway
+    promoter, a Railway director, or to spell his name in a dozen
+    different ways."
+
+The Sheriff's Officers had a busy time of it, and _Punch_, in "GOING OUT
+ARRESTING," gives the following colloquy between two of the fraternity:
+
+    "'Vell, Aaron, my tear, have yer 'ad any sport?'
+
+    "'Pretty vell, I've bagged four Allottees, and two Provisionals!'"
+
+                [Picture: Picture of two men in carriages]
+
+But a notice of the Railway Mania would be very incomplete without a
+mention of George Hudson, the Railway King.  He was born at Howsham, a
+village near York, in March, 1800; was apprenticed to a draper in York;
+and, subsequently, became principal in the business; thus, early in life,
+becoming well off, besides having 30,000 pounds left him by a distant
+relative.  In 1837, he was Lord Mayor of York; and, the same year, was
+made Chairman of the York and North Midland Railway, which was opened in
+1839.  In 1841, he was elected Chairman of the Great North of England
+Company; and, afterwards, held the same position in the Midland Railway
+Company.  He speculated largely in railways, and, in the Parliamentary
+return, already alluded to, his subscriptions appear as 319,835 pounds.
+
+He came to London, and inhabited the house at Albert Gate, Knightsbridge
+(now the French Embassy), where he entertained the Prince Consort, and
+the aristocracy generally.  He was elected M.P. for Sunderland in Aug.,
+1845, and again served as Lord Mayor of York in 1846.  The Railway smash
+came; and, year by year, things went worse with him, until, early in the
+year 1849, he had to resign the Chairmanship of the Eastern Central (now
+Great Eastern), Midland, York, Newcastle and Berwick, and the York and
+North Midland Railway Companies.  He went abroad, where he lived for some
+time, and tried, unavailingly, to retrieve his fortune.  In July, 1865,
+he was committed to York Castle for Contempt of the Court of Exchequer,
+in not paying a large debt, and was there incarcerated till the following
+October.
+
+He fell so low, that, in 1868, some friends took pity on him, and raised
+a subscription for him, thus obtaining 4,800 pounds, with which an
+annuity was purchased.  He died in London, 14 Dec., 1871.
+
+We have been so accustomed to have nigger minstrels with us that I
+suppose very few of us know when they began.  Of course, I do not mean
+the solitary minstrel like Rice of "Jump Jim Crow" fame, who was the
+first, coming over here in 1836; but the first troupe.  I find it in the
+_Illustrated News_ of 24 Jan., 1846, whence also comes this illustration:
+
+                   [Picture: The Ethiopian Serenaders]
+
+"A party of American minstrels, under the above designation, commenced on
+Wednesday night (21 Jan.), at the Hanover Square Rooms, a series of
+concerts, for the avowed purpose of affording an accurate notion of Negro
+character and melody.  These artists are remarkably clever, and admirably
+'made up.'  They are painted jet black, with ruddy lips, and large
+mouths; and, being capital actors, the deception created is so great,
+that wagers have been offered that they are really 'darkies.'  They dress
+in dandy costume, _a la Jullien_--that is, white waistcoated and
+wristbanded, turned up in the most approved D'Orsay fashion.  Of course,
+it is impossible to come to any right conclusion as to the authenticity
+of the African airs, especially as they have arranged the compositions of
+the great European masters in such a grotesque manner.  The executants
+are five in number; one plays the tambourine, Mr. Germon, who is the
+leader; another the bone castanet; the third, the accordion; and the two
+others, the banjo, or African guitar.  The castanet player does not sing;
+but his four colleagues have good voices, and, in glees, harmonize
+charmingly.  In a quartet, the parody on the Phantom Chorus, from
+Bellini's 'Sonnambula'; and in a glee, 'You'll See Them on the Ohio,'
+nothing can be more effective than the skilful blending of the parts.  It
+is, perhaps, the _buffo_ exhibition which will create the greatest
+sensation, and in this quality they are inimitable.  The tambourine
+performer affects a ludicrous air of pompous sentiment, while the
+castanet sable hero indulges in all kinds of buffoonery and antics.  He
+is a wonderful player--no Spaniard can rival him in rapidity, delicacy
+and precision.  A scene called a 'Railway Overture,' causes an explosion
+of laughter; they seem to be endowed with perpetual motion; and the
+scream of the whistle, at the same time as the noise of the engine,
+beggars all description.  The entertainment is quite a novelty, and will,
+no doubt, be attractive.  They have been provided with letters of
+recommendation from President Polk, and some leading persons in America,
+who must be better able to appreciate the accuracy of their African
+delineations than Europeans."
+
+They _were_ popular, with a vengeance--for every little street arab had
+beef bones for castanets, and every new song was roared out in the
+streets until it nauseated.  _Punch_ drew policemen and dustmen as
+Ethiopian Serenaders, and even suggested that Lablache, Mario and
+Tamburini should adopt the style.
+
+                     [Picture: Picture of musicians]
+
+The Queen opened Parliament on 19 Jan., and in her speech, whilst
+deprecating "the very frequent instances in which the crime of deliberate
+assassination has been, of late, committed in Ireland," she went on: "I
+have to lament that, in consequence of a failure of the potato crop in
+several parts of the United Kingdom, there will be a deficient supply of
+an article of food which forms the chief subsistence of great numbers of
+my people.  The disease by which the plant has been affected, has
+prevailed to the utmost extent in Ireland.  I have adopted all such
+precautions as it was in my power to adopt, for the purpose of
+alleviating the sufferings which may be caused by this calamity; and I
+shall confidently rely on your co-operation in devising such other means
+for effecting the same benevolent purpose, as may require the sanction of
+the Legislature."
+
+On 13 March, Parliament talked somewhat about the matter, and Sir James
+Graham, the Home Secretary, confessed that distress "pervades the whole
+of Ireland.  It is to be found in every province, in every county, in
+every union; nay, almost in every parish in Ireland.  The course Her
+Majesty's Government has taken, has been this.  We have, in particular
+parts of Ireland, established depots, where food can be bought at an easy
+price, at the very lowest price, and, thinking that eleemosynary relief
+ought to be avoided as much as possible, we propose to afford, to the
+utmost possible extent, either by means of public works to be undertaken,
+or by works already established, the means by which the people may be
+enabled to earn wages, and so to purchase food at the moderate cost at
+which it will be supplied."
+
+But, in spite of all the Government could do, with the very best
+intentions, gaunt famine was stalking through the land, and the hungry
+folk could not be quiet, with the sight of food before them.  They were
+not going to starve when they saw the bakers' shops full of bread, and
+the butchers', of meat.  Human nature and a hungry belly could not stand
+it--so we can scarcely wonder at the famine riots which ensued.  The
+shops were wrecked, the food was taken; they even laid their hands on a
+boat proceeding from Limerick to Clare with relief, and plundered it of
+its cargo of corn and maize flour.  But, alas! this was only the
+commencement of the sad story.
+
+There was an alternative, open to those who had the money--to
+emigrate--and this they did--see the following, from the _Cork Reporter_,
+copied into the _Times_ of 18 April: "For the last fortnight our quays
+have been daily thronged with the fine and stalwart peasantry of this and
+the adjoining counties, preparing to emigrate to various parts of the
+trans-Atlantic world.  Perhaps, upon no former occasion, even before the
+hope of railway employment was held out to the people, and when
+"Government grants" for their relief were never heard of, did the number
+of emigrants from this quarter exceed the proportion of this present
+year.  Besides the various large and full-freighted vessels, which have
+left the quays of Cork, direct for America, several ships were despatched
+to the west of the county, and had no difficulty in obtaining their full
+complement of passengers.  Two large ships went round to Berehaven, a few
+days ago, and have, since, left the shores of that bleak district, with
+over 200 passengers.  Several other vessels have proceeded, or are about
+to proceed, for Baltimore and Berehaven, localities in which the
+destitution of the present year has been severely felt.  Three hundred
+persons have been ready, for the last fortnight, to embark from Dingle;
+but, not being able to get a ship to visit them, sufficiently commodious
+for their accommodation, have been obliged to make the best of their way
+to Cork.  Several vessels, now lying at Passage, will sail this day,
+these taking five hundred and fifty passengers . . . At a moderate
+computation, about 9,000 emigrants have, or, within the next month, will
+have, left this port for America.  It is to be hoped their anticipations
+will be realised.  There can be little fear, however, that their
+condition could be worse, or their prospects more disheartening than
+those which the 'potato famine' in this country, little mended by the
+promise of Indian corn, had occasioned.  _La faim chasse le loup hors du
+bois_.  To starve, or emigrate, are the only alternatives of the people."
+
+The _Waterford Chronicle_ thus comments: "There will have gone, after the
+season is over, upwards of 3,000 people, from this country, by this port
+alone.  Not to talk of the rearing of these people--the trouble and
+expense of bringing up a healthy man, woman, or child, and, especially,
+leaving out the irreparable loss to society, in this country, of their
+affections, hopes, and family ties--all, now, sundered and destroyed--not
+to talk of the countless living deaths of wholesale emigration from a
+feeling and warm-hearted mother country--the amount of capital taken by
+these 3,000 is immense.  Assuming that each individual spends 10 pounds
+in his passage, and before he settles, and that he has 10 pounds more to
+establish himself, here is direct taking away, in hard cash, of 60,000
+pounds gone out of the bleeding pores of Ireland, to increase the misery
+which is left behind.  We are in possession of facts which show that many
+cunning landlords are sending away their people yearly, but by degrees,
+and not in such a manner as to subject themselves to a 'clearance
+notice.'  If this system be continued, we shall be tempted to give names.
+After these things, who will blame the people for outbreaks occasioned by
+famine?  There is nothing plentiful in the land but ruin!  Employment is
+scarce--money is scarce--the people are being thinned--farms are being
+consolidated--bullock land is progressing--
+
+    "Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
+    Where cows accumulate, and men decay."
+
+For some long time there had been a conflict of opinion as to the merits
+of different sized gauges for railways.  Brunel, the magnificent,
+advocated a width of seven feet, and practised it on the Great Western;
+others wished for something far more modest.  Great was the wrangling
+over this "battle of the gauges," and a Royal Commission was appointed to
+inquire into the matter.  They gave in their Report on 30 May, and the
+question was settled by "An Act for regulating the Gauge of Railways" (9
+and 10 Vic., c. 57--passed 18 Aug., 1846) by which it was settled that,
+in future, all Railway lines in England were to be 4 feet 8.5 in. wide,
+and in Ireland, the width was to be 5 ft. 3 in.
+
+By the way, Railway surveyors were paid well, and almost everyone that
+had ever dragged a chain posed as a surveyor.  As a sample--on 23 Ap. is
+reported the case of White _v._ Koe and Maun--where a witness said
+"Levellers are always well paid.  I have received, before this 10 pounds
+a mile, and I could level from seven to eight miles a day.  These are not
+extraordinary terms.  I had to find hands to help me.  I had three men at
+7s. a day each."
+
+On 22 June poor Haydon, the painter, committed suicide.  He was extremely
+egotistical, and nothing could persuade him that he was not the best
+painter of his time.  His fixed idea was that he was without a peer--but
+no one else thought so.  His diary is very sad reading.  Here is an entry
+(Ap. 13) relative to the exhibition of his picture, "The Banishment of
+Aristides": "Receipts 1 pound 3s. 6d.  An advertisement of a finer
+description could not have been written to catch the public; but not a
+shilling more was added to the receipts.  They rush by thousands to see
+Tom Thumb.  They push--they fight--they scream--they faint--they cry
+'Help!' and 'Murder!'  They see my bills and caravans, but do not read
+them; their eyes are on them, but their sense is gone.  It is an
+insanity--a _rabies furor_--a dream--of which I would not have believed
+Englishmen could have been guilty."  He even wrote to the _Times_ about
+it: "GENERAL TOM THUMB, last week, received 12,000 people, who paid him
+600 pounds; B. R. HAYDON, who has devoted 42 years to elevate their
+taste, was honoured by the visits of 133.5, producing 5 pounds 13s. 6d.,
+being a reward for painting two of his finest works, 'Aristides and
+Nero.'  HORACE VERNET, LA ROCHE, INGRES, CORNELIUS, HESS, SNORR, and
+SCHEFFER, hasten to this glorious country of fresco and patronage, and
+grand design, if you have a tender fancy to end your days in a Whig
+Union."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+
+The last Post Office Bellman--The "Corn Law" Act--Sir Walter Scott's
+monument--The Irish famine--The Duke of Wellington's statue--Gun
+cotton--Introduction of ether--Model dwelling houses--Baths and
+Wash-houses--Smithfield Cattle market--"The Bull Fight of
+Smithfield"--The first submarine telegraph.
+
+_The Illustrated London News_, of 27 June, gives us "THE LETTER CARRIER'S
+LAST KNELL.--We have just lost another of what poor Thomas Hood called,
+'Those evening bells.'  The Postmaster General having issued his fiat for
+the abolition of 'ringing bells' by the Letter Carriers, the last knell
+was rung out on the evening of Wednesday last; and, as a memorial of the
+departure of what appeared to most persons, a very useful practice, our
+artist has sketched a Letter Carrier, on his last evening call at our
+office; and another hand has appended the following lament:
+
+   The Dustman was first to forego his brass clapper,
+      The Muffinboy speedily followed his shade;
+   And, now, 'tis the Postman--that double-tongued rapper--
+      Must give up his Bell for the eve's promenade.
+   "_Tantae Animis_?' sage Legislators!
+      Why rage against trifles like these?  Prithee tell,
+   Why leave the solution to rude commentators,
+      Who say, that at home, you've enough in one _Belle_?"
+
+On 26 June the Royal Assent was given to an Act (9-10 Vic., c. 22),
+called "An Act to amend the Laws relating to the Importation of Corn."
+This regulated the duty on corn by a sliding scale of prices, which was
+to be in force until 1 Feb., 1849, when it was fixed at 1s. per quarter.
+The passing of this Act caused general rejoicing throughout the country,
+and put an end to a great deal of political rancour.
+
+ [Picture: The last Post Office Bellman.  Ill. Lon. News, 27 June, 1846]
+
+The inauguration of Sir Walter Scott's Monument, at Edinburgh, took place
+on 15 Aug., the anniversary of his birth.  It was erected in 1840-44,
+after designs by Mr. George M. Kemp, at a cost of 15,650 pounds.  It is
+cruciform, with a Gothic spire, chiefly modelled on the details of
+Melrose Abbey; and includes, beneath its basement arches, a Carrara
+marble sitting statue of Scott, with his dog _Maida_, by his side, which
+is the work of Mr. Steel, and cost 2,000 pounds.
+
+The potato crop utterly failed again in Ireland, and the outlook there
+was indeed black.  In the _Times_ of 2 Sep., its correspondent, writing
+from Dublin, on 31 Aug., says: "As it is now an admitted fact, on all
+sides, that the destruction of the early potato crop is complete, there
+can be no earthly use in loading your columns with repetitions of the sad
+details, as furnished day after day in the accounts published by the
+Irish newspapers.  It will, therefore, nearly suffice to say that,
+according to the reports from all quarters, the crisis of deep and
+general distress cannot be much longer averted, and that it will require
+all the energies of both Government and Landlords to mitigate the
+inevitable consequences of a calamity, of which both parties have been
+duly forewarned.  In the meantime, the following statement in a Limerick
+paper of Saturday, is another curious illustration of the Irish
+'difficulty'.
+
+"'In the Corn Market, this day, there appeared about 4,000 bushels of
+oats, and about an equal quantity of wheat.  All this grain was purchased
+up, principally for exportation, whilst the food of the people, as
+exhibited this day in the Potato Market, was a mass of disease and
+rottenness.  This is an anomaly which no intricacies of political
+economy--no legal quibbles, or crochets--no Government arrangements can
+reconcile.  In an agricultural country which produces the finest corn for
+the food of man, we have to record that the corn is sold and sent out of
+the country, whilst the individuals that raised it by their toil and
+labour, are threatened with all the horrors of starvation.'
+
+"From a multiplicity of concurrent statements respecting the pestilence,
+I shall merely subjoin one, which appears in the last _Tralee_ paper: 'A
+man would hardly dig in a day, as much sound potatoes as himself would
+consume.  But that is not the worst of it.  Common cholera has set in
+among the people of the town, owing to the use of potatoes, which contain
+a large quantity of poisonous matter.  A professional gentleman in this
+town, of considerable experience and unquestioned integrity, assures me,
+that he has attended, within the last fortnight, in this town and
+neighbourhood, more than 12 cases of common cholera, and that he would
+think a person as safe in consuming a certain quantity of arsenic, as in
+using the potatoes now exposed for sale.'"
+
+This is how the Famine of 1846-7 began, and what followed is a matter of
+history, which everyone ought to know, and ponder well over, but it can
+hardly come under the name of Gossip.  There were, naturally, a few food
+riots in different parts of the country, but everyone tried to do their
+best, even in a blundering way, to alleviate the distress.  The
+Archbishop of Canterbury composed a Special Form of Prayer, to be used on
+Sunday, 11 Oct.
+
+On 29 Sep. the gigantic equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington,
+which used to crown the arch opposite Apsley House, and which was taken
+down 24 Jan., 1883, and then set up at Aldershot, was moved from the
+artist's (Wyatt) studio, in Harrow Road, to Hyde Park.  It was 27 feet
+high, and weighed about 40 tons, being made of brass guns taken by the
+Duke in various victories.  Being of so great a weight, the appliances to
+remove it were on an equally massive scale, the carriage and framework in
+which it was placed weighing about 20 tons.  It took 100 soldiers to haul
+the statue out of the studio; and, when mounted on its carriage, it took
+29 huge dray horses, lent by Mr. Goding, of the Lion Brewery, Waterloo,
+to drag it to its destination.  It was escorted by soldiers and military
+bands, and did the distance in about an hour a half.  The next day was
+spent in preparing to hoist it; the day after, it was lifted some 50
+feet, and there remained all night--and the next day was safely landed
+and put in position.  From that time, until it was taken down, it was the
+butt of scoffs and jeers, and no one regretted its departure.
+
+Gun cotton was brought into public notice by some experiments by its
+inventor, Professor Schonbein, of Basel, before the chairman of the East
+India Company, and a number of scientists.  Professor Brande had
+previously lectured upon it, at the Royal Institution, on 15 Jan., when
+he stated that, about fifteen years before, Braconnot had ascertained
+that sawdust, wood shavings, starch, linen and cotton fabrics, when
+treated with concentrated nitric acid, produced a gelatinous substance,
+which coagulated into a white mass, on the addition of water; this
+substance, which he called "xyloidine," was highly inflammable.
+Schonbein, however, made his explosive from purified cotton, steeped in a
+mixture of equal parts of nitric and sulphuric acids, which when
+carefully washed, and dried, kept its appearance of cotton wool.  In the
+_Times_ of 4 Nov., is a notice of Gun sawdust (a powder now much used),
+made by Mr. George Turner of Leeds.
+
+Whilst on the subject of Chemicals, I may as well mention, what was much
+talked of at the time--the discovery of sulphuric ether, when inhaled,
+being an anaesthetic.  Previous to this, Nitrous Oxide, or, as it was
+called, "Laughing Gas," somewhat inadequately performed the same
+function.  This latter was discovered by Dr. Priestley, in 1776, and its
+use, as an anaesthetic, recommended by Sir H. Davey in 1880, was put into
+practice by Mr. Wells, in America, to lessen the pain in extracting teeth
+in 1844.
+
+The first notice of the inhalation of sulphuric ether that I know of, is
+in No. XLV. of the _British and Foreign Medical Review_, which says:
+"Just as our last proof was passing through our hands, we received from
+our medical friends in Boston, the account of a matter so interesting to
+surgeons, and, indeed to everyone, that we take the opportunity of
+introducing it here.  We know nothing more of this new method of
+eschewing pain than what is contained in the following extracts from two
+private letters, kindly written to us by our excellent friends Dr. Ware
+and Dr. Warren, of Boston--both men of the highest eminence in their
+profession in America--and, we may truly say, in Europe also.  It is
+impossible, however, not to regard the discovery as one of the very
+highest importance, not in the practice of operative surgery only, but,
+also, as Dr. Ware suggests, in practical medicine.  We trust our friends
+will forgive us for putting into print their private communications.  The
+importance of the subject, and the necessity of authenticating the
+statements, are our excuses.  The authors of the discovery are Dr. C. T.
+Jackson and Dr. Morton.
+
+Dr. Warren writes, under date of 24 Nov., that "In six cases, I have had
+it applied with satisfactory success, and no unpleasant sequel."  And Dr.
+Ware (29 Nov.) says: "It was brought into use by a dentist, and is, now,
+chiefly employed by that class of practitioners.  He has taken out a
+patent for the discovery, and has despatched persons to Europe to secure
+one there also; so you will soon hear of it, and, probably, have an
+opportunity of witnessing its effects."
+
+Then follows a long list of operations performed in America--wound up
+with this postscript: "Dec. 22.  Yesterday, we had, ourselves, this new
+mode of cheating pain put in practice by a master of chirurgery, on our
+own side of the Atlantic.  In the theatre of University College Hospital,
+Mr. Liston amputated the thigh of a man, previously narcotized by the
+inhalation of ether vapour.  Shortly after being placed on the operating
+table, the patient began to inhale, and became apparently insensible in
+the course of two or three minutes.  The operation was then commenced,
+and the limb was removed in, what seemed to us, a marvellously short
+time--certainly less than a minute; the patient remaining during the
+incisions and the tying of the arteries, perfectly still and motionless.
+While the vessels were being secured, on being spoken to, he roused up
+partially (still showing no signs of pain), and answered questions put to
+him, in a slow, drowsy manner.  He declared to us that at no part of the
+operation had he felt pain, though he seemed to be partially conscious;
+he had heard some words, and felt that something was being done to his
+limb.  He was not aware, till told, that the limb was off; and, when he
+knew it, expressed great gratification at having been saved from pain.
+The man seemed quite awake when removed from the operating room, and
+continued so.  Everything has since proceeded as usual, and very
+favourably.
+
+"Mr. Liston afterwards performed one of the minor--but most painful
+operations of surgery--the partial removal of the nail, in _onychia_, on
+a man similarly narcotised, and with precisely the same result.  The
+patient seemed to feel no pain; and, upon rousing up, after the
+operation, declared that he had felt none."
+
+_Punch_ found another and more domestic use for this anaesthetic.
+
+Patient: "This is really most delightful--a most beautiful dream."
+
+    [Picture: Wonderful effects of Ether in a case of a scolding wife]
+
+Not only was there advance in medicine, but, also, in social
+science--people began to think that the condition of the working classes
+might be ameliorated by giving them better dwellings.  As yet, little or
+nothing had been done, in this way, in London, but a grand opportunity
+occurred at Liverpool, in the building of Birkenhead, and an extensive
+range of model dwellings were erected, four-storied, with ornate
+exterior, the rents varying from 3s. to 5s. per set of rooms, according
+to position; but this included a constant supply of water, and the use of
+one gas burner in each set of rooms, and all rates and taxes; with,
+moreover, two iron bedsteads, a grate with an oven, and convenient
+fixtures; and they were found to answer financially.
+
+The Queen's consent was given on 26 Aug. to an "Act to Encourage the
+Establishment of Public Baths and Wash-houses" (9-10 Vic., c. 74).  How
+it was appreciated by the animals called "Vestrymen" may be seen by the
+fact that at a Vestry meeting of the inhabitants of St. Leonard's,
+Shoreditch, held 26 Oct., the subject was brought forward, when an
+amendment was moved "that it be taken into consideration that day six
+months."  For the amendment, 28; against 20!
+
+The dangers of Smithfield Market were becoming too apparent, as we see by
+a letter in the _Times_ of 26 Nov.:
+
+                 [Picture: The Bull Fight of Smithfield]
+
+    "Sir,--Your paper of this morning again gives an account of more
+    accidents arising in consequence of cattle being driven along our
+    crowded streets, and we may expect to hear of numerous, probably some
+    fatal, injuries being sustained during the short, and, often, very
+    dark days, which are common for some months in the winter.  Everyone,
+    whose avocations call him into the city, has to complain of the delay
+    arising from the over-crowded state of the leading thoroughfares;
+    and, on Smithfield Market days, the obstruction is greatly increased
+    by the droves of cattle and sheep which, in a bewildered, and
+    frequently infuriated state, are being forced by crowds of men, boys,
+    and dogs, along the streets, to the great annoyance, and, often,
+    danger, of the passengers.  I do not here dwell on the revolting
+    scenes of cruelty to the animals, which everyone has to witness and
+    deplore; but, on the ground of danger to human life, and, also,
+    because of the seriously increased obstruction to the general
+    traffic, which is caused by having the cattle market in the heart of
+    the metropolis, I would urge the removal of Smithfield Market to some
+    more appropriate place.  When this has been effected--when
+    _abattoirs_ have been constructed, where, alone, all the larger
+    animals are permitted to be slaughtered, and when cattle are allowed
+    to be driven through the streets only at hours before the business of
+    the day has commenced--then, and not before, will London be, in
+    reference to its cattle market and slaughter houses, what is required
+    in the middle of the nineteenth century."
+
+_Punch_ gives us the following lyric on the subject:
+
+                        THE BULL FIGHT OF SMITHFIELD.
+
+    There's trampling feet in Goswell Street, there's row on Holborn
+    Hill,
+    There's crush and crowd, and swearing loud, from bass to treble
+    shrill;
+    From grazier cad, and drover lad, and butcher shining greasy,
+    And slaughter men, and knacker's men, and policemen free and easy.
+
+    'Tis Monday morn, and onward borne to Smithfield's mart repair
+    The pigs and sheep, and, lowing deep, the oxen fine and fair;
+    They're trooping on from Islington, and down Whitechapel road,
+    To wild halloo of a shouting crew, and yelp, and bite, and goad.
+
+    From combs of distant Devonshire, from sunny Sussex wold,
+    From where their Durham pastures the stately short-horns hold;
+    From Herefordshire marches, from fenny Cambridge flat,
+    For London's maw they gather--those oxen fair and fat.
+
+    The stunted stocks of Cambria's rocks uneasily are lowing,
+    With redder blaze of wild amaze their eyes around them throwing;
+    And the unkempt stot of Galloway, and the Kyloe of the Mearns,
+    Whose hoof, that crush'd the heather tuft, the mild MACADAM spurns.
+
+    They may talk of _plaza mayors_, of _torero's_ nimble feat,
+    Of MONTEZ, the famed _matador_ of _picadors_ so fleet;
+    But what is Spanish Bull fight to deeds which we can show,
+    When through the street, at all they meet, the Smithfield oxen go?
+
+    See there, see there, where, high in air, the nurse and nurseling
+    fly!
+    Into a first-floor window, see, where that old gent, they shy!
+    Now they're bolting into parlours, now they're tumbling into cellars,
+    To the great disgust and terror of the peaceable indwellers.
+
+    Who rides so neat down Chiswell Street?  A City Knight, I ween;
+    By girth and span an alderman, nor less by port and mien.
+    Look out, look out! that sudden shout! the Smithfield herd is nigh!
+    Now turn, Sir Knight, and boldly fight, or, more discreetly, fly.
+
+    He hath eased round on his saddle, all fidgetty and fast;
+    There's another herd behind him, and the time for flight is past.
+    Full in his front glares a rabid runt, thro' tears of pain that blind
+    him,
+    For the drover's almost twisted off the tail that hangs behind him.
+
+    All lightly armed for such a shock was stout SIR CALIPEE,
+    But he couched his new umbrella, and "Police" aloud cried he!
+    Crash--smash--slap-dash!  The whalebone snaps, the saddle seat is
+    bare,
+    And the Knight, in mazy circles, is flying thro' the air!
+
+    The runt tears on, the rout is gone, the street is calm once more,
+    And to Bartlemy's they bear him, extended on a door;
+    Now, gramercy, good SIR CALIPEE, to the turtle and the haunch,
+    That padded out thy civic ribs, and lined thy stately paunch.
+
+    No ribs are broke, but a shattering stroke thy system has sustain'd;
+    Any other than an alderman had certainly been brained.
+    And, soon as he had breath to swear, the Knight right roundly swore
+    That, straight, he'd put down Smithfield, and set up an _abattoir_.
+
+In this year there were sold at Smithfield 226,132 beasts, 1,593,270
+sheep and lambs, 26,356 calves, and 33,531 pigs--to deal with which there
+were about 160 salesmen.  Things went on very much in the same style as
+described in _Punch_ until 1851, when the contracted space of the market,
+the slaughtering places adjoining, and many other nuisances, gave grounds
+for general dissatisfaction, and after an investigation, an Act (14-15
+Vic., c. 61) was passed on 1 Aug. "For providing a Metropolitan Market,
+and conveniences therewith, in lieu of the Cattle Market at Smithfield."
+A suitable site was found in Copenhagen Fields, Islington; the last
+market at Smithfield was held on 11 June, and the first at the new one on
+13 June, 1855.
+
+The _Hampshire Guardian_, copied into the _Times_ of 12 Dec., gives us
+the story of the first submarine Telegraph: "We are enabled to supply the
+following additional particulars respecting the submarine Telegraph laid
+down across our harbour.  It is now about three years since the telegraph
+from the Nine Elms terminus to the terminus at Gosport was first
+established.  Subsequently, from the inconvenience experienced at the
+Admiralty Office here, because of the distance to the telegraph station,
+the wires were continued from that place to the Royal Clarence Yard.
+With this addition, although the inconvenience was lessened, it was far
+from being removed, the harbour intervening, leaving a distance of
+upwards of a mile, to the Admiral's house, unconnected; and,
+notwithstanding the wish of the authorities, both here and in London,
+that the telegraph should be carried to the Dockyard, no attempt has,
+hitherto, been made to do so, because it has been considered almost
+impossible to convey it under water.  An offer, indeed, was made to the
+Admiralty, to lay down a telegraph enclosed in metallic pipes, which were
+to be fixed under the water by the aid of diving bells.  This scheme,
+having been found to be impracticable, has been very prudently abandoned.
+Whatever difficulties may have hitherto interfered to prevent the
+establishment of submarine telegraphs, appear, now, to have been entirely
+overcome, for the time occupied from the commencement of carrying the
+telegraph from shore to shore, and transmitting signals, did not occupy a
+quarter of an hour.  The telegraph, which has the appearance of an
+ordinary rope, was coiled into one of the dockyard boats, one end of it
+being made fast on shore, and, as the boat was pulled across, the
+telegraphic rope was gradually paid out over the stern, its superior
+gravity causing it to sink to the bottom immediately. . . . Independently
+of the simplicity of this submarine telegraph, it has an advantage which
+even the telegraphs on land do not possess--in the event of an accident,
+it can be replaced in ten minutes.  The success of the trial here has, we
+understand, determined the inventors to lay down their contemplated line
+across the Channel, from England to France, under the sanction of the
+respective Governments."
+
+Such was the germ of the multitudinous cables which now span every ocean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+
+Medals for Army and Navy--Grenville library--Day of fasting--"Binding of
+Satan"--Suspension of transportation--New House of Lords--Jenny
+Lind--_Bunn v. Lind_--"Jenny Linden"--Death of O'Connell--Story of the
+Duke of Buccleugh--Abolition of Eton "Montem."
+
+At this time, at all events, we did not plaster our soldiers with medals
+for every trifling deed of duty, and it was not until January of this
+year, that a Commission was appointed to decide upon the medals which
+were to be presented to the officers and men who served in the Peninsula,
+under Wellington and other commanders.  And it was not till the 1st of
+June, that an Order was issued from the Horse Guards, that claims might
+be sent in by those who were present in battles from 1793 to 1814--or,
+rather, the list began with Maida, 1806, and ended with Toulouse, 1814.
+The medals for naval service began with the "Glorious First of June,"
+1794, and ended with the fight between the Endymion and President on 25
+Jan., 1815.  The Medal for Waterloo was granted some long time
+afterwards.
+
+In January, the British Museum received the splendid bequest of the
+Library of Thomas Grenville, Esqre., who died 17 Dec., 1846.  This
+magnificent library of over 20,000 volumes, valued at the very low
+estimate of 50,000 pounds, contains two copies of the Mazarin bible, one
+on vellum, a first folio of Shakespere, Caxton's "Reynard the Fox," and
+countless other literary treasures and rarities.  He had intended to
+leave this library to the Duke of Buckingham--but, reflecting that as
+most of the books had been paid for with the proceeds of a sinecure
+office (Chief Justice in eyre, south of the Trent) of 2,000 pounds a
+year, which he had held from 1800 to 1817, when it was abolished, he felt
+it only just that they should be given to the nation, who had virtually
+paid for them.  With them came, as curator, his valet, Mr. Holden, who
+remained with his master's beloved books until three or four years since.
+
+On 9 March a Royal Proclamation was issued for a day of Fasting and
+humiliation on account of the famine and distress in Ireland, and it was
+duly kept on the day set apart for it, 24 March.
+
+There is a curious paragraph in the _Times_ of 23 March: "BINDING OF
+SATAN.--During the past two or three weeks, a number of persons have been
+going round the streets, on the Surrey side of the water, wearing belts,
+like those worn by the fire brigade, on which passages from the
+Scriptures are painted, carrying with them an inkhorn and long sheets of
+paper, soliciting signatures to what they pretend to be a petition to
+Heaven, for the binding of Satan, the Prince of darkness.  So eager are
+those persons to get the paper signed, that men, women, and children are
+stopped indiscriminately, and requested to sign.  Those who are too young
+to sign, or unable to write their names, have the same done for them by
+the men, who do not attempt to disguise the fact of belonging to the
+followers of Joanna Southcote.  Upon several occasions, a great deal of
+confusion has been created by the parties, for they generally manage to
+go about with knots of forty or fifty persons; and, occasionally,
+discussions ensue, which are calculated to bring the Scriptures into
+perfect ridicule.  One person, more intelligent than the persons who are
+hawking the petitions about, inquired who it is that will present the
+petition? when the man replied, with the greatest coolness, that as soon
+as a sufficient number of names are attached to the petition, it will be
+presented to the Throne of Mercy by Joanna Southcote herself.  Surely it
+is high time that such exhibitions were put down by the police."
+
+Early in April a circular from the Home Secretary was forwarded to the
+magistrates at the various gaols, telling them that, in consequence of
+the suspension of transportation of male convicts to Van Diemen's Land,
+it would be requisite for them to make immediate provision for the
+confinement and employment, in this country, of a great number of such
+offenders.
+
+On the 14th of April the Queen paid a visit of inspection to the New
+House of Lords, and, on the next day, the Peers took possession of it,
+and transacted business there for the first time.
+
+Talk of Gossip, was there ever such food for it as the arrival of Jenny
+Lind--it was a furore, a madness.  She arrived in London late on the
+afternoon of Ap. 17, and was present in the evening at the performance at
+Her Majesty's Theatre.  On May 4 she made her first appearance on the
+Stage in England--in this Theatre--where she played in "Robert le
+Diable," and, from that moment, until the end of the season, nothing else
+was thought of--nothing else talked of--but Jenny Lind, and it was no
+short-lived fit of enthusiasm, for she was _the_ favourite of the public
+until her retirement; her beautiful voice and simplicity of manner
+charming everyone, from Royalty downwards.  Unfortunately her debut was
+somewhat marred by a pecuniary squabble between her and Bunn, the
+operatic poet, a rival _impresario_, Lumley, having secured her services.
+Here is Punch's version of the squabble:
+
+                                "JENNY-LINDEN.
+
+    A DREADFUL ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE AND THE POET
+    BUNN.
+
+    On LIND, when Drury's sun was low,
+    And bootless was the wild-beast show,
+    The lessee counted for a flow
+          Of rhino to the treasury.
+
+    But JENNY LIND, whose waken'd sight
+    Saw Drury in a proper light,
+    Refused, for any sum per night,
+          To sing at the Menagerie.
+
+    With rage and ire in vain display'd,
+    Each super drew his wooden blade,
+    In fury half, and half afraid
+          For his prospective salary.
+
+    BUNN in a flaming frenzy flew,
+    And speedily the goose quill drew,
+    With which he was accustomed to
+          Pen such a deal of poetry.
+
+    He wrote the maiden to remind
+    Her of a compact she had signed,
+    To Drury Lane's condition blind,
+          And threatened law accordingly.
+
+    Fair as in face, in nature, she
+    Implored the man to set her free,
+    Assuring him that he should be
+          Remunerated handsomely.
+
+    Two thousand pounds she offered, so
+    That he would only let her go;
+    BUNN, who would have his bond, said NO!
+          With dogged pertinacity.
+
+    And, now, his action let him bring, {310}
+    And try how much the law will wring
+    From her to do the handsome thing,
+          Who had proposed so readily!
+
+    The Swedish Nightingale to cage,
+    He failed; she sought a fitting stage,
+    And left him to digest his rage,
+          And seek his legal remedy.
+
+    Then shook the House, with plaudits riven,
+    When JENNY'S opening note was given,
+    The sweetest songstress under heaven
+          Forth bursting into melody.
+
+    But fainter the applause shall grow,
+    At waning Drury's wild-beast show,
+    And feebler still shall be the flow
+          Of rhino to the treasury.
+
+    The Opera triumphs!  LUMLEY brave,
+    Thy bacon thou shalt more than save;
+    Wave, London, all thy 'kerchiefs wave,
+          And cheer with all thy chivalry.
+
+    'Tis night; and still yon star doth run;
+    But all in vain for treasurer DUNN,
+    And Mr. HUGHES, and poet BUNN,
+          And quadrupeds, and company.
+
+    For Sweden's Nightingale so sweet,
+    Their fellowship had been unmeet,
+    The sawdust underneath whose feet
+          Hath been the Drama's sepulchre."
+
+Died on 15th May, at Genoa, on his route to Rome, aged 72, Daniel
+O'Connell, the erst "uncrowned King of Ireland," who, during his
+lifetime, had been a thorn (and a very troublesome one) in the side of
+every English government.  His heart was forwarded to Rome, but his body
+was embalmed, and, in due time, was sent to Ireland for interment.
+
+The _Liverpool Albion_, quoted in the _Times_ of 14 May, is responsible
+for the following story: "Some time ago, the Duke of Buccleugh, in one of
+his walks, purchased a cow from a person in the neighbourhood of
+Dalkeith, and left orders to send it to his palace on the following
+morning.  According to agreement, the cow was sent, and the Duke, who
+happened to be _en deshabille_, and walking in the avenue, espied a
+little fellow ineffectually attempting to drive the animal to its
+destination.  The boy, not knowing the Duke, bawled out to him: 'Hi! mun,
+come here an' gi'us a han' wi' this beast.'  The Duke saw the mistake,
+and determined to have a joke with the little fellow.  Pretending,
+therefore, not to understand him, the Duke walked on slowly, the boy
+still craving his assistance.  At last, he cried in a tone of apparent
+distress: 'Come here, mun, an' help us, an' as sure as onything, I'll
+give ye half I get.'  This last solicitation had the desired effect.  The
+Duke went and lent a helping hand.  'And now,' said the Duke, as they
+trudged along, 'how much do you think you will get for this job?'  'Oh,
+dinna ken,' said the boy, 'but I am sure o' something, for the folk up at
+the house are good to a' bodies.'  As they approached the house, the Duke
+darted from the boy, and entered by a different way.  He called a
+servant, and put a sovereign into his hand, saying, 'Give that to the boy
+that has brought the cow.'  The Duke returned to the avenue, and was soon
+rejoined by the boy.  'Well, how much did you get?' said the Duke.  'A
+shilling,' said the boy, 'an' there's the half o't to ye.'  'But, surely,
+you got more than a shilling,' said the Duke.  'No,' said the boy, with
+the utmost earnestness, 'as sure's death, that's a' I got--an' d'ye not
+think it's a plenty?'  'I do not,' said the Duke; 'there must be some
+mistake; and, as I am acquainted with the Duke, if you return, I think
+I'll get you more.'  The boy consented; back they went.  The Duke rang
+the bell, and ordered all the servants to be assembled.  'Now,' said the
+Duke to the boy, 'point out the person who gave you the shilling.'  'It
+was that chap, there, with the apron,' pointing to the butler.  The
+delinquent confessed, fell on his knees, and attempted an apology; but
+the Duke interrupted him, indignantly ordered him to give the boy the
+sovereign, and quit his service instantly.  'You have lost,' said the
+Duke, 'your money, your situation, and your character, by your
+covetousness; learn, henceforth, that honesty is the best policy.'  The
+boy, by this time, recognised his assistant, in the person of the Duke,
+and the Duke was so delighted with the sterling worth and honesty of the
+boy, that he ordered him to be sent to school, kept there, and provided
+for at his own expense."
+
+Eton "Montem" was abolished this year.  It was a triennial custom, and
+had for its purpose the presentation of a sum of money to the Captain of
+the school on his departure to the University.  Every third year, on
+Whitsun Tuesday, some of the Eton boys, clad in fancy costume (as is here
+given from the Montem of 1844), went to Salt Hill, and the neighbourhood
+generally, and levied contributions, or "Salt," from all passers-by.  The
+custom led to grave abuses, and the Provost and Head Master determined
+that it should end, but, that the boy who benefited by it should not be a
+loser, the latter, Dr. Hawtrey, gave him 200 pounds out of his own
+pocket.  The following is an account of the death and burial of Eton
+"Montem":
+
+    "Tuesday, 25 May.--This being the day on which the triennial festival
+    of 'Montem' would have been celebrated at Eton and Salt Hill, had it
+    not been abolished by the Provost and the authorities of Eton,
+    considerable excitement prevailed in the vicinity of the College from
+    an early hour this morning, in consequence (from rumours which had
+    been in circulation for some time past) of its being apprehended that
+    some 'demonstration' would be made by the boys, assisted by several
+    old Etonians from Oxford and Cambridge (who are strongly opposed to
+    the abolition of the ceremony), which might lead to a breach of the
+    peace.  With the exception of about a thousand small squares of glass
+    being demolished in the vicinity of the lower school, and similar
+    breakages, but to a much smaller extent, at the houses of parties who
+    were supposed to be in favour of the determination which had been
+    come to by the Provost, we have heard of no demonstration of a
+    riotous character on the part of the boys.  This being a 'whole
+    holiday,' several of the head boys had permission to proceed in
+    boats, up the Thames, for the day, as far as Cliefden.  Between 100
+    and 200 have, also, left for the Whitsun holidays; thus thinning the
+    number remaining at College to a considerable extent.
+
+                 [Picture: Dresses, Eton "Montem."  1844]
+
+    "As soon as 'absence' had been called by the head master, the Rev.
+    Dr. Hawtrey, shortly after 12 o'clock, the boys, numbering between
+    200 and 300, formed in procession in the playing fields, and marched
+    across the fields, preceded by a black flag, to the celebrated mount
+    at Salt Hill.  They were joined by a great many of the old Etonians
+    from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, who arrived at Eton
+    this morning.  Each wore, on his left arm, a band and rosette of
+    black crape, and many had white hatbands and scarves.  As they were
+    seen wending their way towards Salt Hill, they had all the appearance
+    of mourners (merry though they might be) in a funeral procession.
+    Upon their arrival at the Mount, the black flag was waved in solemn
+    silence, and, afterwards, placed on the summit, drooping on the
+    ground, typical of the lost glories of Montem.  The large party then
+    proceeded to Botham's, at the Windmill Hotel, whence, after partaking
+    of a luncheon, they again returned to the Mount, and, with the flag,
+    retraced their steps back to College.
+
+    "A match at cricket was played during the day, between the Oxonians
+    and the present Etonians, in the shooting fields attached to the
+    College.  A splendid cold collation was provided, in the evening, for
+    the players, by Mr. Clarke, of the Christopher Inn.  The waiters who
+    attended upon the guests were compelled to wear black crape around
+    their arms, 'in keeping,' as it was observed, 'with the solemnity of
+    the occasion.'  Such were the fears entertained by some of the
+    College authorities that a disturbance might take place in the course
+    of the day, that a strong body of the Metropolitan A division of
+    police was stationed at Slough, in plain clothes (as we are
+    informed), to be in readiness to assist the local authorities, in the
+    event of their services being required, it being expected that a mob,
+    composed of the idle and lazy of the two towns, might, in the course
+    of the evening, show some disposition to create a disturbance.  The
+    abolition of Montem is not only considered to be a most unpopular
+    proceeding on the part of the old and present Etonians; but, also, by
+    the tradesmen of Eton and Windsor, amongst the former of whom a large
+    sum of money was triennially circulated, both before and during the
+    festival."
+
+_Punch_ has a lament on it, of which I reproduce three verses:
+
+    "Say, Hill of Salt, for thou hast seen
+       Full many a noble race
+    Do what might be considered mean
+       In any other case--
+    With cap in hand, and courtly leg,
+    Waylay the traveller, and beg;
+       Say, was it not a pleasing sight
+    Those young Etonians to behold,
+    For eleemosynary gold,
+       Arrest the passing wight.
+
+    Whilst some, of more excursive bent,
+       Their vagrant arts to ply,
+    To all the various places went,
+       That in the neighbourhood lie;
+    To Datchet, Slough, or Horton they,
+    Or e'en to Colnbrook, took their way,
+       Or ancient Windsor's regal town;
+    Stopp'd every body they could meet,
+    Knocked at each house, in every street,
+       In hopes of half a crown.
+
+    Gay clothes were theirs, by fancy made;
+       Some were as Romans drest,
+    Some in the Grecian garb array'd,
+       Some bore the knightly crest;
+    Theirs was attire of every hue,
+    Of every fashion, old, or new,
+       Various as Nathan's ample store.
+    Angelic beings!  Ladies! say
+    Will ye let these things pass away?
+       Must Montem be no more?"
+
+From this, to the Accession of the Queen, there is no more Gossip to
+chronicle.
+
+            [Picture: Decorative picture of person with crown]
+
+
+
+
+Footnotes:
+
+
+{10}  Then a very active M.P.; afterwards Judge in the Admiralty and
+Probate Courts, Dean of Arches, &c.
+
+{23}  It is said that this was the last chime rung.
+
+{27}  Still in use on the Royal Exchange.
+
+{81a}  It is needless to say that the Queen's Speech to Parliament on 5th
+Feb. was absolutely silent on the matter; indeed, the Queen did not
+inform her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, of her choice until October of
+this year.
+
+{81b}  Poems by the Lady Flora Hastings, edited by her sister.
+Edinburgh, 1841, 8vo.
+
+{84}  The Queen's most intimate companion from her childhood.
+
+{119a}  This was preliminary, and was entitled "An Act for Exhibiting a
+Bill in this present Parliament for naturalising His Serene Highness
+Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha."
+
+{119b}  That of intermarriage with Protestants only.
+
+{128}  A private box, on the level of the stage, with which it
+communicated.
+
+{132}  Three Chartist leaders, who were condemned to death on 16 Jan.,
+1840, but were never executed, and subsequently pardoned.
+
+{151}  Handcuffs.
+
+{156}  The nautical way of writing "Oh, come to me."
+
+                                                        _Printer's Devil_.
+
+{159}  He put up for election at the Senior United Service Club, was
+balloted for on 6 June, 1840, when out of 194 balls, 166 were black.
+
+{163}  An action was brought against them at Reading, and on 24 Feb.,
+1843, the jury found for the plaintiff against all the defendants, and
+gave 1_s._ damages for the assault, and 55 pounds for the injury done to
+the house and furniture.
+
+{169a}  It was held copyhold of the Queen, as Lord of the Manor.
+
+{169b}  Mr. Simpson had been a famous Master of the Ceremonies.
+
+{170a}  Ring Master at Astley's.
+
+{170b}  George Robins, a famous auctioneer.
+
+{171}  A famous Rope dancer.
+
+{194}  A well known nick-name for Lord Palmerston.
+
+{279}  From Moorgate Street 83 prospectuses, demanding 90,175,000 pounds,
+were sent out.  Gresham Street issued 20, requiring 17,580,000 pounds.
+
+{310}  The case of _Bunn v. Lind_ came on, in the Court of Queen's Bench,
+on 22 Feb., 1848.  Damages laid at 10,000 pounds.  The jury found a
+verdict for the plaintiff, and the case was ultimately settled by a
+payment of 2,000 pounds.
+
+
+
+
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