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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 19:54:13 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 19:54:13 -0700 |
| commit | f929f2a398e71e16aafdd92a763b516d9bae6c75 (patch) | |
| tree | 1795bfce79b8ab3a4d93543d7dd00e268e7ef948 /30665-h | |
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diff --git a/30665-h/30665-h.htm b/30665-h/30665-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b9a1602 --- /dev/null +++ b/30665-h/30665-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13239 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<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"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + P.gutsumm { margin-left: 5%;} + P.poetry {margin-left: 3%; } + H1, H2 { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + } + H3, H4, H5 { + text-align: left; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + table { border-collapse: collapse; } +table {margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;} + td { vertical-align: top; border: 1px solid black;} + td p { margin: 0.2em; } + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .pagenum {position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + color: gray; + } + + div.gapspace { height: 0.8em; } + div.gapline { height: 0.8em; width: 30%; } + div.gapdoubleline { height: 0.3em; width: 50%; + margin-left: 25%; border-top: 1px solid; + border-bottom: 1px solid;} + div.gapshortline { height: 0.3em; width: 20%; margin-left:40%; + border-top: 1px solid; } + .citation {vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: none;} + img.floatleft { float: left; + margin-right: 1em; + margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; } + img.floatright { float: right; + margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; + margin-bottom: 0.5em; } + img.clearcenter {display: block; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0.5em; + margin-bottom: 0.5em} + --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<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’S REIGN</h1> +<p style="text-align: center">By<br /> +John Ashton<br /> +<span class="smcap">author of</span><br /> +“<i>Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne</i>”</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’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’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 +<i>ipsissima verba</i>, 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.</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’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</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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>Thames Tunnel Flooded—First Mention of the Nelson +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</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—Sale of the +Salvage—Spring-heeled Jack and his Pranks—Lord John +Russell’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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>Lords and Pugilists—“Penny +Gaffs”—Steam between England and America—A +Man-Woman—Designs for Nelson’s Monument—A +Termagant—Scold’s Bridles, &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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>Thom, the Religious Fanatic—His Riots and +Death—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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>The Queen’s Coronation—The Carriages—The +Fair and Festivities in Hyde Park—The Marquis of +Waterford’s Drive: His Freaks at Melton Mowbray—Steam +Carriages—Dog Carriages—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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>Genesis of the “Charter”—London and +North-Western Railway opened to Birmingham—Overland Route +to India—A Bold Smuggler—Visitors to the +Queen—“The Boy Jones”</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—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</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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>Queen Elizabeth’s Statue—The Ladies of the +Bed-chamber—The Queen hissed at Ascot Races—Land at +Melbourne—Sunday Trading—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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>The Eglinton Tournament—Sale of Armour, +&c.—The Queen of Beauty and the Cook—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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>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</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—Postage +Stamps—Prince Albert’s Allowance—<i>The +Times</i>’ Comments on the Marriage—Royal Wedding +Cake—<!-- page xi--><a name="pagexi"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. xi</span>Louis Napoleon’s +Duel—Nelson Column—Noblemen’s +Servants—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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>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 +Envelopes—Sale of Louis Napoleon’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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>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</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, “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 the +Electric Telegraph—Sale of Shakspere Autograph—The +Census—Astley’s Amphitheatre Burnt—Behaviour of +“Gentlemen”</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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>Story of an Irish Informer—Steam Cars—Sale of +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</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—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</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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>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 Gipsy Trial—Closing of the Fleet +Prison—Married in a Sheet—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—Rebecca and her +Daughters—Spread of the Movement through Wales—Its +End—Rebecca Dramatised—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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>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</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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>Exhibition of Cartoons—A +Duel—Gambling—The “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</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—Trial, &c. of Daniel +O’Connell—General Tom Thumb: His Visit to the +Queen—The Polka—How to dance +it—“Jullien’s Grand Polka”</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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>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</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—Curious Story—Statue of King +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</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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>The Queen’s Costume Ball—Copper Coinage of +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—<!-- page xiii--><a name="pagexiii"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. xiii</span>Reverse of Fortune—Prince +Albert and his Taxes—Waghorn’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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>The Railway Mania—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—Sheriffs’ +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</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> </p> +</td> +<td><p>The Last Post Office Bell-man—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 Washhouses—Smithfield +Cattle Market—“The Bull Fight of +Smithfield”—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—Grenville +Library—Day of Fasting—“Binding of +Satan”—Suspension of Transportation—New House +of Lords—Jenny Lind—<i>Bunn v. +Lind</i>—“Jenny Linden”—Death of +O’Connell—Story of the Duke of +Buccleugh—Abolition of Eton “Montem”</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>“Child’s Play”</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>“The Gent”</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’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’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>“Repeal” 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’Connell’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>–41–42</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’ 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 “Montem” 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’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.</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. Greville, in his <i>Memoirs</i>, 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.”</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>“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 <!-- 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. 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 <i>Princess</i> was in such a sweet sleep, she +could not venture to disturb her. Then they said, ‘We +come to the <i>Queen</i> on business of State, and even her sleep +must give way to that.’ 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.”</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. 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.</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. 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, +“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. +<!-- 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>’ 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.”</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. 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 <!-- 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. 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.</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: “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.</p> +<p>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.</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. It is copied from <!-- +page 5--><a name="page5"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +5</span><i>The Times</i> of 29 June, 1837. “(<i>From +an Evening Paper</i>)—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 +(<i>sic</i>) epistle, which we give as rather a curiosity of its +kind:—</p> +<blockquote><p style="text-align: right">“Golden Arms +Inn—29 Oct., 1836.</p> +<p>“Mrs. C---, London,</p> +<p>“<span class="smcap">Madum</span>,—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 <!-- 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’ 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,</p> +<p style="text-align: right">“John ---.”</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. +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.</p> +<p>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, +<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—being never so +happy as when the debauch ended in a fight. 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. 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. <i>Times</i>, 10 +<i>July</i>, 1837:</p> +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Bow Street</span>.—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. 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.</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. 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.</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 “rather too much +wine.” 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 £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.</p> +<p><!-- page 9--><a name="page9"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +9</span>Ferguson said he had no objection to pay £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’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: “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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>One more illustration of the amusements and behaviour of the +<i>jeunesse dorée</i> of that period will suffice. +<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>.—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’clock +that morning he was roused by a violent ringing at his +bell. He answered the summons immediately.</p> +<p>Capt. Reynolds: It’s a --- lie. You have committed +perjury.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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’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. 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—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. 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 £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 £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—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.</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. 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 <i>stratum</i> 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 <!-- 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. 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.”</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>“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>“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.”</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>.—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:</p> +<p>Mr. Rawlinson: What do you want the warrant for?</p> +<p>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.</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’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 ’cos it’s +fashionable, and makes me look like a man of some courage.</p> +<p>Mr. Rawlinson: Fashionable, indeed! I wish, with all my +<!-- page 15--><a name="page15"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +15</span>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.</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’t.</p> +<p>Mr. Rawlinson: How’s that?</p> +<p>Applicant: ’Cos the hair ain’t long and thick +enough; they’re only young ’uns as yet. There +was no occasion to strike me.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>The man with mustachios then withdrew.</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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 <i>The Torch</i>, 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</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’s +in high dud-<br /> + geon that Lord Melbourne’s brains should be so +muddy<br /> +As to advise you sell your royal <i>stud</i>,<br /> + 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 /> + Like cavalry of Evans called De Lacey,<br /> +No! I do rather hope your royal mind<br /> + 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 /> + naturedly its prancers and its sport?<br /> +You have a breed of <i>asses</i> in the <i>Council</i>,<br /> + 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 /> + Believe me, Lady liege, he tells a crammer;<br /> +You’ll set your people biting all their <i>nails</i>,<br /> + 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 /> + Who, into coin, change everything they’re +able.<br /> +You’re just installed, and they would sell <i>the +steed</i>,<br /> + It doesn’t make me think they’re very +<i>stable</i>.</p> +<p style="text-align: center">VI.</p> +<p>I daresay they believe they’re very knowing,<br /> + I think they’re close to their official +shelves:<br /> +And, when they set the horses “Going, going,”<br /> + It’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 /> + What! sell its stud of steeds beyond all praise!<br +/> +<i>Nay</i>, shout the people with indignant voices,<br /> + 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 /> + Of tears ’twill set your people shedding +floods;—<br /> +I tell ye what will make ’em all adore ye,—<br /> + 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. 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 <!-- +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. 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.</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 & 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:</p> +<p>“‘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.’</p> +<p>“And each of the Parties shall say to the other:</p> +<p>“‘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].’</p> +<p>“Provided also, that there be no lawful Impediment to +the Marriage of such Parties.”</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. 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.</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’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. 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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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’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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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 <!-- page 21--><a +name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 21</span>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.</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—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. 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 <i>Hansard</i>, 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 +(<i>laughter</i>). 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 <i>Hansard</i>. +“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—(<i>loud +laughter</i>)—notwithstanding the <i>amantium ira</i> had +resulted, as he always expected, in the <i>amoris +integratio</i>—(<i>renewed +laughter</i>)—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—(<i>laughter</i>)—notwithstanding +emancipated Ireland and enslaved England, the noble lord might +wave in one hand the keys of St. Peter, and in the +other—(<i>the shouts that followed drowned the conclusion +of the sentence</i>). 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 <!-- page 22--><a +name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 22</span>he had often +succeeded at last. He would sit down now, but the time +would come when they would hear him. (<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>).”</p> +<h2><!-- page 23--><a name="page23"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +23</span>CHAPTER III.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">Destruction of Royal Exchange—Sale of +the salvage—Spring-heeled Jack and his pranks—Lord +John Russell’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’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.</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 “There’s nae luck about the +house,” <a name="citation23"></a><a href="#footnote23" +class="citation">[23]</a> “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, <!-- page 24--><a +name="page24"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 24</span>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.</p> +<p>The following account of the Exchange after the fire is taken +from the <i>Times</i> of 13 Jan.:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- page 25--><a name="page25"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 25</span>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- 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 +‘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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 +<!-- 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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</p> +<p><i>Times</i>, 4 Ap., 1838:—“<span +class="smcap">The Royal Exchange</span>.—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, <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, £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.”</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 +“Spring-heeled Jack,” 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. 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. 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.</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. 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 <i>Times</i> 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 <!-- page +29--><a name="page29"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 29</span>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.</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. 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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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. +Also an account of his horrible appearance to Miss N--- and his +singular letter to the Lord Mayor of London.”</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’s hat.—<i>Times</i>, 8 Feb.:</p> +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Thames Police +Court</span>.—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. <!-- 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. 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.</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’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’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. 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.”</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’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’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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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.:—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.</p> +</blockquote> +<h2><!-- page 34--><a name="page34"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +34</span>CHAPTER IV.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">Lords and pugilists—Penny +“Gaffs”—Steam between England and +America—A man-woman—Designs for Nelson +Monument—A termagant—Scold’s bridles, +&c.</p> +<p>I must give another police case, as showing the manners and +customs of the <i>jeunesse dorée</i> of this period.</p> +<p><i>Times</i>, 19 Feb.:</p> +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Marlborough +Street</span>.—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.</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. 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.</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. 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.</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! Picked me up, did +you? Oh! 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! I beg pardon, but I +can’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—hadn’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. 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’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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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’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.</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. +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 <!-- page +37--><a name="page37"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 37</span>from +repeating his conduct. 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. 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’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.</p> +<p>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.</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. Let us take +one.</p> +<p><i>Times</i>, 10 March:</p> +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Hatton +Garden</span>.—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.</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’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.</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. 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.</p> +<p>Mr. Mallett: Had they an inscription that they were +“Licensed pursuant to Act of Parliament”?</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p><!-- page 39--><a name="page39"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +39</span>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.</p> +<p>Mr. Rogers: Have you got “The Spectre of the +Grave” here?</p> +<p>Inspector Jenkins: No, your Worship, he vanished. 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. 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 <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. 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.”</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. 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 <!-- 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. 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? 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. 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. 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 +<!-- 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. +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 <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>.—“Subsequent inquiries confirm the truth of +the statements made in the <i>Guardian</i> 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 <!-- 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. 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.”</p> +<p>The following is an advertisement which appeared in the +<i>Times</i> of 27th April:—“<span +class="smcap">Nelson Monument</span>.—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>“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.”</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, +“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 <!-- 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. The bridle is +to be put in thorough repair, and hung <i>in terrorem</i> in the +Mayor’s office, to be used as occasion may call it +forth.”</p> +<p>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:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Chester presents Walton with a bridle,<br +/> +To curb women’s tongues that talk to idle.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</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. 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, <!-- page +44--><a name="page44"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 44</span>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.</p> +<h2><!-- page 45--><a name="page45"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +45</span>CHAPTER V.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">Thom, the religious fanatic—His riots +and death—Delusions of his followers.</p> +<p>From the earliest ages of Christianity <i>pseudo-Christoi</i>, +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, <i>circa</i> A.D. 530; and Screnus, in Spain, +<i>circa</i> 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, <i>circa</i> 1666. 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 “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 +<!-- 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. 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. 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 +<i>Lively</i> 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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- +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. 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.</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>“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, <!-- page +49--><a name="page49"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 49</span>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.</p> +<p>“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>“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. 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 +<!-- page 50--><a name="page50"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +50</span>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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>The following, from a correspondent, goes far to show the +delusions shared by this maniac and his followers:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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.’</p> +<p>“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 <!-- page +51--><a name="page51"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +51</span>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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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 <!-- page 52--><a name="page52"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 52</span>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.</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. 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. 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.</p> +<h2><!-- page 53--><a name="page53"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +53</span>CHAPTER VI.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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, <!-- 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. 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). 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.</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. 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—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 <i>The Morning +Chronicle</i> of 29 June, and I here reproduce it:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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 <!-- 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. 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>“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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 ‘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.</p> +<p>“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. 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.’</p> +<p>“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 <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- page 58--><a +name="page58"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 58</span>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <i>meum</i> +and <i>tuum</i> was somewhat blunted. 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. 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>“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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</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’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. 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. 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.</p> +<p>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.</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, “upon his honour,” 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. 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. 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.</p> +<p>Mr. Dyer: The policeman states you were intoxicated.</p> +<p>Marquis: Why, I had been about all night, and I don’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. 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. 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’ll defy any man to +drive him the length of this street.</p> +<p>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?</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. 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.</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. 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!”</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. 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.</p> +<p>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, <!-- 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 +“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.”</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. 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 <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.” 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’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>élite</i> 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:</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. <span +class="smcap">Dessert</span>.—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 “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.”</p> +<p>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:</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. 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.</p> +<p class="poetry">“On with your green standard rearing,<br +/> + Go, flesh every sword to the hilt;<br /> +On our side is Virtue and Erin,<br /> + On yours is the <i>parson</i> and guilt.”</p> +<p>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.</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. 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, <!-- 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. 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.”</p> +<p>“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.”</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. 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 +<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. The following is a case +in point, and for sheer impudence, it bears the palm. 17 +Oct.:</p> +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Mansion House</span>.—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’t your husband attend?</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>The Lord Mayor: How do you get your living?</p> +<p>Woman: Why, as well as I can. I don’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. There’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. +(Laughter.)</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.)</p> +<p>The Lord Mayor: Take care of yourself. You think you are +secure. You may go now.</p> +<p>Woman: Good morning, my Lord. 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. 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.</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. 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.</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. 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 <!-- page +70--><a name="page70"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 70</span>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.”</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. 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 <i>bullards</i> (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 <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. 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. 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>.—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 <!-- 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. 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.</p> +</blockquote> +<p>But of all visitors to the Royal Palace, <span +class="smcap">the Boy Jones</span> was the most frequent and +successful. Who, in this generation, knows anything about +<span class="smcap">the Boy Jones</span>? 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:</p> +<p><i>The Times</i>, 15 Dec.:</p> +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Queen +Square</span>.—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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- page +72--><a name="page72"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 72</span>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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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.</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. 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! 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. 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’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. 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.</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.—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.</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’s apartments in the +Palace.</p> +<p>Mr. White: When were they stolen?</p> +<p>Witness: I can’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’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. The +padlock of the portmanteau had been forced by the sword having +been applied to it. The sword had broken in <!-- page +75--><a name="page75"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 75</span>the +attempt. 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’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. 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? 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.</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’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.</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. 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.</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. 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—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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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 +<i>Journal of the Royal Institution</i>, 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, <!-- page 78--><a name="page78"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 78</span>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 +<i>Times</i> of 21 Feb.:</p> +<p>“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—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 <i>seizing a shadow</i>, 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 <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. 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., <span class="smcap">Clericus</span>, +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.</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </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. 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—but henceforth there was to be +inaugurated a newer and better <i>régime</i>, as we learn +from the <i>Observer</i> of 6 Jan.:</p> +<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">Experimental Pavement +of Oxford Street</span>.—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: <!-- 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—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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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 +<i>Sun</i>, seems to have been inspired, by authority, and is +thus quoted in the <i>Times</i> of 24 +Jan.:—“‘<span class="smcap">Marriage of Her +Majesty</span>.—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’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.’—<i>The +Sun</i>. 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.”</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </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. 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. 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. 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 <!-- 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>“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- 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’s guilt.</p> +<p>“‘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.’</p> +<p>“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.”</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—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 <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’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’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.</p> +<p>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, <a +name="citation84"></a><a href="#footnote84" +class="citation">[84]</a> 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.”</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </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. 25 Jan.:</p> +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Marlborough +Street</span>.—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.</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, +“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.</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. 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. 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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>Victoria Park took a shorter time to mature. The first +mention of it, that I can find, is in the <i>Times</i> 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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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. 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.</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. 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!</p> +<h2><!-- page 89--><a name="page89"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +89</span>CHAPTER IX.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</p> +<p><i>Times</i>, 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.”</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. 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 +<i>Hansard</i>. 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>“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.</p> +<p>“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, <!-- 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. 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 <i>our</i> +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.</p> +<p>“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:</p> +<blockquote><p style="text-align: right"><!-- page 92--><a +name="page92"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +92</span>“‘Buckingham Palace.—May 10, 1839.</p> +<p>“‘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.’</p> +</blockquote> +<p>“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:</p> +<blockquote><p style="text-align: +right">“‘Whitehall.—May 10, 1839.</p> +<p>“‘Sir Robert Peel presents his humble duty to your +Majesty, and has had the honour of receiving your Majesty’s +note of this morning.</p> +<p>“‘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.</p> +<p>“‘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.</p> +<p>“‘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 <!-- 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>“‘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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>In a later portion of his speech, Sir Robert remarks:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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 <!-- page 94--><a name="page94"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 94</span>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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>So Lord Melbourne, returned to power.</p> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p95b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"Child’s play. Chorus:—“Can’t get +out!”—“Can’t get out.” 14 June, +1939" +title= +"Child’s play. Chorus:—“Can’t get +out!”—“Can’t get out.” 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. No. 591 is “A Scene from the +farce of <i>The Invincibles</i>, 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 <!-- page 96--><a +name="page96"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 96</span>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 <i>Royal</i> 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.”</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—and the <i>Times</i> of 25 June +quotes from the <i>Morning Post</i> thus:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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 <!-- page +97--><a name="page97"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 97</span>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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>There was only a partial denial given to the above, which +appeared in the <i>Times</i> 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.”</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—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.</p> +<p>I cannot help chronicling an amusing story anent Sunday +trading. 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 “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.</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’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’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.</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 +“<span class="smcap">A New Way of Paying Church +Rates</span>.—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 <i>conscientious</i> method of settling Church Rate +accounts.”</p> +<h2><!-- page 100--><a name="page100"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 100</span>CHAPTER X.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">The Eglinton Tournament—Sale of Armour, +&c.—The Queen of Beauty and her Cook—Newspapers +and their Sales.</p> +<p>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 <i>Times</i> of 15 July:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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, <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. 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 <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. 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.</p> +<p>“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. 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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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 <i>the</i> +Sheridan, was the “Queen of Love and Beauty.”</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. +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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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—</p> +<table> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center">“Retainers of the Lord of +the Tournament.</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </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"> </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"> </p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center">THE LORD OF THE TOURNAMENT.</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">Earl of +Eglington</span>.</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </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—caparisons, &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"> </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"> </p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </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"> </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’Donal</span>, Esq.</p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center">Retainers of the Lord, as +before.</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </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"> </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"> </p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"><i>The Knight of the +Griffin</i>.</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">The Earl of +Craven</span>,</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </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, &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"> </p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center">Retainers—”</p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: center"> </p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +<p style="text-align: center"> </p> +<p>The other Knights were:—<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’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’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—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. 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.</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. 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.</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. 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.</p> +<p>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.</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. They fetched ridiculously low prices, as the +following example will show:</p> +<p>A suit of polished steel <i>cap à pied</i> armour, +richly engraved and gilt, being the armour prepared for the +Knight of the Lion’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-à-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, £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>mêlée</i> +swords, used in the combat between Prince Louis and the Knight of +the White Rose, seven shillings.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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). “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.”</p> +<p>(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 <!-- +page 109--><a name="page109"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +109</span>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.”</p> +<p>(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.”</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.) “<span +class="smcap">Madam</span>,—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, <!-- +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>“I am, your Ladyship’s etc.—<span +class="smcap">Elizabeth Couch</span> (not Pouch.)”</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—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 <i>Times</i> of 5 Aug., 1839, gives +us</p> +<blockquote><p>“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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<table> +<tr> +<td><p> </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’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> </p> +<h2><!-- page 111--><a name="page111"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 111</span>CHAPTER XI.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>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.</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>—but on 22 +Aug., the <i>Morning Post</i> had the dreadful temerity to +announce the same—and the <i>Court Circular</i> 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 +<!-- 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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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>“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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</p> +<p><!-- page 114--><a name="page114"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +114</span>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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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 <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—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.</p> +<p>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 <i>Observer</i> of 15 +Dec.:</p> +<p class="gutsumm">“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 <!-- +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. 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.</p> +<p class="gutsumm">“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.”</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. It +occurs in a letter in the <i>Times</i> of 19 Dec.:</p> +<p style="text-align: right" class="gutsumm">“<span +class="smcap">Act of Penance</span>, <span class="smcap">St. +John’s</span>, <span class="smcap">Clerkenwell</span>.</p> +<p class="gutsumm">“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 <!-- page 117--><a name="page117"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 117</span>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.</p> +<blockquote><p style="text-align: right">“W.”</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—Postage +Stamps—Prince Albert’s allowance—The +<i>Times</i> comments on the Marriage—Royal Wedding +Cake—Louis Napoleon’s duel—Nelson +Column—Noblemen’s servants—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. 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.</p> +<p>The Postage Stamps, however, were not ready, for we read in +the <i>Times</i> 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.”</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. 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> 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.</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: “It has followed from this policy, <a +name="citation119b"></a><a href="#footnote119b" +class="citation">[119b]</a> that an English monarch should, +<i>cœteris 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. 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 +<!-- 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>“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>“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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <i>hortus siccus</i> exemplify the +productions of a noble forest, or a varied and inimitable +landscape. . . .</p> +<p>“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’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.”</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—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.”</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’; spent the honeymoon at Windsor, +and made their <i>rentrée</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. 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>.—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’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’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 <!-- 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’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.</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’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 +£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.</p> +<p>Count D’Orsay: One surety in £500, would, perhaps, +answer as well as two in £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 £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.</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’Orsay.</p> +<p>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.</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 £17,860.</p> +<p>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.</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 “Constable.” +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. 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.</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. 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.”</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. 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 <!-- 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. 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.</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’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.”</p> +<p>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 +<!-- 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 “staff.”</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. 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>I Puritani</i>, +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. <a +name="citation128"></a><a href="#footnote128" +class="citation">[128]</a> 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.</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—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 <!-- page 129--><a name="page129"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +129</span>“Shame,” “No Tamburini,” and +“No Intimidation,” 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 “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.</p> +<p>It was this episode that the Rev. R. H. Barham has +immortalized in his <i>Ingoldsby Legends</i>, under the title of +“A Row in an Omnibus (box),” beginning:</p> +<blockquote><p>Doldrum the Manager sits in his chair,<br /> +With a gloomy brow and dissatisfied air,<br /> + And he says, as he slaps his hand on his knee,<br /> + ‘I’ll have nothing to do with +Fiddle-de-dee!</p> +<p>‘—But Fiddle-de-dee sings clear and loud,<br /> +And his trills and his quavers astonish the crowd.<br /> + Such a singer as he,<br /> + You’ll nowhere see,<br /> +They’ll all be screaming for Fiddle-de-dee!</p> +<p>‘—Though Fiddle-de-dee sings loud and clear,<br /> +And his tones are sweet, yet his terms are dear!<br /> + The glove won’t fit!<br /> + The deuce a bit.<br /> +I shall give an engagement to Fal-de-ral-tit!’”</p> +</blockquote> +<h2><!-- page 130--><a name="page130"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 130</span>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</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’s feelings about it.</p> +<blockquote><p><i>Times</i>, 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 <i>Moore’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. 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 <!-- page 131--><a name="page131"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 131</span>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.”</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. 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 +<i>The Philatelist</i>, vol. vii., p. 145, is very amusing:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Britannia is sending her messengers +forth<br /> +To the East, to the West, to the South, to the North:<br /> + At her feet is a lion wot’s taking a nap,<br +/> + 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 /> + Another believer’s apparently trying<br /> + To help him in telling the truth, or in lying.<br /> +Two slaves ’neath their burden seem ready to sink,<br /> +But a sly-looking elephant ‘tips us the wink’;<br /> + His brother behind, a most corpulent beast,<br /> + 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 /> + The camels, behind, seem disposed for a lark,<br /> + The taller’s a well-whisker’d, +fierce-looking shark.<br /> +An Arab, arrayed with a coal-heaver’s hat,<br /> +With a friend from the desert is holding a chat;<br /> + The picture’s completed by well-tailed +Chinese<br /> + A-purchasing opium, and selling of teas.<br /> +The minister’s navy is seen in the rear—<br /> +They long turned their backs on the service—’tis +clear<br /> + That they now would declare, in their typical +way,<br /> + 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 /> + To the right, is the King of the Cannibal +Islands,<br /> + 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’s forgotten his +garments.<br /> + Frost, Williams and Jones <a +name="citation132"></a><a href="#footnote132" +class="citation">[132]</a> have this moment been hook<br /> + And are fixing the day they would choose to be +cook’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 /> + Below, to the left, as designed by Mulready,<br /> + Is sorrow’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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p133b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"Left—Lord Monteagle and Mr. Baring, Britannia, Lord +Palmerston. Right—O’Connell and the Duke of +Wellington" +title= +"Left—Lord Monteagle and Mr. Baring, Britannia, Lord +Palmerston. Right—O’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). 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!”</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. 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—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>“You may hear the rumour of the alarming and +truly awful calamity that has occurred in this city, before you +receive this. <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- 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>“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>“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.</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </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.—<span +class="smcap">The Queen had been Shot at</span>!!! 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 <!-- page 137--><a +name="page137"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 137</span>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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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 +<i>cortège</i>, 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.</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>“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. 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 +<i>surveillance</i> during the remainder of his life. The +visitor remarked that there was no such thing as <i>surveillance +de police</i> 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 <!-- 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. 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.”</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.—“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.”</p> +<p>Another thing, too, was just beginning to attract +attention—Electro-metallurgy. 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: “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.”</p> +<p>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.</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. 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/-.</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 “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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- +page 143--><a name="page143"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +143</span>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.</p> +<p>“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.’</p> +<p>“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.’</p> +<p>“Lord Cardigan said, ‘But I say you have insulted +Capt. Jones.’ Capt. Reynolds quietly replied, +‘I have not, my <!-- page 144--><a name="page144"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 144</span>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“Capt. Reynolds applied for copies of all letters +referred to in this statement, which are not given at length, and +was refused them.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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, <!-- +page 145--><a name="page145"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +145</span>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.</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. 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).</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. 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.</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 “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.</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. 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. +The peers present returned a verdict of “Not guilty,” +with the exception of the Duke of Cleveland, who added “Not +guilty, legally.”</p> +<p>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 <i>Sirius</i> and the <i>Great Western</i> across the +Atlantic—now we have the first steamship to India, sailing +on 25 Sep. She was called <i>The India</i>, 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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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 <i>Leeds Times</i>, copied into +the <i>Times</i> of 31 Oct.:</p> +<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">A New +Sect</span>.—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>. 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 <i>Latter Day Saints</i> 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 <i>The Book of Mormon</i>, 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!”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Has my reader forgotten <span class="smcap">The Boy +Jones</span>? 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 <!-- +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. Happily, +neither mother, nor child suffered in any way.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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 <!-- 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. 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.</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. 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 +“Cook’s Kitchen,” 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. 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 <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. Perhaps, however, this +little couplet from the <i>Satirist</i> may be excepted:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Now he in chains and in the prison garb +is<br /> +Mourning the crime that couples Jones with darbies.” <a +name="citation151"></a><a href="#footnote151" +class="citation">[151]</a></p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</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, “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.”</p> +<p>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 <i>chef d’œuvre</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 +“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 <!-- page 153--><a +name="page153"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 153</span>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.</p> +<p>I do not know the Evening paper from which the following +“small beer” chronicle is copied into the +<i>Times</i> 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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- 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. +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.”</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, +“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.</p> +<p><i>Ecce iterum</i> the irrepressible <span class="smcap">Boy +Jones</span>! 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 <i>Satirist</i> to come out with the following appropriate +lines:</p> +<blockquote><p>“The impudent urchin, whom sure the devil +owns,<br /> + And Government wants to send into the Navy;<br /> +Will not go to sea—and ’tis cunning of Jones,<br /> + Who, thus, may avoid his relation, Old +Davey.”</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. 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.</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. 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. 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.</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. 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. 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: “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.</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 “The Boy Jones’s Log,” a portion of which is +as follows:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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 ‘Willy Reilly’:—</p> +<p>“Oakum to me, <a name="citation156"></a><a +href="#footnote156" class="citation">[156]</a> ye sailors +bold,<br /> + Wot plows upon the sea;<br /> +To you I mean for to unfold<br /> + My mournful historie.<br /> +So pay attention to my song,<br /> + And quick-el-ly shall appear,<br /> +How innocently, all along,<br /> + I was in-weigle-ed here.</p> +<p>“One night, returnin home to bed,<br /> + I walk’d through Pim-li-co,<br /> +And, twigging of the Palass, sed,<br /> + ‘I’m <i>Jones</i> and In-i-go.’<br +/> +But afore I could get out, my boys,<br /> + Pollise-man 20A,<br /> +He caught me by the corderoys,<br /> + And lugged me right a-way.</p> +<p><!-- page 157--><a name="page157"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +157</span>“My cuss upon Lord Melbun, and<br /> + On Jonny Russ-all-so,<br /> +That forc’d me from my native land,<br /> + Across the waves to go-o-oh!<br /> +But all their spiteful arts is wain,<br /> + My spirit down to keep;<br /> +I hopes I’ll soon git back again,<br /> + To take another peep.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>To follow Chronology compels me to turn suddenly from gay to +grave topics. In September, 1833, Newman commenced the +<i>Tracts for the Times</i>, 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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- page 158--><a +name="page158"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 158</span>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.”</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 “the exchange of flint for percussion cap guns to +the Army, will cost, this year, £130,000.”</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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 +“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.” <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—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.”</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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’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 <i>Montaigne’s Essays</i>, +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 <i>Montaigne’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.” +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 <!-- 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. The authenticity of the signature in +<i>Montaigne’s Essays</i> 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.</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. +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> </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> </p> +</td> +<td><p> </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’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.</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>“<span +class="smcap">Windsor</span>, 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 <!-- 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. 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.” <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: “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 +<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. 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 <!-- page 164--><a +name="page164"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 164</span>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.”</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—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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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’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 <!-- page 166--><a +name="page166"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 166</span>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.</p> +<p>Judge Torrens: Was it you murdered Noonan?</p> +<p>Witness: No. 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?—It was.</p> +<p>He has, since, been transported?—Yes.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Did you load the gun before you went out?—I did.</p> +<p>Had you liberty to carry a gun?—Yes, from a magistrate, +Mr. Coates, who is since dead.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>Were you not sentenced to be transported?—I was.</p> +<p>Did you not fire shots at the same time?—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?—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?—Yes, the very +first. (Sensation.)</p> +<p>And you don’t call that murdering the man?—We were +all murdering him.</p> +<p>Were you not one of the men who carried him into the ditch to +hide the body?—I was.</p> +<p>Where is your brother, the Caravat?—I don’t +know.</p> +<p>Was he at the burning of Walsh’s house?—No.</p> +<p>Did you know Leonard, the smith?—I did.</p> +<p>Did you see him killed?—I saw him struck, but was not +looking on at his killing.</p> +<p>Did you give him a blow then?—I did not strike a blow at +the man.</p> +<p>Did you give a blow that day?—Yes, when myself was +struck.</p> +<p>Do you remember Wat Hayes?—Yes.</p> +<p>You attacked him, but he shot you off?—No, he did +not.</p> +<p>Was not one of your companions shot by Mr. Hayes?—No, +but a man near me.</p> +<p>Now, tell me, did he not kill one of your friends?—Oh, +he had a party against us, and waylaid us.</p> +<p>Did you remember Jemmy Hughes, who was killed with a +hatchet?—I did.</p> +<p>Were you not looking at his murder?—Oh, no; he was +married to my first cousin.</p> +<p>Were you not taxed with the murder?—The whole country +knew who was in that affair.</p> +<p>You recollect David Hickey, who was killed at Bilboa?—I +was in the fair.</p> +<p>You were of the party?—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?—No, but I got the course of +law, and was acquitted.</p> +<p>You knew Mick Griffin, Lord Stradbroke’s herd?—I +heard he was shot.</p> +<p>Was your brother Caravat accused of this business?—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’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.</p> +<p>Do you remember you and your uncle carrying away a +woman?—I do.</p> +<p>Your uncle was transported?—He was.</p> +<p>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?</p> +<p>Judge Torrens: Did you commit a rape?—No.</p> +<p>Mr. Hatchell: Were any of your brothers convicted of a +rape?—Yes.</p> +<p>Were you not charged with holding the unfortunate woman while +your brother committed the rape?—No, but another brother +was.</p> +<p>Judge Torrens: Did you steal cattle?—No.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>And you lit the fire?—I did.</p> +<p>Did you know there were women in the house?—I partly +guessed there were.</p> +<p>Did you mind how many innocent people might have been +burned?—I did not care. (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. 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 +<!-- page 169--><a name="page169"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +169</span>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.</p> +<p>On 9 Sep. Vauxhall Gardens, which had been a place of +amusement since the time of Charles I., were sold for +£20,000. In <i>Punch</i> of 14 Aug. we find a sad +account of a last visit:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Impelled by a sense of duty, we wended our +way to the ‘Royal property,’ <a +name="citation169a"></a><a href="#footnote169a" +class="citation">[169a]</a> 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 <i>rain</i> 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 +<i>divertissement</i> was anything but diverting, when we +reflected upon the impending fate of the ‘Rotunda,’ +in which it was performed.</p> +<p>“No such damp was, however, thrown over the evolutions +of ‘Ducrow’s beautiful horses and equestrian +<i>artistes</i>,’ including the ‘new grand +<i>entrée</i> and calvacade of Amazons.’ 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. +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, <!-- page 170--><a name="page170"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 170</span>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 <i>Punch</i> was silent! Let them not +sneer, and call us superstitious—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>“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 <i>then</i> have dreamt that the illustrious +George <a name="citation170b"></a><a href="#footnote170b" +class="citation">[170b]</a>—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!</p> +<p>“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 <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. 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>“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. 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 <i>might</i> have been the sprite of +Madame Saqui; <a name="citation171"></a><a href="#footnote171" +class="citation">[171]</a> 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.</p> +<p>“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? 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.’”</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. +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.</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </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. 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>“There’s lately been a +great high tide,<br /> + Nor can it be surprising,<br /> +When everything is getting dear,<br /> + That water should be rising,”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>and after dealing with that event in a very witty manner, it +went on:</p> +<blockquote><p>“The Tower of London, envying<br /> + Father Thames’s notoriety,<br /> +Resolved to have a ‘flare up’<br /> + And be talked of in society;<br /> +Ten thousand guns were fired at once,<br /> + With very few escapers,<br /> +But, though no one heard the great report,<br /> + There was one in the papers.”</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—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.</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’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. “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, +<!-- 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. 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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p class="poetry">“Then Mr. Swifte was nothing slow<br /> + The Crown and Jewels saving;<br /> +And to get the great Wine Cooler out,<br /> + Great danger he was braving.<br /> +Now, Mr. Swifte, of all the wine,<br /> + Should now be made the ruler,<br /> +For while the fire was getting hotter,<br /> + He was getting <i>the Wine Cooler</i>.”</p> +<p>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.</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. 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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Victoria, by the grace of God, of the +United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of +the Faith.</p> +<p>“To all Archbishops, Dukes, Earls, Viscounts, Bishops, +Barons, Baronets, Knights, Justices, Provosts, Ministers, and all +other our faithful subjects, greeting—</p> +<p>“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 <!-- 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>“In witness whereof, we have caused these, our letters, +to be made patent. 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 /> +“Edmunds.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>We read in the <i>Times</i> 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.”</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. 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.”</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. 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.</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—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.</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. 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, <!-- 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. 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.”</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 “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.”</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: “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’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 <!-- +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.”</p> +<p>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 <i>Times</i> from “A +Conservative”:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Sir.—We learn from the <i>Times</i> +of to-day, that the Prince will be called Albert Edward.</p> +<p>“It is natural, indeed, that the illustrious father, and +still more, that the illustrious mother, should prefer Albert +Edward to Edward Albert.</p> +<p>“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 <i>English name</i>.</p> +<p>“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?</p> +<p>“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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>We all know how this gentleman’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. 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.—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. +On his return to Windsor, he visited Hampton Court.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>29th.—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’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.</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. Thence +he went to the British Museum, taking Mr. Solly’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. 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. 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 <!-- page +181--><a name="page181"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +181</span>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 <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’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—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>“In eighteen hundred and forty-two<br /> +Four things the sun shall view;<br /> +London’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.”</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>“The Lord have mercy on you all,<br /> +Prepare yourselves for dreadful fall<br /> +Of house and land and human soul—<br /> +The measure of your sin is full.</p> +<p>“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>“Perhaps you’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’s Dee.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</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>“<span class="smcap">The +Earthquake</span>.—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 <!-- +page 183--><a name="page183"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +183</span>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.</p> +<p>“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 <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. 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 <!-- 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’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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>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 <i>John Bull</i>. “The +true version of Her Majesty’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. 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.”</p> +<p>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, <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>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,</p> +<blockquote><p>“Some cry up Gunnersbury,<br /> + For Sion some declare,<br /> +And some say that with Chiswick House<br /> + No villa can compare;<br /> +But, ask the beaux of Middlesex,<br /> + Who know the country well,<br /> +If Strawberry Hill, if Strawberry Hill<br /> + Don’t bear away the bell.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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; <!-- 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.”</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. +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.</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </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. 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 <i>souvenirs</i> +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.</p> +<h2><!-- page 187--><a name="page187"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 187</span>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> +<blockquote><p>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.</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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).</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. 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 <!-- 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>. 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 +<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. 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.</p> +<p>The crown was a <i>fac-simile</i> 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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- page +189--><a name="page189"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +189</span>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.</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. 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 <i>ceinture</i> +was also composed of brilliants, emeralds and sapphires. +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. The head-dress was +decorated with two rows of large diamonds and one of +pearls. 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>. 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 <!-- page 190--><a +name="page190"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 190</span>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.</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> +“<i>Chevalier sans reproche</i>”!!!</p> +<p>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.</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. 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 +<i>cortége</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. 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.”</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. +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.</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. 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!”</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. 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 <!-- 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’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.</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. 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’ +imprisonment in Millbank Penitentiary.</p> +<p>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.”</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. +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.</p> +<p>It was better in London. 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. 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.</p> +<p>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 <i>Blackwood’s +Magazine</i> for Aug., 1842:</p> +<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“<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’d pockets now relax,<br /> +And quickly pay your Income Tax.</p> +<p>A pleasant medicine’s sure to kill,<br /> +Your only cure’s a bitter pill:<br /> +The drugs of base deluding quacks<br /> +Made Peel prescribe the Income Tax.</p> +<p>You can’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’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 /> +’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’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’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’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’s knock;<br /> +His jest, the poundless poet cracks<br /> +On him who calls for Income Tax.”</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’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.</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. A Mr. +Cohen created some dissatisfaction by speaking <i>against</i> 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 <i>argumentum ad +fœminam</i>:—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 <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. 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.</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </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>“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 <!-- page 196--><a name="page196"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 196</span>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.”</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. 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 & 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.</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: “The Woman ran across Ludgate Hill in +her shift.” In the <i>Times</i> of 15 Dec., I find +the following, copied from the <i>Boston Herald</i>:</p> +<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">Gedney</span>.—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.</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. It was a case in the Court of Exchequer—Smith +<i>v.</i> 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 <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<h2><!-- page 199--><a name="page199"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 199</span>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">Murder of Mr. Drummond—Rebecca and her +Daughters—Spread of the Movement through Wales—Its +End—Rebecca Dramatised—Rebecca in London.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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. 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.</p> +<p>This organization was called “Rebecca and her +daughters,” their leader having taken this scriptural name +from a misconception of the meaning of <i>Genesis</i> 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.</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. 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 <!-- +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. +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>“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 <!-- 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 ‘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.</p> +<p>“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.”</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. Brecknockshire, alone of the +South <!-- page 203--><a name="page203"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 203</span>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.</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. 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 <!-- page +204--><a name="page204"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +204</span>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.</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. 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.</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. 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 <!-- 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 “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!”</p> +<p>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 <!-- +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. 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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- page +207--><a name="page207"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +207</span>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 +<i>denouement</i>.”</p> +<p>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 +<i>Times</i> 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 <!-- page 208--><a +name="page208"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 208</span>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.”</p> +<h2><!-- page 209--><a name="page209"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 209</span>CHAPTER XX.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</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: “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. 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, +<i>The Gretna Green Register</i>, 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, <!-- page 210--><a name="page210"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 210</span>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.’”</p> +<p>The poor “Parson” 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> </p> +</td> +<td><p style="text-align: right"> </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—£1,000,000, all in silver. 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. 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. 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.</p> +<p>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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- page +212--><a name="page212"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +212</span>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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- page 213--><a name="page213"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 213</span>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.”</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 “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.</p> +<p>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 <i>Times</i> of 28 +April, as having occurred some short time previously. 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. 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.</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. 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.</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. 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.</p> +<p>A contemporary account of this movement is given in the +<i>Observer</i> 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 <!-- 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. 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.”</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 “Gents.” <i>Punch</i> 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 <!-- page 216--><a name="page216"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 216</span>“Gent” 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> “<i>Gents</i>,” <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 “Gents,” 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 “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.</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 +“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.</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. 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.</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. 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.</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 £145, +by the Corporation of the City of London. The <i>Patres +Conscripti</i> 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 <!-- page 219--><a +name="page219"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 219</span>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.</p> +<h2><!-- page 220--><a name="page220"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 220</span>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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, <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>The <i>Times</i> of 30 June, quoting the <i>Reading +Mercury</i>, has the following: “<span class="smcap">A +Monster</span>.—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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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. 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?</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—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.</p> +<p><i>Punch</i> 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 <!-- 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. +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’s Studio. Punch, vol. V., p. 179" +title= +"Prince Albert’s Studio. Punch, vol. V., p. 179" +src="images/p223s.jpg" /> +</a></p> +<p>“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 <!-- page 225--><a name="page225"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 225</span>readers of <i>Punch</i>. We +have, therefore, at an enormous sacrifice of time and specie, +obtained a view of it.”</p> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p224b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"Nelson’s Statue" +title= +"Nelson’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. 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.</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’s +four couchant lions were exposed to public gaze. Of the +progress of its building, <i>Punch</i> (25 Nov., 1843) has some +very fine fooling.</p> +<p style="text-align: center">“THE NELSON COLUMN DRAMA.</p> +<p>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 <i>Time</i>. 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:</p> +<blockquote><p><i>Mason</i>.—I’ve asked that fearful +question of the stars,<br /> +Who wink responding—of the Board of Works,<br /> +Whose works have bored us—of the misty moon,<br /> +Towards whose lodgings, after years of toil,<br /> +We rise no nearer. 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—the best can hope no more.<br /> +’Twill rise, like College honours, by degrees,<br /> +And to our limbs a pillar be, of ease:<br /> +Our hearts are warm—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 /> + When I was a little boy,<br /> +On the column, in November,<br /> + I was given some employ.</p> +<p class="poetry">I helped the man to build it,<br /> + And we labour’d hard and long,<br /> +But the granite came up slowly,<br /> + For we were not very strong.</p> +<p +class="poetry"> I +remember, I remember,<br /> + + +How we raised its form on high,<br /> + With one block +in December,<br /> + + +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 /> + When St. Martin’s bells were rung,<br /> +In the laying of the first stone, for<br /> + We both were very young.</p> +<p class="poetry">But weary years have past, now,<br /> + Since we our work begun;<br /> +We fear we shall not last now,<br /> + To see our labour done.</p> +<p +class="poetry"> We +remember, we remember,<br /> + + +But we heard it on the sly,<br /> + +’Twon’t be finished next November,<br /> + + +Nor the subsequent July.”</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. The maximum of each soldier’s deposit was +<!-- page 227--><a name="page227"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +227</span>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.</p> +<p>In the <i>Times</i> 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 <!-- page 228--><a name="page228"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 228</span>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.”</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’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.</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, 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.</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. <!-- 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’s History of Music and Musicians</i>: +“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 <!-- 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.”</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: “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.”</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. 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’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.</p> +<h2><!-- page 232--><a name="page232"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 232</span>CHAPTER XXII.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.”</p> +<p>The <i>Times</i> of 19 Jan. copies the following from the +<i>Worcester Chronicle</i>: “<span class="smcap">A Child +for Sale</span>.—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.’”</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’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 <!-- 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. 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.</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. 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:</p> +<blockquote><p><!-- page 234--><a name="page234"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 234</span>“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.</p> +</blockquote> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p234b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"O’Connell’s Cap" +title= +"O’Connell’s Cap" +src="images/p234s.jpg" /> +</a></p> +<blockquote><p>“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 <!-- page 235--><a +name="page235"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 235</span>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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</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 “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. 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.”</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: “Her +Majesty has again commanded ‘the performances of <i>Tom +Thumb</i>, 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 <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. <i>De +minimis curat Regina</i>! 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! To this, how small is <span +class="smcap">Victor Hugo</span> at the Tuileries; to this, how +mean and petty Göthe at the Court of Saxe-Weimar!</p> +<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p> +<p>“<span class="smcap">Tom Thumb</span> +being—according to the biography published by his showman, +<span class="smcap">Barnum</span>—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 <span +class="smcap">Mathew’s</span> French Shoemaker made his +little boot, struck off in ‘a moment of +enthusiasm’?”</p> +<p>About this time came to us “that sweet boon,” +<span class="smcap">the Polka</span>. 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 <i>Times</i> 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 +<i>soirée dansante</i>, monopolised the professor, <i>par +excellence</i>, of that <i>specialité</i> for three hours, +on Wednesday morning last, at 200 francs the +hour.’”</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’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.—Figure 2. Ill. Lon. News, 27 April, 1844, p. +301" +title= +"The Polka.—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. 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 <i>Illustrated London News</i> of 11 May:</p> +<p style="text-align: center">“THE DRAWING-ROOM POLKA.</p> +<p>We are much gratified in being enabled to lay before our +readers an accurate description of the <i>véritable</i>, +or <i>Drawing-room Polka</i>, as danced at Almack’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 à 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. 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 2–4; 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.</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. 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’s waist, round the room. This may be termed +the first figure.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p240b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"The Drawing-room Polka.—Figure 2. Ill. Lon. News, 11 May, +1844, p. 301" +title= +"The Drawing-room Polka.—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.—With the same step you waltz round the +room—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.—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.</p> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p241b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"The Drawing-room Polka.—Figure 5" +title= +"The Drawing-room Polka.—Figure 5" +src="images/p241s.jpg" /> +</a></p> +<p>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.</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-à-vis</i>, 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.</p> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p242b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"The Drawing-room Polka.—Introduction" +title= +"The Drawing-room Polka.—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. 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:</p> +<blockquote><p style="text-align: center"><!-- page 243--><a +name="page243"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +243</span>“<span class="smcap">Jullien’s Grand +Polka</span>.</p> +<p>Oh! sure the world is all run mad,<br /> +The lean, the fat, the gay, the sad—<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> First cock up your right leg—so,<br /> + Balance on your left great toe,<br /> + Stamp your heels, and off you go<br /> + To the Original Polka. Oh!</p> +<p>There’s Mrs. Tibbs, the tailor’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’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’ll say, young man, we’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—“what a chance”—<br +/> +By gammoning the Polka.</p> +<p>Professors swarm in every street,<br /> +’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’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’t tell, for it’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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<h2><!-- page 245--><a name="page245"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 245</span>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</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’s account of an upper-class dinner. It is +taken from the <i>Constitutionel</i>, the organ of M. Thiers:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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 +<!-- page 246--><a name="page246"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +246</span>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 +<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. 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 <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. 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 <!-- +page 247--><a name="page247"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +247</span>the <i>séance de vin</i> 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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</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. 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.</p> +<p>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, <!-- +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. 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:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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.”</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. 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 <!-- page +249--><a name="page249"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +249</span>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.</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. 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 <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. 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. 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 <!-- page 250--><a +name="page250"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 250</span>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.</p> +<p>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.”</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>“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.”</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’s +remarks, says: “They” (the gentlemen) “go among +these knaves and swindlers, these low-bred ruffians, reeking of +gin and the stables, <i>to make money of them</i>. 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 <i>have</i> a great end in view—that of +money.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p><!-- page 251--><a name="page251"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +251</span>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, <i>the lower jaw was +missing</i>. 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.</p> +<p>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.”</p> +<p>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.</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 “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 <!-- 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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</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’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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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. 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.</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’s was made into a Throne room for +the occasion, and a sumptuous <i>déjeuner</i> 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.</p> +<p>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:</p> +<p>“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. 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:</p> +<blockquote><p>‘Oh, Alderman Gibbs,<br /> +Pray dub up the dibbs!’</p> +</blockquote> +<p>“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 <!-- page 255--><a +name="page255"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +255</span>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.”</p> +<h2><!-- page 256--><a name="page256"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 256</span>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</p> +<p>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. <i>Apropos</i> of this, the +<i>Observer</i> of 23 March is responsible for the following:</p> +<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">The Murderer +Tawell</span>.—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, <!-- page 257--><a name="page257"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 257</span>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.”</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: “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.”@</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. 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.”</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 £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. 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.</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 £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.</p> +<p>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,” <!-- page 259--><a name="page259"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 259</span>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.</p> +<p>I come across a curious paragraph in the <i>Morning Post</i> +of March 13: “<span class="smcap">William +Austin</span>.—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.”</p> +<p><!-- page 260--><a name="page260"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +260</span>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.</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. 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.</p> +<p>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.</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. 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 <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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.</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>“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.</p> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p262b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"“How many hundred shares have you wrote for?” +Railroad Speculators" +title= +"“How many hundred shares have you wrote for?” +Railroad Speculators" +src="images/p262s.jpg" /> +</a></p> +<p>“I pass’d through the lonely street, The +wind did sing and blow; I could hear the policeman’s +feet Clapping to and fro.</p> +<p>“There stood a potato-man In the midst of all the +wet; He stood with his ’tato can In the lonely +Haymarket.</p> +<p>“Two gents of dismal mien, And dank and greasy +rags. Came out of a shop for gin, Swaggering over the +flags:</p> +<p>“Swaggering over the stones, Those shabby bucks +did walk; And I went and followed those needy ones, +And listened to their talk.</p> +<p><!-- page 263--><a name="page263"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +263</span>“Was I sober, or awake? Could I believe my +ears? Those dismal beggars spake Of nothing but +railroad shares.</p> +<p>“I wondered more and more; Says one, ‘Good friend +of mine, How many shares have you wrote for In the +Diddlesex Junction Line?’</p> +<p>“‘I wrote for twenty,’ says Jim, +‘But they wouldn’t give me one’; His +comrade straight rebuked him For the folly he had done:</p> +<p>“‘Oh, Jim, you are unawares Of the ways of +this bad town; <i>I</i> always write for five hundred +shares, And <i>then</i>, they put me down.’</p> +<p>“‘And yet you got no shares,’ says +Jim, ‘for all your boast’; ‘I +<i>would</i> have wrote,’ says Jack, ‘but where +Was the penny to pay the post?’</p> +<p>“‘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.’</p> +<p>“And at this simple feast, The while they did +regale, I drew each ragged capitalist Down on my left +thumb nail.</p> +<p>“Their talk did me perplex, All night I tumbled +and tossed, And I thought of railroad specs, And how +money was won and lost.</p> +<p>“‘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.’”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>And yet another extract. Who does not remember +Thackeray’s <i>Diary of C. Jeames de la Pluche</i>, +<i>Esqre.</i>? but few know how the idea was started. 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—out of an income of +thirty guineas, the main part of which he spent in bouquets, silk +stockings and perfumery—<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. 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.</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>déjeuner</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. 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. Well, “none but the brave,” say we, +“deserve the fair.”</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 “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.”</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’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>. 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 <i>Fox</i> 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 <!-- 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’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.</p> +<h2><!-- page 267--><a name="page267"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 267</span>CHAPTER XXV.</h2> +<p class="gutsumm">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.</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. 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. 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.</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. 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.</p> +<p>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.”</p> +<p>The <i>Morning Chronicle</i> 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.’”</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 “Napoleon +Museum,” collected by Mrs. Sainsbury, and which had long +<!-- page 269--><a name="page269"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +269</span>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.</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’s +coat. The <i>Times</i> of 9 July, copies the following from +the <i>Spectator</i>:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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 <!-- page 270--><a name="page270"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 270</span>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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Further confirmatory evidence is given in the <i>Globe</i>, +copied into the <i>Times</i> 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 <!-- page 271--><a +name="page271"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 271</span>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.”</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. 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.</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>“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 <!-- 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. 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.” <!-- 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. +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.</p> +<div class="gapspace"> </div> +<p>Here is a little anecdote chronicled in the <i>Annual +Register</i> (6 Sep.): “<span class="smcap">Reverse of +Fortune</span>.—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 +<!-- 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.”</p> +<p>We have seen, in 1843, <i>Punch’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. 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.</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>: “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 <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: “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.”</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: “<span class="smcap">How the +King Pays Taxes</span>.—It is not generally known (says the +<i>Free Lance</i>) 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?”</p> +<p>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 <i>pratique</i>. He landed, +however, at Divina, twelve miles nearer London than Trieste, and +hurried through Austria, Prussia, Baden, and Bavaria, with a +passport ready <i>viséd</i> 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.</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—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. It is called +“<span class="smcap">The March of +Speculation</span>.—‘This is the young Gent, as takes +my Business, Mem. I’m agoin’ into the +Railway—Director Line myself.’”</p> +<p>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.”</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 £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.”</p> +<p>Here is a Parody on the situation, 1 Nov.:</p> +<blockquote><p>“There was a sound, that ceased not day or +night,<br /> + Of speculation. London gathered then<br /> +Unwonted crowds, and moved by promise bright,<br /> + To Capel Court rushed women, boys and men,<br /> + <!-- 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 /> + With joyous glance, and eyes that spake again,<br /> +’Twas e’en more lucrative than marrying +well;—<br /> +When, hark, that warning voice strikes like a rising knell.</p> +<p>Nay, it is nothing, empty as the wind,<br /> + But a “bear” whisper down Throgmorton +Street;<br /> +Wild enterprise shall still be unconfined;<br /> + No rest for us, when rising premiums greet<br /> + The morn, to pour their treasures at our +feet;—<br /> +When, hark! that solemn sound is heard once more,<br /> + The gathering bears its echoes yet repeat—<br +/> +’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 /> + And anxious thoughts, and signs of sad distress,<br +/> +Faces all pale, that, but an hour ago<br /> + Smiled at the thought of their own craftiness;<br /> + And there were sudden partings, such as press<br /> +The coins from hungry pockets, mutual sighs<br /> + Of brokers and their clients. Who can guess<br +/> +How many a “stag” already panting flies,<br /> +When upon times so bright, such awful panics rise?”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Mr. Francis, in his <i>History of the English Railway</i>, +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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p><!-- page 279--><a name="page279"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +279</span>“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, <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.’</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.’</p> +<p>“Labour of all kinds increased in demand. 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. 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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- page 281--><a name="page281"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 281</span>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.”</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>“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>“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. <!-- 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. 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 <!-- 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’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.</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>“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.</p> +<p>“In the whole, upwards of 600 plans were duly +deposited.”</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—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.</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. 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 <!-- 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 £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.”</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>“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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 <!-- 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. 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>“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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p><!-- page 288--><a name="page288"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +288</span>The Sheriff’s Officers had a busy time of it, and +<i>Punch</i>, in “<span class="smcap">Going Out +Arresting</span>,” gives the following colloquy between two +of the fraternity:</p> +<blockquote><p>“‘Vell, Aaron, my tear, have yer +’ad any sport?’</p> +<p>“‘Pretty vell, I’ve bagged four Allottees, +and two Provisionals!’”</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. 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.</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. <!-- 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. 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.</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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 +<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>“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. 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, <i>à la Jullien</i>—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 <i>buffo</i> 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.”</p> +<p>They <i>were</i> 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. +<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 “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.”</p> +<p>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 +<!-- page 292--><a name="page292"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +292</span>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.”</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. 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.</p> +<p>There was an alternative, open to those who had the +money—to emigrate—and this they did—see the +following, from the <i>Cork Reporter</i>, copied into the +<i>Times</i> 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. +<!-- 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. +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. <i>La faim chasse +le loup hors du bois</i>. To starve, or emigrate, are the +only alternatives of the people.”</p> +<p>The <i>Waterford Chronicle</i> 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 <!-- page 294--><a +name="page294"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 294</span>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—</p> +<blockquote><p>“Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a +prey,<br /> +Where cows accumulate, and men decay.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</p> +<p>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 +<i>v.</i> 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.”</p> +<p>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 +<!-- page 295--><a name="page295"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +295</span>‘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 <i>rabies +furor</i>—a dream—of which I would not have believed +Englishmen could have been guilty.” He even wrote to +the <i>Times</i> about it: “<span class="smcap">General Tom +Thumb</span>, last week, received 12,000 people, who paid him +£600; <span class="smcap">B. R. Haydon</span>, 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.’ <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.”</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—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.</p> +<p><i>The Illustrated London News</i>, of 27 June, gives us +“<span class="smcap">The Letter Carrier’s Last +Knell</span>.—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:</p> +<p class="poetry">The Dustman was first to forego his brass +clapper,<br /> + The Muffinboy speedily followed his shade;<br /> +And, now, ’tis the Postman—that double-tongued +rapper—<br /> + Must give up his Bell for the eve’s +promenade.<br /> +“<i>Tantæ Animis</i>?’ sage Legislators!<br /> + Why rage against trifles like these? Prithee +tell,<br /> +Why leave the solution to rude commentators,<br /> + Who say, that at home, you’ve enough in one +<i>Belle</i>?”</p> +<p>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 +<!-- page 297--><a name="page297"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +297</span>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.</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’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 +<i>Maida</i>, by his side, which is the work of Mr. Steel, and +cost £2,000.</p> +<p>The potato crop utterly failed again in Ireland, and the +outlook there was indeed black. In the <i>Times</i> 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 <!-- 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. 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’.</p> +<p>“‘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.’</p> +<p>“From a multiplicity of concurrent statements respecting +the pestilence, I shall merely subjoin one, which appears in the +last <i>Tralee</i> 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.’”</p> +<p>This is how the Famine of 1846–7 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. 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.</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’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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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. 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—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.</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: “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.</p> +<p>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 <!-- 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.”</p> +<p>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.</p> +<p>“Mr. Liston afterwards performed one of the +minor—but most painful operations of surgery—the +partial removal of the nail, in <i>onychia</i>, 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.”</p> +<p><i>Punch</i> found another and more domestic use for this +anæsthetic.</p> +<p><!-- page 302--><a name="page302"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +302</span>Patient: “This is really most delightful—a +most beautiful dream.”</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—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.</p> +<p>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, <!-- 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 “that it be taken into consideration that day six +months.” 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>“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 <!-- 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. When this has been +effected—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—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.”</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’s trampling feet in Goswell Street, there’s +row on Holborn Hill,<br /> +There’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’s men, and policemen free +and easy.</p> +<p>’Tis Monday morn, and onward borne to Smithfield’s +mart repair<br /> +The pigs and sheep, and, lowing deep, the oxen fine and fair;<br +/> +They’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’s maw they gather—those oxen fair and +fat.</p> +<p>The stunted stocks of Cambria’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’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’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’re bolting into parlours, now they’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? 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’s another herd behind him, and the time for flight is +past.<br /> +Full in his front glares a rabid runt, thro’ tears of pain +that blind him,<br /> +For the drover’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 “Police” aloud +cried he!<br /> +Crash—smash—slap-dash! The whalebone snaps, the +saddle seat is bare,<br /> +And the Knight, in mazy circles, is flying thro’ the +air!</p> +<p>The runt tears on, the rout is gone, the street is calm once +more,<br /> +And to Bartlemy’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’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’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—to deal with which there were about 160 +salesmen. 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 (14–15 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.</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: +“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 <!-- 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. 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.”</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—Grenville +library—Day of fasting—“Binding of +Satan”—Suspension of transportation—New House +of Lords—Jenny Lind—<i>Bunn v. +Lind</i>—“Jenny Linden”—Death of +O’Connell—Story of the Duke of +Buccleugh—Abolition of Eton “Montem.”</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. 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.</p> +<p>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) <!-- page 308--><a +name="page308"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 308</span>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.</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: +“<span class="smcap">Binding of Satan</span>.—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.”</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’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—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 <i>the</i> 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 +<i>impresario</i>, Lumley, having secured her services. +Here is Punch’s version of the squabble:</p> +<blockquote><p style="text-align: +center">“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’s sun was +low,<br /> +And bootless was the wild-beast show,<br /> +The lessee counted for a flow<br /> + Of rhino to the treasury.</p> +<p>But <span class="smcap">Jenny Lind</span>, whose waken’d +sight<br /> +Saw Drury in a proper light,<br /> +Refused, for any sum per night,<br /> + 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’d,<br /> +Each super drew his wooden blade,<br /> +In fury half, and half afraid<br /> + 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 /> + 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’s condition blind,<br /> + 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 /> + 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 /> + 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 /> + 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 /> + And seek his legal remedy.</p> +<p>Then shook the House, with plaudits riven,<br /> +When <span class="smcap">Jenny’s</span> opening note was +given,<br /> +The sweetest songstress under heaven<br /> + Forth bursting into melody.</p> +<p>But fainter the applause shall grow,<br /> +At waning Drury’s wild-beast show,<br /> +And feebler still shall be the flow<br /> + Of rhino to the treasury.</p> +<p><!-- page 311--><a name="page311"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +311</span>The Opera triumphs! <span +class="smcap">Lumley</span> brave,<br /> +Thy bacon thou shalt more than save;<br /> +Wave, London, all thy ’kerchiefs wave,<br /> + And cheer with all thy +chivalry.</p> +<p>’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 /> + And quadrupeds, and company.</p> +<p>For Sweden’s Nightingale so sweet,<br /> +Their fellowship had been unmeet,<br /> +The sawdust underneath whose feet<br /> + Hath been the Drama’s +sepulchre.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>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.</p> +<p>The <i>Liverpool Albion</i>, quoted in the <i>Times</i> 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 <i>en déshabille</i>, 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 <!-- page 312--><a name="page312"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 312</span>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.”</p> +<p>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. <!-- page 313--><a name="page313"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 313</span>The following is an account of the +death and burial of Eton “Montem”:</p> +<blockquote><p>“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 <!-- page +314--><a name="page314"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +314</span>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.</p> +</blockquote> +<p style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/p313b.jpg"> +<img alt= +"Dresses, Eton “Montem.” 1844" +title= +"Dresses, Eton “Montem.” 1844" +src="images/p313s.jpg" /> +</a></p> +<blockquote><p>“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.</p> +<p>“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 +<!-- 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.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p><i>Punch</i> has a lament on it, of which I reproduce three +verses:</p> +<blockquote><p>“Say, Hill of Salt, for thou hast seen<br /> + Full many a noble race<br /> +Do what might be considered mean<br /> + In any other case—<br /> +With cap in hand, and courtly leg,<br /> +Waylay the traveller, and beg;<br /> + Say, was it not a pleasing sight<br /> +Those young Etonians to behold,<br /> +For eleemosynary gold,<br /> + Arrest the passing wight.</p> +<p>Whilst some, of more excursive bent,<br /> + Their vagrant arts to ply,<br /> +To all the various places went,<br /> + That in the neighbourhood lie;<br /> +To Datchet, Slough, or Horton they,<br /> +Or e’en to Colnbrook, took their way,<br /> + Or ancient Windsor’s regal town;<br /> +Stopp’d every body they could meet,<br /> +Knocked at each house, in every street,<br /> + In hopes of half a crown.</p> +<p>Gay clothes were theirs, by fancy made;<br /> + Some were as Romans drest,<br /> +Some in the Grecian garb array’d,<br /> + Some bore the knightly crest;<br /> +Theirs was attire of every hue,<br /> +Of every fashion, old, or new,<br /> + Various as Nathan’s ample store.<br /> +Angelic beings! Ladies! say<br /> +Will ye let these things pass away?<br /> + Must Montem be no more?”</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> Then a very active M.P.; +afterwards Judge in the Admiralty and Probate Courts, Dean of +Arches, &c.</p> +<p><a name="footnote23"></a><a href="#citation23" +class="footnote">[23]</a> It is said that this was the last +chime rung.</p> +<p><a name="footnote27"></a><a href="#citation27" +class="footnote">[27]</a> Still in use on the Royal +Exchange.</p> +<p><a name="footnote81a"></a><a href="#citation81a" +class="footnote">[81a]</a> 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.</p> +<p><a name="footnote81b"></a><a href="#citation81b" +class="footnote">[81b]</a> Poems by the Lady Flora +Hastings, edited by her sister. Edinburgh, 1841, 8vo.</p> +<p><a name="footnote84"></a><a href="#citation84" +class="footnote">[84]</a> The Queen’s most intimate +companion from her childhood.</p> +<p><a name="footnote119a"></a><a href="#citation119a" +class="footnote">[119a]</a> 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.”</p> +<p><a name="footnote119b"></a><a href="#citation119b" +class="footnote">[119b]</a> That of intermarriage with +Protestants only.</p> +<p><a name="footnote128"></a><a href="#citation128" +class="footnote">[128]</a> 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> 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> Handcuffs.</p> +<p><a name="footnote156"></a><a href="#citation156" +class="footnote">[156]</a> The nautical way of writing +“Oh, come to me.”</p> +<p style="text-align: right"><i>Printer’s Devil</i>.</p> +<p><a name="footnote159"></a><a href="#citation159" +class="footnote">[159]</a> 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> 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 £55 for the injury done to the house +and furniture.</p> +<p><a name="footnote169a"></a><a href="#citation169a" +class="footnote">[169a]</a> 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> Mr. Simpson had been a famous +Master of the Ceremonies.</p> +<p><a name="footnote170a"></a><a href="#citation170a" +class="footnote">[170a]</a> Ring Master at +Astley’s.</p> +<p><a name="footnote170b"></a><a href="#citation170b" +class="footnote">[170b]</a> George Robins, a famous +auctioneer.</p> +<p><a name="footnote171"></a><a href="#citation171" +class="footnote">[171]</a> A famous Rope dancer.</p> +<p><a name="footnote194"></a><a href="#citation194" +class="footnote">[194]</a> A well known nick-name for Lord +Palmerston.</p> +<p><a name="footnote279"></a><a href="#citation279" +class="footnote">[279]</a> From Moorgate Street 83 +prospectuses, demanding £90,175,000, were sent out. +Gresham Street issued 20, requiring £17,580,000.</p> +<p><a name="footnote310"></a><a href="#citation310" +class="footnote">[310]</a> The case of <i>Bunn v. Lind</i> +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.</p> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOSSIP IN THE FIRST DECADE OF +VICTORIA'S REIGN***</p> +<pre> + + +***** This file should be named 30665-h.htm or 30665-h.zip****** + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/0/6/6/30665 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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