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Title: When William IV. Was King
Author: Ashton, John
Language: English
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[Illustration: William IV.]
When
WILLIAM IV.
was King.
BY
JOHN ASHTON,
AUTHOR OF
"SOCIAL LIFE IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE," ETC., ETC., ETC.
WITH FORTY-SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS.
LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LD.
1896.
[Illustration: Decoration.]
PREFACE.
Several "Life and Times of William IV." have been written, but they
all contain a great deal of "Life," and very little "Times." The
present book reverses this, and deals, primarily, with the chief
topics of conversation during the seven years of King William's reign,
and, afterwards, with the social aspect of the times.
Although I treat of a period but sixty years since, it is a time of
which much is to be said which is unknown to the present generation,
and one which has had a deep and lasting influence on our own times.
Then began the mighty reign of steam; then was inaugurated the first
passenger railway, to which small beginning England owes so much.
Then, too, steam navigation began to be general, developing that
commerce which has been the making of the country. Science woke up, as
did Art, whilst the introduction of the Railway caused our
manufactures to progress by leaps and bounds.
Politics have been avoided as much as possible; and, although the book
is necessarily somewhat discursive, I would fain hope it will be found
interesting; and, in the words of the writer of Maccabees (Book II.
xv. 38), I say, "Which if I have done well, and as it becometh the
history, it is what I desired, but, if not so perfectly, it must be
pardoned me."
JOHN ASHTON.
[Illustration: Decoration.]
CONTENTS.
Page.
CHAPTER I.
1830.
Illness of George IV.--His death -- Sale of his clothes, etc.
-- The new King -- His character 1
CHAPTER II.
1830.
Proclamation of William IV. -- The Beer Act -- The Queen and
gas -- Burial of George IV. -- The King and the Duke of
Cumberland -- The King as a soldier -- He meddles with the
uniforms of the army 8
CHAPTER III.
1830.
The King as "_bon bourgeois_" -- Mobbed -- Street song about
him -- A sailor in Guildhall -- Behaviour of the public at
Windsor -- Charles X. in England -- The "New Police" -- A
modest advertisement 17
CHAPTER IV.
1830.
Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway -- Death of Mr.
Huskisson -- Agricultural lawlessness -- Captain Swing --
Executions for riot -- Riots throughout the country -- Special
Commissions -- Prayer to be used in churches and chapels 28
CHAPTER V.
1830.
Duke of Wellington mobbed and stoned -- Owing to riots, the
King postponed his visit to the city -- No Lord Mayor's show,
nor dinner -- Riots in the city -- Apsley House besieged --
Ireland proclaimed -- Ferment in the country -- Change of
Ministry -- Royal succession -- Scotch regalia -- Curious story
of a bank-note 37
CHAPTER VI.
1831.
Incendiary fires -- Captain Swing -- The result of Cobbett's
lectures -- Special Commission -- Prosecution of Carlile --
Election expenses -- List of Close boroughs -- Collapse of
Reform Bill -- The King stoned -- _Debût_ of Princess Victoria
-- The _Times_ and the House of Lords -- Bribery at elections
-- Action for libel -- "The King _v._ Cobbett" -- Prince
Leopold made King of the Belgians 49
CHAPTER VII.
1831.
Opening of New London Bridge -- After the luncheon -- State of
the waiters -- Provision for the Princess Victoria -- Sale of
Sir Walter Scott's MSS. -- The coronation -- Its expenses -- A
"half crownation" -- The Lord Mayor and his gold cup 62
CHAPTER VIII.
1831.
Scramble for coronation medals -- Bad weather -- Fireworks in
Hyde Park -- Absence from the ceremony of the Duchess of Kent
and Princess Victoria -- The _Times_ thereon -- Story of a
Great Seal -- Reform Bill rejected by the Lords -- Reform riots
in the country and London -- Windows of Apsley House broken by
the mob 74
CHAPTER IX.
1831.
Reform procession -- The Corporation of London and the King --
Dreadful riots at Bristol -- Riots in other parts of the
kingdom -- Edward Irving and the "Gift of Tongues" -- The
cholera -- Its spread -- State of Ireland -- Tithe agitation --
Scarcity of food -- Repeal of the Union -- Cases of violence 85
CHAPTER X.
1832.
Commissions at Bristol and Nottingham -- Executions --
Employment of children in factories -- Cholera in London -- Day
of fast and humiliation -- Riot in Finsbury -- Cholera riot at
Paisley -- A small one in London -- Decrease of cholera --
Number of deaths -- Cholera in Ireland -- A charm against it --
Its effect on rooks -- The police, City and Metropolitan 101
CHAPTER XI.
1832.
Reform Bill passes the Commons -- Scotch boys and the Reform
Bill -- Proposed increase of the peerage -- Passed in the Lords
-- "The Marylebone or Tory Hunt" -- The Duke of Wellington
mobbed -- The King stoned -- The Queen hissed -- Archbishop of
Canterbury stoned 114
CHAPTER XII.
1832.
The first reformed Parliament -- Steam communication with India
-- State of Ireland -- Lawless behaviour -- Malversation of
justice -- O'Connell and the Trades' Political Union -- Crime
in Ireland 124
CHAPTER XIII.
1833.
Employment of children in factories -- Evidence -- Passing of
Factory Act -- Gambling -- Crockford's club -- Gambling "hells"
-- Police case 132
CHAPTER XIV.
1833.
The overland route to India -- The Government and Lieutenant
Waghorn -- Police magistrate and the press -- Cobbett and the
British Museum -- Prevalence of influenza -- "National
Convention" riot -- Policeman killed -- The coroner and the
jury -- Adulteration of tea 143
CHAPTER XV.
1833.
The Queen's visit to the City -- Her unpopularity -- King's
dislike of the Duchess of Kent -- Hungerford Market opened --
Death and funeral of Wilberforce -- Abolition of slavery --
Synopsis of Act -- A Women's rowing match -- List of
periodicals and their circulation -- Return of Captain Ross --
State of Ireland -- Passing of "Coercion Bill," etc. 154
CHAPTER XVI.
1834.
Corporation commission -- Curious advertisement -- Discovery of
treasure -- Bribery at Liverpool -- Duke of York's statue --
Trades' unions -- Skit thereon -- Riot at Oldham -- Unionist
oath -- Union meeting and monster petition -- Its fate -- Duke
of Wellington made Chancellor of Oxford -- The Princess
Victoria's lover 165
CHAPTER XVII.
1834.
Crockford's and game -- The _chef_ in trouble -- Burning of the
Houses of Parliament -- The tapestry in the House of Lords --
Story of one piece -- Temporary House of Lords -- Tithe riots
in Ireland -- Change of Ministry 178
CHAPTER XVIII.
1835.
First cargo of ice to India -- Election riots at Halifax and in
Scotland -- A female sailor -- The new temporary Houses of
Parliament -- The King and others hissed -- Question of
admitting ladies -- A political skit -- Deaths of Hunt and
Cobbett 189
CHAPTER XIX.
1835.
Gambling house police case -- Curious superstition -- A cook's
letter to her mistress -- Jews and public employment -- Fire at
Hatfield House -- Curious discovery of jewels -- Scarcity in
Ireland 201
CHAPTER XX.
1836.
Curious case of a girl stolen by gipsies -- Superstition _re_
light at Christmas in the North of England -- Designs for New
Houses of Parliament -- King William III. statue blown up --
Admission of ladies to the House of Commons -- Stuart impostors
-- An inter-university boat race -- How Cambridge came to have
light blue as a colour 214
CHAPTER XXI.
1836.
Report on the British Museum -- The King and the Duchess of
Kent; a scene -- Inauguration of George III.'s Statue at
Charing Cross -- Poetry at the police court -- The trip of the
Nassau balloon 226
CHAPTER XXII.
1837.
Epidemic of influenza -- A scene in some Metropolitan
graveyards -- Lord de Ros and his cheating at cards --
Invention of sewing machine -- Coming of age of Princess
Victoria -- Illuminations, etc. -- The Spitalfield's silk
weavers' ball -- Illness of the King -- His death and burial 235
CHAPTER XXIII.
Men's dress -- Education -- School advertisements -- The
original of Squeers -- Girls' schools -- Tea as a meal -- Food
-- A foreigner's sketch of an English dinner-party -- A
high-class dinner -- An ideal dinner 248
CHAPTER XXIV.
Clubs -- Theatres -- Other amusements -- A foreigner's idea of
London -- London streets and noises -- "Buy a broom?" girls 262
CHAPTER XXV.
Holborn Viaduct -- Omnibuses -- Cabs -- Hansom's patent --
Posting -- Mail coaches -- Stage coaches -- Hotels 277
CHAPTER XXVI.
Steam carriages on roads -- Commission thereon -- Steam omnibus
-- Railways -- A nuisance -- Railways started during the reign
-- Opening of the Greenwich Railway 286
CHAPTER XXVII.
Cases of wife selling -- Duelling -- Cases of -- O'Connell and
D'Israeli -- Other duels 295
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Smuggling -- Its prevalence -- Cases -- Great smuggling of
silks, etc. -- More cases 311
CHAPTER XXIX.
Legitimate trade -- The "truck" system -- Its downfall -- State
of trade -- Newspaper stamps -- Steel pens -- Literature --
List of authors -- Painters -- Sculptors 321
CHAPTER XXX.
Musicians -- Paganini -- His avarice -- Ole Bull -- Curious
musical instruments -- Jim Crow -- The opera and its singers --
The ballet -- Actors, etc. -- Madame Vestris's leg 334
CHAPTER XXXI.
Architects and civil engineers -- Men of science --
Scientific societies -- Medical men -- Lawyers -- "Tracts for
the Times" -- Curates' pay -- Flogging in the army and navy --
Crime -- Transportation _versus_ hulks -- Stories of convicts 344
[Illustration: Decoration.]
WHEN WILLIAM IV. WAS KING.
CHAPTER I.
1830.
Illness of George IV.--His death--Sale of his clothes, etc.--The
new King--His character.
In the _Times_ of Friday, April 16, 1830, we have the following _Court
Circular_:--
"His Majesty, we regret to state, has experienced, during the
last few days, an attack of indisposition. The King took an
airing for some time on Monday. During the night his Majesty
became indisposed; Sir Henry Halford, who was in attendance at
the Palace that evening, and who, according to his usual
practice, slept there, left the Palace on Tuesday morning and
came to town, but thought it advisable to return to Windsor in
the evening. Sir Henry came to town on Wednesday morning, and
again returned to the Palace; when, finding that the King's
attack of illness had increased, Sir Henry sent for Sir Matthew
Tierney at an early hour yesterday morning. Sir Matthew
immediately left town: on his arrival at the Palace, the two
medical gentlemen held a consultation on the state of the King,
and, afterwards, issued the following bulletin, a few minutes
before one o'clock:--
_Windsor Castle, April 15._
_We regret to state that the King has had a bilious attack,
accompanied by an embarrassment in breathing. His Majesty,
although free from fever, is languid and weak._
(_Signed_) HENRY HALFORD.
MATTHEW JOHN TIERNEY.
"No alteration taking place in the state of the King, Sir Henry
Halford, shortly after the issuing of the Bulletin, left the
Castle in his carriage and four, for London. Sir Matthew Tierney
remained in attendance on his Majesty during the whole of
yesterday afternoon and evening, and it was arranged would sleep
at the Palace. His Majesty remaining much in the same state
during the afternoon, Sir Henry was not sent for, but would, it
was expected, remain in Town during last night."
This was the first intimation, to the nation, of the serious condition
of George the Fourth. He was paying the penalty for the irregularities
of his life, by suffering from a complication of diseases;
inflammation of the chest, gout in the stomach, dropsy, ossification
of the heart, bile, and asthma. Latterly, he had retired to Virginia
water, where he lived at the so-called "Cottage," solaced by the
society of Lady Conyngham, and existing chiefly on brandy and curaçoa.
His age (for he was in his sixty-eighth year) was against his
recovery, and at 3.13 a.m. on the 26th of June, 1830, he expired. He
was in bed when the stroke of death fell upon him. The page next him,
instantly proceeded to raise his Majesty, according to the motion
which he signified by his finger. The King was, at once, assisted into
a chair at his bedside, and a great alteration struck the page, as
overcasting the royal countenance; the King's eyes became fixed, his
lips quivered, and he appeared to be sinking into a fainting fit. The
physicians were instantly sent for, and the attendants at once
assisted the King with sal volatile, eau de cologne, and such
stimulants as were at hand on the table. At this moment his Majesty
attempted to raise his hand to his breast, faintly ejaculating, "O
God! I am dying;" and, after a pause of two or three seconds, he
uttered the following words, which were his last: "This is death!"
So passed away George the Magnificent--and the Marchioness of
Conyngham immediately began to pack up and hurry off, whither, no one
exactly knew. What she took with her was never known; but, later on,
she had to disgorge some very valuable jewels. Needless to say, there
was a grand funeral; and then came the sale of his wardrobe and
effects, of which Greville writes[1]:--
[Footnote 1: The "Greville Memoirs," edit. 1875, vol. ii. p. 23.]
"August 3, 1830.--I went, yesterday, to the sale of the late
King's wardrobe, which was numerous enough to fill Monmouth
Street, and sufficiently various and splendid for the wardrobe of
Drury Lane. He hardly ever gave anything away, except his linen,
which was distributed every year. These clothes are the
perquisites of his pages, and will fetch a pretty sum. There are
all the coats he has ever had for fifty years; three hundred
whips, canes without number, every sort of uniform, the costumes
of all the orders in Europe, splendid furs, pelisses,
hunting-coats and breeches, and, among other things, a dozen pair
of corduroy breeches he had made to hunt in, when Don Miguel was
here. His profusion in these articles was unbounded, because he
never paid for them, and his memory was so accurate, that one of
his pages told me he recollected every article of dress, no
matter how old, and that they were always liable to be called on
to produce some particular coat, or other article of apparel of
years gone by."
The _Times_ (August 18, 1830) says--
"The late King's wardrobe has been selling, for the last
fortnight, at the warehouse of Mr. Bailey, the King's Upholder,
in Mount Street, Grosvenor Square. The property was immense. It
was the perquisites of the Pages of the Back Stairs, six in
number; and we hear that the sale realized £15,000. The Earl of
Chesterfield gave 200 guineas for a sable pelisse, which has
since been valued at 600, and was a present from the Emperor
Alexander. The Marquis of Hertford was among the purchasers.
There were many pairs of boots and shoes, which were sold at
5_s._ per pair, one with the other, to a person in the trade.
There were numerous pairs of silk stockings. The cambric and silk
handkerchiefs produced a guinea each, although the pages said
they were not worth more than 7_s._ each. The cellar of snuff was
bought by Mr. Pontet, of Pall Mall, for £400."
This latter fact is scarcely correct. It was bought by Messrs.
Freybourg and Treyer, of the Haymarket, who set apart a special room
for its sale.
To finish up with the sale of the royal effects, we read in the
_Gentleman's Magazine_, of June 9, 1831, that--
"A portion of his late Majesty's costly and splendid wardrobe,
destined for public sale, including the magnificent coronation
robes and other costumes, was sold by auction, by Mr. Phillips,
at his rooms in New Bond Street. There were 120 lots disposed of,
out of which we subjoin the principal, in the order in which they
were put up--
"No. 13. An elegant yellow and silver sash of the Royal
Hanoverian Guelphic Order, £3 8_s._--17. A pair of fine kid
trousers, of ample dimensions, and lined with white satin, was
sold for 12_s._--35. The Coronation ruff, formed of superb
Mechlin lace, £2.--50. The costly Highland costume, worn by our
late Sovereign at Dalkeith Palace, the seat of his Grace the Duke
of Buccleugh, in the summer of 1822, was knocked down at
£40.--52.[2] The sumptuous crimson velvet Coronation mantle, with
silver star, embroidered with gold, in appropriate devices, and
which cost, originally, according to the statement of the
auctioneer, upwards of £500, was knocked down at 47 guineas.--53.
A crimson coat to suit with the above, £14.--55. A magnificent
gold body dress and trousers, 26 guineas.--67. An extraordinary
large white aigrette plume, brought from Paris by the Earl of
Fife, in April, 1815, and presented by his lordship to the King,
was sold for £15.--87. A richly embroidered silver tissue
Coronation waistcoat and trunk hose, £13.--95. The splendid
purple velvet Coronation mantle, sumptuously embroidered with
gold, of which it was said to contain 200 ounces. It was knocked
down at £55, although it was stated to have cost his late Majesty
£300.--96. An elegant and costly green velvet mantle, lined with
ermine of the finest quality; presented by the Emperor Alexander
to his late Majesty, which cost upwards of 1000 guineas, was
knocked down at £125."
[Footnote 2: Now on exhibition at Madame Tussaud's Waxworks show.]
These prices do not show that the people cared much to possess relics
of their late sovereign; indeed, he was speedily forgotten, and all
eyes were turned to the rising sun. The newspapers teemed with
anecdotes of him, from his childhood upwards (mostly very sorry
stuff), and, oblivious of his errors, inanity, and frivolity, the
people hailed William (why or wherefore?) as "The Patriot King." Until
the death of the Duke of York, he had excited no more public interest
than any of the other royal princes; but when that event took place,
he was looked upon as heir to the throne, had an increased grant from
Parliament, and lived a somewhat retired life at Bushey Park, with his
wife, Amelia Adelaide, eldest child of George, Duke of
Saxe-Coburg-Meiningen, whom he married on July 18, 1818.
His life, previous to his accession to the throne, is not within the
province of this book--it is sufficient to say that at no time was he
remarkable for his intellect, tractability, or social manners. Hear
what Greville,[3] an acute observer, even if he were somewhat of a
cynic, says about him at his accession--
[Footnote 3: "The Greville Memoirs," vol. ii. edit. 1875.]
"London, July 16.--I returned here on the 6th of this month, and
have waited these ten days to look about me, and see and hear
what is passing. The present King and his proceedings occupy all
attention, and nobody thinks any more of the late King, than if
he had been dead fifty years, unless it be to abuse him and rake
up all his vices and misdeeds. Never was elevation like that of
William IV. His life has, hitherto, passed in obscurity and
neglect, in miserable poverty, surrounded by a numerous progeny
of bastards, without consideration or friends, and he was
ridiculous from his grotesque ways and little meddling curiosity.
Nobody ever invited them into their house, or thought it
necessary to honour him with any mark of attention or respect;
and so he went on for about forty years, till Canning brought him
into notice by making him Lord High Admiral at the time of his
grand ministerial schism. In that post he distinguished himself
by making absurd speeches, by a morbid official activity, and by
a general wildness which was thought to indicate incipient
insanity, till shortly after Canning's death and the Duke's[4]
accession, it is well known, the latter dismissed him. He then
dropped back into obscurity, but had become, by this time,
somewhat more of a personage than he was before. His brief
administration of the Navy, the death of the Duke of York, which
made him heir to the throne, his increased wealth and regular
habits, had procured him more consideration, though not a great
deal. Such was his position when George IV. broke all at once,
and after three months of expectation, William finds himself
King."
[Footnote 4: Wellington.]
CHAPTER II.
1830.
Proclamation of William IV.--The Beer Act--The Queen and
gas--Burial of George IV.--The King and the Duke of
Cumberland--The King as a soldier--He meddles with the uniforms
of the army.
On Monday, June 28, 1830, the king came at an early hour to St.
James's Palace to witness the ceremony of his proclamation, which was
duly done at 10 a.m., with the usual pomp, the heralds giving forth
that, with the acquiescence of everybody--
"We do now hereby, with one voice and consent of tongue and
heart, proclaim that the High and Mighty Prince William, Duke of
Clarence, is now, by the death of the late Sovereign, of happy
memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord William
the Fourth, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain and
Ireland;" and so forth.
It was a gay sight, for people had not had time to get into mourning
costume, and the bright summer dresses of the ladies made it a
brilliant show.
He commenced his reign with a gracious act, which considerably added
to his popularity. Before the ceremony of proclamation he showed
himself at a window in St. James's Palace, before which some thousands
of people had assembled. According to the _Globe_--
"By some Jack-in-Office, the spectators were ordered to be
dispersed, which was speedily done by the Life Guards. On the
arrival of the heralds to proclaim the accession, the King
reappeared at his window, and, finding a vacant space below,
which, previously, was crowded, with some degree of surprise,
said, 'What has become of the people?' On being told they had
been removed, 'By whose order?' next inquired the King. He was so
dissatisfied with the answer as to command the gate of the
courtyard immediately to be re-opened, and the public to be
re-admitted, who soon re-assembled in great numbers, and cheered
their Sovereign most vociferously."
The change of rulers did not affect Parliament. The Lords adjourned
for a day, and the Commons did very little business until all the
members had taken the oath of allegiance to the new sovereign, who
kept on the old Ministry, with the Duke of Wellington at its head.
Very shortly afterwards, the question of a Regency (the Princess
Victoria being only twelve years old) cropped up; and after that, on
July 12th, was read a third time and passed in the House of Lords "An
Act to permit the general Sale of Beer and Cyder by Retail in England"
(1 Gul. IV. c. lxiv.), which the _Times_ describes as "a great victory
obtained for the poor over the unpitying avarice of the rich."
Beer always had been the standard drink of England, and, at this time,
no cheap substitute had been found for it. Tea was far too dear for
common folk, as was coffee, and cocoa or chocolate were only for the
well-to-do. This Act is virtually that under which beer-houses are now
licensed, which made a licence to sell beer _only_ easy to obtain. It
suited the times, and was very popular. A song, which is still sung,
but which dates from early Victorian times, makes a slight error as to
the intention of the Act, but it shows a grateful remembrance of the
same. It is called--
"I LIKES A DROP OF GOOD BEER."
"Come one and all, both great and small
With voices loud and clear,
And let us sing, bless Billy the King,
Who bated the tax upon beer.
_Chorus_:
"_For I likes a drop of good beer, I does,
I'se pertickler fond of my beer, I is;
And ---- his eyes whoever he tries
To rob a poor man of his beer._"
[Illustration: Opening the Beer Trade.]
The accompanying illustration, by an anonymous artist, shows the Duke
of Wellington providing the people with beer, in a popular manner. It
is entitled "Opening the Beer Trade; or, Going into a New Line of
Business."
The background is formed of two houses; one the sign of the King's
Head; the other, the Druggist's Arms. Outside the closed door of the
latter, which is "To let, enquire of the Brewers," stands Timothy
Mix'em, dealer in compounds, who, looking at the group, mournfully
remarks, "They'll soon shut up all the houses by opening the Trade."
The King's Head is kept by Arthur and Co., dealer in swipes, who
proclaims on his windows, "Genuine Beer, from Malt and Hops only," and
has a placard that the New Beer Act commences October 10, 1830. The
old Duke of Wellington says to the dustman and his wife, "Come, my
Britons, here's your real malt and hops;" whilst Peel, as pot-boy,
remarks, "No poisonous drugs here, my boys, it's all real stuff."
On July 23rd, Parliament was dissolved.
Ever since the accession of William IV. his slightest movements were
chronicled, even down to the smallest of small beer, such as[5]--
[Footnote 5: _Times_, July 12th.]
"The Duke of Wellington, when at Windsor, a few days ago,
directed that the gas might be cut off from the interior of the
castle, by the desire of the Queen, who, we understand,
entertained apprehensions lest an accident might be caused by
explosion. Her Majesty's wishes will, of course, be immediately
complied with, and directions have already been given to the Gas
Company for the purpose."
The movements of the Princess Victoria, who had now become a
personage, were also duly chronicled, and we are told how "The
presence of the Duchess (of Kent) and her interesting daughter will,
no doubt, attract numerous visitors to Malvern."
George IV., after lying in state, was buried on July 15th, with all
the pomp usually accompanying the burial of a King of England.
Greville tells us how his successor behaved on this occasion--
"At the late King's funeral he behaved with great indecency. That
ceremony was very well managed, and a fine sight, the military
part particularly, and the Guards were magnificent. The
attendance was not very numerous, and, when they had all got
together in St. George's Hall, a gayer company I never beheld;
with the exception of Mount Charles, who was deeply affected,
they were all as merry as grigs. The King was chief mourner, and,
to my astonishment, as he entered the chapel, directly behind the
body, in a situation in which he should have been apparently, if
not really, absorbed in the melancholy duty he was performing, he
darted up to Strathaven, who was ranged on one side below the
Dean's stall, shook him heartily by the hand, and then went on
nodding to the right and left. He had, previously, gone as chief
mourner to sit for an hour at the head of the body as it lay in
state, and he walked in procession, with his household, to the
apartment. I saw him pass from behind the screen. Lord Jersey had
been in the morning to Bushey to kiss hands on being made
Chamberlain, when he had received him very graciously, told him
it was the Duke, and not himself, who had made him, but that he
was delighted to have him. At Windsor, when he arrived, he gave
Jersey the white wand; or, rather, took one from him he had
provided for himself, and gave it him again with a little speech.
When he went to sit in state, Jersey preceded him, and he said,
when all was ready, 'Go on to the body, Jersey; you will get your
dress coat as soon as you can.'"
Personal gossip about the King, is not the scheme of this book; but,
as it formed the main topic of general conversation at the time, it
cannot be passed over. His brother, the greatly disliked Duke of
Cumberland, afterwards King of Hanover, had usurped the functions of
the other colonels of the guards, and had elected himself a permanent
Gold Stick, but the new monarch said his rank was too high for him to
perform such service, and relegated the office to its former footing,
that each colonel should share the office in turns.
Nor was this the only friction between the brothers. The Duke of
Cumberland's horses had hitherto occupied the stables allotted to the
Queen, and when Lord Errol, her Master of the Horse, asked her where
she would have her horses stabled, she replied, she "did not know, but
he was to put them in their proper place." Accordingly, the King was
asked for an order to remove the duke's horses, which was given
through the Duke of Leeds, who went to the Duke of Cumberland, and
received for answer that "he would be d--d if they should go;" but on
its being represented to him that if he did not remove them, they
would be turned out, he sulkily gave way.
The King, who, as every one knows, had been brought up as a sailor,
now turned his attention to things military, and his first review is
thus described by Greville--
"July 20.--Yesterday was a very busy day with his Majesty, who
is going much too fast, and begins to alarm his Ministers and
astonish the world. In the morning he inspected the Coldstream
Guards, dressed (for the first time in his life) in a military
uniform, and with a great pair of gold spurs half way up his legs
like a game-cock, although he was not to ride, for, having chalk
stones in his hands, he can't hold the reins."
He next began to meddle with the uniforms, etc. in the army, doubtless
with a view to save the pockets of the officers, for army dress, under
George the Magnificent, had become very much gold belaced and
expensive; but of all the orders issued on August 2nd from the Horse
Guards, we will only take two.
[Illustration: Adieu, my Moustachios!]
"The moustachios of the Cavalry (excepting in the Life Guards,
the Horse Guards, and the Hussars) to be abolished, and the hair
of the non-commissioned officer and soldier throughout the
regular force to be cut close at the sides and back of the head,
instead of being worn in that bushy and unbecoming fashion
adopted by some regiments."
The illustration on the opposite page is taken from a contemporary
song called "Adieu, my Moustachios!" Words by T. Haynes Bayly; music
by J. Blewitt, and the first verse runs thus--
"Adieu, my moustachios! farewell to my tip!
Lost, lost is the pride of my chin and my lip!
When Laura last saw me she said that the world
Contain'd no moustachois so charmingly curl'd!
But razors are ruthless, my honours they nip,
Adieu, my moustachois! farewell to my tip!"
[Illustration: Raising the Wind by Royal Authority.]
Order No. 2 was as follows:--
"The four regiments of Hussars to be dressed exactly alike. Their
officers to have one dress only, and that of a less costly
pattern, which will forthwith be prepared."
Of course, this, like the former ukase, could not escape the satirist,
and we have the accompanying illustration by R. S. entitled, "RAISING
THE WIND BY ROYAL AUTHORITY. His Majesty intends diminishing the
extravagant expense of the Military Officer's dress. _See the
papers._"
Here we see the Jew old clothesmen chaffering against each other and
bargaining with Hussar Officers for their compulsorily left-off
finery.
CHAPTER III.
1830.
The King as "_bon bourgeois_"--Mobbed--Street song about him--A
sailor in Guildhall--Behaviour of the public at Windsor--Charles
X. in England--The "New Police"--A modest advertisement.
The King affected the _bon bourgeois_, which, after the regal
etiquette of the late King, rather astonished the lieges. The
_Magazine of Fashions_ for August, says--
"He comes unexpectedly and unattended, as they are trooping the
guard at St. James's, attired like a private gentleman, and nods
graciously to the people, passes jokes with the officers, and
tells the privates 'they shall rise by their own merits.'
"He comes to town on the dickey of his own chariot.
"He goes to Somerset House in a pair-horse carriage without a
lancer, dragoon, or policeman to attend him, because he says,
'his guards are his people;' and he stops purposely in the
streets that the people may say 'they have seen a King!'
"He employs a hairdresser in Water Lane, Fleet Street, to make
his coachman's white and curled wigs; because the poor fellow,
when he knew better days, lived at the West End, and was employed
by the then Duke of Clarence. We have seen these wigs being made.
"He has all the members of his family, as a family, about him,
and 'harmony and affection' is his favourite toast.
"He neither likes moustaches nor foreign servants; because the
one disguises an Englishman's face, and the other dupes an
Englishman's pocket.
"He observes an old sailor upon the lamp-post, near Somerset
House, who gets aloft 'to look out for his captain' (old blue
trouser's own words), and he sends him enough to rum it for a
week.
"He overhauls the documents of the Navy Pay Office, to ascertain
if any arrears of pay or prize-money are due to the seamen; and
he orders refreshments to the poor recruits, to encourage them to
become soldiers.
"He meets two _ladies_ (by character as well as title) in St.
James's, one of whom solicits the honour to kiss his hand.
'Madam,' says the gallant monarch, 'my glove for courtiers, but
_my cheek for ladies_; may I _be permitted to touch yours_?' Lady
M---- 'wore her _blushing_ honours thick about her.'
"He asks people to dinner in the style of a friend, rather than a
command, and does not require their presence if they have 'a
better engagement.'
"Above all things, he impresses upon those who pay their respects
to him officially, or visit him familiarly, that his friends are
the Queen's.
"He proceeds in person, and in a style becoming the splendour of
the Crown, to dissolve Parliament, appearing himself in the
costume of a thorough-paced sailor; thus practising in his own
person the precepts he command--thus giving countenance to his
fellow-tars appearing in his presence in the dress which they can
afford to procure, and in which they have conquered.
"His Majesty, we hear, paid great attention to Sir Robert Wilson
at the _levée_, and, after conversing with him familiarly for
some time, said, in conclusion, 'Meet me to-night at Sussex's,
and bring your daughters with you.'
"A female servant of Mr. Brown, of Northampton, being in town
with her mistress, was permitted to go to the review on Monday
last, and, having obtained liberty from one of the soldiers to
pass in front of the ranks, she approached the Royal carriage
without knowing it, and asked one of the Ladies of Honour, 'Which
is the Queen?' The Queen, hearing the inquiry, immediately
answered, 'I am the Queen!' 'Oh, do show me the King, then!' The
King, hearing the request, instantly turned round, and said with
a smile, 'I am the King!' evidently enjoying her amazement and
delight. The Queen permitted the woman to hold her hand, which
she had seized in the hurry of the moment, for several minutes."
Greville gives us a sketch of his _bourgeoisie_ and its consequences--
"All this was very well; no great harm in it; more affable, less
dignified than the late King; but, when this (a Privy Council)
was over, and he might very well have sat himself quietly down
and rested, he must needs put on his plainer clothes, and start
on a ramble about the streets, alone, too. In Pall Mall he met
Watson Taylor, and took his arm, and went up St. James's Street.
There he was followed by a mob, making an uproar, and when he got
near White's, a woman came up and kissed him. Belfast (who had
been sworn in Privy Councillor in the morning), who saw this from
White's, and Clinton, thought it time to interfere, and came out
to attend him. The mob increased, and, always holding Mr.
Taylor's arm, and flanked by Clinton and Belfast, who got shoved
and kicked about, to their inexpressible wrath, he got back to
the Palace, amid shouting and bawling and applause. When he got
home, he asked them to go in and take a quiet walk in the garden,
and said, 'Oh, never mind all this; when I have walked about a
few times they will get used to it, and take no notice.'
"They even sang songs about him in the streets, of which the
following is one:--
"THE KING AND THE SAILOR.
"In Portsmouth town, at the sign of the Ship,
A jolly Jack Tar sat drinking flip;
A messmate was there, who spun him a yarn
That we'd a new King, he'd soon give him to larn.
"Says sailor Ben to sailor Jim,
'He's a King and a sailor trim,
And 'bout him there's no palaver or fuss,
A cause, don't you know, he is one of us.'
"Says sailor Ben to his messmate Jim,
'He knows that I've sailed under him;
And when our ship's paid off at Chatham,
I'll go and have a good stare at 'em.'
"Now Ben Block he arriv'd at the park,
And soon the King and Queen did mark;
Says Ben, says he, 'I'll bet you a tanner,
He hails you in a King-like manner.'
[Illustration: Bourgeoisie.]
"'Ye ho!' says Ben, and he soon brought-to,
And his boatswain's whistle out he drew;
When the King turn'd round with pride and joy,
'Halloo!' says he 'what ship ahoy?'
"Now Ben, he answered with a grin,
'The _Royal Charlotte_ I've sailed in;
She was nam'd arter your royal mother,
Whose great and glorious son you are!'
The King the hand of Ben he shook,
And said, 'At that time I was a Mid;'
Then Ben lugged out his 'bacca box,
And said to the King, '_Come, take a quid_.'
"'If you won't, the Queen may like a bit,
Mayhap, like one of the Indian squaws;'
So he scrap'd up to her, and offered his box,
'No, thank ye,' says she, '_I never chaws_.'
"The King, he gave promotion to Ben,
So he thought that he'd steer back again;
But the Queen, he thought he first would tell her,
'That her husband, the King, was a d--d good fellow'!"
_Par parenthèse_, here is a story of a sailor (_Times_, August 9th)--
"Guildhall. Before Alderman Ansley.--An old tar, the very _beau
ideal_ of a 'true British sailor,' who gave his name as _Will
Robinson_, his dark visage surmounted with a quantity of black
hair, twisted and matted like so many ropes' ends, was charged
with being drunk and assaulting the patrol of Aldgate Ward.
"Bunce, the complainant, stated that between three and four
o'clock the preceding evening, he found the tar stretched keel
uppermost upon the footway in Aldersgate Street, exposed, not
altogether decently, to the gaze of a crowd of idle boys. Bunce
roused him, and advised him to move on; but, instead of obeying,
Will ordered him to sheer off, or he'd pour a broadside into him;
and, suiting the action to the word, commenced pummelling
complainant most furiously. Bunce would have had no chance
against the heavy metal of Will Robinson, but Hawkins, the
marshal-man, came up, and with his aid the tar was secured in the
Compter. While they were on the way, the tar contrived to get his
pocket-knife open in his hand, but Hawkins perceived it and took
it from him.
"'You hear what the officer says?' observed the alderman,
addressing the prisoner.
"'Yes; but it is a d--d lie,' roared out Will Robinson, enforcing
his assertion by a loud thump of his clenched fist upon the bar.
"'He says you drew a knife upon him,' said the alderman.
"'Your honour knows I can't spin a long yarn like this here
chap,' replied the old tar, 'but I never hurted man, woman, or
child in my life, barring 'twas a frog-eater; but I was a lad
then, and it was in the cause of old England; and d--e, I don't
think I'd hurt him neither, after a glass of grog or two.'
"Alderman. 'How long have you been in England?'
"'Only two hours ashore, your honour,' replied Will. 'I'd just
come from China, and got taking a glass with one messmate and a
glass with another.'
"Alderman. 'The sure way to get drunk. You should have taken a
glass with but one messmate.'
"'Your honour is an excellent preacher, and it's all very true;
but if an old sailor, after a long voyage, when all hands are
piped ashore, refused to drink with every mate who asked him,
he'd be called a scaly fellow, and you know I should not like
that.'
"Bunce. 'I did not mind the assault, but I thought it was better
to put him in a place of safety for his own sake.'
"'D--e, you're an honest fellow, after all,' exclaimed the tar,
seizing the officer's hand and squeezing it till the tears
started into Bunce's eyes. 'Come, and we'll make it right over a
glass of grog, old boy.'
"Alderman. 'I doubt whether you have any money left.'
"Will felt in his pockets, and could not find a copper. 'All
gone! all gone!' exclaimed the tar, mournfully.
"'It's all right--I've got his money safe,' said Bunce, drawing
forth an ample handful of silver and gold.
"'Huzza! huzza! Old England for ever!' vociferated the delighted
tar, when he saw the money; and, seizing Bunce by the collar,
'Come along, come along, old boy; I'm as dry as a dolphin.'
"Bunce refused till he counted the money, shilling by shilling,
in the presence of the alderman; but, when he began to do so,
Will found the operation too slow for the current of his
feelings; and, catching up the officer by the waist, he carried
him off in triumph, exclaiming, 'Keep it, my boy, keep it; we'll
drink every penny of it; and maybe his honour there' (turning to
the alderman), 'would take a drop of summut.'
"The alderman could not contain his gravity, but he declined the
offer; and Will set off with the officer still firmly held in his
grip."
As a specimen of the manners of the age (and I cannot see that they
have greatly improved now), we may take the following extract from a
private letter, dated Windsor, August 15th:--
"You would perceive, from the newspapers, that the Grand Terrace
was thrown open to the public yesterday week. From the walk
immediately under the castle you may see portions of the
magnificent rooms--the splendid ceilings, window drapery, and
chandeliers. I was delighted with the sight, and again visited
the terrace on Sunday. The terrace was then crowded, and I am
sorry to add, English-like, some of the people, (of the lower
class, certainly) had behaved so ill, that the public were
excluded from that part adjoining the building. Some of the
creatures who abused the privilege thus extended to the public,
not only ascended the steps leading to the state apartments, but
actually climbed up into the windows to look into the rooms, thus
intruding their rudeness on the King. It is said that his Majesty
himself, from a window, saw a person writing his name on one of
the statues, and observed on the occasion, 'I shall be compelled
to do as my brother did, exclude the public from this part, if
such conduct is continued.' The grass was all trampled and
injured, the people would not confine themselves to the gravel
walks."
By the way, about this time, the King gave the Zoological Society the
whole of the collection of beasts and birds belonging to the late
King, amounting to 150.
England has frequently afforded shelter to unfortunate
princes--notably, in late times, to Louis XVIII., who resided at
Hartwell, in Buckinghamshire--and now another French King, Charles X.,
sought her protection, arriving at Portsmouth on August 17th, and
proceeding to Lulworth in Dorsetshire, where he was welcomed at the
castle, which was placed at his disposal by Joseph Weld, Esq., a
relative of the cardinal of that name. Here he remained some time,
afterwards residing at Holyrood Palace, and finally retired to
Austria, where he died.
On June 19, 1829, the King said "Le Roi le veult" to an Act of
Parliament (10 Geo. IV. c. 44) entitled "An Act for improving the
Police in and near the Metropolis"--the present Police Act--introduced
by Sir Robert Peel, from which fact the policemen were called
"Bobbies" and "Peelers." They commenced duty on September 29, 1829,
and were, at first, extremely unpopular, because of their strictness,
compared to the Bow Street runners, patrols, and night watchmen. The
parishes complained bitterly of the increased expense, but they forgot
how much better they were guarded. It was also alleged that there were
too few policemen distributed over certain districts, and too many in
others; but that was a defect in administration almost certain to
occur at first start, which experience afterwards rectified. Perhaps,
also, the best men were not chosen, as the force was not so popular as
now, when none but men of unblemished character are admitted, whilst
as to the present physique of the over fifteen thousand Metropolitan
Police, any general would be proud of such a division, which is
utterly unattainable in any army.
Here is a sketch of the uniform of the "New Police" as they were
called, copied from a satirical print of Sir Robert Peel, by the
celebrated H. B. (John Doyle, father of Richard Doyle, to whom _Punch_
owed so much). The hats were worn until a comparatively recent period,
and in summer-time they wore white trousers.
[Illustration: New Police.]
The following extract from the _Times_ of September 16th gives an
account of the police as they were at the expiration of twelve months
from their inauguration:--
"There are 16 divisions of the police, and each division
contains, on an average, 200 men, except the K division, which
contains 32; there are also, in each division, six inspectors and
one superintendent. The whole number of privates and sergeants
alone amounts to 3600, without reckoning the inspectors and
superintendents. The greater part of this large body of men were
necessarily taken from the lower classes of the people, and it
can readily be believed that the Commissioners were unable to
make strict inquiry into every individual case, and yet there
have been very few _bona fide_ cases of improper behaviour on the
part of the men. In each division there is a defaulter-book, in
which the names of the men considered unfit for duty are written
down and shown to the Commissioners, and they are immediately
discharged."
The subjoined advertisement, which is singular, from the modesty of
its diction, appeared in the _Times_ of September 15th, and, as in the
scheme of this book there is no special place set apart for such, it
may as well come in here in order of chronology.
"A youth who has completed his 18th year within 100 hours of his
writing this advertisement, wishing to make head against the _res
angusta domi_, hereby TENDERS his CAPACITIES to any honourable
patronage which the chapter of accidents may raise up in his
behoof. Born to better hopes, his bringing up has not been wholly
neglected, and he would fain apply some of the little items of
his unpretending culture towards honest advancement in a life
which even his short experience has proved to be not altogether
unchequered--the mind's eye irresistably glancing at an example
which recent events have revived and made too memorable to be
overlooked by such a votary to fortune as the advertiser; to wit,
the august example of King Philip the first,[6] who when, in
"the turns of chance below," even his star was dimmed, did not
disdain to extract independent maintenance from knowledge which,
in his early days, he had learnt as mere ornament. Far from
aiming, like the variously accomplished Duke of Orleans, at
geometry, or the sublimer sciences, the humble advertiser
ventures to hope that his tolerable, hourly improving fluency in
French, Italian, and modern Greek (the latter language now become
of increased English interest from the increase of English
colonization in the Mediterranean), would enable him to give
lessons, and materially conduce to perfect pupils in each of
these branches, at most moderate remuneration. That same
Mediterranean has been the sad cause of this advertisement.
Nearly 1900 years after the prince of Latian poets wrote his
description of the storm which, all but, engulfed Æneas and his
followers--that description which, from Homer to Shakespeare,
from Shakespeare to the present hour, the universe of poetry has
never equalled--even in that very part of that very sea, a sudden
springing up of that wind, which, though the desire and delight
of northern regions, is proverbial for storms (_creber procellis
Africus_) not confined to illustrating the poet's text, in
abruptly shrouding a shipful of 'noble creatures' from the sight
of the clouds, from the face of heaven and the light of day, not
confined to a presentiment of instant death to all on shipboard,
but in rending reality, depriving every soul of clouds, of light
and life, by sinking the whole in fell ocean, without a single
survivor--the advertiser's dear father (an English functionary in
the Ionian Islands) being one of the sufferers--leaving his son a
burden, where he would be an alleviator, to the most affectionate
of mothers. A statement of other capabilities, penmanship,
arithmetic, etc., is forborne, because they may be implied.
Indeed, friends, too partial, no doubt, imagine that to any
mission, especially southward, the advertiser might be a not
ineligible appendage. At all events, he thus adventures his
speculation, trusting its result to 'the caterer for the
sparrow.'"
[Footnote 6: Louis Philippe.]
CHAPTER IV.
1830.
Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway--Death of Mr.
Huskisson--Agricultural lawlessness--Captain Swing--Executions
for riot--Riots throughout the country--Special
Commissions--Prayer to be used in churches and chapels.
About this time a melancholy but all-absorbing topic of conversation
was the death of Mr. Wm. Huskisson, one of the M.P.'s for Liverpool;
and the most succinct account I can find of this sad accident is in
the _Annual Register_. It happened on September 15th, at the opening
of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
"On Wednesday morning, as early as seven o'clock, the people of
Liverpool were seen flocking in crowds to the tunnel in order to
secure good places for a view of the procession. The whole line
of road, for the distance of seven or eight miles out of
Liverpool, was lined by dense crowds; and several stands, to
which the public had been admitted at half a crown a head, were
completely filled. Eight of the Company's locomotive engines were
brought down to the mouth of the tunnel at about half-past nine.
The Duke of Wellington arrived about ten o'clock, and was greeted
with enthusiasm by the immense crowd. The splendid state
carriage, which had been prepared for his Grace, was taken down
the tunnel; the military band played 'See the Conquering Hero
comes;' and, in a few minutes, the Duke was drawn from the
tunnel, amid the loud cheers of the spectators.
"The procession left Liverpool twenty minutes before eleven
o'clock, drawn by eight locomotive engines, in the following
order: Northumbrian, with the directors and numerous
distinguished visitors, including the Duke of Wellington;
Phoenix, green flag; North Star, yellow; Rocket,[7] light blue;
Dart, purple; Comet, deep red; Arrow, pink; Meteor, brown; with
visitors and proprietors. On issuing from the smaller tunnel at
Liverpool, the Northumbrian took the south, or right-hand line of
railway, and drew three carriages, the first containing the band,
the second the Duke of Wellington and a number of other persons,
of distinction, and the third the directors of the railway. The
other engines proceeded along the north line.... The total number
of persons conveyed was stated to be 772. The procession did not
proceed at a pace of more than fifteen or sixteen miles an hour.
[Footnote 7: This engine may now be seen in the Patent Museum,
South Kensington.]
"In the course of the journey, the Northumbrian accelerated or
retarded its speed occasionally, to give the Duke of Wellington
an opportunity of inspecting the most remarkable parts of the
work.
"Before starting from Liverpool, the company were particularly
requested not to leave the carriages, and the same caution was
repeated in the printed directions describing the order of the
procession. Notwithstanding this regulation, Mr. Huskisson, Mr.
William Holmes, M.P., and other gentlemen, alighted when the
Northumbrian stopped at Parkside. On the stoppage of the
Northumbrian at Parkside Bridge, Mr. Huskisson, as well as many
others, got out, and Mr. Holmes, for the purpose of bringing Mr.
Huskisson and the Duke together, and of producing a renewed good
feeling between them, led Mr. Huskisson round to that part of the
car where the Duke was stationed, who, perceiving the advance of
the right hon. gentleman, immediately held out his hand to him,
which was shaken in a very cordial manner. It was almost at this
moment that the Rocket was perceived to be on the advance, and a
general move took place to get out of its way, several persons
calling out, 'Get in! get in!'
"Some followed this advice, scrambling up as best they might in
the absence of the steps. Others made their way round to the end
of the car, and Mr. Huskisson appeared to be acting under the
idea of crossing the Rocket's railway before the engine came up;
from this, however, he was deterred by the steepness of the bank
beyond.
"Mr. Holmes, who was standing in the same situation as the right
hon. gentleman, took his resolution on the instant, and drew
himself up as closely as he could against the side of the ducal
car. The intervening space between the railways is exactly four
feet, but as the ducal car overhung it about two feet, and the
Rocket engine about six inches, there was only a clear space of
eighteen inches left--sufficient, however, to enable a person to
stand without injury or damage.
"Mr. Holmes, whilst thus affixing himself in this manner to the
ducal car, had time to perceive the irresolution of the right
hon. gentleman, and he called out to him, 'For God's sake, be
firm, Mr. Huskisson.' Mr. Huskisson grasped hold of the door of
the ducal carriage the moment before the Rocket passed; this
door, when open, projected so far over the neighbouring railway,
that it was struck by the Rocket; the consequence was, that it
swung rapidly round, overbalanced Mr. Huskisson, and caused him
to fall on the railway of the Rocket, when his right leg
instantly came in contact with the wheel of the engine, and was
crushed.
"The Earl of Wilton, Mr. Holmes, and Mr. Parkes, solicitor of
Birmingham, raised Mr. Huskisson from the ground. The only words
he uttered at the time were to this effect, 'I have met my death.
God forgive me.' The first thing that was done was to twist a
handkerchief (in the manner of a tourniquet) tightly round the
wounded parts of the limb, for the purpose of stopping the
effusion of blood; and, the Northumbrian being detached from the
carriages, it was sent forward, with the greatest possible speed,
to Eccles, with Mr. Huskisson, the Earl of Wilton, Mr.
Stephenson, and two medical gentlemen. A consultation was next
held by the party at Newton, as to the course best to be adopted
under these melancholy circumstances.
"The Duke of Wellington was very desirous that the procession
should be stopped and return to Liverpool. After some
consultation, however, this proposal was relinquished, and it was
finally agreed to proceed with the ceremony of opening the
railway, to prevent, in some degree, the alarm and disappointment
which must otherwise have been occasioned to the vast multitudes
who thronged this end of the railway. The carriages of the Duke
and the directors were consequently attached to those which
accompanied the Phoenix engine, and in this manner the whole
proceeded at a slow pace to Eccles, where a stoppage took place,
while the Duke and his friends made inquiry respecting the
condition of Mr. Huskisson. The Northumbrian, which had, by this
time, arrived from Manchester with Mr. Ransome and other
surgeons, was then re-attached to the Duke's carriage, etc., and
the whole proceeded in the order originally agreed upon, to
Manchester. The Northumbrian, with the Duke and directors,
arrived in front of the warehouses about a quarter before three,
but the other engines and carriages, did not arrive till some
time afterwards.
"Mr. Huskisson and the party who accompanied him, arrived at the
Vicarage of Eccles about half-past one o'clock. A couch was
carried to the railway, upon which he was placed, and in a
reclining position, he was removed into the drawing-room of the
Vicarage. A bed was immediately prepared for his accommodation;
but the pain which he endured was so severe, that he could not be
carried to it, and he remained upon the couch until the moment of
his death.
"On arriving at the Vicarage, the surgeon found Mr. Huskisson in
a state of extreme suffering, but remarkably composed, and
exhibiting extraordinary firmness of mind. The bones of the leg
were broken into small pieces, and a considerable wound was
visible on the skin and muscles. The thigh bone, above the middle
part, was also broken into several fragments, and the muscles
were laid bare high up the thigh, exposing the principal nerves
and blood-vessels. The professional gentlemen decided that it was
impossible to adventure upon the amputation of the limb. The
sufferings of the patient, during the few hours he survived, were
most acute. Every now and then groans of the deepest agony were
extorted from him by the intensity of the pain which he was
enduring; there were, however, no screams, no murmurings against
the dispensations of Providence; but every symptom of the most
manly courage, the most unshrinking fortitude, and the most
Christian resignation.
"In the course of the evening, when Mr. Blackburne, the Vicar, in
reading the Lord's Prayer to him, came to the clause, 'forgive us
our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us,' Mr.
Huskisson said, in a firm and distinct tone of voice, 'That I do,
most heartily; and I declare to God that I have not the slightest
feeling of ill-will to any human being.' The Sacrament was,
subsequently, administered to him and Mrs. Huskisson. He did not
make any allusion, or send any remembrance, to his political
friends. He showed a natural anxiety for the preservation of his
character as a Statesman. 'The country,' said he, 'has had the
best of me. I trust that it will do justice to my public
character. I regret not the few years which might have remained
to me, except for those dear ones,' added he, grasping Mrs.
Huskisson's hand, and looking with affectionate regret upon her
dejected countenance, 'whom I leave behind me.' He dictated a
codicil to his will, which was drawn up by Mr. Wainwright, his
secretary, and witnessed by the Earl of Wilton, and Lords
Granville and Colvill. On the day following his death, an inquest
was held on his body, the verdict of which was, 'Accidental
death.'"
He was buried at Liverpool on September 24th, receiving a magnificent
funeral, in the presence of about twenty thousand people.
Now began a reign of agricultural lawlessness, and first at Otmoor in
Oxfordshire, which arose from the draining and enclosing of some two
thousand acres, over which seven neighbouring townships had right of
common. The land was of little value, being very marshy, and a proper
Act of Parliament had been obtained for its reclamation, which was
partially effected, when the commoners rose, and set about destroying
fences, embankments, etc. Two regiments of yeomanry were sent to put
down the uprising, and, after the Riot Act was read, some sixty
prisoners were made. These were put into waggons and carts, and taken
to Oxford, there to be lodged in gaol. But St. Giles's fair happened
to be on at Oxford, and the country folk there assembled fell upon the
yeomanry and rescued the captives; only temporarily, however, for a
detachment of soldiers was afterwards sent down by Government, and
many of the rioters were apprehended.
This was only the outcome of an ignorant population, who fancied they
were being deprived of their ancient rights, whereas it was really
done for their benefit, and would hardly merit notice did it not show
the uneasiness of the agricultural mind at this period. Captain Swing
was abroad, and the red glow of rick-burning was spreading through the
land, notably, at that time, in Kent. The very next paragraph in the
_Times_ of September 8th, to the account of the Otmoor riots, is about
alarming incendiary fires at Orpington and its neighbourhood, in which
barns and outhouses, stacks of corn and hay, were destroyed. Nay, the
miscreants did not stop there. They attempted to terrorize by means of
anonymous letters, in which not only the burning of more property was
threatened, but the destruction of house, owner, and family.
Sometimes, but not often, the wretches were caught, and then little
mercy was shown them, as in a case in Somersetshire, where the High
Sheriff hanged three men convicted of this offence, on gallows erected
on the spot where the crime had been committed, the gallows bearing an
inscription in large letters, so that all might read: "For Firing
Stacks." Over fifteen thousand people witnessed this execution.
Several men were arrested as being Captain Swing, whose signature was
always attached to the threatening notices; but there is every reason
to believe that no such entity existed. Here is his fancy portrait,
drawn by Heath, entitled "Swing! taken from the life. Dedicated to
Messrs. Cobbett, Carlisle and Co."
[Illustration: Swing.]
To show somewhat of the terrorism of this name at that time, I quote
from the _Kentish Gazette_ of October 9th--
"Anonymous letters, signed 'Swing,' have been received by post,
by two individuals at Dover, threatening the destruction of their
premises by fire, which has caused great alarm in their families.
The dead walls, all through the town, and for some miles on the
road to Canterbury, all bear the same significant word 'Swing,'
written in chalk."
The newspapers of the day teem with notices of outrages, particularly
during the last three months of the year. A very good and terse
account of these agricultural riots is in the _Annual Register_, pp.
149, 150.
"The disturbances began in Kent. The rioters did not assume the
character of disorderly mobs, nor did they profess to seek any
political objects. They appeared, at first, as lurking
incendiaries, and wreaked their vengeance on property, the
destruction of which could only aggravate the causes of their
misery. Night after night, new conflagrations were lighted up by
bands of incendiaries; corn stacks, barns, farm buildings, live
stock, were consumed indiscriminately. Bolder bands attacked
mills, and demolished the machinery; and all threshing-machines,
in particular, were condemned. Threatening letters were
circulated, demanding the raising of wages, or the disuse of the
machinery; and the nightly exploits of the writers insured
attention to their demands. The first of the rioters who were
seized, and tried before the County Magistrates, were treated
with undue lenity. Commiseration for starving labourers was
commendable; but it could not be want which induced men to
destroy the materials of food. During October, November, and
December, but more particularly the two former months, it made
its way from Kent into the counties of Hants, Wilts, Bucks,
Sussex, and Surrey. Throughout the whole of that district of the
country, all protection for property seemed to be at an end.
Bands of rioters pillaged and destroyed during the day; and, as
soon as night fell, simultaneous conflagrations, starting up in
different quarters, spread over the country havoc and dismay. The
military force in the disturbed counties was increased, a
proclamation was issued offering a reward of £500 for the
conviction of any person engaged in the fire raisings; and a
Special Commission was ordered to proceed into the Shires where
the outrages were committed."
These Special Commissions were held in December, and many were the
sentences of death recorded against the worst of the rioters, although
but few were carried out. The first victims to the outraged majesty of
the law were three men, found guilty at the Maidstone Assizes, who
were hanged for arson on Penenden Heath. Nor was it only by the strong
arm of the law that order was attempted to be restored, the help of
the Almighty was also invoked in furtherance of that end. A supplement
to the _Gazette_ of the 24th of December, contained an Order in
Council, that the Archbishop of Canterbury do prepare forms of prayer
to Almighty God, on account of the troubled state of certain parts of
the United Kingdom; and another for reading the same in all the
Episcopal Churches and Chapels in England and Scotland. In consequence
of this Order, a form of prayer was issued, which the curious in those
things may read in the _Times_ of December 28th, to be used
immediately before the Litany, and when the Litany was not read,
before the prayer for all conditions of men, in all cathedrals,
collegiate and parochial churches and chapels in England and Ireland.
CHAPTER V.
1830.
Duke of Wellington mobbed and stoned--Owing to riots, the King
postponed his visit to the city--No Lord Mayor's show, nor
dinner--Riots in the city--Apsley House besieged--Ireland
proclaimed--Ferment in the country--Change of Ministry--Royal
succession--Scotch regalia--Curious story of a bank-note.
Rioting was not confined to the country. The cry of parliamentary
reform was exciting the great towns, and especially London. On
November 2nd, when the King went to open Parliament, the Duke of
Wellington was mobbed in the Park, and struck on the cheek with a
stone. The King and Queen were going to dine at Guildhall on Lord
Mayor's day, November 9th, and all was prepared for the banquet, but,
on the 7th, the Duke of Wellington received the following letter:--
"MY LORD DUKE,
"From the situation of Lord Mayor, to which I have been elected,
numberless communications have been made to me, both personally
and by letter, in reference to the 9th, and it is on that account
that I take the liberty of addressing your Grace.
"Although the feelings of the respectable citizens of London are
decidedly loyal, yet it cannot but be known that there are, both
in London, as well as the country, a set of desperate and
abandoned characters who are anxious to avail themselves of any
circumstance to create tumult and confusion. While all of any
respectability in the city are vieing with each other to testify
their loyalty on the occasion; from what I learn, it is the
intention of some of the desperate characters above mentioned, to
take the opportunity of making an attack on your Grace's person,
on your approach to the Hall. Every exertion on my part shall be
used to make the best possible arrangements in the City; and, at
the same time, I feel that, should any violent attack be made in
one quarter, any civil force alone might not be sufficiently
effectual; and I should not be doing my duty, after what I have
heard, did I not take the liberty of suggesting to your Grace the
propriety of coming strongly and sufficiently guarded.
"I probably may be considered as giving you needless trouble, but
the respect which I, as well as every person who really wishes
the welfare of the country, must have for your Grace, and the
gratitude we owe you, has induced me to adopt this course.
"I have, etc.
"(Signed) JOHN KEY,
"Lord Mayor Elect."
Other communications to a similar effect were made to the Ministers;
and in the evening of the 7th the following letter was received by the
Lord Mayor, from Sir Robert Peel:--
"MY LORD,
"I am commanded by the King to inform your Lordship, that his
Majesty's confidential servants have felt it to be their duty to
advise the King to postpone the visit which their Majesties
intended to pay the City of London on Tuesday next. From
information which has been recently received, there is reason to
apprehend that, notwithstanding the devoted loyalty and affection
borne to his Majesty by the citizens of London, advantage would
be taken of an occasion which must necessarily assemble a vast
number of persons by night, to create tumult and confusion, and
thereby to endanger the properties and the lives of his subjects.
It would be a source of deep and lasting concern to their
Majesties were any calamity to occur on the occasion of their
visit to the City of London, and their Majesties have therefore
resolved, though not without the greatest reluctance and regret,
to forego, for the present, the satisfaction which that visit
would have afforded to their Majesties.
"I have the honour to be, my Lord,
"Your obedient servant,
"ROBERT PEEL."
A deputation from the committee appointed to superintend the
entertainment waited upon his Majesty's ministers three times on
Tuesday; and the Duke of Wellington plainly told them that there was
but one of two courses to be adopted--the postponement of the visit,
or the alternative of bringing a large body of military into the City.
The effect of Sir Robert Peel's letter upon the minds of the citizens
was beyond description. Men hastened to purchase arms, and to secure
the fastenings of their houses, as if there was going to be an armed
rebellion. On the 8th, consols fell three per cent. in about an hour
and a half, whilst the streets were choked with busy crowds, listening
to and spreading all sorts of alarming rumours. The prevailing one was
that it was intended to allow the procession to return to the
Guildhall unmolested, but that, in the evening, the passage of Temple
Bar and the bridges should have been barricaded, the gas-pipes cut
off, and, under the cloud of darkness, an indiscriminate plunder of
the City take place.
The new Lord Mayor proclaimed that neither the usual procession, nor
the banquet would take place, and, accordingly, there were neither
this year. And well it was that it was so, for there would assuredly
have been a riot; as it was, it was bad enough, as we see from the
following account taken from the _Annual Register_:--
"Both on Monday and on Tuesday (8th and 9th November) the streets
of the Metropolis were unusually crowded, and a considerable
degree of excitement prevailed. On Monday night a meeting was
held at the Rotunda, in Blackfriars Road, at which Mr. Hunt
presided as Chairman. It did not terminate till half-past eleven
o'clock, when Hunt retired. The instant he left the meeting, an
individual exposed a tri-coloured flag, with 'Reform' painted
upon it; and a cry of 'Now for the West End,' was instantly
raised. This seemed to act as a signal, evidently preconcerted,
as the individuals composing the meeting, one and all, assented,
and sallied forth in a body, the individual unfurling the
tri-coloured flag.
"They then proceeded over the bridge, in numbers amounting to
about a thousand, shouting as they passed along, 'Reform!' 'Down
with the Police!' 'No Peel!' 'No Wellington!' In their route they
were joined by others, and in this manner they proceeded through
Fleet Street and the Strand. The Adelphi theatre was closing, and
the audience about to leave, when, the shouts of the mob being
heard, the doors were instantly closed, and the audience were
kept in the house till they had passed. As they proceeded, they
were joined by a considerable number of notoriously bad
characters, who were very loud in their exclamations against the
police.
"The mob first proceeded into Downing Street, where they formed
themselves into a line immediately in the front of the residence
of Earl Bathurst. A gentleman in the house, hearing the tumult,
presented himself at the balcony, armed with a brace of pistols,
and, addressing the mob, warned them against committing any
illegal act, declaring that he would fire upon the first man that
attempted to enter the house. Yells and groans followed this
declaration, and a cry of 'Go it, go it!' was raised by the mob.
At this moment, another gentleman came out on the balcony, and
took the pistols out of his hands, upon which the mob gave loud
cheers.
"A strong body of the new police arrived from Scotland Yard, and
formed themselves into a line at the end of King Street to
prevent the mob from going to the House of Commons, where they
intended to proceed. A general fight now ensued, in which the new
police were assisted by several respectable-looking men, who used
every endeavour to put the mob to the rout. In the skirmish many
received broken heads, and the flag was captured. Inspector
Lincoln of the E division arrived with a body of seventy men, and
an equal number of the B division also came up, when the mob,
seeing the reinforcement, took to flight in all directions, and
the most perfect quietude succeeded. Three of the most desperate
of the rioters were arrested, and carried to the watch house in
the Almonry, Westminster. A reinforcement of the Royal Horse
Guards, blue, were mounted in the yard of the Horse Guards, and
remained there during the night, and extra policemen, in bodies,
paraded the streets.
"At an early hour in the morning of Tuesday, the new police were
called out in considerable numbers, and, by five o'clock in the
evening, a double row flanked the edges of either pavements, on
the Westminster side of Temple Bar, for a considerable distance.
This precaution was not taken without occasion, for, before this
period, a dense mob had collected within Temple Bar, in order to
see the preparations there made for an illumination. It was, at
last, found necessary, at a late hour in the afternoon, to employ
workmen in removing the temporary gas-pipes by which the lighting
up was intended to have been effected, lest any of the mob should
clamber the Bar, and communicate light to the various gas
orifices.
"As soon as the workmen arrived for this purpose, a body of
vagabonds ran through the avenues into Westminster, and
endeavoured to excite alarm by cries of 'Fire! Fire!' A large
body of the police were drawn up, about six o'clock, in the open
space leading to Waterloo Bridge, and similar precautions were
taken in other parts of Westminster.
"About half-past five, the refuse of the mob, which at an early
hour had assembled in the City, proceeded along the Strand, in a
body of between three and four hundred, consisting principally
of boys of the lowest description, vociferating 'No Peel--down
with the raw lobsters!' and other expressions of a similar
tendency. On arriving at Catherine Street, they rushed up it,
headed by a youth about sixteen, who cheered on the throng with
'This way, my lads--we'll give it them.' A temporary halt was
made at the corner of York Street; the mob then proceeded down
York Street, through Maiden Lane, Chandos Street, Hemming's Row,
to the rear of the Menagerie, at Charing Cross; the whole of them
yelling, shouting, groaning, and breaking windows in their
progress. A strong body of the E division now rushed upon them,
and dealt out severe blows with their staves on the heads and
arms of the mob. The captain of the gang was the first to
retreat; and the rioters were completely dispersed. At seven
o'clock the end of Fleet Street, by Temple Bar, was nearly
impassable, and the mob, who extended beyond the pathways, so as
to leave barely room for a coach to pass, demanded from each
passenger or coachman, as a passport, that he should pull off his
hat and shout 'Huzzah!'
"The City side of Temple Bar was in a very tumultuous state.
Stones were repeatedly thrown thence upon the police stationed on
the Westminster side. Attempts were also made to close the gates,
and several rushes upon the police were made from within. Mr.
Brown, the Marshal, insisted upon having the control of the gate,
as belonging to the City, and caused it to be instantly opened,
which produced loud cheering among the mob, and the cry of 'The
City police for ever!' They soon, however, lost their popularity,
by opposing the passage of the mob through the gate; and Mr.
Brown received a severe wound upon the head, in attempting to
disarm the rioters. The other City officers were also roughly
handled. The mob forced their way, but returned soon afterwards,
and went quietly through the City. The police were afterwards
withdrawn to a passage leading out of Picket Place into Newcastle
Court; and conflicts took place between them and the mob, in
which many on both sides received serious injuries. The mob, who
appeared afraid to venture outside the gates of Temple Bar,
amused themselves with throwing stones and large pieces of wood
among the police in Picket Place; they obtained these missiles
from the New Law Institution in Chancery Lane, the scaffold of
which was broken down and carried off, amidst loud cheers.
"In the course of the evening, another mob, of between four and
five hundred persons, proceeded along Piccadilly, and, in a smart
trot, made their way to Apsley House, the residence of the Duke
of Wellington; hallooing, and bestowing the usual expression of
disapprobation on the Duke, Mr. Peel, and the police. On their
reaching the end of Piccadilly, they were met with a strong force
of the D division of police, who succeeded in dispersing them in
different directions, without any serious accident to either
party. At eleven o'clock, Piccadilly and the whole of the West
End, from the bottom of the Haymarket upwards, was in an
undisturbed state; but the police, in number between four and
five hundred, were drawn up in Spring Gardens, ready to act,
should necessity require them to do so. Frequent communications
took place from the different station-houses to the head-quarters
at Scotland Yard, and the men employed as messengers upon this
occasion were attired in plain clothes, the better to facilitate
their progress, and prevent them from being attacked.
"Several parties of ill-disposed persons, many of whom were boys,
paraded the streets in Bethnal Green, Spitalfields, and
Whitechapel, for the purpose of creating a riot, but were
disappointed. One party, more formidable than the rest, passed by
Worship Street Office into Church Street, Spitalfields, where
they demolished the gas lamp and some windows at the police
station there, and, afterwards, those of a Mr. Chapple, a
fruiterer; thence they took a circuit round Bethnal Green, and
returned into the City without committing further mischief. The
magistrates were the whole evening in attendance at the different
offices. As early as six o'clock, the shops in St. Paul's
Churchyard, Ludgate Hill, and Fleet Street, were completely
closed, in consequence of the number of men assembled. The City
police in motion in the course of the day amounted to from five
hundred to six hundred men, including the firemen, ticket
porters, and tackle porters."
The whole country was in a state of ferment. In Ireland, the feeling
for repeal of the Union was so strong, that the Duke of
Northumberland, as Lord Lieutenant, issued a proclamation putting in
force the Act (10 George IV. c. 1) entitled, "An Act for the
Suppression of dangerous Associations or Assemblies in Ireland." And
the _Leeds Intelligencer_ (quoted in the _Times_ of October 23rd)
says--
"We observe that fears are expressed in some of the Metropolitan
papers, that disturbances are on the point of breaking out in the
North. It was reported in the City, on Monday afternoon, the
_Standard_ tells us, 'that a reinforcement of troops had been
demanded for Cumberland, in consequence of symptoms of
dissatisfaction having appeared among the colliers. Two
regiments, they state, are to start from Portsmouth. Artillery,
also, it is said, has been ordered from Woolwich, on Friday, for
the North. The state of the collieries and manufacturing
districts in that part of England is alarming.' Our information
does not at all bear out this alarming statement. Except some
Radical demonstrations at Carlisle, such as threats, political
nocturnal trainings, and a supposed secret preparation of
pikes--young trees having been cut down in various places--we
hear of nothing which should cause a sudden movement of troops.
Certain, however, it is, that an augmentation of force is taking
place in the North. The detachment of artillery stationed in
Leeds for about a year past, marched for Newcastle on Monday
morning."
Space prevents my giving any more about the riotous state of the
country during this year, exception only being made to the following
excerpt from the "Greville Memoirs":--
"December 1.--The last two or three days have produced no
remarkable outrages, and, though the state of the country is
still dreadful, it is rather better on the whole, than it was;
but London is like the capital of a country desolated by cruel
war, or foreign invasion, and we are always looking for reports
of battles, burnings, and other disorders. Wherever there has
been anything like fighting, the mob has always been beaten, and
has shown the greatest cowardice. They do not, however, seem to
have been actuated by a very ferocious spirit; and, considering
the disorders of the times, it is remarkable that they have not
been more violent and rapacious. Lord Craven, who is just of age,
with three or four more young Lords, his friends, defeated and
dispersed them in Hampshire. They broke into the Duke of
Beaufort's house at Heythrop, but he and his sons got them out
without mischief, and, afterwards, took some of them. On Monday,
as the field which had been out with the King's hounds were
returning to town, they were summoned to assist in quelling a
riot at Woburn, which they did; the gentlemen charged and broke
the people, and took some of them; and, fortunately, some troops
came up to secure the prisoners. The alarm, however, still
continues, and a feverish anxiety about the future universally
prevails, for no man can foresee what course events will take,
nor how his own individual circumstances may be affected by
them."
The Houses of Parliament were dissolved on July 23rd, and re-assembled
on October 26th. On November 15th, the Ministry were defeated over the
Civil List by a majority of twenty-nine, and on the next day the Duke
of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel resigned, and were succeeded by a
Ministry, at the head of which was Earl Grey. On the 15th, the Lord
Chancellor (Lord Lyndhurst) moved the appointment of a Regency in case
of the death of the King before the Princess Victoria arrived at the
age of eighteen. He said that the Bill which he was about to propose,
provided that, in the event of a posthumous child, her Majesty the
Queen should be guardian and regent during the minority; and that her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent should be guardian and regent
during the minority of the Princess Victoria; subject to be superseded
in the regency, in the case of the birth of a posthumous child. An
amendment was afterwards introduced, to the effect that the Princess
Victoria should not marry, while a minor, without the consent of the
King; or, in the event of his death, without the consent of both
Houses of Parliament; and that, if the Duchess of Kent, while regent,
married a foreigner, she should lose the regency. This Bill became law
on December 23rd, and is know as 1 Gul. IV. c. 2.
In December, the King sent to Scotland, for the purpose of being
deposited with the regalia, in the Crown-room of Edinburgh Castle, a
beautiful massive gold collar of the Garter, with rose diamond and
enamelled George, left to the King (George IV.) by Cardinal York, the
last of the royal line of Stuarts; and an ancient rose diamond badge
of St. Andrew, and a sapphire ring, set round with brilliants, being
Charles the First's coronation ring. The former of these jewels (which
weighs about three pounds), was presented to James VI. by his queen,
and was worn by that monarch.
I wind up the year with a very curious story of a bank-note. The
_Carlisle Patriot_ quoted in the _Times_ of December 29, says--
"We mentioned in our last that a £5 Bank of England note had been
received by a mercantile house in Liverpool, on the back of which
were written the following words: 'If this note gets into the
hand of John Dean, of Long Hills, near Carlisle, his brother
Andrew is a prisoner in Algiers.' The paragraph was read by a
person in Carlisle, who knew Andrew Dean, and is acquainted with
his brother, John Dean's, family, who are residing at Longtown.
John Dean's son was in Carlisle on Thursday last, and heard of
the paragraph from the person above alluded to; he called at this
office, in company with a friend, and, from what he related of
his uncle, there is every reason to believe that he is the Andrew
Dean, whose imprisonment in a distant country has, by this
singular means, been made known to his friends in England. Andrew
Dean, it appears, was formerly in the British navy, which he left
some time ago, and settled in business in Algiers. Communications
will be made to the Liverpool house, and also to Sir James Graham
(First Lord of the Admiralty), to ask his assistance in the
interesting inquiry."
I can trace no more about it; but it was pointed out that the
Ironmongers' Company has a fund of enormous amount, purposely reserved
for the liberation of captives in Barbary.
[Illustration: Bonnets.]
Here are some bonnets and fashions worn in 1830. Two walking dresses,
one evening, and one ball dress.
[Illustration: Dresses.]
CHAPTER VI.
1831.
Incendiary fires--Captain Swing--The result of Cobbett's
lectures--Special Commission--Prosecution of Carlile--Election
expenses--List of Close boroughs--Collapse of Reform Bill--The
King stoned--_Debût_ of Princess Victoria--The _Times_ and the
House of Lords--Bribery at elections--Action for libel--"The King
_v._ Cobbett"--Prince Leopold made King of the Belgians.
"The Red Cock" still crowed, and incendiary fires were still the order
of the day, in spite of the commissions to examine the numerous
prisoners in several counties. Captain Swing was rampant, and his
letters, if not always logical, as in the following instance, were
very numerous. The _Exeter Gazette_, quoted in the _Times_ of January
3rd, says--
"The following 'Swing' letter is the most ingenious commentary
which we have met with on the present infatuated attempts to
destroy machinery. Here is a fellow threatening the life of a
respectable person, because he is the means of reducing the
number of water-carriers, and supplies the inhabitants with a
quantity of that prime necessary of life, on terms cheaper than
they could obtain it from the moveable reservoirs which convey
some fifty or sixty gallons at a time round the town, at the rate
of a halfpenny a pailfull. The climax of the joke is the threat
which it holds out, of burning the Waterworks!
"'GOLSWORTHY.--This is to inform you that you and your waterworks
being the pest of the City of Exeter, not only by taking the
bread out of the mouths of the poor watermen, but by your
overbearance and pride, this is to inform you that if you do not
destroy that vile machine of yours, in 9 days, it shall be burnt
to the ground; and, further, if you neglect this notice, you
shall not only have your property burnt, but a mark shall be made
of your body.
"'From your deadly enemy,
"'SWING.
"'Neglect not this, or you will know the weight of lead.'"
Cobbett's lectures and writings undoubtedly influenced the minds of
the ignorant agricultural labourer, and one man, under sentence of
death for incendiarism at Battle, wrote the following confession:--
"I, Thomas Goodman, once herd of one Mr. Cobbit going a Bout
gaveing out lactuers; at length he came to Battel and gave one
their, and there was a gret number of Peopel came to hear him and
i went: he had A verry long conversation concerning the states of
the country, and telling them that they war verrey much impose
upon, and he said he would show them the way to gain their rights
and liberals, and he said it would be very Proper for every man
to keep gun in his house, espesely young men, and that they might
prepare themselves in readyness to go with him when he called on
them, and he would show them wich way to go on, and he said the
peopel might expect fire as well as other places.--this is the
truth and nothing But the truth of A deying man.
"THOMAS GOODMAN."
There was a very curious case connected with these agrarian riots,
which occurred at the Special Commission at Salisbury, where Isaac
Locker was indicted for sending a threatening letter to John Rowland,
in these words--
"Mr. Rowland, Haxford Farm.--Hif you goes to sware against or a
man in prisson, you have here farm burnt down to ground, and thy
bluddy head chopt off."
Some evidence was produced to show that the prisoner, in his
conversation, had justified the machine-breakers and fire-raisers, and
that the magistrates and military, who disturbed the proceedings of
the mobs, were the only breakers of the peace; but the case turned on
the question, whether the letter was in the handwriting of the
prisoner. Locker was found _guilty_, and the judge, in spite of the
man's asseverations of his innocence, sentenced him to transportation
for life.
The judge and jury retired for some refreshment, and in their absence,
the man's son, Edward Locker, came forward and declared that he had
written that and other letters. The judge expressed his surprise that
this evidence had not been brought before him previously, and
proceeded to try the prisoner on two similar indictments, when his son
got into the witness box and testified that the letters were in his
handwriting. The trial ended in the father's acquittal on those two
counts, and the judge said that he would lose no time in getting the
former conviction and sentenced quashed. An indictment was immediately
prepared, and found against the son, to which he pleaded guilty, and
was sentenced to transportation for seven years.
The Special Commission ended its labours on the 15th of January,
having hanged many rioters, and sentenced very many more to long terms
of transportation.
Besides Cobbett, there was a noted atheist, named Richard Carlile, who
is still looked upon as a persecuted martyr by Freethinkers. On the
10th of January, he was indicted at the Old Bailey for having written
and published two seditious libels--one tending to bring the Crown
into disrepute, and the other, which was addressed to the insurgent
agricultural labourers, tending to produce an insurrection among the
labouring and agricultural population. He was acquitted on the first,
but found guilty on the second count, and he was sentenced to pay a
fine to the King of £200, be imprisoned in the Compter of the City for
the space of two years, and at the expiration of that time, to find
sureties for ten years to come, himself in £500, and two sureties in
£250 each, and to be imprisoned until such fine was paid, and such
sureties provided.
The question of the reform of Parliament was now taken in hand
seriously, and it was not before it was needed. The expenses attendant
on elections were something enormous. The _Leeds Mercury_, quoted in
the _Times_ of August 30, 1830, speaking of the county of Yorkshire,
says--
"At the great contested Election of 1807 the expenses of the
three candidates amounted to a quarter of a million--and, at the
Election for 1826, when there was no contest, but only a
preparation for one, the four candidates had to pay £150,000."
An example of how the money went may be found in the election bills
of the Hon. S. Wortley, in contesting Forfarshire, in 1830. One dinner
bill is thus--
£ _s._ _d._
Ginger beer, 6/-; Brandy, 20/- 1 6 0
Champagne, £20; Claret, £21 41 0 0
Gin, 20/-; Ale, 16/- 1 16 0
Brandy Toddy, £2; Gin Toddy, £1 3 0 0
Dinner, £4 10/-; Madeira, £17 10/- 22 0 0
-------------
£69 2 0
And here is one of his tavern bills.
"The Hon. S. Wortley to John Morrison.
1830. £ _s._ _d._
July 21. The Dinner above mentioned 69 2 0
" 22. Champagne, £13; Gin, 12/- 13 12 0
" " Brandy 0 15 0
" 23. Whisky Toddy, 10/-; Brandy Toddy, 18/- 1 8 0
" 24. Claret, £9 10/-; Champagne, £10 19 10 0
" 26. Supper, £1; Brandy, 10/-; Gin 12/- 2 2 0
" " Gin Toddy, 20/-; Whisky Toddy, 16/- 1 16 0
" " Champagne, £12 10/-; Claret, £13 25 10 0
" 27. Brandy Toddy, 18/-; Gin Toddy, 20/- 1 18 0
" " Sherry, £5 2/-; Port, £4 16/- 9 18 0
" 28. Champagne, £8 10/-; Whisky Toddy, 10/- 9 0 0
" 29. Supper, £1 7/6; Perry Cider, 20/- 2 7 6
" " Brandy Toddy, £1 4/-; Gin Toddy, £1 10/- 2 14 0
" " Champagne, £13; Ginger beer, 6/- 13 6 0
" 30. Suppers, 22/6; Gin, 8/-; Brandy, 7/6 1 18 0
" " Gin Toddy; 30/-; Brandy Toddy, 30/- 3 0 0
" " Champagne 12 0 0
Aug. 1. Claret, £8; Sherry, £5 8/-; Port, £7 4/- 20 12 0
" 2. Suppers, 17/6; Gin, 16/-; Brandy, 30/- 3 3 6
" " Whisky Toddy, 20/-; Champagne, £7 10/- 8 10 0
" 3. Claret, £10; Gin, 15/-; Brandy, 18/- 11 13 0
" 6. Champagne, £8; Gin, 5/- 8 5 0
" 9. Whisky Toddy, 13/10; Brandy Toddy, 18/- 1 11 10
" 12. Madeira, £6; Champagne, £9 15 0 0
" 12. Madeira, £7 10/-; Champagne, £8 15 10 0
" 21. Champagne, £5; Claret, £7 10/- 12 10 0
" 23. ditto £2 10/-; do. £5 10/- 8 0 0
" 25. ditto £6 10/-; Port, £1 4/- 7 14 0
Sep. 15. ditto 6 0 0
--------------
£308 5 10
And the representation wanted a thorough reorganization, as may be
seen by the following list of close boroughs which were intended to be
disfranchised, with the number of voters in each:--
Aldborough 60
Aldeburgh 80
Appleby 110
Bedwin 70
Beer Alston 90
Bishop's Castle 45
Bletchingly 70
Borough Bridge 48
Bossiney 30
Brackley 32
Bramber 19
Buckingham 13
Callington 45
Camelford 24
Castle Rising 43
Corfe Castle 55
Dunwich 18
Eye 95
Fowey 76
Gatton 5
Haslemere 58
Heden 246
Heytesbury 45
Higham Ferrers 145
Hindon 250
Ilchester 70
East Looe 50
West Looe 55
Lostwithiel 30
Ludgershall 70
Malmesbury 13
Midhurst 18
Milborne Port 90
Minehead 10
Newport (Cornwall) 62
Newton (Lancashire) 60
Newton (Isle of Wight) 40
Okehampton 230
Orford 20
Petersfield 140
Plympton 210
Queensborough 270
Reigate 200
Romney 150
St. Mawe's 20
St. Michaels (Cornwall) 32
Saltash 36
Old Sarum 7
Seaford 98
Steyning 110
Stockbridge 110
Tregony 100
Wareham 20
Wendover 140
Weobly 90
Whitchurch 70
Winchelsea 40
Woodstock 400
Wootton Bassett 100
Yarmouth 50
For the following list it was proposed to have only one member:--
Amersham 125
Arundel 450
Ashburton 170
Bewdley 13
Bodmin 36
Bridport 340
Chippenham 135
Clitheroe 45
Cockermouth 180
Dorchester 200
Downton 60
Droitwich 12
Evesham 600
Grimsby 300
Morpeth 200
Northallerton 200
Penryn 400
Richmond 270
Rye 25
St. Germains 70
St. Ives 200
Sandwich 955
Sudbury 800
Shaftesbury 30
East Grinstead 30
Guildford 250
Helston 36
Honiton 350
Huntington 240
Hythe 150
Launceston 15
Leominster 700
Liskeard 100
Lyme Regis 30
Lymington 70
Malton 270
Marlborough 21
Marlow 235
Tamworth 300
Thetford 21
Thirsk 60
Totness 58
Truro 26
Wallingford 180
Westbury 70
Wilton 20
Wycombe 65
Lord John Russell prepared the first Reform Bill, and introduced it
into Parliament on March 1st. The first division for the second
reading was taken on March 22nd, the numbers for, 302; against, 301.
Majority 1. General Gascoyne, on the motion for a committee, moved the
following amendment: "That the number of representatives for England
and Wales ought not to be diminished," which was carried by 299 to
291. Of course, after this, there was nothing to be done but dissolve
Parliament at the earliest period possible, and this the King did on
April 22nd.
The King on this occasion was loudly cheered, but it was not always
so--for Greville records under date of February, that--
"The King went to the play the night before last; was well
received in the house, but hooted and pelted coming home, and a
stone shivered a window of his coach, and fell into Prince George
of Cumberland's lap. The King was excessively annoyed, and sent
for Baring, who was the officer riding by his coach, and asked
him if he knew who had thrown the stone; he said it terrified the
Queen, and was very disagreeable, as he should always be going
somewhere."
On the 24th of February the Queen's birthday drawing-room was held, at
which the Princess Victoria made her _debût_ in society. The following
is the official account by the Court newsman:--
"Their Royal Highnesses, the Duchess of Kent and the Princess
Victoria, with their suite, came in state, in three carriages,
escorted by a party of the Life Guards. Their Royal Highnesses
were attended by the Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Charlotte
St. Maur, Lady Catherine Jenkinson, the Hon. Mrs. Cust, Lady
Conroy, Baroness Lehzen, Sir John Conroy, and General Wetherall.
The dresses of their Royal Highnesses were made entirely of
articles manufactured in the United Kingdom. The Duchess's robe
was of silk embroidered with silver, and was made in
Spitalfields; the train was of Irish poplin, blue figured with
silver. The Princess Victoria was dressed with great simplicity
in a frock of English blonde.... The Princess Victoria stood to
the left of her Majesty."
We next find the Princess and her mother at Covent Garden Theatre on
April 14, witnessing the performance of Spohr's Opera _Zamira and
Azor_.
Before the dissolution of Parliament, the _Times_ newspaper got into a
scrape with the House of Lords on account of some remarks in its
issues of April 15th, which were as follows:--
"Yet mean, cruel, and atrocious as every civilized mind must
consider the doctrine, that Ireland has no need of poor laws, or
some equivalent for them,--hateful and abominable as is such a
screen for inhumanity,--there are men, or things with human
pretensions, nay, with lofty privileges, who do not blush to
treat the mere proposal of establishing a fund for the relief of
the diseased or helpless Irish, with brutal ridicule and almost
impious scorn. Would any man credit that an Irish absentee Lord
could say what he is reported to have uttered in the House of
Peers last night, when Lord Roseberry presented a petition,
praying that a compulsory tax on land might be introduced into
Ireland, towards alleviating her poor? We shall not name him,
because the House of Lords is armed with a thing called a 'Bar'
and other disagreeable appendages. But there are members of that
House who surprise nobody by declaring their indifference to
'popular odium'--especially when they are at such a distance from
Ireland as to ensure the safety of their persons."
The peer alluded to was the Earl of Limerick, who moved, on the 18th
of April, "That the editor of the _Times_ newspaper be ordered to
attend at the bar of that House to-morrow." The legal citation would
be on the printer, and, accordingly, on the 19th Mr. Lawson attended,
and a debate ensued, at the end of which he was ordered into custody
of the Usher of the Black Rod, to be produced next morning, and was
taken by two messengers of the House to Oliver's Coffee House, where
he was kept in durance. But, before their lordships met, he sent them
a petition--
"That your petitioner feels the sincerest regret at having given
offence to your right honourable House, and to the Earl of
Limerick in particular, and craves pardon for the same; and
humbly begs, in consequence of this acknowledgment of his error
and regret, he may be set at liberty by your right honourable
House."
All that day, and a great part of the next, the House debated upon the
crime of this wicked man, until it came to the conclusion that the
Lord Chancellor should reprimand and discharge him, which was
accordingly done; and the _Times_, in revenge, on the 26th of April,
published the following:--
"EPIGRAM.
To call a Lord a 'thing' is voted treason:
To call him 'no-thing,' then, must be in season."
The elections for the new Parliament now engaged the popular
attention; and, as elections were conducted in the "good old times" on
very different principles than at present, one or two little items
respecting them may be acceptable. _Times_, May 10th.
"REDUCED PRICE OF VOTES.
"A police constable belonging to a division at the east end of
the Metropolis, who has a vote for a borough not more than thirty
miles from London, applied to his inspector for permission to go
into the country to poll for one of the anti-reform candidates,
on Saturday morning. 'What do you expect to make by going down?'
inquired the inspector, from motives of curiosity. 'Only £10 and
the payment of my expenses,' was the reply of the 'independent
freeman.' 'Is that all?' exclaimed the inspector. 'I thought you
would make double that sum by your vote.' 'Oh no,' replied the
policeman, 'they don't come down now as they used to do. I have
had as much as £40 for my vote, and never less than £25; but now
I am glad to get £10.' 'Well, you may go,' said the inspector;
'it will be the last time you will be wanted to vote, I have no
doubt.' 'I hope not, sir,' ejaculated the policeman, with a
long-drawn sigh; 'and if that Reform Bill passes, it will be a
sad loss to me and my brother freemen.'"
Again (_ib._, May 11th), quoting the _Scotsman_:--
"Strange stories are abroad as to the sale of services at the
election for the City of Edinburgh. Two persons are named as
having received round sums; and the daughter of one of them, when
asked by some civic functionaries of a humble class whether her
father had not received £500, is said to have answered, 'No; he
only received £300.'"
In connection with electioneering, there was a curious action for
libel tried on June 18th, at the Court of King's Bench, before Lord
Tenterden and a jury. It arose out of certain proceedings at Great
Grimsby, during the General Election in 1830. The plaintiff was
lieutenant of the _Greyhound_ Revenue cutter; the defendant, an
attorney at Great Grimsby. The libel was the following letter, dated
from Great Grimsby, and published in some of the London papers. The
blues were the Whig party; the reds, their opponents:--
"At the late election, some extraordinary interferences took
place on the part of the persons employed in his Majesty's
Revenue Service here. The Collector of the Customs was observed
to join in the parade of the red party, and in its greetings and
huzzas. His Majesty's Revenue cutters, _Greyhound_ and _Lapwing_,
landed from seventy to eighty of their crews, who kicked up
occasional rows, to intimidate the peaceful inhabitants and the
blue party; and in one of these, which became a serious riot and
affray, they were actually led on by one of their commanders,
Lieutenant Howe, of the _Greyhound_. This gentleman canvassed for
the reds, attended their parades in their uniform, and wore a red
ribbon, the cognizance of the party his efforts were intended to
support. Several sailors were employed to erect a booth in front
of the lodgings of the red candidates. A top-mast from the stores
of the _Greyhound_ was raised up, to which a stage was fixed, for
the red candidates to make speeches from. Custom House flags were
carried in the red parades, and hung out of public-houses in the
red interest, and a Custom House ensign was suspended from the
top-mast in front of the red candidates lodgings. _The Greyhound
was laid in the Humber, about two miles from Grimsby, to receive
such of the blue party as could be made intoxicated, and
kidnapped on board her; and two of them were actually confined
there until the election was over._ Are such things tolerated by
Government?"
This letter, with the exception of the passage in italics, was
published in the _Globe_ of August 6, 1830. A similar letter, with
that passage included, was published in the _Courier_ on the 20th of
the same month. Evidence was given confirming the truth of the libel
in every respect, whilst Captain Harris and Colonel Challoner, the
red candidates, stated that they and the plaintiff did every thing in
their power to prevent disturbance, though the attack was commenced by
the blue party. These and several other witnesses went into details in
contradiction to the testimony of the defendant's witnesses, but the
jury found for the plaintiff, damages £10.
There was a law case much talked about at this time. The _King_ v.
_Cobbett_, tried before Lord Tenterden, in Court of King's Bench, on
7th July. It was an action against the notorious William Cobbett,
charging with the publication, in the _Weekly Political Register_, of
December 11, 1830, of a libel, with intent to raise discontent in the
minds of the labourers in husbandry, and to incite them to acts of
violence, and to destroy corn, machinery, and other property. The
trial lasted all day, and as the jury could not agree, they were
locked up all night. Lord Tenterden came to Court next morning, at
eight o'clock, and finding that the jury, after having been locked up
for fifteen hours, could not agree, discharged them.
On July 16th, Prince Leopold, the husband of the late Princess
Charlotte, left London for Brussels, having been made King of the
Belgians.
CHAPTER VII.
1831.
Opening of New London Bridge--After the luncheon--State of the
waiters--Provision for the Princess Victoria--Sale of Sir Walter
Scott's MSS.--The coronation--Its expenses--A "half
crownation"--The Lord Mayor and his gold cup.
The next subject for general conversation was the opening of New
London Bridge, on August 1st, by the King and Queen, who went in State
by water from Somerset House, which must have been a beautiful sight,
as any one who can remember the civic water pageant on Lord Mayor's
Day can imagine.
The following contemporary account, which is the shortest I can find,
is from the _Annual Register_:--
"At three o'clock, the hoisting of the Royal standard of England
over the centre of Somerset House, announced the arrival of their
Majesties, and was followed by discharges of cannon of all sorts
from the wharves and barges. When the King and Queen appeared on
the steps descending to the platform from which they were to
embark, the cheers from the crowd was almost deafening. The
awnings of the barges had been removed by his Majesty's desire,
so that a full view of the Royal party could be obtained
throughout the whole line.
"It was past four o'clock before the Royal barges reached the
bridge. An awning had been thrown halfway over the bridge. On
the London side, adjacent to the side of Old Fishmongers' Hall,
was erected a splendid pavilion. This was the position allotted
to their Majesties, the Royal suite, the Civic authorities, and
the more distinguished of the company. The pavilion was
constructed of standards that had, formerly, waved over the
armies of almost every civilized nation in the world. The breadth
of it was equal to that of the bridge. Its form was quadrangular,
and, at the four corners, were placed, upon raised broad
pedestals, groups of men in armour. The pillars which supported
the royal pavilion were adorned with flags, shields, helmets, and
massive swords. Their Majesties' seats were beneath a gorgeous
canopy of state of crimson cloth, the back of which was formed of
plate glass.
"To the right and left of this canopy were places for the members
of the Royal family, the ministers, and many of the nobility.
From the ends of the principal table, and at right angles to it,
ran two other narrow tables, which were reserved for civic
authorities and members of Parliament. No other tables were
placed in the royal pavilion, and thus a large open space was
preserved in front of their Majesties, whose view of the whole of
the company under the awning was free and unobstructed, except
for the drapery which formed the front of the tent....
"The stairs on the London side of the bridge had been covered
with crimson cloth, and at the bottom of these stairs, their
Majesties were received with all the formalities usual upon the
occasion of royal visits to the City. The King was handed out of
his barge by Mr. Routh, who gave his Majesty his arm. Mr. Jones,
as chairman of the 'New London Bridge Committee,' was present to
receive her Majesty on her landing. Upon stepping ashore, the
King addressed these gentlemen in the following words: 'Mr. Jones
and Mr. Routh, I am very glad to see you on London bridge. It is,
certainly, a most beautiful edifice; and the spectacle is the
grandest and most delightful, in every respect, that I ever had
the pleasure to witness.' His Majesty then paused to survey the
scene around him. At this moment the air was rent with the most
deafening cheers on all sides, and the King, taking off his hat,
acknowledged this hearty greeting of his subjects by repeated
bows.
[Illustration: Opening of New London Bridge, August 1, 1831.]
"Their Majesties proceeded to the top of the stairs, where the
sword and keys of the City were tendered to the King by the
Lord Mayor, and, on returning them, his Majesty signified his
wish that they should remain in his Lordship's hands. The
Chairman of the Committee then presented his Majesty with a gold
medal, commemorative of the opening of the bridge, having, on one
side, an impression of the King's head, and, on the reverse, a
view of the new bridge, with the dates of the present ceremony,
and of the laying of the first stone. As soon as these
formalities had been completed, the whole of the Royal party had
assembled in the pavilion, their Majesties proceeded to the end
of the bridge, attended by their Royal Highnesses, the Dukes of
Cumberland and Sussex, and by the principal members of the Royal
family. The officers of the Royal household, nearly all the
ministers, and a vast number of the nobility, and of the members
of the House of Commons, composed the Royal procession. In going
to, and returning from the Surrey end of the bridge, their
Majesties threw medals to the spectators on each side of them.
"As soon as it was announced that his Majesty was approaching the
bridge, Mr. Green had caused his balloon to be filled, and just
as the Royal procession had reached the Surrey side of the
bridge, Mr. Green made his ascent. His Majesty showed himself
from the parapets on either side of the bridge to the assembled
multitudes below.
"After the conclusion of this ceremony, the Royal party returned
to the pavilion, where a cold collation was laid out. A similar
repast was served up to the guests at all the other tables. After
the healths of the King and Queen had been drank, amid loud
acclamations, the Lord Mayor presented a gold cup of great beauty
to the King, who said, taking the cup, 'I cannot but refer, on
this occasion, to the great work which has been accomplished by
the citizens of London. The City of London has been renowned for
its magnificent improvements, and we are commemorating a most
extraordinary instance of their skill and talent. I shall propose
the source whence this vast improvement sprung. 'The trade and
commerce of the City of London.' The King then drank of what is
called the 'loving cup,' of which every other member of the Royal
family partook.
"At six o'clock their Majesties re-embarked, amidst the same loud
cheering, firing of artillery, ringing of bells, and other marks
of respect which had marked their progress down."
As a pendant to this picture, let us read a paragraph out of the
_Times_ of August 4th:--
"Rather an odd picture presented itself under the pavilion on
Monday night. The wines, it was well known by all who partook of
the hospitality of the Directors of the Bridge House Estates, out
of which all the expenses of the magnificent entertainment are to
be defrayed, were most abundantly supplied. Several of the
waiters, over whom nobody seemed to have any control, after the
bulk of the company had departed, took care to appropriate the
champagne and hock in such a manner that the Aldermen and other
members of the Committee looked about in vain for a bottle. Mr.
Oldham, the Chairman of the Royal Entertainment Committee, who
was upon his legs all day, in attendance upon their Majesties,
was obliged, at the conclusion of the feast, to beg, for God's
sake, for a glass of wine out of a bottle, which a gentleman had
taken out of a waiter's hiding-place; and Sir Claudius S. Hunter,
after running about for some time, to accommodate a few of his
female friends, was obliged, at last, to 'give it up.' In the
meantime, the wine was, every moment, sent forth from the cellar
in abundance. In a little while, however, the cause of the
deficiency was discovered. The Marshals, in going round,
perceived that almost all the waiters were blind drunk, and they
moved them, by dozens, from the scene of festivity, amid the
laughter of the crowds at the barriers. The fact is, that the
waiters employed upon this occasion were all trustworthy persons,
many of them the proprietors of respectable taverns; and they
calculated that, as through their means the plate and other
property were all safe, the least they could do was to drink
their Majesties health in overwhelming bumpers."
On the day following the royal visit, the bridge was thrown open to
the public, and it was computed that about 200,000 people passed over
it from the London side.
The next thing that gave people something to talk about, was the
King's message to Parliament respecting a suitable maintenance for the
heir-presumptive to the throne. This he did on August 2nd, as
follows:--
"WILLIAM, R.--His Majesty, taking into consideration that since
the Parliament had made a provision for the support of her Royal
Highness the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Alexandrina
Victoria of Kent, circumstances have arisen which make it proper
that a more adequate provision should be made for Her Royal
Highness the Duchess of Kent, and for the honourable support and
education of her Highness the Princess Alexandrina Victoria of
Kent, recommends the consideration thereof to this House, and
relies on the attachment of his faithful Commons to adopt such
measures as may be suitable to the occasion."
Accordingly, next day, the House of Commons went into committee on the
matter, and Lord Althorp (Chancellor of the Exchequer), in a short
speech, compared the situation, as heirs to the throne, of the
Princess Charlotte and the Princess Victoria. He pointed out that upon
the birth of the Princess Charlotte, the Princess of Wales received
£6000 a year for her maintenance; and that, in 1806, the sum was
raised to £7000, to be paid out of the Consolidated Fund. In addition
to this, the Princess Charlotte was paid a sum of £34,000 out of the
Droits of the Admiralty, and received £9777 from the Civil List. Upon
the whole, the income received by the Princess Charlotte, from the
tenth year of her age, amounted to £17,000 a year. In 1825 the sum of
£6000 was granted for the support of the Princess Victoria, and that
was all that had been voted by the public for her maintenance. It was
his duty to make a proposition for the future support and maintenance
of the Princess Victoria, and it was his intention to follow the
precedent of 1825, and to vote the money to her Royal Highness the
Duchess of Kent, to be by her applied to the support and education of
her daughter.
The amount of income received by the Duchess of Kent was £6000 a year,
an allowance settled upon her at the time of her marriage, and a
further sum of £6000 which she received on account of the Princess
Victoria. He proposed that £10,000 a year be added to this income,
which would make the whole allowance received by the Duchess of Kent,
£22,000; namely, £6000 for the Duchess herself, and the remaining
£16,000 for the maintenance of the Princess Victoria. He, therefore,
proposed the following resolution:--
"That it is the opinion of this Committee, that his Majesty
should be enabled to grant a yearly sum, not exceeding £10,000
out of the Consolidated Funds of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, for a more adequate provision for her Royal
Highness the Duchess of Kent, and the honourable support and
education of her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandrina Victoria
of Kent; and the said yearly sum to be paid from the 5th of
January, 1831."
To this there was no objection made by any member of whatever shade of
politics he might be; indeed all said they would heartily support it,
save one. Henry Hunt, the radical member for Preston, who, "feeling
that he should not do his duty to his constituents if he did not
oppose every kind of extravagance, he moved, as an amendment to the
resolution, to substitute £5000 for £10,000." But in the end, on a
division of the committee on this amendment, the numbers were--Ayes,
0; Noes, 223; majority, 223. The Bill received the Royal Assent
September 6th, 1831, and is known in the Statute book as 1 and 2 Gul.
IV. c. 20.
Apropos of this, there was a little joke, in the shape of a drawing by
H. B., which can neither be placed as a satirical print, nor a
caricature, but is a simple bit of pure fun. About the time of this
discussion, the Bishopric of Derry was vacant, value about £11,000 a
year, and it was humorously suggested that, to save the nation the
£10,000, the Princess Victoria should be made
[Illustration: "The New Bishop of Derry."]
On the 17th of August a bronze statue, by Chantry, of William Pitt,
the statesman was erected in Hanover Square, where it now stands.
On the 19th of August there were sold, during the lifetime of their
writer many manuscripts of Sir Walter Scott's novels. The auctioneer
was Mr. Evans of Pall Mall, and the prices they fetched were as
follows: "The Monastery," warranted perfect, £18. "Guy Mannering,"
wanting a folio at the end of the second volume, £27 19_s._ "Old
Mortality," perfect, £33. "The Antiquary," perfect, £42. "Rob Roy,"
complete, but the second volume wrongly paged, £50. "Peveril of the
Peak," perfect, £42. "Waverley," very imperfect, £18. "The Abbot,"
imperfect, £14. "Ivanhoe," £12. "The Pirate," imperfect, £12. "The
Fortunes of Nigel," £16. "Kenilworth," imperfect, £17. "The Bride of
Lammermoor," £14 14_s._ In all, £316 4_s._
But _the_ topic of conversation for the year was the coronation, and
much was the gossip and town talk thereon. It was to be nothing as
grand as that of George the Magnificent, the amount voted by the House
of Commons, on September 1st, to be expended upon it, being only
£50,000. There was to be no banquet in Westminster Hall, no Champion;
and the people satirically called it a "half-crownation." But the
spirit of economy was abroad, and the tastes of the _bourgeois_
monarch were simple. And the outlay was well within the sum granted,
the actual expenditure being--
£ _s._ _d._
In the several departments of their Majesties
households 22,234 10 3
By the Office of Arms, for the King's Heralds
and Pursuivants 1478 3 9
In the Office of Works, for fitting up the
Abbey, etc. 12,085 14 5
In the Mint for Coronation Medals 4326 4 6
The amount expended for fireworks, and for
keeping open the public theatres on the
night of the Coronation 3034 18 7
-------------
Total 43,159 11 6
----------------
Great fun was made of this meagre spectacle, as we may see by the
satirical sketch shown on p. 72, by H. B., entitled, "Going to a
Half-Crownation," where the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex are shown
in a hack cab, the King and Queen in a hackney coach, on the box of
which sits Lord Chancellor Brougham, bearing the great seal; whilst
the omnibus behind contains the Fitzclarences, the King's family by
Mrs. Jordan. The peers and peeresses are on foot; first, Lord Grey
carrying the Sword of State, then Lord and Lady Durham, and last, Lady
Grey. The gentleman on horseback is Mr. Lee, High Bailiff of
Westminster.
[Illustration: A Half-Crownation.]
At the customary banquet in Westminster Hall, the Lord Mayor of London
is by prescriptive right the chief butler on the occasion, and hands
the King wine in a gold goblet, which he receives as his fee, but
there being no banquet on this occasion, there was no gold cup. The
_Times_, of August 27th, tells an amusing anecdote respecting the cup
at the coronation of George IV.--
"At the last Coronation, Alderman Thorp, then Lord Mayor,
performed service as butler, and received an unusually splendid
gold cup as his perquisite.... A laughable story has been revived
in the City, within the last few days, relative to a former
Coronation. On the occasion we allude to, the Coronation was
fixed for a certain day. The Coronation Cup was under the hands
of the King's jeweller, and the Lord Mayor, who intended to cut a
great dash amongst his fellow citizens, slily went to the person
who was finishing off the article, and told him to make it £30
richer and more beautiful than his instructions amounted to. This
innocent piece of imposition was accordingly carried into effect,
and his Lordship paid down his £30, and rejoiced in the superior
importance which the value of the perquisite would confer upon
him. By some awful circumstance, the day of Coronation was not
only postponed, but actually appointed to take place in another
mayoralty, and the gold cup, with its £30 worth of superiority,
fell into the hands of a more fortunate chief magistrate and
butler. It is recorded that when the Lord Mayor was receiving the
cup from his Majesty, there was, amongst those who suspected the
disappointment, a general titter, in which all the Aldermen, with
one exception, joined."
The sum voted for this coronation was so meagre, that a crown for the
Queen could not be included in the expenses. Her Majesty, therefore,
not caring to hire jewels for her crown, as did George IV., had it
decorated with her own personal precious stones.
I have no space to give an account of the coronation, the ceremonial
of which followed the established use.
CHAPTER VIII.
1831.
Scramble for coronation medals--Bad weather--Fireworks in Hyde
Park--Absence from the ceremony of the Duchess of Kent and
Princess Victoria--The _Times_ thereon--Story of a Great
Seal--Reform Bill rejected by the Lords--Reform riots in the
country and London--Windows of Apsley House broken by the mob.
There was a regular scramble for the coronation medals, and one
accident is recorded as having happened to Alderman Sir Claudius
Hunter. He made an effort to catch some of the Coronation medals which
were cast among the company. The other aldermen, however, were as
anxious as he was to get hold of the medal, and, in the _melée_, Sir
Claudius received a cut under the eye, and the blood streamed down. It
happened that the famous surgeon, Sir Astley Cooper, was close by, and
he attended to the wounded man; but it was remarked that none of the
aldermen got a medal in the scramble. Possibly, a medal so obtained,
may have a fictitious value, as a memento, but they could be obtained
at the Mint, or at appointed places in Ludgate Hill, or Panton Street,
Haymarket, at the following prices: gold, £5, silver, 10_s._, bronze,
5_s._
During the procession to the Abbey the weather was fine, and the
sight a brilliant one; but, soon after one o'clock, a very heavy rain
descended; the wind, too, blew with great violence, and occasioned
rattling and tearing among the canvas canopies of the newly erected
stands. It ceased for a short time, between two and three, when it
broke out afresh, and was particularly lively when the ceremony was
over, at half-past three. It quite spoilt the return procession, some
of the carriages driving straight away, and those that fell into rank
had their windows up. The general public were in sorry plight, as we
see in the accompanying illustration--
[Illustration: "Coronation Day.
Some of the lieges on their return."]
In spite of the weather, London was brilliantly illuminated, and the
theatres and Vauxhall Gardens were thrown open free. There was a
display of fireworks in Hyde Park, at which many were more or less
hurt by the falling rocket-sticks, six so seriously as to have to be
taken to St. George's Hospital. Throughout the country the festivity
was universal.
One little thing marred the universality. The Duchess of Kent was not
present at the coronation, neither was the Princess Victoria. It was
an open secret that the King and the Duchess were not on friendly
terms, but it was thought very bad taste on her part not to be
present; this was freely commented on, as we see in--
[Illustration: "The Kentish Lady that did not go to the Coronation."]
The Duchess is saying to the weeping Princess, "Say no more about the
Coronation, child. I have my _particular reasons_ for not going to
it."
The _Times_ must needs turn virtuously indignant on the occasion, and
lectured the Royal Duchess thus[8]--
[Footnote 8: _Times_, September 7, 1831, p. 3, col. 1.]
"In the midst of the general interest and affectionate zeal
excited by the sublime ceremony of to-morrow, of a constitutional
monarch pledging himself to a free people to guard their rights
and privileges, it has been remarked, with very general surprise,
that the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria are the only
members of the Royal family, old or young, who are not to be
present at the Coronation. It is with deep regret that we have
learned that her Royal Highness has refused to attend! Yes, has
refused to attend! and that her absence on this occasion, is in
pursuance of a systematic opposition on the part of her Royal
Highness to all the wishes and all the feelings of the present
King. Now, the presence, or absence of the Duchess herself, is a
matter of comparative indifference--it is merely disrespectful;
but that of the Princess Victoria, which must, as to its
immediate cause, be imputed to her mother, cannot fail of being
considered by the public as indecent and offensive. We should be
glad to know who are the advisers of this misguided lady? Who can
have dared to counsel her, the widow of a mediatized German
Prince, whose highest ambition never could have contemplated the
possibility of an alliance with the Blood Royal of England, to
oppose the Sovereign to whom she is bound by so many ties of
gratitude? Her Royal Highness must have been acting under a
well-grounded confidence in the indulgence and forbearance of his
Majesty, or an entire ignorance of the authority of the Crown.
The Constitution has limited the political power of the King, but
has left it uncontrolled and despotic over the members of his own
family; and it cannot be disputed that she who is ignorant of the
respect which is due to the Crown, is unfit to form the mind and
superintend the education of the infant who is destined to wear
it.
"We could mention some curious facts, which, for the present, we
shall abstain from doing. We would rather admonish than expose,
and shall rejoice if these monitory hints be not thrown away. No
monarch has more endeared himself to his subjects than William
IV.; and the Duchess of Kent is grossly mistaken if she thinks to
ingratiate herself with the people of this country by opposition
to the will and disrespect to the power of the King."
But the _Times_ sang another tune in its issue of September 10th--
"In an affair of great delicacy, to which we have already
alluded, our wish would be, if we might be permitted, to put the
public in possession of the whole truth, and then let the matter
drop, for we know that protracted discussions are apt to excite
resentments which did not, at first, exist. It was impossible
that the absence of the Duchess of Kent, and of the Princess
Victoria, her daughter, from the Coronation, should have escaped
notice; we, therefore, stated what the fact would be, and
assigned some causes for it. We now hope to close the account in
a manner which may suppress rising animosities. We have received
two versions of the affair, and both, if we look to the quarters
from which they come, entitled to the highest consideration.
"The first says, 'Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent wrote to
the Duke of Norfolk, as Hereditary Earl Marshal, to know how she
was to go to the Abbey herself, and what arrangement had been
made for the Princess Victoria. The answer was: that his Majesty
had signified his pleasure that her Royal Highness should attend
in her place as a dowager Princess and Peeress, and that the
Princess Victoria should go under the care of the Landgravine and
the Princess Augusta, and be attended by the Duchess of
Northumberland, in the Royal pew. This answer having been
received, so far was her Royal Highness from declining
attendance, that she ordered her robes, and it was understood by
all the Royal family that she would be there. The King, never
doubting but that the Duchess would be at the Coronation, ordered
a letter to be written to her to know whom she would name to
carry her Coronet: to this, no answer was received. After waiting
some time, his Majesty ordered another letter to be written in
his own name, and to this, an answer did come, from Sir John
Conroy, speaking of her attendance as uncertain, but saying that,
if she did attend, she would have her coronet borne by Lord
Morpeth.'
"Our other account agrees, in the chief facts, with the
preceding; but adds, 'Her Royal Highness wrote to express her
ready compliance with the arrangement made as to the places
selected for herself and her daughter, and her desire to be
present at the ceremony, and to mark her dutiful regard to his
Majesty; but it was, afterwards, considered inexpedient to
interrupt the benefit which the Princess Victoria's health was
receiving by her residence near the sea; and, upon this ground,
and, also, upon the expense which would attend the Duchess of
Kent's leaving the Isle of Wight, and removing all her
establishment to town, so as to appear in state at the
Coronation, his Majesty was pleased, in the most gracious, and
the kindest manner, to dispense with the attendance of the
Duchess of Kent, and the Princess, her daughter.'
"Upon these two accounts we may observe, that the latter takes no
notice of the delay in answering the letters written by his
Majesty's direction; and the former omits all mention of the
King's graciously dispensing with the attendance of the
illustrious personages at the Coronation. It may seem singular
that the Duchess should first apply to know the place assigned to
herself and the Princess, and, after these were known, decline
attendance, if there were no dissatisfaction. But, perhaps, some
cause for alarm might have sprung up, on the score of her
daughter's health. The expense was no greater after the question
about places was answered than before. However, his Majesty's
acquiescence in the reasons alleged for absence, may serve to
satisfy the objections of every other person.
"The claims of an heiress presumptive are not recognised, so far
as we know, in any part of the Constitution; and to consolidate
any pretensions of this hypothetical nature into an opposition to
his Majesty, as it would be madness, we feel very well convinced,
cannot be contemplated by her Royal Highness."
And with this episode we will close the coronation.
About this time Greville tells a little story of a Council Meeting.
"September 3.--This King is a queer fellow. Our Council was,
principally, for a new Great Seal, and to deface the old Seal.
The Chancellor claims the old one as his perquisite. I had
forgotten the hammer,[9] so the King said, 'My Lord, the best
thing I can do, is to give you the Seal, and tell you to take it,
and do what you please with it.' The Chancellor said, 'Sir, I
believe there is some doubt whether Lord Lyndhurst ought not to
have half of it, as he was Chancellor at the time of your
Majesty's accession.' 'Well,' said the King, 'then, I will judge
between you, like Solomon; here' (turning the Seal round and
round), 'now do you cry heads or tails?' We all laughed, and the
Chancellor said, 'Sir, I take the bottom part.' The King opened
the two compartments of the Seal, and said, 'Now, then, I employ
you as Ministers of taste. You will send for Bridge, my
silversmith, and desire him to convert the two halves, each into
a salver, with my arms on one side, and yours on the other, and
Lord Lyndhurst's the same; and you will take one, and give him
the other, and both keep them as presents from me.'"
[Footnote 9: Defacing an old Great Seal is a very perfunctory
performance. The two halves are slightly tapped with a hammer, and the
seal is, by a fiction, supposed to be so defaced as to be incapable of
being used again.]
We, lately, have heard a great deal against the House of Lords, even
to its being abolished, but this was as nothing compared to the
feeling excited by the Reform Bill. At half-past five on the morning
of September 22nd, the Bill was read a third time, and passed, in the
House of Commons, by a majority of 113. It then went to the Lords, and
on the second reading Lord Wharncliffe moved, "That the Bill be read
that day six months." The Lords had five days' debate upon the Bill,
and rejected it on October 7th by a majority of 41.
This raised the ire of the Reform party; and, as was the custom of
the age, riots ensued. The _Annual Register_ gives the following
condensed account of them:--
"The rejection of the Reform Bill caused some partial
disturbances in the country. At Derby, a mob, on Saturday and
Sunday, the 8th and 9th, committed several outrages, attacked the
city gaol, set the prisoners at liberty, and then proceeded to
the county gaol, where they were resisted and foiled in the
attempt: on Monday evening quiet was restored, but not before
several lives were lost, and many persons wounded. One young man,
son of Mr. Haden, surgeon, was killed by the mob.
"At Nottingham, the castle, which belongs to the Duke of
Newcastle, was burnt down; Colwick Hall, the seat of John
Musters, Esq., was broke into, the furniture destroyed (including
several valuable pictures, particularly Sir Joshua Reynolds'
whole length of Mrs. M.), and the house set on fire, which,
however, was soon extinguished. A factory at Beeston, belonging
to Mr. Lowe, was burnt down. The House of Correction was
attacked, but, the 15th Hussars arriving, the mob dispersed;
fifteen of them were made prisoners. Some trifling disturbances
took place at Loughborough.
"In the metropolis, also, fears were entertained; on the 10th the
inhabitants of Bond Street were thrown into a panic, by a report
that a mob of several thousand persons were coming, with the
determination of breaking all windows where the shutters were not
closed. Although it was only six o'clock, every shop was
instantly closed, and the street presented, from one end to the
other, a very dark and gloomy appearance. In Regent Street and
some other of the great thoroughfares, the shutters were closed;
and where there was property, more particularly valuable, boards
were nailed across. Several Reform meetings were held on the same
day, and various stratagems were had recourse to, by their
promoters, to induce the shopkeepers and other inhabitants, to
make a display of revolutionary emblems.
"On the 11th, as three policemen were coming through St. James's
Square, with a prisoner in their custody, the crowd surrounded
them, and rescued the prisoner. The constables took out their
staves, but were pushed along until they arrived at Waterloo
Place, where they were joined by a party of police. At the corner
of Waterloo Place, the crowd took advantage of a heap of
macadamised stones, which they flung at the police in every
direction, so that the latter were glad to make their escape.
"Between two and three o'clock, a large assemblage took place in
Hyde Park. Stones were thrown at Apsley House, and a few squares
of glass were broken. When some of the Duke of Wellington's
servants presented themselves at the windows, great hissing and
hooting followed, and immediately afterwards, a shower of stones
was thrown at the house, and almost every square of glass in it
was demolished. Some policemen, who were upon the spot at the
time, endeavoured to drive the crowd out of the Park, but violent
resistance was made, and the constables were, ultimately,
compelled to make a precipitate retreat, and take shelter in his
grace's mansion. Notice of these proceedings having been given to
St. James's police station, a large party of the C and T
divisions, headed by a superintendent and four inspectors,
proceeded with all possible haste to Hyde Park, where they formed
in a body under the statue. They had not been there many minutes
before they were saluted with several showers of stones. These
attacks were, for a time, borne with exemplary patience; but, at
length, a large crowd having collected in front of the Duke of
Wellington's house, the police, in number about 200, sallied
forth, and, in an instant, the rabble ran in all directions.
Several of the ringleaders were taken into custody, and conveyed
to Knightsbridge barracks.
"After the mob had been driven out of Hyde Park, they proceeded
to the mansion of Earl Dudley, and commenced throwing stones at
the windows; but a strong body of police, who had been stationed
in his lordship's stables, suddenly rushed upon them with their
staves, and the mob were beaten off.
"Some desperate attacks were made upon the new police by
regularly organised gangs of pickpockets, and several constables
were very severely beaten. At the corner of Charles Street, St.
James's Square, some young thieves were taken into custody by
three of the police, who were detached from the main body; the
prisoners were rescued, and the constables were obliged to make
their escape. One of the inspectors of the C division, who was
parading in Pall Mall in private clothes, was recognised by some
of the rabble, who kicked him and beat him in so cruel a manner,
that he narrowly escaped with his life.
After the _Levée_ was over, a vast number of the lower orders
assembled in the park, awaiting the arrival of some of the
Anti-Reform peers. About five o'clock, the Marquis of
Londonderry, accompanied by a friend, made his appearance on
horseback, and was proceeding to the House of Lords. Before the
Marquis was aware, he found himself in the midst of between 4000
and 5000 persons. At first, he was not recognised, and he was
proceeding with apparent security, when, on a sudden, a voice
exclaimed, 'There goes the Marquis of Londonderry.' In an instant
he was assailed with pebbles. Several of the missiles struck his
lordship, which so enraged him, that he pulled up his horse, and
solemnly declared that he would shoot at the first individual who
again dared to molest him. His lordship accompanied his
declaration by pulling out a brace of pistols. This, for a time,
so intimidated the mob, that they gave way in a slight degree;
and, after the Marquis had conversed for a few seconds with a
gentleman on horseback near him, he rode off towards the Horse
Guards. Thither the mob followed; and, believing that his
lordship only endeavoured to intimidate them, they commenced
another attack. The showers of stones were now thicker than ever,
and one stone, hurled with considerable force, struck the noble
Marquis immediately over his right temple, cut through his hat,
and inflicted a serious wound on his head, which rendered his
lordship nearly insensible. The military here interposed, and the
Marquis was placed in a hackney coach, and conveyed home."
The Rev. G. R. Gleig, in his "Life of Arthur, Duke of Wellington"
(edit. 1864, p. 360), gives the following account of the
window-breaking at Apsley House:--
"The Duke was not in his place in the House of Lords on that
memorable day when the King went down to dissolve
Parliament.[10] He had been in attendance, for some time
previously, at the sick bed of the Duchess, and she expired just
as the Park guns began to fire. He was, therefore, ignorant of
the state into which London had fallen, till a surging crowd
swept up from Westminster to Piccadilly, shouting and yelling,
and offering violence to all whom they suspected of being
Anti-Reformers. By-and-by, volleys of stones came crashing
through the windows at Apsley house, breaking them to pieces and
doing injury to more than one valuable picture in the gallery.
The Duke bore the outrage as well as he could, but determined
never to run a similar risk again. He guarded his windows, as
soon as quiet was restored, with iron shutters, and left them
there to the day of his death, a standing memento of a nation's
ingratitude."
[Footnote 10: I cannot reconcile these dates. The King prorogued
Parliament on October 20th, whilst there is no doubt that the attack
on Apsley House took place on the 11th, for it is mentioned in the
parliamentary reports of the 12th.]
Doubtless many of my readers remember those shutters, which were
always down, and were not removed until after his funeral on November
18, 1852.
CHAPTER IX.
1831.
Reform procession--The Corporation of London and the
King--Dreadful riots at Bristol--Riots in other parts of the
kingdom--Edward Irving and the "Gifts of Tongues"--The
cholera--Its spread--State of Ireland--Tithe agitation--Scarcity
of food--Repeal of the Union--Cases of violence.
A large portion of the nation, and London in particular, had Reform on
the brain; and, as soon as the news of the rejection of the Bill was
generally known, it was arranged at a meeting of delegates from the
several parishes that separate addresses to the King should be
presented from each, and that deputations should be accompanied to St.
James's Palace by such of the parishioners who chose to attend.
Accordingly, on October 12th, deputations and auxiliaries from St.
Marylebone, St. Pancras, St. Luke's Clerkenwell, St. James
Westminster, and St. Mary Newington, marched to St. James's, and it
was reckoned that there was an assemblage of about sixty thousand
people.
The deputations waited on Lord Melbourne, who was Home Secretary, and
requested him to present them to the King. My Lord diplomatically
replied that he would first learn his Majesty's pleasure thereon, but
would advise them to give the addresses to the members for Middlesex,
Messrs. Byng and Hume, who would present them, which was accordingly
done. The members returned in about an hour, when Mr. Hume addressed
the mob. He told them that he had presented their addresses to his
Majesty, telling him that they were passed at meetings of near forty
thousand persons, and that they prayed he would retain his
ministers--use all constitutional means to pass the Reform Bill--and
dismiss those persons from his court and household who were opposed to
the measure; and he further informed his hearers, that the King had
distinctly promised that their prayers should be complied with, and
that he had emphatically observed that he had the highest confidence
in his present ministry, and that every means in his power should be
used to secure the success of a measure so essentially necessary to
the interest, happiness, and welfare of his people; and, further, all
persons about his court, or person, opposed to the Bill should be
removed. The mob cheered loudly, and duly broke windows and committed
excesses on their way back.
The City of London, now so overwhelmingly Conservative, was then, and
long after, violently Radical in its politics, and, consequently, must
needs present an address to the King, as, by prescriptive right, they
were entitled to do. The King received the Mayor and Corporation,
seated upon his throne, and to their address gave the following
diplomatic answer:--
"I receive, with satisfaction, the expression of your loyalty and
attachment to my person and government, and of your confidence in
my Constitutional advisers.
"You may be assured of my sincere desire to uphold and to improve
the securities afforded by the Constitution, for the maintenance
of the just rights of my people, and you may rely on my continued
disposition to further the adoption of such measures as may seem
best calculated for that purpose. For the safe and successful
accomplishment of such measures, it is, above all things,
necessary that they should be discussed with calmness and
deliberation; and I earnestly recommend to you to use all the
influence you justly possess, with your fellow citizens, for the
purpose of preserving the public peace from any interruption by
acts of violence and commotion."
So serious were these riots thought, that extraordinary military
precautions were taken, as we read in the _Globe_ of October 11th--
"A double guard of the first regiment of household cavalry is
placed at the Horse Guards, and a horse patrol is parading in St.
James's Park. A party of eighty of the same regiment is lying at
the gun house, near the long gun in St. James's Park. An extra
guard was ordered at the Magazine in Hyde Park yesterday morning.
Orders were also sent to Woolwich to have the artillery in
readiness, should occasion require their presence in the
metropolis. The troops in Hounslow barracks are also in a state
for immediate service. Large quantities of ammunition have been
delivered out to the troops at their respective barracks and
quarters, and even the recruits at the recruiting house are under
arms."
London, however, had had enough of rioting. Not so, in the country,
notably at Bristol, where they rivalled the celebrated Lord George
Gordon riots of 1780. It began with the advent of Sir Charles
Wetherell, the Recorder of the City, on October 29th, to hold the
Sessions there. He had voted against the Reform Bill, and was mobbed
and stoned. He eventually opened the Sessions, and retired to the
Mansion House, before which a mob of some ten thousand people were
assembled. The mayor came forward, begged of them to depart, and read
the Riot Act. Much they cared for that, for they knew there were no
military, and the police force was totally inadequate to cope with
them; so they made an attack on the Mansion House, to get at the
obnoxious Recorder, who managed to make his escape and left the city.
They were about to set fire to the Mansion House, when the troops
arrived. The colonel cautioned the people, but they would not
disperse, and a charge was ordered, in which some of the mob received
severe sabre cuts, and one man was shot dead. The night passed fairly
quietly, owing to the soldiers parading the town and preventing the
crowd uniting.
The next day, being Sunday, and things seeming pretty quiet, the
soldiers, who had been on duty for twenty-four hours, were dismissed
for refreshment; but they had scarcely disappeared, when the rioters
again assembled, attacked the Mansion House, sacked it, and got raving
drunk on the contents of its cellar--so much so, that several died
from drunkenness. The troops were again called out, but were received
with such a shower of stones and bricks, that it was deemed prudent to
withdraw them; but whilst this was being done, they were attacked
again and again, until they fired in self-defence, killing several
persons.
The mob then attacked the Bridewell, liberated the prisoners, and set
fire to the building. They then went to the New Gaol, sacked the
governor's house, broke open the gaol, and released the
prisoners--after which they set the building on fire. Then they burnt
the Tollgates, after which they released the prisoners in Gloucester
County Gaol, and set fire to it; so that three prisons were in flames
at the same time.
Then they set fire to the Mansion House and the Bishop's Palace, after
which they burnt many houses and the Custom House, where there was
some loss of life: altogether, that day, they completely destroyed
forty-two dwelling-houses, besides the public buildings already
mentioned; whilst, round about the scene of devastation, lay many of
the rioters in the last stage of senseless intoxication, with
countenances more resembling fiends than men.
Meantime the soldiers, who had been ordered out of the city, were
brought back; and the magistrates, having re-assembled, came, at
length, to a decision, and called out the _posse comitatus_. The
military were then ordered to clear the streets--an order which was
fulfilled to the letter by a party of the troops, which had
experienced some rough treatment, and had, in consequence, fired upon
the people on the previous day. Nothing was to be seen on every side
but women and children, running screaming in every direction, many
being severely wounded, and some killed. The number of casualties were
never known; but it was said that the killed and wounded did not
exceed 100. Of the dead, as far as could be ascertained, 6 were burnt,
2 shot, 2 died of sword-cuts, and 2 from excessive drinking. Of the
wounded, 10 were injured by shots, 48 by sword-cuts, 2 by drinking,
and 34 from other causes. Many prisoners were taken, and 180 were
committed for trial, 50 of whom were capitally charged with rioting
and burning. There were, also, riots at Bath, Coventry, and Worcester,
but they were child's play compared to that at Bristol.
About this time there was great talk of one Edward Irving, pastor of
the Scotch National Church, in Regent Square, and the miraculous gift
of tongues. In London, at all events, this peculiar manifestation
seems to have commenced on Sunday, October 9th, when Mr. Irving
delivered two sermons on the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, on
which occasions the congregation was disturbed by individuals speaking
in unknown language. During the morning's sermon, a lady (Mrs. Hall),
thus singularly endowed, was compelled to retire to the vestry, where
she was unable (so she said) to restrain herself, and spoke for some
time in the unknown tongue, to the great surprise of the congregation.
In the evening a Mr. Tamplin did the same, creating great confusion.
Next Sunday a Mr. Carsdale was similarly affected, and these
manifestations, afterwards, became common.
The accompanying illustration is by Seymour, and purported to be
sketched from life. It is called, "The Unknown Tongues--Daybreak at
the National Scotch Church, Regent Square. _Refrain from these Men_,
etc., Acts iv." Irving is seated, Mr. Tamplin is standing with an open
book, Mrs. Hall is one of the ladies, and Mr. Carsdale leans his head
on his hand.
[Illustration: The Unknown Tongues.]
The sect which Irving founded is still in existence, and is called by
its followers, "The Holy Catholic Apostolic Church." Their principal
place of worship is in a beautiful church in Gordon Square.
The cholera was advancing step by step through Europe, and it became
certain that England could not escape its visitation. As a matter of
precaution, the Board of Health, early in October, issued a notice
detailing the symptoms of the disease, and the remedies to be applied
in case of seizure. And, not content with trying earthly means to
avert the pestilence, the aid of Heaven was implored, and a form of
prayer, with that intent, was read in all the Metropolitan churches on
November 6th. But the "destroying angel" prayed against, came in due
course, and made its first appearance at Sunderland. The earliest
account I can find of it is in the _Globe_ of November 11th, which
says--
"We have been favoured with the following official return from
Sunderland, received this morning by the Board of Health:--Four
deaths; seven new cases."
That acute observer, Greville, writes under date November 14th--
"For the last two or three days the reports from Sunderland about
the Cholera have been of a doubtful character. The disease makes
so little progress that the doctors begin, again, to doubt
whether it is the Indian Cholera, and the merchants, shipowners,
and inhabitants, who suffer from the restraints imposed upon an
infected place, are loudly complaining of the measures which have
been adopted, and strenuously insisting that their town is in a
more healthy state than usual, and the disease is no more than
what it is usually visited with at this season.
"In the mean time all preparations are going on in London, just
as if the disorder was actually on its way to the metropolis. We
have a Board at the Council Office, between which, and the Board
at the College, some civilities have passed, and the latter is
now ready to yield up its functions to the former, which,
however, will not be regularly constituted without much
difficulty and many jealousies, all owing to official
carelessness and mismanagement. The Board has been diligently
employed in drawing up suggestions and instructions to local
boards and parochial authorities, and great activity has
prevailed here, in establishing committees for the purposes of
visiting the different districts of the metropolis, and making
such arrangements as may be necessary, in the event of sickness
breaking out. There is no lack of money or labour for this end,
and one great good will be accomplished, let what will happen,
for much of the filth and misery of the town will be brought to
light, and the condition of the poorer and more wretched of the
inhabitants can hardly fail to be ameliorated.
"The reports from Sunderland exhibit a state of human misery, and
necessarily, of moral degradation, such as I hardly ever heard
of, and it is no wonder, when a great part of that community is
plunged into such a condition (and we may fairly suppose that
there is a gradually mounting scale, with every degree of
wretchedness, up to the wealth and splendour which glitter on the
surface of society), that there should be so many who are ripe
for any desperate scheme of revolution. At Sunderland, they say,
there are houses with 150 inmates, who are huddled five and six
in a bed. They are in the lowest state of poverty. The sick in
these receptacles are attended by an apothecary's boy, who brings
them (or, I suppose, tosses them) medicines, without distinction
or inquiry."
It spread to Newcastle early in December, and thence to other
neighbouring places, until the returns were, on December 30th, as
follows:--
Total cases from commencement Deaths.
of disease.
Sunderland 528 197
Newcastle 286 99
North Shields and Tynemouth 16 9
Gateshead 143 55
Houghton le Spring and Pensher 29 14
Haddington 6 4
Walker Colliery 7 1
It is impossible to give an account of this year without noticing the
state of Ireland. It began badly, for the peasantry marched, in bands,
throughout the country, demanding reduction of rents and increase of
wages; and threatening destruction to the magistrates and gentry who
should disobey or endeavour to resist. Nor did they stop at threats.
In January, a Mr. Blood (county Clare) was murdered by ruffians
introduced, for the purpose, by his own servants. In the middle of
February, a Mr. Synge, who had tenants on Church lands, was pierced
with four bullets in the neighbourhood of his own house; and, only a
week afterwards, a magistrate, in Tipperary, was murdered by a band
who entered his house to search for arms.
The peasantry, in some parts, were in great distress. In the country,
as well as in the large towns, crowds were famishing for want of food,
and sinking into bodily sickness from want of clothing during the
inclemency of the winter. In only two baronies of the county of Mayo
there were stated to be, in the middle of February, twenty thousand
persons without any visible means of procuring food. The potato crop
had failed along the western coast of Ireland, and it was estimated
that in that district of the island there would be, almost
immediately, at least two hundred thousand persons in want of food.
Things were nearly as bad in Galway and Sligo, and in some other parts
of the island. Petitions were presented to Parliament praying for
relief, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed a vote of £50,000
to be advanced to certain Commissioners, who should lend it, on proper
security, to be used in giving employment to the starving population,
in making roads, and similar public works.
[Illustration: Man.]
Then, again, there was the cry of the Repeal of the Union, and Daniel
O'Connell was to the fore, and soon began to show the physical force
at his command. He advertised that the trades of Dublin were to march
through its streets on December 27, 1830, and the Lord Lieutenant
forbad it, by proclamation, on December 25th, as being unlawful.
O'Connell then formed "The General Association of Ireland for the
_Prevention of Unlawful Meetings_, and for the protection and
exercise of the sacred Right of Petitioning for the Redress of
Grievances." This was forbidden, as unlawfully meeting, by the Lord
Lieutenant on January 7th. He held meetings, however, and, on January
18th, he and his leading partisans were apprehended and taken before
the magistrates, and let out on bail. The same month true bills were
found against all concerned, and he availed himself of every legal
quibble. He first put in a demurrer, and pleaded, _Not guilty_; then
he withdrew his demurrer and pleaded _Guilty_; but neither he nor any
of the agitators were ever brought up for judgment.
In the spring of the year, in some portions of Ireland, notably in
Clare, Roscommon, Galway, and Tipperary, the law seemed no longer to
exist. Murder, robbery, searching for arms, etc., were done by bodies
of men who could only be met by military force, and were the ordinary
occurrences of every day. The lord lieutenant made a progress through
the disturbed districts, hoping thereby to restore tranquillity. He
was neither insulted nor murdered, but he did no good, and matters
remained as they were.
It is impossible to notice all the cases of outrage, but I will give
two as being typical. On June 18th, certain cattle, which had been
impounded for the payment of tithe, were to be sold at Newton Barry in
the County of Wexford. On the day of the intended sale, which happened
to be market day, the populace were called to act, by the following
placard:--
"Inhabitants of the parish of St. Mary, Newton Barry, there will
be an end to Church plunder; your pot, blanket, and pig will not,
hereafter, be sold by auction, to support in luxury, idleness and
ease, persons who endeavour to make it appear that it is
essential to the peace and prosperity of the country and your
eternal salvation, while the most of you are starving. Attend to
an auction of your neighbour's cattle, on Saturday next, the 18th
instant, seized for tithe by the Rev. Alexander M'Clintock."
The police were thus put upon their guard, and a body of yeomanry was
in readiness. The populace interfered with the sale, and the police
with the populace. The yeomanry had to act in support of the police.
The consequence was that twelve or thirteen of the populace were
killed by the fire of the yeomanry, and about twenty wounded. The
coroner's jury, after sitting for nine days, returned no verdict. Six
Protestants, who were upon it, and six Catholics, being, it is said,
directly opposed to each other in opinion. The Crown directed its
officers to make an investigation, in consequence of which, bills of
indictment were presented, at the Wexford Assizes, in July, against
certain of the yeomanry, including the captain who commanded them, and
a sergeant.
The prosecution was conducted by the Crown, in conjunction with the
next of kin of the parties killed. The bills charged murder; the grand
jury ignored them all, but expressed their readiness to entertain
bills for manslaughter against the captain and sergeant. The counsel
for the next of kin refused to co-operate with the crown in trying for
the minor charge, but the Crown counsel declared that the case must
be gone through, whatever the next of kin might choose to do. Bills
for manslaughter against the captain and sergeant were then sent up.
The bill against the former was ignored, a true bill was found against
the latter. He was put upon his trial, but the witnesses had
disappeared. The trial was postponed till the following day, but then,
too, not one of them was forthcoming, and the case was delayed till
the next assizes.
At Knocktopher, in the county of Kilkenny, on December 14th, a chief
constable, with a strong party of police, went out to protect a
process server in the execution of his legal duty, in serving the
usual process for refused tithe. There were neither military nor
yeomanry. The population prepared for murder. The sides of the road
and the adjacent fields were covered with people armed with bludgeons,
scythes, pitchforks, and other deadly weapons. They ferociously
demanded that the process server should be delivered up to them. The
police having refused, the crowd closed upon them in a narrow lane,
overpowered them, and murdered twelve or thirteen of them, besides
dangerously wounding several of the party.
Among the killed was the captain of the police. The accounts were that
his son, about ten years old, who accompanied his father, riding on a
pony, was inhumanly butchered. The pony which the child rode was
stabbed to death. Five of the police, who showed some symptoms of
life, after being barbarously beaten with bludgeons, as they lay
insensible on the ground, had their brains knocked out by a peasant's
son, not more than twelve or fourteen years old, who was armed with a
scythe.
[Illustration: Bonnets.]
The country people, after satiating their vengeance on the bleeding
bodies of the murdered police, by kicking and stabbing them, retired
to their homes and usual occupations, with as much indifference as if
they had just performed some meritorious deed.
[Illustration: Bonnets.]
On preceding page are given illustrations of a bonnet, hat, turban,
and caps, as worn during the year, and, here, the different styles of
hair-dressing fashionable in 1830-31.
CHAPTER X.
1832.
Commissions at Bristol and Nottingham--Executions--Employment of
children in factories--Cholera in London--Day of fast and
humiliation--Riot in Finsbury--Cholera riot at Paisley--A small
one in London--Decrease of cholera--Number of deaths--Cholera in
Ireland--A charm against it--Its effect on rooks--The police,
City and Metropolitan.
The excesses at Bristol could not, possibly, be passed over, and a
Commission, consisting of the Lord Chief Justice and two judges, met
on January 2nd, to try the rioters. Various sentences of
transportation and imprisonment were passed, and four men were hanged
on January 27th. They were Christopher Davis, convicted of having
encouraged the mob to commit acts of plunder and desolation; William
Clarke, for having assisted in destroying the Gaol and Bridewell; and
Joseph Kayes and Thomas Gregory, for having formed part of a mob that
pillaged and burnt two dwelling-houses. Davis had retired from his
business, which was that of a carrier, and in which he had amassed
about £2000. Clarke, who had connections possessing considerable
property, was a sawyer; the other two were common labourers. Colonel
Brereton was court martialed for firing on the rioters, which so
preyed upon his mind, that he shot himself on January 14th, during his
trial.
Another Commission sat at Nottingham to try the rioters there, and
three men were hanged.
Parliament met on December 6, 1831, and, of course, the principal
business of the Session was the Reform Bill. But there were social as
well as Parliamentary reforms urgently needed, one of which was the
employment of children in factories, which had been much abused.
Petitions poured in, in favour of shorter working hours for them, and
other ameliorations of their condition. Richard Oastler, popularly
known as "The Factory King," a staunch Tory and Churchman, and one of
the most popular political leaders among the working-men in the West
Riding of Yorkshire, championed their cause; and I will give an
extract from a speech of his at a meeting held at Huddersfield, to
petition Parliament on their behalf. Said he--
"Take, then, a little captive, and I will not picture fiction to
you, but I will tell you what I have seen. Take a little captive
six years old; she shall rise from her bed at four o'clock in the
morning, of a cold winter's day; but, before that, she wakes,
perhaps half a dozen times, and says, 'Father, is it time?
Father, is it time?' And, at last, when she gets up, and puts her
little bits of rags upon her weary limbs--weary with the last
day's work--she trudges onward, through rain and snow, to the
mill, perhaps two miles, or, at least, one mile; and there, for
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, or even eighteen
hours, she is obliged to work, with only thirty minutes interval.
(Shame.) The girl I am speaking of died; but she dragged on that
dreadful existence for several years. Homewards again at night
she would go, when she was able; but, many a time she hid herself
in the wool at the mill, as she had not strength to go. (Hear.)
But this is not an isolated case. I wish it were."
A correspondent writing to the _Times_, March 16, says--
"The children are frequently reduced to such insensibility, as
not to know when they have finished their cardings, but their
hands and feet have continued to perform the evolutions of their
work. Many times, of an evening, when I have passed on from child
to child in a woollen mill, each has turned up its little face,
and anxiously inquired, 'What o'clock is't?' I have answered,
'Seven.' 'Seven?' was the rejoinder, 'Why, it's three hours to
ten, isn't it? We moan't gee up till ten and past.' This,
delivered in a melancholy tone, has made me thus reflect as I
returned home: 'I know that you must remain at work till past
ten. I know, also, that you are called out of bed at five in the
morning, and although it may be eleven at night before you reach
home, you must again leave your beds at five; and this, too,
every morning in the year, Sundays excepted. Many of you will
have to grope about in the dark for the greasy rags which
scarcely cover you. No matter, you must face all weathers. Though
the roads be choked with snow, and the frost would make the
strongest shiver, let the winds roar, or the rain fall, still
there must be no delay. At five every morning you must leave your
humble homes, and, lamentable to reflect, ye 'moan't gee up till
ten and past.'"
On the second reading of the "Factories Regulation Bill," March 16th,
Mr. Sadler, in the course of a very long speech, made the following
statement:--
"The following were the hours of labour imposed upon the children
and young persons employed in a certain establishment last
summer. Monday morning, commence work at six o'clock; at nine,
half an hour for breakfast; begin again at half-past nine, and
work till twelve. Dinner, one hour; work from one till half-past
four. Drinking (afternoon meal), half an hour; work from five to
eight; rest, half an hour; work from half-past eight till twelve
(midnight); an hour's rest. One in the morning till five, work;
half an hour's rest; half-past five till nine; breakfast;
half-past nine till twelve. Dinner; work from one till half-past
four. Again from five till nine on the Tuesday evening, when the
labour concluded, and the gang of adult and infant slaves were
dismissed for the night, after having toiled thirty-nine hours
with nine intervals for refreshment (but none for bed), amounting
to six hours only, in the whole. Wednesday and Thursday, day work
only. On Friday morning till Saturday night, the same labour
repeated, with the same intermissions as endured on Monday,
Monday night, and Tuesday; only the labour of the last day closed
at five, when the poor wretches were dismissed. The ensuing day,
Sunday, must, under such circumstances, be a day of stupor, to
rouse the children from which would often only be to continue
their physical sufferings, without the possibility of
compensating them with any moral good."
But no definite action was taken in the matter until the following
year, when I shall have occasion to again allude to it.
In the middle of February the cholera made its appearance in London,
in the parish of St. Anne's, Limehouse. On the 12th, a woman, named
Fergusson, was attacked by the disease and conveyed to the workhouse.
She died in eight hours. On the same day another woman and her
daughter died in the same place.
Greville tells us something about its commencement, under date
February 14th--
"In the meantime the cholera has made its appearance in London,
at Rotherhithe, Limehouse, and in a ship off Greenwich. In all,
seven cases. These are amongst the lowest and most wretched
classes, chiefly Irish; and a more lamentable exhibition of human
misery than that given by the medical men who called at the
Council Office yesterday I never heard. They are in the most
abject state of poverty, without beds to lie upon. The men live
by casual labour, are employed by the hour, and often get no more
than four or five hours' employment in the course of the week.
They are huddled and crowded together by families in the same
room, not as permanent lodgers, but procuring a temporary
shelter; in short, in the most abject state of physical privation
and moral degradation that can be imagined. On Saturday we had an
account of one or more cases. We sent, instantly, down to inspect
the district and organize a Board of Health. A meeting was
convened, and promises given that all things needful should be
done; but, as they met at a public-house, they all got drunk and
did nothing. We have sent down members of the Board of Health to
make preparations and organize Boards; but, if the disease really
spreads, no human power can arrest its progress through such an
Augæan stable."
And no doubt but that, according to their lights, at that time, they
did all they could to prevent its spread, but sanitary science was in
its infancy--water and food were not analyzed as now. Chemistry and
medicine were very far behind the present date, and as to "bacilli,"
they were never dreamt of.
But they could set apart a day for a "general fast and humiliation"--
"For obtaining pardon for our sins, and averting the heavy
judgments which our manifold provocations have most justly
deserved; and, particularly, for beseeching God to remove from us
that grievous disease with which several places in the kingdom
are at this time visited."
And they chose Wednesday, March 21st.
Different people take different views as to the observance of a fast
day. Here and in Scotland, it means a day's holiday and excursion by
rail or boat. On this occasion the Political Union of the Working
Classes invited them to assemble in Finsbury Square, where they would
celebrate the fast day with a meal of bread and meat, which would be
provided for them, after which they would perambulate the metropolis
in procession. This attracted the lower classes and the poorer
labouring men, many of whom were in the greatest possible distress and
destitution, and, in spite of a warning proclamation from the Home
Secretary, some twelve thousand or fourteen thousand assembled in the
square by eleven o'clock, and before two there must have been
twenty-five thousand present. But none of the Trades' Unionists had
made their appearance, nor had any of the promised cartloads of
provisions. The mob amused themselves by hooting and pelting the
police with stones and other missiles, and, as there could not have
been less than one thousand to one thousand five hundred police in the
square, besides heavy reinforcements contingent, Commissioner Mayne
gave orders for the square to be cleared, which was soon done, though
not without injury to police and populace. Some abortive attempts at
processions were made, but they were soon dispersed by the police.
All kinds of rumours were abroad among the ignorant poor with regard
to the medical profession and cholera patients. It was said that they
poisoned them or used their bodies for dissection; and on this latter
count there was a serious riot at Paisley, on March 24th. It came
about in this way. As a preparation for the approach of cholera, a new
burial ground had been laid out at Paisley, in which were interred all
of the lowest class who died of that disease. Some boys having
discovered two small shovels and a cord with a hook at its end
concealed beneath a small bridge leading from a country road near the
new burial ground, took them to the town and exhibited them there.
The public mind was so excited by the supposition that those dying of
cholera were being transferred from their graves to the
dissecting-table, that a crowd collected and commenced opening the
graves, in one of the first of which an empty coffin was found. It
must be recollected that at that time "resurrectionism," or
"body-snatching," was in full vogue, to provide subjects for the
dissecting room; that Burke had been hanged at Edinburgh in 1829, and
Bishop at London in 1831, for having committed murder with this
object.
The crowd rapidly increased, and, as more graves were opened, several
were found untenanted. This excited the mob, who began by demolishing
the cemetery fence. The magistrates assembled for the preservation of
the public peace, and it was instantly agreed that a reward of £50
should be offered for the discovery of the offenders.
This had scarcely been resolved on before the crowd arrived in the
town, bearing an empty coffin. Notwithstanding the efforts of the
magistrates, they proceeded through the town, broke the windows of all
the surgeons' houses and shops, those of the hospital, and then
demolished the cholera hearse, and, as far as possible, everything
connected with the establishment. The first time the crowd (which
consisted mainly of lads and Irishmen) visited the hospital, they were
persuaded to desist from their work of destruction; but, after taking
a turn through the town, they came back, broke the windows, forced
open the gate, and did other mischief. A patient in the hospital was
struck on the head with a stone, and had it slightly cut. He called
for protection against such treatment, and expired shortly afterwards.
Another patient, who had recovered, and who was to have been dismissed
from the hospital that day, relapsed.
There was, also, a small cholera riot in London, as we read in the
_Times_, March 31st--
"Yesterday afternoon, between two and three o'clock, the
neighbourhood of Barratt's Court, Edward Street, Portman Square,
was thrown into a state of violent uproar and confusion, in
consequence of the messengers of the Marylebone Board of Health
attempting to move to the cholera hospital in Nutford Place,
Edgware Road, an Irishman, named John Heron, who was suddenly
taken ill on Thursday (March 29th), and who was alleged to have
been attacked with cholera. The messengers brought with them the
usual sedan chair to carry away the patient, and were attended by
five of the police force of the D division, to prevent any
interruption being offered them in taking the man away. They had
no sooner arrived opposite the house, than they were assailed
with groans, hisses, and yells of a most discordant character,
from a number of Heron's countrymen, who expressed their
determination not to allow him to be removed out of his own
apartment.
"The messengers, however, succeeded, after much difficulty, and
with the assistance of the police, who were compelled to use
their staves, in placing the man in the chair, and had proceeded
with him but a few yards, when a simultaneous rush of the Irish,
who had by this time assembled in the court to the number of
between five and six hundred, was made, and in an instant the
policemen were hemmed in by the crowd, and had their staves
wrested from them. A scene of the utmost confusion and disorder
then ensued; the sick man was dragged out of the chair, and
pulled about in a most violent and shameful manner; the chair was
broken to pieces, and, after much contention and disturbance, the
man was carried back to his lodging, amidst the shouts of the
victorious party, who declared they would resist any attempt that
might be made to remove him. The disturbance assumed such a
serious appearance at one time, that most of the neighbours
closed their shops for the remainder of the afternoon. The whole
of the neighbourhood remained in a state of excessive tumult
during the rest of the evening. The necessary measures were
afterwards taken by the police to preserve tranquillity."
At the beginning of April, the cholera in London began to subside,
and, owing to the diminished number of cases, the Treasury, on April
6th, issued an order, reducing the number of the Medical Board.
Raikes, in his journal, says: "April 7.--From the daily reports,
cholera seems greatly subsiding; up to last night the grand total of
cases, since the commencement, are 7435, and deaths 2489." But it
continued the whole year, and the death returns for the whole kingdom,
from this cause, on December 3rd, were 95. The total deaths from
cholera in 1831-32, are put down as 59,547.
Ireland did not escape the visitation. On the contrary, the disease
there was very severe, and the _Times_ of June 16th records the
following curious charm against it:--
"Dublin, June 5th.--These three days past the country has been in
an extraordinary state of excitement. Messengers are running and
riding through the counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow, West
Meath, Dublin, King and Queen's County, Meath, Wexford, and
Longford, leaving a small piece of turf (peat fuel), at every
cabin, with the following exhortation: 'The plague has broken
out, take this, and while it burns, offer up seven paters, three
aves, and a credo, in the name of God and the holy St. John, that
the plague may be stopped!' The messenger lays each householder
under an 'obligation,' as it is called, to kindle his piece of
turf, set fire to seven other pieces, quench them, and run
through the country to seven other houses, wherein no turf has
yet been left, and to repeat the same exhortation, under a
penalty of falling a victim to the cholera himself! Men, women,
and children are seen scouring the country in every direction,
with this charmed turf, each endeavouring to be foremost in
finding unserved houses. One man, yesterday, in the Bog of Allen,
had to run thirty miles ere he could fulfil his task.
"The stories of its origin are various, but all agree that one
piece of turf was blessed by a priest, and thus sent through the
peasantry, where it multiplied itself and its powers of agitation
sevenfold in every new hand. Nothing like it has been heard of
since the time of the clan-gatherings. The police are on the
alert, and messengers have been arrested from Kilkenny, where the
blessed turf arrived at noon on Monday, to this city, where it
came pouring in last night. The authorities are suspicious of
Whitefeet conspiracy and secret intelligence, but nothing yet has
transpired to warrant this view of the affair. The higher classes
receive the blessed turf, and laugh at the thing as a hoax on the
peasantry, without troubling themselves in transmitting it
further; but the poorer householders are one and all in motion to
avert the cholera and the curse of disobedience attaching to
neglect.
"No one knows where the holy fire was first kindled. There are
various accounts. It is said that it was first sent from
Kilmayne, from Blessington, from New Ross and from Roscrea; that
lightning consumed houses in New Ross, and that the holy turf was
first kindled at its fire, etc.; but it is certain that the whole
of the central counties of Ireland are thrown into a singular
state of agitation. Yesterday, along the whole line of the grand
canal from Dublin to Shannon harbour, people might be seen
running. The captain of one of the packet boats that arrived in
the city last night saw a turf-cutter running along the bank in
the Bog of Allen to whom he owed some money for fuel. He called
to him, 'Paddy, get in, and I'll pay you now.'--'I can't,'
replied Paddy, still running, 'I've to serve seven houses yet
with the holy turf, and I'd rather lose the money than earn the
cholera.' The priests, in whose parishes this wildfire has
spread, confess themselves as ignorant of its origin as the
peasantry are."
If we are to credit the _Dublin Morning Register_, the cholera had a
peculiar effect upon rooks--
"In the demesne of the Marquis of Sligo, near Westport House,
there is one of the largest rookeries in the west of Ireland. On
the first, or second day of the appearance of cholera in this
place, I was astonished to observe that all the rooks had
disappeared; and, for three weeks, during which the disease raged
violently, these noisy tenants of the trees completely deserted
their lofty habitations. In the meantime, the Revenue police
found immense numbers of them lying dead upon the shore near
Erris, about ten miles distant. Upon the decline of the malady,
within the last few days, several of the old birds have again
appeared in the neighbourhood of the rookery, but some of them
seemed unable, through exhaustion, to reach their nests. The
number of birds now in the rookery is not a sixth of what it had
been three months ago."
The "New Police" worked so well, that the City, who have always had
the right of keeping their own watch and ward, followed their example.
We read in the _Times_ of March 22nd--
"The race of street keepers, with their gold-laced coats and
hats, are about to be extinguished in their last stronghold--the
City. They are to be superseded by a new police force, which is
to patrol the streets by day only, and which is to be paid and
regulated on the model of the county police. A hundred men have
been chosen and measured for their suits of blue."
And again, March 31st--
"The new City policemen, a hundred in number, will commence their
duties on Monday next (April 2nd). The Police Committee of
Aldermen will gratuitously perform the functions of
Commissioners, but there is to be a chief officer to direct the
whole system. Mr. Cope, the Marshal, has been appointed to this
duty with the title of Superintendent. Mr. Cowlan is named the
second, or rather, deputy Superintendent. Martin and Maclean, two
of the City Officers are appointed Inspectors. The scale of wages
which has been fixed in the county will be adopted in the City;
but the duty will be more severe, as the men will be on their
beats the whole day."
This was the humble beginning of that force, which now comprises--1
commissioner, 1 assistant ditto, 1 superintendent, 1 ditto detective
department, 3 chief inspectors, 15 district ditto, 22 station ditto,
12 detective ditto, 72 sergeants, 7 detective ditto, and 795
constables; also 86 constables on private service duty.
We can judge of the work performed by the "New Police" from January 1,
1831, to January 1832, from the Official Report. They apprehended no
less than 72,824 persons on different charges, viz. 45,907 males, and
26,917 females. Out of this number 2955 were committed for trial;
21,843 were summarily convicted before the magistrates; 24,239 were
discharged by the magistrates; and 23,787 drunken characters were
discharged by the superintendents of police, at the station-house,
after they became sober. The number of persons charged before the
magistrates for being drunk were 7566; of this number, 3187 were
discharged, and 4379 fined five shillings; the numbers fined being,
respectively, 3185 males, and 1194 females. From the above returns it
seems that the police apprehended nearly 200 a day.
CHAPTER XI.
1832.
Reform Bill passes the Commons--Scotch boys and the Reform
Bill--Proposed increase of the peerage--Passed in the Lords--"The
Marylebone or Tory Hunt"--The Duke of Wellington mobbed--The King
stoned--The Queen hissed--Archbishop of Canterbury stoned.
Of course, the great topic of interest and conversation for the early
part of the year was the Reform Bill, the third reading of which was
passed on March 23rd by a majority of 116. What the Lords would do was
then all the talk. There were to be new peers created, whose numbers
would carry the Bill, or the Lords were to be abolished. We are used
to this cry, and we know what little sympathy it met with among the
people of Great Britain, but I doubt whether we can show such a
humorous anecdote of party feeling as that given by the _Scotsman_,
quoted by the _Times_ of March 2nd--
"THE HOUSE OF LORDS ROUTED.
"On Saturday last, the Town-green pond at Dunfermline teemed with
_toads_, and, apparently, under extraordinary excitation. A
number of boys stood looking on intensely for some time, when one
of them exclaimed, 'It's the House of Lords debatin' the Reform
Bill.' In an instant, 'Demolish,' was the universal and
simultaneous cry. Caps and bonnets were filled with stones. 'Now
for Wellington!' 'Here's at you, Londonderry!' 'Take that,
Buckingham!' 'The bishops, the bishops!' shouted a little urchin.
The 'hurra' became universal, and terrible was the work of death.
The above incident 'points a moral,' if it does not 'adorn a
tale.'"
Anent the creation of new peers, there is an amusing skit in verse.
"FROM THE HON. HENRY ---- TO LADY EMMA ----.
"Paris, _March 30_.
"You bid me explain, my dear angry Ma'amselle,
How I came thus to bolt, without saying farewell;
And the truth is,--as truth you _will_ have, my sweet railer,--
There are two worthy persons I always feel loth
To take leave of at starting, my mistress and tailor,--
As, somehow, one always has _scenes_ with them both:
The Snip in ill-humour, the Syren in tears,
She calling on Heaven, and he on th' attorney,--
Till, sometimes, in short, 'twixt his duns and his dears,
A young gentleman risks being stopp'd on his journey.
"But to come to the point:--though you think, I dare say
That 'tis debtor or Cholera drives me away,
'Pon honour you're wrong; such a mere bagatelle
As a pestilence, nobody, nowadays, fears;
The fact is, my love, I'm thus bolting, pell-mell,
To get out of the way of these horrid new Peers;
This deluge of coronets, frightful to think of,
Which England is now, for her sins, on the brink of;--
This coinage of _nobles_, coined, all of them, badly,
And sure to bring counts to a _dis_count most sadly.
"Only think, to have Lords overrunning the nation,
As plenty as frogs in a Dutch inundation;
No shelter from Barons, from Earls no protection,
And tadpole young Lords, too, in every direction,--
Things created in haste, just to make a Court list of,
Two legs and a coronet, all they consist of!
The prospect's quite frightful, and what Sir George R--e
(My particular friend) says, is perfectly true,
That so dire the alternative, nobody knows,
'Twixt the Peers and the Pestilence, what he's to do;
And Sir George even doubts,--could he choose his disorder,--
'Twixt coffin and coronet, _which_ he would order."
In the House of Lords, on May 7th, Lord Lyndhurst moved the
postponement of the disenfranchising clause, which was carried,
against the Government by a majority of thirty-five. Next day, Earl
Grey and the Ministry resigned. The mob were enraged, and spoke evilly
of the King and Queen. The former applied in vain to the Tory party to
make a Government, but finding that useless, he was reduced to the
humiliating necessity of renewing his intercourse with his former
ministers (who returned to power), and had to swallow the leek as to
the creation of new peers. He had no objection to raising to the
peerage eldest sons of peers, or of rehabilitating dormant peerages,
but he had a wholesome horror of creating an enormous quantity of
peers simply to coerce the House of Lords and pass a measure to which
they were opposed. Good sense, however, prevailed: the peers did what
they always have done, bowed to overwhelming popular opinion--amended
the Bill somewhat--and on the 4th of June the Bill was read a third
time in the House of Lords, and passed, one hundred and six peers
voting for it, and twenty-two against it. The amendments introduced
by the peers were agreed to on the following day by the House of
Commons, without any discussion regarding their merits, though not
without much angry remark in attack and defence of the conduct of
ministers in the late events. On the 7th of June, the Royal Assent was
given by commission, and the great bugbear of King William's reign was
laid at rest.
Such a consummation was undoubtedly due to the conduct of the Duke of
Wellington and Sir Robert Peel at this crisis; and, indeed, that this
was the general feeling, is shown by the accompanying satirical print
by H. B., in which we see these two statesmen using their best
endeavours to keep Sir George Grey firm in his very insecure position.
(_See next page._)
The party passions of the mob ran very high both before and after the
passing of the Bill, and led to some excesses, two or three examples
of which are worth recording. The _Times_, May 16th--
"THE MARYLEBONE, OR TORY HUNT.
"During the proceedings of the great Reform meeting of the
parishes of St. Marylebone, St. Pancras, and Paddington, rather a
ludicrous incident (as it turned out) occurred, which may,
properly enough, be denominated as above. In the immediate
vicinity of the spot on which the immense assemblage congregated,
some Tory lordlings had the temerity to make their appearance on
horseback, and, among the number, was recognized the
heir-apparent of that pink of Toryism, the Earl of Mansfield; no
sooner was this made known, than a thousand voices besieged the
affrighted lordlings' ears; they put spurs to beast, and
endeavoured to escape, but in vain; the Marylebonians gave
chase, but, instead of the cry "So, ho!" yells, groans, and even
missiles were let fly. It was, really, a fine hunt--over hedge,
over ditch and bog; and, after a fine run of two miles, the
lordlings were surrounded, and, fortunately for them, their cries
for mercy were granted, and they were allowed to scamper off,
after such a chastisement as they will never forget."
[Illustration: Reform.]
But, can any sane person imagine the mob, after the Bill had passed,
thanks to the efforts of the Duke of Wellington, attacking the hero
of Waterloo, on the anniversary of that victory? Yet so it was. On the
18th of June he had occasion to visit the Mint, and a crowd of people
collected on Tower Hill to see him return. On making his appearance at
the gate, he was loudly hissed and hooted by the crowd, which
increased every moment, until it amounted to several hundred persons.
Riding along the Minories surrounded by his persecutors, he was met by
Mr. Ballantine, one of the Thames police magistrates, who asked him if
he could render him any assistance. His Grace replied in the negative,
saying that he did not mind what was going on.
Nothing particular occurred, until the Duke reached the middle of
Fenchurch Street, when a man rushed forward from the crowd and,
catching hold of the reins of the horse's bridle with one hand,
endeavoured to dismount its rider with the other, and would have
succeeded, had it not been for the spirited conduct of the Duke's
groom, who came up at the time. The mob now was very great; but by the
exertions of the police his Grace was escorted through it and along
Cheapside without any personal injury. In Holborn, however, the mob,
not satisfied with words, began to throw stones and filth. The Duke
then rode to the chambers of Sir Charles Wetherell, in Stone
Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, the mob still following.
What occurred afterwards, let Sir Edw. Sugden, afterwards Lord St.
Leonard's, tell in his own words[11]--
[Footnote 11: Glegg's "Life of Wellington," edit. 1864, p. 375.]
"On the 18th of June our Equity Courts were not sitting. I was,
therefore, in chambers; and, as I sat working near the window on
the ground floor, I was startled by three horsemen passing
towards Stone Buildings, with a mob at their heels, shouting,
hooting, and hissing. I sent my clerk to see what was the matter,
and, upon his return, finding that the Duke of Wellington was the
object of displeasure, I sent the clerk, with some others, round
to the men's chambers, to beg them to come at once to protect the
Duke. I found the Duke, with Lord Granville Somerset, and Lord
Eliot, had been to the Tower on official business, and were then
at the Chambers, in Stone Buildings, of Mr. Maule, the Solicitor
to the Treasury, with whom the Duke had an appointment. In making
my way to Mr. Maule's, I found a considerable mob in Stone
Buildings and its approaches, and their conduct was most violent.
"When I joined the Duke, we considered what was the best mode of
protecting him and his companions. He would not listen to any
mode of retreat by which he might avoid the mob. I assured him
that the Lincoln's Inn men would effectually prevent any
violence, and he determined to get on horseback again, and to
ride through the streets. I then went downstairs, and ordered the
small gate leading to Portugal Street to be shut and guarded, so
as to prevent the people getting round that way to interrupt us
when we went through the great gates into Carey Street; and I
ordered those gates to be shut as soon as the Duke had passed. I
addressed a few words to the gentlemen, who had assembled in
considerable numbers, and requested them to occupy the stone
steps which the Duke would have to descend, in order to reach his
horse. This they did, with great heartiness, and they exhibited,
I may say, a fierce determination to defend the Duke against all
comers. A butcher was bawling lustily against the Duke, when a
young gentleman, a solicitor, seized him by the collar with one
hand, and knocked him down with the other, and the mob seemed
rather amused at it. The Duke, upon my return upstairs, asked how
he was to find his way out of the Inn. I told him that I would
walk before him. He would allow no one to hold or touch his horse
whilst he mounted. He was pale, with a severe countenance, and
immovable in his saddle, and looked straight before him, and so
continued whilst I was with him. Lords Granville Somerset and
Eliot rode on each side of him, and, of course, his groom behind.
I walked in front, and, shortly, a brother barrister came up, and
asked me if he might walk with me. I gladly accepted his arm, and
we moved on, the mob, all the time, being in a state of fury.
When we reached Lincoln's Inn Fields, a policeman made his
appearance, and, drawing his staff, prepared for an onslaught. I
called to him, and told him that the Duke's progress was under my
directions, and that I desired he would put up his truncheon and
keep himself quiet until I called upon him to act, and that he
would communicate this order to the other policemen, as they came
up. This kept them perfectly quiet. As we proceeded, the noise of
the mob attracted the workmen in the shops and manufactories,
particularly in Long Acre, where the upper windows were quickly
opened by workmen, who, with their paper caps on, rushed to join
the people; but nowhere was there any personal violence offered
to the Duke, and the respectable portions of the crowd would
promptly have crushed any attempt at violence.
"I had walked from the West End to my chambers that morning, and
I recollected that there was an excavation at the west end of
Long Acre, and a large mass of paving, and other stones collected
there. I ordered several of the police to go there, in advance,
quietly, and occupy the ground, so as to prevent any one from
making use of the stones. This they did; but, scandalous as the
conduct of the mob was, I must do them the justice to say that
they showed no disposition to get at the stones. When we reached
the West End streets, the people tailed off a good deal.
"As the Duke passed the United Service Club, he maintained his
rigid posture, and cast no glance that way, whilst a few men who
had rushed out of the club upon hearing the noise, looked on with
wonder. Nothing more occurred; and, when we got opposite to the
clock of St. James's palace, I, for the first time, turned round,
and, there being only a few stragglers left, the Duke and his
companions shook hands with me, and thanked me; and, putting
their horses into a trot, reached Apsley House without further
annoyance."
More stone-throwing--this time at the King! This happened next day,
June 19th, when the King was at Ascot races. He was looking out of a
window in the royal stand, when two stones were thrown from the midst
of the crowd below, one of which struck his Majesty severely on the
forehead, but his hat saved him from any injury. The king immediately
stood up, and was received with the loudest cheers. The culprit turned
out to be a discharged Greenwich pensioner, who took this way of
making his grievances known. It is not worth while to trace what
became of him, but I know that his punishment was light.
But the King was not then popular, and as to the Queen, she was very
much disliked. It was currently said that she exercised too much
influence over the weak monarch, and that her influence was not for
people's good. Very many skits are in existence on the subject, as
well as satirical prints representing her wearing the regal breeches,
etc. The following extract from the _Times_ of June 27th, relative to
a review held in Hyde Park on the previous day, will show the popular
feeling at the time:--
"When the King and Queen entered the Park, the people, who had
lined both sides of the road, received them in profound silence.
As they proceeded on their route, a few bystanders, here and
there, took off their hats and cheered, but they never amounted
to more than a dozen at any one time. The applause of these
persons was sometimes opposed by a hiss from others, but the
great mass of the people remained entirely passive.... Shortly
before two o'clock, their Majesties quitted the ground. The
people had, by this time, assembled in great numbers along the
road. His Majesty was received with mingled applause and
disapprobation; but the Queen, who was exposed to the public
gaze, her carriage having been thrown open since her arrival, was
assailed with loud yells. In this way, the Royal party proceeded
through Hyde Park, and down Constitution Hill, where the
disapprobation of the mob was more unequivocally expressed, and
continued, without a single attempt, as far as we could perceive,
to turn the current of feeling, until their Majesties entered the
gardens of St. James's Palace, amidst a shout of the most
discordant sounds."
_Rien n'est sacré pour un sapeur._ Not even the Archbishop of
Canterbury in his own cathedral town! On August 7th, his Grace drove
into Canterbury to hold a primary visitation of the diocese, and, as
usual, the Corporation received him at the Guildhall; but, no sooner
had his carriage appeared in sight, than the most deafening noises
rent the air; and, when he arrived at the Guildhall, the groans and
hisses were tremendous. After dessert, his carriage was ready and his
Grace stepped in, evidently much alarmed. The hisses and groans were
now renewed, and missiles of every description hurled at the
carriage--hats, caps, pieces of brickbat, cabbage-stalks, indeed,
everything the ruffians could collect. To make matters worse, the
postillion missed his way, and had to return, thus running the
gauntlet a second time. When his Grace entered the precincts of the
cathedral, the large gates were instantly closed; but several hundred
persons had previously gained admission, and ranged themselves within
the walls of the deanery, where hisses and groans prevailed. His Grace
received no injury, although one of the carriage windows was broken.
CHAPTER XII.
1832.
The first reformed Parliament--Steam communication with
India--State of Ireland--Lawless behaviour--Malversation of
justice--O'Connell and the Trades' Political Union--Crime in
Ireland.
On August 16th the King in person prorogued Parliament, and on
December 3rd it was dissolved, by proclamation, and the country was
plunged into all the turmoil of a General Election. This was to be the
first reformed Parliament, and all sorts of evils arising from its
democratic tendencies were prophesied. But it turned out better than
was expected. It was reserved to our later days for the title of
Member of Parliament to be turned almost into a byword and reproach;
and some of the persons who sat in the parliament of 1892-5 would not
have been tolerated, nor could their speeches and remarks have been
delivered. True, there was not a prize-fighter in that parliament, as
there was in the first reformed one, but John Gully, the member for
Pontefract, was respectable after his kind. From a butcher boy he
became a pugilist, and William IV., as Duke of Clarence, witnessed his
first fight, in 1805, with the "Game Chicken." Then he turned a
publican, and retired from the ring in 1808. He then became a betting
man and owner of racehorses, was a temporary royal page at the
coronation of George IV., made a lot of money in his profession,
bought Ackworth Park, near Pontefract, which little pocket borough he
sat for from December 10, 1832 to July 17, 1837.
Worthy of note is it that an iron steam vessel, built for the East
India Company, and intended to be employed as a towing vessel on the
Ganges, was taken on a trial trip, on October 13th, down the Thames,
having the chairman and several members of the court of directors of
the Hon. East India Company on board. This, certainly, was in advance
of the times, and one can scarcely believe that the same body of men
could sanction the following letter, within a month afterwards:--
"East India House, November 8th.
SIR,
I have laid before the Court of Directors of the East India
Company your letter of the 25th October, on the subject of
communication by means of steam vessels between England and
India, by the Mediterranean and the Red Sea; and, in reply, I am
commanded to inform you that the Court, after a long and careful
consideration of the subject, have been convinced that no
advantage commensurate with the expense, as far as past
experiments have shown, can arise from the establishment of steam
packets on that line."
Ireland had not improved during the last twelve months; resistance to
the payment of tithes had become open and systematic, and the question
of the Repeal of the Union was openly advocated. Notices were
scattered all over the country bidding the people to refrain from
paying tithes, and threatening the police, should they interfere, with
a similar fate to their brethren at Knocktopher, which has already
been described. Says the _Annual Register_--
"Nor were these merely empty denunciations. The house and the
barn-yard of the tithepayer were reduced to ashes; his cattle
were houghed, or scattered all over the country; or, as happened
in the County of Carlow, hunted over precipices. There was no
mode of destroying property which ingenuity could invent, or
reckless daring perpetrate, but was called into exercise.
Scarcely a week elapsed which did not announce the cold-blooded
murder of a proctor, or a process server, or a constable, or of
some poor countryman who had thought himself bound to obey the
law, and to pay his debts.
"An archdeacon in the neighbourhood of Cashel was in treaty with
his parishioners for a commutation of his tithes. They could not
agree on the yearly sum which he ought to receive. They
surrounded him in sight of his own house, in broad daylight, and
beat his head to pieces with stones. Several persons were
ploughing in the field in which he was murdered, but either would
not or dared not interfere. Whoever connected himself, in any
manner of way, with the collection of tithe, had not one single
hour's security for his property or his life. In the beginning of
February the Irish Government found it necessary to have recourse
to the "Peace Preservation Act," and proclaim certain baronies in
the County of Tipperary to be in a state of disturbance.
"But a proclamation imposed no check on the outrages of men who
now deserved, from the openness of their attacks, the name of
insurgents. In the County of Westmeath, a body of two hundred of
them assaulted and attempted to disarm a sergeant's guard, and a
party of police stationed within a mile of a considerable town.
In the County of Donegal, they marched about in military array,
armed with guns, scythes, and pikes, compelling landlords to
sign obligations to reduce their rents, and to pay no tithe. In
Kilkenny, their deeds were even still more atrocious. They not
only made domiciliary visits to compel the surrender of arms, but
accompanied their lawlessness with unrelenting personal violence,
and they perpetrated these enormities in the open face of day. A
large body divided itself into smaller detachments. The latter
took different directions to search the houses of farmers and
proprietors; and, when their work was finished, they again
united, at the sound of their horn, to renew their labours on the
following day.
"In one instance they cruelly abused a farmer and his wife,
because they would not give up their daughter. They then searched
the house, found the young woman, who had concealed herself, and
carried her off. A farm had been standing unoccupied because, on
account of some unpopularity attached to its owner, no tenant
would venture to take it. A tenant at last had entered upon it; a
new house was built for him. He was immediately visited by these
Irish legislators, and compelled, on pain of death, to give up
his farm and his house. A farmer having refused to surrender a
pair of pistols to a body of these wretches, they dragged him to
the hearth, raked down the fire upon his feet, and continued this
torture until their object was accomplished.
"An end was put, not merely to the payment of tithe, but to the
payment of rent. A tenant ejected for non-payment was sure to
have his revenge. If a new tenant entered, he had only to expect
that his property would be committed to the flames, or he himself
shot. The terror which was thus universally propagated went far
to secure immunity to the offenders. To be connected with any
attempt to execute the law against murderers, incendiaries, or
robbers, was itself a high crime. To betray any activity in
preserving order, was to become a marked man; to become a marked
man was to be made the victim of open violence or hidden
assassination.
"The parties accused of the murder of a process server and a
captain of police, at the end of the preceding year, were brought
to trial at the Kilkenny Assizes in March. But, after the assizes
began, the Attorney-General found it necessary to delay the
trials. He stated that there was such an extensive combination
throughout the country to resist the payment of tithes, and to
protect all who might be implicated, that the ends of justice
could not be attained. A juror had objected to serve on the
ground that, if he gave a verdict 'against the people,' his life
and property would be in danger. The witnesses, too, were either
under the same intimidation, or were, themselves, members of the
illegal combinations....
"The Government at length seemed to think it time to try whether
the law could not reach the tumultuary assemblies of the
anti-tithe men and the ringleaders who collected them. The
Vice-Lieutenant of the county of Kilkenny was dismissed from his
office. A circular was addressed to the magistracy by the Irish
Government, directing them to disperse all meetings collected in
such numbers as to produce alarm and endanger the public peace,
or distinguished by banners, inscriptions, or emblems which
tended to disturbance, or throw contumely on the law. O'Connell
denounced this circular as illegal, and expressed his hope that a
reformed Parliament would not hesitate to receive an impeachment
of the Irish Government founded upon it; but still he gave his
advice that it should be obeyed. In consequence of these
instructions, various large meetings were dispersed by the
military, headed by a magistrate; but, where the meeting was
strictly parochial, and quietly gone about, no opposition was
offered to their petitioning against tithe and church cess.
"At the same time, a number of those persons of the better class,
who had played the principal part at meetings where a combined
scheme of disobedience was preached up, were arrested and held to
bail, on a charge of misdemeanour. Among them were two of
O'Connell's familiars, the president and vice-president of the
Trades' Political Union. The Grand Jury found true bills against
them, on the 4th of August, for having conspired, 'unlawfully,'
to oppose and resist the payment of tithes, and to frustrate the
remedies provided by law for the recovery of tithes, and for
soliciting and conspiring to procure the King's subjects to hold
no intercourse with any persons who should pay tithes.
"Following the example of O'Connell, when he was in a similar
predicament, they set their wits to work to gain time. Costello
took advantage of his legal privilege, to traverse to the next
Commission; the others pleaded in abatement, that some of the
Grand Jurors who had found the bills, were not seised of
freeholds in the County of Dublin. A number of arrests took
place, at the same time, in the county of Tipperary. Among the
persons held to bail was Lord Galway, who had filled the chair at
an anti-tithe meeting held in the neighbourhood of Clonmel....
"Before the end of the year they were brought to trial, and the
majority of them, after a few convictions had taken place,
pleaded guilty to the indictments. They pleaded guilty, even by
the advice of O'Connell himself, their great leader in politics
and law, under whose immediate patronage the holding of these
meetings, and the denunciations which they thundered forth, had
been conducted. Two of his most noisy retainers, the president
and vice-president of the Trades' Political Union, were convicted
at Dublin, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. Their
defence was that, in the course they had taken regarding tithes,
they were only following the example of ministers and of the
people of England, in regard to rotten boroughs, and they thought
they had been aiding the Ministry in their efforts to abolish
tithes. A number of similar convictions took place in the
counties of Cork and Tipperary. The punishments inflicted were
fines and imprisonment. The criminals were looked upon as
martyrs, and the penalties which they were suffering were set
down as another unpardonable injury committed against Ireland, by
the English Government and Protestant Church."
[Illustration: Dresses.]
Crime, however, continued unchecked. The clergyman of Borrisokane, in
the county of Tipperary, having found it necessary to seize and sell
some cattle belonging to refractory debtors, the combination prevented
an auctioneer from acting and purchasers from bidding. The cattle were
offered back to the owners at the low price bid for them, but this was
scornfully refused. They must have blood, the more especially as the
attendance of the military at the sale had prevented violence there. A
driver, accompanied by a son of the clergyman, conducted the cattle
to a neighbouring fair. On the public road, and in the broad daylight,
the non-payers of tithes murdered the driver; and, although his
companion did survive, it was only by mistake--they left him for dead
upon the highway. Another clergyman was shot dead on his own lawn,
while overlooking the labours of his servants.
But, occasionally, these gentlemen got the worst. To secure the
tithes, certain proceedings were necessary in surveying and valuing.
The persons engaged in performing these duties everywhere required the
protection of the military. In the beginning of September, proceedings
of this kind were to be adopted in the parish of Wallstown, county
Cork; the peasantry assembled to resist; they attacked the military;
the latter had to fire in self-defence, and four of the peasantry were
killed, and several others wounded.
[Illustration: Hair dressing.]
Again, a party of armed police being engaged in this duty, in a parish
in Kilkenny, in the beginning of October, the police were compelled to
fire, and two persons were killed. But these are enough horrors for
one year.
The accompanying illustrations give a dinner, two ball, and a walking
dress; also some modes of hair dressing which were in vogue in this
year.
CHAPTER XIII.
1833.
Employment of children in factories--Evidence--Passing of Factory
Act--Gambling--Crockford's club--Gambling "hells"--Police case.
At the opening of this year, perhaps, the principal topic of
conversation was about the treatment of children in factories, and
general commiseration was felt for their unhappy condition. This was
principally owing to the publication of the evidence taken before the
Committee on the "Factories Bill," two or three extracts from which I
give, taken haphazard, and not picked out as being the worst--
"SAMUEL DOWNE called in and examined.
Where do you live?--At Hunslet Carr, near Leeds.
What age are you?--Twenty-nine.
Have you been long acquainted with factories?--From my youth.
At what time did you begin to work at one?--At about ten years of
age.
In whose mill did you work?--In Mr. Martin's, at Shrewsbury.
What were the customary hours of labour in the mill: state,
first, what were the hours when they were brisk?--When they were
brisk we used generally to begin at five o'clock in the morning,
and they ran on till eight at night; sometimes half-past five to
eight, and sometimes nine.
What time had you allowed for meals and refreshment?--The engine
never stopped, except forty minutes at dinner time.
Were these long hours found to be very fatiguing?--Yes.
What means were taken to keep the children awake and vigilant,
especially at the termination of such a day's labour as you have
described?--There was generally a blow, or a box, or a tap with a
strap, or sometimes with a hand.
Was very considerable severity used in that mill when you were
there?--Yes.
Have you yourself been subjected to it?--Yes.
Strapped?--Yes, I was strapped most severely, till I could not
bear to sit down on a chair without pillows, and I was forced to
lie upon my face in the night-time, at one time; and through that
I left. I was strapped both on my own legs, and then I was put on
a man's back, and then strapped, and buckled with two straps to
an iron pillar, and flogged, and all by one overlooker; after
that, he took a piece of tow, and twisted it in the shape of a
cord, put it in my mouth, and tied it behind my head.
He gagged you?--Yes; and then he ordered me to run round a part
of the machinery where he was overlooker, and he stood at one
end, and every time I came there, he struck me with a stick,
which I believe was an ash plant, and which he generally carried
in his hand; and sometimes he hit me, and sometimes he did not;
and one of the men in the room came and begged me off, and that
he would let me go, and not beat me any more; and, consequently,
he did.
You have been beaten with extraordinary severity?--Yes; I was so
beaten that I had not power to cry at all, or hardly to speak, at
one time.
What age were you at that time?--Between ten and eleven.
What had you done?--I believe that in the machinery I did not
like the part he put me to, because I had never been in a mill
where there was any machinery before in my life, and it was
winter time, and we worked by gas-light, and I could not catch
the revolutions of the machinery to take the tow out of the
hackles. I desired him to remove me to another part, which he did
for some part of the day, and then sent me back to that which we
call doffing the hackles.
You say that you were so beat that you could not even cry?--I
cannot assign any other reason for it; it was not because I had
not sufficient punishment: I did my endeavours. When he had used
some mode of language which gave me to understand that he wanted
me to cry when he had flogged me on the man's back, I remember he
repeated a verse about devils trembling, and said, 'But this
hardened wretch will not shed a tear.' He was a member of a
religious society, and I suppose that was the reason that made
him use those words.
Was he discharged from that society?--Yes, I believe he was; my
grandmother went to the class, it was held in the chapel, and he
was discharged from it.
Were young women as well as young men beaten?--Yes, I never saw
any distinction between boys and girls."
"ELIZA MARSHALL called in and examined.
Where did you get work first?--At Mr. Marshall's in Water Lane.
Was that a flax mill?--Yes.
How happened you to leave that mill?--It was so dusty: it stuffed
me so much that I could scarcely speak.
Did it affect your health?--Yes, I should not have lived long if
I had not left.
Where did you next go to?--To Mr. Warburton's in Meadow Lane.
What business is Mr. Warburton?--A worsted spinner.
What were your hours of work?--When first I went to the mill we
worked from six in the morning till seven in the evening.
What time had you allowed for dinner?--When first I went we had
an hour, but we did not keep that long; we removed to Lady Lane,
and then we had but half an hour.
What time had you for breakfast and drinking at Mr.
Marshall's?--A quarter of an hour for breakfast, I believe, and a
quarter of an hour at tea, I think; but it is so long since that
I cannot recollect particularly.
When you removed to Lady Lane, how long were you required to
work?--After a little time, in Lady Lane, we began at five in the
morning, and worked till nine at night.
Did they allow you more time for dinner there?--No; we had half
an hour for dinner then, and none for breakfast or tea.
How did you get your breakfast and drinking?--We got some little
of it, and then went on with our work.
How old were you when you went to Mr. Warburton's--Nine years
old.
Do you think you were always allowed your whole time at
dinner?--No; sometimes it was twenty minutes only; and sometimes
the engine went on before we could even get our dinner.
Were they punctual in allowing you to leave at night, or did they
get any time out of you then?--They used to get many a half hour
out of us at night.
Are you sure of that?--I am sure of it.
Were you not very much fatigued with that length of labour?--Yes.
Did they beat you?--When I was less, they used to do it often.
Did you not think that treatment very cruel?--I have cried many
an hour in the factory.
You were exceedingly fatigued at night, were you not?--Yes; I
could scarcely get home.
Had you to be carried home?--Yes, to be trailed home.
How were you waked in the morning?--The bell in Mill Street rang
at half-past five, and we got up by that.
That was not a pleasant sound to you?--No, it was not.
Was the fatigue gone off in the morning?--No, I was worse in the
morning.
Did this begin to affect your limbs?--Yes; when we worked over
hours, I was worse by a great deal. I had stuff to rub my knees,
and I used to rub my joints a quarter of an hour, and sometimes
an hour or two.
Were you straight before that?--Yes, I was straight before that;
my master knows that well enough; and when I have asked for my
wages he said I could not run about as I had been used to do.
Did he drop your wages in consequence?--No; but he would not
raise my wages, as I hoped he would. I asked, 'Could I not mind
my work?' and he said, 'Yes, but not so quick.'
Are you crooked now?--Yes, I have an iron on my right leg; my
knee is contracted.
Was it not great misery for you to do your work?--Yes, it was.
You could hardly get up to your bed of a-night, sometimes, could
you?--To speak the truth, my sister has carried me up many a
time; she is bigger than I am. I have gone on my hands and knees
many a time.
Have you been to the Leeds infirmary, to have, if possible, your
limbs restored?--Yes; I was nearly twelve months an outpatient,
and I rubbed my joints, but it did no good; and, last summer, I
went to the Relief, and that did me no good, and I was obliged to
have a machine; and this last winter, I have been in the
infirmary six weeks.
They have put irons on your legs?--Yes; they cost £3.
Have any of the surgeons at the infirmary told you by what your
deformity was occasioned?--Yes, one of them said it was by
standing. The marrow is dried out of the bone, so that there is
no natural strength in it.
You were quite straight till you had to labour so long at those
mills?--Yes; I was as straight as any one.
You kept at your work as long as you possibly could, with a wish
to assist in keeping your parent?--Yes; I had a step-father, and
he was not willing to keep me, and I went as long as I could; at
last I cried and used to fall back in bed when they called me, so
that they could not find it in their hearts to send me.
State whether, when your mill has been shown, and when people
have come to look at it, there has not been a great deal of
preparation before it has been seen by a stranger?--Yes, there
has.
Has there been a great deal done to make it appear clean and
nice, and the children tidy?--Yes, a great deal.
Have any other mills been prepared for people coming to them, to
your knowledge?--We live in Leeds, at the Bank, nearly opposite
Holforth's silk mill; there was a Parliament gentleman going
there on the Saturday, and the children kept on till 12 o'clock
on the Friday night, and then they had an hour given them on the
morning of Saturday to go and dress themselves.
When was this?--I can't tell rightly; two or three weeks since,
as nearly as I can recollect.
Did the children come in their Sunday clothes then?--Yes.
Were all the children there?--Yes, for anything I know.
Were any of those who were ill-looking or unwell kept
away?--There were some of them sent home.
That were not to return?--Yes.
What were they sent home for?--I do not know; but there was a
gentleman going there.
Were they sent home because they did not appear to be in good
health?--Yes, that was the purpose, I believe.
You saw those persons, did you?--Yes.
Did you not think it very wrong for people, who wish to show the
condition in which children are to make those sort of
preparations previously?--Yes; it was to deceive the gentleman."
I could give numerous cases similar to the above, did space permit,
but this committee did good work, and the fruit of its labours may be
found in 3 and 4 Gul. IV. c. 103, "An Act to Regulate the Labour of
Children and Young Persons in the Mills and Factories of the United
Kingdom," which received the Royal Assent on August 29, 1833.
Subsequent legislation has vastly improved upon this Act, and the
little workers are now so protected as to make it difficult to add
anything for their benefit.
One of the great vices of the age was gambling. Not so much on the
turf, as at present, nor had gambling in stocks become a science, as
now; but dice and cards were rampant, and might be indulged in, from
the lordly club to the silver hell. They were as difficult to get at
as similar institutions are in the present day, when they are cropping
up again as badly as ever.
The most aristocratic of these "hells" was "Crockford's" or,
familiarly, "Crockey's," in St. James's Street. It was so called from
its proprietor William Crockford, who formerly kept a small
fishmonger's shop adjoining Temple Bar. In some manner he made some
money, either on the turf or by gambling at cards; he set up a gaming
house on a most extensive scale, on the site now occupied by the
Devonshire Club, No. 50, St. James's Street. Gronow, "Celebrities of
London and Paris," 1865, p. 103, gives as good an account of this
famous club as any one. He says--
"In the reign of George IV. a new star rose upon the horizon, in
the person of Mr. William Crockford; and the old-fashioned games
of macao and lansquenet gave place to the all-devouring thirst
for the game of hazard. Crockey, when still a young man, had
relinquished the peaceful trade of a fishmonger for a share in a
"hell," where with his partner Gye he managed to win, after a
sitting of twenty-four hours, the enormous sum of £100,000 from
Lords Thanet and Granville, Mr. Ball Hughes, and two other
gentlemen whose names I do not remember. With this capital, added
to his former gains, he built the well-known palace in St.
James's Street, where a club was established and play organized
on a scale of magnificence and liberality hitherto unknown in
Europe.
"One may safely say, without exaggeration, that Crockford won the
whole of the ready money of the then existing generation. As is
often the case at Lord's Cricket Ground, the great match of the
gentlemen of England against the professional players was won by
the latter. It was a very hollow thing; and, in a few years,
£1,200,000 were swept away by the fortunate fishmonger. He did
not, however, die worth more than a sixth part of this vast
sum;[12] the difference being swallowed up in various unlucky
speculations.
[Footnote 12: His personal property was sworn under £200,000, but
his real estate amounted to £150,000 more.]
"No one can describe the splendour and excitement of the early
days of Crockey. A supper of the most exquisite kind, prepared by
the famous Ude, and accompanied by the best wines in the world,
together with every luxury of the season, was furnished gratis.
The members of the club included all the celebrities of England,
from the Duke of Wellington to the youngest Ensign of the Guards;
and, at the gay and festive board, which was constantly
replenished from midnight to early dawn, the most brilliant
sallies of wit, the most agreeable conversation, the most
interesting anecdotes, interspersed with grave political
discussions and acute logical reasoning on every conceivable
subject, proceeded from the soldiers, scholars, statesmen, poets,
and men of pleasure, who, when 'the House was up,' and balls and
parties at an end, delighted to finish their evening with a
little supper and a good deal of hazard at old Crockey's. The
tone of the club was excellent. A most gentlemanly feeling
prevailed, and none of the rudeness, familiarity, and
ill-breeding, which disgrace some of the minor clubs of the
present day, would have been tolerated for a moment.
"The great foreign diplomatists, Prince Talleyrand, Count Pozzo
di Borgo, General Alava, the Duke Palmella, Prince Esterhazy, the
French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Austrian ambassadors,
and all persons of distinction and eminence who arrived in
England, belonged to Crockford's as a matter of course; but many
rued the day when they became members of that fascinating but
dangerous coterie. The great Duke himself, rather a friend of the
dandies, did not disdain to appear now and then at this charming
club; whilst the late Lord Raglan, Lord Anglesey, Sir Hussey
Vivian, and many more of our Peninsula and Waterloo heroes were
constant visitors. The two great novelists of the day, who have
since become great statesmen, D'Israeli and Bulwer Lytton,
displayed at that brilliant supper table, the one his sable, the
other his auburn curls; there, Horace Twiss made proof of an
appetite, and Edward Montague of a thirst, which astonished all
beholders; whilst the bitter jests of Sir Joseph Copley, Colonel
Armstrong, and John Wilson Croker, and the brilliant wit of
Alvanley, were the delight of all present, and their _bons mots_
were, the next day, retailed all over England.
"In the play room might be heard the clear, ringing voice of that
agreeable reprobate, Tom Duncombe, as he cheerfully called,
"Seven," and the powerful hand of the vigorous Sefton, in
throwing for a ten. There might be noted the scientific dribbling
of a four by "King" Allen, the tremendous backing of nines and
fives by Ball Hughes and Auriol, the enormous stakes played for
by Lords Lichfield and Chesterfield, George Payne, Sir St.
Vincent Cotton, D'Orsay and George Anson, and, above all, the
gentlemanly bearing and unmoved demeanour, under losses or gains,
of all the men of that generation.
"The old fishmonger himself, seated snug and sly at his desk in
the corner of the room, watchful as the dragon that guarded the
golden apples of the Hesperides, would only give credit to sure
and approved signatures. Who that ever entered that dangerous
little room can ever forget the large green table, with the
croupiers, Page, Parking, and Bacon, with their suave manners,
sleek appearance, stiff white neck cloths, and the almost
miraculous quickness and dexterity with which they swept away the
money of the unfortunate punters when the fatal cry of, 'Deuce
ace,' 'Aces,' or 'Sixes out,' was heard in answer to the caster's
bold cry of 'Seven,' or 'Nine,' or 'Five's the main.'
"_O noctes cænæque deum!_ But the brightest medal has its
reverse, and after all the cost and gaiety and excitement of the
night, how disagreeable the waking up, and how very unpleasant
the sight of the little card, with its numerous figures marked
down on the debtor side in the fine bold hand of Mr. Page. Alas,
poor Crockey's! shorn of its former glory, has become a sort of
refuge for the destitute, a cheap dining-house.[13] How are the
mighty fallen! Irish buckeens, spring captains, 'welchers' from
Newmarket, and suspicious looking foreigners, may be seen
swaggering after dinner through the marble halls and up that
gorgeous staircase, where once the chivalry of England loved to
congregate; and those who remember Crockford's in all its glory
cast as they pass a look of unavailing regret at its dingy walls,
with many a sigh to the memory of the pleasant days they passed
there, and the gay companions and noble gentlemen who have long
since gone to their last home."
[Footnote 13: Gronow probably intimates the time when the interior was
redecorated in 1849, and opened for the Military, Naval, and County
Service, but was closed again in 1851.]
For a good account of Crockford's career, I may refer my readers to
_Bentley's Magazine_, vol. xvii., pp. 142-155, 251-264.
But to show how prevalent was gaming at this time, I give the
following paragraph in the _Times_, January 24th, copied from an
evening paper:--
"THE HELLS IN THE QUADRANT.
"Those seats of vice (the gaming-houses) which, for some time
past, have existed in the Quadrant, appear to be done up, as,
since Saturday, not one of them has been opened. Since the five
persons have been apprehended, the visitors have been extremely
scarce; nor was their confidence restored, even by the
proprietors' having the chain up at the street door, coupled with
a fellow's being employed at each of the hells to patrol before
the different establishments, for the purpose of giving the
requisite information as to who sought admission into those dens
of destruction. Although a very active search has been made for
the purpose of ascertaining what has become of Daly, the clerk of
the Athenæum Club-house, who left that establishment on the 8th
instant, no trace had been found of him--one of the many
lamentable instances of loss of character and ruin which overtake
those who suffer themselves to be lured into those houses. Daly,
who enjoyed the confidence of the whole of the members, was
suddenly missed on the above day. On looking over his papers, a
diary was found, from which it appeared that he had lost large
sums of money at No. 60, and as it has since been ascertained he
was there on the previous day, it is supposed that he lost 24 £5
notes at play which belonged to his employers. Upon this
discovery being made, some gentlemen of the Athenæum waited on
the parish officers, to ascertain whether they could put a stop
to the gaming-houses. It was, however, found that it could not be
done, unless some person would come forward and identify those at
play; a relation of Daly accordingly went to the house, and
supplied the necessary proof. It was at this establishment, a few
months since, the foreigners who had been fleeced made an attempt
to rob the bank; and, shortly after that, placards were posted on
the walls in the neighbourhood of the Quadrant, cautioning
persons from going into any of the hells, as drugged wine was
invariably given to those who were going to play."
In these cases, nowadays, our magistrates look upon a raid upon a
gaming-house as a very trivial affair, inflicting only mild fines upon
the offenders. They might peruse, with advantage, the practice of
their predecessors. Take a case at the Westminster Sessions, on May
9th--
"Three prisoners, out of six, answered to the indictment of
keeping and maintaining a common gaming-house, and pleaded
guilty. The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Clarkson, said that the
house in question was situate No. 54, Regent's Circus, six doors
from the house which was lately prosecuted. He should have been
able to prove that on February the 7th, 9th, 12th, and 14th last,
the games of _rouge et noir_ and _roulette_ were played for sums
varying from one sovereign to one shilling. He should have also
proved that on some one or on all those occasions the defendants
acted in the capacities of doorkeeper, banker, and waiter. He
(Mr. Clarkson) was informed by the officers of St. James's parish
that at the last Sessions there were twenty-seven houses of this
description situate therein, and out of that number only two had
been closed in the interval, but three new ones had been opened,
so that the number had been increased rather than otherwise.
"Mr. Philips, for the defence, said that those houses had nothing
to do with the present case. He would advise the parish officers
to go to Crockford's, not far distant from the house in question,
where they would find lords and peers of the realm at play.
"The bench sentenced two of the prisoners to three months, and
one to fourteen days imprisonment in the House of Correction,
whilst the bail of one who did not appear was estreated."
CHAPTER XIV.
1833.
The overland route to India--The Government and Lieutenant
Waghorn--Police magistrate and the press--Cobbett and the British
Museum--Prevalence of influenza--"National Convention"
riot--Policeman killed--The coroner and the jury--Adulteration of
tea.
We saw how, in 1832, the East India Company refused to accelerate
communication with India by means of steam vessels. I have now to
record the earliest efforts of Lieutenant Waghorn, in his famed
overland route to India, which, however, did not become an
accomplished fact until October, 1845. The _Times_, February 6th, thus
comments on the conduct of Earl Grey's ministry in this matter--
"It will hardly be credited that Mr. Waghorn, who is on the point
of leaving England, to carry personally into effect one of the
most important enterprises in which any man has ever yet
engaged--namely, the shortening by one half the time of our
communications with India--has been refused, by Sir James Graham,
a commission as Lieutenant in the Navy, a rank to which he is
fairly entitled from his period of service, and which is most
material to his success. The Board of Control, the Admiralty,
nay, the whole of the Government, profess the desire to have this
great project fully brought to bear; they admit Mr. Waghorn's
qualifications, attested by nearly the whole mercantile community
of India, for the undertaking; they are relieved, through his and
their means, of all expense or thought or trouble about the
success of it; the only thing asked is a Lieutenant's
commission, simply because Mr. Waghorn is aware of the far
greater attention which the rank of a British officer will
procure him from the Pacha of Egypt, and would willingly, to
obtain it, relinquish the pay of that rank, and yet it is refused
by those to whom his labours, if successful, must prove of
incalculable benefit!"
Another little instance of prejudice, which broader thinking has
rendered impossible, nowadays, is given in the _Times_, March 21st--
"MARYLEBONE OFFICE.
"Yesterday morning, just as the business had commenced, a case of
trivial importance was called on, when at the moment the writer
came into the Justice Room, and was approaching the desk usually
appropriated for reporters, which had been previously occupied by
two policemen, who, knowing the arduous duties which those
connected with the press had to perform, immediately gave way,
when the following colloquy ensued--
"Mr. Rawlinson (to the policeman): Why do you give way to that
man--you have a better right to be here than he has? Then,
extending his voice, he said to the reporter, I wish you would
not come here so often, sir.
"Reporter: 'I believe, sir, that police offices are, or at least
ought to be, open to the public; and, as I am employed by the
_Times_ newspaper to report the proceedings at this office, I
humbly submit that I have as much right to stand here for the
information of the public in general as any policeman who may be
a witness in the case before you.'
"Mr. Rawlinson: The office is too full of reporters; I beg, sir,
that you will give way to the witness.
"Reporter: Most certainly, sir; but, with all due deference, I
beg to submit that in a public office reporters are entitled to
admission.
"Mr. Rawlinson (angrily): Perhaps I may let you know to the
contrary.
"Here the conversation dropped."
Yet one more case of ignorance and prejudice--which occurred in the
House of Commons, on March 25th, when the report of the Committee of
Supply was brought up. On the question that the House do agree with
the Committee in the resolution that a sum not exceeding £16,884 be
granted to his Majesty for the expenses of the establishment of the
British Museum--
"Mr. Cobbett rose to object to the resolution. He saw no reason
why the sum of £16,000 should be paid out of the general taxes of
the country for the sake of supporting the British Museum. In
former times, when Mr. Bankes superintended the expenditure of
the British Museum, the grant to it did not exceed £10,000. Then
he thought the grant unjust, and now he could not imagine why, in
the present distressed condition of the country, it should be
raised to £16,000: for when was the British Museum of the
slightest use to the country at large? Last year there was £1000
paid for a collection of insects; what use could that collection
be of to the weavers of Lancashire, or to the farmers and
tradesmen of distant parts of the country? The plain fact was
that the British Museum was of no use at all! It was a place to
which curious persons went to entertain themselves, by gratifying
their curiosity, and in which the rich were accustomed to lounge
away their time at the expense of their poorer countrymen. For
his own part, he did not know where the British Museum was (much
laughter), and was not acquainted with its contents. He thought
that this sum of £16,000, granted by the Committee, was just
£16,000 thrown away for the gratification of a set of loungers,
who had first taken care to get enough out of the taxes to enable
them to lounge away the rest of their lives in complete idleness.
He also objected to this grant because there was £10,000 of it,
and more, paid away in salaries, and to whom? If a list of the
parties to whom those salaries were paid were laid upon the table
of the House--and he would undertake to say that it should
shortly be laid there--it would be found that they were paid away
to the aristocracy and their dependents. He would move for a
list of those who received them." (Several voices: "The list is
published already.") "Who, he should like to know, were the maids
who swept out the rooms of the British Museum? Doubtless they
were the daughters of the head officers of the establishment. He
would say that a more scandalous job than this grant never
disgraced this Government, and that was saying a great deal.
(Laughter.) He should conclude by moving that this report be
recommitted."
Of course no one was on his side, and the grant was passed.
From April to July this year influenza was very prevalent, sparing
neither rank, age, nor sex. It was not a new disease, for it was known
in 1580, when it preceded the plague; in 1658, it was followed by a
fatal epidemic fever; in 1743 by the plague; in 1762 by violent
dysentery; in 1813, by ophthalmia and dysentery, and in 1831 by the
cholera. The _Medical Gazette_, of May 5th, says--
"As to the rest, so far as regards the metropolis, the influenza
has been plague enough, without looking for another. It has been
a hundred-fold more prevalent than cholera was, and we are
inclined to believe has proved fatal, within the last fortnight,
to a greater number of persons than that disease carried off in
London within an equal period. Certainly this holds good with
respect to the upper and middle classes of society, among whom a
large number of aged persons have fallen victims to it. The
increased mortality of the metropolis during the present
epidemic, is strikingly exemplified by the weekly account of
burials. That ending April 16th exhibits an increase over the
preceding of 266; that ending April 23rd, another increase upon
the above of 209; that of May 1st, a further increase of 165;
making the entire increase in the number of funerals last week
equal to 640; and this, too, within the limits of the Bills of
Mortality. The epidemic is now, however, rapidly on the decline,
though a considerable number of relapses have occurred, and many
continue to linger under its effects."
It spread both to Ireland and Scotland, but ceased about July.
On April 30th, an attempt to repeal the House and Window Tax was made,
but was not successful. The window tax was especially obnoxious, as it
led to keeping out light and fresh air from rooms that sadly needed
both, and it lingered on until July 24, 1851, when it was repealed by
Act 14 & 15 Vict. c. 36, and a duty upon inhabited houses was levied
in its place.
In this reign there could scarcely be political agitation without
violence, and we find on May 13th, there was even murder committed.
The following account is taken from the _Annual Register_, as being
more condensed than the newspaper reports:--
"POLITICAL MEETING AND MURDER.
"For some days placards had been posted up, addressed to the
members of the political unions, calling a public meeting, to be
held in Calthorpe Street, Coldbath Fields, preparatory to forming
a National Convention. A proclamation had been issued from the
Home Office, prohibiting the meeting as being illegal. It was
held, nevertheless, on the 13th. The hour appointed for the
meeting was two o'clock, but the populace had been assembling for
three hours previously. Shortly after twelve o'clock strong
detachments of the metropolitan police marched into the
neighbourhood, and took up their quarters in the riding school of
the London Volunteers, and the several livery stables in the
vicinity. Colonel Rowan and Mr. Mayne, the two Commissioners, had
previously arrived, and were accommodated at a house in the
neighbourhood, attended by two clerks. A magistrate of Hatton
Garden office was stationed in the House of Correction, as were
also other magistrates, and a strong body of the police force.
Two officers of the 1st Regiment of Life Guards were on the
spot, in plain clothes, keeping up a constant communication with
their regiment, a detachment of which was under arms, and ready
at a moment's notice.
"Matters remained in this state till near two o'clock, by which
time the number of people had greatly increased, and there were
between three thousand and four thousand present. During this
time the committee, consisting of six individuals, were holding
their council at the Union public-house, Bagnigge Wells, and some
discussion arose between them, as to which of them should ascend
the hustings first. A young man named James Lee undertook to open
the proceedings by proposing a person to fill the chair. Shortly
before three o'clock a caravan, which had been engaged for the
purpose, took its station. Lee jumped into it, followed by a
person named Mee, and several others. Lee waved his hat several
times, which was answered by the shouts of the assembly. The
owner of the van, however, did not like the appearance of things,
and instantly drove off, the committee jumping out of the
caravan. Lee was then carried on the shoulders of some of the
mob, to the railings, and proposed that Mr. Mee should take the
chair, which, being seconded, Mr. Mee stood up and addressed the
meeting, calling upon those present to beware of those hirelings
of the Government who were paid to induce them to commit a breach
of the peace. The Union, who had been anxiously expected all the
morning, at this moment made their appearance, and the
acclamations of the populace were deafening. The Union consisted
of about a hundred and fifty persons, and the banners carried
were, 'Liberty or death,' with a skull and cross-bones on a black
ground, with a red border; 'Holy Alliance of the Working
Classes;' 'Equal Rights and Equal Justice;' a Tricoloured flag;
the republican flag of America; and a pole with the cap of
Liberty.
"They had scarcely got upon the ground, before a detachment of
the A division (supported by some other divisions) marched into
Calthorpe Street with the greatest order and precision. Their
promptitude and formidable appearance seemed to make a momentary
impression on the mob, but a person, pointing to the banner of
'Liberty or death,' shouted, 'Men, be firm!' This was sufficient
to rouse their feelings; they called out, 'Down with them;
Liberty or death!' and appeared determined to resist to the
utmost. 'Go on, go on!' resounded from all sides to the speaker.
"The division of police had halted in the middle of the street,
and received renewed orders to act calmly and with forbearance.
They then walked forward, with their staves in their hands,
clearing their way through the observers who had been attracted
to the spot, and pressed forward directly to the man who still
continued to address the mob. The police were instantly attacked
by the mob. The conflict was but of a minute's duration, and the
sound of the blows, and the shrieks of the women who had obtruded
themselves into danger were loud. When a clearance was effected,
at least twenty men were prostrate on the ground, with blood
streaming from their heads. Sergeant Harrison, of the D division,
was the first who seized a banner, but received a violent blow on
the arm. Robert Cully, C 95, and his brother, made up to another,
when Cully received a wound in the abdomen from a stilletto, and
instantly expired. Sergeant Brooks was also wounded, besides
several others who received blows. The people rallied in the open
space by the prison, and made a vigorous attack on the police,
which was instantly and effectually repelled, though not till
they had attempted to rescue the banner of 'Liberty or death.'
The police were therefore formed into lines, extending across the
different streets, for a quarter of a mile round the place, and
every party of three or four persons was instantly ordered to
'Move on.' In Gray's Inn Lane, on the N division clearing the
place, one man took a stone to fling at the policeman who was
ordering him off, but his arm was arrested by another policeman.
A united shout of 'Stone the ---- ----!' arose, and there was an
immediate rush of the populace into the middle of the road, where
there were fresh laid granite stones; but a movement of the whole
division, and the capture of the ringleaders, arrested the
further progress of the mob. By four o'clock, everything was
tranquil, and a number of prisoners had been arrested.
"An inquest was held on the body of Cully, the policeman who had
been stabbed. From the state of political feeling, the jury
seemed determined to justify murder on the ground that the
meeting was legal, or, if illegal, had not been legally
dispersed. The inquest was continued for several days, and
finally the jury, after retiring for nearly three hours, returned
the following verdict: 'We find a verdict of _justifiable
homicide_ on these grounds: That no Riot Act was read, nor any
proclamation advising the people to disperse; that the Government
did not take the proper precautions to prevent the meeting from
assembling; and that the conduct of the police was ferocious,
brutal, and unprovoked by the people; and we moreover express our
anxious hope that the Government will, in future, take better
precautions to prevent the occurrence of such disgraceful
transactions in this metropolis.'
"Coroner: Your verdict only traduces the police and the
Government. You are not borne out by the evidence in justifying
the murder of this man. Were the people innocent who used the
murderous weapons, stilettos, bludgeons, and lances, such as you
have seen?
"Foreman: We state in our verdict on what grounds we justify the
homicide. We do not traduce the police, nor the Government. We
trust that our verdict will prevent the negligence and misconduct
that has caused the arms and heads of his Majesty's peaceable
subjects to be broken.
"Coroner: Do you call them peaceable subjects?
"Foreman: It has been proved that they are peaceable. We will say
no more, sir; record our verdict or dismiss us. We have told you,
sir, we will not alter a letter. In regard to our oath, and our
duty to our God, our country, and our King, we can give no other
verdict.
"After a consultation of some length, the coroner directed the
verdict, as originally put in, to be entered on the record. The
depositions, inquisition, and record were then completed and
signed.
"The coroner said, 'Gentlemen, I consider your verdict
disgraceful to you; but I thank you for your great attention to
the case.'
"The foreman, bowing, said, 'We thank you, sir.'
"Hereupon, a number of persons in the room, which was crowded to
excess, exclaimed, 'Bravo, jurors; you have done your duty nobly,
the country is indebted to you;' which was followed by vociferous
cheering in the room, re-echoed with prodigious vehemence by the
crowd outside. As the jury withdrew, numbers of persons pressed
forward and shook each of them eagerly by the hand. In the
streets, as they passed, they were cheered by name, while the
police were hooted.
"On May 29th, the Solicitor-General moved the Court of King's
Bench for a writ of _Certiorari_ to remove the inquisition into
that court, for the purpose of having the verdict quashed. The
verdict, he said, was bad in point of law. The conclusion at
which the jury had arrived was not only unwarranted by the facts
given in evidence, but directly contrary to those facts."
The verdict was quashed, and a man named George Nursey was charged
with the policeman's murder, but the prosecution failed in getting a
conviction.
Here is a somewhat curious police report treating of an extinct
industry. Indeed, I doubt whether it would have obtained in 1833, had
not tea been so dear. _Times_, May 14th--
"UNION HALL.
"Yesterday, in the course of examination of two boys, who were
brought from Camberwell, before Mr. Chambers, for gambling on
Sunday, some disclosures of importance respecting the extent to
which the suspected adulteration of tea is carried on in this
metropolis were made.
"In the possession of one of the juvenile defendants a policeman
found two shillings upon taking him into custody, and when the
boy was asked by the magistrate where he got that money, he
immediately replied, 'Not by gambling, your Worship, but by
picking tea leaves.'
"Mr. Chambers (smiling): The tea plant does not happen to grow in
this country, my lad; therefore you are adding a falsehood to the
offence for which you were brought here, and that offence is
always sure to lead to crimes of more magnitude.
"The defendant still persisted in the truth of his assertion,
relative to the picking of tea leaves; and when asked to explain
the manner in which he did it, he replied, 'Why, your Worship, I
am employed by a cowkeeper at Camberwell, who sends me into the
fields to gather sloe leaves and black and white thorn leaves,
and he pays me so much a pound for all I picks. I works hard, and
sometimes earns a good bit of money at the job.'
"Mr. Chambers inquired what the cowkeeper wanted with sloe and
black and white thorn leaves; it could not be for the use of his
cows.
"Inspector Walters, of the P division, stated that he should be
enabled to throw some light upon the subject of what the boy
termed 'picking tea leaves.' The inspector then said that for the
last month a number of poor persons, of both sexes, were observed
in the fields adjacent to Camberwell, picking leaves out of the
hedges. To such an extent, in fact, had this picking system
lately been carried, in and about that neighbourhood, that many
of the hedgerows were completely divested of their foliage. He
had questioned some of the people as to the purposes for which
the leaves were intended, and he had the same reply from all,
namely, that they were employed by a cowkeeper, who gave them a
penny a pound for sloe and black thorn leaves, and half that sum
for white thorn leaves. One man told him that he picked between
50 and 60 lbs. a day, and always had a sure market for selling
them to the cowkeeper. On a recent occasion a gentleman resident
in Camberwell complained that the hedge surrounding one of his
fields had been entirely stripped of its leaves, but he objected
to give any person into custody for the damage committed on his
property, but warned them not to be seen there again. The
inspector added that the circumstance had created some surprise
at Camberwell, and he had instituted an inquiry into the matter,
in the course of which he ascertained that the statement made to
him by the persons found picking the leaves was perfectly correct
as to the party whom they supplied. The next step was to discover
how the cowkeeper disposed of the leaves, and this was
accomplished by placing persons to watch his premises, when it
was found that they underwent no process while in his possession,
but were sent in bags to extensive tea dealers in the city, to
whose warehouses they were traced from the cowkeeper's yard in
Camberwell.
"Mr. Chambers inquired what steps had been taken after tracing
leaves of that description to the house of a tea dealer. It
looked, certainly, very suspicious, for he heard reports of tea
being adulterated with sloe leaves.
"The inspector said that information of the fact of such leaves
as those he had described having been received at a tea warehouse
was given to the Excise, and he had no doubt but they intended to
act forthwith upon it."
CHAPTER XV.
1833.
The Queen's visit to the City--Her unpopularity--King's dislike
of the Duchess of Kent--Hungerford Market opened--Death and
funeral of Wilberforce--Abolition of slavery--Synopsis of Act--A
Women's rowing match--List of periodicals and their
circulation--Return of Captain Ross--State of Ireland--Passing of
"Coercion Bill," etc.
The poor Queen was still very unpopular, as we read in the _Times_ of
June 15th--
"We are assured by a gentleman who followed the royal procession
on Thursday (June 13th), both in the approach to the Cathedral
and in the subsequent visit to the Mansion House, that her
Majesty's reception in the City was by no means so favourable as
was represented. In passing up Ludgate Hill the groans and hisses
of the multitude were extremely violent, so as quite to overpower
the manifestations of respect which proceeded in that place from
a very small portion of the spectators. After the termination of
the service at St. Paul's, the royal carriage was attended,
comparatively, by a very small number of the populace, and among
these a few hisses were occasionally heard, with also a few
indications of a more loyal nature; but the demeanour of a far
greater portion of the spectators was cold and indifferent. Some
hisses were heard from the populace at the time her Majesty was
ascending the steps at the Mansion House. When the _cortége_
drove off after the visit to the Lord Mayor, it was done with so
much rapidity as to be soon out of sight, and almost elude the
observation of the populace."
There was also considerable friction, in the royal circle itself. The
King did not like the Duchess of Kent, and did not scruple to show his
dislike openly in somewhat petty ways. Hear what Greville says--
"July 4th.--At Court yesterday, and Council for a foolish
business. The King has been (not unnaturally) disgusted with the
Duchess of Kent's progress with her daughter through the kingdom,
and, amongst the rest, with her sailings at the Isle of Wight,
and the continual popping in the shape of salutes to her Royal
Highness. He did not choose that this latter practice should go
on, and he signified his pleasure to Sir James Graham and Lord
Hill, for salutes are matters of general order, both to army and
navy. They (and Lord Grey) thought it better to make no order on
the subject, and they opened a negotiation with the Duchess of
Kent, to induce her, of her own account, to waive the salutes,
and when she went to the Isle of Wight to send word that, as she
was sailing about for her amusement, she had rather they did not
salute her whenever she appeared. The negotiation failed, for the
Duchess insisted on her right to be saluted, and would not give
it up. Kemp told me he had heard that Conroy (who is a ridiculous
fellow, a compound of 'Great Hussy' and the Chamberlain of the
Princess of Navarre[14]) had said, 'that, as Her Royal Highness's
_confidential adviser_, he could not recommend her to give way on
this point.' As she declined to accede to the proposals, nothing
remained but to alter the regulations, and, accordingly,
yesterday, by an Order in Council, the King changed them, and
from this time the Royal Standard is only to be saluted when the
King or Queen is on board."
[Footnote 14: See Sir C. Hanbury Williams' Poems.]
Among the odds and ends of news in this year was the opening of
Hungerford Market, on July 2nd, amidst great festivity, which included
a balloon ascent, and a ball and fireworks at night. It was situated
on the site now occupied by the Charing Cross Station, and was
demolished in 1862.
On the 29th of July died William Wilberforce, the distinguished
philanthropist, memorable especially for his exertions in the
abolition of slavery. He was buried on August 4th, in Westminster
Abbey, the pall-bearers being the Lord Chancellor, the Speaker of the
House of Commons, Lord Bexley, the Marquis of Westminster, the Right
Hon. Charles Grant, Sir Robert Inglis, Mr. W. Smith, and His Royal
Highness the Duke of Gloucester. Among the mourners were the peers, at
the head of whom were the Dukes of Sussex and Wellington, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and most of the bishops, and, lastly, the
members of the House of Commons.
It seems hard that he was denied the pleasure of seeing that come to
pass, the forwarding of which had occupied so great a part of his
life, viz. the abolition of slavery. In 1807 the importation of slaves
into our colonies was decreed; but men's minds were exercised as to
the lawfulness of keeping slaves at all, and an Anti-Slavery Society
was established in 1823, the principal members of which were
Wilberforce, Buxton, Zachary Macaulay, Lord Suffield, and Dr.
Lushington, and in that year a movement was made in Parliament in
furtherance of this object, but for some years the cause made little
progress, until 1830, when it was again taken up. But, in 1833, the
Government took it seriously in hand, and the abolition of slavery was
carried with comparatively little opposition. True, Mr. W. E.
Gladstone, in a debate thereon, on June 3rd, defended his father as a
slave owner--he having an estate at Demerara, called Vreeden's
Hoop--but he had a bad cause to back up, and his speech was
practically nullified by Lord Howick's reply.
The opponents of the Bill talked of the helplessness of the negroes,
who had always had everything found them, and prophesied that they
would starve; indeed, an anonymous artist produced the accompanying
picture of "An Emancipated Negro," who is reduced to catching
butterflies for food.
[Illustration: "An Emancipated Negro."]
The Bill passed the House of Commons on August 7th, and received the
Royal Assent on August 28th. It is 3 and 4 Gul. IV. c. 73, and is
entitled "An Act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the _British_
Colonies; for promoting the industry of the manumitted slaves; and for
compensating the persons hitherto entitled to the services of such
slaves." It is a long Act, but the following is a synopsis.
All children under six years of age, or born after August 1st, 1834,
are declared free: all registered slaves above six years become, from
the same date, apprenticed labourers, divided into two principal
classes, _prædial_, or those engaged in agriculture, and the
_non-prædial_; the apprenticeships of the former to expire August 1,
1838; of the latter August 1, 1840. The hours of the _prædial_
apprentices not to exceed forty-five in any one week, and for which
they were to be paid either by being boarded and lodged or by
receiving a sum of money weekly. By this transition into the
apprentice state, the slave immediately entered into the chief
immunities of a free man; he could not be arbitrarily punished by his
master, and became eligible to give evidence in criminal and civil
courts, to serve on juries and in the militia. One of the chief
difficulties to settle, was in determining the compensation to the
owners of slaves for the loss of their compulsory services. A very
small party in the Commons was in favour of the immediate and entire
emancipation of the negroes, and that without any compensation
whatever; the ministers at first proposed advancing a loan of
£15,000,000 to the West India proprietors; subsequently this _loan_
was transmuted into a _gift_ of £20,000,000, by which liberal
donation, Mr. Secretary Stanley said the whole plan would ensure the
cordial co-operation of the planters and colonial legislatures. On
this basis it was settled, and an end put to a question which had
formed almost the exclusive subject of public interest and agitation
by the religious portion of the community during the last half
century.
To change from grave to gay. The "New Woman" was already beginning to
assert masculine functions, though hardly in such an æsthetic manner
as to-day. In 1787 Rowlandson portrayed a cricket match played in that
year by women, at Ball's Pond, and several satirical prints
immortalize the lady cricketer; but it was reserved for the _Times_ of
September 4, 1833, to chronicle--
"A ROWING MATCH AMONG WOMEN.--The proposed wager among women came
off yesterday. It was said that the contest was for a purse of
sovereigns given by the ladies and gentlemen of Lambeth; but it
is believed the proprietor of a public-house near Lambeth Palace
was the donor. The females were the wives and daughters of
fishermen. The _canaille_ mustered in shoals, and never did we
see a rowing match so attended. The purlieus of Westminster and
St. George's Fields had poured forth their population, and
Billingsgate had supplied its oratory. To attempt to describe the
rowing, or to give the names of Sal this, or Mary that, as they
were bawled from the shore in a tone of encouragement, would be a
gross insult to the understanding of our readers; but the lady
who wore a blue bow in her cap as large as a sunflower, and who
had her garments tied round her legs with a rope, had the
distinguished honour of being declared the victor."
We are used to hear each newspaper vieing with another as to its
circulation, but the following list is authentic, as every newspaper
had to be stamped by the Inland Revenue, and the numbers as officially
declared must needs be correct. It also supplies an authentic list of
the ephemeral publications of the day. It covers from January 1, 1832,
to June 30, 1833.
--------------+-----------------------------------------------+------------
Period of | Title of Newpaper. | Number of
Publication. | | Stamps.
--------------+-----------------------------------------------+------------
Daily | The Times } | 5,727,987
Thrice a week | Evening Mail } |
| |
Daily | Morning Herald } | 3,949,991
Thrice a week | English Chronicle } |
| |
Daily | Morning Post | 1,047,000
| |
" | Morning Chronicle } |
Weekly | Englishman } |
" | Observer } | 2,682,297
" | Bell's Life in London } |
| |
Daily | Morning Advertiser | 1,696,500
| |
" | Guardian and Public Ledger } |
" | British Traveller } | 433,218
Weekly | Weekly Times } |
| |
" | County Chronicle } | 213,500
" | County Herald } |
| |
" | United Kingdom | 429,000
| |
" | Mark Lane Express (commenced Jan. 3, } |
| 1832) } |
" | New Farmer's Journal (commenced Feb. } | 65,710
| 11, 1833) } |
| |
" | Farmer's Journal (discontinued July 16, } | 46,975
| 1832) } |
| |
" | British Liberator (commenced January 13, } | 9,550
| 1833) } |
| |
" | Merle's Weekly Register (commenced November } | 16,452
| 19, 1832) } |
| |
" | Sunday Herald (commenced April 7, } | 14,300
| 1833) } |
| |
" | Bell's Weekly Messenger | 776,500
" | Bell's Weekly Dispatch | 2,330,947
" | Ballot | 93,000
" | Atlas | 247,500
" | Examiner | 329,645
" | Literary Gazette | 62,675
| |
" | Court Journal } |
" | Naval and Military Gazette (commenced } | 185,875
| February 9, 1833) } |
" | New Court Journal (commenced March 30, } | 4,850
| 1833; discontinued June 1) } |
| |
" | Cobbett's Weekly Political Register | 128,500
" | John Bull | 445,500
Twice weekly | London Gazette | 218,000
Weekly | Spectator | 173,283
Weekly | Age | 519,800
" | News | 199,000
" | Satirist | 393,022
Daily | Albion and Star | 393,000
| |
" | Standard } |
Thrice a week | St. James's Chronicle } |
" | London Packet } | 2,328,500
Weekly | London Journal } |
| |
Daily | True Sun } | 559,140
Weekly | Weekly True Sun } |
| |
Daily | Courier | 1,170,250
" | Globe and Traveller | 1,657,500
" | Sun | 1,061,000
Thrice a week | Record | 397,250
| |
Weekly | Sunday Times } | 643,500
" | Essex and Herts Mercury } |
| |
" | Alfred } |
" | United Service Gazette (commenced February } | 63,709
| 9, 1833) } |
| |
" | Town | 86,100
" | Patriot (commenced February 22, 1832) | 159,000
" | Old England (commenced April 14, 1832) | 48,300
" | Christian Advocate | 113,055
" | Bell's New Weekly Messenger | 365,500
| |
" | The Truth (commenced February 10, 1833; } | 5,000
| discontinued March 10) } |
| |
" | The Athenæum, only one stamped number } | 10,000
| published within the period } |
| |
" | Commercial Gazette | 40,600
| |
" | Law Chronicle } | 10,475
" | Law Gazette } |
| |
" | Racing Calendar | 42,575
" | Banker's Calendar | 16,000
| |
" | Constitution (discontinued January 15, } | 1,500
| 1832) } |
| |
" | World (discontinued May 23, 1832) | 16,600
| |
" | Plain Dealer (commenced January 1, 1832; } | 9,000
| discontinued February 19, 1832) } |
| |
" | Reflector (commenced December 15, 1832; } | 2,600
| discontinued December 29, 1832) } |
| |
" | Mercantile Journal | 17,465
" | Corn Trade Circular | 5,250
Thrice a week | Course of Exchange | 8,010
" | Commercial Record | 5,700
Weekly | London New Price Current | 22,300
| |
" | Universal Corn Reporter (commenced } | 20,000
| February 6, 1832) } |
| |
" | Bankrupt's and Insolvent's Weekly Gazette | 16,987
Monthly | London Literary Gazette | 14,250
| |
Weekly | The Movement (commenced April 28, } | 3,000
| 1833; discontinued June 3) } |
| |
" | London Mercantile Price Current | 5,610
" | United Kingdom Gazette | 4,706
--------------+-----------------------------------------------+------------
Captain Ross, who from May 29, 1829, had been employed in the
_Victory_ steamer on a fresh expedition to the Arctic Regions, at the
expence of Sir Felix Booth, a rich distiller, arrived safely at
Stromness on October 12th, on board the _Isabella_ of Hull (formerly
his own discovery ship), which picked him up in Prince Regent's Inlet
on August 27th, he having finally abandoned his own ship thirteen
months previously. He had a narrow escape of losing all his papers;
for, after showing them at the Admiralty, he left them in a cab.
Luckily, the cabman was honest, and the captain recovered them.
Parliament (the first reformed) met on January 29th, and it was not
long before the more effective government of Ireland was brought on
for discussion. A Bill for the suppression of disturbances in Ireland
(or, as it was commonly called, "The Coercion Bill") was introduced
into the House of Lords by Earl Grey, was read a first time on
February 15th, and was passed there without a division on February
22nd. But it had a very warm time in the House of Commons, and it was
not passed until March 29th. The Lords agreed with the amendments of
the Commons, and it received the Royal Assent on April 2nd. It is 3
and 4 Gul. IV. c. 4, "An Act for the more effectual suppression of
local Disturbances and dangerous Associations in Ireland." The Lord
Lieutenant at once put the Act in force, with very good results. The
more daring outrages diminished; for whereas the offences against the
law, in eleven counties, were 472 in March, they were but 162 in May.
[Illustration: Dresses.]
Two other Bills, which materially tended to the pacification of
Ireland, were passed, and became law respectively on August 14th and
28th--3 and 4 Gul. IV. c. 37, "An Act to alter and amend the laws
relating to the Temporalities of the Church in Ireland," and 3 and 4
Gul. IV. c. 79, "An Act to provide for the more impartial Trial of
Offences in certain cases in Ireland."
[Illustration: Hair dressing.]
The fashions of this year include two walking-dresses, one dinner, and
one ball-dress, together with bonnets, a turban, a cap, and various
modes of dressing the hair. (_See preceding page._)
CHAPTER XVI.
1834.
Corporation commission--Curious advertisement--Discovery of
treasure--Bribery at Liverpool--Duke of York's statue--Trades'
unions--Skit thereon--Riot at Oldham--Unionist oath--Union
meeting and monster petition--Its fate--Duke of Wellington made
Chancellor of Oxford--The Princess Victoria's lover.
The first thing of importance in this year was the resumption of the
sittings of the Corporation Commission, which was an inquiry into the
Corporation of London. This object of envy has been several times
attacked, sometimes partially despoiled; always threatened, yet always
vigorous, it is the red rag of the Radical bull. This Commission did
the usual thing--took evidence, and came to nought.
The year itself was very uneventful in social incidents, so that I
must draw upon divers odds and ends illustrative of the times. Here is
the advertisement of a particularly cool gentleman, culled from the
first page of the _Times_, January 17th--
"AN HEIR.
"A single gentleman, member of an English university, disgusted
at some family differences, is desirous of relinquishing his
connections and changing his name. The advertiser, who is a
gentleman of good education, affable manners, and pleasing
address, submits the proposal to the consideration of the
affluent, who have no issue. A full explanation will be entered
into, and most respectable and satisfactory references given.
Apply, etc."
Next is a paragraph from the _Cambrian_, quoted in the same _Times_--
"REMARKABLE SUBMARINE DISCOVERY.
"Among the occurrences which have been transmitted by tradition
to our neighbours in Gower, is the account of the wreck of a
homeward-bound Spanish galleon, laden with dollars, on Rhosily
Sands, near the Wormshead, shortly after the conquest of South
America by the Spaniards; that the crew, without giving
information of the nature of her cargo, sold the wreck for a
trifle to a Mr. Thomas, of Pitton, who, not being aware of the
value of his purchase, or from some other cause, took no pains
for her recovery, and that she shortly became completely embedded
in the sands. Nevertheless, suspicion always existed in that part
of the country that she must have had on board some valuable
articles; and, about twenty-six years ago, in consequence of the
sand having drifted very unusually, part of the wreck, in a very
decayed state, became visible, and a great quantity of dollars,
with some old iron and pewter, were then dug up from some depth
in the sand. The late Mr. John Beynon, of Pitton, having failed
to prove by any written document the purchase of the vessel by
his ancestor (the above-named Mr. Thomas), Mr. Talbot, of Penrice
Castle, the lord of the manor, became entitled to the property,
but he generously refused to accept it; consequently, many of the
inhabitants were much enriched by this fortuitous circumstance.
The spot where the vessel struck being only open at four hours
ebb-tide, and the sand having returned to its old quarters, the
money-hunters were obliged to desist in their attempts, and all
hope was abandoned of any further booty from that source. During
the late gales, however, the sand having shifted again, the spot
was once more resorted to, and the recovery of a very large
quantity of dollars has been the result, some bearing the date of
1631, others further back. The circumstance has created a very
peculiar interest in the neighbourhood; and, as it is not likely
that the present lord of the manor, C. R. Talbot, Esq., will
deviate from the precedent of his respected father, it is to be
hoped that the neighbourhood, which is very poor, will be
considerably benefited by this occurrence."
On March 19th the House of Commons passed a bill disenfranchising the
Freemen of Liverpool for bribery at the late election, but it did not
pass the Lords. Liverpool had formerly an unenviable notoriety for
this sort of thing, and it is said that in 1830, when Messrs. Denison
and Ewart contested the borough after the death of Mr. Huskisson, it
cost each of the candidates over £40,000! The _Times_ of February 26,
1834, in a leading article on this election, says--
"On this occasion, likewise, votes rose in price as the contest
advanced, and towards its conclusion a single vote was sold for
£80! Nearly every freeman who came to poll was bribed. The
tickets given for enabling parties to claim payment from Mr.
Denison's committee amounted to two thousand; and one of the
witnesses having obtained these tickets, copied from them into a
poll-book, against the name of each voter, the sum which had been
paid him. The following is the analysis of the list of the other
candidate, Mr. Ewart's voters, with their respective prices, as
drawn up by his own law agent:--
600 freemen received £10 and under.
462 " " between £10 " £20
209 " " " £20 " £30
24 " " " £30 " £40
7 " " " £40 " £50
1 " " £60
----
1303
"One circumstance which disgracefully distinguished the bribery
practised on these two occasions, was the open, fearless, and
shameless manner in which it was conducted. The respective
parties advertised for supporters, and announced the price which
they were ready to give for votes on the walls of their committee
rooms. Tickets or tally-papers were openly distributed, which
were as regularly paid. The ingenious conductors of the election
had thus the merit of systemizing corruption--of making the sale
of consciences a counting-house affair, with the proper
assortment of promissory notes or poll-tickets and bags of gold,
with cashiers, examiners, and controllers of account!
"Another most striking and most melancholy characteristic of the
contest was not only the universality of corruption among the
poorer freemen, but the height to which the tide rose among
persons in better circumstances, whom, but for the levelling
nature of the system and the gradual decay of the moral sense
which it produces, the infamy ought not to have reached. It was
mentioned by the treasurer of Mr. Ewart's committee that several
'respectable' persons received large sums of money. A retired
brewer demanded £50; a captain in the militia received £35; three
brothers, 'respectable men,' were paid £30 a-piece; a druggist
and his father, both 'respectable men,' each received £20; and a
'respectable man,' worth £10,000, as he came early in the
contest, was satisfied to pocket the paltry sum of £12!"
The statue of the Duke of York was placed upon its column in Carlton
Gardens on April 11th, and the _Examiner_ of the 12th thus speaks of
it--
"The announcement of the newspapers that the elevation of the
Duke of York's statue was to be celebrated with military honours
drew a vast number of people to Carlton Gardens and the
neighbouring houses. There was, however, no military spectacle,
not even a military band to while away the time during the slow
process of hoisting up the statue, which did not reach the top of
the column till the people had dispersed, who had spent the day
in wondering what was to happen to requite them for their trouble
in coming to the spot and the tedium of waiting. Nothing was to
be seen but a bit of canvas fluttering in the bitter east wind,
showing the place of the statue, to which it served as wrapper.
The ascent was imperceptibly slow, such as sailors proverbially
say is the progress of lawyers to heaven. The weight of the
statue is said to be seven tons, and the height above thirteen
feet. A woman in the crowd, according to the _Globe_, observed,
'The Duke of York was never so large as that.' The same criticism
was made by a learned judge on the statue of Canning at
Westminster, and his companion, Mr. Thesiger, agreeing that
Canning was not so large, readily perfected the criticism by
adding 'nor so green either.'
"The statue of the Duke of York turns his back on the town and
his face to the Park. This arrangement was contrary to the
judgment of Mr. Westmacott, but insisted on by the Duke of
Wellington, who held it a point of propriety that the
Commander-in-Chief should face the Horse Guards. His Grace also
contends that it will be seen by more people from the Park below
than from Waterloo Place--another curious evidence of the
correctness of his observation. But this is not the Duke's first
mistake as to public views. It now seems that the Duke of York is
ashamed to show his face to the town, and, what to military
notions is worse, he turns his back on Waterloo Place.
"On the base of the monument should be inscribed, 'He made
creditors pitied!'--an effect never before produced, as the
sympathies of the world generally runs with poor debtors, and
creditors are only thought of and talked of as 'hard' and
'cruel.' No general in history was ever so heavily charged as the
Commander-in-Chief, and yet the charges of his creditors were the
only charges the general ever defeated."
In May, people were much exercised about Trades' Unions, which were
then being formed, and, as is their nature, leading to strikes, some
of which were then becoming serious, as in the cases of the cotton
spinners and the journeymen tailors. An attempt was made to turn the
movement into ridicule, as shown by the following, but without
effect--
"CIRCULAR LETTER AND REGULATIONS FROM THE GRAND LODGE OF LADIES'
MAIDS.
"MADAM,
"By direction of the Friendly Society of Operative Ladies' Maids,
I have to inform you that, to stay the ruinous effects which a
destructive fashionable competition has so long been inflicting
on them, they have resolved to introduce certain new regulations
into their profession, which regulations they intend should
commence from Monday next; and I herewith beg to enclose a copy
of them--
"REGULATIONS.
"No sister shall be allowed to work, except for herself, from the
first day of May to the last day of April. No sister shall plait,
brush, or dress her lady's hair, or wait upon her in
sickness--except for such extra remuneration as each sister shall
deem it expedient to ask. No sister shall be called before ten in
the morning, nor shall any sister remain in a service where she
is refused a fire in her own room, an armchair, a subscription to
a circulating library, the free use of her lady's clothes, and as
many followers as she may like to retain. No lady shall presume
to part with her maid or to hire another without the consent of
all the ladies' maids within four miles of Grosvenor Square. Nor
shall any lady buy any gown, bonnet, or any article of dress that
may not be made serviceable or profitable to her maid, nor shall
she be allowed to retain the same in wear after the Grand United
Lodge of Operative Ladies' Maids shall have declared it a lawful
perquisite. No sister shall be allowed to ask leave to go out,
nor shall any sister be contradicted or found fault with, neither
shall she be put up with a small looking-glass, nor with a room
with a northern aspect.
"As the demands here specified are of so reasonable a nature, and
as, moreover, they are unquestionably calculated for the benefit
of the employers as well as the employed, the Society confidently
hopes that you will accede to them, and, henceforth, a mutual
confidence may be sustained between ladies and their maids, and
that they will, for the future, consent to lace each other's
stays, and dress each other's hair.
"It only remains for me to add that your ladies' maids, members
of this Society, will cease to answer your bell, though you may
ring it ever so often, should you decline to act upon the new
regulations; and, further, I think it right to apprize you that,
in that case, they will think it no longer necessary to keep any
family secrets with which they may have made themselves
acquainted.
"I am, Madam, Your obedient, humble servant,
"SARAH BROWN,
"Secretary to the Grand United Lodge
of Operative Ladies' Maids."
People hardly knew what to make of these Trades' Unions, and, at their
beginning, they seemed to be somewhat antagonistic to authority, and
decidedly subversive of existing institutions. And, perhaps, in the
first flush of his emancipation, the working man had somewhat crude
ideas of his position, and was a little too fond of processions,
meetings, and showing himself in public. For instance, on April 15th,
there was a riot of a serious description at Oldham. On the previous
day, two members of a Trades' Union, at a meeting of their body, were
arrested by some policemen, after a desperate struggle. They were on
their road to Hollinwood, near Manchester, under the custody of two
officers, for the purpose of being examined, when a large crowd
attacked the officers, whom they beat severely, and rescued the
prisoners. This occurred in front of Bankside Mill, which belonged to
a Mr. Thompson, who was disliked by the Unionists on account of his
employment of "Knobsticks," or men not belonging to the Union. These
"Knobsticks" had been provided with arms for their defence, but, as it
turned out, used them for offence; for, appearing at the windows of
the building, they made a foolish display of their weapons, and fired
blank cartridge at the passing mob. One gun, at least, must have been
loaded with ball, for a man named James Bentley was killed.
This so incensed the mob, that the windows of the manufactory were
immediately demolished, the dwelling house of the proprietor entered,
and a total destruction of its contents effected. The liquors were
drank in the cellars, the cabinets rifled and broken, the victuals
eaten, and about £50 in money stolen. One of the lower rooms was
filled with printing cloths, to which the mob set fire. The arrival of
a party of lancers eventually caused the dispersion of the mob. The
two Union men who were rescued afterwards surrendered, and were
liberated on bail; meanwhile, the town was in a state of great
confusion. A meeting of upwards of ten thousand operatives was held
next day on Oldham Edge or Moor, at which resolutions to support their
fellows were made. At a coroner's inquest subsequently held on the
body of the individual who was shot, a verdict of _manslaughter_ was
returned.
The _Times_ of May 5th gives the following as--
"THE OATH OF THE UNIONISTS.
"I (each party here to repeat his name), being in the presence
of Almighty God and this assembly, do voluntarily declare that I
will persevere in maintaining and supporting a brotherhood known
by the name of the United Operative . . . . . . of the Grand
National Consolidated Trades' Union of Great Britain and Ireland,
and I do further promise that I will, to the utmost of my power,
assist them, upon all just and lawful occasions, to obtain a just
remuneration for our labour; nor will I, knowingly, ever fill the
situation of, or finish the work of, any brother who has left his
employer in obedience to the ordinances and regulations of the
Consolidated Union aforesaid; and I call the Mighty Power who
made me, to witness this, my most solemn obligation, by which I
bind myself, that neither hopes nor fears, rewards nor
punishments, nor even the law of life itself, shall ever induce
me, directly or indirectly, to give information respecting
anything contained in this lodge, and that I will neither write,
nor cause to be written, anything appertaining thereto upon
paper, or upon anything else whatsoever, but for the purposes of
the aforesaid Union: and I do further promise to keep inviolable
all its rules, signs, and secrets. Neither will I ever give
consent to have any of its money divided, or appropriated to any
other purpose than to the uses of this lodge, and for the end of
the aforesaid Consolidated Union. And may God keep me steadfast
in this my most solemn obligation."
It was for taking unlawful oaths, probably of this kind, that six men
had been convicted at Dorchester Assizes, a fact which so worked upon
the Trades' Unions of London, that on April 21st they met in their
might to the number of thirty thousand, in Copenhagen Fields, and
proceeded in procession to Whitehall to present a monster petition
(which it took twelve men to carry) in the convicts' favour, to the
Home Secretary. Lord Melbourne refused to receive it, thus brought,
but consented to see a deputation. This did not suit the agitators,
and, as the only answer they could get was that Lord Melbourne had
seen a copy of the petition; that he did not disapprove of its
language; and that, if that petition should be presented on another
day, and in a becoming manner, he would receive it and lay it before
the King;--they retired, taking the petition with them, rejoining and
reporting their interview to the main body of the procession, which
had halted on Kennington Common. This broke up the meeting, and the
crowd melted away, having behaved most peaceably. On the 24th the
petition was presented to Lord Melbourne by a deputation from the
Trades' Unions, and laid before the King in the usual way.
On the death of Lord Grenville, the Duke of Wellington was made
Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He had previously received the
distinction of having been made (_in absentiâ_) a D.C.L. of the
University in 1814, when this honour was also bestowed on the Emperor
of Russia, the King of Prussia, and Marshal Blücher. At his
installation on June 10th he wore his Chancellor's robes of black silk
and gold, and H. B. has given us a very graphic portrait of him on
this occasion: and he was attended by the Marquis of Londonderry, Lord
Montague, Lord Apsley, Lord Hill, Lord Mohun, Sir George Murray, Sir
Henry Hardinge, Sir S. Acland, Sir Robert Inglis, and Sir Charles
Wetherell. There were likewise present eleven members of the
episcopal bench. Among the ladies were to be seen the Princess
Lieven, the Marchioness of Salisbury, and the Countesses of
Clanwilliam and Brownlow. The Rev. John Keble of Oriel, so well known
to us as the author of _The Christian Year_ (then professor of
poetry), wrote the installation ode--and the Duke's reception was
magnificent.
[Illustration: Man.]
The Princess Victoria had not long entered into her fifteenth year
when she had a lover, whose story is thus told by the _Courier_ of
July 24th:--
"A SUITOR TO ROYALTY.
"A good deal of talk and merriment have been created in
Kensington, in consequence of the eccentricities of a gentleman,
said to hold a rank of some importance in the army, who has
fallen desperately in love with the Princess Victoria, and who,
for some months past, has taken every opportunity of manifesting
the ardour of his passion for her Royal Highness. From what can
be gathered of this eccentric gentleman's movements, it appears
that about the beginning of last spring he made some very
particular inquiries of the keeper at the Mount Gate, Kensington
Gardens, as to the Princess, wishing, in particular, to know the
best way in which he could obtain an introduction, and whether it
was most likely an interview would be granted at Kensington
Palace.
"The gatekeeper referred the gentleman to the proper authorities
at the palace; after which he received three cards, containing,
as the gentleman said, his titles and dignity, with a request
that they should be immediately forwarded to her Royal Highness
the Princess Victoria. On the cards were written "The King of
Rome," "The Emperor of the Austrias," and "The Grand Lama of
Thibet." Several letters were sent to the palace by this
tripartite potentate, who was constantly seen promenading before
the palace and in the gardens, waiting to obtain the desired
interview with the Princess. One day, while the gatekeepers were
at dinner, he contrived to jump over the palings into the
shrubbery, and there plant a laurel, to which he affixed another
letter to the Princess Victoria; which, of course, when
discovered, was speedily removed.
"From that time, this gentleman continued to pursue the same
system of eccentricity, and yesterday morning, having made some
further inquiries of the gatekeeper respecting the Princess, the
gatekeeper considered it to be the most prudent course to inform
Sir John Conroy of the persevering conduct of the enamoured
suitor. The gatekeeper having received his instructions,
proceeded to the station-house, and returned to the gardens
accompanied by Inspector McManus, of the T division. The
gatekeeper and the inspector then proceeded towards a bench in
the garden, where the individual in question had taken a seat.
The inspector told him he must take him into custody, unless he
would pledge his honour to abstain, in future, from the
ridiculous system of annoyance he had practised. The individual,
after some demur, gave the required promises, and was allowed to
leave the gardens, after having given a card, which contained, as
was presumed, his real name and rank, which was stated to be that
of a lieutenant-colonel. He was a tall, military-looking man,
with an umbrella and a bunch of lavender, and apparently about
forty-five years of age."
CHAPTER XVII.
1834.
Crockford's and game--The _chef_ in trouble--Burning of the
Houses of Parliament--The tapestry in the House of Lords--Story
of one piece--Temporary House of Lords--Tithe riots in
Ireland--Change of Ministry.
One would imagine that Crockford's gambling "hell" was too solemn a
place to extract laughter from, but yet there is a police case in
connection with that place, and in which the celebrated _chef_ Ude was
principally concerned, which is the reverse of serious.
"On July 25th, M. Eustache Ude, the celebrated French cook,
appeared at Bow Street on a summons at the suit of the Marquess
of Queensberry, for unlawfully disposing of certain birds called
'red game,' between the 19th of March and the 1st of August,
contrary to the provisions of the Game Laws.
"Sir Roger Griesley deposed that he was a member of Crockford's
Club House, and one of the managing committee of that
establishment. The defendant was cook there, and on the 19th of
June witness dined at the club house, and saw grouse served in
the room, but did not partake of it.
"M. Ude: Vell, my dear Sare Rojer, vat is all dis to me?
Certainement you must know dat I don't know vat de devil goes up
into de dining-room. How de devil can I tell veder black game, or
vite game, or red game go up to de dining-room? Dere is plenty of
game always go on in de house, but dat is noting to me. My only
business is to cook for de palates of dose who like de game.
"Sir Roger Greisley: I really don't know what, in common justice,
M. Ude can have to do in this matter. He is the cook of the
establishment certainly, but he only prepares what is ordered.
The committee order the things, and he provides according to that
order.
"M. Ude: Tank you, my dear Sare Rojer. I knew you vould get me
out of de scrape vot de noble marquis has got me into dis time.
"Charles, Marquess of Queensberry, sworn: I was a member of the
committee at Crockford's, but am not now. I was at Crockford's on
the 19th, and dined, and grouse was served at the table.
"M. Ude: But, my noble friend (great laughter), as I said to my
friend Sare Rojer, I know noting at all about vot vent into de
room. I never sawed it at all. De orders are given to me. I send
my people to de butcher, and to de poulterer, and to de
fishmonger, and de tings are brought, and I command dem to be
cooked, and dey are cooked, and dat is all I know about it.
"Sir F. Roe: Whether you know it or not, the Act of Parliament
makes you liable.
"M. Ude: Upon my honour, dat is very hard. Ven I got de summons I
remonstrated vid my Lord Alvanley, and he say, 'Oh, never mind,
Ude, say dey vere pigeons, instead of grouse.' 'Ah, my lord,' say
I, 'I cannot do better dan call dem pigeons, because dat bird is
so common in dis house.' (Loud laughter.)
"Sir F. Roe, who appeared greatly to enjoy the scene, said he
must, upon the oaths of the noble marquess and Sir Roger
Griesley, convict the defendant; but he should certainly put the
lowest penalty, namely, 5_s._
"M. Ude: Vel, I shall pay de money, but it is dam hard. Ve have
always game in our house, and de poor devil of a cook have to pay
de penalty for it. (Great laughter.)"
By the Budget of July 25th, the House Tax, which was imposed in 1695,
was repealed, as was also the stamp duty on almanacks, which had
existed since 1710.
The talk of the year was, undoubtedly, the burning of both Houses of
Parliament on the evening of October 16th, caused by the overheating
of a flue whilst some workmen were burning a quantity of old Exchequer
tallies. The following account is taken from the _Annual Register_.
"The two Houses of Parliament, with nearly all their various
offices, the old Painted Chamber, associated with a thousand
historical reminiscences, the libraries of the two houses, etc.,
all fell a prey to a destructive fire, which broke out about
half-past six o'clock in the evening. The flames suddenly burst
forth near the entrances of the two houses, and immediately burnt
with a fury almost unparalleled. In less than half an hour from
the first discovery of the flames, the whole interior of the
building from the ground floor to the roof presented, through the
numerous windows with which it was studded, one entire mass of
fire. Thousands of persons instantly assembled, the engines were
in attendance, the police and soldiery on the spot, and every
exertion was made to save the public papers and other important
documents, vast quantities of which were conveyed to a place of
safety, although many were unfortunately consumed.
"All attempts to save the House of Lords proving abortive, the
firemen directed their attention wholly towards the House of
Commons, and to the preservation of Westminster Hall. The wind,
which previous to this time had blown from the south, at eight
o'clock veered somewhat towards the west, thus throwing the
flames immediately upon the House of Commons, the angle of which,
abutting upon the House of Lords, caught fire; and,
notwithstanding the utmost exertions of the firemen, assisted by
the military, the roof ignited, and fell in with a tremendous
crash, accompanied with an immense volume of flame and smoke, and
emitting in every direction millions of sparks and flakes of
fire. This appearance, combined with the sound, resembling the
report of a piece of heavy ordnance, induced the assembled
multitude to believe that an explosion of gunpowder had taken
place.
"The flames now took a different direction; but the danger to the
Hall appeared more imminent than ever. From the House of Commons
the fire appeared to retrograde, as well as to advance, and,
whilst the Speaker's house (which was partially burnt) was placed
in jeopardy on the one side, the range of Committee-rooms,
situate immediately over the members' entrance to the House of
Commons, opposite to Henry VII. chapel, appeared to be entirely
enveloped by the devouring element. A dense black column of smoke
issued from the roof of this part of the building, which was
almost immediately followed by a large column of flame, and the
south end of the wall was therefore at this time encompassed by
burning edifices. At this period several engines were introduced
into the Hall, and an immense quantity of water was distributed
over every part of the building. The firemen and soldiers
employed on the exterior of the building also redoubled their
exertions, apparently wholly regardless of the danger to which
they were exposed by the falling of burning rafters and the
showers of molten lead which poured down upon them on every side.
Their efforts were eventually crowned with success. That
venerable structure escaped comparatively uninjured, as did the
official residence of the Speaker.
"From an official statement published by the Commissioners of
Woods and Forests, it appears that, in the House of Lords, the
Robing-rooms, the Committee-rooms in the west front, the rooms of
the resident officers, as far as the octagon tower at the south
end of the building, the Painted Chamber, and the north end of
the Royal Gallery, abutting on the Painted Chamber, from the door
leading into that chamber as far as the first compartment of
columns, are totally destroyed. The Library and the adjoining
rooms, as well as the Parliament offices, and the offices of the
Lord Great Chamberlain, together with the Committee-rooms,
housekeeper's apartments, etc., in this building are saved.
[Illustration: Burning of the Houses of Parliament, October 16,
1834.]
"In the House of Commons, the House, Libraries, Committee-rooms,
housekeeper's apartments, etc. (excepting the Committee-rooms
Nos. 11, 12, 13, and 14, which are capable of being repaired),
the official residence of Mr. Ley, clerk of the House, and all
the rooms of the Speaker's house, from the oriel window to the
south side of the House of Commons, are entirely destroyed. The
state drawing-room under the House of Commons, the Levee-rooms,
together with the public galleries and part of the cloisters, are
very much damaged.
"The loss of records sustained is not important, nearly
everything of value having been printed; but among those of the
House of Commons destroyed, are the test and qualification rolls,
signed by the members after taking their oaths; and the original
Warrant for the execution of Charles I. is said to be missing
from the House of Lords.[15] ... The books in the lower library
of the House of Commons were saved; but those in the upper room,
including the quantity lately received from France, were
destroyed. The lover of ancient art has to regret the tapestry of
the Spanish Armada, the fragments of ancient painting in the
Painted Chamber, and St. Stephen's Chapel; and the probable
necessary demolition of, at least, the latter of those
structures. Some fine relics of ecclesiastical architecture will,
however, still be preserved in the Speaker's house. A curiosity
saved from the fire, is an oak table marked with the blood of
Perceval."
[Footnote 15: This, luckily, was not the case, as it is still in
keeping at the House of Lords.]
Luckily, drawings of the tapestry hangings in the House of Lords had
been made, and a fine set of engravings of them were published by John
Pine in 1739. There were ten pieces, each illustrating some phase in
the attacks and defeats of the Spanish Armada; and _Joachim de
Sandvart_ tells us[16] that the designs for this tapestry were made by
_Henry Cornelius Vroom_, a famous painter of Haarlem, eminent for his
great skill in drawing all kinds of shipping; and that it was woven by
_Francis Spiring_. There is a bit of a story attached to one piece of
this tapestry, vide the _Times_, Dec. 5th--
[Footnote 16: Academia Artis Pictoriæ Noribergæ, p. 274.]
"At the time the gallery in the late House of Lords was erected,
the tapestry was removed from that portion of the wall which
faced the throne, in order to make way for the gallery; and the
tapestry so taken down, forming part of the ancient and
well-known painting of the Spanish Armada, was placed for safety
in a room appropriated to the Lord Chamberlain. The tapestry lay
there for some time; but it would appear that little value was
attached to it. Subsequently, a servant of Major McArthur,
conceiving that the tapestry was little better than a useless
piece of lumber, offered it, as a present, to a man named Ware,
one of the ticket porters employed about the House of Lords; who,
however, would not accept it as a present, but gave the servant
five shillings for it. He, subsequently, sold it for fifteen
shillings to a broker named Preston, who in turn, made cent. per
cent. upon the article, having sold it for thirty shillings to
Mr. Thorn, in whose possession it remained. The tapestry lay
among other curious articles for some time in the ware room of
Mr. Thorn; and, after the destruction by fire of the Houses of
Lords and Commons, he considered that his purchase might be
turned to good advantage. As it now became a precious relic of
what the flames had destroyed, he set upon it a considerable
price (said to be no less a sum than £400). The tapestry was, for
some time, exhibited to the curious customers by whom his shop
was frequented; and, at length, Mr. Thorn, conceiving that his
Majesty's Government might feel desirous to become the purchasers
of so curious a memorial, wrote to Lord Melbourne upon the
subject, and, subsequently, to his Grace the Duke of Wellington;
in consequence of which, the Commissioners of Woods and Forests
ordered an inquiry to be instituted, with a view to ascertain by
what means Mr. Thorn became possessed of the tapestry."
The inquiry ended in the tapestry being restored to Mr. Thorn.
Parliament, which had been prorogued to October 23rd, had to be
further delayed in its meeting till November 25th, the library of the
House of Lords being fitted up for the ceremony of prorogation. It
represented the old House as nearly as possible. At one end was a
gold-burnished chair, which had to do duty for the splendid throne (of
Geo. IV.) which was destroyed; and in front of it appeared a seat or
form for the Lords Commissioners, and a miniature representation of
the woolsack; there were also benches on each side, and even cross
benches, all duly covered with scarlet cloth. There was a large table
in the centre of the chamber, and on it were the identical boxes that
heretofore had appeared on the table of the old House. The Commons
assembled in the committee-rooms, Nos. 4 and 5, which had not been
touched by the fire.
It was determined that the House of Lords should be immediately fitted
up for the next session of the House of Commons, and the Painted
Chamber for the House of Lords; which, Sir Robert Smirke reported,
might be effected at an expense of £30,000. These works were
immediately commenced, and the Houses were ready for the reception of
members, when they met again on February 19th of next year.
_Apropos_ of this conflagration, Raikes says in his _Journal_--
"Mr. Hume, during the last session, had been proposing, without
success, a vote to build a larger House of Commons; a wag in the
crowd, watching the progress of the conflagration, exclaimed,
'There is Mr. Hume's motion carried without a division.'"
It had not been a very eventful Parliament, that of 1834. A Bill for
the removal of the civil disabilities of the Jews was passed in the
Commons and thrown out in the Lords, as was also a modified Coercion
Bill for Ireland. But that did not prevent outrages in that country,
which were still frequent. One of the most deplorable of the tithe
riots was in December, and took place at Rathcormack, county Cork. The
tithes had been attempted to be levied in November, but so much
obstruction had been made, that troops were applied for, and were
furnished on the 15th of December. On that day every disposition to
resist was shown by the country people; but, although it was necessary
to read the Riot Act, the persons employed in the collection of the
tithe succeeded in levying part of the sums due. On the 18th, a larger
number of persons assembled, and attempted to obstruct the
magistrates, and the civil and military force which accompanied them.
The end of a lane which led to a farm-house was blocked up by a car;
and a body of about six hundred men resisted its removal and the
further progress of the party. Orders were given by the magistrates to
clear the passage; the violence of the people became greater. The Riot
Act was then read. The troops were assailed with volleys of stones;
some of the soldiers and officers were knocked down; and, after every
attempt to persuade the people to disperse had failed, the magistrates
ordered the troops to fire. This they did, and a considerable number
of the mob were wounded, and several killed.
[Illustration: Dresses.]
On November 14th Lord Melbourne put his resignation and that of his
colleagues into the hands of the King, who applied to the Duke of
Wellington to form a new cabinet; but the Duke advised his sovereign
to entrust this duty to Sir Robert Peel, and as Sir Robert was
spending the winter in Italy, he offered to carry on the public
business until he could return. A messenger was at once sent off, who
arrived in Rome on November 25th. Sir Robert left next day, reached
England on December 9th, and by the end of December the official
arrangements of the new ministry were complete. This was the third
ministry in 1834, the premiers being Earl Grey, Lord Melbourne, and
Sir R. Peel.
[Illustration: Hair dressing.]
The dresses illustrated are two for walking, one dinner, and one for a
ball. The front and back of a cap are also shown.
CHAPTER XVIII.
1835.
First cargo of ice to India--Election riots at Halifax and in
Scotland--A female sailor--The new temporary Houses of
Parliament--The King and others hissed--Question of admitting
ladies--A political skit--Deaths of Hunt and Cobbett.
The chronicle of this year must be made up of odds and ends, for there
is no one thing of absorbing interest to record. And first, we find a
paragraph in The _Times_ of January 11th (quoting the _Mechanic's
Magazine_), headed
"EXPORTATION OF ICE TO INDIA.
"Lord William Bentinck has presented to Mr. Rogers, supercargo of
the ship _Tuscany_, a handsome silver vase, bearing the following
inscription: 'Presented by Lord William Bentinck,
Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India, to Mr. Rogers,
of Boston, in acknowledgment of the spirit and enterprise which
projected and successfully executed the first attempt to export
(_sic_) a cargo of American ice into Calcutta.' The quantity of
ice landed by the _Tuscany_ was about one hundred tons, and the
selling price being 6-1/2 cents per lb., it is calculated that
the owners received $12,500 upon an investment which, including
the cost of all the extra precautions for preserving the ice, did
not exceed $500."
Owing to the resignation of the ministry in November, 1834, Parliament
was dissolved, and a General Election took place--which, after the
manner of the times, conduced to riotous behaviour in several places.
At the close of the poll at Halifax, on January 14th, the yellow, or
Reforming party, attacked various houses, public and private. In some,
they contented themselves with breaking windows only; in others, they
entered the premises, broke all the window frames, window shutters,
inside and out, and other wood-work, and completely demolished every
article of furniture within their reach. The mob, three hundred in
number, entered the house of Mr. J. Norris, simultaneously, through
the dining-room windows, library windows, and by breaking down the
principal door. All the windows were broken to pieces--the window
frames, in many places; and the whole furniture in the dining-room and
library, and all the pictures, with the exception of six or eight,
which were badly injured, were destroyed; whilst the plate was stolen,
the bookcase was smashed, and quantities of books were taken from the
shelves and torn to pieces. These, with music books and prints, were
scattered over the lawn in front of the house, and in the garden,
until the place looked as if it had been covered with snow. A grand
piano was smashed to atoms, together with other musical instruments; a
marble mantelpiece was broken, and the place was wrecked.
A similar attack on the vicarage was repelled. At Shaw Lodge, the
residence of Mr. J. Holdsworth, the mob entered the house, and
demolished all before them. At the Field, Mr. J. Staveley's house was
attacked and entered, and all the furniture, pictures, etc., were
smashed, as well as the windows and window frames of the house and
warehouse adjoining. Many other houses were attacked and received
different degrees of damage, and the mob did not disperse till the
arrival of a troop of lancers.
In Scotland, serious rioting took place at Jedburgh and Hawick,
polling places for the County of Selkirk, when Captain Elliot, the
ministerial candidate, was defeated by Lord John Scott. On the morning
of January 17th, the second day of polling, the Jedburgh mob, having
learned the probable success of the Conservative candidate, began to
assume a surly aspect. Lord John Scott, on making his appearance, was
loudly hissed; and, when leaving the town, a few ruffians assaulted
him, by throwing pieces of ice, etc., but, fortunately, without doing
him any injury. In the afternoon, when the certain defeat of Captain
Elliot's party became evident, symptoms of restlessness were displayed
by a great part of the crowd, and several voters and others, in the
interest of his lordship, could only with great difficulty reach the
polling place; later in the evening the conduct of many of those
assembled became more outrageous, and several of the friends of Lord
John Scott were struck and abused by the mob; but the streets were
quiet at night.
At Hawick, the mob was much more riotous. On the 16th, the first day
of polling, notwithstanding the strong constabulary force sworn in for
the occasion, the crowd got very noisy, and used every sort of
annoyance to the voters for Lord John Scott, such as pushing,
spitting, throwing stones and snowballs, and tearing clothes, etc.,
while they cheered the voters for Captain Elliot. As the day advanced,
the rabble got worse and worse, insulting and maltreating all voters,
and others friendly to his lordship's cause, in defiance of the
strenuous efforts of the sheriff and a number of the justices of the
peace, the bailies and others. The Sheriff ultimately found it
necessary to read the Riot Act.
On closing the poll for the day, the mob surrounded the Tower Inn
(where Lord John's voters were), and, whenever any person attempted to
leave the inn to go home, he was immediately attacked and abused; in
consequence of which a great number were compelled to remain at the
inn during the night. The doors of the inn were frequently attempted
to be forced open, most of the windows were broken; and, in the course
of the night, the windows of the houses of many of the inhabitants
were riddled with stones. An additional number of constables were
sworn in on Saturday.
The mob appeared more desperate than on the preceding day, and every
means of intimidation were practised to prevent Lord John's voters
coming forward; in one case where a voter in that interest was going
to the booth in a carriage, the crowd attempted to upset it--and, upon
his voting and returning from the booth, he was seized, in spite of
the efforts of the constables, and abused and maltreated. The Riot Act
was again read, and the town became quieter, especially when a troop
of the Scot's Greys arrived. Captain Elliot, the defeated candidate,
in his address after the election, thanked the populace for their
orderly conduct!
I have given these as specimens of ante-ballot elections in time when
William IV. was King.
Most of us know the ballad of _Billee Taylor_, how he was impressed
and taken to sea--and how
"Soon his true love followed 'arter
Under the name of Richard Carr,
And her lily white hands she daubed all over
With the nasty pitch and tar."
And some of us may probably know the true history of Mary Ann Talbot,
who fought both in the army and navy, and was wounded both in the
ankle and in the thigh, a little above the knee, in the action of the
"Glorious First of June." She lay in Haslar Hospital without her sex
being discovered, afterwards was taken prisoner by the French; then
shipped to America as steward, and when going a voyage to the
Mediterranean, was impressed, and discovered her sex rather than serve
again in the navy.
But her story belongs to the latter part of the eighteenth and
beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Here is one, happening in this
year, and is thus reported in all the newspapers of the time, and in
the _Annual Register_.
"MANSION HOUSE, 10th Feb.--The Lord Mayor having observed a
statement in the _Observer_ newspaper relative to a female who
for some time past had performed the duties of a seaman, directed
an inspector of police to make inquiries into the circumstances,
in order that, if the girl required assistance, it might be
rendered to her, without subjecting her to annoyance. The
inspector now appeared before the Lord Mayor, accompanied by the
girl, the captain of the vessel in which she came to London, and
several gentlemen who felt an interest in the remarkable details
of the case.
"Captain McIntire, of the _Sarah_, from Belfast, stated that he
met the girl, whose name is Ann Jane Thornton, at St. Andrew's,
in North America. She was dressed in sailor's clothes, and had
all the appearance of having been brought up to that employment.
He engaged her at nine dollars a month to act as cook and
steward, and considered that she was what she seemed to be, until
a few days before the arrival of the vessel in the port of
London. It appeared that some of the crew had suspected her sex
before she was seen washing in her berth, from the circumstance
of her having repeatedly refused to drink grog.
"The Lord Mayor: It has been reported that she was ill-treated by
her captain and the crew. I wish to be particularly informed upon
that point. Captain McIntire said he would call upon the girl to
say whether he had not uniformly treated her with kindness, and
whether, when her sex was discovered, the degree of kindness and
care was not increased. The girl declared that Captain McIntire
had acted towards her with humanity, and had desired her to
complain to him if any of the crew attempted to treat her
harshly. She had been, in the course of the voyage, struck by
some of the sailors, because she could not work as hard as they
did--a thing she found it difficult to do in a gale of wind, but
she did not tell the captain, as she determined to endure as much
as possible, without grumbling.
"The Lord Mayor: Is it possible that this mere girl, for she
cannot be more than sixteen or seventeen years of age, performed
the duties of a seaman?
"Captain McIntire: It is, my lord. She performed them to
admiration. She would run up to hand (_sic_) the topgallant sail
in any sort of weather, and we had a severe passage. Poor girl!
she had a hard time of it, she suffered greatly from the wet, but
she bore it all excellently, and was a capital seaman.
"The Lord Mayor: Is the account of the romantic pursuit of the
person she is said to be attached to correct? Is it true that she
went to America after the captain who was said to be her
sweetheart?
"McLean said that the account she had given him corresponded with
that which had appeared before the public; but she would,
herself, mention the particulars.
"Captain McIntire said that he had no doubt of the correctness of
her statement. She was not at all given to loquacity. On the
contrary, she did the duty of a seaman without a murmur, and had
infinitely better use of her hands than of her tongue.
"This description of the female sailor seemed to be accurate. Her
hands appeared as if they were covered with thick brown leather
gloves, and it was only by repeated questioning the Lord Mayor
got from her the facts, of which the following is the substance--
"Ann Jane Thornton stated that she is in the seventeenth year of
her age. Her father, who is now a widower, took her and the rest
of his family from Gloucestershire, where she was born, to
Donegal, when she was six years old. He was owner of stores in
that part of Ireland, and in good circumstances, and was always
affectionate to her. She regretted that she had quitted her home,
for her departure, of which she had given no previous notice to
her father, must have caused him many a sorrowful hour. When she
was only thirteen years old, she met Captain Alexander Burke,
whose father resided in New York, and was the owner of vessels
there; and, before she was fifteen, they became strongly attached
to each other. Soon after, Burke was obliged to go to New York,
and she took up the resolution to follow him. She quitted her
father's house accompanied by a maid-servant and a boy, and,
having procured a cabin-boy's dress, she exerted herself to
obtain a passage to America. The servant-maid and boy took leave
of her immediately upon her embarking, the latter being charged
with a message to her father, informing him of her intention. By
degrees she became reconciled to the labours of her new
employment, but she beheld with joy the shores of New York, where
she thought her labours would terminate. The moment she landed,
she went off in her cabin-boy's dress to the house of Captain
Burke's father, and said that she had worked under the captain's
orders, and wished to be engaged by him again. It was by the
father of the young man she was informed that his son had died
only a few days before. America, however, was no place in which
to look for sympathy. In the belief that the sea (which no doubt
her affection for Burke recommended to her) was a more probable
mode of existence than any she could adopt in the dress of her
sex, she applied for and obtained a situation as cook and steward
in the _Adelaide_, and, subsequently, in the _Rover_, in which
latter vessel she sailed to St. Andrew's, where she fell in with
Captain McIntire. The captain of the _Rover_ had agreed to take
her to Belfast, but he received an order from the owners to sail
for the West Indies, and, as she was resolved to return to her
father as soon as possible, she refused to accompany him. For
thirty-one months she had been engaged in these remarkable
adventures, and participated in the most severe toils of the
crews of which she formed part.
"The Lord Mayor: And are you not weary of so harassing a life?
"Girl: Yes. I am anxious to get home. I hope and believe that my
father will forgive me for the sorrow I have caused him. I have
had my own sorrows, too.
"The Lord Mayor: How did it happen that you fancied the sailor's
dress, well knowing that by assuming the appearance of one you
pledged yourself to perform such terrible duties?
"Girl: I couldn't think of any other way, and I did the duties as
well as I could. I underwent a good deal. I travelled from East
Port in North America to St. Andrew's by myself, a distance of
seventy miles through the woods. I walked all the way.
"The Lord Mayor: And without sustaining any injury?
"Girl: I received none. I knew the sailor's clothes would carry
me through safe, and at St. Andrew's I met Captain McIntire.
"The Lord Mayor: I will give directions that you be taken care
of until I can hear from your father, to whom I shall write
to-night. You have done him great wrong by abandoning him under
any pretence, but you have suffered bitterly for your
disobedience.
"The information which the Lord Mayor received from Ireland was
that, soon after the girl had left her home, her father had
emigrated, with many others, to Canada, for the purpose of
seeking his fortune among the numberless adventurers who ran away
from Irish turbulence and starvation at that period, and that he
had sent back no intelligence to Ireland since his departure. In
Donegal, however, a sister of the young woman was found to
reside, who expressed great joy at hearing of her relation. The
Lord Mayor gave the girl adequate means of defraying her expenses
to Donegal."
Parliament was to meet on February 19th, and there was but scant time
to prepare and furnish places for them to meet in. As these temporary
premises have long since been consigned to limbo, and as even very
little tradition remains of them, I may be pardoned for giving a short
contemporary account of them, which contrasts forcibly with the
beautiful palace in which our legislature is now housed.
"The approaches to the House of Lords are very limited; the
Peers, as well as the King, must enter by the Royal doorway and
gallery throughout the session, and both parties must enter the
body of the house by the same doorway--namely, that at the end of
the Royal Gallery, formerly opening into the Painted Chamber, now
the House of Lords. Facing this doorway is the woolsack, and a
very small one it is compared with its predecessor; and,
immediately behind it, and to the right of the doorway, is
stationed the throne, against that end of the House which abuts
upon the Thames; this, like the woolsack, is of very diminished
proportions, when contrasted with the grand and gorgeous affair
in the former House of Lords, as may be inferred when it is
stated that it is the identical throne constructed for George
IV.'s Council Chamber in a room in Carlton House.
"The present House of Lords is remarkably narrow, as may be
imagined from the fact that the cross benches (the arrangement of
the old house being followed, though somewhat in miniature) will
not conveniently accommodate three or four peers each. There are
side galleries for the peers, approached by staircases in the
body of the House, but in line with the bar. All the furniture,
the forms, etc., are covered with crimson and brass binding, as
was the case in the former House. There are six richly gilt
chandeliers, suspended by long lacquered chains, for the purpose
of lighting the House. Both Houses are to be heated by steam
apparatus, similar to that used in King's College Chapel, etc. In
the Lords the conductors appear in the House, but are neatly
enclosed with iron casings: in the Commons the heat ascends
through a large grating in the centre of the floor of the House.
"There is a large gallery for strangers in the House of Lords,
that is, that it projects well into the House, instead of being
out of the House, as was the case with the accommodation formerly
accorded by their Lordships. The front row of this gallery is
arranged for the Press, separated from the rest of the gallery by
a high partition, or backboard, and approachable at the end of
the gallery by a passage for the exclusive advantage of the front
row.
"The arrangement of seats in the Commons differs materially from
that which characterized St. Stephen's. Here, all is remarkably
open. There are no places under the gallery; all the members'
seats, to the very end of the House, and even in the members'
side galleries (there being no woodwork, only two iron rails in
front) are as visible to all the House as the Treasury or
Opposition benches, so that there will no longer be the
opportunities of retreating into recesses or behind curtains, and
there indulge in high-sounding sleep, or in still more
unparliamentary, because far more modern, exclamations and
imitations, when midnight may have approached, to give notice
that the 'crowing' of the cock or the 'braying' of patient
steeds may be expected. These things may again distinguish the
assembly, but those who contribute to such distinction must now,
at least, be _seen_ by strangers as well as members. This may not
be without its good effect in awing even the most refractory into
something like respect for others, if they have no great deal for
themselves. The woodwork is entirely of oak, and the seats are
covered with green leather. The Speaker's chair is constructed
like the old chair, which was after a design furnished by Sir C.
Wren, though that chair is introduced in the celebrated picture
of Oliver Cromwell desiring the 'bauble' to be removed. The Royal
arms are not at the top, as that would have intercepted the view
of the gallery behind the Chair, which will be chiefly
appropriated to the press, and under the Speaker's control."
At the opening of Parliament, the Dukes of Cumberland and Wellington,
several of the bishops, and some members of the House of Commons, were
soundly hissed; nay, the King himself, when he opened Parliament on
the 24th, was served the same, and two men were taken up for the said
offence--one of them not only having groaned in a violent manner, but
having called out, "There goes a d--d villain." Both had to find bail
to keep the peace, self in £40, and two sureties in £20, which, not
being forthcoming, they were locked up in default.
Whilst on the subject of this new Parliament, I may mention that on
March 12th, the Hon. C. Berkeley gave notice that on May 1st he should
move that a portion of the Strangers' Gallery in that House be set
apart for the accommodation of ladies--which elicited "great
laughter." But his motion never came off, for, on the date fixed, the
House was in its Easter vacation, but was referred to a committee to
report on. On April 9th Sir Robert Peel and his ministry resigned, and
was succeeded by Lord Melbourne as Prime Minister.
Anent this, on June 1st, two men were charged at Bow Street, with
causing a great mob by halloaing forth an harangue, entitled, "The
political form of Matrimony between the Whigs and the people"; a
portion of which is as follows:--
"Now, there was a man in the House of Incurables, whose name was
Melbourne, and that man was perfect and upright. There was a day
when the Reformers came to present themselves before the King and
Bobby;[17] and Billy[18] said unto Bobby, 'Whence comest thou?'
And Bobby answered, 'From going to and fro from St. Stephen's.'
And Billy said, 'My servant Melbourne is perfect and upright, and
one that feareth the King and supporteth the rights of the
people.' And Bobby said, 'Do they serve the people for nought?
Put forth thine hand and touch his office, and he will mock the
people to their face, place for place, pension for pension--yea,
all that the Whigs have, will they give for their pensions.' And
Billy then said to Bobby, 'His office is in thy power.' And a
messenger came unto Melbourne and said, 'Thy Ministry is
dissolved, and Bobby is chosen in thy stead, and I alone am left
to tell thee.' Then Melbourne arose and rent his wig, and shaved
his head, and fasted three days in sackcloth and ashes.
'Pensionless came I unto office, and pensionless shall I go out.
Billy gave, and Billy taketh away; and blessed be the name of
Billy.'"
[Footnote 17: Sir Robert Peel.]
[Footnote 18: The King.]
Lord Melbourne, however, remained Premier during the whole of the
King's reign. Whilst on politics, I may mention that two noted
Radicals died this year--Henry Hunt in February, and William Cobbett
on June 18th.
CHAPTER XIX.
1835.
Gambling house police case--Curious superstition--A cook's letter
to her mistress--Jews and public employment--Fire at Hatfield
House--Curious discovery of jewels--Scarcity in Ireland.
Under the year 1833, I called attention to the prevalence of
gaming-houses, but, in spite of the efforts made to put them down,
they still flourished, as we see from the annexed police report, taken
from the _Times_ of July 7th.
"MARLBOROUGH STREET.--William Smart, the proprietor of a
gaming-house in the Quadrant, called the 'Regent Circus Club,'
appeared before Mr. Dyer, yesterday, on a warrant charging him
with committing an assault on a man named John Ward, under the
following circumstances. The complainant stated that he had for
some time filled a situation in the gaming-house kept by the
defendant, but no longer wishing to have anything to do with such
disgraceful proceedings, he gave the defendant warning to leave;
but, when he applied for his wages, he was attacked by the
defendant, and most cruelly beaten by him.
"The defendant, in answer to the charge, stated it was totally
false, and that the first assault had been committed by the
complainant himself. The truth was, that he had been discharged
from his situation on account of his having retained some money
which did not belong to him. The complainant denied this
statement, and said that his reason for leaving the service was
on account of the disgust he felt at the proceedings that were
going forward, and the system of robbery that was practised upon
the gentlemen who went to the defendant's house. He here handed
to the magistrate a couple of the dice that were made use of in
the defendant's house, saying, at the same time, that they were
loaded for the purposes of deception.
"Mr. Dyer, after examining the dice, said that although it was
certainly very disgraceful, if it were true, to make use of such
instruments to rob the persons who might be foolish enough to
enter a house of such a description, yet that had nothing to do
with the present question. He considered the assault proved, and
therefore called upon the defendant to find bail.
"A person, who said he attended professionally for the defendant,
said they had now to make a charge against the complainant of
having wilfully broken a valuable pane of plate glass. It
appeared that this occurrence took place at a house of a similar
description to that kept by the defendant, and which belonged to
one of his friends or a relation, called 'The Melton Club,' in
Park Lane.
"Ward, the complainant, said that he went there for the purpose
of asking for his money, but could not gain admittance. He
accidentally broke the window, and gained admission as far as
'the tiger.'
"Mr. Dyer asked what was meant by 'the tiger?'
"Ward replied that it meant the second door at a gaming-house,
which was a very strong one, which enabled the persons inside to
shut out any one they did not like to admit.
"Mr. Dyer asked the person who made the charge why it had not
been brought forward before?--He replied that it was so paltry,
that he did not think it worth while to bring it forward.
"Mr. Dyer said that, whether it was a paltry one or not, it would
have looked much better if it had been brought forward before a
charge had been made by the complainant. He then said that the
defendant must find bail for the assault, and, with respect to
the counter-charge which had been made, he should not interfere
in it, but leave the parties to take their legal remedies."
In this year was finished a monument to the memory of George IV.,
which was erected at Battle Bridge, now known as King's Cross. It was
a composition statue of the king, about eleven feet high, and it stood
atop of an octagon building of brick and cement, which was used first
as a police station, and afterwards as a public house, whilst the
pediment of the statue was utilized as a "Camera obscura." It was
demolished in 1845, and it is said that the basis of the statue's nose
was a draining tile, and that it was offered to a gentleman for
sixpence!
We come across a curious superstition. Two men were executed for
burglary, at Horsham, on August 22nd, when the silly custom of passing
the hands of the dead men over the necks of two or three females, as a
supposed cure for the glandular enlargements, was upon this occasion
had recourse to. And the _Times_ of April 24, 1837, quoting the
_Gloucester Journal_, has in a paragraph headed "REVOLTING BEHAVIOUR
OF A HANGMAN," with which I will not horrify my readers, the
following: "Several women were on the platform to have their necks
charmed by rubbing the dead man's hands over their wens as a cure."
But if we get horrible paragraphs in the papers, we also occasionally
meet with amusing ones, as this from the _Times_ of September 22nd--
"MARCH OF INTELLECT.
"We can vouch (says the _Bristol Mirror_) for the authenticity of
the following copy of a letter from her late servant, to
Mrs.----
"'Dear Madam, I cannot enter into the family of the Hon. ----,
without returning you many thanks for your unsteady and
dishonourable character. I am truly sorry that you have been so
unfortunate in your four cooks since I left, and trust the fifth
will be as indifferent; but your cruel and _unladylike_
insinuations could have no weight where my _real_ character was
so well known.
"'From your grateful friend, ----,
"'P.S.--Farewell--
"'May the turf where thy old reliques rest
Bear herbs, odoriferous herbs, on thy breast:
Their heads, thyme and sage, and pot marjoram wave,
And fat be the gander that feeds on thy grave.'"
Although the disabilities under which the Jews laboured were not
removed by Act of Parliament, public opinion was decidedly in favour
of the freedom of the Israelite. Mr. (afterwards Sir) Francis
Goldsmid, was the first Jew that was ever called to the English bar,
and this took place in 1833. According to the _Times_ of November
18th, quoting the _Liverpool Albion_, it was in 1835 that a Jew was a
juror in a law court for the first time.
"It may be noted, as a novelty, that Mr. Joseph Hess,
silversmith, of Lord Street, was the first person of the Jewish
persuasion who ever discharged the duties of a juryman in any of
the courts of this country; that gentleman, after having been
sworn on the Pentateuch, forming one of the grand jury panel at
the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions."
And the first Jewish alderman and sheriff of the City of London, was
Mr. Sheriff (afterwards Sir) David Salamons, who was elected to the
vacant gown of Aldgate Ward, on November 21st.
One incident which set all tongues wagging, about this time, was the
great fire at Hatfield House, on November 27th, and the death of the
Marchioness of Salisbury (grandmother of our present premier) by
burning. She had only arrived at Hatfield on the previous day, and on
the afternoon of the 27th she retired, a short time before dinner, to
her dressing-room to write a few letters. At five o'clock her maid
entered her apartment, and found her writing by the light of two
candles. Her ladyship complained of the dimness of the light, and
requested her maid to bring her a bedroom candle, which she did, and
left the marchioness, who wore a very lofty headdress, writing by
these three candles.
About half-past five fear was felt by the female servants of the
house, in consequence of the volumes of smoke. The marquis and
marchioness were alarmed, and the marquis tried to force his way into
his mother's dressing-room, but found it so full of flame and smoke,
as to render all hopes of rescuing her utterly desperate. The fire
bell was rung, and the engines arrived from the neighbouring towns,
but were of little avail, as there was a bad supply of water. That
part of the west wing which looks down the noble avenue of trees by
which Hatfield Hall is approached from the south, was speedily gutted
by the fire. The roof fell in with a tremendous crash, and the poor
old marchioness was buried in the ruins.
Another subject for talk was an extraordinary discovery of valuable
jewels, thus told in the _Annual Register_, December 21st.
"In the month of February last, the warehouse of Messrs. Hall &
Co., on the Custom House Quay, was broken into, and a box, in
which there were deposited diamonds belonging to a foreign
countess, and amounting to from £7000 to £8000 in value, stolen
therefrom. From the mode in which the robbery had been effected
at the Custom House, it was the opinion of Lea, the constable, at
the time, that both it and the one at Messrs. Hall & Co.'s had
been accomplished by the same parties who had effected the Custom
House robbery. By the most singular accident, however, a portion
of the diamonds had been discovered in such a manner as to leave
no doubt that they had been in the possession of William Jourdan.
Lea, the officer, made the following statement:--
"He said that, having satisfied himself by inquiries and
information through various channels that Sullivan and Jourdan
were the persons engaged in the robberies, he, with much
difficulty, traced out their residence in the neighbourhood of
Kennington. He had no sooner done so, than they by some means or
other got information of it, and, before he could secure them,
left their homes, taking with them a portmanteau and trunks each,
with an excellent stock of clothes, and took up their lodgings at
the Red Lion Tavern, in King Street, Bloomsbury, where they
represented themselves as persons engaged in mercantile pursuits.
By this means, he (Lea) lost trace of them for several days,
until a person who had been placed to watch the house at
Kennington, followed and traced the brother of Sullivan to the
Red Lion. Lea lost no time in going to the house, and on making
inquiries of the landlady about the person (describing Sullivan's
brother) who had been there, a short time before, with a green
bag, and the object of his calling; she said he was a shoemaker,
who had called to take some orders from, and do some work for,
two gentlemen who were stopping in the house.
"Sullivan's brother is a common thief, and had merely assumed the
character to prevent any suspicion in the minds of Mr. Proctor
and his family, and, by this means, he was enabled to see his
brother and Jourdan often, and, when seen by a fourth party, his
manner towards them was precisely that of an artisan. Lea then
proceeded to state that from the description which he obtained
from Mrs. Proctor of the description of the persons who were at
her house, he was satisfied that they were the parties of whom he
was in pursuit, and he consequently made such arrangements as to
succeed in the apprehension of both on the following morning.
"At that time (the 2nd inst.), after securing the prisoners, he
made what he conceived to be a minute search of the apartments
which the prisoners occupied, and had secured everything
belonging to them, but he had now discovered that,
notwithstanding all his care, he had overlooked some most
valuable property.
"After the capture of the prisoners, Jourdan's wife and
Sullivan's brother had repeatedly called at Mr. Proctor's, and,
upon various occasions, expressed the greatest anxiety to go into
the room which had been occupied by Jourdan, but this was
refused, notwithstanding their earnest entreaties. Two or three
persons, of gentlemanly appearance, had, at different times,
driven up to the door in coaches, with luggage, as if they had
come off a journey, and eagerly asked for lodgings; but Mr.
Proctor, owing to what had previously happened, refused to let
any strangers lodge at his house, and the parties were obliged to
go away.
"On Thursday morning last, Mr. Hanson, a gentleman residing at
Reading, who, when in town, was always in the habit of stopping
at Mr. Proctor's, called there, and his luggage being taken into
the room that had been previously occupied by Jourdan, he ordered
a fire to be lit by the time he came home in the evening. This
was done by a charwoman, who is in the habit of attending the
house, and that being the first time since spring that a fire had
been made in the room, she threw a quantity of what she conceived
to be rubbish which had accumulated during the summer months
under the ornamental paper in the grate, on the top of the coals,
after the fire had been made up.
"In the course of the night the attention of Mr. Hanson was
attracted to a most brilliant substance in the centre of the
fire, and, on taking it out with the tongs, he, on inspection,
found a brooch of considerable size, set with pearls, but the
greater part of the gold mounting had melted from it. This
circumstance led him to examine the fire more minutely, and he
found two more, one of a larger and one of a smaller size, but
which, as well as the former, had been seriously damaged by the
fire. On communicating the circumstance to Mr. Proctor, the fire
and the ashes underneath were carefully examined, and seven good
sized brilliants, seven emeralds, one of which is of considerable
size and must have been of great value, and four dozen of small
but sparkling brilliants were found.
"Lea recollected perfectly, upon searching Jourdan's room,
observing the ornamental paper in the fireplace, but not
perceiving it disturbed in any way, it did not occur to him to
examine it minutely, particularly as the prisoners had trunks in
the room. There was no doubt on his mind that the property which
had been placed there by Jourdan was of considerable value, from
the anxiety evinced by his friends to get to the room to secure
it, and it was not at all improbable that there was a portion of
the notes stolen from the Custom House placed there also, and, if
so, they must have been destroyed by the fire."
Matters were fairly quiet in Ireland, but there was a murder now and
then. There was, however, sad distress, and this is the tale told in
June. In that month, the poorer inhabitants in many places along the
west coast of Ireland, particularly in County Mayo and the adjacent
islands, suffered severely from a failure of provisions. At a meeting
of a Central Committee for their relief, held at Castlebar, on June
15th, the Rev. Mr. Dwyer stated that the population of Clare Island
amounted to three hundred families, of whom only fifteen, at most, had
provisions to last the harvest. All the rest were, at that moment, in
want, with the exception of twelve or fifteen families who would be
equally destitute in a fortnight. Of nineteen families living in one
village, twelve had begun to be in want in April. In that village
there were six families who, if a shilling could buy a ton of
potatoes, were not able to command it. All the other villages in the
island were said to be still worse off.
The Rev. Mr. Conolly, from the island of Achill, stated that the crop
there was short from last harvest, owing to the failure of the seed in
spring, and to the north-western gales of the previous August. He had
given relief to seven hundred and fifty families, and he would require
thirty tons more than he had to distribute, in order to afford even
six stone to each family. Many poor creatures came forward to offer
the hides of the goats they had killed, as also geese, hens,
stockings, and even wearing apparel, in lieu of potatoes.
A respectable inhabitant of Ihnisturk stated the number of families at
about ninety, of which only five were not distressed. Some few might
be able to procure food from their own resources, provided the rents
were not called in, but if they were, the people would starve. Sligo's
agent at Boffin and Stark had given relief to eighty-five families;
fifty families were, to his own knowledge, positively in a state of
starvation, and utterly destitute of means to procure relief; about
one hundred families, besides, were in want; but half that number had
some means, the rest had none.
The Rev. Mr. Hughes stated, that the distress in his parish
(Burrishoole) was chiefly owing to the failure of the potato crop,
some of which was lost by the perishing of the seed, and some by high
winds in August. Many families were obliged to put themselves on the
short allowance of one meal in the day, so early as last February; he
had already seen many with the signs of starvation in their haggard
countenances, and had heard them cry from hunger. He knew whole
families, each of which had subsisted, frequently, for twenty-four
hours on one quart meal. The population was 11,761, of which number
five thousand were now actually in want; three hundred families had
neither cow, sheep, nor horse, nor any other means to purchase
provisions; two hundred families, at least, had not been able to make
their usual sowing of potatoes for want of seed; and hundreds would
necessarily perish with hunger, unless something was soon done for
their relief.
[Illustration: Dresses.]
[Illustration: Dresses.]
The Rev. Mr. Gibbons stated the population of his parish (Kilgevar) at
nine thousand. The crop failed there last year owing to the rotting of
the seed and to harsh winds; two thousand five hundred persons were
now in distress. About one half of these might struggle through
summer, if they sold their few head of cattle to procure provisions,
but the rest had no resource. The wives and children of a great many
of them had already gone to beg. At subsequent meetings of the
committee similar accounts were received from other parts of the
western coasts and its islands. They exhibited the state of the
country as being deplorably wretched, and the sufferings of the poor
as daily and hourly on the increase. Several thousand families were
reported to be without food, except the precarious sustenance they
were enabled to gather in the fields, and among the rocks on the
seashore. Cabbage and shellfish usually furnished their repast. In
some places partial relief was given by the meal which the Central
Board ordered to certain districts; and a resolution passed at a
meeting, by which they requested permission of the London Distress
Committee to procure, with the money remaining at their disposal, one
hundred tons of meal, to give further assistance. A Mr. Owen, from the
Board of Works, attended by order of the Lord Lieutenant, and informed
the meeting that his mission was into Erris, where £500 was to be
expended for the purpose of giving the poor employment.
[Illustration: Hair dressing.]
The costumes, etc., given for this year are a nursemaid and children,
indoor and walking dresses, and different modes of dressing the hair.
(See pp. 211, 212.)
CHAPTER XX.
1836.
Curious case of a girl stolen by gipsies--Superstition _re_ light
at Christmas in the North of England--Designs for New Houses of
Parliament--King William III. statue blown up--Admission of
ladies to the House of Commons--Stuart impostors--An
inter-university boat race--How Cambridge came to have light blue
as a colour.
On January 15th, the Brighton bench heard the following extraordinary
tale:--
"A little girl who stated her name to be Charlotte Savage, and
that she was thirteen years of age, was brought up by Mr.
Solomon, who stated that her story was so extraordinary that he
thought it his duty to let her state it to the bench.
"The child, in reply to the questions of the magistrate, stated
that her father's name was Robert Savage, that he was formerly a
soldier, but, on marrying her mother, turned Custom House
officer, and was now living at Bristol. Just before hay-making
time last year she and her brother Robert went to the theatre at
Bath; and, as they were returning home at night, her brother
being a little on before, she was taken up by some gipsies, who
gagged her, and put her into a cart. She had ever since been
travelling about with them, and knew the names of three, who were
called John, Richard, and William Lee. They got a living by
selling combs, and by stealing geese, turkeys, sheep, and
rabbits, which they killed and skinned, and the skins of the
sheep and rabbits they sold. Whenever they travelled through any
towns they put her at top of a cart, and when they encamped she
was always employed in washing linen or nursing the children; and
she could not escape, there being always a great boy and girl
with her.
"About three weeks ago they went through Brighton to Lewes. There
part of the gipsies took lodgings, and those she was with, having
to go into the town, left her in a lodging-house kept by a Mrs.
Tickner. There, to amuse herself, she began reading the Testament
with a little boy, which Mrs. Tickner observing, said she could
not have been brought up to the gipsy life, or she would not have
been able to read. She replied that she had not, and then told
Mrs. Tickner her story. Mrs. Tickner said she had once had a
little boy of her own stolen, and she knew the distraction the
loss of children caused parents to feel; and that, therefore, the
gipsies should give her up, or she would make them, and she would
keep her until she should hear from her parents. She then got a
letter written to them, and received an answer (stating her
mother was on her deathbed, and had been ill ever since her
disappearance), together with five shillings in a parcel. Mrs.
Tickner then hearing that there was a steam packet that sailed
from the chain pier at Brighton, let her come over to Brighton;
she accordingly arrived there, and went to the pier to inquire
about the packet, and was told that there was no steam packet
that went from Brighton to Bristol, but there was a coach which
did. She went to all the coach offices, and there learnt that the
Bristol coach had ceased running for the last fortnight; and,
upon asking for lodgings, was recommended to the Seven Stars.
There she found a person who knew the place near the Bell, where
she was taken up, and another who knew her mother and uncles. To
them she showed the letter, which she had since lost; and, upon
her making her story known, she was brought to the Town Hall, and
put into the prison. At the idea of having been put into prison
the child cried very much.
"Sir D. Scott asked what had become of the gipsies.
"The girl replied that she did not know, as they were travelling
about the country.
"Mr. Solomon said he had taken the girl to the
assistant-overseer, who took down the particulars in writing, but
said he did not believe her story.
"The girl said if they would take her to Mr. Burton, of the
theatre, he would know her again.
"Sir D. Scott: How do you know he is here?
"Girl: I read his name in the play-bill, and he used to write
letters to my mother, when his wife lodged with us. He was
property man at our theatre.
"Sir D. Scott: Property man! Why how came you to know there was
such a person in a theatre? How came you to know so much about a
theatre?
"The girl replied that her father and mother at one time lived in
front of Bath theatre. They used to go to the theatre sometimes,
by permission of Mrs. Macready; and she herself had been brought
up to it, when a little girl three years old. They lived in the
drawing-room and had the whole of the house.
"Sir D. Scott: If we let you go now, you will never get home with
five shillings, and, then, if we did, you are likely to be taken
by some gipsies again.
"Girl: I should like to be sent to Mr. Burton first, to see if he
would send me home; he knows all my relations, and I know him
well.
"Mr. Burton having been sent for, said he thought he could
remember her face, but it was two years since he had seen her. He
added he had no doubt of the truth of her story. The girl then
asked him if he would let her have money to take her home, or if
he would keep her until her friends could send for her. This Mr.
Burton said he could not afford to do.
"Mr. Solomon said the girl told him the gipsies had a young man
with them, chained down to one of their carts.
"Sir D. Scott: Chained down?
"The girl assured him that was the fact; and, from what she had
heard from Mrs. Tickner, and the description of him, she had no
doubt it was a son of the Rev. Mr. Jones.
"Sir D. Scott then ordered that the girl should be taken over to
Lewes, and confronted with Mrs. Tickner; and, if what the girl
stated turned out to be true, directed a letter to be sent to the
parents; the girl, meanwhile, being kept in the workhouse."
There was curious superstition in the North of England, which is
practically done away with in these days of lucifer matches. In the
old days of tinder boxes, if any one failed to get a light, it was of
no use his going round to the neighbours to get one, for even his
dearest friends would refuse him, it being considered _most unlucky_
to allow any light to leave the house between Christmas Eve and New
Year's day, both inclusive. No reason has been found for this singular
and somewhat churlish custom. An example is given in the _Leeds
Times_, quoted in the _Times_ of January 20th.
"Had not the following anecdote been told us on the authority of
a gentleman of high respectability, we should have found some
difficulty in believing that so strange a superstition had still
influence on the minds of the inhabitants of the West Riding. On
the night of Christmas Day our informant was returning to Leeds
in a gig from a town a few miles off, and wished to light a
cigar. He stopped at a cottage by the wayside, and asked to be
allowed a light. 'No,' was the reply, 'thou'lt get no light here
to-night.' Somewhat surprised at this surly reply, he drove on
for a mile or two, and on arriving at a toll bar, again preferred
his request. 'No, sir,' said the gatekeeper, 'I shall let no
light go out of my house to-night.' As there was no mending the
matter, our friend proceeded to another toll-bar, and a third
time requested a light. He was very civilly told he should have a
light with pleasure, had it not been Christmas night; but, on
that night, to allow a light to be taken out of the house would
insure bad luck through the next year. Here, at length, the
mystery was solved. This silly superstition was the cause which
led to the refusals which so astonished the traveller."
On Thursday, March 24th, there was opened to public inspection at the
National Gallery the designs for the new Houses of Parliament. Of
these one critic wrote--
"Of these designs, some are good--indeed, we may say, very
good--many promising, and some so bad that it was ground of
wonder that room should be found for them. They certainly remind
us of Peter Pindar's description of matrimony, which the caustic
satirist describes--
'Like to Jeremiah's figs,
The good are very good, the bad not fit to give to pigs.'"
Of these designs four were chosen as the best, Barry's plans being
most approved; and again on April 28th they were exhibited publicly at
the National Gallery. Eventually Barry's plans were accepted, and to
him we owe our beautiful "Palace of Westminster."
On April 8th, between midnight and one a.m., the statue of King
William III. on College Green, Dublin, was blown up by gunpowder. The
street for some time previously had been quiet, none but the ordinary
passengers being apparent, when a watchman saw a lighted train burning
upwards towards the figure; he endeavoured to drag it down with his
pole, but did not succeed. A second watchman came up, and told him to
come away, for there was powder in it. This latter man, who warned his
companion, had previously seen an attempt made to blow up the statue,
but it had failed; and, fearing the danger, gave the warning.
Immediately after the watchmen withdrew, a tremendous explosion
occurred, as loud as a piece of artillery. The noise was heard all
over the neighbourhood. Most of the gas-lamps from the College to
Trinity Street were blown out, and the figure, weighty as it was,
being composed of nearly solid lead, and nine or ten feet high, was
thrown several feet in the air, and fell on the southern side of the
base.
It may be remembered that, in 1835, the Hon. C. Berkeley moved the
admission of ladies to the gallery of the House of Commons. A select
committee was appointed to consider the subject, and their report was
presented and read on May 3rd. As the debate thereon was short, and
somewhat amusing, I give some of the principal speeches _in extenso_.
"The Hon. C. Berkeley said that he now brought this question, for
the second time, under the consideration of the House, because he
was perfectly convinced that his motion would have been carried
last session, if many friends of the measure had not happened to
have been in the House at the time. (Laughter.) The Committee,
who had agreed to the report which had just been read, had been
fairly chosen, and they had considered how the object could be
attained at the least possible expense; and, for his own part, he
could not see why ladies should not be admitted, when they were
placed in such a situation that they could not interfere in the
debate. (Great laughter.) It had been said that the presence of
ladies during the debates would distract the attention of
honourable members, although he must confess that if the ladies
were in the House it would make no difference in his thoughts.
(Loud and continued laughter.) Perhaps some gentlemen, at least,
who were made of so much more inflammable materials (shouts of
laughter) might be so affected. The ladies were once admitted to
that gallery, and the debates were not prolonged then, though it
was now the fashion to say that the debates would be prolonged if
they were admitted, and that many persons who were not now in the
habit of speaking would be generally getting up to address the
House when the ladies were present; but, on the other hand, he
believed there were many who spoke much more for the papers than
the ears of their audience (great laughter), who would not speak
if the ladies were there to hear them. He would not detain the
House, but would conclude by moving that, 'It is the opinion of
this House that the Resolution of the Select Committee appointed
in 1835 to consider the means of admitting ladies to a portion of
the Strangers' Gallery, together with the plan of Sir R. Smirke,
should be adopted, and that means should be taken to carry it
into effect, with as little delay as possible.'
"Mr. Potter, amidst the loudest laughter, begged leave to second
the motion. He could not possibly conceive any good reason which
could be assigned against it. The plan had been tried in the old
House, in the Ventilator. (A laugh.) Surely the female sex were
as much interested in the proceedings of that House as the other,
and if any portion of them were disposed to hear the debates,
they ought not to refuse them. It was well known that the ladies
exercised an important influence in the State, and why should it
not be properly exercised? Why should the beneficial influence of
a virtuous and enlightened mother (a laugh) not be exerted over
her son who had a seat in Parliament? And if the wife of any hon.
member wished to hear the debates, why should she not have the
opportunity? They were admitted into the French Chamber at Paris,
and it was well known that the ladies had seats assigned to them.
He had seen them there pay as much attention to the debates as
any one else, and he had never witnessed the slightest appearance
of levity. (Loud laughter.) The ladies were also admitted to hear
the debates of Congress at Washington, and surely we ought not to
act in this exclusive and Oriental manner.
"Mr. Kearsley said that he did hope that every hon. member, who
was blessed with a bride or daughters, would give his negative to
this idle, this ridiculous proposition. (Loud laughter.)
"Mr. O'Connell remarked that in the Irish Parliament ladies were
admitted to hear the debates, and he was afraid the detail of the
cause of their being admitted would throw something like a
censure upon the members of the Irish Senate. However, he would
state that at that time hospitalities of a particular kind
prevailed in Ireland, and the consequence of these hospitalities
was that many members came drunk to the House. (Laughter.) The
remedy proposed was that ladies should be admitted. This was
tried, and from that moment not a single person was seen drunk.
He did not say there existed the same reasons for admitting the
ladies into this House (laughter), but at all events he thought
there existed no good reason why they should be excluded.
"Mr. Villiers said that he was neither blessed with daughters nor
a bride-elect (laughter), but still he thought no sufficient
grounds had been shown to justify this motion. He was, however,
glad to find that every class of persons in the community was
represented in this House. There were the friends of the people,
the friends of the Church, the farmers' friends, and, now, the
friends of the ladies. (Laughter.) He thought, however, the hon.
and gallant member for Cheltenham, by his motion, proposed an
organic change. (Renewed laughter.) But it seemed to him that no
excitement existed outside of the House on the subject; he was
not aware that any petitions had been presented with reference to
it. The hon. and gallant member had said that he did not see any
harm in the measure; but would the matter end here? Might not
hon. Members have some ulterior views? (Loud laughter.) The hon.
and gallant member proposed to admit the ladies into the gallery,
but were there not places under the gallery? Were there not the
lobby and the library, and might not some hon. member push the
measure further and give them admission there, much to the
inconvenience of the House? (Hear, hear.) But even if admitted to
the gallery only, in what way, he begged to inquire, were hon.
members to exercise their privilege? They could not admit as many
ladies as gentlemen--nay, even they could not accommodate as many
ladies as there were Irish members. Was the power of granting
admissions to be vested in the Minister for the Home Department;
and, if so, might not he be charged with undue influence in
admitting ladies of a certain description? (Loud laughter.) Might
not the champion of some old lady charge him with corrupt motives
in excluding her? In short, the more the subject was considered
the more difficult it seemed. (Renewed laughter.) He hoped, if
the hon. and gallant member for Cheltenham would, if he meant to
introduce a bill upon the subject, have it circulated in all the
populous towns of the country, so that during the autumn its
effects might be ascertained. (Great laughter.) At present hon.
members were unacquainted with the complicated details of the
measure; they did not know all the bearings of the proposition,
though it had been brought forward for two sessions running;
and, therefore, he hoped that the hon. and gallant member would
consent to postpone it. (General laughter.)
"The House divided. For the motion, 139; against, 40."
The _Times_ of May 9th, quoting the _Glasgow Chronicle_, has a
paragraph headed
"ROYAL CHARLEY BACK AGAIN.
"We have received the following account of the departure from
Greenock of Charles Edward Stuart and his brother, John Sobieski
Stuart. They are said to be grandsons of Charles Edward Stuart,
the Pretender. Of course they must be illegitimate, as the
present King of Sardinia is heir to that prince:--
"'On Friday Charles Edward Stuart and his brother John, grandsons
to the Pretender, embarked on board the _Foyle_ for Londonderry.
The scions of the house of Stuart belong to Italy, and have been
on a tour to the north of Scotland, visiting the places named in
the romantic adventures of their ancestor, the young Ascarvius.
They are good-looking young men, and bear a strong resemblance to
the portraits of "Royal Charley." They speak the Italian, French,
English, Gaelic, and Irish languages, and are always attired in
the Highland costume of the house of Stuart, and accompanied by a
piper of the clan. They have never worn any other dress than the
kilt and its Highland appendages, and their seal is a crown. At
the time they embarked the piper played some of the principal
Jacobite airs, composed as laments at the misfortunes of the
Pretender. A number of Highlanders of the higher and middle
classes went on board to have a peep at the strangers, and
although they to a man were all of the High Tory caste, yet they
looked with veneration on the Stuarts. The visitors and
passengers assembled in the cabin seemed determined to honour the
memory of "Royal Charley" by quaffing bumpers of the best
"Glenlivet." One of the company was deputed to ask permission
(_sic_) of Charles Edward, who respectfully declined the honour
intended, and said it was not proper under present circumstances.
The brothers expressed their high gratification at the enthusiasm
of the Greenock Celtic Tories, and seemed much affected.'"
This precious pair of charlatans pretended that in 1773 a son was born
of the marriage of Charles Edward with the Princess Louisa of
Stolberg-Gedern; that the birth was kept secret, and the babe
privately conveyed on board an English frigate and consigned to the
care of a naval officer named Allen, who brought him up as his own
son. This mysterious child, it was further said, when grown to
manhood, married an English lady in 1790, and in the following year
the "Chevalier Charles Edward" was born.
John Wilson Croker in vol. 81 of the _Quarterly Review_ (pp. 57-85),
while reviewing _Vestiarum Scoticum_, by John Sobieski Stuart, and
_Tales of the Century_, by John Sobieski and Charles Edward Stuart,
ruthlessly demolishes this pedigree, pointing out that if the
Pretender had had an heir, it was his interest to publish and not to
conceal it; that in his will he only recognized one child, his natural
daughter, the Countess of Albany; that his brother, Cardinal York,
considered that he was King of England; and finally proved that these
two adventurers were none other than John and Thomas Allen, the sons
of Admiral Allen.
"John Sobieski" died in February, 1872, and there is a biographical
notice of him in the _Times_ of February 17th, 1872, but more may be
read about these brothers in the _Edinburgh Review_ of July, 1861, and
the _St. James's Magazine_ of January, 1872.
The Oxford and Cambridge boat race, as we know it, did not commence
until 1845,[19] but there were inter-university struggles before that
date, as we see by the _Times_ of June 20th.
[Footnote 19: The first boat race between the two Universities was on
June 10th, 1829, from Hambledon Lock to Henley. Oxford won by five or
six lengths.]
"THE CUTTER MATCH BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITIES OF OXFORD AND
CAMBRIDGE.
"The long-expected match between the gentlemen of the
Universities came off on Friday (June 17th). The sum to be rowed
for was £400, or, as others say, £1000. The weather was most
unpropitious, and those who ventured forth on Friday must have
possessed more than ordinary 'game.' Betting had been two and
three to one on the Oxonians, and there were plenty of takers. At
four o'clock the competitors were at their posts, and, the signal
having been given, they were off. The gentlemen of Cambridge took
the lead, but the Oxonians were right on them. Nothing could have
been finer than the exertions displayed by each party, but
Cambridge still maintained the lead, nor did they, throughout,
ever forfeit that advantage. Cambridge won by four lengths, and
did not exhibit any symptoms of distress."
The boats were eight-oared as now.
"The course was the then Champion Metropolitan Course, from
Westminster to Putney. It was in this race that Cambridge first
adopted light blue as their colour, and that apparently by
accident. They were on the point of pushing off from Searle's
yard at Westminster, when somebody remarked that the boat had no
colour in the bow. One person suggested one colour, and one
another. At the last moment, Mr. R. N. Philips, of Christ's, a
well-known oarsman in those days, ran over to a haberdasher's
close by, and asked for a piece of Eton blue ribbon or silk. This
was produced, and the crew adopted it _con amore_. Since those
days Cambridge has worn light blue; while Oxford, for the sake of
contrast, have rather deepened their shade of the same colour.
The jerseys of Cambridge were white, and those of Oxford blue and
white stripes." "Record of the University Boat Race, 1829-1883,"
by G. G. T. Treherne and J. H. D. Goldie, p. 12. London, 1884.
CHAPTER XXI.
1836.
Report on the British Museum--The King and the Duchess of Kent; a
scene--Inauguration of George III.'s Statue at Charing
Cross--Poetry at the police court--The trip of the Nassau
balloon.
The British Museum had hitherto been the home (so to say) of red tape,
so much so, that it seemed as if every possible obstacle was placed in
the way of people enjoying and benefiting by that magnificent
institution. In fact, its management became such a scandal, that on
February 11th Mr. Estcourt moved that a select committee be appointed
to inquire into its condition, management, and affairs, which was
granted.
In July the committee made their report to the House, and recommended
that the number of official trustees be reduced, those who do not
attend to be requested to resign, and the vacancies, as they occur, to
be filled up by persons distinguished by their eminence in literature,
science, and art. The museum to be opened during the Easter, Whitsun,
and Christmas weeks, and on all public days from ten to seven in the
months of May, June, July, and August; the reading-room to be opened
throughout the year at nine o'clock in the morning. A further
division of departments to be made, the salaries of the officers to be
increased, and pluralities abolished, and an improved synopsis to be
prepared and sold in parts. Casts were to be made from the statues,
bronzes, and coins, and sold to the public at the lowest possible
price. Nothing was said about classed catalogues, nor the opening of
the reading-room in the evening, the claims of both having been
strongly urged. Still great reforms and concessions had been made.
The old King was very fond of his niece Victoria, but could not abide
her mother the Duchess of Kent, and Greville tells one story which
does not redound greatly to the King's credit.
"The King invited the Duchess of Kent to go to Windsor on the
12th of August, to celebrate the Queen's birthday (13th) and stay
there over his own birthday, which was to be kept (_privately_)
on the 21st (the real day, but falling on a Sunday), and
_publicly_ on the day following. She sent word that she wanted to
keep her own birthday at Claremont on the 15th (or whatever the
day is), took no notice of the Queen's birthday, but said she
would go to Windsor on the 20th. This put the King in a fury; he
made, however, no reply, and on the 20th he was in town to
prorogue Parliament, having desired that they would not wait
dinner for him at Windsor. After the prorogation, he went to
Kensington Palace to look about it; when he got there, he found
that the Duchess of Kent had appropriated to her own use a suite
of apartments, seventeen in number, for which she had applied
last year, and which he had refused to let her have. This
increased his ill-humour, already excessive.
"When he arrived at Windsor, and went into the drawing-room (at
about ten at night), where the whole party was assembled, he went
up to the Princess Victoria, took hold of both her hands, and
expressed his pleasure at seeing her there, and his regret at
not seeing her oftener. He then turned to the Duchess, and made
her a low bow, almost immediately after which he said that 'a
most unwarrantable liberty had been taken with one of his
palaces; that he had just come from Kensington, where he found
apartments had been taken possession of, not only without his
consent, but contrary to his commands, and that he neither
understood nor would endure conduct so disrespectful "to him."'
This was said loudly, publicly, and in a tone of serious
displeasure. It was, however, only the muttering of the storm
which was to break the next day.
"Adolphus Fitzclarence went into his room on Sunday morning, and
found him in a state of great excitement. It was his birthday,
and, though the celebration was what was called private, there
were a hundred people at dinner, either belonging to the Court,
or from the neighbourhood. The Duchess of Kent sat on one side of
the King, and one of his sisters on the other, the Princess
Victoria opposite. Adolphus Fitzclarence sat two or three from
the Duchess, and heard every word of what passed. After dinner,
by the Queen's desire, 'His Majesty's health, and long life to
him,' was given, and, as soon as it was drunk, he made a very
long speech, in the course of which he poured forth the following
extraordinary and _foudroyante_ tirade:--
"'I trust in God that my life may be spared for nine months
longer, after which period, in the event of my death, no regency
would take place. I should then have the satisfaction of leaving
the Royal authority to the personal exercise of that young lady
(pointing to the Princess), the heiress presumptive of the Crown,
and not in the hands of a person now near me, who is surrounded
by evil advisers, and who is herself incompetent to act with
propriety in the station in which she would be placed. I have no
hesitation in saying that I have been insulted--grossly and
continuously insulted--by that person, but I am determined to
endure no longer a course of behaviour so disrespectful to me.
Amongst many other things, I have particularly to complain of the
manner in which that young lady has been kept away from my Court;
she has been repeatedly kept from my drawing-rooms, at which she
ought always to have been present, but I am fully determined that
this shall not happen again. I would have her know that I am
King, and I am determined to make my authority respected; and,
for the future, I shall insist and command that the Princess do,
upon all occasions, appear at my Court, as it is her duty to do.'
He terminated his speech by an allusion to the Princess and her
future reign in a tone of paternal interest and affection, which
was excellent in its way.
"This awful philippic (with a great deal more which I forget) was
uttered with a loud voice and excited manner. The Queen looked in
deep distress, the Princess burst into tears, and the whole
company were aghast. The Duchess of Kent said not a word.
Immediately afterwards, they rose and retired, and a terrible
scene ensued: the Duchess announced her immediate departure, and
ordered her carriage, but a sort of reconciliation was patched
up, and she was prevailed upon to stay till the next day. The
following morning, when the King saw Adolphus, he asked him what
people said to his speech. He replied that they thought the
Duchess merited his rebuke, but that it ought not to have been
given there; that he ought to have sent for her into his closet,
and have said all he felt and thought there, but not at table
before a hundred people. He replied that he did not care where he
said it, or before whom, that, 'By God, he had been insulted by
her in a manner that was past all endurance, and he would stand
it no longer.'"
On August 3rd the equestrian statue of George III., in Pall Mall, was
inaugurated. It is by Matthew C. Wyatt, and represents the King as he
appeared when reviewing the volunteer troops in Hyde Park, in 1803. It
was originally intended to place this statue at the bottom of Waterloo
Place, where now stands the Guards' Memorial; but it was not
considered proper that the statue of the Duke of York should have his
back turned to the presentment of his father, and the site proposed
was consequently, abandoned. The spot it now occupies was then
selected, and preparations were made to erect the statue on June 4th,
the anniversary of the venerable monarch's birthday. The preparations
were rendered nugatory by the opposition of a business firm, who
considered its erection would be prejudicial to their premises. All
obstacles were overcome, and the statue was placed in position.
It was unveiled by the Duke of Cumberland, in the presence of a crowd
of noblemen and gentlemen, amidst much cheering, but when the duke,
who was never popular, left, he was severely hissed by the crowd. The
statue is an excellent likeness of the old King, and, when first
erected, was of a gorgeous golden colour.
There was an amusing police case at the Mansion House on September
21st, when an old woman was charged with having presented a poetical
begging petition at a bank in Lombard Street. She was very poor, and
the alderman gave her two shillings.
"Alderman Kelly: What can you do besides writing poetry?
"Defendant: Besides writing poetry! Do you call that nothing? I
can do more. I can teach people to write poetry.
"Alderman Kelly: Well, whatever you do, you must not annoy people
of business. If you are in necessity, you have a claim upon your
parish, whatever people may say to you, and I advise you to act
accordingly.
"Defendant:
When beggars apply for parochial relief,
The welcome they meet is, 'You rascally thief,
Why don't you go work, or beg, borrow, or steal,
Of those who are able to pay for your meal?
Only pass by the parish; the devil may care
If you feed with a bishop, or feed with a bear.'
"Alderman Kelly: You had better give me back those two shillings
for some more deserving person.
"Defendant: I'd willingly do so, but that I think people would
never forgive me for being such a fool (laughter).
"Mr. Hobler (chief clerk): I'd have you try the Press, now that
the stamp is reduced. I've known some people paid for worse stuff
at the enormous rate of a penny a line.
"Defendant: God bless you, Mr. Hobler, you always give me good
advice, as well as something to keep the wolf from the door.
Long life to you, my good old clerk,
With your pen stuck in your ear;
May your money increase from day to day,
And your children from year to year."
Twice only have balloons from England crossed the Channel--once in
1785, and again in 1836--and, from its rarity, the fact deserves
chronicling. On January 7, 1785, François (or Jean Pierre) Blanchard
and Dr. Jeffries crossed the Channel in a balloon, starting from
Dover, and alighting a few miles from Calais. This feat, in the very
infancy of aerostation, was considered very wonderful, and Blanchard
earned, in France, the title of _Don Quixote de la Manche_. They
started at one p.m. and descended in the Forêt de Felmores at three
p.m. They took with them provisions, cork jackets, philosophical
instruments, letters, and oars, with which they fondly hoped to be
able to steer their aerial craft. Their voyage is thus commemorated in
contemporary song--
"Their ballast being expended, near to the sea descended,
And what most them befriended, their cloaths went overboard,
Great coats and trousers gone, cork jackets they put on,
And thus again ascended aloft in the air.
They flew o'er Calais town, people of high renown
Took horses and rode after; it caused a hearty laughter,
And soon they found them hamper'd and clinging to a tree."
Louis XVI. gave Blanchard a present of twelve thousand francs, and a
pension of twelve hundred francs per annum.
On November 7, 1836, the feat was again essayed and was very
successful. Mr. Green, a veteran aeronaut, Mr. Monck Mason, and Mr.
Holland, ascended from Vauxhall at 1.26 p.m. In the car were upwards
of a ton of ballast, several gallons of brandy and wine, and a large
supply of coffee, cold fowls, ham, etc. There were also a supply of
blue lights, stars, and other fireworks, to be let down at night if
the voyage were not accomplished before dark, in order to enable the
aeronauts to reconnoitre the country from their elevation, and choose
the point of their descent, and a number of parachutes, to which
letters were fastened, to be dropped at intervals, for the purpose of
apprising the public of their transit, arrival, and safety. They were,
moreover, furnished with passports from the French and Dutch
embassies, and with a letter to the King of Holland from his
representative in this country. The balloon landed in perfect safety
at a village called Weilburg, in Nassau, at 6.30 next morning, after a
prosperous voyage of seventeen hours, having traversed a space equal
to about 480 English miles.
[Illustration: Dresses.]
Of course they were made a great fuss of. The use of the ducal
_manège_ was immediately tendered for the occupation of the balloon,
and military sentries, more as a guard of honour than for defence,
were posted at the gates and avenues leading to the place of its
reception. Balls, dinner parties, and other festivities were given in
its honour, and, last of all, it was named, with great _éclat_. The
balloon was inflated as much as space would allow, and Mr. Green and
eight young ladies entered within it. A daughter of the Baron de Bibra
then named it the "Great Balloon of Nassau," a large quantity of wine
was drank, and the company regaled themselves with the remains of the
plentiful supply of food taken in the balloon from England. It was
afterwards exhibited in Paris.
[Illustration: Hair dressing.]
The illustrations of ladies' dress include two walking dresses as well
as an indoors and evening dress. It will be noted that the very
graceful scarf was introduced in this year. (_See preceding page._)
CHAPTER XXII.
1837.
Epidemic of influenza--A scene in some Metropolitan
graveyards--Lord de Ros and his cheating at cards--Invention of
sewing machine--Coming of age of Princess
Victoria--Illuminations, etc.--The Spitalfield's silk weavers'
ball--Illness of the King--His death and burial.
This year opens dismally with influenza in a most virulent form. To
give some idea of its ravages, let me quote the _Standard_ of January
12th--
"The epidemic now raging has been seriously injurious both to
public and private business. On Saturday ninety clerks were
absent from the Bank of England, but on Tuesday the absentees
amounted to a hundred and thirty. At the Post Office, Custom
House, and Excise Office, as well as the Government Offices at
Somerset House and Whitehall, and at all the theatres, similar
inconvenience is daily felt, from the illness of the clerks and
others employed. Nor is the evil resulting to business from the
effects of this epidemy confined to public establishments.
Upwards of sixty men have been absent from the brewery of Messrs.
Barclay and Perkins within the last few days; the same number
from Maudslay's the engineers, in the Westminster Bridge Road;
seventeen from the warehouse and shop of Ellis on Ludgate Hill;
twenty from Hitchcock and Rogers'; and as great a number from
Shoolbred's. Indeed, so much has the influenza prevailed in some
quarters, that whole families have been laid up, their business
entirely suspended, and their shops closed; such is the case with
a shop in the Minories, and also with a public house in the
neighbourhood of Grafton Street, Gower Street."
On the 16th the same paper tells us of three judges and many members
of the bar incapable of work through this cause--and also that, within
the last fortnight, sixty-four of the pensioners in Greenwich Hospital
had died of the complaint; but the scene on Sunday, January 22nd, as
reported in the _Times_ and the _Annual Register_, seems to have been
very bad--
"Death had a high day in the metropolis last Sunday; and,
perhaps, in the memory of the oldest inhabitant, such a scene has
not been witnessed. There was scarcely an undertaker unemployed,
and many were unable to accomplish their orders. Hearses and
mourning coaches were to be seen driving through the streets,
hurrying from the execution of one funeral to the commencement of
another. Walking funerals were met at almost every corner of the
public streets, and many who had ordered carriages were unable to
procure them, and were compelled to wade through the dirt and wet
on foot. The churchyards seemed to be all bustle and confusion.
The principal interments took place in the parishes of St.
Pancras, Marylebone, St. Giles's, Clerkenwell, Whitechapel,
Bethnal Green, and St. Margaret's and St. John's Westminster. It
is computed that not less than a thousand burials must have taken
place on Sunday, and when it is considered that the number of
parishes in and around the metropolis is near two hundred, the
calculation does not seem to be an exaggerated one.
"In the churchyards of St. Pancras and St. Giles the scenes were
truly awful, and even disgusting to the feelings. The burial
ground in the former had more the appearance of a ploughed field;
furrows from the graves were turned up all over the place, and
such was the scene between three and four o'clock, that not less
than between forty and fifty interments took place, the
undertakers scarce knowing which grave to go to. Groups of
mourners, with corpses waiting, in every part, for the clergyman
to take his turn in performing the funeral service; then the
horrid manner of the grave-diggers (navigators, who seemed hired
for the purpose), their awful language, and careless manner of
filling in the graves, jumping and stamping on the coffins--such
a sight, indeed, was enough to appal the hardest heart. Some of
the mourners had actually to wait upwards of an hour before their
relatives could be interred.
"The epidemic seems not only to have been destructive in its own
natural form, but, at Guy's Hospital, in the wards, where a free
circulation of air existed, it has, in many instances, run into
bronchitis and pneumonia, and has even induced severe symptoms of
typhoid or yellow fever, in all which cases, it is easy to guess
what were the consequences. So very fatal, indeed, has it proved
in this way, that the managers of several hospitals have set
apart wards exclusively for patients with influenza. Dr. Johnson,
at the last meeting of the Westminster Medical Society, stated
that it has been far more violent in its character, and universal
in its extent, than the epidemic of 1833."
At the Court of King's Bench Lord Denman and a jury spent the 9th and
10th of February in trying an action for libel brought by Lord de Ros,
the premier Baron of England, against a Mr. Cumming, who had accused
his lordship of cheating at cards. The trial excited the greatest
interest, and was attended by most of the nobility and members of good
clubs.
It was charged against Lord de Ros that, at the whist table, he
frequently contrived to have a violent fit of coughing when his deal
came round, which obliged him to put his hands under the table; and
then it always happened that he turned up an honour; and that the aces
and kings in the packs Lord de Ros played with were frequently marked,
slightly, but perceptibly, with the thumb-nail. Many gentlemen swore
to their having been cheated by these tricks, and some refused to play
with Lord de Ros; and, though others did not shun him after his
cheating had been discovered, they sent him anonymous notes of
warning, and hoped that he had left off cheating. The play of these
gentlemen was sometimes very high, and one of them, Mr. Brook
Greville, admitted that he had made £35,000 by play; another, Captain
Alexander, said that he was a "better man by £10,000 for card
playing."
On the part of Lord de Ros, it was stated that he had a stiffness in
his finger-joints, which prevented him from playing tricks with cards,
though he could cut and shuffle them. But Sir William Ingleby swore to
the repeated frauds of the peer. He had seen him fifty times perform
the trick called "_sauter la coupe_;" which, in effect, was to cut the
cards so as always to turn up an ace or a king when he dealt. Several
witnesses proved that the aces and kings of the packs with which Lord
de Ros had played were marked. The persons who gave evidence against
Lord de Ros were, generally, professed gamblers; but no evidence was
adduced to prove that they had any spite against his lordship, or that
any conspiracy had been formed to ruin him. There never was a clearer
case against any delinquent; and the jury took only fifteen minutes to
determine upon their verdict, which was in favour of the defendant.
This was equivalent to the conviction of Lord de Ros of cheating at
cards, and he took the very prudent step of leaving England that night
for Rotterdam.
People are apt to consider that the sewing machine is an invention of
our own time. But the _Times_ of March 8th says otherwise--
"A master tailor of Amsterdam, named Weiland, a German by birth,
has invented a machine which performs the task of sewing a
garment as well as it can be done by hand. The King of Holland
has just presented him with one hundred ducats, but the tailors
have vowed vengeance against him."
The old King felt his health failing him, and his fervent wish was to
live until the Princess Victoria was of age. As Greville writes, May
23rd--
"The King prayed that he might live till the Princess Victoria
was of age, and he was very nearly dying just as the event
arrived. He is better, but supposed to be in a very precarious
state. There has been a fresh squabble between Windsor and
Kensington about a proposed allowance to the Princess."
The King's present to the Princess, on her birthday, was a magnificent
grand pianoforte by Broadwood, of the value of two hundred guineas.
The coming of age of the Princess, on May 24th, was kept with
festivity throughout the kingdom, but especially at Kensington. At six
a.m. the union jack was hoisted on the summit of the old church, and
also on the green opposite the palace. At this latter place it was
surmounted by a splendid flag of white silk, on which was inscribed,
in sky blue letters, the Princess's name "Victoria." From the houses
of the principal inhabitants of the High Street were also displayed
the royal standard, union jack, and other flags of all colours and
dimensions. Soon after six, the gates of Kensington Gardens were
thrown open to the public, and it having got wind that her Royal
Highness would be serenaded at seven (the hour when she was born) the
place was thronged with a large assemblage of well-dressed people.
As early as nine a.m. visitors arrived to enter their names in the
Duchess of Kent's book, and during the whole day, up to a late hour in
the evening, the palace was crowded with company, so much so, that
they were obliged to leave it by another gate. Their Royal Highnesses
received their household at half-past twelve, and the following
members of the royal family at two: the Princess Sophia, the Princess
Sophia Matilda, the Princess Augusta, and the Duke of Sussex. In the
course of the afternoon the Duchess of Kent, the Princess Victoria,
and the Princess of Leinengen drove through the parks in an open
carriage.
At night a State ball was given at St. James's Palace, the Princess
Augusta receiving the company on the part of the Queen. The ball
opened with a quadrille, the Princess Victoria being led off by Lord
Fitzalan, eldest son of the Earl of Surrey, and grandson of the Duke
of Norfolk. Her Royal Highness subsequently danced with Prince Nicolas
Esterhazy, son of the Austrian ambassador.
The following is the _Times_ account of the celebration of the
birthday in London:--
"Yesterday being the anniversary upon which the heiress
presumptive to the throne of these realms attained the age of
eighteen, considerable expectation had been raised amongst the
holiday seekers and sightseers of the metropolis that the day
would be celebrated by military displays, reviews, and those
attractions usually put forward on those occasions. Early in the
morning dense crowds were seen wending their way from all parts
of the metropolis, in the direction of Hyde Park, in anticipation
that their 'weary walk' would be remunerated by one of those
displays of military manoeuvres which, in times of peace, delight
those who wish to live at ease, and in the reality of which so
many Britons have participated, to the honour, the glory, and the
best interests of the land that gave them birth. So general was
the anticipation that such would commence the festivities of the
day, that crowds of artisans who had proceeded towards the usual
scene of action at an early hour, were followed towards the same
arena by vehicles of every description conveying their
fellow-subjects, who, though more wealthy, were equally devoted
to loyalty and amusement. Great was the disappointment when hour
after hour passed and brought no military relief to the
greensward, and eventually the multitude assembled diverged
homewards, or proceeded in search of other attractions. It is
proper to state that, at the dawn of day, salutes were fired from
the ordnance depôts of the metropolis, and to this only was the
military display confined.
"In the evening the principal streets of the City and West End
were most brilliantly illuminated, and, the weather being fine,
the crowds of eager spectators who had been disappointed early in
the day rendered the streets impassable. The club houses in Pall
Mall, St. James's Street, and elsewhere, were elegantly and most
appropriately illuminated, with one solitary exception--the
Reform club house in Pall Mall, in front of which was exhibited
the word "Victoria" in variegated lamps. Some wags doubted the
propriety of this display, and, looking at the Parliamentary
events of the preceding night, were sceptical as to the fitness
of the word at such a moment. It was, however, questioned by some
bystanders whether the display was designed as a compliment to
the heiress presumptive, or had reference to the "mighty
triumph" of the pseudo Liberals in the House of Commons on the
recent division.[20] Whatever was the intention of the parties by
whose direction the exhibition was made, it is beyond doubt that
the word 'Victoria' was, in that view, as much laughed at as
though an insignificant 'Five' had blazoned forth in all the
arrogance of conquest.
[Footnote 20: A debate on church rates, in which the majority was
only five.]
"Though the illuminations were by no means general, yet the
tradespeople of the Royal Family manifested devoted loyalty and
considerable taste in the displays they made. It would be
invidious to the parties, and uninteresting to our readers, to
describe the numerous devices and their localities. The task must
be indefinite, and it must, therefore, content the curious to
know that the brilliancy of the illumination, the taste
displayed, and the good humour which manifested itself in all
directions, made some considerable amends to the disappointment
of the holiday folk in the morning. Densely as the streets were
thronged (and we never saw them more so), we heard of no accident
having occurred--a fact which was rendered the more remarkable by
the total absence of anything like police arrangements as to the
passage of carriages through the principal and most attractive of
the streets. On the whole, however, the day passed off
wonderfully well, and a late hour of the night saw thousands
home, who were highly delighted with the sights they had seen."
_Fraser's Magazine_ for June had a rather smart sonnet on that
majority of five, called
"JUNE SONNET.
"Good was the omen on th' auspicious night
When kept was fair Victoria's natal day--
London in gas, and oil, and tallow gay,
Looked a vast isle of artificial light:
Anchors and crowns, and roses beaming bright;
Stars, garters, and triangles, shone around:
Lions and unicorns all chained and crowned,
And other blazonings--yellow, green, red, white--
Dazzled the air. But, more delighted, we
Welcomed one blazing letter everywhere
Playing a double duty. Hail, great V!
V! Ministerial sad majority--
Mark of the unhappy FIVE! with grim despair
Did Melbourne and his men that symbol see.'
The next thing of interest was "The Spitalfields Silk Weavers Ball,"
held on June 1st, at the King's Theatre. After the Edict of Nantes,
nearly fifty thousand French artisans and manufacturers fled into
England, and the silk weavers located themselves at Spitalfields and
Bethnal Green. At this time their trade was very bad, and there was
much distress among them. This being represented to the King and
Queen, they commanded that a ball should be given at the King's
Theatre for the benefit of the weavers, and at which their Majesties
intended to attend. All the feminine portion of the royal family and
the principal ladies of the nobility were patronesses, and a royal
command was given that no ladies should appear dressed in other than
satin or silk of Spitalfields manufacture, and that those gentlemen
who were not attired in military or naval uniforms should wear fancy
waistcoats of the same fabric.
The theatre was specially and beautifully decorated for the occasion;
the front of the boxes were hung in festoons of satin and silk (all of
Spitalfields manufacture), the grand tier being purple, with the badge
and insignia of the Order of the Garter; the second tier crimson, with
the badge and insignia of the Order of the Bath; the third tier light
blue, with the badge and insignia of the Order of St. Patrick; the
fourth tier green, with the badge and insignia of the Order of St.
Andrew; and the fifth tier light blue, with the badge and insignia of
the Guelphic Order. Five of the centre boxes were thrown into one, and
a large projecting balcony erected for the reception of the royal
visitors, and two boxes on either side for the accommodation of
members of the household. The pit was boarded over and made even with
the stage.
Weippert's band of sixty-four performers formed the orchestra. Mr.
Kendon, dancing-master to the Princess Victoria, acted as master of
the ceremonies, and special precautions were taken to prevent the
admission of improper characters. With that view the patrons and
patronesses gave vouchers to those who were anxious to be present,
which were afterwards exchanged by Mr. Willis, of Almack's, for the
regular tickets of admission, of which about 2300 were sold. Not a
seat was empty, and the ball was a decided success.
Neither the King nor the Queen were able to attend, for the poor old
man was moribund. A slight decline of strength had been perceptible to
the immediate attendants of the King at the commencement of the year,
but it was not till the month of May that the state of his Majesty's
health excited any serious apprehensions. On the 17th of that month he
held a levee, but, on his return to Windsor Castle, he showed great
signs of debility and exhaustion, with oppression of breathing, in
consequence of which he had considerable difficulty in ascending the
staircase; and when he had reached the corridor was under the
necessity of resting on the nearest sofa. He tried to keep up as well
as he could, but on June 7th his physicians found him much worse. On
June 8th his illness was noticed in the "Court Circular," with a
notice that the state entertainment intended to have been given at the
castle to the knights of the several orders was indefinitely
postponed; indeed, on that day, in obedience to the Queen's wishes,
the party staying at the castle dispersed.
Day after day he grew worse, with just a little flutter of improvement
when the Waterloo memorial flag was presented to him, when he
expressed himself as glad to see it, and begged the Duke of Wellington
to be told that he desired the Waterloo banquet to be held as usual,
and hoped it would be an agreeable dinner. He gradually sunk until
June 20th, when the following bulletin was issued:--
"Windsor Castle, Tuesday, June 20.
"It has pleased Almighty God to release from his sufferings our
most gracious sovereign, King William the Fourth. His Majesty
expired this morning at twelve minutes past two o'clock.
"MATT. JOHN TIERNEY.
"WM. FRED CHAMBERS.
"DAVID DAVIES."
Death came to him so gently, that some doubt existed as to the
precise moment at which he actually did expire. The stroke of death
was almost imperceptible.
[Illustration: Dresses.]
He lay in state on July 7th in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor
Castle, and the public were admitted to see him from ten till four.
The next day--or rather on the night of the 8th--he was buried, with
all the pomp and the solemnity usual on such occasions, in a vault in
St. George's Chapel.
[Illustration: Hair dressing.]
The dresses for 1837 are two walking-dresses and a ball dress, and
also a child's costume, with different fashions of hairdressing.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Men's dress--Education--School advertisements--The original of
Squeers--Girls' schools--Tea as a meal--Food--A foreigner's
sketch of an English dinner-party--A high-class dinner--An ideal
dinner.
Men's dress was very much as in our time, the trousers were somewhat
tighter, the coat collars higher, the waistcoats were worn more open,
and there was somewhat more than a _soupçon_ of stays. Hair was worn
long and artificially curled, and no one but a cavalry man, or a
blackleg, wore a moustache. The neckcloths or "stocks," as they were
called, must have been veritable instruments of torture, being lined
with slips of whalebone, and coming tight under the chin; a rivulet or
rather river of satin flowed over the shirt, and was fastened by two
pins connected by a chain. But, if any one wants the man's costume of
William the Fourth's reign he will find it in the very familiar
engravings by "Phiz," to _Pickwick_ and _Nicholas Nickleby_. Elderly
gentlemen still wore knee breeches and silk stockings, with gaiters
for outdoor wear, and among them the pigtail was still to be found;
nay, I recollect two old gentlemen who wore them, as I also remember
some middle-aged men wearing the very handsome Hessian boot.
The Spanish cloak came in about 1834, and in the following
advertisement we see its size and price, together with the prices of
other clothes. _Times_, November 19, 1834--
"Spanish cloak of superfine blue cloth, a complete circle of
9-1/2 yards, £4 4_s._; Opera ditto, £2 2_s._; boy's ditto, £1
1_s_; camlet ditto, 11_s._; boy's ditto, 12_s._ Fashionable
Petersham great coat, bound, £2 2_s._; Saxon frock coat, faced
silk, £2 10_s._; an elegant suit of superfine cloth, complete, £4
4_s._; the very best that is made, £4 15_s._; suit of livery, £3
3_s._ Contract prices:--Two suits per year, £6 6_s._; extra fine
quality, the very best, £7 7_s._; three suits, £10 17_s._; ditto,
£12 5_s._; four suits, £14 6_s._; ditto, £15 18_s._; the old to
be returned. Stout cloth winter trousers, 13_s._ 6_d._"
Respecting education in England at this time, Count Edouard de
Melfort, who wrote his _Impressions of England_ in 1836, says--
"Even in the lowest classes in England it is difficult to find a
person who does not know how to read or write. There is scarcely
any village, however insignificant, which has not its 'National
School;' and, without meaning any offence to other countries, I
think I may assert that the education of the people in England is
superior to that of any other."
In this opinion, I think, the Count is too optimistic, for the lower
classes were woefully uneducated, my early experience being that
comparatively few could read and write, especially in the rural
districts. The upper class, of course, received an education to
prepare for the Universities; and, in the middle-class, a classical
education was decidedly predominant over one that would fit its
recipient for mercantile pursuits. The ordinary boarding-schools
charged from thirty to forty-five guineas per annum, but their
proprietors had a knack of including extras, which very greatly
increased this sum. Here is an advertisement of a middle-class school
in 1830--
"Exeter College, Snaresbrook, six miles from London, for the
reception of gentlemen designed for mercantile pursuits, the
legal and medical professions, the naval and military
institutions, and the Universities. The number is limited, they
are parlour boarders, and each has a separate bed. The
establishment is under the immediate attention of the Principal
and resident classical assistants, with the regular attendance of
professional gentlemen of eminence in the departments of French,
drawing, music, dancing, &c. Terms per annum--A mercantile
course, with mathematics, history, geography, use of the globes,
astronomy, etc., twenty-five guineas; or with the classics, in
Latin, Greek, and including drawing, music, and dancing, thirty
guineas; any one of the languages or accomplishments selected
with the first course, four guineas. Every department of this
establishment is arranged and conducted on the most comprehensive
scale of liberality. The pupils are the sons of private and
professional gentlemen of the highest respectability in London
and various parts of the kingdom," etc.
This was a comparatively cheap school. Let us take another, to which
well-to-do people would be likely to send their children. It was
situated near Newbury, and was conducted on the plan of a regular
grammar school--
"Young Gentlemen are received from 4 to 20 years of age.
Terms--from 4 to 10 years of age, 25 guineas; 10 to 15, 35
guineas; 15 to 20, 40 guineas; parlour-boarders, 80 guineas per
annum."
But there were lower class schools--such as Dickens has immortalized
in Nicholas Nickleby. He says in his preface to the 1839 edition that
he meant no one in particular, but we may, perhaps, think differently
after reading what I have to write. We all remember the story when
Snawley brings his sons-in-law to the Saracen's Head--
"'Mr. Squeers, I believe, sir?'
"'The same, sir,' said Mr. Squeers, with an assumption of extreme
surprise.
"'The gentleman,' said the stranger, 'that advertised in the
_Times_ newspaper?'
"_'Morning Post_, _Chronicle_, _Herald_, and _Advertiser_,
regarding the academy called Dotheboys Hall, at the delightful
village of Dotheboys near Greta Bridge, in Yorkshire,' added Mr.
Squeers. 'You come on business, sir, I see by my young
friends....'
"'Hem!' said the other; 'twenty pounds per annum, I believe, Mr.
Squeers?'
"'Guineas,' rejoined the schoolmaster, with a persuasive smile.
"'Pounds for two I think, Mr. Squeers,' said Mr. Snawley,
solemnly.
"'I don't think it could be done, sir,' replied Mr. Squeers, as
if he had never considered the proposition before. 'Let me see:
four times five is twenty, double that, and deduct the ---- Well,
a pound either way shall not stand betwixt us. You must recommend
me to your connection, sir, and make it up that way....'
"'And this,' resumed Snawley, 'has made me anxious to put them to
some school a good distance off, where there are no
holidays--none of those ill-judged comings home twice a-year that
unsettles children's minds so--and where they may rough it a
little; you comprehend?'"
That Dickens saw the following advertisements there is no doubt, for
they were inserted every half-year throughout the reign, in the
_Times_--
_Times_, July 15, 1830--
"EDUCATION. By Mr. SHAW, at BOWES ACADEMY, Greta Bridge,
Yorkshire.--YOUTHS are carefully INSTRUCTED in the English,
Latin, and Greek languages, common and decimal arithmetic,
book-keeping, mensuration, surveying, geometry, geography, and
navigation, with the most useful branches of the mathematics, and
provided with board, clothes, and every necessary, at 20 guineas
per annum each. No extra charges. No vacations. Further
particulars may be known on application to.... Mr. Shaw attends
at the George and Blue Boar, Holborn, from 12 to 2 daily, where a
card of particulars may be seen."
_Times_, September 18, 1830--
"At KIRBY HILL ACADEMY, near Richmond, Yorkshire, conducted by I.
Nelson and assistants. The system of instruction comprehends all
the usual branches of a liberal education, comprising the Greek
and Latin Classics, mathematics, etc., at 22 guineas per annum.
No extra charges. No vacation. French language and drawing on the
usual terms. I. N. will attend daily at the Saracen's Head, Snow
Hill, etc."
In these two advertisements we have, in the first, Greta Bridge and
Squeers's prospectus; in the other, his London place of abode, the
Saracen's Head, Snow Hill. Bowes is about five miles from Castle
Barnard.
Mr. Jonathan Bourchier sends a communication to _Notes and Queries_
(4th S. xii. 324) enclosing extracts from a letter from an old friend
who writes from Bowes--
"It is a very fine country--fresh mountain air. _Dotheboys Hall_
is still here, no longer a school. Mr. Shaw, the original of
Squeers, married a Miss Laidman, who was a sort of cousin of my
father. The school buildings are pulled down, but the house
(Dotheboys) is still a very nice handsome one, with large
offices, cowhouses, etc. We learn from our landlady that in the
room where we are now sitting (Unicorn Inn, Bowes) Dickens had
lunch the day he and a friend rode over from Barnard Castle to
see and make sketches of Mr. Shaw's school, and this same old
lady, Mrs. Highmoor, waited on them. Dickens was only here that
day, but he stayed longer in Barnard Castle, and got a great deal
of gossip, not too true, about the school from one ----, a
quondam usher of Shaw's and 'a bad lot,' who had, indeed, been
turned off for bad conduct.
"Mrs. Highmoor tells me, as indeed my father always says, that
Dotheboys Hall is a most exaggerated caricature. But somehow the
description was in some respects so correct that everybody
recognized it. Poor Shaw quite took it to heart, and did no more
good, got childish and paralytic, and soon died. The school went
down fast. Mrs. Shaw also died broken-hearted. But a good deal of
money was left behind. Mrs. Highmoor says there were an immense
number of boys; that Mr. Shaw chartered a special coach to bring
them from London (this place is on one of the great coaching
roads between York and Glasgow); and that there was great joy in
the village on the arrival of the coach and its precious
freight--quite _the event_ it was. She says the boys were used
very well, and fed as well as could be expected for £20 a-year;
that there might be things wrong, but no complaints were ever
made; that Shaw made money, because on his own farm he grazed the
cows and fed the sheep and pigs which supplied the boys' food.
"My impression is that Yorkshire schools were bad, but not so bad
as Dickens makes out, and Shaw's was better than most of them.
There is a strong feeling here of indignation against Dickens,
who no doubt ruined poor Shaw."
"An old pupil of Mr. Squires--the Mr. Squeers of Dickens's
'Nicholas Nickleby'--has died at New Brunswick, leaving behind a
record of his schooldays. This is to be published as a sort of
post-mortem vindication of Mr. Squires, whose career as a
pedagogue was rather unfairly caricatured by the novelist. The
old pupil is the Rev. Ralph Willis, a native of London. He went
to school at Bowes, in Yorkshire, and it was through his father
that Dickens heard of the school. Many of the scenes in the book
he describes as inventions; but the moral of the reminiscences is
that Squires was not as black as he was painted" (_Globe_, June
5, 1895).
A girl at boarding-school cost about the same as a boy, but day
schools seem to have been very cheap, judging by one in Salisbury
Square, Fleet Street, where the governesses say, in their
advertisement, that
"Their system of education is the result of close observation,
blended with long experience; and it embraces all the advantages
of a superior private instruction, with those which will ever be
found to exist in a well-conducted school. Terms, including
reading, geography, history, grammar, and useful and ornamental
needlework, one guinea per quarter. The Misses Thompson are
assisted in the departments of penmanship and arithmetic, the
French, Italian, and Latin languages, music, drawing, and dancing
by professors of eminence, on the usual terms."
But I fancy the following advertisement appealed to a far richer
_clientèle_:--
"At a first-rate FINISHING LADIES' SEMINARY, VACANCIES occur for
a few PUPILS. The system of education adopted is of the highest
order, embracing superior and peculiar advantages. In addition to
an extensive course of English studies, invaluable to young
ladies finishing their education, they will be perfected in the
French and Italian languages, music, comprising the harp,
pianoforte, and singing, with a knowledge of harmony and thorough
bass, drawing, dancing, and every research in science and
literature to qualify them to move in the first circles."
We may note that the guitar, which was then very fashionable, is not
mentioned, and we never find the German or Spanish languages taught.
The dancing comprehended galop, mazurka, waltz, quadrilles, and a
variety of fancy dances, such as the shawl dance, etc., which were
never used out of dancing academies. The poor little dears had no
other physical exercises, no swimming, nor Swedish gymnastics, and
their punishments consisted in being put in the stocks, which made
them turn out their toes, and in the back-board, which tended to
expand the chest and cure round shoulders. Their principal relaxation
was, as now, a solemn walk in procession.
Afternoon tea, as we know it, was unknown; but, as people dined much
earlier than now, it was a fairly substantial meal of hot buttered
toast, muffins, Sally Lunns, and other tea cakes. It was essentially a
chatty cosy meal, the same that Cowper sang of--
"Now stir the fire and close the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round."
Either the copper tea-kettle sang on the hob or on a trivet on the
bars, or the tea-urn hissed on the table; whilst on the polished brass
three-legged trivet, standing on the hearth, were the muffins,
crumpets, toast, or what not, keeping nice and hot. In many
middle-class houses a toasting-fork hung with a hearth broom by the
side of the mantelpiece, and it was thought no harm for the younger
portion of the family to "make the toast" by the dining-room fire. The
tea drank was exclusively of Chinese growth, that of India and Ceylon
never having been dreamed of, and the prices (retail) ranged from
3_s._ 6_d._ to 7_s._ 6_d._ per lb. A paragraph in the _Times_, July
15, 1836, gives us an idea of the amount consumed.
"Yesterday the East India Company" (who at this time had the
monopoly of the tea trade) "issued their declaration for the
sale of teas in September next. The declaration amounts to
4,000,000 lbs., and comprises 500,000 lbs. of bohea, 2,770,000
lbs. of congou, souchong, and pekoe, 600,000 lbs. of twankay, and
130,000 lbs. of hyson. In the present declaration there are
100,000 lbs. less of bohea than in the June sale, 100,000 less of
twankay, an increase of 170,000 lbs. of congou, souchong, &c.,
and 30,000 more of hyson. The whole amount of bohea teas entered
under the Treasury minute for payment of the duty of 1_s._ 6_d._
per pound until the 1st of August next is above 12,000,000 lbs."
With regard to the food, it was plain and wholesome, but was supplied
with such prodigality that the table literally "groaned" under its
weight, and I may safely say that at a dinner-party there was at least
six times more food provided than the guests could eat. It was their
way of showing hospitality. There was some truth in the description by
the old French _émigré_, who found England uninhabitable, because
"there were twenty-four religions and only one sauce, no ripe fruit
but roasted apples, and that each man ruined his health in drinking to
the health of others." But as it is good sometimes to "see oursen' as
ithers see us," let us hear what Count Melfort has to say on the
English middle-class dinner in this reign. After giving a most
humorous description of the _mauvais quatre d'heure_ before dinner, he
says--
"At last, hurried steps are heard, and the door opening briskly,
Mr. Jackson (the host) in person appears, who excuses himself for
his delay on account of some business, which, he says, kept him;
he shakes your hands, both at once, in each of his, and tells you
dinner is served; and then you offer your arm to Mrs. Jackson, I
take that of the timid eldest daughter, and we descend to the
ground floor, to the dining-room, which, like the two
drawing-rooms, is everywhere the same, in form, size, and
situation. You can hardly fail to observe all the brilliant
plate, not only on the table but also on the sideboard, where
trays of every size, goblets, covers, plates, and other objects
of the same metal are ranged against the wall; this display puts
one in mind of a silversmith's shop.
"The table is out of all proportion long; each end is occupied,
the one by Mr. Jackson, who undertakes to serve the fish and to
carve the large joints (such as an immense turbot, and then an
enormous piece of roast beef); the other end by _madame_, who,
having placed you on her right, and me on her left, begins to
serve the soup; she will afterwards ask you to carve the
everlasting boiled fowls, _à la sauce blanche_. As for the French
_ragouts_, which are ranged lengthwise down the table in covered
dishes, be careful and avoid them; I recommend it as a friend.
You have accepted soup, and I see that you are astonished to find
little _côtelettes_, bones, forced meat balls, etc., swimming
about; the cayenne pepper and other hot spices cause you to make
a grimace, whilst they burn your throat; never mind! eat some
turbot, you will find it excellent.
"You must now bravely 'screw your courage to the sticking place;'
you are nailed to that chair for the space of two hours and a
half at least, without any chance of conversation, except only a
few interrupted words, each person speaking occasionally in a low
tone to his or her neighbour. The burly Mr. Crack, to whom Mrs.
Jackson introduced us, has, as yet, only opened his mouth for the
purpose of endeavouring to satisfy his extraordinary appetite;
this, however, appears to be labour in vain; he is placed in the
middle of the table, and fills the place of two persons, whilst
he eats enough for four. As to that _soi-disant élégant_--that
little personage placed next to Miss Maria, who cannot turn his
head because of his stiff black stock which keeps it in
prison--you will guess by his ridiculous affectation and
exaggerated politeness to his neighbours to what sphere he
belongs; particularly when, during the dessert, on her asking him
the favour to give her an orange, he will take it up between two
spoons, one in each hand, his elbows raised and his fingers
extended. The only speech which you will have heard him utter
was when good Mr. Jackson cried out, after emptying his glass,
'After all, the climate of England is the best in the world!' and
he rejoined, 'It is unquestionably true!' Thus pass two hours!
However, at last the cloth is removed, and we continue round the
well-rubbed or polished mahogany table. At this point of the
entertainment Mr. Jackson makes us a bow, pronouncing at the same
time a few indistinct words; we all return his bow. This, after
dinner, is a regular custom--a sort of _agimus tibi gratias_,
which is thus said in abridgment.
"The table is now covered with crystal, fruit, and flowers, and
wine decanters; these are first arranged in battle array before
the host; and, at his signal, made by pushing the first round,
they begin their promenade of the table, one gentleman sliding
them along to the next; the ladies take a little, taste the
fruit, and, having occupied some moments in putting on their
white gloves, rise, following the example of Mrs. Jackson; we all
do the same, but only to conduct them to the door of the room.
Here, however, the force of habit makes you forget the
recommendation I had given you--you try to escape; but a hand
retains you by the tail of your coat; it is that of Mr. Jackson,
who observes to you that you have still a bottle of claret to
finish with him. Mr. Crack, too, had made a polite effort to rise
on the departure of the ladies, but his own weight reseated him;
he has now got to the raisins and preserved fruits, etc.
"After another mortal hour a servant enters, and announces that
the tea and coffee are taken upstairs; we ascend. Mrs. Jackson
advances to us immediately, she asks if we play or sing, and
tells us how amiable we should be to do so--this is a request
rarely addressed to an Englishman, one is too sure of a reply in
the negative. Mrs. Jackson appears very much astonished that
neither you nor I can satisfy her in this respect; and, after
many protestations in order to convince her, she makes a sign to
Miss Dorothy, the great musician of the family, who opens the
piano, places her two feet on both the pedals, and begins a
confused din, under which the instrument itself seems to suffer.
When she has finished you will be much embarrassed to tell me
whether it was an adagio, a waltz, or a quadrille which she has
favoured us with. But, never mind; like great Mr. Crack, who is
seated in his armchair, digesting his dinner, you cry out,
'Delightful!' This is all that is required.
"At length midnight is nearly arrived, and ceremony and
restraint, the _nous ne savons que faire_, still reigns at Mrs.
Jackson's; having wished them good-night, let us go!"
In No. XVI. of the _Original_, September 2, 1835, in an article on the
"Art of Dining," there are the following criticisms on contemporary
dining, which show that some of the sore points were known then:--
"It appears to me that nothing can be better contrived to defeat
its legitimate end than a large dinner-party in the London
season--sixteen, for instance. The names of the guests are
generally so announced that it is difficult to hear them; and, in
the earlier part of the year, the assembling takes place in such
obscurity that it is impossible to see. There is often a tedious
and stupefying interval of waiting, caused perhaps by some
affected fashionable, some important politician, or some
gorgeously decked matron, or, it may be, by some culinary
accident. At last comes the formal business of descending into
the dining-room, where the blaze of light produces by degrees
sundry recognitions; but many a slight acquaintance is prevented
from being renewed by the chilling mode of assembling. In the
long days the light is more favourable, but the waiting is
generally more tedious, and half the guests are perhaps leaving
the Park when they ought to be sitting down to dinner.
"At table intercourse is prevented as much as possible by a huge
centre piece of plate and flowers, which cuts off the one half of
the company from the other, and some very awkward mistakes have
taken place in consequence, from guests having made personal
observations upon those who were actually opposite to them. It
seems strange that people should be invited to be hidden from one
another. Besides the centre piece, there are usually massive
branches to assist in interrupting communication; and perhaps you
are placed between two persons with whom you are not acquainted,
and have no community of interest to become so.
"When the company is arranged, then comes the perpetual motion of
the attendants, the perpetual declining of what you do not want,
and the perpetual waiting for what you do, or a silent
resignation to your fate. To desire a potato, and to see the dish
handed to your next neighbour, and taking its course in a
direction from you round an immense table, with occasional
retrograde movements and digressions, is one of the
unsatisfactory occurrences which frequently take place; but,
perhaps, the most distressing incident in a grand dinner is to be
asked to take champagne, and, after much delay, to see the butler
extract the bottle from a cooler, and hold it nearly parallel to
the horizon, in order to calculate how much he is to put into the
first glass to leave any for the second. To relieve him and
yourself from the chilling difficulty, the only alternative is to
change your mind and prefer sherry, which, under the
circumstances, has rather an awkward effect. These and an
infinity of minor evils are constantly experienced amidst the
greatest displays, and they have, from sad experience, made me
come to the conclusion that a combination of state and
calculation is the horror of horrors. Some good bread and cheese
and a jug of ale, comfortably set before me and heartily given,
are heaven and earth in comparison.
"I must not omit to mention, amongst other obstacles to
sociability, the present excessive breadth of fashionable tables,
for the purpose of holding, first, the cumbrous ornaments and
lights before spoken of; secondly, in some cases the dessert, at
the same time with the side dishes; and, lastly, each person's
cover, with its appurtenances; so that to speak across the table,
and through the intervening objects, is so inconvenient as to be
nearly impracticable. To crown all, is the ignorance of what you
have to eat, and the impossibility of duly regulating your
appetite. To be sure, in many particulars, you may form a
tolerably accurate guess, as that, at one season, there will be
partridges in the third course, and at another pigeons, in dull
routine.
"No wonder that such a system produces many a dreary pause, in
spite of every effort to the contrary, and that one is obliged,
in self-defence, to crumble bread, sip wine, look at the
paintings, if there are any, or, if there are not, blazon the
arms on the plates; or, lastly, retreat into one's self in
despair, as I have often and often done. When dinner is over,
there is no peace till each dish in the dessert has made its
circuit, after which the wine moves languidly round two or three
times, and then settles for the rest of the evening, and coffee
and small talk finish the heartless affair."
The writer, previously (in No. XV.), gives his views of an ideal
dinner, which he seems to think perfection--
"I will give you, dear reader, an account of a dinner I have
ordered this very day, at Lovegrove's at Blackwall, where, if you
have never dined, so much the worse for you. This account will
serve as an illustration of my doctrines on dinner-giving better
than a long abstract discourse.
"The party will consist of seven men besides myself, and every
guest is asked for some reason--upon which good fellowship mainly
depends, for people brought together unconnectedly had, in my
opinion, better be kept separate. Eight I hold to be the golden
number, never to be exceeded without weakening the efficiency of
concentration. The dinner is to consist of turtle, followed by no
other fish but whitebait, which is to be followed by no other
meat but grouse, which are to be succeeded by apple fritters and
jelly; pastry on such occasions being quite out of place. With
the turtle, of course, there will be punch, with the whitebait
champagne, and with the grouse claret; the two former I have
ordered to be particularly well iced, and they will all be placed
in succession upon the table, so that we can help ourselves as we
please. I shall permit no other wines, unless, perchance, a
bottle or two of port, if particularly wanted, as I hold a
variety of wines a great mistake. With respect to the adjuncts, I
shall take care that there is cayenne, with lemons cut in halves,
within reach of every one for the turtle, and that brown bread
and butter in abundance is set upon the table for the whitebait.
The dinner will be followed by ices and a good dessert, after
which coffee and one glass of liqueur each and no more."
CHAPTER XXIV.
Clubs--Theatres--Other amusements--a foreigner's idea of
London--London streets and noises--"Buy a broom?" girls.
How did the people amuse themselves? For men of the upper class there
were clubs, which were nothing like so numerous as now. First of all
comes White's, the _doyen_ of all existing clubs--founded as a
Chocolate House in 1698; then, in the next century, the still
surviving clubs were Boodle's, Brooks', and Arthur's; while those of
the present century are the Guards (1813), United Service, Travellers,
Union, United University, Athenæum, Oriental, Junior United Service,
Wyndham, and Oxford and Cambridge. In William the Fourth's reign the
following came into existence: the Carlton and Garrick, 1831; the City
of London, 1832; Reform, 1835; and the Army and Navy, 1837. These, it
will be seen, are purely class clubs; the social clubs were generally
held at some respectable tavern, and their names are as unknown now as
their numbers.
There were fifteen theatres in London: (1) The King's Theatre or
Italian Opera, (2) Drury Lane, (3) Covent Garden, (4) Haymarket, (5)
English Opera or Lyceum Theatre, (6) Adelphi, (7) Olympic, (8)
Astley's, (9) Surrey, (10) The Coburg (named after Prince Leopold) in
Waterloo Road, now the Victoria, (11) Sadler's Wells, (12) City of
London (defunct), in Shoreditch, (13) Queen's Theatre, Tottenham
Street, Tottenham Court Road (now tenantless), (14) Pavilion, in
Whitechapel, and (15) the Garrick, in Leman Street, Whitechapel, no
longer used as a theatre. This latter was, on January 20, 1831,
prosecuted at the Middlesex Sessions for being unlicensed. "_Francis
Wyman_, _Benjamin Conquest_, and _Charles John Freer_, were indicted
for having, on the 1st of December, and on divers days since, kept a
house for dancing, music, and other like performances, called the
Garrick Subscription Theatre, and situate within twenty miles of
London, not having a licence obtained at the Michaelmas Quarter
Sessions of the Peace for that County." The offence was proved, but
the chairman ruled that the performance of music or dancing, as
incidental to a play, or in an interval between the acts, did not
constitute the keeping of a place for "performing music, dancing, and
such like performances," within the meaning of the Act. The evidence
showed this place was conducted as a theatre, and, as such, the
parties were liable to be proceeded against under other Acts of
Parliament, but he could not say they ought to be convicted under
this. _Not guilty._ This little theatre was particularly recommended
as closing by eleven o'clock--the performances at the others lasting
till twelve or after.
The following notices as to the prices and commencement of
performances of those which survive will be interesting for comparison
with their present arrangements:--
No. 1 was the only theatre with stalls, which, together with the
boxes, were mostly rented for the season. Pit, 8_s._ 6_d._
Commence at 8.
No. 2. Commence at 7. Boxes, 7_s._; pit, 3_s._ 6_d._; lower
gallery, 2_s._; upper gallery, 1_s._ Half-price at 9.
No. 3. Same as Drury Lane.
No. 4. Commence at 7. Boxes, 5_s._; pit, 3_s._; lower gallery,
2_s._; upper gallery, 1_s._ Half-price, none; but, as an
equivalent, the performances were seldom over before 1.
No. 5. No account of prices. Not always open.
No. 6. Commence, 6.45. Boxes, 4_s._; pit, 2_s._; gallery, 1_s._
Half-price, 8.30.
No. 7. Commence, 7. Prices same as Adelphi. Half-price, 8.30.
No. 8. Commence, 6.30. " "
No. 9. " " "
No. 11. " " "
No. 14. " " "
Vauxhall was open for singing and for dancing, for those who could
never hope for entrance into Almacks; and, for those who liked Tom and
Jerryism, there were many places which were open all night. But,
during the day, for serious people and families there were many
attractions. One of them, the bazaar, is practically dead. There were
the Soho Bazaar, and the Queen's Bazaar, in Oxford Street, opposite
the Pantheon, in which was exhibited the "Royal Clarence Vase," which
was made of cut coloured glass, in 2400 pieces, so joined as to be
water-tight. It weighed eight tons, its height, including the
pedestal, was fourteen feet, and the inner diameter of the bowl was
twelve feet. The Pantheon, now the offices of Messrs. W. & A. Gilbey,
was opened in May, 1834. It was one of the largest bazaars, with
counters for 250 standings for the sale of fancy articles, millinery,
jewellery, etc., and there were many rooms devoted to the reception of
paintings and statuary. There was the King Street Bazaar, Baker
Street, and something like the bazaars were the Western Exchange,
between Burlington Arcade and Old Bond Street, and the Burlington and
Lowther Arcades.
The Thames Tunnel, though far from complete, was open to the public on
payment of a shilling, which sum would also admit to the Exhibition of
the Royal Academy at Somerset House. Where the Empire Music Hall, in
Leicester Square, now stands, was Miss Linwood's Exhibition of
Needlework-pictures, mostly copies from old masters, done in coloured
wools. There were the Malediction of Cain, David with his sling,
Reynolds's Laughing and Sleeping Girls, Jephtha's Vow, etc., etc.--and
very beautiful they were. Entrance, two shillings. In Leicester
Square, too, was Burford's Panorama, in which, in April, 1832, were
exhibited panoramas of Bombay and Florence. In May, same year, at the
Queen's Bazaar, was the Physiorama and the Diorama, with eighteen
views altogether, among which were Bristol on fire, Melrose Abbey by
moonlight, Joshua commanding the sun to stand still, and the
Coronation in Westminster Abbey. At the Colosseum in Regent's Park,
finished in 1827 and demolished in 1874, was the famous Panorama of
London, which covered nearly an acre of canvas, painted, under the
superintendence of Mr. Parris, from sketches made by Mr. Horner in
1821, from St. Paul's, at the time when repairs were going on above
the dome of the cathedral. The visitor was raised to the level of the
panorama by means of a lift, which in those days was considered a
wonder. To see this cost one shilling, whilst for another you might
see the Conservatories, Marine Cavern, Swiss Cottage, Waterfall,
Alpine scenery, etc. This year, too, there was another panorama at
Burford's, a view of Milan, and, during the reign, there were several
others, as well as changes at the Diorama.
At the lower end of St. Martin's Lane was the pavilion of the gigantic
whale, which was found dead, floating off the coast of Belgium, on
November 3, 1827. The skeleton, which was exhibited, was ninety-five
feet long, and eighteen broad, and the prices to view were a shilling
each person, and "for those who sit in the belly of the whale two
shillings." In Bond Street the curious might visit the "Papyro
Museum," which was a collection of many groups of miniature figures
moulded in paper, and habited and coloured to the life. They were
modelled by two ladies, sisters, and took four years to execute. It
was not successful, and its fate is described in the following quaint
advertisement. _Times_, September 15, 1832--
"THE PAPYRO MUSEUM,
or 'Casting Pearls before Swine,' recently illustrated at 28, Old
Bond Street, and here demonstrated as follows, viz:--
£ _s._ _d._
Dr. to 12 weeks rent of exhibition room 25 4 0
" Carpenters' and drapers' bills 11 3 1
" Three printers' bills 11 2 0
" Advertisements in daily and weekly papers 27 4 6
" Salaries of receiver, check-taker, and placard
men 25 19 0
" Sundries, including carriage, insurance, postage,
magnifying-glasses, stationery, &c. 8 5 4
------------
108 17 11
------------
Cr. by admissions £71 11_s._; catalogues sold £7 1_s._ 78 12 0
------------ -----------
Loss on exhibition £30 5 11
"Reflect on this, ye directors of public taste and opinion, opera
goers, _déjeuné_ doers, and ostentatious patrons of virtu. The
exhibition of a single little mediocre picture, with a big name,
'The Chapeau de Paille,'[21] cleared, by your indiscriminate,
gregarious appreciation, about twelve hundred guineas! The Tam
O'Shanter Stone Works, between three and four thousand! While
eighty groups of the most unique and exquisite gems of art in
Europe, the achievements of English artists, and wholly devoted
to British charity, realizes, by three months exhibition, a loss
of £30 5_s._ 11_d._! to say nothing of considerable personal
expenses, and the sacrifice of immense mental and physical
exertion. If this be not disgusting, if it be not an eternal
disgrace, if it fail to rouse deep indignation, and to justify
the bitterest contempt, then what can, or ought? Would anomalies
so odious have happened in Dublin or Edinburgh? In Paris,
Brussels, or Amsterdam? In Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, or St.
Petersburgh? In Rome, Naples, Madrid, or even Lisbon? Would such
barbarous and heartless apathy to genius and humanity be evinced
in Algiers, America, Hayti, or, in short, by any people on earth,
but the 'most thinking,' absurd seeking, flea-hunting dilettanti
of the British Metropolis? So much for Royal and aristocratic
patronage; so much for the schoolmaster at home; his boasted
'march of intellect,' 'penny' intelligence, discernment,
patriotism, and benevolence, forsooth!"
[Footnote 21: Now in the National Gallery: bought by the trustees from
the late Sir Robert Peel.]
In May, 1834, was exhibited at the Baker Street Bazaar, a "Padorama,"
or a continuous view of the railroad and the adjacent country through
which the line of road passes between Manchester and Liverpool. And
the same month and year was opened a "Cosmorama" in Regent Street,
with views of the Hippodrome at Constantinople, the town of Grenoble,
the interior of the Cathedral of St. Gudule at Brussels, the Lake of
Thun, and the adjacent Alps, Isola Bella on the Lago Maggiore, the
Cascade in the Park of St. Cloud, the Monuments at Philoe, on the
Nile, and the Convent of St. Bernard. These two exhibitions seem to
have been ephemeral, but the panorama in Leicester Square, and the
diorama in Regent's Park, still held their own.
Another ephemeral exhibition took place in this year, which is
described in the _Times_, June 9--
"EXHIBITION OF ANCIENT COSTUME.
"The exhibition of ancient female costume worn at the courts of
Oliver Cromwell and Charles II., which last year was exhibited at
Regent Street, has this season been opened at the Somerset
Gallery, No. 151, Strand. The dresses which compose this very
curious and entertaining collection, were the property of Mrs.
Luson, who was well known for her eccentricity and peculiar
habits of life. Mrs. Luson died about fourteen years ago, at the
almost antediluvian age of 116 years. The dresses now being
exhibited, with many others which are in the possession of the
proprietor of the exhibition, and also many ancient watches,
bracelets, and female ornaments of various descriptions, came
into the possession of Mrs. Luson, in consequence of her marriage
with Mr. Luson, to whom they descended from Mrs. Bendysh, the
daughter of Lady Fleetwood, and, consequently, the granddaughter
of the Protector Cromwell. We believe they may be considered as
genuine articles, and, as the proprietor affirms them to be, the
identical garments worn by the Cromwell family on the occasions
of Court festivals."
In Tichborne Street was "Weeks' Mechanical Exhibition," where, among
other things, was shown an automaton tarantula spider, made of steel,
which ran backward and forward, stretched and drew out its legs, and
moved its horns and claws. There was also an "animated white mouse,
formed chiefly of oriental pearls. This little animal runs about the
table, and feeds at pleasure, and looks so tempting that the most
daintily fed tabby might consider it a _bonne bouche_. A
_caterpillar_, the colours of which are represented in enamelled gold
and brilliants, is an admirably minute copy of animated nature; it is
seen feeding on the foliage of a golden tree. Nor must we forget the
figure of an _old woman_, who at a call comes forth from her cottage,
walks leisurely about, supported by the occasional use of her
crutches, while the joints in her arms and legs are all in apparently
natural motion!" Madame Tussaud's exhibition of waxwork was not open
all the year round; up to 1834 the show was in Gray's Inn, and
afterwards at the Lowther Rooms, King William Street, Charing Cross.
Another minor exhibition was the "Microcosm" in Regent Street, near
Piccadilly, where, "by means of the solar microscope, one
wine-glassful of river water is shown to contain reptiles of all
descriptions, from the _newt_ to the _lizard_!"
The Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park were opened to the public in
1828, and William IV. considerably augmented the collection of the
larger beasts, by presenting the Society with the menagerie which used
to be maintained at the Tower. And there were also the Surrey
Zoological Gardens, in Manor Place, Walworth, which were first opened
to the public in August, 1831. Here was a small menagerie compared
with that of the Zoological Society, the property of Mr. Cross, who
removed here from Exeter Change, and the gardens were more for popular
entertainment. There was a large lake, and, although the place was
opened on a somewhat scientific basis, it soon came to be only for
amusements, such as concerts, fireworks, etc. It was sold soon after
1862, and is now all built over.
The London of that day was not beautiful, dull rows of houses utterly
devoid of any ornament met the eye everywhere. Architecture was
practically unknown, and the only improvement that had been made for
many years was the building of Regent Street. It was reserved for the
Victorian era to redeem the apathy of the past. Hear what a foreigner,
Baron d'Haussez, writing in 1833, says--
"In the more recently built parts of London there is nothing
imposing but the breadth and handsome proportions of its streets;
and in the City nothing but its immense population and the
impress of life which commerce imparts to it. With the exception
of the churches, whose style, whether Greek or Gothic, is
tolerably pure, few buildings fix the attention of a stranger;
but a great number may surprise him by the profusion or the
singularity of their ornaments, or by the beauty of their site.
To this cause, and to the irregularity in the line of buildings,
is chiefly owing the effect produced by the houses in Pall Mall,
Waterloo Place, Regent Street, and Regent's Park. So much pains
have been taken to reproduce the ancient style of architecture,
that one might fancy one's self in an ancient Greek or Roman
City; there is not a house which has not a monumental character.
The slightest examination reveals the numerous imperfections, the
glaring faults of imitation without taste, without reason, and at
variance with the commonest rules of art."
The Baron is equally outspoken as to some of the social aspects of the
metropolis--
"One is often tempted to ask, not if there is a police in London
(its agents in a blue uniform, with numbered collars, scattered
everywhere, night and day, would render that question
superfluous), but what the police does, so little attention is
paid to its details--so great its seeming negligence, in order
not to appear over meddling: certain it is, however, that the
interference of the police is not visible in the cleanliness of
the streets, nor in the indication of their names (for the names
are wanting at the end of most streets), nor in the passing to
and fro of carriages, which are drawn up _pêle mêle_ at the
entrance of all public places, according to the irresponsible
caprice of their drivers. It often happens, in consequence of
this confusion, that vehicles of all sorts become locked
together; this gives rise to a reciprocation of abuse and blows;
nor is the interference of the police here apparent as regards
animals, which, in being driven on market days from one end of
the town to the other, occasion frequent obstructions and often
serious accidents. A certain class of women, too, in spite of
English modesty, exercise their shameless calling in a most
brazen manner, unchecked by the police; neither do they abate
those nuisances of stalls, dangerous to the health and safety of
the public; nor bestow the attention on an infinity of objects
which, in other countries, claim and deserve the attention of the
Municipal Administration. In England, trifles like these are
disregarded, and interference is limited to matters of more
importance. On the other hand, there are few capitals where
robberies are more infrequent, where robbers are so soon
discovered and punished, or where popular movements (brought
about generally, it is true, by a populace without courage, and
unaccustomed to the use of firearms) are sooner suppressed; where
there are fewer disastrous occurrences, fewer collisions between
the different classes of society; or where all these results are
obtained with so little constraint, vexation, and noise."
But it was a very noisy city, this London. The watchmen, not
altogether done away with, would croak out his "Past twelve o'clock,
and a frosty morning;" the milkwoman made the early morning hideous
with her shrieks, as also did the chimneysweep and the newsman, who
brought your morning paper; the peripatetic vendor of fish, or cats'
meat, cried out, the dustman rang a bell and yelled, whilst all sorts
of street hawkers helped to swell the din. Muffin men not only cried
out but rang a bell, as did also the postman; but then his bell was
legalized and useful, as, on hearing it, people could rush to the door
and give him the letters needing posting instead of going to a
post-office, which might be some distance off, and there were no
pillar-boxes in those days. Then, too, the postmen wore the King's
scarlet. The streets were noisy, the roads being paved with squared
stones, asphalte never having been dreamt of, and wood-pavement being
only just mentioned by the _Mechanic's Magazine_, quoted in the
_Times_ of October 27, 1835--
[Illustration: Man.]
"We observe from the New York papers, that a trial is about to be
made in that city of the plain paving with wood followed in St.
Petersburg, and repeatedly recommended by us for adoption in the
more retired parts of our own metropolis. A part of the Broadway
has been selected for the purpose. 'Each of the small blocks of
wood is of hexagonal shape; the whole are fitted together and
driven up tightly, by a long strip of timber near the gutter at
the side; and the interstices between the blocks to be well
covered with tar or pitch.'"
[Illustration: Broom girl.]
One of the features of the streets at that time was the "buy a broom
girl," so called from her cry. Her costume was picturesque, and she
was rather an ornament to the extremely prosaic street.
"From Deutschland I come, with my light wares all laden,
To dear, happy England, in summer's gay bloom;
Then listen, fair ladies, and young pretty maidens,
And buy of a wand'ring Bavarian, a broom.
Buy a broom? Buy a broom?"
Their lives were not always happy, as we may see in the _Times_ of
October 5, 1830--
"One of the Dutch girls, who obtain a livelihood by selling
brooms, applied to the magistrates at Lambeth Street for a
summons against the man who brought her over to this country for
withholding her wages. It appeared, from her statement, that it
was the practice for the dealers in brooms to bring over a number
of girls, at miserable wages, which are contracted to be paid
when the girl returns to Germany. Many, therefore, have an
opportunity of defrauding the girls of their miserable pittance;
and in this case, from the girl's statement, appeared likely to
add to their number. She had contracted for 1_s._ 8_d._ a week to
sell brooms about the country. On this pittance she was to board,
clothe, and lodge herself, which she had only been able to do by
the bounty and charity of the gentry in the country. Her master
had run into her debt to the amount of £2, and was preparing to
quit England. The magistrates ordered that the summons should be
immediately granted."
Hone, who has rescued for us so many unconsidered trifles, tells us in
his _Every-day Book_ (vol. i. 809) that--
"These girls are Flemings. They come to England from the
Netherlands, in the spring, and they take their departure with
the summer. They have only one shrill twittering note, 'Buy a
broom?' sometimes varying it into the singular plural, 'Buy a
brooms?' It is a domestic cry: two or three go together, and
utter it in company with each other; not in concert, nor to a
neighbourhood, and scarcely louder than will attract the notice
of an inmate at a parlour window or an open street door, or a
lady or two passing in the street. The hair is tightened up in
front and at the sides, and so secured or skewered at the top of
the head, as if it were constricted by a tourniquet; the little
close cap, not larger than an infant's, seems to be put on and
tied down by strings fastened beneath the chin, merely as a
concealment of the machinery.
"Without a single inflexion of the body--and, for anything that
appears to the contrary, it may be incased in tin--from the
waist, the form abruptly and boldly bows out like a large
beehive, or an arch of carpentry, built downward from above the
hips, for the purpose of opening and distending the enormous
petticoat into numerous plaits and folds, and therefore allowing
the legs to walk without incumbrance. Their pictures are exactly
miniatured in an unpainted penny doll of turnery ware, made all
round, before and behind, and sold in the toy shops for the
amusement of infancy. These Flemish girls are of low stature,
with features as formal and old-fashioned as their dress. Their
gait and manner answer to both. They carry their brooms, not
under the left arm, but upon it, as they would children, upright
between the arm and the side, with the heads in front of the
shoulder. One, and one only, of the brooms is invariably held in
the right hand, and this is elevated with the sharp cry of 'Buy a
Broom?' to any one likely to become a purchaser, till it is
either purchased or declined.
"The 'brooms' are one entire piece of wood; the sweeping part
being slivered from the handle, and the shavings neatly turned
over, and bound into the form of a besom. They are bought to dust
curtains and hangings with; but good housewives have another use
for them; one of them, dipped in fair water, sprinkles the dried
clothes in the laundry, for the process of ironing, infinitely
better than the hand; it distributes the water more equally and
more quickly."
Other foreigners were there in the streets, Italian boys, who had
white mice, and played the hurdy-gurdy, and Italian men, who ground
upright pianos, and sometimes had a companion monkey; but the German
brass band was, happily for our forefathers, unknown.
CHAPTER XXV.
Holborn Viaduct--Omnibuses--Cabs--Hansom's patent--Posting--Mail
coaches--Stage coaches--Hotels.
On all hands, it is admitted that the streets of London were generally
well paved, and there were but two bad hills, Holborn and Snow Hills,
which were caused by the Valley of the Fleet. This has been bridged
over in our time, but a similar viaduct was proposed in 1833. This was
intended to take down the houses from the corner of Bartlett's
Buildings, Holborn, to Seacoal Lane, Skinner Street, or, on the
opposite side, from Hatton Garden to the top of Snow Hill, and erect a
level terrace on brick arches between these points, the houses to be
taken down and set back about fifty feet, or in a line with St.
Andrew's Church, and the arches under the terrace to be fitted up as
shops on Holborn Hill, with a handsome balustrade on the top. An
ornamental arch was to be turned over Farringdon Street, on the
principle of Highgate Archway. This is, virtually, what was begun
about thirty years later, in 1867.
As the population of London in 1831 (taking the area as now) was only
about a million and a half, it stands to reason that there would be
but about a quarter of the traffic. The first omnibus started from the
Yorkshire Stingo, Paddington, to the Bank, on July 4, 1829, and,
becoming popular, these vehicles were very soon multiplied, and, in
1831, there seem to have been ninety running; for, at a meeting of
omnibus proprietors on September 10th of that year, it was proposed,
in consequence of the danger which arose from competitive racing, to
stop thirty-three of them, and, as the chairman observed, "this
diminution would leave fifty-seven of them to run, so that the public
would have a regular conveyance every three minutes from Paddington to
the Bank, from eight in the morning till ten at night."
As a specimen of omnibus amenities about this time I may mention a
police case at Marylebone, on August 14, 1830. It was for an assault,
but that was of very little moment; it related more to the convenience
and safety of the public, especially the female portion; for it came
out that by some of the cads (as the conductors were then called) it
was considered fair play to take a lady forcibly from the steps of an
omnibus she was inclined to enter and push her into another, and that
the previous week, two ladies had been so mauled by four strong
fellows, that they would not ride at all.
The royal assent was given on September 22, 1831, to "An Act to amend
the laws relating to Hackney Carriages," etc., by which it was enacted
that, up to January 5, 1833, they should be limited to twelve
hundred, and, after that date, there was to be no limitation to their
number, except that caused by the law of demand and supply. The
hackney coach was a cumbrous vehicle with two horses, and, in 1823,
one-horsed vehicles were introduced, called cabriolets, speedily
shortened into cabs. They began modestly with twelve, and in 1831 had
increased to one hundred and sixty-five. They were somewhat peculiar,
as the driver sat by the side of his fare, although not with him, and
the possibility of the coachman seeing the amount he was to be given,
and the chance of his upsetting his passenger in case it did not meet
his expectations, is humorously described in Pickwick.
[Illustration: One-horsed vehicule.]
On December 23, 1834, Joseph Aloysius Hansom, an architect, took out a
patent, No. 6733, for "a vehicle for conveying loads, etc.," and from
that time to this his name has been inseparably connected in England
with cabs. Not that his cab was like the present "hansom," which is a
product of much evolution. There was no back seat for the driver, and
its "safety" consisted in its cranked axle. He sold his rights to a
company for £10,000, but never got a penny piece of it. The only money
he ever got out of it was £300, which, when the company had got into a
muddle, was paid him to take temporary management and put things
straight again.
[Illustration: One-horsed vehicule.]
Thanks to Mr. John Macadam, whose system of using broken stones is
still adopted, the country roads were very much improved. He, unlike
Hansom, received £10,000 from Parliament, and was appointed
Surveyor-General of the Metropolitan roads in 1827. He died in 1836.
In describing travelling in England during this reign, I cannot do
better than quote from Baron d'Haussez, because a foreigner looks upon
things with a far more critical eye than a native, who is always used
to them. Says he--
"The taste for travelling, an expensive taste in any country, is
truly a ruinous one in England. If the means of satisfying it are
numerous, and accompanied by all that can promote pleasure, one
is steeled against this seductive consolation by the perpetual
warning of a speedily drained purse.
[Illustration: Vehicule.]
"Posting, placed on a totally different footing from that service
in the rest of Europe, is not the object of an exclusive
privilege. By means of a licence, which cannot be refused, relays
of post-horses are established according to the caprice or will
of those who possess them. The rivalry arising from this practice
does not lower the price of posting, which, London excepted, is
nearly the same on all roads, and differs but little from the
price of relays in France. The number of horses is always fixed
at two or four, without regard to the number of travellers, or to
the form or weight of the carriages. When you desire a
post-chaise, the innkeeper is obliged to furnish it, without your
paying an additional price. These chaises, in the shape of our
_coupés_, are well hung, and very clean and commodious.
"England has not, as we find in France, a breed of horses
specially appropriated to posting. The greater part of the
post-horses in England are hunters or carriage-horses, which,
having become unfit for either of these purposes, wear out the
remnant of their strength in post-chaises, before they are
transferred to hackney coaches and waggons. Their speed answers
in a great degree to what one would expect from their breed. You
travel at the rate of eight or nine miles an hour (about three
and a half leagues), which includes the time of changing horses.
"The height of the postillions (always chosen among the smallest
men), and their dress, consisting of a jacket, short breeches,
and half boots, are calculated with a view to reduce to the
smallest possible compass the burden of the horses. There is no
difference between the town harness and that which is kept for
posting. They are both in excellent condition.
"The mail coaches destined for the transport of letters are
carriages with four inside and six outside places. Behind the
coach the guard is seated, with a blunderbuss and a pair of
pistols before him. These coaches travel at the rate of ten
miles, or four leagues an hour; but their small size (for the
English, in general tall and thick, appear to have little regard
to their personal proportions in the size of their carriages),
and the short time they stop to refresh, render them very
unpleasant modes of conveyance.
"Stage coaches are very elegant carriages, built to carry fifteen
or eighteen travellers, and a considerable weight in packets, but
on admirable roads. This is an indispensable condition. Without
it, the height of the carriages, the arrangement of the whole of
the luggage on the imperial, and the lightness of the body and
the axletree, would give rise to frequent accidents.
"The inside of the coach contains only four places. The seat of
the coachman, and another seat placed immediately behind it,
admit of six persons, and two seats facing each other, at the
hind wheels, afford places for six or eight more. These seats are
fixed over boots or boxes for stowing away the luggage. Such
parcels as these cannot contain are placed on the imperial.
"The desire to breathe the fresh air, rather than economical
considerations, induce even the richest English to give a
preference to outside places. They only go inside when compelled
by bad weather. The place most in request--one knows not
wherefore--is to the left of the coachman; it is considered as
the place of honour, and is reserved for fashionables, and even
for lords, who do not disdain to travel thus. The sole
advantages, which such a station appeared to me to present, were
the being placed near a well-dressed coachman, and the escaping
the chance of travelling by the side of a butcher, a shoemaker,
or some other individual of that class. Each time the coachman
descends from his box, his neighbour has the advantage of being
made the forced depositary of his reins and whip. These are
placed in your hands, as they are taken out of them again,
without the least ceremony.
"The appointments of an English coach are no less elegant than
its form. A portly looking coachman seated on a very high
coach-box, well dressed, wearing white gloves, a nosegay in his
button-hole, and his chin enveloped in an enormous cravat, drives
four horses perfectly matched and harnessed, and as carefully
groomed as when they excited admiration in the carriages of
Grosvenor and Berkeley Squares. Such is the manner in which
English horses are managed, such, also, is their docility, the
effect either of temperament or training, that you do not remark
the least restiveness in them. Four-horse coaches are to be seen
rapidly traversing the most populous streets of London, without
occasioning the least accident, without being at all
inconvenienced in the midst of the numerous carriages, which
hardly leave the necessary space to pass. The swearing of ostlers
is never heard at the relays, any more than the neighing of
horses; nor are you interrupted on the road by the voice of the
coachman, or the sound of his whip, which differs only from a
cabriolet whip in the length of the thong, and serves as a sort
of appendage, rather than a means of correction in the hand which
carries it. In England, where everything is so well arranged,
where each person knows so well how to confine himself to the
exigencies of his proper position, the horses do better what they
have to do than the horses of other countries, and that, too,
without the need of a brutal correction. One may travel from one
end of England to the other without hearing the sound of a whip,
or the hallooing of conductors, which in France fall so
disagreeably on the ears of travellers.
"Among the wonders of English civilization, the inns should be
mentioned. In many of the larger towns they are magnificent, and
they are good and well supplied in the smallest. In the greater
part of them the servants are in livery, and in all their
attendance is prompt and respectful. On their arrival,
travellers are received by the master of the house, whose decent
dress indicates a respectful feeling towards strangers.
Introduced into a well-heated, well-furnished room, they have
never to wait for a meal, the simplicity of which, in the way of
cookery, is atoned for by the elegance, often the richness, of
the plate and ware, and the superior quality of the meat. A
sleeping-room, as comfortable as this kind of apartment (so
neglected in England) can be, completes the _agrément_ of your
sojourn. Your discontent does not commence till the exorbitant
bill proves that such attentions, far from being disinterested,
are, on the contrary, dearly charged for. Seldom do you separate
from your host with a reciprocation of politeness. Yet,
notwithstanding the coldness with which his attentions are
received, the landlord does not cease to remain by the side of
the traveller till his carriage is in motion."
With regard to the London hotels, travellers by the coaches generally
stopped where they stopped, and were very fairly treated. Of course,
there was none of the palatial magnificence of the modern hotel, but
there was an amount of homely comfort to which the people of those
days were accustomed. The West End hotels, save those for awful
swells, were about Covent Garden, and Morley's Hotel at Charing Cross
was one of the best. The first monster hotel in London was the Great
Western, and its financial success led the way to the palaces that now
adorn our West End thoroughfare.
There is an amusing anecdote _re_ "Mine Host" given in the _New
Sporting Magazine_, and quoted in the _Times_ of March 27, 1835--
"INNKEEPER'S WAYS.
"I will conclude with a story told me the other day, by a Kentish
gentleman, of an innkeeper's 'ways' on the Dover Road. Two
gentlemen having dined and stayed all night, called for the bill
in the morning, and one of them happened to be within earshot
when the waiter went to the landlord to have it made out, and
overheard the following colloquy: Waiter: 'Please, sir, the
gemmen in No. 5 wants their bill.'--Landlord: 'Very well' (taking
down a printed form), 'let me hear what they had.'--Waiter:
'Soup, sir.'--Landlord: 'Soup; very well; what sort was
it?'--Waiter: 'Mock turtle.'--Landlord: 'Mock turtle, 3_s._ Did
they make any remark about it?'--Waiter: 'No, sir; only one of
them said it was werry good.'--Landlord: 'Did they eat of it
twice?'--Waiter: 'Yes, sir.'--Landlord: 'Oh, then, mock turtle,
5_s._; now go on.'--Waiter: 'Fried sole and shrimp
sauce.'--Landlord: 'Fried sole, 2_s._; shrimp sauce, 1_s._; 3_s._
Did they make any remark about that?'--Waiter: 'One of them said
that the fish was werry fresh.--Landlord: 'Indeed! then, fried
sole, 3_s._; shrimp sauce, 1_s._ 6_d._; 4_s._ 6_d._ Now go
on.'--Waiter: 'Small leg of Welsh mutton, potatoes, and French
beans.'--Landlord: 'Mutton, 5_s._; potatoes, 1_s._; French beans,
5_s._; rather early for French beans, isn't it?'--Waiter: 'Yes,
sir; both the gemmen remarked that it was werry
early.'--Landlord: 'Oh, then, French beans, 10_s._'"
Of the coaching hotels enough has been written from Smollett's time,
or before, to date; and, as for their number, any visitor to Barnet
can judge, by those that remain, several having been made to serve
other purposes. This was the first change out of London, on the great
North Road, and even I remember fifteen coaches running each way, and
the last one being run off. I think it was either the Luton Coach or
the Bedford Times.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Steam carriages on roads--Commission thereon--Steam
omnibus--Railways--A nuisance--Railways started during the
reign--Opening of the Greenwich Railway.
But the road was not monopolized by horseflesh. Steam was asserting
itself, and many were the trials of steam carriages on the turnpike
roads. In 1821 Mr. Julius Griffith invented, and Messrs. Bramah
manufactured, a carriage, on which the engineer sat in front, and two
directors or steersmen behind, in vehicles separated from the
carriage, which swung easily on a variety of springs fastened into a
strong connecting frame. The error of this invention lay in the
boiler, which consisted of 114 tubes. These, unfortunately, would not
always contain the water; and, when empty, they became so heated, that
no force-pump could inject the water. In 1822, 1824, and 1825, Mr.
David Gordon tried his hand on steam carriages and failed. In 1829 Sir
James Anderson and Mr. James constructed one, under the patents
obtained by the latter gentleman in 1824 and 1825, and are said to
have worked the engine at a pressure of two hundred pounds each
square inch of the piston. In 1827 Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney patented
one, as did also Messrs. Hill and Burstall in 1828.
There was one running in August, 1830, belonging to Messrs. Summers
and Co., which began its journey by bursting a pipe. This repaired, it
utterly demoralized itself by running into a turnpike gatepost at
Turnham Green, and had to be taken home. Anyhow they must have become
fairly common, for we read in the _Times_, May 12, 1831--
"STEAM CARRIAGES ON COMMON ROADS.
"Some of the advantages to the public from the use of steam on
the turnpike roads already begin to show themselves. Previous to
the starting of the steam coach between Gloucester and
Cheltenham, the fares were four shillings each person--now the
public are taken by all the coaches at one shilling per head. On
Tuesday morning the steam coach took thirty-three passengers from
Cheltenham to Gloucester in fifty minutes."
Again, _Times_, June 7, 1831, quoting the _Glasgow Chronicle_, says--
"Mr. Gurney's[22] steam carriage was, on Wednesday night, blown
to pieces by an explosion of the boiler. The catastrophe occurred
in the square of the cavalry barracks, where the carriage was
exhibiting. It had gone round the square several times, and
stopped at one corner of it, where some people got out. Two boys,
sons of Mr. Maclure, of the Port Eglinton Inn, at that time
entered, and were about to be followed by two gentlemen, when the
boiler burst with a tremendous explosion, and shattered the
vehicle into numberless pieces. The two boys were very seriously
injured in the face and other parts of the body, and they now lie
in very precarious circumstances."
[Footnote 22: Tom Hood notices this steam carriage in his poem of
"Conveyancing"--
"Instead of _journeys_, people now
May go upon a _Gurney_,
With steam to do the horses' work,
By _powers of attorney_;
Tho' with a load, it may explode,
And you may all be _un_done!
And find you're going _up to heaven_,
Instead of _up to London_."]
The road steam carriage was such a novelty, that people hardly knew
what to make of it, so a Select Committee of the House of Commons upon
it was appointed, who reported thereon to the House on October 12,
1831. The conclusion of the report was as follows:--
"Sufficient evidence has been adduced to convince your
Committee--
"1. That carriages can be propelled by steam on common roads at
an average rate of ten miles per hour.
"2. That at this rate they have conveyed upwards of fourteen
passengers.
"3. That their weight, including engine, fuel, water, and
attendants, may be under three tons.
"4. That they can ascend and descend hills of considerable
inclination with facility and safety.
"5. That they are perfectly safe for passengers.
"6. That they are not (or need not be, if properly constructed)
nuisances to the public.
"7. That they will become a speedier and cheaper mode of
conveyance than carriages drawn by horses.
"8. That, as they admit of greater breadth of tire than other
carriages, and as the roads are not acted on so injuriously as by
the feet of horses in common draught, such carriages will cause
less wear of roads than coaches drawn by horses.
"9. That rates of toll have been imposed on steam carriages which
would prohibit their being used on several lines of road, were
such charges permitted to remain unaltered."
On August 20, 1832, we hear of a steam carriage, constructed by a Mr.
Hancock, intending to make an experimental trip to Windsor, and coming
to grief at Dachet. In November and December of the same year we learn
that a steam carriage, constructed by Captain Macirone and Mr. Squire,
was running about Paddington, and that "the jolting was not much
greater than an ordinary stage coach." In the _Times_ of April 25,
1833, we read of a
"STEAM OMNIBUS.
"Monday afternoon an omnibus, worked by steam on a new and
ingenious principle, was tried on the Paddington Road. The
machine altogether does not exceed the space which an ordinary
omnibus, with horses attached, would occupy, and the appearance
is particularly neat. The body is capable of containing fourteen
persons, the engine dividing that from the furnace in the rear.
The passengers experience no inconvenience from heat, and, coke
being the fuel employed, there is no annoyance from smoke. The
engine works on a crank, not on an axle, and the propelling power
is applied to the wheels by means of iron chains. The chief
recommendation, that which timid persons will consider most, is
that there can be no possibility of explosion. The propelling
power is equal to fifteen or twenty miles an hour; but, even when
the steam is raised to its very highest pressure, there is no
risk, the water being deposited in several iron pipes, or what
are termed chamber boilers, with a valve to carry off the
superfluous steam. The guide, who sits in front, has complete
control of the vehicle, and can arrest its progress
instantaneously. It is intended to ply regularly from Paddington
to the Bank."
Captain Macirone's steam carriage was repeatedly noticed by the
Press, and in 1834 there is an advertisement of a company to work Dr.
Church's steam carriage; but all the schemes came to nought.
When William IV. came to the throne there were practically no railways
for passenger traffic; and it was during his reign that nearly all the
main lines in England were projected. I now marvel at their having
attained so rapid a popularity, for the travelling was very
uncomfortable. The idea of a stage coach was very difficult to get rid
of, and the carriages were subdivided so as to represent it as much as
possible--even their outsides were modelled, as far as could be, to
look like a coach, and to this day a train is, in railway _parlance_,
made up of so many coaches. The first class were padded and cushioned,
but were very stuffy, having small windows; the second class were of
plain painted wood, narrow seats, no room for one's legs, and _very_
small windows; in the third class there were no seats, it was simply a
cattle truck in which every one stood up, and as there was no roof, it
was rather lively travelling in wet weather.
Railways were soon considered as a nuisance to the public, and on
March 30th, at York, an action of _Rex_ v. _Pease and others_ was
tried. It was an indictment for a nuisance against the Stockton and
Darlington Railway Company, which was opened on September 27, 1825. By
an Act of Parliament, passed in 1821, the defendants were authorized
to form a railway from Darlington to Sunderland, and, by another Act
passed in 1823, they were authorized to use locomotive engines
thereon. The railway which, it was agreed, had been formed upon the
line pointed out in the Act of Parliament, was opened for public use
in 1825. Only one steam engine was at first used; but the number
gradually increased till there were seven in operation. This increase
had been rendered necessary by the increasing business on the railway.
For about a mile and three-quarters the railway runs in a parallel
line with the high-road leading from Yarm to Stockton, the two roads
being at an average distance from each other of fifty yards. The
nuisance complained of was the fright and danger which the noise and
the smoke of the steam engines occasioned to passengers on this part
of the highway. A variety of witnesses proved that accidents
frequently happened in consequence of horses taking fright at the
steam engine. Counsel for the railway stated that he was willing to
admit that his clients had been guilty of a nuisance, unless their
conduct was justified by the Act of Parliament, according to the
directions of which, the railway had been formed, and the steam
engines used. He suggested, therefore, that the best mode would be for
the jury to return a special verdict, finding the facts already
proved, and also that the defendants had used the best engines they
could procure, and availed themselves of every improvement offered.
The counsel for the prosecution, after some deliberation, agreed to
the proposal, and a nominal verdict of guilty was recorded.
The first railway opened in this reign was in 1830, the Liverpool and
Manchester, which melancholy event has already been noticed. In
December, 1831, was opened that between Dundee and Newtyle. In 1833
the following railways were projected. The London and Bristol
(G.W.R.), London and Southampton (L. & S.W.R.), London and Birmingham
(L. &. N.W.R), London and Brighton, and London and Greenwich; in 1834
the Great Northern Railway; in 1835 the Eastern Counties Railway
(G.E.R.), and the Commercial or Blackwall Railway. The other railways
opened for traffic were the Leeds and Selby, September 22, 1834;
Dublin and Kingdown on December 17, 1834; London and Greenwich,
December 14, 1836, and Liverpool and Birmingham, July 4, 1837. Besides
these there were many others projected, some of which came to nought.
Take, for instance, one column of advertisements (p. 2, c. 5, _Times_,
April 18, 1836)--South Western Railway, Padstow Breakwater, and Rock
Delabole, Camelford, Callington, and Plymouth Railway, South London
Union Railway, Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway, Margate and
Ramsgate Railway, Ramsgate, Canterbury, Sandwich, Deal and Dover
Railway, Gloucester and Hereford Railway, Harwich Railway, Westminster
and Deptford Railway, and the Great Central Irish Railway.
In fact, the satire in _John Bull_ of April 9, 1836, was not
altogether undeserved--
"There is always a clown in a pantomime who knocks his head
against a door, and tumbles on his nether end, and grins and
distorts his limbs, and does, in short, a thousand feats to make
the ridiculous performance more ridiculous still. In the
pantomime of railroads, in which the tricks are innumerable,
there is a clown, one so supereminently ridiculous, that if
Grimaldi were still young and active enough to wear his blue tuft
and wafer-dotted unmentionables, he would be jealous. The scheme
to which we allude is one called by the sounding name of an
International Railway--London, Paris, and Brussels, by Dover and
Calais; and there are blanks left in the prospectus (and likely
to be left) for the names of French patrons and Belgian patrons,
and provincial directors, and all the rest of it; and the
beginning of the suggestion is, that people are to go to Croydon
in the first instance, as the shortest way to Belgium. Croydon
seems an odd starting-point for Brussels; however, the prospectus
infers that London has something to do with it; how much, we may
venture to guess, by finding that the railroad communication with
London is disavowed before the committee to whom the Bill is
referred. As to Brussels and Paris, they will come, of course,
when once the sea is crossed; but we must say that the Grimaldi
railway, which renders it necessary to proceed by the old mode of
travelling to Croydon in order to be steamed to Brussels, is very
like paying a shilling to be rattled in an omnibus from London to
a field in Bermondsey marsh, in order to climb up a flight of
stairs to be rattled along the railroad at Deptford, at which
place the traveller is suddenly ejected, his object being
Greenwich (after which town the absurdity is delusively named),
which it neither does, nor, thanks to the wisdom of Parliament,
ever will reach; so that, what with the coloured hearse through
the City, before you get to the starting-place in the bog, the
climb upstairs, and the wearisome walk through the mud of the
Lower Road to Greenwich, after you come down again, you would
save exactly six pennies and three-quarters of an hour if you
stepped into a fast-going coach at the Shoulder of Mutton or the
Salopian at Charing Cross, and went slap bang to Greenwich
itself, for the trifling charge of one shilling. This is absurd
for a short affair and a matter of joke; but the railroad from
Croydon to Brussels, for a serious concern and a long business,
'beats Bannagher,' as Mr. O'Connell says."
The Greenwich Railway referred to was opened by the Lord Mayor and
civic authorities, on December 14, 1836, but only as far as Deptford;
and the whole affair seems to have been a muddle. The _Times_ of
December 15 says--
"On the arrival of the several trains at Deptford the occupants
of the carriages were allowed to get out; but here the
arrangements fell far short of what we expected, for no
preparation was made for their return. Many who had got out in
the hopes of being present at the presentation to the Lord Mayor,
and others who wished to regale themselves at some of the
neighbouring inns at Deptford, could not, from the density of the
crowds below the railway, get out; and, on retracing their steps
to the railway, they found it a work of still greater difficulty
and danger to return to the carriages from which they had
alighted. Many who had taken the precaution to notice the name of
the engine which drew the train, and the number of the carriage
which brought them down, got back in the line between two trains,
but were told by the conductors that they could not return by
that way without great risk, for that the trains would return
immediately. In consequence of this, many persons who came down
by the trains went on to Deptford, and thence to town by the
coaches."
CHAPTER XXVII.
Cases of wife selling--Duelling--Cases of--O'Connell and
D'Israeli--Other duels.
There were two amusements somewhat fashionable in this reign, wife
selling and duelling. The former is still in existence, the latter is
extinct in England. The halter round the neck was used when the wife
was sold at market, it being considered that, being thus accoutred,
she was on a level with the cattle, and thus could be legally sold.
Here is a ballad of the period thereon.
"SALE OF A WIFE.
"Attend to my ditty, you frolicsome folk,
I'll tell you a story--a comical joke;
'Tis a positive fact, what I'm going to unfold,
Concerning a woman who by auction was sold.
_Chorus._
Then long may he flourish, and prosper through life,
The sailor that purchased the carpenter's wife.
"A carpenter lived not a mile off from here,
Being a little, or rather, too fond of his beer;
Being hard up for brass--it is true, on my life,
For ten shillings, by auction, he sold off his wife.
"The husband and wife they could never agree,
For he was too fond of going out on the spree;
They settled the matter, without more delay,
So, tied in a halter, he took her away.
"He sent round the bell-man, announcing the sale,
All in the hay-market, and that without fail;
The auctioneer came, with his hammer so smart,
And the carpenter's wife stood up in a cart.
[Illustration: Sale of a wife.]
"Now she was put up without grumble or frown,
The first bid was a tailor, that bid half a crown;
Says he, 'I will make her a lady so spruce,
And fatten her well upon cabbage and goose.'[23]
"'Five and sixpence three farthings,' a butcher then said,
'Six and ten,' said a barber, with his curly head;
Then up jump'd a cobbler, said he, 'In three cracks,
I'll give you nine shillings and two balls of wax.'
"'Just look at her beauty,' the auctioneer cries;
'She's mighty good-tempered, and sober likewise.'
'Damme,' said a sailor, 'she's three out of four,
Ten shillings I bid for her, not a screw more.'
"'Thank you, sir, thank you,' said the bold auctioneer,
'Going for ten. Is there nobody here
Will bid any more? Is not this a bad job?
Going! Going! I say--she's gone for ten bob.'
"The hammer was struck; that concluded the sale,
The sailor he paid down the brass on the nail;
He shook hands with Betsy, and gave her a smack,
And she jumped straddle-legs on to his back.
"The people all relished the joke, it appears,
And gave the young sailor three hearty good cheers;
He never cried stop, with his darling so sweet,
Until he was landed in Denison Street.
"They sent for fiddler and piper to play,
They danced and they sung, till the break of day;
Then Jack to his hammock with Betsy did go,
While the fiddler and piper played 'Rosin, the beau.'"
[Footnote 23: As applied to tailors, "cabbage" means the remnants of
cloth stolen in making up garments. The "goose" is the large iron used
for pressing seams, etc.]
I have eleven cases of wife selling in this reign, copied from the
_Times_, and I have no doubt I have overlooked some more. The first
is--
"SELLING A WIFE.
"The following memorandum (says the _Stockport Advertiser_),
drawn upon a 1_s._ 6_d._ stamp, will best explain the nature of a
bargain between two fellows at a beer shop, in the Hillgate, in
this town. Milward is a butcher, and was last week fined before
our magistrates for using uneven balances in his trading
transactions. The other persons are unknown to us:--
"'I, Booth Milward, bought of William Clayton, his wife, for five
shillings, to be delivered on the 25th of March, 1831, to be
delivered in a _alter_ at Mr. John Lomases house.
"'WILLIAM CLAYTON.
"'Witnesses: Joseph Gordon, G. Wood, George Whalley.'"
The next is from the _Times_, February 25, 1832--
"BUYING AND SELLING WIVES.
"In an evening paper we find the following story: 'A most
disgusting and disgraceful scene happened in Smithfield Market on
Monday last, which at the present day is of very rare occurrence.
About two o'clock in the afternoon a fellow came into the market
leading his wife by a halter, and gave her to a drover, desiring
him to tie her to the pens and sell her to the best bidder. The
woman, who did not appear to be above twenty-five years of age,
and not bad looking, suffered herself to be tied up very quietly.
A crowd of persons soon gathered round, and a man of rather
respectable appearance entered into a negotiation with the drover
for the purchase of the wife; and, after some higgling, she was
finally knocked down to him for the sum of ten shillings. The
money was paid, but the drover refused to release her except on
payment of two shillings as his commission for the sale which he
had effected. Some confusion took place about the demand, but it
was eventually paid, and she was released from the pens, opposite
the Half Moon public house, and delivered to her purchaser, who
appeared highly pleased with his bargain. The parties adjourned
to a neighbouring public house, where the late husband spent the
greater part of the money in brandy and water.'"
The following is from the _Times_ of April 26, 1832 (from the
_Lancaster Herald_), and is somewhat out of the common run of these
affairs:--
"SALE OF A WIFE BY HER HUSBAND AT CARLYLE.
"On Saturday, the 7th instant, the inhabitants of this city
witnessed the sale of a wife by her husband, Joseph Thompson, who
resides in a small village about three miles from this city. He
rents a farm of about forty-two or forty-four acres, and was
married at Hexham in the year 1829 to his present wife. She is a
spruce, lively, and buxom damsel, apparently not exceeding
twenty-two years of age, and appeared to feel a pleasure at the
exchange she was about to make. They had no children during their
union, and that, together with some family disputes, caused them
by mutual agreement to come to the resolution of finally
parting. Accordingly the bellman was sent round to give public
notice of the sale, which was to take place at twelve o'clock.
This announcement attracted the notice of thousands. She appeared
above the crowd, standing on a large oak chair, surrounded by
many of her friends, with a rope or halter made of straw about
her neck. She was dressed in rather a fashionable country style,
and appeared to some advantage. The husband, who was also
standing in an elevated position near her, proceeded to put her
up for sale, and spoke nearly as follows:--
"'Gentlemen, I have to offer to your notice my wife, Mary Ann
Thompson, otherwise Williamson, whom I mean to sell to the
highest and fairest bidder. Gentlemen, it is her wish, as well as
mine to part for ever. She has been to me only a bosom serpent. I
took her for my comfort and the good of my house, but she became
my tormentor, a domestic curse, a night invasion, and a daily
devil. (Great laughter.) Gentlemen, I speak truth from my heart
when I say, "May God deliver us from troublesome wives and
frolicsome widows!" Avoid them as you would a mad dog, a roaring
lion, a loaded pistol, cholera morbus, Mount Etna, or any other
pestilential phenomena in nature.
"Now I have shown you the dark side of my wife, and told you her
faults and her failings, I will introduce the bright and sunny
side of her, and explain her qualifications and her goodness. She
can read novels and milk cows; she can laugh and weep with the
same ease that you can take a glass of ale when thirsty; indeed,
gentlemen, she reminds me of what the poet says of women in
general--
"'Heaven gave to women the peculiar grace,
To laugh, to weep, to cheat the human race.'
"She can make butter and scold the maid; she can sing Moore's
Melodies, and plait her frills and caps; she cannot make rum,
gin, or whisky, but she is a good judge of the quality from long
experience in tasting them. I therefore offer her, with all her
perfections and imperfections, for the sum of 50_s._
"After an hour or two, she was purchased by Henry Mears, a
pensioner, for the sum of 20_s._ and a Newfoundland dog. The
happy people immediately left town together, amidst the shouts
and huzzas of the multitude, in which they were joined by
Thompson, who, with the greatest good humour imaginable,
proceeded to put the halter which his wife had taken off round
the neck of his Newfoundland dog, and then proceeded to the first
public-house, where he spent the remainder of the day."
In the _Times_ of March 25, 1833, is the following:--
"A grinder, named Calton, sold his wife publicly in the market
place, Stockport, last Monday week. She was purchased by a
shopmate of her husband for a gallon of beer! The fair one, who
had a halter round her neck, seemed quite agreeable.--_Blackburn
Gazette._"
The _Times_ of May 24th, 1834, quoting the _Paisley Advertiser_,
says--
"SALE OF A WIFE.
"Monday night a party of doughty neighbours met in a house in New
Sneddon to enjoy a tankard or two of reaming swats, and to decide
by which of the rival 'best possible instructors' they were,
henceforth, to be enlightened. In the course of the discussion,
one of them announced his intention of setting up a dram shop,
and stated that there was only one article wanting. 'What was
that?' 'A wife!' 'A wife!' exclaimed the host--whose name is as
the name of the upper part of the garment in which the humble
daughters of St. Mirren delight to conceal their beauties--'I
will sell you mine for twenty pounds Scots.' Some higgling took
place, in the course of which the virtues of the wife shone out
with such conspicuous lustre that her price was raised to twenty
pounds sterling. This sum the purchaser agreed to pay, a contract
was drawn out, and signed by three witnesses, the conditions of
sale being that the money was to be tabled, and the transfer
completed by next day, at noon.
"Next day came, and found the seller, the purchaser, and their
witnesses once more assembled, discussing at once the terms of
agreement and a can of grog. Some of the witnesses seemed to
think that the joke was carried far enough, and proposed that the
whole proceedings should be nullified on the host forfeiting £1,
to be 'melted,' in the house; but the host was too well up to
trap to be wheedled out of his £20, and saddled with his wife to
boot; he therefore persisted in the fulfilment of the contract,
and, as the purchaser was equally averse to a rue bargain,
arrangements were put in operation to complete the transaction.
"Meanwhile, the wife, whose good qualities may be judged of by
the great rise which took place in her price, while the terms
were under discussion, got a hint of the negotiations that were
pending, and, being a good deal nettled that her opinion should
not have been asked in an affair in which she was so nearly
concerned, sallied out to a neighbouring court, known by the name
of 'Little _Ire_land,' and sounded the tocsin of alarm. A much
smaller matter than the sale of a wife was enough to agitate
'Little _Ire_land.' With _ire_ akin to that which animated the
bosom of 'Cutty Sark' and her compeers, as they sallied out of
Alloway Kirk to avenge themselves on Tam o'Shanter and his mare
Meg, sallied out the daughters of Little Ireland to avenge the
insult thus offered to one of the best half of creation. Every
damsel who could wag a tongue--mercy on us, how numerous a
class!--every one who could wield a poker, fender, or pair of
tongs, flew to arms, and resolved on a simultaneous attack; while
the high contracting parties, and their assistant negotiators
were within, discussing terms, wholly ignorant of the storm that
was brewing around them. How the victory would have gone it is no
way difficult to predict; but before active hostilities
commenced, the police arrived, and conveyed the negotiators to
the office, where they were detained until the vast crowds which
had collected had dispersed, and until security had been given
that appearance would be made next day. There the whole party
were brought before the magistrates, and looked exceedingly
foolish on the occasion. No such an affair as the sale of a wife
seems ever to have been heard of in these northern latitudes,
and, as the fiscal knew from the parricide case of old, that to
prescribe a punishment for a crime was a powerful means to get
the crime introduced, he resolved not to be privy to such a
doing, and, therefore, restricted his charge to a breach of the
peace. The magistrate did not find that a breach of the peace
could be brought home to the parties; and, after animadverting in
severe terms on the disgraceful nature of such proceedings, and
addressing the salesman and purchaser in terms which, we dare
say, they will not soon forget, he dismissed them from the bar.
The purchaser, who is verging on three score years and ten,
seemed to have come into court predetermined to appeal, and
declared that a bargain was a bargain; but, with the whisky still
buzzing in his head, he appealed at a wrong time, and tabled his
shilling before the sentence of dismissal was pronounced."
The lady got the best of it on another occasion, according to the
_Halifax Express_, quoted in the _Times_ of April 4, 1836--
"On Wednesday, May Day Green, Barnsley, was the scene of an
extraordinary encounter. A woman beat her husband on the face
till the blood flew about; he, in turn, sent the bellman round to
proclaim the sale of his wife by auction; but, when he appeared
with a halter to sell her, the Amazon rushed upon him again with
her fists, and put him to total rout."
As a last example,[24] I will give another, which occurred in London,
and which is thus reported in the _Times_ of August 2, 1836--
[Footnote 24: The reader can find others in the _Times_ of March 18,
1833; February 1, and November 2, 1836; and February 9, 1837.]
"SALE OF A WIFE.
"Yesterday morning, between ten and eleven o'clock, one of those
disgraceful scenes, the sale of a wife, took place at the New
Islington Cattle Market. It appears that at about nine o'clock a
man about forty-two years of age, of shabby genteel exterior, led
a well-looking young woman, about thirty years of age, with a
halter round her waist, to Smithfield Market; and, having tied
her up, was about to offer her to the highest bidder; but,
several persons interfering, it was agreed to go forthwith to
Islington Market to accomplish their object; and, in order to
expedite the matter, they jumped into a hackney coach, and were
driven off at full speed, to the spot where the marriage knot was
to be dissolved. They were followed from Smithfield by a young
man of plausible appearance, who on seeing the wife tied up at
Islington Market for sale, bid 5_s._ for her, but he was outbid
by several persons, but, subsequently, became purchaser of the
lot for 26_s._, and conveyed her home in a coach to his lodgings.
The other man walked home, whistling merrily, declaring he had
got rid of a troublesome, noisy woman, and that it was the
happiest day of his life. Surely the police ought to have
interfered to prevent such a disgusting outrage upon Society."
Well! the lower classes of the time were simply animal brutes, with
very little of Arnold's "sweetness and light" in their composition.
Uneducated, ignorant, very seldom moving from one spot, badly housed,
and nobody's care, it would have been a wonder had it been otherwise.
The middle-class were steady-going, stay-at-home people, with not too
much brains, and even of them making but little use--and they were
only emerging from the barbarism which required the solution of any
disagreement among men to be settled by physical force, either by
fists or the duel. It is astonishing to see how these contests fell
off in this reign, as public opinion declared itself against the
practice of duelling.
People of old quarrelled and killed each other about such very
trifles. Colonel Montgomery was shot in a duel about a dog, Captain
Ramsay in one about a servant, Mr. Featherston in one about a recruit,
Sterne's father in one about a goose, and some one else about an "acre
of anchovies" instead of "artichokes." One officer was challenged for
merely asking his opponent to have another glass, and another was
compelled to fight about a pinch of snuff, while General Barry was
challenged by a Captain Smith for declining a glass of wine with him
at dinner in a steamboat, although the general had pleaded in excuse
that wine invariably made him sick at sea.
But when William the Fourth was King, public opinion was set against
the practice, and this was so felt, that quarrelsome persons betook
themselves abroad to settle their differences. This was the case in a
famous duel in 1834, between Captain Helsham and Lieutenant Crowther,
at Boulogne, in which the latter was killed. Captain Helsham stood his
trial for murder at the Old Bailey on October 8th, and was
_acquitted_. In September of the same year Lord Bingham and Major
Fitzgerald met at Brussels, but they did not fight. O'Connell's tongue
got him into many scrapes. In 1815 he shot D'Esterre in a duel. In
October, 1834, he was challenged by Sir Henry Hardinge for having
applied most offensive and outrageous terms of personal insult to him;
but the Irishman refused to fight, which was a wonder, as they were
generally too eager for the fray. Witness a hostile meeting which took
place near Ashbourne, about ten miles from Dublin, on December 23,
1834, between Messrs. Pope and L'Estrange, in which "the
misunderstanding arose from expressions used in the theatre regarding
a lady whom Mr. Pope had attended thither." One newspaper, the _Times_
of October 2, 1832, records three duels.
The O'Connells were particularly fond of duelling. On December 13,
1832, William John O'Connell, nephew of the "Liberator," fought a Mr.
Richard Kearney in the deer park at Greenwich. All the parties
concerned had dined together at the Piazza Hotel, Regent Street, and
afterwards adjourned to some place of amusement, where a row ensued,
and the outcome was a meeting at Chalk Farm the same evening, but as
the evening was too dark, it was adjourned till the next morning, and
came off in Greenwich Park. O'Connell shot his man in the leg, and was
afterwards apprehended by the police, and bound over to keep the peace
for six months. On May 11, 1834, a duel was fought at Exeter, between
Dr. Hennis, a young physician, and Sir John Jeffcott, recently
appointed Chief Justice and Judge of the Vice Admiralty Court, Sierra
Leone. Dr. Hennis did not fire, but was mortally wounded by the judge,
who at once got on board a ship and set sail for Africa, thus eluding
the police. The seconds were arrested, as accessories, but at their
trial were acquitted.
In 1834, Sir Robert Peel challenged both Dr. Lushington and Joseph
Hume, but the causes of quarrel were courteously explained, and no
meetings took place. On May 5, 1835, a duel was fought, in a field on
the Finchley Road, between Lord Alvanley and Morgan O'Connell, son of
the "Liberator." The ground was measured at twelve paces, and it was
agreed that Colonel Damer should give the word, which was to be
"Ready!--Fire!" The parties were placed, and the pistols were
delivered, Colonel Damer gave the words, and O'Connell fired; but not
so Lord Alvanley, who said he thought the words were only preparatory,
and claimed his right to fire. This was disallowed, and another round
was fired without effect. Mr. O'Connell not being satisfied, yet
another was arranged, after which, Lord Alvanley's second declared he
would walk his man off the ground; this also was fired, without
effect, and the duel terminated.
I have now to chronicle a passage of arms which, luckily, was
bloodless, between two celebrities--Daniel O'Connell and Benjamin
D'Israeli. At a meeting of the Franchise Association, held on May 2,
1835, at the Corn Exchange, Dublin, O'Connell stated that he had
something to mention, personal to himself. Of all the abusive attacks
that had ever been made on him, that recently volunteered by a Mr.
D'Israeli, the unsuccessful Tory candidate at Taunton, was the most
reckless, unprovoked, and unwarrantable. All that he knew of this Mr.
D'Israeli was, that he had sent to him (Mr. O'Connell) in 1831, to
write a letter in his favour to the electors of Wickham, for which he
was a candidate in the Radical interest. On that occasion he was
unsuccessful, as well as in a subsequent attempt as a Radical in
Marylebone. Since then he had made some attempts to get into
Parliament as a Tory, and certainly no one was so fit for the Tory
faction as a man who had been twice rejected by the Radicals.
He had called him (Mr. O'Connell) a traitor and an incendiary; and,
having thus grossly and maliciously assailed him, he should not be
restrained by any notion of false delicacy in describing Mr. D'Israeli
in the terms his conduct merited. Here the honourable and learned
gentleman uttered a terrible philippic against Mr. D'Israeli, of which
the following passage is a specimen. In describing Mr. D'Israeli as a
descendant of a Jew (without meaning to cast any imputation either on
the name, or the nation, which he respected) Mr. O'Connell said that
he verily believed that, although the people of Israel were the chosen
of God, yet there were miscreants amongst them also, and Mr. D'Israeli
was one of those, for he possessed the quality of the impenitent thief
who died upon the cross, and he (Mr. O'Connell) was convinced that
that thief's name was D'Israeli. For aught he knew, this D'Israeli
might be his heir-at-law, and now he forgave the descendant of the
blasphemous thief who died impenitent upon the cross.
It is not possible to suppose that Mr. D'Israeli could pass this
calmly by; and he did not, but wrote to O'Connell's son as follows:--
"31A, Park Street, Grosvenor Square,
"Tuesday, May 5.
"Sir,
"As you have established yourself as the champion of your father,
I have the honour to request your notice to a very scurrilous
attack which your father has made upon my conduct and character.
"Had Mr. O'Connell, according to the practice observed among
gentlemen, appealed to me respecting the accuracy of the
reported expressions, before he indulged in offensive comments
upon them, he would, if he can be influenced by a sense of
justice, have felt that such comments were unnecessary. He has
not thought fit to do so, and he leaves me no alternative but to
request that you, his son, will resume your vicarious duties of
yielding satisfaction for the insults which your father has too
long lavished with impunity upon his political opponents.
"I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
"D'ISRAELI.
"Morgan O'Connell, Esq., M.P."
To this the younger O'Connell replied--
"9, Clarges Street, Tuesday, May 5.
"Sir,
"I have this day received a letter from you, stating that a
scurrilous attack has been made upon you by my father, without
giving me any information as to the expressions complained of, or
when or where they were used, and which I now hear of for the
first time.
"I deny your right to call upon me in the present instance, and I
am not answerable for what my father may say. I called on Lord
Alvanley for satisfaction, because I conceived he had purposely
insulted my father, by calling a meeting at Brookes's for the
purpose of expelling him from the club, he being at the time
absent in Ireland.
"When I deny your right to call upon me in the present instance,
I also beg leave, most unequivocably, to deny your right to
address an insulting letter to me, who am almost personally
unknown to you, and unconscious of ever having given you the
slightest offence. I must, therefore, request that you will
withdraw the letter, as, without that, it will be impossible for
me to enter into an explanation.
"I have the honour, etc.,
"M. O'CONNELL.
"B. D'Israeli, Esq."
To this Mr. D'Israeli replied that he could not withdraw the letter,
but assured his correspondent that he did not intend that it should
convey any personal insult. On the same day he wrote old Dan a long
and scathing letter, which wound up thus--
"I expect to be a representative of the people before the Repeal
of the Union. We shall meet at Philippi, and rest assured that,
confident in a good cause, and in some energies which have been
not altogether improved, I will seize the first opportunity of
inflicting upon you a castigation which will make you at the same
time remember and repent the insults that you have lavished upon
"BENJAMIN D'ISRAELI."
There was more letter writing, but it never came to a fight.
Willis says that he met Moore at Lady Blessington's, and, in the
course of conversation, speaking of the "Liberator," he said--
"O'Connell would be irresistible were it not for the blots on his
character--the contribution in Ireland for his support, and his
refusal to give satisfaction to the man he is still coward enough
to attack. They may say what they will of duelling; it is the
great preserver of the decencies of society. The old school,
which made a man responsible for his words, was the better. Then,
in O'Connell's case, he had not made his vow against duelling
when Peel challenged him. He accepted the challenge, and Peel
went to Dover, on his way to France, where they were to meet;
O'Connell pleaded his wife's illness, and delayed till the law
interfered. Some other Irish patriot, about the same time,
refused a challenge on account of the illness of his daughter,
and a Dublin wit made a good epigram on the two--
"'Some men, with a horror of slaughter,
Improve on the Scripture command;
And honour their wife and their daughter,
That their days may be long in the land.'"
In November, 1835, Mr. Roebuck, M.P. (commonly known as "Tear-'em"),
and Mr. Black, the editor of the _Morning Chronicle_, fought a duel at
Christchurch, Hants. At the first round Mr. Roebuck fired in the air,
but at the second, both principals fired simultaneously, but no
mischief was done. I wind up this account of duels of the reign, in
which, however, I have not given a tithe part of those that occurred,
with the last one in my notes, taken from the _Times_, June 15, 1837.
"DISTRESSING DUEL.
"Yesterday morning, between three and four o'clock, a meeting
took place in a field near St. John's Wood between the Hon. Henry
D---- and Mr. Robert ----. The parties are nearly related to each
other, and the misunderstanding arose in consequence of an
elopement of a distressing nature. The parties had taken their
stations and were upon the point of firing, when a cabriolet
dashed up the adjacent lane at a tremendous speed, and a lady, in
a wild and hurried manner, rushed up the field towards the party,
but ere she could succeed in reaching them the word 'Fire!' was
given, and one of the combatants, Mr. Henry D----, fell. The
lady, who proved to be the Hon. Mrs. D----, perceiving this,
uttered the most heartrending shrieks, and, rushing to the spot,
accused herself of being the murderer of her husband. The
gentlemen present had the greatest difficulty in forcing her from
the spot. A surgeon in attendance at first pronounced the hon.
gentleman's wound to be fatal; but, subsequently, a consultation
of medical men having been held at the hon. gentleman's
residence, some slight hopes are entertained of his recovery. It
is said that the unfortunate cause of the catastrophe has been in
a state of delirium since the event, and has twice made an
attempt to lay violent hands on herself."
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Smuggling--Its prevalence--Cases--Great smuggling of silks,
etc.--More Cases.
Another thing, which has almost died out, but then was in full force,
was smuggling; but then almost every import paid some duty, and that
on spirits, tea, and tobacco was excessively heavy, and, consequently,
the temptation was very great. Kent and the south-east coast
generally, were the favourite resorts for smugglers, owing to their
proximity to France, and smuggling was a regularly organized business
in which much capital was embarked. Every one on the coast knew
something about contraband trade, and, if they did not openly aid in
it, they certainly did nothing to aid in capturing smugglers. This
rendered the duties of the Excise more laborious than they otherwise
might be; and, as the smugglers were generally in force, owing to the
magnitude of their ventures, the dangers involved in their capture
increased proportionately. Being caught, meant fine or imprisonment to
the smugglers, besides loss of goods; so that if the parties ever
came in collision it was no child's play. We may judge of the
magnitude of the contraband trade by the frequency of newspaper
reports of it, and it must be remembered that the instances chronicled
would represent a very small percentage of runs which were successful
and unheard of. To show their frequency, I will quote three notices in
the _Times_ of January 10, January 22, and February 22, 1831. The
first is taken from the _Hastings Iris_, and begins--
"We regret to have to state that a desperate affray took place on
Wednesday morning, between three and four o'clock, on the beach
in front of Gover's Cottage, about two miles to the eastward of
Hastings, when two men were killed on the part of the smugglers,
and one of the blockade so severely beaten that his life is
despaired of, having his arm broken in two places and five or six
cuts in his head. Another man stationed near to him was very much
knocked about, but was able to give evidence at the inquest....
William Rixon, ex-seaman, belonging to the _Hyperion_, was on
duty on the beach about three o'clock in the morning of Wednesday
last, near Gover's Cottage. A sloop showed a light about two
miles from the shore, and about ten minutes after a boat left
her, which was making for the shore. As soon as she came near he
could see three men pulling, and one man in the stern steering.
He went up under the cliff, and saw thirty or forty men with
sticks nine or ten feet long; they looked like soldiers with
muskets. So soon as he hailed them, another party, which he had
not seen before, ran to attack the two men who were on duty near
him. The first party which he had seen threatened his life, and
said if he would not fire they would not hurt him; but if he
fired they would cut his throat. He immediately fired his musket
for assistance; did not recollect which way he fired; he might
have fired in the direction in which the men stood. They sprang
on him; about a dozen handled him, struck him on the side of the
head with sticks, which forced him to the ground and stunned
him, after which he was senseless for some time; and, as he was
recovering, they struck him again. Some of his comrades came to
his assistance. After the men left him, he found he had been
dragged a considerable way up the cliff. They had torn his
clothes in trying to disarm him. He then went down to the boat
and stood by her until his officer came down and seized her. The
smugglers took his pistols and musket from him. The musket had
since been found, the pistols had not; they were all loaded with
ball cartridge. The duty imposed upon him, in case of the attempt
to land contraband goods, was to resist to the utmost of his
power. He fired as a signal for assistance. The men were on the
cliff rather above him. He fired once before he was knocked down;
but afterwards discharged four or five pieces as signals for
assistance. The men went down to the boat to take the goods out.
He could hear them run up and down the beach as the people laid
on him. There were ninety-three tubs in the boat."
The verdict was _justifiable homicide_.
The next is quoted from the _Kent Herald_--
"On Wednesday sen'night, about nine o'clock, a desperate attack
was made by a party of smugglers on the person of Lieutenant
Ross, the officer in command of the Dover Station Blockade
Service. The object of the smugglers was to prevent any
interference in the landing of a large quantity of contraband
goods, which was taking place not far off, and successfully
accomplished, with the loss of only one bale of silk left in the
boat, which was afterwards captured. Lieutenant Ross was savagely
beaten by five or six of the smugglers, under the very windows of
the magistrates, on the Marine Parade, some of whose servants, we
understand, looked on the affray without offering the least
assistance. At length, the servant of Sir Hussey Vivian coming
up, the fellows made off, and Lieutenant Ross discharged his
pistol after them, the ball from which passed through the window
of a house opposite, but fortunately without injury to any of the
inmates. It is quite time that an ample reduction of duty on
foreign articles should put an end to the 'giant evil' of
smuggling--nothing else can stop it; and, until it is done, the
demoralization and irregular habits of the lower class will
necessarily increase."
The third case is taken from the _Western Times_, and has rather a
comic side to it--
"HOAX ON LORD ROLLE.
"A few days since notices were sent to Lord Rolle that Mr. Swing
was in his neighbourhood; that on a given night there would be
farmhouses pulled down, ricks of corn burnt, and
threshing-machines destroyed; that the labourers would assemble
in organized masses; in fact, the neighbourhood of Bicton would
be subject to Swing law. Lord Rolle very wisely received this
advice with proper caution. All the Preventive Service men from
Salterton and Exmouth, and all the crew of the cutter in the
harbour were summoned to Bicton, where a large quantity of beef
and good cheer was provided. The Preventive men ate the Baron's
beef, and all seemed to enjoy the good cheer of the evening,
which was kept up with great hilarity. On that very night a large
quantity of brandy was landed on the coast. It is suspected that
one or two of the smugglers got themselves sworn in as special
constables, and enjoyed the baronial munificence, as spies, for
the purpose of keeping the Preventive men quiet, while their
companions were running, undisturbed, their cargo on the beach."
But this was peddling work compared with that reported in the _Times_
of August 15, 1831--
"GREAT SEIZURE OF SILKS.
"Information was a short time ago received by His Majesty's Board
of Customs that it was contemplated to smuggle a very large
quantity of silks, and the necessary steps were taken to
counteract the efforts of the adventurers, who were, we
understand, men of high repute for extensive dealings in the
trade. The movements of certain parties were watched both by land
and by water, in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, and in
several seaport towns. At length Mr. Donne, an officer of the
Customs, who was for some time occupied in the search, received
information in the early part of last week that a lodgment of the
expected property had been effected in the city of London, at
the houses of some of the first people in the trade. It was not,
however, stated that the leading men in the establishments were
aware that the goods were contraband.
"Mr. Donne despatched, after having ascertained beyond a doubt
that the silks had been warehoused without the payment of the
duty, three officers of the Excise to three houses, one of which
is in Newgate Street, another in a lane near Cheapside, and the
third in a court in Fleet Street. At three o'clock each of these
officers contrived to lay his hands upon silks of a very valuable
description, upon which the duty had never been paid. The value
of the seizure is estimated at not less than £10,000. It had been
thought proper by the purchasers in the first house to take in a
little brandy, without going through the usual ceremony of paying
the duty, and two kegs of very fine Cognac were found on the
premises and carried off by the officers, along with the more
valuable goods.
"The silks were, it has been ascertained, smuggled from France;
but no clue has as yet been found as to the manner in which they
had been landed. They were packed up with great care in
twenty-four large cases, which were evidently made in this
country, and are such as Manchester goods are usually packed in.
Upon being taken to the King's warehouses they were unpacked and
examined. The gauzes are of a most beautiful kind. The officers
will have the whole of the profits arising from this enormous
seizure, the King having some time ago, as appears from the Order
of the Lords of the Treasury issued at the commencement of his
reign, given up all claim to any advantages arising from seizures
of this description."
We are afterwards told in the _Times_ of December 16, 1831, that the
culprits were Messrs. Leaf, Cole and Co., in Old Change, and
"According to the information laid before the Commissioners of
the Customs, the mode of proceeding seems to have been this:--the
steam vessel from Calais which brought the goods, arriving
generally after night had set in, and the navigation of the Pool
hazardous, was moored at some spot lower down than its place of
destination, thus deferring the making the entries at the Custom
House until the following morning. A waterman, who was regularly
employed with a barge on the river, was engaged by the parties to
lie off the steam vessel, which he was only to approach on a
signal previously concerted. He then received on board his barge
various packages, which he secured by locking up in the cabin.
Consultations were held at the time when the first of these
transactions took place, upon the mode of taking these packages
ashore least likely to excite suspicion. After various plans were
proposed, the expedient was resorted to of using wine hampers,
which were landed at one of the stairs in Thames Street, and
carried by porters to the warehouses for which they were
intended. Another waterman, in addition to the first, was
associated in these transactions, and both of them, if the case
had proceeded, were to have been witnesses on the part of the
Crown. It is not a little remarkable that these men were led to
tell all they knew in the business through some advantage taken
of them, as they conceived, in paying them for a smaller number
of parcels than they had delivered.
"After two or three of these transactions had been completed, it
began to be considered no longer safe to land the parcels within
the precincts of the City; but a place higher up the river, near
Battersea, was resorted to; and, as in this case the distance was
much more considerable, the goods were carried home in carts. At
length, when the number of transactions had amounted to ten or
twelve, the bargemen seemed to have thought the affair ripe for
exposure, and determined on making it. They gave information of
the most precise kind respecting a landing intended to take
place, in the beginning of August last, at the Battersea station.
Persons were employed in different places for the purpose, and a
cart was watched from and to a warehouse in the City belonging to
Leaf and Co., at the door of which the goods were seized by a
proper officer, and notice of it was given to Mr. Leaf, who
happened to be at home at the time. They were afterwards taken to
the Custom House. The total valuation of the goods taken on this
occasion was something under £700.
"A few days afterwards information was given to the same officer
that great bustle existed in the warehouse above-mentioned, and
that persons were engaged there in packing up and removing a
quantity of goods in a great hurry. These goods were traced to
three different places, and seized as foreign, and not having
paid the duty. On examining the packages, they were found to be
filled up in a most slovenly manner, through haste, and so as to
damage some of the goods--gauze ribands, for example. The whole
were returned into the Exchequer, appraised at £5460, exclusive
of the duty, and were claimed by the parties whose property they
were, on the ground, either that they were British, or that they
had actually paid the duty as foreign. They also brought actions
for damages against all the officers concerned in the seizure of
the goods."
There seems to be some grounds in believing this to be the fact, for
Messrs. Leaf and Co. complained loudly that they were not allowed to
prove that they had actually paid duty on the three sets of packages
which had been removed to the shops of their friends after the seizure
of August 5th; but seeing the danger of contending farther with a
public board, they compounded for the whole transaction for a fine of
£20,000.
Here is another case from the _Times_ of January 19, 1832, coming
originally from the _Kentish Herald_--
"MARGATE SMUGGLING.
"An extraordinary discovery has been made here, in the last week,
by the officers of the Custom House, which shows the persevering
and enterprising spirit of the smugglers. The officers went to
search a house in the occupation of a man named Cook, at the back
of Lion Place, near the Fort in Margate, and discovered in a room
below a secret entrance, just large enough to admit a man
crawling upon his knees. The officers proceeded downwards upon an
inclined plane towards the seashore, to the distance of about two
hundred yards, passing under several houses at the depth of many
feet below the surface of the ground, until they reached the
lower entrance, which opens on the north-west side of the Clifton
Baths. The mouth of this entrance was boarded over and covered
with chalk and earth, rammed down in such a manner as to conceal
it completely. There were found, in the interior of the cliff,
several trucks on wheels and implements for the conveyance of
smuggled goods through the tunnel to Cook's house. The work,
which it is calculated must have engaged two men at least
eighteen months in cutting it, and must have cost, in labour,
from £100 to £200, was just finished, and is reported to have
been paid for by a great silk mercer and riband merchant in
London.
"It is fortunate for the Revenue, as well as for the silk trade,
that such a discovery has been made, as the whole plan of
operation was so well projected that, whilst the hide remained
only known to the smugglers, they might at any time, on dark
nights, in the short space of an hour, have smuggled many
thousand pounds' worth of property and carried it off in safety.
It is whispered among the sailors on the pier that, if the
officers had not been a little too eager in the pursuit, they
might, within a week, when the dark nights came on again, have
made an immense seizure; but that now they have entirely defeated
their own object, because not a vestige of any contraband article
was yet to be found upon the premises. This is the second
subterraneous tunnel which has been dug under the same property
within two years, and the second time of the officers being
defeated by their eagerness to grasp so large a prize. It is but
justice to the lessee of this singularly constructed property to
say that not the least suspicion is entertained by the Revenue
Officers of any connivance on his part, he having given them
duplicate keys of the subterraneous excavations and baths, during
the winter months when the property lies unoccupied, and
cautioned them that, unless some of the Revenue Officers were
stationed on the premises throughout the night, it was impossible
to prevent smuggling."
At Hastings, on February 21, 1832, a party of smugglers attempted to
run a cargo near St. Leonards. The Excise heard of it, and a desperate
affray was the consequence; the Revenue men secured the boat and one
hundred and sixty tubs of spirits, but at the expense of their lives;
one was killed and two mortally wounded.
A good idea of the extensive smuggling which was carried on at this
time may be gained from the following paragraphs, which appear in one
column of the _Times_ of February 13, 1832.
"SMUGGLING.
"The examination of the eight smugglers that were captured by the
_Vigilant_ Revenue cutter on the 1st and 4th inst., took place
before the magistrates at Chatham, on Wednesday last; and, being
found guilty of a breach of the revenue laws, were convicted,
and, being disposed of, the cutter sailed for her station on
Thursday. On the following day she made another seizure of 142
half ankers of foreign spirits, which were delivered to the
Customs at Rochester, on Saturday. This seizure is the fourth
that has been brought by the _Vigilant_ into this port within
twelve days, each seizure being the work of a separate cruise;
that is, the cutter sailed to sea, made the capture, and returned
to the port--the time including the cutter's detention for the
trial of the smugglers.
"Smuggling has recently become much more prevalent on the coasts
of Hampshire and Sussex than it has been for some months. This is
to be ascribed, we are told, to the almost total absence of
cruisers in the Channel. If so, where are our Revenue cruisers,
or, what are they doing? If the country can afford to employ but
few vessels, these few should be well-disposed and kept actively
at work.
"The _Mary_ smack, of twenty tons, with two men belonging to this
port, was seized in this harbour on Friday, by Mr. Morgan of the
coastguard, having a false bottom containing sixty-three half
ankers, fifty quarter ankers, and fourteen jars of spirits, with
four canisters of tea, regularly built outside her original
bottom, and executed in such a complete manner that it would have
been impossible to have discovered it but by information, which
we understood was received from the Board."
From the _Brighton Herald_, June 16, 1832--
"A large and most valuable seizure was made at the port of
Shoreham, by the officers of the coastguard, on the morning of
the 13th inst. This great prize to the captors consisted of a
ketch-rigged vessel of about sixty tons burden, called the _New
Speedwell_, of Portsmouth, the boat belonging to her, a large
barge or lighter, which was brought alongside the vessel, and
into which a portion of the goods were unshipped, three men,
being the master and crew; together with 238 bales of tobacco
stalks for the purpose of being manufactured into snuff, weighing
about 1300 lbs.; 27 bales of leaf tobacco weighing about 1100
lbs.; 35 bales of tobacco stalk flour weighing about 1000 lbs.,
and 1 box containing 23 lbs. of cigars, the value of which, it is
said, is estimated at upwards of £3000."
The _Chelmsford Chronicle_, quoted in the _Times_ of May 4, 1833, is
responsible for the following:--
"CAPTURE OF A SMUGGLER.
"A seizure, more valuable than has been made in this and the
adjacent counties for many years, was effected in the Crouch
river in the course of last week. Captain Dodd, master of the
coal brig _Nancy_, of Newcastle, sold his pretended cargo of coal
to a merchant with whom he had frequently traded, and was
proceeding up the river to his destination, when the brig was
boarded by Mr. Read, chief boatman of the Crouch guard station,
who, observing something unusual in the conduct of the master,
and that he left the vessel in an abrupt manner, his suspicions
were excited, and he immediately set about an inspection, which
led to a most important discovery. The coals at the top were
found to be but a thin covering to a cargo of contraband goods,
which, with the brig and crew, were immediately taken possession
of and brought round to Collier's reach, where the cargo is now
unloading; but, the coals being so mixed with the smuggled goods,
present considerable difficulties, as it is calculated that there
are five hundred packages of spirits and dried goods. Those
already landed and safely deposited at the Custom House at
Maldon, some of which were found secreted even in the fore and
maintops, and consisting of spirits and tobacco, are estimated to
be worth £1500; and it is expected that the whole cargo, with the
brig itself, will bring from £3000 to £5000."
CHAPTER XXIX.
Legitimate trade--The "truck" system--Its downfall--State of
trade--Newspaper stamps--Steel pens--Literature--List of
authors--Painters--Sculptors.
But enough of illicit trade. What was legitimate trade doing? The
marvellous expansion which afterwards came, thanks to steam as applied
to machinery, railways, and shipping, had only just commenced; but, at
all events, a beginning had been made, and, thanks to her iron and
coal, England was able for many a long year to head the race for
commerce, hold her own with foreign competition, and even to defy it.
The Trades' Unions, which have not altogether been an unmixed
blessing, were still in their infancy, and in many trades the "truck"
system of paying the workers in kind rather than coin was the rule. It
was the payment of labour in goods or provisions instead of money; and
the mode in which it was carried on by the manufacturers was to set up
a large shop or store (commonly called a "Tommy shop"), containing all
sorts of necessaries for their workmen, so that, instead of paying
them money for their wages, tickets were given to these shops; or, in
other instances, periodical visits to them were allowed to the
mechanic or his wife, and they chose those things they were most in
need of. Under these circumstances money was very seldom, or, rather,
never paid; for, though parties to evade the law gave the money to
their workmen, yet, before they left the premises, it was all received
back again.
These "Tommy shops" were generally kept by some relation or servant of
the master, put in for that purpose; or, when the tradesman did not
resort to such measures on his own account, he made an arrangement
with the retailer, who allowed him a discount. And the more needy the
manufacturer, the greater his advantage under this system; for he was
enabled to stock his shop for three months, and then pay for that
stock with a bill at another three months; so that, instead of paying
his workmen ready money, he was obtaining six months' credit. Again,
without saying that there was a regular contract amongst the masters,
it was always an understood thing that a man discharged for objecting
to this system should not be taken on by any other employer. And,
indeed, this naturally followed; for, when once it was known that a
man had lost his employment by objecting to this mode of payment, it
was not likely that another master, who paid in exactly the same way,
would give him employment.
And the poor fellows had to pay through the nose for all they had. The
milder "truck-masters" were content to charge their men from 15 to 20
per cent. more than the market price, while those unburdened with a
conscience, exacted 100 per cent. profit; nor would they allow their
men to keep pigs. This state of things was well known, and leave was
applied for and given in December, 1830, to bring a Bill into
Parliament to do away with the truck system, and make it penal. On
October 15, 1831, this received the Royal sanction, and the Act was
afterwards known as 1 and 2 Gul. IV. c. 36, "An Act to repeal several
Acts and parts of Acts prohibiting the Payment of Wages in Goods, or
otherwise than in the current Coin of the Realm." And another (same,
c. 37), in which it was settled that all wages must be paid to the
workman in coin, and payment in goods was declared illegal; that
artificers might recover, by law, wages, if not paid in current coin,
and that no employer should have any action against his artificer for
goods supplied to him on account of wages; whilst, if the artificer,
or his wife or children, became chargeable to the parish, the
overseers may recover any wages earned within the three preceding
months, and not paid in cash. That contracts between master and man as
to the payment of the whole or part of wages in goods should be
illegal, and for the first offence the employer should be fined not
less than £5, nor more than £10; for the second, not less than £10,
nor more than £20; and for the third he was to be fined, at the
discretion of the Court, a sum not exceeding £100.
On May 26, 1826, the Royal sanction was given to an Act which
virtually destroyed the monopoly of the Bank of England, and laid the
foundation of the present Joint Stock Banks, or rather what they were
before they took advantage of limited liability. It is 7 Geo. IV. c.
46, and is entitled, "An Act for the better regulating co-partnerships
of certain bankers in England." But it does not seem to have been
acted on in London, at all events till 1833, when we have
advertisements soliciting subscriptions to the London and Westminster
Bank, the Imperial Bank of London, and the National Provincial Bank of
England. The London and Westminster Bank was established March, 1834;
the National Provincial Bank of England in 1833; the National Bank in
1835; the London Joint Stock Bank in 1836; as also the Commercial Bank
of London and the London and County Bank; whilst in 1837 was started
the Union Bank of Australia.
When William IV. died, the trade of the country was in a very
depressed state, as we learn by the _Annual Register_, June 13, 1837,
which quotes from the following papers:--
"We are sorry to say that trade in this district continues in a
very depressed state; and the consequence is, a scarcity of
employment and low wages for the operatives, amongst whom, we
regret to observe, distress prevails to a most deplorable
extent."--_Manchester Courier._
"At Manchester it is stated there are fifty thousand hands out of
employ, and most of the large establishments are working only
half-time. At Wigan, which is not a large place, there are four
thousand weavers totally unable to get work. Unless a stimulus is
shortly given to commerce, persons who have the means of forming
the most correct opinion say that half a million of hands at
least will be idle in the manufacturing districts in the very
worst time of the year."--_Morning Chronicle._
"The pressure upon manufacturers and commerce has at last reached
our county. Within a short time several extensive failures in the
'How of Fife,' along the Leven, as well as in the towns upon the
coast, have taken place."--_Fifeshire Journal._
"A meeting convened by the circular of several gentlemen was held
on Friday, at the Public Office, for the purpose of considering
what measures could be adopted sufficient to relieve the present
appalling state of commercial distress. At this meeting it was
universally admitted that the number of unemployed workmen, and
the consequent distress which prevails, call for the adoption of
prompt and efficient measures; and resolutions were passed
expressive of the deep sympathy felt by the meeting for their
suffering fellow-townsmen and their families."--_Birmingham
Journal._
"We regret that we cannot announce any improvement in the trade
of this town. There has been one failure of a respectable lace
concern since our last. The number of operatives employed by
public subscription on the roads is nearly a thousand. The Relief
Committee, after anxious deliberation, came to the decision on
Monday evening that, in future, the wages allowed could be only
8s. a week on day work."--_Nottingham Review._
When William IV. came to the throne the stamp duty on newspapers was
4_d._, less 20 per cent. discount, and the price of the _Times_ was
7_d._ Each advertisement had to pay a duty of 3_s._ 6_d._ The
consequence of the newspaper stamp being so high was that leaflets
were perpetually being started which bore no stamp, as it was
contended that they contained no news. Still the vendors were always
being haled before the magistrates; but the publication of these
vexatious leaflets was settled in May, 1831, in the case of _Rex_ v.
_William Carpenter_, which came off in the Court of Exchequer, before
the Lord Chief Baron. The Crown obtained the verdict, and Mr.
Carpenter was let off very cheaply, by being fined only £120. The duty
on newspapers brought in a large revenue. In 1830, 30,158,741 stamps
were issued, and in 1835, 32,874,652; but in 1836 the duty was reduced
to 1_d._ per newspaper, and 1/2_d._ for each supplement; and the
_Times_ on September 15, 1836, reduced its price to 4_d._ Of the
number of newspapers I have already written.
Many lived by the pen, whether quill or steel. In 1830, although not a
novelty, steel pens were dear, as we see by an advertisement in the
_Times_ of October 18th--
"PEN-MENDING TOTALLY SUPERSEDED.--Patent Perryian Pens, warranted
not to require mending, and to write better than any other pen
whatever, as cheap as the common pen. Price per packet
(containing nine pens of the best quality), 3_s._ 6_d._"
In 1837 they had got somewhat cheaper, _vide_ _Times_, March 23rd--
"PERRYIAN PENS, protected by five patents.--Double patent pen,
with holder, 2_s._ per card; Indiarubber spring pen, 2_s._ 6_d._
ditto; office pen, 1_s._ ditto. Any of the above, with patent
elastic holder, at 3_d._ extra per card. Under-spring pen, with
holder, 2_s._ per card; side-spring pen, 2_s._ ditto; flat-spring
pen, 2_s._ ditto; three-pointed pen, 2_s._ 3_d._ ditto. Each card
contains nine pens."
This reign saw the commencement of cheap, good literature, which was
to overrun the country and utterly abolish the chap book, which till
then had been the literary mainstay of the country folk. The year in
which this transformation began was 1832, for then were published for
the first time _The Penny Magazine_, and _Chambers' Edinburgh
Journal_; whilst, during the reign, were published all kinds of books,
from the watered-silk-bound annuals, such as the _Gem_, the
_Offering_, the _Bijou_, the _Remembrancer_, the _Coronal_, the
_Iris_, or the _Bouquet_, to abstruse scientific books--for it was, to
a certain extent, a book-reading age, and people bought and kept their
favourite authors.
Of authors, what a lot there was! The following does not pretend to be
exhaustive, but it will serve to give an idea of those who lived or
wrote during the time when William IV. was King. Let us take them
alphabetically. John Adolphus, who wrote the _History of the Reign of
George III._, etc. W. H. Ainsworth, the novelist, who brought out
_Rookwood_ in 1834. Sir Archibald Alison, to whom we are indebted for
his _History of England_. T. K. Arnold, headmaster of Rugby. John
Banim, whom we remember by the _Tales by the O'Hara Family_. Rev. R.
H. Barham, whose _Ingoldsby Legends_ came out with the starting of
_Bentley's Miscellany_ in 1837. The lyric poet, Thomas H. Bayly, whose
_I'd be a Butterfly_, _She wore a wreath of Roses_, and _Oh no, we
never mention her_, are classics in ballad song. Laman Blanchard, who
was a contributor to the lighter periodicals of his day. George
Borrow, who during the reign was an agent of the British and Foreign
Bible Society--to which we owe his _Bible in Spain_. The Rev. Jos.
Bosworth, to whom we are indebted for his _Anglo-Saxon Grammar_ and
_Dictionary_, etc. The Very Rev. W. Buckland, Dean of Westminster,
famous for his writings on Geology and Palæontology. Bulwer-Lytton,
who published _Paul Clifford_ in 1830, _Eugene Aram_ and _Godolphin_
in 1833, _The Pilgrims of the Rhine_ and _The Last Days of Pompeii_ in
1834, and _Rienzi_ in 1835. Thos. Campbell, poet, author of _Pleasures
of Hope_, _Gertrude of Wyoming_, _Lord Ullin's Daughter_, etc. Thos.
Carlyle, who came to London in 1834, and then wrote and re-wrote his
_French Revolution_, which was published in 1837. Captain F. Chamier,
R.N., whose sea tales are only surpassed by Marryat. T. C. Croker, to
whom we are indebted for _The Fairy Tales and Legends of the South of
Ireland_. Dr. Croly, who will be chiefly remembered by his
_Salathiel_. Allan Cunningham, whose _Songs of Scotland_ will always
live. His son Peter, who wrote _Songs of England and Scotland_, and,
among many other books, a _Handbook of London_, which is most
valuable. De Quincey, whose _Confessions of an Opium Eater_ is an
English classic. Thos. Dibdin--son of Charles, of sea-song fame--who
was a most voluminous playwright. Charles Dickens, who published _The
Pickwick Papers_ in 1836. Isaac D'Israeli, who had almost written his
last book. His son Benjamin, who was then beginning to make a
political name. Dr. Doran, who in this reign published his _History
and Antiquities of the Town and Borough of Reading_. Pierce Egan, of
_Boxiana_ and _Life in London_ notoriety. Grote, the historian, was
alive, but devoted himself more to his parliamentary duties than to
writing history. Then, too, flourished S. C. Hall and his wife, the
latter of whom will doubtless live longest in remembrance. William
Hone, whatever may be thought of his politics, etc., has given us a
mine of folk and archæological lore. If genial Thomas Hood had never
written anything but the _Bridge of Sighs_ and the _Song of the
Shirt_, he would have made his name; but, happily, he will be the
source of wholesome laughter to future generations. Theodore Hook,
too, novelist and dramatist, will live in his _Jack Brag_. William and
Mary Howitt are names not likely to be lost. Douglas Jerrold,
dramatist, novelist, and humourist, seems almost of to-day. The Rev.
John Keble will live for ever in his _Christian Year_. Charles Knight,
with his _Penny Magazine_ and _Penny Cyclopædia_, did much to
popularize cheap and wholesome literature. James Sheridan Knowles,
dramatist, produced his play of _The Hunchback_ in 1832, and _The Love
Chase_ in 1837, both classics in the drama. Walter Savage Landor wrote
several books during this reign. Of Mark Lemon, who was "indispensable
to _Punch_" nothing need be said--every one remembers his name. The
same may be said of Charles James Lever, the novelist, whose _Harry
Lorrequer_, _Jack Hinton_, etc., are so well known. Students will
reverence the name of John Lingard, the Roman Catholic historian; and
botanists are familiar with the writings of John Claudius Loudon and
his wife. The _Handy Andy_ of Samuel Lover, novelist, poet, musician,
and artist, though probably written in this reign, was not published
until 1838. Thomas Babington Macaulay, so well known as an historian,
was in India from 1834 to 1838. To mention the name of Captain F.
Marryat is to kindle a thrill in every English boy's breast. Samuel
Maunder, whose _Treasuries_ were text books in their day, and still
are very useful. John Stuart Mill, of _Political Economy_ memory, was
during this reign writing for magazines, when he was not editing the
_Westminster Review_. Thomas Moore, poet and musician, brought out in
1834 a complete edition of his _Irish Melodies_, which were commenced
in 1807. Sir Francis Palgrave produced in 1831 his _History of
England, Anglo-Saxon Period_, and was knighted the following year. J.
R. Planché published in 1834 _The History of British Costume_ for The
Library of _Entertaining Knowledge_. A. W. N. Pugin, the revivalist of
mediæval architecture, wrote thereon, in 1836, _Contrasts; a parallel
between the noble edifices of the 14th and 15th Centuries and the
Present Day_. _Table Talk_ Rogers was getting an old man; and Robert
Southey was Poet Laureate with, in 1834, a pension of £300 per annum.
The "bitter Bengalee," W. M. Thackeray, came of age in 1832, and his
first regular literary employment was for _Fraser's Magazine_,
wherein _The History of Samuel Titmarsh, and The Great Hoggarty
Diamond_ appeared during 1837-38. Nor, in this list, must be forgotten
painstaking John Timbs, whose works are indispensable for reference.
John Wilson, perhaps better known as Christopher North, contributed
his celebrated _Noctes Ambrosinæ_ to _Blackwood's Magazine_ up to
1835; in which year Wordsworth published his _Yarrow revisited_.
Nor must we omit mention of the fair sex in their literary work. Mrs.
Sarah Austin, who produced two of her famous translations in this
reign--viz. _A Tour in England, Ireland, and France by a German
Prince_ (1832), and _Raumer's England in 1835_, in 1836; in which year
Joanna Baillie published three volumes of dramas. In 1836, also, Mrs.
Bray brought out her _Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy_. The Brontës
were too young to write, but were young women. E. M. Barrett Browning
produced her first acknowledged work, a translation of _Prometheus
Bound_, and some of her early poems in 1835. Maria Edgeworth was
getting too old to write; and Mrs. Gaskell had not commenced. Mrs.
Jameson published her first book in 1831--_Memoirs of Female
Sovereigns_, and, in 1837, _Sketches of Germany_. Letitia Elizabeth
Landon (L. E. L.) wrote her best prose work, _Ethel Churchill_, in
1836. Miss Mitford published a fifth series of _Our Village_ in 1832.
Hannah More died in 1833. Lady Morgan, _The Wild Irish Girl_, was
writing, and making money by it. The Hon. Mrs. Norton, who let all
the world know her grievances, brought out her poem of the _Undying
One_ in 1831, and her novel of _Stuart of Dunleath_ in 1835. Miss Jane
Porter produced, in 1831, what was probably her best work, _Sir Edward
Seaward's Diary_, which was frequently mistaken, at the time, for
genuine history. And last, though not least, Miss Agnes Strickland
published the _Pilgrims of Walsingham_ in 1835.
I had almost forgotten; which would have been inexcusable, that Sir
Walter Scott died in September, 1832.
The New British School of Art was just commencing. The National
Collection of pictures was commenced in 1824, and in 1832 Parliament
voted £15,000 to build a gallery for their reception. The Royal
Academy of Arts, instituted in 1768, held their annual exhibition of
pictures, up to 1836, at Somerset House, but in 1837 they removed to
the new National Gallery. There were, besides, exhibitions of
paintings held by the Society of British Artists, the Society of
Painters in Water Colours, and the New Society of ditto. In May, 1834,
there was an Exhibition of the works of the Old Masters; and in 1832
Haydon held an exhibition of his own pictures.
The following is an attempt at a list of the principal British artists
of the reign.
Sir Wm. Allan, P.R.S.A. and R.A.; Sir Wm. Beechey, R.A.; Wm. Boxall;
Sir A. W. Callcott, R.A.; G. Cattermole; A. E. Chalon, R.A., and J.
J. Chalon, A.; Geo. Chambers; J. Constable, R.A.; E. W. Cooks, R.A.;
A. Cooper, R.A.; T. S. Cooper; D. Cox; T. Creswick; F. Danby; P. De
Wint; W. Dyce; Sir C. Eastlake, R.A.; A. L. Egg, R.A.; A. Elmore; Wm.
Etty, R.A.; A. V. C. Fielding; Sir F. Grant, R.A.; L. Haaghe; J. D.
Harding; Sol. A. Hart, R.A.; B. R. Haydon; Sir Geo. Hayter; J. R.
Herbert; J. F. Herring; Wm. Hilton, R.A.; Wm. Hunt; G. Lance; Chas.
and Edwin Landseer; C. R. Leslie, R.A.; J. F. Lewis, R.A.; J. Linnell;
D. Maclise, R.A.; J. Martin; W. Mulready, R.A.; Jos. Nash; Alex.
Nasmyth; T. Phillips, R.A.; H. W. Pickersgill, R.A.; P. F. Poole; W.
H. and J. B. Pyne; R. R. Reinagle, R.A.; Sir M. A. Shee, P.R.A.; W. C.
Stanfield; T. Stodhard, R.A.; F. Stone; G. Stubbs; J. M. W. Turner,
R.A.; J. Varley; J. Ward, R.A.; Rd. Westall, R.A.; Wm. Westall, A.;
and Sir D. Wilkie, R.A.
Among illustrators of books were H. K. Browne (_Phiz_), George
Cruikshank, John Doyle (H.B.), John Leech, Kenny Meadows, and John
Tenniel.
Engravers numbered amongst them E. F. and W. Finden, R. Graves,
A.R.A., William Holl, and Thomas Landseer.
There was a glorious list of sculptors: W. Behnes, Sir F. Chantrey,
R.A., J. H. Foley, R.A., John Gibson, R.A., John Hogan, T.
Thornicroft, Henry Weekes, R.A., Sir R. Westmacott, and his son
Richard, and M. C. Wyatt, while akin to sculpture comes William Wyon,
R.A., medallist.
CHAPTER XXX.
Musicians--Paganini--His avarice--Ole Bull--Curious musical
instruments--Jim Crow--The opera and its singers--The
ballet--Actors, etc.--Madame Vestris's leg.
In music we had, as composers, Balfe, who is more honoured abroad than
at home, John Barnett, Julius Benedict, W. Sterndale Bennett, Sir
Henry Bishop, Michael Costa, J. B. Cramer, Moscheles, Sir George
Smart, and Vincent Wallace. As English singers, Braham and Phillips,
Madame Carodori Allan, Madame Anna Bishop, Miss Stephens, Clara
Novello, Adelaide Kemble, and Miss Paton.
In 1831 Paganini came to England, and gave his first concert on June
3rd at the King's Theatre. He began badly--he raised the prices, and
the people would not stand it, and he only gave way at the last
moment, as we see by the following letter in the _Times_ of June 2nd,
addressed to the editor.
"SIR,
"The evening of my first concert in the King's Theatre is now so
near, that I feel the duty of announcing it myself, to implore
the favour of the English nation, which honours the arts as much
as I respect it.
"Accustomed, in all the nations of the Continent, to double the
ordinary prices of the theatres where I have given my concerts,
and little instructed in the customs of this capital, in which I
present myself for the first time, I did believe that I could do
the same; but, informed by many of the journals that the prices
already established there are higher than those on the Continent,
and having myself seen that the observation was just, I second,
willingly, the desire of a public, the esteem and good will of
which I ambition as my first recompense.
"PAGANINI."
As it was, the prices were high enough. The boxes the same as on opera
night, orchestra and stalls, £1 1_s._; pit, 10_s._ 6_d._; gallery,
5_s._
His avarice was notorious, as noted in the following verses, which
appeared in _The Original_ of July 28, 1832.
"A NOTE OF ENQUIRY, ADDRESSED TO PAGANINI.
"Grant me reply, great Fiddler, to a word
Of question by my sympathy preferr'd;
Ah! do not fail:--
This wound that dooms thy fiddle to be dumb,
_Which_ part of thy extraordinary thumb
Doth it assail?
Doth it at side, or joint, its mischief make?
Or is it, like the money thou dost take,
_Down on the nail_?"
In a notice of his first concert, the _Times_ says--
"The personal appearance of Paganini is remarkable. He is a tall,
thin man, with features rather emaciated, pale complexion, a
sharp, aquiline nose, and a keen eye, the expression of which is
greatly heightened when he is animated by his performance. His
hair, which is dark, is worn long behind, and combed off the
forehead and temples, in a manner which gives an air of great
simplicity to his countenance. He seems to be about fifty years
of age.
"The enthusiasm which his performance excited last night among
the audience certainly surpassed anything of the kind within
these walls. Every _tour de force_ and striking passage was not
only applauded, but cheered by the whole audience, and some of
the variations were encored. At the end of every performance, and
especially after the last, the applause, cheering, and waving of
handkerchiefs and hats, altogether presented a most extraordinary
scene. Foreigners, who have been present at his concerts in
several other parts of Europe, remarked that the applause
bestowed, and the enthusiasm excited last night, were greater
than they had ever witnessed before."
[Illustration: Paganini.]
The King gave him a diamond ring, and money rolled in to him. His
prices were high, and he always insisted upon being paid before he
would perform. Here is an example (_Times_, December 8, 1831)--
"BRIGHTON. December 6th.--Some sensation has been excited at
Brighton by a circumstance relative to Paganini. Mr. Gutteridge,
it appears, had engaged the Signor to play at the theatre for one
night, at the moderate sum of 200 guineas. As the theatre,
however, when crammed almost to suffocation, would only produce
about £200, and, after paying Paganini and other expenses, he
would have had to disburse nearly £300, Mr. Gutteridge was, of
course, compelled to raise the prices. It was, therefore,
announced that the prices of the boxes and pit would be doubled,
and the admission to the gallery increased to 4s. The
announcement of the intended increase of prices caused
considerable dissatisfaction in Brighton, and placards were,
yesterday, posted on the Steine, calling upon the public to
resist the extortion, and threatening, if the prices were raised,
to make of Brighton another Bristol. Mr. Gutteridge, having
obtained one of the placards, went to the magistrates to ask for
protection against the threatened outrage, and a promise was, of
course, made to him of the assistance of the police."
In November, 1833, a Mr. Freeman sued Paganini for thirty guineas,
alleged to be due to him for his services as interpreter and agent,
and in the course of the trial it came out that Paganini had amassed
£30,000 in England alone.
His rival, the celebrated Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull, came over
here in 1836, and gave his first concert at the King's Theatre on May
21st of that year, and the criticism upon his performance was that
"the applause he received was unbounded, as little forced, and as
sincere as any we have ever heard." He stayed in England a year.
It is said that "there is but one step from the sublime to the
ridiculous," and, musically, that seems to be from Paganini and Ole
Bull to Eulenstein, the performer on the Jew's harp, who was here in
the autumn of 1833. In a biographical account of him we find that he
was of humble origin, and born in Wurtemberg.
"He went to Stutgard, and received a command to appear before the
queen. Pursuing his travels, he visited Paris, with five pounds
in his pocket, and five hundred in his imagination. Here he found
no means of making himself known, and sunk gradually into penury;
when Mr. Stockhausen took him by the hand, and procured him
introductions to the highest circles. From France he came to
England, but, upon his arrival, unfortunately, he received a
'patronizing invitation' to play at a rout at the Marchioness of
Salisbury's. A French horn would have been more appropriate there
than the delicate Jew's harp. The gay party saw, indeed, a man in
a corner doing something, and making wry faces over it, they
heard no sound, and wondered what it was. Eulenstein, shocked and
mortified, determined to leave England, and was about to set off
for the Continent, when the Duke of Gordon kindly patronized him,
procured a command from the late King to play in his presence,
and, in short, may be considered to be the architect of his
promising fortune."
The accordion was a new and fashionable instrument, and there was in
1836 a musical instrument called an "Æolophone," which I fancy must
have been a kind of Æolian harp; and in 1837 there was an awful thing
called the "Eidophusion," whilst, all during the reign, a composite
instrument, called the "Apollonicon," was performed on daily at 101,
St. Martin's Lane.
Whilst on the subject of music in England, I must not omit to mention
the commencement of a peculiar school, which since has attained large
dimensions--I mean the "nigger" songs, of which the first was sung in
1836 by an actor named T. D. Rice, who introduced it at the Adelphi,
in a play called "A Flight to America." Although very silly stuff, it
became the rage, and I reproduce it because it was the first of its
kind. It will be noted that the nigger costume was not of that
exaggerated and complex character into which it has now developed.
[Illustration: Jim Crow.]
"I cam from ole Kentucky,
A long time ago,
Where first I larn to wheel about,
And jump Jim Crow.
_Chorus._ Wheel about, and turn about,
And do jis so,
Eb'ry time I wheel about,
I jump Jim Crow.
"I us'd to take him fiddle,
Eb'ry morn and afternoon,
And charm the ole Buzzard,
And dance to the Racoon.
Wheel about, etc.
"I landed fust at Liverpool,
Dat place of ships and docks,
I strutted down Lord Street,
And ask'd de price of stocks.
Wheel about, etc.
"I paid my fare den up to Town,
On de coach to cut a dash,
De axletree soon gave way,
And spilt us wid a smash.
Wheel about, etc.
"I lighted den upon my head,
All in de nassy dirt,
Dey all thought dat I war dead,
But I laughed and wasn't hurt.
Wheel about, etc.
"Dis head, you know, am pretty tick,
Cause dere it make a hole,
On de dam macadamis road,
Much bigger dan a bowl.
Wheel about, etc.
"When I got into Lunnon,
Dey took me for a savage,
But I was pretty well behaved,
So I 'gaged with Massa Davidge.
Wheel about, etc.
"Dem young Jim Crows about de streets,
More like a Raven rader,
Pray good people don't mistake,
Indeed, I'm not dere fader.
Wheel about, etc.
"Dem urchins what sing my song,
Had better mind dar books,
For anyhow dey can't be Crows,
You see d'ar only Rooks.
Wheel about, etc."
For some reason or other this buffoonery became a perfect rage; there
were Jim Crow hats, Jim Crow coats, neckerchiefs, etc.; nay, it even
was made use of in political satire.
There were frequently two opera companies singing at the same time;
one German, of not much account, the other Italian, which included
names which are historical in the musical world. Among the men were
Garcia, Lablache, Rubini, and Tamburini, and among the ladies were
Albertazzi, Garcia, Grisi, Malibran (who died in 1836), and Pasta. And
they were well paid, as we see from an extract from the _Town_, quoted
in the _Times_ of May 20, 1833--
"OPERA CHARGES.
"The following sums are paid nightly to the performers at the
King's Theatre: Pasta, £200, Taglioni, £120, Rubini, £100,
Tamburini, £100, Donzelli, £50, Zuchelli, £50. Madame Pasta will
receive £3500 for the season; and the amount payable to the
principal characters alone, on the rising of the curtain, is
above £1000."
The _premières danseuses_ were Taglioni, the two Elslers, Carlotta
Grisi, and Duvernay, who married a country banker, Mr. Lyne Stephens,
and who died enormously rich, either late in 1894 or early in 1895,
when her collection pictures, etc., were sold at Christie's, and
fetched fabulous prices. A great male dancer was Perrot.
It is an easy transition from opera to the drama, and among actors we
find the names of Paul Bedford, J. B. Buckstone, T. P. Cooke, A.
Ducrow, W. Farren, J. P. Harley, Chas. J. Kean, R. Keeley, C. Kemble,
J. Liston, W. C. Macready, John Parry, J. Phelps, J. Reeve, J.
Vandenhoff, B. Webster, F. H. Yates, and C. M. Young. Among actresses
I may mention Madame Celeste, Mrs. Glover, Mrs. Honey, Fanny Kemble,
Mrs. Nisbet, Miss Ellen Tree (afterwards Mrs. Chas. Kean), Miss
Vandenhoff, and Madame Vestris.
During this reign died several veterans of the stage. In 1831 died
Mrs. Siddons and Elliston; in 1832, Munden; in 1833, Edmund Kean; in
1836, Richardson, the showman; and in 1837, the famous clown, Joey
Grimaldi.
There were besides two names not to be forgotten, not belonging to
professors of the legitimate drama, but yet worthy in their way to be
chronicled--namely, Charles Matthews, who died in 1835, famous for his
"At Home," and his "Monopolylogue," and "Love, the Polyphonist."
There was a curious police case in 1831, _re_ a curious subject--no
less than Madame Vestris's leg; and the following is a portion of the
case as reported in the _Times_ of January 21st:--
"MARLBOROUGH STREET.--A young man was brought into this office a
few days ago, charged with stealing and disposing of, on his own
account, and for his own use, the casts of several figures in
plaster of Paris and other compositions, the property of Mr.
Papera, the celebrated Italian modeller, in whose service the
prisoner lived as journeyman, and the offence charged being
clearly supported by evidence, the young man was fully committed
for trial.
"Yesterday Mr. Papera applied again to the sitting magistrate,
for advice how to act in a case in which he had to charge the
young man in prison with an offence of much more enormous nature
than that for which he had been committed to take his trial.
"Since the investigation of the former case, Mr. Papera said, he
had discovered that several of 'Madame Vestris's legs' were
exhibited for sale in the shop windows of various artists about
town, and on an inspection of these legs, he immediately
recognized them as his property, and they must have been stolen
from his premises by the prisoner and sold by him.
"The magistrate inquired what sort of legs they were?
"Mr. Papera said they were casts of Madame Vestris's leg to a
little above the knee and including the foot.
"The magistrate asked if such casts could not have been made by
other artists, so as to render it difficult for Mr. Papera to
identify them as belonging to him.
"Mr. Papera said it was impossible these casts could have been
made by any other artist, because he was the only person to whom
Madame Vestris had ever 'stood' to have a cast taken of her leg,
and from that cast he had made one mould or model, and only one,
and that was always kept with the greatest care under lock and
key, except when required to be used in his model room, so that
no person could possibly obtain access to it, except some one in
his employ; and, as for any attempt at imitation, that was
impossible to do with success, for so beautiful and perfect was
the symmetry of the original, that it was from it alone the
various natural niceties of the complete whole could be acquired
and to perfection formed.
"The magistrate asked Mr. Papera if he kept these legs ready made
in his establishment, and if in that state they were stolen by
the prisoner?
"Mr. Papera said no; they were too rare and valuable an article
to be kept ready made in the ordinary way of common shop legs,
and were only made to 'order'--that is, when especially ordered
by artists or amateurs."
On February 22nd the young man was tried at the Old Bailey and
acquitted.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Architects and civil engineers--Men of science--Scientific
societies--Medical men--Lawyers--"Tracts for the Times"--Curates'
pay--Flogging in the army and navy--Crime--Transportation
_versus_ hulks--Stories of convicts.
This was a reign in which both architecture and civil engineering were
nascent, and yet there were some famous men in both professions. Among
the former were Sir Chas. Barry, R.A., J. P. Deering, R.A., P.
Hardwick, R.A., Sir Robert Smirke and Sydney Smirke, both R.A.'s, Sir
John Soane, and Sir William Tite. Whilst among civil engineers we may
note G. P. Bidder, once the famous calculating boy, both the Brunels,
Sir W. Fairbairn, Sir John Rennie, and both the Stephensons; and, as a
mechanical engineer, Joseph Whitworth was preparing the mathematical
exactness of the tools which enabled England to hold her own, and
more, against the whole world in the manufacture of machinery.
Of the men of science there is a fine list. Sir David Brewster, C. R.
Darwin, M. Faraday, Sir John F. W. Herschel, and his wonderful aunt
Caroline, Sir W. J. Hooker, to whom botany owes so much, as does
geology to Sir Charles Lyell, and Sir J. Murchison, Mrs. Somerville,
whose scientific attainments were marvellous, and W. H. Fox Talbot, by
whom photography was much developed, though still in its infancy. In
chemistry, we have Ure, Brande and Herapath.
The scientific societies inaugurated in this reign are as follows: in
1831, Royal Dublin Society, Harveian Society, British Association; in
1832, British Medical Association; 1833, Entomological Society; 1834,
Statistical Society; 1837, Ornithological Society. In mechanical
science both the gas engine and Ericson's caloric engine were known,
the air-gun and limelight were novelties, and the hydro-oxygen
microscope was a source of wonder to thousands.
A fine list, too, is to be found of medical men. Richard Bright, Sir
B. Brodie, Sir R. Christison, Sir C. M. Clarke, Sir William Fergusson,
Sir W. Laurence and Sir Charles Locock. Homeopathy was only just
beginning to be talked about at the end of the reign.
There were some fine lawyers, Lord Abinger, Baron Alderson, Lord
Brougham, Isaac Butt, Thomas Chitty, Sir A. J. E. Cockburn, Sir J. T.
Coleridge, Lord Denman, Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Lord Lyndhurst, and Sir
Frederick Thesiger, afterwards Lord Chelmsford.
Among the higher dignitaries of the Church of England in this reign
were very few men of note,--all good men, doubtless; but, since the
Wesleyan revival, the Church had been getting a wee bit sleepy, and
wanted waking up. And it was woke up with a vengeance, when a
conference of some Anglican clergymen and others was held at Hadleigh,
July 25-29, 1833, and Oriel College may be said to be its birthplace,
for at that College were Keble, Pusey, Newman, and Froude. From the
tracts which were issued, exemplifying the views of these writers, the
movement obtained the name of Tractarian. The first tract proper
appeared September 9, 1833, and by November, 1835, seventy had
appeared; and at first they were almost universally welcomed, for they
carefully respected the Prayer-book, and defended the rights of the
clergy. But the Evangelical party became alarmed at this growing
popular movement, and, in the early part of Queen Victoria's reign,
the strife waxed fast and furious, which only infused wakefulness and
life into a somewhat dormant church, and has ended, as far as our time
go, in the establishment of a so-called "High Church" form of worship,
which would have utterly astonished the originators of the movement.
True, some few good men left the Church of England, and joined that of
Rome, but their secession only served as warnings to others, and the
Church of England is now firmer established than ever it was.
A Clergy Act had been passed, enjoining that a curate's pay should in
no case be less than £80 per annum; and that such salary should not be
less than £100 per annum in any parish or place where the population,
according to the last parliamentary returns, should amount to three
hundred persons; where the population should amount to five hundred,
the salary was not to be less than £120, and £150 if the population
amounts to a thousand. This Act was much needed, as the following
figures show. Six curates received under £20; 59 under £30; 173 under
£40; 441 under £50; 892 under £60; 300 under £70; 415 under £80; 458
under £90; 156 under £100; 500 under £110; 69 under £120; 207 under
£130; 52 under £140; 32 under £150; 162 under £160; 26 under £170; 15
under £180; 5 under £190; 3 under £200; 17 under £210; 2 under £220; 2
under £240; 3 under £250; 4 under £260; 1 under £290; 2 under £310; 1
under £320, and 1 under £340. There were forty-three who received the
full income of the benefices they served. Two received one half of the
income, and one was paid two guineas each Sunday.
The army and navy had very few opportunities of distinguishing
themselves; they had a well-earned rest after 1815, but they were slow
in doing away with the old bad practices in force in both services.
For instance, flogging is still in force for some offences in the
navy, by the regulations issued on December 18, 1871. Abolition of
flogging in the army, at all events in time of peace, was advocated in
Parliament in 1836, but came to nought; this was, however, done in
April, 1868, and altogether abolished in April, 1881.
What flogging in the army was like, we may see by the following police
report, taken from the _Times_ of May 18, 1833:--
"MANSION HOUSE.--Yesterday, a soldier, named George M'Willen,
aged twenty-one years, was brought before the Lord Mayor, charged
by a soldier with having deserted from the 77th Regiment.
"William Rogers, a private in the army, stated that the prisoner
had admitted to him that he had deserted from his regiment.
"The Lord Mayor (to the prisoner): Did you acknowledge that you
deserted?
"Prisoner: Yes, my lord, but not till he told me I was a
deserter; I was not quite such a fool.
"The Lord Mayor: Why did you desert from your regiment?
"Prisoner: Because I was tired of flogging. I am only twenty-one
years of age, and I have received nine hundred lashes. (Here were
some expressions of surprise and disgust.)
"The Lord Mayor: Did I hear you rightly? Did you say nine hundred
lashes?
"Prisoner: No doubt of it, my lord.
"Mr. Hobler: It is impossible, if you received nine hundred
lashes, you can stand up so straight.
"Prisoner: I received them all, and I can show the marks. It is
true I received them at different times; but I've had them all.
"The Lord Mayor: And what have you been doing with yourself since
you deserted?
"Prisoner: I have been mining in Cornwall. I thought it would be
the best way of getting out of danger by going underground.
"The Lord Mayor: And why didn't you stay in Cornwall? Why did you
come to London?
"Prisoner: I don't know why I left Cornwall; but I was looking
for work when I was taken up for deserting. I am able for any
sort of labour.
"The Lord Mayor: Why were you flogged?
"Prisoner: I'd rather not say anything about that; I shall soon
have to answer again.
"Mr. Hobler: You unfortunate fellow, you must have been a great
violator of discipline, or you could not have been so dreadfully
punished.
"The Prisoner (shaking his head): I've had my share.
"The Lord Mayor: Tell me, are you a sober man?
"Prisoner: No, my lord; I can't say I am.
"The Lord Mayor: By how many Courts Martial have you been tried?
"Prisoner: By four. In Belfast I was sentenced to receive 500
lashes, but they only gave me 300; they forgave me 200. In
Londonderry they gave me 250. He mentioned two other places, in
one of which he received 200, and in the other 150. He had
deserted eight months ago, and had been a miner ever since, and
the very first day he ventured to town he was apprehended.
"The Lord Mayor: You must be incorrigible, or you would never
have been so dreadfully punished. I cannot help committing you."
In _Arnold's Magazine_ for September, 1833, a writer, speaking of
flogging in the navy, says--
"I saw two men who were tried for desertion, and their sentence
was to receive 500 lashes round the fleet. There is, perhaps,
nothing on the face of the earth so revolting to human nature, as
this most brutal of all outrages upon the feelings of gallant
tars under such a sentence. The day the man is to be punished is
known by the admiral making a general signal to copy orders. A
midshipman from each ship goes on board the admiral's ship with a
book, and copies the order, which states that, at a certain hour,
on such a day, a boat, manned and armed, is to be sent from the
ship from which the man is sentenced to be punished. On the day
appointed, the signal is made from the admiral, for the fleet to
draw into a line. The hands are then turned up in each ship, and
every officer appears with his cocked hat and sidearms, and the
marines are drawn up in the gangway, with muskets and fixed
bayonets.
"The ship launch to which the delinquent belongs is hoisted out,
and rigged up for the bloody tragedy. In this boat are two
boatswain's mates, with their cats, together with the surgeon and
master-at-arms. The poor creature is now taken out of irons, in
which he has been confined both before and after his sentence,
and brought down from the deck into the boat. The master-at-arms
next desires the mates to tie him up; he is then stripped, and a
blanket thrown over his shoulders. The boats of each ship then
make their painters fast, one ahead of the other, and thus form a
long line of boats. The captain now looks over the gangway, the
master-at-arms reads the infernal sentence, and the quantity of
lashes the victim is to receive at each ship. The captain calls
the boatswain's mate, and says, 'Go on, sir, and do your duty.'
"The blanket is now removed from the shoulders of the poor
fellow, and then commences the fiend-like exhibition. After the
victim has received one dozen, the captain tells the other
boatswain's mate to commence, and after the poor fellow has
received the next dozen the blanket is again thrown over his
shoulders, and the boats tow the launch alongside the next ship,
the drummer and fifer playing the Rogue's March. The same
ceremony is repeated from ship to ship, until the surgeon
pronounces that the man can receive no more without endangering
life; and woe be to the tyrant who dares to inflict one lash more
after the surgeon has spoken. I must here remark that I never
knew an instance of a surgeon in the navy being a tyrant; on the
contrary, both he and his assistants are always respected for
their tender regard for the sick under their care. After this
degrading and cruel punishment the man is again towed to his ship
and helped on board; he is next sent into the sick-bay, his back
anointed in order to heal it, and, in case he has not received
all his punishment, to enable him again to be tortured. When a
man has been flogged round the fleet he is of no further service,
his muscles are contracted, and he is no longer an able man."
Luckily there was no need for impressment to fill the navy, but it was
legal, as it still is.
But most things were rougher and more brutal than nowadays, and
nowhere was it better exemplified than in criminal punishment. Hanging
was the punishment for many offences, but there was such a growing
disinclination on the part of jurors to convict, and so many
recommendations to mercy on the part of judges, that it was about time
to modify our criminal legislature. Something must be done with the
criminals, and they must be punished somehow. It was very certain that
hanging was no deterrent to crime, which was so rampant that the gaols
in England would have been utterly unable to hold the convicts. There
was the alternative of sending them to colonize and be servants in
that vast Australian continent, of which we then knew so little; or
there was the employment of old men-of-war, called "hulks," as
floating prisons, in which the prisoners were confined at night,
working in the daytime on shore, in the dockyards, or elsewhere. These
"hulks" were verily floating hells, but they had the merit over
transportation, of economy, as we may see in a short leader in the
_Times_ of July 19, 1830:--
"Some useful papers have been printed by order of the House of
Commons, exhibiting by a clear and distinct table the difference
of expense attendant on the transport of convicts to New South
Wales, as compared with the cost of their retention and
employment on board of hulks in this country and in Bermuda.
"By a return for the years 1820 to 1829 inclusive, it appears
that, deducting from the gross expense the sums earned by the
labour of the convict, the cost of feeding, clothing, and
maintaining each individual, together with that of the
establishment, and of repairing the hulks, did not, in the course
of last year, exceed £3 17_s._ 4-3/4_d._ per man.
"The expense of transporting convicts to New South Wales presents
a very unfavourable view of that method of treatment, miscalled
punishment, as compared with detention and hard labour on board
the hulks. The official returns of 1828 give, for the charge of
carrying out each male, £26 18_s._ 6_d._; for each female, £34
8_s._ 6-3/4_d._ In 1829, for each male, £25 15_s._ 9-3/4_d._; for
each female, £27 12_s._ 6-1/4_d._"
At that time Australia, Van Dieman's Land, and the Cape of Good Hope,
were so sparsely populated by Europeans, that the introduction of
criminal scum could not very well prejudice anything but the criminal
colonies themselves. Once there, they were irrevocably fixed until
their sentence was expired, and returning before that time was
punishable by death, until August, 1834, when an Act of Parliament was
passed (5 Gul. IV. c. 67) which reduced the penalty to transportation
for life.
But if the vicious and criminal were transported, so occasionally were
the good and innocent, and one case is specially pregnant; it occurs
in a letter in the _Times_ of May 1, 1833--
"Sophia Hallen, a gentlewoman by birth, after having been
detained in prison for several years on an execution obtained in
an action at law by an attorney for the amount of his bill of
costs for £100, was put upon her trial at the Clerkenwell
Sessions on Thursday last, and sentenced to seven years
transportation beyond the seas, for refusing, in effect, to give
up her little property to discharge the debt of this person, who
is her only real creditor; who, it is alleged by her, has acted
improperly in not following the instructions of his client, in
the first instance; in subsequently holding back material
documents, and in rendering a false account in not giving credit
for money he had received, and which have had the effect in
making the defendant, evidently a strong-minded woman,
obstinately refuse to do any act whereby the prosecutor may
obtain payment of his demand."
If we want to know how the system of transportation worked, a glance
through the pages of "The Felonry of New South Wales," by Jas. Mudie,
Lond., 1837, gives us details hardly to be found elsewhere. Talking
about assigning servants, how husbands were assigned to wives, etc.,
and then became practically free, he says--
"To such a pitch has this system arrived, that the streets of
Sydney are, literally, almost as crowded with carriages of every
class as Cheapside, or the Strand, in London; carriages not only
conveying, but being the property of emancipists, and convicts
assigned to their wives.
"A London thief, of any notoriety, after having been a short time
in Sydney, would scorn to place himself or his assignee wife in
so mean a vehicle as a gig; nothing less than a carriage and pair
is commensurate with the rank in felonry to which they have
arisen in Australia.
"A better idea of the effect of all this upon a stranger cannot
be conveyed than by the following anecdote of an officer who
visited New South Wales on leave of absence from his regiment in
India.
"Having gone with a friend in a gig from Sydney to the races at
Paramatta, they were passed on the road by many genteel
equipages, including close carriages, curricles, and landaus.
"In answer to the stranger's questions, his companion informed
him that one brilliant 'set out' belonged to Sam Such-a-one, who
had been a convict, but was now a free man and a man of fortune;
that another was the property of a convict who kept a draper's
shop in Sydney, but was assigned to his wife, who had brought out
with her a large sum of money; that a third belonged to a
ticket-of-leave man, who had obtained that indulgence almost
immediately after his arrival in the colony--and so on.
"At the racecourse, where all the 'beauty and fashion' of
felonry was assembled, the stranger's astonishment was complete
at the number of instances in which he obtained similar answers.
"After some graver reflections on so singular an exhibition, he
ironically remarked that he thought he had better return as soon
as possible to India for the purpose of there committing some
crime that should subject him to a short sentence of
transportation; for it really seemed to him that that was the
best way of getting on in the world!"
His description of the "fine lady convicts" is particularly amusing--
"Things are differently managed now, and when a transport ship
arrives at Sydney, all the madams on board occupy the few days
which elapse before their landing in preparing to produce the
most dazzling effect at their _descent_ upon the Australian
shores.
"With rich silk dresses, bonnets _a la mode_, ear pendants three
inches long, gorgeous shawls and splendid veils, silk stockings,
kid gloves, and parasols in hand, dispensing sweet odours from
their profusely perfumed forms, they disembark, and are assigned
as _servants_ and distributed to the expectant settlers.
"On the very road to their respective places of assignment the
women are told of the easy retirement of the factory, and advised
to get themselves sent there, without having to obtain the
consent of an assignee master.
"Offers of marriage are made to some of them from the waysides;
and at their new habitations they are besieged by suitors.
"The hapless settler who expected a _servant_, able, or, at
least, willing to act perhaps as house and dairymaid, finds he
has received quite a _princess_.
"Her _highness_, with her gloved and delicate fingers, can do
_no_ sort of work!
"Attempts are made to break her in, but in vain. 'If you don't
like me, send me to the factory,' is the common retort; and the
master, having no alternative, takes her before a Bench of
magistrates, by whom she is returned to Government, and conveyed
to the factory accordingly.
"The author, amongst the _favours_ of this kind that have been
conferred upon himself, once received a Dulcinea who, in addition
to her other finery, brought such a cargo of hair, tooth and nail
brushes, Macassar and other hair oils, otto of roses and
botanical creams, cosmetics and scented soaps, that she might
have commenced as a dealer in perfumery. She would have spent
half her time at her toilette, and the rest in playing off the
airs of a fine lady! She was quite indignant at not being allowed
an exclusive dressing-room; and the more so as the _dear_ doctor,
during the passage, had considered her much too delicate to
endure any sort of hardship, and had been so kind and considerate
as to insist upon her using two kinds of tooth brush, lest the
hardness of that first applied should injure the enamel of her
teeth!"
The colonies at last rebelled against having the criminals of England
imported, certainly not to their benefit, and were successful, the
Cape in 1849, and Australia generally in 1864; but a shipment of
convicts was made to West Australia as late as 1867.
Taken altogether, crime, in this reign, was much the same as in any
other, excepting the offences of Burkeing and body-snatching, for the
sake of providing the anatomical schools with subjects--details of
which are too loathsome to read--and the crimes themselves have now no
existence.
[Illustration: Decoration.]
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
A Ballade of the Scottyshe King.
Chap Books of the Eighteenth Century.
Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne.
The Adventures of Captain John Smith.
Humour, Wit, and Satire of the Seventeenth Century.
English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon First.
Old Times.
The Dawn of the Nineteenth Century.
The Voiage and Travayle of Sir John Maundeville.
A Century of Ballads.
The Fleet, its River, Prison, and Marriages.
The Legendary History of the Cross.
Men, Maidens, and Manners a Hundred Years Ago.
Romances of Chivalry.
Modern Street Ballads.
Curious Creatures in Zoology.
Social England under the Regency.
Eighteenth Century Waifs.
Drinks of the World.
The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood.
Charles Letts's Date Book and Chronological Diary.
Lord Mayor's Show in the Olden Time.
Real Sailor Songs.
"Varia."
History of the Lottery in England.
Cassell's Social Life in England (_partly_).
A Righte Merrie Christmasse!
Hyde Park from Domesday Book to Date.
When William IV. was King.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.
[Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all
other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling
has been maintained.]
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