Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign Part 2

The late King's stud at Hampton was doomed to be sold, and the sale thereof created something of a sensation. On this subject there is, in a little twopenny weekly magazine, called _The Torch_, 9 Sep., '37 (vol.

i., p. 19), a periodical now long forgotten, a poem by Tom Hood, which I have not seen in any collection of his poems. It is a

PEt.i.tION TO HER MAJESTY FOR PRESERVING THE ROYAL STUD AT HAMPTON COURT.

BY THOMAS HOOD.

I.

LIEGE LADY, all the nation's in high dud- geon that Lord Melbourne's brains should be so muddy As to advise you sell your royal _stud_, Which to preserve, should be your royal study.

II.

Poor nags you would not in your stable find, Like cavalry of Evans called De Lacey, No! I do rather hope your royal mind Is naturally fond of something racy.

III.

Pray, what has Hampton done that you should trounce ill- naturedly its prancers and its sport?

You have a breed of _a.s.ses_ in the _Council_, Do keep a breed of _horses_ in the _Court_.

IV.

His truth who says that you should sell them, fails.

Believe me, Lady liege, he tells a crammer; You'll set your people biting all their _nails_, If you put up your horses to the _hammer_.

V.

I like these money-turning Whigs, indeed; Who, into coin, change everything they're able.

You're just installed, and they would sell _the steed_, It doesn't make me think they're very _stable_.

VI.

I daresay they believe they're very knowing, I think they're close to their official shelves: And, when they set the horses "Going, going,"

It's nearly time they should be gone themselves.

VII.

The nation quite in Hampton Court rejoices, What! sell its stud of steeds beyond all praise!

_Nay_, shout the people with indignant voices, And the stud echoes with a hundred _neighs_.

VIII.

Then sell them not, dear lady, I implore ye; Of tears 'twill set your people shedding floods;- I tell ye what will make 'em all adore ye,- Kick out your ministers and keep your bloods!

But Hood must have laboured under a misapprehension, for the horses were the private property of the late King, and his executors had no option but to sell them. It was said that William IV. in his lifetime wished the country to take the stud over, at a valuation, and, after his death, it was offered to Queen Victoria for 16,000. The sale took place on Oct. 25, and there were 80 lots, which did not fetch particularly high prices, the highest being "The Colonel," who was bought, after winning the St. Leger, by George IV. for 4,000 guineas; but the horse broke down after running a dead heat at Ascot in 1831. He only realised 1,150 guineas, and was bought by the auctioneer, Mr. Tattersall. The next highest price given was for "Actaeon," which fetched 920 guineas. The total proceeds of the sale was 15,692 guineas.

In October a great change was made in the matter of marriage, which had, hitherto, been a purely ecclesiastical affair, but by the 6 & 7 Gul. iv., cap. 85, Registrars of births and deaths were empowered to marry couples, and it became a purely civil contract. This Act was to have come into force on the first day of March; but a subsequent Act postponed it to the last day of June, and it really only became effective in October. It surprised people by its simplicity, and the gist of the Act is in Section xx.: "And be it enacted, That after the expiration of the said Period of Twenty-one Days or of Seven Days, if the Marriage is by Licence, Marriages may be solemnized in the registered Building stated as aforesaid in the notice of such Marriage, between and by the Parties described in the Notice and Certificate, according to such form and ceremony as they may see fit to adopt: Provided nevertheless, that every such Marriage shall be solemnized with open doors, between the Hours of Eight and Twelve in the Forenoon, in the Presence of some Registrar of the District in which such registered Building is situated, and of Two, or more, credible Witnesses; provided also, that in some Part of the Ceremony, and in the Presence of such Registrar and Witnesses, each of the Parties shall declare:

"'I do solemnly declare, That I know not of any lawful Impediment why I, A. B., may not be joined in Matrimony to C. D.'

"And each of the Parties shall say to the other:

"'I call upon these Persons here present to witness that I, A. B., do take thee, C. D., to be my lawful wedded Wife [or Husband].'

"Provided also, that there be no lawful Impediment to the Marriage of such Parties."

The old House of Commons was destroyed by fire on 16 Oct., 1834, and it was not until September, 1837, that the first contracts for the commencement of the construction of the new works, in connection with the present building, were entered into. They were for the formation of an embankment 886 feet in length, projecting into the river 98 feet further than that then existing, to be faced with granite, and a terrace 673 feet long next the river, and 35 feet wide, in front of the new Houses, with an esplanade at each end 100 feet square, with landing stairs from the river 12 feet wide. The whole surface of the front building was to be excavated, and filled in with concrete 12 feet thick, thus forming a permanent and solid foundation for the superstructure. Towards the end of this year, the Queen was somewhat pestered with lunatics. On Nov. 4, as she was going through Birdcage Walk on her return from Brighton, a man of respectable appearance went near the Queen's carriage, held up his fist, and made use of most insulting language towards Her Majesty and the d.u.c.h.ess of Kent, declaring that the Queen was an usurper, and he would have her off her Throne before a week was out. He was afterwards arrested, and turned out to be Mr. John Goode, a gentleman of large property in Devonshire, who had been previously in custody on 24th of May (Her Majesty's birthday) for creating a disturbance and forcibly entering the enclosure of Kensington Palace. He was taken before the Privy Council, and when examined, declared that he was a son of George IV. and Queen Caroline, born at Montague House, Blackheath, and that, if he could but get hold of the Queen, he would tear her in pieces. He was told to find bail, himself in 1,000, and two sureties of 500 each; but these not being forthcoming, he was sent to prison. On entering the hackney coach, he instantly smashed the windows with his elbows, and screamed out to the sentinels: "Guards of England, do your duty, and rescue your Sovereign." He was, after a very short imprisonment, confined in a lunatic asylum.

The other case was a German baker, but he only uttered threats against the Queen and her mother, and he, too, was put in an asylum.

A great event, and a very grand sight, was the Queen's visit to the City of London on 9 Nov., when Alderman Cowan inaugurated his mayoralty. The Queen went in State, attended by all her Court, her Ministers, the Judges, etc. The procession started from Buckingham Palace soon after 2 p.m. and reached Guildhall about 3.30.

The interior of the Guildhall was "exceeding magnifical." There was a canopy of carved gilt, with draperies of crimson velvet and gold fringe and ta.s.sels, its interior, being also of crimson velvet, was relieved by ornaments in silver and a radiated oval of white satin with golden rays.

The back was fluted in white satin, enriched with the Royal Arms in burnished gold. The State chair was covered with crimson velvet with the Royal Arms and Crown, with the rose, thistle and shamrock tastefully interwoven.

At each end of the Hall, the walls were covered with immense plates of looking-gla.s.s. The window at the eastern end of the Hall, above the throne, having been removed, a gigantic wooden framework was subst.i.tuted, on which was erected a gorgeous piece of gas illumination. Above the mouldings of the windows, and over the City Arms, waved the Royal Standard and the Union Jack. Above was the Royal cypher, V.R., in very large characters, surmounted by the appropriate word "Welcome," the whole being encircled by an immense wreath of laurels, which terminated, at the lower extremity of the framework, with the rose, thistle and shamrock.

Over the clock at the western end, and reaching nearly the whole breadth of the Hall, with Gog and Magog on the right and left, was placed an immense stack of armour, with upwards of 30 furled flags as an appropriate background. Immediately above was the magnificently radiated star of the Order of the Garter, surrounded by crimson drapery, and the scroll "G.o.d save the Queen" entirely composed of cut gla.s.s, which, when lit up, seemed, literally, one continued blaze of diamonds. The whole was surmounted by the imperial crown and wreaths of laurel, intermingled with the rose, thistle and shamrock, covering the entire outline of the window. Where, formerly, was the musicians' gallery, on the opposite side, was occupied by three stacks of armour; complete coats of mail were, likewise, suspended in other parts of the Hall; two knights in complete armour guarded the entrance of the Hall and Council Chamber, which latter was fitted up for the Queen's reception room, and hung throughout with crimson fluted cloth, finished with gold mouldings and festoons of red and white flowers. Upon a platform stood a chair of state, splendidly gilt and covered with crimson velvet, and there was no other chair nor seat of any kind in the apartment. The Queen's retiring-room was the Aldermen's Court, and was superbly decorated, having a magnificent toilet table covered with white satin, embroidered with the initials V.R., a crown and wreath in gold, and looped with gold silk rope and ta.s.sels.

After the Queen's arrival at the Guildhall, and having spent some little time on her toilet, her Majesty was conducted to the Council Chamber, where-seated on her throne, and surrounded by Royal Dukes and d.u.c.h.esses, etc.-she listened to a dutiful address read by the Recorder, and, at its conclusion, she was graciously pleased to order letters patent to be made out conferring a baronetcy on the Lord Mayor and knighthood on the two Sheriffs, John Carroll and Moses Montefiore, Esquires, the latter, as before mentioned, being the first Jew who had received that honour.

At 20 minutes past 5 the Queen entered the Hall, in which was the banquet, wearing a rich pink satin dress, ornamented with gold and silver, a splendid pearl necklace, diamond earrings, and a tiara of diamonds. She occupied the centre of the Royal table, having on her right the Duke of Suss.e.x, the d.u.c.h.ess of Gloucester, the d.u.c.h.ess of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and the d.u.c.h.ess of Sutherland; and on her left, the Duke of Cambridge, the d.u.c.h.ess of Kent, the Princess Augusta of Cambridge and the Countess of Mulgrave. As a specimen of the magnificence of this banquet, it may be mentioned that at the Royal table the whole of the service was of gold, as were the candelabra, epergnes, soup tureens, cellarets, etc.; one firm furnished gold plate for the Queen's table and sideboard to the value of 115,000, and another firm nearly the same amount, whilst the value of plate lent by various gentlemen was a.s.sessed at 400,000, besides which there was the Civic plate. The china dessert plates at the Queen's table cost 10 guineas each, and all the gla.s.s decanters and china were specially made for the occasion.

At 20 minutes past 8, the Queen left the Hall, and in her retiring room was served with tea from a splendid gold service made for the occasion, and she reached Buckingham Palace about half-past 9-highly delighted with her entertainment.

There is nothing more of interest in this year, if we except the maiden speech of Lord Beaconsfield, in the House of Commons, which took place on 7th Dec. Mr. Disraeli (as he then was) had the disadvantage of following O'Connell, in a noisy debate on the legality of the Irish Election Pet.i.tion Fund. He was not listened to from the first, and, in the middle of his speech, as reported by _Hansard_, after begging the House to give him five minutes, he said: "He stood there to-night, not formally, but, in some degree, virtually, as the representative of a considerable number of Members of Parliament (_laughter_). Now, why smile? Why envy him?

Why not let him enjoy that reflection, if only for one night?" All through his speech he was interrupted, and this is its close, as reported in _Hansard_. "When they recollected the 'new loves' and the 'old loves'

in which so much pa.s.sion and recrimination was mixed up between the n.o.ble t.i.tyrus of the Treasury Bench, and the learned Daphne of Liskeard-(_loud laughter_)-notwithstanding the _amantium ira_ had resulted, as he always expected, in the _amoris integratio_-(_renewed laughter_)-notwithstanding that political duel had been fought, in which more than one shot was interchanged, but in which recourse was had to the secure arbitrament of blank cartridges-(_laughter_)-notwithstanding emanc.i.p.ated Ireland and enslaved England, the n.o.ble lord might wave in one hand the keys of St.

Peter, and in the other-(_the shouts that followed drowned the conclusion of the sentence_). Let them see the philosophical prejudice of Man. He would, certainly, gladly hear a cheer from the lips of a popular opponent. He was not at all surprised at the reception which he had experienced. He had begun several things many times, and he had often succeeded at last. He would sit down now, but the time would come when they would hear him. (_The impatience of the House would not allow the hon. member to finish his speech_; _and during the greater part of the time the hon. member was on his legs_, _he was so much interrupted that it was impossible to hear what the hon. member said_)."

CHAPTER III.

Destruction of Royal Exchange-Sale of the salvage-Spring-heeled Jack and his pranks-Lord John Russell's hat.

As a sad pendant to the Civic festivities at the close of 1837 comes the destruction by fire of the Royal Exchange on the night of the 10th of January following.

It was first noticed a little after 10 p.m., when flames were observed in Lloyd's Coffee Room in the north-east corner of the building, opposite the Bank, the firemen of which establishment were soon on the spot, as well as many other of the metropolitan engines. But, before any water could be thrown upon the building, it was necessary to thaw the hose and works of the engines by pouring hot water upon them, as the frost was so very severe; so that, by 11 p.m., all Lloyd's was a ma.s.s of flame.

Nothing could be done to stop the conflagration, it having got too great a hold, and great fears were entertained that it would spread to the Bank and surrounding buildings, the which, however, was fortunately prevented.

The Lord Mayor was present, and a large body of soldiers from the Tower a.s.sisted the Police in keeping the crowd away from the immediate scene.

It must have been a magnificent sight, and somewhat curious, for amidst the roar of the flames, and until the chiming apparatus was destroyed, and the bells dropped one by one, the chimes went on pealing "There's nae luck about the house," {23} "Life let us cherish," and "G.o.d save the Queen." The fire was not completely got under until noon the next day, but, practically, the building was destroyed by 5 am., and, so bright was the conflagration, that it was visible at Windsor-twenty-four miles off, and at Theydon, in Ess.e.x, a distance of eighteen miles; whilst from the heights of Surrey on the south, and Highgate and Hampstead on the north, the progress of the fire was watched by crowds of people.

The following account of the Exchange after the fire is taken from the _Times_ of 13 Jan.: