The Fmmt Iejuk of /a 
 
 g* V^' ^'/Wf^y^'. " > - 
 
 '^-"Wf 
 
 M. 
 
 .'■-iidvanoijig' . . . unciirccd, -witli silken rein unfelt." 
 
 i«««5^«^^^; Anon.
 
 Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN 
 
 \^
 
 3/.
 
 /I npAV-rm; ny .mjss COSThilo
 
 The First Tear of a 
 
 'LKEN KEIGN 
 
 (1837-8) 
 
 BY 
 
 Andrew W. Tuer 
 
 AND 
 
 Chs, E, Fagan 
 
 WITH TEN ILLUSTRATIONS 
 FROM CONTEilPORAllY ORIGINAL PLATES 
 
 . . proudly arched neck advancing . . . uncurbed, with silken rein unfelt." — Anon. 
 
 Field & Tuer^ The Leadenhall 'Press, 6.C. 
 Simpkin, ^Marshall & Co.; Hamilton^ oAdams & Co. 
 
 V^ew York : Scribner & Welford, 743 6" 745, 'Broadway.
 
 FIELD <Sr» TUER, 
 
 THE LEADENHALL PRESS, E.C. 
 
 (T. 4308.)
 
 ' . . . . — in a palace in a garden, 
 meet scene for youth, and innocence, 
 and beauty — came the voice that told 
 the maiden she must ascend her 
 throne." — Lord Beacons field. 
 
 27384
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 HPftg gears have passed since QuEEN 
 Victoria ascended the throne of these 
 realms. Thi^ee other monarchs only of the 
 thirty-five who have ruled England since the 
 Norman Conquest completed the fiftieth year 
 of their reign. 
 
 But the half century of Queen Victoria's 
 sovereignty, which has witnessed the development 
 of railways and of steamships, of the electric 
 telegraph and the electric light, of the penny 
 post, and above all of cheap literature, forms 
 a period of progress withoiU parallel in the 
 history of this country or indeed of the world. 
 Art decays and Science keeps her secrets when 
 the great political and social forces are thrown 
 
 into
 
 VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 into disorder. To the personal qualities of the 
 Queen, which have so largely contributed to 
 maintain peace with foreign power's and a stable 
 government at home, England, therefore, indi- 
 rectly owes not only her social and intellectual 
 progress, but those great scientific achievements 
 which mark the period of Her Majesty's rule. 
 
 A year so signal as that which witnessed 
 the Queen's accession stands out in the history 
 of England, and seems at this time especially 
 to jiLstify a record of the kind now offered. 
 The compilers have had recourse to contemporary 
 chronicles alone — to the records of eye-witnesses 
 of the scenes and pageants depicted ; and they 
 offer this vohtme as a Memorial of the fiLbilee 
 of the beneficent reign of Victoria, our good 
 and well-loved Queen-Empress. 
 
 CONTENTS.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ACCESSION. 
 
 The twentieth of June — The announcement at Kensington 
 Palace — The first Privy Council — ^Declaration of allegi- 
 ance — The declaration to the Council — Demeanour of 
 the young Queen — Official blunders — Contemporaries 
 — Proclamation — At Temple Bar — In the City 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 REMINISCENCES. 
 
 The Queen's childhood — Ramsgate incidents — Confirma- 
 tion of the Queen in 1835 — Funeral of William IV. — 
 Reminiscences of William IV. ... ... ... 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 
 
 Felicitations — The City of London — Queen's scholars — A 
 narrow escape — Good-bye to Kensington — The Garter 
 — The first prorogation — The first speech — The Queen's 
 looks — The first levee and drawing-room — Courts of 
 Queens — Eccentricities of subjects — Little charities — 
 Music — Park gates — No horse, no review ... ... 30 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Curious present to the Queen — To Windsor — Royal visitors 
 — A review — The Queen at dinner — A decided prefer- 
 ence — To Brighton — At the PaviHon — The City banquet 
 — Civic decorations — The guests — The 7neftu — The 
 show of plate — The show of beauty — The medal — 
 The illuminations — The Queen opens her first Parlia- 
 ment — The close of the year ... ... ... 50 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 
 
 The renascence of Pimlico — The finest site in Europe — 
 The Nelson Column — Before the School Boards — The 
 last of the running dustmen — The debtors — A Thames- 
 side fire — The great frost — Wonders of the weather — 
 Burning of the Royal Exchange — The building — The 
 last chimes — Relics and salvage — Fatal riot — Gas in 
 Parliament ... ... ... ... ... 72 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. 
 
 Society and letters — Holland House — Lady Holland — An 
 audacity — Prince Louis Napoleon — Lady Blessington — 
 The greatest and last of the dandies — Fashions — Rivals 
 — Duels — Duelling grounds — Gretna Green — An inci- 
 dent of the laws of debt — Almack's — The Cambrian 
 and Highland balls — Diamonds — Political exiles — 
 Masquerades ; a survival from the last century — ^Tee- 
 totalism — Actress and duchess — The great Coutts mar- 
 riage — A generous will — Duchess of St. Albans — 
 Another generous will — Lord Eldon — The Park — The 
 Zoo — Breakfasts — A great dinner to a great duke — 
 The Goldsmiths' Company's plate — A Waterloo hero 93 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 CONTENTS. IX 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 COACHING. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Locomotion — The road — A combination — The coaches : 
 " Wonder," Brighton " Age," " Taglioni," " Tantivy "— 
 The whips— The Foiir-in-Hand Club — Parodies of the 
 period ... ... ... ... ... ... 122 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 
 
 The railway — The telegraph — A first trip — The new locomo- 
 tion — Complaints — Faint hearts — The first post by rail 
 — New lines — A new line indeed — Steaming across the 
 Atlantic — Steam on the Thames — The Thames Tunnel 
 — Projected tunnel under the Straits of Dover ... 143 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SPORT. 
 
 Sale of the royal stud — Racing^ — St. Leger — The Derby — 
 The Oaks — Royal Ascot — Racing at Bayswater — Hunt- 
 ing — Cricket — The coronation match — The prize ring — 
 Various wagers — Rowing — Riverside taverns — Archery 
 — Cocking ... ... ... ... ... 166 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 Mendelssohn in England — Thalberg in England — Strauss 
 — Balfe — Composers and performers — The opera — 
 Dancers — Drury Lane — Charles Kean — Covent Garden 
 — Macready — The Haymarket — The little Adelphi — 
 The Lyceum — The Olympic — The St. James's — The 
 Strand — The Queen's Theatre — The Surrey and the 
 Victoria — Astley's — Sadler's Wells — The City of Lon- 
 don Theatre — The East End — Penny gaffs — Sights 
 and shows — Vauxhall — The Surrey Zoological — Count 
 Borolowski — Actress and countess ... ... ... 182 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ART AND CEREiMONIAL. 
 
 The Queen's portraits and pictures — Rides— A loss — At the 
 Academy — A good sitter — State ball — The birthday — 
 State concert — Other festivities — A gorgeous Prince ... 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE CORONATION. 
 
 The interior of the Abbey — The entrance — Eleven thousand 
 tickets — Peeresses and peers — The House of Commons 
 — The royal procession— The Sultan's letter — The 
 Esterhazy jevi^els again — The Westminster boys — The 
 oath — The coronation — Medals — The coronation in 
 verse — The illuminations — The theatres — Hyde Park 
 fair — The Queen herself ... ... ... ... 234 
 
 LIST
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN ... ... Frontispiece 
 
 ST. JAMES'S PALACE ... 12 
 
 BRIGHTON FROM THE CHAIN PIER 56 
 
 LADY'S WALKING DRESS ... ... ... ... 97 
 
 LADY'S EVENING DRESS ... 98 
 
 PUTNEY BRIDGE 180 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA'S ARRIVAL AT WESTMINSTER 
 
 ABBEY ... ... ... ... ... 234 
 
 THE CORONATION ... 255 
 
 HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN 256 
 
 CORONATION FAIR, HYDE PARK ... ... ... 268
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ACCESSION. 
 
 The twentieth of June — The announcement at Kensington 
 Palace — The first Privy Council — Declaration of allegiance 
 — The declaration to the Council — Demeanour of the young 
 Queen — Official blunders — Contemporaries — Proclamation 
 — At Temple Bar — In the City. 
 
 OHORTLY after two o'clock on the morn- 
 ing of Tuesday, the 20th of June, 1837, 
 Dr. Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the 
 Marquis of Conyngham (Lord Chamberlain) 
 drove away post-haste from Windsor Castle 
 for Kensington Palace, where the Princess 
 Victoria* and her mother, the Duchess of 
 
 * But one Queen of this name has preceded her present 
 Majesty, and she, sovereign of a great portion of the western 
 division of the Roman Empire, is thus spoken of by Gibbon : 
 " After the murder of so many valiant princes, it is somewhat 
 remarkable that a female for a long time controlled the fierce 
 legions of Gaul. The arts and treasures of Victoria enabled 
 
 B Kent 
 
 u<>
 
 2 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Kent, were residing, to announce the death 
 of King William IV. They arrived at the 
 palace at a few minutes before five o'clock 
 in the morning. The incidents of that 
 first audience have often been minutely 
 described. In his "Memoirs" Mr. Charles 
 Greville says — 
 
 " On the morning of the King's death the Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham arrived 
 at Kensington at five o'clock, and immediately 
 desired to see * the Queen.' They were ushered into 
 an apartment, and in a few minutes the door opened 
 and she came in, wrapped in a dressing-gown and 
 with slippers on her naked feet. Conyngham in a 
 few words told her their errand, and as soon as he 
 uttered the words, ' Your Majesty,' she instantly put 
 out her hand to him, intimating that he was to kiss 
 hands before he proceeded. He dropped on one 
 knee, kissed her hand, and then went on to tell her 
 of the late King's death. She presented her hand 
 
 her to place successively Marius and Tetricus on the throne, 
 and to reign with a manly vigour under the name of those 
 dependent Emperors. Money of copper, of silver, and of 
 gold was coined in her name. She assumed the title of 
 Augusta, and Mother of the Camps. Her power ended only 
 with her life : but her life was, perhaps, shortened by the 
 ingratitude of Tetricus." 
 
 to
 
 THE ACCESSION. 
 
 to the Archbishop, who likewise kissed it, and when 
 he had done so, addressed to her a sort of pastoral 
 charge, which she received graciously and then 
 retired." 
 
 At nine o'clock Lord Melbourne arrived, 
 and had an interview with Her Majesty,* 
 which lasted upwards of half an hour. Im- 
 mediately afterwards summonses for a meet- 
 ing were sent to the members of his late 
 Majesty's Privy Council in the following 
 form : — ^ 
 
 " Council Chamber, 
 
 " Tuesday morning, J 2ine 20, 1837. 
 " Let the messenger acquaint the Lords and 
 others of his late Majesty's Hon. Privy Council, that 
 a Council will be held at Kensington Palace this 
 mornii^ at eleven o'clock." 
 
 Shortly after eleven o'clock a great number 
 
 * It is noteworthy that on Queen Victoria's accession, the 
 sceptres of Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal were held by 
 female hands. The age of the Queen of England was eighteen ; 
 the Queen of Portugal was a month older ; the Queen of Spain 
 was not quite seven, and the regent, her mother, was about 
 thirty-one. 
 
 of
 
 4 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 of Privy Councillors, amongst whom were all 
 the Cabinet Ministers, the great officers of 
 State and Household, together with the Lord 
 Mayor, and other members of the Corporation 
 of the City of London, arrived at Kensington 
 Palace, and were ushered into the State apart- 
 ments. The young Queen, accompanied by 
 the Duchess of Kent and the officers of her 
 Household, soon afterwards entered the 
 Council Chamber, and the Queen took her 
 seat on a throne which had been erected for 
 the occasion. 
 
 The Lord Chancellor then administered to 
 the Sovereign the usual oaths, that she would 
 govern the kingdom according to its laws and 
 customs, afford security to the Church of Scot- 
 land, etc., and the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 administered the oaths to maintain the Pro- 
 testant religion. The Cabinet Ministers 
 advanced to the throne, and, kneeling, took 
 the oaths of allegiance and supremacy — a 
 ceremony afterwards performed by the other 
 Privy Councillors present. On the Duke of 
 
 Sussex,
 
 THE ACCESSION. 
 
 Sussex, the Queen's favourite uncle, presenting 
 himself, and preparing to kneel to kiss Her 
 Majesty's hand, she gracefully prevented him 
 and bestowed an affectionate kiss on his cheek. 
 The declaration of allegiance, signed by 
 every member of the Privy Council present 
 — the first name on the list being that of 
 Ernest, King of Hanover * — was as follows : — 
 
 " Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call 
 to His mercy our late Sovereign Lord King William 
 IV., of blessed and glorious memory, by whose 
 decease the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland is solely and rightfully 
 come to the high and mighty Princess Alexandrina 
 Victoria, saving the rights of any issue of his late 
 Majesty King William IV. which may be born of 
 his late Majesty's consort ; we, therefore, the Lords 
 Spiritual and Temporal of this realm, being here 
 assisted by these of his late Majesty's Privy Council, 
 with numbers of others, principally gentlemen of 
 quality, with the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and 
 
 * One effect of the descent of the crown of England to 
 a female was the separation of the crown of Hanover, which, 
 in accordance with the Salic law, descended to Ernest 
 Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, brother of the late King 
 William IV. 
 
 citizens
 
 6 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 citizens of London, do now hereby, with one voice 
 and consent of tongue and heart, publish and pro- 
 claim that the high and mighty Princess Alexandrina 
 Victoria is now, by the death of our late Sovereign, 
 of happy memory, become our only lawful and 
 rightful liege Lady Victoria, by the grace of God, 
 Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, Defender of the Faith, saving as aforesaid. 
 To whom, saving as aforesaid, we do acknowledge 
 all faith and constant obedience with all hearty and 
 humble affection, beseeching God, by whom kings 
 and queens do reign, to bless the Royal Princess 
 Victoria, with long and happy years to reign over us. 
 Given at the Court of Kensington, this 20th day 
 of June, 1837. God save the Queen." 
 
 Then follow the signatures. When the 
 ceremony of signing the act of allegiance had 
 been performed, the Queen made the following 
 declaration to the Council : — 
 
 " The severe and afflicting loss which the nation 
 has sustained by the death of His Majesty, my 
 beloved uncle, has devolved upon me the duty of 
 administering the government of this empire. This 
 awful responsibility is imposed upon me so suddenly, 
 and at so early a period of my life, that I should 
 feel myself utterly oppressed by the burden were 
 
 I
 
 THE ACCESSION. 
 
 I not sustained by the hope that Divine Providence, 
 which has called me to this work, will give me 
 strength for the performance of it, and that I shall 
 find in the purity of my intentions, and in my zeal 
 for the public welfare, that support and those 
 resources which usually belong to a more mature 
 age and to longer experience. I place my firm 
 reliance upon the wisdom of Parliament, and upon 
 the loyalty and affection of my people. I esteem 
 it also a peculiar advantage that I succeed to a 
 sovereign whose constant regards for the rights and 
 liberties of his subjects, and whose desire to promote 
 the amelioration of the laws and institutions of the 
 country, have rendered his name the object of general 
 attachment and veneration. Educated in England, 
 under the tender and enlightened care of a most 
 affectionate mother, I have learnt from my infancy 
 to respect and love the constitution of my native 
 country. It will be my unceasing study to maintain 
 the reformed religion as by law established, securing 
 at the same time to all the full enjoyment of 
 religious liberty ; and I shall steadily protect the 
 rights, and promote to the utmost of my power 
 the happiness and welfare, of all classes of my 
 subjects." 
 
 The security of the Church of Scotland, 
 
 moreover, was then guaranteed by Her Majesty. 
 
 We arc told — 
 
 " Understanding
 
 8 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 " Understanding that the law requires that she 
 should at her accession to the crown take and 
 subscribe the oath relating to the security of the 
 Church of Scotland, she was now ready to do it 
 this first opportunity, according to the forms used I 
 
 by the law of Scotland, and she subscribed two 
 instruments thereof, in the presence of the Lords 
 of the Council, who witnessed the same." 
 
 The Cabinet Ministers then tendered to 
 the Queen the seals of their respective offices, 
 which Her Majesty returned, and they seve- 
 rally kissed hands on their re-appointment. 
 Most of the Privy Councillors were also 
 re-sworn. 
 
 The stamps to be affixed to official docu- 
 ments were ordered to be altered, and also 
 the form of prayer used in the Church service. 
 The Queen appointed the next day for the 
 public proclamation, and the Great Seal, which 
 had been delivered up to Her Majesty, and 
 had been returned to the Lord Chancellor, was 
 affixed to the official proclamation. A docu- 
 ment, officially declaring the accession of 
 Queen Alexandrina Victoria, was signed by 
 
 all
 
 THE ACCESSION. 
 
 all the Privy Councillors present, and after- 
 wards by a great number of the nobility 
 and others. 
 
 And so ended the first meetingf of Oueen 
 Victoria's Privy Council. 
 
 As to the demeanour of the young Queen, 
 an extract from a letter written by one who 
 was present states — 
 
 " I have just returned from the Privy Council 
 which assembled at Kensington at eleven. Nothing 
 could be more graceful or in better taste than the 
 manner and action of the young Queen. Her voice 
 and delivery are particularly good, which gave great 
 effect to the declaration, which I think is remarkably 
 well composed. It was altogether a most touching 
 and affecting, as well as interesting sight, and we 
 were all afraid that the Queen might be overcome 
 on so sudden and trying an occasion, until we saw 
 that she could command herself, and that she was 
 able to go through all the duties of the day with 
 self-possession and calmness." 
 
 On the tables of both Houses were placed 
 the printed forms of oaths, describing Her 
 Majesty as Queen "Alexandrina Victoria;" 
 
 but
 
 lO THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 but at the Privy Council Her Majesty had 
 signed " Victoria " only. This difference in 
 the signature created no ordinary bustle, and 
 it became necessary to alter the forms by 
 striking out the name *' Alexandrina." In the 
 House of Lords the difficulty thus created 
 was somewhat formidable, as the Parliamentary 
 roll had been prepared for the signatures 
 of Peers who had taken the oaths of fidelity 
 and allegiance to Her Majesty Queen "Alex- 
 andrina Victoria," and new parchments for an 
 amended description had to be procured. 
 Another alteration, or rather precaution, neces- 
 sary for the sake of pro forma accuracy, may 
 be noticed — that of taking the oaths without 
 prejudice to any issue of King William IV. 
 that might hereafter appear. 
 
 The accession of a young maiden to the 
 throne of this country was an event unprece- 
 dented in the history of the kingdom. Indeed, 
 without regard to sex, the youthful Princess 
 assumed the full regal power at an earlier age 
 
 than
 
 THE ACCESSION. I I 
 
 than did any of her predecessors. Henry VI., 
 Edward V., and Edward VI. were minors, and 
 a regency had been required under each. 
 
 The following is a list of sovereigns who 
 were reigning in Europe on the accession of 
 Queen Victoria : — 
 
 Great Britain — Alexandrina Victoria, born May 24, 
 
 1819. 
 Holland — William Frederick, born August 24, 1772. 
 Belgium — Leopold I., born December 16, 1790. 
 Austria — Ferdinand I., born April 19, 1793. 
 Prussia — Frederick William III., born August 3, 1770. 
 France — Louis Philippe, born October 6, 1773. 
 Spain — Isabella II., born October 10, 1830. 
 Portugal — Maria II., born April 14, 18 19. 
 Denmark — Frederick VI., born January 28, 1768. 
 Sweden — Charles Bernadotte, born January 26, 1764. 
 Russia — Nicholas I., born July 6, 1796. 
 Turkey — Mahmoud II., born July 20, 1785. 
 Greece — Otho I., born June i, 181 5. 
 
 It is remarkable that the three youngest 
 of these contemporary sovereigns were females. 
 But with the exception of Isabella II. of Spain, 
 who abdicated in 1870 in favour of her son 
 Alfonso, Queen Victoria is the only surviving 
 
 monarch ;
 
 12 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 monarch ; and she has seen a successor or 
 successors to the throne of each country. 
 
 On the day following, the 21st of June, the 
 Queen was publicly proclaimed. Accompanied 
 by her mother, she left Kensington Palace 
 for St. James's Palace at a few minutes before 
 ten, escorted by detachments of Life Guards 
 and Royal Horse Guards. The procession, 
 which passed down Constitution Hill, and 
 entered the palace through the gardens open- 
 ing into the Park, consisted only of three 
 carriages. In the first were the Earl of Jersey, 
 the Lord Chamberlain, and the Master of the 
 Horse ; the private State carriage contained 
 Her Majesty, the Duchess of Kent, and Lady 
 Conroy ; and in the third were Sir John Con- 
 roy and Lady Flora Hastings. 
 
 Long before ten o'clock all the avenues 
 leading to St. James's Palace were crowded, 
 and every balcony and window filled. In the 
 palace itself were assembled the various mem- 
 bers of the Royal Family, the officers of the 
 
 Household,
 
 THE ACCESSION. 
 
 Household, the Ministers of State, and others. 
 At ten o'clock the near approach of the Queen 
 was made known to the several officers of 
 State and the members of the Administration 
 just as they assembled in the window of the 
 Tapestry Room, and these instantly went down 
 to receive their Sovereign. At the same mo- 
 ment the band struck up, and the Park and 
 Tower guns fired a double royal salute, at 
 the conclusion of which the Queen, led by the 
 Marquis of Lansdowne, the President of the 
 Council, came forward to the opened window 
 of the Presence Chamber. Her Majesty was 
 dressed in black, with white tippet, white cuffs, 
 and a border of white lace under a " small " 
 black bonnet (small for the period, but every- 
 thing is comparative), which was worn far 
 back, showing the fair hair in front, so that 
 the young Queen's face might be well seen 
 by the people. 
 
 The Queen's appearance was the signal for 
 acclamations of joy from the vast crowd 
 assembled. Mr. O'Connell, M.P., "the Libe- 
 rator,"
 
 14 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 rator," in the front line of the crowd in the 
 courtyard of the palace, made himself con- 
 spicuous by waving his hat and cheering 
 vociferously. Apparently completely overcome 
 by the novelty of the situation and the tension 
 resulting from the important events of the last 
 few days, the Queen burst into tears the instant 
 she heard the cheering. 
 
 The heralds, accompanied by the Duke of 
 Norfolk, had meanwhile taken up their station in 
 the courtyard immediately beneath the window 
 where the Queen was standing, and upon silence 
 being obtained, Clarencieux King-at-Arms, in 
 the absence of Sir Ralph Bigland, Garter King- 
 at-Arms, read the proclamation, which consisted 
 of the declaration of allegiance, given and signed 
 at the Privy Council on the previous day. 
 
 A flourish of trumpets followed, and the 
 Park and Tower guns again fired a salute, in 
 token that the ceremony of proclaiming " Alex- 
 andrina Victoria" Queen of these realms had 
 been accomplished. 
 
 The Queen, at once proceeding to the 
 
 Council
 
 THE ACCESSION. 1 5 
 
 Council Chamber, gave audiences to Lord Hill 
 (Commanding-in-Chief), who laid before Her 
 Majesty papers connected with the army ; the 
 Earl of Minto, the Lord Chancellor, and other 
 of the great officers of State. At noon a 
 Council was held. All the Cabinet Ministers 
 were present, as well as the Duke of Norfolk, 
 as hereditary Earl Marshal of England, and 
 several members of Her Majesty's Privy 
 Council. The Duke of Norfolk took the oaths 
 prescribed by the Act of Parliament for the 
 Emancipation of Her Majesty's Catholic sub- 
 jects. An Order in Council was then agreed 
 upon, directing the Earl Marshal to order all 
 classes to appear in the deepest mourning for 
 his late Majesty on the day of the funeral. 
 Her Majesty, accompanied by the Duchess of 
 Kent, quitted St. James's Palace for Kensing- 
 ton at a quarter past one o'clock. 
 
 After the proclamation had been made at 
 St. James's Palace, the heralds set out to 
 make it again at the other appointed places. 
 The procession was formed in Pall Mall. A 
 
 detachment
 
 1 6 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 detachment of Life Guards and the High Con- 
 stable of Westminster, with a strong body of 
 Metropolitan Police, Bow Street officers, and 
 other constables, led the way. Then followed : 
 Two vedettes of the ist Life Guards. 
 One ditto. 
 The veterinary surgeon of ditto. 
 Four pioneers, with their axes in the rest. 
 The beadles of St. James's and St. Martin's 
 parishes, in full dresses, with their 
 staves of office. 
 Band of the Royal Horse Guards, in State 
 uniforms. 
 Eio^ht marshals on foot. 
 The Knight Marshal and his attendants. 
 
 The Household Troops. 
 
 State band, kettle-drums, and trumpets. 
 
 Six pursuivants-at-arms, on horseback. 
 
 The heralds, mounted. 
 
 Garter King-at-Arms, in his splendid surcoat, 
 
 supported by his sergeants-at-arms, with 
 
 their maces. 
 
 A troop of Life Guards. 
 
 In
 
 THE ACCESSION. 1 7 
 
 In front of the eastern entrance to Trafalgar 
 Square the cavalcade halted, and the proclama- 
 tion was acj^aln read. The crowd was im- 
 mense ; vehicles of every kind that could be 
 hired lined both sides of the way. At Temple 
 Bar the cavalcade found the gates of that 
 ancient civic barrier closed against them. 
 Rouge Croix Pursuivant-at-Arms advanced be- 
 tween two trumpeters, and the trumpets having 
 " sounded thrice " he knocked at the gate ; 
 whereupon the senior City marshal rode up, 
 and asked, according to ancient custom and 
 privilege, " Who comes there ? " To this came 
 the reply, " The officer-at-arms who demands 
 entrance into the City to proclaim Her Royal 
 Majesty Alexandrina Victoria Queen of the 
 United Kingdom." The City marshals imme- 
 diately rode up, with their hats off, to the car- 
 riage of the Lord Mayor, which stood opposite 
 to Chancery Lane, and informed him that the 
 herald was at the gates, and desired admission 
 to proclaim the Queen. His Lordship ordered 
 that the gates should be opened ; the heralds 
 
 c and
 
 1 8 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 and the rest of the procession passed through ; 
 and a pursuivant and the York Herald-at-Arms 
 approached the Lord Mayor and presented to 
 him the Order of Council requiring them to 
 proclaim Her Majesty. The Lord Mayor, ad- 
 dressing himself to the York Herald-at-Arms, 
 said, " I am aware of the contents of this paper, 
 having been apprised of the ceremony ap- 
 pointed to take place yesterday, and I have 
 attended to perform my duty in accordance 
 with the ancient usages and customs of the 
 City of London." Accordingly at the corner 
 of Chancery Lane the proclamation was read 
 a third time, again followed by a flourish of 
 trumpets, the herald crying aloud, " God save 
 the Queen," amid great applause and shouts of 
 " Long live Queen Victoria ! " 
 
 Joined by the Lord Mayor and the City 
 authorities, the procession halted again at the 
 end of Wood Street to make the proclamation 
 a fourth time. Here the procession was fur- 
 ther swelled by several of the City companies ; 
 and it then moved on to the Royal Ex- 
 change,
 
 THE ACCESSION. 1 9 
 
 change, where the proclamation was once more 
 read. 
 
 At each point the band played the National 
 Anthem, which was heartily cheered by the 
 crowd. The City had not seen for many 
 years so large an assemblage of loyal subjects. 
 Even on the roofs of the Bank and the Royal 
 Exchange multitudes assembled to witness the 
 brief parade, and when, at the conclusion of the 
 proclamation, the herald cried, " God save the 
 Queen," cheers came from every throat, and 
 there were loud and heartfelt cries of " God 
 bless Her Majesty ! A happy and a peaceful 
 reign to her." 
 
 At twenty minutes after twelve the cere- 
 mony was at an end and the procession sepa- 
 rated. Thus was inaugurated Her Majesty's 
 glorious and happy reign. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 20 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 REMINISCENCES. 
 
 The Queen's childhood — Ramsgate incidents — Confirmation of 
 the Queen in 1835 — Funeral of WiUiam IV. — Reminiscences 
 of William IV. 
 
 ^"\7^HEN the young Queen was Queen 
 indeed, beyond question or accident, 
 many were the reminiscences told and printed 
 about her childhood. 
 
 For years a home in the Isle of Thanet 
 (generally Albion House, Ramsgate) had been 
 the favourite autumnal retreat of the Duchess 
 of Kent and her little daughter. Thither they 
 went, accompanied by a very small retinue. 
 Throwing aside the formal restraints of royalty, 
 they had free intercourse with the families of 
 the neighbourhood, and were constantly to be 
 seen in the streets and on the piers, where 
 
 the
 
 REMINISCENCES. 1 1 
 
 the shipping was a special attraction to the 
 child. Opportunities were thus afforded the 
 visitors and residents of acquiring a personal 
 knowledge of the manners and dispositions of 
 the Princess and her mother. It was in 1824 
 that the Duchess of Kent, accompanied by the 
 Princess, then in her fifth year, paid her first 
 visit to Ramsgate, where they stayed the 
 greater part of the season. The sea-breezes 
 were found so good for the Princess, and the 
 Duchess was so much pleased with the atten- 
 tion showed to her and to her child, that on 
 leaving she expressed her intention of returning 
 often to that part of the coast. 
 
 Many kindnesses were done by the mother 
 and child during their visits to the island. 
 During the sojourn of 1835, the case of a poor 
 old woman was brought under their notice by 
 some of her friends. Sir John Conroy, com- 
 missioned to make inquiries, reported favour- 
 ably. The needy woman had in early life 
 been on the stage, but ill health had compelled 
 her to retire. Asked what she most desired, 
 
 she
 
 2 2 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 she pronounced for a special providence of tea 
 and sugar. Accordingly a stock was sent to 
 her for the winter ; and on the return of their 
 Royal Highnesses in 1836, a second winter's 
 supply was sent to her. Of course such a 
 story is worth telling only as an indication of 
 character, and on the supposition that hun- 
 dreds, and even thousands, of similar stories 
 could be told, were the Recording Angel to 
 place his manuscript at our disposal. 
 
 Admiral Codrington, in conversation with 
 the Duchess of Kent, once expressed his sur- 
 prise that so much of her time had been passed 
 on the sea-coast, and that she should so fre- 
 quently have made excursions in yachts, while 
 it was generally understood that she had no 
 love for the sea. The Duchess admitted she 
 had none, but said she had conquered her 
 own repugnance for the sake of the Princess, 
 who ought to have some general knowledge 
 of the importance of the shipping interest to 
 the commercial greatness of England. The 
 admiral understood that the preceptors of the 
 
 Princess
 
 REMINISCENCES. 23 
 
 Princess had specially directed the studies of 
 their illustrious pupil to matters of naval 
 history. 
 
 Great punctuality was required by the 
 Duchess in all domestic affairs, and rules as to 
 hours were enforced even in travellingf. In her 
 dealings with tradespeople at Thanet she dis- 
 tributed her patronage as evenly as possible ; 
 and many an obscure tradesman was made 
 happy by finding himself the recipient of a 
 royal order. The Princess herself in her 
 rural walks was wont to enter into conversa- 
 tion with other young children she met. If 
 they were poor, they sometimes found a fairy 
 godmother in the future Queen. 
 
 The following address was presented in 
 September, 1835, to the Duchess and her 
 daughter by the inhabitants and visitors of 
 Ramsgate : — 
 
 "May it please Your Royal Highnesses, we, the 
 inhabitants and visitors of Ramsgate and its vicinity, 
 beg leave most respectfully to approach Your Royal 
 Highnesses with sentiments expressive of gratitude 
 
 for
 
 24 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 for the honour conferred on this town by Your Royal 
 Highnesses' renewed visit. In thus approaching Your 
 Royal Highnesses, whilst we earnestly hope that 
 through Divine Providence you will long enjoy 
 prosperity, health, and happiness, we cannot refrain 
 from expressing, with gratitude undissembled, our 
 full assurance that the maternal care which has so 
 anxiously watched over the earlier years of the heiress 
 presumptive of these realms will be repaid by the 
 formation of such a character as will adorn a British 
 crown, and entwine itself around the hearts of a 
 British people." 
 
 To this the Duchess of Kent made the 
 following reply : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, — I am sure you will easily believe 
 that I passed through the town of Ramsgate yester- 
 day with many gratified feelings. The Princess and 
 myself have the most agreeable recollections of the 
 many happy days we have spent here, and our hearts 
 gratefully responded to the cordial welcome which all 
 classes gave us yesterday. My maternal feelings, 
 and those I owe the King and the country, lead me 
 to share with you in the hopes you express relative 
 to the Princess. It is the object of my life to render 
 her deserving of the affectionate solicitude she so 
 universally inspires, and to make her worthy of the 
 attachment and respect of a free and loyal people." 
 
 In
 
 REMINISCENCES. 25 
 
 In October, 1836, an address, containing 
 similar allusions to the education of the 
 Princess, was presented by the inhabitants of 
 Ramseate and St. Lawrence. In the course 
 of the summer of that year their Royal High- 
 nesses returned to the Isle, living at East 
 Cliffe, St. Lawrence, where they stayed until the 
 29th of November, — a day to be remembered 
 on account of a tremendous hurricane that the 
 Royal party encountered in their land journey 
 towards London. Arriving at Rochester, they 
 found that its bridge had been partly wrecked 
 by the storm, and they had to halt in the town 
 until the next morning. 
 
 A lady who was present at the confirmation 
 of the Princess Victoria, on the 30th of August, 
 1835, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted 
 by the Bishop of London, thus describes the 
 ceremony : — 
 
 *' I witnessed a beautifully touching scene the day 
 before yesterday at the Chapel Royal, St. James's — 
 the confirmation of the Princess Victoria by the 
 
 Archbishop
 
 26 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Archbishop of Canterbury — the ceremony was very 
 affecting — the beautiful, pathetic, and parental ex- 
 hortation of the archbishop on the duties she was 
 called on to fulfil, ' the great responsibility that her 
 high station placed her in, the struggle she must 
 prepare for between the allurements of the world 
 and the dictates and claims of religion and justice, 
 the necessity of her looking up to her Maker in 
 all the trying scenes that awaited her,' etc. She 
 was led up by the King, and knelt before the altar. 
 Her mother stood by her side, weeping audibly, as 
 did the Queen and the other ladies. The old King 
 frequently shed tears, nodding his head at each 
 impressive part of the discourse. The little Princess 
 was drowned in tears and frightened to death. The 
 ceremony over, the King led her up to salute the 
 Queen [and the royal duchesses present. I was 
 much pleased with the old King, he showed so much 
 good feeling and attention." 
 
 William IV. was buried on Saturday, the 
 8th of July, 1837, with solemn ceremonial, in 
 the royal vault in St. George's Chapel, 
 Windsor, Queen Adelaide being present in the 
 royal closet of the chapel. On the Monday 
 following the funeral. Colonel Wood, one of 
 the executors of the late King, waited on the 
 
 young
 
 REMINISCENCES. 1'] 
 
 young Queen, relative to the disposal of some 
 of his late Majesty's property, when, on his 
 pressing the Queen for her instructions, she 
 replied with firmness, " I would rather think 
 about it first ; I shall let you know my decision 
 to-morrow." Colonel Wood then said that the 
 Oueen Dowaofer had a Qrreat affection for a few 
 articles of furniture which had been favourites 
 with her husband, but which she did not wish 
 to remove from the Castle without leave ; to 
 which Her Majesty immediately replied, "Oh, 
 my dear colonel, let the dear Queen have them 
 by all means, and anything else in the Castle 
 which she may desire." Soon afterwards the 
 Queen Dowager left Windsor Castle, where 
 she had spent seven happy years, for Bushy. 
 Marlborough House was afterwards placed at 
 her disposal as a town residence, and here 
 she passed the greater part of every year until 
 her death. 
 
 William IV., whatever his detractors might 
 say, was undoubtedly a kindly and popular 
 
 King.
 
 28 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 King. Mr. Greville, who was by no means 
 given to passing favourable judgments on men 
 or things in general, and monarchs in par- 
 ticular, speaks of King William as being, though 
 sometimes weak and sometimes obstinate, manly, 
 sincere, and straightforward. Perhaps the 
 very fits of abstraction into which he fell, even 
 when in company, had a method and purpose 
 in them, for they at least gave him a chance of 
 expressing frankly the feelings and prejudices of 
 his heart. For instance, at the time Talleyrand 
 first came over as ambassador, he was one day 
 dining at St. James's with most of his brother 
 ambassadors. News had been received that 
 Casimir Perier was lying dangerously ill with 
 the cholera. The first words the King said at 
 table were to ask Talleyrand the last news of 
 the sufferer. " He is dying, if not dead, Your 
 Majesty," was the answer in a sepulchral voice. 
 The King sighed heavily, and remained silent 
 at first ; but presently he began saying to 
 himself, " What a pity, what a pity ! the only 
 truly honest statesman in France dead, — the 
 
 only
 
 REMINISCENCES. 29 
 
 only man capable of ruling such a pack of 
 sanguinary rogues. Is it not so ? " added the 
 King, suddenly turning to his nearest neigh- 
 bour, a prominent diplomatist. The latter, 
 much embarrassed, looked unutterable things 
 and muttered unintelligible ones. The whole 
 corps diplomatique gazed down on their plates, 
 bursting with scarcely repressed laughter, and 
 Talleyrand's spoon worked from his soup-plate 
 to his mouth as rapidly as the paddle of a high- 
 pressure steamboat. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 30 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 
 
 Felicitations — The City of London — Queen's scholars — A narrow 
 escape — Good-bye to Kensington — The Garter — The first 
 prorogation — The first speech — The Queen's looks — The 
 first lev^e and drawing-room — Courts of Queens — Eccen- 
 tricities of subjects — Little charities— Music — Park gates — 
 No horse, no review. 
 
 A DDRESSES of congratulation on her 
 accession were of course presented ad 
 nauseam to the Queen from the Universities, 
 mayors and corporations, societies, sects, 
 chapters, and schools. On the 14th and 21st 
 of July, Her Majesty held courts at St. James's 
 Palace for the reception of many of these docu- 
 ments — deputations presenting themselves from 
 the Church of Scotland, from the general body 
 of Dissenting ministers, from the ministers of 
 the Presbyterian Denomination, from the 
 
 National
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 3 1 
 
 National Scottish Church in Rotterdam, 
 and from the Society of Friends (Quakers), 
 who were uncovered, according to custom, 
 by the Yeoman of the Guard. Grace Green- 
 wood, in her biography of Queen Victoria, 
 referring to this last-named deputation, says, 
 "Joseph Sturge, the eminent and most lovable 
 philanthropist of Birmingham, waited on 
 Her Majesty, as one of a delegation of 
 the Society of Friends. Some years after, 
 he related the circumstances to me, and 
 simply described her to me as a ' nice, 
 pleasant, modest young woman, graceful, 
 though a little shy, and, on the whole, comely.' 
 * Did you kiss her hand ? ' I asked. ' Oh yes, 
 and found that act of homage no hardship, 
 I assure thee. It was a fair, soft, delicate 
 little hand.' " The Times comments thus on 
 the vocabulary of the Quaker address : " The 
 simplicity and piety of its tone are in a 
 certain sense as conventional as the more 
 gaudy language of other addresses ; but when 
 plain sense appears clothed in plain words, 
 
 we
 
 32 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 we do not ask what are the motives of the 
 speakers, but are at once struck with the 
 superiority of unadorned truth to the verbiage 
 of courtly rhetoric." 
 
 On the 1 2th of July, the Lord Mayor, 
 aldermen, and councillors went in state from 
 Guildhall to St. James's to present addresses 
 from the civic bodies. The address from the 
 Court of Aldermen, read by the Recorder, ran 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Most Gracious Sovereign, — We, your Majesty's 
 most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lord Mayor 
 and Aldermen of the City of London, most humbly 
 approach Your Majesty for the purpose of giving 
 expression to our feelings on the occasion of the 
 demise of our late Most Gracious Sovereign, and 
 of the accession of Your Majesty to the throne. 
 Long and justly as the House of Brunswick has 
 been endeared to this nation, we deem it a privilege 
 to be permitted to sympathize in your afflictions ; 
 and we most sincerely condole with Your Majesty, 
 the widowed Queen, and the Royal Family, under 
 the bereavement by which an All-wise Providence 
 has been pleased to remove from this transitory 
 state a sovereign who lived and reigned in the 
 affections of his family and people. 
 
 " While
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 33 
 
 " While with feelings of the deepest and most 
 affectionate interest we contemplate Your Majesty 
 thus early called to wield the sceptre of this mighty 
 empire, we rejoice that Your Majesty is no stranger 
 to your people, nor to their institutions. ' Born and 
 bred a Briton,' Your Majesty has been trained to 
 admire and venerate our glorious constitution in 
 Church and State, while Your Majesty's former 
 associations with those who are now Your Majesty's 
 liege subjects must have convinced Your Majesty 
 of their devoted loyalty to Your Majesty's illustrious 
 house, and their no less devoted attachment to the 
 institutions of the country, both sacred and civil. 
 
 "We pray Your Majesty to be assured that ouir 
 supplications will ascend to that gracious Being by 
 whom 'kings reign and princes decree justice,' that 
 wisdom profitable to direct may be imparted to 
 Your Majesty in the performance of the duties of 
 your exalted station ; that Your Majesty's reign may 
 be long and prosperous ; that it may be eminently 
 distinguished by a zealous defence on the part of 
 Your Majesty of that Reformed Church of which 
 Your Majesty is under God the head, and by the 
 continuance to all classes and denominations of Your 
 Majesty's subjects of that protection in the exercise 
 of the rights of conscience, which has so long and 
 happily prevailed in this highly favoured land ; 
 and further, that a wise, a just, and merciful adminis- 
 tration, by Your Majesty, of the laws, may be met 
 
 D by
 
 34 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 by affectionate and loyal obedience on the part 
 of a free, a happy, and a grateful people. 
 " By order of the Court. 
 
 " Henry Woodthorpe." 
 
 To which Her Majesty replied : — 
 
 " I receive with much satisfaction this loyal and 
 dutiful address. I partake in the sorrow which you 
 feel for the loss the nation has sustained by the 
 death of His late Majesty. In the congratulation 
 which you offer to me upon my accession, you 
 estimate justly my love for my people, and my 
 reverence for the constitution of my country. I 
 fervently join in the prayers which you offer up 
 for the prosperity of my reign, and for the welfare 
 of my subjects ; and you may securely rely upon 
 my determination to maintain the Reformed Church, 
 to protect the rights of conscience, and to administer 
 the law in justice and mercy." 
 
 The address of the Common Council was, 
 as may be supposed, in much the same style. 
 
 An additional week's holiday was granted, 
 by command of the Queen, to all the public 
 schools in celebration of her accession. 
 
 On the 13th of July, the Queen and her 
 
 mother
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEIV REIGN. 35 
 
 mother quitted Kensington Palace, so endeared 
 to the heart of Her Majesty from many happy 
 memories of her childhood, and took up their 
 residence at Buckingham Palace. A great 
 crowd of the inhabitants of Kensington wit- 
 nessed their departure.* On the following day, 
 the 14th, a chapter of the Order of the Garter 
 was held, at which Her Majesty bestowed the 
 vacant ribbon on her half-brother, the Prince 
 of Leiningen. The Queen, as Sovereign of 
 the Order, followed the example of her last 
 female predecessor. Queen Anne, by wearing 
 the Garter on her left arm. 
 
 Intense interest was excited by the an- 
 nouncement that the Queen would prorogue 
 Parliament in person on Monday, the 1 7th of 
 July. Before eleven o'clock that morning, St. 
 
 * On the Queen taking up her residence in Buckingham 
 Palace, a wag sent the following conundrum to the Times : — 
 " Query : Why is Buckingham Palace the cheapest that was 
 ever built ? Answer : Because it was built for one sovereign 
 and furnished for another." That this was printed by Mr. 
 Walter is a sign of the fatuity which comes of a national 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 James's
 
 36 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 James's Park and every avenue between Buck- 
 ingham Palace and the House of Lords was 
 thronged with an immense concourse of people 
 to witness the spectacle. The House of Lords 
 was crowded, and every seat in the galleries 
 occupied by ladies anxious to obtain a glimpse 
 of the Maiden Monarch. All present were of 
 course attired in deep mourning for the late 
 King. The initials " W.R. " behind the throne 
 had remained unaltered. 
 
 At twenty minutes to three, Her Majesty, 
 preceded by the heralds and lords in waiting 
 and attended by all the great officers of State — 
 the Marquis of Winchester carrying the cap 
 of maintenance, the Duke of Somerset bearing 
 the crown on a cushion, and Lord Melbourne 
 holding the sword of state — entered the House. 
 All the peers and peeresses present, who had 
 risen at the flourish of trumpets', remained 
 standing. Her Majesty was attired in her 
 royal mantle of State, of crimson velvet, 
 entirely lined with ermine, and with an ermine 
 cape. The opening of this robe showed a 
 
 white
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 2>7 
 
 white satin petticoat in front, worked in gold. 
 She wore a tiara and a stomacher of diamonds, 
 and brilliant bracelets on both arms ; the 
 ribbon of the Garter crossed her shoulder, 
 and on the left arm was an armlet, with the 
 motto of the Order. Her Majesty ascended 
 the throne with a composed step, and continued 
 standing for a few moments ; then bowing, and 
 with an easy gesture of the hand, she said in 
 a low tone, " My lords, be seated." Then in 
 a firm voice and with a dignified manner she 
 read her first speech. It touched on the usual 
 topics treated in such documents, but it also 
 made the following solemn assertion : — 
 
 " I ascend the throne with a deep sense of the 
 responsibility which is imposed upon me, but I am 
 supported by the consciousness of my own right 
 intentions, and by my dependence upon the protection 
 of Almighty God. It will be my care to strengthen 
 our institutions, civil and ecclesiastical, by discreet 
 improvement, wherever improvement is required, and 
 to do all in my power to compose and allay animosity 
 and discord." 
 
 Fanny Kemble, who was present at this 
 
 scene,
 
 38 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 scene, says, " The Queen's voice was exquisite. 
 . . . The enunciation was as perfect as the 
 intonation was melodious, and I think it is im- 
 possible to hear a more excellent utterance than 
 that of the Queen's English by the English 
 Queen." Charles Sumner, too, in his letters, 
 says, " Her voice was sweet and finely modu- 
 lated. ... I think I have never heard any- 
 thing better read in my life than her speech." 
 
 Of the young Sovereign's personal appear- 
 ance at this time, a writer in Blackwood' s 
 Magazine gives a good description : " She is 
 winning golden opinions from all sorts of 
 people by her affability, the grace of her man- 
 ners, and her prettiness. She is excessively 
 like the Brunswicks, and not like the Coburgs. 
 She is low of stature, but well formed, her 
 hair the darkest shade of flaxen, and her eyes 
 large and light blue." Miss Martineau says, 
 "In the upper part of the face she is really 
 pretty, and with an ingenuous, sincere air 
 which seems full of promise." 
 
 On
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 39 
 
 On Wednesday, the 19th, the Queen held 
 her first levee at St. James's Palace. The at- 
 tendance was almost unprecedented — upwards 
 of two thousand persons. The rush and crush 
 in the corridors equalled what may be wit- 
 nessed at the pit door of a favourite London 
 theatre. Some dignity was lost in the extra- 
 ordinary pressure, when, for instance, the wig 
 of a gentleman was whisked off, and was tossed 
 to and fro, amid laughter, before it was re- 
 stored to its discomfited owner. On the fol- 
 lowing day the first drawing-room was held, 
 also at St. James's Palace. On this occasion 
 the elements were not propitious, for the rain 
 descended in torrents during the whole of the 
 afternoon. The attendance was, nevertheless, 
 greater than for many years past. 
 
 The ceremonial to be observed at the 
 Queen of England's Court was a subject of 
 some research and discussion among the Court 
 officials. A maiden Queen of eighteen, sur- 
 rounded by crowds of flattering admirers, re- 
 quired
 
 40 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 quired to be more strictly fenced round by the 
 chevaux de /rise of ceremony than a king.* A 
 writer of the day says — 
 
 " Queen Elizabeth, a woman of masculine cha- 
 racter, and but twenty-five years of age when she 
 succeeded to the throne, was constantly assailed by 
 the gallantries of her subjects. But this was far from 
 distasteful to her, and there can be little doubt that, 
 statesman as he was, Sir Walter Raleigh owed his 
 rise more to the cloak he threw across the puddle in 
 her path than to his abilities. That dignified sove- 
 reign, Queen Anne, of whom Dr. Johnson had only 
 a shadowy recollection as of a stately lady in black, 
 adorned with diamonds, had great trouble to keep 
 her admiring subjects tranquil, although she ascended 
 the throne at the age of thirty-eight. She complained 
 bitterly, for instance, that Harley, Earl of Oxford, 
 whom she so long endured as Prime Minister, used to 
 come to her 'sometimes drunk, confused, and insolent' 
 In seeking for precedents to establish the ceremonial of 
 our present youthful Sovereign's Court, the Augustan 
 
 * At public dinners, after "The health of Her Majesty Queen 
 Victoria," the second toast given was, " Queen Adelaide and the 
 rest of the Royal Family ;" and the National Anthem began 
 thus : 
 
 " God save our gracious Queen, 
 Victoria, England's Queen. 
 God save the Queen." 
 
 age
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 4 1 
 
 age of Anne has naturally been referred to. Much diffi- 
 culty has been experienced in this research — amidst 
 musty records, some mislaid, some nearly worn out, 
 others altogether lost. Amongst them precedents 
 have been found which it would puzzle one very 
 much to put in practice with propriety, on account 
 of the number of offices properly belonging to men 
 then filled by women. For example, it was found 
 that when a foreign allied prince came to England, 
 on his way to wage war upon another country, 
 two duchesses were sent to his rencontre to com- 
 pliment him and keep him company. In the mean 
 time preliminary rules have been adopted altogether 
 new to the Court of St. James. At the present 
 Queen's first concert all the men remained standing, 
 not excepting the Duke of Sussex. All the ladies, 
 except those of the Queen's household, had chairs. 
 This arrangement, however, was far less severe than 
 that formerly existing at the French Court, where 
 duchesses alone were entitled to a tabouret (stool). 
 Still this was a distinction for which the ladies of 
 Louis XIV.'s time pulled caps, and their husbands 
 waged war. It is now said to be in contemplation 
 to have two tables at the Court of Buckingham Palace, 
 that foreign princes, ambassadors, peers of the realm, 
 Ministers, and Privy Councillors shall alone dine at 
 the Queen's table, whilst the remainder of the visitors 
 and attendants of the Court shall be seated at the 
 Mareschal of the Court or Chamberlain's table. There 
 
 is,
 
 42 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 is, however, a solution to be expected to these courtly 
 problems. Her Majesty's family allies, country, and 
 perhaps Her Majesty's own feelings, may induce her 
 to select a consort. Whether the happy mari will be 
 a foreign prince, a relative, or a subject, is a matter 
 for speculation to the whole political world. The 
 aspirants to the hand of the fair virgin throned in 
 the west more particularly spoken of are — the Prince 
 George of Cambridge, the young Prince of Orange, 
 and the handsome scions of the houses of Coburg and 
 of Holstein Gliicksburg, to whom rumour has added 
 a young nobleman now in the East, who probably 
 never contemplated such an event in the most Oriental 
 of his dreams." 
 
 There vi^ere not wanting, however, suitors 
 for Her Majesty's hand at this period — suitors 
 of a class that it seems to be the fate of most 
 royal ladies to attract, — half-witted gentlemen, 
 labouring under the hallucination that they are 
 destined to possess the royal heart and hand. 
 Queen Victoria was not exempt from this per- 
 secution. One person in particular was perti- 
 nacious — a Mr. Hunnings, a man of considerable 
 property in the neighbourhood of Tunbridge 
 Wells. When Princess Victoria had been in 
 
 the
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 
 
 the habit of walking with her mother in Ken- 
 sington Gardens, he was regular in his attend- 
 ance near the door of the palace, and would 
 salute her in his most graceful manner. After 
 she turned at an angle of the gardens or park, 
 he would run at full speed until he got in front, 
 and would again salute her ; a manoeuvre he 
 repeated during the whole of her walk. On 
 Sunday, Mr. Hunnings attended the Chapel 
 Royal in Kensington Palace, taking his seat 
 near the stove, from whence he could obtain 
 a view of the royal pew. He remained till 
 the sacrament, and deposited half a sovereign 
 in the plate. Mr. Hunnings, later on, for the 
 purpose of following the object of his adoration 
 when she drove, sported a barouche resembling 
 the Duchess of Kent's, and was attended by 
 a servant in royal undress livery, a dark 
 pepper-and-salt coat and glazed hat, with broad 
 purple velvet band. In speaking to the garden- 
 keepers, Mr. Hunnings, who was about forty 
 years of age, always styled Her Majesty his 
 " little Princess," and lamented that she should 
 
 be
 
 44 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 be kept from him. He complained much of 
 the police watching him, and used to say it 
 was most degrading to be followed about ; at 
 times, however, he would speak to the con- 
 stables most familiarly, and on one occasion he 
 showed them a letter which some wag had 
 written as a hoax, purporting to come from the 
 (then) Princess, breathing the most ardent vows 
 of attachment towards him, and requesting him 
 to deposit an answer under a certain tree, as 
 she was prevented from conversing with him. 
 On Her Majesty's eighteenth birthday, Mr. 
 Hunnings illuminated his house, and during 
 the day he distributed eighteen gallons of ale 
 among any passers-by who would drink her 
 health. In the course of the evening, however, 
 the crowd became so intoxicated that the police 
 were compelled to interfere to put a stop to his 
 loyal liberality. On that occasion also a licensed 
 cab, named " Victoria," was decorated with 
 ribbons at his expense ; and at night he wished 
 the proprietor to allow it to be illuminated with 
 lamps. Later on in the year, Mr. Hunnings 
 
 went
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 45 
 
 went to Lincoln, where, at a fancy bazaar, he 
 purchased some Httle things worked by the 
 Queen ; but, alas ! he was shortly after con- 
 signed to durance vile for insulting the worthy 
 Mayor and Town Clerk in the street. 
 
 At this period Her Majesty frequently took 
 long drives in the afternoons to Chiswick, 
 Wimbledon, Clapham, and other suburbs.* 
 On one of these occasions, in the month of 
 July, as the Queen was returning to town, she 
 stopped at the cottage of an old woman, who 
 resided about half a mile from the new Ham- 
 mersmith Bridge, on the Surrey side of the 
 river, and whom the Oueen had observed to be 
 
 * During one of the Queen's afternoon rides with her mother 
 about this time, the horses took fright and dashed along with 
 disarranged harness at terrific pace, when fortunately a publican 
 named Turner, with courage and skill, stopped them just at the 
 rise of Highgate Hill. The royal party took refuge in Turner's 
 wayside inn, while another carriage was prepared. A few days 
 after, Turner was sent for to Kensington, and when asked if he 
 had any request to make, requested permission to bear the 
 Queen's arms, in the place of his original sign. The favour was 
 of course granted, and a more substantial token of the Queen's 
 gratitude in the shape of a well-filled pocket-book was also 
 placed in Turner's hands. 
 
 very
 
 46 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 very decrepit, and requested that she would 
 give her a nosegay from her garden. The old 
 woman plucked her best roses and hobbled 
 with them to the carriage door, where the 
 Queen received them, and gave her a sove- 
 reign. Another poor woman, who had a cot- 
 tage opposite, picked some strawberries in 
 a cabbage leaf, and presented them to the 
 Queen, who received them, and thinking 
 the donor appeared ill, questioned her. The 
 woman, in homely phrase, told Her Majesty 
 that she was as " ladies wish to be who love 
 their lords," and the Queen immediately gave 
 her a handsome donation in aid of the comforts 
 of her expected subject. 
 
 One day, early in August, as Her Majesty, 
 accompanied by her mother, was leaving Buck- 
 ingham Palace to take her usual evening airing, 
 a respectably dressed middle-aged man was 
 observed to throw something into the carriage. 
 He was immediately seized by two of the sen- 
 tinels on duty at the palace, and given over 
 to the custody of the police. He gave his 
 
 name
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 47 
 
 name as Count Dernski, and upon him was 
 found a petition in French addressed to Her 
 Majesty, stating that he had served in the 
 French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, and 
 that he was now in a state of destitution. Re- 
 turning to the palace, Her Majesty immediately 
 ordered the man to be set at liberty, until 
 inquiry could be made into his case. 
 
 The Queen gave a grand concert at Buck- 
 ingham Palace on the birthday of her royal 
 mother, the 17th of August, the Court going 
 out of mourning for the day. The vocalists 
 were Madame Grisi and Madame Albertazzi, 
 Signor Lablache, and Signor Tamburini, all of 
 Her Majesty's Italian Opera. Signor Costa 
 was at the piano. During this season. Her 
 Majesty was a regular visitor to the Italian 
 Opera, but her musical taste did not altogether 
 incline to the melodious operas of the Italian 
 composers, then prevalent in England ; for, 
 soon after her accession, Thalberg was invited 
 to perform at the palace. In complimenting 
 
 him
 
 48 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 him on his great talent, the Queen expressed 
 her regret that she had not heard him before, 
 but promised herself a frequent repetition of 
 the pleasure. About a fortnight before Thal- 
 berg's departure for the provinces, he was 
 again summoned to a private party at the 
 palace, when he was the sole performer, and 
 was given five subjects to work upon. Her 
 Majesty, who was blessed with a good ear 
 and an agreeable voice, had the advantage of 
 lessons from Lablache. Lablache, who was a 
 thorough artist, gave great credit to Mr. Sale, 
 the Queen's former musical instructor. 
 
 On the 2 1 St of August, the Queen, opened 
 the new gate in Hyde Park, close to the gate 
 leading into Kensington Gardens, on the Bays- 
 water side, now called " The Victoria Gate." 
 
 A projected grand review in the Park 
 during the same month, at which the Queen 
 was to have been present, was abandoned. 
 Her Majesty had expressed her intention of 
 inspecting the ranks on horseback, accom- 
 panied
 
 EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW REIGN. 49 
 
 panied by the Duke of Wellington and Lord 
 Hill ; but this, according to the Opposition 
 journals of the day, did not suit the views of 
 Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, who 
 represented to the Queen that an open car- 
 riage would be the more convenient method 
 of seeing her soldiers. " Very well," she re- 
 plied, " very well, my lord ; but remember — no 
 horse, no review." 
 
 E CHAPTER
 
 50 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 
 
 Curious present to the Queen — To Windsor — Royal visitors — 
 A review — The Queen at dinner — A decided preference — 
 To Brighton — At the PaviUon — The City banquet — Civic 
 decorations — The guests — The me7tu — The show of plate — 
 The show of beauty — The medal — The illuminations — The 
 Queen opens her first Parliament — The close of the year. 
 
 A S the year of the accession wore on, the 
 young Queen continued to be the object 
 of attentions of every description. Towards 
 the end of July, for instance, she was the 
 recipient of a somewhat curious gift. A Mr. 
 Hamilton, of Annandale Cottage, Dublin, pre- 
 sented Her Majesty with an olive tree from 
 Jerusalem. The tree was planted in a box 
 of clay from the Holy City, and had a dozen 
 healthy branches, all of which had burst from 
 
 one
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 5 1 
 
 one small spot, about the size of a shilling, just 
 as Her Majesty had attained her eighteenth 
 year. Accompanying the little gift was the 
 followino^ letter : — 
 
 " May He, for whose sole honour I assume the 
 motto on my seal, and for years have used the golden 
 pen which was conferred on me by some approving 
 fellow-citizens, bless with a favourable issue my 
 appeal to that young Queen, who is beloved and 
 reverenced by me, my household, and my nation. 
 I humbly pray you. Royal Lady, to accept an olive 
 stem which came to me from the holy city of 
 Jerusalem, through the British Consuls resident at 
 Jaffa and Beyrout. It springs from soils and stones 
 on which some precious blood or tears may possibly 
 have fallen, and is the emblem of that ' permanent 
 and universal peace ' which you, my liege, have now 
 the power to promote between nations, parties, sects, 
 and individuals. The plant was so very old when 
 it was taken up, so long exposed to the Eastern 
 summer's heat, and to the briny surges of the ocean 
 on the deck of the ship Eleanor Gordon, bound to 
 London from Beyrout, that it was replanted in the 
 box which now contains it, with but little prospect 
 of its growth ; yet it put forth a dozen clustered buds, 
 which now are vigorous and leafy, when you were 
 qualified by law to govern many nations and to 
 
 possess
 
 52 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 possess great influence on all. Let Israel's olive find 
 protection near your throne, for the sake of Him who 
 will yet make 'queens the nursing mothers of His 
 people ; ' let the stones of Sion be as pleasing objects 
 in your sight ; let your compassion be excited always 
 by 'the earth thereof;' and may you, illustrious 
 Lady, be as ' a verdant olive-tree ' in the house of that 
 great King who has promised in due time ' to raise 
 up a profitable ruler.' With the humble expression 
 of my duty, I have the honour to be, august and 
 gracious Sovereign, Your Majesty's most faithful, 
 affectionate, and respectful subject servant, 
 
 "Joseph Hamilton." 
 
 On the 22nd of August, the Queen, v^^ith 
 her Court, bade her first adieu to her metropolis, 
 leaving London for Windsor Castle, the home 
 of her ancestors. The journey had, of course, 
 to be performed by road, and advantage was 
 taken of it by the inhabitants along the line 
 of route to keep the day as a general holiday, 
 and to show their loyalty. 
 
 At Kensington, a meeting of the principal 
 inhabitants was held at the Grapes Tavern 
 in the High Street, when it was determined 
 that a triumphal arch, with a span of thirty feet, 
 
 should
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 53 
 
 should be erected at the entrance of that 
 suburb. A second was erected nearly in the 
 centre of the town. The High Street was 
 lined by the children of the various parochial 
 schools. The Queen, accompanied by the 
 Duchess of Kent, Lady Charlotte Copley, and 
 Lady Flora Hastings, was in an open phaeton, 
 drawn by four horses, the escort being a detach- 
 ment of Lancers. She was received with 
 acclamation all along the route through 
 Hammersmith, Turnham Green, Brentford, 
 Hounslow, and Colnbrook. At Windsor 
 multitudes congregated in the Long Walk, the 
 carriages in some places being five or six deep. 
 The inevitable address from the mayor and 
 corporation was duly presented, the general 
 tenor being shown by the following extract : — 
 
 " The noble terrace and the stately avenues which 
 adorn this royal castle remind us of the majesty 
 of Elizabeth and the victories of Anne, and while 
 we review their reigns with admiration, we entertain 
 the well-supported hope that Your Majesty's regal 
 sway will be distinguished by a still brighter lustre 
 in the annals of our country." 
 
 An
 
 54 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 An interesting feature in the day's celebra- 
 tion was the dinner given to about four thousand 
 poor persons in the Long Walk. There were 
 seventy-two tables, each thirteen yards long, 
 arranged on the road towards the equestrian 
 statue of George III. Unfortunately, just as the 
 guests were about to sit down, a tremendous 
 shower came on, and all the good things had 
 to be hidden under a long line of umbrellas. 
 Despite all such accidents, the rejoicings were 
 kept up during the week. 
 
 The Queen remained at Windsor Castle 
 until the 4th of October. In the afternoons 
 she usually took exercise on horseback, accom- 
 panied by the Duchess of Kent, and frequently 
 by Lords Melbourne and Palmerston, a 
 numerous suite always following. 
 
 In September the young Queen had the 
 pleasure of receiving her maternal uncle, the 
 King of the Belgians, with his wife, as her 
 guests at Windsor Castle, where they remained 
 for nearly three weeks. 
 
 On the 28th of the same month the Queen 
 
 reviewed,
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 55 
 
 reviewed, in the Home Park, the Guards in 
 garrison at Windsor. About this time Her 
 Majesty's medical attendant expressed a fear 
 that she was exposed to too much excitement, 
 and that it might be injurious. " Dismiss 
 your fears, my dear doctor," was the Queen's 
 reply ; " you use a wrong expression. Say 
 too much amusement, rather than excitement. 
 I know not what may come, but I have met 
 with so much affection, so much respect, and 
 every act of sovereignty has been made so 
 light, that I have not yet felt the weight of 
 the crown." On the doctor remarking upon 
 her large dinner parties, " Oh," the Queen ex- 
 claimed, "they amuse me. If I had a small 
 party, I should then be called upon to exert 
 myself to entertain my guests ; but with a 
 large one they are called upon to amuse me, 
 and then I become personally acquainted with 
 those who are to surround the throne." At 
 these dinners no distinction of party was 
 shown ; all Her Majesty's old acquaintances 
 were invited, besides the Ministers and Court 
 
 officials.
 
 56 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 officials. Lord Melbourne once told the Queen 
 he felt it his duty to ask whether there was 
 any individual for whom she entertained a 
 preference. The Queen was a little surprised 
 at the question, and requested to know if it 
 were as a matter of State policy that he made 
 the inquiry ; for, if it were, she would en- 
 deavour to give him an answer. His lordship 
 replied that under no other circumstance would 
 he have presumed to put such a question. 
 " Then," said the Queen, " there is but one 
 person for whom I entertain a decided pre- 
 ference, and that is the Duke of Wellington." 
 
 The Queen's next move was to Brighton. 
 This visit was eagerly anticipated by the 
 inhabitants, and extraordinary were the pre- 
 parations they made for her reception. The 
 journey from Windsor was made amid continual 
 acclamations, the greatest enthusiasm being 
 shown at every place on the road. On reach- 
 ing Patcham, the two royal carriages were 
 met by a large number of the yeomen of the 
 
 county
 
 s -^
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 57 
 
 county on horseback, by whom Her Majesty 
 was preceded until the arrival at Brighton, 
 where they were superseded by a detachment 
 of Dragoon Guards, and where, passing through 
 living avenues, the Queen arrived at the 
 Pavilion. Thousands of bouquets, principally 
 of dahlias, then a fashionable and costly flower, 
 were used in the decoration of the balconies of 
 the houses. In the evening the town was one 
 blaze of light. 
 
 Durino- the Oueen's residence at Brighton 
 several entertainments and musical soirees 
 were given at the Pavilion, and she frequently 
 gratified her guests by taking part in the per- 
 formances. On one of these occasions the 
 Queen sang the " Preghiera ' from Costa's 
 opera of " Malek Adel " — her voice at that 
 period being described as a pure soprano of 
 considerable power, sweetness, and extent. 
 She was particularly fond of joining in four- 
 part singing. The days were passed chiefly 
 in rides and drives in the neighbourhood, the 
 royal riding habit being of a dark green mate- 
 rial,
 
 58 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 rial, and the hat a black beaver without veil 
 or trimming-. A formal visit was paid to the 
 Chain Pier by the royal party, who were re- 
 ceived by the designer of the structure, Captain 
 Samuel Brown, R.N., the borough members, 
 and Mr. Joseph Hume, M.P. The visit to 
 Brighton terminated on November the 4th, the 
 journey to town occupying, in those days, six 
 hours. 
 
 But perhaps the most imposing pageant 
 of the year was the young monarch's visit to 
 the City on November 9th, 1837. The day 
 was observed as a general holiday ; decora- 
 tions had been everywhere made by the 
 inhabitants of the houses along the line of 
 route from St. James's Palace, by way of the 
 Strand, to Guildhall. Fabulous prices were 
 paid for windows, many untenanted houses 
 being let for the day at prices equal to a half- 
 year's rent. The roof of every house was 
 covered with human beings. The gravel walk 
 in the Mall was thronged with block-supported 
 
 chairs,
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 59 
 
 chairs, tables, forms, and planks, let out to the 
 curious by private adventurers. " So late as 
 two o'clock, when the Queen had already- 
 entered the State carriage, and the royal 
 cavalcade had commenced its route, a whole 
 regiment of chairs and tables was proceeding 
 in quick march from the direction of Storey's 
 Gate towards the centre of curiosity, and as it 
 was impossible to distinguish the legs of their 
 bearers, they very oddly seemed to move by 
 their own volition," Every lamp-post, every 
 tree had its full burden of enthusiastic sight- 
 seers. 
 
 At a quarter to two o'clock the Duchess 
 of Kent, with her attendants, set out from 
 Buckingham Palace, followed by the Duchess 
 of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of 
 Cambridge, and the Duke of Sussex, in 
 carriages drawn by six horses ; then came 
 six carriages of Her Majesty, also drawn by 
 six horses, followed by the State coach drawn 
 by eight cream-coloured horses, conveying the 
 Queen, attended by the Duchess of Suther- 
 land,
 
 6o THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 land, Mistress of the Robes, and the Earl 
 of Albemarle, Master of the Horse. Her 
 Majesty, who wore a pink satin robe, shot 
 with silver, and a magnificent diamond tiara, 
 was received with the most enthusiastic cheers 
 during the whole progress of the procession, 
 which consisted of fifty-eight carriages, many 
 of these belonging to the foreign ambassadors 
 and celebrities invited to the banquet, the 
 most popular among them being the Duke of 
 Wellington. 
 
 At Temple Bar the procession was joined 
 by the Lord Mayor, aldermen. Common 
 Councilmen and other civic authorities, who, 
 while awaiting the Queen's arrival, had been 
 afforded accommodation in the old banking 
 house of Child & Co. ; their steeds, which 
 had been borrowed from the artillery barracks 
 at Woolwich, were stationed in Middle Temple 
 Lane. The soldier to which each horse 
 belonged attended as squire, holding the 
 bridle rein of each equestrian alderman. A 
 contemporary account says — 
 
 "How
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 6 1 
 
 " How the respected fathers of the City performed 
 the exploit of mounting is perhaps not exactly 
 matter of history. However, with much care and 
 pains bestowed by the troopers, their assistant 
 squires, they were at last placed on horseback, and 
 formed into procession. We believe only one fell 
 off, and that accident happened through a laudable 
 desire to perform an obeisance to a lady fair at 
 a window. The worthy alderman fell flat upon 
 the ground, and his horse walked over him. Since 
 the days of John Gilpin no feat of a citizen of 
 London on horseback has excited so much mascu- 
 line laughter and feminine sympathy." 
 
 Several brother aldermen rushed to the 
 assistance of the fallen cavalier, who w^as 
 hoisted into his saddle amidst general cheers 
 and laughter. 
 
 In St. Paul's Churchyard a pavilion had 
 been erected for the accommodation of seven 
 hundred and thirty boys from Christ's Hospital. 
 By ancient custom Bluecoats possess the 
 privilege of addressing the Sovereign on the 
 occasion of his or her coming into the City 
 as a guest of the Corporation, and in this 
 instance the privilege was claimed. The 
 
 senior
 
 62 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 senior scholar, Frederick Giffard Nash, ad- 
 vanced to the door of Her Majesty's carriage, 
 and deHvered a congratulatory address. The 
 National Anthem was sung by the scholars 
 and a great part of the multitude. 
 
 At the Guildhall, a guard of honour and 
 the Lady Mayoress and others were in waiting 
 to receive the Queen. The Lord Mayor 
 assisted Her Majesty to alight, and then, 
 preceded by her hosts, and by the aldermen 
 and sheriffs, the Queen passed to the Council- 
 chamber, wherein were assembled the royal 
 dukes, the Ministers of State, and other dis- 
 tinguished persons. Here the Recorder read 
 an address of congratulation, to which Her 
 Majesty replied, and she also ordered letters 
 patent to be made out conferring a baronetcy 
 on the Lord Mayor (Sir John Cowan) and 
 a knighthood on the two sheriffs (Sir George 
 Carroll and Sir Moses Monteftore). The 
 latter was the first Jew to receive such an 
 honour from a British Sovereign. 
 
 The interior of the grand old hall pre- 
 sented
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 63 
 
 sented a spectacle which for brilHancy and 
 magnificence has probably seldom been sur- 
 passed. At the east end, on a raised platform, 
 was erected a ofor^eous throne. In front of 
 the throne was the royal table, covered with 
 a cloth of damask, gold-fringed, and extending 
 the whole width of the ermine-and-gold 
 carpeted platform, the sides and front of 
 which were decked with flowers. Four other 
 tables extended nearly half-way down the 
 hall, where the Lord Mayor and Lady 
 Mayoress presided over foreign ambassadors 
 and other distinguished guests ; and in the 
 body of the hall were four centre tables and 
 seven side tables for the general company. 
 Very large mirrors had been fixed in various 
 parts of the hall, and Gog and Magog, in 
 new and glorious attire, looked down from 
 either corner of the western end on the 
 festive scene. Over the porch entrance was 
 the orchestra, presided over by Sir George 
 Smart. 
 
 The dinner was provided from the " London 
 
 avern
 
 64 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Tavern" at a cost of ;/^i400, in addition to 
 which ^571 17-5". (id. was paid for wine, ex- 
 clusive of that used at the royal table, which 
 was presented.* 
 
 The royal vtemi, embroidered on white 
 satin, was worded as follows :— 
 
 "La Table Royale. 
 
 " 3 Potages — Potage de tortue a I'Anglaise ; con- 
 somme de volaille ; potage a la Brunoise. 
 
 "3 Plats de Poisson — Turbot bouilli, garni aux 
 merlans frits ; rougets farcis a la Villeroi ; saumon 
 bouilli, garni aux eperlans. 
 
 " 3 Releves — Poulets bouillis aux langues de veau 
 glacees, garnis de croustade a la macedoine; noix de 
 veau en daube, decoree a la Bohemienne ; filet de 
 bceuf a la sanglier en chasse. 
 
 "8 Entrees — Ris d'agneau piques a la Turque 
 aux petits pois ; saute de filets de faisans aux 
 truffes ; pate chaud aux becassines a I'ltalienne ; 
 
 * The admission ticket for the City festival was a rich 
 embossment from a specially cut die in the old French style 
 of Louis XIV. ; the national and civic emblems being judici- 
 ously introduced. On either side were the Royal and City 
 arms, with their supporters fully displayed, while surmounting 
 the centre was the royal crown, with the Union badge, rose, 
 thistle, and shamrock, and at foot appeared the cap of 
 maintenance, with the sword of state and civic mace. 
 
 casserole
 
 FESTIVITIES AXD PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 65 
 
 casserole de pieds d'agneau aux champignons ; 
 sultannc de filets de soles a la Hollandaise, garnis 
 aux ecrcvisses ; timbale de volaillc a la Dauphine ; 
 filets de lievre confis aux tomates ; cotelettes de 
 perdrcaux au supreme. 
 
 " Buffet. 
 
 " Potage a la Turque ; hochepot de faisan ; tranches 
 de cabillaud ; eperlans frits ; langue de bcEuf ; jambon 
 a la jardiniere ; boeuf roti ; mouton roti ; agneau roti ; 
 agneau bouilli ; hanche de venaison ; pierre grille au 
 vin de champagne ; petits pates aux huitres, 
 
 " Croquettes — Cotelettes d'agneau aux concom- 
 bres ; dindon roti aux truffes a I'Espagnole. 
 
 "Second Service. 
 
 " 3 Plats de Roti — Faisans ; becasses ; ccrcelles. 
 
 " 3 Releves — Soufflet de vanille ; pommes a la 
 Portugaise ; gaufres a la Flamande. 
 
 "4 Patisseries montdes — Vase en croquante, garni 
 de patisserie aux confitures ; fontaine Grecque, 
 garnie aux petits-choux ; vase de beurre frais aux 
 crevettes ; fontaine royale, garnie de patisserie cl la 
 Gendvoise. 
 
 "12 Entremets — Creme d'anana garnie; gelee au 
 vin de champagne, garnie aux fruits ; homards ^ 
 la remoulade ; mayonnaise de poulet a I'aspic ; 
 fanchonettes d'orange, garnies aux pistaches ; com- 
 pote de peches, en petits panniers ; tartelettes au 
 
 F cerises
 
 66 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 cerises en nougat; petites coupes d'amarinds a la 
 Chantilly; culs d'artichauts en mayonnaise ; anguilles 
 au beurre de Montpellier ; gelee au marasquin, 
 decoree ; gateaux de pommes en mosaique k la 
 creme d'abricots. 
 
 " Buffet. 
 
 " Poulets rotis ; becassines roties ; canards sauvages 
 rotis ; tourte aux pommes ; tourte aux cerises ; 
 beignets de pommes ; fondu de parmesan ; trifle a 
 la creme ; plum-pudding ; mince-pies." 
 
 The general bill of fare was in English, and 
 was of a Titanic character : — 
 
 "Dinner. 
 
 " 220 tureens of turtle ; 200 bottles of sherbet ; 50 
 boiled turkeys and oysters ; 50 pullets ; 50 dishes of 
 fowls ; 40 roast capons ; 45 French pies ; 60 pigeon- 
 pies ; 45 hams ornamented ; 40 tongues ; 2 barons of 
 beef; 4 stewed rumps of beef; 10 sirloins, rumps, and 
 ribs of beef; 45 dishes of shell-fish; 60 dishes of 
 mashed and other potatoes; 50 salads; 140 jellies; 
 50 blanc-manges ; 40 dishes of tarts creamed ; 30 
 dishes of orange and other tarts ; 60 dishes of mince- 
 pies ; 20 Chantilly baskets. 
 
 '■^Removes — 60 roast turkeys; 10 leverets; 80 
 pheasants ; 40 dishes of partridges ; 20 dishes of 
 wild fowl ; 20 peafowls. 
 
 ^'Dessert —
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 6j 
 
 ''Dessert — lOO pine-apples, from 2 lbs. to 3 lbs. 
 each ; 200 dishes of hothouse grapes ; 200 ice creams ; 
 50 dishes of pippins ; 80 dishes of pears ; 60 ornamented 
 Savoy cakes ; 80 dishes of dried fruit ; 50 dishes of 
 preserved ginger ; 60 dishes of rout cakes ; 30 dishes 
 of brandy cherries ; 20 dishes of olives. 
 
 "Wines and Liqueurs for the Royal Table. 
 
 " East India Malmsey Madeira. 
 
 " Haut Sauterne. 
 
 " Frontignac. 
 
 " Hermitage. 
 
 " Blanc-tinto Madeira. 
 
 " Malvasia. 
 
 " Sillery champagne. 
 
 " Tokay and Paxaretta. 
 
 "Wines, all of the Finest Quality. 
 
 "35 dozen champagne; 15 dozen hock; 20 dozen 
 claret; 10 dozen Burgundy; 10 dozen Madeira; 
 30 dozen port ; 8 dozen pale sherry ; 8 dozen brown 
 sherry." 
 
 Sherry one hundred and ten years old was 
 presented to the Corporation expressly for the 
 Queen's use, by a Mr. William Lawson. The 
 Queen drank to the Lord Mayor, and to four- 
 teen
 
 68 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 teen other persons ; at least raising the glass to 
 her lips. 
 
 After dinner, Noii nobis Domine was sung. 
 The only toasts given were — " Queen Victoria," 
 by the Lord Mayor ; " Prosperity to the City 
 of London," by Her Majesty, as announced by 
 the common crier ; and " The Royal Family," 
 by the Lord Mayor. At eight o'clock the 
 Queen rose to retire, saying, " I assure you, 
 my Lord Mayor, I have been most highly 
 gratified." 
 
 Some idea of the splendour and magnificence 
 with which the citizens of London entertained 
 their Sovereign on the 9th of November, 1837, 
 may be gathered from the following memoranda 
 of some of the more remarkable plate dis- 
 played : — 
 
 The plate in the hall (all at the Queen's 
 table being gold) was estimated to be worth 
 nearly ^400,000. The Queen's dessert service 
 comprised twenty-three gold dishes, the centre- 
 piece being a bouquet of fruits in a gold basket. 
 Rose-water was presented to her Majesty in 
 
 an
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 69 
 
 an antique cup which had belonged to King 
 James I., and this was borne on a gold salver 
 from the board of George I., whose arrns 
 Avere engraved thereon. The tea and coffee 
 service were of gold plate, the handles of the 
 cups being composed of lapis lazuli ; and a 
 chandelier of solid chased gold, lent to the 
 Corporation by the Goldsmiths' Company, 
 weiofhed one thousand ounces. 
 
 The Lady Mayoress was dressed in green 
 velvet, lined with white satin, trimmed with 
 gold fringe and a border of Brussels lace. 
 Her petticoat was of llama and gold, and her 
 stomacher was of large opals and diamonds. 
 On her neck was an Elizabethan ruff, and on 
 her head a plume of feathers. We can well 
 believe that every one was struck with the 
 appearance of so gorgeous a creature. Another 
 lady who by her beauty and elegance attracted 
 universal admiration was a Mrs. Magee, the 
 only American lady in the assembly. 
 
 A medal, commemorative of the event, 
 was, by order of the Corporation, struck by 
 
 Mr.
 
 yo THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Mr. William Wyon. On the obverse is Her 
 Majesty's head with a tiara and the words 
 Victoria Regina, and on the reverse a repre- 
 sentation of the front of the Guildhall, with 
 the royal standard, and the words, "In honour 
 of Her Majesty's visit to the Corporation of 
 London, 9th November, 1837." 
 
 In the evening the principal streets of 
 London were illuminated, though for the most 
 part more loyalty was apparent than good taste. 
 Gas mottoes and so-called portraits of the 
 youthful Queen predominated. One firm dis- 
 played the words in variegated lamps, " May 
 the blossom of promise ripen into the fruit of 
 performance ! " Another motto, simple and 
 hearty, was "Welcome, bonnie lassie!" Old 
 Northumberland House, too, was all ablaze and 
 a centre of attraction. 
 
 The remaining portion of the year was 
 passed by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. 
 On the 20th of November she opened her first 
 Parliament, delivering the speech in a clear and 
 impressive manner. 
 
 Dinner-
 
 FESTIVITIES AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES. 7 1 
 
 Dinner - parties, occasional drives in the 
 parks, and frequent visits to the theatres gave 
 Londoners and country cousins up for the 
 hoHdays plenty of opportunities of seeing the 
 young Queen. Christmas was passed in Lon- 
 don ; and, the day following, the Court returned 
 to Royal Windsor to see the old year out and 
 the new year in. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 72 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 
 
 The renascence of Pimlico — The finest site in Europe — The 
 Nelson Column — Before the School Boards — The last of the 
 running dustmen — The debtors — A Thames-side fire — The 
 great frost — Wonders of the weather — Burning of the Royal 
 Exchange — The building — The last chimes — Relics and 
 salvage — Fatal riot — Gas in Parliament. 
 
 T T AVING thus far recorded Her Majesty's 
 movements during the first year of her 
 reign, let us recall a few of the social events of 
 the time. 
 
 One consequence of the Queen's taking up 
 her residence at Buckingham Palace was the 
 sudden awakening and brightening-up of sleepy, 
 dull Pimlico and neicjhbourhood. No sooner had 
 she begun her abode at the New Palace, as 
 it was then generally called, than equipages of 
 all sorts, from the ambassador's carriage to that 
 
 of
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 73 
 
 of the knife-grinder, were all day careering 
 over the once sandy waste in front. From 
 eight in the morning till eight at night the 
 British public assembled there were convinced 
 that the Queen was every minute going to 
 appear among them. If a carriage entered 
 the forecourt, no one entertained a doubt but 
 that Her Majesty was about to take an airing; 
 if a servant crossed it, the matter was beyond 
 question. If Her Majesty did not appear one 
 minute, she might the next ; and there was 
 always a good audience in waiting on the 
 chance. Nursery-maids no longer took their 
 little charges into any other part of the Park, 
 and the seats at that end were always crowded. 
 It became the favourite promenade of all classes 
 and ages. Hoops were trundled backwards 
 and forwards ; elderly gentlemen tumbled over 
 poodles and little boys ; young ladies walked 
 sedately, and men were there to admire. Even 
 the sentries' faces brightened up, and the 
 sandy desert became a rendezvous for sight- 
 seers and merrymakers. 
 
 Pimlico,
 
 74 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Pimlico, the most desolate suburb of the 
 metropoHs, suddenly emerged from its cater- 
 pillar condition. At the period of the Queen's 
 accession, the pedestrian turned out of Bucking- 
 ham Gate into a badly formed, dirty high- 
 road, surrounded on all sides by squalid alleys 
 and courts, and girt with tumble-down and ill- 
 kept houses. Every second parlour-window 
 declared its ability to afford furnished lodgings. 
 Inefficient, ugly, and hungry, Pimlico was 
 almost as miserable to look at as it was to 
 live in ; but there was a sudden transforma- 
 tion. Hovels disappeared, and business began 
 to look up. The proprietors of barbers' shops, 
 where a penny shave had been the staple trade, 
 burst forth as fashionable perfumers, and tobac- 
 conists repainted their wooden Highlanders. 
 
 Another transformation scene, or " metro- 
 politan improvement," was enacted not a great 
 way off — the formation or laying-out of " the 
 finest site in Europe," Trafalgar Square, front- 
 ing the then recently erected National Gallery. 
 But alas ! what has become of the original 
 
 plans ?
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 75 
 
 plans ? Where are the promised shrubberies, 
 the beautiful gravel walks amongst grassy 
 slopes, about which we read in the journals of 
 the day ? The square was promised to be 
 " the most elegant in the metropolis." 
 
 And, while speaking of Trafalgar Square, 
 mention may be made of the general meeting 
 held at Freemasons' Hall on the i6th of June, 
 1838, of the subscribers to the fund for erecting 
 a monument to Lord Nelson. The Duke of 
 Buccleuch was in the chair, and a report was 
 read stating that the present exertions of the 
 committee were to increase a fund raised for 
 a similar purpose in 1805, which then amounted 
 to ^1330, and, with dividends, had since in- 
 creased to ^5545 19^". It was stated that Her 
 Majesty the Queen had subscribed .^^525, and 
 the Queen Dowager ;!^200, which, with other 
 subscriptions, presented an additional ;!^5000. 
 The Duke of Wellington proposed a resolution 
 — " That the meeting highly approve of the 
 situation selected for the intended monument in 
 Trafalgar Square, and they derive the greatest 
 
 satisfaction
 
 76 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 satisfaction from the ready compliance with 
 which Her Majesty's Ministers had appropri- 
 ated so eh'gible a site." His Grace said it was 
 a matter of astonishment that the subject under 
 consideration had not been carried into execu- 
 tion at an earher period. It was to be hoped 
 that on the present occasion every obstacle 
 would be removed. The Queen had set them 
 all a bright example, the Queen Dowager had 
 nobly followed the Sovereign, the Government 
 had done everything that could be expected in 
 order to enable them to carry their design into 
 execution in a befitting manner, and it now 
 only remained for the meeting and the public 
 to do their duty. The list of subscribers con- 
 tains the names of the Duke of Wellington for 
 ^200, the Duke of Buccleuch for ^200, the 
 Marquis of Anglesey for ^105. 
 
 At a time when School Boards were un- 
 dreamt of, certain folk were not so particular 
 as their descendants are in the matter of ortho- 
 graphy, and tradesmen not infrequently put 
 
 forth
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. J J 
 
 forth curiously worded notices. Upon the door 
 of a house in Old Street Road occupied by 
 a father and son, the former a blacksmith and 
 publican, the latter a barber, there appeared 
 a board with the following inscription : — " J. 
 Barrack and Son ; blacksmith's and barber's 
 work done hear, horse shoeing and shaving ; 
 locks mended and hair curled ; bleeding, teeth 
 drawing, and all other farriery work. All 
 sorts of spiratus and malt lickers akordin to 
 the late kemical act, and incensed to be drunk 
 in the premises. N.B. — Tak notice my wife 
 keeps school and takes in needlework and the 
 polite arts, also washing ; teaches reading and 
 riting and other langwitches and has assistunts 
 if rekwired to learn horritory, sowing, the 
 matthewmattics and all other fashionable diver- 
 sions." This sounds rather too Cfood to be 
 true, but the evidence is contemporary. 
 
 In a window in Little Coram Street, Russell 
 Square, a placard was exhibited on which was 
 written, "Wanted a respectble yung femel to 
 the abberdashery, on applications, perticklers 
 
 will
 
 78 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 will be ansered." In the same street a window 
 " sported " two bills : one, " Cubass siggars, 
 memmurandum books, one penney and too- 
 pence a piece ; " the other, " A pursun gows 
 out two washin and cleenin and logins for a 
 singull women at No. 3, Abbey Place." 
 
 In a print-shop of note in Cheapside ap- 
 peared an announcement to the effect that in 
 consequence of the many thefts that daily oc- 
 curred there, "An invisible watch is kept on 
 pickpockets and bad characters who frequent 
 this window. They will be known in an 
 instant." 
 
 Here is another " picking by the way " from 
 the streets of London in 1837, which may be 
 recorded as it relates to the last of a certain 
 race of men, the "running dustmen," who will 
 be best described in their own lingo : — 
 
 " At Marlborough Street * one day early in 
 November, 1837, two of the once celebrated fraternity 
 
 * In 1837 the police courts of London were those held at 
 the Mansion House, Thames PoHce-office, Guildhall, Bow 
 Street, Marlborough Street, Marylebone, Queen Square, Lam- 
 beth Street, Worship Street, Hatton Garden, and Union Hall. 
 
 known
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 79 
 
 known as ' flying dustmen ' were charged with having 
 emptied a dusthole in Frith Street, w^ithout leave or 
 hcence of the contractor. The worthies, apparently 
 the last of the race, were not unknown in Old Bailey 
 annals, and in the palmy days of dust-prigging fear- 
 lessly encountered the perils of Tothill Fields and the 
 treadmill in pursuit of their unlawful vocation. But 
 the days of ' dusting on the sly ' seem to be rapidly 
 passing away. The transportation of the renowned 
 Bob Bonner, first of dust-prigs, added to the great 
 fall in breeze, have caused this consummation ; and 
 a ' flying dustman ' in a short time bids fair to be as 
 great a rarity as a Red Indian. The pair gave the 
 names of William Neale and Edward Jones, but in 
 the scene of their glory, Duck Lane, they are only 
 known as ' Pug-nosed Billy ' and ' Ugly Ned,' sobri- 
 quets which a single peep at their faces proclaims 
 at once to be remarkably appropriate. The shovel, 
 sackful of dust, and the policeman's statement formed 
 irresistible evidence against the culprits. 
 
 " Magistrate : ' Well, can you give an account of 
 the dust found in your possession ? ' 
 
 " Ugly Ned : ' Yes, yer Vorships, and a werry 
 good un ; sitch a vun as vill clear our caricters in the 
 hies of every gemman of independent mind. Me 
 and my pal vas valking along Frith Street, he vith 
 his dusty shovel, and me vith my sack, quite per- 
 mixuous, ven a lady comes out of her house in 
 a similar haccident vay, and says she to me, " Dust- 
 man."
 
 8o THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 man," says she, "vill you grant me von pertickler 
 favour ? " " Vy yes, ma'am," says I ; " it's unpossible 
 to refuse vun of the soft sex, so I'll consent, pervising 
 as you doesn't ask me to do nuffin but vot's upright 
 and downright straight." " I wish I may go to blazes," 
 says the lady, "if it ain't as right as a trivet. Our 
 dusthole ain't been hemptied this week, so all the 
 stuff is running into the sile, and stopping up the 
 shore ; and, dustman," says the lady, " it's gallus hard 
 times as we should be hobbligated to have sitch 
 a muck." " Veil, ma'am," says I, " jest to hoblege 
 you, out of ginoine good nater, ve'll clean away the 
 mess, in case you stands a tanner, or a drain of short, 
 to both on us." This here, your Vorships, is the 
 identical facts, and if you vants any hevidence on it, 
 here's my pal Bill will take his sacrament hoath on it, 
 von't you. Bill ? ' 
 
 " Pug-nosed Billy : ' Blow'd if I don't ! ' 
 " Notwithstanding this very satisfactory evidence, 
 both prisoners were adjudged to be guilty. The 
 Bench inflicted the lowest fine of £\o, or lowest term, 
 one month with hard labour. 
 
 " Magistrate : ' Have you ;^io each ? ' 
 "'Me got i^io?' said Pug-nosed Billy, holding up 
 his leg, and displaying a large hole in his breeches. 
 ' D'yer think, if I'd ten bob, let alone suffrins, 'at I 
 vouldn't precious soon mend these here kicksies vith 
 a pair of new uns ? ' 
 
 " ' Bill,' said the other, as he left the bar, * there's 
 
 a
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 8 1 
 
 a screw loose somewhere, vich vonts wote by ballot 
 and hannival sufferage, or summat of the sort, to set 
 right. Vy, prigging dust ain't half the crime as it 
 vonce vos, 'cause the stuff von't fetch half as much 
 now as it vould afore. As for hard labour, that's 
 nuffin, for it's hard labour every day vith sitch as 
 us, but then the willinous fine is vot I looks at' 
 " The offenders were in the end locked up." 
 
 A curious custom prevailed in respect to 
 a class of prisoners of whom a good deal was 
 heard at this time — the debtors. On Christ- 
 mas Day of the year we are chronicling, the 
 inmates of the prison in Whitecross Street 
 were each provided by the sheriffs of the City 
 of London with one pound of beef for roasting, 
 which, however, the benevolence of wealthy 
 citizens increased to an average of about 
 three pounds, accompanied by a pint of beer. 
 The meat was served out uncooked, and the 
 mode of distribution was as follows : — The 
 entire quantity was cut up into portions for 
 four or six persons, and then given to the 
 stewards of the different wards, and the choice 
 of pieces was determined by an exciting ballot 
 
 G on
 
 82 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 on Christmas Eve. How heavily the law then 
 bore on this class of unfortunates may be 
 gathered from the fact that, at the beginning 
 of the year 1838, there were six debtors in the 
 Nottingham county gaol whose united debts 
 did not exceed ^35, and who had been in gaol 
 thirty-five months. 
 
 Three days after Christmas Day, on the 28th 
 of December, a great fire occurred at Davis's 
 Wharf, Tooley Street, where a large quantity 
 of oil was stored. The oil floated into the 
 Thames, and offered a rich booty to a number 
 of the river-men, who were busy all day scoop- 
 ing it into their crazy old boats from the sur- 
 face of the water. A ready sale was obtained 
 for the oil thus saved at one shilling per gallon, 
 and one industrious river-man is said to have 
 secured over seventy pailfuls. 
 
 A Christmas of unusually mild temperature 
 was followed by weather of extraordinary 
 severity. The frost commenced on Sunday, 
 
 the
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 83 
 
 the 7th of January, 1838. On the 12th the 
 thermometer registered thirteen degrees of frost, 
 and this intense cold continued almost without 
 intermission for some time. On Sunday, the 
 2dth of January, there were twenty-one degrees 
 of frost. Mr. P. Murphy obtained a consider- 
 able amount of popularity for his "Weather 
 Almanac" by having correctly foretold that 
 the 20th of January would be the day of the 
 greatest degree of cold, and that the 21st, 
 22nd, and 23rd would be "changeable." These 
 prophecies having then been correct for nearly 
 three weeks together, his credit rose to a very 
 high point, and the booksellers could not pro- 
 vide copies of the almanack in sufficient num- 
 bers. The Thames was frozen over as low 
 down as Chelsea, and a singular feat was 
 performed in the latter part of January by a 
 young man named Sowerby, who for a wager 
 succeeded in walking on the frozen surface of 
 the river from Windsor to Chelsea. Above 
 Hammersmith Bridge, and especially between 
 Twickenham and Richmond, the river was 
 
 thronged
 
 84 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 thronged with skaters. The ornamental waters 
 of the various London parks were, of course, 
 similarly crowded, Regent's Park being favourite 
 with the " fashionables." 
 
 One would hardly include cricket among 
 the amusements of an unusually severe winter 
 — the game par excellence of hot weather and 
 cool cup. This year, however, it was shown 
 that, where a sufficient surface of ice offered 
 itself as a substitute, the " village green " could 
 be dispensed with. On the i8th of January 
 the lake at Gosfield, the seat of Mr. E. G. 
 Barnard, M.P., near Halstead, Essex, was the 
 scene of an exciting match, witnessed by a 
 great crowd of people of the county. Wickets 
 were pitched at the orthodox hour of eleven 
 a.m. The game was closely contested, the 
 scores being forty for the losers, and forty- 
 seven for the victors. 
 
 During the winter, sledges a la Russe were 
 for the first time introduced at Brighton, 
 Colonel Webster and Captain Beresford con- 
 siderably astonishing the natives by the skill 
 
 they
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 85 
 
 they displayed in driving their winter vehicles 
 round the enclosure of the Old Steine. 
 
 A Berkshire paper vouches for the fact 
 that, in fulfilling an order for a quantity of 
 milk one day during this spell of frost, the 
 vendor forwarded, a distance of five miles, 
 half a gallon in a frozen state, tied up in a 
 newspaper. The Yorkshire Gazette records that 
 " in a field near Darlington a sparrow was taken 
 hanofino^ to the branch of a tree. It was dis- 
 covered to be frozen to the twig on which it had 
 perched, and could not disentangle itself." 
 
 It was during this winter, at a time when 
 the cold was most intense, that an event 
 occurred which was regarded as almost a 
 national calamity, — the total destruction by fire, 
 on Wednesday, the loth of January, 1838, of 
 the Royal Exchange. This magnificent build- 
 ing had been opened in 1669, three years after 
 the Great Fire of London had levelled to 
 the ground the Exchange erected in 1557 by 
 Sir Thomas Gresham ; the rebuilding by the 
 
 Mercers'
 
 86 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Mercers' Company had cost ^58,962. The 
 stone buildings formed a spacious quadrangle 
 with two principal fronts, north and south. 
 The south front, in Cornhill, was the more 
 imposing, and had, besides its piazza, a high 
 tower, rising from an arched gateway, and 
 two wings. The statues of Charles I. and 
 Charles II., albeit much begrimed by smoke, 
 ornamented the entrances, and that of Sir 
 Thomas Gresham was placed over the en- 
 trance arch. In the centre of each front was 
 a lofty gate, leading into a noble area, with a 
 fine piazza entirely round it, and seats along 
 the walls. Statues of many of the sovereigns 
 of England from the time of Edward I. stood 
 within niches, that of Charles II. being in the 
 centre. In this quadrangle the merchants had 
 their various walks. There were the Irish 
 walk, the Scottish walk, the East India walk, 
 the Brokers' walk, the Silkmen's walk, and 
 many others. In 1767 the building was re- 
 paired, and the west side rebuilt, for which 
 Parliament granted ^10,000. 
 
 The
 
 THE LOXDOX OF THE PERIOD. 87 
 
 The fire broke out a little after ten o'clock 
 at night in Lloyd's Coffee-house/"' which 
 occupied the north-east corner, and, notwith- 
 standing the almost superhuman efforts of the 
 firemen and of a large body of soldiers, sum- 
 moned by the Lord Mayor from the Tower, 
 soon obtained a complete mastery of the 
 building, which by five o'clock was reduced to 
 a heap of ruins. The difficulties under which 
 the men worked were unusually great ; before 
 any water could be drawn it was necessary to 
 thaw the hose and works of the engines, and 
 so intense was the frost, the firemen's coats 
 were covered with ice. 
 
 * Lloyd's Coftee-house had long been the head-quarters 
 of the commercial world, and its members were distinguished 
 for their liberality and public spirit. Their names figured at 
 the head of every public subscription. After the battle of the 
 Nile, in 1798, the subscription received at Lloyd's for the 
 benefit of the widows and the wounded seamen amounted to 
 ;^32,423 19^. <^d. ; and Lord Howe's victory, on the ist of June, 
 1794, was succeeded by a subscription of ^21,281 igr. \\d. In 
 1803 Lloyd's started "The Patriotic Fund "by voting ;/^20,ooo 
 Three per cent. Consols from their general fund, individual 
 members contributing liberally besides : another sum of ;^5c>oo 
 was voted in 1809, and a third of ^10,000 in 1812. The total 
 subscriptions to " The Patriotic Fund " from all sources 
 amounted to ^430,000. 
 
 As
 
 88 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 As the Splendid tower, nearly one hundred 
 and fifty feet in height, was destroyed, the 
 musical peal of eight bells, with a tenor of 
 about eighteen hundredweight, fell one after 
 the other, carrying away everything in their 
 progress towards the pavement. A singular 
 coincidence is related. At twelve o'clock, when 
 the flames had just reached the north-west 
 angle of the building, the chimes struck up as 
 usual the old tune, "There's nae luck about the 
 house." The effect was extraordinary, and 
 the tune was distinctly heard for fully five 
 minutes for the last time. 
 
 The books and papers connected with 
 Lloyd's, the Royal Exchange Assurance, and 
 other companies were, with few exceptions, 
 destroyed. The merchants and traders, de- 
 prived for a time of their old meeting-place, 
 found a temporary " Exchange " in the Guild- 
 hall, which was placed at their disposal by the 
 Lord Mayor. A day or two afterwards, in 
 searching the ruins under the Lord Mayor's 
 Court-office, the great City seal was picked up, 
 
 with
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 89 
 
 with two bags containing- ^200 in gold, un- 
 injured — a discovery that brought much comfort 
 to the uneasy minds of aldermen, perturbed by 
 a rumour that the Corporation would lose its 
 charter by the loss of the seal. In the early 
 part of April a sale of the charred materials 
 took place, and there was a keen competition 
 among curio-collectors. The porter's large 
 handbell (rung every day at half- past four p.m. 
 to warn the merchants and others that 'Change 
 ought to be closed) with the handle consumed, 
 valued at iojt., was sold for ^3 3^-. ; the two 
 carved grifhns, holding shields of the City arms, 
 next Cornhill, fetched ^30 ; the two carved 
 griffins, holding shields of the City arms, facing 
 the quadrangle, ^35 ; the two busts of Queen 
 Elizabeth on the north and south sides, ^18; 
 the two busts of Queen Elizabeth on the east 
 and west sides, £\o \^s.\ the copper grass- 
 hopper vane, with the iron upright, was re- 
 served by the committee ; the alto-relievo, in 
 artificial stone, representing Queen Elizabeth 
 proclaiming the Royal Exchange, £2 1 ; the cor- 
 responding
 
 90 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 responding alto-relievo, representing Britannia 
 seated amidst the emblems of Commerce, 
 accompanied by Science, Agriculture, Manu- 
 factures, etc., ^36 ; the carved emblematical 
 figures of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, 
 £\io. Among the relics which appeared in 
 the shop-windows were some card-cases made 
 from the oak timbers of the burnt buildings. 
 They bore on the top a small silver scutcheon 
 with an inscription, stating their origin and 
 the date of the fire. 
 
 In the provinces one of the most startling 
 events of the year was a riot of a calamitous 
 and very extraordinary character, in the 
 neighbourhood of Canterbury, in the latter 
 part of May, 1838. It was caused by a mad- 
 man, calling himself Sir William Courtenay, 
 Knight of Malta, whose real name was John 
 Nicholl Thom. He had some years before 
 rendered himself notorious in connection with 
 a smuggling trial, and had been temporarily 
 confined in a lunatic asylum. He was a man 
 of herculean strength, handsome presence, 
 
 with
 
 THE LONDON OF THE PERIOD. 9 1 
 
 with a long flowing beard and foreign appear- 
 ance. Styling himself the Saviour of the world, 
 he acquired an extraordinary influence over 
 the humble country folks and farm labourers 
 around Canterbury. Believing in Sir William's 
 divine mission, they left their work and 
 gathered in a frenzy of religious excitement 
 and in ever-increasing numbers around the 
 " reformer." On an attempt to apprehend one 
 of his followers, Courtenay drew a pistol and 
 shot the constable dead. The country was in 
 a state of great alarm and excitement, and the 
 military from Canterbury had to be sent for. 
 Courtenay and his party had retired to Blean- 
 wood, about four miles from Canterbury, where, 
 on perceiving the soldiers, he excited his 
 adherents to desperate fury, having persuaded 
 them that they could not be shot ; he himself 
 advanced with the greatest sang froid and 
 deliberately shot Lieutenant Bennett, of the 
 45th Regiment, who fell dead on the spot. 
 The soldiers retaliated ; Courtenay was one 
 of the first killed, and it was not till twelve 
 
 lives
 
 92 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 lives had been sacrificed that the deluded 
 peasantry gave way and dispersed.* 
 
 It may be mentioned here that while a 
 London street had been experimentally lighted 
 by gas some thirty years earlier, from which 
 time the new illuminant had gradually crept 
 into favour, it was not tried in the House of 
 Commons until February, 1838. The effect 
 was considered at the time to be extremely 
 brilliant and agreeable ; but, gas being too 
 expensive, wax candles were afterwards reverted 
 to. 
 
 * Harrison Ainsworth made Courtenay the original of the 
 gipsy character called the " Ruffler,"in his novel of " Rookwood." 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 ( 93 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. 
 
 Society and letters — Holland House — Lady Holland — An 
 audacity — Prince Louis Napoleon — Lady Blessington — 
 The greatest and last of the dandies — Fashions — Rivals 
 — Duels — Duelling grounds — Gretna Green — An incident 
 of the laws of debt — Almack's — The Cambrian and High- 
 land balls — Diamonds — Political exiles — Masquerades ; a 
 survival from the last century — Teetotalism — Actress and 
 duchess — The great Coutts marriage — A generous will — 
 Duchess of St. Albans — Another generous will — Lord Eldon 
 — The Park — The Zoo — Breakfasts — A great dinner to a 
 great duke— The Goldsmiths' Company's plate — A Waterloo 
 hero. 
 
 /^NE of the freest and brightest houses 
 where assembled pohticians, wits, and 
 writers, was Holland House — the "proof house" 
 of the literature of the day — swayed by its 
 clever and somewhat imperious hostess, Lady 
 Holland. At her table were to be found Lords 
 
 Brougham,
 
 94 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Brougham, Lyndhurst, John Russell, Macaulay, 
 Lansdowne, and the witty Alvanley ; Washing- 
 ton Irving, Monckton Milnes (afterwards Lord 
 Houghton), Rogers the banker-poet. Sir Henry 
 Taylor, Luttrell, and Sydney Smith, whose 
 spontaneous wit was there, as always, inex- 
 haustible. Tradition says that the nurse who 
 tended that famous parson in his last illness 
 confessed to having given him a dose of ink 
 instead of a dose of physic, and was told in 
 reply, " Then bring me all the blotting paper 
 there is in the house." Even Macaulay, who 
 could ill brook interruption in his conversation, 
 was docile at Holland House, when, in the 
 middle of one of his anecdotes. Lady Holland 
 tapped on the table with her fan and said, 
 " Now, Macaulay, we have had enough of this, 
 give us something else." Another frequent 
 visitor was Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 who, after spending some time in America as 
 a consequence of his unfortunate enterprise 
 at Strasbourg, arrived in London in July, 
 1837, by the packet George Washington, from 
 
 New
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. 95 
 
 New York. He had hastened his return to 
 Europe on receiving- the news of the danger- 
 ous ilhiess of his mother, the ex-Queen Hor- 
 tense, Duchess of St. Leu, whose death 
 occurred on the 5th of October, 1837. 
 
 The famous French ch'plomatist, Prince 
 Talleyrand, had also been a constant guest at 
 Holland House, but his Embassy at the Court 
 of St. James's ended in 1834: he died on the 
 17th of May, 1838. 
 
 Much has been written of Gore House and 
 its clever hostess, " Miladi Blessington," who 
 "wrote too much." Her name was continually 
 before the world in booksellers' advertisements, 
 and her salon attracted the famous literati and 
 men of fashion of the day. She waged war 
 to the knife against the conventional society 
 of the period, and a book she published in 
 this year contained scathing attacks on the 
 contemporary woman of fashion. An account 
 describing Gore House at this time says : — 
 
 "In a long library lined alternately with splendidly 
 bound books and mirrors, and with a deep window 
 
 of
 
 96 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 of the breadth of the room, opening on Hyde Park, 
 the countess appears alone. The picture to the eye, 
 as the door opens, is a very lovely one — a woman 
 of remarkable beauty, half buried in a fauieuil of 
 yellow satin, reading by a magnificent lamp sus- 
 pended from the centre of the arched ceiling ; sofas, 
 couches, ottomans, and busts arranged in rather a 
 crowded sumptuousness through the room ; enamel 
 tables covered with expensive and elegant trifles in 
 every corner ; and a delicate white hand relieved 
 on the back of a book, to which the eye is attracted 
 by the blaze of its diamond rings. The picture by 
 Sir Thomas Lawrence, taken at the age of eighteen, 
 is more like her than that in the ' Book of Beauty.' 
 She is no longer dans sa premiere jetuiesse ; she looks 
 more than thirty. Her person is full, but with an 
 admirable shape ; she has a fair skin, with dark hair 
 and eyebrows ; her dress is cut low, and folded across 
 her bosom so as to display the curve and whiteness 
 of her shoulders ; her hair is dressed close to her head, 
 and parted on her forehead by 2i feronicre of turquoises. 
 Her features are regular and her voice musical." 
 
 Lady Blessington was a hostess who en- 
 joyed the smart sayings of dandies and of 
 authors at the expense of the average woman 
 of the time ; and consequently her house was 
 a haunt of men rather than of women. The 
 
 most
 
 
 7/0/ ^ . 
 
 't/y
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. 97 
 
 most frequent kabihid v^diS Count D'Orsay, who 
 was then by repute the first dandy of London, 
 but whose taste in dress was questionable. 
 He was picturesque, and looked his best at a 
 distance, as, for instance, when seen from the 
 stalls or pit in the countess's box at the Opera. 
 
 " Patting the crest of his well-manag'd steed, 
 Proud of his action, D'Orsay vaunts the breed ; 
 A coat of chocolate, a vest of snow. 
 Well brush'd his whiskers, as his boots below ; 
 A short-napp'd beaver, prodigal in brim, 
 With trousers tighten'd to a well-turn'd limb." 
 
 And here something may be said about 
 costume. A very fair idea of ladies' dress may 
 be gained from the accompanying plates, which 
 helped to adorn one of the fashionable maga- 
 zines of 1837, and the numerous figures in the 
 print of Brighton * may be studied for costume 
 in vogue at the seaside. In regard to the 
 husbands of the ladies so prettily depicted in 
 the pair of illustrations, they were a little bit 
 undecided whether to wear coats with tails or 
 skirts continued all round, or gilt-buttoned cut- 
 
 * See page 56. 
 
 H aways
 
 98 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 aways of the shape now only worn for evening 
 dress. The coat — well padded when nature 
 had been any way unkind — fitted tight to the 
 figure ; the collar was prodigiously large and 
 heavy, and exquisites would sometimes carry 
 a small roll of lead sewed inside each pocket, so 
 as to keep the garment well down and free 
 from creases. Trousers were worn tight, while 
 waistcoats were of satin, silk, velvet, or other 
 rich material, sprigged, shot, or gaudily pat- 
 terned in endless variety. The neck was 
 swathed in a huge stock, cravat, or neck- 
 cloth. The hair, worn longer than at present, 
 was often curled, and nearly always liberally 
 supplied with scented oil or pomatum tho- 
 roughly well rubbed in. Whiskers were of 
 the order known as the "mutton chop," and 
 a civilian bold enough to wear a moustache 
 would have been debarred from respectable 
 society as a hopeless reprobate. 
 
 Tom Duncombe, who ran D'Orsay close 
 for the honour of being the best-dressed man 
 in London, had a melancholy air which de- 
 tracted
 
 i -^^^^ 
 
 
 o 
 
 rv) 

 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. 99 
 
 tracted from his tailor's happiest efforts. Other 
 beaux were Reynolds, who prided himself on 
 wearing perfectly fitting clothes, and Lords 
 Ranelagh, Chesterfield, and Castlereagh. 
 
 Lord Edward Thynne, once the boon-com- 
 panion of Duncombe, was remarkable for the 
 richness and the harmony of his costume. He 
 had, besides, another claim to notoriety at this 
 time ; for he fought a duel in Battersea Fields, 
 his opponent being a Mr. Passmore, and the 
 fair cause of quarrel, a young lady. After ex- 
 changing three shots each without effect, the 
 principals separated — a termination which drew 
 from a wag the bon mot that " six misses were 
 employed to avenge the cause of one." At 
 another duel of the day the combatants were 
 Lord Castlereagh and ]\L Gerard de Melcy, 
 one of the husbands of Madame Grisi ; and the 
 encounter took place early in the morning at 
 Wormwood Scrubbs, in June, 1838. Pistols 
 were used, and Lord Castlereagh was hit, the 
 ball passing through the right forearm. He 
 was attended by Dr. Forbes, an old and ex- 
 perienced
 
 lOO THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 perienced Peninsular surgeon, who was present 
 on the field. 
 
 "Affairs of honour" were by no means 
 uncommon in England during the year of Her 
 Majesty's accession. The spots around Lon- 
 don chiefly resorted to by duellers were Batter- 
 sea Fields, near the Red House, then the 
 haunt of sparrow-shooting riff-raff; Wormwood 
 Scrubbs ; a retired place near Chalk Farm and 
 . Primrose Hill ; and a field at Kilburn. 
 
 " Affairs of the heart " of a more peaceful 
 character were also responsible for the almost 
 daily appearance in the newspapers of the day 
 of paragraphs headed " Runaiuay Match,'' 
 " Another Elopement',' and " Gretna Green 
 Marriage!' The following narration, for in- 
 stance, appeared in the columns of the Times 
 in October, 1837 : 
 
 " One bleak October morning, at day-break, a 
 post-chaise and four, containing a dashing military- 
 looking gentleman, about thirty years of age, was 
 observed standing at the corner of Park Place 
 Paddington, near to the canal. After remaining 
 there nearly a quarter of an hour, the gentleman, 
 
 who
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. lOI 
 
 who was evidently on the look-out, appeared to be- 
 come somewhat impatient, and hastily leaving the 
 vehicle, he walked towards the church, entered the 
 churchyard, and, seating himself on one of the tomb- 
 stones, looked anxiously in the direction of the gate 
 leading to the green. In a few minutes a young lady 
 appeared crossing the green, carrying a small carpet- 
 bag and a band-box. The gentleman sprang to meet 
 her, and, hastily relieving her from her freight, begged 
 she would make haste, as the chaise was waiting. 
 They had scarcely cleared the churchyard when a 
 voice, which the stillness of the morning rendered 
 fearfully loud and startling as its echoes rang among 
 the old tombstones, called out to them to stop. The 
 pair turned but an instant to look back, and then 
 commenced running as fast as they could, closely 
 followed by an elderly gentleman, who, in his haste, 
 had sadly neglected his toilet, having apparently but 
 just left his warm bed for the chilling morning atmo- 
 sphere, and looking more like one of the inhabitants 
 of the churchyard flitting home after a midnight 
 ramble, than a respectable living personage. How- 
 ever, on he came, calling out most lustily upon the 
 fugitives to 'stop!' But they heeded him not. 
 Quickly gaining the chaise, they sprang in, and 
 were whirled off as fast as four good horses could 
 take them, leaving the elderly gentleman in the cold 
 actually sans culotte. The young lady is a Miss L., 
 and is possessed of ^10,000. The 'elderly gentle- 
 man '
 
 I02 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 man' is her father, who, of course, started off after 
 the couple in a chaise and four ; and the ' gallant 
 gay Lothario' is a Captain G. who lately held a 
 commission in the unfortunate British Legion." 
 
 Sometimes these exciting and romantic 
 matches, once safely made, would be duly 
 announced in the daily papers : — 
 
 " Runaivay Match. — Married, at Gretna Green, 
 Scotland, on the 8th of April (1838), Mr. Guildford 
 Onslow, son of the Hon. Colonel Onslow, and nephew 
 of the present Earl of Onslow, of Alresford, Hants, to 
 Rosa Anna, daughter of General Onslow, of Stough- 
 ton House, Huntingdonshire." 
 
 The runaways posted through Carlisle at 
 nine o'clock in the morninof in a carriage and 
 four, and returned in the same way about one 
 o'clock, changing horses on each occasion at 
 the Bush Hotel. It is said that the parson 
 had ^50 for his fee. 
 
 One evening about this period Piccadilly 
 was much excited by the appearance of a 
 table-cloth hanging out from an upper story 
 of a hatter's at No. 228, by means of which 
 
 escape
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. IO3 
 
 escape from the pursuit of a couple of sheriff's 
 officers, against whom he had shut and bolted 
 the doors of his apartments, was effected by 
 a lodger in the house. 
 
 The Wednesday evening balls at Almack's 
 were more than usually brilliant during the 
 seasons 1837-38. That rigorous system of 
 exclusiveness which in former years had made 
 Almack's the cause of so much heart-burning 
 and jealousy had been somewhat relaxed a 
 year or two before the Queen's accession. 
 These Wednesday evening assemblies, when 
 Weippert's band was always in attendance, 
 were generally wound up by a fancy-dress 
 ball at the close of the season. The fancy- 
 dress ball of 1837 was an unusually brilliant 
 one, with its three sets of quadrilles in the 
 Grecian, Circassian, and Spanish national cos- 
 tumes. But the full glory of Almack's was 
 revived only in 1838, when the grand saloon 
 was profusely decorated ; and the arrival in 
 London and engagement of Johann Strauss and 
 
 his
 
 104 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 his far-famed waltz orchestra gave in 1838 a 
 fresh impetus to these fashionable assemblies, 
 which were much attended by distinguished 
 foreigners, whose waltzing was admittedly far 
 more graceful than that generally witnessed at 
 London balls. Strauss received one hundred 
 guineas a night for his attendance ; and the 
 subscription was raised from one guinea to 
 thirty shillings. There was, of course, much 
 heart-burning caused by the refusal of many 
 hundreds of applications. The following is a 
 specimen, written on the applicant's card, of 
 the more courteous form of denial ; it is couched, 
 by the bye, in the feminine grammar of that 
 day : — " Lady L.'s compliments and is very 
 sorry ; but has already been obliged to refuse 
 fifty." On one occasion during the summer of 
 1838, over two hundred such refusals were sent 
 out. Two or three seasons earlier, a lady of the 
 highest rank had, for some reason unknown, been 
 refused a ticket. An indignant appeal was writ- 
 ten to the ladies patronesses, whose answer was : 
 " Fashion, not rank, is considered at Almack's." 
 
 It
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. 105 
 
 It was at Almack's that, on the 21st of 
 May, 1838, the errand Cambrian fancy-dress 
 ball was given, for the benefit of the Welsh 
 Charity School. Lady Charlotte Guest, as 
 Jenny Jones, in a high crowned hat of black 
 velvet, and a dress of striped silk, fantastically 
 decorated, was unanimously voted the " belle 
 of the ball." Many of the gentlemen wore 
 silver leeks, and the ladies wreaths of acorns 
 and ivy leaves, emblems of the ancient order 
 of Druids. The Highland ball, annually re- 
 peated up to the present time, was also held 
 at Almack's in old days. 
 
 In describing one of these balls, a guest 
 writes, " I really think the men might leave 
 thick square-toed, clumsy unvarnished boots at 
 home. . , . What with the boots, the black 
 neckcloth, and the old musty tarnished uni- 
 forms, our gents of the present day make a 
 nice appearance." This criticism was not alto- 
 gether without effect, for a little later we find, 
 in one of the society magazines, that " the 
 fashionable peo})lc of England have returned 
 
 to
 
 I06 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 to the use of those uncomfortable articles, sharp- 
 pointed shoes. Square-toed shoes and the 
 balloon sleeves of the ladies have now dis- 
 appeared." 
 
 And here may be mentioned a sale of 
 diamonds that was held in July, 1837, at 
 Willis's lower room in King Street, St. James's, 
 the announcements statinof that, amono^st other 
 costly stones, the celebrated Nassuck diamond 
 and the Arcot diamonds would be sold. The 
 Nassuck diamond, weighing 357!^ grains, and 
 of the purest water, was captured by the Indian 
 army under the Marquis of Hastings, and was 
 put up to auction by order of the trustees of 
 the Deccan booty. It was knocked down for 
 £']2Q)0 to Emanuel Brothers, and shortly 
 afterwards passed into the possession of the 
 Marquis of Westminster. Amongst the Arcot 
 diamonds, which were formerly the property 
 of Queen Charlotte, was a magnificant pair of 
 brilliant earrings, weighing 223!^ grains, perhaps 
 the finest pair of diamond earrings in the world. 
 
 These
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. lOJ 
 
 These fetched £ 1 1 ,000, and subsequently passed 
 to the same nobleman. A brilliant drop, 79J 
 grains, was sold for ^^i 180 ; an oblong brilliant, 
 151^ grains, went for ^2800; a drop-shaped 
 brilliant, once in the St. Esprit of Louis XV^I., 
 brought ^450 ; two brilliant drops, formerly 
 belonging to Marie Antoinette, brought ^1775; 
 and a fine round brilliant, ^3500. 
 
 There were in EnMand at this time a c^reat 
 number of Polish refugees, many of them in a 
 state of abject misery. For the benefit of these 
 starving patriots, with whose unfortunate country 
 England had so much sympathy, a number of 
 entertainments were ofiven under the direction 
 of the " Association of the Friends of Poland." 
 One of these was a grand masquerade and fcie 
 chanipctre held on the 29th of August, 1837, in 
 the beautiful grounds of Cremorne House, 
 Chelsea, afterwards the scene of Cremorne 
 Gardens. In a very long list of patrons were 
 included the ever-popular Duke of Sussex, the 
 Duke of Argylc, Count D'Orsay, Lord George 
 
 Lennox.
 
 Io8 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Lennox, Lord William Bentinck, Lord John 
 Russell, Captain Byng, M.P., and Thomas 
 Slingsby Buncombe, M.P. Marquees were 
 erected for dancing, and the grounds were bril- 
 liantly illuminated and ornamented. Among 
 the inducements offered were a " variety enter- 
 tainment and a superb display of fireworks." 
 For admission ladies were charged eight 
 shillings, and gentlemen a guinea, including 
 supper. This grand masquerade was not, 
 however, a financial success. A better result 
 was obtained from a ball held on the 22 nd 
 of November, 1837, at the Guildhall, at which 
 over two thousand five hundred persons 
 were present. Among the company was the 
 young daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, Miss 
 Burdett-Coutts, who had recently come into 
 possession of her vast fortune. 
 
 Seldom a month passed without one of 
 these bals vmsqu^s being held at one or other 
 of the theatres or public rooms in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the Strand. They began about 
 midnight, and were kept up till five or six in 
 
 the
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. IO9 
 
 the morning. On these occasions the pit of the 
 theatre used to be boarded over level with 
 the stage, and the Jim Crows, Paul Prys, 
 sailors, fox-hunters, Greeks, and Trojans by- 
 boisterous merriment and vigorous dancing 
 more or less successfully sustained their cha- 
 racters. The boxes and gallery were usually 
 filled with appreciative gazers, no doubt at- 
 tracted by the advertisements in the news- 
 papers : — 
 
 " A Grand Masquerade, Lowther Rooms, King 
 William Street, West Strand, on Monday, November 
 27 ; and from the flattering offers of gentlemen, Mr. 
 Blake anticipates a grand treat to the lovers of this 
 species of popular amusement, which, though inno- 
 cent, draws a faithful outline of life in reality, and 
 reads a good lesson to the loyal and philosophical 
 subjects of Her Majesty. The supper, with a hand- 
 some dessert, would do honour to the Guildhall ; the 
 bands of music will excel ; the suite of rooms will be 
 hung with garlands of variegated flowers. Admission, 
 including supper and a bottle of port or sherry, one 
 guinea. Character tickets, \os. 6d. Doors open at 
 10. Tickets to be had at Mr. Sams's Library, St. 
 James's, and at the rooms." 
 
 Yet
 
 no THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Yet another such announcement may be 
 taken from the coKmins of the Times : — 
 
 " Grand Masquerade, before the Christmas recess, 
 as a final adieu to the departing year, will take place 
 at the Lowther Rooms, King William Street, Strand, 
 this day (Wednesday), December 20, when it is pro- 
 posed that the ancient custom of merry-making, 
 hilarity, and mirth will be the order of the evening's 
 amusement. The bands of music will perform, 
 amongst the many admired airs, the music by Balfe 
 from the grand opera of * Joan of Arc' The supper, 
 with a dessert, will consist of delicacies and sub- 
 stantial of the season." 
 
 While the price of a ticket for the supper 
 at public entertainments invariably included a 
 bottle of port or sherry, the reader must not 
 infer that total abstinence had not then its 
 propagandists. In the spring of 1838 a tee- 
 total lecturer thus addressed his auditors at 
 an abstinence meeting : — 
 
 " Intoxicating drink is nothing else, my friends, 
 but liquid hell fire, which was first compounded in 
 the sulphurous laboratory of the infernal regions, and 
 there invented by that most diabolical of all chymists, 
 the Devil. Stick then, stick then, to water, my friends, 
 
 as
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. I I I 
 
 as the cobbler sticks to his last, for you have no more 
 occasion to swallow liquid hell fire than a duck has 
 for an umbrella on a rainy day." 
 
 Shortly after the young Queen's accession, 
 society sustained a great loss by the death, on 
 the 6th of August, 1837, of the Duchess of St. 
 Albans. Harriet Mellon, actress, afterwards 
 Mrs. Coutts and then Duchess of St. Albans, 
 enjoyed in her lifetime a full share of the good 
 things of this world. When her mother was 
 left a widow with a scanty income, little Harriet 
 played the Duke of York in "Richard HI.," 
 and other infant characters, in the provinces. 
 Later on, she formed one of a company of 
 strolling players under the management of a Mr. 
 Goldfinch, with w^hom she remained for some 
 years. In a playbill, dated 1794, of what is 
 therein termed the " New Theatre, Chester- 
 gate, Macclesfield " — a wooden, barn-like, erec- 
 tion — Miss Mellon is announced to personate 
 one of the maids in the tragedy of " Mar)', 
 Oueen of Scots," the four principal female cha- 
 racters
 
 T 1 2 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 racters being represented by Mrs. Edwards, 
 Mrs. Naylor, Mrs. Huggins, and Mrs. Miller. 
 In the afterpiece of " Miss in her Teens " the 
 part of Miss Biddy is assigned to Miss Mellon. 
 She made her first appearance in London on 
 the 31st of January, 1795, on the boards of 
 Drury Lane Theatre, then under the manage- 
 ment of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, as Lydia 
 Langttish, in her new manager's comedy of 
 " The Rivals." Her name was not inserted in 
 the playbills, the ddbilt being simply announced 
 thus : " Lydia Languish, by a young lady, her 
 first appearance in London." She attracted 
 little notice till the production of Tobin's 
 "Honeymoon," on the 31st of January, 1805, 
 when, on Mrs. Jordan's refusing to enact Violante^ 
 the part, at Elliston's recommendation, was 
 assigned to Miss Mellon, who succeeded much 
 better than the author had anticipated. From 
 that time she became a popular actress. 
 
 The circumstances of Miss Mellon suddenly 
 improved, her first great good fortune being 
 the possession of a lottery-ticket which drew 
 
 a
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. I I 3 
 
 a prize of ^10,000. Continuing her per- 
 formances at the theatre, in various characters, 
 amongst others as Nell, in the farce of " The 
 Devil to Pay," she attracted the attention 
 of the wealthiest of the metropolitan bankers, 
 Mr. Coutts. In 18 14 Miss Mellon bade adieu 
 to the stage in the character of Violante* 
 and became Mrs. Coutts. In 1822 Mr. Coutts 
 died, at the age of eighty-seven. By his will, 
 dated the 9th of May, 1820, he appointed 
 his wife universal legatee, and bequeathed to 
 her his share in the bankingf-house and busi- 
 ness in the Strand and all benefit and interests 
 to arise therefrom. The personal property 
 within the province of Canterbury alone was 
 sworn under £600,000. On the i6th of June, 
 1827, Mrs. Coutts married William, Duke 
 of St. Albans, then in the twenty-seventh 
 year of his age. 
 
 An account of the charities of the Duchess 
 of St. Albans would fill a volume. She had, 
 
 * Thousands of copies were sold of a well-known print 
 representing Miss Mellon in this character. 
 
 I moreover,
 
 114 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 moreover, the good sense not to forget her 
 humble origin. On one occasion, passing 
 through Macclesfield, she visited the site of 
 the long since demolished wooden theatre 
 already mentioned, and pointed out to one 
 of her attendants the cottage in which she had 
 once lodged. Before quitting the town she 
 made a handsome present to an old performer 
 who had often played with her before a 
 Macclesfield audience. 
 
 The duchess bequeathed the great bulk 
 of her immense fortune to Miss Angela 
 Burdett, youngest daughter of Sir Francis 
 Burdett and grand-daughter of Mr. Coutts. 
 Miss Burdett, in compliance with the desire of 
 the testatrix, took the name of Coutts. A large 
 legacy was also left to Dr. Yates, of Brighton, 
 uncle of Mr, Edmund Yates, a medical man 
 in whom the duchess had great confidence. 
 
 Lord Eldon died on the 13th of January, 
 1838, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. 
 He was Lord Chancellor for a quarter of a 
 
 century
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. II5 
 
 century ( [ 801 -2 7, with the exception of 1 806-7), 
 an excellent sportsman, and one who, up to 
 the very last, took the field annually on the 
 I St of September. 
 
 Hyde Park was then, as it is now, a great 
 rendezvous of society ; but there is one striking 
 difference between what is now known as the 
 Sunday church parade in the Park and the 
 Sunday assemblages of fifty years ago. 
 Whereas at the present time people walk 
 on the grassy slopes near the Achilles Statue, 
 and carriages are abandoned for the day, fifty 
 years ago the drive in Hyde Park on Sunday 
 was occupied by splendid equipages. The 
 carriage of Lady Blessington was always 
 conspicuous for its style and elegance ; 
 and among other leaders of society were 
 the Dowager Duchess of Richmond, the 
 Countess of Jersey (one of the stars at Al- 
 mack's), the Marchioness of Downshire, whose 
 exquisite taste in matters of costume was 
 proverbial, and the Marchioness of Queens- 
 berry,
 
 Il6 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 berry, conspicuous for the profusion of her 
 diamonds. The Hon. Mrs. Norton, with 
 looks somewhat melancholy — for those days 
 were not the most happy in her life — seated 
 in the saddle and accompanied by her mother, 
 also attracted the notice of the Park lounger. 
 The young Queen herself, on occasion, created 
 a little excitement by a Sunday afternoon 
 drive round the Park. Indeed, her partiality 
 for Hyde Park led to the greater beautifying 
 of the largest of our metropolitan gardens, 
 and it may be worth noticing that in April, 
 1838, a quadruple row of elms, forming three 
 distinct malls, was planted at the eastern 
 end of the Park. Said one of the journals, 
 "It is hoped that these young trees will in 
 a few years add greatly to the beauty of that 
 favourite resort." May the officials now in 
 charge of Kensington Gardens be as mindful 
 of future generations of Londoners ! 
 
 The Zoological Gardens were a very favour- 
 ite resort of fashion on a Sunday afternoon, 
 
 especially
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. 1 1 7 
 
 especially during the season of 1S38, when Lon- 
 don was crowded with foreign notabihties for the 
 coronation. On one particular Sunday after- 
 noon in June of that year, when the gardens 
 were more than usually full, a sudden and very 
 heavy downpour of rain occasioned a scrimmage 
 in the tunnel leading to the elephant houses. 
 Anxious to obtain shelter, the people all rushed 
 to this spot in two opposing streams. There 
 w^as a perfect babel of tongues, which is thus 
 described in a contemporary account : — 
 
 " * Good gracious, what a crush ! Where are you, 
 Sir Charles? Gott in Himmel, dies ist schwer ! Oh ! 
 what a fat person ! Mon Dieu ! Mon Dieu ! Mon 
 Dieu ! For Heaven's sake, EHza ! I shall die, I shall 
 die, I shall faint ! What a dreadful elbow ! Dearest of 
 creatures, let rac take this opportunity ! My bonnet 
 is totally ruined ! Isn't this fun ! Capital, dreadful, 
 excellent ! Never get out alive ! How they do push ! 
 Where arc you coming, sir ? Call you out ! I wish 
 you could ! Je suis tout-a-fait ecrase. I've lost my 
 
 shawl ! Dearest, this heart Pray take care of this 
 
 lady's back ! The wild beasts have all got loose ! ' 
 (this from a wag, followed by shrieks and screams and 
 roars of reverberating laughter). 'On Thursday, at the 
 
 Opera Yes, Henry, I can no longer conceal 
 
 it :
 
 Il8 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 it ; I confess I love you. What the , sir, do you 
 
 mean by that ? Too late for dinner ! Pelts like fury ! 
 Mein Gott, wo ist mein hut ! Take me out ! ' (lady 
 fainting). ' Swell mob ! Well, I never ! Satisfaction 
 to-morrow. Never did', etc., etc. It was only when 
 the rain was over that the effects of the confinement 
 were apparent, and the cave of Trophonius never 
 disgorged a more changed and melancholy looking 
 set of individuals. Featherless bonnets, torn scarfs, 
 crushed hats, shoeless feet, skirtless coats, red faces 
 and pale faces — in short, discomfiture in all its shapes 
 was apparent everywhere around." 
 
 A form of entertainment much in favour 
 with society was the ddjeuner ct la fourchette. 
 The " breakfast," always of the most recherchd 
 description, including the choicest wines and 
 every delicacy procurable, usually began between 
 4.30 and six o'clock, and lasted for a couple of 
 hours, after which dancing was generally kept 
 up until one or two o'clock in the morning. 
 
 Sunday dinner-parties were also very fre- 
 quent, as much so indeed as they have again 
 become of late, after an interval of disuse. 
 
 A
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. I 19 
 
 A grand banquet was given on the 28th 
 of April, 1838, by the Goldsmiths' Company, 
 to " the great captain of the age," the Iron 
 Duke, in whose dinner circle at Strathfieldsaye 
 were always to be found several of his old 
 companions in arms. The banquet was held 
 at Goldsmiths' Hall. The sideboard imme- 
 diately behind the chairman was covered with 
 massive gold plate, piled up in pyramidal form. 
 In the recess behind the chair, in the midst of 
 other pieces, stood an ancient dish and cover 
 made two hundred years before by the cele- 
 brated Limarie, highly embossed and of ex- 
 quisite workmanship. Vases and candelabra 
 were thickly placed in the recess, and on a 
 cross table immediately before the chairman 
 stood an elaborate ornament — a plateau of 
 gold, representing an ancient garden with terrace 
 and balustrades. Steps lead up to the terrace, 
 and in different parts of the garden are groups 
 of children, in mimicry of the art and mystery 
 of the silversmiths, hammering away at vases 
 and other decorative work. The terrace is 
 
 surrounded
 
 I20 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 surrounded by a lake of water, represented by- 
 mirrors, while cascades of water are seen gush- 
 ing from an archway, over which appear the 
 arms of the Goldsmiths' Company. In the 
 centre of the plateau is a group of figures 
 supporting branches for lights. Cupids are 
 climbing up the trees, while, as they ascend, 
 the Graces are endeavourino- to catch the 
 mischievous little gods. Costly pieces of plate 
 were disposed round the tables, one being a 
 cup, the work, if not of Cellini himself, of an 
 apt pupil of his. It had been presented by 
 Queen Elizabeth to Sir Martin Bowen, Lord 
 Mayor of London, when she first visited the 
 City of London. Sir Martin was a member 
 of the Goldsmiths' Company, to which, by his 
 will, he left this cup. 
 
 While speaking of the Duke of Wellington, 
 the name of another Waterloo hero, William 
 Westwood of the ist Life Guards, who had 
 distinguished himself by his extraordinary 
 bravery in the great charge of the Life Guards 
 
 at
 
 SOCIETY OF THE PERIOD. 12 1 
 
 at Waterloo, may be mentioned. He died on 
 the 19th of October, 1837, and was buried with 
 mihtary honours in St. Margaret's Churchyard, 
 Westminster. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 122 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 COACHING. 
 
 Locomotion — The road — A combination — The coaches : 
 " Wonder," Brighton " Age," " Taglioni," " Tantivy "—The 
 whips — The Four-in-Hand Club — Parodies of the period. 
 
 ^RAVELLING in England may be said 
 to have been at this time in a state of 
 transition. The iron-road was rapidly super- 
 seding the turnpike, and the year of Queen 
 Victoria's accession is associated with the dawn 
 of the railway and steam-locomotive era. The 
 days of professional coaching were numbered. 
 The coach, however, was on the road in all 
 its glory in 1837-38, and strove for some time 
 to maintain its own against steam. Coach- 
 
 o 
 
 proprietors, whose capital was embarked in 
 plant and horses, were stimulated to fresh 
 
 exertions.
 
 COACHING. 
 
 exertions, and entered with spirit and skill 
 into what ultimately proved a hopeless com- 
 petition, but at first they not infrequently came 
 off with flying colours. 
 
 There was considerable opposition to the 
 new-fangled mode of travelling, upon which 
 old stagers looked with extreme suspicion, and 
 the newspapers, when not openly hostile, were 
 but lukewarm in their commendation of the 
 iron-horse. In one of the most important 
 journals of the day coach-proprietors were 
 cautioned to be careful " not to abandon their 
 lines of roads upon the mere chance of success 
 in these railway humbugs, the fallacy of which 
 begins to be so apparent." 
 
 In fact, the remarkable activity of the rail- 
 way movement in 1837-38 undoubtedly infused 
 new life and spirit into the " turnpike mail," 
 and this, coupled with the love of horseflesh 
 so inherent in Englishmen, made our fathers 
 loth to exchange the old order for the new. 
 We cannot wonder at this when we remember 
 wliat " the mail " meant in those days. 
 
 " Wh)-
 
 124 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 " Why [writes an enthusiast in 1837], how does 
 old roadside Jim know the time to ease his linen 
 bag of its parsimonious contents of bread and 
 bacon? By the mail. In the west of England 
 particularly, the mail acts as a regulator, just as the 
 sun on the hills acts as a thermometer. Ask a young 
 coachman how he got his nerve and quickness, and 
 in nine cases out of ten his reply is, ' I scraped it 
 together when I was at night-work on the mail.' 
 There is something, in short, irresistible in the word 
 ' mail,' and it is perfectly astonishing how she keeps 
 her time, worked as she generally is through long 
 foggy nights, with blind, bolting, thick-winded devils 
 that will go nowhere else ; still, notwithstanding the 
 danger of this fast night-travelling, nothing seems 
 to stop the pace, and all impediments yield to the 
 mail. During the late snow-storm at Christmas, 
 nothing was talked of at breakfast in the country 
 but * where is the mail ? ' In London everybody 
 was anxiously expecting the arrival of the mail ; and 
 in country towns, waiters, chambermaids, ostlers, and 
 postboys assembled in groups to inquire about the 
 non-arrival of the mail ; leaders out at every place 
 to forward the mail ; in fact, throughout the whole 
 country she seems omnipotent with coach-masters, 
 and waits for nothing or nobody. Turnpike gates 
 fly open the moment she crowns the overhanging 
 hill, as if by magic, and turnpike men are dumb 
 at her approach ; at lodge gates, servants are sent 
 
 out
 
 COACHING. 125 
 
 out to wait for the mail ; horsekcepcrs dream of the 
 mail long before they hear the guard's well-known 
 twang; and the horses themselves seem to under- 
 stand, as if by instinct, that their best pace is required 
 for the mail." 
 
 The facilities afforded by the new railways 
 soon enabled the authorities to accelerate the 
 postal service, and one of the first of these 
 improvements was the establishment of a day 
 mail between London and Holyhead. This 
 service, which was looked upon as an enter- 
 prise of some magnitude, the postal ofiicials 
 were enabled to carry out by the exertions 
 of the mail contractor, ]\Ir. Sherman, of the 
 " Bull and Mouth," in conjunction with the 
 Birmingham and Liverpool Railway. The new 
 mail, which went by the name of the Birming- 
 ham, Chester, and Holyhead day mail, left the 
 " Bull and Mouth " at eight o'clock in the 
 morning, and arrived at Birmingham at a 
 quarter to seven the same evening. The 
 passengers and mail-bags were then forwarded 
 by the new railway to Hartford, about sixteen 
 
 miles
 
 126 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 miles from Chester. A mail-coach awaited 
 the arrival of the train, and proceeded direct 
 to Chester, where it arrived at half-past eleven 
 at night. Half an hour was here allowed to 
 passengers, and the mail then continued its 
 journey through Holywell, Conway, and Bangor 
 to Holyhead, which place it reached at ten 
 o'clock in the morning after its departure from 
 London. The mail-packet arrived in Dublin 
 about five o'clock the same afternoon. The 
 journey from London to Holyhead was accom- 
 plished in twenty-six hours, which was looked 
 upon as a wonderful performance, the Times 
 expressing an opinion that "the duty thus 
 required from one mail-coach is almost too 
 much." 
 
 The same enterprising stage-coach pro- 
 prietor, Mr. Sherman, announced that, "In 
 defiance of the extraordinary power with which 
 coach-proprietors have to contend, and notwith- 
 standing the boasted speed of the Liverpool 
 and Birmingham Railway, * The Telegraph ' 
 Manchester day coach continues to perform the 
 
 journey
 
 COACHIXG. 127 
 
 journey to Manchester throughout, without 
 changing coaches, within an hour of the time 
 in which the journey is accompHshed by the 
 combined agency of the coaches and railway." 
 The fares were three pounds inside, and thirty 
 shilHngs outside. 
 
 Mr. ChapHn, of the "Swan with Two Necks," 
 Lad Lane, was another mail-coach proprietor 
 who begged " to assure his friends and public 
 generally that such reciprocal arrangements 
 will be made with the directors of the Liver- 
 pool and Birmingham Railway as may appear 
 best calculated to secure every advantage, and 
 economy in time and money, which a combina- 
 tion of the old and new modes of travelling can 
 afford." Accordingly, passengers from Liver- 
 pool by the 6.30 a.m. train for Birmingham 
 were forwarded on at once to the metropolis 
 by a mail-coach leaving the midland city at 
 11.30 a.m., and reaching London at 10.30 at 
 night, the journey from Liverpool to London 
 being accomplished in sixteen hours. This 
 performance somewhat took the wind out of 
 
 the
 
 128 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 the sails of the old " Red Rover " stage-coach, 
 which left the " Three Cups Inn," Aldersgate 
 Street, every morning at a quarter before ten, 
 and passing through Northampton, the Pot- 
 teries, and Warrington, arrived in Liverpool 
 at a quarter before eleven the next morning — 
 twenty-five hours. Other well-known coaches 
 which started from the same inn at this period 
 were the "Warwickshire Hunt," which left at 
 8.30 a.m., and reached the "Warwick Arms," 
 Warwick, at half-past six in the evening ; and 
 the " Royal Union," which left London every 
 evening at six, and arrived at the "White 
 Horse," Leeds, at four next afternoon, from 
 whence coaches to Huddersfield, Bradford, and 
 Halifax started on the arrival of the " Union." 
 Coaches for Birmingham and Coventry left the 
 " Three Cups " every morning and evening. 
 
 Another favourite starting-point for stage- 
 coaches was the " Bolt-in-Tun," Fleet Street, 
 from whence the "Regulator" took its depar- 
 ture every morning at ten o'clock for Hastings 
 and St. Leonards, followed at 2.30 by the 
 
 " Star,"
 
 COACHING. 129 
 
 " Star," which ran to Tunbridge Wells in four 
 hours. There was, too, another " Red Rover," 
 which left the " BoIt-in-Tun " daily at 8.15, 
 and carried passengers to Southampton 
 (White's " Royal Hotel "), where it arrived 
 at five p.m. 
 
 Then there was the " Belle Sauvage Inn," 
 Ludgate Hill, where every morning at 7.30 
 the Portsmouth " Day Rocket " took its de- 
 parture, and where also might be seen leaving 
 the metropolis for their several destinations, 
 the Southampton " Times " at seven a.m. ; the 
 celebrated **York House" at a quarter past 
 six for Bath and Bristol, and the " Monarch " 
 (no fees to guards or coachmen by this coach) 
 every evening at 5.30 for the same towns ; the 
 Cheltenham " Berkeley Hunt," 8.30 a.m. ; and 
 the Oxford "Defiance," 1.30 p.m. The 
 " Wonder," Shrewsbury and London coach, 
 achieved for itself an enviable reputation as 
 a " flyer " of the first order, and seemed deter- 
 mined not to be outdone by its formidable 
 adversary of the iron-road without a struggle. 
 
 K On
 
 130 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 On more than one occasion in the year we are 
 chronicling, this coach left London at the same 
 time as the train left Euston Square, and 
 reached Birmingham twenty minutes in ad- 
 vance of the steam-engine. 
 
 Of the several coaches that plied between 
 London and Brighton, perhaps the best known 
 was the Brighton " Age," pushed along at a 
 rattling pace by that skilful driver, Charles 
 Brackenbury ; and we must not forget the 
 two Brighton coaches, the " Rapid " and the 
 blue " Victoria," both with a reputation for fast 
 work. There was a great deal of rivalry on 
 this road between the various whips, and it 
 was not an uncommon occurrence for some 
 of these gentry to be hauled up before the 
 magistrates for racing and furious driving — 
 an offence generally met by a not always 
 enforced fine of five pounds. 
 
 A new coach was started this year on the 
 London and Windsor road, under the title of 
 the " Taglioni," after the famous dancer of 
 that name. The proprietors were Lord 
 
 Chesterfield,
 
 COACHING. I^I 
 
 Chesterfield, Count Bathyani, and a Mr. H. 
 Aston. It was a very elegantly appointed 
 affair, and bore the form of Taglioni in one 
 of her favourite dances embossed on the 
 harness, while her portrait adorned the panels. 
 The regular driver was Brackenbury, trans- 
 ferred from the Brighton road, but Lord 
 Chesterfield himself would often take the 
 ribbons. " Ches," as he was familiarly called, 
 was a capital whip, and handled the reins with 
 the skill of a professional. The "Taglioni" 
 left Charing Cross at 11.45 a.m., and accom- 
 plished the journey to Windsor in two hours, 
 including two changes, one at Brentford and 
 the other at Longford. It left Windsor on 
 its return journey at a quarter past four. 
 
 " The ' Taglioni ' — not the stage-dancer, but the 
 stage-coach which used to ply ' 'twixt Windsor and 
 town, once up and once down ' — has danced herself 
 off her legs, after a career of about six months. The 
 speculation turned out a bad one, and Mam'selle, 
 though capitally horsed, did not drazu. Her owners, 
 the great coaching firm of ' Chesterfield, Bathyani, 
 and Co.,' are said to have lost about fifty pounds a 
 
 week
 
 132 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 week during the last two months of her performance ; 
 it was therefore time to ' cut it.' The horses were sold 
 at Tattersall's on the 4th of December" (1837). 
 
 Amongst noted whips whose doings are 
 recorded in the sporting literature of the day- 
 was John Willan, who daily drove the Brighton 
 "Times" to London and back. He is de- 
 scribed as "a man of nerve, possessing all the 
 attributes of a workman." Holmes, who drove 
 the Oxford " Blenheim," was " an artist whose 
 merits have called forth many sterling and 
 distinguished marks of popular favour." Tom 
 Mountain, of the Birmingham " Tantivy," 
 bore the enviable reputation of being able 
 not only to hit his inner leader with absolute 
 precision, but "his one, two, three, and the 
 draw are performed most scientifically." Captain 
 Warbuck, who drove the " Albert " from 
 Cheltenham to Birmingham — " invariably 
 steady and gentlemanly, his attention to ladies 
 and families travelling with him being quite 
 exemplary" — appears to have been a perfect 
 coachman. 
 
 But
 
 COACHING. 
 
 13. 
 
 But perhaps the most noted of the pro- 
 fessionals was Cracknell, on the "Tantivy" 
 Bristol mail. He not only had very great 
 tact and perseverance with his cattle, but he 
 carried the mail along at mail speed, and under 
 Post Office regulations, in the most finished 
 style, and, what is more, was a wonderful time- 
 keeper even when driving the " cripples " that 
 were sometimes supplied him. 
 
 A song made by a St. John's man, Cam- 
 bridge, on the London and Birmingham " Tan- 
 tivy" coach, was described by "Nimrod" as 
 " something that is quite English, and the best 
 English that I have ever yet seen, touching the 
 road." 
 
 Air — ^'Here's to the Maiden of Bashful Fifteen" 
 
 " Here's to the old ones of four-in-hand fame, 
 Harrison, Peyton, and Ward, sir ; 
 Here's to the fast ones that after them came, 
 Ford, and the Lancashire lord,* sir. 
 Chorus — Let the steam-pot 
 Hiss till it's hot, 
 Give me the speed of the ' Tantivy ' trot. 
 
 * Viscount Molyneux, eldest son of the Earl of Sefton, of 
 great coaching celebrity. 
 
 " Here's
 
 134 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 " Here's to the team all harnessed to start, 
 Brilliant in brass and in leather ; 
 Here's to the waggoners skilled in the art, 
 Coupling the cattle together. 
 
 Let the steam-pot, etc. 
 
 " Here's to the dear little damsels within, 
 Here's to the swells on the top, sir ; 
 Here's to the music in three feet of tin,* 
 And here's to the tapering crop,! sir. 
 Let the steam-pot, etc. 
 
 *' Here's to the shape that is shown the near side, 
 Here's to the blood on the off, sir ; 
 Limbs with no check to their freedom of stride, 
 Wind without whistle, or cough, sir. 
 Let the steam-pot, etc. 
 
 " Here's to the arm that can hold 'em when gone. 
 Still to a gallop inclined, sir ; 
 Heads, in the front, with no bearing-reins on. 
 Tails, with no cruppers behind, sir. 
 Let the steam-pot, etc. 
 
 " Here's to the dragsmen I've dragged into song, 
 Salisbury, Mountain,^ and Co., sir ; 
 Here's to the Cracknell, who cracks them along — 
 They are men who can ne'er be called slow, sir. 
 Let the steam-pot, etc. 
 
 " Here's to MacAdam, the Mac of all-Macs ; 
 Here's to the road we ne'er tire on ; 
 
 * The guard's horn. f The whip. 
 
 t Coachman on the " Tantivy." 
 
 Let
 
 COACHING. 135 
 
 Let me but roll on the granite he cracks, 
 Ride he who likes it on iron. 
 
 Let the steam-pot 
 Hiss till it's hot, 
 Give me the speed of the ' Tantivy ' trot." 
 
 Mention of the Bristol mail brings us to 
 Hatchett's "White Horse" Cellar in Piccadilly, 
 where every evening the West-country mails 
 took up their stations preparatory to receiving 
 the mail-bags. Porters are hard at work sorting 
 luoforaae — 
 
 "Coachmen diving into their respective boots for 
 the due classification of long and short parcels ; in 
 another minute mail-carts are seen rushing along 
 from the Post Office and sidling up to the different 
 mails with their reeking horses, while the huge 
 rebellious bags are handed up to the guard, which 
 he immediately stamps down into the smallest 
 possible compass in the hind-boot, and slipping his 
 brace or two of providers in their holds, and gathering 
 up his great-coats, the mails are quickly on the move 
 up Constitution Hill en masse, like a fleet in full sail. 
 Now the Devonport ' Quicksilver ' leads. Ward pull- 
 ing at his good little thorough-bred chestnut leaders 
 to keep them from springing as they hear the 'Bristol' 
 bars rattling alongside. Now the ' Bristol ' gets upon 
 terms with her beyond the ' Packhorsc ' at Turnham 
 
 Green,
 
 J 
 
 6 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Green, each struggling for the change at Hounslow ; 
 lojtgo intervallo roll steadily along the old ' Exeter,' 
 ' Gloucester,' ' Poole,' and ' Bath,' ' Portsmouth ' and 
 * Stroud ' bringing up the rear. And now come and 
 take your stand at the door of the ' Peacock ' at 
 Islington, and see the North-country mails arrange 
 themselves, giving the passengers just time enough 
 to settle for the night's campaign. Up comes the 
 little thick-set porter of the inn, shouting, ' Now, 
 Holyhead, Leeds, and Glasgow, Woburn, Dunstable, 
 or St. Albans,' and off go the coaches, leaving behind 
 them a host of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire 
 graziers looking 'disappointed at the loaded mails, 
 even to portmanteaus and hat-boxes tied to the seats 
 in front." * 
 
 The following account of the starting of the 
 mail-coaches on Her Majesty's birthday is by 
 " One who was there " : — 
 
 * A meeting of the commissioners of the metropolis turn- 
 pike roads north of the Thames was held in November, 1837, 
 for the purpose of letting by auction the gates and bars of the 
 several Northern roads for one year — 1838. The Green Lanes 
 gate, which in the previous year had been let for ^11 10, was 
 knocked down at £1260. The Stamford-Hill gate, which in 
 1837 had fetched £702,0, was knocked down at ^7320. The 
 Enfield gate went for ^3520, as against ;^33io the year before. 
 The Lea Bridge Road gates, let the previous year at ^1800, 
 were now knocked down at ^1889. The increase in value is 
 curious when we consider the rapidity with which the railway 
 from the North was being laid down. 
 
 " Happening
 
 COACHIXG. 137 
 
 " Happening to stroll, about four o'clock in the 
 afternoon, across one of the most ancient and most 
 beautifully planted squares of the metropolis, Lin- 
 coln's Inn Fields, I found a number of sightseers 
 assembled to witness the starting of the mail- 
 coaches to the West End, it being the anniversary 
 of Victoria's birthday (Heaven bless her) ! As this 
 sight is always well worth seeing, and being in 
 no hurry, I determined to add a unit to the tens 
 and hundreds of loungers. While I was waiting the 
 arrival of the remainder of the coaches, several being 
 already there, I could not help travelling back with 
 my mind's eye to what Lincoln's Inn Fields once 
 was. Anciently it was filled with nobility, judges, 
 etc. ; now, excepting Baron Gurney's, Harrison's, the 
 Queen's Counsels', and a few more, it has become 
 a mass of chambers, offices for charities and other 
 public institutions, houses for surgeons and solicitors, 
 and one hotel. The coaches kept arriving, as the old 
 
 song says, 
 
 ' By one, by two, by three,' 
 
 and much was I amused with the variety exhibited 
 by the drivers and guards ; by the brilliance of the 
 vehicles themselves ; the beauty of the horses and 
 their trappings, and the gaiety of the ladies seated 
 inside — of course, the wives, daughters, and sweethearts 
 of coachmen and guards. But what business had the 
 few men I saw there ? On this especial occasion I 
 hate males in 7«rt//-coaches ; and would quite reverse 
 
 the
 
 o 
 
 8 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 the idea of the poor sailor, who being plundered in 
 London, by certain ladies, of nearly all his pay and 
 prize-money, spent the last he had to book his place 
 for Portsmouth by the male coach, being determined, 
 as he said, to have nothing more to do with females. 
 I repeat, that on this day I would not allow a male 
 inside of any of the coaches, till after the procession 
 was over and they were about to start for the country ; 
 for though it may be presumed that the rank in life 
 of the ladies is none of the highest, yet in this day 
 of fine dressing (and who so fine as some of our 
 coachmen ?) the colours of the riders, as they say 
 on the racecourse, add materially to the beauty of 
 this scene on the royal birthday. When formed, the 
 head of the column, to speak a la militaire, was on 
 the north side of the square, and it extended down 
 the eastern side, and partly down the south side 
 and, while waiting here, the coachmen and guards 
 were variously occupied, some in doing the amiable 
 by their inside passengers, and some in the less 
 dignified way of proposing to each other to go and 
 get a drop of something short, seeing that the time 
 they had to wait was rather long; for our coachmen 
 and guards have not all joined the teetotallers yet. 
 Indeed, during this pause, while the important gentle- 
 men on horseback who have to arrange and conduct 
 the procession were bustling about, either to create 
 order or make confusion, it was not very clear to 
 my mind which, you have an excellent opportunity 
 
 of
 
 COACHING. 139 
 
 of observing what a famous holiday this is to the 
 coaching and horsing fraternity of our village. Here 
 were collected together, in all sorts of toggeries and 
 situations, a large proportion of such persons, from 
 the lowest stable-boy and threadbare, worn-out, white- 
 coated cad up to the shawlified, four-in-hand, tip-top 
 sawyer. All they had to say and think appertained 
 to the matter in hand, and the cattle and men en- 
 gaged therein. There's Tom, and Bill, and Dick, and 
 Jack, and Bob, and Harry, ringing the changes as 
 each carriage arrives, and alluding of course to the 
 drivers and guards. Then come the comments on 
 the greys, and the piebalds, and the bays, and the 
 browns, and so forth ; and you could easily see in 
 the beaming eye of some young coacJier the silent 
 aspiration to become one day as great a man as 
 the driver of the ' York,' the ' Manchester,' or the 
 ' Bristol.' Presently the fat bustling gentlemen, before 
 spoken of, having so far deranged the thing as to 
 put the ' Davenport ' first, though she was down 
 fourth in the list (w^/Z-coaches, like ships, are all 
 females), and having also contrived to leave a pretty 
 considerable chasm in the procession, between the 
 seventeenth and eighteenth coach, there being twenty- 
 seven altogether, the whole moved on ; and it was 
 a pleasant speculation to me, and would have been 
 much more so to a better judge of the matter, to 
 observe the vast variety of character and appearance 
 in the coachmen and guards, but chiefly the former. 
 
 You
 
 140 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 You might trace the difference of almost half a 
 century in the lot passing in view ; from the coach- 
 man whose face Leigh Hunt once described as 'look- 
 ing like a compound of gin and bad weather,' to the 
 upright, gentlemanly, and even dandified modern 
 coachman, whose tipple ranges from sherry to cham- 
 pagne, and v/ho never accepts a less douceur than 
 half a crown. The procession has passed away ; the 
 symmetrical steeds, in their gay ribbon-ornamented 
 harness ; the emblazoned coaches ; their fair occu- 
 pants ; the scarlet-and-gold-bedizened coachmen and 
 guards ; the attendant guards, in scarlet and gold, on 
 horseback ; the puffy conductors ; and the one four- 
 in-hand gentleman's set-out that was there, are all 
 gone, 
 
 ' And, like the baseless fabric of a vision. 
 Leave not a wrack behind,' 
 
 except the loiterers wending homewards." 
 
 We must not forget that 1838 saw the 
 establishment of the " Four-in Hand Club," 
 which consisted of nineteen members, among 
 the number being the Earl of Chesterfield 
 (who was president), the Marquis of Water- 
 ford (the " Mad Marquis," as he was called), 
 Count Bathyani, Lord Alfred Paget, and Mr. 
 George Payne. The first meet took place in 
 
 May
 
 COACHING. 141 
 
 May at Chesterfield House, and the coaches 
 went through Hyde Park in procession, and 
 on to " Topham's Hotel," Richmond, where the 
 members dined. Lord William Pitt Lennox, 
 who formed one of the party, tells us in his 
 " Recollections " that, during the evening, 
 Charley Sheridan sang two of his choicest 
 songs, "The Bottle" and "John Collin," the 
 latter to the air of "Sweet Jenny Jones," com- 
 mencing — 
 
 " My name is John Collin, head waiter at Limmer's, 
 At the corner of Conduit Street, Hanover Square, 
 Where my chief occupation is filling up brimmers. 
 To solace young gentlemen laden with care." 
 
 THE MEETING OF THE COACHES. 
 
 Air — " The Meeting of the Waters." 
 
 " There is not in wide London a court-yard so neat. 
 As that court * in whose precincts the R.D.C.f meet. 
 How great is the throng when the coaches depart ! 
 Whilst Macdonald is leading so good at a start. 
 
 " Yet it was not that Chesterfield gave to our view, 
 His fastest of steppers, and deepest of blue,t 
 Not the workman-like ' turn out ' of Alford so pat. 
 The leaders of Suffield ! the wheelers of Bat ! § 
 
 * The court of Chesterfield House, where the R.D.C. meet, 
 f R.D.C, the Richmond Driving Club. 
 X The peculiar colour of Lord Chesterfield's equipages. 
 § Short (by poetical licence) for Bathyani. 
 
 " 'Twas
 
 142 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 *"Twas that cattle such goers as Peyton ne'er held, 
 Were driven by whips, scarce by Beaufort excell'd ; 
 Frank Copeland is springing his four on the road, 
 And Payne's hospitality's told by his load ! 
 
 " In this fam'd driving club it were endless to trace, 
 All the notable coachmen, the ribbons who grace, 
 Since Waterford, Paget, and Pitt swell the stream, 
 And the eye dwells delighted on every team. 
 
 " In Richmond's sweet hamlet how choice the whitebait ! 
 Tho'Topham's * champagne sometimes makes omx fours, eight! 
 Now let each thirsty soul as the goblet he drains, 
 Drink the President's f health, may he long hold the reins ! " 
 
 * The proprietor of the excellent hotel at Richmond. 
 t The Earl of Chesterfield. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 ( 143 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 
 
 The railway — The telegraph — A first trip — The new locomo- 
 tion — Complaints — Faint hearts — The first post by rail — 
 New lines — A new line indeed — Steaming across the 
 Atlantic — Steam on the Thames — The Thames Tunnel — 
 Projected tunnel under the Straits of Dover. 
 
 Air — " The Harp that once through TarcCs Halls.'''' 
 " The coach that once from Charing Cross, 
 To distant counties sped, 
 Unvarnished now bewails its loss, 
 Both guard and coachman fled ; 
 So fails the pride of Chaplin's team ; 
 
 No crowds his coaches cram. 
 Since all the world now goes by steam, 
 To visit Birmingham ! 
 
 " No morey<^/ dames with parcels light^ 
 
 The drags of Nelson fill ; 
 The horn which used to sound by night, 
 
 Is now for ever still ; 
 Post-horses now are voted slow, 
 
 The only work they get 
 Is when some boiler bursts, to show — 
 
 The coaches are upset !" 
 
 A CONSPICUOUS event In the history of 
 the new locomotion was the opening 
 
 of
 
 144 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 of the first part of the London and Birming- 
 ham Hne, from Euston Square to Box Moor, on 
 Thursday, the 20th of July, 1837 ; and here it 
 may be mentioned that the electric telegraph 
 (Cooke and Wheatstone's patent) was first 
 practically worked on the 25th of the same 
 month. For the deflection of the needles to 
 indicate a perfect alphabet, six wires were used, 
 five for transmitting the signals, and the sixth 
 for shunting off and returning the electric cur- 
 rent to head-quarters. The wires ran between 
 Euston Square and Camden Town on the 
 North- Western Railway, the distance traversed 
 being about a mile and a half. Previously to 
 this, messages had been sent by electricity, but 
 as a separate wire was required for each letter 
 of the alphabet, commercial success could hardly 
 have been looked for. 
 
 Messrs. Chaplin and Home, the coach- 
 proprietors, announced that they would start 
 coaches from various parts of the town direct 
 to and from the station at Euston Square. 
 
 The
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 1 45 
 
 The fare inside or out was sixpence, in what- 
 ever part of the town passengers were taken 
 up. These coaches were pair-horse vehicles, 
 capable of carrying four in- and twelve out-side 
 passengers, and were the precursors of the 
 more convenient and now familiar railway 
 " 'bus." On the panels of the carriages were 
 the words " London and Birmingham Railway, 
 to Harrow, Watford, and Box Moor." The 
 following description is by a passenger in the 
 very first public train that left London for 
 the North : — 
 
 " At the station I discovered that I could not 
 obtain admission to the starting-place of the train 
 until I had paid my fare for one of the three divisions 
 of the train, for there is but one train, although com- 
 posed of three descriptions of carriages, namely, first, 
 second, and third classes. The police of the company 
 superintend these arrangements, and clerks for each 
 train receive the money, and give tickets, varying in 
 colour — for the first train, white ; for the second, blue ; 
 and for the third, pink — the number of the trains 
 being printed thereon. On showing these to a second 
 policeman, I was conducted through a door at the 
 back of the office, where a train is drawn up ready 
 
 L for
 
 146 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN, 
 
 for starting, the flagged way on which the pubHc 
 stand being level with the bottom of the carriages, 
 so that they have neither to step up nor step down — 
 a decided advantage. The train is, of course, in pro- 
 portion to the probable numbers of passengers, and, 
 reversing the order of numbers, the first class is last, 
 and the last first — that is to say, the cheap, or third- 
 class carriages, go next to the locomotive engine by 
 which the train is moved. These carriages consist 
 of oblong boxes, with seats across, and doors to shut 
 them up to prevent accidents, but they are without 
 covering, a circumstance which exposes the passengers 
 to the casualties of the weather, and they must get 
 wet to the skin if it rain, as was the case on Thursday, 
 without a chance of escape. This, I hope, may be 
 remedied hereafter by throwing over them a water- 
 proof cover, which may be done at a trifling expense. 
 The fares by this class are: to Harrow (ii^ miles), 
 IJ-. ; to Watford (17^ miles), 2s.; to Box Moor (24^ 
 miles), 2.S. 6d. ; from Harrow to Watford, is. ; from 
 Harrow to Box Moor, \s. 6d. ; and from Watford to 
 Box Moor, IS., and the same back ; from which it 
 will be gathered that there are two places of stoppage, 
 going and coming. The second class of carriages 
 come next to the third, and are completely enclosed, 
 with doors and windows, with cross benches capable 
 of accommodating, in three sections, twenty-four per- 
 sons. They are painted inside, without cushions, but 
 are very comfortable. The fares for these are : 2s. from 
 
 London
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 1 47 
 
 London to Harrow ; to Watford, 2s. 6d. ; to Box 
 Moor, 4s. ; Harrow to Watford, is. ; Harrow to Box 
 Moor, 2s. ; Watford to Box Moor, is., which is the 
 same price as tlie third class. The first, or aristo- 
 cratic, class come last, and these are very elegantly 
 fitted up with drab linings, and capable of containing 
 six each — each seat being divided by arms and num- 
 bered. They are in all respects equal to a gentleman's 
 carriage, but for this additional advantage the fares 
 are increased thus : to Harrow, 2s. 6d. ; to Watford, 
 T)S. 6d. ; to Box Moor, 5^-. ; from Harrow to Watford, 
 \s. 6d. ; from Harrow to Box Moor, 2S. 6d. ; and 
 from Watford to Box Moor, is. 6d. Such are the 
 fares ; whether they will be deemed sufficiently mode- 
 rate to attract crowds of those who merely seek a 
 ride on a railway (for such only can at present be 
 the inducement, except to the passengers to and from 
 Harrow to Watford), is yet to be discovered. Having 
 thus described the carriages, and the prices at which 
 the public may be accommodated, I ought to state 
 that previous to starting, the carriages, if the train 
 be not too long, stand under a splendid slated roof, 
 ingeniously supported by iron ties, which keeps the 
 passengers from the vicissitudes of weather, while con- 
 nected with the offices are waiting-rooms for all classes, 
 very commodiously set out, and highly desirable ; 
 but, as the time of starting for each train is fixed, 
 much time need not be wasted. At present, on week 
 days, they are appointed to start from London at ten, 
 
 two.
 
 148 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 two, five, and seven o'clock ; and from Box Moor at 
 eight, twelve, four, and half-past six. On Sundays 
 the hours are, from London, half-past seven, nine, five, 
 and seven, and from Box Moor at nine, five, and seven. 
 The luggage of the passengers may be stowed on the 
 top of the carriages, as with stage-coaches, under tar- 
 paulings. On the top of each carriage there are seats, 
 back and front, for those who choose to ride outside ; 
 but, except in very fine weather, those seats are far 
 from desirable, and, as in my case, may lead to re- 
 pentance ; for not only was I drenched with rain, 
 but encountered great annoyance from the particles 
 of sand and gravel flying in my face, independent of 
 the nuisance of the smoke blowing back in passing 
 through the tunnels. Time having been allowed to 
 make these observations, notice was given of the start, 
 previous to which I witnessed the arrival of the twelve 
 o'clock train from Box Moor, which, according to the 
 table of departures, must have been two hours on the 
 passage. There were but few travellers, and those 
 were immediately taken up by the coaches waiting 
 to convey them to their destinations. This train 
 came up on the opposite side to that from which 
 the ' down train ' was preparing to set out, and the 
 passengers retired by another gate, thus keeping up 
 the prudent classifications already referred to, and pre- 
 venting confusion. All being in readiness, I mounted 
 the roof-seat on the first carriage of the first train, 
 conceiving I should thereby have a better view of the 
 
 scene.
 
 THE DAWN OF THE R MIDWAY ERA. 1 49 
 
 scene, but, previous to the tune of 'Off she goes,' 
 which one might fancy was played by the engine, 
 from its escaping steam, a heavy shower drove all 
 the passengers in the third train from their exposed 
 berths, and many of them paid the extra fare and 
 took refuge in the second-class carriages. I main- 
 tained my position, determined to glean all the infor- 
 mation I could. The engine having been attached, 
 and ' all right,' as the ' Jehus ' say, with plenty of 
 room ' inside,' away we went, at first but slowly. On 
 looking right and left I could descry nothing but 
 unfinished buildings, and from those my sight was 
 soon shut on entering an opening channel or culvert 
 bounded on each side by high brick walls, and passing 
 under a succession of neat bridges, over which the 
 old public thoroughfares were conducted, and ranged 
 along which were crowds of persons collected to see 
 us pass. Having passed through this channel, we 
 came again to an open space, on the right of which 
 is a large edifice, described to me as the engine depot, 
 where all the engines undergo a daily inspection, and 
 where all repairs are accomplished. Here a consider- 
 able stoppage took place while another engine was 
 substituted for that which had brought us so far, and, 
 on looking forward, my notice was attracted by two 
 high chimneys, which, on further inquiry, I was told 
 are intended for two powerful steam-engines, which 
 are hereafter to be used for the purpose, by means 
 of a chain or rope, of drawing the trains to Euston 
 
 Square
 
 150 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Square terminus, thereby preventing the necessity of 
 the locomotive engines accompanying them further 
 than the depot. With the assistance of the new- 
 engine we again made way, and on going through 
 the open country, I was dehghted with the rural 
 prospect before me, Chalk Farm on the left, the 
 Hampstead and Highgate Hills on the right, with 
 all the well-known charms of the intervening fields 
 and villages ; we then came to the tunnel so admir- 
 ably excavated, and composed of brickwork, running 
 under Primrose Hill, and coming out just beyond the 
 new north road leading to Finchley from the Regent's 
 Park. This tunnel is stated to be half a mile in 
 length, and on entering it we soon found ourselves 
 involved in impenetrable darkness, much to the alarm 
 of the more timid passengers, and of the outsiders, 
 who experienced the inconvenience of the smoke as 
 well as the cold atmosphere through which they were 
 whisked. From thence we proceeded under the Kil- 
 burn road and round by Kensal Green, after which 
 we came to another tunnel, not so long as the first, 
 but not more agreeable. Throughout the line we 
 had to pass through cuttings and embankments, all 
 admirably effected, with the green fields or rural 
 cottages on either side of us till we came to Harrow, 
 the ancient and picturesque spire of which forms no 
 insignificant object in the landscape. Here was our 
 first stoppage, and the train was drawn up in front of 
 the ' Harrow Station,' a compact little house with 
 
 offices
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 15I 
 
 offices, and a waiting-room, where clerks were in 
 readiness to receive money and issue tickets, where 
 the passengers underwent the same ordeal as in town, 
 not being permitted to approach the train unless pro- 
 vided with pass tickets, the police examining those 
 tickets, and directing them to their respective car- 
 riages, in the same manner examining the tickets of 
 the parties who here terminated their journey. At 
 this station also is a cistern and coke depot, from 
 which the boiler was supplied with water, and the 
 furnace with fuel. An immense crowd, attracted by 
 the novelty of the scene, witnessed the arrival and 
 departure of the train. All being properly adjusted, 
 we were again off, at a more rapid pace, which was 
 occasionally slackened over the new embankments, 
 till we came within sight of Watford, passing several 
 picturesque villages and chateaus on the left and 
 right. Crossing the high-road to Watford by one 
 of the many bridges intersecting the road, we at 
 length reached the Watford Station, where an estab- 
 lishment similar to that at Harrow presented itself, 
 and where the like ceremonies were observed, but 
 with this advantage, that the second and third classes 
 of carriages were literally crammed with the humbler 
 classes, desirous of a shilling trip to Box Moor, 
 through the Watford tunnel, full a mile in length, 
 and as dark as Erebus, except here and there where 
 a shaft shot its light from the upper world. Two 
 minutes and a quarter were occupied in the passage 
 
 through
 
 152 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 through this awful excavation, interrupted only by 
 the reverberating sound of the gliding train. At 
 length the welcome light of day burst upon us, and 
 the bright gleam of sunshine, contrasted with the 
 pitchy darkness of the tunnel, produced the most 
 cheerful sensations. The rest of the journey to Box 
 Moor was rapid and easy, the distance from town, 
 including stoppages, having been performed in an 
 hour and three-quarters. At Watford and again 
 here, a prodigious crowd was assembled to witness 
 our arrival. Refreshment booths were offering their 
 attractions in the fields and on the brow of a hill to 
 the left, while a band of music in a temporary orchestra 
 welcomed the new-comers. All was gaiety and bustle. 
 The passengers were soon called upon to quit the 
 carriages, and passing the station-house and offices 
 on the right, were shown off the road by a precipitous 
 descent, and gates being closed at each end of a space 
 reserved for the trains, there was no return but on 
 purchasing new tickets, and again being tenants of 
 the vehicles just quitted. House accommodation 
 there was but one within any moderate distance, and 
 that a low public-house. The canvas booths were 
 the only other shelter, and these were on the opposite 
 side of the railroad, and only to be approached over a 
 dirty and awkward embankment. This was, indeed, a 
 source of mortification to those who looked for some 
 temporary enjoyment, but the more especially so as 
 a heavy shower of rain came on, from which there 
 
 was
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 1 53 
 
 was neither escape nor protection, and the consequence 
 was that many were drenched to the skin, and those 
 who escaped only did so by seeking an asylum in 
 the stables or sheds which were erected for the horses 
 that had brought visitors to ' the sight.' Of this it 
 is fit the experimental travellers should be apprised, 
 and there is nothing to be gained by going to Box 
 Moor beyond the distant view of Two Waters and 
 the surrounding country, which is certainly delightful, 
 but not more so than that which they have already 
 enjoyed. Having satisfied my curiosity, I returned 
 in self-defence to the station-house, and again booked 
 myself for London by the second train, notwithstand- 
 ing the very pressing invitation of the cicerone of the 
 first train, whose pen seemed sadly out of occupation, 
 and at half-past four commenced our return with a 
 tolerably full cargo, and at six o'clock I was again at 
 Euston Square, having travelled forty-eight miles, 
 with so many disagreeables to boot, in four hours." 
 
 Some idea of the difficulties attending the 
 formation of the London and Birmingham 
 Railway may be gathered from the fact that 
 the cost of levelling, excavating, tunnelling, 
 and filling up averaged £^o,oZq per mile ; 
 and one mile of road between Primrose 
 Hill and Camden Town cost no less than 
 
 ^300,000.
 
 154 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 ^300,000. The amount of wages paid weekly 
 was calculated at about ^40,000. 
 
 There was a good deal of dissatisfaction 
 with the regulations of the new company, 
 and much disappointment at the slow rate 
 of speed ; indeed, the Englishman's privilege 
 of grumbling was exercised to his heart's 
 content, and the columns of the newspapers 
 were filled with letters of complaint against 
 the directors. The two letters that follow 
 appeared in the Times — the first in 1837, 
 and the second in 1838 : — 
 
 " It might have been supposed that the accident 
 which occurred to the friends of the directors, a 
 week or two since, on the opening of this railway, 
 would have insured the greatest care and efficiency 
 in their work and arrangements, before this executive 
 body advertised the passage to be open to the public 
 generally. I was a passenger by the two o'clock 
 train to Box Moor yesterday, and was informed at 
 the London station that little more than one hour 
 would be occupied in the passage. The fact proved 
 very different, as we did not reach Box Moor until 
 the expiration of two hours and a quarter from the 
 time of starting from Euston Square. The train 
 
 scarcely
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 1 55 
 
 scarcely went a snail's pace to the Primrose Hill 
 tunnel, and we were told that the engine was not 
 right (it was the engine No. 2, I believe), and we 
 did not reach Harrow under one hour and eleven 
 minutes — eleven miles. We loitered about thirteen 
 minutes at Harrow, some time at Watford, and 
 met with a most confused and uncomfortable recep- 
 tion at Box Moor : where, on our return, we were 
 all huddled together for a quarter of an hour in 
 a small yard exposed to a burning sun, until the 
 bell rang for starting, and then crushed through 
 a small gate at the risk of our limbs, instead of 
 being allowed quietly to take our seats in the 
 carriages as we arrived, notwithstanding we had 
 paid our money and were in possession of the 
 tickets. The collection of these tickets, which took 
 place on our approach to the extremity of the 
 Regent's Park, for which purpose the train was 
 stopped, occupied about half an hour. The tunnels 
 are all most uncomfortably dark. All this requires 
 remedy ; a much greater degree of method is requi- 
 site both for safety and comfort, and it is rather 
 too bad for the directors to be thus making their 
 experimental journeys at the expense of the public." 
 
 The second letter runs — 
 
 "Allured by the advertisements of the Birmingham 
 and London Railroad Company, I presented myself 
 at the Euston Square station at eight o'clock last 
 
 nig-ht
 
 156 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 night, with a view of going through to the Crewe 
 station, on the Grand Junction. After some vexa- 
 tious requisites, the train started at half-past eight. 
 It had not proceeded above two hundred yards 
 before we were brought to a standstill, and it was 
 a quarter past nine before we finally left. We 
 arrived at Denbigh Hall at twenty minutes past 
 eleven ; here we found no carriages ready, and had 
 to wait until a quarter past twelve before any made 
 their appearance, in a sort of tent or shed, without 
 lights, and only the embers of a departed fire. At 
 that time some carriages were brought out, and I 
 wedged myself into one, with great difficulty, accom- 
 panied by three other passengers, three well-stuffed 
 carpet-bags, and a hat-box. At half-past twelve 
 we started from Denbigh Hall, as I supposed, for 
 Rugby, and thence by railway to Birmingham. 
 Here I was again disappointed ; we were kept 
 jammed in the coach to this place, where we arrived 
 at a quarter past seven a.m., half an hour too late 
 for the train ; the consequence of which is, that 
 instead of reaching my own house at half-past 
 twelve, I shall not do so until half-past eight this 
 evening. A fellow-passenger is disappointed of 
 catching the Carlisle mail at Warrington, which will 
 occasion him twenty-four hours' delay. The mails, 
 travelling in the ordinary way, passed us on the 
 road, and arrived in time for the seven o'clock train. 
 I had forgotten to say, that although the company 
 
 make
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 1 57 
 
 make great fuss about having no coachmen or 
 guards to pay, the guard applied to mc on our 
 arrival here for a gratuity, and, on my refusal to 
 give him anything, assailed me with abuse. The 
 fare paid to the company for all this execrable 
 accommodation is thirty-five shillings, sixteen per 
 cent, above the fares by day ! " 
 
 Another writer in the Times ventured on 
 the following prophecy : — 
 
 " If the railroads are looked to as a means of 
 affording the required celerity, although there may 
 be no doubt of the power which this will eventually 
 possess, yet there are many doubts as to the period 
 when this resource will be available to the Post-Office, 
 except to a very limited extent ; and if a judgment 
 might be formed by calculation from the specimens 
 afforded in the slow progress of those rails laying 
 down, the completion to all the principal cities and 
 towns, leaving out the cross-roads, over which so 
 many mails have to pass — one would be inclined 
 to say that the year 1937 will be nearer the time 
 when this will be witnessed." 
 
 This rash vaticination is a notable instance 
 of what George Eliot calls the most gratuitous 
 of all forms of human error. 
 
 The mails to Holyhead, Manchester, Liver- 
 pool,
 
 158 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 pool, and Carlisle were despatched for the 
 first time by the London and Birmingham 
 Railway in May, 1838, ten months after the 
 opening of the line for passenger traffic. The 
 mail-coaches were driven to Euston terminus, 
 and there placed on trucks, and so run on 
 the railway, retaining their coachmen, guards, 
 passengers, and luggage. At the end of the 
 railway, the coaches were again drawn by 
 horses to their respective destinations. In 
 this manner, too, private carriages, with occu- 
 pants inside, were placed on trolleys and 
 conveyed at first-class fares by rail to the 
 several stations. 
 
 The first brick of a building to be erected 
 as a tower of. observation for securing the 
 proper direction of the tunnel in connection 
 with that most popular of all railways, the 
 London, Brighton, and South Coast, then 
 known as the projected " Brighton Railroad," 
 was laid on Clayton summit on the Queen's 
 nineteenth birthday, the 24th of May, 1838. 
 
 The Grand Junction Railway, uniting 
 
 Birmingham
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 1 59 
 
 Birmingham with Manchester and Liverpool, 
 was opened for the conveyance of passengers 
 on the 4th of July, 1838. The first-class 
 carriages were similar in accommodation to 
 the mail-coaches. There was room for four 
 passengers in each compartment, and a bed 
 was provided for those who chose to pay 
 an extra charge of a sovereign. 
 
 But perhaps the most interesting railway 
 event of the time was the opening of the Great 
 Western, on which about six thousand three 
 hundred persons had been constantly employed, 
 under the superintendence of Brunei, excavating 
 something like ninety thousand to a hundred 
 thousand cubic yards of earth a week. The 
 event was looked forward to with more than 
 ordinary interest, because the engineer had 
 decided for what is now known as the broad 
 gauge, the rails being seven feet apart, and 
 great was the curiosity to see how it would 
 answer. The first completed part of the line 
 was to Maidenhead via Ealing and Drayton. 
 On the I St of June, by the invitation of the 
 
 directors,
 
 t6o THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 directors, nearly two hundred persons took 
 their places in the first train, which left Pad- 
 dington at eleven. The engine — named the 
 "North Star" — was built by Stephenson and 
 Co., of Newcastle. At Ealing the train was 
 received with cheers from a large and enthusi- 
 astic crowd, and by the booming of cannon ; 
 Maidenhead was reached in forty-seven minutes, 
 the rate of progress having been twenty-eight 
 miles an hour. On the following Monday the 
 line was opened to the public. There were 
 four descriptions of carriages, twelve feet in 
 height from the rails to the top. The extra 
 first-class, or royal or posting carriages, with 
 accommodation for about twenty persons, were 
 well appointed, and furnished with tables and 
 sofas ; then came the first-class proper, the 
 second-class, and the third-class, which were 
 open. The fares to Maidenhead were 6s. 6d., 
 ^s. 6d., ^s. 6d., and ^s. 6d. 
 
 Some inventor, enthusiastic for the iron- 
 road, and eager to show that its capabilities 
 were not confined to covering distance in a 
 
 shorter
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. l6l 
 
 shorter time than the mail-coaches, produced 
 a model of a railway for taking an invalid up 
 to bed ! A movable rail was laid up the stairs 
 with a curve at the top, and a carriage on 
 which the invalid was placed was drawn up 
 by a system of pulleys. 
 
 The SiJ^itis, of London, and the Great 
 Western, of Bristol, were the two steamers that 
 first crossed the Atlantic, the pioneers of the 
 Sej'-vias and the Alaskas, which now rush 
 between Eno-land and America in six or seven 
 days. The Sh'ius was a vessel of 700 tons, 
 with engines of 320 horse-power. She left 
 Cork on the 4th of April, 1838, and, after 
 encountering some severe gales, reached New 
 York on the 23rd, the voyage thus taking 
 nineteen days. Her average rate of speed 
 was eight and a half miles per hour, and of 
 453 tons of coals on board she consumed 
 431, and forty-three barrels of resin mixed 
 with coal ashes. 
 
 The Great Western was a paddle-steamer 
 M of
 
 1 62 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 of 1340 tons, with engines of 450 horse-power, 
 and carried four masts. She was 236 feet 
 long, and had a breadth across the beam of 
 58J feet, with accommodation for 128 first-class 
 passengers. 200 second-class, and, when not 
 carrying cargo, about 100 third-class. She left 
 Bristol four days after the Sirms left Cork, and 
 arrived in New York on the 24th of April, 
 having been fifteen days and five hours on 
 her voyage. Her mean daily rate was 215 
 miles, and she averaged nine miles an hour. 
 She consumed 450 tons of coal. 
 
 On the I St of May, the Sirms again sailed 
 from New York, arriving at Falmouth on the 
 iSth. The Great Western departed from New 
 York quay at half-past two on the 7th of the 
 same month, and arrived at Bristol on the 22nd. 
 Upwards of one hundred thousand persons 
 assembled to witness her departure. There 
 were bands of music, and a number of steam- 
 boats attended her to Sandy Hook. She had 
 sixty-eight cabin passengers at thirty-five guineas 
 each (the greatest number of cabin pa.ssengers 
 
 that
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 1 63 
 
 that had ever crossed the Atlantic in one ship), 
 upwards of twenty thousand Post-Office letters, 
 and a cargo of cotton, indigo, silks, and mis- 
 cellaneous articles. During her voyage home 
 she encountered headwinds nine days out of 
 the fourteen, and a severe gale, yet she accom- 
 plished seven and a half knots with the wind 
 directly in her teeth. " All honour," says a 
 contemporary periodical, " to those who so 
 boldly ventured and so ably triumphed. It 
 is not two years since men of science at 
 the British Association were enofao-ed in warm 
 discussion as to the possibility of that which 
 has now been accomplished." 
 
 Still a propos of steamers, it may be recorded 
 that the first half-year of the Queen's reign 
 saw the formation of a company now known 
 as the River Thames Steamboat Company, 
 which has undergone many vicissitudes during 
 its career. Originally called the Protector, 
 or Thames Waterman's Friend Steamboat 
 Company, it was established to "carry pas- 
 sengers to and from London Bridge to the 
 
 Temple,
 
 1 64 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Temple, Hungerford Market, the Courts of 
 Law and the Houses of ParHament at West- 
 minster, Vauxhall, and Chelsea," the capital 
 being ^20,000 in four thousand shares of ^5 
 each. 
 
 About this time a good deal of interest was 
 manifested in that not too fortunate under- 
 taking, once familiar to all Frenchmen and 
 country cousins — Brunei's Thames Tunnel. 
 After remaining several years in a state of 
 suspended animation, owing to lack of funds, 
 this damp and sombre grubbery had now 
 approached to within one hundred and eighty 
 feet of low-water mark on the Middlesex side 
 of the river, and the public were admitted 
 to view the tunnel on payment of a shilling. 
 But Brunei's feat of boring under the Thames 
 was in danger, even fifty years ago, of being 
 eclipsed, for an English engineer of the name 
 of Coppett professed his ability to make a 
 tunnel under the sea from Dover to Calais, by 
 introducinof from one end to the other cast 
 iron pipes, eighteen feet in diameter. In a 
 
 lecture
 
 THE DAWN OF THE RAILWAY ERA. 165 
 
 lecture at Havre, Mr. Coppett estimated the 
 cost of his plan at one milliard of francs, which 
 he thought should be paid by England and 
 France in equal portions. Unfortunately the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Spring 
 Rice, did not see his way to advance Treasury 
 funds for this purpose, so Mr. Coppett had 
 to content himself with lectures and explana- 
 tions of his plan. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 1 66 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SPORT. 
 
 Sale of the royal stud — Racing — St. Leger — The Derby — The 
 Oaks — Royal Ascot — Racing at Bayswater — Hunting — 
 Cricket — The coronation match — The prize ring — Various 
 wagers — Rowing — Riverside taverns — Archery — Cocking. 
 
 ' I "HE sale of the royal stud, which came to 
 the hammer on the 25th of October, 
 1837, In the Hampton Court paddocks, excited 
 extraordinary interest both at home and abroad, 
 and was the cause of a long and acrimonious 
 newspaper controversy. The stud was not 
 the property of the reigning Sovereign, but 
 had been the private possession of the late 
 King, William IV., who had derived it from 
 his predecessor, in whose reign it was estab- 
 lished. The large company present included 
 
 the
 
 SPORT. 167 
 
 the prominent turf men of the day, and a vast 
 number of foreign breeders and agents. 
 
 The catalogue contained eighty-one lots — 
 viz., forty-three brood mares, thirty-one foals, 
 five stallions, and two half-bred two-year olds. 
 Of the mares, the best-priced lots were Nanine, 
 sold for 970 guineas; Fleur-de-lis, 550 guineas ; 
 Wings, 600 guineas ; Gulnare (a former winner 
 of the Oaks when the property of the Duke 
 of Richmond), 670 guineas, etc. Most of them 
 were bought for France, Spain, and Germany. 
 The first of the stallions put up was a fine 
 horse, The Colonel, the sire of many winners, 
 who was bought from the Hon. E. Petre, after 
 winning the St. Leger, for 4000 guineas ; and 
 he now fetched 1550 guineas, the highest figure 
 in the sale. The Colonel broke down at 
 Ascot in 1 83 1, after running a dead-heat 
 with Mouche ; and in proof of George IV. 's 
 judgment, we are told when he first saw The 
 Colonel he pointed out the leg in which the 
 horse would fail. So here Thackeray might 
 have found the record of another achievement 
 
 on
 
 1 68 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 on the part of a man about whom the satirist 
 could only discover that he had once invented 
 a shoe-buckle ! Actseon, bought from Lord 
 Kelburne for looo, was knocked down at 920 
 guineas, and Black Arabian, who went to 
 Germany, brought 580 guineas. Brood mares 
 realized 9568 guineas ; colt foals, 1471 guineas ; 
 filly foals, 11 12 guineas; the stallions and two 
 half-bred colts, 3541 guineas; total, 15,692 
 guineas. 
 
 The principal horse-races of the year, 
 taking them chronologically, were the St. Leger, 
 won by Mr. Greville's Mango, ridden by Sam 
 Day, who met his death next year in the 
 hunting field. Then, in 1838, we have the 
 Blue Ribbon of the English turf run for on the 
 30th of May. Among other notabilities at this 
 Derby were the Duke of Montrose, the Earl 
 of Eglinton (of tournament fame), Lord George 
 Bentinck, whose horse was the favourite of the 
 day, Count D'Orsay, Count Bathyani, and 
 Mesdames Grisi and Taglioni. Among sports- 
 men
 
 SPORT. 169 
 
 men the Derby of 1838 is generally spoken of 
 as Amato's year. The property of Sir Gilbert 
 Heathcote, a popular sportsman, Amato started 
 at the long outside odds of forty to one, but, 
 ridden by Chappie, he so well justified his 
 owner's confidence as to gain for Sir Gilbert 
 his first and only Derby, and won so much 
 money for members of the Stock Exchange 
 that, in the words of a recent writer, " its doors 
 were closed on settling day, which saw Mr. 
 Crockford pay away not less than thirty 
 thousand pounds, all of which went straight 
 into Capel Court." Colonel Peel's Ion, with 
 odds of ten to one, came in second, and the 
 favourite, Lord George Bentinck's Grey Momus, 
 with a starting price of four to one, ridden by 
 John Day, was third. Sir Gilbert Heathcote 
 was then the owner of those beautiful grounds 
 at Epsom so well known as " The Durdans," 
 now belonging to Lord Rosebery, and here, 
 in a secluded spot, within a stone's-throw of 
 the famous Downs which saw his triumph, 
 Amato, the Derby winner of 1838, was 
 
 buried
 
 I 70 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 buried in a grave surrounded by neat iron 
 railinofs. 
 
 This Derby is especially to be remembered 
 as being the first occasion on which the rail- 
 way was used by Londoners for reaching the 
 race-course. Not that the rail was available 
 for the whole journey, but the Southampton 
 line had recently been completed from Nine 
 Elms to Kingston, and on the Derby morning 
 a ten times greater number of persons presented 
 themselves at Nine Elms, eager for the railway 
 trip to Kingston, than could possibly be con- 
 veyed by train. From Kingston the journey 
 to the race-course was made by road. The 
 scenes on the Downs seem to have borne a 
 strong family resemblance to those described 
 in the columns of the newspapers for the fifty 
 succeeding Derbys. On the following Friday 
 — the Ladies' Day — the Oaks was won by Lord 
 Chesterfield's Industry, ridden by Scott, one of 
 the best jockeys of the day, Lord Suftield's 
 Colisto coming in for the second prize. 
 
 This brings us to Royal Ascot. On the 
 
 opening
 
 SPORT. 171 
 
 Opening day, Tuesday, the 12th of June, the 
 Queen attended the races in state, the royal 
 corUge consisting of seven carriages. With 
 Her Majesty, whose carriage was drawn by 
 six grey horses, were the Duchess of Kent 
 and Prince George of Cambridge. The Queen 
 was dressed in pink silk, over which was a lace 
 dress, and wore a white drawn gauze bonnet, 
 trimmed with pink ribbons and roses, inside 
 and out. Her Majesty also attended in state 
 on the Thursday, when Grey Momus, with a 
 mere boy, William Day, on his back, retrieved 
 his reputation by winning the Ascot Cup for 
 Lord George Bentinck. 
 
 A favourite spot with the horse-racing 
 community was an enclosed piece of ground 
 at Bayswater, known as the Hippodrome, where 
 there were racing and coursing for plates given 
 by the proprietor. The charges for admission 
 were — carriages, five shillings ; horses, two 
 shillings and sixpence; pedestrians, one shilling. 
 Hackney coaches, carts, and waggons were 
 not admitted. This Hippodrome came very 
 
 prominently
 
 1/2 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 prominently before the public soon after the 
 Queen's accession, by being the cause of a 
 violent controversy between the two political 
 parties of the State, one side demanding its 
 suppression, whilst the other as hotly main- 
 tained its usefulness as a place of recreation. 
 There was also a further issue as to some 
 public path or right of way across the field, 
 which the proprietor resisted. Eleven reasons 
 were published by the advocates of abolition, 
 who were solicitous for the manners and morals, 
 and for the peace and privacy of the ladies' 
 schools, of the neighbourhood. Of course, the 
 other side joined issue on every point, and 
 the year passed without any disestablishment 
 of the Notting Hill race-course. 
 
 Turning from horse - racing to another 
 branch of sport specially connected with the 
 county of Leicestershire, April 7th, 1838, is a 
 red letter day in the annals of that famous 
 hunting shire. A farewell and largely at- 
 tended dinner was given at the Bell Hotel, 
 
 Leicester,
 
 SPORT. 173 
 
 Leicester, to Mr. Rowland Errington, upon 
 his resignation of the Mastership of the Quorn 
 Hunt. Sir Edmund Craddock Hartopp, High 
 Sheriff of the county, was in the chair, and 
 there were present the Duke of Beaufort, 
 Marquis of Hastings,* Master of the Don- 
 nington Hunt, Lords Chesterfiekl, ClanwilHam, 
 Castlereagh, Wilton, Rokeby, Forester, and 
 many others. 
 
 These were the palmy days of Kent and 
 Sussex cricket, and between the two counties 
 there was keen rivalry for championship 
 honours. In the Kent eleven were such cele- 
 brated cricketers as the redoubtable Fuller 
 Pilch, Hillier, and Wenman ; while Sussex 
 boasted in her team several famous " All- 
 England " men, including that unsurpassed 
 wicket-keeper. Box ; Haslett, as good a long- 
 stop as ever was seen in the field, and 
 
 * It was this nobleman's wife who at the Derby Hunt Ball 
 January, 1838, appeared in a magnificent dress of scarlet velvet, 
 trimmed with the brushes of foxes which had fallen before the 
 hounds of the gallant marquis. 
 
 the
 
 1 74 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 the Lillywhltes, pillars of strength to Sussex 
 cricket. In 1837 the chief cricket event of 
 the season was a jubilee match at Lord's to 
 commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the 
 Marylebone Cricket Club, between the North 
 (Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire), with Cobbett 
 and Box, against the South of England. The 
 match, which ended on the evening of the 
 second day's play, resulted in a victory for 
 the South by five wickets. The scores were 
 surprisingly small : North, first innings, 64 ; 
 South, first innings, 60, including 12 byes; 
 North, second innings, 65 ; thus leaving the 
 South 70 runs to win, which they obtained as 
 before mentioned. The attendance at Lord's 
 for the two days was computed at eight thou- 
 sand persons. 
 
 A match played at Lord's between Gentle- 
 men and Players under rather curious con- 
 ditions was a feature of the season. The 
 former had to defend wickets 27 inches by 8, 
 whilst the latter were handicapped by having 
 to keep intact wickets 36 inches by 12, but this 
 
 disadvantage
 
 SPORT. 175 
 
 disadvantage did not prevent the professionals 
 from winningr the match in one innino-s with 
 nine runs to spare. A more interesting cricket- 
 ing note of the year was a grand North and 
 South match played at Lord's in the latter 
 part of June, to commemorate the coronation 
 of the Queen, which attracted to St. John's 
 Wood a very large and gay gathering. The 
 North had the assistance of Lillywhite and 
 Wenman. Victory, however, rested with the 
 South, who won by nine wickets. 
 
 In 1837-38, the Ring was a flourishing 
 institution, popular with the people, by whom 
 it was looked upon as typical of Old England's 
 method of settling differences, and patronized 
 by a section of what the professors of the art 
 styled the diitc of society.* Announcements 
 
 * At a prize-fight fought out in October, 1837, the poHcc 
 interfered, but the referee drew attention to the number of 
 " swells " that were present, and argued so successfully with the 
 representatives of the law as to the good effects resulting from 
 the old English sport, and the patronage it had received in years 
 gone by from even royalty itself, that the fight was allowed to 
 proceed. 
 
 and
 
 176 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 and challenges couched in characteristic lingo 
 were of frequent appearance in the sporting 
 journals : — 
 
 " The Chelsea Doctor will fight the Bristol Baker 
 for ^25, in three weeks or a month. If the Baker 
 will not fight, he will fight Thomas Berry for the 
 same amount." 
 
 " Sambo Sutton is prepared to make the match 
 with Nick Ward or the Game Chicken in London, 
 and meet them on Tuesday evening next, from eight 
 till ten, at Jem Burn's, Queen's Head Court, Windmill 
 Street, Haymarket, for that purpose." 
 
 A fight for ^50 a side took place at Bicester 
 in Oxfordshire on the 23rd of January, 1838, 
 which created more than the usual amount of 
 interest, and drew together a very large and 
 miscellaneous throng of patrons of the "art," 
 including a number of "persons of distinction." 
 Some of the latter were accommodated with 
 sacks of hay, by way of couches, while others 
 obtained trusses of straw at a " remuneratine 
 price." The champions were John Lane, 
 otherwise known as " Hammer Lane" from the 
 hammer-like qualities of his fist, and Byng 
 
 Stocks,
 
 SPORT. 177 
 
 Stocks, a pugilist familiarly styled by his ad- 
 mirers the " Westminster Pet." The fight was 
 of a very determined character, and resulted in 
 the defeat of the " Pet,'' who, we are told, 
 fought with the greatest bravery till he was 
 completely blind, and the way in which he 
 stood up to receive, with no chance of giving, 
 "a finisher," called forth enthusiastic cheers 
 from his many admirers. 
 
 A peculiarity in connection with the sport 
 of the time was the extraordinary nature of the 
 conditions attached to certain wagers. A bet 
 of ;!^ioo a side was made in September, 1837, 
 that a man named Townshend should, with the 
 assistance of a boy, pick up three hundred 
 stones a yard apart, and place them in a basket 
 in quicker time than a pedestrian of the name 
 of Drinkwater would perform the same feat, 
 with half an hour's start. The match was won 
 by Drinkwater at Lord's, and attracted many 
 spectators. 
 
 On another occasion at Lord's, Townshend, 
 N who
 
 178 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 who was the winner this time, was backed for 
 a very large amount to pick up from the 
 ground with his mouth three hundred stones 
 placed a yard apart, whilst his opponent, a 
 pedestrian named Mountjoy, was to pick up 
 three hundred with his hands, each stone to 
 be separately conveyed to a basket. 
 
 Another extraordinary wager depended on 
 a feat performed by an individual who under- 
 took to travel from the Adelphi Theatre to the 
 " Golden Cross Hotel " at Charing Cross on a 
 large-sized ale-barrel. He had a good deal 
 of difficulty in getting over the crossings of the 
 several streets, but managed to keep his equili- 
 brium till he arrived at his goal, and so won 
 his wager. 
 
 Another bet of novel character was that 
 made by a Yorkshire tailor, who undertook to 
 run from Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, to Stangate, 
 sooner than a waterman could row the distance. 
 The runner pursued his course through Pim- 
 lico, St. James's Park, and over Westminster 
 Bridge, and arrived at his journey's end one 
 
 minute
 
 SPORT. 1 79 
 
 minute and twenty-seven seconds sooner than 
 his competitor. 
 
 One instance of what was then looked upon 
 as an extraordinary feat shows how completely 
 all such athletic exercises have been surpassed 
 in our own time. This was an undertaking by 
 a pedestrian of Parson's Green, Fulham, to 
 walk sixty miles in twelve successive hours 
 on the King's Road, Chelsea, from the " Man 
 in the Moon " tavern to Stanley Bridge, a 
 distance of half a mile. The feat was easily 
 accomplished in eleven hours and twenty-five 
 minutes, and was spoken of as an "unrivalled 
 performance." 
 
 On the river the only important match that 
 need be noticed was a grand eight-oared cutter 
 race on the 14th of June, between Cambridge 
 University and the Leander Club, then the 
 first rowing club on the Thames. The course 
 was from Westminster to Putney, and the race 
 resulted in the Leanders coming in first by 
 about a length, but an appeal by Cambridge 
 
 on
 
 l8o THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 on the ground of continued fouling was met by 
 the umpire's declaring the match to be drawn. 
 
 The picturesque wooden bridge at Putney, 
 shown in the illustration, has only recently given 
 place to a more imposing structure of stone, 
 but the buildings on the banks of the river on 
 either side, including "Gothic House" on the 
 left, are now very much as they were fifty 
 years ago. 
 
 Two taverns greatly resorted to in summer- 
 time by river-side sportsmen and water-parties, 
 were the " Old Swan Tavern," near Chelsea 
 Church and old Battersea Bridge, and the 
 ** Red House," Battersea, which had well-laid- 
 out gardens, abounding with very tastefully 
 decorated arbours. 
 
 Near the "Red House" was Falconer's 
 archery ground. Archery was much in fashion, 
 and Calvert, a famous bowyer, made about four 
 hundred bows a year, which he sold at prices 
 ranging from five to as many as thirty guineas 
 each. 
 
 The
 
 SPORT. l8l 
 
 The record of sport may be concluded with 
 a reference to cocking, a pastime long since 
 prohibited by the Legislature, but a great 
 favourite with our grandfathers, and one there 
 have lately been attempts to revive. An 
 exhibition of cocking was annually held on 
 Easter Monday at Hanworth, between 
 Twickenham and Teddington, and in 1838 
 the scene of the sport was near a public-house 
 called the " Swan," where a cock-pit had been 
 prepared. The charge for admission was one 
 shilling per head, and the place was crowded. 
 In the North cocking was pursued with the 
 greatest ardour, especially so in Lancashire 
 and Cheshire, between which counties a great 
 rivalry existed. The most intense interest was 
 manifested over a main of cocks which was 
 fought at Liverpool in July, 1837, for ^^200 a 
 side, and ^10 a battle, between the gentlemen 
 of Lancashire and the gentlemen of Cheshire, 
 and even this was surpassed the year following 
 by a meeting where the stakes were ;^400 a 
 side the main, and ^20 each battle. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 l82 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 Mendelssohn in England — Thalberg in England — Strauss — 
 Balfe — Composers and performers — The opera — Dancers — 
 Drury Lane — Charles Kean — Covent Garden — Macready 
 The Haymarket — The little Adelphi — The Lyceum — The 
 Olympic — The St. James's — The Strand — The Queen's 
 Theatre — The Surrey and the Victoria — Astley's — Sadler's 
 Wells— The City of London Theatre— The East End- 
 Penny gaffs — Sights and shows — Vauxhall — The Surrey 
 Zoological — Count Borolowski — Actress and countess. 
 
 A S a musical year the year of the accession 
 would be noteworthy, if only for the 
 visit paid to this country in the autumn of 
 1837 by Mendelssohn, about whose exquisite 
 renderinof of Bach's fu^ue in A minor on the 
 organ of St. Paul's Cathedral, one Sunday 
 evening, a whimsical incident is recorded. 
 Enchanted by the music, the audience re- 
 mained seated so long that the verger and 
 * bellows- blower,
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 1 83 
 
 bellows-blower, whose patience was exhausted, 
 mutually agreed to steal away, and while 
 Mendelssohn was in the middle of a fine 
 passage the wind suddenly went out, and the 
 performance came to an unceremonious end. 
 Mendelssohn was present also at the Birming- 
 ham festival of 1837, when he conducted the 
 performance of his new oratorio, " St. Paul." 
 
 Another eminent musician and great pianist, 
 who had temporarily made his home in London, 
 was Thalberg, then in his twenty-sixth year. 
 His extraordinary playing and facility of execu- 
 tion excited unbounded enthusiasm, and over- 
 flowing audiences crowded the concert-rooms 
 whenever he appeared. It was said of 
 Thalberg that such was the elasticity and 
 power of his touch, and the rapidity and cer- 
 tainty with which he passed from one distant 
 interval to another, that his performance had 
 the effect of four hands. Thalberg was fre- 
 quently invited to perform before the Queen, 
 who once gave him five several subjects where- 
 on to work. The following day, upon being 
 
 conorratulated
 
 184 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 congratulated on his triumph, he said, " Bel 
 trionfo ! — 2, fine triumph, indeed, to be nearly 
 killed!" He also taught music, his terms 
 being two guineas a lesson — a charge then 
 deemed, even for such a master as Thalberg, 
 " excessive, if not monstrous." 
 
 In the spring of 1838, when that famed com- 
 poser of waltzes, Johann Strauss, appeared in 
 the metropolis with his Vienna orchestra, his 
 dance music at once became the raoe. Althouofh 
 Strauss's concerts at Hanover Square and 
 Willis's Rooms were not very successful, a mar- 
 vellous crop of his waltzes and galops sud- 
 denly appeared in the windows of the London 
 music-sellers. Perchance it was the half- 
 guineas he had fondly hoped to draw from 
 the pockets of the English "milords" and 
 "miladis" (in Paris the entree had been one 
 franc) which prevented many people appre- 
 ciating the beauties of " Le Bouquet " and 
 " The Nightingale." 
 
 Amongst English musicians Balfe was 
 busy with melody and harmony, though none 
 
 of
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 185 
 
 of the Operas he then produced has since at- 
 tained the popularity of his " Bohemian Girl." 
 Although his compositions had not yet been 
 received with much favour, Benedict, per- 
 manently settled in England, had already 
 made his annual concert one of the season's 
 musical attractions. Bishop deservedly ranked 
 hiofh amongst Enelish musicians, Barnett had 
 achieved a reputation by the refinement of 
 his compositions, and his operas had met with 
 a fair measure of success. Lord Burghersh, 
 founder of the Royal Academy of Music, met 
 with an unqualified success in his opera " II 
 Torneo," produced at the Hanover Square 
 Rooms in the summer of 1838. Braham, the 
 great English tenor, although a veteran, was 
 singing his songs with all his old accustomed 
 fire and melody, and Hullah and Macfarren 
 were steadily working their way to fame. The 
 year 1837 saw, on the nth of October, the 
 death, in his seventy-second year, of Samuel 
 Wesley, who was unquestionably the most 
 astonishing extemporaneous player in Europe. 
 
 In
 
 1 86 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 In the seasons succeeding the accession of 
 Queen Victoria, the ItaHan Opera was in all 
 its glory. Hither, to listen to the melodies of 
 Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini, were attracted 
 brilliant assemblages ; the youthful Sovereign 
 herself being one of the most constant visitors.. 
 It may indeed be described as an era of Opera 
 stars of the first masfnitude. Giulia Grisi's 
 rich soprano of extraordinary compass and 
 flexibility carried all before it. The fine and 
 deep tones of Pasta's voice had not yet lost 
 their brilliancy, and her acting was as unrivalled 
 as ever. Between these two great singers a 
 strong attachment existed, and there is but 
 little doubt that Grisi owed something of her 
 success as an operatic singer to the judicious 
 advice and tuition afforded her by Pasta. 
 Worthy to be named with these two gifted 
 singers and sharing their popularity, was an 
 Englishwoman, Madame Albertazzi, whose 
 maiden name was Emma Howden ; her voice, 
 which she managed with skill and taste, was 
 a rich contralto. " L'Anglaise," as she was 
 
 called,
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 1 87 
 
 called, was always a favourite in Paris. Rubini 
 was the prince of tenors ; Tamburini, the prin- 
 cipal baritone ; while the immense size of 
 Lablache, the unrivalled basso, astonished, as 
 much as his immense voice delighted courts 
 and cities. This mighty man was a favourite 
 with the young Queen, who for some time after 
 her accession continued to receive instruction 
 from him. 
 
 The Ballet, then considered a most impor- 
 tant feature in an opera, had many famous 
 representatives. Taglioni had advanced far be- 
 yond what even the most successful of her 
 predecessors had hitherto accomplished, and 
 with her were associated the elegant Duvernay, 
 the charming Fanny Ellsler, and the exact 
 Montessu. // maestro Costa presided over the 
 orchestra, and M. Laporte was the enterprising 
 director of the King's Theatre, renamed on 
 the 20th of July, 1837, by the Queen's com- 
 mand " Her Majesty's Theatre." Such a com- 
 pany had never before been brought together. 
 
 M. Laporte came to London as one of a 
 
 French
 
 165 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 French company of comedians, but, quickly 
 mastering the EngHsh language, he appeared 
 at Drury Lane Theatre in an English farce, 
 and with so much success that the manager had 
 " The Lottery Ticket " written expressly for 
 him, in which Laporte performed the part of 
 Wo7^mwood, the hump-backed lawyer's clerk. 
 After a most successful career as an actor, 
 Laporte left the stage to become lessee, first of 
 Covent Garden, and afterwards of the King's. 
 
 During the season of 1837 the favourite 
 operas were Bellini's " I Puritani ; " Rossini's 
 " La Gazza Ladra," " Semiramide," and " Pietro 
 I'Eremita," an opera abounding in exquisite 
 melodies, now never given, but then considered 
 the most beautiful Rossini had written ; Doni- 
 zetti's " Anna Bolena ; " Zingarelli's " Romeo e 
 Giulietta ; " and a new opera by Costa, entitled 
 " Malek Adel." In 1838 the operas most in 
 favour were " La Sonnambula," in which 
 Madame Persiani made her first appearance 
 in England, " I Puritani," " Norma," " Don 
 Giovanni," and Rossini's "Otello," with a cast 
 
 which
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 1 89 
 
 which included Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini, and 
 Lablache. Donizetti's " Lucia di Lammermoor," 
 produced for the first time in England on the 
 5th of April, 1838, with Persiani, Rubini, and 
 Tamburini in the chief characters, at once be- 
 came the favourite opera of the season. 
 
 The custom of bestowing flowers on popular 
 favourites, now so prevalent, was then discoun- 
 tenanced as un-English. A leading journal of 
 fashion observed, in the queerly pretentious 
 tone which used to drive Thackeray frantic, 
 "It is vexatious to find a parcel of foreigners 
 brineing" their nonsensical fashion into the 
 King's Theatre ; it should be remembered they 
 are not the customs of this country, and that 
 the Italian opera is frequented by the dlite of 
 English society, to whom these fanciful exhibi- 
 tions are highly displeasing." 
 
 Drury Lane was under the management 
 of Mr. Bunn, who in the early part of the 
 summer of 1837 entered into competition with 
 M. Laporte. Bunn engaged Pasta, Schroeder- 
 Devrient — who appeared for the first time on 
 
 the
 
 I go THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 the English stage in the character of Fidelio — 
 and Taglioni, whose dancing was never more 
 dehghtful than in the ballet " La Sylphide." 
 The operas given were " Fidelio," " Norma," 
 " Fra Diavolo," and " La Sonnambula ; " but 
 the contest was soon relinquished, and Drury 
 Lane remained closed until the 7th of October, 
 when it re-opened for the winter season with 
 a musical version of " The Merry Wives of 
 Windsor." In rapid succession Bunn produced, 
 in October alone, " Macbeth," " She Stoops to 
 Conquer," "As You Like It," "The Belle's 
 Stratagem," " King John," " The Road to 
 Ruin," " The Merchant of Venice," and " King 
 Henry the Fourth " — a fair enough programme 
 for one month. 
 
 On Wednesday, the 15th of November, the 
 Queen paid her first State visit to Drury Lane 
 Theatre. Her Majesty was received by the 
 lessee, who was dressed in the uniform of the 
 Hon. Corps of Gentlemen Pensioners. On 
 either side of the royal box, which was speci- 
 ally fitted up and decorated for the occasion, 
 
 a
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 191 
 
 a Beefeater was stationed in full costume, and 
 was regularly relieved at the end of each act. 
 The performances commanded were Balfe's 
 opera of the " Siege of Rochelle," and Poole's 
 farce of " Simpson and Co." The latter piece 
 would seem to have been a favourite with 
 kings and queens, for this was the third time 
 it had been honoured by a royal command ; 
 and on the few occasions of the visits of 
 George IV. and William IV. to Drury Lane 
 Theatre, the afterpieces generally selected — 
 "Simpson and Co.," "Who's Who?" and 
 "Turning the Tables" — were by the same 
 author. 
 
 During the month a new opera by Balfe, 
 "Joan of Arc," was produced, with Balfe as 
 Theodore, and Miss Romer in the character 
 of the heroine ; but it was condemned, as being 
 extremely dull in many parts and too noisy 
 in others. " Too much drumming and trumpet- 
 ing, too much beating of gongs and rattling 
 of cymbals," was the verdict. On Boxing 
 night, there was a new Christmas pantomime, 
 
 " Harlequin
 
 192 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 " Harlequin Jack-a-Lantern, or The Witch of 
 the Dropping Well." It ran for a very short 
 time, and on the 8th of January Charles Kean 
 appeared as Hamlet after a four years' absence 
 from the London stage. Kean was at once 
 accepted as the favourite actor, and became 
 the lion of the season. He received what was 
 then the immense salary of ^50 a week, but 
 his engagement is said to have been the most 
 profitable (except that of his father, Edmund 
 Kean) ever made by a lessee. Besides Hamlet, 
 he played during this season Richard HI,, 
 Shylock (the character which had introduced 
 Edmund Kean to a London audience) for the 
 first time in London on the 5th April, Othello, 
 with Ternan as lago, and Sir Giles Overreach 
 in Massinger's " A New Way to Pay Old 
 Debts." Popular favourite as Charles Kean 
 undoubtedly proved, there was great diver- 
 gence of opinion among the critics as to his 
 power. It was asserted by some that fashion 
 rather than merit had much to do with his 
 popularity, and that the audience were pre- 
 disposed
 
 MUSIC, DRAAfA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 1 93 
 
 disposed in his favour by their recollection 
 of the greatness of his father. One critic 
 went so far as to write that — 
 
 " Mr. Kean is a very well-conducted young man, 
 no doubt, but his talent, though well enough for the 
 provinces, is not of such calibre as to render him a 
 permanent attraction on the London boards, except 
 at the minors. Had his name been other than it is, 
 he would have played to empty houses in Drury 
 Lane Theatre. Requiescat in pace." 
 
 On the 30th of March, 1838, a dinner was 
 given in the saloon of Drury Lane Theatre 
 to Kean, " in testimony of the high respect 
 in which he was held, admiration of his talents;,, 
 and for the services his exertions had rendered 
 to the legitimate drama of the country." The 
 Marquis of Clanricarde, who presided, was 
 supported by Lords Alfred Paget, Loftus, and 
 Suffield, and about one hundred and thirty 
 other noblemen and gentlemen. The first 
 toast given was " The Queen, the patroness 
 of all the fine arts, and more particularly the 
 drama." After dinner the guest of the evening 
 
 o was
 
 194 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 was presented with a beautiful vase of polished 
 silver, about two and a half feet in height ; on 
 the base was engraved the legend descriptive 
 of the occasion of its presentation, together 
 with various allegorical devices, and the whole 
 was surmounted with a figure of Shakespeare 
 in frosted silver. 
 
 A new opera by Julius Benedict was pro- 
 duced in the month of April at this theatre, 
 under the title of " The Gypsy's Warning," 
 but it met with a very moderate degree of 
 success. 
 
 Mr. Bunn was severely taken to task in 
 the public press for the careless and slovenly 
 manner in which he allowed legitimate drama 
 to be performed. It was stated with regard 
 to the production of " Hamlet," that, with the 
 exception of the leading part, one might have 
 seen the tragedy better done in a barn. 
 
 Covent Garden Theatre was in a very bad 
 way in the summer of 1837. " It is fortunate 
 for the drama," wrote a merry contemporary, 
 " that this metropolis is not a favourite haunt 
 
 of
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 195 
 
 of bats, otherwise they must long since have 
 become the exclusive tenantry of Covent 
 Garden, for if filth and dreariness act upon 
 this unsocial and retiring animal as induce- 
 ments in the selection of an abode, that place 
 presented irresistible attractions to them." All 
 this was changed, however, when Macready 
 shortly afterwards took upon himself the 
 management. Loving his art, he endeavoured 
 to revive the taste for lesi^itimate drama. There 
 was plenty of room for improvement. Indeed, 
 this form of entertainment had fallen to its 
 lowest ebb at both the national theatres. 
 
 In an address to the public announcing his 
 lesseeship, the great actor said — 
 
 " The decline of the drama as a branch of English 
 literature was a matter of public notoriety. The 
 distressed state and direct losses of those whose 
 profession was the stage, if less generally known, 
 were more severely felt. Under these circumstances 
 he had become the lessee of Covent Garden Theatre, 
 with the resolution to devote his utmost zeal, labour, 
 and industry to improving the condition of that great 
 national theatre, and with the hope of interesting the 
 public in his favour by his humble but strenuous 
 
 endeavours
 
 196 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 endeavours to advance the drama as a branch of 
 national Hterature and art. It would be his study 
 to accomplish this object by the fidelity, appropriate- 
 ness, and superior execution of the several means 
 of scenic illusion. He had received promises of the 
 most friendly and zealous co-operation from able and 
 distinguished authors, and he had spared no expense 
 or pains in forming an efficient company. As English 
 opera had become an essential part of the amuse- 
 ments of a metropolitan audience, he had been 
 anxious to procure the aid of native musical talent, 
 and trusted he had succeeded in his engagements 
 with composers, singers, and instrumental performers." 
 
 The prices of admission as arranged by 
 Macready were : Boxes, five shillings, second 
 price half a crown ; pit, half a crown, second 
 price one shilling and sixpence ; lower gallery, 
 one shilling and sixpence, second price one 
 shilling ; upper gallery, one shilling, second 
 price sixpence. Second price admitted at the 
 end of the third act of plays and the second 
 act of operas.* Season tickets were also 
 issued. 
 
 * At most of the theatres "half-price" was charged after 
 nine o'clock. 
 
 On
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 197 
 
 On the opening of Covent Garden Theatre 
 (September 30, 1837) the following address 
 from the pen of Mr. Serjeant Talfourd was 
 spoken by Macready ; after which Shakespeare's 
 " Winter's Tale " was performed, Macready 
 taking the part of Leontes, Miss Helen Faiicit 
 oi Hermione, and Miss Huddart oi Paulina. 
 
 " If, in the vacant scene, one busy fear 
 Hath whisper'd peril to my bold career, 
 And bade my thoughts awhile the colours wear 
 Of theirs who link our Drama to despair ; 
 If I have trembled lest indulgence past 
 Deceptive hues on present aims should cast, 
 And, doubting, check'd my mind's ambitious scope, 
 Lest Gratitude should steal the rays of Hope, — 
 Here, once before you, all misgiving ends, 
 Lost in the light your genial circle lends ; 
 While crowded life thus meets the actor's eye, 
 He feels the life-like art can never die ; 
 While Hope, Joy, Pity, thrill your greater sphere, 
 Their fairest aspects must be mirror'd here. 
 
 What though in death the once-lov'd forms are hears'd 
 Of those who woke your joy and wonder first ; 
 Though great remembrances, the actor's fame. 
 Shrink to the lingering glory of a name ; 
 Though far in memory's depth, some face of woe, 
 Wan, as its tears through wintry Time would flow, 
 Gleam on the student who shall vainly crave 
 To rescue more of Siddons from the grave ; 
 
 Thoueh
 
 198 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Though grace of waving robe and laurel'd brow 
 Be all that youth retains of Kemble now ; 
 Though, from the mist of childish years, a mien 
 Flash but an instant with the fire of Kean, — 
 Let not stern justice humbler aims condemn, 
 Nor scorn the art in us you lov'd in them ! 
 
 No ! while with duteous care, we seek the store 
 
 Our eldest poets left of deathless lore. 
 
 And bid the forms of noblest passion thence 
 
 In garb antique glide palpable to sense ; 
 
 While feebler bards, confessing Nature's rule, 
 
 Aspire and worship in her glorious school, 
 
 Trace the dark pageantries of ages flown, 
 Or catch the living glories of their own. 
 
 And seek our art's assistance to imbue 
 
 With life the scenes their painful study drew, 
 
 Within these hallow'd walls, whose memory brings 
 
 A thousand hours to gleam on golden wings, — 
 
 Conscious of actors' and of poets' fate, 
 
 Still shall the British drama hold her state, 
 
 By kindness nurtur'd, which her greatest son 
 
 For all his nature's hopes and frailties won, 
 
 Which to each trembling aim assurance gives 
 
 From stores, which cannot fail, — while Shakspeare lives ! " 
 
 During the year under notice, Macready 
 produced several of Shakespeare's plays, and 
 was fortunate in enjoying the co-operation 
 of the talented Helen Faucit. " The Winter's 
 Tale " was followed by " Hamlet," with Mac- 
 ready in the tide role, then in succession 
 
 by
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 199 
 
 by " Othello," " Macbeth," in which Phelps 
 appeared as Macduff, " Henry the Fifth," and 
 " King Lear." Macready received great praise 
 for the correct and beautiful style in which 
 he mounted this tragedy, and for the excellence 
 of his own Lear. Miss Helen Faucit was 
 \\\^ Cordelia. "Julius Csesar," with Macready 
 as Bruhis and Phelps as Cassias, had a run 
 of a few days during the month of February, 
 1838, and was followed by the brilliant pro- 
 duction of " Coriolanus." The scene of the 
 Roman camp with the view of Antium by 
 moonlight, is said to have been magnificently 
 put on. This was the greatest success of 
 Macready's management. 
 
 "As You Like It" and "Romeo and 
 Juliet" (Macready as Friar Laivrence, Helen 
 Faucit as Jtilict, and Anderson as Romeo) 
 complete the tale of Shakespearian plays pro- 
 duced in a single year at Covent Garden. 
 But the list by no means exhausts the formi- 
 dable programme of pieces for a short nine 
 months. To mention only the more important, 
 
 we
 
 200 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 we have " A Roland for an Oliver ; " " The 
 Hunchback ; " " Virginius ; " Lord Byron's 
 tragedy of " Werner," given on the 1 7th of 
 November, 1837, by command of the Queen, 
 who, on this occasion, paid her first State 
 visit to Covent Garden ; " Fra Diavolo," and 
 several other operas by English and foreign 
 composers. Perhaps the most successful of 
 the native works was Rooke's " Amelie ; or, 
 The Love Test," pronounced one of the 
 purest and most charming of its kind. In 
 December was produced a gorgeous spectacle 
 entitled " Joan of Arc," in which a most 
 terrific stage-fight took place — the Maid 
 being played with great vigour by Miss 
 Huddart. 
 
 The Christmas pantomime, " Peeping Tom 
 of Coventry," proved a great attraction ; chiefly 
 by reason of the diorama, a series of beautiful 
 views by Stanfield. The success attending 
 this diorama induced Macready to present 
 the painter with a silver salver of the value 
 of ^150, whereon was engraved an inscription 
 
 stating
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 20I 
 
 stating that it was given as a testimony of 
 friendship, and a token of obHgation for the 
 aid the cfreat artist had afforded to the theatre. 
 It appears that no price was agreed upon 
 between Macready and Stanfield for the 
 diorama, which occupied five weeks of most 
 valuable time ; and when Macready sent 
 Stanfield a draft for ^300, as a most 
 inadequate compensation, the artist returned 
 it with a note stating that he would accept 
 only half the mioney. The remainder was 
 therefore expended on the salver. 
 
 Byron's " The Two Foscari ; " a " new five- 
 act play " by Edward Lytton Bulwer, called 
 the " Lady of Lyons ; or, Love and Pride," 
 produced in the spring of 1838 with the 
 most triumphant success ; a new comic opera, 
 " Diadeste," by Balfe ; Sheridan Knowles's 
 " Woman's Wit," and a host of minor pro- 
 ductions, conclude the epitome of Macready's 
 work at Covent Garden from September 30th, 
 1837, to June, 1838. Surely never did a 
 manac:er work harder. 
 
 Two
 
 202 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Two curious features about the theatres of 
 that day were the constant changes of pro- 
 gramme, and the extraordinary length of the 
 evening's entertainment. It was not at all 
 unusual for the play-bill to be nightly altered 
 much in the same way as is done at the Opera 
 nowadays, and a manager would have been 
 thought stingy unless he produced, say, a grand 
 opera after a five-act play, or a pantomime 
 or some melodramatic spectacle after one of 
 Shakespeare's tragedies. 
 
 The Haymarket, under Webster's enter- 
 prising management, was one of the pleasantest 
 houses in London, and the performances, which 
 as a rule commenced at seven, attracted good 
 audiences. The prices were : Boxes, five shil- 
 lings ; pit, three shillings ; gallery, two shillings; 
 upper gallery, one shilling ; after nine o'clock, 
 the usual half-price was charged. The com- 
 pany was especially strong in comedy, and had 
 included amongst its members, during the year, 
 such well-known names as those of Mrs. Nis- 
 bett, Mrs. Glover, Miss Vincent, Miss Huddart, 
 
 Madame
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 203 
 
 Madame Celeste, and Madame Vestris ; William 
 Farren, Webster, Buckstone, that popular 
 comedian Tyrone Power, Charles Mathews, 
 Macready, and Samuel Phelps, who here made 
 his first bow to a London audience on the 28th 
 of August, 1837, as Shylock in the " Merchant 
 of Venice." " The new tragic actor, Mr. 
 Phelps," wrote a too-prophetic critic, "who 
 appeared in Shylock, and afterwards as Hamlet 
 and Othello, is a good second-rate actor, and 
 will be useful on the London stage, but he is 
 not competent to take the lead in tragedy." 
 Phelps also appeared as Sir Edward Mortimer 
 in Colman's play of "The Iron Chest." His 
 success in the character was complete. 
 
 Space forbids us to mention even a tithe of 
 the comedies, farces, tragedies, dramas, melo- 
 dramas, burlettas, musical and unmusical, and 
 innumerable one-act trifles produced at this 
 theatre. " The School for Scandal " and " The 
 Rivals " were, as a matter of course, served up 
 and duly appreciated. A three-act comedy by 
 Buckstone, called " Love and Murder," proved 
 
 too
 
 204 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 too effusive even for an 1837 audience. "Naval 
 Engagements," with Vestris and Charles 
 Mathews, "for twelve nights only," was, for the 
 manager, a very happy engagement ; but the 
 most successful piece of the year was undoubt- 
 edly Sheridan Knowles's " Love Chase," which, 
 first produced on the 9th of October, had an ex- 
 traordinary run of eighty-four nights, and was 
 again presented on the re-opening in April for the 
 season of 1838. Great praise was awarded Mrs. 
 Glover as the Widow Green, and Mrs. Nisbett 
 as Constance, for their "superlatively fine acting" 
 in this comedy. Webster also produced with 
 success Sheridan Knowles's " Hunchback," and 
 the tragedy of " The Bridal " (Macready as 
 Melantms), adapted by the same dramatist from 
 Beaumont and Fletcher's " Maid's Tragedy." 
 
 Perhaps the most popular theatre was the 
 " Little Adelphi," then under the skilful man- 
 agement of Frederick Henry Yates, one of the 
 best all-round actors on the stage of that day. 
 Melodrama was the great speciality of this 
 house, but, as will be gathered, the energetic 
 
 lessee
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 205 
 
 lessee was always on the look-out for novelties. 
 An extraordinary performance was that of a 
 Mr. Harvey Leach, a dwarf who styled himself 
 Signor Hervio Nano. He played in a piece 
 called " The Gnome Fly," in which, made up 
 partly as a baboon and partly as a fly, he ran 
 up places perfectly perpendicular, caught hold 
 of the projections of the ornaments of the ceil- 
 ing, and descended alono- the vertical boardino- 
 of the proscenium. A troupe of real Bedouin 
 Arabs made their appearance here in the early 
 part of 183S, but they failed to excite the ex- 
 pected interest, and were presented for a 
 "limited number of nights only." A melo- 
 dramatic version of Lover's story of " Rory 
 O'More," in which Power played the hero with 
 all his wonted liveliness, had a run of over one 
 hundred nights. Yates lost his principal low 
 comedian, and the most popular member of the 
 Adelphi company, by the death of John Reeve 
 on the 24th of January, 1838.* His chief feats 
 
 * Yates and Reeve had been schoolfellows together at 
 Winchmore Hill, and had there formed a life-long friendship. 
 
 were
 
 206 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 were at the Adelphi, and he was perhaps the 
 best representative oS. Jerry in "Life in London." 
 
 Besides those already mentioned, there were 
 other London theatres which opened their doors 
 at some period or other during the first year of 
 Queen Victoria's reign. 
 
 The Lyceum was known also as " Theatre 
 Royal English Opera House." There, in the 
 winter of 1837-38, a season of opera bouffe 
 was oriven under Mr. Mitchell's management. 
 
 o o 
 
 Young Lablache was the primo buffo. In 
 reality it might more appropriately have been 
 termed a winter season of Italian opera. There 
 was no livelier theatre in London than the 
 Olympic, then under the sway of the fascinating 
 Vestris, who played all parts with an archness, 
 and sang her saucy songs with a piquancy, de- 
 clared by our fathers to have been irresistible. 
 Many and many were the burlettas produced at 
 this theatre, with Vestris, her husband (Charles 
 Mathews), old William Farren,* and Keeley 
 
 * In May, 1837, Madame Vestris engaged William Farren 
 to supply the place of that excellent comedian, Listen, so long 
 associated with the Olympic. Listen, who was then in his 
 
 and
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 20 J 
 
 and his gifted wife. Perhaps the best were 
 " Puss in Boots," " The Black Domino," and 
 a spirited Httle thing called " The Drama's 
 Levee," in which Vestris, who was about to 
 take her departure for America, nightly took 
 leave of the English public. 
 
 The aristocratic St. James's was under the 
 management of the veteran tenor, Braham, 
 with whom was associated the charming Mrs. 
 Stirling, transplanted here from the Strand 
 Theatre, " Punch's Play-house." Her versatile 
 talents never shone more brilliantly than 
 when she was playing on the boards of 
 the fashionable little theatre In King Street. 
 Mention of the little fairy home of travesty 
 in the Strand and Mrs. Stirling recalls the 
 burlesques of " Bachelor's Buttons," in which 
 she enacted a romp to the life — a sporting 
 jockey, as If she had spent all her days at 
 Epsom and Newmarket — and "Venus in 
 Arms," in which she was irresistibly comic 
 
 sixtieth year, left the stage and went to reside in comparative 
 retirement at his pretty villa near Penn, in Bucks. 
 
 as
 
 2o8 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 as the " Petticoat Colonel of Hussars." * A 
 dramatized version of " Pickwick," called " Sam 
 Weller," was produced at this house and met 
 with some success. 
 
 The Queen's Theatre, off Tottenham Court 
 Road, made one or two spasmodic attempts to 
 open its doors, but in February, 1838, was 
 brought to the hammer and sold for ^2650. 
 
 On the south side of the water the Surrey 
 and the Victoria were in a flourishing condition, 
 the latter house being occasionally used for mas- 
 querades. The Surrey was under the spirited 
 management of Mr. Davidge, and hither in 
 1837 the Adelphi company migrated for a 
 short summer season. " Abelard and Heloise," 
 by Buckstone, was excellently played by Mrs. 
 Yates [Heloise) and Mr. Yates (Ftilbert), and 
 with unique fun by John Reeve and Buckstone. 
 
 * Her singing of the ditty " I'm the man for the ladies " 
 in this piece elicited the following impromptu: — 
 
 " You act and sing with such an air, 
 Through bearded lip, and whiskers curling, 
 Author and manager declare 
 To them your notes must all prove — Sterling.^'' 
 
 Also
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 209 
 
 Also situated on this side of the river was 
 Astley's Royal Amphitheatre. " Ever-popular 
 Astley's ! " wrote an enthusiast, " may it last for 
 ever ! for it is one of the pleasantest of play- 
 houses. The horses are livinof wonders, and 
 
 Ducrow What shall I say of Ducrow ? 
 
 None but himself can be his parallel ! " 
 
 In the north of London, ancient Sadler's 
 Wells strove to resume the position it formerly 
 held under DIbdin's management, and there 
 one was sure of finding robust historical or 
 romantic drama. 
 
 The Royal City of London Theatre, in 
 Norton Folgate, was a pretty little house pre- 
 sided over by Mrs. Honey, the fair rival of 
 Vestris, and one of the most charming actresses 
 of the day. " The Spirit of the Rhine," in 
 which Mrs. Honey sang her seductive Ger- 
 man song, " My beautiful Rhine," drew 
 crowds of western visitors. She produced 
 several good pieces, such as " Seventeen and 
 Seventy," " The Page of Palermo," and Douglas 
 Jerrold's drama of " The Housekeeper," all of 
 
 p which.
 
 2IO THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 which, aided by the musical and dramatic 
 talents of the pretty lessee, were most attrac- 
 tive. Also in the east end of the town were 
 the Grecian Saloon, better known as the " Eagle 
 Tavern," where melodrama, interspersed with 
 recitation, dancing, singing, and the tight-rope, 
 comprised the evening's entertainment ; the 
 Garrick, in Leman Street, Whitechapel, a 
 rather small theatre very creditably managed 
 by Conquest ; the Standard in Bishopsgate ; and 
 more eastward still, the Royal Pavilion Theatre. 
 A visitor to the latter house on Easter Mon- 
 day, 1838, gives the following account, in the 
 somewhat strained humour of the time and 
 with attempts at the phonetic rendering of a 
 London dialect which has apparently passed 
 completely away, of his wanderings in the 
 regions of the far east : — 
 
 " In slowly winning my way to the remote quarter 
 of the metropolis in which this theatre is situated, I 
 was continually encountered by groups of citizens in 
 their holiday attire, making ' right merrye ' according 
 to their wont, from time immemorial, upon that day 
 of days for spring recreation. Whitechapel, Mile End 
 
 and
 
 MUSIC, DRAHIA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 211 
 
 and the various gin-palaces adjoining, were crowded 
 with the votaries of ' anti-teetotalism,' and the pre- 
 dominance of ' jolly tars ' in the numerous assemblage 
 gave ample token of the proximity of old Father 
 Thames, his docks, and his shipping. I was much 
 struck by the resemblance which the coup d'oeil at 
 Mile End turnpike bore to the barriers and avenues 
 by which Paris is surrounded. The only thing want- 
 ing to complete the picture was the look of perfect 
 gaiety and propriete of attire which distinguishes even 
 the lowest order of Parisian society, when endimanches 
 and predetermined to have their full share of enjoy- 
 ment. Of objects to attract the eyes of the holiday 
 people there was no lack. Lollipops and gilt ginger- 
 bread, children's toys and frippery, spring-heeled Jacks, 
 and ' the only rail lowcifers,' periwinkles, mussels, 
 oysters as large as soup-plates, and every variety of 
 fish, from hulking cod down to diminutive sprats, not 
 excepting capacious plaice, and flats, and flounders, 
 figured in the midst of fruit and mince-pies, ' pop ' 
 and ' gin-new-wine soda-votter,' household furniture, 
 ballad- and treason-mongers, performers on the Jew's 
 harp, ' the spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife ' 
 wielded by infantine hands, not forgetting the ever- 
 memorable and most musical penny trumpet. ' 'Amp- 
 ton Palace, with a view of Her Gracious Majesty, our 
 most Royal Keen Wicktoria,' presented its attractions 
 on one side, in opposition to the rival charms of 
 ' Spring-heeled Jack, seen kvite as large as life, for 
 
 the
 
 212 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 the small charge of von hapeny,' and ultra-Radical 
 orators, declaiming against excessive taxation, dis- 
 puted the field with hurdy-gurdies, musical bells, 
 strolling wind instruments, and ' scratchers,' a well- 
 known implement, which endangers in imagination 
 a new coat's integrity." 
 
 The penny theatres, or "penny gaffs," 
 chiefly found on the Surrey side of the river, 
 were little better than hot-beds of vice, and 
 were finally closed by the police in March, 
 1838. They bore such ambitious names as 
 the Pavilion of Arts (in the Cornwall Road), 
 the Grotto of Fancy and the Royal Sussex 
 (in the New Cut), and the Royal Lambeth 
 (in Lambeth Walk). Their owners sometimes 
 amassed what to them were largfe sums of 
 money, one retiring with a fortune of a thousand 
 pounds he had saved up in pence during a 
 period of five years. 
 
 In addition to the theatres there were many 
 taverns with gardens attached, where both 
 summer and winter the performances partook 
 of the " variety " character, the precursors of 
 
 those
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 213 
 
 those now given at the music hall. The best 
 known and the most popular of these places of 
 evening resort were — White's Conduit House, 
 or, as it was dubbed by its habitues, "White 
 Condick 'Ouse ; " The Apollo Saloon, Bagnigge 
 Wells; and the Yorkshire Stingo in the New 
 Road, a favourite spot for balloon ascents. 
 The " Coal Hole " in one of the courts in the 
 Strand, where there was very good glee- 
 singing, was a favourite place for suppers. 
 
 Foremost among the places of shows and 
 sights, and eminently respectable and popular, 
 was the oft-described Colosseum, on the east 
 side of Regent's Park, an enormous building 
 designed by Decimus Burton. The Colosseum, 
 with its Saloon of Arts, was a fashionable 
 evening lounge, under the management of John 
 Braham, the attraction in the autumn of 1837 
 being the great tenor himself, in the character 
 of Tom Tug, in Dibdin's "Waterman." A 
 Mr. Walker delivered here in March, 1838, 
 a series of astronomical lectures, chiefly memo- 
 rable on account of their being illustrated by 
 
 an
 
 2 14 ^^^ FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 an elaborate machine called the " eidouranion," 
 a large transparent orrery. 
 
 On the north side of Leicester Square was 
 Burford's cleverly painted panorama of Mont 
 Blanc, followed later by one of New Zealand, 
 and, in the spring of 1838, by a view of Canton. 
 The diorama, near Regent's Park, consisted 
 of two pictures, by the Chevalier Burton, the 
 " Basilica of St. Paul without the Walls, Rome," 
 and a view of Tivoli. A " cosmorama " of 
 the St. Gothard Pass, and the " typorama," a 
 plaster of Paris model of the Undercliff, Isle 
 of Wight, were two popular exhibitions in 
 Regent Street. 
 
 The Gallery of Practical Science in Adelaide 
 Street, Strand ; a South African museum of 
 stuffed animals in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly; 
 an exhibition of armoury of all nations in 
 Lower Grosvenor Street ; Miss Linwood's 
 tapestry exhibition in Leicester Square ; and 
 Mr. Purkis's musical performance on the 
 apollonicon, an instrument described by Mr. 
 Edmund Yates as " awful," afforded amuse- 
 ment
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 215 
 
 ment of the kind which is " combined with 
 instruction." 
 
 And we must not forget our dear old 
 friend Madame Tussaud and her wax-works in 
 Baker Street, then in their fourth year. The 
 advertisements told that among her latest ad- 
 ditions were " Oueen Victoria I.;" her august 
 mother, the Duchess of Kent ; the late King 
 William IV.; the King of Hanover; Oliver 
 Cromwell; and the "lamented Malibran." " In 
 a separate room, the execrable Greenacre." 
 
 Among open-air places of entertainment 
 were still the famous Vauxhall Gardens, the 
 proprietary of which made the accession of 
 Queen Victoria an occasion for some attempt 
 at a revival of their faded glories. The Queen 
 was graciously pleased to bestow her patronage 
 on the "royal property." The amusements were 
 numerous and diversified, and included open- 
 air musical performances ; a theatre ; a display 
 of groups of living sculpture by French artists; 
 dioramic mechanical paintings of Swiss and 
 
 Italian
 
 2l6 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Italian scenery ; and a fine fountain representing 
 Neptune in his chariot, drawn by five horses. 
 In the evening festoons of lamps of all colours 
 were dispersed amongst the trees, and the 
 illuminations were altogfether more brilliant than 
 had for many years been known. The charge 
 for admission was four shillings. The frequent 
 ascents of Mr. Green in his monster balloon, 
 "The Royal Nassau," were, however, the 
 greatest attraction, and proved the " biggest 
 draws" of the season of 1837. A melan- 
 choly interest is attached to this balloon by 
 reason of the fatal termination of a parachute 
 descent by Mr. Cocking, who lost his life in 
 an experimental flight. It was on the 24th 
 of July, 1837, that Mr. Cocking ascended from 
 Vauxhall Gardens in the basket of his parachute 
 — which was shaped somewhat like an in- 
 verted umbrella — suspended to the " Nassau " 
 balloon. The descent was made in a field close 
 to Lee, in Kent, but the parachute and its occu- 
 pant on approaching the ground turned over and 
 over, and came down with a frightful crash. 
 
 The
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 21/ 
 
 The effort to bring back the palmy days 
 of Vauxhall ceased with the season of 1837, 
 and in the following year the charge of ad- 
 mission was reduced to one shillino-. The 
 sentiments conveyed in a song given by a 
 comic singer from the stage of the open 
 orchestra — 
 
 " We'll have no shop-boy dandies 
 With whisker and grimace, 
 Cigar in mouth, and glass in hand ; 
 Such things away we'll chase," 
 
 were no longer appropriate. 
 
 One cause of the decline of Vauxhall 
 was the rapidly growing popularity of the 
 Surrey Zoological Gardens. The charmingly 
 laid out and well-timbered grounds with their 
 tropical forest ; the lake, with its marine temple ; 
 Mount Vesuvius, with awful and terrific erup- 
 tion at night, proved powerful attractions. 
 Bill-stickers let the public know that " an 
 eruption on a gigantic scale was about to 
 take place," and it certainly was a formidable 
 business. As a small joke of the time, it may 
 be told that some aspiring youths one evening 
 
 were
 
 2l8 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 were overheard by an Irish gentleman com- 
 plaining loudly of the restrictions lately imposed 
 upon smoking in the gardens ; when he con- 
 soled them with this reflection, " Don't ye see, 
 ye born natterals, that they want all the smoke 
 at the top of the mountain ? but to be sure, 
 though ye mustn't smoke, ye may drink, for 
 there's plenty o' drops of the crater to be had 
 for nothing." Other attractions in this de- 
 lightful place of resort were "the wonderful 
 Russian air voyagers," who used to display 
 some astonishing aerial feats on the sails of 
 a windmill, forty feet across, one of them 
 having his feet upwards and his head down- 
 wards during his circular flight, and the other 
 sustaining himself in his transit through the 
 air by his hands. There were then frequent 
 balloon ascents by a Mrs. Graham, who de- 
 scribed herself as the only lady aeronaut in 
 the world. On one occasion in the month 
 of August, 1837, Mrs. Graham made an ascent 
 from the grounds of the " Mermaid Tavern," 
 Hackney, accompanied by two other ladies. 
 
 So
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 219 
 
 So rare an event in the art of ballooning de- 
 serves to be chronicled in the words of the 
 fair aeronaut herself: — 
 
 " About a quarter past seven o'clock we rose from 
 the gardens. We left Dalston on our left, and after 
 being up about a quarter of an hour entered rather 
 a dense cloud, and entirely lost sight of the earth. 
 We were nearly a quarter of an hour before we 
 emerged from it towards the earth ; soon after which 
 I caught a fair view of the mansion of Sir Coutts 
 Trotter (over the park of which we shortly travelled), 
 Kensal Green, the Cemetery, and all the adjacent 
 neighbourhood, including Kilburn, where the gentle- 
 men of the Kilburn Cricket Club were amusing them- 
 selves at their favourite pastime. Finding that they 
 had left their bats to follow the course of the ballon, 
 and also observing a favourable landing-place at a 
 short distance, I told the ladies that they would soon 
 again reach terra jirvia. Consequently, we reached 
 the earth, within fifty feet (the length of my safety 
 line), and there remained until we were safely drawn 
 to the ground by two lads, ten miles from the place 
 of starting. After experiencing the hospitality of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, of Kensal Green, we all re- 
 turned to town, and arrived at the ' Mermaid 
 Tavern,' Hackney, before eleven o'clock, the first and 
 only gardens from which three ladies ever ascended." 
 
 Here
 
 2 20 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Here may be noted the death, on the 5th 
 of September, 1837, <^f the celebrated dwarf 
 Count Borolowski, at his residence near the 
 Prebend's Bridge, Durham, in the ninety-ninth 
 year of his age. He was a Pole, and in early 
 life was patronized by the Countess Huniecka, 
 a Polish lady, with whom he visited various 
 countries in Europe. He resided some time 
 in Paris, which he quitted previously to the 
 Revolution, and came over to this country in 
 the year 1782, where he had since remained. 
 Besides exhibiting himself at fairs, he was at 
 one time a favourite in society for the vivacity 
 of his manners, his intelligence, and his frank 
 disposition. The count's height was exactly 
 thirty-five and a half inches, and his person 
 was a model of symmetry. He was buried in 
 the Nine Altars, in Durham Cathedral, near 
 the remains of his friend, Mr. Stephen Kemble. 
 
 The charming actress and vocalist, Miss 
 Katherine Stephens, then in her forty-fourth 
 year, v/as married on the 19th of April, 1838, 
 
 to
 
 MUSIC, DRAMA, AND AMUSEMENTS. 22 1 
 
 to the Earl of Essex, who had reached the 
 still more mature age of eighty-two. Miss 
 Stephens made her first appearance at Covent 
 Garden in 1813, as Mundane in " Artaxerxes," 
 and continued a most brilliant professional 
 career until 1834, when she made her last 
 appearance in public at a festival in West- 
 minster Abbey. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 222 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ART AND CEREMONIAL. 
 
 The Queen's portraits and pictures — Rides — A loss — At the 
 Academy — A good sitter — State ball — The birthday — State 
 concert — Other festivities — A gorgeous Prince. 
 
 \^7E now return to the young Sovereign, 
 who, after seeing the old year out 
 at Windsor, came in the middle of January 
 to the new palace in St. James's Park. About 
 this time Her Majesty gave sittings to several 
 artists ; * and the principal painter commis- 
 sioned was Sir David Wilkie. 
 
 His picture of "The Queen presiding at 
 the First Council" was exhibited in 1838 at 
 
 * The 1886-87 Winter Exhibition of the Royal Academy 
 celebrated the opening of the Jubilee Year by hanging in the 
 place of honour the pictures which commemorated the first 
 public ceremonies of the year of the Accession. 
 
 the
 
 ART AND CEREMONIAL. 223 
 
 the Royal Academy,* which Her Majesty 
 visited on the 4th of May, being received 
 by the president. Sir Martin Archer Shee, 
 In the previous year — that on which the 
 Academy exchanged their old quarters at 
 Somerset House for the new rooms in Trafal- 
 gar Square — Victoria, first as Princess and 
 then as Queen, had been twice to see the 
 pictures. The first time was to the private 
 view in May. One who saw the Princess 
 wrote of her — 
 
 " She has all the charms of health, youth, and high 
 spirits. She could have seen little of the Exhibition, 
 as she was herself, from the moment of her entering 
 the room, the sole object of attraction, and there were 
 so many people among the nobility present whom she 
 knew, and every one of whom had something to say 
 
 * The Exhibition of the year contained nearly fourteen 
 hundred subjects, among them being — (No. 60) "The Queen 
 presiding at the First Council," by Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. (No. 200) 
 Portrait of Daniel O'Connell, by the same artist, considered one 
 of the best pictures of the Exhibition. (No. 277) " Olivia and 
 Sophia fitting out Moses for the Fair," by D. Maclise, A.R.A. 
 (No. 46) "The Prodigal Son," by W. Etty, R.A.—" a masterly 
 little picture in the style of Rembrandt." (No. 31) "Phiyne 
 going to the Public Bath as Venus," by J. M. W. Turner, R.A. 
 (No. 122) " All the World's a Stage," by W. Mulready, R.A. 
 
 to
 
 2 24 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 to her. She heard that Charles Kemble was in the 
 room, and she desired he might be presented to her, 
 which gave him an opportunity of making one of his 
 best genteel comedy bows. She shook hands and 
 chatted with Mr. Rogers." 
 
 Three months later, she went again, as a 
 Queen. The death of her uncle, the late King, 
 had elicited from the Academy an address of 
 condolence, into which Wilkie, finding it " cor- 
 rect and proper, but on the whole chilling and 
 cold," had infused — as he himself tells us — 
 a touch of more genial feeling. And doubtless 
 the young Queen intended to acknowledge this 
 homage of the arts when she went, in her fresh 
 mourning, wearing, we are told, a black train 
 which was not held up, to the Academy in 
 August. Leslie, who was among the Acade- 
 micians present to receive her, records that 
 towards her mother she appeared " the same 
 affectionate little girl, calling her ' Mamma.' " 
 
 As the year 1837 wore on, the Queen sat to 
 Pistrucci for her medal, and to several painters 
 — Alfred Chalon, R.A., being first in the field 
 
 with
 
 ART AND CEREMONIAL. 225 
 
 with a small whole-length (very like Her 
 Majesty, thought Leslie) in the robes worn 
 at the first prorogation of Parliament. The 
 copyright of this portrait was caught up by 
 Moon at a large price, and the engraving had 
 an immense sale. Hayter painted a portrait 
 for King Leopold, and there was another by 
 Thomas Sully, an American artist, whose picture 
 of the Queen is now in the hall of the St. 
 George's Society, Philadelphia. The Academy 
 of the year following was described as " an 
 Academy of Queens." But, of course, Wilkie 
 with his " First Council," and, later on, Leslie 
 with his Coronation picture, had the honours 
 of the time. 
 
 The appointment of Painter in Ordinary 
 was renewed to Sir David Wilkie by the 
 Queen ; and he writes to his sister in October, 
 1837 : " Her Majesty gave me a sitting to-day, 
 and has commanded a picture of her First 
 Council, and has been telling me who (sic) to 
 put in it." A few days later, he says : " Her 
 Majesty has been most gracious. Her face I 
 
 Q have
 
 2 26 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 have painted nearly in profile — it is thought 
 like her. She sat to-day in the dress — a white 
 satin, covered with gauze embroidered — I think 
 it looks well. All here think the subject good, 
 and she likes it herself." Writing to Collins he 
 gives more particulars : — 
 
 " In October (1837) I received a message from the 
 Lord Chamberlain to attend the Queen at Brighton, 
 with the view of beginning the Embassy picture, but 
 was told the Queen had heard of a sketch I had made 
 of her First Council. Accordingly, on seeing Her 
 Majesty, and finding her strongly set upon this, I sent 
 for a canvas from London, and began the figure of 
 the Queen at once. She is placed nearly in profile 
 at the end of a long table, covered with red cloth. 
 She sits in a large chair, or throne, a little elevated, 
 to make her the presiding person. Having been 
 accustomed to see the Queen as a child, my reception 
 had a little of the air of an early acquaintance. She 
 is eminently beautiful, her features nicely formed, her 
 skin smooth, her hair worn close to her face in a most 
 simple way ; glossy and clean-looking. Her manner, 
 though trained to act the Sovereign, is yet simple 
 and natural. She has all the decision, thought, and 
 self-possession of a queen of older years ; has all the 
 buoyancy of youth, and from the smile to the un- 
 restrained laugh is a perfect child." 
 
 Wilkie,
 
 ART AND CEREMONIAL. 22/ 
 
 Wilkie, indeed, uniformly records his ad- 
 miration of the Queen with courtly enthusiasm 
 and more than a courtier's sincerity. " The 
 regal power in so lovely a form is perfectly 
 new to us," he says ; " it seems sent to charm 
 the disaffected by presenting a settled govern- 
 ment under the most engaging aspect. Her 
 Majesty is an elegant person ; seems to lose 
 nothing of her authority either by her youth 
 or delicacy ; is approached with the same awe, 
 and obeyed with the same promptitude, as the 
 most commanding of her predecessors." And 
 he repeats that " she has all the buoyancy and 
 singleness of heart of youth, with a wisdom 
 and decision far beyond her years." 
 
 Her Majesty, too, showed the peculiar 
 orderliness in which she had been trained, 
 and which has always distinguished her, by 
 the punctuality of her sittings. " She appoints 
 a sitting once in two days," we find Wilkie 
 saying, " and she never puts me off." This 
 picture of the Council contains a large number 
 of figures, including the Dukes of Sussex and 
 
 Wellington,
 
 228 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Lords Melbourne, 
 Lansdowne, and John Russell, and of course 
 the faces of all were to be fully seen. Wilkie 
 feared it would be " a plague " to compose. 
 He succeeded well, however, and the figure of 
 the girl of eighteen, in her white satin and 
 gauze, appears quite naturally as a centre to 
 which the faces of the Council are turned. 
 Thus, by placing Her Majesty in the fore- 
 ground of the composition, all the heads are 
 more or less towards the spectator, and the 
 whole young figure of the Queen in its slight- 
 ness and simplicity is visible. The picture is 
 nearly five feet high by nearly eight feet wide ; 
 and six hundred guineas was the sum paid for 
 it by the Queen. 
 
 In the afternoons the Queen frequently 
 rode in the Park, sometimes remaining in the 
 saddle for two or three hours. The routine 
 would occasionally be varied by a ride to one 
 of the suburbs ; and it is related that on one 
 of these expeditions. Her Majesty, attended by 
 
 seventeen
 
 ART AND CEREMONIAL. 229 
 
 seventeen persons, had passed over Battersea 
 Bridge, when the gate-keeper demanded the 
 toll from her groom, who brought up the rear. 
 The man, taken by surprise, and unprovided 
 with money, handed the turnpikeman a silk 
 handkerchief as a pledge for payment. 
 
 Mrs. Louis, who was for many years the 
 devoted servant of the Princess Charlotte, and 
 to whom Queen Victoria had from her earliest 
 infancy been attached, died on Easter Sunday. 
 After the Queen's accession, Mrs, Louis went 
 with her wherever she resided. 
 
 The two great Court events of the " merry 
 month of May" were the State ball at Buck- 
 ingham Palace, and the Birthday Drawing- 
 room. The State ball, the first since the 
 accession, and the first grand entertainment 
 at the new palace, was on a scale of great 
 magnificence. The ball was opened by the 
 Queen, who took Prince George of Cam- 
 bridge for her partner in a quadrille entitled 
 
 " Versailles."
 
 230 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 " Versailles." Her Majesty wore a white 
 satin petticoat, over which was a silver llama 
 tunic, trimmed with silver and white blonde 
 lace and agrafd on either side with maiden 
 blush roses, studded in the centre with bril- 
 liants. The head-dress was of roses, the centre 
 formed of brilliants, and a small bandalette 
 confined the whole. During the evening Her 
 Majesty danced quadrilles with Prince Ester- 
 hazy, resplendent in the famous jewels, the 
 Marquis of Douro, the Earl of Uxbridge, and 
 other noblemen. Strauss's band was stationed 
 in the grand saloon, and during the evening 
 performed a new set of waltzes, entitled 
 " Hommage a la Reine d'Angleterre." 
 
 Parisian and Venetian galops, quadrilles, 
 and waltzes formed the principal part of the 
 programme, which was not concluded until four 
 o'clock, the Queen joining in the last dance 
 with great animation. 
 
 Her Majesty's birthday was in the first 
 year of her reign celebrated on the 17th of 
 
 May,
 
 ART AND CEREMONIAL. 23 I 
 
 May, and the Drawing-room is described as 
 being one of the most magnificent Court recep- 
 tions ever held in the venerable palace of St. 
 James's. The illuminations in the evening were 
 brilliant. Every club-house in St. James's 
 Street and Pall Mall was more or less illumi- 
 nated with variegated oil lamps, blazing stars, 
 crowns, rosettes, festoons, and the initials 
 "V.R." in gas or oil. In Regent Street, 
 Messrs. Dyson, the Court lacemen, displayed a 
 transparency of Her Majesty robed and seated 
 on the throne, with the British lion at her feet, 
 repelling the hydra-headed demon of anarchy 
 and confusion, the whole surmounted with the 
 motto, " Hail, Star of Brunswick." The most 
 original device in the way of decoration, how- 
 ever, was one displayed by Mr. Grove at his 
 fish-shop in Bond Street, where the letters 
 composing the name of Victoria were exhibited 
 on the shop front in red mullets, and the Order 
 of the Garter in smelts. A stupendous cod- 
 fish and a giant salmon undertook, for the first 
 time, the parts of the lion and the unicorn. 
 
 On
 
 232 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 On the following day a grand State concert 
 was given at Buckingham Palace, in which 
 Grisi, Persiani, Rubini, Lablache, and Costa 
 took part. On the real birthday of the Queen, 
 the 24th of May, when Her Majesty completed 
 her nineteenth year, a second State ball was 
 held at the palace on the same scale as the 
 one already noticed. A country dance at the 
 conclusion, led off by Her Majesty with the 
 Earl of Uxbridge as her partner, was kept up 
 for an hour. During June, the Queen attended 
 the " Eton Montem," held a Drawing-room 
 and two levees, and, on the i8th, gave a third 
 grand State ball at Buckingham Palace, in the 
 course of which a set of quadrilles, composed 
 for the occasion, called " Royal Waterloo," was 
 danced, the Queen joining in the set. At this 
 ball Prince Esterhazy fairly outdid himself in 
 the way of personal adornment. His uniform 
 was a pelisse of dark crimson velvet, the sword- 
 belt thickly studded with diamonds ; the hilt 
 of the sword was covered, and the scabbard was 
 crusted with brilliants. The Prince's hussar 
 
 cap
 
 ART AND CEREMONIAL. 233 
 
 cap had several rows of pearls with a string 
 of diamonds in the middle, finished with a 
 tassel set in brilliants. The Order of the 
 Golden Fleece (suspended round the neck) and 
 the stars and jewels of the other orders of 
 knighthood, worn by this princely exquisite, 
 were also set in diamonds and precious stones. 
 
 CHArXER
 
 2 34 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE CORONATION. 
 
 The interior of the Abbey — The entrance — Eleven thousand 
 tickets — Peeresses and peers — The House of Commons — 
 The royal procession — The Sultan's letter — The Esterhazy 
 jewels again — The Westminster boys — The oath — The 
 coronation — Medals — The coronation in verse — The illu- 
 minations — The theatres — Hyde Park fair— The Queen 
 herself. 
 
 " 1st Gent. God save you, sir ! Where have you been broihng ? 
 
 2nd Gent. Among the crowd i' the Abbey, where a finger 
 Could not be wedged in more. I am stifled .... 
 \st Gent. You saw 
 
 The ceremony 1 
 
 ■2nd Gent. That I did. 
 
 1st Gent. Howwasit.'' 
 
 2nd Gent. Well worth the seeing." 
 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 A T break of dawn on Thursday, the 28th of 
 
 June, 1838, a discharge of twenty-one guns 
 
 in St. James's Park announced to the people 
 
 of London that in the course of that day the 
 
 venerable
 
 THE CORONATION. 
 
 -JD 
 
 venerable Abbey of Westminster would wit- 
 ness one more splendid ceremonial, would once 
 again look upon a scene of mediaeval pomp 
 and pageantry — a coronation, with a unique 
 interest and romance of its own. Long before 
 daylight numbers of persons had congregated 
 about Buckingham Palace, and by four o'clock 
 a line of carriages stretched from the Abbey 
 to the top of Cockspur Street. At that chill 
 hour, the streets presented a full-dress appear- 
 ance, and numbers of ladies were already 
 hurrying to take possession of the places they 
 had secured along the line of route. 
 
 First let us see how the interior of the 
 Abbey looked on this eventful morning. To 
 one entering the choir, or theatre as it was 
 called, from the nave, the full blaze of the 
 decorations in this part of the church came 
 as a kind of shock of splendour. At the 
 eastern end was the grand altar, with its Gothic 
 canopy and gorgeous tracery. The walls were 
 hung with purple and gold, and the floor was 
 covered with a carpet to match. The com- 
 munion
 
 236 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 munion table and the cushions on which the 
 offerings were to be laid were covered with 
 lustrous lace-bordered velvet frinofed with crold. 
 Immediately above the altar two galleries 
 were reserved for members of the House of 
 Commons ; and in front of a trumpeters' gallery- 
 above, the arms of England appeared in gold 
 relief. Two oralleries ran at each side of the 
 eastern extremity of the cross. On the right 
 was the box for the members of the Royal 
 Family, and on the left were benches for the 
 bishops and the foreign ambassadors. In the 
 north and south transepts, galleries and benches 
 branched forth in every direction, reaching up 
 to the Catherine-wheel windows in both tran- 
 septs. The whole was covered with crimson 
 cloth, gold-fringed, the monotony of which was 
 broken by the short gilded pillars. The floor 
 of the transepts was occupied with benche 
 rising one above the other. The northern side 
 was devoted to the peeresses, and the southern 
 to the peers and their personal friends. The 
 pulpit from which the coronation sermon 
 
 was
 
 THE CORONATION. 237 
 
 was preached was decked with crimson and 
 gold. 
 
 At the extremity of the western side, imme- 
 diately in front of the Commons' gallery, over 
 the entrance to the theatre from the nave, was 
 the music gallery. Here the musicians, led 
 by Sir George Smart, were stationed, the 
 instrumental performers being in scarlet uni- 
 forms, the male singers in white surplices, and 
 the ladies in white dresses. Two galleries ran 
 at each side of the entrance to the choir, and 
 in one of these, on the south side of the Abbey, 
 were the Westminster boys. The galleries 
 throughout were covered with crimson cloth 
 with gold fringe and panels and wainscot of gold. 
 
 Immediately under the central tower of the 
 Abbey, a square, formed by the intersection 
 of the choir and transepts, extended nearly the 
 whole breadth of the choir. On this square 
 a platform with five steps was erected ; the 
 summit was covered with cloth of gold, and 
 in the very centre was the throne, or " chair 
 of homage." Between the platform and the 
 
 grand
 
 2^8 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 •0 
 
 grand altar stood the old oaken Coronation 
 Chair, known in the history of the country as 
 St. Edward's Chair (on this occasion covered 
 with cloth of gold), in which the Queen was 
 to be crowned. 
 
 At five o'clock the gates were thrown open, 
 and the different parts of the Abbey rapidly 
 filled. The first peeress to arrive took her 
 seat in the north transept at a quarter to seven, 
 and three bishops followed soon after. Some 
 of the peers and peeresses seemed scarcely 
 able to bear the weight of their ornaments and 
 trains. Each peeress was attended by several 
 pages who supported her train, and one 
 who bore her coronet. The Marchioness of 
 Londonderry's beauty and brilliancy caused a 
 general buzz of admiration, and the Countess 
 of Essex (late Miss Stephens), who had been 
 introduced at the last Drawing-room, came up 
 the nave with an unassuming air, half con- 
 cealing her modest little coronet. Conspicuous 
 among the foreign nobility was the lovely 
 Princess Schwartzenberg. 
 
 The
 
 THE COROXATION. 239 
 
 The peers were robed, and had their 
 coronets borne by pages. Miss Martineau, 
 who had a place in the church, says in her 
 autobiography : " I had never before seen the 
 full effect of diamonds. As the light travelled, 
 each peeress shone like a rainbow. The 
 brightness, vastness, and dreamy magnificence 
 of the scene produced a strange effect of ex- 
 haustion and sleepiness. ... I had carried 
 a book ; and I read and ate a sandwich, leaning 
 against my friendly pillar till I felt refreshed." 
 
 For those, however, who had not been so 
 provident, and who had come out in the 
 early morn breakfastless, thought was taken. 
 The following advertisement appeared in the 
 Times — 
 
 "William Mason, of 57 and 58, St. James's Street, 
 formerly attached to the Household of his late 
 Majesty William IV., begs to inform the Peeresses, 
 Peers, Members of Parliament, and the public who 
 intend being present at the Coronation of Her 
 Majesty, that he has received permission from His 
 Grace the Duke of Norfolk (the Earl Marshal of 
 England) to furnish refreshments in Westminster 
 
 Abbey
 
 240 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Abbey on that day, which shall be of the very best 
 quality, arranged on twenty-six tables conveniently 
 placed throughout the Abbey, affording every accom- 
 modation so necessary on such an occasion. To 
 prevent inconvenience and irregularity, tickets for 
 the refreshments may be obtained on application 
 to Mr. W. Mason, as above ; but refreshments may 
 likewise be obtained in the Abbey without this 
 preliminary, if preferred." 
 
 At half-past nine o'clock the members of 
 the House of Commons * took their seats, and 
 
 * " About seven o'clock the House of Commons assembled, 
 and soon afterwards the members began to throng its benches, 
 some in full Court dress, many in naval and military uniforms, 
 with orders, and a large number wearing Windsor uniforms. 
 .... Shortly before nine o'clock most of Her Majesty's 
 Ministers, and the leaders of the Opposition, took their places. 
 At this hour the whole space was thronged with members. 
 Never has the House seemed more imposing than when, on 
 the entrance of the Speaker, all the members rose to receive 
 him. Prayers having been read, the Speaker informed the 
 House that, in order to secure perfect fairness in the allotment 
 of the seats in the Abbey reserved for the Commons, the 
 counties would be balloted for, and requested that the members 
 for each county, and for each borough situated within the 
 county, should on the name of the county being called, leave 
 the House and proceed to the Abbey. The balloting then 
 commenced, and having been completed, the House at ten 
 o'clock was nearly empty." 
 
 immediately
 
 THE CORONATION. 24 1 
 
 immediately afterwards the doors were closed 
 against all persons save Her Majesty, her 
 official attendants, and the foreign Ministers. 
 
 At ten o'clock twenty-one guns announced 
 that the royal procession had started from 
 Buckingham Palace. A curious circumstance, 
 which created some interest at the time, may 
 be worth mentioning. During the morning, a 
 large bird had been observed to fly backwards 
 and forwards, and then to hover over the 
 palace, so frequently as to attract general 
 attention. This was looked on, in Roman 
 fashion, as a good omen for the young Sove- 
 reign. 
 
 The procession left the Palace in the 
 following order : — 
 
 The High Constable of the City of Westminster. 
 The carriages of the foreign resident ambassadors 
 
 and ministers, 
 
 Followed by the foreign ambassadors extraordinary, 
 
 in the order in which they respectively reported 
 
 their arrival in England. 
 
 R First
 
 242 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 First came Achmet Pacha,* the Sultan's Ambassador. 
 Then Marshal Soult (Duke of Dalmatia), whose 
 carriage created far more interest than that of any 
 other ambassador.! 
 
 * " The Sultan's ' letter of felicitation,' forwarded to the 
 Queen on her coronation, is a remarkable document both in 
 form and substance. It is thirty-six inches in length and 
 between three and four inches broad. The penmanship is 
 described as careful and elegant, and the document bears 
 in the margin the signature of the Sultan, with all the titles 
 of the very high and puissant Seignior, which from time imme- 
 morial have appertained to the principal representative of the 
 Ottoman Court. This letter, written on paper of vellum-like 
 appearance, was put in an envelope and sealed with the 
 armorial bearings of the Sultan, and the whole enclosed in 
 a crimson cloth sachet or bag, somewhat resembling a lady's 
 small reticule, richly embroidered in gold. A tassel and string 
 of peculiar beauty of manufacture completes this unique billet- 
 doux." 
 
 t Marshal Soult brought to England the frame of the 
 carriage used on occasions of state by the last great Prince 
 of the House of Condd. It was ornamented anew with the 
 utmost resources of art. The colour was cobalt, relieved with 
 gold. The panels were superbly emblazoned with the arms 
 of the ambassador, at the back of which was the baton of 
 a field-marshal. The lining of the interior was of a rich nankin 
 satin, relieved with scarlet. The liveries were of a drab colour, 
 with a figured silk lace. The carriage was drawn by two horses. 
 
 Count StrogonofF bought for ^1600 the carriage which the 
 Duke of Devonshire had built, at an unsparing cost, for his 
 extraordinary embassy to St. Petersburg. It cost originally 
 upwards of ^3000. Some of the other ambassadors, too late 
 in the field, bought or hired sheriff's' carriages, and had them 
 newly emblazoned for the occasion. One ambassador gave 
 ^250 for the use of a carriage for the day. 
 
 The
 
 THE CORONATION. 243 
 
 The Duke of Palmella (Portugal). 
 Count Gustave de Lowenhiilm (Sweden). 
 The Marquis de Brignole (Sardinia). 
 Count Alten (Hanover). 
 Prince Putbus (Prussia). 
 The Marquis de Miraflores (Spain). 
 Baron de Capellen (Netherlands). 
 Prince Schwartzenberg (Austria). 
 Count Strogonoff (Russia). 
 Prince de Ligne (Belgium). 
 Count Ludolff (Two Sicilies). 
 To the foreign ambassadors succeeded the carriages 
 of various members of the Royal Family, with 
 their respective suites. 
 Band of Household Cavalry. 
 Forty-eight Queen's watermen. 
 Twelve of Her Majesty's carriages, each drawn by 
 six horses, containing the suite. 
 Military staff and aides-de-camp, on horseback. 
 Royal huntsmen, foresters, marshalmen, Yeomen 
 of the Guard. 
 The Clerk of the Check, Harbinger, Ensign, 
 Lieutenant. 
 The State Coach, drawn by eight cream-coloured 
 horses, attended by a Yeoman of the Guard 
 at each wheel, conveying 
 The Queen, 
 The Mistress of the Robes (Duchess of Sutherland) 
 and the Master of the Horse (Earl of Albemarle) ; 
 
 The
 
 244 I'HE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 The Gold Stick and the Captain of the Yeomen of 
 the Guard riding on either side. 
 
 As the gay cortege wound its way through 
 the crowded streets, the reception accorded the 
 Queen was fervent in the extreme. After Her 
 Majesty, the personage who came in for the 
 heartiest greetings from the populace was un- 
 doubtedly the veteran Marshal Soult. 
 
 The route followed was up Constitution 
 Hill, along Piccadilly, where great preparations 
 had been made,* every house being adorned 
 with loyal inscriptions and emblems, down 
 St. James's Street and Pall Mall. 
 
 The clubs f were gaily decorated with 
 
 * " The seats were disposed of according to position at 
 various prices from ten shillings to five guineas, and by some 
 of the speculators large profits were realized. Many persons 
 let the fronts of their houses for ^50 to £'yx>. In St. James's 
 Street several houses were let to speculators for the day for 
 ;^200, and after all expenses were paid, more than double that 
 sum was acquired. The front of the house lately occupied by 
 the Reform Club-house in Pall Mall was let for ^200, and 
 upwards of ^500 realized." 
 
 t The members of the various clubs gave splendid entertain- 
 ments in honour of the day. At the Carlton upwards of three 
 hundred and fifty guests were entertained to breakfast at eight 
 a.m. and lunch at one p.m. At the Oxford and Cambridge six 
 
 festoons
 
 THE CORONATION. 245 
 
 festoons and garlands ; they were also fitted 
 up with canopies, all of them crowded with 
 brightly dressed women. Leaving Pall Mall, 
 the procession wended its way along Cockspur 
 Street, Charing Cross, Parliament Street, and 
 on to the west entrance of the Abbey. 
 
 Meanwhile in the Abbey itself every one 
 was in a fever of expectation. The great 
 officers of State who were appointed to carry 
 the regalia had assembled in the Jerusalem 
 Chamber to receive their several charges, as 
 follows : — 
 
 The sword of state was presented to Lord Mel- 
 bourne ; the sword of mercy, to the Duke of Devon- 
 shire ; the sceptre with the dove, to the Duke of 
 Richmond ; St. Edward's staff, to the Duke of 
 Eoxburgh; the sword of temporal justice, to the 
 Marquis of Westminster ; the spurs, to Lord Byron ; 
 the sceptre, to the Duke of Cleveland ; the sword of 
 justice, to the Duke of Sutherland ; the orb, to the 
 
 hundred and fifty found hospitality, and Weippert's band was 
 stationed on the grand staircase. '1 he Athenaeum provided for 
 twelve hundred strangers ; and at the Reform the unrivalled 
 skill of the celebrated cook Alexis Soyer furnished a d^je^lner 
 d. la fourchette for six hundred ladies, who were also gratified 
 by the dulcet strains of Strauss and his orchestra. 
 
 Duke
 
 246 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Duke of Somerset ; St. Edward's crown, to the Duke 
 of Hamilton ; the patina, to the Bishop of Bangor ; 
 the chalice, to the Bishop of London ; and the Bible 
 to the Bishop of Winchester. 
 
 About eleven o'clock some sensation was 
 caused by the arrival of the Due de Nemours, 
 a very tall, thin, fair-haired young man, and a 
 few minutes before the half-hour another salute 
 informed the throng that Her Majesty was 
 within the minster. At that moment the 
 spectacle was dazzling. Every part of the 
 Abbey save the choir w^as filled, and every one 
 was anxious to catch a glimpse of the Queen. 
 The first to appear were the diplomatic per- 
 sonages who had taken so prominent a part 
 in the procession, and who now advanced in 
 the order in which their carriages had set 
 down. Each of these was attended by a 
 numerous suite, the magnificence of their 
 dresses exciting considerable admiration. 
 Whispers of " Which is Soult ? " preceded the 
 appearance of the veteran warrior,* who came 
 
 * "At the concert which Queen Victoria gave on the 25th 
 at Buckingham Palace, Marshal Soult was invited to one of the 
 
 halting
 
 THE CORONATION. 247 
 
 halting in at last, looking grave, in the midst 
 of a burst of cheering. Prince Esterhazy, 
 whose Hungarian dress was literally covered 
 with diamonds and pearls, or, as an American 
 authoress puts it, looked for all the world as 
 if he had been cauorht in a rain of diamonds 
 and had come in dripping, was absolutely 
 detained by several ladies, with whose admira- 
 tion he appeared to be perfectly delighted.* 
 But the most enthusiastic reception was reserved 
 for the Duke of Wellington, who was greeted 
 
 seats occupied by Her Majesty and the members of the Royal 
 Family. Between the first and second parts of the concert the 
 Duke of Wellington rose, went up to the marshal, and taking 
 him by the hand affectionately, begged that he would allow him 
 to do the honours of London. It was at this concert that all 
 the diplomatic personages met for the first time since their 
 arrival in town. It is stated that Marshal Soult, on meeting the 
 celebrated Lord Hill (whom the marshal long and hotly pursued 
 in Portugal without being able to overtake him), observed : ' Je 
 vous recontre enfin, moi qui ai couru si longtemps apr^s vous.' " 
 (London correspondence of the Journal des Debats.) 
 
 * The Hungarian costume worn by Prince Paul von Schwart- 
 zenberg, the Austrian ambassador extraordinary, vied with that 
 of his colleague. It was composed of violet velvet, and the 
 embroidery, instead of being in silver, was of fine pearls. The 
 jewels with which it was covered were estimated in value at 
 half a million of florins. The boots alone cost 16,000 florins. 
 
 with
 
 248 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 with loud and long-continued cheering from 
 all parts of the Abbey. 
 
 Then there was a pause. Much was to 
 be done in the robing- coprrt, =but at length 
 appeared the head of the procession which 
 heralded Her Majesty's appearance within the 
 choir. Immediately after the regalia, the 
 Queen entered the choir, attired in her royal 
 robe of crimson velvet, furred with ermine 
 and bordered with gold lace, wearing the 
 collars of her orders ; on her head a circlet of 
 gold. Her Majesty's train was borne by eight 
 ladies. As the Queen slowly advanced along 
 the choir, all present throughout the Abbey 
 rose to their feet, while the anthem, " I was 
 glad when they said unto me," rang through- 
 out the hushed space. The Queen was no 
 sooner seated in the chair below the throne, 
 the utmost silence prevailing in anticipation of 
 the approaching solemnity, than the West- 
 minster boys, from their privileged place, 
 awoke astonished echoes by shouting at the 
 full power of their lungs, " Regina Victoria ! 
 
 Regina
 
 THE CORONATION. 249 
 
 Regina Victoria ! " The Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury advanced from his station at the south- 
 east pillar to the east part of the theatre, 
 accompanied by the Lord Chancellor, Lord 
 Great Chamberlain, Lord High Constable, 
 and Earl Marshal (Garter King-at-Arms pre- 
 ceding them), and made the recognition thus : 
 " Si7''s, I here presejit unto you Queen Victoria, 
 the undoubted Queen of this realm; wherefore 
 all you who are come this day to do your homage , 
 are you willing to do the same f " This he 
 repeated at the south, west, and north sides 
 of the choir, the Queen meanwhile rising and 
 turning towards the people on the side at 
 which the Archbishop pronounced the words. 
 At the conclusion of each proclamation the 
 people shouted, " God save Queen Victoria ! " 
 The trumpets sounded, the drums beat, and 
 the National Anthem swelled gloriously forth 
 on the organ. 
 
 The " recognition " finished, there followed 
 what is called " the first oblation," after which 
 the Litany and ante-Communion Service were 
 
 read
 
 250 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 read and sung, followed by the sermon, 
 preached by the Bishop of London. The 
 sermon concluded, the Archbishop, advancing 
 before the Queen, asked the prescribed ques- 
 tions. Her Majesty then took the coronation 
 oath, kissed the book, and set her royal sign- 
 manual to a transcript of the oath. Returning 
 to her place, she knelt at her faldstool while 
 the Veiii, Creator Spiritus was sung by the 
 choir, and the Archbishop read a prayer pre- 
 paratory to the anointing. 
 
 The choir then sang the anthem : " Zadok 
 the priest, and Nathan the prophet, anointed 
 Solomon King; and all the people rejoiced, 
 and said : God save the King, long live the 
 King, may the King live for ever. Amen. 
 Hallelujah." 
 
 At the commencement of the anthem, the 
 Queen, rising from her devotions, went before 
 the altar, attended by her supporters, and 
 assisted by the Lord Great Chamberlain, the 
 sword of state being carried before her, where 
 the Mistress of the Robes, assisted by the 
 
 Lord
 
 THE CORONATION. 25 I 
 
 Lord Great Chamberlain, divested Her 
 Majesty of her crimson robe, 
 
 " Of won'drous work and cost, 
 Of crimson velvet, and with gold embost." 
 
 The Queen then proceeded to St. 
 Edward's Chair, which was placed in the 
 midst of the area over against the altar, 
 covered with cloth of gold, with a faldstool 
 before it, and sat down to be anointed ; four 
 Knights of the Garter, namely, the Duke of 
 Rutland, the Marquis of Anglesey, the Marquis 
 of Exeter, and the Duke of Buccleuch (sum- 
 moned by Deputy Garter), holding over Her 
 Majesty a rich pall of silk and cloth of gold, 
 delivered to them by the Lord Chamberlain, 
 who had received it from an officer of the 
 wardrobe. The anthem being concluded, the 
 Dean of Westminster, taking the ampulla and 
 spoon from off the altar, held them ready, 
 pouring some of the holy oil into the spoon, 
 with which the Archbishop then anointed 
 the Queen, in the form of a cross, on the 
 crown of the head and on the palm of both 
 
 the
 
 252 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 the hands, pronouncing the formula, " Be thou 
 anointed with holy oil," etc. 
 
 The Dean of Westminster then laid the 
 ampulla and spoon upon the altar, and the 
 Queen kneeling at the fald-stool, the arch- 
 bishop, standing on the north side of the altar, 
 pronounced a prayer or blessing over her. At 
 its ending the Queen arose and resumed her 
 seat in St. Edward's Chair. The Knights of 
 the Garter, having returned the pall to the 
 Lord Chamberlain, who delivered it again to 
 the officer of the wardrobe, went to their 
 proper seats. 
 
 The spurs were brought from the altar by 
 the Dean of Westminster, and delivered to the 
 Lord Great Chamberlain ; he, kneeling down, 
 presented them to the Queen, who forthwith 
 returned them to be laid upon the altar. Lord 
 Melbourne delivered the sword of state to the 
 Lord Chamberlain, who gave it to an officer of 
 the Jewel-house (to be deposited in the tra- 
 verse in King Edward's Chapel), and received 
 instead another sword in a scabbard of purple 
 
 velvet,
 
 THE CORONATION. 253 
 
 velvet, which he delivered to the Archbishop, 
 who laid it on the altar with a prayer. Then 
 the archbishop took up the sword, and (the 
 Archbishops of York and Armagh, the Bishops 
 of London, Winchester, and others going with 
 him) delivered it into the Queen's right hand, 
 saying, " Receive this kingly sword." The 
 Queen, going to the altar, offered the sword 
 there in the scabbard, and delivered it to the 
 Archbishop, who replaced it on the altar ; after 
 which the Queen returned to her place. The 
 sword was then redeemed for one hundred 
 shillings by Lord Melbourne, who, receiving it 
 from the Dean of Westminster, and drawing 
 it out of the scabbard (which he delivered to 
 an officer of the wardrobe), bore it unsheathed 
 before Her Majesty during the remainder of 
 the solemnity. 
 
 Then, the Queen rising, the imperial 
 mantle or dalmatic robe, of cloth of gold 
 lined with ermine, was delivered to the Dean 
 of Westminster, and by him put upon the 
 Queen, who, having received it, sat down. 
 
 The
 
 2 54 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 The orb with the cross was then brought from 
 the alt^r by the Dean of Westminster, and 
 dehvered into the Queen's right hand by the 
 Archbishop, who pronounced a blessing and ex- 
 hortation. The Queen returned it to the Dean 
 of Westminster to be by him laid on the altar. 
 
 An officer of the Jewel-house now delivered 
 to the Lord Chamberlain, who handed it to the 
 Archbishop, the Queen's ring, in which a table 
 Jewel is enchased ; the Archbishop put it on 
 the fourth finger of Her Majesty's right hand, 
 reciting a prayer. 
 
 Then the Dean of Westminster brought the 
 sceptre and rod to the Archbishop ; and the 
 Lord of the Manor of Worksop (who holds an 
 estate by the service of presenting to the 
 sovereign a right-hand glove on the day of 
 coronation, and supporting the royal right arm 
 during the holding of the sceptre with the 
 cross) delivered to the Queen a pair of rich 
 gloves, and, as occasion happened afterwards, 
 supported Her Majesty's right arm, or held the 
 sceptre by her side. The gloves being put on, 
 
 the
 
 ,%i^ ^^^i^/?^y^/i^
 
 THE CORONATION. 255 
 
 the Archbishop delivered the sceptre with the 
 cross into the Queen's right hand, saying, " Re- 
 ceive the royal sceptre, the ensign of kingly 
 power and justice." 
 
 Then he delivered the rod with the dove 
 into the Queen's left hand, saying an exhortation. 
 
 The Archbishop, standing before the altar, 
 then took the crown into his hands, and, after 
 laying it again before him upon the altar, en- 
 gaged in prayer. The Queen still sitting in 
 St. Edward's Chair, the Archbishop, assisted 
 by the same Archbishops and Bishops as be- 
 fore, left the altar ; the Dean of Westminster 
 brought the crown, and the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, taking it from him, reverently 
 placed it upon the Queen's head. 
 
 Immediately Her Majesty was crowned, the 
 peers and peeresses put on their coronets, 
 Bishops their caps, and Kings-at-Arms their 
 crowns. 
 
 " Soon as the royal brow received the crown, 
 And Majesty put all her glories on, 
 Straight on a thousand coronets we gaze. 
 Straight all around was one imperial blaze." 
 
 Tumultuous
 
 256 777^ FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Tumultuous shouts of " God save the 
 Queen ! " followed this culmination of the cere- 
 mony, and rang" to the vaulted roof with a blare 
 from the trumpeters. A signal being given the 
 instant the crown was placed on the Queen's 
 head, the Park guns and the great guns at the 
 Tower fired a royal salute. 
 
 Within the Abbey, the acclamations having 
 ceased, the Archbishop pronounced an exhorta- 
 tion, and the Te Deuin was sung by the choir, 
 after which the Queen ascended the platform 
 and was assisted into her throne by the Arch- 
 bishops and Bishops to receive the homage of 
 the spiritual and temporal lords. The Arch- 
 bishops were the first to kneel down and kiss 
 the Queen's hand ; then followed the Bishops ; 
 the dukes first, by themselves, and so the 
 marquises, the earls, the viscounts, and the 
 barons, severally ; the first of each order 
 kneeling before Her Majesty, and the rest 
 with and about him, all putting off their 
 coronets, the first of each class beginning, and 
 the rest saying after him : " I, N., Duke or 
 
 Earl
 
 THE CORONATION. 257 
 
 Earl, etc., of M., do become your liege man of 
 life and limb, and of earthly worship, and faith 
 and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die 
 against all manner of folks. So help me God." 
 This part of the ceremony is described as 
 being peculiarly affecting, especially when the 
 old Duke of Sussex embraced the Queen, 
 and was helped away by the peers around 
 him ; but there was no indication of popular 
 feeling until the Duke of Wellington presented 
 himself before Her Majesty to do homage for 
 the dukes, when the entire assembly broke 
 into applause. After this, all the peers present, 
 in the order of their rank and seniority, ad- 
 vanced up the steps of the throne, touched 
 the crown, and kissed the Queen's hand. It 
 was in the midst of this scene that Lord Rolle, 
 an infirm old man, in attempting to ascend, 
 stumbled and fell back from the second step 
 to the floor.* The Queen rose up impulsively, 
 
 * A foreigner in London gravely reported to his country- 
 men, what he entirely believed on the word of a wag, that the 
 Lords Rolle held their title on condition of performing this feat 
 at every coronation. 
 
 s but
 
 258 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 but Lord Rolle had been immediately raised 
 by two peers, and on his again presenting 
 himself, Her Majesty leaned forward, and held 
 out her hand, dispensing with his touching the 
 crown. This ceremony of the homage took 
 a long time, and during the performance the 
 Lord Treasurer of the Household, the Earl of 
 Surrey, flung about the coronation medals,* 
 for which a lively scramble ensued. Peers, 
 generals, Gold Sticks, and robed aldermen are 
 described as having wrestled and fought, and 
 worried the poor Treasurer and each other 
 like a pack of street children ; but this is doubt- 
 less an exaggeration. The aldermen have the 
 
 * The coronation medal of Queen Victoria, size i'45 inches, 
 was made by Benedetto Pistrucci. Obverse: Bust of Victoria 
 to left, wearing diadem, to which is attached a portion of a veil. 
 Legend: VICTORIA D.G. BRITANNIARUM reGINA F.d. Reverse : 
 The Queen is seated to left on a dais, holding in her right hand 
 the orb and in her left the sceptre ; before her are three figures, 
 representing the three estates of the realm, holding out to her 
 a crown, or rather, in this case, an imperial diadem ; behind 
 her stands the British lion grasping a thunderbolt. Lege7id: 
 ERIMUS TIBI NOBILE REGNUM. In the exergue : INAUGURATA 
 
 DIE lUNii xxviii MDCCCXXXVlil. The coronation medal in 
 gold was presented to each member of the Upper and Lower 
 Houses. 
 
 credit
 
 THE CORONATION. 259 
 
 credit of having been particularly active in 
 this curious bit of horse-play. The judges 
 were more dignified in their efforts, merely 
 putting out tentative hands from their places, 
 and not one single medal did they catch. All 
 this, however, occurred behind the throne, and 
 of course out of view of the Queen. After the 
 homage came the Communion Service, at which 
 Her Majesty communicated, kneeling alone at 
 the altar, with her crown laid aside ; and the 
 final prayers concluded the solemnity of the 
 Coronation Office. The Queen now descended 
 into the area and passed into King Edward's 
 Chapel, where the imperial mantle of state was 
 changed for the royal robe of purple velvet. 
 A procession for the return was then formed. 
 
 Her Majesty proceeded through the choir 
 to the west door of the Abbey, in the same 
 manner as she came, bearing in her right 
 hand the sceptre with the cross, and in her 
 left the orb ; all peers wearing their coro- 
 nets, and the Archbishops and Bishops their 
 caps. The Queen, on leaving the Abbey, was 
 
 most
 
 26o THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 most enthusiastically cheered, all present rising 
 from their places ; and the Abbey at once be- 
 came the scene of splendid confusion. It is 
 said that the new-crowned Sovereign did not 
 seem exhausted after the most fatiguing ser- 
 vices of the day ; such, however, was not the 
 case with many who were present, for the 
 hardy Miss Martineau relates that she herself 
 was never so fatiofued in her life, and that she 
 observed several ladies sitting down on the 
 ground in dust half a foot deep. The scene 
 that presented itself outside the Abbey beggars 
 all description ; the avenues and boarded gal- 
 leries leading across the churchyard were ren- 
 dered literally impassable by ladies, in a state 
 of the most pitiable exhaustion, and with 
 dresses torn and soiled, lying and sitting in 
 groups on the steps and flooring. 
 
 The Queen left the Abbey at twenty-five 
 minutes to five, amid the acclamations of the 
 multitudes, and returned to the palace by the 
 morning route, her appearance with the crown 
 and sceptre exciting the greatest interest. 
 
 Leslie,
 
 THE CORONATION. 26 1 
 
 Leslie, in his Reminiscences, relates a very 
 simple ending to all this glittering pageantry. 
 The Queen had a favourite little spaniel, who 
 was always on the look-out for her return when 
 she w^as from home. On this eventful day 
 Her Majesty had, of course, been separated 
 from her pet longer than usual, and when the 
 state coach drove up to the palace steps, she 
 heard him barking joyously in the hall, and 
 exclaimed, " There's Dash," and was in a hurry 
 to doft' her crown and royal robe and go and 
 give Dash his bath. 
 
 " I don't know why," says this gentle- 
 hearted painter in his record of the day, " but 
 the first sight of her in her robes of state 
 brought tears into my eyes, and it had this 
 effect upon many people ; she looked almost 
 like a child." 
 
 Thomas Campbell, the poet, who was pre- 
 sent, said, on his application for a ticket to the 
 Earl Marshal, that " There was a place in the 
 Abbey called Poets' Corner, and perhaps room 
 might be found in it for a poor living poet." 
 
 It
 
 262 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 It is told of Lord Glenelg that having, like 
 the rest of the company, been obliged to get 
 up very early on the coronation morning, he 
 slept peacefully until the moment of the crown- 
 ing had arrived. Rousing himself to witness 
 that ceremony, he subsided again into a not 
 long undisturbed slumber, which ended with 
 his coronet tumbling off and falling upon the 
 floor. The noise awakened the noble baron, 
 who, clapping his hands to his head, cried out, 
 "Dear me, I've lost my nightcap!" The 
 " nightcap " rolled on, and was not recovered 
 until after the homage. 
 
 "MR. BARNEY MAGUIRE'S HISTORY. OF THE 
 CORONATION. 
 
 "Air — ' The Groves of Blarjtey.^ 
 
 " Och ! the Coronation ! what celebration 
 
 For emulation can with it compare .'' 
 When to Westminster the Royal Spinster, 
 
 And the Duke of Leinster, all in order did repair! 
 'Twas there you'd see the New Polishemen 
 
 Making a scrimmage at half after four. 
 And the Lords and Ladies, and the Miss O'Gradys 
 
 All standing round, before the Abbey door. 
 
 " Their
 
 THE CORONATION. 263 
 
 " Their pillows scorning, that self-same morning, 
 
 Themselves adorning, all by the candle light, 
 With roses and lilies, and daffy-down-dillies, 
 
 And gould, and jewels, and rich di'monds bright. 
 And then approaches five hundred coaches, 
 
 With Giniral DuUbeak. — Och ! 'twas mighty fine 
 To see how asy bould Corporal Casey, 
 
 With his sword drawn, prancing, made them kape the line. 
 
 " Then the Guns, alarums, and the King of Arrums, 
 
 All in his Garters and his Clarence shoes. 
 Opening the massy doors to the bould Ambassydors, 
 
 The Prince of Potboys, and great Haythen Jews ; 
 'Twould have made you go crazy to see Esterhazy 
 
 All jew'ls from jasey to his di'mond boots, 
 With Alderman Harmer, and that swate charmer, 
 
 The famale heiress, Miss Anjk-ly Coutts. 
 
 " And Wellington walking with his sword drawn, talking 
 
 To Hill and Hardinge, heroes of great fame ; 
 And Sir de Lacey, and the Duke Dalmasey, 
 
 (They call'd him Sowlt afore he changed his name). 
 Themselves presading Lord Melbourne lading 
 
 The Queen, the darling, to her Royal chair, 
 And that fine ould fellow, the Duke of PcU-Mello, 
 
 The (2ueen of Portingal's Charge-de-fair. 
 
 " Then the noble Proossians, likewise the Roossians, 
 In fine laced jackets with their goulden cuffs. 
 And the Bavarians, and the proud Hungarians, 
 
 And Everythingarians all in furs and muffs. 
 Then Misthur Spaker, with Misthur Pays, the Quaker, 
 
 All in the Gallery you might persave, 
 But Lord Brougham was missing, and gone a-fishing, 
 Ounly cross Lord Essex would not give him lave. 
 
 " There
 
 264 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 " There was Baron Alten himself exaltin', 
 
 And Prince Von Svvartzenburg, and many more, 
 Och ! I'd be bother'd and entirely smother'd 
 
 To tell the half of 'em was to the fore ; 
 With the swate Peeresses, in their crowns and dresses, 
 
 And Aldermanesses, and the Boord of Works ; 
 But Mehemet Ali said, quite gintaly, 
 
 'I'd be proud to see the likes among the Turks ! ' 
 
 " Then the Queen, Heaven bless her ! Och ! they did dress her 
 
 In her purple garaments, and her goulden Crown ; 
 Like Venus or Hebe, or the Queen of Sheby, 
 
 With six young Ladies houlding up her gown. 
 Sure 'twas grand to see her, also for to he-ar 
 
 The big drums bating, and the trumpets blow, 
 And Sir George Smart ! Oh ! he played a Consarto, 
 
 With his four-and-twenty fiddlers all in a row ! 
 
 " Then the Lord Archbishop held a goulden dish up. 
 
 For to resave her bounty and great wealth, 
 Saying, ' Plase your glory, great Queen Vict-ory ! 
 
 Ye'U give the Clargy lave to dhrink your health ! ' 
 Then his Riverence, retrating, discoorsed the mating, 
 
 ' Boys ! Here's your Queen ! deny it if you can ! 
 And if any bould traitour, or infarior craythur 
 
 Sneezes at that, I'd like to see the man ! ' 
 
 " Then the Nobles kneeling to the Pow'rs appaling, 
 
 * Heaven send your Majesty a glorious reign !' 
 And Sir Claudius Hunter he did confront her, 
 
 All in his scarlet gown and goulden chain. 
 The Great Lord May'r too sat in his chair too. 
 
 But mighty sarious, looking fit to cry. 
 For the Earl of Surrey, all in his hurry 
 
 Throwing the thirteens, hit him in the eye. 
 
 " Then
 
 THE CORONATION. 265 
 
 " Then there was preaching, and good store of speeching, 
 
 With Dukes and Marquises on bended knee ; 
 And they did splash her with the raal Macasshur, 
 
 And the Queen said, ' Ah ! then, thank ye all for me ! ' 
 Then the trumpets braying, and the organ playing, 
 
 And sweet trombones with their silver tones, 
 But Lord Rolle was rolling ; — 'twas mighty consoling, 
 
 To think his Lordship did not break his bones. 
 
 " Then the Crames and the Custard, and the Beef and 
 Mustard, 
 All on the tombstones like a poultherer's shop. 
 With Lobsters and White-bait, and other Swate-mate, 
 
 And Wine, and Nagus, and Imparial Pop ! 
 There was Cakes and Apples in all the Chapels, 
 
 With fine Polonies, and rich mellow Pears, 
 Och ! the Count Von Strogonofif, sure he got prog enough, 
 The sly old Divil, underneath the stairs. 
 
 " Then the cannons thunder'd, and the people wonder'd, 
 Crying, ' God save Victoria, our Royal Queen ! ' 
 Och ! if myself should live to be a hundred. 
 
 Sure it's the proudest day that I'll have seen ! 
 And now I've ended, what I pretended. 
 
 This narration splendid in swate poe-thry. 
 So, ye dear bewitcher, just hand the pitcher, 
 Faith, it's myself that's getting mighty dhry ! " 
 
 B. M. 
 
 In the evening the illuminations were on 
 the grandest scale and of the most dazzling 
 description. London is described as being one 
 blaze of light. At the Ordnance Office in Pall 
 
 Mall
 
 2 66 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Mall upwards of sixty thousand lamps were 
 used, the designs comprising pieces of artillery, 
 firelocks, and piles of cannon-balls, surrounded 
 with devices of various orders. Crockford's 
 Club, at the corner of St. James's Street and 
 Piccadilly, had one immense illumination, " Vic- 
 toria Regina," outlined with small lamps. The 
 show throughout town was doubtless as suc- 
 cessful as an illumination can be that has bril- 
 liancy for its object. But how different from 
 the soft gold of the lights outlining, say, the 
 Palazzo Vecchio on a blue Florentine night ! 
 Decidedly the English have not the genius 
 of illuminating. 
 
 By royal command many of the theatres 
 were opened gratuitously, ^400 being paid for 
 this purpose to each of the larger houses, ^200 
 to the Haymarkel and Lyceum, ^150 to the 
 Adelphi and Astley's, ^100 to the Surrey and 
 Victoria, and proportionate sums to the minor 
 houses. The theatres so opened were Drury 
 Lane, Covent Garden, Haymarket, Lyceum, 
 Adelphi, Strand, Astley's, Surrey, Victoria, 
 
 City
 
 THE CORONATION. 267 
 
 City of London, Sadler's Wells, Eagle Tavern 
 (Grecian), White Conduit House, Bagnigge 
 Wells, Garrick, Standard, and Pavilion. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington gave a ball at 
 Apsley House to celebrate the event. Cards 
 of invitation for two thousand persons were 
 issued. Perhaps the most interesting and dis- 
 ting-uished of the Duke's guests on this occasion 
 was his old opponent in the Peninsular War, 
 Marshal Soult. Throughout the provinces the 
 rejoicings took the form of public dinners of roast 
 beef and plum-pudding for the poor, fancy-dress 
 balls, and the usual illuminations and fireworks. 
 
 Finally a grand fair was held, by permis- 
 sion of the Government, in Hyde Park. The 
 last occasion on which a similar concession had 
 been given was at the Peace of 18 14. 
 
 The numerous and many-shaped flag- 
 bedecked booths, arranged in quadrangular form, 
 covered a space of about 1000 by 1400 feet. 
 One of the largest and best patronised was 
 that of Williams, the boiled-beef seller of the 
 
 Old
 
 268 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 Old Bailey, which was pitched in the broadest 
 part of the fair and immediately adjoining 
 Richardson's show. In some, substantial 
 luncheons were provided — in fact, feeding was 
 going on all day ; in others were announce- 
 ments that a grand ball would be held in the 
 evening, the favourite hour being six o'clock ; 
 while we are told that ices — " an innovation 
 on the ancient style of refreshment which we 
 had certainly never expected to see introduced 
 into the canvas shops of the fair pastrycooks " 
 — were hugely appreciated. Clowns and " play- 
 actors " did their best to amuse large but not 
 too critical audiences. Shows there were in 
 plenty, with fat ladies, dwarfs, children with 
 two heads, animals without heads at all, and 
 other irresistible attractions. 
 
 The Queen honoured the fair with a visit 
 on Friday afternoon, her arrival being an- 
 nounced by a " royal salute " fired from some 
 of the booths, while the several brazen bands — 
 not always perhaps in strict tune — vigorously 
 struck up " God save the Queen." 
 
 The
 
 THE CORONATION. 269 
 
 The moment of all the various and irorofeous 
 day of the coronation chosen by Leslie for his 
 picture was the humble instant of recollection 
 and quiet when the young Queen knelt to 
 receive the Sacrament, with the mantle on her 
 shoulders, her head uncovered, with its simply 
 braided hair. The choice — if it was indeed 
 Leslie's own — was characteristic of him. The 
 Queen herself suggested certain changes in the 
 composition. " She is," he wrote, " so far 
 satisfied with the likeness that she does not 
 wish me to touch it again. She sat not only 
 for the face, but for as much as is seen of the 
 figure, and for the hands with the coronation 
 ring on her finger. Her hands, by-the-by, 
 are very pretty, the backs dimpled, and the 
 fingers delicately shaped. She was particular 
 also in having her hair dressed exactly as she 
 wore it at the ceremony every time she sat." 
 The Queen put him " in high spirits by liking 
 the picture very much." 
 
 Her Majesty is represented as habited in 
 the coronation mantle, the symbols of earthly 
 
 domination —
 
 270 THE FIRST YEAR OF A SILKEN REIGN. 
 
 domination — the crown and sceptre — being laid 
 aside. The peers and peeresses have also 
 doffed their coronets. The Archbishop of 
 Canterbury administers the Communion. The 
 Duke of Wellington holds the sword, the Lord 
 Chamberlain the crown ; the Duchess of Kent, 
 with other ladies of the Royal Family, and 
 Lady Flora Hastings, face the spectator. And 
 behind the kneeling Queen stand five of the 
 eight young daughters of peers who bore the 
 royal train. The artist has done his best to 
 render beauty, as admired at that time, in the 
 looped and ringleted heads of the bevy. 
 
 So the golden pageant of this century lives 
 on in the work of Leslie's gentle pencil, and 
 will live when the last of the throng gathered 
 in the Abbey fifty years ago shall have passed 
 into eternity. 
 
 INDEX.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Accession of Queen Victoria, i 
 Addresses of congratulation pre- 
 sented to Queen Victoria, 30 
 Address spoken by Macready at 
 
 Covent Garden Theatre, 197 
 Adelaide, Queen, 26, 75 
 Adelphi Theatre, 204 
 Admission ticket to the Guildhall 
 
 banquet, 64 
 'Age," Brighton coach, 152 
 Ainsvvorth, Harrison, 92 
 Albemarle, Earl of (Master of the 
 
 Horse), 12 
 'Albert," Birmingham coach, 132 
 Albertazzi, Madame, 47, 186 
 Aldermen as equestrians, 60 
 ' Alexandrina Victoria," 9 
 Allegiance, declaration of, 5 ; oath 
 
 of, 9 
 Almack's, 103 
 Alvanley, Lord, 93 
 Amato," winner of the Derby, 
 
 1838, 169 
 Ambassadors' carriages at the 
 
 coronation, 242 
 Ambassadors extraordinary at the 
 
 coronation of Queen Victoria, 
 
 242 
 Amusement, places of, 213 
 
 Anecdotes of William IV., 28 ; 
 Queen Victoria, 45, 46, 48, 55, 
 56, 261 ; Rev. Sydney Smith, 
 94 ; Mendelssohn, 182 ; Thal- 
 berg, 183 ; Stanfield and Mac- 
 ready, 200 ; Marshal Soult, 
 246 ; Thomas Campbell, 261 ; 
 Lord Glenelg, 262 
 
 Anglesey, Marquis of, 76 
 
 Anne, Queen, 35, 40 
 
 Apollonicon, the, 214 
 
 Apollo Saloon, 213 
 
 Archery, 180 
 
 Arcot diamonds, sale of the, 106 
 
 Argyle, Duke of, 107 
 
 Armoury exhibition, 214 
 
 Arrival in London of Prince Louis 
 Napoleon, 94 
 
 Ascot races, 170 
 
 Astley's Royal Amphitheatre, 209 
 
 Aston, H., 131 
 
 B 
 
 Bagnigge Wells, 213 
 Balfe, Michael, 184 
 Ball at the Guildhall, 108 
 Balloon ascents, 216, 218 
 Balls at Almack's, 103, 105 ; 
 Buckingham Palace, 229, 232 
 Bals-masquhf
 
 272 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bals-masqties, 108 
 
 Barnett, John, 185 
 
 Barney Maguire's history of the 
 coronation, 262 
 
 Bathyani, Count, 131, 140, 168 
 
 Bayswater, horse-racing at, 171 
 
 Beaufort, Duke of, 173 
 
 Belgians, King of the, visits the 
 Queen, 54 
 
 Benedict, Julius, 185, 194 
 
 Bennett, Lieutenant, shot by " Sir 
 W. Courtenay," 91 
 
 Bentinck, Lord George, 168, 169, 
 171 
 
 Bentinck, Lord William, 108 
 " Berkeley Hunt," Cheltenham 
 coach, 129 
 
 Bets, extraordinary, 177 
 
 Bigland, Sir Ralph, 14 
 
 Bill of fare at the Guildhall ban- 
 quet, 66 
 
 Birmingham and London Railroad 
 Company. Sec London and 
 Birmingham Railway ; also 
 Railways. 
 
 Birmingham, Chester, and Holy- 
 head day mail, 125 
 
 Birthday of Queen Victoria, 230 
 
 Bishop, Henry, 185 
 " Blenheim," Oxford coach, 132 
 
 Blessington, Lady, 95, 1 15 
 
 Bluecoat school boys, an ancient 
 privilege, 61 
 
 Boat-race, Cambridge University 
 V. Leander, 179 
 
 Bonaparte, Prince Louis Napo- 
 leon, arrival in London, 94 
 
 Borolowski (dwarf), Death of 
 Count, 220 
 
 Box (cricketer), 173, 174 
 
 Brackenbury, Charles (whip), 
 130 
 
 Braham, John, 185, 207, 213 
 
 Breakfasts, 118 
 
 Brighton Chain Pier, visit of 
 
 Queen Victoria to the, 58 
 Brighton railroad, first brick, 158 
 Brighton, visit of Queen Victoria 
 
 to, 56 ; sledging at, 84 
 Brougham, Lord, 93 
 Brown, Captain Samuel, R.N., 58 
 Buccleuch, Duke of, 75, 76 
 Buckingham Palace, 35 ; Queen 
 
 Victoria resides at, 35 
 Buckstone, J. B., 203, 208 
 Bunn (of Drury Lane Theatre), 
 
 189 
 Burdett-Coutts, Angela, 108, 114 
 Burford's panorama, 214 
 Burghersh, Lord, 185 
 Burning of the Royal Exchange, 
 
 85 
 Byng, M.P., Captain, 108 
 
 Calvert (bo\vyer), 180 
 
 Cambrian ball, 105 
 
 Cambridge, Duchess of, 59 
 
 Cambridge, Duke of, 59 
 
 Cambridge, Prince George, of, 42, 
 171 
 
 Campbell, Thomas, at the corona- 
 tion, 261 
 
 Canterbury, Archbishop of (Dr. 
 Howley), i, 4, 25 
 
 Carriage of Marshal Soult at the 
 coronation, 242 
 
 Carriages of ambassadors at the 
 coronation, 242 
 
 Carroll, George (sheriff), knighted, 
 62 
 
 Castlereagh, Lord, 173 ; and 
 Monsieur G. de Melcy, duel 
 between, 99 
 
 Celeste, Madame, 203 
 
 Ceremonial at court of Queen Vic- 
 toria, precedents, 39 
 
 Chain
 
 INDEX. 
 
 273 
 
 Chain Pier, Brighton, visit of 
 Queen Victoria to the, 58 
 
 Chalon's, Alfred, portrait of Queen 
 Victoria, 224 
 
 Channel tunnel, plan for a, 164 
 
 Chaplin (mail-coach proprietor), 
 127 
 
 Chappie (jockey), 169 
 
 Chesterfield, Lord, 99, 131, 140, 
 170, 173 
 
 Child and Co., Banking house of, 
 60 
 
 Christmas passed by Queen Vic- 
 toria in London, 71 
 
 Christ's Hospital scholars, an 
 ancient privilege, 61 
 
 City, the. Queen Victoria's visit 
 to, 58 ; medal struck, 69 ; il- 
 luminations in honour of, 70 
 
 City banquet to Queen Victoria, 
 62 ; cost of, 64 ; admission 
 ticket, 64 ; bill of fare, 66 
 
 Civic decorations at the Guildhall 
 banquet, 62 
 
 Clanricarde, Marquis of, 193 
 
 Clanwilliam, Lord, 173 
 
 Clubs, the, on coronation day, 244 
 
 Coach-drivers of the day, 132 
 
 Coaches, mail, names of, 126, 135 
 
 Coaching, 122 
 ' Coal Hole," the, 213 
 
 Cobbett (cricketer), 174 
 
 Coburg, Prince of, 42 
 
 Cocking, 181 
 
 Cocking, Mr., death of, 216 
 
 Codrington, Admiral, 22 
 
 Colosseum, the, 213 
 
 Complaints by railway passengers, 
 
 154 
 Concert'at Buckingham Palace, 47 
 Concerts given by J. Strauss, 184 
 Confirmation of the Princess Vic- 
 toria, 25 
 Conquest (actor), 210 
 
 Conroy, Lady, 12 
 Conroy, Sir John, 12, 21 
 Consorts for the Queen, 42 
 Conyngham, Marquis of (Lord 
 
 Chamberlain), i, 12 
 Copley, Lady Charlotte, 53 
 Coppett's plan for a Channel 
 
 tunnel, 164 
 Coronation of Queen Victoria, 234 
 
 Ambassadors extraordinary pre- 
 sent, 242 
 
 Barney Maguire's history of the 
 coronation in verse, 262 
 
 The ceremonial, 248 
 
 Fair in Hyde Park, 267 
 
 House of Commons, 240 
 
 Illuminations, 265 
 
 Interior of Westminster Abbey, 
 
 235 
 Leslie's picture, 269 
 Medals, 258 
 
 Refreshments provided, 239 
 Royal procession, 241 
 Scene at the conclusion, 260 
 Theatres opened gratuitously, 
 266 
 
 Cosmorama, 214 
 
 Cost of the City banquet to Queen 
 Victoria, 64 
 
 Costa, Michael, 47, 187, 232 
 
 Costume in 1837, 97 
 
 Court of Queen Victoria, 41 ; 
 Louis XIV., 41 
 
 Courtenay riots, 90 
 " Courtenay, Sir William," 90, 92 
 
 Courts of Queens, 40 
 
 Coutts, Mr. (banker), 113 
 
 Coutts, Mrs., Ill 
 
 Covent Garden Theatre, 194; ad- 
 dress spoken by Macready, 197 ; 
 plays produced by Macready, 
 198; state visit of Queen Vic- 
 toria to, 200; diorama by Stan- 
 field, 200 
 
 Cowan,
 
 2 74 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cowan, Sir John (Lord Mayor of 
 
 London), 62 
 Cracknell (noted whip), 133 
 Cremorne House, 107 
 Cricket, 173 
 Cricket match on the ice, 84 ; 
 
 Gentlemen v. Players, 174; 
 
 North V. South, 174 ; North v. 
 
 South (coronation match), 175 
 Cumberland, Duke of, 5 
 Curious present to the Queen, 50 
 
 D 
 
 Day, John (jockey), 169 
 
 Day, Sam (jockey), 168 
 
 Day, William (jockey), 171 
 
 Day Rocket," Portsmouth coach, 
 129 
 
 Dancing at Almack's, 103 
 
 Davidge (actor), 20S 
 
 Death of Prince Talleyrand, 95 ; 
 Queen Hortense, 95 ; the 
 Duchess of St. Albans, iii ; 
 Lord Eldon, 114 ; William 
 Westwood, I2C ; Samuel Wes- 
 ley, 185 ; John Reeve, 205 ; 
 Mr. Cocking, 216 ; Count Boro- 
 lowski, 220 ; ]Mrs. Louis, 229 
 
 Debtors, a curious custom, 81 
 
 Debtors in Nottingham Gaol, 82 
 ■ Defiance," Oxford coach, 129 
 
 Departure from London of the first 
 public train for the north, 145 
 
 Derby, the, 168 
 
 Dernski, Count, 47 
 
 Diamonds, great sale of, 106 
 
 Dinner given to the Duke of 
 Wellington by the Goldsmiths' 
 Company, 119 
 
 Dinner-parties on Sundays, 1 18 
 
 Diorama, 214 
 
 Diorama by Stanfield at Covent 
 Garden Theatre, 200 
 
 Discomforts of the railway, 1 54 
 D'Orsay, Count, 97, 107, 168 
 Douro, Marquis of, 230 
 Downshire, IMarchioness of, 115 
 Drama, the legitimate, 194, 195 
 Drawing-room, Queen Victoria's 
 
 first, 39 
 Dress in 1837, 97 
 Drury Lane Theatre, 189 ; plays 
 produced at, 190 ; state visit of 
 Queen Victoria to, 190; en- 
 gagement of Charles Kean, 192 
 Ducrow (of Astley's), 209 
 Duel between Lord Castlei^eagh 
 and Monsieur G. de Melcy, 99 ; 
 between Lord Edward Thynne 
 and Mr. Passmore, 99 
 Duelling-grounds, 100 
 Duncombe, Thomas Slingsby, 98, 
 99, 108 
 " Durdans," the (Epsom), 169 
 Dustmen, the last of the running, 
 
 78 
 Duvernay, Marie Louise, 187 
 
 East End, the, 210 
 
 Easter Monday at the East End, 
 
 210 
 Eccentricities of subjects, 42 
 Eglinton, Earl of, 168 
 Eldon, Lord, death of, 114 
 Electric telegraph first practically 
 
 worked, 144 
 Elizabeth, Queen, 40 
 Ellsler, Fanny, 187 
 Elopements, 100, 102 
 Entertainments at theatres, length 
 
 of, 202 
 Equestrian aldermen, 60 
 Errington, Rowland, Master of 
 
 the Quorn Hunt, 173 
 Escape from sheriffs officers, I02 
 Essex, Countess of, 238 
 
 Esterhazy,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 275 
 
 Esterhazy, Prince, 230, 232 ; at 
 
 the coronation, 247 
 Europe, sovereigns of, reigning on 
 
 Queen Victoria's accession, 3, 
 
 II 
 Extraordinary wagers, 177 
 
 Fair in Hyde Park on coronation 
 day, 267 
 
 Falconer's archery -ground, iSo 
 
 Fares, railway, 146, 157 
 
 Farren, William, 203, 206 
 
 Fatal parachute descent, 216 
 
 Fatal riot in Kent, 90 
 
 Faucit, Helen, 197, 198 
 
 Fete champetre, 107 
 
 Fight, J. Lane v. B. Stocks, 176 
 " Finest site in Europe," laying out 
 of, 74 
 
 Fire, burning of the Royal Ex- 
 change, 85 
 
 Fire in Tooley Street, 82 
 
 First audience, Queen Victoria's, 2 
 
 First Privy Council, 3 
 
 Forbes, Dr., 99 
 
 Forester, Lord, 173 
 " Four-in-Hand Club," formation 
 of the, 140 ; parody on the first 
 meet of the, 141 
 
 Frost, severe, 83 
 
 Frozen milk sold, 85 
 
 Gallery of Practical Science, 214 
 Garrick Theatre, 210 
 Garter, Order of the, 35 
 Gas in Parliament, 92 
 Gentlemen v. Players, cricket 
 
 match, 174 
 Glenelg, Lord, at the coronation, 
 
 262 
 Gloucester, Duchess of, 59 
 
 Glover, Mrs., 202, 204 
 
 Goldsmiths' Company, dinner to 
 the Duke of Wellington, 119 
 
 Goldsmiths' Company's plate, 119 
 
 Gore House, 95 
 
 Gorgeous uniform of Prince Ester- 
 hazy, 232 
 
 Gosfield lake, 84 
 
 Grand Junction Railway, opening 
 of, 158 
 
 Graham, Mrs. (aeronaut), 218 
 
 Grapes Tavern, Kensington, 52 
 
 Great Western Railway, opening 
 of, 159 
 
 Great fFt'Ji^^rw, the, paddle steamer, 
 first voyage across the Atlantic, 
 161 
 
 Grecian Saloon, 210 
 
 Gretna Green marriages, loo, 102 
 
 Greville, Charles, 168 
 
 Grisi, Giulia, 47, 169, 186, 189, 
 232 
 
 Guildhall, ball at the, 108 
 
 Guildhall banquet, Queen Vic- 
 toria, 62 ; decorations at the, 
 63 ; cost of the, 64 ; bill of 
 fare at, 66 
 
 Guest, Lady Charlotte, 105 
 
 H 
 
 Hamilton, Joseph, presents the 
 
 Queen with an olive tree, 50 
 Hanover, kingdom of, 5 
 Hartopp, Sir Edmund C, 173 
 Haslett (cricketer), 173 
 Hastings, Lady Flora, 12, 53 
 Hastings, Marchioness of, at the 
 
 Derby Hunt Ball, 173 
 Hastings, Marquis of, 173 
 Haymarket Theatre, 202 ; plays 
 produced, 203 ; first appearance 
 in London of Samuel Phelps at 
 the, 203 
 
 Hayter's
 
 276 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Hayter's portrait of Queen Vic- 
 toria, 225 
 
 Heathcote, Sir Gilbert, 169 
 
 Her Majesty's Theatre, 187 ; 
 operas produced in 1837-8, 188 
 
 Highland ball, 105 
 
 Hill, Lord, 15, 49 
 
 Hillier (cricketer), 173 
 
 Hippodrome, the, at Bayswater 
 171 
 
 Holiday, additional week's, to 
 public schools, 34 
 
 Holland House, 93 
 
 Holland, Lady, 93, 94 
 
 Holmes (noted whip), 132 
 
 Honey, Mrs., 209 
 
 Horse-races, Derby, 168 ; St. 
 Leger, 168 ; Ascot, 170; Oaks, 
 170 
 
 Horse-racing at Bayswater, 171 
 
 Hortense, Queen, death of, 95 
 
 House of Commons at Queen Vic- 
 toria's coronation, 240 
 
 Howley, Dr. , Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, I 
 
 Huddart, Miss, 200, 202 
 
 HuUah, John, 185 
 
 Hume, Joseph, M.P., 58 
 
 Hunnings, Mr., 42 
 
 Hunting dinner to Rowland Er- 
 rington, 173 
 
 Hyde Park, 115 ; coronation fair, 
 267 
 
 Ice, singular feat on the, 83 ; 
 
 cricket match on the, 84 
 Illuminations, Queen Victoria's 
 
 visit to the City, 70 ; on Queen 
 
 Victoria's birthday, 231 ; on 
 
 coronation day, 265 
 Imprisonment for debt, 81 
 Intoxicating drink, "no 
 
 Invalids' railway, 160 
 " Invisible watch, an," 78 
 Irving, Washington, 94 
 Italian Opera, 186; an "un- 
 English custom," 189 
 
 J 
 
 Jersey, Countess of, 115 
 Jersey, Earl of, 12 
 Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 40 
 
 K 
 
 Kean, Charles, at Drury Lane 
 Theatre, 192 ; Banquet given 
 to, 193 
 
 Keeleys, the, 206 
 
 Kemble, Charles, 224 
 
 Kemble, Fanny, 37 
 
 Kemble, Stephen, 220 
 
 Kensington Palace quitted by the 
 Queen, 35 
 
 Kent, Duchess of, 2, 4, 12, 21, 
 
 53. 54, 59, 171 
 King's Theatre renamed "Her 
 Majesty's Theatre," 187 
 
 Lablache, Louis, 47, 48, 187, 
 
 189, 232 
 Lady Mayoress, gorgeous dress of, 
 
 69 
 Lansdowne, Marquis of, 13, 93 
 Laporte, Monsieur, 187 
 Last days of the mail-coaches, 
 
 verses on, 143 
 Lawson, William, 67 
 Leach, Harvey (dwarf), 205 
 Leiningen, Prince of, 35 
 Lennox, Lord George, 107 
 Lennox, Lord William Pitt, 141 
 Leslie, C. R., coronation picture, 
 
 269 
 
 Letter
 
 INDEX. 
 
 277 
 
 Letter from Sultan of Turkey to 
 
 Queen Victoria, 242 
 Levee (first) of Queen Victoria, 39 
 Lillywhite (cricketer), 174, 175 
 LinwooJ's tapestry exhibition, 214 
 Liston, John, 206 
 Liverpool to London, journey 
 
 from, 127 
 Lloyd's Coffee-house, 87 
 Loftus, Lord, 193 
 London and Birmingham Rail- 
 way, opening of the, 143, 145 ; 
 
 the first train, 145 ; fares, 146 ; 
 
 cost of, 153 ; complaints, 154; 
 
 first post, 157 
 London and Liverpool, journey 
 
 between, 127 
 London, Bishop of, 25 
 London, Brighton, and South 
 
 Coast Railway. See Brighton 
 
 railroad. 
 London, Corporation of the City 
 
 of, 4 ; address of congratulation 
 
 to Queen Victoria, 32 
 London, Lord Mayor of, 4, 17 
 London Police courts in 1837, 78 
 Londonderry, Marchioness of, 23S 
 Lord Mayor of London. See 
 
 London. 
 Louis, Mrs., death of, 229 
 Louis XIV., Court of, 41 
 Lowther rooms, 109 
 Lucia di Lammermoor," opera 
 
 given for the first time in Eng- 
 land, 189 
 Luttrell, 94 
 Lyceum Theatre, 206 
 Lyndhurst, Lord, 93 
 
 M 
 
 Macaulay, Lord, 93, 94 
 Macfarren, George A., 185 
 Macready, W. C, 203, 204; at 
 
 T 
 
 Covent Garden Theatre, 195 ; 
 
 and Stanfield, 200 
 Magee, Mrs., 69 
 Mail, the, 123 
 Mail-coaches, 126, 135 
 
 Carried by train, 157 
 
 Starting of the, on the Queen's 
 birthday, 136 
 
 Verses on the last days of the, 
 
 143 
 Mail-drivers, noted, 132 
 Mails first conveyed by railway, 
 
 157 
 Masquerades, 107 
 Marriage of Katherine' Stephens, 
 
 220 
 Marriages, Gretna Green, 100, 
 
 102 
 Martineau, Harriet, 38 ; at Queen 
 
 Victoria's coronation, 239 
 Marylebone Cricket Club, jubilee 
 
 match, 174 
 Mathews, Charles, 203, 204, 206 
 Medal of Queen Victoria's corona- 
 tion, 258 ; of Queen Victoria's 
 
 visit to the City, 69 
 Meet of the " Four-in-lland 
 
 Club," 140 
 Melbourne, Lord, 3, 36, 49, 54 
 Melcy, Monsieur G. de, and Lord 
 
 Castlereagh, duel between, 99 
 Mellon, Harriet (Duchess of St. 
 
 Albans), in 
 Mendelssohn in England, 182 
 Menu (royal) at the Guildhall 
 
 banquet, 64 
 Milk, selling frozen, 85 
 Milnes, Monckton, 94 
 Minto, Earl of, 15 
 " Monarch," Bath and Bristol coach, 
 
 129 
 Montefiore, Moses (sheriff), 
 
 knighted by Queen Victoria, 62 
 Montessu, 187 
 1 Montrose,
 
 278 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Montrose, Duke of, 168 
 Mountain Tom (whip), 132 
 Murphy's "Weather Ahiianac," 
 
 83 
 
 Music, 182 ; Queen Victoria's 
 fondness for, 47 ; Queen Vic- 
 toria's voice, 57 ; Thalberg's 
 charges for music lessons, 184 
 
 Musical soirees at the Pavilion, 
 Brighton, 57 
 
 Musicians (English), 184 
 
 N 
 
 Nano, Hervio, 205 
 
 Napoleon, Prince Louis, arrival in 
 
 London, 94 
 Nash, Frederick Giffard, 62 
 Nassuck diamond, sale of the, 106 
 Nelson column, the, 75 
 Nemours, Due de, 246 
 Nisbett, Mrs., 202, 204 
 Norfolk, Duke of, 14, 15 
 North V. South of England cricket 
 
 matches, 174, 175 
 Northumberland House, 70 
 Norton, Mrs. Caroline, 116 
 Nolling Hill race-course, 17 1 
 
 O 
 
 Oaks, the, race, 170 
 Oath of allegiance, 9 
 O'Connell, Daniel, M.P., 13 
 Olympic Theatre, 206 
 Omnibuses, 144 
 Onslow, Guildford, 102 
 Onslow, Rosa Anna, 102 
 Opera, the, 186; at Drury Lane 
 
 Theatre, 190 
 Operas produced at Her Majesty's 
 
 Theatre, 188 
 Orange, Prince of, 42 
 Oilhography, march of, 76 
 
 Paget, Lord Alfred, 140, 193 
 
 Palmerston, Lord, 54 
 
 Parachute descent, death of Mr. 
 Cocking, 216 
 
 Parliament prorogued by the 
 Queen in person, 35 ; opened by 
 Queen Victoria, 70 ; gas in, 92 
 
 Parodies of the period, 133, 141, 
 
 143 
 Passmore, Mr., and Lord Edward 
 
 Thynne, duel between, 99 
 Pasta, Giudita, 186, 189 
 Pavilion (Brighton), Queen Vic- 
 toria resides at the, 57 
 Pavilion Theatre, 210 
 Payne, George, 140 
 Pedestrianism, 178 
 Peel, Colonel, 169 
 Penny gaffs," 212 
 Persiani, Madame, 188, 189, 232 
 Phelps, Samuel, first appearance 
 
 in London, 203 
 Pictures — 
 
 In the Royal Academy Exhibi- 
 tion, 1838, 223 
 
 Leslie's coronation of Queen 
 Victoria, 269 
 
 Portraits of Queen Victoria, 224 
 
 Sir David Wilkie's " First 
 Council," 225 
 Pilch, Fuller (cricketer), 173 
 Pimlico, renascence of, 72 
 Pistrucci's coronation medal, 258 
 Plate at the Guildhall banquet, 68 ; 
 
 of the Goldsmiths' Company, 
 
 119 
 Plays produced at Drury Lane 
 
 Theatre, 190; Covent Garden 
 
 Theatre, 198 ; Ilaymarkcl 
 
 Theatre, 203 
 Police courts of London in 1837,78 
 Polish refugees, 107 
 
 Portraits
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 279 
 
 Portraits of Queen Victoria, 224 
 Postal service, 125 ; first train, 
 
 157 
 Power, Tyrone, 203, 205 
 Proclamation (public) of Queen 
 
 Victoria, 12 
 Prophecy on railways, 157 
 Primrose Hill Tunnel, 150, 153 
 Privy Council, Queen Victoria's 
 
 first, 3 
 Prize-fight, J. Lane v. B. Stocks, 
 
 176 
 Prize-ring, the, 175 
 Prorogation of Parliament by the 
 
 Queen in person, 35 
 Purkis's apoUonicon, 214 
 
 Quakers' address of congratulation 
 
 to Queen Victoria, 31 
 Queensberry, Marchioness of, 115 
 Queen's Theatre, 208 
 Queen Victoria. See Victoria, 
 
 Queen. 
 
 R 
 
 Railway coaches, 144 ; carriages, 
 146, 159, 160; fares, 146, 157 ; 
 complaints, 154 ; discomforts, 
 154; for invalids, 160; first 
 used for reaching Epsom race- 
 course, 170 
 
 Railways, 143 
 A rash prophecy, 157 
 Brighton railroad, first brick, 
 
 Grand Junction line, opening of 
 
 the, 158 
 Great Western line, opening of 
 
 the, 159 
 London and Birmingham line, 
 
 opening of the, 143, 145; the 
 
 first train, 145 ; fares, 146 ; 
 
 cost of the, 153 ; complaints 
 of passengers on the, 1 54 ; 
 first post, 157 
 Passengers' complaints, 154 
 SouthamptOTi line, 170 
 Ramsgate reminiscences of the 
 
 Princess Victoria, 20 
 Ranelagh, Lord, 99 
 " Rapid," Brighton coach, 130 
 "Red Rover," Liverpool stage- 
 coach, 128 ; Southampton 
 coach, 129 
 Reeve, John, 208 ; death of, 205 
 " Regulator," Hastings coach, 128 
 Relics of the Royal Exchange, 89, 
 
 90 
 Reminiscences of the Princess Vic- 
 toria, 20 
 Review in Hyde Park projected 
 and abandoned, 48 ; of the 
 Windsor garrison, 54 
 Reynolds, Beau, 99 
 Richmond, Dowager Duchess of, 
 
 "5 
 
 Riding habit of Queen Victoria, 
 
 57 
 Ring, the prize, 175 
 Riots in Kent, 90 
 Riverside taverns, 180 
 Rogers, Samuel, 94 
 Rokeby, Lord, 173 
 Rolle, Lord, at the coronation, 
 
 257 
 Romer, Miss, 191 
 Rowing match, Cambridge Uni- 
 versity V. Leander, 179 
 Royal Academy Exhibition, 1838, 
 
 223 ; visited by Queen Victoria, 
 
 223 
 Royal City of London Theatre, 
 
 209 
 Royal Exchange, account of the 
 
 building, 85 ; burnt down, 85 ; 
 
 relics of the fire, 89 
 
 Royal
 
 280 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Royal stud, sale of the, i66 
 ' Royal Union," stage-coach, 128 
 
 Rubini, G. B., 187, 1S9, 232 
 ■ Runaway matches," 100, 102 
 
 Running dustmen, the last of the, 
 78 
 
 Russell, Lord John, 93, 108 
 
 Sadler's Wells Theatre, 20Q 
 
 St. Albans, Duchess of, 11 1 
 
 St. Albans, Duke of, 113 
 
 St. James's Palace, Queen Victoria 
 publicly proclaimed at, 12 
 
 St. James's Theatre, 207 
 
 St. Leger race, 168 
 
 Sale, J. B., 48 
 
 Sale of relics of the Royal Ex- 
 change, 89 ; diamonds, 106 ; 
 royal stud, 166 
 
 School Boards, before the, 76 
 
 Schools (public), additional week's 
 holiday granted on Queen Vic- 
 toria's accession, 34 
 
 Schroeder - Devrient, Madame, 
 189 
 
 Schwartzenberg, Prince Paul von, 
 at the coronation, 247 
 
 Shee, Sir Martin Archer, 223 
 
 Sheridan, Charley, 141 
 
 Sherman (mail-coach proprietor), 
 125 
 
 Sherry "one hundred and ten 
 years old," 67 
 
 Singular feat on the ice, 83 
 
 Sirius, the, steams across the 
 Atlantic, 161 
 
 Skating on the Thames, 83 
 
 Sledging at Brighton, 84 
 
 Smart, Sir George, 63 
 
 Smith, Rev. Sydney, anecdote of, 
 94 
 
 Society in London, 93 
 
 Somerset, Duke of, 36 
 
 Soult, Marshal, 246, 267 ; car- 
 riage at the coronation, 242 ; 
 anecdote of, 246 
 
 South African Museum in Picca- 
 dilly, 214 
 
 Southampton, railway to, 170 
 
 Sovereigns of Europe reigning on 
 Queen Victoria's accession, 3, 
 II 
 
 Speech, Queen Victoria's first, in 
 Parliament, 37 
 
 Sport, 166 
 
 Standard Theatre, 210 
 
 Stanfield and Macready, 200 
 "Star," Tunbridge Wells coach, 
 128 
 
 Steamboat Company (Thames), 
 formation of, 163 
 
 Steaming across the Atlantic, 161 
 
 Stephens, Katherine (Countess of 
 Essex), marriage of, 220 ; pre- 
 sent at the coronation, 238 
 
 Stirling, Mrs., 207 
 
 Strand Theatre, 207 
 
 Strauss, Johann, arrival in Lon- 
 don, 103, 104 ; his waltzes and 
 concerts, 184 
 
 Sturge, Joseph (Quaker), 31 
 
 Suffield, Lord, 170, 193 
 
 Suitor (eccentric) for the Queen's 
 hand, 42 
 
 Sully's, Tliomas, portrait of Queen 
 Victoria, 225 
 
 Sultan of Turkey's letter of felici- 
 tation to Queen Victoria, 242 
 
 Sumner, Charles, 38 
 
 Sunday dinner-parties, 118 
 
 Surrey Theatre, 208 
 
 Surrey Zoological Gardens, 217 
 
 Sussex, Duke of, 4, 41, 59, 107 
 
 Sutherland, Duchess of (Mistress 
 of the Robes), 59
 
 INDEX. 
 
 281 
 
 Taglioni, Marie, 169, 187, 190 
 "Taglioni," Windsor coach, 130 
 Talleyrand, Prince, 28; death of,95 
 Tamburini, Antonio, 47, 187, 189 
 " Tantivy," Birmingham coach, 132; 
 
 verses on the, 133 ; Bristol 
 
 coach, 133 
 Taylor, Sir Henry, 94 
 Teetotalism, no 
 Telegraph first practically worked, 
 
 144 
 " Telegraph," Manchester day- 
 coach, 126 
 Temple Bar, 60 ; Queen Victoria 
 
 publicly proclaimed at, 17 
 Thalberg, S., 47, 183 ; his charges 
 
 for music lessons, 184 
 Thames frozen over, 83 
 Thames Waterman's Friend 
 
 Steamboat Company, formation 
 
 of, 163 
 Thames Tunnel, 164 
 Theatres — 
 
 Adelphi, 204 
 
 Astley's, 209 
 
 Covent Garden, 194 
 
 Drury Lane, 189 
 
 Garrick, 210 
 
 Grecian, 210 
 
 Haymarket, 202 
 
 Her Majesty's, 187 
 
 Lyceum, 206 
 
 Olympic, 206 
 
 Pavilion, 210 
 " Penny gaffs," 212 
 
 Queen's, 208 
 
 Royal City of London, 209 
 
 Sadler's Wells, 209 
 
 St. James's, 207 
 
 Standard, 210 
 
 Strand, 207 
 
 Surrey, 208 
 
 Victoria, 20S 
 
 Theatres, constant changes of pro- 
 gramme, 202 ; length of enter- 
 tainment, 202 ; opened gratui- 
 tously on coronation day, 266 
 
 Thorn, John Nicholl, 90 
 
 Thynne, Lord Edward, fights a 
 duel, 99 
 
 Ticket of admission to the Guild- 
 hall banquet, 64 
 " Times," Southampton coach, 129 ; 
 Brighton coach, 132 
 
 Toasts (loyal) at public dinners, 40 
 
 Toll demanded from Queen Vic- 
 toria, 228 
 
 Toll-gates, letting by auction, 136 
 
 Tooley Street fire, 82 
 
 Topham's Hotel, Richmond, 141 
 
 Trafalgar Square, laying out of, 74 
 
 Train, railway, the first train for 
 the north, 145 
 
 Travelling in 1837-8, 122 
 
 Trees in Hyde Park, 116 
 
 Tunnel from Dover to Calais, pro- 
 ject for, 164 
 
 Turnpike roads, letting by auction 
 of toll-gates, 136 
 
 Tussaud, Madame, 215 
 
 Typorama, 214 
 
 U 
 
 " Un-English custom," an, 189 
 Uxbridge, Earl of, 230, 232 
 
 Vauxhall Gardens, 215 
 
 Verses on Count D'Orsay, 97 ; 
 on the " Tantivy," Birmingham 
 coach, 133 ; on the first meet of 
 the " Four-in-Hand Club," 141 ; 
 on the last days of the mail- 
 coaches, 143 ; on Queen Vic- 
 toria's coronation, 262 
 
 Vestris, Madame, 203, 204, 206 
 "Victoria "
 
 282 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 "Victoria" Brighton coach, 130 
 "Victoria Gate" (Hyde Park) 
 opened by the Queen, 48 
 Victoria, Queen — 
 Accession, i 
 
 Addresses of congratulation, 30 
 Afternoon rides, toll demanded, 
 228 
 " Alexandrina Victoria," 9 
 Ascot races attended by, 171 
 Birthday drawing-room, 230 
 Brighton visited, the journey, 
 
 56 ; at the Pavilion, musical 
 soirees, the Queen's voice, 
 
 57 ; royal visit to the Chain 
 Pier, 58 
 
 Buckingham palace, resides at, 
 
 35 
 Ceremonial to be observed at 
 
 court, precedents, 39 
 Charities, 45 
 Christmas in London, 71 
 City banquet, royal menu, 64 
 Concert at Buckingham Palace, 
 
 74 
 Confirmation, 25 
 Consorts for, 42 
 Coronation, 234 
 Coronation in verse, 262 
 Covent Garden Theatre, state 
 
 visit to, 200 
 Curious present from Mr. 
 
 Joseph Hamilton, 50 
 Dash, the Queen's favourite 
 
 little dog, 261 
 Dinner - parties — " too much 
 
 amusement," 55 
 Drury Lane Theatre, state visit 
 
 to, 190 
 Duke of Wellington, a decided 
 
 preference for the, 56 
 Eccentric suitors, 42 
 First audience, 2 
 First Privy Council, 3 
 
 Victoria, Queen — continued. 
 Garter, Order of the, 35 
 Leaves Kensington Palace and 
 
 resides at Buckingham 
 
 Palace, 35 
 Levee and drawing-room (first), 
 
 39 
 
 Music, fondness for, 47 
 Opens her first Parliament, 70 
 Parliament, first speech, 37 
 Personal appearance, 38 
 Portraits and pictures, 222 
 Proclaimed at St. James's 
 
 Palace, 12 
 Proclaimed publicly, 12 
 Prorogues Parliament, 35 
 Ramsgate reminiscences, 20 
 Review in Hyde Park projected 
 
 and abandoned, 48 
 Review of the Windsor garri- 
 son, 54 
 Riding habit, 57 
 Sits for Sir David Wilkie's 
 
 " First Council," 225 
 Sovereigns of Europe reigning 
 
 on accession, 3,11 
 State balls at Buckingham 
 
 Palace, 229, 232 
 Toasts at the City banquet, 67 
 "Victoria Gate" (Hyde Park) 
 
 opened by, 48 
 Visit to the city, 58 
 Visit to the Royal Academy, 
 
 223 
 Visit to Windsor, the journey 
 
 by road, 52 
 Visits Hyde Park coronation 
 
 fair, 268 
 Windsor, returns to, visited by 
 
 the King of the Belgians, 54 
 
 Victoria, sovereign of the western 
 
 division of the Roman Empire, i 
 
 Victoria, sovereigns bearing the 
 
 name of, i 
 
 Victoria
 
 INDEX. 
 
 283 
 
 Victoria Theatre, 208 
 
 Vincent, Miss, 202 
 
 Voice of Queen Victoria, 57 
 
 W 
 
 Wagers, extraordinary, 177 
 Warbuck, Captain (whip), 132 
 " Warwickshire Hunt" stage-coach, 
 
 128 
 Waterford, Marquis of, 140 
 Webster, Benjamin, 203 
 Weippert's band, 103 
 Wellington, Duke of, 49, 56, 60, 
 
 75, 76, 247 ; dinner to the, by 
 
 the Goldsmiths' Company, 119; 
 
 coronation ball, 267 
 Wenman (cricketer), 173, 175 
 Wesley, Samuel, death of, 185 
 Westminster boys at the Queen's 
 
 coronation, 248 
 Westwood, William (ist Life 
 
 Guards), death of, 120 
 " Whips," noted, 132 
 "White Horse" cellar, 135 
 White's Conduit House, 213 
 Wilkie, Sir David, 222, 225 ; his 
 
 picture of "The Queen pre- 
 
 siding at the First Council," 
 
 225 ; admiration for Queen 
 
 Victoria, 226 
 Willan, John (whip), 132 
 William IV., 2, 10, 26 
 Wilton, Lord, 173 
 Winchester, Marquis of, 36 
 Windsor Castle, first visit of Queen 
 
 Victoria to, 52 
 Wines at the Guildhall banquet, 
 
 67 
 Winter, a very severe, 82 
 " Wonder," Shrewsbury coach, 129 
 Wood, Colonel, 26 
 Wyon, William, 70 
 
 Yates, Dr. (of Brighton), 114 
 Yates, Frederick Henry, 204, 208 
 Yates, Mrs. Frederick, 20S 
 "York House," Bath and Bristol 
 coach, 129 
 Yorkshire Stingo, 213 
 
 Z 
 
 Zoological Gardens, 116
 
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 ( 6 )
 
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