Sale of the Queen's effects — Duke of York has custody of the King — The "Dandy horse" — Loss of, and finding the King's jewellery — A public dinner — A Royal freak — Unqualified medical practitioners — Emigration to America — "The fair Circassian" — Birth of Queen Victoria — Napoleon's carriage — An Irish witness. "They of the household divided the spoil "very shortly after the old Queen's death. On the 4th of January, her horses and carriages were sold at Tattersall's. Several of the old horses were shot to prevent them going into abject slavery, and the fifty-five that remained, sold for £4,544, and eighteen carriages fetched £1,077. Messrs. Rundle and Bridge, the Royal Goldsmiths, apportioned the jewels into four equal lots. "January 12.—Part of the Queen's property, consisting of pieces of silk and satin, gold and silver, figured and plain, not made up, were measured on Friday, at the Queen's House, St. James's Park, amounting to 2,140 A great many things were sold privately, but her Oriental curiosities, &c., were sold at Christie's early in May. Among the other things that were to be sold on the 25th of May were:— 1. 44 Shillings and 66 Sixpences, chiefly of the present reign, 5 Crown-pieces, a well-preserved Half-Crown of 1817, ditto 6 Sixpences 1816, and 11 Bank Tokens. 2. 170 Silver Groats. 3. 170 Threepences. 4. 200 Twopences. 5. 18 English and foreign Dollars, Crowns, and Bank Tokens, and 8 English Half-Crowns, 28 Smooth Shillings, 22 English and foreign Sixpences. 6. 209 Provincial Tokens. "SALES BY AUCTION! OR, PROVIDENT CHILDREN DISPOSING OF THEIR DECEASED MOTHER'S EFFECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THEIR CREDITORS!" A Satirist brought out an Engraving, "Sales by Auction! or Provident Children disposing of their deceased Mother's effects for the benefit of their Creditors!" The Regent, gouty as usual, is the Auctioneer, and his remarks upon the lot he has for sale, an Indian Shawl, are: "Here are some genuine Articles, a present from an Indian Prince to the deceased owner, and saved entirely for the Moths, as they were never worn, given away all her money in Charity. So, pray, good people, Bid liberally, or the Children will be destitute." The Princesses are pleading in the same strain, and the Duke of York is sale Clerk. A short time previously he had a fall, caused by "MAKING MOST OF £10,000 PER AN." "THE HOBBY HORSE DEALER." This parent of the bi-and tri-cycles was only introduced into England early this year. It is said to have been the invention of the Baron Charles de Drais, Master of Woods and Forests to H. R. H. the Grand Duke of Baden. We get an excellent view of one in "The hobby Horse Dealer." Here we see the poor starved horses looking hungrily out of the Stable windows, and the groom in rags, his occupation gone. Of the Dandies, one critically examines it, and says, "It seems to me, Jack, not to have I don't think "the Lady's Accelerator" ever came into vogue, even among the "Dandizettes." It was a lucky thing that there was a regular clear out of the old Queen's things; for many of the poor old King's jewels had been missing for a long time, and their disappearance had caused much uneasiness. Messrs. Rundle and Bridge had been for several days examining and estimating the value of the Queen's jewels, preparatory to their being divided between the four princesses. When this was satisfactorily accomplished, the Prince Regent came to see the division, and the Princess Augusta also was present. On the jewels being apportioned into four several heaps of equal value, a question arose about the manner in which they were to be packed, until it should be necessary to reproduce them. "THE LADY'S ACCELERATOR." One of the female attendants suggested that, in a lumber room, not very far distant from her late Majesty's apartments, a number of empty boxes were stowed, which had been used on former occasions, as cases, in which the Royal Jewels had been carried to and from the Bank of England (where they are usually deposited) to Buckingham It is well, sometimes, to read what other nations think of us, and our customs, even if it be Max O'Rell and water, and we find in a Newspaper of Feb. 13th, the following. It will create a smile to read the account of English Manners given by a Frenchman, who, on the authority of a short residence, takes upon himself to describe, and expose our peculiarities. A little volume, entitled "A Year in London," gives the following account of a public Tavern Dinner:— "Few days pass in London without public Dinners. Our traveller acquainted a Portuguese Jew, long resident in London, with the desire he had to make one at this kind of entertainment. 'Nothing is so easy. How do you go to the play?' 'I pay for a ticket at the door.' 'How do you see Westminster Abbey?' 'I pay a shilling at every door they open for me.' 'How do you see St. Paul's, the Tower, the Crown Jewels?' 'The same way, "Each having paid 15s. entrance," says our traveller, "we were introduced into a large dining-room, surrounded by tables, where, already, were seated about two hundred guests, though the tables were only covered with a cloth; there were, at the top of the room, about six vacant places, but we were told they were for the singers; twelve or fifteen persons, who, like ourselves, had arrived a little too late, walked about in the middle of the room. At length we were invited into another room, much less than the first, and where tables were set in the same manner to accommodate about forty persons. A waiter brought soup, and a heap of plates; he who was nearest took possession, and distributed it to those nearest him, before a second tureen was placed at the other end of the table, and that, also, disappeared, before the arrival of a third. This soup is called mock turtle, that is, pieces of Calves' head, and Oxtails floating in the water in which they are dressed, and has no flavour but pepper, which had not been spared. "Soon afterwards, the table was covered with a profusion of roast and boiled meat, that everybody began to Apropos of feeding, we may read the following travesty of the "mad young prince" afterwards the wise Henry V. "Brighton, March 13, Royal Freak.—We are assured, that a few nights ago, the Regent, in a merry mood, determined to sup in the kitchen of the Pavilion. A scarlet cloth was thrown over the pavement, a splendid repast was provided, and the good-humoured Prince sat down, with a select party of his friends, and spent a joyous hour. The whole of the servants, particularly the female part, were, of course, delighted with this mark of Royal condescension." Of this supper there were numerous Satirical prints, and I have chosen the least offensive of them, which is really laughable, the Prince being so "royally drunk." It is called "High life below Stairs!! a new Farce, as lately performed at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, for the edification and amusement of the Cooks, Scullions, Dish-Washers, Lick-Trenchers, Shoe-Blacks, Cinder-Sifters, Candle-Snuffers, &c., &c., of that Theatre, but which was unfortunately Damn'd the first night, by Common Sense!" "HIGH LIFE BELOW STAIRS!!" When ill, the good folks of that time, must, especially in the country, have been very much at the mercy of quack practitioners. It is true that both the Apothecaries Company, and the College of Surgeons were in existence, "In the cross-examination of the father by Mr. Dauncey, he was asked if he had always been a surgeon? The witness appealed to the Judge, if this was a proper answer! and whether he must reply to it; and, at last, said: 'I am a surgent' Mr. Dauncey asked him to spell this word, which he did at several times, viz., 'Syurgunt, surgend, surgunt, sergund.' Mr. Dauncey said, 'I am afraid, Sir, you do not often take so much time to study the cases which come before you, as you do to answer my question.'—'I do not, Sir.'—Witness said he never employed himself as a gardener, but was a farmer until he learnt his present business. Mr. Dauncey asked, 'Who did you learn it of?'—'I learnt it of Dr. Holme, my brother-in-law; he practised the same as the Whitworth doctors, and they were regular physicians.'—Mr. Dauncey: 'Where did they take their degrees?'—Witness: 'I don't believe they ever took a degree.'—'Then were Over-population, coupled with distress, was beginning to be felt; and the tide of emigration began to flow, Yet America was the favourite place of emigration, and we read, under date of April 14th: "The spirit of emigration from Portsmouth continues unabated. Every packet for Havre, conveys numerous passengers destined for America; and not less than five hundred Englishmen are supposed to be now at Havre, waiting for a fair wind, many of whom have been there upwards of a month. About seventy persons, chiefly artisans and mechanics, with women and children, amounting in the whole to at least two hundred, have embarked during last week, intending to proceed from Havre in an American brig belonging to Baltimore, which has been taken up expressly for the purpose. The expenses of the voyage are to be defrayed out of a fund which has been accumulating for some time past, by a small weekly subscription, and the total charge for each passenger, is said to be less than £4." A foreign Embassy was something unusual in those days, and when they came two at a time, it gave people "Dover, April 25th.—About three this afternoon, his Majesty's schooner Pioneer arrived in the roads, and very shortly after, the boat belonging to the Customs put off under a salute. She had on board the Persian Ambassador and suite, who, on landing, were greeted with another salute from the guns on the heights. As the schooner had been seen for some time before her arrival, there was an amazing concourse of people assembled on the beach, and the novel nature of the arrival of ten or a dozen persons, habited in silks and turbans, with daggers, and long beards, in no small degree attracted the attention of the inhabitants, whose curiosity had been raised to the highest pitch by the different accounts of the beauty of the fair Circassian; and, had not a coach been provided at the water's edge, I much doubt if his Excellency and suite would have reached the Inn without considerable difficulty. "The crowd followed to Wright's Hotel nearly as fast as the Carriage, it being reported by some, that the fair female was in a mask, under the habit of a male They gave the Ambassador plenty of time to recover from his sea voyage, for he did not have an audience of the Regent, until the 20th of May, when he had a magnificent reception. All the Royal Servants put off their mourning for the Queen, and appeared in their State liveries. The thing was done in style. "The procession of his Excellency was preceded by a numerous detachment from the Corps of Lancers, followed by six of the Prince Regent's Carriages, with servants in their State "His Excellency was attended in his Carriage by the Marquess of Headfort, who was specially appointed, with Sir Robert Chester, to conduct the Ambassador into the presence of the Regent. His Excellency was dressed in a rich embroidered robe; his turban ornamented with jewels, carrying a silver stick or staff, his Excellency leaning on the arm of Sir Robert Chester, being a little lame from a kick he received on Tuesday from one of his horses.... "At half-past three the Algerine Ambassador, attended by Mr. Salame, his Excellency's interpreter, arrived at "The fair Circassian" was once, if not oftener, interviewed by some ladies of "the upper ten." "May 13. The Fair Circassian.—The above much-talked of female, was, by permission of her keeper, his Excellency the Persian Ambassador, introduced on Monday last to upwards of twenty ladies of fashionable distinction, friends of his Excellency. The introduction took place between one and two o'clock, in the front drawing-room at his Excellency's residence in Charles Street, Berkeley Square. The fair stranger was elegantly attired in the costume of her country; her dress was a rich white satin, fringed with gold, with a bandeau round her head, and wreaths of diamonds. She received her visitors with graceful affability, and they were highly pleased with her person and manners. She is not, as has been represented, She returned before the Ambassador, who stayed in England about a year, going through England, Ireland, and Scotland. She sailed for Constantinople on the 31st of August. On the 1st of May Lieutenant Parry sailed from England, having under his command the Hecla and Griper, being bound for another voyage of discovery in the Arctic regions. On the 24th of May was born our beloved Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria. About that time, her father, the Duke of Kent, who, like all his brothers, was deeply in debt, although he claimed to have reduced his liabilities down to £60,000, applied to Parliament (July 2nd) for leave to dispose of his house at Castlebar Hill, and its furniture, by lottery, for a sum of £50,000. His case was warmly pleaded by Alderman Wood, who said that out of an income of £24,000, he put by £17,000 for liquidation of his debts. This assertion was, however, traversed by Both Queen and Princess Charlotte being dead, and the Princess of Wales not being received at Court, and, besides, being abroad, the holding of a Drawing-room, so necessary for launching Society young ladies into life, and for their admission into Foreign Courts in after-life, seemed rather problematical; but the Board of Green Cloth, or whatever other authority had it in hand, was equal to the occasion, and a precedent was found in the case of George II., who was accustomed to hold drawing-rooms after the death of Queen Caroline. Therefore the Regent held a Drawing-room all by himself, and we read that "the Court was a very crowded one, and the presentations were very numerous." The following paragraph may interest some of the millions of people who have visited the ever-popular exhibition of Madame Tussaud: "July 16. Bonaparte's Carriage, &c.—At the late sale of the contents of Mr. Bullock's Museum, the articles brought a much higher price than was originally expected. Bonaparte's "For the Carriage, which had been exhibited in every town of the Empire, and was quite worn out in the service, there were several bidders. It was originally built at Brussels, and had been used by Bonaparte in the last Russian Campaign, and subsequently at Elba, and finally in Flanders—
In my search through newspapers of this time I came "Q. How many robberies have you been at altogether? "A. Together! (laughter.) Why, sure I could not be at more than one at a time. "Q. You certainly have knocked me down by that answer (loud laughter in Court). Come, now, tell us how many you have been at? "A. I never put them down, for I never thought it would come to my turn to give an account of them. "Q. By virtue of your oath, Sir, will you swear you have not been at fifteen? "A. I would not (witness laughing). "Q. Would you swear that you have not been at twenty? "A. I would not (still laughing). "Q. Do you recollect robbing the Widow Byrne in the County of Wicklow? "A. The Widow Byrne—who is she? May be it is big Nell you mean? Oh! I only took a trifle of whiskey from her, that's all. "Q. Was it day or night? "Q. Did you not rob the poor woman of every article in the house; even her bed-clothes, and the clothes off her back? "A. I took clothes, but they were not on her back. "Q. Do you recollect stealing two flitches of bacon from Dovan, the Wexford Carman? "A. Faith! I do, and a pig's head beside! (loud laughter in Court). "Q. Do you recollect robbing John Keogh, in the County of Wicklow, and taking every article in his house? "A. You're wrong there; I did not take everything; I only took his money, and a few other things! (Witness and the Auditory laughing immoderately.) "Q. Why, you're a mighty good-humoured fellow? "A. There isn't a better-humoured fellow in the County—there may be honester." DÉcoration |