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33 chapters
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
Several "Life and Times of William IV." have been written, but they all contain a great deal of "Life," and very little "Times." The present book reverses this, and deals, primarily, with the chief topics of conversation during the seven years of King William's reign, and, afterwards, with the social aspect of the times. Although I treat of a period but sixty years since, it is a time of which much is to be said which is unknown to the present generation, and one which has had a deep and lasting
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CHAPTER I. 1830.
CHAPTER I. 1830.
Illness of George IV. — His death — Sale of his clothes, etc. — The new King — His character. In the Times of Friday, April 16, 1830, we have the following Court Circular :— "His Majesty, we regret to state, has experienced, during the last few days, an attack of indisposition. The King took an airing for some time on Monday. During the night his Majesty became indisposed; Sir Henry Halford, who was in attendance at the Palace that evening, and who, according to his usual practice, slept there,
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CHAPTER II. 1830.
CHAPTER II. 1830.
Proclamation of William IV. — The Beer Act — The Queen and gas — Burial of George IV. — The King and the Duke of Cumberland — The King as a soldier — He meddles with the uniforms of the army. On Monday, June 28, 1830, the king came at an early hour to St. James's Palace to witness the ceremony of his proclamation, which was duly done at 10 a.m., with the usual pomp, the heralds giving forth that, with the acquiescence of everybody— "We do now hereby, with one voice and consent of tongue and hear
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CHAPTER III. 1830.
CHAPTER III. 1830.
The King as " bon bourgeois " — Mobbed — Street song about him — A sailor in Guildhall — Behaviour of the public at Windsor — Charles X. in England — The "New Police" — A modest advertisement. The King affected the bon bourgeois , which, after the regal etiquette of the late King, rather astonished the lieges. The Magazine of Fashions for August, says— "He comes unexpectedly and unattended, as they are trooping the guard at St. James's, attired like a private gentleman, and nods graciously to th
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CHAPTER IV. 1830.
CHAPTER IV. 1830.
Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway — Death of Mr. Huskisson — Agricultural lawlessness — Captain Swing — Executions for riot — Riots throughout the country — Special Commissions — Prayer to be used in churches and chapels. About this time a melancholy but all-absorbing topic of conversation was the death of Mr. Wm. Huskisson, one of the M.P.'s for Liverpool; and the most succinct account I can find of this sad accident is in the Annual Register . It happened on September 15th, at th
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CHAPTER V. 1830.
CHAPTER V. 1830.
Duke of Wellington mobbed and stoned — Owing to riots, the King postponed his visit to the city — No Lord Mayor's show, nor dinner — Riots in the city — Apsley House besieged — Ireland proclaimed — Ferment in the country — Change of Ministry — Royal succession — Scotch regalia — Curious story of a bank-note. Rioting was not confined to the country. The cry of parliamentary reform was exciting the great towns, and especially London. On November 2nd, when the King went to open Parliament, the Duke
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CHAPTER VI. 1831.
CHAPTER VI. 1831.
Incendiary fires — Captain Swing — The result of Cobbett's lectures — Special Commission — Prosecution of Carlile — Election expenses — List of Close boroughs — Collapse of Reform Bill — The King stoned — Debût of Princess Victoria — The Times and the House of Lords — Bribery at elections — Action for libel — "The King v. Cobbett" — Prince Leopold made King of the Belgians. "The Red Cock" still crowed, and incendiary fires were still the order of the day, in spite of the commissions to examine t
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CHAPTER VII. 1831.
CHAPTER VII. 1831.
Opening of New London Bridge — After the luncheon — State of the waiters — Provision for the Princess Victoria — Sale of Sir Walter Scott's MSS. — The coronation — Its expenses — A "half crownation" — The Lord Mayor and his gold cup. The next subject for general conversation was the opening of New London Bridge, on August 1st, by the King and Queen, who went in State by water from Somerset House, which must have been a beautiful sight, as any one who can remember the civic water pageant on Lord
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CHAPTER VIII. 1831.
CHAPTER VIII. 1831.
Scramble for coronation medals — Bad weather — Fireworks in Hyde Park — Absence from the ceremony of the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria — The Times thereon — Story of a Great Seal — Reform Bill rejected by the Lords — Reform riots in the country and London — Windows of Apsley House broken by the mob. There was a regular scramble for the coronation medals, and one accident is recorded as having happened to Alderman Sir Claudius Hunter. He made an effort to catch some of the Coronation meda
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CHAPTER IX. 1831.
CHAPTER IX. 1831.
Reform procession — The Corporation of London and the King — Dreadful riots at Bristol — Riots in other parts of the kingdom — Edward Irving and the "Gifts of Tongues" — The cholera — Its spread — State of Ireland — Tithe agitation — Scarcity of food — Repeal of the Union — Cases of violence. A large portion of the nation, and London in particular, had Reform on the brain; and, as soon as the news of the rejection of the Bill was generally known, it was arranged at a meeting of delegates from th
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CHAPTER X. 1832.
CHAPTER X. 1832.
Commissions at Bristol and Nottingham — Executions — Employment of children in factories — Cholera in London — Day of fast and humiliation — Riot in Finsbury — Cholera riot at Paisley — A small one in London — Decrease of cholera — Number of deaths — Cholera in Ireland — A charm against it — Its effect on rooks — The police, City and Metropolitan. The excesses at Bristol could not, possibly, be passed over, and a Commission, consisting of the Lord Chief Justice and two judges, met on January 2nd
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CHAPTER XI. 1832.
CHAPTER XI. 1832.
Reform Bill passes the Commons — Scotch boys and the Reform Bill — Proposed increase of the peerage — Passed in the Lords — "The Marylebone or Tory Hunt" — The Duke of Wellington mobbed — The King stoned — The Queen hissed — Archbishop of Canterbury stoned. Of course, the great topic of interest and conversation for the early part of the year was the Reform Bill, the third reading of which was passed on March 23rd by a majority of 116. What the Lords would do was then all the talk. There were to
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CHAPTER XII. 1832.
CHAPTER XII. 1832.
The first reformed Parliament — Steam communication with India — State of Ireland — Lawless behaviour — Malversation of justice — O'Connell and the Trades' Political Union — Crime in Ireland. On August 16th the King in person prorogued Parliament, and on December 3rd it was dissolved, by proclamation, and the country was plunged into all the turmoil of a General Election. This was to be the first reformed Parliament, and all sorts of evils arising from its democratic tendencies were prophesied.
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CHAPTER XIII. 1833.
CHAPTER XIII. 1833.
Employment of children in factories — Evidence — Passing of Factory Act — Gambling — Crockford's club — Gambling "hells" — Police case. At the opening of this year, perhaps, the principal topic of conversation was about the treatment of children in factories, and general commiseration was felt for their unhappy condition. This was principally owing to the publication of the evidence taken before the Committee on the "Factories Bill," two or three extracts from which I give, taken haphazard, and
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CHAPTER XIV. 1833.
CHAPTER XIV. 1833.
The overland route to India — The Government and Lieutenant Waghorn — Police magistrate and the press — Cobbett and the British Museum — Prevalence of influenza — "National Convention" riot — Policeman killed — The coroner and the jury — Adulteration of tea. We saw how, in 1832, the East India Company refused to accelerate communication with India by means of steam vessels. I have now to record the earliest efforts of Lieutenant Waghorn, in his famed overland route to India, which, however, did
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CHAPTER XV. 1833.
CHAPTER XV. 1833.
The Queen's visit to the City — Her unpopularity — King's dislike of the Duchess of Kent — Hungerford Market opened — Death and funeral of Wilberforce — Abolition of slavery — Synopsis of Act — A Women's rowing match — List of periodicals and their circulation — Return of Captain Ross — State of Ireland — Passing of "Coercion Bill," etc. The poor Queen was still very unpopular, as we read in the Times of June 15th— "We are assured by a gentleman who followed the royal procession on Thursday (Jun
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CHAPTER XVI. 1834.
CHAPTER XVI. 1834.
Corporation commission — Curious advertisement — Discovery of treasure — Bribery at Liverpool — Duke of York's statue — Trades' unions — Skit thereon — Riot at Oldham — Unionist oath — Union meeting and monster petition — Its fate — Duke of Wellington made Chancellor of Oxford — The Princess Victoria's lover. The first thing of importance in this year was the resumption of the sittings of the Corporation Commission, which was an inquiry into the Corporation of London. This object of envy has bee
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CHAPTER XVII. 1834.
CHAPTER XVII. 1834.
Crockford's and game — The chef in trouble — Burning of the Houses of Parliament — The tapestry in the House of Lords — Story of one piece — Temporary House of Lords — Tithe riots in Ireland — Change of Ministry. One would imagine that Crockford's gambling "hell" was too solemn a place to extract laughter from, but yet there is a police case in connection with that place, and in which the celebrated chef Ude was principally concerned, which is the reverse of serious. "On July 25th, M. Eustache U
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CHAPTER XVIII. 1835.
CHAPTER XVIII. 1835.
First cargo of ice to India — Election riots at Halifax and in Scotland — A female sailor — The new temporary Houses of Parliament — The King and others hissed — Question of admitting ladies — A political skit — Deaths of Hunt and Cobbett. The chronicle of this year must be made up of odds and ends, for there is no one thing of absorbing interest to record. And first, we find a paragraph in The Times of January 11th (quoting the Mechanic's Magazine ), headed " Exportation of Ice to India . "Lord
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CHAPTER XIX. 1835.
CHAPTER XIX. 1835.
Gambling house police case — Curious superstition — A cook's letter to her mistress — Jews and public employment — Fire at Hatfield House — Curious discovery of jewels — Scarcity in Ireland. Under the year 1833, I called attention to the prevalence of gaming-houses, but, in spite of the efforts made to put them down, they still flourished, as we see from the annexed police report, taken from the Times of July 7th. " Marlborough Street. —William Smart, the proprietor of a gaming-house in the Quad
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CHAPTER XX. 1836.
CHAPTER XX. 1836.
Curious case of a girl stolen by gipsies — Superstition re light at Christmas in the North of England — Designs for New Houses of Parliament — King William III. statue blown up — Admission of ladies to the House of Commons — Stuart impostors — An inter-university boat race — How Cambridge came to have light blue as a colour. On January 15th, the Brighton bench heard the following extraordinary tale:— "A little girl who stated her name to be Charlotte Savage, and that she was thirteen years of ag
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CHAPTER XXI. 1836.
CHAPTER XXI. 1836.
Report on the British Museum — The King and the Duchess of Kent; a scene — Inauguration of George III.'s Statue at Charing Cross — Poetry at the police court — The trip of the Nassau balloon. The British Museum had hitherto been the home (so to say) of red tape, so much so, that it seemed as if every possible obstacle was placed in the way of people enjoying and benefiting by that magnificent institution. In fact, its management became such a scandal, that on February 11th Mr. Estcourt moved tha
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CHAPTER XXII. 1837.
CHAPTER XXII. 1837.
Epidemic of influenza — A scene in some Metropolitan graveyards — Lord de Ros and his cheating at cards — Invention of sewing machine — Coming of age of Princess Victoria — Illuminations, etc. — The Spitalfield's silk weavers' ball — Illness of the King — His death and burial. This year opens dismally with influenza in a most virulent form. To give some idea of its ravages, let me quote the Standard of January 12th— "The epidemic now raging has been seriously injurious both to public and private
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CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Men's dress — Education — School advertisements — The original of Squeers — Girls' schools — Tea as a meal — Food — A foreigner's sketch of an English dinner-party — A high-class dinner — An ideal dinner. Men's dress was very much as in our time, the trousers were somewhat tighter, the coat collars higher, the waistcoats were worn more open, and there was somewhat more than a soupçon of stays. Hair was worn long and artificially curled, and no one but a cavalry man, or a blackleg, wore a moustac
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CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Clubs — Theatres — Other amusements — a foreigner's idea of London — London streets and noises — "Buy a broom?" girls. How did the people amuse themselves? For men of the upper class there were clubs, which were nothing like so numerous as now. First of all comes White's, the doyen of all existing clubs—founded as a Chocolate House in 1698; then, in the next century, the still surviving clubs were Boodle's, Brooks', and Arthur's; while those of the present century are the Guards (1813), United S
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CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXV.
Holborn Viaduct — Omnibuses — Cabs — Hansom's patent — Posting — Mail coaches — Stage coaches — Hotels. On all hands, it is admitted that the streets of London were generally well paved, and there were but two bad hills, Holborn and Snow Hills, which were caused by the Valley of the Fleet. This has been bridged over in our time, but a similar viaduct was proposed in 1833. This was intended to take down the houses from the corner of Bartlett's Buildings, Holborn, to Seacoal Lane, Skinner Street,
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CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Steam carriages on roads — Commission thereon — Steam omnibus — Railways — A nuisance — Railways started during the reign — Opening of the Greenwich Railway. But the road was not monopolized by horseflesh. Steam was asserting itself, and many were the trials of steam carriages on the turnpike roads. In 1821 Mr. Julius Griffith invented, and Messrs. Bramah manufactured, a carriage, on which the engineer sat in front, and two directors or steersmen behind, in vehicles separated from the carriage,
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CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Cases of wife selling — Duelling — Cases of — O'Connell and D'Israeli — Other duels. There were two amusements somewhat fashionable in this reign, wife selling and duelling. The former is still in existence, the latter is extinct in England. The halter round the neck was used when the wife was sold at market, it being considered that, being thus accoutred, she was on a level with the cattle, and thus could be legally sold. Here is a ballad of the period thereon. " Sale of a Wife. "Attend to my d
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Smuggling — Its prevalence — Cases — Great smuggling of silks, etc. — More Cases. Another thing, which has almost died out, but then was in full force, was smuggling; but then almost every import paid some duty, and that on spirits, tea, and tobacco was excessively heavy, and, consequently, the temptation was very great. Kent and the south-east coast generally, were the favourite resorts for smugglers, owing to their proximity to France, and smuggling was a regularly organized business in which
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CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Legitimate trade — The "truck" system — Its downfall — State of trade — Newspaper stamps — Steel pens — Literature — List of authors — Painters — Sculptors. But enough of illicit trade. What was legitimate trade doing? The marvellous expansion which afterwards came, thanks to steam as applied to machinery, railways, and shipping, had only just commenced; but, at all events, a beginning had been made, and, thanks to her iron and coal, England was able for many a long year to head the race for com
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CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER XXX.
Musicians — Paganini — His avarice — Ole Bull — Curious musical instruments — Jim Crow — The opera and its singers — The ballet — Actors, etc. — Madame Vestris's leg. In music we had, as composers, Balfe, who is more honoured abroad than at home, John Barnett, Julius Benedict, W. Sterndale Bennett, Sir Henry Bishop, Michael Costa, J. B. Cramer, Moscheles, Sir George Smart, and Vincent Wallace. As English singers, Braham and Phillips, Madame Carodori Allan, Madame Anna Bishop, Miss Stephens, Clar
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CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Architects and civil engineers — Men of science — Scientific societies — Medical men — Lawyers — "Tracts for the Times" — Curates' pay — Flogging in the army and navy — Crime — Transportation versus hulks — Stories of convicts. This was a reign in which both architecture and civil engineering were nascent, and yet there were some famous men in both professions. Among the former were Sir Chas. Barry, R.A., J. P. Deering, R.A., P. Hardwick, R.A., Sir Robert Smirke and Sydney Smirke, both R.A.'s, S
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Notes
Notes
1 : The "Greville Memoirs," edit. 1875, vol. ii. p. 23. 2 : Now on exhibition at Madame Tussaud's Waxworks show. 3 : "The Greville Memoirs," vol. ii. edit. 1875. 4 : Wellington. 5 : Times , July 12th. 6 : Louis Philippe. 7 : This engine may now be seen in the Patent Museum, South Kensington. 8 : Times , September 7, 1831, p. 3, col. 1. 9 : Defacing an old Great Seal is a very perfunctory performance. The two halves are slightly tapped with a hammer, and the seal is, by a fiction, supposed to be
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