Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign Part 24

On 21 Jan. a National Testimonial was presented to Rowland Hill for his labours in connection with the introduction of the Penny Post, and Mr.

Larpent, the Chairman of the City of London Mercantile Committee on Postage, handed him a cheque for 10,000, which handsome sum had been raised by a public subscription, which was not confined to the mercantile community alone, persons of every rank, and of both s.e.xes, contributing amounts varying from large sums to a few pence.

Just before the closing of the British Museum at 4 p.m. on 7 Feb., a crash was heard, and the famous Barberini, or Portland Vase, was found in pieces on the floor. A man, named Lloyd, in a fit of delirium produced by drink, had smashed it out of pure wantonness. The vase was valued at 1,000 by the Museum authorities, but, of course, that sum was purely nominal, as the vase was unique. It was deposited in the British Museum in the year 1810 by the Duke of Portland, and was considered as his property; hence the name of the "Portland Vase." It was found about the middle of the 16th century, about two and a half miles from Rome, on the road leading from Frascati. At the time of its discovery it was enclosed in a marble sarcophagus, within a sepulchral chamber, under the mount called Monte di Grano. The material of which it is made is gla.s.s, the body being of a beautiful transparent dark blue, enriched with figures in relief, of opaque white gla.s.s. For more than two centuries it was the princ.i.p.al object of admiration in the Barberini Palace. It came into the possession of Sir William Hamilton, from whom it was purchased by the d.u.c.h.ess of Portland.

On 11 Feb. the delinquent was brought before Mr. Jardine, at Bow Street, and the Museum authorities electing to prosecute him for the minor offence of breaking the gla.s.s case which held the vase, and which was under the value of 5, he was convicted of that offence, and sentenced to pay 3, or two months' hard labour in the House of Correction. He could not pay, and was committed to prison, in default, but on 13 Feb., someone paid the money, and the man was released.

An employe of the British Museum, named Doubleday, undertook, and effected, the restoration of the Vase, and it may now be seen in the Gold Room of the British Museum, but, alas! "all the King's horses, and all the King's men," can never make it as it was. Wedgwood feebly reproduced it in ceramic ware, copies of which are now worth 200 each, and one copy, if not more, was made in silver.

I come across a curious paragraph in the _Morning Post_ of March 13: "WILLIAM AUSTIN.-This person, whose name must be familiar to all who have had any acquaintance with the history of the Parliamentary proceedings in the case of the late Queen Caroline, or the eventful life of that unhappy Princess, arrived in London, last week, from Milan, where he has been residing for several years, for the most part, in a state of fatuity, the inmate of a lunatic asylum. We understand that he has been removed to this country through the intervention of the British Government, under an authority from the Lord Chancellor, in whose care, his person, and some considerable property, left to him by the late Queen, have been placed by certain proceedings on the part of his relations. He was conveyed hither from Milan under the charge of a medical and two other attendants; and immediately on his arrival, was visited by two London physicians, who, after an interview with him of some duration, at the hotel where he stopped, signed the necessary certificate for his detention in a private asylum, where he now remains. Austin is a very good-looking man, apparently about 40 years of age; and though, beyond doubt, mentally enfeebled, has no betrayal of such imbecility in the expression of his face. He has been in his present unfortunate condition since the year 1830; and, for a great part of that time, he has maintained an immovable taciturnity. No ingenuity has been able to extract a syllable from him.

He answers no questions, nor asks any-enters into no conversation-and, even during the whole journey from Milan to London, he never spoke a word to his attendants, or any one else. Neither could the medical gentlemen who waited upon him here induce him to reply to any of their inquiries; and no doubt, this fact, of itself, formed no inconsiderable ingredient in the judgment at which they arrived. The unhappy man is extremely docile, has no disposition to violence, and readily understands and obeys any signs made to him."

Van Amburgh's stud, lions, etc., were sold at Manchester on 17 March, and fetched high prices; a fine black maned lion, 350; another, 6 years old, 310; two lion cubs, eight months old, male and female, sold, the one for 12 10/-, the other for 35. An elephant realised 750, and a giraffe 400.

Hungerford Suspension Bridge, the first of its kind over the Thames, was opened on 1 May, and, although a toll was demanded, it was calculated that, before dusk, some 25,000 persons had crossed from one side of the Thames to the other. It was taken down in July, 1862, to make room for the Charing Cross Railway Bridge. It was transferred to Clifton, and there opened, on 8 Dec., 1864, and it now spans the Avon.

On the next day (2 May) a terrible accident occurred at the Suspension bridge at Great Yarmouth. A clown was to emulate Barry's folly, and cross the river in a was.h.i.+ng-tub drawn by geese; and thousands of people a.s.sembled to see him, of whom a great number (accounts vary from 300 to 600), containing very many children, were on the bridge. Some of the suspension rods snapped, and the crowd fell into the water. Every a.s.sistance was rendered, but the number of recovered dead bodies, nearly all children, or young persons, was 77, and many are supposed to have been swept away by the current.

On the 2nd of May, the famous Excise trial at Bar, _i.e._, before twelve judges, the Attorney General _v._ Smith, came to an end, after lasting eight days. Mr. George Smith was a distiller, in a large way of business, at Whitechapel, and the premises of his brother James, who was a rectifier, adjoined his. The law forbids the junction of the businesses of distilling and rectifying, or any communication between premises carrying on such businesses; and, in this case, it was presumed that all spirit would be conveyed from one to the other by means of the highway. But the contention of the prosecution was, that the Excise officers, finding a great deficiency in the spirits ostensibly produced, as compared with the "wash," had detected holes in a large receiver, and found, moreover, that they could themselves convey spirits from the distillery to the rectifying house, through pipes under ground, which were mixed up with those which supplied water, and so escaped detection.

This the defendants denied, and brought forward evidence that the pipes were obsolete and disused. In the end, the verdict of the jury was, "We find for the Crown; but we are anxious to express our opinion that there has not been any evidence adduced before us which shows that the pipe has been fraudently used by the defendant." The amount of damages claimed by the Crown was 150,000; but, by agreement, this was reduced to 76,000; and, finally, after an appeal from Mr. Smith, the Government were content with a cheque for 10,000.

About this time commenced what is well termed "The Railway Mania," or, rather, public attention was particularly called to it, as it was becoming a crying scandal. So much so, that it attracted the notice of the legislature; and, if we look at a "Return to the Order of the Honourable the House of Commons, dated 8th April, 1845, for an alphabetical list of the Names, Description, and Places of Abode, of all Persons subscribing to the Amount of 2,000 and upwards to any Railway Subscription Contract deposited in the Private Bill Office during the present Session of Parliament," we shall see that amongst the names will be found many of the leading n.o.bility, large manufacturing firms, names well known in commerce and literature, mingled together in a most heterogeneous manner. The same column shows a combination of peers and printers, vicars and vice-admirals, spinsters and half-pay officers, Members of Parliament and special pleaders, professors and cotton spinners, gentlemen's cooks and KC.'s, attorneys' clerks and college scouts, waiters at Lloyd's, relieving officers and excis.e.m.e.n, editors and engineers, barristers and butchers, Catholic priests and coachmen, dairymen and dyers, braziers, bankers, beer sellers and butlers, domestic servants, footmen and mail guards, and almost every calling under the sun.

And these, it must be remembered, were subscribers for 2,000 and upwards; those who put down their names for less were supposed to be holders of 21,386 6s. 4d. in Stock.

Of course, _Punch_ could not overlook this mania for speculation, and we find the following in the number for 31 May:

"The night was stormy and dark. The town was shut up in sleep; Only those were abroad who were out on a lark, Or those, who'd no beds to keep.

[Picture: "How many hundred shares have you wrote for?" Railroad Speculators]

"I pa.s.s'd through the lonely street, The wind did sing and blow; I could hear the policeman's feet Clapping to and fro.

"There stood a potato-man In the midst of all the wet; He stood with his 'tato can In the lonely Haymarket.

"Two gents of dismal mien, And dank and greasy rags. Came out of a shop for gin, Swaggering over the flags:

"Swaggering over the stones, Those shabby bucks did walk; And I went and followed those needy ones, And listened to their talk.

"Was I sober, or awake? Could I believe my ears? Those dismal beggars spake Of nothing but railroad shares.

"I wondered more and more; Says one, 'Good friend of mine, How many shares have you wrote for In the Diddles.e.x Junction Line?'

"'I wrote for twenty,' says Jim, 'But they wouldn't give me one'; His comrade straight rebuked him For the folly he had done:

"'Oh, Jim, you are unawares Of the ways of this bad town; _I_ always write for five hundred shares, And _then_, they put me down.'

"'And yet you got no shares,' says Jim, 'for all your boast'; 'I _would_ have wrote,' says Jack, 'but where Was the penny to pay the post?'

"'I lost, for I couldn't pay That first instalment up; But, here's taters smoking hot, I say Let's stop, my boy, and sup.'

"And at this simple feast, The while they did regale, I drew each ragged capitalist Down on my left thumb nail.

"Their talk did me perplex, All night I tumbled and tossed, And I thought of railroad specs, And how money was won and lost.

"'Bless railroads everywhere,' I said, 'and the world's advance; Bless every railroad share In Italy, Ireland, France; For never a beggar need now despair, And every rogue has a chance.'"

And yet another extract. Who does not remember Thackeray's _Diary of C.

Jeames de la Pluche_, _Esqre._? but few know how the idea was started.

It was by W. M. T. himself in _Punch_ of Aug. 2:

A LUCKY SPECULATOR.

Considerable sensation has been excited in the upper and lower circles in the West End, by a startling piece of good fortune which has befallen JAMES PLUSH ESQ., lately footman in a respected family in Berkeley Square.

One day, last week, MR. JAMES waited upon his master, who is a banker in the City; and, after a little blus.h.i.+ng and hesitation, said he had saved a little money in service, and was anxious to retire, and invest his savings to advantage.

His master (we believe we may mention, without offending delicacy, the well-known name of SIR GEORGE FLIMSY, of the firm of FLIMSY, DIDDLER AND FLASH) smilingly asked MR. JAMES what was the amount of his savings, wondering considerably how-out of an income of thirty guineas, the main part of which he spent in bouquets, silk stockings and perfumery-MR.

PLUSH could have managed to lay by anything.

MR. PLUSH, with some hesitation, said he had been _speculating in railroads_, and stated his winnings to have been thirty thousand pounds.

He had commenced his speculations with twenty, borrowed from a fellow-servant. He had dated his letters from the house in Berkeley Square, and humbly begged pardon of his master, for not having instructed the railway secretaries, who answered the applications, to apply at the area bell.

SIR GEORGE, who was at breakfast, instantly arose, and shook Mr. P. by the hand; LADY FLIMSY begged him to be seated, and partake of the breakfast which he had laid on the table; and has, subsequently, invited him to her grand _dejeuner_ at Richmond, where it was observed that MISS EMILY FLIMSY, her beautiful and accomplished seventh daughter, paid the lucky gentleman _marked_ attention.

We hear it stated that Mr. P. is of very ancient family (HUGO DE LA PLUCHE came over with the Conqueror); and the new Brougham which he has started, bears the ancient coat of his race.

He has taken apartments at the Albany, and is a director of thirty-three railroads. He purposes to stand for Parliament at the next general election, on decidedly conservative principles, which have always been the politics of his family.

Report says that, even in his humble capacity, MISS EMILY FLIMSY had remarked his high demeanour. Well, "none but the brave," say we, "deserve the fair."

This we may call the commencement of the mania; in their proper places will be noticed its culmination and collapse.

On 18 May sailed from Greenhithe the two Arctic discovery s.h.i.+ps, the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, under the command of Sir John Franklin, whose instructions were "to push to the westward, without loss of time, in the lat.i.tude of about 74 degrees, till you have reached the longitude of that portion of land on which Cape Walker is situated, or about 98 degrees west. From that point we desire that every effort be used to endeavour to penetrate to the southward and westward, in a course as direct towards Behring's Straits as the position and strength of the ice, or the existence of land, at present unknown, may admit. We direct you to this particular part of the Polar Sea, as affording the best prospect of accomplis.h.i.+ng the pa.s.sage to the Pacific."

They were provisioned for three years, but when, in 1850, Captain Ommanney discovered, on Beechey Island, traces of the expedition having spent their first winter there, he found large stacks of preserved meat canisters, which, there is little doubt, contained putrid filth, and had been condemned by survey.

As nothing was heard of the expedition, another was organised, in 1847, to start, for search and relief, from Hudson's Bay; and, indeed, no one can say that the two exploring vessels were forgotten; for, from that date, till 1857, _thirty-nine different expeditions were sent to look after them_. The first to find traces of them was that of Capt.

Ommanney, in 1850; then, in April, 1854, Dr. Rae heard, from the natives, of a party of white men having been seen, four winters previously, and that their bodies had afterwards been seen. From these Eskimo, Rae obtained some silver spoons and other small articles which left no doubt but that they had belonged to the ill-fated expedition. But it was the _Fox_ yacht, which was fitted out by Lady Franklin, and commanded by Capt. McClintock, which settled the question of their fate. Early in 1859, a boat, a few skeletons, chronometers, clothing, instruments, watches, plate, books, etc., were discovered; and, towards the end of May, a written paper was found, which gave news of them up to 25 Apl., 1848, and told that "Sir John Franklin died on 11 June, 1847, and the total losses by deaths in the expedition has been, to this date, nine officers and 15 men; we start on, to-morrow, 26th, for Back's Fish River." From the Eskimo was learned how one of the s.h.i.+ps sunk in deep water, and the other was wrecked, after which they all perished miserably, some "falling down and dying as they walked," as an old woman told Capt. McClintock.

CHAPTER XXV.

The Queen's Costume Ball-Copper Coinage of William IV.-New Oxford Street opened-Sale of Napoleon's relics-Story of Nelson's coat-Visit of King of the Netherlands-Railway speculation-Hire of newspapers-Reverse of fortune-Prince Albert and his taxes-Waghorn's overland route.

The Queen gave a Costume Ball, at Buckingham Palace, on 6th June, which was a magnificent affair, and gave plenty of food for conversation.

Every guest had to appear in a costume appropriate to the period of English history between 1740 and 1750; but, with the exception of the minuet, the dances were modern.