Читать книгу When William IV. Was King - John Ashton - Страница 11

Table of Contents

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 Mayor's Day can imagine.

The following contemporary account, which is the shortest I can find, is from the Annual Register:—

"At three o'clock, the hoisting of the Royal standard of England over the centre of Somerset House, announced the arrival of their Majesties, and was followed by discharges of cannon of all sorts from the wharves and barges. When the King and Queen appeared on the steps descending to the platform from which they were to embark, the cheers from the crowd was almost deafening. The awnings of the barges had been removed by his Majesty's desire, so that a full view of the Royal party could be obtained throughout the whole line.

"It was past four o'clock before the Royal barges reached the bridge. An awning had been thrown halfway over the bridge. On the London side, adjacent to the side of Old Fishmongers' Hall, was erected a splendid pavilion. This was the position allotted to their Majesties, the Royal suite, the Civic authorities, and the more distinguished of the company. The pavilion was constructed of standards that had, formerly, waved over the armies of almost every civilized nation in the world. The breadth of it was equal to that of the bridge. Its form was quadrangular, and, at the four corners, were placed, upon raised broad pedestals, groups of men in armour. The pillars which supported the royal pavilion were adorned with flags, shields, helmets, and massive swords. Their Majesties' seats were beneath a gorgeous canopy of state of crimson cloth, the back of which was formed of plate glass.

"To the right and left of this canopy were places for the members of the Royal family, the ministers, and many of the nobility. From the ends of the principal table, and at right angles to it, ran two other narrow tables, which were reserved for civic authorities and members of Parliament. No other tables were placed in the royal pavilion, and thus a large open space was preserved in front of their Majesties, whose view of the whole of the company under the awning was free and unobstructed, except for the drapery which formed the front of the tent....

"The stairs on the London side of the bridge had been covered with crimson cloth, and at the bottom of these stairs, their Majesties were received with all the formalities usual upon the occasion of royal visits to the City. The King was handed out of his barge by Mr. Routh, who gave his Majesty his arm. Mr. Jones, as chairman of the 'New London Bridge Committee,' was present to receive her Majesty on her landing. Upon stepping ashore, the King addressed these gentlemen in the following words: 'Mr. Jones and Mr. Routh, I am very glad to see you on London bridge. It is, certainly, a most beautiful edifice; and the spectacle is the grandest and most delightful, in every respect, that I ever had the pleasure to witness.' His Majesty then paused to survey the scene around him. At this moment the air was rent with the most deafening cheers on all sides, and the King, taking off his hat, acknowledged this hearty greeting of his subjects by repeated bows.

Opening of New London Bridge, August 1, 1831.

"Their Majesties proceeded to the top of the stairs, where the sword and keys of the City were tendered to the King by the Lord Mayor, and, on returning them, his Majesty signified his wish that they should remain in his Lordship's hands. The Chairman of the Committee then presented his Majesty with a gold medal, commemorative of the opening of the bridge, having, on one side, an impression of the King's head, and, on the reverse, a view of the new bridge, with the dates of the present ceremony, and of the laying of the first stone. As soon as these formalities had been completed, the whole of the Royal party had assembled in the pavilion, their Majesties proceeded to the end of the bridge, attended by their Royal Highnesses, the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex, and by the principal members of the Royal family. The officers of the Royal household, nearly all the ministers, and a vast number of the nobility, and of the members of the House of Commons, composed the Royal procession. In going to, and returning from the Surrey end of the bridge, their Majesties threw medals to the spectators on each side of them.

"As soon as it was announced that his Majesty was approaching the bridge, Mr. Green had caused his balloon to be filled, and just as the Royal procession had reached the Surrey side of the bridge, Mr. Green made his ascent. His Majesty showed himself from the parapets on either side of the bridge to the assembled multitudes below.

"After the conclusion of this ceremony, the Royal party returned to the pavilion, where a cold collation was laid out. A similar repast was served up to the guests at all the other tables. After the healths of the King and Queen had been drank, amid loud acclamations, the Lord Mayor presented a gold cup of great beauty to the King, who said, taking the cup, 'I cannot but refer, on this occasion, to the great work which has been accomplished by the citizens of London. The City of London has been renowned for its magnificent improvements, and we are commemorating a most extraordinary instance of their skill and talent. I shall propose the source whence this vast improvement sprung. 'The trade and commerce of the City of London.' The King then drank of what is called the 'loving cup,' of which every other member of the Royal family partook.

"At six o'clock their Majesties re-embarked, amidst the same loud cheering, firing of artillery, ringing of bells, and other marks of respect which had marked their progress down."

As a pendant to this picture, let us read a paragraph out of the Times of August 4th:—

"Rather an odd picture presented itself under the pavilion on Monday night. The wines, it was well known by all who partook of the hospitality of the Directors of the Bridge House Estates, out of which all the expenses of the magnificent entertainment are to be defrayed, were most abundantly supplied. Several of the waiters, over whom nobody seemed to have any control, after the bulk of the company had departed, took care to appropriate the champagne and hock in such a manner that the Aldermen and other members of the Committee looked about in vain for a bottle. Mr. Oldham, the Chairman of the Royal Entertainment Committee, who was upon his legs all day, in attendance upon their Majesties, was obliged, at the conclusion of the feast, to beg, for God's sake, for a glass of wine out of a bottle, which a gentleman had taken out of a waiter's hiding-place; and Sir Claudius S. Hunter, after running about for some time, to accommodate a few of his female friends, was obliged, at last, to 'give it up.' In the meantime, the wine was, every moment, sent forth from the cellar in abundance. In a little while, however, the cause of the deficiency was discovered. The Marshals, in going round, perceived that almost all the waiters were blind drunk, and they moved them, by dozens, from the scene of festivity, amid the laughter of the crowds at the barriers. The fact is, that the waiters employed upon this occasion were all trustworthy persons, many of them the proprietors of respectable taverns; and they calculated that, as through their means the plate and other property were all safe, the least they could do was to drink their Majesties health in overwhelming bumpers."

On the day following the royal visit, the bridge was thrown open to the public, and it was computed that about 200,000 people passed over it from the London side.

The next thing that gave people something to talk about, was the King's message to Parliament respecting a suitable maintenance for the heir-presumptive to the throne. This he did on August 2nd, as follows:—

"William, R.—His Majesty, taking into consideration that since the Parliament had made a provision for the support of her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, circumstances have arisen which make it proper that a more adequate provision should be made for Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, and for the honourable support and education of her Highness the Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, recommends the consideration thereof to this House, and relies on the attachment of his faithful Commons to adopt such measures as may be suitable to the occasion."

Accordingly, next day, the House of Commons went into committee on the matter, and Lord Althorp (Chancellor of the Exchequer), in a short speech, compared the situation, as heirs to the throne, of the Princess Charlotte and the Princess Victoria. He pointed out that upon the birth of the Princess Charlotte, the Princess of Wales received £6000 a year for her maintenance; and that, in 1806, the sum was raised to £7000, to be paid out of the Consolidated Fund. In addition to this, the Princess Charlotte was paid a sum of £34,000 out of the Droits of the Admiralty, and received £9777 from the Civil List. Upon the whole, the income received by the Princess Charlotte, from the tenth year of her age, amounted to £17,000 a year. In 1825 the sum of £6000 was granted for the support of the Princess Victoria, and that was all that had been voted by the public for her maintenance. It was his duty to make a proposition for the future support and maintenance of the Princess Victoria, and it was his intention to follow the precedent of 1825, and to vote the money to her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, to be by her applied to the support and education of her daughter.

The amount of income received by the Duchess of Kent was £6000 a year, an allowance settled upon her at the time of her marriage, and a further sum of £6000 which she received on account of the Princess Victoria. He proposed that £10,000 a year be added to this income, which would make the whole allowance received by the Duchess of Kent, £22,000; namely, £6000 for the Duchess herself, and the remaining £16,000 for the maintenance of the Princess Victoria. He, therefore, proposed the following resolution:—

"That it is the opinion of this Committee, that his Majesty should be enabled to grant a yearly sum, not exceeding £10,000 out of the Consolidated Funds of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for a more adequate provision for her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, and the honourable support and education of her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent; and the said yearly sum to be paid from the 5th of January, 1831."

To this there was no objection made by any member of whatever shade of politics he might be; indeed all said they would heartily support it, save one. Henry Hunt, the radical member for Preston, who, "feeling that he should not do his duty to his constituents if he did not oppose every kind of extravagance, he moved, as an amendment to the resolution, to substitute £5000 for £10,000." But in the end, on a division of the committee on this amendment, the numbers were—Ayes, 0; Noes, 223; majority, 223. The Bill received the Royal Assent September 6th, 1831, and is known in the Statute book as 1 and 2 Gul. IV. c. 20.

Apropos of this, there was a little joke, in the shape of a drawing by H. B., which can neither be placed as a satirical print, nor a caricature, but is a simple bit of pure fun. About the time of this discussion, the Bishopric of Derry was vacant, value about £11,000 a year, and it was humorously suggested that, to save the nation the £10,000, the Princess Victoria should be made

The New Bishop of Derry.

On the 17th of August a bronze statue, by Chantry, of William Pitt, the statesman was erected in Hanover Square, where it now stands.

On the 19th of August there were sold, during the lifetime of their writer many manuscripts of Sir Walter Scott's novels. The auctioneer was Mr. Evans of Pall Mall, and the prices they fetched were as follows: "The Monastery," warranted perfect, £18. "Guy Mannering," wanting a folio at the end of the second volume, £27 19s. "Old Mortality," perfect, £33. "The Antiquary," perfect, £42. "Rob Roy," complete, but the second volume wrongly paged, £50. "Peveril of the Peak," perfect, £42. "Waverley," very imperfect, £18. "The Abbot," imperfect, £14. "Ivanhoe," £12. "The Pirate," imperfect, £12. "The Fortunes of Nigel," £16. "Kenilworth," imperfect, £17. "The Bride of Lammermoor," £14 14s. In all, £316 4s.

But the topic of conversation for the year was the coronation, and much was the gossip and town talk thereon. It was to be nothing as grand as that of George the Magnificent, the amount voted by the House of Commons, on September 1st, to be expended upon it, being only £50,000. There was to be no banquet in Westminster Hall, no Champion; and the people satirically called it a "half-crownation." But the spirit of economy was abroad, and the tastes of the bourgeois monarch were simple. And the outlay was well within the sum granted, the actual expenditure being—

	£	s.	d.
In the several departments of their Majesties households	22,234	10	3
By the Office of Arms, for the King's Heralds and Pursuivants	1478	3	9
In the Office of Works, for fitting up the Abbey, etc.	12,085	14	5
In the Mint for Coronation Medals	4326	4	6
The amount expended for fireworks, and for keeping open the public theatres on the night of the Coronation	3034	18	7
	———	——	——
Total	43,159	11	6
	———	——	——

Great fun was made of this meagre spectacle, as we may see by the satirical sketch shown on p. 72, by H. B., entitled, "Going to a Half-Crownation," where the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex are shown in a hack cab, the King and Queen in a hackney coach, on the box of which sits Lord Chancellor Brougham, bearing the great seal; whilst the omnibus behind contains the Fitzclarences, the King's family by Mrs. Jordan. The peers and peeresses are on foot; first, Lord Grey carrying the Sword of State, then Lord and Lady Durham, and last, Lady Grey. The gentleman on horseback is Mr. Lee, High Bailiff of Westminster.

A Half-Crownation.

At the customary banquet in Westminster Hall, the Lord Mayor of London is by prescriptive right the chief butler on the occasion, and hands the King wine in a gold goblet, which he receives as his fee, but there being no banquet on this occasion, there was no gold cup. The Times, of August 27th, tells an amusing anecdote respecting the cup at the coronation of George IV.—

"At the last Coronation, Alderman Thorp, then Lord Mayor, performed service as butler, and received an unusually splendid gold cup as his perquisite.... A laughable story has been revived in the City, within the last few days, relative to a former Coronation. On the occasion we allude to, the Coronation was fixed for a certain day. The Coronation Cup was under the hands of the King's jeweller, and the Lord Mayor, who intended to cut a great dash amongst his fellow citizens, slily went to the person who was finishing off the article, and told him to make it £30 richer and more beautiful than his instructions amounted to. This innocent piece of imposition was accordingly carried into effect, and his Lordship paid down his £30, and rejoiced in the superior importance which the value of the perquisite would confer upon him. By some awful circumstance, the day of Coronation was not only postponed, but actually appointed to take place in another mayoralty, and the gold cup, with its £30 worth of superiority, fell into the hands of a more fortunate chief magistrate and butler. It is recorded that when the Lord Mayor was receiving the cup from his Majesty, there was, amongst those who suspected the disappointment, a general titter, in which all the Aldermen, with one exception, joined."

The sum voted for this coronation was so meagre, that a crown for the Queen could not be included in the expenses. Her Majesty, therefore, not caring to hire jewels for her crown, as did George IV., had it decorated with her own personal precious stones.

I have no space to give an account of the coronation, the ceremonial of which followed the established use.