THIRTY YEARS OF THE REIGN OF QULEN VICTORIA.

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 146, 15 April 1873, Page 2

THIRTY YEAR S OF THE REIGN OF QULEN VICTORIA.

PKKSOKU. nrCULWTIONS BY JOHN TIMBS. in. Tub coronation of Her Majesty the Queen took place on the ->Bth June, 183 S. The ceremony was conducted, in ntt'Spcc" 'after the abridged p.ecedeut of the coronation of William IV, which ha I been "shorn of ts beams in comparison with the magnificence of tl >° lieor-'o I V • the walking procession of all the states or tue reSandtheb.n (1 uet iO in Westminster I™U £j« *£ peJiS ed witb, the consequence yas that while the o joua tiou of Geoige IV. cwt near y a quarter of a Iml on of money, that ot Queen Victoria' cost on y £' «.«&>' ™fenc n point of effect, the latter far •surpassed the fo met , for in tins, the confiding loyalty of .1 nation, air cadv V^™ their vounc Queen, and full of the brightest hopes ot a W an Snry M™> under a vutuous rule, gave a color SdaSfeWeryiucilent which no intrinsic glitter, no, JulbrSi cS/ ceremonial could supp y £> *, curious enou«h in one lespect their was a bihuW. *M ZSw*roL which I one of the met ■"{f'JJ^ mauuf/ctuie imaginable, is ten yards in. eiujth, ami^o the The around or warp, is of rich gold-colored bilk, ami tue ItfcZistsof golf and stiver twists., and silks of various shades twenty diiFeient .buttles bevy m work a tue Sine time The principal suiUoe resembles massive gold : and thTfi-nuU which aio bold an* cownderably raised, are truly n agn Gcent-those of th« imperial crown the rW the shamrock, and the thUtle, we v-ry beautiful. The'evSc ite/leur-de-li,, and other foiei«rn national emblems °aS S^very prominent The I^Wtotef^ of her Majesty Queen Victoria was made by Ilunddl and Bridge in 1838, with jewels tak«n from old o °V^,and others furnished by command of her Majesty. 16 w Srite^dSSibeil by Professor Tennant, the well-known ! '"SforSS^whilrt the challenge and the banquet of feudal ! times were foregone, the outdoor procession for the gratiuoZn of the people 'was lengthened, extending up C inrtituton Hill, and thence iL :'i Piccadilly, St James » Street, Pa Ma. etc ; and so printing to hundred, ot thousands tl c grat!«cati Q n of seeuig tlieir Sovereign on her ■*„' to, and return from, the sacred ediiieo where she received the crown of her a ncTstovs. London had little ret the day and nvjht lie" prSded that auspicious 28th of June. The provinces too, were pouring in their tlioiuauds-not by copious, I reams of rauway, as now, but, tediously, by .nadand stage coach and post-horse, but still contributing, it » said, to the. numbe^of 100,000. Long before sunrise, all London and t Suburb , and the villages, and hamlets for mih* round, had become, a, it were, deserted, their inhabitant. pronging into the city of Wctminster, wliere the event of the day va^o take place. Anew Iloyal Standard »a. raised, for he fir. time, upon the arch of Buckingham Mac*. Tlih silt standard for State occasions, is thirty feet long and o "hteen feet deep, and c ,st nearly £200 ; the flagstati placed upor the attic of the arch Was eighty feet from the ground. A tci o'clock, mltos of artillery annoiu-ccd the dq,arture oftho Queen 'and the royal suit*. '^.-P State processions U well known. The pcmt.p.l novel features of thatdaVs were the splendid equipages ot the Ambassadors Evtraordinarv, which were all new for Hie occasion, the YaJers in their ..upcrb uniforms being very conspicuous. Oi the Queen reaching the western door ot Westminster Abbey the ed.fico was crowded wilhm by spectator admitted by ticket, most of uho-n (and amongst them my informant) hadb'een in their phecs .nice the opening of the doors at four o'clook. ' The appearance of the young Queen had the n "iical hfe-iring effect of a sun-ray upon a world of unrest. Te waking °and hatching of the past night were at once forgotten ; the sleepier ejo bnglitened up witli new fire as Sittorng array of one of the most interesting procesvon, nour Ution's I. istorv passed along beneath the venerable pile It was remarked 1 of the Queen, ao she walked up he nave, that her shght girlish figure was m »«ently oppressed with the weight of the Srabroidered the occasion More than once she raised her small hands tohft the load from her shoulders; and, as this simple natural action was r otieed by the numerous assembly, many a feJvent prayer was breathed that that burden might be the heaviest Victoria might have to wear througboat her ,eign, now solemnly inaugurating. Of the ce lemoawl which ensued, and the touching incidents with which it was marked, I have not room to speak ; sure I ™>J™: ever, that the re.ucnibra.ve of them will never be effaced from the minds of those who were present. At a quarter to foiu, the Queen, weaiin- now her cro*;n, and cajrymg her sceptre and the orb, moved in procession, out at the west door; and, as she went upon her sacred mission of love and Mity, many a voice ewlaimel, ' bod bless ho ! The ceremony hid been protracted and wearisome, and at its close her Majesty required a long interval of rest ere she quitted the abbey. " . , . In the evening the whole town was illuminated, the thoat.es we. 6 thrown open to the public fiee of payment, and fireworks wore displayed in the (ireeu Park Ihe Queen gave a splendid banquet to a hundred guests ; and among*? parties g.ven in honour of the eventwas a gr.uid ball at the Duke of Wellington's, for whiel 2000 invitations were issued. Furthermore, for the giatitication of the general public a fair uas held in Hyde Park, which was ° P nJ:: Sng the. rpferenees to loyalty, I may intro-d-^trt^X^fv I tind «ie following interesting account in .v letter in the Autocue M.rror, from Queen Adelaide to the late Duke of Cambridge. "Dearest Sir," wiite* the widowed Queen, I really do not know how to thank you suthciently for your most kind letter, and for all the affectionate expressions yoti use to me ; believe me, though I may not express well what I feel, yet I do feel, and love you, dear Duke of Cambridge, very, very sincerely. The death of my beloved king has been the greatest sorrow I have ever experienced not DcxcD cxc3 P t,n 2 my mother's death, for her sufferings .and ill-health bad long prepared me for that guef ; but he was the most kind and indulgent friend I ever had, and every day and every circumstance endeared him more and more to those who lived with hny., and could appreciate his excellence. There never was ao unselfish a man-he wab the most patient in pain, and showed a perfectly religious resignation and fortitude at the approach ot death ; in short, I am sure we shall never again sco his like nor do I wish it, for it is only a source of sorrow to become as attached as one cannot avoid being to such a character. Among the memorable sciqntiljc triumphs of this year (1838) were our lirst steaming across the Atlantic, ami the opening of four railways from the metropolis. By the brat of these events a great problem was solved, and m a mauner that loft no doubt of stum communication being maintainable with America under all circumstances. Hie binus, of London, antf the Great Western, of Bristol, had the honour of first accomplishing this great object, and nearly simultaneously. This year assuredly forms a remarkable epoch in the hi story of steam navigation, and tills us with wonder at the advances ma le since the year 1814. when one steamboat, of sixty-nine tons bu.-den, floated in solitude on the British waters • Th- first railway opened was the London and Greenwich line, on which theie were conveyed within two years, 2,074,801 persons, without one single acculc nt ; and thus displacing the coach traihe between London and Giecnwich, which avciaged 400 persons a day ' 'IV -a lie Acnr wlueli seemed the btarting-time oi many memorable ilexelopmenti of human progress, also was announced the Dftgucrrntvpe, one of the most important diseoi cries in the lino arts that h-ne distinguished tho present i century. Many jeara before -\'f. Nippce liad shown the result of his sketches on metal to tho Royal Society ; and hir John n^j-K-hc-1 had proved tho l analogous cflect of t he blaekenm? iiwipcrt\ oi paper v nJied with a solution ot the nitrate „f sihor, when to the sun's ra 3 s ; and Mr Vox Talhot had mntnred, amid.l the solemnity of Lacock \bbe> tho-e beautiful cttMi w'noh be -ay.- to the world is Talbotvpei Thee results uei-e associated in the Annus MirabilL," of 1838, of a truth belonging to tho poetry ot "'in the summer of this year I was induced Jo pive up the editorship of the Mh-n.r, a icsolution which I did not take without much sacrifice of fcclnm in parting iromono whose interests 1 had «ut ched o«d studied for elex en long years, Ihroiiwh a season of hope and promis-, »hcii men are pa«t i " •■rvnvfor their cake," and arc Wome impatient lor Ircsli I fields uiid pastures new."' Fort he proprietor of the Mirror ! I cherished u.n arming respect, «h.ch «as returned with 'kindness and bberahty ; but altliou-h not a man oi stern I rc«hM, I lull lhr,t tha tune f^r a chnn C c »aj»t bind. At this tune mj friend. Mr Robert Uwt lidc, the intelhI gent printer, at forking, was projecting, withim early lr.cnd ! Mr 13ntton, tlio publication of a new history of the County 1 of Surrey, which it wiw agreed, with Mr Brit ton s assistnnco, i 1 should writ «■>. Manning and liviy's "Surrey," in three ! folio volume?,' hnd 'then been pi.W ■' cd thirty-four jcaw, i but .u'ithor in its high price nor ib guicral charactei w.is it suited for the genewd, reader. Our projected work was well patronised bv the »mtry of the county, many of whom ollered eugra\ ir,gs of beat;s gratuitomly. Hardly wore a few Ti-itH miule to notable localities, when I down 1 In tjplnod. and lon« suflering cn>ued ; the projectors gi«w nlanned, and, in the simoom of fever, 1 relinquished tlic labour. 1 had vrilten a dozu'ii pages of fie histo.-j (the BritJsh nnd Romnn period), a perplexing fie^l for tho topogr.ipher and mil ifpui?, even with iloi'dl'e/j folio, Bi-Uannia Ki>mun*j ior the tett book, and eKdioe , searches after British !/raekwjys nnd Komnn roads., U|jon portions oi which are laid the modern railw ay. At l^quej-t of Mr Brit ton, the continuation of the woik was handed oyer to I^lr E. W. Bravley, nnd eonipleted in ii>e library yoluincs, though he hnifnot Iho'cnndour to acknowledge in thy preface the bhare i hnd tnVcn in the dililcult. j)ortion of it. Mr Edo died before the conclusion of the publication, which, however, waa'honourubly finished bv his widow. It is a trustworthy work; the geological section br the nreo-nplis'ic^ Gideon j

Mnnt.ll, » * modtl of'^t.ac vnlin* for unaacnhiic P2 In 11 1839 I commcncvJ the publication pf o.* " Year Polk oflaot* m &cie*re and Art." »» improvement upon tin San, of Saw. "hieli I had hitherto pushed m w 18»7 The * lie »>or, «»» *reblellr eblel1 thafc of V 10 * 1 ! "1 o7sJ C «£ -md tlu- l>ar Boot is now iv its thirty-W fj Z d« M*r o ovtra volume, doe.-ibi.ig the GreatLxhj- }." picture has not, been ehc where eugiaved. lie fiwt ri»r Boofr chronicled among it. woudor- the construction of some dozen Ocean Steamers ; the eroding ot Ouomby stcam-pouer; the discovery of the „»iic • and the determumtion of the parallax of the faxed I *rs One' of the products of the year was a new mode ot 1 Xiixw, bv tho admixture of the vapour of various hydroTrbons^th atmospheric air, so as to produce an illum.nat,on eq.nl in brilliancy to th.vt of the present ga* ;1; 1 % power of M t irom a ten-hole burner eqiulhng tlmt of 22 J wasrandie, ; the cost bom,,' half the price ot gas. The invention lmd boon a long an-1 costly labour. » iingle sot of cv nerimen^ havm,' co<t £500. But the working of tue mm,twn did not -lyveed in detail, uud the eutue capital invested, tO me iCW,QUO or .£30,000 was lost ! la the spring of this year I commenced the publication ot tho Literal World, a weekly sheet, *ith hue lUiistratious the fiist of which was a clever engraving of the nomlment to be erected to Sir Waltei Scott in h,s native city, Edinburgh, from the «le«,ni of G. M. Kemp who, m liia i eaily .Jays, V^ a workm ° cc * IPeutcr»1 P eutcr » and became a self educated aUiU. 'Hie monument is a Gothic struc Iture aboTt 185 bet UtfU, with details, mostly tiken from Melnpe Abbey. While it was m course of Jonsti notion, Kemp uuh>pj>ily *«t his life by falling into 1 canal ana dark evening, & the course of hu homeward W f must here say a few v-rda o f the most excellent rccig of Uolechureh.wlio was a priest and chaplain of St. Aid? "olecnurch and began to build the hrst stone Lon lon i! Ukinrs of tue benefactors towards which were bun fup t St Thomas's Olnpul,' b.ult in the middle of the SC The donation of King Henry II was, doubtless, thorn" The Kin-'a gif, however, is supposed to have been, in fact, t%l of t P-'l^, being the produce of a tae ujm woo;tan<l 1mm»» "oae the absurd tradition that 1,,,,,1«n Bridge w.lB built upon woolpacks. the building which Peter of Colecharch thus began, took as long to, complete as Solomon's temple, for tmrty-threej ears were emdove'l iv erecting it. tfrt. that period, however, the clSable^ wise builder who watchel its progress, weut the way of all llesh In the Tower chapel on the bridge did the pious architect propose to rest his bones. Hi. monument, remarkable for its plainness, was under tue chapel staircase ; iv..l from the Annals of Waverley wo know that the relics of Peter were certainly entombed in this place. Iv 1205," runs the passage, "died Peter the chaplain ot (Joleclmrch, who began the stone bridge at London, and he is sepultnred in the chapel upon the bridge Reasoning upon this statement, Mr Brayley, in his Wi^^cou ectured "that if due care be taken when the old bridge is fallen down, as most probably it win be in the couratf of two or three'years the bones and ashes of its veucnvbb architect will 4tiU be found." This was written in the year 1828, and true enough, in taking down the brid-c early in January. 1832, the hones of old Peter were found in removing the centre pier, some six centuries andalnlf after their interment there. Ihey were dug up " from under the floor of the chapel piers, and that due i attention was not pni.l to their preservation winch re pact I for the memory oE the architect demanded Mr Willuni i Kni-dit the principal acting engineer of the new bridge, told°tho writer th%t the bones' in question were not preserved, but thrown into the barge alongside tue piei, wlneU received the rubbish. , About this time I made the acquunt nice of ono who afterwards occupied a unique place in London life, and who deserves a special memorial in theso reollections— Albert Smith. I was accustomed to. meet h«n at certain periodical festivals beneath tlio shade of St Bride's, Blaekfriars, on ChriaJ,mas Kye, Now Year's Eve, un.l Twelfth Night,— and there to welcome the joyo-.is peals of the adjoin.,^ eliuicli. Smith was usually the life and soul of these gatherings, where he sang his patter songs until lie was hoarse, and told his funny stocics until the small hours, He had then scarcely, attained his tw entieth year, but with his exuberance of spirits —despite an unmusical voice,— like unflagging quicksih er ever on the move, and with all this, deliglitmg to nimne those around him, it was plain to see that lie was " to t'uo manner born" for the successful illustration of life and manners. His keenness of observation, versatahty of mind, and easy "ood humour ; his cheorful alacrity, hearty good fellowship, and relwh for b-nali amusements, were untiring. What he had seen and felt he represented with great facility and a sound judgment. ' It was a great part of Mr Smit.li s fun to laii'h at romances, to explode fables, to expose humbug, to tike the jocularly sensible view of every subject Ho succeeded in pleasing the publio, because he represented ordinavv Englishmen so well, and tell in -with jrany of their opinions. Ho swam strongly, but it was * ith the tide. He used to inform his readers'that he was no scholar, and took credit for not knowing the learned languages, btill, ho knew how to find his way to the hearts of an English audience ; and rarely do wo soo a man so "well adapting himself to a pursuit suitable to him. Albert Smith was bom in 1816, in the rural village of Cnortsev, In Surrey, wheie figured tiles and tessalated pavements—the remains of the famous abbey— or the house of Cowley, tho poet— had lass attraction, fqr Albert Smith than the Saxon curfew, still runs, and its monkish inscription, tho tradition of winch he wrought in his youth into a slight story, entitled " Blanche Henot." Smith was educated al Merchant Taylors 1 school; studied medicine at the Middlesex Hospital ] and became a membar of the College of Surgeons in 183S ;• after wlnuh ho continued his studies at the Ildtcl Dieu and Clanwrt, in Paris, and, on his return to England, practised with hia father as a surgeon, at Ghertsey. Meanwhile he had published a pamphlet entitled Arguments ajainit Phrenology, 1837, in winch the biding question proposed was " Whether the extern.il form, of t,he head corresponds to the external surface of thp bram ? m , »'b«ch the -writw i\emol«lw9, *itl\ goc^d-natuved satire and quiet humour the theory of the prhpnologists. in 1838 he contributed to "the Mirror a series of Sketches in Pans ; " and next he wrote for the Medical Times, " Jasper Buddie ; or, tie Confessions of a Dissecting-ioora Porter " Next year commenced Ins contributions to the Literary World, one of which, the " Passage of the Great St Bernard," was the first of the series of viod vocc sketches of travel by which he eventually realised a handsome fortune. These papers include tales and sketches, from 1839 to 1840, which weie written more in friendship than with other inducement. Amou£ them were his " Sketches of Eve'iim" Paities," which were reproduced in Punch, and were leprmtel, twice or thrice, m a separate volume, of which large additions weie sold. The Lderan/ World was not commercially successful, Although it won golden opinions from other journals. Theodore Hook, in the Jfihn Bjill, pronounced \t to bo " without fault," and " its time to be tint which is best suited to good and general society." Upon its suspension I received from my valuable contributor an invitation to spend the day with him, [went to Chcrtse'y, and a 'tolly day we had of it; not forgetting the walk to Addlettone, and the purchase of a ri 'fit royal carved oak arin-cbair and footstool, which Smith's father somewhat irreverently termed "antiquarian lumber," though he at the jLime tune sent me a sealhandle which he had carved from one of the piles of old London Bridge. I may here mention the shoal of little shilling books— The Natural Histones of the "< Lieut j," "Stuck-up People" "The Idler," etc, which Smith poured forth most rapidl\, and the publisher, David Bogne sold bv thousands Yet the first of those little books lay for sU monthb incomplete at the printer's ; but the author, m addition to the copy-money, was eventually presented by the publisher witk a liuudred pound lwnk-note. bmith was iiow a fast-rising contributor to the magazines ospecially BenUcii's Miscellany, which retains to this cl.iy ( T eo. Oruickshank'B hilarious design on its wrapper, and which continued to prosper, notwithstanding Mr Dickens f secession from the editorship In this MiscelUny lirst appeared Smith's "Adventures of Mr Lclbiuy, • lhe bcAttergoqd Rvmily," "Tiie ilarchioues? of Bmivilher s, and 'Th'j Pottlecon Legacy," all ot which weie leprmted in various forms— from tho costly three volumes to the shilling sM'orths of railway stallb. The number sold of these novels mubt have been enormous. Smith also contribute Ito Wackwoodls U-tgasiue, \he. " Kj»|*ake," the " Hook of Beauty." and other annual* ; ami he was for several yens the dramatic cri'-ie of the llhnlraled London Xew>, to which jjurual hp also contributed many columns of pictonal d.-olleries.' He wrote several songs for John 1 ary; he could lnipiovise, write i^rolognes and epilogues, ami was e\ er i o idy to insist j, ueedy artist. Meanwhile, he well underiitoo I the small aids to popularity, the eqrliest of which was Bau niiet's clever portrait of our author clra« n on stone. Albert w as ever ready with tho lutest conundrum, and created bv his mimicry uproarious delight among a roomful of children. In IStl Slrlith oiitnbuted to a journal of light sketches entitled tho Cosmoramt ; and next to Punch, or the London Charivari, of which more hereafter. In 1810 he made an excursion to the East, and on his return'piiblishel Vt A month at Constantinople," aad produced his entertainment of travel, the Overland Mud. Next >ear lie made Iho ascent of Mont. Blanc, upon which perilous journey win founded his entertnmtnerit, firat pven nt Uie E^|>tian Hall, March 13, 1&52. A paper had apoeared in I Jniiuary, in Blackwood's Magazine ; hut tiie author gave it tho lorm ot a personal narratne on the first or " private" night, and the audience consisted of invited guests, who wore served with Tefrj shmtait^. Bovcv^e> painted waie charmwß scenes ot the localities in the ascent, and a procenium ; all these ttppurtonnncos cost the author upwards of a thousand pouuds. ll r oi tiiu ontertainuient, which ntoo wi 11 known to require *escnption, in (lie Vno Mitsuiia 1852 aud 18£3 thirt

?aid for admission 193,75 1 persons upwards of £17,000 There were 471 rr presentations ; and one mornm? rcpresen tntioii, privately to the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred at the Egyptian Ilnll. Juno 2H, 1552 H Such was the nieces of "I he r-hnw " T-ic narrative o. iho " Ascent " wa< represented from BlackmHii, for private circulation only. It is tilt outlier, Albert Smith's best librarj work, nnd has" * mntu.-ity o"J fiui-.li wliiuh will List, lhc Mont Blanc attracted the Queen ta the Kg\ptmu Hall n: 1834, and her Majcst> was plemed to soni S uith n diamond soarf-pin, in teahmonv of her gratification. Tlio Mont Blanc was given in 18:>!>, for the tkousindth time, JJoi the third reason tho ixlubition hall was relit ted v, a SwwcAaW, and the galleries as tho«o of Uerneso e/<a* is. For a new entertainment tho author visited China, and made ot hid experiences "Mont Blanc to Clnnn," which was delivered beioro her Majesty and the Royal Family, April 11, 1859. Of the entertainment the author wrote a sort of hand-book, in winch he dtwjibes his reception by the Chinese, though at firM the) were gieath puzzled what to make of him, so tickled were they with his drollery. All the proceeds of this performance were given to the charitie*, on finding which the Chinese ai-ayed w ith astonishment, and conveyed Albert to tho ateainer m a handsome sedan chair, with all the paraphernalia of a celestial procession: music to drive awa\ tlcnions ; flags with devices setting forth his virtues and inlents ; and he einharked amidst fire-crackers, to propitiate the elements for his safe voyiije home. He was literally overwhelmed wit 111 1 01 nnese curios. Of the exhibition room lie givis a most interesting page, desi the»e presents, vhieh A>ero so many virtues for the authenticity of the " show " Much of its ordering was clue to Albert Smith's brother Arthur, who posseted peculiar tact for management. By the way, I scarcely remember two brothers so devoted to each uthei's interests. (Success does uot, however, always brin^ Ions? life to enjoy it. Smith's career hivl boon n life o( hard work, that told upon a system^hjch had no ivhef from intensity The wear and tear of entertaining tho public is one of the mo-t destructive pursuits a, man can folldw. -Tho Queen, atter hearing his Mont Diane, is known to have tenderly expressed her a\ mpathy for the exertion. I remember to have met Smith "in Piecudilly, when I promised to dine with him in the following week ; and, said he, " I will bring you up to the show afterwards." But. his health failed, and the day ne\er came. A few evenings ufter, I read in the Siiii lu'wspiper an obituarY memoir of niv dear friend. This proied to he untrue, but lie died a few days after (May, 1860), at Xortheud, the vilhge wherein re^wjed Foote, the comedian ; and wtiere Richardson, the novelist, wrote "Sir Charles Grandison " and " Clarissa Ilarlowo." Such is m_> record of the characteristics of Albert Smith, during my friendship with him for more than twenty-five jears. ITo was un uilectionale son, as well iis kind and generous m all tbo relations ol life.