THIRTY YEARS OF THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS BY JOHN TIMES. V.

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 152, 29 April 1873, Page 2

THIRTY YEARS OF THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. PERSONA L RECOLLECTION S BY JOHN TIMES. Y.

Ix the spring of 1810 I read in tHo newspapers of the death of Sir Richard Phillips, in tho seventy-third year of his age, at Devonshire Place, Brighton, whither lie had retired many years before-. Ti> this brief record was added "he was Sheriff of London and Middlesex, 1807 8, and the humane founder of tho Sheriffs' Fund for the relief of distressed prisoners." JTo bettor characteristic could be conveyed of his humanity and benevolent nature and his symathy for thus struggling in the stream of life. lam nut unmindful that of uion'u actions in this world — " The good is oft interred with their bones." Tin's, however, has not beeatho case in the present instance; for tho Sheriffs' Fund Society exists to this day, and it* capital consists of some £14,000' stock, invested in the names of four trustees, all ex-sheriffs. The society is managed by a committee of twelve, headed by the Lord Mayor ; and a- report of its operations i* published erery year by th« Rev. ¥. B. Lloyd Jones, the Ordiuary of Newgate, who is tho honorary secretary. The fund was established by Sheriffs Philips and 0. Smith ; but the former sheriff appears to havo taken the lead in the detail-) of the society, and ho published during his shrievalty, in " Letters to the Livery of London" on the office of sheriff, a very interesting aocount of this humane society. A copy of this book lies before me, and the tttlenage is inscribed. " With the * uthor's best compliments to his woit iy friend Mr D'lsraeli.'* Tho object of the Fund is to relieve the distressed families of prisoners ; to afford temporary provision to persons who, on being discharged from prison, havo no means of subsistence ; to purchase tools, implements, and materials for prisoners on their releas» r to> enable [them to earn aln ing and for other objects. This feeling of sympathy on behalf of criminals has never subsided. Tho benevolent Sheriff, to whose humanity wo owe this excellent society, ha* been often incidentally mentioned n» they Recollections ; and it may still be interesting to sketch an outline of his active public h'fe, more especially as his autobiography, which ho had commenced writing, is staled to have been destroyed. Richard Phillips was born m London in 1/07, and was brought up with an uncle, the proprietor of the Lion Brew cry, in Soho, to which he was heir He was educated at Clnsv ick, where ho soon showed a genim for Kimlish composition, and the science of numbers, rather than a taste for classical studies; to which tuuse inaj bo referred the singularly vernacular stylo of his writing*, and the entire absence of classical ornament m his felicitous illustrations for the largest class of readei'3. Of his seliooldom I have heard him relate many amusing anecdotes; but although thorc are in the majority of these reminiscences indications of a superior intclllect, •Hid an originality of mind and purpose, such as arc u-.ii.ilh father to tho bright man, I prefer quoting a pa«t«ago in this boyhood from his " Morning's Walk from London to Kew;" tho mainspring of these graphic reflections being the author's accidentally hearing in after-life the bulls of Chiswick Church. "The recurring tones," ho observed, " produced correspondent vibmtions on my nerves, and I felt myself placed upon hko .iconcoidant musical instrument. Presently, however, it occurred to mo that I was not an entire stranger to the tunes of these boll*, and that part of their fascination arose from an association between them and mime of the earliest and dear-pit objects in my remembrance. 'Surely,' I exclaimed, ' they nra ,C/i nwiclk Bells ; the very bells under the sound of which I received part of my education, and, as a schoolboy, passed the happiest da^s of my life ! Well miir their tones vibrato in im inmo\t «onl, and kindle uncommon «.yni»nth»es'' I now recollected th.it the winding of the mer (Thames) must have brought me nearer (o that ample and primitive village than tho profusion of wood had permitted me to percone, and the nenous had been unconsciously acted upon by tones which served the kejs to all the associations connected with thoso bells, their church, and the village of Cluxit ick. I helmed again, and now discnmmiited the identical sounds which I had not heard during a period of more than thirty years. 1 distinguished yen words in the successive tones which the sehoolbov* and puerile uuanintitiom of Chianick used to combine witu them In Jaucy I became a *ohoolbo\ — "Yes,' si id I, 'the six bells veppfit the village legend, and tell me (lint my dim coir lias jus/ rah eil, e\acll_\ at> tlnn did übout tlnrt}' yours sincu." Did lhc reader cur cj*c.ninter a similar keynote,

loading to multitude of early and vivid impressions s for, iv like lnaimcr, thc^o sympathetic tout's brought before my imagination numberless incident*, personages, no longer important, or no longer in existence. My scattered and once loved schoolmates, their characters, and their rarioin fortunes, passed m rapid review before me ; my schoolmaster , UiB wife, and till the gentry, and heads of families, whoso orderly attendance at Divines service on Sundays, with those remembered bell* ' chiming for church ' (but now departed and mouldering in their graves), were rapidly presented to my recollection. Witli wliat pump and fb&t thoy I used to depart from the house of God ! I saw «^/ the I the mind's eye the widow Hogarth and hor maiden r^Rive, I Richardson, walking up the aisle, dressed in their silken sacs, j aud tUcvv rivinud ucfttl-drv>9es,tlw\r crooked cv.net, preceded j by their agent-servant, Samuel, who, after he bad wheeled. his mistress to church in her 1» ith chair, carried the prayer ' book up the awlo, and opened and shut the pew 1 There, too, was tho portly J)r Griffith*, of the Ifont&tjf Meeieiv , witli his literary wife, in her neat and elevated wire-winged cap ! And ofttur.es the vivacious Duchess of Devonshire,. whose bloom had not tlie?i suffered from the canfcerworm of pecuniary distress, created by the luxury of charity! Nor could I forget tho humble distinction of the aged sexton,. Morlofee, whose skill m psalmody enublcd him to lead the ; wivtched group of singers whom Hogarth so happily pour- ; t rayed --whose |it'rformance with the tuning-fort excited so> j much wonder 111 little boys; and whose gesticulations and contortions of the head, hand, and body, vi beating time,. , w ere not outdone e\ en by Joah Bates, in the commemoratious of irnndcl ' Yes, liappy villagers, I remember loorei of you ; 1 how fortunately ye had escaped the contagion of the metropolitan vieej, though distant but live miles; and how many ( of 3011 hove I conversed with r who, at an adult age, bad ' never behrkl the degrading assemblage of it* knaveries and I miseries !" I Miilhpa's pi ospectivc fortune did not o* ercome hi* distaste for his uncle's business ; but a passvn for literature and experimental philosophy, in which predilection be was 1 thwarted, led him at tbo age of seventeen to detach himself from his family connections, and to seek his own fortune, (le imagined that tho time hud arrived to emancipate South J America, and left London in 17H3, with the intention to ' embark at Liverpool for Spanish America; but being deceived I !>v a captain, he nettled its a schoolmaster, and after wan** at 1 Leicester, where he opened a bookseller's shop, and MMriKoer ! commenced the publication «f< the Lriceitcr Herald, which 1 became noted! for its ability and political independence. Next, ; Mr I'lullips, his friend Gardiner- (author of the"Muuuof ! Nature "), and soeral other yeiwig men, formed the Adelphi i Philosophical Society. Electricity was then a novelty, nod the\ fixed im electric conductor o>er Pbillips's house, which uttrticted the attention of the local authorities* At this time, the French Revolution of 1789 Broke out; and it is- ! recorded in a volume of the Proceedings of the Society, in j Gardiner's handwriting, that it was dissolved in the year 1 1790, ll tho constituted authorities of Leicester having erI pressed their opinion, that its object was of a dangerous tendency-" Phillips now became obnoxious to the Corporation,. I mid he wn« entrapped into selling a copy of Paine's-" Bights 1 of Man," for winch he was brought to trial, and sentenced 1 to eighteen months' confinement, during which lit was visited by persons of distinction, as Lord Moira, the Duke of Norfolk, and others. Meanwhile tfhilhpi- continued to edit and publish his Leicester Herald. Soon after his release, afire broke out at his neighbour's- house, his printing-office was-dwtroyed, and his newspaper being therbv interrupted, he removed to London, and commenced the ManfJJy Magazine, which bo conducted for thirty years. He- now became a general publisher. It is related of him that w hen Bonaparte threatened to invade England with his Boulogna flotilla, Phillips proposed to Addiugron, the prime minister, to carry boat-loads of rock and stone, and sink- them in the harbour of that port. In 1807 Wnllip.3 served the office of sheriff, and received knighthood. Latterly Sir Richard Phillips was much engaged in revising his constantly reprinted elementary works, many of whica have attained above a hundred* editions. In his twelfth, year, Sir Richard conceited an abhorrence to the slaughter of animals for food, and from that pertod lived entirely o» vegetable products, enjoying such robuit health that no stranger could have suspected his studious and sedontary hnbits. By the panic of 1825 lie lost between £40,000 and £30,000}. but bti- bore his reverse of fortune with much equanimity, and lie blamed not his debtors, but only the ministers and parliament ot'i the time. Sir Richard married in 1790, a daughter of Captain John Griffiths, of Tenbp, who, with a large famdy, sur\ived him. He was interred ik Brighton' (Old) Churchyard, beneath a plain altar-tomb^ which bears the following inscription :—: — " Here rest the remains of "Sib Richaud Phillips, Exiam, " Born December 13th, 1767 j died, April 2ud, 1840. "He lived through an age of remarkable events and) changes, and was an active and anxious contemporary. " Ho was Sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1807-8, and) an effective ameliorator of a stern and_uncharitable criminal code. " He was, in 1798, the inventor andi promulgator of thointerrogative system of education, by which new impulseswere given to the intelligence of society. I "He also placed natural'philosophy omrhe basis of commoa J sense, and developed the Taws of nacure, oni immutable prim riples, which will always be co-extensivo with the respect ol mankind for truth ; in the promotion of these object, and a multitude- of others, he wrote and published more original work* than- any of his contemporaries, and in all of tliem advocated civil liberty, general benevolence, ascendancy of justice, and the improvement of the human raoe. "As a son, husband, father, and friend, he- was also an example for imitation, and left a mourning family little to inherit besides a good name. "He died in the enjoyment of that peaco which is the sweet fruit of the Christian religion, and which tbo world can neither give nor take away." It is no breach of friendship to say that this inscription 1 (with the exception of tho last sentence, added by bis widow)* was penned by Sir Richard Phillips himself; and) is interesting as showing tbo points on which bo chiefly rested his hope of being remembered with respect and affection. I About thi» time, Chelsea lost one- of its oldest attractions. Then was taken down the " Old Original Chelsea Bunhouse" in Jew*' Row; a one-storied, building, with a colonnade projecting o\ er tho foot pavement. It was not merely a bun-house, but had a history of more than a century I and a quarter. In 1710, when Swift came to London, he had a country lodging in Church Lane, Chelsea ; and he mentions tho buns in. his- " Journal to Stella," 1711 :• " Pray,, arc not tho fine buns sold' here in our town ? was it not R-r-r-r-r-r*r-r>r-r-rare Chelsea botu f I bought one to-day in my walk ; it cost me a penny ; it was stale and L did not Mk« it, as tho man said, [B-r-r-r-r-rarc] etc." George ET, Quocu Caroline, and the princesses frequented the Bunhouse ; as did also George 111 and Queen Charlotte, who presented? the wife of the proprietor, Mrs Hands, with a half-gallon silver mug, with five guineas in it. Sir Richard! Phillips, in his "Walk to Kew," 1817, says :—" For above thirty year* I have nc*er passed bho thop mo famed for Chelsea buns without filling my pocket i " — a treat for this vegetarian. In tho original shop was a sort of museum, with the " Bott.le Conjuror," a toy of his own age ; portraits of Duke William aud other noted personages ; a British soldier in tho stiff uniform of his own age ; and aoBM grotto works — thought to have been- set up to rival tb» neighbouring " Don SalteroV The buns afforded compeUnoy and even wealth to four generations of the same family. Near tho Bun-house stood Ranelagh, established about 1730, after which the bun trade declinnd. Notwithstanding,, on Onofi. Friday, 1839, upwards of 210,000 buns wero sold. SbofWy afterwards tho museum of curiosities was dispersed, and th» Buii'hou«c was taken down ;. it was re-built, but the charm of ifieoW place had flecL "Chelsea bun»" formed » tfquent cry in the streets of London in tho lost century. Since- mv reference to the periods at which appeared Chambers' Edivbvrtjh Jvurnal and the Penny Magazine, Mr William Chambers Ims addrtssed to the Athenaum " the simple truth," as|follows :—ln: — In the beginningof January, 1832^ I conceived the idea of a cheap weekly periodical devoted to « holesome popular instruction, blended' with original amusing matter, without any knowledge whatever of a prospectus of tlic Fenny Magazine, or even hearing that suoh a thing was in contemplation. My periodical was to be entitled Chambers' Edinburgh Journal, and the first number was to appear on the Mi February. In compliment to Lord Brougham, as an educationist, I forwarded to him a copy of my prospectus, with a note explaining the nature of my attempt to aid, as far as I was able, in the great cause with which his nanie was identified. To this communication I received no reply, but the circumstance wounded no selflore. My work was successful, mid I was too busy to give any consideration as to what his lordship thought of it. Tho first time I heard of the projected Penny Magazine was about a month after the Journal was set on foot and in goneral cirulation.

I may here explain Hie absence of tUeJ Duchess of Kent anil of the Princess Victoria from the coronation of King William IV n»»d Queen Adelaide, for which absence various ciiises were assigned. The authorised and correct explanation ww as follows : The Duchcf* did not refuse to attend the ceremony, as was stated ot the time, nor did she fiud fault -with no plucv Wing set upart for the Princess Victoria, who, a* hoir-presumptive, was not even, recognised by the Constitution. Even preparation had, m fuct, beeu made for the attendance of the I)uolic69. The real cause of her ob^-ncp wad the delicate stato of tho young Pnueestt's habit of body, and the jrisk to which a long and hasty journej might c\pn*e her. Tl«i« excuse was stated to theKm^, whn, with his neeustomed ki)idue»B, cheerfully and at oiioi' allow n l it,. 1 hn\c bteu fa^ouicd by an accredited correspondent with the following corrrecfion of <he statement that Alderman Mattlicw Woodi alone advanced a largo iiiin of money to emble the Duke mid DuchesH of Kent to return to England, that, our present gracious Queen uiigbt be born an Englishwoman. "There ucr« three persons: Aldermnn WooJ, and Lhc late Eail rilzKilhaiu , the tbirdis unknown,

but a silver silver salver was presented to each by tbc Queen on her coming to tbc Throne, when the money was repaid." A second correrpondent adds : " Alderman Wood may have furnished part of the needed funds ; but the late Lords Zetland and Fitzwilliaui, I belie\ o, each advanced £3,000. Her Majesty, proviou* to her marriage, cent Lord Zetland the money, together with a gold salver and an autograph.