Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's ReignAshton, John
History
Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign
Ashton, John
Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
“We have already said that the arrangements of the fair were
excellent; but, while these called forth our admiration, the
exceeding attention paid to the public by the police force appeared
to prevent the possibility of accident or robbery. All gambling
booths and thimble riggers had, of course, been necessarily excluded,
but we fear it was not possible to shut out all those persons whose
recollection of the laws of _meum_ and _tuum_ was somewhat blunted.
We heard of numerous losses of small sums, and of handkerchiefs and
other trifles, but, throughout the day, we gained no information of
any robbery which was of sufficient extent to produce more than a
temporary inconvenience to the person robbed. A temporary police
station was erected in the grounds, in which Mr. Mallalieu and a
considerable portion of his men were in attendance during the day;
but, although there were, necessarily, some cases in which slight
acts of intemperance were visible, nothing of any serious importance
occurred during the whole of the early part of the day.
“The orderly conduct of the people, which we have already described
as having been observable during the morning, was maintained through
the rest of the day. Notwithstanding that the crowd, at three
o’clock, had increased tenfold, no disturbance nor riot occurred.
The return of Her Majesty attracted a few from the crowd, but nearly
every one returned, and all remained for the grand attraction of this
part of the day’s amusement—the fireworks. As evening closed in, the
fatigue of the people rendered rest, as well as refreshment,
necessary, and every booth was, in a short time, crowded with eager
inquiries for eatables and drinkables. The dancing booths were
crowded to suffocation, and the viands of the purveyors of grog were
soon put into requisition.”
The next day was stormy and wet at first, but afterwards turned out fine,
and the Fair was crowded. On the third day, a booth caught fire, but no
great damage was done. On the fourth, and last day, the Queen drove as
close to it as she well could do, and all the booths were cleared away
that night.
The Marquis of Waterford still continued his mad pranks, and he was
brought before Mr. Dyer, the Magistrate at Marlborough Street, on 30
June, charged with being drunk and disorderly in Piccadilly at 5 o’clock
in the morning.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account