Social England under the Regency, Vol. 2 (of 2)Ashton, John
History
Social England under the Regency, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Ashton, John
England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; Regency -- England
On the 24th of May was born our beloved Sovereign Lady, Queen
Victoria. About that time, her father, the Duke of Kent, who, like
all his brothers, was deeply in debt, although he claimed to have
reduced his liabilities down to £60,000, applied to Parliament (July
2nd) for leave to dispose of his house at Castlebar Hill, and its
furniture, by lottery, for a sum of £50,000. His case was warmly
pleaded by Alderman Wood, who said that out of an income of £24,000,
he put by £17,000 for liquidation of his debts. This assertion
was, however, traversed by Sir Charles Burrell, who showed that
his Royal Highness at that moment had an income of above £31,000,
made up thus--Out of the Consolidated Fund £18,000; £7,000 from the
Government of Gibraltar; £6,000 on his late marriage; and the revenue
of the Colonelcy of the Scots Royals, with the usual allowance for
clothing that regiment. In the face of these facts, it was no use
going on with the motion, and it was withdrawn.
Both Queen and Princess Charlotte being dead, and the Princess of
Wales not being received at Court, and, besides, being abroad, the
holding of a Drawing-room, so necessary for launching Society young
ladies into life, and for their admission into Foreign Courts in
after-life, seemed rather problematical; but the Board of Green
Cloth, or whatever other authority had it in hand, was equal to
the occasion, and a precedent was found in the case of George
II., who was accustomed to hold drawing-rooms after the death of
Queen Caroline. Therefore the Regent held a Drawing-room all by
himself, and we read that "the Court was a very crowded one, and the
presentations were very numerous."
The following paragraph may interest some of the millions of people
who have visited the ever-popular exhibition of Madame Tussaud: "July
16. BONAPARTE'S CARRIAGE, &c.--At the late sale of the contents of
Mr. Bullock's Museum, the articles brought a much higher price than
was originally expected. Bonaparte's Carriage, and the different
dressing materials it contained, and which were taken by the
Prussians at Waterloo, were sought with great avidity. The following
are the prices they brought:--
"For the Carriage, which had been exhibited in every town of the
Empire, and was quite worn out in the service, there were several
bidders. It was originally built at Brussels, and had been used by
Bonaparte in the last Russian Campaign, and subsequently at Elba, and
finally in Flanders--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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