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
Carriages for Gentlemen connected with the Press.
Horsemen.
Footmen, bearing a Red flag--Inscription, "Universal Suffrage."
A Landau, containing MR. HUNT, preceded by a flag, with this
inscription, "Hunt, the heroic Champion of Liberty," and
surrounded by six horsemen, and Members of the Committee.
Carriages and Footmen.
A Landau, with Watson, Thistlewood, and Preston, and their
Friends.
Flag--"Trial by Jury."
Horsemen and Footmen.
Flag--"Liberty or Death."
Carriages, Horsemen, and Footmen.
Flag--"Liberty or Death."
Closed by Horses, Carriages, and Footmen.
There! does not that read like a modern Irish Procession to the
Reformer's tree in Hyde Park? It had the same value and the same
result--somebody got paid something. There were also riots in
Scotland, both in Paisley and Glasgow.
I am approaching the end of my Chronicle of the Regency. In November,
it could not be concealed that the poor old King was very bad; in
fact, now and then it was rumoured that he was dead. And so he was
to himself, and to the world. Nature was having its grand and final
fight; and in a few weeks the mortal life of George III. would be
closed. How well the following description of the old King tallies
with the portrait, which is scarce: "HIS MAJESTY.--A gentleman
who has been in his presence a short time ago, states, that the
appearance of our aged Monarch, is the most venerable imaginable. His
hair and beard are white as the drifted Snow, and the latter flows
gracefully over a breast which now feels neither the pleasures nor
the pains of life. When the gentleman saw him, he was dressed in a
loose Satin robe, lined with fur, sitting in an apparently pensive
mood, with his elbows on a table, and his head resting on his hands,
and seemed perfectly regardless of all external objects" (_Bath
Journal_).
[Illustration: George III.]
Still they hoped when there was no hope, for, under date November
26th is the following: "The examination of his Majesty's Physicians
by the Members of the Council, at Lambeth Palace, has made a strong
sensation on the public mind, as they conceive that it could only
be occasioned by the conviction in the breast of his Royal Highness
the Duke of York, that the inquiry became necessary. The result of
the examination has not transpired. Report says that his Majesty has
shown symptoms of decay, by the wasting of his person, and general
weakness, which, at the advanced age of eighty-two, are signs not
to be overlooked: but we believe, that immediate danger is not
apprehended."
On the 23rd of January death claimed the Duke of Kent, the father of
our present Queen; and on the 29th God took to Himself the poor old
King--which event necessarily brings to a close my Chronicles of the
REGENCY.
CHAPTER XI.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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