The Romance of Madame Tussaud'sTussaud, John Theodore
History
The Romance of Madame Tussaud's
Tussaud, John Theodore
Madame Tussaud and Sons' Exhibition; Tussaud, Marie, 1761-1850; Waxworks
“What! How did you miss me? I am there as large as life.”
“Well, sir, to tell you the truth, it cost sixpence extra to go into the
Chamber of Horrors.”
A young girl arriving at an institution at Torquay, from London, was
asked whether she had ever visited Westminster Abbey. She hesitated, and
was then reminded that that historic edifice contained monuments of the
Kings and Queens of England. She immediately brightened up, and replied,
“Oh, yes, I have been there, but they call it Madame Tussaud’s now.”
A short time after the seated figure of Mr. Rudyard Kipling, which is
still to be seen in the Exhibition, had been modelled, the following
conversation is reported to have occurred between a young lady and her
maid, who had visited Madame Tussaud’s:
Relating her experiences there, the girl remarked:
“They’ve got Mr. Kipling and another murderer there, miss.”
“But Mr. Kipling isn’t a murderer,” said her young mistress.
“No, miss,” was the reply, “but they’ve got him there, miss.”
During those days when the Exhibition was being removed from one town
to another the figures of criminals originally stood together in the
same room with all the other models; but as it was suggested that it was
indecorous to have the effigies of criminals in such close proximity with
those of illustrious personages, Madame Tussaud had the former removed to
a separate room, and the Chamber of Horrors was formed as it now exists.
The relatives and friends of criminals frequently visit the Chamber.
At a drawing-room meeting held at the residence of Lady Esther Smith, in
Grosvenor Place, in aid of the Social Institutes’ Union, which exists to
provide facilities for establishing clubs on temperance lines, Mrs. (now
Lady) Bland-Sutton told the story of a little girl who was asked where
she would like to go for a treat.
“To Madame Tussaud’s,” was the prompt reply.
“But you went there last year,” it was objected.
“Oh, yes, I know,” said the child, “but father wasn’t in the Chamber of
Horrors then.”
Somewhat similar is the following:
A parlourmaid, interviewed by her mistress just after a Bank Holiday, was
asked:
“And how did you spend your day off, Polly?”
“Oh, we went to Madame Tussaud’s,” was the reply. “We always go there,
mum. You see, having uncle in the Chamber of Horrors gives the place a
family interest, so to speak.”
When Dr. Jackson was Bishop of London he gave a breakfast to several
curates before they left to take up missionary work abroad, and one of
them, in the course of conversation at the repast, observed that he had
just visited Madame Tussaud’s, where he had heard a figure of his Grace
had been on view for many years.
He said he much regretted that he could not find the figure anywhere in
the Exhibition, although he had searched for it high and low.
“Oh,” said the Bishop, “haven’t you heard, my dear boy, that they’ve
melted me down for Peace?”--a sally that was greeted with roars of
laughter.
[Illustration: DR. JACKSON
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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