Effects of Napoleon's capture -- The Navy in 1815 -- Margate
and Ramsgate -- French Prisoners of war -- Treaty of Peace with
France -- Napoleon's house -- A soldier's letter -- A zealous
Lord Mayor -- Hotels and clubs in 1815.
The effect of the capture and banishment of Napoleon was felt
immediately, a great strain was taken off Europe, and it was known to
all, that the peace, after so long a conflict, would be enduring. On
the 17th of August we read, "The impressment of seamen is directed
to be discontinued at all the seaports, as also the receiving of
volunteers, except for the peace establishment. Orders have been
issued at the different ports to pay off the Navy; and the seamen
are to be sent to their respective homes, in small vessels, to be in
readiness for that purpose."
The Navy was a rough school then, and the officers mainly came from a
very different class to that from which they are now recruited. What
a Midshipman's berth was like then, we may learn from the following
extract from a letter:
"The Midshipman, whose _Friends were not born before him_, as the
phrase goes, is easily distinguished amongst his more fortunate
companions in arms; you generally see him attired like the prodigal
son returning from his occupation of a swineherd, than a British
officer. His perforated worsted hose, shoes which have a very great
resemblance to _sandals_, threadbare pantaloons which were once blue,
a tattered '_uniform!_' coat, and a slouched hat, show that 'poverty,
and not his will, consents.'
"A Midshipman's berth (in a dark cockpit under water) has long been
proverbial for the convenience, and elegance of its comforts; a large
deal table, abundantly ornamented with hieroglyphicks, a form, and
some broken chairs, two beautiful brass candlesticks, well charged
with grease, lights which seem to render darkness more visible, about
ten plates and dishes, seven knives and forks, five pewter spoons,
with cups and saucers in proportion, two old decanters without necks,
and a very large stock of empty bottles, usually form the earthly
stock of its utensils. To describe the valet, or attendant, would,
indeed, be a difficult task; perhaps the reader can call to mind Le
Sage's description of Domingo, whose vigilance prevented Gil Blas'
escape from the Cavern? If so, I need not trouble you with anything
further on the subject, except that the one is, generally, the
counterpart of the other."
In the following, under date of October 3rd, we see the germ of our
present steam navy: "We understand that a distinguished British
Officer, who had an opportunity of viewing the steam frigate at New
York, pronounced it to be the most formidable battery of defence ever
invented (they are to be stationed at all their different seaports):
and the Officer alluded to, has, we hear, strongly recommended their
adoption, particularly for the Bay of Gibraltar."
Steam had already been introduced into our Mercantile marine, and we
find (September), "A _Margate_ hoy of large dimensions, propelled by
steam, goes constantly to and fro from London to Margate. From its
novelty, and the certainty of its arrival within a given time (about
twelve hours), it is much thronged with passengers."
It was the fashionable month for those popular watering-places,
Margate and Ramsgate, and how our grandparents took their holidays
is thus described: "How very different is a watering-place from the
rest of the world! In a commercial town every face you meet, carries
the word 'business,' every one seems so absorbed in his own cares,
as not even to be conscious of the existence of his fellow men. Life
seems to have an object, you involuntarily quicken your pace, cast
your eyes straight forward, and enumerate to yourself the several
matters you have to transact. There is nothing of all this at a
Watering-Place, there you find the inhabitants divided into two
classes, _gapers_, and _smilers_. By the gapers must be understood,
those who are here to spend their money, and be amused; and, by the
smilers, those who are here to gain their money, and be maintained.
"Now the employment of the gapers is to lie in bed all the fore part
of the day, 'the dewy hour of prime,' to wear a great coat, brown
hat, brown shoes, bathe, and ride half a mile on a donkey, with a
boy behind to whip it, read the newspapers during the middle of the
day, and in the evening to dine, to go to a promenade in a ballroom,
where during nine-tenths of the time every one sits still; or, to the
theatre, where the pure air, and pure light of heaven are shut out,
to make room for otto of roses and Argand lamps. Thus the amusements
of the citizen are scarcely varied by his journey, or, rather, his
voyage, for the packets bring the mass of visitors to Margate. The
first effort the worthy Cit makes to get rid of the foul air of
London, is to stow himself and family on board the hoy; here he finds
eighty or a hundred amateurs of fresh air. Then if the wind be fair,
and not too strong, they proceed tolerably well, but should the wind
be foul, which Heaven in its great mercy forefend, such a scene
opens, such qualms, and faintings,
'Such revisitings,
As make day hideous, and us poor fools of nature
Most horribly to shake our dispositions.'"
Although there was virtually peace throughout Europe, the Definitive
Treaty of Peace, between the Allied Powers and France, was not signed
until the 20th of November, at Paris: consequently the prisoners of
war were not released. We can well understand the irritation of the
poor fellows, who knew that it was only red tape that was preventing
their return to their country and homes, and are, therefore,
not surprised to hear (September 13th), that "the prisoners in
confinement on board the prison ships at Cowes, meditated escape
on the night of the 1st instant, but their plans were fortunately
detected, through the perseverance and exertions of Lieutenant
Whaley, 18th Regiment of Foot, Commanding Officer on board the ships.
To show the length they intended to go, if necessary, to effect their
purpose, they had actually sworn themselves to secrecy, by drinking
their own blood mixed with cold water."
They were rather expensive acquaintances, for I find that the cost of
them, during the greater part of the war, for provisions, clothing,
and superintendence, was calculated in detail, to amount to £1000 per
diem--and this was exclusive of building materials used for their
prisons.
The text of the Treaty arrived here on the 27th of November.
London was illuminated, Peace was proclaimed, as was also a Day of
Thanksgiving.
Napoleon's House and furniture were manufactured here, and were
ready for shipment by the end of October. I have but space to
describe the house; suffice it to say, that the furniture was fitted
for the use of an opulent gentleman, rather than for the quondam
ruler of Europe. "The framework for the house is nearly completed at
Woolwich. The front is in the Grecian style. It is about 120 feet
in length, containing fourteen windows, and a fine open corridor.
The depth of the building is about 100 feet, with a back corridor,
almost making the whole structure square.--It is two stories high,
and will have an elegant cottage appearance. The ground-floor of the
right division of the house, contains Bonaparte's apartments. In the
centre of this wing is his drawing-room, which, as well as the other
apartments for his accommodation, is about 30 feet in length, by a
breadth of 20. This proportion runs through the whole. Next, is his
dining-room, with an adjoining library, behind which, is a capacious
billiard-room. His bedroom, dressing-room, and bath, are of course
connected. The left division of the edifice contains apartments for
the officers of his suite. The rear comprises the servants' and store
rooms. The kitchen is detached from the regular building, and yet
perfectly convenient to the dining-room, without communicating any
offensive fumes to the principal range of rooms. This is of no small
value in a sultry climate. The Hall is plain, and merely furnished
with seats. The Corridors will furnish a cool and shaded promenade."
China, stationery, and two fowling-pieces, one with percussion locks,
and every necessary appertaining to them were sent out, as well as
artisans to fit up the house; and the whole of this consignment,
weighed nearly five hundred tons.
The following letter, which seems genuine, tells a tale of what our
soldiers went through in the early part of this century:--
"PARIS IN FRANCE 5th _Sept. 1815_.
"DEAR MOTHER AND SISTER,--I have taken the oppertunity of
writing these lines to you hoping it will find you in good
health, as it now leaves me at this present thank be to God for
it. I am very sorry I did not anser your Letters as I had not
opportunity for we was very busy fighting the french a long
time every day in the Mountains in Spain and I always had good
luck til one day I received two balls one hitt me right on my
brest plate and knocked me downe and as soon as I got my wind
agen I fired about ten rounds more and then another hitt me
through my hip which was bad along time and one came through
my Haversack and another throw my trowsers and shirt and that
same night was very wet and no fires could be lighted and it
was very cold on the Mountains but the Dockter was very good to
me and after that we drove the french into their own Country
and made them beg for peace and then we went into Ammerica into
upper Kanndy where we had all the fighting with the Yankeys till
we got a piece of them seven hundred miles up the Contrey nigh
to the falls of Naygaray which you know is 1 of the 7 wonders
of the world and there my Captain was so kind as to give me a
pass without date and I workd for a large farmer all winter and
had plenty of vittles and a good bed fit for any Gentleman and
the Ridgment was then ling in Barns and when the men had to get
up their hare was frose to their heads and they could not pull
the Blankets from the floore and I thote myself well off and
this farmer bid 100 Dollars for my discharge and we returned
to Spithead and was 6 weeks on the Water which is 4 thousand 5
hundred milles and is colled a good passage[16] and wee could
not get a shore after all this for we was ordered to french
flanders and at last we have got to Paris and is in the Buss de
bulling near to it which is a very fine place like a grove for
a gateway and the french is very civil funny fellows to us now
cause they know we can defend ourselves and they do not care
for nothing but to get our Monney which theare is plenty way to
spend and theare is shows and Montybanks every night and sundays
and all and there is no Justesses or Methodys to stop them and
there is all sorts of sights and Bartlemy fair is nothing to
it and we are now agen commanded by brave Duke Wellington that
always conqurs--and there is soldiers of all sorts here past
all telling Rooshons Prooshons and Austrions and Jarmans of all
kind and the Rooshons are verry good naturd cretures and will do
anything for an Englishman and says their prayrs evry Morning
and night and will fight their ennemis for ever for the Emperor
and the Virgin Marey the same as we do for king George and old
England, and the Prushons is very quiet men and smokes all day
long and the Austrions is fine tall fellows and the foot is
drest as handsome as our Horse Officers and all our Officers is
very good Gentlemen and we think to stay in france two Years and
I am very contented--dear mother I wish it was not so far off or
you and Bet coud come for I have savd some Monney and I larnt a
littel french in Kannday but it is not the same sort it is here
give my kind love to all inquiring friends and pray God bless
you all from your loving son til death,"----&c. &c.
[Footnote 16: Of course, now-a-days we can hardly
understand this; but the old tubs used to take their time
then.--It is recorded in the "Annual Register" of 1815, as
follows: "16 December.--A vessel is arrived in the Thames
from New South Wales after an extraordinarily short passage
of less than five months."]
What would the modern _Patres Conscripti_ of the City say if a Lord
Mayor were to appear like unto this? "We are happy to state that
the Lord Mayor has commenced his Office with the most commendable
alacrity. His lordship visited Billingsgate market, at five o'clock
on Tuesday morning; and, yesterday morning, about the same hour,
perambulated the streets, and visited the different watch-houses
in the City. From a continuation of this conduct, at uncertain
periods, we anticipate the most beneficial results." I have seen no
more records of these visits, and thence judge that some judicious
friend had whispered in his ear, the advice of Talleyrand to a young
diplomat--"Sur tout, mon ami, pas trop de zèle."
A very few more odds and ends, and I must close the Chronicle of
1815. On the 5th of December, was hanged, at Newgate, John Binstead,
convicted of forgery, and at his execution, a peculiar superstition
is recorded: "While on the scaffold, Binstead, in conversation with
the Rev. Mr. Cotton (the ordinary of Newgate) requested that his
hands might not be applied to persons who came to be rubbed for the
wen."
Of the Hotels and Clubs of this time Captain Gronow writes thus:
"There was a class of men, of very high rank, such as Lords
Wellington, Nelson, and Collingwood, Sir John Moore, and some few
others, who never frequented the Clubs. The persons to whom I refer,
and amongst whom were many members of the sporting world, used to
congregate at a few hotels. The Clarendon, Limmer's, Ibbetson's,
Fladong's, Stephens', and Grillon's, were the fashionable hotels. The
Clarendon was then kept by a French cook, Jacquiers, who contrived to
amass a large sum of money in the service of Louis the Eighteenth,
in England, and, subsequently, with Lord Darnley. This was the only
public hotel where you could get a genuine French dinner, and, for
which, you seldom paid less than three or four pounds; your bottle of
champagne, or of claret, in the year 1814, costing you a guinea.
"Limmer's was the evening resort for the sporting world; in fact, it
was a midnight Tattersall's, where you heard nothing but the language
of the turf, and where men, with not very clean hands, used to make
up their books. Limmer's was the most dirty hotel in London; but, in
the gloomy, comfortless coffee-room, might be seen many members of
the rich squirearchy, who visited London during the sporting season.
This hotel was frequently so crowded that a bed could not be obtained
for any amount of money; but you could always get a very good
plain English dinner, an excellent bottle of port, and some famous
gin-punch.
"Ibbetson's Hotel was chiefly patronized by the clergy and young
men from the universities. The Charges there were more economical
than at similar establishments. Fladong's, in Oxford Street, was
chiefly frequented by naval men; for, in those days, there was no
club for sailors. Stephens', in Bond Street, was a fashionable
hotel, supported by officers of the army, and men about town. If a
stranger asked to dine there, he was stared at by the waiters, and
very solemnly assured that there was no table vacant. It was not an
uncommon thing to see thirty or forty saddle horses, and tilburys,
waiting outside this hotel. I recollect two of my old Welsh friends,
who used, each of them, to dispose of five bottles of wine, daily,
residing here in 1815, when the familiar joints, boiled fish, and
fried soles, were the only eatables you could order.
"The members of the clubs of London, many years since, were persons,
almost without exception, belonging exclusively to the aristocratic
world. 'My tradesmen,' as King Allen used to call the bankers and
the merchants, had not then invaded White's, Boodle's, Brookes',
or Wattiers' in Bolton Street, Piccadilly; which, with the Guards,
Arthur's, and Graham's, were the only clubs at the west end of the
town. White's was decidedly the most difficult of entry; its list of
members comprised nearly all the noble names of Great Britain.
"The politics of White's Club were, then, decidedly Tory. It was
here that play was carried on to an extent which made many ravages
in large fortunes, the traces of which have not disappeared at the
present day. General Scott, the father-in-law of George Canning, and
the Duke of Portland, was known to have won at White's, £200,000,
thanks to his notorious sobriety, and knowledge of the game of
whist. The General possessed a great advantage over his companions
by avoiding those indulgences at the table which used to muddle
other men's brains. He confined himself to dining off something like
a boiled chicken, with toast and water; by such a regimen he came
to the whist table with a clear head, and, possessing, as he did,
a remarkable memory, with great coolness and judgment, he was able
honestly to win the enormous sum of £200,000.
"At Brookes', for nearly half a century, the play was of a more
gambling character than at White's. Faro and Macao were indulged in
to an extent which enabled a man to win, or to lose a considerable
fortune in one night. It was here that Charles James Fox, Selwyn,
Lord Carlisle, and other great Whigs, won and lost hundreds of
thousands; frequently remaining at the table for many hours without
rising.
"On one occasion, Lord Robert Spencer contrived to lose the last
shilling of his considerable fortune, given him by his brother, the
Duke of Marlborough; General Fitzpatrick being much in the same
condition, they agreed to raise a sum of money, in order that they
might keep a faro bank. The members of the club made no objection,
and ere long, they carried out their design. As is generally the
case, the bank was a winner, and Lord Robert bagged, as his share of
the proceeds £100,000. He retired, strange to say, from the foetid
atmosphere of play, with the money in his pockets, and never again
gambled. George Harley Drummond, of the famous banking house, Charing
Cross, only played once in his whole life at White's Club, at whist,
on which occasion he lost £20,000 to Brummell. This event caused him
to retire from the banking house of which he was a partner.
"Lord Carlisle was one of the most remarkable victims amongst the
players at Brookes', and Charles Fox, his friend, was not more
fortunate, being, subsequently, always in pecuniary difficulties.
Many a time, after a long night of hard play, the loser found himself
at the Israelitish establishment of Howard and Gibbs, then the
fashionable, and patronized, money-lenders. These gentlemen never
failed to make hard terms with the borrower, although ample security
was invariably demanded.
"The Guards Club was established for the three regiments of Foot
Guards, and was conducted upon a military system. Billiards and low
whist were the only games indulged in. The dinner was, perhaps,
better than at most clubs, and considerably cheaper. I had the honour
of being a member for several years, during which time I have nothing
to remember, but the most agreeable incidents. Arthur's and Graham's
were less aristocratic than those I have mentioned; it was at the
latter, thirty years ago, that a most painful circumstance took
place. A nobleman of the highest position, and influence in society,
was detected in cheating at cards, and, after a trial, which did not
terminate in his favour, he died of a broken heart.
"Upon one occasion, some gentlemen of both White's and Brookes'
had the honour to dine with the Prince Regent, and during the
conversation, the Prince inquired what sort of dinners they got
at their clubs; upon which, Sir Thomas Stepney, one of the guests,
observed that their dinners were always the same, 'the eternal
joints, or beefsteaks, the boiled fowl with oyster sauce, and an
apple tart--this is what we have, sir, at our clubs, and very
monotonous fare it is.' The Prince, without further remark, rang
the bell for his cook, Wattier, and, in the presence of those who
dined at the Royal table, asked him whether he would take a house,
and organize a dinner club. Wattier assented, and named Madeson,
the Prince's page, manager, and Labourie, the cook, from the Royal
kitchen. The Club flourished only a few years, owing to high play
that was carried on there. The Duke of York patronized it, and was a
member. I was a member in 1816, and frequently saw his Royal Highness
there. The dinners were exquisite; the best Parisian cooks could not
beat Labourie. The favourite game played was Macao."