gentleman of gallant reputation and of rank was coupled with her own;
but passing over the list of her admirers, we must mention a certain
Mr. Dowler (whose name occurred frequently during the investigation),
who seems to have had more faithful regard for the lady than her
other doubtful lights of love. Mrs. Clarke further became ambitious
of shining on a larger scale, and she had the honour of appearing on
the boards of the Haymarket Theatre in the character of Portia. Great
praise was awarded her performance; her natural abilities, with a
certain vivacity, added to a well modulated voice and graceful action,
were sufficient to qualify her for a successful actress; but she
felt that her proper stage was the world, and she merely secured her
introduction to the histrionic profession as an experiment towards
promoting the foundation of her future fortunes, and her object in
this regard seems to have been secured and her plans were successfully
realised.
[13] _Minutes of Evidence_; and _Annual Register_, 1809.
[14] Mr. Burton's defence. _Minutes of Evidence._
[15] _Gentleman's Magazine._
[16] Colonel Wardle had promised, or clearly given it to be understood
by Mrs. Clarke, that he would furnish a house for her at Westbourne
Place, in part payment for her services in the prosecution of the Duke
of York. Colonel Wardle, afterwards finding it convenient to deny
that he had come under any such obligation, was sued at law by an
upholsterer who had furnished the house; and, on the evidence of Mrs.
Clarke and the upholsterer's brother, obliged to pay about 2000_l._,
with costs. The day after judgment was given in this cause, Colonel
Wardle published, in several newspapers, a note addressed to the people
of the three kingdoms, declaring before God and his country that a
verdict had been obtained against him only through perjury. During the
progress of the trial, the colonel had written to his men of law again
and again, desiring that Major Dodd, Mr. James Glennie, heretofore of
the corps of engineers, and other respectable witnesses, should be
examined; but the lawyers thought this unnecessary. The evidence of
Mrs. Clarke, and of the brother of the upholsterer, on oath, would be
overthrown by that of the respectable witnesses whom he had to bring
forward on a second trial for which he had made application. But if so,
what is to be thought of the evidence of Mrs. Clarke against the Duke
of York?--_Annual Register_, 1809.
[17] March 23, 1809.--The Speaker put the question: 'That it is the
opinion of this House that General Clavering in the said evidence is
guilty of prevarication,' which was agreed to without a division; and
General Clavering was ordered to be forthwith taken into the custody of
the Serjeant-at-Arms.
March 24.--The Serjeant-at-Arms, having reported that General Clavering
was in custody, Mr. W. Wynne moved, 'That, for his prevarication before
the Committee of the whole House, General Clavering be now committed to
Newgate, and the speaker do issue his warrant accordingly;' which was
agreed to.
March 27.--Mr. Fane presented a petition from Captain Sandon, which,
after stating his services in the army for upwards of thirty years in
various parts of the globe, concludes with apologising for his conduct
at the Bar of that House, by attributing it to the hardships he had
recently undergone in Spain, combined with an injury sustained on the
brain some time since, and the novelty of his situation when called on
to give evidence.
March 28.--On the motion of Mr. Fane, Captain Huxley Sandon was called
to the Bar; and, after a very impressive reprimand from Mr. Speaker,
was ordered to be discharged out of custody on paying the fees.
[18] Sometimes the word 'York' is erased from the plate 'Transforming a
Footboy into a Captain.'
[19] During the Parliamentary enquiry Mrs. Clarke appeared at the Bar
of the House dressed in a pelisse and skirt of light blue silk, trimmed
with white fur, with a white muff, and wearing a hat and veil of white,
the latter turned up to show her face. Her features are described as
more pleasing than handsome, according to recognised standards of
regular types of countenance. Her complexion was remarkably clear and
animated; and her eyes, which were blue, were large and full of light
and vivacity. She was somewhat small in stature, her figure was well
turned; and as her arms were much admired for their shapely form, she
was partial to attitudes which showed them off to advantage.
[20] The Duke of York was reinstated in the office of
Commander-in-Chief, May 26, 1811.
[21] Townshend, the Bow Street Runner.
1810.
_March 30, 1810._ _The Winding up of the Medical Report of the
Walcheren Expedition._--The members of the Medical Board are standing
in the stocks; on the green, in front of the sign of _The Goose_,
which is surrounded with stores for the Walcheren Expedition, are
laid the bodies of various sufferers, 'sent home for inspection.' The
nature of the stores is somewhat exceptional. A case of champagne,
marked 'Chelsea Hospital,' innumerable barrels of port and claret,
marked 'T.K., for the hospital and for home consumption.' Barrels of
porter, bales of cobwebs, and oak bark, 'charms for the cure of agues,'
tincture of arsenic, and bottles of gin.
_April 12, 1810._ _Libel Hunters on the Look-out, or Daily Examiners
of the Liberty of the Press._ Published by T. Tegg (4).--A committee
of the _Rotten Borough Society, established in 1810_ (Gibery Vixe,
president; Leatherbreech, vice), is met to consider the licence of
the press, to bring all their faculties to bear for the detection of
any lurking evidences of libel or treason. The President is reading
aloud, with the assistance of a magnifying glass to enlarge any
suspicious paragraphs; the members of the committee are all on the
_qui vive_ to note any libellous allusions. Cobbett's _Register_ is
under examination, _Magna Charta_ is trodden under foot, and the _Bill
of Rights_ is thrown on one side. From the papers pasted as memoranda
on the wall we are informed that 'Sir Francis Burdett is committed to
the Tower;' that '_The Morning Chronicle_ knows no bounds and must be
checked;' that 'Enquiries into the expedition to Walcheren be voted
treasonable;' 'That the _Statesman_ must beware,' and 'A watchful eye
be kept on the _Examiner_;' A 'Black list of those who vote in the
minority,' &c.; 'A view of the Tower,' and 'Instructions to the Keeper
of Newgate,' are among the notices put up for attention.
_April 20, 1810._ _A New Tap Wanted._ Published by T. Tegg.
[Illustration: A NEW TAP WANTED.]
_April 26, 1810._ _The Boroughmongers Strangled in the Tower._ Tegg's
caricatures (8).--Sir Francis Burdett, while confined within the
Tower, is signalising his prowess by the slaughter of a brace of the
'Caterpillars of the State;' like the infant Hercules, he is taking
the dealers in corruption by the neck and throttling them. One of
the beefeaters is enjoying the spectacle, crying, 'Bless him, I say;
he's a rum un.' Over the portcullis of the Tower gate is an escutcheon
representing the 'British Lion roused.' On one side of the postern is
an apposite quotation from Shakespeare:--
This dear, dear land--
Dear for her reputation through the world--
Is now leas'd out ...
Like to a tenement, or pelting farm;
England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots, and rotten parchment bonds.'--_Richard II._
An extract from the Liberal Baronet's own speech is posted on the other
side:--
From this foul and traitorous traffic our Boroughmonger Sovereigns
derive an immense revenue, cruelly wrung from the hard hand of
honest labour. I do, however, now entertain an ardent hope that
this degraded and degrading system, to which all our difficulties,
grievances, and dangers are owing, will at length give way to the
moderate but determined perseverance of a whole united people.--SIR
FRANCIS BURDETT.
One of the boroughmongering crew is already demolished; by his side,
on the ground, are two money-bags, 'Rapine,' and 'Drainings from the
hard hand of the industrious poor.' Of the twin wretches who are being
strangled without mercy at the hands of Sir Francis Burdett one has
in his pocket 'Barrow (borough?), in Cornwall, bought and sold; apply
to----;' two money-bags, 'Extortion money,' and 'Bribery and Corruption
bag,' are dropping from his hands; while in the pocket of the other
nefarious agent may be seen 'Rotten borough to be disposed of.'
_May 1, 1810._ _Views of the Colleges. Front View of Christ Church,
Oxford._
_May, 1810._ _Emmanuel College Garden, Cambridge._
_May, 1810._ _Emmanuel College, Cambridge._ (A nobleman presenting
busts.) Published by R. Ackermann.
_May, 1810._ _St. Mary's Church. Radcliffe Library._ Published by R.
Ackermann.
_May, 1810._ _Inside of the Public Library, Cambridge._ Published by R.
Ackermann.
'Rowlandson's views in Oxford and Cambridge, 1810, deserve notice for
the slight and pleasing manner with which he has characterised the
architecture of the places mentioned; but it is impossible to surpass
the originality of his figures. The dance of students and _filles de
joie_ before Christ Church College is highly humorous, and the enraged
tutors grin with anger peculiar to this artist's pencil. The professors
in the view of the Observatory at Oxford are made as ugly as baboons,
and yet the profundity of knowledge they possess is conspicuous at the
first glance, and we should know them to be Masters of Arts without the
aid of a background. The scene in Emmanuel College garden, Cambridge,
exhibits the learned in a state of relaxation; several handsome lasses
remove apples from a tree, and the indolent curiosity with which they
are viewed by these sons of ease is very characteristic.'--_Malcolm's
'History of Caricature.'_
[Illustration: FRONT VIEW OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD.]
_May 5, 1810._ _A Bait for Kiddies on the North Road, or that's your
sort--prime, bang up to the mark._ Tegg's caricatures (12).--The
widow Casey's hotel offers 'genteel accommodation' on the road to 'York
Races.' The prudent widow has supplemented the attractions of her house
by engaging a handsome and buxom maid, who is attached to the inn as a
decoy for the 'sprigs of fashion' who may happen to be driving on the
North Road. The charioteer of a four-in-hand, a 'dashing blade,' made
up in correct coaching style--voluminous necktie, coat down to his
heels, and capes innumerable--has called for a bowl of punch, and is
standing in the doorway, stroking the redundantly developed waitress
under the chin.
[Illustration: KISSING FOR LOVE.]
_May 10, 1810._ _Kissing for Love, or Captain Careless shot flying by a
girl of fifteen, who unexpectedly put her head out of a casement._
_May 10, 1810._ _Easterly Winds, or Scudding under Bare Poles._
Published by T. Tegg (2).--One of the landing stairs on the river. A
gale is blowing, and the boats are dancing about. The watermen are
pulling a skiff to the stairs; at the same moment a breeze is blowing
off a parson's wig and hat, and carrying away his fair companion's
parasol, bonnet, &c. The landing steps show a succession of disasters,
an ascending flight of hats, caps, and wigs, of which the astonished
wearers are suddenly denuded.
_May 15, 1810._ _Three Weeks after Marriage, or the Great Little
Emperor Playing at Bo-peep._ Tegg's caricatures (16).--The new Empress
is in a fierce passion, wreaking her vengeance on all around;
Talleyrand is levelled with the floor by a blow from the sceptre;
he is crying, 'Be Gar, she will give us all de finishing stroke.' A
marshal is seeking refuge behind the curtains and declaring: 'Marbleu,
vat a crown-cracker she be!' The little Emperor is dodging behind an
armchair, beseeching his stricken prime minister, 'Tally, Tally,' to
'rise and rally.' The Empress is threatening to hurl the Imperial
crown at her intimidated lord and master, protesting, 'By the Head
of Jove, I hate him worse than famine or disease. Perish his family!
let inveterate hate commence between our houses from this moment, and
meeting, never let them bloodless part.' The coronation throne has the
crown knocked off; and, kicked on the floor by this untamable Austrian,
are all the conquered diadems of Europe, including the Pope's tiara and
the iron crown of Italy.
_May 15. 1810._ _A Bonnet Shop._ Rowlandson del. Tegg's collection
(17).--This plate is best described from the advertisement of the
proprietress, displayed on her premises, for the manufacture of the
straw bonnets and hats which were the _mode_ at the beginning of the
century: 'Miss Flimsey's fashionable warehouse; the greatest variety of
straw hats and bonnets made up in the most elegant taste. A large stock
of Spanish, Flemish, Provincial, Gipsy, Cottage, Woodland, &c., &c.,
adapted to show every feature to advantage.'
An old fright is trying on an unbecoming straw-bonnet at a mirror,
while a handsome saleswoman is puffing her wares. A number of pretty
apprentices are trimming hats, and an antiquated quiz, with his
spyglass, is poking his head through the window, and saluting the bevy
of beauties with a satyr-like grin.
'_Miseries à la Mode._--The being over-persuaded by a canting
shopwoman, in endeavouring to puff off a stale article, that it is the
most becoming and suitable to your style of features; but on consulting
your friends and acquaintance they pronounce it the most frightful,
hideous, and unfashionably formed thing--that would disgrace Cranbourne
Alley.'
_May 20, 1810._ _Peter Plumb's Diary._ Published by T. Tegg (18).--The
picture represents the drawing-room of a 'warm citizen,' evidently
'worth a plum.' The corpulent master of the house and the no less
well-favoured partner of his bosom are seated before a capital fire;
the comfortable couple have drunk their port and supped their punch,
of which a capacious bowl is ready to hand on a table between them;
the host has smoked a whiff of 'Turkey' and then dropped off to sleep
in his armchair; his wife has followed his example; and a fat poodle,
snugly laid on a soft cushion before the fender, is dozing luxuriously;
the motto of the house is written over the mantel: 'Eating, drinking,
and sleeping, with the generality of people, form the three important
articles of life.' The blooming daughter, a melting young damsel,
has her own creed on the subject. An opportunity is offered for a
little flirtation; a gallant and good-looking young buck is saluting
her with a tender embrace; the pair have sat down to perform _duetto
prestissimo_, but the swain's flute is discarded, and the fair pianist
is negligently touching the keyboard to a lively air, _Lucy's Delight_,
while the flirtation is proceeding undisturbed by the presence of the
slumbering parents.
Peter Plumb is a desirable father-in-law, and his commercial interests
are set forth in 'a view of Wapping Docks,' and a plan, suspended on
rollers, for the 'new improvement of the Cattle Market in Smithfield.'
The existence of the sleeper would appear an easy one; witness the
extract from _Peter Plumb's Diary_. This honest man being of greater
consequence in his own thoughts than 'in the eye of the world,' had for
some years past kept a journal of his life. _Videlicet_, the following
exciting example:--
'_Monday._--Eight o'clock: I put on my clothes, washed hands and face.
Nine o'clock: Tied my knee-strings, put on my double-soled shoes,
took a walk to Islington. One o'clock: Took a luncheon. Between two
and three returned. Dined on a knuckle of veal and bacon. Three: Nap
as usual. Four to six: Walked in the fields. Wind S.S.E. From six to
ten: Went to the club; was half-an-hour before anybody else came. Ten
at night: Went to bed. Slept without waking till nine next morning.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Little or no
variation.'
_May 30, 1810._ _A Table d'Hôte, or French Ordinary in Paris._
(20).--The _Table d'Hôte_ is an appropriate companion to the _Paris
Diligence_. The travellers have duly reached the capital, and a scene
of Parisian life is shown on their arrival in the French metropolis.
The _salle à manger_, where the ordinary is held, is a handsome
apartment, decorated in showy taste with enrichments in plaster,
canopies, curtains, mirrors, &c. The repast is in active course, and
its humours are improved on with an observant eye. The company is
diversified; there are _bourgeois_ and their wives, _petits-maîtres_,
marquises, fat friars, and ladies of various degrees, all complaisance
and graciousness. A Savoyard, with a hurdy-gurdy, and her daughter,
with a triangle, are 'discoursing sweet sounds' to enliven the repast.
A dog is taught to beg for food. The manners of the feeders are of
different shades. Pledging toasts, flirtations, and small gallantries
animate the severer business of the hour. Several whimsical accidents
are introduced, results of awkward or inattentive service on the part
of waiters; one grave citizen is receiving a scalding _bouillon_ in his
eye, while a _bouilli_ is simultaneously poured over a bowing dandy; a
glass of wine is capsized into a lady's plate while her attention is
diverted; and a piggish priest, whose soup is suffered to stream down
the corners of his fat jowl, has his shaven pate saluted by a cascade
from a bottle tilted up by a heedless fair _domestique_, whose regards
are engaged by the pleasantries of an amorous old fogey by her side,
with whom she is exchanging jocularities.
1810 (?). _Paris Diligence._ Rowlandson del. et sculp. Published by T.
Tegg.--This print is one of a class somewhat superior to the average
series published in Cheapside. The scene is a favourite one with the
artist, and his early experiences in France here serve him in valuable
stead. It is in pictures of Continental life, before the aspects of the
quaint and picturesque surroundings were entirely transmogrified by the
French Revolution, that we recognise Rowlandson at his best. The value
of these sketches is perhaps greater than of any other works his facile
hand has bequeathed us, and the interest of these subjects is found to
appeal to a larger circle of admirers.
The _diligence_ is starting from a massively built and handsome
innyard, the sign of the _Coq en Pâte_. The 'machine' is a cumbersome
vehicle, clumsy and heavy to an incredible degree. It is drawn--at no
rapid pace, it is certain--by four strong, long, ill-favoured steeds,
harnessed with ropes to the Noah's Ark-like contrivance, and ridden
by two postilions, who are cracking their long thonged whips without
producing much acceleration of speed in the toiling team. The timber of
the diligence would be heavy for a gun-carriage, and the construction
of the entire concern is perfectly primitive. A huge basket in front,
about the size of a porter's lodge, is presumably the 'luggage boot;'
below this are two small and heavy wheels, while at the other end
of the machine are two enormous hind-wheels. The elongated body of
the vehicle seems also to be made of rough basket-work. Through the
unglazed spaces for windows are seen the occupants, who are travelling
Pariswards: an assortment of corpulent and shaven monks, peasant
women, and an old veteran with a formidable pigtail; a fashionable
lady in feathers is ogling a beau wearing a powdered wig and enormous
_solitaire_. The roof itself is also loaded; another fat friar, with
shaven poll, is reading his book, over which is peeping a _débonnaire_
damsel of redundant charms, who is flirting a gigantic fan; an officer,
with an enormous cocked-hat and a massive club, has his hands in a muff
of pantomimic magnitude; by his side is a lively _grisette_, with a
parasol; another officer is reclining behind.
The _diligence_ is attended by the usual mendicants, vociferously
appealing for alms. The background is a quaint French town of some
importance; a jack-booted rider is clattering along in the rear of
a travelling-carriage, which is posting to the capital, driven by a
postilion. Down the street is shown a procession of well-fed friars;
and a party of devout nuns are striking attitudes at the foot of a
carved figure. The whole picture recalls the precise aspect France wore
at the time Sterne made his famous 'Sentimental Journey,' and the scene
might well be a chapter from that picturesque pilgrimage.
_June 4, 1810._ _Love and Dust._ Published by T. Tegg. Republished.
(See 1799.)
_June 5, 1810._ _Boxing Match for Two Hundred Guineas betwixt Dutch
Sam and Medley, fought May 31, 1810, on Moulsey Hurst, near Hampton._
Published by T. Tegg. Tegg's caricatures (22).--The artist has drawn
the fight, judging from the appearance offered by the opponents, during
the first round, while all was cool and scientific. The champions,
stripped to the waist, are sparring round one another on guard; their
seconds are eagerly following up the principals; the two bottle-holders
are seated on the grass. The spectators, a very orderly company,
according to the picture, are arranged on the grass in a wide circle,
while beyond the amateurs on foot is a ring of vehicles, on the roofs
of which are perched the more fashionable portion of the patrons of the
Ring, amongst whom are seen some of the softer sex.
'The concourse of people exceeded anything we have ever witnessed. The
spectators were computed at ten thousand. At one o'clock the champions
entered the ring, and Sam had for his second Harry Lee, whilst Joe Ward
officiated for Medley. After a severe and bloody contest of forty-nine
rounds victory was decided in favour of Sam.'
_August 8, 1810._ _Smuggling Out, or Starting from Gretna Green._
Rowlandson del. Schultz scul. Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.--A
gallant officer is assisting a pretty and precocious boarding-school
miss to elope from a balcony window; a post-chaise is waiting in
readiness to carry the fugitives 'across the Border,' and a servant
in attendance has secured the damsel's personal belongings in a
portmanteau on his shoulders.
_August 8, 1810._ _Smuggling In, or a College Trick._--The picture
represents the corner of a college quadrangle. Three festive and
mischievously disposed collegians appear at the window of their rooms;
with the contrivance of a sling and a stout rope they are managing to
draw up, clandestinely, as they fondly imagine, a pretty, modish, and,
we fear, wanton maiden, who is not in the least terrified or abashed
at her situation, but is entering into the spirit of the adventure.
A frowning proctor, who is scandalised at these reprehensible
irregularities, is standing in an angle, half-concealed in the shadow,
scowling at the party, and waiting to dart out and surprise the
violators of the academical proprieties at the critical moment for
their detection.
_September 8, 1810._ _Procession of the Cod Company from St. Giles's to
Billingsgate._ Published by T. Tegg (11).--A view of old Billingsgate,
overlooking the river, with the fish being landed from the crowds of
smacks at the old covered jetty, since swept away. The pilgrimage
of the sturdy members of _The Cod Company_, we presume, is made to
the craft on the river to take in cargoes of fish. The procession
is composed of corpulent old Irish women, of colossal breadth and
strength, all balancing their fish-baskets on their heads, some smoking
their cherished clay pipes, and carrying their stoutly developed arms
crossed, akimbo, or on their hips, after their individual proclivities.
_September 25, 1810._ _Rigging out a Smuggler._ Published by T. Tegg
(8).--A party of sailors in a cabin are fitting out a handsome young
creature to 'run the gauntlet' of the Custom-house officers, or rather
to go on shore, with as full a cargo of excisable articles as they
can secure round her person. Huge pockets of 'old Japan china, tea,
gum,' &c. are disposed round her waist, together with a small keg of
'coniac,' and a flagon of otto of roses. Chests of Congou and Souchon
and flasks of arrack are standings about.