Chapter LI

Last scene of all--Madame Tussaud’s appearance and
character--Her _Memoirs_, published in 1838--Her last words.

If I have recounted many stories relating to incidents that have taken place long after Madame Tussaud passed away, it is because the flow of anecdote prompted by her genius has continued in an unbroken course down to the present times.

But the atmosphere of romance that pervades this history belongs in the main to her days, and it is only fitting that with the close of her days it should practically come to an end.

She died some eight years before I was born, but from my father and from those of his generation who spent the best part of their lives in her company I learnt so much about her that it is difficult for me to realise that I had not enjoyed her personal acquaintance. Her model that stands at the head of the “Sleeping Beauty,” I have always been given to understand, is a speaking likeness.

In figure she was small and slight, and her manner was vivacious. Her complexion was fresh, her hair dark brown with never more than a sprinkling of grey, and her soft brown eyes were keen and alert when her interest was aroused. She was a great talker, her conversation was replete with reminiscences, and, moreover, she was blessed with a faultless memory. Austere in her habits of life, exacting in her likes and dislikes, she showed a ready sympathy with those in distress, and, above all, she was generous to a fault.

Unfortunately her _Memoirs_, published in 1838, although they were penned more than a decade before she died, do not bring us into any very close relationship with either her personality or her life.

This would not be surprising to those who knew her, or who were acquainted with the circumstances in which they were written. She seldom could be brought to speak of herself and her own painful experiences; and at no time did she betray the slightest disposition to thrust herself upon the public. She was seventy-eight years old at the time, and her desire for seclusion grew stronger as years advanced, until her entourage became narrowed down to the simple companionship of her immediate family circle.

The _Memoirs_ came to be written in this wise:

Her two sons, Joseph and Francis, in collaboration with an old literary friend of the name of Francis Hervé, settled in their minds that the old lady should be induced to leave behind her an account of her career.

Younger son of Madame Tussaud. Born 1800, died 1873. Modeled by his son Joseph and exhibited at the Royal Academy.]

As she had declared her unwillingness to busy herself with the task of compiling her autobiography--and in certain matters we knew her to have been immovable--they decided that the best way of accomplishing their design would be to record the substance of those conversations in which they rightly surmised they would have little difficulty in inducing her to take part when in the humour.

In spite of the facilities these gentlemen had for obtaining the matter used in their publication, it may be well conjectured that they did not always find their course run smooth, and at times they must have been put to odd shifts and a good deal of careful strategy when gathering what they wanted from the shrewd old lady without arousing her suspicions.

For these reasons the _Memoirs_ have failed to supply what is best worth knowing, such as details giving an insight to her own life--an omission which, I fear, can never now be made entirely good. That work is, therefore, made up of disjointed, scrappy matter, avowedly well written, but somehow obviously strung together for the making of a book.

In perusing its pages the reader thus finds himself confronted by a mere procession of notables whom the old lady happened to have known or to have seen in her day, each with an encyclopædic quantum of information tagged to his or her name that might well have been culled from any biographical treasury. So it is she is to be found speaking of others when her reader’s one desire is that she should be induced to talk of herself.

Neither does this “Romance” claim to be a biography. Such an undertaking would demand of us closer and more careful study than these brief sketches have entailed, and much diligent research. Moreover, such has not been the purpose of these pages.

By those who had the best authority to speak of her I have been often reminded of the trials and hardships against which she had to battle during her long and strenuous career, showing a courage and determination that might well have broken the spirit of many a man. In estimating her character and her achievements, my mind turns to events of the past few years which have demonstrated how capable women are of enacting a great part in the drama of human life.

Madame Tussaud brought cheerfulness and geniality to bear upon the tasks that lay before her, and therein lay the secret of her triumphs. She was diligent and attentive to her business, devoted to her family, and attached to her friends.

The measure of her years far exceeded the allotted span, and she was rewarded, despite the slightness of her frame, with an almost unbroken continuation of good health, until, on the 15th of April, 1850 she passed peacefully and painlessly away at her house attached to the Exhibition in Baker Street.

Forty years of her life had been chiefly spent in Paris and the latter fifty years mostly in London; so that her biography may be said to comprise a tale of two cities. She was buried in the catacombs of St. Mary’s Church, Cadogan Place, Chelsea.

The last words she spoke in this world were characteristic of this wonderful woman’s indomitable spirit. Calling her sons, Joseph and Francis, to her bedside, she gently upbraided them for showing distress at her departure, rather than gratitude that she had been spared to them so long. Her farewell exhortation was, “I divide my property equally between you, and implore you, above all things, never to quarrel.”

INDEX

Page

Aberdeen, Lord, 193

Académie de Saint Luc, 60

Adelaide, Queen, 111

Air-raids, 327

Alexander III of Russia, 228

Alexandra, Queen, 228, 338

Alfred the Great, 232

Alix of Hesse, Princess, 147

Anecdotes, 293, 315, 341, 349, 353

Animals in Exhibition, 218

Annaly, Lord, 232

Archer, Fred, 286, 325

Asquith, H. H., 235, 281

Augusta, Princess, 109

Austin, Alfred, 352

Bailey, Old, 346

Baker Street Exhibition, 149, 208, 247, 339, 359

Balfour, Arthur J., 223

Balfour, Jabez, 328

Bancroft, Lady, 244

Bancroft, Sir Squire, 245

Bank Holiday Crowds, 282

Barnum, Phineas, 343

Baron-Wilson, Mrs. C., 117

Bastille, Keys of the, 299

Bastille, The, 79

Bates, Colour-Sergeant G. H., 159

Bazaine, Marshal, 173

Beaconsfield, Lord, 172, 190, 315

Beatty, Admiral Lord, 235

Berlin Treaty, 191, 315

Berne, 57, 58, 63

Berry, The Executioner, 314

Bertrand, Count, 125, 139

Bhopal, Begum of, 231

Bismarck, Prince, 325

Black Prince, 237

Blind Visitors, 332

Blücher, Von, 112

“Bobs”, 191, 202, 290

Bonaparte, Napoleon, 96, 127, 134, 139, 153, 184, 206

Booth, General (the late), 253

Boulanger, General, 201

Bradlaugh, Charles, 200

Bright, John, 175

Bristol Riots, 103

Bullock, William, 122, 123, 138

Burgess, T. W., 281

Burglar, Our, 292

Burke, 234, 311

Burke, Thomas, 197

Burns, John, 276

Burns, Robert, 286

Burton, Isabel Lady, 206

Burton, Sir Richard, 205

Byron, Lord, 237

Cabinet de Cire, 73, 76

Calcraft, The Executioner, 314

Canning, George, 100, 112

Cantlie, Sir James, 283

Carey, James, 197

Carlyle, Thomas, 85

Caroline, Queen, 99, 107

Carrier, 56, 87, 91

Casement, Roger, 326

Cato Street Conspiracy, 210

Cavell, Nurse, 335

Cavendish, Lord Frederick, 197

“Caverne des Grands Voleurs”, 76, 298

Cetewayo, 188

Chamber of Horrors, 76, 174, 187, 233, 244, 251, 278, 290, 297,
306, 307, 314, 318

Charles of Denmark, Princess, 229

Charlotte, Princess, 99, 112

Children, Stories of, 294

Churchill, Lord Randolph, 234

“Claimant,” Tichborne, 177

Clarendon, Lord, 194

Clowes, Rev. John, 113

Cobbett, William, 239, 285

Cobden, Richard, 176

Coleman, 247

Collins, Dennis, 110

Collot d’Herbois, 95

Concerts, Promenade, 110

Consort, Prince, 220

Conti, Prince de, 58

Corday, Charlotte, 92, 114, 295

Cornwell, Jack, V.C., 335

Crinolines, 341

Cromwell, Oliver, 237, 248

Cronje, General, 223

Cruikshank, 122

Cumberland, Duke of, 118

Cup-tie Crowds, 283

Curtius, Christopher, 57, 59, 65, 70, 78, 84, 88, 89, 96

“Dagonet”, 249

D’Angoulême, Duchesse, 76

Danton, 87, 91

Dargai, Highlanders at, 222, 289

Dauphin, The, 76, 113

Desmoulins, 83

Dickens, Charles, 286

Disraeli, Benjamin, 172, 190

Dock Strikes, 225

D’Orsay, Count, 148

Dumas Story, 311

Dunstan’s, St., 332

“Dying Socrates,” The, 69

Educator, Tussaud’s as, 236

Edward, King, 54, 90, 156, 217, 237

Égalité, Philippe, 80

Egyptian Hall, 138

Elba, Isle of, 128

Eldon, Lord, 100

Elizabeth of France, 70, 75

Elizabeth, Queen, 112

Ferdinand of Bulgaria, 321

Fieschi, Giuseppe, 303

Foulon, 73, 82

Fouquier-Tinville, 56, 87, 91

Francis Joseph, Emperor, 321

Franklin, Benjamin, 66, 67

Frederick, Emperor of Germany, 227

Fryatt, Captain, 335, 337

Furniss, Harry, 175

Garcia, Manuel, 118

George IV, 100, 112, 122

George, King, 204, 232

Gladstone, William Ewart, 174, 293

Gordon Riots, 350

Goulburn, Henry, 124

Grace, Dr. W. G., 286, 316

“Grant’s Folly”, 213

Grant’s Staircase, Baron, 211

Graves, Henry, 220

Gray’s Inn Road, Exhibition in, 110, 118

Great War, The, 320

Greenacre, James, 304

Grew, Thomas, 8

Grosholtz, Joseph, 7, 57

Grosholtz, Marie, 7, 57

Grossmith, George, 345

Guillotine, 90, 299, 311

Hall of Kings, 285

Hanging in Public, 304

Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates, 239

Hardinge, Sir A., 221

Hare, 112, 234, 301

Hartington, Marquis of, 292

Hayter, Sir George, 154

Hébert, 56, 87, 91

Henry VIII and his Wives, 218, 239

Hinton, Viscount, 224

Holland, Queen Wilhelmina of, 223

Hood, Tom, 352

Hornn, Jean, 122, 124

Horrors, Chamber of, 76, 174, 187, 233, 244, 251, 278, 290, 297,
306, 307, 314, 318

Hôtel d’Aligre, 59

Houdon, 68

Hume, 118

Indian’s Diary, 240

Induna Envoys, 189

Iron Cross, Story of, 326

Irving, Sir Henry, 245

Jackson, Bishop, 318

Jameson, Doctor, 294

Jellicoe, Admiral Lord, 235

_John Bull_, 322

Josephine, Empress, 96, 111

Juno, The Elephant, 218

Jutland, Naval Battle of, 336

Kaiser, The, 320, 325

Kavanagh’s Jaunting Car, 198

Keller, Von, 123, 137

Kemble, 113

Kenney, Miss Annie, 279

Kent, Duchess of, 100

Kintore, Earl of, 221

Kipling, Rudyard, 286, 317, 354

Kirk, Sir John, 240

Kitchener, Lord, 337

Koffee, King, 188

Kruger, President, 294, 296

Lamballe, Princess de, 88, 251

Landseer, Sir Edwin, 148, 220

Las Cases, Count, 141

Lawrence, Mrs. Pethick, 279

Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 299

Lee, General Homer, 287

Leicester Square, 214

Leopold I of Belgium, 100, 112

Leo XIII, Pope, 158

Léon, Count, 184

Liancourt, 86

Lincoln, Tribich, 326

Lipton, Sir Thomas, 286

Livingstone, Dr., 181

London Bridge Incident, 121

Lorge, Count de, 115

Louis XV, 62

Louis XVI, 56, 76, 77, 82, 87, 91

Louis Philippe, 118, 302

Lowther, J. W., The Speaker, 345

_Lusitania_ Outrage, 322

Lyceum Theatre, 98, 246

Magna Charta, 217

Malibran, Madame de, 118

Manning, Cardinal, viii

Marat, 92, 239, 295, 299

Marie Antoinette, 56, 75, 76, 79, 87, 91, 253

Marie Louise, Empress, 123, 136

Marwood, The Executioner, 314

Mary, Queen, 232

Mary, Queen of Scots, 112, 224, 237, 253

Mathew, Father, 143

Mathias, Lt.-Col., 289

Maude, Cyril, 296

Maybrick, Mrs., 319

Mayo, Earl of, 171

Mayoral Visit, 290

McKenzie, Rev. P., 147

Melbourne, Lord, 100

_Memoirs_, Madame Tussaud’s, 357

Milan Carriage, 120

“Model” Wife, A, 240

Moltke, Von, 325

Monkey, Our, 218

Montholon, General, 141

Montreuil, 72

Muller, William, 106

Mummy, Our, 115

Museum at Boulevard du Temple, 66, 73, 84, 302

Museum at Palais Royal, 66

Mysore, Sultan of, 75

Napoleon Bonaparte, 96, 111, 123, 134, 139, 153, 184, 237

Napoleon, III, 183

Napoleon’s Coachman, 122, 124

Necker, 79, 82, 86

Nelson, Admiral Lord, 204, 237

Newgate Prison, 349

Nicholas I, Tsar, 145

Norfolk, Duke of, 339

Norwich, Bishop of, 100, 111

O’Connell, Daniel, 113

Old Bailey, The, 346

Orléans, Duke of, 79

Paganini, 344

Palmerston, Lord, 194

Pankhurst, Christabel, 280, 281

Pankhurst, Mrs., 280

Peace, Charles, 278, 316, 319

“Peace with Honour”, 315

Pearcey, Mrs., 251

Peel, Sir Robert, 100

Penn, William, 112

Persia, Shah of, 185, 216, 221

Phœnix Park Murders, 197

Pitt, William, 112

Pius VI, Pope, 111

Placard, Old, 108, 113

Policeman, Our, 291

Pompadour, Madame de, 58

Portman Rooms, 115, 208, 339, 359

Prince Consort, 220

Prince Imperial, 183

Prince of Wales, 229, 295

Programme-seller, 291

Promenade Concerts, 110

_Punch_, 174, 196, 299, 352

Quincey, De, 300

Reign of Terror, 56

Revolution, French, 85, 299

Rhodes, Cecil, 294

Richard Cœur de Lion, 217

Rignold, George, 248

Roberts, Field-Marshal Lord, 202, 223, 337

Robespierre, 87, 91, 93, 94

Rosebery, Lord, 233

Rosignol, 95

Rousseau, 56

Royal Academy, 8

Ruhleben Camp, 325

Russell, Lord John, 194

Sala, George Augustus, 252

Salisbury, Lord, 288

Sanson, 90

Sappe, Madame, 341

Scott, Sir Walter, 100, 286

Seven Years’ War, 57

Shackleton, Sir Ernest, 295

Shah of Persia, 185, 216, 221

Shahzada of Afghanistan, 215

Shakespeare, 112

Shaw, George Bernard, 277

Sheppard, Jack, 350

Shipwreck in Irish Channel, 102

Siam, King of, 215

Siddons, Mrs., 99, 113

Sims, George R., 218

Sleeping Beauty, 102, 239, 285, 295

Smith, Bruce, 342

Spain, Alphonso, King of, 225

Speaker, The, 345

St. Amaranthe, Madame, 101, 285, 295

St. Dunstan’s Hostel, 332

St. Helena, 120, 139, 153

Stage Favourites, 242

Stanley, H. M., 181

Suffrage, Woman’s, 280

Suleau, 89

Sully, Duc de, 113

Sun Yat Sen, President of China, 287

Swedenborg, Emanuel, 112

Talleyrand, Prince, 100, 118

Tenniel, John, 136, 175

Tennyson, Lord, 203, 252, 286

Terry, Miss Ellen, 242

Thackeray, 238

Thistlewood, Arthur, 210

Tichborne Claimant, 177

Tippoo Sahib, 75

Tom Thumb, 232

Treloar, Sir William, 290

Tsar, The late, 147

Tsarina, The late, 147

Turkey, Sultan of, 321

Turnerelli Wreath, 191

Tussaud, Francis, 8, 102, 143, 357, 359

Tussaud, François, 96

Tussaud, Joseph, 8, 116, 102, 117, 145, 153, 159, 357, 359

Tussaud’s in Verse, 352

Tussaud, Madame, 57, 63, 71, 87, 98, 103, 285, 287, 356

Twain, Mark, 316

Versailles, 72, 73

Verse, Tussaud’s in, 352

Victoria, Queen, 117, 151, 189, 220, 232, 290

Voltaire, 56, 68, 145, 224

Voltaire’s Chair, 145

Votes for Women, 281

War, The Great, 320

Waterloo Carriage, The, 120, 127, 133, 230

Wellington, Duke of, 62, 111, 112, 153, 217, 271

Wesley, John, 112

Westminster Abbey, 317

Wetherell, Sir Charles, 103

_Whip_, The, 308

Whiteley, William, 290

Wilhelmina of Holland, 223

William IV, 110

Williams, John, 299

Wills, W. G., 247

Wilson, J. Havelock, 337

Wolseley, Sir Garnet, 187

Wurmser, General, 57

York, Duke of, 100, 112

Zeppelin, Count, 320, 325