Chapter II

1830.

Proclamation of William IV.--The Beer Act--The Queen and
gas--Burial of George IV.--The King and the Duke of
Cumberland--The King as a soldier--He meddles with the uniforms
of the army.

On Monday, June 28, 1830, the king came at an early hour to St. James's Palace to witness the ceremony of his proclamation, which was duly done at 10 a.m., with the usual pomp, the heralds giving forth that, with the acquiescence of everybody--

"We do now hereby, with one voice and consent of tongue and
heart, proclaim that the High and Mighty Prince William, Duke of
Clarence, is now, by the death of the late Sovereign, of happy
memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord William
the Fourth, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain and
Ireland;" and so forth.

It was a gay sight, for people had not had time to get into mourning costume, and the bright summer dresses of the ladies made it a brilliant show.

He commenced his reign with a gracious act, which considerably added to his popularity. Before the ceremony of proclamation he showed himself at a window in St. James's Palace, before which some thousands of people had assembled. According to the _Globe_--

"By some Jack-in-Office, the spectators were ordered to be
dispersed, which was speedily done by the Life Guards. On the
arrival of the heralds to proclaim the accession, the King
reappeared at his window, and, finding a vacant space below,
which, previously, was crowded, with some degree of surprise,
said, 'What has become of the people?' On being told they had
been removed, 'By whose order?' next inquired the King. He was so
dissatisfied with the answer as to command the gate of the
courtyard immediately to be re-opened, and the public to be
re-admitted, who soon re-assembled in great numbers, and cheered
their Sovereign most vociferously."

The change of rulers did not affect Parliament. The Lords adjourned for a day, and the Commons did very little business until all the members had taken the oath of allegiance to the new sovereign, who kept on the old Ministry, with the Duke of Wellington at its head. Very shortly afterwards, the question of a Regency (the Princess Victoria being only twelve years old) cropped up; and after that, on July 12th, was read a third time and passed in the House of Lords "An Act to permit the general Sale of Beer and Cyder by Retail in England" (1 Gul. IV. c. lxiv.), which the _Times_ describes as "a great victory obtained for the poor over the unpitying avarice of the rich."

Beer always had been the standard drink of England, and, at this time, no cheap substitute had been found for it. Tea was far too dear for common folk, as was coffee, and cocoa or chocolate were only for the well-to-do. This Act is virtually that under which beer-houses are now licensed, which made a licence to sell beer _only_ easy to obtain. It suited the times, and was very popular. A song, which is still sung, but which dates from early Victorian times, makes a slight error as to the intention of the Act, but it shows a grateful remembrance of the same. It is called--

"I LIKES A DROP OF GOOD BEER."

"Come one and all, both great and small
With voices loud and clear,
And let us sing, bless Billy the King,
Who bated the tax upon beer.

_Chorus_:

"_For I likes a drop of good beer, I does,
I'se pertickler fond of my beer, I is;
And ---- his eyes whoever he tries
To rob a poor man of his beer._"

The accompanying illustration, by an anonymous artist, shows the Duke of Wellington providing the people with beer, in a popular manner. It is entitled "Opening the Beer Trade; or, Going into a New Line of Business."

The background is formed of two houses; one the sign of the King's Head; the other, the Druggist's Arms. Outside the closed door of the latter, which is "To let, enquire of the Brewers," stands Timothy Mix'em, dealer in compounds, who, looking at the group, mournfully remarks, "They'll soon shut up all the houses by opening the Trade." The King's Head is kept by Arthur and Co., dealer in swipes, who proclaims on his windows, "Genuine Beer, from Malt and Hops only," and has a placard that the New Beer Act commences October 10, 1830. The old Duke of Wellington says to the dustman and his wife, "Come, my Britons, here's your real malt and hops;" whilst Peel, as pot-boy, remarks, "No poisonous drugs here, my boys, it's all real stuff."

On July 23rd, Parliament was dissolved.

Ever since the accession of William IV. his slightest movements were chronicled, even down to the smallest of small beer, such as[5]--

[Footnote 5: _Times_, July 12th.]

"The Duke of Wellington, when at Windsor, a few days ago,
directed that the gas might be cut off from the interior of the
castle, by the desire of the Queen, who, we understand,
entertained apprehensions lest an accident might be caused by
explosion. Her Majesty's wishes will, of course, be immediately
complied with, and directions have already been given to the Gas
Company for the purpose."

The movements of the Princess Victoria, who had now become a personage, were also duly chronicled, and we are told how "The presence of the Duchess (of Kent) and her interesting daughter will, no doubt, attract numerous visitors to Malvern."

George IV., after lying in state, was buried on July 15th, with all the pomp usually accompanying the burial of a King of England. Greville tells us how his successor behaved on this occasion--

"At the late King's funeral he behaved with great indecency. That
ceremony was very well managed, and a fine sight, the military
part particularly, and the Guards were magnificent. The
attendance was not very numerous, and, when they had all got
together in St. George's Hall, a gayer company I never beheld;
with the exception of Mount Charles, who was deeply affected,
they were all as merry as grigs. The King was chief mourner, and,
to my astonishment, as he entered the chapel, directly behind the
body, in a situation in which he should have been apparently, if
not really, absorbed in the melancholy duty he was performing, he
darted up to Strathaven, who was ranged on one side below the
Dean's stall, shook him heartily by the hand, and then went on
nodding to the right and left. He had, previously, gone as chief
mourner to sit for an hour at the head of the body as it lay in
state, and he walked in procession, with his household, to the
apartment. I saw him pass from behind the screen. Lord Jersey had
been in the morning to Bushey to kiss hands on being made
Chamberlain, when he had received him very graciously, told him
it was the Duke, and not himself, who had made him, but that he
was delighted to have him. At Windsor, when he arrived, he gave
Jersey the white wand; or, rather, took one from him he had
provided for himself, and gave it him again with a little speech.
When he went to sit in state, Jersey preceded him, and he said,
when all was ready, 'Go on to the body, Jersey; you will get your
dress coat as soon as you can.'"

Personal gossip about the King, is not the scheme of this book; but, as it formed the main topic of general conversation at the time, it cannot be passed over. His brother, the greatly disliked Duke of Cumberland, afterwards King of Hanover, had usurped the functions of the other colonels of the guards, and had elected himself a permanent Gold Stick, but the new monarch said his rank was too high for him to perform such service, and relegated the office to its former footing, that each colonel should share the office in turns.

Nor was this the only friction between the brothers. The Duke of Cumberland's horses had hitherto occupied the stables allotted to the Queen, and when Lord Errol, her Master of the Horse, asked her where she would have her horses stabled, she replied, she "did not know, but he was to put them in their proper place." Accordingly, the King was asked for an order to remove the duke's horses, which was given through the Duke of Leeds, who went to the Duke of Cumberland, and received for answer that "he would be d--d if they should go;" but on its being represented to him that if he did not remove them, they would be turned out, he sulkily gave way.

The King, who, as every one knows, had been brought up as a sailor, now turned his attention to things military, and his first review is thus described by Greville--

"July 20.--Yesterday was a very busy day with his Majesty, who
is going much too fast, and begins to alarm his Ministers and
astonish the world. In the morning he inspected the Coldstream
Guards, dressed (for the first time in his life) in a military
uniform, and with a great pair of gold spurs half way up his legs
like a game-cock, although he was not to ride, for, having chalk
stones in his hands, he can't hold the reins."

He next began to meddle with the uniforms, etc. in the army, doubtless with a view to save the pockets of the officers, for army dress, under George the Magnificent, had become very much gold belaced and expensive; but of all the orders issued on August 2nd from the Horse Guards, we will only take two.

"The moustachios of the Cavalry (excepting in the Life Guards,
the Horse Guards, and the Hussars) to be abolished, and the hair
of the non-commissioned officer and soldier throughout the
regular force to be cut close at the sides and back of the head,
instead of being worn in that bushy and unbecoming fashion
adopted by some regiments."

The illustration on the opposite page is taken from a contemporary song called "Adieu, my Moustachios!" Words by T. Haynes Bayly; music by J. Blewitt, and the first verse runs thus--

"Adieu, my moustachios! farewell to my tip!
Lost, lost is the pride of my chin and my lip!
When Laura last saw me she said that the world
Contain'd no moustachois so charmingly curl'd!
But razors are ruthless, my honours they nip,
Adieu, my moustachois! farewell to my tip!"

Order No. 2 was as follows:--

"The four regiments of Hussars to be dressed exactly alike. Their
officers to have one dress only, and that of a less costly
pattern, which will forthwith be prepared."

Of course, this, like the former ukase, could not escape the satirist, and we have the accompanying illustration by R. S. entitled, "RAISING THE WIND BY ROYAL AUTHORITY. His Majesty intends diminishing the extravagant expense of the Military Officer's dress. _See the papers._"

Here we see the Jew old clothesmen chaffering against each other and bargaining with Hussar Officers for their compulsorily left-off finery.