She returned before the Ambassador, who stayed in England about a year, going through England, Ireland, and Scotland. She sailed for Constantinople on the 31st of August.
On the 1st of May Lieutenant Parry sailed from England, having under his command the Hecla and Griper, being bound for another voyage of discovery in the Arctic regions.
On the 24th of May was born our beloved Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria. About that time, her father, the Duke of Kent, who, like all his brothers, was deeply in debt, although he claimed to have reduced his liabilities down to £60,000, applied to Parliament (July 2nd) for leave to dispose of his house at Castlebar Hill, and its furniture, by lottery, for a sum of £50,000. His case was warmly pleaded by Alderman Wood, who said that out of an income of £24,000, he put by £17,000 for liquidation of his debts. This assertion was, however, traversed by Sir Charles Burrell, who showed that his Royal Highness at that moment had an income of above £31,000, made up thus—Out of the Consolidated Fund £18,000; £7,000 from the Government of Gibraltar; £6,000 on his late marriage; and the revenue of the Colonelcy of the Scots Royals, with the usual allowance for clothing that regiment. In the face of these facts, it was no use going on with the motion, and it was withdrawn.
Both Queen and Princess Charlotte being dead, and the Princess of Wales not being received at Court, and, besides, being abroad, the holding of a Drawing-room, so necessary for launching Society young ladies into life, and for their admission into Foreign Courts in after-life, seemed rather problematical; but the Board of Green Cloth, or whatever other authority had it in hand, was equal to the occasion, and a precedent was found in the case of George II., who was accustomed to hold drawing-rooms after the death of Queen Caroline. Therefore the Regent held a Drawing-room all by himself, and we read that "the Court was a very crowded one, and the presentations were very numerous."
The following paragraph may interest some of the millions of people who have visited the ever-popular exhibition of Madame Tussaud: "July 16. Bonaparte's Carriage, &c.—At the late sale of the contents of Mr. Bullock's Museum, the articles brought a much higher price than was originally expected. Bonaparte's Carriage, and the different dressing materials it contained, and which were taken by the Prussians at Waterloo, were sought with great avidity. The following are the prices they brought:—
"For the Carriage, which had been exhibited in every town of the Empire, and was quite worn out in the service, there were several bidders. It was originally built at Brussels, and had been used by Bonaparte in the last Russian Campaign, and subsequently at Elba, and finally in Flanders—
| It was knocked down for | £168 | 0 | 0 | ||
| The Opera Glass | 5 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Tooth brush | 3 | 13 | 6 | ||
| Snuffbox | 166 | 19 | 6 | ||
| Military Stock or Collar | 1 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Old Slippers | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Common Razor | 4 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Piece of Sponge | 0 | 17 | 6 | ||
| Shaving-brush | 3 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Shirt | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Comb | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Shaving box | 7 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Pair of Gloves— | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Pocket Handkerchief | 1 | 11 | 6 | ." |
In my search through newspapers of this time I came across the following—which belongs to no section of this book, and yet is too good to leave out: "Irish Evidence.—During a trial at the Carlow Assizes, on the 29th ult. (July, 1819), on an indictment for stealing 30 lbs. of tobacco, the following confessions were extracted from an accomplice in the robbery, who was admitted King's evidence—
"Q. How many robberies have you been at altogether?
"A. Together! (laughter.) Why, sure I could not be at more than one at a time.