The Radical papers held it, of course, to be a brutal massacre, and I give one print which takes a highly poetical view of it. It is called "The Massacre at St. Peter's, or Britons, strike home!" The officer on extreme left calls out to his corps of butchers, "Down with 'em! Chop 'em down! my brave boys! give them no quarter. They want to take our Beef and Pudding from us! And, remember, the more you kill, the less poor's rates you'll have to pay; so, go it, lads, show your Courage, and your Loyalty! "This is about as truthful as nine-tenths of what has been written about "Peterloo."
This was the occasion, of which I have written, that Hunt got fined. When he was bailed, he made a "triumphal entry" into London. Of course, like all his class, he was nothing except he was en evidence. It was well organized: there was the young man from Manchester, who had got hurt at "Peterloo," there was a huge dog with a large white collar, bearing thereon, "No dog tax," and, at last came the procession itself.
MASSACRE AT ST. PETER'S; OR, "BRITONS, STRIKE HOME!!!"
- Horsemen.
- Footmen bearing a bundle of Sticks, the emblem of Unity.
- Horsemen.
- Six Irish footmen, bearing a green flag, with the inscription, "Universal, Civil and Religious Liberty."
- Horsemen.
- Footmen, bearing a flag of mourning—Inscription, "To the immortal Memory of the Reformers ... at Manchester."
- Horsemen.
- Footmen bearing a flag—Inscription, "The Palladium of Liberty—Liberty of the Press."
- Carriages for Gentlemen connected with the Press.
- Horsemen.
- Footmen, bearing a Red flag—Inscription, "Universal Suffrage."
- A Landau, containing Mr. HUNT, preceded by a flag, with this inscription, "Hunt, the heroic Champion of Liberty," and surrounded by six horsemen, and Members of the Committee.
- Carriages and Footmen.
- A Landau, with Watson, Thistlewood, and Preston, and their Friends.
- Flag—"Trial by Jury."
- Horsemen and Footmen.
- Flag—"Liberty or Death."
- Carriages, Horsemen, and Footmen.
- Flag—"Liberty or Death."
- Closed by Horses, Carriages, and Footmen.
There! does not that read like a modern Irish Procession to the Reformer's tree in Hyde Park? It had the same value and the same result—somebody got paid something. There were also riots in Scotland, both in Paisley and Glasgow.
I am approaching the end of my Chronicle of the Regency. In November, it could not be concealed that the poor old King was very bad; in fact, now and then it was rumoured that he was dead. And so he was to himself, and to the world. Nature was having its grand and final fight; and in a few weeks the mortal life of George III. would be closed. How well the following description of the old King tallies with the portrait, which is scarce: "His Majesty.—A gentleman who has been in his presence a short time ago, states, that the appearance of our aged Monarch, is the most venerable imaginable. His hair and beard are white as the drifted Snow, and the latter flows gracefully over a breast which now feels neither the pleasures nor the pains of life. When the gentleman saw him, he was dressed in a loose Satin robe, lined with fur, sitting in an apparently pensive mood, with his elbows on a table, and his head resting on his hands, and seemed perfectly regardless of all external objects" (Bath Journal).
