"Thus the war terminated, and with it all remembrance of the veteran's service." The Duke left Bordeaux for England upon the 15th of June, arrived in London amidst the acclamations of his countrymen on the 23rd, and finding the Prince Regent had gone to Portsmouth to witness the review of the fleet, joined his Royal Highness there upon the following day, where he was greeted by the heir to the throne and his distinguished guests with every mark of respect and affection. So much for the great Duke's movements. I must now return to those of his humble admirers. I have already informed my readers, that for reasons which would shortly be expounded, I was extremely anxious to be in the neighbourhood of Southampton; and some of the most acute of them may have guessed the cause: to those, however, who are not so highly gifted with discernment, I must remark, that although I have not dwelt upon the feelings that had occupied my mind for the last few months, Mary Wilmot, the still-beloved Mary, was seldom or ever absent from my thoughts; a specimen of constancy perfectly refreshing in those and in these degenerate days of true devotion and homage to one's ladye love. From a source upon which I could place the most perfect reliance I had ascertained that the worthy pastor and his daughter were sojourning in one of those suburban villas which grace the clean and cheerful borough before alluded to; poor aunt had been gathered to her ancestors, and Mr. and Miss Wilmot had sought a change of scene and air with a view of reinstating the health of the latter, who had suffered not a little from that anxious care and attention to her suffering relative, which, to the glory of their sex, womankind alone can administer. The Cedars— so the small, neat, white-stoned dwelling was called-had been taken for six weeks, and in a few days the family were to return through London to Newbury, remaining a night in the metropolis to witness the national fête which was about to take place in commemoration of the accession of the house of Brunswick to our throne, and the restoration of peace. How this information had reached me, considering I had only been so brief a time in England, might prove a puzzle to the curious, but the riddle will be speedily solved when I introduce upon the boards my trusty "Davies " who might reverse the saying of Terence, and exclaim," Edipus sum," for to this perfect specimen of what would now be called the "Tiger" breed, was I indebted for the above valuable intelligence. It may be remembered that during my residence at Donningtongrove I often availed myself of the services of the man-of-all-work, who superintended the garden and stable, and who made himself generally useful in and out of doors: he had an only son, who resided with his mother near the Rectory, both of whom were occasionally employed by its occupants. A few days after I had taken leave of my worthy dominie and was preparing to go abroad, who should make his appearance one morning but the above-mentioned youth John Ready. He had obtained his parent's leave to try his fortune with me, and with a few shillings in his pocket he had made his way up to London. After such an act of devotion upon the part of this aspiring servitor, I could not do less than engage him as groom and valet. By this step I not only rewarded merit, but obtained the services of a retainer, who was on the most intimate terms with Doctor Wilmot's establishment. Chapters might be filled with the "sayings and doings" of this hopeful character, many of which were perfectly unknown to me until after the period he had followed the oft trodden track, and left "to better himself." Upon one occasion, I discovered him, near Toulouse, guillotining the fowls with a sabre, as he tempted them by grains to leave their wooden shelter; and upon another, loading my gun to take a shot at the French sentry who was posted across the canal near the Villette, a few days before the capitulation of Paris in 1815. A severe reprimand followed these delinquencies, when with a tact that would have done credit to an older head, Jack Ready (as he was universally called), would turn the current of my thoughts and appease my anger by alluding to a letter from home, and which generally contained tidings of the family at the Rectory, his respected parents knowing full well how interesting all such gossip would prove to her son's employer. To carry out this plan, previous to my leaving Bordeaux, John Ready had forwarded by a private hand a letter to his mother, informing her that he and I were shortly to return to England, and requesting her to let him find a few lines upon his arrival, telling him every "partiklar of the Wilmot family. This request was duly attended to, and among other papers that were placed in my hands, upon reaching home, and which principally consisted of tradesmen's bills with the usual and hack nied application "for a prompt settlement" of the "small account,' ""business being slack," and "large sums required to be made up," was one mis-shapen document, directed in certain hieroglyphic characters, which must have required much time and trouble to have deciphered, and sealed with an impression formed by what is commonly termed the tail of a sixpence. The Newbury post-mark, and "ten-pence to pay," attracted my attention, for in those days Rowland Hill's admirable plan had not been introduced, and it almost took a younger brother's allowance to pay the single item of postage. I well remember, upon one occasion, receiving in a week no less than eight half-crown letters, and one charged seven shillings, from an unknown correspondent in a distant part of Ireland, urging me to exert my influence with the London managers to bring her talents forward in the metropolis, and no longer permit her to "waste her sweetness " of voice " upon the desert air" of Ballinfoglecogher, or some such outlandish high-sounding place; the fair syren wishing to do the " genteel" thing, enclosed her pink scrawls in envelopes, and by forwarding the "opinions of the press " extracted from provincial newspapers, my postage bill rose to the above sum; but this was not all, for the postscript contained the following delicate request: "Miss 0 begs Mr. Percy Hamilton will retain the extracts until he has an opportunity of returning them to her in an official frank." In the time I write of, government departments could frank almost everything, except perhaps a lady's side saddle, a hamper of wine, or such other cumbrous articles, for I myself have known gloves, shawls, laces, books, dresses, patés de foie gras, forwarded free both in foreign and British bags. In the case above alluded to, I preferred paying the postage to running the risk of meeting with the " insolence of office," and returned the young aspirant's testimonials free of charge; the sum total of this interesting correspondence amounting to one pound fourteen shillings, an amount which, to adopt the common saying, would make a great hole in a cornet's pay. I have made a digression in favour of the penny post, and must now again take up the thread of my narrative. The letter bearing the Newbury post-mark contained an enclosure directed to John Ready, and that trusty servant having taken an early opportunity of reading the precious document, communicated to me, while dressing, the information I so long coveted to receive. A guinea rewarded his exertions on my behalf, and I set my brain to work to find a reasonable pretext for a visit to Southampton; the naval review, and the fact of my comrade H-'s father being near that town, at once furnished one; and no sooner had we heard the royal salute, and witnessed the manning of the yards throughout the fleet, than we ordered a post-chaise and were shortly driven up to the door of that then excellent caravansery, the Dolphin. "Happy to see your lordship," said the landlord, addressing H- "Your noble father has left a letter in the bar for you. His carriage is waiting. Are you going on, sir?" continued "mine host;" "if so, perhaps you will allow me to bait the horses; not a poster to be had in the town, sir; the last pair has just been sent to the Cedars." "The Cedars !" I echoed; and at that very moment a chariot, which I immediately recognised as Doctor Wilmot's, dashed by, and was out of sight before I had quite recovered the agitation the view of it had thrown me into. I then despatched Ready to the house, to ascertain the movements of its late occupants, and found that the pastor and his daugter were on their way to London, it being their intention to pass the night at a friend's house at Southsea, to witness the illuminations at Portsmouth, and to leave early the following morning for the metropolis. Disheartened at my disappointment, I booked two places by the mail, and at an early hour rang up old Peter Sawyer, and again found myself once more at home. The season had been one of peculiar gaiety and brilliancy, and fog-enveloped as we poor Londoners are during the winter, we can often boast of bright, Italian, sunny skies, and scorching heat in the summer months. Such was the case in 1814, and up to the months of August the metropolis was still thronged with the votaries of pleasure and fashion. Dinners, balls, masquerades, and reviews were still carried on for the amusement of the potentates, royal highnesses, serene ditto, and excellencies congregated there. In order to amuse the oi polloi, the Prince Regent in council had decided that the termination of the war should be hailed with festive joy by the more humble class of the community, and it was resolved to associate with the restoration of peace the accession of the house of Brunswick by selecting the day upon which that propitious event had taken place a century before. The three parks were selected for the scene of the Jubilee, as alone affording space for the immense multitude which would be attracted by the pageant. that of St. James's a Chinese bridge was thrown over the then muddy and unornamented piece of water called the canal, upon the centre of which was erected a pagoda, which looked as if the monstrosity had been borrowed from Kew Gardens "for this occasion only." The Birdcage Walk and the Mall were hung with eastern lanterns. In the Green Park, on the edge of the walk which now leads from Sutherland to Devonshire House, the royal booth, of a circular form, was erected; this was devoted to the Prince Regent, his ministers, foreign potentates, and other distinguished personages. Near it in the same park was the grand edifice called the Temple of Concord, designed by In Sir William Congreve. From the Queen's Palace (now Buckingham Palace), a bridge was thrown over Constitution Hill into the Green Park. In Hyde Park, the serpentine river was allotted for a grand aquatic spectacle (a better one might nightly have been seen at Sadler's Wells), in which a British and foreign fleet, represented by small craft brought from Woolwich, and fitted up to resemble men-of-war, were to exhibit the manœuvres of a naval engagement. The park itself was covered with booths, which gave it every appearance of a large country fair. This naumachia gave rise to a considerable degree of satire and ridicule, which after the late display of real power and national grandeur at the naval review at Portsmouth, was looked upon as a burlesque calculated alone to divert the worthy citizens of London. On the 31st of July the following notification was issued by authority: August the 1st is the day fixed for a grand national jubilee, being the centenary of the accession of the illustrious family of Brunswick to the throne of this kingdom, and the anniversary of the battle of the Nile. Hyde Park, in which there will be a grand fair, is entirely open to the people; the Mall of St James's Park, and Constitution Hill will also be open to the people. The lawn of St. James's Park and the Birdcage Walk will be devoted to those who have purchased tickets." Then followed a description of the accommodation prepared for the public; the conclusion ran as follows: "Let not the people therefore listen to those who are the constant enemies of all public joys. Let them be assured that the object of the peaceful festival is to give to all ranks and orders a grateful occasion to indulge in that full participation of happiness to which their perseverance in a most sanguine and trying contest, erowned with unprecedented success, has so richly entitled them." It will easily be understood how anxious I was, during the preparations for the national fête, to ascertain the movements of the Wilmot's family, but circumstances combined against me; old Mrs. Ready had been seized with a dangerous illness, and her son had gone down into the country to see her. Deprived of this auxiliary force, I was left to act for myself. My first step was to ride down to Kingston, to try and find the postboy that had driven the doctor's carriage into London; but as there were then two flourishing post-houses in that town, and the run on the road, especially about the time of the naval review, had been unusually great, and the travellers of such high distinction, I found it quite impossible to track the humble pair-horse chariot of the worthy pastor. My next movement was to despatch Peter Sawyer to all the West End hotels to inquire if the Doctor was there; but his exertions proved fruitless; in despair, I gave up the chace. The day appointed for the Jubilee arrived. It opened with a lowering sky, but soon the sun shone resplendently forth; crowds of every rank were to be seen wandering through the fair in the park: in vain throughout the day did I seek my beloved Mary; often did I fancy that I caught a glimpse of her, and was as often disappointed. I had witnessed the ascent of Sadler's baloon; had laughed at the cockney excitement caused by the "action of the serpentine;" had gazed at what the programme termed the grand pyrotechnic display," which consisted of an assault upon a fortified castle by squibs, crackers, and rockets, and which after a two hours' siege was transformed into the Temple of Concord, splendidly illuminated, and decorated with flags, banners, devices and emblems suited to the occasion, and was wending my way home, when a blaze of light attracted my attention, it proceeded from St. James' Park; so crossing the Mall I soon discovered that the Pagoda on the Chinese bridge was in flames, and that this genuine flare up" had been caused by one of the ornamental paper lanterns catching fire; the piercing shrieks of the terrified populace on the bridge were awful: the thought that Mary Wilmot might be among the crowd flashed across my mind; so rushing into the midst of the danger, I, with the assistance of some constables and parkkeepers, succeeded in extricating many from their impending doom. Tired and excited, I hastened to leave the spot, and by that feeling which the surly pedant Johnson defines as "desire acting on the mind without the intervention of reason or deliberation," I crossed the Birdcage Walk, and gained the entrance to Queen Square. Here a crowd had gathered round a carriage, and at that moment the words of Manoah's messenger flashed across my mind "But providence or instinct of nature seems, Or reason though disturbed, and scarce consulted, To have guided me aright." By the aid of a torch-light I saw the anxious countenance of the venerable pastor his arm supported a drooping female head. "What has occurred?" I wildly asked. "Only a young 'ooman fainting from the crowd," responded the link-boy. Home," shouted the footman; and before I could make my way through the crowd, the well-known chariot rattled off, leaving me in a state of suspense and anxiety almost insupportable. CLOSE OF THE GROUSE SEASON ON THE GRAMPIANS FOR 1849. BY HAWTHORN. "Harp of the north, farewell! The hills grow dark, Grouse shooting on the Grampians has long been proverbial for excellence, and no portion of the United Kingdom is more favourable for the breed of grouse than this region of "mountain and of flood." In my opening article in the pages of your magazine for August I prophesied a glorious increase in the grouse family for 1849, and have been fully borne out in my prediction by those sportsmen who have remained on the Grampians up to the end of the grouse season. The wild bird of the mountain, I am happy to say, has now recovered from that sad disease which made such havoc among the grouse family for some years past; and although they are not so plentiful on the wild face of the Grampians as they were in 1846, they (the grouse) are making rapid strides towards recovery, and another favourable breeding season-one |