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  • The Masonic Magazine
  • Aug. 1, 1879
  • Page 18
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The Masonic Magazine, Aug. 1, 1879: Page 18

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    Article TRYING TO CHANGE A SOVEREIGN. ← Page 5 of 10 →
Page 18

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Trying To Change A Sovereign.

common police courts for this illustrious detenu . No , he is worthy of interrogation by no less potential a tongue than that of the Prime Minister himself . The Frankenstein who has created the monster that " run him in , " the Power in a white waistcoat , shall sit upon him . " Why is Sir Robert Peel like a counterfeit shilling ? " " Because he ' s a bad Bob ! " was the conundrum and answer Republican Witless had often propounded ancl replied to over the bar

of the " Hog in the Pound , " anent the great Tory statesman . The hero of Waterloo , too , would probably be there ; but Witless mentally referred to him as ¦ " Old Nosey , " and , perhaps—perhaps—but no—Majest y and Majesty ' s husband would be too timid to face again so redoubtable a would-be tyrannicide , so resolute a successor of Brutus .

But it does not appear that Witless found the Privy Council assembled in any very great numbers to do him honour . There w as a peer , it is true—Lord Normanby—that was something ; ancl an Under Secretary of State , Mr . Fox Maule—but that was nothing ; and Mr . Mark Phillips ancl Mr . Hall , of Bow Street—less than nothing . " The Attorney-General , the Lord Chamberlain , and the Controller of the Household , were also present . " Here is a grand opportunity for jjosing , ancl the " drawer" cannot resist indulging . The

witnesses have simply told that he had , the evening before , placed himself with his back to the fence dividing the Green Park from Constitution Hill—that , when her Majesty ' s carriage approached—the Queen , contrary to her usual custom , on this occasion sitting on the left-hand side of her husband , and therefore nearest the garden-wall and farthest from the prisoner—that , when the Queen appearedhe drew a pistol from his breast-pocketpresented it and

, , fired—that the young ancl fair monarch crouched ( I should think she did)—that Prince Albert stood up—that Oxford , distinctly exclaiming " I have got another " then drew another pistol with his other hand , aimed and fired again —that then "Her Majesty arose in the carriage ancl looked round , with no fear on , her countenance neither . " * The traditional courage of her noble race is exemplified here . Then came the scrimmage I have attempted to describe .-f- One

of the witnesses seems to have been mistaken for the culprit . Clayton , a cabinetmaker , wrenches a pistol from Albert Rowe , the nephew of an onlooking spectacle-maker , which Albert had just snatched from the prisoner . Says Clayton to Rowe— " ' You confounded rascal , how dare you shoot at our Queen ? ' I spoke in a loud voice . The prisoner said— ' I give myself up ; I will go quietly . ' I took hold of his coat ; the mob rushed in and seized me ,

and knocked the pistol out of my hand on the ground . The police took me to the station-house , where I was locked up in a cell and searched . " ( Pleasant for the innocent Clayton . ) "When I was brought from the cell I saw the prisoner in the inspector ' s office . He turned round and said , ' Is the Queen hurt ? ' I said to him , ' What did yon put in the barrels ? ' He said , ' I have answered a dozen questions ; there have been a dozen persons asking me questions , and I shall answer no more . '" Then came the opportunity for Witless to pose ancl cackle a la Sim Tappertit , and thus he delivered

himself" A great many witnesses against me . Some say I shot with my left , others with my right . They vary as to the distance . After I fired the first pistol Prince Albert got up , as if he would jump out of the coach , ancl sat down again as if he thought better of it . " ( A touch of sardonic humour here . ) " Then I fired the second pistol . That is all I shall say at present . " Being asked to sign this statement when it is written down , he subscribes the record cheerfully , and then , secretly hoping for the dignity of the Tower , but finding that , in licensed victualling vernacular , his case will onl y " run to " the insignificance of plebeian Newgate , lie resigns himself to his fate ancl a hackney

“The Masonic Magazine: 1879-08-01, Page 18” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 30 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmg/issues/mmg_01081879/page/18/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
OLD ANTIQUITY. Article 1
IN MEMORIAM: Article 7
FREEMASONRY IN KELSO. Article 8
SARAH BERNHARDT. Article 13
TRYING TO CHANGE A SOVEREIGN. Article 14
SINGULAR CEREMONY IN MAKING ALNWICK FREEMEN. Article 24
ACROSTIC. Article 25
BEATRICE. Article 26
HISTORICAL LUCUBRATIONS. Article 28
VIXEN.* Article 30
AN OLD MASONIC CHAIR AND ITS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. Article 31
A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW. Article 33
A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW. Article 35
ON OLD ENGLISH BIBLES. Article 36
MY INITIATION INTO THE ABYSSINIAN MYSTERIES. Article 41
THE BUDDING SPRING. Article 43
THE DIDOT SALE. Article 44
THE POWER OF SONG. Article 47
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 48
THE FANCY FAIR. Article 50
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Page 18

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Trying To Change A Sovereign.

common police courts for this illustrious detenu . No , he is worthy of interrogation by no less potential a tongue than that of the Prime Minister himself . The Frankenstein who has created the monster that " run him in , " the Power in a white waistcoat , shall sit upon him . " Why is Sir Robert Peel like a counterfeit shilling ? " " Because he ' s a bad Bob ! " was the conundrum and answer Republican Witless had often propounded ancl replied to over the bar

of the " Hog in the Pound , " anent the great Tory statesman . The hero of Waterloo , too , would probably be there ; but Witless mentally referred to him as ¦ " Old Nosey , " and , perhaps—perhaps—but no—Majest y and Majesty ' s husband would be too timid to face again so redoubtable a would-be tyrannicide , so resolute a successor of Brutus .

But it does not appear that Witless found the Privy Council assembled in any very great numbers to do him honour . There w as a peer , it is true—Lord Normanby—that was something ; ancl an Under Secretary of State , Mr . Fox Maule—but that was nothing ; and Mr . Mark Phillips ancl Mr . Hall , of Bow Street—less than nothing . " The Attorney-General , the Lord Chamberlain , and the Controller of the Household , were also present . " Here is a grand opportunity for jjosing , ancl the " drawer" cannot resist indulging . The

witnesses have simply told that he had , the evening before , placed himself with his back to the fence dividing the Green Park from Constitution Hill—that , when her Majesty ' s carriage approached—the Queen , contrary to her usual custom , on this occasion sitting on the left-hand side of her husband , and therefore nearest the garden-wall and farthest from the prisoner—that , when the Queen appearedhe drew a pistol from his breast-pocketpresented it and

, , fired—that the young ancl fair monarch crouched ( I should think she did)—that Prince Albert stood up—that Oxford , distinctly exclaiming " I have got another " then drew another pistol with his other hand , aimed and fired again —that then "Her Majesty arose in the carriage ancl looked round , with no fear on , her countenance neither . " * The traditional courage of her noble race is exemplified here . Then came the scrimmage I have attempted to describe .-f- One

of the witnesses seems to have been mistaken for the culprit . Clayton , a cabinetmaker , wrenches a pistol from Albert Rowe , the nephew of an onlooking spectacle-maker , which Albert had just snatched from the prisoner . Says Clayton to Rowe— " ' You confounded rascal , how dare you shoot at our Queen ? ' I spoke in a loud voice . The prisoner said— ' I give myself up ; I will go quietly . ' I took hold of his coat ; the mob rushed in and seized me ,

and knocked the pistol out of my hand on the ground . The police took me to the station-house , where I was locked up in a cell and searched . " ( Pleasant for the innocent Clayton . ) "When I was brought from the cell I saw the prisoner in the inspector ' s office . He turned round and said , ' Is the Queen hurt ? ' I said to him , ' What did yon put in the barrels ? ' He said , ' I have answered a dozen questions ; there have been a dozen persons asking me questions , and I shall answer no more . '" Then came the opportunity for Witless to pose ancl cackle a la Sim Tappertit , and thus he delivered

himself" A great many witnesses against me . Some say I shot with my left , others with my right . They vary as to the distance . After I fired the first pistol Prince Albert got up , as if he would jump out of the coach , ancl sat down again as if he thought better of it . " ( A touch of sardonic humour here . ) " Then I fired the second pistol . That is all I shall say at present . " Being asked to sign this statement when it is written down , he subscribes the record cheerfully , and then , secretly hoping for the dignity of the Tower , but finding that , in licensed victualling vernacular , his case will onl y " run to " the insignificance of plebeian Newgate , lie resigns himself to his fate ancl a hackney

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