The Pictorial Press Part 13

The Government also offered a reward for the destruction of the wild beast. The following placard was fixed up in all the cities and towns of Languedoc:--'By the King and the Intendant of the province of Languedoc.

Notice is given to all persons, that His Majesty, being justly affected by the situation of his subjects now exposed to the ravages of the wild beast which for four months past has infested Vivarais and Gevaudan, and being desirous to stop the progress of such a calamity, has determined to promise a reward of six thousand livres to any person or persons who shall kill this animal. Such as are willing to undertake the pursuit of him may previously apply to the Sieur de la Fout, sub-deputy to the Intendant of Meudes, who will give them the necessary instructions agreeably to what has been presented by the ministry on the part of his Majesty.'

A letter from Paris dated the 18th of February, 1765, gives the following circ.u.mstantial description of the wild beast:--

'You know how I acquainted you, some months ago, that Monsieur Bardelle, his son and I, designed going by the Diligence, and opening the New Year at our old friend Monsieur Dura's chateau, near Babres, in Languedoc. We spent the time very agreeably, our host and his family having done all in their power to make us welcome. The party broke up and took leave the first of this month, amongst whom was Monsieur Lefevre, a counsellor, and two young ladies, who were engaged to pa.s.s a week at Monsieur de Sante's, the cure of Vaistour, about three days' journey distant from the chateau of Monsieur Dura. The company went away in a berlingo and four, and the footman Michel, on a saddle-horse; the carriage, after the manner here, being drawn by four post-horses, with two postilions, the berlingo having no coach box. The first night the party lay at Guimpe, and set out next morning at nine, to bait half way between that and Roteux, being four posts, and a mountainous barren country, as all the Gevaudan is. The parish of Guimpe had been greatly alarmed by the frequent appearance of, and the horrid destruction made by, the fiery animal that has so long been the terror of the Gevaudan, and is now so formidable that the inhabitants and travellers are in very great apprehension. The bailiff of Guimpe acquainted the party that this animal had been often lurking about the chaussee that week, and that it would be proper to take an escort of armed men, which would protect the carriage; but the gentlemen declined it, and took the ladies under their protection, and set out, on the 2nd of February, very cheerfully. When they had made about two leagues, they observed at a distance a post-chaise, and a man on horseback, coming down the hill of Credi, and whipping the horses very much; and at the descent unfortunately the wheel-horse fell down, and the postilion was thrown off; whereupon the horseman who followed the chaise, advanced to take up the boy, in which moment, when he had got down, we perceived the wild beast so often described make a jump towards the horses, and on the footman's raising his right hand to draw a cutla.s.s and strike the creature, it p.r.i.c.ked up its ears, stood on its hind feet, and, showing its teeth full of froth, turned round and gave the fellow a most violent blow with the swing of its tail. The man's face was all over blood; and then the monster, seeing the gentleman in the chaise present a blunderbuss at its neck, crept on its forehead to the chaise-step, keeping its head almost under its forelegs, and getting close to the door, reared upright, vaulted into the inside, broke through the other side-gla.s.s, and ran at a great rate to the adjoining wood. The blunderbuss missed fire, or it is possible this had been the last day this brute-disturber had moved. The stench left in the carriage was past description, and no cure of burning frankincense, nor any other method removed, but rather increased the stink, so that it was sold for two louis; and though burned to ashes, the cinders were obliged, by order of a commissary, to be buried without the town walls. We came up very well in time; for the beast would doubtless have destroyed some one, had it not espied three of us advancing with guns. It certainly jumped through the chaise to get away from us.'

These accounts appear to have been received with some incredulity abroad. In the same number of _Lloyd's Evening Post_ that contains the plan of Lord Byron's trial there occurs the following pa.s.sage about this curious wild beast: 'One of the Dutch Gazetteers by Monday's mail says:--"The accounts of the wild beast seen in the Gevaudan are of such a nature that it is hardly possible to give any credit thereto, and yet most of them have appeared in the _Paris Gazette_, a paper whose authors, known to be men of letters, are too judicious to be suspected of credulity, too prudent, too well informed of what pa.s.ses at the Court of the King their master, one should think, to attribute to his Most Christian Majesty a reward for an action which never had any existence--an action which was only a fable."' This is, no doubt, an allusion to the reward of 400 livres bestowed upon the boys who beat off the ferocious monster.

While the interest and excitement about this terrible wild beast was at the highest, the _St. James's Chronicle_ published an engraving and description of it. The _St. James's Chronicle; or the British Evening Post_, was a folio of four pages, published three times a-week, price twopence-halfpenny. In the number for June 6, 1765, there is printed the following description and woodcut:--

'For the _St. James's Chronicle_.

'Of this beast, which has already devoured upwards of seventy Persons and spread Terrour and Desolation throughout the whole Gevaudan, the Sieur de la Chaumette, who lately wounded it, has given us the following Description. It is larger than a Calf of a year old, strongly made before, and turned like a Grayhound behind. His Nose is long and pointed, his Ears upright and smaller than a wolf's, his Mouth of a most enormous size, and always wide open; a Streak of Black runs from his Shoulders to the Beginning of his Tail. His Paws are very large and strong; the Hair on his Back and Mane thick, bristly, and erect; his Tail long and terminating in a Bush, like that of a Lion; his Eyes small, fierce, and fiery. From this description it appears that he is neither a Wolf, Tiger, nor Hyena, but probably a Mongrel, generated between the two last, and forming, as it were, a new Species. All the accounts lately received agree in a.s.suring that there are several of them.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: STRANGE WILD BEAST SEEN IN FRANCE. FROM THE 'ST. JAMES'S CHRONICLE,' 1765.]

The _St. James's Chronicle_ does not state from whence the portrait was obtained. A representation of the wild beast of the Gevaudan was sent in April, 1765, to the Intendant of Alencon, and a description of that picture corresponds with the woodcut in the _St. James's Chronicle_, so that the latter was probably a copy of the former.

About three months after the publication of the woodcut and description in the _St. James's Chronicle_, the career of this much dreaded animal was brought to a close. On Sept. 20th, 1765, it was encountered in the wood of Pommieres by a certain Monsieur Beauterme, a gentleman of a distant province and noted as a successful hunter. He had come into the district on purpose to seek out this notorious wild beast, and having found it, shot it in the eye at the distance of about fifty paces. The animal, however, though wounded, showed fight, and was rus.h.i.+ng on Monsieur Beauterme with great fury, when he was finally dispatched by a gamekeeper named Reinhard.

Several inhabitants of the Gevaudan who had been attacked by the beast declared it to be the same which had caused such consternation in the country, and Monsieur Beauterme set out with the body to Versailles in order to present it to the King. The animal was found to be thirty-two inches high, and five feet seven and a half inches long including the tail. The surgeon who dissected the body said it was more of a hyena than a wolf, its teeth being forty in number, whereas wolves have but twenty-six. The muscles of the neck were very strong; its sides so formed that it could bend its head to its tail; its eyes sparkled so with fire that it was hardly possible to bear its look. Its tail was very large, broad, and thick, and bristled with black hair, and its feet armed with claws extremely strong and singular.

In Paris it was thought that this mysterious animal was a cross between a tiger and a lioness, and had been brought into France to be shown as a curiosity. It is not unlikely that it had escaped from some travelling show, and was probably a hyena. The imagination of the country people would easily transform it into any shape suggested by their terrors.

That such fancies easily begin and rapidly grow was proved in the case of Captain Sir Allan Young's pet Esquimaux dog, which was either stolen or wandered from the Arctic s.h.i.+p _Pandora_ as she lay in Southampton harbour after returning from the Polar regions. Quite a panic arose in that part of Hamps.h.i.+re where this most valuable and harmless animal was wandering about, and every sort of story was circulated of the ravages and dangers the country was exposed to. The people began to think that besides their sheep and pigs their children were in danger. Some said it was a gigantic black fox, others that it was a Canadian wolf.

Expeditions were organized to attack it, and after being chased for some miles by people on horseback, it was ultimately shot and exhibited at sixpence a head in Winchester market-place. There could be no doubt about the dog's ident.i.ty, for Sir Allan Young afterwards got back his skin.

Before concluding my sketch of ill.u.s.trated journalism in the eighteenth century I must refer to a cla.s.s of publication that possessed many of the characteristics of the newspaper, without exactly belonging to that category. This kind of journal is represented by the _Gentleman's Magazine_; but, although Edward Cave considered himself the inventor of the magazine form of publication, the _Gentleman's Magazine_ was not the first journal of the kind. Nearly forty years before it came into existence a monthly publication was started in London with the following t.i.tle:--'_The Gentleman's Journal; or, the Monthly Miscellany_. _By way of Letter to a Gentleman in the country, consisting of News, History, Philosophy, Poetry, Music, Translations, &c. January_, 169.' Its projector and editor was a refugee Frenchman, one Peter Anthony Motteux, and the design appears to have met with considerable success, but it did not last more than four years.

In the second number of the _Gentleman's Journal_ appeared the following:--'The author desires to be excused for not answering the many ingenious letters that have been sent to him that he may have the more time to apply himself to this journal; he judges that he answers them enough when he follows the advice they give him, or inserts what is sent to him, which he will always be very careful to do. But such things as any way reflect upon particular persons, or are either against religion or good manners, he cannot insert. He will take care to settle correspondence both abroad and at home, to inform his readers of all that may be most worthy their knowledge; and if anything offers itself that deserves to be engraved, he will get it done. But it being impossible he should know by himself a thousand things which the publick would gladly know, such persons as have anything to communicate may be pleased to send it to him, at the Black Boy Coffee House in Ave Maria Lane, not forgetting to discharge the postage.'

It would appear by the above that Peter Anthony Motteux had a vague perception that engravings might increase the attractions of his journal; but it does not seem that much came in his way that 'deserved to be engraved.' I have found only two small woodcuts in the _Gentleman's Journal_. They both occur in the volume for 1694. One is a representation of snow crystals, and the other is a diagram of a mock sun.

Motteux tells us that his journal was patronised by the Queen, and was much favoured by the ladies generally. He had amongst his contributors Dryden, Matthew Prior, Sedley, and Tom Durfey. Charles Wesley, brother of the famous John, sent serious verses, as did also Tate, of 'Tate and Brady' celebrity. All these contributions were introduced into a long letter, which, as the t.i.tle indicates, was the shape in which the _Gentleman's Journal_ was written, and in this respect it was modelled upon the early ma.n.u.script newsletters.

Peter Anthony Motteux, the editor of the first English magazine, was also the author of several songs, plays, and prologues, and he also published a translation of _Don Quixote_. He kept a large East India warehouse in Leadenhall Street, and afterwards obtained a situation in the Post Office. He was found dead on the morning of his fifty-eighth birthday, in a low drinking-house in Butchers' Row, near Temple Bar, and had either been murdered or had lost his life in a drunken frolic. The _London Gazette_ of the succeeding week contained the offer of a reward of fifty pounds for the discovery of the murderer, and the King's pardon to any but the actual criminal; but the mystery was never cleared up, and the bones of the clever exiled Frenchman lie unavenged and forgotten in the vaults of St. Andrew Undershaft, Leadenhall Street, celebrated amongst City churches as the burial-place of John Stowe.[1]

Edward Cave, the early patron and friend of Dr. Johnson, projected and brought out the _Gentleman's Magazine_ in 1731. It was printed at St.

John's Gate, Clerkenwell, a view of which place embellished its t.i.tle-page.

The full t.i.tle was, '_The Gentleman's Magazine, or Monthly Intelligencer_, containing Essays, Controversial, Humorous, and Satirical; Religious, Moral, and Political; collected chiefly from the Publick Papers. Select Pieces of Poetry. A Succinct Account of the most remarkable Transactions and Events, Foreign and Domestick. Births, Marriages, Deaths, Promotions, and Bankrupts. The Prices of Goods and Stocks, and Bill of Mortality. A Register of Books. Observations on Gardening.' It will thus be seen that the Magazine possessed many of the characteristics of a newspaper. On the front page of the earlier numbers were printed the names of the various newspapers from which it derived its information. It was some time before ill.u.s.trations began to appear.

The most important subjects were engraved on copper, and rough woodcuts were sprinkled here and there among the type. Sometimes the most incongruous subjects were engraved on the same plate, such as the section of a man-of-war and the figure of a locust. There was occasionally an ill.u.s.tration of news, as in the volume for 1746, where there is a map of the country round Carlisle, showing the route of the Scottish rebels; and in the same volume there is a portrait of Lord Lovat. The frontispiece to this volume is a portrait of the Duke of c.u.mberland, with the motto _Ecce h.o.m.o_. Portraits, plans, and bird's-eye views are of frequent occurrence. In the volume for 1747 is a very elaborate bird's-eye view of the city of Genoa, ill.u.s.trating an account of an insurrection there. The same volume contains a view of Mount Vesuvius, with a description of the last great eruption. In the volume for 1748 are views of Amsterdam, the Mansion House, London, Greenwich Hospital, the Foundling Hospital, &c. The volume for 1749 contains an engraving of the fireworks on the occasion of the Peace, and views of Blenheim House and Covent Garden. In the volume for 1750 there is a woodcut with 'J. Cave sc.' in the corner. This was probably a son or some other relative of the proprietor, who was either in training as an engraver, or was trying his hand merely as an amateur. His name does not appear again, and I have never met with it elsewhere in connexion with the art of wood-engraving.

In the number for November, 1750, there occurs the following amongst the list of deaths:--'Mr. Edward Bright, at Malden in Ess.e.x, aged 30; he was supposed to be the largest man living, or perhaps that ever lived in this island. He weighed 42 stone and a half, horseman's weight; and not being very tall, his body was of an astonis.h.i.+ng bulk, and his legs were as big as a middling man's body. He was an active man till a year or two before his death, when his corpulency so overpowered his strength that his life was a burthen, and his death a deliverance. His coffin was three feet six inches over the shoulders, six feet seven inches long, and three feet deep; a way was cut thro' the wall and staircase, to let the corpse down into the shop; it was drawn upon a carriage to the church, and let down into the vault by the help of a slider and pulleys.' In the number for the following February there is a woodcut of Mr. Bright, and the reader is referred back to the November number for the above description. This seems to show that the _Gentleman's Magazine_ did not consider it of vital importance, in ill.u.s.trating news, to follow very close upon the heels of events. I have copied this engraving as a specimen of the woodcut ill.u.s.trations of the _Magazine_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EDWARD BRIGHT. WEIGHT 42 STONE. FROM THE 'GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE' FOR FEBRUARY, 1751.]

The _Gentleman's Magazine_ attracted the notice and admiration of Dr.

Johnson before he came to London as a literary adventurer. He afterwards became a regular contributor to its pages, and for many years it was his princ.i.p.al source of income. His first contribution was a complimentary Latin poem addressed to Sylva.n.u.s Urban, and when Cave died Johnson wrote an account of him in the magazine. Dr. Johnson told Boswell 'that when he first saw St. John's Gate, the place where that deservedly popular miscellany was originally printed, he "beheld it with reverence."'

Edward Cave was born at Newton, in Warwicks.h.i.+re, Feb. 29th, 1691; he died Jan. 10th, 1754. 'He was peculiarly fortunate,' says Boswell, 'in being recorded by Johnson; who of the narrow life of a printer and publisher, without any digressions or advent.i.tious circ.u.mstances, has made an interesting and agreeable narrative.'

The _Gentleman's Magazine_ still exists, but retains nothing of its original character beyond the name.

Within a year the success of the _Gentleman's Magazine_ brought into being the _London Magazine_, and, in 1739, the _Scots Magazine_, published in Edinburgh. In the second volume of the latter, under date March, 1740, there is a larger version of the woodcut of the taking of Porto Bello, already described. The account also is given, quoted, however, from the _London Evening Post_, and not from the _Daily Post_, where the woodcut appeared. Maps, plans, and views of places occasionally occur in other volumes of the _Scots Magazine_. In vol.

iii. there is a plan of the harbour, city, and forts of Cartagena, and the number for July, 1743, contains a plan of the battle of Dettingen.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] _New Quarterly Magazine_, January, 1878.

CHAPTER VII.

Revival of Wood-engraving by Thomas Bewick--The _Observer_ started, 1791--The _Times_ an Ill.u.s.trated Paper--Ill.u.s.trations of News in the _Observer_--St. Helena and Napoleon Bonaparte--Abraham Thornton and the 'a.s.size of Battle'--Mr. William Clement and Ill.u.s.trated Journalism--The Cato Street Conspiracy--Trial of Queen Caroline--The House of Commons in 1821--Coronation of George IV.--Royal Visits to Ireland and Scotland--Murder of Mr. Weare--Ill.u.s.trations of the Murder in the _Morning Chronicle_, the _Observer_, and the _Englishman_--_Bell's Life in London_--Prize-Fight at Warwick--Liston as 'Paul Pry'--'Gallery of Comicalities,' &c.--_Pierce Egan's Life in London_--Death of the Duke of York--Death of Mr. Canning--Opening of Hammersmith Bridge, 1827--Mr. Gurney's Steam Coach--The Thames Tunnel--The Murder in the Red Barn--The Siamese Twins--Death of George IV.--Opening of New London Bridge, 1831--Coronation of William IV. and Queen Adelaide--Fieschi's Infernal Machine--Funeral of William IV.--Queen Victoria's First Visit to the City--Coronation and Marriage of the Queen--Christening of the Prince of Wales--_The Weekly Chronicle_--The Greenacre Murder--Mr. c.o.c.king and his Parachute--The Courtney Riots at Canterbury--Burning of the Tower of London, 1841--_The Sunday Times_--Burning of the Houses of Parliament, 1834--_The Champion_--_The Weekly Herald_--_The Magnet_--Removing the Body of Napoleon I.--_The Penny Magazine_--Charles Knight--Humorous Journalism of the Victorian Era.

There appears to have been little or nothing done in the way of ill.u.s.trated journalism during the remaining years of the eighteenth century. It was during this period that Thomas Bewick revived the almost extinct art of wood-engraving, and about the time he brought out the first of his ill.u.s.trated natural history books a weekly newspaper was started in London which afterwards became the pioneer of modern ill.u.s.trated journalism. This was the _Observer_, the first number of which came out on Sunday, Dec. 4th, 1791. It is the oldest of our existing weekly newspapers, and is one of the rare instances of a Sunday paper becoming established.[1] Many years had to elapse before wood-engraving began to be used as a means of popular ill.u.s.tration; but when some of Bewick's numerous pupils began to diffuse the fruits of their master's teaching the _Observer_ was the first newspaper that availed itself of the restored art. Before this, however, there were symptoms of the reawakening of a dormant idea. In looking back to the early years of the present century it is curious and interesting to notice that the _Times_ was occasionally an ill.u.s.trated paper. The battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson stirred the national heart to such a degree that the _Times_ of that day was induced to introduce into its pages engravings of Nelson's coffin and funeral car, when the hero's remains were carried to St. Paul's. In the number for Jan. 10th, 1806, there is an account of the State funeral, which is ill.u.s.trated with the above-named woodcuts. They are very rudely executed, and plainly show that the influence of Bewick's labours had not yet penetrated into the region of journalism. Annexed is a copy of what the _Times_ of 1806 presented to the public in response to the intense interest felt by the whole of the British nation about Nelson's death and funeral. It is a noteworthy example of renewed effort in the direction of ill.u.s.trated news at a time when insufficient means of production clogged the spirit of enterprise. Like the _Swedish Intelligencer_ of 1632, the _Times_ did not hesitate to point out its shortcomings in the following notice at the foot of the engraving:--'The only difference in the appearance of the Funeral Car from the engraving is, that, contrary to what was at first intended, neither the pall nor coronet appeared on the coffin. The first was thrown in the stern of the Car, in order to give the public a complete view of the coffin; and the coronet was carried in a mourning-coach. We had not time to make the alteration.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: NELSON'S FUNERAL CAR. FROM THE 'TIMES,' JAN. 10, 1806.]

To the above engraving the following description was appended:--'The Car, modelled at the ends in imitation of the hull of the Victory. Its head towards the horses, was ornamented with a figure of Fame. The stern carved and painted in the naval style, with the word "Victory" in yellow raised letters on the lanthorn over the p.o.o.p. The coffin placed on the quarterdeck with its head towards the stern, with the English Jack pendent over the p.o.o.p lowered half-staff. There was an awning over the whole, consisting of an elegant canopy supported by four pillars, in the form of palm-trees, as we have already mentioned, and partly covered with black velvet. The corners and sides were decorated with black ostrich feathers, and festooned with black velvet, richly fringed, immediately above which, in the front, was inscribed in gold the word "Nile" at one end; on one side the following motto, "Hoste devicto, requievit;" behind was the word "Trafalgar;" and on the other side the motto "Palmam qui meruit ferat," as in the engraving. The carriage was drawn by six led horses, in elegant furniture.'

In 1817 the _Times_ also ill.u.s.trated the projects of Robert Owen, who laboured long and ardently to promote the doctrines of Socialism. In the number for Aug. 9th, 1817, there is a large woodcut called Robert Owen's agricultural and manufacturing villages of Unity and Mutual Cooperation.

In those days a page of the _Times_ was not so valuable as it is now, or probably the enthusiastic Socialist would not have found it so easy to enlist that journal in helping to propagate his doctrines. In 1834 Owen made in London another attempt to put in practice the principles he had so long advocated. He died in 1858, aged ninety.

I have mentioned that the _Observer_ was the first newspaper that availed itself of the revived art of wood-engraving; but it had previously essayed the then difficult task of ill.u.s.trating the news of the day by the more costly means of engraving on copper. The island of St. Helena having been selected as the place of residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, the _Observer_ of Oct. 29th, 1815, published a large copperplate view of the island, with a descriptive account. The plate is printed on the same page with the letterpress, so that there must have been two printings to produce this specimen of ill.u.s.trated news. Three years later the _Observer_ produced another copperplate example of news ill.u.s.tration, also printed on the letterpress page. This was a portrait of Abraham Thornton, whose remarkable case attracted much public attention. He was tried for the murder of a young woman, Mary Ashford, with whom he was known to be acquainted, and in whose company he was seen shortly before her death. He was, however, acquitted, the jury probably believing it to be a case of suicide. The brother of the girl then appealed, and Thornton claimed his right to defend himself by wager of battle. This claim was allowed, after long arguments before the judges. It was found, much to the surprise of the general public, that by the law of England a man in an appeal of murder might demand the combat, thereby to make proof of his guilt or innocence. In the present case the girl's brother refused the challenge, and Thornton escaped.

This was the last appeal to the 'a.s.size of Battle' in this country; and the attention of the Legislature being drawn to the obsolete statute, it was repealed by 59 Geo. III., 1819. It was during the progress of the arguments in this case, and while the public interest was very great, that the _Observer_ published the portrait of the accused.

After this the _Observer_ became remarkable for its ill.u.s.trations of news. Mr. William Clement, the proprietor, was a man who early saw the attractiveness of ill.u.s.trated journalism. I am not aware when he first became a.s.sociated with the _Observer_; but under his management frequent ill.u.s.trations of news were given in that paper. In 1820 _Bell's Life in London_ was started, and very soon Mr. Clement became the proprietor of that paper also. In 1821 he purchased the _Morning Chronicle_, which, however, turned out a bad speculation. Having invested a very large sum of money in the latter paper, Mr. Clement spared no effort to make it profitable, and the _Observer_ was neglected. It suffered in consequence, and fell in circulation. Frequently the ill.u.s.trations of news that were printed in the _Observer_ were published the day previously in the _Chronicle_. They were also occasionally printed in _Bell's Life_ and the _Englishman_, a fourth paper belonging to Mr.

Clement. All four papers were carried on together; but it is the _Observer_ that stands out as the prominent representative of ill.u.s.trated journalism at this period. Other journals came into existence which took up the idea of ill.u.s.trating the news of the day; among them the _Sunday Times_, started by Daniel Whittle Harvey in 1822, when he was member for Colchester. Another paper which for a time rivalled, if it did not excel, the _Observer_ in the frequency of its news ill.u.s.trations was the _Weekly Chronicle_. It flourished a few years before the birth of the _Ill.u.s.trated London News_, but has long been extinct. Mr. Clement sold the _Morning Chronicle_ in 1834, and soon restored the _Observer_ to its old position. The _Morning Chronicle_ started in 1769 and expired in 1864. The _Englishman_ has long been defunct, but I am not acquainted with the date of its disappearance.

There was a paper called the _Englishman_ in 1714, and the name was again revived by the late Dr. Kenealy.

The _Observer_ and _Bell's Life_ were both published at the same office for many years, but their companions.h.i.+p was terminated in 1877, when they left the office in the Strand where they had so long lived amicably together, the great sporting journal migrating to Catherine Street, and the _Observer_ seeking a new home in the Strand further west.

One or two other newspapers occasionally published engravings during the few years immediately preceding the _Ill.u.s.trated London News_, and of them I will speak in the proper place. The most prominent, however, were the _Observer_, _Bell's Life in London_, and the _Weekly Chronicle_, and to these three I propose first to direct attention as being the main supporters of the pictorial spirit until it culminated in the _Ill.u.s.trated London News_. It was during the ten years preceding 1842 that the founder of that journal noticed the growing inclination of the people for ill.u.s.trated news, and it was chiefly in the pages of the _Observer_ and the _Weekly Chronicle_ that he thought he saw the growth of a hitherto uncultivated germ.

In 1820 all England was startled by the discovery of a mysterious plot of some political desperadoes who planned the a.s.sa.s.sination of the Ministers of the Crown and the overthrow of the Government. This came to be known as the Cato Street Conspiracy, the place of meeting of the conspirators being in Cato Street, Marylebone. The extravagance of the Prince Regent, the high price of bread, and the heavy taxation, had brought about a feeling of discontent among the lower orders which, unhappily, was greatly increased by the Spa Fields riots, and the collision between the soldiers and the people in Lancas.h.i.+re, at what was called the ma.s.sacre of Peterloo. Thistlewood, the leader of the conspirators, had already been tried for treasonable practices, but acquitted. He had also been in trouble for his connexion with the Spa Fields riots. The sanguinary plan of the conspirators was to murder the Cabinet Ministers while they were all a.s.sembled at dinner at Lord Harrowby's house in Grosvenor Square. They were to seize certain pieces of cannon, take the Bank of England, destroy the telegraph to Woolwich, set fire to different parts of London, and then establish a provisional government at the Mansion House, sending emissaries to the outports to prevent the escape of obnoxious persons. They reckoned on large numbers of the discontented joining them as soon as they had destroyed the tyrants and oppressors of the people, as they termed the Ministers. They had provided pikes, pistols, sabres, knives, blunderbusses, and hand-grenades; and one of the gang, a butcher, had furnished himself with a heavy butcher's knife, to cut off the heads of 'Castlereagh and the rest as he came at them.' Adams, one of their number, turned informer, and the conspirators were surprised by the police at their meeting-place in Cato Street. After a conflict in which one of the police-officers was killed, several of the gang were secured, and others were taken soon afterwards. Thistlewood, the leader, escaped in the first rush, but was captured next day.

The place where the seizure was made is described as a hayloft over a deserted stable with a step-ladder leading from the stable to the loft above, with two apertures in the floor of the loft, opening on the racks in the stable below; opening from the loft were two small inner rooms.

On the evening of the 23rd of February, 1820, the conspirators were a.s.sembled in this stable, where they were arming themselves for the b.l.o.o.d.y work they had planned, when the police, aided by a party of the Coldstream Guards under Lieut. Fitzclarence, broke in upon them.

Police-officers Ruthven, Ellice, and Smithers, were the first to mount the ladder, and enter the loft.

'There were about five-and-twenty men in the room, eating bread and cheese, and drinking porter, or selecting arms from a long carpenter's bench which stood close by the wall. Just at that juncture, Thistlewood, hearing a noise, and some one calling, "Hallo! Show a light!" took a candle, and looked down the stairs to see who was coming, and, on seeing that there was a surprise, he put the candle back on the bench, seized a sword, and with three or four others retreated stealthily to the further of the inner rooms--the one that had a window looking out into Cato Street. At that moment one of the men seized below called out to warn his comrades, "Look out there above!"

'At the same time, two of the constables, at first almost unnoticed, appeared at the top of the ladder, and presenting their pistols, said, "Hallo, is anybody in the room? Here's a pretty nest of you!"