with the exuberance of their own verbosity than during this memorable session. The calculation made by the Spectator newspaper gave some curious statistics of the speeches in committee in fifteen days' debate between July 12th and 27th. Among the leading opponents of Reform, it appeared that "Sugden had spoken eighteen times, Praed twenty-two times, Pelham twentyeight times, Peel fifty-eight times, Croker fifty-seven times, and Wetherell fifty-eight times." But Lord Althorp declared that the ministry would keep Parliament sitting till December, or, if necessary, till December twelvemonths, rather than abandon the Bill at the dictation of the obstructives, -an announcement which considerably vexed the souls of honourable gentlemen who had special associations connected with the 12th of August and the 1st of September.

Both those days, however, passed away, and the House was still hard at work; honourable members were obliged to give the grouse and the partridges a respite in 1831. At last, on the 22nd of September, the last of the interminable divisions on the Bill was taken; and it passed the Commons, in a house in which 584 members voted, by a majority of 106, and was sent up to the Lords.

THE BILL IN THE LORDS; DEBATED AND REJECTED; POPULAR EXCITEMENT.

Having been steered safely past the Scylla of the Commons, the Bill had now to encounter the dangers of Charybdis in the Lords; and these dangers were the greater in proportion to the privileges of the hereditary legislators, and their influence in the House of Commons, by the presence of nominees and scions of their own families, were seriously diminished by its provisions. The contest, accordingly, was carried on with an acrimony and vehemence almost unprecedented in that dignified assembly. Earl Grey was more than once assailed with invective that amounted to personal insult. Philpotts, Bishop of Exeter, at a later stage, especially distinguished himself by the vehemence of his denunciation of the Bill and everything connected with it, declaring that he and his colleagues had been vilified and insulted within the last year," and that, too, by men of the highest station in His Majesty's councils." This ebullition called forth a stern rebuke from Lord Grey, who characterised the bishop's assertion as the most unprovoked, the most intemperate, and the most unfounded insinuation he had ever heard from any member of that House, and indignantly inquired whether any words he had spoken could justly bear such a construction. He

declared that the Bill, so far from being revolutionary and subversive of the best principles of the constitution, was eminently calculated to uphold that constitution, by clearing it of the blemishes that had been, and still were, its disgrace. "Was it possible," he asked, "that the boroughs called nomination boroughs could be permitted any longer to exist? Would the people, when they saw the corrupt practices unblushingly carried on at every election, and turning from such sights, read the lessons of their youth, where they found such practices stigmatised as illegal and inconsistent with the people's rights, be persuaded that the privileges which they saw a few individuals converting into a means of personal profit were privileges conferred for the benefit of the nation ?" This gangrene of our representative system, he declared, bade defiance to all remedies but that of excision.

Numerous petitions to the House also showed the widespread and general anxiety that prevailed out of doors on the question; and it was hoped the Peers would see, that where they must necessarily give way sooner or later, it would be better to make the sacrifice gracefully while there was still, at least, an appearance of option. But they failed to recognise the gravity of the position; and on October 8th threw out the Bill in a House in which 278 peers were present, and 79 sent proxies (making a total of 357 votes) by a majority of 41 ;-and thus for the second time Reform was thrust forth by the House of Lords.

The excitement throughout the country was tremendous. In some few towns, doomed by the Bill to political extinction, and now, as they thought, rescued from that fate by its rejection, there was rejoicing and congratulation, but the general feeling was one of intense anger and disappointment; and with a corresponding exasperation against the House that was considered to have deliberately set itselfagainst the opinion of the general community, and to have defied the plainly-expressed will of the people of England. There were many who spoke openly of the necessity of abolishing the House of Lords; and at Nottingham, Derby, and various other places, there were serious riots. Nottingham Castle, belonging to the Duke of Newcastle, a highly unpopular opponent of the Reform Bill, was fired; and in various places it was necessary to call out the military. The leading reformers, on the other hand, strenuously advised the people to be calm and patient under this temporary disappointment, in the full consciousness that the cause must speedily triumph. "I tell them that Reform is only delayed for a short period," cried Lord

Brougham; "I tell them that the Bill will pass-that the Bill must pass-that a Bill founded on exactly similar principles, and equally extensive and efficient with the Bill which has been thrown out, shall in a very short period become part and parcel of the law of the land."

In a more humourous vein, but with equal effect, Sydney Smith, an ardent Liberal, allayed the fears of the people by his speeches in the west country. It was at Taunton that he introduced the story of Mrs. Partington, that, from the aptness of the illustrations it furnished, has become proverbial. Speaking of the resistance of the House of Lords and their endeavour to stem the tide of the popular will, the worthy Canon of St. Paul's told his delighted audience how, in the winter of 1824, a great flood set in upon the little Devonshire town of Sidmouth, and the tide threatened to overwhelm the whole place. "In the midst of this sublime storm, Dame Partington, who lived upon the beach, was seen at the door of her house with mop and pattens, trundling her mop, and squeezing out the sea-water, and vigorously pushing away the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic was roused, Mrs. Partington's spirit was up; but I need not tell you that the contest was unequal. The Atlantic Ocean beat Mrs. Partington. She was excellent at a slop or a puddle, but she should not have meddled with a tempest." And so he exhorted his audience to take heart and bide their time, for the Atlantic Ocean of the British people's will would certainly be too strong for the mop of the Mrs. Partington of the House of Lords.

BRISTOL RIOTS; THE THIRD BILL; THE LORDS AGAIN; RESIGNATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.

The gravest public event of that stormy autumn was the great riot at Bristol. Sir Charles Wetherell, who was Recorder of that city, had become especially obnoxious by his violent tirades against the Reform Bill; and on his going down to Bristol to hold the gaol delivery there, the whole place was in an uproar. Sir Charles had been strongly urged not to present himself_at Bristol at this crisis; but he disregarded the warning, believing, most erroneously, that a reaction against Reform had set in, and that he had nothing to fear. The measures taken by the magistrates for preserving order were half-hearted and vacillating. Colonel Brereton, who commanded the military force, was good-natured and unwilling to act; and an incendiary mob for a time got the upper hand of the authorities. Since the time of the Gordon riots there had not been so dangerous an outbreak; and

it was not put down until great damage had been done and many lives lost.

The House met again on the 6th of December, and once more Reform was the subject taken in hand. Some alterations

had been made by the ministers in their second Bill, but its main provisions reappeared in the third measure which was now brought before the House. Of its acceptance in the Commons there could be no doubt. When the House reassembled after the Christmas holidays, it was steadily pushed forward, and was carried by a triumphant majority of 116 on the 23rd of March, 1832. Once more it went up to the peers, and once again, "What will the Lords do?" became the question of the day. By this time many of the Peers had become doubtful of the consequences of further opposition; and some leading men among them, such as Lords Harrowby and Wharncliffe, recommended that the Bill should be allowed to pass the second reading, as there would be still an opportunity to alter its most objectionable features in committee. There was the more reason for this, as it was announced that in case of another adverse majority, a large creation of new Peers would take place, to counterbalance the non-contents. The second reading of the Bill was accordingly carried, but only by the narrow majority of 9; and the fate of the measure was felt to be once more in jeopardy.

The apprehensions of its well-wishers were well founded. A motion was brought forward that the enfranchising clauses of the Bill should be taken before those of disfranchisement. This was opposed by the ministers, who were left in a minority of thirty-five, and at once gave in their resignations, and the King's acceptance of that resignation was announced to the House on the 9th of May.

THE MINISTRY RECALLED; THE FINAL TRIUMPH; CONCLUSION.

For many years the affairs of the nation had not been at such a dead lock. The Whig ministry had resigned; a Tory ministry must come in. By Lord Lyndhurst's advice the King sent for the Duke of Wellington. But the Duke's opposition to Reform had been very uncompromising from the beginning, and it was manifestly impossible that any ministry could stand that did not pledge itself at once to bring forward a measure for Reform. Could the Duke bring forward such a measure?Hardly, after the line he had consistently taken, and after his speech declaring that from the day of the passing of such a measure he should date the downfall of the constitution; and Sir Robert Peel

the Duke's trusty confederate and adviser, whom the Duke advised the King to send for, when he himself declined the impossible task of forming a government, had shown himself as uncompromising an opponent of Reform as Wellington himself. By this time the vacillating conduct of the King had caused the loss of all his popularity. He was mercilessly caricatured in the character of "Billy Barlow"; while on Queen Adelaide ribald songs were made and sung, Her Majesty being represented as "a nasty German frow," and as the imperious Dollalolla of the burlesque of Tom Thumb, in which the King was made to figure as the weak monarch Arthur, powerless under his imperious wife's influence. Even on the omnibuses-then a new invention just introduced in Londonthe names "William IV." and "Adelaide" were painted out. There was a run on the Bank of England. "Go for gold, and stop the Duke," was the advice posted on anonymous placards. There was a general threat of "No Reform, no taxes"; and Lord Milton set the example of resistance in this direction by directing the tax-gatherer to call again, and plainly intimating that his payment would be dependent on the course of public events. Evidently there was nothing to be done but to recall Lord Grey and his ministry.

The King received his advisers with a constrained air; and it was remarked that he kept them standing during the interview.

But they had now the game in their hands at last, and stipulated that the King should give in writing his consent to the creation of new Peers if the resistance in the House of Lords were renewed. With a very bad grace His Majesty wrote the following memorandum, and handed it to Lord Brougham:

"The King grants permission to Earl Grey and to his Chancellor, Lord Brougham, to create such a number of Peers as will be sufficient to ensure the passing of the Reform Bill,-first calling Peers' eldest sons. "(Signed),

"WILLIAM R. "Windsor, May 17th, 1832."

An intimation from the King was at the same time sent round to the chief Lords in opposition, "declaring that all difficulties would be obviated if a sufficient number of Peers would drop further opposition to the Reform Bill." This was tantamount to a command. Accordingly the Duke of Wellington left the House of Peers without voting, and did not come back until the measure had passed. A number of his followers adopted the same course. The King's circular was caricatured by H. B. as "the modest request"; but it produced its effect. With many bitter complaints the Peers acquiesced in the inevitable, and the Reform Bill was carried, receiving the Royal assent in June 1832.

H. W. D.

Tudor and Reginald Pole began a new and the greatest era of English history.

THE QUEEN IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

Mary died between five and six o'clock in the morning, and several hours elapsed before the event was known beyond the immediate precincts of St. James's; but shortly before noon Archbishop Heath, of York, the Lord Chancellor, went down to the House of Lords, and summoning the Speaker and the faithful Commons to the bar, announced, in due form, that "God had called to his mercy the late sovereign lady Queen Mary -a heavy and grievous woe, but relieved by the blessing God had left them in a true, loyal, and right inheritress to the crownthe Lady Elizabeth, second daughter to the late sovereign lord of noble memory, King Henry VIII., and sister unto the late said Queen." From nobles on the benches, from Commons at the bar, rose a shout, 66 God save Queen Elizabeth, and long and happily may she reign!" Then the Duke of Norfolk, hereditary Earl Marshal of England, the Marquis of Winchester, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and the Earl of Bedford, accompanied by the troop of gorgeously clad heralds, appeared on horseback in front of the great door of Westminster Hall, in Old Palace Yard, and proclaimed with all due forms that Mary was dead and that her sister Elizabeth was Queen of England.

From Palace Yard they rode to Charing Cross, and thence eastward along the Strand into the City, where, at Cheapside Cross, and again at the Tower, the proclamations were made. There was an outburst of long suppressed feeling. No expression of grief for the Queen that was lost, no tears prompted by the thought that she who, but a few hours before, had been the sovereign of England, was now a pallid corpse; but a sense of relief from an incubus that had pressed heavily on the free spirit and the vital energy of the nation. The red fires of Smithfield had scarcely cooled, the echoes of the shrieks in the torture chamber of the Tower had scarcely died away, the whispered prayers of those who in secret hiding-places had appealed to heaven for strength and deliverance, still lived in the memories of sympathetic believers; and in the prouder and stronger natures of the English citizens there was the remembrance of foreign domination, of foreign wars, of insulted and disgraced nationality. In the picturesque language of Mr. Froude, "The bells which six years before had rung in triumph for Mary's accession now pealed as merrily for her death. The voices which had shouted themselves hoarse in execrations on Northumberland were now as loud in ecstasy that the miserable reign was

at an end. Through the November day steeple answered steeple; the streets were spread with tables, and as the twilight closed blazed as before with bonfires. The black dominion of priests and priestcraft had rolled away like night before the coming of the dawn. Elizabeth, the people's idol, dear to them from her sister's hatred, the morning star of England's hope, was Queen."

Elizabeth was living quietly at the royal manor-house at Hatfield, in Hertfordshire, where, as a child, she and her young brother Edward had been chiefly brought up. In the stately mansion which for about three centuries has been the home of the Cecils, the apartments where the royal children dwelt are still shown, and in the gardens the paths along which they rambled, the lawns on which they played, are still associated with the memory of the younger children of “the great Harry." It was at Hatfield the Lady Elizabeth generally resided during the reign of Mary, studying Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, playing on the virginals, dancing with her few lady attendants. She knew well enough that if she outlived her feeble-bodied, morbidminded sister, the great majority of Englishmen would welcome her as successor to the throne; but she knew also that her life was not "worth a pin's fee," if she stood in the way of Mary's fanaticism or Philip's ambition, supposing he had the courage to defy the national feeling of England by striking a blow at the nation's favourite. Sometimes she had been invited to share in procession and pageant, and had been once taken to London as a state prisoner, knowing probably that the warrant for her committal to the Tower and execution had been prepared, but that at the last moment the fear of consequences had prevailed, and her sister Mary had refused to affix the royal sign-manual.

ELIZABETH REGINA.

Twenty-five years of age, large-brained, inheriting no little of the temper and the strong will of her father, and some of the subtlety and insincerity of her mother, Elizabeth added to these qualities a little womanly vanity mingled with occasional tenderness. easily changing into jealousy and animosity if the vanity were ungratified or the tenderness misplaced. In after life she showed that she could be sometimes prodigally generous and sometimes pitifully mean; but such were inconsistencies that grew with age, and were but little apparent in the tall, graceful, clear-eyed, yellow-haired princess who, under the trees at Hatfield, received the announcement from Cecil and other kneeling courtiers that she was Queen of England. She had waited with brave patience for such a message, which she guessed would come in due time, and she bore the new honour with