CHAPTER VIII

KNIFE, LUNETTE AND CHOPPER OF THE ORIGINAL GUILLOTINE USED IN PARIS DURING THE REIGN OF TERRORYears after, Madame Tussaud, with the aid of the executioner, procured these for her collection.

KNIFE, LUNETTE AND CHOPPER OF THE ORIGINAL GUILLOTINE USED IN PARIS DURING THE REIGN OF TERROR

Years after, Madame Tussaud, with the aid of the executioner, procured these for her collection.

It was only after much negotiation and the payment of a very considerable sum of money that her object was attained. And now the dread knife harmlessly reposes by the side of the impressions of those heads it so ruthlessly struck off a century and a quarter ago—that of Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie Antoinette, as well as those of Robespierre, Danton, Fouquier-Tinville, Hébert, and the miscreant of Nantes,Carrier. From the time they were first shown in Paris until the present day they have been viewed by an ever-increasing throng, though the sight of them can never have been pleasing, and those who gaze upon them shudder and pass on.

Though Madame Tussaud did not witness the execution of Marie Antoinette, yet she remembered seeing the Queen pass on a tumbril through the jeering crowds to the scaffold. The once gay and light-hearted Queen was dressed in white for her last pageant on earth, her hands tied behind her. The spectacle brought back to Madame memories of the royal palace where she had frequently attended to give lessons in modelling, and she was so overcome that she fainted. Perhaps the most horrifying experience undergone by Madame Tussaud during this terrible period was when the mangled head of the greatly beloved Princess de Lamballe was brought to her that a cast might be made. In vain did she protest that she could not endure the ordeal. The brutal murderers compelled her to comply.

MARIE ANTOINETTEImpression of her head taken immediately after she had been guillotined, 16th October, 1793.

MARIE ANTOINETTE

Impression of her head taken immediately after she had been guillotined, 16th October, 1793.

Madame dines with the Terrorists Marat and Robespierre, models their figures, and subsequently takes casts of their heads—She visits Charlotte Corday in prison—Death of Curtius—Madame marries—Napoleon sits for his model.

One of the most bloodthirsty of all the red Terrorists was Jean Paul Marat, who was slain in his bath by Charlotte Corday on the 13th of July, 1793.

CHARLOTTE CORDAY

Marat, as a young man, had lived in this country for some time, and was well known to Madame Tussaud through visits he paid to the house of her uncle, Curtius, at 20 Boulevard du Temple.

Immediately after his assassination she was called upon to take a cast of Marat’s head. “They came for me,” she relates, “to go to Marat’s house at once, and to take with me what appliances I needed to make an impression of his features. The cadaverous aspect of the fiend made me feel desperately ill, but they stood over me and forced me to perform the task.” Marat’s model is still to be seen in the Exhibition lying in the bath in which he was stabbed by the heroic young Norman girl.

Charlotte Corday had addressed a letter to Marat stating that she had news of importance to communicate,and when she called he readily admitted her. She amused him with an account of the Deputies at Caen, when he said. “They shall all go to the guillotine.” “To the guillotine!” exclaimed she, and as he took up a pencil to write the names of his intended victims Charlotte plunged a knife into his heart.

Madame Tussaud afterwards visited Charlotte Corday in the Conciergerie Prison, and described her as tall, well-mannered, and possessed of many graces of character and appearance. The brave young woman, who paid for her avenging act with her life, wrote in a letter to her father that she had done what was right. After the heroine’s death Madame Tussaud obtained a record of Charlotte Corday’s beautiful face.

JEAN PAUL MARATOne of the most bloodthirsty of the terrorists, stabbed in his bath by Charlotte Corday, 13th July, 1793. A wax model made immediately after his death.

JEAN PAUL MARAT

One of the most bloodthirsty of the terrorists, stabbed in his bath by Charlotte Corday, 13th July, 1793. A wax model made immediately after his death.

The actual model, now in our Exhibition, of Marat dying in his bath, was exhibited during the Revolution at the Museum of Curtius in Paris, and attracted crowds, who were loud in their lamentations, for at that time Marat was a national idol.

Robespierre visited the Museum, and took the opportunity of haranguing the people at the door. In flamboyant language he said, “Enter, citizens, and see the image of our departed friend, snatched from us by the assassin’s hand, guided by the demon of aristocracy. Marat was the father of the poor, the defender of the weak, and the consoler of the wretched. As his heart poured forth the sweet emotions of sympathy for the oppressed, so did the vigour of his mind emit its thunder against the oppressor.” Then, descending to bathos, the cunning demagogue exclaimed, “What didhe get for it all? Five francs were found in his house!”

Surprise has sometimes been expressed by visitors that the bath in which Marat was stabbed to death should be so small and of such a curious shape.

Marat was murdered in a “slipper” bath, which was more like a “halt boot” than a slipper, so that the water would come up to the shoulders of the bather without flowing over. This kind of bath was greatly in vogue at the time of the French Revolution. Its object was to save water, which in those days was not freely supplied. When the bather was in the bath a small quantity of water would fill it.

Maximilien Robespierre had sent numerous people to their death during the Reign of Terror. His own turn came at last, when he too met his death from the sharp tongue of La Guillotine. The revulsion of feeling that had set in against Robespierre was very bitter. He was shot at point-blank range by a man named Meda in the Salle d’Égalité, a room in the Hôtel de Ville, but was only wounded, and he went to the guillotine on the 28th of July, 1794, with his broken jaw swathed in a white linen cloth.

MAXIMILIEN MARIE ISIDORE ROBESPIERREImpression of his head taken immediately after he had been guillotined, 28th July, 1794. One of the impressions done by Madame Tussaud, then a young girl, by order of the authorities.

MAXIMILIEN MARIE ISIDORE ROBESPIERRE

Impression of his head taken immediately after he had been guillotined, 28th July, 1794. One of the impressions done by Madame Tussaud, then a young girl, by order of the authorities.

An hour after the head of Robespierre rolled from the lunette Madame Tussaud, reluctantly obeying a demand that an impression should be taken of the severed head, set about the shuddering task. The cast therefrom is now shown in one of our Exhibition rooms containing relics of the Revolution. Her feelings may be imagined as she sat with the head of the callous Terrorist confronting her.

Although Madame Tussaud took an impression of the features of Robespierre directly after his execution, she had taken a portrait of him long before his fall. He expressed a wish that his figure should be introduced standing near that of Marat, as also those of Collot d’Herbois and Rosignol. He proposed that they should send their own clothes in which the figures might be dressed, to afford additional accuracy. The likenesses were taken and apparelled as desired.

In those days Madame Tussaud often sat next Robespierre at dinner. She describes him as always extremely polite and attentive, never omitting those little acts of courtesy which are expected from a gentleman when sitting at table with a lady, anticipating her wishes, and taking care that she should never have to ask for anything. In this particular, says Madame Tussaud, he differed from Marat, who was so selfishly eager to supply his own wants that he never troubled himself with the needs of others.

Robespierre’s conversation was generally animated, sensible, and agreeable, but his enunciation was not good. There was nothing particularly remarkable in his conduct, manners, or appearance when in society. If noticed at all, it could only be as a pleasant, gentlemanly man of moderate abilities. This was a strong admission for a lady who was always a Royalist at heart and had been long detained in Paris against her will.

Her association with the Court of Louis inevitably brought Madame Tussaud under suspicion of the so-called Committee of Public Safety, and for a timeshe was imprisoned with Madame de Beauharnais, who was later to become the Empress Josephine, whom Napoleon divorced to marry Marie Louise. The scene is changed, and we see Marie Grosholtz—Curtius having died about that time—wedded in 1795 to François Tussaud, by whose name she was henceforth to be known to posterity.

Madame Tussaud, it would appear, made the acquaintance and gained the favour of Napoleon himself.

A Parisian publication,La Belle Assemblée, gives a circumstantial account of Madame Tussaud being sent for to take the likeness of Napoleon—when he was First Consul—at the Tuileries as early as six o’clock in the morning. It would appear that Madame went at the invitation of Napoleon’s first wife, Josephine, who was desirous of having a permanent record of her husband’s features. The young modeller was ushered into a room at the palace where the great soldier waited for her.La Belle Assembléestates that Josephine greeted Madame Tussaud with kindness, and conversed much and most affably. Napoleon said little, spoke in sharp sentences, and rather abruptly.

He would have shown her special consideration had she chosen to remain in France; but it is not to be wondered at that Madame Tussaud cared no longer to remain amid the sorrowful recollections of the Revolution, and that she seized the opportunity, on the signing of the Peace of Amiens, to leave France for ever. It was to England she turned for refuge andthe prosecution of her life’s work. Madame boldly transported across the Channel to England her uncle’s two Paris Exhibitions, which, as already related, had been made into one. Here she decided to settle, and here her descendants have lived ever since.

MADAME TUSSAUD AT THE AGE OF 42When she left France for England, never to return.A Portrait Study by John T. Tussaud.

MADAME TUSSAUD AT THE AGE OF 42

When she left France for England, never to return.

A Portrait Study by John T. Tussaud.

Madame Tussaud leaves France for England, never to return—Early days in London—On tour—Some notable figures—Shipwreck in the Irish Channel.

Madame Tussaud arrived in this country with her Exhibition some time in May, 1802.

There is considerable difficulty in tracing her movements during the first few years after her arrival. The information points to her having remained in London with her Exhibition for some six or seven years. In London there is some amount of evidence of her having shown her exhibits in Fleet Street and also at the Lowther Arcade in the Strand.

However, it is fairly clear that she first showed her collection at the old Lyceum Theatre in the Strand, then known as the English Opera House, which she vacated in 1803 that Mr. Winsor might make the experiment of lighting the place with gas. It was the first house of entertainment to be illuminated in this way, and the innovation was regarded as dangerous.

Then she went on tour, and visited the more important places in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Wherever the town visited boasted a Mayor, the Exhibition was almost invariably opened by him, or under his auspices.

The figures that Madame Tussaud modelled and the dates when she executed the work give some idea of her activities at the time.

She modelled from life Queen Caroline in 1808, George III in 1809, and Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, in 1814. In that year the Emperor and the King of Prussia visited England in connection with the centenary of the House of Hanover, which took place on the 1st of August.

Madame Tussaud also modelled from life Mrs. Siddons, the famous actress, who retired from the stage in 1809, and died at her residence in Upper Baker Street in 1831.

PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALESDaughter of George IV.

PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES

Daughter of George IV.

Princess Charlotte of Wales (daughter of George IV) was married on the 2nd of May, 1816, and on that day Her Royal Highness sat to Mr. P. Turnerelli, the sculptor, for what was called “the Nuptial Bust.” From this Madame Tussaud modelled a figure of the Princess for the Exhibition, and it drew large numbers of people to see it when the young Princess died in the year following her marriage.

For blooming Charlotte, England’s fairest Rose,In History’s page the tear of pity flows.Few were the moments of connubial life,She shar’d the blisses of a happy wife.But when relentless Death had nipt her bloom,And hid the faded Rose within the tomb,O’er her cold grave an Angel waved his wing,And cried, “O Death, where is thy fatal sting?From hence she goes; to me the charge is given,”And in his bosom took the Rose to Heaven.

For blooming Charlotte, England’s fairest Rose,

In History’s page the tear of pity flows.

Few were the moments of connubial life,

She shar’d the blisses of a happy wife.

But when relentless Death had nipt her bloom,

And hid the faded Rose within the tomb,

O’er her cold grave an Angel waved his wing,

And cried, “O Death, where is thy fatal sting?

From hence she goes; to me the charge is given,”

And in his bosom took the Rose to Heaven.

The Duke of York was modelled from life in 1812, Leopold I, King of Belgium, in 1817, the Bishop of Norwich in 1820, and George IV a few days before his coronation in July, 1821. Sir Walter Scott’s figure in Highland costume was taken from life in Edinburgh in 1828, a year after George Canning’s likeness had been similarly obtained.

It was in 1828 that Madame Tussaud took a portrait of the miscreant Burke, immediately after his execution; and she modelled from life his accomplice, Hare, while he was in prison in Edinburgh.

Prince Talleyrand’s figure was modelled from life by Madame in 1832, Lord Eldon in 1833, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel in 1835, and Lord Melbourne in 1836.

In that year Madame Tussaud took from life a model of the Duchess of Kent, the mother of Queen Victoria, which proved a great attraction. By this time the Exhibition had found a home in Baker Street, where it became established in the spring of 1835.

Concerning the travels of the Exhibition, it is on record that Madame Tussaud visited North Shields on the 2nd of December, 1811, and Edinburgh in 1811-12. Early in the latter year we find her on the 28th of February at “4 The Market Place, Hull, just opposite the Reindeer Inn.” She was in Leeds on the 28th of September, and in Manchester on the 2nd of December, 1812. There is an entry in an old account-book which says, “Left the house in Criggate, Leeds, Monday, November 16.” It is pretty clearthat the Exhibition was located in Newcastle in January, and in Liverpool on the 13th of April, 1813.

In 1817 the Exhibition was shown at “Mr. Sparrow’s Upper Ware Rooms, Old Butter Market, Ipswich, having lately arrived from the Concert Rooms, Canterbury, and lastly from the Assembly Rooms, Deal.”

It was probably when the Exhibition was visiting Cambridge in 1818 that a worthy Don made the suggestion that the figures of criminals should be placed in a separate room. Too long would be taken even to name all the places that were visited by the Exhibition, but there is an account in theCoventry Heraldthat on the 14th March, 1823, the cordial thanks of a meeting of school managers were presented to Madame Tussaud for her “unsolicited and handsome donation of a moiety of the receipts of her Exhibition on Monday evening last.”

Among the figures taken on tour at this time were models of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the Dauphin, Voltaire, and Madame St. Amaranthe (Tussaud’s “Sleeping Beauty”), taken a few months before her execution. These identical figures, as already stated, are still in the collection.

To trace the travels of the Exhibition there is no need. For some years Madame, with her sons, Joseph and Francis, went on tour throughout the country. A misadventure in the Irish Channel, when she was on her way to Dublin, threatened the enterprise with disaster. The vessel which carried their precious belongings was partially wrecked, and many valuable exhibitswere lost. Undaunted by the bufferings of Fate, and helped by friends, Madame replenished her Exhibition and brought it up to date.

The current of events did not run smoothly for Madame Tussaud; but the little woman possessed a brave spirit, and struggled on against adversity, being upheld by the conviction that she would eventually triumph.

The Bristol riots—Narrow escape of the Exhibition—A brave black servant—Arrival at Blackheath.

The Bristol riots in the autumn of 1831 again brought the Exhibition into serious jeopardy. Madame Tussaud had just arrived in the city of the West Country, when the Recorder, Sir Charles Wetherell, came to open a Special Commission for the trial of certain political offenders associated with the agitation for reform. Judge Wetherell was heartily disliked by West-country folk, and there was strong opposition to this Special Commission being held. Public resentment developed into a riot, which the military was sent to subdue.

SIR CHARLES WETHERELLJudge at the political trial that precipitated the Bristol riots.

SIR CHARLES WETHERELL

Judge at the political trial that precipitated the Bristol riots.

Madame tells the story herself of the sufferings she endured during the days of wanton destruction and loss of life, as the rabble resorted to killing and pillage. Judge Wetherell was obliged to escape from the city, disguising himself, as it was then stated, with some taunt at his personal habits, “through the medium of a wash and the donning of a clean shirt and collar.”

The three days’ terror can scarcely be considered the result of a genuine revolutionary movement. True, certain ringleaders of the rabble seem to have imaginedin some vague way that they were hastening the day of “liberty”; but the rioters only destroyed for sheer destruction’s sake. What they sought to promote they neither knew nor cared. For the most part the mob was utterly contemptible, and but for the extraordinary apathy of the authorities the riot might have been easily quelled.

It was on the morning of Saturday, the 29th of October, that the Recorder came to the city, and, a disturbance being feared, a number of special constables were sworn in. These officials, mostly young men, did more harm than good, for they irritated the people by overmuch zeal, and led to blows being exchanged, which fomented the trouble. This was followed by an attack on the Mansion House, where Sir Charles was banqueting with the Corporation.

The civic party was hunted out, and made its escape over the housetops. Suddenly the cry was raised, “To the back!” and the mob surged round to the offices behind the Mansion House, where faggots and firewood were stored. For the present the rioters refrained from firing the building, and contented themselves with looting the premises. The cellars proved particularly attractive to the unruly crowd, which was shortly in possession of a hundred dozen of wine, and the day closed amid general drunkenness and disorder.

On Sunday morning the mob reassembled in Queen Square. The authorities had plucked up sufficient courage to publish a proclamation warning all rioters to return to their homes; but these gentlemen were not disposed to take the admonition seriously. The unluckybill-sticker who posted the proclamation was badly mauled.

THE BRISTOL RIOTSFrom a water-color drawing made on the spot by William Muller, showing the figures being removed for security from the Exhibition premises, Sunday, 30th October, 1831.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS

From a water-color drawing made on the spot by William Muller, showing the figures being removed for security from the Exhibition premises, Sunday, 30th October, 1831.

One individual mounted King William’s statue in the Square and waved a tri-coloured cap on a pole, shouting to his comrades to behold the cap of Liberty. Possibly this aroused in the minds of the befuddled rioters some recollection of the French Revolution, for a move was made towards the gaol, which was speedily in their power. A vigorous employment of sledgehammers soon broke in the prison doors, and the prisoners, some of them almost nude, at once joined the mob.

The Governor’s house was sacked and fired; his books were pitched into the New River, and the prison van met with a similar fate. Then the Gloucester County Gaol, the lock-up house at Lawford’s Gate, and the Bishop’s Palace were all fired. Between seven and eight o’clock the rioters revisited the cellars of the Mansion House and began rolling out barrels of beer and wine. Intoxicated persons could be seen moving about the kitchen and the banqueting-room with lighted candles, and in less than two hours the building was gutted.

Dwellings in Queen Square were sacked and fired, until the whole mass was wrapped in flames. Such was the remarkable lethargy of the householders that a few mischievous boys made a house-to-house visitation, gave the inmates half an hour’s notice to quit, and at the expiration of that time coolly set fire to the houses without molestation. The booty the rioters seized was trifling. On the corpse of one boy, who wassabred by a soldier, was found a curious collection of spoil—a lady’s glove, some children’s books, and the Custom House keys.

One curious incident happened when the contents of fifty puncheons of rum gushed out of a bonded warehouse and ran flowing down the street, setting fire to a house at the other end.

The riots were quelled by the military on the Monday, after many thousands of pounds’ worth of property had been destroyed; and one of the results was that four persons were hanged.

By what might almost be described as a stroke of good fortune—inasmuch as it perpetuated the name of Tussaud—there was in Bristol at that time a lad of nineteen years, named William Muller, whose genius as a painter gives Bristol just cause for pride to-day. This gifted youth produced a series of wonderful sketches of the “Bristol Revolution,” as it was then called, in which he portrays the weird and striking scenes of incendiarism in the city streets.

One of these sketches is now in our possession. It shows Madame Tussaud’s Exhibition premises standing out full and clear in the fiery glare, while the figures and other articles are being hurriedly removed and piled up in the roadway before the jeering mob. The figures and decorations are easily recognised in the picture, and many of them are still included in the Exhibition.

For no imaginable reason the premises occupied by Madame Tussaud’s collection had been marked to be burnt. A chalk sign was scrawled upon the door, andthe adjoining buildings, besmeared with petroleum, had been already set on fire. In Madame’s employment was a stalwart and loyal negro. This black servant took up his position at the entrance to the Exhibition, and threatened to kill with a blunderbuss the first man who dared approach to harm the place.

The negro kept the mob at bay long enough, it would seem, to save the building, for at eight o’clock Madame’s anxiety was relieved when she heard, above the wild yelling of the infuriated people, the distant sounds of the drums and fifes of the 11th Infantry Regiment, just then reaching the outskirts of the city. The music that cheered her scared the plundering rabble and stayed their depredations.

Madame Tussaud came through all this in her seventieth year, with twenty years of activity still before her; and, after a long tour through provincial towns, she took her Exhibition to Blackheath, on the south-eastern side of London, attracted, no doubt, by the fact that that place had become a fashionable resort owing to the residence there, some years previously, of Queen Caroline, the estranged wife of George IV.

An old placard—Princess Augusta’s testimonial—Great success at Gray’s Inn Road—Madame initiates promenade concerts—Bygone tableaux.

An old placard now in our possession informs us that at Blackheath the Exhibition was housed in the Assembly Room at the Green Man Hotel. The exact date when it left there is not known, but we do know that it had previously found a temporary abode in the Town Hall, Brighton.

There it was visited early in 1833 by members of the Royal Family, then in residence at the Pavilion, as is vouched for in the following quaint notice. The placard we give in full, not only on account of its quaint wording, but because it gives a good idea of the Exhibition as it then existed:

NOW OPEN!WITH DECIDED SUCCESS!The Promenade being Crowded every Evening!In the only Room that could be had sufficiently spaciousfor the purpose,The GREAT ASSEMBLY ROOM of the lateROYAL LONDON BAZAAR,GRAY’S INN ROAD(Which has been fitted up for the purpose). Carriages maywait in the Arena.Lately arrived from the Town Hall, Brighton, and last fromthe Assembly Room, Green Man Hotel, Blackheath.SPLENDID NOVELTY,Coronation Groups and Musical Promenade.ENTIRELY NEW.MADAME TUSSAUD AND SONSHave the honor to announce that their entirely new Exhibition, which has only to be seen to ensure its support and patronage, justly entitling it to the appellation of the most popular Collection in the Empire, is NOW OPEN as above mentioned, and they trust the Public will not form their ideas of it from anything of a similar description they may have seen in this Metropolis or elsewhere—as in their peculiar art they stand alone; a fact acknowledged by those that have made the tour of Europe. They are induced to state this to guard against the prejudice excited by a view of inferior Collections. Madame Tussaud had the honor of being Artist to Her Royal Highness Madame Elizabeth, was patronized by the late Royal Family of France, by their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York, twice by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and lately at the Town Hall, Brighton, by Her Royal Highness the Princess Augusta, His Royal Highness Prince George, and by nearly the whole of the Royal Establishment.Her Royal Highness, with that kindness which has ever distinguished the Royal Family for the encouragement of the Fine Arts, honored Madame Tussaud with the following letter:“Lady Mary Taylor is commanded by Her Royal Highness the Princess Augusta to acquaint Madame Tussaud with Her Royal Highness’s approbation of her Exhibition, which is well worthy of admiration, and the view of which afforded HerRoyal Highness much amusement and gratification.—Pavilion, Brighton, Feb. 9, 1833.”

NOW OPEN!WITH DECIDED SUCCESS!

The Promenade being Crowded every Evening!

In the only Room that could be had sufficiently spaciousfor the purpose,

The GREAT ASSEMBLY ROOM of the lateROYAL LONDON BAZAAR,GRAY’S INN ROAD

(Which has been fitted up for the purpose). Carriages maywait in the Arena.

Lately arrived from the Town Hall, Brighton, and last fromthe Assembly Room, Green Man Hotel, Blackheath.

SPLENDID NOVELTY,Coronation Groups and Musical Promenade.

ENTIRELY NEW.

MADAME TUSSAUD AND SONS

Have the honor to announce that their entirely new Exhibition, which has only to be seen to ensure its support and patronage, justly entitling it to the appellation of the most popular Collection in the Empire, is NOW OPEN as above mentioned, and they trust the Public will not form their ideas of it from anything of a similar description they may have seen in this Metropolis or elsewhere—as in their peculiar art they stand alone; a fact acknowledged by those that have made the tour of Europe. They are induced to state this to guard against the prejudice excited by a view of inferior Collections. Madame Tussaud had the honor of being Artist to Her Royal Highness Madame Elizabeth, was patronized by the late Royal Family of France, by their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York, twice by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and lately at the Town Hall, Brighton, by Her Royal Highness the Princess Augusta, His Royal Highness Prince George, and by nearly the whole of the Royal Establishment.

Her Royal Highness, with that kindness which has ever distinguished the Royal Family for the encouragement of the Fine Arts, honored Madame Tussaud with the following letter:

“Lady Mary Taylor is commanded by Her Royal Highness the Princess Augusta to acquaint Madame Tussaud with Her Royal Highness’s approbation of her Exhibition, which is well worthy of admiration, and the view of which afforded HerRoyal Highness much amusement and gratification.—Pavilion, Brighton, Feb. 9, 1833.”

The placard goes on to describe the Exhibition as follows:

The Exhibition consists of a great variety of Public Characters, modelled with the greatest care, and regardless of expense, among whom will be noticed the original figures ofBURKEandHARE(taken from their faces, to obtain which the Proprietors went expressly to Scotland); which have excited intense interest from the peculiar nature of their crimes, and their approach to life, which renders it difficult to recognize them from living persons. AlsoDENNIS COLLINS(taken from life at the gaol, Reading), in the identical dress he had on when he made the atrocious attempt on His Majesty’s life at Ascot Heath Races.

This shows that Madame Tussaud in those days, as her successors do in these, took the greatest pains to ensure fidelity as regards costume as well as features.

THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE

There can be no doubt that Madame Tussaud actually originated the promenade concerts which have since become so popular a form of musical entertainment, for the placard goes on to announce that:

There will be a Musical Promenade every Evening from Half-past Seven till Ten, when a selection of Music will be performed by the Messrs. Tussaud and Fishers; the Promenade will be lighted with a profusion of lamps, producing, with the variety of rich costumes, special decorations, etc., an unequalledcoup d’œil.

A description is next given of some of the exhibits, which will be perused with interest:

The Collection consists of PORTRAITS in composition as large as life, dressed in appropriate costumes.FIRST GROUP.REPRESENTING THE CORONATION OF H.M. WILLIAM IV.Description.—It representsHIS MAJESTYon the Throne, habited in his Robes of State, as worn on that august occasion, in the act of being Crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, supported by the Bishop of Norwich. On His Majesty’s right, Her MajestyQUEEN ADELAIDE, wearing the Cap of State, supported by Earl Grey, in his Coronation Robes. On His Majesty’s left, the Lord Chancellor Brougham and the Duke of Wellington, in their Coronation Robes, surmounted by Three allegorical Figures representing Britannia, Caledonia, and Hibernia.SECOND GROUP.THE CORONATION OF BUONAPARTE,Copied from the Celebrated Picture by David.Description.—The moment chosen is the time when Buonaparte, contrary to all precedent crowned himself. It represents him in the act of placing the Crown on his head, dressed in the magnificent costume as worn by him at his Coronation; also a Figure of the Empress Josephine, who is seen kneeling at the foot of the altar, accompanied by a Page. At the altar is represented His Holiness Pope Pius VI, giving the benediction, supported by the celebrated Cardinal Fesche (Buonaparte’s Uncle) and Prince Roustan (Buonaparte’s favourite Mameluke) in the act of proclaiming the ceremony, attended by a Mameluke.The two above-mentioned Groups have been universally admired by every one that has seen them; and Madame Tussaudand Sons hope they will meet with the approbation of the Inhabitants of London and its Vicinity.NEW GROUP.Taken from the History of Scotland.MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS ABDICATING THE THRONE.Description.—It represents her at the moment of hesitating to abdicate, being alarmed at the conduct of Baron Ruthven, who stands opposite to her. Next to him is the Figure of Sir J. Melville, interceding to appease the Baron; and behind the Queen is a venerable Figure of an Augustin Monk, who is in the attitude of indignation at seeing his Mistress insulted.CHARACTERS AS FOLLOWS:Full-length models.His Late Majesty George the Fourth.Her late Majesty Queen Caroline.Her late R.H. Princess Charlotte.Their Majesties George III and Queen Charlotte.His Late Royal Highness the Duke of York.Field-Marshall the Duke of Wellington.His late Imperial Majesty Alexander of Russia; andHis Majesty the King of the Belgians.Field Marshall Von Blücher.Right Honorable William Pitt.Right Honorable George Canning.Right Honorable C. J. Fox.Reverend John Wesley.The Celebrated Queen Elizabeth.The Immortal Shakspeare.William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania.Mary Queen of Scots.An Austin Monk.Baron Ruthven.Lord Melville.The celebrated Baron Emanuel Swedenborg.

The Collection consists of PORTRAITS in composition as large as life, dressed in appropriate costumes.

FIRST GROUP.

REPRESENTING THE CORONATION OF H.M. WILLIAM IV.

Description.—It representsHIS MAJESTYon the Throne, habited in his Robes of State, as worn on that august occasion, in the act of being Crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, supported by the Bishop of Norwich. On His Majesty’s right, Her MajestyQUEEN ADELAIDE, wearing the Cap of State, supported by Earl Grey, in his Coronation Robes. On His Majesty’s left, the Lord Chancellor Brougham and the Duke of Wellington, in their Coronation Robes, surmounted by Three allegorical Figures representing Britannia, Caledonia, and Hibernia.

SECOND GROUP.

THE CORONATION OF BUONAPARTE,

Copied from the Celebrated Picture by David.

Description.—The moment chosen is the time when Buonaparte, contrary to all precedent crowned himself. It represents him in the act of placing the Crown on his head, dressed in the magnificent costume as worn by him at his Coronation; also a Figure of the Empress Josephine, who is seen kneeling at the foot of the altar, accompanied by a Page. At the altar is represented His Holiness Pope Pius VI, giving the benediction, supported by the celebrated Cardinal Fesche (Buonaparte’s Uncle) and Prince Roustan (Buonaparte’s favourite Mameluke) in the act of proclaiming the ceremony, attended by a Mameluke.

The two above-mentioned Groups have been universally admired by every one that has seen them; and Madame Tussaudand Sons hope they will meet with the approbation of the Inhabitants of London and its Vicinity.

NEW GROUP.

Taken from the History of Scotland.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS ABDICATING THE THRONE.

Description.—It represents her at the moment of hesitating to abdicate, being alarmed at the conduct of Baron Ruthven, who stands opposite to her. Next to him is the Figure of Sir J. Melville, interceding to appease the Baron; and behind the Queen is a venerable Figure of an Augustin Monk, who is in the attitude of indignation at seeing his Mistress insulted.

CHARACTERS AS FOLLOWS:

Full-length models.

HER MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY QUEEN ADELAIDE, CONSORT OF KING GEORGE IV.

Placard (continued)—The old Exhibition—Celebrities of the day—Tussaud’s mummy—Poetic eulogism—Removal to Baker Street—The Iron Duke’s rejoinder—Madame de Malibran.

DANIEL O’CONNELL

The old placard next proceeds to enumerate some of the then modern celebrities in the Exhibition as follows:

Portrait likeness of the Rev. John Clowes, of St. John’s Church, Manchester, and late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, taken (with permission) from life within the last ten years; the Artist, Mr. J. P. Kemble, in the character of Hamlet; the celebrated Mrs. Siddons in the character of Queen Catherine; Dey of Algiers; full-length Portrait of Daniel O’Connell, esq., M.P., taken with permission (from Mr. P. Turnerelli’s celebrated bust), for which Mr. O’Connell gave sittings in Dublin; Sir Walter Scott, taken from life in Edinburgh, by Madame Tussaud, which was seen by thousands, and also honored by his approbation; Lord Byron, taken from life in Italy.The other subjects comprising this unique exhibition, consisting of Characters in full dress as large as life, correctly executed, may be classed as follows:The late Royal Family of France, taken from life, viz., the King, Queen, and Dauphin; Pope Pius VI., Henry IV. of France, Duc de Sully, M. Voltaire, Napoleon Buonaparte, Madame Joseph Buonaparte, Cardinal Fesche, one of Buonaparte’sMameluke Guards, and Prince Roustan, Buonaparte’s favorite Mameluke.REMARKABLE CHARACTERS, SUBJECTS, &c.An old Coquette, who teased her husband’s life out. Two beautiful Infants. A small cabinet of Portraits in wax by the celebrated Courcius of Paris, viz., the Dying Philosopher, Socrates. Death of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. M. Voltaire. Shepherd and Shepherdess.Biographical and descriptive Sketches may be had at the place of Exhibition, price Sixpence each.MadameTUSSAUDandSONS, in offering this little notice to the Public, have endeavoured to blend utility and amusement. It contains an outline of the history of each character represented in the Exhibition, which will not only greatly increase the pleasure to be derived from a mere view of the figures, but will also convey to the minds of young persons much biographical knowledge, a branch of education universally allowed to be one of the highest importance.Admittance 1s. Children under 8 Years of Age 6d.; second room 6d.Tickets for Six Weeks not transferable, 5s. Open every day from 11 till 4 o’clock, in the Evening from 7 till 10.The following highly interesting figures and objects, in consequence of the Peculiarity of their appearance, are placed in an adjoining situation, and are well worth the attention of artists and amateurs, taken by order of the National Assembly by Madame Tussaud—The Celebrated John Marat, one of the leaders of the French Revolution, taken immediately after his assassination by Charlotte Corde. The following heads—Robespierre, Carrier, Fouquier de Tinville, and Hébert were taken immediately after execution. The celebrated Count deLorge, who was confined twenty years in the Bastille, taken from life. Mirabeau. Also, Phrenological Portraits ofSTEWART AND HIS WIFE,Who were executed in Edinburgh on the 13th of August, 1829, having confessed to the murder of Seven Persons by means of Poison, which they familiarly called doctoring.Casts ofCORDERandHOLLOWAY, taken from their faces.CURIOUS AND INTERESTING RELICS, &c.The shirt of Henry IV. of France in which he was assassinated by Ravaillac, with various original documents relative to that transaction. A small model of the original French Guillotine, with its apparatus. Model of the Bastille in Paris in its entire state.AN EGYPTIAN MUMMY.Proved by the Hieroglyphics to be the body of the Princess of Memphis, who lived in the time of Sesostris, King of Egypt, a.m. 2528, 1491 years before Christ, being actually 3328 years old.(Phair, Printer, 67, Great Peter Street, Westminster.)

The other subjects comprising this unique exhibition, consisting of Characters in full dress as large as life, correctly executed, may be classed as follows:

The late Royal Family of France, taken from life, viz., the King, Queen, and Dauphin; Pope Pius VI., Henry IV. of France, Duc de Sully, M. Voltaire, Napoleon Buonaparte, Madame Joseph Buonaparte, Cardinal Fesche, one of Buonaparte’sMameluke Guards, and Prince Roustan, Buonaparte’s favorite Mameluke.

REMARKABLE CHARACTERS, SUBJECTS, &c.

An old Coquette, who teased her husband’s life out. Two beautiful Infants. A small cabinet of Portraits in wax by the celebrated Courcius of Paris, viz., the Dying Philosopher, Socrates. Death of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. M. Voltaire. Shepherd and Shepherdess.

Biographical and descriptive Sketches may be had at the place of Exhibition, price Sixpence each.

MadameTUSSAUDandSONS, in offering this little notice to the Public, have endeavoured to blend utility and amusement. It contains an outline of the history of each character represented in the Exhibition, which will not only greatly increase the pleasure to be derived from a mere view of the figures, but will also convey to the minds of young persons much biographical knowledge, a branch of education universally allowed to be one of the highest importance.

Admittance 1s. Children under 8 Years of Age 6d.; second room 6d.

Tickets for Six Weeks not transferable, 5s. Open every day from 11 till 4 o’clock, in the Evening from 7 till 10.

The following highly interesting figures and objects, in consequence of the Peculiarity of their appearance, are placed in an adjoining situation, and are well worth the attention of artists and amateurs, taken by order of the National Assembly by Madame Tussaud—The Celebrated John Marat, one of the leaders of the French Revolution, taken immediately after his assassination by Charlotte Corde. The following heads—Robespierre, Carrier, Fouquier de Tinville, and Hébert were taken immediately after execution. The celebrated Count deLorge, who was confined twenty years in the Bastille, taken from life. Mirabeau. Also, Phrenological Portraits of

STEWART AND HIS WIFE,

Who were executed in Edinburgh on the 13th of August, 1829, having confessed to the murder of Seven Persons by means of Poison, which they familiarly called doctoring.

Casts ofCORDERandHOLLOWAY, taken from their faces.

CURIOUS AND INTERESTING RELICS, &c.

The shirt of Henry IV. of France in which he was assassinated by Ravaillac, with various original documents relative to that transaction. A small model of the original French Guillotine, with its apparatus. Model of the Bastille in Paris in its entire state.

AN EGYPTIAN MUMMY.

Proved by the Hieroglyphics to be the body of the Princess of Memphis, who lived in the time of Sesostris, King of Egypt, a.m. 2528, 1491 years before Christ, being actually 3328 years old.

(Phair, Printer, 67, Great Peter Street, Westminster.)

A further placard is headed as follows:

REMOVAL POSTPONED TILL FURTHER NOTICE.The Flattering Success with which this Exhibition continues to be honored, (the Promenade being Crowded every Evening), the very general desire expressed by Thousands for it to remain some time longer, (its merits becoming more generally known), being acknowledged to be the most Splendid, and, at the same time, the most Instructive to Youth, (induces the Proprietors to obey the general wish.) It will remain in consequence till further Notice.

REMOVAL POSTPONED TILL FURTHER NOTICE.

The Flattering Success with which this Exhibition continues to be honored, (the Promenade being Crowded every Evening), the very general desire expressed by Thousands for it to remain some time longer, (its merits becoming more generally known), being acknowledged to be the most Splendid, and, at the same time, the most Instructive to Youth, (induces the Proprietors to obey the general wish.) It will remain in consequence till further Notice.

The Exhibition is, therefore, located in “The Great Assembly Room of the late Royal London Bazaar, Gray’s Inn Road.” There it remained till early in March, 1835, on the 21st of which month it removed to its quarters in Baker Street.

INTERIOR OF THE EXHIBITION IN THE EARLY DAYS AT BAKER STREETFrom J. Mead’s “London Interiors,” published in 1842.

INTERIOR OF THE EXHIBITION IN THE EARLY DAYS AT BAKER STREET

From J. Mead’s “London Interiors,” published in 1842.

As for the Assembly Room, it appears that on Tuesday, the 29th of March, directly after Madame Tussaud left, it was put up for sale at the Mart by the famous auctioneer, George Robins.

A lady, on viewing the Exhibition when it was in Gray’s Inn Road, wrote the following excellent verses:

I stand amid a breathless throng,Though animation’s light is here;Expression, too, that might belongTo creatures of a nobler sphere;Where’er I turn my dazzled view,I marvel what Art’s hand can do!Here are the lips, and cheeks, and eyes,The folded hands—the beaming brow—Those graces Nature’s self supplies—All burst upon my vision now!And is itfiction?—can it beThat these are notreality?The eye, where centres Genius’ light;The lips, where Eloquence presides;—The cheek with Beauty’s roses bright;The breast, where Passion darkly hides;The Warrior’s pride, the Cynic’s sneer,From Nature’s book are copied here!Paintingher meed of praise may claimFrom Fame’s proud trump or Minstrel’s lyre,And aroundsculpture’sgifted nameMay burn thepoet’swords of fire;ButTussaud! Both these arts divineMust yield innoveltytothine.Thou bring’st before our wond’ring eyes,Modell’d in truth, each gone-by sceneThat Hist’ry’s varied page supplies;—Here stilltheyflourish, fresh and green,Defying Time’s oblivious power,Who long have pass’d Life’s fitful hour.Modern Prometheus! who can’st give,Like him of old, to human formAllbutthe life;—herethouwilt liveAnd triumph o’er the “creeping worm”That sullies all things—pale Decay!Thy featuresne’er can pass away![2]A nobler Trophy far is thine,Than “storied urn,” by stranger hands,Rear’d (in thy now adopted clime),And higher reverence commands;These forms—to which thine Art has lentLife’s truth—shall bethy monument!Mrs. Cornwell Baron-Wilson.

I stand amid a breathless throng,

Though animation’s light is here;

Expression, too, that might belong

To creatures of a nobler sphere;

Where’er I turn my dazzled view,

I marvel what Art’s hand can do!

Here are the lips, and cheeks, and eyes,The folded hands—the beaming brow—Those graces Nature’s self supplies—All burst upon my vision now!And is itfiction?—can it beThat these are notreality?

Here are the lips, and cheeks, and eyes,

The folded hands—the beaming brow—

Those graces Nature’s self supplies—

All burst upon my vision now!

And is itfiction?—can it be

That these are notreality?

The eye, where centres Genius’ light;The lips, where Eloquence presides;—The cheek with Beauty’s roses bright;The breast, where Passion darkly hides;The Warrior’s pride, the Cynic’s sneer,From Nature’s book are copied here!

The eye, where centres Genius’ light;

The lips, where Eloquence presides;—

The cheek with Beauty’s roses bright;

The breast, where Passion darkly hides;

The Warrior’s pride, the Cynic’s sneer,

From Nature’s book are copied here!

Paintingher meed of praise may claimFrom Fame’s proud trump or Minstrel’s lyre,And aroundsculpture’sgifted nameMay burn thepoet’swords of fire;ButTussaud! Both these arts divineMust yield innoveltytothine.

Paintingher meed of praise may claim

From Fame’s proud trump or Minstrel’s lyre,

And aroundsculpture’sgifted name

May burn thepoet’swords of fire;

ButTussaud! Both these arts divine

Must yield innoveltytothine.

Thou bring’st before our wond’ring eyes,Modell’d in truth, each gone-by sceneThat Hist’ry’s varied page supplies;—Here stilltheyflourish, fresh and green,Defying Time’s oblivious power,Who long have pass’d Life’s fitful hour.

Thou bring’st before our wond’ring eyes,

Modell’d in truth, each gone-by scene

That Hist’ry’s varied page supplies;—

Here stilltheyflourish, fresh and green,

Defying Time’s oblivious power,

Who long have pass’d Life’s fitful hour.

Modern Prometheus! who can’st give,Like him of old, to human formAllbutthe life;—herethouwilt liveAnd triumph o’er the “creeping worm”That sullies all things—pale Decay!Thy featuresne’er can pass away![2]

Modern Prometheus! who can’st give,

Like him of old, to human form

Allbutthe life;—herethouwilt live

And triumph o’er the “creeping worm”

That sullies all things—pale Decay!

Thy featuresne’er can pass away![2]

A nobler Trophy far is thine,Than “storied urn,” by stranger hands,Rear’d (in thy now adopted clime),And higher reverence commands;These forms—to which thine Art has lentLife’s truth—shall bethy monument!

A nobler Trophy far is thine,

Than “storied urn,” by stranger hands,

Rear’d (in thy now adopted clime),

And higher reverence commands;

These forms—to which thine Art has lent

Life’s truth—shall bethy monument!

Mrs. Cornwell Baron-Wilson.

It is interesting to note that one of the first visitors to the Exhibition in its settled home at Baker Street was the great Duke of Wellington. He was there on Wednesday, the 26th of August, and after that date was frequently to be seen walking through the rooms,his favourite models being those of Queen Victoria and the dead Napoleon.

Indeed, the Duke requested Mr. Joseph Tussaud, the elder son of Madame Tussaud, to let him know whenever a new figure of exceptional interest was added to the Exhibition—not forgetting the Chamber of Horrors.

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