Page:The Siege of London - Posteritas - 1885.djvu/44



HE news that a French force had actually gained a footing on British soil was looked upon as a hoax by the people of London, but a very few hours served to confirm the news. Then ensued a scene such as had never before been witnessed in England. A panic set in, and from every den and alley, from every rookery and slum in the great city there poured a countless multitude of the off-scourings and scum of both sexes. Like a howling pack of fiends let loose from hell, this maddened rabble tore through the streets, leaving havoc and ruin in their wake. But one of the most significant of the wanton acts they committed was the destruction of every public statue of Mr. Gladstone. On the splendid Boulevard of the Thames Embankment was a full-length effigy of the right hon. gentleman. It was the work of a celebrated Italian sculptor, and on one of the faces of the pedestal had been carved an extract from a speech made by Mr. Gladstone during the time that he was Prime Minister in 1884. The extract ran as follows:—

"If ever you hear weak-minded people speak of the actual or possible decay of the Empire, do not listen for a moment to such dreams and such fables. The strength of the British Empire is increasing, and, so far as human judgment can anticipate, will increase. If other European countries have grown in power, this country has yet more grown in power."

The brutal mob, with yells and execrations, and demoniacal shouts of wrath, hurled this magnificent work of art to