The Press.
London, England, 1855-10-06 00:00:00

942

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THE DUKE OF SOMERSET AND HIS
VISITORS.

IT has often been rematked that great events
in history, like the dints of nature, are
simultaneous. Revolitioitit in varidtts patti
of Europe, and stottni diftlii•eht places,
occur at the same tide. this general law has
been illustrated in Lcindon withia last
few days. The Redan was stormed by Colonel
WINDHAM and his brave associates about the
same time that the Duke of SOMERSET'S house
was attacked by Mr. " A." HAMILTON. In the
assault on Sebastopol, for want of supports,
the brave British troops had to retire, and
Mr. A. HAMILTON found himself in a similar
plight. He had overcome the flunkey's re-
sistance at the door, and had victoriously
penetrated into the Duke's room, and there a
dreadful struggle commenced, which has, as
in former days the penny a-liners used to
write, " been bruited on the wings of fame by
" the powers of British journalism."
The struggle, it seems, though short was
decisive. The Duke of SOMERSET was ac-
quainted with " a Mr. Hamilton," but it does
not appear that his majestic Grace was cogni_
sant of a human entity designated as Mr. " A."
Hamilton. Our readers will observe that his
Grace has taken a distinction between the
names of Hamilton with a great and a little
"A " before them. The Duke was mistaken,
and commanded his adversary to beat a re-
treat, which his antagonist was compelled to
do ; but he took refuge in the columns of
journalism. He made a flank march to the
Times, and requested the aid of the broadsheet
battery against the explosions of the Somer
set field-works in the neighbourhood of St.
James's.

it Pity is that no Napier or Alison has yet
been found to record the dire struggle be-
tween the houses of " Seymour " without any
" A," and of Hamilton with the indefinite
article preceding it. FIELDING has burlesqued
HOMER in his account of a grand contest in a
churchyard, where Molly Seagrim was one of
the Amazons, and where skulls and thigh-
bones were the ammunition. In the present
instance, the warlike qualities of Major GREEN
were put in requisition by Mr. "A." HAMILTON.
The martial prowess of the Gallant Major we
do not dispute. His demeanour in the
struggle with the chief of the Seymours shows
that he belonged to the family of " Jolly
Green ;" for no one without such a verdant
pedigree could expect that a Seymour without
an "a" would condescend to fight a Hamilton
with a capital one. It was " rayther" absurd
to suppose that a duel must result because
a duke was not very polite to "a" Mr.
Hamilton.

To be serious, we must say that, in our
opinion, such ridiculous matters as the mis-
understanding between his Grace of Somerset,
and Mr. HAMILTON of the " National Club,"
ought not to be recorded by journalism. The
fame of Bishop BURNET, with his acknow-
ledged talents, has not yet recovered from the
ridicule poured upon "P. P., Clerk of the
" Parish," by the wits of his " own times."
British journalism might be reduced to a
" Little Pedlington " level, if newspapers gave
insertion to trumpery matters, which can have
no interest to the general public except for the
great names of the personages figuring in them.
We have an opinion that such matters are un-
worthy of general publicity.
We must, therefore, decline to discuss the
small proportions of the question between
the Seymours and Hamiltons. It is a rule of
English society that a visit from a perfect
stranger ought first be announced by the
statement in writing of his object. "Letters
"of introduction," or notes soliciting "an
interview," are the established, and we must
say the natural, modes in such cases. If such
a regular system did not prevail, any one
would be liable to the intrusion of nonde-
script people with vague purposes and wild
projects. The degree of courtesy with which
such persons should be put aside is, of course,
an affair of personal manners, and as such we
think beyond the jurisdiction of journalists.