The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-21
QUEENS woULD-BE AssAssrNs.
Seven Times Have Attempts Been
Made on Her Life.


VictOrias Diamond jubilee is an occasion
for "reminiscences. Many of the events of
the Queens reign call for pride and con-
graduation; some of them recall grave dan
gers to the social and political prosperity
| Of the English-speaking people, and still
others cause wonder and regret 1t is
matter of regret that the history of Vic
toria's reign contains the story of seven
attacks upon her life and safety of her
person. Although several of these so-called
attacks were farccal in the extreme, that
fact did not make the danger or the out
rage the less The English government and
the English press have adopted the wise
policy of belittling these attempts to as
sassinate the Queen. In writing of the first
years of Victoria's reign, Mrs. Oliphant
says:
Three time in the two years after her
marriage this young, innocent and virtuous
woman, so attractive to all who surround
ed her, so free of all personal errors or
disadvantages, so popular and beloved as
she was, was shot at in the peaceful streets
of her own cheerful and unseditious Lon
DON
The first of these attempts took place
IN June, 1910, only few months after the
Queens marriage, when a man named Ed
NcLu OAIOId IlIGQ dI the queen Wlen she
was driving down Constitution hill for her
daily airing. The royal couple was in
small phaeton, going to pay their dutiful
visit to the Duchess of Kent, in all the
simplicity and confidence of their nature,
Prince Albert driving his wife through the
peacefulness of the summer evening. We
had hardly proceeded a hundred yards from
the palace when / noticed Prince Albert
writes, on the footpath on my side a
little mean-looking man, holding some
thing toward US, and before l could dis
tlnguish what it was shot was fired
which almost stunned US both, it was so
loud, and fired barely six PAGES from us
Victoria had just turned to the left to look
at a horse and could not understand why
her ears We're ringing, as from its being
SO very near, she could hardly distinguish
that 1t proceeded from a shot having been
nred. me horses started, and the carriage
stopped l seized Victoria's hands and
asked if the fright had not shaken her
but she laughed at the thing. then looked
again at the man. who was still standing
in the same place, his arms crossed and
pistol In each hand. His attitude was so
theatrical and affected it quite amused me
suddenly he again pointed his pistol and
fired second time. This time Victoria
also saw the shot and stopped quickly,
drawn drawn dow down by me. The ban must have
This was. not a pleasant feature in an
afternoon drive. The Queen, however, con-
tinued her course undaunted, with the
cheerful and simple courage natural to her,
and went on to her mother to carry the
first news of the outrage, and set ali anx-
iety to rest as to its effect. Afterwards I'VE
took q short drive through the park partly
to give Victoria little air. partly also to
show the public we had not lost confidence
in them" The wretched culprit was a dissi-
pated lad of seventeen, apparently moved
by nothing more serious than depraved van
tty and desire to be notorious. 1t is not even
certain whether there was a. bullet in the
pistol he fired, and the convenient plea of
insanity was brought in to save England
nqthOG I1nl hafr,
for high treason
OXFORD STILL LIVING.
Only the other day. during the sitting of
the commission on lunatic asylums, it was
mentioned that this pitiful criminal was still
vegetating among the madmen, more re-
spectacle in their real misery than he-but
not insane-"as sane as any of u.s." the
doctor said who spoke of him.
The trial of young Oxford dissipated some
wild alarms that were felt, founded chiefly
on papers in Oxfords possession about a
tremendous secret society called young
England" having among it's other objects
the assassination of royal personages. Thus
writes Justin Mccarthy, who adds further
that the trial showed that Oxford was the
agent OF nobody and was impelled by moth
ing but his own crack-brained love of no.
toriety.
On May 3O 1912, man named John Fran
els fired a pistol at the Queen as she was
driving with her husband down Constitution
hill, on the very spot where the previous
attempt had been made. This attack was
rather more serious than the first, but no
one was harmed. 1t appears that the Prince
consort had seen Francis the afternoon be-
fore tlourishing a pistol at the carriage, but
he disappeared so quickly that few noticed
the incident. The vague danger caused some
excitement at the palace.
I'VE were naturally much agitated, Vic
toria very nervous and unwell" says Prince
Albert Notwithstanding, the Queen went
out for her daily drive as usual though
| a 10 f1i iroF orc
adopted. You may imagine" continues
the narrative, that our minds were not
very easy. We looked behind every tree, and
l cast my eyes round in search of the ras-
calls face. On our way home as
we were approaching the palace, between
the Queen Park and the garden wall, shot
was fired at US about five PAGES off. 1t was
the fellow with the same pstol-a little,
sWarthy ill-looking rascal We felt as if
a load had been taken off our hearts, and
we thanked the Almighty for having pre-
served us for second time from so great
Her Majesty told me she had expected
it, and it was great relief to her to have
it over says another witness. She said
she could never had existed under the un-
certainty of a concealed attack. She would
much rather run the risk at once than have
| the presentiment of danger constantly how
ering over her"
At his trial Francis tried to brazen it out
and put on melodramic regicide aspect,
yet when the sentence of death for high
treason was passed on him he fell down in
sensible. The Queen was anxious that the
| death sentence should not be carried into
effect, and it communted to transporta-
tion for life
The very day after this mitigation of pun
ishment became known another attempt
was made by q hunchbacked lad named
Bean. AS the Queen was driving from
Buckingham Palace to the Chapel Royal
Bean presented a pistol at her carriage, but
his hand was grasped by a boy standing
near before he could fire. The pistol was
found to be loaded with powder, paper and
some scraps of clay pipe.
HER MAJESTY WAS BRAVE.
'I was not at all frightened" the Queen
wrote to her uncle, "and feel very proud at
dear Uncle Meusdorff calling me sehr
muthig very courageous), which / shall
| ever remember with peculiar pride, coming
from so distinguished an officer as he IS"
Thus the Queen gave proof of her valor
under fire, says Mrs Oliphant, not the less
an ordeal that her enemies were so con-
temptible, and all the greater as without
| excitement or encouragement, danger en-
countered not in passion, but in cold blood.
! contrasted with the emotion of her minis
ter Sir Robert Peel-not generally a de-
mOnstrative man--WhO, on seeing her for
/ the first time after this third attempt, could
| not restrain his feelings, but burst into
| tears-tears as honorable to him as her
| Young soVereign-ony twenty three, with
| All the susceptiblities of young mother
! and all the happiness of a most happy
| wife endearing her existence to her"
One historian writes that the ambition
which most of all of the miscreants who
| have was that of the mountebank rather
+Lop of the assassin. The seeming dfpnftv