36 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



queen's bed-room. About 5 o'clock 

 her majesty was awakened by a 

 violent noise at her bed-room door, 

 accompanied with a voice calling 

 loudly for the queen of England to 

 redress her wrongs, and with the 

 most distressing shrieks and 

 screams imaginable. The queen's 

 bed-room has two doors ; she used 

 such violence as to break open 

 the outer door, but found herself 

 unable to break the inner one. 

 Mrs. Beckendorf, the queen's 

 dresser, sleeps in the room with 

 her majesty. They were both ex- 

 tremely alarmed, particularly at 

 first. Her majesty and Mrs. Beck- 

 endorf hesitated for some time 

 about what had best be done ; 

 when having ascertained that it 

 was a female voice, Mrs. Becken- 

 dorf ventured to open the inner 

 door and go out. She there found 

 Miss Davenport, with only her 

 body linen on. She was extremely 

 violent with Mrs. B, insisting upon 

 forcing her way in to the queen ; 

 and the latter feared, that could 

 she have obtained her object of 

 getting into the queen's bed-room, 

 she would have vented her rage 

 upon her majesty, from the lan- 

 guage she used. She had a letter 

 in her hand, which she insisted on 

 delivering to the queen. Mrs. 

 Beckendorf was placed in a most 

 perilous situation for about half an 

 hour, being subject to her vio- 

 lence, and endeavouring to prevent 

 her from forcing her way in to the 

 queen ; and during this time the 

 queen heard all that was passing, 

 and was in great agitation and dis- 

 tress, lest Miss Divenport should 

 gain admittance to her ; the un- 

 fortunate female declaring the 

 queen could and should redress her 

 wrongs. Mrs, Beckendorf in the 



mean time kept ringing a bell in 

 the passage, but unfortunately did 

 not at first awake any one, though 

 at last the incessant and violent 

 ringing of it awoke Mr. Grobec- 

 ker, the queen's page, and two 

 footmen, who came to Mrs. Bec- 

 kendorf's assistance. Miss Daven- 

 port made use of very profane lan- 

 guage to Mr. Grobecker. All 

 tiiese persons could not manage 

 her till Mr. Meyer, the porter, 

 came, and he being a very power- 

 ful man accomplished it. When 

 she found herself overpowered, she 

 insisted upon seeing the king, if 

 she could not see the queen. Mr. 

 Meyer carried her by force up to 

 her bed-room. Dr. Willis was sent 

 for who ordered her a strait 

 waistcoat ; and she was sent off in 

 a post-chaise, accompanied by two 

 keepers, to a house at Hoxton for 

 the reception of insane persons. 



3. Such is the extent to which 

 frauds, both on the public and the 

 revenue, are carried on by means 

 of the numerous mock auctions 

 and sale-rooms, not only in the 

 metropolis, but in almost every 

 town in the kingdom, that govern- 

 ment have at length taken the 

 matter seriously into consideration. 

 Memorials liave already either been 

 presented, or are in forwardness to 

 be presented, to the lords of the 

 treasury, complaining of theseprac- 

 tices, and praying a remedy, from 

 London, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, 

 Leeds, Huddersfield, Wakefield, 

 Sheffield, Carlisle, Durham, South 

 Shields, York, Hull, Bristol, Lei- 

 cester, Lynn, Wisbeach, Shrews- 

 bury, Chesterfield, Bath, Devizes, 

 Bromsgrove, Chippenham, Tewks- 

 bury, Sarum, Calne, Bradford, 

 Melksham, Bridgenorth, Peters- 

 field, &c. and meetings are to be 



