LONDON TAKEN BY THE FRENCH.

Anglo-Maori Warder, Volume 1, Issue 7, 6 June 1848, Page 1

LONDON TAKEN BY THE FRENCH.

(From Punch.) "Head Quarters, Buckingham Palace, London. [Date not fixed.] "Monsieur,—l have the honor to communicate the intelligence of the landing of the army under my command r on the coa«t of Dover, with the submission of the capital of England. 1 wiite this in the palace of ths Guelphs, where the tri*color wave* triumphantly over the standard of our natural enemy. " Our troops embarking at Boulogne, at Calais and at Dunkirk, met midway in the Channel. The wind failing, the transports were towed by the Comte dc Paiis, the Chateau d'Eu, La Chatte and other steam, era. At diy break we came to anchor, and at seven p. m., landed the troops—with horses and artillery—from the jolly-boats. The guns from Dover Castle kept an unsteady dropping fire during the disembark ation—at length a handful of tie Algeriiie immortals, irritated by the pertinacity of the enemy, scaled the chalk cliffs, and in five minutes—by the watch—spiked the cannon. Immediately the tri-color floated from the Castle of Cesar. " On the capture of the Castle, the Mayor anil Cor. poration brought the key of the town to the beach, and supplicated for honorable terms of capitulation. These I have thought fit to grant—thus leaving the friendliest disposition in our rear. " At 9 o'clock, the directors of the railway appeared with first class tickets for the whale of the army -having, moreover, under the direction of our commissariat, provided the necessary means of transit for baggage and artillery. " Our army arrived at 11 o'clock, in London, very fre-.h, and in the highest spirits. We formed at the station, and marched over London Bridge. Here we saw the Pool of the Thames—all the shipping had al- . ready hoisted the tii colour—which, reniemb< ring the gory of our national marine, I have henceforth ordered to be called the Belle Potile. " At the end of the Ruedu Roi de Guillaumc—in Enlist-, King Williim Street, the Mayor and Aldermen of London presented themselves. His Lordship begged taae the capital might be spared on the p lyment of fifty millions sterling. To this, the mouey being ready, I thought fit to accede. (A ball is to be given to the conquering army, at the Mansion House, by the wives and daughters of the bankers and merchants.) His Lordship then unrolled a panorama of London, and distributed tillets to the army according to the choice of the officers. ''As we approached Lombard street, we learned that the Guards, commanded by ihe Earl of Elsewhere, had left Loudon by the Wiudsor Road. ** The army halted to take a good look at the Bank of England—then, much refreshed, pushed on through CheapsiJe. " The tricolor was hung out from all the Churches, and women with tricolored cap-ribands were seen aC every window. The whole maich, from the station to head quarters, was an ovation. *' Arriving in Fleet street, the whole army drew up before No. 85, known to Europe as the office of ** Punch." Wishing to save an unnecessary effusion of blood, wc summoned *'Punch" to capitulate. Whilst, however, we held him in parley at the first floor, the pioneers entered the bnitdiug by a back entrance. The army called for the head of Punch, but 1 have thought it necessary to delay the gift. Our great enemy—the enemy of France—is now iu chains in the Tower. It 1b my intention—abolishing for ever the gallows as unworthy the civilization of the age—to guillotine Punch on Tower Hill. "The army proceeded down'the Strand, and I have fixed my head quarters at Buckingham Palace, thereupon may be read in letters of gold—'* Ici on parle Francais." ** 1 trust that her Majesty, Prince Albert, and the ttoyal family of England will ever retain the liveliest recollections of the generosity* the chivalry, and btenseance of the invading army of -. " The troops have been received with proper respect by the enemy, who is at last brought to the conviction of the immeasurable superiority of our arms. It was my intention to quarter the Dsih, Ethiopian Chasseurs in the National Ga'lery, but—it is a touching proof of the taste of the French horse—the animal could not be induced to enter the building, | The statue of the charlatan Nelson has beendtsplaced from a column, which will be surmounted by the effigy of our own real hero, Jean du Bart. 11 1 have further caused the marble statue of Napoleon—for many years shamefully concealed in the wiue cellar of the Duke of Wellington—to be elevated to the arch opposite Apsley home, which is henceforward known as Austerlitz lodge. The statue of the Duke of Wellington is already in the melting pot, mid wifl serve to reinforce our artillery. "Twenty thousand Frenchmen domiciled in London namely, valets, drawing masters, coolts, and fiddlers —appeared in the streets in the uniform of Natfona Guards *' 1 luyo thought it necessary to send M. Jullion.a French subject to the Tower, uutil 1 shall receive further orders from the Government. | ** Madame Celeste (another French subject,) I ba*e permitted to act at the- Adelphi on parole. " lii a few days I shuti bo able to s-nJ you an in* ventury of the weaMi of London, which, until the conclusion of the operj season, 1 propose to make our liea'i quarters. "Deign, Monsieur,to receive ihe assurance of my higUtjat lunaider&thu. •• BVCKAVD, To the Minister of Foreign Altars."