William Godwin: his Friends and Contemporaries
Ch. IX. 1812-1819
William Godwin to Mary Jane Godwin, 17 June 1817
. . . ” This is a very busy week in our town. The
trials of Watson senior, Thistlewood, &c., began June 9. After a
sitting of seven complete days, Watson was acquitted at
half after six yester-![]()
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day evening.
To-morrow, Wednesday, a grand ceremony is to take place at the opening of the
Waterloo Bridge. The Prince Regent is to be
there in state: and the Duke of Wellington,
together with the charger he rode in the battle, is come over from Paris, on
purpose to do honour to the solemnity. On Thursday, Talma and Mademoiselle
George are to make their first appearance at the Opera House, in
an appropriate exhibition of select scenes from the French drama.”
François-Joseph Talma (1763-1826)
French tragic actor and reformer of the stage who was admired by Napoleon.
Arthur Thistlewood (1774-1820)
English radical and disciple of Thomas Spence; he was hanged after the exposure of an
assassination plot against the British cabinet.
James Watson (1766-1838)
English radical and ally of Henry Hunt; he was acquitted of a charge of high treason in
1817 following the Spa Fields riot.
