anger; for when his wrath had completely exploded over
it, and when Brougham had been able to explain, again and again, that
no act of high-treason had been contemplated or committed, the royal
fury had spent itself; the King's good-humor had returned; and in the
reaction William had forgotten most of his objections to the original
proposal. It was arranged, then, that the dissolution should take
place at once. As a matter of fact, Sir Robert Peel, in the House of
Commons, was actually declaiming, in his finest manner, and with a
voice that Disraeli afterwards described as the best ever heard in the
House, excepting indeed "the thrilling tones of O'Connell," against the
whole scheme of reform, when the Usher of the Black Rod was heard
knocking at the doors of the Chamber to summon its members to attend at
the bar of the House of Lords, in order to receive the commands of his
Majesty the King. The commands of his Majesty the King were in fact
the announcement that Parliament was dissolved, and that an appeal to
the country for the election of a new Parliament was to take place at
once.

The news was received by Reformers all over the country with the most
exuberant demonstrations of enthusiasm. In London most of the houses
throughout the principal streets were illuminated, and many windows
which showed {153} no lights were instantly broken by the exulting
crowds that swarmed everywhere. The Duke of Wellington received marked
tokens of the unpopularity which his uncompromising declaration against
all manner of reform had brought upon him. Some of the windows at
Apsley House, his town residence--the windows that looked into the
Park--were broken by an impassioned mob, and for years afterwards these
windows were always kept shuttered, as a sign--so at least the popular
faith assumed it to be--that the Duke could not forgive or forget this
evidence of public ingratitude to the conqueror of Waterloo. The King,
on the other hand, had grown suddenly into immense popularity. The
favorite title given to him at the time of his accession was that of
the "Sailor King." Now he was hailed everywhere in the streets as the
"Patriot King." Wherever his carriage made its public appearance it
was sure to be followed by an admiring and acclaiming crowd. The
elections came on at once, and it has to be noted that the amount of
money spent on both sides was something astonishing even for those days
of reckless expenditure in politi