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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e117432 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50439 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50439) diff --git a/old/50439-0.txt b/old/50439-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bc9145f..0000000 --- a/old/50439-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,20601 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's English Eccentrics and Eccentricities, by John Timbs - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: English Eccentrics and Eccentricities - -Author: John Timbs - -Release Date: November 12, 2015 [EBook #50439] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH ECCENTRICS, ECCENTRICITIES *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Whitehead, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - ENGLISH ECCENTRICS. - - - - - PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON - - - - - [Illustration: THE EARL OF BRIDGEWATER AND HIS DOGS.] - - - - - ENGLISH ECCENTRICS AND - ECCENTRICITIES - - - BY - JOHN TIMBS - - AUTHOR OF 'CLUBS AND CLUB LIFE IN LONDON' ETC. - - - [Illustration] - - - A NEW EDITION - WITH 48 ILLUSTRATIONS - - - - - LONDON - CHATTO & WINDUS - 1898 - - - - -_PREFACE._ - - -Gentle Reader, a few words before we introduce you to our ECCENTRICS. -They may be odd company: yet how often do we find eccentricity in the -minds of persons of good understanding. Their sayings and doings, it -is true, may not rank as high among the delicacies of intellectual -epicures as the Strasburg pies among the dishes described in the -_Almanach des Gourmands_; but they possess attractions in proportion to -the degree in which "man favours wonders." Swift has remarked, that "a -little grain of the romance is no ill ingredient to preserve and exalt -the dignity of human nature, without which it is apt to degenerate -into everything that is sordid, vicious, and low." Into the latter -extremes Eccentricity is occasionally apt to run, somewhat like certain -fermenting liquors which cannot be checked in their acidifying courses. - -Into such headlong excesses our Eccentrics rarely stray; and one of -our objects in sketching their ways, is to show that with oddity of -character may co-exist much goodness of heart; and your strange fellow, -though, according to the lexicographer, he be outlandish, odd, queer, -and eccentric, may possess claims to our notice which the man who is -ever studying the fitness of things would not so readily present. - -Many books of character have been published which have recorded the -acts, sayings, and fortunes of Eccentrics. The instances in the present -Work are, for the most part, drawn _from our own time_, so as to -present points of novelty which could not so reasonably be expected in -portraits of older date. They are motley-minded and grotesque in many -instances; and from their rare accidents may be gathered many a lesson -of thrift, as well as many a scene of humour to laugh at; while some -realize the well-remembered couplet or the near alliance of wits to -madness. - -A glance at the Table of Contents and the Index to this volume will, it -is hoped, convey a fair idea of the number and variety of characters -and incidents to be found in this gallery of ENGLISH ECCENTRICS. - -It should be added, that in the preparation of this Work, the Author -has availed himself of the most trustworthy materials for the staple -of his narratives, which, in certain cases, he has preferred giving -_ipsissimis verbis_ of his authorities to "re-writing" them, as it is -termed; a process which rarely adds to the veracity of story-telling, -but, on the other hand, often gives a colour to the incidents which -the original narrator never intended to convey. The object has been to -render the book truthful as well as entertaining. - - JOHN TIMBS. - - - - - _CONTENTS._ - - - WEALTH AND FASHION. - - PAGE - - _The Beckfords and Fonthill_ 1 - - _Alderman Beckford's Monument Speech in Guildhall_ 19 - - _Beau Brummel_ 22 - - _Sir Lumley Skeffington, Bart_ 36 - - _"Romeo" Coates_ 41 - - _Abraham Newland_ 44 - - _The Spendthrift Squire of Halston, John Mytton_ 48 - - _Lord Petersham_ 55 - - _The King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands_ 57 - - _Sir Edward Dering's Luckless Courtship_ 59 - - _Gretna-Green Marriages_ 63 - - _The Agapemone, or Abode of Love_ 68 - - _Singular Scotch Ladies_ 70 - - _Mrs. Bond, of Hackney_ 72 - - _John Ward, the Hackney Miser_ 74 - - "_Poor Man of Mutton_" 76 - - _Lord Kenyon's Parsimony_ 77 - - _Mary Moser, the Flower-Painter_ 78 - - _The Eccentric Miss Banks_ 80 - - _Thomas Cooke, the Miser of Pentonville_ 82 - - _Thomas Cooke, the Turkey Merchant_ 87 - - _"Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell_ 89 - - _Profits of Dust-sifting and Dust-heaps_ 92 - - _Sir John Dinely, Bart._ 95 - - _The Rothschilds_ 96 - - _A Legacy of Half-a-Million of Money_ 99 - - _Eccentricities of the Earl of Bridgewater_ 103 - - _The Denisons, and the Conyngham Family_ 105 - - "_Dog Jennings_" 107 - - _Baron Ward's Remarkable Career_ 109 - - _A Costly House-Warming_ 112 - - _Devonshire Eccentrics_ 113 - - _Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier_ 116 - - _Lady Archer_ 122 - - - DELUSIONS, IMPOSTURES, AND FANATIC - MISSIONS. - - _Modern Alchemists_ 124 - - _Jack Adams, the Astrologer_ 130 - - _The Woman-hating Cavendish_ 132 - - _Modern Astrology.--"Witch Pickles"_ 136 - - _Hannah Green; or, "Ling Bob"_ 139 - - _Oddities of Lady Hester Stanhope_ 141 - - _Hermits and Eremitical Life_ 145 - - _The Recluses of Llangollen_ 155 - - _Snuff-taking Legacies_ 158 - - _Burial Bequests_ 159 - - _Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill_ 163 - - _Jeremy Bentham's Bequest of his Remains_ 166 - - _The Marquis of Anglesey's Leg_ 169 - - _The Cottle Church_ 171 - - _Horace Walpole's Chattels saved by a Talisman_ 174 - - _Norwood Gipsies_ 177 - - "_Cunning Mary," of Clerkenwell_ 179 - - "_Jerusalem Whalley_" 181 - - _Father Mathew and the Temperance Movement_ 182 - - _Eccentric Preachers_ 184 - - _Irving a Millenarian_ 187 - - _A Trio of Fanatics_ 189 - - _The Spenceans_ 197 - - _Joanna Southcote, and the Coming of Shiloh_ 198 - - _The Founder of Mormonism_ 210 - - _Huntington, the Preacher_ 219 - - _Amen--Peter Isnell_ 231 - - _Strangely Eccentric, yet Sane_ 232 - - _Strange Hallucination_ 236 - - "_Corner Memory Thompson_" 238 - - _Mummy of a Manchester Lady_ 239 - - _Hypochondriasis_ 240 - - - STRANGE SIGHTS AND SPORTING SCENES. - - "_The Wonder of all the Wonders that the World ever - Wondered at_" 243 - - "_The Princess Caraboo_" 246 - - _Fat Folks.--Lambert and Bright_ 249 - - _A Cure for Corpulence_ 256 - - _Epitaphs on Fat Folks_ 257 - - _Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf_ 258 - - _The Irish Giant_ 270 - - _Birth Extraordinary_ 271 - - _William Hutton's "Strong Woman_" 274 - - _Wildman and his Bees_ 276 - - _Lord Stowell's Love of Sight-seeing_ 277 - - _John Day and Fairlop Fair_ 280 - - _A Princely Hoax_ 283 - - _Sir John Waters's Escape_ 285 - - _Colonel Mackinnon's Practical Joking_ 287 - - _A Gourmand Physician_ 288 - - _Dick England, the Gambler_ 290 - - _Brighton Races, Thirty Years since_ 292 - - _Colonel Mellish_ 294 - - _Doncaster Eccentrics_ 296 - - "_Walking Stewart_" 300 - - _Youthful Days of the Hon. Grantley Berkeley_ 304 - - _What became of the Seven Dials_ 310 - - _An Old Bailey Character_ 312 - - _Bone and Shell Exhibition_ 317 - - "_Quid Rides?_" 318 - - "_Bolton Trotters_" 319 - - _Eccentric Lord Coleraine_ 321 - - _Eccentric Travellers_ 323 - - _Elegy on a Geologist_ 328 - - - ECCENTRIC ARTISTS. - - _Gilray and his Caricatures_ 330 - - _William Blake, Painter and Poet_ 339 - - _Nollekens, the Sculptor_ 350 - - - THEATRICAL FOLKS. - - _The Young Roscius_ 363 - - _Hardham's "No. 37_" 368 - - _Rare Criticism_ 370 - - _The O. P. Riot_ 371 - - _Origin of "Paul Pry_" 372 - - _Mrs. Garrick_ 374 - - _Mathews, a Spanish Ambassador_ 378 - - _Grimaldi, the Clown_ 382 - - _Munden's Last Performance_ 387 - - _Oddities of Dowton_ 389 - - _Liston in Tragedy_ 391 - - _Boyhood of Edmund Kean_ 398 - - _A Mysterious Parcel_ 400 - - _Masquerade Incident_ 402 - - _Mr. T. P. Cooke in Melodrama and Pantomime_ 404 - - "_Romeo and Juliet" in America_ 407 - - _The Mulberries, a Shakspearian Club_ 408 - - _Colley Cibber's Daughter_ 410 - - _An Eccentric Love-Passage_ 413 - - _True to the Text_ 415 - - - MEN OF LETTERS. - - _Monk Lewis_ 417 - - _Porson's Eccentricities_ 425 - - _Parriana: Oddities of Dr. Parr_ 435 - - _Oddities of John Horne Tooke_ 444 - - _Mr. Canning's Humour_ 451 - - _Peter Pindar.--Dr. Wolcot_ 460 - - _The Author of "Dr. Syntax"_ 472 - - _Mrs. Radcliffe and the Critics_ 475 - - _Cool Sir James Mackintosh_ 478 - - _Eccentricities of Cobbett_ 481 - - _Heber, the Book-Collector_ 485 - - _Sir John Soane Lampooned_ 488 - - _Extraordinary Calculators_ 490 - - _Charles Lamb's Cottage at Islington_ 494 - - _Thomas Hood_ 497 - - _A Witty Archbishop_ 504 - - _Literary Madmen_ 508 - - _A Perpetual-Motion Seeker_ 513 - - _The Romantic Duchess of Newcastle_ 516 - - _Sources of Laughter_ 520 - - - CONVIVIAL ECCENTRICITIES. - - _Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall_ 525 - - _Old Islington Taverns_ 526 - - _The Oyster and Parched-Pea Club_ 529 - - _A Manchester Punch-House_ 530 - - "_The Blue Key_" 533 - - _Brandy in Tea_ 534 - - "_The Wooden Spoon_" 535 - - _A Tipsy Village_ 535 - - _What an Epicure Eats in his Life-Time_ 536 - - _Epitaph on Dr. William Maginn_ 538 - - _Greenwich Dinners_ 539 - - _Lord Pembroke's Port Wine_ 540 - - _A Tremendous Bowl of Punch_ 541 - - - MISCELLANEA. - - _Long Sir Thomas Robinson_ 542 - - _Lord Chesterfield's Will_ 542 - - _An Odd Family_ 543 - - _An Eccentric Host_ 544 - - _Quackery Successful_ 545 - - _The Grateful Footpad_ 546 - - _A Notoriety of the Temple_ 546 - - _A Ride in a Sedan_ 548 - - _Mr. John Scott (Lord Eldon) in Parliament_ 549 - - _A Chancery Jeu-d'Esprit_ 551 - - _Hanging by Compact_ 553 - - _The Ambassador Floored_ 553 - - "_The Dutch Mail_" 554 - - _Bad Spelling_ 556 - - _A "Single Conspirator_" 559 - - _A Miscalculation_ 560 - - _An Indiscriminate Collector_ 561 - - _The Bishops' Saturday Night_ 563 - - "_Rather than Otherwise_" 564 - - _Classic Soup Distribution_ 565 - - _Alphabet Single Rhymed_ 565 - - _Non Sequitur and Therefore_ 566 - - [Illustration] - - - - - _LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS._ - - - PAGE - - "Vathek" _Beckford. From a Medallion_ 1 - - _John Farquhar surveying the Ruins of Fonthill_ 21 - - _Beau Brummel. From a Miniature_ 22 - - _Lord Alvanley. A Pillar of White's_ 27 - - _Beau Brummel in Retirement at Calais_ 35 - - _Sir Lumley Skeffington in a_ "Jean de Brie" 36 - - _Sir Lumley Skeffington, as dressed for the - "Birthday Ball_" 40 - - _Robert Coates, the Amateur of Fashion, as "Romeo_" 41 - - _Squire Mytton of Halston on his Bear_ 48 - - _Lord Petersham; a noble Aide-de-Camp_ 55 - - _The Eccentric Miss Banks, an Old Maid on a Journey_ 80 - - _The First Rothschild--a well-known Character on - 'Change_ 96 - - _Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier_ 116 - - _Lady Archer, Enamelling at her Toilet_ 122 - - _The Alchemist_ 124 - - _Jack Adams, the Astrologer_ 130 - - _A Hermit of the Sixteenth Century_ 145 - - _Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Mary Ponsonby, the - Recluses of Llangollen_ 156 - - _Major Peter Labelliere, a Christian Patriot_ 163 - - _Margaret Finch, the Norwood Gipsy_ 177 - - _Edward Irving, the Millenarian_ 184 - - _Joanna Southcote_ 198 - - _Facsimile of Autograph with Seal of the Elect_ 209 - - _William Huntington, the Converted Coalheaver_ 219 - - _The pretended Princess Caraboo_ 246 - - _Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf, in Disgrace - with his Wife_ 259 - - _The Prince Regent, a Back View_ 284 - - _Colonel Mellish and Buckle his Agent_ 294 - - _Curtis, an Old-Bailey Character_ 312 - - _Corder, the Murderer of Maria Martin_ 316 - - _Lord Coleraine, keeping an Apple Stall_ 321 - - _Nollekens, the Sculptor. From J. T. Smith's Life_ 350 - - _Master Betty, the "Young Roscius", as "Norval_" 363 - - _Mrs. Garrick in her Youth_ 374 - - _Charles Mathews the Elder_ 378 - - _Joe Grimaldi as Clown_ 382 - - _Liston as "Paul Pry"_ 391 - - _Edmund Kean as "Richard III._" 398 - - _T. P. Cooke in "Black Eyed Susan"_ 404 - - _Charlotte Charke, Colley Cibber's Daughter_ 411 - - _M. G. Lewis, Author of "the Monk_" 417 - - _Professor Porson_ 425 - - _Dr. Parr_ 435 - - _William Cobbett, Peter Porcupine and the_ - "Political Register" 481 - - _Jedediah Buxton, the Calculator_ 490 - - _Lamb's Cottage, Colebrook Row_ 495 - - _Margaret Lucas, Duchess of Newcastle_ 516 - - _Lord Eldon (John Scott)_ 549 - - - - -ENGLISH ECCENTRICS. - - - - -_WEALTH and FASHION._ - -[Illustration: "Vathek" Beckford.] - - - - -The Beckfords and Fonthill. - - -The histories of the Beckfords, father and son, present several points -of eccentricity, although in very different spheres. William Beckford, -the father, was famed for his great wealth, which chiefly consisted -of large estates in Jamaica; and the estate of Fonthill, near Hindon, -Wilts. He was Alderman of Billingsgate Ward, London, and a violent -political partisan with whom the great Lord Chatham maintained a -correspondence to keep alive his influence in the City. When Beckford -opposed Sir Francis Delaval to contest the borough of Shaftesbury, the -latter said-- - - Art thou the man whom men famed Beckford call? - -To which Beckford replied-- - - Art thou the much more famous Delaval?= - -Alderman Beckford died on the 21st of June, 1770, in his second -mayoralty, within a month after his famous exhibition at Court, when, -after presenting a City Address to George III., and having received -his Majesty's answer, he was said to have made the reply which may be -read on his monument in Guildhall, but which he never uttered. The day -before Beckford died, Chatham forced himself into the house in Soho -Square (now the House of Charity), and got away all the letters he had -written to the demagogue Alderman. His house at Fonthill, with pictures -and furniture to a great value, was burnt down in 1755. The Alderman -was then in London, and on being informed of the catastrophe, he took -out his pocket-book and began to write, and on being asked what he was -doing, he coolly replied, 'Only calculating the expense of rebuilding -it. Oh! I have an odd fifty thousand pounds in a drawer, I will build -it up again; it won't be above a thousand pounds each to my different -children.' The house was rebuilt. - -The Alderman had several natural sons, to each of whom he left a -legacy of 5,000_l._; but the bulk of his property went to his son -by his wife, who was then a boy ten years old, and is said to have -thus come into a million of ready money, and a revenue exceeding -100,000_l._ Three years later, Lord Chatham, who was his godfather, -thus describes him to his own son William Pitt--"Little Beckford is -just as much compounded of the elements of air and fire as he was. A -due proportion of terrestrial solidity will I trust come and make him -perfect." The promise which his liveliness and precocity had given, -was fulfilled by a _jeu-d'esprit_, written by him in his seventeenth -year. This was a small work published in 1780, entitled _Biographical -Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters_, and originated as follows. The old -mansion at Fonthill contained a fine collection of paintings, which -the housekeeper was directed to show to applicants; but she often -told descriptions of the painters and the pictures, which were very -ludicrous. Young Beckford, therefore, to methodize and assist the -housekeeper's memory, wrote their lives, which she received from her -youthful master as matters-of-fact. Thus, after descanting on Gerard -Douw, she would add the particulars of that artist's patience and -industry in expending four or five hours in painting a broomstick. -There were other extravagancies which she believed; a few copies of the -book were printed to confirm her belief; hence the book is very rare. -Beckford, in after-life, spoke of it as his _Blunderbussiana_. It was, -in fact, a satire upon certain living artists, and the common slang of -connoisseurship. - -Young Mr. Beckford had been educated at home: he was quick and lively, -and had literary tastes; he had a great passion for genealogy and -heraldry, and studied Oriental literature. He had visited Paris, and -mixed in the society of that capital, in 1778, when he met Voltaire, -who gave him his blessing. He had fine taste for music, and had been -taught to play the pianoforte by Mozart. - -Mr. Beckford travelled and resided abroad until his twenty-second -year, when he wrote in French _Vathek_,[1] a work of startling beauty. -More than fifty years afterwards he told Mr. Cyrus Redding that he -wrote _Vathek_ at one sitting. "It took me," he said, "three days and -two nights of hard labour. I never took off my clothes the whole time. -This severe application made me very ill.... Old Fonthill had a very -ample loud echoing hall--one of the largest in the kingdom. Numerous -doors led from it into different parts of the house through dim, -winding passages. It was from that I introduced the Hall--the idea of -the Hall of Eblis being generated by my own. My imagination magnified -and coloured it with the Eastern character. All the females in _Vathek_ -were portraits of those in the domestic establishment of old Fonthill, -their fancied good or ill qualities being exaggerated to suit my -purpose." An English translation of the work afterwards appeared, the -author of which Beckford said he never knew; he thought it tolerably -well done. - -[1] _Vathek_ was dramatised by the Hon. Mrs. Norton some thirty -years since, and was offered to Mr. Bunn for Drury Lane Theatre, -but declined; the "exquisite beauties of Mrs. Norton's metrical -compositions being overloaded by a pressure of dialogue and a -redundancy of scenic effects, the fidelity and rapid succession -of which it would have puzzled any scene painter or mechanist to -follow."--_Bunn's Stage_, vol ii., p. 139. - -At twenty-four, Mr. Beckford married the Lady Margaret Gordon, daughter -of Charles, fourth Earl of Aboyne, but the lady died in three years. -In 1784 he was returned to Parliament for Wells; in 1790 he sat for -Hindon; but in 1794 he accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, and again went -abroad. He now fixed himself in Portugal, where he purchased an estate -near Cintra, and built the sumptuous mansion, the decoration and -desolation of which some years afterwards Lord Byron described in the -first canto of his _Childe Harold_, in the stanza beginning-- - - There thou too, Vathek! England's wealthiest son, - Once form'd thy Paradise, as not aware - When wanton Wealth her mightiest deeds hath done, - Meek Peace voluptuous lures was ever wont to shun. - Here didst thou dwell, here schemes of pleasure plan, - Beneath yon mountain's ever beauteous brow: - But now, as if a thing unblest by man, - Thy fairy dwelling is as lone as thou! - Here giant woods a passage scarce allow - To halls deserted, portals gaping wide: - Fresh lessons to the thinking bosom, how - Vain are pleasaunces on earth supplied; - Swept into wrecks anon by Time's ungentle tide! - -Many years after, Mr. Beckford published his Travels, one volume of -which was _An Excursion to the Monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha_. Of -the kitchen of the magnificent Alcobaça, he gives the following glowing -picture:--"Through the centre of the immense and groined hall, not less -than sixty feet in diameter, ran a brisk rivulet of the clearest water, -flowing through pierced wooden reservoirs, containing every sort and -size of the finest river-fish. On one side, loads of game and venison -were heaped up; on the other, vegetables and fruit in endless variety. -Beyond a long line of stoves extended a row of ovens, and close to them -hillocks of wheaten flour whiter than snow, rocks of sugar, jars of -the purest oil, and pastry in vast abundance, which a numerous tribe -of lay-brothers and their attendants were rolling out and puffing up -into a hundred different shapes, singing all the while as blithely as -larks in a cornfield!" The banquet is described as including "exquisite -sausages, potted lampreys, strange messes from the Brazils, and others -still more strange from China (_viz._ birds'-nests and sharks'-fins) -dressed after the latest mode of Macao, by a Chinese lay-brother. -Confectionery and fruits were out of the question here; they awaited -the party in an adjoining still more sumptuous and spacious saloon, to -which they retired from the effluvia of viands and sauces." On another -occasion, by aid of Mr. Beckford's cook, the party sat down to "one of -the most delicious banquets ever vouchased a mortal on this side of -Mahomet's paradise. The _macédoine_ was perfection, the ortolans and -quails lumps of celestial fatness, the _sautés_ and _bechamels_ beyond -praise; and a certain truffle-cream was so exquisite, that the Lord -Abbot piously gave thanks for it." - -Mr. Beckford returned to England in 1795, and occupied himself with -the embellishment of his house at Fonthill. Meanwhile, he had studied -Ecclesiastical Architecture, which induced him to commence building -the third house at Fonthill, considering the second too near a piece -of water. In 1801, the superb furniture was sold by auction; when the -furniture of the Turkish room, which had cost 4,000_l._, realized only -740 guineas. Next year there was a sale in London of the proprietor's -pictures. In 1807 the mansion was mostly taken down, when the materials -were sold for 10,000_l._; one wing was left standing, which was -subsequently sold to Mr. Morrison, M.P., who added to it, and adapted -it for a country seat. - -These proceedings were, however, only preliminary to the commencement -of a much more magnificent collection of books, pictures, curiosities, -rarities, bijouterie, and other products of art and ingenuity, to -be placed in the new "Fonthill Abbey," built in a showy monastic -style. Mr. Beckford shrouded his architectural proceedings in the -profoundest mystery: he was haughty and reserved; and because some of -his neighbours followed game into his grounds, he had a wall twelve -feet high and seven miles long built round his home estate, in order -to shut out the world. This was guarded by projecting railings on the -top, in the manner of _chevaux-de-frise_. Large and strong double gates -were provided in this wall, at the different roads of entrance, and at -these gates were stationed persons who had strict orders not to admit a -stranger. - -The building of the Abbey was a sort of romance. A vast number of -mechanics and labourers were employed to advance the works with -rapidity, and a new hamlet was built to accommodate the workmen. All -round was activity and energy, whilst the growing edifice, as the -scaffolding and walls were raised above the surrounding trees, excited -the curiosity of the passing tourist, as well as the villagers. It -appears that Mr. Beckford pursued the objects of his wishes, whatever -they were, not coolly and considerately like most other men, but with -all the enthusiasm of passion. No sooner did he decide upon any point -than he had it carried into immediate execution, whatever might be the -cost. After the building was commenced, he was so impatient to get -it furnished, that he kept regular relays of men at work night and -day, including Sundays, supplying them liberally with ale and spirits -while they were at work; and when anything was completed which gave -him particular pleasure, adding an extra 5_l._ or 10_l._ to be spent -in drink. The first tower, the height of which from the ground was 400 -feet, was built of wood, in order to see its effect; this was then -taken down, and the same form put up in wood covered with cement. This -fell down, and the tower was built a third time on the same foundation -with brick and stone. The foundation of the tower was originally that -of a small summer-house, to which Mr. Beckford was making additions, -when the idea of the Abbey occurred to him; and this idea he was so -impatient to realize, that he would not wait to remove the summer-house -to make a proper foundation for the tower, but carried it up on -the walls already standing, and this with the worst description of -materials and workmanship, while it was mostly built by men in a state -of intoxication. - -To raise the public surprise and afford new scope for speculation, a -novel scene was presented in the works in the winter of 1800, when in -November and December nearly 500 men were employed day and night to -expedite the works, by torch and lamp-light, in time for the reception -of Lord Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton, who were entertained -here by Mr. Beckford with extraordinary magnificence, on December -20, 1800. On one occasion, while the tower was building, an elevated -part of it caught fire and was destroyed; the sight was sublime, and -was enjoyed by Mr. Beckford. This was soon rebuilt. At one period, -every cart and waggon in the district were pressed into the service; -at another, the works at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, were abandoned -that 400 men might be employed night and day on Fonthill Abbey. These -men relieved each other by regular watches, and during the longest and -darkest nights of winter it was a strange sight to see the tower rising -under their hands, the trowel and the torch being associated for that -purpose. This Mr. Beckford was fond of contemplating. He is represented -as surveying from an eminence the works thus expedited, the busy bevy -of the masons, the dancing lights and their strange effects upon the -wood and architecture below, and feasting his sense with this display -of almost superhuman exertion. - -Upon one memorable occasion Mr. Beckford was willing to run the risk of -spoiling a good dinner, in order to show that nothing possible to man -was impossible to him. He had sworn by his beloved St. Anthony, that -he would have his Christmas dinner cooked in the new Abbey kitchen. -The time was short, the work was severe, for much remained to be done. -Still, Beckford had said it, and it must be done. So every exertion -that money could command was brought to bear. The apartment, indeed, -was finished by the Christmas morning, but the bricks had not time -to settle readily into their places, the beams were not thoroughly -secured, the mortar, which was to keep the walls together, had not -dried. However, Beckford had invoked the blessed St. Anthony, and he -would not depart from it. The fire was lit, the splendid repast was -cooked, the servants were carrying the dishes through the long passages -into the dining-room, when the kitchen itself fell in with a loud -crash; but it was not a misfortune of any consequence; no person was -injured, the master had kept his word, and he had money enough to build -another kitchen. - -Mr. Loudon, in 1835, collected at Fonthill some curious evidence in -confirmation of his idea that Mr. Beckford's enjoyments consisted of -a succession of violent impulses. Thus, when he wished a new walk to -be cut in the woods, or work of any kind to be done, he used to say -nothing about it in the way of preparation, but merely give orders, -perhaps late in the afternoon, that it should be cleared out and in a -perfect state by the following morning at the time he came out to take -his ride, and the whole strength of the village was then put upon the -work, and employed during the night and next day, when Mr. Beckford -came to inspect what was done; if he was pleased with it he used to -give a 5_l._ or 10_l._ note to the men who had been employed, to drink, -besides, of course, paying their wages, which were always liberal. His -charities were performed in the same capricious manner. Suddenly he -would order a hundred pairs of blankets to be purchased and given away; -or all the firs to be cut out of an extensive plantation, and all the -poor who chose to take them away were permitted to do so, provided it -were done in one night. He was also known to suddenly order all the -waggons and carts that could be procured to be sent off for coal to be -distributed among the poor. - -Mr. Beckford seldom rode out beyond his gates, but when he did he was -generally asked for charity by the poor people. Sometimes he used to -throw a one-pound note or a guinea to them; or he would turn round and -give the supplicants a severe horse-whipping. When the last was the -case, soon after he had ridden away, he generally sent back a guinea -or two to the persons whom he had whipped. In his mode of life at -Fonthill he had many singularities: though he never had any society, -yet his table was laid every day in the most splendid style. He was -known to give orders for a dinner for twelve persons and to sit down -alone to it, attended by twelve servants in full dress; yet he would -eat only of one dish, and send the rest away. There were no bells at -Fonthill, with the exception of one room, occupied occasionally by Mr. -Beckford's daughter, the Duchess of Hamilton. The servants used to -wait by turns in the ante-rooms to the apartments which Mr. Beckford -occupied; they were very small and low in the ceiling. He led almost -the life of a hermit within the walls of the Fonthill estate; here he -could luxuriate within his sumptuous home, or ride for miles on his -lawns, and through forest and mountain woods,--amid dressed parterres -of the pleasure-garden, or the wild scenery of nature. This garden, the -vast woods, and a wild lake, abounded with game, and the choristers -of the forest, which were not only left undisturbed by the gun, but -were fed and encouraged by the lord of the soil and his long retinue -of servants. A widower, and without any family at home, Mr. Beckford -resided at the Abbey for more than twenty years, ever active, and -constantly occupied in reading, music, and the converse of a choice -circle of friends, or in directing workmen in the erection of the -Abbey, which had been in progress since the year 1798. - -About the year 1822 his restless spirit required a change; besides -which his fortunes received a shock from which they never recovered. He -now purchased two houses in Lansdown Crescent, Bath, with a large tract -of land adjoining, and removed thither. The property at Fonthill was -then placed at the disposal of Mr. Christie, who prepared a catalogue -for the sale of the estate, the Abbey, and its gorgeous contents. The -place was made an exhibition of in the summer of 1822: the price of -admission was one guinea for each person, and 7,200 tickets were sold: -thousands flocked to Fonthill; but at the close of the summer, instead -of a sale on the premises, the whole was bought in one lot by Mr. -Farquhar, it was understood, for the sum of 350,000_l._ Mr. Beckford's -outlay upon the property had been, according to his own account, about -273,000_l._, scattered over sixteen or eighteen years. The reason he -assigned for disposing of the property was the reduction of his income -by a decree of the Court of Chancery, which had deprived him of two -of his Jamaica estates. "You may imagine their importance," he added, -"when I tell you that there were 1,500 slaves upon them." - -Mr. Farquhar, the purchaser of the property, was an old miser who had -amassed an immense fortune in India. By the advice of Mr. Phillips, the -auctioneer, of Bond Street, in the following year another exhibition -was made of Fonthill and its treasures, to which articles were added, -and the whole sold as genuine property; the tickets of admission were -half-a-guinea each, the price of the catalogues 12_s._, and the sale -lasted thirty-seven days. - -In December, 1825, the tower at Fonthill, which had been hastily built -and not long finished, fell with a tremendous crash, destroying the -hall, the octagon, and other parts of the buildings. Mr. Farquhar, -with his nephew's family, had taken the precaution of removing to the -northern wing: the tower was above 260 feet high. - -Mr. Loudon, when at Fonthill in 1835, collected some interesting -particulars of this catastrophe. He describes the manner in which -the tower fell as somewhat remarkable. It had given indications of -insecurity for some time; the warning was taken, and the more valuable -parts of the windows and other articles were removed. - -Mr. Farquhar, however, who then resided in one angle of the building, -and who was in a very infirm state of health, could not be brought to -believe there was any danger. He was wheeled out in his chair on the -front lawn about half an hour before the tower fell; and though he had -seen the cracks and the deviation of the centre from the perpendicular, -he treated the idea of its coming down as ridiculous. He was carried -back to his room, and the tower fell almost immediately. From the -manner in which it fell, from the lightness of the materials of which -it was constructed, neither Mr. Farquhar, nor the servants who were -in the kitchen preparing dinner, knew that it had fallen, though the -immense collection of dust which rose into the atmosphere had assembled -almost all the inhabitants of the village, and had given the alarm -even as far as Wardour Castle. Only one man (who died in 1833) saw -the tower fall; it first sank perpendicularly and slowly, and then -burst and spread over the roofs of the adjoining wings on every side. -The cloud of dust was enormous, so as completely to darken the air -for a considerable distance around for several minutes. Such was the -concussion in the interior of the building, that one man was forced -along a passage as if he had been in an air-gun to the distance of -30 feet, among dust so thick as to be felt. Another person, on the -outside, was, in like manner, carried to some distance; fortunately, -no one was seriously injured. With all this, it is almost incredible -that neither Mr. Farquhar, nor the servants in the kitchen, should -have heard the tower fall, or known that it had fallen, till they saw -through the window the people of the village who had assembled to see -the ruins. Mr. Farquhar, it is said, could scarcely be convinced that -the tower was down, and when he was so he said he was glad of it, for -that now the house was not too large for him to live in. Mr. Beckford, -when told at Bath by his servant that the tower had fallen, merely -observed, that it had made an obeisance to Mr. Farquhar which it had -never done to him. - -One of the last things which Mr. Beckford did, after having sold -Fonthill, and ordered horses to be put to his carriage to leave the -place for ever, was to mount his pony, ride round with his gardener, -to give directions for various alterations and improvements which he -wished to have executed. On returning to the house, his carriage being -ready, he stepped into it, and never afterwards visited Fonthill. -Though Mr. Beckford had spent immense sums of money there, it is -said, on good authority, 1,600,000_l._, it did not appear that he had -at all raised the character of the working classes: the effect was -directly the reverse; the men were sunk, past recovery, in habits of -drunkenness; and when Mr. Loudon visited Fonthill, there were only two -or three of the village labourers alive who had been employed in the -Abbey works. - -We now follow Mr. Beckford to Bath, where he was storing his twin -houses with some of the choicest articles from his old libraries and -cabinets; was forming and creating new gardens, with hot-houses and -conservatories, on the steep and rocky slope of Lansdown. On its summit -he built a lofty tower, which commands a vast extent of prospect. A -street intervened between the two houses, but they were soon united by -a flying gallery. One of these houses was fitted up for Mr. Beckford's -residence, and here he lived luxuriously; the splendour and state of -Fonthill being followed here on a smaller scale. In his wine-cellars he -had a portion of the nineteen pipes of the fine Malmsey Madeira, which -his father, Alderman Beckford, had bought. The merchant who imported -them offered them to Queen Charlotte, who could only purchase one, as -the price was so great; the Fonthill Crœsus, however, purchased the -remainder of the cargo. - -The new proprietor of Fonthill was a very different man from Mr. -Beckford. Born in Aberdeen, Mr. John Farquhar, like many of his -countrymen, started in early life to seek his fortune in India. The -interest of some relatives procured him a cadetship in the service -of the East India Company, on the Bombay establishment; there the -young Scotsman had the certainty of slowly but steadily rising in -position, and should health be left to him, of enjoying a reputable and -independent competency. He, however, received a dangerous wound in the -leg, which first caused a painful and constant lameness, and soon after -led to general derangement of his health, and even danger to life -itself. He now obtained leave to remove to Bengal, partly in hopes of a -more salubrious climate, but chiefly in search of that medical talent -which was likely to be most abundant at the chief seat of Government. -Settled in Bengal, he obtained the advice of the best physicians. He -also studied chemistry and medicine; and it was before long generally -said that the sickly cadet who was so attached to chemical experiments, -was well fitted to be sent into the interior of the country, where -was a large manufactory of gunpowder established by the Government, -but which was unsuccessful. The shrewd Scotsman took charge of the -mill, henceforth the powder was faultless; and shortly after Farquhar -became the sole contractor for the Government. The Governor-General, -Warren Hastings, reposed much confidence in Farquhar; and this, added -to his own indefatigable vigour of mind, soon laid the foundation of a -fortune, which was rapidly increased by his penurious habits. - -It was the time when war and distresses in Europe kept the funds so -low, that fifty-five was a common price for the Three per cents. -Accordingly, as Farquhar's money accumulated, he sent large remittances -to his bankers, Messrs. Hoare, of Fleet Street, for investment in the -above tempting securities. When he had thus amassed half a million, he -determined to return to his native country, and he bade adieu to the -East where he had found the wealth he coveted. Landing at Gravesend, -he took his seat upon the outside of the coach, and in due time found -himself in London. Weather-beaten, and covered with dust, he made -his way to his bankers, and there, stepping up to one of the clerks, -expressed a wish to see Mr. Hoare himself. But his rough appearance -and common make of the clothes about his sunburnt limbs, suggested to -the clerk that he must be some unlucky petitioner for charity; and he -was left to wait in the cash-office until Mr. Hoare happened to pass -through. The latter was some time before he could understand who Mr. -Farquhar was. His Indian customer, indeed, he knew well by name, but -he had none of that hauteur which was then common with the successful -Anglo-Indians. At length, however, Mr. Hoare was satisfied as to the -identity of his wealthy visitor, who then asked him for 25_l._, and -saluting him, retired. - -On first arriving in England, Mr. Farquhar took up his abode with a -relative of some rank, who mixed a good deal in London society, and who -proposed to introduce to his circle Mr. Farquhar, by giving a grand -ball in honour of his successful return from India. This relative had -tolerated Mr. Farquhar's fancies as regarded his every-day attire; but -his fashionable mind was horrified when the day of the coming ball was -only a week off, and there was, nevertheless, no sign of his intending -to provide himself with a new suit of clothes for the gay occasion. He -ventured accordingly to hint to him the propriety of doing so; when -Mr. Farquhar made a short reply, packed up his clothes, and in a few -minutes was driven from the door in a hackney-coach, not even taking -leave of his too-critical host. - -He then settled in Upper Baker Street, where his windows were ever -remarkable for requiring a servant's care, and his whole house notable -for its dingy and dirty appearance; at which we cannot wonder when we -learn that his sole attendant was an old woman, and that from even -her intrusive care his own apartment was strictly kept free. Yet in -charitable deeds Mr. Farquhar was munificent to a princely extent, and -often, when he had left his comfortless home with a crust of bread -in his pocket to save the expenditure of a penny at an oyster shop, -it was to give away in the course of the day hundreds of pounds to -aid the distressed, and to cure and care for those who suffered from -biting poverty, hunger, and want. But in his personal expenditure he -was extremely parsimonious; and whilst he resided in Baker Street, he -expended on himself and his household but 200_l._ a year out of the -30,000_l._ or 40,000_l._ which his many sources of income must have -yielded him.[2] - -[2] Mr. Farquhar died July 6, 1826, in York Place, Marylebone, aged 76 -years; he was buried in St. John's Wood Chapel, where is a handsome -monument to his memory, with a medallion head of the deceased by P. -Row, sculptor. - -Such was the man who succeeded the luxurious Beckford at Fonthill! He, -however, sold the property about 1825, and died in the following year. -The immense fortune he had struggled to make, and to increase which -he had lived a solitary and comfortless life, he made no disposal of -by will; the law distributed it among his next-of-kin, and those he -favoured and those he neglected inherited equal portions. Three nephews -and four nieces became entitled to 100,000_l._ each. Fonthill Abbey had -been taken down, merely enough of its ruins being left to show where it -had stood. Mr. Farquhar possessed Fonthill for so short a time, and it -was demolished so soon after he had parted with it, and so many years -before Mr. Beckford followed him to the grave, that the latter lived -to know that its last proprietor was comparatively forgotten, and the -strange glories of the fantastic pile will be connected by the public -voice with no name but that of its eccentric architect. - -On settling at Bath, Mr. Beckford was frequently seen on horseback in -the streets with his groom, and appeared as the plain unostentatious -country gentleman: he was no longer the wealthy lord of Fonthill; still -his appearance always excited the gaze and speculation of idlers and -gossips. A dwarf, an Italian named Piero, was occasionally seen on -a pony with the groom, and strange conjectures were hazarded on the -history of this human phenomenon. The fact is, Mr. Beckford had taken -charge of him in Italy, when he was deserted by his parents and was -homeless and friendless; and he was brought to England by a humane -patron, who supported him through life. - -In 1844, Mr. Cyrus Redding, when at Bath, had several interviews and -conversations with Mr. Beckford, whose mind was then vigorous: his -spirits were good, and he displayed his wonted activity of body nearly -to the last. In his seventy-sixth year he said that he had never felt -a moment's _ennui_ in his life. He was the most accomplished man of -his time: his reading was very extensive; he used to say that he could -easily read and understand an octavo volume during his breakfast. -Besides the classical languages of antiquity, he spoke four modern -European tongues, and wrote three of them with great elegance. He read -Russian and Arabic. We have said that he was taught music by Mozart, to -whom he was so much attached, that when the great composer settled in -Vienna, Mr. Beckford made a visit to that capital "that he might once -more see his old master." - -Mr. Redding tells us that Mr. Beckford's custom, "in fine weather, was -to rise early, ride to the tower or about the grounds, walk back and -breakfast, and then read until a little before noon, generally making -pencil notes in the margin of every book, transact business with his -steward; afterwards, until two o'clock, continue to read and write, and -then ride out two or three hours." Mr. Beckford was never idle. When -planning or building, he passed the larger part of the day where the -work was proceeding. He sometimes expressed contempt by a sarcastic -sneer, peculiar to himself. Few could utter more cutting things -than the author of _Vathek_, the delivery with a caustic expression -of countenance that made them tell with double effect. Mr. Redding -once ventured to remark, "It must have cost you much pain to quit -Fonthill." "Not so much as you might think. I can bend to fortune. I -have philosophy enough not to cry like a child about a play-thing." Mr. -Britton, who had seen much of Mr. Beckford, tells us that the remarks -and opinions in the novels of _Cecil a Coxcomb_ and _Cecil a Peer_, -mostly written by Mrs. Gore when on a visit to Mr. Beckford at Bath, -afford the nearest approach he had seen in print to the language, the -ideas, the peculiar sentiments of the author of _Vathek_. - -Mr. Beckford continued to reside in Bath (except his annual visits -to the metropolis, when he lived in Park Lane and in Gloucester -Place[3]) for about twenty years, and died there on May 2, 1844, in the -eighty-fourth year of his age. His intention was to make the ground -attached to the Lansdown tower the place of his sepulchre, and he had -prepared and placed on the spot a granite sarcophagus, inscribed with -a passage from _Vathek_; but the ecclesiastical authorities refused -to consecrate the ground, the body was embalmed and placed in the -sarcophagus in the cemetery of Lyncomb, to the south of Bath. It was -afterwards removed to Lansdown, when the ground was consecrated. - -[3] Three other of Mr. Beckford's town houses were:--1. On the Terrace, -Piccadilly, part of the site of the newly-built mansion of Baron -Rothschild; 2. No. 1, Devonshire Place, New Road; and it is said, -though we do not vouch how correctly, 3. No. 27, Charles Street, -Mayfair, a very small house, looking over the garden of Chesterfield -House. - -The author of _Vathek_ was unquestionably a man of genius and rare -accomplishments. "But his abilities were overpowered and his character -tainted by the possession of wealth so enormous. At every stage his -money was like a millstone round his neck. He had taste and knowledge; -but the selfishness of wealth tempted him to let these gifts of the -mind run to seed in the gratification of extravagant freaks. He really -enjoyed travelling and scenery, but he felt it incumbent on him, as a -millionnaire, to take a French cook with him wherever he went;[4] and -he found that the Spanish grandees and ecclesiastical dignitaries who -welcomed him so cordially valued him as the man whose cook could make -such wonderful omelettes. From the day when Chatham's proxy stood -for him at the font till the day when he was laid in his pink granite -sarcophagus, he was the victim of riches. Had he had only 5,000_l._ a -year, and been sent to Eton, he might have been one of the foremost men -of his time, and have been as useful in his generation as, under his -unhappy circumstances, he was useless."[5] It may be added, that he was -worse: for he so threw about his money at Fonthill as to corrupt and -demoralise the simple country people. - -[4] In conformity with an old English custom, Mr. Beckford invariably -travelled with his bed among his luggage. - -[5] _Saturday Review._ - -Against this judgment must, however, be placed Mr. Beckford's own -declaration, that he never felt a single moment of _ennui_. - -Mr. Beckford left two daughters, the eldest of whom, Susan Euphemia, -was married to the Marquis of Clydesdale in 1810, and became Duchess of -Hamilton. The tomb at Lansdown, with its polished granite, emblazoned -shields, and bronzed and gilt embellishments, was not long cared for; -since in 1850, it presented in its neglected state a lamentable object. -_Vathek_ will be remembered. Byron, a good judge of such a subject, has -pronounced that "for correctness of costume, beauty of description, and -power of imagination," it far surpasses all other European imitations -of the Eastern style of fiction. - - - - -Alderman Beckford's Monument Speech, in Guildhall. - - -The speech on the pedestal of Beckford's statue, and referred to at -p. 2 _ante_, is the one which the Alderman is said to have addressed -to his Majesty on the 23rd of May, 1770, with reference to the King's -reply to the Remonstrance address which Beckford had presented:--"That -he should have been wanting to the public as well as to himself if he -had not expressed his dissatisfaction at the late address." Horace -Walpole thus notes the affair: "The City carried a new remonstrance, -garnished with my lord's own ingredients, but much less hot than the -former. The country, however, was put to some confusion by my Lord -Mayor, who, contrary to all form and precedent, tacked a volunteer -speech to the 'Remonstrance.' It was wondrous loyal and respectful, -but, being an innovation, much discomposed the solemnity. It is always -usual to furnish a copy of what is said to the King, that he may be -prepared with his answer. In this case, he was reduced to tuck up his -train, jump from the throne, and take sanctuary in his closet, or -answer extempore, which is not part of the Royal trade; or sit silent, -and have nothing to reply. This last was the event, and a position -awkward enough in conscience."--_Walpole to Sir Horace Mann_, May 24, -1770. - -Now, at the end of the Alderman's speech, in his copy of the City -addresses, Mr. Isaac Reed has inserted the following note:--"It is -a curious fact, but a true one, that Beckford did not utter one -syllable of this speech (on the monument). It was penned by John -Horne Tooke, and by his art put on the records of the City and on -Beckford's statue, as he told me, Mr. Braithwaite, Mr. Sayer, &c., at -the Athenæum Club.--Isaac Reed." There can be little doubt that the -worthy commentator and his friends were imposed upon. In the _Chatham -Correspondence_, volume iii., p. 460, a letter from Sheriff Townsend -to the Earl expressly states that with the exception of the words -"and necessary" being left out before the word "revolution," the Lord -Mayor's speech in the _Public Advertiser_ of the preceding day is -verbatim. (The one delivered to the King.)--_Wright_--_Note to Walpole._ - -Gifford says (_Ben Jonson_, VI. 481) that Beckford never uttered -before the King one syllable of the speech upon his monument; and -Gifford's statement is fully confirmed both by Isaac Reed (as above) -and by Maltby, the friend of Roger and Horne Tooke. Beckford _made_ -a "remonstrance speech" to the King; but the speech on Beckford's -monument is the after speech written for Beckford by Horne Tooke.--_See -Mitford, Gray, and Mason's Correspondence_, pp. 438, 439.--_Cuningham's -Note to Walpole_, v. 239. - -Such is the historic worth of this strange piece of monumental bombast, -upon which Pennant made this appropriate comment:-- - - The things themselves are neither scarce nor rare, - The wonder's how the devil they got there. - -[Illustration: Mr. John Farquhar over the ruins of Fonthill.] - - - - -[Illustration: Beau Brummel. (_From a miniature._)] - - - - -Beau Brummel. - - -This celebrated leader of fashion in the times of the Regency--George -Bryan Brummel--was born June 7, 1778. His grandfather was a pastrycook -in Bury Street, St. James's, who, by letting off a large portion of his -house, became a moneyed man. While Brummel's father was yet a boy, Mr. -Jenkinson came to lodge there, and this led to the lad being employed -in a Government office, when his lodger and patron had attained to -eminence; he was subsequently private secretary to Lord Liverpool, and -at his death, left the Beau little less than 30,000_l._ Brummel was -sent to Eton, and thence to Oxford, and at sixteen he was gazetted to a -cornetcy in the 10th Hussars, at that time commanded by the Prince of -Wales, to whom he had been presented on the Terrace at Windsor, when -the Beau was a boy at Eton. He became an associate of the Prince, then -two-and-thirty, but who, according to Mr. Thomas Raikes, disdained -not to take lessons in dress from Brummel at his lodgings. Thither -would the future King of nations wend his way, where, absorbed in the -mysteries of the toilet, he would remain till so late an hour that he -sometimes sent his horses away, and insisted on Brummel giving him a -quiet dinner, which generally ended in a deep potation. - -Brummel's assurance was one of his earliest characteristics. A great -law lord, who lived in Russell Square, one evening gave a ball, at -which J., one of the beauties of the time, was present. Numerous -were the applications made to dance with her; but being as proud as -she was beautiful, she refused them all, till the young Hussar made -his appearance; and he having proffered to hand her out, she at once -acquiesced, greatly to the wrath of the disappointed candidates. In -one of the pauses of the dance, he happened to find himself close to -an acquaintance, when he exclaimed, "Ha! you here? Do, my good fellow, -tell me who that ugly man is leaning against the chimney-piece." "Why, -surely you must know him," replied the other, "'tis the master of the -house." "No, indeed," said the Cornet, coolly; "how should I? I never -was invited." - -Captain Jesse, the biographer of Brummel, has drawn his portrait at -about this time. "His face was rather long and complexion fair; his -whiskers inclined to sandy, and hair light brown. His features were -neither plain nor handsome; but his head was well shaped, the forehead -being unusually high; showing, according to phrenological development, -more of the mental than the animal passions--the bump of self-esteem -was very prominent. His countenance indicated that he possessed -considerable intelligence, and his mouth betrayed a strong disposition -to indulge in sarcastic humour: this was predominant in every feature, -the nose excepted, the natural regularity of which, though it had -been broken by a fall from his charger, preserved his features from -degenerating into comicality. His eyebrows were equally expressive with -his mouth; and while the latter was giving utterance to something very -good-humoured or polite, the former, and the eyes themselves, which -were grey and full of oddity, could assume an expression that made the -sincerity of his words very doubtful. His voice was very pleasing." - -Brummel was one of the first who revived and improved the taste for -dress, and his great innovation was effected upon neckcloths; they were -then worn without stiffening of any kind, and bagged out in front, -rucking up to the chin in a roll: to remedy this obvious awkwardness -and inconvenience, he used to have his slightly starched; and a -reasoning mind must allow that there is not much to object to in this -reform. He did not, however, like the dandies, test their fitness -for use by trying if he could raise three parts of their length by -one corner without their bending; yet, it appears that if the cravat -was not properly tied at the first effort, or inspiring impulse, it -was always rejected. His valet was coming down stairs one day with a -quantity of tumbled neckcloths under his arm, and, being interrogated -on the subject, solemnly replied, "Oh, they are _our_ failures." -Practice like this, of course, made Brummel perfect; and his tie soon -became a model that was imitated but never equalled. The method by -which this most important result was attained, was thus told to Captain -Jesse:--"The collar, which was always fixed to his shirt, was so large -that, before being folded down, it completely hid his head and face; -and the white neckcloth was at least a foot in height. The first _coup -d'archet_ was made with the shirt-collar, which he folded down to its -proper size; and Brummel, then standing before the glass, with his chin -poked up to the ceiling, by the gentle and gradual declension of the -lower jaw, creased the cravat to reasonable dimensions, the form of -each succeeding crease being perfected with the shirt which he had just -discarded." - -"Brummel's morning dress was similar to that of every other gentleman. -Hessians and pantaloons, or top-boots and buckskins, with a blue coat -and a light or buff-coloured waistcoat, of course fitting to admiration -on the best figure in England. His dress of an evening was a blue -coat and white waistcoat, black pantaloons, which buttoned tight to -the ankle, striped stockings, and opera-hat; in fact he was always -carefully dressed, but never the slave of fashion. - -"Brummel's tailors were Schweitzer and Davidson in Cork Street; Weston; -and a German of the name of Meyer, who lived in Conduit Street. The -trousers which opened at the bottom of the leg, and were closed by -buttons and loops, were invented either by Meyer or Brummel. The Beau, -at any rate, was the first who wore them, and they immediately became -quite the fashion and continued so for some years." - -Brummel was addicted to practical jokes, one of which may be related. -The victim was an old French emigrant, whom he had met on a visit -to Woburn or Chatsworth, and into whose hair-pouch he managed to -introduce some finely-powdered sugar. Next morning the poor Marquis, -quite unconscious of his head being so well-sweetened, joined the -breakfast-table as usual; but scarcely had he made his bow and plunged -his knife into the Perigord pie before him, than the flies began to -desert the walls and windows to settle upon his head. The weather was -exceedingly hot; the flies of course numerous, and even the honeycomb -and marmalade upon the table seemed to have lost all attraction for -them. The Marquis relinquished his knife and fork to drive off the -enemy with his handkerchief. But scarcely had he attempted to renew -his acquaintance with the Perigord pie, than back the whole swarm -came, more teazingly than ever. Not a wing was missing. More of the -company who were not in the secret, could not help wondering at this -phenomenon, as the buzzing grew louder and louder every moment. Matters -grew still worse when the sugar, melting, poured down the Frenchman's -brow and face in thick streams; for his tormentors then changed their -ground of action, and having thus found a more vulnerable part, nearly -drove him mad with their stings. Unable to bear it any longer, he -clasped his head with both hands, and rushed out of the room in a cloud -of powder, followed by his persevering tormentors, and the laughter of -the company. - -Brummel was the autocrat of the world in which he moved. It has been -said that Madame de Staël was in awe of him, and considered her having -failed to please him as her greatest misfortune; while the Prince of -Wales having neglected to call upon her, she placed only as a secondary -cause of lamentation. The great French authoress, however, was not -without reason in her regrets; to offend or not to please Brummel was -to lose caste in the fashionable world, to be exposed to the most -cutting sarcasm and the most poignant ridicule. - -Captain Jesse thus tells the story of Brummel's _cutting_ quarrel with -the Prince of Wales. Lord Alvanley, Brummel, Henry Pierrepoint, and -Sir Harry Mildmay, gave at the Hanover Square Rooms a fête, which was -called the Dandies' Ball. Alvanley was a friend of the Duke of York; -Harry Mildmay, young, and had never been introduced to the Prince -Regent; Pierrepoint knew him slightly, and Brummel was at daggers -drawn with his Royal Highness. No invitation was, however, sent to the -Prince, but the ball excited much interest and expectation, and to the -surprise of the Amphitryons, a communication was received from his -Royal Highness intimating his wish to be present. Nothing, therefore, -was left but to send him an invitation, which was done in due form, -and in the name of the four spirited givers of the ball; the next -question was how were they to receive the guest, and which, after some -discussion, was arranged thus:--When the approach of the Prince was -announced, each of the four gentlemen took in due form a candle in -his hand. Pierrepoint, as knowing the Prince, stood nearest the door -with his wax-light; and Mildmay, as being young and void of offence, -opposite. Alvanley, with Brummel opposite, stood immediately behind the -other two. The Prince at length arrived, and, as was expected, spoke -civilly and with recognition to Pierrepoint, and then turned and spoke -a few words to Mildmay; advancing, he addressed several sentences to -Alvanley; and then turned towards Brummel, looked at him, but as if he -did not know who he was, or why he was there, and without bestowing on -him the slightest recognition. It was then, at the very instant he -passed on, that Brummel, seizing with infinite fun and readiness the -notion that they were unknown to each other, said aloud for the purpose -of being heard, "Alvanley, who's your fat friend?" Those who were in -front, and saw the Prince's face, say that he was cut to the quick by -the aptness of the remark. - -[Illustration: Lord Alvanley. A pillar of White's.] - -Mr. Grantley Berkeley (in his _Life and Recollections_) relates the -story less circumstantially:--"There is a well-known anecdote I am able -to correct, given to me by a medical friend of mine, who had it from -the late Henry Pierrepoint, brother to the late Lord Manners:--'We -of the Dandy Club issued invitations to a ball from which Brummel -had influence enough to get the Prince excluded. Some one told the -Prince this, upon which his Royal Highness wrote to say he intended -to have the pleasure of being at our ball. A number of us lined the -entrance-passage to receive the Prince, who, as he passed along, turned -from side to side to shake hands with each of us; but when he came to -Brummel, he passed him without the smallest notice, and turned to shake -hands with the man opposite to Brummel. As the Prince turned from that -man--I forget who it was--Brummel leaned forward across the passage, -and said, in a loud voice, 'Who is your fat friend?' We were all -dismayed; but in those days Brummel could do no wrong." - -The following story was supplied to Captain Jesse by a correspondent. -The Beau, it appears, had a great _penchant_ for snuff-boxes:--"Brummel -had a collection chosen with singular sagacity and good taste; and one -of them had been seen and admired by the Prince, who said, 'Brummel, -this box must be mine: go to Gray's and order any box you like in lieu -of it.' Brummel begged that it might be one with his Royal Highness' -miniature; and the Prince, pleased and flattered at the suggestion, -gave his assent to the request. Accordingly, the box was ordered, and -Brummel took great pains with the pattern and form, as well as with the -miniature and diamonds round it. When some progress had been made, the -portrait was shown to the Prince; who was charmed with it, suggested -slight improvements and alterations, and took the liveliest interest -in the work as it proceeded. All in fact was on the point of being -concluded when the scene at Claremont took place; [where this writer -describes the quarrel as originating, through the Prince preventing -Brummel from joining a party, on the plea of Mrs. Fitzherbert disliking -him.] A day or two after this, Brummel thought he might as well go to -Gray's and inquire about the box; he did so, and was told that special -directions had been sent by the Prince of Wales that the box was not to -be delivered: it never was, nor was the one returned for which it was -to have been an equivalent. It was this, I believe, more than anything -besides, which induced Brummel to bear himself with such unbending -hostility towards the Prince of Wales. He felt that he had treated him -unworthily, and from this moment he indulged himself by saying the -bitterest things. When pressed by poverty, however, and, as I suppose, -broken in spirit, he at a later period recalled the Prince's attention -to the subject of the snuff-box. Colonel Cooke (who was at Eton called -'Cricketer Cooke,' afterwards known as 'Kangaroo Cooke'), when passing -through Calais, saw Brummel, who told him the story, and requested -that he would inform the Prince Regent that the promised box had never -been given, and that he was now constrained to recall the circumstance -to his recollection. The Regent's reply was: 'Well, Master Kang, as -for the box it is all nonsense; but I suppose the poor devil wants a -hundred guineas, and he shall have them;' and it was in this ungracious -manner that the money was sent, received, and acknowledged. I have -heard Brummel speak of the affair of the snuff-box, but I never heard -him say that he received the hundred guineas." - -Brummel, late in life, stood to his Whig colours. His evening dress -consisted of a blue coat, with velvet collar and the consular button; -a buff waistcoat, black trousers and boots. His white neckcloth was -unexceptionable. The only articles of jewellery about him were a plain -ring and a massive chain of Venetian ducat-gold, which served as a -guard to his watch, and was evidently as much for use as ornament, only -two links of it were to be seen; those passed from the buttons of his -waistcoat to the pocket; the chain was peculiar, and was of the same -pattern as those suspended _in terrorem_ outside the principal entrance -to Newgate. The ring was dug out on the Field of the Cloth of Gold by a -labourer, who sold it to Brummel when he was at Calais. An opera-hat, -and gloves which were held in his hand, completed an attire that being -remarkably quiet, could never have attracted attention on any other -person. His _mise_ was peculiar only for its extreme neatness, and -wholly at variance with an opinion very prevalent among those who were -not personally acquainted with him, that he owed his reputation to his -tailor, or to an exaggerated style of dress. - -Brummel, however, maintained his supremacy in the world of fashion for -years after the Prince had _cut_ him. "But though even royal disfavour -could not seriously lower him, he managed in the end to do that which -no one else could do, he ruined himself; the gaming table, in the -long run, deprived him of all his fortune. Then came bills to supply -the deficiencies of the hour, and with that the consummation which -they never fail to bring about when necessity has recourse to them. A -quarrel ensuing with the friends joined in one of these acceptances, -and who accused him of taking the lion's share, he was obliged to quit -England and take up his abode at Calais. It has been said, ludicrously -enough, that Brummel and Bonaparte fell together. The Moscow of the -former, according to his own account, was a crooked sixpence, to -the possession of which his good fortune was attached, but which he -unfortunately lost. - -"But, if he had lost his magical sixpence, he had not yet exhausted all -his friends, from some of whom he was continually receiving even large -sums of money, so much in one instance as a thousand pounds. He was -thus enabled to furnish his lodgings according to his usual refined -habits, and living much retired, he set seriously to work in acquiring -the French language, and succeeded. - -"His resources now decreased. Some friends were lost to him by death, -others, perhaps, grew weary of relieving him. A visit of George IV. -held out to him a momentary gleam of hope. But the king came to Calais, -and did not send for him, or in any way notice him. Still he was not -wholly bereft of friends, but continued from time to time to receive -remittances from England; and at length, by the intervention of the -Duke of Wellington with King William, Brummel was appointed English -Consul in the capital of Lower Normandy. By this time he was deeply -involved in debt, and when he had settled at Caen, the large deductions -made from his income to discharge the arrears of debt incurred at -Calais left him an insufficiency for a man of his habits. He became as -deeply involved at Caen as he had before been at Calais. Next, upon his -own showing of its uselessness, the consulate at Caen was abolished, -and he was left penniless. He obtained funds from England. But he had -more than one attack of paralysis. He was flung into prison at Caen -by his French creditors, and confined in a wretched, filthy den, with -felons for his companions. He was enabled by aid from England to leave -his prison, after more than two months' confinement. Sickness, loss -of memory, absolute imbecility, and finally, inability to distinguish -bread from meat, or wine from coffee, now came with their attendant -ills. His friends obtained him admission into the hospital of the _Bon -Sauveur_, and he was placed in a comfortable room, that had once been -occupied by the celebrated Bourrienne. Here he died on the evening of -the 30th of March, 1840."[6] - -[6] Abridged from Sir Bernard Burke's _Family Romance_, vol. i. - -The different stages of mental decay through which this unfortunate man -passed, before he became hopelessly imbecile, it is painful to read of. -One of his most singular eccentricities was, on certain nights some -strange fancy would seize him that it was necessary he should give a -party, and he accordingly invited many of the distinguished persons -with whom he had been intimate in former days, though some of them -were already dead. On these gala evenings he desired his attendant to -arrange his apartment, set out a whist table, and light the _bougies_ -(he burnt only tallow at the time), and at eight o'clock this man, -to whom he had already given his instructions, opened wide the door -of his sitting-room, and announced the "Duchess of Devonshire." At -the sound of her grace's well-remembered name, the Beau, instantly -rising from his chair, would advance towards the door, and greet the -cold air from the staircase as if it had been the beautiful Georgiana -herself. If the dust of that fair creature could have stood reanimate -in all her loveliness before him, she would not have thought his bow -less graceful than it had been thirty-five years before; for, despite -poor Brummel's mean habiliments and uncleanly person, the supposed -visitor was received with all his former courtly ease of manner, and -the earnestness that the pleasure of such an honour might be supposed -to excite. "Ah! my dear Duchess," faltered the Beau, "how rejoiced am -I to see you; so very amiable of you at this short notice! Pray bury -yourself in this arm-chair: do you know it was a gift to me from the -Duchess of York, who was a very kind friend of mine; but, poor thing, -you know she is no more." Here the eyes of the old man would fill with -the tears of idiocy, and, sinking into the _fauteuil_ himself, he would -sit for some time looking vacantly at the fire, until Lord Alvanley, -Worcester, or any other old friend he chose to name, was announced, -when he again rose to receive them and went through a similar -pantomime. At ten his attendant announced the carriages, and this farce -was at an end. - -Brummel's sayings are not brilliant in point. They doubtless owed their -success to the inimitable impudence with which they were uttered. We -have thrown together a few of his many repartees. - -Dining at a gentleman's house in Hampshire, where the champagne was -very far from being good, he waited for a pause in the conversation, -and then condemned it by raising his glass, and saying loud enough to -be heard by every one at the table, "John, give me some more of that -cider." - -"Brummel, you were not here yesterday," said one of his club friends; -"where did you dine?" "Dine! why with a person of the name of R----s. I -believe he wishes me to notice him, hence the dinner; but, to give him -his due, he desired that I would make up the party myself, so I asked -Alvanley, Mills, Pierrepoint, and a few others; and I assure you the -affair turned out quite unique; there was every delicacy in or out of -season; the sillery was perfect, and not a wish remained ungratified; -but, my dear fellow, conceive my astonishment when I tell you that Mr. -R----s had the assurance to sit down and dine with us." - -An acquaintance having, in a morning call, bored him dreadfully -about some tour he made in the north of England, inquired with great -pertinacity of his impatient listener which of the lakes he preferred? -When Brummel, quite tired of the man's tedious raptures, turned his -head imploringly towards his valet, who was arranging something in the -room, and said, "Robinson?" "Sir." "Which of the lakes do I admire?" -"Windermere, sir," replied that distinguished individual. "Ah, yes; -Windermere," repeated Brummel; "so it is--Windermere." - -Having been asked by a sympathising friend how he happened to get such -a severe cold, his reply was, "Why, do you know, I left my carriage -yesterday evening, on my way to town from the Pavilion, and the infidel -of a landlord put me into a room with a damp stranger." - -On being asked by one of his acquaintance, during a very unseasonable -summer, if he had ever seen such an one, he replied, "Yes; last winter." - -Having fancied himself invited to some one's country seat, and being -given to understand, after one night's lodging, that he was in error, -he told an unconscious friend in town, who asked him what sort of place -it was, "that it was an exceedingly good house for stopping one night -in." - -On the night that he quitted London, the Beau was seen as usual at -the opera, but he left early, and, without returning to his lodgings, -stepped into a chaise which had been procured for him by a noble -friend, and met his own carriage a short distance from town. Travelling -all night as fast as four post-horses and liberal donations could -enable him, the morning dawned on him at Dover, and immediately on his -arrival there he hired a small vessel, put his carriage on board, and -was landed in a few hours on the other side. By this time the West-end -had awoke and missed him, particularly his tradesmen. - -It was while promenading one day on the pier, and not long before he -left Calais, that an old associate of his, who had just arrived by the -packet from England, met him unexpectedly in the street, and, cordially -shaking hands with him, said, "My dear Brummel, I am so glad to to -see you, for we had heard in England that you were dead; the report, -I assure you, was in very general circulation when I left." "Mere -stock-jobbing, my good fellow--mere stock-jobbing," was the Beau's -reply. - -We have said that Brummel's grandfather was a pastrycook. His aunt is -said to have been the widow of a grandson of Brawn, the celebrated -cook who kept 'The Rummer,' in Queen Street, and who had himself kept -'The Rummer' public-house, at the Old Mews Gate, at Charing Cross. -Brummel spoke with a relish worthy a descendant of 'The Rummer,' of -the savoury pies of his aunt Brawn, who then resided at Kilburn. Henry -Carey, in the _Dissertation on Dumpling_, assumes Braun, or Braund, as -he calls him, to have been the direct descendant in the male line of -his imaginary Brawnd, knighted by King John for his unrivalled skill in -making dumplings, and who subsequently resided, as he tells us, "at the -ancient manor of Brands, _alias_ Braunds, near Kilburn, in Middlesex." -Curious the accident that found Brummel's "Aunt Brawn" a resident at -Kilburn, a century after the _Dissertation on Dumpling_ was written. - -[Illustration: Beau Brummel at Calais.] - - - - -[Illustration: Sir Lumley Skeffington in a "Jean de Brie."] - - - - -Sir Lumley Skeffington, Bart. - - -This accomplished gentleman was the son of Sir William Skeffington, a -much respected Baronet of Bilsdon, in Leicestershire, where he enjoyed -considerable estates and great provincial esteem. He was born in 1778, -and was educated at Soho School, and at Newcome's, at Hackney. At -the latter he distinguished himself in the dramatic performances for -which the school was long celebrated. Dr. Benjamin Hoadley, author -of _The Suspicious Husband_, and his brother, Dr. John Hoadley, were -both educated here, and shone in their amateur performances; at the -representation of 1764, there were upwards of "one hundred gentlemen's -coaches." Young Skeffington excelled in Hamlet, as he afterwards shone -in "the glass of fashion." His hereditary prospects afforded him a -ready introduction to the fashionable world, and during upwards of -twenty years he was considered as a leader of _ton_, and one of the -most finished gentlemen in England. He was a person of considerable -taste in literature: he wrote _The Word of Honour_, a comedy, and the -dialogue and songs of a highly finished melodrama, founded on the -legend of _The Sleeping Beauty_. In 1818 he lost his father, who having -embarrassed his estates, his son, as an act of filial duty to rescue a -parent from distress, consented to the cutting off the entail, by which -he deprived himself of that substantial provision without which the -life of a gentleman is a life of misery. - -Sir Lumley was the dandy of the olden time, and a kinder, -better-hearted man never existed. He was of the most polished manners; -nor had his long intercourse with fashionable society at all affected -that simplicity of character for which he was remarkable. He was a -true dandy, and much more than that, he was a perfect gentleman. In -1827, a contributor to the _New Monthly Magazine_ wrote: "I remember, -long, long since, entering Covent Garden Theatre, when I observed -a person holding the door to let me pass; deeming him to be one of -the box-keepers, I was about to nod my thanks, when I found, to my -surprise, that it was Skeffington who had thus good-naturedly honoured -a stranger by his attention. We with some difficulty obtained seats in -a box, and I was indebted to accident for one of the most agreeable -evenings I remember to have passed. - -"I remember visiting the Opera when late dinners were the rage, and -the hour of refection was carried far into the night. I was again -placed near the fugleman of fashion, for to his movements were all eyes -directed, and his sanction determined the accuracy of all conduct. He -bowed from box to box, until recognizing one of his friends in the -lower tier, 'Temple,' he exclaimed, drawling out his weary words, -'at--what--hour--do--you--dine--to-day?' It had gone half-past eleven -when he spoke. - -"I saw him once enter St. James's Church, having at the door taken -a ponderous red morocco prayer-book from his servant; but although -prominently placed in the centre aisle, the pew-opener never offered -him a seat; and stranger still, none of his many friends beckoned him -to a place. Others in his rank of life might have been disconcerted at -the position in which he was placed; but Skeffington was too much of -a gentleman to be in any way disturbed; so he seated himself upon the -bench between two aged female paupers, and most reverently did he go -through the service, sharing with the ladies his book, the print of -which was more favourable to their devotions than their own diminutive -liturgies." - -Sir Lumley Skeffington continued to the last to take especial interest -in the theatre and its artists, notwithstanding his own reduced -fortunes. He was a worshipper of female beauty, his adoration being -poured forth in ardent verse. Thus, in the spring 1829, he inscribed to -Miss Foote the following ballad: - - When the frosts of the Winter in mildness were ending, - To April I gave half the welcome of May; - While the Spring, fresh in youth, came delightfully blending - The buds that are sweet, and the songs that are gay. - - As the eyes fixed the heart on a vision so fair, - Not doubting, but trusting what magic was there, - Aloud I exclaim'd, with augmented desire, - I thought 'twas the Spring, when in truth 'twas Maria! - - When the fading of stars in the region of splendour - Announc'd that the morning was young in the east, - On the upland I rov'd, admiration to render, - Where freshness, and beauty, and lustre increas'd. - - Whilst the beams of the morning new pleasures bestow'd, - While fondly I gaz'd, while with rapture I glow'd, - In sweetness commanding, in elegance bright, - Maria arose! a more beautiful light. - -Again, on the termination of the engagement of Miss Foote, at Drury -Lane Theatre, in May, 1826, Sir Lumley addressed her in the following -impromptu: - - Maria departs! 'tis a sentence of dread; - For the Graces turn pale, and the Fates droop their head! - In mercy to breasts that tumultuously burn, - Dwell no more on departure, but speak of return. - Since she goes when the buds are just ready to burst, - In expanding its leaves, let the willow be first. - We here shall no longer find beauties in May; - It cannot be Spring when Maria's away! - If vernal at all, 'tis an April appears, - For the blossom flies off in the midst of our tears. - -Sir Lumley, through the ingratitude and treachery of - - Friends found in sunshine, to be lost in storm, - -became involved in difficulties and endless litigation, and his latter -years were clouded with sorrow; still his buoyant spirits never -altogether left him, although "the observed of all observers" passed -his latter years in compulsory residence in a quarter of the great town -ignored by the Sybarites of St. James's. - -When Madame Vestris established a theatre of her own, Sir Lumley thus -sang, in the columns of _The Times_:-- - - Now Vestris, the tenth of the Muses, - To Mirth rears a fanciful dome, - We mark, while delight she infuses, - The Graces find beauty at home. - - In her eye such vivacity glitters, - To her voice such perfections belong, - That care, and the life it embitters, - Find balm in the sweets of her song. - - When monarchs o'er valleys are ranging, - A court is transferr'd to the green; - And flowers, transplanted, are changing - Not fragrance, but merely the scene. - - 'Tis circumstance dignifies places; - A desert is charming with spring! - And pleasure finds twenty new graces - Wherever the Vestris may sing! - -Sir Lumley, who had long been unheard of in fashionable circles, died -in London in 1850 or 1851. - -[Illustration: Skiffy at the Birthday Ball.] - - - - -[Illustration: Robert Coates, the Amateur of Fashion, as Romeo.] - - - - -"Romeo" Coates. - - -This celebrated leader of fashion, who rejoiced in the sobriquets of -"Romeo" and "Diamond," obtained the former from his love of amateur -acting, and the latter from his great wealth obtained from the West -Indies. He was likewise noted by his splendid curricle, the body of -which was in the form of a cockleshell, bearing the cock-bird as his -crest; and the harness of the horses was mounted with metal figures of -the same bird, with which got associated the motto of "Whilst we live, -we'll crow." - -By his amateur performances he shared with young Betty (Roscius) -the admiration of the town. A writer in the _New Monthly Magazine_, -1827, pleasantly describes one of these performances:--"Never shall I -forget his representation of Lothario (some sixty years since), at the -Haymarket Theatre, for his own pleasure, as he accurately termed it; -and certainly the then rising fame of Liston was greatly endangered by -his Barbadoes rival. Never had Garrick or Kemble in their best times so -largely excited the public attention and curiosity. The very remotest -nooks of the galleries were filled by fashion; while in a stage-box sat -the performer's notorious friend, the Baron Ferdinand Geramb. - -"Coates's lean Quixotic form being duly clothed in velvets and in -silks, and his bonnet highly fraught with diamonds (whence his -appellation), his entrance on the stage was greeted by so general a -_crowing_ (in allusion to the large cocks, which as his crest adorned -his harness), that the angry and affronted Lothario drew his sword upon -the audience, and actually challenged the rude and boisterous tenants -of the galleries, _seriatim_ or _en masse_, to combat on the stage. -Solemn silence, as the consequence of mock fear, immediately succeeded. -The great actor, after the overture had ceased, amused himself for some -time with the Baron ere he condescended to indulge the wishes of an -anxiously expectant audience. - -"At length he commenced: his appeals to the heart were made by the -application of the left hand so disproportionately lower down than -'the seat of life' has been supposed to be placed; his contracted -pronunciation of the word 'breach,' and other new readings and actings, -kept the house in a right joyous humour, until the climax of all mirth -was attained by the dying scene of - - that gallant, gay Lothario: - -but who shall describe the grotesque agonies of the dark seducer, his -platted hair escaping from the comb that held it, and the dark crineous -cordage that flapped upon his shoulders in the convulsions of his dying -moments, and the cries of the people for medical aid to accomplish his -eternal exit? Then, when in his last throes his coronet fell, it was -miraculous to see the defunct arise, and after he had spread a nice -handkerchief on the stage, and there deposited his head-dress, free -from impurity, philosophically resume his dead condition; but it was -not yet over, for the exigent audience, not content 'that when the men -were dead, why there an end,' insisted on a repetition of the awful -scene, which the highly flattered corpse executed three several times, -to the gratification of the cruel and torment-loving assembly." - -Coates was destined to be tantalized by the celebrated fête given -at Carlton House, in 1821, in honour of the Bourbons. Having no -opportunity of learning in the West Indies the propriety of being -presented at Court ere he could be upon a more intimate footing with -the Prince Regent, he was less astonished than delighted at the -reception of an invitation on that occasion to Carlton House. What -was the fame acquired by his cockleshell curricle; his theatrical -reputation; all the applause attending the perfection of histrionic -art; the flatteries of Billy Finch, a sort of kidnapper of juvenile -actors and actresses of the O.P. and P.S., in Russell Court; the -sanction of a Petersham; the intimacy of a Barry More; even the polite -endurance of a Skeffington to this! To be classed with the proud, -the noble, and the great! It seemed a natural query whether the -Bourbon's name were not a pretext for his own introduction to Royalty, -under circumstances of unprecedented splendour and magnificence. It -must have been so. What cogitations respecting dress, and air, and -port, and bearing! What torturing of the confounded lanky locks, to -make them but revolve ever so little! Then the rich cut velvet,--the -diamond buttons,--ay, every one was composed of brilliants. The night -arrived--but for Coates's mortification. Theodore Hook had contrived to -imitate one of the Chamberlain's tickets, and to produce a facsimile, -commanding the presence of Coates; he then put on a scarlet uniform, -and delivered the card himself. On the night of the fête, June 19th, -Hook stationed himself by the screen at Carlton House, and saw Romeo -arrive and enter the palace; he passed in without question, but the -forgery was detected by the Private Secretary, and Coates had to -retrace his steps to the street, and his carriage being driven off, -to get home to Craven Street in a hackney-coach. When the Prince was -informed of what had occurred, he signified his regret at the course -the Secretary had taken; he was sent by his Royal Highness to apologize -in person, and invite Coates to come and look at the state rooms; and -Romeo went. - -Mr. Coates, who by his cockleshell curricle had acquired some of his -celebrity, lost his life by a vehicular accident: he died February 23, -1848, from being run over in one of the London streets. He was in his -seventy-sixth year. - - - - -Abraham Newland. - - -Abraham Newland, who was nearly sixty years in the service of the Bank -of England, and whose name became a synonym for a bank-note, was one of -a family of twenty-five children, and was born in Southwark in 1730. -At the age of eighteen he entered the Bank service as junior clerk. He -was very fond of music, which led him into much dissipation. Still, -he was very attentive to business, and in 1782 he was appointed chief -cashier, with a suite of rooms for residence in the Bank, and for -five-and-twenty years he never once slept out of the building. The -pleasantest version of his importance is contained in the famous song -in the _Whims of the Day_, published in 1800:-- - - There ne'er was a name so handed by fame, - Thro' air, thro' ocean, and thro' land, - As one that is wrote upon every bank note, - And you all must know Abraham Newland. - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Notified Abraham Newland! - I have heard people say, sham Abraham you may, - But you must not sham Abraham Newland. - - For fashion or arts, should you seek foreign parts, - It matters not wherever you land, - Jew, Christian, or Greek, the same language they speak - That's the language of Abraham Newland! - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Wonderful Abraham Newland! - Tho' with compliments cramm'd, you may die and be d--d, - If you hav'n't an Abraham Newland. - - The world is inclin'd to think Justice is blind; - Lawyers know very well they can view land; - But, Lord, what of that, she'll blink like a bat - At the sight of an Abraham Newland. - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Magical Abraham Newland! - Tho' Justice, 'tis known, can see through a millstone, - She can't see through Abraham Newland. - - Your patriots who bawl for the good of us all, - Kind souls! here like mushrooms they strew land; - Tho' loud as a drum, each proves orator mum, - If attack'd by an Abraham Newland! - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Invincible Abraham Newland! - No argument's found in the world half so sound - As the logic of Abraham Newland! - - The French say they're coming, but sure they are mumming; - I know what they want if they do land; - We'll make their ears ring in defence of our king, - Our country, and Abraham Newland. - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Darling Abraham Newland! - No tricolour, elf, nor the devil himself - Shall e'er rob us of Abraham Newland. - -In 1807, he retired from the office of chief cashier, after declining -a pension. He had hitherto been accustomed, after the business at -the Bank in his department had closed, and he had dined moderately, -to order his carriage and drive to Highbury, where he drank tea at a -small cottage. Many who lived in that neighbourhood long recollected -Newland's daily walk--hail, rain, or sunshine--along Highbury Place. It -was said that he regretted his retirement from the Bank; but he used -to say that not for 20,000_l._ a year would he return. He then removed -to No. 38, Highbury Place. His health and strength declined, it is -said, through the distress of mind brought upon him by the forgeries of -Robert Aslett, a clerk in the Bank, whom Newland had treated as his own -son. It was well known that Abraham had accumulated a large fortune; -legacy-hunters came about him, and an acquaintance sent him a ham as a -present; but Newland despised the mercenary motive, and next time he -saw the donor he said, "I have received a ham from you; I thank you for -it," said he, but raising his finger in a significant manner, added, "I -tell you it won't do, it won't do." - -Newland had no extravagant expectations that the world would be drowned -in sorrow when it should be his turn to leave it; and he wrote this -ludicrous epitaph on himself shortly before his death:-- - - Beneath this stone old Abraham lies: - Nobody laughs and nobody cries. - Where he's gone, and how he fares, - No one knows, and no one cares! - -His physician, in one of his latest visits, found him reading the -newspaper, when the doctor expressing his surprise, Newland replied, -smiling, "I am only looking in the paper in order to see what I am -reading to the world I am going to." He died November 21, 1807, without -any apparent pain of body or anxiety of mind, and his remains were -deposited in the church of St. Saviour, Southwark. - -Newland's property amounted to 200,000_l._, besides a thousand a year -landed estates. It must not be supposed that this was saved from his -salary. During the whole of his career, the loans for the war proved -very prolific. A certain amount of them was always reserved for the -cashier's office (one Parliamentary Report names 100,000_l._), and -as they generally came out at a premium, the profits were great. The -family of the Goldsmids, then the leaders of the Stock Exchange, -contracted for many of these loans, and to each of them he left 500_l._ -to purchase a mourning ring. Newland's large funds, it is said, were -also occasionally lent to the Goldsmids to assist their various -speculations. - - - - -[Illustration: Squire Mytton on his bear.] - - - - -The Spendthrift Squire of Halston, John Mytton. - - -The extravagant fellows of a family, says Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster, -have done more to overturn ancient houses than all the other causes -put together; and no case could be more in point to establish the -fact than the history of John Mytton, descended from the Myttons of -Halston, who represented, in the days of the Plantagenets, the borough -of Shrewsbury in Parliament, and filled the office of High Sheriff -of Shropshire at a very remote period. So far back as 1480, Thomas -Mytton, when holding that appointment, was the fortunate captor of -Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, whom he conducted to Salisbury for trial -and decapitation; and in requital Richard III. bestowed on "his trusty -and well-beloved squire, Thomas Mytton," the Duke's forfeited castle -and lordship of Cawes. Halston, to which the Myttons transferred their -seat from their more ancient residence of Cawes Castle and Habberley, -is called in ancient deeds "Holystone," and was in early times a -preceptory of Knights Templars. The Abbey, taken down about one hundred -and sixty years ago, was erected near where the present mansion stands. -In the good old times of Halston, before reckless waste had dismantled -its halls and levelled its ancestral woods, the oak was seen here in -its full majesty of form; and it is related that one particular tree, -coeval with many centuries of the family's greatness, was cut down by -the spendthrift squire in the year 1826, and contained ten tons of -timber. - -In the great civil war, Mytton of Halston was one of the few Shropshire -gentlemen who joined the Parliamentary standard. From this gallant -and upright Parliamentarian, the fifth in descent was John Mytton, -the eccentric, wasteful, dissipated, open-hearted, open-handed Squire -of Halston, in whose day and by whose wanton extravagance and folly, -a time-honoured family and a noble estate, the inheritance of five -hundred years, was recklessly destroyed. - -John Mytton was born September 30th, 1796. His father died when he -was only eighteen months old, so that his minority lasted almost -twenty years; and during its continuance a very large sum of money -was accumulated, which, added to a landed property of full 10,000_l._ -a year, and a pedigree of even Salopian antiquity and distinction, -rendered the Squire of Halston one of the first commoners in England. -But a boyhood unrestrained by proper control, and an education utterly -neglected, led to a course of profligacy and eccentricity, amounting -almost to madness, that marred all these gifts of fortune. Young Mytton -commenced by being expelled from both Westminster and Harrow; and -though he was entered on the books of the two universities, he did not -matriculate at either; the only indication he ever gave of an intention -to do so was his ordering three pipes of port wine to be sent to him, -addressed "Cambridge." When a mere child, he had been allowed a pack of -harriers at Halston, and at the age of ten was a confirmed scapegrace. -At nineteen he entered the 7th Hussars, and immediately joined his -regiment, then with the army of occupation in France. Fighting was, -however, all over, and the young Cornet turned at once to racing and -gaming, in which he was a serious loser. - -In 1818 he married the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Tyrrwhitt Jones, -Bart., of Stanley Hall. By this lady, who died in 1820, he had an only -child, Harriet, married in 1841 to Clement, youngest brother of Lord -Hill. After his wife's decease, the wayward extravagance which marked -the career of John Mytton has probably no parallel. He would not suffer -any one to advise him. When heavy liabilities had been incurred, but -previously to the disposal of the first property he sold, his agent -assured Mr. Mytton that if he would content himself for the following -six years with an income of 6,000_l._, the fine old Shrewsbury -estate--the earliest patrimony of his ancestors--might be saved; when -besought to listen to this warning counsel, "No, no," replied Mytton; -"I would not give a straw for life if it was to be passed on 6,000_l._ -a year." The result confirmed the agent's apprehensions: the first -acre alienated led to the gradual dismemberment of the whole estate; -and from this moment may be dated the ruin of the Myttons of Halston. -Such was the prodigality of this unfortunate man, that it was said, -"If Mytton had had an income of 200,000_l._, he would have been in -debt in five years." Most certain it is that, within the last fifteen -years of his life, he squandered full half-a-million sterling, and sold -timber--"the old oaks of Halston"--to the amount, it is stated, of -80,000_l._ - -The late Mr. Apperley (Nimrod) wrote a kindly biography of Mytton, -illustrated with coloured plates of his strange adventures. One gives -a view of Halston, with its glorious plantations, and its noble sheet -of water, through which, as the shortest cut, its eccentric owner is -riding home. Another illustrates Mytton's "wild duck shooting." "He -would sometimes," says Nimrod, "strip to his shirt to follow wild-fowl -in hard weather, and once actually laid himself down on the snow to -await their arrival at dusk. On one occasion he out-heroded Herod, -for he followed some ducks _in puris naturalibus_, and escaped with -perfect impunity." The third plate commemorates a practical joke of -the frolic-loving squire. One evening the clergyman and doctor, who -had dined at Halston, left to return on horseback. Their host having -disguised himself in a countryman's frock and hat, succeeded, by riding -across the park, in confronting them, and then, in true highwayman -voice, he called out, "Stand and deliver!" and before a reply could -be given, fired off his pistol, which had of course only a blank -cartridge. The affrighted gentlemen, Mytton used to say, never rode -half so fast in their lives, as when, with him at their heels, they -fled that night to Oswestry. - -Another of the plates exhibits Mr. Mytton in hunting dress, entering -his drawing-room full of company mounted on a bear: and another -exemplifies the old saying, "Light come, light go." Mytton, travelling -in his carriage, on a stormy night from Doncaster, fell asleep while -counting the money he had won; the windows were down, and a great many -of the bank-notes were blown away and lost. The reckless gambler used -often to tell the story as an amusing reminiscence. - -Another plate represents Mytton with his shirt in flames. "Did you ever -hear," asks Nimrod, "of a man setting fire to his own shirt to frighten -away the hiccup? Such, however, was done, and in this manner:--'Oh, -this horrid hiccup!' said Mytton, as he stood undressed on the floor, -apparently in the act of getting into bed; 'but I'll frighten it away;' -so seizing a candle, he applied it to the tail of his shirt, and it -being a cotton one, he was instantly enveloped in flames." His life was -only saved by the active exertions of two persons who chanced to be in -the room. - -Mytton married, secondly, Miss Giffard, of Chillington, a match of -such misery to the lady, that it ended in a separation. The crisis of -the spendthrift's fate was now impending. All the effects at Halston -were advertised for sale; and very shortly after Mr. Mytton fled to -the Continent to escape from his creditors. "On the 15th of November, -1831," says Nimrod, "during my residence in the town of Calais, I -was surprised by a violent knocking at my door, and so unlike what I -had ever heard before in that quiet town, that being at hand, I was -induced to open the door myself, when, to my no little astonishment, -there stood John Mytton. 'In the name of Heaven,' said I, 'what has -brought you to France?' 'Why,' he replied, '_just what brought yourself -to France_'--parodying the old song--'three couple of bailiffs were -hard at my brush.' But what did I see before me--the active, vigorous, -well-shapen John Mytton, whom I had left some years back in Shropshire? -Oh, no; compared with him, 'twas the reed shaken by the wind; there -stood before me a round-shouldered, decrepit, tottering, _old-young_ -man, if I may be allowed such a term, and so bloated by drink! But -there was a worse sight than this--there was a mind as well as a body -in ruins; the one had partaken of the injury done to the other; and -it was at once apparent that the whole was a wreck. In fact, he was a -melancholy spectacle of fallen man." - -It appeared that Mytton had been arrested for a paltry debt and thrown -into prison. "I once more," writes Nimrod, "was pained by seeing my -friend looking through the bars of a French prison-window. Here he was -suffered to remain for fourteen days; on the thirteenth day, I thought -it my duty to inform his mother of his situation, and in four days from -the date of my letter she was in Calais. After a time Mytton returned -to England, but only to a prison and a grave. The representative of -one of the most ancient families of his country, at one time M.P. for -Shrewsbury and High Sheriff for Shropshire and Merioneth, the inheritor -of Halston and Mowddwy and almost countless acres, the most popular -sportsman of England, died within the walls of the King's Bench Prison, -at the age of thirty-eight, deserted and neglected by all, save a few -faithful friends and a devoted mother, who stood by his death-bed to -the last." - -The announcement of the sad event produced a profound impression in -Shropshire: the people within many miles were deeply affected; the -degradation of Mytton's later years, the faults and follies of his -wretched life, were all forgotten; the generosity, the tenderness of -heart, the manly tastes of poor John Mytton, his sporting popularity, -and his very mad follies, were recalled with affectionate sympathy. His -funeral will long be remembered--three thousand persons attended it, -and a detachment of the North Shropshire Cavalry (of which regiment -the deceased was Major) escorted his remains to the vault in the -chapel of Halston; several private carriages followed, and about one -hundred of the tenantry, tradesmen, and friends on horseback closed the -procession. The body was placed in the family vault, surrounded by the -coffins of twelve of his relatives. - -The story of John Mytton is appalling. A family far more ancient -and apparently as vigorous as the grand old oaks that once were the -pride of Halston, was destroyed, after centuries of honourable and -historic eminence, by the mad follies of one man in the brief space -of eighteen years! The magnificent Lordship of Dinas Mowddwy, with it -32,000 acres--originally an appanage of the dynasty of Powis--inherited -through twelve generations from a coheiress of the Royal Lineage of -Powys Wenwynwyn, had been bartered, it is alleged, in adjustment of a -balance on turf and gambling transactions.[7] - -[7] Abridged from Sir Bernard Burke's very interesting _Vicissitudes of -Families_. Second Series. 1860. - -What a sad conclusion to the history of a very distinguished race, -memorable in the days of the Plantagenets, and renowned in the great -Civil War, is the following record, taken from _The Times_, 2nd April, -1834:--"On Monday, an inquest was held in the King's Bench Prison, -on the body of John Mytton, Esq., who died there on the preceding -Saturday. The deceased inherited considerable estates in the counties -of Salop and Merioneth, for both which he served the office of High -Sheriff, and some time represented the borough of Shrewsbury in -Parliament. His munificence and eccentric gaieties obtained him great -notoriety in the sporting and gay circles, both in England and on the -Continent. Two medical attendants stated that the immediate cause of -his death was disease of the brain (_delirium tremens_), brought on -by the excessive use of spirituous liquours. The deceased was in his -thirty-eighth year. Verdict--'Natural Death.'" - - - - -[Illustration: Noble Aide-de-Camp. Lord Petersham.] - - - - -Lord Petersham. - - -This eccentric nobleman, who was the eldest son of Charles, third Earl -of Harrington, was a leader of fashion some thirty years since; he was -tall and handsome; according to Captain Gronow, Lord Petersham very -much resembled the pictures of Henry IV. of France, and frequently -wore a dress not unlike that of the celebrated monarch. He was a great -patron of tailors, and a particular kind of greatcoat was called after -him a "Petersham." When young, he used to cut out his own clothes; he -made his own blacking, which, he said, would eventually supersede every -other. He was also a connoisseur in snuff, and one of his rooms was -fitted up with shelves and beautiful jars for various kinds of snuff, -with the names in gold. Here were also implements for moistening and -mixing snuffs, and Lord Petersham's mixture is to this day a popular -snuff. He possessed also a fine collection of snuff-boxes, and it was -said, a box for every day in the year. Captain Gronow saw him using -a beautiful Sèvres box, which, on being admired, he said was "a nice -summer box, but would not do for winter wear." He was equally choice -of his teas, and in the same room with the snuffs, upon shelves, were -placed tea-canisters, containing Congou, Pekoe, Souchong, Gunpowder, -Russian, and other fine kinds. Indeed, his father's mansion, Harrington -House, was long famous for its tea-drinking; the Earl and Countess and -family, and their visitors, were received upon these occasions in the -long gallery, and here the family of George III. enjoyed many a cup of -tea. It is told that when General Lincoln Stanhope returned from India -after several years' absence, his father welcomed him with "Hallo, -Linky, my dear boy! delighted to see you. _Have a cup of tea!_" - -Lord Petersham's equipages were unique; the carriages and horses were -brown; the harness had furniture of antique design; and the servants -wore long brown coats reaching to their heels, and glazed hats with -large cockades. Lord Petersham was a liberal patron of the opera and -the theatres; and two years after he had succeeded his father in the -earldom (of Harrington), he married the beautiful Maria Foote, of -Covent Garden Theatre. - - - - -The King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands. - - -In the year 1824, their "savage Majesties" of the Sandwich Islands -visited England. They were seen by Miss Berry, who, in her entertaining -journal, has thus graphically described their visit:-- - -"At half-past ten o'clock, I went with the Prince and Princess -Lowenstein, their son, and my sister, to Mr. Canning's, the Secretary -of State, who received for the first time the King and Queen of the -Sandwich Islands. They arrived in the midst of a numerous assembly, -all of the best society, and all _en grande toilette_ for a large -assembly given at Northumberland House. Mr. Canning entered, giving -his hand to a large black woman more than six feet high, and broad in -proportion, muffled up in a striped gauze dress with short sleeves, -leaving uncovered enormous black arms, half covered again with white -gloves; an enormous gauze turban upon her head; black hair, not -curled, but very short; a small bag in her hand, and I do not know -what upon her neck, where there was no gauze. It was with difficulty -that the Minister and his company could preserve a proper gravity for -the occasion. The Queen was followed by a lady in waiting as tall as -herself, and with a gayer and more intelligent countenance. Then came -the King, accompanied by three of his subjects, all dressed, like him, -in European costume; and a fourth, whose office I did not know, but -he wore over his ordinary coat a scarlet and yellow feather cloak, -and a helmet covered with the same material on his head. The King was -shorter than his four courtiers, but they all looked very strong, and, -except the King, all taller than the majority of those who surrounded -them. The two ladies were seated before the fire in the gallery for -some time. Mrs. Canning was presented first to them, and then the Duke -and Duchess of Gloucester and the Prince Leopold. The Queen took the -Duchess of Gloucester by the arm and shook it. One should have pitied -them for the way in which all eyes were turned upon them, and for all -the observations they occasioned; but it seemed to me that their minds -are not sufficiently opened, and that they are not civilized enough -either to notice or to suffer from it. From the gallery, Mr. Canning, -still holding the Queen's hand, conducted them through the apartment -and under the verandah of the garden, where the band of the Guards -regiment, in their full uniform, was playing military airs. Her savage -Majesty appeared much more occupied by the red-plumed hats of the -musicians than by the music. She ought to have been pleased to see that -the officer's helmet of her Court surpassed them as to colour. From -there they were conducted into the dining-room, where there was a fine -collation. The two ladies were seated alone at a table placed across -the room, and ate some cake and drank wine. They appeared awkward in -all their movements, and particularly embarrassed in their walk; there -was nothing of the free step of the savage, being probably embarrassed -by the folds of the European dress." - -The King and Queen and their suite were wantonly charged with gluttony -and drunkenness by persons who ought to have known better. "It is -true," observes Lord Byron, in his _Voyage to the Sandwich Islands_, -"that, unaccustomed to our habits, they little regarded regular hours -for meals, and that they liked to eat frequently, though not to excess. -Their greatest luxury was oysters, of which they were particularly -fond; and one day, some of the chiefs having been out to walk, and -seeing a grey mullet, instantly seized it and carried it home, to -the great delight of the whole party; who, on recognizing the native -fish of their own seas, could scarcely believe that it had not swum -hither on purpose for them, or been persuaded to wait till it was -cooked before they ate it." The best proof of their moderation is, -however, that the charge at Osborne's Hotel, in the Adelphi, during -their residence there, amounted to no greater an average than seventeen -shillings a head per day for their table: as they ate little or no -butcher's meat, but lived chiefly on fish, poultry, and fruit, by no -means the cheapest articles in London, their gluttony could not have -been great. So far from their always preferring the strongest liquors, -their favourite beverage was some cider, with which they had been -presented by Mr. Canning. - -The popular comic song of _The King of the Cannibal Islands_ was -written _à propos_ to the above royal visit. - - - - -Sir Edward Dering's Luckless Courtship. - - -Sir Edward Dering, the founder of the Surrenden library, and a -distinguished member of Parliament in the troublous times of Charles -I., was born in the Tower of London in 1598, his father having been -deputy-lieutenant of that fortress. He studied at Magdalen College, -Cambridge, and was knighted by James I. in 1618. Sir Edward was -thrice married. The story of an unsuccessful courtship, after his -second widowhood, is as good as a play, and indeed more amusing than -many dramas of the period based upon a similar subject. The object -of this enterprise was a city dame, the widow of a well-connected -mercer, Richard Bennett by name. The widow Bennett, by the custom of -London and the will of her husband, was possessed of two-thirds of the -deceased's property, besides all her jewels and chains of pearl and -gold, her diamond and other rings, her husband's coach and the four -grey coach-mares and geldings, with all things thereunto belonging. -In addition to these substantial recommendations, she seems to have -had some personal charms of her own, and no other encumbrance than -one little boy. In those days it was not necessary to advertise for -a husband, and Mistress Bennett could not lack suitors. Three of -the most conspicuous were named Finch, Crow, and Raven, much to the -amusement of London society in those days. The first was Sir Heneage -Finch, Recorder of London, who had been Speaker of the House of Commons -in 1626, and owned a handsome house at Kensington, since converted into -a Royal Palace. The next was Sir Sackville Crow, who was Treasurer -of the Navy, of which office he was subsequently deprived, owing to -an unfortunate deficit of which he was unable to give a satisfactory -account. The third was one Raven, a physician. This fatuous individual, -not having found much success in the way of ordinary courtship, could -think of no better expedient to gain his ends than to present himself -in the widow's bedchamber after she had retired to rest, when, having -woke the lady, he proceeded to press his suit. The widow screamed -thieves and murder, the servants rushed in, and the doctor was secured -and handed over to the parish constable. On the next day he was brought -before Mr. Recorder, who found the proceeding to be "flat burglary," -and committed his unlucky rival to gaol. When brought up for trial -he pleaded guilty to the "burglary," but under advice of the judge -withdrew the plea, and was ultimately found guilty of "ill-demeanour," -and was condemned to fine and imprisonment. - -It was on the morning after Dr. Raven's mad freak that Sir Edward -Dering presented himself as a suitor. How he commenced this important -enterprise, and how he sped, we learn from a minute journal which he -kept of his proceedings, and which he did not afterwards think it -necessary to burn. Here are a few entries. Thus begins the journal:-- - - Nov. 20. Edmund, King. I adventured, was denied. Sent up a letter, - which was returned, after she had read it. - -This repulse rendered it necessary to resort to crooked means. Servants -are corruptible, and so we find-- - - Nov. 21. I inveigled G. Newman with 20_s._ - - Nov. 24. I did re-engage him, 20_s._ I did also oil the cash-keeper, - 20_s._ - - Nov. 26. I gave Edmund Aspull [the cash-keeper] another 20_s._ I was - there, but denied sight. - -Unpromising this, but Sir Edward does not lose courage. - - Nov. 27. I sent a second letter, _which was kept_. - -There is hope, then, but we must not relax. Same day. - - I set Sir John Skeffington upon Matthew Cradock. - -Matthew Cradock is a cousin of the widow, and her trusty adviser. Same -day. - - The cash-keeper supped with me. - - Nov. 28. I went to Mr. Cradock, but found him cold. - -Sir John Skeffington could not have exerted himself much. - - Nov. 29. I was at the Old Jewry Church and saw her, both forenoon and - afternoon. - - Dec. 1. I sent a third letter, which was likewise kept. - -The widow had a troublesome affair on her hands. It appears that one -Steward, under the abominable system of wardships which then prevailed, -had obtained a grant from the crown of the wardship of Mrs. Bennett's -little boy, then four years old. The widow was in treaty with Steward -to buy from him the wardship of her own child, which the rogue refused -to release for 1,500_l._, offered him in hard cash. Between this -affair, and Dr. Raven and other suitors, the widow had enough to think -of. Steward had also made matrimonial proposals, which Mrs. Bennett -deemed it not prudent to cut short at once, while the bargaining for -the wardship was going on. On the 5th December Sir Edward communicates -with one Loe, an influential person with the widow. Loe answers, "that -Steward was so testy that she durst not give admittance unto any, until -he and she were fully concluded for the wardship--that she had a good -opinion of me--that he (Loe) heard nobly of me--that he would inform -me when Steward was off--that he was engaged for another--that I need -not refrain from going to the church where she was, unless I thought -it to disparage myself." Acting on this advice, Sir Edward goes to St. -Olave's next Sunday, and on coming out of church George Newman whispers -in his ear, "Good news! Good news!" After dinner George calls on Sir -Edward, who had taken a lodging in the sight of the widow's house, and -tells him that she "liked well his carriage, and that if his land were -not settled on his eldest son there was good hope." The bearer of such -news certainly merits oiling, so, Sir Edward says, "I gave him twenty -shillings." That evening Sir Edward supped with his rival, Sir Heneage -Finch, who gave him to understand that he himself despaired of his own -suit, and was ready to vacate the field, and even promised to assist -the worthy knight. - -The plot now thickens. Sir Edward, on New Year's Day, in a fit of -injured dignity, demanded back those letters that had "been kept;" -they were promptly returned; he afterwards repented him of this rash -proceeding; Izaak Walton, angler, biographer, and man-milliner, was -enlisted in the cause, and laboured strenuously, like an honest man and -an angler, therein; and the widow, Sir Edward, and the enthusiastic -Izaak, all had wonderful dreams, which came to nothing. On the 9th of -January Sir Edward notes, "George Newman says she hath two suits of -silver plate, one in the country and the other here, and that she hath -beds of 100_l._ the bed!" Such a prize deserves striving for, and an -attack is commenced in a new quarter. George Newman, with Susan, the -widow's nursemaid, and her little child, going into Finsbury Fields -to walk, are met by Taylor, Sir Edward's landlord. Taylor inveigles -the child to come with him; George Newman and Susan follow, not -unwillingly. Sir Edward says, "I entertained the child with cake, and -gave him an amber box, and to them, wine. Susan professed that she and -all the house prayed for me, and told me the child called me 'father.' -I gave her 5_s._, and entreated her to desire her mistress not to be -offended at this, which I was so glad of. She said she thought she -would not." The widow's cousin Cradock arrives in town. "Izaak Walton," -says Sir Edward, "undertook him at his first coming, and did his part -well. Cradock said he would do his best, if I would be ruled by him," -&c. Other suitors now intervene, and occasion much anxiety. They, too, -have their canvassers and agents, and the widow's residence becomes a -perfect focus of intrigue. The Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Isaac Bargrave, -Sir Edward's relative, is brought to bear, and he procures Dr. Featley, -a celebrated city divine, to call on the widow and use his influence. -The affair begins to assume public importance. The grave Sir Henry -Wotton, coming from Eton to pay his respects to his Majesty, meets Sir -Edward in the Privy Chamber, and, with a knowing look, wishes him "a -full sail," &c. Alas! all this labour and bribery was destined to come -to nothing. The comedy ended by the widow, who all along had kept her -own counsel, marrying the smooth-tongued Sir Heneage Finch, who had sat -quietly in the background, probably knowing his position to be assured. -Sir Edward was more successful in a subsequent matrimonial enterprise. -He found an excellent and amiable wife, and must, we should think, have -often laughed over his adventures with the widow.[8] - -[8] This very amusing _précis_ is slightly abridged from the _Athenæum_ -journal. - - - - -Gretna-Green Marriages. - - -In the summer of 1753, a young lady at Ranelagh Gardens, Chelsea, -became acquainted with a handsome young gentleman. They danced together -on another day; they met at the same place, and again danced. He -was a handsome young fellow, and the lady was beautiful and wealthy, -as well as high-born. She was sister to the two leading statesmen of -England--Mr. Pelham, the Prime Minister; and the Duke of Newcastle, -who had been Secretary of State. Her lover was a notorious highwayman, -Jack Freeland by name, with many other aliases. He, professing to be a -gentleman of fortune, proposed marriage, to which she assented. From -reasons suggested about family objections on both sides, they agreed to -repair to the Fleet prison to be wedded. At the foot of Fleet Street, -matrimonial visitors in that day entered the region of touters, who -accosted couples with such addresses as "Married, sir?" "Wish to be -married, ma'am?" And by rival touters who asserted, "His parson be no -good--only a cove what mends shoes; get married with mine: mine is -a regular hordained parson." Perhaps a third assertion, that "Them -fellows' parsons be no good; get married respectable; show you in no -time to a real Oxford and Cambridge professor." Following these persons -up narrow passages on Ludgate Hill, the couples were married for such -fees as private bargain regulated in dingy up-stairs rooms of taverns: -or going into the Fleet Prison, were united there by clerical prisoners -who found the place too lucrative and pleasant as a lodging to make -them anxious about paying their debts to get out. Those prisoners, like -some other of the "Fleet parsons"--indeed it was from the prison that -the term "Fleet marriages" arose--had also their touters stationed in -the adjoining streets to bring them customers. Miss Pelham and her -gallant highwayman were conducted to a Fleet parson. But a gentleman -happened to observe them who knew both. To save the lady he caused the -robber-bridegroom to be arrested, and carried the tidings to the Prime -Minister, her brother. The case led to much discussion. In the heat -of offended dignity, the Pelhams caused Lord Chancellor Hardwicke to -introduce a Bill for the better regulation and solemnizing of marriage. -It passed hastily through both houses of Parliament, and became law. -Except in the case of Jews and Quakers, it required all parties to be -married by a regularly ordained clergyman of the Church, and only after -a due proclamation of banns. - -The Marriage Law of Scotland did not exact that there should be a -religious ceremony, nor even the presence of a clergyman, though the -religious habits of the people prefer both. To be valid, the Scottish -law required only that the marriage contract should be witnessed. -When the Fleet was shut against lovers in 1754, those impatient of -parental control, and possessed of means to defray travelling expenses, -repaired to Scotland. Edinburgh for a time supplied their wants: the -last, we believe, who carried on a regular traffic in runaway weddings -here was Joseph Robertson, who, several years ago, died miserably of -hunger in London. But it was on the line of the borders adjoining -England that those weddings abounded. At Lamberton Toll, the nearest -Scottish ground to Berwick, the business was for many years done at a -very low price. After the erection of the suspension-bridge, six miles -above Berwick, marriages were performed there. A "Sheen Brig" wedding -became a common occurrence both to Northumberland and Berwickshire -lovers. At Coldstream, also, those marriages were common. But it was -at Gretna-Green, and Sark Toll Bar, and Springfield, nine miles from -Carlisle, that the "high-fly" runaways from England tied their nuptial -knots in greatest number. All the space between Carlisle and the Border -was common land, until of late years, inhabited only by smugglers -and persons of unsettled life. The Scottish parish of Gretna, on the -north side of the Sark stream, which there divides the countries, had -a population of a like character. After the act of 1754 had shut the -Fleet parsons out of shop in London, one of them paid his debts in the -prison, and advertised his removal to Gretna. Thither he was followed -by adventurous couples who failed to obtain the consent of parents and -guardians to their union. At his death a native of the place, known -as "Scott o' the Brig" (Sark Bridge), took up the business. He was -succeeded by one Gordon, an old soldier; and Gordon by the notorious -Joseph Paisley. Paisley was succeeded by several rivals, of whom Elliot -and Laing were the principals. Mr. Linton, of Gretna Hall, became chief -priest after Laing's death, which occurred through cold taken in a -journey to Lancaster, in 1826, where he was required as a witness in -the prosecution of the Wakefields for the abduction of Miss Turner. - -In 1841, the writer visited Gretna and Springfield to inspect the -registers, and found them a mass of loose papers. At that time the -larger part of the matrimonial trade was done--for couples arriving -on foot--by Mrs. Baillie and Miss Baillie, her daughter, who kept -Sark Bridge Toll; the post-chaise weddings going to Mr. Linton, of -Gretna Hall: his register, unlike the older ones, was a well-written -official-looking volume. Peter Elliot, formerly priest, was then an -old man. He had in his younger days been a postboy, but was reduced to -the office of "strapper" in a stable at Carlisle. Excess of whisky on -his part, and the more genteel competition of the occupier of Gretna -Hall, had driven him out of the marriage trade. But in his lifetime -he had been concerned in many races and chases over the nine miles -between Carlisle and Gretna, and would tell of the beautiful daughters -of England, whom, with whip and spur and shout, and wild halloo, he -had carried at the gallop across the border; the pursuing guardian, or -jilted lover, or angry father in sight behind, urging on post-boys who -also whipped and spurred and hallooed, but took care never to overtake -the fugitives until too late. Then there were tales of how time was too -short even for the brief ceremony, and how the officiating priest broke -off, exclaiming, "Ben the house, ben and into bed, into bed, my leddy!" -They were proud to boast of two Lord Chancellors having been married -there, one of whom, Erskine, arrived in the travelling costume of an -old lady. - -About the year 1794 it was estimated that sixty couples were married -annually, they paying an average of 15 guineas each, yielding a revenue -of 945_l._ a year or thereabout. The form of certificate was in latter -times printed, the officiating priest not being always sufficiently -sober to write; nor when sober was he an adept in penmanship, as the -following from the pen of Joseph Paisley may show:-- - -"This is to sartify all persons that may be concernid that (A. B.) from -the parish of (C.) and in county of (D.) and (E. F.) from the parish -of (G.) and county of (H.), and both comes before me and declayred -themselves both to be single persons, and nowe mayried by the forme of -the Kirk of Scotland and agreeible to the Church of England, and givne -ondre my hand this 18th day of March, 1793." - -Joseph Paisley, writer of this, was originally a weaver, at some -other time a tobacconist. He was the so-called "Blacksmith," though -there is no record that he, his predecessors, or successors were real -blacksmiths. He removed from Gretna to the village of Springfield, -half a mile distant, in 1791, and attended to his lucrative employment -till his death in 1814. He was tall in person, and in prime of life -well-proportioned; but before he died had grown enormously corpulent, -weighing upwards of 25 stone. By his natural enemies--the parish -clergymen--he was said to be grossly ignorant and coarse in his -manners, drinking a Scotch pint of whisky in various shapes of toddy -and raw drams in a day. On one occasion he and a companion, named Ned -the Turner, sat down on a Monday morning to an anker of strong cognac, -and before the evening of Saturday they kicked the empty cask out at -the door! He was also celebrated for his stentorian lungs and almost -incredible muscular strength. He could with one hand bend a strong -poker over his arm, and was frequently known to straighten an ordinary -horse-shoe with his hands. But he could not break asunder the bands of -matrimony which he so easily rivetted. Law stamped his handiwork with -the title of sanctity. The Gretna and Sark Toll marriages greatly -increased in number through the facilities of railway conveyance. The -fugitives, when obtaining a start by an express train, could not be -overtaken by another, while the ordinary third-class carried away so -many customers for cheap marriages from their English parish clergy, -that the Legislature was invoked, and enacted that on and after the -1st January, 1857, no marriage should be valid in Scotland unless -the parties had both resided in Scotland for the last six weeks next -preceding the wedding-day. In the evidence upon this Bill, one of the -_marriers_, Murray, of Gretna, admitted that he had married between -700 and 800 couples in a year; and as there were two or three other of -these marriers in good practice, the number of couples married at Sark -Toll Bar and at Gretna may be safely estimated at upwards of 1,000 in a -year. - -The alteration in the law was effected through the happy effort of -a magistrate of Cumberland, immediately and ably supported by the -magistrates of the county, who signed a petition committed to the -charge of Lord Brougham. His Lordship forthwith introduced a Bill, -after Easter, 1856, which Bill passed through Parliament without -opposition.[9] - -[9] For the details of the measure, see "Irregular Marriages," -_Knowledge for the Time_, 1864, pp. 120-123. - - - - -The Agapemone, or Abode of Love. - - -This strange place, Agapemone (Gr. αγαπη love, and μονη an abode), was the general residence of a peculiar sect of -religionists, established in 1845 at Charlinch, near Taunton, in -Somersetshire. They were originally a branch of the sect called -Lampeters, and their peculiar tenets are, that the day of grace and -prayer is passed, and the time of judgment arrived. They carry out -their belief by perpetual praises to God, but do not adopt the use of -prayer. The members enter into a community of property, and profess -to live in a state of constant joyousness and mutual love. In 1849 a -singular trial, connected with this institution, occupied the Court -of Exchequer for three days. It was an action brought by Miss Louisa -Nottidge, a maiden lady of large property, against her brother and -brother-in-law, for forcibly abducting her from the Agapemone, and -confining her in a lunatic asylum. It appeared that the plaintiff and -her three sisters, all ladies of considerable property, had become -converts to the opinions of this sect, and taken up their abode in the -Agapemone, where the sisters were married to three of the clerical -rulers of the establishment; but Miss Louisa Nottidge, who had remained -single, was forcibly taken away by the two defendants, and sent to a -lunatic asylum; for which alleged wrong she obtained 50_l._ damages; -thus showing that she was not insane, and that the law, as the Chief -Baron observed, tolerated every sect, however absurd, that did not -inflict a social wrong, or openly violate the laws of morality. - -Since that period the sect has been sending its missionaries to -different parts of the country, in order to gain converts. On the 26th -of September, 1856, two of these missionaries called a meeting at -the Hanover Square Rooms, in London, when one of them addressed the -assembled visitors in an unintelligible jargon relative to the mission -of a certain "Brother Prince," the head of the Agapemone, who had, he -said, been made a "vessel of mercy" for the human race, and who was to -supersede the Gospel by some new religious dispensation which he had -been specially commissioned to teach. The other missionary then stated -that he would explain who Brother Prince was. He was by nature, he -said, a child of wrath, but by grace a vessel of mercy. The testimony -of Brother Prince was concerning what Jesus Christ had done by his own -person. Some eleven years ago, he said, the Holy Ghost fulfilled in -Brother Prince all that he came to be and to do. The speaker proceeded -to allude to a second spiritual manifestation which, he said, occurred -at the Agapemone about five years ago, in which case the phenomenon was -exhibited in the person of a woman--a prophetess--"not privately, but -in the presence of all." These sentiments were uttered in the midst of -general execration; and a resolution was unanimously passed, "That the -statements which had been made that evening were contrary to common -sense, degrading to humanity, and blasphemous towards God."--_English -Cyclopædia._ - - - - -Singular Scotch Ladies. - - -Lord Cockburn, in his _Memorials of his Time_, speaks of "a singular -race of Scotch old ladies," who were a delightful set; warm-hearted, -very resolute, indifferent about the modes and habits of the modern -world, and adhering to their own ways, who dressed, spoke, and did -exactly as they chose. Among these examples of perfect naturalness was -a Miss Menie Trotter, of whom Miss Grahame, in her _Mystifications_, -relates:--"She was penurious in small things, but her generosity could -rise to circumstances. Her dower was an annuity from the estate of -Mortonhall. She had contempt for securities, and would trust no bank -with her money, but kept all her bills and bank-notes in a green silk -bag that hung on her toilette-glass. On each side of the table stood -a large white bowl, one of which contained her silver, the other her -copper money, the latter always full to the brim, accessible to Peggy, -her handmaid, or any other servant in the house, for the idea of any -one stealing money never entered her brain. Indeed, she once sent a -present to her niece, Mrs. Cuninghame, of a fifty-pound note wrapped -up in a cabbage-leaf, and entrusted it to the care of a woman who -was going with a basket of butter to the Edinburgh market. My friend -Mrs. Cuninghame related to me this and the following histories of her -aunt:--One day, in the course of conversation, she said to her niece, -'Do you ken, Margaret, that Mrs. Thomas R---- is dead. I was gaun by -the door this morning, and thought I wad just look in and speer for -her. She was very near her end, but quite sensible, and expressed -her gratitude to God for what He had done for her and her fatherless -bairns. She said "she was leaving a large young family with very small -means, but she had that trust in _Him_ that they would not be forsaken, -and that He would provide for them." Now, Margaret, ye'll tell Peggy -to bring down the green silk bag that hangs on the corner of my -looking-glass, and ye'll tak' twa thousand pounds out o' it, and gi'e -it Walter Ferrier for behoof of thae orphan bairns; it will fit out -the laddies, and be something to the lassies. I want to make good the -words, "that God wad provide for them," for what else was I sent that -way this morning, but as a humble instrument in his hands?'" - -Miss Trotter had a strong friendship for a certain Mrs. B----, who had -an only son, and he was looked on as a simpleton, but his relatives had -interest to get him a situation as clerk in a bank, where he contrived -to steal money to the extent of five hundred pounds. His peculations -were discovered, and in those days he would have been hanged, but Miss -Trotter hearing the report started instantly for Edinburgh, went to the -bank, and ascertained the truth. She at once laid down five hundred -pounds, telling them, "Ye maun not only stop proceedings, but ye maun -keep him in the bank in some capacity, however mean, till I find some -other employment for him." Then she fitted the lad out, and sent him to -London, where she had a friend to whom she wrote, offering another five -hundred pounds to any one who would procure him a situation abroad, in -which he might gain an honest living, and never be trusted with money. -After all this was settled, she went herself and communicated the facts -to his mother. - - - - -Mrs. Bond, of Hackney. - - -About the year 1771 there died one of the four children of Bond, -a jeweller, residing in an alley leading from Wellclose Square to -Ratcliffe Highway. She left property, to be divided between Mrs. S. -Bond, of Hackney, and a sister. The latter died in the year 1801, and -left her property, amounting to about 6,000_l._, to her surviving -sister, Sarah, who bought an annuity of 700_l._ By living in a most -parsimonious manner she contrived to scrape together about 13,000l. -three per cent., 1,000_l._ four percent., and 150_l._ per year Long -Annuities. - -In 1821 Mrs. Bond, who was of most eccentric habits, died at her -residence, Cambridge Heath, Hackney, leaving, it was said, great -wealth, which was to be paid to King George the Fourth, _if no relative -could be found to claim it_. After her death, vestry and parish -clerks, beadles, sextons, country schoolmasters, and persons holding -any official situations about cathedral churches, &c.--in short, -innumerable persons who had leisure or opportunity for such inquiry, -set about searching for Mrs. Bond's pedigree; but all to no effect. -Some ludicrous incidents, however, occurred in the neighbourhood of -Mrs. Bond's residence, where persons arrived from various parts of the -country to claim a relationship. Among the number a man and his son -arrived from Sunderland, whence they had walked. He stated that his -name was Bond; he was sure the deceased was his sister, and he would -not quit London without the money. Upon investigation he could produce -no other authority than being of the same name, and was, therefore, -compelled to retrace his steps, almost penniless. - -About a week afterwards, a decently-dressed elderly woman, named -Bond, made her appearance. She had just arrived outside the coach -from the environs of Carmarthen. Her story was that about fifty years -previously (1771), her sister left her and proceeded to London to -seek her fortune. They had never corresponded, but from the name and -description of the deceased, she had no doubt she was her sister, and -the money accordingly belonged to her. It had cost her nearly all the -money she could raise to come from Wales, fully satisfied of being -amply repaid for her trouble, but she met with the same fate as the -preceding applicant. - -The next claimant was a sailor, who had just returned from the West -Indies, where he had been _moored_, he said, thirty-five years. He -had left in England two sisters named Bond: one was of very eccentric -manners, particularly for her love of money; the sailor declared that -he had frequently seen her make a meal off cat's meat. The above he -considered sufficient proof of his relationship. He insisted upon -entering a caveat against the claim of his Majesty, but acknowledging -that the King appeared to be the legal claimant, he swore he would go -and see his royal master, and ask him if he had any objection to share -the money with him! - -It would be tedious to enumerate the persons who put in their claims -from various parts of the world; but the King's proctor stood first in -the Prerogative Court, and nothing had transpired to affect his right -in behalf of his Majesty. - -The hut on Cambridge Heath wherein Mrs. Bond died was closed for some -time; at length it was announced to be let; but such was the anxiety -to get possession of it that the notice was removed. The number of -applications were, doubtless, made under the impression that hoards of -money were yet undiscovered in the hut. - -The claimant most likely entitled to the property was a Mr. Bond, a -butcher, in Shoreditch, who traced out that he was second cousin to the -wealthy spinster, his grandfather having been the only brother of the -father of Mrs. Bond; and the only bar to his administering was that he -had not been able to ascertain the church where Mrs. Bond's father and -mother were married, a most essential point to prove the legitimacy -of Mrs. Sarah Bond. There were no fewer than eight caveats against the -administrator. - - - - -John Ward, the Hackney Miser. - - -In Church Street, Hackney, one of the most interesting of our suburban -parishes for its antiquarian history, stands a mansion, which, though -plain in itself, has long been traditionally conspicuous, from the -infamous character of its founder. This was John Ward, a man who was -so notorious for his readiness to take advantage of the foibles, the -wants, and vices of his fellow-men, that it attracted the satirical -acrimony of Pope, who, in his epistle to Allen, Lord Bathurst, _On the -Use of Riches_, has placed him in a niche in the Temple of Obloquy, in -company with a trio, who seem fit to descend with him to posterity, -or rather to accompany him in the descent alluded to in the following -lines:-- - - Like doctors thus, when much dispute has pass'd, - We find our tenets just the same at last; - Both fairly owning riches, in effect, - No grace of Heaven or token of the elect: - Given to the fool, the mad, the vain, the evil, - To Ward, to Waters, Chartres, and the Devil. - -Of Ward's private history little is known. He is said to have been -early in life employed in a floorcloth manufactory. The exact period -when he built the house at Hackney is uncertain. He resided in it -in the year 1727, at which time he sat in Parliament for Melcombe -Regis. But having _made a mistake with respect to a name in a deed_ -in which the interest of the Duchess of Buckingham was implicated, he -was prosecuted by her and convicted of forgery, was first expelled -the House of Commons, and then stood in the pillory, on the 17th of -March, 1727. As misfortune seldom comes alone, about this time Ward was -suspected of joining in a conveyance with Sir John Blunt to secrete -50,000_l._ of that director's estate forfeited to the South Sea Company -by Act of Parliament. The Company recovered the 50,000_l._ against -Ward, and by execution swept away the whole of the furniture and other -effects in the mansion at Hackney. These being insufficient to cover -even the costs, Ward sought to protect his other property, set up prior -conveyances of his real estate to his brother and son, and concealing -all his personal, which was computed to be 150,000_l._ Against these -paper fortifications, a bill in Chancery, ten times as voluminous, and -twenty times more zig-zag, was erected; a countermine of immense depth -was sprung, and however ably his works were defended, they were at -length carried. The conveyances were set aside, Ward was imprisoned, -and hazarded the forfeiture of his life by not giving in his effects -till the last day, which was that of his examination. During his -confinement his amusement was to give poison to dogs and cats, and see -them expire by slower or quicker torments! - -In the _Post-boy_ newspaper of the period we find these records of -Ward's career:--In June, 1719, he recovered 300_l._ damages from one -Thomas Dyche, a schoolmaster of Bow, for printing and publishing a -libel upon Ward, reflecting upon the discharge of his trust about -repairing Dagenham Breach. In May, 1726, he fled to France or -Flanders. In June, 1731, he was indicted, with certain others, for -wounding several officers of the Commissioners of Bankruptcy; and in -September, 1732, he surrendered to the Commissioners, and was kept -under examination at Guildhall from three o'clock that afternoon till -three the next morning, when he was committed to the Fleet for further -examination. - -To sum up the wealth of Ward at the several eras of his life: at -his standing in the pillory he was worth above 200,000_l._; at his -commitment to prison he was worth 150,000_l._, but became so far -diminished in his reputation as to be thought a worse man by fifty or -sixty thousand. - -Among a variety of curious papers of Mr. Ward was found the following -extraordinary document, in his own handwriting, which may very -appropriately be called _The Miser's Prayer_:-- - -"O Lord, Thou knowest that I have nine estates in the City of London, -and likewise that I have lately purchased one estate in fee simple in -the county of Essex; I beseech Thee to preserve the two counties of -Middlesex and Essex from fire and earthquakes; and as I have a mortgage -in Hertfordshire, I beg of Thee likewise to have an eye of compassion -on that county; and for the rest of the counties Thou mayst deal with -them as Thou art pleased. O Lord, enable the Bank to answer their -bills, and make all my debtors good men. Give a prosperous voyage and -return to the 'Mermaid' sloop, because I have insured it; and as Thou -hast said the days of the wicked are but short, I trust in Thee that -Thou wilt not forget Thy promise, as I have purchased an estate in -reversion, which will be mine on the death of that profligate young -man, Sir J. L. Keep my friends from sinking, and preserve me from -thieves and housebreakers, and make all my servants so honest and -faithful that they may attend to my interests, and never cheat me out -of my property, night or day." - - - - -"Poor Man of Mutton." - - -This is a term applied to the remains of a shoulder of mutton, which, -after it has done its regular duty as a roast at dinner, makes its -appearance as a broiled bone at supper or upon the next day. - -The late Earl of B., popularly known by the name of _Old Rag_, being -indisposed at an hotel in London, the landlord came to enumerate the -good things he had in his larder, hoping to prevail on his guest to -eat something. The Earl, at length, starting suddenly from his couch, -and throwing back a tartan nightgown, which had covered his singularly -grim and ghastly face, replied to his host's courtesy:--"Landlord, -I think I _could_ eat a morsel of _a poor man_." Boniface, surprised -alike at the extreme ugliness of Lord B.'s countenance and the nature -of the proposal, retreated from the room, and tumbled down-stairs -precipitately, having no doubt that this barbaric chief when at home -was in the habit of eating a joint of a tenant or vassal when his -appetite was dainty.--_Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary._ - - - - -Lord Kenyon's Parsimony. - - -Lord Kenyon studied economy even in the hatchment put up over his house -in Lincoln's Inn Fields after his death. The motto was certainly found -to be "_Mors janua vita_"--this being at first supposed to be the -mistake of the painter. But when it was mentioned to Lord Ellenborough, -"Mistake!" exclaimed his lordship, "it is no mistake. The considerate -testator left particular directions in his will that the estate should -not be burdened with the expense of a _diphthong_!" Accordingly, he had -the glory of dying very rich. After the loss of his eldest son, he said -with great emotion to Mr. Justice Allan Park, who repeated the words -soon after to the narrator:--"How delighted George would be to take -his poor brother from the earth, and restore him to life, although he -receives 250,000_l._ by his decease!" - -Lord Kenyon occupied a large, gloomy house in Lincoln's Inn Fields: -there is this traditional description of the mansion in his time--"All -the year through it is Lent in the kitchen and Passion-week in the -parlour." Some one having mentioned that, although the fire was very -dull in the kitchen-grate, the _spits_ were always bright,--"It is -quite irrelevant," said Jekyll, "to talk about the _spits_, for -_nothing_ 'turns' _upon them_." * * He was curiously economical about -the adornment of his head. It was observed for a number of years -before he died, that he had two hats and two wigs--of the hats and -the wigs one was dreadfully old and shabby, the other comparatively -spruce. He always carried into court with him the very old hat and the -comparatively spruce wig, or the very old wig and the comparatively -spruce hat. On the days of the very old hat and the comparatively -spruce wig, he shoved his hat under the bench and displayed his wig; -but on the days of the very old wig and the comparatively spruce hat, -he always continued covered. He might often be seen sitting with his -hat over his wig, but the Rule of Court by which he was governed on -this point is doubtful. - - - - -Mary Moser, the Flower-Painter. - - -Mary Moser was the only daughter of George Michael Moser, R.A., -goldchaser and enameller, and the first Keeper of the Royal Academy of -Arts in London. His daughter was a very distinguished flower-painter, -and was the only lady besides Angelica Kauffman who was ever elected -an Academician: she became afterwards Mrs. Lloyd. Miss Moser, says -Smith, in his _Life of Nollekens_, was somewhat precise, but was at -times a most cheerful companion: he has printed three of her letters, -two to Mrs. Lloyd, the wife of the gentleman to whom she herself was -afterwards married; and the other to Fuseli, while in Rome, of whom she -was said to have been an admirer. In one to the former, alluding to -the absurd fashions of the beginning of the reign of George the Third, -she says:--"Come to London and admire our plumes; we sweep the skies! -a duchess wears six feathers, a lady four, and every milkmaid one at -each corner of her cap. Fashion is grown a monster: pray tell your -operator that your hair must measure three-quarters of a yard from the -extremity of one wing to the other." The second letter is chiefly on -Lord Chesterfield's Advice to his Son: she says to her friend, "If you -have read Lord Chesterfield's Letters, give me your opinion of them, -and what you think of his Lordship: for my part, I admire wit and adore -good manners, but at the same time I should detest Lord Chesterfield, -were he alive, young, and handsome, and my lover, if I supposed, as -I do now, his wit was the result of thought, and that he had been -practising the graces in the looking-glass." In her letter to Fuseli, -she gives this account of the Exhibition of the Royal Academy in the -year 1770:--"Reynolds was like himself in pictures which you have seen; -Gainsborough beyond himself in a portrait of a gentleman in a Vandyck -habit; and Zoffany superior to everybody in a portrait of Garrick in -the character of Abel Drugger, with two figures, Subtle and Face. Sir -Joshua agreed to give a hundred guineas for the picture; Lord Carlisle -had an hour after offered Reynolds twenty to part with it, which the -Knight generously refused, resigned his intended purchase to the Lord, -and the emolument to his brother artist. He is a gentleman! Angelica -made a very great addition to the show, and Mr. Hamilton's picture of -Briseis parting from Achilles was very much admired; the Briseis in -taste, _à l'antique_, elegant and simple. Cotes, Dance, Wilson, &c., as -usual." - -Mary Moser decorated an entire room with flowers at Frogmore for Queen -Charlotte, for which she received 900_l._; the room was called Miss -Moser's room. After her marriage, she practised only as an amateur; she -died at an advanced age in 1819. When West was re-instated in the chair -of the Royal Academy, in 1803, there was one voice for Mrs. Lloyd, -and when Fuseli was taxed with having given it, he said, according to -Knowles, his biographer, "Well, suppose I did; she is eligible to the -office; and is not one old woman as good as another?" West and Fuseli -were ill-according spirits. - - - - -[Illustration: An Old Maid on a Journey. The Eccentric Miss Banks.] - - - - -The Eccentric Miss Banks. - - -Oddities of dress were half-a-century ago much oftener to be seen -than in the present day; or, rather, their singularities were more -grotesque than the peculiarities of the present day. John Thomas -Smith, writing in 1818, says--"It is scarcely possible for any person -possessing the smallest share of common observation to pass through -the streets in London without noticing what is generally denominated -_a character_, either in dress, walk, pursuits, or propensities." At -the head of his remarks on the eccentricity of some of their dresses -he places Miss Sophia Banks, Sarah, the sister of Sir Joseph, who -was looked after by the eye of astonishment wherever she went, and -in whatever situation she appeared. Her dress was that of the _Old -School_; her Barcelona quilted petticoat had a hole on either side for -the convenience of rummaging two immense pockets, stuffed with books -of all sizes. This petticoat was covered with a deep stomachered gown, -sometimes obscuring the pocket-holes, similar to many of the ladies -of Bunbury's time, which he has introduced into his prints. In this -dress she might frequently be seen walking, followed by a six-foot -servant with a cane almost as tall as himself. Miss Banks, for so that -lady was called for many years, was frequently heard to relate the -following curious anecdote of herself: after making repeated inquiries -of the wall-vendors of halfpenny ballads for a particular one which she -wanted, she was informed by the claret-faced woman who strung up her -stock by Middlesex Hospital gates, that if she went to a printer's in -Long Lane, Smithfield, probably he might supply her ladyship with what -her ladyship wanted. Away trudged Miss Banks through Smithfield: but -before she entered Mr. Thompson's shop, she desired her man to wait -for her at the corner, by the plum-pudding stall. "Yes, we have it," -was the printer's answer to her interrogative. He then gave Miss Banks -what is called a book, consisting of many songs. Upon her expressing -her surprise when the man returned her eightpence from her shilling, -and the great quantity of songs he had given her, when she only -wanted one--"What, then!" observed the man, "are you not one of our -characters? I beg your pardon." - -This lady and Lady Banks, out of compliment to Sir Joseph, who had -been deeply engaged in the production of wool, had their riding-habits -made of his produce, in which dresses the two ladies at one period on -all occasions appeared. Indeed, so delighted was Miss Banks with this -_overall_ covering, that she actually gave the habit-maker orders -for three at a time, and they were called _Hightum_, _Tightum_, and -_Scrub_. The first was her best, the second her second-best, and the -third her every-day one. - -Once when Miss Banks and her sister-in-law visited a friend with whom -they were to stay several days, on the evening of their arrival they -sat down to dinner in their riding-habits. Their friend had a large -party after dinner to meet them, and they entered the drawing-room in -their riding-habits. On the following morning they again appeared in -their riding-habits; and so on, to the astonishment of every one, till -the conclusion of their visit. - -Although Miss Banks paid great attention to many persons, there were -others to whom she was wanting in civility. A great genius, who had -arrived a quarter-of-an-hour before the time specified on the card -for dinner, was shown into the drawing-room, where Miss Banks was -putting away what are sometimes called _rattletraps_. When the visitor -observed, "It is a fine day, ma'am," she replied, "I know nothing at -all about it. You must speak to my brother upon that subject when you -are at dinner." Notwithstanding the very singular appearance of Miss -Banks, she was, when in the prime of life, a fashionable whip, and -drove four-in-hand. Miss Banks died in 1818. - - - - -Thomas Cooke, the Miser of Pentonville. - - -At No. 16, Winchester Place, now No. 64, Pentonville Road, lived, for a -period of fifteen years, Thomas Cooke, a notorious miser, who heaped up -wealth by the most ungenerous means and servility of behaviour: - - Gold banished honour from his mind, - And only left the name behind. - -He was born about 1725 or 1726, at Clewer, near Windsor, and was the -son of an itinerant fiddler. He was left to the care of a grandmother, -who resided at Swannington, near Norwich. He obtained employment in a -factory, where the leading trait of his character manifested itself. -His companions in labour clubbed a portion of their week's earnings to -form a mess. This Cooke declined, and determined to live more cheaply; -and when others went to dine, he went to the side of a neighbouring -brook, and made breakfast and dinner one meal, which consisted of -a halfpenny loaf, an apple, and a draught of water from the brook, -taken up on the brim of his cap. His economy so far seems to have been -judicious, as it enabled him to pay a boy who was an usher in the -village school to instruct him in the rudiments of education. - -When he arrived at manhood, he obtained employment as porter to a -drysalter and paper-maker at Norwich; he was next made a journeyman, -with increased wages. He then, through his master, got an appointment -in the Excise, in a district near London; and his master also gave -him a letter of introduction to a sugar-baker in the metropolis. -After a tedious journey by waggon, he reached London, with only eight -shillings in his pocket. There was some delay and expense before he -could act as an exciseman, and his immediate necessities compelled him -to take the situation of porter to the sugar-baker. He then became a -journeyman, and by his parsimonious habits saved money enough to pay -the preliminary expenses, and was enabled to assume the office to which -he had so long aspired. - -He was then appointed to inspect a paper-mill at Tottenham, where he -closely watched a new process in paper-making. During Cooke's official -visits to this mill the owner died, and his widow resolved to carry -on the business with the aid of a foreman. Cooke had noted here many -infractions of the law, which, designedly or otherwise, were daily -taking place; and having summed up the penalties incurred thereby, -which he set off against the value of the concern, he privately -informed the widow that he had complained of these malpractices, and -told her that if the fines were levied, they would amount to double -the value of the property she possessed, and reduce her to want and -imprisonment. This he followed up by an overture of marriage, and -assured the lady that he only knew of the frauds of her establishment. -The widow consented to become his wife when the appointed days of -mourning for her first husband had expired. To this Cooke agreed, but -lest she might prove fickle, he required of her a promise in writing. -On his marriage, Cooke became possessed of her property, which was -considerable, together with the lease of the mills at Tottenham. - -He next purchased a large sugar-baker's business in Puddle Dock. His -parsimony now became extreme: he kept no table, but obtained the -greater part of his daily food by well-timed visits to persons of his -acquaintance. He had good conversational powers, and these he usually -turned to his profit. Sometimes, when walking the streets, he fell -down in a pretended fit, opposite to the house of one whose bounty -he sought. No humane person could well refuse admission to a man in -apparent distress and of respectable appearance, whose well-powdered -wig and long ruffles induced a belief that he was some decayed citizen -who had seen better days. For the assistance thus kindly given he -would express his gratitude in the most energetic manner. He would ask -for a glass of water, but if wine was offered, he said, "No, he never -drank anything but water;" but when pressed by his kind host, would -take it, and exclaim, "God bless my soul, sir, this is very excellent -wine! Pray, sir, who is your wine merchant? for indeed, to tell you the -truth, it was the difficulty of getting good wine that caused me to -leave it off entirely." Upon invitation, he would take another glass, -and thanking his host, depart. A few days after, he would call at the -house of his kind entertainer just at dinner-time, professedly to thank -him for having saved his life, and on being invited to dine would at -first demur, urging that "My gruel is waiting for me at home." On -sitting down to dinner he would take notice of the children; and after -great pretended kindness, would say to the mother, "God bless them, -pretty dears. Pray, madam, will you have the goodness to give me all -their names in writing?" Thus artfully did he contrive to make his -kind entertainers think that he designed to do some good thing for -their children; and they now sought the continuance of his friendship -by occasional presents of game or a dozen or two of the wine he had so -much approved. - -Many persons were in this way made the victims of Cooke's sophistries. -By these gifts, his housekeeping expenses were reduced to fifteen-pence -a day, and it was sinful extravagance if they reached two shillings. -Such comestibles as he could not consume, he disposed of to the -dealers and others. He drank only water, but as for the "gormandizing, -gluttonous maids, they could not drink, not they, what he did; nothing -would serve them but table-beer." This he kept in his front parlour, -with a lock-tap to it, of which he held the key, and at meal-times he -drew exactly half-a-pint for each woman. - -With all his rigid economy, Cook found, to his great grief, that by -his sugar-bakery he had lost 500_l._ in twelve months. To amend this -state of affairs, and to discover some of the secrets of the trade, -he invited several sugar-bakers to dine with him, and plying them -well with wine, wheedled out of the persons in business the coveted -information. His wife was alarmed at this seeming extravagance, but -he silenced her scruples by telling her he would "suck as much of the -brains" of some of the fools as would amply repay them. - -Having retired from business, he resided for a time at the Angel Inn, -Islington, from whence he removed to Winchester Place. The plot of -garden-ground in the rear he sowed with cabbage-seed, and with his own -hands manured it. To obtain the manure, he would, on moonlight nights, -go out with a shovel and basket and take up the horse-dung which lay -in the City Road. This scheming obtained for him the name of "Cabbage -Cooke." - -The only luxury he allowed his wife was a small quantity of table-beer; -and by his general mal-treatment he caused her so much grief that -she died of a broken heart. Soon after his wife's death, he paid his -addresses to several rich widows, but none would listen to his suit, -especially as he desired all their property should be made over to him. - -Cooke was fond of horse-racing, and contrived to be present at Epsom -races at the expense of some of his acquaintances. He once had a horse; -but finding it too expensive to keep at livery, for this purpose he -converted the kitchen of his house into a stable, and he used to curry -and fodder the horse with his own hands. - -During his fifteen years' residence in Winchester Place, he never once -painted the house inside or outside, nor would he allow the landlord -to paint it. He was then served with legal notice to quit; this he -disregarded. At last he so implored the landlord not to turn him into -the street, that he consented to allow him time to provide himself with -a house, and this in presence of an associate whom he brought purposely -in the room. The landlord then had him served with an ejectment; but -upon the case being brought to trial, Cooke brought forward in evidence -the witness to the promise of the landlord, who was accordingly -nonsuited. The landlord, however, brought another action, in which he -succeeded; and Cooke removed to No. 85, White Lion Street, Pentonville. - -Sickness and old age now compelled Cooke to seek medical advice, when -he obtained, by some artifice, a patient's dispensary letter; but his -cheat was discovered. Cooke's principle was, "No cure, no pay;" and -when a physician, to whom he had been very troublesome, told him he -could do nothing more for him, he said, "Then give me back my money, -sir. Why did you rob me of my money, unless you meant to cure me?" -Yet Cooke was a professing Christian, and a regular attendant at the -ordinances of religion, and he seldom failed to receive the sacrament. -He died August 26th, 1811, at the age of eighty-six, and was buried on -the 30th at St. Mary's, Islington. Some of the mob threw cabbage-stalks -on his coffin as it was lowered into the grave. - -The wealth that Cooke had amassed during his long life-time, by -meanness, artifice, and pretended poverty, amounted to the large sum -of 127,205_l._ in the Three per cent. Consols. During his lifetime his -charities were but few. But, as if to atone for a life of avarice, he -left by will the bulk of his riches to several charitable societies, -and a few trifling legacies to individuals. - - - - -Thomas Cooke, the Turkey Merchant. - - -This eccentric gentleman was resident at Constantinople as a merchant -at the time Charles XII. of Sweden was in Turkey, in 1714, and -contributed in a very munificent manner to the relief of the royal -prisoner. Mr. Cooke well knew the Divan wished to get rid of the king, -their prisoner, who always pleaded poverty and inability to pay his -debts; and they having lent him money, were afraid to lend him any -more. He, however, devised a scheme to assist him, and applied to the -Lord High Treasurer, who heard the proposal with great satisfaction, -but was surprised to be told, "Your excellency must find the money." To -this he answered, by a very natural question, "How will you ever pay -us?" Mr. Cooke replied, they were building a mosque, and would stand in -need of lead to cover it, which he would engage to supply. Next morning -the proposal was accepted, and the arrangements concluded. - -Mr. Cooke then treated with the King of Sweden, and offered him a -certain sum of money upon condition of being repaid in copper, the -exportation of which from Sweden had been for some time prohibited, -at a stipulated price. The offer was accepted, and the money paid to -the king by the hands of La Mortraye, the well-known author of several -volumes of _Travels_; and Mr. Cooke received an order upon the states -of Sweden to be paid in copper, which he sold to a house in that -kingdom, at an advance of 12,000_l._ sterling upon the first cost, -besides the profit he obtained upon the sale of his lead. The money -lent was not sufficient for the king's liberation; he stayed in Turkey -till he had nothing left but a knife and fork. Upon hearing of the -king's situation, Mr. Cooke one day surprised him with a present of his -whole sideboard of plate; and for this conduct towards their sovereign -his name was idolized by the Swedes. - -Mr. Cooke was for many years in the commission of the peace for the -county of Middlesex, and was three years governor of the Bank of -England. He was a man of singular character, very shrewd, but highly -esteemed, particularly for his unbounded munificence. Having made his -will, whereby he had bequeathed 1,000_l._ to the clerks of the Bank, he -resolved on being his own executor, and to give them the money in his -lifetime. Accordingly, in the month of February, preceding his death, -he sent a note of 1,000_l._ to the governor of the Bank, requesting -that it might be distributed among the clerks, in the proportion of one -guinea for every year that each person had been in their service, and -the remaining 3_l._ to the porters. - -Mr. Cooke died at Stoke Newington, 12th of August, 1752, aged eighty. -By his own directions he was attended to the grave by twelve poor -housekeepers belonging to a box-club at Stoke Newington, of which he -had long been a generous and useful member. To each man he bequeathed -a guinea and a suit of clothes, and as much victuals and drink as he -chose; but if either of the legatees got fuddled he was to forfeit his -legacy, and was only to receive half-a-crown for his day's work. Mr. -Cooke's corpse was wrapped in a clean blanket, sewed up, and, being put -into a common coffin, was conveyed, with the above attendants, in three -coaches, to the grave close to a stile, near Sir John Morden's College, -on Blackheath, of which he was a trustee. The corpse was then taken out -of the coffin, which was left in the college for the first pensioner -it would fit, and buried in a winding-sheet upright in the ground, -according to the Eastern custom. - -Cooke's widow maintained the same benevolent character with himself, -and died at Stoke Newington, January 15th, 1763. They had issue two -daughters, both of whom died before their father. - - - - -"Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell. - - -In Cold Bath Square, for the space of ninety years, lived Mrs. Lewson, -commonly called "Lady Lewson," from her very eccentric manner of dress. -She was born in the year 1700, in the reign of William and Mary, in -Essex Street, Strand, of respectable parents named Vaughan; and she was -married at an early age to Mr. Lewson, a wealthy gentleman, then living -in Cold Bath Square, in the house wherein she subsequently continued to -reside. She became a widow at the age of twenty-six, having only one -daughter living at the time. She was left by her husband in affluent -circumstances; she preferred to continue single, and remained so, -although she had many suitors. When her daughter married, Mrs. Lewson -was left alone, and being of retired habits, she rarely went out, or -permitted the visits of any person. During the last thirty years of -her life, she kept only one servant, an old woman, who died after a -servitude of twenty years: she was succeeded by her grand-daughter, who -marrying, was replaced by an old man, who attended the different houses -in the Square to go of errands, clean shoes, &c. "Lady Lewson" took -this man into her house, and he acted as her steward, butler, cook, -and housemaid; and with the exception of two old lapdogs and a cat, was -her only companion. - -The house in which she lived was large and elegantly furnished; the -beds were kept constantly made, although they had not been slept in -for about thirty years. Her apartment was only occasionally swept out, -and never washed; and the windows were so encrusted with dirt, that -they hardly admitted a ray of light. She used to tell her acquaintances -that if the rooms were washed, it might be the occasion of her catching -cold; and as to cleaning the windows, many accidents happened through -that ridiculous practice--the glass might be broken, the person who -cleaned them might be injured, and the expense would fall upon her. -There was a large garden in the rear of the house, which she kept in -good order; and here, when the weather was fine, she sometimes sat and -read, or chatted of times past with such of her acquaintances as she -could be persuaded to admit. She seldom visited, except at the house -of a grocer in Cold Bath Square, with whom she dealt. She had survived -many years every relative, and was thus left to indulge her odd tastes. - -She was so partial to the fashions that prevailed in her youthful days, -that she never changed the manner of her dress from that worn in the -time of George I., being always decorated - - With ruffs, and cuffs, and fardingales. - -She always wore powder, with a large _tache_, made of horsehair, upon -her head, over which the hair was turned, and she placed the cap, which -was tied under her chin, and three or four rows of curls hung down -her neck. She generally wore a silk dress, with a long train, a deep -flounce all round, and a very long waist; her gown was very tightly -laced up to her neck, round which was a ruff or frill; the sleeves came -down below the elbows, and to each of them four or five large cuffs -were attached; a large bonnet, quite flat, high-heeled shoes, a large -black silk cloak trimmed with lace, and a gold-headed cane, completed -her every-day costume for eighty years; in which dress she occasionally -walked round the Square. She never washed herself, because she thought -those persons who did so were always taking cold, or engendering some -dreadful disorder; her method was to besmear her face and neck all over -with hog's-lard, because that was soft and lubricating; and because she -wanted a little colour on her cheeks, she bedaubed them with rose-pink. -Her manner of living was very methodical: she would only drink tea out -of one cup, and always sat in her favourite chair. She enjoyed good -health, and entertained the greatest aversion to medicine. At the age -of eighty-three, she cut two new teeth, and she was never troubled with -tooth-ache. She lived in five reigns, and had the events of the year -1715 (the Scottish Rebellion) fresh in her recollection. - -The sudden death of an old lady who was a neighbour made a deep -impression on Mrs. Lewson; believing her own time had come, she became -weak, took to her bed, refused medical aid, and on Tuesday, the 28th of -May, 1816, died at her house in Cold Bath Square, at the age of 116; -she was interred in Bunhill Fields burying-ground. "At her death," -says Mr. Warner, in his MS. _Notes on Clerkenwell_, "I went over the -house, and was struck with astonishment at the number of bars, bolts, -&c., to the whole of the doors and windows; the ceilings of the upper -floor were completely lined with strong boards, braced together with -iron bars, to prevent any one getting into the house from the roof. The -ashes had not been removed for many years; they were neatly piled up, -as if formed into beds for some particular purpose, around the yard. -Her furniture, &c., were sold by auction, and persons were admitted to -view by producing a catalogue, which was sold at sixpence, and would -permit any number of persons at one time."[10] - -[10] Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_, 1865, p. 115. - - - - -Profits of Dust-sifting, and Dust-heaps. - - -Many years ago a _dust-sifter_, named Mary Collins, residing in Bell -Street, Lisson Grove, was robbed by a nurse, when her evidence before -the police magistrate was remarkable for the extraordinary disclosures -it incidentally afforded of the large profits obtained from the -apparently humble vocation of dust-sifting. The articles stolen were in -a pocket, and were thus described: one coral necklace, large beads; one -ditto, with pearl clasp; several handsome brooches; five gold seals; -some gold rings; several gold shirt-pins; a quantity of loose beads; -broken bits of gold and silver, &c. Mr. Rawlinson, the magistrate, -expressed his surprise at her having such a motley assortment of -valuables. Complainant: Your worship, we find them amongst the -dust.--Mr. Rawlinson: Indeed! what, all these articles?--Complainant: -Oh, your worship, that's nothing; we find many more things than them: -we find almost every small article that can be mentioned. We are -employed by the dust contractor, who allows us 8_d._ per load for -sifting, besides which we have all the spoons and other articles which -we may find amongst the dust.--Mr. Rawlinson: That is dustman's law, -I suppose: but pray how many silver spoons may you find in the course -of the year?--Complainant: It is impossible to say: sometimes more and -sometimes less. - -Mr. Rawlinson declared that what she had just related was quite -novel to him. The urbane manner of the worthy magistrate won upon -the old lady and made her quite communicative. She had followed her -occupation eight years, and what with the "perquisites" (_id est_, -articles found), and the savings from "hard labour," she had realized -sufficient money to think about house-building, and had then a house -erecting which she expected would cost her at least 300_l._ She had -deposited 100_l._ in the hands of her employer, in part payment, and as -a proof that all was not vaunting, she produced her box, in which were -thirty-nine sovereigns, two five-pound bank-notes, and several guineas -and half-sovereigns. - -Early in the present century, the spot of ground on which now stands -Argyle Street, Liverpool Street, Manchester Street, and the corner of -Gray's Inn Road, was covered with a mountain of filth and cinders, the -accumulation of many years, and which afforded food for hundreds of -pigs. The Russians bought the whole of the ash-heap, and shipped it to -Moscow, to be used in rebuilding that city after it had been burned -by the French. The Battle-bridge dustmen had a certain celebrity in -their day. The ground on which the dust-heap stood was sold in 1826 -to the Pandemonium Company for fifteen thousand pounds; they walled -in the whole, and built a theatre, which now remains at the corner of -Liverpool Street. The Company's scheme was, however, abandoned, and -the ground was let on building leases. The heap is mentioned in the -burlesque song, _Adam Bell, the Literary Dustman:_[11] - - You recollect the cinder heap, - Vot stood in Gray's Inn Lane, sirs? - -[11] Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_, p. 501. - -When the street now called the Caledonian Road was in the fields, -there was at the Battle-bridge end of the road a large accumulation -of horse-bones, which were stored there by some horse-slaughterers. -And in 1833, Battle-bridge was described in the _New Monthly Magazine_ -as "the grand centre of dustmen, scavengers, horse and dog dealers, -knackermen, brickmakers, and other low but necessary professionalists." -The dust-heap is described as "that sublime, sifted wonder of cockneys, -the cloud-kissing dust-heap which sold for twenty thousand pounds;" but -this is doubtful. - -Mr. T. C. Noble has communicated to Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_ -the following particulars of the Dust and Cinder Heap, &c.--"The estate -at Battle-bridge comprised from seventeen to twenty acres. Of this -my grandfather took sixteen small dilapidated houses, and _the dust -and cinder heap_, which, it was said, had been _existing on the spot -since the Great Fire of London_. He gave about 500_l._ for the lot, -although the parties wanted 800_l._ Bricks were then very scarce, so -he very soon realized a good sum for the old buildings, while Russia, -hearing in some way of this enormous dust-heap, purchased it for -purposes in rebuilding Moscow. The site of the mountain of dust is now -covered by the houses of Derby Street, and I may add, the names of the -thoroughfares erected on this estate were derived from the popular -ministers of that day. The rental derived from the property by my -grandfather exceeded 1,000_l._ a year." - -John Thomas Smith gives the following notes upon oddities of the above -class:--"Within my time many men have indulged most ridiculously in -their eccentricities. I have known one who had made a pretty large -fortune in business get up at four o'clock in the morning and walk the -streets to pick up horse-shoes which had been slipped in the course -of the night, with no other motive than to see how many he could -accumulate in the course of a year. I also remember a rich soap-boiler -who never missed an opportunity of pocketing nails, pieces of iron -hoops, and bits of leather in his daily walks; and these he would -spread upon a large walnut-tree three-flapped dining-table, with a -similar view to that of the horse-shoe collector. This wealthy citizen -would often put on a red woollen cap and a waggoner's frock, in order -to stoke his own furnace; after which he would dress, get into his -coach, and, attended by tall servants in bright blue liveries, drive to -his villa, where his hungry friends were waiting his arrival." - - - - -Sir John Dinely, Bart. - - -This eccentric baronet, of the family of the Dinelys, of Charlton, -descended by the female line from the Royal House of Plantagenet, -having dissipated the wreck of the family estates, obtained the -pension and situation of a poor knight of Windsor. His chief -occupation consisted in advertising for a wife, and nearly thirty -years were passed in assignations to meet the fair respondents to his -advertisements. His figure was truly grotesque: in wet weather he was -mounted on a high pair of pattens; he wore the coat of the Windsor -uniform, with a velvet embroidered waistcoat, satin breeches, silk -stockings, and a full-bottomed wig. In this finery he might be seen -strolling one day; and next out marketing, carrying a penny loaf, a -morsel of butter, a quartern of sugar, and a farthing candle. Twice -or thrice a year he came to London, and visited Vauxhall Gardens -and the theatres. His fortune, if he could recover it, he estimated -at 300,000_l._ He invited the widow as well as the blooming maiden -of sixteen, and addressed them in printed documents, bearing his -signature, in which he specified the sum the ladies must possess; he -expected less property with youth than age or widowhood; adding that -few ladies would be eligible that did not possess at least 10,000_l._ a -year, which, however, was nothing compared to the honour his high birth -and noble descent would confer; the incredulous he referred to Nash's -_Worcestershire_. He addressed his advertisements to "the angelic fair" -from his house in Windsor Castle (one of the poor knight's houses). He -cherished to the last the expectation of forming a connubial connection -with some lady of property, but, alas! he died a bachelor in 1808.[12] - -[12] We know an instance of an old Baronet advertising twenty years for -a wife; at last he succeeded in marrying an out-and-out Xantippe. - - - - -[Illustration: A well-known character on 'Change. Rothschild.] - - - - -The Rothschilds. - - -In the _Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton_, edited by his son, we -find this amusing letter, dated 1834: "We yesterday dined at Ham House, -to meet the Rothschilds; and very amusing it was. He (Rothschild) told -us his life and adventures. He was the third son of the banker at -Frankfort. 'There was not,' he said, 'room enough for us all in that -city. I dealt in English goods. One great trader came there, who had -the market to himself; he was quite the great man, and did us a favour -if he sold us goods. Somehow I offended him, and he refused to show -me his patterns. This was on a Tuesday; I said to my father, "I will -go to England." I could speak nothing but German. On the Thursday I -started. The nearer I got to England, the cheaper goods were. As soon -as I got to Manchester, I laid out all my money, things were so cheap; -and I made good profit. I soon found that there were three profits--the -raw material, the dyeing, and the manufacturing. I said to the -manufacturer, "I will supply you with material and dye, and you supply -me with manufactured goods." So I got three profits instead of one, -and I could sell goods cheaper than anybody. In a short time I made my -20,000_l._ into 60,000_l._ My success all turned on one maxim. I said, -I can do what another man can, and so I am a match for the man with -the patterns, and for all the rest of them! Another advantage I had. -I was an off-hand man. I made a bargain at once. When I was settled -in London, the East India Company had 800,000 ounces of gold to sell. -I went to the sale, and bought it all. I knew the Duke of Wellington -must have it. I had bought a great many of his bills at a discount. The -Government sent for me, and said they must have it. When they had got -it, they did not know how to get it to Portugal. I undertook all that, -and I sent it through France; and that was the best business I ever -did.' - -"Another maxim, on which he seemed to place great reliance, was, never -to have anything to do with an unlucky place or an unlucky man. 'I have -seen,' said he, 'many clever men, very clever men, who had not shoes -to their feet. I never act with them. Their advice sounds very well; -but fate is against them; they cannot get on themselves; and if they -cannot do good to themselves, how can they do good to me?' By aid of -these maxims he has acquired three millions of money. 'I hope,' said -----, 'that your children are not too fond of money and business, to -the exclusion of more important things. I am sure you would not wish -that.'--Rothschild: 'I am sure I should wish that. _I wish them to give -mind, and soul, and heart, and body, and everything to business; that -is the way to be happy_. It requires a great deal of boldness and a -great deal of caution to make a great fortune; and when you have got -it, it requires ten times as much wit to keep it. If I were to listen -to all the projects proposed to me, I should ruin myself very soon. -Stick to one business, young man,' said he to Edward; 'stick to your -brewery, and you may be the great brewer of London. Be a brewer, and a -banker, and a merchant, and a manufacturer, and you will soon be in the -_Gazette_. - -"'One of my neighbours is a very ill-tempered man; he tries to vex me, -and has built a great place for swine close to my walk. So, when I go -out, I hear, first grunt, grunt, squeak, squeak; but this does me no -harm. I am always in good humour. Sometimes to amuse myself I give a -beggar a guinea. He thinks it is a mistake, and for fear I should find -it out, off he runs as hard as he can. I advise you to give a beggar a -guinea sometimes, it is very amusing.' The daughters are very pleasing. -The second son is a mighty hunter, and his father lets him buy any -horses he likes. He lately applied to the Emperor of Morocco for a -first-rate Arab horse. The Emperor sent him a magnificent one; but he -died as he landed in England. The poor youth said very feelingly, 'that -was the greatest misfortune he ever had suffered;' and I felt strong -sympathy with him. I forgot to say, that soon after Mr. Rothschild came -to England, Bonaparte invaded Germany. 'The Prince of Hesse Cassel,' -said Rothschild, 'gave my father his money; there was no time to be -lost; he sent it to me. I had 600,000_l._ arrive unexpectedly by the -post; and I put it to such good use, that the Prince made me a present -of all his wine and his linen.'" - - - - -A Legacy of Half a Million of Money. - - -On the 30th of August, 1852, there died at Chelsea John Camden Neild, -a wealthy gentleman, who had bequeathed an immense legacy to Queen -Victoria. His father was a native of Knutsford, in Cheshire; as a -goldsmith in London he made a large fortune. He was a truly benevolent -man, especially in his efforts for the improvement of prisons, and -originated the Society for the Relief of Persons imprisoned for Small -Debts. He married the daughter of John Camden, Esq., of Battersea, in -Surrey, a direct descendant of the great antiquary of the same name. He -died in 1814, and was buried at Chelsea. - -John Camden Neild, the only surviving son of the above, was born in -1780; educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, studied at Lincoln's -Inn, and in 1808 was called to the bar. In 1814 he succeeded to the -whole of his father's property, estimated at 250,000_l._; but he made -a very different use of his wealth. Avarice was his ruling passion; he -became a confirmed miser, and for the last thirty years of his life -gave himself over to heaping up riches. He lived in a large but meanly -furnished house in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea; and he slept on a bare board, -and latterly on an old stump bedstead, on which he died. His favourite -companion was a large black cat, which was in his chamber when he -breathed his last. - -He had considerable property at North Marston, in Buckinghamshire, and -here he often stayed for days together, besides his half-yearly visits -to receive rents. As lessee of the rectory, it was incumbent on him to -repair the chancel of the church; the leaded roof having become full -of fissures, he had them covered with strips of painted calico, saying -they would "last his time." During this odd repair, he sat all day on -the roof, to keep the workmen employed and even ate his dinner there, -which consisted of hard-boiled eggs, dry bread, and buttermilk. - -His dress was an old-fashioned swallow-tailed coat, brown trousers, -short gaiters, and shoes which were generally patched and down at the -heels. His stockings and linen were generally full of holes; but when -he stayed a night at a tenant's, the mistress often mended them while -he was in bed. He was short and punchy in figure, scarcely above five -feet in height, with a large round and short neck. He always carried -an old green cotton umbrella, but never wore a great coat, which he -considered too extravagant for his slender means. He travelled outside -a coach, where his fellow-travellers took him for a decayed gentleman -in extreme poverty. Once, when visiting his Kentish property on a -bitterly cold day, the coach stopped at Farningham, where the other -passengers subscribed for a glass of brandy-and-water, which they sent -to the poor gentleman, in pity for their thinly-clad companion who -still sat on the coach-roof, while they were by the inn fireside. - -He often took long journeys on foot, when he would avail himself of any -proffered "lift," and he was even known to sit on a load of coal, to -enable him to proceed a little further without expense; yet he would -give the driver a penny or two for the accommodation; for, miser as he -was, he never liked to receive anything without paying for it--however -small the scale; nor would he partake of any meal or refreshment when -asked by the clergymen of the parishes where his estates lay. Yet with -tenants of a lower grade he would share the coarse meals and lodging -of the family. At North Marston he used to reside with the tenant on -the rectory farm; while staying here, about 1828, he attempted to cut -his throat, but his life was saved chiefly by the prompt assistance of -the tenant's wife. This attempt was supposed to have been caused by a -sudden fall in the funds, in which he had just made a large investment. - -Sometimes he would eat his dinner at a tenant's, where he would beg a -basin of milk, and buy three eggs for a penny, get them hard-boiled, -and eat two for his dinner, with another basin of milk; the third egg -he would save for next morning's breakfast. He used to examine minutely -the nature of his land, and keep an account of the number of trees on -his estates: he had been known to walk from twelve to fifteen miles to -count only a few trees. - -Mr. Neild's general answer to all applications for charitable -contributions was a refusal; in some instances it was otherwise. He -once, but only once, gave a pound for the Sunday-school at North -Marston; he promised 300_l._ towards building an infirmary for -Buckinghamshire, but withheld it from an objection to the site. - -Mr. Neild was not, as stated at the time of his death, "a frigid, -spiritless specimen of humanity," for he possessed considerable -knowledge in legal and general literature and the classics. Nor did -he entirely pass over merit. Finding the son of one of his tenants -to possess strong natural abilities, he paid wholly or in part the -expenses of his school and college education. This person is now a -distinguished scholar and a dignitary of the Church of England. - -Mr. Neild was buried on the 16th of September, according to his -own desire, in the chancel of North Marston Church. His will then -necessarily came to light, and great was the sensation which it -occasioned. After bequeathing a few trifling legacies to different -persons, he left the whole of his vast property, estimated at -500,000_l._, to "Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, begging -Her Majesty's most gracious acceptance of the same for her sole use -and benefit, and her heirs, &c." To each of his three executors he -bequeathed 100_l._ The will had excited such curiosity, that, though -his life had passed almost unnoticed, a large concourse of persons -assembled at Chelsea to witness the removal of his body, and the church -and churchyard at North Marston were crowded with wondering--not -lamenting--spectators. Among his tenants, workmen, and the poor of the -parish where he possessed so much property, not a tear was shed, not -a regret uttered, as his body was committed to its last resting-place. -The only remark heard was, "Poor creature! had he known so much would -have been spent on his funeral, he would have come down here to die to -save the expense!" - -Two caveats were entered against his will, but were subsequently -withdrawn, and the Queen was left to take undisputed possession of -his property. Her Majesty immediately increased Mr. Neild's bequest -to his three executors to 1,000_l._ each; she provided for his old -housekeeper, to whom he had made no bequest, though she had lived with -him six-and-twenty years; and she secured an annuity to the woman who -had frustrated Mr. Neild's attempt at suicide. - -Her Majesty, in 1855, had restored the chancel of North Marston Church, -and inserted an east window of beautifully stained glass, beneath which -is a reredos with this inscription: "This Reredos and the Stained Glass -Window were erected by Her Majesty Queen Victoria (D.G.B.R.F.D.), in -the eighteenth year of her reign, in memory of John Camden Neild, Esq., -of this parish, who died August 30th, 1852, aged 72."[13] - -[13] Condensed from _The Book of Days_, vol. ii. pp. 285-288. - -This man of wealth must not be confounded with the Mr. Neeld who came -into possession of great wealth on the demise of his uncle, Philip -Rundell, the wealthy goldsmith of Ludgate Hill. He died in 1827, at the -age of eighty-one; and, according to the _Gentleman's Magazine_, "had -never married, and never kept an establishment, but lived much with one -niece at Brompton, and another, the wife of John Bannister, the eminent -comedian." The eldest son of the latter, on coming of age, was invited -to breakfast with Mr. Rundell, who placed in the young man's hands at -parting a sealed letter, which he was not to open till he reached home. -It was then found to contain a bequest of 10,000_l._, payable on the -death of the donor, and of his own marriage. This incident was related -to Mr. Britton by Mr. Bannister, who also indulged him by repeating -two songs which he had written and sung at Mr. Rundell's, on two -birthdays of the aged goldsmith. Bannister also inherited 5,000_l._ for -his own life, and then to devolve to his daughter; and his son had an -additional legacy from Mr. Rundell. Numerous other large sums of money -were bequeathed to other relatives, friends, and public foundations; -but the most important item in the will is the residuary clause, -whereby the testator "gives to his esteemed friend, Joseph Neeld, the -younger, all the rest of his real and mixed estate, which," says the -magazine, "it is computed will amount to not less than 890,000_l._ The -personal effects were sworn at upwards of 1,000,000_l._, the utmost -limit to which the scale of the probate duty extends." - - - - -Eccentricities of the Earl of Bridgewater. - - -Forty years since there lived in Paris the Rev. Francis Henry Egerton, -Earl of Bridgewater, of whom we find this probably overcharged but -curious account in a Parisian journal of the year 1826; than his -lordship no one has a higher claim to a distinguished place in the -history of human oddities:--"Those who have once seen--nay, those who -have never seen this meagre personage drag himself along, supported -by two huge lacqueys, with his sugar-loaf hat, slouched down over his -eyes, cannot fail to recognize him. An immense fortune enables him -to gratify the most extravagant caprices that ever passed through -the head of a rich Englishman. If he be lent a book, he carries his -politeness so far as to send it back, or rather have it conveyed home, -in a carriage. He gives orders that two of his most stately steeds -be caparisoned under one of his chariots, and the volume, reclining -at ease in _milord's_ landau, arrives, attended by four footmen in -costly livery, at the door of its astounded owner. His carriage is -frequently to be seen filled with his dogs. He bestows great care -on the feet of these dogs, and orders them boots, for which he pays -as dearly as for his own. Lord Bridgewater's custom is an excellent -one for the boot-maker; for, besides the four feet of each of his -dogs, the supply of his own two feet must give constant employment to -several operatives. He puts on a new pair of boots every day, carefully -preserving those he has once worn, and ranging them in order; he -commands that none shall touch them, but takes himself great pleasure -in observing how much of the year has each day passed, by the state of -his boots." - -"Lord Egerton is a man of few acquaintance, and very few of his -countrymen have got as far as his dining-hall. His table, however, -is constantly set out with a dozen covers, and served by suitable -attendants. Who, then, are his privileged guests? No less than a dozen -of his favourite dogs, who daily partake of _milord's_ dinner, seated -very gravely in arm-chairs, each with a napkin round his neck, and a -servant behind to attend to his wants. These honourable quadrupeds, as -if grateful for such delicate attentions, comport themselves during -the time of repast with a decency and decorum which would do more -than honour to a party of gentlemen; but if, by any chance, one of -them should, without due consideration, obey the natural instinct of -his appetite, and transgress any of the rules of good manners, his -punishment is at hand. The day following the offence the dog dines, -and even dines well; but not at _milord's_ table; banished to the -ante-chamber, and dressed in livery, he eats in sorrow the bread of -shame, and picks the bone of mortification, while his place at table -remains vacant till his repentance has merited a generous pardon!" - -This eccentric nobleman died in February, 1829, and by his will, dated -February 25th, 1825, bequeathed 8,000_l._ for the writing, printing, -and publishing of the well-known _Bridgewater Treatises_. - - - - -The Denisons, and the Conyngham Family. - - -The history of the Denison family, the last representative of which -died in 1849, leaving a fortune of more than two millions and a half, -affords a lesson which the mercantile world cannot study too curiously. -Somewhat more than one hundred and twenty years ago, the elder Denison -made his way on foot to London from Skipton-in-Craven, his native -place, with a few shillings in his pocket, and, being a parish-boy, not -knowing even how to read or write. Another account states that he was a -woollen-cloth-merchant at Leeds, and came to London in a waggon, being -attended on his departure by his friends, who took a solemn leave of -him, as the distance was then thought so great that they might never -see him again. He was recommended by a townswoman of his own (of the -name of Sykes, whom he afterwards married) to the house of Dillon and -Co., where she was herself a domestic servant; and for some time the -lad was employed to sweep the shop and go on errands. His zeal and -industry recommended him, however, to his employers, and having been -taught to read, he rose to a clerkship. After the death of his wife he -obtained an independence by marrying one Elizabeth Butler, daughter of -a rich hatter in Tooley Street, and set up in business for himself in -Princes Street, Lothbury, where by incessant attention to business and -strict parsimony, he managed to scrape together a considerable fortune. -He finally removed to St. Mary Axe, where he lived and died, after -having purchased the estates in Surrey and Yorkshire (of Lord King -and the Duke of Leeds), Denbies and Seamere; by joining the Heywoods, -eminent bankers of Liverpool, his wealth rapidly increased. The _Annual -Register_ of 1806, in recording these facts and his end, states that -through life Mr. Denison was a dissenter: he remained to the last an -illiterate man. - -By his second wife he had one son and two daughters. The son, William -Joseph, a man of sound principle and excellent character, though -less penurious than his father, who, when he entertained a friend -at dinner in St. Mary Axe, used to walk to the butcher's and bring -home a rump-steak in a cabbage-leaf in his pocket, was remarkable for -his disinclination to detach even the smallest sum from his enormous -capital. Thus, when the nephew to whom he bequeathed 85,000_l._ per -annum, fell into railway difficulties (the speculation having been -undertaken with the sanction of his uncle), he permitted him, to avoid -legal proceedings, to withdraw to Boulogne-sur-Mer, and reside there a -twelvemonth with his young family, rather than pay for him the sum of -2,000_l._ - -Mr. Denison, the father, died in 1806; his son, succeeding to the -banking business (the firm being now Denison, Heywood, and Kennard), -continued to accumulate; and at his death, in 1849, he left two -millions and a half of money. He had sat in Parliament for Surrey since -1818. He was a man of cultivated tastes, and possessed a knowledge of -art and elegant literature. He feared to be thought ostentatious, and -could with difficulty be prevailed on to have a lodge erected at the -entrance to a new road which he had just formed on his estate in Surrey. - -Mr. Denison's two sisters were Elizabeth, married, in 1794, to Henry, -first Marquis Conyngham; and Maria, married, in 1793, to Sir Robert -Lawley, Bart., created, in 1831, Baron Wenlock. Up to the age of -twenty-seven, Miss Denison resided with her father in St. Mary Axe. -Here the rich and beautiful heiress was won and wedded in 1794 by -the Honourable Henry Burton, then a captain, twenty-eight years old, -and the eldest son of the fortunate Francis Pierpoint Burton, of -Buncraggy, who succeeded through his mother, after the death of her two -brothers, to the barony and estates of the old Conynghams, won at the -battle of the Boyne by Sir Albert Conyngham, Lieutenant-General of the -Ordnance of Ireland, and aggrandized by many forfeitures and marriages -subsequently. Captain Burton carried off his wife to Ireland, and only -revisited England in his forty-second year, to kiss hands, in 1808, on -his promotion to a major-generalship. On succeeding to his father's -title and estates, his lordship so improved their condition that he was -justly regarded as one of the benefactors of his country; and a visit -to his estate at Slane, on the banks of the Boyne, is recorded by Mr. -Parkinson in his _Experiences of Agriculture_ in the same terms as a -visit to Holkham would have been chronicled in the days of Mr. Coke. -The barony of Conyngham was increased to an earldom as a reward for the -spirited conduct of his lordship's father, which led to a reciprocity -of trade between Ireland and England. Upon the conclusion of the war -with France, when George IV. paid a visit to Ireland, he was hospitably -received and entertained at Slane Castle. Here, probably, commenced -that more intimate acquaintance between His Majesty and the Marquis -Conyngham and his family which induced the King, upon his return to -England, to invite the whole family to court, and, after they had -accepted the invitation, to retain them in his household. In 1816 his -lordship was created Viscount Slane (the restoration of an ancient -title forfeited in the Rebellion), Earl of Mountcharles, and Marquis -Conyngham; and in 1821 he was enrolled in the British Peerage as Baron -Minster, of Minster Abbey, in the county of Kent. The Marchioness was -left a widow in 1832, and survived until 1861, having attained the -venerable age of ninety-two, and lived to see both her sons peers of -the realm--the one in succession of his father; the second, Albert -Denison, as the heir to her own father's great fortune and estates, -with the title of Baron Londesborough. - - - - -"Dog Jennings." - - -This eccentric character, Henry Constantine Jennings, was born in -1731, and was the son of a gentleman possessed of a large estate at -Shiplake, in Oxfordshire. He was educated at Westminster School, and -at the age of seventeen years became an ensign in the 1st Regiment of -Foot Guards. He held the commission but a short time, and on resigning -it went to Italy in company with Lord Monthermer, son of the Duke of -Montagu. - -While at Rome, young Jennings commenced his first collection of -articles of vertu, and ever after obtained the coarse and vulgar -_sobriquet_ of "Dog Jennings," in consequence of a circumstance which -he thus relates:--"I happened one day to be strolling along the streets -of Rome, and perceiving the shop of a statuary in an obscure street, -I entered it, and began to look around for any curious production of -art. I at length perceived something uncommon, at least; but, being -partly concealed behind a heap of rubbish, I could not contemplate it -with any degree of accuracy. After all impediments had been at length -removed, the marble statue I had been poking for was dragged into open -day; it proved to be a huge, but fine dog--and a fine dog it was, and a -lucky dog was I to discover and to purchase it. On turning it round, I -perceived it was without a tail--this gave me a hint. I also saw that -the limbs were finely proportioned; that the figure was noble; that the -sculpture, in short, was worthy of the best age of Athens; and that -it must be of the age of Alcibiades, whose favourite dog it certainly -was. I struck a bargain instantly on the spot for 400 scudi; and as the -muzzle alone was somewhat damaged, I paid the artist a trifle more for -repairing it. It was carefully packed, and being sent to England after -me, by the time it reached my house in Oxfordshire, it had just cost -me 80_l._ I wish all my other bargains had been like it, for it was -exceedingly admired, as I well knew it must be, by the connoisseurs, by -more than one of whom I was bid 1,000_l._ for my purchase. In truth, by -a person sent, I believe, from Blenheim, I was offered 1,400_l._ But I -would not part with my dog; I had bought it for myself, and I liked to -contemplate his fine proportions and admire him at my leisure, for he -was doubly dear to me, as being my own property and my own selection." - -At the Literary Club, one evening, Jennings' dog was the topic of -discussion: "_F._ (_Lord Cipper O'Geary._) 'I have been looking at this -famous marble dog of Mr. Jennings', valued at 1,000 guineas, said to be -Alcibiades' dog.'--_Johnson_. 'His tail, then, must be docked. That was -the mark of Alcibiades' dog.'--_E._ (_Burke._) 'A thousand guineas! the -representation of no animal whatever is worth so much. At this rate, a -dead dog would, indeed, be better than a living lion.'--_J._ 'Sir, it -is not the worth of the thing, but of the skill in forming it, which -is so highly estimated. Everything that enlarges the sphere of human -powers, that shows man he can do what he thought he could not do, is -valuable.'" - -But Mr. Jennings, like many other collectors, owing to a reverse of -fortune, was compelled, in 1778, to break up his collection, which -being sold by auction, the dog of Alcibiades brought 1,000 guineas, and -became the property of Mr. Duncombe, M.P. It is now at Duncombe Park, -in Yorkshire, the seat of Lord Feversham. - -It is painful to read that the latter days of Mr. Jennings were spent -in the King's Bench; and within the rules of that prison he died, -February 17th, 1819, at his lodgings in Belvedere Place, St. George's -Fields, in his eighty-eighth year. - - - - -Baron Ward's Remarkable Career. - - -Perhaps no man of modern times passed a more varied and romantic life -than the famed Yorkshire groom, statesman, and friend of sovereigns, -and who played so prominent a part at the Court of Parma; his career -strongly exemplifying the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. - -Thomas Ward was born at York, on the 9th of October 1810, where he was -brought up in the stable, but was shrewd and intelligent far beyond -boys of his own station. - -He left Yorkshire as a boy in the pay of Prince Lichtenstein, of -Hungary; and after a four years' successful career on the turf at -Vienna as a jockey, he became employed by the then reigning Duke of -Lucca. - -He was at Lucca promoted from the stable to be a valet to his Royal -Highness, which service he performed up to 1846. About that period -he was appointed Master of the Horse to the Ducal Court, when he -made extraordinary changes in that department: the stable expenses -were reduced more than one-half. Yet the Duke's stud was the envy -and admiration of all Italy. Eventually, Ward became Minister of the -Household and Minister of Finance, and acquired a diplomatic dignity in -the disturbances which preceded the revolutionary year, 1848, when he -was despatched to Florence upon a confidential mission of the highest -importance. This had no less an object than the delivery, to the Grand -Duke, of his master's abdication of the Lucchese principality. At first -the Grand Duke hesitated at receiving, in a diplomatic capacity, one of -whom he had only heard in relation to the races of the Casino. But our -envoy had seen and provided for such an emergency. He produced from his -pocket a commission, making him Viceroy of the Duke's estates, which -was to be acted upon if the Grand Duke raised any obstacle, or even if -he refused to receive Ward as ambassador of the states of Parma, at the -capital of the Medicis; this, of course, ended all difficulties. - -Ward held the above offices until the Duke's rule was violently -terminated by the great Revolution of 1848. With some difficulty he -escaped with his able and faithful minister, when they retired to an -estate near Dresden, called Weisstrop. At this period Ward became an -active agent of Austria, and as Austria triumphed, he recovered the -hereditary estates of Parma and Placentia; but the Duke, disgusted -by his experience, resigned in favour of his own son, with whom the -minister retained the same favour and exhibited the same talents that -first raised him to distinction, and made him more than a match for the -first of the Italian diplomatists. Upon one occasion he was despatched -to Vienna as an envoy from his little court, when he astonished -Schwartzenberg by the extent of his capacity. His acquaintance was -specially cultivated by the Russian Ambassador, Meyendorff, who appears -to have been very fond of Yorkshire hams. An English gentleman, supping -one night at the Russian Ambassador's, complimented him upon the -excellence of the ham. "There is a member of our diplomatic body here," -replied Meyendorff, "who supplies us all with hams from Yorkshire, of -which county he is a native." - -As prime minister, Ward negotiated the abdication of Charles II., -and placed the youthful Charles III. on the throne, who, it will -be remembered, was assassinated before his own palace in 1854. It -should be observed that as soon as Charles III. came to the throne, -the then Baron Ward was sent to Germany by his patron as Minister -Plenipotentiary, to represent Parma at the Court of Vienna. This post -he held up to the time of his royal patron's tragical end. - -When the Duchess-Regent assumed state authority, Ward retired from -public life, and took to agricultural pursuits in the Austrian -dominions. Without any educational foundation, he contrived to write -and speak German, French, and Italian, and conducted the affairs -of state with considerable cleverness, if not with remarkable -straightforwardness. But the moment he attempted to express himself in -English, his dialect was found to retain all the characteristics of his -want of education. Lord Palmerston once declared that Ward "was one of -the most remarkable men he had ever met with." - -Throughout life, Ward was ever proud of his country, never for a -moment attempting to conceal his humble origin; and portraits of his -parents, in their homespun clothes, may be seen in the splendid saloon -of the Prime Minister of Parma. - -Baron Ward was married to a humble person of Vienna, and at his death -he left four children. From the stable he rose to the highest offices -of a little kingdom, at a period of great European political interest, -and died in retirement, pursuing the rustic occupation of a farmer, but -carrying with him to the grave many curious state secrets. - -The following is a partial list only of the honours to which Ward -attained:--Baron of the Duchy of Lucca, and of the Grand Duchy of -Tuscany; Knight of the First Class of the Order of St. Louis of Lucca; -Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Joseph of Tuscany; Knight -Senator Grand Cross of the Order of St. George Constantinano of Parma; -and Noble, with the title of Baron, in Tuscany; Honorary Councillor of -State to his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany; Minister and -Councillor of State to H.R.H. Charles Duke of Parma, &c.[14] - -[14] _Family Romance._ By J. Bernard Burke. Vol. ii. - - - - -A Costly House-Warming. - - -Fifty years ago, there lived in Edward Street, Portman Square, one -Parmentier, confectioner to the Prince Regent. From his emporium, -and that of Romualdo, in Duke Street, the _routs_ given in the -neighbouring squares were sumptuously supplied. In this quarter lived -keepers of china and glass shops, who undertook, at a few hours' -notice, to supply all the movables and ornaments for large _routs_, -as chairs, tables, china and glass, knives and forks, extra plate, -looking-glasses, mirrors, girandoles, chandeliers, wax-lights, -candelabra-lamps, Aurelian shades, transparencies, vases, and other -decorative items for a complete suite of rooms; together with exotics -and green-house plants, and a corps of artists to chalk the floors. -It was by this almost magical aid that the Earl of Shrewsbury gave -his magnificent house-warming to the _haut ton_ at his new mansion -in Bryanstone Square, which was then in so unfinished a state that -the walls in many of the apartments were not even plastered. To the -astonishment and delight of the guests, the whole mansion was thrown -open, and every room was furnished and decorated in the most superb -style. The principal drawing-room, with its numerous lamps and large -looking-glasses, appeared one blaze of light; in contrast to which, -another room in sombre gloom, resembled an Arcadian grove of orange -and lemon trees and myrtles, part natural and part artificial. The -amusements consisted of a dramatic representation, a concert, a -dress-ball, a masquerade, and a sumptuous supper of three hundred -covers. These elegant festivities cost the Earl several thousand pounds. - -In the same neighbourhood, at the corner of George Street, Mohammed, a -native of Asia, opened a house for giving dinners in the Hindustanee -style. All the dishes were dressed with currie-powder, rice, cayenne, -and the finest spices of Arabia. A room was set apart for smoking -from hookahs with Oriental herbs. The rooms were furnished with -chairs and sofas made of bamboo canes, and the walls were hung with -Chinese pictures and other Asiatic embellishments. Either Sidi -Mohammed's capital was not sufficient to stand the slow test of public -encouragement, or the scheme failed at once; for Sidi became bankrupt, -and the undertaking was relinquished. - - - - -Devonshire Eccentrics. - - -Some years since, there lived a gentleman in Tavistock, very charitably -disposed, who entertained an especial good will and kind feeling -towards old sailors. Any old sailor, by calling at his door, received -the donation of a shilling and a glass of grog. It was marvellous -to see what a number of veteran blue jackets paid him a visit in the -course of a year. At last, the servant who opened the door observed -that all these sons of the sea had a particular patch on one and the -same arm. She began, at length, to fancy that the old patch must be -some badge of honour in the service, yet she thought it a very odd -distinction in his Majesty's navy. The circumstance awakened her -suspicion. The next old blue jacket that appeared, decorated with the -order of the patch, was therefore watched and followed to his retreat. -He was observed to retire to the house of a certain old woman, and -in a little while he was seen to come forth again in his own natural -character, that of a street beggar, clothed in rags. The cheat was -apparent; and suffice it to say, that on further examination it -appeared that the old woman's house was one of friendly call to all the -vagabonds and sharpers who paced the country round; and that amongst -other masquerade attire for the callers, she kept by her a sailor's old -jacket and trousers for the purpose of playing off the imposition. No -doubt she was paid for the loan of the dress. - -At Tavistock, also, there resided a strange character in humble life, -named Carter Foote. On returning from Oakhampton, he remounted his -horse, after having enjoyed himself at the public-house, and attempted -to pass the river below the bridge by fording it over. The day had -been stormy, and from the sudden swell of the river he found himself -in extreme danger. After endeavouring to struggle with the current -he leaped from his horse upon a large piece of the rock, and there -stood, calling aloud for help. Some person going by, ran and procured -a rope, which he endeavoured to throw towards the rock; but finding -it impossible to do so without further assistance, he begged two men -belonging to Oakhampton, who drew near the spot, to give him help, -and save the stranger, whose life was in so much peril. One of them, -however, very leisurely looked at the sufferer, and only saying, "'Tis -a Tav'stock man, let un go," walked off with his companion, and poor -Carter Foote was drowned. - -Mrs. Bray relates the following of a Devonshire physician, happily -named Vial, who was a desperate lover of whist. One evening, in the -midst of a deal, the doctor fell off his chair in a fit. Consternation -seized on the company. Was he alive or dead? What was to be done? All -help was given; hartshorn was poured almost down his throat by one kind -female friend, whilst another feelingly singed the end of his nose with -burning feathers; all were in the breathless agony of suspense for his -safety. At length, he showed signs of life, and retaining the last fond -idea which had possessed him at the moment he fell into the fit, to the -joy of the whole company exclaimed, "What is trumps?" - -Many years ago, there resided in Devonshire a certain old gentleman, -nicknamed Redpost Fynes, from his having painted all the gates of -his fields a bright vermilion. The squire was remarkable for never -having been able to learn to spell even the commonest word in his own -language; so that on the birth of his daughter, he wrote to a friend -that his wife was brought to bed of a fine _gull_. The word _usage_ -he spelt without one letter belonging to it, and yet contrived to -produce something like the word, at least in sound, for he wrote it -thus, _yowzitch_. Near his house was a very old and grotesque tree, cut -and clipped in the form of a punchbowl; whilst a table and seats were -literally affixed within the green enclosure, to which was an ascent by -a little ladder, like the companion-ladder of a ship. - - - - -[Illustration: Hannah Snell.] - - - - -Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier. - - -This extraordinary woman was born in Fryer Street, Worcester, on the -23rd of April 1723. Her grandfather, embracing the military profession, -served under William III. and Queen Anne, and terminated his career at -the battle of Malplaquet, where he received a mortal wound. Snell's -father was a hosier and dyer. - -In 1740, Hannah, having lost both parents, came to London, where she -for some time resided with one of her sisters, married to one Gray, a -carpenter, in Ship Street, Wapping. Here she became acquainted with a -Dutch seaman, named James Summs, to whom she was married early in 1743. -Her husband led a profligate life, squandered the little property which -his wife possessed, and having involved her deeply in debt, deserted -her, leaving her pregnant; in two months she was delivered of a girl, -who died at the age of seven months. - -For some time she resided with her sister, but soon resolved to set -out in quest of the man, whom, notwithstanding his ill-usage, she -still continued to love. In order to carry out this strange resolve, -as she thought, more safely, she put on a suit of the clothes of her -brother-in-law, assumed his name, James Gray, and started on the 23rd -of November, 1745. Having travelled to Coventry, and being unable -to procure any intelligence of her husband, on the 27th of the same -month she enlisted into General Guise's regiment, and in the company -belonging to Captain Miller. She remained at Coventry about three -weeks. The north being then the seat of war, and her regiment being at -Carlisle, she left Coventry with seventeen other recruits, and joined -the regiment, after a march of three weeks, which she performed with -as much ease as any of her comrades. At Carlisle she was instructed in -the military exercise, which she was soon able to perform with skill -and dexterity. She had not been long in this place, when a man named -Davis applied to Hannah to assist him in an intrigue; she appeared -to acquiesce in his desire, but privately disclosed the whole matter -to the intended victim. By this conduct she gained the young woman's -confidence and esteem; they frequently met, which excited the jealousy -of Davis, and prompted revenge. He accordingly seized an opportunity of -charging his supposed rival before the commanding officer with neglect -of duty, and she was sentenced to receive six hundred lashes. Five -hundred were inflicted, but the remaining hundred were remitted through -the intercession of some of the officers. - -Not long after this unhappy occurrence, a fresh recruit, a native -of Worcester, and a carpenter, who had lodged at the house of her -brother-in-law, joined the regiment, when Hannah becoming apprehensive -of the discovery of her sex resolved to desert. Her female friend -endeavoured to dissuade her from such a dangerous enterprise; but -finding her resolution fixed, she furnished her with money, and Hannah -commenced her journey on foot for Portsmouth. About a mile from -Carlisle, perceiving some men employed in picking peas, and their -clothes lying at some distance, she exchanged her regimental coat for -one of the old coats belonging to one of the men, and proceeded on her -journey. At Liverpool and Chester, Hannah contrived, by her attentions -to a landlady and a young mantua-maker, to obtain some money; but in an -intrigue with a widow at Winchester our gallant was less successful, -the widow rifling her pockets, and leaving her with but a few shillings -to finish her journey on foot. Arrived at Portsmouth, she soon enlisted -as a marine in Colonel Fraser's regiment which in three weeks was -drafted for the East Indies, and Hannah, among the rest, was ordered -to repair on board the _Swallow_ sloop, in Admiral Boscawen's fleet. -She soon distinguished herself on board by her dexterity in washing, -mending, and cooking for her messmates, and she thus became a great -favourite with the crew of the sloop. She was regarded as a boy, and in -case of an engagement her station was on the quarter-deck, to fight at -small arms, and she was one of the afterguard; she was also obliged to -keep watch every four hours night and day, and frequently to go aloft. -We read likewise of the _Swallow_ being in a violent tempest, and -almost reduced to a wreck: Hannah took her turn at the pump, which was -kept constantly going, and she declined no office, however dangerous, -but established her character for courage, skill, and intrepidity. - -The ship then made the best of her way to the Cape of Good Hope, during -their voyage from which they were reduced to short allowance, and but -a pint of water a day. The admiral next bore away for Fort St. David, -on the coast of Coromandel, where the fleet soon afterwards arrived. -Hannah, with the rest of the marines, being disembarked, after a march -of three weeks, joined the English army encamped before Aria-Coupon, -which place was to have been stormed; but a shell having burst and -blown up their magazine, the besieged were obliged to abandon it. This -adventure gave Hannah fresh spirits, and her intrepid conduct acquired -the commendation of all the officers. - -The army then proceeded to the attack of Pondicherry, and after lying -before that place eleven weeks, and suffering very great hardships, -they were obliged by the rainy season to abandon the siege. Hannah -was the first in the party of English foot who forded the river, -breast-high, under an incessant fire from a French battery. She was -likewise on the picket-guard, continued on that duty seven nights -successively, and laboured very hard about fourteen days at throwing up -the trenches. In one of the attacks, however, her career was well-nigh -terminated. She fired thirty-seven rounds during the engagement, and -received, according to her account, six shots in her right leg, five in -the left, and, what was still more painful, a dangerous wound in the -lower part of her body, which she feared might lead to the discovery -of her disguise to the surgeons. She, however, intrusted her secret -to a negress who attended her, and brought her lint and salve; after -most acute suffering she extracted the ball with her finger and thumb, -and made a perfect cure. Meanwhile the greater part of the fleet had -sailed. She was then sent on board the _Tartar_ pink, and continued -to do the duty of a sailor till the return of the fleet from Madras. -She was soon afterwards turned over to the _Eltham_ man-of-war, and -sailed with that ship to Bombay. Here the vessel, which had sprung a -leak on the passage, was heaved down for repair, which lasted five -weeks. The captain remained on shore, while Hannah, in common with the -rest of the crew, had her turn on the watch. On one of these occasions, -Mr. Allen, the lieutenant who commanded in the captain's absence, -desired her to sing a song, but she excused herself, saying she was -unwell; the officer, however, insisted that she should sing, which -she as resolutely refused to do. She soon had occasion to regret her -non-compliance, for being suspected of stealing a shirt belonging to -one of her comrades, though no proof could be adduced, the lieutenant -ordered her to be put in irons. After remaining there five days, she -was ordered to the gangway, and received twelve lashes, and she was -then sent to the topmast-head for four hours. The missing shirt was -afterwards found in the chest of the man who complained that he had -lost it. - -About this time the sailors began to rally Hannah because she had no -beard, and they soon afterwards jocosely christened her Miss Molly -Gray; this alarmed her, lest some of the crew might suspect that she -was a female; but she took part in their scenes of dissipation with -such glee, that she was soon called Hearty Jemmy. - -While the vessel remained at Lisbon, on her passage home, she met with -an English sailor who had been at Genoa in a Dutch vessel. She took the -opportunity of inquiring after her long-lost husband, and was informed -that he had been confined at Genoa for murdering a native gentleman of -that city, a person of some distinction; and that to expiate his crime, -he was put into a sack with a quantity of stones, and thus thrown into -the sea. Distressing as this information must have been, Hannah had -sufficient command over herself to conceal her emotions. - -Leaving Lisbon, Hannah arrived safely at Spithead. At Portsmouth she -met her female friend, for whose sake she had been whipped at Carlisle. -This girl was still single, and would have married Hannah, had she -chosen to discover herself. She, however, proceeded to London, where -she was heartily received by her sister. She soon afterwards met with -some of her shipmates; and, after receiving her pay, she was about to -part with them, when she revealed her sex, and one of them immediately -offered to marry her, but she declined. - -Hannah's strange career had now acquired her popularity, and as she -possessed a good voice, she obtained an engagement at the Royalty -Theatre, in Wellclose Square, where she appeared in the character of -Bill Bobstay, a sailor; she also represented Firelock, a military -character, and in a masterly and correct manner went through the manual -and platoon exercises. She, however, quitted the stage in a few months; -and as she preferred male attire, she resolved to continue to wear it -during the remainder of her life; she usually wore a laced hat and -cockade, and a sword and ruffles. There were good portraits of her -published in 1750. - -Hannah now became an out-pensioner of Chelsea Hospital on account -of the wounds she received at the siege of Pondicherry, her pension -being 30_l._ She next took a public-house at Wapping; on one side of -the signboard was painted the figure of a jolly British tar, and on -the other the valiant marine; underneath was inscribed, "The Widow -in Masquerade, or the Female Warrior." She continued to keep this -house for many years; and afterwards married one Eyles, a carpenter, -at Newbury, in Berkshire. A lady of fortune, who admired Hannah's -heroism and eccentricity of conduct, took special notice of her, became -godmother to her son, and contributed towards his education. Mrs. Eyles -continued to receive her pension to the day of her death. She lived for -some time with her son in Church Street, Stoke Newington; but, about -three years before her death, she showed symptoms of insanity, and was -admitted as patient at Bethlem Hospital, Moorfields, where she died -February 8, 1792, aged sixty-nine years. - - - - -[Illustration: Lady Archer enamelling at her Toilet.] - - - - -Lady Archer. - - -This lady, formerly Miss West, lived to a good age--a proof that -cosmetics are not so fatal as some would have us suppose. Nature had -given her a fine aquiline nose, like the princesses of the House -of Austria, and she did not fail to give herself a complexion. She -resembled a fine old wainscoted painting, with the face and features -shining through a thick incrustation of copal varnish. - -Her ladyship was for many years the wonder of the fashionable world, -envied by all the ladies of the Court of George the Third. She had a -well-appointed house in Portland Place. Her equipage was, with her, a -sort of scenery. She gloried in milk-white horses to her carriage, the -coachmen and footmen wore very showy liveries, and the carriage was -lined with silk of a tint to exhibit the complexion to advantage. - -Alexander Stephens, amongst whose papers was found this account of -Lady Archer, tells us that he recollected to have seen Mrs. Robinson -(the _Perdita_ of the Prince of Wales's love) go far beyond all this -in the exuberance of her genius, in a yellow lining to her landau, -with a black footman, to contrast with her beautiful complexion and -fascinating figure, and thus render both more lovely. Lady Archer lived -at Barn Elms Terrace, and her house had the most elegant ornaments -and draperies to strike the senses, and yet powerfully address the -imagination. Her kitchen-garden and pleasure-ground, of five acres--the -Thames, flowing in front, as if a portion of the estate--the apartments -decorated in the Chinese style, and opening into hothouses stored -with fruits of the richest growth, and greenhouses with plants of -great rarity and beauty, and superb couches and draperies, effectively -placed, rendered her home a sort of elysium of luxury. - -Barn Elms will be remembered as the scene of an older -eccentricity--Heydegger's instantaneous light reception of George II., -a device worthy of the master of the revels. - - - - -_DELUSIONS, IMPOSTURES, and FANATIC MISSIONS._ - -[Illustration: The Alchemist.] - - - - -Modern Alchemists. - - -It may take some readers by surprise to learn that there have been true -believers in alchemy in our days. Dr. Price is commonly set down in -popular journals as _the last of the alchemists_. This is, however, a -mistake, as we shall proceed to show; before which, however, it will be -interesting to sketch the history of this reputed alchemist. - -Towards the close of the last century, Dr. James Price, a medical -practitioner in the neighbourhood of Guildford, Surrey, acquired -some notoriety by an alleged discovery of methods of transmuting -mercury into gold or silver. He had been a student of Oriel College, -Oxford, where he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Physic. In 1782 -he published an account of his experiments on mercury, silver, and -gold, performed at Guildford, in that year, before Lord King and -others, to whom he appealed as eye-witnesses of his wonder-working -power. It seems that mercury being put into a crucible, and heated in -the fire with other ingredients (which had been shown to contain no -gold), he added a red powder; the crucible was again heated, and being -suffered to cool, amongst its contents, on examination, was found a -globule of pure gold. By a similar process with a white powder, he -produced a globule of silver. The character of the witnesses of these -manifestations gave credit and celebrity for a time to Price, who was -honoured by the University with the degree of Doctor of Physic, and -he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Dr. Price had now -placed himself in a perilous position; for persons acquainted with the -history of alchemy must have conjectured how the gold and silver in his -experiments might have been procured with any transmutation of mercury -or any other substance. The Royal Society authoritatively required that -the pretensions of the new associate should be properly sifted, and -his claim as a discoverer be clearly established, or his character as -an impostor exposed. A repetition of the doctor's experiments before a -committee of the Royal Society was commanded on pain of expulsion; when -the unfortunate man, rather than submit to the ordeal, took a draught -of laurel-water, and died on July 31, 1783, in his twenty-fifth year. - -At the beginning of the present century, some persons of eminence in -science thought favourably of alchemy. Professor Robinson, writing -to James Watt, February 11, 1800, says, "The analysis of alkalies -and alkaline earth will presently lead, I think, to a doctrine of _a -reciprocal convertibility of all things into all ... and I expect to -see alchemy revive_, and be as universally studied as ever." - -Sir Walter Scott, in his well-known paper on Astrology and Alchemy, in -_The Quarterly Review_, tells us that about the year 1801, an adept -lived, or rather starved, in the metropolis, in the person of the -editor of an evening newspaper, who expected to compound the alkahat, -if he could only keep his materials digested in his lamp-furnace for -the space of seven years. Scott adds, in pleasant banter, "the lamp -burnt brightly during six years, eleven months, and some odd days, and -then unluckily it went out. Why it went out, the adept could never -guess; but he was certain that if the flame could only have burnt to -the end of the septenary cycle, the experiment must have succeeded." - -The last true believer in alchemy was not Dr. Price, but Peter Woulfe, -the eminent chemist, and Fellow of the Royal Society, and who made -experiments to show the nature of mosaic gold. Mr. Brande says: "It -is to be regretted that no biographical memoir has been preserved -of Woulfe. I have picked up a few anecdotes respecting him from two -or three friends who were his acquaintance. He occupied chambers in -Barnard's Inn, Holborn (the older buildings), while residing in London, -and usually spent the summer in Paris. His rooms, which were extensive, -were so filled with furnaces and apparatus that it was difficult to -reach his fireside. A friend told me that he once put down his hat, and -never could find it again, such was the confusion of boxes, packages, -and parcels that lay about the chamber. His breakfast-hour was four in -the morning; a few of his select friends were occasionally invited to -this repast, to whom a secret signal was given by which they gained -entrance, knocking a certain number of times at the inner door of his -apartment. He had long vainly searched for the Elixir, and attributed -his repeated failures to the want of due preparation by pious and -charitable acts. I understand that some of his apparatus is still -extant, upon which are supplications for success and for the welfare -of the adepts. Whenever he wished to break an acquaintance, or felt -himself offended, he resented the supposed injury by sending a present -to the offender, and never seeing him afterwards. These presents were -sometimes of a curious description, and consisted usually of some -expensive chemical product or preparation. He had an heroic remedy for -illness; when he felt himself seriously indisposed, he took a place in -the Edinburgh mail, and having reached that city, immediately came back -in the returning coach to London." - -A cold taken in one of these expeditions terminated in inflammation of -the lungs, of which Woulfe died in the year 1805. Of his last moments -we received the following account from his executor, then Treasurer of -Barnard's Inn. By Woulfe's desire, his laundress shut up his chambers, -and left him, but returned at midnight, when Woulfe was still alive. -Next morning, however, she _found him dead_! His countenance was calm -and serene, and apparently he had not moved from the position in his -chair in which she had last left him. - -Twenty years after the death of Peter Woulfe, Sir Richard Phillips -visited "an alchemist" named Kellerman, at the village of Lilley, -between Luton and Hitchin. He was believed by some of his neighbours -to have discovered the Philosopher's Stone and the Universal Solvent. -His room was a realisation of the well-known picture of Tenier's -Alchemist. The floor was strewed with retorts, crucibles, alembics, -jars, and bottles of various shapes, intermingled with old books. -He gave Sir Richard a history of his studies, mentioned some men in -London who, he alleged, had assured him that they had made gold; that -having, in consequence, examined the works of the ancient alchemists, -and discovered the key which they had studiously concealed from the -multitude, he had pursued their system under the influence of new -lights; and, after suffering numerous disappointments, owing to the -ambiguity with which they described their processes, he had at length -happily succeeded; had made gold, and could make as much more as he -pleased, even to the extent of paying off the National Debt in the coin -of the realm! - -Killerman then enlarged upon the merits of the ancient alchemists, -and on the blunders and assumptions of modern chemists. He quoted -Roger and Francis Bacon, Paracelsus, Boyle, Boerhaave, Woulfe, and -others to justify his pursuits. As to the term Philosopher's Stone, he -alleged that it was a mere figure to deceive the vulgar. He appeared -to give full credit to the silly story of Dee's finding the Elixir at -Glastonbury, by means of which, as he said, Kelly for a length of time -supported himself in princely splendour. Kellerman added, that he had -discovered the _blacker than black_ of Apollonius Tyanus: it was itself -"the powder of projection for producing gold." - -It further appeared that Kellerman had lived in the premises at Lilley -for twenty-three years, during fourteen of which he had pursued his -alchemical studies with unremitting ardour, keeping eight assistants -for superintending his crucibles, two at a time, relieving each other -every six hours; that he had exposed some preparations to intense heat -for many months at a time; but that all except one crucible had burst, -and that, Kellerman said, contained the true "blacker than black." -One of his assistants, however, protested that no gold had ever been -found, and that no mercury had ever been fixed; for he was quite sure -Kellerman could not have concealed it from his assistants; while, on -the contrary, they witnessed his severe disappointment at the result of -his most elaborate experiments. - -Of late years there have been some strange revivals of alchemical -pursuits. In 1850 there was printed in London a volume of considerable -extent, entitled, _A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery_--the -work of a lady, by whom it has been suppressed; we have seen it -described as "a learned and valuable book." - -By this circumstance we are reminded that some five-and-thirty years -since it came to our knowledge that a man of wealth and position in the -City of London, an _adept_ in alchemy, was held _in terrorem_ by an -unprincipled person, who extorted from him considerable sums of money -under threats of exposure, which would have affected his mercantile -interests. - -Nevertheless, alchemy has, in the present day, its prophetic advocates, -who predict what may be considered a return to its strangest belief. A -Göttingen professor says, in the _Annales de Chimie_, No. 100, that in -the nineteenth century the transmutation of metals will be generally -known and practised. Every chemist and every artist will make gold; -kitchen utensils will be of silver and even gold, which will contribute -more than anything else to prolong life, poisoned at present by the -oxide of copper, lead, and iron which we daily swallow with our food. -More recently, MM. Dr. Henri Fabre and Franz have placed before the -French Academy their discovery of the means of transmuting silver, -copper, and quicksilver into gold. - - - - -[Illustration: Jack Adams, the Astrologer. - -_Magnifico Smokentissimo Custardissimo Astrologissimo Cunningmanisso -Rabbinissimo Viro Jacko Adams de Clerkenwell Greeno hanc lovelissimam -Sui Picturam._ - -Hovbedeboody pinxit et scratchabat.] - - - - -Jack Adams, the Astrologer. - - -Among the celebrities of Clerkenwell Green was Jack Adams, whose -nativity was calculated by Partridge, who affirmed that he was born -on the 3rd of December, 1625, and that he was so great a _natural_, or -simpleton, as to be obliged to wear long coats, besides other marks of -stupidity; and that the parish not only maintained him, but allowed a -nurse to attend him to preserve him from harm. Allusion is made to him -in a satirical ballad of 1655:-- - - Jack Adams, sure, was pamet (poet) by the vein. - -And in the _Wits, or Sport upon Sport_, 1682, we read of his visit -to the Red Bull playhouse, where Simpleton, the smith, appearing on -the stage with a large piece of bread-and-butter, Jack Adams, knowing -him, cried out, "Cuz, Cuz, give me some," to the great pleasure of the -audience. Ward thus mentions his celebrity:-- - - What mortal that has sense or thought - Would strip Jack Adams of his coat; - Or who would be by friends decoyed - To wear a badge he would avoid? - -Jack Adams was a conjurer and professor of the celestial sciences; he -was (says Granger's Supplement) "a blind buzzard, who pretended to have -the eyes of an eagle. He was chiefly employed in horary questions, -relative to love and marriage, and knew, upon proper occasions, how to -soothe and flatter the expectations of those who consulted him, as a -man might have much better fortune from him for five guineas than for -the same number of shillings. He affected a singular dress, and cast -horoscopes with great solemnity. When he failed in his predictions, -he declared that the stars did not absolutely force, but powerfully -incline, and threw the blame upon wayward and perverse fate. He assumed -the character of a learned and cunning man; but was no otherwise -cunning than as he knew how to overreach those credulous mortals who -were as willing to be cheated as he was to cheat them, and who relied -implicitly upon his art." Mr. Warner says: "A short time after we -removed into the house (No. 7, Clerkenwell Green), two young women -applied to have their fortunes told; upon being informed they were -under some mistake, one expressed great surprise, and stated that was -the place she always came to, and she thought some of Mr. Adams's -family always resided there. This was the first time I ever heard -anything of Jack Adams. Several similar applications were made by other -persons, and we afterwards learnt that it had been occupied by persons -of that profession for many years, and they generally went by the name -of Adams."[15] - -[15] Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_, 1865, p. 110. - -In an old print we have Jack Adams in a fantastic dress, with a -tobacco-pipe in his girdle, standing at a table on which lies a -horn-book and _Poor Robin's Almanack_. On one shelf is a row of books, -and on another several boys' playthings, particularly tops, marbles, -and a small drum. Before him is a man genteelly dressed, presenting -five pieces; from his mouth proceeds a label, inscribed, "Is she a -princess?" This is meant for Carleton, who married the pretended German -princess. Behind him is a ragged, slatternly woman, who has also a -label in her mouth, with these words: "Sir, can you tell my fortune?" -In _Poor Robin's Almanack_ for 1785 are these lines: - - Now should I choose t'invoke a Muse-- - Muses are fickle madams; - Else I could go my poem through - Ere you could say _Jack Adams_. - -In the City of London Library is an original print of Jack Adams, and a -copy by Caulfield. - - - - -The Woman-hating Cavendish. - - -Eccentricity in men of science is not rare. The Hon. Henry Cavendish, -who demonstrated, in 1781, the composition of water, was a remarkable -instance. He was an excellent mathematician, electrician, astronomer, -and geologist; and as alchemist shot far ahead of his contemporaries. -But he was a sort of methodical recluse, and an enormous fortune left -him by his uncle did little to change his habits. His shyness and -aversion to society bordered on disease. To be looked at or addressed -by a stranger seemed to give him positive pain, when he would dart -away as if hurt. At Sir Joseph Banks's _soirées_ he would stand for -a long time on the landing, afraid to face the company. At one of -these parties the titles and qualifications of Cavendish were formally -recited when he was introduced to an Austrian gentleman. The Austrian -became complimentary, saying his chief reason for coming to London -was to see and converse with Cavendish, one of the greatest ornaments -of the age, and one of the most illustrious philosophers that ever -existed. Cavendish answered not a word, but stood with his eyes cast -down, abashed, and in misery. At last, seeing an opening in the crowd, -he flew to the door, nor did he stop till he reached his carriage and -drove directly home. Any attempt to draw him into conversation was -almost certain to fail, and Dr. Wollaston's recipe for treating with -him usually answered best: "The way to talk to Cavendish is, never to -look at him, but to talk as if it were into a vacancy, and then it is -not unlikely you may set him going." - -Among the anecdotes which floated about it is related that Cavendish, -the club Crœsus, attended the meetings of the Royal Society Club with -only money enough in his pocket to pay for his dinner; that he declined -taking tavern soup, picked his teeth with a fork, invariably hung his -hat upon the same peg, and always stuck his cane in his right boot. -More apocryphal is the anecdote that one evening Cavendish observed a -pretty girl looking out from an upper window on the opposite side of -the street, watching the philosophers at dinner. She attracted notice, -and one by one they got up, and mustered round the window to admire -the fair one. Cavendish, who thought they were looking at the moon, -bustled up to them in his odd way, and when he saw the real object of -attraction, turned away with intense disgust, and grunted out "Pshaw!" -the more amorous conduct of his brother philosophers having horrified -the woman-hating Cavendish. - -If men were a trouble to him, women were an abhorrence. With his -housekeeper he generally communicated with notes deposited on the -hall-table. He would never see a female servant; and if an unlucky -maid showed herself she was instantly dismissed. To prevent inevitable -encounters he had a second staircase erected in his villa at Clapham. -In all his habits he was punctiliously regular, even to his hanging his -hat upon the same peg. From an unvarying walk he was, however, driven -by being gazed at. Two ladies led a gentleman on his track, in order -that he might obtain a sight of the philosopher. As he was getting over -a stile he saw, to his horror, that he was being watched, and he never -appeared in that path again. That he was not quite merciless to the sex -was proved by his saving a lady from the pursuit of a mad cow. - -Cavendish's town house was near the British Museum, at the corner -of Gower Street and Montague Place. Few visitors were admitted, and -those who crossed the threshold reported that books and apparatus -were its chief furniture. He collected a large library of scientific -books, hired a house for its reception in Dean Street, Soho, and kept -a librarian. When he wanted one of his own books, he went there as -to a circulating library, and left a formal receipt for whatever he -took away. Nearly the whole of his villa at Clapham was occupied as -workshops; the upper rooms were an observatory, the drawing-room was -a laboratory. On the lawn was a wooden stage, from which access could -be had to a large tree, to the top of which Cavendish, in the course -of his astronomical and meteorological observations, and electrical -experiments, occasionally ascended. His apparatus was roughly -constructed, but was always exact and accurate. - -His household was strangely managed. He received but little company, -and the few guests were treated on all occasions to the same fare--a -leg of mutton. One day, four scientific friends were to dine with him; -when his housekeeper asked him what was to be got for dinner, Cavendish -replied, "A leg of mutton." - -"Sir," said she, "that will not be enough for five." - -"Well, then, get two," was the reply. - -Cavendish extended his eccentric reception to his own family. His -heir, Lord George Cavendish, visited him once a-year, and was allowed -an audience of but half-an-hour. His great income was allowed to -accumulate without attention. The bankers where he kept his account, -finding they had in hand a balance of 80,000_l._, apprised him of the -same. The messenger was announced, and Cavendish, in great agitation, -desired him to be sent up; and, as he entered the room, the ruffled -philosopher cried, "What do you come here for! what do you want with -me?" - -"Sir, I thought it proper to wait upon you, as we have a very large -balance in hand of yours, and we wish your orders respecting it." - -"If it is any trouble to you, I will take it out of your hands. Do not -come here to plague me!" - -"Not the least trouble to us, sir, not the least; but we thought you -might like some of it to be invested." - -"Well, well, what do you want to do?" - -"Perhaps you would like 40,000_l._ invested." - -"Do so, do so! and don't come here to trouble me, or I'll remove it," -was the churlish finale of the interview. - -Cavendish died in 1810, at the age of seventy-eight. He was then the -largest holder of Bank-stock in England. He owned 1,157,000_l._ in -different public funds; he had besides, freehold property of 8,000_l._ -a-year, and a balance of 50,000_l._ at his bankers. He was long a -member of the Royal Society Club, and it was reported at his death -that he had left a thumping legacy to Lord Bessborough, in gratitude -for his Lordship's piquant conversation at the club meetings; but -no such reason can be found in the will lodged at Doctors' Commons. -Therein, Cavendish names three of his club-mates--namely, Alexander -Dalrymple to receive 5,000_l._, Dr. Hunter 5,000_l._, and Sir Charles -Blagden (coadjutor in the water question) 15,000_l._ After certain -other bequests, the will proceeds: "The remainder of the funds (nearly -100,000_l._) to be divided: one-sixth to the Earl of Bessborough," -while Lord George Henry Cavendish had two-sixths instead of one. "It -is, therefore," says Admiral Smyth, in his _History of the Royal -Society Club_, "patent that the money thus passed over from uncle to -nephew was a mere consequence of relationship, and not at all owing to -any flowers or powers of conversation at the Royal Society Club." - -Cavendish never changed the fashion or cut of his dress, so that his -appearance in 1810, in a costume of sixty years previously, was odd, -and drew upon him the notice which he so much disliked. His complexion -was fair, his temperament nervous, and his voice squeaking. The only -portrait that exists of him was sketched without his knowledge. Dr. -George Wilson, who has left a clever memoir of Cavendish, says: -"An intellectual head, thinking--a pair of wonderful acute eyes, -observing--a pair of very skilful hands, experimenting or recording, -are all that I realize in reading his memorials." - - - - -Modern Astrology.--"Witch Pickles." - - -It would be an acquisition to our knowledge if some one competent -to the task would collect materials for the history of the men who, -within the present century, have made a profession of _judicial -astrology_. Attention is occasionally drawn to the practices of -itinerant fortune-tellers, many of whom still procure a livelihood. -The astrologer, however, or, as he is denominated in some districts -of England--more particularly in Yorkshire--a "planet-ruler," and -sometimes "a wise man," is of a higher order. He does not itinerate, -is generally a man of some education, possessed of a good deal of -fragmentary knowledge and a smattering of science. He very often -conceals his real profession by practising as a "Water Doctor" or as a -"Bone-setter," and some possess a considerable amount of skill in the -treatment of ordinary diseases. - -The more lucrative part of his business was that which they carried on -in a secret way. He was consulted in cases of difficulty by a class -of superstitious persons, and an implicit faith was placed in his -statements and predictions. The "wise man" was sought in all cases of -accident, disaster, or loss. He was consulted as to the probabilities -of the return and safety of the distant and the absent; of the chances -of the recovery of the sick, and of the destiny of some beloved friend -or relative. The consultation with such a man would often have a -sinister aim; to discover by the stars whether an obnoxious husband -would survive, or whether the affections of courted or inconstant lover -could be secured. Very often long-continued diseases and inveterate -maladies were ascribed to an "ill-wish;" and the planet-ruler was -sought to discover who was the ill-wisher, and what charm would -remove the spell. It is needless to say that the practices of these -astrologers were productive, in a large number of cases, of much -disturbance among neighbours and relatives, and great mischief to all -concerned, except the man who profited by the credulity of his dupes. - -Some of these charlatans no doubt were believers in the imposture, but -the greater number were arrant cheats. In Leeds and its neighbourhood -there were, some five-and-thirty years ago, several "wise men." Among -the number was a man known by no other name than that of "Witch -Pickles." He was avowedly an Astrological Doctor, and _ruled the -planets_ for those who sought him for that purpose. He dwelt in a -retired house on the road from Leeds to York, about a mile from -the Shoulder of Mutton public-house, at the top of March Lane. His -celebrity extended for above fifty miles, and persons came from the -Yorkshire Wolds to consult him. The man and the house were held in awe -by boys and even older persons who had belief in his powers. Little was -known of his habits, and he had few visitors but those who sought his -professional assistance. He never committed anything to writing. He -was particular in inquiring into all the circumstances of any case on -which he was consulted before he pronounced. He then, as he termed it, -proceeded to _draw a figure_, in order to discover the conjunction of -the planets, and then entered upon the explanation of what the stars -predicted. Strange things were told of him, such as that he performed -incantations at midnight on certain days in the year when particular -planets were in the ascendant; and that on such occasions strange -sights and sounds would be seen and heard by persons passing the house. -These were the embellishments of vulgar rumour. The man was quiet and -inoffensive in his demeanour, and was fully sensible of the necessity -of a life of seclusion. He is believed to have practised a few tricks -to awe his visitors, such as lighting a candle or fire without -visible agency, and other tricks far more ingenious than the modern -table-rapping. - -"Witch Pickles" was only one among the number who derived a large -profit from this kind of occupation. He was one of the more respectable -of the class, as he never descended to the vile tricks of others of -the profession--tricks practised upon weak and credulous women and -girls--which will not bear description.[16] - -[16] Abridged from _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, No. 25. - -One of the most celebrated works on Astrology is that of Dr. Sibly, -twelfth edition, 1817, in two octavo volumes, containing more -than eleven hundred pages. The following will give an idea of the -pretensions of the book, which is a remarkable book, if it really went -through twelve editions. The owner of a privateer, which had not been -heard of, called to know her fate. Dr. Sibly gave judgment on a figure -"rectified to the precise time the question was propounded. The ship -itself appeared well formed and substantial, but not a swift sailer, as -is demonstrated by an earthy sign possessing the cusp of the ascendant, -and the situation of the Dragon's Head in five degrees of the same -sign." The ship itself was pronounced to have been captured. - -"From the whole account it is clear that Dr. Sibly's system--how now -esteemed by astrologers the writer knows not--has but this alternative: -either one and the same figure will tell the fate of all the ships -which have not been heard of, including their sailing qualities, or -the stars will never send an owner to ask for news except just at -the moment when they are in a position to describe this particular -ship."[17] - -[17] _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, No. 34. - - - - -Hannah Green; or, "Ling Bob." - - -This noted sibyl lived in a cottage on the edge of the moor on the left -of the old road from Otley to Bradford, between Carlton and Yeadon, -and eight miles from Leeds. She was popularly known as "The Ling-bob -Witch," a name given her, it is supposed, from her living among the -ling-bobs, or heather-tubs. She was resorted to on account of her -supposed knowledge of future events; but, like the rest of her class, -her principal forte was fortune-telling, from which it is said she for -herself realized a handsome fortune. - -Many strange tales have been told of her; such as her power of -transforming herself, after nightfall, into the shape of any she list; -and of her odd pranks in her nightly rambles, her favourite character -being that of the _hare_, in which personation she was unluckily shot -by an unsuspecting poacher, who was almost terrified out of his senses -by the awful screams which followed the sudden death of the Ling-bob -witch. - -In the year 1785, D----, of Sheffield, being at Leeds, had the -curiosity to pay a visit to the noted Hannah Green. He first questioned -her respecting the future fortunes of a near relative of his, who was -then in circumstances of distress, and indeed in prison. She told him -immediately that his friend's trouble would continue _full three times -three years_, and he would then experience _a great deliverance_, -which, in fact, was on the point of being literally verified, for he -was then in the Court of King's Bench. - -He then asked her if she possessed any foreknowledge of what was about -to come to pass on the great stage of the world; to which she replied -in the affirmative. She said, war would be _threatened once, but -would not happen_; but the second time it would blaze out in all its -horrors, and extend to all the neighbouring countries; and that the two -countries [these appear to be France and Poland], at a great distance -one from the other, would in consequence obtain their freedom, although -after hard struggles. After the year 1790, she observed, many great -persons, even kings and queens, would lose their lives, and that _not -by fair means_. In 1794, a great warrior of high blood is to fall in -the field of battle; and in 1795, a distant nation [thought to be negro -slaves], who have been dragged from their own country, will rise as one -man, and deliver themselves from their oppressors. - -Hannah appears to have been one of a somewhat numerous class, many -of whom were resident in Yorkshire. Very few of them went beyond the -attempt to foretell the future events in the lives of individuals; they -did not work with such high ambition as drawing the horoscopes of -nations. Their predictions were always vague, and so framed as to cover -a number of the most probable events in the life of every individual. - -Hannah really died on the 12th of May, 1810, after having practised -her art about forty years; and Ling-bob became a haunted and dreaded -place. The house remained some years untenanted and ruinous, but was -afterwards repaired and occupied. Her daughter and successor, Hannah -Spence, laid claim to the same prescience, but it need hardly be added, -without the same success.[18] - -[18] See a pamphlet of 1794; _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, Nos. 20 -and 21. - - - - -Oddities of Lady Hester Stanhope. - - -This eccentric lady, grand-daughter of the great Lord Chatham, held -implicit faith in the influence of the stars on the destiny of men, a -notion from which every crowned head in Europe is not, at this day, -exempt. - -Lady Hester brought her theories into a striking though rather -ridiculous system. She had a remarkable talent for divining characters -by the conformation of men. This every traveller could testify who had -visited her in Syria; for it was after she went to live in solitude -that her penetration became so extraordinary. It was founded both -on the features of the face and on the shape of the head, body, and -limbs. Some indications she went by were taken from a resemblance to -animals; and wherever such indications existed, she inferred that the -dispositions peculiar to those animals were to be found in the person. -But, independent of all this, her doctrine was that every creature is -governed by the star under whose influence it was born. - -"Animal magnetism," said Lady Hester, "is nothing but the sympathy of -our stars. Those fools who go about magnetizing indifferently one -person and another, why do they sometimes succeed and sometimes fail? -Because if they meet with those of the same star with themselves, their -results will be satisfactory; but with opposite stars they can do -nothing." - -"What Lady Hester's _own star_ was," says her physician, "may be -gathered from what she said one day, when, having dwelt a long time on -this her favourite subject, she got up from the sofa, and approaching -the window, she called me. 'Look,' said she, 'at the pupil of my eyes; -there! my star is the sun--all sun--it is in my eyes: when the sun is -a person's star it attracts everything.' I looked, and I replied that -I saw a rim of yellow round the pupil. 'A rim!' cried she; 'it isn't a -rim--it's a sun; there's a disk, and from it go rays all around: 'tis -no more of a rim than you are. Nobody has got eyes like mine.'" - -Lady Hester delighted in anecdotes that went to show how much and how -justly we may be biassed in our opinions by the shape of any particular -part of a person's body independent of the face. She used to tell a -story of ----, who fell in love with a lady on a glimpse of those -charms which gave such renown to the Onidian Venus. This lady, luckily -or unluckily, happened to tumble from her horse, and by that singular -accident fixed the gazer's affections irrevocably. Another gentleman, -whom she knew, saw a lady at Rome get out of a carriage, her head being -covered by an umbrella, which the servant held over her on account of -the rain; and seeing nothing but her foot and leg, swore he would marry -her--which he did. - -Lady Hester delighted in prophecies some of which, with their -fulfilments and non-fulfilments, are very amusing. There is reason -to think, from what her ladyship let fall at different times, that -Brothers, the fortune-teller in England, and Metta, a village doctor on -Mount Lebanon, had considerable influence on her actions and, perhaps, -her destiny. When Brothers was taken up and thrown into prison (in Mr. -Pitt's time), he told those who arrested him to do the will of heaven, -but first to let him see Lady Hester Stanhope. This was repeated to her -ladyship, and curiosity induced her to comply with the man's request. -Brothers told her that "she would one day go to Jerusalem and lead back -the chosen people; that on her arrival in the Holy Land, mighty changes -would take place in the world, and that she would pass seven years in -the desert." Trivial circumstances will foster a foolish belief in a -mind disposed to encourage it. Mr. Frederick North, afterwards Lord -Guildford, in the course of his travels came to Brusa, where Lady -Hester had gone for the benefit of the hot baths. He, Mr. Fazakerley, -and Mr. Gally Knight would often banter her on her future greatness -among the Jews. "Well, madam, you must go to Jerusalem. Hester, Queen -of the Jews! Hester, Queen of the Jews!" was echoed from one to -another; and probably at last the coincidence of a name, a prophecy, -and the country towards which she found herself going, were thought, -even by herself, to be something extraordinary. Metta took up the book -of fate from that time and showed her the part she was to play in the -East. This man, Metta, for some years subsequent to 1815, was in her -service as a kind of steward. He was advanced in years, and, like the -rest of the Syrians, believed in astrology, spirits, and prophecy. -No doubt he perceived in Lady Hester Stanhope a tincture of the same -belief; and on some occasion in conversation he said he knew of a -book on prophecy which he thought had passages in it that related to -her. This book, he persuaded her, could only be had by a fortunate -conjunction connected with himself; and he said if she would only -lend him a good horse to take him to the place where it was, he would -procure her a sight of it, but she was never to ask where he fetched it -from. All this exactly suited Lady Hester's love of mystery. A horse -was granted to him; he went off and returned with a prophetic volume -which he said he could only keep a certain number of hours. It was -written in Arabic, and he was to read and explain the text. The part -which he propounded was, "That a European female would come and live on -Mount Lebanon at a certain epoch, would build a house there, and would -obtain power and influence greater than a sultan's; that a boy without -a father would join her; that the coming of the Mahedi would follow, -but be preceded by war, pestilence, famine, and other calamities; that -the Mahedi would ride a horse born saddled, and that a woman would come -from a far country to partake in the mission." There were many other -incidents besides which were told. - -"The boy without a father" was thought by Lady Hester to be the Duke -of Reichstadt; but when he died, not at all discountenanced, she -fixed on some one else. Another portion of the prophecy was not so -disappointing, for in 1835 the Baroness de Feriat, an English lady -residing in the United States, wrote of her own accord, asking to -come and live with her, "When," remarks the discriminating doctor, -"the prophecy was fulfilled." For the fulfilment of the remainder of -the prophecy, Lady Hester was resolved at least not to be unprepared. -She kept with the greatest care two mares, called Laïla and Lulu; -the latter for Lady Hester herself, and the former, which was "born -saddled," or in other words of a peculiar hollow-backed breed, was for -the Murdah or Mahedi, the coming of whom she had brought herself to -expect, by the words of St. John, "There is one shall come after me who -is greater than I." These mares she cherished with care equal to that -paid by the ancient Egyptians to cats; and she would not allow them -to be seen by strangers, except by those whose _stars_ would not be -baneful to cattle. - - - - -[Illustration: A Hermit of the Sixteenth Century.] - - - - -Hermits and Eremitical Life. - - -Men have, in most times, withdrawn themselves from the world and taken -up their abode in caverns or ruins, or whatever shelter they could -find, and lived on herbs, roots, coarse bread and water. In many cases, -such persons have deemed these austerities as acceptable to God, and -this has become one of the rudest forms of monastic life. It is not -from this class of persons that we propose to introduce a few portraits -of hermit life, but rather to those whose peculiarities have taken a -more eccentric turn, almost in our own time. - -The Hon. Charles Hamilton, in the reign of George II., proprietor -of Pain's Hill, near Cobham, Surrey, built a hermitage upon a steep -brow in the grounds of that beautiful seat. Of this hermitage Horace -Walpole remarks that it is a sort of ornament whose merit soonest -fades, it being almost comic to set aside a quarter of one's garden -to be melancholy in. There is an upper apartment supported in part -by contorted logs and roots of trees, which form the entrance to the -cell, but the unfurnished and neglected state of the whole proves the -justness of Walpole's observation. Mr. Hamilton advertised for a person -who was willing to become a hermit in that beautiful retreat of his. -The conditions were that he was to continue in the hermitage seven -years, where he should be provided with a Bible, optical glasses, a mat -for his bed, a hassock for his pillow, an hour-glass for his timepiece, -water for his beverage, food from the house, but never to exchange a -syllable with the servant. He was to wear a camlet robe, never to cut -his beard or nails, nor ever to stray beyond the limits of the grounds. -If he lived there, under all these restrictions, till the end of the -term, he was to receive seven hundred guineas. But on breach of any of -them, or if he quitted the place any time previous to that term, the -whole was to be forfeited. One person attempted it, but a three weeks' -trial cured him. - -A Correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ describes a gentleman near -Preston, Lancashire, as more successful in the above eccentricity. He -advertised a reward of 50_l._ a year for life to any man who would -undertake to live seven years underground, without seeing anything -human; and to let his toe and finger nails grow, with his hair and -beard, during the whole time. Apartments were prepared underground, -very commodious, with a cold bath, a chamber organ, as many books -as the occupier pleased, and provisions served from his own table. -Whenever the recluse wanted any convenience he was to ring a bell, -and it was provided for him. Singular as this residence may appear, -an occupier offered himself, and actually stayed in it, observing the -required conditions, for four years. - -In the year 1863 there was living in the village of Newton Burgoland, -near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, a hermit whose real name was -scarcely known, though he had resided there nearly fifteen years. Yet -he was no recluse, no ascetic, but lived comfortably, and enjoyed his -dinner, his beer, and his pipe; and, according to his own definition, -he was entitled to be called a hermit. "True hermits," he said, -"throughout every age, have been the firm abettors of freedom." As -regarded his appearance, his fancies, and his habits, he was a hermit, -a _solitaire_ in the midst of human beings. He wore a long beard, and -had a very venerable appearance. He was very fantastic in his dress, -and had a multitude of suits. He had no less than twenty different -kinds of hats, each with its own name and form, with some emblem or -motto on it--sometimes both. Here are a few examples:-- - - No. Name. Motto or Emblem. - - 1. Odd Fellows Without money, without friends, without - credit. - - 5. Bellows Blow the flames of freedom with God's - word of truth. - - 7. Helmet Will fight for the birthright of - conscience, love, life, property, and - national independence. - - 13. Patent Teapot To draw out the flavour of the tea - best--Union and Goodwill. - - 17. Wash-basin of Reform White-washed face and collyed heart. - - 20. Bee-hive The toils of industry are sweet; a wise - people live at peace. - -The shapes of the hats and the devices on them were intended to -symbolize some important fact or sentiment. - -He had twelve suits of clothes, each with a peculiar name, differing -from the others, and, like his hats, intended to be emblematical. One -dress, which he called "Odd Fellows," was of white cotton or linen. -It hung loosely over the body, except being bound round the waist -with a white girdle buckled in the front. Over his left breast was a -heart-shaped badge, bearing the words, "Liberty of Conscience," which -he called his "Order of the Star." The hat which he wore with the dress -was nearly white, and of common shape, but had on it four fanciful -devices, bound with black ribbon, and inscribed, severally, with these -words: "Bless, feed--good allowance--well clothed--all workingmen." - -Another dress, which he called "Foresters," was a kind of frock-coat, -made of soft brown leather, slightly embroidered with braid. This coat -was closed down the front with white buttons, and bound round the waist -with a white girdle, fastened with a white buckle. The hat, slightly -resembling a turban, was divided into black and white stripes, running -round it. - -Another dress, which he named "Military," had some resemblance to the -military costume at the beginning of the present century; the hat -was between the old-fashioned cocked-hat and that worn by military -commanders; but, instead of the military plume, it had two upright -peaks on the crown, not unlike the tips of a horse's ears. This hat, -which he asserted cost five pounds, he never wore but on important -occasions. - -A mania for _symbolization_ pervaded all his thoughts and doings. His -garden was a complete collection of emblems. The trees--the walks--the -squares--the beds--the flowers--the seats and arbours--were all -symbolically arranged. In the passage leading into the garden were -"the three seats of Self-Inquiry," each inscribed with one of these -questions: "Am I vile?" "Am I a Hypocrite?" "Am I a Christian?" -Among the emblems and mottoes which were marked by different coloured -pebbles or flowers were these:--"The vessels of the Tabernacle;" "The -Christian's Armour--olive-branch, baptismal-font, breastplate of -righteousness, shield of faith," &c. "Mount Pisgah;" a circle enclosing -the motto, "Eternal Love has wed my Soul;" "A Beehive;" "A Church;" -"Sacred Urn;" "Universal Grave;" "Bed of Diamonds;" "A Heart, enclosing -the Rose of Sharon." All the Implements used in Gardening: "The two -Hearts' Bowers;" "The Lovers' Prayer;" "Conjugal Bliss;" "The Hermit's -Coat-of-Arms;" "Gossips' Court," with motto, "Don't tell anybody!" -"The Kitchen-walk" contains representations of culinary utensils, with -mottoes. "Feast Square" contains, "Venison Pasty;" "Round of Beef," -&c. "The Odd Fellows' Square," with "The Hen-pecked Husband put on -Water-gruel." "The Oratory," with various mottoes; "The Orchestry," -mottoes, "God save our Noble Queen;" "Britons never shall be Slaves," -&c. "The Sand-glass of Time;" "The Assembly-room;" "The Wedding-Walk;" -"The Holy Mount;" "Noah's Ark;" "Rainbow;" "Jacob's Ladder," &c. "The -Bank of Faith;" "The Saloon;" "The Enchanted Ground;" "The Exit"--all -with their respective emblems and mottoes. Besides these fantastical -devices, there are, or were, in his garden, representations of the -Inquisition and Purgatory; effigies of the Apostles; and mounds covered -with flowers, to represent the graves of the Reformers. In the midst -of the religious emblems stood a large tub, with a queer desk before -it, to represent a pulpit. His garden was visited by persons residing -in the neighbourhood, when he would clamber into his tub, and harangue -the people against all kinds of real or fancied religious and political -oppressions. He declaimed vociferously against the Pope as Antichrist -and the enemy of humanity; and when he fled from Rome in the guise of -a servant, our old hermit decked his head with laurels, and, thus -equipped, went to the Independent Chapel, declaring that "the reign of -the man of sin was over." He also raised a mock-gallows in his garden, -and suspended on it an effigy of the Pope, whimsically dressed, with -many books sticking out of his pockets, which, he said, contained -the doctrines of Popery. However, these preachings proved very -unprofitable; the hermit grew poor, and gladly accepted any assistance -which did not require him to relinquish his eccentric mode of living. -In his own words, his heart was in his garden. We abridge this account -from a contribution to the _Book of Days_. - -It is curious to find many instances of what are termed "Ornamental -Hermits," set up by persons of fortune seeking to find men as eccentric -as themselves, to represent, as it were, the eremitical life in -hermitages provided for them upon their estates. - -Archibald Hamilton, afterwards Duke of Hamilton (as his daughter, Lady -Dunmore, told Mr. Rogers, the poet), advertised for "a hermit," as an -ornament to his pleasure-grounds; and it was stipulated that the said -hermit should have his beard shaved but once a year, and that only -partially. - -Gilbert White, in his poem, _The Invitation to Selborne_, has these -lines:-- - - Or where the Hermit hangs the straw-clad cell, - Emerging gently from the leafy dell: - By fancy plann'd, &c. - -In a note, this hermitage is said to have been a grotesque building, -contrived by a young gentleman who used occasionally to appear in the -character of a hermit. - -Some fancy of this kind at Lulworth Castle, in Dorsetshire, exaggerated -or highly coloured by O'Keefe, was supposed to afford him the title and -incident of his extravagant but laughable comedy of _The London Hermit; -or, Rambles in Dorsetshire_, first played in 1793. - -In _Blackwood's Magazine_ for April, 1830, it is stated by Christopher -North, in the _Noctes Ambrosianæ_, that the then editor of another -magazine had been "for fourteen years hermit to Lord Hill's father, -and sat in a cave in that worthy baronet's grounds with an hour-glass -in his hand, and a beard belonging to an old goat, from sunrise to -sunset, with orders to accept no half-crowns from visitors, but to -behave like Giordano Bruno." In 1810, a correspondent of _Notes and -Queries_, visiting the grounds at Hawkstone, the seat of the Hills, -was shown the hermitage there, with a stuffed figure dressed like the -hermits of pictures, seen by a dim light; and the visitors were told -that it had been inhabited in the daytime by a poor man, to whom the -eccentric but truly benevolent Sir Richard Hill gave a maintenance on -that easy condition; but that the popular voice against such _slavery_ -had induced the worthy baronet to withdraw the reality and substitute -the figure. - -A person advertised to be engaged as _a hermit_, in the _Courier_, -January 11th, 1810: "A young man, who wishes to retire from the world -and live as a hermit, in some convenient spot in England, is willing -to engage with any nobleman or gentleman who may be desirous of having -one. Any letter directed to S. Lawrence (post paid), to be left at Mr. -Otton's, No. 6, Coleman's Lane, Plymouth, mentioning what gratuity will -be given, and all other particulars, will be duly attended." - -In 1840, there died in the neighbourhood of Farnham, in Surrey, a -recluse or hermit, who had been originally a wealthy brewer, but -becoming bankrupt, wandered about the country, and having spent at an -inn what little money he had, took up his abode in the cavern popularly -known as "Mother Ludlam's Hole," in Moor Park. The "poor man" did not -long avail himself of this ready-made excavation, but chose his resting -place just above, in the sandstone rock, upon a spot where a fox had -been run to ground and dug out not long since. The hermit occasionally -walked out, but was little noticed, although, from the bareness of -the trees, his retreat was seen from a distance. He soon excavated -for himself twenty-five feet in the sandstone, and about five feet in -height, with a shaft to the summit of the hill, for the admission of -light and air. Here, in unbroken solitude, with fewer luxuries than -Parnell's hermit-- - - His food the fruits, his drink the crystal well-- - -our Surrey hermit subsisted almost entirely upon _ferns_, which abound -in this neighbourhood. On January 11th, 1840, he was seen by two -labourers, who described him as not having "two pounds of flesh on -all his bones." He was carried to the nearest cottage, placed in a -warm bath, next wrapped in blankets, and conveyed to the poor-house of -Farnham, where he soon died; his last words being, "Do take me to the -cave again." - -A few miles from Stevenage, and not more than thirty from the -metropolis, there was living, not many years since, in strange -seclusion, a man of high intellectual powers, in the prime of manhood, -and possessing ample means, yet wasting his days in eremitic misery. A -Correspondent of the _Wolverhampton Chronicle_ was invited to see this -extraordinary character, and here is the result of his visit:-- - -"I had pictured to my mind a venerable old man, with a beard as white -as snow, a massive girdle, and a profusion of books and hour-glass, -in a cell of picturesque beauty and neatness. Alas, how soon was I to -experience that imagination is one thing and reality another! I shall -not venture in future to speculate upon objects so unearthly. At the -termination of the road a mansion of no ordinary size met my view, -but better and happier times had reigned within; without, all was -desolation and ruin; time, that destroyer of all things, had done its -work here; every inlet was barricaded by the rude axe and hammer; its -portals no mortal had passed for eleven long years; the interior, which -was one rich in design and comfort, is now mouldering to decay; no -cheering voice is heard within its walls, only the noise of rats and -vermin. In tracing my steps to the scene of the hermit's cell, which is -situated at the back of the building, and looking through the wooden -bars of a window devoid of glass, I perceived a dismal, black, and -dirty cellar, with an earth floor; not one vestige of furniture, except -a wooden bench and a few bottles, with the remnants of a fire. - -"With difficulty, by the faint rays of light admitted into this -loathsome den, I could trace a human form, clothed only in a horse -rug, leaving his arms, legs, and feet perfectly bare; his hair was -prodigiously long, and his beard tangled and matted. On my addressing -him he came forward with readiness. I found him a gentleman by -education and birth, and most courteous in his manner; he anxiously -inquired after several aristocratic families in Staffordshire and -adjoining counties. It is evident he had at one period mixed in the -first circles, but the secret of his desolate retirement is, and -probably ever will remain, a mystery to his neighbours and tenantry, -by whom he is supplied with food (chiefly bread and milk). Already -eleven weary winters has he passed in this dreary abode, his only bed -being two sheepskins, and his sole companions the rats, which may be -seen passing to and fro with all the ease of perfect safety. During -the whole of his seclusion he has strictly abstained from ablution, -consequently his countenance is perfectly black. How much it is to be -regretted that a man so gifted as this hermit is known to be should -spend his days in dirt and seclusion." - -To another class belonged one Roger Crab, a gentleman of fortune, long -resident at Bethnal Green, and one of the eccentric characters of -the seventeenth century. All that is known of him is gathered from a -pamphlet, now very rare, written principally by himself, and entitled, -_The English Hermit, or Wonder of the Age_: by this it appears that he -had served seven years in the Parliamentary army, and had his skull -cloven in their service, for which he was so ill requited that he was -sentenced to death by the Lord Protector, and afterwards suffered two -years' imprisonment. When he obtained his release, he opened a shop at -Chesham, as a dealer in hats. He had not long been settled there before -he imbibed a notion that it was a sin against his body and soul to eat -any sort of fish, flesh, or living creature, or to drink wine, ale, or -beer. Thinking himself at the same time obliged to follow literally the -injunction given to the young man in the Gospel, he quitted business, -and disposing of his property, gave it among the poor, reserving to -himself only a small cottage at Ickenham, in Middlesex, where he -resided; he had a rood of land for a garden, on the produce of which -he subsisted at the expense of three farthings a week, his food being -bran, herbs, roots, dock-leaves, mallows, and grass; his drink water. - -How such an extraordinary change of diet agreed with his constitution, -the following passage from his pamphlet will show:--"Instead of strong -drinks and wines I give the old man a drop of water; and instead of -roast mutton and rabbits, and other dainty dishes, I give him broth -thickened with bran, and pudding made with bran, and turnip-leaves -chopped together, and grass; at which the old man (meaning my body) -being moved, would know what he had done that I used him so hardly; -then I showed him his transgression: so the warre began; the law of the -old man in my fleshy members rebelled against the law of my mind, and -had a shrewed skirmish; but the mind being well enlightened, held it -so that the old man grew sick and weak with the flux, like to fall to -the dust; but the wonderful love of God, well-pleased with the battle, -raised him up again, and filled him with the voice of love, peace, -and content of mind, and is now become more humble; for he will eat -dock-leaves, mallows, or grasse." - -Little is known of Crab's subsequent history, or whether he continued -his diet of herbs; but a passage in his epitaph seems to intimate -that he never resumed the use of animal food. It is not one of the -least extraordinary parts of his history, that he should so long -have subsisted on a diet which, by his own account, had reduced him -almost to a skeleton in 1655--being twenty-five years previous to his -death--in 1680: he is buried in Stepney churchyard. - - - - -The Recluses of Llangollen. - - -Many years ago, there lived together, in romantic seclusion, in the -Vale of Llangollen, in Denbighshire, two ladies, remarkable not only -for the singularity of their habits and dispositions, but as the -daughters of ancient and most distinguished families in the Irish -peerage. - -Lady Eleanor Butler was the youngest sister of John, sixteenth Earl -of Ormonde, and aunt of Walter, seventeenth Earl, who died in 1820. -Miss Mary Ponsonby was the daughter of Chambre Ponsonby, Esq., and -half-sister to Mrs. Lowther, of Bath. - -These two ladies retired at an early age, about the year 1729, from -the society of the world to the Vale of Llangollen. Lady Butler had -already rejected several offers of marriage, and as her affection for -Miss Ponsonby was supposed to have formed the bar to any matrimonial -alliance, their friends, in the hope of breaking off so disadvantageous -a companionship, proceeded so far as to place the former in close -confinement. The youthful friends, however, found means to elope -together, but being speedily overtaken, were brought back to their -respective relations. Many attempts were renewed to entice Lady Butler -into wedlock; but on her solemnly and repeatedly declaring that nothing -should induce her to alter her purpose of perpetual maidenhood, her -friends desisted from further importuning her. - -Not many months after this a second elopement was planned. Each lady -taking with her a small sum of money, and having confided the place of -their retreat to a confidential servant of the Ormonde family, who was -sworn to inviolable secrecy, they deputed her to announce their safety -at home, and to request that the trifling annuities allowed them might -not be discontinued. The message was received with kindness, and their -incomes were even considerably increased. - -[Illustration: The Ladies of Llangollen.] - -When Miss Seward visited the spot, our heroines had resided in their -romantic retirement about seventeen years; yet they were only known -to the neighbouring villagers as _the Ladies of the Vale_. The verses -which Miss Seward dedicated to the Recluses, and wherein she celebrated -"gay Eleanor's smile," and "Zara's look serene," conclude with this -morceau of sentimental affectation:-- - - May one kind ice-bolt from the mortal stores - Arrest each vital current as it flows, - That no sad course of desolated hours - Here vainly nurse their unsubsiding woes. - While all who honour virtue gently mourn - Llangollen's vanish'd pair, and wreathe their sacred urn. - -But they did not vanish for many a long year: they neither married -nor died till they were grown too old for the world to care whether -they did either or both. On one occasion, indeed, a party of tourists, -male and female, unable to procure accommodation at the village inn, -requested and obtained admittance at "the cottage," when they proved -to be near relatives of Miss Ponsonby. No entreaties, however, could -allure their fair cousin from her seclusion. - -Lady Eleanor is described as tall, of lively manners, and masculine. -She usually wore a riding-habit, and donned her hat with the air of a -finished sportsman. Her companion, on the contrary, was fair, pensive, -gentle, and effeminate. Their abode was a neat cottage, with about two -acres of pleasure-ground. Avoiding every appearance of dissipation -or gaiety, they led a life as retired as the situation. Two female -servants waited on them, and while Miss Ponsonby superintended the -house, my Lady amused herself with the garden. The name of the retreat -is Plas Newydd, about a quarter of a mile from Llangollen, hidden among -the trees on ascending the Vale behind the church. By some the ladies -are said not to have led here a life of absolute seclusion, but to have -visited their neighbours and received friends. The cottage was built -purposely for them. They died after a life full of good deeds, within -eighteen months of each other--Lady Eleanor, June 2nd, 1829, at the -patriarchal age of ninety; Miss Ponsonby, December 9th, 1830. Their -monument, in Llangollen churchyard, in which they were buried, has -three sides, each bearing a touching epitaph; the third to the memory -of Mary Carrol, a faithful Irish servant. - - - - -Snuff-taking Legacies. - - -On April 2nd, 1776, there died, at her house in Boyle Street, -Burlington Gardens, one Mrs. Margaret Thompson, whose will affords a -notable specimen of the ruling passion strong in death. The will is -as follows:--"In the name of God, Amen. I, Margaret Thompson, being -of sound mind, &c., do desire that when my soul is departed from this -wicked world, my body and effects may be disposed of in the manner -following: I desire that all my handkerchiefs that I may have unwashed -at the time of my decease, after they have been got together by my old -and trusty servant, Sarah Stuart, be put by her, and by her alone, at -the bottom of my coffin, which I desire may be made large enough for -that purpose, together with such a quantity of the best Scotch snuff -(in which she knoweth I always had the greatest delight) as will cover -my deceased body; and this I desire the more especially as it is usual -to put flowers into the coffins of departed friends, and nothing can -be so fragrant and refreshing to me as that precious powder. But I -strictly charge that no man be suffered to approach my body till the -coffin is closed, and it is necessary to carry me to my burial, which I -order in the manner following:-- - -"Six men to be my bearers, who are known to be the greatest -snuff-takers in the parish of St. James, Westminster; instead of -mourning, each to wear a snuff-coloured beaver hat, which I desire may -be bought for that purpose, and given to them. Six maidens of my old -acquaintance, _viz._ &c., to bear my pall, each to bear a proper hood, -and to carry a box filled with the best Scotch snuff to take for their -refreshment as they go along. Before my corpse, I desire the minister -may be invited to walk and to take a certain quantity of the said -snuff, not exceeding one pound, to whom also I bequeath five guineas -on condition of his so doing. And I also desire my old and faithful -servant, Sarah Stuart, to walk before the corpse, to distribute every -twenty yards a large handful of Scotch snuff to the ground and upon -the crowd who may possibly follow me to the burial-place; on which -condition I bequeath her 20_l._ And I also desire that at least two -bushels of the said snuff may be distributed at the door of my house in -Boyle Street." - -She then particularizes her legacies; and over and above every legacy -she desires may be given one pound of good Scotch snuff, which she -calls the grand cordial of nature. - - - - -Burial Bequests. - - -In June, 1864, there died at Drogheda one Miss Hardman, at the -advanced age of ninety-two years. She was buried in the family vault -in Peter's Protestant Church. The funeral took place on the eighth -day of her decease. It is not usual in Ireland to allow so long an -interval to elapse between the time of a person's death and burial; in -this instance it was owing to the expressed wish of the deceased, and -this originated in a very curious piece of family and local history. -Everybody has heard of the lady who was buried, being supposed dead, -and who bearing with her to the tomb, on her finger, a ring of rare -price, this was the means of her being rescued from her charnel -prison-house. A butler in the family of the lady, having his cupidity -excited, entered the vault at midnight in order to possess himself of -the ring, and in removing it from the finger the lady was restored to -consciousness and made her way in her grave-clothes to her mansion. She -lived many years afterwards before she was finally consigned to the -vault. The heroine of the story was a member of the Hardman family--in -fact, the late Miss Hardman's mother--and the vault in Peter's Church -was the locality where the startling revival scene took place. - -The story is commonly told in explanation of a monument in the Church -of St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, which is commemorative of Constance -Whitney, and represents a female rising from a coffin. "This," says -Mr. Godwin, in his popular history of the _Churches of London_, "has -been erroneously supposed to commemorate a lady, who, having been -buried in a trance, was restored to life through the cupidity of the -sexton, which induced him to dig up the body to obtain possession of -a ring." The female rising from the coffin is undoubtedly emblematic -of the Resurrection, and may have been repeated upon other monuments -elsewhere; but there is no such monument at Drogheda, which as above is -claimed as the actual locality. - -On May 24th, 1837, there died at Primrose Cottage, High Wycombe, Bucks, -Mr. John Guy, aged sixty-four. His remains were interred in a brick -grave in Hughenden Churchyard: on a marble slab, on the lid of the -coffin, is inscribed: - - Here, without nail or shroud, doth lie, - Or covered with a pall, John Guy, - Born May 17th, 1773. - Died, „ 24th, 1837. - -On his gravestone are the following lines:-- - - In coffin made without a nail, - Without a shroud his limbs to hide; - For what can pomp or show avail, - Or velvet pall to swell the pride? - -Mr. Guy was possessed of considerable property, and was a native -of Gloucestershire. His grave and coffin were made under his -directions more than a twelvemonth previous to his death; he wrote -the inscriptions, he gave the orders for his funeral, and wrapped -in separate pieces of paper five shillings for each of the bearers. -The coffin was very neatly made, and looked more like a piece of -cabinet-work for a drawing-room than a receptacle for the dead. - -Dr. Fidge, a physician of the old school, who in early days had -accompanied the Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV.) when a -midshipman as medical attendant, possessed a favourite boat; upon his -retirement from Portsmouth Dockyard, where he held an appointment, -he had this boat converted into a coffin, with the sternpiece fixed -at its head. This coffin he kept under his bed for many years. The -circumstances of his death were very remarkable. Feeling his end -approaching, and desiring to add a codicil to his will, he sent for -his solicitor. On entering his chamber he found him suffering from -a paroxysm of pain, but which soon ceased; availing himself of the -temporary ease to ask him how he felt, he replied, smiling: "I feel -as easy as an old shoe," and looking towards the nurse in attendance, -said: "Just pull my legs straight, and place me as a dead man; it will -save you trouble shortly," words which he had scarcely uttered before -he calmly died. - -Job Orton, of the Bell Inn, Kidderminster, had his tombstone, with an -epitaphic couplet, erected in the parish churchyard; and his coffin was -used by him for a wine-bin until required for another purpose. - -Dr. John Gardner, "the worm doctor," originally of Long Acre, erected -his tomb and wrote the inscription thereon some years before his death. -Strangers reading the inscription naturally concluded he was like his -predecessor, "Egregious Moore," immortalized by Pope, "food for worms," -whereas he was still following his profession, that of a worm-doctor, -in Norton Folgate, where he had a shop, in the window of which were -displayed numerous bottles containing specimens of tape and other -worms, with the names of the persons who had been tormented by them, -and the date of their ejection. Finding his practice declining from the -false impression conveyed by his epitaph, he dexterously caused the -word _intended_ to be interpolated, and the inscription for a long time -afterwards ran as follows:-- - - intended - Dr. John Gardner's last and best bedroom. - ^ - -He was a stout, burly man, with a flaxen wig, and rode daily into -London on a large roan-coloured horse. - -Not a few misers have carried their penury into the arrangements for -their interment. Edward Nokes, of Hornchurch, by his own direction, -was buried in this curious fashion:--A short time before his death, -which he hastened by the daily indulgence in nearly a quart of spirits, -he gave strict charge that his coffin should not have a nail in it, -which was actually adhered to, the lid being made fast with hinges of -cord, and minus a coffin-plate, for which the initials E. N. cut upon -the wood were substituted. His shroud was made of a pound of wool. The -coffin was covered with a sheet in place of a pall, and was carried by -six men, to each of whom he directed should be given half-a-crown. At -his particular desire, too, not one who followed him to the grave was -in mourning; but, on the contrary, each of the mourners appeared to -try whose dress should be the most striking. Even the undertaker was -dressed in a blue coat and scarlet waistcoat. - -Another deplorable case might be cited, that of Thomas Pitt, of -Warwickshire. It is reported that some weeks prior to the sickness -which terminated his despicable career, he went to several undertakers -in quest of a cheap coffin. He had left behind him 3,475_l._ in the -public funds. - - - - -[Illustration: Major Peter Labelliere. From Kingsbury's print.] - - - - -Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill. - - -As the railway traveller passes over Red Hill, on the London and -Brighton line, his attention can scarcely fail to be struck with two -prominent points in the charming landscape--Box Hill, covered with its -patronymic shrub; and Leith Hill, surmounted by a square tower. On each -of these elevations is buried an eccentric person: one with his head -downwards, and the other in the usual horizontal position; but the -fondness for exaggerating things already extraordinary, has led to the -common misstatement that one person is buried with his head downwards, -and the other standing upon his feet. Of the two interments, however, -the following are the true versions. - -On the north-western brow of Box Hill, and nearly in a line with the -stream of the Mole, as it flows towards Burford Bridge, was interred, -some sixty-five years since, Major Peter Labelliere, an officer of -marines. During the latter years of his life he had resided at Dorking, -and, in accordance with his own desire, he was interred on this spot, -long denoted by a wooden stake or stump. This gentleman in early life -fell in love with a lady, who, although he was remarkably handsome in -person, rejected his addresses. This circumstance inflicted a deep -wound on his mind, which, at a later period, religion and politics -entirely unsettled. Yet his eccentricities were harmless, and himself -the only sufferer. At this time the Duke of Devonshire, who had been -formerly fond of the major's society, settled on him a pension of -100_l._ a year. Labelliere then lived at Chiswick, and there wrote -several tracts, both polemical and political, but the incoherency of -his arguments was demonstrative of mental incapacity. From Chiswick he -frequently walked to London, his pockets filled to overflowing with -newspapers and pamphlets, and on the road he delighted to harangue the -ragged boys who followed him. He next removed to Dorking, and there -resided in a mean cottage, called "The Hole in the Wall," on Butter -Hill. Among the anecdotes of his eccentricity it is related that, to a -gentleman with whom he was intimate he presented a packet, carefully -folded and sealed, with a particular injunction not to open it till -after his death. This request was strictly complied with, when it was -found to contain merely a blank memorandum-book. - -Long prior to his decease he selected the point of Box-Hill we have -named, where, in compliance with his oft-expressed wish, he was -buried, without church rites, with his head _downwards_; in order, -he said, that as "the world was turned topsy-turvy, it was fit that -he should be so buried that he might be _right at last_."[19] He -died June 6th, 1800, and was interred on the 10th of the same month, -when great numbers of persons witnessed his funeral; and the slight -wooden bridge which then crossed the Mole having been removed by some -mischievous persons during the interment many had to wade through the -river on returning homewards. The Major earned not the uncommon reward -of eccentricity--his portrait being engraved--by H. Kingsbury. Under -Labelliere's name is inscribed in the print-- - -"A Christian patriot and Citizen of the World." - -[19] Honest Jack Fuller, who is buried in a pyramidal mausoleum in -Brightling churchyard, in Sussex, gave as his reason for being thus -disposed of, his unwillingness to be eaten by his relations after this -fashion: "The worms would eat me, the ducks would eat the worms, and my -relations would eat the ducks." - -The interment on Leith Hill is less characterised by oddity than that -of Major Labelliere on Box Hill. In a mansion on the south side of -Leith Hill lived Mr. Richard Hull, a gentleman of fortune, who, in -1766, with the permission of Sir John Evelyn, of Wotton, built a tower -on the summit of Leith Hill, from which the sea is visible, and it -became a landmark for mariners. It comprised two rooms, which were -handsomely furnished by the founder, for the accommodation of those -who resorted thither to enjoy the prospect. Over the entrance, on the -west side, was placed a stone with a Latin inscription, which may be -thus translated: "Traveller, this very conspicuous tower was erected by -Richard Hull, of Leith Hill Place, Esq., in the reign of George III., -1766, that you might obtain an extensive prospect over a beautiful -country; not solely for his own pleasure, but for the accommodation of -his neighbours and all men." - -Mr. Hull, was, by his own direction, interred within this tower, -and an epitaph inscribed on a marble slab let into the wall, on -the ground-floor, stated that he died January 18th, 1772, in his -eighty-third year. He was the oldest bencher of the Middle Temple, and -sat many years in the Parliament of Ireland. He lived, in his earlier -years, in intimacy with Pope, Trenchard, Bishop Berkeley, and other -distinguished men of the period; "and, to wear off the remainder of his -days, he purchased Leith Hill Place for a retirement, where he led the -life of a true Christian and rural philosopher; and, by his particular -desire, his remains were here deposited, in a private manner, under -this tower, which he had erected a few years before his death." - -After the decease of the founder, the building was neglected, and -suffered to fall into decay; but about 1796, Mr. W. Philip Perrin, who -had purchased Mr. Hull's estate, had the tower thoroughly repaired, -heightened several feet, and surmounted by a coping and battlement, so -as to render it a more conspicuous sea-mark; but the lower part was -filled in with lime and rubbish, and the entrance walled up. Leith Hill -is the highest eminence in Surrey, its extreme point being 993 feet -above the sea-level. It commands a view 200 miles in circumference. -Dennis, the critic, described this prospect as superior to anything he -had ever seen in England or Italy, in its surpassing "rural charms, -pomp, and magnificence." - - - - -Jeremy Bentham's Bequest of his Remains. - - -Bentham's long life was incessantly and laboriously devoted to the -good of his species: in pursuance of which he ever felt that incessant -labour a happy task, that long life but too short for its benevolent -object. The preservation of his remains by his physician and friend, -to whose care they were confided, was in exact accordance with his -own desire. He had early in life determined to leave his body for -dissection. By a document dated as far back as 1769, he being then -only twenty two-years of age, bequeathed it for that purpose to his -friend, Dr. Fordyce. The document is in the following remarkable -words:-- - -"This my will and general request I make, not out of affectation of -singularity, but to the intent and with the desire that mankind may -reap some small benefit in and by my decease, having hitherto had small -opportunities to contribute thereto while living." - -A memorandum affixed to this document shows that it had undergone -Bentham's revision two months before his death, and that this part of -it had been solemnly ratified and confirmed. The Anatomy Bill, passed -subsequently to his death, for which a foundation had been laid in _The -Use of the Dead to the Living_ (first published in the _Westminster -Review_, and afterwards reprinted, and a copy given to every member of -Parliament), had removed the main obstructions in the way of obtaining -anatomical knowledge; but the state of the law previous to the adoption -of the Anatomy Act was such as to foster the popular prejudices against -dissection, and the effort to remove these prejudices was well worthy -of a philanthropist. After all the lessons which science and humanity -might learn from the dissection of his body had been taught, Bentham -further directed that the skeleton should be put together and kept -entire; that the head and face should be preserved; that the whole -figure, arranged as naturally as possible, should be attired in the -clothes he ordinarily wore, seated in his own chair, and maintaining -the attitude and aspect most familiar to him. - -Mr. Bentham was perfectly aware that difficulty and even obloquy -might attend a compliance with the directions he gave concerning the -disposal of his body. He therefore chose three friends, whose firmness -he believed to be equal to the task, and asked them if their affection -for him would enable them to brave such consequences. They engaged -to follow his directions to the letter, and they were faithful to -their pledge. The performance of the first part of this duty is thus -described by an eye-witness, W. J. Fox, in the _Monthly Repository_ for -July, 1832:-- - -"None who were present can ever forget that impressive scene. The -room (the lecture-room of the Webb Street School of Anatomy) is small -and circular, with no window but a central sky-light, and capable -of containing about three hundred persons. It was filled, with the -exception of a class of medical students and some eminent members of -that profession, by friends, disciples, and admirers of the deceased -philosopher, comprising many men celebrated for literary talent, -scientific research, and political activity. The corpse was on the -table in the middle of the room, directly under the light, clothed -in a night-dress, with only the head and hands exposed. There was no -rigidity in the features, but an expression of placid dignity and -benevolence. This was at times rendered almost vital by the reflection -of the lightning playing over them; for a storm arose just as the -lecturer commenced, and the profound silence in which he was listened -to was broken and only broken by loud peals of thunder, which continued -to roll at intervals throughout the delivery of his most appropriate -and often affecting address. With the feelings which touch the heart -in the contemplation of departed greatness, and in the presence of -death, there mingled a sense of the power which that lifeless body -seemed to be exercising in the conquest of prejudice for the public -good, thus co-operating with the triumphs of the spirit by which it -had been animated. It was a worthy close of the personal career of the -great philanthropist and philosopher. Never did corpse of hero on the -battle-field, 'with his martial cloak around him,' or funeral obsequies -chanted by stoled and mitred priests in Gothic aisles, excite such -emotions as the stern simplicity of that hour in which the principle of -utility triumphed over the imagination and the heart." - -The skeleton of Bentham, dressed in the clothes which he usually wore, -and with a wax face, modelled by Dr. Talrych, enclosed in a mahogany -case, with folding-doors, may now be seen in the Anatomical Museum of -University College Hospital, Gower Street, London. - - - - -The Marquis of Anglesey's Leg. - - -Among the curiosities of Waterloo are the grave of the late Marquis -of Anglesey's leg, and the house in which it was cut off, and where -the boot belonging to it is preserved! The owner of the house to -whose share this relic has fallen finds it a most lucrative source of -revenue, and will, in spite of the absurdity of the thing, probably -bequeath it to his children as a valuable property. He has interred the -leg most decorously in the garden of the inn, within a coffin, under a -weeping willow, and has honoured it with a monument and the following -epitaph:-- - - Ci est enterrée la Jambe - de l'illustre et vaillant Comte d'Uxbridge, - Lieutenant-Général de S. M. Britannique, - Commandant en chef la cavalrie Anglaise, Belge, et Hollandaise, - blessé le 18 Juin, 1815, - à la mémorable bataille de Waterloo; - qui par son héroisme a concouru au triomphe de la cause - du genre humain; - Glorieusement décidée par l'éclatante victoire du dit jour. - -Some wag scribbled this infamous couplet beneath the inscription:-- - - Here lies the Marquis of Anglesey's limb, - The devil will have the rest of him. - -More apposite is the following epitaph, attributed to Mr. Canning, -on reading the description of the tomb erected to the memory of the -Marquis of Anglesey's leg:-- - - Here rests,--and let no saucy knave - Presume to sneer or laugh, - To learn that mould'ring in this grave - There lies--a British _calf_. - - For he who writes these lines is sure - That those who read the whole, - Will find that laugh was premature, - For here, too, lies a _soul_. - - And here five little ones repose, - Twin born with other five, - Unheeded by their brother toes, - Who all are now alive. - - A leg and foot, to speak more plain, - Lie here of one commanding; - Who, though he might his wits retain, - Lost half his understanding. - - And when the guns, with thunder bright, - Poured bullets thick as hail, - Could only in this way be taught - To give the foe _leg bail_. - - And now in England just as gay - As in the battle brave, - Goes to the rout, the ball, the play, - With one leg in the grave. - - Fortune in vain has showed her spite, - For he will soon be found, - Should England's sons engage in fight, - Resolved to stand his ground. - - But Fortune's pardon I must beg; - She meant not to disarm: - And when she lopped the hero's leg, - She did not seek his h-arm. - - And but indulged a harmless whim, - Since he could _walk_ with one: - She saw two legs were lost on him, - Who never meant to run. - -When the Marquis of Anglesey was, for the second time, Lord Lieutenant -of Ireland, he became very unpopular through an unguarded speech; and -Mr. O'Connell, in one of his flowery addresses, quoted the lines:-- - - God takes the good, too good on earth to stay; - And leaves the bad, too bad to take away. - -The great orator continued:-- - - This couplet's truth in Paget's case we find; - God took his leg, and left himself behind. - -Of a ballad sung in the streets of Dublin, the chorus ran as follows:-- - - He has one leg in Dublin, the other in Cork, - And you know very well what I mean, O! - -It was stated that he had an artificial leg in Cork. - - - - -The Cottle Church. - - -"For more than twenty years," says Mr. De Morgan in his "Budget of -Paradoxes"[20] in the _Athenæum_, 1865, "printed papers have been sent -about in the name of Elizabeth Cottle. It is not so remarkable that -such papers should be concocted, as that they should circulate for such -a length of time without attracting public attention. Eighty years -ago, Mrs. Cottle might have rivalled Lieutenant Brothers or Joanna -Southcote. Long hence, when the now current volumes of our journals are -well ransacked works of reference, those who look into them will be -glad to see this feature of our time: I therefore make a few extracts, -faithfully copied as to type. The Italic is from the new Testament; the -Roman is the requisite interpretation:-- - - "Robert Cottle '_was numbered_ (5196) _with the transgressors_' at the - back of the Church in Norwood Cemetery, May 12, 1858--Isa. liii. 12. - The Rev. J. G. Collinson, Minister of St. James's Church, Clapham, the - then district church, before All Saints was built, read the funeral - service _over the Sepulchre wherein never before man was laid_. - - "_Hewn on the stone_, 'at the mouth of the sepulchre,' is his - name--Robert Cottle, born at Bristol, June 2, 1774; died at Kirkstall - Lodge, Clapham Park, May 6, 1858. _And that day_ (May 12, 1858) - _was the preparation_ (day and year for 'the PREPARED place for - you'--Cottleites--by the widowed mother of the Father's house, at - Kirkstall Lodge--John xiv. 2, 3). _And the Sabbath_ (Christmas Day, - December 25, 1859) _drew on_ (for the resurrection of the Christian - body on 'the third [Protestant Sun]-day'--1 Cor. xv. 35). _Why seek - ye the living_ (God of the New Jerusalem--Heb. xii. 22; Rev. iii. - 12) _among the dead_ (men): _he_ (the God of Jesus) _is not here_ - (in the grave), _but is risen_ (in the person of the Holy Ghost, - from the supper, of 'the dead in the second death' of Paganism). - _Remember how he spake unto you_ (in the Church of the Rev. George - Clayton, April 14, 1839). _I will not drink henceforth_ (at this last - Cottle supper) _of the fruit of this_ (Trinity) _vine, until that - day_ (Christmas Day, 1859), _when I_ (Elizabeth Cottle) _drank it new - with you_ (Cottleites) _in my Father's kingdom_--John xv. _If this_ - (Trinitarian) _cup may not pass away from me_ (Elizabeth Cottle, - April 14, 1839), _except I drink it_ ('new with you Cottleites, in my - Father's kingdom'), _thy will be done_--Matt. xxvi. 29, 42, 64. 'Our - Father which art (God) in heaven, _hallowed be thy name, thy_ (Cottle) - _kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is_ (done) _in_ (the - new) _Heaven_ (and new earth of the new name of Cottle--Rev. xxi. 1; - iii. 12). - - "... (Queen Elizabeth, from A. D. 1558 to 1566). _And this_ WORD _yet - once more_ (by a second Elizabeth)--the WORD of his oath, _signifieth_ - (at John Scott's baptism of the Holy Ghost) _the removing of those - things_ (those Gods and those doctrines) _that are made_ (according - the Creeds and Commandments of men) _that those things_ (in the moral - law of God) _which cannot be shaken_ (as a rule of faith and practice) - _may remain; wherefore we receiving_ (from Elizabeth) _a kingdom_ (of - God) _which cannot be moved_ (by Satan) _let us have grace_ (in his - grace of Canterbury) _whereby we may serve God acceptably_ (with the - acceptable sacrifice of Elizabeth's body and blood of the communion of - the Holy Ghost) _with reverence_ (for truth) _and godly fear_ (of the - unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost), _for our God_ - (the Holy Ghost) _is a consuming fire_ (to the nation that will not - serve him in the Cottle Church). We cannot defend ourselves against - the Almighty, and if He is our defence, no nation can invade us. - - "In verse 4 the Church of St. Peter is _in prison between four - quaternions of Soldiers_--the Holy Alliance of 1815. Rev. vii. 1. - Elizabeth, _the Angel of the Lord_ Jesus _appears_ to the Jewish and - Christian body with _the vision_ of prophecy to the Rev. Geo. Clayton - and his clerical brethren, April 8th, 1839. _Rhoda_ was the name of - her maid at Putney Terrace who used _to open the door to her Peter_, - the Rev. Robert Ashton, the Pastor of 'the little flock' 'of 120 names - together, assembled in an upper (school) room' at Putney Chapel, to - which little flock she gave the revelation (Acts i. 13, 15) _of Jesus - the same_ King of the Jews _yesterday_ at the prayer meeting, December - 31, 1841, _and to-day_, January 1, 1842, _and for ever_. See book of - Life, page 24. Matt. xviii. 19; xxi. 13-16. In verse 6 the Italian - body of St. Peter _is sleeping_ 'in the second death' _between the - two_ Imperial _soldiers_ of France and Austria. The Emperor of France - from January 1 to July 11, 1859, causes the Italian _chains of St. - Peter to fall off from his_ Imperial _hands_. - - "_I say unto thee_, Robert Ashton, _thou art Peter_, a stone, _and - upon this rock_, of truth, _will I_ Elizabeth, the Angel of Jesus, - _build my_ Cottle _Church, and the gates of hell_, the doors of St. - Peter at Rome, shall not prevail against it--Matt. xvi. 18; Rev. iii. - 7-12." - -[20] We hope to see these interesting accounts of real "curiosities of -literature" reprinted in a separate volume. - -"This will be enough for the purpose. When anyone who pleases can -circulate new revelations of this kind, uninterrupted and unattended -to, new revelations will cease to be a good investment of eccentricity. -I take it for granted that the gentlemen whose names are mentioned have -nothing to do with the circulars or their doctrines. Any lady who may -happen to be entrusted with a revelation may nominate her own pastor, -or any other clergyman, one of her apostles; and it is difficult to say -to what court the nominees can appeal to get the commission abrogated. - -"March 16, 1865. During the last two years the circulars have -continued. It is hinted that funds are low; and two gentlemen, who are -represented as gone 'to Bethelem asylum in despair,' say that Mrs. -Cottle will 'spend all that she hath, while Her Majesty's ministers are -flourishing on the wages of sin.' The following is perhaps one of the -most remarkable passages in the whole:-- - - "_Extol and magnify Him_ (Jehovah, the everlasting God, see the - Magnificat and Luke i. 45, 46-68-73-79), _that rideth_ (by rail - and steam over land and sea, from his holy habitation at Kirkstall - Lodge, Psa. lxxvii. 19, 20), _upon the_ (Cottle) _heavens as it were_ - (September 9, 1864, see pages 21, 170), _upon an_ (exercising, Psa. - cxxxi. 1), _horse_-(chair, bought of Mr. John Ward, Leicester Square)." - - - - -Horace Walpole's Chattels saved by a Talisman. - - -In the spring of 1771, Walpole's house in Arlington Street was broken -open in the night, and his cabinets and trunks forced and plundered. -The Lord of Strawberry was at his villa when he received by a courier -the intelligence of the burglary. In an admirable letter to Sir Horace -Mann he thus narrates the sequel:--"I was a good quarter of an hour -before I recollected that it was very becoming to have philosophy -enough not to care about what one does care for; if you don't care -there's no philosophy in bearing it. I despatched my upper servant, -breakfasted, fed the bantams as usual, and made no more hurry to town -than Cincinnatus would if he had lost a basket of turnips. I left in my -drawers 270_l._ of bank-bills and three hundred guineas, not to mention -all my gold and silver coins, some inestimable miniatures, a little -plate, and a good deal of furniture, under no guard but that of two -maidens.... When I arrived, my surprise was by no means diminished. I -found in three different chambers three cabinets, a large chest, and -a glass case of china wide open, the locks not picked, but forced, -and the doors of them broken to pieces. You will wonder that this -should surprise me when I had been prepared for it. Oh! the miracle -was that I did not find, nor to this hour have found, the least thing -missing. In the cabinet of modern medals, there were, and so there are -still, a series of English coins, with downright John Trot guineas, -half-guineas, shillings, sixpences, and every kind of current money. -Not a single piece was removed. Just so in the Roman and Greek cabinet; -though in the latter were some drawers of papers, which they had -tumbled and scattered about the floor. A great exchequer chest, that -belonged to my father, was in the same room. Not being able to force -the lock, the philosophers (for thieves that steal nothing deserve the -title much more than Cincinnatus, or I) had wrenched a great flapper -of brass with such violence as to break it into seven pieces. The trunk -contained a new set of chairs of French tapestry, two screens, rolls -of prints, and a suit of silver stuff that I had made for the king's -wedding. All was turned topsy-turvy, and nothing stolen. The glass case -and cabinet of shells had been handled as roughly by these impotent -gallants. Another little table with drawers, in which, by the way, the -key was left, had been opened too, and a metal standish that they ought -to have taken for silver, and a silver hand-candlestick that stood upon -it, were untouched. Some plate in the pantry, and all my linen just -come from the wash had no more charms for them than gold or silver. In -short I could not help laughing, especially as the only two movables -neglected were another little table with drawers and the money, and a -writing box with the bank-notes, both in the same chamber where they -made the first havoc. In short, they had broken out a panel in the -door of the area, and unbarred and unbolted it, and gone out at the -street-door, which they left wide open at five o'clock in the morning. -A passenger had found it so, and alarmed the maids, one of whom ran -naked into the street, and by her cries waked my Lord Rommey, who lives -opposite. The poor creature was in fits for two days, but at first, -finding my coachmaker's apprentice in the street, had sent him to Mr. -Conway, who immediately despatched him to me before he knew how little -damage I had received, the whole of which consists in repairing the -doors and locks of my cabinets and coffers. - -"All London is reasoning on this marvellous adventure, and not an -argument presents itself that some other does not contradict. I insist -that I have a talisman. You must know that last winter, being asked by -Lord Vere to assist in settling Lady Betty Germaine's auction I found -in an old catalogue of her collection this article, '_The Black Stone -into which Dr. Dee used to call his spirits_.' Dr. Dee, you must know, -was a great conjuror in the days of Queen Elizabeth and has written a -folio of the dialogues he held with his imps. I asked eagerly for this -stone; Lord Vere said he knew of no such thing, but if found, it should -certainly be at my service. Alas, the stone was gone! This winter I -was again employed by Lord Frederic Campbell, for I am an absolute -auctioneer, to do him the same service about his father's (the Duke of -Argyle's) collection. Among other odd things he produced a round piece -of shining black marble in a leathern case, as big as the crown of a -hat, and asked me what that possibly could be? I screamed out, 'Oh -Lord, I am the only man in England that can tell you! It is Dr. Dee's -Black Stone!' It certainly is; Lady Betty had formerly given away or -sold, time out of mind, for she was a thousand years old, that part of -the Peterborough collection which contained natural philosophy. So, or -since, the Black Stone had wandered into an auction, for the lotted -paper is still on it. The Duke of Argyle, who bought everything, bought -it. Lord Frederic gave it to me; and if it was not this magical stone, -which is only of high-polished coal, that preserved my chattels, in -truth I cannot guess what did." - -At the Strawberry Hill sale, in 1842, this precious relic was sold -for 12_l._ 12_s._, and is now in the British Museum. It was described -in the catalogue as "a singularly interesting and curious relic of -the superstition of our ancestors--the celebrated _Speculum of Kennel -Coal_, highly polished, in a leathern case. It is remarkable for having -been used to deceive the mob, by the celebrated Dr. Dee, the conjuror, -in the reign of Queen Elizabeth," &c. When Dee fell into disrepute, -and his chemical apparatus and papers and other stock-in-trade were -destroyed by the mob, who made an attack upon his house, this Black -Stone was saved. It appears to be nothing more than a polished piece of -cannel coal; but this is what Butler means when he says:-- - - Kelly did all his feats upon - The devil's looking glass--a stone. - - - - -[Illustration: Margaret Finch, the Norwood Gipsy.] - - - - -Norwood Gipsies. - - -Two centures ago, Norwood, in Surrey, was celebrated as the haunt -of many of the gipsy-tribe, who in the summertime pitched their -blanket-tents beneath its shady trees. Thus we find Pepys recording -a visit to the place, under the date of August 11th, 1688:--"This -afternoon my wife, and Mercer, and Deb. went with Pelling to the -gipsies at Lambeth, and had their fortunes told; but what they did I -did not inquire." [Norwood is in the southern part of Lambeth parish.] - -From their reputed knowledge of futurity, the Norwood gipsies were -often consulted by the young and credulous. This was particularly the -case some sixty or seventy years ago, when it was customary among the -working class and servants of London to walk to Norwood on the Sunday -afternoon to have their fortunes told, and also to take refreshment -at the Gipsy House, said to have been first licensed in the reign of -James the First. The house long bore on its sign-post a painting of the -deformed figure of Margaret Finch, the Queen of the gipsies. - -The register of Beckenham, under the date of October 24th, 1740, -records the burial of Margaret Finch, who lived to the age of 109 -years. After travelling over various parts of the kingdom (during the -greater part of a century), she settled at Norwood, whither her great -age and the fame of her fortune-telling attracted numerous visitors. -From a habit of sitting on the ground, with her chin resting on her -knees, the sinews became so contracted that she could not rise from -that posture. After her death they were obliged to enclose her body in -a deep square box. Her funeral was attended by two mourning-coaches, a -sermon was preached on the occasion, and a great concourse of people -attended the ceremony. There is an engraved portrait of this gipsy -queen, from a drawing made in 1739. - -In the summer of 1815, the gipsies of Norwood were "apprehended as -vagrants, and sent in three coaches to prison," and this magisterial -interference, and the increase of houses and population, have long -since driven the gipsies from their haunts; but the association is -preserved in the Gipsy Hill station of the Crystal Palace Railway. - - - - -"Cunning Mary," of Clerkenwell. - - -Early in the seventeenth century, one Mary Woods, of Norwich, a -person who professed skill in palmistry, came to London in the way -of her vocation, and lodged at the house of one Crispe, a barber, -in Clerkenwell. Having received such a valuable inmate, the barber -soon afterwards removed "Cunning Mary" and her husband to the more -fashionable neighbourhood of the Strand, and there the barber became a -willing agent in procuring subjects or patients for his female lodger. -One branch of her business consisted in furnishing ladies who desired -to become mothers with charms and medicines which would assist them in -attaining their end. In the next house to Somerset Place dwelt a Mrs. -Isabel Peel, wife of a tradesman, who to her great grief was childless. -The barber, at his lodger's suggestion, whispered in her ear, that the -very skilful person who was an inmate of his house could provide her -with means to help forward her desires. An interview was arranged, and -by "fair speech and cozening skill" Mary Woods persuaded Mrs. Peel -of her power, but demanded no less a sum than twenty pounds for its -exercise. In cash, the amount was beyond the patient's means, but she -delivered to her adviser "two lawn and other wrotte (wrought) wares," -and received in return a small portion of an infallible powder, which -the cunning woman sewed in a little piece of taffeta, and bade the -aspirant after maternity wear it round her neck. - -The news that a woman of such marvellous skill had come to lodge in -Westminster soon spread. Anxious ladies in many of the neighbouring -mansions sent for her, and she specially got a footing in Salisbury -House. Mrs. Jane Sacheverell, who attended on Lady Cranborne, was one -of her victims. The Countess of Essex had several interviews with her -in the same friendly mansion, and gave her a diamond ring worth fifty -or sixty pounds, sent by her husband the Earl, out of France, with -directions to pawn it, in order to procure a portion of the infallible -powder, "which was very costly." The Countess also bestowed upon Mrs. -Woods "certain pieces of gold worth between thirty and forty pounds." -When the affair was called in question, Mrs. Woods asserted that the -Countess gave her these things to procure "a kind of poison that would -be in a man's body three or four days without swelling," and that this -poison was to be given to the Earl of Essex. But Mrs. Woods was an -infamous person, whose uncorroborated assertion was worth nothing, and -she had previously mentioned to Mrs. Peel that her employment by the -Countess had relation merely to the child-giving powder. - -Mrs. Woods possessed other faculties besides those with reference to -which she was consulted by Mrs. Peel and Mrs. Sacheverell. She could -"help" ladies to husbands, and "cause and procure whom they desired to -have, to love them." On this branch of her business she was consulted -by Mrs. Cooke, Lady Walden's gentlewoman, who gave her twenty pounds -and more, in twenty-shilling pieces of gold; and, finally, also, by -Mrs. Clare, who is described as lying in the Court at Whitehall, and as -being a waiting gentlewoman in attendance upon the young Lady Windsor. -Mrs. Clare, like several other of the ladies named, had no ready money, -but the fees paid by her were very handsome. They comprised a standing -cup and cover of silver gilt, worth fourteen pounds; a petticoat of -velvet, layed with three silver laces, that cost forty pounds; and two -diamond rings, the one worth twenty pounds, and the other five pounds. - -After the bubble had burst, and Cunning Mary absconded with her -plunder, Mrs. Peel says that she "ripped the taffeta to see what -powder it was, and found it but a little dust swept out of the flower -(floor?)."[21] - -[21] S. P. Dom. James I., vol. lxxvii., quoted in Pinks's _History of -Clerkenwell_, Appendix. - - - - -Jerusalem Whalley. - - -Mr. Whalley was elected for Newcastle, 1785, before he was of age, -which was not unusual in Ireland, and sat for it to 1790, and for -Enniscorthy from 1797 to June, 1800. He acquired the sobriquet of -_Jerusalem Whalley_ in consequence of a bet, said to have been -20,000_l._, that he would walk (except where a sea-passage was -unavoidable) to Jerusalem and back within twelve months. He started -September 22, 1788, and returned June 1, 1789. - -Lord Cloncurry describes Whalley as a perfect specimen of the Irish -gentleman of the olden time. Gallant, reckless, and profuse, he made no -account of money, limb, or life, when a feat was to be won, or a daring -deed to be attempted. He spent a fine fortune in pursuits not more -profitable than his expedition to play ball at Jerusalem; and rendered -himself a cripple for life by jumping from the drawing-room window -of Daly's club-house, in College Green, Dublin, on to the roof of a -hackney-coach which was passing. - -The lawless behaviour of the yeomanry corps which he commanded obtained -for him another and less agreeable appellation, "Bever-chapel Whalley." -His residence in Stephen's Green was, in 1855, converted into a -nunnery. Sir Jonah Barrington states that 4,000_l._ was paid to Mr. -Whalley by Mr. Gould, M.P. for Kilbeggan. - -Whalley, "Buck Whalley" as he was sometimes called, is stated to -have been the founder of the Hell-fire Club. Having a taste for the -fine arts, and means to gratify it, he accumulated a large number -of valuable paintings in his mansion at Stephen's Green, Dublin, of -which the following account has appeared in the _Dublin University -Magazine_:--"In the centre of the south side of St. Stephen's Green -stands a noble building, with a large stone lion reposing over the -entrance, and finding his legs and tail encroached on by grass and -weeds. This mansion belonged to the great Buck Whalley, and witnessed -many a noble feast and mad carouse during the viceroyalty of the Duke -of Buckingham. At last, when all the pleasures that could be procured -on Irish land were tried, and found to result in satiety and disgust, -and his tailor and wine-merchant began to disturb him, he sought new -excitement in his wager that he would have a game of ball against the -walls of Jerusalem; and he succeeded, as already stated. A bard, who -contributed to a collection of political squibs, entitled, _Both Sides -of the Gutter_, sang the going forth of the expedition: it is entitled, -_Whalley's Embarkation_, to the tune of 'Rutland Gigg.'" - - - - -Father Mathew and the Temperance Movement. - - -No great cause was ever inaugurated with more eccentric or more -genuine fervour than the advocacy of the Temperance principles by -Father Mathew, the Capuchin Friar. "Here goes in the name of God!" -said the Father, on the 10th of April, 1838, when he pledged his name -in the cause of Temperance, and, together with the Protestant priest, -Charles Duncombe, the Unitarian philanthropist, Richard Dowden, and -the stout Quaker, William Martin, publicly inaugurated a movement at -Cork, destined in a few years to count its converts by millions, and to -spread its influence as far as the English language was spoken. In this -good work, the habitually impulsive temperament of the Irish was acted -upon for the purest and most beneficial of purposes; and one element -of its success lay in the unselfishness of the Father, who was himself -a serious sufferer by the results of his philanthropic exertions. A -distillery in the south of Ireland, belonging to his family, and from -which he himself derived a large income, was shut up in consequence -of the disuse of whisky among the lower orders, occasioned by his -preaching. But his "Riverance" was most unscrupulously tyrannized over -by his servant John, a wizened old bachelor, with a red nose, privately -nourished by Bacchus; and he was only checked in his evil doings when -the Father, more exasperated than usual, exclaimed, "John, if you go on -in this way, I must certainly leave this house." On one occasion, there -was a frightful smack of whisky pervading the pure element which graced -the board, which he accounted for by saying he had placed the forbidden -liquid, with which he "cleaned his tins," in the jug by mistake. - -The Temperance cause prospered, but Father Mathew, through his -eccentric love of giving, found it impossible to keep out of debt, -which ever kept him in thraldom. The hour of his deepest bitterness -was when, while publicly administering the pledge in Dublin, he was -arrested for the balance of an account due to a medal manufacturer; the -bailiff to whom the duty was entrusted kneeling down among the crowd, -asking his blessing, and then quietly showing him the writ. - -This is one of the many anecdotes told by Mr. Maguire, in his admirable -Life of Father Mathew, who, we learn from the same authority, at a -large party attempted to make a convert of Lord Brougham, who resisted, -good-humouredly but resolutely, the efforts of his dangerous neighbour. -"I drink very little wine," said Lord Brougham; "only half-a-glass at -luncheon, and two half glasses at dinner; and though my medical adviser -told me I should increase the quantity, I refused to do so." "They are -wrong, my lord, for advising you to increase the quantity, and you are -wrong in taking the small quantity you do; but I have my hopes of you." -And so, after a pleasant resistance on the part of the learned lord, -Father Mathew invested his lordship with the silver medal and ribbon, -the insignia and collar of the Order of the Bath. "Then I will keep -it," said Lord Brougham, "and take it to the House, where I shall be -sure to meet the old Lord ---- the worse of liquor, and I will put it -on him." Lord Brougham was as good as his word; for, on meeting the -veteran peer, he said: "Lord ----, I have a present from Father Mathew -for you," and passed the ribbon quietly over his neck. "Then I'll tell -you what it is, Brougham, by ---- I will keep sober for this day," said -his lordship, who kept his word, to the great amusement of his friends. - - - - -[Illustration: Edward Irving.] - - - - -Eccentric Preachers. - - -Scores, nay, hundreds of volumes have been gathered upon the oddities -of character which mankind, in all ages, have presented to the -observant writer who loves to "shoot folly as it flies." Voltaire has -said, "Every country has its foolish notions.... Let us not laugh at -any people;" and it would be difficult to find any age which has not -its curiosities of character, to be laughed at and turned to still -better account; for, of whatever period we write, something may be done -in the way of ridicule towards turning the popular opinion. Diogenes -owes much of his celebrity to his contempt of comfort, by living in a -tub, and his oddity of manner. Orator Henley preached from his "gilt -tub" in Clare Market, and thus earned commemoration in the _Dunciad_:-- - - Still break the benches, Henley, with thy strain, - While Sherlock, Hare and Gibson preach in vain; - O, worthy thou of Egypt's wise abodes, - A decent priest, where monkeys were the gods! - But Fate with butchers placed thy priestly stall, - Meek modern faith to murder, hack, and haul. - -Eccentricity has its badge and characteristics by which it gains -distinction and notoriety, and which in some cases serve as a lure to -real excellence. The preaching of Rowland Hill is allowed to have been -excellent; but his great popularity was won by his eccentric manner, -and the many piquant anecdotes and witticisms, and sallies of humour -unorthodox, with which, during his long ministry, he interlarded -his sermons. However, he thought the end justified the means; and -certain it is that it drew very large congregations. The personal -allusions to his wife, which Rowland Hill is related to have used in -the pulpit, were, however, fictitious, and at which Hill expressed -great indignation. "It is an abominable untruth," he would exclaim; -"derogatory to my character as a Christian and a gentleman. They would -make me out a bear." - -The success of Edward Irving, the popular minister of the National -Scotch Church in London, was of a more mixed character. It is stated, -upon good authority, that he first chose the stage as a profession, -and acted in Ryder's company, in Kirkaldy, a few miles from Edinburgh, -about fifty-five years since. The obliquity of his vision, his dialect, -and peculiarly awkward gait and manner, created so much derision, that -he left the stage for the pulpit, after about three months' probation. - -Irving's sermons were not liked at first; and it was not until he was -recognised by Dr. Chalmers that Irving became popular. But he was -turned out of his church, and treated as a madman, and he died an -outcast heretic. "There was no harm in the man," says a contemporary, -"and what errors he entertained, or extravagancies he allowed in -connection with supposed miraculous gifts, were certain in due time -to burn themselves out." It was not so much the error of his doctrine -as the peculiarity of his manner, the torrent of his eloquence, his -superlative want of tact, that provoked his enemies, and frightened -his friends. The strength of his faith was wonderful. Once, when -he was called to the bedside of a dying man late at night he went -immediately. Presently he returned, and beckoned one of his friends to -accompany him. The reason was, that he really believed in the efficacy -of prayer, and held to the promise--"If _two_ of you shall agree on -earth as touching anything that ye shall ask, it shall be done." It was -necessary, therefore, that two should go to the sick man. So, also, -he had a child that died in infancy, to whom he was in the habit of -addressing "words of godliness, to nourish the faith that was in him." -And Irving adds that the patient heed of the child was wonderful. He -really believed that the infant, by some incomprehensible process, -could guess what he was saying, and profit by it. His love for children -was very great; and he, a very popular man in London, might be seen, -day by day, marching along the streets of Pentonville of an afternoon, -his wife by his side, and his baby in his arms. - -His sermons had a large sale, going through many editions. But Irving -complains that, in spite of these large sales, he could never get the -religious publishers to whom he had entrusted his book to give him -anything but a pitiful return. It is amusing to find him in one letter -complaining that there is neither grace nor honour in the religious -booksellers, and requesting his wife in negotiating the sale of his -next venture to "try Blackwood, or some of these worldlings," in the -evident expectation that "these worldlings" were a good deal more -liberal in their dealings, not to say honest, than those whom he -regarded as his peculiar friends. - - - - -Irving a Millenarian. - - -The Millenarians proudly claim the late Edward Irving as having been -one of the most earnest believers in the personal reign of Christ. -In his latter days he was a Millenarian in the strictest sense of -the word. From the year 1827 to 1830, the Millenarianism question -was brought under the notice of thousands of Christians, who, though -remarkable for their knowledge of Scripture on other points, had never -bestowed a single thought on the question of Christ's personal reign on -earth. The cause of this was the prominence given to it by the Rev. E. -Irving, then at the summit of his popularity. Solely with the generous -view of assisting a Spanish friend, he had, in the previous year, -studied the Spanish language, and had made such progress as to be able -to translate it into English. Just at this time appeared in Spanish, -_The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty_, with which Irving was -much struck, as powerfully expressing his own views on the Millenarian -question, that he at once set to work, and translated it into English. -Its author professed to have been a Jewish convert to Christianity, -and gave the name of Juan Josaphat Ben-Ezra on the title-page. He was, -however, a Spanish priest and a Jesuit. It is not known whether Mr. -Irving was aware of the fraud which had been thus practised upon the -readers of the book; he described it as "the chief work of a master's -hand," and "a masterpiece of reasoning," and "a gift which he had -revolved well how he might turn to profit." - -Irving likewise established _The Morning Watch_ for the sole purpose -of advocating Millenarian views; but the extravagance of some of -the collateral notions which the preacher intermingled with simple -Millenarianism rather impeded than promoted the object in view. -The doctrine, too, of speaking with tongues, the assertion of the -peccability of Christ's humanity, the zealous advocacy of the opinion -that the power of working miracles was still vested in the Church, -and not the expectation only, but from time to time, the repeated -assertion, most emphatically, that _Christ would come immediately to -reign personally on the earth_--all these, and other sentiments no -less confidently advanced, and earnestly inculcated both from Irving's -pulpit and through the press, injured rather than benefited the cause -of Millenarianism among the more sober-minded men in the religious -world. - -Moreover, he retained these momentous errors till his dying hour, -and added one more to them. When his physicians and friends, seeing -him in the last stage of consumption, prepared him in the spirit of -affectionate faithfulness for the solemn event which was at hand, he -would not believe that he was dying, or ever would die, but that he -would be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and in a transformed body, -made unspeakably glorious, be caught up to heaven. The Millenarians -therefore do not strengthen their cause by quoting the name of Edward -Irving as an authority in favour of their views. - -The intense enthusiasm with which Irving entered into the notion of -a personal reign of Christ on earth is well described in his Life by -Mrs. Oliphant. "The conception," she says, "of a second advent nearly -approaching was like the beginning of a new life. The thought of seeing -his Lord in the flesh, cast a certain ecstasy on the mind of Irving. -It quickened tenfold his already vivid apprehension of spiritual -things. The burden of his prophetic mystery, so often darkly pondered, -so often interpreted in a mistaken sense, seemed to him, in the light -of that expectation, to swell into divine choruses of preparation for -the splendid event which, with his bodily eyes, undimmed by death, -he hoped to behold." It is generally thought that the extravagancies -which, towards the close of his career, proceeded both from his lips -and his pen, were to be traced to a mind which, through its prophetic -studies, had _lost its balance_. Yet, to the last, he made many -proselytes to his Millenarian notions. - -Irving originated the idea of Christ, with his saints, remaining -and reigning in the air after he has caught up his people to meet -him there, instead of reigning literally on the earth. Irving also -originated the doctrine of _secret rapture_, or the assumption that -Christ will come and take up his people who are alive with him into -the air when he raises the saints who are in their graves, and summons -them to meet him in aerial regions. So deeply did this notion take -possession of many of those who adopted Mr. Irving's Millenarian views, -in conjunction with this other idea--that _Christ's second coming might -be_ looked for at any hour--that they were as firmly persuaded they -would not see death, as they were of any truth in the Word of God.[22] - -[22] See _The End of All Things_, by the author of _Our Heavenly Home_, -1866. - - - - -A Trio of Fanatics. - - -The names of Sharp, Bryan, and Brothers will not soon be forgotten -among the so-called prophets of the present century. The first of this -inspired trio was William Sharp, one of the greatest masters in the -English school of engraving; Bryan was what is termed an irregular -Quaker, who had engrafted sectarian doctrines on an original stock of -fervid religious feeling; and Richard Brothers, who styled himself the -"Nephew of God," predicted the destruction of all sovereigns, &c. - -Sharp was, at one time, so infected with wild notions of political -liberty, and so free in his talk, that he was placed under arrest by -the Government and several times examined before the Privy Council, -for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not, in his speeches or -writings, he had committed himself far enough to be tried with Horne -Tooke for high treason; but Sharp, being a handsome-looking, jocular -man, and too cheerful for a conspirator, the Privy Council came to a -conclusion that the altar and the throne had not much to fear from -him. At one of the examinations, when Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas were -present, after he had been worried with questions, which, Sharp said, -had little or nothing to do with the business, he deliberately took out -of his pocket a prospectus for subscribing to his portrait of General -Kociusko, after West, which he was then engraving; and handing the -paper first to Pitt and Dundas, he requested them to put their names -down as subscribers, and then to give his prospectus to the other -members of the Council for their names. The singularity of the proposal -set them laughing, and he was soon afterwards liberated. - -Sharp possessed a fraternal regard for Bryan, had him instructed in -copper-plate printing, supplied him with paper, &c., and enabled him -to commence business; but they soon quarrelled. A strong tide of -animal spirits, not unaccompanied by some intellectual pretensions and -shrewdness of insight, characterized the mind of Jacob Bryan; which, -when religion was launched on it, swelled to enthusiasm, tossed reason -to the skies, or whirled her in mystic eddies. Sharp found him one -morning groaning on the floor, between his two printing-presses, at his -office in Marylebone Street, complaining how much he was oppressed, -by bearing, after the pattern of the Saviour, part of the sins of the -people; and he soon after had a vision, commanding him to proceed -to Avignon on a Divine Mission. He accordingly set out immediately, -in full reliance on Divine Providence, leaving his wife to negotiate -the sale of his printing business: thus Sharp lost his printer, but -Bryan kept his faith. The issue of this mission was so ambiguous, -that it might be combined into an accomplishment of its supposed -object, according as an ardent or a cool imagination was employed on -the subject; but the missionary (Bryan) returned to England, and then -became a dyer, and so much altered, that a few years after he could -even pun upon the suffering and confession which St. Paul has expressed -in his text--"I die daily." - -The Animal Magnetism of Mesmer and the mysteries of Emanuel Swedenborg -had, by some means or other, in Sharp's time, become mingled in the -imaginations of their respective or their mutual followers; and Bryan -and several others were supposed to be endowed, though not in the -same degree, with a sort of half-physical and half-miraculous power -of curing diseases, and imparting the thoughts or sympathies of -distant friends. De Loutherbourg, the painter (one of the disciples), -was believed by the sect to be a very Esculapius in this divine art; -but Bryan was held to be far less powerful, and was so by his own -confession. Sharp had also some inferior pretensions of the same kind, -which gradually died away. - -But, behold! Richard Brothers arose! The Millennium was at hand! The -Jews were to be gathered together, and were to re-occupy Jerusalem; -and Sharp and Brothers were to march thither with their squadrons! -Due preparations were accordingly made, and boundless expectations -were raised by the distinguished artist. Upon a friend remonstrating -that none of their preparations appeared to be of a marine nature, -and inquiring how the chosen colony were to cross the seas, Sharp -answered, "Oh, you'll see; there'll be an earthquake, and a miraculous -transportation will take place." Nor can Sharp's faith or sincerity -on this point be in the least distrusted; for he actually engraved -two plates of the prophet Brothers, having calculated that one would -not print the great number of impressions that would be wanted when -the important event should arrive; and he added to each the following -inscription: "Fully believing this to be the man appointed by God, I -engrave his likeness: W. Sharp." The writing engraver, Smith, put the -comma after the word "appointed," and omitted it in the subsequent part -of the sentence. The mistake was not discovered until several were -worked off; the unrectified impressions are in great request. Whether -this be true, or only a hoax by Smith to put collectors on a false -scent, has not been ascertained; there is no such impression in the -British Museum. If the reader paused in the place where Sharp intended, -the sentence expressed, "Fully believing this to be the man appointed -by God,"--to do what? to head the Jews in their predestined march to -recover Jerusalem? or to die in a madhouse? one being expressed as much -as the other. - -Brothers, however, in his prophecy, had mentioned _dates_, which were -stubborn things. Yet the failure of the accomplishment of this prophecy -may have helped to recommend "the Woman clothed with the Sun!" who now -arose, as might be thought somewhat _mal à propos_, in the West. Such -was Joanna Southcote. The Scriptures had said: "The sceptre shall not -depart from Israel, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh -come; and to him _shall the gathering of my people be_." When Brothers -was incarcerated in a madhouse in Clerkenwell, Johanna, then living -in service at Exeter, persuaded herself that she held converse with -the devil, and communion with the Holy Ghost, by whom she pretended to -be inspired. When the day of dread that was to leave London in ruins, -while it ushered forth Brothers and Sharp on their holy errand, passed -calmly over, the seers of coming events began to look out for new -ground, and to prevaricate most unblushingly. The _days_ of prophecy, -said Sharp, were sometimes weeks or months; nay, according to one text, -a thousand years were but as a single day, and one day was but as a -thousand years. But he finally clung to the deathbed prediction of -Jacob, supported as it was by the ocular demonstration of the coming -Shiloh. In vain Sir William Drummond explained that Shiloh was in -reality the ancient Asiatic name of a star in Scorpio; or that Joanna -herself sold for a trifle, or gave away in her loving kindness, the -impression of a trumpery seal, which at the Great Day was to constitute -the discriminating mark between the righteous and the ungodly. We shall -hear more of Sharp in association with Joanna Southcote, presently. - -Sharp died poor; he earned much money, but his egregious credulity -accounts for its dispersion. He was an epicure in his living, he -grew corpulent, and had gout; he died of dropsy, at Chiswick, July -25th, 1824, and was interred in the churchyard of that hamlet, near -De Loutherbourg, for whom, at one period, he entertained much mystic -reverence. - -This great engraver, this William Sharp, was an enthusiast for human -freedom. He engraved, from a liking for the man, Northcote's portrait -of Sir Francis Burdett; and bestowed unusual care on an engraving -after Stothard's beautiful bistre-drawing of "Boadicea animating -the Britons." For many years preceding his death he was a wholesale -believer in Joanna Southcote; as we have already seen--and he had -implicit faith in mystical doctrines; of his portrait of Brothers, -Horne Tooke well observed, that, coupled with its extraordinary -inscription, it "exhibited one of the most eminent proofs of human -genius and human weakness ever contained on the same piece of paper." - -Burnet, the engraver, used to relate that Sharp had an ingenious way -of carrying a proof print to a purchaser, in an umbrella contrived to -serve two additional duties--a print-case, and a walking-stick. - -When John Martin exhibited his picture of Belshazzar's Feast, Sharp -called upon him at his house, introduced himself, praised his picture, -and asked permission to engrave it. "That I was flattered by a request -of the kind from so great an artist," says Martin, "you will readily -imagine; and I so expressed myself." Sharp felt pleased. "My belief," -said Sharp, "is, that yours is a divine work--an emanation immediately -from the Almighty; and my belief further is, that while I am engaged on -so divine a work, I shall never die." When Martin told this story, he -added, with a smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "Poor Sharp! a -wild enthusiast, but--a masterly engraver."[23] - -[23] "New Materials for Lives of English Engravers," by Peter -Cunningham. _Builder_, 1863. - -Richard Brothers was born at Placentia, in Newfoundland, and had -served in the navy, but resigned his commission, because, to use his -own words, he "conceived the military life to be totally repugnant to -the duties of Christianity, and he could not conscientiously receive -the wages of plunder, bloodshed, and murder." This step reduced him to -great poverty, and he appears to have suffered much in consequence. His -mind was already shaken, and his privations and solitary reflections -seem at length to have entirely overthrown it. The first instance of -his madness appears to have been his belief that he could restore sight -to the blind. He next began to see visions and to prophesy, and soon -became persuaded that he was commissioned by Heaven to lead back the -Jews to Palestine. It was in the latter part of 1794 that he announced, -through the medium of the press, his high destiny. His rhapsody bore -the title of "A revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times, Book -the First. Wrote under the direction of the Lord God, and published by -his sacred command; it being the first sign of warning for the benefit -of all nations. Containing, with other great and remarkable things, -not revealed to any other person on earth, the restoration of the -Hebrews to Jerusalem, by the year 1798: under their revealed prince and -prophet." A second part speedily followed, which purported to relate -"particularly to the present time, the present war, and the prophecy -now fulfilling: containing, with other great and remarkable things, not -revealed to any other person on earth, the sudden and perpetual fall of -the Turkish, German, and Russian Empires." Among many similar flights -in this second part, was one which described visions revealing to him -the intended destruction of London, and claimed for the prophet the -merit of having saved the city by his intercession with the Deity.[24] - -[24] _Sketches of Imposture, Deception and Credulity._ Second Edition. -1840. - -Brothers gained a great number of partisans, not only among uneducated -persons, but among men of talent. We have seen Sharp, the engraver, as -his devoted disciple. Among these followers was Mr. Halhed, who had -been a schoolfellow of Sheridan at Harrow; they also had a sort of -literary partnership, and they fell passionately in love with the same -woman, Miss Linley. Halhed was a profound scholar, a man of wit, and a -member of the House of Commons; he published pamphlets in advocacy of -the prophetic mission of Brothers, and even made a motion in the House -in favour of the prince of the Jews, as Brothers delegated himself. - -Brothers took more of a political turn than his companions. He had -been a lieutenant in the navy, and during the years 1792-3-4, greatly -disturbed the minds of the credulous with his _prophecies_. We have -said that he styled himself the "Nephew of God," and predicted the -destruction of all sovereigns; he also foretold the downfall of the -naval power of Great Britain. - -His writings, founded on erroneous explanations of the Scriptures, -at length made so much noise, that Government found it expedient -to interfere, and on the 14th of March, 1795, he was apprehended at -his lodgings, No. 58, in Paddington Street, under a warrant from the -Secretary of State. After a long examination before the Privy Council, -in which Brothers persisted in the divinity of his legation, he was -committed to the custody of a State messenger. On the 27th he was -declared a lunatic, by a jury appointed under a commission of lunacy, -assembled at the King's Arms, in Palace Yard, and was subsequently -removed to a private madhouse at Islington. While here, he continued -to see visions and to pour forth his rhapsodies in print. One of -these productions was a letter of two hundred pages, to "Miss Cott, -the recorded daughter of King David, and future Queen of the Hebrews, -with an Address to the Members of His Britannic Majesty's Council." -The lady to whom this letter was addressed had become an inmate of the -same asylum with Brothers, and he became so enamoured of her, that he -discovered her to be "the recorded daughter of both David and Solomon," -and his spouse "by divine ordinance." Brothers was subsequently removed -to Bedlam; but in the year 1806 was discharged by the authority of -Lord Chancellor Erskine. He died in Upper Baker Street, on the 25th of -January, 1824. He was seen in the street a few days before his death, -walking with great difficulty, and apparently in the last stage of -consumption. It is recorded that the minister who attended Brothers -in his last moments died of a broken heart; and the medical man under -whose care he had been confined, committed suicide. - -Brothers appears to have unwittingly suggested to Coleridge and Southey -the clever poem of the _Devil's Walk_, by the mad prophet asserting -that he had seen the devil walk leisurely into London one day! - - - - -The Spenceans. - - -Early in the present century there arose in the metropolis a -religio-political sect, which took its name from an itinerant -bookseller, named T. Spence, who formed a sort of Constitution on the -principle that "all human beings are equal by nature and before the -law, and have a continual and _inalienable property_ in the earth and -in its natural productions;" and consequently that "_every man, woman, -and child_, whether born in wedlock or not (for Nature and Justice -know nothing of illegitimacy), is entitled quarterly to an equal share -of the rents of the parish where they have settled." This he called -"the Constitution of _Spensonia_;" and the Abstract from which we have -quoted he called "A Receipt to make a _Millennium_, or Happy World." -By this reference and by some allusions to the Jewish economy, he also -gave his system a slight connection with religion--but it was very -slight; for he neither regarded the precepts of the moral law, nor the -doctrines of the Gospel. He admitted, however, of a Sabbath every fifth -day; but only as a day of rest and amusement--not for any purposes of -devotion. A scheme somewhat similar to the above was formed in the -time of the English Commonwealth, and it is probable Spence may have -borrowed his system partly from that source. - -Spence was punished for his vagaries; for, in 1801, he was sentenced -to pay a fine of 50_l._ and to suffer twelve months' imprisonment for -publishing _Spence's Restorer of Society_, which was deemed a seditious -libel. Spence died in October, 1814. - - - - -[Illustration: Joanna Southcote.] - - - - -Joanna Southcote, and the Coming of Shiloh. - - -This "dropsical old woman," Joanna Southcote, was a native of Exeter, -and was born in April, 1750. She was employed chiefly in that city -as a domestic servant, and up to the age of forty or thereabout, she -seems to have aspired to no higher occupation. But having joined -the Methodists, and become acquainted with one Saunderson, who laid -claim to the spirit of prophecy, the notion of a like pretension -was gradually communicated to Joanna. She wrote prophecies, and -she dictated prophecies, sometimes in prose and sometimes in rhymed -doggerel; her influence extended, and the number of her followers -increased; she announced herself as the woman spoken of in the 12th -chapter of Revelation, and obtained considerable sums by the sale of -_seals_, which were to secure the salvation of those who purchased -them. Her confidence increased with her reputation, and she challenged -the bishop and clergy of Exeter to a public investigation of her -miraculous powers, but they treated her challenge with contemptuous -neglect, which she and her converts imputed to fear. - -By degrees, Exeter became too narrow a stage for her performances, and -she came to London on the invitation and at the expense of Sharp, the -eminent engraver. She was very illiterate, but wrote numerous letters -and pamphlets, and her prophecies, nearly unintelligible as they were, -had a large sale. In the course of her Mission, as she called it, -promising a speedy approach of the Millennium, she employed a boy, who -pretended to see visions, and attempted, instead of writing, to adjust -them on the walls of her chapel, "the House of God," a large building -which adjoined the Elephant and Castle Inn, at Newington Butts. A -schism took place among her followers, one of whom, named Carpenter, -took possession of the place, and wrote against her; not denying her -Mission, but asserting that she had exceeded it. - -It may, however, be interesting here to describe what may be termed -the _modus operandi_ of the delusion. Great pains were now taken to -ascertain the truth of her commission. "From the end of 1792," says -Mr. Sharp, who, we have already seen, was the most devout of her -believers, "to the end of 1794, her writings were sealed up with -great caution, and remained secure till they were conveyed by me to -High House, Paddington; and the box which contained them was opened -in the beginning of January, 1803. Her writings were examined during -seven days, and the result of this long scrutiny was the unanimous -decision of twenty-three persons _appointed by divine command_, as -well as of thirty-five others that were present, _that her calling -was of God_." They came to this conclusion from the fulfilment of the -prophecies contained in these writings, and to which she appealed with -confidence and triumph. It was a curious circumstance, however, that -her handwriting was illegible. Her remark on this occasion was, "This -must be, to fulfil the Bible. Every vision that John saw in Heaven must -take place on earth; and here is the sealed book, that no one can read!" - -A protection was provided for all those who subscribed their names as -volunteers, for the destruction of Satan's kingdom. To every subscriber -a folded paper was delivered, endorsed with his name, and secured with -the impression of Joanna's seal in red wax; this powerful talisman -consisted of a circle enclosing the two letters J. C., with a star -above and below, and the following words, "The sealed of the Lord, -the Elect, Precious, Man's Redemption, to inherit the tree of life, -to be made heirs of God and joint-heirs of Jesus Christ." The whole -was authenticated by the signature of the prophetess in her illegible -characters, and the person thus provided was said to be _sealed_. -Conformably, however, to the 7th chapter of the Revelation, the number -of those highly protected persons was not to exceed 144,000.[25] - -[25] _Sketches of Imposture, Deception, and Credulity_. Second Edition. -1840. - -Early in her last year, she secluded herself from male society, and -fancied that she was with child--by the Holy Spirit!--that she was to -bring forth the Shiloh promised by Jacob Bryan, and which she pretended -was to be the second appearance of the Messiah! This child was to -be born before the end of harvest, on the 19th of October, 1814, at -midnight, as she was certain it was impossible for her to survive -undelivered till Christmas. The harvest, however, was ended, and -Christmas came, without the fulfilment of her predictions. Some months -previously, Joanna had declared her pretended situation, and invited -the opinion of the faculty. Several medical men admitted her pregnancy, -others doubted; and some, among whom was Dr. Sims, denied it. There -was, indeed, the external appearance of pregnancy; and, in consequence, -the enthusiasm of her followers, who are said to have amounted at that -time to no fewer than one hundred thousand, was greatly excited. An -expensive cradle was made, and considerable sums were contributed, -in order to have other things prepared in a style worthy of the -expected Shiloh. Among the costly presents made to her was a Bible -which cost 40_l._, and the superb cot or cradle 200_l._, besides a -richly-embroidered coverlid, &c. - -It was now deemed necessary, to satisfy certain worldly doubts, that -medical men should be called in to give a professional opinion as -to the fact, from a consideration of all the symptoms, and without -reference to miraculous agency. One of these gentlemen, Mr. Mathias, -appearing incredulous of Joanna's pregnancy, was asked "if he would -believe when he saw the infant at the breast?" He protested against a -question so blasphemous; but his further attendance was dispensed with, -as she had been answered, "that he had drawn a wrong judgment of her -disorder." Mr. Mathias, too, let out some strange information, showing -that Joanna passed much of her time in bed, ate much and often, and -prayed never; but to keep up the delusion that she was with child, she, -like other ladies in that situation, had longings. On one occasion she -longed for asparagus, and ate one hundred and sixty heads, at no small -cost, before she allayed her liking. - -Dr. Richard Reece[26] was now consulted by Joanna as to her pregnancy. -He was not a proselyte to her religious views, but is thought to have -been deceived by her symptoms, and declared to a deputation of her -followers his belief of her being pregnant by some means or other. -As her supposed time of deliverance approached, Joanna fell ill, and -began to doubt her inspiration, most probably by her fears awakening -her conscience; and as Dr. Reece continued in attendance, he witnessed -the following scene:--"Five or six of her friends, who were waiting -in an adjoining room, being admitted into her bedchamber, she desired -them," says Dr. Reece, "to be seated round her bed; when, spending -a few minutes in adjusting the bed-clothes with seeming attention, -and placing before her a white handkerchief, she addressed them in -the following words: 'My friends, some of you have known me nearly -twenty-five years, and all of you not less than twenty; when you have -heard me speak of my prophecies, you have sometimes heard me say that -I doubted my inspiration; but at the same time, you would never let me -despair. When I have been alone, it has often appeared delusion; but -when the communication was made to me, I did not in the least doubt. -Feeling, as I now do feel, that my dissolution is drawing near, and -that a day or two may terminate my life, it all appears delusion.' She -was by this exertion quite exhausted, and wept bitterly." - -[26] Dr. Richard Reece was the son of a clergyman, and was articled -to a country surgeon. In 1800 he settled in practice in Henrietta -Street, Covent Garden, and published _The Medical and Chirurgical -Pharmacopœia_; and having received a degree of M.D. from a Scotch -university, he exercised the three professions of physician, -apothecary, and chemist. He likewise published several volumes upon -various medical subjects; and established himself in the western -wing of the Egyptian Hall Piccadilly. He assailed quackery with much -boldness; hence his mistake as to Joanna Southcote was made the most -of. He had also considerable practice, by which he gained money. He -published _A Plain Narrative of the Circumstances attending the last -Illness and Death of Joanna Southcote_. - -"On reviving in a little time, she observed, that it was very -extraordinary, that after spending all her life in investigating the -Bible, it should please the Lord to inflict that heavy burden on her. -She concluded this discourse by requesting that everything on this -occasion might be conducted with decency. She then wept; and all her -followers present seemed deeply affected, and some of them shed tears. -'Mother,' said one (it is believed Mr. Howe), 'we will commit your -instructions to paper, and rest assured they shall be conscientiously -followed.' They were accordingly written down with much solemnity, and -signed by herself, with her hand placed on the Bible in the bed. This -being finished, Mr. Howe again observed to her, 'Mother, your feelings -are _human_; we know that you are a favourite woman of God, and that -you will produce the promised child; and whatever you may say to the -contrary will not diminish our faith.' This assurance revived her, and -the scene of crying was changed with her to laughter." - -Mr. Howe was not the only one of her disciples whose sturdy belief was -not to be shaken by the most discouraging symptoms. Colonel Harwood, -a zealous believer, entreated Dr. Reece not to retract his opinion as -to her pregnancy, though the latter now saw the folly and absurdity of -it; and when the Colonel approached the bed on which Joanna was about -to expire, and she said to him, "What does the Lord mean by this? I am -certainly dying;" he replied, smiling, "No, no, you will not die; or if -you should, you will return again." - -About ten weeks before Christmas she was confined to her bed, and took -very little sustenance, until pain and sickness greatly reduced her. -On the night of the 19th of October, a very large number of persons -assembled in the street where she lived--Manchester Street, Manchester -Square[27]--to hear the announcement of the looked-for advent; but -the hour of midnight passed over, and the crowd were only induced to -disperse by being informed that Joanna had fallen into a trance. - -[27] One of Joanna's London residences was at No. 17, Weston Place, -opposite the Small Pox Hospital. - -Mr. Want, a surgeon, had warned her of her approaching end; but she -insisted that all her sufferings were only preparatory to the birth -of the Shiloh. At last she admitted the possibility of a temporary -dissolution, and expressly ordered that means should be taken to -preserve warmth in her for four days, after which she was to revive -and be delivered. On December 27th, 1814, she actually died, in her -sixty-fifth year, she having previously declared that if she was -deceived, she was, at all events, misled by some spirit, either good -or evil. In four days after, she was opened in the presence of fifteen -medical men, when it was demonstrated that she was not pregnant, and -that her complaint arose from bile and flatulency, from indulgence and -want of exercise. In her last hour she was attended by Ann Underwood, -her secretary; Mr. Tozer, who was called her high priest; Colonel -Harwood, and some other persons of property; and so determined were -her followers to be deceived, that neither death nor dissection could -convince them of their error. The silencing of her preacher, Tozer, -and shutting up of the chapel which he had opened, had by no means -diminished the number of her believers. - -While the surgeons were investigating the causes of her death, and -the mob were gathering without-doors, in anticipation of a riot or a -miracle, Sharp, the engraver, continued to maintain that she was not -dead, but entranced. And, at a subsequent period, when he was sitting -to Mr. Haydon for his portrait, he predicted to the painter, that -Joanna would reappear in the month of July 1822. "But suppose she -should not?" said Haydon. "I tell you she will," retorted Sharp; "but -if she would not, nothing should shake my faith in her Divine Mission." -And those who were near Sharp's person during his last illness, state -that in this belief he died. Even when she was really dead, the same -blind confidence remained. Mrs. Townley, with whom she had lived, said -cheerfully, "she would return to life, for it had been foretold twenty -years before." - -Mr. Sharp also asserted that the soul of Joanna would return, it -having gone to heaven to legitimate the child which would be born. -Though symptoms of decomposition arose, Mr. Sharp still persisted in -keeping the body hot, according to the directions which she had given -on her death-bed, in the hope of a revival. Dr. Reece having remarked -that if the ceremony of her marriage continued two days longer, the -tenement would not be habitable on her return, "The greater will be -the miracle," said Mr. Sharp. Consent at last was given to inspect -the body, and all the disciples stood round, smoking tobacco. Their -disappointment was excessive at finding nothing to warrant the long -cherished opinion, but their faith remained immovable. - -Her corpse was removed on the 31st of December to an undertaker's in -Oxford Street, where it remained till the interment. On the 2nd of -January, 1815, it was carried in a hearse, so remarkably plain, as to -have the appearance of one returning from rather than proceeding to -church; it was accompanied by one coach equally plain, in which were -three mourners. In this manner they proceeded to the new cemetery -adjoining St. John's Wood Chapel, with such secrecy, that there was -scarcely a person in the ground unconnected with it. A fourth person -arrived as the body was being borne to the grave; this was supposed to -be Tozer. The grave was taken, and notice given of the funeral, under -the name of Goddard. Neither the minister of St. John's, who read the -service, nor any of the subordinate persons belonging to the chapel, -were apprised of the real name about to be buried, till the funeral -reached the ground. The grave is on the west side, opposite No. 44 on -the wall, and twenty-six feet from it, where is a flat stone with this -inscription:-- - - "In memory of - JOANNA SOUTHCOTE, - - who departed this life December 27, 1814, aged 65 years. - While through all thy wondrous days, - Heaven and earth enraptur'd gazed, - While vain Sages think they know - Secrets Thou Alone canst show; - Time alone will tell what hour - Thou'lt appear to 'Greater' Power. - - _Sabineus._" - -On a black marble tablet, let into the wall opposite to the above spot, -is the following inscription, in gilt letters:-- - - "Behold the time shall come, that these Tokens which I have told Thee, - shall come to pass, and the Bride shall Appear, and She coming forth, - shall be seen, that now is withdrawn from the Earth." - - 2nd of Esdras, chap. 7, verse 26. - - "For the Vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall - speak, and Not Lie, though it tarry, Wait for it; Because it will - surely come, it will not tarry." - - Habakkuk, chap. ii. ver. 3d. - - "And whosoever is delivered from the Foresaid evils, shall see My - Wonders." - - 2nd of Esdras, chap. 7th, ver. 27th. - - (_See her writings._) - - This Tablet was Erected, - By the sincere friends of the above, - Anno Domini, 1828. - -The number of Joanna's followers continued to be very great for many -years after her death: they believed that there would be a resurrection -of her body, and that she was still to be the mother of the promised -Shiloh. - -The Southcotonians also still met and committed various extravagancies. -In 1817 a part of the disciples, conceiving themselves directed by God -to proclaim the coming of the Shiloh on earth, for this purpose marched -in procession through Temple Bar, when the leader sounded a brazen -trumpet, and declared the coming of Shiloh, the Prince of Peace; while -his wife shouted, "Wo! wo! to the inhabitants of the earth, because of -the coming of Shiloh!" The crowd pelted the fanatics with mud, some -disturbance ensued, and some of the disciples were taken into custody, -and had to answer for their conduct before a magistrate. A considerable -number of the sect appear to have remained in Devonshire, Joanna's -native county. - -The whole affair was one of the most monstrous delusions of our time. -"It is not long since," says Sir Benjamin Brodie, in his _Psychological -Inquiries_, 3rd edition, "no small number of persons, and not merely -those belonging to the uneducated classes, were led to believe that a -dropsical old woman was about to be the mother of the real Shiloh." The -writer, however, adds that Joanna was "not altogether an impostor, but -in part the victim of her own imagination." - -A small square volume of Southcotonian hymns was published, entitled, -"Hymns or Spiritual Songs," composed from the prophetical writings of -Joanna Southcote, by P. Pullen, and published by her order. "And I saw -an angel," &c.--Rev. xx. 1, 2. The "Little Flock" are thus addressed -by their "Poet Laureat:"--"By permission of our 'spiritual mother, -Johanna Southcote,' I have composed the following hymns from her -prophetic writings; and should you feel that pleasure in singing them -to the honour and glory of God, for the establishment of _her blessed -kingdom_, and the destruction of Satan's power, as I have felt in the -perusal of her writings, I am fully persuaded that they will ultimately -tend to your everlasting happiness, and I hope and trust to the speedy -completion of what we ardently long and daily pray for, namely, 'HIS -KINGDOM _to come, that_ HIS _will may be done on earth as it is in -heaven, and that we may be delivered from evil_;' that that blessed -prayer may be soon, very soon fulfilled, is the earnest desire of your -fellow labourer, Philip Pullen. London, 16th September, 1807." - -"The reader of these Hymns," says a Correspondent of _Notes and -Queries_, "will not feel the spiritual elevation spoken of by Mr. -Pullen, unless, perhaps, he has, like him, drunk at that fountain-head, -_i.e._ studied the 'prophetic writings:' the songs for the now -'scattered sheep' being rhapsodical to a degree, and intelligible only -to such an audience as that some of your sexagenarian readers may have -found assembled under the roof of the 'House of God.' The leading -titles to these Hymns are, 'True Explanations of the Bible,' 'Strange -Effects of Faith,' 'Words in Season,' 'Communications and Visions,' not -published, 'Cautions to the Sealed,' 'Answers to the Books of Garrett -and Brothers,' 'Rival Enthusiasts,' and such like. Pullen, their poet, -was formerly a schoolmaster, and afterwards an accountant in London, -and is called by Upcott, in his _Dictionary of Living Authors_, 1816, -an empiric. - -"A couplet in the first hymn bears an asterisk, intimating that it is -published at the particular request of Johanna Southcote; it is short, -and will afford at once a specimen of the poetical _calibre_ of the -volume, and the pith of the 'Spiritual Mother's' views:-- - - "_To_ FATHER, SON, _and_ HOLY GHOST, - _One_ GOD _in power_ THREE, - _Bring back the ancient world that's lost - To all mankind--and me_." - -Joanna Southcote published many pamphlets, and one of her disciples, -Elias Carpenter, issued several curious and mystical tracts. The lists -of these publications are too long to be quoted here. Probably the -most complete collection preserved of the extraordinary productions -by and relating to this wonderful imposture, was that made by Sir -Francis Freeling, together with cuttings from all the newspapers, and -bound in 7 vols. 8vo, 1803 to 1815. The titles of the principal tracts -fill a page of Thorpe's Catalogue, Part III., 1850. For another very -rare collection, in 6 vols., 8vo, see J. C. Hotten's Catalogue for -October 1858. Perhaps the most tangible explanation attempted of Joanna -Southcote's mission is that by Carpenter, in the _Missionary Magazine_, -1814. To Carpenter is attributed the following anonymous work, "The -Extraordinary Cure of a Piccadilly Patient, or Dr. Reece physicked by -Six Female Physicians, 1815." - -[Illustration] - - Leeds: August 20, 1809. - - Mr. Urban,--Herewith you receive the original seal with which that - miserable enthusiast, Joanna Southcott, imposed on the husband of Mary - Bateman, the wicked wretch who was lately tried and executed at this - place, for the murder of a woman named Perigo. It was found in their - cottage when she was taken into custody. The words are as follow:-- - - John Bateman, - The - Sealed of the Lord. - - The Elect precious; Man's Redemption; - To inherit the tree of life; to be made - Heirs of God and Joint Heirs with - Jesus Christ. - - Joanna Southcott - Feb. 12, 1806. - - - - -The Founder of Mormonism. - - -Joseph Smith, "the Prophet," has left to the world a short sketch -of himself and his system of Mormonism, which is one of the most -remarkable movements of modern times. He was born in the State of -Vermont, in 1805, and was brought up to husbandry. When about fourteen -years old he began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared -for a future state, and inquiring into the plan of salvation. He -tells us:--"I retired to a secret place in a grove, and began to call -upon the Lord. While fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was -taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was -enwrapt in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages, who -exactly resembled each other in feature and likeness, surrounded with -a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noonday. They told me that -all the religious sects were believing in incorrect doctrines, and -that none of them was acknowledged of God as his Church and Kingdom. -And I was expressly commanded to _go not after them_, at the same time -receiving a promise that the fulness of the Gospel should at some -future time be made known to me." - -This "fulness of the Gospel" was that revealed in _The Book of Mormon_, -of the discovery of which and its contents he says:--"On the evening -of the 21st of September, A.D. 1823, while I was praying unto God and -endeavouring to exercise faith in the precious promises of Scripture, -on a sudden, a light like that of day, only of a far purer and more -glorious appearance and brightness, burst into the room; indeed, the -first sight was as though the house was filled with consuming fire. The -appearance produced a shock that affected the whole body. In a moment, -a personage stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than -that with which I was already surrounded. The messenger proclaimed -himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings, -that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to -be fulfilled; that the preparatory work for the second coming of the -Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the -Gospel in all its fulness to be preached in power unto all nations, -that a people might be prepared for the Millenial reign. - -"I was informed also concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this -country (America), and shown who they were and from whence they -came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilisation, laws, -governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of -God being finally withdrawn from them as a people, was made known unto -me. I was also told where there were deposited some plates, on which -was engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient prophets that -had existed on this continent. The angel appeared to me three times the -same night, and unfolded the same things. After having received many -visits from the angels of God, unfolding the majesty and glory of the -events that should transpire in the last days, on the morning of the -22nd of September, 1827, the angel of the Lord delivered the records -into my hands. - -"These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of -gold; each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and not -quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings in -Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume, as the leaves of -a book, with three rings running throughout the whole: it was partly -sealed. With the records was found a curious instrument, which the -ancients called _Urim and Thummim_, which consisted of two transparent -stones set in the rim on a bow fastened to a breastplate. Through the -medium of the _Urim and Thummim_ I translated the record by the gift -and power of God. - -"In this important and interesting book, the history of ancient America -is unfolded from its first settlement by a colony that came from the -Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages, to the beginning of the -fifth century of the Christian era." - -It should here be noticed that the Prophet's account of his early life, -before the appearance of the angel and the discovery of the plates, is -remarkably vague. He had been very rudely educated, and for some time -got a living by trying for mineral veins by a divining rod; and some -affirm that, like Sidrophel, he used "the devil's looking-glass--a -stone," and was consulted as to the discovery of hidden treasures, -whence he had come to be commonly known as the "money-digger;" and on -one occasion he had been, at the instigation of a disappointed client, -imprisoned as a vagabond. He is also stated to have carried off and -married a Miss Hales, during the interval between the first angelic -visitation and the discovery of the plates of Nephi. - -As to the _Book of Mormon_ itself, the authorship has been claimed -for one Solomon Spalding, a Presbyterian preacher, who, having fallen -into poverty, composed a religious romance, entitled _The Manuscript -Found_, which professed to be a narrative of the migration of the -Lost Tribes of Israel from Jerusalem to America, and their subsequent -adventures on the continent. The work was written but Spalding could -not find anyone who would print it, and ten years after his death, the -manuscript was carried by his widow to New York, and was stolen by, or -somehow got into the hands of, Smith, or his early associate, Rigdon. -There is nothing in the book to contradict the supposition that it is -the work of Smith himself--for as to its being a divine revelation, -the most cursory examination of the book will convince an educated man -of the utter improbability of that, if its possibility were otherwise -conceivable. Be the author who he may, Smith having obtained the -book--whether from Solomon Spalding's travelling-chest, his own brain, -or the stone-box which the angel discovered to him--thought it behoved -him to make his treasure known. At first he told the members of his own -and his father's household, and they believed the truth of his mission -and the reality of the gift. But, he says: "As soon as the news of -this discovery was made known, false reports, misrepresentations, and -slander flew, as on the wings of the wind, in every direction. My house -was frequently beset by mobs and evil-designing persons; several times -I was shot at, and very narrowly escaped; and every device was made to -get the plates away from me, but the power and blessing of God attended -me, and several began to believe my testimony." - -Among these was a farmer, Martin Harris, whom Smith persuaded to -convert his stock into money in order to assist in printing the book. -But Harris wished first to consult some scholar, and Smith entrusted -him with a copy of a portion of one of the golden plates to carry to -New York. Harris took the copy to Dr. Anthon, who was unable to make -out the characters, which he described to be "reformed Egyptian"--and -this is one of the proofs "cited by Mormonite teachers of the -authenticity of the book." But Dr. Anthon's account is very different: -he tells us that from the first he considered the work an imposture, -and his account of it is the only description which has been published, -and is as follows:--"The paper was a singular scrawl. It consisted of -all kinds of crooked characters disposed in columns, and had evidently -been prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book -containing various alphabets. Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and -flourishes, Roman letters inverted or placed sidewise, were arranged in -perpendicular columns, and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a -circle divided into various compartments, decked with various strange -marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican calendar, given by -Humboldt, but copied in such a way as not to betray the source whence -it was derived." - -No sooner was the discovery published than the faithful as well as -unbelievers flocked to obtain a sight of the marvellous plates, and the -prophet and his mother were driven to great shifts to conceal them. -At length it was revealed to Smith that the desired sight should be -vouchsafed to three witnesses, whose "testimony" is prefixed to every -printed copy of the _Book of Mormon_. These witnesses aver, in their -strange language, "that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he -brought and lay before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and -the engravings thereon." But a more specific testimony was given by -eight other witnesses, to whom Smith was permitted to show the plates. -Mrs. Smith says that these eight men went with Joseph into a secret -place, "where the family were in the habit of offering up their secret -devotions. They went to this place because it had been revealed to -Joseph that the plates would be carried by one of the ancient Nephites. -Here it was that these eight witnesses, whose names are recorded in -the _Book of Mormon_, looked upon and handled them." The witnesses -themselves say:--"We have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that -the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken." Of these -eight witnesses, three were members of Smith's own family. After these -witnesses had seen the plates, Mrs. Smith tells us, "the angel again -made his appearance to Joseph, at which time Joseph delivered up the -plates into the angel's hands;" and Joseph himself says:--"He (the -angel) has them in charge to this day;" thus disposing of any demand to -see the original plates. Smith carried on the process of _translating -the plates_ by retiring behind a screen, where he read the plates -though the "curious instrument called the Urim and Thummim," while a -scribe outside the screen wrote as he dictated. - -_The Book of Mormon_ was published in 1830. In the previous year Smith -and his scribe had been baptized by an angel, and power given them to -baptize others. - -Smith may now carry on the narrative. On April 6, 1830, "The Church of -Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" was first organized in Manchester, -Ontario county, State of New York. Some few were called and ordained -by the spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to preach as the -Spirit gave them utterance, and though weak, yet they were strengthened -by the power of God; and many were brought to repentance, were immersed -in the water, and were filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of -hands. They saw visions and prophesied, devils were cast out, and the -sick healed by the laying-on of hands. From that time the work rolled -forth with astonishing rapidity, and churches were formed in the States -of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. In -the last named State, a considerable settlement was formed in Jackson -county. Great numbers joined the Church; "we made large purchases -of land, our farms teemed with plenty, and peace and happiness were -enjoyed in our domestic circle and throughout our neighbourhood; but, -as we could not associate with our neighbours--who were many of them of -the basest of men, and had fled from the face of civilized society to -the frontier country to escape the hands of justice--in their midnight -revels, their Sabbath-breaking, horse-racing, they commenced at first -to ridicule, then to persecute; and finally an organized mob assembled -and burnt our houses, tarred and feathered, and whipped many of our -brethren [Smith himself was tarred and feathered], and finally drove -them from their habitations; these, houseless and homeless, contrary -to law, justice, and humanity, had to wander on the bleak prairies -till the children left their blood on the prairie. This took place in -November, 1833." The Government, he says, "winked at these proceedings, -and the result was that a great many of them died; many children were -left orphans; wives, widows; and husbands, widowers. Our farms were -taken possession of by the mob, many thousands of cattle, sheep, -horses, and hogs were taken, and our household goods, store goods, and -printing-presses were broken, taken, or otherwise destroyed." - -Driven from Jackson, the Mormonites settled in Clay county, and being -threatened with violence, removed to Caldwell and Davies counties. -Here their numbers rapidly increased; but troubles again came upon -them; their bank failed, and Smith was obliged to conceal himself; -and finally, by an "extraordinary order" of the Governor of Missouri, -in 1838, they were violently ejected from their homes, plundered of -their goods, and subjected, the women especially, to the most frightful -atrocities. - -Being thus expelled from Missouri, they settled in Illinois, and in -1839, on the Mississippi, laid the foundation of their famous city, -Nauvoo, or _the Beautiful_, which was incorporated in 1840. Smith -dwells with great delight on this city, which he had seen rise up under -his presidency from a wild tract to be a place of "1,500 well-built -houses, and more than 15,000 inhabitants, all looking to him for -temporal as well as spiritual guidance." He describes as provided -for--"the University of Nauvoo, where all the arts and sciences will -grow with the growth and strengthen with the strength of this beloved -city of the Saints of the Last Days." But the grand feature of the -city was the Great Temple, which Smith thus sketches: "The Temple of -God, now in the course of erection, being already raised one story, -and which is 120 feet by 80 feet, of stone with polished pilasters, -of an entire new order of architecture, will be a splendid house for -the worship of God, as well as an unique wonder of the world, it being -built by the direct revelation of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the -living and the dead." - -The progress of Nauvoo was even more rapid than that of any of the -preceding places. Dangers of various kinds beset Smith, but he escaped -from them all; and by a provision in the city charter, formed an -independent civic militia, of which he was lieutenant-general: and he -consolidated his spiritual government, and made careful provision for -an ample succession of hardy as well as zealous missionaries. But Smith -becoming embroiled with the civil authority of the State, got up a sort -of social scheme of his own, and was actually in 1844 nominated for -President. The storm now gathered around him; the "gentile" inhabitants -of Nauvoo, who had always been most troublesome, supported by some of -the dissatisfied among the saints, established an opposition newspaper, -which denounced the morals of the Prophet, as well as his system of -government; the city council condemned the newspaper to silence; and a -mob broke into the office and destroyed the presses. The proprietors -charged some of the Mormon leaders with inciting the mob to this act, -and they were arrested, but set at liberty. The injured parties now -carried their complaint to the Governor of Illinois, who had long -been waiting for a legal opportunity to crush the power of Smith; he -was arrested on a charge of treason and sedition, June 24th, 1844. He -put Nauvoo into a state of defence, and his militia was drawn out; -but to avoid bloodshed, on the approach of the State troops, Smith -surrendered, on a promise of safety till his legal trial; and he, with -others, was committed to Carthage jail. A guard, small in number, -and purposely chosen from among Smith's declared enemies, was set -over them; but on the 27th of June, a mob of about two hundred armed -ruffians broke into the jail, and firing at the door of the room, shot -Smith's brother Hyram dead at once. Joseph Smith attempted to escape -by the window, but was knocked down, carried out, and shot. His dying -exclamation is said to have been, "O Lord my God." His body was given -up to his friends, and buried with great solemnity. - -Smith had estimated his followers at 150,000, from among almost every -civilized people on the face of the earth. He had become intoxicated -with power and prosperity, and was lustful and intemperate. In the -Mormon creed, polygamy is not referred to; though there is no doubt -that in the last year of Smith's life this was one of the charges -brought against the Mormonites. Still, the doctrine of a _plurality of -wives_ was never openly taught until after Smith's death, and if he -proclaimed it at all, he confined the revelation to the initiated. He -is said, however, to have sealed to himself "_plural wives_," as the -Mormons express it, about two years before his death; and the privilege -may have been accorded to some of the chief of his followers. - -He was still regarded as the glorified prophet and martyr. In Nauvoo -the popular cry was for revenge, but this was changed to forbearance. -Brigham Young was elected as Smith's successor; and he removed his -people beyond the farthest settlements of his countrymen, convinced -that only in a country far distant from societies living under the -established forms, could the vision of the Prophet stand a chance -of realization. They were allowed by their enemies to finish their -beautiful temple; and this being accomplished in September, 1846, the -last band of the brethren departed from the land of their hopes to seek -a new land of promise. - -They chose the site of their new city beyond the Great Salt Lake, -in the territory of Utah, to be their appointed Zion, principally -governed by the maxims of the Mormon leaders, and Brigham Young, the -Mormon prophet. We may here state briefly that the Mormons profess -to be a separate people, living under a patriarchal dispensation, -with prophets, elders, and apostles, who have the rule in temporal -as well as religious matters, their doctrines being embodied in the -_Book of Mormon_; that they look for a literal gathering of Israel in -this western land; and that here Christ will reign personally for a -millennium, when the earth will be restored to its paradisaical glory. - -Nauvoo, after the departure of the Mormons, became the seat of a colony -of French communists, or Icarians, under the direction of M. Cabet, who -were, however, far from successful. The population has much dwindled. -The great Mormon temple of Nauvoo was, in October, 1848, set on fire by -an incendiary and destroyed. - - - - -[Illustration: William Huntington. The Coalheaver Preacher.] - - - - -Huntington, the Preacher. - - -William Huntington, who, by virtue of his preaching, came to ride in -his coach, and marry the titled widow of a Lord Mayor, was no ordinary -man. He was born in the year 1774, in the Weald of Kent, between -Goudhurst and Cranbrook, where his father was a day-labourer. The boy -worked in various ways, and having "a call," he became an Arminian -preacher, at the same time that at Thames Ditton he carried coals -on the river, at 10s. a week: hence he was generally known as the -_Coalheaver_. He preached inordinately long sermons, sometimes of two -hours' duration; his prayers were mostly made up of Scriptural phrases. - -It suited the purpose of Huntington to represent himself as living -_under_ the special favour of Providence, because he intended to live -by it: that is, upon the credulity of those whom he could persuade to -believe him: and the history of his success, which he published under -the title of _God the Guardian of the Poor, and the Bank of Faith; -or, a Display of the Providences of God, which have at sundry times, -attended the Author_, is a production equally singular and curious. - -One reason which he gives for writing this marvellous treatise is, -that we are often tempted to believe that God takes no notice of our -temporal concerns. "I found God's promises," he says, "to be the -Christian's bank note; and a living faith will always draw on the -divine banker, yea, and the spirit of prayer, and a deep sense of want, -will give an heir of promise a filial boldness at the inexhaustible -bank of heaven." Accordingly, for great things and for little he -drew boldly upon the bank. Thus, he was provided with game and fish. -One day, when he had nothing but bread in the house, he was moved by -the Spirit to take a by-path, where he had never gone before; but -the reason was, that a stoat was to kill a fine large rabbit, just -in time for him to secure the prey. When his wife was lying-in, and -there was no tea in the house, and they had neither money nor credit, -his wife bade the nurse set the kettle on in faith, and before it -boiled, a stranger brought a present of tea to the door. At another -time, a friend, without solicitation, gives him half-a-guinea when he -was penniless; and lest he should have any difficulty in obtaining -change for it, when he crossed Kingston bridge, he casts his eyes on -the ground, and finds a penny to pay the toll. He borrows a guinea, -which he is unable to pay at the time appointed, so he prays that God -would send him one from some quarter or another, and forthwith the -lender calls and desires him to consider it a free gift. He wants a -new parsonic livery: "wherefore," says he, "in humble prayer I told -my most blessed Lord and Master that my year was out, and my apparel -bad; that I had nowhere to go for these things but to him; and as he -had promised to give his servants food and raiment, I hoped he would -fulfil his promise to me, though one of the worst of them." So, having -settled it in his own mind that a certain person in London would act -as the intermediate agent in this providential transaction, he called -upon him, and, as he expected, the raggedness of his apparel led to a -conversation which ended in the offer of a new suit, and of a greatcoat -to boot. - -He lived in this manner seven or eight years, not, indeed, taking no -thought for the morrow, but making no other provision for it than by -letting the specific object of his prayers and their general tendency -always be understood, where a word to the unwise was sufficient. Being -now in much request, and "having many doors open to him for preaching -the Gospel very wide apart," he began to want a horse, then to wish, -and lastly to pray, for one. "I used my prayers," he says, "as gunners -use their swivels, turning them every day, as various cases required;" -before the day was over he was presented with a horse, which had been -purchased for him by subscription. The horse was to be maintained -by his own means, but what of that? "I told God," says he, "that I -had more work for my faith now than heretofore; for the horse would -cost half as much to keep as my whole family. In answer to which this -Scripture came to my mind with power and comfort, 'Dwell in the land, -and do good, and verily thou shalt be fed.' This was a bank-note put -into the hand of my faith, which, when I got poor, I pleaded before -God, and he answered it; so that I lived and cleared my way just as -well when I had my horse to keep as I did before." - -Huntington was no ordinary man. The remarkable circumstance which -occurred concerning a certain part of his dress has been told in -various books. The old song says-- - - A light heart and a thin pair of breeches - Go through the world, my brave boys; - -but the latter qualification is better for going through the world on -foot than on horseback; so Uncle Toby found it, so did Huntington, who, -in this part of his history, must be his own historian: no language but -his own can do justice to such a story. - -"Having now," says Huntington, "had my horse for some time, and riding -a great deal every week, I soon wore my breeches out, as they were -not fit to ride in. I hope the reader will excuse my mentioning the -word breeches, which I should have avoided, had not this passage of -Scripture obtruded into my mind, just as I had revolved in my own -thoughts not to mention this kind providence of God. 'And thou shalt -make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even -unto the thighs shall they reach. And they shall be upon Aaron and -upon his sons when they come into the tabernacle of the congregation, -or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; -that they bear not iniquity and die. It shall be a statute for ever -unto him and his seed after him.' Exod. xxviii. 42, 43. By which, and -three others, namely, Ezek. xliv. 18; Lev. vi. 10; and Lev. xiv. 4, I -saw that it was no crime to mention the word breeches, nor the way in -which God sent them to me; Aaron and his sons being clothed entirely by -Providence; and as God himself condescended to give orders what they -should be made of, and how they should be cut. And I believe the same -God, ordered mine, as I trust will appear in the following history. - -"The Scripture tells us to call no man master; for one is our master, -even Christ. I therefore told my most bountiful and ever-adored Master -what I wanted; and he, who stripped Adam and Eve of their fig-leaved -aprons, and made coats of skin, and clothed them; and who clothes the -grass of the field, which to-day is and to-morrow is cast into the -oven, must clothe us, or we shall go naked; and so Israel found it, -when God took away his wool and his flax, which he gave to cover their -nakedness, and which they prepared for Baal: for which iniquity was -their skirts discovered and their heels made bare. Jer. xiii. 22. - -"I often made very free in my prayers with my invaluable Master for -this favour; but he still kept me so amazingly poor that I could not -get them at any rate. At last I determined to go to a friend of mine -at Kingston, who is of that branch of business, to bespeak a pair; and -to get him to trust me until my Master sent me the money to pay him. -I was that day going to London, fully determined to bespeak them as I -rode through the town. However, when I passed the shop, I forgot it; -but when I came to London, I called on Mr. Croucher, a shoe-maker in -Shepherd's Market, who told me a parcel was left there for me, but what -it was he knew not. I opened it, and behold there was a pair of leather -breeches, with a note in them! the substance of which was, to the best -of my remembrance, as follows:-- - -"'Sir,--I have sent you a pair of breeches, and hope they will fit. I -beg your acceptance of them; and if they want any alteration, leave in -a note what the alteration is, and I will call in a few days and alter -them. - - I. S.' - -"I tried them on, and they fitted as well as if I had been measured -for them; at which I was amazed, having never been measured by any -leather breeches maker in London. I wrote an answer to the note to this -effect:-- - -"'Sir,--I received your present and thank you for it. I was going to -order a pair of leather breeches to be made, because I did not know -till now that my Master had bespoke them of you. They fit very well, -which fully convinces me that the same God who moved thy heart to give, -guided thy hand to cut: because He perfectly knows my size, having -clothed me in a miraculous manner for near five years. When you are in -trouble, Sir, I hope you will tell my Master of this, and what you have -done for me, and He will repay you with honour.' - -"This is as near as I am able to relate it, and I added:-- - -"'I cannot make out I. S. unless I put _I_ for Israelite indeed, and -_S_ for sincerity; because you did not sound a trumpet before you, as -the hypocrites do.'" - -The plan of purveying for himself by prayer, with the help of hints -in proper place and season, answered so well, that Huntington soon -obtained, by the same means, a new bed, a rug, a pair of new blankets, -doe-skin gloves, and a horseman's coat; and as often as he wanted new -clothes, some chosen almoner of the Bank of Faith was found to supply -him. His wife was instructed to provide for her own wants by the same -easy and approved means. Gowns came as they were wanted, hampers of -bacon and cheese, now and then a large ham, and now and then a guinea, -all which things Huntington called precious answers to prayer. - -Some awkward disclosures were now made, and he became weary of Thames -Ditton, and having a well-timed vision, he secretly wished that God -would remove him from that place; and as London was the place where he -might reasonably expect to work less and feed better, it was "suddenly -impressed on his mind to leave Thames Ditton, and take a house in the -great metropolis, where hearers were more numerous, and that this was -the meaning of the words spoken to him in the vision." It was likewise -suggested to his mind that the people had been permitted of late to -persecute him more than usual, that they might drive him to this -removal. "And I much question," says Huntington, "if ever God sends his -word there again, for I think they are left almost as inexcusable as -Chorazin and Capernaum!" The impression which he had now received was -acknowledged as a plain and evident _call_ by the good friends who -negotiated his bills upon the Bank of Faith, and accordingly to London -he and his family went. - -His next draft upon the Bank was to a larger amount. During three -years he had secretly wished for a chapel of his own, because, as he -says, he was sick of the errors that were perpetually broached by some -or other in Margaret Street Chapel, where he then preached with Lady -Huntingdon's people. Much, however, as he desired this, he protests -that he could not ask God for such a favour, thinking it was not to -be brought about by one so very mean, low, and poor as himself. But -fortune favours the bold. One of his friends looked at a suitable piece -of ground, by particular impulse of Providence; and he took Huntington -to look at it also. Another friend, under a similar impulse, planned -a chapel one day while he was hearing Huntington preach a sermon; and -he offered to undertake the management of the building without fee -or reward. Thus encouraged, he took the ground and began to build -Providence Chapel, when he was 20_l._ in debt, and had no other funds -than the freewill offerings of his hearers, and the money which they -were willing to lend him upon his credit with the Bank of Faith. -The first offering amounted to no more than 11_l._, which were soon -expended on the foundations. He bespoke a load of timber, and going -to the right person for it, it was sent him with a bill and receipt -in full as a contribution towards the chapel. Another "good man" came -with tears in his eyes to bless Mr. Huntington for the good which he -had received under his sermons, and to request that he might paint the -pulpit, desk, &c., as a grateful acknowledgment. A bed-room was very -handsomely furnished for him that he might not be under the necessity -of walking home in the cold winter nights. A looking-glass for his -chapel study was presented by one person, a book-case by another, -chairs for the vestry, a pulpit cushion, a splendid Bible, a set of -china, and a well-stored tea-chest, were supplied in like manner: -money was liberally lent as well as given; the chapel "sprang up like -a mushroom;" and when it was finished, he says, "I was in arrears for -1,000_l._, so that I had plenty of work for faith, if I could get -plenty of faith to work; and while some deny a Providence, Providence -was the only supply I had." - -His never-failing friends settled him in a country-house, stocked his -garden and his farm for him; and that he might travel conveniently -to and from his chapel, they presented him with a coach and pair of -horses, and subscribed to pay the taxes for both. To crown all, having -buried his wife, the gleaner, he preached himself into the good graces -of Lady Saunderson, the widow of the Lord Mayor, and married her. - -His uniform prosperity received but one shock. The chapel in Titchfield -Street, which he had raised from the ground and carried up into the -air, when ground-room was wanting, was burnt down. This was thought by -some of Huntington's followers to be a judgment upon him for having -inclosed the free seats, and "laid out the whole chapel in boxes like -an opera house." But Huntington looked at this misfortune otherwise. -Writing to one of his friends, he says: "Such a stroke as this -twenty-seven years ago would have caused our hope to give up the ghost; -but being a little stronger in the Lord, faith has heavier burdens laid -on. The temple built by Solomon, and that built by Cyrus, were both -burnt. It will cause a little rejoicing among the Philistines, as has -been the case often: they once triumphed gloriously, when the ark of -God was taken, supposing that Dagon had overcome the God of Israel; -but their joy was short. This I know, that it shall work for our good, -but how I know not; if I did, I must walk by sight, and not by faith." -He then held out a sort of threat of removing into the country; but -his London followers were presently in motion, "some looking out for -a spot of ground, some bringing their offerings, others wishing the -glory of the latter house may exceed that of the former." "But," says -he, "it is to bear the same name: this I gave them to understand from -the pulpit, and assigned the following reasons for it:--that unless -God provided men to work, and money to pay them, and materials to -work with, no chapel could be erected; and, if he provided all these, -Providence must be its name." The chapel, accordingly, was built in -Gray's Inn Lane, and upon a larger scale than the last: taught by his -former experience, Huntington took care not to make himself responsible -for any of the expenses, and when it was finished, managed matters so -well with his obedient flock, that the chapel was made over to him as -his own, for he is said to have refused to preach in it on any other -conditions.[28] - -[28] Selected and abridged from an excellent paper on Huntington's -Works and Life, attributed to Southey; _Quarterly Review_, No. 48. - -The preacher had innumerable applicants for spiritual advice. To -one person who consults him, he says:--"You need not have made any -apology, as the troubled minds of sensible sinners are my peculiar -province. I am authorised and commissioned by the God of heaven to -transact business and negotiate affairs between the King of kings and -self-condemned rebels." One madman assures him that he was actually -electrified in body and soul by one of his books. This man saw a -brilliant star over the head of Huntington while he was preaching, -and Huntington publishes the letter and assures him that dreams (of -which he has communicated a curious story) are from the Spirit of God. -Sometimes he found that correspondents were troublesome, new-born -babes being never satisfied when they desire the sincere milk of the -word. A certain Mrs. Bull writes to him rather more frequently than is -agreeable. Huntington lets Mrs. Bull know that he does not like her -head-dress; he finds fault with her preposterous streamers, and her -first, second, and third tier of curls; but tells her that a little -more furnace-work will teach her to pull down those useless topsails. -This prediction was verified rather more literally than it was meant, -for the said Mrs. B., thinking it was not his business to interfere -with her head-dress, was about to resent it in a sharp letter; "but," -says she, "happening to fall asleep by the fire, as I was reading the -Bible, the candle caught the lappet of my cap, and a good deal of my -hair, and I own it a great mercy that I was not consumed myself, and -you may be assured that you will see neither streamers, curls, nor -topsails again." - -Mr. Bramah, the celebrated engineer, appears among Huntington's -controversial correspondents; and he tells him that he makes a good -patent lock, but cuts a poor figure with the keys of the kingdom of -heaven. - -Mr. Bensley, the printer, was one of his believers, which explains the -handsome appearance of Huntington's collected works, in twenty volumes, -octavo; his spiritual employer calls him dear brother in the Lord, -and dear Tom in the flesh. Trader in faith as he was, there were some -social qualities about him which won and secured the attachment of his -friends, even of those upon whom he drew most largely. He mentions -particularly Mr. and Mrs. Baker, of Oxford Street, who, having no -children of their own, kept caring and travailing many years for him; -and though "sorely tried by various losses in business, bankruptcies, -and bad debts, supplied him with money whenever he required it." -"While the chapel was building," he says, "when money was continually -demanded, if there was one shilling in the house, I was sure to have -it." This couple and another, with whom he was on terms of equal -intimacy, agreed, as they were bound together with their chosen pastor -for life and for eternity, not to be divided in death; and accordingly -they jointly purchased a piece of ground near Petersham, and erected a -substantial tomb there, wherein they might rest together in the dust. - -Huntington died in 1813, at Tunbridge Wells; he was buried at Lewes, in -a piece of ground adjoining the chapel of one of his associates: it -was his desire that there should be no funeral sermon preached on the -occasion, and that nothing should be said over his grave. He indited -his own epitaph in these words:-- - - Here lies the Coalheaver, - Beloved of his God, but abhorred of men. - The Omniscient Judge - At the Grand Assize shall rectify and - Confirm this to the - Confusion of many thousands; - For England and its Metropolis shall know, - That there hath been a prophet - Among them. - -The sale of his effects by public auction took place soon after his -death, at his elegantly-furnished villa, Hermes Hill,[29] Pentonville, -and lasted four days. His friends and admirers, anxious to secure -some memorial of Huntington, paid most fabulous sums of money for -articles of no intrinsic value in the excess of their veneration. A -mahogany easy-chair, with hair seat and back cushion in canvas, on -brass-wheel castors, with two sets of flowered calico cases, sold -for 63_l._; an ordinary pair of spectacles sold for seven guineas; -a common silver snuff-box, five guineas; every article of plate at -from 23_s._ to 26_s._ per ounce; his library sold for 252_l._ 19_s._; -a handsome modern town coach for 49_l._ 7_s._ The aggregate of the -four days' sale was 1,800_l._ 11_s._ 2-1/2_d._ In a newspaper, -October, 1813, we read:--"At the sale of the effects of the Rev. Mr. -Huntington, at Pentonville, an old arm-chair, intrinsically worth fifty -shillings, actually sold for sixty guineas; and many other articles -fetched equally high prices, so anxious were his besotted admirers -to obtain some precious memorial of that artful fanatic." One of his -steady followers purchased a barrel of ale, which had been brewed for -Christmas, "because he would have something to remember him by." - -[29] Huntington resided in the house built by the Swiss doctor De -Valangin, who had been a pupil of Boerhaave, and practised in Soho -Square. He removed thence to Cripplegate, and about 1772 he purchased -ground at Pentonville, and there built himself a villa, which he named, -from the discoverer of chemistry, Hermes Hill, then almost the only -house on or near the spot, except White Conduit House. One of his -medicines, _The Balsam of Life_, he presented to the Apothecaries' -Company. He had, by his first wife, a daughter, who, dying at nine -years of age, was buried in the garden at Hermes Hill, in a very costly -tomb. - -Huntington is described as having been, towards the close of his -career, a fat, burly man, with a red face, which rose just above the -pulpit cushion; and a thick, guttural, and rather indistinct voice. A -contemporary says:--"His pulpit prayers are remarkable for omitting -all for the King and his country. He excels in extempore eloquence. -Having formally announced his text, he lays his Bible at once aside, -and never refers to it again. He has every possible text and quotation -at his fingers' end. He proceeds directly to his object, and except -such incidental digressions as 'Take care of your pockets! Wake that -snoring sinner! Silence that noisy numskull! Turn out that drunken -dog!' he never deviates from his course. Nothing can exceed his -dictatorial dogmatism. Believe him, none but him--that's enough. When -he wishes to bind the faith of his congregation, he will say, over -and over, 'As sure as I am born, 'tis so;' or, 'I believe the plain -English of it to be this.' And then he will add, by way of clenching -his point, 'Now you can't help it,' or, 'It must be so, in spite of -you.' He does this with a most significant shake of the head, and with -a sort of Bedlam hauteur, with all the dignity of defiance. He will -then sometimes observe, softening his deportment, 'I don't know whether -I make you understand these things, but I understand them well.' He -rambles sadly and strays so completely from his text, that you often -lose sight of it. The divisions of his sermons are so numerous that one -of his discourses might be divided into three. Preaching is with him -talking; his discourses, story-telling. Action he has none, except that -of shifting his handkerchief from hand to hand and hugging his cushion. -Nature has bestowed on him a vigorous original mind, and he employs it -in everything. Survey him when you will, he seems to have rubbed off -none of his native rudeness or blackness. All his notions are his own, -as well as his mode of imparting them. Religion has not been discovered -by him through the telescopes of commentators." - -Huntington's portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery, in -South Kensington. He "might pass, as far as appearances go, for a -convict, but he looks too conceited. The vitality and strength of his -constitution are fearful to behold, and it is certain that he looks -better fitted for coal-heaving than for religious oratory."--_History -of Clerkenwell_, 1865, pp. 529-531. - - - - -Amen. - - -A Correspondent of the _Athenæum_, 1865, writes:--"While some -philosophers seek information in the Far West, and others in the -not-much-nearer East--one, perchance, reducing eccentric arrow heads to -a civilised alphabet; another metamorphosing emblematic pitch-forks, -tom-cats, &c., of 2,000 A.M. into sensation novels of the period; -a third studying the customs and annals of pre-historic America by -the aid of Aztec pots and pipkins--it has been the happy lot of the -undersigned, with no greater effort than a short railway journey and a -pleasant walk, to light upon a treasure of antiquity, which may not be -without interest to some of your readers. The internal evidence of the -following lines is sufficient to show what they purport to be--_viz._ -the epitaph of an accomplished parish officer at Crayford, in Kent. -They run as follows:-- - - "Here lieth the body of - Peter Isnell - (30 years Clerk of this Parish.) - - "He lived respected as a pious and mirthful man, and died on his way - to church to assist at a wedding on the 31st day of March, 1811; aged - seventy years. - - "The inhabitants of Crayford have raised this stone to his cheerful - memory and as a tribute to his long and faithful services. - - "The Life of this _Clerk_ was just threescore and ten, - Nearly half of which time he had sung out _Amen_; - In his Youth, he was married, like other young men, - But his wife died one day, so he chanted _Amen_. - A second he took, she departed, what then? - He married and buried a third with _Amen_. - Thus his joys and his sorrows were _Trebled_, but then - His voice was deep _Bass_ as he sung out _Amen_. - On the _horn_ he could blow as well as most men, - So his _horn_ was exalted in blowing _Amen_; - But he lost all his _Wind_ after threescore and ten, - And here with three Wives he waits till again - The trumpet shall rouse him to sing out _Amen_." - - - - -Strangely Eccentric, yet Sane. - - -The study of psychology proves that hallucinations, or illusions, may -exist in man without the intellect being disordered. In some instances, -they can be produced, by effort of the will. Dr. Wigan, in his able -work, _Duality of the Mind_, relates:--"A painter who succeeded to a -large portion of the practice, and (as he thought) to more than all -the talent of Sir Joshua Reynolds, was so extensively employed, that -he informed me he had once painted (large and small) three hundred -portraits in one year. This would seem physically impossible, but -the secret of his rapidity and of his astonishing success was this: -He required but one sitting, and painted with miraculous facility. I -myself saw him execute a Kit-Kat portrait of a gentleman well known to -me in little more than eight hours; it was minutely finished, and a -most striking likeness. On asking him to explain it, he said, 'When a -sitter came, I looked at him attentively for half-an-hour, sketching -from time to time on the canvas. I wanted no more--I put away my -canvas, and took another sitter. When I wished to resume my first -portrait, _I took the man and sat him in the chair, where I saw him as -distinctly as if he had been before me in his own proper person_--I may -almost say more vividly. I looked from time to time at the imaginary -figure, then worked with my pencil, then referred to the countenance, -and so on, just as I should have done had the sitter been there. _When -I looked at the chair, I saw the man!_ This made me very popular; and, -as I always succeeded in the likeness, people were very glad to be -spared the tedious sittings of other painters. I gained a great deal of -money, and was very careful of it. Well for me and my children that it -was so. Gradually I began to lose the distinction between the imaginary -figure and the real person, and sometimes disputed with sitters that -they had been with me the day before. At last I was sure of it, and -then--and then--all is confusion. I suppose they took the alarm. I -recollect nothing more--I lost my senses--was thirty years in an -asylum. The whole period, except the last six months of my confinement, -is a dead blank in my memory, though sometimes, when people describe -their visits, I have a sort of imperfect remembrance of them; but I -must not dwell on these subjects.'" - -It is an extraordinary fact that, when this gentleman resumed his -pencil, after a lapse of thirty years, he painted nearly as well as -when insanity compelled him to discontinue it. His imagination was -still exceedingly vivid, as was proved by a portrait, for he had only -two sittings of half-an-hour each; the latter solely for the dress and -for the _eyebrows_, which he could not fix in his memory. - -It was found that the excitement threatened danger, and he was -persuaded to discontinue the exercise of his art. He lived but a short -time afterwards. - -A hallucination, although recognized and appreciated as such by the -person who is the subject of it, may, by its vividness and long -continuance, produce so depressing an influence on the mind as to be -the cause of suicide. "I knew," says Wigan, "a very intelligent and -amiable man, who had the power of this placing before his own eyes -_himself_, and often laughed heartily at _his double_, who always -seemed to laugh in turn. This was long a subject of amusement and joke; -but the ultimate result was lamentable. He became gradually convinced -that he was haunted by himself, or (to violate grammar for the sake of -clearly expressing his idea) by his _self_. This other self would argue -with him pertinaciously, and, to his great mortification, sometimes -refute him, which, as he was very proud of his logical powers, -humiliated him exceedingly. He was eccentric, but was never placed in -confinement or subjected to the slightest restraint. At length, worn -out by the annoyance, he deliberately resolved not to enter on another -year of existence--paid all his debts--wrapped up in separate papers -the amount of the weekly demands--waited pistol in hand, the night of -the 31st of December, and as the clock struck twelve, fired it into his -mouth." - -We read in Dr. de Boismont's very able treatise on Hallucinations -(translated by Hulme):--"All mental labour, by over-exciting the brain, -is liable to give rise to hallucinations. We have known many persons, -and amongst others a medical man, who, when it was night, distinctly -heard voices calling to them; some would stop to reply, or would go to -the door, believing they heard the bell ring. This disposition seems -to us not uncommon in persons who are in the habit of talking aloud to -themselves." - -We find in Abercrombie's work the case of a gentleman "who has been -all his life affected by the appearance of spectral figures. To such -an extent does this peculiarity exist, that, if he meets a friend in -the street, he cannot at first satisfy himself whether he really sees -the individual or a spectral figure. By close attention he can remark a -difference between them, in the outline of the real figure being more -distinctly defined than that of the spectral; but in general he takes -means for correcting his visual impression by touching the figure, or -by listening to the sound of his footsteps. He has also the power of -calling up spectral figures at his will, by directing his attention -steadily to the conception of his own mind; and this may consist either -of a figure or a scene which he has seen, or it may be a composition -created by his imagination. But, though he has the faculty of producing -the illusion he has no power of vanishing it; and, when he has called -up any particular spectral figure or scene, he never can say how long -it may continue to haunt him. The gentleman is in the prime of life, -of sound mind, in good health, and engaged in business. Another of his -family has been affected in the same manner, though in a slight degree." - -It would be easy to mention many examples of illustrious men who -have been subject to hallucinations, without their having in any way -influenced their conduct. - -Thus, Malebranche declared he heard the voice of God distinctly within -him. Descartes, after long confinement, was followed by an invisible -person, calling upon him to pursue the search of truth. - -Byron occasionally fancied he was visited by a spectre, which he -confesses was but the effect of an over-stimulated brain. - -Dr. Johnson said that he distinctly heard his mother's voice call -"Samuel." This was at a time when she was residing a long way off. - -Pope, who suffered much from intestinal disease, one day asked his -medical man what the arm was which seemed to come out of the wall. - -Goethe positively asserts that he one day saw the exact counterpart of -himself coming towards him. The German psychologists give the name of -_Deuteroscopia_ to this species of illusion. - - - - -Strange Hallucination. - - -On the 25th of November, 1840, Mr. Pearce, the author of several -medical works, was tried at the Central Criminal Court for shooting -at his wife with intent to murder, and acquitted on the ground of -insanity. He entertained the peculiar notion that his wife wished to -destroy him, and that she had bribed persons to effect his death in -various ways, the principal of which was that his bed was constantly -damped or wetted. This idea seems to have haunted him continually. He -was shortly after his acquittal taken to Bethlem Hospital. For some -time he refused to leave the gallery in which his cell was situated, -and go into the airing-ground; in order, as it appeared, that he might -watch his cell door to prevent anything "villanous" being done. - -In a letter addressed to the Governors of the Hospital, Pearce argued -the point in a very serious and connected manner. "If," said he, in -allusion to some of the witnesses, who at various times had stated they -felt his bedding and found it dry, "the simple act of placing one's -hand upon a damp bed, or even the immediate impression on a man's body -when he gets into it, was infallible, how could it occur so frequently -that travellers at times are crippled with rheumatism, or lose their -lives by remaining all night in damp bedding? If the thing was so -easily discoverable, no man of common understanding could be injured by -such a proceeding or accident at inns. - -"Technically speaking, the matter of which I complain is not a -delusion; it is an allegation--a positive charge, susceptible of proof, -if proper evidence could be brought to bear upon the fact, not warped -or suborned by the man or men in whose power I hourly am. It would be a -sad delusion for me to declare my bed was composed of straw instead of -flocks, or that I was a prophet, or the Pope, or Sir Astley Cooper. I -grant I have no such crotchets. My mind is perfectly sound, calm, and -reflective; and I implore you to consider well the distinction between -the things which cannot in nature physically be and the things which -can physically be. It is a vital one in my sad case. - -"It may be told you, I have charged persons elsewhere with this -atrocity of damping my bed. I have done so. At the private madhouse, -near Uxbridge, whence I was brought here, my bed was kept almost wet -for three months, and I only saved my life by sleeping on a large -trunk, with my daily articles of dress to cover me. Some portion of -this time, the cold was eight and ten degrees below freezing-point." - -He then solicited that a lock might be put upon his cell-door to -protect him from this annoyance; and concluded his letter with this -appeal: "I beseech you to commiserate my hard lot. I have some little -claim to the title of a gentleman, and have been estimated by persons -of some consideration in society; I am now, by a wretched chain of -circumstances, in a great prison hospital, dragged from my children -and my home, and the comforts of social life, and doomed to herd with -desperadoes against the State, the destitute, and the mad." - -Mr. Pearce was afterwards introduced, and answered the questions put -to him in a very collected manner. He then stated that since his -marriage-trip to Boulogne, he had been subjected to the greatest abuse -from his present wife, and on one occasion, had been struck by her, -and insulted by the vilest epithets. He complained that when first -brought to Bethlem Hospital, he had been "chummed" with Oxford, and -objected, but had been compelled to associate with that ruffian. He -had taught Oxford the French language, and tried to improve his mind. -Oxford had conveyed to him matter of importance relative to the great -crime of which he had been guilty, and which he (Mr. Pearce) thought -of sufficient importance to be communicated to the Secretary of State, -and had accordingly written a letter in Latin, detailing the several -circumstances. It had, however been taken from him, and he did not -know whether it had ever been sent to Downing Street. He wished to show -how Oxford boasted of having cajoled Sir A. Morrison and Dr. Monro into -a belief that he was insane, and how he sent for such books as _Jack -the Giant-Killer_ in order to make the jury let him off on the ground -of insanity. This was what he (Mr. Pearce) wished to tell the Secretary -of State, and now the letter was used against him. - -After some further remarks, Mr. Pearce was questioned by the jury, and -persisted in the statement that his bed was damped, that deleterious -drugs were applied to his clothes, and that a conspiracy existed -against him. He produced from under his clothes a small packet, which -he said contained portions of the shirt of which mention had been made, -and a snuff-box, in which he stated he had kept parts of the shirt, and -which he "demanded" to have submitted to the test of Professor Faraday -or some other eminent chemist. He announced himself to be grand-nephew -of Zachariah Pearce, Bishop of Rochester, and translator of Longinus, -and prayed, in conclusion, the jury to relieve him from the situation -in which he was placed. - -The jury returned a verdict to the effect "that Mr. Pearce was of -unsound mind, and that he had been so from the 16th of October, 1840." - - - - -"Corner Memory Thompson." - - -In February, 1843, there died, at the age of 86, this remarkable -person, whose eccentric success had become matter of public interest. -John Thompson was a native of St. Giles's, where his father was a -greengrocer; the boy on carrying a salad to the house of an undertaker -in the neighbourhood, attracted attention by his ready and active -manner, and the undertaker took him as errand-boy; then he became -assistant, and next married his master's daughter, and thus obtained -property. This was his _start_ in life, and enabled him to commence -business as an auctioneer and brewer's valuer, by which he amassed -considerable wealth. As he advanced in life, he sought retirement, and -on a spot just below Hampstead Church, built for himself, without plan -or order, "Frognal Priory," an assemblage of grotesque structures, but -without any right of road to it, which he had to purchase at a great -price. Thence, Thompson often went to town in his chariot, to collect -curiosities for his house; and he might be seen pottering about among -the curiosity-shops: as Horace Walpole cheapened Dicky Bateman's chairs -at half-a-crown apiece for Strawberry Hill, so John Thompson collected -his "items of taste and _vertu_" for Frognal Priory, and these, for -a time, he would show to any person who rang at his gate. He was -designated "Corner Memory," for his having, for a bet, drawn a plan of -St. Giles's parish from memory, at three sittings, specifying every -coach-turning, stable-yard, and public pump, and likewise the _corner -shop_ of every street. He possessed a most mechanical memory; for he -would, by reading a newspaper over-night, repeat the whole of it next -morning. He gained some notoriety by presenting to the Queen a carved -bedstead, reputed once to have belonged to Cardinal Wolsey; with this -he sent some other old furniture to Windsor Castle. - - - - -Mummy of a Manchester Lady. - - -About the middle of the last century there died near Manchester a -maiden lady, a Miss Bexwick or Beswick, who had a great horror of being -_buried alive_. To avoid this, she devised an estate to her medical -adviser, the late Mr. Charles White and his two children, _viz._ Miss -Rosa White and her sister, and his nephew, Captain White, _on condition -that the doctor paid her a morning visit for twelve months after -her decease_. In order to do this, it was requisite to embalm her, -which he did; she was then placed in the attic of the old mansion in -which she died, and in which the doctor took up his residence. Upon -his leaving it, she was removed to the house erected by him in King -Street, Manchester, and which stood on the ground now occupied by the -Town Hall. At the death of Mr. White, the doctor, she was sent to the -Lying-in Hospital, where she remained until she was removed to her -present resting-place, the Manchester Museum of Natural History, where -the mummy is suspended in a case with a glass-door. - -Mr. de Quincey, when a boy at Manchester School, at the beginning -of the century, became acquainted with the mummy, and in one of -his works mentions it being taken from the case, and the body of a -notorious highwayman being substituted; but this is an embellishment or -exaggeration of the already extraordinary story. - - - - -Hypochondriasis. - - -In the year 1827 there was living at Taunton a person who had often -kept at home for several weeks under the idea of danger in going -abroad. Sometimes he imagined that he was a cat, and seated himself on -his hind-quarters; at other times he would fancy himself a teapot, and -stand with one arm a-kimbo like the handle, and the other stretched out -like the spout. At last he conceived himself to have died, and would -not move or be moved till the coffin came. His wife, in serious alarm, -sent for a surgeon, who addressed him with the usual salutation, "How -do you do this morning?" "Do!" replied he in a low voice, "a pretty -question to a dead man!" "Dead, sir; what do you mean?" "Yes; I died -last Wednesday; the coffin will be here presently, and I shall be -buried to-morrow." The surgeon, a man of sense and skill, immediately -felt the patient's pulse, and shaking his head, said, "I find it is -indeed too true; you are certainly defunct; the blood is in a state of -stagnation, putrefaction is about to take place, and the sooner you -are buried the better." The coffin arrived, he was carefully placed in -it, and carried towards the church. The surgeon had previously given -instructions to several neighbours how to proceed. The procession had -scarcely moved a dozen yards, when a person stopped to inquire who -they were carrying to the grave: "Mr. ----, our late worthy overseer." -"What! is the old rogue gone at last? a good release, for a greater -villain never lived." The imaginary deceased no sooner heard this -attack on his character, than he jumped up, and in a threatening -posture said, "You lying scoundrel, if I were not dead I'd make you -suffer for what you say; but as it is, I am forced to submit." He then -quietly laid down again; but ere they had proceeded half-way to church, -another party stopped the procession with the same inquiry, and added -invective and abuse. This was more than the supposed corpse could bear; -and jumping from the coffin, was in the act of following his defamers, -when the whole party burst into an immoderate fit of laughter. The -public exposure awakened him to a sense of his folly; he fought against -the weakness, and in the end conquered it. - -Here is an instance of a cure for hypochondriasis in Switzerland:--A -wealthy and hypochondriacal farmer, who believed himself to be -possessed by seven devils, applied to the Swiss doctor, Michael -Schuppach, to rout the demoniac occupants of his distressed mind. -"Friend," said Schuppach gravely, "you believe there are but seven -devils in you; in reality there are eight, and the eighth is the -captain of the band." To expel the eight unclean spirits the physician -had recourse to an electrical apparatus, with which contrivance the -farmer was of course utterly ignorant. For eight successive days the -patient visited the doctor and underwent an electrical shock. At each -of the first seven shocks the operator said, "There goes one of your -devils." On the eighth day Schuppach said, "Now, we must relieve you -of the chief of the evil spirits--it'll be a tough job!" As these -words were uttered, a violent shock sent the patient fairly to the -floor. "And now," cried the benevolent impostor, "you are free of your -devils--that last stroke was a settler!" The cure was complete. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_STRANGE SIGHTS and SPORTING SCENES._ - - - - -"The Wonder of all the Wonders that the World ever Wondered at." - - -Under the title of "_Horæ Subsecivæ_," in the _Dublin University -Review_, in 1833, vol. i., p. 482, by the late Dr. West, of Dublin, -appeared the following amusing trifle:-- - -"Among Swift's works, we find a _jeu d'esprit_, entitled 'The Wonder -of all the Wonders that the World ever Wondered at,' and purporting -to be an advertisement of a conjurer. There is an amusing one of -the same kind by a very humorous German writer, George Christopher -Lichtenberg, which, as his works are not much known here, is perhaps -worth translating. The occasion on which it was written was the -following. In the year 1777, a celebrated conjurer of those days -arrived at Göttingen. Lichtenberg, for some reason or other, did not -wish him to exhibit there; and, accordingly, before the other had time -even to announce his arrival, he wrote this advertisement, in his name, -and had it printed and posted over the town. The whole was the work -of one night. The result was, that the real Simon Pure decamped next -morning without beat of drum, and never appeared in Göttingen again. -Lichtenberg had spent some time in England, and understood the language -perfectly, so that he may have seen Swift's paper. Still, even granting -that he took the hint from him, it must be allowed he has improved on -it not a little, and displayed not only more delicacy, which, indeed, -was easy enough, but more wit also. - - "'Notice. - -"'The admirers of supernatural Physics are hereby informed that the -far-famed magician, Philadelphus Philadelphia (the same that is -mentioned by Cardanus, in his book _De Naturâ Supernaturali_, where he -is styled "The envied of Heaven and Hell"), arrived here a few days ago -by the mail, although it would have been just as easy for him to come -through the air, seeing that he is the person who, in the year 1482, -in the public market at Venice, threw a ball of cord into the clouds, -and climbed upon it into the air till he got out of sight. On the 9th -of January, of the present year, he will commence at the Merchants' -Hall, publico-privately, to exhibit his one-dollar tricks, and continue -weekly to improve them, till he comes to his five-hundred-guinea -tricks; amongst which last are some which, without boasting, excel the -wonderful itself, nay are, as one may say, absolutely impossible. - -"'He has had the honour of performing with the greatest possible -approbation before all the potentates, high and low, of the four -quarters of the world; and even in the fifth, a few weeks ago, before -her Majesty Queen Oberea, at Otaheite. - -"'He is to be seen every day, except on Mondays and Thursdays, when -he is employed in clearing the heads of the honourable members of -the Congress of his countrymen at Philadelphia; and at all hours, -except from eleven to twelve in the forenoon, when he is engaged at -Constantinople; and from twelve to one, when he is at his dinner. - -"'The following are some of his common one-dollar tricks; and they are -selected, not as being the best of them, but as they can be described -in the fewest words:-- - -"'1. Without leaving the room, he takes the weathercock off St. James's -Church, and sets it on St. John's, and _vice versâ_. After a few -minutes he puts them back again in their proper places. N.B. All this -without a magnet, by mere sleight of hand. - -"'2. He takes two ladies, and sets them on their heads on a table, with -their legs up; he then gives them a blow, and they immediately begin -to spin like tops with incredible velocity, without breach either of -their head-dress by the pressure, or of decorum by the falling of their -petticoats, to the very great satisfaction of all present. - -"'3. He takes three ounces of the best arsenic, boils it in a gallon of -milk, and gives it to the ladies to drink. As soon as they begin to get -sick, he gives them two or three spoonfuls of melted lead, and they go -away in high spirits. - -"'4. He takes a hatchet, and knocks a gentleman on the head with it, -so that he falls dead on the floor. When there, he gives a second -blow, whereupon the gentleman immediately gets up as well as ever, and -generally asks what music that was. - -"'5. He draws three or four ladies' teeth, makes the company shake them -well together in a bag, and then puts them into a little cannon, which -he fires at the aforesaid ladies' heads, and they find their teeth -white and sound in their places again. - -"'6. A metaphysical trick, otherwise commonly called παν, -_metaphysica_, whereby he shows that a thing can actually be and not be -at the same time. It requires great preparation and cost, and is shown -so low as a dollar, solely in honour of the University. - -"'7. He takes all the watches, rings, and other ornaments of the -company, and even money if they wish, and gives every one a receipt for -his property. He then puts them all in a trunk, and brings them off to -Cassel. In a week after, each person tears his receipt, and that moment -finds whatever he gave in his hands again. He has made a great deal of -money by this trick. - -"'N.B. During this week, he performs in the top room at the Merchants' -Hall; but after that, up in the air over the pump in the market-place; -for whoever does not pay, will not see.'" - - - - -[Illustration: The Princess Caraboo. From a sketch by Bird, R.A.] - - - - -"The Princess Caraboo." - - -Early in the year 1865 there died at Bristol a female of considerable -personal attractions, whose early history was amusing enough, yet -took a strong hold upon credulous persons half-a-century since. She -pretended to be a native of Javasu, in the Indian Ocean, and to -have been carried off by pirates, by whom she had been sold to the -captain of a brig. Her first appearance was in the spring of 1817, at -Almondsbury, in Gloucestershire. Having been ill-used when on board the -ship, she had jumped overboard, she said, swam on shore, and wandered -about six weeks before she came to Almondsbury. She appears next to -have found her way to Bath, and there to have created a sensation in -the literary and fashionable circles of Bath and other places, which -lasted till it was discovered that the whole affair was a romance, -cleverly sustained and acted out by a young and prepossessing girl, who -sought to maintain the imposition by the invention of hieroglyphics and -characters to represent her native language. - -In 1817, there was published at Bristol a narrative of this singular -imposition, "practised upon the benevolence of a lady residing in the -Vicinity of Bristol by a young woman of the name of Mary Willcocks, -_alias_ Baker, _alias_ Bakerstendht, _alias_ Caraboo, Princess of -Javasu;" for which work Bird, the Royal Academician, drew two portraits. - -It was ascertained that she was a native of Witheridge, in Devonshire, -where her father was a cobbler. She appears to have taken flight to -America, and in 1824 she returned to England, and hired apartments -in New Bond Street, where she exhibited herself to the public at the -charge of one shilling; but she did not attract any great attention. - -On being deposed from the honours which had been awarded to her, "the -Princess" retired into comparatively humble life, and married. There -was a kind of grim humour in the occupation which she subsequently -followed, that of an importer of leeches: but she conducted her -operations with much judgment and ability, and carried on her trade -with credit to herself and satisfaction to her customers. The quondam -"Princess" died, leaving a daughter, who, like her mother, is described -as very beautiful. - -There is, it should be added, a very strange story of the Princess -having got an introduction to Napoleon Bonaparte at St. Helena, of -which affair the following account appeared in _Felix Farley's Bristol -Journal_, September 13th, 1817:-- - -"A letter from Sir Hudson Lowe, lately received from St. Helena, forms -at present the leading topic of conversation in the higher circles. It -states that on the day preceding the date of the last dispatches, a -large ship was discovered in the offing. The wind was strong from the -S.S.E. After several hours' tacking, with apparent intention to reach -the island, the vessel was observed to bear away for the N.W., and in -the course of an hour the boat was seen entering the harbour. It was -rowed by a single person. Sir Hudson went alone to the beach, and to -his astonishment saw a female of interesting appearance drop the oars -and spring to land. She stated that she had sailed from Bristol, under -the care of some missionary ladies, in a vessel called the _Robert and -Anne_, Captain Robinson, destined for Philadelphia; that the vessel -being driven out of its course by a tempest, which continued for -several successive days, the crew at length perceived land, which the -captain recognised to be St. Helena: that she immediately conceived -an ardent desire of seeing the man with whose future fortunes she -was persuaded her own were mysteriously connected; and her breast -swelled with the prospect of contemplating face to face an impostor -not equalled on earth since the days of Mohammed; but a change of wind -to the S.S.E. nearly overset her hopes. Finding the captain resolved -to proceed according to his original destination, she watched her -opportunity, and springing with a large clasp-knife into a small boat -which was slung at the stern, she cut the ropes, dropt safely into the -ocean, and rowed away. The wind was too strong from the land to allow -of the vessel being brought about to thwart her object. Sir Hudson -introduced her to Bonaparte under the name of Caraboo! She described -herself as Princess of Javasu, and related a tale of extraordinary -interest, which seemed in a high degree to delight the captive chief. -He embraced her with every demonstration of enthusiastic rapture, and -besought Sir Hudson that she might be allowed an apartment in his -house, declaring that she alone was an adequate solace in his captivity. - -"Sir Hudson subjoins: 'The familiar acquaintance with the Malay tongue -possessed by this most extraordinary personage (and there are many on -the island who understand that language), together with the knowledge -she displays of the Indian and Chinese politics, and the eagerness with -which she speaks of these subjects, appear to convince every one that -she is no impostor. Her manner is noble and fascinating in a wonderful -degree.' - -"A private letter adds the following testimony to the above statement, -'Since the arrival of this lady, her manners, and I may say the -countenance and figure of Bonaparte appear to be wholly altered. From -being reserved and dejected, he has become gay and communicative. No -more complaints are heard about inconveniences at Longwood. He has -intimated to Sir Hudson his determination to apply to the Pope for -a dispensation to dissolve his marriage with Maria Louisa, and to -sanction his indissoluble union with the enchanting Caraboo.'" - -However, corroboration of this strange story is wanting. - - - - -Fat Folks.--Lambert and Bright. - - -About the centre of the new burial-ground of St. Martin's Stamford -Baron, is a black slate inscribed with gilt letters to the memory of -that immense mass of mortality, Daniel Lambert, the most popularly -known of "Fat Folks." - - "Altus in animo, in Corpore Maximus. - In remembrance of that prodigy in nature, - Daniel Lambert, a native of Leicester, - Who was possessed of an exalted and convivial mind; - and, in personal greatness had no competitor. - He measured 3 ft. 1 in. round the leg; - and weighed 52 st. 11 lbs.! - He departed this life on the 21st June, 1809, - aged 39 years. - As a testimony of respect, this - Stone is erected by his friends in Leicester." - -Daniel Lambert was born on the 13th of March, 1770, at Leicester. His -parents were not persons of remarkable dimensions: but he had an uncle -and aunt on the father's side who were both very heavy. - -At the age of 19, young Lambert began to imagine that he should be -a heavy man. He possessed extraordinary muscular power, and at the -above age could lift great weights, and carry five-hundred weight with -ease. He succeeded his father in the office of keeper of the prison -at Leicester, within a year after which his bulk began rapidly to -increase, owing to his confinement and sedentary life. Though he never -possessed any extraordinary agility, he was able to kick to the height -of seven feet, standing on one leg. - -About the year 1793, when Lambert weighed 32 stone, he walked from -Woolwich to London, with much less apparent fatigue than several -middle-sized men who were his companions. Upon this Mr. Wadd remarks: -"It is clear, therefore, that he was a strong, active man, and -continued so after the disease had made great progress; and I think it -may fairly be inferred that he would not have fallen a sacrifice so -early in life, if he had possessed fortitude enough to meet the evil, -and to have opposed it with determined perseverance." - -Lambert was very expert in swimming, and taught hundreds of the young -people of Leicester. His power of floating, owing to his uncommon -bulk, was so great that he could swim with two men of ordinary size -upon his back. He proved a humane keeper of the prison, and upon his -retirement from the office, the magistrates settled upon him an annuity -of 50_l._ for life, without any solicitation. - -He now lived a life of leisure at Leicester, but his uncommon -corpulence brought him many visitors; and he at length found that -he must either submit to be a close prisoner in his own house, or -endure the inconveniences without receiving any of the profits of -an exhibition. He then determined to visit London; and as it was -impossible to procure a carriage large enough to admit him, he had a -vehicle built to convey him to the metropolis, where he arrived in the -spring of 1806, and fixed his abode in Piccadilly. Here he was visited -by much company. Among them was the celebrated Polish dwarf, Count -Boruwlaski, who had before seen Lambert at Birmingham; the little man -exclaimed that he had seen the face twenty years ago, but it was not -surely the same body. In the course of conversation, Lambert asked -what quantity of cloth the Count required for a coat, and how many he -thought his would make him. "Not many," answered Boruwlaski; "I take -good large piece of cloth myself--almost tree-quarters of a yard." At -this rate, one of Lambert's sleeves would have abundantly sufficed for -the purpose. The Count felt one of Mr. Lambert's legs, "Ah, mine Got!" -he exclaimed, "pure flesh and blood; I feel de warm. No deception, I -am pleased, for I did hear it was deception." Mr. Lambert asked if the -Count's lady was alive; to which he replied, "No, she is dead, and I am -not very sorry, for when I affront her, she put me on the mantel-shelf -for punishment."[30] - -[30] See portrait of Boruwlaski, page 259. - -In September, 1806, Lambert returned to Leicester, but repeated his -visit in the following year, and fixed his abode in Leicester Square. -Here, for the first time, he felt inconvenienced by the atmosphere -of the metropolis; accordingly, by the advice of Dr. Heaviside, his -physician, Lambert returned to his native place. He then made a tour -through the principal cities and towns of England, and proved as -attractive in the provinces as he had formerly been in the metropolis. -He now enjoyed excellent health, and felt perfectly at ease, either -while sitting up or lying in bed. His diet was plain, and the -quantity moderate. For many years he never drank anything stronger -than water. He slept well, but scarcely so much as other persons, and -his respiration was as free as any moderately-sized individual. His -countenance was manly and intelligent; he possessed great information, -much ready politeness, and conversed with ease and facility. He had a -powerful and melodious tenor voice, and his articulation was perfectly -clear and unembarrassed. - -Lambert had, however, for some time shown dropsical symptoms. In June -1809, he was weighed at Huntingdon, and by the Caledonian balance was -found to be 52 stone 11 lb. (14 lb. to the stone), 10st. 4lb. heavier -than Bright, the miller of Malden. His measure round the body was three -yards four inches, and one yard one inch round the leg. - -A few days after this measurement, on June 20th, he arrived from -Huntingdon, at the Wagon and Horses Inn, St. Martin's, Stamford, where -preparations were made to receive company the next day, and during -Stamford races. He was announced for exhibition; he gave his orders -cheerfully, without any presentiment that they were to be his last: -he was then in bed, only fatigued from his journey, but anxious to be -able to see company early in the morning. Before nine o'clock however, -the day following, he was a corpse! He died in his apartment on the -ground-floor of the inn, for he had long been incapable of walking -up-stairs. - -His interment was an arduous labour. His coffin measured six feet -four inches long, four feet four inches wide, and two feet four inches -deep, and contained one hundred and twelve superficial feet of elm. It -was built upon two axletrees and four wheels; the room-door and wall -of the room in which he lay were taken down to allow of his exit, and -thus his remains were drawn to the place of interment at St. Martin's, -Stamford. His grave was dug with a gradual slope for several yards; and -upwards of twenty men were employed for nearly half-an-hour in getting -the massive corpse into its resting-place: the immense substance of the -legs made the coffin, of necessity, at most a square case. The funeral -was attended by thousands of persons from Stamford and the country many -miles round. - -At the Wagon and Horses Inn were preserved two suits of Lambert's -clothes: seven ordinarily-sized men were repeatedly enclosed within his -waistcoat, without breaking a stitch or straining a button; each suit -of clothes cost 20_l._ His name was remembered for a time as a tavern -sign: one on the north side of Ludgate Street remained till within a -few years. - -The great weight of Edward Bright, the miller of Malden, has been -incidentally mentioned. He died on November 10th, 1750, at the age of -30. He was an active man till within a year or two of his death; when -his corpulency so overpowered his strength, that his life was a burthen -to him; yet, as we have seen, he was ten stone four pounds lighter than -Lambert. Mr. Wadd says it is supposed that Bright's weight at his death -was forty-four stone, or 616 pounds. - -Horace Walpole relates the following story of Bright's weight backed -against that of the Duke of Cumberland:--"There has been a droll cause -in Westminster Hall: a man laid another a wager that he produced a -person who should weigh as much again as the Duke. When they had -betted, they recollected not knowing how to desire the Duke to step -into the scale. They agreed to establish his weight at twenty stone, -which, however, is supposed to be two more than he weighs. One -Bright was then produced, who is since dead, and who actually weighed -forty-two stone and a half. As soon as he was dead, the person who had -lost objected that he had been weighed in his clothes, and though it -was impossible to suppose that his clothes could weigh above two stone, -they went to law. There were the Duke's twenty stone bawled over a -thousand times,--but the righteous law decided against the man who had -won!" - -Bright, when twelve years old, weighed one hundred and forty-four -pounds; and there was another boy in Malden at the same time, fourteen -years of age, who weighed as much. - -There was, however, an Essex man, who not only attained a great weight, -but lived to a great age, which is remarkable among persons of this -class. This was James Mansfield, a butcher, who died at the village of -Debden, on November 9th, 1862, in his 82nd year. Though not above the -ordinary height, he measured nine feet round and weighed thirty-three -stone. When sitting in his chair, made especially for his use, his -abdomen covered his knees and hung down almost to the ground. When he -lay down, it was necessary to pack his head to prevent suffocation: he -could only lie upon one side. He was exhibited, in 1851, in Leicester -Square, as "the greatest man in the world." In a suit of his clothes -four ordinarily-sized men might be comfortably buttoned up. Mansfield, -just before his death, was a hale old man, of good constitution, and a -sanguine and happy temperament. - -Corpulency naturally subjects its bearers to some of - - "The thousand natural shocks - That flesh is heir to." - -Among these inconveniences is the absolute prohibition from -horsemanship, and the difficulty of transportation from place to place, -which may be illustrated by the following anecdotes, related by Mr. -Wadd, in _Brande's Journal_, 1828:-- - -Mr. B.----, of Bath, a remarkably large, corpulent, and powerful man, -wanting to go by the mail, tried for a place a short time before it -started. Being told it was full, he still determined to get admission, -and opening the door, which no one near him ventured to oppose, he got -in. When the other passengers came, the ostler reported that there was -a gentleman in the coach; he was requested to come out, but having -drawn up the blind, he remained quiet. Hearing, however, a consultation -on the means of making him alight, and a proposal to "pull him out," -he let down the blind, and laying his enormous hand on the edge of -the door, he asked, who would dare to pull him out, drew up the blind -again, and waiting some time, fell asleep. About one in the morning he -awoke, and calling out to know whereabout he was on the journey, he -perceived, what was the fact, that to end the altercation with him, the -horses had been put to another coach, and that he had spent the night -at the inn-door at Bath, where he had taken possession of the carriage. - -A similar occurrence took place at Huddersfield. A gentleman went to a -proprietor of one of the coaches to take a place for Manchester, but -owing to the enormous size of his person he was refused, unless he -would consent to be taken as lumber, at 9_d._ per stone, hinting at the -same time the advantage of being split in two. The gentleman was not to -be disheartened by this disappointment, but adopted the plan of sending -the ostler of one of the inns to take a place for him, which he did, -and in the morning wisely took the precaution by fixing himself in the -coach, with the assistance of the bystanders, from whence he was not -to be removed easily. There placed, he was taken to his destination. -The consequence was, on his return he was necessitated to adopt a -similar process, to the no small disappointment of the proprietors, -who were compelled to convey three gentlemen who had previously taken -their places in a chaise, as there was no room beside this importunate -passenger, who weighed about thirty-six stone. - - - - -A Cure for Corpulence. - - -In 1863, a philanthropist laid before the public the narrative of a man -who was tremendously fat, who tried hard for years to thin himself, and -who at last succeeded. Mr. Banting, the gentleman who had the courage -and good feeling to write and publish this narrative, not long before, -measured 5ft. 5in., and weighed about 14-1/4 stone. He owns that he had -a great deal to bear from his unfortunate make. In the first place, -the little boys in the streets laughed at him; in the next place, he -could not tie his own shoes; and, lastly, he had, it appears, to come -down-stairs backwards. But he was a man who struggled gallantly, and -whatever he was recommended to do, he honestly tried to carry out. He -drank mineral waters, and consulted physicians, and took sweet counsel -with innumerable friends, but all was in vain. He lived upon sixpence -a-day, and earned it, so that the favourite recipe of Abernethy failed -in his case. He went into all sorts of vapour baths and shampooing -baths. He took no less than ninety Turkish baths, but nothing did -him any good; he was still as fat as ever. A kind friend recommended -increased bodily exertion every morning, and nothing seemed more likely -to be effectual than rowing. So this stout warrior with fat got daily -into a good, safe, heavy boat, and rowed a couple of hours. But he was -only pouring water into the bucket of the Danaides. What he gained in -one way he lost in another. His muscular vigour increased; but then, -with this there came a prodigious appetite which he felt compelled -to indulge, and consequently he got fatter than he had been. At last -he hit upon the right adviser, who told him what to do, and whose -advice was so successful that Mr. Banting could soon walk down-stairs -forwards, put his old clothes quite over the suit that now fitted him, -and, far from being made the victim of unkind or ill-judged chaff, was -universally congratulated on his pleasant and becoming appearance. The -machinery by which this change was effected was of a very simple kind. -He was told to leave off eating anything but meat. It appears that -none of his numerous friendly advisers, and none of the physicians he -consulted, penetrated so far into the secresy of his domestic habits -as to have discovered that twice a day he used formerly to indulge in -bowls of bread and milk. The Solomon who saved him cut off this great -feeder of fat, and since then Mr. Banting has been a thinner and a -happier man.--_Abridged from the Saturday Review._ - - - - -Epitaphs on Fat Folks. - - -In the year 1755, died the great tallow-chandler whose life and death -are thus laconically recorded on his tombstone:-- - - Here lies in earth an honest fellow, - Who died by fat, and lived by tallow. - -Another corpulent person is thus lamented:-- - - Here lies the body of Thomas Dollman, - A vastly _fat_, though not a very tall man; - Full twenty stone he weighed, yet I am told, - His captain thought him worth his weight in gold: - Grim Death, who ne'er to nobody shows favour, - Hurried him off for all his good behaviour; - Regardless of his weight, he bundled him away, - 'Fore any one "Jack Robinson" could say. - -A moral lesson is given in the following:-- - - But why he grew so fat i' th' waist, - Now mark ye the true reason, - When other people used to fast, - He feasted in that season. - So now, alas! hath cruel Death - Laid him in his sepulchre. - - * * * * * - - Therefore, good people, here 'tis seen, - You plainly may see here, - That fat men sooner die than lean, - Witness Fat Johnny Holder. - -The son of a Dean, a man of very spare habit, expressing to the son of -a Bishop his astonishment at the great difference of the size of their -fathers, the Bishop being very fat, he explained the reason in the -following extempore parody of the old song:-- - - There's a difference between - A Bishop and a Dean, - And I'll tell you the reason why: - A Dean cannot dish up - A dinner like a Bishop, - To feed such a fat son as I. - - - - -Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf. - - -One of the best attested cases of dwarfish existence on record is -that of Joseph Boruwlaski, the Polish dwarf, who was the delight -of our grandfathers, and who, after the age of _seventy_, suddenly -found himself able with his hand to raise the latch of a door which -up to that period he had always raised with a stick. How many inches -he grew is not recorded, but the fact of his growth is sufficiently -astonishing, and is only paradoxical so long as we continue to hold -the general opinion that "men do not grow after reaching maturity," -whereas, in strict language, we must admit that they _grow_ as long as -they live, but do not normally surpass the standard of maturity; growth -continues, but only to supply the waste, not enough, as in childhood, -to supply the waste and furnish _surplus_ for the increase. - -Count Joseph Boruwlaski is, in many respects, the most interesting -dwarf of whom we have accurate records, and he has written his own -memoir to complete our interest. He has given us his height at various -epochs as follows:-- - - Ft. In. - At one year old he measured 0 11 - At three „ „ 1 2 - At six „ „ 1 5 - At ten „ „ 1 9 - At fifteen years old he measured 2 1 - At twenty „ „ 2 4 - At twenty-five „ „ 2 11 - At thirty „ „ 3 3 - -[Illustration: Count Boruwlaski in disgrace with his wife.] - -Here he stopped until he was seventy. He was born at Chaliez, in -Russian Poland, November, 1739, of noble parents, who were richer in -pedigree than in land or money. They were both well formed, healthy, -and of the ordinary size; yet of their six children, three were -dwarfs; and, to add to the singularity, the dwarfs _alternated_ with -well-formed children. Joseph was 8 inches in length when born, yet -perfectly well-formed, and he sucked with infantine success, walking -and talking at about the usual age. - -On reaching his ninth year, he lost his father, who left a widow and -six children very ill-provided for. Luckily, a friend of the widow, -a Madame de Caorliz, adopted Joseph, and with her the boy spent four -happy years. His benefactress then married, and this event produced -a change in his fortunes. A dwarf so remarkable was naturally enough -an envied possession; and the Countess Humieska, a very great person -indeed, felt the desire natural in so great a person, to have this -among her curiosities. Domiciled with the great Countess, Joseph began -to taste the splendours and luxuries of courts. They travelled through -Poland, Germany, and France, and everywhere he was the lion of the -hour. At Vienna he was presented to Maria Theresa, who, pleased with -his courtly compliments, kissed him, and complimented the Countess on -her travelling companion. On another occasion, Joseph, in the lap of -the Empress, who had sixteen children of her own, and doted on them, -was looking at the hand in which his own was clasped, and which flashed -light from a ring bearing her cipher in brilliants. She asked him if -he was pleased with the ring; he told her it was the _hand_ he looked -at, and at the same time raised it to his lips. The flattered Empress -insisted on giving him the ring; but alas! it was too large, whereupon -she called to a young lady of about six years old, and taking from her -a fine diamond ring, placed it on Joseph's finger: this young lady was -Marie Antoinette. - -From Vienna the travellers proceeded to Munich, and thence, after -countless fêtes, they went to Luneville, the court of Stanislas -Leckzinski, titular King of Poland. Here Joseph met the dwarf Bébé, -of whom Boruwlaski gives this account:--"With this prince (Stanislas) -lived the famous Bébé, till then considered the most extraordinary -dwarf that was ever seen; and who was, indeed, perfectly well -proportioned, and with a pleasant physiognomy, but who (I am sorry to -say it, for the honour of us dwarfs) had all the defects in his mind -and way of thinking which are commonly attributed to us. He was at that -time about thirty,[31] and his height two feet eight inches; and when -measured, it appeared that I was much shorter, being no more than two -feet four inches. At our first interview he showed much fondness for -me; but, on perceiving that I preferred the company and conversation -of sensible people, and above all, when he perceived that the King -took pleasure in my society, he conceived the most violent jealousy -and hatred of me; so that I escaped his fury only by a miracle. One -day, we were both in the apartment of his Majesty, who caressed me, and -asked me several questions, testifying his pleasure and approbation of -my replies in the most affectionate manner. Then addressing Bébé, he -said: 'You see, Bébé, what a difference there is between him and you. -He is amiable, cheerful, entertaining, and instructed, whereas you -are but a little machine.' At these words I saw fury sparkle in his -eyes; he answered nothing, but his countenance and blush proved how -violently he was agitated. A moment after, the King having gone into -his cabinet, Bébé availed himself of the opportunity to execute his -revengeful projects; and slyly approaching, seized me by the waist, -and endeavoured to push me on to the fire. Luckily, I laid hold with -both hands of the iron prop which sustained the tongs and poker, and -thus prevented his wicked intentions. The noise I made in defending -myself brought back the king to my assistance. He afterwards called -the servants, and ordered Bébé corporal punishment. In vain did I -intercede." - -[31] Joseph is in error here; Bébé was two years his junior, but -precocity of development made him appear to be thirty, though really -only about seventeen. - -On quitting the court of Stanislas, Boruwlaski visited that of -Versailles, where the Queen, the Duke of Orleans, and other -distinguished personages, made as much of him as vanity could desire. -The Count Orginski, finding he had a taste for music, provided him -a master for the guitar. At the table of this nobleman, he one day -allowed himself to be concealed in a large vase, which was placed amid -the dishes, and to which the attention of the guests was directed, till -their curiosity was fairly roused, expecting some rarity surpassing -all the delicacies of the already sumptuous banquet; and then Joseph -suddenly stood up, amid shouts of laughter. - -From Paris he went to Holland, and thence back to Poland. His reception -in Warsaw was enthusiastic; and as travel and reading had given polish -to his manners and culture to his intellect, his society became sought -after for something more than mere curiosity. He now attended the -theatre, and became fascinated with the actresses. His first love was -a French actress, who, amused and flattered, pretended to return his -passion, and for a time he was in a delirium of happiness; but an -unlucky discovery of her having talked about his passion with mockery, -cruelly dispelled his brief dream. To be in love with an actress, and -to find that she has been laughing at the passion she has inspired, -and only feigning to return it for some object of her own, is what -many young men have had to experience; but perhaps in none could the -mortification of self-love have been so cruel as in the little dwarf, -who knew the ridicule which must necessarily attend his presumption -in claiming the privilege of a man. But the heart having once known -the bitter-sweet of love, will not long be kept from it; and Joseph -soon fixed his affections on Isolina, a _protégée_ of the Countess -Humieska, who, living under the same roof with him, was much astonished -to observe that he allowed every _other_ lady to take him on her lap -and caress him; she accused him of not liking her, because to her -only he was reserved and shy. Now, he had not forgotten the ridicule -of the French actress: for a whole twelvemonth he continued loving -in silence, in doubt, and in trouble. His health suffered; at last, -passion triumphed over his fears; he declared his love, which the lady -treated as the love of a child. "Really," said she, "you are a child, -and I cannot help laughing at your extravagance." He tried to convince -her that he was no child, and would not be loved like a child; when she -burst out laughing, told him he knew not what he said, and left the -room. - -This was a ludicrous situation, but with a tragic aspect; a young and -lively woman receiving a passionate declaration from a being not taller -than a child three or four years old, may be excused if her sense -of the ludicrous prevented her understanding the seriousness of the -passion she inspired. Joseph was hurt, but not altogether dissatisfied. -The secret no longer pressed its uneasy burden on his mind. She knew -of his love; she could now interpret his reserve--his melancholy--his -silent adoration. In time she might be touched. For the first few -days, indeed, there seemed little hope of such an issue. She bantered -him incessantly, and the more he tried to speak to her as a man, the -more she persisted in treating him like a child. The effect of this -was a serious illness; for two months he was in danger. He recovered, -and she, from that time, gave up the dangerous game; and they were -eventually married. - -We must now accompany Boruwlaski to England, where he was received by -the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and was presented to the King and -Queen, and patronized by the Prince of Wales and the nobility. - -Among the remarkable persons whom the Count met was O'Brien, the Irish -giant. "Our surprise," says Boruwlaski, "was mutual--the giant remained -a moment speechless with astonishment, and then stooping half-way, he -presented his hand, which could easily have contained a dozen of mine, -and made me a very pretty compliment." When they stood beside each -other, the giant's knee was nearly on a level with the dwarf's head. -They both resided together some time at an inn at Epping, where they -often walked out together, greatly to the amusement of the townsfolk. - -Mathews, the comedian, was a friend and admirer of Boruwlaski, and -contrived to get an interview arranged with George IV. for the -presentation of a copy of the Count's _Memoirs_, published in 1788. -Mathews and his little charge were ushered into the presence of the -sovereign: the King rose and met Boruwlaski, raised him up in his -arms, in a kind embrace, saying, "My dear old friend, how delighted I -am to see you!" and then placed the little man upon a sofa. But the -Count's loyalty not being so satisfied, he descended with the agility -of a schoolboy, and threw himself at his master's feet, who, however, -would not suffer him to remain in that position for a minute, but -raised him again upon the sofa. In the course of the conversation, the -Count, addressing the King in French, was told that his English was -so good it was quite unnecessary to speak in any other language; for -his Majesty, with his usual tact, easily discerned that he should be a -loser in resigning the Count's prettily-broken English, which (as he -always thought in his native language, and literally translated its -idioms) was the most amusing imaginable, and totally distinct from the -imperfect English of other foreigners.... The King, in the course of -conversation, said, "But, Count, you were married when I first knew -you: I hope madame is still alive, and as well as yourself." "Ah, no! -Majesty; Isolina die thirty year! _Fine_ woman! _sweet_, _beauty_ body! -You have no _idea_, Majesty." "I am sorry to hear of her death; such -a charming person must have been a great loss to you, Count." "Dat is -very true, Majesty; _indid, indid_, it was great sorrow for me!" His -Majesty then inquired how old the Count was, and on being told, with -a start of surprise observed, "Count, you are the finest man of your -age I ever saw. I wish you could return the compliment." To which -Boruwlaski, not to be outdone in courtesy, ludicrously replied, "Oh! -Majesty, _fine_ body! _indid, indid_; _beauty_ body!" - -The King, on accepting the book which the Count wished to present, -turned to the Marchioness of Conyngham, and took from her a little -case containing a beautiful miniature watch and seals, attached to a -superb chain, the watch exquisitely ornamented with jewels. This the -King begged the Count to accept, saying, as he held the _Memoirs_ in -the other hand, "My dear friend, I shall read and preserve this as long -as I live, for your sake; and in return I request you will wear this -for mine." His Majesty said to Mathews, in the absence of the Count, -"If I had a dozen sons, I could not point out to them a more perfect -model of good breeding and elegance than the Count; he is really a most -accomplished and charming person." - -It appears that, by the kindness of friends, Boruwlaski had purchased -an annuity, which secured him independence for the remainder of his -life. Out of this transaction arose a laughable incident. One day he -called at the insurance office with Mr. Mathews, and on being asked how -he was, he replied, with the vivacity of eighteen, "Oh, _never_ better! -_quite_ vel!" and he ran out of the office from the gaze of the aged -insurer, scarcely able to restrain his merriment till he got out of -hearing. He then told Mr. Mathews, during his convulsions of laughter, -that the person they had just seen was the granter of his annuity. "Ha! -ha! ha! O Mattew, I cannot help! Oh _poor devil_, poor _hold_ body! It -_maks me laffing_, poor _hold hanimal_! Oh he say prayer for me die, -often when he _slip_! Oh you may _de_pend--ha! ha! ha! but Boruwlaski -_never_ die! He _calcoolated dat_ dwarf not live it long, _et_ I live -it forty year to _plag_ him. Oh he is in a _hobbel debblishly_! I -_tellee dat_! He fifty year _yonger den_ Boruwlaski; _mintime_ he dead -as soon as me. Oh yes, you may be sure _dat_--_dat_ is my _oppinnon_. -Boruwlaski never die," playfully nodding his little head, "you may -_de_pend." Mr. Mathews asked him if the old man had any family (feeling -some compassion for his hard case), to which the Count cried out, "Oh -he have it _shildren_ twenty, like a pig, poor _devel_! _mintime_ he -_riche_ body! Oh he have it _goold et wast_ many bank _nott_. _Bote_ -he have it _greet prepencity_ to keep him fast hold, poor idi_ot_! _It -macks me laffing!_"--(See the _Memoirs of Charles Mathews_, by Mrs. -Mathews.) - -To these characteristics we are enabled to add that of an English -letter, written by the Count in his _eighty-ninth_ year, the -handwriting of which is singularly firm and steady, resembling that of -a school boy of about fourteen. We shall copy it _literatim_ from the -autograph letter in the possession of Lord Houghton. It is addressed -to Miss Emma George, at Miss Bird's, Pitt street, Edinburgh, and runs -thus:-- - -"Dear Emma.--I am a fraid you will think me negligent in not answering -your kind Letter which I received both. which made me delay write -soonere I was en a visite at Newcastle, and I remain rathere to lon. -and with the acceident happing when I burn your Lette in which been -your derection, when I do so after reading, for alwais afraid of aney -mischiefe at homes, what you know my situation, in which I remain to -this day. and increas dayli more and more unhappy. I have maney things -to tell you and you wish to know about me, but I cannot trust to a -Lettere to disclos, and gave you picture of my precise state of my Life -with extended Field, to make description of my trouble but only I may -say truly. That I find myselfe without friend in a Stranger Country. -Yet from the aspect of flattering appearance. I thought aftere a very -fatiging journey in the begonning of my Life, that no kind of vexation -would distourb my present state of happiness at Durham. Upon which my -mind being grounded, in expectation of all feliesity. But here what to -say of my sorrow with astonishment, when I found overeeting, when I -behod now nothing but betterness of heart, and so heavy a Cloud over my -existance in misery. So I have not on friend, but I have wakeful body -who watch all my motion. So I have my share to be partner with you and -support on othere, when we are left to ourself in a Pilgrimage in which -we are engaged so severely. To be sure I feel the disappointments of -my situation. Yet I have experience that I cannot help thinking that it -was well that Providence had blessed me, to alowd me kindly as litll as -it is: Yet to accomodated Dear Emma according to fortune which God gave -me, which Dear Emma will receive next month your 5_l._ I beg Dear Emma -make your selfe happy and not uneasy if some time I delay in answering -your Lettere. Notwithstanding you most know me now to trust me and -have Confidence in me that I ame not Changable nature, but remain, and -believe me, your sincer affectiont, Joseph Boruwlaski. - - "_Durham 17 March 1828._" - - * * * * * - -This singular being lived to the extraordinary age of ninety-eight; -a great age for an ordinary man, and quite without example in the -history of dwarfs. He died at Bank's Cottage, near Durham, on the 5th -of September, 1837, and his remains were placed near those of Stephen -Kemble, in the Nine Altars of Durham Cathedral. It is stated in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ (October, 1837), that the cottage was the gift -of some of the prebendaries of Durham, who also allowed him a handsome -income. They may have given him the cottage, but the income came, -as Boruwlaski himself informs us, from the Misses Metcalfe. In the -parish church of St. Mary-the-Less is a mural tablet of white stone, -with an inscription erected in memory of the Count, who long resided -in the city, and has, indeed, given his name to a bend in the river, -known as "Count's Corner."--(Walker's _Brief Sketch of Durham_, 4th -edition, 1865.) If the reader attentively considers the story we have -narrated, he will perceive that the Count, although an anomaly in -respect of size, was in all other respects a perfectly formed man, -and is distinguished from most other dwarfs by longevity, paternity, -and intelligence. The anomaly, therefore, could not have been deeply -seated. He was a perfect copy of nature's finest work in duodecimo. -A full-length portrait of him may be seen in the Hunterian Museum, -life-size, leaning against a chair. - -It may be interesting to narrate a few more examples of dwarf life, -from accredited sources. - -M. St. Hilaire relates from the _Philosophical Transactions_, 1751-2, -the case of a dwarf named Hopkins, who, at fifteen years of age, stood -only 2 ft. 7 in., and weighed between 12 and 13 lbs. He had all the -signs of old age. He was bent, deformed, and troubled with a dry cough. -His hearing and sight were bad; his teeth almost all decayed. He was -very thin, and so weak as scarcely to be able to stand. Till the age -of seven he had been gay, healthy, and active; nor at that age did he -show any indications of stopped growth. He was well formed, and weighed -nineteen pounds, _i.e._ six pounds more than he weighed at fifteen. -From that period his health declined, and his body wasted. He came -from healthy parents of ordinary stature, and was the second of six -children, another of whom also was a dwarf. - -Dantlow, the Russian dwarf, was only thirty inches high; he was without -arms, and had only four toes on each foot. With his feet he made -pen-and-ink sketches rivalling etchings; and knitted stockings with -needles made of wood. He fed himself with his left foot; learned with -great facility, and was eager to learn. - -M. Virey describes a German girl, exhibited in Paris in 1816. She was -of parents above the average height, who had previously produced a male -dwarf. At eight years old she weighed no more than an ordinary infant; -her height was eighteen inches. In temper she was gay, restless, and -excitable. Her pulse normally was at ninety-four. - -M. Virey also relates the following example; Thérèse Souvray, was -destined to become the bride of Bébé, to whom she was solemnly -affianced in the year 1761; but death snatched the bridegroom from her, -and as the _fiancée_ of this celebrated man, she was exhibited in Paris -during the year 1821. She was then seventy-three years of age; gay, -healthy, lively, and danced with her sister, two years her senior, and -measuring only three feet and a half, French measure. - -In 1865, there died in Paris the dwarf Richebourg, who was an -historical personage. Richebourg, who was only 60 centimètres high, was -in his sixteenth year placed in the household of the Duchess of Orleans -(the mother of King Louis-Philippe). He was often made useful for the -transmission of dispatches. He was dressed up as a baby, and important -State papers placed in his clothes, and thus he was able to effect a -communication between Paris and the _émigrés_, which could hardly have -taken place by any other means. The most suspicious of _sans culottes_ -never took it into his head to stop a nurse with a baby in her arms. -For the last thirty years he lived in Paris in one of the houses in the -remotest part of the Faubourg St. Germain. He had a morbid dread of -appearing in public, and it is recorded that during this long period -he never put his foot outside the house. He received from the Orleans -family a pension of 3,000 francs per annum. He had attained the ripe -age of ninety-two. - -A writer in _Fraser's Magazine_, August, 1856, from the above and -other examples of dwarfs quoted by him, sets down these few general -conclusions upon the question of their organization:--"In doing so," -he remarks, "it will be well to bear in mind that the very fact of -dwarfs being _anomalies_, renders any generalization respecting them -subject to many qualifications in each particular instance. Thus, -although it is true, as a general fact, that they are short-lived and -unintelligent, we see examples of more than ordinary intelligence in -Boruwlaski and his brother, and Jeffrey Hudson, and of longevity in -them. One may assert, indeed, that longevity and intelligence are -intimately allied in the dwarf organization; for, whenever the anomaly -of growth is not profound enough to affect the health, it is presumably -too superficial to affect the intelligence; and, _vice versâ_, when -we see a being passing rapidly from childhood to old age, we may be -certain that the organization is too aberrant from the normal type to -permit the free development of intelligence. Another general fact about -dwarfs, and one to which we know of no exception, is that they are very -excitable, and consequently, irascible; when in good health, lively, -restless, and turbulent. This, indeed, is a characteristic of men and -animals of the small type." - - - - -The Irish Giant. - - -This extraordinary person, whose height was eight feet seven-and-a-half -inches, was born at Kinsale, in Ireland. His real name was Patrick -Cotter. He was of obscure parentage, and originally laboured as a -bricklayer. His uncommon size rendered him a mark for the cunning of a -showman, who, for the payment of 50_l._ per annum, had the privilege -of exhibiting Cotter for three years in England. Not contented with -his bargain, the huckster underlet to another speculator the liberty -of showing him; and poor Cotter, through resisting this nefarious -transaction, was saddled with a fictitious debt, and thrown into a -spunging-house in Bristol. In this situation he was visited by a -gentleman of the city, who, compassionating his distress, and having -reason to think that he was unjustly detained, generously became -his bail, and investigated the affair; and not only obtained Cotter -his liberty, but freed him from all kind of obligation to serve his -taskmaster any longer. He was then but eighteen years old. He retained, -to his last breath, a due sense of the good offices of the Bristol -stranger, conferred upon him when he was sorely in need; and the giant -did not forget his benefactor in his will. - -It happened to be September when Cotter was liberated; and by the -further assistance of his benefactor, he was enabled to exhibit himself -in the St. James's fair at Bristol; and in three days he found himself -possessed of thirty pounds, English money. He now commenced a regular -exhibition of his person, which he continued until within two years -of his death, when having realized sufficient money to enable him to -keep a carriage, and live in good style, he declined to exhibit any -more, which was always irksome to his feelings. He was unoffending and -amiable in his manners; was possessed of good sense, and his mind was -not uncultivated; he long kept a journal of his life, which a whim -of the moment induced him to commit to the flames. He died in his -forty-sixth year, September 8th, 1806, at the Hotwells, Bristol. He was -buried in the Roman Catholic chapel, Trenchard Street, at six o'clock -in the morning, this early hour being fixed on to prevent as much as -possible the assemblage of a crowd; but it is stated that at least -2,000 persons were present. The coffin, of lead, measured nine feet two -inches in the clear, and the wooden case four inches more; it was three -feet across the shoulders. No hearse could be procured long enough to -contain the coffin, the projecting end of which was draped with black -cloth. Fourteen men bore it from the hearse to the grave, into which -it was let down with pulleys. To prevent any attempt to disturb his -remains, of which Cotter had, when living, the greatest horror, the -grave was made twelve feet deep, in a solid rock. A plaster cast of his -right hand may be seen at the College of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields. - - - - -Birth Extraordinary. - - -On Sunday, the 23rd of October, 1836, occurred an event interesting -to physiologists. The wife of a dwarf, Don Santiago de los Santos -(herself a dwarf), was delivered of a well-formed male infant, at their -residence, No. 167, High Holborn, near Museum Street. The accoucheurs -were Mr. Bowden, of Sloane Street, Chelsea, who had before attended -Donna Santiago on a similar occasion; and Dr. Davis of Savile Row. Both -gentlemen had for some time been very assiduous in their attentions to -the little lady; but the infant, though it came into the world alive, -did not survive above half-an-hour. Its length was thirteen and a half -inches: its weight one pound four ounces and a half (avoirdupois); it -was in every respect well-formed; and the likeness of the face to that -of its father was very striking. It was carried in a coffin to St. -George's Church, Bloomsbury; but being there refused sepulture, it was -taken home, preserved in spirits, and subsequently exhibited. Dr. Davis -was anxious to have it submitted to dissection, and to lecture upon -it in the theatre of University College; this, however, was objected -to by the Lilliputian parents, who appeared poignantly to feel the -proposition. - -Don Santiago, who was only twenty-five inches high, was at this time -in his fiftieth year. He was a native of the Spanish settlement of -Manilla, in one of the forests of which he was exposed and deserted, -on account of his diminutive size. He was, however, miraculously -saved by the Viceroy, who was hunting in that quarter, and humanely -ordered him to be taken care of, and nursed with the same tenderness -as his own children, with whom the little creature was brought up and -educated, until he had attained the age of _manhood_. His birth dated -from the period of his exposure, which was in 1786. His parents, it was -ascertained, were farmers; and were with their other children (sons, -daughters), of robust frame, and rather above the usual height. - -When the Don was twenty years of age, his humane protector died; and -attachment to the place of his birth prevented his accompanying his -foster brother and sisters to Old Spain. This wilfulness cost him -dearly; neglected by his parents and family, he suffered hardships and -privations of the most afflicting nature. At length he found his way to -Madras, and was, in the year 1830, brought to England by the captain of -a trading vessel. During the voyage he was washed overboard by a heavy -sea; but hencoops and spars being thrown out, and other assistance -afforded, his life was saved. - -On his arrival in northern latitudes, he suffered severely from cold, -and even when accustomed to the climate, he could not swallow cold -water. Still, he never went near a fire, although he felt sensibly -if his room was not kept warm. He was stoutly built, and generally -in cheerful spirits and good health. His complexion was of a slight -copper colour, and the expression of his countenance was pleasing and -intelligent. His habits were temperate, and he seldom drank anything -but warm water; but on birthdays and other anniversaries, he indulged -in a few glasses of wine. He was fond of music and dancing, and gallant -to the ladies; but his ruling passion appeared to be a fondness for -jewellery and silver-plate, to which ornaments he had been accustomed -in the house and at the table of the Viceroy of Manilla. His mind -appeared to be deeply impressed with the tenets of the Roman Catholic -church, in which his foster-father took care to have him instructed. -He read his prayer-book and psalter morning and evening, very devoutly -crossing himself, and performing his genuflexions and the other -ceremonies inculcated by the teachers of that faith. Once or twice a -month, he went to the Spanish Ambassador's chapel, where, secluded -from observation, he worshipped with the sincerity and devotion of a -good Catholic. Besides his native tongue, he spoke an Indian _patois_, -conversed freely in Portuguese, and in English indifferently well. - -He became acquainted with his little wife in Birmingham, of which town -she was a native. Her name was Ann Hopkins; her height was thirty-eight -inches, or thirteen inches taller than her dwarf spouse. She was -thirty-one years of age, and was a pretty little creature possessing -much symmetry and grace. Her father stood six feet one inch and a half -out of his shoes; her mother was of middle size, and her brothers and -sisters, nine in number, were all tall and robust. The little Don and -Donna lived together very affectionately, their attachment having been -mutual and at first sight; their only difference of opinion being, that -she being of the Protestant faith, they did not worship together. They -were married on the 6th of July, 1834, in the Roman Catholic chapel at -Birmingham; and two days after, at St. Martin's church, in the same -town, by the Rev. Mr. Foy; the high bailiff giving away the bride. The -crowd of spectators was so great that the assistance of the police was -necessary to secure the ingress and egress of the little couple into -and out of the church. Much uneasiness was caused to the bridegroom by -the refusal of one clergyman to ratify his marriage in the Protestant -church, on the supposition that it was contrary to the canon law; but -this difficulty was ultimately arranged.--_Abridged from the Morning -Advertiser._ - - - - -William Hutton's "Strong Woman." - - -William Hutton, the Birmingham manufacturer, was accustomed to take a -month's tour every summer, and to note down his observations on places -and people. Some of the results appeared in distinct books, some in -his autobiography, and some in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, towards the -close of the last century and the beginning of the present. One year -he would be accompanied by his father, a tough old man, who was not -frightened at a twenty-mile walk; another year he would go alone; while -on one occasion his daughter went with him, she riding on horseback, -and he trudging on foot by her side. Various parts of England and Wales -were thus visited, at a time when tourists' facilities were slender -indeed. It appears from his lists of distances that he could "do" -fifteen or twenty miles a day for weeks together; although his mode of -examining places led to a much slower rate of progress. - -One of the odd characters which Hutton met with at Matlock, in -Derbyshire, in July 1801, is worth describing in his own words. After -noticing the rocks and caves at that town, he said, "The greatest -wonder I saw was Miss Phœbe Bown, in person five feet six, about -thirty, well-proportioned, round-faced and ruddy; a dark penetrating -eye, which, the moment it fixes upon your face, stamps your character, -and that with precision. Her step (pardon the Irishism) is more manly -than a man's, and can easily cover forty miles a day. Her common dress -is a man's hat, coat with a spencer about it, and men's shoes; I -believe she is a stranger to breeches. She can lift one hundred-weight -with each hand, and carry fourteen score. Can sew, knit, cook, and -spin, but hates them all, and every accompaniment to the female -character, except that of modesty. A gentleman at the New Bath recently -treated her so rudely, that 'she had a good mind to have knocked him -down.' She positively assured me she did not know what fear is. She -never gives an affront, but will offer to fight anyone who gives her -one. If she has not fought, perhaps it is owing to the insulter being -a coward, for none else would _give_ an affront [to a woman]. She has -strong sense, an excellent judgment, says smart things, and supports -an easy freedom in all companies. Her voice is more than masculine, -it is deep toned; the wind in her face, she can send it a mile; has -no beard; accepts any kind of manual labour, as holding the plough, -driving the team, thatching the ricks, &c. But her chief avocation is -breaking in horses, at a guinea a week! always rides without a saddle; -and is supposed the best judge of a horse, cow, &c., in the country; -and is frequently requested to purchase for others at the neighbouring -fairs. She is fond of Milton, Pope, Shakespeare, also of music; is -self-taught; performs on several instruments, as the flute, violin, -harpsichord, and supports the bass-viol in Matlock church. She is an -excellent markswoman, and, like her brother-sportsmen, carries her gun -upon her shoulder. She eats no beef or pork, and but little mutton: -her chief food is milk, and also her drink--discarding wine, ale, and -spirits."--_From the Book of Days._ - - - - -Wildman and His Bees. - - -In Winchester Place, now Pentonville Road, near to the south-east -corner of Penton Street, stood "Prospect House," so called from the -fine view which it commanded over London and the circumjacent country. -In the British Museum is a fine pen-and-ink drawing of a view of London -from Pentonville, by Antonio Canaletti; and we find "Prospect House" -in the rate-books in 1669; there were bowling-greens attached to it -"for gentleman bowlers." Subsequently the house was named from its -proprietor, and became popularly known as Dobney's, or D'Aubigny's. -Mrs. Dobney, who kept the house for many years, died in 1760, at the -age of eighty-six. It then passed to a new proprietor, a Mr. Johnson, -who built on the bowling-green, which was near the corner of Penton -Street, an amphitheatre for equestrian performances, _al fresco_, and -engaged one Price, who had been starring at the Three Hats, a rival -house close by, to exhibit his original feats of horsemanship. In 1769, -the house was the scene of Philip Jonas's exhibition of "dexterity of -hands;" and about this time was shown here the skeleton of a whale -sixty feet long. In 1770, the house was taken for a boarding school, -but was soon closed. It was then re-opened as the Jubilee Tea Gardens -(from the Jubilee got up at Stratford-upon-Avon, by Garrick, in honour -of Shakespeare); the interiors of the boxes were painted with scenes -from some of his plays. - -In 1772, the celebrated Daniel Wildman exhibited here his bees every -evening (wet evenings excepted). He made several new and amazing -experiments; he rode standing upright, one foot on the saddle, and the -other on the horse's neck, with a curious _mask of bees_ on his head -and face. He also rode standing upright on the saddle with the bridle -in his mouth, and by firing a pistol, made one part of the bees march -over a table, and the other part swarm in the air and return to their -proper hive again. Wildman's performances of the "Bees on Horseback" -were also thus described:-- - - He with uncommon art and matchless skill - Commands those insects, who obey his will; - With bees others cruel means employ, - They take their honey and the bees destroy; - Wildman humanely, with ingenious ease, - He takes the honey, but preserves the bees. - -Wildman also sold bees from one stock in "the common or newly-invented -hives." He published a "Guide for Bee Management" at his Bee and -Honey Warehouse, No. 326, Holborn. In 1774, the gardens were much -neglected, the walks not being kept in order, nor the hedges properly -cut; but there were several good apartments in the house, besides -handsome tea-rooms; but the ground was cleared about 1790, and the -present handsome dwelling-houses in Winchester Place were built upon -part of the site. The gardens, though much shorn of their beauty and -attractiveness, continued in existence until the year 1810, when they -disappeared; and the only memorial that remains on the site of this -once famed place of amusement, is a mean court in Penton Street, known -as Dobney's Court. Mr. Upcott, of the London Institution, had in his -collection a drawing of Prospect House, taken about 1780.--_Pinks' -History of Clerkenwell._ - - - - -Lord Stowell's love of Sight-seeing. - - -Lord Stowell loved manly sports, and was not above being pleased -with the most rude and simple diversions. He gloried in Punch and -Judy--their fun stirred his mirth without, as in Goldsmith's case, -provoking spleen. He made a boast on one occasion that there was not a -puppet-show in London he had not visited, and when turned fourscore, -was caught watching one at a distance with children of less growth in -high glee. He has been known to make a party with Windham to visit -Cribb's, and to have attended the Fives Court as a favourite resort. -"There were curious characters," he observed, "to be seen at these -places." He was the most indefatigable sight-seer in London. Whatever -show could be visited for a shilling, or less, was visited by Lord -Stowell. In the western end of London there was a room generally let -for exhibitions. At the entrance, as it is said, Lord Stowell presented -himself, eager to see "the green monster serpent," which had lately -issued cards of invitation to the public. As he was pulling out his -purse to pay for his admission, a sharp but honest north-country lad, -whose business it was to take the money, recognised him as an old -customer, and knowing his name, thus addressed him: "We can't take -your shilling, my lord; 'tis the old serpent which you have seen twice -before in other colours; but ye shall go in and see her." He entered, -saved his money, and enjoyed his third visit to the painted beauty. -This love of seeing sights was, on another occasion, productive of the -following whimsical incident. Some thirty years ago, an animal, called -a "Bonassus," was exhibited in the Strand. On Lord Stowell's paying -it a second visit, the keeper very courteously told his lordship that -he was welcome to come, gratuitously, as often as he pleased. Within -a day or two after this, however, there appeared, under the bills of -the exhibition, in conspicuous characters, "Under the patronage of -the Right Hon. Lord Stowell;" an announcement of which the noble and -learned lord's friends availed themselves, by passing many a joke upon -him; all of which he took with the greatest good humour. - -Lord Stowell was a great eater, and, says Mr. Surtees, "the feats -which he performed with the knife and fork were eclipsed by those -which he would afterwards display with the bottle." His habits were -slovenly and unclean. "The hand that could pen the neatest of periods -was itself often dirty and unwashed; and the mouth which could utter -eloquence so graceful, or such playful wit, fed voraciously, and -selected the most greasy food." Then again, he was an unquestionable -miser. He kept a very mean establishment. Fond as he was of his wine, -he would drink less at his own than at other tables. "He could drink -any _given_ quantity," as was wittily observed by his brother, Lord -Eldon, but was abstemious where he had to pay. The most painful fact -that remains to be recorded respecting him is, that when his only son -William had formed an attachment that was unexceptionable, he, though -it may be said he rolled in riches, would not make him a sufficient -allowance to enable him to marry. It has been stated that his son died -from the effects of intemperate habits; and it must be added, that but -for this disappointment the young man might have lived. In despair he -plunged into excesses. His father just survived him, and his great -wealth was gathered up by collaterals. Perhaps his fondness of poking -about London, visiting cheap shows, was connected more with his avarice -than with his curiosity. After his elevation to the peerage, he was -actually seen coming out of a penny show in London--cheap excitement! -Like Lord Eldon, though a great friend of the church, he never attended -public worship. What had been said of his brother might have been -said of him, that he was more properly a buttress of the church than -a pillar, for he was never seen inside it. At the same time, there is -no reason to doubt that he was a good Christian; probably, like many -other University men, he had a surfeit of chapels when at college, and -shuddered at the thought of again entering one. With all his failings, -and notwithstanding his avarice, which increased with his years, Lord -Stowell must be regarded as having been, after a peculiar sort, a -kindly, amiable man. - - - - -John Day and Fairlop Fair. - - -In the Forest of Hainault, in Essex, about a mile from Barking side, -stood the famous Fairlop Oak, which the tradition of the country traces -half-way up the Christian era. This forest possesses more beautiful -scenery than, perhaps, any other forest in England. Fifty years since -the oak was still a noble tree. About a yard from the ground, where -its bole was thirty-six feet in circumference, it spread into eleven -vast arms, yet not in the manner of an oak, but rather in that of a -beech, its shade overspreading an area of 300 feet in circuit. Around -this fine old tree, eighty years since, archery meetings were held by -the gentry of the district, with picnics in tents, bands of music, -&c.; and then, to protect the old oak, it was enclosed with a spiked -paling, inscribed as follows: "All good foresters are requested not -to hurt this old tree, as a plaister has been put to its wounds." -The extremities of its branches had been sawn off, and Forsyth's -composition applied to them, to preserve them from decay. - -But the tree has a more popular history. Upon a small estate, near -the oak, in the last century, there dwelt one John Day, a well-to-do -block and pump maker, of Wapping, who used to repair annually, on the -first Friday in July, to the forest, and there meet a party of his -neighbours, and dine under the shade of the famous oak, on _beans -and bacon_. In the course of a few years, Day's rural feast induced -other parties to follow his homely example, and suttling booths were -erected for their accommodation. In addition to the entertainment given -to his friends, Mr. Day never failed, on the day of the feast, to -provide several sacks of beans, with a proportionate quantity of bacon, -which he distributed from the trunk of the tree to the persons there -assembled. About the year 1723, the scene on the first Friday in July -exhibited the appearance of a _regular fair_, such as John Gay, in one -of his _Pastorals_, almost contemporaneously describes in these lines:-- - - Pedlars' stalls with glitt'ring toys are laid, - The various fairings of the country maid: - Long silken laces hang upon the twine, - And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine. - Here the tight lass, knives, combs, and scissors spies, - And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes. - The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells - His pills, his balsams, and his ague spells. - Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs, - And on the rope the vent'rous maiden swings; - Jack-Pudding, in his parti-coloured jacket, - Tosses the glove and jokes at every packet; - Here raree-shows are seen, and Punch's feats, - And pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats. - -For several years before the death of the generous founder of this -fair and public bean-feast, the pump and block makers of Wapping went -annually to the fair in the forest, seated in a boat of one entire -piece of fir, covered with an awning, mounted on a coach-carriage, -and drawn by six horses; attended with flags and streamers, a band of -music, and a great number of persons on foot and horseback. The number -of carriages was then increased to three, two of them being rigged as -ships. At six o'clock precisely they all paraded round the oak, singing -a glee composed for the occasion; after which the holiday-keepers -returned to town. - -A few years before Mr. Day's death, the Fairlop Oak lost a large limb, -out of which he had a coffin made for his own interment. He died on the -19th of October, 1767, at the age of eighty-four. His remains, pursuant -to his own request, were conveyed to Barking by water, attended by -six journeymen pump and block makers, to each of whom he bequeathed a -new leather apron and a guinea. There is a memorial of him in Barking -churchyard. - -The fair long survived the patriarchal pump-maker, good John Day, -as did also the oak. It was enclosed, as we have stated, at the -commencement of the present century. But, notwithstanding the appeal to -the "good foresters," and the respect due to the veteran of the forest, -the rabble broke down the palings and lit their fires within the trunk -in the cavities formed by the roots, and several of the limbs were -broken off. The space within the trunk may be estimated by the evidence -of a resident in the neighbourhood. "When a boy," he writes, "I have -driven in a hot day from out of the hollow three or four horses, and -sometimes four or five cows." But the tree received the greatest -injury on the 25th of June, 1805, when a party of sixty persons, who -came from London to play at cricket, &c., kindled a fire, which, after -they had left, spread very considerably, and caught the tree. It was -not discovered for two hours, and though a number of persons brought -water to extinguish it, yet the main branch on the south side and part -of the trunk were consumed. Fifteen years later, the high winds of -February 1820, brought the massive trunk and limbs to the turf which -the tree had for so many ages overshadowed with its verdant foliage. -Its wood was very much prized; a pulpit was made of it for Wanstead -Church; the rest of the timber of the Fairlop Oak was purchased by Mr. -Seabrook, the builder, who formed with it the very handsome pulpit and -reading-desk for the church of St. Pancras, in the New Road, then in -course of erection. - -The fair was still continued, though the loss of the oak and the -assemblage of booths and shows, and theatrical exhibitions, which -bordered the area in the forest, destroyed the simplicity that was -originally intended to be preserved by the founder. As the fair was -held on Friday, it became a great point to extend it to Sunday, when -shoals of visitors came; and, though the shows were interdicted, -the refreshment resorts grew to such licence as it became necessary -to curb. Of the fair of 1843, we have a special remembrance. The -block-makers, sail-makers, and mast-makers, as usual, came to "gay -Fairlop," in their amphibious frigates, gaily decorated and mounted -on carriages, each drawn by six horses; and the wives of the men in -their holiday gear followed in open landaus. But the Essex magistrates -had now by notice restricted the fair to _one day_. The booths and -shows were less numerous than on former occasions, but the gipsies were -in great numbers; the knights of the pea and thimble were vigilantly -routed by the police. The Lea Bridge and Ilford roads were crowded -with horses and vehicles; and many persons went by railway to Ilford, -and thence to the forest. But there came a heavy July rain to spoil -the sport, and the fair grew flat. The booths and shows could not be -removed till Monday, but nothing was allowed to be sold after Friday, -and the exhibitions were closed. Nevertheless, the Sunday visitors came -in thousands. - -By these curtailments, Fairlop Fair was gradually brought to an end, -though not until it had existed for a century and a quarter. - - - - -A Princely Hoax. - - -In the autumn of 1785, when the Prince of Wales was at Brighton, he was -much in the company of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrell; of whom and the Prince, -Lady Llanover, in her _Memoirs of Mrs. Delany_, relates the following -piquant story, which she received from a gentleman, as well as from -Miss Burney, who had it from Lady Rothes, Sir Lucas Pepys' wife.[32] -It happened one afternoon that Mrs. Lawrell alone was of a party with -the Prince of Wales, Lady Beauchamp, and some other fine people. Mrs. -Lawrell, like a good wife, about nine o'clock, said she must go home -to her husband. The Prince said, he and the party would come and sup -with them; the lady received the gracious intimation with all the -respect that became her, and hastened home to acquaint her husband and -make preparation. Whether Mr. Lawrell was more or less sensible of -the honour that was designed him than his wife, I don't know, but he -said he should not come if he could help it, and if he did come, he -should have nothing to eat. It was in vain Mrs. Lawrell remonstrated; -he continued inflexible, and she had nothing for it but to put him to -bed, and write a note to Lady Beauchamp, informing her Mr. Lawrell was -taken suddenly ill, and begging she would entertain the Prince in her -stead. Between one and two o'clock in the morning, when the company -were pretty merry, the Prince, whether he guessed at the reason or was -concerned for the indisposition of his friend, said it was a pity poor -Lawrell should die for want of help, and they immediately set about -writing notes to all the physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries they -could think of in the place, informing them as from Mr. L. that he -was taken suddenly ill, and begged their immediate assistance; these -notes very soon set the medical body in motion towards Mr. L.'s doors; -a few of the _most alert apothecaries_ came first, but they were got -rid of by the servants, who assured them it was a mistake, that their -master and mistress were well and asleep, and that they did not care -to wake them. Soon after came Sir Lucas Pepys, who declaring that -"_nobody would presume to impose upon a person of his character_," -insisted on seeing Mr. L., and was pressing by the maid towards his -bedchamber; she was then forced to waken her mistress, and Mr. L. being -very drowsy and disinclined to rise, his lady was obliged to appear -in great deshabille, and with the _utmost difficulty_, persuaded Sir -Lucas he _was_ imposed upon, and prevailed with him to retire. During -their dispute the staircase _was filled_ with the rest of the faculty -arriving in shoals. - -[32] Sir Lucas Pepys was physician in ordinary to the King, and -seven years President of the College of Physicians. He had a seat at -Mickleham, in Surrey. One day, at Dorking, he inquired at a druggist's -what all his varieties of drugs were for. "To prepare prescriptions," -was the reply. "Why," said Sir Lucas, "I never used but three or four -articles in all my practice." - -[Illustration: The Prince Regent.] - - - - -Sir John Waters's Escape. - - -This distinguished man, in the Peninsular War, was the most admirable -spy ever attached to an army. He would assume the character of -Spaniards of every degree and station, so as to deceive the most acute. -He gave the most reliable and valuable information to Lord Wellington, -and on one occasion he was entrusted by his Lordship with a very -particular mission, which he undertook effectually to perform, and to -return on a particular day with the information required. Just after -leaving the camp, however, he was taken prisoner, before he had time -to exchange his uniform: a troop of dragoons intercepted him, and -carried him off; and the commanding officers desired two soldiers to -keep a strict watch over him and carry him to head-quarters. He was, of -course, disarmed, and being placed on a horse, was galloped off by his -guards. He slept one night in the kitchen of a small inn; conversation -flowed on very glibly, and as he appeared a stupid Englishman, who -could not understand a word of French or of Spanish, he was allowed -to listen, and thus obtained precisely the intelligence he was in -search of. The following morning, being again mounted, he overheard a -conversation between his guards, who deliberately agreed to rob him, -and shoot him at a mill where they were to stop, and to report to their -officer that they had been compelled to fire at him in consequence of -his attempt to escape. - -Shortly before their arrival at the mill, the dragoons took from their -prisoner his watch and his purse, lest they might meet with some one -who would insist on having a portion of the spoil. On reaching the -mill, they dismounted, and to give appearance of truth to their story, -they went into the house, leaving their prisoner outside, in the hope -that he would make some attempt to escape. In an instant, Waters threw -his cloak upon a neighbouring olive-bush, and mounted his cocked hat on -the top. Some empty flour sacks lay upon the ground, and a horse laden -with well-filled flour-sacks stood at the door. Sir John contrived to -enter one of the empty sacks, and throw himself across the horse. When -the soldiers came out of the house, they fired their carbines at the -supposed prisoner, and galloped off. - -A short time after, the miller came out, and mounted his steed. Waters -contrived to rid himself of the encumbrance of the sack, and sat up -behind the man, who, suddenly turning round, saw a ghost, as he -believed, for the flour that still remained in the sack had whitened -his fellow-traveller and given him a ghostly appearance. A push sent -the frightened miller to the ground, when away rode Waters with his -sacks of flour, which at length bursting, made a ludicrous spectacle of -man and horse. - -On reaching the English camp, where Lord Wellington was anxiously -deploring his fate, a sudden shout from the soldiers made his lordship -turn round, when a figure resembling the statue in _Don Juan_, galloped -up to him. Wellington, affectionately shaking him by the hand, said, -"Waters, you never yet deceived me; and though you have come in a most -questionable shape, I must congratulate you and myself." This is one of -the many capital stories in Captain Gronow's First Series of Anecdotes. - - - - -Colonel Mackinnon's Practical Joking. - - -Colonel Mackinnon, commonly called "Dan," was famous for practical -jokes. Before landing at St. Andero's, with some other officers who had -been on leave in England, he agreed to personate the Duke of York, and -make the Spaniards believe that his Royal Highness was amongst them. -On nearing the shore, a Royal standard was hoisted at the masthead, -and Mackinnon disembarked, wearing the star of his shako on his left -breast, and accompanied by his friends, who agreed to play the part of -_aides-de-camp_ to royalty. The Spanish authorities were soon informed -of the arrival of the Royal Commander-in-Chief of the British army; so -they received Mackinnon with the usual pomp and circumstance. The Mayor -of the place, in honour of the arrival, gave a grand banquet, which -terminated with the appearance of a huge bowl of punch, whereupon Dan, -thinking that the joke had gone far enough, suddenly dived his head -into the china bowl, and threw his heels into the air. The surprise -and indignation of the solemn Spaniards was such that they made a -most intemperate report of the hoax that had been played on them to -Lord Wellington. Dan, however, was ultimately forgiven, after a severe -reprimand. - -Another of his freaks was the following:--Lord Wellington was -curious about visiting a convent near Lisbon, and the Abbess made no -difficulty. Mackinnon, hearing this, contrived to get clandestinely -within the walls, and it was generally supposed it was neither his -first nor his second visit. When Lord Wellington arrived, Dan Mackinnon -was to be seen among the nuns, draped in their sacred costume, with his -head and whiskers shaved, and as he possessed good features, he was -declared to be one of the best-looking among those chaste dames. This -adventure is supposed to have been known to Lord Byron, and to have -suggested a similar episode in _Don Juan_, the scene being laid in the -East.--_Captain Gronow._ - - - - -A Gourmand Physician. - - -Dr. George Fordyce, the anatomist and chemical lecturer, was accustomed -to dine every day, for more than twenty years, at Dolly's chop-house, -in Queen's Head Passage, Paternoster Row. His researches in comparative -anatomy had led him to conclude that man, through custom, eats oftener -than nature requires, one meal a day being sufficient for that noble -animal, the lion. He made the experiment on himself at his favourite -dining-house, and, finding it successful, he continued the following -regimen for the above term of years. - -At four o'clock, his accustomed dinner hour, he entered Dolly's -chop-house, and took his seat at a table always reserved for him, -on which were instantly placed a silver tankard full of strong ale, -a bottle of port-wine, and a measure containing a quarter of a pint -of brandy. The moment the waiter announced him, the cook put a -pound-and-a-half of rump-steak on the gridiron; and on the table some -delicate trifle, as a _bonne bouche_, to serve until the steak was -ready. This delicacy was sometimes half a broiled chicken, sometimes a -plate of fish; when he had eaten this, he took a glass of his brandy, -and then proceeded to devour his steak. We say devour, because he -always ate as rapidly as if eating for a wager. When he had finished -his meat, he took the remainder of his brandy, having, during his -dinner, drunk the tankard of ale, and afterwards the bottle of port. - -The Doctor then adjourned to the Chapter Coffee-house, in Paternoster -Row, and stayed while he sipped a glass of brandy and water. It was -then his habit to take another at the London Coffee-house, and a third -at the Oxford, after which he returned to his house in Essex Street, to -give his lecture on chemistry. He made no other meal till his return -next day, at four o'clock, to Dolly's. - -Dr. Fordyce's intemperate habits sometimes placed his reputation, as -well as the lives of his patients, in jeopardy. One evening he was -called away from a drinking-bout, to see a lady of title, who was -supposed to have been taken suddenly ill. Arrived at the apartment of -his patient, the Doctor seated himself by her side, and having listened -to the recital of a train of symptoms, which appeared rather anomalous, -he next proceeded to examine the state of her pulse. He tried to reckon -the number of its beats; the more he endeavoured to do this, the more -his brain whirled, and the less was his self-control. Conscious of the -cause of his difficulty and in a moment of irritation, he inadvertently -blurted out, "Drunk, by Jove!" The lady heard the remark, but remained -silent; and the Doctor having prescribed a mild remedy, one which he -invariably took on such occasions, he shortly afterwards departed. - -At an early hour next morning he was roused by a somewhat imperative -message from his patient of the previous evening, to attend her -immediately; and he at once concluded that the object of this summons -was either to inveigh against him for the state in which he had -visited her on the former occasion, or perhaps for having administered -too potent a medicine. Ill at ease from these reflections, he entered -the lady's room, fully prepared for a severe reprimand. The patient, -however, began by thanking him for his immediate attention, and then -proceeded to say how much she had been struck by his discernment on the -previous evening; confessed that she was occasionally addicted to the -error which he had detected; and concluded by saying that her object -in sending for him so early was to obtain a promise that he would hold -inviolably secret the condition in which he found her. "You may depend -upon me, madam," replied Dr. Fordyce, with a countenance which had not -altered since the commencement of the patient's story; "I shall be -silent as the grave." - -This story has also been told of Abernethy; but to Dr. Fordyce belongs -the paternity. - - - - -Dick England, the Gambler. - - -Towards the close of the last century among the most noted gamblers -and blacklegs in the metropolis was Dick England, one of whose haunts -was the Golden Cross, Charing Cross, where he was accustomed to look -out for raw Irishmen coming to town by the coaches, whom he almost -invariably plucked. His success soon enabled him to keep an elegant -house in St. Alban's Street, where he engaged masters to teach him -accomplishments to fit him for polite life. In 1779 and 1783, he kept -a good table, sported his _vis-à -vis_, and was remarkably choice in -the hackneys he rode, giving eighty or ninety guineas for a horse, a -sum nearly equal to two hundred guineas in the present day. Another -of his haunts was Munday's Coffee-house in Maiden Lane, where he -generally presided at a _table d'hôte_, and by his finesse and -agreeable conversation won him many friends. Being at times the hero of -his own story, he unguardedly exposed some of his own characteristic -traits, which his self-possession generally enabled him to conceal. His -conduct among men of family was, however, generally guarded; and he was -resolute in enforcing payment of the sums he won. - -One evening he met a young tradesman at a house in Leicester Fields to -have an hour's play, for which he gave a banker's draft, but requested -to have his revenge in a few more throws, when he soon regained what -he had lost and as much in addition. It now being past three in the -morning, England proposed that they should retire; but the tradesman, -suspecting himself tricked, refused payment of what he had lost. -England then tripped up his heels, rolled him in the carpet, took -a case-knife from the sideboard, flourished it over the young man, -and at last cut off his long hair close to the scalp. Dreading worse -treatment, he gave a cheque for the amount and wished England good -morning. - -England fought a duel at Cranford Bridge in 1784, with Mr. Le Roule, a -brewer, from Kingston: from him England had won a large sum, for which -a bond had been given, and which, not being paid, led to the duel, in -which Le Roule was killed. England fled to Paris and was outlawed; -it is reported that early in the Revolution he furnished some useful -intelligence to our army in the campaign in Flanders, for which he was -remunerated by the British Cabinet. While in France he was several -times imprisoned, and once ordered to the guillotine, but pardoned -through the exertion and influence of one of the Convention, who also -procured for him a passport for home. After an absence of twelve years, -he was tried for the duel, found guilty of manslaughter, fined one -shilling, and sentenced to one year's imprisonment. Subsequent to his -release he passed the remainder of his life at his house in Leicester -Square, where he lived to the age of eighty. His end was an awful one: -on being called to dinner, he was found lying dead on his sofa. - - - - -Brighton Races, Thirty Years Since. - - -Brighton Races, like most other Brighton amusements, took their rise -from the patronage of George IV. Those of Lewes were of earlier origin -and greater pretension, until the Prince began to run his horses and -lose his money on the Brighton course, which then attracted some of the -best horses and some of the most celebrated sportsmen in the kingdom. -Of the races at this period the following sketch is given by Mr. Thomas -Raikes, in his _Diary_:-- - -"1836.--Last week died Lord George Germaine, brother to the Duke of -Dorset; they were both in their youth great friends to the late King, -when Prince of Wales, fond of the turf, and, with the late Delme -Radcliffe, the three best gentlemen riders at the once-famed Bibury -Races, which are now replaced by those at Heaton Park. They were all -three little men, light weights, and, when dressed in their jackets -and caps, would rival Buckle and Chiffney. In those days, the Prince -made Brighton and Lewes Races the gayest scene of the year in England. -The Pavilion was full of guests; the Steine was crowded with all -the rank and fashion from London during that week; the best horses -were brought from Newmarket and the North, to run at these races, -on which immense sums were depending; and the course was graced by -the handsomest equipages. The 'legs' and betters, who had arrived in -shoals, used all to assemble on the Steine at an early hour to commence -their operations on the first day, and the buzz was tremendous, till -Lord Foley and Mellish, the two great confederates of that day, would -approach the ring, and then a sudden silence ensued; to await the -opening of their betting-books. They would come on perhaps smiling, but -mysterious, without making any demonstration; at last, Mr. Jerry Cloves -would say, 'Come, Mr. Mellish, will you light the candle, and set us -a-going?' Then, if the master of Buckle would say, 'I'll take three to -one about Sir Solomon,' the whole pack opened, and the air resounded -with every shade of odds and betting. About half-an-hour before the -signal of departure for the hill, the Prince himself would make his -appearance in the crowd--I think I see him now, in a green jacket, a -white hat, and tight nankeen pantaloons, and shoes, distinguished by -his high-bred manner and handsome person; he was generally accompanied -by the late Duke of Bedford, Lord Jersey, Charles Wyndham, Shelley, -Brummel, M. Day, Churchill, and, oh! extraordinary anomaly, the little -old Jew Travis, who, like the dwarf of old, followed in the train of -royalty. The Downs were covered with every species of conveyance, -and the Prince's German wagon (so were barouches called when first -introduced at that time) and six bay horses, the coachman on the -box being replaced by Sir John Lade, issued out of the gates of the -Pavilion, and, gliding up the green ascent, was stationed close to the -great stand, where it remained the centre of attraction for the day. At -dinner-time the Pavilion was resplendent with lights, and a sumptuous -banquet was served to a large party; while those who were not included -in that invitation found a dinner with every luxury at the Club-house -on the Steine, kept by Ragget during the season, for the different -members of White's and Brookes's who chose to frequent it, and where -the cards and dice from St. James's Street were not forgotten. Where -are the actors in all those gay scenes now?" - -The period to which this lively sketch refers was from 1800 to 1820. -Soon after this, George the Fourth began to live a more secluded life, -and though his horses ran at Brighton Races, the King never made his -appearance there, and the _meet_ began to decline. - - - - -[Illustration: A Hero of the Turf and his Agent. - -Colonel Mellish and Buckle the Jockey.] - - - - -Colonel Mellish. - - -The star of the race-course of modern times was the late Colonel -Mellish, certainly the cleverest man of his day, as regards the -science and practice of the turf. No one could match (_i.e._, make -matches) with him, nor could anyone excel him in handicapping horses -in a race. But, indeed, _nihil erat quod non tetigit non ornavit_. He -beat Lord Frederick Bentinck in a foot-race over Newmarket Heath. He -was a clever painter, a fine horseman, a brave soldier, a scientific -farmer, and an exquisite coachman. But--as his friends said of him--not -content with being the _second-best_ man of his day, he would be the -_first_, which was fatal to his fortune and his fame. It, however, -delighted us to see him in public, in the meridian of his almost -unequalled popularity, and the impression he made upon us remains. We -remember even the style of his dress, peculiar for its lightness of -hue--his neat white hat, white trousers, white silk stockings, ay, -and we may add, his white but handsome face. There was nothing black -about him but his hair and his mustachios, which he wore by virtue of -his commission, and which to _him_ were an ornament. The like of his -style of coming on the race-course at Newmarket was never witnessed -there before him nor since. He drove his barouche himself, drawn by -four beautiful _white_ horses, with two outriders on matches to them, -ridden in harness bridles. In his rear was a saddle-horse groom, -leading a thorough-bred hack, and at the rubbing-post on the heath was -another groom--all in crimson liveries--waiting with a second hack. -But we marvel when we think of his establishment. We remember him with -thirty-eight race-horses in training, seventeen coach-horses, twelve -hunters in Leicestershire, four chargers at Brighton, and not a few -hacks! But the worst is yet to come. By his racing speculations he was -a gainer, his judgment pulling him through; but when we heard that he -would play to the extent of 40,000_l._ at a sitting--yes, _he once -staked that sum on a throw_--we were not surprised that the domain of -Blythe passed into other hands; and that the once accomplished owner of -it became the tenant of a premature grave. "The bowl of pleasure," says -Johnson, "is poisoned by reflection on the cost," and here it was drunk -to the dregs. Colonel Mellish ended his days, not in poverty, for he -acquired a competency with his lady, but in a small house within sight -of the mansion that had been the pride of his ancestors and himself. -As, however, the wind is tempered to the shorn lamb, Colonel Mellish -was not without consolation. He never wronged anyone but himself; and, -as an owner of race-horses, and a bettor, his character was without -spot.--_Nimrod._ - - - - -Doncaster Eccentrics. - - -Among the visitors to Doncaster race-course are many of the lower -grade, some of whom have contrived to get hanged. Such was the case -some half-century since with Daniel Dawson, who employed himself, or -was employed by others, in poisoning with arsenic the drinking-water -of horses whose success in the future race was not desirable to Daniel -or his patrons. Several steeds perished in this way at the hands of -Daniel, in the north as well as at Newmarket. Ultimately a case from -the latter locality was proved against him, through the treachery of -a confederate, and Daniel suffered for it at Cambridge. Had he been a -martyr in a good cause, he could not have died with more becomingness. -Daniel complained of no one, did not even reproach himself; and -expressed his satisfactory conviction that he "should certainly -ascend to Heaven from the drop." Brutal as his offence was, it seems -ill-measured justice that takes a man's life for that of a beast. - -Dawson is beyond our own recollection; but we can remember a more -singular and a much more honest fellow, whose appearance on the -Doncaster course was as confidently looked for, and as ardently -desired, as that of any of the Lords Lieutenant of the various Ridings. -We allude to the once famous Jemmy Hirst, the Rawcliffe tanner, whose -last of about fifty visits to the "Sillinger" and "Coop" contests was -made when he was hard upon ninety years of age. When Jemmy retired -from the tanning business with means to set up as a gentleman, the -first object he purchased was not a carriage, but a coffin, depositing -therein some of the means whereby he kept himself alive, namely, his -provisions. The walls of the room in which this lugubrious sideboard -was erected were hung round with all sorts of rusty agricultural -implements. This lord of a strange household retained a valet and a -female "general servant." His stud consisted of mules, dogs, and a -bull; mounted on which he is said to have hunted with the Badsworth -hounds. His most familiar friends were a tame fox and otter. He -certainly rode the bull when he went out shooting, and was then -accompanied by pigs as pointers. In fair-time Hirst used to take -this bull and a couple of its fellows to be baited, sitting proudly -by himself while his valet went about collecting the "coppers." His -waistcoat was a glossy garment made of the neck feathers of the drake, -from the pocket of which he would issue his own bank-notes, bearing -responsibilities of payment to the amount of "_Five half-pence_." - -His carriage was a sort of palanquin, carried aloft by high wheels, -and its peculiarity was that there was not a nail about it. This -vehicle was really better known at Doncaster than the stately carriage -of Lord Fitzwilliam himself. It was the boast of the proud and dirty -gentleman who sat enthroned there, that he had never paid and never -would pay any sort of tax to the King; and how he managed to shoot, as -he did, without paying a licence, was best known to himself. He was -the most popular man on the course, and, unlike very many who began -rich and ended poor, Jemmy increased in wealth year by year. He was -wont to contrast himself with "the Prince's friend," Col. Mellish, -who inherited an immense property, won two Legers in two consecutive -years, 1804-5, and finally died almost a pauper. Jemmy had undoubtedly, -in his view of things, done better than Col. Mellish; but the tanner, -through life, never thought of the welfare but of one human being--that -of James Hirst. He was as selfish as the butcher-churchwarden of -Doncaster, who ruined the grand old tower of the church by placing a -hideous clock face in it, which was so constructed that no one could -see the time by it except from the butcher's own door! - -We should hardly render Hirst justice, however, if we omitted to state -how such a great man departed from this earth. The folding-doors of -his old coffin were closed upon him. Eight buxom widows carried his -corpse for a _honorarium_ of half-a-crown each. Jemmy had expressed a -desire to have eight old maids to undertake this service, bequeathing -half-a-guinea to each as hire. But the ladies in question were not -forthcoming. So the widows were engaged in their place; but why the fee -was lowered we cannot tell, unless it was to pay for the bagpipe and -fiddle which headed the procession. All the country round flocked in to -do Jemmy honour or to enjoy the holiday; and for many a year afterwards -might the sorrowing comment be heard on Doncaster Course,--"Nay, lad! -t'Coop-day seems nought-loike wi'out Jemmy!" and the mourners took out -his "Fihawpence notes," and compared their own touching respective -memories of the departed glory of Doncaster. - -At the close of Jemmy's career the wonderfully dressed "swell mob" was -busiest if not brightest. The latter was only short-lived. A party of -them really dazzled common folk by the splendour of their turn-out, -both as regarded themselves and their equipage. People took them for -foreign princes, or native nobility returned from foreign climes, and -not yet familiarly known to the public. The impression did not last -long. The well-dressed, finely-curled, highly scented, richly-jewelled -strangers, sauntering among the better known aristocracy, commenced -a series of predatory operations which speedily brought them within -the fastness of the town gaol. No one who saw them there a day or two -later, after seeing them on the course, will ever forget the sight and -the strange contrast. Stripped of their finery, closely cropped, and -clad in coarse flannel dresses, they might be seen seated at a board, -with a hot lump of stony-looking rice before them for a dinner. - -Altogether, there was occasionally a very mixed society on and about -the course: among the so-to-speak professional _habitués_, men who -made a business of the pursuit there--who were actors rather than -spectators, and all of whom have disappeared without leaving a -successor in his peculiar line,--we may mention the old Duke of Leeds, -redolent of port; the white-faced Duke of Cleveland, "the Jesuit of the -Ring;" P. W. Ridsale, ex-footman, then millionaire, finally pauper; -blacksmith Richardson, who, shaking his head at "Leeds," would remark -of himself, that sobriety alone had saved him from being hanged; Mr. -Beardsworth, who had been originally a hackney-coachman, then sporting -his crimson liveries; Mr. Crook, who commenced life with a fish-basket; -and the well-known son of the ostler at the Black Swan, in York, -wearing diamond rings and pins, betting his thousands, and looking as -cool the while, as if he not only largely used the waters of Pactolus, -but owned half the gold-dust on its banks. - -The two extremes of the official men as regarded rank, were, perhaps, -Lord George Bentinck and Mr. Gully, the ex-pugilist. The former -introduced, at Doncaster, the signal-flag to regulate the "starts," -and he founded the Bentinck Fund (with the money subscribed for -a testimonial to himself), for the relief of decayed jockeys and -trainers. The two men were equals in one respect, the coolness with -which they either won or lost. They who remember the year when Petre's -Matilda beat Gully's Mameluke, and who witnessed the event and its -results, speak yet with a sort of pride of Gully's conduct. He had lost -immensely; but he was the first man who appeared in the betting-rooms -to pay anyone who had a bet registered against him; and he was the last -man to leave, not retiring till he was satisfied that there did not -remain a single claimant. He paid away a grand total on that occasion -which properly invested, would have set all the poor in Doncaster at -ease for ever.--_Abridged from the Athenæum_, No. 1715. - - - - -"Walking Stewart." - - -Early in the year 1821, London lost one of its famous eccentrics, who -rejoiced in the above distinction, which, it must be admitted, he had -fairly earned. He was one of the lions of the great town, and his -ubiquitous nature was thus ingeniously sketched:-- - -"Who that ever weathered his way over Westminster Bridge has not seen -_Walking Stewart_ (his invariable cognomen) sitting in the recess on -the brow of the bridge, spencered up to his throat and down to his hips -with a sort of garment, planned, it would seem, to stand _powder_, as -became the habit of a military man; his dingy, dusty inexpressibles -(truly inexpressibles), his boots travel-stained, black up to his -knees--and yet not black neither--but arrant walkers, both of them, or -their complexions belied them; his aged, but strongly-marked, manly, -air-ripened face, steady as truth; and his large, irregular, dusty hat, -that seemed to be of one mind with the boots? We say, who does not -thus remember _Walking Stewart_, sitting, and leaning on his stick, as -though he had never walked in his life, but had taken his seat on the -bridge at his birth, and had grown old in his sedentary habit? To be -sure, this view of him is rather negatived by as strong a remembrance -of him in the same spencer and accompaniments of hair-powder and dust, -resting on a bench in the Park, with as perfectly an eternal air: nor -will the memory let him keep a quiet, constant seat here for ever; -recalling him, as she is wont, in his shuffling, slow perambulation -of the Strand, or Charing Cross, or Cockspur Street. Where really was -he? You saw him on Westminster Bridge, acting his own monument. You -went into the Park--he was there! fixed as the gentleman at Charing -Cross. You met him, however, at Charing Cross, creeping on like the -hour-hand upon a dial, getting rid of his rounds and his time at once! -Indeed, his ubiquity appeared enormous, and yet not so enormous -as the profundity of his sitting habits. He was a profound sitter. -Could the Pythagorean system be entertained, what other would now be -tenanted by _Walking Stewart_? Truly, he seemed always going, like a -lot at an auction, and yet always at a stand, like a hackney-coach! -Oh, what a walk was his to christen a man by! A slow, lazy, scraping, -creeping, gazing pace--a shuffle--a walk in its dotage--a walk at a -stand-still--yet was he a pleasant man to meet. We remember his face -distinctly, and allowing a little for its northern hardness, it was -certainly as wise, as kindly, and as handsome a face as ever crowned -the shoulders of a soldier, a scholar and a gentleman. - -"Well! Walking Stewart is dead! He will no more be seen niched in -Westminster Bridge, or keeping his terms as one of the benchers of St. -James's Park, or painting the pavement with moving but uplifted feet. -In vain we looked for him 'at the hour when he was wont to walk.' The -niche in the bridge is empty of its amiable statue, and as he is gone -from this spot he has gone from all, for he was ever all in all! Three -persons seemed departed in him. In him there seems to have been a -triple death!" - -We are tempted "to consecrate a passage" to him, as John Buncle -expresses it, from a tiny pamphlet entitled "The Life and Adventures -of the celebrated Walking Stewart, including his travels in the East -Indies, Turkey, Germany, and America," and the author, "a relative," -has contrived to out-do his subject _in getting over the ground_, for -he manages to close his work at the end of the sixteenth page. - -John Stewart, or Walking Stewart, was born of two Scotch parents, in -1749, in London, and was in due time sent to Harrow, and thence to the -Charter House, where he established himself as a dunce--no bad promise -in a boy, we think. He left school and was sent to India, where his -character and energies unfolded themselves, as his biographer tells -us, for his mind was unshackled by education. - -He resolved to amass 3,000_l._, and then to return to England. No bad -resolve. To attain this, he quitted the Company's Service and entered -that of Hyder Ally. He now turned soldier, and became a general. -Hyder's generals were easily made and unmade. Stewart behaved well -and bravely, and paid his regiment without drawbacks, which made him -popular. Becoming wounded somehow, and having no great faith in Hyder's -surgeons, he begged leave to join the English for medical advice. Hyder -gave a Polonius kind of admission, quietly determining to cut the -traveller and his journey as short as possible, for his own sake and -that of the invalid. Stewart sniffed the intention of Ally, and taking -an early opportunity of cutting his company before they could cut him, -he popped into a river, literally swam for his life, reached the bank, -ran before his hunters like an antelope, and arrived safely at the -European forts. He got in breathless, and lived. How he was cured of -his wounds is thus told by Colonel Wilks in his _Sketches of the South -of India_:-- - -"An English gentleman commanded one of the corps, and was most severely -wounded after a desperate resistance; others in the same unhappy -situation met with friends, or persons of the same caste, to procure -for them the rude aid offered by Indian surgery; the Englishman was -destitute of this poor advantage; his wounds were washed with simple -warm water, by an attendant boy, three or four times-a-day; and, under -this novel system of surgery, they recovered with a rapidity not -exceeded under the best hospital treatment." - -A writer in the _Quarterly Review_, 1817, appends to the above -quotation the following:--"This English gentleman is the person -distinguished by the name of _Walking Stewart_, who, after the lapse -of half a century, is still alive, and still, we believe, _walking_ -daily, in the neighbourhood of the Haymarket and Charing Cross." - -Hitherto, Stewart had saved little money. He now entered the Nabob of -Arcot's service, and became prime minister, the memoir does not say how. - -At length he took leave of India, and travelled over Persia and Turkey -_on foot_, in search of a name, it should seem, or, as he was wont -to say, "in search of the Polarity, and Moral Truth." After many -adventures he arrived in England: he brought home money, and commenced -his London life in an Armenian dress, to attract attention. - -He next visited America, and on his return, "made the tour of Scotland, -Germany, Italy, and France, _on foot_, and ultimately settled in -Paris," where he made friends. He intended to live there; but after -investing his money in French property, he smelt the sulphur cloud of -the Revolution, and retreated as fast as possible, losing considerable -property in his flight. He returned to London, and suddenly and -unexpectedly received 10,000_l._ from the India Company, on the -liquidation of the debts of the Nabob of Arcot. He bought annuities, -and fattened his yearly income. The relative says:--"One of his -annuities was purchased from the County Fire Office at a rate which, -in the end, was proved to have been paid three, and nearly four times -over. The calculation of the assurers was here completely at fault: -every quarter brought Mr. Stewart regularly to the cashier, whom he -accosted with, 'Well, man alive! I am come for my money!'"--which -Stewart enjoyed as a joke. - -Mr. Stewart now lived in better style, gave dinners and musical -parties. Every evening a _conversazione_ was given at his house, -enlivened by music; on Sundays he gave select dinner parties, followed -by a philosophical discourse, and a performance of sacred music, -chiefly selected from the works of Handel, and concluding with the -"Dead March in Saul," which was always received by the company as a -signal for their departure. - -Stewart was attached to King George IV., and lived peaceably until the -arrival of Queen Caroline, when her deputations and political movements -alarmed the great pedestrian, and awakened his walking propensities, -and his friends had great difficulty to prevent him from going to -America. - -Stewart's health declined in 1821; he went to Margate, returned, became -worse, and on Ash Wednesday he died. - -To all entreaties from friends that he would write his travels, he -replied, No; that his were travels of the mind. He, however, wrote -essays, and gave lectures on the philosophy of the mind. It is very odd -that men will _not_ tell what they know, and _will_ attempt to talk of -what they do _not_ know. - - - - -Youthful Days of the Hon. Grantley Berkeley.[33] - - -At Cranford, Mr. Grantley Berkeley had the first enjoyments of a boy -let loose into the country with a brother for a companion. "All day," -he says, "we were together fishing, shooting, setting traps for vermin, -rat hunting,--in short, seeking sport wherever it was attainable." -This, as he suggests, was not exactly the orthodox way of bringing up -a boy as he should go; but he is certain that it laid the foundation -of his after success as a sportsman. Among other incidents of these -days, he broke his collarbone and dislocated his shoulder; and, among -other exercises popular in his time, he became familiar with Cribb, -Figg, and other heroes of the then "ring," and derived from them as -much pugilistic science as they could impart to a young, active, and -enthusiastic pupil. At Cranford, moreover, he enjoyed a little private -bull-baiting, but that was confessedly more on the account of his -brother Augustus, or his brother Augustus's dog, than himself. "Bull," -which was the name of the latter, was an eager and extempore performer -in this department of the writer's education. At length "Bull" and -Augustus left Grantley, who tells us:-- - -"As we proceeded along the high road, nearing the spot of our -separation, we were overtaken by a respectable tradesman, as he -appeared, driving his wife towards the neighbouring town in a buggy. -It was Augustus's last chance of inducting us into a row, and not to -be lost; so he made some most insulting remark upon these unoffending -passengers, which so provoked the female, that she unfortunately took -up the _casus belli_, and, with other abuse, called her assailant a -'barber's clerk.' He replied, 'I know I am a barber, and I have shaved -you.' When the man heard this wordy war he joined in it. On this my -brother told him, that 'if it was not for his woman he would pull him -out of his rattletrap and tread on him.' Here was a circumstance that -caused my boyish mind considerable speculation. Hard names and some -swearing seemed not much to insult the man in the buggy; but on hearing -the female at his side called his 'woman,' his wrath knew no bounds. -With the exclamation, 'My woman, you rascal! she is my wife!' he set -to work lashing my brother with his gig whip, commencing a sort of -artillery duel at long practice, not in accordance with the cavalry arm -of my brother, nor with his way of fighting. A charge upon the buggy -was therefore made by him, keeping his right side open for mischief; -and in the obscure darkness I could hear the crown of the hat of the -driver get ten blows for one, for his long weapon was useless at close -quarters. The female, wife or woman, whichever she was, very quickly -saw that the combat was all one way, for with a very much damaged crown -her king crouched down on the cushion at her side; so that she awakened -up the heath with shrieks of 'Murder!' 'Be off, as hard as you can -split,' was then the order to us from the offender. We obeyed, as we -heard the heels of his horse speed on far in advance of the buggy." - -[33] From _The Times_ Review of his _Life_, 1865. - -To give Mr. Grantley Berkeley fair credit, he condemns the recklessness -of such robust adventures, but he pleads that such was the practice in -the days when he was raised; and to his own advantage, as he admits, he -was summarily recalled to a more quiet regimen by the sudden appearance -of a tutor who required from him other exercises. Nevertheless, his -stories of little private fights with the sons of the Vicar of Berkeley -and one of the keepers, which are very amusing, show that in stable -and backyards he enjoyed consolations, though he declares that this -was done chiefly for the amusement of his brother Henry, who used to -invite him to the stable with the gloves to fight one of the boys above -mentioned, when the battle always ended by his knocking the head of his -opponent into the manger. He says, - -"I remember that for months during these, to my brother, amusing -combats my lips were sometimes so cut against my teeth that I could -not eat any salad with vinegar, the acid occasioned so much smarting. -I could lick my antagonist as far as the fight with the gloves was -permitted to go, but in a few days at the word of command the lad was -ready for another licking, so that week after week I had no peace, -and had to lick him again; nor had I resolution enough to withstand -the taunts of being vanquished, if I refused to set to, although my -superior proficiency had been a hundred times asserted. All things -must have an end: every day strengthened my tall and growing limbs, -and every day my power over my antagonist increased, when, for some -ill conduct, he lost his service and these, to him, not very agreeable -encounters. My brother then for a time lost his amusement; 'Othello's -occupation' was gone, for nothing came into service at Cranford that -approached the age of a boy. A new footman was, however, inducted, a -grown man and not a little one, but a cross-grown lout of a fellow; -and, mere boy as I was, we were ordered to the stable, in front of my -brother's usual throne, the corn-bin, and there desired to do battle. -By this time I had got into such habits of pugnacious obedience that if -a bear had been introduced, and I had been told that the beast was to -vanquish me, I should at once have boxed with him. The combat I am now -alluding to was not unlike one of a boy and bear. I stepped back, put -in, and then gave way successfully, for a short time; but at last the -man met me with a half-round blow, and hit me clean down on the rough -stones of the stable. Henry did not seem to care much; but Moreton, who -was present, spoke out loudly against the shame of putting such a boy -to fight with a grown man, and I believe, feeling slightly annoyed at -the way he had overmatched me, our elder brother stopped any further -assault on my part, and suggested that Peter should put the gloves on -with his own servant, a well-built, active little fellow, whom he had -daily thrashed into one of the most expert boxers of his size. Peter, -all agreeable, set to with Shadrach, when the former caught such a -right-hander in the face as sent him as if he had been shot upon the -stable stones. He rose crying, and deprived of all wish for another -blow--my fall very sufficiently avenged. I have often wondered why -I was not cowed by all this brutality, or why I ever took to those -more gentle accomplishments in life that used to get me the name of -'dandy' among some of my rougher compeers. However, time wore on; I -fought through the stable-boys and men-servants, and had sense enough -not to acquire any rudeness of manner, nor dislike to more refined -occupations." - -The author then gives some anecdotes of the persons who visited the -Cranford-bridge Inn at this time, most of them for shooting or hunting; -and such is the penalty which one gentleman still alive must pay for -his presence on one of these occasions that Mr. Berkeley stigmatizes -him as a most dangerous companion to shoot with, as he was nearly -peppering his (Mr. B.'s) legs and those of the Duke of York. Liston -and Dowton, the comedians, used also to come to the Cranford-bridge -Inn, and Mr. Berkeley tells a characteristic story of the latter. -The astonishment of John Varley, the artist, who taught his sisters -drawing, at a man on horseback clearing a fence in his presence, -is depicted with a dash of humour, and it is evident from what Mr. -Berkeley says of Varley in other respects that he must have been well -acquainted with his various eccentricities. - -Again we come upon some of his hunting experiences in the neighbourhood -of Cranford, such as those shared with Lord Alvanley, who in answer -to the question, "What sport?" at White's, replied, "Oh, the melon -and asparagus beds were devilish heavy--up to our hocks in glass all -day; and all Berkeley wanted was a landing-net to get his deer out of -the water." It was with G. B. also that the late Sir George Wombwell, -having missed his second horse, spoke to one of the surly cultivators -of that stiff vale thus:--"I say farmer, ---- it, have you seen my -fellow?" The man, with his hands in his breeches' pockets, eyed his -questioner in silence for a minute and then exclaimed, "No, upon my -soul I never did!" Hunting about Harrow became very expensive from -the damage it did to the farmers in that district, and the claims for -compensation which it entailed upon Mr. Berkeley and his friends. The -result of this, he says, at once became evident; a mine of wealth would -soon have been insufficient to cover the cost of a single run over the -Harrow vale, and "reluctantly I saw that if I intended to keep hounds I -must go farther from the metropolis, and seek a wilder scene in which -to hunt a fox instead of a stag, and thus take a higher degree in the -art of hunting." Accordingly, negotiations were entered into for his -becoming the master of hounds to the Oakley Club in Bedfordshire for -1,000_l._ a-year, the club taking all the cost of the earth-stopping -upon themselves and other incidental expenses. The depreciation of -West India property which occurred about this time, and the larger -expenses contingent on taking a country in which to hunt a fox four -days a week, made him resolve to give up his seasons in London and -settle down quietly to a country life, thus avoiding every unnecessary -expenditure. His arrangements, in spite of opposition from some members -of the club, appear to have been satisfactory and eventually popular, -until the sport of his last season was positively brilliant, when in -Yardley Chase alone he found seventeen foxes, and killed fourteen of -them with a run. - - - - -What Became of the Seven Dials - - -Whoever is familiar with the history of St. Giles's will recollect -that Seven Dials is an open area so called because there was formerly -a column in the centre, on the summit of which were (_traditionally_) -seven sun-dials, with a dial facing each of the seven streets which -radiate from thence. They are thus described in Gay's _Trivia_:-- - - "Where famed St. Giles's ancient limits spread, - An in-rail'd column rears its lofty head; - Here to seven streets seven dials count their day, - And from each other catch the circling ray; - Here oft the peasant, with inquiring face, - Bewilder'd trudges on from place to place; - He dwells on every sign with stupid gaze-- - Enters the narrow alley's doubtful maze-- - Tries every winding court and street in vain, - And doubles o'er his weary steps again." - -This column was removed in July, 1773, on the supposition that a -considerable sum of money was lodged at the base; but the search was -ineffectual. - -Several years ago, Mr. Albert Smith, who lived at Chertsey, discovered -in his neighbourhood part of the Seven Dials--the column doing duty as -a monument to a Royal Duchess--when he described the circumstance in -a pleasant paper, entitled "Some News of a famous Old Fellow," in his -_Town and Country Magazine_. The communication is as follows:-- - -"Let us now quit the noisome mazes of St. Giles's and go out and away -into the pure and leafy country. Seventeen or eighteen miles from town, -in the county of Surrey, is the little village of Weybridge. Formerly -a couple of hours and more were passed pleasantly enough upon a coach -through Kingston, the Moulseys, and Walton, to arrive there, over a -sunny, blowy common of pink heath and golden furze, within earshot, -when the wind was favourable, of the old monastery bell, ringing out -the curfew from Chertsey church. Now the South-Western Railway trains -tear and racket down in forty-five minutes, but do not interfere with -the rural prospects, for their path lies in such a deep cutting, that -the very steam does not intrude upon the landscape. - -"One of the 'lions' to be seen at Weybridge is Oatlands, with its -large artificial grotto and bath-room, which is said--but we cannot -comprehend the statement--to have cost the Duke of Newcastle, who -had it built, 40,000_l._ The late Duchess of York died at Oatlands, -and lies in a small vault under Weybridge Church, wherein there is -a monument, by Chantrey, to her memory. She was an excellent lady, -well-loved by all the country people about her, and when she died they -were anxious to put up some sort of tribute to her memory. But the -village was not able to offer a large sum of money for this purpose. -The good folks did their best, but the amount was still very humble, -and so they were obliged to dispense with the services of any eminent -architect, and build up only such a monument as their means could -compass. Somebody told them that there was a column to be sold cheap -in a stone mason's yard, which might answer their purpose. It was -accordingly purchased; a coronet was placed upon its summit; and the -memorial was set up on Weybridge Green, in front of the Ship Inn, at -the junction of the roads leading to Oatlands, to Shepperton Locks, and -to Chertsey. This column turned out to be the original one from Seven -Dials. - -"The stone on which the 'dials' were engraved or fixed, was sold with -it. The poet Gay, however, was wrong when he spoke of its seven faces. -It is hexagonal in its shape; this is accounted for by the fact that -two of the streets opened into one angle. It was not wanted to assist -in forming the monument, but was turned into a stepping-stone, near -the adjoining inn, to assist the infirm in mounting their horses, and -there it now lies, having sunk by degrees into the earth; but its -original form can still be easily surmised. It may be about three feet -in diameter. - -"The column itself is about thirty feet high, and two feet in diameter, -displaying no great architectural taste. It is surmounted by a coronet, -and the base is enclosed by a light iron railing. An appropriate -inscription on one side of the base, indicates its erection in the year -1822; on the others, are some lines to the memory of the Duchess. - -"Relics undergo strange transpositions. The Obelisk from the mystic -solitudes of the Nile to the centre of the Place de la Concorde in -bustling Paris--the monuments of Nineveh to the regions of Great -Russell Street--the frescoes from the long, dark, and silent Pompeii -to the bright and noisy Naples--all these are odd changes. But in -proportion to their importance, not much behind them is that of the -old column from the crowded, dismal regions of St. Giles to the sunny -tranquil Green of Weybridge." - - - - -[Illustration: Curtis the Biographer of Corder. An Old Bailey -Celebrity.] - - - - -An Old Bailey Character. - - -Some thirty years ago there appeared in the second series of the _Great -Metropolis_[34] a sketch of one Mr. Curtis, an eccentric person who -was to be seen in the New Court in the Old Bailey, as constantly as -the Judge himself. He (Curtis) was known to everybody in and about -the place. For nearly a quarter of a century he had been in constant -attendance at the Old Bailey from the opening to the close of each -session, never being absent with the exception of two occasions, -when attending the county assizes. He wrote short-hand, and was so -passionately fond of reporting that he had taken down for his own -special amusement every case verbatim which came before the New Court; -and such was his horror of the Old Court, that you might as soon expect -to hear the Bishop of London in a Dissenters' chapel as to find Mr. -Curtis in the Old Court. He was notable for early rising: four o'clock -in the morning he considered a late hour. It was an event in his -life to lie in bed till five. By seven he had completed his morning -journeys, which usually embraced a distance--for he was particularly -fond of going over the same ground twice if not thrice in a morning--of -from six to eight miles. Among the places visited, Farringdon Market, -Covent Garden Market, Hungerford Market, and Billingsgate were never -under any circumstances omitted. His own notion was that he had walked -as much within thirty years before seven in the morning as would have -made the circuit of the globe three or four times. He was, perhaps, the -most inveterate pedestrian known; locomotion seemed to be a necessity -of his nature. There was only one exception to this rule--that was, -when he was taking down the trials at the Old Bailey. He considered it -as the greatest favour that could be conferred on him to be asked to -walk ten or twelve miles by an acquaintance. He was very partial to wet -weather, and as fond of a rainy day as if he were a duck. He was never -so comfortable as when thoroughly drenched. Thunder and lightning threw -him into ecstasies; he was known to have luxuriated for some hours on -Dover cliff in one of the most violent thunderstorms ever remembered -in this country. He once walked from the City to Croydon Fair and back -again on three consecutive days of the Fair; making with his locomotive -achievements in Croydon a distance of nearly fifty miles a-day; and -this without any other motive than that of gratifying his pedestrian -propensities. He had a horror of coaches, cabs, omnibuses, and all -sorts of vehicles; and he was not known to have been ever seen in one. -Judging from his partiality to heavy showers of rain, he seemed to be -to a certain extent an amphibious being; and he often declared, with -infinite glee, that he was once thrown into a pond without suffering -any inconvenience. The benefits of air and exercise were manifest -in his cheerful disposition and healthy-looking, though somewhat -weather-beaten countenance: he seemed the happiest little thick-built -man alive. - -[34] The popular work of Mr. James Grant. - -He not only rose very early, but was also late in going to bed. On an -average, he had not for twenty years slept above four hours in the -twenty-four. He was often weeks without going to bed at all, and it -sufficed him to have two or three hours' doze in his arm-chair, and -with his clothes on. In the year 1834, he performed an unusual feat in -this way: he sat up one hundred consecutive nights and days, without -stretching himself on a bed, or putting himself into an horizontal -position, even for a moment. For one century of consecutive nights, as -Curtis phrased it, he neither put off his clothes to lie down in bed, -nor anywhere else, for a second; all the sleep he had during the time -was an occasional doze in his arm-chair. - -Curtis's taste for witnessing executions, and for the society of -persons sentenced to death, was remarkable. He had been present at -every execution in the metropolis and its neighbourhood for the -last quarter of a century. He actually walked before breakfast to -Chelmsford, which is twenty-nine miles from London, to be present at -the execution of Captain Moir. For many years he had not only heard -the condemned sermons preached in Newgate, but spent many hours in the -gloomy cells with the persons who had been executed in London during -that period. He passed much time with Fauntleroy, and was with him a -considerable part of the day previous to his execution. With Corder, -too, of Red Barn notoriety, he contracted a friendship: immediately on -the discovery of the murder of Maria Martin, he hastened to the scene, -and remained there till Corder's execution. He afterwards wrote the -_Memoirs of Corder_, which were published by Alderman Kelly, Lord -Mayor, in 1837-8: the work had portraits of Corder and Maria Martin, -and of Curtis, and nothing pleased him better than to be called the -biographer of Corder. - -By some unaccountable fatality, Curtis, where he was unknown, often had -the mortification of being mistaken under very awkward circumstances -for other persons. At Dover he was once locked up all night on -suspicion of being a spy. When he went to Chelmsford to be present -at Captain Moir's execution, he engaged a bed at the Three Cups inn; -on returning thither in the evening the servants rushed out of his -sight, or stared suspiciously at him, he knew not why, till at length -the landlady, keeping some yards distant from him, said in tremulous -accents, "We cannot give you a bed here; when I promised you one, I did -not know the house was full." "Ma'am," replied Curtis, indignantly, -"I have taken my bed, and I insist on having it." "I am very sorry -for it, but you cannot sleep here to-night," was the reply. "I _will_ -sleep here to-night; I've engaged my bed, and refuse me at your peril," -reiterated Curtis. The landlady then offered him the price of a bed -in another place, to which Curtis replied, resenting the affront, -"No, ma'am; I insist upon my rights as a _public_ man; I have a duty -to perform to-morrow." "It's all true. He says he's a public man, and -that he has a duty to perform," were words which every person in the -room exchanged in suppressed whispers with each other. The waiter now -stepped up to Mr. Curtis, and taking him aside, said--"The reason why -Mistress will not give you a bed is because you're the executioner." -Curtis was astounded, but in a few moments laughed heartily at the -mistake. "I'll soon convince you of your error, ma'am," said Curtis, -walking out of the house. He returned in a few minutes with a gentleman -of the place, who having testified to his identity being different from -that supposed, the landlady apologized for the mistake, and, as some -reparation, gave him the best bed in the inn. - -[Illustration] - -However, a still more awkward mistake occurred. After passing night -after night with Corder in prison, Curtis accompanied him to his trial, -and stood up close behind him at the bar. An artist had been sent from -Ipswich to sketch a portrait of Corder for one of the newspapers of -that town; but the sketcher mistook Curtis for Corder, and in the next -number of the journal Mr. Curtis figured at full length as the murderer -of Maria Martin! He bore the mistake with good humour, and regarded -this as one of the most amusing incidents of his life. - -Amidst these harmless eccentricities, Mr. Curtis effected much good -amongst prisoners under sentence of death. "I speak within bounds," -says the author of the _Great Metropolis_, "when I mention that he -has from first to last spent more than a hundred nights with unhappy -prisoners under sentence of death, conversing with them with all -seriousness and with much intelligence on the great concerns of that -eternal world on whose brink they were standing. I saw a long and -sensible letter which the unhappy man named Pegsworth, who was executed -in March, 1837, for the crime of murder, addressed a few days before -his death to Mr. Curtis, and in which he most heartily thanked Mr. C. -for all the religious instructions and admonitions he had given him; -adding, that he believed he had derived great spiritual benefit from -them." - - - - -Bone and Shell Exhibition. - - -It is curious to note with what odd results of patient labour our -forefathers were amused to the top of their bent. They were Curiosities -in the strictest sense of the term; but as to the information conveyed -by their exhibition, it was generally a _lucus à non lucendo_. - -In Suffolk Street, Cockspur Street, an ingenious Mrs. Dards got up a -display of this kind, consisting of an immense collection of artificial -flowers, made entirely by herself with fish-bones, the incessant labour -of many years, of which she said to Mr. J. T. Smith:--"No one can -imagine the trouble I had in collecting the bones for that bunch of -lilies of the valley. Each cup consists of the bones which contain the -brains of the turbot; and from the difficulty of matching the sizes, -I never should have completed my task had it not been for the kindness -of the proprietors of the London, Freemasons', and Crown and Anchor -taverns, who desired their waiters to save the fish-bones for me." - -This ingenious person distributed a card embellished with flowers -and insects, upon which was engraven an advertisement, stating the -exhibition to be the labour of thirty years, and to contain "a great -variety of beautiful objects equal to nature." Likewise enabled to -gratify them. - - "With bones, scales, and eyes, from the prawn to the porpoise, - Fruit, flies, birds, and flowers, oh, strange metamorphose!" - - - - -"Quid Rides?" - - -"People," says Mr. De Morgan, "are apt to believe that a smart saying -or a ready retort are not a real occurrence; it was made up: it is too -good to be true, &c." Perhaps there is no story which would be held -more intrinsically deniable than that of the tobacconist who adopted -_Quid rides?_ for his motto on his carriage. - -A friend, whose years, it will be seen, are many, has given me the -following note:-- - -"Jacob Brandon was a tobacco-broker in the last century, a remarkable -man in his way, supposed to be rich, a good companion, and extravagant -in his expenses. Before the year 1800, I saw a chariot in Cheapside -with a coat-of-arms, or rather a shield bearing a hand (sample) of -tobacco and a motto, _Quid rides?_ It was an old carriage, and at the -time belonged to a job-master, so the driver told a person who was -curious to know what the arms meant. It was this man's curiosity that -caused my noticing the arms. Mentioning the circumstance in my father's -presence, he said it was Brandon's old carriage. He had become gouty, -and could not walk; he bought the carriage, had it newly painted, and -was asked for his arms. This required consideration. Some thought -Brandon was a Jew, or of Jewish extraction. Be this as it may, he -loved a joke, and cared little for armorial bearings. He was telling -a party in Lloyd's Coffee-house about his new carriage, and that he -had determined to have a symbol of his profession on it, but that -he wanted a motto. A well-known member of Lloyd's, a wit, and, as I -afterwards found out, a curious reader, suggested _Quid rides?_ which -was forthwith adopted. This was Harry Calendon. I knew him well; he -died within the present century. I have found that some of his witty -stories about living persons were taken from old books. My father knew -Brandon well, and employed him. Now, as to _Quid rides?_ being proposed -by some Irish wit as a motto for Lundy Foot, of Dublin, famous for a -particular snuff, I have heard something of the history and habits of -Lundy Foot; he had no carriage with arms on it. His snuff is still sold -with its distinguishing wrapper and stamp, but no _Quid rides?_--which -would certainly have been perpetuated if it had ever been adopted by -the manufacturer of the snuff." - - - - -"Bolton Trotters." - - -This was the cognomen given to the muslin-weavers of Bolton in the days -of their prosperity. The trade was that of a gentleman. They brought -home their work in top-boots and ruffled shirts, carried a cane, and -in some instances took a coach. Many weavers at that time used to walk -about the street with a five-pound Bank of England note spread out -under their hatbands; they would smoke none but long "churchwarden" -pipes, and objected to the intrusion of any other handicraftsmen into -the particular rooms in the public-houses which they frequented. - -The "Bolton Trotters" were much addicted to practical joking, of -which Mr. French, in his _Life of Samuel Crompton_, narrates this -story:--"One of the craft visiting Bolton on a market-day, having -delivered his work at the manufacturing warehouse, and obtained -materials for his succeeding work, placed them carefully in one end -of his blue linen wallet, and filled the other end with articles of -clothing and provisions, upon which he had expended his recently -received wages. He had, however, reserved a portion for his accustomed -potation upon such occasions; and that he might enjoy this solace of -his labour in comfort and safety, he left his wallet at the warehouse -before visiting his favourite tavern. The good ale did its office, and -when elevated to just the proper pitch for _trotting_, he met a brother -of the loom, who, like himself, had transacted his day's business, -and was now ready to trudge home with his wallet on his shoulder. The -two weavers mingled with a little crowd gathered together to hear the -strains of the Bolton volunteer band performing near the Swan Hotel. -He who had left his wallet at the warehouse was not, however, too much -engrossed by the martial music to neglect the tempting opportunity -to trot his quondam friend, with whom he stood shoulder to shoulder, -though each looked in a different direction. Provided with a needle -and stout thread, and being the shorter man of the two, he had no -difficulty in sewing the edge of his neighbour's well-filled wallet to -the lapel of his own velveteen jacket, and then, during a momentary -movement in the crowd, adroitly hitched it from his neighbour's to -his own shoulder. An immediate and clamorous charge of robbery was -made, and met by an indignant denial from the trotter, who coolly -remonstrated with the loser on his culpable want of ordinary care, -pointing out, at the same time, at the means he had taken to secure his -own wallet, which no one, he said, could steal from him. This evidence -was unanswerable, particularly as it was supported by many of the -bystanders who had seen the whole transaction, and joined heartily in -the laugh at the weaver who had been so effectually _trotted_ for their -amusement. A reconciliation was effected through the ordinary means on -these occasions, of an adjournment to the alehouse." - - - - -[Illustration: Lord Coleraine keeping an Apple-Stall. - -John Thomas Smith sketching the Scene.] - - - - -Eccentric Lord Coleraine. - - -J. T. Smith, in his _Life of Nollekens_, has left these sensible -remarks upon a class of persons whose lives present many instances -of right feeling and upright conduct, although mixed up with less -estimable qualities. "I believe," says Mr. Smith, "every age produces -at least one eccentric in every city, town, and village. Be this as it -may, go where you will, you will find some half-witted fellow, under -the nickname either of Dolly, Silly Billy, or Foolish Sam, who is -generally the butt and sport of his neighbours, and from whom, simple -as he may sometimes be, a sensible answer is expected to an unthinking -question: like the common children, who will, to our annoyance, inquire -of our neighbour's parrot what it is o'clock. In some such light -Nollekens was often held by his brother artists; and I once heard -Fuseli cry out, when on the opposite side of the street: 'Nollekens, -Nollekens, why do you walk in the sun? If you have no love for your few -brains, you should not melt your coat buttons!'"[35] - -[35] Fuseli had one day sharply criticised the work of a brother -R.A., whom he sought to alleviate by remarking that the conceited -scene-painter, Mr. Capon, to whom Sheridan had given the nickname of -"Pompous Billy," had piled up his lumps of rock as regularly on the -side scene, as a baker would his quartern-loaves upon the shelves -behind his counter to _cool_. - -The eccentric character is, likewise, sure to be found in London, -where there are several curious varieties of this class of persons to -be met with. In our walks, perchance, we may meet a man who always -casts his eye towards the ground, as if he were ashamed of looking any -one in the face; and who pretends, when accosted, to be near-sighted, -so that he does not know even the friend that had served him. This -short-sightedness is very common. Indeed, he draws his hat across his -forehead to act as an eye-shade, so that his sallow visage cannot -be immediately recognised, which makes him look as if he had done -something wrong; whilst his coat is according to the true Addison cut, -with square pockets large enough to carry the folio _Ship of Fools_. -No man was more gazed at than Lord Coleraine, who lived near the New -Queen's Head and Artichoke, in Marylebone Fields, and who never met -Nollekens without saluting him. "Well, Nollekens, my old boy, how goes -it? You never sent me the bust of the Prince." To which Nollekens -replied: "You know you said you would call for it one of these -days, and give me the money, and take it away in a hackney-coach." -"I remember," says J. T. Smith, "seeing his lordship, after he had -purchased a book entitled the _American Buccaneers_, sit down close -to the shop from which he had bought it, in the open street, in St. -Giles's, to read it. I also once heard Lord Coleraine, as I was passing -the wall at the end of the Portland Road, where an old apple-woman, -with whom his lordship held frequent conversations, was packing up her -fruit, ask her the following question: 'What are you about, mother?' -'Why, my lord, I am going home to my tea; if your lordship wants any -information I shall come again presently.' 'Oh! don't balk trade. Leave -your things on the table as they are: I will mind your shop till you -come back;' so saying, he seated himself in the old woman's wooden -chair, in which he had often sat before whilst chatting with her. -Being determined to witness the result, after strolling about till the -return of the old lady, I heard his lordship declare the amount of his -receipts by saying: 'Well, mother, I have taken threepence-halfpenny -for you. Did your daughter Nancy drink tea with you?'" - - - - -Eccentric Travellers. - - -Curious stories are told of tourists being so fascinated by certain -incidents in their travels as to be diverted from their purposes by -finding themselves so comfortable as to wish to proceed no further--a -lesson of content which is rarely lost on sensible persons. - -It is told of an English gentleman, who started on a tour in 1815, the -year of the battle of Waterloo, that he landed at Ostend, with the -design of pushing on to Brussels, and took his place in the canal-boat -that plied between Brussels and Ghent. The traveller went abroad, -not merely to see foreign lands, but with the hope of meeting with -illustrious personages and distinguished characters. Finding, however, -that on board the _trekschuit_ he not only fell in with many persons -worth meeting, but had the opportunity of sitting down with them at the -_table-d'hôte_, he thought he could not do better, and went backwards -and forwards, never getting farther than Ghent. - -Mr. Thackeray, in his _Vanity Fair_, gives this somewhat different -version of the story:--"The famous regiment ... was drafted in -canal-boats to Bruges, thence to march to Brussels. Jos. accompanied -the ladies in the public boats; the which all old travellers in -Flanders must remember for the luxury and accommodation they afforded. -So prodigiously good was the eating and drinking on board these -sluggish but most comfortable vessels, that there are legends extant of -an English traveller, who, coming to Belgium for a week, and travelling -in one of these boats, was so delighted with the fare there, that he -went backwards and forwards from Ghent to Bruges perpetually, until the -railroads were introduced, when he drowned himself on the last trip of -the passage-boat." Possibly the catastrophe is an embellishment. - -To these ana, Mr. Sala has added the story of the Englishman, who is -_said_ to have made a bet that Van Amburgh, the lion-tamer, would be -eaten by his voracious pupils within a given time; and who followed him -about the continents of Europe and America in the hope of seeing him at -last devoured, and so winning his stakes. Eugène Sue introduces this -mythical Englishman among the _dramatis personæ_ of the _Wandering Jew_. - -The Russians, also, have a story of an eccentric traveller--of course, -an Englishman--who posted overland, and in the depth of winter, to -St. Petersburgh, merely to see the famous wrought-iron gates of the -Summer Garden. He is said to have died of grief at finding the gates -superior to those at the entrance to his own park at home. Add to this -the lying traveller, who boasted that he had been everywhere, and who, -being asked how he liked Persia, replied that he scarcely knew, as _he -had only stayed there a day_. Note, likewise, among eccentricities, the -nobleman of whom it was inquired, at dinner, what he thought of Athens -during an Oriental tour. He turned to his body-servant, waiting behind -his chair, and said, "_John, what did I think of Athens?_" - -In May, 1865, died Charles Waterton, "the gentle and gifted squire" of -Walton Hall, in Yorkshire, in his eighty-second year. Of this gentleman -one of the most eccentric incidents in modern travel is related to -have occurred in his wanderings in South America. His attendant Indian -had made an instrument to take a cayman, or alligator, of Guiana, -on the banks of the Essequibo river. It was very simple; there were -four pieces of tough, hard wood, a foot long, and about as thick as -your little finger; they were tied round the ends of a rope in such a -manner that if you conceive the rope to be an arrow, these four sticks -would form the arrow's head; or that one end of the four united sticks -answered to the point of the arrow's head, while the other end of the -sticks expanded at equal distances round the rope. Now, it is evident -that if the cayman swallowed this, the other end of the rope (which was -thirty yards long) being fastened to a tree, the more he pulled the -faster the barbs would stick into his stomach. The hook was well baited -with flesh, and entrails twisted round the rope for about a foot above -it. Into the steep sand-banks of the river the Indian pricked a stick, -and at its extremity was fixed the machine which hung suspended about a -foot from the water. Mr. Waterton and his companions then went back to -their hammocks for the night. - -Next morning was found a cayman ten feet and a half long, fast to -the end of the rope. The next point was to get him out of the water -without injuring his scales. After revolving many projects, Mr. -Waterton had his canoe brought round; he then took out the mast, eight -feet long, and as thick as his wrist, and wrapped the sail round the -end of it; he then sunk down on one knee, about four yards from the -water's edge, backed by his seven attendants, and pulled the cayman to -the surface; he plunged furiously, and immediately went below again -on their slackening the rope; they pulled again, and out he came. "By -the time," says Mr. Waterton, "the cayman was within ten yards of me, -I saw he was in a state of fear and perturbation; I instantly dropped -the mast, sprung up, and jumped on his back, turning half round as I -vaulted, so that I gained my seat with my face in a right position. I -immediately seized his fore-legs, and, by main force, twisted them on -his back; thus they served me for a bridle." He now plunged furiously, -and lashed the sand with his tail. The people stoutly dragged him and -the traveller about forty yards on the sand. After repeated attempts to -regain his liberty, the cayman gave in, exhausted. Mr. Waterton then -tied up his jaws, and secured his fore-feet in the position he had -held them; there was still another struggle; while some of the people -pressed upon his head and shoulders, Mr. Waterton threw himself upon -his tail, keeping it down to the ground; and having conveyed the cayman -away, his throat was cut, and dissection commenced. - -This account of "catching a crocodile" was at first regarded as a -"downright falsehood." Pliny, in his _Natural History_, however, -describes a race of men who swam after the crocodile of the Nile, "and -mounted on his back, like horsemen, as he opens his jaws to bite, with -his head turned up, they thrust a club in his mouth, and holding the -ends of it, one in the right hand and the other in the left, they bring -him to shore, as if captive with bridles." In a rare book of plates -of field sports one represents, probably from this account of Pliny, -some men riding on crocodiles, and bringing them to land by means of a -pole across their mouths, whilst others are killing them with large -clubs. Beneath is inscribed in Latin: "Tentyra, an island of the Nile, -in Egypt, is inhabited by an intrepid people, who climb the crocodile's -back, and, bridling his mouth with a staff, force him out of the river, -and slay him." - -Dr. Pococke describes a method of taking the crocodile in Egypt still -more like that of South America. He says: "They make some animal cry -at a distance from the river, and when the crocodile comes out, they -thrust a spear into his body, to which a rope is tied; they let him go -into the water to spend himself, and afterwards, drawing him out, run a -pole into his mouth, and, jumping on his back, tie his jaws together." -To return to the Squire of Walton Hall. - -Waterton is thus characterised by a personal friend:--He was one of -those men whose life, reaching back and retaining many characteristics -of the past, contrasted the present sameness with a manner of life much -more varied, but now almost forgotten. Rising always at three in the -morning, he gave an hour, as he said, "to the health and preservation -of the soul," and was then ready for the occupations and pursuits of -the day. His conversation and manners had that charm which comes of -ancestry, of ancient riches, and a polished education enlivened by a -sparkling wit. - -In attachment to his religion he was as zealous as his great ancestor, -Sir Thomas More, whose clock, from the house at Chelsea, still tells -the hours at Walton Hall. His undoubting faith, and the consolations it -afforded him, might, indeed, be envied by some of those who worship at -other altars. - -His hospitality was kind and generous: a stewed carp from the lake -carried you back to the good old times, and furnished a dish not soon -to be forgotten. - -To those who knew him well there was something remarkably genial in -the society of the good old squire, and his manner of receiving and -bidding them adieu will be long remembered by his friends. - -Mr. Thackeray, in _The Newcomes_, relates of Mr. Waterton this -interesting trait:--"A friend who belongs to the old religion took me, -last week, into a church where the Virgin lately appeared in person -to a Jewish gentleman, flashed down upon him from heaven in light and -splendour celestial, and, of course, straightway converted him. My -friend bade me look at the picture, and kneeling down beside me, I -know, prayed with all his honest heart that the truth might shine down -upon me too; but I saw no glimpse of heaven at all, I saw but a poor -picture, an altar with blinking candles, a church hung with tawdry -strips of red and white calico. The good, kind W. went away, humbly -saying, 'That such might have happened again if Heaven so willed it.' I -could not but feel a kindness and admiration for the good man. I know -that his works are made to square with his faith, that he dines on a -crust, lives as chastely as a hermit, and gives his all to the poor." - - - - -Elegy on a Geologist. - - -Archbishop Whately, one day, with genial humour, wrote a supposed -"Elegy on Dr. Buckland," of which the following is a portion:-- - - "Where shall we our great Professor inter, - That in peace may rest his bones? - If we hew him a rocky sepulchre - He'll rise and brake the stones, - And examine each stratum that lies around, - For he's quite in his element underground. - - If with mattock and spade his body we lay - In the common alluvial soil, - He'll start up and snatch these tools away - Of his own geological toil; - In a stratum so young the Professor disdains - That embedded should lie his organic remains. - - Then exposed to the drip of some case-hardening spring - His carcase let stalactite cover, - And to Oxford the petrified sage let us bring - When he is encrusted all over; - There, 'mid mammoths and crocodiles, high on a shelf, - Let him stand as a monument raised to himself." - -[Illustration] - - - - -_ECCENTRIC ARTISTS._ - - - - -Gilray and his Caricatures - - -The name of James Gilray stands pre-eminent in the annals of graphic -satire. In his hands, caricature became an art, and one that exercised -no unimportant influence on the kingdom of Great Britain. Previous to -this time, there is little challenging admiration in his department of -art. The satire for the most part was brutal where it had point, and -clumsy even in invention and execution. - -Hogarth, Gay, Fielding, Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot all aided the -progress of satire. France was satirized by Hogarth as a lean -personage, all frill and wristbands, with no shirt, dieting constantly -on frogs, and wearing wooden shoes. If to this we add Goldsmith's -hatred of the French, because they were slaves and wore wooden shoes, -we have the amount of the materials lying ready for the caricaturists' -use. The hatred towards our Scotch brethren, so strongly manifested -under the Bute administration, supplied the caricaturists with -hackneyed and profitless jokes. The satirical points of the wits -and humorists we have just named, and a few obscure caricaturists, -were selected, arranged, and adapted by the genius of Gilray to -illustrate, by the etching-needle, a series of political events, as -important as those of any country of modern times; and in Gilray's -works is preserved a pictorial record of the History of England during -the greater part of the reign of George III. An artist to excel in -caricature must possess abilities of a superior order, not only as a -designer and an etcher, but must have a deep knowledge of life, and -be conversant with the progress of public business; he must be a good -and a ready reasoner upon nearly all questions; his love of truth and -justice should enable him to detect the fallacies of argument, and -the injustice consequent upon false or injudicious public acts. A -keen sense of the ridiculous should direct his pencil; and then, by -a few touches, the true caricaturist, in the most striking manner, -mercilessly exposes the follies and the consequences of such acts. In -Gilray, of all men before him, was found the union of these requisites. - -Of Gilray's early life little is known: it is supposed that he was born -at Chelsea, in 1757. Mr. Smith, late of Lisle Street, the well-known -connoisseur in prints, himself a collector of Gilray's works, states -that Gilray was first placed with Ashby, the writing-engraver, who -resided at the bottom of Holborn Hill, and afterwards was either a -pupil or an assistant with the celebrated Francis Bartolozzi, which -is doubtless founded on truth; as the mastery of the etching-needle, -occasional use of the graver, the mysteries of biting, re-biting, -and other practical points of engraving so completely possessed by -Gilray, could hardly have been attained elsewhere than in the studio -of an experienced engraver. An active imagination, an acute sense of -the ridiculous points of character, or of personal appearance, and a -facility of drawing and etching, would in most cases disqualify any -student for the quiet and laborious profession of a line-engraver. That -Gilray should have abandoned the higher branches of engraving cannot -excite either wonder or regret, as, in all probability, the rank of a -merely tolerable line-engraver was exchanged for the highest position -that can be awarded to the caricaturist; whose works, eagerly expected -by the sovereign down to the poorest labourer, invigorated the national -feeling against a powerful enemy, hourly watching an opportunity to -light up rebellion in the kingdom, with a determination to invade and -subjugate Old England. - -Gilray made his first appearance as a caricaturist about 1782. Before -his time, it was usual for these satires to be published anonymously; -and it is very likely that Gilray might have thus published a few -caricatures before he openly set up as a caricaturist by profession, -and boldly put his name to his productions. The dispute between the -two admirals, Keppel and Sir Hugh Palliser, caused a great public -sensation. Keppel was tried by a court martial, and acquitted; and -Palliser retired from the service. The caricaturist took up the needles -and etched a naval pair of breeches and legs, writing underneath, -"Who's in Fault? Nobody?" but a head appears over the waistband--and -that is Sir Hugh Palliser's; _he_ was the _nobody_ in fault. A -comparison of this print with others of Gilray's will convince anyone -acquainted with the details of etching that it is Gilray's. It bears -the date of 1779. His first acknowledged production is dated 1782. -Having opened his battery of fun, he kept up a continued fire upon -his political victims until 1811, when an aberration of mind rendered -powerless the mighty hand which had "done the state some service." -Gilray was fortunate in meeting with Miss Humphrey, the printseller, -in St. James's Street; for, in his insane periods, she proved a most -kind and attached friend. He lived in her house, and mainly supported -her trade by the sale of his caricatures. It is said that both parties -had once resolved on matrimony, and were actually walking to church -to become man and wife; when, in the course of the walk, they both -reflected upon the approaching state of bondage, and mutually agreeing -not to sacrifice their liberty by so rash an act as marriage, walked -home again! - -In the house of Miss Humphrey, Gilray found ample employment, an -excellent spot for marking down his game; here he heard all the news -and gossip of the day over a friendly table. Her shop being No. 29, St. -James's Street (and afterwards in the occupation of a printseller), -was of all others the best situated for Gilray's purpose, as his -victims were unconsciously walking daily to and fro before the shop. -Behind the window was Gilray, pencil in hand, taking off the heads -of the ministers and of the opposition. In this way he became so -familiarised with their features, that he could drolly exaggerate, -almost out of all humanity, the nose and lank figure of "Billy Pitt, -the heaven-born minister," and yet preserve so much likeness, that the -portrait was immediately recognised. Loutherburg, the eminent artist -and scene-painter, went to Valenciennes, after the seige in 1793, to -sketch the military works. He was accompanied by Gilray, who sketched -the officers. On their return, they were introduced to the king. -George III. did not comprehend the slight sketches made by Gilray; -and, remarking that he did not understand "the caricatures," sadly -offended Gilray, who had intended them as veritable portraits, and -had not the least idea of being "funny." Disappointed with the royal -criticism, he went home, and the next day caricatured his Majesty, -examining a miniature of Oliver Cromwell, by means of _candle-ends_ and -_save-alls_. He showed it to his friends, and said: "I wonder whether -the _royal_ connoisseur will _understand this_?" - -The severity and fearful amount of ridicule at Gilray's command, -exposed him to threats of personal chastisement, and sometimes to -the probability of a prosecution. Fox was more than once disposed to -prosecute the artist, or the publishers--and not without reason; for in -some of his portraits he was the incarnation of diabolical sensuality. -Burke always figured as a half-starved Jesuit; and Sheridan, himself -a satirist, could scarcely stand the attacks of the caricaturist on -his red nose and portly person. However, they wisely foresaw that a -prosecution would be an excellent advertisement for the offensive -prints; so the senators sat down, and gratified themselves with -enjoying a hearty laugh at each other. George III. was more than once -severely attacked by Gilray; but he bore it with great good humour. - -The facile invention, extraordinary humour, and rapid execution of -Gilray's works were marvellous. Some of his subjects are full of -figures, carefully drawn, although exaggerated. A complete collection -of his works amounts to no less than fifteen hundred! An over-taxed -imagination, constantly on the rack, watching opportunities, and the -rapidity with which the design, the etching, finishing, printing, and -publishing of the prints required to be executed, told fearfully upon -his mind. His mental powers failed, and the mirth-inspiring son of -genius became dead to the world. Some lucid intervals occurred, in one -of which he etched the well-known plate of the "Barber's Shop," after -Bunbury. Poor Gilray was deprived of his reason in the year 1811, from -which time, until his death in 1815, he was the wretched occupant of a -garret in Miss Humphrey's house. Here, at the barred windows, he was -sometimes seen by that esteemed artist, Kenny Meadows, who contemplated -the mad artist with horror. Miss Humphrey entirely supported Gilray -until death claimed what disease had left of the great satirist. He -threw himself out of an up-stairs window, and died of the injuries -he received, on the 1st of June, 1815. He was buried at St. James's -Church, Piccadilly, where a tablet is erected to his memory. - -From Mr. Wright's curious and interesting _England under the House -of Hanover_, illustrated by caricatures and satires, we gather that -the favourite subjects to the artists of fun were the sans-culotte -extravagancies of the French Revolutionists; and at home the coalition -of North and Fox, the fiscal devices of Minister Pitt, the impeachment -of Warren Hastings, and the "Alarmists." It was the popular belief -that Hastings had bribed the Court of St. James's with presents of -diamonds of large size, and in great profusion, to shelter his Indian -delinquencies. Caricatures on this subject were to be seen in every -print shop. In one of these Hastings is represented as wheeling away -in a barrow the King, with his crown and sceptre, observing, "What -a man buys he may sell!" and in another, the King is represented on -his knees, with his mouth wide open. A common representation of the -King and the Queen was as "Farmer George and his wife;" his Majesty's -familiarity of manner, general somnolency, Weymouth displays, and his -prying into cottage domesticities--to wit, the memory of the seamless -apple-dumpling,--afforded unfailing hits for Peter Pindar, Sayer, and -Gilray. The dissipation of the Prince of Wales suggested his portrayal -as "The Prodigal Son," the Prince's Feathers in the mire, and the -inscription on his garter reduced to the word "honi." In one print a -Brighton party is represented, "The Jovial Crew, or Merry Beggars:" -among the Prince's guests are Mrs. Fitzherbert, Fox, Sheridan, Lord -North, and Captain Morris--"Jolly companions every one." - -A scarce print of Gilray's commemorates a grand installation of knights -at Westminster Abbey, May 19th, 1788, and is called "The Installation -Supper," given at the Pantheon, in Oxford Road. It portrays the chief -notorieties of the day, in separate groups, simulating over the bottle -an obliviousness of political jealousies: Pitt and Fox hobnobbing -behind the gruff Chancellor Thurlow; Lord Shelburn is shaking hands -jesuitically with Lord Sydney; Lord Derby is hand-in-glove with Lady -Mount Edgecumbe, an antiquated _blue_, who still dreams of conquest; -the Prince is besieged by Lady Archer (of gambling notoriety) on one -side, and Lady Cecilia Johnson on the other: while Mr. Fitzherbert is -in amiable confab with the ex-patriot, Johnny Wilkes:-- - - "Johnny Wilkes, Johnny Wilkes, - Thou greatest of bilks, - How changed are the notes you now sing; - Your famed Forty-five - Is Prerogative, - And your blasphemy, 'God save the King.'" - SHERIDAN. - -Edmund Burke always appears with long-pointed nose and spectacles. In -one large print by Gilray, he is discharging a blunderbuss at Hastings, -who is defending himself with the "shield of honour." The thin, meagre -figure of Pitt, "with his d--d iron face," was fruitful for jest as -that of his fat, slovenly opponent, Fox. An equivocal phrase of the -Prime Minister gave rise to Gilray's caricature of "The Bottomless -Pitt;" or it may have been the financial profundity of the Minister, or -the wit of his celebrated housekeeper niece:-- - - "William Pitt, 'tis known by many people, - Was thin as a lath, and tall as a steeple; - And so spare his behind, he was called (with some wit), - By famed Lady Hester, 'the bottomless pit.'" - -Gilray, often as he struck at a minister or satirized a courtier, he -yet more often returned to the battle which he loved to wage--that -against Bonaparte. With him the Corsican was a murderer, a fanatic, -a tyrant; an invader with death's head and dripping sword; a ghoul -who loved to feast on human flesh; an incarnate fiend, a demon. -Single-handed, Gilray fed and nursed the flame of hatred which burnt so -steadily and so long in these islands against that potentate, whether -as general, first consul, or emperor. Napoleon himself perceived -it, and complained of it. His empress and generals came in for a -share of Gilray's pictorial wrath. Ministers, who at the time of the -trial of Peltier were not unwilling to conciliate the master of a -hundred legions, in vain attempted to stop Gilray. The shop-windows -still displayed the bright colours of the newest print, wherein, as -incendiary or demon, the chief person was still Napoleon Bonaparte. -If, according to the _dictum_ of the latter, one newspaper editor were -worse than five _corps d'armée_ acting against him, surely Gilray, with -his enormous effect on the British mind, then hardly swayed or taught -by leading articles, was worse than five editors. And if we of the -volunteer corps wish to realise the intense hatred, the indignation, -the burning passion with which most of our fathers regarded the first -Napoleon, we have only to turn over some old caricatures. How the old -times rise before us, summoned by the tricksy Ariel of art, as we look -over them.--_See a clever paper in the London Review._ - -One of Gilray's late prints was Dr. Burgess, of Mortimer Street, "from -Warwick Lane." The doctor was one of the last men who wore a cocked -hat and deep ruffles. What rendered his appearance more remarkable, he -walked on tiptoe. - -The commercial history of the caricatures is curious. At the period of -the artist's death, the copper-plates from which they were struck were -estimated to be worth 7,000_l._ Upon the demise of the printseller, his -widow pledged the plates for 1,000_l._; but in the process of time, a -better tone of political feeling having supervened, and likewise an -improved public taste as regards art, this property, upon being put -to sale by auction, was bought in for 500_l._ Subsequently the widow -offered them to Mr. Henry Bohn, the eminent publisher, for that sum; -but the process of change adverted to still continuing, the offer -was declined. Upon her death her executors, unable to sell them as -engravings, sold them as old copper for as many pence as they were -originally worth pounds, and Mr. Bohn became the purchaser. - -The early political caricatures of Gilray were generally directed -against the Government party. These he was hired to sketch, and -generally at a small price, according to the will of his employers. -He used to smoke his pipe with his early employers, and exert his -faculties more to win a bowl of punch than to gain ten pounds. For -years he occasionally smoked his pipe at the Bell, the Coal Hole, or -the Coach and Horses; and although the _convives_ whom he met at such -dingy rendezvous knew that he was Gilray who fabricated those comical -prints, yet he never sought to act the coxcomb, nor become the king of -the company. In truth, with his neighbouring shopkeepers and master -manufacturers, he passed for no greater wit than his associates. -Rowlandson, his ingenious compeer, and he sometimes met. They would, -perhaps, exchange half-a-dozen questions and answers upon the affairs -of etching, copper, and nitric acid, swear that the world was one _vast -masquerade_, and then enter into the common chat of the room, light -their cigars, drink their punch, and sometimes early, sometimes late, -shake hands at the door and depart, one for the Adelphi, the other to -St. James's Street, each to his bachelor's bed. - -The facility with which Gilray composed his subjects, and the rapidity -with which he etched them, astonished those who were eye-witnesses of -his powers. Many years ago, he had an apartment in a court in Holborn. -A commercial agent for a printseller had received a commission to get a -satirical design etched by Gilray, but he had repeatedly called in his -absence. He lived at the west end of the town, and on his way to the -city waited on him again, when he happened to be at home. - -"You have lost a good job and a useful patron, Gilray," said he; "but -you are always out." - -"How? What--what is your object?" said the artist. - -"I want this subject drawn and etched," said the agent; "but now it is -too late." - -"When is it wanted?" - -"Why, to-morrow." - -"It shall be done." - -"Impossible, Gilray!" - -"Where are you going?" - -"Onward to the Bank." - -"When do you return?" - -"At four o'clock." It was now eleven. - -"I'll bet you a bowl of punch it shall be completed, etched and bitten -in, and a proof before that time." - -"Done!" - -The plate was finished; it contained many figures; the parties were -mutually delighted, and the affair ended with a tipsy bout, at the -Gray's Inn Coffee-house, at the employer's expense. - -It was not likely that such an original would be content to sit, year -after year, over a sheet of copper, perpetuating the renown of others, -whilst possessed of a restless and ardent mind, intent on exploring -unknown regions of taste, he could open a way through the intricacies -of art, and by a short but eccentric cut reach the Temple of Fame. He -set to work, and succeeded to the astonishment of the goddess, who, one -day, beheld this new votary unceremoniously resting upon the steps of -her altar.[36] - -[36] See an able paper in _Fraser's Magazine_, No. 133. - - - - -William Blake, Painter and Poet. - - -The life of this extraordinary man of genius has been written by Mr. -Alexander Gilchrist, with much feeling, judgment, and good taste. -Wordsworth was more interested with what he terms Blake's "madness" -than with the sanity of Lord Byron and Walter Scott. Fuseli and Flaxman -predicted a day when the drawings of Blake should be as much sought -after and treasured by artists as those of Michael Angelo. Hayley -admired and befriended Blake. He was a true poet, though, as Gilchrist -says, "he neither wrote nor drew for the many, hardly for workyday men -at all; rather for children and angels--himself a divine child, whose -play-things were sun, moon, and stars, the heavens, and the earth." - -Blake was born in 1757, at No. 28, Broad Street, Carnaby Market, where -his father carried on the business of a hosier. When a boy he began to -dream. When eight or ten years of age, he brought home from Peckham -Rye a tale of a tree filled with angels, for doing which his father -threatened to thrash him. - -In 1767 he was sent to the drawing-school of Mr. Pars, in the Strand, -and taught to copy plaster casts after the antique, while his father -made a collection of prints for him to study. He had already, too, -begun to write poetry. At the age of fourteen he was placed with James -Basire, the engraver. His father intended to apprentice him to Ryland, -a more famous engraver than Basire. The boy Blake, however, raised an -unexpected scruple. "The sequel," says Mr. Gilchrist, "shows it to -have been a singular instance, if not of absolute prophetic gift or -second sight, at all events of natural intuition into character and -power of forecasting the future, from such as is often the endowment of -temperament like his. In after-life this involuntary faculty of reading -hidden writing continued to be a characteristic. 'Father,' said the -strange boy, after the two had left Ryland's studio, 'I do not like -the man's face; _it looks as if he lived to be hanged!_' Appearances -were at this time utterly against the probability of such an event." -But, twelve years after this interview, the unfortunate Ryland got into -embarrassment, committed a forgery on the East India Company, and the -prophecy was fulfilled. - -By 1773 Blake had begun to draw his own dreams, such as one of Joseph -of Arimathea, described by him as "one of the Gothic artists who -built the cathedrals in what we call the Dark Ages, wandering about -in sheepskins and goatskins." In 1783 Blake published, by the help of -friends, a small volume of _Poetical Sketches_, of which here is a -specimen:-- - - "Memory, hither come, - And tune your merry notes; - And, while upon the wind - Your music floats, - I'll pore upon the stream - Where sighing lovers dream, - And fish for fancies as they pass - Within the watery glass. - - "I'll drink of the clear stream, - And hear the linnet's song; - And there I'll lie and dream - The day along: - And, when night comes, I'll go - To places fit for woe; - Walking along the darkened valley - With silent Melancholy." - -We pass over Blake's progress in his art, but may remark, from his -biographer, that although he drew the Antique with great care, he -thus early conceived a distaste for the study as pursued in Academies -of Art. "Already 'life,'" says Mr. Gilchrist, "in so factitious, -monotonous an aspect of it as that presented by a model artificially -_posed_ to enact an artificial part--to maintain in painful rigidity -some fleeting gesture of spontaneous Nature's--became, as it continued, -'hateful,' looking to him, laden with thick-coming fancies, 'more like -death' than life; nay (singular to say), 'smelling of mortality'--to -an imaginative mind! 'Practice and opportunity,' he used afterwards to -declare, 'very soon teach the language of art;' as much, that is, as -Blake ever acquired, not a despicable if imperfect quantum. 'Its spirit -and poetry, centred in the imagination alone, never can be taught; and -these make the artist:' a truism, the fervid poet already began to hold -too exclusively in view. Even at their best--as the vision-seer and -instinctive Platonist tells us in one of the very last years of his -life (_MS. notes to Wordsworth_)--mere 'Natural objects _always did and -do_ weaken, deaden, and obliterate imagination in me!'" - -Blake wrote many songs, to which he also composed tunes, sometimes -singularly beautiful; these he would occasionally sing to his friends. -His later verse, which he attached to his plates, was very enigmatical. -Though he did not for forty years attend any place of divine worship, -yet he was not a Freethinker nor irreligious, as has been scandalously -represented. The Bible was everything with him. How he reverenced the -Almighty, the following conclusion of his address to the Deity will -show:-- - - "For a tear is an intellectual thing; - And a sigh is the sword of an Angel King; - And the bitter groan of a martyr's woe - Is an arrow from the Almighty's bow." - -And in his _Address to the Christians_:-- - - "I give you the end of a golden string, - Only wind it into a ball, - It will lead you in at Heaven's gate, - Built in Jerusalem's wall." - -Blake was a diligent and enthusiastic student. The day he devoted to -the graver and the night to poetry; he was utterly indifferent to the -goods of this life, and used to say: "My business is not to gather -gold, but to make glorious shapes expressing god-like sentiments." - -When Blake was twenty-six years of age, he married Catherine Boutcher, -who lived near his father's house, and was noticed by Blake for the -whiteness of her hands, the brightness of her eyes, and a slim and -handsome shape, corresponding with his own notions of sylphs and -naiads. His marriage proved a mutually happy one. She had not learned -to write, but Blake instructed his "beloved," as he most frequently -called her, and allowed her till the last moments of his practice to -take off his proof impressions and print his works, which she did -most carefully, and ever delighted in the task; nay, she became a -draughtswoman. And as a convincing proof that she and her husband were -born for each other's comfort, she not only cheerfully entered into -his views, but, what is curious, possessed a similar power of imbibing -ideas, and produced drawings equally original, and in some respects, -interesting. She almost rivalled him in all things, save in the power -of seeing visions of any individual living or dead, whenever he chose -to see them. Yet, she joined him in other extravagances. The painter -and Mrs. Blake one day received a guest in their arbour in a state of -nakedness, to whom they calmly declared that they were Adam and Eve! - -In his thirtieth year, Blake annotated the Aphorisms of Lavater, and -illustrated his own poems, _The Songs of Innocence and of Experience_. -These, with the illustrations to _Blair's Grave_, to the _Book of Job_, -and the plate of the _Canterbury Pilgrimage_--are the works of Blake -by which he is best known. He was his own printer and publisher. His -deceased brother and pupil, Robert Blake, disclosed to him in a dream -by what manner of process his purpose could be brought to pass and the -last half-crown he possessed was spent by Mrs. Blake to procure the -materials. Their manner of manipulation was revealed to him by "Joseph, -the sacred carpenter." - -One of the most touching and popular of _The Songs of Innocence_ was -"The Chimney Sweeper:" - - "When my mother died I was very young - And my father sold me while yet my tongue - Could scarcely cry--weep! weep! weep! - So your chimneys I clean and in soot I sleep. - - "There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head - That curl'd like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said, - Hush, Tom, never mind it, for when your head's bare, - You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair. - - "And so he was quiet--and on that very night, - As Tommy was sleeping, he had such a sight; - There thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, - Were all of them locked up in coffins of black; - - "And by came an Angel, who had a bright key, - He opened the coffins and set them all free; - Then down a green vale, leaping, laughing they run, - And wash in a river, and shine like the sun. - - "Then, naked and white, all their bags left behind, - They rise up on pure clouds and sport in the wind: - And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, - He'd have God for his father and never want joy. - - "And so Tommy awoke and we rose in the dark, - And got with our bags and our brushes to work; - Though the morning was cold, he was happy and warm, - So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm." - -In 1800, the Blakes were invited by Hayley to visit him at Felpham, -in Sussex, under the idea of providing the artist with occupation and -emolument. Upon this occasion Blake wrote thus to Flaxman:-- - -"Dear Sculptor of Eternity,--We are safe arrived at our cottage, which -is more beautiful than I thought it, and more convenient. It is a -perfect model for cottages, and I think for palaces of magnificence, -only enlarging--not altering its proportions, and adding ornaments -and not principles. Nothing can be more grand than its simplicity and -usefulness. Simple without intricacy, it seems to be the spontaneous -expression of humanity congenial to the wants of men. No other formed -house can ever please me so well, nor shall I ever be persuaded, I -believe, that it can be improved either in beauty or use. Mr. Hayley -received us with his usual brotherly affection. I have begun to work. -Felpham is a sweet place for study, because it is more spiritual than -London. Heaven opens here on all sides her golden gates; her windows -are not obstructed by vapours; voices of celestial inhabitants are more -distinctly heard, and their forms more distinctly seen; and my cottage -is also a shadow of their houses. My wife and sister are both well, -courting Neptune for an embrace. - - * * * * * - -"And now begins a new life, because another covering of earth is shaken -off. I am more famed in Heaven for my works than I could well conceive. -In my brain are studies and chambers filled with books and pictures of -old, which I wrote and painted in ages of eternity before my mortal -life; and those works are the delight and study of archangels. Why then -should I be anxious about riches or the fame of mortality? The Lord our -Father will do for us and with us according to his Divine will, for -our good. You, O dear Flaxman! are a sublime archangel--my friend and -companion from eternity. In the Divine bosom is our dwelling-place. I -look back into the regions of reminiscence, and behold our ancient -days before this earth appeared in its vegetated mortality to my -mortal vegetated eyes. I see our houses of eternity which can never -be separated, though our mortal vehicles should stand at the remotest -corners of heaven from each other. Farewell my best friend! Remember me -and my wife in love and friendship to our dear Mrs. Flaxman, whom we -ardently desire to entertain beneath our thatched roof of rusted gold. -And believe me for ever to remain your grateful and affectionate - - "WILLIAM BLAKE." - -This association at Felpham lasted four years, when the Blakes left by -mutual consent. Yet the painter wrote upon his host these sarcastic -epigrams:-- - - "_To Hayley._ - - "Thy friendship oft has made my heart to ache: - Do be my enemy, for friendship's sake!" - - "_On H. [Hayley], the Pickthank._ - - "I write the rascal thanks; till he and I - With thanks and compliments are quite drawn dry." - -He had already written:-- - - "My title as a genius thus is proved,-- - Not praised by Hayley, nor by Flaxman loved." - -About this time, Blake's mind was confirmed in that extraordinary state -which many suppose to have been a species of chronic insanity. He was -so exclusively occupied with his own ideas, that he at last persuaded -himself that his imaginations were spiritual realities. He thought that -he conversed with the spirits of the long-departed great--of Homer, -Moses, Pindar, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and many others. Some of these -spirits sat to him for their portraits. - -Dr. de Boismont, among his _Hallucinations involving Insanity_, thus -describes him as a lunatic, of the name of Blake, who was called the -Seer. There was nothing of the impostor about him; he seemed to be -thoroughly in earnest. - -"This man constituted himself the painter of spirits. On the table -before him were pencils and brushes ready for his use, that he might -depict the countenances and attitudes of his heroes, whom he said -he did not summon before him, but who came of their own accord, and -entreated him to take their portraits. Visitors might examine large -volumes filled with these drawings: amongst others were the portraits -of the devil and his mother. When I entered his cell," says the author -of this notice, "he was drawing the likeness of a girl whose spectre he -pretended had appeared to him." - -"Edward III. was one of his most constant visitors, and in -acknowledgment of the monarch's condescension, Blake had drawn his -portrait in oils in three sittings. I put such questions as were likely -to have embarrassed him; but he answered them in the most unaffected -manner, and without any hesitation. - -"'Do these persons have themselves announced, or do they send in their -cards?'--'No; but I recognise them when they appear. I did not expect -to see Marc Antony last night, but I knew the Roman the moment he set -foot in my house.'--'At what hour do these illustrious dead visit -you?'--'At one o'clock: sometimes their visits are long, sometimes -short. The day before yesterday I saw the unfortunate Job, but he would -not stay more than two minutes; I had hardly time to make a sketch -of him, which I afterwards engraved----but silence! Here is Richard -III.!'--'Where do you see him?'--'Opposite to you, on the other side of -the table: it is his first visit.'--'How do you know his name?'--'My -spirit recognizes him, but I cannot tell you how.'--'What is he -like?'--'Stern, but handsome: at present I only see his profile; now I -have the three-quarter face; ah! now he turns to me, he is terrible to -behold.'--'Could you ask him any questions?'--'Certainly. What would -you like me to ask him?'--'If he pretends to justify the murders he -committed during his life?'--'Your question is already known to him. We -converse mind to mind by intuition and by magnetism. We have no need -of words.'--'What is his Majesty's reply?'--'This; only it is somewhat -longer than he gave it to me, for you would not understand the language -of spirits. He says what you call murder and carnage is all nothing; -that in slaughtering fifteen or twenty thousand men you do no wrong; -for what is immortal of them is not only preserved, but passes into -a better world, and the man who reproaches his assassin is guilty of -ingratitude, for it is by his means he enters into a happier and more -perfect state of existence. But do not interrupt me; he is now in a -very good position, and if you say anything more, he will go.'" - -"Visions, such as are said to arise in the sight of those who indulge -in opium," says Allan Cunningham, "were frequently present to Blake; -nevertheless, he sometimes desired to see a spirit in vain. 'For many -years,' said he, 'I longed to see Satan--I never could believe that -he was the vulgar fiend which our legends represent him--I imagined -him a classic spirit, such as he appeared to him of Uz, with some -of his original splendour about him. At last I saw him. I was going -upstairs in the dark, when suddenly a light came streaming amongst -my feet; I turned round and there he was looking fiercely at me -through the iron grating of my staircase window. I called for my -things--Katherine thought the fit of song was on me, and brought me -pen and ink--I said hush!--never mind--this will do--as he appeared so -I drew him--there he is.' Upon this Blake took out a piece of paper -with a grated window sketched on it, while through the bars glared the -most frightful phantom that ever man imagined. Its eyes were large -and like live coals--its teeth as long as those of a harrow, and the -claws seemed such as might appear in the distempered dream of a clerk -in the Heralds' office. 'It is the Gothic fiend of our legends,' said -Blake--'the true devil--all else are apocryphal.' - -"These stories are scarcely credible, yet there can be no doubt of -their accuracy. Another friend, on whose veracity I have the fullest -dependence, called one evening on Blake, and found him sitting with a -pencil and a panel, drawing a portrait with all the seeming anxiety of -a man who is conscious that he has got a fastidious sitter; he looked -and drew, and drew and looked, yet no living soul was visible. 'Disturb -me not,' said he, in a whisper, 'I have one sitting to me.' 'Sitting -to you!' exclaimed his astonished visitor; 'where is he, and what is -he?--I see no one.' 'But I see him, Sir,' answered Blake, haughtily; -'there he is, his name is Lot--you may read of him in the Scripture. -_He_ is sitting for his portrait.'" - -Blake's last residence was No. 3, Fountain Court, Strand; he had two -rooms on the first floor, that in front, with the windows looking into -the court, had its walls hung with frescoes, temperas, and drawings -of Blake's, and was used as a reception-room. The back room was the -sleeping and living-room, kitchen, and studio; in one corner was the -bed, in another the fire, at which Mrs. Blake cooked. By the window -stood the table serving for meals, and by the window the table at which -Blake always sat (facing the light), designing or engraving. "There -was," says Mr. Gilchrist, "an air of poverty as of an artizan's room; -but everything was clean and neat; nothing sordid. Blake himself, with -his serene, cheerful, dignified presence and manner, made all seem -natural and of course. Conversing with him, you saw or felt nothing -of his poverty, though he took no pains to conceal it: if he had, -you would have been effectually reminded of it. But, in these latter -years he, for the most part, lived on good though simple fare. His -wife was an excellent cook--a talent which helped to fill out Blake's -waistcoat a little as he grew old. She could even prepare a made dish -when need be. As there was no servant, he fetched the porter for -dinner himself, from the house at the corner of the Strand. Once, pot -of porter in hand, he espied coming along a dignitary of Art--that -highly respectable man, William Collins, R.A., whom he had met in -society a few evenings before. The Academician was about to shake -hands, but seeing the porter, drew up and did not know him. Blake -would tell the story very quietly, and without sarcasm. Another time, -Fuseli came in, and found Blake with a little cold mutton before him -for dinner, who, far from being disconcerted, asked his friend to join -him. 'Ah! by G--!' exclaimed Fuseli, 'this is the reason you can do -as you like. _Now I can't do this._' His habits were very temperate. -Frugal and abstemious on principle, and for pecuniary reasons, he -was sometimes rather imprudent, and would take anything that came -in his way. A nobleman once sent him some oil of walnuts he had had -expressed purposely for an artistic experiment. Blake tasted it, and -went on tasting, till he had drunk the whole. When his lordship called -to ask how the experiment had prospered, the artist had to confess -what had become of the ingredients. It was ever after a standing joke -against him. In his dress, there was a similar triumph of the man -over his poverty, to that which struck one in his rooms. In-doors, he -was careful, for economy's sake, but not slovenly: his clothes were -threadbare, and his grey trousers had worn black and shiny in front, -like a mechanic's. Out of doors he was more particular, so that his -dress did not in the streets of London challenge attention either way. -He wore black knee-breeches and buckles, black worsted stockings, -shoes which tied, and a broad-brimmed hat. It was something like an -old-fashioned tradesman's dress. But the general impression he made on -you was that of a gentleman in a way of his own." - -Blake died August 12th, 1827: he composed and uttered songs to his -Maker so sweetly to the ear of his Katherine, that when she stood -to hear him, he, looking upon her most affectionately, said: "My -beloved, they are not mine--no--they are not mine." He expired in his -sixty-ninth year, in the back room at Fountain Court, and was buried -in Bunhill Fields on the 17th of August, at the distance of about -twenty-five feet from the north wall, numbered 80. - - - - -[Illustration: Joseph Nollekens. From the _Life and Times_ by J. T. -Smith.] - - - - -Nollekens, the Sculptor. - - -Avarice would appear to have run in the blood of the Nollekens family. -"Old Nollekens," the father of Joseph, was "a miserably avaricious -man," and when, in the Rebellion of 1745, his house was attacked by the -mob, who thought themselves sure of finding money, the old man became -so terrified that he lingered in a state of alarm until his death. - -Little Joey was described by Mrs. Scheemakers, the sculptor's wife, -as "so honest that she could always trust him to stone the raisins." -His love of modelling was his greatest pleasure, though he had an idle -propensity for bell-tolling; and whenever his master missed him, and -the dead-bell of St. James's church was tolling, he knew perfectly well -what Joey was at. - -As Nollekens grew up, not unmindful of his art, he rose early -and practised carefully, and being a true son of his father, was -passionately fond of money. He was much employed as a shrewd collector -of antique fragments, some of which he bought on his own account; and -after he had dexterously restored them with heads and limbs, he stained -them with tobacco-water, and sold them for enormous sums. - -When he returned from Rome, he succeeded as a smuggler of silk -stockings, gloves, and lace; all his plaster busts being hollow, he -stuffed them full of the above articles, and then spread an outside -coating of plaster at the back across the shoulders of each, so that -the busts appeared like solid casts. Pointing to the cast of Sterne, -Nollekens observed to Lord Mansfield: "There, do you know that bust, -my Lord, held my lace ruffles that I went to Court in when I came from -Rome." - -His mode of living when at Rome was most filthy: he had an old woman -who was so good a cook, that she would often give him a dish for -dinner which cost him no more than threepence. "Nearly opposite to my -lodgings," he said, "there lived a pork-butcher who sold for twopence -a plateful of cuttings--bits of skin, gristle, and fat, and my old -lady dished them up with a little pepper and salt; and with a slice of -bread, and sometimes a bit of vegetable, I made a very nice dinner." -Whenever good dinners were mentioned after that, he was sure to say, -"Ay, I never tasted a better dish than my Roman cuttings." - -Nollekens married the daughter of Mr. Justice Welch. She was as -parsimonious as her husband. Of a poor old woman, whom she allowed to -sit at the corner of her house, she would contrive to get four apples, -instead of three, to make a dumpling, saying, "for there's my husband, -myself, and two servants, and we must have one a-piece." When she went -to Oxford Market to beat the rounds, in order to discover the cheapest -shops, she would walk round several times to give her dog Cerberus an -opportunity of picking up scraps. - -Nollekens's bust of Dr. Johnson is a wonderfully fine one, and very -like, but the sort of _hair_ is objectionable, having been modelled -from the flowing locks of a sturdy Irish beggar, who, after he had sat -an hour, refused to take a shilling, stating that he could have made -more by begging. - -Most of Nollekens's sitters were much amused with his oddities. He once -requested a lady who squinted dreadfully to "look a little the other -way, for then," said he, "I shall get rid of the shyness in the cast of -your eye;" and to another lady of the highest rank, who had forgotten -her position, and was looking down upon him, he cried, "Don't look so -_scorny_; you'll spoil my busto; and you're a very fine woman; I think -it will be one of my best bustos." - -A lady in weeds for her dear husband, drooping low like the willow, -visited the sculptor, and assured him she did not care what money was -expended on the monument to the memory of her beloved: "Do what you -please, but do it directly," were her orders. Nollekens set to work -at once, and in a short time finished the model, strongly suspecting -she might, like some others he had been employed by, change her mind. -The lady, in about three months, made her second appearance, in which -more courage is generally assumed, and was accosted by him, before she -alighted, with "Poor soul! I thought you'd come;" but her inclination -was changed, and she said, "How do you do, Nollekens; well, you have -not commenced the model?"--"Yes, but I have though," was the reply. -_The Lady_--"Have you, indeed? These, my good friend, I own," throwing -herself into a chair, "are early days; but since I saw you, an old -Roman acquaintance of yours has made me an offer, and I don't know -how he would like to see in our church a monument of such expense to -my late husband; indeed, perhaps, after all, upon second thoughts, it -would be considered quite enough if we got our mason to put up a mural -inscription, and that, you know, he can cut very neatly."--"My charge," -interrupted the artist, "for my model will be one hundred guineas;" -which she declared to be enormous. However, she would pay it, and "have -done with him." - -Nollekens's housekeeping was a model of parsimony. Coals he so rigidly -economized that they were always sent early before the men came to work -that he might have leisure-time for counting the sacks and disposing -of the large coals to be locked up for parlour use. Candles were never -lighted at the commencement of evening, and whenever they heard a knock -at the door, they would wait until they heard a second rap, lest the -first should have been a runaway, and their candle wasted. Mr. and Mrs. -Nollekens used a flat candlestick, when there was anything to be done; -and J. T. Smith, his biographer, was assured that a pair of moulds, by -being well nursed, and put out when company went away, once lasted them -a whole year. - -Before he was married, Nollekens kept but one servant who always -applied to him for money to purchase every article _fresh_, as it was -wanted for the next meal; and by that mode of living, he considered, as -he kept his servant upon board-wages, he was not so much exposed to her -pilfering inclinations, particularly as she was entrusted with no more -money than would enable her to purchase just enough for his own eating; -and he generally contrived to get through the small quantity he allowed -himself. He was very cunning in hinting at little presents, and -frequently complained of a sore throat to those who made black currant -jelly. - -Sometimes, in the evening, to take a little fresh air, and to avoid -interlopers, Mr. and Mrs. N. would, after putting a little tea and -sugar, a French roll, or a couple of rusks into their pockets, stray -to Madam Caria's, a Frenchwoman, who lived near the end of Marylebone -Lane, and who accommodated persons with tea equipage and hot water at -a penny a head. Mrs. Nollekens made it a rule to allow one servant--as -they kept two--to go out on the alternate Sunday; for it was Mr. -Nollekens's opinion that if they were never permitted to visit the -Jew's Harp, Queen's Head and Artichoke, or Chalk Farm, they never would -wash _theirselves_. - -One day, when some friends were expected to dine with Mr. Nollekens, -poor Bronze (the servant), labouring under a severe sore throat, -stretching her flannelled neck up to her mistress, hoarsely announced -"_all the Hawkinses_" to be in the dining-parlour! Mrs. Nollekens, in -a half-stifled whisper, cried, "Nolly, it is truly vexatious that we -are always served so when we dress a joint. You won't be so silly as -to ask them to dinner?" _Nollekens_--"I ask them! Let 'em get their -meals at home; I'll not encourage the sort of thing; or, if they -please, they can go to Mathias's; they'll find the cold leg of lamb -we left yesterday." _Mrs. Nollekens_--"No wonder, I am sure, they -are considered so disagreeable by Captain Grose, Hampstead Steevens, -Murphy, Nicolls, and Boswell." At this moment who should come in but -Mr. John Taylor, who looked around, and wondered what all the fuss -could be about. "Why don't you go to your dinner, my good friend?" said -he; "I am sure it must be ready, for I smell the gravy." Nollekens, -to whom he had spoken, desired him to keep his nonsense to himself. A -dispute then arose, which lasted so long, that perhaps the Hawkinses -overheard it, for they had silently let themselves out without even -ringing the bell. - -Smith, the grocer, of Margaret Street, was frequently heard to declare -that whenever Mrs. Nollekens purchased tea and sugar at his father's -shop, she always requested, just as she was quitting the counter, to -have either a clove or a bit of cinnamon to take some unpleasant taste -out of her mouth; but she never was seen to apply it to the part so -affected; so that, with Nollekens's nutmegs, which he pocketed from -the table at the Academy dinners, they contrived to fill the family -spice-box, without any expense whatever. - -For many years Nollekens made one at the table of the Royal Academy -Club; and so strongly was he bent upon saving all he could privately -conceal, that he did not mind paying two guineas a year for his -admission ticket, in order to indulge himself with a few nutmegs, -which he contrived to pocket privately: for as red-wine negus was the -principal beverage, nutmegs were used. Now it generally happened, if -another bowl was wanted, that the nutmegs were missing, Nollekens, -who had frequently been seen to pocket them, was one day requested by -Rossi, the sculptor to see if they had not fallen under the table; -upon which Nollekens actually went crawling beneath, upon his hands -and knees, pretending to look for them, though at the very time they -were in his waistcoat-pocket. He was so old a stager at this monopoly -of nutmegs, that he would sometimes engage the maker of the negus in -conversation, looking at him full in the face, whilst he slyly and -unobserved, as he thought, conveyed away the spice; like the fellow who -is stealing the bank-note from the blind man in the admirable print of -the Royal Cockpit, by Hogarth. - -Mrs. Nollekens would never think of indulging in such expensive -articles as spick and span new shoes, but purchased them second-hand, -as her friends, by their maids, _pumped_ out of Bronze, who also let -out that her muffs and parasols were obtained in the same way. The -sculptor's wife would also often plume herself with borrowed feathers -a shawl or a muff of a friend she never refused when returning home, -observing, that she was quite sure that they would keep her warm; never -caring how they suffered from the rain, so that her neighbours saw her -apparelled in what they had never before seen her wear. - -Mrs. Nollekens's notions of charity were of the same second-hand -description. One severe winter morning, two miserable men, almost dying -for want of nourishment, implored her aid; but the only heart which -sympathized in their afflictions was that of Betty, in the kitchen, -who silently crept upstairs, and cheerfully gave them her mite. Mrs. -Nollekens, who had witnessed this delicate rebuke from the parlour -window, hastily opened the parlour door and vociferated, "Betty, Betty! -there is a bone below, with little or no meat on it, give it the poor -creatures!" upon which the one who had hitherto spoken, steadfastly -looking in the face of his pale partner in distress, repeated, "Bill, -we are to have a bone with little or no meat on it!" When they were -gone, the liberal-hearted Betty was seriously rated by her mistress, -who was quite certain she would come to want. - -Mr. Nollekens, having entered his barber's shop, and his turn arrived, -placed one of Mrs. Nollekens's curling papers, which he had untwisted -for the purpose, upon his right shoulder, upon which the barber wiped -his razor. Nollekens cried out, "Shave close, Hancock, for I was -obliged to come twice last week, you used so blunt a razor."--"Lord -sir!" answered the poor barber, "you don't care how I wear my razors -out by sharpening them." - -The old miser, who had been under his hands for upwards of twenty -years, was so correct an observer of its application, that he generally -pronounced at the last flourish, "That will do;" and before the shaver -could take off the cloth, he dexterously drew down the paper, folded -it up and carried it home in his hand, for the purpose of using it the -next morning when he washed himself. - -Nollekens used to sing a droll song, of which the following is a -verse:-- - - "So a rat by degrees - Fed a kitten with cheese, - Till kitten grew up to a cat; - When the cheese was all spent, - Nature follow'd its bent, - And puss quickly ate up the rat." - -One day, Northcote, the Academician, had just reached his door in -Argyle Street when Nollekens, who was looking up at the house, said to -him, "Why, don't you have your house painted, Northcote? Why, it's as -dirty as Jem Barry's was in Castle Street." Now, Nollekens had no right -to exult over his brother artist in this way, for he had given his own -door a coat of paint, and his front passage a whitewash, _only the day -before_, and they had been for years in the most filthy state possible. - -Mr. Smith received from Miss Welch the following specimens of -Nollekens's way of spelling words in 1780:--"Yousual, scenceble, -obligine, modle, ivery, gentilman, promist, sarvices, desier, Inglish, -perscription, hardently, jenerly, moust, devower, jellis, retier, -sarved, themselfs, could _for_ cold, clargeman, facis, cupple, foure, -sun _for_ son, boath sexis, daly, horsis, ladie, cheif, talkin, tould, -shee, sarch, paing, ould mades, racis, yoummer in his face, palas, oke, -lemman, are-bolloon, sammon, chimisters _for_ chymists, yoke _for_ -yolk, grownd," &c. - -After Mrs. Nollekens's death, as if he had been too long henpecked, -Mr. Nollekens soon sported two mould candles instead of one; took wine -oftener, sat up later, lay in bed longer, and would, though he made -no change in his coarse manner of feeding, frequently ask his morning -visitor to dine with him. Yet his viands were dirtily cooked with -half-melted butter, mountains-high of flour, and his habits of eating -were filthy. He frequently gave tea and other entertainments to some -one of his old models, who generally left his house a bank-note or -two richer than when they arrived. Indeed, so stupidly childish was he -at times, that one of his Venuses, who had grown old in her practices -coaxed him out of ten pounds to enable her to make him a plum-pudding. - -Mr. Smith declares, that in some respects, aged as he was, he attempted -to practise the usual method of renovation of some of that species of -widowers who have not the least inclination to follow their wives too -hastily. Mrs. Nollekens had left him with his handsome maid, who had -become possessed of her mistress' wardrobe, which she quickly cut up -to her advantage. Her common name of Mary soon received the adjunct of -Pretty from her kind master himself. As it soon appeared, however, that -Pretty Mary, who had an eye to her master's disengaged hand, took upon -herself mightily, and used her master rather roughly, she was one day, -very properly, though unceremoniously, put out of the house, before her -schemes were brought to perfection. - -Nollekens took snuff; he certainly kept a box, but then it was very -often in his other coat-pocket, an apology frequently made when he -partook of that refreshment at the expense of another. - -"You must sometimes be much annoyed," observed a lady to Mr. Nollekens, -"by the ridiculous remarks made by your sitters and their flattering -friends, after you have produced a good likeness."--"No, ma'am, I never -allow anybody to fret me. I tell 'em all, 'If you don't like it, don't -take it.'" This may be done by an artist who is "tiled in;" but the -dependent man is sometimes known to submit to observations as the witty -Northcote has stated, even from "nursery-maids, both wet and dry." - -At the commencement of the French Revolution, when such numbers -of priests threw themselves upon the hospitality of this country, -Nollekens was highly indignant at the great quantity of bread they -consumed. "Why, do you know now," said he, "there's one of 'em living -next door to me, that eats two whole quarterns a-day to his own share! -and I am sure the fellow's body could not be bigger, if he was to eat -up his blanket." - -Mr. Browne, one of Nollekens's old friends, after having received -repeated invitations to "step in and take pot-luck with him," one day -took him at his word. The sculptor apologized for his entertainment, -by saying that as it was Friday, Mrs. Nollekens had proposed to take -fish with him, so that they had bought _a few sprats_, of which he was -wiping some in a dish, whilst she was turning others on the gridiron. - -When Mr. Jackson was once making a drawing of a monument at the -Sculptor's house, Nollekens came into the room and said, "I'm afraid -you're cold here." "I am, indeed," said Jackson. "Ay," answered the -Sculptor, "I don't wonder at it: why, do you know, there has not been a -fire in this room for these forty years." - -Miss Gerrard, daughter of the auctioneer, frequently called to know how -Nollekens did; and once the Sculptor prevailed upon her to dine. "Well, -then," said he to his pupil, Joseph Bonomi, "go and order a mackerel; -stay, one won't be enough, you had better get two, and you shall dine -with us." - -A candle with Nollekens was a serious article of consumption: indeed, -so much so, that he would frequently put it out, and merely to save -an inch or two, sit entirely in the dark, and at times, too, when he -was not in the least inclined to sleep. If Bronze ventured into the -yard with a light, he always scolded her for so shamefully flaring -the candle. One evening, his man, who then slept in the house, came -home rather late, but quite sober enough to attempt to go upstairs -unheard without his shoes, but as he was passing Nollekens's door, the -immensely increased shape of the keyhole shone upon the side of the -room so brilliantly that Nollekens cried out, "Who's there?"--"It's -only me," answered the man; "I am going to bed."--"Going to bed, -you extravagant rascal!--why don't you go to bed in the dark, you -scoundrel."--"It's my own candle," replied the man. "Your own candle! -well then, mind you don't set fire to yourself." - -Nollekens frequently spoke of a man that he met in the fields, who -would now and then, with all the gravity of an apothecary, inquire -after the state of his bowels. At last the sculptor found out that he -wanted to borrow money of him. - -Whenever Mr. and Mrs. Nollekens had a present of a leveret, which they -always called a hare, they contrived, by splitting it, to make it last -for two dinners for four persons; the one half was roasted, and the -other jugged. - -It was highly amusing to witness the great variety of trifling presents -and frivolous messages which Nollekens received late in life. One -person was particularly desirous to be informed where he liked his -cheese-cakes purchased; another, who ventured to buy stale tarts from -a shop in his neighbourhood, sent his livery servant in the evening to -inquire whether his cook had made them to his taste; whilst a third -continued constantly to ply him with the very best pigtail tobacco, -which he had most carefully cut into very small pieces for him. A -fourth truly kind friend, who was not inclined to spend money upon -such speculations himself, endeavoured once more to persuade Nollekens -to take a cockney ride in a hackney-coach to Kensington, to view -the pretty almond-tree in perfect blossom, and to accept of a few -gooseberries to carry home with him to make a tartlet for himself. -A fifth sent him jellies, or sometimes a chicken with gravy ready -made, in a silver butter-boat; and a sixth regularly presented him -with a change of large showy plants, to stand on the mahogany table, -especially in his latter years, when he was a valetudinarian, that he -might see them from his bed; yet the scent mattered not, a carrion -flower or a marigold being equally refreshing to him as jessamine or -mignonette. - -One rainy morning, Nollekens, after confession, invited his holy father -to stay till the weather cleared up. The wet, however, continued -till dinner was ready; and Nollekens felt obliged to ask the priest -to partake of a bird, one of the four of a present from the Duke of -Newcastle. Down they sat: the reverend man helped his host to a wing, -and then carved for himself, assuring Nollekens that he never indulged -in much food, though he soon picked the rest of the bones. "I have no -pudding," said Nollekens, "but won't you have a glass of wine? Oh! -you've got some ale." However, Bronze brought in a bottle of wine; and -on the remove, Nollekens, after taking a glass, went, as usual, to -sleep. The priest, after enjoying himself, was desired by Nollekens, -while removing the handkerchief from his head, to take another glass. -"Tank you, Sare, I have a finish de bottel."--"The devil you have!" -muttered Nollekens. "Now, sare," continued his reverence, "ass de rain -be ovare, I will take my leaf."--"Well, do so," said Nollekens, who -was not only determined to let him go without his coffee, but gave -strict orders to Bronze not to let the old rascal in again. "Why, do -you know," continued he, "that he ate up all that large bird, for he -only gave me one wing; and he swallowed all the ale; and out of a whole -bottle of wine, I had only one glass." - -A broad-necked gooseberry-bottle, leather-bunged, containing coffee, -which had been purchased and ground full forty years, was brought out -when he intended to give a particular friend a treat; but it was so -dried to the sides of the bottle, that it was with difficulty he could -scrape together enough for the purpose; and even when it was made, -time had so altered its properties, from the top having been but half -closed, that it was impossible to tell what it had originally been. He -used to say, however, of this turbid mixture, "Some people fine their -coffee with sole-skin, but for my part, I think this is clear enough -for anybody." - -Nollekens's wardrobe was but a sorry stock. He had but one nightcap, -two shirts, and three pairs of stockings; two coats, one pair of -small-clothes, and two waistcoats. His shoes had been repeatedly mended -and nailed; they were two odd ones, and the best of his last two -pairs. When Mary Holt, his housekeeper, came, she declared that she -would not live with him unless he had a new coat and waistcoat. Poor -Bronze, who had to support herself upon what were called board-wages, -had hardly a change, and looked like the wife of a chimney-sweeper. -As for table-linen, two breakfast napkins and a large old table-cloth -was the whole of the stock. Bronze declared that she had never seen a -jack-towel in the house, and she always washed without soap. - -The wardrobe, as proved in Nollekens's will, consisted of his -court-coat, in which he was married: his hat, sword, and bag; two -shirts, two pairs of worsted stockings, one table-cloth, three -sheets, and two pillow-cases; but all these, with _other rags_, only -produced one pound five shillings for the person to whom they were -bequeathed.[37] - -[37] These characteristics have been selected and abridged from Mr. J. -T. Smith's _Nollekens and his Times_, one of the best books of anecdote -ever published. - -Mr. Nollekens died April 23rd, 1823. His long-drawn-out will and its -fourteen codicils afford strange instances of human weakness in many -a phase. In some measure to redeem his memory from obloquy, we had -rather record a few instances of his generosity, than add more of his -parsimony. In his last illness, he asked his housekeeper:--"Is there -anybody that I know that wants a little money to do 'em good?"--"Yes, -sir, there is Mrs. ----." _Nollekens_:--"Well, in the morning, I'll -send her ten pounds."--"That's a good old boy," said she, patting -him on the back; "you'll eat a better dinner for it to-morrow, and -enjoy it." And he was never known to forget his promises. With all -his propensity for saving, he used to make his household domestics a -present of a little sum of money on his birthday; and latterly, upon -this occasion, he became even more generous, by bestowing on them, to -their great astonishment, ten and twenty pounds each. - - - - -[Illustration: Master Betty as Norval. The Young Douglas.] - - - - -_THEATRICAL FOLKS._ - - - - -The Young Roscius. - - -Early in the present century, there appeared upon our stage a -boy-actor, whose performances excited the special wonder of all -play-goers. William Henry West Betty, the boy in question, was born -near Shrewsbury, in 1791. When almost a child, he evinced a taste for -dramatic recitations, which was encouraged by a strong and retentive -memory. Having been taken to see Mrs. Siddons act, he was so powerfully -affected, that he told his father "he should certainly die if he was -not made a player." He gradually got himself introduced to managers -and actors; and at eleven years of age, he learned by heart the parts -of Rolla, Young Norval, Osman, and other popular characters. On the -16th of August, 1803, when under twelve years of age, he made his first -public appearance at Belfast, in the character of Osman; and went -through the ordeal without mistake or embarrassment. Soon afterwards -he undertook the characters of Young Norval and Romeo. His fame having -rapidly spread through Ireland, he soon received an offer from the -manager of the Dublin theatre. His success there was prodigious, and -the manager endeavoured, but in vain, to secure his services for three -years. He next played nine nights at the small theatre at Cork, whose -receipts, averaging only ten pounds on ordinary nights, amounted to a -hundred on each of Master Betty's performance. - -In May, 1804, the canny manager of the Glasgow theatre invited the -youthful genius to Scotland. When, a little after, Betty went to the -sister-city of Edinburgh, one newspaper announced that he "set the town -of Edinburgh in a flame." Mr. Home went to see the character of Young -Norval in his own play of _Douglas_ enacted by the prodigy, and is said -to have declared: "This is the first time I ever saw the part played -according to my ideas of the character. He is a wonderful being!" The -manager of the Birmingham theatre then sent an invitation, and was -rewarded with a succession of thirteen closely-packed audiences. Here -the _Rosciomania_, as Lord Byron afterwards called it, appears to -have broken out very violently: it affected not only the inhabitants -of that town, but all the iron and coal workers of the district -between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. In the _Penny Magazine_, in a -paper descriptive of the South Staffordshire district and its people, -it is said:--"One man, more curious or more idle than his fellows, -determined to leave his work, and see the prodigy with his own eyes. -Having so resolved, he proceeded, although in the middle of the -week, to put on a clean shirt and a clean face, and would even have -anticipated the Saturday's shaving. The unwonted hue of the shirt and -face were portents not to be disregarded, and he had no sooner taken -the road to Birmingham, than he was met by an astonished brother, whose -amazement, when at last it found vent in words, produced the following -dialogue: 'Oi say, sirree, where be'est thee gwain?'--'Oi 'm agwain to -Brummajum.'--'What be'est thee agwain there for?'--'Oi 'm agwain to see -the Young Rocus.'--'What?'--'Oi tell thee oi 'm agwain to see the Young -Rocus.'--'Is it aloive?'" The "Young Rocus," who was certainly "aloive" -to a very practical end, then went to Sheffield, and next to Liverpool. - -On Saturday, the 1st of December, 1804, young Betty made his first -appearance in London, at Covent Garden Theatre. The crowd began to -assemble at one o'clock, filling the Piazza on one side of the house, -and Bow Street on the other. The utmost danger was apprehended, -because those who had ascertained that it was quite impossible for -them to _get in_, by the dreadful pressure behind them, could not get -back. At length they themselves called for the soldiers who had been -stationed outside; they soon cleared the fronts of the entrances, and -then posting themselves properly, lined the passages, permitting any -one to return, but none to enter. Although no places were unlet in the -boxes, gentlemen paid box-prices, to have a chance of jumping over the -boxes into the pit; and then others who could not find room for a leap -of this sort, fought for standing-places with those who had taken the -boxes days or weeks before. - -The play was Dr. Brown's _Barbarossa_, a good imitation of the -_Mérope_ of Voltaire, in which Garrick had formerly acted Achmet, or -Selim, now given to Master Betty. An occasional address was intended, -and Mr. Charles Kemble attempted to speak it, but in vain. The play -proceeded through the first act, but in dumb show. At length Barbarossa -ordered Achmet to be brought before him; attention held the audience -mute; not even a whisper could be heard, till Selim appeared. By the -thunder of applause which ensued, he was not much moved; he bowed very -respectfully, but with amazing self-possession, and in a few moments -turned to his work with the intelligence of a veteran, and the youthful -passion that alone could have accomplished a task so arduous. As a -slave, he wore white pantaloons, a close and rather short russet jacket -trimmed with sables, and a turban. - -"What first struck me," says Mr. Boaden, a trustworthy critic, "was -that his voice had considerable power, and a depth of tone beyond his -apparent age; at the same time it appeared heavy and unvaried. His -great fault grew from want of careful tuition in the outset. In the -provincial way, he dismissed the aspirate; and in closing syllables, -ending in _m_ or _n_, he converted the vowel _i_ frequently into _e_, -and sometimes more barbarously still into _u_. Whether he obtained -this from careless speakers in Ireland or England, I cannot be sure; -but this inaccuracy I remember to have sometimes heard even from Miss -O'Neil. He was sometimes too rapid to be distinct, and at others too -noisy for anything but rant. I found no peculiarities that denoted -minute and happy studies. He spoke the speeches as I had always heard -them spoken, and was therefore, only wrong where he laid vehement -emphasis. The wonder was how any boy, who had just completed his -_thirteenth year_, could catch passion, meaning, cadence, action, -expression, and the discipline of the stage, in ten very different -and arduous characters, so as to give the kind of pleasure in them -that needed no indulgence, and which, from that very circumstance, -heightened satisfaction into enthusiasm. Such were his performances -of Tancred, Romeo, Frederick, Octavian, Hamlet, Osman, Achmet, Young -Norval, &c." - -An arrangement was made that young Betty's talents should be made -available for both Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres, at which he -played on alternate nights. Covent Garden was not quite so large as the -Drury Lane of that date; at the latter, twenty-eight nights of Betty's -first town season, brought 17,210_l._ 11_s._; nightly average, 614_l._ -13_s._ 3_d._ For his services, Roscius received 2,782_l._ 10_s._, being -three nights at fifty guineas, and twenty-five nights at 100 guineas; -besides four free benefits, which with the presents, were worth 1,000 -guineas each. It is supposed that the receipts at Covent Garden were -nearly as much as at Drury Lane; and that thus 30,000_l._ was earned by -the boy-actor for the managers in fifty-six performances. - -In the meantime, all the favouritism, and more than the innocence of -former patronesses was lavished upon him. He might have chosen among -our titled dames the carriage he would honour with his person. He was -presented to the King, and noticed by the rest of the Royal family and -the nobility, as a prodigy. Prose and poetry celebrated his praise. -Even the University of Cambridge was so carried away by the tide of -the moment as to make the subject of Sir William Brown's prize medal, -"_Quid noster Roscius eget?_" Opie painted him on the Grampian Hills, -as the shepherd Norval; Northcote exhibited him in a Vandyke costume, -retiring from the altar of Shakespeare, as having borne thence, not -stolen, "Jove's authentic fire." Heath engraved the latter picture. -"Amidst all this adulation, all this desperate folly," says Boaden, "be -it one consolation to his mature self, that he never lost the genuine -modesty of his carriage, and that his temper at least was as steady as -his diligence." - -Fortunately for young Betty, his friends took care of his large -earnings for him, and made a provision for his future support. He soon -retired from the stage, and then became a person of no particular note -in the world, displaying no more genius or talent than the average of -those about him. When he became a man, he appeared on the stage again, -but _utterly failed_. We can add our own testimony that the good people -of Shrewsbury were ever proud of the precocious boy-actor. - - - - -Hardham's "No 37." - - -This renowned snuff was first made by John Hardham, of Fleet Street, -whose history is certainly worth reading. He was born in the good city -of Chichester, in the year 1712, and bred up to the occupation of a -working lapidary, or diamond-cutter; but he afterwards found his way -to the metropolis, and sought confidential or domestic employment, -and was in the establishment of Viscount Townshend, some time Lord -Lieutenant of Ireland, who ever entertained for him great regard. -Hardham, early in his career of London life, acquired a fondness for -the stage; and thus early wrote a comedy, called _The Fortune Tellers_, -which, although not intended for representation, nevertheless was -printed. This, probably, led to his subsequent introduction to David -Garrick, with whom he became connected at Drury Lane Theatre, in the -responsible post of his principal, "numberer"--that is, discharging -a duty in the house of counting the audience assembled, as a check -upon the check-takers and receivers of money at the doors. In this -duty he became so expert, that Garrick was heard to say, Hardham, by a -comparative glance round the theatre, could inform his master of the -receipts to a nicety, and he was never found incorrect in his report. - -Hardham established himself at the Red Lion, in Fleet Street, now -No. 106, where he flourished, by a course of patient industry, and -intelligent application to the business of tobacconist and snuff-maker. -Although in this new vocation he had fewer opportunities of intimately -identifying himself with the stage, he nevertheless remained as ardent -an admirer of it as ever. This he exemplified by associating around -him in Fleet Street, among whom were many literary personages, the -dramatists and wits of the theatre, and his friend David Garrick -did not here desert him. So much, in fact, did the dramatic element -prevail at the Red Lion in Fleet Street, under his fostering care, -that novices for the stage, almost invariably sought his advice, and, -indeed, his tuition. His little back-parlour, characteristically -enough, was hung around with portraits of eminent performers, to whose -styles of dramatic action and manner he would frequently refer in the -course of his instructions. Such recreations, however, did not for a -moment induce Hardham to relax his best energies in the conduct of the -snuff-business, which was daily enlarging the sphere of its operations, -and also its renown; which latter was much raised by the successful -completion of his experiments in the compounding of the renowned snuff, -"No. 37," which was speedily launched upon the tide of public opinion; -a tide which "led on to fortune." - -Hardham died in the house wherein he had earned his name for business -success, for good fellowship, and for "melting charity," in Fleet -Street, in the parish of St. Bride, on the 29th of September, 1772, -in his sixty-first year. His wife had preceded him by some years, and -leaving no child, in his last will, he says, "In all my former wills, -I gave my estate to my brother-in-law, Thomas Ludgater, but as he is -now growing old (about seventy-four), and as he has no child, and a -plenty of fortune, I thought it best to leave it as I have done, for -now it will be a benefit to the said city of Chichester for ever." This -fortune he left to the easing of the poor rates of his native city, -that is, the interest thereof for ever, amounting, after realizing -his estate, to the very considerable sum of 22,289_l._ 15_s._ 9_d._, -which was placed by his direction in the Three Per Cents., "feeling -confident that stock," as he quaintly expresses it, "will never -be lower than three per cent., as it now is." In the collecting of -the outstanding debts to his estate, there is also this emphatic -injunction, to "oppress not the poor." Legacies to several of his -Chichester friends show that Hardham kept up in life an active sympathy -with his native place, which was to be so largely benefited on his -death. One bequest there is, too, of ten guineas, "to his friend David -Garrick, Esq., the famous actor," who survived him seven years; and -there is besides recorded, as sufficiently indicative of the simplicity -of his character, a sum of "ten pounds for his funeral expenses, for -none but vain fools spend more," which injunction we doubt not, was -religiously observed, when he was buried in the centre aisle of St. -Bride's church.--_Abridged from a contribution to the City Press._ - - - - -Rare Criticism. - - -Mrs. Siddons is known to have described to Campbell the scene of her -probation on the Edinburgh boards with no small humour: the grave -attention of the Scotsmen, and their canny reservation of praise till -sure it is deserved, she said, had well nigh worn out her patience. -She had been used to speak to animated clay, but she now felt as if -she had been speaking to stone. Successive flashes of her elocution -that had always been sure to electrify the south, fell in vain on those -northern flints. At last she said that she coiled up her powers to the -most emphatic possible utterance of one passage, having previously -vowed in her heart that if _this_ could not touch the Scotch, she would -never again cross the Tweed. When it was finished, she paused, and -looked to the audience. The deep silence was broken only by a single -voice, exclaiming, "_That's no bad!_" This ludicrous parsimony of -praise convulsed the Edinburgh audience with laughter. But the laugh -was followed by such thunders of applause, that amidst her stunned and -nervous agitation, she was not without fears of the galleries coming -down. - -Another instance of encouraging criticism occurs in _The Memoirs of -Charles Mathews_. Early in 1794, he played Richmond to his friend -Lichfield's Richard III.; and both being good fencers, they fought -the fight at the end with uncommon vigour, and prolonged it to an -unreasonable length. After the performances, the two stars lighted each -other to their inn, in hope of liberal applause from their landlord, -whom they had gratified with a ticket. But though thus treated, and -invited to take a pipe and a glass with the two performers after -supper, he was provokingly silent on the great subject; till at -length, finding every circuitous approach ineffectual, they attacked -him with the direct question, "Pray tell us really what you thought -of our acting." This question was not to be evaded: the landlord -looked perplexed, his eyes still fixed on the ground; he took at -length the tube slowly from his mouth, raised his glass, and drank off -the remainder of his brandy-and-water, went to the fire-place, and -deliberately knocked out the ashes from his pipe; then, looking at -the expectants for a minute, exclaimed in a deep though hasty tone of -voice, "Darned good fight!"--and left the room. - - - - -The O. P. Riot. - - -The history in little of this theatrical tumult is as follows:--The -newly-built Covent Garden Theatre opened on the 18th September, -1809, when a cry of "Old Prices" (afterwards diminished to O. P.) -burst out from every part of the house. This continued and increased -in violence till the 23rd, when rattles, drums, whistles, and -cat-calls having completely drowned the voices of the actors, Mr. -Kemble, the stage-manager, came forward and said that a committee of -gentlemen had undertaken to examine the finances of the concern, and -that until they were prepared with their report the theatre would -continue closed. "Name them!" was shouted from all sides. The names -were declared, _viz._ Sir Charles Price, the Solicitor-General, the -Recorder of London, the Governor of the Bank, and Mr. Angerstein. -"All shareholders!" bawled a wag from the gallery. In a few days the -theatre re-opened; the public paid no attention to the report of the -referees, and the tumult was renewed for several weeks with even -increased violence. The proprietors now sent in hired bruisers, to -_mill_ the refractory into subjection. This irritated most of their -former friends, and, amongst the rest, the annotator, who accordingly -wrote the song of "Heigh-ho, says Kemble," which was caught up by the -ballad-singers, and sung under Mr. Kemble's house-windows in Great -Russell Street. A dinner was given at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, in -the Strand, to celebrate the victory obtained by W. Clifford in his -action against Brandon the box-keeper, for assaulting him for wearing -the letters O. P. in his hat. At this dinner Mr. Kemble attended, -and matters were compromised by allowing the advanced price (seven -shillings) to the boxes. A former riot of a similar sort occurred at -the same theatre (in the year 1792), when the price to the boxes was -raised from five shillings to six. That tumult, however, only lasted -three nights.[38] - -[38] Note to _Rejected Addresses_. Edition 1861. - - - - -Origin of "Paul Pry."[39] - - -Mr. Poole, the author of this very successful comedy, tells us that -the idea of the character of Paul Pry was suggested by the following -anecdote, related to him many years before he wrote the piece by a -beloved friend. - -[39] See _Liston_, page 391. - -An idle old lady, living in a narrow street, had passed so much of her -time in watching the affairs of her neighbours, that she at length -acquired the power of distinguishing the sound of every knocker within -hearing. It happened that she fell ill, and was for several days -confined to her bed. Unable to observe in person what was going on -without, she stationed her maid at the window as a substitute for the -performance of that duty. But Betty soon grew weary of the occupation; -she became careless in her reports--impertinent and tetchy when -reprimanded for her negligence. - -"Betty, what _are_ you thinking about? Don't you hear a double knock at -No. 9? Who is it?" - -"The first-floor lodger, ma'am." - -"Betty! Betty! I declare I must give you warning. Why don't you tell me -what that knock is at No. 54?" - -"Why, Lord! ma'am, it is only the baker with pies." - -"_Pies_, Betty! what _can_ they want with pies at 54?--they had pies -yesterday!" - -"Of this very point," says Mr. Poole, "I have availed myself. Let -me add, that _Paul Pry_ was never intended as the representative of -any one individual, but a class. Like the melancholy of Jaques, he -is 'compounded of many simples,' and I could mention five or six who -were unconscious contributors to the character. Though it should have -been so often, but erroneously, supposed to have been drawn after some -particular person, is, perhaps, complimentary to the general truth of -the delineation. - -"With respect to the play generally, I may say that it is original: it -is original in structure, plot, character, and dialogue--such as they -are--the only imitation I am aware of is to be found in part of the -business in which Mrs. Subtle is engaged; whilst writing those scenes -I had strongly in my recollection _Le Vieux Célibataire_. But even -the title I have adopted is considerably altered and modified by the -necessity of adapting it to the exigencies of a different plot." - - - - -[Illustration: Mrs. Garrick. From a portrait taken in her youth.] - - - - -Mrs. Garrick. - - -In the autumn of 1822, we well remember the appearance in the -print-shops of a small whole-length etching of Mrs. Garrick, who had -died three or four days previously, having outlived her celebrated -husband three-and-forty years. - -John Thomas Smith notes: "1822. In October this year the venerable -Mrs. Garrick departed this life when seated in her armchair, in the -front drawing-room of her house in the Adelphi Terrace." [The first -floor of which is now occupied by the Literary Fund Society.] "She had -ordered her maid-servants to place two or three gowns upon chairs to -determine in which she would appear at Drury Lane Theatre that evening, -it being a private view of Mr. Elliston's improvements for the season. -Perhaps no lady in public and private life held a more unexceptionable -character. She was visited by persons of the first rank; even our late -Queen Charlotte, who had honoured her with a visit at Hampton, found -her peeling onions for pickling. The gracious queen commanded a knife -to be brought, saying 'I will peel some onions too.' The late King -George IV. and King William IV., as well as other branches of the Royal -Family, frequently honoured her with visits." - -In the year previous to her death, Mrs. Garrick went to the British -Museum to inspect the collection of the portraits of Garrick which Dr. -Burney had made. She was delighted with these portraits, many of which -were totally unknown to her. Her observations on some of them were -very interesting, particularly that by Dance, as Richard III. Of that -painter she stated that, in the course of his painting the picture, Mr. -Garrick had agreed to give him two hundred guineas for it. One day, -at Mr. Garrick's dining table, where Dance had always been a welcome -guest, he observed that Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, who had seen the -picture, spontaneously offered him two hundred guineas for it. "Did you -tell him it was for me?" questioned Garrick. "No, I did not."--"Then -you mean to let him have it?" Garrick rejoined. "Yes, I believe I -shall," replied the painter. "However," added Mrs. Garrick, "my husband -was very good: he bought me a handsome looking-glass, which cost him -more than the agreed price of the picture; and that was put up in the -place where Dance's picture was to have hung." - -"Mrs. Garrick, being about to quit her seat, said she would be glad to -see me at Hampton. 'Madame,' said Mr. Smith, 'you are very good, but -you would oblige me exceedingly by honouring me with your signature on -this day.' 'What do you ask me for? I have not taken a pen in my hands -for many months. Stay, let me compose myself; don't hurry me, and I -will see what I can do. Would you like it written with my spectacles -on, or without?' Preferring the latter, she wrote, 'E. M. Garrick,' but -not without some exertion. - -"'I suppose now, sir, you wish to know my age. I was born at Vienna, -the 29th of February, 1724, though my coachman insists upon it that I -am above a hundred. I was married at the parish of St. Giles at eight -o'clock in the morning, and immediately afterwards in the chapel of the -Portuguese Ambassador, in South Audley Street.'" - -A day or two after Mrs. Garrick's death, Mr. Smith went to the Adelphi, -to know if a day had been fixed for the funeral. "No," replied George -Harris, one of Mrs. Garrick's confidential servants, "but I will let -you know when it is to take place. Would you like to see her? She is -in her coffin."--"Yes I should." Upon entering the back room on the -first floor, in which Mrs. Garrick died, Mr. Smith found the deceased's -two female servants standing by her remains. He made a drawing of -her, and intended to have etched it. "Pray, do tell me," said Smith -to one of the maids, "why is the coffin covered with sheets?"--"They -are their wedding sheets, in which both Mr. and Mrs. Garrick wished -to have died." Mr. Smith was told that one of these attentive women -had incurred her mistress's displeasure by kindly pouring out a cup of -tea, and handing it to her in her chair: "Put it down, you hussy: do -you think I cannot help myself." She took it herself, and a short time -after she had put it to her lips, she died. - -This lady continued her practice of swearing now and then, particularly -when anyone attempted to impose upon her. A stonemason brought in his -bill, with an overcharge of sixpence more than the sum agreed upon; on -which occasion he endeavoured to appease her rage by thus addressing -her: "My dear Madam, do consider--" "My dear Madam! what do you mean, -you d--d fellow? Get out of the house immediately. My dear Madam, -indeed!" - -On the day of the funeral Smith went with Miss Macaulay, the -authoress, to see the venerable lady interred; but when they arrived -at Westminster Abbey, they were refused admittance by a person who -said: "If it be your wish to see the waxwork, you must come when the -funeral's over, and you will then be admitted into Poet's Corner, by a -man who is stationed at the door to receive your money." - -"Curse the waxwork!" said Smith, "this lady and I came to see Mrs. -Garrick's remains placed in the grave."--"Ah, well, you can't come in; -the Dean won't allow it."--"As soon as the ceremony was over," says -Smith, "we were admitted for sixpence at the Poet's Corner, and there -we saw the earth that surrounded the grave, and no more, as we refused -to pay the demands of the showmen of the Abbey." - -Horace Walpole, though he wrote a bitter letter upon Garrick's funeral, -and some strange opinions of his acting, left some good-humoured -remarks upon Mrs. Garrick: he writes to Miss Hannah More: "Mrs. Garrick -I have scarcely seen this whole summer. She is a liberal Pomona to me, -I will not say an Eve, for though she reaches fruit to me, she will -never let me in, as if I were a boy, and would rob her orchard." - - - - -[Illustration: Charles Mathews the Elder.] - - - - -Mathews, a Spanish Ambassador. - - -Mathews once personated a Spanish Ambassador; a frolic enacted by him -at an inn at Dartford. An account of the freak was written by Tom -Hill, who took part in the scene, acting as Mathews's interpreter. He -called it his "Recollections of his Excellency the Spanish Ambassador's -visit to Captain Selby, on board the _Prince Regent_ one of his -Majesty's frigates stationed at the Nore, by the Interpreter." - -The party hired a private coach, of large capacity, and extremely -showy, to convey them to Gravesend as the _suite_ of Mathews, who -personated an ambassador from Madrid to the English Government, and -four smart lads, who were entrusted with the secret by the payment -of a liberal fee. The drivers proved faithful to their promise. When -they arrived at the posting-house at Dartford, one of the drivers -dismounted, and communicated to the inn-keeper the character of the -nobleman (Mathews) inside the coach, and that his mission to London -had been attended with the happiest result. The report spread through -Dartford like wildfire, and in about ten minutes the carriage (having -by previous arrangement been detained) was surrounded by at least -two hundred people, all with cheers and gratulations, anxious to -gain a view of the important personage, who, decked out with nearly -twenty different stage jewels, representing sham orders, bowed with -obsequious dignity to the assembled multitude. It was settled that -the party should dine and sleep at the Falcon Tavern, Gravesend, -where a sumptuous dinner was provided for his Excellency and _suite_. -Previously, however, to dinner-time, and to heighten the joke, they -promenaded the town and its environs, followed by a large assemblage -of men, women, and children at a respectful distance, all of whom -preserved the greatest decorum. The interpreter (Mr. Hill) seemed to -communicate and explain to the Ambassador whatever was of interest in -their perambulation. On their return to the inn, the crowd gradually -dispersed. The dinner was served in a sumptuous style, and two or three -additional waiters, dressed in their holiday clothes, were hired for -the occasion. - -The ambassador, by medium of his interpreter, asked for two soups, and -a portion of four different dishes of fish with oil, vinegar, mustard, -pepper, salt, and sugar, in the same plate, which, _apparently_ to the -eyes of the waiters, and to their utter astonishment and surprise, he -eagerly devoured. The waiters had been cautioned by one of the _suite_ -not to notice the manner in which his Excellency ate his dinner, lest -it should offend him; and their occasional absence from the room gave -Mathews or his companion an opportunity of depositing the incongruous -medley in the ashes under the grate--a large fire having been provided. -The ambassador continued to mingle the remaining viands, during dinner, -in a similar heterogeneous way. The chamber in which his Excellency -slept was brilliantly illuminated with wax-candles, and in one corner -of the room a table was fitted up, under the direction of one of the -party, to represent an oratory, with such appropriate apparatus as -could best be procured. A private sailing-barge was moored at the -stairs by the fountain early the next morning, to convey the ambassador -and his attendants to the _Prince Regent_ at the Nore. The people again -assembled in vast multitudes to witness the embarkation. Carpets were -placed on the stairs at the water's edge, for the state and comfort of -his Excellency; who, the instant he entered the barge, turned round and -bade a grateful farewell to the multitude, at the same time placing his -hand upon his bosom, and taking off his huge cocked hat. The captain -of the barge, a supremely illiterate, good-humoured cockney, was -introduced most ceremoniously to the ambassador, and purposely placed -on his right hand. It is impossible to describe the variety of absurd -and extravagant stratagems practised on the credulity of the captain by -Mathews, and with consummate success, until the barge arrived in sight -of the King's frigate, which by a previous understanding, recognized -the ambassador by signals. The officers were all dressed in full -uniform, and prepared to receive him. When on board, the whole party -threw off their disguises, and were entertained by Captain Selby with a -splendid dinner, to which the lieutenants of the ship were invited. - -After the banquet, Mathews, in his own character, kept the company in -high spirits by his incomparable mimic powers for more than ten hours, -incorporating with admirable effect the entire narrative of the journey -to Gravesend, and his, "acts and deeds" at the Falcon. Towards the -close of the feast, and about half-an-hour before the party took their -departure, in order to give the commander and his officers "a touch -of his quality," Mathews assumed his ambassadorial attire, and the -captain of the barge, still in ignorance of the joke, was introduced -into the cabin, between whom and his Excellency an indescribable scene -of rich burlesque was enacted. The party left the ship for Gravesend -at four o'clock in the morning--Mathews, in his "habit as he lived," -with the addition of a pair of spectacles, which he had a peculiar way -of wearing to conceal his identity, even from the most acute observer. -Mathews again resumed his station by the side of the captain, as a -person who had left the frigate for a temporary purpose. The simple -captain recounted to Mathews all that the Spanish ambassador had -enacted, both in his transit from Gravesend to the Nore, and whilst he -(the captain) was permitted to join the festive board in the cabin, -with singular fidelity, and to the great amusement of the original -party, who, during the whole of this ambassadorial excursion, never -lost their gravity, except when they were left to themselves. They -landed at Gravesend, and from thence departed to London, luxuriating -upon the hoax. - - - - -[Illustration: Grimaldi as Clown. After De Wilde.] - - - - -Grimaldi, the Clown. - - -Joseph Grimaldi had for his paternal grandfather a dancer, so vigorous -as to rejoice in the appellation of "Iron Legs." His son, the father of -_our_ Grimaldi, was a native of Genoa, and in 1760 came to England as -dentist to Queen Charlotte. He soon, however, resigned this situation, -commenced dancing and fencing-master, and was appointed ballet-master -of Drury Lane Theatre and Sadler's Wells with the post of primo -buffo. He was an honest and charitable man, and was never known to be -inebriated, though he was very eccentric. He had a vague and profound -dread of the fourteenth day of the month: at its approach he was always -nervous, disquieted, and anxious; directly it had passed he was another -man again, and invariably exclaimed, in his broken English, "Ah! now -I am safe for anoder month." It is remarkable that he actually died -on the fourteenth day of March; and that he was born, christened, and -married on the fourteenth of the month. This was the same man who, in -the time of Lord George Gordon's Riots, when people for the purpose of -protecting their houses from the fury of the mob, inscribed upon their -doors the words "No Popery," actually with the view of keeping in the -right with all parties, and preventing the possibility of offending -any by his form of worship, wrote up "No Religion at all," which -announcement appeared in large characters in front of his house in -Little Russell Street: the protective idea was perfectly successful. - -Joseph Grimaldi, our "Joe," was born out of wedlock on the 18th of -December, 1778, in Stanhope Street, Clare Market; his mother being -Rebecca Brooker, who had been from her infancy a dancer at Drury Lane, -and subsequently at Sadler's Wells played old women. Joe's eccentric -father was then more than seventy years old; and twenty-five months -afterwards was born another son, Joseph's only brother. - -_Our_ Joe Grimaldi, at the age of one year and eleven months, was -brought out by his father, on the boards of Old Drury, as "the little -clown," in the pantomime of _Robinson Crusoe_, at a salary of 15_s._ -per week. In 1781 he first appeared at Sadler's Wells, in the arduous -character of a monkey: here he remained (one season only excepted) -until the termination of his professional career, forty-nine years -afterwards, when in his farewell address, at Sadler's Wells, he -said:--"At a very early age, before that of three years, I was -introduced to the public by my father, at this theatre." This is not -very clear, since it would seem to contradict the statement of his -having appeared at Drury Lane. During the first piece in which little -Joe played at Sadler's Wells, he had nearly lost his life: in one of -the scenes, the clown, his father, was swinging him as a monkey, round -and round by a chain, which broke, and he was hurled a considerable -distance into the pit, fortunately into the very arms of an old -gentleman who was sitting gazing at the stage with intense interest. - -At this time, "the little clown's" full-dress was embroidered coat and -breeches, silk stockings, paste buckles, and cocked-hat; and a guinea -in his pocket, which he one day gave to a distressed woman, for which -act his father gave him a caning (though not till five months after), -which he remembered as long as he lived. Old Grimaldi died in 1788, -leaving 1,500_l._, but the executor becoming bankrupt, the two sons -lost the whole of their fortune. Joe stuck to the stage, and at Drury -Lane Mr. Sheridan raised his salary, unasked, to 1_l._ a-week. His -leisure was now passed in breeding pigeons and collecting insects; of -the latter he had a cabinet of 4,000 specimens. He now removed with his -mother to Pentonville, where the house is to this day pointed out in -Penton Place. About this time, early one morning, Joe found near the -Tower of London a purse of gold coin and a bundle of Bank-notes, which, -on his way home, he sat down to count upon the spot where now stands -the Eagle Tavern, in the City Road. There were 380 guineas and 200_l._ -in notes, making in the whole 599_l._ Grimaldi repeatedly advertised -in the daily newspapers the finding of the money, but he never heard -a syllable regarding the treasure he had so singularly acquired. His -maternal grandfather, it appears, once left a purse of gold, nearly -400_l._, upon a post near the Royal Exchange, and found it there -untouched after the lapse of nearly an hour. - -Joe Grimaldi appeared, as usual, at Sadler's Wells in 1788, but at this -time his salary of fifteen shillings a-week was reduced to three, on -which pittance he remained for three years, making himself generally -useful: in 1794, he had grown so popular at Sadler's Wells, that his -salary had risen from three shillings to four pounds. In 1800, Joe -married Miss Maria Hughes, eldest daughter of a proprietor and the -resident manager of Sadler's Wells: she died in the same year, and -was interred in the grave-yard of St. James's, Clerkenwell, where the -following was inscribed on a tablet at her request:-- - - "Earth walks on earth like glittering gold; - Earth says to earth we are but mould; - Earth builds on earth castles and towers; - Earth says to earth all shall be ours." - -On Monday, March 17th, 1828, Grimaldi took his farewell benefit at -Sadler's Wells, when he delivered an address, and the whole concluded -"with a brilliant display of fireworks, expressive of Grimaldi's -thanks." He, however, played a short time in 1832, and then quitted -the Wells finally. After this premature retirement from the stage, -poor Joe lived at No. 33, Southampton Street, Pentonville, in a house -which was furnished for him by his friends. At this time he frequented -the coffee-room of the Marquis of Cornwallis tavern, the proprietor of -which, considering his infirmity, or the loss of the use of his lower -extremity, used to fetch him on his back, and take him home in the same -manner. On May 31st, 1837, he was thus brought to the coffee-room and -seemed quite exhilarated, his conversation, and humour, and anecdotes -smacking of the vivacity of former years. He was carried home as usual; -he retired to rest, and next morning was found dead in his bed. On June -5th, he was buried in the ground of St. James's Chapel, Pentonville, -next to the grave of his friend, Charles Dibdin: his grave-stone states -his age at fifty-eight years. - -Thomas Hood wrote this touching "Ode to Joseph Grimaldi, senior," upon -his retirement:-- - - "Joseph! they say thou'st left the stage - To toddle down the hill of life, - And taste the flannell'd ease of age - Apart from pantomimic strife. - 'Retir'd' (for Young would call it so)-- - 'The world shut out'--in Pleasant Row. - - "And hast thou really washt at last, - From each white cheek the red half-moon? - And all thy public clownship cast, - To play the private pantaloon? - All youth--all ages--yet to be, - Shall have a heavy miss of thee. - - "Thou didst not preach to make us wise-- - Thou hadst no finger in our schooling-- - Thou didst not lure us to the skies; - Thy simple, simple trade was--Fooling! - And yet, Heav'n knows! we could--we can - Much 'better spare a better man!' - - * * * * * - - "But Joseph--everybody's Joe-- - Is gone; and grieve I will and must! - As Hamlet did for Yorick, so - Will I for thee (though not yet dust): - And talk as he did when he missed - The kissing crust, that he had kiss'd! - - "Ah, where is now thy rolling head! - Thy winking, reeling, _drunken_ eyes, - (As old Catullus would have said), - Thy oven-mouth, that swallow'd pies-- - Enormous hunger--monstrous drowth! - Thy pockets greedy as thy mouth! - - "Ah! where thy ears so often cuff'd! - Thy funny, flapping, filching hands! - Thy partridge body always stuff'd - With waifs and strays and contrabands! - Thy foot, like Berkeley's Foote--for why? - 'Twas often made to wipe an eye. - - "Ah, where thy legs--that witty pair? - For 'great wits jump'--and so did they! - Lord! how they leap'd in lamp-light air! - Caper'd and bounced, and strode away. - That years should tame the legs, alack! - I've seen spring through an almanack! - - * * * * * - - "For who, like thee, could ever stride - Some dozen paces to the mile! - The motley, medley coach provide; - Or, like Joe Frankenstein, compile - The _vegetable man_ complete! - A proper Covent Garden feat. - - "Oh, who, like thee, could ever drink, - Or eat, swill, swallow--bolt, and choke! - Nod, weep, and hiccup--sneeze, and wink! - Thy very yawn was quite a joke! - Though Joseph junior acts not ill, - 'There's no Fool like the old Fool' still! - - "Joseph, farewell! dear, funny Joe! - We met with mirth--we part in pain! - For many a long, long year must go - Ere fun can see thy like again; - For Nature does not keep great stores - Of perfect clowns--that are not _boors_!" - - - - -Munden's Last Performance. - - -In the year 1824, one of Charles Lamb's last ties to the theatre, as a -scene of present enjoyment, was severed. Munden, the rich peculiarities -of whose acting he has embalmed in one of the choicest _Essays of -Elia_, quitted the stage in the mellowness of his powers. His relish -for Munden's acting was almost a new sense: he did not compare him with -the old comedians, as having common qualities with them, but regarded -them as altogether of a different and original style. On the last night -of his appearance, Lamb was very desirous to attend, but every place in -the boxes had long been secured; and Charles was not strong enough to -stand the tremendous rush, by enduring which, alone, he could hope to -obtain a place in the pit; when Munden's gratitude for his exquisite -praise anticipated his wish, by providing for him and Miss Lamb places -in a corner of the orchestra, close to the stage. The play of the -_Poor Gentleman_, in which Munden performed Sir Robert Bramble, had -concluded and the audience were impatiently waiting for the farce, in -which the great comedian was to delight them for the last time, when -Lamb might be seen in a very novel position. In his hand, directly -beneath the line of stage-lights glistened a huge pewter-pot, which he -was draining; while the broad face of old Munden was seen thrust out -from the door by which the musicians enter, watching the close of the -draught, when he might receive and hide the portentous beaker from the -gaze of the admiring neighbours. Some unknown benefactor had sent four -pots of stout to keep up the veteran's heart during his last trial; -and not able to drink them all, he bethought him of Lamb, and without -considering the wonder which would be excited in the brilliant crowd -who surrounded him, conveyed himself the cordial chalice to Lamb's -parched lips. At the end of the same farce, Munden found himself unable -to deliver from memory a short and elegant address which one of his -sons had written for him; but provided against accidents, took it from -his pocket, wiped his eyes, put on his spectacles, read it, and made -his last bow. This was, perhaps, the last night when Lamb took a hearty -interest in the present business scene.[40] - -[40] Talfourd's _Letters of Charles Lamb_. - -Munden appears to have first imbibed a taste for the stage in his -admiration of the genius of Garrick. He had seen more of Garrick's -acting than any of his contemporaries in 1820, Quick and Bannister -excepted. Munden's style of acting was exuberant with humour. His -face was all changeful nature: his eye glistened and rolled, and lit -up alternately every corner of his laughing face: "then the eternal -tortuosities of his nose, and the alarming descent of his chin, -contrasted, as it eternally was, with the portentous rise of his -eyebrows." - - - - -Oddities of Dowton. - - -William Dowton took his farewell benefit at the Opera House, on June -8th, 1840; he was then in his seventy-ninth year--the only actor, -except Macklin, who continued to wear his harness to such an advanced -period. For nearly half a century he had enjoyed a first-class -reputation, but it was found that, when extreme old age came upon him, -he had saved no money. With the amount produced by the above benefit -was purchased for him an annuity for a given number of years, on which -he subsisted in ease and comfort; but, to the surprise of every one, -by dint of regular habits and an iron constitution, he outlived the -calculated time, and there was danger that he might be reduced to -penury. He died in 1849. - -Dowton, in 1836, visited the United States; but he was far too advanced -in life to attract attention or draw money. He came back almost as -poor as he went, but with a change in his political opinions. He -entered the land of freedom a furious republican--he returned from it -an ultra-Tory. He was constitutionally discontented, captious, and -fretful; but, at the same time, warm-hearted and generous. His oddities -were very amusing to those who were intimate with him. He would sit -for hours in his dressing-room arranging and contemplating his wigs, -those important accessories to his stage make-up. One of his peculiar -mannerisms was never to play a part without turning his wig. When -he acted Dr. Pangloss, a bet was made that there he would find his -favourite manœuvre impracticable. He managed it, nevertheless. When -Kenrick, the faithful old Irish servant, comes in exultingly, in the -last scene, to announce the long-lost Henry Moreland, he was instructed -to run against Dr. Pangloss, who thus obtained the desired opportunity -of disarranging his head-gear. - -Dowton undervalued Edmund Kean, whose merit he never could be induced -to acknowledge. When the vase was presented to that great actor, he -refused to subscribe, saying, "You may cup Mr. Kean, if you please, but -you sha'n't bleed me." He said, too, the cup should be given to Joe -Munden for his performance of Marall. Amongst other eccentricities, -Dowton fancied (a delusion common to comedians) that he could play -tragedy, and never rested until he obtained an opportunity of showing -the town that Edmund Kean knew nothing of Shylock. But the experiment -was, as might have been expected, a total failure. The great point of -novelty consisted in having a number of Jews in court, to represent -his friends and partisans, during the trial scene; and in their arms -he fainted, when told he was, per force, to become a Christian. The -audience laughed outright, as a commentary on the actor's conception. -Once he exhibited, privately, to Mr. J. W. Cole, the last scene of Sir -Giles Overreach, according to his idea of the author's meaning, and a -very mirthful tragedy it proved. He had a strange inverted idea that -Massinger intended Sir Giles for a comic character. He also fancied -that he could play Lord Ogleby, when nature, with her own hand, had -daguerreotyped him for Mr. Sterling. Such are the vagaries of genius, -which are equally mournful and unaccountable. - - - - -[Illustration: Liston as "Paul Pry."] - - - - -Liston in Tragedy. - - -Play-goers of the present century narrate the early seriousness of -Liston, the comedian, and his subsequent turn for tragedy; which may -have suggested the apocryphal biography of the actor stated to be by -Charles Lamb,[41] whence the following is abridged:-- - -Liston was lineally descended from Johan de L'Estonne, who came over -with the Norman William, and had lands awarded him at Lupton Magna, in -Kent. The more immediate ancestors of Mr. Liston were Puritans, and his -father, Habakkuk, was an Anabaptist minister. At the age of nine, young -Liston was placed under the tuition of the Rev. Mr. Goodenough, whose -decease was attended with these awful circumstances. It seems that the -old gentleman and his pupil had been walking out together, in a fine -sunset, to the distance of three-quarters of a mile west of Lupton, -when a sudden curiosity took Mr. Goodenough to look down upon a chasm, -where a mining shaft had been lately sunk, but soon after abandoned. -The old clergyman, leaning over, either with incaution or sudden -giddiness (probably a mixture of both), instantly lost his footing, -and, to use Mr. Liston's phrase, disappeared, and was doubtless broken -into a thousand pieces. The sound of his head &c., dashing successively -upon the projecting masses of the chasm had such an effect upon the -youth Liston, that a serious sickness ensued, and even for many years -after his recovery, he was not once seen so much as to smile. - -[41] This paper appeared in the "London Magazine," January, 1825, _not_ -1824, as stated at page 121. - -The joint death of both his parents, which happened not many months -after this disastrous accident, and were probably (one or both of them) -accelerated by it, threw our youth upon the protection of his maternal -great-aunt, Mrs. Sittingbourn, whom he loved almost to reverence. To -the influence of her early counsels and manners he always attributed -the firmness with which, in maturer years, thrown upon a way of -life commonly not the best adapted to gravity and self-retirement, -he was able to maintain a serious character, untinctured with the -levities incident to his profession. Ann Sittingbourn (her portrait -was painted by Hudson) was stately, stiff, and tall, with a cast of -features strikingly resembling those of Liston. Her estate in Kent -was spacious and well-wooded; and here, in the venerable solitudes -of Charnwood, amid thick shades of the oak and beech (the last his -favourite tree), Liston cultivated those contemplative habits which -never entirely deserted him in after-years. Here he was commonly in -summer months to be met, book in hand--not a play book--meditating. -Boyle's _Reflections_ was at one time his darling volume; this, in -its turn, was superseded by Young's _Night Thoughts_, which continued -its hold upon him throughout life. He carried it always about him; -and it was no uncommon thing for him to be seen, in the refreshing -intervals of his occupation, leaning against a side-scene, in a sort -of Herbert-of-Cherbury posture, turning over a pocket edition of his -favourite author. - -The premature death of Mrs. Sittingbourn, occasioned by incautiously -burning a pot of charcoal in her sleeping-chamber, left Liston, in -his nineteenth year, nearly without resources. That the stage at all -should have presented itself as an eligible scope for his talents, and -in particular, that he should have chosen a line so foreign to what -appears to have been his turn of mind, admits of explanation. - -At Charnwood, then, we behold him thoughtful, grave, ascetic. From his -cradle averse to flesh-meats and strong drink; abstemious even beyond -the genius of the place; and almost in spite of the remonstrances -of his great-aunt, who, though strict, was not rigid, water was his -habitual drink, and his food little beyond the mast and beech-nuts -of his favourite groves. It is a medical fact, that this kind of -diet, however favourable to the contemplative powers of the primitive -hermits, &c., is but ill adapted to the less robust minds and bodies of -a later generation. Hypochondria almost constantly ensues, and young -Liston was subject to sights and had visions. Those arid beech-nuts, -distilled by a complexion naturally adust, mounted into a brain, -already prepared to kindle by long seclusion and the fervour of strict -Calvinistic notions. In the glooms of Charnwood he was assailed by -illusions, similar in kind to those which are related of the famous -Anthony of Padua. Wild antic faces would ever and anon protrude -themselves upon his _sensorium_. Whether he shut his eyes or kept them -open, the same illusion operated. The darker and more profound were his -cogitations, the droller and more whimsical became the apparitions. -They buzzed about him, thick as flies, flapping at him, floating at -him, hooting in his ear; yet with such comic appendages, that what at -first was his bane, became at length his solace; and he desired no -better society than that of his merry phantasmata. We shall presently -find in what way this remarkable phenomenon influenced his future -destiny. - -On the death of Mrs. Sittingbourn, Liston was received into the family -of Mr. Willoughby, an eminent Turkey merchant, in Birchin Lane. He -was treated more like a son than a clerk, though he was nominally but -the latter. Different avocations, change of scene, with alternation -of business and recreation, appear to have weaned him in a short time -from the hypochondriacal affections which had beset him at Charnwood. -Within the next three years we find him making more than one voyage to -the Levant, as chief factor for Mr. Willoughby at the Porte: he used -to relate pleasant passages of his having been taken up on a suspicion -of a design of penetrating the seraglio, &c.; but some of these are -whimsical, and others of a romantic nature. - -We will now bring him over the seas again, and suppose him in the -counting-house in Birchin Lane, his factorage satisfactory, and all -going on so smoothly that we may expect to find Mr. Liston at last -an opulent merchant upon 'Change. But see the turns of destiny. Upon -a summer's excursion into Norfolk, in the year 1801, the accidental -sight of pretty Sally Parker, as she was then called (then in the -Norwich company), diverted his inclinations at once from commerce, -and he became stage-struck. Happily for the lovers of mirth was it -that he took this turn. Shortly after, he made his _début_ on the -Norwich boards, in his twenty-second year. Having a natural bent to -tragedy, he chose the part of Pyrrhus in the _Distressed Mother_, to -Sally Parker's Hermione. We find him afterwards as George Barnwell, -Altamont, Chamont, &c.; but, as if nature had destined him to the sock, -an unavoidable infirmity absolutely incapacitated him for tragedy. -His person at this latter period was graceful and even commanding, -his countenance set to gravity; he had the power of arresting the -attention of an audience at first sight almost beyond any other tragic -actor. But he could not hold it. To understand this obstacle, we must -go back a few years to those appalling reveries at Charnwood. Those -illusions, which had vanished before the dissipation of a less recluse -life and more free society, now in his solitary tragic studies, and -amid the intense call upon feeling incident to tragic acting, came -back upon him with tenfold vividness. In the midst of some most -pathetic passages--the parting of Jaffier with his dying friend, -for instance--he would suddenly be surprised with a fit of violent -horse-laughter. While the spectators were all sobbing before him with -emotion, suddenly one of those grotesque faces would peep out upon -him, and he could not resist the impulse. A timely excuse once or -twice served his purpose, but no audience could be expected to bear -repeatedly this violation of the continuity of feeling. He describes -them (the illusions) as so many demons haunting him, and paralyzing -every effort: it is said that he could not recite the famous soliloquy -in _Hamlet_, even in private, without immoderate fits of laughter. -However, what he had not force of reason sufficient to overcome, he -had good sense enough to turn into emolument, and determined to make a -commodity of his distemper. He prudently exchanged the buskin for the -sock, and the illusions instantly ceased, or, if they occurred for a -short season, by this very co-operation added a zest to his comic vein; -some of his most catching faces being (as he expressed it), little more -than transcripts and copies of those extraordinary phantasmata. - -We have now drawn Liston to the period when he was about to make his -first appearance in the metropolis, as it is narrated in a clever -paper in the _London Magazine_ January, 1824. This is not referred -to in the sketch of Liston's career, written a few days after his -death, March 22nd, 1846, by his son-in-law, George Herbert Rodwell, -the musical composer, and published in the _Illustrated London News_, -March 28th. There we are told that Liston was born in 1776; that -his father lived in Norris Street, Haymarket, and that young John -was educated at Dr. Barrow's Soho School, and subsequently became -second master in Archbishop Tenison's school. Rodwell relates that -early in his theatrical life, Liston went, for cheapness, by sea to -Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and was beaten about by adverse winds for a -fortnight; provisions ran so short that Liston was reduced to his -last inch of dry cheese. At Newcastle, through the above delay, he -was roughly received by Stephen Kemble, the manager, sitting in awful -state in the centre of the stage, directing a rehearsal. Kemble eyed -him several times before he spoke; at last he growled out, "Well, young -man, you are come." Mr. Liston bowed. "Then now you may go back again! -You have broken your engagement by being too late."--"It's very easy to -_say_ go back," replied Liston, with one of his peculiar looks, "but -here I am, and here I must stay, for I have not a farthing left in the -world." Kemble relented, and Liston remained at Newcastle until he came -to London for good. - -The first _comic_ part he performed was Diggory, in _She Stoops to -Conquer_. He took a great fancy to the character, and kept secret his -intentions as to the manner he meant to play it in, and the style -of dress he should wear. When he came on, so original was his whole -conception of the thing, that not an actor on the stage could speak -for laughing. When he came off, Mr. Kemble said:--"Young man, it -strikes me you have mistaken your _forte_: there's something comic -about you."--"I've not mistaken my _forte_," replied Liston, "but you -never before allowed me to try; I don't think myself I was made for -the heavy Barons!" He first appeared in London, as Sheepface, in the -_Village Lawyer_, June 10th, 1805. "That Mr. Liston did really imagine -he could be a tragic actor," says Rodwell, "is partly borne out by his -actually having attempted Octavian, in the _Mountaineers_, May 17th, -1809." - -When Liston first appeared on the stage is not accurately known. The -following early note from a manager of the time is undated:--"Sir, your -not favouring Me with an answ^r Relative to the I-dea of the Cast, I, -at random (tho' very ill), Scratch'd Out, Makes it Necessary for Me to -have your Opinion, in Order to Prevent Aney Mistake.--I am, Sir, with -every Good Wish, yours, &c.," - - "TATE WILKINSON." - -When Liston first came to London, he generally wore a pea-green coat, -and was everywhere accompanied by an ugly little pug-dog. This pug-dog, -like his master, soon made himself a favourite, go where he would, and -seemed exceedingly proud that he could make almost as many laugh as -could his master. The pug-dog acted as Mr. Liston's _avant-courier_, -always trotting on before, to announce his friend and master. The -frequenters of the Orange Coffee-house, Cockspur Street, where Liston -resided, used to say, laughing, "Oh, Liston will be here in a moment, -for here is his beautiful pug." - -Latterly he went little into society. His attention to his religious -duties was always marked by devout sincerity; his knowledge of the -Scriptures was very extensive. - - - - -[Illustration: Edmund Kean as Richard the Third.] - - - - -Boyhood of Edmund Kean. - - -Many years ago, there appeared in the _New Monthly Magazine_ the -following account of Kean's early days:--"I saw young Edmund Carey -(Kean) first in April, 1796. I am particularly positive both to month -and year, because I met Mrs. Carey and the boys (_Darnley_ was the -other reputed son by another father; this actor was for many years at -Astley's Amphitheatre, and is now living) on the morning of the day -on which Ireland's pretended Shakesperian drama was performed. Edmund -was always little, slight, but not young-looking; I should say he was -then _ten years of age_! The following September he played Tom Thumb at -Bartholomew Fair at a public-house; his mother played Queen Dollalolla; -he had a good voice, and was a pretty boy, but unquestionably more -like a _Jew_ than a Christian _child_. Old Richardson, the showman, -engaged him then and subsequently, and is living to vouch for the -fact, as far as eyesight goes, that in 1796, Kean looked more like a -child of _ten_ or _twelve_ than of _six_ years. This of course puts -an end to the _possibility_ of his having been born in the year 1790. -I cannot vouch as to the truth of the oft-repeated story of the dance -of devils in _Macbeth_, and his rejoinder to John Kemble, who found -fault with him, that 'he (Kean) had never appeared in tragedy before;' -but if it did occur, it must have been in 1794; for Garrick's Drury -was pulled down to be rebuilt in 1791, and the new theatre commenced -dramatic performances with _Macbeth_. Many novelties of arrangement -were attempted, the dance in question among the rest. Charles Kemble -made his first appearance as Malcolm that very night, and the audience -laughed very heartily when he exclaimed, '_Oh! by whom?_' on hearing -the account of his father's murder. Charles Kemble was then said to be -eighteen; I think he was more. If Kean was one of the dancing devils, -he could have been only _three years and five months old_; that is, -taking his own account of being born in November, 1790. - -"Kean broke his leg when a boy, riding an act of horsemanship at -Bartholomew Fair; and he was often, towards the years 1802, 3, 4, -and 5, about different parts of the country, spouting, riding, or -rope-dancing. The last time I saw him, previous to his 'great hit,' was -at Sadler's Wells; he was in front to see Belzoni (afterwards known -as the great traveller), who gave a pantomimic performance (such as -Ducrow since attempted) illustrative of the passions of Lebrun; Belzoni -was superior to anything I ever beheld, and I am not solitary in that -opinion. Ella, the harlequin, and Belzoni were together at the old -Royalty Theatre; and Belzoni's brother was also there. The great and -enterprising traveller was retained as a _posturer_ at 2_l._ per week!" - -About 1800, at the Rolls Rooms, Chancery Lane, young Kean, then -described as "the infant prodigy, Master Carey," gave readings, and -read the whole of Shakspeare's _Merchant of Venice_. All who knew -Kean intimately as a boy, declared that he was then a splendid actor, -and that many of his effects, at the age of fourteen, were quite as -startling as any of his more mature performances. Byron, who was then -much in theatrical society, says, "Kean began by acting Richard the -Third, when quite a boy, and gave all the promise of what he afterwards -became." - - - - -A Mysterious Parcel. - - -Mr. Bunn, when Lessee of Drury Lane Theatre, experienced the following -odd circumstance, which he describes, as curious as any that has -been or can be recited:--On reaching the theatre on Tuesday evening, -March 12th, 1839, he found on his desk a very small brown paper -parcel, addressed "To A. Bunn, Esq.," looking very dirty, and very -suspicious, and weighing wherewithal sufficiently heavy as to increase -such suspicion. The town had at that moment been partly astonished -and partly amused by "Madame Vestris's Infernal Machine," and the -narrow escape the person had who first opened it. Having no desire -for any similar experiment, Mr. Bunn hesitated in unfolding this -mysterious packet, more particularly when his messenger described the -dingy-looking fellow that left it at the stage-door, with an injunction -that it was "to be delivered into Mr. Bunn's own hands." However, -overcoming any apprehensions of gunpowder, and setting whatever of the -combustible it might contain to the amount of a mere squib, he sent -for his under-treasurer, and in his presence opened some half-dozen -pieces of paper, each tightly bound by some half-dozen pieces of -string, and inside the last he found:-- - - 32 Sovereigns £32 0 0 - 10 Half-sovereigns 5 0 0 - 13 Half-crowns 1 12 6 - 27 Shillings 1 7 0 - 1 Sixpence 0 0 6 - --------- - £40 0 0 - --------- - -"I began to think," says Bunn, "that this was the contribution of some -eccentric supporter of Drury Lane, anxious to reward its manager's -exertions, yet, with a rooted modesty, anxious to conceal his name; -but such an occurrence was so totally without precedent, that I gave -up that conjecture in utter hopelessness. Then I bethought me of more -than one performer who had literally robbed me to such an extent; and -pondered over the probability of this being a return thereof, arising -out of a touch of conscience; but as what little consciences most of -them _have_ got are very seldom touched, I abandoned that surmise with -even a greater degree of despair than I first of all entertained it. -_By_ whom was it sent, or _for_ whom was it sent, I am totally unable -to tell; it was added to the general receipt of the exchequer, for -the benefit of all those having any claim on it, though the chances -are it was forwarded for my own individual advantage. The donor is -hereby thanked, be he or she whoever he or she may; and I can only say, -if many more had made their appearance, the disasters of Drury Lane -Theatre would have been obviated or provided against. Now, is not a -manager's life an odd life, and are not the people he has to deal with -a very odd set of people? and if he should do odd things, can no excuse -be found for him by your pickers and stealers, and evil speakers, and -liars, and slanderers? I can only say, if there is none, there should -be." - -Among the droll stories told by Mr. Bunn, in his caustic book, _The -Stage_, is this:--In 1824, when the question of erecting a monument to -Shakespeare, in his native town, was agitated by Mr. Mathews and Mr. -Bunn, the King (George IV.) took a lively interest in the matter, and, -considering that the leading people of both the patent theatres should -be consulted, directed Sir Charles Long, Sir George Beaumont, and Sir -Francis Freeling to ascertain Mr. Elliston's sentiments on the subject. -As soon as these distinguished individuals (who had come direct from, -and were going direct back to the Palace) had delivered themselves -of their mission, Elliston replied, "Very well, gentlemen, leave the -papers with me, and _I will talk over the business with_ HIS MAJESTY." - - - - -Masquerade Incident. - - -When the Rev. Mr. Venables was at St. Petersburg, in 1834, he received -the following narrative of a strange and startling incident at a -masquerade in the above capital:--At Christmas, 1834, a ball was given -at a house at St. Petersburg, and candles were placed in the windows of -the house, as a well-understood signal that masks might enter without -special invitation. Several masks arrived in the course of the evening, -stayed but a short time, as is usual, and departed. - -At length a party entered dressed as Chinese, and bearing on a -palanquin a person whom they called their chief, saying that it was -his fête-day. They set him down very respectfully in the middle of -the room, and commenced dancing what they called their national dance -around him. When this was concluded, they separated and mingled with -the general company, speaking French fluently (the universal language -at a Russian masquerade), and making themselves extremely agreeable. -After awhile they began gradually to disappear unnoticed, slipping out -of the room one or two at a time. At last they were all gone, but their -chief still remained sitting motionless in dignified silence in his -palanquin in the middle of the room. The ball began to thin, and the -attention of those who remained was wholly drawn to the silent figure -of the Chinese mask. - -The master of the house at length went up to him, and told him that -his companions were all gone; politely begging him at the same time to -take off his mask, that he and his guests might know to whom they were -indebted for all the pleasure which the exhibition had afforded them. -The Chinaman, however, gave no reply by word or sign, and a feeling of -uneasy curiosity gradually drew around him by the guests who remained -in the ball-room. He still took no notice of all that was passing -around him, and the master of the house at length, with his own hand, -took off the mask, and discovered to the horrified by-standers the face -of a corpse. - -The police were immediately sent for, and on a surgical examination -of the body, it appeared to be that of a man who had been strangled a -few hours before. Nothing could be discovered, either at the time or -afterwards, which could lead to the identifying of the dead man, or to -the discovery of the actors in this extraordinary scene, and no clue -has ever been obtained. It was found on inquiry that they arrived at -the house where they deposited the dead body in a handsome equipage -with masked servants. - -This horrible story was stated to Mr. Venables, by General Bontourlin, -to be a well-known and undoubted fact. The body was never identified, -but was supposed to be that of the victim of a murder arising out of a -gambling transaction. The acuteness of the police would seem to have -been at fault; or, more probably, the proper use of the proper amount -of roubles suppressed inconvenient discoveries. - - - - -[Illustration: T. P. Cooke in "Black-Eyed Susan."] - - - - -Mr. T. P. Cooke in Melodrama and Pantomime. - - -During the Christmas of 1810 or 1811, Mr. T. P. Cooke was a member of -the Theatre Royal, Dublin, which could boast of a company including -the names of Miss O'Neil, afterwards Lady Beecher, then in her teens; -Miss Walstein, Messrs. Conway, Farren, and others of histrionic fame. -Sir Walter Scott's _Lady of the Lake_ had been published on the 10th -of May, 1810, and the critics of the day had pronounced it to be "the -most interesting, romantic, picturesque, and graceful" of the author's -poems. Managers were anxious to produce a version of the _Lady of -the Lake_ upon the stage, and no one was more prompt in bringing one -forward than the lessee of the Theatre Royal, Dublin. The cast was -powerful. Misses O'Neil and Walstein were the representatives of the -chieftain's daughter, Ellen Douglas, and the crazed and captive lowland -maid, Blanche of Devon; Malcolm Græme was well acted; Conway looked -the Knight of Snowdon, James Fitzjames, to the life; and T. P. Cooke -appeared to the greatest advantage as Roderick Vick Alpine Roderick -Dhu. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the scenery; and the drama -created a furore among the warm-hearted Emeralders. As the manager -acted upon the principle of not "keeping more cats than could kill -mice," the services of some of his dramatic performers were pressed -into afterpieces; and, as the pantomime of _Harlequin and Mother -Goose_ had made a great sensation in London, it was brought out in -the capital of the sister isle--T. P. Cooke doffing his picturesque -Highland costume for that of Squire Bugle, afterwards Clown. No one -that had seen the noble bearing of Vick Alpine in the mountain pass, -exclaiming:-- - - "These are Clan-Alpine's warriors true; - And, Saxon, I am Roderick Dhu," - -would have recognized the same being when equipped in the loose -hunting-dress of the Squire or the grotesque garb of the Clown. The -pantomime went off well, and, although T. P. Cooke wanted the fun of -Grimaldi, he, by the aid of youth and great agility, bustled through -the part most satisfactorily. - -At the termination of the performance, which had been honoured by the -presence of the Lord-Lieutenant, Charles, fourth Duke of Richmond, -the Duchess, and her then young and numerous family, the Duke was -persuaded by two of his sons, Lords William and Frederick--then -Westminster boys--to go behind the scenes to look at the wonderful -goose. The manager, wax-candles in hand, after the most approved -manner of receiving illustrious guests, conducted the Duke, his two -sons, and a young daughter to the stage and green-room, and the -pantomimic tricks were duly displayed by the attentive property-man, -who explained to the young noblemen the mysteries of the world behind -the curtain: how the transformation-scene was managed; how the -sprites descended and ascended through the "traps;" how the nimble -Harlequin, the active Clown, and the "slippered Pantaloon" were -caught in blankets after their wonderful leaps through clock-dials, -shop-windows, picture-frames, and looking-glasses; how the smallest -of boys was introduced into a sham goose's skin; how a few daubs of -paint, some gold and silver leaf, and green tinsel, produced the -splendid fairy scene; how some spangles sewn on a coarse parti-coloured -suit made Harlequin appear glittering like gold; how a white calico -garb, with a few quaint red and blue devices, some chalk and red -paint, could change the "human face divine" to that of a mask. After -inspecting everything worthy of note behind the scenes, the Duke and -his family proceeded to their carriage, when, at the entrance to the -green-room, they met the Clown, who had remained behind to arrange some -stage-business with the Harlequin. "I forget his name," said the Duke, -who, although he patronized the drama, did not take especial interest -in the performance. "Cooke," responded the manager. "I congratulate -you, Mr. Cooke," said his Grace. "I've seen Grimaldi in the part, and -am delighted with your performance." Cooke bowed his acknowledgments. -"Pray," continued the Lord-Lieutenant, "is Mr. T. P. Cooke, who looked -so well and acted Roderick Vick Alpine with such spirit, any relation -of yours?"--"A very near one," responded the actor. "He stands before -you; for, Saxon, I am Roderick Dhu!" The Duke smiled, shook hands with -him, declaring he had never witnessed such a wonderful metamorphose. - - - - -"Romeo and Juliet" in America. - - -Miss Fanny Kemble, in her clever record of her experiences in the -United States, relates the following, which occurred in one of her -provincial engagements. The play was _Romeo and Juliet_. "My Romeo," -says Miss Kemble, "had gotten on a pair of trunk-breeches, which -looked as if he had borrowed them of some worthy Dutchman a hundred -years ago. Had he worn them in New York, I could have understood it -as a compliment to the ancestry of that good city; but here to adopt -such a costume in _Romeo_ was perfectly unaccountable. They were of a -most unhappy choice of colour, too--dull, heavy-looking blue cloth, -and offensive crimson satin, all bepuckered, and beplaited, and -bepuffed, till the young man looked like a magical figure growing out -of a monstrous, strange-coloured melon, beneath which descended his -unfortunate legs, thrust into a pair of red slippers, for all the world -like Grimaldi's legs en costume for _Clown_. The play went off pretty -smoothly, except that they broke one man's collar-bone and nearly -dislocated a woman's shoulder, by flinging the scenery about. My bed -was not made in time, and when the scene drew, half-a-dozen carpenters, -in patched trousers and tattered shirt-sleeves, were discovered -smoothing down my pillows and adjusting my draperies. The last scene is -too good not to be given verbatim:-- - - "_Romeo._ Rise, rise, my Juliet, - And from this cave of death, this house of horror, - Quick let me snatch thee to thy Romeo's arms." - -Here he pounced upon me, plucked me up in his arms like an -uncomfortable bundle, and staggered down the stage with me. - - "_Juliet_ (_aside_). Oh! you've got me up horribly! That'll never do. - Do let me down, pray let me down. - - _Romeo._ There, breathe a vital spirit on thy lips, - And call thee back, my soul, to life and love. - - _Juliet_ (_aside_). Pray put me down; you'll certainly throw me down, - if you don't set me on the ground directly." - -In the midst of "Cruel, cursed fate," his dagger fell out of his dress; -I, embracing him tenderly, crammed it back again, because I knew I -should want it again in the end. - - "_Romeo._ Tear not our heart-strings thus! - They crack! they break! Juliet! Juliet! - - [_Dies._] - - _Juliet_ (to _Corpse_). Am I smothering you? - - _Corpse_ (to _Juliet_). Not at all. Could you be so kind, do you - think, as to put my wig on again for me? It has fallen off. - - _Juliet_ (to _Corpse_). I'm afraid I can't; but I'll throw my muslin - veil over it. You've broken the phial, haven't you? - - [CORPSE _nodded_.] - - _Juliet_ (to _Corpse_). Where's your dagger? - - _Corpse_ (to _Juliet_). 'Pon my soul, I don't know." - - - - -The Mulberries, a Shakspearian Club. - - -At the thirty-fourth Anniversary of the Shakspeare Club, at -Stratford-on-Avon, on April 23rd, 1858, the President, Mr. Buckstone, -of the Haymarket Theatre, related, with much humour, the following -interesting account of the above Shakspearian Club:-- - -"On emerging from boyhood, and while yet a young actor, I was one of -the first members of a Shakspearian club, called _The Mulberries_. -It was not then a very prominent one, as its meetings were held at a -certain house of entertainment in Vinegar Yard, Drury Lane. The club -assembled there once a week; they dined together on Shakespeare's -birthday; and in the mulberry season there was another dinner and a -mulberry feast, at which the chairman sat enthroned under a canopy -of mulberry branches, with the fruit on them; Shakspearian songs -were sung; members read original papers or poems relating only to -Shakspeare; and as many artists belonged to this club, they exhibited -sketches of some event connected with our poet's life; and some had -the honour of submitting a paper to be read, called 'Shakespeare's -Drinking-bout,' an imaginary story, illustrating the traditionary -event, when the chivalry of Stratford went forth to carouse with - - "Piping Pebworth, dancing Marston, - Haunted Hilborough, hungry Grafton, - Dudging Exhall, papist Wicksford, - Beggarly Broom, and drunken Bidford." - -All these papers and pictures were collected together in a book, called -_Mulberry Leaves_; and you will believe me, that in spite of our lowly -place of meeting, the club was not intellectually insignificant, when -amongst its members, then in their youth, were Douglas Jerrold, Laman -Blanchard, the Landseers (Charles and Thomas), Frank Stone, Cattermole, -Robert Keeley, Kenny Meadows, and subsequently, though at another -and more important place of meeting, Macready, Talfourd (the judge), -Charles Dickens, John Forster, and many other celebrities. You will -very naturally wish to know what became of this club. Death thinned the -number of its members; important pursuits in life took some one way -and some another; and, after twenty years of much enjoyment, the club -ceased to exist, and the _Mulberry Leaves_ disappeared, no one ever -knew whither. - -From Mr. Blanchard Jerrold's Life of his Father we learn that William -Elton, the Shakspearian actor, was a member of the Mulberries, as were -also William Godwin, and Edward Chatfield the artist. The contributions -fell into Mr. Elton's hands, and are now in the possession of his -family. The _leaves_ were to have been published; but the club dead, -it was nobody's business to see them through the press, and to this -hour they remain in manuscript. Of the club itself it is said: -"Respectability killed it. Sumptuous quarters were sought; Shakspeare -was to be admired in a most elegant manner--to be edited specially -for the club by the author of _The Book of Etiquette_. But the new -atmosphere had not the vigour of the old, and so, after a long -struggle, all the Mulberries fell from the old tree, and now it is a -green memory only to a few old members. Douglas Jerrold always turned -fondly to these Shakspearian days, and he loved to sing the old song -he wrote for the Mulberries, in that soft, sweet voice which all his -friends remember: - - "And thus our moral food - Doth Shakspeare leaven still, - Enriching all the good. - And less'ning all the ill;-- - Thus, by his bounty, shed - Like balm from angel's wing, - Though winter scathe our head, - Our spirits dance with spring." - - - - -Colley Cibber's Daughter. - - -This unfortunate person was the youngest child of Colley Cibber, and -married a singer named Charke: there seems to have been a touch of -insanity, certainly there was no power of self-control, in this poor -woman. From her childhood she had been wild, wayward, and rebellious; -self-taught, as a boy might be, and with nothing feminine in her -character or pursuits. With self-assertion, too, she was weak enough -to be won by a knave with a sweet voice, whose cruel treatment drove -his intractable wife to the stage, where she failed to profit by her -fine opportunities. Mrs. Charke loved to play male characters; and of -the many, that of Plume was her favourite. At the Haymarket Theatre, in -1745, she played Captain Macheath, and other masculine parts, before -she attempted to pass herself off upon the world, or hide herself from -it, as a man. - -Dr. Doran, in his amusing book, _Their Majesties' Servants_, writing -of the year 1757, that of Colley Cibber's death says: "While the body -of the poet Laureate was being carried to Westminster Abbey, there was -up away in a hut in then desolate Clerkenwell, and starving, Colley's -only daughter, Charlotte Charke. Seven-and-twenty years before, she -had just come upon the stage, after a stormy girlhood; and she had a -mania for appearing in male characters on, and in male attire off, the -stage. By some terrible offence she forfeited the recognition of her -father, who was otherwise of a benevolent disposition; and friendless, -she fought a series of battles with the world, and came off in all -more and more damaged. She starved with strollers, failed as a grocer -in Long Acre, became bankrupt as a puppet-show proprietor in James -Street, Haymarket; re-married, became a widow a second time, was -plunged into deeper ruin, thrown into prison for debt, and released -only by the subscriptions of the lowest, but not least charitable, -sisterhood of Drury Lane. Assuming male attire, she hung about the -theatres for casual hire, went on tramp with itinerants, hungered -daily, and was weekly cheated, but yet kept up such an appearance that -an heiress fell in love with her, who was reduced to despair when -Charlotte Charke revealed her story and abandoned the place. Her next -post was that of a valet to an Irish Lord; forfeiting which she and -her child became sausage-makers, but could not obtain a living; and -then Charlotte Charke cried, 'Coming, coming, sir,' as a waiter at -the King's Head Tavern, Marylebone. Thence she was drawn by an offer -to make her manager of a company of strolling players, with whom she -enjoyed more appetite than means to appease it. She endured sharp -distress again and again; but was relieved by an uncle, who furnished -her with funds, with which she opened a tavern in Drury Lane, where, -after a brief career of success, she again became bankrupt. To the -regular stage she once more returned, under her brother, Theophilus, at -the Haymarket: but the Lord Chamberlain closed the house, and Charlotte -Charke took to working the wires of Russell's famous puppets in the -Great Room, still existing in Brewer Street. There was a gleam of good -fortune for her, but it soon faded away; and then for nine wretched -years this clever but most wretched of women struggled frantically -for bare existence, amongst the most wretched of strollers, with whom -she endured unmitigated misery. And yet, Cibber's erring and hapless -daughter contrived to reach London, where, in 1755, she published her -remarkable autobiography, the details of which make the heart ache, in -spite of the small sympathy of the reader for this half-mad creature. -On the profits of this book, she was enabled to open, as _landlord_, -a tavern at Islington; but of course, ruin ensued; and in a hut, amid -the cinder-heaps and worse refuse, in the desolate fields, she found a -refuge, and even wrote a novel on a pair of bellows in her lap, by way -of desk. Here she lived with a squalid hand-maiden, a cat, dog, magpie, -and monkey. Humbled, disconsolate, abandoned, she readily accepted from -a publisher who visited her 10_l._ for her manuscript. This was at the -close of the year 1755, and I do not meet with her again till 1759, two -years after her father's death, when she played Marplot in _The Busy -Body_, for her own benefit at the Haymarket, with this advertisement: -'As I am entirely dependent on chance for a subsistence, and desirous -of getting into business, I humbly hope the town will favour me on the -occasion, which, added to the rest of their indulgences, will be ever -gratefully acknowledged by their truly obliged and obedient servant, -Charlotte Charke.' She died on the 6th of April, 1760." - -[Illustration: Charlotte Charke. After Boitard.] - -She "is said to have once given imitations of her father on the stage; -to have presented a pistol at, and robbed him on the highway, and to -have smeared his face with a pair of soles out of her own basket." - - - - -An Eccentric Love-Passage. - - -Captain Gronow relates that Mr. Bradshaw, M.P. for Canterbury, "fell -in love" with Maria Tree: hearing that the lady had taken a place in -the Birmingham mail, he booked the rest for himself in the name of -Tomkins, and resolved to make the most of the opportunity afforded -him. Unfortunately, his luggage and Miss Tree went by one mail, while -Mr. Bradshaw through a mistake travelled by another. On arriving at -Birmingham early in the morning, he left the coach and stepped into -the hotel, determined to remain there, and go to the theatre on the -following evening. He went to bed and slept late the following day; -and on waking he remembered that his trunk with all his money had -gone on to Manchester, and that he was without the means of paying -his way. Seeing the Bank of Birmingham opposite the hotel, he went -over and explained his position to one of the partners, giving his own -banker's address in London, and showing letters addressed to him as Mr. -Bradshaw. Upon this he was told that with such credentials he might -have a loan; and the banker said he would write the necessary letter -and cheque, and send the money over to him at the hotel. Mr. Bradshaw, -pleased with this kind attention, sat himself down comfortably to -breakfast in the coffee-room. According to promise, the cashier made -his appearance at the hotel, and asked the waiter for Mr. Bradshaw. -"No such gentleman here," was the reply.--"Oh, yes, he came by the -London mail."--"No, sir; no one came but Mr. Tomkins, who was booked as -inside passenger to Manchester." The cashier was dissatisfied; but the -waiter added, "Sir, you can look through the window of the coffee-room -door, and see the gentleman yourself." On doing so he beheld the Mr. -Tomkins, _alias_ Mr. Bradshaw, and immediately returned to the Bank, -telling what he himself had heard and seen. The banker went over to the -hotel, had a consultation with the landlord, and it was determined that -a watch should be placed upon the suspicious person who had two names -and no luggage, and who was booked to Manchester but had stopped at -Birmingham. The landlord summoned boots--a little lame fellow of most -ludicrous appearance--and pointing to the gentleman in the coffee-room, -told him his duty for the day was to follow him wherever he went, -and never to lose sight of him; but above all to take care that he -did not get away. Boots nodded assent, and immediately mounted guard. -Mr. Bradshaw having taken his breakfast and read the papers, looked -at his watch and sallied forth to see something of the goodly town of -Birmingham. He was much surprised at observing a little odd-looking -man surveying him most attentively, and watching his every movement; -stopping whenever he stopped, and evidently taking a deep interest in -all he did. At last, observing that he was the object of this incessant -_espionnage_, and finding that he had a shilling left in his pocket, he -hailed one of the coaches that ran short distances in those days when -omnibuses were not. This, however, did not suit little Boots, who went -up to him and insisted that he must not leave the town. Mr. Bradshaw's -indignation was naturally excessive, and he immediately returned to the -hotel, where he found a constable ready to take him before the mayor -as an impostor and swindler. He was compelled to appear before his -worship and had the mortification of being told that unless he could -give some explanation he must be content with a night's lodging in a -house of detention. Mr. Bradshaw had no alternative but to send to the -fair charmer of his heart to identify him; which she most readily did -as soon as rehearsal was over. Explanations were then entered into; but -he was forced to give the reason of his being in Birmingham, which of -course made a due impression on the lady's heart, and led to that happy -result of their interviews--a marriage which resulted in the enjoyment -of mutual happiness for many years. - - - - -True to the Text. - - -A curious instance of this occurred many years ago, at the termination -of the tragedy of _Richard the Third_. Mr. Elliston was enacting -the part of _Richmond_; and having, during the evening, disobeyed -the injunction which the King of Denmark lays down to the Queen, -"Gertrude, do not drink," he accosted Mr. Powell, who was personating -_Lord Stanley_ (for the safety of whose son _Richmond_ is naturally -anxious), THUS, on his entry, after the issue of the battle:-- - -Elliston (as _Richmond_). Your son, George Stanley, is he dead? - -Powell (as _Lord Stanley_). He is, my Lord, and _safe in Leicester -town_! - -Elliston (as _Richmond_). I mean--ah!--is he missing? - -Powell (as _Lord Stanley_). He is, my Lord, and _safe in Leicester -town_!! - -And it is but justice to the memory of this punctilious veteran, to say -that he would have made the same reply to any question which could, at -that particular moment, have been put to him. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_MEN OF LETTERS._ - - - - -[Illustration: Monk Lewis.] - - - - -Monk Lewis - -"Hail! wonder-working Lewis." - - -This early lover of rhymes and numbers, and "flashes of merriment -that were wont to set the table on a roar," was, in his boyhood, more -remarkable for his love of theatrical exhibitions than for his love -of learning. He read books on Witchcraft when a child, and published -his marvellous story of the _Monk_ when in his twenty-second year; -it contains his best poetry as well as prose. In the midst of this -celebrity, being one autumn on his way to a fashionable watering-place, -he stayed a night in a country-town and witnessed a performance by a -company of strolling players. Among them was a young actress, whose -benefit was on the _tapis_, and who, hearing of the arrival of a person -so talked of as Monk Lewis, waited upon him at the inn to request -the very trifling favour of an original piece from his pen. The lady -pleaded in terms that urged the spirit of benevolence to advocate her -cause in a heart never closed to such an appeal. Lewis had by him at -that time an unpublished trifle, called _The Hindoo Bride_, in which a -widow was immolated on the funeral pile of her husband. The subject was -one well suited to attract a country audience, and he determined thus -to appropriate the drama. The delighted suppliant departed all joy and -gratitude at being requested to call for the manuscript the next day. -Lewis, however, soon discovered that he had been reckoning without his -host, for, on searching his travelling-desk, which contained many of -his papers, the _Bride_ was nowhere to be found, having, in fact, been -left behind in town. Exceedingly annoyed by this circumstance, which -there was no time to remedy, the dramatist took a pondering stroll in -the rural environs, when a sudden shower compelled him to take refuge -in a huckster's shop, where he overheard, in the adjoining apartment, -two voices in earnest conversation, and in one of them recognized that -of his theatrical petitioner of the morning, apparently replying to -the feeble tones of age and infirmity. "There now, mother, always that -old story--when I've brought such good news, too--after I've had the -face to call on Mr. Monk Lewis, and found him so different to what I -expected; so good-humoured, so affable, and willing to assist me. I -did not say a word about you, mother; for though in some respects it -might have done good, I thought it would seem like a begging affair, so -I merely represented my late ill-success, and he promised to give me an -original drama which he had with him for my benefit. I hope he did not -think me too bold." "I hope not, Jane," replied the feeble voice; "only -don't do these things again without consulting me; for you don't know -the world, and it may be thought----" The sun then just gave a broad -hint that the shower had ceased, and the sympathizing author returned -to his inn, and having penned the following letter, ordered post-horses -and despatched a porter to the young actress with this epistle:-- - -"Madame,--I am truly sorry to acquaint you that my Hindoo Bride has -behaved most improperly--in fact, whether the lady has eloped or -not, it seems she does not choose to make her appearance either for -_your benefit_ or mine; and to say the truth, I don't at this moment -know where to find her. I take the liberty to jest upon the subject, -because I really do not think you will have any cause to regret her -non-appearance; having had an opportunity of witnessing your very -admirable performance of a far superior character, in a style true to -nature, and which reflects upon you the highest credit. I allude to a -most interesting scene in which you lately sustained the character of -'The Daughter.' Brides of all denominations but too often prove their -empire delusive; but the character _you_ have chosen will improve -upon every representation, both in the estimation of the public -and the satisfaction of your own excellent heart. For the infinite -gratification I have received, I must long consider myself in your -debt. Trusting you will permit the enclosed (fifty pounds) in some -measure to discharge the same, I remain, Madame (with sentiments of -respect and admiration), your sincere well-wisher," - - "M. G. LEWIS." - -Lewis, it should be explained, was well supplied with money, his -father holding a lucrative post in the War Office, and being owner -of extensive West Indian possessions. In 1798, Scott (afterwards Sir -Walter) met young Lewis in Edinburgh, and so humble were then his own -aspirations, and so brilliant the reputation of _The Monk_, that he -declared, thirty years afterwards, he never felt so elated as when -Lewis asked him to dine with him at his hotel. Lewis schooled the -great poet on his incorrect rhyme, and proved himself, as Scott says, -"a martinet in the accuracy of rhymes and numbers." Sir Walter has -recorded that Lewis was fonder of great people than he ought to have -been, either as a man of talent or a man of fashion. "He had always," -he says, "dukes or duchesses in his mouth, and was pathetically fond of -any one who had a title; you would have sworn he had been a _parvenu_ -of yesterday; yet he had lived all his life in good society." And Scott -regarded Lewis with no small affection. - -Of this weakness, Lord Byron relates an amusing instance: "Lewis, -at Oatlands, was observed one morning to have his eyes red and his -air sentimental; being asked why, he replied, that when people said -anything kind to him, it affected him deeply, 'and just now, the -Duchess (of York) has said something so kind to me, that--' here tears -began to flow. 'Never mind, Lewis,' said Colonel Armstrong to him, -'never mind--don't cry--_she could not mean it_!'" - -Lewis was of extremely diminutive stature. "I remember a picture of -him," says Scott, "by Saunders, being handed round at Dalkeith House. -The artist had ingeniously flung a dark folding mantle around his -form, under which was half hid a dagger, a dark-lantern, or some such -cut-throat appurtenance. With all this the features were preserved -and ennobled. It passed from hand to hand into that of Henry, Duke -of Buccleuch, who, hearing the general voice affirm that it was very -like, said aloud, 'Like Mat. Lewis! why, that picture's like _a man_!' -He looked, and lo! Mat. Lewis was at his elbow. This boyishness went -through life with him. He was a child, and a spoiled child--but a child -of high imagination, and he wasted himself on ghost-stories and German -romances. He had the finest ear for the rhythm of verse I ever met -with--finer than Byron's." - -The death of Lewis's father made the poet a man of independent fortune. -He succeeded to considerable plantations in the West Indies, besides a -large sum of money; and in order to ascertain personally the condition -of the slaves on his estate, he sailed for the West Indies in 1815. Of -this voyage he wrote a narrative, which was published many years after, -under the title of the _Journal of a West India Proprietor_. The manner -in which the negroes received him on his arrival amongst them, he thus -describes:--"As soon as the carriage entered my gates, the uproar and -confusion which ensued sets all description at defiance; the works were -instantly all abandoned, everything that had life came flocking to the -house from all quarters, and not only the men, and the women, and the -children, but 'by a bland assimilation,' the hogs, and the dogs, and -the geese, and the fowls, and the turkeys, all came hurrying along by -instinct, to see what could possibly be the matter, and seemed to be -afraid of arriving too late. Whether the pleasure of the negroes was -sincere may be doubted, but certainly it was the loudest that I ever -witnessed. They all talked together, sang, danced, shouted, and in the -violence of their gesticulations, tumbled over each other and rolled -about on the ground. Twenty voices at once inquired after uncles and -aunts, and grandfathers and great-grandmothers of mine, who had been -buried long before I was in existence, and whom, I verily believe, most -of them knew only by tradition. One woman held up her little naked -black child to me, grinning from ear to ear: 'Look, massa! look here! -him nice lily neger for massa!' Another complained--'So long since come -see we, massa; good massa come at last.' As for the old people, they -were all in one and the same story; now they had lived once to see -massa, they were ready for dying to-morrow--'them no care.' - -"The shouts, the gaiety, the wild laughter, their strange and sudden -bursts of singing and dancing, and several old women wrapped up -in large cloaks, their heads bound round with different-coloured -handkerchiefs, leaning on a staff, and standing motionless in the -middle of the hubbub, with their eyes fixed upon the portico which I -occupied, formed an exact counterpart of the festivity of the witches -in Macbeth. Nothing could be more odd or more novel than the whole -scene; yet there was something in it truly affecting." - -In his Journal, Lewis tells us the following odd shark story:--"While -lying in Black River Harbour, Jamaica, two sharks were frequently seen -playing about the ship. At length, the female was killed, and the -desolation of the male was excessive. What he did without her remains -a secret, but what he did with her was clear enough; for scarce was -the breath out of his Eurydice's body, when he stuck his teeth in her, -and began to eat her up with all possible expedition. Even the sailors -felt their sensibility excited by so peculiar a mark of posthumous -attachment; and to enable him to perform this melancholy duty more -easily, they offered to be his carvers, lowered their boat, and -proceeded to chop his better half in pieces with their hatchets; while -the widower opened his jaws as wide as possible, and gulped down pounds -upon pounds of the dear departed, as fast as they were thrown to him, -with the greatest delight, and all the avidity imaginable. I make no -doubt that all the time he was eating, he was thoroughly persuaded that -every morsel that went into his stomach would make its way to his heart -directly! 'She was perfectly consistent,' he said to himself; 'she -was excellent through life, and really she's extremely good now she's -dead!' And then, - - "'Unable to conceal his pain, - He sigh'd and swallow'd, and sigh'd and swallow'd, - And sigh'd and swallow'd again.' - -"I doubt whether the annals of Hymen can produce a similar instance of -post-obitual affection. Nor do I recollect any fact at all resembling -it, except, perhaps, a circumstance which is recorded respecting -Cambletes, king of Lydia, a monarch equally remarkable for his voracity -and uxoriousness, and who ate up his queen without being conscious of -it." - -Lewis, in reading _Don Quixote_, was greatly pleased with this instance -of the hero's politeness. The Princess Micomicona having fallen into a -most egregious blunder, he never so much as hints a suspicion of her -not having acted precisely as she had stated, but only begs to know her -reason for taking a step so extraordinary. "But pray, madam," says he, -"why did your ladyship land at Ossima, seeing that it is not a seaport -town?" - -One of Lewis's great hits was the ballad of _Crazy Jane_, which was -found in the handwriting of the author among his papers. The ballad -was wedded to music by several composers; but the original and most -popular melody was by Miss Abrams, who sung it herself at fashionable -parties. After the usual complimentary tributes from barrel-organs, and -wandering damsels of every degree of vocal ability, it crowned not only -the author's brow with laurels, but also that of many a youthful beauty -in the shape of a _Crazy Jane hat_. - -_The Castle Spectre_ was Lewis's greatest dramatic success. Its -terrors were not confined to Drury Lane Theatre, but, as the following -anecdote shows, on one occasion they even extended considerably beyond -it. Mrs. Powell, who played Evelina, having become, from the number -of representations, heartily tired and wearied with the character, -one evening, on returning from the theatre, walked listlessly into a -drawing room, and throwing herself into a seat, exclaimed, "Oh! this -ghost! this ghost! Heavens! how this ghost torments me!" - -"Ma'am!" uttered a tremulous voice from the other side of the table. - -Mrs. Powell looked up hastily. "Sir!" she reiterated in nearly the same -tone, as she encountered the pale countenance of a very sober-looking -gentleman opposite. - -"What? What was it you said madam?" - -"Really, sir," replied the astonished actress, "I have not the pleasure -of--Why, good heavens, what have they been about in the room?" - -"Madam," continued the gentleman, "the room is mine, and I will thank -you to explain--" - -"Yours!" screamed Mrs. Powell; "surely, sir, this is Number 1?" - -"No, indeed, madam," he replied; "this is Number 2; and really, your -language is so very extraordinary, that--" - -Mrs. Powell, amidst her confusion, could scarcely refrain from -laughter. "Ten thousand pardons!" she said, "the coachman must have -mistaken the house. I am Mrs. Powell, of Drury Lane, and have just come -from performing the _Castle Spectre_. Fatigue and absence of mind have -made me an unconscious intruder. I lodge next door, and I hope you will -excuse the unintentional alarm I have occasioned you." - -It is almost needless to add, that the gentleman was much relieved -by this rational explanation, and participated in the mirth of his -nocturnal visitor, as he politely escorted her to the street door. -"Good night," said the still laughing actress; "and I hope, sir, in -future, I shall pay more attention to _Number One_!" - - - - -[Illustration: Professor Porson.] - - - - -Porson's Eccentricities. - - -The humour of Professor Porson lay in parodies, imitations, and hoaxes, -ready wit and repartee; in his oddities of dress and demeanour; and -his disregard for certain decencies of society is very deplorable, -though at the same time mirthful in its very extravagances. Porson -left Cambridge to become the scholar about town; to quench his thirst -for Florentine MSS. in the tankards of the "Cider Cellar;" and to -exchange the respectability and stateliness of the Trinity common -room for the savage liberty of Temple chambers. He had for some time -become notorious at Cambridge. His passion for smoking, which was then -going out among the younger generation, his large and indiscriminate -potations, and his occasional use of the poker with a very refractory -controversialist, had caused his company to be shunned by all except -the few to whom his wit and scholarship were irresistible. When the -evening began to grow late, the Fellows of Trinity used to walk out of -the common room, and leave Porson to himself, who was sometimes found -smoking by the servants next morning, without having apparently moved -from the spot where he had been left over-night. - -Porson's imitations of Horace, which appeared in the _Morning -Chronicle_, have really no merit at all, nor have any of the hundred -and one epigrams which he is said to have written in one night upon the -drunkenness of Mr. Pitt. But two other papers, one called _The Swinish -Multitude_, and the other _The Saltbox_, display certainly both wit and -humour. One is a satire upon the famous expression of Burke, in his -_Letters on a Regicide Peace_; the other, a parody of the Oxford style -of examination in Logic and Metaphysics. - -Of the hundred and one epigrams, the story goes--that when Pitt and -Dundas appeared before the House, Pitt tried to speak, but showing -himself unable, was kindly pulled down into his seat by those about -him; Dundas who was equally unfitted for eloquence, had sense enough to -sit silent. Perry, of the _Morning Chronicle_, witnessed the scene, and -on his return from the House, gave a description of it to Porson, who, -being vastly amused, called for pen and ink, and musing over his pipe -and tankard, produced the one hundred and one pieces of verse before -the day dawned. The point of most of them lies in puns. The first -epigram is: - - "That _Ça Ira_ in England will prevail, - All sober men deny with heart and hand; - To talk of _going_ sure's a pretty tale, - When e'en our rulers can't as much as stand." - -The following are better:-- - - "Your gentle brains with full libations drench, - You've then Pitt's title to the Treasury Bench. - Your foe in war to overrate - A maxim is of ancient date; - Then sure 'twas right, in time of trouble, - That our good rulers should see double. - The mob are beasts! exclaims the King of Daggers; - What creature's he that's troubled with the staggers?" - - "When Billy found he scarce could stand, - 'Help! help!' he cried, and stretched his hand - To faithful Harry calling, - Quoth Hal, 'My friend, I'm sorry for't; - 'Tis not my practice to support - A minister that's falling.'" - - "'Who's up?' inquired Burke of a friend at the door; - 'Oh! no one,' says Paddy, 'though Pitt's on the floor.'" - -Porson was not imposed upon for a moment by the Ireland forgeries -of Shakspeare, and when asked to set his name to a declaration of -belief in their genuineness, replied, with a smile, that he was "slow -to subscribe articles of faith." Scholars, however, owe a debt of -gratitude to Ireland, of which, perhaps, they are seldom conscious; -for it was the alleged discovery of Shakspearian plays that drew from -Porson one of the cleverest specimens of his peculiar powers that -remain to us. We mean the translation of "Three Children sliding on -the Ice," which he sent to the _Morning Chronicle_, as a fragment of -Sophocles, recently discovered by a friend of his at the bottom of an -old trunk. - -Porson had high animal spirits; and he is said once, for a wager, -to have carried a young lady round the room in his teeth. His -conversation, however, after a certain period of the evening, was not -always fit for ladies. Rogers once took him to a party, where several -women of fashion were present, who were anxious to hear him talk. The -Professor, who hated being made a lion, selected for his theme the -soup of Vauxhall, and at last, we are told, talked so oddly, that all -the women retreated except the famous Lady Crewe, who was not to be -frightened by any man. "After this," says Rogers, "I brought him home -as far as Piccadilly, where I am sorry to say I left him sick in the -middle of the street." - -At those houses where Porson was on intimate terms, it was understood -that he was always to go away at eleven. Porson accepted the -arrangement in perfect good faith, and invariably required that it -should be carried out to the letter; for, "though he never attempted -to exceed the hour limited, he would never stir before," and he warmly -resented any attempt to make him. At one house only was his time -extended to twelve; this was Bennet Langton's. There were, of course, -houses in which the Professor, so to speak, took the bit between his -teeth, and did exactly as he pleased. Horne Tooke's was one of these, -as the following story illustrates. Tooke once asked Porson to dine -with him in Richmond Buildings; and, as he knew that the Professor -_had not been in bed for the three preceding nights_, he expected to -get rid of him at an early hour. He, however, kept Tooke up the whole -night; and, in the morning, the latter, in perfect despair, said, "Mr. -Porson, I am engaged to meet a friend at breakfast at a coffee-house in -Leicester Square." "Oh," replied Porson, "I will go with you;" and he -accordingly did so. Soon after they had reached the coffee-house, Tooke -contrived to slip out, and running home, ordered his servant not to let -Mr. Porson in even if he should attempt to batter down the door. "A -man," observed Tooke, "who could sit up four nights successively, could -sit up forty." - -As soon as Porson had been "turned out of doors like a dog," which was -his favourite expression when he received the slightest hint to move, -even if it was one o'clock in the morning, he used generally to adjourn -to the Cider Cellar, where he was completely king of his company. -"Dick," said one of these companions, "can beat us all; he can drink -all night, and spout all day." From the Cider Cellar he got home as he -could to Essex Court, where he had chambers over the late Mr. Baron -Gurney, whose slumbers were a good deal disturbed by the habits of -his learned neighbour. On one occasion he was awakened by a tremendous -thump upon the floor overhead. Porson, it turned out, had come home -drunk, and had tumbled down in his room, and put out his candle; for -Gurney soon after heard him fumbling at the staircase lamp, and cursing -the nature of things, which made him see two flames instead of one. - -The most remarkable feature in Porson's love of liquor was, that he -could drink anything. Port wine, indeed, was his favourite beverage. -But, in default of this, he would take whatever he could lay his -hands on. He was known to swallow a bottle of spirits of wine, an -embrocation, and when nothing better was forthcoming, he would even -drench himself with water. He would sometimes take part in a contest of -drinking; and once, having threatened after dinner to "kick and cuff" -his host, Horne Tooke, the latter proposed to settle the affair by -drinking, the weapons to be quarts of brandy. When the second bottle -was half finished, Porson fell under the table. The conqueror drank -another glass to the speedy recovery of his antagonist, and having -given instructions to his servants to take great care of the Professor, -walked upstairs to tea, as if nothing had occurred. Tooke, however, -feared Porson in conversation, because he would often remain silent -for a long time, and then "pounce upon him with his terrible memory." -In 1798, Parr writes to Dr. Burney, who had recommended that Porson's -opinion should be taken on some classical question, "Porson shall do -it, and he will do it. I know his terms when he bargains with me: two -bottles instead of one, six pipes instead of two, Burgundy instead of -claret, liberty to sit till five in the morning instead of sneaking -into bed at one; these are his terms." - -Porson was very odd in his eating. At breakfast, he frequently ate -bread and cheese: and he then took his porter as copiously as Johnson -took his tea. At Eton, he once kept Mrs. Goodall at the breakfast-table -during the whole of Sunday morning; and when Dr. Goodall returned -from church, he found the sixth pot of porter being just carried into -his house. In his eating, Porson was very easily satisfied. "He went -once," says Mr. Watson, "to the Bodleian to collate a manuscript, and, -as the work would occupy him several days, Routh, the president of -Magdalen, who was leaving home for the long vacation, said to him at -his departure, 'Make my house your home, Mr. Porson, during my absence, -for my servants have orders to be quite at your command, and to procure -you whatever you please.' When he returned, he asked for the account -of what the Professor had had during his stay. The servant brought the -bill, and the Doctor, glancing at it, observed a fowl entered in it -every day. 'What,' said he, 'did you provide for Mr. Porson no better -than this, but oblige him to dine every day on fowl?' 'No, sir,' -replied the servant; 'but we asked the gentleman the first day what he -would have for dinner, and as he did not seem to know very well what to -order, we suggested a fowl. When we went to him about dinner any day -afterwards, he always said, "The same as yesterday:" and this was the -only answer we could get from him.'" - -Sometimes, in a fit of abstraction, he would go without a dinner. One -day, when Rogers asked him to stay and dine, he replied, "Thank you, -no; I dined yesterday." - -Porson used to relate, with much glee, his school anecdotes, the -tricks he used to play upon his master and schoolfellows, and the -little dramatic pieces which he wrote for private representation. -In describing his narrow means, he used to say, "I was almost then -destitute in the wide world, with less than 40_l._ a year for my -support, and without a profession; for I could never bring myself to -subscribe Articles of Faith. I used often to lie awake for a whole -night, and wish for a large pearl." He seemed to delight in company of -low grade. At Cambridge, after sitting five hours, and drinking two -bottles of sherry, he began to clip the king's English, to cry like a -child at the close of his periods; and, in other respects, to show -marks of extreme debility. At length, he rose from his chair, staggered -to the door, and made his way downstairs without taking the slightest -notice of his companion. Subsequently he went out upon a search for the -Greek Professor, whom he discovered near the outskirts of Cambridge, -leaning upon the arm of a dirty bargeman, and amusing him by the most -humorous and laughable anecdotes. - -However, Porson could place a strong restraint upon himself when -necessary. When he went to stay with his sisters, in the year 1804, it -is said that he only took two glasses of wine a day for eleven weeks. - -Porson was a man of ready wit and repartee. When asked by a Scotch -stranger at the Gray's Inn Coffee-house if Bentley were not a -Scotchman, he replied, "No, sir, Bentley was a Greek scholar." He said -Bishop Pearson would have been a first-rate critic if he hadn't muddled -his brains with divinity. Dr. Parr once asked him, in his pompous -manner, before a large company, what he thought about the introduction -of moral and physical evil into the world. "Why, Doctor," said Porson, -"I think we should have done very well without them." - -On his academic visits to the Continent, Porson wrote:-- - - "I went to Frankfort, and got drunk - With that most learn'd Professor Brunck: - I went to Worts, and got more drunken, - With that more learn'd Professor Runcken." - -Porson said one night, when he was very drunk, to Dodd, who was -pressing him hard in argument, "Jemmy Dodd, I always despised you when -sober, and I'll be d----d if I'll argue with you now that I am drunk." - -Porson, in a social party, offered to make a rhyme on anything, when -some one suggested one of the Latin gerunds, and he immediately -replied:-- - - "When Dido found Æneas would not come, - She mourned in silence, and was _Di-do-dum_." - -A gentleman said to the great "Grecian," with whom he had been -disputing--"Dr. Porson, my opinion of you is most contemptible." "Sir," -returned the Doctor, "I never knew an opinion of yours that was not -contemptible." - -Gillies, the historian of Greece, and Porson used now and then to meet. -The consequence was certain to be a literary contest. Porson was much -the deeper scholar of the two. Gillies was one day speaking to him of -the Greek tragedies, and of Pindar's odes. "_We know nothing_," said -Gillies, emphatically, "of the Greek metres." Porson answered, "If, -Doctor, you will put your observation in the _singular_ number, I -believe it will be very accurate." - -Porson being once at a dinner-party where the conversation turned upon -Captain Cook, and his celebrated voyages round the world, an ignorant -person, in order to contribute his mite towards the social intercourse, -asked him, "Pray, was Cook killed on his first voyage?" "I believe he -was," answered Porson, "though he did not mind it much, but immediately -entered on a second." - -Porson said of a prospect shown to him, that it put him in mind of a -fellowship--a long, dreary walk, with a church at the end of it. He -used to say of Wakefield and Hermann, two critics, who had attacked -him, but whose scholarship he held in great contempt, that "whatever he -wrote in future should be written in such a manner that they should not -reach it with their paws, though they stood on their hind-legs to get -at it." - -It has been well said that all opportunities of earning honourably -pudding and praise availed Porson nothing. "Two Mordecais sat at his -gate--thirst and procrastination." - -Irony was Porson's chief weapon, though he could be sarcastic enough -when he chose; as when he said of Tomline, Bishop of Lincoln, to whom a -rich man, who had only seen him once, had left a large legacy, "If he -had seen him twice he would have got nothing." - -Nor was he more eulogistic of Bishop Porteus, whom he used to call -Bishop _Proteus_, from his having changed his opinions from liberal to -illiberal. - -Porson made several visits to the British Museum to read and consider -the Rosetta stone, whence he got from the officials the _sobriquet_ of -Judge Blackstone. - -It is sufficiently notorious that Porson was not remarkably attentive -to the decoration of his person: indeed, he was at times disagreeably -negligent. On one occasion he went to visit a learned friend, -afterwards a judge, where a gentleman who did not know Porson, was -waiting in anxious and impatient expectation of the barber. On Porson's -entering the library, where the gentleman was sitting, he started up -and hastily said to him, "Are you the barber?" "No, sir," replied -Porson; "but I am a cunning shaver, much at your service." - -Porson, when a young man, was eminently handsome, and nearly six feet -in height; but he cultivated these natural gifts very little, and was -seldom dressed to advantage. William Bankes once invited Porson to dine -with him at an hotel at the west-end of the town; but the dinner passed -away without the guest making his appearance. Afterwards, on Bankes's -asking him why he had not kept his engagement Porson replied (without -entering into further particulars), that he "had come;" and Bankes -could only conjecture that the waiters, seeing Porson's shabby dress, -and not knowing who he was, had offered him some insult, which made him -indignantly return home. - -Late in life, Porson seems to have become a sad spectacle. "I saw him -once at the London Institution," says a writer in the _New Monthly -Magazine_, "with a large patch of coarse brown paper on his nose, the -skirts of his rusty black coat hung with cobwebs, and talking in a -tone of suavity approaching to condescension to one of the managers." -His face was described by an old acquaintance, who met him in 1807, -as "fiery and volcanic; his nose, on which he had a perpetual -efflorescence, was covered with black patches; his clothes were shabby, -his linen dirty." - -Porson had a great contempt for physic and physicians, yet, curiously -enough, many of his most intimate friends were physicians. In a letter -written in 1802 to Dr. Davy, he says: "I have been at Death's door, but -by a due neglect of the faculty, and plentiful use of my old remedy -(powder of post), I am pretty well recovered." - -In the good old days of coach travelling, an inside was occupied by -Porson, a young Oxonian, and two ladies. The Oxonian, fresh from -college, was amusing the ladies with a variety of talk, and amongst -other things, with a quotation from Sophocles. A Greek quotation, and -in a coach too, roused the slumbering Professor; and thereupon, waking -from a kind of dog sleep, in a snug corner of the vehicle; shaking -his ears, and rubbing his eyes, "I think young gentleman," said he, -"you favoured us just now with a quotation from Sophocles; I do not -happen to recollect it there." "Oh, sir," replied the Oxonian, "the -quotation is word for word as I have repeated it, and in Sophocles too; -but I suspect, sir, it is some time since you were at college." The -Professor applying his hand to his great-coat, and taking out a small -pocket edition of Sophocles, quietly asked him if he could be kind -enough to show him the passage in question, in that little book. After -rummaging the pages for some time, he replied, "Upon second thoughts, -I now recollect that the passage is in Euripides." "Then perhaps, -sir," said the Professor, putting his hand again into his pocket, and -handing him a similar edition of Euripides, "you will be so good as -to find it for me, in that little book." The young Oxonian returned -again to his task, but with no better success, muttering however -to himself, "Curse me if ever I quote Greek again in a coach." The -tittering of the ladies informed him that he was got into a hobble. At -last, "Bless me, sir," said he, "how dull I am: I recollect now--yes, -yes, I perfectly remember that the passage is in Æschylus." When our -astonished freshman vociferated, "Stop the coach--halloah, coachman, -let me out, I say, instantly--let me out! there's a fellow here has got -the Bodleian library in his pocket; let me out, I say--let me out; he -must be Porson or the devil!" - -He sometimes put the Greek folio of Galen, the physician, under his -pillow at night; not, as he used to observe, because he expected -medicinal virtue from it, but because his asthma required that his head -should be kept high. - - - - -[Illustration: Dr. Parr.] - - - - -Parriana: Oddities of Dr. Parr. - - -In his boyhood, Parr is described, by his sister as studious after his -kind, delighting in "Mother Goose and the Seven Champions," and not -partaking much in the sports usual at such an age. He had had a very -early inclination for the Church, and the elements of that taste for -ecclesiastical pomp which distinguished him in after-life, appeared -when he was not more than nine or ten years old. He would put on one -of his father's shirts for a surplice; he would then read the Church -Service to his sister and cousins, after they had been duly summoned -by a bell tied to the banisters; preach them a sermon, which his -congregation was apt to think, in those days, somewhat of the longest; -and, even in spite of his father's remonstrances, would bury a bird or -a kitten (Parr had always a great fondness for animals) with the rites -of Christian burial. - -Samuel was his mother's darling; she indulged all his whims, consulted -his appetite, provided hot suppers for him almost from his cradle. He -was her only son, and was at this time very fair and well-favoured. -Providence, however, seeing that at all events vanity was to be a large -ingredient in Parr's composition, sent him, in its mercy, a fit of -smallpox; and with the same intent, perhaps, deprived him of a parent -who was killing her son's character by kindness. Parr never was a boy, -says one of his friends and schoolfellows. When he was about nine years -old, he was seen sitting on the churchyard-gate at Harrow, whilst -his schoolfellows were all at play. "Sam, why don't you play with -the others?" cried one. "Do not you know, sir," said Parr, with vast -solemnity, "that I am to be a parson?" And Parr himself used to tell -of Sir William Jones, another of his schoolfellows, that, as they were -one day walking together near Harrow, Jones suddenly stopped short, and -looking hard at him, cried out, "Parr, if you should have the good luck -to live forty years, you may stand a chance of overtaking your face." -Between Dr. Bennet, Parr, and Jones, the closest intimacy was formed: -the three challenged one another to trials of skill in the imitation -of popular authors--they wrote and acted a play together--they got up -mock councils, and harangues, and combats, after the manner of the -classical heroes of antiquity, and under their names--till, at the age -of fourteen, Parr being now at the head of the school, was removed -from it, and placed in the shop of his father, who was a surgeon and -apothecary. The Doctor must have found, in the course of his practice, -that there are some pills which will not go down--and this was one. -Parr began to criticize the Latin of his father's prescriptions, -instead of "making the mixture." Accordingly, having tried in vain to -reconcile himself to the "uttering of mortal drugs" for three years, -he was sent to Cambridge, and admitted of Emmanuel College, where Dr. -Farmer was tutor. Of this proficient in black-letter we are told by -Archdeacon Butler, that Farmer was a man of such singular indolence as -to neglect sending in the young men's accounts, and is supposed to have -burnt large sums of money by putting into the fire unopened letters, -which contained remittances. - -In 1791, when in his twenty-fifth year, Parr became a candidate for -the head-mastership of Harrow, though he was beaten by Dr. B. Heath. -A rebellion ensued among the boys, many of whom took Parr's part; and -he threw up his situation of assistant, and withdrew to Stanmore. -Here he was followed by forty of the young rebels, and with this -stock-in-trade he proceeded to set up a school on his own account. This -is thought to have been the crisis of Parr's life. The die had turned -against him, and the disappointment, with its immediate consequences, -gave a complexion to his future fortunes, character, and comfort. He -had already mounted a full-bottomed wig when he stood for Harrow, -anxious as it should seem to give his face a still further chance of -keeping its start. He now began to ride on a black saddle, and bore -in his hand a long wand with an ivory head, like a crosier, in high -prelatical pomp. His neighbours, who wondered what it could all mean, -had scarcely time to identify him with his pontificals before they saw -him stalking along the street in a dirty striped dressing-gown. A wife -was all that was now wanted to complete the establishment at Stanmore, -and accordingly, Miss Jane Marsingale, a lady of an ancient Yorkshire -family was provided for him; Parr, like Hooker, appearing to have -courted by proxy, and with about the same success. Thus Stanmore was -set agoing as the rival of Harrow. These were fearful odds, and it came -to pass that, in spite of "Attic Symposia," and grooves of Academus, -and the enacting of a Greek play, and the perpetual recitation of the -fragment in praise of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the establishment at -Stanmore declined; and at the end of five years, Parr was not sorry to -accept the mentorship of an endowed school at Colchester. - -Parr was evidently fond of living in troubled waters: accordingly, on -his removal to Colchester, he got into a quarrel with the trustees -of the school on the subject of a lease; and he printed a pamphlet -about it, which was so violent that he never published it, probably -influenced by his prospect of succeeding to Norwich School. This -occasioned Dr. Foster to remark, "That Norwich might be touched by -a fellow-feeling for Colchester; and the crape-makers of the one -place sympathize with the bag-makers of the other." The pamphlet was -withheld, and Parr was elected to the school at Norwich. The preferment -which he gained was the living of Asterby, which he exchanged for the -perpetual curacy of Hatton, in Warwickshire. Neither was of much value. -Lord Dartmouth, whose sons had been under Parr's care, endeavoured to -procure something for him from Lord Thurlow, but the Chancellor is -reported to have said "No," with an oath. The great and good Bishop -Lowth, however, at the request of the same nobleman, gave Parr a -prebend in St. Paul's, which, though a trifle at the time, eventually -became, at the expiration of leases, a source of affluence to Parr in -his old age. How far he was from such a condition at this period of -his life, is seen by an incident related by Mr. Field. The Doctor -was one day in that gentleman's library, when his eye was caught by -the title of Stephens's Greek Thesaurus. Suddenly turning about, he -said to Field, vehemently, "Ah! my friend, my friend, may you never be -forced, as I was at Norwich, to sell that work, to me so precious, from -absolute and urgent necessity." - -Dr. Parr and Dr. Johnson once had a sort of stand-up fight at argument. -After the interview was over, Johnson said, "I do not know when I have -had an occasion of such free controversy. It is remarkable how much -of a man's life may pass without meeting with any instance of this -kind of open discussion." Here is Dr. Parr's account of the meeting: -"I remember the interview well. I gave him no quarter. The subject of -our dispute was the liberty of the press. Dr. Johnson was very great; -whilst he was arguing, I observed that he stamped. Upon this I stamped. -Dr. Johnson said, 'Why did you stamp, Dr. Parr?' I replied, 'Sir, -because _you_ stamped; and I was resolved not to give you the advantage -of a _stamp_ in the argument.'" It is impossible to do justice to this -description of the scene. The vehemence, the characteristic pomposity -with which it was accompanied, may easily be imagined by those who knew -him, but cannot be adequately represented to those who did not. - -In the party was Dr. ----, an Arian minister, and Mr. ----, a Socinian -minister. One of the party seeing Parr was on friendly terms with the -above gentlemen, said, "I suppose, sir, although they are heretics, -you think it is possible they may be saved?" "Yes, sir," said he, -adding with affected vehemence, "but they must be _scorched_ first." -Parr talked of economy; he thought that a man's happiness was secure, -in proportion to the small number of his wants, and said that all his -lifetime it had been his object to prevent the multiplication of them -in himself. Some one said to him, "Then, sir, your secret of happiness -is to _cut down_ your wants." _Parr._ "No, sir, _my_ secret is, _not to -let them grow_." - -The doctor used, on a Sunday evening, after church, to sit on the green -at Hatton, with his pipe and his jug, and witness the exertions of his -parishioners in the truly English game of cricket, making only one -proviso, that none should join the party who had not previously been to -church. It is needless to say his presence was an effectual check on -all disorderly conduct. The skittle-grounds were deserted, and a better -conducted parish was rarely seen than the worthy Doctor's. - -Dr. Parr was one of the enthusiastic admirers of Shakspeare, who fell -upon their knees before Ireland's MSS., and by their idolatry inspired -hundreds of others. Still, Parr attempts to explain this in a note -to the catalogue of his library at Hatton, as follows:--"Ireland's -(Samuel) Great and Impudent Forgery, called 'Miscellaneous Papers and -Legal Instruments, under the hand and seal of William Shakspeare,' -folio, 1796. I am almost ashamed to insert this worthless and -infamously trickish book. It is said to include the tragedy of _King -Lear_, and a fragment of _Hamlet_. Ireland told a lie when he imputed -to me the words which _Joseph Warton_ used, the very morning I called -on Ireland, and was inclined to admit the possibility of genuineness -in his papers. In my subsequent conversation I told him my change of -opinion. But I thought it not worth while to dispute in print with a -detected impostor.--S. P." - -Parr, it will be recollected, was an everlasting smoker--he smoked -morning, noon, and night. Once at a Visitation dinner in Colchester, -he had the impudence to call for his pipe; but Dr. Hamilton, the -archdeacon, told him there were other rooms in the house where he might -enjoy himself without annoying others. Of a piece with this was his -behaviour at a literary club in Colchester. Knowing the temper of the -man, a pipe and bottle (contrary to the law of the club) were placed -on the table, and he did ample justice to both; for he smoked and -drank the whole night, and talked so incessantly that Dr. Foster, the -president, sat silent, like one who had lost the use of his tongue. - -In July, 1818, Dr. Parr dined at Emmanuel (Cambridge), and met Dr. -Butler, of Shrewsbury, afterwards Bishop of Lichfield. Dudley North -seemed to be very popular in his college, for they drank his health -after dinner. Parr spoke of him in very high terms. The principal -objections to the society of "the learned pig" were that he had a more -than Mahommedan fondness for tobacco, and the smoking of a pipe was -with him, as with the followers of the Prophet, a certain passport -to friendship. The chief objects of his detestation seemed to be a -Christchurch man, a Johnian, a Welshman, and the Regent, all of whom -suffered in turn under the lash of his invective. Harrow and Trinity -were the idols of his adoration. Butler appeared to be much more of -a civilized being than the Grecian Goliah. Parr took his breakfast -in the room of Charles Brinsley Sheridan. The breakfast was given on -Sunday. Parr never showed the slightest disposition to attend the -morning service, but when breakfast was over, said, "Charles, Charles, -where are the pipes?" and they had to be sent for from a neighbouring -public-house. And the room was uninhabitable for three hours after -Parr's _déjeûner_ fumigations. - -Dr. Parr almost always spent his evenings in the company of his -family and his visitors, or in that of some neighbouring friends. At -such times his dress was in complete contrast with the costume of -the morning; for he appeared in a well-powdered wig, and always wore -his band and cassock. On extraordinary occasions he was arrayed in a -full-dress suit of black velvet, of the cut of the old times, when his -appearance was imposing and dignified. - -Speaking of the honour once conferred upon him, of being invited to -dinner at Carlton House, Parr mentions, with evident satisfaction, -the kind condescension of the Prince of Wales, who was pleased to -insist upon his taking his pipe as usual after dinner. Of the Duke of -Sussex, at whose table Parr was not unfrequently a guest, he used to -tell that his Royal Highness not only allowed him to smoke, but smoked -with him. He often represented it as an instance of the homage which -rank and beauty delight to pay to talents and learning, that ladies of -the highest station condescended to the office of lighting his pipe. -He appeared to no advantage, however, in his custom of demanding the -service of holding the lighted paper to his pipe from the youngest -female who happened to be present; and who was often, by the freedom -of his remarks, or by the gaze of the company, painfully disconcerted. -This troublesome ceremony, in his later years, he wisely discarded. - -The reader will probably recollect, in the well-known story, his reply -to the lady who refused to allow Parr the indulgence of his pipe. In -vain he pleaded that such indulgence had always been kindly granted -in the mansions of the nobility, and even in the presence and in the -palace of his sovereign. "Madam," said Parr to the lady, who still -remained inexorable, "you must give me leave to tell you, you are -the greatest--" whilst she, fearful of what might follow, earnestly -interposed, and begged that he would express no rudeness. "Madam," -resumed Dr. Parr, speaking aloud, and looking stern, "you are the -greatest tobacco-stopper in England." This sally produced a loud -laugh; but Parr found himself obliged to retire, in order to enjoy the -pleasures of his pipe. - -Dr. Parr was accustomed to amuse himself in the evening with cards, and -whist was his favourite game. He would only play for a nominal stake; -but, upon one occasion, he was persuaded to play with Bishop Watson for -a shilling, which he won. Pushing it carefully to the bottom of his -pocket, and placing his hand upon it, with a kind of mock solemnity, -"There, my Lord Bishop," said Parr, "this is a trick of the devil; -but I'll match him. So now, if you please, we will play for a penny;" -and this was ever after the amount of his stake. He was not, on that -account, at all the less ardent in the prosecution, or the less joyous -in the success of the rubber. He had a high opinion of his own skill -in the game, and could not very patiently tolerate the want of it in -his partner. Being engaged with a party, in which he was unequally -matched, he was asked by a lady how the fortune of the game turned; -when he replied, "Pretty well, madam, considering that I have three -adversaries." - -Even ladies were not spared who incurred Parr's displeasure by their -pertinacity. To one who had held out in argument against him, not very -powerfully, and rather too perseveringly, and who had closed the debate -by saying, "Well, Dr. Parr, I still maintain my opinion;" he replied, -"Madam, you may, if you please, _retain_ your opinion, but you cannot -_maintain_ it." - -The close of Parr's life grew brighter: the increased value of his -stall at St. Paul's set him abundantly at his ease; he could even -indulge his love of pomp, and he encumbered himself with a coach and -four. - -Parr's hand was ever open as day. Poverty had vexed, but had never -contracted his spirit; money he despised, except as it gave him -power--power to ride in his state-coach, to throw wide his doors -to hospitality, to load his table with plate and his shelves with -learning; power to adorn his church with chandeliers and painted -windows; to make glad the cottages of his poor; to grant a loan to a -tottering farmer; to rescue from want a forlorn patriot or a thriftless -scholar. Whether misfortune, or mismanagement, or folly, or vice, had -brought its victim low, his want was a passport to Parr's pity, and -the dew of his bounty fell alike upon the bad and the good, upon the -just and the unjust. It is told of Boerhaave that, whenever he saw -a criminal led out to execution, he would say, "May not this man be -better than I? If otherwise, the praise is due, not to me, but the -grace of God." Parr used to quote this saying with applause. Such, we -doubt not, would have been his own feelings on such an occasion. - -The Doctor was fond of good living, but was not a _gourmet_. "There -are," he says, "certainly one or two luxuries to which I am addicted: -the first is a shoulder of mutton, not under-roasted, and richly -incrusted with flour and salt; the second is a plain suet-pudding; -the third is a plain family plum-pudding; and the fourth, a kind of -high-festival dish, consists of hot boiled lobsters, with a profusion -of shrimp-sauce." - -Parr preached the Spital sermon, at Christ Church, on the invitation of -the Lord Mayor, Harvey Combe, and as they were coming out of the church -together, "Well," said Parr, "how did you like the sermon?" "Why, -Doctor," replied his lordship, "there were four things in it that I did -not like to hear." "State them." "Why, to speak frankly, then, they -were the quarters of the church-clock, which struck four times before -you had finished." But his Spital sermon, in 1799, occupied nearly -three hours in its delivery. - - - - -Oddities of John Horne Tooke. - - -The life of this strange person may almost be said to have been -commenced with a joke. He was the son of a _poulterer_, named -John Horne, in Newport Street, Westminster; or, as he told his -schoolfellows, his father was "a _turkey_ merchant." He was educated -for the Church, according to his father's wish, and took orders for the -bar. - -What Tooke thought of the former profession may be seen in a letter -of his to Wilkes, whose acquaintance he made in Paris in 1765, and to -whom he thus wrote:--"You are now entering into correspondence with a -parson, and I am greatly apprehensive lest that title should disgust; -but give me leave to assure you, I am not ordained a hypocrite. It is -true I have suffered the infectious hand of a bishop to be waved over -me, whose imposition, like the sop given to Judas, is only a signal -for the devil to enter. I hope I have escaped the contagion; and, if I -have not, if you should at any time discover the black spot under the -tongue, pray kindly assist me to conquer the prejudices of education -and profession." - -Tooke was, upon one occasion, memorably outwitted by Wilkes, who was -then sheriff of London and Middlesex. Tooke had challenged Wilkes, -who sent him the following cutting reply:--"Sir, I do not think it my -business to cut the throat of every desperado that may be tired of his -life; but as I am at present High Sheriff of the City of London, it may -happen that I shall shortly have an opportunity of attending you in my -official capacity, in which case I will answer for it that _you shall -have no ground_ to complain of my endeavours to serve you." We agree -with Mr. Colton, in his _Lacon_, that the above retort is a masterpiece -of its kind. - -The violence of Tooke's political predilections, perhaps, was -heightened by an accidental circumstance in his early life. His father, -the poulterer, had for his neighbour, Frederick, Prince of Wales, at -Leicester House, who most unceremoniously had cut through the wall of -Horne's garden a doorway, as an outlet towards Newport Market, for -the convenience of the Prince's domestics. But the poulterer and his -son resisted the encroachment, and triumphed over the heir-apparent -to the English crown, and had the obnoxious doorway removed, and the -wall reinstated. This victory, it is reasonable to suppose, fanned the -political aspirations of Horne Tooke. - -For many years Tooke was the terror of judges, ministers of state, -and all constituted authorities. When put on trial for his life (for -treason), "so far from being moved by his dangerous position, he was -never in more buoyant spirits. His wit and humour had often before been -exhibited in Courts of Justice; but never had they been so brilliant as -on this occasion. Erskine had been at his request assigned to him as -counsel; but he himself undertook some of the most important duties of -his advocate, cross-examining the witnesses for the Crown, objecting -to evidence, and even arguing points of law. If his life had really -been in jeopardy, such a course would have been perilous and rash in -the highest degree; but nobody in court, except, perhaps, the Attorney -and Solicitor-General, thought there was the slightest chance of an -adverse verdict. The prisoner led off the proceedings by a series of -preliminary jokes, which were highly successful. When placed in the -dock, he cast a glance up at the ventilators of the hall, shivered, -and expressed a wish that their lordships would be so good as to get -the business over quickly as he was afraid of catching cold. When -arraigned, and asked by the officer of the court in the usual form, -how he would be tried? he answered, 'I _would_ be tried by God and my -country--but----' and looked sarcastically round the court. Presently -he made an application to be allowed a seat by his counsel; and entered -upon an amusing altercation with the judge, as to whether his request -should be granted as an indulgence or as a right. The result was that -he consented to take his place by the side of Erskine as a matter of -favour. In the midst of the merriment occasioned by these sallies, the -Solicitor-General opened the case for the Crown."[42] - -[42] Massey's _History of England_. - -His change of name to John Horne Tooke is thus explained. At the time -when he was rising into celebrity, the estate of Purley, near Godstone, -in Surrey, belonged to Mr. William Tooke, one of the four friends who -joined in supplying him with an income, while, after resigning the -vicarage of New Brentford, he studied for the law. One of Tooke's -richer neighbours, having failed in wresting from him his manorial -rights by a lawsuit, had applied to parliament and nearly succeeded in -effecting his purpose by means of an inclosure bill, which would have -greatly depreciated the Purley estate. Tooke despondingly confided -his apprehensions to Horne, who resolved at once to avert the blow, -which he did in a bold and very singular manner. The third reading of -the bill was to take place the next day, and Horne immediately wrote -a violent libel on the Speaker of the House of Commons in reference -to it, and obtained its insertion in the _Public Advertiser_. As -might be expected, the first parliamentary proceeding next day was -the appearance of the adventurous libeller in the custody of the -Serjeant-at-Arms. When called upon for his defence, he delivered a most -remarkable speech, in which he pointed out the injustice of the bill -in question with so much success, that not only was it reconsidered, -and the clauses which affected his friend's property expunged, but -resolutions were passed by the House to prevent the possibility in -future of such bills being smuggled through parliament without due -investigation. In gratitude for this important service, Mr. Tooke, -who had no family, made Horne his heir; on his death in 1803, the -latter became proprietor of Purley, and, as one of the conditions of -inheritance, added the name of Tooke to his own, and from this time was -known as John Horne Tooke. His celebrated _Diversions of Purley_ was -named in compliment to the residence of the author's friend. - -Mr. Tooke's Sunday dinners at his villa on Wimbledon Common were very -festive gatherings. So early as eleven in the morning, some of the -guests might be descried crossing the green in a diagonal direction; -while others took a more circuitous route along the great road, with -a view of calling at the mansion formerly occupied by the Duke of -Newcastle while Prime Minister, but then the residence of Sir Francis -Burdett. For many years a coach-and-four, with Mr. Bosville and two or -three friends, punctually arrived within a few minutes of two o'clock. -At four, the dinner was usually served in the parlour looking on the -Common; and the servant having announced the dinner, the company passed -through the hall, the chairs of which were crowded with great-coats, -hats, &c., and took their seats without any ceremony, each usually -placing himself in his proper situation. During dinner, the host's -colloquial powers were called forth into action: indeed, although -he possessed an excellent appetite, and partook freely of almost -everything before him, yet he found ample time for his gibes and jokes, -which seemed to act as so many corroborants, at once strengthening and -improving the appetites of his guests. - -Here, at times, were to be seen men of rank and mechanics, sitting in -social converse; persons of ample fortune, and those completely ruined -by the prosecutions of the Attorney-General. On one side was to be -seen, perhaps, the learned Professor of an University, replete with -Greek and Latin, and panting to display his learned lore, indignant -at being obliged to chatter with his neighbour, a member of the -Common Council, about city politics. Next to these would sit a man -of letters and a banker, between whom it was difficult to settle the -agio of conversation, the one being full of the present state of the -money-market, the other bursting to display his knowledge of all books, -except those of account alone! - -Tooke took delight in praising his daughters, which he sometimes did -by those equivocatory falsehoods which were one of his principal -pleasures. Of the eldest he said, "All the beer brewed in this house -is that young lady's brewing." It would have been equally true to say, -all the hogs killed in this house were of that young lady's killing; -for they brewed no beer. When a member of the Constitutional Society, -he would frequently utter sentences, the first part of which would have -subjected him to death by the law, but for the salvo that followed; -and the more violent they were, thus contrasted and equivocatory, the -greater was his triumph. - -When Tooke was justifying to the Commissioners his return of income -under 60_l._ a-year, one of those gentlemen, dissatisfied with the -explanation, hastily said, "Mr. Tooke, I do not understand you." -"Very possibly," replied the sarcastic citizen; "but as you have not -_half_ the _understanding_ of other men, you should have _double_ the -_patience_." - -Horne Tooke told Mr. Rogers that in his early days a friend gave him a -letter of introduction to D'Alembert, at Paris. Dressed _à -la-mode_, he -presented the letter, and was very courteously received by D'Alembert, -who talked to him about operas, comedies, suppers, &c. Tooke had -expected conversation on very different topics, and was greatly -disappointed. When he took leave, he was followed by a gentleman in -a plain suit, who had been in the room during his interview with -D'Alembert, and who had perceived his chagrin. "D'Alembert," said the -gentleman, "supposed from your gay apparel that you were merely a -_petit maître_." The gentleman was David Hume. On his next visit to -D'Alembert, Tooke's dress was altogether different, and so was the -conversation. - -Tooke's literal kind of wit--set off, as tradition recounts, by a -courteous manner and by imperturbable coolness--is not ill shown in -the following:--"'Power,' said Lord ---- to Tooke, 'should follow -property.' 'Very well,' he replied, 'then we will take the property -from you, and the power shall follow it....'" "'Now, young man, -as you are settled in town,' said my uncle, 'I would advise you to -take a wife.' 'With all my heart, sir; whose wife shall I take?'" -It is a trait of manners that the "Rev. Mr. Horne" must have been a -young clergyman at the time of this conversation; he did not, as is -well known, take the name of Tooke till a later period. We have a -trace, too, of his philological acuteness in Mr. Rogers's _Memorandum -Book_:--"An illiterate people are most tenacious of their language. -In traffic, the seller learns that of the buyer before the buyer -learns his. A bull in the field, when brought to town and cut up in -the market, becomes bœuf, beef; a calf, veal; a sheep, mouton; a -pig, pork;--because there the Norman purchased, and the seller soon -learnt _his_ terms; while the peasantry retained their own." It is not -surprising that a sharp logical wit should be an acute interpreter of -language. - -In the year 1811, a most flagrant depredation was committed in Mr. -Tooke's house at Wimbledon, by a collector of taxes, who daringly -carried away a silver tea and sugar-caddy, the value of which -amounted in weight in silver to at least twenty times more than the -sum demanded, for a tax which Tooke declared he would never pay. -Instructions were given to an attorney for replevying the goods; but -the tax-collector, by the advice of a friend, returned the tea-caddy, -and the man declaring he had a large family, Tooke treated him very -kindly, and the matter was allowed to drop. - -Mr. Tooke's health had been a long time before his decease in a -declining state; but his humour and eccentricity remained in full force -to the last; and even in the gripe of death his serenity never forsook -him. While he was speechless and considered insensible, Sir Francis -Burdett, who was present with a few more friends, prepared a cordial -for him, which the medical attendants declared to be of no avail, but -which the baronet persisted in offering, and raising up the patient -for that purpose, when Mr. Tooke perceiving who offered the draught, -drank it off with a smile, and in a few minutes expired, on March 18th, -1812, at his house at Wimbledon. He was put into a strong elm shell. -The coffin was made from the heart of a solid oak, cut down for the -purpose. It measured six feet one inch in length; in breadth at the -shoulders, two feet two inches; depth at the head, two feet six inches; -and the depth at the feet, two feet four inches. This great depth of -coffin was necessary in consequence of the contraction of the body of -the deceased. - -A tomb had long been prepared for Mr. Tooke in his garden at Wimbledon, -in which it was his desire to have been buried; but this, after his -decease, being opposed by his daughters and an aunt of theirs, his -remains were conveyed in a hearse and six to Ealing, in Middlesex; -attended by three mourning-coaches, containing Sir Francis Burdett and -several other political and literary friends. His remains were interred -according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, -otherwise, it was his desire that no funeral service should be read -over his body, but that six poor men should have a guinea each to bear -him to the vault in his garden. He rests in a vault, inclosed with iron -railings, and bearing this inscription:--"John Horne Tooke, late of -Wimbledon, author of the _Diversions of Purley_, was born June, 1736, -and died March 18th, 1812, contented and grateful." - - - - -Mr. Canning's Humour. - - -It has been sagaciously remarked in a paper in the _National Review_, -No. 18, that "if Mr. Canning had not been a busy politician, he -would probably have attained eminence as a writer. There must be -extraordinary vitality in jokes and parodies, which after sixty or -seventy years are almost as amusing as if their objects had not long -since become obsolete." We propose to string together a few of these -pleasantries, collected from the above and other authentic sources. - -It is related that Mr. Canning's aunt on the anniversary of her -birthday made presents to each of her relations: to Mr. Canning she -once gave a piece of fustian, which produced from him the following -stanzas, found in MS., a line wanting:-- - - "Whilst all on this auspicious day, - Well pleas'd their gratulations pay, - And sweetly smile, and softly say - A thousand pretty speeches; - My Muse her grateful tribute wings, - Nor scorn the lay her duty brings, - Tho' humble be the theme she sings-- - A pair of shooting breeches. - - "Soon shall the tailor's subtle art - Have fashion'd them in every part, - And made them snug, and neat, and smart, - With twenty thousand stitches; - Then mark the moral of my song, - Oh! may our lives but prove as strong, - And wear as well, and last as long, - As these, my shooting breeches. - - "And when to ease the load of strife - Of public and of private life, - My fate shall bless me with a wife, - I seek not rank or riches; - But worth like thine, serene and gay, - - * * * * * - - And form'd like thine, to give away - Not wear herself the breeches." - -Among Canning's playful rhymes will be remembered, in _The Microcosm_, -Nos. 1, 11, and 12, those commencing,-- - - "The Queen of Hearts, - She made some tarts," &c. - -The continuation, which is less known, apparently contains some -political allusions:-- - - "Ye Queen of Spades - Herself degrades - By dancing on the green; - Ye Knave stood by - In extacy, - Enamoured of ye Queen. - Ye King so brave - Says to the Knave, - 'I disapprove this dance; - You make more work - Than Mister Burke - Does with ye Queen of France.'" - -The following is written as a variation: - - "Ye Queen of Spades - She beat ye maids - For their immodesty; - Ye Knave of Spades - He kissed those maids, - Which made the Queen to cry. - Ye King then curst - That Knave who durst - Make Royalty shed tears; - 'Vile Knave,' says he, - ''Tis my decree - That you lose both your ears.' - - "Ye Diamond Queen - Was one day seen - So drunk she could not stand; - Ye Diamond Knave - He blushed, and gave - Ye Queen a reprimand. - Ye King, distrest - That his dearest - Should do so vile a thing, - Says, 'By my wig - She's like ye pig - Of David, ye good king.' - - "Ye Queen of Clubs - Made syllabubs; - Ye Knave came like Big Ben, - He snatched the cup - And drank it up-- - His toast was, 'Rights of men.' - With hands and eyes - That marked surprise - Ye King laments his fate: - 'Alas!' says he, - 'I plainly see - Ye Knave's a Democrate.'" - -Mr. Canning used habitually to designate the selfish and officious Duke -of Buckingham as the "Ph.D.," an abbreviation which was understood to -mean "the fat Duke." That bulky potentate had cautioned him on the eve -of his expected voyage to India, against the frigate in which he was -to sail, on the ground that she was too low in the water. "I am much -obliged to you," he replies to Lord Morley, "for your report of the -Duke of Buckingham's caution respecting the _Jupiter_. Could you have -the experiments made _without_ the Duke of Buckingham on board? as that -_might_ make a difference." - -In a letter to Lord Granville, at a time when Prince Metternich -was expected in Paris, he says, "You ask me what you shall say to -Metternich. In the first place, you shall hear what I think of him; -that he is the greatest r---- and l---- on the Continent, perhaps in -the civilized world!" - -Almost all the brilliant exceptions to the average trash of the -_Anti-Jacobin_ appear to belong to Canning; though, if the authority of -the most recent editor may be trusted, the best stanza of the best poem -was added to the original manuscript by Pitt. - - "Sun, moon, and thou, vile world, adieu! - Which kings and priests are plotting in; - Here doomed to starve on water gru- - el, I no more shall see the U- - niversity of Gottingen." - -Canning's _Friend of Humanity and the Knife-grinder_ is well remembered -as witty ridicule of the youthful Jacobin effusions of Southey, in -which it was sedulously inculcated that there was a natural and eternal -warfare between the poor and the rich; the Sapphic lines of Southey -affording a tempting subject for ludicrous parody:-- - - "_Friend of Humanity._ - "Needy Knife-grinder? whither art thou going? - Rough is your road--your wheel is out of order. - Bleak blows the blast--your hat has got a hole in't! - So have your breeches! - - "Weary Knife-grinder! little think the proud ones, - Who in their coaches roll along the turnpike- - Road, what hard work 'tis crying all day, 'Knives and - Scissors to grind O!' - - "Tell me, Knife-grinder, how came you to grind knives? - Did some rich man tyrannically use you? - Was it the squire, or parson of the parish, - Or the attorney? - - "Was it the squire, for killing of his game, or - Covetous parson, for his tithes distraining? - Or roguish lawyer, made you lose your little - All in a lawsuit? - - "(Have you not read the _Rights of Man_, by Tom Paine?) - Drops of compassion tremble on my eyelids, - Ready to fall, as soon as you have told - Your pitiful story. - - "_Knife-grinder._ - "Story! God bless you! I have none to tell, sir. - Only last night, a-drinking at the Chequers, - This poor old hat and breeches, as you see, were - Torn in a scuffle. - - "Constables came up for to take me into - Custody; they took me before the justice; - Justice Oldmixon put me in the parish - Stocks for a vagrant. - - "I should be glad to drink your honour's health in - A pot of beer, if you will give me sixpence; - But for my part I never love to meddle - With politics, sir. - - "_Friend of Humanity._ - "I give thee sixpence! I will see thee d----d first-- - Wretch, whom no sense of wrongs can rouse to vengeance-- - Sordid, unfeeling reprobate; degraded, - Spiritless outcast! - - [_Kicks the Knife-grinder, overturns his wheel, and exit in a - transport of Republican enthusiasm and universal philanthropy._] - -Again, the atrocious exaltation of the contemporary poet in the murder -of Jean Bon St. André is still delightfully contagious:-- - - "'Twould have moved a Christian's bowels - To hear the doubts he stated; - But the Moors they did as they were bid, - And strangled him while he prated." - -The exquisite polish of the _Loves of the Triangles_ is enjoyed, while -Darwin's grave absurdities are only remembered in Miss Edgeworth's -admiring quotations, or by Lord Brougham's fidelity to the literary -prepossessions of his youth. It is remarkable that an author who in -literature can only be considered as an amateur, should have possessed -that rare accomplishment of style which is the first condition of -durable reputation. The humour of Canning's more ephemeral lampoons, as -they exist in oral tradition, seems to have been not less admirable. -When Mr. Whitbread said, or was supposed to say, in the House of -Commons, that a certain day was memorable to him as the anniversary -both of the establishment of his brewery and of the death of his -father, the metrical version of his speech placed his sentiments in a -more permanent form:-- - - "This day I will hail with a smile and a sigh, - For his beer with an _e_, and his bier with an _i_." - -Some of the diplomatic documents which have been published tend to -justify the common opinion that Mr. Canning was liable to be misled by -his facility of composition and his love of epigram. On one occasion, -he wrote to Lord Granville, that he had forgotten to answer "the -impudent request of the Pope," for protection to his subjects against -the Algerine corsairs. He replies, with more point than relevancy, -"Why does not the Pope prohibit the African Slave Trade? It is carried -on wholly by Roman Catholic powers, and by those among them who -acknowledge most subserviently the power and authority of the court -of Rome.... Tell my friend Macchi, that so long as any power whom the -Pope can control, and does not, sends a slave-ship to Southern Africa, -I have not the audacity to propose to Northern Africans to abstain -from cruising for Roman domestics--indeed, I think them justified in -doing so." In a private conversation or a friendly letter, the fallacy -of the _tu quoque_ would have been forgotten in the appropriateness of -the repartee; but in a question of serious business, the argument was -absurd, and a diplomatic communication ought never to be insulting. -There might be little practical danger in affronting the Pope; but Mr. -Canning himself would have admitted, on reflection, that his witticism -could by no possibility conduce to the suppression of the Slave Trade. - -Here is a more playful instance of humorous correspondence. When -Mr. Canning was forming his ministry, he offered Lord Lyndhurst the -Chancellorship, though he had recently attacked the new Premier in a -speech which was said to be borrowed from a hostile pamphlet, written -by Dr. Philpotts, Bishop of Exeter. Canning offered Lord Lyndhurst -the seals in a letter expressive of his goodwill, "_pace Philpotti_;" -and the answer of acceptance was signed, "Yours ever, except for -twenty-four hours." - -Mr. Canning had a faithful college servant, who became much attached to -him. Francis, for such was his name, was always distinguished by his -blunt honesty and his familiarity with his master. During his master's -early political career, Francis continued to live with him. Mr. -Canning, whose love of fun was innate, used sometimes to play off his -servant's bluntness upon his right honourable friends. One of these, -whose honours did not sit very easily upon him, had forgotten Francis, -though often indebted to his kind offices at Oxford. Francis complained -to Mr. Canning that Mr. W. did not speak to him. "Pooh!" said Mr. -Canning, "it is all your fault; you should speak first: he thinks you -proud. He dines here to-day--go up to him in the drawing-room, and -congratulate him upon the post he has just got." Francis was obedient. -Surrounded by a splendid ministerial circle, Francis advanced to the -distinguished statesman, with "How d'ye do, Mr. W. I hope you're very -well--I wish you joy of your luck, and hope your place will turn out -a good thing." The roar of course was universal. The same Francis -afterwards obtained a comfortable berth in the Customs, through his -kind master's interest. He was a stanch Tory. During Queen Caroline's -trial, he met Mr. Canning in the street. "Well Francis, how are you?" -said the statesman, who had just resigned his office, holding out his -hand. "It is not well, Mr. Canning," replied Francis, refusing the -pledge of friendship--"It is not well, Mr. Canning, that you should say -anything in favour of that ----." "But, Francis, political differences -should not separate old friends--give me your hand." The sturdy -politician at length consented to honour the ex-minister with a shake -of forgiveness. It is said that Mr. Canning did not forget him when he -returned to power. - -Canning and Lord Eldon were, in many respects, "wide as the Poles -asunder," although they were in the same administration. Mr. Stapleton, -in his _George Canning and his Times_, publishes a curious letter -written in 1826 to Lord Eldon, who exhibited his unconcealed dislike -to his brilliant and liberal colleague by steadily refusing to place -any part of his vast patronage at his disposal. Complying with the -importunity of Mr. Martin, of Galway, Mr. Canning formally transmitted -a letter of application, reminding the Chancellor at the same time -that in twenty-five years he had made four requests for appointments; -"with one of which your lordship had the goodness to comply." The -letter was placed in the private secretary (Mr. Stapleton's) hands, -with directions to copy it and forward it immediately; but knowing the -state of parties in the cabinet, and seeing that the letter had been -written under the influence of irritation, Mr. Stapleton undertook -the responsibility of keeping it back. A few hours afterwards, Mr. -Stapleton said to Mr. Canning, "I have not sent your letter to old -Eldon." "Not sent it," he angrily inquired; "and pray why not?" Mr. -Stapleton replied, "Because I am sure that you ought to read it over -again before you send it." "What do you mean?" Mr. Canning sharply -replied. "Go and get it." Mr. Stapleton did as he was bid; Mr. -Canning read it over, and then a smile of good-humour came over his -countenance. "Well," he said, "you are a good boy. You are quite right; -don't send it. I will write another." - -When his obstinate old enemy stood beside him at the Duke of York's -funeral, in St. George's Chapel, Mr. Canning became uneasy at seeing -the old man standing on the cold, bare pavement. Perhaps he was more -uneasy because he knew he was unfriendly; so to prevent the cold damp -of the stones from striking though his shoes, he made him lay down his -cocked hat, and stand upon it; and when at last he got weary of so -much standing, he put him in a niche of carved wood-work, where he was -just able to stand upon wood. Unfortunately, although the tough old -Chancellor was saved by his constitution and his hat, Mr. Canning's -health received, through the exposure to cold, a shock from which he -never recovered. A few days afterwards he paid a last visit to Lord -Liverpool, at Bath, and on the plea of entertaining Mr. Stapleton, as a -young man, with the stories of their early years, they went on amusing -each other by recounting all sorts of fun and adventure, which were -evidently quite as entertaining to the old as to the young. The picture -of the two time-worn ministers laughing over the scenes of their youth -must have been a treat. - -Sydney Smith ludicrously compared Canning in office to a fly in -amber:--"Nobody cares about the fly; the only question is--How the -devil did it get there? Nor do I attack him," continues Sydney, "from -the love of glory, but from the love of utility, as a burgomaster hunts -a rat in a Dutch dyke, for fear it should flood a province. When he is -jocular, he is strong; when he is serious, he is like Samson in a wig. -Call him a legislator, a reasoner, and the conductor of the affairs of -a great nation, and it seems to me as absurd as if a butterfly were to -teach bees to make honey. That he is an extraordinary writer of small -poetry, and a diner-out of the highest metre, I do most readily admit. -After George Selwyn, and perhaps Tickell, there has been no such man -for the last half-century." Lord Brougham, however, asserts that Mr. -Canning was not, by choice a diner-out. - -Canning said of Grattan's eloquence that, for the last two years, his -public exhibitions were a complete failure, and that you saw all the -mechanism of his oratory without its life. It was like lifting the flap -of a barrel-organ, and seeing the wheels; you saw the skeleton of his -sentences without the flesh on them; and were induced to think that -what you had considered flashes, were merely primings kept ready for -the occasion. - -Lord Byron, in his _Age of Bronze_, thus characterises Canning:-- - - "Something may remain, perchance, to chime - With reason; and, what's stranger still, with rhyme. - Even this thy genius, Canning! may permit, - Who, bred a statesman, still was born a wit, - And never, even in that dull house could tame - To unleavened prose thine own poetic flame. - Our last, our best, our only orator, - Even I can praise thee--Tories do no more. - Nay, not so much; they hate thee, man, because - Thy spirit less upholds them than it awes!" - - - - -Peter Pindar.--Dr. Wolcot. - - -This sarcastic versifier was a native of Devonshire, born about the -year 1738. His father was a substantial yeoman, and sent him to -Kingsbridge Free School; and after his father's death, young Wolcot -was removed to the Grammar School at Bodmin. He is described as a -clumsy, but arch-looking boy. He, at this early period, showed a degree -of quickness in repartee and sarcastic jokes, which was the first -dawning of that satiric humour which he afterwards displayed. He was -not remarkable at school for anything so much as negligence of his -dress and person. He described himself in after-life as having been a -dull scholar, but as having showed even at that early age a turn for -versifying. - -On leaving school, he was removed to Fowey, in Cornwall, to the house -of an uncle, who was a medical practitioner, whose apprentice he became -for seven years. He completed his medical education in London, and -applied himself with sufficient diligence to obtain a knowledge of -his future profession; but he much annoyed his uncle and two aunts by -cultivating his talents for versifying and painting. Some of his chalk -drawings have been preserved, and are remarkable for their peculiarity. -When seen near the eye, they seem to be composed only of random -scratches and masses of black chalk, of different densities and depths, -with here and there a streak and blot of white, and others of red. -There does not appear to be any defined objects, such as a tree, house, -figure, &c.; but when viewed as a whole, at a distance hanging on the -wall of the room, each of them appears to be a landscape representing -morning and evening, in which the dark and light of the sky, and the -foreground, hills, trees, towers, &c., could be made out by the fancy, -in the smallest space of time allowed for the imagination to come into -play; and then the effect is surprisingly good. Wolcot became fond of -art, eminently critical and learned in its elements, sketched many -favourite places in Devonshire and Cornwall, and dabbled occasionally -in oils. - -He settled in London, obtained a Scotch diploma of M.D., and began -to practise as a physician. In 1767, Sir William Trelawney was -appointed Governor of Jamaica, and Wolcot, who had some connection -with the family, accompanied him to that island as his physician, and -he was appointed Physician-General. The Governor's regard for his -lively medical friend was so great, that he intended to procure his -appointment as Governor of the Mosquito territory; but the retirement -from office of his best friend, Lord Shelburne, prevented its -accomplishment. - -Wolcot's practice in Jamaica was not extensive; the whites were not -numerous, and the coloured could not pay. Governor Trelawney, however, -thinking he could promote Wolcot's interest more effectually by his -patronage in the Church, having then a valuable living in his gift -likely to become vacant by the severe illness of the incumbent, he -recommended his client to return to England, enter holy orders, and -return and take possession. Although the Governor had no very sublime -ideas of priesthood, it was the only way he had of serving the wit. -"Away, then," he said, "to England, get yourself japanned. But -remember not to return with the hypocritical solemnity of a priest. -I have just bestowed a good living on a parson, who believes not all -he preaches, and what he really believes he is afraid to preach. You -may very conscientiously declare," said the _conscientious_ Governor -to his admiring pupil, "that you have an internal call, as the same -expression will equally suit a hungry stomach and the soul." Having -accomplished this praiseworthy object, the rev. (M.D.) doctor returned -to his patron for induction; but "between the cup and the lip there -is many a slip," for the ailing incumbent, whose _living_ the doctor -sought, became convalescent, proved a very incumbrance in his path, and -the japanned _medico_ was fain to take up with the living of Vere, a -congregation exclusively of blacks, which he handed over to a curate, -his real employment being master of ceremonies to the Governor. On his -death, Wolcot returned to England with Lady Trelawney; and to carry on -the metaphor, the black lobster was boiled, and came out in scarlet and -gold.--(_Notes and Queries_, 2nd Series, vol. vii. pp. 381-383.) - -The next twelve years of Wolcot's life were spent in attempting to -establish himself as a physician in Cornwall, in which he failed, -apparently on account of his invincible propensity to live as a -practical humorist, and satirize his neighbours. He humorously tells -us that the clinking of the bell-metal pestle and mortar seemed to -him to say, "Kill 'em again, kill 'em again," and so frightened him -from the profession. During his residence at Truro, some songs of -his composition were set to music by Mr. W. Jackson, of Exeter, and -first introduced him to general notice. In 1778, he published his -first composition in that peculiar style which not long after obtained -for him such a high and continued popularity--_The Epistle to the -Reviewers_. At Truro, Wolcot discovered the genius of the self-taught -artist, Opie, and with him came to London in 1780, they agreeing to -share the joint profits of their adventure for one year. They did so -for that term, when Opie told Wolcot he might return to the country, -as he could now do for himself. Wolcot appears not to have contributed -anything to the joint profits. There was now a split between the poet -and the brushman. Opie would not, for he could not, praise Wolcot's -sketches and paintings. "I tell ee, ye can't paint," said the blunt -and honest Opie; "stick to the pen." This advice was too much for "the -distant relation of the Poet of Thebes" to receive from "a painting -ape," and the feud was never healed. The Doctor scarified and lanced, -but Opie, in a more quiet way, was quite a match for the satirist, who, -as he said:-- - - "Sons of the brush, I'm here again, - At times a _Pindar_, a _Fontaine_, - Casting poetic pearl (I fear) to swine." - -Wolcot was the friend and pupil of Wilson, our great landscape painter, -whose style he used to imitate not unsuccessfully. In his addenda to -Pilkington's _Dictionary of Painters_, he pays due honour to the memory -of his old friend, Wilson. - -Wolcot now betook himself to his pen for support. His satirical and -artistic tastes suggested his first publication, "_Lyric Odes to the -Royal Academicians for 1782_, by Peter Pindar Esq., a distant relation -of the Poet of Thebes, and Laureate to the Royal Academy," which took -the town by surprise, by the reckless daring of their personalities and -quaintness of style. Thus he flayed the R.A.'s--from West to Dance, and -from Chambers to Wyatt--not forgetting their Royal patron, King George -III. In Ode III. of the second series, entitled _More Odes to the Royal -Academicians_, after complaining that Gainsborough had kicked Dame -Nature out of doors, he turns from the picture he censures to another, -and exclaims:-- - - "Speak, Muse, who form'd that matchless head? - The Cornish boy,[43] in tin-mines bred; - Whose native genius, like his diamonds, shone - In secret, till chance brought him to the sun.[44] - 'Tis Jackson's portrait--put the laurel on it, - Whilst to that tuneful swan I pour a sonnet." - -[43] Opie. - -[44] Peter here meant himself, which is in part true. - -Peter then drops the lash, resumes his neglected lyre, and pours out -a sonnet to "Jackson of Exeter," worthy of the twain--the "enchanting -harmonist and the lyric bard." - -Peter's poems were very dear to the purchaser, being printed in thin -quarto pamphlets, at 2_s._ 6_d._ each, and very little letter-press for -the money. After the Royal Academicians, Peter attacked King George -III. In 1785, Wolcot produced no less than twenty-three odes. In 1786, -he published the _Lousiad, a Heroic Comic Poem_, founded on the fact -that an obnoxious insect (either of the garden or the body) had been -discovered on the King's plate of some green peas, which produced -a solemn decree that all the servants in the Royal kitchen were to -have their heads shaved. In the hands of an unscrupulous satirist, -like Wolcot, this ridiculous incident was a stinging theme. He also -mercilessly quizzed Boswell, the biographer of Johnson. Sir Joseph -Banks was another subject of his satire:-- - - "A President, on butterflies profound, - Of whom all insect-mongers sing the praises, - Went on a day to catch the game profound, - On violets, dunghills, violet-tops, and daisies," &c. - -From 1778 to 1808, above sixty of these political pamphlets were issued -by Wolcot. So formidable was he considered, that the Ministry, as he -alleged, endeavoured to bribe him to silence; he also boasted that his -writings had been translated into six different languages. His ease and -felicity, both of expression and illustration, are remarkable. In the -following terse and lively lines, we have a good caricature sketch of -Dr. Johnson's style. - - "I own I like not Johnson's turgid style, - That gives an inch the importance of a mile; - Casts of manure a wagon-load around, - To raise a simple daisy from the ground. - Uplifts the club of Hercules--for what? - To crush a butterfly or brain a gnat! - Creates a whirlwind from the earth, to draw - A goose's feather, or exalt a straw! - Sets wheels on wheels in motion--such a clatter, - To force up one poor nipperkin of water! - Bids ocean labour with tremendous roar, - To heave a cockle-shell upon the shore; - Alike in every theme his pompous art, - Heaven's awful thunder or a rumbling cart." - -Sometimes Peter himself got castigated for his satire on the sovereign. -Here is an amusing instance. Those who recollect the figure of the -satirist in his robust upright state, and the diminutive appearance of -Mr. Nollekens, the sculptor, can readily picture to themselves their -extreme contrast, when the former accosted the latter one evening at -his gate in Tichfield Street, nearly in the following manner:--"Why, -Nollekens, you never speak to me now; pray what is the reason?" -_Nollekens._--"Why you have published such lies of the King, and had -the impudence to send them to me; but Mrs. Nollekens burnt them, and -I desire you'll send no more. The royal family are very good to me, -and are great friends to all artists, and I don't like to hear anybody -say anything against them." Upon which the Doctor put his cane upon -the sculptor's shoulders, and exclaimed, "Well said, little Nolly; I -like the man who sticks to his friends; you shall make a bust of me -for that!" "I'll see you d--d first," answered Nollekens; "and I can -tell you this besides--no man in the Royal Academy but Opie would have -painted your picture; and you richly deserved the broken head you got -from Gifford in Wright's shop. Mr. Cook, of Bedford Square, showed me -his handkerchief dipped in your blood; and so now you know my mind. -Come in, Cerberus, come in." His dog then followed him in, and he left -the Doctor at the gate, which he barred up for the night. - -A severer castigation he received from a brother author. It appears -that William Gifford had wielded his galled pen against the morals -and poetry of Wolcot. It was so stringent and caustic that the Doctor -sought his lampooner in the shop of Mr. Wright, a political publisher -in Piccadilly, opposite Old Bond Street. Thither Peter repaired with -a stout cudgel in hand, determined to inflict a summary and severe -chastisement on his literary opponent. Gifford was a small and weak -person; Wolcot was large and strengthened by passion; but he was a -coward, and after a short personal struggle, was turned into the street -by two or three persons then in the shop. Gifford afterwards wrote -and printed _An Epistle to Peter Pindar_, in which he dealt out a -most virulent tirade against the Doctor, who replied in _A Cut at the -Cobbler_. Gifford had been apprenticed to a shoemaker. - -As each published his own story of the transaction, the one in his -own name, the other by his aide-de-camp, Mr. Wright, it may not be -unamusing to recapitulate the different statements of the transaction:-- - -_Peter Pindar._--"Determined to punish a R---- that dared to propagate -a report the most atrocious, the most opprobrious, and the most -unfounded, I repaired to Mr. Wright's shop in Piccadilly to _catch -him_, as I understood that he paid frequent visits to his worthy friend -and publisher. On opening the shop-door I saw several people, and among -the rest, as I thought, Gyffard. I immediately asked him if his name -was Gyffard? Upon his reply in the affirmative, without any further -ceremony, I began to cane him. Wright and his customers and his shopmen -immediately surrounded me, and wrested the cane from my hand. I then -had recourse to the fist, and really was doing ample and easy justice -to my cause, when I found my hands all on a sudden confined behind -me, particularly by a tall Frenchman. Upon this Gyffard had time to -run round, and with his own stick, a large one too, struck me several -blows on the head. I was then hustled out of the shop, and the door was -locked against me. I entreated them to let me in, but in vain. Upon the -tall Frenchman's coming out of the shop, I told him that he was one of -the fellows that held my hands. I have been informed that his name was -Peltier. Gyffard has given out as a matter of triumph that he possesses -my cane, and that he means to preserve it as a trophy. Let me recommend -an inscription for it:--'The cane of Justice, with which I, William -Gyffard, late cobbler of Ashburton, have been soundly drubbed for my -infamy.'--I am, Sir, &c., J. WOLCOT." - -_Mr. Wright._--"Whoever is acquainted with the miscreant calling -himself 'Peter Pindar,' needs not be informed, that his disregard and -hatred of truth are habitual. He will not, therefore, be surprised to -learn that the account this Peter has published in a morning paper is a -shameless tissue of falsehoods from beginning to end. - -"I was not in the shop when it happened; but I am _authorized_, by -the only two witnesses of it, to lay before the public the following -statement:-- - -"Mr. Giffard was sitting by the window with a newspaper in his hand, -when Peter Pindar came into the shop, and saying, 'Is not your name -Giffard?' without waiting for an answer, raised a stick he had brought -for the purpose, and levelled a blow at his head with all his force. -Mr. Giffard fortunately caught the stick in his left hand, and quitting -his chair, wrested it instantly from the cowardly assassin, and gave -him two severe blows with it; one of which made a dreadful impression -on Peter's skull. Mr. Giffard had raised the stick to strike him a -third time, but seeing one of the gentlemen present about to collar the -wretch, he desisted, and coolly said, 'Turn him out of the shop.' This -was _literally and truly all_ that passed. - -"After Peter was turned into the street, the spectacle of his bleeding -head attracted a mob of hackney-coachmen, watermen, paviours, &c., to -whom he told his lamentable case, and then, with a troop of boys at -his heels, proceeded to a surgeon's in St. James's Street, to have his -wounds examined, after which he slunk home.--J. WRIGHT." - -Peter used to boast that he was the only author that ever outwitted -or took in a publisher. His works were very popular, and produced the -writer a large annual income. Walker, his publisher, in Paternoster -Row, was disposed to purchase the copyrights, and print a collected -edition. He first made the author a handsome offer in cash, and then an -annuity. The poet drove a hard bargain for the latter, and said that -"as he was very old and in a dangerous state of health, with a d--d -asthma and stone in the bladder, he could not last long." The publisher -offered 200_l._ a year; the Doctor required 400_l._ and every time the -Doctor visited the Row, he coughed violently, breathed apparently in -much pain, and acted the incurable invalid in danger so effectively -that the publisher at last agreed to pay him 250_l._ annually for -life. A collected edition of his works was printed in 1812, but it is -defective, for they were so numerous that the author could not retain -them all in his memory. An imperfect list in the _Annual Biography_ for -1819 enumerates no less than sixty-four works. One of the portraits -of the Doctor was published as a separate print, which did not sell -to any extent; but its publisher derived a great profit by taking out -the name of Peter Pindar and substituting that of "Renwick Williams -the Monster," who was infamous for stabbing women in the street. This -incident was told to Mr. Britton by Wolcot himself. - -There is a fashion in the burlesque poetry of every age that is -palatable to the public of that age only. The subjects of Wolcot's -verses were ephemeral, and are now mostly forgotten. But his -popularity was not entirely earned by his audacious personalities. -His versification is nervous, his language racy and idiomatic, his -wit often genuine; and through all his puns and quaintnesses there -runs a strain of strong manly sense. Wolcot was equal to Churchill as -a satirist, as ready and versatile in his powers, and possessed of -a quick sense of the ludicrous, as well as a rich vein of fancy and -humour. Some of his songs and effusions are tender and pleasing. Burns -greatly admired his ballad of "Lord Gregory," and wrote another on the -same subject. After all his biting satires on George III. and Pitt, -he accepted a pension from the administration of which Pitt was the -head--not to laud it, but to vituperate its opponents. He had a shrewd -intellect, and his literary compositions have the finish of an artist; -but he was utterly selfish, and was a self-indulgent voluptuary. - -Peter lived to the age of eighty-one, much to the annoyance of his -publisher, Walker. His last abode was in a small house in Montgomery's -nursery-gardens, which occupied the site of the north side of Euston -Square. Here he dwelt in a secluded, cheerless manner, the victim of -an asthma, very deaf, and almost entirely blind, with only a female -servant to attend him. His mind, however, retained its full power. He -lived only for himself; declined dinner invitations, "to avoid the -danger of loading his stomach with more than Nature required;" lay in -bed the greater part of his time, because "it would be folly in him -to be groping around his drawing-room," and because, "when up and in -motion he was obliged to carry a load of eleven or twelve stone, while -here he had only a few ounces of blanket to support." When out of bed, -he amused himself with his violin, or examining, as well as his sight -permitted, his crayons and pictures. He showed no aversion to "receive -notoriety-hunters," who came to see and hear "Peter Pindar," but -evinced no desire for society. - -John Britton, who lived in Burton Street, often went to see Peter on a -Saturday afternoon, and there met Mr. John Taylor, editor of the _Sun_ -newspaper. This gentleman was an inveterate and reckless punster, and -often teased Peter by some pointless puns. At one of these visits, on -taking leave, Taylor exclaimed, pointing to Peter's head and rusty wig, -"Adieu! I leave thee without hope, for I see _Old Scratch_ has thee -in his claws." Peter died in the above house, January 14th, 1810, and -was buried in the churchyard of St. Paul, Covent Garden, close to the -grave of Butler. He left a considerable property to his relations. In -early life he lived in the same parish, at No. 13, Tavistock Row; and -in the garret of this house he wrote many of his invectives against -George III. and the Royal Academicians. In 1807, he lodged in the first -floor of a house in Pratt Place, Camden Town, rented by a Mr. and Mrs. -Knight. The husband was a sea-faring man, seldom at home; and the -Doctor, who was not over-scrupulous, is said to have seduced the wife's -affections. Knight brought an action against the Doctor, but the jury -very properly acquitted him of the charge.--_See Cunningham's London_, -p. 409. - -Peter was not emulous to shine as a wit in his colloquial intercourse, -either with strangers or his most intimate associates. Indeed, his -usual manner exhibited so little of that character which strangers had -imagined of the writer of his lively satires, that they were commonly -disappointed. The wife of a player, at whose house Wolcot often passed -an evening, used to say that "his wit seems to lie in the bowl of a -teaspoon." Angelo, in his _Reminiscences_, tells us that he could not -guess the riddle, until one evening he observed that each time Peter -replenished his glass goblet with brandy-and-water, in breaking the -sugar, the corners of his lips were curled into a satisfactory smile, -and he began some quaint story, as if, indeed, the new libation begot -a new thought. To prove the truth of the discovery, one night, after -supper, at his own home in Bolton Row, Angelo made the experiment. -One of the party being in the secret, and fond of practical joking, -came provided with some small square pieces of alabaster. Peter's -glass waning fast, the joker contrived to slip the alabaster into a -sugar-basin provided for the purpose; when the Doctor, reaching the hot -water, and pouring in the brandy, the sugar-tongs were handed to him, -and then the advanced basin of alabaster. "Thank you, my boy," said -Peter, putting in five or six pieces, and taking his teaspoon, began -stirring as he commenced his story. Unsuspicious of the trick, Peter -proceeded, "Well, sirs,--and so the old parish priest. What I tell you -(then his spoon was at work) happened when I was in that infernally hot -place, Jamaica (then another stir). Sir, he was the fattest man on the -island (then he pressed the alabaster); yes, d----, sir, and when the -thermometer, at ninety-five, was dissolving every other man, this old -slouching, drawling son of the church got fatter and fatter, until, -sir--(curse the sugar! some devil-black enchanter has bewitched it.) -By ----, sir, this sugar is part and parcel of that old pot-bellied -parson--it will never melt;" and he threw the contents of the tumbler -under the grate. The whole party burst into laughter, and the joke cut -short the story. The mock sugar was slipped out of the way, and the -Doctor, taking another glass, never suspected the frolic. - -Peter, on seeing West's picture of Satan in the Exhibition, broke out -in the following couplet:-- - - "Is this the mighty potentate of evil? - 'Tis damn'd enough, indeed, but not the Devil." - - - - -The Author of "Dr. Syntax." - - -Dr. Syntax's _Tour in Search of the Picturesque_ was a large prize -in the lottery of publication and was also a novelty in origin and -writing. It was written to a set of designs instead of the designs -being made to illustrate the poet: in other words, the artist preceded -the author by making a series of drawings, in which he exhibited his -hero in a succession of places, and in various associations, calculated -to exemplify his hobby-horsical search for the picturesque. Some of -these drawings, made by Rowlandson, than whom no artist ever expressed -so much with so little effort, were shown at a dinner-party at John -Bannister's, in Gower Street, when it was agreed that they should -be recommended to Ackermann, in the Strand, for publication. That -gentleman readily purchased, and handed them, two or three at a time, -to William Combe, who was then confined in the King's Bench Prison -for debt. He fitted the drawings with rhymes, and they were first -published in the _Poetical Magazine_, where they became so popular that -they extended to three tours in as many volumes, and passed through -several editions. The work reminds one of _Drunken Barnaby's Journal_ -by its humour: it has been called "rhyming, rambling, rickety, and -ridiculous," but by a very inexperienced critic. The illustrations -were, doubtless, the attraction, which was so great, that the demand -kept pace with the supply. Hence _Syntax_ was succeeded by the _Dance -of Life_, the _Dance of Death_, _Johnny Quægenus_, and _Tom Raw the -Griffin_, all of the same class and character, and ultimately extending -to 295 prints, with versified letter-press "by Dr. Syntax." Of late -years these works have been republished at reduced prices. - -Combe, the author of these strange works was of good family connection, -had been educated at Eton and Oxford, and very early came into -possession of a large fortune, in ready money. He started in the world -by taking a large mansion at the west end of London, furnished it -superbly hired servants, and bought carriages, and assembled around -him a set of sycophants and parasites, who made short work of it, for -from the commencement to the drop-scene of the farce did not exceed one -year. The consequence was disgraceful ruin, and Combe fled from his -creditors and from society. We next hear of him as a common soldier, -and recognized at a public-house with a volume of Greek poetry in his -hand. He was relieved; but he still lived a reckless life, by turns -in the King's Bench Prison and the Rules, the limits of which do not -appear to have been to him much punishment. Horace Smith, who knew -Combe, refers to the strange adventures and the freaks of fortune of -which he had been a participator and a victim: "a ready writer of -all-work for the booksellers, he passed all the latter portion of his -time within _the Rules_, to which suburban retreat the present writer -was occasionally invited, and never left without admiring his various -acquirements, and the philosophical equanimity with which he endured -his reverses." Mr. Smith further states, that if there was a lack of -matter occasionally to fill up the columns of their paper, "Combe would -sit down in the publisher's back-room and extemporize a letter from -Sterne at Coxwould, a forgery so well executed that it never excited -suspicion." Mr. Robert Cole, the antiquary, had among his autographs a -list of the literary works and letters of Combe. - -Combe was principally employed by Ackermann, who, for several years, -paid him at least 400_l._ a-year. On the first lithograph stone which -Mr. Ackermann printed, when he had prepared everything for working, -Combe wrote:-- - - "I have been told of one - Who, being asked for bread, - In its stead - Return'd a stone. - - "But here we manage better. - The stone we ask - To do its task, - And it returns in every letter." - - "WILLIAM COMBE, _Jan. 23, 1817_." - -Combe was often a guest at Ackermann's table; he proved a friend to -him during his last illness, and contributed to the expenses of his -funeral, tomb, &c. Subsequent to his death, in 1823, a small volume was -published, entitled _Letters to Marianne_, said to have been written -by him after the age of seventy, to a young girl. We remember to have -visited him in the Rules, near New Bethlem Hospital, when we learnt -that he had written a memoir of his chequered life. Campbell, in his -_Life of Mrs. Siddons_, states that Combe lived nearly twenty years in -the King's Bench, and never quitted that prison; which is not correct. -Combe had nearly been Mrs. Siddons's reading preceptor. - -Rowlandson, who designed the Syntax illustrations, was as improvident -as Combe: he had a legacy of 7,000_l._, and other property, bequeathed -to him by an aunt: this he dissipated in the gaming-houses of Paris -and London, where he alternately won and lost without emotion several -thousand pounds. When penniless, he would return to his professional -duties, sit down coolly to make a series of new designs, and exclaim -stoically, "I've played the fool, but (holding up his pencils) here is -my resource." To Rowlandson, as well as Combe, Ackermann proved a warm -and generous patron and employer. - -Dr. Doran, in his piquant Notes to the _Last Journals of Horace -Walpole_, tells us that "Combe burst on the world as a wonderfully -well-dressed _beau_, and was received with _éclat_ for the sake of his -wealth, talents, grace, and personal beauty. He was popularly called -'Count Combe,' till his extravagance had dissipated a noble fortune; -and then, addressing himself to literature, the Count was forgotten in -the Author. In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for May, 1862, there is a -list of his works, originally furnished by his own hand. Not one was -published with his name, and they amount in number to sixty-eight. -Combe was a teetotaller in the days when drunkenness was in fashion, -and was remarkable for disinterestedness and industry. He was the -friend of Hannah More, whom he loved to make weep by improvised -romances, in which he could 'pile up the agony' with wonderful effect. -Religious faith and hope enabled William Combe to triumph over the -sufferings of his latter years. His second wife, the sister of the -gentle and gifted Mrs. Cosway, survived him." - -Horace Walpole, 1779, speaking of the poem, _The World as it -Goes_, describes it as "by that infamous Combe, the author of the -_Diabolical_. It has many easy poetic lines, imitates Churchill, and -is fully as incoherent and absurd in its plan as the worst of the -latter's." - -Again, in 1778, Walpole describes "Combe" as "a most infamous rascal, -who had married a cast mistress of Lord Beauchamp, and wrote many -satiric poems not quite despicable for the poetry, but brutally -virulent against that Lord, and others, particularly Lord Irnham." But, -as Dr. Doran aptly observes, "Walpole however fond of satire, hated -satirists, particularly when they were fearless and outspoken, like -Combe." - - - - -Mrs. Radcliffe and the Critics. - - -It is singular that although Mrs. Radcliffe's beautiful descriptions -of foreign scenery, composed solely from the materials afforded by -travellers, collected and embodied by her own genius, were marked in -a particular degree with the characteristics of fancy portraits, yet -many of her contemporaries conceived them to be exact descriptions of -scenes which she had visited in person. One report transmitted to the -public by the _Edinburgh Review_, stated that Mr. and Mrs. Radcliffe -had visited Italy; that Mr. Radcliffe had been attached to one of the -British embassies in that country; and that it was here his gifted -consort imbibed the taste for picturesque scenery, and for mouldering -ruins, and for the obscure and gloomy anecdotes which tradition -relates of their former inhabitants. This is so far a mistake, as -Mrs. Radcliffe never was in Italy; but it has been mentioned, in -explanation, that she probably availed herself of the acquaintance -she formed in 1793 with the magnificent scenery on the banks of the -Rhine, and the frowning remains of feudal castles with which it -abounds. The inaccuracy of the reviewer is of no great consequence; -but a more absurd report found its way into print, namely, that Mrs. -Radcliffe, having visited the fine old Gothic mansion of Haddon House, -had insisted upon remaining a night there, in the course of which she -had been inspired with all that enthusiasm for Gothic residences, -hidden passages, and mouldering walls, which marks her writings. Mrs. -Radcliffe, we are assured, never saw Haddon House; and although it -was a place excellently worth her attention, and could hardly have -been seen by her without suggesting some of those ideas in which her -imagination naturally revelled, yet we should suppose the mechanical -aid to invention--the recipe for fine writing--the sleeping in a -dismantled and unfurnished old house, was likely to be rewarded with -nothing but a cold, and was an affectation of enthusiasm to which Mrs. -Radcliffe would have disdained to have recourse. - -These are the opinions of Sir Walter Scott; appended to them are these -somewhat depreciatory remarks made by Dunlop, in his _History of -Fiction_:-- - -"In the writings of Mrs. Radcliffe there is a considerable degree -of uniformity and mannerism, which is perhaps the case with all the -productions of a strong and original genius. Her heroines too nearly -resemble each other, or rather they possess hardly any shade of -difference. They have all blue eyes and auburn hair--the form of each -of them has 'the airy lightness of a nymph'--they are all fond of -watching the setting sun, and catching the purple tints of evening, -and the vivid glow or fading splendour of the western horizon. -Unfortunately they are all likewise early risers. I say unfortunately, -for in every exigency Mrs. Radcliffe's heroines are provided with -a pencil and paper, and the sun is never allowed to rise nor set -in peace. Like Tilburina in the play, they are 'inconsolable to the -minuet in Ariadne,' and in the most distressing circumstances find -time to compose sonnets to sunrise, the bat, a sea-nymph, a lily, or a -butterfly." - -The tenor of Mrs. Radcliffe's private life seems to have been -peculiarly calm and sequestered. She probably declined the sort of -personal notoriety which, in London society, usually attaches to -persons of literary merit; and, perhaps, no author whose works were so -universally read and admired was so little personally known even to -the most active of that class of people of distinction, who rest their -peculiar pretensions to fashion upon the selection of literary society. -Her estate was certainly not the less gracious; and it did not disturb -Mrs. Radcliffe's domestic comforts, although many of her admirers -believed, and some are not yet undeceived, that, in consequence of -brooding over the terrors which she depicted, her reason had at length -been overturned, and that the author of _The Mysteries of Udolpho_ only -existed as the melancholy inmate of a private madhouse. This report was -so generally spread, and so confidently repeated in print, as well as -in conversation, that the writer believed it for several years, until, -greatly to his satisfaction, he learned, from good authority, that -there neither was, nor ever had been, the most distant foundation for -this unpleasing rumour. - -A false report of another kind gave Mrs. Radcliffe much concern. In -Miss Seward's _Correspondence_, among the literary gossip of the day, -it is roundly stated that the _Plays upon the Passions_ were Mrs. -Radcliffe's, and that she owned them. Mrs. Radcliffe was much hurt at -being reported capable of borrowing from the fame of a gifted sister; -and Miss Seward would, no doubt, have suffered equally, had she been -aware of the pain she inflicted by giving currency to a rumour so -totally unfounded. The truth is, that residing at a distance from the -metropolis, and living upon literary intelligence as her daily food, -Miss Seward was sometimes imposed upon by those friendly caterers, who -were more anxious to supply her with the newest intelligence, than -solicitous about its accuracy. - -Mrs. Radcliffe died at her residence in Stafford Row, Pimlico, on -the 7th of February, 1823; and her remains rest in the vault of the -Chapel-of-ease to St. George's parish, in the Bayswater Road, facing -Hyde Park. - - - - -Cool Sir James Mackintosh. - - -Mackintosh, a name dear to letters and philosophy, was no lawyer in -the narrow-minded sense of the word, and when appointed judge at -Bombay, was lamentably thrown away upon such society as he met there. -Accustomed to lead in the conversations of the conversation-men of -the metropolis--such as Sharp, Rogers, Dumont--he found himself -transplanted among those who afforded a sad and bitter contrast. It was -like Goëthe's oak-plant, with its giant fibres, compressed within the -dimensions of a flower-pot. On the third day after his arrival, most -forcibly was he reminded of the contrast, when one of the members of -the Council, the conversation turning upon quadrupeds, turned to him -and inquired what was a quadruped. It was the same sagacious Solomon -who asked him for the loan of some book, in which he could find a good -account of Julius Cæsar. Mackintosh jocosely took down a volume of Lord -Clarendon's _History of the Rebellion_, in which mention is made of a -Sir Julius Cæsar, Master of the Rolls in the time of Charles the First. -The wiseacre actually took the book home with him, and after some -days brought it back to Sir James, remarking that he was disappointed -on finding that the book referred to Julius Cæsar only as a lawyer, -without the slightest mention of his military exploits. - -Sir James was subject to certain Parson Adams-like habits of -forgetfulness of common things and lesser proprieties; and this brought -down upon him no slight share of taunt and ridicule. It happened, on -his arrival at Bombay, that there was no house ready for his reception, -and it would be a fortnight before a residence in the fort could be -prepared for him. Mr. Jonathan Duncan, the Governor of the Presidency, -therefore, with great kindness, offered him his garden-house, called -_Sans Pareil_, for the temporary accommodation of Sir James and -his family. But months and months elapsed, till a twelvemonth had -actually revolved; Mackintosh and his wife, during all this time, -found themselves so comfortable in their quarters, that they forgot -completely the limited tenure on which they held them, appearing by a -singular illusion, not to have the slightest suspicion of Mr. Duncan's -proprietorship, notwithstanding some pretty intelligible hints on the -subject from that gentleman, but communicated with his usual delicacy -and politeness. At last, politeness and delicacy were out of the -question, and the poor Governor was driven to the necessity of taking -forcible possession of his own property. This was partly indolence, -partly absence of mind in Sir James. He was constitutionally averse to -every sort of exertion, and especially that of quitting any place where -he found himself comfortable. - -Before he went out to India, he made a trip into Scotland with his -lady; and having taken up his abode for the night at an inn in -Perthshire, not far from the beautiful park of Lord Melville (then Mr. -Dundas) sent a request to Lady Jane Dundas (Mr. Dundas being absent) -for permission to see the house and grounds, which was most civilly -granted. Mr. Dundas being expected in the evening, her ladyship -politely pressed them to stay for dinner, and to pass the night, their -accommodation at the inn, not being of the best description. Mr. Dundas -returned the same day, and though their politics were as adverse as -possible, was so charmed with the variety of Mackintosh's conversation, -that he requested his guests to prolong their visit for two or three -days. So liberal, however, was the interpretation they put upon the -invitation, that the two or three days were protracted into as many -months, during which, every species of hint was most ineffectually -given, till their hosts told them, with many polite apologies, that -they expected visitors and a numerous retinue, and could no longer -accommodate Mr. and Mrs. Mackintosh. - -During Sir James Mackintosh's Recordership of Bombay, a singular -incident occurred. Two Dutchmen having sued for debt two English -officers, Lieutenants Macguire and Cauty, these officers resolved to -waylay and assault them. This was rather a resolve made in a drunken -excitement than a deliberate purpose. Fortunately, the Dutchmen -pursued a different route from that which they had intended, and -they prosecuted the two officers for the offence of lying-in-wait -with intent to murder. They were found guilty, and brought up for -judgment. Previous to his pronouncing judgment, however, Sir James -received an intimation that the prisoners had conceived the project -of shooting him as he sat on the bench, and that one of them had for -that purpose a loaded pistol in his writing-desk. It is remarkable -that the intimation did not induce him to take some precautions to -prevent its execution--at any rate, not to expose himself needlessly -to assassination. On the contrary, the circumstances only suggested -the following remarks:--"I have been credibly informed that you -entertained the desperate project of destroying your own lives at that -bar, after having previously destroyed the judge who now addresses -you. If that murderous project had been executed, I should have been -the first British judge who ever stained with his blood the seat of -justice. But I can never die better than in the discharge of my duty." -All this eloquence might have been spared. Macguire submitted to the -judge's inspection of his writing-desk, and showed him that, though it -contained two pistols, neither of them was charged. It is supposed to -have been a hoax--a highly mischievous one, indeed--but the statement -was _primâ facie_ so improbable, that it was absurd to give it the -slightest credit. - - - - -[Illustration: "Peter Porcupine." W. Cobbett.] - - - - -Eccentricities of Cobbett. - - -Cobbett began his career a political writer of ultra-Conservative -stamp. He first became known to the public as "Peter Porcupine," -under which name he fiercely attacked the democratic writers and -speakers of France and America. He was then resident in America, -and encountered one or two trials at law for alleged libels, in his -defence of monarchical and aristocratic institutions. The _Porcupine -Papers_ attracted much notice in England, were quoted and lauded by the -government organs--quoted in both Houses of Parliament, and eulogized -in the pulpit. The writer was considered one of the most powerful -supports of the principles of the British constitution. This series of -papers was republished in England, in twelve volumes octavo, under the -patronage of the Prince Regent, to whom, it is believed, the work was -dedicated. - -On his return from America, Cobbett began a daily paper called the -_Porcupine_. This was soon discontinued, and he began the _Register_. -Both these papers were strongly in favour of the government; and the -_Register_ ran through several volumes before a change took place in -the political opinions of the editor--a change hastened, if not caused, -by an affront offered him by William Pitt. Windham was a great admirer -of Cobbett, and after reading one of his Porcupine papers, declared -that the author was "worthy of a statue in gold." Pitt had refused to -meet the author of the _Register_ at Windham's table; and this Cobbett -resented, and never forgave. Very soon after this, a marked change took -place in his politics; henceforth he was more consistent, and the last -_Register_ which came from his pen, very shortly before his death, -breathed the same spirit which he had shown years before as one of the -leaders of the democratic party. - -One of Cobbett's oddities was the wood-cut of a gridiron which for many -years headed the _Political Register_, as an emblem of the martyrdom -which he avowed he was prepared to undergo, upon certain conditions. -The gridiron will be recollected as one of the emblems of St. Lawrence, -and we see it as the large gilt vane of one of the City churches -dedicated to the saint. - -As he was broiled on a gridiron for refusing to give up the treasures -of the church committed to his care, so Cobbett vowed that he would -consent to be broiled upon certain terms, in his _Register_, dated -Long Island, on the 24th of September, 1819, wherein he wrote the -well-known prophecy on Peel's Cash Payments Bill of that year as -follows:--"I, William Cobbett, assert that to carry their bill into -effect is impossible; and I say that if this bill be carried into full -effect, I will give Castlereagh leave to lay me on a gridiron, and -broil me alive, while Sidmouth may stir the coals, and Canning stand by -and laugh at my groans." - -On the hoisting of the gridiron _on the Register_, he wrote -and published the fulfilment of his prophecy in the following -statement:--"Peel's bill, together with the laws about small notes, -which last were in force when Peel's bill was passed; these laws all -taken together, if they had gone into effect, would have put an end -to all small notes on the first day of May, 1823; but to precede this -blowing-up of the whole of the funding system, an act was passed, in -the month of July, 1822, to prevent these laws, and especially that -part of Peel's bill which put an end to small Bank of England notes, -from going into full effect; thus the system received a respite; but -thus did the parliament fulfil the above prophecy of September, 1819." - -A large sign-gridiron was actually made for Mr. Cobbett. It was of -dimensions sufficient for him to have lain thereon (he was six feet -high); the implement was gilt, and we remember to have seen it in his -office-window, in Fleet Street; but it was never hoisted outside the -office. It was long to be seen on the gable-end of a building next Mr. -Cobbett's house at Kensington. - -Cobbett possessed extraordinary native vigour of mind; but every -portion of his history is marked by strange blunders. Shakspeare, the -British Museum, antiquities, posterity, America, France, Germany, -are, one and all, either wholly indifferent to him, or objects of -his bitter contempt. He absurdly condemned the British Museum as "a -bundle of dead insects;" abused drinking "the immortal memory" as a -contradiction of terms; and stigmatized "consuming the midnight oil" -as cant and humbug. His political nicknames were very ludicrous: as -big O for O'Connell; Prosperity Robinson for a flaming Chancellor of -the Exchequer; and shoy-hoy for all degrees of quacks and pretenders. -Still, his own gridiron was a monstrous piece of quackery, as audacious -as any charlatan ever set up. - -When he had a subject that suited him, he is said to have handled it -not as an accomplished writer, but "with the perfect and inimitable art -with which a dog picks a bone." Still, his own work would not bear this -sort of handling--witness the biting critique upon his English grammar, -which provoked the remark that he would undertake to write a Chinese -grammar. - -In country or in town, at Barn Elms, in Bolt Court or at Kensington, -Cobbett wrote his _Registers_ early in the morning: these, it must -be admitted, had force enough; for he said truly, "Though I never -attempt to put forth that sort of stuff which the intense people on -the other side of the Channel call _eloquence_, I bring out strings of -very interesting facts; I use pretty powerful arguments; and I hammer -them down so closely upon the mind, that they seldom fail to produce a -lasting impression." This he owed, doubtless, to his industry, early -rising, and methodical habits. - -Cobbett affected to despise all acquirements which he had not. In his -_English Grammar_ he selects examples of bad English from the writings -of Dr. Johnson and Dr. Watts, and is very contemptuous on "what are -called the learned languages;" but he would not have entered upon Latin -or Greek. - -It seemed to be Cobbett's aim to keep himself fresh in the public eye -by some means of advertisement or other; a few were very reprehensible, -but none more than his disinterring the bones of Thomas Paine, buried -in a field on his own estate near New Rochelle, and bringing these -bones to England, where, Cobbett calculated, pieces of them would be -worn as memorials of the gross scoffer. Cobbett, however, never more -widely mistook English feeling: instead of arousing, as he expected, -the enthusiasm of the republican party in this country, he only drew -upon himself universal contempt. - - - - -Heber, the Book-Collector. - - -There have been many instances of the indulgence of book collecting to -the extent which is termed book-madness; but none more remarkable than -that of Mr. Richard Heber, half-brother to the celebrated Bishop of -Calcutta of the same name. Mr. Heber inherited property which permitted -him to spend immense sums in the purchase of books; and he received an -education which enabled him to appreciate the books when purchased. He -was not therefore, strictly speaking, a _bibliomaniac_, and nothing -more, though his exertions in _collecting_ amounted to eccentricities. -He would make excursions from the family seats in Yorkshire and -Shropshire to London, to attend book sales; and when the termination -of the war in 1815 opened the Continent to English travellers, Heber -visited France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and made large purchases -of books in each country. He cared for nothing but books. He kept up a -correspondence with all the great dealers in old books throughout the -kingdom. On hearing of a curious book, he was known to have put himself -into a mail-coach, and travelled three or four hundred miles to obtain -it, fearful to entrust his commission to any agent. He was known to say -seriously to his friends, on their remarking on his many duplicates, -"Why, you see, sir, no man can do comfortably without _three_ copies -of a work. One he must have for a _show_ copy, and he will, probably, -keep it at his country-house. Another he will require for his use and -reference; and, unless he is inclined to part with this, which is very -inconvenient, or risk the injury of his best copy, he must needs have a -third at the service of his friends." - -Mr. Hill Burton, in his _Book-hunter_, relates the following incident -of Heber's experience in the rarity-market. A celebrated dealer in old -books was passing a chandler's shop, where he was stopped by a few -filthy old volumes in the window. One of them he found to be a volume -of old English poetry, which he--a practised hand in that line--saw was -utterly unknown as existing, though not unrecorded. Three and sixpence -was asked; he stood out for a half-a-crown, on first principles, but, -not succeeding, he paid the larger sum, and walked away, book in -pocket, to a sale, where the first person he saw was Heber. Him the -triumphant bookseller drew into a corner, with "Why do you come to -auctions to look for scarce books, when you can pick up such things as -this in a chandler's shop for three and sixpence?" "Bless me, ----, -where did you get this?" "That's tellings! I may get more there." -"----, I must have this." "Not a penny under thirty guineas!" A cheque -was drawn, and a profit of 17,900 per cent. cleared by the man who had -his eyes about him, in whose estimation such a sum was paltry compared -with the triumph over Heber. - -Mr. Heber's taste strengthened as he grew older. Not only was his -collection of old English literature unprecedented, but he brought -together a larger number of fine copies of Latin, Greek, French, -Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese books than had ever been possessed -by a private individual. His house at Hodnet, in Shropshire, was -nearly all library. His house in Pimlico (where he died in 1833) was -filled with books from top to bottom: every chair, table, and passage -containing "piles of erudition." A house in York Street, Westminster, -was similarly filled. He had immense collections of books in houses -rented merely to contain them, at Oxford, Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, -and Ghent. When he died, curiosity was naturally excited to know what -provision he had made in reference to his immense store of books; -but when his will was discovered, after a long and almost hopeless -search among bills, notes, memoranda, and letters, it was found, to the -astonishment of every one on reading it, that the library _was not even -mentioned_! It seemed as if Heber cared nothing what should become of -the books, or who should possess them, after his decease; and as he was -never married, or influenced greatly by domestic ties, his library was -considered by the executors of his will as merely so much "property," -to be converted into cash by the aid of the auctioneer. What was the -number of books possessed by him or the amount of money paid for them, -appears to have been left in much doubt. Some estimated the library at -150,000 volumes, formed at a cost of 100,000_l._; others reckoned it at -500,000 volumes, at an aggregate value of 250,000_l._ The truth was, -his executors did not know in how many foreign towns his collections -of books were placed. Thus it could not accurately be ascertained what -portion of the whole was sold by auction in London in 1834-6; but -the mere catalogue of that portion fills considerably more than two -thousand printed octavo pages. The sales were conducted by Mr. Evans, -Messrs. Sotheby, and other book-auctioneers, and occupied two hundred -and two days, extending through a period of upwards of two years from -April 10, 1834, to July 9, 1836. One copy of the catalogue has been -preserved, with marginal manuscript notes, relating to almost every -lot; and from this a summary of very curious information is deducible. -It appears that, whatever may have been the number of volumes sold by -auction, or otherwise got rid of abroad, those sold at this series of -auctions in London were 117,613 in number, grouped into 52,672 lots. -As regards the ratio borne by the prices obtained, to those which Mr. -Heber had paid for the books in question, the account as rendered -showed that the auctioneer's hammer brought 56,775_l._ for that which -had cost 77,150_l._ It would appear, therefore, that the losses -accruing to Mr. Heber's estate through his passion for book-collecting, -amounted to upwards of 20,000_l._, and this irrespective of the fate -of the continental libraries. - - - - -Sir John Soane Lampooned. - - -Sir John Soane, who bequeathed to the country his Museum in Lincoln's -Inn Fields, which cost him upwards of 50,000_l._, was the son of a -bricklayer, and was born at Reading in 1753; he was errand-boy to -Dance, the architect, and subsequently his pupil. He rose to great -eminence, grew rich and liberal; he gave for Belzoni's elaborate -sarcophagus in the Soane Museum, 2,000 guineas; paid large sums for art -rarities; subscribed 1,000_l._ for the Duke of York's monument, was -contended with his knighthood, and declined to receive a baronetcy. -Yet he was a man of overweening vanity, and was much courted by -legacy-hunters; whilst his alienation from his son assisted in raising -up many enemies, in addition to those which Soane's remarkable success -brought against him. From the latter section may have proceeded the -following curious and popular squib of the day, said to have been found -under the plates at one of the artistic or academic dinners. It is -headed:-- - - "THE MODERN GOTH. - - "Glory to thee, great Artist! soul of taste! - For mending pigsties where a plank's misplaced: - Whose towering genius plans from deep research - Houses and temples fit for Master Birch - To grace his shop on that important day, - When huge twelfth-cakes are raised in bright array. - Each pastry pillar shows thy vast design-- - Hail! then, to thee, and all great works of thine. - Come, let me place thee, in the foremost rank, - With him whose dullness discomposed the bank; - [_A line illegible._] - Thy style shall finish what his style begun. - Thrice happy Wren! he did not live to see - The dome that's built and beautified by thee. - Oh! had he lived to see thy blessed work, - To see plaster scored like loins of pork; - To see the orders in confusion move: - Scrolls fixed below, and pedestals above: - To see defiance hurled at Rome and Greece, - Old Wren had never left the world in peace. - Look where I will, above, below, is shown - A pure disordered order of thine own; - Where lines and circles curiously unite, - A base, confounded, compound Composite: - A thing from which, in truth it may be said, - Each lab'ring mason turns abash'd his head; - Which Holland reprobates, and Dance derides, - Whilst tasteful Wyatt holds his aching sides. - Here crawl, ye spiders! here, exempt from cares, - Spin your fine webs above the bulls and bears! - Secure from harm enjoy the charnell'd niche: - No maids molest you, for no brooms can reach; - In silence build from models of your own, - But never imitate the works of Soane!" - -Soane is described by his biographer as "one of the vainest and most -self-sufficient of men, who courted praise and adulation from every -person and source, but dreaded, and was even maddened by, anything like -impartial and discriminating criticism." But he grew so disgusted with -his flatterers, that a short time before his death he shut himself up -in a house at Richmond, to get out of the way of their attentions. - - - - -[Illustration: Jedediah Buxton. Ætat. 49. - -_Numeros memini._ VIRGIL.] - - - - -Extraordinary Calculators. - - -On the 3rd of July, 1839, some of the eminent members of the Academy -of Sciences at Paris, including MM. Arago, Lacroix, Libri, and Sturm, -met to examine a remarkable boy whose powers of mental calculation were -deemed quite inexplicable. This boy, named Vito Mangiamele, a Sicilian, -was the son of a shepherd, and was about eleven years old. The -examiners asked him several questions which they knew, under ordinary -circumstances, to be tedious of solution--such as, the cube root of -3,796,416, and the 10th root of 282,475,249; the first of these he -answered in half-a-minute, the second in three minutes. One question -was of the following complicated character--"What number has the -following proportions, that if its cube is added to 5 times its square, -and then 42 times the number, and the number 42 be subtracted from the -result, the remainder is equal to 0 or zero." M. Arago repeated this -question a second time, but while he was finishing the last word, the -boy replied--"The number is 5!" - -In the same year, Master Bassle, who was only thirteen years of age, -went through an extraordinary mnemonic performance at Willis's Rooms, -London. Five large sheets of paper, closely printed with tables of -dates, specific gravities, velocities, planetary distances, &c., were -distributed among the visitors, and every one was allowed to ask Master -Bassle a question relating to these tables, to which was received a -correct answer. He would also name the day of the week on which any day -of the month had fallen in any particular year. He could repeat long -series of numbers backwards and forwards, and point out the place of -any number in the series; and to prove that his powers were not merely -confined to the rows of numbers in the printed tables, he allowed the -whole company to form a long series, by contributing each two or three -digits in the order in which they sat; and then, after studying this -series for a few minutes, he committed it to memory, and repeated it -entire, both backwards and forwards, from the beginning to the end. -These performances are believed to have been not the result of any -natural mnemonic power, but of a method to be acquired by any person in -the course of twelve lessons. - -Zerah Colburn, who excited much interest in London in 1812, was a -native of Vermont, in the United States. At six years old, he suddenly -showed extraordinary powers of mental calculation. By processes which -seemed to be almost unconscious to himself, and were wholly so to -others, he answered arithmetical questions of considerable difficulty. -When eight years old, he was brought to London, where he astonished -many learned auditors and spectators by giving correct solutions to -such problems as the following: raise 8 up to the 16th power; give -the square root of 106,929; give the cube root of 268,336,125; how -many seconds are there in 48 years? The answers were always given in -very few minutes--sometimes in a few seconds. He was ignorant of the -ordinary rules of arithmetic, and did not know how or why particular -modes of process came into his mind. On one occasion, the Duke of -Gloucester asked him to multiply 21,734 by 543. Something in the boy's -manner induced the Duke to ask how he did it, from which it appeared -that the boy arrived at the result by multiplying 65,202 by 181, -an equivalent process; but why he made this change in the factors, -neither he nor any one else could tell. Zerah Colburn was unlike other -boys also in this, that he had more than the usual number of toes and -fingers; a peculiarity observable also in his father and in some of his -brothers. - -An exceptional instance is presented in the case of Mr. Bidder, of -this faculty being cultivated to a highly useful purpose. George -Parker Bidder, when six years old, used to amuse himself by counting -up to 100, then to 1,000, then to 1,000,000: by degrees he accustomed -himself to contemplate the relations of high numbers, and used to -build up peas, marbles, and shot, into squares, cubes, and other -regular figures. He invented processes of his own, distinct from those -given in books on arithmetic, and could solve all the usual questions -mentally more rapidly than other boys with the aid of pen and paper. -When he became eminent as a civil engineer, he was wont to embarrass -and baffle the parliamentary counsel on contested railway bills, by -confuting their statements of figures almost before the words were out -of their mouths. In 1856, he gave to the Institution of Civil Engineers -an interesting account of this singular arithmetical faculty--so far, -at least, as to show that _memory_ has less to do with it than is -generally supposed; the processes are actually worked out _seriatim_, -but with a rapidity almost inconceivable. - -The most famous calculator in the last century was Jedediah Buxton, -who, in 1754, resided for several weeks at St. John's Gate, Smithfield. -This man, though he was the son of a schoolmaster, and the grandson -of the vicar of his native parish, Elmeton, in Derbyshire, had never -learned to write, but he could conduct the most intricate calculations -by his memory alone; and such was his power of abstraction that -no noise could disturb him. One who had heard of his astonishing -ability as a calculator, proposed to him for solution the following -question:--In a body whose three sides measure 23,145,789 yards, -5,642,732 yards, and 54,965 yards, how many cubical eighths-of-an-inch -are there? This obtuse reckoning he made in a comparatively short time, -although pursuing the while, with many others, his labours in the -fields. He could walk over a plot of land and estimate its contents -with as much accuracy as if it had been measured by the chain. His -knowledge was, however, limited to figures. In 1754, Buxton walked to -London, with the express intention of obtaining a sight of the King -and Queen, for beyond figures, royalty formed the only subject of his -curiosity. In this intention he was disappointed: he was, however, -introduced to the Royal Society, whom he called the "volk of the Siety -Court." They tested his powers, and dismissed him with a handsome -gratuity. - -He was next taken by his hospitable entertainer at St. John's Gate, to -see Garrick in the character of Richard III. at Drury Lane Theatre, -when undazzled by the splendour of the stage appointments, and unmoved -by the eloquent passion of the actor, the simple rustic employed -himself in reckoning the number of words he heard, and the sum total -of the steps made by the dancers; and after the performance of a fine -piece of music, he declared that the innumerable sounds had perplexed -him. - -To these feats may be added the following:--Buxton multiplied a -sum of thirty-nine places of figures into itself and even conversed -whilst performing it. His memory was so great, that he could leave -off and resume the operation at the distant period of a week, or even -several months. He said that he was _drunk_ once with reckoning by -memory from May 17 until June 16, and then recovered after sleeping -soundly for seven hours. The question which occupied him so intensely -was the reduction of a cube of upwards of 200,000,000 of miles into -barleycorns, and then into hairs'-breaths of an inch in length. He -kept an account of all the beer which he had drunk for forty years, -which was equal to five thousand one hundred and sixteen pints: of -these two thousand one hundred and thirty-two were drunk at the Duke of -Kingston's and only ten at his own house. - -There was a portrait of Buxton at Rufford Abbey, Nottinghamshire. A -print of him was engraved in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, June, 1754, -with this subscription: "Jedediah Buxton. Ætat. 49.--Numeros memini. -_Virgil._" He was married and had several children, and died at the age -of 70, in the year 1777. - - - - -Charles Lamb's Cottage at Islington. - - -In a very pleasant paper on "Ideal Houses," in No. 4 of the _Cornhill -Magazine_, we find this clever sketch of a few of the amiable -eccentricities of our famous Essayist, Charles Lamb:-- - -"I believe," says the contributor, "more in the influence of dwellings -upon human character than in the influence of authority on matters -of opinion. The man may seek the house, or the house may form the -man; but in either case the result is the same. A few yards of earth, -even on this side of the grave, will make all the difference between -life and death. If our dear old friend, Charles Lamb, was now alive -(and we must all wish he was, if only that he might see how every -day is bringing him nearer the crown that belongs only to the Prince -of British Essayists), there would be something singularly jarring -to the human nerves in finding him at Dalston, but not so jarring in -finding him a little farther off at Hackney. He would still have drawn -nourishment in the Temple and in Covent Garden; but he must surely have -perished if transplanted to New Tyburnia. I cannot imagine him living -at Pentonville (I cannot, in my uninquiring ignorance, imagine who -Penton was, that he should name a _ville_?), but I can see a certain -appropriate oddity in his cottage at Colebrook Row, Islington. - -[Illustration: Colebrook Cottage.] - -"In the first place, we may agree that this London suburb is very odd, -without going into the vexed question of whether it was very 'merry.' -In the second place, this same Colebrook Row was built a few years -before our dear old friend was born--I believe, in 1770. In the third -place, it was called a 'Row,' though 'Lane' or 'Walk' would have been -as old and as good; but 'Terrace' or 'Crescent' would have rendered -it unbearable. The New River flowed calmly past the cottage walls--as -poor George Dyer found to his cost--bringing with it fair memories of -Isaak Walton and the last two centuries. The house itself had also -certain peculiarities to recommend it. The door was so constructed -that it opened into the chief sitting-room; and this, though promising -much annoyance, was really a source of fun and enjoyment to our -dear old friend. He was never so delighted as when he stood on the -hearth-rug receiving many congenial visitors as they came to him on -the muddiest-boot and the wettest-of-umbrella days. His immediate -neighbourhood was also peculiar. - -"It was there that weary wanderers came to seek the waters of oblivion. -Suicide could pitch upon no spot so favourable for its sacrifice as the -gateway leading into the river inclosure before Charles Lamb's cottage. -Waterloo Bridge had not long been built, and was not then a fashionable -theatre for self-destruction. The drags were always kept ready in -Colebrook Row, at a small tavern a few doors from the cottage. The -landlord's ear, according to his own account, had become so sensitive -by repeated practice, that when aroused at night by a heavy splash in -the water, he could tell by the sound whether it was an accident or a -wilful plunge. He never believed that poor George Dyer tumbled in from -carelessness, though it was no business of his to express an opinion -on the matter. After the eighth suicide within a short period, Charles -Lamb began to grow restless. - -"'Mary,' he said to his sister, 'I think it's high time we left this -place;' and so they went to Edmonton." - - - - -Thomas Hood. - - -This remarkable man of genius whose wit and humour entitle him to -high rank in English literature, was born in 1798, in the Poultry, -London, where his father was, for many years, acting partner in the -firm of Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, extensive booksellers and publishers. -"There was a dash of ink in my blood," he writes: "my father wrote -two novels, and my brother was decidedly of a literary turn, to the -great disquietude, for a time, of an anxious parent." Thomas Hood was -sent to a school in Tokenhouse Yard, in the City, as a day-boarder. -The two maiden sisters, who kept the school, and with whom Hood took -his dinner, had the odd name of Hogsflesh, and they had a sensitive -brother, who was always addressed as "Mr. H.," and who subsequently -became the prototype of Charles Lamb's unsuccessful farce, called "Mr. -H." - -In 1812, Hood was sent to a day-school, his account of which is as -follows:--"In a house formerly a suburban seat of the unfortunate Earl -of Essex, over a grocer's shop, up two pair of stairs, there was a very -select day-school, kept by a decayed Dominie, as he would have been -called in his native land. In his better days, when my brother was his -pupil, he had been master of one of those wholesale concerns in which -so many ignorant men have made fortunes, by favour of high terms, low -ushers, gullible parents, and victimized little boys. Small as was our -college, its principal maintained his state, and walked gowned and -covered. His cap was of faded velvet, of black, or blue, or purple, -or sad-green, or, as it seemed, of altogether, with a sad _nuance_ of -brown; his robe of crimson damask lined with the national tartan. A -quaint, carved, high-backed elbowed article, looking like an _émigré_ -from a set that had been at home in an aristocratical drawing-room -under the _ancien régime_, was his professional chair, which, with his -desk, was appropriately elevated on a dais some inches above the common -floor. From this moral and material eminence he cast a vigilant yet -kindly eye over some dozen of youngsters: for adversity, sharpened by -habits of authority, had not soured him, or mingled a single tinge of -bile with the peculiar red-streak complexion so common to the wealthier -natives of the north...." "In a few months, my education progressed -infinitely farther than it had done in as many years under the listless -superintendence of B.A. and LL.D. and assistants. I picked up _some_ -Latin, was a tolerable grammarian, and so good a French scholar, that I -earned a few guineas--my first literary fee--by revising a new edition -of _Paul et Virginie_ for the press. Moreover, as an accountant, I -could work a _summum bonum_, that is, a good sum." - -Young Hood finished his education at Wanostrocht's Academy at -Camberwell; and removed thence to a merchant's counting-house in the -City, where he realized his own inimitable sketch of the boy "Just set -up in Business:"-- - - "Time was I sat upon a lofty stool, - At lofty desk, and with a clerkly pen - Began each morning at the stroke of ten - To write in Bell and Co.'s commercial school, - In Warnford Court, a shady nook and cool, - The favourite retreat of merchant men; - Yet would my quill turn vagrant even then, - And take stray dips in the Castalian pool. - Now double entry--now a flowery trope-- - Mingling poetic honey with trade wax: - Blogg, Brothers--Milton--Grote and Prescott--Pope-- - Bristles and Hogg--Glyn, Mills, and Halifax-- - Rogers and Towgood--Hemp--the Bard of Hope-- - Barilla--Byron--Tallow--Burns, and Flax." - -In 1824, Hood, after having contributed to some periodicals at Dundee -in 1821, obtained the situation of sub-editor of the _London Magazine_. -"My vanity," says he, "did not rashly plunge me into authorship, but -no sooner was there a legitimate opening than I jumped at it, _à la_ -Grimaldi, head foremost, and was speedily behind the scenes." - -Mr. Hood's first work was anonymous--his _Odes and Addresses to Great -People_--a little, thin, mean-looking foolscap sub-octavo of poems -with nothing but wit and humour (could it want more?) to recommend it. -Coleridge was delighted with the work, and taxed Charles Lamb by letter -with the authorship. - -His next work was _A Plea for the Midsummer Fairies_, a serious poem -of infinite beauty, full of fine passages and of promise; it obtained -praise from the critics, but little favour from the public; and Hood's -experience of the unpleasant truth that - - "Those who live to please must please to live," - -induced him to have recourse again to his lively vein. He published a -second and third series of _Whims and Oddities_, and in 1829 commenced -the _Comic Annual_, and it was continued nine years. It proved very -profitable; it was a small, widely-printed volume, with rough woodcuts -drawn by Hood, who had been some time on probation with Sands and Le -Keux, the engravers. Several thousand copies were sold annually, as -the publishers' ledgers show. Then came out the comic poem of _The -Epping Hunt_, which, Hood tells us, "was penned by an underling at the -Wells, a person more accustomed to riding than writing," as shown in -this epistle:--"Sir,--Abouut the Hunt. In anser to your Innqueries, -their as been a great falling off latterally, so much so this year -that there was nobody allmost. We did a mear nothing provisionally, -hardly a Bottle extra, which is as proof in Pint. In short our Hunt -may be sad to be in the last Stag of a Decline. Bartholomew Rutt." -Next appeared _The Dream of Eugene Aram_, with this note: "The late -Admiral Burney went to school at an establishment where the unhappy -Eugene Aram was usher subsequent to his crime. The Admiral stated that -Aram was generally liked by the boys; and that he used to discourse to -them about _murder_ in somewhat of the spirit which is attributed to -him in this poem." The poem is exquisitely written throughout, and is -sometimes little less than sublime. - -In the spring of 1831, Hood became the occupier of Lake House, near -Wanstead; and while residing here, he wrote his novel of _Tylney Hall_, -in which the characters are exuberant with wit and humour, but the plot -is defective. Hood next published _Hood's Own; or, Laughter from Year -to Year_, a volume of comic lucubrations, reprinted, "with an infusion -of New Blood for General Circulation." He next went to the Continent -for the benefit of his health. When in Belgium, he published his _Up -the Rhine_, constructed on the groundwork of _Humphrey Clinker_. The -work consists of a series of imaginary letters from a hypochondriacal -old bachelor, his widowed sister, his nephew, and a servant-maid, who -form the imaginary travelling party. Each individual writes to a friend -in England, and describes the scenes, manners, and circumstances, in -a manner suitable to the assumed character. The nephew's remarks seem -to embody the opinions and observations of Hood himself. The book is -illustrated with whimsical cuts in Hood's rough but effective style, -and abounds in good sense as well as humour. Here is a specimen:-- - -"An English lady resident at Coblentz, one day wishing to order of -her German servant (who did not understand English) a boiled fowl for -dinner, Grettel was summoned, and that experiment began. It was one -of the lady's fancies, that the less her words resembled her native -tongue, the more they must be like German. So her first attempt was -to tell the maid that she wanted a cheeking, or keeking. The maid -opened her eyes and mouth, and shook her head. 'It's to cook,' said -the mistress, 'to cook, to put in an iron thing, in a pit--pat--pot.' -'Ish understand risht,' said the maid, in her Coblentz patois. 'It's a -thing to eat,' said her mistress, for dinner--for deener--with sauce, -soace--sowose.' No answer. 'What on earth am I to do?' exclaimed -the lady, in despair, but still made another attempt. 'It's a little -creature--a bird--a bard--a beard--a hen--a hone--a fowl--a fool; -it's all covered with feathers--fathers--feeders!' 'Ha, ha,' cried -the delighted German, at last getting hold of a catchword, 'Ja, ja! -fedders--ja woh!' and away went Grettel, and in half-an-hour returned -triumphantly, with a bundle of stationers' quills." - -Hood afterwards became editor of the _New Monthly Magazine_, from which -he retired in 1843. In the course of this year, public feeling had been -much excited by cases of distress and destitution, which came before -the London police-magistrates, arising from the excessively low rate of -wages paid by dealers in ready-made linen to their workwomen. Taking -advantage of a market overstocked with labourers, these tradesmen got -their work done for a rate of payment so small that fourteen or fifteen -hours' labour were frequently required in order to obtain sixpence! -Hood's sympathy was excited, and "The Song of the Shirt" was the -result--"a burst of poetry and indignant passion by which he produced -tears almost as irrepressibly as in other cases he produced laughter." -"The Song of the Shirt" was sent to a comic periodical, but was refused -insertion; it has, however, been sung through the whole length and -breadth of the three kingdoms. - -Our author's last periodical was _Hood's Magazine_, which he continued -to supply with the best of its contributions till within a month before -his death. It contained a novel, which was interrupted by his last -illness and death; the last chapters were, in fact, written by him -when he was propped up by pillows in bed. He had the consolation, a -short time before his death, of having a Government pension of 100_l._ -a-year, which was offered him by Sir Robert Peel, in the following -noble and touching letter, Sir Robert knowing of his illness, but not -of his imminent danger--"I am more than repaid," writes Peel, "by the -personal satisfaction which I have had in doing that for which you -return me warm and characteristic acknowledgments. You perhaps think -that you are known to one with such multifarious occupations as myself -merely by general reputation as an author; but I assure you that there -can be little which you have written and acknowledged which I have not -read, and that there are few who can appreciate and admire more than -myself the good sense and good feeling which have taught you to infuse -so much fun and merriment into writings correcting folly and exposing -absurdities, and yet never trespassing beyond those limits within which -wit and facetiousness are not very often confined. You may write on -with the consciousness of independence as free and unfettered as if -no communication had ever passed between us. I am not conferring a -private obligation upon you, but am fulfilling the intentions of the -Legislature, which has placed at the disposal of the Crown a certain -sum (miserable, indeed, in amount) to be applied to the recognition of -public claims on the bounty of the Crown. If you will review the names -of those whose claims have been admitted on account of their literary -or scientific eminence, you will find an ample confirmation of the -truth of my statement. One return, indeed, I shall ask you--that you -will give me the opportunity of making your personal acquaintance." - -To this statement in the _Cornhill Magazine_ are appended the following -reflections:--"O sad, marvellous picture of courage, of honesty, of -patient endurance, of duty struggling against pain! How noble Peel's -figure is standing by that sick-bed, how generous his words, how -dignified and sincere his compassion! And the poor dying man, with a -heart full of natural gratitude towards his noble benefactor, must turn -to him and say--'If it be well to be remembered by a Minister, it is -better still not to be forgotten by him in a 'hurly Burleigh!' Can you -laugh? Is not the joke horribly pathetic from the poor dying lips? As -dying Robin Hood must fire a last shot with his bow--as one reads of -Catholics on their death-bed putting on a Capuchin dress to go out of -the world--here is poor Hood at his last hour putting on his ghastly -motley, and uttering one joke more. He dies, however, in dearest love -and peace with his children, wife, friends: to the former especially -his whole life had been devoted, and every day showed his fidelity, -simplicity, and affection. In going through the record of his most -pure, modest, honourable life, and living along with him, you come to -trust him thoroughly, and feel that here is a most loyal, affectionate, -and upright soul, with whom you have been brought into communion. Can -we say as much of all lives of all men of letters? Here is one at least -without guile, without pretension, without scheming, of pure life, to -his family and little modest circle of friends tenderly devoted." - -After a lethargy, which continued four days, Hood died May 3rd, 1845. -He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, where a poetical monument has -been erected to his memory. He left a son, who inherits much of his -father's genius. - -"Hood," says one of his biographers, "was undoubtedly a man of genius. -His mind was stored with a vast collection of materials drawn from a -great variety of sources, but especially his own observations; and he -possessed the power of working up those materials into combinations -of wit and humour and pathos of the most original and varied kinds. -He has wit of the highest quality, as original and as abundant as -Butler's or Cowley's, drawn from as extensive an observation of nature -and life, if not from so wide a reach of learning, and combined with -a richness of humour of which Butler had little and Cowley none. His -humour is frequently as extravagantly broad as that of Rabelais, but -he has sometimes the delicate touches of that of Addison. As a punster -he stands alone. His puns do not consist merely of double meanings -of words--a low kind of punning, of which minds of a low order are -capable, and with which his imitators have deluged English comedy and -comic literature--but of double meanings of words combined with double -meanings of sense in such a manner as to produce the most extraordinary -effects of surprise and admiration. His power of exciting laughter is -wonderful, his drollery indescribable, inimitable. His pathetic power -is not equal to his comic, but it is very great. The moral tendency -of Hood's works is excellent. In the indulgence of his spirit of fun, -he is anything but strait-laced as regards the introduction of images -and phrases which a fastidious person might call vulgar or coarse; but -an indecent description or even allusion will not easily be found. He -is liberal-minded, a warm eulogist as well as a glowing depicter of -the good feelings of our nature and the generous actions which those -feelings prompt, and he is an unsparing satirist of vice, pretension, -and cant in all their forms. - -"Hood, in his person, was thin, pale, and delicate; in his temper -he was kind and cheerful; he seems to have imbibed the social and -benevolent feeling of his friend Lamb, and he was no less than Lamb -a favourite among his friends. His long-continued sufferings only -stimulated him to amuse himself and others by the exercise of his -extraordinary imagination; and when at last he could no longer bear up -under his bodily pains, his complaint was simple, but it indicated a -terrible degree of suffering--'I cannot die, I cannot die.'" - - - - -A Witty Archbishop. - - -An industrious student, a deep thinker, an acute reasoner, a learned -mind, a correct and at times elegant writer--these are titles of -honour which the mere out-side-world, travelling in its flying -railway-carriage, will gladly award to the late Archbishop of Dublin -(Dr. Whately). Not so familiar are certain minor and more curious -gifts, which he kept by him for his own and his friends' entertainment, -which broke out at times on more public occasions. He delighted in the -oddities of thought, in queer quaint distinctions; and if an object -had by any possibility some strange distorted side or corner, or even -point, which was undermost, he would gladly stoop down his mind to get -that precise view of it, nay, would draw it in that odd light for the -amusement of the company. - -Thus he struck Guizot, who described him as "startling and ingenious, -strangely absent, familiar, confused, eccentric, amiable, and engaging, -no matter what unpoliteness he might commit, or what propriety he -might forget." In short, a mind with a little of the Sydney Smith's -leaven, whose brilliancy lay in precisely these odd analogies. It was -his recreation to take up some intellectual hobby, and make a toy of -it. Just as, years ago, he was said to have taken up that strange -instrument the boomerang, and was to be seen on the sands casting it -from him, and watching it return. It was said, too, that at the dull -intervals of a visitation, when ecclesiastical business languished, he -would cut out little miniature boomerangs of card, and amuse himself by -illustrating the principle of the larger toy by shooting them from his -finger. - -The even, and sometimes drowsy, current of Dublin society was almost -always enlivened by some little witty boomerang of his, fluttering -from mouth to mouth, and from club to club. The Archbishop's last was -eagerly looked for. Some were indifferent, some were trifling; but it -was conceded that all had an odd extravagance, which marked them as -original, quaint, queer. In this respect he was the Sydney Smith of the -Irish capital, with this difference--that Sydney Smith's king announced -that he would never make the lively Canon of St. Paul's a Bishop. - -Homœopathy was a medical paradox, and was therefore welcome. Yet in -this he travelled out of the realms of mere fanciful speculation, and -clung to it with a stern and consistent earnestness faithfully adhered -to through his last illness. Mesmerism, too, he delighted to play with. -He had, in fact, innumerable _dadas_, as the French call them, or -hobby-horses, upon which he was continually astride. - -This led him into a pleasant affection of being able to discourse _de -omnibus rebus_, &c., and the more recondite or less known the subject, -the more eager was he to speak. It has been supposed that the figure -of the "Dean," in Mr. Lever's pleasant novel of _Roland Cashel_, was -sketched from him. Indeed, there can be no question but that it is an -unacknowledged portrait. - -"What is the difference," he asked of a young clergyman he was -examining, "between a form and a ceremony? The meaning seems nearly -the same; yet there is a very nice distinction." Various answers were -given. "Well," he said, "it lies in this: you sit upon a form, but you -stand upon ceremony." - -"Morrow's Library" is the Mudie of Dublin; and the Rev. Mr. Day, a -popular preacher. "How inconsistent," said the archbishop, "is the -piety of certain ladies here. They go _to Day for a sermon_, and _to -Morrow_ for a novel!" - -At a dinner-party he called out suddenly to the host, "Mr. ----!" There -was silence. "Mr. ----, what is the proper female companion of this -John Dory?" After the usual number of guesses an answer came, "Anne -Chovy." [This has been attributed to Quin, the actor and epicure.] - -_Another Riddle._--"The laziest letter in the alphabet? The _letther_ -G!" (lethargy). - -_The Wicklow Line._--The most unmusical in the world--having a -Dun-Drum, Still-Organ, and a Bray for stations. - -_Doctor Gregg._--The new bishop and he at dinner. Archbishop: "Come, -though you _are_ John Cork, you musn't stop the bottle here." The -answer was not inapt: "I see your lordship is determined to draw me -out." - -On Dr. K----x's promotion to the bishopric of Down, an appointment in -some quarters unpopular: "The Irish government will not be able to -stand many more such Knocks Down as this!" - -The merits of the same bishop being canvassed before him, and it being -mentioned that he had compiled a most useful Ecclesiastical Directory, -with the Values of Livings, &c., "If that be so," said the archbishop, -"I hope the next time the claims of our friend Thom will not be -overlooked." (Thom, the author of the well known _Almanack_.) - -A clergyman, who had to preach before him, begged to be let off, -saying, "I hope your grace will excuse my preaching next Sunday." -"Certainly," said the other indulgently. Sunday came, and the -archbishop said to him, "Well! Mr. ----, what became of you! we -expected you to preach to-day." "Oh, your grace said you would excuse -my preaching to-day." "Exactly; but I did not say I would excuse you -_from_ preaching." - -At a lord lieutenant's banquet a grace was given of unusual length. -"My lord," said the archbishop, "did you ever hear the story of Lord -Mulgrave's chaplain?" "No," said the lord lieutenant. "A young chaplain -had preached a sermon of great length. 'Sir,' said Lord Mulgrave, -bowing to him, 'there were some things in your sermon of to-day I never -heard before.' 'Oh, my lord,' said the flattered chaplain, 'it is a -common text, and I could not have hoped to have said anything new on -the subject.' '_I heard the clock strike twice_,' said Lord Mulgrave." - -At some religious ceremony at which he was to officiate in the country, -a young curate who attended him grew very nervous as to their being -late. "My good young friend," said the archbishop, "I can only say to -you what the criminal going to be hanged said to those around, who -were hurrying him, 'Let us take our time, they can't begin without -us.'"--(_Yorick Junior._--_Notes and Queries. Third Series._) - -The following charade, said to be one of the last by Dr. Whatley, has -puzzled many wise heads:-- - - "Man cannot live without my _first_, - By day and night it's used; - My _second_ is by all accursed, - By day and night abused. - My _whole_ is never seen by day, - And never used by night; - Is dear to friends when far away, - But hated when in sight." - -A Correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ suggests the following -solution:-- - - "_Ignis_, or fire, all men will own - Essential to the life of man; - _Fatuus_, a fool, has been, 'tis known, - Cursed and abused since time began. - Some _Ignis Fatuus_, Will-o'-wisp. - Not seen by day, nor used by night, - Men love, and for their phantom list, - When 'tis unseen, but hate its sight." - - - - - Literary Madmen. - - "Great wits are sure to madness near allied, - And their partitions do their bounds divide."--DRYDEN. - - -This bold assertion has long since been pronounced incorrect. -Nevertheless, the barrier between genius and madness has not been -traced. Eccentricity is often mistaken for craziness; and the entire -subject is beset with nice points and shades of controversy. In 1860 -appeared Octave Delepierre's _Histoire Littéraire des Fous_, upon the -soundness of which critics are divided in opinion. The following sketch -of its contents, however, shows the work to be full of interest. - -A history of literary madmen is yet to be written--whether it be a -history of authors who have gone mad, or of persons who, being mad, -have turned authors. It is singular to notice what relief madmen find -in literary composition; so much so, that it has been employed as a -method of cure in more than one of our lunatic asylums. At the Crichton -Royal Institution, Dumfriesshire, a little journal, entitled the _New -Moon_, was published every month, the contents being contributed, set -up, and printed by the inmates in their lucid moments. Occasionally -there was a little incoherence--a little roughness; but, as a -whole, the _New Moon_ would bear comparison with many other amateur -periodicals. Here are two stanzas written by a man tortured by long -sleeplessness, whom private misfortunes had driven mad:-- - - "Go! sleep, my heart, in peace, - Bid fear and sorrow cease: - He who of worlds takes care, - One heart in mind doth bear. - - "Go! sleep, my heart, in peace, - If death should thee release, - And this night hence thee take, - Thou yonder wilt awake." - -Theology has sent more people mad than any other pursuit--a truth of -which M. Delepierre's _Histoire Littéraire des Fous_ furnishes some -interesting illustrations. - -The writer has, however, occasionally mistaken eccentricity for -craziness. Simon Stylites on his pillar and St. Anthony in his cave -were crazed; but we do not think that Baxter's _Hooks and Eyes for -Believers' Breeches_ is an indication of insanity any more than -such works as _La Seringue Spirituelle pour les Ames constipées en -Dévotion_, or _La Tabatière Spirituelle pour faire éternuer les Ames -dévotes_. Very probably, if we could refer to these works, we should -find that the title had little or nothing in common with the contents, -but as a mere trick to catch purchasers. Few people would charge -Latimer with being mad because he preached a "Sermon on a Pack of -Cards." Nor do we think any conclusion can be drawn unfavourable to -the Jesuit missionary Paoletti from the mere fact of his writing a -treatise to prove that the American aborigines were eternally damned -without hope of redemption, because they were the offspring of the -Devil and one of Noah's daughters. His mind had not lost its balance -to such a degree as that of old Portel, who persuaded himself that the -soul of John the Baptist had passed into his body; or of Miranda, a -living man, who fancies himself the forty-ninth incarnation of Adam -through Romulus and Mohamed; while Queen Victoria is the seventieth -embodiment of the soul of Eve, by way of Miriam and the Virgin Mary! -Geoffrey Vallée was another monomaniac of this class, who began by -having a shirt for every day in the year, which he used to send into -Flanders to be washed at a certain spring, and ended by being burnt at -the stake as an atheist for a silly book he wrote. Our own John Mason, -who proclaimed Christ's coming, and declared Water Stratford, near -Buckingham, to be the seat of his throne, has had many imitators at -home and abroad. - -Endeavours to interpret prophecy and explain the Apocalypse have -turned many a brain, even in our own days. One Francis Potter wrote -a book with the following title:--"An Interpretation of the number -666, wherein it is shown that this number is an exquisite and perfect -character, truly, exactly, and essentially describing that state -of government to which all other notes of Antichrist do agree." A -Frenchman, Soubira, ran mad on the same subject about the same period. -In 1828 he published a pamphlet with this meagre title--"666." Here is -a sample:-- - - Les banquiers de la France 666 - Des organistes de la Foi 666 - Et des concerts de la cadence 666 - Vont accomplir la loi 666 - Et conterminer l'alliance 666 - -Joseph O'Donnelly fancied he had discovered the primitive language, -and printed some specimens of it at Brussels in 1854. - -The literary madman is often harmless enough, and his condition being -not rarely the result of an overtasked brain, in his lucid moments he -is his former self. If in his mad moments Lee called upon Jupiter to -rise and snuff the moon; it was in his calmer hours that he replied -to the sneers of a silly poet--"It is very difficult to write like a -madman, but very easy to write like a fool." Christopher Smart was -another poetical lunatic, whose best pieces were composed while he was -under restraint. These are not, however, very remarkable, their chief -merit consisting in their history. Like the Koran, they were committed -to writing under circumstances of great difficulty; the whitened walls -of his cell were his paper, and his pen the end of a piece of wood -burnt in the fire. Thomas Lloyd belonged to this class, but few of his -fragments have been preserved. Milman, of Pennsylvania, lost his bride -by lightning on their wedding-day: his reason never recovered the shock. - -Luke Clennel, the engraver, forgot his art during his long state of -unreason, but would compose very passable verses; while John Clare, -whose poetry brought him into note, and led to his ruin, scarcely -wrote at all during his mad moods. Thomas Bishop took to the drama, -and his _Koranzzo's Feast, or the Unfair Marriage_, a tragedy founded -on facts 2,366 years ago, is a serious performance, amply illustrated. -Among the characters are four queens, three savages, and five ghosts, -not including the ghost of a clock, intended as part of the stage -furniture. The most singular of this class of one-sided writers is M. -G. Desjardins, who, we believe, is still alive. It is impossible to -imagine a head more completely turned than his. - -Another writer of this eccentric class is Paulin Gagne, author of -_L'Unitéide, ou la Femme-Messie_, a poem in twelve cantos. The -thirty-eighth act of the eighth canto passes in a potato-field, and -the scene is opened by _Pataticulture_ in a speech of this fashion:-- - - "Peuples et Rois, je suis la Pataticulture, - Fille de la nature et du siècle en friture; - J'ai toujours adoré ce fruit délicieux - Que, dit-on, pour extra, mangeaient jadis les Dieux." - -He winds up by declaring that - - "Dans la pomme de terre est le salut de tous." - -In the following act, _Carroticulture_ is introduced with a new version -of the Marseillaise:-- - - "Allons, enfans de la Cacrotte." - -Science and Philosophy have had their victims; and those, though we -must except Newton, so long reckoned among those whose brain had given -way under intense thought, we must include Kant, his disciple Wirgman, -and others of less note. William Martin, whose two brothers made -themselves famous in very different lines--one by setting fire to York -Minster, the other by his paintings--was as mad as could be desired, -both in science and poetry. Here is a sample combined:-- - - "The creation of the world, - Likewise Adam and Eve, we know, - Made by the Great God, from - Whom all blessings flow." - -The famous Walking Stewart went crazy on "the polarization of moral -truth." At the dinner-table he spoilt the digestion of his guests by -turning the conversation to his one beloved subject, and he was as -fatal as the Ancient Mariner to any man who might chance to address him -a civil word in public places or conveyances. - -A deplorable instance of this class is afforded by Wirgman, the -Kantesian, just named, who, after making a fortune as a goldsmith and -silversmith, in St. James's Street, Westminster, squandered it all as -_a regenerating philosopher_. He printed several works, and had paper -made specially for one, the same sheet being of several different -colours; and as he changed the work many times while it was printing, -the expense was enormous: one book of four hundred pages cost 2,276_l._ -He published a grammar of the five senses, which was a sort of system -of metaphysics for the use of children; and he maintained that when it -was universally adopted in schools, peace and harmony would be restored -to the earth, and virtue would everywhere replace crime. He complained -much that people would not listen to him, and that although he had -devoted nearly half a century, he had asked in vain to be appointed -Professor in some University or College--so little does the world -appreciate those who labour unto death in its service. Nevertheless, -exclaimed Wirgman, after another useless application, "while life -remains, I will not cease to communicate this blessing to the rising -world." - - - - -A Perpetual-Motion Seeker. - - -The celebrated French physician, Pinel, relates the case of a -watchmaker who was infatuated with the chimera of Perpetual Motion, and -to effect this discovery, he set to work with indefatigable ardour. -From unremitting attention to the object of his enthusiasm, coinciding -with the influence of revolutionary disturbances, his imagination was -greatly heated, his sleep was interrupted, and at length a complete -derangement took place. His case was marked by a most whimsical -illusion of the imagination: he fancied that he had lost his head upon -the scaffold; that it had been thrown promiscuously among the heads -of many other victims; that the judges having repented of their cruel -sentence, had ordered their heads to be restored to their respective -owners, and placed upon their respective shoulders; but that, in -consequence of an unhappy mistake, the gentleman who had the management -of that business, had placed upon his shoulders the head of one of -his unhappy companions. The idea of this whimsical change of his head -occupied his thoughts night and day, which determined his friends to -send him to an asylum. Nothing could exceed the extravagance of his -heated brain: he sung, he cried, or danced incessantly; and as there -appeared no propensity to commit acts of violence or disturbance, he -was allowed to go about the hospital without control, in order to -expend, by evaporation, the effervescence of his spirits. "Look at -these teeth!" he cried; "mine were exceedingly handsome; these are -rotten and decayed. My mouth was sound and healthy; this is foul and -diseased. What difference between this hair and that of my own head!" - -The idea of perpetual motion frequently recurred to him in the midst -of his wanderings; and he chalked on all the doors or windows as he -passed the various designs by which his wondrous piece of mechanism was -to be constructed. The method best calculated to cure so whimsical an -illusion appeared to be that of encouraging his prosecution of it to -satiety. His friends were accordingly requested to send him his tools, -with materials to work upon, and other requisites, such as plates of -copper and steel, and watch-wheels. His zeal was now redoubled; his -whole attention was rivetted upon his favourite pursuit: he forgot -his meals, and after about a month's labour our artist began to think -he had followed a false route. He broke into a thousand fragments the -piece of machinery which he had fabricated with so much toil, and -thought, and labour; he then entered upon a new plan, and laboured for -another fortnight. The various parts being completed, he brought them -together; he fancied that he saw a perfect harmony amongst them. The -whole was now finally adjusted--his anxiety was indescribable--_motion -succeeded_; it continued for some time, and he supposed it capable of -continuing for ever. He was elevated to the highest pitch of ecstasy -and triumph, and ran like lightning into the interior of the hospital, -crying out, like another Archimedes, "At length I have solved this -famous problem, which has puzzled so many men celebrated for their -wisdom and talents!" Grievous to add, he was checked in the midst of -his triumph. The wheels stopped! the _perpetual motion_ ceased! His -intoxication of joy was succeeded by disappointment and confusion; -though to avoid a humiliating and mortifying confession, he declared -that he could easily remove the impediment: but, tired of such -experimental employment, he determined for the future to devote his -attention solely to his business. - -There still remained another imaginary impression to be -counteracted--that of the exchange of his head, which unceasingly -occurred to him. A keen and unanswerable stroke of pleasantry seemed -best adapted to correct this fantastic whim. Another convalescent, of -a gay and facetious turn, instructed beforehand, adroitly turned the -conversation to the subject of the famous miracle of St. Denis, in -which it will be recollected that the holy man, after decapitation, -walked away with his head under his arm, which he kissed and condoled -with for its misfortune. Our mechanician strongly maintained the -possibility of the fact, and sought to confirm it by an appeal to his -own case. The other set up a laugh, and replied with a tone of the -keenest ridicule, "Madman as thou art, how could St. Denis kiss his own -head? Was it with his heels?" This equally unexpected and unanswerable -retort forcibly struck the maniac. He retired confused amidst the -laughter which was provoked at his expense, and never afterwards -mentioned the _exchange of his head_. - - - - -[Illustration: The Duchess of Newcastle. From the portrait prefixed to -her poems. - - "Her beauty's found beyond the skill - Of the best paynter to embrace." -] - - - - -The Romantic Duchess of Newcastle. - - -More than two centuries ago, when Clerkenwell was a sort of -court-quarter of the town, its most distinguished residents were -William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, and his wife, Margaret Lucas, -both of whom are remembered by their literary eccentricities. The -Duke, who was a devoted royalist, after his defeat at Marston Moor, -retired with his wife to the Continent; and with many privations, -owing to pecuniary embarrassments, suffered an exile of eighteen -years, chiefly in Antwerp, in a house which belonged to the widow of -Rubens. Such was their extremity that they were both forced at one -time to pawn their clothes to purchase a dinner. The Duke beguiled his -time by writing an eccentric book on horsemanship. During his absence -Cromwell's parliament levied upon his estate nearly three-quarters -of a million of money. Upon the Restoration, he returned to England, -and was created Duke of Newcastle; he then retired to his mansion in -Clerkenwell; he died there in 1676, aged eighty-four. - -The duchess was a pedantic and voluminous writer, her collected works -filling ten printed folios, for she wrote prose and verse in all -their varieties. "The whole story," writes Pepys, "of this lady is a -romance and all she does is romantic. April 26th, 1667.--Met my Lady -Newcastle, with her coach and footman all in velvet, herself, whom I -never saw before, as I have heard her often described, for all the town -talk is now-a-days of her extravagances, with her velvet cap, her hair -about her ears, many black patches because of pimples about her mouth, -naked-necked without anything about it, and a black _just-au-corps_. -May 1st 1667.--She was in a black coach, adorned with silver instead -of gold, and snow-white curtains, and everything black and white. -Stayed at home reading the ridiculous history of my Lord Newcastle, -wrote by his wife, which shows her to be a mad, conceited, ridiculous -woman, and he an asse to suffer her to write what she writes to him -and of him." On the 10th of April, 1667, Charles and his Queen came to -Clerkenwell, on a visit to the duchess. On the 18th John Evelyn went -to make court to the noble pair, who received him with great kindness. -Another time he dined at Newcastle House, and was privileged to sit -discoursing with her grace in her bedchamber after dinner. She thus -describes to a friend her literary employments:--"You will find my -works like infinite nature, that hath neither beginning nor end, and -as confused as the chaos, wherein is neither method nor order, but all -mixed together, without separation, like light and darkness." "But what -gives one," says Walpole, "the best idea of her passion for scribbling, -was her seldom revising the copies of her works, lest it should disturb -her following conceptions. Her servant John was ordered to lie on a -truckle-bed in a closet within her grace's bedchamber; and whenever, -at any time, she gave the summons, by calling out 'John,' I conceive -poor John was to get up, and commit to writing the offspring of his -mistress' thoughts. Her grace's folios were usually enriched with gold, -and had her coat-of-arms upon them. Hence, Pope, in the _Dunciad_, Book -I:-- - - "Stamp'd with arms, Newcastle shines complete." - -In her _Poems and Fancies_, 1653, the copy now in the British Museum, -on the margin of one page is the following note in the Duchess' own -handwriting:--"Reader, let me intreat you to consider only the fancyes -in this my book of poems, and not the language of the numbers, nor -rimes, nor fals printing, for if you doe, you will be my condeming -judg, which will grive me much." Of this book she says:-- - - "When I did write this book I took great paines, - For I did walk, and thinke, and break my braines; - My thoughts run out of breath, then down would lye, - And panting with short wind like those that dye; - When time had given ease, and lent them strength, - Then up would get and run another length; - Sometimes I kept my thought with strict dyet, - And made them fast with ease, rest, and quiet, - That they might run with swifter speed, - And by this course new fancies they could breed; - But I doe feare they are no so good to please, - But now they're out my braine is more at ease." - -At page 228 occurs this strange fancy:-- - - "Life scums the cream of beauty with Time's spoon, - And draws the claret wine of blushes soon." - -Again, she tells us that-- - - "The brain is like an oven, hot and dry, - Which bakes all sorts of fancies, low and high; - The thoughts are wood, which motion sets on fire; - The tongue a peele, which draws forth the desire; - But thinking much, the brain too hot will grow, - And burns it up; if cold, the thoughts are dough." - -To a volume of the Duchess' plays is prefixed a portrait of her Grace, -and this couplet under it:-- - - "Her beauty's found beyond the skill - Of the best paynter to embrace." - -There is a story current that the Duke being once, when in a peevish -humour, complimented by a friend on the great wisdom of his wife, made -answer, "Sir, a very wise woman is a very foolish thing." - -Another eccentric inhabitant of Newcastle House was Elizabeth, Duchess -of Albemarle, and afterwards of Montague. She was married in 1669 to -Christopher Monck, second Duke of Albemarle, then a youth of sixteen, -whom her inordinate pride drove to the bottle and other dissipation. -After his death, in 1688, at Jamaica, the Duchess, whose vast estate -so inflated her vanity as to produce mental aberration, resolved never -again to give her hand to any but a sovereign prince. She had many -suitors; but true to her resolution, she rejected them all, until -Ralph Montague, third Lord and first Duke of that name, achieved the -conquest by courting her as _Emperor of China_: and the anecdote has -been dramatized by Colley Cibber, in his comedy of _The Double Gallant, -or Sick Lady's Cure_. Lord Montague married the lady as "Emperor," but -afterwards played the truant, and kept her in such strict confinement -that her relations compelled him to produce her in open court, to prove -that she was alive. Richard Lord Ross, one of her rejected suitors, -addressed to Lord Montague these lines on his match:-- - - "Insulting rival, never boast - Thy conquest lately won: - No wonder that her heart was lost,-- - Her senses first were gone. - - "From one that's under Bedlam's laws - What glory can be had? - For love of thee was not the cause: - It proves that she was mad." - -The Duchess survived her second husband nearly thirty years, and at -last "died of mere old age," at Newcastle House, August 28th, 1738, -aged ninety-six years. Until her decease, she is said to have been -constantly served on the knee as a sovereign; besides keeping her word, -that she would not stoop to marry anyone but the Emperor of China. - - - - -Sources of Laughter. - - -In a clever paper in the _Saturday Review_ (Oct. 7th, 1865), we find -these amusing anecdotical instances of the sources means _movere -jocum_:-- - -"A sustained, deliberate pride would have rather prevented than -encouraged that fit of laughter which has preserved to posterity the -name of a certain Marquis of Blandford. He, being noted for laughing -upon small provocation, was once convulsed for half-an-hour together on -seeing somebody fillip a crumb into a blind fiddler's face, the fits -returning whenever the "ludicrous idea" recurred to him. An habitual -sense of superiority would have prevented this sudden glory at sight of -a beggar's helplessness under insult. - -"There are personalities which lie so hid under a disguise that they -are not readily known for such. The humorist and the cynic have -each a knack of investing with human weaknesses things, animate and -inanimate, in which plainer minds can see no analogy to human nature. -We have known a man of quaint fancies laugh till the tears ran down -at seeing a rat peep out of a hole. He caught a touch of humanity in -the brute's perplexed air; he guessed at something behind the scenes -impervious to our grosser vision. A bird, frumpish and disquieted on -a rainy day, suggests to such a man some social image of discontent -that makes capital fun for him. He can improve these lower creatures -into caricatures of his friends, or of mankind at large. Mr. Formby -owned himself unable to help "laughing out loud" in the presence of -Egyptian antiquities, with the Memnon at their head; he laughed at -an ancient civilization, at the men of the past personified by their -works. Saturnine tempers can only laugh at imminent danger or positive -calamity; mortal terror is the most ludicrous of all ideas to them. -Mr. Trollope represents Lord de Courcy, who had not laughed for many -a day, exploding at the notion of his neighbour earl having been all -but tossed by a bull: and the joke would have been better still if the -bull had had his will. This tendency is frequently to be seen with a -defective sympathy, and we believe the things that make men laugh are -an excellent clue at once to intellect and temper. Many a man does not -betray the tiger that lurks within him till he laughs. There are times -when the body craves for laughter as it does for food. This is the -laughter which, on some occasion or other, has betrayed us all into -a scandalous, unseasonable, remorseful gaiety. After long abstinence -from cheerful thought, there are few occasions so sad and solemn as to -render this inopportune revolt impossible, unless where grief absorbs -the whole soul, and lowers the system to a uniformity of sadness. In -fact, as no solemnity can be safe from incongruities, such occasions -are not seldom the especial scene of these exposures--of explosions of -a wild, perverse hilarity taking the culprit at unawares; and this even -while he is aghast at his flagrant insensibility to the demand of the -hour. - -"This is the laughter often ascribed to Satanic influence. The nerves -cannot forego the wonted stimulus, and are malignantly on the watch, as -it were, to betray the higher faculties into this unseemly indulgence. -Thus John and Charles Wesley, in the early days of their public career, -set forth one particular day to sing hymns together in the fields; but, -on uplifting the first stave, one of them was suddenly struck with a -sense of something ludicrous in their errand, the other caught the -infection, and both fell into convulsions of laughter, renewed on every -attempt to carry out their first design, till they were fain to give -up and own themselves for that time conquered by the Devil. There is a -story of Dr. Johnson much to the same purpose. Naturally melancholy, -he was yet a great laugher, and thus was an especial victim to the -possession we speak of, for no one laughs in depression who has not -learnt to laugh in mirth. He was dining with his friend Chambers in the -Temple, and at first betrayed so much physical suffering and mental -dejection that his companion could not help boring him with remedies. -By degrees he rallied, and with the rally came the need of a general -reaction. At this point Chambers happened to say that a common friend -had been with him that morning making his will. Johnson--or rather his -nervous system--seized upon this as the required subject. He raised a -ludicrous picture of the "testator" going about boasting of the fact -of his will-making to anybody that would listen, down to the innkeeper -on the road. Roaring with laughter, he trusted that Chambers had had -the conscience not to describe the testator as of sound mind, hoped -there was a legacy to himself, and concluded with saying that he would -have the will set to verse and a ballad made out of it. Mr. Chambers, -not at all relishing this pleasantry, got rid of his guest as soon as -he could. But not so did Johnson get rid of his merriment; he rolled -in convulsions till he got out of Temple Gate, and then, supporting -himself against a post, sent forth peals so loud as, in the silence -of the night, to be heard from Temple Bar to Fleet Ditch. We hear of -stomach coughs; this was a stomach, or ganglionic, laugh. - -"The mistimed laughter of children has often some such source as this, -though the sprite that possesses them has rarely the gnomelike essence. -A healthy boy, after a certain length of constraint, is sometimes as -little responsible for his laughter as the hypochondriac. Mrs. Beecher -Stowe, in describing, and even defending, a Puritanical strictness of -Sabbath observance, recalls the long family expositions and sermons -which alternated in her youth with prolix Meeting services, at all of -which the younger members of the household were required to assist -in profound stillness of attention. On one of these occasions, on a -hot summer afternoon, a heedless grasshopper of enormous dimensions -leapt on the sleeve of one of the boys. The tempting diversion was -not to be resisted; he slyly secured the animal, and imprisoned a -hind leg between his firmly compressed lips. One by one, the youthful -congregation became alive to the awkward contortions and futile -struggles of the long-legged captive; they knew that to laugh was to be -flogged, but after so many sermons the need was imperative, and they -laughed, and were flogged accordingly. Different from all these types -is the grand frank laugh that finds its place in history and biography, -and belongs to master minds. Political and party feeling may raise, -in stirring times, any amount of animosity, even in good-natured men; -but once bring about a laugh between them, and an answering chord is -struck, a tie is established not easily broken. Something of the old -rancour is gone for ever. There is a story of Canning and Brougham, -after hating and spiting one another through a session, finding -themselves suddenly face to face in some remote district in Cumberland, -with only a turn-pike gate between them. The situation roused their -magnanimity; simultaneously they broke into laughter, and passed each -on his separate way, better friends from that time forth. - -"No honest laugher knows anything about his own laugh, which is -fortunate, as it is apt to be the most grotesque part of a man, -especially if he is anything of an original. Character, humour, oddity, -all expatiate in it, and the features and voice have to accommodate -themselves to the occasion as they can. There is Prince Hal's laugh, -"till his face is like a wet cloak ill laid up;" there is the laugh we -see in Dutch pictures, where every wrinkle of the old face seems to -be in motion; there is the convulsive laugh, in which arms and legs -join; there is the whinny, the ventral laugh, Dr. Johnson's laugh like -a rhinoceros, Dominie Sampson's laugh lapsing without any immediate -stage into dead gravity, and the ideal social laugh--the delighted and -delighting chuckle which ushers in a joke, and the cordial triumphant -laugh which sounds its praises. We say nothing of all the laughs--and -how many there are!--which have no mirth in them; nor of the "ha -ha!" of melodrama, and the ringing laugh of the novel, as being each -unfamiliar to our waking ears. Whatever the laugh, if it be genuine and -comes from decent people, it is as attractive as the Piper of Hamelin. -It is impossible not to want to know what a hearty laugh is about. Some -of the sparkle of life is near, and we long to share it. The gift of -laughter is one of the compensating powers of the world. A nation that -laughs is so far prosperous. It may not have material wealth, but it -has the poetry of prosperity. When Lady Duff Gordon laments that she -never hears a hearty laugh in Egypt, and when Mr. Palgrave, on the -contrary, makes the Arabs proper a laughing people, we place Arabia, -for this reason, higher among the countries than its old neighbour. And -it is the same with homes. Wherever there is pleasant laughter, there -inestimable memories are being stored up, and such free play given to -nerve and brain, that whatever thought and power the family circle is -capable of will have a fair chance of due expansion." - - - - -_CONVIVIAL ECCENTRICITIES._ - - - - -Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall. - - -At Busby's Folly, a bowling-green and house of public entertainment, -upon the site of the Belvidere Tavern, Pentonville, there met on the -2nd of May, 1644, a fraternity of Odd Fellows, members of the Society -of Bull Feathers Hall, who claimed, among other things, the toll of -all the gravel carried up Highgate Hill. A rare tract, entitled, _Bull -Feather Hall, or the Antiquity of Horns amply shown_, 1664, relates -the manner of going from Busby's Folly to Highgate:--"On Monday, being -the 2nd of May, some part of the fraternity met at Busby's Folly, in -Islington, where, after they had set all things in order, they thus -marched out, _ordine quisque suo_:--First, a set of trumpets, then the -controller, or captain of the pioneers, with thirty or forty following -him with pickaxes and spades to level the hill, and baskets withal to -carry gravel. After them another set of trumpeters, and also four that -did wind the horn; after them, the standard, _alias_ an exceeding large -pair of horns fixed on a pole, which three men carried, with pennants -on each tip, the Master of the Ceremonies attending it, with other -officers. Men followed the flag, with the arms of the society, with -horned beasts drawn thereon, and this motto:-- - - 'To have, and not to use the same, - Is not their glory, but their shame.' - -"After this came the mace-bearer, then the herauld-at-arms, with -the arms of the society. The coat I cannot rightly blazon, but I -remember the supporters were on one side, a woman with a whip in -her hand, besides that of her tongue, with a menacing look, and -underneath the motto, _Ut volo, sic jubeo_; on the other side, a man -in a woeful plight, and underneath him, _Patientia patimur_." In this -order they marched, attended by multitudes of people. This club, as -the tract informs us, used to meet in Chequer Yard, in Whitechapel, -their president being arrayed in a crimson satin gown and a furred -cap, surmounted by a pair of antlers; and on a cushion lay a cornuted -sceptre and crown; the brethren drank out of horn cups, and were sworn -on admission, upon a blank horn-book. They met twice a-week, "to solace -themselves with harmless merriment and promote good fellowship among -their neighbours." - -Busby's Folly was afterwards called "Penny's Folly." Here Zucker, a -high German, who had performed before their Majesties and the Royal -Family, exhibited his Learned Little Horse from Cowland, who was -to be seen looking out of the windows up two pair of stairs every -evening before the performance began. Curious deceptions, "Comus's -philosophical performances," and the musical glasses, were also -exhibited here. - - - - -Old Islington Taverns. - - -Less than half a century ago, the Old Red Lion Tavern, in St. John -Street Road, the existence of which dates as far back as 1415, stood -almost alone: it is shown in the centre distance of Hogarth's picture -of _Evening_. Several eminent persons frequented this house: among -others, Thomson, the author of _The Seasons_, Dr. Johnson, and Oliver -Goldsmith. In a room here Thomas Paine wrote his infamous book, _The -Rights of Man_, which Burke and Bishop Watson demolished. The parlour -is hung with choice impressions of Hogarth's plates. The house has been -almost entirely rebuilt. - -Opposite the Red Lion, and surrounded by pens for holding cattle on -their way to Smithfield, was an old building, called "Goose Farm:" -it was let in suites of rooms; here lived Cawse, the painter; and in -another suite, the mother and sister of Charles and Thomas Dibdin: the -mother, a short and squab figure, came on among villagers and mobs -at Sadler's Wells Theatre; but, failing to get engaged, she died in -Clerkenwell Poorhouse. Vincent de Cleve, nicknamed Polly de Cleve, -for his prying qualities, who was treasurer of Sadler's Wells for -many years, occupied the second-floor rooms above the Dibdins. "Goose -Yard," on the west of the road, serves to determine the site of the old -farmhouse. - -The public-house facing the iron gates leading to Sadler's Wells -Theatre, with the sign of "The Clown," in honour of Grimaldi, who -frequented the house, was, in his day, known as the King of Prussia, -prior to which its sign had been that of the Queen of Hungary. It is -to this tavern, or rather to an old one, upon the same site, that -Goldsmith alludes in his _Essay on the Versitility of Popular Favour_. -"An alehouse-keeper," says he, "near Islington, who had long lived at -the sign of the French King, upon the commencement of the late war -with France, pulled down his own sign, and put up that of the Queen -of Hungary. Under the influence of her red race and golden sceptre, -he continued to sell ale till she was no longer the favourite of his -customers; he changed her, therefore, some time ago for the King of -Prussia, which may probably change in turn for the man that shall be -set up for vulgar admiration." The oldest sign by which this house has -been distinguished was that of the Turk's Head. - -At the Golden Ball, near Sadler's Wells, were sold by auction, in 1732, -"The valuable curiosities, living creatures, &c., collected by the -ingenious Mons. Boyle, of Islington;" including "a most strange living -creature bearing a near resemblance of the human shape; he can utter -some few sentences and give pertinant answers to many questions. There -is likewise an Oriental oystershell of a prodigious weight and size, -it measures from one extreme part to the other above three feet two -inches over. The other curiosity is called the Philosopher's Stone, -and is about the size of a pullet's egg, the colour of it is blue, -and more beautiful than that of the ultramarine, which together with -being finely polished is a most delightful entertainment to the eye. -This unparalleled curiosity was clandestinely stolen out of the late -Great Mogul's closet; this irreparable loss had so great an effect upon -him that in a few months after he pined himself to death: there is a -peculiar virtue in this precious stone, that principally relates to the -fair sex, and will effectually signify, in the variation of its colour, -by touching it, whether any of them have lost their virginity." - -Of the Rising Sun, in the Islington Road, in _Mist's Journal_, February -9th, 1726, we read that for the ensuing Shrove Tuesday "will be a fine -hog, barbyqu'd--_i.e._ roasted whole, with spice, and basted with -Madeira wine, at the house where the ox was roasted whole at Christmas -last." - -In the Islington Road, too, near to Sadler's Wells, was Stokes's -Amphitheatre, a low place, though resorted to by the nobility and -gentry. It was devoted to bull and bear-baiting, dog-fighting, boxing, -and sword-fighting; and in these terrible encounters, with naked -swords, not blunted, women engaged each other to "a trial of skill;" -they fought _à la mode_, in close fighting jackets, short petticoats, -Holland drawers, white thread stockings and pumps; the stakes were -from 10_l._ to 20_l._ Then we read of a day's diversion--a mad bull, -dressed up with fireworks, to be baited; cudgel-playing for a silver -cup, wrestling for a pair of leather breeches, &c.; a noble, large, and -savage, incomparable Russian bear, baited to death by dogs; a bull, -illuminated with fireworks turned loose; eating one hundred farthing -pies, and drinking half a gallon of October beer, in less than eight -minutes, &c.[45] - -[45] Selected and abridged from Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_, 1865. - - - - -The Oyster and Parched-Pea Club. - - -The ancient town of "Proud Preston," in Lancashire, from the year 1771 -to 1841, a period of seventy years, boasted its "Oyster and Parched-Pea -Club." It was at first limited to a dozen of the leading inhabitants, -all of the same political party, and who now and then drank a Jacobite -toast with a bumper. Its President was styled the Speaker. Among its -staff of officers was one named _Oystericus_, whose duty it was to -order and look after the oysters, which then came "by fleet" from -London. There were also a Secretary, an Auditor, a Deputy Auditor, and -a Poet Laureate or Rhymesmith, as he was generally termed; also the -Cellarius, who had to provide port of the first quality; the Chaplain; -the Surgeon-General, the Master of the Rolls (to look to the provision -of bread-and-butter); the _Swig_-Master, whose title expresses his -duty; Clerk of the Peas; a Minstrel, a Master of the Jewels, a -Physician-in-Ordinary, &c. Among the Rules and Articles of the Club, -were, "That _a barrel of oysters_ be provided every Monday night during -the winter season, at the equal expense of the members; to be opened -exactly at half-past seven o'clock." "Every member on having a son -born, shall pay a gallon--for a daughter half-a-gallon--of port, to his -brethren of the club, within a month of the birth of such child, at any -public-house he shall choose." Amongst the archives of the club is the -following curious entry, which is _not_ in a lady's hand:-- - -"The ladies of the Toughey [? Toffy] Club were rather disappointed at -not receiving, by the hands of the respectable messenger, dispatched by -the still more respectable members of the Oyster Club, a few oysters. -They are just sitting down, after the fatigues of the evening, and take -the liberty of reminding the worthy members of the Oyster Club, that -oysters were _not made for man alone_. The ladies have sent to the -venerable president a small quantity of sweets [? pieces of Everton -toffy] to be distributed, as he in his wisdom, shall think fit." - -In 1795 the club was threatened with a difficulty, owing, as stated by -"Mr. Oystericus," to the day of the wagon--laden with oysters--leaving -London, having changed. Sometimes, owing to a long frost, or other -accident, no oysters arrived, and then the club must have solaced -itself with "parched peas" and "particular port." Amongst the regalia -of the club was a silver snuff-box, in the lid of which was set a -piece of oak, part of the quarter-deck of Nelson's ship _Victory_. The -Rhymesmith's effusions were laughable, as:-- - - "A something monastic appears among oysters, - For gregarious they live, yet they sleep in their cloisters; - 'Tis observed, too, that oysters, when placed in their barrel, - Will never presume with their stations to quarrel. - From this let us learn what an oyster can tell us, - And we all shall be better and happier fellows. - Acquiesce in your stations, wherever you've got 'em; - Be not proud at the top, nor repine at the bottom; - But happiest they in the middle who live, - And have something to lend, and to spend, and to give." - - "The bard would fain exchange, alack! - For precious gold, his crown of laurel; - His sackbut for a butt of sack; - His vocal skill for oyster barrel!" - -These lines are from an Ode in 1806:-- - - "Nelson has made the seas our own, - Then gulp your well-fed oysters down, - And give the French the _shell_." - - - - -A Manchester Punch-House. - - -About the middle of the last century, a man named John Shaw, who -had served in the army as a dragoon, having lost his wife and four -or five children, solaced himself by opening a public-house in the -Old Shambles, Manchester, in conducting which he was supported by a -sturdy woman-servant, "Molly." John Shaw, having been much abroad, -had acquired a knack of brewing punch, then a favourite beverage; and -from this attraction, his house soon began to be frequented by the -principal merchants and manufacturers of the town, and to be known -as "John Shaw's Punch-house;" sign it had none. As Dr. Aikin says in -1795 that Shaw had then kept the house more than fifty years, we have -here an institution dating prior to the memorable '45. Having made a -comfortable competence, John Shaw, who was a lover of early hours, -and, probably from his military training, a martinet in discipline, -instituted the singular rule of closing his house to customers at eight -o'clock in the evening. As soon as the clock struck the hour, John -walked into the one public room of the house, and in a loud voice and -imperative tone, proclaimed "Eight o'clock, gentlemen; eight o'clock." -After this no entreaties for more liquor, however urgent or suppliant, -could prevail over the inexorable landlord. If the announcement of the -hour did not at once produce the desired effect, John had two modes of -summary ejectment. He would call to Molly to bring his horsewhip, and -crack it in the ears and near the persons of his guests; and should -this fail, Molly was ordered to bring her pail, with which she speedily -flooded the floor, and drove the guests out wet-shod. Tradition says -that the punch brewed by John Shaw was something very delicious. In -mixing it, he used a long-shanked silver table-spoon, like a modern -gravy-spoon, which, for convenience, he carried in a side pocket, -like that in which a carpenter carries his two-foot rule. Punch was -usually served in small bowls (that is, less than the "crown bowls" -of later days) of two sizes and prices; a shilling bowl being termed -"a P of punch"--"a Q of punch" denoting a sixpenny bowl. The origin -of these slang names is unknown. Can it have any reference to the old -saying--"Mind your P's and Q's?" If a gentleman came alone and found -none to join him, he called for "a Q." If two or more joined, they -called for "a P;" but seldom more was spent than about sixpence per -head. Though eccentric and austere, John won the respect and esteem of -his customers, by his strict integrity and steadfast adherence to his -rules. - -For his excellent regulation as to the hour of closing, he is said -to have frequently received the thanks of the ladies of Manchester, -whose male friends were thus induced to return home early and sober. -At length this nightly meeting of friends and acquaintances at John -Shaw's grew into an organised club of a convivial character, bearing -his name. Its objects were not political; yet, John and his guests -being all of the same political party, there was sufficient unanimity -among them to preserve harmony and concord. John's roof sheltered none -but stout, thorough-going Tories of the old school, genuine "Church and -King" men; nay, even "rank Jacobites." If, perchance, from ignorance of -the character of the house, any unhappy Whig, any unfortunate partisan -of the house of Hanover, any known member of a dissenting conventicle, -strayed into John Shaw's, he found himself in a worse condition than -that of a solitary wasp in a beehive. - -The war played the mischief with John's inimitable brew: limes became -scarce; lemons were substituted; at length of these too, and of the -old pine-apple rum of Jamaica, the supplies were so frequently cut -off by French privateers, that a few years before John Shaw's death, -the innovation of "grog" in place of punch struck a heavy blow at the -old man's heart. Even autocrats must die, and at length, on the 26th -January, 1796, John Shaw was gathered to his fathers, at the ripe old -age of eighty-three, having ruled his house upwards of fifty-eight -years; namely, from the year 1738. But though John Shaw ceased to rule, -the club still lived and flourished. His successor in the house carried -on the same "early-closing movement," with the aid of the same old -servant Molly. At length the house was pulled down, and the club was -very migratory for some years. It finally settled down in 1852, in the -"Spread Eagle" Hotel, Corporation Street, where it still prospers and -flourishes. - -In 1834, John Shaw's absorbed into its venerable bosom another club of -similar character, entitled "The Sociable Club." The society possesses -among its relics oil-paintings of John Shaw and his maid Molly, and -of several presidents of past years. A few years ago, a singular old -china punchbowl, which had been the property of John Shaw himself, was -restored to the club as its rightful property by the descendant of a -trustee. It is a barrel-shaped vessel, suspended on a stillage, with -a metal tap at one end, whence to draw the liquor, which it received -through a large opening or bung-hole. Besides assembling every evening, -winter and summer, between five and eight o'clock, a few of the members -dine together every Saturday at 2 P.M.; and they have still an annual -dinner, when old friends and members drink old wine, toast old toasts, -tell old stories, or "fight their battles o'er again." Such is John -Shaw's club--nearly a century and a quarter old.--_Abridged from the -Book of Days._ - - - - -"The Blue Key." - - -Some fifty years since, there was at Bolton a little club of -manufacturers, all of them old men, who met regularly in the forenoon -at the "Millstone Inn," to drink their single glass of ale and compare -notes on the news of the day. They established this curious custom -among themselves. There was no great number of clerks and assistants -in those days, and when a manufacturer left his counting-room, or -warehouse, he locked the door and carried off the key, generally a -pretty large one. Now, this Millstone Club preferred in cold weather -to have their ale _with the chill off_. To effect this, each member -put the bow of his warehouse-key into the fire, and when sufficiently -warm, plunged it into his glass of ale. A long continuance of this -custom caused the handle of each key to acquire a dark blue colour, -and this "blue key" became a kind of emblem or talisman of the club -friends.--_French's Life of Samuel Crompton._ - - - - -Brandy in Tea. - - -Miss Berry relates, among her earliest Brighton reminiscences, the -following odd story of old Lady Clermont, who was a frequent guest -at the Pavilion. "Her physician had recommended a moderate use of -stimulants to supply that energy which was deficient in her system, and -brandy had been suggested in a prescribed quantity, to be mixed with -her tea. I remember well having my curiosity excited by this, to me, -novel form of taking medicine, and holding on by the back of a chair to -watch the _modus operandi_. Very much to my astonishment, the patient -held a liqueur bottle over a cup of tea and began to pour out its -contents, with a peculiar purblind look, upon the back of a teaspoon. -Presently she seemed suddenly to become aware of what she was about, -turned up the spoon the right way, and carefully measured and added the -quantity to which she had been restricted. The tea so strongly "laced" -she then drank with great apparent gusto. Of course it was no longer -"the cup that cheers but not inebriates;" but what seemed inexplicable -to my ingenuous mind was the unvarying recurrence of the same mistake -of presenting the back of the spoon instead of the front. I was aware -that it did not arise from defect of sight. Lady Clermont could see -almost as distinctly as myself. Nevertheless, the cordial was permitted -to accumulate in the tea till the old lady chose to adopt a better -measurer, and then she most conscientiously took care not to exceed the -number of teaspoonfuls the obliging doctor had prescribed. I was not -then aware that this was a case in which the remedy was the reverse of -worse than the disease. Lady Clermont liked brandy as a medicine, and -made this bungle in measuring it by way of innocent device for securing -a much larger dose than she had been ordered. The gravity with which -she noticed her apparent mistake, without attempting to correct it, and -her little exclamation of surprise, so invariably uttered, amused me -so much that when she quitted the Pavilion, the best part of my day's -entertainment seemed to have departed with her." - - - - -"The Wooden Spoon." - - -The ludicrous sobriquet of the Ministerial Wooden Spoon originated as -follows:--Towards the close of each Session of Parliament, a list of -the votes of those Members of the Government who are in the House of -Commons is produced at the Fish Dinner then given; and he who is lowest -on the list is probably regarded by his Cambridge friends, at least, as -the _wooden spoon_. During the administration of Sir Robert Peel, on -one of these anniversaries, when the ministerial party was starting for -Greenwich, one of them, in passing through Hungerford Market, bought a -child's penny mug and a wooden spoon. After dinner, when the list of -votes was read out, the penny mug, on which was painted "James," or -"For a good boy," was presented, with all due solemnity, to Sir James -Graham, and the wooden spoon to Sir William Follet. This is thought to -be the origin of the above strange custom. - - - - -A Tipsy Village. - - -Livingston, in a recent journey in Africa, fell in with the Manganja -savages, as low as any he had ever met with, except Bushmen; yet they -cultivate large tracts of land for grain, which they convert into -_beer_! It is not very intoxicating, but when they consume large -quantities, they do become a little elevated. When a family brews, a -large number of friends and neighbours are invited to drink, and bring -their hoes with them; and they let off the excitement by hoeing their -friend's field. At other times they consume large quantities of beer, -like regular topers, at home. Dr. Livingston _in one village found all -the people tipsy together_: the men tried to induce the women to run -away for shame, but the ladies, too, were "a little overcome," and -laughed at the idea of their running. The village-doctor, however, -arranged matters by bringing a large pot of the liquid, with the -intention of reducing the travellers to the general level. - - * * * * * - -Odd things have been said of Gin. Burke, in one of his _spirituel_ -flights, exclaimed, "Let the thunders of the pulpit descend upon -drunkenness, I for one stand up for gin." This is a sort of paraphrase -on Pope's couplet: - - "This calls the church to deprecate our sin, - And hurls the thunder of our laws on gin." - - - - -What an Epicure Eats in his Life-Time. - - -In a life of sixty-five years' duration, with a moderate daily -allowance of mutton, for instance, an epicure will have consumed a -flock of 350 sheep; and altogether for dinner alone, adding to his -mutton a reasonable allowance of potatoes and other vegetables, with a -pint of wine daily for thirty years of this period, above thirty tons -of solids and liquids must have passed through his stomach. Soyer, in -his practical work, _The Modern Housewife_, says:-- - -Take seventy years of the life of an epicure, beyond which age of that -class of _bon vivants_ arrive, and even above eighty, still in the full -enjoyment of degustation, &c. (for example, Talleyrand, Cambacères, -Lord Sefton, &c.); if the first of the said epicures, when entering on -the tenth spring of his extraordinary career, had been placed on an -eminence--say the top of Primrose Hill--and had had exhibited before -his infantine eyes the enormous quantity of food his then insignificant -person would destroy before he attained his seventy-first year--first, -he would believe it must be a delusion: then, secondly, he would -inquire where the money could come from to purchase so much luxurious -extravagance? - - Imagine on the top of the above-mentioned hill, a rushlight of a - boy just entering his tenth year, surrounded with the _recherché_ - provision and delicacies claimed by his rank and wealth, taking merely - the consumption of his daily meals. By close calculating, he would - be surrounded and gazed at by the following number of quadrupeds, - birds, fishes, &c.:--By no less than 30 oxen, 200 sheep, 100 calves, - 200 lambs, 50 pigs; in poultry, 1,200 fowls, 300 turkeys, 150 geese, - 400 ducklings, 263 pigeons, 1,400 partridges, pheasants, and grouse; - 600 woodcocks and snipes; 600 wild ducks, widgeon, and teal; 450 - plovers, ruffes, and reeves; 800 quails, ortolans, and dotterels, - and a few guillemots, and other foreign birds; also, 500 hares and - rabbits, 40 deer, 120 guinea fowl, 10 peacocks, and 360 wild fowl. - In the way of fish, 120 turbot, 140 salmon, 120 cod, 260 trout, 400 - mackerel, 300 whitings, 800 soles and slips, and 400 flounders; 400 - red mullet, 200 eels, 150 haddocks, 400 herrings, 5,000 smelts, and - some 100,000 of those delicious silvery whitebait, besides a few - hundred species of fresh-water fishes. In shell-fish, 20 turtles, - 30,000 oysters, 1,500 lobsters or crabs, 300,000 prawns, shrimps, - sardines, and anchovies. In the way of fruit, about 500lb. of grapes, - 360lb. of pine-apples, 600 peaches, 1,400 apricots, 240 melons, and - some 100,000 plums, greengages, apples, pears, and some millions - of cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants, mulberries, and - an abundance of other small fruit, _viz._ walnuts, chestnuts, dry - figs, and plums. In vegetables of all kinds, 5,475lb. weight; about - 2,434-3/4lb. of butter, 684lb. of cheese, 21,000 eggs, 100 ditto of - plovers. Of bread, 4-1/2 tons, half-a-ton of salt and pepper, near - 2-1/8 tons of sugar; and if he had happened to be a bibacious boy, he - could have formed a fortification or moat round the said hill with the - liquids he would have to partake of to facilitate the digestion of the - above-named provisions, which would amount to no less than 11,673-3/4 - gallons which may be taken as below:--49 hogsheads of wine, 1,368-3/4 - gallons of beer, 584 gallons of spirits, 342 ditto of liqueur, 2,394 - ditto of coffee, cocoa, tea, &c., 304 gallons of milk, 2,736 gallons - of water--all of which would actually protect him and his anticipated - property from any young thief or fellow-schoolboy. This calculation - has for its basis the medium scale of the regular meals of the day, - which, in sixty years, amounts to no less than 33-3/4 tons weight of - meat, farinaceous food, and vegetables, &c.; out of which the above - are in detail the probable delicacies that would be selected by an - epicure through life. - - - - -Epitaph on Dr. William Maginn. - - -Dr. Maginn, it is to be regretted, died at an early age, of -consumption. The following epitaph, written for him by his friend, John -G. Lockhart, conveys a tolerably correct idea of his habits:-- - - WALTON-ON-THAMES, AUGUST, 1842. - - Here, early to bed, lies kind William Maginn, - Who, with genius, wit, learning, life's trophies to win, - Had neither great lord nor rich cit of his kin, - Nor discretion to set himself up as to tin; - So, his portion soon spent, like the poor heir of Lynn-- - He turned author ere yet there was beard on his chin, - And, whoever was out, or whoever was in, - For your Tories his fine Irish brains he would spin; - Who received prose and rhyme with a promising grin-- - "Go a-head, you queer fish, and more power to your fin," - But to save from starvation stirred never a pin. - Light for long was his heart, though his breeches were thin, - Else his acting for certain was equal to Quin; - But at last he was beat, and sought help of the bin - (All the same to the doctor, from claret to gin), - Which led swiftly to jail, and consumption therein. - It was much, when the bones rattled loose in the skin, - He got leave to die here, out of Babylon's din. - Barring drink and the girls, I ne'er heard a sin: - Many worse, better few, than bright, broken Maginn. - -It is not generally known that Dr. Maginn wrote for Knight and Lacey, -the publishers, in Paternoster Row, a novel embodying the strange story -of the Polstead murder, in 1828, under the title of the _Red Barn_. -The work was published anonymously, in numbers, and by its sale the -publishers cleared many hundreds of pounds. Dr. Maginn's learned and -witty essays, in verse and prose, scattered over our monthly magazines -during nearly a quarter of a century, merit collective republication. - -Talking of odd epitaphs, that upon Beazeley, the architect and -dramatist, was written, or rather spoken, by Theodore Hook, as -follows:-- - - "Here lies Sam Beazeley, - Who lived hard and died easily." - - - - -Greenwich Dinners. - - -The Hon. Grantley Berkeley, in his _Life and Recollections_, relates -some amusing anecdotes of these pleasant gatherings:-- - -"On two occasions," he says, "I remember that the late Lord Rokeby -went to Greenwich behind a pair of posters, and that in coming back -the postboy, excessively drunk, upset him on the road. He was much too -good-natured to insist on the man's discharge, and, perhaps because -he liked a glass of wine himself, he was inclined to forgive a lad -overcome by porter; so the carriage was righted and no notice taken of -the matter. It so happened that some time after, Lord Rokeby had again -to go to Greenwich, and when his carriage and pair of posters came to -the door, he saw in the saddle the same postboy who had brought him to -grief. - -"'Oh, you're there, are you?' he said, in that dear, good-natured -way he had of speaking. 'Now mind, my good fellow, you had your -jollification last time; it's my turn now, so I shall get drunk, and -you must keep sober.' - -"The postboy touched his hat in acquiescence with this reasonable -proposition; he brought back my friend in safety, at all events, and, I -dare say, in a very happy state of mind." - -The writer also remembers a dinner at the Ship, where there were a -good many ladies, and when D'Orsay was of the party, during which his -attention was directed to a centre pane of glass in the bay window -over the Thames, where some one had written in large letters with a -diamond, D'Orsay's name in improper conjunction with a celebrated -German _danseuse_ then fulfilling an engagement at the Opera. With -characteristic readiness and _sang-froid_, he took an orange from a -dish near him, and making some trifling remark on the excellence of -the fruit, tossed it up once or twice, catching it in his hand again. -Presently, as if by accident, he gave it a wider cant, and sent it -through the window, knocking the offensive words out of sight into the -Thames. - - - - -Lord Pembroke's Port Wine. - - -Lord Palmerston (who, when in office, was accustomed to employ his -pleasantries as _paratonnerres_ for troublesome visitors), one day -related the following anecdote to a deputation of gentlemen who waited -upon him to urge the reduction of the Wine-duties. Referring to the -question of adulterations, "I remember," said his lordship, "my -grandfather, Lord Pembroke, when he placed wine before his guests, -said--'There, gentlemen, is my champagne, my claret, &c. I am no great -judge, and I give you this on the authority of my wine-merchant; but -I can answer for my port, for I made it myself.' I still have his -receipt, which I look on as a curiosity; but I confess I have never -ventured to try it." - -The following is Lord Pembroke's veritable receipt:--Eight gallons -of genuine port wine, forty gallons of cider, brandy to fill the -hogsheads. Elder-tops will give it the roughness, and cochineal -whatever strength of colouring you please. The quantity made should not -be less than a hogshead: it should be kept fully two years in wood, and -as long in bottle before it is used. - - - - -A tremendous Bowl of Punch. - - -We find the following recorded upon the sober authority of the veteran -_Gentleman's Magazine_:-- - -On the 25th of October, 1694, a bowl of punch was made at the -Right Hon. Edward Russell's house, when he was Captain-General -Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty's forces in the Mediterranean Sea. -It was made in a fountain in a garden in the middle of four walks, all -covered overhead with orange and lemon-trees; and in every walk was a -table, the whole length of it covered with cold collations, &c. In the -said fountain were the following ingredients, namely:-- - - 4 hogsheads brandy. - 25,000 lemons. - 20 gallons lime-juice. - 1,300 weight of fine white Lisbon sugar. - 5lbs. grated nutmegs. - 300 toasted biscuits. - One pipe of dry mountain Malaga. - -Over the fountain was a large canopy to keep off the rain, and there -was built on purpose a little boat, wherein was a boy belonging to -the fleet, who rowed round the fountain and filled the cups for the -company; and, in all probability, more than 6,000 men drank thereof. - - -[Illustration] - - - - -_MISCELLANEA._ - - - - -Long Sir Thomas Robinson. - - -There were two Sir Thomas Robinsons alive at the same time. The one -above mentioned was called _Long_ as a distinguishing characteristic. -Some one told Lord Chesterfield that _Long_ Sir Thomas Robinson was -very ill. "I am sorry to hear it."--"He is dying by inches."--"Then it -will be some time before he dies," was the answer. - -One of Sir Thomas Robinson's freaks was to go to Paris in his hunting -suit, wearing a postilion's cap, a tight green jacket, and buckskin -breeches. In this strange dress he joined a large company at dinner; -when a French abbé, unable to restrain his curiosity, burst out with, -"Excuse me, sir, are you the famous Robinson Crusoe so remarkable in -history?" - - - - -Lord Chesterfield's Will. - - -The will of the celebrated Lord Chesterfield contains this -prelude:--"Satiated with the pompous follies of this life, of which -I have had an uncommon share, I would have no posthumous ones -displayed at my funeral, and therefore desire to be buried in the next -burying-place to the place where I shall die, and limit the whole -expense of my funeral to 100_l._" Shortly after comes the following -clause:--"The several devises and bequests hereinbefore and hereinafter -given by me to and in favour of my said godson, Philip Stanhope, shall -be subject to the condition and restriction hereinafter mentioned--that -is to say, that in case my said godson, Philip Stanhope, shall at any -time hereafter keep or be concerned in the keeping of any race-horse -or race-horses, or pack or packs of hounds, or reside one night at -Newmarket, that infamous seminary of iniquity and ill-manners, during -the course of the races there, or shall resort to the said races, or -shall lose in any one day at any game or bet whatsoever the sum of -500_l._, then, and in any of the cases aforesaid, it is my express will -that he, my said godson, shall forfeit and pay out of my estate the sum -of 5,000_l._ to and for the use of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, -for every such offence or misdemeanour as is above specified, to be -recovered by action for debt in any of his Majesty's courts of record -at Westminster." The will entails a similar penalty on the letting of -Chesterfield House. The late Lord Chesterfield, who was son of the man -on whom these liabilities were imposed, certainly let Chesterfield -House; and had, we will venture to say, passed some nights at the -"infamous seminary of iniquity and ill-manners." His ancestor vested -the infliction of the penalty in the reverend hands of the Dean and -Chapter, to mark, by a sort of Parthian dart, his sense of the grasping -spirit he considered they had evinced in their dealings with him -respecting the land on which his house was built, and to show what a -rigid enaction of the penalty imposed he anticipated from such sharp -practitioners. - - - - -An Odd Family. - - -In the reign of William III., there resided at Ipswich a family which, -from the number of peculiarities belonging to it, was distinguished -by the name of the "Odd Family." Every event remarkably good or bad -happened to this family on an odd day of the month, and every member -had something odd in his or her person, manner, or behaviour. The -very letters in their Christian names always happened to be an odd -number: the husband's name was Peter, and the wife's name Raboh: they -had seven children, all boys, _viz._ Solomon, Roger, James, Matthew, -Jonas, David, and Ezekiel: the husband had but one leg, his wife but -one arm: Solomon was born blind of one eye, and Roger lost his sight -by accident; James had his left ear bit off by a boy in a quarrel, and -Matthew was born with only three fingers on his right hand; Jonas had -a stump foot, and David was hump-backed. All these, except the latter, -were remarkably short, while Ezekiel was six feet one inch high at -the age of nineteen; the stump-footed Jonas and the hump-backed David -got wives of fortune, but no girls in the borough would listen to the -addresses of their brothers. The husband's hair was as black as jet, -and the wife's remarkably white; yet every one of the children's hair -was red. The husband was killed by accidently falling into a deep pit -in the year 1701; and his wife refusing all kinds of sustenance, died -five days after him, and they were buried in one grave. In the year -1703, Ezekiel enlisted as a grenadier; and although he was afterwards -wounded in twenty-three places, he recovered. Roger, James, Matthew, -Jonas, and David, it appears by the church registers, died in different -places, and were buried on the same day, in the year 1713; and Solomon -and Ezekiel were drowned together in crossing the Thames in the year -1723. Such a collection of odd circumstances never occurred before in -one family.--_Clarke's Account of Ipswich._ - - - - -An Eccentric Host. - - -Lady Blessington used to describe Lord Abercorn's conduct at the Priory -at Stanmore as very strange. She said it was the most singular place -on earth. The moment any persons became celebrated they were invited. -He had a great delight in seeing handsome women. Everybody handsome he -made Lady Abercorn invite; and all the guests shot, hunted, rode, or -did what they liked, provided they never spoke to Lord Abercorn except -at table. If they met him they were to take no notice. At this time, -_Thaddeus of Warsaw_ was making a noise. "Gad!" said Lord Abercorn, "we -must have these Porters. Write, my dear Lady Abercorn." She wrote. An -answer came from Jane Porter, that they could not afford the expense -of travelling. A cheque was sent. They arrived. Lord Abercorn peeped -at them as they came through the hall, and running by the private -staircase to Lady Abercorn, exclaimed, "Witches! my lady. I must be -off," and immediately started post, and remained away till they were -gone. - - - - -Quackery Successful. - - -Sir Edward Halse, who was physician to King George III., driving one -day through the Strand, was stopped by the mob listening to the oratory -of Dr. Rock, the famous quack, who, observing Sir Edward look out at -the chariot-window, instantly took a number of boxes and phials, gave -them to the physician's footman, saying, "Give my compliments to Sir -Edward--tell him these are all I have with me, but I will send him -ten dozen more to-morrow." Sir Edward, astonished at the message and -effrontery of the man, actually took the boxes and phials into the -carriage; on which the mob, with one consent, cried out, "See, see, all -the doctors, even the King's, buy their medicines of him!" In their -young days, these gentlemen had been fellow-students; but Rock, not -succeeding in regular practice, had metamorphosed himself into a quack. -In the afternoon, he waited on Sir Edward, to beg his pardon for having -played him such a trick; to which Sir Edward replied, "My old friend, -how can a man of your understanding condescend to harangue the populace -with such nonsense as you talked to day? Why, none but fools listen -to you."--"Ah! my good friend, that is the very thing. Do you give me -the _fools_ for my patients, and you shall have my free leave to keep -the people of sense for your own." Sir Edward Halse used to divert his -friends with this story, adding, "I never felt so like a fool in my -life as when I received the bottles and boxes from Rock." - - - - -The Grateful Footpad. - - -It is related of Jerry Abershawe, the notorious footpad, that on a dark -and stormy night in November, after having stopped every passenger -on the Wandsworth road, being suddenly taken ill, he stopped at his -old haunt, the Bald-faced Stag public-house, when his comrades sent -to Kingston for medical assistance, and Dr. William Roots, then a -very young man, attended. Having bled him, and given the necessary -advice, the doctor was about to return home, when his patient, with -much earnestness, said, "You had better, sir, have some one to go back -with you, as it is a very dark and lonesome journey." This, however, -the doctor declined, observing that he had "not the least fear, even -should he meet with Abershawe himself," little thinking to whom he was -making this reply. It is said that the footpad frequently alluded to -this scene, with much comic humour. His real name was Louis Jeremiah -Avershawe. He was tried at Croydon for the murder of David Price, a -Union Hall officer, whom he had killed with a pistol-shot, and at the -same time wounded a second officer with another pistol. In this case -the indictment was invalidated by some flaw; but having been tried and -convicted, for feloniously shooting at one Barnaby Turner, he was hung -in chains, on Wimbledon Common, in August, 1795. - - - - -A Notoriety of the Temple. - - -Through reverses at law, how many persons has melancholy marked for -her own. Miss Flight, the little lady who was always hovering about -the courts, and behaving eccentrically, was one of this class, known -to Dickens's readers. Doubtless, she was considered a mere pen-and-ink -sketch from fancy, but she was a fact, every inch of her. She would, -we know, stop the most learned judges that sit on the bench when in -full swing of their awful judgment. She would rise and shake her lean -weird fist at the embodiment of wisdom in horse-hair, and exclaim, "Oh, -you vile man! oh, you wicked man! Give me my property! I will issue a -_mandamus_, and have your _habeas corpus_!" And having continued in -a like fashion for a minute or two, she would bind up her papers in -"red tape"--at least, tape that had once been red, and had followed -her dirty fortunes for years--and either subside into the seat granted -her beside the barristers or depart triumphant from court. No usher -had dared exclaim "Silence!" or send forth the hush of the cackling -animal peculiar to that official. No barrister had nudged her under -the fourth rib, as he might have done another, and would have done -had she been fairer. And the learned Judge, sitting patiently till -the end, with a mild perspiration only rising on the tip of the nose -to show that he was in any way put out, would then, as if nothing had -occurred, resume the thread of his learned judgment, to be appealed -against, perhaps, soon after. What the mystery is between Miss Flight -and the Bar no one can tell. She may have been the embodiment of a -peculiar wrong, and have appeared in the eyes of the bewigged as a sort -of ghost threatening the evil doers with the shades. Perhaps she was -pensioned merely out of some stray idea of benevolence. We scarcely -thought of that in connection with the object of our comment, and yet -to a certain extent it may be true, as she received from the right -learned Middle Temple a sum of shillings per week, which she added to -a sum of shillings received from the right learned Inner Temple, and -so she supported life. But why the learned of the law gave something -for nothing, and were afraid of and respectful to the little woman, -let no man enquire. The little woman's soul has, however, flitted, -and we can say that, after all, the few young lawyers who know nought -of her history will send after her whither she has gone a word of -regret.--_Court Journal._ - - - - -A Ride in a Sedan. - - -From a house in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, the beautiful -Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and the other fair and high-born -women who canvassed for Charles James Fox, used to watch the humours -of the Westminster election. Pitt writes to Wilberforce on the 8th -of April, 1784, "Westminster goes on well, in spite of the Duchess -of Devonshire, and the other women of the people; but when the poll -will close is uncertain." Hannah More, as appears from the date of her -letters, resided at one period in Henrietta Street, and in one of them -we find an amusing account of an adventure which she met with during -the Westminster election. To one of her sisters she writes:--"I had -like to have got into a fine scrape the other night. I was going to -pass the other evening at Mrs. Coles's, in Lincoln's Inn Fields. I went -in a chair. They carried me through Covent Garden. A number of people, -as I went along, desired the man not to go through the garden, as there -were an hundred armed men, who suspected every chairman belonged to -Brookes's, and would fall upon us. In spite of my entreaties the men -would have persisted, but a stranger, out of humanity, made them set me -down, and the shrieks of the wounded, for there was a terrible battle, -intimidated the chairmen, who were at last prevailed upon to carry me -another way. A vast number of people followed me, crying out, 'It is -Mrs. Fox: none but Mr. Fox's wife would dare to come into Covent Garden -in a chair; she is going to canvass in the dark!' Though not a little -frightened, I laughed heartily at this, but shall stir out no more in a -chair for some time." - - - - -[Illustration: Lord Eldon. "Old Bags" after H. B.] - - - - -Mr. John Scott (Lord Eldon) in Parliament. - - -Mr. Scott broke ground in Parliament in opposition to the famous East -India Bill, and began with his favourite topic, the honesty of his -own intentions, and the purity of his own conscience. He spoke in -respectful terms of Lord North, and more highly still of Mr. Fox; but -even to Mr. Fox it was not fitting that so vast an influence should be -entrusted. As Brutus said of Cæsar-- - - "---- he would be crown'd! - How that might change his nature,--there's the question." - -It was an aggravation of the affliction he felt, that the cause of it -should originate with one to whom the nation had so long looked up; -a wound from him was doubly painful. Like Joab, he gave the shake of -friendship, but the other hand held a dagger, with which he despatched -the constitution. Here Mr. Scott, after an apology for alluding to -sacred writ, read from the book of Revelation some verses which he -regarded as typical of the intended innovations in the affairs of the -English East India Company:--"'And I stood upon the sand of the sea, -and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten -horns, and upon his horns ten crowns. And they worshipped the dragon -which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, -Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there -was given unto him a mouth speaking great things; and power was given -unto him to continue forty and two months.' Here," says Mr. Scott, "I -believe there is a mistake of six months--the proposed duration of the -bill being four years, or forty-eight months. 'And he caused all, both -small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in -their right hand, or in their foreheads.'--Here places, pensions, and -peerages are clearly marked out.--'And he cried mightily with a strong -voice, saying, Babylon the Great'--plainly the East India Company--'is -fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold -of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.'" - -He read a passage from Thucydides to prove that men are more irritated -by injustice than by violence, and described the country crying out for -a respite, like Desdemona-- - - "Kill me to-morrow--let me live to-night-- - But half-an-hour!" - -This strange jumble was well quizzed by Sheridan, and Mr. Scott appears -to have found out that rhetorical embellishment was not his line; for -his subsequent speeches are less ornate. - -In the squibs of the period, their obscurity forms the point of the -jokes levelled at him. Thus, among the pretended translations of Lord -Belgrave's famous Greek quotation, the following couplet was attributed -to him:-- - - "With metaphysic art his speech he plann'd, - And said--what nobody could understand." - - - - -A Chancery Jeu-d'Esprit. - - -Sir John Leach was a famous leader in Chancery in his day; afterwards -Vice-Chancellor, and finally Master of the Rolls. - - "Nor did he change, but kept in lofty place" - -the character assigned to him by Sir George Rose in a _jeu-d'esprit_, -the point of which has suffered a little in the hands of Lord Eldon's -biographers, Mr. Twiss and Lord Campbell. The true text, we know from -the highest authority, ran thus:-- - - "Mr. Leech - Made a speech, - Angry, neat, and wrong; - Mr. Hart, - On the other part, - Was right, and dull, and long. - Mr. Parker - Made the case darker, - Which was dark enough without; - Mr. Cooke - Cited a book, - And the Chancellor said, 'I doubt.'" - -Mr. Twiss good-naturedly suggests that "Parker" was taken merely for -the rhyme; but we are assured that this was not so, and that the verses -represent the actual order and _identities_ of the argument. By the -favour of the accomplished author we are enabled to lay before our -readers his own history of this production. "In my earliest years at -the Bar, sitting idle and listless rather than listening, on the back -benches of the court, Vesey, junior, the reporter, put his notebook -into my hand, saying, 'Rose, I am obliged to go away. If anything -occurs, take a note for me.' When he returned, I gave him back his -notebook, and in it the fair report, in effect, of what had taken place -in his absence; and of course thought no more about it. My short report -was so far _en règle_, that it came out in _numbers_, though certainly -_lege solutis_. It was about four or five years afterwards--when -I was beginning to get into business--that I had a motion to make -before the Chancellor. Taking up the paper (the _Morning Chronicle_), -at breakfast, I there, to my surprise and alarm, saw my unfortunate -report. 'Here's a pretty business!' said I; 'pretty chance have I, -having thus made myself known to the Court as satirizing both Bench and -Bar.' Well, as Twiss truly narrates, I made my motion. The Chancellor -told me to 'take nothing' by it, and added, 'and, Mr. Rose, in this -case, the Chancellor does not doubt.' But Twiss has not told the whole -story. The anecdote, as he left it, conveys the notion of a taunting -displeased retaliation, and reminds one of the Scotch judge, who, after -pronouncing sentence of death upon a former companion whom he had found -it difficult to beat at chess, is alleged to have added, 'And now, -Donald, my man, I've checkmated you for ance!' - -"If Twiss had applied to me (I wish he had, for Lord Eldon's sake), I -might have told him what Lord Eldon, in his usual consideration for -young beginners, further did. Thinking that I might be (as I in truth -was) rather disconcerted at so unexpected a contretemps, he sent me -down a note to the effect that, so far from being offended, he had -been much pleased with a playfulness attributed to me, and hoped, -now that business was approaching me, I should still find leisure -for some relaxation; and he was afterwards invariably courteous and -kind; nay, not only promised me a silk gown, but actually--_credite -Posteri_--invited me to dinner. I have never known how that scrap -(which, like a Chancery suite which it reports, promises to be -_sine-final_) found its way into print."--_Note, in the Quarterly -Review._ - - - - -Hanging by Compact. - - -In 1827, there was recorded in the _London Magazine_ the following -strange instance of - - "The wearied and most loathed worldly life." - -Some few years ago, two fellows were observed by a patrol sitting by a -lamp-post in the New Road; and on closely watching them, he discovered -that one was _tying up_ the other (who offered no resistance) by the -neck. The patrol interfered, to prevent such a strange kind of murder, -when he was assailed by both, and pretty considerably beaten for his -good offices. The watchmen, however, poured in, and the parties were -secured. On examination next morning, it appeared that the men had been -gambling; that one had lost all his money to the other, and had at last -proposed to stake his clothes. The winner demurred: observing, that he -could not strip his adversary naked, in the event of his losing. "Oh," -replied the other, "do not give yourself any uneasiness about that. If -I lose, I shall be unable to live, and you shall hang me, and take my -clothes after I am dead; as I shall then, you know, have no occasion -for them." The proposed arrangement was assented to; and the fellow -having lost, was quietly submitting to the terms of the treaty, when -he was intercepted by the patrol, whose impertinent interference he so -angrily resented. - - - - -The Ambassador Floored. - - -Coleridge, in his _Table Talk_, truly says, "What dull coxcombs your -diplomatists at home generally are. I remember dining at Mr. Frere's -once in company with Canning, and a few other interesting men. Just -before dinner, Lord ---- called on Frere, and asked him to dinner. -From the moment of his entry, he began to talk to the whole party, and -in French, all of us being genuine English; and I was told his French -was execrable. He had followed the Russian army into France and had -seen a good deal of the great men concerned in the war. Of none of -those things did he say a word; but went on, sometimes in English, -and sometimes in French, gabbling about cookery, dress, and the like. -At last he paused for a little, and I said a few words, remarking how -a great image may be reduced to the ridiculous and contemptible by -bringing the constituent parts into prominent detail, and mentioned the -grandeur of the Deluge, and the preservation of life in Genesis and -the _Paradise Lost_, and the ludicrous effect produced by Drayton's -description in his _Noah's Flood_:-- - - "'And now the beasts are walking from the wood, - As well of ravine as that chew the cud, - The king of beasts his fury doth suppress, - And to the Ark leads down the lioness; - The bull for his beloved mate doth low, - And to the Ark brings on the fair-eyed cow.' - -"Hereupon, Lord ---- resumed, and spoke in raptures of a picture -which he had lately seen of Noah's Ark, and said the animals were all -marching two and two, the little ones first, and that the elephants -came last in great majesty, and filled up the foreground. 'Ah! no -doubt, my Lord,' said Canning; 'your elephants, wise fellows! stayed -behind to pack up their trunks!' This floored the ambassador for -half-an-hour." - - - - -"The Dutch Mail." - - -When, in 1827, Sir Richard Phillips published his _Personal Tour -through the Midland Counties_, he related the following amusing -incident:-- - -"When I was in Nottingham, I fell in with a plain elderly man, an -ancient reader of the _Leicester Herald_, a paper which I published -for some years in the halcyon days of my youth. Its reputation secured -to me many a hearty shake by the hand, accompanied by the watery eye -of warm feeling as I passed through the Midland counties. I abandoned -it in 1795, for the _Monthly Magazine_ and exchanged Leicester for -London. This ancient reader, hearing I was in Nottingham, came to -me with a certain paper in his hand, to call me to account for the -wearisome hours which an article in it had cost him and his friends. I -looked at it and saw it headed 'Dutch Mail,' and it professed to be a -column of _original Dutch_, which this honest man had been labouring to -translate, for he said he had not met with any other specimen of Dutch. -The sight of it brought the following circumstance to my recollection:-- - -"On the evening before one of our publications, my men and a boy were -frolicking in the printing-office, and they overturned two or three -columns of the paper _in type_. The chief point was to get ready in -some way for the Nottingham and Derby coaches, which at four in the -morning required 400 or 500 papers. After every exertion we were short -nearly a column, but there stood in the galleys a tempting column of -_pie_. Now, unlettered readers, mark--_pie_ is a jumble of odd letters, -gathered from the floor, &c., of a printing-office, and set on end, in -any manner, to be distributed at leisure in their proper places. Some -letters are topsy-turvy, often ten or twelve consonants come together, -and then as many vowels, with as whimsical a juxtaposition of stops. It -suddenly bethought me that this might be thought 'Dutch,' and, after -writing as a head, 'Dutch Mail,' I subjoined a statement that, 'just as -our paper was going to press, the Dutch Mail had arrived, but as we had -not time to make a translation, we had inserted its intelligence in the -original.' I then overcame the scruples of my overseer, and the _pie_ -was made up to the extent wanted, and off it went as _original Dutch_, -into Derbyshire and _Nottinghamshire_! In a few hours other matter, -in plain English, supplied its place for our local publication. Of -course all the linguists, schoolmasters, high-bred village politicians, -and correspondents of the _Ladies' Diary_, set their wits to work to -translate my Dutch, and I once had a collection of letters containing -speculations on the subject, or demanding a literal translation of -that which appeared to be so intricate. How the Dutch could read it -was incomprehensible! My Nottingham _quidnunc_ at times had, for above -four-and-thirty years, bestowed on it his anxious attention. I told him -the story, and he left me, vowing, that as I had deceived him, he would -never believe any newspaper again." - - - -Bad Spelling.[46] - - -There is a story of a man who borrowed a volume of _Chaucer_ from -Charles Lamb, and scandalized the gentle Elia in returning it by the -confidential remark, "I say, Charley, these old fellows spelt very -badly." We do not know what this precision would have said of the lords -and ladies of Morayshire 150 years ago, for, with few exceptions, -they spelt abominably. Even Henrietta, Duchess of Gordon, daughter -of the celebrated Earl of Peterborough, who writes most sensibly and -affectionately to her "deare freind, Mistress Elizabeth Dunbar," is not -immaculate in this respect. She talks of a "gownd," is "asured there -will be an opportunity," and speaks of "sum wise and nesessary end." -But it is a shame of us even to appear to disparage this excellent lady -for what was then such a usual infirmity. Her letters are, perhaps, -the most worth reading of any in Captain Dunbar's collection, and her -literary criticisms on the books she wishes her "deare freind" to read -are especially interesting. The gentlemen were, perhaps, still more -careless than the ladies in their spelling. Here are a couple of -notes, the latter of which is enough to make a modern salmon-fisher's -mouth water:-- - - "Cloavs, Jnr 29, 1703. - - "Affectionat Brother,--Cloavs and I shall met you the morou in the - Spinle moore, betwixt 8 and nine in the morning, where ye canot miss - good sporte twixt that and the sea. ffaile not to bring ane bottle of - brandie along, ffor I asheure you ye will lose the wadger. In the mean - time, we drink your health, and am your affectionat brother," - - "R. DUNBAR." - - "To the Laird off Thunderton--Heast, heast." - - "Innes, June 25, 5 at night. - - "Sir,--You will not (I hope) be displeased when I tell you that Wat. - Stronoch, this forenoon, killed _eighteen hundred Salmon and Grilses_. - But it is my misfortune that the boat is not returned yet from - Inverness, and I want salt. Therefore by all the tyes of friendship - send me on your own horses eight barrels of salt or more. When my boat - returns, none, particularly Coxton, shall want what I have. This in - great heast from, dear Archie, yours," - - "HARRIE INNES." - - "I know not but they may kill as many before 2 in the morning, for - till then I have the Raick, and to-morrow the Pott. These twenty years - past such a run was not as has been these two past days in so short a - time, therefore heast, heast; spare not horse hyre. I would have sent - my own horses, but they are all in the hill for peatts. Adieu, dear - Archie." - -[46] From the _Times'_ review of Captain Dunbar's _Letters_, 1865. - -Our ancestors seem to have regarded spelling much as we regard the -knowledge of French. It was disgraceful not to have a smattering of it, -but exceptional to have mastered it thoroughly. When we compare the -above notes, which would not confer much credit on a modern national -schoolboy, with a letter written by Duncan Forbes in 1745, we find -ourselves in quite a different atmosphere. The Lord President is -terribly angry with the Elgin justices for winking at smugglers; but he -writes like a scholar and a man of business. While on the subject of -spelling, we must select from Captain Dunbar's collection two choice -specimens of cacography, a "chereot," and "jelorfis." The reader -will probably guess that the former stands for chariot, as cheroots -were then unknown, but we defy him to unravel the latter without the -context. "Jelorfis" is the phonetic utterance of an unlucky wight -who had got into prison for giving a chop to another man's nose, -and stands in his vocabulary for "jailer's fees." There are several -characteristic letters from the celebrated Lord Lovat, in which his -Scottish pawkiness and French courtliness, no unusual mixture early in -the eighteenth century, are clearly displayed. This singular personage, -who may be described as Nature's outline sketch of a character which -she afterwards elaborated in the Bishop of Autun, but who, unlike -Talleyrand, had the misfortune to die in his stocking-feet, wrote his -letters on gilt-edged paper, enclosed in envelopes, and in these honied -words addresses the Dunbar of that day:-- - -"I am exceeding glad to know that you and your lady are well, and -having inquired at the bearer if you had children, he tells me that -you have a son, which gives me great pleasure, and I wish you and your -lady much joy of him, and that you may have many more, for they will be -the nearest relatives I have of any Dunbars in the world, except your -father's children; and my relation to you is not at a distance, as you -are pleased to call it, it is very near, and I have not such a near -relation betwixt Spey and Ness; and you may assure yourself that I will -always behave to you and yours as a relation ought to do; and I beg -leave to assure you and your lady of my most affectionate regards, and -my Lady Lovat's, and my young ones, your little cousins." - -Lord Lovat wrote this letter when he was past seventy. Four years -later, Dr. Carlyle, of Inveresk, then a mere youth, met him at Luckie -Vint's tavern. He describes him as a tall, stately man, with a very -flat nose, who, after imbibing a goodly quantity of claret, stood -up to dance with Miss Kate Vint, the landlady's niece. Five years -later still, his head fell on the scaffold at Tower Hill.[47] Here -we may pause to observe a curious instance of traditionary linkage. -Dr. Carlyle died within the first decade of this century, so that -many persons still living may have conversed with one who had been in -company with a man born early in the reign of Charles II. Lovat was -not only fond of flattering other people, but liked to be flattered -himself also. This he accomplished by the simple expedient of sending -self-laudatory puffs to the _Edinburgh Courant_ and _Mercury_, for -the insertion of which paragraphs he paid from half-a-crown to four -shillings each. - -[47] For an account of Lord Lovat's execution, see _Century of -Anecdote_, vol. i., p. 124. - - - - -A "Single" Conspirator. - - -About thirty years ago, when those atrocious crimes were committed -which made the name of Burke a generic title for certain murders, -an old woman entered the shop of a surgeon-apothecary in an Irish -county-town and offered to sell him a "subject." He was quite ready to -complete the contract, but he desired to learn some details for his -guidance as to the value of the object in question, and put to her -for this purpose certain queries. Imagine his horror to discover that -"the subject" was at that very moment alive, being a boy of nine or -ten years of age, but of whom, the bargain being made, the old woman -was perfectly prepared to "dispose," she being so far provident as -not to bring a perishable commodity to market till she had secured a -purchaser. Determined that such atrocity should not go unpunished, -he made an appointment with her for another day, on which she should -return and more explicitly acquaint him with all she intended to -do, and the means by which she meant to secure secrecy. At this -meeting--that his testimony should be corroborated--he managed that a -policeman should be present, and, concealed beneath the counter, listen -to all that went forward. The interview, accordingly, took place; -the old woman was true to her appointment, and most circumstantially -entered into the details of the intended assassination, which she -described as the easiest thing in life--a pitch-plaster over the mouth -and a tub of water being the inexpensive requisites of the case. When -her narrative, to which she imparted a terrible gusto, was finished, -the policeman came forth from his lair and arrested her. She was thrown -at once into prison, and sent for trial at the next assizes. Now, -however, came the difficulty. For what should she be arraigned? It was -not murder--it was still incomplete. It was, therefore, conspiracy to -kill; but a single individual cannot "conspire;" and so, to fix her -with the crime, it would be necessary to include the surgeon in the -indictment. If they wanted to try the old woman, the doctor must share -the dock. Now, all the ardour for justice could scarcely be supposed to -carry a man so far; the doctor "demurred" to the arrangement, and the -old hag was set at liberty.--_Blackwood's Magazine._ - - - - -A Miscalculation. - - -We have in England an old story of a luckless wight, who, having -calculated he should live a certain number of years, parcelled out -his income accordingly; but finding he lived to become penniless, he -took to begging, and affixed on his breast a small box to receive -contributions, with this brief but significant prayer: "Pray remember a -poor man who has lived longer than he thought he should." - -In 1843, the counterpart of this strange story really happened in -Paris to a man named Jules André Gueret. When twenty-five years of -age, he possessed a considerable fortune, and resolved never to marry. -He converted his entire estate into hard cash, and, in order not -to suffer any losses from failures, depreciation of property, &c., -he kept his money in his own possession. He had made the following -calculation:--"The life of a sober man extends over a period of seventy -years; that of a man who denies himself no kind of amusement may attain -fifty-five or sixty; thus the whole of my hopes cannot go beyond that -period; at any rate, as a last resort, suicide is at my command." He -divided his money into equal portions for each year's expenditure. -This division was so nicely arranged, that, at the expiration of -the sixtieth year, Gueret would have nothing left, and each year he -scrupulously spent the sum set apart. But, alas! he had not reflected -on the clinging attachment of man to life, for in 1843, having exceeded -the prescribed period, he patiently submitted to his misfortune, and, -being then old and infirm, he took his stand on the Quai des Célestins -with a small box and a few lucifer-matches, living on the charity of -the passers-by. He wore suspended round his neck a piece of pasteboard, -on which were written the following lines of his own composing:-- - - "Ayez pitié, passants, du pauvre André Gueret, - Dont la vie est plus longue, hélas! qu'il ne croyait." - -The cholera carried him off at last, to the great regret of the -_artistes_ of the Ile St. Louis, whose leisure hours he whiled away -by the relation of his youthful recollections. He died in one of the -hospitals of Paris. - - - - -An Indiscriminate Collector. - - -In the _Scotsman_, May, 1866, we find the following curious case of -eccentricity related as having occurred in the city of Edinburgh: it -is strongly tinged with oddity, and would be fairly laughed at did it -not present a lamentable instance of waste of means. The details are -as follows:--A good many years ago, a gentleman who filled a prominent -situation in one of the Edinburgh banks, at a good old age, married -his servant. The pair lived happily together for several years, when -the gentleman died, leaving by his will 1,000_l._ to his widow, in -addition to an annuity of 300_l._ and a mansion, which he had built -and elegantly furnished; it is situated in the midst of a garden, -surrounded by a high stone wall. Shortly after her husband's death, -the widow became notorious for two peculiarities: first, the rigid -exclusion of all visitors from her house, the invariable answer to -all entreaties to see her being that she was not at home, or could -not be seen; the second was her constant attendance at book and most -other sales which took place in Edinburgh, where during the season she -might daily be seen carrying a large blue bag, in which she deposited -and carried home her purchases, which were of the most miscellaneous -description. Matters went on thus for some twenty years. On Sunday, May -6, 1866, the old lady, in her usual health, went into her garden to -take the air, and, as she did not return so speedily as was her wont, -her servant looked out at the main door, when she found her mistress -sitting on the stone steps dead. This unexpected event speedily cleared -up the mystery which enveloped her domestic relations. - -On the house being entered by warrant from the sheriff, it was found -converted into a vast magazine for the conservation of the purchases -of the last twenty years. The lobby had been decorated with statuary -figures, standing, with the pedestals, some eight feet high; but these -were totally hidden by piles of books, intermixed with rubbish of every -description, heaped up on every side--a narrow passage being left in -the centre. Every room in the house was filled with piles of books, -rotten mattresses, stuffed dogs, female dresses, made and unmade, -cheap jewelry, old bonnets, pictures, and prints, with a great variety -of other articles, intermixed with straw, hair, shavings, &c., which -covered all the floors to the depth of several feet; and similar piles -filled the beds, and lay heaped on every article of furniture in the -house. The smell from the mass of festering rubbish was intolerable. -Upwards of five tons weight of books had to be removed before the rooms -could be inspected. Most of the smaller articles were found tied up -in bags or parcels, in the state in which they had been brought home. -The deceased, it seems, cleared a hole which she had scooped out amid -a vast quantity of rubbish in one of the rooms, and there, on the -floor, with only a hair mattress beneath her, the tick of which had -rotted away on one side, she took her rest in the dress she daily wore, -without blankets or covering of any kind. - -The deceased, though a purchaser of books to so large an extent, -never read any, nor knew anything of their value; and when asked what -were their uses, her answer was that she brought them to present to -ministers or the children of her friends. The tenacity with which she -preserved the secrets of her prison-house may also be judged of by the -fact that her servant, a young Highland girl, had never, though she had -been six months in her service, been beyond the walls of the garden. -The girl was carefully locked up every time the deceased left the house -until her return, and she never was allowed to go out of her mistress' -sight. - - - - -The Bishops' Saturday Night. - - -The Reverend Sydney Smith, on the bare suggestion that Lord John -Russell's Church Commission should collect the Church revenues, and pay -the hierarchy out of them, imagined and described the scene of payment -in the following irresistible words:--"I should like to see this -subject in the hands of H. B. I would entitle the print,-- - - "The Bishops' Saturday Night; or, - Lord John Russell at the - Pay-Table." - -"The Bishops should be standing before the pay-table, and receiving -their weekly allowance; Lord John and Spring Rice counting, ringing, -and biting the sovereigns, and the Bishop of Exeter insisting that the -Chancellor of the Exchequer has given him one which was not weight. -Viscount Melbourne, in high chuckle, should be standing with his hat -on, and his back to the fire, delighted with the contest; and the Deans -and Canons should be in the background waiting till their turn came, -and the Bishops were paid; and among them a Canon of large composition, -urging them not to give way too much to the Bench. Perhaps I should add -the President of the Board of Trade, recommending the truck principle -to the Bishops, and offering to pay them in hassocks, cassocks, aprons, -shovel-hats, sermon-cases, and such like ecclesiastical gear." - - - - -"Rather Than Otherwise." - - -Theodore Hook gives somewhere a finished trait of one of those -characters who are so dreadfully tenacious of truth, that they will -not risk losing their hold of it by a direct answer to the simplest -question. A gentleman who was very much in debt had a servant with this -sort of scrupulous conscientiousness. He was horribly dunned and in -such daily danger of arrest, that the sight of a red waistcoat (which -the myrmidons of the sheriff wore in the last century) threw him into -a sort of scarlet fever. One day he had reason to believe that during -his absence an unpleasant visitor of that description had called, -and on returning, he was very particular in his inquiries respecting -the persons who had been at the house. His cautious servant partly -described one calling who excited his alarm. "What kind of man was -he?" The girl could not say. "Had he any papers in his hand?" She did -not observe. "Did he wear top-boots?" The cautious housemaid could not -charge her memory. At last, as a final effort to satisfy his curiosity, -the tantalized debtor gasped out a final question, "Had he," he asked -almost dreading the answer, "a red waistcoat?" The girl stood for a -moment in an attitude of profound cogitation, and after she had worked -up her master to the highest pitch of impatience by delay, drawled out, -"Well, sir, I think he had--_rather than otherwise_." - - - - -Classic Soup Distribution. - - -While the Relief Act was in operation in Ireland, in time of famine, -one of the committees received the following answer to an advertisement -for the post of clerk:-- - - "Qui Bavium non odit, amet tua carmina, Mævi." - - VIRG. _Ecl._ iii., 90. - - "Ego sum--I am - Parvus homo--A little man, - Aptus vivere--Fit to live - In quod dabis--On what you'll give; - Per totam diem--And, the whole day, - Familiariter--'In the family way.' - Distribuere--Out to deal - Farinam Indicam--Indian meal, - Aut jus Soyerum--Or Soyer's soup, - Multo agmini--To many a troup, - Mulierum et hominum--Of woman and man - Stanneo vase--With a tin can. - Hoc tibi mitto--I send this in, - (Ne peccatum--No Murtherin' sin,) - Nam locum quæro--For a place I seek, - Ut quaque hebdomada--That every week - Fruar et potiar--We may '_hob and nob_' - Quindecem 'Robertullis'--On Fifteen 'Bob.'" - - CAIUS JULIUS BATTUS, Philomath. - - "_Ballinahown, v. Prid._ 1 d. Maii, MDCCCLVII." - -The Irish paper from which this is taken adds, that the classic -candidate was rejected. - - - - -Alphabet Single Rhymed. - - -An eccentric Correspondent of _Notes and Queries_, who signs -"Eighty-one," has sent to that journal the following amusing -trifle--an Alphabet constructed on a single rhyme:-- - - "A was an Army, to settle disputes; - B was a Bull, not the mildest of brutes; - C was a Cheque, duly drawn upon Coutts; - D was King David, with harps and with lutes; - E was an Emperor, hailed with salutes; - F was a Funeral, followed by mutes; - G was a Gallant, in Wellington boots; - H was a Hermit, and lived upon roots; - J was Justinian, his Institutes; - K was a Keeper, who commonly shoots; - L was a Lemon, the sourest of fruits; - M was a Ministry--say Lord Bute's; - N was Nicholson, famous on flutes; - O was an Owl, that hisses and hoots; - P was a Pond, full of leeches and newts; - Q was a Quaker, in whitey-brown suits; - R was a Reason, which Paley refutes; - S was a Serjeant, with twenty recruits; - T was Ten Tories, of doubtful reputes; - U was uncommonly bad cheroots; - V vicious motives, which malice imputes; - X an Ex-King, driven out by émeutes; - Y is a Yawn; then the last rhyme that suits, - Z is the Zuyder Zee, dwelt in by coots." - - - - -Non Sequitur and Therefore. - - -Lord Avonmore was subject to perpetual fits of absence of mind, and was -frequently insensible to the conversation that was going on. He was -wrapped in one of his wonted reveries, and not hearing one syllable -of what was passing (it was at a large professional dinner given by -Mr. Burke), Curran, who was sitting next to his Lordship, having been -called on for a toast, gave, "All our absent friends," patting at the -same time Lord Avonmore on the shoulder and telling him he had just -drunk his health. Taking the intimation as a serious one, Avonmore -rose, and apologizing for his inattention, returned thanks to the -company for the honour they had done him by drinking his health. - -There was a curious character, Serjeant Kelly, at the Irish bar. He -was, in his day, a man of celebrity. Curran used to give some odd -sketches of him. His most whimsical peculiarity was his inveterate -habit of drawing conclusions directly at variance with his premises. -He had acquired the name of _Serjeant Therefore_. Curran said that he -was a perfect human personification of a _non sequitur_. For instance, -meeting Curran one Sunday, near St. Patrick's, he said to him, "The -Archbishop gave us an excellent discourse this morning. It was well -written and well delivered: therefore I shall make a point of being -at the Four Courts to-morrow at ten." At another time, observing to -a person whom he met in the street, "What a delightful morning this -is for walking!" he finished his remark on the weather by saying, -"therefore, I will go home as soon as I can, and stir out no more the -whole day." - -His speeches in Court were interminable, and his _therefore_ kept him -going on, though every one thought that he had done. The whole Court -was in a titter when the Serjeant came out with them, whilst he himself -was quite unconscious of the cause of it. - -"This is so clear a point, gentlemen," he would tell the jury, "that -I am convinced you felt it to be so the very moment I stated it. I -should pay your understanding but a poor compliment to dwell on it -for a minute; _therefore_, I shall now proceed to explain it to you -as minutely as possible." Into such absurdities did the Serjeant's -favourite "therefore" betray him. - - - - - INDEX. - - - Abbey, Fonthill, building of, 6 - - Abershawe, Jerry, gratitude of, 546 - - Ackermann, the publisher, and William Combe, 474 - - Adams, Jack, the astrologer of Clerkenwell Green, 130 - - Advertising for a wife, 95 - - Agapemone, the, or abode of love, 68 - - Albemarle, the eccentric Duchess of, 519 - - Alchemists, modern, 124-29 - - Alchemy, predictions of, 129 - - -- revival of, 125, 129 - - Alcibiades' dog and Henry Constantine Jennings, 107 - - Alcobaça and Batalha monasteries, 5 - - Alphabet single rhymed, 565 - - Ambassador floored, 553 - - Amen--Peter Isnell, 231 - - Angelo and Peter Pindar, 471 - - Anglesey, Marquis of, his leg at Waterloo, 169 - - Apocalypse, interpretation of, 510 - - Archbishop, a witty one, 504 - - Archer, Lady, Account of, 122 - - Artists, eccentric, 330 - - Astrology, modern, 136-139 - - Avonmore, Lord, his absence-of-mind, 566 - - - Bank of Faith, Huntington's, 220 - - Banks, the eccentric Miss, 80 - - Banting's cure for corpulence, 256 - - Barnard's Inn, and Woulfe the alchemist, 126 - - Baron Ward's remarkable career, 109-112 - - Bassle, Martin, the calculator, 491 - - Beckfords, the, and Fonthill, 1-19 - - Beckford, Alderman, 1 - - -- -- his Monument speech, 19 - - -- William, at Bath, 16-18 - - -- Mozart, and Voltaire, 3 - - Bees, Wildman's docile, 276 - - Bentham, Jeremy, bequest of his remains, 166 - - Bentinck, Lord George, at Doncaster, 299 - - Berkeley, the Hon. Grantley, his youthful days, 304 - - Betty, W. H. W., "Young Roscius," 364 - - Bidder, George, the calculator, 492 - - Birth, extraordinary, 271 - - Bishops' Saturday night, 563 - - Blake, William, painter and poet, 339 - - -- -- death of, 349 - - -- -- by Dr. de Boismont, 345 - - -- -- in Fountain Court, 348 - - -- -- married, 342 - - "Blue Key," the, 533 - - Boaden, Mr., his account of "Young Roscius," 366 - - "Bolton Trotters," origin of, 319 - - Bonaparte caricatured by Gilray, 336 - - "Bonassus," the, and Lord Stowell, 278 - - Bond, Mrs., of Cambridge Heath, Hackney, 72 - - Bone and Shell Exhibition, 317 - - Books, Mr. Heber's collections, 487 - - Book-collector, Heber, the, 485 - - Border marriages, 65 - - Boruwlaski, Count, the Polish dwarf, 258 - - -- and Bébé, dwarfs, 260 - - -- buried at Durham, 267 - - -- and the Empress Maria Theresa, 260 - - -- introduced to George IV. by Charles Mathews, 264 - - -- and the Irish giant, 263 - - -- letter of, 266 - - -- married, 263 - - Boyhood of Edmund Kean, 398 - - Bradshaw, Mr., M.P., and Maria Tree, courtship of, 413 - - Brandy in tea, 534 - - Bridgwater, the eccentric Earl of, 103 - - Bright, the fat miller of Malden, 253 - - Brighton races thirty years ago, 292 - - Brothers, the "Prophet," 194 - - Brougham, Lord, and Father Mathew, 183 - - Brummel and Aunt Brawn, 34 - - -- Beau, origin of, 22 - - -- at Calais and Caen, 31 - - -- dress of, 24 - - -- fall of, 30 - - -- and Madame de Staël, 26 - - -- mental decay of, 31 - - -- upon neckcloths, 24 - - -- portrait of, 22 - - -- and the Prince of Wales, 22, 26 - - -- and the snuff-box, 28 - - Brummel's practical jokes, 25 - - -- sayings, 32 - - Bryan, the Marylebone fanatic, 189 - - Building Fonthill Abbey, 6 - - Bunn, A., and his mysterious parcel, 400 - - Burial bequests, 159 - - Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill, 163 - - Burke and Pitt caricatured by Gilray, 334 - - Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall, 525 - - Buxton, Jedediah, account of, 493 - - Byron, Lord, and Monk Lewis, 420 - - Byron's description of Cintra, 4 - - - "Cabbage Cooke," of Pentonville, 86 - - Calculators, extraordinary, 490 - - Cambridge Heath, Mrs. Bond's Hut at, 72 - - Canning, Mr., and the King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands, 57 - - -- on Grattan's eloquence, 460 - - -- his humour, 451 - - -- by Lord Byron, 460 - - -- and Lord Eldon, 459 - - -- in office, 456 - - -- and the present of fustian, 451 - - -- and Prince Metternich, 454 - - -- and the "Queen of Spades," 452 - - -- and his college servant, 457 - - -- and Sydney Smith, 459 - - Canning's epitaph on the Marquis of Anglesey's leg, 169 - - -- _Friend of Humanity_, and _Knife-grinder_, 454 - - Capon, the scene-painter, 322 - - "Caraboo, the Princess," 246 - - -- "Princess," and Napoleon Bonaparte, 248 - - Caricatures by Gilray, 334 - - Carlton House Fête and Romeo Coates, 43 - - Carter Foote, of Tavistock, 114 - - _Castle Spectre_, Mrs. Powell's mistake, 423 - - Catching a cayman, 325 - - Cavendish, Hon. H., his wealth, 135 - - -- the woman-hating, 134 - - Chancery _jeu-d'esprit_, 551 - - Charade by Dr. Whately, 508 - - Charke, Charlotte, Colley Cibber's daughter, 410 - - Charnwood Forest, Liston in, 392 - - Chatham, Lord, and the Beckfords, 2 - - Chesterfield, Lord, estimate of, 78 - - -- -- his will, 542 - - Cibber, Colley, his daughter, 410 - - Cintra, Beckford's estate at, 4 - - Clerkenwell, "Lady Lewson," of, 89 - - "Clown" tavern, the, Sadler's Wells, 527 - - Club, the Mulberries, Shakspearian, 408 - - "Coal-heaver," Huntington, 219 - - Coates, his "Lothario," 42 - - -- Romeo and Diamond, 41 - - -- his cockleshell curricle, 42, 43 - - Cobbett, eccentricities of, 481 - - -- and Tom Paine's bones, 484 - - Cobbett's gridiron sign, 482 - - -- nicknames, 484 - - -- _Political Register_, 482 - - -- _Porcupine Papers_, 481 - - Colburn, Zerah, the calculator, 491 - - Coleraine, eccentric Lord, 321 - - Collector, an indiscriminate, 305 - - Combe, William, author of _Dr. Syntax_, 472 - - -- -- in the King's Bench Prison, 473 - - -- -- on lithography, 473 - - Conspirator, single, 561 - - Convivial eccentricities, 525 - - Conyngham family, rise of the, 105 - - Cooke, Thomas, the Pentonville miser, 82 - - -- -- the Turkey merchant, 87 - - Cooke, T. P., in melodrama and pantomime, 404 - - "Corner Memory Thompson," 238 - - Corpulence, oddities of, 256 - - Costume of "Lady Lewson," 90 - - Cottle Church, account of the, 171 - - Courtship, luckless, of Sir E. Dering, 59 - - Crab, Roger, the hermit of Bethnal Green, 153 - - Cranford Bridge Inn, 307 - - -- sporting life at, 304 - - _Crazy Jane_, by Monk Lewis, 423 - - Cripplegate Vault story, 160 - - Criticism, rare, 370 - - "Cunning Mary, of Clerkenwell," 179 - - Curtis, the Old Bailey eccentric, 312 - - "Cutting" quarrel of the Prince of Wales and Brummel, 26 - - - Dantlow, the Russian dwarf, 268 - - Dawson, Daniel, at Doncaster, 296 - - Day, John, and Fairlop Fair, 280 - - Dee, Dr., his black stone, 175 - - Denisons, the, and the Conyngham family, 105 - - Dering, Sir Edward, his luckless courtship, 59 - - Devil's Walk, origin of the, 196 - - Devonshire, Duchess of, and Brummel, 32 - - -- eccentrics, 113 - - Dick England the gambler, 290 - - Dinely, Sir John, advertising for a wife, 95 - - "Dog Jennings," 107 - - Doncaster eccentrics, 296 - - Doran, Dr., his account of William Combe, 474 - - Dowton in tragedy, 390 - - -- oddities of, 389 - - _Dr. Syntax_, the author of, 472 - - Dress, Brummel's, 24, 30 - - Duality of the mind, by Dr. Wigan, 232 - - Dunbar, Captain, his letters, 556 - - Dunlop's remarks on Mrs. Radcliffe's writings, 476 - - Dust-sifting and dust-heaps, profits of, 92 - - "Dutch Mail," the, 554 - - Dwarfs, organisation of, 268 - - - Eccentrics delight in extremes, 94 - - Elegy on a geologist, 328 - - Elliot, the Gretna priest, 66 - - Elliston at Richmond, 415 - - England, Dick, the gambler, 290 - - Epicure, what he eats in his lifetime, 536 - - Epitaphs, odd, 538 - - Etching, Gilray's rapid, 338 - - Executions, taste for witnessing, 314 - - - Fairlop Fair and John Day, 280 - - Fall of Fonthill Tower, 11 - - Family, an odd one, 543 - - Fanatics, a trio of, 189 - - Farquhar, Mr., and Fonthill, 11 - - -- -- sketch of, 13 - - Fat folks, epitaphs on, 257 - - -- -- Lambert and Bright, 249 - - Fidge, Dr., his strange death, 161 - - Finch, Crow, and Raven, and Sir E. Dering, 60 - - -- Margaret, Queen of the Gipsies, 178 - - Fire of London cinder heap, 94 - - Flaxman, letters to, from Blake, 344 - - Fleet marriage of Miss Pelham and a highwayman, 64 - - Flight, Miss, of the Temple, 547 - - Fonthill and the Beckfords, 1 - - -- cost of, 13 - - -- destroyed by fire, 2 - - -- sales at, 10 - - Fonthill, three houses, 6 - - -- village, 9 - - Footpad, the grateful, 546 - - Fordyce, Dr., the gourmand, 288 - - -- -- and his patient, 289 - - Fuller, honest Jack, 165 - - Funeral of Cooke, the Turkey merchant, 88 - - -- of Jemmy Hirst, 298 - - Fuseli and Blake, 349 - - - Gardner, the worm doctor, 161 - - Garrick, and Dance's portrait of him, 375 - - -- and Hardham of Fleet Street, 368 - - -- Mrs., death of, 374 - - -- -- her funeral, 376 - - -- -- and Horace Walpole, 377 - - Garrick's acting described by Munden, 388 - - Geologist, elegy on a, 328 - - George III. and Lord Mayor Beckford, 2, 20 - - George IV. and Mrs. Bond's wealth, 72 - - German for astronomy, 538 - - Giant, the Irish, 270 - - Gilchrist's _Life of Blake_, 339 - - Gilray and his caricatures, 330 - - -- caricatures George III., 330 - - -- in St. James's Street, 332 - - Gin, on, 536 - - Golden Ball Tavern, Sadler's Wells, 527 - - "Goose" Tavern, Islington, 527 - - Gourmand physician, 288 - - Green, Hannah, or the "Ling Bob Witch," 139 - - Greenwich dinner, 539 - - Gretna Green marriages, history of, 63 - - -- "Blacksmith" Paisley, 67 - - -- marriages abolished, 68 - - -- and its priests, 66 - - Grimaldi, the clown, account of, 382 - - Grimaldi finds money, 384 - - -- old, and "No Popery," 383 - - Grimaldi's first appearance, 383 - - -- farewell, 385 - - Guildhall, the Beckford Monument in, 19 - - Guy's eccentric inscription and epitaph, 160 - - - Hallucination, strange, 236 - - Hallucinations, What are they? 232, 233 - - Hanging by compact, 553 - - Hardham family, anecdote of, 159 - - Hardham's "No. 37," 368 - - Hayley and Blake, 344 - - Heber the book-collector, 485 - - Hermit advertised for, 151 - - -- the Dorset, 150 - - -- of Hawkstone, 151 - - -- Leicestershire, 147 - - -- of Moor Park, 151 - - -- Pain's Hill, 146 - - -- near Preston, 146 - - -- of Selbourne, 150 - - -- near Stevenage, 152 - - -- vegetarian, 154 - - Hermits and eremitical life, 145 - - -- ornamental, 150 - - Hill, Rowland, his preaching, 185 - - _Hindoo Bride_, Monk Lewis's, 418 - - Hoax, princely, at Brighton, 283 - - Hood, Thomas, account of, 497 - - -- -- at school, 497 - - -- set up in business, 498 - - -- and Sir Robert Peel, 501 - - -- death and burial of, 503 - - Hood's _Epping Hunt_, 499 - - -- first work, 499 - - -- ode to Grimaldi, 386 - - -- _Up the Rhine_, 500 - - -- various works, 499 - - Hook, Theodore, hoaxes Romeo Coates, 44 - - Hopkins, the dwarf, 268 - - Host, eccentric, 544 - - House-warming, a costly one, 112 - - Hull, Richard, buried on Leith Hill, 165 - - Hunting experiences at Cranford, 308 - - Huntington buried at Lewes, 228 - - -- the preacher, sketch of, 219 - - -- at Hermes Hill, 229 - - -- marries Lady Sanderson, 226 - - Huntington's preaching and portrait, 230, 231 - - -- Bank of Faith, 220 - - -- effects, sale of, 229 - - -- leather breeches, 222 - - -- Providence Chapel, 225 - - -- spiritual advice, 227 - - Hutton, William, and "Strong Woman," 274 - - Hypochondriasis, cure for, 241 - - -- remarkable, 240 - - - Irving, the Scottish minister, 184 - - -- a millenarian, 187 - - Islington, Charles Lamb's cottage at, 494 - - -- old taverns, 526 - - - Jemmy Hirst at Doncaster, 296 - - Jerrold, Douglas, at the Mulberries Club, 409 - - Jerusalem Whalley, account of, 191 - - Jesse, Captain, his account of Brummel, 24 - - - Kean, Edmund, his boyhood, 398 - - -- -- undervalued by Dowton, 390 - - Kellerman, the alchemist, in Beds, 127 - - Kelly, Serjeant Otherwise, 567 - - Kemble, Fanny, in the United States, 407 - - Kemble, John, and the O. P. Riot, 371 - - Kenyon, Lord, his parsimony, 77 - - - Labelliere, Major, buried on Box Hill, 165 - - "Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell, 89 - - Lamb, Charles, at Munden's last performance, 387 - - -- -- his cottage at Islington, 494 - - Lambert, Daniel, and Boruwlaski, the Dwarf, 251 - - -- -- account of, 249 - - -- -- his funeral, 253 - - Lansdown, Bath, Beckford's tomb at, 19 - - -- Tower, Bath, 13 - - Laughter, sources of, 520 - - Legacy to Queen Victoria, 99 - - Lewis, Monk, account of, 417 - - -- -- in the West Indies, 421 - - Liston in a counting-house, 394 - - -- and Stephen Kemble, 396 - - -- and Tate Wilkinson, 397 - - -- in tragedy, 391 - - Liston's first appearance, 396 - - Literary madmen, 508 - - Llangollen, the Recluses of, 155 - - London eccentric, the, 322 - - Lothario Coates, at the Haymarket Theatre, 42 - - Lovat, Lord, and Miss Kate Vint, 559 - - Love-passage, an eccentric one, 413 - - - Mackinnon, Colonel, his practical joking, 287 - - Mackintosh, Cool Sir James, 478 - - -- Sir James, his Recordership of Bombay, 480 - - Madmen, literary, 508 - - Maginn, Dr., epitaph on, 538 - - Manchester punch house, 530 - - Mansfield, the Essex butcher, 254 - - Masquerade incident, 402 - - Mathews, C., Spanish ambassador hoax, 378 - - Mathew, Father, and the Temperance movement, 182 - - Mellish, Colonel, sketch of, 294 - - Miscalculation, an odd one, 560 - - Monk Lewis, account of, 417 - - Mormon, the book of, 210 - - -- Church in Ontario, 214 - - -- city of Nauvoo, on the Mississippi, 216 - - -- Zion in Utah, 218 - - Mormonism, the founder of, 210 - - Moser, Mary, the flower-painter, 78 - - Mulberries, the Shakespearian Club, 408 - - Mummy of a Manchester lady, 239 - - Munden's last performance, 387 - - Mytton, John, in adversity at Calais, 52 - - -- family of, 48, 49 - - -- his extravagances, 50 - - Mytton's death and funeral, 53 - - - Neeld, Joseph, and Philip Rundell, 102 - - Neild, J. C., his legacy to Queen Victoria, 99 - - Nelson, Lord, at Fonthill, 8 - - Newcastle, the romantic Duchess of, 516 - - Newland, Abraham, chief cashier of the Bank of England, 44 - - -- -- his epitaph, 46 - - -- -- song, 45 - - -- -- his wealth, 47 - - Nimrod's life of John Mytton, 51 - - -- sketch of Colonel Mellish, 294 - - Nokes, of Hornchurch, his eccentric funeral, 162 - - Nollekens, the sculptor, eccentricities of, 350 - - Nollekens, his avarice, 350 - - -- and the barber, 356 - - -- and Lord Coleraine, 322 - - -- and the Hawkinses, 354 - - -- and the legacy-hunters, 360 - - -- married, 352 - - -- and Northcote, 357 - - -- at Rome, 351 - - -- at the Royal Academy Club, 355 - - -- and his sitters, 352, 358 - - -- Mrs., her wardrobe, 355 - - Nollekens' bust of Dr. Johnson, 352 - - -- bell-tolling, 351 - - -- gaieties, 357 - - -- generosity, 362 - - -- parsimony, 353 - - -- spelling, 357 - - -- wardrobe, 361 - - -- will, 362 - - Non Sequiter and therefore, 566 - - Norwood Gipsies, 177 - - - Oddities of Dowton, 389 - - Old Bailey Character, 312 - - "Old Rag," the Earl of B., 76 - - Old Red Lion Tavern, St. John Street Road, 526 - - O. P. Riot, the, History of, 96 - - Orton, Job, his wine-bin coffin, 161 - - Oyster and Parched-Pea Club, 529 - - - Parcel, a mysterious one, 400 - - Parr, Dr., at Cambridge, 441 - - -- -- at Cards, 442 - - -- -- at Colchester, 440 - - -- -- his generosity, 443 - - -- -- at Harrow and Stanmore, 437 - - -- -- at Hatton, 438 - - -- -- and Dr. Johnson, 439 - - Parr, Dr., oddities of, 435 - - -- -- the Prince of Wales, and Duke of Sussex, 442 - - -- -- on the Shakespeare forgeries, 440 - - -- -- and Sir W. Jones, 436 - - -- -- his smoking, 440 - - -- -- his Spital sermon, 444 - - Parsimony of J. C. Neild, 99 - - -- of Lord Kenyon, 77 - - "Paul Pry," origin of, 372 - - Pembroke, Lord, his port wine, 540 - - Perpetual-motion seeker, 513 - - Peter Pindar, Dr. Wolcot, 460 - - -- -- Giffard, and Wright, 466 - - -- -- and Nollekens, 465 - - -- -- outwits a publisher, 466 - - -- -- death and burial of, 470 - - -- Pindar's attacks on Geo. III., 464 - - -- -- lines on Dr. Johnson, 465 - - -- -- satires, 464 - - Petersham, Lord, Capt. Gronow's account of, 55 - - -- coat, snuff and snuff-boxes, and equipages, 56 - - Pitt, Thomas, cheapening his coffin, 162 - - _Poetical Sketches_, by W. Blake, 340 - - Poole, John, his _Paul Pry_, 372 - - "Poor Man of Mutton" and the Earl of B., 76 - - Pope's lines on Ward, the miser, 74 - - Porson at Cambridge, 430 - - -- at the cider cellar, 428 - - -- and Horne Tooke, 428 - - -- and the young Oxonian, 434 - - -- and Perry, of the _Morning Chronicle_, 426 - - -- portrait of, 433 - - Porson's drinking, 429 - - -- eccentricities, 425 - - -- epigrams, 426 - - -- wit and repartee, 431 - - Preachers, eccentric, 184 - - Price, Dr. the alchemist, 124 - - Prince, Brother, and the Agapemone, 69 - - Prophecies of Lady Hester Stanhope, 141 - - Punch, tremendous bowl of, 541 - - Punch House, at Manchester, 530 - - - Quackery, Successful, 545 - - "Quid Rides?" 318 - - - Radcliffe, Mrs., and the critics, 475 - - "Rather than otherwise," 564 - - Redding, Mr. Cyrus, his account of Mr. Beckford, 17 - - Recluses of Llangollen, 155 - - Redpost Fynes, 115 - - Reece, Dr., and Joanna Southcote, 202 - - Richebourg, the historical dwarf, 269 - - Richmond, Duke of, and T. P. Cooke, 406 - - Ride in a sedan, 548 - - Robinson, Long Sir Thomas, 542 - - Roderick Dhu, Mr. T. P. Cooke, as, 405 - - _Romeo and Juliet_ in America, 407 - - Roscius, Young, account of, 363 - - -- -- his earnings, 367 - - -- -- first appears, 364 - - -- -- in London, 365 - - -- -- his popularity, 367 - - -- -- in Scotland, 364 - - -- -- sketch of, 363 - - Rothschild, his life and adventures, 96 - - Rowlandson, the caricaturist, 474 - - -- and Gilray, the caricaturists, 339 - - Royal Society Club, H. Cavendish at, 133 - - Rundell, Philip, his great wealth, 102 - - Ryland, the forger, and Blake, painter, 340 - - - Sandwich Islands, King and Queen of, their visit to England, 57 - - Scotch ladies, singular, 70 - - Scott, Mr. John, in Parliament, 549 - - -- Sir Walter, and Monk Lewis, 420 - - Scottish marriage law, 65 - - Sedan, ride in, 548 - - Seven Dials, what became of them? 309 - - Shakespeare Monument, George IV. and Elliston, 402 - - Shark story, by Monk Lewis, 422 - - Sharp, the engraver, fanaticism of, 189 - - Sibly's work on astrology, 139 - - Sicilian boy calculator, 490 - - Sidi Mohammed and Hindustanee cookery, 113 - - Skeffington, Sir Lumley, his amateur acting, 36 - - -- -- -- his lines to Miss Foote and Madame Vestris, 38 - - Smart, Christopher, the poetical lunatic, 511 - - Smith, Albert, and Seven Dials, 309 - - -- Joseph, the Mormon prophet, 210 - - Snell, Hannah, the female soldier, 116 - - Snuff-taking legacies, 158 - - Soane, Sir John, lampooned, 488 - - Songs, by W. Blake, 343 - - Soup distribution, classic, 565 - - Sources of laughter, 520 - - Southcote, Joanna, 198 - - Southcote, Joanna, and the coming of Shiloh, 200 - - -- -- her funeral and grave, 205, 206 - - -- -- her visions, chapel, and seals, 209 - - Southcotonian hymns, 206 - - Southcotonians at Temple Bar, 207 - - Spanish ambassador hoax, Mathews', 378 - - Spelling, bad, 556 - - Spenceans, the religio-political sect, 197 - - Spendthrift Squire of Halston, 48 - - Stanhope, Lady Hester, oddities of, 141 - - Stewart, walking, sketch of, 300 - - -- -- a general, 300 - - Stokes' Amphitheatre, Islington Road, 528 - - Stowell, Lord, his love of sight-seeing, 277 - - Strangely eccentric, yet sane, 232 - - - Taverns, old, at Islington, 526 - - Temple, notoriety of the, 546 - - Thackeray and Waterton, 328 - - Tipsy village, 535 - - Tooke and D'Alembert, 449 - - -- -- his daughters, 448 - - -- and the income tax, 450 - - -- and the judges, 445 - - -- John Horne, oddities of, 444 - - -- and Purley, 446 - - -- and Wilks, a retort, 444 - - -- the poulterer, and the Prince of Wales, 445 - - Tooke's death and burial, 450 - - -- Sunday dinners, 447 - - -- wit, 450 - - Tozer, the Southcotonian preacher, 204 - - Traveller, the listless, 325 - - Travellers, eccentric, 323 - - Trekschuit tourist, the, 324 - - Trotter, Miss Menie, eccentricities of, 70 - - True to the text, 415 - - - Urim and Thummin, and Mormon Records, 211 - - - Van Amburgh, the lion tamer, 324 - - Vathek, by W. Beckford, 4 - - -- dramatised, 4 - - Visions by W. Blake, 340 - - - Wadd's comments on corpulence, 254 - - Wales, Prince of, and Beau Brummel, 22, 26 - - "Walking Stewart," sketch of, 300 - - Walpole's account of Lord Mayor Beckford's speech, 20 - - -- chattels saved by a talisman, 174 - - Walpole, Horace, on William Combe, 475 - - Ward, Baron, his remarkable career, 109 - - -- John, the Hackney miser, 74 - - -- the miser's prayer, 76 - - -- and the South Sea scheme, 74 - - Waters, Sir John, his escape, 285 - - Waterton, Charles, the traveller, 324 - - Wealth of Mr. Beckford, 18 - - Wellington, Lord, hoaxed, 288 - - Whately, the witty archbishop, 504 - - Wildman and his bees, 276 - - Wilkes, John, Sheridan on, 335 - - Will of J. C. Neild, 99 - - Wirgman, the Kantesian, 512 - - "Witch Pickles," of Leeds, 137 - - Wolcot, Dr.--_see_ Peter Pindar. - - -- -- in Cornwall, 462 - - -- -- in Jamaica, 461 - - -- -- and Opie, the painter, 463 - - -- -- and Royal Academicians, 463 - - Woman-hating Cavendish, 132 - - "Wonder of all the wonders that the world ever wondered at," 243 - - "Wooden spoon, the," 535 - - Woulfe, Peter, the chemist and alchemist, 126 - - - Young, Brigham, the Mormon prophet, 218 - - -- Roscius, sketch of the, 87--_see_ Roscius, Young. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - - PRINTED BY - SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE - LONDON - -[Illustration] - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: - -Obvious printer errors have been corrected. 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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: English Eccentrics and Eccentricities - -Author: John Timbs - -Release Date: November 12, 2015 [EBook #50439] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH ECCENTRICS, ECCENTRICITIES *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Whitehead, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - ENGLISH ECCENTRICS. - - - - - PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON - - - - - [Illustration: THE EARL OF BRIDGEWATER AND HIS DOGS.] - - - - - ENGLISH ECCENTRICS AND - ECCENTRICITIES - - - BY - JOHN TIMBS - - AUTHOR OF 'CLUBS AND CLUB LIFE IN LONDON' ETC. - - - [Illustration] - - - A NEW EDITION - WITH 48 ILLUSTRATIONS - - - - - LONDON - CHATTO & WINDUS - 1898 - - - - -_PREFACE._ - - -Gentle Reader, a few words before we introduce you to our ECCENTRICS. -They may be odd company: yet how often do we find eccentricity in the -minds of persons of good understanding. Their sayings and doings, it -is true, may not rank as high among the delicacies of intellectual -epicures as the Strasburg pies among the dishes described in the -_Almanach des Gourmands_; but they possess attractions in proportion to -the degree in which "man favours wonders." Swift has remarked, that "a -little grain of the romance is no ill ingredient to preserve and exalt -the dignity of human nature, without which it is apt to degenerate -into everything that is sordid, vicious, and low." Into the latter -extremes Eccentricity is occasionally apt to run, somewhat like certain -fermenting liquors which cannot be checked in their acidifying courses. - -Into such headlong excesses our Eccentrics rarely stray; and one of -our objects in sketching their ways, is to show that with oddity of -character may co-exist much goodness of heart; and your strange fellow, -though, according to the lexicographer, he be outlandish, odd, queer, -and eccentric, may possess claims to our notice which the man who is -ever studying the fitness of things would not so readily present. - -Many books of character have been published which have recorded the -acts, sayings, and fortunes of Eccentrics. The instances in the present -Work are, for the most part, drawn _from our own time_, so as to -present points of novelty which could not so reasonably be expected in -portraits of older date. They are motley-minded and grotesque in many -instances; and from their rare accidents may be gathered many a lesson -of thrift, as well as many a scene of humour to laugh at; while some -realize the well-remembered couplet or the near alliance of wits to -madness. - -A glance at the Table of Contents and the Index to this volume will, it -is hoped, convey a fair idea of the number and variety of characters -and incidents to be found in this gallery of ENGLISH ECCENTRICS. - -It should be added, that in the preparation of this Work, the Author -has availed himself of the most trustworthy materials for the staple -of his narratives, which, in certain cases, he has preferred giving -_ipsissimis verbis_ of his authorities to "re-writing" them, as it is -termed; a process which rarely adds to the veracity of story-telling, -but, on the other hand, often gives a colour to the incidents which -the original narrator never intended to convey. The object has been to -render the book truthful as well as entertaining. - - JOHN TIMBS. - - - - - _CONTENTS._ - - - WEALTH AND FASHION. - - PAGE - - _The Beckfords and Fonthill_ 1 - - _Alderman Beckford's Monument Speech in Guildhall_ 19 - - _Beau Brummel_ 22 - - _Sir Lumley Skeffington, Bart_ 36 - - _"Romeo" Coates_ 41 - - _Abraham Newland_ 44 - - _The Spendthrift Squire of Halston, John Mytton_ 48 - - _Lord Petersham_ 55 - - _The King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands_ 57 - - _Sir Edward Dering's Luckless Courtship_ 59 - - _Gretna-Green Marriages_ 63 - - _The Agapemone, or Abode of Love_ 68 - - _Singular Scotch Ladies_ 70 - - _Mrs. Bond, of Hackney_ 72 - - _John Ward, the Hackney Miser_ 74 - - "_Poor Man of Mutton_" 76 - - _Lord Kenyon's Parsimony_ 77 - - _Mary Moser, the Flower-Painter_ 78 - - _The Eccentric Miss Banks_ 80 - - _Thomas Cooke, the Miser of Pentonville_ 82 - - _Thomas Cooke, the Turkey Merchant_ 87 - - _"Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell_ 89 - - _Profits of Dust-sifting and Dust-heaps_ 92 - - _Sir John Dinely, Bart._ 95 - - _The Rothschilds_ 96 - - _A Legacy of Half-a-Million of Money_ 99 - - _Eccentricities of the Earl of Bridgewater_ 103 - - _The Denisons, and the Conyngham Family_ 105 - - "_Dog Jennings_" 107 - - _Baron Ward's Remarkable Career_ 109 - - _A Costly House-Warming_ 112 - - _Devonshire Eccentrics_ 113 - - _Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier_ 116 - - _Lady Archer_ 122 - - - DELUSIONS, IMPOSTURES, AND FANATIC - MISSIONS. - - _Modern Alchemists_ 124 - - _Jack Adams, the Astrologer_ 130 - - _The Woman-hating Cavendish_ 132 - - _Modern Astrology.--"Witch Pickles"_ 136 - - _Hannah Green; or, "Ling Bob"_ 139 - - _Oddities of Lady Hester Stanhope_ 141 - - _Hermits and Eremitical Life_ 145 - - _The Recluses of Llangollen_ 155 - - _Snuff-taking Legacies_ 158 - - _Burial Bequests_ 159 - - _Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill_ 163 - - _Jeremy Bentham's Bequest of his Remains_ 166 - - _The Marquis of Anglesey's Leg_ 169 - - _The Cottle Church_ 171 - - _Horace Walpole's Chattels saved by a Talisman_ 174 - - _Norwood Gipsies_ 177 - - "_Cunning Mary," of Clerkenwell_ 179 - - "_Jerusalem Whalley_" 181 - - _Father Mathew and the Temperance Movement_ 182 - - _Eccentric Preachers_ 184 - - _Irving a Millenarian_ 187 - - _A Trio of Fanatics_ 189 - - _The Spenceans_ 197 - - _Joanna Southcote, and the Coming of Shiloh_ 198 - - _The Founder of Mormonism_ 210 - - _Huntington, the Preacher_ 219 - - _Amen--Peter Isnell_ 231 - - _Strangely Eccentric, yet Sane_ 232 - - _Strange Hallucination_ 236 - - "_Corner Memory Thompson_" 238 - - _Mummy of a Manchester Lady_ 239 - - _Hypochondriasis_ 240 - - - STRANGE SIGHTS AND SPORTING SCENES. - - "_The Wonder of all the Wonders that the World ever - Wondered at_" 243 - - "_The Princess Caraboo_" 246 - - _Fat Folks.--Lambert and Bright_ 249 - - _A Cure for Corpulence_ 256 - - _Epitaphs on Fat Folks_ 257 - - _Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf_ 258 - - _The Irish Giant_ 270 - - _Birth Extraordinary_ 271 - - _William Hutton's "Strong Woman_" 274 - - _Wildman and his Bees_ 276 - - _Lord Stowell's Love of Sight-seeing_ 277 - - _John Day and Fairlop Fair_ 280 - - _A Princely Hoax_ 283 - - _Sir John Waters's Escape_ 285 - - _Colonel Mackinnon's Practical Joking_ 287 - - _A Gourmand Physician_ 288 - - _Dick England, the Gambler_ 290 - - _Brighton Races, Thirty Years since_ 292 - - _Colonel Mellish_ 294 - - _Doncaster Eccentrics_ 296 - - "_Walking Stewart_" 300 - - _Youthful Days of the Hon. Grantley Berkeley_ 304 - - _What became of the Seven Dials_ 310 - - _An Old Bailey Character_ 312 - - _Bone and Shell Exhibition_ 317 - - "_Quid Rides?_" 318 - - "_Bolton Trotters_" 319 - - _Eccentric Lord Coleraine_ 321 - - _Eccentric Travellers_ 323 - - _Elegy on a Geologist_ 328 - - - ECCENTRIC ARTISTS. - - _Gilray and his Caricatures_ 330 - - _William Blake, Painter and Poet_ 339 - - _Nollekens, the Sculptor_ 350 - - - THEATRICAL FOLKS. - - _The Young Roscius_ 363 - - _Hardham's "No. 37_" 368 - - _Rare Criticism_ 370 - - _The O. P. Riot_ 371 - - _Origin of "Paul Pry_" 372 - - _Mrs. Garrick_ 374 - - _Mathews, a Spanish Ambassador_ 378 - - _Grimaldi, the Clown_ 382 - - _Munden's Last Performance_ 387 - - _Oddities of Dowton_ 389 - - _Liston in Tragedy_ 391 - - _Boyhood of Edmund Kean_ 398 - - _A Mysterious Parcel_ 400 - - _Masquerade Incident_ 402 - - _Mr. T. P. Cooke in Melodrama and Pantomime_ 404 - - "_Romeo and Juliet" in America_ 407 - - _The Mulberries, a Shakspearian Club_ 408 - - _Colley Cibber's Daughter_ 410 - - _An Eccentric Love-Passage_ 413 - - _True to the Text_ 415 - - - MEN OF LETTERS. - - _Monk Lewis_ 417 - - _Porson's Eccentricities_ 425 - - _Parriana: Oddities of Dr. Parr_ 435 - - _Oddities of John Horne Tooke_ 444 - - _Mr. Canning's Humour_ 451 - - _Peter Pindar.--Dr. Wolcot_ 460 - - _The Author of "Dr. Syntax"_ 472 - - _Mrs. Radcliffe and the Critics_ 475 - - _Cool Sir James Mackintosh_ 478 - - _Eccentricities of Cobbett_ 481 - - _Heber, the Book-Collector_ 485 - - _Sir John Soane Lampooned_ 488 - - _Extraordinary Calculators_ 490 - - _Charles Lamb's Cottage at Islington_ 494 - - _Thomas Hood_ 497 - - _A Witty Archbishop_ 504 - - _Literary Madmen_ 508 - - _A Perpetual-Motion Seeker_ 513 - - _The Romantic Duchess of Newcastle_ 516 - - _Sources of Laughter_ 520 - - - CONVIVIAL ECCENTRICITIES. - - _Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall_ 525 - - _Old Islington Taverns_ 526 - - _The Oyster and Parched-Pea Club_ 529 - - _A Manchester Punch-House_ 530 - - "_The Blue Key_" 533 - - _Brandy in Tea_ 534 - - "_The Wooden Spoon_" 535 - - _A Tipsy Village_ 535 - - _What an Epicure Eats in his Life-Time_ 536 - - _Epitaph on Dr. William Maginn_ 538 - - _Greenwich Dinners_ 539 - - _Lord Pembroke's Port Wine_ 540 - - _A Tremendous Bowl of Punch_ 541 - - - MISCELLANEA. - - _Long Sir Thomas Robinson_ 542 - - _Lord Chesterfield's Will_ 542 - - _An Odd Family_ 543 - - _An Eccentric Host_ 544 - - _Quackery Successful_ 545 - - _The Grateful Footpad_ 546 - - _A Notoriety of the Temple_ 546 - - _A Ride in a Sedan_ 548 - - _Mr. John Scott (Lord Eldon) in Parliament_ 549 - - _A Chancery Jeu-d'Esprit_ 551 - - _Hanging by Compact_ 553 - - _The Ambassador Floored_ 553 - - "_The Dutch Mail_" 554 - - _Bad Spelling_ 556 - - _A "Single Conspirator_" 559 - - _A Miscalculation_ 560 - - _An Indiscriminate Collector_ 561 - - _The Bishops' Saturday Night_ 563 - - "_Rather than Otherwise_" 564 - - _Classic Soup Distribution_ 565 - - _Alphabet Single Rhymed_ 565 - - _Non Sequitur and Therefore_ 566 - - [Illustration] - - - - - _LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS._ - - - PAGE - - "Vathek" _Beckford. From a Medallion_ 1 - - _John Farquhar surveying the Ruins of Fonthill_ 21 - - _Beau Brummel. From a Miniature_ 22 - - _Lord Alvanley. A Pillar of White's_ 27 - - _Beau Brummel in Retirement at Calais_ 35 - - _Sir Lumley Skeffington in a_ "Jean de Brie" 36 - - _Sir Lumley Skeffington, as dressed for the - "Birthday Ball_" 40 - - _Robert Coates, the Amateur of Fashion, as "Romeo_" 41 - - _Squire Mytton of Halston on his Bear_ 48 - - _Lord Petersham; a noble Aide-de-Camp_ 55 - - _The Eccentric Miss Banks, an Old Maid on a Journey_ 80 - - _The First Rothschild--a well-known Character on - 'Change_ 96 - - _Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier_ 116 - - _Lady Archer, Enamelling at her Toilet_ 122 - - _The Alchemist_ 124 - - _Jack Adams, the Astrologer_ 130 - - _A Hermit of the Sixteenth Century_ 145 - - _Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Mary Ponsonby, the - Recluses of Llangollen_ 156 - - _Major Peter Labelliere, a Christian Patriot_ 163 - - _Margaret Finch, the Norwood Gipsy_ 177 - - _Edward Irving, the Millenarian_ 184 - - _Joanna Southcote_ 198 - - _Facsimile of Autograph with Seal of the Elect_ 209 - - _William Huntington, the Converted Coalheaver_ 219 - - _The pretended Princess Caraboo_ 246 - - _Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf, in Disgrace - with his Wife_ 259 - - _The Prince Regent, a Back View_ 284 - - _Colonel Mellish and Buckle his Agent_ 294 - - _Curtis, an Old-Bailey Character_ 312 - - _Corder, the Murderer of Maria Martin_ 316 - - _Lord Coleraine, keeping an Apple Stall_ 321 - - _Nollekens, the Sculptor. From J. T. Smith's Life_ 350 - - _Master Betty, the "Young Roscius", as "Norval_" 363 - - _Mrs. Garrick in her Youth_ 374 - - _Charles Mathews the Elder_ 378 - - _Joe Grimaldi as Clown_ 382 - - _Liston as "Paul Pry"_ 391 - - _Edmund Kean as "Richard III._" 398 - - _T. P. Cooke in "Black Eyed Susan"_ 404 - - _Charlotte Charke, Colley Cibber's Daughter_ 411 - - _M. G. Lewis, Author of "the Monk_" 417 - - _Professor Porson_ 425 - - _Dr. Parr_ 435 - - _William Cobbett, Peter Porcupine and the_ - "Political Register" 481 - - _Jedediah Buxton, the Calculator_ 490 - - _Lamb's Cottage, Colebrook Row_ 495 - - _Margaret Lucas, Duchess of Newcastle_ 516 - - _Lord Eldon (John Scott)_ 549 - - - - -ENGLISH ECCENTRICS. - - - - -_WEALTH and FASHION._ - -[Illustration: "Vathek" Beckford.] - - - - -The Beckfords and Fonthill. - - -The histories of the Beckfords, father and son, present several points -of eccentricity, although in very different spheres. William Beckford, -the father, was famed for his great wealth, which chiefly consisted -of large estates in Jamaica; and the estate of Fonthill, near Hindon, -Wilts. He was Alderman of Billingsgate Ward, London, and a violent -political partisan with whom the great Lord Chatham maintained a -correspondence to keep alive his influence in the City. When Beckford -opposed Sir Francis Delaval to contest the borough of Shaftesbury, the -latter said-- - - Art thou the man whom men famed Beckford call? - -To which Beckford replied-- - - Art thou the much more famous Delaval?= - -Alderman Beckford died on the 21st of June, 1770, in his second -mayoralty, within a month after his famous exhibition at Court, when, -after presenting a City Address to George III., and having received -his Majesty's answer, he was said to have made the reply which may be -read on his monument in Guildhall, but which he never uttered. The day -before Beckford died, Chatham forced himself into the house in Soho -Square (now the House of Charity), and got away all the letters he had -written to the demagogue Alderman. His house at Fonthill, with pictures -and furniture to a great value, was burnt down in 1755. The Alderman -was then in London, and on being informed of the catastrophe, he took -out his pocket-book and began to write, and on being asked what he was -doing, he coolly replied, 'Only calculating the expense of rebuilding -it. Oh! I have an odd fifty thousand pounds in a drawer, I will build -it up again; it won't be above a thousand pounds each to my different -children.' The house was rebuilt. - -The Alderman had several natural sons, to each of whom he left a -legacy of 5,000_l._; but the bulk of his property went to his son -by his wife, who was then a boy ten years old, and is said to have -thus come into a million of ready money, and a revenue exceeding -100,000_l._ Three years later, Lord Chatham, who was his godfather, -thus describes him to his own son William Pitt--"Little Beckford is -just as much compounded of the elements of air and fire as he was. A -due proportion of terrestrial solidity will I trust come and make him -perfect." The promise which his liveliness and precocity had given, -was fulfilled by a _jeu-d'esprit_, written by him in his seventeenth -year. This was a small work published in 1780, entitled _Biographical -Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters_, and originated as follows. The old -mansion at Fonthill contained a fine collection of paintings, which -the housekeeper was directed to show to applicants; but she often -told descriptions of the painters and the pictures, which were very -ludicrous. Young Beckford, therefore, to methodize and assist the -housekeeper's memory, wrote their lives, which she received from her -youthful master as matters-of-fact. Thus, after descanting on Gerard -Douw, she would add the particulars of that artist's patience and -industry in expending four or five hours in painting a broomstick. -There were other extravagancies which she believed; a few copies of the -book were printed to confirm her belief; hence the book is very rare. -Beckford, in after-life, spoke of it as his _Blunderbussiana_. It was, -in fact, a satire upon certain living artists, and the common slang of -connoisseurship. - -Young Mr. Beckford had been educated at home: he was quick and lively, -and had literary tastes; he had a great passion for genealogy and -heraldry, and studied Oriental literature. He had visited Paris, and -mixed in the society of that capital, in 1778, when he met Voltaire, -who gave him his blessing. He had fine taste for music, and had been -taught to play the pianoforte by Mozart. - -Mr. Beckford travelled and resided abroad until his twenty-second -year, when he wrote in French _Vathek_,[1] a work of startling beauty. -More than fifty years afterwards he told Mr. Cyrus Redding that he -wrote _Vathek_ at one sitting. "It took me," he said, "three days and -two nights of hard labour. I never took off my clothes the whole time. -This severe application made me very ill.... Old Fonthill had a very -ample loud echoing hall--one of the largest in the kingdom. Numerous -doors led from it into different parts of the house through dim, -winding passages. It was from that I introduced the Hall--the idea of -the Hall of Eblis being generated by my own. My imagination magnified -and coloured it with the Eastern character. All the females in _Vathek_ -were portraits of those in the domestic establishment of old Fonthill, -their fancied good or ill qualities being exaggerated to suit my -purpose." An English translation of the work afterwards appeared, the -author of which Beckford said he never knew; he thought it tolerably -well done. - -[1] _Vathek_ was dramatised by the Hon. Mrs. Norton some thirty -years since, and was offered to Mr. Bunn for Drury Lane Theatre, -but declined; the "exquisite beauties of Mrs. Norton's metrical -compositions being overloaded by a pressure of dialogue and a -redundancy of scenic effects, the fidelity and rapid succession -of which it would have puzzled any scene painter or mechanist to -follow."--_Bunn's Stage_, vol ii., p. 139. - -At twenty-four, Mr. Beckford married the Lady Margaret Gordon, daughter -of Charles, fourth Earl of Aboyne, but the lady died in three years. -In 1784 he was returned to Parliament for Wells; in 1790 he sat for -Hindon; but in 1794 he accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, and again went -abroad. He now fixed himself in Portugal, where he purchased an estate -near Cintra, and built the sumptuous mansion, the decoration and -desolation of which some years afterwards Lord Byron described in the -first canto of his _Childe Harold_, in the stanza beginning-- - - There thou too, Vathek! England's wealthiest son, - Once form'd thy Paradise, as not aware - When wanton Wealth her mightiest deeds hath done, - Meek Peace voluptuous lures was ever wont to shun. - Here didst thou dwell, here schemes of pleasure plan, - Beneath yon mountain's ever beauteous brow: - But now, as if a thing unblest by man, - Thy fairy dwelling is as lone as thou! - Here giant woods a passage scarce allow - To halls deserted, portals gaping wide: - Fresh lessons to the thinking bosom, how - Vain are pleasaunces on earth supplied; - Swept into wrecks anon by Time's ungentle tide! - -Many years after, Mr. Beckford published his Travels, one volume of -which was _An Excursion to the Monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha_. Of -the kitchen of the magnificent Alcobaça, he gives the following glowing -picture:--"Through the centre of the immense and groined hall, not less -than sixty feet in diameter, ran a brisk rivulet of the clearest water, -flowing through pierced wooden reservoirs, containing every sort and -size of the finest river-fish. On one side, loads of game and venison -were heaped up; on the other, vegetables and fruit in endless variety. -Beyond a long line of stoves extended a row of ovens, and close to them -hillocks of wheaten flour whiter than snow, rocks of sugar, jars of -the purest oil, and pastry in vast abundance, which a numerous tribe -of lay-brothers and their attendants were rolling out and puffing up -into a hundred different shapes, singing all the while as blithely as -larks in a cornfield!" The banquet is described as including "exquisite -sausages, potted lampreys, strange messes from the Brazils, and others -still more strange from China (_viz._ birds'-nests and sharks'-fins) -dressed after the latest mode of Macao, by a Chinese lay-brother. -Confectionery and fruits were out of the question here; they awaited -the party in an adjoining still more sumptuous and spacious saloon, to -which they retired from the effluvia of viands and sauces." On another -occasion, by aid of Mr. Beckford's cook, the party sat down to "one of -the most delicious banquets ever vouchased a mortal on this side of -Mahomet's paradise. The _macédoine_ was perfection, the ortolans and -quails lumps of celestial fatness, the _sautés_ and _bechamels_ beyond -praise; and a certain truffle-cream was so exquisite, that the Lord -Abbot piously gave thanks for it." - -Mr. Beckford returned to England in 1795, and occupied himself with -the embellishment of his house at Fonthill. Meanwhile, he had studied -Ecclesiastical Architecture, which induced him to commence building -the third house at Fonthill, considering the second too near a piece -of water. In 1801, the superb furniture was sold by auction; when the -furniture of the Turkish room, which had cost 4,000_l._, realized only -740 guineas. Next year there was a sale in London of the proprietor's -pictures. In 1807 the mansion was mostly taken down, when the materials -were sold for 10,000_l._; one wing was left standing, which was -subsequently sold to Mr. Morrison, M.P., who added to it, and adapted -it for a country seat. - -These proceedings were, however, only preliminary to the commencement -of a much more magnificent collection of books, pictures, curiosities, -rarities, bijouterie, and other products of art and ingenuity, to -be placed in the new "Fonthill Abbey," built in a showy monastic -style. Mr. Beckford shrouded his architectural proceedings in the -profoundest mystery: he was haughty and reserved; and because some of -his neighbours followed game into his grounds, he had a wall twelve -feet high and seven miles long built round his home estate, in order -to shut out the world. This was guarded by projecting railings on the -top, in the manner of _chevaux-de-frise_. Large and strong double gates -were provided in this wall, at the different roads of entrance, and at -these gates were stationed persons who had strict orders not to admit a -stranger. - -The building of the Abbey was a sort of romance. A vast number of -mechanics and labourers were employed to advance the works with -rapidity, and a new hamlet was built to accommodate the workmen. All -round was activity and energy, whilst the growing edifice, as the -scaffolding and walls were raised above the surrounding trees, excited -the curiosity of the passing tourist, as well as the villagers. It -appears that Mr. Beckford pursued the objects of his wishes, whatever -they were, not coolly and considerately like most other men, but with -all the enthusiasm of passion. No sooner did he decide upon any point -than he had it carried into immediate execution, whatever might be the -cost. After the building was commenced, he was so impatient to get -it furnished, that he kept regular relays of men at work night and -day, including Sundays, supplying them liberally with ale and spirits -while they were at work; and when anything was completed which gave -him particular pleasure, adding an extra 5_l._ or 10_l._ to be spent -in drink. The first tower, the height of which from the ground was 400 -feet, was built of wood, in order to see its effect; this was then -taken down, and the same form put up in wood covered with cement. This -fell down, and the tower was built a third time on the same foundation -with brick and stone. The foundation of the tower was originally that -of a small summer-house, to which Mr. Beckford was making additions, -when the idea of the Abbey occurred to him; and this idea he was so -impatient to realize, that he would not wait to remove the summer-house -to make a proper foundation for the tower, but carried it up on -the walls already standing, and this with the worst description of -materials and workmanship, while it was mostly built by men in a state -of intoxication. - -To raise the public surprise and afford new scope for speculation, a -novel scene was presented in the works in the winter of 1800, when in -November and December nearly 500 men were employed day and night to -expedite the works, by torch and lamp-light, in time for the reception -of Lord Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton, who were entertained -here by Mr. Beckford with extraordinary magnificence, on December -20, 1800. On one occasion, while the tower was building, an elevated -part of it caught fire and was destroyed; the sight was sublime, and -was enjoyed by Mr. Beckford. This was soon rebuilt. At one period, -every cart and waggon in the district were pressed into the service; -at another, the works at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, were abandoned -that 400 men might be employed night and day on Fonthill Abbey. These -men relieved each other by regular watches, and during the longest and -darkest nights of winter it was a strange sight to see the tower rising -under their hands, the trowel and the torch being associated for that -purpose. This Mr. Beckford was fond of contemplating. He is represented -as surveying from an eminence the works thus expedited, the busy bevy -of the masons, the dancing lights and their strange effects upon the -wood and architecture below, and feasting his sense with this display -of almost superhuman exertion. - -Upon one memorable occasion Mr. Beckford was willing to run the risk of -spoiling a good dinner, in order to show that nothing possible to man -was impossible to him. He had sworn by his beloved St. Anthony, that -he would have his Christmas dinner cooked in the new Abbey kitchen. -The time was short, the work was severe, for much remained to be done. -Still, Beckford had said it, and it must be done. So every exertion -that money could command was brought to bear. The apartment, indeed, -was finished by the Christmas morning, but the bricks had not time -to settle readily into their places, the beams were not thoroughly -secured, the mortar, which was to keep the walls together, had not -dried. However, Beckford had invoked the blessed St. Anthony, and he -would not depart from it. The fire was lit, the splendid repast was -cooked, the servants were carrying the dishes through the long passages -into the dining-room, when the kitchen itself fell in with a loud -crash; but it was not a misfortune of any consequence; no person was -injured, the master had kept his word, and he had money enough to build -another kitchen. - -Mr. Loudon, in 1835, collected at Fonthill some curious evidence in -confirmation of his idea that Mr. Beckford's enjoyments consisted of -a succession of violent impulses. Thus, when he wished a new walk to -be cut in the woods, or work of any kind to be done, he used to say -nothing about it in the way of preparation, but merely give orders, -perhaps late in the afternoon, that it should be cleared out and in a -perfect state by the following morning at the time he came out to take -his ride, and the whole strength of the village was then put upon the -work, and employed during the night and next day, when Mr. Beckford -came to inspect what was done; if he was pleased with it he used to -give a 5_l._ or 10_l._ note to the men who had been employed, to drink, -besides, of course, paying their wages, which were always liberal. His -charities were performed in the same capricious manner. Suddenly he -would order a hundred pairs of blankets to be purchased and given away; -or all the firs to be cut out of an extensive plantation, and all the -poor who chose to take them away were permitted to do so, provided it -were done in one night. He was also known to suddenly order all the -waggons and carts that could be procured to be sent off for coal to be -distributed among the poor. - -Mr. Beckford seldom rode out beyond his gates, but when he did he was -generally asked for charity by the poor people. Sometimes he used to -throw a one-pound note or a guinea to them; or he would turn round and -give the supplicants a severe horse-whipping. When the last was the -case, soon after he had ridden away, he generally sent back a guinea -or two to the persons whom he had whipped. In his mode of life at -Fonthill he had many singularities: though he never had any society, -yet his table was laid every day in the most splendid style. He was -known to give orders for a dinner for twelve persons and to sit down -alone to it, attended by twelve servants in full dress; yet he would -eat only of one dish, and send the rest away. There were no bells at -Fonthill, with the exception of one room, occupied occasionally by Mr. -Beckford's daughter, the Duchess of Hamilton. The servants used to -wait by turns in the ante-rooms to the apartments which Mr. Beckford -occupied; they were very small and low in the ceiling. He led almost -the life of a hermit within the walls of the Fonthill estate; here he -could luxuriate within his sumptuous home, or ride for miles on his -lawns, and through forest and mountain woods,--amid dressed parterres -of the pleasure-garden, or the wild scenery of nature. This garden, the -vast woods, and a wild lake, abounded with game, and the choristers -of the forest, which were not only left undisturbed by the gun, but -were fed and encouraged by the lord of the soil and his long retinue -of servants. A widower, and without any family at home, Mr. Beckford -resided at the Abbey for more than twenty years, ever active, and -constantly occupied in reading, music, and the converse of a choice -circle of friends, or in directing workmen in the erection of the -Abbey, which had been in progress since the year 1798. - -About the year 1822 his restless spirit required a change; besides -which his fortunes received a shock from which they never recovered. He -now purchased two houses in Lansdown Crescent, Bath, with a large tract -of land adjoining, and removed thither. The property at Fonthill was -then placed at the disposal of Mr. Christie, who prepared a catalogue -for the sale of the estate, the Abbey, and its gorgeous contents. The -place was made an exhibition of in the summer of 1822: the price of -admission was one guinea for each person, and 7,200 tickets were sold: -thousands flocked to Fonthill; but at the close of the summer, instead -of a sale on the premises, the whole was bought in one lot by Mr. -Farquhar, it was understood, for the sum of 350,000_l._ Mr. Beckford's -outlay upon the property had been, according to his own account, about -273,000_l._, scattered over sixteen or eighteen years. The reason he -assigned for disposing of the property was the reduction of his income -by a decree of the Court of Chancery, which had deprived him of two -of his Jamaica estates. "You may imagine their importance," he added, -"when I tell you that there were 1,500 slaves upon them." - -Mr. Farquhar, the purchaser of the property, was an old miser who had -amassed an immense fortune in India. By the advice of Mr. Phillips, the -auctioneer, of Bond Street, in the following year another exhibition -was made of Fonthill and its treasures, to which articles were added, -and the whole sold as genuine property; the tickets of admission were -half-a-guinea each, the price of the catalogues 12_s._, and the sale -lasted thirty-seven days. - -In December, 1825, the tower at Fonthill, which had been hastily built -and not long finished, fell with a tremendous crash, destroying the -hall, the octagon, and other parts of the buildings. Mr. Farquhar, -with his nephew's family, had taken the precaution of removing to the -northern wing: the tower was above 260 feet high. - -Mr. Loudon, when at Fonthill in 1835, collected some interesting -particulars of this catastrophe. He describes the manner in which -the tower fell as somewhat remarkable. It had given indications of -insecurity for some time; the warning was taken, and the more valuable -parts of the windows and other articles were removed. - -Mr. Farquhar, however, who then resided in one angle of the building, -and who was in a very infirm state of health, could not be brought to -believe there was any danger. He was wheeled out in his chair on the -front lawn about half an hour before the tower fell; and though he had -seen the cracks and the deviation of the centre from the perpendicular, -he treated the idea of its coming down as ridiculous. He was carried -back to his room, and the tower fell almost immediately. From the -manner in which it fell, from the lightness of the materials of which -it was constructed, neither Mr. Farquhar, nor the servants who were -in the kitchen preparing dinner, knew that it had fallen, though the -immense collection of dust which rose into the atmosphere had assembled -almost all the inhabitants of the village, and had given the alarm -even as far as Wardour Castle. Only one man (who died in 1833) saw -the tower fall; it first sank perpendicularly and slowly, and then -burst and spread over the roofs of the adjoining wings on every side. -The cloud of dust was enormous, so as completely to darken the air -for a considerable distance around for several minutes. Such was the -concussion in the interior of the building, that one man was forced -along a passage as if he had been in an air-gun to the distance of -30 feet, among dust so thick as to be felt. Another person, on the -outside, was, in like manner, carried to some distance; fortunately, -no one was seriously injured. With all this, it is almost incredible -that neither Mr. Farquhar, nor the servants in the kitchen, should -have heard the tower fall, or known that it had fallen, till they saw -through the window the people of the village who had assembled to see -the ruins. Mr. Farquhar, it is said, could scarcely be convinced that -the tower was down, and when he was so he said he was glad of it, for -that now the house was not too large for him to live in. Mr. Beckford, -when told at Bath by his servant that the tower had fallen, merely -observed, that it had made an obeisance to Mr. Farquhar which it had -never done to him. - -One of the last things which Mr. Beckford did, after having sold -Fonthill, and ordered horses to be put to his carriage to leave the -place for ever, was to mount his pony, ride round with his gardener, -to give directions for various alterations and improvements which he -wished to have executed. On returning to the house, his carriage being -ready, he stepped into it, and never afterwards visited Fonthill. -Though Mr. Beckford had spent immense sums of money there, it is -said, on good authority, 1,600,000_l._, it did not appear that he had -at all raised the character of the working classes: the effect was -directly the reverse; the men were sunk, past recovery, in habits of -drunkenness; and when Mr. Loudon visited Fonthill, there were only two -or three of the village labourers alive who had been employed in the -Abbey works. - -We now follow Mr. Beckford to Bath, where he was storing his twin -houses with some of the choicest articles from his old libraries and -cabinets; was forming and creating new gardens, with hot-houses and -conservatories, on the steep and rocky slope of Lansdown. On its summit -he built a lofty tower, which commands a vast extent of prospect. A -street intervened between the two houses, but they were soon united by -a flying gallery. One of these houses was fitted up for Mr. Beckford's -residence, and here he lived luxuriously; the splendour and state of -Fonthill being followed here on a smaller scale. In his wine-cellars he -had a portion of the nineteen pipes of the fine Malmsey Madeira, which -his father, Alderman Beckford, had bought. The merchant who imported -them offered them to Queen Charlotte, who could only purchase one, as -the price was so great; the Fonthill Croesus, however, purchased the -remainder of the cargo. - -The new proprietor of Fonthill was a very different man from Mr. -Beckford. Born in Aberdeen, Mr. John Farquhar, like many of his -countrymen, started in early life to seek his fortune in India. The -interest of some relatives procured him a cadetship in the service -of the East India Company, on the Bombay establishment; there the -young Scotsman had the certainty of slowly but steadily rising in -position, and should health be left to him, of enjoying a reputable and -independent competency. He, however, received a dangerous wound in the -leg, which first caused a painful and constant lameness, and soon after -led to general derangement of his health, and even danger to life -itself. He now obtained leave to remove to Bengal, partly in hopes of a -more salubrious climate, but chiefly in search of that medical talent -which was likely to be most abundant at the chief seat of Government. -Settled in Bengal, he obtained the advice of the best physicians. He -also studied chemistry and medicine; and it was before long generally -said that the sickly cadet who was so attached to chemical experiments, -was well fitted to be sent into the interior of the country, where -was a large manufactory of gunpowder established by the Government, -but which was unsuccessful. The shrewd Scotsman took charge of the -mill, henceforth the powder was faultless; and shortly after Farquhar -became the sole contractor for the Government. The Governor-General, -Warren Hastings, reposed much confidence in Farquhar; and this, added -to his own indefatigable vigour of mind, soon laid the foundation of a -fortune, which was rapidly increased by his penurious habits. - -It was the time when war and distresses in Europe kept the funds so -low, that fifty-five was a common price for the Three per cents. -Accordingly, as Farquhar's money accumulated, he sent large remittances -to his bankers, Messrs. Hoare, of Fleet Street, for investment in the -above tempting securities. When he had thus amassed half a million, he -determined to return to his native country, and he bade adieu to the -East where he had found the wealth he coveted. Landing at Gravesend, -he took his seat upon the outside of the coach, and in due time found -himself in London. Weather-beaten, and covered with dust, he made -his way to his bankers, and there, stepping up to one of the clerks, -expressed a wish to see Mr. Hoare himself. But his rough appearance -and common make of the clothes about his sunburnt limbs, suggested to -the clerk that he must be some unlucky petitioner for charity; and he -was left to wait in the cash-office until Mr. Hoare happened to pass -through. The latter was some time before he could understand who Mr. -Farquhar was. His Indian customer, indeed, he knew well by name, but -he had none of that hauteur which was then common with the successful -Anglo-Indians. At length, however, Mr. Hoare was satisfied as to the -identity of his wealthy visitor, who then asked him for 25_l._, and -saluting him, retired. - -On first arriving in England, Mr. Farquhar took up his abode with a -relative of some rank, who mixed a good deal in London society, and who -proposed to introduce to his circle Mr. Farquhar, by giving a grand -ball in honour of his successful return from India. This relative had -tolerated Mr. Farquhar's fancies as regarded his every-day attire; but -his fashionable mind was horrified when the day of the coming ball was -only a week off, and there was, nevertheless, no sign of his intending -to provide himself with a new suit of clothes for the gay occasion. He -ventured accordingly to hint to him the propriety of doing so; when -Mr. Farquhar made a short reply, packed up his clothes, and in a few -minutes was driven from the door in a hackney-coach, not even taking -leave of his too-critical host. - -He then settled in Upper Baker Street, where his windows were ever -remarkable for requiring a servant's care, and his whole house notable -for its dingy and dirty appearance; at which we cannot wonder when we -learn that his sole attendant was an old woman, and that from even -her intrusive care his own apartment was strictly kept free. Yet in -charitable deeds Mr. Farquhar was munificent to a princely extent, and -often, when he had left his comfortless home with a crust of bread -in his pocket to save the expenditure of a penny at an oyster shop, -it was to give away in the course of the day hundreds of pounds to -aid the distressed, and to cure and care for those who suffered from -biting poverty, hunger, and want. But in his personal expenditure he -was extremely parsimonious; and whilst he resided in Baker Street, he -expended on himself and his household but 200_l._ a year out of the -30,000_l._ or 40,000_l._ which his many sources of income must have -yielded him.[2] - -[2] Mr. Farquhar died July 6, 1826, in York Place, Marylebone, aged 76 -years; he was buried in St. John's Wood Chapel, where is a handsome -monument to his memory, with a medallion head of the deceased by P. -Row, sculptor. - -Such was the man who succeeded the luxurious Beckford at Fonthill! He, -however, sold the property about 1825, and died in the following year. -The immense fortune he had struggled to make, and to increase which -he had lived a solitary and comfortless life, he made no disposal of -by will; the law distributed it among his next-of-kin, and those he -favoured and those he neglected inherited equal portions. Three nephews -and four nieces became entitled to 100,000_l._ each. Fonthill Abbey had -been taken down, merely enough of its ruins being left to show where it -had stood. Mr. Farquhar possessed Fonthill for so short a time, and it -was demolished so soon after he had parted with it, and so many years -before Mr. Beckford followed him to the grave, that the latter lived -to know that its last proprietor was comparatively forgotten, and the -strange glories of the fantastic pile will be connected by the public -voice with no name but that of its eccentric architect. - -On settling at Bath, Mr. Beckford was frequently seen on horseback in -the streets with his groom, and appeared as the plain unostentatious -country gentleman: he was no longer the wealthy lord of Fonthill; still -his appearance always excited the gaze and speculation of idlers and -gossips. A dwarf, an Italian named Piero, was occasionally seen on -a pony with the groom, and strange conjectures were hazarded on the -history of this human phenomenon. The fact is, Mr. Beckford had taken -charge of him in Italy, when he was deserted by his parents and was -homeless and friendless; and he was brought to England by a humane -patron, who supported him through life. - -In 1844, Mr. Cyrus Redding, when at Bath, had several interviews and -conversations with Mr. Beckford, whose mind was then vigorous: his -spirits were good, and he displayed his wonted activity of body nearly -to the last. In his seventy-sixth year he said that he had never felt -a moment's _ennui_ in his life. He was the most accomplished man of -his time: his reading was very extensive; he used to say that he could -easily read and understand an octavo volume during his breakfast. -Besides the classical languages of antiquity, he spoke four modern -European tongues, and wrote three of them with great elegance. He read -Russian and Arabic. We have said that he was taught music by Mozart, to -whom he was so much attached, that when the great composer settled in -Vienna, Mr. Beckford made a visit to that capital "that he might once -more see his old master." - -Mr. Redding tells us that Mr. Beckford's custom, "in fine weather, was -to rise early, ride to the tower or about the grounds, walk back and -breakfast, and then read until a little before noon, generally making -pencil notes in the margin of every book, transact business with his -steward; afterwards, until two o'clock, continue to read and write, and -then ride out two or three hours." Mr. Beckford was never idle. When -planning or building, he passed the larger part of the day where the -work was proceeding. He sometimes expressed contempt by a sarcastic -sneer, peculiar to himself. Few could utter more cutting things -than the author of _Vathek_, the delivery with a caustic expression -of countenance that made them tell with double effect. Mr. Redding -once ventured to remark, "It must have cost you much pain to quit -Fonthill." "Not so much as you might think. I can bend to fortune. I -have philosophy enough not to cry like a child about a play-thing." Mr. -Britton, who had seen much of Mr. Beckford, tells us that the remarks -and opinions in the novels of _Cecil a Coxcomb_ and _Cecil a Peer_, -mostly written by Mrs. Gore when on a visit to Mr. Beckford at Bath, -afford the nearest approach he had seen in print to the language, the -ideas, the peculiar sentiments of the author of _Vathek_. - -Mr. Beckford continued to reside in Bath (except his annual visits -to the metropolis, when he lived in Park Lane and in Gloucester -Place[3]) for about twenty years, and died there on May 2, 1844, in the -eighty-fourth year of his age. His intention was to make the ground -attached to the Lansdown tower the place of his sepulchre, and he had -prepared and placed on the spot a granite sarcophagus, inscribed with -a passage from _Vathek_; but the ecclesiastical authorities refused -to consecrate the ground, the body was embalmed and placed in the -sarcophagus in the cemetery of Lyncomb, to the south of Bath. It was -afterwards removed to Lansdown, when the ground was consecrated. - -[3] Three other of Mr. Beckford's town houses were:--1. On the Terrace, -Piccadilly, part of the site of the newly-built mansion of Baron -Rothschild; 2. No. 1, Devonshire Place, New Road; and it is said, -though we do not vouch how correctly, 3. No. 27, Charles Street, -Mayfair, a very small house, looking over the garden of Chesterfield -House. - -The author of _Vathek_ was unquestionably a man of genius and rare -accomplishments. "But his abilities were overpowered and his character -tainted by the possession of wealth so enormous. At every stage his -money was like a millstone round his neck. He had taste and knowledge; -but the selfishness of wealth tempted him to let these gifts of the -mind run to seed in the gratification of extravagant freaks. He really -enjoyed travelling and scenery, but he felt it incumbent on him, as a -millionnaire, to take a French cook with him wherever he went;[4] and -he found that the Spanish grandees and ecclesiastical dignitaries who -welcomed him so cordially valued him as the man whose cook could make -such wonderful omelettes. From the day when Chatham's proxy stood -for him at the font till the day when he was laid in his pink granite -sarcophagus, he was the victim of riches. Had he had only 5,000_l._ a -year, and been sent to Eton, he might have been one of the foremost men -of his time, and have been as useful in his generation as, under his -unhappy circumstances, he was useless."[5] It may be added, that he was -worse: for he so threw about his money at Fonthill as to corrupt and -demoralise the simple country people. - -[4] In conformity with an old English custom, Mr. Beckford invariably -travelled with his bed among his luggage. - -[5] _Saturday Review._ - -Against this judgment must, however, be placed Mr. Beckford's own -declaration, that he never felt a single moment of _ennui_. - -Mr. Beckford left two daughters, the eldest of whom, Susan Euphemia, -was married to the Marquis of Clydesdale in 1810, and became Duchess of -Hamilton. The tomb at Lansdown, with its polished granite, emblazoned -shields, and bronzed and gilt embellishments, was not long cared for; -since in 1850, it presented in its neglected state a lamentable object. -_Vathek_ will be remembered. Byron, a good judge of such a subject, has -pronounced that "for correctness of costume, beauty of description, and -power of imagination," it far surpasses all other European imitations -of the Eastern style of fiction. - - - - -Alderman Beckford's Monument Speech, in Guildhall. - - -The speech on the pedestal of Beckford's statue, and referred to at -p. 2 _ante_, is the one which the Alderman is said to have addressed -to his Majesty on the 23rd of May, 1770, with reference to the King's -reply to the Remonstrance address which Beckford had presented:--"That -he should have been wanting to the public as well as to himself if he -had not expressed his dissatisfaction at the late address." Horace -Walpole thus notes the affair: "The City carried a new remonstrance, -garnished with my lord's own ingredients, but much less hot than the -former. The country, however, was put to some confusion by my Lord -Mayor, who, contrary to all form and precedent, tacked a volunteer -speech to the 'Remonstrance.' It was wondrous loyal and respectful, -but, being an innovation, much discomposed the solemnity. It is always -usual to furnish a copy of what is said to the King, that he may be -prepared with his answer. In this case, he was reduced to tuck up his -train, jump from the throne, and take sanctuary in his closet, or -answer extempore, which is not part of the Royal trade; or sit silent, -and have nothing to reply. This last was the event, and a position -awkward enough in conscience."--_Walpole to Sir Horace Mann_, May 24, -1770. - -Now, at the end of the Alderman's speech, in his copy of the City -addresses, Mr. Isaac Reed has inserted the following note:--"It is -a curious fact, but a true one, that Beckford did not utter one -syllable of this speech (on the monument). It was penned by John -Horne Tooke, and by his art put on the records of the City and on -Beckford's statue, as he told me, Mr. Braithwaite, Mr. Sayer, &c., at -the Athenæum Club.--Isaac Reed." There can be little doubt that the -worthy commentator and his friends were imposed upon. In the _Chatham -Correspondence_, volume iii., p. 460, a letter from Sheriff Townsend -to the Earl expressly states that with the exception of the words -"and necessary" being left out before the word "revolution," the Lord -Mayor's speech in the _Public Advertiser_ of the preceding day is -verbatim. (The one delivered to the King.)--_Wright_--_Note to Walpole._ - -Gifford says (_Ben Jonson_, VI. 481) that Beckford never uttered -before the King one syllable of the speech upon his monument; and -Gifford's statement is fully confirmed both by Isaac Reed (as above) -and by Maltby, the friend of Roger and Horne Tooke. Beckford _made_ -a "remonstrance speech" to the King; but the speech on Beckford's -monument is the after speech written for Beckford by Horne Tooke.--_See -Mitford, Gray, and Mason's Correspondence_, pp. 438, 439.--_Cuningham's -Note to Walpole_, v. 239. - -Such is the historic worth of this strange piece of monumental bombast, -upon which Pennant made this appropriate comment:-- - - The things themselves are neither scarce nor rare, - The wonder's how the devil they got there. - -[Illustration: Mr. John Farquhar over the ruins of Fonthill.] - - - - -[Illustration: Beau Brummel. (_From a miniature._)] - - - - -Beau Brummel. - - -This celebrated leader of fashion in the times of the Regency--George -Bryan Brummel--was born June 7, 1778. His grandfather was a pastrycook -in Bury Street, St. James's, who, by letting off a large portion of his -house, became a moneyed man. While Brummel's father was yet a boy, Mr. -Jenkinson came to lodge there, and this led to the lad being employed -in a Government office, when his lodger and patron had attained to -eminence; he was subsequently private secretary to Lord Liverpool, and -at his death, left the Beau little less than 30,000_l._ Brummel was -sent to Eton, and thence to Oxford, and at sixteen he was gazetted to a -cornetcy in the 10th Hussars, at that time commanded by the Prince of -Wales, to whom he had been presented on the Terrace at Windsor, when -the Beau was a boy at Eton. He became an associate of the Prince, then -two-and-thirty, but who, according to Mr. Thomas Raikes, disdained -not to take lessons in dress from Brummel at his lodgings. Thither -would the future King of nations wend his way, where, absorbed in the -mysteries of the toilet, he would remain till so late an hour that he -sometimes sent his horses away, and insisted on Brummel giving him a -quiet dinner, which generally ended in a deep potation. - -Brummel's assurance was one of his earliest characteristics. A great -law lord, who lived in Russell Square, one evening gave a ball, at -which J., one of the beauties of the time, was present. Numerous -were the applications made to dance with her; but being as proud as -she was beautiful, she refused them all, till the young Hussar made -his appearance; and he having proffered to hand her out, she at once -acquiesced, greatly to the wrath of the disappointed candidates. In -one of the pauses of the dance, he happened to find himself close to -an acquaintance, when he exclaimed, "Ha! you here? Do, my good fellow, -tell me who that ugly man is leaning against the chimney-piece." "Why, -surely you must know him," replied the other, "'tis the master of the -house." "No, indeed," said the Cornet, coolly; "how should I? I never -was invited." - -Captain Jesse, the biographer of Brummel, has drawn his portrait at -about this time. "His face was rather long and complexion fair; his -whiskers inclined to sandy, and hair light brown. His features were -neither plain nor handsome; but his head was well shaped, the forehead -being unusually high; showing, according to phrenological development, -more of the mental than the animal passions--the bump of self-esteem -was very prominent. His countenance indicated that he possessed -considerable intelligence, and his mouth betrayed a strong disposition -to indulge in sarcastic humour: this was predominant in every feature, -the nose excepted, the natural regularity of which, though it had -been broken by a fall from his charger, preserved his features from -degenerating into comicality. His eyebrows were equally expressive with -his mouth; and while the latter was giving utterance to something very -good-humoured or polite, the former, and the eyes themselves, which -were grey and full of oddity, could assume an expression that made the -sincerity of his words very doubtful. His voice was very pleasing." - -Brummel was one of the first who revived and improved the taste for -dress, and his great innovation was effected upon neckcloths; they were -then worn without stiffening of any kind, and bagged out in front, -rucking up to the chin in a roll: to remedy this obvious awkwardness -and inconvenience, he used to have his slightly starched; and a -reasoning mind must allow that there is not much to object to in this -reform. He did not, however, like the dandies, test their fitness -for use by trying if he could raise three parts of their length by -one corner without their bending; yet, it appears that if the cravat -was not properly tied at the first effort, or inspiring impulse, it -was always rejected. His valet was coming down stairs one day with a -quantity of tumbled neckcloths under his arm, and, being interrogated -on the subject, solemnly replied, "Oh, they are _our_ failures." -Practice like this, of course, made Brummel perfect; and his tie soon -became a model that was imitated but never equalled. The method by -which this most important result was attained, was thus told to Captain -Jesse:--"The collar, which was always fixed to his shirt, was so large -that, before being folded down, it completely hid his head and face; -and the white neckcloth was at least a foot in height. The first _coup -d'archet_ was made with the shirt-collar, which he folded down to its -proper size; and Brummel, then standing before the glass, with his chin -poked up to the ceiling, by the gentle and gradual declension of the -lower jaw, creased the cravat to reasonable dimensions, the form of -each succeeding crease being perfected with the shirt which he had just -discarded." - -"Brummel's morning dress was similar to that of every other gentleman. -Hessians and pantaloons, or top-boots and buckskins, with a blue coat -and a light or buff-coloured waistcoat, of course fitting to admiration -on the best figure in England. His dress of an evening was a blue -coat and white waistcoat, black pantaloons, which buttoned tight to -the ankle, striped stockings, and opera-hat; in fact he was always -carefully dressed, but never the slave of fashion. - -"Brummel's tailors were Schweitzer and Davidson in Cork Street; Weston; -and a German of the name of Meyer, who lived in Conduit Street. The -trousers which opened at the bottom of the leg, and were closed by -buttons and loops, were invented either by Meyer or Brummel. The Beau, -at any rate, was the first who wore them, and they immediately became -quite the fashion and continued so for some years." - -Brummel was addicted to practical jokes, one of which may be related. -The victim was an old French emigrant, whom he had met on a visit -to Woburn or Chatsworth, and into whose hair-pouch he managed to -introduce some finely-powdered sugar. Next morning the poor Marquis, -quite unconscious of his head being so well-sweetened, joined the -breakfast-table as usual; but scarcely had he made his bow and plunged -his knife into the Perigord pie before him, than the flies began to -desert the walls and windows to settle upon his head. The weather was -exceedingly hot; the flies of course numerous, and even the honeycomb -and marmalade upon the table seemed to have lost all attraction for -them. The Marquis relinquished his knife and fork to drive off the -enemy with his handkerchief. But scarcely had he attempted to renew -his acquaintance with the Perigord pie, than back the whole swarm -came, more teazingly than ever. Not a wing was missing. More of the -company who were not in the secret, could not help wondering at this -phenomenon, as the buzzing grew louder and louder every moment. Matters -grew still worse when the sugar, melting, poured down the Frenchman's -brow and face in thick streams; for his tormentors then changed their -ground of action, and having thus found a more vulnerable part, nearly -drove him mad with their stings. Unable to bear it any longer, he -clasped his head with both hands, and rushed out of the room in a cloud -of powder, followed by his persevering tormentors, and the laughter of -the company. - -Brummel was the autocrat of the world in which he moved. It has been -said that Madame de Staël was in awe of him, and considered her having -failed to please him as her greatest misfortune; while the Prince of -Wales having neglected to call upon her, she placed only as a secondary -cause of lamentation. The great French authoress, however, was not -without reason in her regrets; to offend or not to please Brummel was -to lose caste in the fashionable world, to be exposed to the most -cutting sarcasm and the most poignant ridicule. - -Captain Jesse thus tells the story of Brummel's _cutting_ quarrel with -the Prince of Wales. Lord Alvanley, Brummel, Henry Pierrepoint, and -Sir Harry Mildmay, gave at the Hanover Square Rooms a fête, which was -called the Dandies' Ball. Alvanley was a friend of the Duke of York; -Harry Mildmay, young, and had never been introduced to the Prince -Regent; Pierrepoint knew him slightly, and Brummel was at daggers -drawn with his Royal Highness. No invitation was, however, sent to the -Prince, but the ball excited much interest and expectation, and to the -surprise of the Amphitryons, a communication was received from his -Royal Highness intimating his wish to be present. Nothing, therefore, -was left but to send him an invitation, which was done in due form, -and in the name of the four spirited givers of the ball; the next -question was how were they to receive the guest, and which, after some -discussion, was arranged thus:--When the approach of the Prince was -announced, each of the four gentlemen took in due form a candle in -his hand. Pierrepoint, as knowing the Prince, stood nearest the door -with his wax-light; and Mildmay, as being young and void of offence, -opposite. Alvanley, with Brummel opposite, stood immediately behind the -other two. The Prince at length arrived, and, as was expected, spoke -civilly and with recognition to Pierrepoint, and then turned and spoke -a few words to Mildmay; advancing, he addressed several sentences to -Alvanley; and then turned towards Brummel, looked at him, but as if he -did not know who he was, or why he was there, and without bestowing on -him the slightest recognition. It was then, at the very instant he -passed on, that Brummel, seizing with infinite fun and readiness the -notion that they were unknown to each other, said aloud for the purpose -of being heard, "Alvanley, who's your fat friend?" Those who were in -front, and saw the Prince's face, say that he was cut to the quick by -the aptness of the remark. - -[Illustration: Lord Alvanley. A pillar of White's.] - -Mr. Grantley Berkeley (in his _Life and Recollections_) relates the -story less circumstantially:--"There is a well-known anecdote I am able -to correct, given to me by a medical friend of mine, who had it from -the late Henry Pierrepoint, brother to the late Lord Manners:--'We -of the Dandy Club issued invitations to a ball from which Brummel -had influence enough to get the Prince excluded. Some one told the -Prince this, upon which his Royal Highness wrote to say he intended -to have the pleasure of being at our ball. A number of us lined the -entrance-passage to receive the Prince, who, as he passed along, turned -from side to side to shake hands with each of us; but when he came to -Brummel, he passed him without the smallest notice, and turned to shake -hands with the man opposite to Brummel. As the Prince turned from that -man--I forget who it was--Brummel leaned forward across the passage, -and said, in a loud voice, 'Who is your fat friend?' We were all -dismayed; but in those days Brummel could do no wrong." - -The following story was supplied to Captain Jesse by a correspondent. -The Beau, it appears, had a great _penchant_ for snuff-boxes:--"Brummel -had a collection chosen with singular sagacity and good taste; and one -of them had been seen and admired by the Prince, who said, 'Brummel, -this box must be mine: go to Gray's and order any box you like in lieu -of it.' Brummel begged that it might be one with his Royal Highness' -miniature; and the Prince, pleased and flattered at the suggestion, -gave his assent to the request. Accordingly, the box was ordered, and -Brummel took great pains with the pattern and form, as well as with the -miniature and diamonds round it. When some progress had been made, the -portrait was shown to the Prince; who was charmed with it, suggested -slight improvements and alterations, and took the liveliest interest -in the work as it proceeded. All in fact was on the point of being -concluded when the scene at Claremont took place; [where this writer -describes the quarrel as originating, through the Prince preventing -Brummel from joining a party, on the plea of Mrs. Fitzherbert disliking -him.] A day or two after this, Brummel thought he might as well go to -Gray's and inquire about the box; he did so, and was told that special -directions had been sent by the Prince of Wales that the box was not to -be delivered: it never was, nor was the one returned for which it was -to have been an equivalent. It was this, I believe, more than anything -besides, which induced Brummel to bear himself with such unbending -hostility towards the Prince of Wales. He felt that he had treated him -unworthily, and from this moment he indulged himself by saying the -bitterest things. When pressed by poverty, however, and, as I suppose, -broken in spirit, he at a later period recalled the Prince's attention -to the subject of the snuff-box. Colonel Cooke (who was at Eton called -'Cricketer Cooke,' afterwards known as 'Kangaroo Cooke'), when passing -through Calais, saw Brummel, who told him the story, and requested -that he would inform the Prince Regent that the promised box had never -been given, and that he was now constrained to recall the circumstance -to his recollection. The Regent's reply was: 'Well, Master Kang, as -for the box it is all nonsense; but I suppose the poor devil wants a -hundred guineas, and he shall have them;' and it was in this ungracious -manner that the money was sent, received, and acknowledged. I have -heard Brummel speak of the affair of the snuff-box, but I never heard -him say that he received the hundred guineas." - -Brummel, late in life, stood to his Whig colours. His evening dress -consisted of a blue coat, with velvet collar and the consular button; -a buff waistcoat, black trousers and boots. His white neckcloth was -unexceptionable. The only articles of jewellery about him were a plain -ring and a massive chain of Venetian ducat-gold, which served as a -guard to his watch, and was evidently as much for use as ornament, only -two links of it were to be seen; those passed from the buttons of his -waistcoat to the pocket; the chain was peculiar, and was of the same -pattern as those suspended _in terrorem_ outside the principal entrance -to Newgate. The ring was dug out on the Field of the Cloth of Gold by a -labourer, who sold it to Brummel when he was at Calais. An opera-hat, -and gloves which were held in his hand, completed an attire that being -remarkably quiet, could never have attracted attention on any other -person. His _mise_ was peculiar only for its extreme neatness, and -wholly at variance with an opinion very prevalent among those who were -not personally acquainted with him, that he owed his reputation to his -tailor, or to an exaggerated style of dress. - -Brummel, however, maintained his supremacy in the world of fashion for -years after the Prince had _cut_ him. "But though even royal disfavour -could not seriously lower him, he managed in the end to do that which -no one else could do, he ruined himself; the gaming table, in the -long run, deprived him of all his fortune. Then came bills to supply -the deficiencies of the hour, and with that the consummation which -they never fail to bring about when necessity has recourse to them. A -quarrel ensuing with the friends joined in one of these acceptances, -and who accused him of taking the lion's share, he was obliged to quit -England and take up his abode at Calais. It has been said, ludicrously -enough, that Brummel and Bonaparte fell together. The Moscow of the -former, according to his own account, was a crooked sixpence, to -the possession of which his good fortune was attached, but which he -unfortunately lost. - -"But, if he had lost his magical sixpence, he had not yet exhausted all -his friends, from some of whom he was continually receiving even large -sums of money, so much in one instance as a thousand pounds. He was -thus enabled to furnish his lodgings according to his usual refined -habits, and living much retired, he set seriously to work in acquiring -the French language, and succeeded. - -"His resources now decreased. Some friends were lost to him by death, -others, perhaps, grew weary of relieving him. A visit of George IV. -held out to him a momentary gleam of hope. But the king came to Calais, -and did not send for him, or in any way notice him. Still he was not -wholly bereft of friends, but continued from time to time to receive -remittances from England; and at length, by the intervention of the -Duke of Wellington with King William, Brummel was appointed English -Consul in the capital of Lower Normandy. By this time he was deeply -involved in debt, and when he had settled at Caen, the large deductions -made from his income to discharge the arrears of debt incurred at -Calais left him an insufficiency for a man of his habits. He became as -deeply involved at Caen as he had before been at Calais. Next, upon his -own showing of its uselessness, the consulate at Caen was abolished, -and he was left penniless. He obtained funds from England. But he had -more than one attack of paralysis. He was flung into prison at Caen -by his French creditors, and confined in a wretched, filthy den, with -felons for his companions. He was enabled by aid from England to leave -his prison, after more than two months' confinement. Sickness, loss -of memory, absolute imbecility, and finally, inability to distinguish -bread from meat, or wine from coffee, now came with their attendant -ills. His friends obtained him admission into the hospital of the _Bon -Sauveur_, and he was placed in a comfortable room, that had once been -occupied by the celebrated Bourrienne. Here he died on the evening of -the 30th of March, 1840."[6] - -[6] Abridged from Sir Bernard Burke's _Family Romance_, vol. i. - -The different stages of mental decay through which this unfortunate man -passed, before he became hopelessly imbecile, it is painful to read of. -One of his most singular eccentricities was, on certain nights some -strange fancy would seize him that it was necessary he should give a -party, and he accordingly invited many of the distinguished persons -with whom he had been intimate in former days, though some of them -were already dead. On these gala evenings he desired his attendant to -arrange his apartment, set out a whist table, and light the _bougies_ -(he burnt only tallow at the time), and at eight o'clock this man, -to whom he had already given his instructions, opened wide the door -of his sitting-room, and announced the "Duchess of Devonshire." At -the sound of her grace's well-remembered name, the Beau, instantly -rising from his chair, would advance towards the door, and greet the -cold air from the staircase as if it had been the beautiful Georgiana -herself. If the dust of that fair creature could have stood reanimate -in all her loveliness before him, she would not have thought his bow -less graceful than it had been thirty-five years before; for, despite -poor Brummel's mean habiliments and uncleanly person, the supposed -visitor was received with all his former courtly ease of manner, and -the earnestness that the pleasure of such an honour might be supposed -to excite. "Ah! my dear Duchess," faltered the Beau, "how rejoiced am -I to see you; so very amiable of you at this short notice! Pray bury -yourself in this arm-chair: do you know it was a gift to me from the -Duchess of York, who was a very kind friend of mine; but, poor thing, -you know she is no more." Here the eyes of the old man would fill with -the tears of idiocy, and, sinking into the _fauteuil_ himself, he would -sit for some time looking vacantly at the fire, until Lord Alvanley, -Worcester, or any other old friend he chose to name, was announced, -when he again rose to receive them and went through a similar -pantomime. At ten his attendant announced the carriages, and this farce -was at an end. - -Brummel's sayings are not brilliant in point. They doubtless owed their -success to the inimitable impudence with which they were uttered. We -have thrown together a few of his many repartees. - -Dining at a gentleman's house in Hampshire, where the champagne was -very far from being good, he waited for a pause in the conversation, -and then condemned it by raising his glass, and saying loud enough to -be heard by every one at the table, "John, give me some more of that -cider." - -"Brummel, you were not here yesterday," said one of his club friends; -"where did you dine?" "Dine! why with a person of the name of R----s. I -believe he wishes me to notice him, hence the dinner; but, to give him -his due, he desired that I would make up the party myself, so I asked -Alvanley, Mills, Pierrepoint, and a few others; and I assure you the -affair turned out quite unique; there was every delicacy in or out of -season; the sillery was perfect, and not a wish remained ungratified; -but, my dear fellow, conceive my astonishment when I tell you that Mr. -R----s had the assurance to sit down and dine with us." - -An acquaintance having, in a morning call, bored him dreadfully -about some tour he made in the north of England, inquired with great -pertinacity of his impatient listener which of the lakes he preferred? -When Brummel, quite tired of the man's tedious raptures, turned his -head imploringly towards his valet, who was arranging something in the -room, and said, "Robinson?" "Sir." "Which of the lakes do I admire?" -"Windermere, sir," replied that distinguished individual. "Ah, yes; -Windermere," repeated Brummel; "so it is--Windermere." - -Having been asked by a sympathising friend how he happened to get such -a severe cold, his reply was, "Why, do you know, I left my carriage -yesterday evening, on my way to town from the Pavilion, and the infidel -of a landlord put me into a room with a damp stranger." - -On being asked by one of his acquaintance, during a very unseasonable -summer, if he had ever seen such an one, he replied, "Yes; last winter." - -Having fancied himself invited to some one's country seat, and being -given to understand, after one night's lodging, that he was in error, -he told an unconscious friend in town, who asked him what sort of place -it was, "that it was an exceedingly good house for stopping one night -in." - -On the night that he quitted London, the Beau was seen as usual at -the opera, but he left early, and, without returning to his lodgings, -stepped into a chaise which had been procured for him by a noble -friend, and met his own carriage a short distance from town. Travelling -all night as fast as four post-horses and liberal donations could -enable him, the morning dawned on him at Dover, and immediately on his -arrival there he hired a small vessel, put his carriage on board, and -was landed in a few hours on the other side. By this time the West-end -had awoke and missed him, particularly his tradesmen. - -It was while promenading one day on the pier, and not long before he -left Calais, that an old associate of his, who had just arrived by the -packet from England, met him unexpectedly in the street, and, cordially -shaking hands with him, said, "My dear Brummel, I am so glad to to -see you, for we had heard in England that you were dead; the report, -I assure you, was in very general circulation when I left." "Mere -stock-jobbing, my good fellow--mere stock-jobbing," was the Beau's -reply. - -We have said that Brummel's grandfather was a pastrycook. His aunt is -said to have been the widow of a grandson of Brawn, the celebrated -cook who kept 'The Rummer,' in Queen Street, and who had himself kept -'The Rummer' public-house, at the Old Mews Gate, at Charing Cross. -Brummel spoke with a relish worthy a descendant of 'The Rummer,' of -the savoury pies of his aunt Brawn, who then resided at Kilburn. Henry -Carey, in the _Dissertation on Dumpling_, assumes Braun, or Braund, as -he calls him, to have been the direct descendant in the male line of -his imaginary Brawnd, knighted by King John for his unrivalled skill in -making dumplings, and who subsequently resided, as he tells us, "at the -ancient manor of Brands, _alias_ Braunds, near Kilburn, in Middlesex." -Curious the accident that found Brummel's "Aunt Brawn" a resident at -Kilburn, a century after the _Dissertation on Dumpling_ was written. - -[Illustration: Beau Brummel at Calais.] - - - - -[Illustration: Sir Lumley Skeffington in a "Jean de Brie."] - - - - -Sir Lumley Skeffington, Bart. - - -This accomplished gentleman was the son of Sir William Skeffington, a -much respected Baronet of Bilsdon, in Leicestershire, where he enjoyed -considerable estates and great provincial esteem. He was born in 1778, -and was educated at Soho School, and at Newcome's, at Hackney. At -the latter he distinguished himself in the dramatic performances for -which the school was long celebrated. Dr. Benjamin Hoadley, author -of _The Suspicious Husband_, and his brother, Dr. John Hoadley, were -both educated here, and shone in their amateur performances; at the -representation of 1764, there were upwards of "one hundred gentlemen's -coaches." Young Skeffington excelled in Hamlet, as he afterwards shone -in "the glass of fashion." His hereditary prospects afforded him a -ready introduction to the fashionable world, and during upwards of -twenty years he was considered as a leader of _ton_, and one of the -most finished gentlemen in England. He was a person of considerable -taste in literature: he wrote _The Word of Honour_, a comedy, and the -dialogue and songs of a highly finished melodrama, founded on the -legend of _The Sleeping Beauty_. In 1818 he lost his father, who having -embarrassed his estates, his son, as an act of filial duty to rescue a -parent from distress, consented to the cutting off the entail, by which -he deprived himself of that substantial provision without which the -life of a gentleman is a life of misery. - -Sir Lumley was the dandy of the olden time, and a kinder, -better-hearted man never existed. He was of the most polished manners; -nor had his long intercourse with fashionable society at all affected -that simplicity of character for which he was remarkable. He was a -true dandy, and much more than that, he was a perfect gentleman. In -1827, a contributor to the _New Monthly Magazine_ wrote: "I remember, -long, long since, entering Covent Garden Theatre, when I observed -a person holding the door to let me pass; deeming him to be one of -the box-keepers, I was about to nod my thanks, when I found, to my -surprise, that it was Skeffington who had thus good-naturedly honoured -a stranger by his attention. We with some difficulty obtained seats in -a box, and I was indebted to accident for one of the most agreeable -evenings I remember to have passed. - -"I remember visiting the Opera when late dinners were the rage, and -the hour of refection was carried far into the night. I was again -placed near the fugleman of fashion, for to his movements were all eyes -directed, and his sanction determined the accuracy of all conduct. He -bowed from box to box, until recognizing one of his friends in the -lower tier, 'Temple,' he exclaimed, drawling out his weary words, -'at--what--hour--do--you--dine--to-day?' It had gone half-past eleven -when he spoke. - -"I saw him once enter St. James's Church, having at the door taken -a ponderous red morocco prayer-book from his servant; but although -prominently placed in the centre aisle, the pew-opener never offered -him a seat; and stranger still, none of his many friends beckoned him -to a place. Others in his rank of life might have been disconcerted at -the position in which he was placed; but Skeffington was too much of -a gentleman to be in any way disturbed; so he seated himself upon the -bench between two aged female paupers, and most reverently did he go -through the service, sharing with the ladies his book, the print of -which was more favourable to their devotions than their own diminutive -liturgies." - -Sir Lumley Skeffington continued to the last to take especial interest -in the theatre and its artists, notwithstanding his own reduced -fortunes. He was a worshipper of female beauty, his adoration being -poured forth in ardent verse. Thus, in the spring 1829, he inscribed to -Miss Foote the following ballad: - - When the frosts of the Winter in mildness were ending, - To April I gave half the welcome of May; - While the Spring, fresh in youth, came delightfully blending - The buds that are sweet, and the songs that are gay. - - As the eyes fixed the heart on a vision so fair, - Not doubting, but trusting what magic was there, - Aloud I exclaim'd, with augmented desire, - I thought 'twas the Spring, when in truth 'twas Maria! - - When the fading of stars in the region of splendour - Announc'd that the morning was young in the east, - On the upland I rov'd, admiration to render, - Where freshness, and beauty, and lustre increas'd. - - Whilst the beams of the morning new pleasures bestow'd, - While fondly I gaz'd, while with rapture I glow'd, - In sweetness commanding, in elegance bright, - Maria arose! a more beautiful light. - -Again, on the termination of the engagement of Miss Foote, at Drury -Lane Theatre, in May, 1826, Sir Lumley addressed her in the following -impromptu: - - Maria departs! 'tis a sentence of dread; - For the Graces turn pale, and the Fates droop their head! - In mercy to breasts that tumultuously burn, - Dwell no more on departure, but speak of return. - Since she goes when the buds are just ready to burst, - In expanding its leaves, let the willow be first. - We here shall no longer find beauties in May; - It cannot be Spring when Maria's away! - If vernal at all, 'tis an April appears, - For the blossom flies off in the midst of our tears. - -Sir Lumley, through the ingratitude and treachery of - - Friends found in sunshine, to be lost in storm, - -became involved in difficulties and endless litigation, and his latter -years were clouded with sorrow; still his buoyant spirits never -altogether left him, although "the observed of all observers" passed -his latter years in compulsory residence in a quarter of the great town -ignored by the Sybarites of St. James's. - -When Madame Vestris established a theatre of her own, Sir Lumley thus -sang, in the columns of _The Times_:-- - - Now Vestris, the tenth of the Muses, - To Mirth rears a fanciful dome, - We mark, while delight she infuses, - The Graces find beauty at home. - - In her eye such vivacity glitters, - To her voice such perfections belong, - That care, and the life it embitters, - Find balm in the sweets of her song. - - When monarchs o'er valleys are ranging, - A court is transferr'd to the green; - And flowers, transplanted, are changing - Not fragrance, but merely the scene. - - 'Tis circumstance dignifies places; - A desert is charming with spring! - And pleasure finds twenty new graces - Wherever the Vestris may sing! - -Sir Lumley, who had long been unheard of in fashionable circles, died -in London in 1850 or 1851. - -[Illustration: Skiffy at the Birthday Ball.] - - - - -[Illustration: Robert Coates, the Amateur of Fashion, as Romeo.] - - - - -"Romeo" Coates. - - -This celebrated leader of fashion, who rejoiced in the sobriquets of -"Romeo" and "Diamond," obtained the former from his love of amateur -acting, and the latter from his great wealth obtained from the West -Indies. He was likewise noted by his splendid curricle, the body of -which was in the form of a cockleshell, bearing the cock-bird as his -crest; and the harness of the horses was mounted with metal figures of -the same bird, with which got associated the motto of "Whilst we live, -we'll crow." - -By his amateur performances he shared with young Betty (Roscius) -the admiration of the town. A writer in the _New Monthly Magazine_, -1827, pleasantly describes one of these performances:--"Never shall I -forget his representation of Lothario (some sixty years since), at the -Haymarket Theatre, for his own pleasure, as he accurately termed it; -and certainly the then rising fame of Liston was greatly endangered by -his Barbadoes rival. Never had Garrick or Kemble in their best times so -largely excited the public attention and curiosity. The very remotest -nooks of the galleries were filled by fashion; while in a stage-box sat -the performer's notorious friend, the Baron Ferdinand Geramb. - -"Coates's lean Quixotic form being duly clothed in velvets and in -silks, and his bonnet highly fraught with diamonds (whence his -appellation), his entrance on the stage was greeted by so general a -_crowing_ (in allusion to the large cocks, which as his crest adorned -his harness), that the angry and affronted Lothario drew his sword upon -the audience, and actually challenged the rude and boisterous tenants -of the galleries, _seriatim_ or _en masse_, to combat on the stage. -Solemn silence, as the consequence of mock fear, immediately succeeded. -The great actor, after the overture had ceased, amused himself for some -time with the Baron ere he condescended to indulge the wishes of an -anxiously expectant audience. - -"At length he commenced: his appeals to the heart were made by the -application of the left hand so disproportionately lower down than -'the seat of life' has been supposed to be placed; his contracted -pronunciation of the word 'breach,' and other new readings and actings, -kept the house in a right joyous humour, until the climax of all mirth -was attained by the dying scene of - - that gallant, gay Lothario: - -but who shall describe the grotesque agonies of the dark seducer, his -platted hair escaping from the comb that held it, and the dark crineous -cordage that flapped upon his shoulders in the convulsions of his dying -moments, and the cries of the people for medical aid to accomplish his -eternal exit? Then, when in his last throes his coronet fell, it was -miraculous to see the defunct arise, and after he had spread a nice -handkerchief on the stage, and there deposited his head-dress, free -from impurity, philosophically resume his dead condition; but it was -not yet over, for the exigent audience, not content 'that when the men -were dead, why there an end,' insisted on a repetition of the awful -scene, which the highly flattered corpse executed three several times, -to the gratification of the cruel and torment-loving assembly." - -Coates was destined to be tantalized by the celebrated fête given -at Carlton House, in 1821, in honour of the Bourbons. Having no -opportunity of learning in the West Indies the propriety of being -presented at Court ere he could be upon a more intimate footing with -the Prince Regent, he was less astonished than delighted at the -reception of an invitation on that occasion to Carlton House. What -was the fame acquired by his cockleshell curricle; his theatrical -reputation; all the applause attending the perfection of histrionic -art; the flatteries of Billy Finch, a sort of kidnapper of juvenile -actors and actresses of the O.P. and P.S., in Russell Court; the -sanction of a Petersham; the intimacy of a Barry More; even the polite -endurance of a Skeffington to this! To be classed with the proud, -the noble, and the great! It seemed a natural query whether the -Bourbon's name were not a pretext for his own introduction to Royalty, -under circumstances of unprecedented splendour and magnificence. It -must have been so. What cogitations respecting dress, and air, and -port, and bearing! What torturing of the confounded lanky locks, to -make them but revolve ever so little! Then the rich cut velvet,--the -diamond buttons,--ay, every one was composed of brilliants. The night -arrived--but for Coates's mortification. Theodore Hook had contrived to -imitate one of the Chamberlain's tickets, and to produce a facsimile, -commanding the presence of Coates; he then put on a scarlet uniform, -and delivered the card himself. On the night of the fête, June 19th, -Hook stationed himself by the screen at Carlton House, and saw Romeo -arrive and enter the palace; he passed in without question, but the -forgery was detected by the Private Secretary, and Coates had to -retrace his steps to the street, and his carriage being driven off, -to get home to Craven Street in a hackney-coach. When the Prince was -informed of what had occurred, he signified his regret at the course -the Secretary had taken; he was sent by his Royal Highness to apologize -in person, and invite Coates to come and look at the state rooms; and -Romeo went. - -Mr. Coates, who by his cockleshell curricle had acquired some of his -celebrity, lost his life by a vehicular accident: he died February 23, -1848, from being run over in one of the London streets. He was in his -seventy-sixth year. - - - - -Abraham Newland. - - -Abraham Newland, who was nearly sixty years in the service of the Bank -of England, and whose name became a synonym for a bank-note, was one of -a family of twenty-five children, and was born in Southwark in 1730. -At the age of eighteen he entered the Bank service as junior clerk. He -was very fond of music, which led him into much dissipation. Still, -he was very attentive to business, and in 1782 he was appointed chief -cashier, with a suite of rooms for residence in the Bank, and for -five-and-twenty years he never once slept out of the building. The -pleasantest version of his importance is contained in the famous song -in the _Whims of the Day_, published in 1800:-- - - There ne'er was a name so handed by fame, - Thro' air, thro' ocean, and thro' land, - As one that is wrote upon every bank note, - And you all must know Abraham Newland. - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Notified Abraham Newland! - I have heard people say, sham Abraham you may, - But you must not sham Abraham Newland. - - For fashion or arts, should you seek foreign parts, - It matters not wherever you land, - Jew, Christian, or Greek, the same language they speak - That's the language of Abraham Newland! - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Wonderful Abraham Newland! - Tho' with compliments cramm'd, you may die and be d--d, - If you hav'n't an Abraham Newland. - - The world is inclin'd to think Justice is blind; - Lawyers know very well they can view land; - But, Lord, what of that, she'll blink like a bat - At the sight of an Abraham Newland. - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Magical Abraham Newland! - Tho' Justice, 'tis known, can see through a millstone, - She can't see through Abraham Newland. - - Your patriots who bawl for the good of us all, - Kind souls! here like mushrooms they strew land; - Tho' loud as a drum, each proves orator mum, - If attack'd by an Abraham Newland! - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Invincible Abraham Newland! - No argument's found in the world half so sound - As the logic of Abraham Newland! - - The French say they're coming, but sure they are mumming; - I know what they want if they do land; - We'll make their ears ring in defence of our king, - Our country, and Abraham Newland. - Oh, Abraham Newland! - Darling Abraham Newland! - No tricolour, elf, nor the devil himself - Shall e'er rob us of Abraham Newland. - -In 1807, he retired from the office of chief cashier, after declining -a pension. He had hitherto been accustomed, after the business at -the Bank in his department had closed, and he had dined moderately, -to order his carriage and drive to Highbury, where he drank tea at a -small cottage. Many who lived in that neighbourhood long recollected -Newland's daily walk--hail, rain, or sunshine--along Highbury Place. It -was said that he regretted his retirement from the Bank; but he used -to say that not for 20,000_l._ a year would he return. He then removed -to No. 38, Highbury Place. His health and strength declined, it is -said, through the distress of mind brought upon him by the forgeries of -Robert Aslett, a clerk in the Bank, whom Newland had treated as his own -son. It was well known that Abraham had accumulated a large fortune; -legacy-hunters came about him, and an acquaintance sent him a ham as a -present; but Newland despised the mercenary motive, and next time he -saw the donor he said, "I have received a ham from you; I thank you for -it," said he, but raising his finger in a significant manner, added, "I -tell you it won't do, it won't do." - -Newland had no extravagant expectations that the world would be drowned -in sorrow when it should be his turn to leave it; and he wrote this -ludicrous epitaph on himself shortly before his death:-- - - Beneath this stone old Abraham lies: - Nobody laughs and nobody cries. - Where he's gone, and how he fares, - No one knows, and no one cares! - -His physician, in one of his latest visits, found him reading the -newspaper, when the doctor expressing his surprise, Newland replied, -smiling, "I am only looking in the paper in order to see what I am -reading to the world I am going to." He died November 21, 1807, without -any apparent pain of body or anxiety of mind, and his remains were -deposited in the church of St. Saviour, Southwark. - -Newland's property amounted to 200,000_l._, besides a thousand a year -landed estates. It must not be supposed that this was saved from his -salary. During the whole of his career, the loans for the war proved -very prolific. A certain amount of them was always reserved for the -cashier's office (one Parliamentary Report names 100,000_l._), and -as they generally came out at a premium, the profits were great. The -family of the Goldsmids, then the leaders of the Stock Exchange, -contracted for many of these loans, and to each of them he left 500_l._ -to purchase a mourning ring. Newland's large funds, it is said, were -also occasionally lent to the Goldsmids to assist their various -speculations. - - - - -[Illustration: Squire Mytton on his bear.] - - - - -The Spendthrift Squire of Halston, John Mytton. - - -The extravagant fellows of a family, says Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster, -have done more to overturn ancient houses than all the other causes -put together; and no case could be more in point to establish the -fact than the history of John Mytton, descended from the Myttons of -Halston, who represented, in the days of the Plantagenets, the borough -of Shrewsbury in Parliament, and filled the office of High Sheriff -of Shropshire at a very remote period. So far back as 1480, Thomas -Mytton, when holding that appointment, was the fortunate captor of -Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, whom he conducted to Salisbury for trial -and decapitation; and in requital Richard III. bestowed on "his trusty -and well-beloved squire, Thomas Mytton," the Duke's forfeited castle -and lordship of Cawes. Halston, to which the Myttons transferred their -seat from their more ancient residence of Cawes Castle and Habberley, -is called in ancient deeds "Holystone," and was in early times a -preceptory of Knights Templars. The Abbey, taken down about one hundred -and sixty years ago, was erected near where the present mansion stands. -In the good old times of Halston, before reckless waste had dismantled -its halls and levelled its ancestral woods, the oak was seen here in -its full majesty of form; and it is related that one particular tree, -coeval with many centuries of the family's greatness, was cut down by -the spendthrift squire in the year 1826, and contained ten tons of -timber. - -In the great civil war, Mytton of Halston was one of the few Shropshire -gentlemen who joined the Parliamentary standard. From this gallant -and upright Parliamentarian, the fifth in descent was John Mytton, -the eccentric, wasteful, dissipated, open-hearted, open-handed Squire -of Halston, in whose day and by whose wanton extravagance and folly, -a time-honoured family and a noble estate, the inheritance of five -hundred years, was recklessly destroyed. - -John Mytton was born September 30th, 1796. His father died when he -was only eighteen months old, so that his minority lasted almost -twenty years; and during its continuance a very large sum of money -was accumulated, which, added to a landed property of full 10,000_l._ -a year, and a pedigree of even Salopian antiquity and distinction, -rendered the Squire of Halston one of the first commoners in England. -But a boyhood unrestrained by proper control, and an education utterly -neglected, led to a course of profligacy and eccentricity, amounting -almost to madness, that marred all these gifts of fortune. Young Mytton -commenced by being expelled from both Westminster and Harrow; and -though he was entered on the books of the two universities, he did not -matriculate at either; the only indication he ever gave of an intention -to do so was his ordering three pipes of port wine to be sent to him, -addressed "Cambridge." When a mere child, he had been allowed a pack of -harriers at Halston, and at the age of ten was a confirmed scapegrace. -At nineteen he entered the 7th Hussars, and immediately joined his -regiment, then with the army of occupation in France. Fighting was, -however, all over, and the young Cornet turned at once to racing and -gaming, in which he was a serious loser. - -In 1818 he married the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Tyrrwhitt Jones, -Bart., of Stanley Hall. By this lady, who died in 1820, he had an only -child, Harriet, married in 1841 to Clement, youngest brother of Lord -Hill. After his wife's decease, the wayward extravagance which marked -the career of John Mytton has probably no parallel. He would not suffer -any one to advise him. When heavy liabilities had been incurred, but -previously to the disposal of the first property he sold, his agent -assured Mr. Mytton that if he would content himself for the following -six years with an income of 6,000_l._, the fine old Shrewsbury -estate--the earliest patrimony of his ancestors--might be saved; when -besought to listen to this warning counsel, "No, no," replied Mytton; -"I would not give a straw for life if it was to be passed on 6,000_l._ -a year." The result confirmed the agent's apprehensions: the first -acre alienated led to the gradual dismemberment of the whole estate; -and from this moment may be dated the ruin of the Myttons of Halston. -Such was the prodigality of this unfortunate man, that it was said, -"If Mytton had had an income of 200,000_l._, he would have been in -debt in five years." Most certain it is that, within the last fifteen -years of his life, he squandered full half-a-million sterling, and sold -timber--"the old oaks of Halston"--to the amount, it is stated, of -80,000_l._ - -The late Mr. Apperley (Nimrod) wrote a kindly biography of Mytton, -illustrated with coloured plates of his strange adventures. One gives -a view of Halston, with its glorious plantations, and its noble sheet -of water, through which, as the shortest cut, its eccentric owner is -riding home. Another illustrates Mytton's "wild duck shooting." "He -would sometimes," says Nimrod, "strip to his shirt to follow wild-fowl -in hard weather, and once actually laid himself down on the snow to -await their arrival at dusk. On one occasion he out-heroded Herod, -for he followed some ducks _in puris naturalibus_, and escaped with -perfect impunity." The third plate commemorates a practical joke of -the frolic-loving squire. One evening the clergyman and doctor, who -had dined at Halston, left to return on horseback. Their host having -disguised himself in a countryman's frock and hat, succeeded, by riding -across the park, in confronting them, and then, in true highwayman -voice, he called out, "Stand and deliver!" and before a reply could -be given, fired off his pistol, which had of course only a blank -cartridge. The affrighted gentlemen, Mytton used to say, never rode -half so fast in their lives, as when, with him at their heels, they -fled that night to Oswestry. - -Another of the plates exhibits Mr. Mytton in hunting dress, entering -his drawing-room full of company mounted on a bear: and another -exemplifies the old saying, "Light come, light go." Mytton, travelling -in his carriage, on a stormy night from Doncaster, fell asleep while -counting the money he had won; the windows were down, and a great many -of the bank-notes were blown away and lost. The reckless gambler used -often to tell the story as an amusing reminiscence. - -Another plate represents Mytton with his shirt in flames. "Did you ever -hear," asks Nimrod, "of a man setting fire to his own shirt to frighten -away the hiccup? Such, however, was done, and in this manner:--'Oh, -this horrid hiccup!' said Mytton, as he stood undressed on the floor, -apparently in the act of getting into bed; 'but I'll frighten it away;' -so seizing a candle, he applied it to the tail of his shirt, and it -being a cotton one, he was instantly enveloped in flames." His life was -only saved by the active exertions of two persons who chanced to be in -the room. - -Mytton married, secondly, Miss Giffard, of Chillington, a match of -such misery to the lady, that it ended in a separation. The crisis of -the spendthrift's fate was now impending. All the effects at Halston -were advertised for sale; and very shortly after Mr. Mytton fled to -the Continent to escape from his creditors. "On the 15th of November, -1831," says Nimrod, "during my residence in the town of Calais, I -was surprised by a violent knocking at my door, and so unlike what I -had ever heard before in that quiet town, that being at hand, I was -induced to open the door myself, when, to my no little astonishment, -there stood John Mytton. 'In the name of Heaven,' said I, 'what has -brought you to France?' 'Why,' he replied, '_just what brought yourself -to France_'--parodying the old song--'three couple of bailiffs were -hard at my brush.' But what did I see before me--the active, vigorous, -well-shapen John Mytton, whom I had left some years back in Shropshire? -Oh, no; compared with him, 'twas the reed shaken by the wind; there -stood before me a round-shouldered, decrepit, tottering, _old-young_ -man, if I may be allowed such a term, and so bloated by drink! But -there was a worse sight than this--there was a mind as well as a body -in ruins; the one had partaken of the injury done to the other; and -it was at once apparent that the whole was a wreck. In fact, he was a -melancholy spectacle of fallen man." - -It appeared that Mytton had been arrested for a paltry debt and thrown -into prison. "I once more," writes Nimrod, "was pained by seeing my -friend looking through the bars of a French prison-window. Here he was -suffered to remain for fourteen days; on the thirteenth day, I thought -it my duty to inform his mother of his situation, and in four days from -the date of my letter she was in Calais. After a time Mytton returned -to England, but only to a prison and a grave. The representative of -one of the most ancient families of his country, at one time M.P. for -Shrewsbury and High Sheriff for Shropshire and Merioneth, the inheritor -of Halston and Mowddwy and almost countless acres, the most popular -sportsman of England, died within the walls of the King's Bench Prison, -at the age of thirty-eight, deserted and neglected by all, save a few -faithful friends and a devoted mother, who stood by his death-bed to -the last." - -The announcement of the sad event produced a profound impression in -Shropshire: the people within many miles were deeply affected; the -degradation of Mytton's later years, the faults and follies of his -wretched life, were all forgotten; the generosity, the tenderness of -heart, the manly tastes of poor John Mytton, his sporting popularity, -and his very mad follies, were recalled with affectionate sympathy. His -funeral will long be remembered--three thousand persons attended it, -and a detachment of the North Shropshire Cavalry (of which regiment -the deceased was Major) escorted his remains to the vault in the -chapel of Halston; several private carriages followed, and about one -hundred of the tenantry, tradesmen, and friends on horseback closed the -procession. The body was placed in the family vault, surrounded by the -coffins of twelve of his relatives. - -The story of John Mytton is appalling. A family far more ancient -and apparently as vigorous as the grand old oaks that once were the -pride of Halston, was destroyed, after centuries of honourable and -historic eminence, by the mad follies of one man in the brief space -of eighteen years! The magnificent Lordship of Dinas Mowddwy, with it -32,000 acres--originally an appanage of the dynasty of Powis--inherited -through twelve generations from a coheiress of the Royal Lineage of -Powys Wenwynwyn, had been bartered, it is alleged, in adjustment of a -balance on turf and gambling transactions.[7] - -[7] Abridged from Sir Bernard Burke's very interesting _Vicissitudes of -Families_. Second Series. 1860. - -What a sad conclusion to the history of a very distinguished race, -memorable in the days of the Plantagenets, and renowned in the great -Civil War, is the following record, taken from _The Times_, 2nd April, -1834:--"On Monday, an inquest was held in the King's Bench Prison, -on the body of John Mytton, Esq., who died there on the preceding -Saturday. The deceased inherited considerable estates in the counties -of Salop and Merioneth, for both which he served the office of High -Sheriff, and some time represented the borough of Shrewsbury in -Parliament. His munificence and eccentric gaieties obtained him great -notoriety in the sporting and gay circles, both in England and on the -Continent. Two medical attendants stated that the immediate cause of -his death was disease of the brain (_delirium tremens_), brought on -by the excessive use of spirituous liquours. The deceased was in his -thirty-eighth year. Verdict--'Natural Death.'" - - - - -[Illustration: Noble Aide-de-Camp. Lord Petersham.] - - - - -Lord Petersham. - - -This eccentric nobleman, who was the eldest son of Charles, third Earl -of Harrington, was a leader of fashion some thirty years since; he was -tall and handsome; according to Captain Gronow, Lord Petersham very -much resembled the pictures of Henry IV. of France, and frequently -wore a dress not unlike that of the celebrated monarch. He was a great -patron of tailors, and a particular kind of greatcoat was called after -him a "Petersham." When young, he used to cut out his own clothes; he -made his own blacking, which, he said, would eventually supersede every -other. He was also a connoisseur in snuff, and one of his rooms was -fitted up with shelves and beautiful jars for various kinds of snuff, -with the names in gold. Here were also implements for moistening and -mixing snuffs, and Lord Petersham's mixture is to this day a popular -snuff. He possessed also a fine collection of snuff-boxes, and it was -said, a box for every day in the year. Captain Gronow saw him using -a beautiful Sèvres box, which, on being admired, he said was "a nice -summer box, but would not do for winter wear." He was equally choice -of his teas, and in the same room with the snuffs, upon shelves, were -placed tea-canisters, containing Congou, Pekoe, Souchong, Gunpowder, -Russian, and other fine kinds. Indeed, his father's mansion, Harrington -House, was long famous for its tea-drinking; the Earl and Countess and -family, and their visitors, were received upon these occasions in the -long gallery, and here the family of George III. enjoyed many a cup of -tea. It is told that when General Lincoln Stanhope returned from India -after several years' absence, his father welcomed him with "Hallo, -Linky, my dear boy! delighted to see you. _Have a cup of tea!_" - -Lord Petersham's equipages were unique; the carriages and horses were -brown; the harness had furniture of antique design; and the servants -wore long brown coats reaching to their heels, and glazed hats with -large cockades. Lord Petersham was a liberal patron of the opera and -the theatres; and two years after he had succeeded his father in the -earldom (of Harrington), he married the beautiful Maria Foote, of -Covent Garden Theatre. - - - - -The King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands. - - -In the year 1824, their "savage Majesties" of the Sandwich Islands -visited England. They were seen by Miss Berry, who, in her entertaining -journal, has thus graphically described their visit:-- - -"At half-past ten o'clock, I went with the Prince and Princess -Lowenstein, their son, and my sister, to Mr. Canning's, the Secretary -of State, who received for the first time the King and Queen of the -Sandwich Islands. They arrived in the midst of a numerous assembly, -all of the best society, and all _en grande toilette_ for a large -assembly given at Northumberland House. Mr. Canning entered, giving -his hand to a large black woman more than six feet high, and broad in -proportion, muffled up in a striped gauze dress with short sleeves, -leaving uncovered enormous black arms, half covered again with white -gloves; an enormous gauze turban upon her head; black hair, not -curled, but very short; a small bag in her hand, and I do not know -what upon her neck, where there was no gauze. It was with difficulty -that the Minister and his company could preserve a proper gravity for -the occasion. The Queen was followed by a lady in waiting as tall as -herself, and with a gayer and more intelligent countenance. Then came -the King, accompanied by three of his subjects, all dressed, like him, -in European costume; and a fourth, whose office I did not know, but -he wore over his ordinary coat a scarlet and yellow feather cloak, -and a helmet covered with the same material on his head. The King was -shorter than his four courtiers, but they all looked very strong, and, -except the King, all taller than the majority of those who surrounded -them. The two ladies were seated before the fire in the gallery for -some time. Mrs. Canning was presented first to them, and then the Duke -and Duchess of Gloucester and the Prince Leopold. The Queen took the -Duchess of Gloucester by the arm and shook it. One should have pitied -them for the way in which all eyes were turned upon them, and for all -the observations they occasioned; but it seemed to me that their minds -are not sufficiently opened, and that they are not civilized enough -either to notice or to suffer from it. From the gallery, Mr. Canning, -still holding the Queen's hand, conducted them through the apartment -and under the verandah of the garden, where the band of the Guards -regiment, in their full uniform, was playing military airs. Her savage -Majesty appeared much more occupied by the red-plumed hats of the -musicians than by the music. She ought to have been pleased to see that -the officer's helmet of her Court surpassed them as to colour. From -there they were conducted into the dining-room, where there was a fine -collation. The two ladies were seated alone at a table placed across -the room, and ate some cake and drank wine. They appeared awkward in -all their movements, and particularly embarrassed in their walk; there -was nothing of the free step of the savage, being probably embarrassed -by the folds of the European dress." - -The King and Queen and their suite were wantonly charged with gluttony -and drunkenness by persons who ought to have known better. "It is -true," observes Lord Byron, in his _Voyage to the Sandwich Islands_, -"that, unaccustomed to our habits, they little regarded regular hours -for meals, and that they liked to eat frequently, though not to excess. -Their greatest luxury was oysters, of which they were particularly -fond; and one day, some of the chiefs having been out to walk, and -seeing a grey mullet, instantly seized it and carried it home, to -the great delight of the whole party; who, on recognizing the native -fish of their own seas, could scarcely believe that it had not swum -hither on purpose for them, or been persuaded to wait till it was -cooked before they ate it." The best proof of their moderation is, -however, that the charge at Osborne's Hotel, in the Adelphi, during -their residence there, amounted to no greater an average than seventeen -shillings a head per day for their table: as they ate little or no -butcher's meat, but lived chiefly on fish, poultry, and fruit, by no -means the cheapest articles in London, their gluttony could not have -been great. So far from their always preferring the strongest liquors, -their favourite beverage was some cider, with which they had been -presented by Mr. Canning. - -The popular comic song of _The King of the Cannibal Islands_ was -written _à propos_ to the above royal visit. - - - - -Sir Edward Dering's Luckless Courtship. - - -Sir Edward Dering, the founder of the Surrenden library, and a -distinguished member of Parliament in the troublous times of Charles -I., was born in the Tower of London in 1598, his father having been -deputy-lieutenant of that fortress. He studied at Magdalen College, -Cambridge, and was knighted by James I. in 1618. Sir Edward was -thrice married. The story of an unsuccessful courtship, after his -second widowhood, is as good as a play, and indeed more amusing than -many dramas of the period based upon a similar subject. The object -of this enterprise was a city dame, the widow of a well-connected -mercer, Richard Bennett by name. The widow Bennett, by the custom of -London and the will of her husband, was possessed of two-thirds of the -deceased's property, besides all her jewels and chains of pearl and -gold, her diamond and other rings, her husband's coach and the four -grey coach-mares and geldings, with all things thereunto belonging. -In addition to these substantial recommendations, she seems to have -had some personal charms of her own, and no other encumbrance than -one little boy. In those days it was not necessary to advertise for -a husband, and Mistress Bennett could not lack suitors. Three of -the most conspicuous were named Finch, Crow, and Raven, much to the -amusement of London society in those days. The first was Sir Heneage -Finch, Recorder of London, who had been Speaker of the House of Commons -in 1626, and owned a handsome house at Kensington, since converted into -a Royal Palace. The next was Sir Sackville Crow, who was Treasurer -of the Navy, of which office he was subsequently deprived, owing to -an unfortunate deficit of which he was unable to give a satisfactory -account. The third was one Raven, a physician. This fatuous individual, -not having found much success in the way of ordinary courtship, could -think of no better expedient to gain his ends than to present himself -in the widow's bedchamber after she had retired to rest, when, having -woke the lady, he proceeded to press his suit. The widow screamed -thieves and murder, the servants rushed in, and the doctor was secured -and handed over to the parish constable. On the next day he was brought -before Mr. Recorder, who found the proceeding to be "flat burglary," -and committed his unlucky rival to gaol. When brought up for trial -he pleaded guilty to the "burglary," but under advice of the judge -withdrew the plea, and was ultimately found guilty of "ill-demeanour," -and was condemned to fine and imprisonment. - -It was on the morning after Dr. Raven's mad freak that Sir Edward -Dering presented himself as a suitor. How he commenced this important -enterprise, and how he sped, we learn from a minute journal which he -kept of his proceedings, and which he did not afterwards think it -necessary to burn. Here are a few entries. Thus begins the journal:-- - - Nov. 20. Edmund, King. I adventured, was denied. Sent up a letter, - which was returned, after she had read it. - -This repulse rendered it necessary to resort to crooked means. Servants -are corruptible, and so we find-- - - Nov. 21. I inveigled G. Newman with 20_s._ - - Nov. 24. I did re-engage him, 20_s._ I did also oil the cash-keeper, - 20_s._ - - Nov. 26. I gave Edmund Aspull [the cash-keeper] another 20_s._ I was - there, but denied sight. - -Unpromising this, but Sir Edward does not lose courage. - - Nov. 27. I sent a second letter, _which was kept_. - -There is hope, then, but we must not relax. Same day. - - I set Sir John Skeffington upon Matthew Cradock. - -Matthew Cradock is a cousin of the widow, and her trusty adviser. Same -day. - - The cash-keeper supped with me. - - Nov. 28. I went to Mr. Cradock, but found him cold. - -Sir John Skeffington could not have exerted himself much. - - Nov. 29. I was at the Old Jewry Church and saw her, both forenoon and - afternoon. - - Dec. 1. I sent a third letter, which was likewise kept. - -The widow had a troublesome affair on her hands. It appears that one -Steward, under the abominable system of wardships which then prevailed, -had obtained a grant from the crown of the wardship of Mrs. Bennett's -little boy, then four years old. The widow was in treaty with Steward -to buy from him the wardship of her own child, which the rogue refused -to release for 1,500_l._, offered him in hard cash. Between this -affair, and Dr. Raven and other suitors, the widow had enough to think -of. Steward had also made matrimonial proposals, which Mrs. Bennett -deemed it not prudent to cut short at once, while the bargaining for -the wardship was going on. On the 5th December Sir Edward communicates -with one Loe, an influential person with the widow. Loe answers, "that -Steward was so testy that she durst not give admittance unto any, until -he and she were fully concluded for the wardship--that she had a good -opinion of me--that he (Loe) heard nobly of me--that he would inform -me when Steward was off--that he was engaged for another--that I need -not refrain from going to the church where she was, unless I thought -it to disparage myself." Acting on this advice, Sir Edward goes to St. -Olave's next Sunday, and on coming out of church George Newman whispers -in his ear, "Good news! Good news!" After dinner George calls on Sir -Edward, who had taken a lodging in the sight of the widow's house, and -tells him that she "liked well his carriage, and that if his land were -not settled on his eldest son there was good hope." The bearer of such -news certainly merits oiling, so, Sir Edward says, "I gave him twenty -shillings." That evening Sir Edward supped with his rival, Sir Heneage -Finch, who gave him to understand that he himself despaired of his own -suit, and was ready to vacate the field, and even promised to assist -the worthy knight. - -The plot now thickens. Sir Edward, on New Year's Day, in a fit of -injured dignity, demanded back those letters that had "been kept;" -they were promptly returned; he afterwards repented him of this rash -proceeding; Izaak Walton, angler, biographer, and man-milliner, was -enlisted in the cause, and laboured strenuously, like an honest man and -an angler, therein; and the widow, Sir Edward, and the enthusiastic -Izaak, all had wonderful dreams, which came to nothing. On the 9th of -January Sir Edward notes, "George Newman says she hath two suits of -silver plate, one in the country and the other here, and that she hath -beds of 100_l._ the bed!" Such a prize deserves striving for, and an -attack is commenced in a new quarter. George Newman, with Susan, the -widow's nursemaid, and her little child, going into Finsbury Fields -to walk, are met by Taylor, Sir Edward's landlord. Taylor inveigles -the child to come with him; George Newman and Susan follow, not -unwillingly. Sir Edward says, "I entertained the child with cake, and -gave him an amber box, and to them, wine. Susan professed that she and -all the house prayed for me, and told me the child called me 'father.' -I gave her 5_s._, and entreated her to desire her mistress not to be -offended at this, which I was so glad of. She said she thought she -would not." The widow's cousin Cradock arrives in town. "Izaak Walton," -says Sir Edward, "undertook him at his first coming, and did his part -well. Cradock said he would do his best, if I would be ruled by him," -&c. Other suitors now intervene, and occasion much anxiety. They, too, -have their canvassers and agents, and the widow's residence becomes a -perfect focus of intrigue. The Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Isaac Bargrave, -Sir Edward's relative, is brought to bear, and he procures Dr. Featley, -a celebrated city divine, to call on the widow and use his influence. -The affair begins to assume public importance. The grave Sir Henry -Wotton, coming from Eton to pay his respects to his Majesty, meets Sir -Edward in the Privy Chamber, and, with a knowing look, wishes him "a -full sail," &c. Alas! all this labour and bribery was destined to come -to nothing. The comedy ended by the widow, who all along had kept her -own counsel, marrying the smooth-tongued Sir Heneage Finch, who had sat -quietly in the background, probably knowing his position to be assured. -Sir Edward was more successful in a subsequent matrimonial enterprise. -He found an excellent and amiable wife, and must, we should think, have -often laughed over his adventures with the widow.[8] - -[8] This very amusing _précis_ is slightly abridged from the _Athenæum_ -journal. - - - - -Gretna-Green Marriages. - - -In the summer of 1753, a young lady at Ranelagh Gardens, Chelsea, -became acquainted with a handsome young gentleman. They danced together -on another day; they met at the same place, and again danced. He -was a handsome young fellow, and the lady was beautiful and wealthy, -as well as high-born. She was sister to the two leading statesmen of -England--Mr. Pelham, the Prime Minister; and the Duke of Newcastle, -who had been Secretary of State. Her lover was a notorious highwayman, -Jack Freeland by name, with many other aliases. He, professing to be a -gentleman of fortune, proposed marriage, to which she assented. From -reasons suggested about family objections on both sides, they agreed to -repair to the Fleet prison to be wedded. At the foot of Fleet Street, -matrimonial visitors in that day entered the region of touters, who -accosted couples with such addresses as "Married, sir?" "Wish to be -married, ma'am?" And by rival touters who asserted, "His parson be no -good--only a cove what mends shoes; get married with mine: mine is -a regular hordained parson." Perhaps a third assertion, that "Them -fellows' parsons be no good; get married respectable; show you in no -time to a real Oxford and Cambridge professor." Following these persons -up narrow passages on Ludgate Hill, the couples were married for such -fees as private bargain regulated in dingy up-stairs rooms of taverns: -or going into the Fleet Prison, were united there by clerical prisoners -who found the place too lucrative and pleasant as a lodging to make -them anxious about paying their debts to get out. Those prisoners, like -some other of the "Fleet parsons"--indeed it was from the prison that -the term "Fleet marriages" arose--had also their touters stationed in -the adjoining streets to bring them customers. Miss Pelham and her -gallant highwayman were conducted to a Fleet parson. But a gentleman -happened to observe them who knew both. To save the lady he caused the -robber-bridegroom to be arrested, and carried the tidings to the Prime -Minister, her brother. The case led to much discussion. In the heat -of offended dignity, the Pelhams caused Lord Chancellor Hardwicke to -introduce a Bill for the better regulation and solemnizing of marriage. -It passed hastily through both houses of Parliament, and became law. -Except in the case of Jews and Quakers, it required all parties to be -married by a regularly ordained clergyman of the Church, and only after -a due proclamation of banns. - -The Marriage Law of Scotland did not exact that there should be a -religious ceremony, nor even the presence of a clergyman, though the -religious habits of the people prefer both. To be valid, the Scottish -law required only that the marriage contract should be witnessed. -When the Fleet was shut against lovers in 1754, those impatient of -parental control, and possessed of means to defray travelling expenses, -repaired to Scotland. Edinburgh for a time supplied their wants: the -last, we believe, who carried on a regular traffic in runaway weddings -here was Joseph Robertson, who, several years ago, died miserably of -hunger in London. But it was on the line of the borders adjoining -England that those weddings abounded. At Lamberton Toll, the nearest -Scottish ground to Berwick, the business was for many years done at a -very low price. After the erection of the suspension-bridge, six miles -above Berwick, marriages were performed there. A "Sheen Brig" wedding -became a common occurrence both to Northumberland and Berwickshire -lovers. At Coldstream, also, those marriages were common. But it was -at Gretna-Green, and Sark Toll Bar, and Springfield, nine miles from -Carlisle, that the "high-fly" runaways from England tied their nuptial -knots in greatest number. All the space between Carlisle and the Border -was common land, until of late years, inhabited only by smugglers -and persons of unsettled life. The Scottish parish of Gretna, on the -north side of the Sark stream, which there divides the countries, had -a population of a like character. After the act of 1754 had shut the -Fleet parsons out of shop in London, one of them paid his debts in the -prison, and advertised his removal to Gretna. Thither he was followed -by adventurous couples who failed to obtain the consent of parents and -guardians to their union. At his death a native of the place, known -as "Scott o' the Brig" (Sark Bridge), took up the business. He was -succeeded by one Gordon, an old soldier; and Gordon by the notorious -Joseph Paisley. Paisley was succeeded by several rivals, of whom Elliot -and Laing were the principals. Mr. Linton, of Gretna Hall, became chief -priest after Laing's death, which occurred through cold taken in a -journey to Lancaster, in 1826, where he was required as a witness in -the prosecution of the Wakefields for the abduction of Miss Turner. - -In 1841, the writer visited Gretna and Springfield to inspect the -registers, and found them a mass of loose papers. At that time the -larger part of the matrimonial trade was done--for couples arriving -on foot--by Mrs. Baillie and Miss Baillie, her daughter, who kept -Sark Bridge Toll; the post-chaise weddings going to Mr. Linton, of -Gretna Hall: his register, unlike the older ones, was a well-written -official-looking volume. Peter Elliot, formerly priest, was then an -old man. He had in his younger days been a postboy, but was reduced to -the office of "strapper" in a stable at Carlisle. Excess of whisky on -his part, and the more genteel competition of the occupier of Gretna -Hall, had driven him out of the marriage trade. But in his lifetime -he had been concerned in many races and chases over the nine miles -between Carlisle and Gretna, and would tell of the beautiful daughters -of England, whom, with whip and spur and shout, and wild halloo, he -had carried at the gallop across the border; the pursuing guardian, or -jilted lover, or angry father in sight behind, urging on post-boys who -also whipped and spurred and hallooed, but took care never to overtake -the fugitives until too late. Then there were tales of how time was too -short even for the brief ceremony, and how the officiating priest broke -off, exclaiming, "Ben the house, ben and into bed, into bed, my leddy!" -They were proud to boast of two Lord Chancellors having been married -there, one of whom, Erskine, arrived in the travelling costume of an -old lady. - -About the year 1794 it was estimated that sixty couples were married -annually, they paying an average of 15 guineas each, yielding a revenue -of 945_l._ a year or thereabout. The form of certificate was in latter -times printed, the officiating priest not being always sufficiently -sober to write; nor when sober was he an adept in penmanship, as the -following from the pen of Joseph Paisley may show:-- - -"This is to sartify all persons that may be concernid that (A. B.) from -the parish of (C.) and in county of (D.) and (E. F.) from the parish -of (G.) and county of (H.), and both comes before me and declayred -themselves both to be single persons, and nowe mayried by the forme of -the Kirk of Scotland and agreeible to the Church of England, and givne -ondre my hand this 18th day of March, 1793." - -Joseph Paisley, writer of this, was originally a weaver, at some -other time a tobacconist. He was the so-called "Blacksmith," though -there is no record that he, his predecessors, or successors were real -blacksmiths. He removed from Gretna to the village of Springfield, -half a mile distant, in 1791, and attended to his lucrative employment -till his death in 1814. He was tall in person, and in prime of life -well-proportioned; but before he died had grown enormously corpulent, -weighing upwards of 25 stone. By his natural enemies--the parish -clergymen--he was said to be grossly ignorant and coarse in his -manners, drinking a Scotch pint of whisky in various shapes of toddy -and raw drams in a day. On one occasion he and a companion, named Ned -the Turner, sat down on a Monday morning to an anker of strong cognac, -and before the evening of Saturday they kicked the empty cask out at -the door! He was also celebrated for his stentorian lungs and almost -incredible muscular strength. He could with one hand bend a strong -poker over his arm, and was frequently known to straighten an ordinary -horse-shoe with his hands. But he could not break asunder the bands of -matrimony which he so easily rivetted. Law stamped his handiwork with -the title of sanctity. The Gretna and Sark Toll marriages greatly -increased in number through the facilities of railway conveyance. The -fugitives, when obtaining a start by an express train, could not be -overtaken by another, while the ordinary third-class carried away so -many customers for cheap marriages from their English parish clergy, -that the Legislature was invoked, and enacted that on and after the -1st January, 1857, no marriage should be valid in Scotland unless -the parties had both resided in Scotland for the last six weeks next -preceding the wedding-day. In the evidence upon this Bill, one of the -_marriers_, Murray, of Gretna, admitted that he had married between -700 and 800 couples in a year; and as there were two or three other of -these marriers in good practice, the number of couples married at Sark -Toll Bar and at Gretna may be safely estimated at upwards of 1,000 in a -year. - -The alteration in the law was effected through the happy effort of -a magistrate of Cumberland, immediately and ably supported by the -magistrates of the county, who signed a petition committed to the -charge of Lord Brougham. His Lordship forthwith introduced a Bill, -after Easter, 1856, which Bill passed through Parliament without -opposition.[9] - -[9] For the details of the measure, see "Irregular Marriages," -_Knowledge for the Time_, 1864, pp. 120-123. - - - - -The Agapemone, or Abode of Love. - - -This strange place, Agapemone (Gr. [Greek: agapê] love, and [Greek: -monê] an abode), was the general residence of a peculiar sect of -religionists, established in 1845 at Charlinch, near Taunton, in -Somersetshire. They were originally a branch of the sect called -Lampeters, and their peculiar tenets are, that the day of grace and -prayer is passed, and the time of judgment arrived. They carry out -their belief by perpetual praises to God, but do not adopt the use of -prayer. The members enter into a community of property, and profess -to live in a state of constant joyousness and mutual love. In 1849 a -singular trial, connected with this institution, occupied the Court -of Exchequer for three days. It was an action brought by Miss Louisa -Nottidge, a maiden lady of large property, against her brother and -brother-in-law, for forcibly abducting her from the Agapemone, and -confining her in a lunatic asylum. It appeared that the plaintiff and -her three sisters, all ladies of considerable property, had become -converts to the opinions of this sect, and taken up their abode in the -Agapemone, where the sisters were married to three of the clerical -rulers of the establishment; but Miss Louisa Nottidge, who had remained -single, was forcibly taken away by the two defendants, and sent to a -lunatic asylum; for which alleged wrong she obtained 50_l._ damages; -thus showing that she was not insane, and that the law, as the Chief -Baron observed, tolerated every sect, however absurd, that did not -inflict a social wrong, or openly violate the laws of morality. - -Since that period the sect has been sending its missionaries to -different parts of the country, in order to gain converts. On the 26th -of September, 1856, two of these missionaries called a meeting at -the Hanover Square Rooms, in London, when one of them addressed the -assembled visitors in an unintelligible jargon relative to the mission -of a certain "Brother Prince," the head of the Agapemone, who had, he -said, been made a "vessel of mercy" for the human race, and who was to -supersede the Gospel by some new religious dispensation which he had -been specially commissioned to teach. The other missionary then stated -that he would explain who Brother Prince was. He was by nature, he -said, a child of wrath, but by grace a vessel of mercy. The testimony -of Brother Prince was concerning what Jesus Christ had done by his own -person. Some eleven years ago, he said, the Holy Ghost fulfilled in -Brother Prince all that he came to be and to do. The speaker proceeded -to allude to a second spiritual manifestation which, he said, occurred -at the Agapemone about five years ago, in which case the phenomenon was -exhibited in the person of a woman--a prophetess--"not privately, but -in the presence of all." These sentiments were uttered in the midst of -general execration; and a resolution was unanimously passed, "That the -statements which had been made that evening were contrary to common -sense, degrading to humanity, and blasphemous towards God."--_English -Cyclopædia._ - - - - -Singular Scotch Ladies. - - -Lord Cockburn, in his _Memorials of his Time_, speaks of "a singular -race of Scotch old ladies," who were a delightful set; warm-hearted, -very resolute, indifferent about the modes and habits of the modern -world, and adhering to their own ways, who dressed, spoke, and did -exactly as they chose. Among these examples of perfect naturalness was -a Miss Menie Trotter, of whom Miss Grahame, in her _Mystifications_, -relates:--"She was penurious in small things, but her generosity could -rise to circumstances. Her dower was an annuity from the estate of -Mortonhall. She had contempt for securities, and would trust no bank -with her money, but kept all her bills and bank-notes in a green silk -bag that hung on her toilette-glass. On each side of the table stood -a large white bowl, one of which contained her silver, the other her -copper money, the latter always full to the brim, accessible to Peggy, -her handmaid, or any other servant in the house, for the idea of any -one stealing money never entered her brain. Indeed, she once sent a -present to her niece, Mrs. Cuninghame, of a fifty-pound note wrapped -up in a cabbage-leaf, and entrusted it to the care of a woman who -was going with a basket of butter to the Edinburgh market. My friend -Mrs. Cuninghame related to me this and the following histories of her -aunt:--One day, in the course of conversation, she said to her niece, -'Do you ken, Margaret, that Mrs. Thomas R---- is dead. I was gaun by -the door this morning, and thought I wad just look in and speer for -her. She was very near her end, but quite sensible, and expressed -her gratitude to God for what He had done for her and her fatherless -bairns. She said "she was leaving a large young family with very small -means, but she had that trust in _Him_ that they would not be forsaken, -and that He would provide for them." Now, Margaret, ye'll tell Peggy -to bring down the green silk bag that hangs on the corner of my -looking-glass, and ye'll tak' twa thousand pounds out o' it, and gi'e -it Walter Ferrier for behoof of thae orphan bairns; it will fit out -the laddies, and be something to the lassies. I want to make good the -words, "that God wad provide for them," for what else was I sent that -way this morning, but as a humble instrument in his hands?'" - -Miss Trotter had a strong friendship for a certain Mrs. B----, who had -an only son, and he was looked on as a simpleton, but his relatives had -interest to get him a situation as clerk in a bank, where he contrived -to steal money to the extent of five hundred pounds. His peculations -were discovered, and in those days he would have been hanged, but Miss -Trotter hearing the report started instantly for Edinburgh, went to the -bank, and ascertained the truth. She at once laid down five hundred -pounds, telling them, "Ye maun not only stop proceedings, but ye maun -keep him in the bank in some capacity, however mean, till I find some -other employment for him." Then she fitted the lad out, and sent him to -London, where she had a friend to whom she wrote, offering another five -hundred pounds to any one who would procure him a situation abroad, in -which he might gain an honest living, and never be trusted with money. -After all this was settled, she went herself and communicated the facts -to his mother. - - - - -Mrs. Bond, of Hackney. - - -About the year 1771 there died one of the four children of Bond, -a jeweller, residing in an alley leading from Wellclose Square to -Ratcliffe Highway. She left property, to be divided between Mrs. S. -Bond, of Hackney, and a sister. The latter died in the year 1801, and -left her property, amounting to about 6,000_l._, to her surviving -sister, Sarah, who bought an annuity of 700_l._ By living in a most -parsimonious manner she contrived to scrape together about 13,000l. -three per cent., 1,000_l._ four percent., and 150_l._ per year Long -Annuities. - -In 1821 Mrs. Bond, who was of most eccentric habits, died at her -residence, Cambridge Heath, Hackney, leaving, it was said, great -wealth, which was to be paid to King George the Fourth, _if no relative -could be found to claim it_. After her death, vestry and parish -clerks, beadles, sextons, country schoolmasters, and persons holding -any official situations about cathedral churches, &c.--in short, -innumerable persons who had leisure or opportunity for such inquiry, -set about searching for Mrs. Bond's pedigree; but all to no effect. -Some ludicrous incidents, however, occurred in the neighbourhood of -Mrs. Bond's residence, where persons arrived from various parts of the -country to claim a relationship. Among the number a man and his son -arrived from Sunderland, whence they had walked. He stated that his -name was Bond; he was sure the deceased was his sister, and he would -not quit London without the money. Upon investigation he could produce -no other authority than being of the same name, and was, therefore, -compelled to retrace his steps, almost penniless. - -About a week afterwards, a decently-dressed elderly woman, named -Bond, made her appearance. She had just arrived outside the coach -from the environs of Carmarthen. Her story was that about fifty years -previously (1771), her sister left her and proceeded to London to -seek her fortune. They had never corresponded, but from the name and -description of the deceased, she had no doubt she was her sister, and -the money accordingly belonged to her. It had cost her nearly all the -money she could raise to come from Wales, fully satisfied of being -amply repaid for her trouble, but she met with the same fate as the -preceding applicant. - -The next claimant was a sailor, who had just returned from the West -Indies, where he had been _moored_, he said, thirty-five years. He -had left in England two sisters named Bond: one was of very eccentric -manners, particularly for her love of money; the sailor declared that -he had frequently seen her make a meal off cat's meat. The above he -considered sufficient proof of his relationship. He insisted upon -entering a caveat against the claim of his Majesty, but acknowledging -that the King appeared to be the legal claimant, he swore he would go -and see his royal master, and ask him if he had any objection to share -the money with him! - -It would be tedious to enumerate the persons who put in their claims -from various parts of the world; but the King's proctor stood first in -the Prerogative Court, and nothing had transpired to affect his right -in behalf of his Majesty. - -The hut on Cambridge Heath wherein Mrs. Bond died was closed for some -time; at length it was announced to be let; but such was the anxiety -to get possession of it that the notice was removed. The number of -applications were, doubtless, made under the impression that hoards of -money were yet undiscovered in the hut. - -The claimant most likely entitled to the property was a Mr. Bond, a -butcher, in Shoreditch, who traced out that he was second cousin to the -wealthy spinster, his grandfather having been the only brother of the -father of Mrs. Bond; and the only bar to his administering was that he -had not been able to ascertain the church where Mrs. Bond's father and -mother were married, a most essential point to prove the legitimacy -of Mrs. Sarah Bond. There were no fewer than eight caveats against the -administrator. - - - - -John Ward, the Hackney Miser. - - -In Church Street, Hackney, one of the most interesting of our suburban -parishes for its antiquarian history, stands a mansion, which, though -plain in itself, has long been traditionally conspicuous, from the -infamous character of its founder. This was John Ward, a man who was -so notorious for his readiness to take advantage of the foibles, the -wants, and vices of his fellow-men, that it attracted the satirical -acrimony of Pope, who, in his epistle to Allen, Lord Bathurst, _On the -Use of Riches_, has placed him in a niche in the Temple of Obloquy, in -company with a trio, who seem fit to descend with him to posterity, -or rather to accompany him in the descent alluded to in the following -lines:-- - - Like doctors thus, when much dispute has pass'd, - We find our tenets just the same at last; - Both fairly owning riches, in effect, - No grace of Heaven or token of the elect: - Given to the fool, the mad, the vain, the evil, - To Ward, to Waters, Chartres, and the Devil. - -Of Ward's private history little is known. He is said to have been -early in life employed in a floorcloth manufactory. The exact period -when he built the house at Hackney is uncertain. He resided in it -in the year 1727, at which time he sat in Parliament for Melcombe -Regis. But having _made a mistake with respect to a name in a deed_ -in which the interest of the Duchess of Buckingham was implicated, he -was prosecuted by her and convicted of forgery, was first expelled -the House of Commons, and then stood in the pillory, on the 17th of -March, 1727. As misfortune seldom comes alone, about this time Ward was -suspected of joining in a conveyance with Sir John Blunt to secrete -50,000_l._ of that director's estate forfeited to the South Sea Company -by Act of Parliament. The Company recovered the 50,000_l._ against -Ward, and by execution swept away the whole of the furniture and other -effects in the mansion at Hackney. These being insufficient to cover -even the costs, Ward sought to protect his other property, set up prior -conveyances of his real estate to his brother and son, and concealing -all his personal, which was computed to be 150,000_l._ Against these -paper fortifications, a bill in Chancery, ten times as voluminous, and -twenty times more zig-zag, was erected; a countermine of immense depth -was sprung, and however ably his works were defended, they were at -length carried. The conveyances were set aside, Ward was imprisoned, -and hazarded the forfeiture of his life by not giving in his effects -till the last day, which was that of his examination. During his -confinement his amusement was to give poison to dogs and cats, and see -them expire by slower or quicker torments! - -In the _Post-boy_ newspaper of the period we find these records of -Ward's career:--In June, 1719, he recovered 300_l._ damages from one -Thomas Dyche, a schoolmaster of Bow, for printing and publishing a -libel upon Ward, reflecting upon the discharge of his trust about -repairing Dagenham Breach. In May, 1726, he fled to France or -Flanders. In June, 1731, he was indicted, with certain others, for -wounding several officers of the Commissioners of Bankruptcy; and in -September, 1732, he surrendered to the Commissioners, and was kept -under examination at Guildhall from three o'clock that afternoon till -three the next morning, when he was committed to the Fleet for further -examination. - -To sum up the wealth of Ward at the several eras of his life: at -his standing in the pillory he was worth above 200,000_l._; at his -commitment to prison he was worth 150,000_l._, but became so far -diminished in his reputation as to be thought a worse man by fifty or -sixty thousand. - -Among a variety of curious papers of Mr. Ward was found the following -extraordinary document, in his own handwriting, which may very -appropriately be called _The Miser's Prayer_:-- - -"O Lord, Thou knowest that I have nine estates in the City of London, -and likewise that I have lately purchased one estate in fee simple in -the county of Essex; I beseech Thee to preserve the two counties of -Middlesex and Essex from fire and earthquakes; and as I have a mortgage -in Hertfordshire, I beg of Thee likewise to have an eye of compassion -on that county; and for the rest of the counties Thou mayst deal with -them as Thou art pleased. O Lord, enable the Bank to answer their -bills, and make all my debtors good men. Give a prosperous voyage and -return to the 'Mermaid' sloop, because I have insured it; and as Thou -hast said the days of the wicked are but short, I trust in Thee that -Thou wilt not forget Thy promise, as I have purchased an estate in -reversion, which will be mine on the death of that profligate young -man, Sir J. L. Keep my friends from sinking, and preserve me from -thieves and housebreakers, and make all my servants so honest and -faithful that they may attend to my interests, and never cheat me out -of my property, night or day." - - - - -"Poor Man of Mutton." - - -This is a term applied to the remains of a shoulder of mutton, which, -after it has done its regular duty as a roast at dinner, makes its -appearance as a broiled bone at supper or upon the next day. - -The late Earl of B., popularly known by the name of _Old Rag_, being -indisposed at an hotel in London, the landlord came to enumerate the -good things he had in his larder, hoping to prevail on his guest to -eat something. The Earl, at length, starting suddenly from his couch, -and throwing back a tartan nightgown, which had covered his singularly -grim and ghastly face, replied to his host's courtesy:--"Landlord, -I think I _could_ eat a morsel of _a poor man_." Boniface, surprised -alike at the extreme ugliness of Lord B.'s countenance and the nature -of the proposal, retreated from the room, and tumbled down-stairs -precipitately, having no doubt that this barbaric chief when at home -was in the habit of eating a joint of a tenant or vassal when his -appetite was dainty.--_Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary._ - - - - -Lord Kenyon's Parsimony. - - -Lord Kenyon studied economy even in the hatchment put up over his house -in Lincoln's Inn Fields after his death. The motto was certainly found -to be "_Mors janua vita_"--this being at first supposed to be the -mistake of the painter. But when it was mentioned to Lord Ellenborough, -"Mistake!" exclaimed his lordship, "it is no mistake. The considerate -testator left particular directions in his will that the estate should -not be burdened with the expense of a _diphthong_!" Accordingly, he had -the glory of dying very rich. After the loss of his eldest son, he said -with great emotion to Mr. Justice Allan Park, who repeated the words -soon after to the narrator:--"How delighted George would be to take -his poor brother from the earth, and restore him to life, although he -receives 250,000_l._ by his decease!" - -Lord Kenyon occupied a large, gloomy house in Lincoln's Inn Fields: -there is this traditional description of the mansion in his time--"All -the year through it is Lent in the kitchen and Passion-week in the -parlour." Some one having mentioned that, although the fire was very -dull in the kitchen-grate, the _spits_ were always bright,--"It is -quite irrelevant," said Jekyll, "to talk about the _spits_, for -_nothing_ 'turns' _upon them_." * * He was curiously economical about -the adornment of his head. It was observed for a number of years -before he died, that he had two hats and two wigs--of the hats and -the wigs one was dreadfully old and shabby, the other comparatively -spruce. He always carried into court with him the very old hat and the -comparatively spruce wig, or the very old wig and the comparatively -spruce hat. On the days of the very old hat and the comparatively -spruce wig, he shoved his hat under the bench and displayed his wig; -but on the days of the very old wig and the comparatively spruce hat, -he always continued covered. He might often be seen sitting with his -hat over his wig, but the Rule of Court by which he was governed on -this point is doubtful. - - - - -Mary Moser, the Flower-Painter. - - -Mary Moser was the only daughter of George Michael Moser, R.A., -goldchaser and enameller, and the first Keeper of the Royal Academy of -Arts in London. His daughter was a very distinguished flower-painter, -and was the only lady besides Angelica Kauffman who was ever elected -an Academician: she became afterwards Mrs. Lloyd. Miss Moser, says -Smith, in his _Life of Nollekens_, was somewhat precise, but was at -times a most cheerful companion: he has printed three of her letters, -two to Mrs. Lloyd, the wife of the gentleman to whom she herself was -afterwards married; and the other to Fuseli, while in Rome, of whom she -was said to have been an admirer. In one to the former, alluding to -the absurd fashions of the beginning of the reign of George the Third, -she says:--"Come to London and admire our plumes; we sweep the skies! -a duchess wears six feathers, a lady four, and every milkmaid one at -each corner of her cap. Fashion is grown a monster: pray tell your -operator that your hair must measure three-quarters of a yard from the -extremity of one wing to the other." The second letter is chiefly on -Lord Chesterfield's Advice to his Son: she says to her friend, "If you -have read Lord Chesterfield's Letters, give me your opinion of them, -and what you think of his Lordship: for my part, I admire wit and adore -good manners, but at the same time I should detest Lord Chesterfield, -were he alive, young, and handsome, and my lover, if I supposed, as -I do now, his wit was the result of thought, and that he had been -practising the graces in the looking-glass." In her letter to Fuseli, -she gives this account of the Exhibition of the Royal Academy in the -year 1770:--"Reynolds was like himself in pictures which you have seen; -Gainsborough beyond himself in a portrait of a gentleman in a Vandyck -habit; and Zoffany superior to everybody in a portrait of Garrick in -the character of Abel Drugger, with two figures, Subtle and Face. Sir -Joshua agreed to give a hundred guineas for the picture; Lord Carlisle -had an hour after offered Reynolds twenty to part with it, which the -Knight generously refused, resigned his intended purchase to the Lord, -and the emolument to his brother artist. He is a gentleman! Angelica -made a very great addition to the show, and Mr. Hamilton's picture of -Briseis parting from Achilles was very much admired; the Briseis in -taste, _à l'antique_, elegant and simple. Cotes, Dance, Wilson, &c., as -usual." - -Mary Moser decorated an entire room with flowers at Frogmore for Queen -Charlotte, for which she received 900_l._; the room was called Miss -Moser's room. After her marriage, she practised only as an amateur; she -died at an advanced age in 1819. When West was re-instated in the chair -of the Royal Academy, in 1803, there was one voice for Mrs. Lloyd, -and when Fuseli was taxed with having given it, he said, according to -Knowles, his biographer, "Well, suppose I did; she is eligible to the -office; and is not one old woman as good as another?" West and Fuseli -were ill-according spirits. - - - - -[Illustration: An Old Maid on a Journey. The Eccentric Miss Banks.] - - - - -The Eccentric Miss Banks. - - -Oddities of dress were half-a-century ago much oftener to be seen -than in the present day; or, rather, their singularities were more -grotesque than the peculiarities of the present day. John Thomas -Smith, writing in 1818, says--"It is scarcely possible for any person -possessing the smallest share of common observation to pass through -the streets in London without noticing what is generally denominated -_a character_, either in dress, walk, pursuits, or propensities." At -the head of his remarks on the eccentricity of some of their dresses -he places Miss Sophia Banks, Sarah, the sister of Sir Joseph, who -was looked after by the eye of astonishment wherever she went, and -in whatever situation she appeared. Her dress was that of the _Old -School_; her Barcelona quilted petticoat had a hole on either side for -the convenience of rummaging two immense pockets, stuffed with books -of all sizes. This petticoat was covered with a deep stomachered gown, -sometimes obscuring the pocket-holes, similar to many of the ladies -of Bunbury's time, which he has introduced into his prints. In this -dress she might frequently be seen walking, followed by a six-foot -servant with a cane almost as tall as himself. Miss Banks, for so that -lady was called for many years, was frequently heard to relate the -following curious anecdote of herself: after making repeated inquiries -of the wall-vendors of halfpenny ballads for a particular one which she -wanted, she was informed by the claret-faced woman who strung up her -stock by Middlesex Hospital gates, that if she went to a printer's in -Long Lane, Smithfield, probably he might supply her ladyship with what -her ladyship wanted. Away trudged Miss Banks through Smithfield: but -before she entered Mr. Thompson's shop, she desired her man to wait -for her at the corner, by the plum-pudding stall. "Yes, we have it," -was the printer's answer to her interrogative. He then gave Miss Banks -what is called a book, consisting of many songs. Upon her expressing -her surprise when the man returned her eightpence from her shilling, -and the great quantity of songs he had given her, when she only -wanted one--"What, then!" observed the man, "are you not one of our -characters? I beg your pardon." - -This lady and Lady Banks, out of compliment to Sir Joseph, who had -been deeply engaged in the production of wool, had their riding-habits -made of his produce, in which dresses the two ladies at one period on -all occasions appeared. Indeed, so delighted was Miss Banks with this -_overall_ covering, that she actually gave the habit-maker orders -for three at a time, and they were called _Hightum_, _Tightum_, and -_Scrub_. The first was her best, the second her second-best, and the -third her every-day one. - -Once when Miss Banks and her sister-in-law visited a friend with whom -they were to stay several days, on the evening of their arrival they -sat down to dinner in their riding-habits. Their friend had a large -party after dinner to meet them, and they entered the drawing-room in -their riding-habits. On the following morning they again appeared in -their riding-habits; and so on, to the astonishment of every one, till -the conclusion of their visit. - -Although Miss Banks paid great attention to many persons, there were -others to whom she was wanting in civility. A great genius, who had -arrived a quarter-of-an-hour before the time specified on the card -for dinner, was shown into the drawing-room, where Miss Banks was -putting away what are sometimes called _rattletraps_. When the visitor -observed, "It is a fine day, ma'am," she replied, "I know nothing at -all about it. You must speak to my brother upon that subject when you -are at dinner." Notwithstanding the very singular appearance of Miss -Banks, she was, when in the prime of life, a fashionable whip, and -drove four-in-hand. Miss Banks died in 1818. - - - - -Thomas Cooke, the Miser of Pentonville. - - -At No. 16, Winchester Place, now No. 64, Pentonville Road, lived, for a -period of fifteen years, Thomas Cooke, a notorious miser, who heaped up -wealth by the most ungenerous means and servility of behaviour: - - Gold banished honour from his mind, - And only left the name behind. - -He was born about 1725 or 1726, at Clewer, near Windsor, and was the -son of an itinerant fiddler. He was left to the care of a grandmother, -who resided at Swannington, near Norwich. He obtained employment in a -factory, where the leading trait of his character manifested itself. -His companions in labour clubbed a portion of their week's earnings to -form a mess. This Cooke declined, and determined to live more cheaply; -and when others went to dine, he went to the side of a neighbouring -brook, and made breakfast and dinner one meal, which consisted of -a halfpenny loaf, an apple, and a draught of water from the brook, -taken up on the brim of his cap. His economy so far seems to have been -judicious, as it enabled him to pay a boy who was an usher in the -village school to instruct him in the rudiments of education. - -When he arrived at manhood, he obtained employment as porter to a -drysalter and paper-maker at Norwich; he was next made a journeyman, -with increased wages. He then, through his master, got an appointment -in the Excise, in a district near London; and his master also gave -him a letter of introduction to a sugar-baker in the metropolis. -After a tedious journey by waggon, he reached London, with only eight -shillings in his pocket. There was some delay and expense before he -could act as an exciseman, and his immediate necessities compelled him -to take the situation of porter to the sugar-baker. He then became a -journeyman, and by his parsimonious habits saved money enough to pay -the preliminary expenses, and was enabled to assume the office to which -he had so long aspired. - -He was then appointed to inspect a paper-mill at Tottenham, where he -closely watched a new process in paper-making. During Cooke's official -visits to this mill the owner died, and his widow resolved to carry -on the business with the aid of a foreman. Cooke had noted here many -infractions of the law, which, designedly or otherwise, were daily -taking place; and having summed up the penalties incurred thereby, -which he set off against the value of the concern, he privately -informed the widow that he had complained of these malpractices, and -told her that if the fines were levied, they would amount to double -the value of the property she possessed, and reduce her to want and -imprisonment. This he followed up by an overture of marriage, and -assured the lady that he only knew of the frauds of her establishment. -The widow consented to become his wife when the appointed days of -mourning for her first husband had expired. To this Cooke agreed, but -lest she might prove fickle, he required of her a promise in writing. -On his marriage, Cooke became possessed of her property, which was -considerable, together with the lease of the mills at Tottenham. - -He next purchased a large sugar-baker's business in Puddle Dock. His -parsimony now became extreme: he kept no table, but obtained the -greater part of his daily food by well-timed visits to persons of his -acquaintance. He had good conversational powers, and these he usually -turned to his profit. Sometimes, when walking the streets, he fell -down in a pretended fit, opposite to the house of one whose bounty -he sought. No humane person could well refuse admission to a man in -apparent distress and of respectable appearance, whose well-powdered -wig and long ruffles induced a belief that he was some decayed citizen -who had seen better days. For the assistance thus kindly given he -would express his gratitude in the most energetic manner. He would ask -for a glass of water, but if wine was offered, he said, "No, he never -drank anything but water;" but when pressed by his kind host, would -take it, and exclaim, "God bless my soul, sir, this is very excellent -wine! Pray, sir, who is your wine merchant? for indeed, to tell you the -truth, it was the difficulty of getting good wine that caused me to -leave it off entirely." Upon invitation, he would take another glass, -and thanking his host, depart. A few days after, he would call at the -house of his kind entertainer just at dinner-time, professedly to thank -him for having saved his life, and on being invited to dine would at -first demur, urging that "My gruel is waiting for me at home." On -sitting down to dinner he would take notice of the children; and after -great pretended kindness, would say to the mother, "God bless them, -pretty dears. Pray, madam, will you have the goodness to give me all -their names in writing?" Thus artfully did he contrive to make his -kind entertainers think that he designed to do some good thing for -their children; and they now sought the continuance of his friendship -by occasional presents of game or a dozen or two of the wine he had so -much approved. - -Many persons were in this way made the victims of Cooke's sophistries. -By these gifts, his housekeeping expenses were reduced to fifteen-pence -a day, and it was sinful extravagance if they reached two shillings. -Such comestibles as he could not consume, he disposed of to the -dealers and others. He drank only water, but as for the "gormandizing, -gluttonous maids, they could not drink, not they, what he did; nothing -would serve them but table-beer." This he kept in his front parlour, -with a lock-tap to it, of which he held the key, and at meal-times he -drew exactly half-a-pint for each woman. - -With all his rigid economy, Cook found, to his great grief, that by -his sugar-bakery he had lost 500_l._ in twelve months. To amend this -state of affairs, and to discover some of the secrets of the trade, -he invited several sugar-bakers to dine with him, and plying them -well with wine, wheedled out of the persons in business the coveted -information. His wife was alarmed at this seeming extravagance, but -he silenced her scruples by telling her he would "suck as much of the -brains" of some of the fools as would amply repay them. - -Having retired from business, he resided for a time at the Angel Inn, -Islington, from whence he removed to Winchester Place. The plot of -garden-ground in the rear he sowed with cabbage-seed, and with his own -hands manured it. To obtain the manure, he would, on moonlight nights, -go out with a shovel and basket and take up the horse-dung which lay -in the City Road. This scheming obtained for him the name of "Cabbage -Cooke." - -The only luxury he allowed his wife was a small quantity of table-beer; -and by his general mal-treatment he caused her so much grief that -she died of a broken heart. Soon after his wife's death, he paid his -addresses to several rich widows, but none would listen to his suit, -especially as he desired all their property should be made over to him. - -Cooke was fond of horse-racing, and contrived to be present at Epsom -races at the expense of some of his acquaintances. He once had a horse; -but finding it too expensive to keep at livery, for this purpose he -converted the kitchen of his house into a stable, and he used to curry -and fodder the horse with his own hands. - -During his fifteen years' residence in Winchester Place, he never once -painted the house inside or outside, nor would he allow the landlord -to paint it. He was then served with legal notice to quit; this he -disregarded. At last he so implored the landlord not to turn him into -the street, that he consented to allow him time to provide himself with -a house, and this in presence of an associate whom he brought purposely -in the room. The landlord then had him served with an ejectment; but -upon the case being brought to trial, Cooke brought forward in evidence -the witness to the promise of the landlord, who was accordingly -nonsuited. The landlord, however, brought another action, in which he -succeeded; and Cooke removed to No. 85, White Lion Street, Pentonville. - -Sickness and old age now compelled Cooke to seek medical advice, when -he obtained, by some artifice, a patient's dispensary letter; but his -cheat was discovered. Cooke's principle was, "No cure, no pay;" and -when a physician, to whom he had been very troublesome, told him he -could do nothing more for him, he said, "Then give me back my money, -sir. Why did you rob me of my money, unless you meant to cure me?" -Yet Cooke was a professing Christian, and a regular attendant at the -ordinances of religion, and he seldom failed to receive the sacrament. -He died August 26th, 1811, at the age of eighty-six, and was buried on -the 30th at St. Mary's, Islington. Some of the mob threw cabbage-stalks -on his coffin as it was lowered into the grave. - -The wealth that Cooke had amassed during his long life-time, by -meanness, artifice, and pretended poverty, amounted to the large sum -of 127,205_l._ in the Three per cent. Consols. During his lifetime his -charities were but few. But, as if to atone for a life of avarice, he -left by will the bulk of his riches to several charitable societies, -and a few trifling legacies to individuals. - - - - -Thomas Cooke, the Turkey Merchant. - - -This eccentric gentleman was resident at Constantinople as a merchant -at the time Charles XII. of Sweden was in Turkey, in 1714, and -contributed in a very munificent manner to the relief of the royal -prisoner. Mr. Cooke well knew the Divan wished to get rid of the king, -their prisoner, who always pleaded poverty and inability to pay his -debts; and they having lent him money, were afraid to lend him any -more. He, however, devised a scheme to assist him, and applied to the -Lord High Treasurer, who heard the proposal with great satisfaction, -but was surprised to be told, "Your excellency must find the money." To -this he answered, by a very natural question, "How will you ever pay -us?" Mr. Cooke replied, they were building a mosque, and would stand in -need of lead to cover it, which he would engage to supply. Next morning -the proposal was accepted, and the arrangements concluded. - -Mr. Cooke then treated with the King of Sweden, and offered him a -certain sum of money upon condition of being repaid in copper, the -exportation of which from Sweden had been for some time prohibited, -at a stipulated price. The offer was accepted, and the money paid to -the king by the hands of La Mortraye, the well-known author of several -volumes of _Travels_; and Mr. Cooke received an order upon the states -of Sweden to be paid in copper, which he sold to a house in that -kingdom, at an advance of 12,000_l._ sterling upon the first cost, -besides the profit he obtained upon the sale of his lead. The money -lent was not sufficient for the king's liberation; he stayed in Turkey -till he had nothing left but a knife and fork. Upon hearing of the -king's situation, Mr. Cooke one day surprised him with a present of his -whole sideboard of plate; and for this conduct towards their sovereign -his name was idolized by the Swedes. - -Mr. Cooke was for many years in the commission of the peace for the -county of Middlesex, and was three years governor of the Bank of -England. He was a man of singular character, very shrewd, but highly -esteemed, particularly for his unbounded munificence. Having made his -will, whereby he had bequeathed 1,000_l._ to the clerks of the Bank, he -resolved on being his own executor, and to give them the money in his -lifetime. Accordingly, in the month of February, preceding his death, -he sent a note of 1,000_l._ to the governor of the Bank, requesting -that it might be distributed among the clerks, in the proportion of one -guinea for every year that each person had been in their service, and -the remaining 3_l._ to the porters. - -Mr. Cooke died at Stoke Newington, 12th of August, 1752, aged eighty. -By his own directions he was attended to the grave by twelve poor -housekeepers belonging to a box-club at Stoke Newington, of which he -had long been a generous and useful member. To each man he bequeathed -a guinea and a suit of clothes, and as much victuals and drink as he -chose; but if either of the legatees got fuddled he was to forfeit his -legacy, and was only to receive half-a-crown for his day's work. Mr. -Cooke's corpse was wrapped in a clean blanket, sewed up, and, being put -into a common coffin, was conveyed, with the above attendants, in three -coaches, to the grave close to a stile, near Sir John Morden's College, -on Blackheath, of which he was a trustee. The corpse was then taken out -of the coffin, which was left in the college for the first pensioner -it would fit, and buried in a winding-sheet upright in the ground, -according to the Eastern custom. - -Cooke's widow maintained the same benevolent character with himself, -and died at Stoke Newington, January 15th, 1763. They had issue two -daughters, both of whom died before their father. - - - - -"Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell. - - -In Cold Bath Square, for the space of ninety years, lived Mrs. Lewson, -commonly called "Lady Lewson," from her very eccentric manner of dress. -She was born in the year 1700, in the reign of William and Mary, in -Essex Street, Strand, of respectable parents named Vaughan; and she was -married at an early age to Mr. Lewson, a wealthy gentleman, then living -in Cold Bath Square, in the house wherein she subsequently continued to -reside. She became a widow at the age of twenty-six, having only one -daughter living at the time. She was left by her husband in affluent -circumstances; she preferred to continue single, and remained so, -although she had many suitors. When her daughter married, Mrs. Lewson -was left alone, and being of retired habits, she rarely went out, or -permitted the visits of any person. During the last thirty years of -her life, she kept only one servant, an old woman, who died after a -servitude of twenty years: she was succeeded by her grand-daughter, who -marrying, was replaced by an old man, who attended the different houses -in the Square to go of errands, clean shoes, &c. "Lady Lewson" took -this man into her house, and he acted as her steward, butler, cook, -and housemaid; and with the exception of two old lapdogs and a cat, was -her only companion. - -The house in which she lived was large and elegantly furnished; the -beds were kept constantly made, although they had not been slept in -for about thirty years. Her apartment was only occasionally swept out, -and never washed; and the windows were so encrusted with dirt, that -they hardly admitted a ray of light. She used to tell her acquaintances -that if the rooms were washed, it might be the occasion of her catching -cold; and as to cleaning the windows, many accidents happened through -that ridiculous practice--the glass might be broken, the person who -cleaned them might be injured, and the expense would fall upon her. -There was a large garden in the rear of the house, which she kept in -good order; and here, when the weather was fine, she sometimes sat and -read, or chatted of times past with such of her acquaintances as she -could be persuaded to admit. She seldom visited, except at the house -of a grocer in Cold Bath Square, with whom she dealt. She had survived -many years every relative, and was thus left to indulge her odd tastes. - -She was so partial to the fashions that prevailed in her youthful days, -that she never changed the manner of her dress from that worn in the -time of George I., being always decorated - - With ruffs, and cuffs, and fardingales. - -She always wore powder, with a large _tache_, made of horsehair, upon -her head, over which the hair was turned, and she placed the cap, which -was tied under her chin, and three or four rows of curls hung down -her neck. She generally wore a silk dress, with a long train, a deep -flounce all round, and a very long waist; her gown was very tightly -laced up to her neck, round which was a ruff or frill; the sleeves came -down below the elbows, and to each of them four or five large cuffs -were attached; a large bonnet, quite flat, high-heeled shoes, a large -black silk cloak trimmed with lace, and a gold-headed cane, completed -her every-day costume for eighty years; in which dress she occasionally -walked round the Square. She never washed herself, because she thought -those persons who did so were always taking cold, or engendering some -dreadful disorder; her method was to besmear her face and neck all over -with hog's-lard, because that was soft and lubricating; and because she -wanted a little colour on her cheeks, she bedaubed them with rose-pink. -Her manner of living was very methodical: she would only drink tea out -of one cup, and always sat in her favourite chair. She enjoyed good -health, and entertained the greatest aversion to medicine. At the age -of eighty-three, she cut two new teeth, and she was never troubled with -tooth-ache. She lived in five reigns, and had the events of the year -1715 (the Scottish Rebellion) fresh in her recollection. - -The sudden death of an old lady who was a neighbour made a deep -impression on Mrs. Lewson; believing her own time had come, she became -weak, took to her bed, refused medical aid, and on Tuesday, the 28th of -May, 1816, died at her house in Cold Bath Square, at the age of 116; -she was interred in Bunhill Fields burying-ground. "At her death," -says Mr. Warner, in his MS. _Notes on Clerkenwell_, "I went over the -house, and was struck with astonishment at the number of bars, bolts, -&c., to the whole of the doors and windows; the ceilings of the upper -floor were completely lined with strong boards, braced together with -iron bars, to prevent any one getting into the house from the roof. The -ashes had not been removed for many years; they were neatly piled up, -as if formed into beds for some particular purpose, around the yard. -Her furniture, &c., were sold by auction, and persons were admitted to -view by producing a catalogue, which was sold at sixpence, and would -permit any number of persons at one time."[10] - -[10] Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_, 1865, p. 115. - - - - -Profits of Dust-sifting, and Dust-heaps. - - -Many years ago a _dust-sifter_, named Mary Collins, residing in Bell -Street, Lisson Grove, was robbed by a nurse, when her evidence before -the police magistrate was remarkable for the extraordinary disclosures -it incidentally afforded of the large profits obtained from the -apparently humble vocation of dust-sifting. The articles stolen were in -a pocket, and were thus described: one coral necklace, large beads; one -ditto, with pearl clasp; several handsome brooches; five gold seals; -some gold rings; several gold shirt-pins; a quantity of loose beads; -broken bits of gold and silver, &c. Mr. Rawlinson, the magistrate, -expressed his surprise at her having such a motley assortment of -valuables. Complainant: Your worship, we find them amongst the -dust.--Mr. Rawlinson: Indeed! what, all these articles?--Complainant: -Oh, your worship, that's nothing; we find many more things than them: -we find almost every small article that can be mentioned. We are -employed by the dust contractor, who allows us 8_d._ per load for -sifting, besides which we have all the spoons and other articles which -we may find amongst the dust.--Mr. Rawlinson: That is dustman's law, -I suppose: but pray how many silver spoons may you find in the course -of the year?--Complainant: It is impossible to say: sometimes more and -sometimes less. - -Mr. Rawlinson declared that what she had just related was quite -novel to him. The urbane manner of the worthy magistrate won upon -the old lady and made her quite communicative. She had followed her -occupation eight years, and what with the "perquisites" (_id est_, -articles found), and the savings from "hard labour," she had realized -sufficient money to think about house-building, and had then a house -erecting which she expected would cost her at least 300_l._ She had -deposited 100_l._ in the hands of her employer, in part payment, and as -a proof that all was not vaunting, she produced her box, in which were -thirty-nine sovereigns, two five-pound bank-notes, and several guineas -and half-sovereigns. - -Early in the present century, the spot of ground on which now stands -Argyle Street, Liverpool Street, Manchester Street, and the corner of -Gray's Inn Road, was covered with a mountain of filth and cinders, the -accumulation of many years, and which afforded food for hundreds of -pigs. The Russians bought the whole of the ash-heap, and shipped it to -Moscow, to be used in rebuilding that city after it had been burned -by the French. The Battle-bridge dustmen had a certain celebrity in -their day. The ground on which the dust-heap stood was sold in 1826 -to the Pandemonium Company for fifteen thousand pounds; they walled -in the whole, and built a theatre, which now remains at the corner of -Liverpool Street. The Company's scheme was, however, abandoned, and -the ground was let on building leases. The heap is mentioned in the -burlesque song, _Adam Bell, the Literary Dustman:_[11] - - You recollect the cinder heap, - Vot stood in Gray's Inn Lane, sirs? - -[11] Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_, p. 501. - -When the street now called the Caledonian Road was in the fields, -there was at the Battle-bridge end of the road a large accumulation -of horse-bones, which were stored there by some horse-slaughterers. -And in 1833, Battle-bridge was described in the _New Monthly Magazine_ -as "the grand centre of dustmen, scavengers, horse and dog dealers, -knackermen, brickmakers, and other low but necessary professionalists." -The dust-heap is described as "that sublime, sifted wonder of cockneys, -the cloud-kissing dust-heap which sold for twenty thousand pounds;" but -this is doubtful. - -Mr. T. C. Noble has communicated to Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_ -the following particulars of the Dust and Cinder Heap, &c.--"The estate -at Battle-bridge comprised from seventeen to twenty acres. Of this -my grandfather took sixteen small dilapidated houses, and _the dust -and cinder heap_, which, it was said, had been _existing on the spot -since the Great Fire of London_. He gave about 500_l._ for the lot, -although the parties wanted 800_l._ Bricks were then very scarce, so -he very soon realized a good sum for the old buildings, while Russia, -hearing in some way of this enormous dust-heap, purchased it for -purposes in rebuilding Moscow. The site of the mountain of dust is now -covered by the houses of Derby Street, and I may add, the names of the -thoroughfares erected on this estate were derived from the popular -ministers of that day. The rental derived from the property by my -grandfather exceeded 1,000_l._ a year." - -John Thomas Smith gives the following notes upon oddities of the above -class:--"Within my time many men have indulged most ridiculously in -their eccentricities. I have known one who had made a pretty large -fortune in business get up at four o'clock in the morning and walk the -streets to pick up horse-shoes which had been slipped in the course -of the night, with no other motive than to see how many he could -accumulate in the course of a year. I also remember a rich soap-boiler -who never missed an opportunity of pocketing nails, pieces of iron -hoops, and bits of leather in his daily walks; and these he would -spread upon a large walnut-tree three-flapped dining-table, with a -similar view to that of the horse-shoe collector. This wealthy citizen -would often put on a red woollen cap and a waggoner's frock, in order -to stoke his own furnace; after which he would dress, get into his -coach, and, attended by tall servants in bright blue liveries, drive to -his villa, where his hungry friends were waiting his arrival." - - - - -Sir John Dinely, Bart. - - -This eccentric baronet, of the family of the Dinelys, of Charlton, -descended by the female line from the Royal House of Plantagenet, -having dissipated the wreck of the family estates, obtained the -pension and situation of a poor knight of Windsor. His chief -occupation consisted in advertising for a wife, and nearly thirty -years were passed in assignations to meet the fair respondents to his -advertisements. His figure was truly grotesque: in wet weather he was -mounted on a high pair of pattens; he wore the coat of the Windsor -uniform, with a velvet embroidered waistcoat, satin breeches, silk -stockings, and a full-bottomed wig. In this finery he might be seen -strolling one day; and next out marketing, carrying a penny loaf, a -morsel of butter, a quartern of sugar, and a farthing candle. Twice -or thrice a year he came to London, and visited Vauxhall Gardens -and the theatres. His fortune, if he could recover it, he estimated -at 300,000_l._ He invited the widow as well as the blooming maiden -of sixteen, and addressed them in printed documents, bearing his -signature, in which he specified the sum the ladies must possess; he -expected less property with youth than age or widowhood; adding that -few ladies would be eligible that did not possess at least 10,000_l._ a -year, which, however, was nothing compared to the honour his high birth -and noble descent would confer; the incredulous he referred to Nash's -_Worcestershire_. He addressed his advertisements to "the angelic fair" -from his house in Windsor Castle (one of the poor knight's houses). He -cherished to the last the expectation of forming a connubial connection -with some lady of property, but, alas! he died a bachelor in 1808.[12] - -[12] We know an instance of an old Baronet advertising twenty years for -a wife; at last he succeeded in marrying an out-and-out Xantippe. - - - - -[Illustration: A well-known character on 'Change. Rothschild.] - - - - -The Rothschilds. - - -In the _Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton_, edited by his son, we -find this amusing letter, dated 1834: "We yesterday dined at Ham House, -to meet the Rothschilds; and very amusing it was. He (Rothschild) told -us his life and adventures. He was the third son of the banker at -Frankfort. 'There was not,' he said, 'room enough for us all in that -city. I dealt in English goods. One great trader came there, who had -the market to himself; he was quite the great man, and did us a favour -if he sold us goods. Somehow I offended him, and he refused to show -me his patterns. This was on a Tuesday; I said to my father, "I will -go to England." I could speak nothing but German. On the Thursday I -started. The nearer I got to England, the cheaper goods were. As soon -as I got to Manchester, I laid out all my money, things were so cheap; -and I made good profit. I soon found that there were three profits--the -raw material, the dyeing, and the manufacturing. I said to the -manufacturer, "I will supply you with material and dye, and you supply -me with manufactured goods." So I got three profits instead of one, -and I could sell goods cheaper than anybody. In a short time I made my -20,000_l._ into 60,000_l._ My success all turned on one maxim. I said, -I can do what another man can, and so I am a match for the man with -the patterns, and for all the rest of them! Another advantage I had. -I was an off-hand man. I made a bargain at once. When I was settled -in London, the East India Company had 800,000 ounces of gold to sell. -I went to the sale, and bought it all. I knew the Duke of Wellington -must have it. I had bought a great many of his bills at a discount. The -Government sent for me, and said they must have it. When they had got -it, they did not know how to get it to Portugal. I undertook all that, -and I sent it through France; and that was the best business I ever -did.' - -"Another maxim, on which he seemed to place great reliance, was, never -to have anything to do with an unlucky place or an unlucky man. 'I have -seen,' said he, 'many clever men, very clever men, who had not shoes -to their feet. I never act with them. Their advice sounds very well; -but fate is against them; they cannot get on themselves; and if they -cannot do good to themselves, how can they do good to me?' By aid of -these maxims he has acquired three millions of money. 'I hope,' said -----, 'that your children are not too fond of money and business, to -the exclusion of more important things. I am sure you would not wish -that.'--Rothschild: 'I am sure I should wish that. _I wish them to give -mind, and soul, and heart, and body, and everything to business; that -is the way to be happy_. It requires a great deal of boldness and a -great deal of caution to make a great fortune; and when you have got -it, it requires ten times as much wit to keep it. If I were to listen -to all the projects proposed to me, I should ruin myself very soon. -Stick to one business, young man,' said he to Edward; 'stick to your -brewery, and you may be the great brewer of London. Be a brewer, and a -banker, and a merchant, and a manufacturer, and you will soon be in the -_Gazette_. - -"'One of my neighbours is a very ill-tempered man; he tries to vex me, -and has built a great place for swine close to my walk. So, when I go -out, I hear, first grunt, grunt, squeak, squeak; but this does me no -harm. I am always in good humour. Sometimes to amuse myself I give a -beggar a guinea. He thinks it is a mistake, and for fear I should find -it out, off he runs as hard as he can. I advise you to give a beggar a -guinea sometimes, it is very amusing.' The daughters are very pleasing. -The second son is a mighty hunter, and his father lets him buy any -horses he likes. He lately applied to the Emperor of Morocco for a -first-rate Arab horse. The Emperor sent him a magnificent one; but he -died as he landed in England. The poor youth said very feelingly, 'that -was the greatest misfortune he ever had suffered;' and I felt strong -sympathy with him. I forgot to say, that soon after Mr. Rothschild came -to England, Bonaparte invaded Germany. 'The Prince of Hesse Cassel,' -said Rothschild, 'gave my father his money; there was no time to be -lost; he sent it to me. I had 600,000_l._ arrive unexpectedly by the -post; and I put it to such good use, that the Prince made me a present -of all his wine and his linen.'" - - - - -A Legacy of Half a Million of Money. - - -On the 30th of August, 1852, there died at Chelsea John Camden Neild, -a wealthy gentleman, who had bequeathed an immense legacy to Queen -Victoria. His father was a native of Knutsford, in Cheshire; as a -goldsmith in London he made a large fortune. He was a truly benevolent -man, especially in his efforts for the improvement of prisons, and -originated the Society for the Relief of Persons imprisoned for Small -Debts. He married the daughter of John Camden, Esq., of Battersea, in -Surrey, a direct descendant of the great antiquary of the same name. He -died in 1814, and was buried at Chelsea. - -John Camden Neild, the only surviving son of the above, was born in -1780; educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, studied at Lincoln's -Inn, and in 1808 was called to the bar. In 1814 he succeeded to the -whole of his father's property, estimated at 250,000_l._; but he made -a very different use of his wealth. Avarice was his ruling passion; he -became a confirmed miser, and for the last thirty years of his life -gave himself over to heaping up riches. He lived in a large but meanly -furnished house in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea; and he slept on a bare board, -and latterly on an old stump bedstead, on which he died. His favourite -companion was a large black cat, which was in his chamber when he -breathed his last. - -He had considerable property at North Marston, in Buckinghamshire, and -here he often stayed for days together, besides his half-yearly visits -to receive rents. As lessee of the rectory, it was incumbent on him to -repair the chancel of the church; the leaded roof having become full -of fissures, he had them covered with strips of painted calico, saying -they would "last his time." During this odd repair, he sat all day on -the roof, to keep the workmen employed and even ate his dinner there, -which consisted of hard-boiled eggs, dry bread, and buttermilk. - -His dress was an old-fashioned swallow-tailed coat, brown trousers, -short gaiters, and shoes which were generally patched and down at the -heels. His stockings and linen were generally full of holes; but when -he stayed a night at a tenant's, the mistress often mended them while -he was in bed. He was short and punchy in figure, scarcely above five -feet in height, with a large round and short neck. He always carried -an old green cotton umbrella, but never wore a great coat, which he -considered too extravagant for his slender means. He travelled outside -a coach, where his fellow-travellers took him for a decayed gentleman -in extreme poverty. Once, when visiting his Kentish property on a -bitterly cold day, the coach stopped at Farningham, where the other -passengers subscribed for a glass of brandy-and-water, which they sent -to the poor gentleman, in pity for their thinly-clad companion who -still sat on the coach-roof, while they were by the inn fireside. - -He often took long journeys on foot, when he would avail himself of any -proffered "lift," and he was even known to sit on a load of coal, to -enable him to proceed a little further without expense; yet he would -give the driver a penny or two for the accommodation; for, miser as he -was, he never liked to receive anything without paying for it--however -small the scale; nor would he partake of any meal or refreshment when -asked by the clergymen of the parishes where his estates lay. Yet with -tenants of a lower grade he would share the coarse meals and lodging -of the family. At North Marston he used to reside with the tenant on -the rectory farm; while staying here, about 1828, he attempted to cut -his throat, but his life was saved chiefly by the prompt assistance of -the tenant's wife. This attempt was supposed to have been caused by a -sudden fall in the funds, in which he had just made a large investment. - -Sometimes he would eat his dinner at a tenant's, where he would beg a -basin of milk, and buy three eggs for a penny, get them hard-boiled, -and eat two for his dinner, with another basin of milk; the third egg -he would save for next morning's breakfast. He used to examine minutely -the nature of his land, and keep an account of the number of trees on -his estates: he had been known to walk from twelve to fifteen miles to -count only a few trees. - -Mr. Neild's general answer to all applications for charitable -contributions was a refusal; in some instances it was otherwise. He -once, but only once, gave a pound for the Sunday-school at North -Marston; he promised 300_l._ towards building an infirmary for -Buckinghamshire, but withheld it from an objection to the site. - -Mr. Neild was not, as stated at the time of his death, "a frigid, -spiritless specimen of humanity," for he possessed considerable -knowledge in legal and general literature and the classics. Nor did -he entirely pass over merit. Finding the son of one of his tenants -to possess strong natural abilities, he paid wholly or in part the -expenses of his school and college education. This person is now a -distinguished scholar and a dignitary of the Church of England. - -Mr. Neild was buried on the 16th of September, according to his -own desire, in the chancel of North Marston Church. His will then -necessarily came to light, and great was the sensation which it -occasioned. After bequeathing a few trifling legacies to different -persons, he left the whole of his vast property, estimated at -500,000_l._, to "Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, begging -Her Majesty's most gracious acceptance of the same for her sole use -and benefit, and her heirs, &c." To each of his three executors he -bequeathed 100_l._ The will had excited such curiosity, that, though -his life had passed almost unnoticed, a large concourse of persons -assembled at Chelsea to witness the removal of his body, and the church -and churchyard at North Marston were crowded with wondering--not -lamenting--spectators. Among his tenants, workmen, and the poor of the -parish where he possessed so much property, not a tear was shed, not -a regret uttered, as his body was committed to its last resting-place. -The only remark heard was, "Poor creature! had he known so much would -have been spent on his funeral, he would have come down here to die to -save the expense!" - -Two caveats were entered against his will, but were subsequently -withdrawn, and the Queen was left to take undisputed possession of -his property. Her Majesty immediately increased Mr. Neild's bequest -to his three executors to 1,000_l._ each; she provided for his old -housekeeper, to whom he had made no bequest, though she had lived with -him six-and-twenty years; and she secured an annuity to the woman who -had frustrated Mr. Neild's attempt at suicide. - -Her Majesty, in 1855, had restored the chancel of North Marston Church, -and inserted an east window of beautifully stained glass, beneath which -is a reredos with this inscription: "This Reredos and the Stained Glass -Window were erected by Her Majesty Queen Victoria (D.G.B.R.F.D.), in -the eighteenth year of her reign, in memory of John Camden Neild, Esq., -of this parish, who died August 30th, 1852, aged 72."[13] - -[13] Condensed from _The Book of Days_, vol. ii. pp. 285-288. - -This man of wealth must not be confounded with the Mr. Neeld who came -into possession of great wealth on the demise of his uncle, Philip -Rundell, the wealthy goldsmith of Ludgate Hill. He died in 1827, at the -age of eighty-one; and, according to the _Gentleman's Magazine_, "had -never married, and never kept an establishment, but lived much with one -niece at Brompton, and another, the wife of John Bannister, the eminent -comedian." The eldest son of the latter, on coming of age, was invited -to breakfast with Mr. Rundell, who placed in the young man's hands at -parting a sealed letter, which he was not to open till he reached home. -It was then found to contain a bequest of 10,000_l._, payable on the -death of the donor, and of his own marriage. This incident was related -to Mr. Britton by Mr. Bannister, who also indulged him by repeating -two songs which he had written and sung at Mr. Rundell's, on two -birthdays of the aged goldsmith. Bannister also inherited 5,000_l._ for -his own life, and then to devolve to his daughter; and his son had an -additional legacy from Mr. Rundell. Numerous other large sums of money -were bequeathed to other relatives, friends, and public foundations; -but the most important item in the will is the residuary clause, -whereby the testator "gives to his esteemed friend, Joseph Neeld, the -younger, all the rest of his real and mixed estate, which," says the -magazine, "it is computed will amount to not less than 890,000_l._ The -personal effects were sworn at upwards of 1,000,000_l._, the utmost -limit to which the scale of the probate duty extends." - - - - -Eccentricities of the Earl of Bridgewater. - - -Forty years since there lived in Paris the Rev. Francis Henry Egerton, -Earl of Bridgewater, of whom we find this probably overcharged but -curious account in a Parisian journal of the year 1826; than his -lordship no one has a higher claim to a distinguished place in the -history of human oddities:--"Those who have once seen--nay, those who -have never seen this meagre personage drag himself along, supported -by two huge lacqueys, with his sugar-loaf hat, slouched down over his -eyes, cannot fail to recognize him. An immense fortune enables him -to gratify the most extravagant caprices that ever passed through -the head of a rich Englishman. If he be lent a book, he carries his -politeness so far as to send it back, or rather have it conveyed home, -in a carriage. He gives orders that two of his most stately steeds -be caparisoned under one of his chariots, and the volume, reclining -at ease in _milord's_ landau, arrives, attended by four footmen in -costly livery, at the door of its astounded owner. His carriage is -frequently to be seen filled with his dogs. He bestows great care -on the feet of these dogs, and orders them boots, for which he pays -as dearly as for his own. Lord Bridgewater's custom is an excellent -one for the boot-maker; for, besides the four feet of each of his -dogs, the supply of his own two feet must give constant employment to -several operatives. He puts on a new pair of boots every day, carefully -preserving those he has once worn, and ranging them in order; he -commands that none shall touch them, but takes himself great pleasure -in observing how much of the year has each day passed, by the state of -his boots." - -"Lord Egerton is a man of few acquaintance, and very few of his -countrymen have got as far as his dining-hall. His table, however, -is constantly set out with a dozen covers, and served by suitable -attendants. Who, then, are his privileged guests? No less than a dozen -of his favourite dogs, who daily partake of _milord's_ dinner, seated -very gravely in arm-chairs, each with a napkin round his neck, and a -servant behind to attend to his wants. These honourable quadrupeds, as -if grateful for such delicate attentions, comport themselves during -the time of repast with a decency and decorum which would do more -than honour to a party of gentlemen; but if, by any chance, one of -them should, without due consideration, obey the natural instinct of -his appetite, and transgress any of the rules of good manners, his -punishment is at hand. The day following the offence the dog dines, -and even dines well; but not at _milord's_ table; banished to the -ante-chamber, and dressed in livery, he eats in sorrow the bread of -shame, and picks the bone of mortification, while his place at table -remains vacant till his repentance has merited a generous pardon!" - -This eccentric nobleman died in February, 1829, and by his will, dated -February 25th, 1825, bequeathed 8,000_l._ for the writing, printing, -and publishing of the well-known _Bridgewater Treatises_. - - - - -The Denisons, and the Conyngham Family. - - -The history of the Denison family, the last representative of which -died in 1849, leaving a fortune of more than two millions and a half, -affords a lesson which the mercantile world cannot study too curiously. -Somewhat more than one hundred and twenty years ago, the elder Denison -made his way on foot to London from Skipton-in-Craven, his native -place, with a few shillings in his pocket, and, being a parish-boy, not -knowing even how to read or write. Another account states that he was a -woollen-cloth-merchant at Leeds, and came to London in a waggon, being -attended on his departure by his friends, who took a solemn leave of -him, as the distance was then thought so great that they might never -see him again. He was recommended by a townswoman of his own (of the -name of Sykes, whom he afterwards married) to the house of Dillon and -Co., where she was herself a domestic servant; and for some time the -lad was employed to sweep the shop and go on errands. His zeal and -industry recommended him, however, to his employers, and having been -taught to read, he rose to a clerkship. After the death of his wife he -obtained an independence by marrying one Elizabeth Butler, daughter of -a rich hatter in Tooley Street, and set up in business for himself in -Princes Street, Lothbury, where by incessant attention to business and -strict parsimony, he managed to scrape together a considerable fortune. -He finally removed to St. Mary Axe, where he lived and died, after -having purchased the estates in Surrey and Yorkshire (of Lord King -and the Duke of Leeds), Denbies and Seamere; by joining the Heywoods, -eminent bankers of Liverpool, his wealth rapidly increased. The _Annual -Register_ of 1806, in recording these facts and his end, states that -through life Mr. Denison was a dissenter: he remained to the last an -illiterate man. - -By his second wife he had one son and two daughters. The son, William -Joseph, a man of sound principle and excellent character, though -less penurious than his father, who, when he entertained a friend -at dinner in St. Mary Axe, used to walk to the butcher's and bring -home a rump-steak in a cabbage-leaf in his pocket, was remarkable for -his disinclination to detach even the smallest sum from his enormous -capital. Thus, when the nephew to whom he bequeathed 85,000_l._ per -annum, fell into railway difficulties (the speculation having been -undertaken with the sanction of his uncle), he permitted him, to avoid -legal proceedings, to withdraw to Boulogne-sur-Mer, and reside there a -twelvemonth with his young family, rather than pay for him the sum of -2,000_l._ - -Mr. Denison, the father, died in 1806; his son, succeeding to the -banking business (the firm being now Denison, Heywood, and Kennard), -continued to accumulate; and at his death, in 1849, he left two -millions and a half of money. He had sat in Parliament for Surrey since -1818. He was a man of cultivated tastes, and possessed a knowledge of -art and elegant literature. He feared to be thought ostentatious, and -could with difficulty be prevailed on to have a lodge erected at the -entrance to a new road which he had just formed on his estate in Surrey. - -Mr. Denison's two sisters were Elizabeth, married, in 1794, to Henry, -first Marquis Conyngham; and Maria, married, in 1793, to Sir Robert -Lawley, Bart., created, in 1831, Baron Wenlock. Up to the age of -twenty-seven, Miss Denison resided with her father in St. Mary Axe. -Here the rich and beautiful heiress was won and wedded in 1794 by -the Honourable Henry Burton, then a captain, twenty-eight years old, -and the eldest son of the fortunate Francis Pierpoint Burton, of -Buncraggy, who succeeded through his mother, after the death of her two -brothers, to the barony and estates of the old Conynghams, won at the -battle of the Boyne by Sir Albert Conyngham, Lieutenant-General of the -Ordnance of Ireland, and aggrandized by many forfeitures and marriages -subsequently. Captain Burton carried off his wife to Ireland, and only -revisited England in his forty-second year, to kiss hands, in 1808, on -his promotion to a major-generalship. On succeeding to his father's -title and estates, his lordship so improved their condition that he was -justly regarded as one of the benefactors of his country; and a visit -to his estate at Slane, on the banks of the Boyne, is recorded by Mr. -Parkinson in his _Experiences of Agriculture_ in the same terms as a -visit to Holkham would have been chronicled in the days of Mr. Coke. -The barony of Conyngham was increased to an earldom as a reward for the -spirited conduct of his lordship's father, which led to a reciprocity -of trade between Ireland and England. Upon the conclusion of the war -with France, when George IV. paid a visit to Ireland, he was hospitably -received and entertained at Slane Castle. Here, probably, commenced -that more intimate acquaintance between His Majesty and the Marquis -Conyngham and his family which induced the King, upon his return to -England, to invite the whole family to court, and, after they had -accepted the invitation, to retain them in his household. In 1816 his -lordship was created Viscount Slane (the restoration of an ancient -title forfeited in the Rebellion), Earl of Mountcharles, and Marquis -Conyngham; and in 1821 he was enrolled in the British Peerage as Baron -Minster, of Minster Abbey, in the county of Kent. The Marchioness was -left a widow in 1832, and survived until 1861, having attained the -venerable age of ninety-two, and lived to see both her sons peers of -the realm--the one in succession of his father; the second, Albert -Denison, as the heir to her own father's great fortune and estates, -with the title of Baron Londesborough. - - - - -"Dog Jennings." - - -This eccentric character, Henry Constantine Jennings, was born in -1731, and was the son of a gentleman possessed of a large estate at -Shiplake, in Oxfordshire. He was educated at Westminster School, and -at the age of seventeen years became an ensign in the 1st Regiment of -Foot Guards. He held the commission but a short time, and on resigning -it went to Italy in company with Lord Monthermer, son of the Duke of -Montagu. - -While at Rome, young Jennings commenced his first collection of -articles of vertu, and ever after obtained the coarse and vulgar -_sobriquet_ of "Dog Jennings," in consequence of a circumstance which -he thus relates:--"I happened one day to be strolling along the streets -of Rome, and perceiving the shop of a statuary in an obscure street, -I entered it, and began to look around for any curious production of -art. I at length perceived something uncommon, at least; but, being -partly concealed behind a heap of rubbish, I could not contemplate it -with any degree of accuracy. After all impediments had been at length -removed, the marble statue I had been poking for was dragged into open -day; it proved to be a huge, but fine dog--and a fine dog it was, and a -lucky dog was I to discover and to purchase it. On turning it round, I -perceived it was without a tail--this gave me a hint. I also saw that -the limbs were finely proportioned; that the figure was noble; that the -sculpture, in short, was worthy of the best age of Athens; and that -it must be of the age of Alcibiades, whose favourite dog it certainly -was. I struck a bargain instantly on the spot for 400 scudi; and as the -muzzle alone was somewhat damaged, I paid the artist a trifle more for -repairing it. It was carefully packed, and being sent to England after -me, by the time it reached my house in Oxfordshire, it had just cost -me 80_l._ I wish all my other bargains had been like it, for it was -exceedingly admired, as I well knew it must be, by the connoisseurs, by -more than one of whom I was bid 1,000_l._ for my purchase. In truth, by -a person sent, I believe, from Blenheim, I was offered 1,400_l._ But I -would not part with my dog; I had bought it for myself, and I liked to -contemplate his fine proportions and admire him at my leisure, for he -was doubly dear to me, as being my own property and my own selection." - -At the Literary Club, one evening, Jennings' dog was the topic of -discussion: "_F._ (_Lord Cipper O'Geary._) 'I have been looking at this -famous marble dog of Mr. Jennings', valued at 1,000 guineas, said to be -Alcibiades' dog.'--_Johnson_. 'His tail, then, must be docked. That was -the mark of Alcibiades' dog.'--_E._ (_Burke._) 'A thousand guineas! the -representation of no animal whatever is worth so much. At this rate, a -dead dog would, indeed, be better than a living lion.'--_J._ 'Sir, it -is not the worth of the thing, but of the skill in forming it, which -is so highly estimated. Everything that enlarges the sphere of human -powers, that shows man he can do what he thought he could not do, is -valuable.'" - -But Mr. Jennings, like many other collectors, owing to a reverse of -fortune, was compelled, in 1778, to break up his collection, which -being sold by auction, the dog of Alcibiades brought 1,000 guineas, and -became the property of Mr. Duncombe, M.P. It is now at Duncombe Park, -in Yorkshire, the seat of Lord Feversham. - -It is painful to read that the latter days of Mr. Jennings were spent -in the King's Bench; and within the rules of that prison he died, -February 17th, 1819, at his lodgings in Belvedere Place, St. George's -Fields, in his eighty-eighth year. - - - - -Baron Ward's Remarkable Career. - - -Perhaps no man of modern times passed a more varied and romantic life -than the famed Yorkshire groom, statesman, and friend of sovereigns, -and who played so prominent a part at the Court of Parma; his career -strongly exemplifying the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. - -Thomas Ward was born at York, on the 9th of October 1810, where he was -brought up in the stable, but was shrewd and intelligent far beyond -boys of his own station. - -He left Yorkshire as a boy in the pay of Prince Lichtenstein, of -Hungary; and after a four years' successful career on the turf at -Vienna as a jockey, he became employed by the then reigning Duke of -Lucca. - -He was at Lucca promoted from the stable to be a valet to his Royal -Highness, which service he performed up to 1846. About that period -he was appointed Master of the Horse to the Ducal Court, when he -made extraordinary changes in that department: the stable expenses -were reduced more than one-half. Yet the Duke's stud was the envy -and admiration of all Italy. Eventually, Ward became Minister of the -Household and Minister of Finance, and acquired a diplomatic dignity in -the disturbances which preceded the revolutionary year, 1848, when he -was despatched to Florence upon a confidential mission of the highest -importance. This had no less an object than the delivery, to the Grand -Duke, of his master's abdication of the Lucchese principality. At first -the Grand Duke hesitated at receiving, in a diplomatic capacity, one of -whom he had only heard in relation to the races of the Casino. But our -envoy had seen and provided for such an emergency. He produced from his -pocket a commission, making him Viceroy of the Duke's estates, which -was to be acted upon if the Grand Duke raised any obstacle, or even if -he refused to receive Ward as ambassador of the states of Parma, at the -capital of the Medicis; this, of course, ended all difficulties. - -Ward held the above offices until the Duke's rule was violently -terminated by the great Revolution of 1848. With some difficulty he -escaped with his able and faithful minister, when they retired to an -estate near Dresden, called Weisstrop. At this period Ward became an -active agent of Austria, and as Austria triumphed, he recovered the -hereditary estates of Parma and Placentia; but the Duke, disgusted -by his experience, resigned in favour of his own son, with whom the -minister retained the same favour and exhibited the same talents that -first raised him to distinction, and made him more than a match for the -first of the Italian diplomatists. Upon one occasion he was despatched -to Vienna as an envoy from his little court, when he astonished -Schwartzenberg by the extent of his capacity. His acquaintance was -specially cultivated by the Russian Ambassador, Meyendorff, who appears -to have been very fond of Yorkshire hams. An English gentleman, supping -one night at the Russian Ambassador's, complimented him upon the -excellence of the ham. "There is a member of our diplomatic body here," -replied Meyendorff, "who supplies us all with hams from Yorkshire, of -which county he is a native." - -As prime minister, Ward negotiated the abdication of Charles II., -and placed the youthful Charles III. on the throne, who, it will -be remembered, was assassinated before his own palace in 1854. It -should be observed that as soon as Charles III. came to the throne, -the then Baron Ward was sent to Germany by his patron as Minister -Plenipotentiary, to represent Parma at the Court of Vienna. This post -he held up to the time of his royal patron's tragical end. - -When the Duchess-Regent assumed state authority, Ward retired from -public life, and took to agricultural pursuits in the Austrian -dominions. Without any educational foundation, he contrived to write -and speak German, French, and Italian, and conducted the affairs -of state with considerable cleverness, if not with remarkable -straightforwardness. But the moment he attempted to express himself in -English, his dialect was found to retain all the characteristics of his -want of education. Lord Palmerston once declared that Ward "was one of -the most remarkable men he had ever met with." - -Throughout life, Ward was ever proud of his country, never for a -moment attempting to conceal his humble origin; and portraits of his -parents, in their homespun clothes, may be seen in the splendid saloon -of the Prime Minister of Parma. - -Baron Ward was married to a humble person of Vienna, and at his death -he left four children. From the stable he rose to the highest offices -of a little kingdom, at a period of great European political interest, -and died in retirement, pursuing the rustic occupation of a farmer, but -carrying with him to the grave many curious state secrets. - -The following is a partial list only of the honours to which Ward -attained:--Baron of the Duchy of Lucca, and of the Grand Duchy of -Tuscany; Knight of the First Class of the Order of St. Louis of Lucca; -Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Joseph of Tuscany; Knight -Senator Grand Cross of the Order of St. George Constantinano of Parma; -and Noble, with the title of Baron, in Tuscany; Honorary Councillor of -State to his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany; Minister and -Councillor of State to H.R.H. Charles Duke of Parma, &c.[14] - -[14] _Family Romance._ By J. Bernard Burke. Vol. ii. - - - - -A Costly House-Warming. - - -Fifty years ago, there lived in Edward Street, Portman Square, one -Parmentier, confectioner to the Prince Regent. From his emporium, -and that of Romualdo, in Duke Street, the _routs_ given in the -neighbouring squares were sumptuously supplied. In this quarter lived -keepers of china and glass shops, who undertook, at a few hours' -notice, to supply all the movables and ornaments for large _routs_, -as chairs, tables, china and glass, knives and forks, extra plate, -looking-glasses, mirrors, girandoles, chandeliers, wax-lights, -candelabra-lamps, Aurelian shades, transparencies, vases, and other -decorative items for a complete suite of rooms; together with exotics -and green-house plants, and a corps of artists to chalk the floors. -It was by this almost magical aid that the Earl of Shrewsbury gave -his magnificent house-warming to the _haut ton_ at his new mansion -in Bryanstone Square, which was then in so unfinished a state that -the walls in many of the apartments were not even plastered. To the -astonishment and delight of the guests, the whole mansion was thrown -open, and every room was furnished and decorated in the most superb -style. The principal drawing-room, with its numerous lamps and large -looking-glasses, appeared one blaze of light; in contrast to which, -another room in sombre gloom, resembled an Arcadian grove of orange -and lemon trees and myrtles, part natural and part artificial. The -amusements consisted of a dramatic representation, a concert, a -dress-ball, a masquerade, and a sumptuous supper of three hundred -covers. These elegant festivities cost the Earl several thousand pounds. - -In the same neighbourhood, at the corner of George Street, Mohammed, a -native of Asia, opened a house for giving dinners in the Hindustanee -style. All the dishes were dressed with currie-powder, rice, cayenne, -and the finest spices of Arabia. A room was set apart for smoking -from hookahs with Oriental herbs. The rooms were furnished with -chairs and sofas made of bamboo canes, and the walls were hung with -Chinese pictures and other Asiatic embellishments. Either Sidi -Mohammed's capital was not sufficient to stand the slow test of public -encouragement, or the scheme failed at once; for Sidi became bankrupt, -and the undertaking was relinquished. - - - - -Devonshire Eccentrics. - - -Some years since, there lived a gentleman in Tavistock, very charitably -disposed, who entertained an especial good will and kind feeling -towards old sailors. Any old sailor, by calling at his door, received -the donation of a shilling and a glass of grog. It was marvellous -to see what a number of veteran blue jackets paid him a visit in the -course of a year. At last, the servant who opened the door observed -that all these sons of the sea had a particular patch on one and the -same arm. She began, at length, to fancy that the old patch must be -some badge of honour in the service, yet she thought it a very odd -distinction in his Majesty's navy. The circumstance awakened her -suspicion. The next old blue jacket that appeared, decorated with the -order of the patch, was therefore watched and followed to his retreat. -He was observed to retire to the house of a certain old woman, and -in a little while he was seen to come forth again in his own natural -character, that of a street beggar, clothed in rags. The cheat was -apparent; and suffice it to say, that on further examination it -appeared that the old woman's house was one of friendly call to all the -vagabonds and sharpers who paced the country round; and that amongst -other masquerade attire for the callers, she kept by her a sailor's old -jacket and trousers for the purpose of playing off the imposition. No -doubt she was paid for the loan of the dress. - -At Tavistock, also, there resided a strange character in humble life, -named Carter Foote. On returning from Oakhampton, he remounted his -horse, after having enjoyed himself at the public-house, and attempted -to pass the river below the bridge by fording it over. The day had -been stormy, and from the sudden swell of the river he found himself -in extreme danger. After endeavouring to struggle with the current -he leaped from his horse upon a large piece of the rock, and there -stood, calling aloud for help. Some person going by, ran and procured -a rope, which he endeavoured to throw towards the rock; but finding -it impossible to do so without further assistance, he begged two men -belonging to Oakhampton, who drew near the spot, to give him help, -and save the stranger, whose life was in so much peril. One of them, -however, very leisurely looked at the sufferer, and only saying, "'Tis -a Tav'stock man, let un go," walked off with his companion, and poor -Carter Foote was drowned. - -Mrs. Bray relates the following of a Devonshire physician, happily -named Vial, who was a desperate lover of whist. One evening, in the -midst of a deal, the doctor fell off his chair in a fit. Consternation -seized on the company. Was he alive or dead? What was to be done? All -help was given; hartshorn was poured almost down his throat by one kind -female friend, whilst another feelingly singed the end of his nose with -burning feathers; all were in the breathless agony of suspense for his -safety. At length, he showed signs of life, and retaining the last fond -idea which had possessed him at the moment he fell into the fit, to the -joy of the whole company exclaimed, "What is trumps?" - -Many years ago, there resided in Devonshire a certain old gentleman, -nicknamed Redpost Fynes, from his having painted all the gates of -his fields a bright vermilion. The squire was remarkable for never -having been able to learn to spell even the commonest word in his own -language; so that on the birth of his daughter, he wrote to a friend -that his wife was brought to bed of a fine _gull_. The word _usage_ -he spelt without one letter belonging to it, and yet contrived to -produce something like the word, at least in sound, for he wrote it -thus, _yowzitch_. Near his house was a very old and grotesque tree, cut -and clipped in the form of a punchbowl; whilst a table and seats were -literally affixed within the green enclosure, to which was an ascent by -a little ladder, like the companion-ladder of a ship. - - - - -[Illustration: Hannah Snell.] - - - - -Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier. - - -This extraordinary woman was born in Fryer Street, Worcester, on the -23rd of April 1723. Her grandfather, embracing the military profession, -served under William III. and Queen Anne, and terminated his career at -the battle of Malplaquet, where he received a mortal wound. Snell's -father was a hosier and dyer. - -In 1740, Hannah, having lost both parents, came to London, where she -for some time resided with one of her sisters, married to one Gray, a -carpenter, in Ship Street, Wapping. Here she became acquainted with a -Dutch seaman, named James Summs, to whom she was married early in 1743. -Her husband led a profligate life, squandered the little property which -his wife possessed, and having involved her deeply in debt, deserted -her, leaving her pregnant; in two months she was delivered of a girl, -who died at the age of seven months. - -For some time she resided with her sister, but soon resolved to set -out in quest of the man, whom, notwithstanding his ill-usage, she -still continued to love. In order to carry out this strange resolve, -as she thought, more safely, she put on a suit of the clothes of her -brother-in-law, assumed his name, James Gray, and started on the 23rd -of November, 1745. Having travelled to Coventry, and being unable -to procure any intelligence of her husband, on the 27th of the same -month she enlisted into General Guise's regiment, and in the company -belonging to Captain Miller. She remained at Coventry about three -weeks. The north being then the seat of war, and her regiment being at -Carlisle, she left Coventry with seventeen other recruits, and joined -the regiment, after a march of three weeks, which she performed with -as much ease as any of her comrades. At Carlisle she was instructed in -the military exercise, which she was soon able to perform with skill -and dexterity. She had not been long in this place, when a man named -Davis applied to Hannah to assist him in an intrigue; she appeared -to acquiesce in his desire, but privately disclosed the whole matter -to the intended victim. By this conduct she gained the young woman's -confidence and esteem; they frequently met, which excited the jealousy -of Davis, and prompted revenge. He accordingly seized an opportunity of -charging his supposed rival before the commanding officer with neglect -of duty, and she was sentenced to receive six hundred lashes. Five -hundred were inflicted, but the remaining hundred were remitted through -the intercession of some of the officers. - -Not long after this unhappy occurrence, a fresh recruit, a native -of Worcester, and a carpenter, who had lodged at the house of her -brother-in-law, joined the regiment, when Hannah becoming apprehensive -of the discovery of her sex resolved to desert. Her female friend -endeavoured to dissuade her from such a dangerous enterprise; but -finding her resolution fixed, she furnished her with money, and Hannah -commenced her journey on foot for Portsmouth. About a mile from -Carlisle, perceiving some men employed in picking peas, and their -clothes lying at some distance, she exchanged her regimental coat for -one of the old coats belonging to one of the men, and proceeded on her -journey. At Liverpool and Chester, Hannah contrived, by her attentions -to a landlady and a young mantua-maker, to obtain some money; but in an -intrigue with a widow at Winchester our gallant was less successful, -the widow rifling her pockets, and leaving her with but a few shillings -to finish her journey on foot. Arrived at Portsmouth, she soon enlisted -as a marine in Colonel Fraser's regiment which in three weeks was -drafted for the East Indies, and Hannah, among the rest, was ordered -to repair on board the _Swallow_ sloop, in Admiral Boscawen's fleet. -She soon distinguished herself on board by her dexterity in washing, -mending, and cooking for her messmates, and she thus became a great -favourite with the crew of the sloop. She was regarded as a boy, and in -case of an engagement her station was on the quarter-deck, to fight at -small arms, and she was one of the afterguard; she was also obliged to -keep watch every four hours night and day, and frequently to go aloft. -We read likewise of the _Swallow_ being in a violent tempest, and -almost reduced to a wreck: Hannah took her turn at the pump, which was -kept constantly going, and she declined no office, however dangerous, -but established her character for courage, skill, and intrepidity. - -The ship then made the best of her way to the Cape of Good Hope, during -their voyage from which they were reduced to short allowance, and but -a pint of water a day. The admiral next bore away for Fort St. David, -on the coast of Coromandel, where the fleet soon afterwards arrived. -Hannah, with the rest of the marines, being disembarked, after a march -of three weeks, joined the English army encamped before Aria-Coupon, -which place was to have been stormed; but a shell having burst and -blown up their magazine, the besieged were obliged to abandon it. This -adventure gave Hannah fresh spirits, and her intrepid conduct acquired -the commendation of all the officers. - -The army then proceeded to the attack of Pondicherry, and after lying -before that place eleven weeks, and suffering very great hardships, -they were obliged by the rainy season to abandon the siege. Hannah -was the first in the party of English foot who forded the river, -breast-high, under an incessant fire from a French battery. She was -likewise on the picket-guard, continued on that duty seven nights -successively, and laboured very hard about fourteen days at throwing up -the trenches. In one of the attacks, however, her career was well-nigh -terminated. She fired thirty-seven rounds during the engagement, and -received, according to her account, six shots in her right leg, five in -the left, and, what was still more painful, a dangerous wound in the -lower part of her body, which she feared might lead to the discovery -of her disguise to the surgeons. She, however, intrusted her secret -to a negress who attended her, and brought her lint and salve; after -most acute suffering she extracted the ball with her finger and thumb, -and made a perfect cure. Meanwhile the greater part of the fleet had -sailed. She was then sent on board the _Tartar_ pink, and continued -to do the duty of a sailor till the return of the fleet from Madras. -She was soon afterwards turned over to the _Eltham_ man-of-war, and -sailed with that ship to Bombay. Here the vessel, which had sprung a -leak on the passage, was heaved down for repair, which lasted five -weeks. The captain remained on shore, while Hannah, in common with the -rest of the crew, had her turn on the watch. On one of these occasions, -Mr. Allen, the lieutenant who commanded in the captain's absence, -desired her to sing a song, but she excused herself, saying she was -unwell; the officer, however, insisted that she should sing, which -she as resolutely refused to do. She soon had occasion to regret her -non-compliance, for being suspected of stealing a shirt belonging to -one of her comrades, though no proof could be adduced, the lieutenant -ordered her to be put in irons. After remaining there five days, she -was ordered to the gangway, and received twelve lashes, and she was -then sent to the topmast-head for four hours. The missing shirt was -afterwards found in the chest of the man who complained that he had -lost it. - -About this time the sailors began to rally Hannah because she had no -beard, and they soon afterwards jocosely christened her Miss Molly -Gray; this alarmed her, lest some of the crew might suspect that she -was a female; but she took part in their scenes of dissipation with -such glee, that she was soon called Hearty Jemmy. - -While the vessel remained at Lisbon, on her passage home, she met with -an English sailor who had been at Genoa in a Dutch vessel. She took the -opportunity of inquiring after her long-lost husband, and was informed -that he had been confined at Genoa for murdering a native gentleman of -that city, a person of some distinction; and that to expiate his crime, -he was put into a sack with a quantity of stones, and thus thrown into -the sea. Distressing as this information must have been, Hannah had -sufficient command over herself to conceal her emotions. - -Leaving Lisbon, Hannah arrived safely at Spithead. At Portsmouth she -met her female friend, for whose sake she had been whipped at Carlisle. -This girl was still single, and would have married Hannah, had she -chosen to discover herself. She, however, proceeded to London, where -she was heartily received by her sister. She soon afterwards met with -some of her shipmates; and, after receiving her pay, she was about to -part with them, when she revealed her sex, and one of them immediately -offered to marry her, but she declined. - -Hannah's strange career had now acquired her popularity, and as she -possessed a good voice, she obtained an engagement at the Royalty -Theatre, in Wellclose Square, where she appeared in the character of -Bill Bobstay, a sailor; she also represented Firelock, a military -character, and in a masterly and correct manner went through the manual -and platoon exercises. She, however, quitted the stage in a few months; -and as she preferred male attire, she resolved to continue to wear it -during the remainder of her life; she usually wore a laced hat and -cockade, and a sword and ruffles. There were good portraits of her -published in 1750. - -Hannah now became an out-pensioner of Chelsea Hospital on account -of the wounds she received at the siege of Pondicherry, her pension -being 30_l._ She next took a public-house at Wapping; on one side of -the signboard was painted the figure of a jolly British tar, and on -the other the valiant marine; underneath was inscribed, "The Widow -in Masquerade, or the Female Warrior." She continued to keep this -house for many years; and afterwards married one Eyles, a carpenter, -at Newbury, in Berkshire. A lady of fortune, who admired Hannah's -heroism and eccentricity of conduct, took special notice of her, became -godmother to her son, and contributed towards his education. Mrs. Eyles -continued to receive her pension to the day of her death. She lived for -some time with her son in Church Street, Stoke Newington; but, about -three years before her death, she showed symptoms of insanity, and was -admitted as patient at Bethlem Hospital, Moorfields, where she died -February 8, 1792, aged sixty-nine years. - - - - -[Illustration: Lady Archer enamelling at her Toilet.] - - - - -Lady Archer. - - -This lady, formerly Miss West, lived to a good age--a proof that -cosmetics are not so fatal as some would have us suppose. Nature had -given her a fine aquiline nose, like the princesses of the House -of Austria, and she did not fail to give herself a complexion. She -resembled a fine old wainscoted painting, with the face and features -shining through a thick incrustation of copal varnish. - -Her ladyship was for many years the wonder of the fashionable world, -envied by all the ladies of the Court of George the Third. She had a -well-appointed house in Portland Place. Her equipage was, with her, a -sort of scenery. She gloried in milk-white horses to her carriage, the -coachmen and footmen wore very showy liveries, and the carriage was -lined with silk of a tint to exhibit the complexion to advantage. - -Alexander Stephens, amongst whose papers was found this account of -Lady Archer, tells us that he recollected to have seen Mrs. Robinson -(the _Perdita_ of the Prince of Wales's love) go far beyond all this -in the exuberance of her genius, in a yellow lining to her landau, -with a black footman, to contrast with her beautiful complexion and -fascinating figure, and thus render both more lovely. Lady Archer lived -at Barn Elms Terrace, and her house had the most elegant ornaments -and draperies to strike the senses, and yet powerfully address the -imagination. Her kitchen-garden and pleasure-ground, of five acres--the -Thames, flowing in front, as if a portion of the estate--the apartments -decorated in the Chinese style, and opening into hothouses stored -with fruits of the richest growth, and greenhouses with plants of -great rarity and beauty, and superb couches and draperies, effectively -placed, rendered her home a sort of elysium of luxury. - -Barn Elms will be remembered as the scene of an older -eccentricity--Heydegger's instantaneous light reception of George II., -a device worthy of the master of the revels. - - - - -_DELUSIONS, IMPOSTURES, and FANATIC MISSIONS._ - -[Illustration: The Alchemist.] - - - - -Modern Alchemists. - - -It may take some readers by surprise to learn that there have been true -believers in alchemy in our days. Dr. Price is commonly set down in -popular journals as _the last of the alchemists_. This is, however, a -mistake, as we shall proceed to show; before which, however, it will be -interesting to sketch the history of this reputed alchemist. - -Towards the close of the last century, Dr. James Price, a medical -practitioner in the neighbourhood of Guildford, Surrey, acquired -some notoriety by an alleged discovery of methods of transmuting -mercury into gold or silver. He had been a student of Oriel College, -Oxford, where he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Physic. In 1782 -he published an account of his experiments on mercury, silver, and -gold, performed at Guildford, in that year, before Lord King and -others, to whom he appealed as eye-witnesses of his wonder-working -power. It seems that mercury being put into a crucible, and heated in -the fire with other ingredients (which had been shown to contain no -gold), he added a red powder; the crucible was again heated, and being -suffered to cool, amongst its contents, on examination, was found a -globule of pure gold. By a similar process with a white powder, he -produced a globule of silver. The character of the witnesses of these -manifestations gave credit and celebrity for a time to Price, who was -honoured by the University with the degree of Doctor of Physic, and -he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Dr. Price had now -placed himself in a perilous position; for persons acquainted with the -history of alchemy must have conjectured how the gold and silver in his -experiments might have been procured with any transmutation of mercury -or any other substance. The Royal Society authoritatively required that -the pretensions of the new associate should be properly sifted, and -his claim as a discoverer be clearly established, or his character as -an impostor exposed. A repetition of the doctor's experiments before a -committee of the Royal Society was commanded on pain of expulsion; when -the unfortunate man, rather than submit to the ordeal, took a draught -of laurel-water, and died on July 31, 1783, in his twenty-fifth year. - -At the beginning of the present century, some persons of eminence in -science thought favourably of alchemy. Professor Robinson, writing -to James Watt, February 11, 1800, says, "The analysis of alkalies -and alkaline earth will presently lead, I think, to a doctrine of _a -reciprocal convertibility of all things into all ... and I expect to -see alchemy revive_, and be as universally studied as ever." - -Sir Walter Scott, in his well-known paper on Astrology and Alchemy, in -_The Quarterly Review_, tells us that about the year 1801, an adept -lived, or rather starved, in the metropolis, in the person of the -editor of an evening newspaper, who expected to compound the alkahat, -if he could only keep his materials digested in his lamp-furnace for -the space of seven years. Scott adds, in pleasant banter, "the lamp -burnt brightly during six years, eleven months, and some odd days, and -then unluckily it went out. Why it went out, the adept could never -guess; but he was certain that if the flame could only have burnt to -the end of the septenary cycle, the experiment must have succeeded." - -The last true believer in alchemy was not Dr. Price, but Peter Woulfe, -the eminent chemist, and Fellow of the Royal Society, and who made -experiments to show the nature of mosaic gold. Mr. Brande says: "It -is to be regretted that no biographical memoir has been preserved -of Woulfe. I have picked up a few anecdotes respecting him from two -or three friends who were his acquaintance. He occupied chambers in -Barnard's Inn, Holborn (the older buildings), while residing in London, -and usually spent the summer in Paris. His rooms, which were extensive, -were so filled with furnaces and apparatus that it was difficult to -reach his fireside. A friend told me that he once put down his hat, and -never could find it again, such was the confusion of boxes, packages, -and parcels that lay about the chamber. His breakfast-hour was four in -the morning; a few of his select friends were occasionally invited to -this repast, to whom a secret signal was given by which they gained -entrance, knocking a certain number of times at the inner door of his -apartment. He had long vainly searched for the Elixir, and attributed -his repeated failures to the want of due preparation by pious and -charitable acts. I understand that some of his apparatus is still -extant, upon which are supplications for success and for the welfare -of the adepts. Whenever he wished to break an acquaintance, or felt -himself offended, he resented the supposed injury by sending a present -to the offender, and never seeing him afterwards. These presents were -sometimes of a curious description, and consisted usually of some -expensive chemical product or preparation. He had an heroic remedy for -illness; when he felt himself seriously indisposed, he took a place in -the Edinburgh mail, and having reached that city, immediately came back -in the returning coach to London." - -A cold taken in one of these expeditions terminated in inflammation of -the lungs, of which Woulfe died in the year 1805. Of his last moments -we received the following account from his executor, then Treasurer of -Barnard's Inn. By Woulfe's desire, his laundress shut up his chambers, -and left him, but returned at midnight, when Woulfe was still alive. -Next morning, however, she _found him dead_! His countenance was calm -and serene, and apparently he had not moved from the position in his -chair in which she had last left him. - -Twenty years after the death of Peter Woulfe, Sir Richard Phillips -visited "an alchemist" named Kellerman, at the village of Lilley, -between Luton and Hitchin. He was believed by some of his neighbours -to have discovered the Philosopher's Stone and the Universal Solvent. -His room was a realisation of the well-known picture of Tenier's -Alchemist. The floor was strewed with retorts, crucibles, alembics, -jars, and bottles of various shapes, intermingled with old books. -He gave Sir Richard a history of his studies, mentioned some men in -London who, he alleged, had assured him that they had made gold; that -having, in consequence, examined the works of the ancient alchemists, -and discovered the key which they had studiously concealed from the -multitude, he had pursued their system under the influence of new -lights; and, after suffering numerous disappointments, owing to the -ambiguity with which they described their processes, he had at length -happily succeeded; had made gold, and could make as much more as he -pleased, even to the extent of paying off the National Debt in the coin -of the realm! - -Killerman then enlarged upon the merits of the ancient alchemists, -and on the blunders and assumptions of modern chemists. He quoted -Roger and Francis Bacon, Paracelsus, Boyle, Boerhaave, Woulfe, and -others to justify his pursuits. As to the term Philosopher's Stone, he -alleged that it was a mere figure to deceive the vulgar. He appeared -to give full credit to the silly story of Dee's finding the Elixir at -Glastonbury, by means of which, as he said, Kelly for a length of time -supported himself in princely splendour. Kellerman added, that he had -discovered the _blacker than black_ of Apollonius Tyanus: it was itself -"the powder of projection for producing gold." - -It further appeared that Kellerman had lived in the premises at Lilley -for twenty-three years, during fourteen of which he had pursued his -alchemical studies with unremitting ardour, keeping eight assistants -for superintending his crucibles, two at a time, relieving each other -every six hours; that he had exposed some preparations to intense heat -for many months at a time; but that all except one crucible had burst, -and that, Kellerman said, contained the true "blacker than black." -One of his assistants, however, protested that no gold had ever been -found, and that no mercury had ever been fixed; for he was quite sure -Kellerman could not have concealed it from his assistants; while, on -the contrary, they witnessed his severe disappointment at the result of -his most elaborate experiments. - -Of late years there have been some strange revivals of alchemical -pursuits. In 1850 there was printed in London a volume of considerable -extent, entitled, _A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery_--the -work of a lady, by whom it has been suppressed; we have seen it -described as "a learned and valuable book." - -By this circumstance we are reminded that some five-and-thirty years -since it came to our knowledge that a man of wealth and position in the -City of London, an _adept_ in alchemy, was held _in terrorem_ by an -unprincipled person, who extorted from him considerable sums of money -under threats of exposure, which would have affected his mercantile -interests. - -Nevertheless, alchemy has, in the present day, its prophetic advocates, -who predict what may be considered a return to its strangest belief. A -Göttingen professor says, in the _Annales de Chimie_, No. 100, that in -the nineteenth century the transmutation of metals will be generally -known and practised. Every chemist and every artist will make gold; -kitchen utensils will be of silver and even gold, which will contribute -more than anything else to prolong life, poisoned at present by the -oxide of copper, lead, and iron which we daily swallow with our food. -More recently, MM. Dr. Henri Fabre and Franz have placed before the -French Academy their discovery of the means of transmuting silver, -copper, and quicksilver into gold. - - - - -[Illustration: Jack Adams, the Astrologer. - -_Magnifico Smokentissimo Custardissimo Astrologissimo Cunningmanisso -Rabbinissimo Viro Jacko Adams de Clerkenwell Greeno hanc lovelissimam -Sui Picturam._ - -Hovbedeboody pinxit et scratchabat.] - - - - -Jack Adams, the Astrologer. - - -Among the celebrities of Clerkenwell Green was Jack Adams, whose -nativity was calculated by Partridge, who affirmed that he was born -on the 3rd of December, 1625, and that he was so great a _natural_, or -simpleton, as to be obliged to wear long coats, besides other marks of -stupidity; and that the parish not only maintained him, but allowed a -nurse to attend him to preserve him from harm. Allusion is made to him -in a satirical ballad of 1655:-- - - Jack Adams, sure, was pamet (poet) by the vein. - -And in the _Wits, or Sport upon Sport_, 1682, we read of his visit -to the Red Bull playhouse, where Simpleton, the smith, appearing on -the stage with a large piece of bread-and-butter, Jack Adams, knowing -him, cried out, "Cuz, Cuz, give me some," to the great pleasure of the -audience. Ward thus mentions his celebrity:-- - - What mortal that has sense or thought - Would strip Jack Adams of his coat; - Or who would be by friends decoyed - To wear a badge he would avoid? - -Jack Adams was a conjurer and professor of the celestial sciences; he -was (says Granger's Supplement) "a blind buzzard, who pretended to have -the eyes of an eagle. He was chiefly employed in horary questions, -relative to love and marriage, and knew, upon proper occasions, how to -soothe and flatter the expectations of those who consulted him, as a -man might have much better fortune from him for five guineas than for -the same number of shillings. He affected a singular dress, and cast -horoscopes with great solemnity. When he failed in his predictions, -he declared that the stars did not absolutely force, but powerfully -incline, and threw the blame upon wayward and perverse fate. He assumed -the character of a learned and cunning man; but was no otherwise -cunning than as he knew how to overreach those credulous mortals who -were as willing to be cheated as he was to cheat them, and who relied -implicitly upon his art." Mr. Warner says: "A short time after we -removed into the house (No. 7, Clerkenwell Green), two young women -applied to have their fortunes told; upon being informed they were -under some mistake, one expressed great surprise, and stated that was -the place she always came to, and she thought some of Mr. Adams's -family always resided there. This was the first time I ever heard -anything of Jack Adams. Several similar applications were made by other -persons, and we afterwards learnt that it had been occupied by persons -of that profession for many years, and they generally went by the name -of Adams."[15] - -[15] Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_, 1865, p. 110. - -In an old print we have Jack Adams in a fantastic dress, with a -tobacco-pipe in his girdle, standing at a table on which lies a -horn-book and _Poor Robin's Almanack_. On one shelf is a row of books, -and on another several boys' playthings, particularly tops, marbles, -and a small drum. Before him is a man genteelly dressed, presenting -five pieces; from his mouth proceeds a label, inscribed, "Is she a -princess?" This is meant for Carleton, who married the pretended German -princess. Behind him is a ragged, slatternly woman, who has also a -label in her mouth, with these words: "Sir, can you tell my fortune?" -In _Poor Robin's Almanack_ for 1785 are these lines: - - Now should I choose t'invoke a Muse-- - Muses are fickle madams; - Else I could go my poem through - Ere you could say _Jack Adams_. - -In the City of London Library is an original print of Jack Adams, and a -copy by Caulfield. - - - - -The Woman-hating Cavendish. - - -Eccentricity in men of science is not rare. The Hon. Henry Cavendish, -who demonstrated, in 1781, the composition of water, was a remarkable -instance. He was an excellent mathematician, electrician, astronomer, -and geologist; and as alchemist shot far ahead of his contemporaries. -But he was a sort of methodical recluse, and an enormous fortune left -him by his uncle did little to change his habits. His shyness and -aversion to society bordered on disease. To be looked at or addressed -by a stranger seemed to give him positive pain, when he would dart -away as if hurt. At Sir Joseph Banks's _soirées_ he would stand for -a long time on the landing, afraid to face the company. At one of -these parties the titles and qualifications of Cavendish were formally -recited when he was introduced to an Austrian gentleman. The Austrian -became complimentary, saying his chief reason for coming to London -was to see and converse with Cavendish, one of the greatest ornaments -of the age, and one of the most illustrious philosophers that ever -existed. Cavendish answered not a word, but stood with his eyes cast -down, abashed, and in misery. At last, seeing an opening in the crowd, -he flew to the door, nor did he stop till he reached his carriage and -drove directly home. Any attempt to draw him into conversation was -almost certain to fail, and Dr. Wollaston's recipe for treating with -him usually answered best: "The way to talk to Cavendish is, never to -look at him, but to talk as if it were into a vacancy, and then it is -not unlikely you may set him going." - -Among the anecdotes which floated about it is related that Cavendish, -the club Croesus, attended the meetings of the Royal Society Club with -only money enough in his pocket to pay for his dinner; that he declined -taking tavern soup, picked his teeth with a fork, invariably hung his -hat upon the same peg, and always stuck his cane in his right boot. -More apocryphal is the anecdote that one evening Cavendish observed a -pretty girl looking out from an upper window on the opposite side of -the street, watching the philosophers at dinner. She attracted notice, -and one by one they got up, and mustered round the window to admire -the fair one. Cavendish, who thought they were looking at the moon, -bustled up to them in his odd way, and when he saw the real object of -attraction, turned away with intense disgust, and grunted out "Pshaw!" -the more amorous conduct of his brother philosophers having horrified -the woman-hating Cavendish. - -If men were a trouble to him, women were an abhorrence. With his -housekeeper he generally communicated with notes deposited on the -hall-table. He would never see a female servant; and if an unlucky -maid showed herself she was instantly dismissed. To prevent inevitable -encounters he had a second staircase erected in his villa at Clapham. -In all his habits he was punctiliously regular, even to his hanging his -hat upon the same peg. From an unvarying walk he was, however, driven -by being gazed at. Two ladies led a gentleman on his track, in order -that he might obtain a sight of the philosopher. As he was getting over -a stile he saw, to his horror, that he was being watched, and he never -appeared in that path again. That he was not quite merciless to the sex -was proved by his saving a lady from the pursuit of a mad cow. - -Cavendish's town house was near the British Museum, at the corner -of Gower Street and Montague Place. Few visitors were admitted, and -those who crossed the threshold reported that books and apparatus -were its chief furniture. He collected a large library of scientific -books, hired a house for its reception in Dean Street, Soho, and kept -a librarian. When he wanted one of his own books, he went there as -to a circulating library, and left a formal receipt for whatever he -took away. Nearly the whole of his villa at Clapham was occupied as -workshops; the upper rooms were an observatory, the drawing-room was -a laboratory. On the lawn was a wooden stage, from which access could -be had to a large tree, to the top of which Cavendish, in the course -of his astronomical and meteorological observations, and electrical -experiments, occasionally ascended. His apparatus was roughly -constructed, but was always exact and accurate. - -His household was strangely managed. He received but little company, -and the few guests were treated on all occasions to the same fare--a -leg of mutton. One day, four scientific friends were to dine with him; -when his housekeeper asked him what was to be got for dinner, Cavendish -replied, "A leg of mutton." - -"Sir," said she, "that will not be enough for five." - -"Well, then, get two," was the reply. - -Cavendish extended his eccentric reception to his own family. His -heir, Lord George Cavendish, visited him once a-year, and was allowed -an audience of but half-an-hour. His great income was allowed to -accumulate without attention. The bankers where he kept his account, -finding they had in hand a balance of 80,000_l._, apprised him of the -same. The messenger was announced, and Cavendish, in great agitation, -desired him to be sent up; and, as he entered the room, the ruffled -philosopher cried, "What do you come here for! what do you want with -me?" - -"Sir, I thought it proper to wait upon you, as we have a very large -balance in hand of yours, and we wish your orders respecting it." - -"If it is any trouble to you, I will take it out of your hands. Do not -come here to plague me!" - -"Not the least trouble to us, sir, not the least; but we thought you -might like some of it to be invested." - -"Well, well, what do you want to do?" - -"Perhaps you would like 40,000_l._ invested." - -"Do so, do so! and don't come here to trouble me, or I'll remove it," -was the churlish finale of the interview. - -Cavendish died in 1810, at the age of seventy-eight. He was then the -largest holder of Bank-stock in England. He owned 1,157,000_l._ in -different public funds; he had besides, freehold property of 8,000_l._ -a-year, and a balance of 50,000_l._ at his bankers. He was long a -member of the Royal Society Club, and it was reported at his death -that he had left a thumping legacy to Lord Bessborough, in gratitude -for his Lordship's piquant conversation at the club meetings; but -no such reason can be found in the will lodged at Doctors' Commons. -Therein, Cavendish names three of his club-mates--namely, Alexander -Dalrymple to receive 5,000_l._, Dr. Hunter 5,000_l._, and Sir Charles -Blagden (coadjutor in the water question) 15,000_l._ After certain -other bequests, the will proceeds: "The remainder of the funds (nearly -100,000_l._) to be divided: one-sixth to the Earl of Bessborough," -while Lord George Henry Cavendish had two-sixths instead of one. "It -is, therefore," says Admiral Smyth, in his _History of the Royal -Society Club_, "patent that the money thus passed over from uncle to -nephew was a mere consequence of relationship, and not at all owing to -any flowers or powers of conversation at the Royal Society Club." - -Cavendish never changed the fashion or cut of his dress, so that his -appearance in 1810, in a costume of sixty years previously, was odd, -and drew upon him the notice which he so much disliked. His complexion -was fair, his temperament nervous, and his voice squeaking. The only -portrait that exists of him was sketched without his knowledge. Dr. -George Wilson, who has left a clever memoir of Cavendish, says: -"An intellectual head, thinking--a pair of wonderful acute eyes, -observing--a pair of very skilful hands, experimenting or recording, -are all that I realize in reading his memorials." - - - - -Modern Astrology.--"Witch Pickles." - - -It would be an acquisition to our knowledge if some one competent -to the task would collect materials for the history of the men who, -within the present century, have made a profession of _judicial -astrology_. Attention is occasionally drawn to the practices of -itinerant fortune-tellers, many of whom still procure a livelihood. -The astrologer, however, or, as he is denominated in some districts -of England--more particularly in Yorkshire--a "planet-ruler," and -sometimes "a wise man," is of a higher order. He does not itinerate, -is generally a man of some education, possessed of a good deal of -fragmentary knowledge and a smattering of science. He very often -conceals his real profession by practising as a "Water Doctor" or as a -"Bone-setter," and some possess a considerable amount of skill in the -treatment of ordinary diseases. - -The more lucrative part of his business was that which they carried on -in a secret way. He was consulted in cases of difficulty by a class -of superstitious persons, and an implicit faith was placed in his -statements and predictions. The "wise man" was sought in all cases of -accident, disaster, or loss. He was consulted as to the probabilities -of the return and safety of the distant and the absent; of the chances -of the recovery of the sick, and of the destiny of some beloved friend -or relative. The consultation with such a man would often have a -sinister aim; to discover by the stars whether an obnoxious husband -would survive, or whether the affections of courted or inconstant lover -could be secured. Very often long-continued diseases and inveterate -maladies were ascribed to an "ill-wish;" and the planet-ruler was -sought to discover who was the ill-wisher, and what charm would -remove the spell. It is needless to say that the practices of these -astrologers were productive, in a large number of cases, of much -disturbance among neighbours and relatives, and great mischief to all -concerned, except the man who profited by the credulity of his dupes. - -Some of these charlatans no doubt were believers in the imposture, but -the greater number were arrant cheats. In Leeds and its neighbourhood -there were, some five-and-thirty years ago, several "wise men." Among -the number was a man known by no other name than that of "Witch -Pickles." He was avowedly an Astrological Doctor, and _ruled the -planets_ for those who sought him for that purpose. He dwelt in a -retired house on the road from Leeds to York, about a mile from -the Shoulder of Mutton public-house, at the top of March Lane. His -celebrity extended for above fifty miles, and persons came from the -Yorkshire Wolds to consult him. The man and the house were held in awe -by boys and even older persons who had belief in his powers. Little was -known of his habits, and he had few visitors but those who sought his -professional assistance. He never committed anything to writing. He -was particular in inquiring into all the circumstances of any case on -which he was consulted before he pronounced. He then, as he termed it, -proceeded to _draw a figure_, in order to discover the conjunction of -the planets, and then entered upon the explanation of what the stars -predicted. Strange things were told of him, such as that he performed -incantations at midnight on certain days in the year when particular -planets were in the ascendant; and that on such occasions strange -sights and sounds would be seen and heard by persons passing the house. -These were the embellishments of vulgar rumour. The man was quiet and -inoffensive in his demeanour, and was fully sensible of the necessity -of a life of seclusion. He is believed to have practised a few tricks -to awe his visitors, such as lighting a candle or fire without -visible agency, and other tricks far more ingenious than the modern -table-rapping. - -"Witch Pickles" was only one among the number who derived a large -profit from this kind of occupation. He was one of the more respectable -of the class, as he never descended to the vile tricks of others of -the profession--tricks practised upon weak and credulous women and -girls--which will not bear description.[16] - -[16] Abridged from _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, No. 25. - -One of the most celebrated works on Astrology is that of Dr. Sibly, -twelfth edition, 1817, in two octavo volumes, containing more -than eleven hundred pages. The following will give an idea of the -pretensions of the book, which is a remarkable book, if it really went -through twelve editions. The owner of a privateer, which had not been -heard of, called to know her fate. Dr. Sibly gave judgment on a figure -"rectified to the precise time the question was propounded. The ship -itself appeared well formed and substantial, but not a swift sailer, as -is demonstrated by an earthy sign possessing the cusp of the ascendant, -and the situation of the Dragon's Head in five degrees of the same -sign." The ship itself was pronounced to have been captured. - -"From the whole account it is clear that Dr. Sibly's system--how now -esteemed by astrologers the writer knows not--has but this alternative: -either one and the same figure will tell the fate of all the ships -which have not been heard of, including their sailing qualities, or -the stars will never send an owner to ask for news except just at -the moment when they are in a position to describe this particular -ship."[17] - -[17] _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, No. 34. - - - - -Hannah Green; or, "Ling Bob." - - -This noted sibyl lived in a cottage on the edge of the moor on the left -of the old road from Otley to Bradford, between Carlton and Yeadon, -and eight miles from Leeds. She was popularly known as "The Ling-bob -Witch," a name given her, it is supposed, from her living among the -ling-bobs, or heather-tubs. She was resorted to on account of her -supposed knowledge of future events; but, like the rest of her class, -her principal forte was fortune-telling, from which it is said she for -herself realized a handsome fortune. - -Many strange tales have been told of her; such as her power of -transforming herself, after nightfall, into the shape of any she list; -and of her odd pranks in her nightly rambles, her favourite character -being that of the _hare_, in which personation she was unluckily shot -by an unsuspecting poacher, who was almost terrified out of his senses -by the awful screams which followed the sudden death of the Ling-bob -witch. - -In the year 1785, D----, of Sheffield, being at Leeds, had the -curiosity to pay a visit to the noted Hannah Green. He first questioned -her respecting the future fortunes of a near relative of his, who was -then in circumstances of distress, and indeed in prison. She told him -immediately that his friend's trouble would continue _full three times -three years_, and he would then experience _a great deliverance_, -which, in fact, was on the point of being literally verified, for he -was then in the Court of King's Bench. - -He then asked her if she possessed any foreknowledge of what was about -to come to pass on the great stage of the world; to which she replied -in the affirmative. She said, war would be _threatened once, but -would not happen_; but the second time it would blaze out in all its -horrors, and extend to all the neighbouring countries; and that the two -countries [these appear to be France and Poland], at a great distance -one from the other, would in consequence obtain their freedom, although -after hard struggles. After the year 1790, she observed, many great -persons, even kings and queens, would lose their lives, and that _not -by fair means_. In 1794, a great warrior of high blood is to fall in -the field of battle; and in 1795, a distant nation [thought to be negro -slaves], who have been dragged from their own country, will rise as one -man, and deliver themselves from their oppressors. - -Hannah appears to have been one of a somewhat numerous class, many -of whom were resident in Yorkshire. Very few of them went beyond the -attempt to foretell the future events in the lives of individuals; they -did not work with such high ambition as drawing the horoscopes of -nations. Their predictions were always vague, and so framed as to cover -a number of the most probable events in the life of every individual. - -Hannah really died on the 12th of May, 1810, after having practised -her art about forty years; and Ling-bob became a haunted and dreaded -place. The house remained some years untenanted and ruinous, but was -afterwards repaired and occupied. Her daughter and successor, Hannah -Spence, laid claim to the same prescience, but it need hardly be added, -without the same success.[18] - -[18] See a pamphlet of 1794; _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, Nos. 20 -and 21. - - - - -Oddities of Lady Hester Stanhope. - - -This eccentric lady, grand-daughter of the great Lord Chatham, held -implicit faith in the influence of the stars on the destiny of men, a -notion from which every crowned head in Europe is not, at this day, -exempt. - -Lady Hester brought her theories into a striking though rather -ridiculous system. She had a remarkable talent for divining characters -by the conformation of men. This every traveller could testify who had -visited her in Syria; for it was after she went to live in solitude -that her penetration became so extraordinary. It was founded both -on the features of the face and on the shape of the head, body, and -limbs. Some indications she went by were taken from a resemblance to -animals; and wherever such indications existed, she inferred that the -dispositions peculiar to those animals were to be found in the person. -But, independent of all this, her doctrine was that every creature is -governed by the star under whose influence it was born. - -"Animal magnetism," said Lady Hester, "is nothing but the sympathy of -our stars. Those fools who go about magnetizing indifferently one -person and another, why do they sometimes succeed and sometimes fail? -Because if they meet with those of the same star with themselves, their -results will be satisfactory; but with opposite stars they can do -nothing." - -"What Lady Hester's _own star_ was," says her physician, "may be -gathered from what she said one day, when, having dwelt a long time on -this her favourite subject, she got up from the sofa, and approaching -the window, she called me. 'Look,' said she, 'at the pupil of my eyes; -there! my star is the sun--all sun--it is in my eyes: when the sun is -a person's star it attracts everything.' I looked, and I replied that -I saw a rim of yellow round the pupil. 'A rim!' cried she; 'it isn't a -rim--it's a sun; there's a disk, and from it go rays all around: 'tis -no more of a rim than you are. Nobody has got eyes like mine.'" - -Lady Hester delighted in anecdotes that went to show how much and how -justly we may be biassed in our opinions by the shape of any particular -part of a person's body independent of the face. She used to tell a -story of ----, who fell in love with a lady on a glimpse of those -charms which gave such renown to the Onidian Venus. This lady, luckily -or unluckily, happened to tumble from her horse, and by that singular -accident fixed the gazer's affections irrevocably. Another gentleman, -whom she knew, saw a lady at Rome get out of a carriage, her head being -covered by an umbrella, which the servant held over her on account of -the rain; and seeing nothing but her foot and leg, swore he would marry -her--which he did. - -Lady Hester delighted in prophecies some of which, with their -fulfilments and non-fulfilments, are very amusing. There is reason -to think, from what her ladyship let fall at different times, that -Brothers, the fortune-teller in England, and Metta, a village doctor on -Mount Lebanon, had considerable influence on her actions and, perhaps, -her destiny. When Brothers was taken up and thrown into prison (in Mr. -Pitt's time), he told those who arrested him to do the will of heaven, -but first to let him see Lady Hester Stanhope. This was repeated to her -ladyship, and curiosity induced her to comply with the man's request. -Brothers told her that "she would one day go to Jerusalem and lead back -the chosen people; that on her arrival in the Holy Land, mighty changes -would take place in the world, and that she would pass seven years in -the desert." Trivial circumstances will foster a foolish belief in a -mind disposed to encourage it. Mr. Frederick North, afterwards Lord -Guildford, in the course of his travels came to Brusa, where Lady -Hester had gone for the benefit of the hot baths. He, Mr. Fazakerley, -and Mr. Gally Knight would often banter her on her future greatness -among the Jews. "Well, madam, you must go to Jerusalem. Hester, Queen -of the Jews! Hester, Queen of the Jews!" was echoed from one to -another; and probably at last the coincidence of a name, a prophecy, -and the country towards which she found herself going, were thought, -even by herself, to be something extraordinary. Metta took up the book -of fate from that time and showed her the part she was to play in the -East. This man, Metta, for some years subsequent to 1815, was in her -service as a kind of steward. He was advanced in years, and, like the -rest of the Syrians, believed in astrology, spirits, and prophecy. -No doubt he perceived in Lady Hester Stanhope a tincture of the same -belief; and on some occasion in conversation he said he knew of a -book on prophecy which he thought had passages in it that related to -her. This book, he persuaded her, could only be had by a fortunate -conjunction connected with himself; and he said if she would only -lend him a good horse to take him to the place where it was, he would -procure her a sight of it, but she was never to ask where he fetched it -from. All this exactly suited Lady Hester's love of mystery. A horse -was granted to him; he went off and returned with a prophetic volume -which he said he could only keep a certain number of hours. It was -written in Arabic, and he was to read and explain the text. The part -which he propounded was, "That a European female would come and live on -Mount Lebanon at a certain epoch, would build a house there, and would -obtain power and influence greater than a sultan's; that a boy without -a father would join her; that the coming of the Mahedi would follow, -but be preceded by war, pestilence, famine, and other calamities; that -the Mahedi would ride a horse born saddled, and that a woman would come -from a far country to partake in the mission." There were many other -incidents besides which were told. - -"The boy without a father" was thought by Lady Hester to be the Duke -of Reichstadt; but when he died, not at all discountenanced, she -fixed on some one else. Another portion of the prophecy was not so -disappointing, for in 1835 the Baroness de Feriat, an English lady -residing in the United States, wrote of her own accord, asking to -come and live with her, "When," remarks the discriminating doctor, -"the prophecy was fulfilled." For the fulfilment of the remainder of -the prophecy, Lady Hester was resolved at least not to be unprepared. -She kept with the greatest care two mares, called Laïla and Lulu; -the latter for Lady Hester herself, and the former, which was "born -saddled," or in other words of a peculiar hollow-backed breed, was for -the Murdah or Mahedi, the coming of whom she had brought herself to -expect, by the words of St. John, "There is one shall come after me who -is greater than I." These mares she cherished with care equal to that -paid by the ancient Egyptians to cats; and she would not allow them -to be seen by strangers, except by those whose _stars_ would not be -baneful to cattle. - - - - -[Illustration: A Hermit of the Sixteenth Century.] - - - - -Hermits and Eremitical Life. - - -Men have, in most times, withdrawn themselves from the world and taken -up their abode in caverns or ruins, or whatever shelter they could -find, and lived on herbs, roots, coarse bread and water. In many cases, -such persons have deemed these austerities as acceptable to God, and -this has become one of the rudest forms of monastic life. It is not -from this class of persons that we propose to introduce a few portraits -of hermit life, but rather to those whose peculiarities have taken a -more eccentric turn, almost in our own time. - -The Hon. Charles Hamilton, in the reign of George II., proprietor -of Pain's Hill, near Cobham, Surrey, built a hermitage upon a steep -brow in the grounds of that beautiful seat. Of this hermitage Horace -Walpole remarks that it is a sort of ornament whose merit soonest -fades, it being almost comic to set aside a quarter of one's garden -to be melancholy in. There is an upper apartment supported in part -by contorted logs and roots of trees, which form the entrance to the -cell, but the unfurnished and neglected state of the whole proves the -justness of Walpole's observation. Mr. Hamilton advertised for a person -who was willing to become a hermit in that beautiful retreat of his. -The conditions were that he was to continue in the hermitage seven -years, where he should be provided with a Bible, optical glasses, a mat -for his bed, a hassock for his pillow, an hour-glass for his timepiece, -water for his beverage, food from the house, but never to exchange a -syllable with the servant. He was to wear a camlet robe, never to cut -his beard or nails, nor ever to stray beyond the limits of the grounds. -If he lived there, under all these restrictions, till the end of the -term, he was to receive seven hundred guineas. But on breach of any of -them, or if he quitted the place any time previous to that term, the -whole was to be forfeited. One person attempted it, but a three weeks' -trial cured him. - -A Correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ describes a gentleman near -Preston, Lancashire, as more successful in the above eccentricity. He -advertised a reward of 50_l._ a year for life to any man who would -undertake to live seven years underground, without seeing anything -human; and to let his toe and finger nails grow, with his hair and -beard, during the whole time. Apartments were prepared underground, -very commodious, with a cold bath, a chamber organ, as many books -as the occupier pleased, and provisions served from his own table. -Whenever the recluse wanted any convenience he was to ring a bell, -and it was provided for him. Singular as this residence may appear, -an occupier offered himself, and actually stayed in it, observing the -required conditions, for four years. - -In the year 1863 there was living in the village of Newton Burgoland, -near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, a hermit whose real name was -scarcely known, though he had resided there nearly fifteen years. Yet -he was no recluse, no ascetic, but lived comfortably, and enjoyed his -dinner, his beer, and his pipe; and, according to his own definition, -he was entitled to be called a hermit. "True hermits," he said, -"throughout every age, have been the firm abettors of freedom." As -regarded his appearance, his fancies, and his habits, he was a hermit, -a _solitaire_ in the midst of human beings. He wore a long beard, and -had a very venerable appearance. He was very fantastic in his dress, -and had a multitude of suits. He had no less than twenty different -kinds of hats, each with its own name and form, with some emblem or -motto on it--sometimes both. Here are a few examples:-- - - No. Name. Motto or Emblem. - - 1. Odd Fellows Without money, without friends, without - credit. - - 5. Bellows Blow the flames of freedom with God's - word of truth. - - 7. Helmet Will fight for the birthright of - conscience, love, life, property, and - national independence. - - 13. Patent Teapot To draw out the flavour of the tea - best--Union and Goodwill. - - 17. Wash-basin of Reform White-washed face and collyed heart. - - 20. Bee-hive The toils of industry are sweet; a wise - people live at peace. - -The shapes of the hats and the devices on them were intended to -symbolize some important fact or sentiment. - -He had twelve suits of clothes, each with a peculiar name, differing -from the others, and, like his hats, intended to be emblematical. One -dress, which he called "Odd Fellows," was of white cotton or linen. -It hung loosely over the body, except being bound round the waist -with a white girdle buckled in the front. Over his left breast was a -heart-shaped badge, bearing the words, "Liberty of Conscience," which -he called his "Order of the Star." The hat which he wore with the dress -was nearly white, and of common shape, but had on it four fanciful -devices, bound with black ribbon, and inscribed, severally, with these -words: "Bless, feed--good allowance--well clothed--all workingmen." - -Another dress, which he called "Foresters," was a kind of frock-coat, -made of soft brown leather, slightly embroidered with braid. This coat -was closed down the front with white buttons, and bound round the waist -with a white girdle, fastened with a white buckle. The hat, slightly -resembling a turban, was divided into black and white stripes, running -round it. - -Another dress, which he named "Military," had some resemblance to the -military costume at the beginning of the present century; the hat -was between the old-fashioned cocked-hat and that worn by military -commanders; but, instead of the military plume, it had two upright -peaks on the crown, not unlike the tips of a horse's ears. This hat, -which he asserted cost five pounds, he never wore but on important -occasions. - -A mania for _symbolization_ pervaded all his thoughts and doings. His -garden was a complete collection of emblems. The trees--the walks--the -squares--the beds--the flowers--the seats and arbours--were all -symbolically arranged. In the passage leading into the garden were -"the three seats of Self-Inquiry," each inscribed with one of these -questions: "Am I vile?" "Am I a Hypocrite?" "Am I a Christian?" -Among the emblems and mottoes which were marked by different coloured -pebbles or flowers were these:--"The vessels of the Tabernacle;" "The -Christian's Armour--olive-branch, baptismal-font, breastplate of -righteousness, shield of faith," &c. "Mount Pisgah;" a circle enclosing -the motto, "Eternal Love has wed my Soul;" "A Beehive;" "A Church;" -"Sacred Urn;" "Universal Grave;" "Bed of Diamonds;" "A Heart, enclosing -the Rose of Sharon." All the Implements used in Gardening: "The two -Hearts' Bowers;" "The Lovers' Prayer;" "Conjugal Bliss;" "The Hermit's -Coat-of-Arms;" "Gossips' Court," with motto, "Don't tell anybody!" -"The Kitchen-walk" contains representations of culinary utensils, with -mottoes. "Feast Square" contains, "Venison Pasty;" "Round of Beef," -&c. "The Odd Fellows' Square," with "The Hen-pecked Husband put on -Water-gruel." "The Oratory," with various mottoes; "The Orchestry," -mottoes, "God save our Noble Queen;" "Britons never shall be Slaves," -&c. "The Sand-glass of Time;" "The Assembly-room;" "The Wedding-Walk;" -"The Holy Mount;" "Noah's Ark;" "Rainbow;" "Jacob's Ladder," &c. "The -Bank of Faith;" "The Saloon;" "The Enchanted Ground;" "The Exit"--all -with their respective emblems and mottoes. Besides these fantastical -devices, there are, or were, in his garden, representations of the -Inquisition and Purgatory; effigies of the Apostles; and mounds covered -with flowers, to represent the graves of the Reformers. In the midst -of the religious emblems stood a large tub, with a queer desk before -it, to represent a pulpit. His garden was visited by persons residing -in the neighbourhood, when he would clamber into his tub, and harangue -the people against all kinds of real or fancied religious and political -oppressions. He declaimed vociferously against the Pope as Antichrist -and the enemy of humanity; and when he fled from Rome in the guise of -a servant, our old hermit decked his head with laurels, and, thus -equipped, went to the Independent Chapel, declaring that "the reign of -the man of sin was over." He also raised a mock-gallows in his garden, -and suspended on it an effigy of the Pope, whimsically dressed, with -many books sticking out of his pockets, which, he said, contained -the doctrines of Popery. However, these preachings proved very -unprofitable; the hermit grew poor, and gladly accepted any assistance -which did not require him to relinquish his eccentric mode of living. -In his own words, his heart was in his garden. We abridge this account -from a contribution to the _Book of Days_. - -It is curious to find many instances of what are termed "Ornamental -Hermits," set up by persons of fortune seeking to find men as eccentric -as themselves, to represent, as it were, the eremitical life in -hermitages provided for them upon their estates. - -Archibald Hamilton, afterwards Duke of Hamilton (as his daughter, Lady -Dunmore, told Mr. Rogers, the poet), advertised for "a hermit," as an -ornament to his pleasure-grounds; and it was stipulated that the said -hermit should have his beard shaved but once a year, and that only -partially. - -Gilbert White, in his poem, _The Invitation to Selborne_, has these -lines:-- - - Or where the Hermit hangs the straw-clad cell, - Emerging gently from the leafy dell: - By fancy plann'd, &c. - -In a note, this hermitage is said to have been a grotesque building, -contrived by a young gentleman who used occasionally to appear in the -character of a hermit. - -Some fancy of this kind at Lulworth Castle, in Dorsetshire, exaggerated -or highly coloured by O'Keefe, was supposed to afford him the title and -incident of his extravagant but laughable comedy of _The London Hermit; -or, Rambles in Dorsetshire_, first played in 1793. - -In _Blackwood's Magazine_ for April, 1830, it is stated by Christopher -North, in the _Noctes Ambrosianæ_, that the then editor of another -magazine had been "for fourteen years hermit to Lord Hill's father, -and sat in a cave in that worthy baronet's grounds with an hour-glass -in his hand, and a beard belonging to an old goat, from sunrise to -sunset, with orders to accept no half-crowns from visitors, but to -behave like Giordano Bruno." In 1810, a correspondent of _Notes and -Queries_, visiting the grounds at Hawkstone, the seat of the Hills, -was shown the hermitage there, with a stuffed figure dressed like the -hermits of pictures, seen by a dim light; and the visitors were told -that it had been inhabited in the daytime by a poor man, to whom the -eccentric but truly benevolent Sir Richard Hill gave a maintenance on -that easy condition; but that the popular voice against such _slavery_ -had induced the worthy baronet to withdraw the reality and substitute -the figure. - -A person advertised to be engaged as _a hermit_, in the _Courier_, -January 11th, 1810: "A young man, who wishes to retire from the world -and live as a hermit, in some convenient spot in England, is willing -to engage with any nobleman or gentleman who may be desirous of having -one. Any letter directed to S. Lawrence (post paid), to be left at Mr. -Otton's, No. 6, Coleman's Lane, Plymouth, mentioning what gratuity will -be given, and all other particulars, will be duly attended." - -In 1840, there died in the neighbourhood of Farnham, in Surrey, a -recluse or hermit, who had been originally a wealthy brewer, but -becoming bankrupt, wandered about the country, and having spent at an -inn what little money he had, took up his abode in the cavern popularly -known as "Mother Ludlam's Hole," in Moor Park. The "poor man" did not -long avail himself of this ready-made excavation, but chose his resting -place just above, in the sandstone rock, upon a spot where a fox had -been run to ground and dug out not long since. The hermit occasionally -walked out, but was little noticed, although, from the bareness of -the trees, his retreat was seen from a distance. He soon excavated -for himself twenty-five feet in the sandstone, and about five feet in -height, with a shaft to the summit of the hill, for the admission of -light and air. Here, in unbroken solitude, with fewer luxuries than -Parnell's hermit-- - - His food the fruits, his drink the crystal well-- - -our Surrey hermit subsisted almost entirely upon _ferns_, which abound -in this neighbourhood. On January 11th, 1840, he was seen by two -labourers, who described him as not having "two pounds of flesh on -all his bones." He was carried to the nearest cottage, placed in a -warm bath, next wrapped in blankets, and conveyed to the poor-house of -Farnham, where he soon died; his last words being, "Do take me to the -cave again." - -A few miles from Stevenage, and not more than thirty from the -metropolis, there was living, not many years since, in strange -seclusion, a man of high intellectual powers, in the prime of manhood, -and possessing ample means, yet wasting his days in eremitic misery. A -Correspondent of the _Wolverhampton Chronicle_ was invited to see this -extraordinary character, and here is the result of his visit:-- - -"I had pictured to my mind a venerable old man, with a beard as white -as snow, a massive girdle, and a profusion of books and hour-glass, -in a cell of picturesque beauty and neatness. Alas, how soon was I to -experience that imagination is one thing and reality another! I shall -not venture in future to speculate upon objects so unearthly. At the -termination of the road a mansion of no ordinary size met my view, -but better and happier times had reigned within; without, all was -desolation and ruin; time, that destroyer of all things, had done its -work here; every inlet was barricaded by the rude axe and hammer; its -portals no mortal had passed for eleven long years; the interior, which -was one rich in design and comfort, is now mouldering to decay; no -cheering voice is heard within its walls, only the noise of rats and -vermin. In tracing my steps to the scene of the hermit's cell, which is -situated at the back of the building, and looking through the wooden -bars of a window devoid of glass, I perceived a dismal, black, and -dirty cellar, with an earth floor; not one vestige of furniture, except -a wooden bench and a few bottles, with the remnants of a fire. - -"With difficulty, by the faint rays of light admitted into this -loathsome den, I could trace a human form, clothed only in a horse -rug, leaving his arms, legs, and feet perfectly bare; his hair was -prodigiously long, and his beard tangled and matted. On my addressing -him he came forward with readiness. I found him a gentleman by -education and birth, and most courteous in his manner; he anxiously -inquired after several aristocratic families in Staffordshire and -adjoining counties. It is evident he had at one period mixed in the -first circles, but the secret of his desolate retirement is, and -probably ever will remain, a mystery to his neighbours and tenantry, -by whom he is supplied with food (chiefly bread and milk). Already -eleven weary winters has he passed in this dreary abode, his only bed -being two sheepskins, and his sole companions the rats, which may be -seen passing to and fro with all the ease of perfect safety. During -the whole of his seclusion he has strictly abstained from ablution, -consequently his countenance is perfectly black. How much it is to be -regretted that a man so gifted as this hermit is known to be should -spend his days in dirt and seclusion." - -To another class belonged one Roger Crab, a gentleman of fortune, long -resident at Bethnal Green, and one of the eccentric characters of -the seventeenth century. All that is known of him is gathered from a -pamphlet, now very rare, written principally by himself, and entitled, -_The English Hermit, or Wonder of the Age_: by this it appears that he -had served seven years in the Parliamentary army, and had his skull -cloven in their service, for which he was so ill requited that he was -sentenced to death by the Lord Protector, and afterwards suffered two -years' imprisonment. When he obtained his release, he opened a shop at -Chesham, as a dealer in hats. He had not long been settled there before -he imbibed a notion that it was a sin against his body and soul to eat -any sort of fish, flesh, or living creature, or to drink wine, ale, or -beer. Thinking himself at the same time obliged to follow literally the -injunction given to the young man in the Gospel, he quitted business, -and disposing of his property, gave it among the poor, reserving to -himself only a small cottage at Ickenham, in Middlesex, where he -resided; he had a rood of land for a garden, on the produce of which -he subsisted at the expense of three farthings a week, his food being -bran, herbs, roots, dock-leaves, mallows, and grass; his drink water. - -How such an extraordinary change of diet agreed with his constitution, -the following passage from his pamphlet will show:--"Instead of strong -drinks and wines I give the old man a drop of water; and instead of -roast mutton and rabbits, and other dainty dishes, I give him broth -thickened with bran, and pudding made with bran, and turnip-leaves -chopped together, and grass; at which the old man (meaning my body) -being moved, would know what he had done that I used him so hardly; -then I showed him his transgression: so the warre began; the law of the -old man in my fleshy members rebelled against the law of my mind, and -had a shrewed skirmish; but the mind being well enlightened, held it -so that the old man grew sick and weak with the flux, like to fall to -the dust; but the wonderful love of God, well-pleased with the battle, -raised him up again, and filled him with the voice of love, peace, -and content of mind, and is now become more humble; for he will eat -dock-leaves, mallows, or grasse." - -Little is known of Crab's subsequent history, or whether he continued -his diet of herbs; but a passage in his epitaph seems to intimate -that he never resumed the use of animal food. It is not one of the -least extraordinary parts of his history, that he should so long -have subsisted on a diet which, by his own account, had reduced him -almost to a skeleton in 1655--being twenty-five years previous to his -death--in 1680: he is buried in Stepney churchyard. - - - - -The Recluses of Llangollen. - - -Many years ago, there lived together, in romantic seclusion, in the -Vale of Llangollen, in Denbighshire, two ladies, remarkable not only -for the singularity of their habits and dispositions, but as the -daughters of ancient and most distinguished families in the Irish -peerage. - -Lady Eleanor Butler was the youngest sister of John, sixteenth Earl -of Ormonde, and aunt of Walter, seventeenth Earl, who died in 1820. -Miss Mary Ponsonby was the daughter of Chambre Ponsonby, Esq., and -half-sister to Mrs. Lowther, of Bath. - -These two ladies retired at an early age, about the year 1729, from -the society of the world to the Vale of Llangollen. Lady Butler had -already rejected several offers of marriage, and as her affection for -Miss Ponsonby was supposed to have formed the bar to any matrimonial -alliance, their friends, in the hope of breaking off so disadvantageous -a companionship, proceeded so far as to place the former in close -confinement. The youthful friends, however, found means to elope -together, but being speedily overtaken, were brought back to their -respective relations. Many attempts were renewed to entice Lady Butler -into wedlock; but on her solemnly and repeatedly declaring that nothing -should induce her to alter her purpose of perpetual maidenhood, her -friends desisted from further importuning her. - -Not many months after this a second elopement was planned. Each lady -taking with her a small sum of money, and having confided the place of -their retreat to a confidential servant of the Ormonde family, who was -sworn to inviolable secrecy, they deputed her to announce their safety -at home, and to request that the trifling annuities allowed them might -not be discontinued. The message was received with kindness, and their -incomes were even considerably increased. - -[Illustration: The Ladies of Llangollen.] - -When Miss Seward visited the spot, our heroines had resided in their -romantic retirement about seventeen years; yet they were only known -to the neighbouring villagers as _the Ladies of the Vale_. The verses -which Miss Seward dedicated to the Recluses, and wherein she celebrated -"gay Eleanor's smile," and "Zara's look serene," conclude with this -morceau of sentimental affectation:-- - - May one kind ice-bolt from the mortal stores - Arrest each vital current as it flows, - That no sad course of desolated hours - Here vainly nurse their unsubsiding woes. - While all who honour virtue gently mourn - Llangollen's vanish'd pair, and wreathe their sacred urn. - -But they did not vanish for many a long year: they neither married -nor died till they were grown too old for the world to care whether -they did either or both. On one occasion, indeed, a party of tourists, -male and female, unable to procure accommodation at the village inn, -requested and obtained admittance at "the cottage," when they proved -to be near relatives of Miss Ponsonby. No entreaties, however, could -allure their fair cousin from her seclusion. - -Lady Eleanor is described as tall, of lively manners, and masculine. -She usually wore a riding-habit, and donned her hat with the air of a -finished sportsman. Her companion, on the contrary, was fair, pensive, -gentle, and effeminate. Their abode was a neat cottage, with about two -acres of pleasure-ground. Avoiding every appearance of dissipation -or gaiety, they led a life as retired as the situation. Two female -servants waited on them, and while Miss Ponsonby superintended the -house, my Lady amused herself with the garden. The name of the retreat -is Plas Newydd, about a quarter of a mile from Llangollen, hidden among -the trees on ascending the Vale behind the church. By some the ladies -are said not to have led here a life of absolute seclusion, but to have -visited their neighbours and received friends. The cottage was built -purposely for them. They died after a life full of good deeds, within -eighteen months of each other--Lady Eleanor, June 2nd, 1829, at the -patriarchal age of ninety; Miss Ponsonby, December 9th, 1830. Their -monument, in Llangollen churchyard, in which they were buried, has -three sides, each bearing a touching epitaph; the third to the memory -of Mary Carrol, a faithful Irish servant. - - - - -Snuff-taking Legacies. - - -On April 2nd, 1776, there died, at her house in Boyle Street, -Burlington Gardens, one Mrs. Margaret Thompson, whose will affords a -notable specimen of the ruling passion strong in death. The will is -as follows:--"In the name of God, Amen. I, Margaret Thompson, being -of sound mind, &c., do desire that when my soul is departed from this -wicked world, my body and effects may be disposed of in the manner -following: I desire that all my handkerchiefs that I may have unwashed -at the time of my decease, after they have been got together by my old -and trusty servant, Sarah Stuart, be put by her, and by her alone, at -the bottom of my coffin, which I desire may be made large enough for -that purpose, together with such a quantity of the best Scotch snuff -(in which she knoweth I always had the greatest delight) as will cover -my deceased body; and this I desire the more especially as it is usual -to put flowers into the coffins of departed friends, and nothing can -be so fragrant and refreshing to me as that precious powder. But I -strictly charge that no man be suffered to approach my body till the -coffin is closed, and it is necessary to carry me to my burial, which I -order in the manner following:-- - -"Six men to be my bearers, who are known to be the greatest -snuff-takers in the parish of St. James, Westminster; instead of -mourning, each to wear a snuff-coloured beaver hat, which I desire may -be bought for that purpose, and given to them. Six maidens of my old -acquaintance, _viz._ &c., to bear my pall, each to bear a proper hood, -and to carry a box filled with the best Scotch snuff to take for their -refreshment as they go along. Before my corpse, I desire the minister -may be invited to walk and to take a certain quantity of the said -snuff, not exceeding one pound, to whom also I bequeath five guineas -on condition of his so doing. And I also desire my old and faithful -servant, Sarah Stuart, to walk before the corpse, to distribute every -twenty yards a large handful of Scotch snuff to the ground and upon -the crowd who may possibly follow me to the burial-place; on which -condition I bequeath her 20_l._ And I also desire that at least two -bushels of the said snuff may be distributed at the door of my house in -Boyle Street." - -She then particularizes her legacies; and over and above every legacy -she desires may be given one pound of good Scotch snuff, which she -calls the grand cordial of nature. - - - - -Burial Bequests. - - -In June, 1864, there died at Drogheda one Miss Hardman, at the -advanced age of ninety-two years. She was buried in the family vault -in Peter's Protestant Church. The funeral took place on the eighth -day of her decease. It is not usual in Ireland to allow so long an -interval to elapse between the time of a person's death and burial; in -this instance it was owing to the expressed wish of the deceased, and -this originated in a very curious piece of family and local history. -Everybody has heard of the lady who was buried, being supposed dead, -and who bearing with her to the tomb, on her finger, a ring of rare -price, this was the means of her being rescued from her charnel -prison-house. A butler in the family of the lady, having his cupidity -excited, entered the vault at midnight in order to possess himself of -the ring, and in removing it from the finger the lady was restored to -consciousness and made her way in her grave-clothes to her mansion. She -lived many years afterwards before she was finally consigned to the -vault. The heroine of the story was a member of the Hardman family--in -fact, the late Miss Hardman's mother--and the vault in Peter's Church -was the locality where the startling revival scene took place. - -The story is commonly told in explanation of a monument in the Church -of St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, which is commemorative of Constance -Whitney, and represents a female rising from a coffin. "This," says -Mr. Godwin, in his popular history of the _Churches of London_, "has -been erroneously supposed to commemorate a lady, who, having been -buried in a trance, was restored to life through the cupidity of the -sexton, which induced him to dig up the body to obtain possession of -a ring." The female rising from the coffin is undoubtedly emblematic -of the Resurrection, and may have been repeated upon other monuments -elsewhere; but there is no such monument at Drogheda, which as above is -claimed as the actual locality. - -On May 24th, 1837, there died at Primrose Cottage, High Wycombe, Bucks, -Mr. John Guy, aged sixty-four. His remains were interred in a brick -grave in Hughenden Churchyard: on a marble slab, on the lid of the -coffin, is inscribed: - - Here, without nail or shroud, doth lie, - Or covered with a pall, John Guy, - Born May 17th, 1773. - Died, " 24th, 1837. - -On his gravestone are the following lines:-- - - In coffin made without a nail, - Without a shroud his limbs to hide; - For what can pomp or show avail, - Or velvet pall to swell the pride? - -Mr. Guy was possessed of considerable property, and was a native -of Gloucestershire. His grave and coffin were made under his -directions more than a twelvemonth previous to his death; he wrote -the inscriptions, he gave the orders for his funeral, and wrapped -in separate pieces of paper five shillings for each of the bearers. -The coffin was very neatly made, and looked more like a piece of -cabinet-work for a drawing-room than a receptacle for the dead. - -Dr. Fidge, a physician of the old school, who in early days had -accompanied the Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV.) when a -midshipman as medical attendant, possessed a favourite boat; upon his -retirement from Portsmouth Dockyard, where he held an appointment, -he had this boat converted into a coffin, with the sternpiece fixed -at its head. This coffin he kept under his bed for many years. The -circumstances of his death were very remarkable. Feeling his end -approaching, and desiring to add a codicil to his will, he sent for -his solicitor. On entering his chamber he found him suffering from -a paroxysm of pain, but which soon ceased; availing himself of the -temporary ease to ask him how he felt, he replied, smiling: "I feel -as easy as an old shoe," and looking towards the nurse in attendance, -said: "Just pull my legs straight, and place me as a dead man; it will -save you trouble shortly," words which he had scarcely uttered before -he calmly died. - -Job Orton, of the Bell Inn, Kidderminster, had his tombstone, with an -epitaphic couplet, erected in the parish churchyard; and his coffin was -used by him for a wine-bin until required for another purpose. - -Dr. John Gardner, "the worm doctor," originally of Long Acre, erected -his tomb and wrote the inscription thereon some years before his death. -Strangers reading the inscription naturally concluded he was like his -predecessor, "Egregious Moore," immortalized by Pope, "food for worms," -whereas he was still following his profession, that of a worm-doctor, -in Norton Folgate, where he had a shop, in the window of which were -displayed numerous bottles containing specimens of tape and other -worms, with the names of the persons who had been tormented by them, -and the date of their ejection. Finding his practice declining from the -false impression conveyed by his epitaph, he dexterously caused the -word _intended_ to be interpolated, and the inscription for a long time -afterwards ran as follows:-- - - intended - Dr. John Gardner's last and best bedroom. - ^ - -He was a stout, burly man, with a flaxen wig, and rode daily into -London on a large roan-coloured horse. - -Not a few misers have carried their penury into the arrangements for -their interment. Edward Nokes, of Hornchurch, by his own direction, -was buried in this curious fashion:--A short time before his death, -which he hastened by the daily indulgence in nearly a quart of spirits, -he gave strict charge that his coffin should not have a nail in it, -which was actually adhered to, the lid being made fast with hinges of -cord, and minus a coffin-plate, for which the initials E. N. cut upon -the wood were substituted. His shroud was made of a pound of wool. The -coffin was covered with a sheet in place of a pall, and was carried by -six men, to each of whom he directed should be given half-a-crown. At -his particular desire, too, not one who followed him to the grave was -in mourning; but, on the contrary, each of the mourners appeared to -try whose dress should be the most striking. Even the undertaker was -dressed in a blue coat and scarlet waistcoat. - -Another deplorable case might be cited, that of Thomas Pitt, of -Warwickshire. It is reported that some weeks prior to the sickness -which terminated his despicable career, he went to several undertakers -in quest of a cheap coffin. He had left behind him 3,475_l._ in the -public funds. - - - - -[Illustration: Major Peter Labelliere. From Kingsbury's print.] - - - - -Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill. - - -As the railway traveller passes over Red Hill, on the London and -Brighton line, his attention can scarcely fail to be struck with two -prominent points in the charming landscape--Box Hill, covered with its -patronymic shrub; and Leith Hill, surmounted by a square tower. On each -of these elevations is buried an eccentric person: one with his head -downwards, and the other in the usual horizontal position; but the -fondness for exaggerating things already extraordinary, has led to the -common misstatement that one person is buried with his head downwards, -and the other standing upon his feet. Of the two interments, however, -the following are the true versions. - -On the north-western brow of Box Hill, and nearly in a line with the -stream of the Mole, as it flows towards Burford Bridge, was interred, -some sixty-five years since, Major Peter Labelliere, an officer of -marines. During the latter years of his life he had resided at Dorking, -and, in accordance with his own desire, he was interred on this spot, -long denoted by a wooden stake or stump. This gentleman in early life -fell in love with a lady, who, although he was remarkably handsome in -person, rejected his addresses. This circumstance inflicted a deep -wound on his mind, which, at a later period, religion and politics -entirely unsettled. Yet his eccentricities were harmless, and himself -the only sufferer. At this time the Duke of Devonshire, who had been -formerly fond of the major's society, settled on him a pension of -100_l._ a year. Labelliere then lived at Chiswick, and there wrote -several tracts, both polemical and political, but the incoherency of -his arguments was demonstrative of mental incapacity. From Chiswick he -frequently walked to London, his pockets filled to overflowing with -newspapers and pamphlets, and on the road he delighted to harangue the -ragged boys who followed him. He next removed to Dorking, and there -resided in a mean cottage, called "The Hole in the Wall," on Butter -Hill. Among the anecdotes of his eccentricity it is related that, to a -gentleman with whom he was intimate he presented a packet, carefully -folded and sealed, with a particular injunction not to open it till -after his death. This request was strictly complied with, when it was -found to contain merely a blank memorandum-book. - -Long prior to his decease he selected the point of Box-Hill we have -named, where, in compliance with his oft-expressed wish, he was -buried, without church rites, with his head _downwards_; in order, -he said, that as "the world was turned topsy-turvy, it was fit that -he should be so buried that he might be _right at last_."[19] He -died June 6th, 1800, and was interred on the 10th of the same month, -when great numbers of persons witnessed his funeral; and the slight -wooden bridge which then crossed the Mole having been removed by some -mischievous persons during the interment many had to wade through the -river on returning homewards. The Major earned not the uncommon reward -of eccentricity--his portrait being engraved--by H. Kingsbury. Under -Labelliere's name is inscribed in the print-- - -"A Christian patriot and Citizen of the World." - -[19] Honest Jack Fuller, who is buried in a pyramidal mausoleum in -Brightling churchyard, in Sussex, gave as his reason for being thus -disposed of, his unwillingness to be eaten by his relations after this -fashion: "The worms would eat me, the ducks would eat the worms, and my -relations would eat the ducks." - -The interment on Leith Hill is less characterised by oddity than that -of Major Labelliere on Box Hill. In a mansion on the south side of -Leith Hill lived Mr. Richard Hull, a gentleman of fortune, who, in -1766, with the permission of Sir John Evelyn, of Wotton, built a tower -on the summit of Leith Hill, from which the sea is visible, and it -became a landmark for mariners. It comprised two rooms, which were -handsomely furnished by the founder, for the accommodation of those -who resorted thither to enjoy the prospect. Over the entrance, on the -west side, was placed a stone with a Latin inscription, which may be -thus translated: "Traveller, this very conspicuous tower was erected by -Richard Hull, of Leith Hill Place, Esq., in the reign of George III., -1766, that you might obtain an extensive prospect over a beautiful -country; not solely for his own pleasure, but for the accommodation of -his neighbours and all men." - -Mr. Hull, was, by his own direction, interred within this tower, -and an epitaph inscribed on a marble slab let into the wall, on -the ground-floor, stated that he died January 18th, 1772, in his -eighty-third year. He was the oldest bencher of the Middle Temple, and -sat many years in the Parliament of Ireland. He lived, in his earlier -years, in intimacy with Pope, Trenchard, Bishop Berkeley, and other -distinguished men of the period; "and, to wear off the remainder of his -days, he purchased Leith Hill Place for a retirement, where he led the -life of a true Christian and rural philosopher; and, by his particular -desire, his remains were here deposited, in a private manner, under -this tower, which he had erected a few years before his death." - -After the decease of the founder, the building was neglected, and -suffered to fall into decay; but about 1796, Mr. W. Philip Perrin, who -had purchased Mr. Hull's estate, had the tower thoroughly repaired, -heightened several feet, and surmounted by a coping and battlement, so -as to render it a more conspicuous sea-mark; but the lower part was -filled in with lime and rubbish, and the entrance walled up. Leith Hill -is the highest eminence in Surrey, its extreme point being 993 feet -above the sea-level. It commands a view 200 miles in circumference. -Dennis, the critic, described this prospect as superior to anything he -had ever seen in England or Italy, in its surpassing "rural charms, -pomp, and magnificence." - - - - -Jeremy Bentham's Bequest of his Remains. - - -Bentham's long life was incessantly and laboriously devoted to the -good of his species: in pursuance of which he ever felt that incessant -labour a happy task, that long life but too short for its benevolent -object. The preservation of his remains by his physician and friend, -to whose care they were confided, was in exact accordance with his -own desire. He had early in life determined to leave his body for -dissection. By a document dated as far back as 1769, he being then -only twenty two-years of age, bequeathed it for that purpose to his -friend, Dr. Fordyce. The document is in the following remarkable -words:-- - -"This my will and general request I make, not out of affectation of -singularity, but to the intent and with the desire that mankind may -reap some small benefit in and by my decease, having hitherto had small -opportunities to contribute thereto while living." - -A memorandum affixed to this document shows that it had undergone -Bentham's revision two months before his death, and that this part of -it had been solemnly ratified and confirmed. The Anatomy Bill, passed -subsequently to his death, for which a foundation had been laid in _The -Use of the Dead to the Living_ (first published in the _Westminster -Review_, and afterwards reprinted, and a copy given to every member of -Parliament), had removed the main obstructions in the way of obtaining -anatomical knowledge; but the state of the law previous to the adoption -of the Anatomy Act was such as to foster the popular prejudices against -dissection, and the effort to remove these prejudices was well worthy -of a philanthropist. After all the lessons which science and humanity -might learn from the dissection of his body had been taught, Bentham -further directed that the skeleton should be put together and kept -entire; that the head and face should be preserved; that the whole -figure, arranged as naturally as possible, should be attired in the -clothes he ordinarily wore, seated in his own chair, and maintaining -the attitude and aspect most familiar to him. - -Mr. Bentham was perfectly aware that difficulty and even obloquy -might attend a compliance with the directions he gave concerning the -disposal of his body. He therefore chose three friends, whose firmness -he believed to be equal to the task, and asked them if their affection -for him would enable them to brave such consequences. They engaged -to follow his directions to the letter, and they were faithful to -their pledge. The performance of the first part of this duty is thus -described by an eye-witness, W. J. Fox, in the _Monthly Repository_ for -July, 1832:-- - -"None who were present can ever forget that impressive scene. The -room (the lecture-room of the Webb Street School of Anatomy) is small -and circular, with no window but a central sky-light, and capable -of containing about three hundred persons. It was filled, with the -exception of a class of medical students and some eminent members of -that profession, by friends, disciples, and admirers of the deceased -philosopher, comprising many men celebrated for literary talent, -scientific research, and political activity. The corpse was on the -table in the middle of the room, directly under the light, clothed -in a night-dress, with only the head and hands exposed. There was no -rigidity in the features, but an expression of placid dignity and -benevolence. This was at times rendered almost vital by the reflection -of the lightning playing over them; for a storm arose just as the -lecturer commenced, and the profound silence in which he was listened -to was broken and only broken by loud peals of thunder, which continued -to roll at intervals throughout the delivery of his most appropriate -and often affecting address. With the feelings which touch the heart -in the contemplation of departed greatness, and in the presence of -death, there mingled a sense of the power which that lifeless body -seemed to be exercising in the conquest of prejudice for the public -good, thus co-operating with the triumphs of the spirit by which it -had been animated. It was a worthy close of the personal career of the -great philanthropist and philosopher. Never did corpse of hero on the -battle-field, 'with his martial cloak around him,' or funeral obsequies -chanted by stoled and mitred priests in Gothic aisles, excite such -emotions as the stern simplicity of that hour in which the principle of -utility triumphed over the imagination and the heart." - -The skeleton of Bentham, dressed in the clothes which he usually wore, -and with a wax face, modelled by Dr. Talrych, enclosed in a mahogany -case, with folding-doors, may now be seen in the Anatomical Museum of -University College Hospital, Gower Street, London. - - - - -The Marquis of Anglesey's Leg. - - -Among the curiosities of Waterloo are the grave of the late Marquis -of Anglesey's leg, and the house in which it was cut off, and where -the boot belonging to it is preserved! The owner of the house to -whose share this relic has fallen finds it a most lucrative source of -revenue, and will, in spite of the absurdity of the thing, probably -bequeath it to his children as a valuable property. He has interred the -leg most decorously in the garden of the inn, within a coffin, under a -weeping willow, and has honoured it with a monument and the following -epitaph:-- - - Ci est enterrée la Jambe - de l'illustre et vaillant Comte d'Uxbridge, - Lieutenant-Général de S. M. Britannique, - Commandant en chef la cavalrie Anglaise, Belge, et Hollandaise, - blessé le 18 Juin, 1815, - à la mémorable bataille de Waterloo; - qui par son héroisme a concouru au triomphe de la cause - du genre humain; - Glorieusement décidée par l'éclatante victoire du dit jour. - -Some wag scribbled this infamous couplet beneath the inscription:-- - - Here lies the Marquis of Anglesey's limb, - The devil will have the rest of him. - -More apposite is the following epitaph, attributed to Mr. Canning, -on reading the description of the tomb erected to the memory of the -Marquis of Anglesey's leg:-- - - Here rests,--and let no saucy knave - Presume to sneer or laugh, - To learn that mould'ring in this grave - There lies--a British _calf_. - - For he who writes these lines is sure - That those who read the whole, - Will find that laugh was premature, - For here, too, lies a _soul_. - - And here five little ones repose, - Twin born with other five, - Unheeded by their brother toes, - Who all are now alive. - - A leg and foot, to speak more plain, - Lie here of one commanding; - Who, though he might his wits retain, - Lost half his understanding. - - And when the guns, with thunder bright, - Poured bullets thick as hail, - Could only in this way be taught - To give the foe _leg bail_. - - And now in England just as gay - As in the battle brave, - Goes to the rout, the ball, the play, - With one leg in the grave. - - Fortune in vain has showed her spite, - For he will soon be found, - Should England's sons engage in fight, - Resolved to stand his ground. - - But Fortune's pardon I must beg; - She meant not to disarm: - And when she lopped the hero's leg, - She did not seek his h-arm. - - And but indulged a harmless whim, - Since he could _walk_ with one: - She saw two legs were lost on him, - Who never meant to run. - -When the Marquis of Anglesey was, for the second time, Lord Lieutenant -of Ireland, he became very unpopular through an unguarded speech; and -Mr. O'Connell, in one of his flowery addresses, quoted the lines:-- - - God takes the good, too good on earth to stay; - And leaves the bad, too bad to take away. - -The great orator continued:-- - - This couplet's truth in Paget's case we find; - God took his leg, and left himself behind. - -Of a ballad sung in the streets of Dublin, the chorus ran as follows:-- - - He has one leg in Dublin, the other in Cork, - And you know very well what I mean, O! - -It was stated that he had an artificial leg in Cork. - - - - -The Cottle Church. - - -"For more than twenty years," says Mr. De Morgan in his "Budget of -Paradoxes"[20] in the _Athenæum_, 1865, "printed papers have been sent -about in the name of Elizabeth Cottle. It is not so remarkable that -such papers should be concocted, as that they should circulate for such -a length of time without attracting public attention. Eighty years -ago, Mrs. Cottle might have rivalled Lieutenant Brothers or Joanna -Southcote. Long hence, when the now current volumes of our journals are -well ransacked works of reference, those who look into them will be -glad to see this feature of our time: I therefore make a few extracts, -faithfully copied as to type. The Italic is from the new Testament; the -Roman is the requisite interpretation:-- - - "Robert Cottle '_was numbered_ (5196) _with the transgressors_' at the - back of the Church in Norwood Cemetery, May 12, 1858--Isa. liii. 12. - The Rev. J. G. Collinson, Minister of St. James's Church, Clapham, the - then district church, before All Saints was built, read the funeral - service _over the Sepulchre wherein never before man was laid_. - - "_Hewn on the stone_, 'at the mouth of the sepulchre,' is his - name--Robert Cottle, born at Bristol, June 2, 1774; died at Kirkstall - Lodge, Clapham Park, May 6, 1858. _And that day_ (May 12, 1858) - _was the preparation_ (day and year for 'the PREPARED place for - you'--Cottleites--by the widowed mother of the Father's house, at - Kirkstall Lodge--John xiv. 2, 3). _And the Sabbath_ (Christmas Day, - December 25, 1859) _drew on_ (for the resurrection of the Christian - body on 'the third [Protestant Sun]-day'--1 Cor. xv. 35). _Why seek - ye the living_ (God of the New Jerusalem--Heb. xii. 22; Rev. iii. - 12) _among the dead_ (men): _he_ (the God of Jesus) _is not here_ - (in the grave), _but is risen_ (in the person of the Holy Ghost, - from the supper, of 'the dead in the second death' of Paganism). - _Remember how he spake unto you_ (in the Church of the Rev. George - Clayton, April 14, 1839). _I will not drink henceforth_ (at this last - Cottle supper) _of the fruit of this_ (Trinity) _vine, until that - day_ (Christmas Day, 1859), _when I_ (Elizabeth Cottle) _drank it new - with you_ (Cottleites) _in my Father's kingdom_--John xv. _If this_ - (Trinitarian) _cup may not pass away from me_ (Elizabeth Cottle, - April 14, 1839), _except I drink it_ ('new with you Cottleites, in my - Father's kingdom'), _thy will be done_--Matt. xxvi. 29, 42, 64. 'Our - Father which art (God) in heaven, _hallowed be thy name, thy_ (Cottle) - _kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is_ (done) _in_ (the - new) _Heaven_ (and new earth of the new name of Cottle--Rev. xxi. 1; - iii. 12). - - "... (Queen Elizabeth, from A. D. 1558 to 1566). _And this_ WORD _yet - once more_ (by a second Elizabeth)--the WORD of his oath, _signifieth_ - (at John Scott's baptism of the Holy Ghost) _the removing of those - things_ (those Gods and those doctrines) _that are made_ (according - the Creeds and Commandments of men) _that those things_ (in the moral - law of God) _which cannot be shaken_ (as a rule of faith and practice) - _may remain; wherefore we receiving_ (from Elizabeth) _a kingdom_ (of - God) _which cannot be moved_ (by Satan) _let us have grace_ (in his - grace of Canterbury) _whereby we may serve God acceptably_ (with the - acceptable sacrifice of Elizabeth's body and blood of the communion of - the Holy Ghost) _with reverence_ (for truth) _and godly fear_ (of the - unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost), _for our God_ - (the Holy Ghost) _is a consuming fire_ (to the nation that will not - serve him in the Cottle Church). We cannot defend ourselves against - the Almighty, and if He is our defence, no nation can invade us. - - "In verse 4 the Church of St. Peter is _in prison between four - quaternions of Soldiers_--the Holy Alliance of 1815. Rev. vii. 1. - Elizabeth, _the Angel of the Lord_ Jesus _appears_ to the Jewish and - Christian body with _the vision_ of prophecy to the Rev. Geo. Clayton - and his clerical brethren, April 8th, 1839. _Rhoda_ was the name of - her maid at Putney Terrace who used _to open the door to her Peter_, - the Rev. Robert Ashton, the Pastor of 'the little flock' 'of 120 names - together, assembled in an upper (school) room' at Putney Chapel, to - which little flock she gave the revelation (Acts i. 13, 15) _of Jesus - the same_ King of the Jews _yesterday_ at the prayer meeting, December - 31, 1841, _and to-day_, January 1, 1842, _and for ever_. See book of - Life, page 24. Matt. xviii. 19; xxi. 13-16. In verse 6 the Italian - body of St. Peter _is sleeping_ 'in the second death' _between the - two_ Imperial _soldiers_ of France and Austria. The Emperor of France - from January 1 to July 11, 1859, causes the Italian _chains of St. - Peter to fall off from his_ Imperial _hands_. - - "_I say unto thee_, Robert Ashton, _thou art Peter_, a stone, _and - upon this rock_, of truth, _will I_ Elizabeth, the Angel of Jesus, - _build my_ Cottle _Church, and the gates of hell_, the doors of St. - Peter at Rome, shall not prevail against it--Matt. xvi. 18; Rev. iii. - 7-12." - -[20] We hope to see these interesting accounts of real "curiosities of -literature" reprinted in a separate volume. - -"This will be enough for the purpose. When anyone who pleases can -circulate new revelations of this kind, uninterrupted and unattended -to, new revelations will cease to be a good investment of eccentricity. -I take it for granted that the gentlemen whose names are mentioned have -nothing to do with the circulars or their doctrines. Any lady who may -happen to be entrusted with a revelation may nominate her own pastor, -or any other clergyman, one of her apostles; and it is difficult to say -to what court the nominees can appeal to get the commission abrogated. - -"March 16, 1865. During the last two years the circulars have -continued. It is hinted that funds are low; and two gentlemen, who are -represented as gone 'to Bethelem asylum in despair,' say that Mrs. -Cottle will 'spend all that she hath, while Her Majesty's ministers are -flourishing on the wages of sin.' The following is perhaps one of the -most remarkable passages in the whole:-- - - "_Extol and magnify Him_ (Jehovah, the everlasting God, see the - Magnificat and Luke i. 45, 46-68-73-79), _that rideth_ (by rail - and steam over land and sea, from his holy habitation at Kirkstall - Lodge, Psa. lxxvii. 19, 20), _upon the_ (Cottle) _heavens as it were_ - (September 9, 1864, see pages 21, 170), _upon an_ (exercising, Psa. - cxxxi. 1), _horse_-(chair, bought of Mr. John Ward, Leicester Square)." - - - - -Horace Walpole's Chattels saved by a Talisman. - - -In the spring of 1771, Walpole's house in Arlington Street was broken -open in the night, and his cabinets and trunks forced and plundered. -The Lord of Strawberry was at his villa when he received by a courier -the intelligence of the burglary. In an admirable letter to Sir Horace -Mann he thus narrates the sequel:--"I was a good quarter of an hour -before I recollected that it was very becoming to have philosophy -enough not to care about what one does care for; if you don't care -there's no philosophy in bearing it. I despatched my upper servant, -breakfasted, fed the bantams as usual, and made no more hurry to town -than Cincinnatus would if he had lost a basket of turnips. I left in my -drawers 270_l._ of bank-bills and three hundred guineas, not to mention -all my gold and silver coins, some inestimable miniatures, a little -plate, and a good deal of furniture, under no guard but that of two -maidens.... When I arrived, my surprise was by no means diminished. I -found in three different chambers three cabinets, a large chest, and -a glass case of china wide open, the locks not picked, but forced, -and the doors of them broken to pieces. You will wonder that this -should surprise me when I had been prepared for it. Oh! the miracle -was that I did not find, nor to this hour have found, the least thing -missing. In the cabinet of modern medals, there were, and so there are -still, a series of English coins, with downright John Trot guineas, -half-guineas, shillings, sixpences, and every kind of current money. -Not a single piece was removed. Just so in the Roman and Greek cabinet; -though in the latter were some drawers of papers, which they had -tumbled and scattered about the floor. A great exchequer chest, that -belonged to my father, was in the same room. Not being able to force -the lock, the philosophers (for thieves that steal nothing deserve the -title much more than Cincinnatus, or I) had wrenched a great flapper -of brass with such violence as to break it into seven pieces. The trunk -contained a new set of chairs of French tapestry, two screens, rolls -of prints, and a suit of silver stuff that I had made for the king's -wedding. All was turned topsy-turvy, and nothing stolen. The glass case -and cabinet of shells had been handled as roughly by these impotent -gallants. Another little table with drawers, in which, by the way, the -key was left, had been opened too, and a metal standish that they ought -to have taken for silver, and a silver hand-candlestick that stood upon -it, were untouched. Some plate in the pantry, and all my linen just -come from the wash had no more charms for them than gold or silver. In -short I could not help laughing, especially as the only two movables -neglected were another little table with drawers and the money, and a -writing box with the bank-notes, both in the same chamber where they -made the first havoc. In short, they had broken out a panel in the -door of the area, and unbarred and unbolted it, and gone out at the -street-door, which they left wide open at five o'clock in the morning. -A passenger had found it so, and alarmed the maids, one of whom ran -naked into the street, and by her cries waked my Lord Rommey, who lives -opposite. The poor creature was in fits for two days, but at first, -finding my coachmaker's apprentice in the street, had sent him to Mr. -Conway, who immediately despatched him to me before he knew how little -damage I had received, the whole of which consists in repairing the -doors and locks of my cabinets and coffers. - -"All London is reasoning on this marvellous adventure, and not an -argument presents itself that some other does not contradict. I insist -that I have a talisman. You must know that last winter, being asked by -Lord Vere to assist in settling Lady Betty Germaine's auction I found -in an old catalogue of her collection this article, '_The Black Stone -into which Dr. Dee used to call his spirits_.' Dr. Dee, you must know, -was a great conjuror in the days of Queen Elizabeth and has written a -folio of the dialogues he held with his imps. I asked eagerly for this -stone; Lord Vere said he knew of no such thing, but if found, it should -certainly be at my service. Alas, the stone was gone! This winter I -was again employed by Lord Frederic Campbell, for I am an absolute -auctioneer, to do him the same service about his father's (the Duke of -Argyle's) collection. Among other odd things he produced a round piece -of shining black marble in a leathern case, as big as the crown of a -hat, and asked me what that possibly could be? I screamed out, 'Oh -Lord, I am the only man in England that can tell you! It is Dr. Dee's -Black Stone!' It certainly is; Lady Betty had formerly given away or -sold, time out of mind, for she was a thousand years old, that part of -the Peterborough collection which contained natural philosophy. So, or -since, the Black Stone had wandered into an auction, for the lotted -paper is still on it. The Duke of Argyle, who bought everything, bought -it. Lord Frederic gave it to me; and if it was not this magical stone, -which is only of high-polished coal, that preserved my chattels, in -truth I cannot guess what did." - -At the Strawberry Hill sale, in 1842, this precious relic was sold -for 12_l._ 12_s._, and is now in the British Museum. It was described -in the catalogue as "a singularly interesting and curious relic of -the superstition of our ancestors--the celebrated _Speculum of Kennel -Coal_, highly polished, in a leathern case. It is remarkable for having -been used to deceive the mob, by the celebrated Dr. Dee, the conjuror, -in the reign of Queen Elizabeth," &c. When Dee fell into disrepute, -and his chemical apparatus and papers and other stock-in-trade were -destroyed by the mob, who made an attack upon his house, this Black -Stone was saved. It appears to be nothing more than a polished piece of -cannel coal; but this is what Butler means when he says:-- - - Kelly did all his feats upon - The devil's looking glass--a stone. - - - - -[Illustration: Margaret Finch, the Norwood Gipsy.] - - - - -Norwood Gipsies. - - -Two centures ago, Norwood, in Surrey, was celebrated as the haunt -of many of the gipsy-tribe, who in the summertime pitched their -blanket-tents beneath its shady trees. Thus we find Pepys recording -a visit to the place, under the date of August 11th, 1688:--"This -afternoon my wife, and Mercer, and Deb. went with Pelling to the -gipsies at Lambeth, and had their fortunes told; but what they did I -did not inquire." [Norwood is in the southern part of Lambeth parish.] - -From their reputed knowledge of futurity, the Norwood gipsies were -often consulted by the young and credulous. This was particularly the -case some sixty or seventy years ago, when it was customary among the -working class and servants of London to walk to Norwood on the Sunday -afternoon to have their fortunes told, and also to take refreshment -at the Gipsy House, said to have been first licensed in the reign of -James the First. The house long bore on its sign-post a painting of the -deformed figure of Margaret Finch, the Queen of the gipsies. - -The register of Beckenham, under the date of October 24th, 1740, -records the burial of Margaret Finch, who lived to the age of 109 -years. After travelling over various parts of the kingdom (during the -greater part of a century), she settled at Norwood, whither her great -age and the fame of her fortune-telling attracted numerous visitors. -From a habit of sitting on the ground, with her chin resting on her -knees, the sinews became so contracted that she could not rise from -that posture. After her death they were obliged to enclose her body in -a deep square box. Her funeral was attended by two mourning-coaches, a -sermon was preached on the occasion, and a great concourse of people -attended the ceremony. There is an engraved portrait of this gipsy -queen, from a drawing made in 1739. - -In the summer of 1815, the gipsies of Norwood were "apprehended as -vagrants, and sent in three coaches to prison," and this magisterial -interference, and the increase of houses and population, have long -since driven the gipsies from their haunts; but the association is -preserved in the Gipsy Hill station of the Crystal Palace Railway. - - - - -"Cunning Mary," of Clerkenwell. - - -Early in the seventeenth century, one Mary Woods, of Norwich, a -person who professed skill in palmistry, came to London in the way -of her vocation, and lodged at the house of one Crispe, a barber, -in Clerkenwell. Having received such a valuable inmate, the barber -soon afterwards removed "Cunning Mary" and her husband to the more -fashionable neighbourhood of the Strand, and there the barber became a -willing agent in procuring subjects or patients for his female lodger. -One branch of her business consisted in furnishing ladies who desired -to become mothers with charms and medicines which would assist them in -attaining their end. In the next house to Somerset Place dwelt a Mrs. -Isabel Peel, wife of a tradesman, who to her great grief was childless. -The barber, at his lodger's suggestion, whispered in her ear, that the -very skilful person who was an inmate of his house could provide her -with means to help forward her desires. An interview was arranged, and -by "fair speech and cozening skill" Mary Woods persuaded Mrs. Peel -of her power, but demanded no less a sum than twenty pounds for its -exercise. In cash, the amount was beyond the patient's means, but she -delivered to her adviser "two lawn and other wrotte (wrought) wares," -and received in return a small portion of an infallible powder, which -the cunning woman sewed in a little piece of taffeta, and bade the -aspirant after maternity wear it round her neck. - -The news that a woman of such marvellous skill had come to lodge in -Westminster soon spread. Anxious ladies in many of the neighbouring -mansions sent for her, and she specially got a footing in Salisbury -House. Mrs. Jane Sacheverell, who attended on Lady Cranborne, was one -of her victims. The Countess of Essex had several interviews with her -in the same friendly mansion, and gave her a diamond ring worth fifty -or sixty pounds, sent by her husband the Earl, out of France, with -directions to pawn it, in order to procure a portion of the infallible -powder, "which was very costly." The Countess also bestowed upon Mrs. -Woods "certain pieces of gold worth between thirty and forty pounds." -When the affair was called in question, Mrs. Woods asserted that the -Countess gave her these things to procure "a kind of poison that would -be in a man's body three or four days without swelling," and that this -poison was to be given to the Earl of Essex. But Mrs. Woods was an -infamous person, whose uncorroborated assertion was worth nothing, and -she had previously mentioned to Mrs. Peel that her employment by the -Countess had relation merely to the child-giving powder. - -Mrs. Woods possessed other faculties besides those with reference to -which she was consulted by Mrs. Peel and Mrs. Sacheverell. She could -"help" ladies to husbands, and "cause and procure whom they desired to -have, to love them." On this branch of her business she was consulted -by Mrs. Cooke, Lady Walden's gentlewoman, who gave her twenty pounds -and more, in twenty-shilling pieces of gold; and, finally, also, by -Mrs. Clare, who is described as lying in the Court at Whitehall, and as -being a waiting gentlewoman in attendance upon the young Lady Windsor. -Mrs. Clare, like several other of the ladies named, had no ready money, -but the fees paid by her were very handsome. They comprised a standing -cup and cover of silver gilt, worth fourteen pounds; a petticoat of -velvet, layed with three silver laces, that cost forty pounds; and two -diamond rings, the one worth twenty pounds, and the other five pounds. - -After the bubble had burst, and Cunning Mary absconded with her -plunder, Mrs. Peel says that she "ripped the taffeta to see what -powder it was, and found it but a little dust swept out of the flower -(floor?)."[21] - -[21] S. P. Dom. James I., vol. lxxvii., quoted in Pinks's _History of -Clerkenwell_, Appendix. - - - - -Jerusalem Whalley. - - -Mr. Whalley was elected for Newcastle, 1785, before he was of age, -which was not unusual in Ireland, and sat for it to 1790, and for -Enniscorthy from 1797 to June, 1800. He acquired the sobriquet of -_Jerusalem Whalley_ in consequence of a bet, said to have been -20,000_l._, that he would walk (except where a sea-passage was -unavoidable) to Jerusalem and back within twelve months. He started -September 22, 1788, and returned June 1, 1789. - -Lord Cloncurry describes Whalley as a perfect specimen of the Irish -gentleman of the olden time. Gallant, reckless, and profuse, he made no -account of money, limb, or life, when a feat was to be won, or a daring -deed to be attempted. He spent a fine fortune in pursuits not more -profitable than his expedition to play ball at Jerusalem; and rendered -himself a cripple for life by jumping from the drawing-room window -of Daly's club-house, in College Green, Dublin, on to the roof of a -hackney-coach which was passing. - -The lawless behaviour of the yeomanry corps which he commanded obtained -for him another and less agreeable appellation, "Bever-chapel Whalley." -His residence in Stephen's Green was, in 1855, converted into a -nunnery. Sir Jonah Barrington states that 4,000_l._ was paid to Mr. -Whalley by Mr. Gould, M.P. for Kilbeggan. - -Whalley, "Buck Whalley" as he was sometimes called, is stated to -have been the founder of the Hell-fire Club. Having a taste for the -fine arts, and means to gratify it, he accumulated a large number -of valuable paintings in his mansion at Stephen's Green, Dublin, of -which the following account has appeared in the _Dublin University -Magazine_:--"In the centre of the south side of St. Stephen's Green -stands a noble building, with a large stone lion reposing over the -entrance, and finding his legs and tail encroached on by grass and -weeds. This mansion belonged to the great Buck Whalley, and witnessed -many a noble feast and mad carouse during the viceroyalty of the Duke -of Buckingham. At last, when all the pleasures that could be procured -on Irish land were tried, and found to result in satiety and disgust, -and his tailor and wine-merchant began to disturb him, he sought new -excitement in his wager that he would have a game of ball against the -walls of Jerusalem; and he succeeded, as already stated. A bard, who -contributed to a collection of political squibs, entitled, _Both Sides -of the Gutter_, sang the going forth of the expedition: it is entitled, -_Whalley's Embarkation_, to the tune of 'Rutland Gigg.'" - - - - -Father Mathew and the Temperance Movement. - - -No great cause was ever inaugurated with more eccentric or more -genuine fervour than the advocacy of the Temperance principles by -Father Mathew, the Capuchin Friar. "Here goes in the name of God!" -said the Father, on the 10th of April, 1838, when he pledged his name -in the cause of Temperance, and, together with the Protestant priest, -Charles Duncombe, the Unitarian philanthropist, Richard Dowden, and -the stout Quaker, William Martin, publicly inaugurated a movement at -Cork, destined in a few years to count its converts by millions, and to -spread its influence as far as the English language was spoken. In this -good work, the habitually impulsive temperament of the Irish was acted -upon for the purest and most beneficial of purposes; and one element -of its success lay in the unselfishness of the Father, who was himself -a serious sufferer by the results of his philanthropic exertions. A -distillery in the south of Ireland, belonging to his family, and from -which he himself derived a large income, was shut up in consequence -of the disuse of whisky among the lower orders, occasioned by his -preaching. But his "Riverance" was most unscrupulously tyrannized over -by his servant John, a wizened old bachelor, with a red nose, privately -nourished by Bacchus; and he was only checked in his evil doings when -the Father, more exasperated than usual, exclaimed, "John, if you go on -in this way, I must certainly leave this house." On one occasion, there -was a frightful smack of whisky pervading the pure element which graced -the board, which he accounted for by saying he had placed the forbidden -liquid, with which he "cleaned his tins," in the jug by mistake. - -The Temperance cause prospered, but Father Mathew, through his -eccentric love of giving, found it impossible to keep out of debt, -which ever kept him in thraldom. The hour of his deepest bitterness -was when, while publicly administering the pledge in Dublin, he was -arrested for the balance of an account due to a medal manufacturer; the -bailiff to whom the duty was entrusted kneeling down among the crowd, -asking his blessing, and then quietly showing him the writ. - -This is one of the many anecdotes told by Mr. Maguire, in his admirable -Life of Father Mathew, who, we learn from the same authority, at a -large party attempted to make a convert of Lord Brougham, who resisted, -good-humouredly but resolutely, the efforts of his dangerous neighbour. -"I drink very little wine," said Lord Brougham; "only half-a-glass at -luncheon, and two half glasses at dinner; and though my medical adviser -told me I should increase the quantity, I refused to do so." "They are -wrong, my lord, for advising you to increase the quantity, and you are -wrong in taking the small quantity you do; but I have my hopes of you." -And so, after a pleasant resistance on the part of the learned lord, -Father Mathew invested his lordship with the silver medal and ribbon, -the insignia and collar of the Order of the Bath. "Then I will keep -it," said Lord Brougham, "and take it to the House, where I shall be -sure to meet the old Lord ---- the worse of liquor, and I will put it -on him." Lord Brougham was as good as his word; for, on meeting the -veteran peer, he said: "Lord ----, I have a present from Father Mathew -for you," and passed the ribbon quietly over his neck. "Then I'll tell -you what it is, Brougham, by ---- I will keep sober for this day," said -his lordship, who kept his word, to the great amusement of his friends. - - - - -[Illustration: Edward Irving.] - - - - -Eccentric Preachers. - - -Scores, nay, hundreds of volumes have been gathered upon the oddities -of character which mankind, in all ages, have presented to the -observant writer who loves to "shoot folly as it flies." Voltaire has -said, "Every country has its foolish notions.... Let us not laugh at -any people;" and it would be difficult to find any age which has not -its curiosities of character, to be laughed at and turned to still -better account; for, of whatever period we write, something may be done -in the way of ridicule towards turning the popular opinion. Diogenes -owes much of his celebrity to his contempt of comfort, by living in a -tub, and his oddity of manner. Orator Henley preached from his "gilt -tub" in Clare Market, and thus earned commemoration in the _Dunciad_:-- - - Still break the benches, Henley, with thy strain, - While Sherlock, Hare and Gibson preach in vain; - O, worthy thou of Egypt's wise abodes, - A decent priest, where monkeys were the gods! - But Fate with butchers placed thy priestly stall, - Meek modern faith to murder, hack, and haul. - -Eccentricity has its badge and characteristics by which it gains -distinction and notoriety, and which in some cases serve as a lure to -real excellence. The preaching of Rowland Hill is allowed to have been -excellent; but his great popularity was won by his eccentric manner, -and the many piquant anecdotes and witticisms, and sallies of humour -unorthodox, with which, during his long ministry, he interlarded -his sermons. However, he thought the end justified the means; and -certain it is that it drew very large congregations. The personal -allusions to his wife, which Rowland Hill is related to have used in -the pulpit, were, however, fictitious, and at which Hill expressed -great indignation. "It is an abominable untruth," he would exclaim; -"derogatory to my character as a Christian and a gentleman. They would -make me out a bear." - -The success of Edward Irving, the popular minister of the National -Scotch Church in London, was of a more mixed character. It is stated, -upon good authority, that he first chose the stage as a profession, -and acted in Ryder's company, in Kirkaldy, a few miles from Edinburgh, -about fifty-five years since. The obliquity of his vision, his dialect, -and peculiarly awkward gait and manner, created so much derision, that -he left the stage for the pulpit, after about three months' probation. - -Irving's sermons were not liked at first; and it was not until he was -recognised by Dr. Chalmers that Irving became popular. But he was -turned out of his church, and treated as a madman, and he died an -outcast heretic. "There was no harm in the man," says a contemporary, -"and what errors he entertained, or extravagancies he allowed in -connection with supposed miraculous gifts, were certain in due time -to burn themselves out." It was not so much the error of his doctrine -as the peculiarity of his manner, the torrent of his eloquence, his -superlative want of tact, that provoked his enemies, and frightened -his friends. The strength of his faith was wonderful. Once, when -he was called to the bedside of a dying man late at night he went -immediately. Presently he returned, and beckoned one of his friends to -accompany him. The reason was, that he really believed in the efficacy -of prayer, and held to the promise--"If _two_ of you shall agree on -earth as touching anything that ye shall ask, it shall be done." It was -necessary, therefore, that two should go to the sick man. So, also, -he had a child that died in infancy, to whom he was in the habit of -addressing "words of godliness, to nourish the faith that was in him." -And Irving adds that the patient heed of the child was wonderful. He -really believed that the infant, by some incomprehensible process, -could guess what he was saying, and profit by it. His love for children -was very great; and he, a very popular man in London, might be seen, -day by day, marching along the streets of Pentonville of an afternoon, -his wife by his side, and his baby in his arms. - -His sermons had a large sale, going through many editions. But Irving -complains that, in spite of these large sales, he could never get the -religious publishers to whom he had entrusted his book to give him -anything but a pitiful return. It is amusing to find him in one letter -complaining that there is neither grace nor honour in the religious -booksellers, and requesting his wife in negotiating the sale of his -next venture to "try Blackwood, or some of these worldlings," in the -evident expectation that "these worldlings" were a good deal more -liberal in their dealings, not to say honest, than those whom he -regarded as his peculiar friends. - - - - -Irving a Millenarian. - - -The Millenarians proudly claim the late Edward Irving as having been -one of the most earnest believers in the personal reign of Christ. -In his latter days he was a Millenarian in the strictest sense of -the word. From the year 1827 to 1830, the Millenarianism question -was brought under the notice of thousands of Christians, who, though -remarkable for their knowledge of Scripture on other points, had never -bestowed a single thought on the question of Christ's personal reign on -earth. The cause of this was the prominence given to it by the Rev. E. -Irving, then at the summit of his popularity. Solely with the generous -view of assisting a Spanish friend, he had, in the previous year, -studied the Spanish language, and had made such progress as to be able -to translate it into English. Just at this time appeared in Spanish, -_The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty_, with which Irving was -much struck, as powerfully expressing his own views on the Millenarian -question, that he at once set to work, and translated it into English. -Its author professed to have been a Jewish convert to Christianity, -and gave the name of Juan Josaphat Ben-Ezra on the title-page. He was, -however, a Spanish priest and a Jesuit. It is not known whether Mr. -Irving was aware of the fraud which had been thus practised upon the -readers of the book; he described it as "the chief work of a master's -hand," and "a masterpiece of reasoning," and "a gift which he had -revolved well how he might turn to profit." - -Irving likewise established _The Morning Watch_ for the sole purpose -of advocating Millenarian views; but the extravagance of some of -the collateral notions which the preacher intermingled with simple -Millenarianism rather impeded than promoted the object in view. -The doctrine, too, of speaking with tongues, the assertion of the -peccability of Christ's humanity, the zealous advocacy of the opinion -that the power of working miracles was still vested in the Church, -and not the expectation only, but from time to time, the repeated -assertion, most emphatically, that _Christ would come immediately to -reign personally on the earth_--all these, and other sentiments no -less confidently advanced, and earnestly inculcated both from Irving's -pulpit and through the press, injured rather than benefited the cause -of Millenarianism among the more sober-minded men in the religious -world. - -Moreover, he retained these momentous errors till his dying hour, -and added one more to them. When his physicians and friends, seeing -him in the last stage of consumption, prepared him in the spirit of -affectionate faithfulness for the solemn event which was at hand, he -would not believe that he was dying, or ever would die, but that he -would be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and in a transformed body, -made unspeakably glorious, be caught up to heaven. The Millenarians -therefore do not strengthen their cause by quoting the name of Edward -Irving as an authority in favour of their views. - -The intense enthusiasm with which Irving entered into the notion of -a personal reign of Christ on earth is well described in his Life by -Mrs. Oliphant. "The conception," she says, "of a second advent nearly -approaching was like the beginning of a new life. The thought of seeing -his Lord in the flesh, cast a certain ecstasy on the mind of Irving. -It quickened tenfold his already vivid apprehension of spiritual -things. The burden of his prophetic mystery, so often darkly pondered, -so often interpreted in a mistaken sense, seemed to him, in the light -of that expectation, to swell into divine choruses of preparation for -the splendid event which, with his bodily eyes, undimmed by death, -he hoped to behold." It is generally thought that the extravagancies -which, towards the close of his career, proceeded both from his lips -and his pen, were to be traced to a mind which, through its prophetic -studies, had _lost its balance_. Yet, to the last, he made many -proselytes to his Millenarian notions. - -Irving originated the idea of Christ, with his saints, remaining -and reigning in the air after he has caught up his people to meet -him there, instead of reigning literally on the earth. Irving also -originated the doctrine of _secret rapture_, or the assumption that -Christ will come and take up his people who are alive with him into -the air when he raises the saints who are in their graves, and summons -them to meet him in aerial regions. So deeply did this notion take -possession of many of those who adopted Mr. Irving's Millenarian views, -in conjunction with this other idea--that _Christ's second coming might -be_ looked for at any hour--that they were as firmly persuaded they -would not see death, as they were of any truth in the Word of God.[22] - -[22] See _The End of All Things_, by the author of _Our Heavenly Home_, -1866. - - - - -A Trio of Fanatics. - - -The names of Sharp, Bryan, and Brothers will not soon be forgotten -among the so-called prophets of the present century. The first of this -inspired trio was William Sharp, one of the greatest masters in the -English school of engraving; Bryan was what is termed an irregular -Quaker, who had engrafted sectarian doctrines on an original stock of -fervid religious feeling; and Richard Brothers, who styled himself the -"Nephew of God," predicted the destruction of all sovereigns, &c. - -Sharp was, at one time, so infected with wild notions of political -liberty, and so free in his talk, that he was placed under arrest by -the Government and several times examined before the Privy Council, -for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not, in his speeches or -writings, he had committed himself far enough to be tried with Horne -Tooke for high treason; but Sharp, being a handsome-looking, jocular -man, and too cheerful for a conspirator, the Privy Council came to a -conclusion that the altar and the throne had not much to fear from -him. At one of the examinations, when Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas were -present, after he had been worried with questions, which, Sharp said, -had little or nothing to do with the business, he deliberately took out -of his pocket a prospectus for subscribing to his portrait of General -Kociusko, after West, which he was then engraving; and handing the -paper first to Pitt and Dundas, he requested them to put their names -down as subscribers, and then to give his prospectus to the other -members of the Council for their names. The singularity of the proposal -set them laughing, and he was soon afterwards liberated. - -Sharp possessed a fraternal regard for Bryan, had him instructed in -copper-plate printing, supplied him with paper, &c., and enabled him -to commence business; but they soon quarrelled. A strong tide of -animal spirits, not unaccompanied by some intellectual pretensions and -shrewdness of insight, characterized the mind of Jacob Bryan; which, -when religion was launched on it, swelled to enthusiasm, tossed reason -to the skies, or whirled her in mystic eddies. Sharp found him one -morning groaning on the floor, between his two printing-presses, at his -office in Marylebone Street, complaining how much he was oppressed, -by bearing, after the pattern of the Saviour, part of the sins of the -people; and he soon after had a vision, commanding him to proceed -to Avignon on a Divine Mission. He accordingly set out immediately, -in full reliance on Divine Providence, leaving his wife to negotiate -the sale of his printing business: thus Sharp lost his printer, but -Bryan kept his faith. The issue of this mission was so ambiguous, -that it might be combined into an accomplishment of its supposed -object, according as an ardent or a cool imagination was employed on -the subject; but the missionary (Bryan) returned to England, and then -became a dyer, and so much altered, that a few years after he could -even pun upon the suffering and confession which St. Paul has expressed -in his text--"I die daily." - -The Animal Magnetism of Mesmer and the mysteries of Emanuel Swedenborg -had, by some means or other, in Sharp's time, become mingled in the -imaginations of their respective or their mutual followers; and Bryan -and several others were supposed to be endowed, though not in the -same degree, with a sort of half-physical and half-miraculous power -of curing diseases, and imparting the thoughts or sympathies of -distant friends. De Loutherbourg, the painter (one of the disciples), -was believed by the sect to be a very Esculapius in this divine art; -but Bryan was held to be far less powerful, and was so by his own -confession. Sharp had also some inferior pretensions of the same kind, -which gradually died away. - -But, behold! Richard Brothers arose! The Millennium was at hand! The -Jews were to be gathered together, and were to re-occupy Jerusalem; -and Sharp and Brothers were to march thither with their squadrons! -Due preparations were accordingly made, and boundless expectations -were raised by the distinguished artist. Upon a friend remonstrating -that none of their preparations appeared to be of a marine nature, -and inquiring how the chosen colony were to cross the seas, Sharp -answered, "Oh, you'll see; there'll be an earthquake, and a miraculous -transportation will take place." Nor can Sharp's faith or sincerity -on this point be in the least distrusted; for he actually engraved -two plates of the prophet Brothers, having calculated that one would -not print the great number of impressions that would be wanted when -the important event should arrive; and he added to each the following -inscription: "Fully believing this to be the man appointed by God, I -engrave his likeness: W. Sharp." The writing engraver, Smith, put the -comma after the word "appointed," and omitted it in the subsequent part -of the sentence. The mistake was not discovered until several were -worked off; the unrectified impressions are in great request. Whether -this be true, or only a hoax by Smith to put collectors on a false -scent, has not been ascertained; there is no such impression in the -British Museum. If the reader paused in the place where Sharp intended, -the sentence expressed, "Fully believing this to be the man appointed -by God,"--to do what? to head the Jews in their predestined march to -recover Jerusalem? or to die in a madhouse? one being expressed as much -as the other. - -Brothers, however, in his prophecy, had mentioned _dates_, which were -stubborn things. Yet the failure of the accomplishment of this prophecy -may have helped to recommend "the Woman clothed with the Sun!" who now -arose, as might be thought somewhat _mal à propos_, in the West. Such -was Joanna Southcote. The Scriptures had said: "The sceptre shall not -depart from Israel, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh -come; and to him _shall the gathering of my people be_." When Brothers -was incarcerated in a madhouse in Clerkenwell, Johanna, then living -in service at Exeter, persuaded herself that she held converse with -the devil, and communion with the Holy Ghost, by whom she pretended to -be inspired. When the day of dread that was to leave London in ruins, -while it ushered forth Brothers and Sharp on their holy errand, passed -calmly over, the seers of coming events began to look out for new -ground, and to prevaricate most unblushingly. The _days_ of prophecy, -said Sharp, were sometimes weeks or months; nay, according to one text, -a thousand years were but as a single day, and one day was but as a -thousand years. But he finally clung to the deathbed prediction of -Jacob, supported as it was by the ocular demonstration of the coming -Shiloh. In vain Sir William Drummond explained that Shiloh was in -reality the ancient Asiatic name of a star in Scorpio; or that Joanna -herself sold for a trifle, or gave away in her loving kindness, the -impression of a trumpery seal, which at the Great Day was to constitute -the discriminating mark between the righteous and the ungodly. We shall -hear more of Sharp in association with Joanna Southcote, presently. - -Sharp died poor; he earned much money, but his egregious credulity -accounts for its dispersion. He was an epicure in his living, he -grew corpulent, and had gout; he died of dropsy, at Chiswick, July -25th, 1824, and was interred in the churchyard of that hamlet, near -De Loutherbourg, for whom, at one period, he entertained much mystic -reverence. - -This great engraver, this William Sharp, was an enthusiast for human -freedom. He engraved, from a liking for the man, Northcote's portrait -of Sir Francis Burdett; and bestowed unusual care on an engraving -after Stothard's beautiful bistre-drawing of "Boadicea animating -the Britons." For many years preceding his death he was a wholesale -believer in Joanna Southcote; as we have already seen--and he had -implicit faith in mystical doctrines; of his portrait of Brothers, -Horne Tooke well observed, that, coupled with its extraordinary -inscription, it "exhibited one of the most eminent proofs of human -genius and human weakness ever contained on the same piece of paper." - -Burnet, the engraver, used to relate that Sharp had an ingenious way -of carrying a proof print to a purchaser, in an umbrella contrived to -serve two additional duties--a print-case, and a walking-stick. - -When John Martin exhibited his picture of Belshazzar's Feast, Sharp -called upon him at his house, introduced himself, praised his picture, -and asked permission to engrave it. "That I was flattered by a request -of the kind from so great an artist," says Martin, "you will readily -imagine; and I so expressed myself." Sharp felt pleased. "My belief," -said Sharp, "is, that yours is a divine work--an emanation immediately -from the Almighty; and my belief further is, that while I am engaged on -so divine a work, I shall never die." When Martin told this story, he -added, with a smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "Poor Sharp! a -wild enthusiast, but--a masterly engraver."[23] - -[23] "New Materials for Lives of English Engravers," by Peter -Cunningham. _Builder_, 1863. - -Richard Brothers was born at Placentia, in Newfoundland, and had -served in the navy, but resigned his commission, because, to use his -own words, he "conceived the military life to be totally repugnant to -the duties of Christianity, and he could not conscientiously receive -the wages of plunder, bloodshed, and murder." This step reduced him to -great poverty, and he appears to have suffered much in consequence. His -mind was already shaken, and his privations and solitary reflections -seem at length to have entirely overthrown it. The first instance of -his madness appears to have been his belief that he could restore sight -to the blind. He next began to see visions and to prophesy, and soon -became persuaded that he was commissioned by Heaven to lead back the -Jews to Palestine. It was in the latter part of 1794 that he announced, -through the medium of the press, his high destiny. His rhapsody bore -the title of "A revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times, Book -the First. Wrote under the direction of the Lord God, and published by -his sacred command; it being the first sign of warning for the benefit -of all nations. Containing, with other great and remarkable things, -not revealed to any other person on earth, the restoration of the -Hebrews to Jerusalem, by the year 1798: under their revealed prince and -prophet." A second part speedily followed, which purported to relate -"particularly to the present time, the present war, and the prophecy -now fulfilling: containing, with other great and remarkable things, not -revealed to any other person on earth, the sudden and perpetual fall of -the Turkish, German, and Russian Empires." Among many similar flights -in this second part, was one which described visions revealing to him -the intended destruction of London, and claimed for the prophet the -merit of having saved the city by his intercession with the Deity.[24] - -[24] _Sketches of Imposture, Deception and Credulity._ Second Edition. -1840. - -Brothers gained a great number of partisans, not only among uneducated -persons, but among men of talent. We have seen Sharp, the engraver, as -his devoted disciple. Among these followers was Mr. Halhed, who had -been a schoolfellow of Sheridan at Harrow; they also had a sort of -literary partnership, and they fell passionately in love with the same -woman, Miss Linley. Halhed was a profound scholar, a man of wit, and a -member of the House of Commons; he published pamphlets in advocacy of -the prophetic mission of Brothers, and even made a motion in the House -in favour of the prince of the Jews, as Brothers delegated himself. - -Brothers took more of a political turn than his companions. He had -been a lieutenant in the navy, and during the years 1792-3-4, greatly -disturbed the minds of the credulous with his _prophecies_. We have -said that he styled himself the "Nephew of God," and predicted the -destruction of all sovereigns; he also foretold the downfall of the -naval power of Great Britain. - -His writings, founded on erroneous explanations of the Scriptures, -at length made so much noise, that Government found it expedient -to interfere, and on the 14th of March, 1795, he was apprehended at -his lodgings, No. 58, in Paddington Street, under a warrant from the -Secretary of State. After a long examination before the Privy Council, -in which Brothers persisted in the divinity of his legation, he was -committed to the custody of a State messenger. On the 27th he was -declared a lunatic, by a jury appointed under a commission of lunacy, -assembled at the King's Arms, in Palace Yard, and was subsequently -removed to a private madhouse at Islington. While here, he continued -to see visions and to pour forth his rhapsodies in print. One of -these productions was a letter of two hundred pages, to "Miss Cott, -the recorded daughter of King David, and future Queen of the Hebrews, -with an Address to the Members of His Britannic Majesty's Council." -The lady to whom this letter was addressed had become an inmate of the -same asylum with Brothers, and he became so enamoured of her, that he -discovered her to be "the recorded daughter of both David and Solomon," -and his spouse "by divine ordinance." Brothers was subsequently removed -to Bedlam; but in the year 1806 was discharged by the authority of -Lord Chancellor Erskine. He died in Upper Baker Street, on the 25th of -January, 1824. He was seen in the street a few days before his death, -walking with great difficulty, and apparently in the last stage of -consumption. It is recorded that the minister who attended Brothers -in his last moments died of a broken heart; and the medical man under -whose care he had been confined, committed suicide. - -Brothers appears to have unwittingly suggested to Coleridge and Southey -the clever poem of the _Devil's Walk_, by the mad prophet asserting -that he had seen the devil walk leisurely into London one day! - - - - -The Spenceans. - - -Early in the present century there arose in the metropolis a -religio-political sect, which took its name from an itinerant -bookseller, named T. Spence, who formed a sort of Constitution on the -principle that "all human beings are equal by nature and before the -law, and have a continual and _inalienable property_ in the earth and -in its natural productions;" and consequently that "_every man, woman, -and child_, whether born in wedlock or not (for Nature and Justice -know nothing of illegitimacy), is entitled quarterly to an equal share -of the rents of the parish where they have settled." This he called -"the Constitution of _Spensonia_;" and the Abstract from which we have -quoted he called "A Receipt to make a _Millennium_, or Happy World." -By this reference and by some allusions to the Jewish economy, he also -gave his system a slight connection with religion--but it was very -slight; for he neither regarded the precepts of the moral law, nor the -doctrines of the Gospel. He admitted, however, of a Sabbath every fifth -day; but only as a day of rest and amusement--not for any purposes of -devotion. A scheme somewhat similar to the above was formed in the -time of the English Commonwealth, and it is probable Spence may have -borrowed his system partly from that source. - -Spence was punished for his vagaries; for, in 1801, he was sentenced -to pay a fine of 50_l._ and to suffer twelve months' imprisonment for -publishing _Spence's Restorer of Society_, which was deemed a seditious -libel. Spence died in October, 1814. - - - - -[Illustration: Joanna Southcote.] - - - - -Joanna Southcote, and the Coming of Shiloh. - - -This "dropsical old woman," Joanna Southcote, was a native of Exeter, -and was born in April, 1750. She was employed chiefly in that city -as a domestic servant, and up to the age of forty or thereabout, she -seems to have aspired to no higher occupation. But having joined -the Methodists, and become acquainted with one Saunderson, who laid -claim to the spirit of prophecy, the notion of a like pretension -was gradually communicated to Joanna. She wrote prophecies, and -she dictated prophecies, sometimes in prose and sometimes in rhymed -doggerel; her influence extended, and the number of her followers -increased; she announced herself as the woman spoken of in the 12th -chapter of Revelation, and obtained considerable sums by the sale of -_seals_, which were to secure the salvation of those who purchased -them. Her confidence increased with her reputation, and she challenged -the bishop and clergy of Exeter to a public investigation of her -miraculous powers, but they treated her challenge with contemptuous -neglect, which she and her converts imputed to fear. - -By degrees, Exeter became too narrow a stage for her performances, and -she came to London on the invitation and at the expense of Sharp, the -eminent engraver. She was very illiterate, but wrote numerous letters -and pamphlets, and her prophecies, nearly unintelligible as they were, -had a large sale. In the course of her Mission, as she called it, -promising a speedy approach of the Millennium, she employed a boy, who -pretended to see visions, and attempted, instead of writing, to adjust -them on the walls of her chapel, "the House of God," a large building -which adjoined the Elephant and Castle Inn, at Newington Butts. A -schism took place among her followers, one of whom, named Carpenter, -took possession of the place, and wrote against her; not denying her -Mission, but asserting that she had exceeded it. - -It may, however, be interesting here to describe what may be termed -the _modus operandi_ of the delusion. Great pains were now taken to -ascertain the truth of her commission. "From the end of 1792," says -Mr. Sharp, who, we have already seen, was the most devout of her -believers, "to the end of 1794, her writings were sealed up with -great caution, and remained secure till they were conveyed by me to -High House, Paddington; and the box which contained them was opened -in the beginning of January, 1803. Her writings were examined during -seven days, and the result of this long scrutiny was the unanimous -decision of twenty-three persons _appointed by divine command_, as -well as of thirty-five others that were present, _that her calling -was of God_." They came to this conclusion from the fulfilment of the -prophecies contained in these writings, and to which she appealed with -confidence and triumph. It was a curious circumstance, however, that -her handwriting was illegible. Her remark on this occasion was, "This -must be, to fulfil the Bible. Every vision that John saw in Heaven must -take place on earth; and here is the sealed book, that no one can read!" - -A protection was provided for all those who subscribed their names as -volunteers, for the destruction of Satan's kingdom. To every subscriber -a folded paper was delivered, endorsed with his name, and secured with -the impression of Joanna's seal in red wax; this powerful talisman -consisted of a circle enclosing the two letters J. C., with a star -above and below, and the following words, "The sealed of the Lord, -the Elect, Precious, Man's Redemption, to inherit the tree of life, -to be made heirs of God and joint-heirs of Jesus Christ." The whole -was authenticated by the signature of the prophetess in her illegible -characters, and the person thus provided was said to be _sealed_. -Conformably, however, to the 7th chapter of the Revelation, the number -of those highly protected persons was not to exceed 144,000.[25] - -[25] _Sketches of Imposture, Deception, and Credulity_. Second Edition. -1840. - -Early in her last year, she secluded herself from male society, and -fancied that she was with child--by the Holy Spirit!--that she was to -bring forth the Shiloh promised by Jacob Bryan, and which she pretended -was to be the second appearance of the Messiah! This child was to -be born before the end of harvest, on the 19th of October, 1814, at -midnight, as she was certain it was impossible for her to survive -undelivered till Christmas. The harvest, however, was ended, and -Christmas came, without the fulfilment of her predictions. Some months -previously, Joanna had declared her pretended situation, and invited -the opinion of the faculty. Several medical men admitted her pregnancy, -others doubted; and some, among whom was Dr. Sims, denied it. There -was, indeed, the external appearance of pregnancy; and, in consequence, -the enthusiasm of her followers, who are said to have amounted at that -time to no fewer than one hundred thousand, was greatly excited. An -expensive cradle was made, and considerable sums were contributed, -in order to have other things prepared in a style worthy of the -expected Shiloh. Among the costly presents made to her was a Bible -which cost 40_l._, and the superb cot or cradle 200_l._, besides a -richly-embroidered coverlid, &c. - -It was now deemed necessary, to satisfy certain worldly doubts, that -medical men should be called in to give a professional opinion as -to the fact, from a consideration of all the symptoms, and without -reference to miraculous agency. One of these gentlemen, Mr. Mathias, -appearing incredulous of Joanna's pregnancy, was asked "if he would -believe when he saw the infant at the breast?" He protested against a -question so blasphemous; but his further attendance was dispensed with, -as she had been answered, "that he had drawn a wrong judgment of her -disorder." Mr. Mathias, too, let out some strange information, showing -that Joanna passed much of her time in bed, ate much and often, and -prayed never; but to keep up the delusion that she was with child, she, -like other ladies in that situation, had longings. On one occasion she -longed for asparagus, and ate one hundred and sixty heads, at no small -cost, before she allayed her liking. - -Dr. Richard Reece[26] was now consulted by Joanna as to her pregnancy. -He was not a proselyte to her religious views, but is thought to have -been deceived by her symptoms, and declared to a deputation of her -followers his belief of her being pregnant by some means or other. -As her supposed time of deliverance approached, Joanna fell ill, and -began to doubt her inspiration, most probably by her fears awakening -her conscience; and as Dr. Reece continued in attendance, he witnessed -the following scene:--"Five or six of her friends, who were waiting -in an adjoining room, being admitted into her bedchamber, she desired -them," says Dr. Reece, "to be seated round her bed; when, spending -a few minutes in adjusting the bed-clothes with seeming attention, -and placing before her a white handkerchief, she addressed them in -the following words: 'My friends, some of you have known me nearly -twenty-five years, and all of you not less than twenty; when you have -heard me speak of my prophecies, you have sometimes heard me say that -I doubted my inspiration; but at the same time, you would never let me -despair. When I have been alone, it has often appeared delusion; but -when the communication was made to me, I did not in the least doubt. -Feeling, as I now do feel, that my dissolution is drawing near, and -that a day or two may terminate my life, it all appears delusion.' She -was by this exertion quite exhausted, and wept bitterly." - -[26] Dr. Richard Reece was the son of a clergyman, and was articled -to a country surgeon. In 1800 he settled in practice in Henrietta -Street, Covent Garden, and published _The Medical and Chirurgical -Pharmacopoeia_; and having received a degree of M.D. from a Scotch -university, he exercised the three professions of physician, -apothecary, and chemist. He likewise published several volumes upon -various medical subjects; and established himself in the western -wing of the Egyptian Hall Piccadilly. He assailed quackery with much -boldness; hence his mistake as to Joanna Southcote was made the most -of. He had also considerable practice, by which he gained money. He -published _A Plain Narrative of the Circumstances attending the last -Illness and Death of Joanna Southcote_. - -"On reviving in a little time, she observed, that it was very -extraordinary, that after spending all her life in investigating the -Bible, it should please the Lord to inflict that heavy burden on her. -She concluded this discourse by requesting that everything on this -occasion might be conducted with decency. She then wept; and all her -followers present seemed deeply affected, and some of them shed tears. -'Mother,' said one (it is believed Mr. Howe), 'we will commit your -instructions to paper, and rest assured they shall be conscientiously -followed.' They were accordingly written down with much solemnity, and -signed by herself, with her hand placed on the Bible in the bed. This -being finished, Mr. Howe again observed to her, 'Mother, your feelings -are _human_; we know that you are a favourite woman of God, and that -you will produce the promised child; and whatever you may say to the -contrary will not diminish our faith.' This assurance revived her, and -the scene of crying was changed with her to laughter." - -Mr. Howe was not the only one of her disciples whose sturdy belief was -not to be shaken by the most discouraging symptoms. Colonel Harwood, -a zealous believer, entreated Dr. Reece not to retract his opinion as -to her pregnancy, though the latter now saw the folly and absurdity of -it; and when the Colonel approached the bed on which Joanna was about -to expire, and she said to him, "What does the Lord mean by this? I am -certainly dying;" he replied, smiling, "No, no, you will not die; or if -you should, you will return again." - -About ten weeks before Christmas she was confined to her bed, and took -very little sustenance, until pain and sickness greatly reduced her. -On the night of the 19th of October, a very large number of persons -assembled in the street where she lived--Manchester Street, Manchester -Square[27]--to hear the announcement of the looked-for advent; but -the hour of midnight passed over, and the crowd were only induced to -disperse by being informed that Joanna had fallen into a trance. - -[27] One of Joanna's London residences was at No. 17, Weston Place, -opposite the Small Pox Hospital. - -Mr. Want, a surgeon, had warned her of her approaching end; but she -insisted that all her sufferings were only preparatory to the birth -of the Shiloh. At last she admitted the possibility of a temporary -dissolution, and expressly ordered that means should be taken to -preserve warmth in her for four days, after which she was to revive -and be delivered. On December 27th, 1814, she actually died, in her -sixty-fifth year, she having previously declared that if she was -deceived, she was, at all events, misled by some spirit, either good -or evil. In four days after, she was opened in the presence of fifteen -medical men, when it was demonstrated that she was not pregnant, and -that her complaint arose from bile and flatulency, from indulgence and -want of exercise. In her last hour she was attended by Ann Underwood, -her secretary; Mr. Tozer, who was called her high priest; Colonel -Harwood, and some other persons of property; and so determined were -her followers to be deceived, that neither death nor dissection could -convince them of their error. The silencing of her preacher, Tozer, -and shutting up of the chapel which he had opened, had by no means -diminished the number of her believers. - -While the surgeons were investigating the causes of her death, and -the mob were gathering without-doors, in anticipation of a riot or a -miracle, Sharp, the engraver, continued to maintain that she was not -dead, but entranced. And, at a subsequent period, when he was sitting -to Mr. Haydon for his portrait, he predicted to the painter, that -Joanna would reappear in the month of July 1822. "But suppose she -should not?" said Haydon. "I tell you she will," retorted Sharp; "but -if she would not, nothing should shake my faith in her Divine Mission." -And those who were near Sharp's person during his last illness, state -that in this belief he died. Even when she was really dead, the same -blind confidence remained. Mrs. Townley, with whom she had lived, said -cheerfully, "she would return to life, for it had been foretold twenty -years before." - -Mr. Sharp also asserted that the soul of Joanna would return, it -having gone to heaven to legitimate the child which would be born. -Though symptoms of decomposition arose, Mr. Sharp still persisted in -keeping the body hot, according to the directions which she had given -on her death-bed, in the hope of a revival. Dr. Reece having remarked -that if the ceremony of her marriage continued two days longer, the -tenement would not be habitable on her return, "The greater will be -the miracle," said Mr. Sharp. Consent at last was given to inspect -the body, and all the disciples stood round, smoking tobacco. Their -disappointment was excessive at finding nothing to warrant the long -cherished opinion, but their faith remained immovable. - -Her corpse was removed on the 31st of December to an undertaker's in -Oxford Street, where it remained till the interment. On the 2nd of -January, 1815, it was carried in a hearse, so remarkably plain, as to -have the appearance of one returning from rather than proceeding to -church; it was accompanied by one coach equally plain, in which were -three mourners. In this manner they proceeded to the new cemetery -adjoining St. John's Wood Chapel, with such secrecy, that there was -scarcely a person in the ground unconnected with it. A fourth person -arrived as the body was being borne to the grave; this was supposed to -be Tozer. The grave was taken, and notice given of the funeral, under -the name of Goddard. Neither the minister of St. John's, who read the -service, nor any of the subordinate persons belonging to the chapel, -were apprised of the real name about to be buried, till the funeral -reached the ground. The grave is on the west side, opposite No. 44 on -the wall, and twenty-six feet from it, where is a flat stone with this -inscription:-- - - "In memory of - JOANNA SOUTHCOTE, - - who departed this life December 27, 1814, aged 65 years. - While through all thy wondrous days, - Heaven and earth enraptur'd gazed, - While vain Sages think they know - Secrets Thou Alone canst show; - Time alone will tell what hour - Thou'lt appear to 'Greater' Power. - - _Sabineus._" - -On a black marble tablet, let into the wall opposite to the above spot, -is the following inscription, in gilt letters:-- - - "Behold the time shall come, that these Tokens which I have told Thee, - shall come to pass, and the Bride shall Appear, and She coming forth, - shall be seen, that now is withdrawn from the Earth." - - 2nd of Esdras, chap. 7, verse 26. - - "For the Vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall - speak, and Not Lie, though it tarry, Wait for it; Because it will - surely come, it will not tarry." - - Habakkuk, chap. ii. ver. 3d. - - "And whosoever is delivered from the Foresaid evils, shall see My - Wonders." - - 2nd of Esdras, chap. 7th, ver. 27th. - - (_See her writings._) - - This Tablet was Erected, - By the sincere friends of the above, - Anno Domini, 1828. - -The number of Joanna's followers continued to be very great for many -years after her death: they believed that there would be a resurrection -of her body, and that she was still to be the mother of the promised -Shiloh. - -The Southcotonians also still met and committed various extravagancies. -In 1817 a part of the disciples, conceiving themselves directed by God -to proclaim the coming of the Shiloh on earth, for this purpose marched -in procession through Temple Bar, when the leader sounded a brazen -trumpet, and declared the coming of Shiloh, the Prince of Peace; while -his wife shouted, "Wo! wo! to the inhabitants of the earth, because of -the coming of Shiloh!" The crowd pelted the fanatics with mud, some -disturbance ensued, and some of the disciples were taken into custody, -and had to answer for their conduct before a magistrate. A considerable -number of the sect appear to have remained in Devonshire, Joanna's -native county. - -The whole affair was one of the most monstrous delusions of our time. -"It is not long since," says Sir Benjamin Brodie, in his _Psychological -Inquiries_, 3rd edition, "no small number of persons, and not merely -those belonging to the uneducated classes, were led to believe that a -dropsical old woman was about to be the mother of the real Shiloh." The -writer, however, adds that Joanna was "not altogether an impostor, but -in part the victim of her own imagination." - -A small square volume of Southcotonian hymns was published, entitled, -"Hymns or Spiritual Songs," composed from the prophetical writings of -Joanna Southcote, by P. Pullen, and published by her order. "And I saw -an angel," &c.--Rev. xx. 1, 2. The "Little Flock" are thus addressed -by their "Poet Laureat:"--"By permission of our 'spiritual mother, -Johanna Southcote,' I have composed the following hymns from her -prophetic writings; and should you feel that pleasure in singing them -to the honour and glory of God, for the establishment of _her blessed -kingdom_, and the destruction of Satan's power, as I have felt in the -perusal of her writings, I am fully persuaded that they will ultimately -tend to your everlasting happiness, and I hope and trust to the speedy -completion of what we ardently long and daily pray for, namely, 'HIS -KINGDOM _to come, that_ HIS _will may be done on earth as it is in -heaven, and that we may be delivered from evil_;' that that blessed -prayer may be soon, very soon fulfilled, is the earnest desire of your -fellow labourer, Philip Pullen. London, 16th September, 1807." - -"The reader of these Hymns," says a Correspondent of _Notes and -Queries_, "will not feel the spiritual elevation spoken of by Mr. -Pullen, unless, perhaps, he has, like him, drunk at that fountain-head, -_i.e._ studied the 'prophetic writings:' the songs for the now -'scattered sheep' being rhapsodical to a degree, and intelligible only -to such an audience as that some of your sexagenarian readers may have -found assembled under the roof of the 'House of God.' The leading -titles to these Hymns are, 'True Explanations of the Bible,' 'Strange -Effects of Faith,' 'Words in Season,' 'Communications and Visions,' not -published, 'Cautions to the Sealed,' 'Answers to the Books of Garrett -and Brothers,' 'Rival Enthusiasts,' and such like. Pullen, their poet, -was formerly a schoolmaster, and afterwards an accountant in London, -and is called by Upcott, in his _Dictionary of Living Authors_, 1816, -an empiric. - -"A couplet in the first hymn bears an asterisk, intimating that it is -published at the particular request of Johanna Southcote; it is short, -and will afford at once a specimen of the poetical _calibre_ of the -volume, and the pith of the 'Spiritual Mother's' views:-- - - "_To_ FATHER, SON, _and_ HOLY GHOST, - _One_ GOD _in power_ THREE, - _Bring back the ancient world that's lost - To all mankind--and me_." - -Joanna Southcote published many pamphlets, and one of her disciples, -Elias Carpenter, issued several curious and mystical tracts. The lists -of these publications are too long to be quoted here. Probably the -most complete collection preserved of the extraordinary productions -by and relating to this wonderful imposture, was that made by Sir -Francis Freeling, together with cuttings from all the newspapers, and -bound in 7 vols. 8vo, 1803 to 1815. The titles of the principal tracts -fill a page of Thorpe's Catalogue, Part III., 1850. For another very -rare collection, in 6 vols., 8vo, see J. C. Hotten's Catalogue for -October 1858. Perhaps the most tangible explanation attempted of Joanna -Southcote's mission is that by Carpenter, in the _Missionary Magazine_, -1814. To Carpenter is attributed the following anonymous work, "The -Extraordinary Cure of a Piccadilly Patient, or Dr. Reece physicked by -Six Female Physicians, 1815." - -[Illustration] - - Leeds: August 20, 1809. - - Mr. Urban,--Herewith you receive the original seal with which that - miserable enthusiast, Joanna Southcott, imposed on the husband of Mary - Bateman, the wicked wretch who was lately tried and executed at this - place, for the murder of a woman named Perigo. It was found in their - cottage when she was taken into custody. The words are as follow:-- - - John Bateman, - The - Sealed of the Lord. - - The Elect precious; Man's Redemption; - To inherit the tree of life; to be made - Heirs of God and Joint Heirs with - Jesus Christ. - - Joanna Southcott - Feb. 12, 1806. - - - - -The Founder of Mormonism. - - -Joseph Smith, "the Prophet," has left to the world a short sketch -of himself and his system of Mormonism, which is one of the most -remarkable movements of modern times. He was born in the State of -Vermont, in 1805, and was brought up to husbandry. When about fourteen -years old he began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared -for a future state, and inquiring into the plan of salvation. He -tells us:--"I retired to a secret place in a grove, and began to call -upon the Lord. While fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was -taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was -enwrapt in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages, who -exactly resembled each other in feature and likeness, surrounded with -a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noonday. They told me that -all the religious sects were believing in incorrect doctrines, and -that none of them was acknowledged of God as his Church and Kingdom. -And I was expressly commanded to _go not after them_, at the same time -receiving a promise that the fulness of the Gospel should at some -future time be made known to me." - -This "fulness of the Gospel" was that revealed in _The Book of Mormon_, -of the discovery of which and its contents he says:--"On the evening -of the 21st of September, A.D. 1823, while I was praying unto God and -endeavouring to exercise faith in the precious promises of Scripture, -on a sudden, a light like that of day, only of a far purer and more -glorious appearance and brightness, burst into the room; indeed, the -first sight was as though the house was filled with consuming fire. The -appearance produced a shock that affected the whole body. In a moment, -a personage stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than -that with which I was already surrounded. The messenger proclaimed -himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings, -that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to -be fulfilled; that the preparatory work for the second coming of the -Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the -Gospel in all its fulness to be preached in power unto all nations, -that a people might be prepared for the Millenial reign. - -"I was informed also concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this -country (America), and shown who they were and from whence they -came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilisation, laws, -governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of -God being finally withdrawn from them as a people, was made known unto -me. I was also told where there were deposited some plates, on which -was engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient prophets that -had existed on this continent. The angel appeared to me three times the -same night, and unfolded the same things. After having received many -visits from the angels of God, unfolding the majesty and glory of the -events that should transpire in the last days, on the morning of the -22nd of September, 1827, the angel of the Lord delivered the records -into my hands. - -"These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of -gold; each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and not -quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings in -Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume, as the leaves of -a book, with three rings running throughout the whole: it was partly -sealed. With the records was found a curious instrument, which the -ancients called _Urim and Thummim_, which consisted of two transparent -stones set in the rim on a bow fastened to a breastplate. Through the -medium of the _Urim and Thummim_ I translated the record by the gift -and power of God. - -"In this important and interesting book, the history of ancient America -is unfolded from its first settlement by a colony that came from the -Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages, to the beginning of the -fifth century of the Christian era." - -It should here be noticed that the Prophet's account of his early life, -before the appearance of the angel and the discovery of the plates, is -remarkably vague. He had been very rudely educated, and for some time -got a living by trying for mineral veins by a divining rod; and some -affirm that, like Sidrophel, he used "the devil's looking-glass--a -stone," and was consulted as to the discovery of hidden treasures, -whence he had come to be commonly known as the "money-digger;" and on -one occasion he had been, at the instigation of a disappointed client, -imprisoned as a vagabond. He is also stated to have carried off and -married a Miss Hales, during the interval between the first angelic -visitation and the discovery of the plates of Nephi. - -As to the _Book of Mormon_ itself, the authorship has been claimed -for one Solomon Spalding, a Presbyterian preacher, who, having fallen -into poverty, composed a religious romance, entitled _The Manuscript -Found_, which professed to be a narrative of the migration of the -Lost Tribes of Israel from Jerusalem to America, and their subsequent -adventures on the continent. The work was written but Spalding could -not find anyone who would print it, and ten years after his death, the -manuscript was carried by his widow to New York, and was stolen by, or -somehow got into the hands of, Smith, or his early associate, Rigdon. -There is nothing in the book to contradict the supposition that it is -the work of Smith himself--for as to its being a divine revelation, -the most cursory examination of the book will convince an educated man -of the utter improbability of that, if its possibility were otherwise -conceivable. Be the author who he may, Smith having obtained the -book--whether from Solomon Spalding's travelling-chest, his own brain, -or the stone-box which the angel discovered to him--thought it behoved -him to make his treasure known. At first he told the members of his own -and his father's household, and they believed the truth of his mission -and the reality of the gift. But, he says: "As soon as the news of -this discovery was made known, false reports, misrepresentations, and -slander flew, as on the wings of the wind, in every direction. My house -was frequently beset by mobs and evil-designing persons; several times -I was shot at, and very narrowly escaped; and every device was made to -get the plates away from me, but the power and blessing of God attended -me, and several began to believe my testimony." - -Among these was a farmer, Martin Harris, whom Smith persuaded to -convert his stock into money in order to assist in printing the book. -But Harris wished first to consult some scholar, and Smith entrusted -him with a copy of a portion of one of the golden plates to carry to -New York. Harris took the copy to Dr. Anthon, who was unable to make -out the characters, which he described to be "reformed Egyptian"--and -this is one of the proofs "cited by Mormonite teachers of the -authenticity of the book." But Dr. Anthon's account is very different: -he tells us that from the first he considered the work an imposture, -and his account of it is the only description which has been published, -and is as follows:--"The paper was a singular scrawl. It consisted of -all kinds of crooked characters disposed in columns, and had evidently -been prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book -containing various alphabets. Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and -flourishes, Roman letters inverted or placed sidewise, were arranged in -perpendicular columns, and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a -circle divided into various compartments, decked with various strange -marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican calendar, given by -Humboldt, but copied in such a way as not to betray the source whence -it was derived." - -No sooner was the discovery published than the faithful as well as -unbelievers flocked to obtain a sight of the marvellous plates, and the -prophet and his mother were driven to great shifts to conceal them. -At length it was revealed to Smith that the desired sight should be -vouchsafed to three witnesses, whose "testimony" is prefixed to every -printed copy of the _Book of Mormon_. These witnesses aver, in their -strange language, "that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he -brought and lay before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and -the engravings thereon." But a more specific testimony was given by -eight other witnesses, to whom Smith was permitted to show the plates. -Mrs. Smith says that these eight men went with Joseph into a secret -place, "where the family were in the habit of offering up their secret -devotions. They went to this place because it had been revealed to -Joseph that the plates would be carried by one of the ancient Nephites. -Here it was that these eight witnesses, whose names are recorded in -the _Book of Mormon_, looked upon and handled them." The witnesses -themselves say:--"We have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that -the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken." Of these -eight witnesses, three were members of Smith's own family. After these -witnesses had seen the plates, Mrs. Smith tells us, "the angel again -made his appearance to Joseph, at which time Joseph delivered up the -plates into the angel's hands;" and Joseph himself says:--"He (the -angel) has them in charge to this day;" thus disposing of any demand to -see the original plates. Smith carried on the process of _translating -the plates_ by retiring behind a screen, where he read the plates -though the "curious instrument called the Urim and Thummim," while a -scribe outside the screen wrote as he dictated. - -_The Book of Mormon_ was published in 1830. In the previous year Smith -and his scribe had been baptized by an angel, and power given them to -baptize others. - -Smith may now carry on the narrative. On April 6, 1830, "The Church of -Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" was first organized in Manchester, -Ontario county, State of New York. Some few were called and ordained -by the spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to preach as the -Spirit gave them utterance, and though weak, yet they were strengthened -by the power of God; and many were brought to repentance, were immersed -in the water, and were filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of -hands. They saw visions and prophesied, devils were cast out, and the -sick healed by the laying-on of hands. From that time the work rolled -forth with astonishing rapidity, and churches were formed in the States -of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. In -the last named State, a considerable settlement was formed in Jackson -county. Great numbers joined the Church; "we made large purchases -of land, our farms teemed with plenty, and peace and happiness were -enjoyed in our domestic circle and throughout our neighbourhood; but, -as we could not associate with our neighbours--who were many of them of -the basest of men, and had fled from the face of civilized society to -the frontier country to escape the hands of justice--in their midnight -revels, their Sabbath-breaking, horse-racing, they commenced at first -to ridicule, then to persecute; and finally an organized mob assembled -and burnt our houses, tarred and feathered, and whipped many of our -brethren [Smith himself was tarred and feathered], and finally drove -them from their habitations; these, houseless and homeless, contrary -to law, justice, and humanity, had to wander on the bleak prairies -till the children left their blood on the prairie. This took place in -November, 1833." The Government, he says, "winked at these proceedings, -and the result was that a great many of them died; many children were -left orphans; wives, widows; and husbands, widowers. Our farms were -taken possession of by the mob, many thousands of cattle, sheep, -horses, and hogs were taken, and our household goods, store goods, and -printing-presses were broken, taken, or otherwise destroyed." - -Driven from Jackson, the Mormonites settled in Clay county, and being -threatened with violence, removed to Caldwell and Davies counties. -Here their numbers rapidly increased; but troubles again came upon -them; their bank failed, and Smith was obliged to conceal himself; -and finally, by an "extraordinary order" of the Governor of Missouri, -in 1838, they were violently ejected from their homes, plundered of -their goods, and subjected, the women especially, to the most frightful -atrocities. - -Being thus expelled from Missouri, they settled in Illinois, and in -1839, on the Mississippi, laid the foundation of their famous city, -Nauvoo, or _the Beautiful_, which was incorporated in 1840. Smith -dwells with great delight on this city, which he had seen rise up under -his presidency from a wild tract to be a place of "1,500 well-built -houses, and more than 15,000 inhabitants, all looking to him for -temporal as well as spiritual guidance." He describes as provided -for--"the University of Nauvoo, where all the arts and sciences will -grow with the growth and strengthen with the strength of this beloved -city of the Saints of the Last Days." But the grand feature of the -city was the Great Temple, which Smith thus sketches: "The Temple of -God, now in the course of erection, being already raised one story, -and which is 120 feet by 80 feet, of stone with polished pilasters, -of an entire new order of architecture, will be a splendid house for -the worship of God, as well as an unique wonder of the world, it being -built by the direct revelation of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the -living and the dead." - -The progress of Nauvoo was even more rapid than that of any of the -preceding places. Dangers of various kinds beset Smith, but he escaped -from them all; and by a provision in the city charter, formed an -independent civic militia, of which he was lieutenant-general: and he -consolidated his spiritual government, and made careful provision for -an ample succession of hardy as well as zealous missionaries. But Smith -becoming embroiled with the civil authority of the State, got up a sort -of social scheme of his own, and was actually in 1844 nominated for -President. The storm now gathered around him; the "gentile" inhabitants -of Nauvoo, who had always been most troublesome, supported by some of -the dissatisfied among the saints, established an opposition newspaper, -which denounced the morals of the Prophet, as well as his system of -government; the city council condemned the newspaper to silence; and a -mob broke into the office and destroyed the presses. The proprietors -charged some of the Mormon leaders with inciting the mob to this act, -and they were arrested, but set at liberty. The injured parties now -carried their complaint to the Governor of Illinois, who had long -been waiting for a legal opportunity to crush the power of Smith; he -was arrested on a charge of treason and sedition, June 24th, 1844. He -put Nauvoo into a state of defence, and his militia was drawn out; -but to avoid bloodshed, on the approach of the State troops, Smith -surrendered, on a promise of safety till his legal trial; and he, with -others, was committed to Carthage jail. A guard, small in number, -and purposely chosen from among Smith's declared enemies, was set -over them; but on the 27th of June, a mob of about two hundred armed -ruffians broke into the jail, and firing at the door of the room, shot -Smith's brother Hyram dead at once. Joseph Smith attempted to escape -by the window, but was knocked down, carried out, and shot. His dying -exclamation is said to have been, "O Lord my God." His body was given -up to his friends, and buried with great solemnity. - -Smith had estimated his followers at 150,000, from among almost every -civilized people on the face of the earth. He had become intoxicated -with power and prosperity, and was lustful and intemperate. In the -Mormon creed, polygamy is not referred to; though there is no doubt -that in the last year of Smith's life this was one of the charges -brought against the Mormonites. Still, the doctrine of a _plurality of -wives_ was never openly taught until after Smith's death, and if he -proclaimed it at all, he confined the revelation to the initiated. He -is said, however, to have sealed to himself "_plural wives_," as the -Mormons express it, about two years before his death; and the privilege -may have been accorded to some of the chief of his followers. - -He was still regarded as the glorified prophet and martyr. In Nauvoo -the popular cry was for revenge, but this was changed to forbearance. -Brigham Young was elected as Smith's successor; and he removed his -people beyond the farthest settlements of his countrymen, convinced -that only in a country far distant from societies living under the -established forms, could the vision of the Prophet stand a chance -of realization. They were allowed by their enemies to finish their -beautiful temple; and this being accomplished in September, 1846, the -last band of the brethren departed from the land of their hopes to seek -a new land of promise. - -They chose the site of their new city beyond the Great Salt Lake, -in the territory of Utah, to be their appointed Zion, principally -governed by the maxims of the Mormon leaders, and Brigham Young, the -Mormon prophet. We may here state briefly that the Mormons profess -to be a separate people, living under a patriarchal dispensation, -with prophets, elders, and apostles, who have the rule in temporal -as well as religious matters, their doctrines being embodied in the -_Book of Mormon_; that they look for a literal gathering of Israel in -this western land; and that here Christ will reign personally for a -millennium, when the earth will be restored to its paradisaical glory. - -Nauvoo, after the departure of the Mormons, became the seat of a colony -of French communists, or Icarians, under the direction of M. Cabet, who -were, however, far from successful. The population has much dwindled. -The great Mormon temple of Nauvoo was, in October, 1848, set on fire by -an incendiary and destroyed. - - - - -[Illustration: William Huntington. The Coalheaver Preacher.] - - - - -Huntington, the Preacher. - - -William Huntington, who, by virtue of his preaching, came to ride in -his coach, and marry the titled widow of a Lord Mayor, was no ordinary -man. He was born in the year 1774, in the Weald of Kent, between -Goudhurst and Cranbrook, where his father was a day-labourer. The boy -worked in various ways, and having "a call," he became an Arminian -preacher, at the same time that at Thames Ditton he carried coals -on the river, at 10s. a week: hence he was generally known as the -_Coalheaver_. He preached inordinately long sermons, sometimes of two -hours' duration; his prayers were mostly made up of Scriptural phrases. - -It suited the purpose of Huntington to represent himself as living -_under_ the special favour of Providence, because he intended to live -by it: that is, upon the credulity of those whom he could persuade to -believe him: and the history of his success, which he published under -the title of _God the Guardian of the Poor, and the Bank of Faith; -or, a Display of the Providences of God, which have at sundry times, -attended the Author_, is a production equally singular and curious. - -One reason which he gives for writing this marvellous treatise is, -that we are often tempted to believe that God takes no notice of our -temporal concerns. "I found God's promises," he says, "to be the -Christian's bank note; and a living faith will always draw on the -divine banker, yea, and the spirit of prayer, and a deep sense of want, -will give an heir of promise a filial boldness at the inexhaustible -bank of heaven." Accordingly, for great things and for little he -drew boldly upon the bank. Thus, he was provided with game and fish. -One day, when he had nothing but bread in the house, he was moved by -the Spirit to take a by-path, where he had never gone before; but -the reason was, that a stoat was to kill a fine large rabbit, just -in time for him to secure the prey. When his wife was lying-in, and -there was no tea in the house, and they had neither money nor credit, -his wife bade the nurse set the kettle on in faith, and before it -boiled, a stranger brought a present of tea to the door. At another -time, a friend, without solicitation, gives him half-a-guinea when he -was penniless; and lest he should have any difficulty in obtaining -change for it, when he crossed Kingston bridge, he casts his eyes on -the ground, and finds a penny to pay the toll. He borrows a guinea, -which he is unable to pay at the time appointed, so he prays that God -would send him one from some quarter or another, and forthwith the -lender calls and desires him to consider it a free gift. He wants a -new parsonic livery: "wherefore," says he, "in humble prayer I told -my most blessed Lord and Master that my year was out, and my apparel -bad; that I had nowhere to go for these things but to him; and as he -had promised to give his servants food and raiment, I hoped he would -fulfil his promise to me, though one of the worst of them." So, having -settled it in his own mind that a certain person in London would act -as the intermediate agent in this providential transaction, he called -upon him, and, as he expected, the raggedness of his apparel led to a -conversation which ended in the offer of a new suit, and of a greatcoat -to boot. - -He lived in this manner seven or eight years, not, indeed, taking no -thought for the morrow, but making no other provision for it than by -letting the specific object of his prayers and their general tendency -always be understood, where a word to the unwise was sufficient. Being -now in much request, and "having many doors open to him for preaching -the Gospel very wide apart," he began to want a horse, then to wish, -and lastly to pray, for one. "I used my prayers," he says, "as gunners -use their swivels, turning them every day, as various cases required;" -before the day was over he was presented with a horse, which had been -purchased for him by subscription. The horse was to be maintained -by his own means, but what of that? "I told God," says he, "that I -had more work for my faith now than heretofore; for the horse would -cost half as much to keep as my whole family. In answer to which this -Scripture came to my mind with power and comfort, 'Dwell in the land, -and do good, and verily thou shalt be fed.' This was a bank-note put -into the hand of my faith, which, when I got poor, I pleaded before -God, and he answered it; so that I lived and cleared my way just as -well when I had my horse to keep as I did before." - -Huntington was no ordinary man. The remarkable circumstance which -occurred concerning a certain part of his dress has been told in -various books. The old song says-- - - A light heart and a thin pair of breeches - Go through the world, my brave boys; - -but the latter qualification is better for going through the world on -foot than on horseback; so Uncle Toby found it, so did Huntington, who, -in this part of his history, must be his own historian: no language but -his own can do justice to such a story. - -"Having now," says Huntington, "had my horse for some time, and riding -a great deal every week, I soon wore my breeches out, as they were -not fit to ride in. I hope the reader will excuse my mentioning the -word breeches, which I should have avoided, had not this passage of -Scripture obtruded into my mind, just as I had revolved in my own -thoughts not to mention this kind providence of God. 'And thou shalt -make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even -unto the thighs shall they reach. And they shall be upon Aaron and -upon his sons when they come into the tabernacle of the congregation, -or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; -that they bear not iniquity and die. It shall be a statute for ever -unto him and his seed after him.' Exod. xxviii. 42, 43. By which, and -three others, namely, Ezek. xliv. 18; Lev. vi. 10; and Lev. xiv. 4, I -saw that it was no crime to mention the word breeches, nor the way in -which God sent them to me; Aaron and his sons being clothed entirely by -Providence; and as God himself condescended to give orders what they -should be made of, and how they should be cut. And I believe the same -God, ordered mine, as I trust will appear in the following history. - -"The Scripture tells us to call no man master; for one is our master, -even Christ. I therefore told my most bountiful and ever-adored Master -what I wanted; and he, who stripped Adam and Eve of their fig-leaved -aprons, and made coats of skin, and clothed them; and who clothes the -grass of the field, which to-day is and to-morrow is cast into the -oven, must clothe us, or we shall go naked; and so Israel found it, -when God took away his wool and his flax, which he gave to cover their -nakedness, and which they prepared for Baal: for which iniquity was -their skirts discovered and their heels made bare. Jer. xiii. 22. - -"I often made very free in my prayers with my invaluable Master for -this favour; but he still kept me so amazingly poor that I could not -get them at any rate. At last I determined to go to a friend of mine -at Kingston, who is of that branch of business, to bespeak a pair; and -to get him to trust me until my Master sent me the money to pay him. -I was that day going to London, fully determined to bespeak them as I -rode through the town. However, when I passed the shop, I forgot it; -but when I came to London, I called on Mr. Croucher, a shoe-maker in -Shepherd's Market, who told me a parcel was left there for me, but what -it was he knew not. I opened it, and behold there was a pair of leather -breeches, with a note in them! the substance of which was, to the best -of my remembrance, as follows:-- - -"'Sir,--I have sent you a pair of breeches, and hope they will fit. I -beg your acceptance of them; and if they want any alteration, leave in -a note what the alteration is, and I will call in a few days and alter -them. - - I. S.' - -"I tried them on, and they fitted as well as if I had been measured -for them; at which I was amazed, having never been measured by any -leather breeches maker in London. I wrote an answer to the note to this -effect:-- - -"'Sir,--I received your present and thank you for it. I was going to -order a pair of leather breeches to be made, because I did not know -till now that my Master had bespoke them of you. They fit very well, -which fully convinces me that the same God who moved thy heart to give, -guided thy hand to cut: because He perfectly knows my size, having -clothed me in a miraculous manner for near five years. When you are in -trouble, Sir, I hope you will tell my Master of this, and what you have -done for me, and He will repay you with honour.' - -"This is as near as I am able to relate it, and I added:-- - -"'I cannot make out I. S. unless I put _I_ for Israelite indeed, and -_S_ for sincerity; because you did not sound a trumpet before you, as -the hypocrites do.'" - -The plan of purveying for himself by prayer, with the help of hints -in proper place and season, answered so well, that Huntington soon -obtained, by the same means, a new bed, a rug, a pair of new blankets, -doe-skin gloves, and a horseman's coat; and as often as he wanted new -clothes, some chosen almoner of the Bank of Faith was found to supply -him. His wife was instructed to provide for her own wants by the same -easy and approved means. Gowns came as they were wanted, hampers of -bacon and cheese, now and then a large ham, and now and then a guinea, -all which things Huntington called precious answers to prayer. - -Some awkward disclosures were now made, and he became weary of Thames -Ditton, and having a well-timed vision, he secretly wished that God -would remove him from that place; and as London was the place where he -might reasonably expect to work less and feed better, it was "suddenly -impressed on his mind to leave Thames Ditton, and take a house in the -great metropolis, where hearers were more numerous, and that this was -the meaning of the words spoken to him in the vision." It was likewise -suggested to his mind that the people had been permitted of late to -persecute him more than usual, that they might drive him to this -removal. "And I much question," says Huntington, "if ever God sends his -word there again, for I think they are left almost as inexcusable as -Chorazin and Capernaum!" The impression which he had now received was -acknowledged as a plain and evident _call_ by the good friends who -negotiated his bills upon the Bank of Faith, and accordingly to London -he and his family went. - -His next draft upon the Bank was to a larger amount. During three -years he had secretly wished for a chapel of his own, because, as he -says, he was sick of the errors that were perpetually broached by some -or other in Margaret Street Chapel, where he then preached with Lady -Huntingdon's people. Much, however, as he desired this, he protests -that he could not ask God for such a favour, thinking it was not to -be brought about by one so very mean, low, and poor as himself. But -fortune favours the bold. One of his friends looked at a suitable piece -of ground, by particular impulse of Providence; and he took Huntington -to look at it also. Another friend, under a similar impulse, planned -a chapel one day while he was hearing Huntington preach a sermon; and -he offered to undertake the management of the building without fee -or reward. Thus encouraged, he took the ground and began to build -Providence Chapel, when he was 20_l._ in debt, and had no other funds -than the freewill offerings of his hearers, and the money which they -were willing to lend him upon his credit with the Bank of Faith. -The first offering amounted to no more than 11_l._, which were soon -expended on the foundations. He bespoke a load of timber, and going -to the right person for it, it was sent him with a bill and receipt -in full as a contribution towards the chapel. Another "good man" came -with tears in his eyes to bless Mr. Huntington for the good which he -had received under his sermons, and to request that he might paint the -pulpit, desk, &c., as a grateful acknowledgment. A bed-room was very -handsomely furnished for him that he might not be under the necessity -of walking home in the cold winter nights. A looking-glass for his -chapel study was presented by one person, a book-case by another, -chairs for the vestry, a pulpit cushion, a splendid Bible, a set of -china, and a well-stored tea-chest, were supplied in like manner: -money was liberally lent as well as given; the chapel "sprang up like -a mushroom;" and when it was finished, he says, "I was in arrears for -1,000_l._, so that I had plenty of work for faith, if I could get -plenty of faith to work; and while some deny a Providence, Providence -was the only supply I had." - -His never-failing friends settled him in a country-house, stocked his -garden and his farm for him; and that he might travel conveniently -to and from his chapel, they presented him with a coach and pair of -horses, and subscribed to pay the taxes for both. To crown all, having -buried his wife, the gleaner, he preached himself into the good graces -of Lady Saunderson, the widow of the Lord Mayor, and married her. - -His uniform prosperity received but one shock. The chapel in Titchfield -Street, which he had raised from the ground and carried up into the -air, when ground-room was wanting, was burnt down. This was thought by -some of Huntington's followers to be a judgment upon him for having -inclosed the free seats, and "laid out the whole chapel in boxes like -an opera house." But Huntington looked at this misfortune otherwise. -Writing to one of his friends, he says: "Such a stroke as this -twenty-seven years ago would have caused our hope to give up the ghost; -but being a little stronger in the Lord, faith has heavier burdens laid -on. The temple built by Solomon, and that built by Cyrus, were both -burnt. It will cause a little rejoicing among the Philistines, as has -been the case often: they once triumphed gloriously, when the ark of -God was taken, supposing that Dagon had overcome the God of Israel; -but their joy was short. This I know, that it shall work for our good, -but how I know not; if I did, I must walk by sight, and not by faith." -He then held out a sort of threat of removing into the country; but -his London followers were presently in motion, "some looking out for -a spot of ground, some bringing their offerings, others wishing the -glory of the latter house may exceed that of the former." "But," says -he, "it is to bear the same name: this I gave them to understand from -the pulpit, and assigned the following reasons for it:--that unless -God provided men to work, and money to pay them, and materials to -work with, no chapel could be erected; and, if he provided all these, -Providence must be its name." The chapel, accordingly, was built in -Gray's Inn Lane, and upon a larger scale than the last: taught by his -former experience, Huntington took care not to make himself responsible -for any of the expenses, and when it was finished, managed matters so -well with his obedient flock, that the chapel was made over to him as -his own, for he is said to have refused to preach in it on any other -conditions.[28] - -[28] Selected and abridged from an excellent paper on Huntington's -Works and Life, attributed to Southey; _Quarterly Review_, No. 48. - -The preacher had innumerable applicants for spiritual advice. To -one person who consults him, he says:--"You need not have made any -apology, as the troubled minds of sensible sinners are my peculiar -province. I am authorised and commissioned by the God of heaven to -transact business and negotiate affairs between the King of kings and -self-condemned rebels." One madman assures him that he was actually -electrified in body and soul by one of his books. This man saw a -brilliant star over the head of Huntington while he was preaching, -and Huntington publishes the letter and assures him that dreams (of -which he has communicated a curious story) are from the Spirit of God. -Sometimes he found that correspondents were troublesome, new-born -babes being never satisfied when they desire the sincere milk of the -word. A certain Mrs. Bull writes to him rather more frequently than is -agreeable. Huntington lets Mrs. Bull know that he does not like her -head-dress; he finds fault with her preposterous streamers, and her -first, second, and third tier of curls; but tells her that a little -more furnace-work will teach her to pull down those useless topsails. -This prediction was verified rather more literally than it was meant, -for the said Mrs. B., thinking it was not his business to interfere -with her head-dress, was about to resent it in a sharp letter; "but," -says she, "happening to fall asleep by the fire, as I was reading the -Bible, the candle caught the lappet of my cap, and a good deal of my -hair, and I own it a great mercy that I was not consumed myself, and -you may be assured that you will see neither streamers, curls, nor -topsails again." - -Mr. Bramah, the celebrated engineer, appears among Huntington's -controversial correspondents; and he tells him that he makes a good -patent lock, but cuts a poor figure with the keys of the kingdom of -heaven. - -Mr. Bensley, the printer, was one of his believers, which explains the -handsome appearance of Huntington's collected works, in twenty volumes, -octavo; his spiritual employer calls him dear brother in the Lord, -and dear Tom in the flesh. Trader in faith as he was, there were some -social qualities about him which won and secured the attachment of his -friends, even of those upon whom he drew most largely. He mentions -particularly Mr. and Mrs. Baker, of Oxford Street, who, having no -children of their own, kept caring and travailing many years for him; -and though "sorely tried by various losses in business, bankruptcies, -and bad debts, supplied him with money whenever he required it." -"While the chapel was building," he says, "when money was continually -demanded, if there was one shilling in the house, I was sure to have -it." This couple and another, with whom he was on terms of equal -intimacy, agreed, as they were bound together with their chosen pastor -for life and for eternity, not to be divided in death; and accordingly -they jointly purchased a piece of ground near Petersham, and erected a -substantial tomb there, wherein they might rest together in the dust. - -Huntington died in 1813, at Tunbridge Wells; he was buried at Lewes, in -a piece of ground adjoining the chapel of one of his associates: it -was his desire that there should be no funeral sermon preached on the -occasion, and that nothing should be said over his grave. He indited -his own epitaph in these words:-- - - Here lies the Coalheaver, - Beloved of his God, but abhorred of men. - The Omniscient Judge - At the Grand Assize shall rectify and - Confirm this to the - Confusion of many thousands; - For England and its Metropolis shall know, - That there hath been a prophet - Among them. - -The sale of his effects by public auction took place soon after his -death, at his elegantly-furnished villa, Hermes Hill,[29] Pentonville, -and lasted four days. His friends and admirers, anxious to secure -some memorial of Huntington, paid most fabulous sums of money for -articles of no intrinsic value in the excess of their veneration. A -mahogany easy-chair, with hair seat and back cushion in canvas, on -brass-wheel castors, with two sets of flowered calico cases, sold -for 63_l._; an ordinary pair of spectacles sold for seven guineas; -a common silver snuff-box, five guineas; every article of plate at -from 23_s._ to 26_s._ per ounce; his library sold for 252_l._ 19_s._; -a handsome modern town coach for 49_l._ 7_s._ The aggregate of the -four days' sale was 1,800_l._ 11_s._ 2-1/2_d._ In a newspaper, -October, 1813, we read:--"At the sale of the effects of the Rev. Mr. -Huntington, at Pentonville, an old arm-chair, intrinsically worth fifty -shillings, actually sold for sixty guineas; and many other articles -fetched equally high prices, so anxious were his besotted admirers -to obtain some precious memorial of that artful fanatic." One of his -steady followers purchased a barrel of ale, which had been brewed for -Christmas, "because he would have something to remember him by." - -[29] Huntington resided in the house built by the Swiss doctor De -Valangin, who had been a pupil of Boerhaave, and practised in Soho -Square. He removed thence to Cripplegate, and about 1772 he purchased -ground at Pentonville, and there built himself a villa, which he named, -from the discoverer of chemistry, Hermes Hill, then almost the only -house on or near the spot, except White Conduit House. One of his -medicines, _The Balsam of Life_, he presented to the Apothecaries' -Company. He had, by his first wife, a daughter, who, dying at nine -years of age, was buried in the garden at Hermes Hill, in a very costly -tomb. - -Huntington is described as having been, towards the close of his -career, a fat, burly man, with a red face, which rose just above the -pulpit cushion; and a thick, guttural, and rather indistinct voice. A -contemporary says:--"His pulpit prayers are remarkable for omitting -all for the King and his country. He excels in extempore eloquence. -Having formally announced his text, he lays his Bible at once aside, -and never refers to it again. He has every possible text and quotation -at his fingers' end. He proceeds directly to his object, and except -such incidental digressions as 'Take care of your pockets! Wake that -snoring sinner! Silence that noisy numskull! Turn out that drunken -dog!' he never deviates from his course. Nothing can exceed his -dictatorial dogmatism. Believe him, none but him--that's enough. When -he wishes to bind the faith of his congregation, he will say, over -and over, 'As sure as I am born, 'tis so;' or, 'I believe the plain -English of it to be this.' And then he will add, by way of clenching -his point, 'Now you can't help it,' or, 'It must be so, in spite of -you.' He does this with a most significant shake of the head, and with -a sort of Bedlam hauteur, with all the dignity of defiance. He will -then sometimes observe, softening his deportment, 'I don't know whether -I make you understand these things, but I understand them well.' He -rambles sadly and strays so completely from his text, that you often -lose sight of it. The divisions of his sermons are so numerous that one -of his discourses might be divided into three. Preaching is with him -talking; his discourses, story-telling. Action he has none, except that -of shifting his handkerchief from hand to hand and hugging his cushion. -Nature has bestowed on him a vigorous original mind, and he employs it -in everything. Survey him when you will, he seems to have rubbed off -none of his native rudeness or blackness. All his notions are his own, -as well as his mode of imparting them. Religion has not been discovered -by him through the telescopes of commentators." - -Huntington's portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery, in -South Kensington. He "might pass, as far as appearances go, for a -convict, but he looks too conceited. The vitality and strength of his -constitution are fearful to behold, and it is certain that he looks -better fitted for coal-heaving than for religious oratory."--_History -of Clerkenwell_, 1865, pp. 529-531. - - - - -Amen. - - -A Correspondent of the _Athenæum_, 1865, writes:--"While some -philosophers seek information in the Far West, and others in the -not-much-nearer East--one, perchance, reducing eccentric arrow heads to -a civilised alphabet; another metamorphosing emblematic pitch-forks, -tom-cats, &c., of 2,000 A.M. into sensation novels of the period; -a third studying the customs and annals of pre-historic America by -the aid of Aztec pots and pipkins--it has been the happy lot of the -undersigned, with no greater effort than a short railway journey and a -pleasant walk, to light upon a treasure of antiquity, which may not be -without interest to some of your readers. The internal evidence of the -following lines is sufficient to show what they purport to be--_viz._ -the epitaph of an accomplished parish officer at Crayford, in Kent. -They run as follows:-- - - "Here lieth the body of - Peter Isnell - (30 years Clerk of this Parish.) - - "He lived respected as a pious and mirthful man, and died on his way - to church to assist at a wedding on the 31st day of March, 1811; aged - seventy years. - - "The inhabitants of Crayford have raised this stone to his cheerful - memory and as a tribute to his long and faithful services. - - "The Life of this _Clerk_ was just threescore and ten, - Nearly half of which time he had sung out _Amen_; - In his Youth, he was married, like other young men, - But his wife died one day, so he chanted _Amen_. - A second he took, she departed, what then? - He married and buried a third with _Amen_. - Thus his joys and his sorrows were _Trebled_, but then - His voice was deep _Bass_ as he sung out _Amen_. - On the _horn_ he could blow as well as most men, - So his _horn_ was exalted in blowing _Amen_; - But he lost all his _Wind_ after threescore and ten, - And here with three Wives he waits till again - The trumpet shall rouse him to sing out _Amen_." - - - - -Strangely Eccentric, yet Sane. - - -The study of psychology proves that hallucinations, or illusions, may -exist in man without the intellect being disordered. In some instances, -they can be produced, by effort of the will. Dr. Wigan, in his able -work, _Duality of the Mind_, relates:--"A painter who succeeded to a -large portion of the practice, and (as he thought) to more than all -the talent of Sir Joshua Reynolds, was so extensively employed, that -he informed me he had once painted (large and small) three hundred -portraits in one year. This would seem physically impossible, but -the secret of his rapidity and of his astonishing success was this: -He required but one sitting, and painted with miraculous facility. I -myself saw him execute a Kit-Kat portrait of a gentleman well known to -me in little more than eight hours; it was minutely finished, and a -most striking likeness. On asking him to explain it, he said, 'When a -sitter came, I looked at him attentively for half-an-hour, sketching -from time to time on the canvas. I wanted no more--I put away my -canvas, and took another sitter. When I wished to resume my first -portrait, _I took the man and sat him in the chair, where I saw him as -distinctly as if he had been before me in his own proper person_--I may -almost say more vividly. I looked from time to time at the imaginary -figure, then worked with my pencil, then referred to the countenance, -and so on, just as I should have done had the sitter been there. _When -I looked at the chair, I saw the man!_ This made me very popular; and, -as I always succeeded in the likeness, people were very glad to be -spared the tedious sittings of other painters. I gained a great deal of -money, and was very careful of it. Well for me and my children that it -was so. Gradually I began to lose the distinction between the imaginary -figure and the real person, and sometimes disputed with sitters that -they had been with me the day before. At last I was sure of it, and -then--and then--all is confusion. I suppose they took the alarm. I -recollect nothing more--I lost my senses--was thirty years in an -asylum. The whole period, except the last six months of my confinement, -is a dead blank in my memory, though sometimes, when people describe -their visits, I have a sort of imperfect remembrance of them; but I -must not dwell on these subjects.'" - -It is an extraordinary fact that, when this gentleman resumed his -pencil, after a lapse of thirty years, he painted nearly as well as -when insanity compelled him to discontinue it. His imagination was -still exceedingly vivid, as was proved by a portrait, for he had only -two sittings of half-an-hour each; the latter solely for the dress and -for the _eyebrows_, which he could not fix in his memory. - -It was found that the excitement threatened danger, and he was -persuaded to discontinue the exercise of his art. He lived but a short -time afterwards. - -A hallucination, although recognized and appreciated as such by the -person who is the subject of it, may, by its vividness and long -continuance, produce so depressing an influence on the mind as to be -the cause of suicide. "I knew," says Wigan, "a very intelligent and -amiable man, who had the power of this placing before his own eyes -_himself_, and often laughed heartily at _his double_, who always -seemed to laugh in turn. This was long a subject of amusement and joke; -but the ultimate result was lamentable. He became gradually convinced -that he was haunted by himself, or (to violate grammar for the sake of -clearly expressing his idea) by his _self_. This other self would argue -with him pertinaciously, and, to his great mortification, sometimes -refute him, which, as he was very proud of his logical powers, -humiliated him exceedingly. He was eccentric, but was never placed in -confinement or subjected to the slightest restraint. At length, worn -out by the annoyance, he deliberately resolved not to enter on another -year of existence--paid all his debts--wrapped up in separate papers -the amount of the weekly demands--waited pistol in hand, the night of -the 31st of December, and as the clock struck twelve, fired it into his -mouth." - -We read in Dr. de Boismont's very able treatise on Hallucinations -(translated by Hulme):--"All mental labour, by over-exciting the brain, -is liable to give rise to hallucinations. We have known many persons, -and amongst others a medical man, who, when it was night, distinctly -heard voices calling to them; some would stop to reply, or would go to -the door, believing they heard the bell ring. This disposition seems -to us not uncommon in persons who are in the habit of talking aloud to -themselves." - -We find in Abercrombie's work the case of a gentleman "who has been -all his life affected by the appearance of spectral figures. To such -an extent does this peculiarity exist, that, if he meets a friend in -the street, he cannot at first satisfy himself whether he really sees -the individual or a spectral figure. By close attention he can remark a -difference between them, in the outline of the real figure being more -distinctly defined than that of the spectral; but in general he takes -means for correcting his visual impression by touching the figure, or -by listening to the sound of his footsteps. He has also the power of -calling up spectral figures at his will, by directing his attention -steadily to the conception of his own mind; and this may consist either -of a figure or a scene which he has seen, or it may be a composition -created by his imagination. But, though he has the faculty of producing -the illusion he has no power of vanishing it; and, when he has called -up any particular spectral figure or scene, he never can say how long -it may continue to haunt him. The gentleman is in the prime of life, -of sound mind, in good health, and engaged in business. Another of his -family has been affected in the same manner, though in a slight degree." - -It would be easy to mention many examples of illustrious men who -have been subject to hallucinations, without their having in any way -influenced their conduct. - -Thus, Malebranche declared he heard the voice of God distinctly within -him. Descartes, after long confinement, was followed by an invisible -person, calling upon him to pursue the search of truth. - -Byron occasionally fancied he was visited by a spectre, which he -confesses was but the effect of an over-stimulated brain. - -Dr. Johnson said that he distinctly heard his mother's voice call -"Samuel." This was at a time when she was residing a long way off. - -Pope, who suffered much from intestinal disease, one day asked his -medical man what the arm was which seemed to come out of the wall. - -Goethe positively asserts that he one day saw the exact counterpart of -himself coming towards him. The German psychologists give the name of -_Deuteroscopia_ to this species of illusion. - - - - -Strange Hallucination. - - -On the 25th of November, 1840, Mr. Pearce, the author of several -medical works, was tried at the Central Criminal Court for shooting -at his wife with intent to murder, and acquitted on the ground of -insanity. He entertained the peculiar notion that his wife wished to -destroy him, and that she had bribed persons to effect his death in -various ways, the principal of which was that his bed was constantly -damped or wetted. This idea seems to have haunted him continually. He -was shortly after his acquittal taken to Bethlem Hospital. For some -time he refused to leave the gallery in which his cell was situated, -and go into the airing-ground; in order, as it appeared, that he might -watch his cell door to prevent anything "villanous" being done. - -In a letter addressed to the Governors of the Hospital, Pearce argued -the point in a very serious and connected manner. "If," said he, in -allusion to some of the witnesses, who at various times had stated they -felt his bedding and found it dry, "the simple act of placing one's -hand upon a damp bed, or even the immediate impression on a man's body -when he gets into it, was infallible, how could it occur so frequently -that travellers at times are crippled with rheumatism, or lose their -lives by remaining all night in damp bedding? If the thing was so -easily discoverable, no man of common understanding could be injured by -such a proceeding or accident at inns. - -"Technically speaking, the matter of which I complain is not a -delusion; it is an allegation--a positive charge, susceptible of proof, -if proper evidence could be brought to bear upon the fact, not warped -or suborned by the man or men in whose power I hourly am. It would be a -sad delusion for me to declare my bed was composed of straw instead of -flocks, or that I was a prophet, or the Pope, or Sir Astley Cooper. I -grant I have no such crotchets. My mind is perfectly sound, calm, and -reflective; and I implore you to consider well the distinction between -the things which cannot in nature physically be and the things which -can physically be. It is a vital one in my sad case. - -"It may be told you, I have charged persons elsewhere with this -atrocity of damping my bed. I have done so. At the private madhouse, -near Uxbridge, whence I was brought here, my bed was kept almost wet -for three months, and I only saved my life by sleeping on a large -trunk, with my daily articles of dress to cover me. Some portion of -this time, the cold was eight and ten degrees below freezing-point." - -He then solicited that a lock might be put upon his cell-door to -protect him from this annoyance; and concluded his letter with this -appeal: "I beseech you to commiserate my hard lot. I have some little -claim to the title of a gentleman, and have been estimated by persons -of some consideration in society; I am now, by a wretched chain of -circumstances, in a great prison hospital, dragged from my children -and my home, and the comforts of social life, and doomed to herd with -desperadoes against the State, the destitute, and the mad." - -Mr. Pearce was afterwards introduced, and answered the questions put -to him in a very collected manner. He then stated that since his -marriage-trip to Boulogne, he had been subjected to the greatest abuse -from his present wife, and on one occasion, had been struck by her, -and insulted by the vilest epithets. He complained that when first -brought to Bethlem Hospital, he had been "chummed" with Oxford, and -objected, but had been compelled to associate with that ruffian. He -had taught Oxford the French language, and tried to improve his mind. -Oxford had conveyed to him matter of importance relative to the great -crime of which he had been guilty, and which he (Mr. Pearce) thought -of sufficient importance to be communicated to the Secretary of State, -and had accordingly written a letter in Latin, detailing the several -circumstances. It had, however been taken from him, and he did not -know whether it had ever been sent to Downing Street. He wished to show -how Oxford boasted of having cajoled Sir A. Morrison and Dr. Monro into -a belief that he was insane, and how he sent for such books as _Jack -the Giant-Killer_ in order to make the jury let him off on the ground -of insanity. This was what he (Mr. Pearce) wished to tell the Secretary -of State, and now the letter was used against him. - -After some further remarks, Mr. Pearce was questioned by the jury, and -persisted in the statement that his bed was damped, that deleterious -drugs were applied to his clothes, and that a conspiracy existed -against him. He produced from under his clothes a small packet, which -he said contained portions of the shirt of which mention had been made, -and a snuff-box, in which he stated he had kept parts of the shirt, and -which he "demanded" to have submitted to the test of Professor Faraday -or some other eminent chemist. He announced himself to be grand-nephew -of Zachariah Pearce, Bishop of Rochester, and translator of Longinus, -and prayed, in conclusion, the jury to relieve him from the situation -in which he was placed. - -The jury returned a verdict to the effect "that Mr. Pearce was of -unsound mind, and that he had been so from the 16th of October, 1840." - - - - -"Corner Memory Thompson." - - -In February, 1843, there died, at the age of 86, this remarkable -person, whose eccentric success had become matter of public interest. -John Thompson was a native of St. Giles's, where his father was a -greengrocer; the boy on carrying a salad to the house of an undertaker -in the neighbourhood, attracted attention by his ready and active -manner, and the undertaker took him as errand-boy; then he became -assistant, and next married his master's daughter, and thus obtained -property. This was his _start_ in life, and enabled him to commence -business as an auctioneer and brewer's valuer, by which he amassed -considerable wealth. As he advanced in life, he sought retirement, and -on a spot just below Hampstead Church, built for himself, without plan -or order, "Frognal Priory," an assemblage of grotesque structures, but -without any right of road to it, which he had to purchase at a great -price. Thence, Thompson often went to town in his chariot, to collect -curiosities for his house; and he might be seen pottering about among -the curiosity-shops: as Horace Walpole cheapened Dicky Bateman's chairs -at half-a-crown apiece for Strawberry Hill, so John Thompson collected -his "items of taste and _vertu_" for Frognal Priory, and these, for -a time, he would show to any person who rang at his gate. He was -designated "Corner Memory," for his having, for a bet, drawn a plan of -St. Giles's parish from memory, at three sittings, specifying every -coach-turning, stable-yard, and public pump, and likewise the _corner -shop_ of every street. He possessed a most mechanical memory; for he -would, by reading a newspaper over-night, repeat the whole of it next -morning. He gained some notoriety by presenting to the Queen a carved -bedstead, reputed once to have belonged to Cardinal Wolsey; with this -he sent some other old furniture to Windsor Castle. - - - - -Mummy of a Manchester Lady. - - -About the middle of the last century there died near Manchester a -maiden lady, a Miss Bexwick or Beswick, who had a great horror of being -_buried alive_. To avoid this, she devised an estate to her medical -adviser, the late Mr. Charles White and his two children, _viz._ Miss -Rosa White and her sister, and his nephew, Captain White, _on condition -that the doctor paid her a morning visit for twelve months after -her decease_. In order to do this, it was requisite to embalm her, -which he did; she was then placed in the attic of the old mansion in -which she died, and in which the doctor took up his residence. Upon -his leaving it, she was removed to the house erected by him in King -Street, Manchester, and which stood on the ground now occupied by the -Town Hall. At the death of Mr. White, the doctor, she was sent to the -Lying-in Hospital, where she remained until she was removed to her -present resting-place, the Manchester Museum of Natural History, where -the mummy is suspended in a case with a glass-door. - -Mr. de Quincey, when a boy at Manchester School, at the beginning -of the century, became acquainted with the mummy, and in one of -his works mentions it being taken from the case, and the body of a -notorious highwayman being substituted; but this is an embellishment or -exaggeration of the already extraordinary story. - - - - -Hypochondriasis. - - -In the year 1827 there was living at Taunton a person who had often -kept at home for several weeks under the idea of danger in going -abroad. Sometimes he imagined that he was a cat, and seated himself on -his hind-quarters; at other times he would fancy himself a teapot, and -stand with one arm a-kimbo like the handle, and the other stretched out -like the spout. At last he conceived himself to have died, and would -not move or be moved till the coffin came. His wife, in serious alarm, -sent for a surgeon, who addressed him with the usual salutation, "How -do you do this morning?" "Do!" replied he in a low voice, "a pretty -question to a dead man!" "Dead, sir; what do you mean?" "Yes; I died -last Wednesday; the coffin will be here presently, and I shall be -buried to-morrow." The surgeon, a man of sense and skill, immediately -felt the patient's pulse, and shaking his head, said, "I find it is -indeed too true; you are certainly defunct; the blood is in a state of -stagnation, putrefaction is about to take place, and the sooner you -are buried the better." The coffin arrived, he was carefully placed in -it, and carried towards the church. The surgeon had previously given -instructions to several neighbours how to proceed. The procession had -scarcely moved a dozen yards, when a person stopped to inquire who -they were carrying to the grave: "Mr. ----, our late worthy overseer." -"What! is the old rogue gone at last? a good release, for a greater -villain never lived." The imaginary deceased no sooner heard this -attack on his character, than he jumped up, and in a threatening -posture said, "You lying scoundrel, if I were not dead I'd make you -suffer for what you say; but as it is, I am forced to submit." He then -quietly laid down again; but ere they had proceeded half-way to church, -another party stopped the procession with the same inquiry, and added -invective and abuse. This was more than the supposed corpse could bear; -and jumping from the coffin, was in the act of following his defamers, -when the whole party burst into an immoderate fit of laughter. The -public exposure awakened him to a sense of his folly; he fought against -the weakness, and in the end conquered it. - -Here is an instance of a cure for hypochondriasis in Switzerland:--A -wealthy and hypochondriacal farmer, who believed himself to be -possessed by seven devils, applied to the Swiss doctor, Michael -Schuppach, to rout the demoniac occupants of his distressed mind. -"Friend," said Schuppach gravely, "you believe there are but seven -devils in you; in reality there are eight, and the eighth is the -captain of the band." To expel the eight unclean spirits the physician -had recourse to an electrical apparatus, with which contrivance the -farmer was of course utterly ignorant. For eight successive days the -patient visited the doctor and underwent an electrical shock. At each -of the first seven shocks the operator said, "There goes one of your -devils." On the eighth day Schuppach said, "Now, we must relieve you -of the chief of the evil spirits--it'll be a tough job!" As these -words were uttered, a violent shock sent the patient fairly to the -floor. "And now," cried the benevolent impostor, "you are free of your -devils--that last stroke was a settler!" The cure was complete. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_STRANGE SIGHTS and SPORTING SCENES._ - - - - -"The Wonder of all the Wonders that the World ever Wondered at." - - -Under the title of "_Horæ Subsecivæ_," in the _Dublin University -Review_, in 1833, vol. i., p. 482, by the late Dr. West, of Dublin, -appeared the following amusing trifle:-- - -"Among Swift's works, we find a _jeu d'esprit_, entitled 'The Wonder -of all the Wonders that the World ever Wondered at,' and purporting -to be an advertisement of a conjurer. There is an amusing one of -the same kind by a very humorous German writer, George Christopher -Lichtenberg, which, as his works are not much known here, is perhaps -worth translating. The occasion on which it was written was the -following. In the year 1777, a celebrated conjurer of those days -arrived at Göttingen. Lichtenberg, for some reason or other, did not -wish him to exhibit there; and, accordingly, before the other had time -even to announce his arrival, he wrote this advertisement, in his name, -and had it printed and posted over the town. The whole was the work -of one night. The result was, that the real Simon Pure decamped next -morning without beat of drum, and never appeared in Göttingen again. -Lichtenberg had spent some time in England, and understood the language -perfectly, so that he may have seen Swift's paper. Still, even granting -that he took the hint from him, it must be allowed he has improved on -it not a little, and displayed not only more delicacy, which, indeed, -was easy enough, but more wit also. - - "'Notice. - -"'The admirers of supernatural Physics are hereby informed that the -far-famed magician, Philadelphus Philadelphia (the same that is -mentioned by Cardanus, in his book _De Naturâ Supernaturali_, where he -is styled "The envied of Heaven and Hell"), arrived here a few days ago -by the mail, although it would have been just as easy for him to come -through the air, seeing that he is the person who, in the year 1482, -in the public market at Venice, threw a ball of cord into the clouds, -and climbed upon it into the air till he got out of sight. On the 9th -of January, of the present year, he will commence at the Merchants' -Hall, publico-privately, to exhibit his one-dollar tricks, and continue -weekly to improve them, till he comes to his five-hundred-guinea -tricks; amongst which last are some which, without boasting, excel the -wonderful itself, nay are, as one may say, absolutely impossible. - -"'He has had the honour of performing with the greatest possible -approbation before all the potentates, high and low, of the four -quarters of the world; and even in the fifth, a few weeks ago, before -her Majesty Queen Oberea, at Otaheite. - -"'He is to be seen every day, except on Mondays and Thursdays, when -he is employed in clearing the heads of the honourable members of -the Congress of his countrymen at Philadelphia; and at all hours, -except from eleven to twelve in the forenoon, when he is engaged at -Constantinople; and from twelve to one, when he is at his dinner. - -"'The following are some of his common one-dollar tricks; and they are -selected, not as being the best of them, but as they can be described -in the fewest words:-- - -"'1. Without leaving the room, he takes the weathercock off St. James's -Church, and sets it on St. John's, and _vice versâ_. After a few -minutes he puts them back again in their proper places. N.B. All this -without a magnet, by mere sleight of hand. - -"'2. He takes two ladies, and sets them on their heads on a table, with -their legs up; he then gives them a blow, and they immediately begin -to spin like tops with incredible velocity, without breach either of -their head-dress by the pressure, or of decorum by the falling of their -petticoats, to the very great satisfaction of all present. - -"'3. He takes three ounces of the best arsenic, boils it in a gallon of -milk, and gives it to the ladies to drink. As soon as they begin to get -sick, he gives them two or three spoonfuls of melted lead, and they go -away in high spirits. - -"'4. He takes a hatchet, and knocks a gentleman on the head with it, -so that he falls dead on the floor. When there, he gives a second -blow, whereupon the gentleman immediately gets up as well as ever, and -generally asks what music that was. - -"'5. He draws three or four ladies' teeth, makes the company shake them -well together in a bag, and then puts them into a little cannon, which -he fires at the aforesaid ladies' heads, and they find their teeth -white and sound in their places again. - -"'6. A metaphysical trick, otherwise commonly called [Greek: pan], -_metaphysica_, whereby he shows that a thing can actually be and not be -at the same time. It requires great preparation and cost, and is shown -so low as a dollar, solely in honour of the University. - -"'7. He takes all the watches, rings, and other ornaments of the -company, and even money if they wish, and gives every one a receipt for -his property. He then puts them all in a trunk, and brings them off to -Cassel. In a week after, each person tears his receipt, and that moment -finds whatever he gave in his hands again. He has made a great deal of -money by this trick. - -"'N.B. During this week, he performs in the top room at the Merchants' -Hall; but after that, up in the air over the pump in the market-place; -for whoever does not pay, will not see.'" - - - - -[Illustration: The Princess Caraboo. From a sketch by Bird, R.A.] - - - - -"The Princess Caraboo." - - -Early in the year 1865 there died at Bristol a female of considerable -personal attractions, whose early history was amusing enough, yet -took a strong hold upon credulous persons half-a-century since. She -pretended to be a native of Javasu, in the Indian Ocean, and to -have been carried off by pirates, by whom she had been sold to the -captain of a brig. Her first appearance was in the spring of 1817, at -Almondsbury, in Gloucestershire. Having been ill-used when on board the -ship, she had jumped overboard, she said, swam on shore, and wandered -about six weeks before she came to Almondsbury. She appears next to -have found her way to Bath, and there to have created a sensation in -the literary and fashionable circles of Bath and other places, which -lasted till it was discovered that the whole affair was a romance, -cleverly sustained and acted out by a young and prepossessing girl, who -sought to maintain the imposition by the invention of hieroglyphics and -characters to represent her native language. - -In 1817, there was published at Bristol a narrative of this singular -imposition, "practised upon the benevolence of a lady residing in the -Vicinity of Bristol by a young woman of the name of Mary Willcocks, -_alias_ Baker, _alias_ Bakerstendht, _alias_ Caraboo, Princess of -Javasu;" for which work Bird, the Royal Academician, drew two portraits. - -It was ascertained that she was a native of Witheridge, in Devonshire, -where her father was a cobbler. She appears to have taken flight to -America, and in 1824 she returned to England, and hired apartments -in New Bond Street, where she exhibited herself to the public at the -charge of one shilling; but she did not attract any great attention. - -On being deposed from the honours which had been awarded to her, "the -Princess" retired into comparatively humble life, and married. There -was a kind of grim humour in the occupation which she subsequently -followed, that of an importer of leeches: but she conducted her -operations with much judgment and ability, and carried on her trade -with credit to herself and satisfaction to her customers. The quondam -"Princess" died, leaving a daughter, who, like her mother, is described -as very beautiful. - -There is, it should be added, a very strange story of the Princess -having got an introduction to Napoleon Bonaparte at St. Helena, of -which affair the following account appeared in _Felix Farley's Bristol -Journal_, September 13th, 1817:-- - -"A letter from Sir Hudson Lowe, lately received from St. Helena, forms -at present the leading topic of conversation in the higher circles. It -states that on the day preceding the date of the last dispatches, a -large ship was discovered in the offing. The wind was strong from the -S.S.E. After several hours' tacking, with apparent intention to reach -the island, the vessel was observed to bear away for the N.W., and in -the course of an hour the boat was seen entering the harbour. It was -rowed by a single person. Sir Hudson went alone to the beach, and to -his astonishment saw a female of interesting appearance drop the oars -and spring to land. She stated that she had sailed from Bristol, under -the care of some missionary ladies, in a vessel called the _Robert and -Anne_, Captain Robinson, destined for Philadelphia; that the vessel -being driven out of its course by a tempest, which continued for -several successive days, the crew at length perceived land, which the -captain recognised to be St. Helena: that she immediately conceived -an ardent desire of seeing the man with whose future fortunes she -was persuaded her own were mysteriously connected; and her breast -swelled with the prospect of contemplating face to face an impostor -not equalled on earth since the days of Mohammed; but a change of wind -to the S.S.E. nearly overset her hopes. Finding the captain resolved -to proceed according to his original destination, she watched her -opportunity, and springing with a large clasp-knife into a small boat -which was slung at the stern, she cut the ropes, dropt safely into the -ocean, and rowed away. The wind was too strong from the land to allow -of the vessel being brought about to thwart her object. Sir Hudson -introduced her to Bonaparte under the name of Caraboo! She described -herself as Princess of Javasu, and related a tale of extraordinary -interest, which seemed in a high degree to delight the captive chief. -He embraced her with every demonstration of enthusiastic rapture, and -besought Sir Hudson that she might be allowed an apartment in his -house, declaring that she alone was an adequate solace in his captivity. - -"Sir Hudson subjoins: 'The familiar acquaintance with the Malay tongue -possessed by this most extraordinary personage (and there are many on -the island who understand that language), together with the knowledge -she displays of the Indian and Chinese politics, and the eagerness with -which she speaks of these subjects, appear to convince every one that -she is no impostor. Her manner is noble and fascinating in a wonderful -degree.' - -"A private letter adds the following testimony to the above statement, -'Since the arrival of this lady, her manners, and I may say the -countenance and figure of Bonaparte appear to be wholly altered. From -being reserved and dejected, he has become gay and communicative. No -more complaints are heard about inconveniences at Longwood. He has -intimated to Sir Hudson his determination to apply to the Pope for -a dispensation to dissolve his marriage with Maria Louisa, and to -sanction his indissoluble union with the enchanting Caraboo.'" - -However, corroboration of this strange story is wanting. - - - - -Fat Folks.--Lambert and Bright. - - -About the centre of the new burial-ground of St. Martin's Stamford -Baron, is a black slate inscribed with gilt letters to the memory of -that immense mass of mortality, Daniel Lambert, the most popularly -known of "Fat Folks." - - "Altus in animo, in Corpore Maximus. - In remembrance of that prodigy in nature, - Daniel Lambert, a native of Leicester, - Who was possessed of an exalted and convivial mind; - and, in personal greatness had no competitor. - He measured 3 ft. 1 in. round the leg; - and weighed 52 st. 11 lbs.! - He departed this life on the 21st June, 1809, - aged 39 years. - As a testimony of respect, this - Stone is erected by his friends in Leicester." - -Daniel Lambert was born on the 13th of March, 1770, at Leicester. His -parents were not persons of remarkable dimensions: but he had an uncle -and aunt on the father's side who were both very heavy. - -At the age of 19, young Lambert began to imagine that he should be -a heavy man. He possessed extraordinary muscular power, and at the -above age could lift great weights, and carry five-hundred weight with -ease. He succeeded his father in the office of keeper of the prison -at Leicester, within a year after which his bulk began rapidly to -increase, owing to his confinement and sedentary life. Though he never -possessed any extraordinary agility, he was able to kick to the height -of seven feet, standing on one leg. - -About the year 1793, when Lambert weighed 32 stone, he walked from -Woolwich to London, with much less apparent fatigue than several -middle-sized men who were his companions. Upon this Mr. Wadd remarks: -"It is clear, therefore, that he was a strong, active man, and -continued so after the disease had made great progress; and I think it -may fairly be inferred that he would not have fallen a sacrifice so -early in life, if he had possessed fortitude enough to meet the evil, -and to have opposed it with determined perseverance." - -Lambert was very expert in swimming, and taught hundreds of the young -people of Leicester. His power of floating, owing to his uncommon -bulk, was so great that he could swim with two men of ordinary size -upon his back. He proved a humane keeper of the prison, and upon his -retirement from the office, the magistrates settled upon him an annuity -of 50_l._ for life, without any solicitation. - -He now lived a life of leisure at Leicester, but his uncommon -corpulence brought him many visitors; and he at length found that -he must either submit to be a close prisoner in his own house, or -endure the inconveniences without receiving any of the profits of -an exhibition. He then determined to visit London; and as it was -impossible to procure a carriage large enough to admit him, he had a -vehicle built to convey him to the metropolis, where he arrived in the -spring of 1806, and fixed his abode in Piccadilly. Here he was visited -by much company. Among them was the celebrated Polish dwarf, Count -Boruwlaski, who had before seen Lambert at Birmingham; the little man -exclaimed that he had seen the face twenty years ago, but it was not -surely the same body. In the course of conversation, Lambert asked -what quantity of cloth the Count required for a coat, and how many he -thought his would make him. "Not many," answered Boruwlaski; "I take -good large piece of cloth myself--almost tree-quarters of a yard." At -this rate, one of Lambert's sleeves would have abundantly sufficed for -the purpose. The Count felt one of Mr. Lambert's legs, "Ah, mine Got!" -he exclaimed, "pure flesh and blood; I feel de warm. No deception, I -am pleased, for I did hear it was deception." Mr. Lambert asked if the -Count's lady was alive; to which he replied, "No, she is dead, and I am -not very sorry, for when I affront her, she put me on the mantel-shelf -for punishment."[30] - -[30] See portrait of Boruwlaski, page 259. - -In September, 1806, Lambert returned to Leicester, but repeated his -visit in the following year, and fixed his abode in Leicester Square. -Here, for the first time, he felt inconvenienced by the atmosphere -of the metropolis; accordingly, by the advice of Dr. Heaviside, his -physician, Lambert returned to his native place. He then made a tour -through the principal cities and towns of England, and proved as -attractive in the provinces as he had formerly been in the metropolis. -He now enjoyed excellent health, and felt perfectly at ease, either -while sitting up or lying in bed. His diet was plain, and the -quantity moderate. For many years he never drank anything stronger -than water. He slept well, but scarcely so much as other persons, and -his respiration was as free as any moderately-sized individual. His -countenance was manly and intelligent; he possessed great information, -much ready politeness, and conversed with ease and facility. He had a -powerful and melodious tenor voice, and his articulation was perfectly -clear and unembarrassed. - -Lambert had, however, for some time shown dropsical symptoms. In June -1809, he was weighed at Huntingdon, and by the Caledonian balance was -found to be 52 stone 11 lb. (14 lb. to the stone), 10st. 4lb. heavier -than Bright, the miller of Malden. His measure round the body was three -yards four inches, and one yard one inch round the leg. - -A few days after this measurement, on June 20th, he arrived from -Huntingdon, at the Wagon and Horses Inn, St. Martin's, Stamford, where -preparations were made to receive company the next day, and during -Stamford races. He was announced for exhibition; he gave his orders -cheerfully, without any presentiment that they were to be his last: -he was then in bed, only fatigued from his journey, but anxious to be -able to see company early in the morning. Before nine o'clock however, -the day following, he was a corpse! He died in his apartment on the -ground-floor of the inn, for he had long been incapable of walking -up-stairs. - -His interment was an arduous labour. His coffin measured six feet -four inches long, four feet four inches wide, and two feet four inches -deep, and contained one hundred and twelve superficial feet of elm. It -was built upon two axletrees and four wheels; the room-door and wall -of the room in which he lay were taken down to allow of his exit, and -thus his remains were drawn to the place of interment at St. Martin's, -Stamford. His grave was dug with a gradual slope for several yards; and -upwards of twenty men were employed for nearly half-an-hour in getting -the massive corpse into its resting-place: the immense substance of the -legs made the coffin, of necessity, at most a square case. The funeral -was attended by thousands of persons from Stamford and the country many -miles round. - -At the Wagon and Horses Inn were preserved two suits of Lambert's -clothes: seven ordinarily-sized men were repeatedly enclosed within his -waistcoat, without breaking a stitch or straining a button; each suit -of clothes cost 20_l._ His name was remembered for a time as a tavern -sign: one on the north side of Ludgate Street remained till within a -few years. - -The great weight of Edward Bright, the miller of Malden, has been -incidentally mentioned. He died on November 10th, 1750, at the age of -30. He was an active man till within a year or two of his death; when -his corpulency so overpowered his strength, that his life was a burthen -to him; yet, as we have seen, he was ten stone four pounds lighter than -Lambert. Mr. Wadd says it is supposed that Bright's weight at his death -was forty-four stone, or 616 pounds. - -Horace Walpole relates the following story of Bright's weight backed -against that of the Duke of Cumberland:--"There has been a droll cause -in Westminster Hall: a man laid another a wager that he produced a -person who should weigh as much again as the Duke. When they had -betted, they recollected not knowing how to desire the Duke to step -into the scale. They agreed to establish his weight at twenty stone, -which, however, is supposed to be two more than he weighs. One -Bright was then produced, who is since dead, and who actually weighed -forty-two stone and a half. As soon as he was dead, the person who had -lost objected that he had been weighed in his clothes, and though it -was impossible to suppose that his clothes could weigh above two stone, -they went to law. There were the Duke's twenty stone bawled over a -thousand times,--but the righteous law decided against the man who had -won!" - -Bright, when twelve years old, weighed one hundred and forty-four -pounds; and there was another boy in Malden at the same time, fourteen -years of age, who weighed as much. - -There was, however, an Essex man, who not only attained a great weight, -but lived to a great age, which is remarkable among persons of this -class. This was James Mansfield, a butcher, who died at the village of -Debden, on November 9th, 1862, in his 82nd year. Though not above the -ordinary height, he measured nine feet round and weighed thirty-three -stone. When sitting in his chair, made especially for his use, his -abdomen covered his knees and hung down almost to the ground. When he -lay down, it was necessary to pack his head to prevent suffocation: he -could only lie upon one side. He was exhibited, in 1851, in Leicester -Square, as "the greatest man in the world." In a suit of his clothes -four ordinarily-sized men might be comfortably buttoned up. Mansfield, -just before his death, was a hale old man, of good constitution, and a -sanguine and happy temperament. - -Corpulency naturally subjects its bearers to some of - - "The thousand natural shocks - That flesh is heir to." - -Among these inconveniences is the absolute prohibition from -horsemanship, and the difficulty of transportation from place to place, -which may be illustrated by the following anecdotes, related by Mr. -Wadd, in _Brande's Journal_, 1828:-- - -Mr. B.----, of Bath, a remarkably large, corpulent, and powerful man, -wanting to go by the mail, tried for a place a short time before it -started. Being told it was full, he still determined to get admission, -and opening the door, which no one near him ventured to oppose, he got -in. When the other passengers came, the ostler reported that there was -a gentleman in the coach; he was requested to come out, but having -drawn up the blind, he remained quiet. Hearing, however, a consultation -on the means of making him alight, and a proposal to "pull him out," -he let down the blind, and laying his enormous hand on the edge of -the door, he asked, who would dare to pull him out, drew up the blind -again, and waiting some time, fell asleep. About one in the morning he -awoke, and calling out to know whereabout he was on the journey, he -perceived, what was the fact, that to end the altercation with him, the -horses had been put to another coach, and that he had spent the night -at the inn-door at Bath, where he had taken possession of the carriage. - -A similar occurrence took place at Huddersfield. A gentleman went to a -proprietor of one of the coaches to take a place for Manchester, but -owing to the enormous size of his person he was refused, unless he -would consent to be taken as lumber, at 9_d._ per stone, hinting at the -same time the advantage of being split in two. The gentleman was not to -be disheartened by this disappointment, but adopted the plan of sending -the ostler of one of the inns to take a place for him, which he did, -and in the morning wisely took the precaution by fixing himself in the -coach, with the assistance of the bystanders, from whence he was not -to be removed easily. There placed, he was taken to his destination. -The consequence was, on his return he was necessitated to adopt a -similar process, to the no small disappointment of the proprietors, -who were compelled to convey three gentlemen who had previously taken -their places in a chaise, as there was no room beside this importunate -passenger, who weighed about thirty-six stone. - - - - -A Cure for Corpulence. - - -In 1863, a philanthropist laid before the public the narrative of a man -who was tremendously fat, who tried hard for years to thin himself, and -who at last succeeded. Mr. Banting, the gentleman who had the courage -and good feeling to write and publish this narrative, not long before, -measured 5ft. 5in., and weighed about 14-1/4 stone. He owns that he had -a great deal to bear from his unfortunate make. In the first place, -the little boys in the streets laughed at him; in the next place, he -could not tie his own shoes; and, lastly, he had, it appears, to come -down-stairs backwards. But he was a man who struggled gallantly, and -whatever he was recommended to do, he honestly tried to carry out. He -drank mineral waters, and consulted physicians, and took sweet counsel -with innumerable friends, but all was in vain. He lived upon sixpence -a-day, and earned it, so that the favourite recipe of Abernethy failed -in his case. He went into all sorts of vapour baths and shampooing -baths. He took no less than ninety Turkish baths, but nothing did -him any good; he was still as fat as ever. A kind friend recommended -increased bodily exertion every morning, and nothing seemed more likely -to be effectual than rowing. So this stout warrior with fat got daily -into a good, safe, heavy boat, and rowed a couple of hours. But he was -only pouring water into the bucket of the Danaides. What he gained in -one way he lost in another. His muscular vigour increased; but then, -with this there came a prodigious appetite which he felt compelled -to indulge, and consequently he got fatter than he had been. At last -he hit upon the right adviser, who told him what to do, and whose -advice was so successful that Mr. Banting could soon walk down-stairs -forwards, put his old clothes quite over the suit that now fitted him, -and, far from being made the victim of unkind or ill-judged chaff, was -universally congratulated on his pleasant and becoming appearance. The -machinery by which this change was effected was of a very simple kind. -He was told to leave off eating anything but meat. It appears that -none of his numerous friendly advisers, and none of the physicians he -consulted, penetrated so far into the secresy of his domestic habits -as to have discovered that twice a day he used formerly to indulge in -bowls of bread and milk. The Solomon who saved him cut off this great -feeder of fat, and since then Mr. Banting has been a thinner and a -happier man.--_Abridged from the Saturday Review._ - - - - -Epitaphs on Fat Folks. - - -In the year 1755, died the great tallow-chandler whose life and death -are thus laconically recorded on his tombstone:-- - - Here lies in earth an honest fellow, - Who died by fat, and lived by tallow. - -Another corpulent person is thus lamented:-- - - Here lies the body of Thomas Dollman, - A vastly _fat_, though not a very tall man; - Full twenty stone he weighed, yet I am told, - His captain thought him worth his weight in gold: - Grim Death, who ne'er to nobody shows favour, - Hurried him off for all his good behaviour; - Regardless of his weight, he bundled him away, - 'Fore any one "Jack Robinson" could say. - -A moral lesson is given in the following:-- - - But why he grew so fat i' th' waist, - Now mark ye the true reason, - When other people used to fast, - He feasted in that season. - So now, alas! hath cruel Death - Laid him in his sepulchre. - - * * * * * - - Therefore, good people, here 'tis seen, - You plainly may see here, - That fat men sooner die than lean, - Witness Fat Johnny Holder. - -The son of a Dean, a man of very spare habit, expressing to the son of -a Bishop his astonishment at the great difference of the size of their -fathers, the Bishop being very fat, he explained the reason in the -following extempore parody of the old song:-- - - There's a difference between - A Bishop and a Dean, - And I'll tell you the reason why: - A Dean cannot dish up - A dinner like a Bishop, - To feed such a fat son as I. - - - - -Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf. - - -One of the best attested cases of dwarfish existence on record is -that of Joseph Boruwlaski, the Polish dwarf, who was the delight -of our grandfathers, and who, after the age of _seventy_, suddenly -found himself able with his hand to raise the latch of a door which -up to that period he had always raised with a stick. How many inches -he grew is not recorded, but the fact of his growth is sufficiently -astonishing, and is only paradoxical so long as we continue to hold -the general opinion that "men do not grow after reaching maturity," -whereas, in strict language, we must admit that they _grow_ as long as -they live, but do not normally surpass the standard of maturity; growth -continues, but only to supply the waste, not enough, as in childhood, -to supply the waste and furnish _surplus_ for the increase. - -Count Joseph Boruwlaski is, in many respects, the most interesting -dwarf of whom we have accurate records, and he has written his own -memoir to complete our interest. He has given us his height at various -epochs as follows:-- - - Ft. In. - At one year old he measured 0 11 - At three " " 1 2 - At six " " 1 5 - At ten " " 1 9 - At fifteen years old he measured 2 1 - At twenty " " 2 4 - At twenty-five " " 2 11 - At thirty " " 3 3 - -[Illustration: Count Boruwlaski in disgrace with his wife.] - -Here he stopped until he was seventy. He was born at Chaliez, in -Russian Poland, November, 1739, of noble parents, who were richer in -pedigree than in land or money. They were both well formed, healthy, -and of the ordinary size; yet of their six children, three were -dwarfs; and, to add to the singularity, the dwarfs _alternated_ with -well-formed children. Joseph was 8 inches in length when born, yet -perfectly well-formed, and he sucked with infantine success, walking -and talking at about the usual age. - -On reaching his ninth year, he lost his father, who left a widow and -six children very ill-provided for. Luckily, a friend of the widow, -a Madame de Caorliz, adopted Joseph, and with her the boy spent four -happy years. His benefactress then married, and this event produced -a change in his fortunes. A dwarf so remarkable was naturally enough -an envied possession; and the Countess Humieska, a very great person -indeed, felt the desire natural in so great a person, to have this -among her curiosities. Domiciled with the great Countess, Joseph began -to taste the splendours and luxuries of courts. They travelled through -Poland, Germany, and France, and everywhere he was the lion of the -hour. At Vienna he was presented to Maria Theresa, who, pleased with -his courtly compliments, kissed him, and complimented the Countess on -her travelling companion. On another occasion, Joseph, in the lap of -the Empress, who had sixteen children of her own, and doted on them, -was looking at the hand in which his own was clasped, and which flashed -light from a ring bearing her cipher in brilliants. She asked him if -he was pleased with the ring; he told her it was the _hand_ he looked -at, and at the same time raised it to his lips. The flattered Empress -insisted on giving him the ring; but alas! it was too large, whereupon -she called to a young lady of about six years old, and taking from her -a fine diamond ring, placed it on Joseph's finger: this young lady was -Marie Antoinette. - -From Vienna the travellers proceeded to Munich, and thence, after -countless fêtes, they went to Luneville, the court of Stanislas -Leckzinski, titular King of Poland. Here Joseph met the dwarf Bébé, -of whom Boruwlaski gives this account:--"With this prince (Stanislas) -lived the famous Bébé, till then considered the most extraordinary -dwarf that was ever seen; and who was, indeed, perfectly well -proportioned, and with a pleasant physiognomy, but who (I am sorry to -say it, for the honour of us dwarfs) had all the defects in his mind -and way of thinking which are commonly attributed to us. He was at that -time about thirty,[31] and his height two feet eight inches; and when -measured, it appeared that I was much shorter, being no more than two -feet four inches. At our first interview he showed much fondness for -me; but, on perceiving that I preferred the company and conversation -of sensible people, and above all, when he perceived that the King -took pleasure in my society, he conceived the most violent jealousy -and hatred of me; so that I escaped his fury only by a miracle. One -day, we were both in the apartment of his Majesty, who caressed me, and -asked me several questions, testifying his pleasure and approbation of -my replies in the most affectionate manner. Then addressing Bébé, he -said: 'You see, Bébé, what a difference there is between him and you. -He is amiable, cheerful, entertaining, and instructed, whereas you -are but a little machine.' At these words I saw fury sparkle in his -eyes; he answered nothing, but his countenance and blush proved how -violently he was agitated. A moment after, the King having gone into -his cabinet, Bébé availed himself of the opportunity to execute his -revengeful projects; and slyly approaching, seized me by the waist, -and endeavoured to push me on to the fire. Luckily, I laid hold with -both hands of the iron prop which sustained the tongs and poker, and -thus prevented his wicked intentions. The noise I made in defending -myself brought back the king to my assistance. He afterwards called -the servants, and ordered Bébé corporal punishment. In vain did I -intercede." - -[31] Joseph is in error here; Bébé was two years his junior, but -precocity of development made him appear to be thirty, though really -only about seventeen. - -On quitting the court of Stanislas, Boruwlaski visited that of -Versailles, where the Queen, the Duke of Orleans, and other -distinguished personages, made as much of him as vanity could desire. -The Count Orginski, finding he had a taste for music, provided him -a master for the guitar. At the table of this nobleman, he one day -allowed himself to be concealed in a large vase, which was placed amid -the dishes, and to which the attention of the guests was directed, till -their curiosity was fairly roused, expecting some rarity surpassing -all the delicacies of the already sumptuous banquet; and then Joseph -suddenly stood up, amid shouts of laughter. - -From Paris he went to Holland, and thence back to Poland. His reception -in Warsaw was enthusiastic; and as travel and reading had given polish -to his manners and culture to his intellect, his society became sought -after for something more than mere curiosity. He now attended the -theatre, and became fascinated with the actresses. His first love was -a French actress, who, amused and flattered, pretended to return his -passion, and for a time he was in a delirium of happiness; but an -unlucky discovery of her having talked about his passion with mockery, -cruelly dispelled his brief dream. To be in love with an actress, and -to find that she has been laughing at the passion she has inspired, -and only feigning to return it for some object of her own, is what -many young men have had to experience; but perhaps in none could the -mortification of self-love have been so cruel as in the little dwarf, -who knew the ridicule which must necessarily attend his presumption -in claiming the privilege of a man. But the heart having once known -the bitter-sweet of love, will not long be kept from it; and Joseph -soon fixed his affections on Isolina, a _protégée_ of the Countess -Humieska, who, living under the same roof with him, was much astonished -to observe that he allowed every _other_ lady to take him on her lap -and caress him; she accused him of not liking her, because to her -only he was reserved and shy. Now, he had not forgotten the ridicule -of the French actress: for a whole twelvemonth he continued loving -in silence, in doubt, and in trouble. His health suffered; at last, -passion triumphed over his fears; he declared his love, which the lady -treated as the love of a child. "Really," said she, "you are a child, -and I cannot help laughing at your extravagance." He tried to convince -her that he was no child, and would not be loved like a child; when she -burst out laughing, told him he knew not what he said, and left the -room. - -This was a ludicrous situation, but with a tragic aspect; a young and -lively woman receiving a passionate declaration from a being not taller -than a child three or four years old, may be excused if her sense -of the ludicrous prevented her understanding the seriousness of the -passion she inspired. Joseph was hurt, but not altogether dissatisfied. -The secret no longer pressed its uneasy burden on his mind. She knew -of his love; she could now interpret his reserve--his melancholy--his -silent adoration. In time she might be touched. For the first few -days, indeed, there seemed little hope of such an issue. She bantered -him incessantly, and the more he tried to speak to her as a man, the -more she persisted in treating him like a child. The effect of this -was a serious illness; for two months he was in danger. He recovered, -and she, from that time, gave up the dangerous game; and they were -eventually married. - -We must now accompany Boruwlaski to England, where he was received by -the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and was presented to the King and -Queen, and patronized by the Prince of Wales and the nobility. - -Among the remarkable persons whom the Count met was O'Brien, the Irish -giant. "Our surprise," says Boruwlaski, "was mutual--the giant remained -a moment speechless with astonishment, and then stooping half-way, he -presented his hand, which could easily have contained a dozen of mine, -and made me a very pretty compliment." When they stood beside each -other, the giant's knee was nearly on a level with the dwarf's head. -They both resided together some time at an inn at Epping, where they -often walked out together, greatly to the amusement of the townsfolk. - -Mathews, the comedian, was a friend and admirer of Boruwlaski, and -contrived to get an interview arranged with George IV. for the -presentation of a copy of the Count's _Memoirs_, published in 1788. -Mathews and his little charge were ushered into the presence of the -sovereign: the King rose and met Boruwlaski, raised him up in his -arms, in a kind embrace, saying, "My dear old friend, how delighted I -am to see you!" and then placed the little man upon a sofa. But the -Count's loyalty not being so satisfied, he descended with the agility -of a schoolboy, and threw himself at his master's feet, who, however, -would not suffer him to remain in that position for a minute, but -raised him again upon the sofa. In the course of the conversation, the -Count, addressing the King in French, was told that his English was -so good it was quite unnecessary to speak in any other language; for -his Majesty, with his usual tact, easily discerned that he should be a -loser in resigning the Count's prettily-broken English, which (as he -always thought in his native language, and literally translated its -idioms) was the most amusing imaginable, and totally distinct from the -imperfect English of other foreigners.... The King, in the course of -conversation, said, "But, Count, you were married when I first knew -you: I hope madame is still alive, and as well as yourself." "Ah, no! -Majesty; Isolina die thirty year! _Fine_ woman! _sweet_, _beauty_ body! -You have no _idea_, Majesty." "I am sorry to hear of her death; such -a charming person must have been a great loss to you, Count." "Dat is -very true, Majesty; _indid, indid_, it was great sorrow for me!" His -Majesty then inquired how old the Count was, and on being told, with -a start of surprise observed, "Count, you are the finest man of your -age I ever saw. I wish you could return the compliment." To which -Boruwlaski, not to be outdone in courtesy, ludicrously replied, "Oh! -Majesty, _fine_ body! _indid, indid_; _beauty_ body!" - -The King, on accepting the book which the Count wished to present, -turned to the Marchioness of Conyngham, and took from her a little -case containing a beautiful miniature watch and seals, attached to a -superb chain, the watch exquisitely ornamented with jewels. This the -King begged the Count to accept, saying, as he held the _Memoirs_ in -the other hand, "My dear friend, I shall read and preserve this as long -as I live, for your sake; and in return I request you will wear this -for mine." His Majesty said to Mathews, in the absence of the Count, -"If I had a dozen sons, I could not point out to them a more perfect -model of good breeding and elegance than the Count; he is really a most -accomplished and charming person." - -It appears that, by the kindness of friends, Boruwlaski had purchased -an annuity, which secured him independence for the remainder of his -life. Out of this transaction arose a laughable incident. One day he -called at the insurance office with Mr. Mathews, and on being asked how -he was, he replied, with the vivacity of eighteen, "Oh, _never_ better! -_quite_ vel!" and he ran out of the office from the gaze of the aged -insurer, scarcely able to restrain his merriment till he got out of -hearing. He then told Mr. Mathews, during his convulsions of laughter, -that the person they had just seen was the granter of his annuity. "Ha! -ha! ha! O Mattew, I cannot help! Oh _poor devil_, poor _hold_ body! It -_maks me laffing_, poor _hold hanimal_! Oh he say prayer for me die, -often when he _slip_! Oh you may _de_pend--ha! ha! ha! but Boruwlaski -_never_ die! He _calcoolated dat_ dwarf not live it long, _et_ I live -it forty year to _plag_ him. Oh he is in a _hobbel debblishly_! I -_tellee dat_! He fifty year _yonger den_ Boruwlaski; _mintime_ he dead -as soon as me. Oh yes, you may be sure _dat_--_dat_ is my _oppinnon_. -Boruwlaski never die," playfully nodding his little head, "you may -_de_pend." Mr. Mathews asked him if the old man had any family (feeling -some compassion for his hard case), to which the Count cried out, "Oh -he have it _shildren_ twenty, like a pig, poor _devel_! _mintime_ he -_riche_ body! Oh he have it _goold et wast_ many bank _nott_. _Bote_ -he have it _greet prepencity_ to keep him fast hold, poor idi_ot_! _It -macks me laffing!_"--(See the _Memoirs of Charles Mathews_, by Mrs. -Mathews.) - -To these characteristics we are enabled to add that of an English -letter, written by the Count in his _eighty-ninth_ year, the -handwriting of which is singularly firm and steady, resembling that of -a school boy of about fourteen. We shall copy it _literatim_ from the -autograph letter in the possession of Lord Houghton. It is addressed -to Miss Emma George, at Miss Bird's, Pitt street, Edinburgh, and runs -thus:-- - -"Dear Emma.--I am a fraid you will think me negligent in not answering -your kind Letter which I received both. which made me delay write -soonere I was en a visite at Newcastle, and I remain rathere to lon. -and with the acceident happing when I burn your Lette in which been -your derection, when I do so after reading, for alwais afraid of aney -mischiefe at homes, what you know my situation, in which I remain to -this day. and increas dayli more and more unhappy. I have maney things -to tell you and you wish to know about me, but I cannot trust to a -Lettere to disclos, and gave you picture of my precise state of my Life -with extended Field, to make description of my trouble but only I may -say truly. That I find myselfe without friend in a Stranger Country. -Yet from the aspect of flattering appearance. I thought aftere a very -fatiging journey in the begonning of my Life, that no kind of vexation -would distourb my present state of happiness at Durham. Upon which my -mind being grounded, in expectation of all feliesity. But here what to -say of my sorrow with astonishment, when I found overeeting, when I -behod now nothing but betterness of heart, and so heavy a Cloud over my -existance in misery. So I have not on friend, but I have wakeful body -who watch all my motion. So I have my share to be partner with you and -support on othere, when we are left to ourself in a Pilgrimage in which -we are engaged so severely. To be sure I feel the disappointments of -my situation. Yet I have experience that I cannot help thinking that it -was well that Providence had blessed me, to alowd me kindly as litll as -it is: Yet to accomodated Dear Emma according to fortune which God gave -me, which Dear Emma will receive next month your 5_l._ I beg Dear Emma -make your selfe happy and not uneasy if some time I delay in answering -your Lettere. Notwithstanding you most know me now to trust me and -have Confidence in me that I ame not Changable nature, but remain, and -believe me, your sincer affectiont, Joseph Boruwlaski. - - "_Durham 17 March 1828._" - - * * * * * - -This singular being lived to the extraordinary age of ninety-eight; -a great age for an ordinary man, and quite without example in the -history of dwarfs. He died at Bank's Cottage, near Durham, on the 5th -of September, 1837, and his remains were placed near those of Stephen -Kemble, in the Nine Altars of Durham Cathedral. It is stated in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ (October, 1837), that the cottage was the gift -of some of the prebendaries of Durham, who also allowed him a handsome -income. They may have given him the cottage, but the income came, -as Boruwlaski himself informs us, from the Misses Metcalfe. In the -parish church of St. Mary-the-Less is a mural tablet of white stone, -with an inscription erected in memory of the Count, who long resided -in the city, and has, indeed, given his name to a bend in the river, -known as "Count's Corner."--(Walker's _Brief Sketch of Durham_, 4th -edition, 1865.) If the reader attentively considers the story we have -narrated, he will perceive that the Count, although an anomaly in -respect of size, was in all other respects a perfectly formed man, -and is distinguished from most other dwarfs by longevity, paternity, -and intelligence. The anomaly, therefore, could not have been deeply -seated. He was a perfect copy of nature's finest work in duodecimo. -A full-length portrait of him may be seen in the Hunterian Museum, -life-size, leaning against a chair. - -It may be interesting to narrate a few more examples of dwarf life, -from accredited sources. - -M. St. Hilaire relates from the _Philosophical Transactions_, 1751-2, -the case of a dwarf named Hopkins, who, at fifteen years of age, stood -only 2 ft. 7 in., and weighed between 12 and 13 lbs. He had all the -signs of old age. He was bent, deformed, and troubled with a dry cough. -His hearing and sight were bad; his teeth almost all decayed. He was -very thin, and so weak as scarcely to be able to stand. Till the age -of seven he had been gay, healthy, and active; nor at that age did he -show any indications of stopped growth. He was well formed, and weighed -nineteen pounds, _i.e._ six pounds more than he weighed at fifteen. -From that period his health declined, and his body wasted. He came -from healthy parents of ordinary stature, and was the second of six -children, another of whom also was a dwarf. - -Dantlow, the Russian dwarf, was only thirty inches high; he was without -arms, and had only four toes on each foot. With his feet he made -pen-and-ink sketches rivalling etchings; and knitted stockings with -needles made of wood. He fed himself with his left foot; learned with -great facility, and was eager to learn. - -M. Virey describes a German girl, exhibited in Paris in 1816. She was -of parents above the average height, who had previously produced a male -dwarf. At eight years old she weighed no more than an ordinary infant; -her height was eighteen inches. In temper she was gay, restless, and -excitable. Her pulse normally was at ninety-four. - -M. Virey also relates the following example; Thérèse Souvray, was -destined to become the bride of Bébé, to whom she was solemnly -affianced in the year 1761; but death snatched the bridegroom from her, -and as the _fiancée_ of this celebrated man, she was exhibited in Paris -during the year 1821. She was then seventy-three years of age; gay, -healthy, lively, and danced with her sister, two years her senior, and -measuring only three feet and a half, French measure. - -In 1865, there died in Paris the dwarf Richebourg, who was an -historical personage. Richebourg, who was only 60 centimètres high, was -in his sixteenth year placed in the household of the Duchess of Orleans -(the mother of King Louis-Philippe). He was often made useful for the -transmission of dispatches. He was dressed up as a baby, and important -State papers placed in his clothes, and thus he was able to effect a -communication between Paris and the _émigrés_, which could hardly have -taken place by any other means. The most suspicious of _sans culottes_ -never took it into his head to stop a nurse with a baby in her arms. -For the last thirty years he lived in Paris in one of the houses in the -remotest part of the Faubourg St. Germain. He had a morbid dread of -appearing in public, and it is recorded that during this long period -he never put his foot outside the house. He received from the Orleans -family a pension of 3,000 francs per annum. He had attained the ripe -age of ninety-two. - -A writer in _Fraser's Magazine_, August, 1856, from the above and -other examples of dwarfs quoted by him, sets down these few general -conclusions upon the question of their organization:--"In doing so," -he remarks, "it will be well to bear in mind that the very fact of -dwarfs being _anomalies_, renders any generalization respecting them -subject to many qualifications in each particular instance. Thus, -although it is true, as a general fact, that they are short-lived and -unintelligent, we see examples of more than ordinary intelligence in -Boruwlaski and his brother, and Jeffrey Hudson, and of longevity in -them. One may assert, indeed, that longevity and intelligence are -intimately allied in the dwarf organization; for, whenever the anomaly -of growth is not profound enough to affect the health, it is presumably -too superficial to affect the intelligence; and, _vice versâ_, when -we see a being passing rapidly from childhood to old age, we may be -certain that the organization is too aberrant from the normal type to -permit the free development of intelligence. Another general fact about -dwarfs, and one to which we know of no exception, is that they are very -excitable, and consequently, irascible; when in good health, lively, -restless, and turbulent. This, indeed, is a characteristic of men and -animals of the small type." - - - - -The Irish Giant. - - -This extraordinary person, whose height was eight feet seven-and-a-half -inches, was born at Kinsale, in Ireland. His real name was Patrick -Cotter. He was of obscure parentage, and originally laboured as a -bricklayer. His uncommon size rendered him a mark for the cunning of a -showman, who, for the payment of 50_l._ per annum, had the privilege -of exhibiting Cotter for three years in England. Not contented with -his bargain, the huckster underlet to another speculator the liberty -of showing him; and poor Cotter, through resisting this nefarious -transaction, was saddled with a fictitious debt, and thrown into a -spunging-house in Bristol. In this situation he was visited by a -gentleman of the city, who, compassionating his distress, and having -reason to think that he was unjustly detained, generously became -his bail, and investigated the affair; and not only obtained Cotter -his liberty, but freed him from all kind of obligation to serve his -taskmaster any longer. He was then but eighteen years old. He retained, -to his last breath, a due sense of the good offices of the Bristol -stranger, conferred upon him when he was sorely in need; and the giant -did not forget his benefactor in his will. - -It happened to be September when Cotter was liberated; and by the -further assistance of his benefactor, he was enabled to exhibit himself -in the St. James's fair at Bristol; and in three days he found himself -possessed of thirty pounds, English money. He now commenced a regular -exhibition of his person, which he continued until within two years -of his death, when having realized sufficient money to enable him to -keep a carriage, and live in good style, he declined to exhibit any -more, which was always irksome to his feelings. He was unoffending and -amiable in his manners; was possessed of good sense, and his mind was -not uncultivated; he long kept a journal of his life, which a whim -of the moment induced him to commit to the flames. He died in his -forty-sixth year, September 8th, 1806, at the Hotwells, Bristol. He was -buried in the Roman Catholic chapel, Trenchard Street, at six o'clock -in the morning, this early hour being fixed on to prevent as much as -possible the assemblage of a crowd; but it is stated that at least -2,000 persons were present. The coffin, of lead, measured nine feet two -inches in the clear, and the wooden case four inches more; it was three -feet across the shoulders. No hearse could be procured long enough to -contain the coffin, the projecting end of which was draped with black -cloth. Fourteen men bore it from the hearse to the grave, into which -it was let down with pulleys. To prevent any attempt to disturb his -remains, of which Cotter had, when living, the greatest horror, the -grave was made twelve feet deep, in a solid rock. A plaster cast of his -right hand may be seen at the College of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields. - - - - -Birth Extraordinary. - - -On Sunday, the 23rd of October, 1836, occurred an event interesting -to physiologists. The wife of a dwarf, Don Santiago de los Santos -(herself a dwarf), was delivered of a well-formed male infant, at their -residence, No. 167, High Holborn, near Museum Street. The accoucheurs -were Mr. Bowden, of Sloane Street, Chelsea, who had before attended -Donna Santiago on a similar occasion; and Dr. Davis of Savile Row. Both -gentlemen had for some time been very assiduous in their attentions to -the little lady; but the infant, though it came into the world alive, -did not survive above half-an-hour. Its length was thirteen and a half -inches: its weight one pound four ounces and a half (avoirdupois); it -was in every respect well-formed; and the likeness of the face to that -of its father was very striking. It was carried in a coffin to St. -George's Church, Bloomsbury; but being there refused sepulture, it was -taken home, preserved in spirits, and subsequently exhibited. Dr. Davis -was anxious to have it submitted to dissection, and to lecture upon -it in the theatre of University College; this, however, was objected -to by the Lilliputian parents, who appeared poignantly to feel the -proposition. - -Don Santiago, who was only twenty-five inches high, was at this time -in his fiftieth year. He was a native of the Spanish settlement of -Manilla, in one of the forests of which he was exposed and deserted, -on account of his diminutive size. He was, however, miraculously -saved by the Viceroy, who was hunting in that quarter, and humanely -ordered him to be taken care of, and nursed with the same tenderness -as his own children, with whom the little creature was brought up and -educated, until he had attained the age of _manhood_. His birth dated -from the period of his exposure, which was in 1786. His parents, it was -ascertained, were farmers; and were with their other children (sons, -daughters), of robust frame, and rather above the usual height. - -When the Don was twenty years of age, his humane protector died; and -attachment to the place of his birth prevented his accompanying his -foster brother and sisters to Old Spain. This wilfulness cost him -dearly; neglected by his parents and family, he suffered hardships and -privations of the most afflicting nature. At length he found his way to -Madras, and was, in the year 1830, brought to England by the captain of -a trading vessel. During the voyage he was washed overboard by a heavy -sea; but hencoops and spars being thrown out, and other assistance -afforded, his life was saved. - -On his arrival in northern latitudes, he suffered severely from cold, -and even when accustomed to the climate, he could not swallow cold -water. Still, he never went near a fire, although he felt sensibly -if his room was not kept warm. He was stoutly built, and generally -in cheerful spirits and good health. His complexion was of a slight -copper colour, and the expression of his countenance was pleasing and -intelligent. His habits were temperate, and he seldom drank anything -but warm water; but on birthdays and other anniversaries, he indulged -in a few glasses of wine. He was fond of music and dancing, and gallant -to the ladies; but his ruling passion appeared to be a fondness for -jewellery and silver-plate, to which ornaments he had been accustomed -in the house and at the table of the Viceroy of Manilla. His mind -appeared to be deeply impressed with the tenets of the Roman Catholic -church, in which his foster-father took care to have him instructed. -He read his prayer-book and psalter morning and evening, very devoutly -crossing himself, and performing his genuflexions and the other -ceremonies inculcated by the teachers of that faith. Once or twice a -month, he went to the Spanish Ambassador's chapel, where, secluded -from observation, he worshipped with the sincerity and devotion of a -good Catholic. Besides his native tongue, he spoke an Indian _patois_, -conversed freely in Portuguese, and in English indifferently well. - -He became acquainted with his little wife in Birmingham, of which town -she was a native. Her name was Ann Hopkins; her height was thirty-eight -inches, or thirteen inches taller than her dwarf spouse. She was -thirty-one years of age, and was a pretty little creature possessing -much symmetry and grace. Her father stood six feet one inch and a half -out of his shoes; her mother was of middle size, and her brothers and -sisters, nine in number, were all tall and robust. The little Don and -Donna lived together very affectionately, their attachment having been -mutual and at first sight; their only difference of opinion being, that -she being of the Protestant faith, they did not worship together. They -were married on the 6th of July, 1834, in the Roman Catholic chapel at -Birmingham; and two days after, at St. Martin's church, in the same -town, by the Rev. Mr. Foy; the high bailiff giving away the bride. The -crowd of spectators was so great that the assistance of the police was -necessary to secure the ingress and egress of the little couple into -and out of the church. Much uneasiness was caused to the bridegroom by -the refusal of one clergyman to ratify his marriage in the Protestant -church, on the supposition that it was contrary to the canon law; but -this difficulty was ultimately arranged.--_Abridged from the Morning -Advertiser._ - - - - -William Hutton's "Strong Woman." - - -William Hutton, the Birmingham manufacturer, was accustomed to take a -month's tour every summer, and to note down his observations on places -and people. Some of the results appeared in distinct books, some in -his autobiography, and some in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, towards the -close of the last century and the beginning of the present. One year -he would be accompanied by his father, a tough old man, who was not -frightened at a twenty-mile walk; another year he would go alone; while -on one occasion his daughter went with him, she riding on horseback, -and he trudging on foot by her side. Various parts of England and Wales -were thus visited, at a time when tourists' facilities were slender -indeed. It appears from his lists of distances that he could "do" -fifteen or twenty miles a day for weeks together; although his mode of -examining places led to a much slower rate of progress. - -One of the odd characters which Hutton met with at Matlock, in -Derbyshire, in July 1801, is worth describing in his own words. After -noticing the rocks and caves at that town, he said, "The greatest -wonder I saw was Miss Phoebe Bown, in person five feet six, about -thirty, well-proportioned, round-faced and ruddy; a dark penetrating -eye, which, the moment it fixes upon your face, stamps your character, -and that with precision. Her step (pardon the Irishism) is more manly -than a man's, and can easily cover forty miles a day. Her common dress -is a man's hat, coat with a spencer about it, and men's shoes; I -believe she is a stranger to breeches. She can lift one hundred-weight -with each hand, and carry fourteen score. Can sew, knit, cook, and -spin, but hates them all, and every accompaniment to the female -character, except that of modesty. A gentleman at the New Bath recently -treated her so rudely, that 'she had a good mind to have knocked him -down.' She positively assured me she did not know what fear is. She -never gives an affront, but will offer to fight anyone who gives her -one. If she has not fought, perhaps it is owing to the insulter being -a coward, for none else would _give_ an affront [to a woman]. She has -strong sense, an excellent judgment, says smart things, and supports -an easy freedom in all companies. Her voice is more than masculine, -it is deep toned; the wind in her face, she can send it a mile; has -no beard; accepts any kind of manual labour, as holding the plough, -driving the team, thatching the ricks, &c. But her chief avocation is -breaking in horses, at a guinea a week! always rides without a saddle; -and is supposed the best judge of a horse, cow, &c., in the country; -and is frequently requested to purchase for others at the neighbouring -fairs. She is fond of Milton, Pope, Shakespeare, also of music; is -self-taught; performs on several instruments, as the flute, violin, -harpsichord, and supports the bass-viol in Matlock church. She is an -excellent markswoman, and, like her brother-sportsmen, carries her gun -upon her shoulder. She eats no beef or pork, and but little mutton: -her chief food is milk, and also her drink--discarding wine, ale, and -spirits."--_From the Book of Days._ - - - - -Wildman and His Bees. - - -In Winchester Place, now Pentonville Road, near to the south-east -corner of Penton Street, stood "Prospect House," so called from the -fine view which it commanded over London and the circumjacent country. -In the British Museum is a fine pen-and-ink drawing of a view of London -from Pentonville, by Antonio Canaletti; and we find "Prospect House" -in the rate-books in 1669; there were bowling-greens attached to it -"for gentleman bowlers." Subsequently the house was named from its -proprietor, and became popularly known as Dobney's, or D'Aubigny's. -Mrs. Dobney, who kept the house for many years, died in 1760, at the -age of eighty-six. It then passed to a new proprietor, a Mr. Johnson, -who built on the bowling-green, which was near the corner of Penton -Street, an amphitheatre for equestrian performances, _al fresco_, and -engaged one Price, who had been starring at the Three Hats, a rival -house close by, to exhibit his original feats of horsemanship. In 1769, -the house was the scene of Philip Jonas's exhibition of "dexterity of -hands;" and about this time was shown here the skeleton of a whale -sixty feet long. In 1770, the house was taken for a boarding school, -but was soon closed. It was then re-opened as the Jubilee Tea Gardens -(from the Jubilee got up at Stratford-upon-Avon, by Garrick, in honour -of Shakespeare); the interiors of the boxes were painted with scenes -from some of his plays. - -In 1772, the celebrated Daniel Wildman exhibited here his bees every -evening (wet evenings excepted). He made several new and amazing -experiments; he rode standing upright, one foot on the saddle, and the -other on the horse's neck, with a curious _mask of bees_ on his head -and face. He also rode standing upright on the saddle with the bridle -in his mouth, and by firing a pistol, made one part of the bees march -over a table, and the other part swarm in the air and return to their -proper hive again. Wildman's performances of the "Bees on Horseback" -were also thus described:-- - - He with uncommon art and matchless skill - Commands those insects, who obey his will; - With bees others cruel means employ, - They take their honey and the bees destroy; - Wildman humanely, with ingenious ease, - He takes the honey, but preserves the bees. - -Wildman also sold bees from one stock in "the common or newly-invented -hives." He published a "Guide for Bee Management" at his Bee and -Honey Warehouse, No. 326, Holborn. In 1774, the gardens were much -neglected, the walks not being kept in order, nor the hedges properly -cut; but there were several good apartments in the house, besides -handsome tea-rooms; but the ground was cleared about 1790, and the -present handsome dwelling-houses in Winchester Place were built upon -part of the site. The gardens, though much shorn of their beauty and -attractiveness, continued in existence until the year 1810, when they -disappeared; and the only memorial that remains on the site of this -once famed place of amusement, is a mean court in Penton Street, known -as Dobney's Court. Mr. Upcott, of the London Institution, had in his -collection a drawing of Prospect House, taken about 1780.--_Pinks' -History of Clerkenwell._ - - - - -Lord Stowell's love of Sight-seeing. - - -Lord Stowell loved manly sports, and was not above being pleased -with the most rude and simple diversions. He gloried in Punch and -Judy--their fun stirred his mirth without, as in Goldsmith's case, -provoking spleen. He made a boast on one occasion that there was not a -puppet-show in London he had not visited, and when turned fourscore, -was caught watching one at a distance with children of less growth in -high glee. He has been known to make a party with Windham to visit -Cribb's, and to have attended the Fives Court as a favourite resort. -"There were curious characters," he observed, "to be seen at these -places." He was the most indefatigable sight-seer in London. Whatever -show could be visited for a shilling, or less, was visited by Lord -Stowell. In the western end of London there was a room generally let -for exhibitions. At the entrance, as it is said, Lord Stowell presented -himself, eager to see "the green monster serpent," which had lately -issued cards of invitation to the public. As he was pulling out his -purse to pay for his admission, a sharp but honest north-country lad, -whose business it was to take the money, recognised him as an old -customer, and knowing his name, thus addressed him: "We can't take -your shilling, my lord; 'tis the old serpent which you have seen twice -before in other colours; but ye shall go in and see her." He entered, -saved his money, and enjoyed his third visit to the painted beauty. -This love of seeing sights was, on another occasion, productive of the -following whimsical incident. Some thirty years ago, an animal, called -a "Bonassus," was exhibited in the Strand. On Lord Stowell's paying -it a second visit, the keeper very courteously told his lordship that -he was welcome to come, gratuitously, as often as he pleased. Within -a day or two after this, however, there appeared, under the bills of -the exhibition, in conspicuous characters, "Under the patronage of -the Right Hon. Lord Stowell;" an announcement of which the noble and -learned lord's friends availed themselves, by passing many a joke upon -him; all of which he took with the greatest good humour. - -Lord Stowell was a great eater, and, says Mr. Surtees, "the feats -which he performed with the knife and fork were eclipsed by those -which he would afterwards display with the bottle." His habits were -slovenly and unclean. "The hand that could pen the neatest of periods -was itself often dirty and unwashed; and the mouth which could utter -eloquence so graceful, or such playful wit, fed voraciously, and -selected the most greasy food." Then again, he was an unquestionable -miser. He kept a very mean establishment. Fond as he was of his wine, -he would drink less at his own than at other tables. "He could drink -any _given_ quantity," as was wittily observed by his brother, Lord -Eldon, but was abstemious where he had to pay. The most painful fact -that remains to be recorded respecting him is, that when his only son -William had formed an attachment that was unexceptionable, he, though -it may be said he rolled in riches, would not make him a sufficient -allowance to enable him to marry. It has been stated that his son died -from the effects of intemperate habits; and it must be added, that but -for this disappointment the young man might have lived. In despair he -plunged into excesses. His father just survived him, and his great -wealth was gathered up by collaterals. Perhaps his fondness of poking -about London, visiting cheap shows, was connected more with his avarice -than with his curiosity. After his elevation to the peerage, he was -actually seen coming out of a penny show in London--cheap excitement! -Like Lord Eldon, though a great friend of the church, he never attended -public worship. What had been said of his brother might have been -said of him, that he was more properly a buttress of the church than -a pillar, for he was never seen inside it. At the same time, there is -no reason to doubt that he was a good Christian; probably, like many -other University men, he had a surfeit of chapels when at college, and -shuddered at the thought of again entering one. With all his failings, -and notwithstanding his avarice, which increased with his years, Lord -Stowell must be regarded as having been, after a peculiar sort, a -kindly, amiable man. - - - - -John Day and Fairlop Fair. - - -In the Forest of Hainault, in Essex, about a mile from Barking side, -stood the famous Fairlop Oak, which the tradition of the country traces -half-way up the Christian era. This forest possesses more beautiful -scenery than, perhaps, any other forest in England. Fifty years since -the oak was still a noble tree. About a yard from the ground, where -its bole was thirty-six feet in circumference, it spread into eleven -vast arms, yet not in the manner of an oak, but rather in that of a -beech, its shade overspreading an area of 300 feet in circuit. Around -this fine old tree, eighty years since, archery meetings were held by -the gentry of the district, with picnics in tents, bands of music, -&c.; and then, to protect the old oak, it was enclosed with a spiked -paling, inscribed as follows: "All good foresters are requested not -to hurt this old tree, as a plaister has been put to its wounds." -The extremities of its branches had been sawn off, and Forsyth's -composition applied to them, to preserve them from decay. - -But the tree has a more popular history. Upon a small estate, near -the oak, in the last century, there dwelt one John Day, a well-to-do -block and pump maker, of Wapping, who used to repair annually, on the -first Friday in July, to the forest, and there meet a party of his -neighbours, and dine under the shade of the famous oak, on _beans -and bacon_. In the course of a few years, Day's rural feast induced -other parties to follow his homely example, and suttling booths were -erected for their accommodation. In addition to the entertainment given -to his friends, Mr. Day never failed, on the day of the feast, to -provide several sacks of beans, with a proportionate quantity of bacon, -which he distributed from the trunk of the tree to the persons there -assembled. About the year 1723, the scene on the first Friday in July -exhibited the appearance of a _regular fair_, such as John Gay, in one -of his _Pastorals_, almost contemporaneously describes in these lines:-- - - Pedlars' stalls with glitt'ring toys are laid, - The various fairings of the country maid: - Long silken laces hang upon the twine, - And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine. - Here the tight lass, knives, combs, and scissors spies, - And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes. - The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells - His pills, his balsams, and his ague spells. - Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs, - And on the rope the vent'rous maiden swings; - Jack-Pudding, in his parti-coloured jacket, - Tosses the glove and jokes at every packet; - Here raree-shows are seen, and Punch's feats, - And pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats. - -For several years before the death of the generous founder of this -fair and public bean-feast, the pump and block makers of Wapping went -annually to the fair in the forest, seated in a boat of one entire -piece of fir, covered with an awning, mounted on a coach-carriage, -and drawn by six horses; attended with flags and streamers, a band of -music, and a great number of persons on foot and horseback. The number -of carriages was then increased to three, two of them being rigged as -ships. At six o'clock precisely they all paraded round the oak, singing -a glee composed for the occasion; after which the holiday-keepers -returned to town. - -A few years before Mr. Day's death, the Fairlop Oak lost a large limb, -out of which he had a coffin made for his own interment. He died on the -19th of October, 1767, at the age of eighty-four. His remains, pursuant -to his own request, were conveyed to Barking by water, attended by -six journeymen pump and block makers, to each of whom he bequeathed a -new leather apron and a guinea. There is a memorial of him in Barking -churchyard. - -The fair long survived the patriarchal pump-maker, good John Day, -as did also the oak. It was enclosed, as we have stated, at the -commencement of the present century. But, notwithstanding the appeal to -the "good foresters," and the respect due to the veteran of the forest, -the rabble broke down the palings and lit their fires within the trunk -in the cavities formed by the roots, and several of the limbs were -broken off. The space within the trunk may be estimated by the evidence -of a resident in the neighbourhood. "When a boy," he writes, "I have -driven in a hot day from out of the hollow three or four horses, and -sometimes four or five cows." But the tree received the greatest -injury on the 25th of June, 1805, when a party of sixty persons, who -came from London to play at cricket, &c., kindled a fire, which, after -they had left, spread very considerably, and caught the tree. It was -not discovered for two hours, and though a number of persons brought -water to extinguish it, yet the main branch on the south side and part -of the trunk were consumed. Fifteen years later, the high winds of -February 1820, brought the massive trunk and limbs to the turf which -the tree had for so many ages overshadowed with its verdant foliage. -Its wood was very much prized; a pulpit was made of it for Wanstead -Church; the rest of the timber of the Fairlop Oak was purchased by Mr. -Seabrook, the builder, who formed with it the very handsome pulpit and -reading-desk for the church of St. Pancras, in the New Road, then in -course of erection. - -The fair was still continued, though the loss of the oak and the -assemblage of booths and shows, and theatrical exhibitions, which -bordered the area in the forest, destroyed the simplicity that was -originally intended to be preserved by the founder. As the fair was -held on Friday, it became a great point to extend it to Sunday, when -shoals of visitors came; and, though the shows were interdicted, -the refreshment resorts grew to such licence as it became necessary -to curb. Of the fair of 1843, we have a special remembrance. The -block-makers, sail-makers, and mast-makers, as usual, came to "gay -Fairlop," in their amphibious frigates, gaily decorated and mounted -on carriages, each drawn by six horses; and the wives of the men in -their holiday gear followed in open landaus. But the Essex magistrates -had now by notice restricted the fair to _one day_. The booths and -shows were less numerous than on former occasions, but the gipsies were -in great numbers; the knights of the pea and thimble were vigilantly -routed by the police. The Lea Bridge and Ilford roads were crowded -with horses and vehicles; and many persons went by railway to Ilford, -and thence to the forest. But there came a heavy July rain to spoil -the sport, and the fair grew flat. The booths and shows could not be -removed till Monday, but nothing was allowed to be sold after Friday, -and the exhibitions were closed. Nevertheless, the Sunday visitors came -in thousands. - -By these curtailments, Fairlop Fair was gradually brought to an end, -though not until it had existed for a century and a quarter. - - - - -A Princely Hoax. - - -In the autumn of 1785, when the Prince of Wales was at Brighton, he was -much in the company of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrell; of whom and the Prince, -Lady Llanover, in her _Memoirs of Mrs. Delany_, relates the following -piquant story, which she received from a gentleman, as well as from -Miss Burney, who had it from Lady Rothes, Sir Lucas Pepys' wife.[32] -It happened one afternoon that Mrs. Lawrell alone was of a party with -the Prince of Wales, Lady Beauchamp, and some other fine people. Mrs. -Lawrell, like a good wife, about nine o'clock, said she must go home -to her husband. The Prince said, he and the party would come and sup -with them; the lady received the gracious intimation with all the -respect that became her, and hastened home to acquaint her husband and -make preparation. Whether Mr. Lawrell was more or less sensible of -the honour that was designed him than his wife, I don't know, but he -said he should not come if he could help it, and if he did come, he -should have nothing to eat. It was in vain Mrs. Lawrell remonstrated; -he continued inflexible, and she had nothing for it but to put him to -bed, and write a note to Lady Beauchamp, informing her Mr. Lawrell was -taken suddenly ill, and begging she would entertain the Prince in her -stead. Between one and two o'clock in the morning, when the company -were pretty merry, the Prince, whether he guessed at the reason or was -concerned for the indisposition of his friend, said it was a pity poor -Lawrell should die for want of help, and they immediately set about -writing notes to all the physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries they -could think of in the place, informing them as from Mr. L. that he -was taken suddenly ill, and begged their immediate assistance; these -notes very soon set the medical body in motion towards Mr. L.'s doors; -a few of the _most alert apothecaries_ came first, but they were got -rid of by the servants, who assured them it was a mistake, that their -master and mistress were well and asleep, and that they did not care -to wake them. Soon after came Sir Lucas Pepys, who declaring that -"_nobody would presume to impose upon a person of his character_," -insisted on seeing Mr. L., and was pressing by the maid towards his -bedchamber; she was then forced to waken her mistress, and Mr. L. being -very drowsy and disinclined to rise, his lady was obliged to appear -in great deshabille, and with the _utmost difficulty_, persuaded Sir -Lucas he _was_ imposed upon, and prevailed with him to retire. During -their dispute the staircase _was filled_ with the rest of the faculty -arriving in shoals. - -[32] Sir Lucas Pepys was physician in ordinary to the King, and -seven years President of the College of Physicians. He had a seat at -Mickleham, in Surrey. One day, at Dorking, he inquired at a druggist's -what all his varieties of drugs were for. "To prepare prescriptions," -was the reply. "Why," said Sir Lucas, "I never used but three or four -articles in all my practice." - -[Illustration: The Prince Regent.] - - - - -Sir John Waters's Escape. - - -This distinguished man, in the Peninsular War, was the most admirable -spy ever attached to an army. He would assume the character of -Spaniards of every degree and station, so as to deceive the most acute. -He gave the most reliable and valuable information to Lord Wellington, -and on one occasion he was entrusted by his Lordship with a very -particular mission, which he undertook effectually to perform, and to -return on a particular day with the information required. Just after -leaving the camp, however, he was taken prisoner, before he had time -to exchange his uniform: a troop of dragoons intercepted him, and -carried him off; and the commanding officers desired two soldiers to -keep a strict watch over him and carry him to head-quarters. He was, of -course, disarmed, and being placed on a horse, was galloped off by his -guards. He slept one night in the kitchen of a small inn; conversation -flowed on very glibly, and as he appeared a stupid Englishman, who -could not understand a word of French or of Spanish, he was allowed -to listen, and thus obtained precisely the intelligence he was in -search of. The following morning, being again mounted, he overheard a -conversation between his guards, who deliberately agreed to rob him, -and shoot him at a mill where they were to stop, and to report to their -officer that they had been compelled to fire at him in consequence of -his attempt to escape. - -Shortly before their arrival at the mill, the dragoons took from their -prisoner his watch and his purse, lest they might meet with some one -who would insist on having a portion of the spoil. On reaching the -mill, they dismounted, and to give appearance of truth to their story, -they went into the house, leaving their prisoner outside, in the hope -that he would make some attempt to escape. In an instant, Waters threw -his cloak upon a neighbouring olive-bush, and mounted his cocked hat on -the top. Some empty flour sacks lay upon the ground, and a horse laden -with well-filled flour-sacks stood at the door. Sir John contrived to -enter one of the empty sacks, and throw himself across the horse. When -the soldiers came out of the house, they fired their carbines at the -supposed prisoner, and galloped off. - -A short time after, the miller came out, and mounted his steed. Waters -contrived to rid himself of the encumbrance of the sack, and sat up -behind the man, who, suddenly turning round, saw a ghost, as he -believed, for the flour that still remained in the sack had whitened -his fellow-traveller and given him a ghostly appearance. A push sent -the frightened miller to the ground, when away rode Waters with his -sacks of flour, which at length bursting, made a ludicrous spectacle of -man and horse. - -On reaching the English camp, where Lord Wellington was anxiously -deploring his fate, a sudden shout from the soldiers made his lordship -turn round, when a figure resembling the statue in _Don Juan_, galloped -up to him. Wellington, affectionately shaking him by the hand, said, -"Waters, you never yet deceived me; and though you have come in a most -questionable shape, I must congratulate you and myself." This is one of -the many capital stories in Captain Gronow's First Series of Anecdotes. - - - - -Colonel Mackinnon's Practical Joking. - - -Colonel Mackinnon, commonly called "Dan," was famous for practical -jokes. Before landing at St. Andero's, with some other officers who had -been on leave in England, he agreed to personate the Duke of York, and -make the Spaniards believe that his Royal Highness was amongst them. -On nearing the shore, a Royal standard was hoisted at the masthead, -and Mackinnon disembarked, wearing the star of his shako on his left -breast, and accompanied by his friends, who agreed to play the part of -_aides-de-camp_ to royalty. The Spanish authorities were soon informed -of the arrival of the Royal Commander-in-Chief of the British army; so -they received Mackinnon with the usual pomp and circumstance. The Mayor -of the place, in honour of the arrival, gave a grand banquet, which -terminated with the appearance of a huge bowl of punch, whereupon Dan, -thinking that the joke had gone far enough, suddenly dived his head -into the china bowl, and threw his heels into the air. The surprise -and indignation of the solemn Spaniards was such that they made a -most intemperate report of the hoax that had been played on them to -Lord Wellington. Dan, however, was ultimately forgiven, after a severe -reprimand. - -Another of his freaks was the following:--Lord Wellington was -curious about visiting a convent near Lisbon, and the Abbess made no -difficulty. Mackinnon, hearing this, contrived to get clandestinely -within the walls, and it was generally supposed it was neither his -first nor his second visit. When Lord Wellington arrived, Dan Mackinnon -was to be seen among the nuns, draped in their sacred costume, with his -head and whiskers shaved, and as he possessed good features, he was -declared to be one of the best-looking among those chaste dames. This -adventure is supposed to have been known to Lord Byron, and to have -suggested a similar episode in _Don Juan_, the scene being laid in the -East.--_Captain Gronow._ - - - - -A Gourmand Physician. - - -Dr. George Fordyce, the anatomist and chemical lecturer, was accustomed -to dine every day, for more than twenty years, at Dolly's chop-house, -in Queen's Head Passage, Paternoster Row. His researches in comparative -anatomy had led him to conclude that man, through custom, eats oftener -than nature requires, one meal a day being sufficient for that noble -animal, the lion. He made the experiment on himself at his favourite -dining-house, and, finding it successful, he continued the following -regimen for the above term of years. - -At four o'clock, his accustomed dinner hour, he entered Dolly's -chop-house, and took his seat at a table always reserved for him, -on which were instantly placed a silver tankard full of strong ale, -a bottle of port-wine, and a measure containing a quarter of a pint -of brandy. The moment the waiter announced him, the cook put a -pound-and-a-half of rump-steak on the gridiron; and on the table some -delicate trifle, as a _bonne bouche_, to serve until the steak was -ready. This delicacy was sometimes half a broiled chicken, sometimes a -plate of fish; when he had eaten this, he took a glass of his brandy, -and then proceeded to devour his steak. We say devour, because he -always ate as rapidly as if eating for a wager. When he had finished -his meat, he took the remainder of his brandy, having, during his -dinner, drunk the tankard of ale, and afterwards the bottle of port. - -The Doctor then adjourned to the Chapter Coffee-house, in Paternoster -Row, and stayed while he sipped a glass of brandy and water. It was -then his habit to take another at the London Coffee-house, and a third -at the Oxford, after which he returned to his house in Essex Street, to -give his lecture on chemistry. He made no other meal till his return -next day, at four o'clock, to Dolly's. - -Dr. Fordyce's intemperate habits sometimes placed his reputation, as -well as the lives of his patients, in jeopardy. One evening he was -called away from a drinking-bout, to see a lady of title, who was -supposed to have been taken suddenly ill. Arrived at the apartment of -his patient, the Doctor seated himself by her side, and having listened -to the recital of a train of symptoms, which appeared rather anomalous, -he next proceeded to examine the state of her pulse. He tried to reckon -the number of its beats; the more he endeavoured to do this, the more -his brain whirled, and the less was his self-control. Conscious of the -cause of his difficulty and in a moment of irritation, he inadvertently -blurted out, "Drunk, by Jove!" The lady heard the remark, but remained -silent; and the Doctor having prescribed a mild remedy, one which he -invariably took on such occasions, he shortly afterwards departed. - -At an early hour next morning he was roused by a somewhat imperative -message from his patient of the previous evening, to attend her -immediately; and he at once concluded that the object of this summons -was either to inveigh against him for the state in which he had -visited her on the former occasion, or perhaps for having administered -too potent a medicine. Ill at ease from these reflections, he entered -the lady's room, fully prepared for a severe reprimand. The patient, -however, began by thanking him for his immediate attention, and then -proceeded to say how much she had been struck by his discernment on the -previous evening; confessed that she was occasionally addicted to the -error which he had detected; and concluded by saying that her object -in sending for him so early was to obtain a promise that he would hold -inviolably secret the condition in which he found her. "You may depend -upon me, madam," replied Dr. Fordyce, with a countenance which had not -altered since the commencement of the patient's story; "I shall be -silent as the grave." - -This story has also been told of Abernethy; but to Dr. Fordyce belongs -the paternity. - - - - -Dick England, the Gambler. - - -Towards the close of the last century among the most noted gamblers -and blacklegs in the metropolis was Dick England, one of whose haunts -was the Golden Cross, Charing Cross, where he was accustomed to look -out for raw Irishmen coming to town by the coaches, whom he almost -invariably plucked. His success soon enabled him to keep an elegant -house in St. Alban's Street, where he engaged masters to teach him -accomplishments to fit him for polite life. In 1779 and 1783, he kept -a good table, sported his _vis-à-vis_, and was remarkably choice in -the hackneys he rode, giving eighty or ninety guineas for a horse, a -sum nearly equal to two hundred guineas in the present day. Another -of his haunts was Munday's Coffee-house in Maiden Lane, where he -generally presided at a _table d'hôte_, and by his finesse and -agreeable conversation won him many friends. Being at times the hero of -his own story, he unguardedly exposed some of his own characteristic -traits, which his self-possession generally enabled him to conceal. His -conduct among men of family was, however, generally guarded; and he was -resolute in enforcing payment of the sums he won. - -One evening he met a young tradesman at a house in Leicester Fields to -have an hour's play, for which he gave a banker's draft, but requested -to have his revenge in a few more throws, when he soon regained what -he had lost and as much in addition. It now being past three in the -morning, England proposed that they should retire; but the tradesman, -suspecting himself tricked, refused payment of what he had lost. -England then tripped up his heels, rolled him in the carpet, took -a case-knife from the sideboard, flourished it over the young man, -and at last cut off his long hair close to the scalp. Dreading worse -treatment, he gave a cheque for the amount and wished England good -morning. - -England fought a duel at Cranford Bridge in 1784, with Mr. Le Roule, a -brewer, from Kingston: from him England had won a large sum, for which -a bond had been given, and which, not being paid, led to the duel, in -which Le Roule was killed. England fled to Paris and was outlawed; -it is reported that early in the Revolution he furnished some useful -intelligence to our army in the campaign in Flanders, for which he was -remunerated by the British Cabinet. While in France he was several -times imprisoned, and once ordered to the guillotine, but pardoned -through the exertion and influence of one of the Convention, who also -procured for him a passport for home. After an absence of twelve years, -he was tried for the duel, found guilty of manslaughter, fined one -shilling, and sentenced to one year's imprisonment. Subsequent to his -release he passed the remainder of his life at his house in Leicester -Square, where he lived to the age of eighty. His end was an awful one: -on being called to dinner, he was found lying dead on his sofa. - - - - -Brighton Races, Thirty Years Since. - - -Brighton Races, like most other Brighton amusements, took their rise -from the patronage of George IV. Those of Lewes were of earlier origin -and greater pretension, until the Prince began to run his horses and -lose his money on the Brighton course, which then attracted some of the -best horses and some of the most celebrated sportsmen in the kingdom. -Of the races at this period the following sketch is given by Mr. Thomas -Raikes, in his _Diary_:-- - -"1836.--Last week died Lord George Germaine, brother to the Duke of -Dorset; they were both in their youth great friends to the late King, -when Prince of Wales, fond of the turf, and, with the late Delme -Radcliffe, the three best gentlemen riders at the once-famed Bibury -Races, which are now replaced by those at Heaton Park. They were all -three little men, light weights, and, when dressed in their jackets -and caps, would rival Buckle and Chiffney. In those days, the Prince -made Brighton and Lewes Races the gayest scene of the year in England. -The Pavilion was full of guests; the Steine was crowded with all -the rank and fashion from London during that week; the best horses -were brought from Newmarket and the North, to run at these races, -on which immense sums were depending; and the course was graced by -the handsomest equipages. The 'legs' and betters, who had arrived in -shoals, used all to assemble on the Steine at an early hour to commence -their operations on the first day, and the buzz was tremendous, till -Lord Foley and Mellish, the two great confederates of that day, would -approach the ring, and then a sudden silence ensued; to await the -opening of their betting-books. They would come on perhaps smiling, but -mysterious, without making any demonstration; at last, Mr. Jerry Cloves -would say, 'Come, Mr. Mellish, will you light the candle, and set us -a-going?' Then, if the master of Buckle would say, 'I'll take three to -one about Sir Solomon,' the whole pack opened, and the air resounded -with every shade of odds and betting. About half-an-hour before the -signal of departure for the hill, the Prince himself would make his -appearance in the crowd--I think I see him now, in a green jacket, a -white hat, and tight nankeen pantaloons, and shoes, distinguished by -his high-bred manner and handsome person; he was generally accompanied -by the late Duke of Bedford, Lord Jersey, Charles Wyndham, Shelley, -Brummel, M. Day, Churchill, and, oh! extraordinary anomaly, the little -old Jew Travis, who, like the dwarf of old, followed in the train of -royalty. The Downs were covered with every species of conveyance, -and the Prince's German wagon (so were barouches called when first -introduced at that time) and six bay horses, the coachman on the -box being replaced by Sir John Lade, issued out of the gates of the -Pavilion, and, gliding up the green ascent, was stationed close to the -great stand, where it remained the centre of attraction for the day. At -dinner-time the Pavilion was resplendent with lights, and a sumptuous -banquet was served to a large party; while those who were not included -in that invitation found a dinner with every luxury at the Club-house -on the Steine, kept by Ragget during the season, for the different -members of White's and Brookes's who chose to frequent it, and where -the cards and dice from St. James's Street were not forgotten. Where -are the actors in all those gay scenes now?" - -The period to which this lively sketch refers was from 1800 to 1820. -Soon after this, George the Fourth began to live a more secluded life, -and though his horses ran at Brighton Races, the King never made his -appearance there, and the _meet_ began to decline. - - - - -[Illustration: A Hero of the Turf and his Agent. - -Colonel Mellish and Buckle the Jockey.] - - - - -Colonel Mellish. - - -The star of the race-course of modern times was the late Colonel -Mellish, certainly the cleverest man of his day, as regards the -science and practice of the turf. No one could match (_i.e._, make -matches) with him, nor could anyone excel him in handicapping horses -in a race. But, indeed, _nihil erat quod non tetigit non ornavit_. He -beat Lord Frederick Bentinck in a foot-race over Newmarket Heath. He -was a clever painter, a fine horseman, a brave soldier, a scientific -farmer, and an exquisite coachman. But--as his friends said of him--not -content with being the _second-best_ man of his day, he would be the -_first_, which was fatal to his fortune and his fame. It, however, -delighted us to see him in public, in the meridian of his almost -unequalled popularity, and the impression he made upon us remains. We -remember even the style of his dress, peculiar for its lightness of -hue--his neat white hat, white trousers, white silk stockings, ay, -and we may add, his white but handsome face. There was nothing black -about him but his hair and his mustachios, which he wore by virtue of -his commission, and which to _him_ were an ornament. The like of his -style of coming on the race-course at Newmarket was never witnessed -there before him nor since. He drove his barouche himself, drawn by -four beautiful _white_ horses, with two outriders on matches to them, -ridden in harness bridles. In his rear was a saddle-horse groom, -leading a thorough-bred hack, and at the rubbing-post on the heath was -another groom--all in crimson liveries--waiting with a second hack. -But we marvel when we think of his establishment. We remember him with -thirty-eight race-horses in training, seventeen coach-horses, twelve -hunters in Leicestershire, four chargers at Brighton, and not a few -hacks! But the worst is yet to come. By his racing speculations he was -a gainer, his judgment pulling him through; but when we heard that he -would play to the extent of 40,000_l._ at a sitting--yes, _he once -staked that sum on a throw_--we were not surprised that the domain of -Blythe passed into other hands; and that the once accomplished owner of -it became the tenant of a premature grave. "The bowl of pleasure," says -Johnson, "is poisoned by reflection on the cost," and here it was drunk -to the dregs. Colonel Mellish ended his days, not in poverty, for he -acquired a competency with his lady, but in a small house within sight -of the mansion that had been the pride of his ancestors and himself. -As, however, the wind is tempered to the shorn lamb, Colonel Mellish -was not without consolation. He never wronged anyone but himself; and, -as an owner of race-horses, and a bettor, his character was without -spot.--_Nimrod._ - - - - -Doncaster Eccentrics. - - -Among the visitors to Doncaster race-course are many of the lower -grade, some of whom have contrived to get hanged. Such was the case -some half-century since with Daniel Dawson, who employed himself, or -was employed by others, in poisoning with arsenic the drinking-water -of horses whose success in the future race was not desirable to Daniel -or his patrons. Several steeds perished in this way at the hands of -Daniel, in the north as well as at Newmarket. Ultimately a case from -the latter locality was proved against him, through the treachery of -a confederate, and Daniel suffered for it at Cambridge. Had he been a -martyr in a good cause, he could not have died with more becomingness. -Daniel complained of no one, did not even reproach himself; and -expressed his satisfactory conviction that he "should certainly -ascend to Heaven from the drop." Brutal as his offence was, it seems -ill-measured justice that takes a man's life for that of a beast. - -Dawson is beyond our own recollection; but we can remember a more -singular and a much more honest fellow, whose appearance on the -Doncaster course was as confidently looked for, and as ardently -desired, as that of any of the Lords Lieutenant of the various Ridings. -We allude to the once famous Jemmy Hirst, the Rawcliffe tanner, whose -last of about fifty visits to the "Sillinger" and "Coop" contests was -made when he was hard upon ninety years of age. When Jemmy retired -from the tanning business with means to set up as a gentleman, the -first object he purchased was not a carriage, but a coffin, depositing -therein some of the means whereby he kept himself alive, namely, his -provisions. The walls of the room in which this lugubrious sideboard -was erected were hung round with all sorts of rusty agricultural -implements. This lord of a strange household retained a valet and a -female "general servant." His stud consisted of mules, dogs, and a -bull; mounted on which he is said to have hunted with the Badsworth -hounds. His most familiar friends were a tame fox and otter. He -certainly rode the bull when he went out shooting, and was then -accompanied by pigs as pointers. In fair-time Hirst used to take -this bull and a couple of its fellows to be baited, sitting proudly -by himself while his valet went about collecting the "coppers." His -waistcoat was a glossy garment made of the neck feathers of the drake, -from the pocket of which he would issue his own bank-notes, bearing -responsibilities of payment to the amount of "_Five half-pence_." - -His carriage was a sort of palanquin, carried aloft by high wheels, -and its peculiarity was that there was not a nail about it. This -vehicle was really better known at Doncaster than the stately carriage -of Lord Fitzwilliam himself. It was the boast of the proud and dirty -gentleman who sat enthroned there, that he had never paid and never -would pay any sort of tax to the King; and how he managed to shoot, as -he did, without paying a licence, was best known to himself. He was -the most popular man on the course, and, unlike very many who began -rich and ended poor, Jemmy increased in wealth year by year. He was -wont to contrast himself with "the Prince's friend," Col. Mellish, -who inherited an immense property, won two Legers in two consecutive -years, 1804-5, and finally died almost a pauper. Jemmy had undoubtedly, -in his view of things, done better than Col. Mellish; but the tanner, -through life, never thought of the welfare but of one human being--that -of James Hirst. He was as selfish as the butcher-churchwarden of -Doncaster, who ruined the grand old tower of the church by placing a -hideous clock face in it, which was so constructed that no one could -see the time by it except from the butcher's own door! - -We should hardly render Hirst justice, however, if we omitted to state -how such a great man departed from this earth. The folding-doors of -his old coffin were closed upon him. Eight buxom widows carried his -corpse for a _honorarium_ of half-a-crown each. Jemmy had expressed a -desire to have eight old maids to undertake this service, bequeathing -half-a-guinea to each as hire. But the ladies in question were not -forthcoming. So the widows were engaged in their place; but why the fee -was lowered we cannot tell, unless it was to pay for the bagpipe and -fiddle which headed the procession. All the country round flocked in to -do Jemmy honour or to enjoy the holiday; and for many a year afterwards -might the sorrowing comment be heard on Doncaster Course,--"Nay, lad! -t'Coop-day seems nought-loike wi'out Jemmy!" and the mourners took out -his "Fihawpence notes," and compared their own touching respective -memories of the departed glory of Doncaster. - -At the close of Jemmy's career the wonderfully dressed "swell mob" was -busiest if not brightest. The latter was only short-lived. A party of -them really dazzled common folk by the splendour of their turn-out, -both as regarded themselves and their equipage. People took them for -foreign princes, or native nobility returned from foreign climes, and -not yet familiarly known to the public. The impression did not last -long. The well-dressed, finely-curled, highly scented, richly-jewelled -strangers, sauntering among the better known aristocracy, commenced -a series of predatory operations which speedily brought them within -the fastness of the town gaol. No one who saw them there a day or two -later, after seeing them on the course, will ever forget the sight and -the strange contrast. Stripped of their finery, closely cropped, and -clad in coarse flannel dresses, they might be seen seated at a board, -with a hot lump of stony-looking rice before them for a dinner. - -Altogether, there was occasionally a very mixed society on and about -the course: among the so-to-speak professional _habitués_, men who -made a business of the pursuit there--who were actors rather than -spectators, and all of whom have disappeared without leaving a -successor in his peculiar line,--we may mention the old Duke of Leeds, -redolent of port; the white-faced Duke of Cleveland, "the Jesuit of the -Ring;" P. W. Ridsale, ex-footman, then millionaire, finally pauper; -blacksmith Richardson, who, shaking his head at "Leeds," would remark -of himself, that sobriety alone had saved him from being hanged; Mr. -Beardsworth, who had been originally a hackney-coachman, then sporting -his crimson liveries; Mr. Crook, who commenced life with a fish-basket; -and the well-known son of the ostler at the Black Swan, in York, -wearing diamond rings and pins, betting his thousands, and looking as -cool the while, as if he not only largely used the waters of Pactolus, -but owned half the gold-dust on its banks. - -The two extremes of the official men as regarded rank, were, perhaps, -Lord George Bentinck and Mr. Gully, the ex-pugilist. The former -introduced, at Doncaster, the signal-flag to regulate the "starts," -and he founded the Bentinck Fund (with the money subscribed for -a testimonial to himself), for the relief of decayed jockeys and -trainers. The two men were equals in one respect, the coolness with -which they either won or lost. They who remember the year when Petre's -Matilda beat Gully's Mameluke, and who witnessed the event and its -results, speak yet with a sort of pride of Gully's conduct. He had lost -immensely; but he was the first man who appeared in the betting-rooms -to pay anyone who had a bet registered against him; and he was the last -man to leave, not retiring till he was satisfied that there did not -remain a single claimant. He paid away a grand total on that occasion -which properly invested, would have set all the poor in Doncaster at -ease for ever.--_Abridged from the Athenæum_, No. 1715. - - - - -"Walking Stewart." - - -Early in the year 1821, London lost one of its famous eccentrics, who -rejoiced in the above distinction, which, it must be admitted, he had -fairly earned. He was one of the lions of the great town, and his -ubiquitous nature was thus ingeniously sketched:-- - -"Who that ever weathered his way over Westminster Bridge has not seen -_Walking Stewart_ (his invariable cognomen) sitting in the recess on -the brow of the bridge, spencered up to his throat and down to his hips -with a sort of garment, planned, it would seem, to stand _powder_, as -became the habit of a military man; his dingy, dusty inexpressibles -(truly inexpressibles), his boots travel-stained, black up to his -knees--and yet not black neither--but arrant walkers, both of them, or -their complexions belied them; his aged, but strongly-marked, manly, -air-ripened face, steady as truth; and his large, irregular, dusty hat, -that seemed to be of one mind with the boots? We say, who does not -thus remember _Walking Stewart_, sitting, and leaning on his stick, as -though he had never walked in his life, but had taken his seat on the -bridge at his birth, and had grown old in his sedentary habit? To be -sure, this view of him is rather negatived by as strong a remembrance -of him in the same spencer and accompaniments of hair-powder and dust, -resting on a bench in the Park, with as perfectly an eternal air: nor -will the memory let him keep a quiet, constant seat here for ever; -recalling him, as she is wont, in his shuffling, slow perambulation -of the Strand, or Charing Cross, or Cockspur Street. Where really was -he? You saw him on Westminster Bridge, acting his own monument. You -went into the Park--he was there! fixed as the gentleman at Charing -Cross. You met him, however, at Charing Cross, creeping on like the -hour-hand upon a dial, getting rid of his rounds and his time at once! -Indeed, his ubiquity appeared enormous, and yet not so enormous -as the profundity of his sitting habits. He was a profound sitter. -Could the Pythagorean system be entertained, what other would now be -tenanted by _Walking Stewart_? Truly, he seemed always going, like a -lot at an auction, and yet always at a stand, like a hackney-coach! -Oh, what a walk was his to christen a man by! A slow, lazy, scraping, -creeping, gazing pace--a shuffle--a walk in its dotage--a walk at a -stand-still--yet was he a pleasant man to meet. We remember his face -distinctly, and allowing a little for its northern hardness, it was -certainly as wise, as kindly, and as handsome a face as ever crowned -the shoulders of a soldier, a scholar and a gentleman. - -"Well! Walking Stewart is dead! He will no more be seen niched in -Westminster Bridge, or keeping his terms as one of the benchers of St. -James's Park, or painting the pavement with moving but uplifted feet. -In vain we looked for him 'at the hour when he was wont to walk.' The -niche in the bridge is empty of its amiable statue, and as he is gone -from this spot he has gone from all, for he was ever all in all! Three -persons seemed departed in him. In him there seems to have been a -triple death!" - -We are tempted "to consecrate a passage" to him, as John Buncle -expresses it, from a tiny pamphlet entitled "The Life and Adventures -of the celebrated Walking Stewart, including his travels in the East -Indies, Turkey, Germany, and America," and the author, "a relative," -has contrived to out-do his subject _in getting over the ground_, for -he manages to close his work at the end of the sixteenth page. - -John Stewart, or Walking Stewart, was born of two Scotch parents, in -1749, in London, and was in due time sent to Harrow, and thence to the -Charter House, where he established himself as a dunce--no bad promise -in a boy, we think. He left school and was sent to India, where his -character and energies unfolded themselves, as his biographer tells -us, for his mind was unshackled by education. - -He resolved to amass 3,000_l._, and then to return to England. No bad -resolve. To attain this, he quitted the Company's Service and entered -that of Hyder Ally. He now turned soldier, and became a general. -Hyder's generals were easily made and unmade. Stewart behaved well -and bravely, and paid his regiment without drawbacks, which made him -popular. Becoming wounded somehow, and having no great faith in Hyder's -surgeons, he begged leave to join the English for medical advice. Hyder -gave a Polonius kind of admission, quietly determining to cut the -traveller and his journey as short as possible, for his own sake and -that of the invalid. Stewart sniffed the intention of Ally, and taking -an early opportunity of cutting his company before they could cut him, -he popped into a river, literally swam for his life, reached the bank, -ran before his hunters like an antelope, and arrived safely at the -European forts. He got in breathless, and lived. How he was cured of -his wounds is thus told by Colonel Wilks in his _Sketches of the South -of India_:-- - -"An English gentleman commanded one of the corps, and was most severely -wounded after a desperate resistance; others in the same unhappy -situation met with friends, or persons of the same caste, to procure -for them the rude aid offered by Indian surgery; the Englishman was -destitute of this poor advantage; his wounds were washed with simple -warm water, by an attendant boy, three or four times-a-day; and, under -this novel system of surgery, they recovered with a rapidity not -exceeded under the best hospital treatment." - -A writer in the _Quarterly Review_, 1817, appends to the above -quotation the following:--"This English gentleman is the person -distinguished by the name of _Walking Stewart_, who, after the lapse -of half a century, is still alive, and still, we believe, _walking_ -daily, in the neighbourhood of the Haymarket and Charing Cross." - -Hitherto, Stewart had saved little money. He now entered the Nabob of -Arcot's service, and became prime minister, the memoir does not say how. - -At length he took leave of India, and travelled over Persia and Turkey -_on foot_, in search of a name, it should seem, or, as he was wont -to say, "in search of the Polarity, and Moral Truth." After many -adventures he arrived in England: he brought home money, and commenced -his London life in an Armenian dress, to attract attention. - -He next visited America, and on his return, "made the tour of Scotland, -Germany, Italy, and France, _on foot_, and ultimately settled in -Paris," where he made friends. He intended to live there; but after -investing his money in French property, he smelt the sulphur cloud of -the Revolution, and retreated as fast as possible, losing considerable -property in his flight. He returned to London, and suddenly and -unexpectedly received 10,000_l._ from the India Company, on the -liquidation of the debts of the Nabob of Arcot. He bought annuities, -and fattened his yearly income. The relative says:--"One of his -annuities was purchased from the County Fire Office at a rate which, -in the end, was proved to have been paid three, and nearly four times -over. The calculation of the assurers was here completely at fault: -every quarter brought Mr. Stewart regularly to the cashier, whom he -accosted with, 'Well, man alive! I am come for my money!'"--which -Stewart enjoyed as a joke. - -Mr. Stewart now lived in better style, gave dinners and musical -parties. Every evening a _conversazione_ was given at his house, -enlivened by music; on Sundays he gave select dinner parties, followed -by a philosophical discourse, and a performance of sacred music, -chiefly selected from the works of Handel, and concluding with the -"Dead March in Saul," which was always received by the company as a -signal for their departure. - -Stewart was attached to King George IV., and lived peaceably until the -arrival of Queen Caroline, when her deputations and political movements -alarmed the great pedestrian, and awakened his walking propensities, -and his friends had great difficulty to prevent him from going to -America. - -Stewart's health declined in 1821; he went to Margate, returned, became -worse, and on Ash Wednesday he died. - -To all entreaties from friends that he would write his travels, he -replied, No; that his were travels of the mind. He, however, wrote -essays, and gave lectures on the philosophy of the mind. It is very odd -that men will _not_ tell what they know, and _will_ attempt to talk of -what they do _not_ know. - - - - -Youthful Days of the Hon. Grantley Berkeley.[33] - - -At Cranford, Mr. Grantley Berkeley had the first enjoyments of a boy -let loose into the country with a brother for a companion. "All day," -he says, "we were together fishing, shooting, setting traps for vermin, -rat hunting,--in short, seeking sport wherever it was attainable." -This, as he suggests, was not exactly the orthodox way of bringing up -a boy as he should go; but he is certain that it laid the foundation -of his after success as a sportsman. Among other incidents of these -days, he broke his collarbone and dislocated his shoulder; and, among -other exercises popular in his time, he became familiar with Cribb, -Figg, and other heroes of the then "ring," and derived from them as -much pugilistic science as they could impart to a young, active, and -enthusiastic pupil. At Cranford, moreover, he enjoyed a little private -bull-baiting, but that was confessedly more on the account of his -brother Augustus, or his brother Augustus's dog, than himself. "Bull," -which was the name of the latter, was an eager and extempore performer -in this department of the writer's education. At length "Bull" and -Augustus left Grantley, who tells us:-- - -"As we proceeded along the high road, nearing the spot of our -separation, we were overtaken by a respectable tradesman, as he -appeared, driving his wife towards the neighbouring town in a buggy. -It was Augustus's last chance of inducting us into a row, and not to -be lost; so he made some most insulting remark upon these unoffending -passengers, which so provoked the female, that she unfortunately took -up the _casus belli_, and, with other abuse, called her assailant a -'barber's clerk.' He replied, 'I know I am a barber, and I have shaved -you.' When the man heard this wordy war he joined in it. On this my -brother told him, that 'if it was not for his woman he would pull him -out of his rattletrap and tread on him.' Here was a circumstance that -caused my boyish mind considerable speculation. Hard names and some -swearing seemed not much to insult the man in the buggy; but on hearing -the female at his side called his 'woman,' his wrath knew no bounds. -With the exclamation, 'My woman, you rascal! she is my wife!' he set -to work lashing my brother with his gig whip, commencing a sort of -artillery duel at long practice, not in accordance with the cavalry arm -of my brother, nor with his way of fighting. A charge upon the buggy -was therefore made by him, keeping his right side open for mischief; -and in the obscure darkness I could hear the crown of the hat of the -driver get ten blows for one, for his long weapon was useless at close -quarters. The female, wife or woman, whichever she was, very quickly -saw that the combat was all one way, for with a very much damaged crown -her king crouched down on the cushion at her side; so that she awakened -up the heath with shrieks of 'Murder!' 'Be off, as hard as you can -split,' was then the order to us from the offender. We obeyed, as we -heard the heels of his horse speed on far in advance of the buggy." - -[33] From _The Times_ Review of his _Life_, 1865. - -To give Mr. Grantley Berkeley fair credit, he condemns the recklessness -of such robust adventures, but he pleads that such was the practice in -the days when he was raised; and to his own advantage, as he admits, he -was summarily recalled to a more quiet regimen by the sudden appearance -of a tutor who required from him other exercises. Nevertheless, his -stories of little private fights with the sons of the Vicar of Berkeley -and one of the keepers, which are very amusing, show that in stable -and backyards he enjoyed consolations, though he declares that this -was done chiefly for the amusement of his brother Henry, who used to -invite him to the stable with the gloves to fight one of the boys above -mentioned, when the battle always ended by his knocking the head of his -opponent into the manger. He says, - -"I remember that for months during these, to my brother, amusing -combats my lips were sometimes so cut against my teeth that I could -not eat any salad with vinegar, the acid occasioned so much smarting. -I could lick my antagonist as far as the fight with the gloves was -permitted to go, but in a few days at the word of command the lad was -ready for another licking, so that week after week I had no peace, -and had to lick him again; nor had I resolution enough to withstand -the taunts of being vanquished, if I refused to set to, although my -superior proficiency had been a hundred times asserted. All things -must have an end: every day strengthened my tall and growing limbs, -and every day my power over my antagonist increased, when, for some -ill conduct, he lost his service and these, to him, not very agreeable -encounters. My brother then for a time lost his amusement; 'Othello's -occupation' was gone, for nothing came into service at Cranford that -approached the age of a boy. A new footman was, however, inducted, a -grown man and not a little one, but a cross-grown lout of a fellow; -and, mere boy as I was, we were ordered to the stable, in front of my -brother's usual throne, the corn-bin, and there desired to do battle. -By this time I had got into such habits of pugnacious obedience that if -a bear had been introduced, and I had been told that the beast was to -vanquish me, I should at once have boxed with him. The combat I am now -alluding to was not unlike one of a boy and bear. I stepped back, put -in, and then gave way successfully, for a short time; but at last the -man met me with a half-round blow, and hit me clean down on the rough -stones of the stable. Henry did not seem to care much; but Moreton, who -was present, spoke out loudly against the shame of putting such a boy -to fight with a grown man, and I believe, feeling slightly annoyed at -the way he had overmatched me, our elder brother stopped any further -assault on my part, and suggested that Peter should put the gloves on -with his own servant, a well-built, active little fellow, whom he had -daily thrashed into one of the most expert boxers of his size. Peter, -all agreeable, set to with Shadrach, when the former caught such a -right-hander in the face as sent him as if he had been shot upon the -stable stones. He rose crying, and deprived of all wish for another -blow--my fall very sufficiently avenged. I have often wondered why -I was not cowed by all this brutality, or why I ever took to those -more gentle accomplishments in life that used to get me the name of -'dandy' among some of my rougher compeers. However, time wore on; I -fought through the stable-boys and men-servants, and had sense enough -not to acquire any rudeness of manner, nor dislike to more refined -occupations." - -The author then gives some anecdotes of the persons who visited the -Cranford-bridge Inn at this time, most of them for shooting or hunting; -and such is the penalty which one gentleman still alive must pay for -his presence on one of these occasions that Mr. Berkeley stigmatizes -him as a most dangerous companion to shoot with, as he was nearly -peppering his (Mr. B.'s) legs and those of the Duke of York. Liston -and Dowton, the comedians, used also to come to the Cranford-bridge -Inn, and Mr. Berkeley tells a characteristic story of the latter. -The astonishment of John Varley, the artist, who taught his sisters -drawing, at a man on horseback clearing a fence in his presence, -is depicted with a dash of humour, and it is evident from what Mr. -Berkeley says of Varley in other respects that he must have been well -acquainted with his various eccentricities. - -Again we come upon some of his hunting experiences in the neighbourhood -of Cranford, such as those shared with Lord Alvanley, who in answer -to the question, "What sport?" at White's, replied, "Oh, the melon -and asparagus beds were devilish heavy--up to our hocks in glass all -day; and all Berkeley wanted was a landing-net to get his deer out of -the water." It was with G. B. also that the late Sir George Wombwell, -having missed his second horse, spoke to one of the surly cultivators -of that stiff vale thus:--"I say farmer, ---- it, have you seen my -fellow?" The man, with his hands in his breeches' pockets, eyed his -questioner in silence for a minute and then exclaimed, "No, upon my -soul I never did!" Hunting about Harrow became very expensive from -the damage it did to the farmers in that district, and the claims for -compensation which it entailed upon Mr. Berkeley and his friends. The -result of this, he says, at once became evident; a mine of wealth would -soon have been insufficient to cover the cost of a single run over the -Harrow vale, and "reluctantly I saw that if I intended to keep hounds I -must go farther from the metropolis, and seek a wilder scene in which -to hunt a fox instead of a stag, and thus take a higher degree in the -art of hunting." Accordingly, negotiations were entered into for his -becoming the master of hounds to the Oakley Club in Bedfordshire for -1,000_l._ a-year, the club taking all the cost of the earth-stopping -upon themselves and other incidental expenses. The depreciation of -West India property which occurred about this time, and the larger -expenses contingent on taking a country in which to hunt a fox four -days a week, made him resolve to give up his seasons in London and -settle down quietly to a country life, thus avoiding every unnecessary -expenditure. His arrangements, in spite of opposition from some members -of the club, appear to have been satisfactory and eventually popular, -until the sport of his last season was positively brilliant, when in -Yardley Chase alone he found seventeen foxes, and killed fourteen of -them with a run. - - - - -What Became of the Seven Dials - - -Whoever is familiar with the history of St. Giles's will recollect -that Seven Dials is an open area so called because there was formerly -a column in the centre, on the summit of which were (_traditionally_) -seven sun-dials, with a dial facing each of the seven streets which -radiate from thence. They are thus described in Gay's _Trivia_:-- - - "Where famed St. Giles's ancient limits spread, - An in-rail'd column rears its lofty head; - Here to seven streets seven dials count their day, - And from each other catch the circling ray; - Here oft the peasant, with inquiring face, - Bewilder'd trudges on from place to place; - He dwells on every sign with stupid gaze-- - Enters the narrow alley's doubtful maze-- - Tries every winding court and street in vain, - And doubles o'er his weary steps again." - -This column was removed in July, 1773, on the supposition that a -considerable sum of money was lodged at the base; but the search was -ineffectual. - -Several years ago, Mr. Albert Smith, who lived at Chertsey, discovered -in his neighbourhood part of the Seven Dials--the column doing duty as -a monument to a Royal Duchess--when he described the circumstance in -a pleasant paper, entitled "Some News of a famous Old Fellow," in his -_Town and Country Magazine_. The communication is as follows:-- - -"Let us now quit the noisome mazes of St. Giles's and go out and away -into the pure and leafy country. Seventeen or eighteen miles from town, -in the county of Surrey, is the little village of Weybridge. Formerly -a couple of hours and more were passed pleasantly enough upon a coach -through Kingston, the Moulseys, and Walton, to arrive there, over a -sunny, blowy common of pink heath and golden furze, within earshot, -when the wind was favourable, of the old monastery bell, ringing out -the curfew from Chertsey church. Now the South-Western Railway trains -tear and racket down in forty-five minutes, but do not interfere with -the rural prospects, for their path lies in such a deep cutting, that -the very steam does not intrude upon the landscape. - -"One of the 'lions' to be seen at Weybridge is Oatlands, with its -large artificial grotto and bath-room, which is said--but we cannot -comprehend the statement--to have cost the Duke of Newcastle, who -had it built, 40,000_l._ The late Duchess of York died at Oatlands, -and lies in a small vault under Weybridge Church, wherein there is -a monument, by Chantrey, to her memory. She was an excellent lady, -well-loved by all the country people about her, and when she died they -were anxious to put up some sort of tribute to her memory. But the -village was not able to offer a large sum of money for this purpose. -The good folks did their best, but the amount was still very humble, -and so they were obliged to dispense with the services of any eminent -architect, and build up only such a monument as their means could -compass. Somebody told them that there was a column to be sold cheap -in a stone mason's yard, which might answer their purpose. It was -accordingly purchased; a coronet was placed upon its summit; and the -memorial was set up on Weybridge Green, in front of the Ship Inn, at -the junction of the roads leading to Oatlands, to Shepperton Locks, and -to Chertsey. This column turned out to be the original one from Seven -Dials. - -"The stone on which the 'dials' were engraved or fixed, was sold with -it. The poet Gay, however, was wrong when he spoke of its seven faces. -It is hexagonal in its shape; this is accounted for by the fact that -two of the streets opened into one angle. It was not wanted to assist -in forming the monument, but was turned into a stepping-stone, near -the adjoining inn, to assist the infirm in mounting their horses, and -there it now lies, having sunk by degrees into the earth; but its -original form can still be easily surmised. It may be about three feet -in diameter. - -"The column itself is about thirty feet high, and two feet in diameter, -displaying no great architectural taste. It is surmounted by a coronet, -and the base is enclosed by a light iron railing. An appropriate -inscription on one side of the base, indicates its erection in the year -1822; on the others, are some lines to the memory of the Duchess. - -"Relics undergo strange transpositions. The Obelisk from the mystic -solitudes of the Nile to the centre of the Place de la Concorde in -bustling Paris--the monuments of Nineveh to the regions of Great -Russell Street--the frescoes from the long, dark, and silent Pompeii -to the bright and noisy Naples--all these are odd changes. But in -proportion to their importance, not much behind them is that of the -old column from the crowded, dismal regions of St. Giles to the sunny -tranquil Green of Weybridge." - - - - -[Illustration: Curtis the Biographer of Corder. An Old Bailey -Celebrity.] - - - - -An Old Bailey Character. - - -Some thirty years ago there appeared in the second series of the _Great -Metropolis_[34] a sketch of one Mr. Curtis, an eccentric person who -was to be seen in the New Court in the Old Bailey, as constantly as -the Judge himself. He (Curtis) was known to everybody in and about -the place. For nearly a quarter of a century he had been in constant -attendance at the Old Bailey from the opening to the close of each -session, never being absent with the exception of two occasions, -when attending the county assizes. He wrote short-hand, and was so -passionately fond of reporting that he had taken down for his own -special amusement every case verbatim which came before the New Court; -and such was his horror of the Old Court, that you might as soon expect -to hear the Bishop of London in a Dissenters' chapel as to find Mr. -Curtis in the Old Court. He was notable for early rising: four o'clock -in the morning he considered a late hour. It was an event in his -life to lie in bed till five. By seven he had completed his morning -journeys, which usually embraced a distance--for he was particularly -fond of going over the same ground twice if not thrice in a morning--of -from six to eight miles. Among the places visited, Farringdon Market, -Covent Garden Market, Hungerford Market, and Billingsgate were never -under any circumstances omitted. His own notion was that he had walked -as much within thirty years before seven in the morning as would have -made the circuit of the globe three or four times. He was, perhaps, the -most inveterate pedestrian known; locomotion seemed to be a necessity -of his nature. There was only one exception to this rule--that was, -when he was taking down the trials at the Old Bailey. He considered it -as the greatest favour that could be conferred on him to be asked to -walk ten or twelve miles by an acquaintance. He was very partial to wet -weather, and as fond of a rainy day as if he were a duck. He was never -so comfortable as when thoroughly drenched. Thunder and lightning threw -him into ecstasies; he was known to have luxuriated for some hours on -Dover cliff in one of the most violent thunderstorms ever remembered -in this country. He once walked from the City to Croydon Fair and back -again on three consecutive days of the Fair; making with his locomotive -achievements in Croydon a distance of nearly fifty miles a-day; and -this without any other motive than that of gratifying his pedestrian -propensities. He had a horror of coaches, cabs, omnibuses, and all -sorts of vehicles; and he was not known to have been ever seen in one. -Judging from his partiality to heavy showers of rain, he seemed to be -to a certain extent an amphibious being; and he often declared, with -infinite glee, that he was once thrown into a pond without suffering -any inconvenience. The benefits of air and exercise were manifest -in his cheerful disposition and healthy-looking, though somewhat -weather-beaten countenance: he seemed the happiest little thick-built -man alive. - -[34] The popular work of Mr. James Grant. - -He not only rose very early, but was also late in going to bed. On an -average, he had not for twenty years slept above four hours in the -twenty-four. He was often weeks without going to bed at all, and it -sufficed him to have two or three hours' doze in his arm-chair, and -with his clothes on. In the year 1834, he performed an unusual feat in -this way: he sat up one hundred consecutive nights and days, without -stretching himself on a bed, or putting himself into an horizontal -position, even for a moment. For one century of consecutive nights, as -Curtis phrased it, he neither put off his clothes to lie down in bed, -nor anywhere else, for a second; all the sleep he had during the time -was an occasional doze in his arm-chair. - -Curtis's taste for witnessing executions, and for the society of -persons sentenced to death, was remarkable. He had been present at -every execution in the metropolis and its neighbourhood for the -last quarter of a century. He actually walked before breakfast to -Chelmsford, which is twenty-nine miles from London, to be present at -the execution of Captain Moir. For many years he had not only heard -the condemned sermons preached in Newgate, but spent many hours in the -gloomy cells with the persons who had been executed in London during -that period. He passed much time with Fauntleroy, and was with him a -considerable part of the day previous to his execution. With Corder, -too, of Red Barn notoriety, he contracted a friendship: immediately on -the discovery of the murder of Maria Martin, he hastened to the scene, -and remained there till Corder's execution. He afterwards wrote the -_Memoirs of Corder_, which were published by Alderman Kelly, Lord -Mayor, in 1837-8: the work had portraits of Corder and Maria Martin, -and of Curtis, and nothing pleased him better than to be called the -biographer of Corder. - -By some unaccountable fatality, Curtis, where he was unknown, often had -the mortification of being mistaken under very awkward circumstances -for other persons. At Dover he was once locked up all night on -suspicion of being a spy. When he went to Chelmsford to be present -at Captain Moir's execution, he engaged a bed at the Three Cups inn; -on returning thither in the evening the servants rushed out of his -sight, or stared suspiciously at him, he knew not why, till at length -the landlady, keeping some yards distant from him, said in tremulous -accents, "We cannot give you a bed here; when I promised you one, I did -not know the house was full." "Ma'am," replied Curtis, indignantly, -"I have taken my bed, and I insist on having it." "I am very sorry -for it, but you cannot sleep here to-night," was the reply. "I _will_ -sleep here to-night; I've engaged my bed, and refuse me at your peril," -reiterated Curtis. The landlady then offered him the price of a bed -in another place, to which Curtis replied, resenting the affront, -"No, ma'am; I insist upon my rights as a _public_ man; I have a duty -to perform to-morrow." "It's all true. He says he's a public man, and -that he has a duty to perform," were words which every person in the -room exchanged in suppressed whispers with each other. The waiter now -stepped up to Mr. Curtis, and taking him aside, said--"The reason why -Mistress will not give you a bed is because you're the executioner." -Curtis was astounded, but in a few moments laughed heartily at the -mistake. "I'll soon convince you of your error, ma'am," said Curtis, -walking out of the house. He returned in a few minutes with a gentleman -of the place, who having testified to his identity being different from -that supposed, the landlady apologized for the mistake, and, as some -reparation, gave him the best bed in the inn. - -[Illustration] - -However, a still more awkward mistake occurred. After passing night -after night with Corder in prison, Curtis accompanied him to his trial, -and stood up close behind him at the bar. An artist had been sent from -Ipswich to sketch a portrait of Corder for one of the newspapers of -that town; but the sketcher mistook Curtis for Corder, and in the next -number of the journal Mr. Curtis figured at full length as the murderer -of Maria Martin! He bore the mistake with good humour, and regarded -this as one of the most amusing incidents of his life. - -Amidst these harmless eccentricities, Mr. Curtis effected much good -amongst prisoners under sentence of death. "I speak within bounds," -says the author of the _Great Metropolis_, "when I mention that he -has from first to last spent more than a hundred nights with unhappy -prisoners under sentence of death, conversing with them with all -seriousness and with much intelligence on the great concerns of that -eternal world on whose brink they were standing. I saw a long and -sensible letter which the unhappy man named Pegsworth, who was executed -in March, 1837, for the crime of murder, addressed a few days before -his death to Mr. Curtis, and in which he most heartily thanked Mr. C. -for all the religious instructions and admonitions he had given him; -adding, that he believed he had derived great spiritual benefit from -them." - - - - -Bone and Shell Exhibition. - - -It is curious to note with what odd results of patient labour our -forefathers were amused to the top of their bent. They were Curiosities -in the strictest sense of the term; but as to the information conveyed -by their exhibition, it was generally a _lucus à non lucendo_. - -In Suffolk Street, Cockspur Street, an ingenious Mrs. Dards got up a -display of this kind, consisting of an immense collection of artificial -flowers, made entirely by herself with fish-bones, the incessant labour -of many years, of which she said to Mr. J. T. Smith:--"No one can -imagine the trouble I had in collecting the bones for that bunch of -lilies of the valley. Each cup consists of the bones which contain the -brains of the turbot; and from the difficulty of matching the sizes, -I never should have completed my task had it not been for the kindness -of the proprietors of the London, Freemasons', and Crown and Anchor -taverns, who desired their waiters to save the fish-bones for me." - -This ingenious person distributed a card embellished with flowers -and insects, upon which was engraven an advertisement, stating the -exhibition to be the labour of thirty years, and to contain "a great -variety of beautiful objects equal to nature." Likewise enabled to -gratify them. - - "With bones, scales, and eyes, from the prawn to the porpoise, - Fruit, flies, birds, and flowers, oh, strange metamorphose!" - - - - -"Quid Rides?" - - -"People," says Mr. De Morgan, "are apt to believe that a smart saying -or a ready retort are not a real occurrence; it was made up: it is too -good to be true, &c." Perhaps there is no story which would be held -more intrinsically deniable than that of the tobacconist who adopted -_Quid rides?_ for his motto on his carriage. - -A friend, whose years, it will be seen, are many, has given me the -following note:-- - -"Jacob Brandon was a tobacco-broker in the last century, a remarkable -man in his way, supposed to be rich, a good companion, and extravagant -in his expenses. Before the year 1800, I saw a chariot in Cheapside -with a coat-of-arms, or rather a shield bearing a hand (sample) of -tobacco and a motto, _Quid rides?_ It was an old carriage, and at the -time belonged to a job-master, so the driver told a person who was -curious to know what the arms meant. It was this man's curiosity that -caused my noticing the arms. Mentioning the circumstance in my father's -presence, he said it was Brandon's old carriage. He had become gouty, -and could not walk; he bought the carriage, had it newly painted, and -was asked for his arms. This required consideration. Some thought -Brandon was a Jew, or of Jewish extraction. Be this as it may, he -loved a joke, and cared little for armorial bearings. He was telling -a party in Lloyd's Coffee-house about his new carriage, and that he -had determined to have a symbol of his profession on it, but that -he wanted a motto. A well-known member of Lloyd's, a wit, and, as I -afterwards found out, a curious reader, suggested _Quid rides?_ which -was forthwith adopted. This was Harry Calendon. I knew him well; he -died within the present century. I have found that some of his witty -stories about living persons were taken from old books. My father knew -Brandon well, and employed him. Now, as to _Quid rides?_ being proposed -by some Irish wit as a motto for Lundy Foot, of Dublin, famous for a -particular snuff, I have heard something of the history and habits of -Lundy Foot; he had no carriage with arms on it. His snuff is still sold -with its distinguishing wrapper and stamp, but no _Quid rides?_--which -would certainly have been perpetuated if it had ever been adopted by -the manufacturer of the snuff." - - - - -"Bolton Trotters." - - -This was the cognomen given to the muslin-weavers of Bolton in the days -of their prosperity. The trade was that of a gentleman. They brought -home their work in top-boots and ruffled shirts, carried a cane, and -in some instances took a coach. Many weavers at that time used to walk -about the street with a five-pound Bank of England note spread out -under their hatbands; they would smoke none but long "churchwarden" -pipes, and objected to the intrusion of any other handicraftsmen into -the particular rooms in the public-houses which they frequented. - -The "Bolton Trotters" were much addicted to practical joking, of -which Mr. French, in his _Life of Samuel Crompton_, narrates this -story:--"One of the craft visiting Bolton on a market-day, having -delivered his work at the manufacturing warehouse, and obtained -materials for his succeeding work, placed them carefully in one end -of his blue linen wallet, and filled the other end with articles of -clothing and provisions, upon which he had expended his recently -received wages. He had, however, reserved a portion for his accustomed -potation upon such occasions; and that he might enjoy this solace of -his labour in comfort and safety, he left his wallet at the warehouse -before visiting his favourite tavern. The good ale did its office, and -when elevated to just the proper pitch for _trotting_, he met a brother -of the loom, who, like himself, had transacted his day's business, -and was now ready to trudge home with his wallet on his shoulder. The -two weavers mingled with a little crowd gathered together to hear the -strains of the Bolton volunteer band performing near the Swan Hotel. -He who had left his wallet at the warehouse was not, however, too much -engrossed by the martial music to neglect the tempting opportunity -to trot his quondam friend, with whom he stood shoulder to shoulder, -though each looked in a different direction. Provided with a needle -and stout thread, and being the shorter man of the two, he had no -difficulty in sewing the edge of his neighbour's well-filled wallet to -the lapel of his own velveteen jacket, and then, during a momentary -movement in the crowd, adroitly hitched it from his neighbour's to -his own shoulder. An immediate and clamorous charge of robbery was -made, and met by an indignant denial from the trotter, who coolly -remonstrated with the loser on his culpable want of ordinary care, -pointing out, at the same time, at the means he had taken to secure his -own wallet, which no one, he said, could steal from him. This evidence -was unanswerable, particularly as it was supported by many of the -bystanders who had seen the whole transaction, and joined heartily in -the laugh at the weaver who had been so effectually _trotted_ for their -amusement. A reconciliation was effected through the ordinary means on -these occasions, of an adjournment to the alehouse." - - - - -[Illustration: Lord Coleraine keeping an Apple-Stall. - -John Thomas Smith sketching the Scene.] - - - - -Eccentric Lord Coleraine. - - -J. T. Smith, in his _Life of Nollekens_, has left these sensible -remarks upon a class of persons whose lives present many instances -of right feeling and upright conduct, although mixed up with less -estimable qualities. "I believe," says Mr. Smith, "every age produces -at least one eccentric in every city, town, and village. Be this as it -may, go where you will, you will find some half-witted fellow, under -the nickname either of Dolly, Silly Billy, or Foolish Sam, who is -generally the butt and sport of his neighbours, and from whom, simple -as he may sometimes be, a sensible answer is expected to an unthinking -question: like the common children, who will, to our annoyance, inquire -of our neighbour's parrot what it is o'clock. In some such light -Nollekens was often held by his brother artists; and I once heard -Fuseli cry out, when on the opposite side of the street: 'Nollekens, -Nollekens, why do you walk in the sun? If you have no love for your few -brains, you should not melt your coat buttons!'"[35] - -[35] Fuseli had one day sharply criticised the work of a brother -R.A., whom he sought to alleviate by remarking that the conceited -scene-painter, Mr. Capon, to whom Sheridan had given the nickname of -"Pompous Billy," had piled up his lumps of rock as regularly on the -side scene, as a baker would his quartern-loaves upon the shelves -behind his counter to _cool_. - -The eccentric character is, likewise, sure to be found in London, -where there are several curious varieties of this class of persons to -be met with. In our walks, perchance, we may meet a man who always -casts his eye towards the ground, as if he were ashamed of looking any -one in the face; and who pretends, when accosted, to be near-sighted, -so that he does not know even the friend that had served him. This -short-sightedness is very common. Indeed, he draws his hat across his -forehead to act as an eye-shade, so that his sallow visage cannot -be immediately recognised, which makes him look as if he had done -something wrong; whilst his coat is according to the true Addison cut, -with square pockets large enough to carry the folio _Ship of Fools_. -No man was more gazed at than Lord Coleraine, who lived near the New -Queen's Head and Artichoke, in Marylebone Fields, and who never met -Nollekens without saluting him. "Well, Nollekens, my old boy, how goes -it? You never sent me the bust of the Prince." To which Nollekens -replied: "You know you said you would call for it one of these -days, and give me the money, and take it away in a hackney-coach." -"I remember," says J. T. Smith, "seeing his lordship, after he had -purchased a book entitled the _American Buccaneers_, sit down close -to the shop from which he had bought it, in the open street, in St. -Giles's, to read it. I also once heard Lord Coleraine, as I was passing -the wall at the end of the Portland Road, where an old apple-woman, -with whom his lordship held frequent conversations, was packing up her -fruit, ask her the following question: 'What are you about, mother?' -'Why, my lord, I am going home to my tea; if your lordship wants any -information I shall come again presently.' 'Oh! don't balk trade. Leave -your things on the table as they are: I will mind your shop till you -come back;' so saying, he seated himself in the old woman's wooden -chair, in which he had often sat before whilst chatting with her. -Being determined to witness the result, after strolling about till the -return of the old lady, I heard his lordship declare the amount of his -receipts by saying: 'Well, mother, I have taken threepence-halfpenny -for you. Did your daughter Nancy drink tea with you?'" - - - - -Eccentric Travellers. - - -Curious stories are told of tourists being so fascinated by certain -incidents in their travels as to be diverted from their purposes by -finding themselves so comfortable as to wish to proceed no further--a -lesson of content which is rarely lost on sensible persons. - -It is told of an English gentleman, who started on a tour in 1815, the -year of the battle of Waterloo, that he landed at Ostend, with the -design of pushing on to Brussels, and took his place in the canal-boat -that plied between Brussels and Ghent. The traveller went abroad, -not merely to see foreign lands, but with the hope of meeting with -illustrious personages and distinguished characters. Finding, however, -that on board the _trekschuit_ he not only fell in with many persons -worth meeting, but had the opportunity of sitting down with them at the -_table-d'hôte_, he thought he could not do better, and went backwards -and forwards, never getting farther than Ghent. - -Mr. Thackeray, in his _Vanity Fair_, gives this somewhat different -version of the story:--"The famous regiment ... was drafted in -canal-boats to Bruges, thence to march to Brussels. Jos. accompanied -the ladies in the public boats; the which all old travellers in -Flanders must remember for the luxury and accommodation they afforded. -So prodigiously good was the eating and drinking on board these -sluggish but most comfortable vessels, that there are legends extant of -an English traveller, who, coming to Belgium for a week, and travelling -in one of these boats, was so delighted with the fare there, that he -went backwards and forwards from Ghent to Bruges perpetually, until the -railroads were introduced, when he drowned himself on the last trip of -the passage-boat." Possibly the catastrophe is an embellishment. - -To these ana, Mr. Sala has added the story of the Englishman, who is -_said_ to have made a bet that Van Amburgh, the lion-tamer, would be -eaten by his voracious pupils within a given time; and who followed him -about the continents of Europe and America in the hope of seeing him at -last devoured, and so winning his stakes. Eugène Sue introduces this -mythical Englishman among the _dramatis personæ_ of the _Wandering Jew_. - -The Russians, also, have a story of an eccentric traveller--of course, -an Englishman--who posted overland, and in the depth of winter, to -St. Petersburgh, merely to see the famous wrought-iron gates of the -Summer Garden. He is said to have died of grief at finding the gates -superior to those at the entrance to his own park at home. Add to this -the lying traveller, who boasted that he had been everywhere, and who, -being asked how he liked Persia, replied that he scarcely knew, as _he -had only stayed there a day_. Note, likewise, among eccentricities, the -nobleman of whom it was inquired, at dinner, what he thought of Athens -during an Oriental tour. He turned to his body-servant, waiting behind -his chair, and said, "_John, what did I think of Athens?_" - -In May, 1865, died Charles Waterton, "the gentle and gifted squire" of -Walton Hall, in Yorkshire, in his eighty-second year. Of this gentleman -one of the most eccentric incidents in modern travel is related to -have occurred in his wanderings in South America. His attendant Indian -had made an instrument to take a cayman, or alligator, of Guiana, -on the banks of the Essequibo river. It was very simple; there were -four pieces of tough, hard wood, a foot long, and about as thick as -your little finger; they were tied round the ends of a rope in such a -manner that if you conceive the rope to be an arrow, these four sticks -would form the arrow's head; or that one end of the four united sticks -answered to the point of the arrow's head, while the other end of the -sticks expanded at equal distances round the rope. Now, it is evident -that if the cayman swallowed this, the other end of the rope (which was -thirty yards long) being fastened to a tree, the more he pulled the -faster the barbs would stick into his stomach. The hook was well baited -with flesh, and entrails twisted round the rope for about a foot above -it. Into the steep sand-banks of the river the Indian pricked a stick, -and at its extremity was fixed the machine which hung suspended about a -foot from the water. Mr. Waterton and his companions then went back to -their hammocks for the night. - -Next morning was found a cayman ten feet and a half long, fast to -the end of the rope. The next point was to get him out of the water -without injuring his scales. After revolving many projects, Mr. -Waterton had his canoe brought round; he then took out the mast, eight -feet long, and as thick as his wrist, and wrapped the sail round the -end of it; he then sunk down on one knee, about four yards from the -water's edge, backed by his seven attendants, and pulled the cayman to -the surface; he plunged furiously, and immediately went below again -on their slackening the rope; they pulled again, and out he came. "By -the time," says Mr. Waterton, "the cayman was within ten yards of me, -I saw he was in a state of fear and perturbation; I instantly dropped -the mast, sprung up, and jumped on his back, turning half round as I -vaulted, so that I gained my seat with my face in a right position. I -immediately seized his fore-legs, and, by main force, twisted them on -his back; thus they served me for a bridle." He now plunged furiously, -and lashed the sand with his tail. The people stoutly dragged him and -the traveller about forty yards on the sand. After repeated attempts to -regain his liberty, the cayman gave in, exhausted. Mr. Waterton then -tied up his jaws, and secured his fore-feet in the position he had -held them; there was still another struggle; while some of the people -pressed upon his head and shoulders, Mr. Waterton threw himself upon -his tail, keeping it down to the ground; and having conveyed the cayman -away, his throat was cut, and dissection commenced. - -This account of "catching a crocodile" was at first regarded as a -"downright falsehood." Pliny, in his _Natural History_, however, -describes a race of men who swam after the crocodile of the Nile, "and -mounted on his back, like horsemen, as he opens his jaws to bite, with -his head turned up, they thrust a club in his mouth, and holding the -ends of it, one in the right hand and the other in the left, they bring -him to shore, as if captive with bridles." In a rare book of plates -of field sports one represents, probably from this account of Pliny, -some men riding on crocodiles, and bringing them to land by means of a -pole across their mouths, whilst others are killing them with large -clubs. Beneath is inscribed in Latin: "Tentyra, an island of the Nile, -in Egypt, is inhabited by an intrepid people, who climb the crocodile's -back, and, bridling his mouth with a staff, force him out of the river, -and slay him." - -Dr. Pococke describes a method of taking the crocodile in Egypt still -more like that of South America. He says: "They make some animal cry -at a distance from the river, and when the crocodile comes out, they -thrust a spear into his body, to which a rope is tied; they let him go -into the water to spend himself, and afterwards, drawing him out, run a -pole into his mouth, and, jumping on his back, tie his jaws together." -To return to the Squire of Walton Hall. - -Waterton is thus characterised by a personal friend:--He was one of -those men whose life, reaching back and retaining many characteristics -of the past, contrasted the present sameness with a manner of life much -more varied, but now almost forgotten. Rising always at three in the -morning, he gave an hour, as he said, "to the health and preservation -of the soul," and was then ready for the occupations and pursuits of -the day. His conversation and manners had that charm which comes of -ancestry, of ancient riches, and a polished education enlivened by a -sparkling wit. - -In attachment to his religion he was as zealous as his great ancestor, -Sir Thomas More, whose clock, from the house at Chelsea, still tells -the hours at Walton Hall. His undoubting faith, and the consolations it -afforded him, might, indeed, be envied by some of those who worship at -other altars. - -His hospitality was kind and generous: a stewed carp from the lake -carried you back to the good old times, and furnished a dish not soon -to be forgotten. - -To those who knew him well there was something remarkably genial in -the society of the good old squire, and his manner of receiving and -bidding them adieu will be long remembered by his friends. - -Mr. Thackeray, in _The Newcomes_, relates of Mr. Waterton this -interesting trait:--"A friend who belongs to the old religion took me, -last week, into a church where the Virgin lately appeared in person -to a Jewish gentleman, flashed down upon him from heaven in light and -splendour celestial, and, of course, straightway converted him. My -friend bade me look at the picture, and kneeling down beside me, I -know, prayed with all his honest heart that the truth might shine down -upon me too; but I saw no glimpse of heaven at all, I saw but a poor -picture, an altar with blinking candles, a church hung with tawdry -strips of red and white calico. The good, kind W. went away, humbly -saying, 'That such might have happened again if Heaven so willed it.' I -could not but feel a kindness and admiration for the good man. I know -that his works are made to square with his faith, that he dines on a -crust, lives as chastely as a hermit, and gives his all to the poor." - - - - -Elegy on a Geologist. - - -Archbishop Whately, one day, with genial humour, wrote a supposed -"Elegy on Dr. Buckland," of which the following is a portion:-- - - "Where shall we our great Professor inter, - That in peace may rest his bones? - If we hew him a rocky sepulchre - He'll rise and brake the stones, - And examine each stratum that lies around, - For he's quite in his element underground. - - If with mattock and spade his body we lay - In the common alluvial soil, - He'll start up and snatch these tools away - Of his own geological toil; - In a stratum so young the Professor disdains - That embedded should lie his organic remains. - - Then exposed to the drip of some case-hardening spring - His carcase let stalactite cover, - And to Oxford the petrified sage let us bring - When he is encrusted all over; - There, 'mid mammoths and crocodiles, high on a shelf, - Let him stand as a monument raised to himself." - -[Illustration] - - - - -_ECCENTRIC ARTISTS._ - - - - -Gilray and his Caricatures - - -The name of James Gilray stands pre-eminent in the annals of graphic -satire. In his hands, caricature became an art, and one that exercised -no unimportant influence on the kingdom of Great Britain. Previous to -this time, there is little challenging admiration in his department of -art. The satire for the most part was brutal where it had point, and -clumsy even in invention and execution. - -Hogarth, Gay, Fielding, Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot all aided the -progress of satire. France was satirized by Hogarth as a lean -personage, all frill and wristbands, with no shirt, dieting constantly -on frogs, and wearing wooden shoes. If to this we add Goldsmith's -hatred of the French, because they were slaves and wore wooden shoes, -we have the amount of the materials lying ready for the caricaturists' -use. The hatred towards our Scotch brethren, so strongly manifested -under the Bute administration, supplied the caricaturists with -hackneyed and profitless jokes. The satirical points of the wits -and humorists we have just named, and a few obscure caricaturists, -were selected, arranged, and adapted by the genius of Gilray to -illustrate, by the etching-needle, a series of political events, as -important as those of any country of modern times; and in Gilray's -works is preserved a pictorial record of the History of England during -the greater part of the reign of George III. An artist to excel in -caricature must possess abilities of a superior order, not only as a -designer and an etcher, but must have a deep knowledge of life, and -be conversant with the progress of public business; he must be a good -and a ready reasoner upon nearly all questions; his love of truth and -justice should enable him to detect the fallacies of argument, and -the injustice consequent upon false or injudicious public acts. A -keen sense of the ridiculous should direct his pencil; and then, by -a few touches, the true caricaturist, in the most striking manner, -mercilessly exposes the follies and the consequences of such acts. In -Gilray, of all men before him, was found the union of these requisites. - -Of Gilray's early life little is known: it is supposed that he was born -at Chelsea, in 1757. Mr. Smith, late of Lisle Street, the well-known -connoisseur in prints, himself a collector of Gilray's works, states -that Gilray was first placed with Ashby, the writing-engraver, who -resided at the bottom of Holborn Hill, and afterwards was either a -pupil or an assistant with the celebrated Francis Bartolozzi, which -is doubtless founded on truth; as the mastery of the etching-needle, -occasional use of the graver, the mysteries of biting, re-biting, -and other practical points of engraving so completely possessed by -Gilray, could hardly have been attained elsewhere than in the studio -of an experienced engraver. An active imagination, an acute sense of -the ridiculous points of character, or of personal appearance, and a -facility of drawing and etching, would in most cases disqualify any -student for the quiet and laborious profession of a line-engraver. That -Gilray should have abandoned the higher branches of engraving cannot -excite either wonder or regret, as, in all probability, the rank of a -merely tolerable line-engraver was exchanged for the highest position -that can be awarded to the caricaturist; whose works, eagerly expected -by the sovereign down to the poorest labourer, invigorated the national -feeling against a powerful enemy, hourly watching an opportunity to -light up rebellion in the kingdom, with a determination to invade and -subjugate Old England. - -Gilray made his first appearance as a caricaturist about 1782. Before -his time, it was usual for these satires to be published anonymously; -and it is very likely that Gilray might have thus published a few -caricatures before he openly set up as a caricaturist by profession, -and boldly put his name to his productions. The dispute between the -two admirals, Keppel and Sir Hugh Palliser, caused a great public -sensation. Keppel was tried by a court martial, and acquitted; and -Palliser retired from the service. The caricaturist took up the needles -and etched a naval pair of breeches and legs, writing underneath, -"Who's in Fault? Nobody?" but a head appears over the waistband--and -that is Sir Hugh Palliser's; _he_ was the _nobody_ in fault. A -comparison of this print with others of Gilray's will convince anyone -acquainted with the details of etching that it is Gilray's. It bears -the date of 1779. His first acknowledged production is dated 1782. -Having opened his battery of fun, he kept up a continued fire upon -his political victims until 1811, when an aberration of mind rendered -powerless the mighty hand which had "done the state some service." -Gilray was fortunate in meeting with Miss Humphrey, the printseller, -in St. James's Street; for, in his insane periods, she proved a most -kind and attached friend. He lived in her house, and mainly supported -her trade by the sale of his caricatures. It is said that both parties -had once resolved on matrimony, and were actually walking to church -to become man and wife; when, in the course of the walk, they both -reflected upon the approaching state of bondage, and mutually agreeing -not to sacrifice their liberty by so rash an act as marriage, walked -home again! - -In the house of Miss Humphrey, Gilray found ample employment, an -excellent spot for marking down his game; here he heard all the news -and gossip of the day over a friendly table. Her shop being No. 29, St. -James's Street (and afterwards in the occupation of a printseller), -was of all others the best situated for Gilray's purpose, as his -victims were unconsciously walking daily to and fro before the shop. -Behind the window was Gilray, pencil in hand, taking off the heads -of the ministers and of the opposition. In this way he became so -familiarised with their features, that he could drolly exaggerate, -almost out of all humanity, the nose and lank figure of "Billy Pitt, -the heaven-born minister," and yet preserve so much likeness, that the -portrait was immediately recognised. Loutherburg, the eminent artist -and scene-painter, went to Valenciennes, after the seige in 1793, to -sketch the military works. He was accompanied by Gilray, who sketched -the officers. On their return, they were introduced to the king. -George III. did not comprehend the slight sketches made by Gilray; -and, remarking that he did not understand "the caricatures," sadly -offended Gilray, who had intended them as veritable portraits, and -had not the least idea of being "funny." Disappointed with the royal -criticism, he went home, and the next day caricatured his Majesty, -examining a miniature of Oliver Cromwell, by means of _candle-ends_ and -_save-alls_. He showed it to his friends, and said: "I wonder whether -the _royal_ connoisseur will _understand this_?" - -The severity and fearful amount of ridicule at Gilray's command, -exposed him to threats of personal chastisement, and sometimes to -the probability of a prosecution. Fox was more than once disposed to -prosecute the artist, or the publishers--and not without reason; for in -some of his portraits he was the incarnation of diabolical sensuality. -Burke always figured as a half-starved Jesuit; and Sheridan, himself -a satirist, could scarcely stand the attacks of the caricaturist on -his red nose and portly person. However, they wisely foresaw that a -prosecution would be an excellent advertisement for the offensive -prints; so the senators sat down, and gratified themselves with -enjoying a hearty laugh at each other. George III. was more than once -severely attacked by Gilray; but he bore it with great good humour. - -The facile invention, extraordinary humour, and rapid execution of -Gilray's works were marvellous. Some of his subjects are full of -figures, carefully drawn, although exaggerated. A complete collection -of his works amounts to no less than fifteen hundred! An over-taxed -imagination, constantly on the rack, watching opportunities, and the -rapidity with which the design, the etching, finishing, printing, and -publishing of the prints required to be executed, told fearfully upon -his mind. His mental powers failed, and the mirth-inspiring son of -genius became dead to the world. Some lucid intervals occurred, in one -of which he etched the well-known plate of the "Barber's Shop," after -Bunbury. Poor Gilray was deprived of his reason in the year 1811, from -which time, until his death in 1815, he was the wretched occupant of a -garret in Miss Humphrey's house. Here, at the barred windows, he was -sometimes seen by that esteemed artist, Kenny Meadows, who contemplated -the mad artist with horror. Miss Humphrey entirely supported Gilray -until death claimed what disease had left of the great satirist. He -threw himself out of an up-stairs window, and died of the injuries -he received, on the 1st of June, 1815. He was buried at St. James's -Church, Piccadilly, where a tablet is erected to his memory. - -From Mr. Wright's curious and interesting _England under the House -of Hanover_, illustrated by caricatures and satires, we gather that -the favourite subjects to the artists of fun were the sans-culotte -extravagancies of the French Revolutionists; and at home the coalition -of North and Fox, the fiscal devices of Minister Pitt, the impeachment -of Warren Hastings, and the "Alarmists." It was the popular belief -that Hastings had bribed the Court of St. James's with presents of -diamonds of large size, and in great profusion, to shelter his Indian -delinquencies. Caricatures on this subject were to be seen in every -print shop. In one of these Hastings is represented as wheeling away -in a barrow the King, with his crown and sceptre, observing, "What -a man buys he may sell!" and in another, the King is represented on -his knees, with his mouth wide open. A common representation of the -King and the Queen was as "Farmer George and his wife;" his Majesty's -familiarity of manner, general somnolency, Weymouth displays, and his -prying into cottage domesticities--to wit, the memory of the seamless -apple-dumpling,--afforded unfailing hits for Peter Pindar, Sayer, and -Gilray. The dissipation of the Prince of Wales suggested his portrayal -as "The Prodigal Son," the Prince's Feathers in the mire, and the -inscription on his garter reduced to the word "honi." In one print a -Brighton party is represented, "The Jovial Crew, or Merry Beggars:" -among the Prince's guests are Mrs. Fitzherbert, Fox, Sheridan, Lord -North, and Captain Morris--"Jolly companions every one." - -A scarce print of Gilray's commemorates a grand installation of knights -at Westminster Abbey, May 19th, 1788, and is called "The Installation -Supper," given at the Pantheon, in Oxford Road. It portrays the chief -notorieties of the day, in separate groups, simulating over the bottle -an obliviousness of political jealousies: Pitt and Fox hobnobbing -behind the gruff Chancellor Thurlow; Lord Shelburn is shaking hands -jesuitically with Lord Sydney; Lord Derby is hand-in-glove with Lady -Mount Edgecumbe, an antiquated _blue_, who still dreams of conquest; -the Prince is besieged by Lady Archer (of gambling notoriety) on one -side, and Lady Cecilia Johnson on the other: while Mr. Fitzherbert is -in amiable confab with the ex-patriot, Johnny Wilkes:-- - - "Johnny Wilkes, Johnny Wilkes, - Thou greatest of bilks, - How changed are the notes you now sing; - Your famed Forty-five - Is Prerogative, - And your blasphemy, 'God save the King.'" - SHERIDAN. - -Edmund Burke always appears with long-pointed nose and spectacles. In -one large print by Gilray, he is discharging a blunderbuss at Hastings, -who is defending himself with the "shield of honour." The thin, meagre -figure of Pitt, "with his d--d iron face," was fruitful for jest as -that of his fat, slovenly opponent, Fox. An equivocal phrase of the -Prime Minister gave rise to Gilray's caricature of "The Bottomless -Pitt;" or it may have been the financial profundity of the Minister, or -the wit of his celebrated housekeeper niece:-- - - "William Pitt, 'tis known by many people, - Was thin as a lath, and tall as a steeple; - And so spare his behind, he was called (with some wit), - By famed Lady Hester, 'the bottomless pit.'" - -Gilray, often as he struck at a minister or satirized a courtier, he -yet more often returned to the battle which he loved to wage--that -against Bonaparte. With him the Corsican was a murderer, a fanatic, -a tyrant; an invader with death's head and dripping sword; a ghoul -who loved to feast on human flesh; an incarnate fiend, a demon. -Single-handed, Gilray fed and nursed the flame of hatred which burnt so -steadily and so long in these islands against that potentate, whether -as general, first consul, or emperor. Napoleon himself perceived -it, and complained of it. His empress and generals came in for a -share of Gilray's pictorial wrath. Ministers, who at the time of the -trial of Peltier were not unwilling to conciliate the master of a -hundred legions, in vain attempted to stop Gilray. The shop-windows -still displayed the bright colours of the newest print, wherein, as -incendiary or demon, the chief person was still Napoleon Bonaparte. -If, according to the _dictum_ of the latter, one newspaper editor were -worse than five _corps d'armée_ acting against him, surely Gilray, with -his enormous effect on the British mind, then hardly swayed or taught -by leading articles, was worse than five editors. And if we of the -volunteer corps wish to realise the intense hatred, the indignation, -the burning passion with which most of our fathers regarded the first -Napoleon, we have only to turn over some old caricatures. How the old -times rise before us, summoned by the tricksy Ariel of art, as we look -over them.--_See a clever paper in the London Review._ - -One of Gilray's late prints was Dr. Burgess, of Mortimer Street, "from -Warwick Lane." The doctor was one of the last men who wore a cocked -hat and deep ruffles. What rendered his appearance more remarkable, he -walked on tiptoe. - -The commercial history of the caricatures is curious. At the period of -the artist's death, the copper-plates from which they were struck were -estimated to be worth 7,000_l._ Upon the demise of the printseller, his -widow pledged the plates for 1,000_l._; but in the process of time, a -better tone of political feeling having supervened, and likewise an -improved public taste as regards art, this property, upon being put -to sale by auction, was bought in for 500_l._ Subsequently the widow -offered them to Mr. Henry Bohn, the eminent publisher, for that sum; -but the process of change adverted to still continuing, the offer -was declined. Upon her death her executors, unable to sell them as -engravings, sold them as old copper for as many pence as they were -originally worth pounds, and Mr. Bohn became the purchaser. - -The early political caricatures of Gilray were generally directed -against the Government party. These he was hired to sketch, and -generally at a small price, according to the will of his employers. -He used to smoke his pipe with his early employers, and exert his -faculties more to win a bowl of punch than to gain ten pounds. For -years he occasionally smoked his pipe at the Bell, the Coal Hole, or -the Coach and Horses; and although the _convives_ whom he met at such -dingy rendezvous knew that he was Gilray who fabricated those comical -prints, yet he never sought to act the coxcomb, nor become the king of -the company. In truth, with his neighbouring shopkeepers and master -manufacturers, he passed for no greater wit than his associates. -Rowlandson, his ingenious compeer, and he sometimes met. They would, -perhaps, exchange half-a-dozen questions and answers upon the affairs -of etching, copper, and nitric acid, swear that the world was one _vast -masquerade_, and then enter into the common chat of the room, light -their cigars, drink their punch, and sometimes early, sometimes late, -shake hands at the door and depart, one for the Adelphi, the other to -St. James's Street, each to his bachelor's bed. - -The facility with which Gilray composed his subjects, and the rapidity -with which he etched them, astonished those who were eye-witnesses of -his powers. Many years ago, he had an apartment in a court in Holborn. -A commercial agent for a printseller had received a commission to get a -satirical design etched by Gilray, but he had repeatedly called in his -absence. He lived at the west end of the town, and on his way to the -city waited on him again, when he happened to be at home. - -"You have lost a good job and a useful patron, Gilray," said he; "but -you are always out." - -"How? What--what is your object?" said the artist. - -"I want this subject drawn and etched," said the agent; "but now it is -too late." - -"When is it wanted?" - -"Why, to-morrow." - -"It shall be done." - -"Impossible, Gilray!" - -"Where are you going?" - -"Onward to the Bank." - -"When do you return?" - -"At four o'clock." It was now eleven. - -"I'll bet you a bowl of punch it shall be completed, etched and bitten -in, and a proof before that time." - -"Done!" - -The plate was finished; it contained many figures; the parties were -mutually delighted, and the affair ended with a tipsy bout, at the -Gray's Inn Coffee-house, at the employer's expense. - -It was not likely that such an original would be content to sit, year -after year, over a sheet of copper, perpetuating the renown of others, -whilst possessed of a restless and ardent mind, intent on exploring -unknown regions of taste, he could open a way through the intricacies -of art, and by a short but eccentric cut reach the Temple of Fame. He -set to work, and succeeded to the astonishment of the goddess, who, one -day, beheld this new votary unceremoniously resting upon the steps of -her altar.[36] - -[36] See an able paper in _Fraser's Magazine_, No. 133. - - - - -William Blake, Painter and Poet. - - -The life of this extraordinary man of genius has been written by Mr. -Alexander Gilchrist, with much feeling, judgment, and good taste. -Wordsworth was more interested with what he terms Blake's "madness" -than with the sanity of Lord Byron and Walter Scott. Fuseli and Flaxman -predicted a day when the drawings of Blake should be as much sought -after and treasured by artists as those of Michael Angelo. Hayley -admired and befriended Blake. He was a true poet, though, as Gilchrist -says, "he neither wrote nor drew for the many, hardly for workyday men -at all; rather for children and angels--himself a divine child, whose -play-things were sun, moon, and stars, the heavens, and the earth." - -Blake was born in 1757, at No. 28, Broad Street, Carnaby Market, where -his father carried on the business of a hosier. When a boy he began to -dream. When eight or ten years of age, he brought home from Peckham -Rye a tale of a tree filled with angels, for doing which his father -threatened to thrash him. - -In 1767 he was sent to the drawing-school of Mr. Pars, in the Strand, -and taught to copy plaster casts after the antique, while his father -made a collection of prints for him to study. He had already, too, -begun to write poetry. At the age of fourteen he was placed with James -Basire, the engraver. His father intended to apprentice him to Ryland, -a more famous engraver than Basire. The boy Blake, however, raised an -unexpected scruple. "The sequel," says Mr. Gilchrist, "shows it to -have been a singular instance, if not of absolute prophetic gift or -second sight, at all events of natural intuition into character and -power of forecasting the future, from such as is often the endowment of -temperament like his. In after-life this involuntary faculty of reading -hidden writing continued to be a characteristic. 'Father,' said the -strange boy, after the two had left Ryland's studio, 'I do not like -the man's face; _it looks as if he lived to be hanged!_' Appearances -were at this time utterly against the probability of such an event." -But, twelve years after this interview, the unfortunate Ryland got into -embarrassment, committed a forgery on the East India Company, and the -prophecy was fulfilled. - -By 1773 Blake had begun to draw his own dreams, such as one of Joseph -of Arimathea, described by him as "one of the Gothic artists who -built the cathedrals in what we call the Dark Ages, wandering about -in sheepskins and goatskins." In 1783 Blake published, by the help of -friends, a small volume of _Poetical Sketches_, of which here is a -specimen:-- - - "Memory, hither come, - And tune your merry notes; - And, while upon the wind - Your music floats, - I'll pore upon the stream - Where sighing lovers dream, - And fish for fancies as they pass - Within the watery glass. - - "I'll drink of the clear stream, - And hear the linnet's song; - And there I'll lie and dream - The day along: - And, when night comes, I'll go - To places fit for woe; - Walking along the darkened valley - With silent Melancholy." - -We pass over Blake's progress in his art, but may remark, from his -biographer, that although he drew the Antique with great care, he -thus early conceived a distaste for the study as pursued in Academies -of Art. "Already 'life,'" says Mr. Gilchrist, "in so factitious, -monotonous an aspect of it as that presented by a model artificially -_posed_ to enact an artificial part--to maintain in painful rigidity -some fleeting gesture of spontaneous Nature's--became, as it continued, -'hateful,' looking to him, laden with thick-coming fancies, 'more like -death' than life; nay (singular to say), 'smelling of mortality'--to -an imaginative mind! 'Practice and opportunity,' he used afterwards to -declare, 'very soon teach the language of art;' as much, that is, as -Blake ever acquired, not a despicable if imperfect quantum. 'Its spirit -and poetry, centred in the imagination alone, never can be taught; and -these make the artist:' a truism, the fervid poet already began to hold -too exclusively in view. Even at their best--as the vision-seer and -instinctive Platonist tells us in one of the very last years of his -life (_MS. notes to Wordsworth_)--mere 'Natural objects _always did and -do_ weaken, deaden, and obliterate imagination in me!'" - -Blake wrote many songs, to which he also composed tunes, sometimes -singularly beautiful; these he would occasionally sing to his friends. -His later verse, which he attached to his plates, was very enigmatical. -Though he did not for forty years attend any place of divine worship, -yet he was not a Freethinker nor irreligious, as has been scandalously -represented. The Bible was everything with him. How he reverenced the -Almighty, the following conclusion of his address to the Deity will -show:-- - - "For a tear is an intellectual thing; - And a sigh is the sword of an Angel King; - And the bitter groan of a martyr's woe - Is an arrow from the Almighty's bow." - -And in his _Address to the Christians_:-- - - "I give you the end of a golden string, - Only wind it into a ball, - It will lead you in at Heaven's gate, - Built in Jerusalem's wall." - -Blake was a diligent and enthusiastic student. The day he devoted to -the graver and the night to poetry; he was utterly indifferent to the -goods of this life, and used to say: "My business is not to gather -gold, but to make glorious shapes expressing god-like sentiments." - -When Blake was twenty-six years of age, he married Catherine Boutcher, -who lived near his father's house, and was noticed by Blake for the -whiteness of her hands, the brightness of her eyes, and a slim and -handsome shape, corresponding with his own notions of sylphs and -naiads. His marriage proved a mutually happy one. She had not learned -to write, but Blake instructed his "beloved," as he most frequently -called her, and allowed her till the last moments of his practice to -take off his proof impressions and print his works, which she did -most carefully, and ever delighted in the task; nay, she became a -draughtswoman. And as a convincing proof that she and her husband were -born for each other's comfort, she not only cheerfully entered into -his views, but, what is curious, possessed a similar power of imbibing -ideas, and produced drawings equally original, and in some respects, -interesting. She almost rivalled him in all things, save in the power -of seeing visions of any individual living or dead, whenever he chose -to see them. Yet, she joined him in other extravagances. The painter -and Mrs. Blake one day received a guest in their arbour in a state of -nakedness, to whom they calmly declared that they were Adam and Eve! - -In his thirtieth year, Blake annotated the Aphorisms of Lavater, and -illustrated his own poems, _The Songs of Innocence and of Experience_. -These, with the illustrations to _Blair's Grave_, to the _Book of Job_, -and the plate of the _Canterbury Pilgrimage_--are the works of Blake -by which he is best known. He was his own printer and publisher. His -deceased brother and pupil, Robert Blake, disclosed to him in a dream -by what manner of process his purpose could be brought to pass and the -last half-crown he possessed was spent by Mrs. Blake to procure the -materials. Their manner of manipulation was revealed to him by "Joseph, -the sacred carpenter." - -One of the most touching and popular of _The Songs of Innocence_ was -"The Chimney Sweeper:" - - "When my mother died I was very young - And my father sold me while yet my tongue - Could scarcely cry--weep! weep! weep! - So your chimneys I clean and in soot I sleep. - - "There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head - That curl'd like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said, - Hush, Tom, never mind it, for when your head's bare, - You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair. - - "And so he was quiet--and on that very night, - As Tommy was sleeping, he had such a sight; - There thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, - Were all of them locked up in coffins of black; - - "And by came an Angel, who had a bright key, - He opened the coffins and set them all free; - Then down a green vale, leaping, laughing they run, - And wash in a river, and shine like the sun. - - "Then, naked and white, all their bags left behind, - They rise up on pure clouds and sport in the wind: - And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, - He'd have God for his father and never want joy. - - "And so Tommy awoke and we rose in the dark, - And got with our bags and our brushes to work; - Though the morning was cold, he was happy and warm, - So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm." - -In 1800, the Blakes were invited by Hayley to visit him at Felpham, -in Sussex, under the idea of providing the artist with occupation and -emolument. Upon this occasion Blake wrote thus to Flaxman:-- - -"Dear Sculptor of Eternity,--We are safe arrived at our cottage, which -is more beautiful than I thought it, and more convenient. It is a -perfect model for cottages, and I think for palaces of magnificence, -only enlarging--not altering its proportions, and adding ornaments -and not principles. Nothing can be more grand than its simplicity and -usefulness. Simple without intricacy, it seems to be the spontaneous -expression of humanity congenial to the wants of men. No other formed -house can ever please me so well, nor shall I ever be persuaded, I -believe, that it can be improved either in beauty or use. Mr. Hayley -received us with his usual brotherly affection. I have begun to work. -Felpham is a sweet place for study, because it is more spiritual than -London. Heaven opens here on all sides her golden gates; her windows -are not obstructed by vapours; voices of celestial inhabitants are more -distinctly heard, and their forms more distinctly seen; and my cottage -is also a shadow of their houses. My wife and sister are both well, -courting Neptune for an embrace. - - * * * * * - -"And now begins a new life, because another covering of earth is shaken -off. I am more famed in Heaven for my works than I could well conceive. -In my brain are studies and chambers filled with books and pictures of -old, which I wrote and painted in ages of eternity before my mortal -life; and those works are the delight and study of archangels. Why then -should I be anxious about riches or the fame of mortality? The Lord our -Father will do for us and with us according to his Divine will, for -our good. You, O dear Flaxman! are a sublime archangel--my friend and -companion from eternity. In the Divine bosom is our dwelling-place. I -look back into the regions of reminiscence, and behold our ancient -days before this earth appeared in its vegetated mortality to my -mortal vegetated eyes. I see our houses of eternity which can never -be separated, though our mortal vehicles should stand at the remotest -corners of heaven from each other. Farewell my best friend! Remember me -and my wife in love and friendship to our dear Mrs. Flaxman, whom we -ardently desire to entertain beneath our thatched roof of rusted gold. -And believe me for ever to remain your grateful and affectionate - - "WILLIAM BLAKE." - -This association at Felpham lasted four years, when the Blakes left by -mutual consent. Yet the painter wrote upon his host these sarcastic -epigrams:-- - - "_To Hayley._ - - "Thy friendship oft has made my heart to ache: - Do be my enemy, for friendship's sake!" - - "_On H. [Hayley], the Pickthank._ - - "I write the rascal thanks; till he and I - With thanks and compliments are quite drawn dry." - -He had already written:-- - - "My title as a genius thus is proved,-- - Not praised by Hayley, nor by Flaxman loved." - -About this time, Blake's mind was confirmed in that extraordinary state -which many suppose to have been a species of chronic insanity. He was -so exclusively occupied with his own ideas, that he at last persuaded -himself that his imaginations were spiritual realities. He thought that -he conversed with the spirits of the long-departed great--of Homer, -Moses, Pindar, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and many others. Some of these -spirits sat to him for their portraits. - -Dr. de Boismont, among his _Hallucinations involving Insanity_, thus -describes him as a lunatic, of the name of Blake, who was called the -Seer. There was nothing of the impostor about him; he seemed to be -thoroughly in earnest. - -"This man constituted himself the painter of spirits. On the table -before him were pencils and brushes ready for his use, that he might -depict the countenances and attitudes of his heroes, whom he said -he did not summon before him, but who came of their own accord, and -entreated him to take their portraits. Visitors might examine large -volumes filled with these drawings: amongst others were the portraits -of the devil and his mother. When I entered his cell," says the author -of this notice, "he was drawing the likeness of a girl whose spectre he -pretended had appeared to him." - -"Edward III. was one of his most constant visitors, and in -acknowledgment of the monarch's condescension, Blake had drawn his -portrait in oils in three sittings. I put such questions as were likely -to have embarrassed him; but he answered them in the most unaffected -manner, and without any hesitation. - -"'Do these persons have themselves announced, or do they send in their -cards?'--'No; but I recognise them when they appear. I did not expect -to see Marc Antony last night, but I knew the Roman the moment he set -foot in my house.'--'At what hour do these illustrious dead visit -you?'--'At one o'clock: sometimes their visits are long, sometimes -short. The day before yesterday I saw the unfortunate Job, but he would -not stay more than two minutes; I had hardly time to make a sketch -of him, which I afterwards engraved----but silence! Here is Richard -III.!'--'Where do you see him?'--'Opposite to you, on the other side of -the table: it is his first visit.'--'How do you know his name?'--'My -spirit recognizes him, but I cannot tell you how.'--'What is he -like?'--'Stern, but handsome: at present I only see his profile; now I -have the three-quarter face; ah! now he turns to me, he is terrible to -behold.'--'Could you ask him any questions?'--'Certainly. What would -you like me to ask him?'--'If he pretends to justify the murders he -committed during his life?'--'Your question is already known to him. We -converse mind to mind by intuition and by magnetism. We have no need -of words.'--'What is his Majesty's reply?'--'This; only it is somewhat -longer than he gave it to me, for you would not understand the language -of spirits. He says what you call murder and carnage is all nothing; -that in slaughtering fifteen or twenty thousand men you do no wrong; -for what is immortal of them is not only preserved, but passes into -a better world, and the man who reproaches his assassin is guilty of -ingratitude, for it is by his means he enters into a happier and more -perfect state of existence. But do not interrupt me; he is now in a -very good position, and if you say anything more, he will go.'" - -"Visions, such as are said to arise in the sight of those who indulge -in opium," says Allan Cunningham, "were frequently present to Blake; -nevertheless, he sometimes desired to see a spirit in vain. 'For many -years,' said he, 'I longed to see Satan--I never could believe that -he was the vulgar fiend which our legends represent him--I imagined -him a classic spirit, such as he appeared to him of Uz, with some -of his original splendour about him. At last I saw him. I was going -upstairs in the dark, when suddenly a light came streaming amongst -my feet; I turned round and there he was looking fiercely at me -through the iron grating of my staircase window. I called for my -things--Katherine thought the fit of song was on me, and brought me -pen and ink--I said hush!--never mind--this will do--as he appeared so -I drew him--there he is.' Upon this Blake took out a piece of paper -with a grated window sketched on it, while through the bars glared the -most frightful phantom that ever man imagined. Its eyes were large -and like live coals--its teeth as long as those of a harrow, and the -claws seemed such as might appear in the distempered dream of a clerk -in the Heralds' office. 'It is the Gothic fiend of our legends,' said -Blake--'the true devil--all else are apocryphal.' - -"These stories are scarcely credible, yet there can be no doubt of -their accuracy. Another friend, on whose veracity I have the fullest -dependence, called one evening on Blake, and found him sitting with a -pencil and a panel, drawing a portrait with all the seeming anxiety of -a man who is conscious that he has got a fastidious sitter; he looked -and drew, and drew and looked, yet no living soul was visible. 'Disturb -me not,' said he, in a whisper, 'I have one sitting to me.' 'Sitting -to you!' exclaimed his astonished visitor; 'where is he, and what is -he?--I see no one.' 'But I see him, Sir,' answered Blake, haughtily; -'there he is, his name is Lot--you may read of him in the Scripture. -_He_ is sitting for his portrait.'" - -Blake's last residence was No. 3, Fountain Court, Strand; he had two -rooms on the first floor, that in front, with the windows looking into -the court, had its walls hung with frescoes, temperas, and drawings -of Blake's, and was used as a reception-room. The back room was the -sleeping and living-room, kitchen, and studio; in one corner was the -bed, in another the fire, at which Mrs. Blake cooked. By the window -stood the table serving for meals, and by the window the table at which -Blake always sat (facing the light), designing or engraving. "There -was," says Mr. Gilchrist, "an air of poverty as of an artizan's room; -but everything was clean and neat; nothing sordid. Blake himself, with -his serene, cheerful, dignified presence and manner, made all seem -natural and of course. Conversing with him, you saw or felt nothing -of his poverty, though he took no pains to conceal it: if he had, -you would have been effectually reminded of it. But, in these latter -years he, for the most part, lived on good though simple fare. His -wife was an excellent cook--a talent which helped to fill out Blake's -waistcoat a little as he grew old. She could even prepare a made dish -when need be. As there was no servant, he fetched the porter for -dinner himself, from the house at the corner of the Strand. Once, pot -of porter in hand, he espied coming along a dignitary of Art--that -highly respectable man, William Collins, R.A., whom he had met in -society a few evenings before. The Academician was about to shake -hands, but seeing the porter, drew up and did not know him. Blake -would tell the story very quietly, and without sarcasm. Another time, -Fuseli came in, and found Blake with a little cold mutton before him -for dinner, who, far from being disconcerted, asked his friend to join -him. 'Ah! by G--!' exclaimed Fuseli, 'this is the reason you can do -as you like. _Now I can't do this._' His habits were very temperate. -Frugal and abstemious on principle, and for pecuniary reasons, he -was sometimes rather imprudent, and would take anything that came -in his way. A nobleman once sent him some oil of walnuts he had had -expressed purposely for an artistic experiment. Blake tasted it, and -went on tasting, till he had drunk the whole. When his lordship called -to ask how the experiment had prospered, the artist had to confess -what had become of the ingredients. It was ever after a standing joke -against him. In his dress, there was a similar triumph of the man -over his poverty, to that which struck one in his rooms. In-doors, he -was careful, for economy's sake, but not slovenly: his clothes were -threadbare, and his grey trousers had worn black and shiny in front, -like a mechanic's. Out of doors he was more particular, so that his -dress did not in the streets of London challenge attention either way. -He wore black knee-breeches and buckles, black worsted stockings, -shoes which tied, and a broad-brimmed hat. It was something like an -old-fashioned tradesman's dress. But the general impression he made on -you was that of a gentleman in a way of his own." - -Blake died August 12th, 1827: he composed and uttered songs to his -Maker so sweetly to the ear of his Katherine, that when she stood -to hear him, he, looking upon her most affectionately, said: "My -beloved, they are not mine--no--they are not mine." He expired in his -sixty-ninth year, in the back room at Fountain Court, and was buried -in Bunhill Fields on the 17th of August, at the distance of about -twenty-five feet from the north wall, numbered 80. - - - - -[Illustration: Joseph Nollekens. From the _Life and Times_ by J. T. -Smith.] - - - - -Nollekens, the Sculptor. - - -Avarice would appear to have run in the blood of the Nollekens family. -"Old Nollekens," the father of Joseph, was "a miserably avaricious -man," and when, in the Rebellion of 1745, his house was attacked by the -mob, who thought themselves sure of finding money, the old man became -so terrified that he lingered in a state of alarm until his death. - -Little Joey was described by Mrs. Scheemakers, the sculptor's wife, -as "so honest that she could always trust him to stone the raisins." -His love of modelling was his greatest pleasure, though he had an idle -propensity for bell-tolling; and whenever his master missed him, and -the dead-bell of St. James's church was tolling, he knew perfectly well -what Joey was at. - -As Nollekens grew up, not unmindful of his art, he rose early -and practised carefully, and being a true son of his father, was -passionately fond of money. He was much employed as a shrewd collector -of antique fragments, some of which he bought on his own account; and -after he had dexterously restored them with heads and limbs, he stained -them with tobacco-water, and sold them for enormous sums. - -When he returned from Rome, he succeeded as a smuggler of silk -stockings, gloves, and lace; all his plaster busts being hollow, he -stuffed them full of the above articles, and then spread an outside -coating of plaster at the back across the shoulders of each, so that -the busts appeared like solid casts. Pointing to the cast of Sterne, -Nollekens observed to Lord Mansfield: "There, do you know that bust, -my Lord, held my lace ruffles that I went to Court in when I came from -Rome." - -His mode of living when at Rome was most filthy: he had an old woman -who was so good a cook, that she would often give him a dish for -dinner which cost him no more than threepence. "Nearly opposite to my -lodgings," he said, "there lived a pork-butcher who sold for twopence -a plateful of cuttings--bits of skin, gristle, and fat, and my old -lady dished them up with a little pepper and salt; and with a slice of -bread, and sometimes a bit of vegetable, I made a very nice dinner." -Whenever good dinners were mentioned after that, he was sure to say, -"Ay, I never tasted a better dish than my Roman cuttings." - -Nollekens married the daughter of Mr. Justice Welch. She was as -parsimonious as her husband. Of a poor old woman, whom she allowed to -sit at the corner of her house, she would contrive to get four apples, -instead of three, to make a dumpling, saying, "for there's my husband, -myself, and two servants, and we must have one a-piece." When she went -to Oxford Market to beat the rounds, in order to discover the cheapest -shops, she would walk round several times to give her dog Cerberus an -opportunity of picking up scraps. - -Nollekens's bust of Dr. Johnson is a wonderfully fine one, and very -like, but the sort of _hair_ is objectionable, having been modelled -from the flowing locks of a sturdy Irish beggar, who, after he had sat -an hour, refused to take a shilling, stating that he could have made -more by begging. - -Most of Nollekens's sitters were much amused with his oddities. He once -requested a lady who squinted dreadfully to "look a little the other -way, for then," said he, "I shall get rid of the shyness in the cast of -your eye;" and to another lady of the highest rank, who had forgotten -her position, and was looking down upon him, he cried, "Don't look so -_scorny_; you'll spoil my busto; and you're a very fine woman; I think -it will be one of my best bustos." - -A lady in weeds for her dear husband, drooping low like the willow, -visited the sculptor, and assured him she did not care what money was -expended on the monument to the memory of her beloved: "Do what you -please, but do it directly," were her orders. Nollekens set to work -at once, and in a short time finished the model, strongly suspecting -she might, like some others he had been employed by, change her mind. -The lady, in about three months, made her second appearance, in which -more courage is generally assumed, and was accosted by him, before she -alighted, with "Poor soul! I thought you'd come;" but her inclination -was changed, and she said, "How do you do, Nollekens; well, you have -not commenced the model?"--"Yes, but I have though," was the reply. -_The Lady_--"Have you, indeed? These, my good friend, I own," throwing -herself into a chair, "are early days; but since I saw you, an old -Roman acquaintance of yours has made me an offer, and I don't know -how he would like to see in our church a monument of such expense to -my late husband; indeed, perhaps, after all, upon second thoughts, it -would be considered quite enough if we got our mason to put up a mural -inscription, and that, you know, he can cut very neatly."--"My charge," -interrupted the artist, "for my model will be one hundred guineas;" -which she declared to be enormous. However, she would pay it, and "have -done with him." - -Nollekens's housekeeping was a model of parsimony. Coals he so rigidly -economized that they were always sent early before the men came to work -that he might have leisure-time for counting the sacks and disposing -of the large coals to be locked up for parlour use. Candles were never -lighted at the commencement of evening, and whenever they heard a knock -at the door, they would wait until they heard a second rap, lest the -first should have been a runaway, and their candle wasted. Mr. and Mrs. -Nollekens used a flat candlestick, when there was anything to be done; -and J. T. Smith, his biographer, was assured that a pair of moulds, by -being well nursed, and put out when company went away, once lasted them -a whole year. - -Before he was married, Nollekens kept but one servant who always -applied to him for money to purchase every article _fresh_, as it was -wanted for the next meal; and by that mode of living, he considered, as -he kept his servant upon board-wages, he was not so much exposed to her -pilfering inclinations, particularly as she was entrusted with no more -money than would enable her to purchase just enough for his own eating; -and he generally contrived to get through the small quantity he allowed -himself. He was very cunning in hinting at little presents, and -frequently complained of a sore throat to those who made black currant -jelly. - -Sometimes, in the evening, to take a little fresh air, and to avoid -interlopers, Mr. and Mrs. N. would, after putting a little tea and -sugar, a French roll, or a couple of rusks into their pockets, stray -to Madam Caria's, a Frenchwoman, who lived near the end of Marylebone -Lane, and who accommodated persons with tea equipage and hot water at -a penny a head. Mrs. Nollekens made it a rule to allow one servant--as -they kept two--to go out on the alternate Sunday; for it was Mr. -Nollekens's opinion that if they were never permitted to visit the -Jew's Harp, Queen's Head and Artichoke, or Chalk Farm, they never would -wash _theirselves_. - -One day, when some friends were expected to dine with Mr. Nollekens, -poor Bronze (the servant), labouring under a severe sore throat, -stretching her flannelled neck up to her mistress, hoarsely announced -"_all the Hawkinses_" to be in the dining-parlour! Mrs. Nollekens, in -a half-stifled whisper, cried, "Nolly, it is truly vexatious that we -are always served so when we dress a joint. You won't be so silly as -to ask them to dinner?" _Nollekens_--"I ask them! Let 'em get their -meals at home; I'll not encourage the sort of thing; or, if they -please, they can go to Mathias's; they'll find the cold leg of lamb -we left yesterday." _Mrs. Nollekens_--"No wonder, I am sure, they -are considered so disagreeable by Captain Grose, Hampstead Steevens, -Murphy, Nicolls, and Boswell." At this moment who should come in but -Mr. John Taylor, who looked around, and wondered what all the fuss -could be about. "Why don't you go to your dinner, my good friend?" said -he; "I am sure it must be ready, for I smell the gravy." Nollekens, -to whom he had spoken, desired him to keep his nonsense to himself. A -dispute then arose, which lasted so long, that perhaps the Hawkinses -overheard it, for they had silently let themselves out without even -ringing the bell. - -Smith, the grocer, of Margaret Street, was frequently heard to declare -that whenever Mrs. Nollekens purchased tea and sugar at his father's -shop, she always requested, just as she was quitting the counter, to -have either a clove or a bit of cinnamon to take some unpleasant taste -out of her mouth; but she never was seen to apply it to the part so -affected; so that, with Nollekens's nutmegs, which he pocketed from -the table at the Academy dinners, they contrived to fill the family -spice-box, without any expense whatever. - -For many years Nollekens made one at the table of the Royal Academy -Club; and so strongly was he bent upon saving all he could privately -conceal, that he did not mind paying two guineas a year for his -admission ticket, in order to indulge himself with a few nutmegs, -which he contrived to pocket privately: for as red-wine negus was the -principal beverage, nutmegs were used. Now it generally happened, if -another bowl was wanted, that the nutmegs were missing, Nollekens, -who had frequently been seen to pocket them, was one day requested by -Rossi, the sculptor to see if they had not fallen under the table; -upon which Nollekens actually went crawling beneath, upon his hands -and knees, pretending to look for them, though at the very time they -were in his waistcoat-pocket. He was so old a stager at this monopoly -of nutmegs, that he would sometimes engage the maker of the negus in -conversation, looking at him full in the face, whilst he slyly and -unobserved, as he thought, conveyed away the spice; like the fellow who -is stealing the bank-note from the blind man in the admirable print of -the Royal Cockpit, by Hogarth. - -Mrs. Nollekens would never think of indulging in such expensive -articles as spick and span new shoes, but purchased them second-hand, -as her friends, by their maids, _pumped_ out of Bronze, who also let -out that her muffs and parasols were obtained in the same way. The -sculptor's wife would also often plume herself with borrowed feathers -a shawl or a muff of a friend she never refused when returning home, -observing, that she was quite sure that they would keep her warm; never -caring how they suffered from the rain, so that her neighbours saw her -apparelled in what they had never before seen her wear. - -Mrs. Nollekens's notions of charity were of the same second-hand -description. One severe winter morning, two miserable men, almost dying -for want of nourishment, implored her aid; but the only heart which -sympathized in their afflictions was that of Betty, in the kitchen, -who silently crept upstairs, and cheerfully gave them her mite. Mrs. -Nollekens, who had witnessed this delicate rebuke from the parlour -window, hastily opened the parlour door and vociferated, "Betty, Betty! -there is a bone below, with little or no meat on it, give it the poor -creatures!" upon which the one who had hitherto spoken, steadfastly -looking in the face of his pale partner in distress, repeated, "Bill, -we are to have a bone with little or no meat on it!" When they were -gone, the liberal-hearted Betty was seriously rated by her mistress, -who was quite certain she would come to want. - -Mr. Nollekens, having entered his barber's shop, and his turn arrived, -placed one of Mrs. Nollekens's curling papers, which he had untwisted -for the purpose, upon his right shoulder, upon which the barber wiped -his razor. Nollekens cried out, "Shave close, Hancock, for I was -obliged to come twice last week, you used so blunt a razor."--"Lord -sir!" answered the poor barber, "you don't care how I wear my razors -out by sharpening them." - -The old miser, who had been under his hands for upwards of twenty -years, was so correct an observer of its application, that he generally -pronounced at the last flourish, "That will do;" and before the shaver -could take off the cloth, he dexterously drew down the paper, folded -it up and carried it home in his hand, for the purpose of using it the -next morning when he washed himself. - -Nollekens used to sing a droll song, of which the following is a -verse:-- - - "So a rat by degrees - Fed a kitten with cheese, - Till kitten grew up to a cat; - When the cheese was all spent, - Nature follow'd its bent, - And puss quickly ate up the rat." - -One day, Northcote, the Academician, had just reached his door in -Argyle Street when Nollekens, who was looking up at the house, said to -him, "Why, don't you have your house painted, Northcote? Why, it's as -dirty as Jem Barry's was in Castle Street." Now, Nollekens had no right -to exult over his brother artist in this way, for he had given his own -door a coat of paint, and his front passage a whitewash, _only the day -before_, and they had been for years in the most filthy state possible. - -Mr. Smith received from Miss Welch the following specimens of -Nollekens's way of spelling words in 1780:--"Yousual, scenceble, -obligine, modle, ivery, gentilman, promist, sarvices, desier, Inglish, -perscription, hardently, jenerly, moust, devower, jellis, retier, -sarved, themselfs, could _for_ cold, clargeman, facis, cupple, foure, -sun _for_ son, boath sexis, daly, horsis, ladie, cheif, talkin, tould, -shee, sarch, paing, ould mades, racis, yoummer in his face, palas, oke, -lemman, are-bolloon, sammon, chimisters _for_ chymists, yoke _for_ -yolk, grownd," &c. - -After Mrs. Nollekens's death, as if he had been too long henpecked, -Mr. Nollekens soon sported two mould candles instead of one; took wine -oftener, sat up later, lay in bed longer, and would, though he made -no change in his coarse manner of feeding, frequently ask his morning -visitor to dine with him. Yet his viands were dirtily cooked with -half-melted butter, mountains-high of flour, and his habits of eating -were filthy. He frequently gave tea and other entertainments to some -one of his old models, who generally left his house a bank-note or -two richer than when they arrived. Indeed, so stupidly childish was he -at times, that one of his Venuses, who had grown old in her practices -coaxed him out of ten pounds to enable her to make him a plum-pudding. - -Mr. Smith declares, that in some respects, aged as he was, he attempted -to practise the usual method of renovation of some of that species of -widowers who have not the least inclination to follow their wives too -hastily. Mrs. Nollekens had left him with his handsome maid, who had -become possessed of her mistress' wardrobe, which she quickly cut up -to her advantage. Her common name of Mary soon received the adjunct of -Pretty from her kind master himself. As it soon appeared, however, that -Pretty Mary, who had an eye to her master's disengaged hand, took upon -herself mightily, and used her master rather roughly, she was one day, -very properly, though unceremoniously, put out of the house, before her -schemes were brought to perfection. - -Nollekens took snuff; he certainly kept a box, but then it was very -often in his other coat-pocket, an apology frequently made when he -partook of that refreshment at the expense of another. - -"You must sometimes be much annoyed," observed a lady to Mr. Nollekens, -"by the ridiculous remarks made by your sitters and their flattering -friends, after you have produced a good likeness."--"No, ma'am, I never -allow anybody to fret me. I tell 'em all, 'If you don't like it, don't -take it.'" This may be done by an artist who is "tiled in;" but the -dependent man is sometimes known to submit to observations as the witty -Northcote has stated, even from "nursery-maids, both wet and dry." - -At the commencement of the French Revolution, when such numbers -of priests threw themselves upon the hospitality of this country, -Nollekens was highly indignant at the great quantity of bread they -consumed. "Why, do you know now," said he, "there's one of 'em living -next door to me, that eats two whole quarterns a-day to his own share! -and I am sure the fellow's body could not be bigger, if he was to eat -up his blanket." - -Mr. Browne, one of Nollekens's old friends, after having received -repeated invitations to "step in and take pot-luck with him," one day -took him at his word. The sculptor apologized for his entertainment, -by saying that as it was Friday, Mrs. Nollekens had proposed to take -fish with him, so that they had bought _a few sprats_, of which he was -wiping some in a dish, whilst she was turning others on the gridiron. - -When Mr. Jackson was once making a drawing of a monument at the -Sculptor's house, Nollekens came into the room and said, "I'm afraid -you're cold here." "I am, indeed," said Jackson. "Ay," answered the -Sculptor, "I don't wonder at it: why, do you know, there has not been a -fire in this room for these forty years." - -Miss Gerrard, daughter of the auctioneer, frequently called to know how -Nollekens did; and once the Sculptor prevailed upon her to dine. "Well, -then," said he to his pupil, Joseph Bonomi, "go and order a mackerel; -stay, one won't be enough, you had better get two, and you shall dine -with us." - -A candle with Nollekens was a serious article of consumption: indeed, -so much so, that he would frequently put it out, and merely to save -an inch or two, sit entirely in the dark, and at times, too, when he -was not in the least inclined to sleep. If Bronze ventured into the -yard with a light, he always scolded her for so shamefully flaring -the candle. One evening, his man, who then slept in the house, came -home rather late, but quite sober enough to attempt to go upstairs -unheard without his shoes, but as he was passing Nollekens's door, the -immensely increased shape of the keyhole shone upon the side of the -room so brilliantly that Nollekens cried out, "Who's there?"--"It's -only me," answered the man; "I am going to bed."--"Going to bed, -you extravagant rascal!--why don't you go to bed in the dark, you -scoundrel."--"It's my own candle," replied the man. "Your own candle! -well then, mind you don't set fire to yourself." - -Nollekens frequently spoke of a man that he met in the fields, who -would now and then, with all the gravity of an apothecary, inquire -after the state of his bowels. At last the sculptor found out that he -wanted to borrow money of him. - -Whenever Mr. and Mrs. Nollekens had a present of a leveret, which they -always called a hare, they contrived, by splitting it, to make it last -for two dinners for four persons; the one half was roasted, and the -other jugged. - -It was highly amusing to witness the great variety of trifling presents -and frivolous messages which Nollekens received late in life. One -person was particularly desirous to be informed where he liked his -cheese-cakes purchased; another, who ventured to buy stale tarts from -a shop in his neighbourhood, sent his livery servant in the evening to -inquire whether his cook had made them to his taste; whilst a third -continued constantly to ply him with the very best pigtail tobacco, -which he had most carefully cut into very small pieces for him. A -fourth truly kind friend, who was not inclined to spend money upon -such speculations himself, endeavoured once more to persuade Nollekens -to take a cockney ride in a hackney-coach to Kensington, to view -the pretty almond-tree in perfect blossom, and to accept of a few -gooseberries to carry home with him to make a tartlet for himself. -A fifth sent him jellies, or sometimes a chicken with gravy ready -made, in a silver butter-boat; and a sixth regularly presented him -with a change of large showy plants, to stand on the mahogany table, -especially in his latter years, when he was a valetudinarian, that he -might see them from his bed; yet the scent mattered not, a carrion -flower or a marigold being equally refreshing to him as jessamine or -mignonette. - -One rainy morning, Nollekens, after confession, invited his holy father -to stay till the weather cleared up. The wet, however, continued -till dinner was ready; and Nollekens felt obliged to ask the priest -to partake of a bird, one of the four of a present from the Duke of -Newcastle. Down they sat: the reverend man helped his host to a wing, -and then carved for himself, assuring Nollekens that he never indulged -in much food, though he soon picked the rest of the bones. "I have no -pudding," said Nollekens, "but won't you have a glass of wine? Oh! -you've got some ale." However, Bronze brought in a bottle of wine; and -on the remove, Nollekens, after taking a glass, went, as usual, to -sleep. The priest, after enjoying himself, was desired by Nollekens, -while removing the handkerchief from his head, to take another glass. -"Tank you, Sare, I have a finish de bottel."--"The devil you have!" -muttered Nollekens. "Now, sare," continued his reverence, "ass de rain -be ovare, I will take my leaf."--"Well, do so," said Nollekens, who -was not only determined to let him go without his coffee, but gave -strict orders to Bronze not to let the old rascal in again. "Why, do -you know," continued he, "that he ate up all that large bird, for he -only gave me one wing; and he swallowed all the ale; and out of a whole -bottle of wine, I had only one glass." - -A broad-necked gooseberry-bottle, leather-bunged, containing coffee, -which had been purchased and ground full forty years, was brought out -when he intended to give a particular friend a treat; but it was so -dried to the sides of the bottle, that it was with difficulty he could -scrape together enough for the purpose; and even when it was made, -time had so altered its properties, from the top having been but half -closed, that it was impossible to tell what it had originally been. He -used to say, however, of this turbid mixture, "Some people fine their -coffee with sole-skin, but for my part, I think this is clear enough -for anybody." - -Nollekens's wardrobe was but a sorry stock. He had but one nightcap, -two shirts, and three pairs of stockings; two coats, one pair of -small-clothes, and two waistcoats. His shoes had been repeatedly mended -and nailed; they were two odd ones, and the best of his last two -pairs. When Mary Holt, his housekeeper, came, she declared that she -would not live with him unless he had a new coat and waistcoat. Poor -Bronze, who had to support herself upon what were called board-wages, -had hardly a change, and looked like the wife of a chimney-sweeper. -As for table-linen, two breakfast napkins and a large old table-cloth -was the whole of the stock. Bronze declared that she had never seen a -jack-towel in the house, and she always washed without soap. - -The wardrobe, as proved in Nollekens's will, consisted of his -court-coat, in which he was married: his hat, sword, and bag; two -shirts, two pairs of worsted stockings, one table-cloth, three -sheets, and two pillow-cases; but all these, with _other rags_, only -produced one pound five shillings for the person to whom they were -bequeathed.[37] - -[37] These characteristics have been selected and abridged from Mr. J. -T. Smith's _Nollekens and his Times_, one of the best books of anecdote -ever published. - -Mr. Nollekens died April 23rd, 1823. His long-drawn-out will and its -fourteen codicils afford strange instances of human weakness in many -a phase. In some measure to redeem his memory from obloquy, we had -rather record a few instances of his generosity, than add more of his -parsimony. In his last illness, he asked his housekeeper:--"Is there -anybody that I know that wants a little money to do 'em good?"--"Yes, -sir, there is Mrs. ----." _Nollekens_:--"Well, in the morning, I'll -send her ten pounds."--"That's a good old boy," said she, patting -him on the back; "you'll eat a better dinner for it to-morrow, and -enjoy it." And he was never known to forget his promises. With all -his propensity for saving, he used to make his household domestics a -present of a little sum of money on his birthday; and latterly, upon -this occasion, he became even more generous, by bestowing on them, to -their great astonishment, ten and twenty pounds each. - - - - -[Illustration: Master Betty as Norval. The Young Douglas.] - - - - -_THEATRICAL FOLKS._ - - - - -The Young Roscius. - - -Early in the present century, there appeared upon our stage a -boy-actor, whose performances excited the special wonder of all -play-goers. William Henry West Betty, the boy in question, was born -near Shrewsbury, in 1791. When almost a child, he evinced a taste for -dramatic recitations, which was encouraged by a strong and retentive -memory. Having been taken to see Mrs. Siddons act, he was so powerfully -affected, that he told his father "he should certainly die if he was -not made a player." He gradually got himself introduced to managers -and actors; and at eleven years of age, he learned by heart the parts -of Rolla, Young Norval, Osman, and other popular characters. On the -16th of August, 1803, when under twelve years of age, he made his first -public appearance at Belfast, in the character of Osman; and went -through the ordeal without mistake or embarrassment. Soon afterwards -he undertook the characters of Young Norval and Romeo. His fame having -rapidly spread through Ireland, he soon received an offer from the -manager of the Dublin theatre. His success there was prodigious, and -the manager endeavoured, but in vain, to secure his services for three -years. He next played nine nights at the small theatre at Cork, whose -receipts, averaging only ten pounds on ordinary nights, amounted to a -hundred on each of Master Betty's performance. - -In May, 1804, the canny manager of the Glasgow theatre invited the -youthful genius to Scotland. When, a little after, Betty went to the -sister-city of Edinburgh, one newspaper announced that he "set the town -of Edinburgh in a flame." Mr. Home went to see the character of Young -Norval in his own play of _Douglas_ enacted by the prodigy, and is said -to have declared: "This is the first time I ever saw the part played -according to my ideas of the character. He is a wonderful being!" The -manager of the Birmingham theatre then sent an invitation, and was -rewarded with a succession of thirteen closely-packed audiences. Here -the _Rosciomania_, as Lord Byron afterwards called it, appears to -have broken out very violently: it affected not only the inhabitants -of that town, but all the iron and coal workers of the district -between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. In the _Penny Magazine_, in a -paper descriptive of the South Staffordshire district and its people, -it is said:--"One man, more curious or more idle than his fellows, -determined to leave his work, and see the prodigy with his own eyes. -Having so resolved, he proceeded, although in the middle of the -week, to put on a clean shirt and a clean face, and would even have -anticipated the Saturday's shaving. The unwonted hue of the shirt and -face were portents not to be disregarded, and he had no sooner taken -the road to Birmingham, than he was met by an astonished brother, whose -amazement, when at last it found vent in words, produced the following -dialogue: 'Oi say, sirree, where be'est thee gwain?'--'Oi 'm agwain to -Brummajum.'--'What be'est thee agwain there for?'--'Oi 'm agwain to see -the Young Rocus.'--'What?'--'Oi tell thee oi 'm agwain to see the Young -Rocus.'--'Is it aloive?'" The "Young Rocus," who was certainly "aloive" -to a very practical end, then went to Sheffield, and next to Liverpool. - -On Saturday, the 1st of December, 1804, young Betty made his first -appearance in London, at Covent Garden Theatre. The crowd began to -assemble at one o'clock, filling the Piazza on one side of the house, -and Bow Street on the other. The utmost danger was apprehended, -because those who had ascertained that it was quite impossible for -them to _get in_, by the dreadful pressure behind them, could not get -back. At length they themselves called for the soldiers who had been -stationed outside; they soon cleared the fronts of the entrances, and -then posting themselves properly, lined the passages, permitting any -one to return, but none to enter. Although no places were unlet in the -boxes, gentlemen paid box-prices, to have a chance of jumping over the -boxes into the pit; and then others who could not find room for a leap -of this sort, fought for standing-places with those who had taken the -boxes days or weeks before. - -The play was Dr. Brown's _Barbarossa_, a good imitation of the -_Mérope_ of Voltaire, in which Garrick had formerly acted Achmet, or -Selim, now given to Master Betty. An occasional address was intended, -and Mr. Charles Kemble attempted to speak it, but in vain. The play -proceeded through the first act, but in dumb show. At length Barbarossa -ordered Achmet to be brought before him; attention held the audience -mute; not even a whisper could be heard, till Selim appeared. By the -thunder of applause which ensued, he was not much moved; he bowed very -respectfully, but with amazing self-possession, and in a few moments -turned to his work with the intelligence of a veteran, and the youthful -passion that alone could have accomplished a task so arduous. As a -slave, he wore white pantaloons, a close and rather short russet jacket -trimmed with sables, and a turban. - -"What first struck me," says Mr. Boaden, a trustworthy critic, "was -that his voice had considerable power, and a depth of tone beyond his -apparent age; at the same time it appeared heavy and unvaried. His -great fault grew from want of careful tuition in the outset. In the -provincial way, he dismissed the aspirate; and in closing syllables, -ending in _m_ or _n_, he converted the vowel _i_ frequently into _e_, -and sometimes more barbarously still into _u_. Whether he obtained -this from careless speakers in Ireland or England, I cannot be sure; -but this inaccuracy I remember to have sometimes heard even from Miss -O'Neil. He was sometimes too rapid to be distinct, and at others too -noisy for anything but rant. I found no peculiarities that denoted -minute and happy studies. He spoke the speeches as I had always heard -them spoken, and was therefore, only wrong where he laid vehement -emphasis. The wonder was how any boy, who had just completed his -_thirteenth year_, could catch passion, meaning, cadence, action, -expression, and the discipline of the stage, in ten very different -and arduous characters, so as to give the kind of pleasure in them -that needed no indulgence, and which, from that very circumstance, -heightened satisfaction into enthusiasm. Such were his performances -of Tancred, Romeo, Frederick, Octavian, Hamlet, Osman, Achmet, Young -Norval, &c." - -An arrangement was made that young Betty's talents should be made -available for both Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres, at which he -played on alternate nights. Covent Garden was not quite so large as the -Drury Lane of that date; at the latter, twenty-eight nights of Betty's -first town season, brought 17,210_l._ 11_s._; nightly average, 614_l._ -13_s._ 3_d._ For his services, Roscius received 2,782_l._ 10_s._, being -three nights at fifty guineas, and twenty-five nights at 100 guineas; -besides four free benefits, which with the presents, were worth 1,000 -guineas each. It is supposed that the receipts at Covent Garden were -nearly as much as at Drury Lane; and that thus 30,000_l._ was earned by -the boy-actor for the managers in fifty-six performances. - -In the meantime, all the favouritism, and more than the innocence of -former patronesses was lavished upon him. He might have chosen among -our titled dames the carriage he would honour with his person. He was -presented to the King, and noticed by the rest of the Royal family and -the nobility, as a prodigy. Prose and poetry celebrated his praise. -Even the University of Cambridge was so carried away by the tide of -the moment as to make the subject of Sir William Brown's prize medal, -"_Quid noster Roscius eget?_" Opie painted him on the Grampian Hills, -as the shepherd Norval; Northcote exhibited him in a Vandyke costume, -retiring from the altar of Shakespeare, as having borne thence, not -stolen, "Jove's authentic fire." Heath engraved the latter picture. -"Amidst all this adulation, all this desperate folly," says Boaden, "be -it one consolation to his mature self, that he never lost the genuine -modesty of his carriage, and that his temper at least was as steady as -his diligence." - -Fortunately for young Betty, his friends took care of his large -earnings for him, and made a provision for his future support. He soon -retired from the stage, and then became a person of no particular note -in the world, displaying no more genius or talent than the average of -those about him. When he became a man, he appeared on the stage again, -but _utterly failed_. We can add our own testimony that the good people -of Shrewsbury were ever proud of the precocious boy-actor. - - - - -Hardham's "No 37." - - -This renowned snuff was first made by John Hardham, of Fleet Street, -whose history is certainly worth reading. He was born in the good city -of Chichester, in the year 1712, and bred up to the occupation of a -working lapidary, or diamond-cutter; but he afterwards found his way -to the metropolis, and sought confidential or domestic employment, -and was in the establishment of Viscount Townshend, some time Lord -Lieutenant of Ireland, who ever entertained for him great regard. -Hardham, early in his career of London life, acquired a fondness for -the stage; and thus early wrote a comedy, called _The Fortune Tellers_, -which, although not intended for representation, nevertheless was -printed. This, probably, led to his subsequent introduction to David -Garrick, with whom he became connected at Drury Lane Theatre, in the -responsible post of his principal, "numberer"--that is, discharging -a duty in the house of counting the audience assembled, as a check -upon the check-takers and receivers of money at the doors. In this -duty he became so expert, that Garrick was heard to say, Hardham, by a -comparative glance round the theatre, could inform his master of the -receipts to a nicety, and he was never found incorrect in his report. - -Hardham established himself at the Red Lion, in Fleet Street, now -No. 106, where he flourished, by a course of patient industry, and -intelligent application to the business of tobacconist and snuff-maker. -Although in this new vocation he had fewer opportunities of intimately -identifying himself with the stage, he nevertheless remained as ardent -an admirer of it as ever. This he exemplified by associating around -him in Fleet Street, among whom were many literary personages, the -dramatists and wits of the theatre, and his friend David Garrick -did not here desert him. So much, in fact, did the dramatic element -prevail at the Red Lion in Fleet Street, under his fostering care, -that novices for the stage, almost invariably sought his advice, and, -indeed, his tuition. His little back-parlour, characteristically -enough, was hung around with portraits of eminent performers, to whose -styles of dramatic action and manner he would frequently refer in the -course of his instructions. Such recreations, however, did not for a -moment induce Hardham to relax his best energies in the conduct of the -snuff-business, which was daily enlarging the sphere of its operations, -and also its renown; which latter was much raised by the successful -completion of his experiments in the compounding of the renowned snuff, -"No. 37," which was speedily launched upon the tide of public opinion; -a tide which "led on to fortune." - -Hardham died in the house wherein he had earned his name for business -success, for good fellowship, and for "melting charity," in Fleet -Street, in the parish of St. Bride, on the 29th of September, 1772, -in his sixty-first year. His wife had preceded him by some years, and -leaving no child, in his last will, he says, "In all my former wills, -I gave my estate to my brother-in-law, Thomas Ludgater, but as he is -now growing old (about seventy-four), and as he has no child, and a -plenty of fortune, I thought it best to leave it as I have done, for -now it will be a benefit to the said city of Chichester for ever." This -fortune he left to the easing of the poor rates of his native city, -that is, the interest thereof for ever, amounting, after realizing -his estate, to the very considerable sum of 22,289_l._ 15_s._ 9_d._, -which was placed by his direction in the Three Per Cents., "feeling -confident that stock," as he quaintly expresses it, "will never -be lower than three per cent., as it now is." In the collecting of -the outstanding debts to his estate, there is also this emphatic -injunction, to "oppress not the poor." Legacies to several of his -Chichester friends show that Hardham kept up in life an active sympathy -with his native place, which was to be so largely benefited on his -death. One bequest there is, too, of ten guineas, "to his friend David -Garrick, Esq., the famous actor," who survived him seven years; and -there is besides recorded, as sufficiently indicative of the simplicity -of his character, a sum of "ten pounds for his funeral expenses, for -none but vain fools spend more," which injunction we doubt not, was -religiously observed, when he was buried in the centre aisle of St. -Bride's church.--_Abridged from a contribution to the City Press._ - - - - -Rare Criticism. - - -Mrs. Siddons is known to have described to Campbell the scene of her -probation on the Edinburgh boards with no small humour: the grave -attention of the Scotsmen, and their canny reservation of praise till -sure it is deserved, she said, had well nigh worn out her patience. -She had been used to speak to animated clay, but she now felt as if -she had been speaking to stone. Successive flashes of her elocution -that had always been sure to electrify the south, fell in vain on those -northern flints. At last she said that she coiled up her powers to the -most emphatic possible utterance of one passage, having previously -vowed in her heart that if _this_ could not touch the Scotch, she would -never again cross the Tweed. When it was finished, she paused, and -looked to the audience. The deep silence was broken only by a single -voice, exclaiming, "_That's no bad!_" This ludicrous parsimony of -praise convulsed the Edinburgh audience with laughter. But the laugh -was followed by such thunders of applause, that amidst her stunned and -nervous agitation, she was not without fears of the galleries coming -down. - -Another instance of encouraging criticism occurs in _The Memoirs of -Charles Mathews_. Early in 1794, he played Richmond to his friend -Lichfield's Richard III.; and both being good fencers, they fought -the fight at the end with uncommon vigour, and prolonged it to an -unreasonable length. After the performances, the two stars lighted each -other to their inn, in hope of liberal applause from their landlord, -whom they had gratified with a ticket. But though thus treated, and -invited to take a pipe and a glass with the two performers after -supper, he was provokingly silent on the great subject; till at -length, finding every circuitous approach ineffectual, they attacked -him with the direct question, "Pray tell us really what you thought -of our acting." This question was not to be evaded: the landlord -looked perplexed, his eyes still fixed on the ground; he took at -length the tube slowly from his mouth, raised his glass, and drank off -the remainder of his brandy-and-water, went to the fire-place, and -deliberately knocked out the ashes from his pipe; then, looking at -the expectants for a minute, exclaimed in a deep though hasty tone of -voice, "Darned good fight!"--and left the room. - - - - -The O. P. Riot. - - -The history in little of this theatrical tumult is as follows:--The -newly-built Covent Garden Theatre opened on the 18th September, -1809, when a cry of "Old Prices" (afterwards diminished to O. P.) -burst out from every part of the house. This continued and increased -in violence till the 23rd, when rattles, drums, whistles, and -cat-calls having completely drowned the voices of the actors, Mr. -Kemble, the stage-manager, came forward and said that a committee of -gentlemen had undertaken to examine the finances of the concern, and -that until they were prepared with their report the theatre would -continue closed. "Name them!" was shouted from all sides. The names -were declared, _viz._ Sir Charles Price, the Solicitor-General, the -Recorder of London, the Governor of the Bank, and Mr. Angerstein. -"All shareholders!" bawled a wag from the gallery. In a few days the -theatre re-opened; the public paid no attention to the report of the -referees, and the tumult was renewed for several weeks with even -increased violence. The proprietors now sent in hired bruisers, to -_mill_ the refractory into subjection. This irritated most of their -former friends, and, amongst the rest, the annotator, who accordingly -wrote the song of "Heigh-ho, says Kemble," which was caught up by the -ballad-singers, and sung under Mr. Kemble's house-windows in Great -Russell Street. A dinner was given at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, in -the Strand, to celebrate the victory obtained by W. Clifford in his -action against Brandon the box-keeper, for assaulting him for wearing -the letters O. P. in his hat. At this dinner Mr. Kemble attended, -and matters were compromised by allowing the advanced price (seven -shillings) to the boxes. A former riot of a similar sort occurred at -the same theatre (in the year 1792), when the price to the boxes was -raised from five shillings to six. That tumult, however, only lasted -three nights.[38] - -[38] Note to _Rejected Addresses_. Edition 1861. - - - - -Origin of "Paul Pry."[39] - - -Mr. Poole, the author of this very successful comedy, tells us that -the idea of the character of Paul Pry was suggested by the following -anecdote, related to him many years before he wrote the piece by a -beloved friend. - -[39] See _Liston_, page 391. - -An idle old lady, living in a narrow street, had passed so much of her -time in watching the affairs of her neighbours, that she at length -acquired the power of distinguishing the sound of every knocker within -hearing. It happened that she fell ill, and was for several days -confined to her bed. Unable to observe in person what was going on -without, she stationed her maid at the window as a substitute for the -performance of that duty. But Betty soon grew weary of the occupation; -she became careless in her reports--impertinent and tetchy when -reprimanded for her negligence. - -"Betty, what _are_ you thinking about? Don't you hear a double knock at -No. 9? Who is it?" - -"The first-floor lodger, ma'am." - -"Betty! Betty! I declare I must give you warning. Why don't you tell me -what that knock is at No. 54?" - -"Why, Lord! ma'am, it is only the baker with pies." - -"_Pies_, Betty! what _can_ they want with pies at 54?--they had pies -yesterday!" - -"Of this very point," says Mr. Poole, "I have availed myself. Let -me add, that _Paul Pry_ was never intended as the representative of -any one individual, but a class. Like the melancholy of Jaques, he -is 'compounded of many simples,' and I could mention five or six who -were unconscious contributors to the character. Though it should have -been so often, but erroneously, supposed to have been drawn after some -particular person, is, perhaps, complimentary to the general truth of -the delineation. - -"With respect to the play generally, I may say that it is original: it -is original in structure, plot, character, and dialogue--such as they -are--the only imitation I am aware of is to be found in part of the -business in which Mrs. Subtle is engaged; whilst writing those scenes -I had strongly in my recollection _Le Vieux Célibataire_. But even -the title I have adopted is considerably altered and modified by the -necessity of adapting it to the exigencies of a different plot." - - - - -[Illustration: Mrs. Garrick. From a portrait taken in her youth.] - - - - -Mrs. Garrick. - - -In the autumn of 1822, we well remember the appearance in the -print-shops of a small whole-length etching of Mrs. Garrick, who had -died three or four days previously, having outlived her celebrated -husband three-and-forty years. - -John Thomas Smith notes: "1822. In October this year the venerable -Mrs. Garrick departed this life when seated in her armchair, in the -front drawing-room of her house in the Adelphi Terrace." [The first -floor of which is now occupied by the Literary Fund Society.] "She had -ordered her maid-servants to place two or three gowns upon chairs to -determine in which she would appear at Drury Lane Theatre that evening, -it being a private view of Mr. Elliston's improvements for the season. -Perhaps no lady in public and private life held a more unexceptionable -character. She was visited by persons of the first rank; even our late -Queen Charlotte, who had honoured her with a visit at Hampton, found -her peeling onions for pickling. The gracious queen commanded a knife -to be brought, saying 'I will peel some onions too.' The late King -George IV. and King William IV., as well as other branches of the Royal -Family, frequently honoured her with visits." - -In the year previous to her death, Mrs. Garrick went to the British -Museum to inspect the collection of the portraits of Garrick which Dr. -Burney had made. She was delighted with these portraits, many of which -were totally unknown to her. Her observations on some of them were -very interesting, particularly that by Dance, as Richard III. Of that -painter she stated that, in the course of his painting the picture, Mr. -Garrick had agreed to give him two hundred guineas for it. One day, -at Mr. Garrick's dining table, where Dance had always been a welcome -guest, he observed that Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, who had seen the -picture, spontaneously offered him two hundred guineas for it. "Did you -tell him it was for me?" questioned Garrick. "No, I did not."--"Then -you mean to let him have it?" Garrick rejoined. "Yes, I believe I -shall," replied the painter. "However," added Mrs. Garrick, "my husband -was very good: he bought me a handsome looking-glass, which cost him -more than the agreed price of the picture; and that was put up in the -place where Dance's picture was to have hung." - -"Mrs. Garrick, being about to quit her seat, said she would be glad to -see me at Hampton. 'Madame,' said Mr. Smith, 'you are very good, but -you would oblige me exceedingly by honouring me with your signature on -this day.' 'What do you ask me for? I have not taken a pen in my hands -for many months. Stay, let me compose myself; don't hurry me, and I -will see what I can do. Would you like it written with my spectacles -on, or without?' Preferring the latter, she wrote, 'E. M. Garrick,' but -not without some exertion. - -"'I suppose now, sir, you wish to know my age. I was born at Vienna, -the 29th of February, 1724, though my coachman insists upon it that I -am above a hundred. I was married at the parish of St. Giles at eight -o'clock in the morning, and immediately afterwards in the chapel of the -Portuguese Ambassador, in South Audley Street.'" - -A day or two after Mrs. Garrick's death, Mr. Smith went to the Adelphi, -to know if a day had been fixed for the funeral. "No," replied George -Harris, one of Mrs. Garrick's confidential servants, "but I will let -you know when it is to take place. Would you like to see her? She is -in her coffin."--"Yes I should." Upon entering the back room on the -first floor, in which Mrs. Garrick died, Mr. Smith found the deceased's -two female servants standing by her remains. He made a drawing of -her, and intended to have etched it. "Pray, do tell me," said Smith -to one of the maids, "why is the coffin covered with sheets?"--"They -are their wedding sheets, in which both Mr. and Mrs. Garrick wished -to have died." Mr. Smith was told that one of these attentive women -had incurred her mistress's displeasure by kindly pouring out a cup of -tea, and handing it to her in her chair: "Put it down, you hussy: do -you think I cannot help myself." She took it herself, and a short time -after she had put it to her lips, she died. - -This lady continued her practice of swearing now and then, particularly -when anyone attempted to impose upon her. A stonemason brought in his -bill, with an overcharge of sixpence more than the sum agreed upon; on -which occasion he endeavoured to appease her rage by thus addressing -her: "My dear Madam, do consider--" "My dear Madam! what do you mean, -you d--d fellow? Get out of the house immediately. My dear Madam, -indeed!" - -On the day of the funeral Smith went with Miss Macaulay, the -authoress, to see the venerable lady interred; but when they arrived -at Westminster Abbey, they were refused admittance by a person who -said: "If it be your wish to see the waxwork, you must come when the -funeral's over, and you will then be admitted into Poet's Corner, by a -man who is stationed at the door to receive your money." - -"Curse the waxwork!" said Smith, "this lady and I came to see Mrs. -Garrick's remains placed in the grave."--"Ah, well, you can't come in; -the Dean won't allow it."--"As soon as the ceremony was over," says -Smith, "we were admitted for sixpence at the Poet's Corner, and there -we saw the earth that surrounded the grave, and no more, as we refused -to pay the demands of the showmen of the Abbey." - -Horace Walpole, though he wrote a bitter letter upon Garrick's funeral, -and some strange opinions of his acting, left some good-humoured -remarks upon Mrs. Garrick: he writes to Miss Hannah More: "Mrs. Garrick -I have scarcely seen this whole summer. She is a liberal Pomona to me, -I will not say an Eve, for though she reaches fruit to me, she will -never let me in, as if I were a boy, and would rob her orchard." - - - - -[Illustration: Charles Mathews the Elder.] - - - - -Mathews, a Spanish Ambassador. - - -Mathews once personated a Spanish Ambassador; a frolic enacted by him -at an inn at Dartford. An account of the freak was written by Tom -Hill, who took part in the scene, acting as Mathews's interpreter. He -called it his "Recollections of his Excellency the Spanish Ambassador's -visit to Captain Selby, on board the _Prince Regent_ one of his -Majesty's frigates stationed at the Nore, by the Interpreter." - -The party hired a private coach, of large capacity, and extremely -showy, to convey them to Gravesend as the _suite_ of Mathews, who -personated an ambassador from Madrid to the English Government, and -four smart lads, who were entrusted with the secret by the payment -of a liberal fee. The drivers proved faithful to their promise. When -they arrived at the posting-house at Dartford, one of the drivers -dismounted, and communicated to the inn-keeper the character of the -nobleman (Mathews) inside the coach, and that his mission to London -had been attended with the happiest result. The report spread through -Dartford like wildfire, and in about ten minutes the carriage (having -by previous arrangement been detained) was surrounded by at least -two hundred people, all with cheers and gratulations, anxious to -gain a view of the important personage, who, decked out with nearly -twenty different stage jewels, representing sham orders, bowed with -obsequious dignity to the assembled multitude. It was settled that -the party should dine and sleep at the Falcon Tavern, Gravesend, -where a sumptuous dinner was provided for his Excellency and _suite_. -Previously, however, to dinner-time, and to heighten the joke, they -promenaded the town and its environs, followed by a large assemblage -of men, women, and children at a respectful distance, all of whom -preserved the greatest decorum. The interpreter (Mr. Hill) seemed to -communicate and explain to the Ambassador whatever was of interest in -their perambulation. On their return to the inn, the crowd gradually -dispersed. The dinner was served in a sumptuous style, and two or three -additional waiters, dressed in their holiday clothes, were hired for -the occasion. - -The ambassador, by medium of his interpreter, asked for two soups, and -a portion of four different dishes of fish with oil, vinegar, mustard, -pepper, salt, and sugar, in the same plate, which, _apparently_ to the -eyes of the waiters, and to their utter astonishment and surprise, he -eagerly devoured. The waiters had been cautioned by one of the _suite_ -not to notice the manner in which his Excellency ate his dinner, lest -it should offend him; and their occasional absence from the room gave -Mathews or his companion an opportunity of depositing the incongruous -medley in the ashes under the grate--a large fire having been provided. -The ambassador continued to mingle the remaining viands, during dinner, -in a similar heterogeneous way. The chamber in which his Excellency -slept was brilliantly illuminated with wax-candles, and in one corner -of the room a table was fitted up, under the direction of one of the -party, to represent an oratory, with such appropriate apparatus as -could best be procured. A private sailing-barge was moored at the -stairs by the fountain early the next morning, to convey the ambassador -and his attendants to the _Prince Regent_ at the Nore. The people again -assembled in vast multitudes to witness the embarkation. Carpets were -placed on the stairs at the water's edge, for the state and comfort of -his Excellency; who, the instant he entered the barge, turned round and -bade a grateful farewell to the multitude, at the same time placing his -hand upon his bosom, and taking off his huge cocked hat. The captain -of the barge, a supremely illiterate, good-humoured cockney, was -introduced most ceremoniously to the ambassador, and purposely placed -on his right hand. It is impossible to describe the variety of absurd -and extravagant stratagems practised on the credulity of the captain by -Mathews, and with consummate success, until the barge arrived in sight -of the King's frigate, which by a previous understanding, recognized -the ambassador by signals. The officers were all dressed in full -uniform, and prepared to receive him. When on board, the whole party -threw off their disguises, and were entertained by Captain Selby with a -splendid dinner, to which the lieutenants of the ship were invited. - -After the banquet, Mathews, in his own character, kept the company in -high spirits by his incomparable mimic powers for more than ten hours, -incorporating with admirable effect the entire narrative of the journey -to Gravesend, and his, "acts and deeds" at the Falcon. Towards the -close of the feast, and about half-an-hour before the party took their -departure, in order to give the commander and his officers "a touch -of his quality," Mathews assumed his ambassadorial attire, and the -captain of the barge, still in ignorance of the joke, was introduced -into the cabin, between whom and his Excellency an indescribable scene -of rich burlesque was enacted. The party left the ship for Gravesend -at four o'clock in the morning--Mathews, in his "habit as he lived," -with the addition of a pair of spectacles, which he had a peculiar way -of wearing to conceal his identity, even from the most acute observer. -Mathews again resumed his station by the side of the captain, as a -person who had left the frigate for a temporary purpose. The simple -captain recounted to Mathews all that the Spanish ambassador had -enacted, both in his transit from Gravesend to the Nore, and whilst he -(the captain) was permitted to join the festive board in the cabin, -with singular fidelity, and to the great amusement of the original -party, who, during the whole of this ambassadorial excursion, never -lost their gravity, except when they were left to themselves. They -landed at Gravesend, and from thence departed to London, luxuriating -upon the hoax. - - - - -[Illustration: Grimaldi as Clown. After De Wilde.] - - - - -Grimaldi, the Clown. - - -Joseph Grimaldi had for his paternal grandfather a dancer, so vigorous -as to rejoice in the appellation of "Iron Legs." His son, the father of -_our_ Grimaldi, was a native of Genoa, and in 1760 came to England as -dentist to Queen Charlotte. He soon, however, resigned this situation, -commenced dancing and fencing-master, and was appointed ballet-master -of Drury Lane Theatre and Sadler's Wells with the post of primo -buffo. He was an honest and charitable man, and was never known to be -inebriated, though he was very eccentric. He had a vague and profound -dread of the fourteenth day of the month: at its approach he was always -nervous, disquieted, and anxious; directly it had passed he was another -man again, and invariably exclaimed, in his broken English, "Ah! now -I am safe for anoder month." It is remarkable that he actually died -on the fourteenth day of March; and that he was born, christened, and -married on the fourteenth of the month. This was the same man who, in -the time of Lord George Gordon's Riots, when people for the purpose of -protecting their houses from the fury of the mob, inscribed upon their -doors the words "No Popery," actually with the view of keeping in the -right with all parties, and preventing the possibility of offending -any by his form of worship, wrote up "No Religion at all," which -announcement appeared in large characters in front of his house in -Little Russell Street: the protective idea was perfectly successful. - -Joseph Grimaldi, our "Joe," was born out of wedlock on the 18th of -December, 1778, in Stanhope Street, Clare Market; his mother being -Rebecca Brooker, who had been from her infancy a dancer at Drury Lane, -and subsequently at Sadler's Wells played old women. Joe's eccentric -father was then more than seventy years old; and twenty-five months -afterwards was born another son, Joseph's only brother. - -_Our_ Joe Grimaldi, at the age of one year and eleven months, was -brought out by his father, on the boards of Old Drury, as "the little -clown," in the pantomime of _Robinson Crusoe_, at a salary of 15_s._ -per week. In 1781 he first appeared at Sadler's Wells, in the arduous -character of a monkey: here he remained (one season only excepted) -until the termination of his professional career, forty-nine years -afterwards, when in his farewell address, at Sadler's Wells, he -said:--"At a very early age, before that of three years, I was -introduced to the public by my father, at this theatre." This is not -very clear, since it would seem to contradict the statement of his -having appeared at Drury Lane. During the first piece in which little -Joe played at Sadler's Wells, he had nearly lost his life: in one of -the scenes, the clown, his father, was swinging him as a monkey, round -and round by a chain, which broke, and he was hurled a considerable -distance into the pit, fortunately into the very arms of an old -gentleman who was sitting gazing at the stage with intense interest. - -At this time, "the little clown's" full-dress was embroidered coat and -breeches, silk stockings, paste buckles, and cocked-hat; and a guinea -in his pocket, which he one day gave to a distressed woman, for which -act his father gave him a caning (though not till five months after), -which he remembered as long as he lived. Old Grimaldi died in 1788, -leaving 1,500_l._, but the executor becoming bankrupt, the two sons -lost the whole of their fortune. Joe stuck to the stage, and at Drury -Lane Mr. Sheridan raised his salary, unasked, to 1_l._ a-week. His -leisure was now passed in breeding pigeons and collecting insects; of -the latter he had a cabinet of 4,000 specimens. He now removed with his -mother to Pentonville, where the house is to this day pointed out in -Penton Place. About this time, early one morning, Joe found near the -Tower of London a purse of gold coin and a bundle of Bank-notes, which, -on his way home, he sat down to count upon the spot where now stands -the Eagle Tavern, in the City Road. There were 380 guineas and 200_l._ -in notes, making in the whole 599_l._ Grimaldi repeatedly advertised -in the daily newspapers the finding of the money, but he never heard -a syllable regarding the treasure he had so singularly acquired. His -maternal grandfather, it appears, once left a purse of gold, nearly -400_l._, upon a post near the Royal Exchange, and found it there -untouched after the lapse of nearly an hour. - -Joe Grimaldi appeared, as usual, at Sadler's Wells in 1788, but at this -time his salary of fifteen shillings a-week was reduced to three, on -which pittance he remained for three years, making himself generally -useful: in 1794, he had grown so popular at Sadler's Wells, that his -salary had risen from three shillings to four pounds. In 1800, Joe -married Miss Maria Hughes, eldest daughter of a proprietor and the -resident manager of Sadler's Wells: she died in the same year, and -was interred in the grave-yard of St. James's, Clerkenwell, where the -following was inscribed on a tablet at her request:-- - - "Earth walks on earth like glittering gold; - Earth says to earth we are but mould; - Earth builds on earth castles and towers; - Earth says to earth all shall be ours." - -On Monday, March 17th, 1828, Grimaldi took his farewell benefit at -Sadler's Wells, when he delivered an address, and the whole concluded -"with a brilliant display of fireworks, expressive of Grimaldi's -thanks." He, however, played a short time in 1832, and then quitted -the Wells finally. After this premature retirement from the stage, -poor Joe lived at No. 33, Southampton Street, Pentonville, in a house -which was furnished for him by his friends. At this time he frequented -the coffee-room of the Marquis of Cornwallis tavern, the proprietor of -which, considering his infirmity, or the loss of the use of his lower -extremity, used to fetch him on his back, and take him home in the same -manner. On May 31st, 1837, he was thus brought to the coffee-room and -seemed quite exhilarated, his conversation, and humour, and anecdotes -smacking of the vivacity of former years. He was carried home as usual; -he retired to rest, and next morning was found dead in his bed. On June -5th, he was buried in the ground of St. James's Chapel, Pentonville, -next to the grave of his friend, Charles Dibdin: his grave-stone states -his age at fifty-eight years. - -Thomas Hood wrote this touching "Ode to Joseph Grimaldi, senior," upon -his retirement:-- - - "Joseph! they say thou'st left the stage - To toddle down the hill of life, - And taste the flannell'd ease of age - Apart from pantomimic strife. - 'Retir'd' (for Young would call it so)-- - 'The world shut out'--in Pleasant Row. - - "And hast thou really washt at last, - From each white cheek the red half-moon? - And all thy public clownship cast, - To play the private pantaloon? - All youth--all ages--yet to be, - Shall have a heavy miss of thee. - - "Thou didst not preach to make us wise-- - Thou hadst no finger in our schooling-- - Thou didst not lure us to the skies; - Thy simple, simple trade was--Fooling! - And yet, Heav'n knows! we could--we can - Much 'better spare a better man!' - - * * * * * - - "But Joseph--everybody's Joe-- - Is gone; and grieve I will and must! - As Hamlet did for Yorick, so - Will I for thee (though not yet dust): - And talk as he did when he missed - The kissing crust, that he had kiss'd! - - "Ah, where is now thy rolling head! - Thy winking, reeling, _drunken_ eyes, - (As old Catullus would have said), - Thy oven-mouth, that swallow'd pies-- - Enormous hunger--monstrous drowth! - Thy pockets greedy as thy mouth! - - "Ah! where thy ears so often cuff'd! - Thy funny, flapping, filching hands! - Thy partridge body always stuff'd - With waifs and strays and contrabands! - Thy foot, like Berkeley's Foote--for why? - 'Twas often made to wipe an eye. - - "Ah, where thy legs--that witty pair? - For 'great wits jump'--and so did they! - Lord! how they leap'd in lamp-light air! - Caper'd and bounced, and strode away. - That years should tame the legs, alack! - I've seen spring through an almanack! - - * * * * * - - "For who, like thee, could ever stride - Some dozen paces to the mile! - The motley, medley coach provide; - Or, like Joe Frankenstein, compile - The _vegetable man_ complete! - A proper Covent Garden feat. - - "Oh, who, like thee, could ever drink, - Or eat, swill, swallow--bolt, and choke! - Nod, weep, and hiccup--sneeze, and wink! - Thy very yawn was quite a joke! - Though Joseph junior acts not ill, - 'There's no Fool like the old Fool' still! - - "Joseph, farewell! dear, funny Joe! - We met with mirth--we part in pain! - For many a long, long year must go - Ere fun can see thy like again; - For Nature does not keep great stores - Of perfect clowns--that are not _boors_!" - - - - -Munden's Last Performance. - - -In the year 1824, one of Charles Lamb's last ties to the theatre, as a -scene of present enjoyment, was severed. Munden, the rich peculiarities -of whose acting he has embalmed in one of the choicest _Essays of -Elia_, quitted the stage in the mellowness of his powers. His relish -for Munden's acting was almost a new sense: he did not compare him with -the old comedians, as having common qualities with them, but regarded -them as altogether of a different and original style. On the last night -of his appearance, Lamb was very desirous to attend, but every place in -the boxes had long been secured; and Charles was not strong enough to -stand the tremendous rush, by enduring which, alone, he could hope to -obtain a place in the pit; when Munden's gratitude for his exquisite -praise anticipated his wish, by providing for him and Miss Lamb places -in a corner of the orchestra, close to the stage. The play of the -_Poor Gentleman_, in which Munden performed Sir Robert Bramble, had -concluded and the audience were impatiently waiting for the farce, in -which the great comedian was to delight them for the last time, when -Lamb might be seen in a very novel position. In his hand, directly -beneath the line of stage-lights glistened a huge pewter-pot, which he -was draining; while the broad face of old Munden was seen thrust out -from the door by which the musicians enter, watching the close of the -draught, when he might receive and hide the portentous beaker from the -gaze of the admiring neighbours. Some unknown benefactor had sent four -pots of stout to keep up the veteran's heart during his last trial; -and not able to drink them all, he bethought him of Lamb, and without -considering the wonder which would be excited in the brilliant crowd -who surrounded him, conveyed himself the cordial chalice to Lamb's -parched lips. At the end of the same farce, Munden found himself unable -to deliver from memory a short and elegant address which one of his -sons had written for him; but provided against accidents, took it from -his pocket, wiped his eyes, put on his spectacles, read it, and made -his last bow. This was, perhaps, the last night when Lamb took a hearty -interest in the present business scene.[40] - -[40] Talfourd's _Letters of Charles Lamb_. - -Munden appears to have first imbibed a taste for the stage in his -admiration of the genius of Garrick. He had seen more of Garrick's -acting than any of his contemporaries in 1820, Quick and Bannister -excepted. Munden's style of acting was exuberant with humour. His -face was all changeful nature: his eye glistened and rolled, and lit -up alternately every corner of his laughing face: "then the eternal -tortuosities of his nose, and the alarming descent of his chin, -contrasted, as it eternally was, with the portentous rise of his -eyebrows." - - - - -Oddities of Dowton. - - -William Dowton took his farewell benefit at the Opera House, on June -8th, 1840; he was then in his seventy-ninth year--the only actor, -except Macklin, who continued to wear his harness to such an advanced -period. For nearly half a century he had enjoyed a first-class -reputation, but it was found that, when extreme old age came upon him, -he had saved no money. With the amount produced by the above benefit -was purchased for him an annuity for a given number of years, on which -he subsisted in ease and comfort; but, to the surprise of every one, -by dint of regular habits and an iron constitution, he outlived the -calculated time, and there was danger that he might be reduced to -penury. He died in 1849. - -Dowton, in 1836, visited the United States; but he was far too advanced -in life to attract attention or draw money. He came back almost as -poor as he went, but with a change in his political opinions. He -entered the land of freedom a furious republican--he returned from it -an ultra-Tory. He was constitutionally discontented, captious, and -fretful; but, at the same time, warm-hearted and generous. His oddities -were very amusing to those who were intimate with him. He would sit -for hours in his dressing-room arranging and contemplating his wigs, -those important accessories to his stage make-up. One of his peculiar -mannerisms was never to play a part without turning his wig. When -he acted Dr. Pangloss, a bet was made that there he would find his -favourite manoeuvre impracticable. He managed it, nevertheless. When -Kenrick, the faithful old Irish servant, comes in exultingly, in the -last scene, to announce the long-lost Henry Moreland, he was instructed -to run against Dr. Pangloss, who thus obtained the desired opportunity -of disarranging his head-gear. - -Dowton undervalued Edmund Kean, whose merit he never could be induced -to acknowledge. When the vase was presented to that great actor, he -refused to subscribe, saying, "You may cup Mr. Kean, if you please, but -you sha'n't bleed me." He said, too, the cup should be given to Joe -Munden for his performance of Marall. Amongst other eccentricities, -Dowton fancied (a delusion common to comedians) that he could play -tragedy, and never rested until he obtained an opportunity of showing -the town that Edmund Kean knew nothing of Shylock. But the experiment -was, as might have been expected, a total failure. The great point of -novelty consisted in having a number of Jews in court, to represent -his friends and partisans, during the trial scene; and in their arms -he fainted, when told he was, per force, to become a Christian. The -audience laughed outright, as a commentary on the actor's conception. -Once he exhibited, privately, to Mr. J. W. Cole, the last scene of Sir -Giles Overreach, according to his idea of the author's meaning, and a -very mirthful tragedy it proved. He had a strange inverted idea that -Massinger intended Sir Giles for a comic character. He also fancied -that he could play Lord Ogleby, when nature, with her own hand, had -daguerreotyped him for Mr. Sterling. Such are the vagaries of genius, -which are equally mournful and unaccountable. - - - - -[Illustration: Liston as "Paul Pry."] - - - - -Liston in Tragedy. - - -Play-goers of the present century narrate the early seriousness of -Liston, the comedian, and his subsequent turn for tragedy; which may -have suggested the apocryphal biography of the actor stated to be by -Charles Lamb,[41] whence the following is abridged:-- - -Liston was lineally descended from Johan de L'Estonne, who came over -with the Norman William, and had lands awarded him at Lupton Magna, in -Kent. The more immediate ancestors of Mr. Liston were Puritans, and his -father, Habakkuk, was an Anabaptist minister. At the age of nine, young -Liston was placed under the tuition of the Rev. Mr. Goodenough, whose -decease was attended with these awful circumstances. It seems that the -old gentleman and his pupil had been walking out together, in a fine -sunset, to the distance of three-quarters of a mile west of Lupton, -when a sudden curiosity took Mr. Goodenough to look down upon a chasm, -where a mining shaft had been lately sunk, but soon after abandoned. -The old clergyman, leaning over, either with incaution or sudden -giddiness (probably a mixture of both), instantly lost his footing, -and, to use Mr. Liston's phrase, disappeared, and was doubtless broken -into a thousand pieces. The sound of his head &c., dashing successively -upon the projecting masses of the chasm had such an effect upon the -youth Liston, that a serious sickness ensued, and even for many years -after his recovery, he was not once seen so much as to smile. - -[41] This paper appeared in the "London Magazine," January, 1825, _not_ -1824, as stated at page 121. - -The joint death of both his parents, which happened not many months -after this disastrous accident, and were probably (one or both of them) -accelerated by it, threw our youth upon the protection of his maternal -great-aunt, Mrs. Sittingbourn, whom he loved almost to reverence. To -the influence of her early counsels and manners he always attributed -the firmness with which, in maturer years, thrown upon a way of -life commonly not the best adapted to gravity and self-retirement, -he was able to maintain a serious character, untinctured with the -levities incident to his profession. Ann Sittingbourn (her portrait -was painted by Hudson) was stately, stiff, and tall, with a cast of -features strikingly resembling those of Liston. Her estate in Kent -was spacious and well-wooded; and here, in the venerable solitudes -of Charnwood, amid thick shades of the oak and beech (the last his -favourite tree), Liston cultivated those contemplative habits which -never entirely deserted him in after-years. Here he was commonly in -summer months to be met, book in hand--not a play book--meditating. -Boyle's _Reflections_ was at one time his darling volume; this, in -its turn, was superseded by Young's _Night Thoughts_, which continued -its hold upon him throughout life. He carried it always about him; -and it was no uncommon thing for him to be seen, in the refreshing -intervals of his occupation, leaning against a side-scene, in a sort -of Herbert-of-Cherbury posture, turning over a pocket edition of his -favourite author. - -The premature death of Mrs. Sittingbourn, occasioned by incautiously -burning a pot of charcoal in her sleeping-chamber, left Liston, in -his nineteenth year, nearly without resources. That the stage at all -should have presented itself as an eligible scope for his talents, and -in particular, that he should have chosen a line so foreign to what -appears to have been his turn of mind, admits of explanation. - -At Charnwood, then, we behold him thoughtful, grave, ascetic. From his -cradle averse to flesh-meats and strong drink; abstemious even beyond -the genius of the place; and almost in spite of the remonstrances -of his great-aunt, who, though strict, was not rigid, water was his -habitual drink, and his food little beyond the mast and beech-nuts -of his favourite groves. It is a medical fact, that this kind of -diet, however favourable to the contemplative powers of the primitive -hermits, &c., is but ill adapted to the less robust minds and bodies of -a later generation. Hypochondria almost constantly ensues, and young -Liston was subject to sights and had visions. Those arid beech-nuts, -distilled by a complexion naturally adust, mounted into a brain, -already prepared to kindle by long seclusion and the fervour of strict -Calvinistic notions. In the glooms of Charnwood he was assailed by -illusions, similar in kind to those which are related of the famous -Anthony of Padua. Wild antic faces would ever and anon protrude -themselves upon his _sensorium_. Whether he shut his eyes or kept them -open, the same illusion operated. The darker and more profound were his -cogitations, the droller and more whimsical became the apparitions. -They buzzed about him, thick as flies, flapping at him, floating at -him, hooting in his ear; yet with such comic appendages, that what at -first was his bane, became at length his solace; and he desired no -better society than that of his merry phantasmata. We shall presently -find in what way this remarkable phenomenon influenced his future -destiny. - -On the death of Mrs. Sittingbourn, Liston was received into the family -of Mr. Willoughby, an eminent Turkey merchant, in Birchin Lane. He -was treated more like a son than a clerk, though he was nominally but -the latter. Different avocations, change of scene, with alternation -of business and recreation, appear to have weaned him in a short time -from the hypochondriacal affections which had beset him at Charnwood. -Within the next three years we find him making more than one voyage to -the Levant, as chief factor for Mr. Willoughby at the Porte: he used -to relate pleasant passages of his having been taken up on a suspicion -of a design of penetrating the seraglio, &c.; but some of these are -whimsical, and others of a romantic nature. - -We will now bring him over the seas again, and suppose him in the -counting-house in Birchin Lane, his factorage satisfactory, and all -going on so smoothly that we may expect to find Mr. Liston at last -an opulent merchant upon 'Change. But see the turns of destiny. Upon -a summer's excursion into Norfolk, in the year 1801, the accidental -sight of pretty Sally Parker, as she was then called (then in the -Norwich company), diverted his inclinations at once from commerce, -and he became stage-struck. Happily for the lovers of mirth was it -that he took this turn. Shortly after, he made his _début_ on the -Norwich boards, in his twenty-second year. Having a natural bent to -tragedy, he chose the part of Pyrrhus in the _Distressed Mother_, to -Sally Parker's Hermione. We find him afterwards as George Barnwell, -Altamont, Chamont, &c.; but, as if nature had destined him to the sock, -an unavoidable infirmity absolutely incapacitated him for tragedy. -His person at this latter period was graceful and even commanding, -his countenance set to gravity; he had the power of arresting the -attention of an audience at first sight almost beyond any other tragic -actor. But he could not hold it. To understand this obstacle, we must -go back a few years to those appalling reveries at Charnwood. Those -illusions, which had vanished before the dissipation of a less recluse -life and more free society, now in his solitary tragic studies, and -amid the intense call upon feeling incident to tragic acting, came -back upon him with tenfold vividness. In the midst of some most -pathetic passages--the parting of Jaffier with his dying friend, -for instance--he would suddenly be surprised with a fit of violent -horse-laughter. While the spectators were all sobbing before him with -emotion, suddenly one of those grotesque faces would peep out upon -him, and he could not resist the impulse. A timely excuse once or -twice served his purpose, but no audience could be expected to bear -repeatedly this violation of the continuity of feeling. He describes -them (the illusions) as so many demons haunting him, and paralyzing -every effort: it is said that he could not recite the famous soliloquy -in _Hamlet_, even in private, without immoderate fits of laughter. -However, what he had not force of reason sufficient to overcome, he -had good sense enough to turn into emolument, and determined to make a -commodity of his distemper. He prudently exchanged the buskin for the -sock, and the illusions instantly ceased, or, if they occurred for a -short season, by this very co-operation added a zest to his comic vein; -some of his most catching faces being (as he expressed it), little more -than transcripts and copies of those extraordinary phantasmata. - -We have now drawn Liston to the period when he was about to make his -first appearance in the metropolis, as it is narrated in a clever -paper in the _London Magazine_ January, 1824. This is not referred -to in the sketch of Liston's career, written a few days after his -death, March 22nd, 1846, by his son-in-law, George Herbert Rodwell, -the musical composer, and published in the _Illustrated London News_, -March 28th. There we are told that Liston was born in 1776; that -his father lived in Norris Street, Haymarket, and that young John -was educated at Dr. Barrow's Soho School, and subsequently became -second master in Archbishop Tenison's school. Rodwell relates that -early in his theatrical life, Liston went, for cheapness, by sea to -Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and was beaten about by adverse winds for a -fortnight; provisions ran so short that Liston was reduced to his -last inch of dry cheese. At Newcastle, through the above delay, he -was roughly received by Stephen Kemble, the manager, sitting in awful -state in the centre of the stage, directing a rehearsal. Kemble eyed -him several times before he spoke; at last he growled out, "Well, young -man, you are come." Mr. Liston bowed. "Then now you may go back again! -You have broken your engagement by being too late."--"It's very easy to -_say_ go back," replied Liston, with one of his peculiar looks, "but -here I am, and here I must stay, for I have not a farthing left in the -world." Kemble relented, and Liston remained at Newcastle until he came -to London for good. - -The first _comic_ part he performed was Diggory, in _She Stoops to -Conquer_. He took a great fancy to the character, and kept secret his -intentions as to the manner he meant to play it in, and the style -of dress he should wear. When he came on, so original was his whole -conception of the thing, that not an actor on the stage could speak -for laughing. When he came off, Mr. Kemble said:--"Young man, it -strikes me you have mistaken your _forte_: there's something comic -about you."--"I've not mistaken my _forte_," replied Liston, "but you -never before allowed me to try; I don't think myself I was made for -the heavy Barons!" He first appeared in London, as Sheepface, in the -_Village Lawyer_, June 10th, 1805. "That Mr. Liston did really imagine -he could be a tragic actor," says Rodwell, "is partly borne out by his -actually having attempted Octavian, in the _Mountaineers_, May 17th, -1809." - -When Liston first appeared on the stage is not accurately known. The -following early note from a manager of the time is undated:--"Sir, your -not favouring Me with an answ^r Relative to the I-dea of the Cast, I, -at random (tho' very ill), Scratch'd Out, Makes it Necessary for Me to -have your Opinion, in Order to Prevent Aney Mistake.--I am, Sir, with -every Good Wish, yours, &c.," - - "TATE WILKINSON." - -When Liston first came to London, he generally wore a pea-green coat, -and was everywhere accompanied by an ugly little pug-dog. This pug-dog, -like his master, soon made himself a favourite, go where he would, and -seemed exceedingly proud that he could make almost as many laugh as -could his master. The pug-dog acted as Mr. Liston's _avant-courier_, -always trotting on before, to announce his friend and master. The -frequenters of the Orange Coffee-house, Cockspur Street, where Liston -resided, used to say, laughing, "Oh, Liston will be here in a moment, -for here is his beautiful pug." - -Latterly he went little into society. His attention to his religious -duties was always marked by devout sincerity; his knowledge of the -Scriptures was very extensive. - - - - -[Illustration: Edmund Kean as Richard the Third.] - - - - -Boyhood of Edmund Kean. - - -Many years ago, there appeared in the _New Monthly Magazine_ the -following account of Kean's early days:--"I saw young Edmund Carey -(Kean) first in April, 1796. I am particularly positive both to month -and year, because I met Mrs. Carey and the boys (_Darnley_ was the -other reputed son by another father; this actor was for many years at -Astley's Amphitheatre, and is now living) on the morning of the day -on which Ireland's pretended Shakesperian drama was performed. Edmund -was always little, slight, but not young-looking; I should say he was -then _ten years of age_! The following September he played Tom Thumb at -Bartholomew Fair at a public-house; his mother played Queen Dollalolla; -he had a good voice, and was a pretty boy, but unquestionably more -like a _Jew_ than a Christian _child_. Old Richardson, the showman, -engaged him then and subsequently, and is living to vouch for the -fact, as far as eyesight goes, that in 1796, Kean looked more like a -child of _ten_ or _twelve_ than of _six_ years. This of course puts -an end to the _possibility_ of his having been born in the year 1790. -I cannot vouch as to the truth of the oft-repeated story of the dance -of devils in _Macbeth_, and his rejoinder to John Kemble, who found -fault with him, that 'he (Kean) had never appeared in tragedy before;' -but if it did occur, it must have been in 1794; for Garrick's Drury -was pulled down to be rebuilt in 1791, and the new theatre commenced -dramatic performances with _Macbeth_. Many novelties of arrangement -were attempted, the dance in question among the rest. Charles Kemble -made his first appearance as Malcolm that very night, and the audience -laughed very heartily when he exclaimed, '_Oh! by whom?_' on hearing -the account of his father's murder. Charles Kemble was then said to be -eighteen; I think he was more. If Kean was one of the dancing devils, -he could have been only _three years and five months old_; that is, -taking his own account of being born in November, 1790. - -"Kean broke his leg when a boy, riding an act of horsemanship at -Bartholomew Fair; and he was often, towards the years 1802, 3, 4, -and 5, about different parts of the country, spouting, riding, or -rope-dancing. The last time I saw him, previous to his 'great hit,' was -at Sadler's Wells; he was in front to see Belzoni (afterwards known -as the great traveller), who gave a pantomimic performance (such as -Ducrow since attempted) illustrative of the passions of Lebrun; Belzoni -was superior to anything I ever beheld, and I am not solitary in that -opinion. Ella, the harlequin, and Belzoni were together at the old -Royalty Theatre; and Belzoni's brother was also there. The great and -enterprising traveller was retained as a _posturer_ at 2_l._ per week!" - -About 1800, at the Rolls Rooms, Chancery Lane, young Kean, then -described as "the infant prodigy, Master Carey," gave readings, and -read the whole of Shakspeare's _Merchant of Venice_. All who knew -Kean intimately as a boy, declared that he was then a splendid actor, -and that many of his effects, at the age of fourteen, were quite as -startling as any of his more mature performances. Byron, who was then -much in theatrical society, says, "Kean began by acting Richard the -Third, when quite a boy, and gave all the promise of what he afterwards -became." - - - - -A Mysterious Parcel. - - -Mr. Bunn, when Lessee of Drury Lane Theatre, experienced the following -odd circumstance, which he describes, as curious as any that has -been or can be recited:--On reaching the theatre on Tuesday evening, -March 12th, 1839, he found on his desk a very small brown paper -parcel, addressed "To A. Bunn, Esq.," looking very dirty, and very -suspicious, and weighing wherewithal sufficiently heavy as to increase -such suspicion. The town had at that moment been partly astonished -and partly amused by "Madame Vestris's Infernal Machine," and the -narrow escape the person had who first opened it. Having no desire -for any similar experiment, Mr. Bunn hesitated in unfolding this -mysterious packet, more particularly when his messenger described the -dingy-looking fellow that left it at the stage-door, with an injunction -that it was "to be delivered into Mr. Bunn's own hands." However, -overcoming any apprehensions of gunpowder, and setting whatever of the -combustible it might contain to the amount of a mere squib, he sent -for his under-treasurer, and in his presence opened some half-dozen -pieces of paper, each tightly bound by some half-dozen pieces of -string, and inside the last he found:-- - - 32 Sovereigns £32 0 0 - 10 Half-sovereigns 5 0 0 - 13 Half-crowns 1 12 6 - 27 Shillings 1 7 0 - 1 Sixpence 0 0 6 - --------- - £40 0 0 - --------- - -"I began to think," says Bunn, "that this was the contribution of some -eccentric supporter of Drury Lane, anxious to reward its manager's -exertions, yet, with a rooted modesty, anxious to conceal his name; -but such an occurrence was so totally without precedent, that I gave -up that conjecture in utter hopelessness. Then I bethought me of more -than one performer who had literally robbed me to such an extent; and -pondered over the probability of this being a return thereof, arising -out of a touch of conscience; but as what little consciences most of -them _have_ got are very seldom touched, I abandoned that surmise with -even a greater degree of despair than I first of all entertained it. -_By_ whom was it sent, or _for_ whom was it sent, I am totally unable -to tell; it was added to the general receipt of the exchequer, for -the benefit of all those having any claim on it, though the chances -are it was forwarded for my own individual advantage. The donor is -hereby thanked, be he or she whoever he or she may; and I can only say, -if many more had made their appearance, the disasters of Drury Lane -Theatre would have been obviated or provided against. Now, is not a -manager's life an odd life, and are not the people he has to deal with -a very odd set of people? and if he should do odd things, can no excuse -be found for him by your pickers and stealers, and evil speakers, and -liars, and slanderers? I can only say, if there is none, there should -be." - -Among the droll stories told by Mr. Bunn, in his caustic book, _The -Stage_, is this:--In 1824, when the question of erecting a monument to -Shakespeare, in his native town, was agitated by Mr. Mathews and Mr. -Bunn, the King (George IV.) took a lively interest in the matter, and, -considering that the leading people of both the patent theatres should -be consulted, directed Sir Charles Long, Sir George Beaumont, and Sir -Francis Freeling to ascertain Mr. Elliston's sentiments on the subject. -As soon as these distinguished individuals (who had come direct from, -and were going direct back to the Palace) had delivered themselves -of their mission, Elliston replied, "Very well, gentlemen, leave the -papers with me, and _I will talk over the business with_ HIS MAJESTY." - - - - -Masquerade Incident. - - -When the Rev. Mr. Venables was at St. Petersburg, in 1834, he received -the following narrative of a strange and startling incident at a -masquerade in the above capital:--At Christmas, 1834, a ball was given -at a house at St. Petersburg, and candles were placed in the windows of -the house, as a well-understood signal that masks might enter without -special invitation. Several masks arrived in the course of the evening, -stayed but a short time, as is usual, and departed. - -At length a party entered dressed as Chinese, and bearing on a -palanquin a person whom they called their chief, saying that it was -his fête-day. They set him down very respectfully in the middle of -the room, and commenced dancing what they called their national dance -around him. When this was concluded, they separated and mingled with -the general company, speaking French fluently (the universal language -at a Russian masquerade), and making themselves extremely agreeable. -After awhile they began gradually to disappear unnoticed, slipping out -of the room one or two at a time. At last they were all gone, but their -chief still remained sitting motionless in dignified silence in his -palanquin in the middle of the room. The ball began to thin, and the -attention of those who remained was wholly drawn to the silent figure -of the Chinese mask. - -The master of the house at length went up to him, and told him that -his companions were all gone; politely begging him at the same time to -take off his mask, that he and his guests might know to whom they were -indebted for all the pleasure which the exhibition had afforded them. -The Chinaman, however, gave no reply by word or sign, and a feeling of -uneasy curiosity gradually drew around him by the guests who remained -in the ball-room. He still took no notice of all that was passing -around him, and the master of the house at length, with his own hand, -took off the mask, and discovered to the horrified by-standers the face -of a corpse. - -The police were immediately sent for, and on a surgical examination -of the body, it appeared to be that of a man who had been strangled a -few hours before. Nothing could be discovered, either at the time or -afterwards, which could lead to the identifying of the dead man, or to -the discovery of the actors in this extraordinary scene, and no clue -has ever been obtained. It was found on inquiry that they arrived at -the house where they deposited the dead body in a handsome equipage -with masked servants. - -This horrible story was stated to Mr. Venables, by General Bontourlin, -to be a well-known and undoubted fact. The body was never identified, -but was supposed to be that of the victim of a murder arising out of a -gambling transaction. The acuteness of the police would seem to have -been at fault; or, more probably, the proper use of the proper amount -of roubles suppressed inconvenient discoveries. - - - - -[Illustration: T. P. Cooke in "Black-Eyed Susan."] - - - - -Mr. T. P. Cooke in Melodrama and Pantomime. - - -During the Christmas of 1810 or 1811, Mr. T. P. Cooke was a member of -the Theatre Royal, Dublin, which could boast of a company including -the names of Miss O'Neil, afterwards Lady Beecher, then in her teens; -Miss Walstein, Messrs. Conway, Farren, and others of histrionic fame. -Sir Walter Scott's _Lady of the Lake_ had been published on the 10th -of May, 1810, and the critics of the day had pronounced it to be "the -most interesting, romantic, picturesque, and graceful" of the author's -poems. Managers were anxious to produce a version of the _Lady of -the Lake_ upon the stage, and no one was more prompt in bringing one -forward than the lessee of the Theatre Royal, Dublin. The cast was -powerful. Misses O'Neil and Walstein were the representatives of the -chieftain's daughter, Ellen Douglas, and the crazed and captive lowland -maid, Blanche of Devon; Malcolm Græme was well acted; Conway looked -the Knight of Snowdon, James Fitzjames, to the life; and T. P. Cooke -appeared to the greatest advantage as Roderick Vick Alpine Roderick -Dhu. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the scenery; and the drama -created a furore among the warm-hearted Emeralders. As the manager -acted upon the principle of not "keeping more cats than could kill -mice," the services of some of his dramatic performers were pressed -into afterpieces; and, as the pantomime of _Harlequin and Mother -Goose_ had made a great sensation in London, it was brought out in -the capital of the sister isle--T. P. Cooke doffing his picturesque -Highland costume for that of Squire Bugle, afterwards Clown. No one -that had seen the noble bearing of Vick Alpine in the mountain pass, -exclaiming:-- - - "These are Clan-Alpine's warriors true; - And, Saxon, I am Roderick Dhu," - -would have recognized the same being when equipped in the loose -hunting-dress of the Squire or the grotesque garb of the Clown. The -pantomime went off well, and, although T. P. Cooke wanted the fun of -Grimaldi, he, by the aid of youth and great agility, bustled through -the part most satisfactorily. - -At the termination of the performance, which had been honoured by the -presence of the Lord-Lieutenant, Charles, fourth Duke of Richmond, -the Duchess, and her then young and numerous family, the Duke was -persuaded by two of his sons, Lords William and Frederick--then -Westminster boys--to go behind the scenes to look at the wonderful -goose. The manager, wax-candles in hand, after the most approved -manner of receiving illustrious guests, conducted the Duke, his two -sons, and a young daughter to the stage and green-room, and the -pantomimic tricks were duly displayed by the attentive property-man, -who explained to the young noblemen the mysteries of the world behind -the curtain: how the transformation-scene was managed; how the -sprites descended and ascended through the "traps;" how the nimble -Harlequin, the active Clown, and the "slippered Pantaloon" were -caught in blankets after their wonderful leaps through clock-dials, -shop-windows, picture-frames, and looking-glasses; how the smallest -of boys was introduced into a sham goose's skin; how a few daubs of -paint, some gold and silver leaf, and green tinsel, produced the -splendid fairy scene; how some spangles sewn on a coarse parti-coloured -suit made Harlequin appear glittering like gold; how a white calico -garb, with a few quaint red and blue devices, some chalk and red -paint, could change the "human face divine" to that of a mask. After -inspecting everything worthy of note behind the scenes, the Duke and -his family proceeded to their carriage, when, at the entrance to the -green-room, they met the Clown, who had remained behind to arrange some -stage-business with the Harlequin. "I forget his name," said the Duke, -who, although he patronized the drama, did not take especial interest -in the performance. "Cooke," responded the manager. "I congratulate -you, Mr. Cooke," said his Grace. "I've seen Grimaldi in the part, and -am delighted with your performance." Cooke bowed his acknowledgments. -"Pray," continued the Lord-Lieutenant, "is Mr. T. P. Cooke, who looked -so well and acted Roderick Vick Alpine with such spirit, any relation -of yours?"--"A very near one," responded the actor. "He stands before -you; for, Saxon, I am Roderick Dhu!" The Duke smiled, shook hands with -him, declaring he had never witnessed such a wonderful metamorphose. - - - - -"Romeo and Juliet" in America. - - -Miss Fanny Kemble, in her clever record of her experiences in the -United States, relates the following, which occurred in one of her -provincial engagements. The play was _Romeo and Juliet_. "My Romeo," -says Miss Kemble, "had gotten on a pair of trunk-breeches, which -looked as if he had borrowed them of some worthy Dutchman a hundred -years ago. Had he worn them in New York, I could have understood it -as a compliment to the ancestry of that good city; but here to adopt -such a costume in _Romeo_ was perfectly unaccountable. They were of a -most unhappy choice of colour, too--dull, heavy-looking blue cloth, -and offensive crimson satin, all bepuckered, and beplaited, and -bepuffed, till the young man looked like a magical figure growing out -of a monstrous, strange-coloured melon, beneath which descended his -unfortunate legs, thrust into a pair of red slippers, for all the world -like Grimaldi's legs en costume for _Clown_. The play went off pretty -smoothly, except that they broke one man's collar-bone and nearly -dislocated a woman's shoulder, by flinging the scenery about. My bed -was not made in time, and when the scene drew, half-a-dozen carpenters, -in patched trousers and tattered shirt-sleeves, were discovered -smoothing down my pillows and adjusting my draperies. The last scene is -too good not to be given verbatim:-- - - "_Romeo._ Rise, rise, my Juliet, - And from this cave of death, this house of horror, - Quick let me snatch thee to thy Romeo's arms." - -Here he pounced upon me, plucked me up in his arms like an -uncomfortable bundle, and staggered down the stage with me. - - "_Juliet_ (_aside_). Oh! you've got me up horribly! That'll never do. - Do let me down, pray let me down. - - _Romeo._ There, breathe a vital spirit on thy lips, - And call thee back, my soul, to life and love. - - _Juliet_ (_aside_). Pray put me down; you'll certainly throw me down, - if you don't set me on the ground directly." - -In the midst of "Cruel, cursed fate," his dagger fell out of his dress; -I, embracing him tenderly, crammed it back again, because I knew I -should want it again in the end. - - "_Romeo._ Tear not our heart-strings thus! - They crack! they break! Juliet! Juliet! - - [_Dies._] - - _Juliet_ (to _Corpse_). Am I smothering you? - - _Corpse_ (to _Juliet_). Not at all. Could you be so kind, do you - think, as to put my wig on again for me? It has fallen off. - - _Juliet_ (to _Corpse_). I'm afraid I can't; but I'll throw my muslin - veil over it. You've broken the phial, haven't you? - - [CORPSE _nodded_.] - - _Juliet_ (to _Corpse_). Where's your dagger? - - _Corpse_ (to _Juliet_). 'Pon my soul, I don't know." - - - - -The Mulberries, a Shakspearian Club. - - -At the thirty-fourth Anniversary of the Shakspeare Club, at -Stratford-on-Avon, on April 23rd, 1858, the President, Mr. Buckstone, -of the Haymarket Theatre, related, with much humour, the following -interesting account of the above Shakspearian Club:-- - -"On emerging from boyhood, and while yet a young actor, I was one of -the first members of a Shakspearian club, called _The Mulberries_. -It was not then a very prominent one, as its meetings were held at a -certain house of entertainment in Vinegar Yard, Drury Lane. The club -assembled there once a week; they dined together on Shakespeare's -birthday; and in the mulberry season there was another dinner and a -mulberry feast, at which the chairman sat enthroned under a canopy -of mulberry branches, with the fruit on them; Shakspearian songs -were sung; members read original papers or poems relating only to -Shakspeare; and as many artists belonged to this club, they exhibited -sketches of some event connected with our poet's life; and some had -the honour of submitting a paper to be read, called 'Shakespeare's -Drinking-bout,' an imaginary story, illustrating the traditionary -event, when the chivalry of Stratford went forth to carouse with - - "Piping Pebworth, dancing Marston, - Haunted Hilborough, hungry Grafton, - Dudging Exhall, papist Wicksford, - Beggarly Broom, and drunken Bidford." - -All these papers and pictures were collected together in a book, called -_Mulberry Leaves_; and you will believe me, that in spite of our lowly -place of meeting, the club was not intellectually insignificant, when -amongst its members, then in their youth, were Douglas Jerrold, Laman -Blanchard, the Landseers (Charles and Thomas), Frank Stone, Cattermole, -Robert Keeley, Kenny Meadows, and subsequently, though at another -and more important place of meeting, Macready, Talfourd (the judge), -Charles Dickens, John Forster, and many other celebrities. You will -very naturally wish to know what became of this club. Death thinned the -number of its members; important pursuits in life took some one way -and some another; and, after twenty years of much enjoyment, the club -ceased to exist, and the _Mulberry Leaves_ disappeared, no one ever -knew whither. - -From Mr. Blanchard Jerrold's Life of his Father we learn that William -Elton, the Shakspearian actor, was a member of the Mulberries, as were -also William Godwin, and Edward Chatfield the artist. The contributions -fell into Mr. Elton's hands, and are now in the possession of his -family. The _leaves_ were to have been published; but the club dead, -it was nobody's business to see them through the press, and to this -hour they remain in manuscript. Of the club itself it is said: -"Respectability killed it. Sumptuous quarters were sought; Shakspeare -was to be admired in a most elegant manner--to be edited specially -for the club by the author of _The Book of Etiquette_. But the new -atmosphere had not the vigour of the old, and so, after a long -struggle, all the Mulberries fell from the old tree, and now it is a -green memory only to a few old members. Douglas Jerrold always turned -fondly to these Shakspearian days, and he loved to sing the old song -he wrote for the Mulberries, in that soft, sweet voice which all his -friends remember: - - "And thus our moral food - Doth Shakspeare leaven still, - Enriching all the good. - And less'ning all the ill;-- - Thus, by his bounty, shed - Like balm from angel's wing, - Though winter scathe our head, - Our spirits dance with spring." - - - - -Colley Cibber's Daughter. - - -This unfortunate person was the youngest child of Colley Cibber, and -married a singer named Charke: there seems to have been a touch of -insanity, certainly there was no power of self-control, in this poor -woman. From her childhood she had been wild, wayward, and rebellious; -self-taught, as a boy might be, and with nothing feminine in her -character or pursuits. With self-assertion, too, she was weak enough -to be won by a knave with a sweet voice, whose cruel treatment drove -his intractable wife to the stage, where she failed to profit by her -fine opportunities. Mrs. Charke loved to play male characters; and of -the many, that of Plume was her favourite. At the Haymarket Theatre, in -1745, she played Captain Macheath, and other masculine parts, before -she attempted to pass herself off upon the world, or hide herself from -it, as a man. - -Dr. Doran, in his amusing book, _Their Majesties' Servants_, writing -of the year 1757, that of Colley Cibber's death says: "While the body -of the poet Laureate was being carried to Westminster Abbey, there was -up away in a hut in then desolate Clerkenwell, and starving, Colley's -only daughter, Charlotte Charke. Seven-and-twenty years before, she -had just come upon the stage, after a stormy girlhood; and she had a -mania for appearing in male characters on, and in male attire off, the -stage. By some terrible offence she forfeited the recognition of her -father, who was otherwise of a benevolent disposition; and friendless, -she fought a series of battles with the world, and came off in all -more and more damaged. She starved with strollers, failed as a grocer -in Long Acre, became bankrupt as a puppet-show proprietor in James -Street, Haymarket; re-married, became a widow a second time, was -plunged into deeper ruin, thrown into prison for debt, and released -only by the subscriptions of the lowest, but not least charitable, -sisterhood of Drury Lane. Assuming male attire, she hung about the -theatres for casual hire, went on tramp with itinerants, hungered -daily, and was weekly cheated, but yet kept up such an appearance that -an heiress fell in love with her, who was reduced to despair when -Charlotte Charke revealed her story and abandoned the place. Her next -post was that of a valet to an Irish Lord; forfeiting which she and -her child became sausage-makers, but could not obtain a living; and -then Charlotte Charke cried, 'Coming, coming, sir,' as a waiter at -the King's Head Tavern, Marylebone. Thence she was drawn by an offer -to make her manager of a company of strolling players, with whom she -enjoyed more appetite than means to appease it. She endured sharp -distress again and again; but was relieved by an uncle, who furnished -her with funds, with which she opened a tavern in Drury Lane, where, -after a brief career of success, she again became bankrupt. To the -regular stage she once more returned, under her brother, Theophilus, at -the Haymarket: but the Lord Chamberlain closed the house, and Charlotte -Charke took to working the wires of Russell's famous puppets in the -Great Room, still existing in Brewer Street. There was a gleam of good -fortune for her, but it soon faded away; and then for nine wretched -years this clever but most wretched of women struggled frantically -for bare existence, amongst the most wretched of strollers, with whom -she endured unmitigated misery. And yet, Cibber's erring and hapless -daughter contrived to reach London, where, in 1755, she published her -remarkable autobiography, the details of which make the heart ache, in -spite of the small sympathy of the reader for this half-mad creature. -On the profits of this book, she was enabled to open, as _landlord_, -a tavern at Islington; but of course, ruin ensued; and in a hut, amid -the cinder-heaps and worse refuse, in the desolate fields, she found a -refuge, and even wrote a novel on a pair of bellows in her lap, by way -of desk. Here she lived with a squalid hand-maiden, a cat, dog, magpie, -and monkey. Humbled, disconsolate, abandoned, she readily accepted from -a publisher who visited her 10_l._ for her manuscript. This was at the -close of the year 1755, and I do not meet with her again till 1759, two -years after her father's death, when she played Marplot in _The Busy -Body_, for her own benefit at the Haymarket, with this advertisement: -'As I am entirely dependent on chance for a subsistence, and desirous -of getting into business, I humbly hope the town will favour me on the -occasion, which, added to the rest of their indulgences, will be ever -gratefully acknowledged by their truly obliged and obedient servant, -Charlotte Charke.' She died on the 6th of April, 1760." - -[Illustration: Charlotte Charke. After Boitard.] - -She "is said to have once given imitations of her father on the stage; -to have presented a pistol at, and robbed him on the highway, and to -have smeared his face with a pair of soles out of her own basket." - - - - -An Eccentric Love-Passage. - - -Captain Gronow relates that Mr. Bradshaw, M.P. for Canterbury, "fell -in love" with Maria Tree: hearing that the lady had taken a place in -the Birmingham mail, he booked the rest for himself in the name of -Tomkins, and resolved to make the most of the opportunity afforded -him. Unfortunately, his luggage and Miss Tree went by one mail, while -Mr. Bradshaw through a mistake travelled by another. On arriving at -Birmingham early in the morning, he left the coach and stepped into -the hotel, determined to remain there, and go to the theatre on the -following evening. He went to bed and slept late the following day; -and on waking he remembered that his trunk with all his money had -gone on to Manchester, and that he was without the means of paying -his way. Seeing the Bank of Birmingham opposite the hotel, he went -over and explained his position to one of the partners, giving his own -banker's address in London, and showing letters addressed to him as Mr. -Bradshaw. Upon this he was told that with such credentials he might -have a loan; and the banker said he would write the necessary letter -and cheque, and send the money over to him at the hotel. Mr. Bradshaw, -pleased with this kind attention, sat himself down comfortably to -breakfast in the coffee-room. According to promise, the cashier made -his appearance at the hotel, and asked the waiter for Mr. Bradshaw. -"No such gentleman here," was the reply.--"Oh, yes, he came by the -London mail."--"No, sir; no one came but Mr. Tomkins, who was booked as -inside passenger to Manchester." The cashier was dissatisfied; but the -waiter added, "Sir, you can look through the window of the coffee-room -door, and see the gentleman yourself." On doing so he beheld the Mr. -Tomkins, _alias_ Mr. Bradshaw, and immediately returned to the Bank, -telling what he himself had heard and seen. The banker went over to the -hotel, had a consultation with the landlord, and it was determined that -a watch should be placed upon the suspicious person who had two names -and no luggage, and who was booked to Manchester but had stopped at -Birmingham. The landlord summoned boots--a little lame fellow of most -ludicrous appearance--and pointing to the gentleman in the coffee-room, -told him his duty for the day was to follow him wherever he went, -and never to lose sight of him; but above all to take care that he -did not get away. Boots nodded assent, and immediately mounted guard. -Mr. Bradshaw having taken his breakfast and read the papers, looked -at his watch and sallied forth to see something of the goodly town of -Birmingham. He was much surprised at observing a little odd-looking -man surveying him most attentively, and watching his every movement; -stopping whenever he stopped, and evidently taking a deep interest in -all he did. At last, observing that he was the object of this incessant -_espionnage_, and finding that he had a shilling left in his pocket, he -hailed one of the coaches that ran short distances in those days when -omnibuses were not. This, however, did not suit little Boots, who went -up to him and insisted that he must not leave the town. Mr. Bradshaw's -indignation was naturally excessive, and he immediately returned to the -hotel, where he found a constable ready to take him before the mayor -as an impostor and swindler. He was compelled to appear before his -worship and had the mortification of being told that unless he could -give some explanation he must be content with a night's lodging in a -house of detention. Mr. Bradshaw had no alternative but to send to the -fair charmer of his heart to identify him; which she most readily did -as soon as rehearsal was over. Explanations were then entered into; but -he was forced to give the reason of his being in Birmingham, which of -course made a due impression on the lady's heart, and led to that happy -result of their interviews--a marriage which resulted in the enjoyment -of mutual happiness for many years. - - - - -True to the Text. - - -A curious instance of this occurred many years ago, at the termination -of the tragedy of _Richard the Third_. Mr. Elliston was enacting -the part of _Richmond_; and having, during the evening, disobeyed -the injunction which the King of Denmark lays down to the Queen, -"Gertrude, do not drink," he accosted Mr. Powell, who was personating -_Lord Stanley_ (for the safety of whose son _Richmond_ is naturally -anxious), THUS, on his entry, after the issue of the battle:-- - -Elliston (as _Richmond_). Your son, George Stanley, is he dead? - -Powell (as _Lord Stanley_). He is, my Lord, and _safe in Leicester -town_! - -Elliston (as _Richmond_). I mean--ah!--is he missing? - -Powell (as _Lord Stanley_). He is, my Lord, and _safe in Leicester -town_!! - -And it is but justice to the memory of this punctilious veteran, to say -that he would have made the same reply to any question which could, at -that particular moment, have been put to him. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_MEN OF LETTERS._ - - - - -[Illustration: Monk Lewis.] - - - - -Monk Lewis - -"Hail! wonder-working Lewis." - - -This early lover of rhymes and numbers, and "flashes of merriment -that were wont to set the table on a roar," was, in his boyhood, more -remarkable for his love of theatrical exhibitions than for his love -of learning. He read books on Witchcraft when a child, and published -his marvellous story of the _Monk_ when in his twenty-second year; -it contains his best poetry as well as prose. In the midst of this -celebrity, being one autumn on his way to a fashionable watering-place, -he stayed a night in a country-town and witnessed a performance by a -company of strolling players. Among them was a young actress, whose -benefit was on the _tapis_, and who, hearing of the arrival of a person -so talked of as Monk Lewis, waited upon him at the inn to request -the very trifling favour of an original piece from his pen. The lady -pleaded in terms that urged the spirit of benevolence to advocate her -cause in a heart never closed to such an appeal. Lewis had by him at -that time an unpublished trifle, called _The Hindoo Bride_, in which a -widow was immolated on the funeral pile of her husband. The subject was -one well suited to attract a country audience, and he determined thus -to appropriate the drama. The delighted suppliant departed all joy and -gratitude at being requested to call for the manuscript the next day. -Lewis, however, soon discovered that he had been reckoning without his -host, for, on searching his travelling-desk, which contained many of -his papers, the _Bride_ was nowhere to be found, having, in fact, been -left behind in town. Exceedingly annoyed by this circumstance, which -there was no time to remedy, the dramatist took a pondering stroll in -the rural environs, when a sudden shower compelled him to take refuge -in a huckster's shop, where he overheard, in the adjoining apartment, -two voices in earnest conversation, and in one of them recognized that -of his theatrical petitioner of the morning, apparently replying to -the feeble tones of age and infirmity. "There now, mother, always that -old story--when I've brought such good news, too--after I've had the -face to call on Mr. Monk Lewis, and found him so different to what I -expected; so good-humoured, so affable, and willing to assist me. I -did not say a word about you, mother; for though in some respects it -might have done good, I thought it would seem like a begging affair, so -I merely represented my late ill-success, and he promised to give me an -original drama which he had with him for my benefit. I hope he did not -think me too bold." "I hope not, Jane," replied the feeble voice; "only -don't do these things again without consulting me; for you don't know -the world, and it may be thought----" The sun then just gave a broad -hint that the shower had ceased, and the sympathizing author returned -to his inn, and having penned the following letter, ordered post-horses -and despatched a porter to the young actress with this epistle:-- - -"Madame,--I am truly sorry to acquaint you that my Hindoo Bride has -behaved most improperly--in fact, whether the lady has eloped or -not, it seems she does not choose to make her appearance either for -_your benefit_ or mine; and to say the truth, I don't at this moment -know where to find her. I take the liberty to jest upon the subject, -because I really do not think you will have any cause to regret her -non-appearance; having had an opportunity of witnessing your very -admirable performance of a far superior character, in a style true to -nature, and which reflects upon you the highest credit. I allude to a -most interesting scene in which you lately sustained the character of -'The Daughter.' Brides of all denominations but too often prove their -empire delusive; but the character _you_ have chosen will improve -upon every representation, both in the estimation of the public -and the satisfaction of your own excellent heart. For the infinite -gratification I have received, I must long consider myself in your -debt. Trusting you will permit the enclosed (fifty pounds) in some -measure to discharge the same, I remain, Madame (with sentiments of -respect and admiration), your sincere well-wisher," - - "M. G. LEWIS." - -Lewis, it should be explained, was well supplied with money, his -father holding a lucrative post in the War Office, and being owner -of extensive West Indian possessions. In 1798, Scott (afterwards Sir -Walter) met young Lewis in Edinburgh, and so humble were then his own -aspirations, and so brilliant the reputation of _The Monk_, that he -declared, thirty years afterwards, he never felt so elated as when -Lewis asked him to dine with him at his hotel. Lewis schooled the -great poet on his incorrect rhyme, and proved himself, as Scott says, -"a martinet in the accuracy of rhymes and numbers." Sir Walter has -recorded that Lewis was fonder of great people than he ought to have -been, either as a man of talent or a man of fashion. "He had always," -he says, "dukes or duchesses in his mouth, and was pathetically fond of -any one who had a title; you would have sworn he had been a _parvenu_ -of yesterday; yet he had lived all his life in good society." And Scott -regarded Lewis with no small affection. - -Of this weakness, Lord Byron relates an amusing instance: "Lewis, -at Oatlands, was observed one morning to have his eyes red and his -air sentimental; being asked why, he replied, that when people said -anything kind to him, it affected him deeply, 'and just now, the -Duchess (of York) has said something so kind to me, that--' here tears -began to flow. 'Never mind, Lewis,' said Colonel Armstrong to him, -'never mind--don't cry--_she could not mean it_!'" - -Lewis was of extremely diminutive stature. "I remember a picture of -him," says Scott, "by Saunders, being handed round at Dalkeith House. -The artist had ingeniously flung a dark folding mantle around his -form, under which was half hid a dagger, a dark-lantern, or some such -cut-throat appurtenance. With all this the features were preserved -and ennobled. It passed from hand to hand into that of Henry, Duke -of Buccleuch, who, hearing the general voice affirm that it was very -like, said aloud, 'Like Mat. Lewis! why, that picture's like _a man_!' -He looked, and lo! Mat. Lewis was at his elbow. This boyishness went -through life with him. He was a child, and a spoiled child--but a child -of high imagination, and he wasted himself on ghost-stories and German -romances. He had the finest ear for the rhythm of verse I ever met -with--finer than Byron's." - -The death of Lewis's father made the poet a man of independent fortune. -He succeeded to considerable plantations in the West Indies, besides a -large sum of money; and in order to ascertain personally the condition -of the slaves on his estate, he sailed for the West Indies in 1815. Of -this voyage he wrote a narrative, which was published many years after, -under the title of the _Journal of a West India Proprietor_. The manner -in which the negroes received him on his arrival amongst them, he thus -describes:--"As soon as the carriage entered my gates, the uproar and -confusion which ensued sets all description at defiance; the works were -instantly all abandoned, everything that had life came flocking to the -house from all quarters, and not only the men, and the women, and the -children, but 'by a bland assimilation,' the hogs, and the dogs, and -the geese, and the fowls, and the turkeys, all came hurrying along by -instinct, to see what could possibly be the matter, and seemed to be -afraid of arriving too late. Whether the pleasure of the negroes was -sincere may be doubted, but certainly it was the loudest that I ever -witnessed. They all talked together, sang, danced, shouted, and in the -violence of their gesticulations, tumbled over each other and rolled -about on the ground. Twenty voices at once inquired after uncles and -aunts, and grandfathers and great-grandmothers of mine, who had been -buried long before I was in existence, and whom, I verily believe, most -of them knew only by tradition. One woman held up her little naked -black child to me, grinning from ear to ear: 'Look, massa! look here! -him nice lily neger for massa!' Another complained--'So long since come -see we, massa; good massa come at last.' As for the old people, they -were all in one and the same story; now they had lived once to see -massa, they were ready for dying to-morrow--'them no care.' - -"The shouts, the gaiety, the wild laughter, their strange and sudden -bursts of singing and dancing, and several old women wrapped up -in large cloaks, their heads bound round with different-coloured -handkerchiefs, leaning on a staff, and standing motionless in the -middle of the hubbub, with their eyes fixed upon the portico which I -occupied, formed an exact counterpart of the festivity of the witches -in Macbeth. Nothing could be more odd or more novel than the whole -scene; yet there was something in it truly affecting." - -In his Journal, Lewis tells us the following odd shark story:--"While -lying in Black River Harbour, Jamaica, two sharks were frequently seen -playing about the ship. At length, the female was killed, and the -desolation of the male was excessive. What he did without her remains -a secret, but what he did with her was clear enough; for scarce was -the breath out of his Eurydice's body, when he stuck his teeth in her, -and began to eat her up with all possible expedition. Even the sailors -felt their sensibility excited by so peculiar a mark of posthumous -attachment; and to enable him to perform this melancholy duty more -easily, they offered to be his carvers, lowered their boat, and -proceeded to chop his better half in pieces with their hatchets; while -the widower opened his jaws as wide as possible, and gulped down pounds -upon pounds of the dear departed, as fast as they were thrown to him, -with the greatest delight, and all the avidity imaginable. I make no -doubt that all the time he was eating, he was thoroughly persuaded that -every morsel that went into his stomach would make its way to his heart -directly! 'She was perfectly consistent,' he said to himself; 'she -was excellent through life, and really she's extremely good now she's -dead!' And then, - - "'Unable to conceal his pain, - He sigh'd and swallow'd, and sigh'd and swallow'd, - And sigh'd and swallow'd again.' - -"I doubt whether the annals of Hymen can produce a similar instance of -post-obitual affection. Nor do I recollect any fact at all resembling -it, except, perhaps, a circumstance which is recorded respecting -Cambletes, king of Lydia, a monarch equally remarkable for his voracity -and uxoriousness, and who ate up his queen without being conscious of -it." - -Lewis, in reading _Don Quixote_, was greatly pleased with this instance -of the hero's politeness. The Princess Micomicona having fallen into a -most egregious blunder, he never so much as hints a suspicion of her -not having acted precisely as she had stated, but only begs to know her -reason for taking a step so extraordinary. "But pray, madam," says he, -"why did your ladyship land at Ossima, seeing that it is not a seaport -town?" - -One of Lewis's great hits was the ballad of _Crazy Jane_, which was -found in the handwriting of the author among his papers. The ballad -was wedded to music by several composers; but the original and most -popular melody was by Miss Abrams, who sung it herself at fashionable -parties. After the usual complimentary tributes from barrel-organs, and -wandering damsels of every degree of vocal ability, it crowned not only -the author's brow with laurels, but also that of many a youthful beauty -in the shape of a _Crazy Jane hat_. - -_The Castle Spectre_ was Lewis's greatest dramatic success. Its -terrors were not confined to Drury Lane Theatre, but, as the following -anecdote shows, on one occasion they even extended considerably beyond -it. Mrs. Powell, who played Evelina, having become, from the number -of representations, heartily tired and wearied with the character, -one evening, on returning from the theatre, walked listlessly into a -drawing room, and throwing herself into a seat, exclaimed, "Oh! this -ghost! this ghost! Heavens! how this ghost torments me!" - -"Ma'am!" uttered a tremulous voice from the other side of the table. - -Mrs. Powell looked up hastily. "Sir!" she reiterated in nearly the same -tone, as she encountered the pale countenance of a very sober-looking -gentleman opposite. - -"What? What was it you said madam?" - -"Really, sir," replied the astonished actress, "I have not the pleasure -of--Why, good heavens, what have they been about in the room?" - -"Madam," continued the gentleman, "the room is mine, and I will thank -you to explain--" - -"Yours!" screamed Mrs. Powell; "surely, sir, this is Number 1?" - -"No, indeed, madam," he replied; "this is Number 2; and really, your -language is so very extraordinary, that--" - -Mrs. Powell, amidst her confusion, could scarcely refrain from -laughter. "Ten thousand pardons!" she said, "the coachman must have -mistaken the house. I am Mrs. Powell, of Drury Lane, and have just come -from performing the _Castle Spectre_. Fatigue and absence of mind have -made me an unconscious intruder. I lodge next door, and I hope you will -excuse the unintentional alarm I have occasioned you." - -It is almost needless to add, that the gentleman was much relieved -by this rational explanation, and participated in the mirth of his -nocturnal visitor, as he politely escorted her to the street door. -"Good night," said the still laughing actress; "and I hope, sir, in -future, I shall pay more attention to _Number One_!" - - - - -[Illustration: Professor Porson.] - - - - -Porson's Eccentricities. - - -The humour of Professor Porson lay in parodies, imitations, and hoaxes, -ready wit and repartee; in his oddities of dress and demeanour; and -his disregard for certain decencies of society is very deplorable, -though at the same time mirthful in its very extravagances. Porson -left Cambridge to become the scholar about town; to quench his thirst -for Florentine MSS. in the tankards of the "Cider Cellar;" and to -exchange the respectability and stateliness of the Trinity common -room for the savage liberty of Temple chambers. He had for some time -become notorious at Cambridge. His passion for smoking, which was then -going out among the younger generation, his large and indiscriminate -potations, and his occasional use of the poker with a very refractory -controversialist, had caused his company to be shunned by all except -the few to whom his wit and scholarship were irresistible. When the -evening began to grow late, the Fellows of Trinity used to walk out of -the common room, and leave Porson to himself, who was sometimes found -smoking by the servants next morning, without having apparently moved -from the spot where he had been left over-night. - -Porson's imitations of Horace, which appeared in the _Morning -Chronicle_, have really no merit at all, nor have any of the hundred -and one epigrams which he is said to have written in one night upon the -drunkenness of Mr. Pitt. But two other papers, one called _The Swinish -Multitude_, and the other _The Saltbox_, display certainly both wit and -humour. One is a satire upon the famous expression of Burke, in his -_Letters on a Regicide Peace_; the other, a parody of the Oxford style -of examination in Logic and Metaphysics. - -Of the hundred and one epigrams, the story goes--that when Pitt and -Dundas appeared before the House, Pitt tried to speak, but showing -himself unable, was kindly pulled down into his seat by those about -him; Dundas who was equally unfitted for eloquence, had sense enough to -sit silent. Perry, of the _Morning Chronicle_, witnessed the scene, and -on his return from the House, gave a description of it to Porson, who, -being vastly amused, called for pen and ink, and musing over his pipe -and tankard, produced the one hundred and one pieces of verse before -the day dawned. The point of most of them lies in puns. The first -epigram is: - - "That _Ça Ira_ in England will prevail, - All sober men deny with heart and hand; - To talk of _going_ sure's a pretty tale, - When e'en our rulers can't as much as stand." - -The following are better:-- - - "Your gentle brains with full libations drench, - You've then Pitt's title to the Treasury Bench. - Your foe in war to overrate - A maxim is of ancient date; - Then sure 'twas right, in time of trouble, - That our good rulers should see double. - The mob are beasts! exclaims the King of Daggers; - What creature's he that's troubled with the staggers?" - - "When Billy found he scarce could stand, - 'Help! help!' he cried, and stretched his hand - To faithful Harry calling, - Quoth Hal, 'My friend, I'm sorry for't; - 'Tis not my practice to support - A minister that's falling.'" - - "'Who's up?' inquired Burke of a friend at the door; - 'Oh! no one,' says Paddy, 'though Pitt's on the floor.'" - -Porson was not imposed upon for a moment by the Ireland forgeries -of Shakspeare, and when asked to set his name to a declaration of -belief in their genuineness, replied, with a smile, that he was "slow -to subscribe articles of faith." Scholars, however, owe a debt of -gratitude to Ireland, of which, perhaps, they are seldom conscious; -for it was the alleged discovery of Shakspearian plays that drew from -Porson one of the cleverest specimens of his peculiar powers that -remain to us. We mean the translation of "Three Children sliding on -the Ice," which he sent to the _Morning Chronicle_, as a fragment of -Sophocles, recently discovered by a friend of his at the bottom of an -old trunk. - -Porson had high animal spirits; and he is said once, for a wager, -to have carried a young lady round the room in his teeth. His -conversation, however, after a certain period of the evening, was not -always fit for ladies. Rogers once took him to a party, where several -women of fashion were present, who were anxious to hear him talk. The -Professor, who hated being made a lion, selected for his theme the -soup of Vauxhall, and at last, we are told, talked so oddly, that all -the women retreated except the famous Lady Crewe, who was not to be -frightened by any man. "After this," says Rogers, "I brought him home -as far as Piccadilly, where I am sorry to say I left him sick in the -middle of the street." - -At those houses where Porson was on intimate terms, it was understood -that he was always to go away at eleven. Porson accepted the -arrangement in perfect good faith, and invariably required that it -should be carried out to the letter; for, "though he never attempted -to exceed the hour limited, he would never stir before," and he warmly -resented any attempt to make him. At one house only was his time -extended to twelve; this was Bennet Langton's. There were, of course, -houses in which the Professor, so to speak, took the bit between his -teeth, and did exactly as he pleased. Horne Tooke's was one of these, -as the following story illustrates. Tooke once asked Porson to dine -with him in Richmond Buildings; and, as he knew that the Professor -_had not been in bed for the three preceding nights_, he expected to -get rid of him at an early hour. He, however, kept Tooke up the whole -night; and, in the morning, the latter, in perfect despair, said, "Mr. -Porson, I am engaged to meet a friend at breakfast at a coffee-house in -Leicester Square." "Oh," replied Porson, "I will go with you;" and he -accordingly did so. Soon after they had reached the coffee-house, Tooke -contrived to slip out, and running home, ordered his servant not to let -Mr. Porson in even if he should attempt to batter down the door. "A -man," observed Tooke, "who could sit up four nights successively, could -sit up forty." - -As soon as Porson had been "turned out of doors like a dog," which was -his favourite expression when he received the slightest hint to move, -even if it was one o'clock in the morning, he used generally to adjourn -to the Cider Cellar, where he was completely king of his company. -"Dick," said one of these companions, "can beat us all; he can drink -all night, and spout all day." From the Cider Cellar he got home as he -could to Essex Court, where he had chambers over the late Mr. Baron -Gurney, whose slumbers were a good deal disturbed by the habits of -his learned neighbour. On one occasion he was awakened by a tremendous -thump upon the floor overhead. Porson, it turned out, had come home -drunk, and had tumbled down in his room, and put out his candle; for -Gurney soon after heard him fumbling at the staircase lamp, and cursing -the nature of things, which made him see two flames instead of one. - -The most remarkable feature in Porson's love of liquor was, that he -could drink anything. Port wine, indeed, was his favourite beverage. -But, in default of this, he would take whatever he could lay his -hands on. He was known to swallow a bottle of spirits of wine, an -embrocation, and when nothing better was forthcoming, he would even -drench himself with water. He would sometimes take part in a contest of -drinking; and once, having threatened after dinner to "kick and cuff" -his host, Horne Tooke, the latter proposed to settle the affair by -drinking, the weapons to be quarts of brandy. When the second bottle -was half finished, Porson fell under the table. The conqueror drank -another glass to the speedy recovery of his antagonist, and having -given instructions to his servants to take great care of the Professor, -walked upstairs to tea, as if nothing had occurred. Tooke, however, -feared Porson in conversation, because he would often remain silent -for a long time, and then "pounce upon him with his terrible memory." -In 1798, Parr writes to Dr. Burney, who had recommended that Porson's -opinion should be taken on some classical question, "Porson shall do -it, and he will do it. I know his terms when he bargains with me: two -bottles instead of one, six pipes instead of two, Burgundy instead of -claret, liberty to sit till five in the morning instead of sneaking -into bed at one; these are his terms." - -Porson was very odd in his eating. At breakfast, he frequently ate -bread and cheese: and he then took his porter as copiously as Johnson -took his tea. At Eton, he once kept Mrs. Goodall at the breakfast-table -during the whole of Sunday morning; and when Dr. Goodall returned -from church, he found the sixth pot of porter being just carried into -his house. In his eating, Porson was very easily satisfied. "He went -once," says Mr. Watson, "to the Bodleian to collate a manuscript, and, -as the work would occupy him several days, Routh, the president of -Magdalen, who was leaving home for the long vacation, said to him at -his departure, 'Make my house your home, Mr. Porson, during my absence, -for my servants have orders to be quite at your command, and to procure -you whatever you please.' When he returned, he asked for the account -of what the Professor had had during his stay. The servant brought the -bill, and the Doctor, glancing at it, observed a fowl entered in it -every day. 'What,' said he, 'did you provide for Mr. Porson no better -than this, but oblige him to dine every day on fowl?' 'No, sir,' -replied the servant; 'but we asked the gentleman the first day what he -would have for dinner, and as he did not seem to know very well what to -order, we suggested a fowl. When we went to him about dinner any day -afterwards, he always said, "The same as yesterday:" and this was the -only answer we could get from him.'" - -Sometimes, in a fit of abstraction, he would go without a dinner. One -day, when Rogers asked him to stay and dine, he replied, "Thank you, -no; I dined yesterday." - -Porson used to relate, with much glee, his school anecdotes, the -tricks he used to play upon his master and schoolfellows, and the -little dramatic pieces which he wrote for private representation. -In describing his narrow means, he used to say, "I was almost then -destitute in the wide world, with less than 40_l._ a year for my -support, and without a profession; for I could never bring myself to -subscribe Articles of Faith. I used often to lie awake for a whole -night, and wish for a large pearl." He seemed to delight in company of -low grade. At Cambridge, after sitting five hours, and drinking two -bottles of sherry, he began to clip the king's English, to cry like a -child at the close of his periods; and, in other respects, to show -marks of extreme debility. At length, he rose from his chair, staggered -to the door, and made his way downstairs without taking the slightest -notice of his companion. Subsequently he went out upon a search for the -Greek Professor, whom he discovered near the outskirts of Cambridge, -leaning upon the arm of a dirty bargeman, and amusing him by the most -humorous and laughable anecdotes. - -However, Porson could place a strong restraint upon himself when -necessary. When he went to stay with his sisters, in the year 1804, it -is said that he only took two glasses of wine a day for eleven weeks. - -Porson was a man of ready wit and repartee. When asked by a Scotch -stranger at the Gray's Inn Coffee-house if Bentley were not a -Scotchman, he replied, "No, sir, Bentley was a Greek scholar." He said -Bishop Pearson would have been a first-rate critic if he hadn't muddled -his brains with divinity. Dr. Parr once asked him, in his pompous -manner, before a large company, what he thought about the introduction -of moral and physical evil into the world. "Why, Doctor," said Porson, -"I think we should have done very well without them." - -On his academic visits to the Continent, Porson wrote:-- - - "I went to Frankfort, and got drunk - With that most learn'd Professor Brunck: - I went to Worts, and got more drunken, - With that more learn'd Professor Runcken." - -Porson said one night, when he was very drunk, to Dodd, who was -pressing him hard in argument, "Jemmy Dodd, I always despised you when -sober, and I'll be d----d if I'll argue with you now that I am drunk." - -Porson, in a social party, offered to make a rhyme on anything, when -some one suggested one of the Latin gerunds, and he immediately -replied:-- - - "When Dido found Æneas would not come, - She mourned in silence, and was _Di-do-dum_." - -A gentleman said to the great "Grecian," with whom he had been -disputing--"Dr. Porson, my opinion of you is most contemptible." "Sir," -returned the Doctor, "I never knew an opinion of yours that was not -contemptible." - -Gillies, the historian of Greece, and Porson used now and then to meet. -The consequence was certain to be a literary contest. Porson was much -the deeper scholar of the two. Gillies was one day speaking to him of -the Greek tragedies, and of Pindar's odes. "_We know nothing_," said -Gillies, emphatically, "of the Greek metres." Porson answered, "If, -Doctor, you will put your observation in the _singular_ number, I -believe it will be very accurate." - -Porson being once at a dinner-party where the conversation turned upon -Captain Cook, and his celebrated voyages round the world, an ignorant -person, in order to contribute his mite towards the social intercourse, -asked him, "Pray, was Cook killed on his first voyage?" "I believe he -was," answered Porson, "though he did not mind it much, but immediately -entered on a second." - -Porson said of a prospect shown to him, that it put him in mind of a -fellowship--a long, dreary walk, with a church at the end of it. He -used to say of Wakefield and Hermann, two critics, who had attacked -him, but whose scholarship he held in great contempt, that "whatever he -wrote in future should be written in such a manner that they should not -reach it with their paws, though they stood on their hind-legs to get -at it." - -It has been well said that all opportunities of earning honourably -pudding and praise availed Porson nothing. "Two Mordecais sat at his -gate--thirst and procrastination." - -Irony was Porson's chief weapon, though he could be sarcastic enough -when he chose; as when he said of Tomline, Bishop of Lincoln, to whom a -rich man, who had only seen him once, had left a large legacy, "If he -had seen him twice he would have got nothing." - -Nor was he more eulogistic of Bishop Porteus, whom he used to call -Bishop _Proteus_, from his having changed his opinions from liberal to -illiberal. - -Porson made several visits to the British Museum to read and consider -the Rosetta stone, whence he got from the officials the _sobriquet_ of -Judge Blackstone. - -It is sufficiently notorious that Porson was not remarkably attentive -to the decoration of his person: indeed, he was at times disagreeably -negligent. On one occasion he went to visit a learned friend, -afterwards a judge, where a gentleman who did not know Porson, was -waiting in anxious and impatient expectation of the barber. On Porson's -entering the library, where the gentleman was sitting, he started up -and hastily said to him, "Are you the barber?" "No, sir," replied -Porson; "but I am a cunning shaver, much at your service." - -Porson, when a young man, was eminently handsome, and nearly six feet -in height; but he cultivated these natural gifts very little, and was -seldom dressed to advantage. William Bankes once invited Porson to dine -with him at an hotel at the west-end of the town; but the dinner passed -away without the guest making his appearance. Afterwards, on Bankes's -asking him why he had not kept his engagement Porson replied (without -entering into further particulars), that he "had come;" and Bankes -could only conjecture that the waiters, seeing Porson's shabby dress, -and not knowing who he was, had offered him some insult, which made him -indignantly return home. - -Late in life, Porson seems to have become a sad spectacle. "I saw him -once at the London Institution," says a writer in the _New Monthly -Magazine_, "with a large patch of coarse brown paper on his nose, the -skirts of his rusty black coat hung with cobwebs, and talking in a -tone of suavity approaching to condescension to one of the managers." -His face was described by an old acquaintance, who met him in 1807, -as "fiery and volcanic; his nose, on which he had a perpetual -efflorescence, was covered with black patches; his clothes were shabby, -his linen dirty." - -Porson had a great contempt for physic and physicians, yet, curiously -enough, many of his most intimate friends were physicians. In a letter -written in 1802 to Dr. Davy, he says: "I have been at Death's door, but -by a due neglect of the faculty, and plentiful use of my old remedy -(powder of post), I am pretty well recovered." - -In the good old days of coach travelling, an inside was occupied by -Porson, a young Oxonian, and two ladies. The Oxonian, fresh from -college, was amusing the ladies with a variety of talk, and amongst -other things, with a quotation from Sophocles. A Greek quotation, and -in a coach too, roused the slumbering Professor; and thereupon, waking -from a kind of dog sleep, in a snug corner of the vehicle; shaking -his ears, and rubbing his eyes, "I think young gentleman," said he, -"you favoured us just now with a quotation from Sophocles; I do not -happen to recollect it there." "Oh, sir," replied the Oxonian, "the -quotation is word for word as I have repeated it, and in Sophocles too; -but I suspect, sir, it is some time since you were at college." The -Professor applying his hand to his great-coat, and taking out a small -pocket edition of Sophocles, quietly asked him if he could be kind -enough to show him the passage in question, in that little book. After -rummaging the pages for some time, he replied, "Upon second thoughts, -I now recollect that the passage is in Euripides." "Then perhaps, -sir," said the Professor, putting his hand again into his pocket, and -handing him a similar edition of Euripides, "you will be so good as -to find it for me, in that little book." The young Oxonian returned -again to his task, but with no better success, muttering however -to himself, "Curse me if ever I quote Greek again in a coach." The -tittering of the ladies informed him that he was got into a hobble. At -last, "Bless me, sir," said he, "how dull I am: I recollect now--yes, -yes, I perfectly remember that the passage is in Æschylus." When our -astonished freshman vociferated, "Stop the coach--halloah, coachman, -let me out, I say, instantly--let me out! there's a fellow here has got -the Bodleian library in his pocket; let me out, I say--let me out; he -must be Porson or the devil!" - -He sometimes put the Greek folio of Galen, the physician, under his -pillow at night; not, as he used to observe, because he expected -medicinal virtue from it, but because his asthma required that his head -should be kept high. - - - - -[Illustration: Dr. Parr.] - - - - -Parriana: Oddities of Dr. Parr. - - -In his boyhood, Parr is described, by his sister as studious after his -kind, delighting in "Mother Goose and the Seven Champions," and not -partaking much in the sports usual at such an age. He had had a very -early inclination for the Church, and the elements of that taste for -ecclesiastical pomp which distinguished him in after-life, appeared -when he was not more than nine or ten years old. He would put on one -of his father's shirts for a surplice; he would then read the Church -Service to his sister and cousins, after they had been duly summoned -by a bell tied to the banisters; preach them a sermon, which his -congregation was apt to think, in those days, somewhat of the longest; -and, even in spite of his father's remonstrances, would bury a bird or -a kitten (Parr had always a great fondness for animals) with the rites -of Christian burial. - -Samuel was his mother's darling; she indulged all his whims, consulted -his appetite, provided hot suppers for him almost from his cradle. He -was her only son, and was at this time very fair and well-favoured. -Providence, however, seeing that at all events vanity was to be a large -ingredient in Parr's composition, sent him, in its mercy, a fit of -smallpox; and with the same intent, perhaps, deprived him of a parent -who was killing her son's character by kindness. Parr never was a boy, -says one of his friends and schoolfellows. When he was about nine years -old, he was seen sitting on the churchyard-gate at Harrow, whilst -his schoolfellows were all at play. "Sam, why don't you play with -the others?" cried one. "Do not you know, sir," said Parr, with vast -solemnity, "that I am to be a parson?" And Parr himself used to tell -of Sir William Jones, another of his schoolfellows, that, as they were -one day walking together near Harrow, Jones suddenly stopped short, and -looking hard at him, cried out, "Parr, if you should have the good luck -to live forty years, you may stand a chance of overtaking your face." -Between Dr. Bennet, Parr, and Jones, the closest intimacy was formed: -the three challenged one another to trials of skill in the imitation -of popular authors--they wrote and acted a play together--they got up -mock councils, and harangues, and combats, after the manner of the -classical heroes of antiquity, and under their names--till, at the age -of fourteen, Parr being now at the head of the school, was removed -from it, and placed in the shop of his father, who was a surgeon and -apothecary. The Doctor must have found, in the course of his practice, -that there are some pills which will not go down--and this was one. -Parr began to criticize the Latin of his father's prescriptions, -instead of "making the mixture." Accordingly, having tried in vain to -reconcile himself to the "uttering of mortal drugs" for three years, -he was sent to Cambridge, and admitted of Emmanuel College, where Dr. -Farmer was tutor. Of this proficient in black-letter we are told by -Archdeacon Butler, that Farmer was a man of such singular indolence as -to neglect sending in the young men's accounts, and is supposed to have -burnt large sums of money by putting into the fire unopened letters, -which contained remittances. - -In 1791, when in his twenty-fifth year, Parr became a candidate for -the head-mastership of Harrow, though he was beaten by Dr. B. Heath. -A rebellion ensued among the boys, many of whom took Parr's part; and -he threw up his situation of assistant, and withdrew to Stanmore. -Here he was followed by forty of the young rebels, and with this -stock-in-trade he proceeded to set up a school on his own account. This -is thought to have been the crisis of Parr's life. The die had turned -against him, and the disappointment, with its immediate consequences, -gave a complexion to his future fortunes, character, and comfort. He -had already mounted a full-bottomed wig when he stood for Harrow, -anxious as it should seem to give his face a still further chance of -keeping its start. He now began to ride on a black saddle, and bore -in his hand a long wand with an ivory head, like a crosier, in high -prelatical pomp. His neighbours, who wondered what it could all mean, -had scarcely time to identify him with his pontificals before they saw -him stalking along the street in a dirty striped dressing-gown. A wife -was all that was now wanted to complete the establishment at Stanmore, -and accordingly, Miss Jane Marsingale, a lady of an ancient Yorkshire -family was provided for him; Parr, like Hooker, appearing to have -courted by proxy, and with about the same success. Thus Stanmore was -set agoing as the rival of Harrow. These were fearful odds, and it came -to pass that, in spite of "Attic Symposia," and grooves of Academus, -and the enacting of a Greek play, and the perpetual recitation of the -fragment in praise of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the establishment at -Stanmore declined; and at the end of five years, Parr was not sorry to -accept the mentorship of an endowed school at Colchester. - -Parr was evidently fond of living in troubled waters: accordingly, on -his removal to Colchester, he got into a quarrel with the trustees -of the school on the subject of a lease; and he printed a pamphlet -about it, which was so violent that he never published it, probably -influenced by his prospect of succeeding to Norwich School. This -occasioned Dr. Foster to remark, "That Norwich might be touched by -a fellow-feeling for Colchester; and the crape-makers of the one -place sympathize with the bag-makers of the other." The pamphlet was -withheld, and Parr was elected to the school at Norwich. The preferment -which he gained was the living of Asterby, which he exchanged for the -perpetual curacy of Hatton, in Warwickshire. Neither was of much value. -Lord Dartmouth, whose sons had been under Parr's care, endeavoured to -procure something for him from Lord Thurlow, but the Chancellor is -reported to have said "No," with an oath. The great and good Bishop -Lowth, however, at the request of the same nobleman, gave Parr a -prebend in St. Paul's, which, though a trifle at the time, eventually -became, at the expiration of leases, a source of affluence to Parr in -his old age. How far he was from such a condition at this period of -his life, is seen by an incident related by Mr. Field. The Doctor -was one day in that gentleman's library, when his eye was caught by -the title of Stephens's Greek Thesaurus. Suddenly turning about, he -said to Field, vehemently, "Ah! my friend, my friend, may you never be -forced, as I was at Norwich, to sell that work, to me so precious, from -absolute and urgent necessity." - -Dr. Parr and Dr. Johnson once had a sort of stand-up fight at argument. -After the interview was over, Johnson said, "I do not know when I have -had an occasion of such free controversy. It is remarkable how much -of a man's life may pass without meeting with any instance of this -kind of open discussion." Here is Dr. Parr's account of the meeting: -"I remember the interview well. I gave him no quarter. The subject of -our dispute was the liberty of the press. Dr. Johnson was very great; -whilst he was arguing, I observed that he stamped. Upon this I stamped. -Dr. Johnson said, 'Why did you stamp, Dr. Parr?' I replied, 'Sir, -because _you_ stamped; and I was resolved not to give you the advantage -of a _stamp_ in the argument.'" It is impossible to do justice to this -description of the scene. The vehemence, the characteristic pomposity -with which it was accompanied, may easily be imagined by those who knew -him, but cannot be adequately represented to those who did not. - -In the party was Dr. ----, an Arian minister, and Mr. ----, a Socinian -minister. One of the party seeing Parr was on friendly terms with the -above gentlemen, said, "I suppose, sir, although they are heretics, -you think it is possible they may be saved?" "Yes, sir," said he, -adding with affected vehemence, "but they must be _scorched_ first." -Parr talked of economy; he thought that a man's happiness was secure, -in proportion to the small number of his wants, and said that all his -lifetime it had been his object to prevent the multiplication of them -in himself. Some one said to him, "Then, sir, your secret of happiness -is to _cut down_ your wants." _Parr._ "No, sir, _my_ secret is, _not to -let them grow_." - -The doctor used, on a Sunday evening, after church, to sit on the green -at Hatton, with his pipe and his jug, and witness the exertions of his -parishioners in the truly English game of cricket, making only one -proviso, that none should join the party who had not previously been to -church. It is needless to say his presence was an effectual check on -all disorderly conduct. The skittle-grounds were deserted, and a better -conducted parish was rarely seen than the worthy Doctor's. - -Dr. Parr was one of the enthusiastic admirers of Shakspeare, who fell -upon their knees before Ireland's MSS., and by their idolatry inspired -hundreds of others. Still, Parr attempts to explain this in a note -to the catalogue of his library at Hatton, as follows:--"Ireland's -(Samuel) Great and Impudent Forgery, called 'Miscellaneous Papers and -Legal Instruments, under the hand and seal of William Shakspeare,' -folio, 1796. I am almost ashamed to insert this worthless and -infamously trickish book. It is said to include the tragedy of _King -Lear_, and a fragment of _Hamlet_. Ireland told a lie when he imputed -to me the words which _Joseph Warton_ used, the very morning I called -on Ireland, and was inclined to admit the possibility of genuineness -in his papers. In my subsequent conversation I told him my change of -opinion. But I thought it not worth while to dispute in print with a -detected impostor.--S. P." - -Parr, it will be recollected, was an everlasting smoker--he smoked -morning, noon, and night. Once at a Visitation dinner in Colchester, -he had the impudence to call for his pipe; but Dr. Hamilton, the -archdeacon, told him there were other rooms in the house where he might -enjoy himself without annoying others. Of a piece with this was his -behaviour at a literary club in Colchester. Knowing the temper of the -man, a pipe and bottle (contrary to the law of the club) were placed -on the table, and he did ample justice to both; for he smoked and -drank the whole night, and talked so incessantly that Dr. Foster, the -president, sat silent, like one who had lost the use of his tongue. - -In July, 1818, Dr. Parr dined at Emmanuel (Cambridge), and met Dr. -Butler, of Shrewsbury, afterwards Bishop of Lichfield. Dudley North -seemed to be very popular in his college, for they drank his health -after dinner. Parr spoke of him in very high terms. The principal -objections to the society of "the learned pig" were that he had a more -than Mahommedan fondness for tobacco, and the smoking of a pipe was -with him, as with the followers of the Prophet, a certain passport -to friendship. The chief objects of his detestation seemed to be a -Christchurch man, a Johnian, a Welshman, and the Regent, all of whom -suffered in turn under the lash of his invective. Harrow and Trinity -were the idols of his adoration. Butler appeared to be much more of -a civilized being than the Grecian Goliah. Parr took his breakfast -in the room of Charles Brinsley Sheridan. The breakfast was given on -Sunday. Parr never showed the slightest disposition to attend the -morning service, but when breakfast was over, said, "Charles, Charles, -where are the pipes?" and they had to be sent for from a neighbouring -public-house. And the room was uninhabitable for three hours after -Parr's _déjeûner_ fumigations. - -Dr. Parr almost always spent his evenings in the company of his -family and his visitors, or in that of some neighbouring friends. At -such times his dress was in complete contrast with the costume of -the morning; for he appeared in a well-powdered wig, and always wore -his band and cassock. On extraordinary occasions he was arrayed in a -full-dress suit of black velvet, of the cut of the old times, when his -appearance was imposing and dignified. - -Speaking of the honour once conferred upon him, of being invited to -dinner at Carlton House, Parr mentions, with evident satisfaction, -the kind condescension of the Prince of Wales, who was pleased to -insist upon his taking his pipe as usual after dinner. Of the Duke of -Sussex, at whose table Parr was not unfrequently a guest, he used to -tell that his Royal Highness not only allowed him to smoke, but smoked -with him. He often represented it as an instance of the homage which -rank and beauty delight to pay to talents and learning, that ladies of -the highest station condescended to the office of lighting his pipe. -He appeared to no advantage, however, in his custom of demanding the -service of holding the lighted paper to his pipe from the youngest -female who happened to be present; and who was often, by the freedom -of his remarks, or by the gaze of the company, painfully disconcerted. -This troublesome ceremony, in his later years, he wisely discarded. - -The reader will probably recollect, in the well-known story, his reply -to the lady who refused to allow Parr the indulgence of his pipe. In -vain he pleaded that such indulgence had always been kindly granted -in the mansions of the nobility, and even in the presence and in the -palace of his sovereign. "Madam," said Parr to the lady, who still -remained inexorable, "you must give me leave to tell you, you are -the greatest--" whilst she, fearful of what might follow, earnestly -interposed, and begged that he would express no rudeness. "Madam," -resumed Dr. Parr, speaking aloud, and looking stern, "you are the -greatest tobacco-stopper in England." This sally produced a loud -laugh; but Parr found himself obliged to retire, in order to enjoy the -pleasures of his pipe. - -Dr. Parr was accustomed to amuse himself in the evening with cards, and -whist was his favourite game. He would only play for a nominal stake; -but, upon one occasion, he was persuaded to play with Bishop Watson for -a shilling, which he won. Pushing it carefully to the bottom of his -pocket, and placing his hand upon it, with a kind of mock solemnity, -"There, my Lord Bishop," said Parr, "this is a trick of the devil; -but I'll match him. So now, if you please, we will play for a penny;" -and this was ever after the amount of his stake. He was not, on that -account, at all the less ardent in the prosecution, or the less joyous -in the success of the rubber. He had a high opinion of his own skill -in the game, and could not very patiently tolerate the want of it in -his partner. Being engaged with a party, in which he was unequally -matched, he was asked by a lady how the fortune of the game turned; -when he replied, "Pretty well, madam, considering that I have three -adversaries." - -Even ladies were not spared who incurred Parr's displeasure by their -pertinacity. To one who had held out in argument against him, not very -powerfully, and rather too perseveringly, and who had closed the debate -by saying, "Well, Dr. Parr, I still maintain my opinion;" he replied, -"Madam, you may, if you please, _retain_ your opinion, but you cannot -_maintain_ it." - -The close of Parr's life grew brighter: the increased value of his -stall at St. Paul's set him abundantly at his ease; he could even -indulge his love of pomp, and he encumbered himself with a coach and -four. - -Parr's hand was ever open as day. Poverty had vexed, but had never -contracted his spirit; money he despised, except as it gave him -power--power to ride in his state-coach, to throw wide his doors -to hospitality, to load his table with plate and his shelves with -learning; power to adorn his church with chandeliers and painted -windows; to make glad the cottages of his poor; to grant a loan to a -tottering farmer; to rescue from want a forlorn patriot or a thriftless -scholar. Whether misfortune, or mismanagement, or folly, or vice, had -brought its victim low, his want was a passport to Parr's pity, and -the dew of his bounty fell alike upon the bad and the good, upon the -just and the unjust. It is told of Boerhaave that, whenever he saw -a criminal led out to execution, he would say, "May not this man be -better than I? If otherwise, the praise is due, not to me, but the -grace of God." Parr used to quote this saying with applause. Such, we -doubt not, would have been his own feelings on such an occasion. - -The Doctor was fond of good living, but was not a _gourmet_. "There -are," he says, "certainly one or two luxuries to which I am addicted: -the first is a shoulder of mutton, not under-roasted, and richly -incrusted with flour and salt; the second is a plain suet-pudding; -the third is a plain family plum-pudding; and the fourth, a kind of -high-festival dish, consists of hot boiled lobsters, with a profusion -of shrimp-sauce." - -Parr preached the Spital sermon, at Christ Church, on the invitation of -the Lord Mayor, Harvey Combe, and as they were coming out of the church -together, "Well," said Parr, "how did you like the sermon?" "Why, -Doctor," replied his lordship, "there were four things in it that I did -not like to hear." "State them." "Why, to speak frankly, then, they -were the quarters of the church-clock, which struck four times before -you had finished." But his Spital sermon, in 1799, occupied nearly -three hours in its delivery. - - - - -Oddities of John Horne Tooke. - - -The life of this strange person may almost be said to have been -commenced with a joke. He was the son of a _poulterer_, named -John Horne, in Newport Street, Westminster; or, as he told his -schoolfellows, his father was "a _turkey_ merchant." He was educated -for the Church, according to his father's wish, and took orders for the -bar. - -What Tooke thought of the former profession may be seen in a letter -of his to Wilkes, whose acquaintance he made in Paris in 1765, and to -whom he thus wrote:--"You are now entering into correspondence with a -parson, and I am greatly apprehensive lest that title should disgust; -but give me leave to assure you, I am not ordained a hypocrite. It is -true I have suffered the infectious hand of a bishop to be waved over -me, whose imposition, like the sop given to Judas, is only a signal -for the devil to enter. I hope I have escaped the contagion; and, if I -have not, if you should at any time discover the black spot under the -tongue, pray kindly assist me to conquer the prejudices of education -and profession." - -Tooke was, upon one occasion, memorably outwitted by Wilkes, who was -then sheriff of London and Middlesex. Tooke had challenged Wilkes, -who sent him the following cutting reply:--"Sir, I do not think it my -business to cut the throat of every desperado that may be tired of his -life; but as I am at present High Sheriff of the City of London, it may -happen that I shall shortly have an opportunity of attending you in my -official capacity, in which case I will answer for it that _you shall -have no ground_ to complain of my endeavours to serve you." We agree -with Mr. Colton, in his _Lacon_, that the above retort is a masterpiece -of its kind. - -The violence of Tooke's political predilections, perhaps, was -heightened by an accidental circumstance in his early life. His father, -the poulterer, had for his neighbour, Frederick, Prince of Wales, at -Leicester House, who most unceremoniously had cut through the wall of -Horne's garden a doorway, as an outlet towards Newport Market, for -the convenience of the Prince's domestics. But the poulterer and his -son resisted the encroachment, and triumphed over the heir-apparent -to the English crown, and had the obnoxious doorway removed, and the -wall reinstated. This victory, it is reasonable to suppose, fanned the -political aspirations of Horne Tooke. - -For many years Tooke was the terror of judges, ministers of state, -and all constituted authorities. When put on trial for his life (for -treason), "so far from being moved by his dangerous position, he was -never in more buoyant spirits. His wit and humour had often before been -exhibited in Courts of Justice; but never had they been so brilliant as -on this occasion. Erskine had been at his request assigned to him as -counsel; but he himself undertook some of the most important duties of -his advocate, cross-examining the witnesses for the Crown, objecting -to evidence, and even arguing points of law. If his life had really -been in jeopardy, such a course would have been perilous and rash in -the highest degree; but nobody in court, except, perhaps, the Attorney -and Solicitor-General, thought there was the slightest chance of an -adverse verdict. The prisoner led off the proceedings by a series of -preliminary jokes, which were highly successful. When placed in the -dock, he cast a glance up at the ventilators of the hall, shivered, -and expressed a wish that their lordships would be so good as to get -the business over quickly as he was afraid of catching cold. When -arraigned, and asked by the officer of the court in the usual form, -how he would be tried? he answered, 'I _would_ be tried by God and my -country--but----' and looked sarcastically round the court. Presently -he made an application to be allowed a seat by his counsel; and entered -upon an amusing altercation with the judge, as to whether his request -should be granted as an indulgence or as a right. The result was that -he consented to take his place by the side of Erskine as a matter of -favour. In the midst of the merriment occasioned by these sallies, the -Solicitor-General opened the case for the Crown."[42] - -[42] Massey's _History of England_. - -His change of name to John Horne Tooke is thus explained. At the time -when he was rising into celebrity, the estate of Purley, near Godstone, -in Surrey, belonged to Mr. William Tooke, one of the four friends who -joined in supplying him with an income, while, after resigning the -vicarage of New Brentford, he studied for the law. One of Tooke's -richer neighbours, having failed in wresting from him his manorial -rights by a lawsuit, had applied to parliament and nearly succeeded in -effecting his purpose by means of an inclosure bill, which would have -greatly depreciated the Purley estate. Tooke despondingly confided -his apprehensions to Horne, who resolved at once to avert the blow, -which he did in a bold and very singular manner. The third reading of -the bill was to take place the next day, and Horne immediately wrote -a violent libel on the Speaker of the House of Commons in reference -to it, and obtained its insertion in the _Public Advertiser_. As -might be expected, the first parliamentary proceeding next day was -the appearance of the adventurous libeller in the custody of the -Serjeant-at-Arms. When called upon for his defence, he delivered a most -remarkable speech, in which he pointed out the injustice of the bill -in question with so much success, that not only was it reconsidered, -and the clauses which affected his friend's property expunged, but -resolutions were passed by the House to prevent the possibility in -future of such bills being smuggled through parliament without due -investigation. In gratitude for this important service, Mr. Tooke, -who had no family, made Horne his heir; on his death in 1803, the -latter became proprietor of Purley, and, as one of the conditions of -inheritance, added the name of Tooke to his own, and from this time was -known as John Horne Tooke. His celebrated _Diversions of Purley_ was -named in compliment to the residence of the author's friend. - -Mr. Tooke's Sunday dinners at his villa on Wimbledon Common were very -festive gatherings. So early as eleven in the morning, some of the -guests might be descried crossing the green in a diagonal direction; -while others took a more circuitous route along the great road, with -a view of calling at the mansion formerly occupied by the Duke of -Newcastle while Prime Minister, but then the residence of Sir Francis -Burdett. For many years a coach-and-four, with Mr. Bosville and two or -three friends, punctually arrived within a few minutes of two o'clock. -At four, the dinner was usually served in the parlour looking on the -Common; and the servant having announced the dinner, the company passed -through the hall, the chairs of which were crowded with great-coats, -hats, &c., and took their seats without any ceremony, each usually -placing himself in his proper situation. During dinner, the host's -colloquial powers were called forth into action: indeed, although -he possessed an excellent appetite, and partook freely of almost -everything before him, yet he found ample time for his gibes and jokes, -which seemed to act as so many corroborants, at once strengthening and -improving the appetites of his guests. - -Here, at times, were to be seen men of rank and mechanics, sitting in -social converse; persons of ample fortune, and those completely ruined -by the prosecutions of the Attorney-General. On one side was to be -seen, perhaps, the learned Professor of an University, replete with -Greek and Latin, and panting to display his learned lore, indignant -at being obliged to chatter with his neighbour, a member of the -Common Council, about city politics. Next to these would sit a man -of letters and a banker, between whom it was difficult to settle the -agio of conversation, the one being full of the present state of the -money-market, the other bursting to display his knowledge of all books, -except those of account alone! - -Tooke took delight in praising his daughters, which he sometimes did -by those equivocatory falsehoods which were one of his principal -pleasures. Of the eldest he said, "All the beer brewed in this house -is that young lady's brewing." It would have been equally true to say, -all the hogs killed in this house were of that young lady's killing; -for they brewed no beer. When a member of the Constitutional Society, -he would frequently utter sentences, the first part of which would have -subjected him to death by the law, but for the salvo that followed; -and the more violent they were, thus contrasted and equivocatory, the -greater was his triumph. - -When Tooke was justifying to the Commissioners his return of income -under 60_l._ a-year, one of those gentlemen, dissatisfied with the -explanation, hastily said, "Mr. Tooke, I do not understand you." -"Very possibly," replied the sarcastic citizen; "but as you have not -_half_ the _understanding_ of other men, you should have _double_ the -_patience_." - -Horne Tooke told Mr. Rogers that in his early days a friend gave him a -letter of introduction to D'Alembert, at Paris. Dressed _à-la-mode_, he -presented the letter, and was very courteously received by D'Alembert, -who talked to him about operas, comedies, suppers, &c. Tooke had -expected conversation on very different topics, and was greatly -disappointed. When he took leave, he was followed by a gentleman in -a plain suit, who had been in the room during his interview with -D'Alembert, and who had perceived his chagrin. "D'Alembert," said the -gentleman, "supposed from your gay apparel that you were merely a -_petit maître_." The gentleman was David Hume. On his next visit to -D'Alembert, Tooke's dress was altogether different, and so was the -conversation. - -Tooke's literal kind of wit--set off, as tradition recounts, by a -courteous manner and by imperturbable coolness--is not ill shown in -the following:--"'Power,' said Lord ---- to Tooke, 'should follow -property.' 'Very well,' he replied, 'then we will take the property -from you, and the power shall follow it....'" "'Now, young man, -as you are settled in town,' said my uncle, 'I would advise you to -take a wife.' 'With all my heart, sir; whose wife shall I take?'" -It is a trait of manners that the "Rev. Mr. Horne" must have been a -young clergyman at the time of this conversation; he did not, as is -well known, take the name of Tooke till a later period. We have a -trace, too, of his philological acuteness in Mr. Rogers's _Memorandum -Book_:--"An illiterate people are most tenacious of their language. -In traffic, the seller learns that of the buyer before the buyer -learns his. A bull in the field, when brought to town and cut up in -the market, becomes boeuf, beef; a calf, veal; a sheep, mouton; a -pig, pork;--because there the Norman purchased, and the seller soon -learnt _his_ terms; while the peasantry retained their own." It is not -surprising that a sharp logical wit should be an acute interpreter of -language. - -In the year 1811, a most flagrant depredation was committed in Mr. -Tooke's house at Wimbledon, by a collector of taxes, who daringly -carried away a silver tea and sugar-caddy, the value of which -amounted in weight in silver to at least twenty times more than the -sum demanded, for a tax which Tooke declared he would never pay. -Instructions were given to an attorney for replevying the goods; but -the tax-collector, by the advice of a friend, returned the tea-caddy, -and the man declaring he had a large family, Tooke treated him very -kindly, and the matter was allowed to drop. - -Mr. Tooke's health had been a long time before his decease in a -declining state; but his humour and eccentricity remained in full force -to the last; and even in the gripe of death his serenity never forsook -him. While he was speechless and considered insensible, Sir Francis -Burdett, who was present with a few more friends, prepared a cordial -for him, which the medical attendants declared to be of no avail, but -which the baronet persisted in offering, and raising up the patient -for that purpose, when Mr. Tooke perceiving who offered the draught, -drank it off with a smile, and in a few minutes expired, on March 18th, -1812, at his house at Wimbledon. He was put into a strong elm shell. -The coffin was made from the heart of a solid oak, cut down for the -purpose. It measured six feet one inch in length; in breadth at the -shoulders, two feet two inches; depth at the head, two feet six inches; -and the depth at the feet, two feet four inches. This great depth of -coffin was necessary in consequence of the contraction of the body of -the deceased. - -A tomb had long been prepared for Mr. Tooke in his garden at Wimbledon, -in which it was his desire to have been buried; but this, after his -decease, being opposed by his daughters and an aunt of theirs, his -remains were conveyed in a hearse and six to Ealing, in Middlesex; -attended by three mourning-coaches, containing Sir Francis Burdett and -several other political and literary friends. His remains were interred -according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, -otherwise, it was his desire that no funeral service should be read -over his body, but that six poor men should have a guinea each to bear -him to the vault in his garden. He rests in a vault, inclosed with iron -railings, and bearing this inscription:--"John Horne Tooke, late of -Wimbledon, author of the _Diversions of Purley_, was born June, 1736, -and died March 18th, 1812, contented and grateful." - - - - -Mr. Canning's Humour. - - -It has been sagaciously remarked in a paper in the _National Review_, -No. 18, that "if Mr. Canning had not been a busy politician, he -would probably have attained eminence as a writer. There must be -extraordinary vitality in jokes and parodies, which after sixty or -seventy years are almost as amusing as if their objects had not long -since become obsolete." We propose to string together a few of these -pleasantries, collected from the above and other authentic sources. - -It is related that Mr. Canning's aunt on the anniversary of her -birthday made presents to each of her relations: to Mr. Canning she -once gave a piece of fustian, which produced from him the following -stanzas, found in MS., a line wanting:-- - - "Whilst all on this auspicious day, - Well pleas'd their gratulations pay, - And sweetly smile, and softly say - A thousand pretty speeches; - My Muse her grateful tribute wings, - Nor scorn the lay her duty brings, - Tho' humble be the theme she sings-- - A pair of shooting breeches. - - "Soon shall the tailor's subtle art - Have fashion'd them in every part, - And made them snug, and neat, and smart, - With twenty thousand stitches; - Then mark the moral of my song, - Oh! may our lives but prove as strong, - And wear as well, and last as long, - As these, my shooting breeches. - - "And when to ease the load of strife - Of public and of private life, - My fate shall bless me with a wife, - I seek not rank or riches; - But worth like thine, serene and gay, - - * * * * * - - And form'd like thine, to give away - Not wear herself the breeches." - -Among Canning's playful rhymes will be remembered, in _The Microcosm_, -Nos. 1, 11, and 12, those commencing,-- - - "The Queen of Hearts, - She made some tarts," &c. - -The continuation, which is less known, apparently contains some -political allusions:-- - - "Ye Queen of Spades - Herself degrades - By dancing on the green; - Ye Knave stood by - In extacy, - Enamoured of ye Queen. - Ye King so brave - Says to the Knave, - 'I disapprove this dance; - You make more work - Than Mister Burke - Does with ye Queen of France.'" - -The following is written as a variation: - - "Ye Queen of Spades - She beat ye maids - For their immodesty; - Ye Knave of Spades - He kissed those maids, - Which made the Queen to cry. - Ye King then curst - That Knave who durst - Make Royalty shed tears; - 'Vile Knave,' says he, - ''Tis my decree - That you lose both your ears.' - - "Ye Diamond Queen - Was one day seen - So drunk she could not stand; - Ye Diamond Knave - He blushed, and gave - Ye Queen a reprimand. - Ye King, distrest - That his dearest - Should do so vile a thing, - Says, 'By my wig - She's like ye pig - Of David, ye good king.' - - "Ye Queen of Clubs - Made syllabubs; - Ye Knave came like Big Ben, - He snatched the cup - And drank it up-- - His toast was, 'Rights of men.' - With hands and eyes - That marked surprise - Ye King laments his fate: - 'Alas!' says he, - 'I plainly see - Ye Knave's a Democrate.'" - -Mr. Canning used habitually to designate the selfish and officious Duke -of Buckingham as the "Ph.D.," an abbreviation which was understood to -mean "the fat Duke." That bulky potentate had cautioned him on the eve -of his expected voyage to India, against the frigate in which he was -to sail, on the ground that she was too low in the water. "I am much -obliged to you," he replies to Lord Morley, "for your report of the -Duke of Buckingham's caution respecting the _Jupiter_. Could you have -the experiments made _without_ the Duke of Buckingham on board? as that -_might_ make a difference." - -In a letter to Lord Granville, at a time when Prince Metternich -was expected in Paris, he says, "You ask me what you shall say to -Metternich. In the first place, you shall hear what I think of him; -that he is the greatest r---- and l---- on the Continent, perhaps in -the civilized world!" - -Almost all the brilliant exceptions to the average trash of the -_Anti-Jacobin_ appear to belong to Canning; though, if the authority of -the most recent editor may be trusted, the best stanza of the best poem -was added to the original manuscript by Pitt. - - "Sun, moon, and thou, vile world, adieu! - Which kings and priests are plotting in; - Here doomed to starve on water gru- - el, I no more shall see the U- - niversity of Gottingen." - -Canning's _Friend of Humanity and the Knife-grinder_ is well remembered -as witty ridicule of the youthful Jacobin effusions of Southey, in -which it was sedulously inculcated that there was a natural and eternal -warfare between the poor and the rich; the Sapphic lines of Southey -affording a tempting subject for ludicrous parody:-- - - "_Friend of Humanity._ - "Needy Knife-grinder? whither art thou going? - Rough is your road--your wheel is out of order. - Bleak blows the blast--your hat has got a hole in't! - So have your breeches! - - "Weary Knife-grinder! little think the proud ones, - Who in their coaches roll along the turnpike- - Road, what hard work 'tis crying all day, 'Knives and - Scissors to grind O!' - - "Tell me, Knife-grinder, how came you to grind knives? - Did some rich man tyrannically use you? - Was it the squire, or parson of the parish, - Or the attorney? - - "Was it the squire, for killing of his game, or - Covetous parson, for his tithes distraining? - Or roguish lawyer, made you lose your little - All in a lawsuit? - - "(Have you not read the _Rights of Man_, by Tom Paine?) - Drops of compassion tremble on my eyelids, - Ready to fall, as soon as you have told - Your pitiful story. - - "_Knife-grinder._ - "Story! God bless you! I have none to tell, sir. - Only last night, a-drinking at the Chequers, - This poor old hat and breeches, as you see, were - Torn in a scuffle. - - "Constables came up for to take me into - Custody; they took me before the justice; - Justice Oldmixon put me in the parish - Stocks for a vagrant. - - "I should be glad to drink your honour's health in - A pot of beer, if you will give me sixpence; - But for my part I never love to meddle - With politics, sir. - - "_Friend of Humanity._ - "I give thee sixpence! I will see thee d----d first-- - Wretch, whom no sense of wrongs can rouse to vengeance-- - Sordid, unfeeling reprobate; degraded, - Spiritless outcast! - - [_Kicks the Knife-grinder, overturns his wheel, and exit in a - transport of Republican enthusiasm and universal philanthropy._] - -Again, the atrocious exaltation of the contemporary poet in the murder -of Jean Bon St. André is still delightfully contagious:-- - - "'Twould have moved a Christian's bowels - To hear the doubts he stated; - But the Moors they did as they were bid, - And strangled him while he prated." - -The exquisite polish of the _Loves of the Triangles_ is enjoyed, while -Darwin's grave absurdities are only remembered in Miss Edgeworth's -admiring quotations, or by Lord Brougham's fidelity to the literary -prepossessions of his youth. It is remarkable that an author who in -literature can only be considered as an amateur, should have possessed -that rare accomplishment of style which is the first condition of -durable reputation. The humour of Canning's more ephemeral lampoons, as -they exist in oral tradition, seems to have been not less admirable. -When Mr. Whitbread said, or was supposed to say, in the House of -Commons, that a certain day was memorable to him as the anniversary -both of the establishment of his brewery and of the death of his -father, the metrical version of his speech placed his sentiments in a -more permanent form:-- - - "This day I will hail with a smile and a sigh, - For his beer with an _e_, and his bier with an _i_." - -Some of the diplomatic documents which have been published tend to -justify the common opinion that Mr. Canning was liable to be misled by -his facility of composition and his love of epigram. On one occasion, -he wrote to Lord Granville, that he had forgotten to answer "the -impudent request of the Pope," for protection to his subjects against -the Algerine corsairs. He replies, with more point than relevancy, -"Why does not the Pope prohibit the African Slave Trade? It is carried -on wholly by Roman Catholic powers, and by those among them who -acknowledge most subserviently the power and authority of the court -of Rome.... Tell my friend Macchi, that so long as any power whom the -Pope can control, and does not, sends a slave-ship to Southern Africa, -I have not the audacity to propose to Northern Africans to abstain -from cruising for Roman domestics--indeed, I think them justified in -doing so." In a private conversation or a friendly letter, the fallacy -of the _tu quoque_ would have been forgotten in the appropriateness of -the repartee; but in a question of serious business, the argument was -absurd, and a diplomatic communication ought never to be insulting. -There might be little practical danger in affronting the Pope; but Mr. -Canning himself would have admitted, on reflection, that his witticism -could by no possibility conduce to the suppression of the Slave Trade. - -Here is a more playful instance of humorous correspondence. When -Mr. Canning was forming his ministry, he offered Lord Lyndhurst the -Chancellorship, though he had recently attacked the new Premier in a -speech which was said to be borrowed from a hostile pamphlet, written -by Dr. Philpotts, Bishop of Exeter. Canning offered Lord Lyndhurst -the seals in a letter expressive of his goodwill, "_pace Philpotti_;" -and the answer of acceptance was signed, "Yours ever, except for -twenty-four hours." - -Mr. Canning had a faithful college servant, who became much attached to -him. Francis, for such was his name, was always distinguished by his -blunt honesty and his familiarity with his master. During his master's -early political career, Francis continued to live with him. Mr. -Canning, whose love of fun was innate, used sometimes to play off his -servant's bluntness upon his right honourable friends. One of these, -whose honours did not sit very easily upon him, had forgotten Francis, -though often indebted to his kind offices at Oxford. Francis complained -to Mr. Canning that Mr. W. did not speak to him. "Pooh!" said Mr. -Canning, "it is all your fault; you should speak first: he thinks you -proud. He dines here to-day--go up to him in the drawing-room, and -congratulate him upon the post he has just got." Francis was obedient. -Surrounded by a splendid ministerial circle, Francis advanced to the -distinguished statesman, with "How d'ye do, Mr. W. I hope you're very -well--I wish you joy of your luck, and hope your place will turn out -a good thing." The roar of course was universal. The same Francis -afterwards obtained a comfortable berth in the Customs, through his -kind master's interest. He was a stanch Tory. During Queen Caroline's -trial, he met Mr. Canning in the street. "Well Francis, how are you?" -said the statesman, who had just resigned his office, holding out his -hand. "It is not well, Mr. Canning," replied Francis, refusing the -pledge of friendship--"It is not well, Mr. Canning, that you should say -anything in favour of that ----." "But, Francis, political differences -should not separate old friends--give me your hand." The sturdy -politician at length consented to honour the ex-minister with a shake -of forgiveness. It is said that Mr. Canning did not forget him when he -returned to power. - -Canning and Lord Eldon were, in many respects, "wide as the Poles -asunder," although they were in the same administration. Mr. Stapleton, -in his _George Canning and his Times_, publishes a curious letter -written in 1826 to Lord Eldon, who exhibited his unconcealed dislike -to his brilliant and liberal colleague by steadily refusing to place -any part of his vast patronage at his disposal. Complying with the -importunity of Mr. Martin, of Galway, Mr. Canning formally transmitted -a letter of application, reminding the Chancellor at the same time -that in twenty-five years he had made four requests for appointments; -"with one of which your lordship had the goodness to comply." The -letter was placed in the private secretary (Mr. Stapleton's) hands, -with directions to copy it and forward it immediately; but knowing the -state of parties in the cabinet, and seeing that the letter had been -written under the influence of irritation, Mr. Stapleton undertook -the responsibility of keeping it back. A few hours afterwards, Mr. -Stapleton said to Mr. Canning, "I have not sent your letter to old -Eldon." "Not sent it," he angrily inquired; "and pray why not?" Mr. -Stapleton replied, "Because I am sure that you ought to read it over -again before you send it." "What do you mean?" Mr. Canning sharply -replied. "Go and get it." Mr. Stapleton did as he was bid; Mr. -Canning read it over, and then a smile of good-humour came over his -countenance. "Well," he said, "you are a good boy. You are quite right; -don't send it. I will write another." - -When his obstinate old enemy stood beside him at the Duke of York's -funeral, in St. George's Chapel, Mr. Canning became uneasy at seeing -the old man standing on the cold, bare pavement. Perhaps he was more -uneasy because he knew he was unfriendly; so to prevent the cold damp -of the stones from striking though his shoes, he made him lay down his -cocked hat, and stand upon it; and when at last he got weary of so -much standing, he put him in a niche of carved wood-work, where he was -just able to stand upon wood. Unfortunately, although the tough old -Chancellor was saved by his constitution and his hat, Mr. Canning's -health received, through the exposure to cold, a shock from which he -never recovered. A few days afterwards he paid a last visit to Lord -Liverpool, at Bath, and on the plea of entertaining Mr. Stapleton, as a -young man, with the stories of their early years, they went on amusing -each other by recounting all sorts of fun and adventure, which were -evidently quite as entertaining to the old as to the young. The picture -of the two time-worn ministers laughing over the scenes of their youth -must have been a treat. - -Sydney Smith ludicrously compared Canning in office to a fly in -amber:--"Nobody cares about the fly; the only question is--How the -devil did it get there? Nor do I attack him," continues Sydney, "from -the love of glory, but from the love of utility, as a burgomaster hunts -a rat in a Dutch dyke, for fear it should flood a province. When he is -jocular, he is strong; when he is serious, he is like Samson in a wig. -Call him a legislator, a reasoner, and the conductor of the affairs of -a great nation, and it seems to me as absurd as if a butterfly were to -teach bees to make honey. That he is an extraordinary writer of small -poetry, and a diner-out of the highest metre, I do most readily admit. -After George Selwyn, and perhaps Tickell, there has been no such man -for the last half-century." Lord Brougham, however, asserts that Mr. -Canning was not, by choice a diner-out. - -Canning said of Grattan's eloquence that, for the last two years, his -public exhibitions were a complete failure, and that you saw all the -mechanism of his oratory without its life. It was like lifting the flap -of a barrel-organ, and seeing the wheels; you saw the skeleton of his -sentences without the flesh on them; and were induced to think that -what you had considered flashes, were merely primings kept ready for -the occasion. - -Lord Byron, in his _Age of Bronze_, thus characterises Canning:-- - - "Something may remain, perchance, to chime - With reason; and, what's stranger still, with rhyme. - Even this thy genius, Canning! may permit, - Who, bred a statesman, still was born a wit, - And never, even in that dull house could tame - To unleavened prose thine own poetic flame. - Our last, our best, our only orator, - Even I can praise thee--Tories do no more. - Nay, not so much; they hate thee, man, because - Thy spirit less upholds them than it awes!" - - - - -Peter Pindar.--Dr. Wolcot. - - -This sarcastic versifier was a native of Devonshire, born about the -year 1738. His father was a substantial yeoman, and sent him to -Kingsbridge Free School; and after his father's death, young Wolcot -was removed to the Grammar School at Bodmin. He is described as a -clumsy, but arch-looking boy. He, at this early period, showed a degree -of quickness in repartee and sarcastic jokes, which was the first -dawning of that satiric humour which he afterwards displayed. He was -not remarkable at school for anything so much as negligence of his -dress and person. He described himself in after-life as having been a -dull scholar, but as having showed even at that early age a turn for -versifying. - -On leaving school, he was removed to Fowey, in Cornwall, to the house -of an uncle, who was a medical practitioner, whose apprentice he became -for seven years. He completed his medical education in London, and -applied himself with sufficient diligence to obtain a knowledge of -his future profession; but he much annoyed his uncle and two aunts by -cultivating his talents for versifying and painting. Some of his chalk -drawings have been preserved, and are remarkable for their peculiarity. -When seen near the eye, they seem to be composed only of random -scratches and masses of black chalk, of different densities and depths, -with here and there a streak and blot of white, and others of red. -There does not appear to be any defined objects, such as a tree, house, -figure, &c.; but when viewed as a whole, at a distance hanging on the -wall of the room, each of them appears to be a landscape representing -morning and evening, in which the dark and light of the sky, and the -foreground, hills, trees, towers, &c., could be made out by the fancy, -in the smallest space of time allowed for the imagination to come into -play; and then the effect is surprisingly good. Wolcot became fond of -art, eminently critical and learned in its elements, sketched many -favourite places in Devonshire and Cornwall, and dabbled occasionally -in oils. - -He settled in London, obtained a Scotch diploma of M.D., and began -to practise as a physician. In 1767, Sir William Trelawney was -appointed Governor of Jamaica, and Wolcot, who had some connection -with the family, accompanied him to that island as his physician, and -he was appointed Physician-General. The Governor's regard for his -lively medical friend was so great, that he intended to procure his -appointment as Governor of the Mosquito territory; but the retirement -from office of his best friend, Lord Shelburne, prevented its -accomplishment. - -Wolcot's practice in Jamaica was not extensive; the whites were not -numerous, and the coloured could not pay. Governor Trelawney, however, -thinking he could promote Wolcot's interest more effectually by his -patronage in the Church, having then a valuable living in his gift -likely to become vacant by the severe illness of the incumbent, he -recommended his client to return to England, enter holy orders, and -return and take possession. Although the Governor had no very sublime -ideas of priesthood, it was the only way he had of serving the wit. -"Away, then," he said, "to England, get yourself japanned. But -remember not to return with the hypocritical solemnity of a priest. -I have just bestowed a good living on a parson, who believes not all -he preaches, and what he really believes he is afraid to preach. You -may very conscientiously declare," said the _conscientious_ Governor -to his admiring pupil, "that you have an internal call, as the same -expression will equally suit a hungry stomach and the soul." Having -accomplished this praiseworthy object, the rev. (M.D.) doctor returned -to his patron for induction; but "between the cup and the lip there -is many a slip," for the ailing incumbent, whose _living_ the doctor -sought, became convalescent, proved a very incumbrance in his path, and -the japanned _medico_ was fain to take up with the living of Vere, a -congregation exclusively of blacks, which he handed over to a curate, -his real employment being master of ceremonies to the Governor. On his -death, Wolcot returned to England with Lady Trelawney; and to carry on -the metaphor, the black lobster was boiled, and came out in scarlet and -gold.--(_Notes and Queries_, 2nd Series, vol. vii. pp. 381-383.) - -The next twelve years of Wolcot's life were spent in attempting to -establish himself as a physician in Cornwall, in which he failed, -apparently on account of his invincible propensity to live as a -practical humorist, and satirize his neighbours. He humorously tells -us that the clinking of the bell-metal pestle and mortar seemed to -him to say, "Kill 'em again, kill 'em again," and so frightened him -from the profession. During his residence at Truro, some songs of -his composition were set to music by Mr. W. Jackson, of Exeter, and -first introduced him to general notice. In 1778, he published his -first composition in that peculiar style which not long after obtained -for him such a high and continued popularity--_The Epistle to the -Reviewers_. At Truro, Wolcot discovered the genius of the self-taught -artist, Opie, and with him came to London in 1780, they agreeing to -share the joint profits of their adventure for one year. They did so -for that term, when Opie told Wolcot he might return to the country, -as he could now do for himself. Wolcot appears not to have contributed -anything to the joint profits. There was now a split between the poet -and the brushman. Opie would not, for he could not, praise Wolcot's -sketches and paintings. "I tell ee, ye can't paint," said the blunt -and honest Opie; "stick to the pen." This advice was too much for "the -distant relation of the Poet of Thebes" to receive from "a painting -ape," and the feud was never healed. The Doctor scarified and lanced, -but Opie, in a more quiet way, was quite a match for the satirist, who, -as he said:-- - - "Sons of the brush, I'm here again, - At times a _Pindar_, a _Fontaine_, - Casting poetic pearl (I fear) to swine." - -Wolcot was the friend and pupil of Wilson, our great landscape painter, -whose style he used to imitate not unsuccessfully. In his addenda to -Pilkington's _Dictionary of Painters_, he pays due honour to the memory -of his old friend, Wilson. - -Wolcot now betook himself to his pen for support. His satirical and -artistic tastes suggested his first publication, "_Lyric Odes to the -Royal Academicians for 1782_, by Peter Pindar Esq., a distant relation -of the Poet of Thebes, and Laureate to the Royal Academy," which took -the town by surprise, by the reckless daring of their personalities and -quaintness of style. Thus he flayed the R.A.'s--from West to Dance, and -from Chambers to Wyatt--not forgetting their Royal patron, King George -III. In Ode III. of the second series, entitled _More Odes to the Royal -Academicians_, after complaining that Gainsborough had kicked Dame -Nature out of doors, he turns from the picture he censures to another, -and exclaims:-- - - "Speak, Muse, who form'd that matchless head? - The Cornish boy,[43] in tin-mines bred; - Whose native genius, like his diamonds, shone - In secret, till chance brought him to the sun.[44] - 'Tis Jackson's portrait--put the laurel on it, - Whilst to that tuneful swan I pour a sonnet." - -[43] Opie. - -[44] Peter here meant himself, which is in part true. - -Peter then drops the lash, resumes his neglected lyre, and pours out -a sonnet to "Jackson of Exeter," worthy of the twain--the "enchanting -harmonist and the lyric bard." - -Peter's poems were very dear to the purchaser, being printed in thin -quarto pamphlets, at 2_s._ 6_d._ each, and very little letter-press for -the money. After the Royal Academicians, Peter attacked King George -III. In 1785, Wolcot produced no less than twenty-three odes. In 1786, -he published the _Lousiad, a Heroic Comic Poem_, founded on the fact -that an obnoxious insect (either of the garden or the body) had been -discovered on the King's plate of some green peas, which produced -a solemn decree that all the servants in the Royal kitchen were to -have their heads shaved. In the hands of an unscrupulous satirist, -like Wolcot, this ridiculous incident was a stinging theme. He also -mercilessly quizzed Boswell, the biographer of Johnson. Sir Joseph -Banks was another subject of his satire:-- - - "A President, on butterflies profound, - Of whom all insect-mongers sing the praises, - Went on a day to catch the game profound, - On violets, dunghills, violet-tops, and daisies," &c. - -From 1778 to 1808, above sixty of these political pamphlets were issued -by Wolcot. So formidable was he considered, that the Ministry, as he -alleged, endeavoured to bribe him to silence; he also boasted that his -writings had been translated into six different languages. His ease and -felicity, both of expression and illustration, are remarkable. In the -following terse and lively lines, we have a good caricature sketch of -Dr. Johnson's style. - - "I own I like not Johnson's turgid style, - That gives an inch the importance of a mile; - Casts of manure a wagon-load around, - To raise a simple daisy from the ground. - Uplifts the club of Hercules--for what? - To crush a butterfly or brain a gnat! - Creates a whirlwind from the earth, to draw - A goose's feather, or exalt a straw! - Sets wheels on wheels in motion--such a clatter, - To force up one poor nipperkin of water! - Bids ocean labour with tremendous roar, - To heave a cockle-shell upon the shore; - Alike in every theme his pompous art, - Heaven's awful thunder or a rumbling cart." - -Sometimes Peter himself got castigated for his satire on the sovereign. -Here is an amusing instance. Those who recollect the figure of the -satirist in his robust upright state, and the diminutive appearance of -Mr. Nollekens, the sculptor, can readily picture to themselves their -extreme contrast, when the former accosted the latter one evening at -his gate in Tichfield Street, nearly in the following manner:--"Why, -Nollekens, you never speak to me now; pray what is the reason?" -_Nollekens._--"Why you have published such lies of the King, and had -the impudence to send them to me; but Mrs. Nollekens burnt them, and -I desire you'll send no more. The royal family are very good to me, -and are great friends to all artists, and I don't like to hear anybody -say anything against them." Upon which the Doctor put his cane upon -the sculptor's shoulders, and exclaimed, "Well said, little Nolly; I -like the man who sticks to his friends; you shall make a bust of me -for that!" "I'll see you d--d first," answered Nollekens; "and I can -tell you this besides--no man in the Royal Academy but Opie would have -painted your picture; and you richly deserved the broken head you got -from Gifford in Wright's shop. Mr. Cook, of Bedford Square, showed me -his handkerchief dipped in your blood; and so now you know my mind. -Come in, Cerberus, come in." His dog then followed him in, and he left -the Doctor at the gate, which he barred up for the night. - -A severer castigation he received from a brother author. It appears -that William Gifford had wielded his galled pen against the morals -and poetry of Wolcot. It was so stringent and caustic that the Doctor -sought his lampooner in the shop of Mr. Wright, a political publisher -in Piccadilly, opposite Old Bond Street. Thither Peter repaired with -a stout cudgel in hand, determined to inflict a summary and severe -chastisement on his literary opponent. Gifford was a small and weak -person; Wolcot was large and strengthened by passion; but he was a -coward, and after a short personal struggle, was turned into the street -by two or three persons then in the shop. Gifford afterwards wrote -and printed _An Epistle to Peter Pindar_, in which he dealt out a -most virulent tirade against the Doctor, who replied in _A Cut at the -Cobbler_. Gifford had been apprenticed to a shoemaker. - -As each published his own story of the transaction, the one in his -own name, the other by his aide-de-camp, Mr. Wright, it may not be -unamusing to recapitulate the different statements of the transaction:-- - -_Peter Pindar._--"Determined to punish a R---- that dared to propagate -a report the most atrocious, the most opprobrious, and the most -unfounded, I repaired to Mr. Wright's shop in Piccadilly to _catch -him_, as I understood that he paid frequent visits to his worthy friend -and publisher. On opening the shop-door I saw several people, and among -the rest, as I thought, Gyffard. I immediately asked him if his name -was Gyffard? Upon his reply in the affirmative, without any further -ceremony, I began to cane him. Wright and his customers and his shopmen -immediately surrounded me, and wrested the cane from my hand. I then -had recourse to the fist, and really was doing ample and easy justice -to my cause, when I found my hands all on a sudden confined behind -me, particularly by a tall Frenchman. Upon this Gyffard had time to -run round, and with his own stick, a large one too, struck me several -blows on the head. I was then hustled out of the shop, and the door was -locked against me. I entreated them to let me in, but in vain. Upon the -tall Frenchman's coming out of the shop, I told him that he was one of -the fellows that held my hands. I have been informed that his name was -Peltier. Gyffard has given out as a matter of triumph that he possesses -my cane, and that he means to preserve it as a trophy. Let me recommend -an inscription for it:--'The cane of Justice, with which I, William -Gyffard, late cobbler of Ashburton, have been soundly drubbed for my -infamy.'--I am, Sir, &c., J. WOLCOT." - -_Mr. Wright._--"Whoever is acquainted with the miscreant calling -himself 'Peter Pindar,' needs not be informed, that his disregard and -hatred of truth are habitual. He will not, therefore, be surprised to -learn that the account this Peter has published in a morning paper is a -shameless tissue of falsehoods from beginning to end. - -"I was not in the shop when it happened; but I am _authorized_, by -the only two witnesses of it, to lay before the public the following -statement:-- - -"Mr. Giffard was sitting by the window with a newspaper in his hand, -when Peter Pindar came into the shop, and saying, 'Is not your name -Giffard?' without waiting for an answer, raised a stick he had brought -for the purpose, and levelled a blow at his head with all his force. -Mr. Giffard fortunately caught the stick in his left hand, and quitting -his chair, wrested it instantly from the cowardly assassin, and gave -him two severe blows with it; one of which made a dreadful impression -on Peter's skull. Mr. Giffard had raised the stick to strike him a -third time, but seeing one of the gentlemen present about to collar the -wretch, he desisted, and coolly said, 'Turn him out of the shop.' This -was _literally and truly all_ that passed. - -"After Peter was turned into the street, the spectacle of his bleeding -head attracted a mob of hackney-coachmen, watermen, paviours, &c., to -whom he told his lamentable case, and then, with a troop of boys at -his heels, proceeded to a surgeon's in St. James's Street, to have his -wounds examined, after which he slunk home.--J. WRIGHT." - -Peter used to boast that he was the only author that ever outwitted -or took in a publisher. His works were very popular, and produced the -writer a large annual income. Walker, his publisher, in Paternoster -Row, was disposed to purchase the copyrights, and print a collected -edition. He first made the author a handsome offer in cash, and then an -annuity. The poet drove a hard bargain for the latter, and said that -"as he was very old and in a dangerous state of health, with a d--d -asthma and stone in the bladder, he could not last long." The publisher -offered 200_l._ a year; the Doctor required 400_l._ and every time the -Doctor visited the Row, he coughed violently, breathed apparently in -much pain, and acted the incurable invalid in danger so effectively -that the publisher at last agreed to pay him 250_l._ annually for -life. A collected edition of his works was printed in 1812, but it is -defective, for they were so numerous that the author could not retain -them all in his memory. An imperfect list in the _Annual Biography_ for -1819 enumerates no less than sixty-four works. One of the portraits -of the Doctor was published as a separate print, which did not sell -to any extent; but its publisher derived a great profit by taking out -the name of Peter Pindar and substituting that of "Renwick Williams -the Monster," who was infamous for stabbing women in the street. This -incident was told to Mr. Britton by Wolcot himself. - -There is a fashion in the burlesque poetry of every age that is -palatable to the public of that age only. The subjects of Wolcot's -verses were ephemeral, and are now mostly forgotten. But his -popularity was not entirely earned by his audacious personalities. -His versification is nervous, his language racy and idiomatic, his -wit often genuine; and through all his puns and quaintnesses there -runs a strain of strong manly sense. Wolcot was equal to Churchill as -a satirist, as ready and versatile in his powers, and possessed of -a quick sense of the ludicrous, as well as a rich vein of fancy and -humour. Some of his songs and effusions are tender and pleasing. Burns -greatly admired his ballad of "Lord Gregory," and wrote another on the -same subject. After all his biting satires on George III. and Pitt, -he accepted a pension from the administration of which Pitt was the -head--not to laud it, but to vituperate its opponents. He had a shrewd -intellect, and his literary compositions have the finish of an artist; -but he was utterly selfish, and was a self-indulgent voluptuary. - -Peter lived to the age of eighty-one, much to the annoyance of his -publisher, Walker. His last abode was in a small house in Montgomery's -nursery-gardens, which occupied the site of the north side of Euston -Square. Here he dwelt in a secluded, cheerless manner, the victim of -an asthma, very deaf, and almost entirely blind, with only a female -servant to attend him. His mind, however, retained its full power. He -lived only for himself; declined dinner invitations, "to avoid the -danger of loading his stomach with more than Nature required;" lay in -bed the greater part of his time, because "it would be folly in him -to be groping around his drawing-room," and because, "when up and in -motion he was obliged to carry a load of eleven or twelve stone, while -here he had only a few ounces of blanket to support." When out of bed, -he amused himself with his violin, or examining, as well as his sight -permitted, his crayons and pictures. He showed no aversion to "receive -notoriety-hunters," who came to see and hear "Peter Pindar," but -evinced no desire for society. - -John Britton, who lived in Burton Street, often went to see Peter on a -Saturday afternoon, and there met Mr. John Taylor, editor of the _Sun_ -newspaper. This gentleman was an inveterate and reckless punster, and -often teased Peter by some pointless puns. At one of these visits, on -taking leave, Taylor exclaimed, pointing to Peter's head and rusty wig, -"Adieu! I leave thee without hope, for I see _Old Scratch_ has thee -in his claws." Peter died in the above house, January 14th, 1810, and -was buried in the churchyard of St. Paul, Covent Garden, close to the -grave of Butler. He left a considerable property to his relations. In -early life he lived in the same parish, at No. 13, Tavistock Row; and -in the garret of this house he wrote many of his invectives against -George III. and the Royal Academicians. In 1807, he lodged in the first -floor of a house in Pratt Place, Camden Town, rented by a Mr. and Mrs. -Knight. The husband was a sea-faring man, seldom at home; and the -Doctor, who was not over-scrupulous, is said to have seduced the wife's -affections. Knight brought an action against the Doctor, but the jury -very properly acquitted him of the charge.--_See Cunningham's London_, -p. 409. - -Peter was not emulous to shine as a wit in his colloquial intercourse, -either with strangers or his most intimate associates. Indeed, his -usual manner exhibited so little of that character which strangers had -imagined of the writer of his lively satires, that they were commonly -disappointed. The wife of a player, at whose house Wolcot often passed -an evening, used to say that "his wit seems to lie in the bowl of a -teaspoon." Angelo, in his _Reminiscences_, tells us that he could not -guess the riddle, until one evening he observed that each time Peter -replenished his glass goblet with brandy-and-water, in breaking the -sugar, the corners of his lips were curled into a satisfactory smile, -and he began some quaint story, as if, indeed, the new libation begot -a new thought. To prove the truth of the discovery, one night, after -supper, at his own home in Bolton Row, Angelo made the experiment. -One of the party being in the secret, and fond of practical joking, -came provided with some small square pieces of alabaster. Peter's -glass waning fast, the joker contrived to slip the alabaster into a -sugar-basin provided for the purpose; when the Doctor, reaching the hot -water, and pouring in the brandy, the sugar-tongs were handed to him, -and then the advanced basin of alabaster. "Thank you, my boy," said -Peter, putting in five or six pieces, and taking his teaspoon, began -stirring as he commenced his story. Unsuspicious of the trick, Peter -proceeded, "Well, sirs,--and so the old parish priest. What I tell you -(then his spoon was at work) happened when I was in that infernally hot -place, Jamaica (then another stir). Sir, he was the fattest man on the -island (then he pressed the alabaster); yes, d----, sir, and when the -thermometer, at ninety-five, was dissolving every other man, this old -slouching, drawling son of the church got fatter and fatter, until, -sir--(curse the sugar! some devil-black enchanter has bewitched it.) -By ----, sir, this sugar is part and parcel of that old pot-bellied -parson--it will never melt;" and he threw the contents of the tumbler -under the grate. The whole party burst into laughter, and the joke cut -short the story. The mock sugar was slipped out of the way, and the -Doctor, taking another glass, never suspected the frolic. - -Peter, on seeing West's picture of Satan in the Exhibition, broke out -in the following couplet:-- - - "Is this the mighty potentate of evil? - 'Tis damn'd enough, indeed, but not the Devil." - - - - -The Author of "Dr. Syntax." - - -Dr. Syntax's _Tour in Search of the Picturesque_ was a large prize -in the lottery of publication and was also a novelty in origin and -writing. It was written to a set of designs instead of the designs -being made to illustrate the poet: in other words, the artist preceded -the author by making a series of drawings, in which he exhibited his -hero in a succession of places, and in various associations, calculated -to exemplify his hobby-horsical search for the picturesque. Some of -these drawings, made by Rowlandson, than whom no artist ever expressed -so much with so little effort, were shown at a dinner-party at John -Bannister's, in Gower Street, when it was agreed that they should -be recommended to Ackermann, in the Strand, for publication. That -gentleman readily purchased, and handed them, two or three at a time, -to William Combe, who was then confined in the King's Bench Prison -for debt. He fitted the drawings with rhymes, and they were first -published in the _Poetical Magazine_, where they became so popular that -they extended to three tours in as many volumes, and passed through -several editions. The work reminds one of _Drunken Barnaby's Journal_ -by its humour: it has been called "rhyming, rambling, rickety, and -ridiculous," but by a very inexperienced critic. The illustrations -were, doubtless, the attraction, which was so great, that the demand -kept pace with the supply. Hence _Syntax_ was succeeded by the _Dance -of Life_, the _Dance of Death_, _Johnny Quægenus_, and _Tom Raw the -Griffin_, all of the same class and character, and ultimately extending -to 295 prints, with versified letter-press "by Dr. Syntax." Of late -years these works have been republished at reduced prices. - -Combe, the author of these strange works was of good family connection, -had been educated at Eton and Oxford, and very early came into -possession of a large fortune, in ready money. He started in the world -by taking a large mansion at the west end of London, furnished it -superbly hired servants, and bought carriages, and assembled around -him a set of sycophants and parasites, who made short work of it, for -from the commencement to the drop-scene of the farce did not exceed one -year. The consequence was disgraceful ruin, and Combe fled from his -creditors and from society. We next hear of him as a common soldier, -and recognized at a public-house with a volume of Greek poetry in his -hand. He was relieved; but he still lived a reckless life, by turns -in the King's Bench Prison and the Rules, the limits of which do not -appear to have been to him much punishment. Horace Smith, who knew -Combe, refers to the strange adventures and the freaks of fortune of -which he had been a participator and a victim: "a ready writer of -all-work for the booksellers, he passed all the latter portion of his -time within _the Rules_, to which suburban retreat the present writer -was occasionally invited, and never left without admiring his various -acquirements, and the philosophical equanimity with which he endured -his reverses." Mr. Smith further states, that if there was a lack of -matter occasionally to fill up the columns of their paper, "Combe would -sit down in the publisher's back-room and extemporize a letter from -Sterne at Coxwould, a forgery so well executed that it never excited -suspicion." Mr. Robert Cole, the antiquary, had among his autographs a -list of the literary works and letters of Combe. - -Combe was principally employed by Ackermann, who, for several years, -paid him at least 400_l._ a-year. On the first lithograph stone which -Mr. Ackermann printed, when he had prepared everything for working, -Combe wrote:-- - - "I have been told of one - Who, being asked for bread, - In its stead - Return'd a stone. - - "But here we manage better. - The stone we ask - To do its task, - And it returns in every letter." - - "WILLIAM COMBE, _Jan. 23, 1817_." - -Combe was often a guest at Ackermann's table; he proved a friend to -him during his last illness, and contributed to the expenses of his -funeral, tomb, &c. Subsequent to his death, in 1823, a small volume was -published, entitled _Letters to Marianne_, said to have been written -by him after the age of seventy, to a young girl. We remember to have -visited him in the Rules, near New Bethlem Hospital, when we learnt -that he had written a memoir of his chequered life. Campbell, in his -_Life of Mrs. Siddons_, states that Combe lived nearly twenty years in -the King's Bench, and never quitted that prison; which is not correct. -Combe had nearly been Mrs. Siddons's reading preceptor. - -Rowlandson, who designed the Syntax illustrations, was as improvident -as Combe: he had a legacy of 7,000_l._, and other property, bequeathed -to him by an aunt: this he dissipated in the gaming-houses of Paris -and London, where he alternately won and lost without emotion several -thousand pounds. When penniless, he would return to his professional -duties, sit down coolly to make a series of new designs, and exclaim -stoically, "I've played the fool, but (holding up his pencils) here is -my resource." To Rowlandson, as well as Combe, Ackermann proved a warm -and generous patron and employer. - -Dr. Doran, in his piquant Notes to the _Last Journals of Horace -Walpole_, tells us that "Combe burst on the world as a wonderfully -well-dressed _beau_, and was received with _éclat_ for the sake of his -wealth, talents, grace, and personal beauty. He was popularly called -'Count Combe,' till his extravagance had dissipated a noble fortune; -and then, addressing himself to literature, the Count was forgotten in -the Author. In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for May, 1862, there is a -list of his works, originally furnished by his own hand. Not one was -published with his name, and they amount in number to sixty-eight. -Combe was a teetotaller in the days when drunkenness was in fashion, -and was remarkable for disinterestedness and industry. He was the -friend of Hannah More, whom he loved to make weep by improvised -romances, in which he could 'pile up the agony' with wonderful effect. -Religious faith and hope enabled William Combe to triumph over the -sufferings of his latter years. His second wife, the sister of the -gentle and gifted Mrs. Cosway, survived him." - -Horace Walpole, 1779, speaking of the poem, _The World as it -Goes_, describes it as "by that infamous Combe, the author of the -_Diabolical_. It has many easy poetic lines, imitates Churchill, and -is fully as incoherent and absurd in its plan as the worst of the -latter's." - -Again, in 1778, Walpole describes "Combe" as "a most infamous rascal, -who had married a cast mistress of Lord Beauchamp, and wrote many -satiric poems not quite despicable for the poetry, but brutally -virulent against that Lord, and others, particularly Lord Irnham." But, -as Dr. Doran aptly observes, "Walpole however fond of satire, hated -satirists, particularly when they were fearless and outspoken, like -Combe." - - - - -Mrs. Radcliffe and the Critics. - - -It is singular that although Mrs. Radcliffe's beautiful descriptions -of foreign scenery, composed solely from the materials afforded by -travellers, collected and embodied by her own genius, were marked in -a particular degree with the characteristics of fancy portraits, yet -many of her contemporaries conceived them to be exact descriptions of -scenes which she had visited in person. One report transmitted to the -public by the _Edinburgh Review_, stated that Mr. and Mrs. Radcliffe -had visited Italy; that Mr. Radcliffe had been attached to one of the -British embassies in that country; and that it was here his gifted -consort imbibed the taste for picturesque scenery, and for mouldering -ruins, and for the obscure and gloomy anecdotes which tradition -relates of their former inhabitants. This is so far a mistake, as -Mrs. Radcliffe never was in Italy; but it has been mentioned, in -explanation, that she probably availed herself of the acquaintance -she formed in 1793 with the magnificent scenery on the banks of the -Rhine, and the frowning remains of feudal castles with which it -abounds. The inaccuracy of the reviewer is of no great consequence; -but a more absurd report found its way into print, namely, that Mrs. -Radcliffe, having visited the fine old Gothic mansion of Haddon House, -had insisted upon remaining a night there, in the course of which she -had been inspired with all that enthusiasm for Gothic residences, -hidden passages, and mouldering walls, which marks her writings. Mrs. -Radcliffe, we are assured, never saw Haddon House; and although it -was a place excellently worth her attention, and could hardly have -been seen by her without suggesting some of those ideas in which her -imagination naturally revelled, yet we should suppose the mechanical -aid to invention--the recipe for fine writing--the sleeping in a -dismantled and unfurnished old house, was likely to be rewarded with -nothing but a cold, and was an affectation of enthusiasm to which Mrs. -Radcliffe would have disdained to have recourse. - -These are the opinions of Sir Walter Scott; appended to them are these -somewhat depreciatory remarks made by Dunlop, in his _History of -Fiction_:-- - -"In the writings of Mrs. Radcliffe there is a considerable degree -of uniformity and mannerism, which is perhaps the case with all the -productions of a strong and original genius. Her heroines too nearly -resemble each other, or rather they possess hardly any shade of -difference. They have all blue eyes and auburn hair--the form of each -of them has 'the airy lightness of a nymph'--they are all fond of -watching the setting sun, and catching the purple tints of evening, -and the vivid glow or fading splendour of the western horizon. -Unfortunately they are all likewise early risers. I say unfortunately, -for in every exigency Mrs. Radcliffe's heroines are provided with -a pencil and paper, and the sun is never allowed to rise nor set -in peace. Like Tilburina in the play, they are 'inconsolable to the -minuet in Ariadne,' and in the most distressing circumstances find -time to compose sonnets to sunrise, the bat, a sea-nymph, a lily, or a -butterfly." - -The tenor of Mrs. Radcliffe's private life seems to have been -peculiarly calm and sequestered. She probably declined the sort of -personal notoriety which, in London society, usually attaches to -persons of literary merit; and, perhaps, no author whose works were so -universally read and admired was so little personally known even to -the most active of that class of people of distinction, who rest their -peculiar pretensions to fashion upon the selection of literary society. -Her estate was certainly not the less gracious; and it did not disturb -Mrs. Radcliffe's domestic comforts, although many of her admirers -believed, and some are not yet undeceived, that, in consequence of -brooding over the terrors which she depicted, her reason had at length -been overturned, and that the author of _The Mysteries of Udolpho_ only -existed as the melancholy inmate of a private madhouse. This report was -so generally spread, and so confidently repeated in print, as well as -in conversation, that the writer believed it for several years, until, -greatly to his satisfaction, he learned, from good authority, that -there neither was, nor ever had been, the most distant foundation for -this unpleasing rumour. - -A false report of another kind gave Mrs. Radcliffe much concern. In -Miss Seward's _Correspondence_, among the literary gossip of the day, -it is roundly stated that the _Plays upon the Passions_ were Mrs. -Radcliffe's, and that she owned them. Mrs. Radcliffe was much hurt at -being reported capable of borrowing from the fame of a gifted sister; -and Miss Seward would, no doubt, have suffered equally, had she been -aware of the pain she inflicted by giving currency to a rumour so -totally unfounded. The truth is, that residing at a distance from the -metropolis, and living upon literary intelligence as her daily food, -Miss Seward was sometimes imposed upon by those friendly caterers, who -were more anxious to supply her with the newest intelligence, than -solicitous about its accuracy. - -Mrs. Radcliffe died at her residence in Stafford Row, Pimlico, on -the 7th of February, 1823; and her remains rest in the vault of the -Chapel-of-ease to St. George's parish, in the Bayswater Road, facing -Hyde Park. - - - - -Cool Sir James Mackintosh. - - -Mackintosh, a name dear to letters and philosophy, was no lawyer in -the narrow-minded sense of the word, and when appointed judge at -Bombay, was lamentably thrown away upon such society as he met there. -Accustomed to lead in the conversations of the conversation-men of -the metropolis--such as Sharp, Rogers, Dumont--he found himself -transplanted among those who afforded a sad and bitter contrast. It was -like Goëthe's oak-plant, with its giant fibres, compressed within the -dimensions of a flower-pot. On the third day after his arrival, most -forcibly was he reminded of the contrast, when one of the members of -the Council, the conversation turning upon quadrupeds, turned to him -and inquired what was a quadruped. It was the same sagacious Solomon -who asked him for the loan of some book, in which he could find a good -account of Julius Cæsar. Mackintosh jocosely took down a volume of Lord -Clarendon's _History of the Rebellion_, in which mention is made of a -Sir Julius Cæsar, Master of the Rolls in the time of Charles the First. -The wiseacre actually took the book home with him, and after some -days brought it back to Sir James, remarking that he was disappointed -on finding that the book referred to Julius Cæsar only as a lawyer, -without the slightest mention of his military exploits. - -Sir James was subject to certain Parson Adams-like habits of -forgetfulness of common things and lesser proprieties; and this brought -down upon him no slight share of taunt and ridicule. It happened, on -his arrival at Bombay, that there was no house ready for his reception, -and it would be a fortnight before a residence in the fort could be -prepared for him. Mr. Jonathan Duncan, the Governor of the Presidency, -therefore, with great kindness, offered him his garden-house, called -_Sans Pareil_, for the temporary accommodation of Sir James and -his family. But months and months elapsed, till a twelvemonth had -actually revolved; Mackintosh and his wife, during all this time, -found themselves so comfortable in their quarters, that they forgot -completely the limited tenure on which they held them, appearing by a -singular illusion, not to have the slightest suspicion of Mr. Duncan's -proprietorship, notwithstanding some pretty intelligible hints on the -subject from that gentleman, but communicated with his usual delicacy -and politeness. At last, politeness and delicacy were out of the -question, and the poor Governor was driven to the necessity of taking -forcible possession of his own property. This was partly indolence, -partly absence of mind in Sir James. He was constitutionally averse to -every sort of exertion, and especially that of quitting any place where -he found himself comfortable. - -Before he went out to India, he made a trip into Scotland with his -lady; and having taken up his abode for the night at an inn in -Perthshire, not far from the beautiful park of Lord Melville (then Mr. -Dundas) sent a request to Lady Jane Dundas (Mr. Dundas being absent) -for permission to see the house and grounds, which was most civilly -granted. Mr. Dundas being expected in the evening, her ladyship -politely pressed them to stay for dinner, and to pass the night, their -accommodation at the inn, not being of the best description. Mr. Dundas -returned the same day, and though their politics were as adverse as -possible, was so charmed with the variety of Mackintosh's conversation, -that he requested his guests to prolong their visit for two or three -days. So liberal, however, was the interpretation they put upon the -invitation, that the two or three days were protracted into as many -months, during which, every species of hint was most ineffectually -given, till their hosts told them, with many polite apologies, that -they expected visitors and a numerous retinue, and could no longer -accommodate Mr. and Mrs. Mackintosh. - -During Sir James Mackintosh's Recordership of Bombay, a singular -incident occurred. Two Dutchmen having sued for debt two English -officers, Lieutenants Macguire and Cauty, these officers resolved to -waylay and assault them. This was rather a resolve made in a drunken -excitement than a deliberate purpose. Fortunately, the Dutchmen -pursued a different route from that which they had intended, and -they prosecuted the two officers for the offence of lying-in-wait -with intent to murder. They were found guilty, and brought up for -judgment. Previous to his pronouncing judgment, however, Sir James -received an intimation that the prisoners had conceived the project -of shooting him as he sat on the bench, and that one of them had for -that purpose a loaded pistol in his writing-desk. It is remarkable -that the intimation did not induce him to take some precautions to -prevent its execution--at any rate, not to expose himself needlessly -to assassination. On the contrary, the circumstances only suggested -the following remarks:--"I have been credibly informed that you -entertained the desperate project of destroying your own lives at that -bar, after having previously destroyed the judge who now addresses -you. If that murderous project had been executed, I should have been -the first British judge who ever stained with his blood the seat of -justice. But I can never die better than in the discharge of my duty." -All this eloquence might have been spared. Macguire submitted to the -judge's inspection of his writing-desk, and showed him that, though it -contained two pistols, neither of them was charged. It is supposed to -have been a hoax--a highly mischievous one, indeed--but the statement -was _primâ facie_ so improbable, that it was absurd to give it the -slightest credit. - - - - -[Illustration: "Peter Porcupine." W. Cobbett.] - - - - -Eccentricities of Cobbett. - - -Cobbett began his career a political writer of ultra-Conservative -stamp. He first became known to the public as "Peter Porcupine," -under which name he fiercely attacked the democratic writers and -speakers of France and America. He was then resident in America, -and encountered one or two trials at law for alleged libels, in his -defence of monarchical and aristocratic institutions. The _Porcupine -Papers_ attracted much notice in England, were quoted and lauded by the -government organs--quoted in both Houses of Parliament, and eulogized -in the pulpit. The writer was considered one of the most powerful -supports of the principles of the British constitution. This series of -papers was republished in England, in twelve volumes octavo, under the -patronage of the Prince Regent, to whom, it is believed, the work was -dedicated. - -On his return from America, Cobbett began a daily paper called the -_Porcupine_. This was soon discontinued, and he began the _Register_. -Both these papers were strongly in favour of the government; and the -_Register_ ran through several volumes before a change took place in -the political opinions of the editor--a change hastened, if not caused, -by an affront offered him by William Pitt. Windham was a great admirer -of Cobbett, and after reading one of his Porcupine papers, declared -that the author was "worthy of a statue in gold." Pitt had refused to -meet the author of the _Register_ at Windham's table; and this Cobbett -resented, and never forgave. Very soon after this, a marked change took -place in his politics; henceforth he was more consistent, and the last -_Register_ which came from his pen, very shortly before his death, -breathed the same spirit which he had shown years before as one of the -leaders of the democratic party. - -One of Cobbett's oddities was the wood-cut of a gridiron which for many -years headed the _Political Register_, as an emblem of the martyrdom -which he avowed he was prepared to undergo, upon certain conditions. -The gridiron will be recollected as one of the emblems of St. Lawrence, -and we see it as the large gilt vane of one of the City churches -dedicated to the saint. - -As he was broiled on a gridiron for refusing to give up the treasures -of the church committed to his care, so Cobbett vowed that he would -consent to be broiled upon certain terms, in his _Register_, dated -Long Island, on the 24th of September, 1819, wherein he wrote the -well-known prophecy on Peel's Cash Payments Bill of that year as -follows:--"I, William Cobbett, assert that to carry their bill into -effect is impossible; and I say that if this bill be carried into full -effect, I will give Castlereagh leave to lay me on a gridiron, and -broil me alive, while Sidmouth may stir the coals, and Canning stand by -and laugh at my groans." - -On the hoisting of the gridiron _on the Register_, he wrote -and published the fulfilment of his prophecy in the following -statement:--"Peel's bill, together with the laws about small notes, -which last were in force when Peel's bill was passed; these laws all -taken together, if they had gone into effect, would have put an end -to all small notes on the first day of May, 1823; but to precede this -blowing-up of the whole of the funding system, an act was passed, in -the month of July, 1822, to prevent these laws, and especially that -part of Peel's bill which put an end to small Bank of England notes, -from going into full effect; thus the system received a respite; but -thus did the parliament fulfil the above prophecy of September, 1819." - -A large sign-gridiron was actually made for Mr. Cobbett. It was of -dimensions sufficient for him to have lain thereon (he was six feet -high); the implement was gilt, and we remember to have seen it in his -office-window, in Fleet Street; but it was never hoisted outside the -office. It was long to be seen on the gable-end of a building next Mr. -Cobbett's house at Kensington. - -Cobbett possessed extraordinary native vigour of mind; but every -portion of his history is marked by strange blunders. Shakspeare, the -British Museum, antiquities, posterity, America, France, Germany, -are, one and all, either wholly indifferent to him, or objects of -his bitter contempt. He absurdly condemned the British Museum as "a -bundle of dead insects;" abused drinking "the immortal memory" as a -contradiction of terms; and stigmatized "consuming the midnight oil" -as cant and humbug. His political nicknames were very ludicrous: as -big O for O'Connell; Prosperity Robinson for a flaming Chancellor of -the Exchequer; and shoy-hoy for all degrees of quacks and pretenders. -Still, his own gridiron was a monstrous piece of quackery, as audacious -as any charlatan ever set up. - -When he had a subject that suited him, he is said to have handled it -not as an accomplished writer, but "with the perfect and inimitable art -with which a dog picks a bone." Still, his own work would not bear this -sort of handling--witness the biting critique upon his English grammar, -which provoked the remark that he would undertake to write a Chinese -grammar. - -In country or in town, at Barn Elms, in Bolt Court or at Kensington, -Cobbett wrote his _Registers_ early in the morning: these, it must -be admitted, had force enough; for he said truly, "Though I never -attempt to put forth that sort of stuff which the intense people on -the other side of the Channel call _eloquence_, I bring out strings of -very interesting facts; I use pretty powerful arguments; and I hammer -them down so closely upon the mind, that they seldom fail to produce a -lasting impression." This he owed, doubtless, to his industry, early -rising, and methodical habits. - -Cobbett affected to despise all acquirements which he had not. In his -_English Grammar_ he selects examples of bad English from the writings -of Dr. Johnson and Dr. Watts, and is very contemptuous on "what are -called the learned languages;" but he would not have entered upon Latin -or Greek. - -It seemed to be Cobbett's aim to keep himself fresh in the public eye -by some means of advertisement or other; a few were very reprehensible, -but none more than his disinterring the bones of Thomas Paine, buried -in a field on his own estate near New Rochelle, and bringing these -bones to England, where, Cobbett calculated, pieces of them would be -worn as memorials of the gross scoffer. Cobbett, however, never more -widely mistook English feeling: instead of arousing, as he expected, -the enthusiasm of the republican party in this country, he only drew -upon himself universal contempt. - - - - -Heber, the Book-Collector. - - -There have been many instances of the indulgence of book collecting to -the extent which is termed book-madness; but none more remarkable than -that of Mr. Richard Heber, half-brother to the celebrated Bishop of -Calcutta of the same name. Mr. Heber inherited property which permitted -him to spend immense sums in the purchase of books; and he received an -education which enabled him to appreciate the books when purchased. He -was not therefore, strictly speaking, a _bibliomaniac_, and nothing -more, though his exertions in _collecting_ amounted to eccentricities. -He would make excursions from the family seats in Yorkshire and -Shropshire to London, to attend book sales; and when the termination -of the war in 1815 opened the Continent to English travellers, Heber -visited France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and made large purchases -of books in each country. He cared for nothing but books. He kept up a -correspondence with all the great dealers in old books throughout the -kingdom. On hearing of a curious book, he was known to have put himself -into a mail-coach, and travelled three or four hundred miles to obtain -it, fearful to entrust his commission to any agent. He was known to say -seriously to his friends, on their remarking on his many duplicates, -"Why, you see, sir, no man can do comfortably without _three_ copies -of a work. One he must have for a _show_ copy, and he will, probably, -keep it at his country-house. Another he will require for his use and -reference; and, unless he is inclined to part with this, which is very -inconvenient, or risk the injury of his best copy, he must needs have a -third at the service of his friends." - -Mr. Hill Burton, in his _Book-hunter_, relates the following incident -of Heber's experience in the rarity-market. A celebrated dealer in old -books was passing a chandler's shop, where he was stopped by a few -filthy old volumes in the window. One of them he found to be a volume -of old English poetry, which he--a practised hand in that line--saw was -utterly unknown as existing, though not unrecorded. Three and sixpence -was asked; he stood out for a half-a-crown, on first principles, but, -not succeeding, he paid the larger sum, and walked away, book in -pocket, to a sale, where the first person he saw was Heber. Him the -triumphant bookseller drew into a corner, with "Why do you come to -auctions to look for scarce books, when you can pick up such things as -this in a chandler's shop for three and sixpence?" "Bless me, ----, -where did you get this?" "That's tellings! I may get more there." -"----, I must have this." "Not a penny under thirty guineas!" A cheque -was drawn, and a profit of 17,900 per cent. cleared by the man who had -his eyes about him, in whose estimation such a sum was paltry compared -with the triumph over Heber. - -Mr. Heber's taste strengthened as he grew older. Not only was his -collection of old English literature unprecedented, but he brought -together a larger number of fine copies of Latin, Greek, French, -Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese books than had ever been possessed -by a private individual. His house at Hodnet, in Shropshire, was -nearly all library. His house in Pimlico (where he died in 1833) was -filled with books from top to bottom: every chair, table, and passage -containing "piles of erudition." A house in York Street, Westminster, -was similarly filled. He had immense collections of books in houses -rented merely to contain them, at Oxford, Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, -and Ghent. When he died, curiosity was naturally excited to know what -provision he had made in reference to his immense store of books; -but when his will was discovered, after a long and almost hopeless -search among bills, notes, memoranda, and letters, it was found, to the -astonishment of every one on reading it, that the library _was not even -mentioned_! It seemed as if Heber cared nothing what should become of -the books, or who should possess them, after his decease; and as he was -never married, or influenced greatly by domestic ties, his library was -considered by the executors of his will as merely so much "property," -to be converted into cash by the aid of the auctioneer. What was the -number of books possessed by him or the amount of money paid for them, -appears to have been left in much doubt. Some estimated the library at -150,000 volumes, formed at a cost of 100,000_l._; others reckoned it at -500,000 volumes, at an aggregate value of 250,000_l._ The truth was, -his executors did not know in how many foreign towns his collections -of books were placed. Thus it could not accurately be ascertained what -portion of the whole was sold by auction in London in 1834-6; but -the mere catalogue of that portion fills considerably more than two -thousand printed octavo pages. The sales were conducted by Mr. Evans, -Messrs. Sotheby, and other book-auctioneers, and occupied two hundred -and two days, extending through a period of upwards of two years from -April 10, 1834, to July 9, 1836. One copy of the catalogue has been -preserved, with marginal manuscript notes, relating to almost every -lot; and from this a summary of very curious information is deducible. -It appears that, whatever may have been the number of volumes sold by -auction, or otherwise got rid of abroad, those sold at this series of -auctions in London were 117,613 in number, grouped into 52,672 lots. -As regards the ratio borne by the prices obtained, to those which Mr. -Heber had paid for the books in question, the account as rendered -showed that the auctioneer's hammer brought 56,775_l._ for that which -had cost 77,150_l._ It would appear, therefore, that the losses -accruing to Mr. Heber's estate through his passion for book-collecting, -amounted to upwards of 20,000_l._, and this irrespective of the fate -of the continental libraries. - - - - -Sir John Soane Lampooned. - - -Sir John Soane, who bequeathed to the country his Museum in Lincoln's -Inn Fields, which cost him upwards of 50,000_l._, was the son of a -bricklayer, and was born at Reading in 1753; he was errand-boy to -Dance, the architect, and subsequently his pupil. He rose to great -eminence, grew rich and liberal; he gave for Belzoni's elaborate -sarcophagus in the Soane Museum, 2,000 guineas; paid large sums for art -rarities; subscribed 1,000_l._ for the Duke of York's monument, was -contended with his knighthood, and declined to receive a baronetcy. -Yet he was a man of overweening vanity, and was much courted by -legacy-hunters; whilst his alienation from his son assisted in raising -up many enemies, in addition to those which Soane's remarkable success -brought against him. From the latter section may have proceeded the -following curious and popular squib of the day, said to have been found -under the plates at one of the artistic or academic dinners. It is -headed:-- - - "THE MODERN GOTH. - - "Glory to thee, great Artist! soul of taste! - For mending pigsties where a plank's misplaced: - Whose towering genius plans from deep research - Houses and temples fit for Master Birch - To grace his shop on that important day, - When huge twelfth-cakes are raised in bright array. - Each pastry pillar shows thy vast design-- - Hail! then, to thee, and all great works of thine. - Come, let me place thee, in the foremost rank, - With him whose dullness discomposed the bank; - [_A line illegible._] - Thy style shall finish what his style begun. - Thrice happy Wren! he did not live to see - The dome that's built and beautified by thee. - Oh! had he lived to see thy blessed work, - To see plaster scored like loins of pork; - To see the orders in confusion move: - Scrolls fixed below, and pedestals above: - To see defiance hurled at Rome and Greece, - Old Wren had never left the world in peace. - Look where I will, above, below, is shown - A pure disordered order of thine own; - Where lines and circles curiously unite, - A base, confounded, compound Composite: - A thing from which, in truth it may be said, - Each lab'ring mason turns abash'd his head; - Which Holland reprobates, and Dance derides, - Whilst tasteful Wyatt holds his aching sides. - Here crawl, ye spiders! here, exempt from cares, - Spin your fine webs above the bulls and bears! - Secure from harm enjoy the charnell'd niche: - No maids molest you, for no brooms can reach; - In silence build from models of your own, - But never imitate the works of Soane!" - -Soane is described by his biographer as "one of the vainest and most -self-sufficient of men, who courted praise and adulation from every -person and source, but dreaded, and was even maddened by, anything like -impartial and discriminating criticism." But he grew so disgusted with -his flatterers, that a short time before his death he shut himself up -in a house at Richmond, to get out of the way of their attentions. - - - - -[Illustration: Jedediah Buxton. Ætat. 49. - -_Numeros memini._ VIRGIL.] - - - - -Extraordinary Calculators. - - -On the 3rd of July, 1839, some of the eminent members of the Academy -of Sciences at Paris, including MM. Arago, Lacroix, Libri, and Sturm, -met to examine a remarkable boy whose powers of mental calculation were -deemed quite inexplicable. This boy, named Vito Mangiamele, a Sicilian, -was the son of a shepherd, and was about eleven years old. The -examiners asked him several questions which they knew, under ordinary -circumstances, to be tedious of solution--such as, the cube root of -3,796,416, and the 10th root of 282,475,249; the first of these he -answered in half-a-minute, the second in three minutes. One question -was of the following complicated character--"What number has the -following proportions, that if its cube is added to 5 times its square, -and then 42 times the number, and the number 42 be subtracted from the -result, the remainder is equal to 0 or zero." M. Arago repeated this -question a second time, but while he was finishing the last word, the -boy replied--"The number is 5!" - -In the same year, Master Bassle, who was only thirteen years of age, -went through an extraordinary mnemonic performance at Willis's Rooms, -London. Five large sheets of paper, closely printed with tables of -dates, specific gravities, velocities, planetary distances, &c., were -distributed among the visitors, and every one was allowed to ask Master -Bassle a question relating to these tables, to which was received a -correct answer. He would also name the day of the week on which any day -of the month had fallen in any particular year. He could repeat long -series of numbers backwards and forwards, and point out the place of -any number in the series; and to prove that his powers were not merely -confined to the rows of numbers in the printed tables, he allowed the -whole company to form a long series, by contributing each two or three -digits in the order in which they sat; and then, after studying this -series for a few minutes, he committed it to memory, and repeated it -entire, both backwards and forwards, from the beginning to the end. -These performances are believed to have been not the result of any -natural mnemonic power, but of a method to be acquired by any person in -the course of twelve lessons. - -Zerah Colburn, who excited much interest in London in 1812, was a -native of Vermont, in the United States. At six years old, he suddenly -showed extraordinary powers of mental calculation. By processes which -seemed to be almost unconscious to himself, and were wholly so to -others, he answered arithmetical questions of considerable difficulty. -When eight years old, he was brought to London, where he astonished -many learned auditors and spectators by giving correct solutions to -such problems as the following: raise 8 up to the 16th power; give -the square root of 106,929; give the cube root of 268,336,125; how -many seconds are there in 48 years? The answers were always given in -very few minutes--sometimes in a few seconds. He was ignorant of the -ordinary rules of arithmetic, and did not know how or why particular -modes of process came into his mind. On one occasion, the Duke of -Gloucester asked him to multiply 21,734 by 543. Something in the boy's -manner induced the Duke to ask how he did it, from which it appeared -that the boy arrived at the result by multiplying 65,202 by 181, -an equivalent process; but why he made this change in the factors, -neither he nor any one else could tell. Zerah Colburn was unlike other -boys also in this, that he had more than the usual number of toes and -fingers; a peculiarity observable also in his father and in some of his -brothers. - -An exceptional instance is presented in the case of Mr. Bidder, of -this faculty being cultivated to a highly useful purpose. George -Parker Bidder, when six years old, used to amuse himself by counting -up to 100, then to 1,000, then to 1,000,000: by degrees he accustomed -himself to contemplate the relations of high numbers, and used to -build up peas, marbles, and shot, into squares, cubes, and other -regular figures. He invented processes of his own, distinct from those -given in books on arithmetic, and could solve all the usual questions -mentally more rapidly than other boys with the aid of pen and paper. -When he became eminent as a civil engineer, he was wont to embarrass -and baffle the parliamentary counsel on contested railway bills, by -confuting their statements of figures almost before the words were out -of their mouths. In 1856, he gave to the Institution of Civil Engineers -an interesting account of this singular arithmetical faculty--so far, -at least, as to show that _memory_ has less to do with it than is -generally supposed; the processes are actually worked out _seriatim_, -but with a rapidity almost inconceivable. - -The most famous calculator in the last century was Jedediah Buxton, -who, in 1754, resided for several weeks at St. John's Gate, Smithfield. -This man, though he was the son of a schoolmaster, and the grandson -of the vicar of his native parish, Elmeton, in Derbyshire, had never -learned to write, but he could conduct the most intricate calculations -by his memory alone; and such was his power of abstraction that -no noise could disturb him. One who had heard of his astonishing -ability as a calculator, proposed to him for solution the following -question:--In a body whose three sides measure 23,145,789 yards, -5,642,732 yards, and 54,965 yards, how many cubical eighths-of-an-inch -are there? This obtuse reckoning he made in a comparatively short time, -although pursuing the while, with many others, his labours in the -fields. He could walk over a plot of land and estimate its contents -with as much accuracy as if it had been measured by the chain. His -knowledge was, however, limited to figures. In 1754, Buxton walked to -London, with the express intention of obtaining a sight of the King -and Queen, for beyond figures, royalty formed the only subject of his -curiosity. In this intention he was disappointed: he was, however, -introduced to the Royal Society, whom he called the "volk of the Siety -Court." They tested his powers, and dismissed him with a handsome -gratuity. - -He was next taken by his hospitable entertainer at St. John's Gate, to -see Garrick in the character of Richard III. at Drury Lane Theatre, -when undazzled by the splendour of the stage appointments, and unmoved -by the eloquent passion of the actor, the simple rustic employed -himself in reckoning the number of words he heard, and the sum total -of the steps made by the dancers; and after the performance of a fine -piece of music, he declared that the innumerable sounds had perplexed -him. - -To these feats may be added the following:--Buxton multiplied a -sum of thirty-nine places of figures into itself and even conversed -whilst performing it. His memory was so great, that he could leave -off and resume the operation at the distant period of a week, or even -several months. He said that he was _drunk_ once with reckoning by -memory from May 17 until June 16, and then recovered after sleeping -soundly for seven hours. The question which occupied him so intensely -was the reduction of a cube of upwards of 200,000,000 of miles into -barleycorns, and then into hairs'-breaths of an inch in length. He -kept an account of all the beer which he had drunk for forty years, -which was equal to five thousand one hundred and sixteen pints: of -these two thousand one hundred and thirty-two were drunk at the Duke of -Kingston's and only ten at his own house. - -There was a portrait of Buxton at Rufford Abbey, Nottinghamshire. A -print of him was engraved in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, June, 1754, -with this subscription: "Jedediah Buxton. Ætat. 49.--Numeros memini. -_Virgil._" He was married and had several children, and died at the age -of 70, in the year 1777. - - - - -Charles Lamb's Cottage at Islington. - - -In a very pleasant paper on "Ideal Houses," in No. 4 of the _Cornhill -Magazine_, we find this clever sketch of a few of the amiable -eccentricities of our famous Essayist, Charles Lamb:-- - -"I believe," says the contributor, "more in the influence of dwellings -upon human character than in the influence of authority on matters -of opinion. The man may seek the house, or the house may form the -man; but in either case the result is the same. A few yards of earth, -even on this side of the grave, will make all the difference between -life and death. If our dear old friend, Charles Lamb, was now alive -(and we must all wish he was, if only that he might see how every -day is bringing him nearer the crown that belongs only to the Prince -of British Essayists), there would be something singularly jarring -to the human nerves in finding him at Dalston, but not so jarring in -finding him a little farther off at Hackney. He would still have drawn -nourishment in the Temple and in Covent Garden; but he must surely have -perished if transplanted to New Tyburnia. I cannot imagine him living -at Pentonville (I cannot, in my uninquiring ignorance, imagine who -Penton was, that he should name a _ville_?), but I can see a certain -appropriate oddity in his cottage at Colebrook Row, Islington. - -[Illustration: Colebrook Cottage.] - -"In the first place, we may agree that this London suburb is very odd, -without going into the vexed question of whether it was very 'merry.' -In the second place, this same Colebrook Row was built a few years -before our dear old friend was born--I believe, in 1770. In the third -place, it was called a 'Row,' though 'Lane' or 'Walk' would have been -as old and as good; but 'Terrace' or 'Crescent' would have rendered -it unbearable. The New River flowed calmly past the cottage walls--as -poor George Dyer found to his cost--bringing with it fair memories of -Isaak Walton and the last two centuries. The house itself had also -certain peculiarities to recommend it. The door was so constructed -that it opened into the chief sitting-room; and this, though promising -much annoyance, was really a source of fun and enjoyment to our -dear old friend. He was never so delighted as when he stood on the -hearth-rug receiving many congenial visitors as they came to him on -the muddiest-boot and the wettest-of-umbrella days. His immediate -neighbourhood was also peculiar. - -"It was there that weary wanderers came to seek the waters of oblivion. -Suicide could pitch upon no spot so favourable for its sacrifice as the -gateway leading into the river inclosure before Charles Lamb's cottage. -Waterloo Bridge had not long been built, and was not then a fashionable -theatre for self-destruction. The drags were always kept ready in -Colebrook Row, at a small tavern a few doors from the cottage. The -landlord's ear, according to his own account, had become so sensitive -by repeated practice, that when aroused at night by a heavy splash in -the water, he could tell by the sound whether it was an accident or a -wilful plunge. He never believed that poor George Dyer tumbled in from -carelessness, though it was no business of his to express an opinion -on the matter. After the eighth suicide within a short period, Charles -Lamb began to grow restless. - -"'Mary,' he said to his sister, 'I think it's high time we left this -place;' and so they went to Edmonton." - - - - -Thomas Hood. - - -This remarkable man of genius whose wit and humour entitle him to -high rank in English literature, was born in 1798, in the Poultry, -London, where his father was, for many years, acting partner in the -firm of Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, extensive booksellers and publishers. -"There was a dash of ink in my blood," he writes: "my father wrote -two novels, and my brother was decidedly of a literary turn, to the -great disquietude, for a time, of an anxious parent." Thomas Hood was -sent to a school in Tokenhouse Yard, in the City, as a day-boarder. -The two maiden sisters, who kept the school, and with whom Hood took -his dinner, had the odd name of Hogsflesh, and they had a sensitive -brother, who was always addressed as "Mr. H.," and who subsequently -became the prototype of Charles Lamb's unsuccessful farce, called "Mr. -H." - -In 1812, Hood was sent to a day-school, his account of which is as -follows:--"In a house formerly a suburban seat of the unfortunate Earl -of Essex, over a grocer's shop, up two pair of stairs, there was a very -select day-school, kept by a decayed Dominie, as he would have been -called in his native land. In his better days, when my brother was his -pupil, he had been master of one of those wholesale concerns in which -so many ignorant men have made fortunes, by favour of high terms, low -ushers, gullible parents, and victimized little boys. Small as was our -college, its principal maintained his state, and walked gowned and -covered. His cap was of faded velvet, of black, or blue, or purple, -or sad-green, or, as it seemed, of altogether, with a sad _nuance_ of -brown; his robe of crimson damask lined with the national tartan. A -quaint, carved, high-backed elbowed article, looking like an _émigré_ -from a set that had been at home in an aristocratical drawing-room -under the _ancien régime_, was his professional chair, which, with his -desk, was appropriately elevated on a dais some inches above the common -floor. From this moral and material eminence he cast a vigilant yet -kindly eye over some dozen of youngsters: for adversity, sharpened by -habits of authority, had not soured him, or mingled a single tinge of -bile with the peculiar red-streak complexion so common to the wealthier -natives of the north...." "In a few months, my education progressed -infinitely farther than it had done in as many years under the listless -superintendence of B.A. and LL.D. and assistants. I picked up _some_ -Latin, was a tolerable grammarian, and so good a French scholar, that I -earned a few guineas--my first literary fee--by revising a new edition -of _Paul et Virginie_ for the press. Moreover, as an accountant, I -could work a _summum bonum_, that is, a good sum." - -Young Hood finished his education at Wanostrocht's Academy at -Camberwell; and removed thence to a merchant's counting-house in the -City, where he realized his own inimitable sketch of the boy "Just set -up in Business:"-- - - "Time was I sat upon a lofty stool, - At lofty desk, and with a clerkly pen - Began each morning at the stroke of ten - To write in Bell and Co.'s commercial school, - In Warnford Court, a shady nook and cool, - The favourite retreat of merchant men; - Yet would my quill turn vagrant even then, - And take stray dips in the Castalian pool. - Now double entry--now a flowery trope-- - Mingling poetic honey with trade wax: - Blogg, Brothers--Milton--Grote and Prescott--Pope-- - Bristles and Hogg--Glyn, Mills, and Halifax-- - Rogers and Towgood--Hemp--the Bard of Hope-- - Barilla--Byron--Tallow--Burns, and Flax." - -In 1824, Hood, after having contributed to some periodicals at Dundee -in 1821, obtained the situation of sub-editor of the _London Magazine_. -"My vanity," says he, "did not rashly plunge me into authorship, but -no sooner was there a legitimate opening than I jumped at it, _à la_ -Grimaldi, head foremost, and was speedily behind the scenes." - -Mr. Hood's first work was anonymous--his _Odes and Addresses to Great -People_--a little, thin, mean-looking foolscap sub-octavo of poems -with nothing but wit and humour (could it want more?) to recommend it. -Coleridge was delighted with the work, and taxed Charles Lamb by letter -with the authorship. - -His next work was _A Plea for the Midsummer Fairies_, a serious poem -of infinite beauty, full of fine passages and of promise; it obtained -praise from the critics, but little favour from the public; and Hood's -experience of the unpleasant truth that - - "Those who live to please must please to live," - -induced him to have recourse again to his lively vein. He published a -second and third series of _Whims and Oddities_, and in 1829 commenced -the _Comic Annual_, and it was continued nine years. It proved very -profitable; it was a small, widely-printed volume, with rough woodcuts -drawn by Hood, who had been some time on probation with Sands and Le -Keux, the engravers. Several thousand copies were sold annually, as -the publishers' ledgers show. Then came out the comic poem of _The -Epping Hunt_, which, Hood tells us, "was penned by an underling at the -Wells, a person more accustomed to riding than writing," as shown in -this epistle:--"Sir,--Abouut the Hunt. In anser to your Innqueries, -their as been a great falling off latterally, so much so this year -that there was nobody allmost. We did a mear nothing provisionally, -hardly a Bottle extra, which is as proof in Pint. In short our Hunt -may be sad to be in the last Stag of a Decline. Bartholomew Rutt." -Next appeared _The Dream of Eugene Aram_, with this note: "The late -Admiral Burney went to school at an establishment where the unhappy -Eugene Aram was usher subsequent to his crime. The Admiral stated that -Aram was generally liked by the boys; and that he used to discourse to -them about _murder_ in somewhat of the spirit which is attributed to -him in this poem." The poem is exquisitely written throughout, and is -sometimes little less than sublime. - -In the spring of 1831, Hood became the occupier of Lake House, near -Wanstead; and while residing here, he wrote his novel of _Tylney Hall_, -in which the characters are exuberant with wit and humour, but the plot -is defective. Hood next published _Hood's Own; or, Laughter from Year -to Year_, a volume of comic lucubrations, reprinted, "with an infusion -of New Blood for General Circulation." He next went to the Continent -for the benefit of his health. When in Belgium, he published his _Up -the Rhine_, constructed on the groundwork of _Humphrey Clinker_. The -work consists of a series of imaginary letters from a hypochondriacal -old bachelor, his widowed sister, his nephew, and a servant-maid, who -form the imaginary travelling party. Each individual writes to a friend -in England, and describes the scenes, manners, and circumstances, in -a manner suitable to the assumed character. The nephew's remarks seem -to embody the opinions and observations of Hood himself. The book is -illustrated with whimsical cuts in Hood's rough but effective style, -and abounds in good sense as well as humour. Here is a specimen:-- - -"An English lady resident at Coblentz, one day wishing to order of -her German servant (who did not understand English) a boiled fowl for -dinner, Grettel was summoned, and that experiment began. It was one -of the lady's fancies, that the less her words resembled her native -tongue, the more they must be like German. So her first attempt was -to tell the maid that she wanted a cheeking, or keeking. The maid -opened her eyes and mouth, and shook her head. 'It's to cook,' said -the mistress, 'to cook, to put in an iron thing, in a pit--pat--pot.' -'Ish understand risht,' said the maid, in her Coblentz patois. 'It's a -thing to eat,' said her mistress, for dinner--for deener--with sauce, -soace--sowose.' No answer. 'What on earth am I to do?' exclaimed -the lady, in despair, but still made another attempt. 'It's a little -creature--a bird--a bard--a beard--a hen--a hone--a fowl--a fool; -it's all covered with feathers--fathers--feeders!' 'Ha, ha,' cried -the delighted German, at last getting hold of a catchword, 'Ja, ja! -fedders--ja woh!' and away went Grettel, and in half-an-hour returned -triumphantly, with a bundle of stationers' quills." - -Hood afterwards became editor of the _New Monthly Magazine_, from which -he retired in 1843. In the course of this year, public feeling had been -much excited by cases of distress and destitution, which came before -the London police-magistrates, arising from the excessively low rate of -wages paid by dealers in ready-made linen to their workwomen. Taking -advantage of a market overstocked with labourers, these tradesmen got -their work done for a rate of payment so small that fourteen or fifteen -hours' labour were frequently required in order to obtain sixpence! -Hood's sympathy was excited, and "The Song of the Shirt" was the -result--"a burst of poetry and indignant passion by which he produced -tears almost as irrepressibly as in other cases he produced laughter." -"The Song of the Shirt" was sent to a comic periodical, but was refused -insertion; it has, however, been sung through the whole length and -breadth of the three kingdoms. - -Our author's last periodical was _Hood's Magazine_, which he continued -to supply with the best of its contributions till within a month before -his death. It contained a novel, which was interrupted by his last -illness and death; the last chapters were, in fact, written by him -when he was propped up by pillows in bed. He had the consolation, a -short time before his death, of having a Government pension of 100_l._ -a-year, which was offered him by Sir Robert Peel, in the following -noble and touching letter, Sir Robert knowing of his illness, but not -of his imminent danger--"I am more than repaid," writes Peel, "by the -personal satisfaction which I have had in doing that for which you -return me warm and characteristic acknowledgments. You perhaps think -that you are known to one with such multifarious occupations as myself -merely by general reputation as an author; but I assure you that there -can be little which you have written and acknowledged which I have not -read, and that there are few who can appreciate and admire more than -myself the good sense and good feeling which have taught you to infuse -so much fun and merriment into writings correcting folly and exposing -absurdities, and yet never trespassing beyond those limits within which -wit and facetiousness are not very often confined. You may write on -with the consciousness of independence as free and unfettered as if -no communication had ever passed between us. I am not conferring a -private obligation upon you, but am fulfilling the intentions of the -Legislature, which has placed at the disposal of the Crown a certain -sum (miserable, indeed, in amount) to be applied to the recognition of -public claims on the bounty of the Crown. If you will review the names -of those whose claims have been admitted on account of their literary -or scientific eminence, you will find an ample confirmation of the -truth of my statement. One return, indeed, I shall ask you--that you -will give me the opportunity of making your personal acquaintance." - -To this statement in the _Cornhill Magazine_ are appended the following -reflections:--"O sad, marvellous picture of courage, of honesty, of -patient endurance, of duty struggling against pain! How noble Peel's -figure is standing by that sick-bed, how generous his words, how -dignified and sincere his compassion! And the poor dying man, with a -heart full of natural gratitude towards his noble benefactor, must turn -to him and say--'If it be well to be remembered by a Minister, it is -better still not to be forgotten by him in a 'hurly Burleigh!' Can you -laugh? Is not the joke horribly pathetic from the poor dying lips? As -dying Robin Hood must fire a last shot with his bow--as one reads of -Catholics on their death-bed putting on a Capuchin dress to go out of -the world--here is poor Hood at his last hour putting on his ghastly -motley, and uttering one joke more. He dies, however, in dearest love -and peace with his children, wife, friends: to the former especially -his whole life had been devoted, and every day showed his fidelity, -simplicity, and affection. In going through the record of his most -pure, modest, honourable life, and living along with him, you come to -trust him thoroughly, and feel that here is a most loyal, affectionate, -and upright soul, with whom you have been brought into communion. Can -we say as much of all lives of all men of letters? Here is one at least -without guile, without pretension, without scheming, of pure life, to -his family and little modest circle of friends tenderly devoted." - -After a lethargy, which continued four days, Hood died May 3rd, 1845. -He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, where a poetical monument has -been erected to his memory. He left a son, who inherits much of his -father's genius. - -"Hood," says one of his biographers, "was undoubtedly a man of genius. -His mind was stored with a vast collection of materials drawn from a -great variety of sources, but especially his own observations; and he -possessed the power of working up those materials into combinations -of wit and humour and pathos of the most original and varied kinds. -He has wit of the highest quality, as original and as abundant as -Butler's or Cowley's, drawn from as extensive an observation of nature -and life, if not from so wide a reach of learning, and combined with -a richness of humour of which Butler had little and Cowley none. His -humour is frequently as extravagantly broad as that of Rabelais, but -he has sometimes the delicate touches of that of Addison. As a punster -he stands alone. His puns do not consist merely of double meanings -of words--a low kind of punning, of which minds of a low order are -capable, and with which his imitators have deluged English comedy and -comic literature--but of double meanings of words combined with double -meanings of sense in such a manner as to produce the most extraordinary -effects of surprise and admiration. His power of exciting laughter is -wonderful, his drollery indescribable, inimitable. His pathetic power -is not equal to his comic, but it is very great. The moral tendency -of Hood's works is excellent. In the indulgence of his spirit of fun, -he is anything but strait-laced as regards the introduction of images -and phrases which a fastidious person might call vulgar or coarse; but -an indecent description or even allusion will not easily be found. He -is liberal-minded, a warm eulogist as well as a glowing depicter of -the good feelings of our nature and the generous actions which those -feelings prompt, and he is an unsparing satirist of vice, pretension, -and cant in all their forms. - -"Hood, in his person, was thin, pale, and delicate; in his temper -he was kind and cheerful; he seems to have imbibed the social and -benevolent feeling of his friend Lamb, and he was no less than Lamb -a favourite among his friends. His long-continued sufferings only -stimulated him to amuse himself and others by the exercise of his -extraordinary imagination; and when at last he could no longer bear up -under his bodily pains, his complaint was simple, but it indicated a -terrible degree of suffering--'I cannot die, I cannot die.'" - - - - -A Witty Archbishop. - - -An industrious student, a deep thinker, an acute reasoner, a learned -mind, a correct and at times elegant writer--these are titles of -honour which the mere out-side-world, travelling in its flying -railway-carriage, will gladly award to the late Archbishop of Dublin -(Dr. Whately). Not so familiar are certain minor and more curious -gifts, which he kept by him for his own and his friends' entertainment, -which broke out at times on more public occasions. He delighted in the -oddities of thought, in queer quaint distinctions; and if an object -had by any possibility some strange distorted side or corner, or even -point, which was undermost, he would gladly stoop down his mind to get -that precise view of it, nay, would draw it in that odd light for the -amusement of the company. - -Thus he struck Guizot, who described him as "startling and ingenious, -strangely absent, familiar, confused, eccentric, amiable, and engaging, -no matter what unpoliteness he might commit, or what propriety he -might forget." In short, a mind with a little of the Sydney Smith's -leaven, whose brilliancy lay in precisely these odd analogies. It was -his recreation to take up some intellectual hobby, and make a toy of -it. Just as, years ago, he was said to have taken up that strange -instrument the boomerang, and was to be seen on the sands casting it -from him, and watching it return. It was said, too, that at the dull -intervals of a visitation, when ecclesiastical business languished, he -would cut out little miniature boomerangs of card, and amuse himself by -illustrating the principle of the larger toy by shooting them from his -finger. - -The even, and sometimes drowsy, current of Dublin society was almost -always enlivened by some little witty boomerang of his, fluttering -from mouth to mouth, and from club to club. The Archbishop's last was -eagerly looked for. Some were indifferent, some were trifling; but it -was conceded that all had an odd extravagance, which marked them as -original, quaint, queer. In this respect he was the Sydney Smith of the -Irish capital, with this difference--that Sydney Smith's king announced -that he would never make the lively Canon of St. Paul's a Bishop. - -Homoeopathy was a medical paradox, and was therefore welcome. Yet in -this he travelled out of the realms of mere fanciful speculation, and -clung to it with a stern and consistent earnestness faithfully adhered -to through his last illness. Mesmerism, too, he delighted to play with. -He had, in fact, innumerable _dadas_, as the French call them, or -hobby-horses, upon which he was continually astride. - -This led him into a pleasant affection of being able to discourse _de -omnibus rebus_, &c., and the more recondite or less known the subject, -the more eager was he to speak. It has been supposed that the figure -of the "Dean," in Mr. Lever's pleasant novel of _Roland Cashel_, was -sketched from him. Indeed, there can be no question but that it is an -unacknowledged portrait. - -"What is the difference," he asked of a young clergyman he was -examining, "between a form and a ceremony? The meaning seems nearly -the same; yet there is a very nice distinction." Various answers were -given. "Well," he said, "it lies in this: you sit upon a form, but you -stand upon ceremony." - -"Morrow's Library" is the Mudie of Dublin; and the Rev. Mr. Day, a -popular preacher. "How inconsistent," said the archbishop, "is the -piety of certain ladies here. They go _to Day for a sermon_, and _to -Morrow_ for a novel!" - -At a dinner-party he called out suddenly to the host, "Mr. ----!" There -was silence. "Mr. ----, what is the proper female companion of this -John Dory?" After the usual number of guesses an answer came, "Anne -Chovy." [This has been attributed to Quin, the actor and epicure.] - -_Another Riddle._--"The laziest letter in the alphabet? The _letther_ -G!" (lethargy). - -_The Wicklow Line._--The most unmusical in the world--having a -Dun-Drum, Still-Organ, and a Bray for stations. - -_Doctor Gregg._--The new bishop and he at dinner. Archbishop: "Come, -though you _are_ John Cork, you musn't stop the bottle here." The -answer was not inapt: "I see your lordship is determined to draw me -out." - -On Dr. K----x's promotion to the bishopric of Down, an appointment in -some quarters unpopular: "The Irish government will not be able to -stand many more such Knocks Down as this!" - -The merits of the same bishop being canvassed before him, and it being -mentioned that he had compiled a most useful Ecclesiastical Directory, -with the Values of Livings, &c., "If that be so," said the archbishop, -"I hope the next time the claims of our friend Thom will not be -overlooked." (Thom, the author of the well known _Almanack_.) - -A clergyman, who had to preach before him, begged to be let off, -saying, "I hope your grace will excuse my preaching next Sunday." -"Certainly," said the other indulgently. Sunday came, and the -archbishop said to him, "Well! Mr. ----, what became of you! we -expected you to preach to-day." "Oh, your grace said you would excuse -my preaching to-day." "Exactly; but I did not say I would excuse you -_from_ preaching." - -At a lord lieutenant's banquet a grace was given of unusual length. -"My lord," said the archbishop, "did you ever hear the story of Lord -Mulgrave's chaplain?" "No," said the lord lieutenant. "A young chaplain -had preached a sermon of great length. 'Sir,' said Lord Mulgrave, -bowing to him, 'there were some things in your sermon of to-day I never -heard before.' 'Oh, my lord,' said the flattered chaplain, 'it is a -common text, and I could not have hoped to have said anything new on -the subject.' '_I heard the clock strike twice_,' said Lord Mulgrave." - -At some religious ceremony at which he was to officiate in the country, -a young curate who attended him grew very nervous as to their being -late. "My good young friend," said the archbishop, "I can only say to -you what the criminal going to be hanged said to those around, who -were hurrying him, 'Let us take our time, they can't begin without -us.'"--(_Yorick Junior._--_Notes and Queries. Third Series._) - -The following charade, said to be one of the last by Dr. Whatley, has -puzzled many wise heads:-- - - "Man cannot live without my _first_, - By day and night it's used; - My _second_ is by all accursed, - By day and night abused. - My _whole_ is never seen by day, - And never used by night; - Is dear to friends when far away, - But hated when in sight." - -A Correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ suggests the following -solution:-- - - "_Ignis_, or fire, all men will own - Essential to the life of man; - _Fatuus_, a fool, has been, 'tis known, - Cursed and abused since time began. - Some _Ignis Fatuus_, Will-o'-wisp. - Not seen by day, nor used by night, - Men love, and for their phantom list, - When 'tis unseen, but hate its sight." - - - - - Literary Madmen. - - "Great wits are sure to madness near allied, - And their partitions do their bounds divide."--DRYDEN. - - -This bold assertion has long since been pronounced incorrect. -Nevertheless, the barrier between genius and madness has not been -traced. Eccentricity is often mistaken for craziness; and the entire -subject is beset with nice points and shades of controversy. In 1860 -appeared Octave Delepierre's _Histoire Littéraire des Fous_, upon the -soundness of which critics are divided in opinion. The following sketch -of its contents, however, shows the work to be full of interest. - -A history of literary madmen is yet to be written--whether it be a -history of authors who have gone mad, or of persons who, being mad, -have turned authors. It is singular to notice what relief madmen find -in literary composition; so much so, that it has been employed as a -method of cure in more than one of our lunatic asylums. At the Crichton -Royal Institution, Dumfriesshire, a little journal, entitled the _New -Moon_, was published every month, the contents being contributed, set -up, and printed by the inmates in their lucid moments. Occasionally -there was a little incoherence--a little roughness; but, as a -whole, the _New Moon_ would bear comparison with many other amateur -periodicals. Here are two stanzas written by a man tortured by long -sleeplessness, whom private misfortunes had driven mad:-- - - "Go! sleep, my heart, in peace, - Bid fear and sorrow cease: - He who of worlds takes care, - One heart in mind doth bear. - - "Go! sleep, my heart, in peace, - If death should thee release, - And this night hence thee take, - Thou yonder wilt awake." - -Theology has sent more people mad than any other pursuit--a truth of -which M. Delepierre's _Histoire Littéraire des Fous_ furnishes some -interesting illustrations. - -The writer has, however, occasionally mistaken eccentricity for -craziness. Simon Stylites on his pillar and St. Anthony in his cave -were crazed; but we do not think that Baxter's _Hooks and Eyes for -Believers' Breeches_ is an indication of insanity any more than -such works as _La Seringue Spirituelle pour les Ames constipées en -Dévotion_, or _La Tabatière Spirituelle pour faire éternuer les Ames -dévotes_. Very probably, if we could refer to these works, we should -find that the title had little or nothing in common with the contents, -but as a mere trick to catch purchasers. Few people would charge -Latimer with being mad because he preached a "Sermon on a Pack of -Cards." Nor do we think any conclusion can be drawn unfavourable to -the Jesuit missionary Paoletti from the mere fact of his writing a -treatise to prove that the American aborigines were eternally damned -without hope of redemption, because they were the offspring of the -Devil and one of Noah's daughters. His mind had not lost its balance -to such a degree as that of old Portel, who persuaded himself that the -soul of John the Baptist had passed into his body; or of Miranda, a -living man, who fancies himself the forty-ninth incarnation of Adam -through Romulus and Mohamed; while Queen Victoria is the seventieth -embodiment of the soul of Eve, by way of Miriam and the Virgin Mary! -Geoffrey Vallée was another monomaniac of this class, who began by -having a shirt for every day in the year, which he used to send into -Flanders to be washed at a certain spring, and ended by being burnt at -the stake as an atheist for a silly book he wrote. Our own John Mason, -who proclaimed Christ's coming, and declared Water Stratford, near -Buckingham, to be the seat of his throne, has had many imitators at -home and abroad. - -Endeavours to interpret prophecy and explain the Apocalypse have -turned many a brain, even in our own days. One Francis Potter wrote -a book with the following title:--"An Interpretation of the number -666, wherein it is shown that this number is an exquisite and perfect -character, truly, exactly, and essentially describing that state -of government to which all other notes of Antichrist do agree." A -Frenchman, Soubira, ran mad on the same subject about the same period. -In 1828 he published a pamphlet with this meagre title--"666." Here is -a sample:-- - - Les banquiers de la France 666 - Des organistes de la Foi 666 - Et des concerts de la cadence 666 - Vont accomplir la loi 666 - Et conterminer l'alliance 666 - -Joseph O'Donnelly fancied he had discovered the primitive language, -and printed some specimens of it at Brussels in 1854. - -The literary madman is often harmless enough, and his condition being -not rarely the result of an overtasked brain, in his lucid moments he -is his former self. If in his mad moments Lee called upon Jupiter to -rise and snuff the moon; it was in his calmer hours that he replied -to the sneers of a silly poet--"It is very difficult to write like a -madman, but very easy to write like a fool." Christopher Smart was -another poetical lunatic, whose best pieces were composed while he was -under restraint. These are not, however, very remarkable, their chief -merit consisting in their history. Like the Koran, they were committed -to writing under circumstances of great difficulty; the whitened walls -of his cell were his paper, and his pen the end of a piece of wood -burnt in the fire. Thomas Lloyd belonged to this class, but few of his -fragments have been preserved. Milman, of Pennsylvania, lost his bride -by lightning on their wedding-day: his reason never recovered the shock. - -Luke Clennel, the engraver, forgot his art during his long state of -unreason, but would compose very passable verses; while John Clare, -whose poetry brought him into note, and led to his ruin, scarcely -wrote at all during his mad moods. Thomas Bishop took to the drama, -and his _Koranzzo's Feast, or the Unfair Marriage_, a tragedy founded -on facts 2,366 years ago, is a serious performance, amply illustrated. -Among the characters are four queens, three savages, and five ghosts, -not including the ghost of a clock, intended as part of the stage -furniture. The most singular of this class of one-sided writers is M. -G. Desjardins, who, we believe, is still alive. It is impossible to -imagine a head more completely turned than his. - -Another writer of this eccentric class is Paulin Gagne, author of -_L'Unitéide, ou la Femme-Messie_, a poem in twelve cantos. The -thirty-eighth act of the eighth canto passes in a potato-field, and -the scene is opened by _Pataticulture_ in a speech of this fashion:-- - - "Peuples et Rois, je suis la Pataticulture, - Fille de la nature et du siècle en friture; - J'ai toujours adoré ce fruit délicieux - Que, dit-on, pour extra, mangeaient jadis les Dieux." - -He winds up by declaring that - - "Dans la pomme de terre est le salut de tous." - -In the following act, _Carroticulture_ is introduced with a new version -of the Marseillaise:-- - - "Allons, enfans de la Cacrotte." - -Science and Philosophy have had their victims; and those, though we -must except Newton, so long reckoned among those whose brain had given -way under intense thought, we must include Kant, his disciple Wirgman, -and others of less note. William Martin, whose two brothers made -themselves famous in very different lines--one by setting fire to York -Minster, the other by his paintings--was as mad as could be desired, -both in science and poetry. Here is a sample combined:-- - - "The creation of the world, - Likewise Adam and Eve, we know, - Made by the Great God, from - Whom all blessings flow." - -The famous Walking Stewart went crazy on "the polarization of moral -truth." At the dinner-table he spoilt the digestion of his guests by -turning the conversation to his one beloved subject, and he was as -fatal as the Ancient Mariner to any man who might chance to address him -a civil word in public places or conveyances. - -A deplorable instance of this class is afforded by Wirgman, the -Kantesian, just named, who, after making a fortune as a goldsmith and -silversmith, in St. James's Street, Westminster, squandered it all as -_a regenerating philosopher_. He printed several works, and had paper -made specially for one, the same sheet being of several different -colours; and as he changed the work many times while it was printing, -the expense was enormous: one book of four hundred pages cost 2,276_l._ -He published a grammar of the five senses, which was a sort of system -of metaphysics for the use of children; and he maintained that when it -was universally adopted in schools, peace and harmony would be restored -to the earth, and virtue would everywhere replace crime. He complained -much that people would not listen to him, and that although he had -devoted nearly half a century, he had asked in vain to be appointed -Professor in some University or College--so little does the world -appreciate those who labour unto death in its service. Nevertheless, -exclaimed Wirgman, after another useless application, "while life -remains, I will not cease to communicate this blessing to the rising -world." - - - - -A Perpetual-Motion Seeker. - - -The celebrated French physician, Pinel, relates the case of a -watchmaker who was infatuated with the chimera of Perpetual Motion, and -to effect this discovery, he set to work with indefatigable ardour. -From unremitting attention to the object of his enthusiasm, coinciding -with the influence of revolutionary disturbances, his imagination was -greatly heated, his sleep was interrupted, and at length a complete -derangement took place. His case was marked by a most whimsical -illusion of the imagination: he fancied that he had lost his head upon -the scaffold; that it had been thrown promiscuously among the heads -of many other victims; that the judges having repented of their cruel -sentence, had ordered their heads to be restored to their respective -owners, and placed upon their respective shoulders; but that, in -consequence of an unhappy mistake, the gentleman who had the management -of that business, had placed upon his shoulders the head of one of -his unhappy companions. The idea of this whimsical change of his head -occupied his thoughts night and day, which determined his friends to -send him to an asylum. Nothing could exceed the extravagance of his -heated brain: he sung, he cried, or danced incessantly; and as there -appeared no propensity to commit acts of violence or disturbance, he -was allowed to go about the hospital without control, in order to -expend, by evaporation, the effervescence of his spirits. "Look at -these teeth!" he cried; "mine were exceedingly handsome; these are -rotten and decayed. My mouth was sound and healthy; this is foul and -diseased. What difference between this hair and that of my own head!" - -The idea of perpetual motion frequently recurred to him in the midst -of his wanderings; and he chalked on all the doors or windows as he -passed the various designs by which his wondrous piece of mechanism was -to be constructed. The method best calculated to cure so whimsical an -illusion appeared to be that of encouraging his prosecution of it to -satiety. His friends were accordingly requested to send him his tools, -with materials to work upon, and other requisites, such as plates of -copper and steel, and watch-wheels. His zeal was now redoubled; his -whole attention was rivetted upon his favourite pursuit: he forgot -his meals, and after about a month's labour our artist began to think -he had followed a false route. He broke into a thousand fragments the -piece of machinery which he had fabricated with so much toil, and -thought, and labour; he then entered upon a new plan, and laboured for -another fortnight. The various parts being completed, he brought them -together; he fancied that he saw a perfect harmony amongst them. The -whole was now finally adjusted--his anxiety was indescribable--_motion -succeeded_; it continued for some time, and he supposed it capable of -continuing for ever. He was elevated to the highest pitch of ecstasy -and triumph, and ran like lightning into the interior of the hospital, -crying out, like another Archimedes, "At length I have solved this -famous problem, which has puzzled so many men celebrated for their -wisdom and talents!" Grievous to add, he was checked in the midst of -his triumph. The wheels stopped! the _perpetual motion_ ceased! His -intoxication of joy was succeeded by disappointment and confusion; -though to avoid a humiliating and mortifying confession, he declared -that he could easily remove the impediment: but, tired of such -experimental employment, he determined for the future to devote his -attention solely to his business. - -There still remained another imaginary impression to be -counteracted--that of the exchange of his head, which unceasingly -occurred to him. A keen and unanswerable stroke of pleasantry seemed -best adapted to correct this fantastic whim. Another convalescent, of -a gay and facetious turn, instructed beforehand, adroitly turned the -conversation to the subject of the famous miracle of St. Denis, in -which it will be recollected that the holy man, after decapitation, -walked away with his head under his arm, which he kissed and condoled -with for its misfortune. Our mechanician strongly maintained the -possibility of the fact, and sought to confirm it by an appeal to his -own case. The other set up a laugh, and replied with a tone of the -keenest ridicule, "Madman as thou art, how could St. Denis kiss his own -head? Was it with his heels?" This equally unexpected and unanswerable -retort forcibly struck the maniac. He retired confused amidst the -laughter which was provoked at his expense, and never afterwards -mentioned the _exchange of his head_. - - - - -[Illustration: The Duchess of Newcastle. From the portrait prefixed to -her poems. - - "Her beauty's found beyond the skill - Of the best paynter to embrace." -] - - - - -The Romantic Duchess of Newcastle. - - -More than two centuries ago, when Clerkenwell was a sort of -court-quarter of the town, its most distinguished residents were -William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, and his wife, Margaret Lucas, -both of whom are remembered by their literary eccentricities. The -Duke, who was a devoted royalist, after his defeat at Marston Moor, -retired with his wife to the Continent; and with many privations, -owing to pecuniary embarrassments, suffered an exile of eighteen -years, chiefly in Antwerp, in a house which belonged to the widow of -Rubens. Such was their extremity that they were both forced at one -time to pawn their clothes to purchase a dinner. The Duke beguiled his -time by writing an eccentric book on horsemanship. During his absence -Cromwell's parliament levied upon his estate nearly three-quarters -of a million of money. Upon the Restoration, he returned to England, -and was created Duke of Newcastle; he then retired to his mansion in -Clerkenwell; he died there in 1676, aged eighty-four. - -The duchess was a pedantic and voluminous writer, her collected works -filling ten printed folios, for she wrote prose and verse in all -their varieties. "The whole story," writes Pepys, "of this lady is a -romance and all she does is romantic. April 26th, 1667.--Met my Lady -Newcastle, with her coach and footman all in velvet, herself, whom I -never saw before, as I have heard her often described, for all the town -talk is now-a-days of her extravagances, with her velvet cap, her hair -about her ears, many black patches because of pimples about her mouth, -naked-necked without anything about it, and a black _just-au-corps_. -May 1st 1667.--She was in a black coach, adorned with silver instead -of gold, and snow-white curtains, and everything black and white. -Stayed at home reading the ridiculous history of my Lord Newcastle, -wrote by his wife, which shows her to be a mad, conceited, ridiculous -woman, and he an asse to suffer her to write what she writes to him -and of him." On the 10th of April, 1667, Charles and his Queen came to -Clerkenwell, on a visit to the duchess. On the 18th John Evelyn went -to make court to the noble pair, who received him with great kindness. -Another time he dined at Newcastle House, and was privileged to sit -discoursing with her grace in her bedchamber after dinner. She thus -describes to a friend her literary employments:--"You will find my -works like infinite nature, that hath neither beginning nor end, and -as confused as the chaos, wherein is neither method nor order, but all -mixed together, without separation, like light and darkness." "But what -gives one," says Walpole, "the best idea of her passion for scribbling, -was her seldom revising the copies of her works, lest it should disturb -her following conceptions. Her servant John was ordered to lie on a -truckle-bed in a closet within her grace's bedchamber; and whenever, -at any time, she gave the summons, by calling out 'John,' I conceive -poor John was to get up, and commit to writing the offspring of his -mistress' thoughts. Her grace's folios were usually enriched with gold, -and had her coat-of-arms upon them. Hence, Pope, in the _Dunciad_, Book -I:-- - - "Stamp'd with arms, Newcastle shines complete." - -In her _Poems and Fancies_, 1653, the copy now in the British Museum, -on the margin of one page is the following note in the Duchess' own -handwriting:--"Reader, let me intreat you to consider only the fancyes -in this my book of poems, and not the language of the numbers, nor -rimes, nor fals printing, for if you doe, you will be my condeming -judg, which will grive me much." Of this book she says:-- - - "When I did write this book I took great paines, - For I did walk, and thinke, and break my braines; - My thoughts run out of breath, then down would lye, - And panting with short wind like those that dye; - When time had given ease, and lent them strength, - Then up would get and run another length; - Sometimes I kept my thought with strict dyet, - And made them fast with ease, rest, and quiet, - That they might run with swifter speed, - And by this course new fancies they could breed; - But I doe feare they are no so good to please, - But now they're out my braine is more at ease." - -At page 228 occurs this strange fancy:-- - - "Life scums the cream of beauty with Time's spoon, - And draws the claret wine of blushes soon." - -Again, she tells us that-- - - "The brain is like an oven, hot and dry, - Which bakes all sorts of fancies, low and high; - The thoughts are wood, which motion sets on fire; - The tongue a peele, which draws forth the desire; - But thinking much, the brain too hot will grow, - And burns it up; if cold, the thoughts are dough." - -To a volume of the Duchess' plays is prefixed a portrait of her Grace, -and this couplet under it:-- - - "Her beauty's found beyond the skill - Of the best paynter to embrace." - -There is a story current that the Duke being once, when in a peevish -humour, complimented by a friend on the great wisdom of his wife, made -answer, "Sir, a very wise woman is a very foolish thing." - -Another eccentric inhabitant of Newcastle House was Elizabeth, Duchess -of Albemarle, and afterwards of Montague. She was married in 1669 to -Christopher Monck, second Duke of Albemarle, then a youth of sixteen, -whom her inordinate pride drove to the bottle and other dissipation. -After his death, in 1688, at Jamaica, the Duchess, whose vast estate -so inflated her vanity as to produce mental aberration, resolved never -again to give her hand to any but a sovereign prince. She had many -suitors; but true to her resolution, she rejected them all, until -Ralph Montague, third Lord and first Duke of that name, achieved the -conquest by courting her as _Emperor of China_: and the anecdote has -been dramatized by Colley Cibber, in his comedy of _The Double Gallant, -or Sick Lady's Cure_. Lord Montague married the lady as "Emperor," but -afterwards played the truant, and kept her in such strict confinement -that her relations compelled him to produce her in open court, to prove -that she was alive. Richard Lord Ross, one of her rejected suitors, -addressed to Lord Montague these lines on his match:-- - - "Insulting rival, never boast - Thy conquest lately won: - No wonder that her heart was lost,-- - Her senses first were gone. - - "From one that's under Bedlam's laws - What glory can be had? - For love of thee was not the cause: - It proves that she was mad." - -The Duchess survived her second husband nearly thirty years, and at -last "died of mere old age," at Newcastle House, August 28th, 1738, -aged ninety-six years. Until her decease, she is said to have been -constantly served on the knee as a sovereign; besides keeping her word, -that she would not stoop to marry anyone but the Emperor of China. - - - - -Sources of Laughter. - - -In a clever paper in the _Saturday Review_ (Oct. 7th, 1865), we find -these amusing anecdotical instances of the sources means _movere -jocum_:-- - -"A sustained, deliberate pride would have rather prevented than -encouraged that fit of laughter which has preserved to posterity the -name of a certain Marquis of Blandford. He, being noted for laughing -upon small provocation, was once convulsed for half-an-hour together on -seeing somebody fillip a crumb into a blind fiddler's face, the fits -returning whenever the "ludicrous idea" recurred to him. An habitual -sense of superiority would have prevented this sudden glory at sight of -a beggar's helplessness under insult. - -"There are personalities which lie so hid under a disguise that they -are not readily known for such. The humorist and the cynic have -each a knack of investing with human weaknesses things, animate and -inanimate, in which plainer minds can see no analogy to human nature. -We have known a man of quaint fancies laugh till the tears ran down -at seeing a rat peep out of a hole. He caught a touch of humanity in -the brute's perplexed air; he guessed at something behind the scenes -impervious to our grosser vision. A bird, frumpish and disquieted on -a rainy day, suggests to such a man some social image of discontent -that makes capital fun for him. He can improve these lower creatures -into caricatures of his friends, or of mankind at large. Mr. Formby -owned himself unable to help "laughing out loud" in the presence of -Egyptian antiquities, with the Memnon at their head; he laughed at -an ancient civilization, at the men of the past personified by their -works. Saturnine tempers can only laugh at imminent danger or positive -calamity; mortal terror is the most ludicrous of all ideas to them. -Mr. Trollope represents Lord de Courcy, who had not laughed for many -a day, exploding at the notion of his neighbour earl having been all -but tossed by a bull: and the joke would have been better still if the -bull had had his will. This tendency is frequently to be seen with a -defective sympathy, and we believe the things that make men laugh are -an excellent clue at once to intellect and temper. Many a man does not -betray the tiger that lurks within him till he laughs. There are times -when the body craves for laughter as it does for food. This is the -laughter which, on some occasion or other, has betrayed us all into -a scandalous, unseasonable, remorseful gaiety. After long abstinence -from cheerful thought, there are few occasions so sad and solemn as to -render this inopportune revolt impossible, unless where grief absorbs -the whole soul, and lowers the system to a uniformity of sadness. In -fact, as no solemnity can be safe from incongruities, such occasions -are not seldom the especial scene of these exposures--of explosions of -a wild, perverse hilarity taking the culprit at unawares; and this even -while he is aghast at his flagrant insensibility to the demand of the -hour. - -"This is the laughter often ascribed to Satanic influence. The nerves -cannot forego the wonted stimulus, and are malignantly on the watch, as -it were, to betray the higher faculties into this unseemly indulgence. -Thus John and Charles Wesley, in the early days of their public career, -set forth one particular day to sing hymns together in the fields; but, -on uplifting the first stave, one of them was suddenly struck with a -sense of something ludicrous in their errand, the other caught the -infection, and both fell into convulsions of laughter, renewed on every -attempt to carry out their first design, till they were fain to give -up and own themselves for that time conquered by the Devil. There is a -story of Dr. Johnson much to the same purpose. Naturally melancholy, -he was yet a great laugher, and thus was an especial victim to the -possession we speak of, for no one laughs in depression who has not -learnt to laugh in mirth. He was dining with his friend Chambers in the -Temple, and at first betrayed so much physical suffering and mental -dejection that his companion could not help boring him with remedies. -By degrees he rallied, and with the rally came the need of a general -reaction. At this point Chambers happened to say that a common friend -had been with him that morning making his will. Johnson--or rather his -nervous system--seized upon this as the required subject. He raised a -ludicrous picture of the "testator" going about boasting of the fact -of his will-making to anybody that would listen, down to the innkeeper -on the road. Roaring with laughter, he trusted that Chambers had had -the conscience not to describe the testator as of sound mind, hoped -there was a legacy to himself, and concluded with saying that he would -have the will set to verse and a ballad made out of it. Mr. Chambers, -not at all relishing this pleasantry, got rid of his guest as soon as -he could. But not so did Johnson get rid of his merriment; he rolled -in convulsions till he got out of Temple Gate, and then, supporting -himself against a post, sent forth peals so loud as, in the silence -of the night, to be heard from Temple Bar to Fleet Ditch. We hear of -stomach coughs; this was a stomach, or ganglionic, laugh. - -"The mistimed laughter of children has often some such source as this, -though the sprite that possesses them has rarely the gnomelike essence. -A healthy boy, after a certain length of constraint, is sometimes as -little responsible for his laughter as the hypochondriac. Mrs. Beecher -Stowe, in describing, and even defending, a Puritanical strictness of -Sabbath observance, recalls the long family expositions and sermons -which alternated in her youth with prolix Meeting services, at all of -which the younger members of the household were required to assist -in profound stillness of attention. On one of these occasions, on a -hot summer afternoon, a heedless grasshopper of enormous dimensions -leapt on the sleeve of one of the boys. The tempting diversion was -not to be resisted; he slyly secured the animal, and imprisoned a -hind leg between his firmly compressed lips. One by one, the youthful -congregation became alive to the awkward contortions and futile -struggles of the long-legged captive; they knew that to laugh was to be -flogged, but after so many sermons the need was imperative, and they -laughed, and were flogged accordingly. Different from all these types -is the grand frank laugh that finds its place in history and biography, -and belongs to master minds. Political and party feeling may raise, -in stirring times, any amount of animosity, even in good-natured men; -but once bring about a laugh between them, and an answering chord is -struck, a tie is established not easily broken. Something of the old -rancour is gone for ever. There is a story of Canning and Brougham, -after hating and spiting one another through a session, finding -themselves suddenly face to face in some remote district in Cumberland, -with only a turn-pike gate between them. The situation roused their -magnanimity; simultaneously they broke into laughter, and passed each -on his separate way, better friends from that time forth. - -"No honest laugher knows anything about his own laugh, which is -fortunate, as it is apt to be the most grotesque part of a man, -especially if he is anything of an original. Character, humour, oddity, -all expatiate in it, and the features and voice have to accommodate -themselves to the occasion as they can. There is Prince Hal's laugh, -"till his face is like a wet cloak ill laid up;" there is the laugh we -see in Dutch pictures, where every wrinkle of the old face seems to -be in motion; there is the convulsive laugh, in which arms and legs -join; there is the whinny, the ventral laugh, Dr. Johnson's laugh like -a rhinoceros, Dominie Sampson's laugh lapsing without any immediate -stage into dead gravity, and the ideal social laugh--the delighted and -delighting chuckle which ushers in a joke, and the cordial triumphant -laugh which sounds its praises. We say nothing of all the laughs--and -how many there are!--which have no mirth in them; nor of the "ha -ha!" of melodrama, and the ringing laugh of the novel, as being each -unfamiliar to our waking ears. Whatever the laugh, if it be genuine and -comes from decent people, it is as attractive as the Piper of Hamelin. -It is impossible not to want to know what a hearty laugh is about. Some -of the sparkle of life is near, and we long to share it. The gift of -laughter is one of the compensating powers of the world. A nation that -laughs is so far prosperous. It may not have material wealth, but it -has the poetry of prosperity. When Lady Duff Gordon laments that she -never hears a hearty laugh in Egypt, and when Mr. Palgrave, on the -contrary, makes the Arabs proper a laughing people, we place Arabia, -for this reason, higher among the countries than its old neighbour. And -it is the same with homes. Wherever there is pleasant laughter, there -inestimable memories are being stored up, and such free play given to -nerve and brain, that whatever thought and power the family circle is -capable of will have a fair chance of due expansion." - - - - -_CONVIVIAL ECCENTRICITIES._ - - - - -Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall. - - -At Busby's Folly, a bowling-green and house of public entertainment, -upon the site of the Belvidere Tavern, Pentonville, there met on the -2nd of May, 1644, a fraternity of Odd Fellows, members of the Society -of Bull Feathers Hall, who claimed, among other things, the toll of -all the gravel carried up Highgate Hill. A rare tract, entitled, _Bull -Feather Hall, or the Antiquity of Horns amply shown_, 1664, relates -the manner of going from Busby's Folly to Highgate:--"On Monday, being -the 2nd of May, some part of the fraternity met at Busby's Folly, in -Islington, where, after they had set all things in order, they thus -marched out, _ordine quisque suo_:--First, a set of trumpets, then the -controller, or captain of the pioneers, with thirty or forty following -him with pickaxes and spades to level the hill, and baskets withal to -carry gravel. After them another set of trumpeters, and also four that -did wind the horn; after them, the standard, _alias_ an exceeding large -pair of horns fixed on a pole, which three men carried, with pennants -on each tip, the Master of the Ceremonies attending it, with other -officers. Men followed the flag, with the arms of the society, with -horned beasts drawn thereon, and this motto:-- - - 'To have, and not to use the same, - Is not their glory, but their shame.' - -"After this came the mace-bearer, then the herauld-at-arms, with -the arms of the society. The coat I cannot rightly blazon, but I -remember the supporters were on one side, a woman with a whip in -her hand, besides that of her tongue, with a menacing look, and -underneath the motto, _Ut volo, sic jubeo_; on the other side, a man -in a woeful plight, and underneath him, _Patientia patimur_." In this -order they marched, attended by multitudes of people. This club, as -the tract informs us, used to meet in Chequer Yard, in Whitechapel, -their president being arrayed in a crimson satin gown and a furred -cap, surmounted by a pair of antlers; and on a cushion lay a cornuted -sceptre and crown; the brethren drank out of horn cups, and were sworn -on admission, upon a blank horn-book. They met twice a-week, "to solace -themselves with harmless merriment and promote good fellowship among -their neighbours." - -Busby's Folly was afterwards called "Penny's Folly." Here Zucker, a -high German, who had performed before their Majesties and the Royal -Family, exhibited his Learned Little Horse from Cowland, who was -to be seen looking out of the windows up two pair of stairs every -evening before the performance began. Curious deceptions, "Comus's -philosophical performances," and the musical glasses, were also -exhibited here. - - - - -Old Islington Taverns. - - -Less than half a century ago, the Old Red Lion Tavern, in St. John -Street Road, the existence of which dates as far back as 1415, stood -almost alone: it is shown in the centre distance of Hogarth's picture -of _Evening_. Several eminent persons frequented this house: among -others, Thomson, the author of _The Seasons_, Dr. Johnson, and Oliver -Goldsmith. In a room here Thomas Paine wrote his infamous book, _The -Rights of Man_, which Burke and Bishop Watson demolished. The parlour -is hung with choice impressions of Hogarth's plates. The house has been -almost entirely rebuilt. - -Opposite the Red Lion, and surrounded by pens for holding cattle on -their way to Smithfield, was an old building, called "Goose Farm:" -it was let in suites of rooms; here lived Cawse, the painter; and in -another suite, the mother and sister of Charles and Thomas Dibdin: the -mother, a short and squab figure, came on among villagers and mobs -at Sadler's Wells Theatre; but, failing to get engaged, she died in -Clerkenwell Poorhouse. Vincent de Cleve, nicknamed Polly de Cleve, -for his prying qualities, who was treasurer of Sadler's Wells for -many years, occupied the second-floor rooms above the Dibdins. "Goose -Yard," on the west of the road, serves to determine the site of the old -farmhouse. - -The public-house facing the iron gates leading to Sadler's Wells -Theatre, with the sign of "The Clown," in honour of Grimaldi, who -frequented the house, was, in his day, known as the King of Prussia, -prior to which its sign had been that of the Queen of Hungary. It is -to this tavern, or rather to an old one, upon the same site, that -Goldsmith alludes in his _Essay on the Versitility of Popular Favour_. -"An alehouse-keeper," says he, "near Islington, who had long lived at -the sign of the French King, upon the commencement of the late war -with France, pulled down his own sign, and put up that of the Queen -of Hungary. Under the influence of her red race and golden sceptre, -he continued to sell ale till she was no longer the favourite of his -customers; he changed her, therefore, some time ago for the King of -Prussia, which may probably change in turn for the man that shall be -set up for vulgar admiration." The oldest sign by which this house has -been distinguished was that of the Turk's Head. - -At the Golden Ball, near Sadler's Wells, were sold by auction, in 1732, -"The valuable curiosities, living creatures, &c., collected by the -ingenious Mons. Boyle, of Islington;" including "a most strange living -creature bearing a near resemblance of the human shape; he can utter -some few sentences and give pertinant answers to many questions. There -is likewise an Oriental oystershell of a prodigious weight and size, -it measures from one extreme part to the other above three feet two -inches over. The other curiosity is called the Philosopher's Stone, -and is about the size of a pullet's egg, the colour of it is blue, -and more beautiful than that of the ultramarine, which together with -being finely polished is a most delightful entertainment to the eye. -This unparalleled curiosity was clandestinely stolen out of the late -Great Mogul's closet; this irreparable loss had so great an effect upon -him that in a few months after he pined himself to death: there is a -peculiar virtue in this precious stone, that principally relates to the -fair sex, and will effectually signify, in the variation of its colour, -by touching it, whether any of them have lost their virginity." - -Of the Rising Sun, in the Islington Road, in _Mist's Journal_, February -9th, 1726, we read that for the ensuing Shrove Tuesday "will be a fine -hog, barbyqu'd--_i.e._ roasted whole, with spice, and basted with -Madeira wine, at the house where the ox was roasted whole at Christmas -last." - -In the Islington Road, too, near to Sadler's Wells, was Stokes's -Amphitheatre, a low place, though resorted to by the nobility and -gentry. It was devoted to bull and bear-baiting, dog-fighting, boxing, -and sword-fighting; and in these terrible encounters, with naked -swords, not blunted, women engaged each other to "a trial of skill;" -they fought _à la mode_, in close fighting jackets, short petticoats, -Holland drawers, white thread stockings and pumps; the stakes were -from 10_l._ to 20_l._ Then we read of a day's diversion--a mad bull, -dressed up with fireworks, to be baited; cudgel-playing for a silver -cup, wrestling for a pair of leather breeches, &c.; a noble, large, and -savage, incomparable Russian bear, baited to death by dogs; a bull, -illuminated with fireworks turned loose; eating one hundred farthing -pies, and drinking half a gallon of October beer, in less than eight -minutes, &c.[45] - -[45] Selected and abridged from Pinks's _History of Clerkenwell_, 1865. - - - - -The Oyster and Parched-Pea Club. - - -The ancient town of "Proud Preston," in Lancashire, from the year 1771 -to 1841, a period of seventy years, boasted its "Oyster and Parched-Pea -Club." It was at first limited to a dozen of the leading inhabitants, -all of the same political party, and who now and then drank a Jacobite -toast with a bumper. Its President was styled the Speaker. Among its -staff of officers was one named _Oystericus_, whose duty it was to -order and look after the oysters, which then came "by fleet" from -London. There were also a Secretary, an Auditor, a Deputy Auditor, and -a Poet Laureate or Rhymesmith, as he was generally termed; also the -Cellarius, who had to provide port of the first quality; the Chaplain; -the Surgeon-General, the Master of the Rolls (to look to the provision -of bread-and-butter); the _Swig_-Master, whose title expresses his -duty; Clerk of the Peas; a Minstrel, a Master of the Jewels, a -Physician-in-Ordinary, &c. Among the Rules and Articles of the Club, -were, "That _a barrel of oysters_ be provided every Monday night during -the winter season, at the equal expense of the members; to be opened -exactly at half-past seven o'clock." "Every member on having a son -born, shall pay a gallon--for a daughter half-a-gallon--of port, to his -brethren of the club, within a month of the birth of such child, at any -public-house he shall choose." Amongst the archives of the club is the -following curious entry, which is _not_ in a lady's hand:-- - -"The ladies of the Toughey [? Toffy] Club were rather disappointed at -not receiving, by the hands of the respectable messenger, dispatched by -the still more respectable members of the Oyster Club, a few oysters. -They are just sitting down, after the fatigues of the evening, and take -the liberty of reminding the worthy members of the Oyster Club, that -oysters were _not made for man alone_. The ladies have sent to the -venerable president a small quantity of sweets [? pieces of Everton -toffy] to be distributed, as he in his wisdom, shall think fit." - -In 1795 the club was threatened with a difficulty, owing, as stated by -"Mr. Oystericus," to the day of the wagon--laden with oysters--leaving -London, having changed. Sometimes, owing to a long frost, or other -accident, no oysters arrived, and then the club must have solaced -itself with "parched peas" and "particular port." Amongst the regalia -of the club was a silver snuff-box, in the lid of which was set a -piece of oak, part of the quarter-deck of Nelson's ship _Victory_. The -Rhymesmith's effusions were laughable, as:-- - - "A something monastic appears among oysters, - For gregarious they live, yet they sleep in their cloisters; - 'Tis observed, too, that oysters, when placed in their barrel, - Will never presume with their stations to quarrel. - From this let us learn what an oyster can tell us, - And we all shall be better and happier fellows. - Acquiesce in your stations, wherever you've got 'em; - Be not proud at the top, nor repine at the bottom; - But happiest they in the middle who live, - And have something to lend, and to spend, and to give." - - "The bard would fain exchange, alack! - For precious gold, his crown of laurel; - His sackbut for a butt of sack; - His vocal skill for oyster barrel!" - -These lines are from an Ode in 1806:-- - - "Nelson has made the seas our own, - Then gulp your well-fed oysters down, - And give the French the _shell_." - - - - -A Manchester Punch-House. - - -About the middle of the last century, a man named John Shaw, who -had served in the army as a dragoon, having lost his wife and four -or five children, solaced himself by opening a public-house in the -Old Shambles, Manchester, in conducting which he was supported by a -sturdy woman-servant, "Molly." John Shaw, having been much abroad, -had acquired a knack of brewing punch, then a favourite beverage; and -from this attraction, his house soon began to be frequented by the -principal merchants and manufacturers of the town, and to be known -as "John Shaw's Punch-house;" sign it had none. As Dr. Aikin says in -1795 that Shaw had then kept the house more than fifty years, we have -here an institution dating prior to the memorable '45. Having made a -comfortable competence, John Shaw, who was a lover of early hours, -and, probably from his military training, a martinet in discipline, -instituted the singular rule of closing his house to customers at eight -o'clock in the evening. As soon as the clock struck the hour, John -walked into the one public room of the house, and in a loud voice and -imperative tone, proclaimed "Eight o'clock, gentlemen; eight o'clock." -After this no entreaties for more liquor, however urgent or suppliant, -could prevail over the inexorable landlord. If the announcement of the -hour did not at once produce the desired effect, John had two modes of -summary ejectment. He would call to Molly to bring his horsewhip, and -crack it in the ears and near the persons of his guests; and should -this fail, Molly was ordered to bring her pail, with which she speedily -flooded the floor, and drove the guests out wet-shod. Tradition says -that the punch brewed by John Shaw was something very delicious. In -mixing it, he used a long-shanked silver table-spoon, like a modern -gravy-spoon, which, for convenience, he carried in a side pocket, -like that in which a carpenter carries his two-foot rule. Punch was -usually served in small bowls (that is, less than the "crown bowls" -of later days) of two sizes and prices; a shilling bowl being termed -"a P of punch"--"a Q of punch" denoting a sixpenny bowl. The origin -of these slang names is unknown. Can it have any reference to the old -saying--"Mind your P's and Q's?" If a gentleman came alone and found -none to join him, he called for "a Q." If two or more joined, they -called for "a P;" but seldom more was spent than about sixpence per -head. Though eccentric and austere, John won the respect and esteem of -his customers, by his strict integrity and steadfast adherence to his -rules. - -For his excellent regulation as to the hour of closing, he is said -to have frequently received the thanks of the ladies of Manchester, -whose male friends were thus induced to return home early and sober. -At length this nightly meeting of friends and acquaintances at John -Shaw's grew into an organised club of a convivial character, bearing -his name. Its objects were not political; yet, John and his guests -being all of the same political party, there was sufficient unanimity -among them to preserve harmony and concord. John's roof sheltered none -but stout, thorough-going Tories of the old school, genuine "Church and -King" men; nay, even "rank Jacobites." If, perchance, from ignorance of -the character of the house, any unhappy Whig, any unfortunate partisan -of the house of Hanover, any known member of a dissenting conventicle, -strayed into John Shaw's, he found himself in a worse condition than -that of a solitary wasp in a beehive. - -The war played the mischief with John's inimitable brew: limes became -scarce; lemons were substituted; at length of these too, and of the -old pine-apple rum of Jamaica, the supplies were so frequently cut -off by French privateers, that a few years before John Shaw's death, -the innovation of "grog" in place of punch struck a heavy blow at the -old man's heart. Even autocrats must die, and at length, on the 26th -January, 1796, John Shaw was gathered to his fathers, at the ripe old -age of eighty-three, having ruled his house upwards of fifty-eight -years; namely, from the year 1738. But though John Shaw ceased to rule, -the club still lived and flourished. His successor in the house carried -on the same "early-closing movement," with the aid of the same old -servant Molly. At length the house was pulled down, and the club was -very migratory for some years. It finally settled down in 1852, in the -"Spread Eagle" Hotel, Corporation Street, where it still prospers and -flourishes. - -In 1834, John Shaw's absorbed into its venerable bosom another club of -similar character, entitled "The Sociable Club." The society possesses -among its relics oil-paintings of John Shaw and his maid Molly, and -of several presidents of past years. A few years ago, a singular old -china punchbowl, which had been the property of John Shaw himself, was -restored to the club as its rightful property by the descendant of a -trustee. It is a barrel-shaped vessel, suspended on a stillage, with -a metal tap at one end, whence to draw the liquor, which it received -through a large opening or bung-hole. Besides assembling every evening, -winter and summer, between five and eight o'clock, a few of the members -dine together every Saturday at 2 P.M.; and they have still an annual -dinner, when old friends and members drink old wine, toast old toasts, -tell old stories, or "fight their battles o'er again." Such is John -Shaw's club--nearly a century and a quarter old.--_Abridged from the -Book of Days._ - - - - -"The Blue Key." - - -Some fifty years since, there was at Bolton a little club of -manufacturers, all of them old men, who met regularly in the forenoon -at the "Millstone Inn," to drink their single glass of ale and compare -notes on the news of the day. They established this curious custom -among themselves. There was no great number of clerks and assistants -in those days, and when a manufacturer left his counting-room, or -warehouse, he locked the door and carried off the key, generally a -pretty large one. Now, this Millstone Club preferred in cold weather -to have their ale _with the chill off_. To effect this, each member -put the bow of his warehouse-key into the fire, and when sufficiently -warm, plunged it into his glass of ale. A long continuance of this -custom caused the handle of each key to acquire a dark blue colour, -and this "blue key" became a kind of emblem or talisman of the club -friends.--_French's Life of Samuel Crompton._ - - - - -Brandy in Tea. - - -Miss Berry relates, among her earliest Brighton reminiscences, the -following odd story of old Lady Clermont, who was a frequent guest -at the Pavilion. "Her physician had recommended a moderate use of -stimulants to supply that energy which was deficient in her system, and -brandy had been suggested in a prescribed quantity, to be mixed with -her tea. I remember well having my curiosity excited by this, to me, -novel form of taking medicine, and holding on by the back of a chair to -watch the _modus operandi_. Very much to my astonishment, the patient -held a liqueur bottle over a cup of tea and began to pour out its -contents, with a peculiar purblind look, upon the back of a teaspoon. -Presently she seemed suddenly to become aware of what she was about, -turned up the spoon the right way, and carefully measured and added the -quantity to which she had been restricted. The tea so strongly "laced" -she then drank with great apparent gusto. Of course it was no longer -"the cup that cheers but not inebriates;" but what seemed inexplicable -to my ingenuous mind was the unvarying recurrence of the same mistake -of presenting the back of the spoon instead of the front. I was aware -that it did not arise from defect of sight. Lady Clermont could see -almost as distinctly as myself. Nevertheless, the cordial was permitted -to accumulate in the tea till the old lady chose to adopt a better -measurer, and then she most conscientiously took care not to exceed the -number of teaspoonfuls the obliging doctor had prescribed. I was not -then aware that this was a case in which the remedy was the reverse of -worse than the disease. Lady Clermont liked brandy as a medicine, and -made this bungle in measuring it by way of innocent device for securing -a much larger dose than she had been ordered. The gravity with which -she noticed her apparent mistake, without attempting to correct it, and -her little exclamation of surprise, so invariably uttered, amused me -so much that when she quitted the Pavilion, the best part of my day's -entertainment seemed to have departed with her." - - - - -"The Wooden Spoon." - - -The ludicrous sobriquet of the Ministerial Wooden Spoon originated as -follows:--Towards the close of each Session of Parliament, a list of -the votes of those Members of the Government who are in the House of -Commons is produced at the Fish Dinner then given; and he who is lowest -on the list is probably regarded by his Cambridge friends, at least, as -the _wooden spoon_. During the administration of Sir Robert Peel, on -one of these anniversaries, when the ministerial party was starting for -Greenwich, one of them, in passing through Hungerford Market, bought a -child's penny mug and a wooden spoon. After dinner, when the list of -votes was read out, the penny mug, on which was painted "James," or -"For a good boy," was presented, with all due solemnity, to Sir James -Graham, and the wooden spoon to Sir William Follet. This is thought to -be the origin of the above strange custom. - - - - -A Tipsy Village. - - -Livingston, in a recent journey in Africa, fell in with the Manganja -savages, as low as any he had ever met with, except Bushmen; yet they -cultivate large tracts of land for grain, which they convert into -_beer_! It is not very intoxicating, but when they consume large -quantities, they do become a little elevated. When a family brews, a -large number of friends and neighbours are invited to drink, and bring -their hoes with them; and they let off the excitement by hoeing their -friend's field. At other times they consume large quantities of beer, -like regular topers, at home. Dr. Livingston _in one village found all -the people tipsy together_: the men tried to induce the women to run -away for shame, but the ladies, too, were "a little overcome," and -laughed at the idea of their running. The village-doctor, however, -arranged matters by bringing a large pot of the liquid, with the -intention of reducing the travellers to the general level. - - * * * * * - -Odd things have been said of Gin. Burke, in one of his _spirituel_ -flights, exclaimed, "Let the thunders of the pulpit descend upon -drunkenness, I for one stand up for gin." This is a sort of paraphrase -on Pope's couplet: - - "This calls the church to deprecate our sin, - And hurls the thunder of our laws on gin." - - - - -What an Epicure Eats in his Life-Time. - - -In a life of sixty-five years' duration, with a moderate daily -allowance of mutton, for instance, an epicure will have consumed a -flock of 350 sheep; and altogether for dinner alone, adding to his -mutton a reasonable allowance of potatoes and other vegetables, with a -pint of wine daily for thirty years of this period, above thirty tons -of solids and liquids must have passed through his stomach. Soyer, in -his practical work, _The Modern Housewife_, says:-- - -Take seventy years of the life of an epicure, beyond which age of that -class of _bon vivants_ arrive, and even above eighty, still in the full -enjoyment of degustation, &c. (for example, Talleyrand, Cambacères, -Lord Sefton, &c.); if the first of the said epicures, when entering on -the tenth spring of his extraordinary career, had been placed on an -eminence--say the top of Primrose Hill--and had had exhibited before -his infantine eyes the enormous quantity of food his then insignificant -person would destroy before he attained his seventy-first year--first, -he would believe it must be a delusion: then, secondly, he would -inquire where the money could come from to purchase so much luxurious -extravagance? - - Imagine on the top of the above-mentioned hill, a rushlight of a - boy just entering his tenth year, surrounded with the _recherché_ - provision and delicacies claimed by his rank and wealth, taking merely - the consumption of his daily meals. By close calculating, he would - be surrounded and gazed at by the following number of quadrupeds, - birds, fishes, &c.:--By no less than 30 oxen, 200 sheep, 100 calves, - 200 lambs, 50 pigs; in poultry, 1,200 fowls, 300 turkeys, 150 geese, - 400 ducklings, 263 pigeons, 1,400 partridges, pheasants, and grouse; - 600 woodcocks and snipes; 600 wild ducks, widgeon, and teal; 450 - plovers, ruffes, and reeves; 800 quails, ortolans, and dotterels, - and a few guillemots, and other foreign birds; also, 500 hares and - rabbits, 40 deer, 120 guinea fowl, 10 peacocks, and 360 wild fowl. - In the way of fish, 120 turbot, 140 salmon, 120 cod, 260 trout, 400 - mackerel, 300 whitings, 800 soles and slips, and 400 flounders; 400 - red mullet, 200 eels, 150 haddocks, 400 herrings, 5,000 smelts, and - some 100,000 of those delicious silvery whitebait, besides a few - hundred species of fresh-water fishes. In shell-fish, 20 turtles, - 30,000 oysters, 1,500 lobsters or crabs, 300,000 prawns, shrimps, - sardines, and anchovies. In the way of fruit, about 500lb. of grapes, - 360lb. of pine-apples, 600 peaches, 1,400 apricots, 240 melons, and - some 100,000 plums, greengages, apples, pears, and some millions - of cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants, mulberries, and - an abundance of other small fruit, _viz._ walnuts, chestnuts, dry - figs, and plums. In vegetables of all kinds, 5,475lb. weight; about - 2,434-3/4lb. of butter, 684lb. of cheese, 21,000 eggs, 100 ditto of - plovers. Of bread, 4-1/2 tons, half-a-ton of salt and pepper, near - 2-1/8 tons of sugar; and if he had happened to be a bibacious boy, he - could have formed a fortification or moat round the said hill with the - liquids he would have to partake of to facilitate the digestion of the - above-named provisions, which would amount to no less than 11,673-3/4 - gallons which may be taken as below:--49 hogsheads of wine, 1,368-3/4 - gallons of beer, 584 gallons of spirits, 342 ditto of liqueur, 2,394 - ditto of coffee, cocoa, tea, &c., 304 gallons of milk, 2,736 gallons - of water--all of which would actually protect him and his anticipated - property from any young thief or fellow-schoolboy. This calculation - has for its basis the medium scale of the regular meals of the day, - which, in sixty years, amounts to no less than 33-3/4 tons weight of - meat, farinaceous food, and vegetables, &c.; out of which the above - are in detail the probable delicacies that would be selected by an - epicure through life. - - - - -Epitaph on Dr. William Maginn. - - -Dr. Maginn, it is to be regretted, died at an early age, of -consumption. The following epitaph, written for him by his friend, John -G. Lockhart, conveys a tolerably correct idea of his habits:-- - - WALTON-ON-THAMES, AUGUST, 1842. - - Here, early to bed, lies kind William Maginn, - Who, with genius, wit, learning, life's trophies to win, - Had neither great lord nor rich cit of his kin, - Nor discretion to set himself up as to tin; - So, his portion soon spent, like the poor heir of Lynn-- - He turned author ere yet there was beard on his chin, - And, whoever was out, or whoever was in, - For your Tories his fine Irish brains he would spin; - Who received prose and rhyme with a promising grin-- - "Go a-head, you queer fish, and more power to your fin," - But to save from starvation stirred never a pin. - Light for long was his heart, though his breeches were thin, - Else his acting for certain was equal to Quin; - But at last he was beat, and sought help of the bin - (All the same to the doctor, from claret to gin), - Which led swiftly to jail, and consumption therein. - It was much, when the bones rattled loose in the skin, - He got leave to die here, out of Babylon's din. - Barring drink and the girls, I ne'er heard a sin: - Many worse, better few, than bright, broken Maginn. - -It is not generally known that Dr. Maginn wrote for Knight and Lacey, -the publishers, in Paternoster Row, a novel embodying the strange story -of the Polstead murder, in 1828, under the title of the _Red Barn_. -The work was published anonymously, in numbers, and by its sale the -publishers cleared many hundreds of pounds. Dr. Maginn's learned and -witty essays, in verse and prose, scattered over our monthly magazines -during nearly a quarter of a century, merit collective republication. - -Talking of odd epitaphs, that upon Beazeley, the architect and -dramatist, was written, or rather spoken, by Theodore Hook, as -follows:-- - - "Here lies Sam Beazeley, - Who lived hard and died easily." - - - - -Greenwich Dinners. - - -The Hon. Grantley Berkeley, in his _Life and Recollections_, relates -some amusing anecdotes of these pleasant gatherings:-- - -"On two occasions," he says, "I remember that the late Lord Rokeby -went to Greenwich behind a pair of posters, and that in coming back -the postboy, excessively drunk, upset him on the road. He was much too -good-natured to insist on the man's discharge, and, perhaps because -he liked a glass of wine himself, he was inclined to forgive a lad -overcome by porter; so the carriage was righted and no notice taken of -the matter. It so happened that some time after, Lord Rokeby had again -to go to Greenwich, and when his carriage and pair of posters came to -the door, he saw in the saddle the same postboy who had brought him to -grief. - -"'Oh, you're there, are you?' he said, in that dear, good-natured -way he had of speaking. 'Now mind, my good fellow, you had your -jollification last time; it's my turn now, so I shall get drunk, and -you must keep sober.' - -"The postboy touched his hat in acquiescence with this reasonable -proposition; he brought back my friend in safety, at all events, and, I -dare say, in a very happy state of mind." - -The writer also remembers a dinner at the Ship, where there were a -good many ladies, and when D'Orsay was of the party, during which his -attention was directed to a centre pane of glass in the bay window -over the Thames, where some one had written in large letters with a -diamond, D'Orsay's name in improper conjunction with a celebrated -German _danseuse_ then fulfilling an engagement at the Opera. With -characteristic readiness and _sang-froid_, he took an orange from a -dish near him, and making some trifling remark on the excellence of -the fruit, tossed it up once or twice, catching it in his hand again. -Presently, as if by accident, he gave it a wider cant, and sent it -through the window, knocking the offensive words out of sight into the -Thames. - - - - -Lord Pembroke's Port Wine. - - -Lord Palmerston (who, when in office, was accustomed to employ his -pleasantries as _paratonnerres_ for troublesome visitors), one day -related the following anecdote to a deputation of gentlemen who waited -upon him to urge the reduction of the Wine-duties. Referring to the -question of adulterations, "I remember," said his lordship, "my -grandfather, Lord Pembroke, when he placed wine before his guests, -said--'There, gentlemen, is my champagne, my claret, &c. I am no great -judge, and I give you this on the authority of my wine-merchant; but -I can answer for my port, for I made it myself.' I still have his -receipt, which I look on as a curiosity; but I confess I have never -ventured to try it." - -The following is Lord Pembroke's veritable receipt:--Eight gallons -of genuine port wine, forty gallons of cider, brandy to fill the -hogsheads. Elder-tops will give it the roughness, and cochineal -whatever strength of colouring you please. The quantity made should not -be less than a hogshead: it should be kept fully two years in wood, and -as long in bottle before it is used. - - - - -A tremendous Bowl of Punch. - - -We find the following recorded upon the sober authority of the veteran -_Gentleman's Magazine_:-- - -On the 25th of October, 1694, a bowl of punch was made at the -Right Hon. Edward Russell's house, when he was Captain-General -Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty's forces in the Mediterranean Sea. -It was made in a fountain in a garden in the middle of four walks, all -covered overhead with orange and lemon-trees; and in every walk was a -table, the whole length of it covered with cold collations, &c. In the -said fountain were the following ingredients, namely:-- - - 4 hogsheads brandy. - 25,000 lemons. - 20 gallons lime-juice. - 1,300 weight of fine white Lisbon sugar. - 5lbs. grated nutmegs. - 300 toasted biscuits. - One pipe of dry mountain Malaga. - -Over the fountain was a large canopy to keep off the rain, and there -was built on purpose a little boat, wherein was a boy belonging to -the fleet, who rowed round the fountain and filled the cups for the -company; and, in all probability, more than 6,000 men drank thereof. - - -[Illustration] - - - - -_MISCELLANEA._ - - - - -Long Sir Thomas Robinson. - - -There were two Sir Thomas Robinsons alive at the same time. The one -above mentioned was called _Long_ as a distinguishing characteristic. -Some one told Lord Chesterfield that _Long_ Sir Thomas Robinson was -very ill. "I am sorry to hear it."--"He is dying by inches."--"Then it -will be some time before he dies," was the answer. - -One of Sir Thomas Robinson's freaks was to go to Paris in his hunting -suit, wearing a postilion's cap, a tight green jacket, and buckskin -breeches. In this strange dress he joined a large company at dinner; -when a French abbé, unable to restrain his curiosity, burst out with, -"Excuse me, sir, are you the famous Robinson Crusoe so remarkable in -history?" - - - - -Lord Chesterfield's Will. - - -The will of the celebrated Lord Chesterfield contains this -prelude:--"Satiated with the pompous follies of this life, of which -I have had an uncommon share, I would have no posthumous ones -displayed at my funeral, and therefore desire to be buried in the next -burying-place to the place where I shall die, and limit the whole -expense of my funeral to 100_l._" Shortly after comes the following -clause:--"The several devises and bequests hereinbefore and hereinafter -given by me to and in favour of my said godson, Philip Stanhope, shall -be subject to the condition and restriction hereinafter mentioned--that -is to say, that in case my said godson, Philip Stanhope, shall at any -time hereafter keep or be concerned in the keeping of any race-horse -or race-horses, or pack or packs of hounds, or reside one night at -Newmarket, that infamous seminary of iniquity and ill-manners, during -the course of the races there, or shall resort to the said races, or -shall lose in any one day at any game or bet whatsoever the sum of -500_l._, then, and in any of the cases aforesaid, it is my express will -that he, my said godson, shall forfeit and pay out of my estate the sum -of 5,000_l._ to and for the use of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, -for every such offence or misdemeanour as is above specified, to be -recovered by action for debt in any of his Majesty's courts of record -at Westminster." The will entails a similar penalty on the letting of -Chesterfield House. The late Lord Chesterfield, who was son of the man -on whom these liabilities were imposed, certainly let Chesterfield -House; and had, we will venture to say, passed some nights at the -"infamous seminary of iniquity and ill-manners." His ancestor vested -the infliction of the penalty in the reverend hands of the Dean and -Chapter, to mark, by a sort of Parthian dart, his sense of the grasping -spirit he considered they had evinced in their dealings with him -respecting the land on which his house was built, and to show what a -rigid enaction of the penalty imposed he anticipated from such sharp -practitioners. - - - - -An Odd Family. - - -In the reign of William III., there resided at Ipswich a family which, -from the number of peculiarities belonging to it, was distinguished -by the name of the "Odd Family." Every event remarkably good or bad -happened to this family on an odd day of the month, and every member -had something odd in his or her person, manner, or behaviour. The -very letters in their Christian names always happened to be an odd -number: the husband's name was Peter, and the wife's name Raboh: they -had seven children, all boys, _viz._ Solomon, Roger, James, Matthew, -Jonas, David, and Ezekiel: the husband had but one leg, his wife but -one arm: Solomon was born blind of one eye, and Roger lost his sight -by accident; James had his left ear bit off by a boy in a quarrel, and -Matthew was born with only three fingers on his right hand; Jonas had -a stump foot, and David was hump-backed. All these, except the latter, -were remarkably short, while Ezekiel was six feet one inch high at -the age of nineteen; the stump-footed Jonas and the hump-backed David -got wives of fortune, but no girls in the borough would listen to the -addresses of their brothers. The husband's hair was as black as jet, -and the wife's remarkably white; yet every one of the children's hair -was red. The husband was killed by accidently falling into a deep pit -in the year 1701; and his wife refusing all kinds of sustenance, died -five days after him, and they were buried in one grave. In the year -1703, Ezekiel enlisted as a grenadier; and although he was afterwards -wounded in twenty-three places, he recovered. Roger, James, Matthew, -Jonas, and David, it appears by the church registers, died in different -places, and were buried on the same day, in the year 1713; and Solomon -and Ezekiel were drowned together in crossing the Thames in the year -1723. Such a collection of odd circumstances never occurred before in -one family.--_Clarke's Account of Ipswich._ - - - - -An Eccentric Host. - - -Lady Blessington used to describe Lord Abercorn's conduct at the Priory -at Stanmore as very strange. She said it was the most singular place -on earth. The moment any persons became celebrated they were invited. -He had a great delight in seeing handsome women. Everybody handsome he -made Lady Abercorn invite; and all the guests shot, hunted, rode, or -did what they liked, provided they never spoke to Lord Abercorn except -at table. If they met him they were to take no notice. At this time, -_Thaddeus of Warsaw_ was making a noise. "Gad!" said Lord Abercorn, "we -must have these Porters. Write, my dear Lady Abercorn." She wrote. An -answer came from Jane Porter, that they could not afford the expense -of travelling. A cheque was sent. They arrived. Lord Abercorn peeped -at them as they came through the hall, and running by the private -staircase to Lady Abercorn, exclaimed, "Witches! my lady. I must be -off," and immediately started post, and remained away till they were -gone. - - - - -Quackery Successful. - - -Sir Edward Halse, who was physician to King George III., driving one -day through the Strand, was stopped by the mob listening to the oratory -of Dr. Rock, the famous quack, who, observing Sir Edward look out at -the chariot-window, instantly took a number of boxes and phials, gave -them to the physician's footman, saying, "Give my compliments to Sir -Edward--tell him these are all I have with me, but I will send him -ten dozen more to-morrow." Sir Edward, astonished at the message and -effrontery of the man, actually took the boxes and phials into the -carriage; on which the mob, with one consent, cried out, "See, see, all -the doctors, even the King's, buy their medicines of him!" In their -young days, these gentlemen had been fellow-students; but Rock, not -succeeding in regular practice, had metamorphosed himself into a quack. -In the afternoon, he waited on Sir Edward, to beg his pardon for having -played him such a trick; to which Sir Edward replied, "My old friend, -how can a man of your understanding condescend to harangue the populace -with such nonsense as you talked to day? Why, none but fools listen -to you."--"Ah! my good friend, that is the very thing. Do you give me -the _fools_ for my patients, and you shall have my free leave to keep -the people of sense for your own." Sir Edward Halse used to divert his -friends with this story, adding, "I never felt so like a fool in my -life as when I received the bottles and boxes from Rock." - - - - -The Grateful Footpad. - - -It is related of Jerry Abershawe, the notorious footpad, that on a dark -and stormy night in November, after having stopped every passenger -on the Wandsworth road, being suddenly taken ill, he stopped at his -old haunt, the Bald-faced Stag public-house, when his comrades sent -to Kingston for medical assistance, and Dr. William Roots, then a -very young man, attended. Having bled him, and given the necessary -advice, the doctor was about to return home, when his patient, with -much earnestness, said, "You had better, sir, have some one to go back -with you, as it is a very dark and lonesome journey." This, however, -the doctor declined, observing that he had "not the least fear, even -should he meet with Abershawe himself," little thinking to whom he was -making this reply. It is said that the footpad frequently alluded to -this scene, with much comic humour. His real name was Louis Jeremiah -Avershawe. He was tried at Croydon for the murder of David Price, a -Union Hall officer, whom he had killed with a pistol-shot, and at the -same time wounded a second officer with another pistol. In this case -the indictment was invalidated by some flaw; but having been tried and -convicted, for feloniously shooting at one Barnaby Turner, he was hung -in chains, on Wimbledon Common, in August, 1795. - - - - -A Notoriety of the Temple. - - -Through reverses at law, how many persons has melancholy marked for -her own. Miss Flight, the little lady who was always hovering about -the courts, and behaving eccentrically, was one of this class, known -to Dickens's readers. Doubtless, she was considered a mere pen-and-ink -sketch from fancy, but she was a fact, every inch of her. She would, -we know, stop the most learned judges that sit on the bench when in -full swing of their awful judgment. She would rise and shake her lean -weird fist at the embodiment of wisdom in horse-hair, and exclaim, "Oh, -you vile man! oh, you wicked man! Give me my property! I will issue a -_mandamus_, and have your _habeas corpus_!" And having continued in -a like fashion for a minute or two, she would bind up her papers in -"red tape"--at least, tape that had once been red, and had followed -her dirty fortunes for years--and either subside into the seat granted -her beside the barristers or depart triumphant from court. No usher -had dared exclaim "Silence!" or send forth the hush of the cackling -animal peculiar to that official. No barrister had nudged her under -the fourth rib, as he might have done another, and would have done -had she been fairer. And the learned Judge, sitting patiently till -the end, with a mild perspiration only rising on the tip of the nose -to show that he was in any way put out, would then, as if nothing had -occurred, resume the thread of his learned judgment, to be appealed -against, perhaps, soon after. What the mystery is between Miss Flight -and the Bar no one can tell. She may have been the embodiment of a -peculiar wrong, and have appeared in the eyes of the bewigged as a sort -of ghost threatening the evil doers with the shades. Perhaps she was -pensioned merely out of some stray idea of benevolence. We scarcely -thought of that in connection with the object of our comment, and yet -to a certain extent it may be true, as she received from the right -learned Middle Temple a sum of shillings per week, which she added to -a sum of shillings received from the right learned Inner Temple, and -so she supported life. But why the learned of the law gave something -for nothing, and were afraid of and respectful to the little woman, -let no man enquire. The little woman's soul has, however, flitted, -and we can say that, after all, the few young lawyers who know nought -of her history will send after her whither she has gone a word of -regret.--_Court Journal._ - - - - -A Ride in a Sedan. - - -From a house in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, the beautiful -Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and the other fair and high-born -women who canvassed for Charles James Fox, used to watch the humours -of the Westminster election. Pitt writes to Wilberforce on the 8th -of April, 1784, "Westminster goes on well, in spite of the Duchess -of Devonshire, and the other women of the people; but when the poll -will close is uncertain." Hannah More, as appears from the date of her -letters, resided at one period in Henrietta Street, and in one of them -we find an amusing account of an adventure which she met with during -the Westminster election. To one of her sisters she writes:--"I had -like to have got into a fine scrape the other night. I was going to -pass the other evening at Mrs. Coles's, in Lincoln's Inn Fields. I went -in a chair. They carried me through Covent Garden. A number of people, -as I went along, desired the man not to go through the garden, as there -were an hundred armed men, who suspected every chairman belonged to -Brookes's, and would fall upon us. In spite of my entreaties the men -would have persisted, but a stranger, out of humanity, made them set me -down, and the shrieks of the wounded, for there was a terrible battle, -intimidated the chairmen, who were at last prevailed upon to carry me -another way. A vast number of people followed me, crying out, 'It is -Mrs. Fox: none but Mr. Fox's wife would dare to come into Covent Garden -in a chair; she is going to canvass in the dark!' Though not a little -frightened, I laughed heartily at this, but shall stir out no more in a -chair for some time." - - - - -[Illustration: Lord Eldon. "Old Bags" after H. B.] - - - - -Mr. John Scott (Lord Eldon) in Parliament. - - -Mr. Scott broke ground in Parliament in opposition to the famous East -India Bill, and began with his favourite topic, the honesty of his -own intentions, and the purity of his own conscience. He spoke in -respectful terms of Lord North, and more highly still of Mr. Fox; but -even to Mr. Fox it was not fitting that so vast an influence should be -entrusted. As Brutus said of Cæsar-- - - "---- he would be crown'd! - How that might change his nature,--there's the question." - -It was an aggravation of the affliction he felt, that the cause of it -should originate with one to whom the nation had so long looked up; -a wound from him was doubly painful. Like Joab, he gave the shake of -friendship, but the other hand held a dagger, with which he despatched -the constitution. Here Mr. Scott, after an apology for alluding to -sacred writ, read from the book of Revelation some verses which he -regarded as typical of the intended innovations in the affairs of the -English East India Company:--"'And I stood upon the sand of the sea, -and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten -horns, and upon his horns ten crowns. And they worshipped the dragon -which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, -Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there -was given unto him a mouth speaking great things; and power was given -unto him to continue forty and two months.' Here," says Mr. Scott, "I -believe there is a mistake of six months--the proposed duration of the -bill being four years, or forty-eight months. 'And he caused all, both -small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in -their right hand, or in their foreheads.'--Here places, pensions, and -peerages are clearly marked out.--'And he cried mightily with a strong -voice, saying, Babylon the Great'--plainly the East India Company--'is -fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold -of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.'" - -He read a passage from Thucydides to prove that men are more irritated -by injustice than by violence, and described the country crying out for -a respite, like Desdemona-- - - "Kill me to-morrow--let me live to-night-- - But half-an-hour!" - -This strange jumble was well quizzed by Sheridan, and Mr. Scott appears -to have found out that rhetorical embellishment was not his line; for -his subsequent speeches are less ornate. - -In the squibs of the period, their obscurity forms the point of the -jokes levelled at him. Thus, among the pretended translations of Lord -Belgrave's famous Greek quotation, the following couplet was attributed -to him:-- - - "With metaphysic art his speech he plann'd, - And said--what nobody could understand." - - - - -A Chancery Jeu-d'Esprit. - - -Sir John Leach was a famous leader in Chancery in his day; afterwards -Vice-Chancellor, and finally Master of the Rolls. - - "Nor did he change, but kept in lofty place" - -the character assigned to him by Sir George Rose in a _jeu-d'esprit_, -the point of which has suffered a little in the hands of Lord Eldon's -biographers, Mr. Twiss and Lord Campbell. The true text, we know from -the highest authority, ran thus:-- - - "Mr. Leech - Made a speech, - Angry, neat, and wrong; - Mr. Hart, - On the other part, - Was right, and dull, and long. - Mr. Parker - Made the case darker, - Which was dark enough without; - Mr. Cooke - Cited a book, - And the Chancellor said, 'I doubt.'" - -Mr. Twiss good-naturedly suggests that "Parker" was taken merely for -the rhyme; but we are assured that this was not so, and that the verses -represent the actual order and _identities_ of the argument. By the -favour of the accomplished author we are enabled to lay before our -readers his own history of this production. "In my earliest years at -the Bar, sitting idle and listless rather than listening, on the back -benches of the court, Vesey, junior, the reporter, put his notebook -into my hand, saying, 'Rose, I am obliged to go away. If anything -occurs, take a note for me.' When he returned, I gave him back his -notebook, and in it the fair report, in effect, of what had taken place -in his absence; and of course thought no more about it. My short report -was so far _en règle_, that it came out in _numbers_, though certainly -_lege solutis_. It was about four or five years afterwards--when -I was beginning to get into business--that I had a motion to make -before the Chancellor. Taking up the paper (the _Morning Chronicle_), -at breakfast, I there, to my surprise and alarm, saw my unfortunate -report. 'Here's a pretty business!' said I; 'pretty chance have I, -having thus made myself known to the Court as satirizing both Bench and -Bar.' Well, as Twiss truly narrates, I made my motion. The Chancellor -told me to 'take nothing' by it, and added, 'and, Mr. Rose, in this -case, the Chancellor does not doubt.' But Twiss has not told the whole -story. The anecdote, as he left it, conveys the notion of a taunting -displeased retaliation, and reminds one of the Scotch judge, who, after -pronouncing sentence of death upon a former companion whom he had found -it difficult to beat at chess, is alleged to have added, 'And now, -Donald, my man, I've checkmated you for ance!' - -"If Twiss had applied to me (I wish he had, for Lord Eldon's sake), I -might have told him what Lord Eldon, in his usual consideration for -young beginners, further did. Thinking that I might be (as I in truth -was) rather disconcerted at so unexpected a contretemps, he sent me -down a note to the effect that, so far from being offended, he had -been much pleased with a playfulness attributed to me, and hoped, -now that business was approaching me, I should still find leisure -for some relaxation; and he was afterwards invariably courteous and -kind; nay, not only promised me a silk gown, but actually--_credite -Posteri_--invited me to dinner. I have never known how that scrap -(which, like a Chancery suite which it reports, promises to be -_sine-final_) found its way into print."--_Note, in the Quarterly -Review._ - - - - -Hanging by Compact. - - -In 1827, there was recorded in the _London Magazine_ the following -strange instance of - - "The wearied and most loathed worldly life." - -Some few years ago, two fellows were observed by a patrol sitting by a -lamp-post in the New Road; and on closely watching them, he discovered -that one was _tying up_ the other (who offered no resistance) by the -neck. The patrol interfered, to prevent such a strange kind of murder, -when he was assailed by both, and pretty considerably beaten for his -good offices. The watchmen, however, poured in, and the parties were -secured. On examination next morning, it appeared that the men had been -gambling; that one had lost all his money to the other, and had at last -proposed to stake his clothes. The winner demurred: observing, that he -could not strip his adversary naked, in the event of his losing. "Oh," -replied the other, "do not give yourself any uneasiness about that. If -I lose, I shall be unable to live, and you shall hang me, and take my -clothes after I am dead; as I shall then, you know, have no occasion -for them." The proposed arrangement was assented to; and the fellow -having lost, was quietly submitting to the terms of the treaty, when -he was intercepted by the patrol, whose impertinent interference he so -angrily resented. - - - - -The Ambassador Floored. - - -Coleridge, in his _Table Talk_, truly says, "What dull coxcombs your -diplomatists at home generally are. I remember dining at Mr. Frere's -once in company with Canning, and a few other interesting men. Just -before dinner, Lord ---- called on Frere, and asked him to dinner. -From the moment of his entry, he began to talk to the whole party, and -in French, all of us being genuine English; and I was told his French -was execrable. He had followed the Russian army into France and had -seen a good deal of the great men concerned in the war. Of none of -those things did he say a word; but went on, sometimes in English, -and sometimes in French, gabbling about cookery, dress, and the like. -At last he paused for a little, and I said a few words, remarking how -a great image may be reduced to the ridiculous and contemptible by -bringing the constituent parts into prominent detail, and mentioned the -grandeur of the Deluge, and the preservation of life in Genesis and -the _Paradise Lost_, and the ludicrous effect produced by Drayton's -description in his _Noah's Flood_:-- - - "'And now the beasts are walking from the wood, - As well of ravine as that chew the cud, - The king of beasts his fury doth suppress, - And to the Ark leads down the lioness; - The bull for his beloved mate doth low, - And to the Ark brings on the fair-eyed cow.' - -"Hereupon, Lord ---- resumed, and spoke in raptures of a picture -which he had lately seen of Noah's Ark, and said the animals were all -marching two and two, the little ones first, and that the elephants -came last in great majesty, and filled up the foreground. 'Ah! no -doubt, my Lord,' said Canning; 'your elephants, wise fellows! stayed -behind to pack up their trunks!' This floored the ambassador for -half-an-hour." - - - - -"The Dutch Mail." - - -When, in 1827, Sir Richard Phillips published his _Personal Tour -through the Midland Counties_, he related the following amusing -incident:-- - -"When I was in Nottingham, I fell in with a plain elderly man, an -ancient reader of the _Leicester Herald_, a paper which I published -for some years in the halcyon days of my youth. Its reputation secured -to me many a hearty shake by the hand, accompanied by the watery eye -of warm feeling as I passed through the Midland counties. I abandoned -it in 1795, for the _Monthly Magazine_ and exchanged Leicester for -London. This ancient reader, hearing I was in Nottingham, came to -me with a certain paper in his hand, to call me to account for the -wearisome hours which an article in it had cost him and his friends. I -looked at it and saw it headed 'Dutch Mail,' and it professed to be a -column of _original Dutch_, which this honest man had been labouring to -translate, for he said he had not met with any other specimen of Dutch. -The sight of it brought the following circumstance to my recollection:-- - -"On the evening before one of our publications, my men and a boy were -frolicking in the printing-office, and they overturned two or three -columns of the paper _in type_. The chief point was to get ready in -some way for the Nottingham and Derby coaches, which at four in the -morning required 400 or 500 papers. After every exertion we were short -nearly a column, but there stood in the galleys a tempting column of -_pie_. Now, unlettered readers, mark--_pie_ is a jumble of odd letters, -gathered from the floor, &c., of a printing-office, and set on end, in -any manner, to be distributed at leisure in their proper places. Some -letters are topsy-turvy, often ten or twelve consonants come together, -and then as many vowels, with as whimsical a juxtaposition of stops. It -suddenly bethought me that this might be thought 'Dutch,' and, after -writing as a head, 'Dutch Mail,' I subjoined a statement that, 'just as -our paper was going to press, the Dutch Mail had arrived, but as we had -not time to make a translation, we had inserted its intelligence in the -original.' I then overcame the scruples of my overseer, and the _pie_ -was made up to the extent wanted, and off it went as _original Dutch_, -into Derbyshire and _Nottinghamshire_! In a few hours other matter, -in plain English, supplied its place for our local publication. Of -course all the linguists, schoolmasters, high-bred village politicians, -and correspondents of the _Ladies' Diary_, set their wits to work to -translate my Dutch, and I once had a collection of letters containing -speculations on the subject, or demanding a literal translation of -that which appeared to be so intricate. How the Dutch could read it -was incomprehensible! My Nottingham _quidnunc_ at times had, for above -four-and-thirty years, bestowed on it his anxious attention. I told him -the story, and he left me, vowing, that as I had deceived him, he would -never believe any newspaper again." - - - -Bad Spelling.[46] - - -There is a story of a man who borrowed a volume of _Chaucer_ from -Charles Lamb, and scandalized the gentle Elia in returning it by the -confidential remark, "I say, Charley, these old fellows spelt very -badly." We do not know what this precision would have said of the lords -and ladies of Morayshire 150 years ago, for, with few exceptions, -they spelt abominably. Even Henrietta, Duchess of Gordon, daughter -of the celebrated Earl of Peterborough, who writes most sensibly and -affectionately to her "deare freind, Mistress Elizabeth Dunbar," is not -immaculate in this respect. She talks of a "gownd," is "asured there -will be an opportunity," and speaks of "sum wise and nesessary end." -But it is a shame of us even to appear to disparage this excellent lady -for what was then such a usual infirmity. Her letters are, perhaps, -the most worth reading of any in Captain Dunbar's collection, and her -literary criticisms on the books she wishes her "deare freind" to read -are especially interesting. The gentlemen were, perhaps, still more -careless than the ladies in their spelling. Here are a couple of -notes, the latter of which is enough to make a modern salmon-fisher's -mouth water:-- - - "Cloavs, Jnr 29, 1703. - - "Affectionat Brother,--Cloavs and I shall met you the morou in the - Spinle moore, betwixt 8 and nine in the morning, where ye canot miss - good sporte twixt that and the sea. ffaile not to bring ane bottle of - brandie along, ffor I asheure you ye will lose the wadger. In the mean - time, we drink your health, and am your affectionat brother," - - "R. DUNBAR." - - "To the Laird off Thunderton--Heast, heast." - - "Innes, June 25, 5 at night. - - "Sir,--You will not (I hope) be displeased when I tell you that Wat. - Stronoch, this forenoon, killed _eighteen hundred Salmon and Grilses_. - But it is my misfortune that the boat is not returned yet from - Inverness, and I want salt. Therefore by all the tyes of friendship - send me on your own horses eight barrels of salt or more. When my boat - returns, none, particularly Coxton, shall want what I have. This in - great heast from, dear Archie, yours," - - "HARRIE INNES." - - "I know not but they may kill as many before 2 in the morning, for - till then I have the Raick, and to-morrow the Pott. These twenty years - past such a run was not as has been these two past days in so short a - time, therefore heast, heast; spare not horse hyre. I would have sent - my own horses, but they are all in the hill for peatts. Adieu, dear - Archie." - -[46] From the _Times'_ review of Captain Dunbar's _Letters_, 1865. - -Our ancestors seem to have regarded spelling much as we regard the -knowledge of French. It was disgraceful not to have a smattering of it, -but exceptional to have mastered it thoroughly. When we compare the -above notes, which would not confer much credit on a modern national -schoolboy, with a letter written by Duncan Forbes in 1745, we find -ourselves in quite a different atmosphere. The Lord President is -terribly angry with the Elgin justices for winking at smugglers; but he -writes like a scholar and a man of business. While on the subject of -spelling, we must select from Captain Dunbar's collection two choice -specimens of cacography, a "chereot," and "jelorfis." The reader -will probably guess that the former stands for chariot, as cheroots -were then unknown, but we defy him to unravel the latter without the -context. "Jelorfis" is the phonetic utterance of an unlucky wight -who had got into prison for giving a chop to another man's nose, -and stands in his vocabulary for "jailer's fees." There are several -characteristic letters from the celebrated Lord Lovat, in which his -Scottish pawkiness and French courtliness, no unusual mixture early in -the eighteenth century, are clearly displayed. This singular personage, -who may be described as Nature's outline sketch of a character which -she afterwards elaborated in the Bishop of Autun, but who, unlike -Talleyrand, had the misfortune to die in his stocking-feet, wrote his -letters on gilt-edged paper, enclosed in envelopes, and in these honied -words addresses the Dunbar of that day:-- - -"I am exceeding glad to know that you and your lady are well, and -having inquired at the bearer if you had children, he tells me that -you have a son, which gives me great pleasure, and I wish you and your -lady much joy of him, and that you may have many more, for they will be -the nearest relatives I have of any Dunbars in the world, except your -father's children; and my relation to you is not at a distance, as you -are pleased to call it, it is very near, and I have not such a near -relation betwixt Spey and Ness; and you may assure yourself that I will -always behave to you and yours as a relation ought to do; and I beg -leave to assure you and your lady of my most affectionate regards, and -my Lady Lovat's, and my young ones, your little cousins." - -Lord Lovat wrote this letter when he was past seventy. Four years -later, Dr. Carlyle, of Inveresk, then a mere youth, met him at Luckie -Vint's tavern. He describes him as a tall, stately man, with a very -flat nose, who, after imbibing a goodly quantity of claret, stood -up to dance with Miss Kate Vint, the landlady's niece. Five years -later still, his head fell on the scaffold at Tower Hill.[47] Here -we may pause to observe a curious instance of traditionary linkage. -Dr. Carlyle died within the first decade of this century, so that -many persons still living may have conversed with one who had been in -company with a man born early in the reign of Charles II. Lovat was -not only fond of flattering other people, but liked to be flattered -himself also. This he accomplished by the simple expedient of sending -self-laudatory puffs to the _Edinburgh Courant_ and _Mercury_, for -the insertion of which paragraphs he paid from half-a-crown to four -shillings each. - -[47] For an account of Lord Lovat's execution, see _Century of -Anecdote_, vol. i., p. 124. - - - - -A "Single" Conspirator. - - -About thirty years ago, when those atrocious crimes were committed -which made the name of Burke a generic title for certain murders, -an old woman entered the shop of a surgeon-apothecary in an Irish -county-town and offered to sell him a "subject." He was quite ready to -complete the contract, but he desired to learn some details for his -guidance as to the value of the object in question, and put to her -for this purpose certain queries. Imagine his horror to discover that -"the subject" was at that very moment alive, being a boy of nine or -ten years of age, but of whom, the bargain being made, the old woman -was perfectly prepared to "dispose," she being so far provident as -not to bring a perishable commodity to market till she had secured a -purchaser. Determined that such atrocity should not go unpunished, -he made an appointment with her for another day, on which she should -return and more explicitly acquaint him with all she intended to -do, and the means by which she meant to secure secrecy. At this -meeting--that his testimony should be corroborated--he managed that a -policeman should be present, and, concealed beneath the counter, listen -to all that went forward. The interview, accordingly, took place; -the old woman was true to her appointment, and most circumstantially -entered into the details of the intended assassination, which she -described as the easiest thing in life--a pitch-plaster over the mouth -and a tub of water being the inexpensive requisites of the case. When -her narrative, to which she imparted a terrible gusto, was finished, -the policeman came forth from his lair and arrested her. She was thrown -at once into prison, and sent for trial at the next assizes. Now, -however, came the difficulty. For what should she be arraigned? It was -not murder--it was still incomplete. It was, therefore, conspiracy to -kill; but a single individual cannot "conspire;" and so, to fix her -with the crime, it would be necessary to include the surgeon in the -indictment. If they wanted to try the old woman, the doctor must share -the dock. Now, all the ardour for justice could scarcely be supposed to -carry a man so far; the doctor "demurred" to the arrangement, and the -old hag was set at liberty.--_Blackwood's Magazine._ - - - - -A Miscalculation. - - -We have in England an old story of a luckless wight, who, having -calculated he should live a certain number of years, parcelled out -his income accordingly; but finding he lived to become penniless, he -took to begging, and affixed on his breast a small box to receive -contributions, with this brief but significant prayer: "Pray remember a -poor man who has lived longer than he thought he should." - -In 1843, the counterpart of this strange story really happened in -Paris to a man named Jules André Gueret. When twenty-five years of -age, he possessed a considerable fortune, and resolved never to marry. -He converted his entire estate into hard cash, and, in order not -to suffer any losses from failures, depreciation of property, &c., -he kept his money in his own possession. He had made the following -calculation:--"The life of a sober man extends over a period of seventy -years; that of a man who denies himself no kind of amusement may attain -fifty-five or sixty; thus the whole of my hopes cannot go beyond that -period; at any rate, as a last resort, suicide is at my command." He -divided his money into equal portions for each year's expenditure. -This division was so nicely arranged, that, at the expiration of -the sixtieth year, Gueret would have nothing left, and each year he -scrupulously spent the sum set apart. But, alas! he had not reflected -on the clinging attachment of man to life, for in 1843, having exceeded -the prescribed period, he patiently submitted to his misfortune, and, -being then old and infirm, he took his stand on the Quai des Célestins -with a small box and a few lucifer-matches, living on the charity of -the passers-by. He wore suspended round his neck a piece of pasteboard, -on which were written the following lines of his own composing:-- - - "Ayez pitié, passants, du pauvre André Gueret, - Dont la vie est plus longue, hélas! qu'il ne croyait." - -The cholera carried him off at last, to the great regret of the -_artistes_ of the Ile St. Louis, whose leisure hours he whiled away -by the relation of his youthful recollections. He died in one of the -hospitals of Paris. - - - - -An Indiscriminate Collector. - - -In the _Scotsman_, May, 1866, we find the following curious case of -eccentricity related as having occurred in the city of Edinburgh: it -is strongly tinged with oddity, and would be fairly laughed at did it -not present a lamentable instance of waste of means. The details are -as follows:--A good many years ago, a gentleman who filled a prominent -situation in one of the Edinburgh banks, at a good old age, married -his servant. The pair lived happily together for several years, when -the gentleman died, leaving by his will 1,000_l._ to his widow, in -addition to an annuity of 300_l._ and a mansion, which he had built -and elegantly furnished; it is situated in the midst of a garden, -surrounded by a high stone wall. Shortly after her husband's death, -the widow became notorious for two peculiarities: first, the rigid -exclusion of all visitors from her house, the invariable answer to -all entreaties to see her being that she was not at home, or could -not be seen; the second was her constant attendance at book and most -other sales which took place in Edinburgh, where during the season she -might daily be seen carrying a large blue bag, in which she deposited -and carried home her purchases, which were of the most miscellaneous -description. Matters went on thus for some twenty years. On Sunday, May -6, 1866, the old lady, in her usual health, went into her garden to -take the air, and, as she did not return so speedily as was her wont, -her servant looked out at the main door, when she found her mistress -sitting on the stone steps dead. This unexpected event speedily cleared -up the mystery which enveloped her domestic relations. - -On the house being entered by warrant from the sheriff, it was found -converted into a vast magazine for the conservation of the purchases -of the last twenty years. The lobby had been decorated with statuary -figures, standing, with the pedestals, some eight feet high; but these -were totally hidden by piles of books, intermixed with rubbish of every -description, heaped up on every side--a narrow passage being left in -the centre. Every room in the house was filled with piles of books, -rotten mattresses, stuffed dogs, female dresses, made and unmade, -cheap jewelry, old bonnets, pictures, and prints, with a great variety -of other articles, intermixed with straw, hair, shavings, &c., which -covered all the floors to the depth of several feet; and similar piles -filled the beds, and lay heaped on every article of furniture in the -house. The smell from the mass of festering rubbish was intolerable. -Upwards of five tons weight of books had to be removed before the rooms -could be inspected. Most of the smaller articles were found tied up -in bags or parcels, in the state in which they had been brought home. -The deceased, it seems, cleared a hole which she had scooped out amid -a vast quantity of rubbish in one of the rooms, and there, on the -floor, with only a hair mattress beneath her, the tick of which had -rotted away on one side, she took her rest in the dress she daily wore, -without blankets or covering of any kind. - -The deceased, though a purchaser of books to so large an extent, -never read any, nor knew anything of their value; and when asked what -were their uses, her answer was that she brought them to present to -ministers or the children of her friends. The tenacity with which she -preserved the secrets of her prison-house may also be judged of by the -fact that her servant, a young Highland girl, had never, though she had -been six months in her service, been beyond the walls of the garden. -The girl was carefully locked up every time the deceased left the house -until her return, and she never was allowed to go out of her mistress' -sight. - - - - -The Bishops' Saturday Night. - - -The Reverend Sydney Smith, on the bare suggestion that Lord John -Russell's Church Commission should collect the Church revenues, and pay -the hierarchy out of them, imagined and described the scene of payment -in the following irresistible words:--"I should like to see this -subject in the hands of H. B. I would entitle the print,-- - - "The Bishops' Saturday Night; or, - Lord John Russell at the - Pay-Table." - -"The Bishops should be standing before the pay-table, and receiving -their weekly allowance; Lord John and Spring Rice counting, ringing, -and biting the sovereigns, and the Bishop of Exeter insisting that the -Chancellor of the Exchequer has given him one which was not weight. -Viscount Melbourne, in high chuckle, should be standing with his hat -on, and his back to the fire, delighted with the contest; and the Deans -and Canons should be in the background waiting till their turn came, -and the Bishops were paid; and among them a Canon of large composition, -urging them not to give way too much to the Bench. Perhaps I should add -the President of the Board of Trade, recommending the truck principle -to the Bishops, and offering to pay them in hassocks, cassocks, aprons, -shovel-hats, sermon-cases, and such like ecclesiastical gear." - - - - -"Rather Than Otherwise." - - -Theodore Hook gives somewhere a finished trait of one of those -characters who are so dreadfully tenacious of truth, that they will -not risk losing their hold of it by a direct answer to the simplest -question. A gentleman who was very much in debt had a servant with this -sort of scrupulous conscientiousness. He was horribly dunned and in -such daily danger of arrest, that the sight of a red waistcoat (which -the myrmidons of the sheriff wore in the last century) threw him into -a sort of scarlet fever. One day he had reason to believe that during -his absence an unpleasant visitor of that description had called, -and on returning, he was very particular in his inquiries respecting -the persons who had been at the house. His cautious servant partly -described one calling who excited his alarm. "What kind of man was -he?" The girl could not say. "Had he any papers in his hand?" She did -not observe. "Did he wear top-boots?" The cautious housemaid could not -charge her memory. At last, as a final effort to satisfy his curiosity, -the tantalized debtor gasped out a final question, "Had he," he asked -almost dreading the answer, "a red waistcoat?" The girl stood for a -moment in an attitude of profound cogitation, and after she had worked -up her master to the highest pitch of impatience by delay, drawled out, -"Well, sir, I think he had--_rather than otherwise_." - - - - -Classic Soup Distribution. - - -While the Relief Act was in operation in Ireland, in time of famine, -one of the committees received the following answer to an advertisement -for the post of clerk:-- - - "Qui Bavium non odit, amet tua carmina, Mævi." - - VIRG. _Ecl._ iii., 90. - - "Ego sum--I am - Parvus homo--A little man, - Aptus vivere--Fit to live - In quod dabis--On what you'll give; - Per totam diem--And, the whole day, - Familiariter--'In the family way.' - Distribuere--Out to deal - Farinam Indicam--Indian meal, - Aut jus Soyerum--Or Soyer's soup, - Multo agmini--To many a troup, - Mulierum et hominum--Of woman and man - Stanneo vase--With a tin can. - Hoc tibi mitto--I send this in, - (Ne peccatum--No Murtherin' sin,) - Nam locum quæro--For a place I seek, - Ut quaque hebdomada--That every week - Fruar et potiar--We may '_hob and nob_' - Quindecem 'Robertullis'--On Fifteen 'Bob.'" - - CAIUS JULIUS BATTUS, Philomath. - - "_Ballinahown, v. Prid._ 1 d. Maii, MDCCCLVII." - -The Irish paper from which this is taken adds, that the classic -candidate was rejected. - - - - -Alphabet Single Rhymed. - - -An eccentric Correspondent of _Notes and Queries_, who signs -"Eighty-one," has sent to that journal the following amusing -trifle--an Alphabet constructed on a single rhyme:-- - - "A was an Army, to settle disputes; - B was a Bull, not the mildest of brutes; - C was a Cheque, duly drawn upon Coutts; - D was King David, with harps and with lutes; - E was an Emperor, hailed with salutes; - F was a Funeral, followed by mutes; - G was a Gallant, in Wellington boots; - H was a Hermit, and lived upon roots; - J was Justinian, his Institutes; - K was a Keeper, who commonly shoots; - L was a Lemon, the sourest of fruits; - M was a Ministry--say Lord Bute's; - N was Nicholson, famous on flutes; - O was an Owl, that hisses and hoots; - P was a Pond, full of leeches and newts; - Q was a Quaker, in whitey-brown suits; - R was a Reason, which Paley refutes; - S was a Serjeant, with twenty recruits; - T was Ten Tories, of doubtful reputes; - U was uncommonly bad cheroots; - V vicious motives, which malice imputes; - X an Ex-King, driven out by émeutes; - Y is a Yawn; then the last rhyme that suits, - Z is the Zuyder Zee, dwelt in by coots." - - - - -Non Sequitur and Therefore. - - -Lord Avonmore was subject to perpetual fits of absence of mind, and was -frequently insensible to the conversation that was going on. He was -wrapped in one of his wonted reveries, and not hearing one syllable -of what was passing (it was at a large professional dinner given by -Mr. Burke), Curran, who was sitting next to his Lordship, having been -called on for a toast, gave, "All our absent friends," patting at the -same time Lord Avonmore on the shoulder and telling him he had just -drunk his health. Taking the intimation as a serious one, Avonmore -rose, and apologizing for his inattention, returned thanks to the -company for the honour they had done him by drinking his health. - -There was a curious character, Serjeant Kelly, at the Irish bar. He -was, in his day, a man of celebrity. Curran used to give some odd -sketches of him. His most whimsical peculiarity was his inveterate -habit of drawing conclusions directly at variance with his premises. -He had acquired the name of _Serjeant Therefore_. Curran said that he -was a perfect human personification of a _non sequitur_. For instance, -meeting Curran one Sunday, near St. Patrick's, he said to him, "The -Archbishop gave us an excellent discourse this morning. It was well -written and well delivered: therefore I shall make a point of being -at the Four Courts to-morrow at ten." At another time, observing to -a person whom he met in the street, "What a delightful morning this -is for walking!" he finished his remark on the weather by saying, -"therefore, I will go home as soon as I can, and stir out no more the -whole day." - -His speeches in Court were interminable, and his _therefore_ kept him -going on, though every one thought that he had done. The whole Court -was in a titter when the Serjeant came out with them, whilst he himself -was quite unconscious of the cause of it. - -"This is so clear a point, gentlemen," he would tell the jury, "that -I am convinced you felt it to be so the very moment I stated it. I -should pay your understanding but a poor compliment to dwell on it -for a minute; _therefore_, I shall now proceed to explain it to you -as minutely as possible." Into such absurdities did the Serjeant's -favourite "therefore" betray him. - - - - - INDEX. - - - Abbey, Fonthill, building of, 6 - - Abershawe, Jerry, gratitude of, 546 - - Ackermann, the publisher, and William Combe, 474 - - Adams, Jack, the astrologer of Clerkenwell Green, 130 - - Advertising for a wife, 95 - - Agapemone, the, or abode of love, 68 - - Albemarle, the eccentric Duchess of, 519 - - Alchemists, modern, 124-29 - - Alchemy, predictions of, 129 - - -- revival of, 125, 129 - - Alcibiades' dog and Henry Constantine Jennings, 107 - - Alcobaça and Batalha monasteries, 5 - - Alphabet single rhymed, 565 - - Ambassador floored, 553 - - Amen--Peter Isnell, 231 - - Angelo and Peter Pindar, 471 - - Anglesey, Marquis of, his leg at Waterloo, 169 - - Apocalypse, interpretation of, 510 - - Archbishop, a witty one, 504 - - Archer, Lady, Account of, 122 - - Artists, eccentric, 330 - - Astrology, modern, 136-139 - - Avonmore, Lord, his absence-of-mind, 566 - - - Bank of Faith, Huntington's, 220 - - Banks, the eccentric Miss, 80 - - Banting's cure for corpulence, 256 - - Barnard's Inn, and Woulfe the alchemist, 126 - - Baron Ward's remarkable career, 109-112 - - Bassle, Martin, the calculator, 491 - - Beckfords, the, and Fonthill, 1-19 - - Beckford, Alderman, 1 - - -- -- his Monument speech, 19 - - -- William, at Bath, 16-18 - - -- Mozart, and Voltaire, 3 - - Bees, Wildman's docile, 276 - - Bentham, Jeremy, bequest of his remains, 166 - - Bentinck, Lord George, at Doncaster, 299 - - Berkeley, the Hon. Grantley, his youthful days, 304 - - Betty, W. H. W., "Young Roscius," 364 - - Bidder, George, the calculator, 492 - - Birth, extraordinary, 271 - - Bishops' Saturday night, 563 - - Blake, William, painter and poet, 339 - - -- -- death of, 349 - - -- -- by Dr. de Boismont, 345 - - -- -- in Fountain Court, 348 - - -- -- married, 342 - - "Blue Key," the, 533 - - Boaden, Mr., his account of "Young Roscius," 366 - - "Bolton Trotters," origin of, 319 - - Bonaparte caricatured by Gilray, 336 - - "Bonassus," the, and Lord Stowell, 278 - - Bond, Mrs., of Cambridge Heath, Hackney, 72 - - Bone and Shell Exhibition, 317 - - Books, Mr. Heber's collections, 487 - - Book-collector, Heber, the, 485 - - Border marriages, 65 - - Boruwlaski, Count, the Polish dwarf, 258 - - -- and Bébé, dwarfs, 260 - - -- buried at Durham, 267 - - -- and the Empress Maria Theresa, 260 - - -- introduced to George IV. by Charles Mathews, 264 - - -- and the Irish giant, 263 - - -- letter of, 266 - - -- married, 263 - - Boyhood of Edmund Kean, 398 - - Bradshaw, Mr., M.P., and Maria Tree, courtship of, 413 - - Brandy in tea, 534 - - Bridgwater, the eccentric Earl of, 103 - - Bright, the fat miller of Malden, 253 - - Brighton races thirty years ago, 292 - - Brothers, the "Prophet," 194 - - Brougham, Lord, and Father Mathew, 183 - - Brummel and Aunt Brawn, 34 - - -- Beau, origin of, 22 - - -- at Calais and Caen, 31 - - -- dress of, 24 - - -- fall of, 30 - - -- and Madame de Staël, 26 - - -- mental decay of, 31 - - -- upon neckcloths, 24 - - -- portrait of, 22 - - -- and the Prince of Wales, 22, 26 - - -- and the snuff-box, 28 - - Brummel's practical jokes, 25 - - -- sayings, 32 - - Bryan, the Marylebone fanatic, 189 - - Building Fonthill Abbey, 6 - - Bunn, A., and his mysterious parcel, 400 - - Burial bequests, 159 - - Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill, 163 - - Burke and Pitt caricatured by Gilray, 334 - - Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall, 525 - - Buxton, Jedediah, account of, 493 - - Byron, Lord, and Monk Lewis, 420 - - Byron's description of Cintra, 4 - - - "Cabbage Cooke," of Pentonville, 86 - - Calculators, extraordinary, 490 - - Cambridge Heath, Mrs. Bond's Hut at, 72 - - Canning, Mr., and the King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands, 57 - - -- on Grattan's eloquence, 460 - - -- his humour, 451 - - -- by Lord Byron, 460 - - -- and Lord Eldon, 459 - - -- in office, 456 - - -- and the present of fustian, 451 - - -- and Prince Metternich, 454 - - -- and the "Queen of Spades," 452 - - -- and his college servant, 457 - - -- and Sydney Smith, 459 - - Canning's epitaph on the Marquis of Anglesey's leg, 169 - - -- _Friend of Humanity_, and _Knife-grinder_, 454 - - Capon, the scene-painter, 322 - - "Caraboo, the Princess," 246 - - -- "Princess," and Napoleon Bonaparte, 248 - - Caricatures by Gilray, 334 - - Carlton House Fête and Romeo Coates, 43 - - Carter Foote, of Tavistock, 114 - - _Castle Spectre_, Mrs. Powell's mistake, 423 - - Catching a cayman, 325 - - Cavendish, Hon. H., his wealth, 135 - - -- the woman-hating, 134 - - Chancery _jeu-d'esprit_, 551 - - Charade by Dr. Whately, 508 - - Charke, Charlotte, Colley Cibber's daughter, 410 - - Charnwood Forest, Liston in, 392 - - Chatham, Lord, and the Beckfords, 2 - - Chesterfield, Lord, estimate of, 78 - - -- -- his will, 542 - - Cibber, Colley, his daughter, 410 - - Cintra, Beckford's estate at, 4 - - Clerkenwell, "Lady Lewson," of, 89 - - "Clown" tavern, the, Sadler's Wells, 527 - - Club, the Mulberries, Shakspearian, 408 - - "Coal-heaver," Huntington, 219 - - Coates, his "Lothario," 42 - - -- Romeo and Diamond, 41 - - -- his cockleshell curricle, 42, 43 - - Cobbett, eccentricities of, 481 - - -- and Tom Paine's bones, 484 - - Cobbett's gridiron sign, 482 - - -- nicknames, 484 - - -- _Political Register_, 482 - - -- _Porcupine Papers_, 481 - - Colburn, Zerah, the calculator, 491 - - Coleraine, eccentric Lord, 321 - - Collector, an indiscriminate, 305 - - Combe, William, author of _Dr. Syntax_, 472 - - -- -- in the King's Bench Prison, 473 - - -- -- on lithography, 473 - - Conspirator, single, 561 - - Convivial eccentricities, 525 - - Conyngham family, rise of the, 105 - - Cooke, Thomas, the Pentonville miser, 82 - - -- -- the Turkey merchant, 87 - - Cooke, T. P., in melodrama and pantomime, 404 - - "Corner Memory Thompson," 238 - - Corpulence, oddities of, 256 - - Costume of "Lady Lewson," 90 - - Cottle Church, account of the, 171 - - Courtship, luckless, of Sir E. Dering, 59 - - Crab, Roger, the hermit of Bethnal Green, 153 - - Cranford Bridge Inn, 307 - - -- sporting life at, 304 - - _Crazy Jane_, by Monk Lewis, 423 - - Cripplegate Vault story, 160 - - Criticism, rare, 370 - - "Cunning Mary, of Clerkenwell," 179 - - Curtis, the Old Bailey eccentric, 312 - - "Cutting" quarrel of the Prince of Wales and Brummel, 26 - - - Dantlow, the Russian dwarf, 268 - - Dawson, Daniel, at Doncaster, 296 - - Day, John, and Fairlop Fair, 280 - - Dee, Dr., his black stone, 175 - - Denisons, the, and the Conyngham family, 105 - - Dering, Sir Edward, his luckless courtship, 59 - - Devil's Walk, origin of the, 196 - - Devonshire, Duchess of, and Brummel, 32 - - -- eccentrics, 113 - - Dick England the gambler, 290 - - Dinely, Sir John, advertising for a wife, 95 - - "Dog Jennings," 107 - - Doncaster eccentrics, 296 - - Doran, Dr., his account of William Combe, 474 - - Dowton in tragedy, 390 - - -- oddities of, 389 - - _Dr. Syntax_, the author of, 472 - - Dress, Brummel's, 24, 30 - - Duality of the mind, by Dr. Wigan, 232 - - Dunbar, Captain, his letters, 556 - - Dunlop's remarks on Mrs. Radcliffe's writings, 476 - - Dust-sifting and dust-heaps, profits of, 92 - - "Dutch Mail," the, 554 - - Dwarfs, organisation of, 268 - - - Eccentrics delight in extremes, 94 - - Elegy on a geologist, 328 - - Elliot, the Gretna priest, 66 - - Elliston at Richmond, 415 - - England, Dick, the gambler, 290 - - Epicure, what he eats in his lifetime, 536 - - Epitaphs, odd, 538 - - Etching, Gilray's rapid, 338 - - Executions, taste for witnessing, 314 - - - Fairlop Fair and John Day, 280 - - Fall of Fonthill Tower, 11 - - Family, an odd one, 543 - - Fanatics, a trio of, 189 - - Farquhar, Mr., and Fonthill, 11 - - -- -- sketch of, 13 - - Fat folks, epitaphs on, 257 - - -- -- Lambert and Bright, 249 - - Fidge, Dr., his strange death, 161 - - Finch, Crow, and Raven, and Sir E. Dering, 60 - - -- Margaret, Queen of the Gipsies, 178 - - Fire of London cinder heap, 94 - - Flaxman, letters to, from Blake, 344 - - Fleet marriage of Miss Pelham and a highwayman, 64 - - Flight, Miss, of the Temple, 547 - - Fonthill and the Beckfords, 1 - - -- cost of, 13 - - -- destroyed by fire, 2 - - -- sales at, 10 - - Fonthill, three houses, 6 - - -- village, 9 - - Footpad, the grateful, 546 - - Fordyce, Dr., the gourmand, 288 - - -- -- and his patient, 289 - - Fuller, honest Jack, 165 - - Funeral of Cooke, the Turkey merchant, 88 - - -- of Jemmy Hirst, 298 - - Fuseli and Blake, 349 - - - Gardner, the worm doctor, 161 - - Garrick, and Dance's portrait of him, 375 - - -- and Hardham of Fleet Street, 368 - - -- Mrs., death of, 374 - - -- -- her funeral, 376 - - -- -- and Horace Walpole, 377 - - Garrick's acting described by Munden, 388 - - Geologist, elegy on a, 328 - - George III. and Lord Mayor Beckford, 2, 20 - - George IV. and Mrs. Bond's wealth, 72 - - German for astronomy, 538 - - Giant, the Irish, 270 - - Gilchrist's _Life of Blake_, 339 - - Gilray and his caricatures, 330 - - -- caricatures George III., 330 - - -- in St. James's Street, 332 - - Gin, on, 536 - - Golden Ball Tavern, Sadler's Wells, 527 - - "Goose" Tavern, Islington, 527 - - Gourmand physician, 288 - - Green, Hannah, or the "Ling Bob Witch," 139 - - Greenwich dinner, 539 - - Gretna Green marriages, history of, 63 - - -- "Blacksmith" Paisley, 67 - - -- marriages abolished, 68 - - -- and its priests, 66 - - Grimaldi, the clown, account of, 382 - - Grimaldi finds money, 384 - - -- old, and "No Popery," 383 - - Grimaldi's first appearance, 383 - - -- farewell, 385 - - Guildhall, the Beckford Monument in, 19 - - Guy's eccentric inscription and epitaph, 160 - - - Hallucination, strange, 236 - - Hallucinations, What are they? 232, 233 - - Hanging by compact, 553 - - Hardham family, anecdote of, 159 - - Hardham's "No. 37," 368 - - Hayley and Blake, 344 - - Heber the book-collector, 485 - - Hermit advertised for, 151 - - -- the Dorset, 150 - - -- of Hawkstone, 151 - - -- Leicestershire, 147 - - -- of Moor Park, 151 - - -- Pain's Hill, 146 - - -- near Preston, 146 - - -- of Selbourne, 150 - - -- near Stevenage, 152 - - -- vegetarian, 154 - - Hermits and eremitical life, 145 - - -- ornamental, 150 - - Hill, Rowland, his preaching, 185 - - _Hindoo Bride_, Monk Lewis's, 418 - - Hoax, princely, at Brighton, 283 - - Hood, Thomas, account of, 497 - - -- -- at school, 497 - - -- set up in business, 498 - - -- and Sir Robert Peel, 501 - - -- death and burial of, 503 - - Hood's _Epping Hunt_, 499 - - -- first work, 499 - - -- ode to Grimaldi, 386 - - -- _Up the Rhine_, 500 - - -- various works, 499 - - Hook, Theodore, hoaxes Romeo Coates, 44 - - Hopkins, the dwarf, 268 - - Host, eccentric, 544 - - House-warming, a costly one, 112 - - Hull, Richard, buried on Leith Hill, 165 - - Hunting experiences at Cranford, 308 - - Huntington buried at Lewes, 228 - - -- the preacher, sketch of, 219 - - -- at Hermes Hill, 229 - - -- marries Lady Sanderson, 226 - - Huntington's preaching and portrait, 230, 231 - - -- Bank of Faith, 220 - - -- effects, sale of, 229 - - -- leather breeches, 222 - - -- Providence Chapel, 225 - - -- spiritual advice, 227 - - Hutton, William, and "Strong Woman," 274 - - Hypochondriasis, cure for, 241 - - -- remarkable, 240 - - - Irving, the Scottish minister, 184 - - -- a millenarian, 187 - - Islington, Charles Lamb's cottage at, 494 - - -- old taverns, 526 - - - Jemmy Hirst at Doncaster, 296 - - Jerrold, Douglas, at the Mulberries Club, 409 - - Jerusalem Whalley, account of, 191 - - Jesse, Captain, his account of Brummel, 24 - - - Kean, Edmund, his boyhood, 398 - - -- -- undervalued by Dowton, 390 - - Kellerman, the alchemist, in Beds, 127 - - Kelly, Serjeant Otherwise, 567 - - Kemble, Fanny, in the United States, 407 - - Kemble, John, and the O. P. Riot, 371 - - Kenyon, Lord, his parsimony, 77 - - - Labelliere, Major, buried on Box Hill, 165 - - "Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell, 89 - - Lamb, Charles, at Munden's last performance, 387 - - -- -- his cottage at Islington, 494 - - Lambert, Daniel, and Boruwlaski, the Dwarf, 251 - - -- -- account of, 249 - - -- -- his funeral, 253 - - Lansdown, Bath, Beckford's tomb at, 19 - - -- Tower, Bath, 13 - - Laughter, sources of, 520 - - Legacy to Queen Victoria, 99 - - Lewis, Monk, account of, 417 - - -- -- in the West Indies, 421 - - Liston in a counting-house, 394 - - -- and Stephen Kemble, 396 - - -- and Tate Wilkinson, 397 - - -- in tragedy, 391 - - Liston's first appearance, 396 - - Literary madmen, 508 - - Llangollen, the Recluses of, 155 - - London eccentric, the, 322 - - Lothario Coates, at the Haymarket Theatre, 42 - - Lovat, Lord, and Miss Kate Vint, 559 - - Love-passage, an eccentric one, 413 - - - Mackinnon, Colonel, his practical joking, 287 - - Mackintosh, Cool Sir James, 478 - - -- Sir James, his Recordership of Bombay, 480 - - Madmen, literary, 508 - - Maginn, Dr., epitaph on, 538 - - Manchester punch house, 530 - - Mansfield, the Essex butcher, 254 - - Masquerade incident, 402 - - Mathews, C., Spanish ambassador hoax, 378 - - Mathew, Father, and the Temperance movement, 182 - - Mellish, Colonel, sketch of, 294 - - Miscalculation, an odd one, 560 - - Monk Lewis, account of, 417 - - Mormon, the book of, 210 - - -- Church in Ontario, 214 - - -- city of Nauvoo, on the Mississippi, 216 - - -- Zion in Utah, 218 - - Mormonism, the founder of, 210 - - Moser, Mary, the flower-painter, 78 - - Mulberries, the Shakespearian Club, 408 - - Mummy of a Manchester lady, 239 - - Munden's last performance, 387 - - Mytton, John, in adversity at Calais, 52 - - -- family of, 48, 49 - - -- his extravagances, 50 - - Mytton's death and funeral, 53 - - - Neeld, Joseph, and Philip Rundell, 102 - - Neild, J. C., his legacy to Queen Victoria, 99 - - Nelson, Lord, at Fonthill, 8 - - Newcastle, the romantic Duchess of, 516 - - Newland, Abraham, chief cashier of the Bank of England, 44 - - -- -- his epitaph, 46 - - -- -- song, 45 - - -- -- his wealth, 47 - - Nimrod's life of John Mytton, 51 - - -- sketch of Colonel Mellish, 294 - - Nokes, of Hornchurch, his eccentric funeral, 162 - - Nollekens, the sculptor, eccentricities of, 350 - - Nollekens, his avarice, 350 - - -- and the barber, 356 - - -- and Lord Coleraine, 322 - - -- and the Hawkinses, 354 - - -- and the legacy-hunters, 360 - - -- married, 352 - - -- and Northcote, 357 - - -- at Rome, 351 - - -- at the Royal Academy Club, 355 - - -- and his sitters, 352, 358 - - -- Mrs., her wardrobe, 355 - - Nollekens' bust of Dr. Johnson, 352 - - -- bell-tolling, 351 - - -- gaieties, 357 - - -- generosity, 362 - - -- parsimony, 353 - - -- spelling, 357 - - -- wardrobe, 361 - - -- will, 362 - - Non Sequiter and therefore, 566 - - Norwood Gipsies, 177 - - - Oddities of Dowton, 389 - - Old Bailey Character, 312 - - "Old Rag," the Earl of B., 76 - - Old Red Lion Tavern, St. John Street Road, 526 - - O. P. Riot, the, History of, 96 - - Orton, Job, his wine-bin coffin, 161 - - Oyster and Parched-Pea Club, 529 - - - Parcel, a mysterious one, 400 - - Parr, Dr., at Cambridge, 441 - - -- -- at Cards, 442 - - -- -- at Colchester, 440 - - -- -- his generosity, 443 - - -- -- at Harrow and Stanmore, 437 - - -- -- at Hatton, 438 - - -- -- and Dr. Johnson, 439 - - Parr, Dr., oddities of, 435 - - -- -- the Prince of Wales, and Duke of Sussex, 442 - - -- -- on the Shakespeare forgeries, 440 - - -- -- and Sir W. Jones, 436 - - -- -- his smoking, 440 - - -- -- his Spital sermon, 444 - - Parsimony of J. C. Neild, 99 - - -- of Lord Kenyon, 77 - - "Paul Pry," origin of, 372 - - Pembroke, Lord, his port wine, 540 - - Perpetual-motion seeker, 513 - - Peter Pindar, Dr. Wolcot, 460 - - -- -- Giffard, and Wright, 466 - - -- -- and Nollekens, 465 - - -- -- outwits a publisher, 466 - - -- -- death and burial of, 470 - - -- Pindar's attacks on Geo. III., 464 - - -- -- lines on Dr. Johnson, 465 - - -- -- satires, 464 - - Petersham, Lord, Capt. Gronow's account of, 55 - - -- coat, snuff and snuff-boxes, and equipages, 56 - - Pitt, Thomas, cheapening his coffin, 162 - - _Poetical Sketches_, by W. Blake, 340 - - Poole, John, his _Paul Pry_, 372 - - "Poor Man of Mutton" and the Earl of B., 76 - - Pope's lines on Ward, the miser, 74 - - Porson at Cambridge, 430 - - -- at the cider cellar, 428 - - -- and Horne Tooke, 428 - - -- and the young Oxonian, 434 - - -- and Perry, of the _Morning Chronicle_, 426 - - -- portrait of, 433 - - Porson's drinking, 429 - - -- eccentricities, 425 - - -- epigrams, 426 - - -- wit and repartee, 431 - - Preachers, eccentric, 184 - - Price, Dr. the alchemist, 124 - - Prince, Brother, and the Agapemone, 69 - - Prophecies of Lady Hester Stanhope, 141 - - Punch, tremendous bowl of, 541 - - Punch House, at Manchester, 530 - - - Quackery, Successful, 545 - - "Quid Rides?" 318 - - - Radcliffe, Mrs., and the critics, 475 - - "Rather than otherwise," 564 - - Redding, Mr. Cyrus, his account of Mr. Beckford, 17 - - Recluses of Llangollen, 155 - - Redpost Fynes, 115 - - Reece, Dr., and Joanna Southcote, 202 - - Richebourg, the historical dwarf, 269 - - Richmond, Duke of, and T. P. Cooke, 406 - - Ride in a sedan, 548 - - Robinson, Long Sir Thomas, 542 - - Roderick Dhu, Mr. T. P. Cooke, as, 405 - - _Romeo and Juliet_ in America, 407 - - Roscius, Young, account of, 363 - - -- -- his earnings, 367 - - -- -- first appears, 364 - - -- -- in London, 365 - - -- -- his popularity, 367 - - -- -- in Scotland, 364 - - -- -- sketch of, 363 - - Rothschild, his life and adventures, 96 - - Rowlandson, the caricaturist, 474 - - -- and Gilray, the caricaturists, 339 - - Royal Society Club, H. Cavendish at, 133 - - Rundell, Philip, his great wealth, 102 - - Ryland, the forger, and Blake, painter, 340 - - - Sandwich Islands, King and Queen of, their visit to England, 57 - - Scotch ladies, singular, 70 - - Scott, Mr. John, in Parliament, 549 - - -- Sir Walter, and Monk Lewis, 420 - - Scottish marriage law, 65 - - Sedan, ride in, 548 - - Seven Dials, what became of them? 309 - - Shakespeare Monument, George IV. and Elliston, 402 - - Shark story, by Monk Lewis, 422 - - Sharp, the engraver, fanaticism of, 189 - - Sibly's work on astrology, 139 - - Sicilian boy calculator, 490 - - Sidi Mohammed and Hindustanee cookery, 113 - - Skeffington, Sir Lumley, his amateur acting, 36 - - -- -- -- his lines to Miss Foote and Madame Vestris, 38 - - Smart, Christopher, the poetical lunatic, 511 - - Smith, Albert, and Seven Dials, 309 - - -- Joseph, the Mormon prophet, 210 - - Snell, Hannah, the female soldier, 116 - - Snuff-taking legacies, 158 - - Soane, Sir John, lampooned, 488 - - Songs, by W. Blake, 343 - - Soup distribution, classic, 565 - - Sources of laughter, 520 - - Southcote, Joanna, 198 - - Southcote, Joanna, and the coming of Shiloh, 200 - - -- -- her funeral and grave, 205, 206 - - -- -- her visions, chapel, and seals, 209 - - Southcotonian hymns, 206 - - Southcotonians at Temple Bar, 207 - - Spanish ambassador hoax, Mathews', 378 - - Spelling, bad, 556 - - Spenceans, the religio-political sect, 197 - - Spendthrift Squire of Halston, 48 - - Stanhope, Lady Hester, oddities of, 141 - - Stewart, walking, sketch of, 300 - - -- -- a general, 300 - - Stokes' Amphitheatre, Islington Road, 528 - - Stowell, Lord, his love of sight-seeing, 277 - - Strangely eccentric, yet sane, 232 - - - Taverns, old, at Islington, 526 - - Temple, notoriety of the, 546 - - Thackeray and Waterton, 328 - - Tipsy village, 535 - - Tooke and D'Alembert, 449 - - -- -- his daughters, 448 - - -- and the income tax, 450 - - -- and the judges, 445 - - -- John Horne, oddities of, 444 - - -- and Purley, 446 - - -- and Wilks, a retort, 444 - - -- the poulterer, and the Prince of Wales, 445 - - Tooke's death and burial, 450 - - -- Sunday dinners, 447 - - -- wit, 450 - - Tozer, the Southcotonian preacher, 204 - - Traveller, the listless, 325 - - Travellers, eccentric, 323 - - Trekschuit tourist, the, 324 - - Trotter, Miss Menie, eccentricities of, 70 - - True to the text, 415 - - - Urim and Thummin, and Mormon Records, 211 - - - Van Amburgh, the lion tamer, 324 - - Vathek, by W. Beckford, 4 - - -- dramatised, 4 - - Visions by W. Blake, 340 - - - Wadd's comments on corpulence, 254 - - Wales, Prince of, and Beau Brummel, 22, 26 - - "Walking Stewart," sketch of, 300 - - Walpole's account of Lord Mayor Beckford's speech, 20 - - -- chattels saved by a talisman, 174 - - Walpole, Horace, on William Combe, 475 - - Ward, Baron, his remarkable career, 109 - - -- John, the Hackney miser, 74 - - -- the miser's prayer, 76 - - -- and the South Sea scheme, 74 - - Waters, Sir John, his escape, 285 - - Waterton, Charles, the traveller, 324 - - Wealth of Mr. Beckford, 18 - - Wellington, Lord, hoaxed, 288 - - Whately, the witty archbishop, 504 - - Wildman and his bees, 276 - - Wilkes, John, Sheridan on, 335 - - Will of J. C. Neild, 99 - - Wirgman, the Kantesian, 512 - - "Witch Pickles," of Leeds, 137 - - Wolcot, Dr.--_see_ Peter Pindar. - - -- -- in Cornwall, 462 - - -- -- in Jamaica, 461 - - -- -- and Opie, the painter, 463 - - -- -- and Royal Academicians, 463 - - Woman-hating Cavendish, 132 - - "Wonder of all the wonders that the world ever wondered at," 243 - - "Wooden spoon, the," 535 - - Woulfe, Peter, the chemist and alchemist, 126 - - - Young, Brigham, the Mormon prophet, 218 - - -- Roscius, sketch of the, 87--_see_ Roscius, Young. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - - PRINTED BY - SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE - LONDON - -[Illustration] - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: - -Obvious printer errors have been corrected. 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text-indent: -3em;} - -/* Footnotes */ - -.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} - -.footnote {margin-left: 11%; margin-right: 11%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 82%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's English Eccentrics and Eccentricities, by John Timbs - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: English Eccentrics and Eccentricities - -Author: John Timbs - -Release Date: November 12, 2015 [EBook #50439] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH ECCENTRICS, ECCENTRICITIES *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Whitehead, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img class="border" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" src="images/cover-image.jpg" id="coverpage" width="500" height="731" alt="Cover for English Eccentrics and Eccentricities" /> -<div class="transnote covernote"> -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain. The illustration is -of Squire Mytton on his bear. (<a href="#Page_48">Page 48</a>)</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em;">ENGLISH ECCENTRICS.</h2> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 10em; margin-bottom: 10em;">PRINTED BY<br /> -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE<br /> -LONDON</h3> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;"> -<img src="images/image1.jpg" width="425" height="615" alt="The Earl of Bridgewater and his dogs." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">The Earl of Bridgewater and his dogs.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/image2.jpg" width="400" height="555" alt="Title page for English Eccentrics and Eccentricities" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><i>PREFACE.</i></h2> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">G</span><span class="smcap">ENTLE READER</span>, a few words before we -introduce you to our <span class="smcap">Eccentrics</span>. They -may be odd company: yet how often do we find -eccentricity in the minds of persons of good understanding. -Their sayings and doings, it is true, may -not rank as high among the delicacies of intellectual -epicures as the Strasburg pies among the dishes -described in the <i>Almanach des Gourmands</i>; but they -possess attractions in proportion to the degree in -which "man favours wonders." Swift has remarked, -that "a little grain of the romance is no ill ingredient -to preserve and exalt the dignity of human nature, -without which it is apt to degenerate into everything -that is sordid, vicious, and low." Into the latter extremes -Eccentricity is occasionally apt to run, somewhat -like certain fermenting liquors which cannot be -checked in their acidifying courses.</p> - -<p>Into such headlong excesses our Eccentrics rarely -stray; and one of our objects in sketching their ways, -is to show that with oddity of character may co-exist -much goodness of heart; and your strange fellow, -though, according to the lexicographer, he be outlandish, -odd, queer, and eccentric, may possess claims<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span> -to our notice which the man who is ever studying the -fitness of things would not so readily present.</p> - -<p>Many books of character have been published -which have recorded the acts, sayings, and fortunes -of Eccentrics. The instances in the present Work -are, for the most part, drawn <i>from our own time</i>, so -as to present points of novelty which could not so -reasonably be expected in portraits of older date. -They are motley-minded and grotesque in many -instances; and from their rare accidents may be -gathered many a lesson of thrift, as well as many a -scene of humour to laugh at; while some realize the -well-remembered couplet or the near alliance of wits -to madness.</p> - -<p>A glance at the Table of Contents and the Index -to this volume will, it is hoped, convey a fair idea of -the number and variety of characters and incidents to -be found in this gallery of <span class="smcap">English Eccentrics</span>.</p> - -<p>It should be added, that in the preparation of -this Work, the Author has availed himself of the most -trustworthy materials for the staple of his narratives, -which, in certain cases, he has preferred giving -<i>ipsissimis verbis</i> of his authorities to "re-writing" -them, as it is termed; a process which rarely adds to -the veracity of story-telling, but, on the other hand, -often gives a colour to the incidents which the original -narrator never intended to convey. The object -has been to render the book truthful as well as entertaining.</p> - -<p style="text-align: right"><span class="smcap">John Timbs.</span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><i>CONTENTS.</i></h2> - -<h3 style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="#Wealth">WEALTH AND FASHION.</a></h3> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="page">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Beckfords"><i>The Beckfords and Fonthill</i></a></td> <td class="page">1</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Alderman"><i>Alderman Beckford's Monument Speech in Guildhall</i></a></td> <td class="page">19</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Beau"><i>Beau Brummel</i></a></td> <td class="page">22</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Lumley"><i>Sir Lumley Skeffington, Bart</i></a></td> <td class="page">36</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Romeo"><i>"Romeo" Coates</i></a></td> <td class="page">41</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Abraham"><i>Abraham Newland</i></a></td> <td class="page">44</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Spendthrift"><i>The Spendthrift Squire of Halston, John Mytton</i></a></td> <td class="page">48</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Petersham"><i>Lord Petersham</i></a></td> <td class="page">55</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Sandwich"><i>The King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands</i></a></td> <td class="page">57</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Edward"><i>Sir Edward Dering's Luckless Courtship</i></a></td> <td class="page">59</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Gretna"><i>Gretna-Green Marriages</i></a></td> <td class="page">63</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Agape"><i>The Agapemone, or Abode of Love</i></a></td> <td class="page">68</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Singular"><i>Singular Scotch Ladies</i></a></td> <td class="page">70</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Bond"><i>Mrs. Bond, of Hackney</i></a></td> <td class="page">72</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Ward"><i>John Ward, the Hackney Miser</i></a></td> <td class="page">74</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Poor">"<i>Poor Man of Mutton</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">76</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Kenyon"><i>Lord Kenyon's Parsimony</i></a></td> <td class="page">77</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Moser"><i>Mary Moser, the Flower-Painter</i></a></td> <td class="page">78</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Banks"><i>The Eccentric Miss Banks</i></a></td> <td class="page">80</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Miser"><i>Thomas Cooke, the Miser of Pentonville</i></a></td> <td class="page">82</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Turkey"><i>Thomas Cooke, the Turkey Merchant</i></a></td> <td class="page">87</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Lewson"><i>"Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell</i></a></td> <td class="page">89</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Profits"><i>Profits of Dust-sifting and Dust-heaps</i></a></td> <td class="page">92</td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Dinely"><i>Sir John Dinely, Bart.</i></a></td> <td class="page">95</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Rothschilds"><i>The Rothschilds</i></a></td> <td class="page">96</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Legacy"><i>A Legacy of Half-a-Million of Money</i></a></td> <td class="page">99</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Bridgewater"><i>Eccentricities of the Earl of Bridgewater</i></a></td> <td class="page">103</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Denisons"><i>The Denisons, and the Conyngham Family</i></a></td> <td class="page">105</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Jennings">"<i>Dog Jennings</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">107</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Remarkable"><i>Baron Ward's Remarkable Career</i></a> </td> <td class="page">109</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Costly"><i>A Costly House-Warming</i></a></td> <td class="page">112</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Devonshire"><i>Devonshire Eccentrics</i></a></td> <td class="page">113</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Snell"><i>Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier</i></a></td> <td class="page">116</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Archer"><i>Lady Archer</i></a> </td> <td class="page">122</td></tr> -</table> - -<h3 style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="#Delusions">DELUSIONS, IMPOSTURES, AND FANATIC<br /> -MISSIONS.</a></h3> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Alchemists"><i>Modern Alchemists</i></a></td> <td class="page">124</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Astrologer"><i>Jack Adams, the Astrologer</i></a></td> <td class="page">130</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Cavendish"><i>The Woman-hating Cavendish</i></a></td> <td class="page">132</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Pickles">"<i>Modern Astrology.—"Witch Pickles"</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">136</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Ling"><i>Hannah Green; or, "Ling Bob"</i></a></td> <td class="page">139</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Stanhope"><i>Oddities of Lady Hester Stanhope</i></a></td> <td class="page">141</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Hermits"><i>Hermits and Eremitical Life</i></a></td> <td class="page">145</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Recluses"><i>The Recluses of Llangollen</i></a></td> <td class="page">155</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Snuff"><i>Snuff-taking Legacies</i></a></td> <td class="page">158</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Burial"><i>Burial Bequests</i></a></td> <td class="page">159</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Burials"><i>Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill</i></a></td> <td class="page">163</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Remains"><i>Jeremy Bentham's Bequest of his Remains</i></a> </td> <td class="page">166</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Anglesey">"<i>The Marquis of Anglesey's Leg</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">169</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Cottle"><i>The Cottle Church</i></a></td> <td class="page">171</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Chattels"><i>Horace Walpole's Chattels saved by a Talisman</i></a></td> <td class="page">174</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Norwood"><i>Norwood Gipsies</i></a></td> <td class="page">177</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Cunning">"<i>Cunning Mary," of Clerkenwell</i></a></td> <td class="page">179</td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Jerusalem">"<i>Jerusalem Whalley</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">181</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Temperance"><i>Father Mathew and the Temperance Movement</i></a> </td> <td class="page">182</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Preachers"><i>Eccentric Preachers</i></a></td> <td class="page">184</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Millenarian"><i>Irving a Millenarian</i></a></td> <td class="page">187</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Trio"><i>A Trio of Fanatics</i></a></td> <td class="page">189</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Spenceans"><i>The Spenceans</i></a></td> <td class="page">197</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Joanna"><i>Joanna Southcote, and the Coming of Shiloh</i></a></td> <td class="page">198</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Mormonism"><i>The Founder of Mormonism</i></a></td> <td class="page">210</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Huntington"><i>Huntington, the Preacher</i></a></td> <td class="page">219</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Amen"><i>Amen—Peter Isnell</i></a></td> <td class="page">231</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Strangely"><i>Strangely Eccentric, yet Sane</i></a></td> <td class="page">232</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Hallucination"><i>Strange Hallucination</i></a></td> <td class="page">236</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Corner">"<i>Corner Memory Thompson</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">238</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Mummy"><i>Mummy of a Manchester Lady</i></a></td> <td class="page">239</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Hypochondriasis"><i>Hypochondriasis</i></a></td> <td class="page">240</td></tr> -</table> - -<h3 style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="#Strange">STRANGE SIGHTS AND SPORTING SCENES.</a></h3> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Wonder">"<i>The Wonder of all the Wonders that the World</i></a></td> <td class="page">243</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><i>ever Wondered at</i>"</td> <td class="page"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Caraboo">"<i>The Princess Caraboo</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">246</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Lambert"><i>Fat Folks.—Lambert and Bright</i></a></td> <td class="page">249</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Corpulence"><i>A Cure for Corpulence</i></a></td> <td class="page">256</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Epitaphs"><i>Epitaphs on Fat Folks</i></a></td> <td class="page">257</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Boruw"><i>Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf</i></a></td> <td class="page">258</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Giant"><i>The Irish Giant</i></a></td> <td class="page">270</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Extra"><i>Birth Extraordinary</i></a></td> <td class="page">271</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#William"><i>William Hutton's "Strong Woman</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">274</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Bees"><i>Wildman and his Bees</i></a></td> <td class="page">276</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Stowell"><i>Lord Stowell's Love of Sight-seeing</i></a> </td> <td class="page">277</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Fairlop"><i>John Day and Fairlop Fair</i></a></td> <td class="page">280</td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Princely"><i>A Princely Hoax</i></a></td> <td class="page">283</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Waters"><i>Sir John Waters's Escape</i></a></td> <td class="page">285</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Mack"><i>Colonel Mackinnon's Practical Joking</i></a></td> <td class="page">287</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Gour"><i>A Gourmand Physician</i></a></td> <td class="page">288</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Gamb"><i>Dick England, the Gambler</i></a></td> <td class="page">290</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Brigh"><i>Brighton Races, Thirty Years since</i></a></td> <td class="page">292</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Mell"><i>Colonel Mellish</i></a></td> <td class="page">294</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Donc"><i>Doncaster Eccentrics</i></a></td> <td class="page">296</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Stew">"<i>Walking Stewart</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">300</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Youth"><i>Youthful Days of the Hon. Grantley Berkeley</i></a> </td> <td class="page">304</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Dials"><i>What became of the Seven Dials</i></a></td> <td class="page">310</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Bailey"><i>An Old Bailey Character</i></a></td> <td class="page">312</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Bone"><i>Bone and Shell Exhibition</i></a></td> <td class="page">317</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Quid">"<i>Quid Rides?</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">318</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Trott">"<i>Bolton Trotters</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">319</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Eccent"><i>Eccentric Lord Coleraine</i></a></td> <td class="page">321</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Eccentr"><i>Eccentric Travellers</i></a></td> <td class="page">323</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Eleg"><i>Elegy on a Geologist</i></a></td> <td class="page">328</td></tr> -</table> - -<h3 style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="#Eccentric">ECCENTRIC ARTISTS.</a></h3> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Gil"><i>Gilray and his Caricatures</i></a></td> <td class="page">330</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Blak"><i>William Blake, Painter and Poet</i></a> </td> <td class="page">339</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Nolle"><i>Nollekens, the Sculptor</i></a></td> <td class="page">350</td></tr> -</table> - -<h3 style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="#Theatrical">THEATRICAL FOLKS.</a></h3> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Rosc"><i>The Young Roscius</i></a></td> <td class="page">363</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Hardh"><i>Hardham's "No. 37</i>"</a> </td> <td class="page">368</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Rare"><i>Rare Criticism</i></a></td> <td class="page">370</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Riot"><i>The O. P. Riot</i></a></td> <td class="page">371</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Paulpry"><i>Origin of "Paul Pry</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">372</td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Garr"><i>Mrs. Garrick</i></a></td> <td class="page">374</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Ambass"><i>Mathews, a Spanish Ambassador</i></a></td> <td class="page">378</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Grimald"><i>Grimaldi, the Clown</i></a></td> <td class="page">382</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Munden"><i>Munden's Last Performance</i></a></td> <td class="page">387</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Dowt"><i>Oddities of Dowton</i></a></td> <td class="page">389</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Listo"><i>Liston in Tragedy</i></a></td> <td class="page">391</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Edmundk"><i>Boyhood of Edmund Kean</i></a></td> <td class="page">398</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Myster"><i>A Mysterious Parcel</i></a></td> <td class="page">400</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Masq"><i>Masquerade Incident</i></a></td> <td class="page">402</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Cooke"><i>Mr. T. P. Cooke in Melodrama and Pantomime</i></a> </td> <td class="page">404</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Americ">"<i>Romeo and Juliet" in America</i></a></td> <td class="page">407</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Mulberr"><i>The Mulberries, a Shakspearian Club</i></a></td> <td class="page">408</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Cibb"><i>Colley Cibber's Daughter</i></a></td> <td class="page">410</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Lovepass"><i>An Eccentric Love-Passage</i></a></td> <td class="page">413</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Truetext"><i>True to the Text</i></a></td> <td class="page">415</td></tr> -</table> - -<h3 style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="#Men">MEN OF LETTERS.</a></h3> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Monklew"><i>Monk Lewis</i></a></td> <td class="page">417</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Porsons"><i>Porson's Eccentricities</i></a></td> <td class="page">425</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Parrian"><i>Parriana: Oddities of Dr. Parr</i></a></td> <td class="page">435</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Oddit"><i>Oddities of John Horne Tooke</i></a></td> <td class="page">444</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Cannings"><i>Mr. Canning's Humour</i></a></td> <td class="page">451</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Pinda"><i>Peter Pindar.—Dr. Wolcot</i></a></td> <td class="page">460</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Syntax"><i>The Author of "Dr. Syntax"</i></a></td> <td class="page">472</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Radclif"><i>Mrs. Radcliffe and the Critics</i></a> </td> <td class="page">475</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Cool"><i>Cool Sir James Mackintosh</i></a></td> <td class="page">478</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Cobbet"><i>Eccentricities of Cobbett</i></a></td> <td class="page">481</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Heber"><i>Heber, the Book-Collector</i></a></td> <td class="page">485</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Johnsoane"><i>Sir John Soane Lampooned</i></a></td> <td class="page">488</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Calc"><i>Extraordinary Calculators</i></a></td> <td class="page">490</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Isling"><i>Charles Lamb's Cottage at Islington</i></a></td> <td class="page">494</td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Thomhood"><i>Thomas Hood</i></a> </td> <td class="page">497</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Witty"><i>A Witty Archbishop</i></a></td> <td class="page">504</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Madmen"><i>Literary Madmen</i></a></td> <td class="page">508</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Perpetual"><i>A Perpetual-Motion Seeker</i></a></td> <td class="page">513</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Romduch"><i>The Romantic Duchess of Newcastle</i></a> </td> <td class="page">516</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Laughter"><i>Sources of Laughter</i></a></td> <td class="page">520</td></tr> -</table> - -<h3 style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="#Convivial">CONVIVIAL ECCENTRICITIES.</a></h3> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Busbys"><i>Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall</i></a></td> <td class="page">525</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Oldtaverns"><i>Old Islington Taverns</i></a></td> <td class="page">526</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Parchedpea"><i>The Oyster and Parched-Pea Club</i></a></td> <td class="page">529</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Punchhouse"><i>A Manchester Punch-House</i></a></td> <td class="page">530</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Bluekey">"<i>The Blue Key</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">533</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Brandy"><i>Brandy in Tea</i></a></td> <td class="page">534</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Woodenspoon">"<i>The Wooden Spoon</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">535</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Tipsy"><i>A Tipsy Village</i></a></td> <td class="page">535</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Epicure"><i>What an Epicure Eats in his Life-Time</i></a> </td> <td class="page">536</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Maginn"><i>Epitaph on Dr. William Maginn</i></a></td> <td class="page">538</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Greendin"><i>Greenwich Dinners</i></a></td> <td class="page">539</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Portwine"><i>Lord Pembroke's Port Wine</i></a></td> <td class="page">540</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Tremend"><i>A Tremendous Bowl of Punch</i></a></td> <td class="page">541</td></tr> -</table> - -<h3 style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="#Miscellanea">MISCELLANEA.</a></h3> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Sirthomas"><i>Long Sir Thomas Robinson</i></a></td> <td class="page">542</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Chesterwill"><i>Lord Chesterfield's Will</i></a></td> <td class="page">542</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Oddfamily"><i>An Odd Family</i></a></td> <td class="page">543</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Eccentrichost"><i>An Eccentric Host</i></a></td> <td class="page">544</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Quackery"><i>Quackery Successful</i></a></td> <td class="page">545</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Footpad"><i>The Grateful Footpad</i></a></td> <td class="page">546</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Notoriety"><i>A Notoriety of the Temple</i></a> </td> <td class="page">546</td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Sedan"><i>A Ride in a Sedan</i></a></td> <td class="page">548</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Johnscott"><i>Mr. John Scott (Lord Eldon) in Parliament</i></a></td> <td class="page">549</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Jeu"><i>A Chancery Jeu-d'Esprit</i></a></td> <td class="page">551</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Compact"><i>Hanging by Compact</i></a></td> <td class="page">553</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Floored"><i>The Ambassador Floored</i></a></td> <td class="page">553</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Dutch">"<i>The Dutch Mail</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">554</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Spelling"><i>Bad Spelling</i></a></td> <td class="page">556</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Single"><i>A "Single Conspirator</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">559</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Miscalc"><i>A Miscalculation</i></a></td> <td class="page">560</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Indiscrim"><i>An Indiscriminate Collector</i></a> </td> <td class="page">561</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Bishops"><i>The Bishops' Saturday Night</i></a></td> <td class="page">563</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Ratherthan">"<i>Rather Than Otherwise</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">564</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Classic"><i>Classic Soup Distribution</i></a></td> <td class="page">565</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Alphabet"><i>Alphabet Single Rhymed</i></a></td> <td class="page">565</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Sequitur"><i>Non Sequitur and Therefore</i></a></td> <td class="page">566</td></tr> -</table> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 6em; margin-bottom: 5em;" src="images/image3.jpg" width="100" height="82" alt="Floral design" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><i>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</i></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="3" style="max-width: 70%;" summary="ILLUSTRATIONS"> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="page">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus1">"Vathek" <i>Beckford. From a Medallion</i></a></td> <td class="page">1</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus2"><i>John Farquhar surveying the Ruins of Fonthill</i></a></td> <td class="page">21</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus3"><i>Beau Brummel. From a Miniature</i></a></td> <td class="page">22</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus4"><i>Lord Alvanley. A Pillar of White's</i></a></td> <td class="page">27</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus5"><i>Beau Brummel in Retirement at Calais</i></a></td> <td class="page">35</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus6"><i>Sir Lumley Skeffington in a</i> "Jean de Brie"</a></td> <td class="page">36</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus7"><i>Sir Lumley Skeffington, as dressed for the "Birthday Ball</i></a></td> <td class="page">40</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus8"><i>Robert Coates, the Amateur of Fashion, as "Romeo</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">41</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus9"><i>Squire Mytton of Halston on his Bear</i></a></td> <td class="page">48</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus10"><i>Lord Petersham; a noble Aide-de-Camp</i></a></td> <td class="page">55</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus11"><i>The Eccentric Miss Banks, an Old Maid on a Journey</i></a></td> <td class="page">80</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus12"><i>The First Rothschild—a well-known Character on 'Change</i></a></td> <td class="page">96</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus13"><i>Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier</i></a></td> <td class="page">116</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus14"><i>Lady Archer, Enamelling at her Toilet</i></a></td> <td class="page">122</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus15"><i>The Alchemist</i></a></td> <td class="page">124</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus16"><i>Jack Adams, the Astrologer</i></a></td> <td class="page">130</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus17"><i>A Hermit of the Sixteenth Century</i></a></td> <td class="page">145</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus18"><i>Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Mary Ponsonby, the Recluses of Llangollen</i></a> </td> <td class="page">156</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus19"><i>Major Peter Labelliere, a Christian Patriot</i></a></td> <td class="page">163</td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus20"><i>Margaret Finch, the Norwood Gipsy</i></a></td> <td class="page">177</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus21"><i>Edward Irving, the Millenarian</i></a></td> <td class="page">184</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus22"><i>Joanna Southcote</i></a></td> <td class="page">198</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus23"><i>Facsimile of Autograph with Seal of the Elect</i></a></td> <td class="page">209</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus24"><i>William Huntington, the Converted Coalheaver</i></a></td> <td class="page">219</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus25"><i>The pretended Princess Caraboo</i></a></td> <td class="page">246</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus26"><i>Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf, in Disgrace with his Wife</i></a> </td> <td class="page">259</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus27"><i>The Prince Regent, a Back View</i></a></td> <td class="page">284</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus28"><i>Colonel Mellish and Buckle his Agent</i></a></td> <td class="page">294</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus29"><i>Curtis, an Old-Bailey Character</i></a></td> <td class="page">312</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus30"><i>Corder, the Murderer of Maria Martin</i></a></td> <td class="page">316</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus31"><i>Lord Coleraine, keeping an Apple Stall</i></a></td> <td class="page">321</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus32"><i>Nollekens, the Sculptor. From J. T. Smith's Life</i></a></td> <td class="page">350</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus33"><i>Master Betty, the "Young Roscius", as "Norval</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">363</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus34"><i>Mrs. Garrick in her Youth</i></a> </td> <td class="page">374</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus35"><i>Charles Mathews the Elder</i></a></td> <td class="page">378</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus36"><i>Joe Grimaldi as Clown</i></a></td> <td class="page">382</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus37"><i>Liston as "Paul Pry"</i></a></td> <td class="page">391</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus38"><i>Edmund Kean as "Richard III.</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">398</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus39"><i>T. P. Cooke in "Black Eyed Susan"</i></a></td> <td class="page">404</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus40"><i>Charlotte Charke, Colley Cibber's Daughter</i></a></td> <td class="page">411</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus41"><i>M. G. Lewis, Author of "the Monk</i>"</a></td> <td class="page">417</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus42"><i>Professor Porson</i></a></td> <td class="page">425</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus43"><i>Dr. Parr</i></a></td> <td class="page">435</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus44"><i>William Cobbett, Peter Porcupine and the</i> "Political Register"</a></td> <td class="page">481</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus45"><i>Jedediah Buxton, the Calculator</i></a></td> <td class="page">490</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus46"><i>Lamb's Cottage, Colebrook Row</i></a></td> <td class="page">495</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus47"><i>Margaret Lucas, Duchess of Newcastle</i></a></td> <td class="page">516</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><a href="#Illus48"><i>Lord Eldon (John Scott)</i></a></td> <td class="page">549</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - - - -<h1 style="margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">ENGLISH ECCENTRICS.</h1> - -<p class="ph2"><a name="Wealth" id="Wealth"><i>WEALTH and FASHION.</i></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus1" id="Illus1"> -<img src="images/image4.jpg" width="275" height="265" alt=""Vathek" Beckford." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">"Vathek" Beckford.</p> - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Beckfords" id="Beckfords">The Beckfords and Fonthill.</a></h3> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">T</span><span class="smcap">HE</span> histories of the Beckfords, father and son, present -several points of eccentricity, although in very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> -different spheres. William Beckford, the father, was famed -for his great wealth, which chiefly consisted of large estates -in Jamaica; and the estate of Fonthill, near Hindon, -Wilts. He was Alderman of Billingsgate Ward, London, -and a violent political partisan with whom the great Lord -Chatham maintained a correspondence to keep alive his -influence in the City. When Beckford opposed Sir -Francis Delaval to contest the borough of Shaftesbury, -the latter said—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Art thou the man whom men famed Beckford call?</p> - -<p>To which Beckford replied—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Art thou the much more famous Delaval?</p> - -<p>Alderman Beckford died on the 21st of June, 1770, -in his second mayoralty, within a month after his famous -exhibition at Court, when, after presenting a City Address -to George III., and having received his Majesty's answer, -he was said to have made the reply which may be read on -his monument in Guildhall, but which he never uttered. -The day before Beckford died, Chatham forced himself into -the house in Soho Square (now the House of Charity), and -got away all the letters he had written to the demagogue -Alderman. His house at Fonthill, with pictures and furniture -to a great value, was burnt down in 1755. The Alderman -was then in London, and on being informed of the catastrophe, -he took out his pocket-book and began to write, and -on being asked what he was doing, he coolly replied, 'Only -calculating the expense of rebuilding it. Oh! I have an -odd fifty thousand pounds in a drawer, I will build it up -again; it won't be above a thousand pounds each to my -different children.' The house was rebuilt.</p> - -<p>The Alderman had several natural sons, to each of -whom he left a legacy of 5,000<i>l.</i>; but the bulk of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -property went to his son by his wife, who was then a boy -ten years old, and is said to have thus come into a million -of ready money, and a revenue exceeding 100,000<i>l.</i> Three -years later, Lord Chatham, who was his godfather, thus -describes him to his own son William Pitt—"Little Beckford -is just as much compounded of the elements of air and -fire as he was. A due proportion of terrestrial solidity will -I trust come and make him perfect." The promise which -his liveliness and precocity had given, was fulfilled by a <i>jeu-d'esprit</i>, -written by him in his seventeenth year. This was -a small work published in 1780, entitled <i>Biographical -Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters</i>, and originated as follows. -The old mansion at Fonthill contained a fine collection of -paintings, which the housekeeper was directed to show to -applicants; but she often told descriptions of the painters -and the pictures, which were very ludicrous. Young Beckford, -therefore, to methodize and assist the housekeeper's -memory, wrote their lives, which she received from her -youthful master as matters-of-fact. Thus, after descanting -on Gerard Douw, she would add the particulars of that -artist's patience and industry in expending four or five hours -in painting a broomstick. There were other extravagancies -which she believed; a few copies of the book were printed -to confirm her belief; hence the book is very rare. Beckford, -in after-life, spoke of it as his <i>Blunderbussiana</i>. It was, -in fact, a satire upon certain living artists, and the common -slang of connoisseurship.</p> - -<p>Young Mr. Beckford had been educated at home: he -was quick and lively, and had literary tastes; he had a -great passion for genealogy and heraldry, and studied -Oriental literature. He had visited Paris, and mixed in -the society of that capital, in 1778, when he met Voltaire, -who gave him his blessing. He had fine taste for music, -and had been taught to play the pianoforte by Mozart.</p> - -<p>Mr. Beckford travelled and resided abroad until his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -twenty-second year, when he wrote in French <i>Vathek</i>,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> a -work of startling beauty. More than fifty years afterwards -he told Mr. Cyrus Redding that he wrote <i>Vathek</i> at one -sitting. "It took me," he said, "three days and two -nights of hard labour. I never took off my clothes the -whole time. This severe application made me very ill.... -Old Fonthill had a very ample loud echoing hall—one of -the largest in the kingdom. Numerous doors led from it -into different parts of the house through dim, winding -passages. It was from that I introduced the Hall—the idea -of the Hall of Eblis being generated by my own. My -imagination magnified and coloured it with the Eastern -character. All the females in <i>Vathek</i> were portraits of -those in the domestic establishment of old Fonthill, their -fancied good or ill qualities being exaggerated to suit my -purpose." An English translation of the work afterwards -appeared, the author of which Beckford said he never -knew; he thought it tolerably well done.</p> - -<p>At twenty-four, Mr. Beckford married the Lady -Margaret Gordon, daughter of Charles, fourth Earl of -Aboyne, but the lady died in three years. In 1784 he was -returned to Parliament for Wells; in 1790 he sat for -Hindon; but in 1794 he accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, -and again went abroad. He now fixed himself in Portugal, -where he purchased an estate near Cintra, and built the -sumptuous mansion, the decoration and desolation of which -some years afterwards Lord Byron described in the first -canto of his <i>Childe Harold</i>, in the stanza beginning—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">There thou too, Vathek! England's wealthiest son,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Once form'd thy Paradise, as not aware<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When wanton Wealth her mightiest deeds hath done,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Meek Peace voluptuous lures was ever wont to shun.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here didst thou dwell, here schemes of pleasure plan,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Beneath yon mountain's ever beauteous brow:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But now, as if a thing unblest by man,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy fairy dwelling is as lone as thou!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here giant woods a passage scarce allow<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To halls deserted, portals gaping wide:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fresh lessons to the thinking bosom, how<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Vain are pleasaunces on earth supplied;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Swept into wrecks anon by Time's ungentle tide!<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Many years after, Mr. Beckford published his Travels, -one volume of which was <i>An Excursion to the Monasteries -of Alcobaça and Batalha</i>. Of the kitchen of the magnificent -Alcobaça, he gives the following glowing picture:—"Through -the centre of the immense and groined hall, not -less than sixty feet in diameter, ran a brisk rivulet of the -clearest water, flowing through pierced wooden reservoirs, -containing every sort and size of the finest river-fish. On -one side, loads of game and venison were heaped up; on -the other, vegetables and fruit in endless variety. Beyond -a long line of stoves extended a row of ovens, and close to -them hillocks of wheaten flour whiter than snow, rocks of -sugar, jars of the purest oil, and pastry in vast abundance, -which a numerous tribe of lay-brothers and their attendants -were rolling out and puffing up into a hundred different -shapes, singing all the while as blithely as larks in a cornfield!" -The banquet is described as including "exquisite -sausages, potted lampreys, strange messes from the Brazils, -and others still more strange from China (<i>viz.</i> birds'-nests -and sharks'-fins) dressed after the latest mode of Macao, by -a Chinese lay-brother. Confectionery and fruits were out -of the question here; they awaited the party in an adjoining -still more sumptuous and spacious saloon, to which they -retired from the effluvia of viands and sauces." On another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -occasion, by aid of Mr. Beckford's cook, the party sat down -to "one of the most delicious banquets ever vouchased a -mortal on this side of Mahomet's paradise. The <i>macédoine</i> -was perfection, the ortolans and quails lumps of celestial -fatness, the <i>sautés</i> and <i>bechamels</i> beyond praise; and a certain -truffle-cream was so exquisite, that the Lord Abbot -piously gave thanks for it."</p> - -<p>Mr. Beckford returned to England in 1795, and occupied -himself with the embellishment of his house at Fonthill. -Meanwhile, he had studied Ecclesiastical Architecture, which -induced him to commence building the third house at Fonthill, -considering the second too near a piece of water. In -1801, the superb furniture was sold by auction; when the -furniture of the Turkish room, which had cost 4,000<i>l.</i>, -realized only 740 guineas. Next year there was a sale in -London of the proprietor's pictures. In 1807 the mansion -was mostly taken down, when the materials were sold for -10,000<i>l.</i>; one wing was left standing, which was subsequently -sold to Mr. Morrison, M.P., who added to it, and adapted -it for a country seat.</p> - -<p>These proceedings were, however, only preliminary to -the commencement of a much more magnificent collection -of books, pictures, curiosities, rarities, bijouterie, and other -products of art and ingenuity, to be placed in the new -"Fonthill Abbey," built in a showy monastic style. Mr. -Beckford shrouded his architectural proceedings in the profoundest -mystery: he was haughty and reserved; and -because some of his neighbours followed game into his -grounds, he had a wall twelve feet high and seven miles -long built round his home estate, in order to shut out the -world. This was guarded by projecting railings on the top, -in the manner of <i>chevaux-de-frise</i>. Large and strong double -gates were provided in this wall, at the different roads of -entrance, and at these gates were stationed persons who had -strict orders not to admit a stranger.</p> - -<p>The building of the Abbey was a sort of romance. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -vast number of mechanics and labourers were employed to -advance the works with rapidity, and a new hamlet was -built to accommodate the workmen. All round was activity -and energy, whilst the growing edifice, as the scaffolding -and walls were raised above the surrounding trees, excited -the curiosity of the passing tourist, as well as the villagers. -It appears that Mr. Beckford pursued the objects of his -wishes, whatever they were, not coolly and considerately -like most other men, but with all the enthusiasm of passion. -No sooner did he decide upon any point than he had it -carried into immediate execution, whatever might be the -cost. After the building was commenced, he was so impatient -to get it furnished, that he kept regular relays of -men at work night and day, including Sundays, supplying -them liberally with ale and spirits while they were at work; -and when anything was completed which gave him particular -pleasure, adding an extra 5<i>l.</i> or 10<i>l.</i> to be spent in drink. -The first tower, the height of which from the ground was -400 feet, was built of wood, in order to see its effect; this -was then taken down, and the same form put up in wood -covered with cement. This fell down, and the tower was -built a third time on the same foundation with brick and -stone. The foundation of the tower was originally that of -a small summer-house, to which Mr. Beckford was making -additions, when the idea of the Abbey occurred to him; and -this idea he was so impatient to realize, that he would not wait -to remove the summer-house to make a proper foundation -for the tower, but carried it up on the walls already standing, -and this with the worst description of materials and workmanship, -while it was mostly built by men in a state of -intoxication.</p> - -<p>To raise the public surprise and afford new scope for -speculation, a novel scene was presented in the works in the -winter of 1800, when in November and December nearly -500 men were employed day and night to expedite the -works, by torch and lamp-light, in time for the reception of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -Lord Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton, who -were entertained here by Mr. Beckford with extraordinary -magnificence, on December 20, 1800. On one occasion, -while the tower was building, an elevated part of it caught -fire and was destroyed; the sight was sublime, and was -enjoyed by Mr. Beckford. This was soon rebuilt. At one -period, every cart and waggon in the district were pressed -into the service; at another, the works at St. George's -Chapel, Windsor, were abandoned that 400 men might be -employed night and day on Fonthill Abbey. These men -relieved each other by regular watches, and during the -longest and darkest nights of winter it was a strange sight -to see the tower rising under their hands, the trowel and -the torch being associated for that purpose. This Mr. -Beckford was fond of contemplating. He is represented as -surveying from an eminence the works thus expedited, the -busy bevy of the masons, the dancing lights and their strange -effects upon the wood and architecture below, and feasting -his sense with this display of almost superhuman exertion.</p> - -<p>Upon one memorable occasion Mr. Beckford was willing -to run the risk of spoiling a good dinner, in order to show -that nothing possible to man was impossible to him. He -had sworn by his beloved St. Anthony, that he would have -his Christmas dinner cooked in the new Abbey kitchen. -The time was short, the work was severe, for much remained -to be done. Still, Beckford had said it, and it must be -done. So every exertion that money could command was -brought to bear. The apartment, indeed, was finished -by the Christmas morning, but the bricks had not time to -settle readily into their places, the beams were not thoroughly -secured, the mortar, which was to keep the walls together, -had not dried. However, Beckford had invoked the blessed -St. Anthony, and he would not depart from it. The fire -was lit, the splendid repast was cooked, the servants were -carrying the dishes through the long passages into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -dining-room, when the kitchen itself fell in with a loud crash; -but it was not a misfortune of any consequence; no person -was injured, the master had kept his word, and he had money -enough to build another kitchen.</p> - -<p>Mr. Loudon, in 1835, collected at Fonthill some curious -evidence in confirmation of his idea that Mr. Beckford's -enjoyments consisted of a succession of violent impulses. -Thus, when he wished a new walk to be cut in the woods, -or work of any kind to be done, he used to say nothing -about it in the way of preparation, but merely give orders, -perhaps late in the afternoon, that it should be cleared out -and in a perfect state by the following morning at the time -he came out to take his ride, and the whole strength of the -village was then put upon the work, and employed during -the night and next day, when Mr. Beckford came to inspect -what was done; if he was pleased with it he used to give a -5<i>l.</i> or 10<i>l.</i> note to the men who had been employed, to -drink, besides, of course, paying their wages, which were -always liberal. His charities were performed in the same -capricious manner. Suddenly he would order a hundred -pairs of blankets to be purchased and given away; or all -the firs to be cut out of an extensive plantation, and all the -poor who chose to take them away were permitted to do -so, provided it were done in one night. He was also known to -suddenly order all the waggons and carts that could be procured -to be sent off for coal to be distributed among the poor.</p> - -<p>Mr. Beckford seldom rode out beyond his gates, but -when he did he was generally asked for charity by the poor -people. Sometimes he used to throw a one-pound note or -a guinea to them; or he would turn round and give the -supplicants a severe horse-whipping. When the last was -the case, soon after he had ridden away, he generally sent -back a guinea or two to the persons whom he had whipped. -In his mode of life at Fonthill he had many singularities: -though he never had any society, yet his table was laid -every day in the most splendid style. He was known to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -give orders for a dinner for twelve persons and to sit down -alone to it, attended by twelve servants in full dress; yet he -would eat only of one dish, and send the rest away. There -were no bells at Fonthill, with the exception of one room, -occupied occasionally by Mr. Beckford's daughter, the -Duchess of Hamilton. The servants used to wait by turns -in the ante-rooms to the apartments which Mr. Beckford -occupied; they were very small and low in the ceiling. He -led almost the life of a hermit within the walls of the Fonthill -estate; here he could luxuriate within his sumptuous -home, or ride for miles on his lawns, and through forest and -mountain woods,—amid dressed parterres of the pleasure-garden, -or the wild scenery of nature. This garden, the -vast woods, and a wild lake, abounded with game, and the -choristers of the forest, which were not only left undisturbed -by the gun, but were fed and encouraged by the lord of the -soil and his long retinue of servants. A widower, and -without any family at home, Mr. Beckford resided at the -Abbey for more than twenty years, ever active, and constantly -occupied in reading, music, and the converse of a -choice circle of friends, or in directing workmen in the -erection of the Abbey, which had been in progress since the -year 1798.</p> - -<p>About the year 1822 his restless spirit required a change; -besides which his fortunes received a shock from which -they never recovered. He now purchased two houses in -Lansdown Crescent, Bath, with a large tract of land adjoining, -and removed thither. The property at Fonthill was -then placed at the disposal of Mr. Christie, who prepared a -catalogue for the sale of the estate, the Abbey, and its gorgeous -contents. The place was made an exhibition of in -the summer of 1822: the price of admission was one guinea -for each person, and 7,200 tickets were sold: thousands -flocked to Fonthill; but at the close of the summer, instead -of a sale on the premises, the whole was bought in one lot -by Mr. Farquhar, it was understood, for the sum of 350,000<i>l.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -Mr. Beckford's outlay upon the property had been, according -to his own account, about 273,000<i>l.</i>, scattered over sixteen -or eighteen years. The reason he assigned for disposing -of the property was the reduction of his income by a decree -of the Court of Chancery, which had deprived him of two -of his Jamaica estates. "You may imagine their importance," -he added, "when I tell you that there were 1,500 -slaves upon them."</p> - -<p>Mr. Farquhar, the purchaser of the property, was an old -miser who had amassed an immense fortune in India. By -the advice of Mr. Phillips, the auctioneer, of Bond Street, -in the following year another exhibition was made of Fonthill -and its treasures, to which articles were added, and the -whole sold as genuine property; the tickets of admission -were half-a-guinea each, the price of the catalogues 12<i>s.</i>, -and the sale lasted thirty-seven days.</p> - -<p>In December, 1825, the tower at Fonthill, which had -been hastily built and not long finished, fell with a tremendous -crash, destroying the hall, the octagon, and other parts -of the buildings. Mr. Farquhar, with his nephew's family, -had taken the precaution of removing to the northern wing: -the tower was above 260 feet high.</p> - -<p>Mr. Loudon, when at Fonthill in 1835, collected some -interesting particulars of this catastrophe. He describes -the manner in which the tower fell as somewhat remarkable. -It had given indications of insecurity for some time; the -warning was taken, and the more valuable parts of the -windows and other articles were removed.</p> - -<p>Mr. Farquhar, however, who then resided in one angle -of the building, and who was in a very infirm state of health, -could not be brought to believe there was any danger. He -was wheeled out in his chair on the front lawn about half an -hour before the tower fell; and though he had seen the -cracks and the deviation of the centre from the perpendicular, -he treated the idea of its coming down as ridiculous. -He was carried back to his room, and the tower fell almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -immediately. From the manner in which it fell, from the -lightness of the materials of which it was constructed, -neither Mr. Farquhar, nor the servants who were in the -kitchen preparing dinner, knew that it had fallen, though -the immense collection of dust which rose into the atmosphere -had assembled almost all the inhabitants of the -village, and had given the alarm even as far as Wardour -Castle. Only one man (who died in 1833) saw the tower -fall; it first sank perpendicularly and slowly, and then burst -and spread over the roofs of the adjoining wings on every -side. The cloud of dust was enormous, so as completely to -darken the air for a considerable distance around for several -minutes. Such was the concussion in the interior of the -building, that one man was forced along a passage as if he -had been in an air-gun to the distance of 30 feet, among -dust so thick as to be felt. Another person, on the outside, -was, in like manner, carried to some distance; fortunately, -no one was seriously injured. With all this, it is almost -incredible that neither Mr. Farquhar, nor the servants in the -kitchen, should have heard the tower fall, or known that it -had fallen, till they saw through the window the people of -the village who had assembled to see the ruins. Mr. -Farquhar, it is said, could scarcely be convinced that the -tower was down, and when he was so he said he was glad -of it, for that now the house was not too large for him to -live in. Mr. Beckford, when told at Bath by his servant -that the tower had fallen, merely observed, that it had -made an obeisance to Mr. Farquhar which it had never -done to him.</p> - -<p>One of the last things which Mr. Beckford did, after -having sold Fonthill, and ordered horses to be put to his -carriage to leave the place for ever, was to mount his pony, -ride round with his gardener, to give directions for various -alterations and improvements which he wished to have -executed. On returning to the house, his carriage being -ready, he stepped into it, and never afterwards visited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -Fonthill. Though Mr. Beckford had spent immense sums -of money there, it is said, on good authority, 1,600,000<i>l.</i>, -it did not appear that he had at all raised the character of -the working classes: the effect was directly the reverse; the -men were sunk, past recovery, in habits of drunkenness; -and when Mr. Loudon visited Fonthill, there were only two -or three of the village labourers alive who had been employed -in the Abbey works.</p> - -<p>We now follow Mr. Beckford to Bath, where he was -storing his twin houses with some of the choicest articles -from his old libraries and cabinets; was forming and creating -new gardens, with hot-houses and conservatories, on the -steep and rocky slope of Lansdown. On its summit he -built a lofty tower, which commands a vast extent of prospect. -A street intervened between the two houses, but they -were soon united by a flying gallery. One of these houses -was fitted up for Mr. Beckford's residence, and here he -lived luxuriously; the splendour and state of Fonthill being -followed here on a smaller scale. In his wine-cellars he -had a portion of the nineteen pipes of the fine Malmsey -Madeira, which his father, Alderman Beckford, had bought. -The merchant who imported them offered them to Queen -Charlotte, who could only purchase one, as the price was so -great; the Fonthill Crœsus, however, purchased the remainder -of the cargo.</p> - -<p>The new proprietor of Fonthill was a very different man -from Mr. Beckford. Born in Aberdeen, Mr. John Farquhar, -like many of his countrymen, started in early life to seek his -fortune in India. The interest of some relatives procured -him a cadetship in the service of the East India Company, -on the Bombay establishment; there the young Scotsman -had the certainty of slowly but steadily rising in position, -and should health be left to him, of enjoying a reputable -and independent competency. He, however, received a -dangerous wound in the leg, which first caused a painful and -constant lameness, and soon after led to general derangement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -of his health, and even danger to life itself. He now -obtained leave to remove to Bengal, partly in hopes of a -more salubrious climate, but chiefly in search of that medical -talent which was likely to be most abundant at the chief -seat of Government. Settled in Bengal, he obtained the -advice of the best physicians. He also studied chemistry -and medicine; and it was before long generally said that the -sickly cadet who was so attached to chemical experiments, -was well fitted to be sent into the interior of the country, -where was a large manufactory of gunpowder established by -the Government, but which was unsuccessful. The shrewd -Scotsman took charge of the mill, henceforth the powder -was faultless; and shortly after Farquhar became the sole -contractor for the Government. The Governor-General, -Warren Hastings, reposed much confidence in Farquhar; -and this, added to his own indefatigable vigour of mind, -soon laid the foundation of a fortune, which was rapidly -increased by his penurious habits.</p> - -<p>It was the time when war and distresses in Europe kept -the funds so low, that fifty-five was a common price for the -Three per cents. Accordingly, as Farquhar's money accumulated, -he sent large remittances to his bankers, Messrs. -Hoare, of Fleet Street, for investment in the above tempting -securities. When he had thus amassed half a million, he -determined to return to his native country, and he bade -adieu to the East where he had found the wealth he coveted. -Landing at Gravesend, he took his seat upon the outside of -the coach, and in due time found himself in London. -Weather-beaten, and covered with dust, he made his way to -his bankers, and there, stepping up to one of the clerks, -expressed a wish to see Mr. Hoare himself. But his rough -appearance and common make of the clothes about his -sunburnt limbs, suggested to the clerk that he must be some -unlucky petitioner for charity; and he was left to wait in the -cash-office until Mr. Hoare happened to pass through. The -latter was some time before he could understand who Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -Farquhar was. His Indian customer, indeed, he knew well -by name, but he had none of that hauteur which was then -common with the successful Anglo-Indians. At length, -however, Mr. Hoare was satisfied as to the identity of his -wealthy visitor, who then asked him for 25<i>l.</i>, and saluting -him, retired.</p> - -<p>On first arriving in England, Mr. Farquhar took up his -abode with a relative of some rank, who mixed a good deal -in London society, and who proposed to introduce to his -circle Mr. Farquhar, by giving a grand ball in honour of his -successful return from India. This relative had tolerated -Mr. Farquhar's fancies as regarded his every-day attire; but -his fashionable mind was horrified when the day of the -coming ball was only a week off, and there was, nevertheless, -no sign of his intending to provide himself with a new suit -of clothes for the gay occasion. He ventured accordingly -to hint to him the propriety of doing so; when Mr. Farquhar -made a short reply, packed up his clothes, and in a few -minutes was driven from the door in a hackney-coach, not -even taking leave of his too-critical host.</p> - -<p>He then settled in Upper Baker Street, where his -windows were ever remarkable for requiring a servant's care, -and his whole house notable for its dingy and dirty appearance; -at which we cannot wonder when we learn that his -sole attendant was an old woman, and that from even her -intrusive care his own apartment was strictly kept free. Yet -in charitable deeds Mr. Farquhar was munificent to a -princely extent, and often, when he had left his comfortless -home with a crust of bread in his pocket to save the expenditure -of a penny at an oyster shop, it was to give away in -the course of the day hundreds of pounds to aid the distressed, -and to cure and care for those who suffered from -biting poverty, hunger, and want. But in his personal -expenditure he was extremely parsimonious; and whilst he -resided in Baker Street, he expended on himself and his -household but 200<i>l.</i> a year out of the 30,000<i>l.</i> or 40,000<i>l.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -which his many sources of income must have yielded -him.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>Such was the man who succeeded the luxurious Beckford -at Fonthill! He, however, sold the property about 1825, -and died in the following year. The immense fortune he -had struggled to make, and to increase which he had lived a -solitary and comfortless life, he made no disposal of by will; -the law distributed it among his next-of-kin, and those he -favoured and those he neglected inherited equal portions. -Three nephews and four nieces became entitled to 100,000<i>l.</i> -each. Fonthill Abbey had been taken down, merely enough -of its ruins being left to show where it had stood. Mr. -Farquhar possessed Fonthill for so short a time, and it was -demolished so soon after he had parted with it, and so many -years before Mr. Beckford followed him to the grave, that -the latter lived to know that its last proprietor was comparatively -forgotten, and the strange glories of the fantastic -pile will be connected by the public voice with no name -but that of its eccentric architect.</p> - -<p>On settling at Bath, Mr. Beckford was frequently seen -on horseback in the streets with his groom, and appeared -as the plain unostentatious country gentleman: he was no -longer the wealthy lord of Fonthill; still his appearance -always excited the gaze and speculation of idlers and gossips. -A dwarf, an Italian named Piero, was occasionally seen on -a pony with the groom, and strange conjectures were hazarded -on the history of this human phenomenon. The fact is, -Mr. Beckford had taken charge of him in Italy, when he was -deserted by his parents and was homeless and friendless; -and he was brought to England by a humane patron, who -supported him through life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p> - -<p>In 1844, Mr. Cyrus Redding, when at Bath, had several -interviews and conversations with Mr. Beckford, whose mind -was then vigorous: his spirits were good, and he displayed -his wonted activity of body nearly to the last. In his -seventy-sixth year he said that he had never felt a moment's -<i>ennui</i> in his life. He was the most accomplished man of his -time: his reading was very extensive; he used to say that -he could easily read and understand an octavo volume -during his breakfast. Besides the classical languages of -antiquity, he spoke four modern European tongues, and -wrote three of them with great elegance. He read Russian -and Arabic. We have said that he was taught music by -Mozart, to whom he was so much attached, that when the -great composer settled in Vienna, Mr. Beckford made a -visit to that capital "that he might once more see his old -master."</p> - -<p>Mr. Redding tells us that Mr. Beckford's custom, "in fine -weather, was to rise early, ride to the tower or about the -grounds, walk back and breakfast, and then read until a -little before noon, generally making pencil notes in the -margin of every book, transact business with his steward; -afterwards, until two o'clock, continue to read and write, -and then ride out two or three hours." Mr. Beckford -was never idle. When planning or building, he passed the -larger part of the day where the work was proceeding. He -sometimes expressed contempt by a sarcastic sneer, peculiar -to himself. Few could utter more cutting things than the -author of <i>Vathek</i>, the delivery with a caustic expression of -countenance that made them tell with double effect. Mr. -Redding once ventured to remark, "It must have cost you -much pain to quit Fonthill." "Not so much as you might -think. I can bend to fortune. I have philosophy enough -not to cry like a child about a play-thing." Mr. Britton, -who had seen much of Mr. Beckford, tells us that the remarks -and opinions in the novels of <i>Cecil a Coxcomb</i> and -<i>Cecil a Peer</i>, mostly written by Mrs. Gore when on a visit to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -Mr. Beckford at Bath, afford the nearest approach he had -seen in print to the language, the ideas, the peculiar sentiments -of the author of <i>Vathek</i>.</p> - -<p>Mr. Beckford continued to reside in Bath (except his -annual visits to the metropolis, when he lived in Park Lane -and in Gloucester Place<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>) for about twenty years, and died -there on May 2, 1844, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. -His intention was to make the ground attached to the Lansdown -tower the place of his sepulchre, and he had prepared -and placed on the spot a granite sarcophagus, inscribed with -a passage from <i>Vathek</i>; but the ecclesiastical authorities refused -to consecrate the ground, the body was embalmed and -placed in the sarcophagus in the cemetery of Lyncomb, to -the south of Bath. It was afterwards removed to Lansdown, -when the ground was consecrated.</p> - -<p>The author of <i>Vathek</i> was unquestionably a man of -genius and rare accomplishments. "But his abilities were -overpowered and his character tainted by the possession of -wealth so enormous. At every stage his money was like a -millstone round his neck. He had taste and knowledge; -but the selfishness of wealth tempted him to let these gifts -of the mind run to seed in the gratification of extravagant -freaks. He really enjoyed travelling and scenery, but he -felt it incumbent on him, as a millionnaire, to take a French -cook with him wherever he went;<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> and he found that the -Spanish grandees and ecclesiastical dignitaries who welcomed -him so cordially valued him as the man whose cook -could make such wonderful omelettes. From the day when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -Chatham's proxy stood for him at the font till the day when -he was laid in his pink granite sarcophagus, he was the -victim of riches. Had he had only 5,000<i>l.</i> a year, and been -sent to Eton, he might have been one of the foremost men -of his time, and have been as useful in his generation as, -under his unhappy circumstances, he was useless."<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> It may -be added, that he was worse: for he so threw about his -money at Fonthill as to corrupt and demoralise the simple -country people.</p> - -<p>Against this judgment must, however, be placed Mr. -Beckford's own declaration, that he never felt a single -moment of <i>ennui</i>.</p> - -<p>Mr. Beckford left two daughters, the eldest of whom, -Susan Euphemia, was married to the Marquis of Clydesdale -in 1810, and became Duchess of Hamilton. The tomb at -Lansdown, with its polished granite, emblazoned shields, -and bronzed and gilt embellishments, was not long cared -for; since in 1850, it presented in its neglected state a -lamentable object. <i>Vathek</i> will be remembered. Byron, a -good judge of such a subject, has pronounced that "for -correctness of costume, beauty of description, and power of -imagination," it far surpasses all other European imitations -of the Eastern style of fiction.</p> - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Alderman" id="Alderman">Alderman Beckford's Monument Speech,<br /> -in Guildhall.</a></h3> - - -<p>The speech on the pedestal of Beckford's statue, and -referred to at p. 2 <i>ante</i>, is the one which the Alderman is -said to have addressed to his Majesty on the 23rd of May, -1770, with reference to the King's reply to the Remonstrance -address which Beckford had presented:—"That he should -have been wanting to the public as well as to himself if he -had not expressed his dissatisfaction at the late address."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -Horace Walpole thus notes the affair: "The City carried a -new remonstrance, garnished with my lord's own ingredients, -but much less hot than the former. The country, however, -was put to some confusion by my Lord Mayor, who, contrary -to all form and precedent, tacked a volunteer speech to the -'Remonstrance.' It was wondrous loyal and respectful, -but, being an innovation, much discomposed the solemnity. -It is always usual to furnish a copy of what is said to the -King, that he may be prepared with his answer. In this -case, he was reduced to tuck up his train, jump from the -throne, and take sanctuary in his closet, or answer extempore, -which is not part of the Royal trade; or sit silent, -and have nothing to reply. This last was the event, and a -position awkward enough in conscience."—<i>Walpole to Sir -Horace Mann</i>, May 24, 1770.</p> - -<p>Now, at the end of the Alderman's speech, in his copy -of the City addresses, Mr. Isaac Reed has inserted the -following note:—"It is a curious fact, but a true one, that -Beckford did not utter one syllable of this speech (on the -monument). It was penned by John Horne Tooke, and by -his art put on the records of the City and on Beckford's -statue, as he told me, Mr. Braithwaite, Mr. Sayer, &c., at the -Athenæum Club.—Isaac Reed." There can be little doubt -that the worthy commentator and his friends were imposed -upon. In the <i>Chatham Correspondence</i>, volume iii., p. 460, -a letter from Sheriff Townsend to the Earl expressly states -that with the exception of the words "and necessary" being -left out before the word "revolution," the Lord Mayor's -speech in the <i>Public Advertiser</i> of the preceding day is -verbatim. (The one delivered to the King.)—<i>Wright</i>—<i>Note -to Walpole.</i></p> - -<p>Gifford says (<i>Ben Jonson</i>, VI. 481) that Beckford never -uttered before the King one syllable of the speech upon his -monument; and Gifford's statement is fully confirmed both -by Isaac Reed (as above) and by Maltby, the friend of -Roger and Horne Tooke. Beckford <i>made</i> a "remonstrance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -speech" to the King; but the speech on Beckford's monument -is the after speech written for Beckford by Horne -Tooke.—<i>See Mitford, Gray, and Mason's Correspondence</i>, -pp. 438, 439.—<i>Cuningham's Note to Walpole</i>, v. 239.</p> - -<p>Such is the historic worth of this strange piece of monumental -bombast, upon which Pennant made this appropriate -comment:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The things themselves are neither scarce nor rare,<br /> -The wonder's how the devil they got there. </p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus2" id="Illus2"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image5.jpg" width="300" height="395" alt="Mr. John Farquhar over the ruins of Fonthill." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Mr. John Farquhar over the ruins of Fonthill.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus3" id="Illus3"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image6.jpg" width="275" height="295" alt="Beau Brummel. From a miniature." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Beau Brummel. (<i>From a miniature.</i>)</p> - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Beau" id="Beau">Beau Brummel.</a></h3> - - -<p>This celebrated leader of fashion in the times of the -Regency—George Bryan Brummel—was born June 7, 1778. -His grandfather was a pastrycook in Bury Street, St. James's, -who, by letting off a large portion of his house, became a -moneyed man. While Brummel's father was yet a boy, Mr. -Jenkinson came to lodge there, and this led to the lad being -employed in a Government office, when his lodger and -patron had attained to eminence; he was subsequently -private secretary to Lord Liverpool, and at his death, left the -Beau little less than 30,000<i>l.</i> Brummel was sent to Eton, -and thence to Oxford, and at sixteen he was gazetted to a -cornetcy in the 10th Hussars, at that time commanded by -the Prince of Wales, to whom he had been presented on the -Terrace at Windsor, when the Beau was a boy at Eton. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -became an associate of the Prince, then two-and-thirty, but -who, according to Mr. Thomas Raikes, disdained not to -take lessons in dress from Brummel at his lodgings. -Thither would the future King of nations wend his way, -where, absorbed in the mysteries of the toilet, he would remain -till so late an hour that he sometimes sent his horses -away, and insisted on Brummel giving him a quiet dinner, -which generally ended in a deep potation.</p> - -<p>Brummel's assurance was one of his earliest characteristics. -A great law lord, who lived in Russell Square, one -evening gave a ball, at which J., one of the beauties of the -time, was present. Numerous were the applications made -to dance with her; but being as proud as she was beautiful, -she refused them all, till the young Hussar made his appearance; -and he having proffered to hand her out, she at -once acquiesced, greatly to the wrath of the disappointed -candidates. In one of the pauses of the dance, he happened -to find himself close to an acquaintance, when he exclaimed, -"Ha! you here? Do, my good fellow, tell me who that -ugly man is leaning against the chimney-piece." "Why, -surely you must know him," replied the other, "'tis the -master of the house." "No, indeed," said the Cornet, -coolly; "how should I? I never was invited."</p> - -<p>Captain Jesse, the biographer of Brummel, has drawn his -portrait at about this time. "His face was rather long and -complexion fair; his whiskers inclined to sandy, and hair -light brown. His features were neither plain nor handsome; -but his head was well shaped, the forehead being unusually -high; showing, according to phrenological development, -more of the mental than the animal passions—the bump of -self-esteem was very prominent. His countenance indicated -that he possessed considerable intelligence, and his mouth -betrayed a strong disposition to indulge in sarcastic humour: -this was predominant in every feature, the nose excepted, -the natural regularity of which, though it had been broken -by a fall from his charger, preserved his features from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -degenerating into comicality. His eyebrows were equally -expressive with his mouth; and while the latter was giving -utterance to something very good-humoured or polite, the -former, and the eyes themselves, which were grey and full -of oddity, could assume an expression that made the -sincerity of his words very doubtful. His voice was very -pleasing."</p> - -<p>Brummel was one of the first who revived and improved -the taste for dress, and his great innovation was effected -upon neckcloths; they were then worn without stiffening of -any kind, and bagged out in front, rucking up to the chin -in a roll: to remedy this obvious awkwardness and inconvenience, -he used to have his slightly starched; and a -reasoning mind must allow that there is not much to object -to in this reform. He did not, however, like the dandies, -test their fitness for use by trying if he could raise three -parts of their length by one corner without their bending; -yet, it appears that if the cravat was not properly tied at the -first effort, or inspiring impulse, it was always rejected. His -valet was coming down stairs one day with a quantity of -tumbled neckcloths under his arm, and, being interrogated -on the subject, solemnly replied, "Oh, they are <i>our</i> failures." -Practice like this, of course, made Brummel perfect; and his -tie soon became a model that was imitated but never equalled. -The method by which this most important result was attained, -was thus told to Captain Jesse:—"The collar, which -was always fixed to his shirt, was so large that, before being -folded down, it completely hid his head and face; and the -white neckcloth was at least a foot in height. The first <i>coup -d'archet</i> was made with the shirt-collar, which he folded down -to its proper size; and Brummel, then standing before the -glass, with his chin poked up to the ceiling, by the gentle -and gradual declension of the lower jaw, creased the cravat -to reasonable dimensions, the form of each succeeding -crease being perfected with the shirt which he had just discarded."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Brummel's morning dress was similar to that of every -other gentleman. Hessians and pantaloons, or top-boots -and buckskins, with a blue coat and a light or buff-coloured -waistcoat, of course fitting to admiration on the best figure -in England. His dress of an evening was a blue coat and -white waistcoat, black pantaloons, which buttoned tight to -the ankle, striped stockings, and opera-hat; in fact he was -always carefully dressed, but never the slave of fashion.</p> - -<p>"Brummel's tailors were Schweitzer and Davidson in -Cork Street; Weston; and a German of the name of Meyer, -who lived in Conduit Street. The trousers which opened -at the bottom of the leg, and were closed by buttons and -loops, were invented either by Meyer or Brummel. The -Beau, at any rate, was the first who wore them, and they -immediately became quite the fashion and continued so for -some years."</p> - -<p>Brummel was addicted to practical jokes, one of which -may be related. The victim was an old French emigrant, -whom he had met on a visit to Woburn or Chatsworth, and -into whose hair-pouch he managed to introduce some finely-powdered -sugar. Next morning the poor Marquis, quite -unconscious of his head being so well-sweetened, joined the -breakfast-table as usual; but scarcely had he made his bow -and plunged his knife into the Perigord pie before him, than -the flies began to desert the walls and windows to settle -upon his head. The weather was exceedingly hot; the flies -of course numerous, and even the honeycomb and marmalade -upon the table seemed to have lost all attraction for -them. The Marquis relinquished his knife and fork to -drive off the enemy with his handkerchief. But scarcely -had he attempted to renew his acquaintance with the Perigord -pie, than back the whole swarm came, more teazingly -than ever. Not a wing was missing. More of the company -who were not in the secret, could not help wondering at this -phenomenon, as the buzzing grew louder and louder every -moment. Matters grew still worse when the sugar, melting,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -poured down the Frenchman's brow and face in thick -streams; for his tormentors then changed their ground of -action, and having thus found a more vulnerable part, nearly -drove him mad with their stings. Unable to bear it any -longer, he clasped his head with both hands, and rushed out -of the room in a cloud of powder, followed by his persevering -tormentors, and the laughter of the company.</p> - -<p>Brummel was the autocrat of the world in which he -moved. It has been said that Madame de Staël was in awe -of him, and considered her having failed to please him as -her greatest misfortune; while the Prince of Wales having -neglected to call upon her, she placed only as a secondary -cause of lamentation. The great French authoress, however, -was not without reason in her regrets; to offend or not to -please Brummel was to lose caste in the fashionable world, -to be exposed to the most cutting sarcasm and the most -poignant ridicule.</p> - -<p>Captain Jesse thus tells the story of Brummel's <i>cutting</i> -quarrel with the Prince of Wales. Lord Alvanley, Brummel, -Henry Pierrepoint, and Sir Harry Mildmay, gave at the -Hanover Square Rooms a fête, which was called the -Dandies' Ball. Alvanley was a friend of the Duke of York; -Harry Mildmay, young, and had never been introduced to -the Prince Regent; Pierrepoint knew him slightly, and -Brummel was at daggers drawn with his Royal Highness. -No invitation was, however, sent to the Prince, but the ball -excited much interest and expectation, and to the surprise -of the Amphitryons, a communication was received from his -Royal Highness intimating his wish to be present. Nothing, -therefore, was left but to send him an invitation, which was -done in due form, and in the name of the four spirited givers -of the ball; the next question was how were they to receive -the guest, and which, after some discussion, was arranged -thus:—When the approach of the Prince was announced, -each of the four gentlemen took in due form a candle in his -hand. Pierrepoint, as knowing the Prince, stood nearest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -the door with his wax-light; and Mildmay, as being young -and void of offence, opposite. Alvanley, with Brummel -opposite, stood immediately behind the other two. The -Prince at length arrived, and, as was expected, spoke civilly -and with recognition to Pierrepoint, and then turned and -spoke a few words to Mildmay; advancing, he addressed -several sentences to Alvanley; and then turned towards -Brummel, looked at him, but as if he did not know who he -was, or why he was there, and without bestowing on him the -slightest recognition. It was then, at the very instant he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -passed on, that Brummel, seizing with infinite fun and readiness -the notion that they were unknown to each other, said -aloud for the purpose of being heard, "Alvanley, who's your -fat friend?" Those who were in front, and saw the Prince's -face, say that he was cut to the quick by the aptness of the -remark.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus4" id="Illus4"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image7.jpg" width="300" height="396" alt="Lord Alvanley. A pillar of White's." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Lord Alvanley. A pillar of White's.</p> - -<p>Mr. Grantley Berkeley (in his <i>Life and Recollections</i>) -relates the story less circumstantially:—"There is a well-known -anecdote I am able to correct, given to me by a -medical friend of mine, who had it from the late Henry -Pierrepoint, brother to the late Lord Manners:—'We of -the Dandy Club issued invitations to a ball from which -Brummel had influence enough to get the Prince excluded. -Some one told the Prince this, upon which his Royal Highness -wrote to say he intended to have the pleasure of being -at our ball. A number of us lined the entrance-passage to -receive the Prince, who, as he passed along, turned from side -to side to shake hands with each of us; but when he came -to Brummel, he passed him without the smallest notice, and -turned to shake hands with the man opposite to Brummel. -As the Prince turned from that man—I forget who it was—Brummel -leaned forward across the passage, and said, in a -loud voice, 'Who is your fat friend?' We were all dismayed; -but in those days Brummel could do no wrong."</p> - -<p>The following story was supplied to Captain Jesse by -a correspondent. The Beau, it appears, had a great <i>penchant</i> -for snuff-boxes:—"Brummel had a collection chosen -with singular sagacity and good taste; and one of them had -been seen and admired by the Prince, who said, 'Brummel, -this box must be mine: go to Gray's and order any box you -like in lieu of it.' Brummel begged that it might be one -with his Royal Highness' miniature; and the Prince, pleased -and flattered at the suggestion, gave his assent to the -request. Accordingly, the box was ordered, and Brummel -took great pains with the pattern and form, as well as with -the miniature and diamonds round it. When some progress<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -had been made, the portrait was shown to the Prince; who -was charmed with it, suggested slight improvements and -alterations, and took the liveliest interest in the work as it -proceeded. All in fact was on the point of being concluded -when the scene at Claremont took place; [where this writer -describes the quarrel as originating, through the Prince preventing -Brummel from joining a party, on the plea of Mrs. -Fitzherbert disliking him.] A day or two after this, -Brummel thought he might as well go to Gray's and -inquire about the box; he did so, and was told that special -directions had been sent by the Prince of Wales that the box -was not to be delivered: it never was, nor was the one returned -for which it was to have been an equivalent. It was -this, I believe, more than anything besides, which induced -Brummel to bear himself with such unbending hostility -towards the Prince of Wales. He felt that he had treated -him unworthily, and from this moment he indulged himself -by saying the bitterest things. When pressed by poverty, -however, and, as I suppose, broken in spirit, he at a later -period recalled the Prince's attention to the subject of the -snuff-box. Colonel Cooke (who was at Eton called 'Cricketer -Cooke,' afterwards known as 'Kangaroo Cooke'), when -passing through Calais, saw Brummel, who told him the -story, and requested that he would inform the Prince Regent -that the promised box had never been given, and that he was -now constrained to recall the circumstance to his recollection. -The Regent's reply was: 'Well, Master Kang, as for -the box it is all nonsense; but I suppose the poor devil -wants a hundred guineas, and he shall have them;' and it -was in this ungracious manner that the money was sent, -received, and acknowledged. I have heard Brummel speak -of the affair of the snuff-box, but I never heard him say that -he received the hundred guineas."</p> - -<p>Brummel, late in life, stood to his Whig colours. His -evening dress consisted of a blue coat, with velvet collar and -the consular button; a buff waistcoat, black trousers and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -boots. His white neckcloth was unexceptionable. The -only articles of jewellery about him were a plain ring and a -massive chain of Venetian ducat-gold, which served as a -guard to his watch, and was evidently as much for use as -ornament, only two links of it were to be seen; those passed -from the buttons of his waistcoat to the pocket; the chain -was peculiar, and was of the same pattern as those suspended -<i>in terrorem</i> outside the principal entrance to Newgate. The -ring was dug out on the Field of the Cloth of Gold by a -labourer, who sold it to Brummel when he was at Calais. -An opera-hat, and gloves which were held in his hand, completed -an attire that being remarkably quiet, could never -have attracted attention on any other person. His <i>mise</i> was -peculiar only for its extreme neatness, and wholly at variance -with an opinion very prevalent among those who were not -personally acquainted with him, that he owed his reputation -to his tailor, or to an exaggerated style of dress.</p> - -<p>Brummel, however, maintained his supremacy in the -world of fashion for years after the Prince had <i>cut</i> him. -"But though even royal disfavour could not seriously lower -him, he managed in the end to do that which no one else could -do, he ruined himself; the gaming table, in the long run, -deprived him of all his fortune. Then came bills to supply -the deficiencies of the hour, and with that the consummation -which they never fail to bring about when necessity has -recourse to them. A quarrel ensuing with the friends joined -in one of these acceptances, and who accused him of taking -the lion's share, he was obliged to quit England and take up -his abode at Calais. It has been said, ludicrously enough, -that Brummel and Bonaparte fell together. The Moscow -of the former, according to his own account, was a crooked -sixpence, to the possession of which his good fortune was -attached, but which he unfortunately lost.</p> - -<p>"But, if he had lost his magical sixpence, he had not -yet exhausted all his friends, from some of whom he was -continually receiving even large sums of money, so much in -one instance as a thousand pounds. He was thus enabled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -to furnish his lodgings according to his usual refined habits, -and living much retired, he set seriously to work in acquiring -the French language, and succeeded.</p> - -<p>"His resources now decreased. Some friends were lost -to him by death, others, perhaps, grew weary of relieving -him. A visit of George IV. held out to him a momentary -gleam of hope. But the king came to Calais, and did not -send for him, or in any way notice him. Still he was not -wholly bereft of friends, but continued from time to time to -receive remittances from England; and at length, by the -intervention of the Duke of Wellington with King William, -Brummel was appointed English Consul in the capital of -Lower Normandy. By this time he was deeply involved in -debt, and when he had settled at Caen, the large deductions -made from his income to discharge the arrears of debt incurred -at Calais left him an insufficiency for a man of his -habits. He became as deeply involved at Caen as he had -before been at Calais. Next, upon his own showing of its -uselessness, the consulate at Caen was abolished, and he -was left penniless. He obtained funds from England. But -he had more than one attack of paralysis. He was flung -into prison at Caen by his French creditors, and confined in -a wretched, filthy den, with felons for his companions. He -was enabled by aid from England to leave his prison, after -more than two months' confinement. Sickness, loss of -memory, absolute imbecility, and finally, inability to distinguish -bread from meat, or wine from coffee, now came -with their attendant ills. His friends obtained him admission -into the hospital of the <i>Bon Sauveur</i>, and he was -placed in a comfortable room, that had once been occupied -by the celebrated Bourrienne. Here he died on the evening -of the 30th of March, 1840."<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - -<p>The different stages of mental decay through which this -unfortunate man passed, before he became hopelessly -imbecile, it is painful to read of. One of his most singular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -eccentricities was, on certain nights some strange fancy -would seize him that it was necessary he should give a -party, and he accordingly invited many of the distinguished -persons with whom he had been intimate in former days, -though some of them were already dead. On these gala -evenings he desired his attendant to arrange his apartment, set -out a whist table, and light the <i>bougies</i> (he burnt only tallow -at the time), and at eight o'clock this man, to whom he had -already given his instructions, opened wide the door of his -sitting-room, and announced the "Duchess of Devonshire." -At the sound of her grace's well-remembered name, the -Beau, instantly rising from his chair, would advance towards -the door, and greet the cold air from the staircase as if it -had been the beautiful Georgiana herself. If the dust of that -fair creature could have stood reanimate in all her loveliness -before him, she would not have thought his bow less graceful -than it had been thirty-five years before; for, despite -poor Brummel's mean habiliments and uncleanly person, the -supposed visitor was received with all his former courtly -ease of manner, and the earnestness that the pleasure of -such an honour might be supposed to excite. "Ah! my -dear Duchess," faltered the Beau, "how rejoiced am I to -see you; so very amiable of you at this short notice! Pray -bury yourself in this arm-chair: do you know it was a gift -to me from the Duchess of York, who was a very kind -friend of mine; but, poor thing, you know she is no more." -Here the eyes of the old man would fill with the tears of -idiocy, and, sinking into the <i>fauteuil</i> himself, he would sit -for some time looking vacantly at the fire, until Lord -Alvanley, Worcester, or any other old friend he chose to -name, was announced, when he again rose to receive them -and went through a similar pantomime. At ten his attendant -announced the carriages, and this farce was at an end.</p> - -<p>Brummel's sayings are not brilliant in point. They -doubtless owed their success to the inimitable impudence -with which they were uttered. We have thrown together a -few of his many repartees.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> - -<p>Dining at a gentleman's house in Hampshire, where the -champagne was very far from being good, he waited for a -pause in the conversation, and then condemned it by raising -his glass, and saying loud enough to be heard by every one -at the table, "John, give me some more of that cider."</p> - -<p>"Brummel, you were not here yesterday," said one of -his club friends; "where did you dine?" "Dine! why -with a person of the name of R——s. I believe he wishes -me to notice him, hence the dinner; but, to give him his -due, he desired that I would make up the party myself, so -I asked Alvanley, Mills, Pierrepoint, and a few others; and -I assure you the affair turned out quite unique; there was -every delicacy in or out of season; the sillery was perfect, -and not a wish remained ungratified; but, my dear fellow, -conceive my astonishment when I tell you that Mr. R——s -had the assurance to sit down and dine with us."</p> - -<p>An acquaintance having, in a morning call, bored him -dreadfully about some tour he made in the north of England, -inquired with great pertinacity of his impatient listener which -of the lakes he preferred? When Brummel, quite tired of -the man's tedious raptures, turned his head imploringly -towards his valet, who was arranging something in the room, -and said, "Robinson?" "Sir." "Which of the lakes do I -admire?" "Windermere, sir," replied that distinguished -individual. "Ah, yes; Windermere," repeated Brummel; -"so it is—Windermere."</p> - -<p>Having been asked by a sympathising friend how he -happened to get such a severe cold, his reply was, "Why, -do you know, I left my carriage yesterday evening, on my -way to town from the Pavilion, and the infidel of a landlord -put me into a room with a damp stranger."</p> - -<p>On being asked by one of his acquaintance, during a -very unseasonable summer, if he had ever seen such an one, -he replied, "Yes; last winter."</p> - -<p>Having fancied himself invited to some one's country -seat, and being given to understand, after one night's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -lodging, that he was in error, he told an unconscious friend -in town, who asked him what sort of place it was, "that it -was an exceedingly good house for stopping one night in."</p> - -<p>On the night that he quitted London, the Beau was seen -as usual at the opera, but he left early, and, without returning -to his lodgings, stepped into a chaise which had been -procured for him by a noble friend, and met his own -carriage a short distance from town. Travelling all night as -fast as four post-horses and liberal donations could enable -him, the morning dawned on him at Dover, and immediately -on his arrival there he hired a small vessel, put his carriage -on board, and was landed in a few hours on the other side. -By this time the West-end had awoke and missed him, -particularly his tradesmen.</p> - -<p>It was while promenading one day on the pier, and not -long before he left Calais, that an old associate of his, who -had just arrived by the packet from England, met him unexpectedly -in the street, and, cordially shaking hands with -him, said, "My dear Brummel, I am so glad to to see you, -for we had heard in England that you were dead; the report, -I assure you, was in very general circulation when I -left." "Mere stock-jobbing, my good fellow—mere stock-jobbing," -was the Beau's reply.</p> - -<p>We have said that Brummel's grandfather was a pastrycook. -His aunt is said to have been the widow of a grandson -of Brawn, the celebrated cook who kept 'The Rummer,' -in Queen Street, and who had himself kept 'The Rummer' -public-house, at the Old Mews Gate, at Charing Cross. -Brummel spoke with a relish worthy a descendant of 'The -Rummer,' of the savoury pies of his aunt Brawn, who then -resided at Kilburn. Henry Carey, in the <i>Dissertation on -Dumpling</i>, assumes Braun, or Braund, as he calls him, to -have been the direct descendant in the male line of his -imaginary Brawnd, knighted by King John for his unrivalled -skill in making dumplings, and who subsequently -resided, as he tells us, "at the ancient manor of Brands, <i>alias</i> -Braunds, near Kilburn, in Middlesex." Curious the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -accident that found Brummel's "Aunt Brawn" a resident -at Kilburn, a century after the <i>Dissertation on Dumpling</i> -was written.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus5" id="Illus5"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image8.jpg" width="300" height="415" alt="Beau Brummel at Calais." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Beau Brummel at Calais.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"><a name="Illus6" id="Illus6"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image9.jpg" width="250" height="408" alt="Sir Lumley Skeffington in a "Jean de Brie."" /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Sir Lumley Skeffington in a "Jean de Brie."</p> - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Lumley" id="Lumley">Sir Lumley Skeffington, Bart.</a></h3> - - -<p>This accomplished gentleman was the son of Sir William -Skeffington, a much respected Baronet of Bilsdon, in -Leicestershire, where he enjoyed considerable estates and -great provincial esteem. He was born in 1778, and was -educated at Soho School, and at Newcome's, at Hackney. -At the latter he distinguished himself in the dramatic performances -for which the school was long celebrated. Dr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -Benjamin Hoadley, author of <i>The Suspicious Husband</i>, and -his brother, Dr. John Hoadley, were both educated here, -and shone in their amateur performances; at the representation -of 1764, there were upwards of "one hundred -gentlemen's coaches." Young Skeffington excelled in -Hamlet, as he afterwards shone in "the glass of fashion." -His hereditary prospects afforded him a ready introduction -to the fashionable world, and during upwards of twenty -years he was considered as a leader of <i>ton</i>, and one of the -most finished gentlemen in England. He was a person of -considerable taste in literature: he wrote <i>The Word of -Honour</i>, a comedy, and the dialogue and songs of a highly -finished melodrama, founded on the legend of <i>The Sleeping -Beauty</i>. In 1818 he lost his father, who having embarrassed -his estates, his son, as an act of filial duty to rescue a -parent from distress, consented to the cutting off the entail, -by which he deprived himself of that substantial provision -without which the life of a gentleman is a life of misery.</p> - -<p>Sir Lumley was the dandy of the olden time, and a -kinder, better-hearted man never existed. He was of the -most polished manners; nor had his long intercourse with -fashionable society at all affected that simplicity of character -for which he was remarkable. He was a true dandy, and -much more than that, he was a perfect gentleman. In 1827, -a contributor to the <i>New Monthly Magazine</i> wrote: "I -remember, long, long since, entering Covent Garden -Theatre, when I observed a person holding the door to -let me pass; deeming him to be one of the box-keepers, -I was about to nod my thanks, when I found, to my surprise, -that it was Skeffington who had thus good-naturedly -honoured a stranger by his attention. We with some difficulty -obtained seats in a box, and I was indebted to accident -for one of the most agreeable evenings I remember to have -passed.</p> - -<p>"I remember visiting the Opera when late dinners were -the rage, and the hour of refection was carried far into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -night. I was again placed near the fugleman of fashion, -for to his movements were all eyes directed, and his sanction -determined the accuracy of all conduct. He bowed from -box to box, until recognizing one of his friends in the lower -tier, 'Temple,' he exclaimed, drawling out his weary words, -'at—what—hour—do—you—dine—to-day?' It had gone -half-past eleven when he spoke.</p> - -<p>"I saw him once enter St. James's Church, having at -the door taken a ponderous red morocco prayer-book from -his servant; but although prominently placed in the centre -aisle, the pew-opener never offered him a seat; and stranger -still, none of his many friends beckoned him to a place. -Others in his rank of life might have been disconcerted at -the position in which he was placed; but Skeffington was -too much of a gentleman to be in any way disturbed; so he -seated himself upon the bench between two aged female -paupers, and most reverently did he go through the service, -sharing with the ladies his book, the print of which was more -favourable to their devotions than their own diminutive -liturgies."</p> - -<p>Sir Lumley Skeffington continued to the last to take -especial interest in the theatre and its artists, notwithstanding -his own reduced fortunes. He was a worshipper of female -beauty, his adoration being poured forth in ardent verse. -Thus, in the spring 1829, he inscribed to Miss Foote the -following ballad:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">When the frosts of the Winter in mildness were ending,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To April I gave half the welcome of May;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">While the Spring, fresh in youth, came delightfully blending<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The buds that are sweet, and the songs that are gay.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">As the eyes fixed the heart on a vision so fair,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Not doubting, but trusting what magic was there,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Aloud I exclaim'd, with augmented desire,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I thought 'twas the Spring, when in truth 'twas Maria!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">When the fading of stars in the region of splendour<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Announc'd that the morning was young in the east,<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -<span class="i0">On the upland I rov'd, admiration to render,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Where freshness, and beauty, and lustre increas'd.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Whilst the beams of the morning new pleasures bestow'd,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">While fondly I gaz'd, while with rapture I glow'd,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In sweetness commanding, in elegance bright,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Maria arose! a more beautiful light.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Again, on the termination of the engagement of Miss -Foote, at Drury Lane Theatre, in May, 1826, Sir Lumley -addressed her in the following impromptu:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Maria departs! 'tis a sentence of dread;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For the Graces turn pale, and the Fates droop their head!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In mercy to breasts that tumultuously burn,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Dwell no more on departure, but speak of return.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Since she goes when the buds are just ready to burst,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In expanding its leaves, let the willow be first.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We here shall no longer find beauties in May;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">It cannot be Spring when Maria's away!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If vernal at all, 'tis an April appears,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For the blossom flies off in the midst of our tears.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Sir Lumley, through the ingratitude and treachery of</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Friends found in sunshine, to be lost in storm,</p> - -<p>became involved in difficulties and endless litigation, and -his latter years were clouded with sorrow; still his buoyant -spirits never altogether left him, although "the observed of -all observers" passed his latter years in compulsory residence -in a quarter of the great town ignored by the Sybarites of -St. James's.</p> - -<p>When Madame Vestris established a theatre of her own, -Sir Lumley thus sang, in the columns of <i>The Times</i>:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Now Vestris, the tenth of the Muses,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To Mirth rears a fanciful dome,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We mark, while delight she infuses,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The Graces find beauty at home.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">In her eye such vivacity glitters,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To her voice such perfections belong,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That care, and the life it embitters,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Find balm in the sweets of her song.<br /></span> - -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></div><div class="stanza"> - -<span class="i0">When monarchs o'er valleys are ranging,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A court is transferr'd to the green;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And flowers, transplanted, are changing<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Not fragrance, but merely the scene.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">'Tis circumstance dignifies places;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A desert is charming with spring!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And pleasure finds twenty new graces<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Wherever the Vestris may sing!<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Sir Lumley, who had long been unheard of in fashionable -circles, died in London in 1850 or 1851.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus7" id="Illus7"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image10.jpg" width="300" height="344" alt="Skiffy at the Birthday Ball." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Skiffy at the Birthday Ball.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus8" id="Illus8"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image11.jpg" width="300" height="411" alt="Robert Coates, the Amateur of Fashion, as Romeo." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Robert Coates, the Amateur of Fashion, as Romeo.</p> - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Romeo" id="Romeo">"Romeo" Coates.</a></h3> - - -<p>This celebrated leader of fashion, who rejoiced in the -sobriquets of "Romeo" and "Diamond," obtained the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -former from his love of amateur acting, and the latter from -his great wealth obtained from the West Indies. He was -likewise noted by his splendid curricle, the body of which -was in the form of a cockleshell, bearing the cock-bird as -his crest; and the harness of the horses was mounted with -metal figures of the same bird, with which got associated -the motto of "Whilst we live, we'll crow."</p> - -<p>By his amateur performances he shared with young -Betty (Roscius) the admiration of the town. A writer in -the <i>New Monthly Magazine</i>, 1827, pleasantly describes one -of these performances:—"Never shall I forget his representation -of Lothario (some sixty years since), at the Haymarket -Theatre, for his own pleasure, as he accurately -termed it; and certainly the then rising fame of Liston was -greatly endangered by his Barbadoes rival. Never had -Garrick or Kemble in their best times so largely excited -the public attention and curiosity. The very remotest nooks -of the galleries were filled by fashion; while in a stage-box -sat the performer's notorious friend, the Baron Ferdinand -Geramb.</p> - -<p>"Coates's lean Quixotic form being duly clothed in -velvets and in silks, and his bonnet highly fraught with -diamonds (whence his appellation), his entrance on the -stage was greeted by so general a <i>crowing</i> (in allusion to the -large cocks, which as his crest adorned his harness), that the -angry and affronted Lothario drew his sword upon the -audience, and actually challenged the rude and boisterous -tenants of the galleries, <i>seriatim</i> or <i>en masse</i>, to combat on -the stage. Solemn silence, as the consequence of mock -fear, immediately succeeded. The great actor, after the -overture had ceased, amused himself for some time with the -Baron ere he condescended to indulge the wishes of an -anxiously expectant audience.</p> - -<p>"At length he commenced: his appeals to the heart -were made by the application of the left hand so disproportionately -lower down than 'the seat of life' has been supposed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -to be placed; his contracted pronunciation of the -word 'breach,' and other new readings and actings, kept the -house in a right joyous humour, until the climax of all mirth -was attained by the dying scene of</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">that gallant, gay Lothario:</p> - -<p>but who shall describe the grotesque agonies of the dark -seducer, his platted hair escaping from the comb that held -it, and the dark crineous cordage that flapped upon his -shoulders in the convulsions of his dying moments, and the -cries of the people for medical aid to accomplish his eternal -exit? Then, when in his last throes his coronet fell, it was -miraculous to see the defunct arise, and after he had spread -a nice handkerchief on the stage, and there deposited his -head-dress, free from impurity, philosophically resume his -dead condition; but it was not yet over, for the exigent -audience, not content 'that when the men were dead, why -there an end,' insisted on a repetition of the awful scene, -which the highly flattered corpse executed three several -times, to the gratification of the cruel and torment-loving -assembly."</p> - -<p>Coates was destined to be tantalized by the celebrated -fête given at Carlton House, in 1821, in honour of the -Bourbons. Having no opportunity of learning in the West -Indies the propriety of being presented at Court ere he -could be upon a more intimate footing with the Prince -Regent, he was less astonished than delighted at the reception -of an invitation on that occasion to Carlton House. -What was the fame acquired by his cockleshell curricle; his -theatrical reputation; all the applause attending the perfection -of histrionic art; the flatteries of Billy Finch, a sort of -kidnapper of juvenile actors and actresses of the O.P. and -P.S., in Russell Court; the sanction of a Petersham; the -intimacy of a Barry More; even the polite endurance of a -Skeffington to this! To be classed with the proud, the -noble, and the great! It seemed a natural query whether<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -the Bourbon's name were not a pretext for his own introduction -to Royalty, under circumstances of unprecedented -splendour and magnificence. It must have been so. What -cogitations respecting dress, and air, and port, and bearing! -What torturing of the confounded lanky locks, to make -them but revolve ever so little! Then the rich cut velvet,—the -diamond buttons,—ay, every one was composed of -brilliants. The night arrived—but for Coates's mortification. -Theodore Hook had contrived to imitate one of the Chamberlain's -tickets, and to produce a facsimile, commanding -the presence of Coates; he then put on a scarlet uniform, -and delivered the card himself. On the night of the fête, -June 19th, Hook stationed himself by the screen at Carlton -House, and saw Romeo arrive and enter the palace; he -passed in without question, but the forgery was detected by -the Private Secretary, and Coates had to retrace his steps to -the street, and his carriage being driven off, to get home to -Craven Street in a hackney-coach. When the Prince was -informed of what had occurred, he signified his regret at the -course the Secretary had taken; he was sent by his Royal -Highness to apologize in person, and invite Coates to come -and look at the state rooms; and Romeo went.</p> - -<p>Mr. Coates, who by his cockleshell curricle had -acquired some of his celebrity, lost his life by a vehicular -accident: he died February 23, 1848, from being run over -in one of the London streets. He was in his seventy-sixth -year.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Abraham" id="Abraham">Abraham Newland.</a></h3> - - -<p>Abraham Newland, who was nearly sixty years in the -service of the Bank of England, and whose name became a -synonym for a bank-note, was one of a family of twenty-five -children, and was born in Southwark in 1730. At the age -of eighteen he entered the Bank service as junior clerk. -He was very fond of music, which led him into much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -dissipation. Still, he was very attentive to business, and in -1782 he was appointed chief cashier, with a suite of rooms -for residence in the Bank, and for five-and-twenty years he -never once slept out of the building. The pleasantest -version of his importance is contained in the famous song -in the <i>Whims of the Day</i>, published in 1800:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">There ne'er was a name so handed by fame,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thro' air, thro' ocean, and thro' land,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As one that is wrote upon every bank note,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And you all must know Abraham Newland.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Oh, Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Notified Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I have heard people say, sham Abraham you may,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But you must not sham Abraham Newland.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For fashion or arts, should you seek foreign parts,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">It matters not wherever you land,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Jew, Christian, or Greek, the same language they speak<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That's the language of Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Oh, Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Wonderful Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tho' with compliments cramm'd, you may die and be d—d,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If you hav'n't an Abraham Newland.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The world is inclin'd to think Justice is blind;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Lawyers know very well they can view land;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But, Lord, what of that, she'll blink like a bat<br /></span> -<span class="i2">At the sight of an Abraham Newland.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Oh, Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Magical Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tho' Justice, 'tis known, can see through a millstone,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">She can't see through Abraham Newland.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Your patriots who bawl for the good of us all,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Kind souls! here like mushrooms they strew land;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tho' loud as a drum, each proves orator mum,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If attack'd by an Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Oh, Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Invincible Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No argument's found in the world half so sound<br /></span> -<span class="i2">As the logic of Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> -<span class="i0">The French say they're coming, but sure they are mumming;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I know what they want if they do land;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We'll make their ears ring in defence of our king,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Our country, and Abraham Newland.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Oh, Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i12">Darling Abraham Newland!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No tricolour, elf, nor the devil himself<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Shall e'er rob us of Abraham Newland.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>In 1807, he retired from the office of chief cashier, after -declining a pension. He had hitherto been accustomed, -after the business at the Bank in his department had closed, -and he had dined moderately, to order his carriage and -drive to Highbury, where he drank tea at a small cottage. -Many who lived in that neighbourhood long recollected -Newland's daily walk—hail, rain, or sunshine—along Highbury -Place. It was said that he regretted his retirement -from the Bank; but he used to say that not for 20,000<i>l.</i> a -year would he return. He then removed to No. 38, -Highbury Place. His health and strength declined, it is -said, through the distress of mind brought upon him by the -forgeries of Robert Aslett, a clerk in the Bank, whom Newland -had treated as his own son. It was well known that -Abraham had accumulated a large fortune; legacy-hunters -came about him, and an acquaintance sent him a ham as a -present; but Newland despised the mercenary motive, and -next time he saw the donor he said, "I have received a ham -from you; I thank you for it," said he, but raising his finger -in a significant manner, added, "I tell you it won't do, it -won't do."</p> - -<p>Newland had no extravagant expectations that the -world would be drowned in sorrow when it should be his -turn to leave it; and he wrote this ludicrous epitaph on -himself shortly before his death:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Beneath this stone old Abraham lies:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nobody laughs and nobody cries.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where he's gone, and how he fares,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No one knows, and no one cares!<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> - -<p>His physician, in one of his latest visits, found him reading -the newspaper, when the doctor expressing his surprise, -Newland replied, smiling, "I am only looking in the paper -in order to see what I am reading to the world I am going -to." He died November 21, 1807, without any apparent -pain of body or anxiety of mind, and his remains were -deposited in the church of St. Saviour, Southwark.</p> - -<p>Newland's property amounted to 200,000<i>l.</i>, besides a -thousand a year landed estates. It must not be supposed -that this was saved from his salary. During the whole of -his career, the loans for the war proved very prolific. A -certain amount of them was always reserved for the cashier's -office (one Parliamentary Report names 100,000<i>l.</i>), and as -they generally came out at a premium, the profits were -great. The family of the Goldsmids, then the leaders of -the Stock Exchange, contracted for many of these loans, -and to each of them he left 500<i>l.</i> to purchase a mourning -ring. Newland's large funds, it is said, were also occasionally -lent to the Goldsmids to assist their various speculations.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 325px;"><a name="Illus9" id="Illus9"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image12.jpg" width="325" height="411" alt="Squire Mytton on his bear." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Squire Mytton on his bear.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Spendthrift" id="Spendthrift">The Spendthrift Squire of Halston, -John Mytton.</a></h3> - - -<p>The extravagant fellows of a family, says Sir Bernard -Burke, Ulster, have done more to overturn ancient houses -than all the other causes put together; and no case could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -be more in point to establish the fact than the history of -John Mytton, descended from the Myttons of Halston, who -represented, in the days of the Plantagenets, the borough of -Shrewsbury in Parliament, and filled the office of High -Sheriff of Shropshire at a very remote period. So far back -as 1480, Thomas Mytton, when holding that appointment, -was the fortunate captor of Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, -whom he conducted to Salisbury for trial and decapitation; -and in requital Richard III. bestowed on "his trusty and -well-beloved squire, Thomas Mytton," the Duke's forfeited -castle and lordship of Cawes. Halston, to which the -Myttons transferred their seat from their more ancient -residence of Cawes Castle and Habberley, is called in -ancient deeds "Holystone," and was in early times a preceptory -of Knights Templars. The Abbey, taken down -about one hundred and sixty years ago, was erected near -where the present mansion stands. In the good old times -of Halston, before reckless waste had dismantled its halls -and levelled its ancestral woods, the oak was seen here in -its full majesty of form; and it is related that one particular -tree, coeval with many centuries of the family's greatness, -was cut down by the spendthrift squire in the year 1826, -and contained ten tons of timber.</p> - -<p>In the great civil war, Mytton of Halston was one of -the few Shropshire gentlemen who joined the Parliamentary -standard. From this gallant and upright Parliamentarian, -the fifth in descent was John Mytton, the eccentric, wasteful, -dissipated, open-hearted, open-handed Squire of Halston, -in whose day and by whose wanton extravagance and folly, -a time-honoured family and a noble estate, the inheritance -of five hundred years, was recklessly destroyed.</p> - -<p>John Mytton was born September 30th, 1796. His father -died when he was only eighteen months old, so that his -minority lasted almost twenty years; and during its -continuance a very large sum of money was accumulated, -which, added to a landed property of full 10,000<i>l.</i> a year,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -and a pedigree of even Salopian antiquity and distinction, -rendered the Squire of Halston one of the first commoners -in England. But a boyhood unrestrained by proper control, -and an education utterly neglected, led to a course of -profligacy and eccentricity, amounting almost to madness, -that marred all these gifts of fortune. Young Mytton -commenced by being expelled from both Westminster and -Harrow; and though he was entered on the books of the -two universities, he did not matriculate at either; the only -indication he ever gave of an intention to do so was his -ordering three pipes of port wine to be sent to him, -addressed "Cambridge." When a mere child, he had been -allowed a pack of harriers at Halston, and at the age of ten -was a confirmed scapegrace. At nineteen he entered the -7th Hussars, and immediately joined his regiment, then -with the army of occupation in France. Fighting was, however, -all over, and the young Cornet turned at once to -racing and gaming, in which he was a serious loser.</p> - -<p>In 1818 he married the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas -Tyrrwhitt Jones, Bart., of Stanley Hall. By this lady, who -died in 1820, he had an only child, Harriet, married in 1841 -to Clement, youngest brother of Lord Hill. After his -wife's decease, the wayward extravagance which marked the -career of John Mytton has probably no parallel. He would -not suffer any one to advise him. When heavy liabilities -had been incurred, but previously to the disposal of the first -property he sold, his agent assured Mr. Mytton that if he -would content himself for the following six years with an -income of 6,000<i>l.</i>, the fine old Shrewsbury estate—the earliest -patrimony of his ancestors—might be saved; when besought -to listen to this warning counsel, "No, no," replied Mytton; -"I would not give a straw for life if it was to be passed on -6,000<i>l.</i> a year." The result confirmed the agent's apprehensions: -the first acre alienated led to the gradual dismemberment -of the whole estate; and from this moment -may be dated the ruin of the Myttons of Halston. Such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -was the prodigality of this unfortunate man, that it was said, -"If Mytton had had an income of 200,000<i>l.</i>, he would -have been in debt in five years." Most certain it is that, -within the last fifteen years of his life, he squandered full -half-a-million sterling, and sold timber—"the old oaks of -Halston"—to the amount, it is stated, of 80,000<i>l.</i></p> - -<p>The late Mr. Apperley (Nimrod) wrote a kindly biography -of Mytton, illustrated with coloured plates of his -strange adventures. One gives a view of Halston, with its -glorious plantations, and its noble sheet of water, through -which, as the shortest cut, its eccentric owner is riding home. -Another illustrates Mytton's "wild duck shooting." "He -would sometimes," says Nimrod, "strip to his shirt to follow -wild-fowl in hard weather, and once actually laid himself -down on the snow to await their arrival at dusk. On one -occasion he out-heroded Herod, for he followed some ducks -<i>in puris naturalibus</i>, and escaped with perfect impunity." -The third plate commemorates a practical joke of the frolic-loving -squire. One evening the clergyman and doctor, who -had dined at Halston, left to return on horseback. Their -host having disguised himself in a countryman's frock and -hat, succeeded, by riding across the park, in confronting -them, and then, in true highwayman voice, he called out, -"Stand and deliver!" and before a reply could be given, -fired off his pistol, which had of course only a blank -cartridge. The affrighted gentlemen, Mytton used to say, -never rode half so fast in their lives, as when, with him at -their heels, they fled that night to Oswestry.</p> - -<p>Another of the plates exhibits Mr. Mytton in hunting dress, -entering his drawing-room full of company mounted on a -bear: and another exemplifies the old saying, "Light come, -light go." Mytton, travelling in his carriage, on a stormy -night from Doncaster, fell asleep while counting the money -he had won; the windows were down, and a great many of -the bank-notes were blown away and lost. The reckless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -gambler used often to tell the story as an amusing reminiscence.</p> - -<p>Another plate represents Mytton with his shirt in flames. -"Did you ever hear," asks Nimrod, "of a man setting fire -to his own shirt to frighten away the hiccup? Such, however, -was done, and in this manner:—'Oh, this horrid -hiccup!' said Mytton, as he stood undressed on the floor, -apparently in the act of getting into bed; 'but I'll frighten it -away;' so seizing a candle, he applied it to the tail of his -shirt, and it being a cotton one, he was instantly enveloped -in flames." His life was only saved by the active exertions -of two persons who chanced to be in the room.</p> - -<p>Mytton married, secondly, Miss Giffard, of Chillington, a -match of such misery to the lady, that it ended in a separation. -The crisis of the spendthrift's fate was now impending. All -the effects at Halston were advertised for sale; and very -shortly after Mr. Mytton fled to the Continent to escape from -his creditors. "On the 15th of November, 1831," says Nimrod, -"during my residence in the town of Calais, I was surprised -by a violent knocking at my door, and so unlike what I -had ever heard before in that quiet town, that being at hand, -I was induced to open the door myself, when, to my no little -astonishment, there stood John Mytton. 'In the name of -Heaven,' said I, 'what has brought you to France?' 'Why,' -he replied, '<i>just what brought yourself to France</i>'—parodying -the old song—'three couple of bailiffs were hard at my -brush.' But what did I see before me—the active, vigorous, -well-shapen John Mytton, whom I had left some years back -in Shropshire? Oh, no; compared with him, 'twas the reed -shaken by the wind; there stood before me a round-shouldered, -decrepit, tottering, <i>old-young</i> man, if I may be -allowed such a term, and so bloated by drink! But there -was a worse sight than this—there was a mind as well as a -body in ruins; the one had partaken of the injury done to -the other; and it was at once apparent that the whole was a -wreck. In fact, he was a melancholy spectacle of fallen man."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - -<p>It appeared that Mytton had been arrested for a paltry -debt and thrown into prison. "I once more," writes -Nimrod, "was pained by seeing my friend looking through -the bars of a French prison-window. Here he was suffered -to remain for fourteen days; on the thirteenth day, I thought -it my duty to inform his mother of his situation, and in -four days from the date of my letter she was in Calais. -After a time Mytton returned to England, but only to a -prison and a grave. The representative of one of the most -ancient families of his country, at one time M.P. for Shrewsbury -and High Sheriff for Shropshire and Merioneth, the -inheritor of Halston and Mowddwy and almost countless -acres, the most popular sportsman of England, died within -the walls of the King's Bench Prison, at the age of thirty-eight, -deserted and neglected by all, save a few faithful -friends and a devoted mother, who stood by his death-bed -to the last."</p> - -<p>The announcement of the sad event produced a profound -impression in Shropshire: the people within many miles -were deeply affected; the degradation of Mytton's later -years, the faults and follies of his wretched life, were all -forgotten; the generosity, the tenderness of heart, the manly -tastes of poor John Mytton, his sporting popularity, and his -very mad follies, were recalled with affectionate sympathy. -His funeral will long be remembered—three thousand persons -attended it, and a detachment of the North Shropshire -Cavalry (of which regiment the deceased was Major) escorted -his remains to the vault in the chapel of Halston; several -private carriages followed, and about one hundred of the -tenantry, tradesmen, and friends on horseback closed the -procession. The body was placed in the family vault, -surrounded by the coffins of twelve of his relatives.</p> - -<p>The story of John Mytton is appalling. A family far -more ancient and apparently as vigorous as the grand old -oaks that once were the pride of Halston, was destroyed, -after centuries of honourable and historic eminence, by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -mad follies of one man in the brief space of eighteen years! -The magnificent Lordship of Dinas Mowddwy, with it -32,000 acres—originally an appanage of the dynasty of -Powis—inherited through twelve generations from a coheiress -of the Royal Lineage of Powys Wenwynwyn, had -been bartered, it is alleged, in adjustment of a balance on -turf and gambling transactions.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p>What a sad conclusion to the history of a very distinguished -race, memorable in the days of the Plantagenets, -and renowned in the great Civil War, is the following record, -taken from <i>The Times</i>, 2nd April, 1834:—"On Monday, -an inquest was held in the King's Bench Prison, on the -body of John Mytton, Esq., who died there on the preceding -Saturday. The deceased inherited considerable -estates in the counties of Salop and Merioneth, for both -which he served the office of High Sheriff, and some time -represented the borough of Shrewsbury in Parliament. His -munificence and eccentric gaieties obtained him great -notoriety in the sporting and gay circles, both in England -and on the Continent. Two medical attendants stated -that the immediate cause of his death was disease of the -brain (<i>delirium tremens</i>), brought on by the excessive use -of spirituous liquours. The deceased was in his thirty-eighth -year. Verdict—'Natural Death.'"</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus10" id="Illus10"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image13.jpg" width="300" height="387" alt="Noble Aide-de-Camp. Lord Petersham." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Noble Aide-de-Camp. Lord Petersham.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Petersham" id="Petersham">Lord Petersham.</a></h3> - - -<p>This eccentric nobleman, who was the eldest son of -Charles, third Earl of Harrington, was a leader of fashion -some thirty years since; he was tall and handsome; according<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -to Captain Gronow, Lord Petersham very much resembled -the pictures of Henry IV. of France, and frequently -wore a dress not unlike that of the celebrated monarch. He -was a great patron of tailors, and a particular kind of greatcoat -was called after him a "Petersham." When young, he -used to cut out his own clothes; he made his own blacking, -which, he said, would eventually supersede every other. He -was also a connoisseur in snuff, and one of his rooms was -fitted up with shelves and beautiful jars for various kinds of -snuff, with the names in gold. Here were also implements for -moistening and mixing snuffs, and Lord Petersham's mixture -is to this day a popular snuff. He possessed also a fine -collection of snuff-boxes, and it was said, a box for every day -in the year. Captain Gronow saw him using a beautiful -Sèvres box, which, on being admired, he said was "a nice -summer box, but would not do for winter wear." He was -equally choice of his teas, and in the same room with the -snuffs, upon shelves, were placed tea-canisters, containing -Congou, Pekoe, Souchong, Gunpowder, Russian, and other -fine kinds. Indeed, his father's mansion, Harrington House, -was long famous for its tea-drinking; the Earl and Countess -and family, and their visitors, were received upon these -occasions in the long gallery, and here the family of George -III. enjoyed many a cup of tea. It is told that when -General Lincoln Stanhope returned from India after several -years' absence, his father welcomed him with "Hallo, Linky, -my dear boy! delighted to see you. <i>Have a cup of tea!</i>"</p> - -<p>Lord Petersham's equipages were unique; the carriages -and horses were brown; the harness had furniture of antique -design; and the servants wore long brown coats reaching to -their heels, and glazed hats with large cockades. Lord -Petersham was a liberal patron of the opera and the theatres; -and two years after he had succeeded his father in the -earldom (of Harrington), he married the beautiful Maria -Foote, of Covent Garden Theatre.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Sandwich" id="Sandwich">The King and Queen of the Sandwich -Islands.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the year 1824, their "savage Majesties" of the -Sandwich Islands visited England. They were seen by -Miss Berry, who, in her entertaining journal, has thus -graphically described their visit:—</p> - -<p>"At half-past ten o'clock, I went with the Prince and -Princess Lowenstein, their son, and my sister, to Mr. -Canning's, the Secretary of State, who received for the first -time the King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands. They -arrived in the midst of a numerous assembly, all of the best -society, and all <i>en grande toilette</i> for a large assembly given -at Northumberland House. Mr. Canning entered, giving -his hand to a large black woman more than six feet high, -and broad in proportion, muffled up in a striped gauze dress -with short sleeves, leaving uncovered enormous black arms, -half covered again with white gloves; an enormous gauze -turban upon her head; black hair, not curled, but very -short; a small bag in her hand, and I do not know what -upon her neck, where there was no gauze. It was with -difficulty that the Minister and his company could preserve -a proper gravity for the occasion. The Queen was followed -by a lady in waiting as tall as herself, and with a gayer and -more intelligent countenance. Then came the King, accompanied -by three of his subjects, all dressed, like him, in -European costume; and a fourth, whose office I did not -know, but he wore over his ordinary coat a scarlet and -yellow feather cloak, and a helmet covered with the same -material on his head. The King was shorter than his four -courtiers, but they all looked very strong, and, except the -King, all taller than the majority of those who surrounded -them. The two ladies were seated before the fire in the -gallery for some time. Mrs. Canning was presented first to -them, and then the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -the Prince Leopold. The Queen took the Duchess of -Gloucester by the arm and shook it. One should have -pitied them for the way in which all eyes were turned upon -them, and for all the observations they occasioned; but it -seemed to me that their minds are not sufficiently opened, -and that they are not civilized enough either to notice or to -suffer from it. From the gallery, Mr. Canning, still holding -the Queen's hand, conducted them through the apartment -and under the verandah of the garden, where the band of -the Guards regiment, in their full uniform, was playing -military airs. Her savage Majesty appeared much more -occupied by the red-plumed hats of the musicians than by -the music. She ought to have been pleased to see that the -officer's helmet of her Court surpassed them as to colour. -From there they were conducted into the dining-room, -where there was a fine collation. The two ladies were -seated alone at a table placed across the room, and ate -some cake and drank wine. They appeared awkward in all -their movements, and particularly embarrassed in their -walk; there was nothing of the free step of the savage, -being probably embarrassed by the folds of the European -dress."</p> - -<p>The King and Queen and their suite were wantonly -charged with gluttony and drunkenness by persons who -ought to have known better. "It is true," observes Lord -Byron, in his <i>Voyage to the Sandwich Islands</i>, "that, unaccustomed -to our habits, they little regarded regular hours for -meals, and that they liked to eat frequently, though not to -excess. Their greatest luxury was oysters, of which they -were particularly fond; and one day, some of the chiefs -having been out to walk, and seeing a grey mullet, instantly -seized it and carried it home, to the great delight of the -whole party; who, on recognizing the native fish of their -own seas, could scarcely believe that it had not swum -hither on purpose for them, or been persuaded to wait till it -was cooked before they ate it." The best proof of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -moderation is, however, that the charge at Osborne's -Hotel, in the Adelphi, during their residence there, -amounted to no greater an average than seventeen shillings -a head per day for their table: as they ate little or no butcher's -meat, but lived chiefly on fish, poultry, and fruit, by no -means the cheapest articles in London, their gluttony could -not have been great. So far from their always preferring -the strongest liquors, their favourite beverage was some -cider, with which they had been presented by Mr. Canning.</p> - -<p>The popular comic song of <i>The King of the Cannibal -Islands</i> was written <i>à propos</i> to the above royal visit.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Edward" id="Edward">Sir Edward Dering's Luckless -Courtship.</a></h3> - - -<p>Sir Edward Dering, the founder of the Surrenden library, -and a distinguished member of Parliament in the troublous -times of Charles I., was born in the Tower of London in -1598, his father having been deputy-lieutenant of that -fortress. He studied at Magdalen College, Cambridge, -and was knighted by James I. in 1618. Sir Edward was -thrice married. The story of an unsuccessful courtship, -after his second widowhood, is as good as a play, and indeed -more amusing than many dramas of the period based upon a -similar subject. The object of this enterprise was a city -dame, the widow of a well-connected mercer, Richard Bennett -by name. The widow Bennett, by the custom of London -and the will of her husband, was possessed of two-thirds of -the deceased's property, besides all her jewels and chains of -pearl and gold, her diamond and other rings, her husband's -coach and the four grey coach-mares and geldings, with all -things thereunto belonging. In addition to these substantial -recommendations, she seems to have had some personal -charms of her own, and no other encumbrance than one -little boy. In those days it was not necessary to advertise -for a husband, and Mistress Bennett could not lack suitors.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -Three of the most conspicuous were named Finch, Crow, -and Raven, much to the amusement of London society -in those days. The first was Sir Heneage Finch, Recorder -of London, who had been Speaker of the House of Commons -in 1626, and owned a handsome house at Kensington, since -converted into a Royal Palace. The next was Sir Sackville -Crow, who was Treasurer of the Navy, of which office he -was subsequently deprived, owing to an unfortunate deficit -of which he was unable to give a satisfactory account. The -third was one Raven, a physician. This fatuous individual, -not having found much success in the way of ordinary -courtship, could think of no better expedient to gain his -ends than to present himself in the widow's bedchamber -after she had retired to rest, when, having woke the lady, he -proceeded to press his suit. The widow screamed thieves -and murder, the servants rushed in, and the doctor was -secured and handed over to the parish constable. On the -next day he was brought before Mr. Recorder, who found -the proceeding to be "flat burglary," and committed his unlucky -rival to gaol. When brought up for trial he pleaded -guilty to the "burglary," but under advice of the judge -withdrew the plea, and was ultimately found guilty of -"ill-demeanour," and was condemned to fine and imprisonment.</p> - -<p>It was on the morning after Dr. Raven's mad freak that -Sir Edward Dering presented himself as a suitor. How he -commenced this important enterprise, and how he sped, we -learn from a minute journal which he kept of his proceedings, -and which he did not afterwards think it necessary to burn. -Here are a few entries. Thus begins the journal:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Nov. 20. Edmund, King. I adventured, was denied. Sent up a -letter, which was returned, after she had read it.</p></blockquote> - -<p>This repulse rendered it necessary to resort to crooked -means. Servants are corruptible, and so we find—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Nov. 21. I inveigled G. Newman with 20<i>s.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Nov. 24. I did re-engage him, 20<i>s.</i> I did also oil the cash-keeper, -20<i>s.</i></p> - -<p>Nov. 26. I gave Edmund Aspull [the cash-keeper] another 20<i>s.</i> I -was there, but denied sight.</p></blockquote> - -<p>Unpromising this, but Sir Edward does not lose courage.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Nov. 27. I sent a second letter, <i>which was kept</i>.</p></blockquote> - -<p>There is hope, then, but we must not relax. Same -day.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>I set Sir John Skeffington upon Matthew Cradock.</p></blockquote> - -<p>Matthew Cradock is a cousin of the widow, and her -trusty adviser. Same day.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The cash-keeper supped with me.</p> - -<p>Nov. 28. I went to Mr. Cradock, but found him cold.</p></blockquote> - -<p>Sir John Skeffington could not have exerted himself -much.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Nov. 29. I was at the Old Jewry Church and saw her, both forenoon -and afternoon.</p> - -<p>Dec. 1. I sent a third letter, which was likewise kept.</p></blockquote> - -<p>The widow had a troublesome affair on her hands. It -appears that one Steward, under the abominable system of -wardships which then prevailed, had obtained a grant from -the crown of the wardship of Mrs. Bennett's little boy, then -four years old. The widow was in treaty with Steward to -buy from him the wardship of her own child, which the rogue -refused to release for 1,500<i>l.</i>, offered him in hard cash. -Between this affair, and Dr. Raven and other suitors, the -widow had enough to think of. Steward had also made -matrimonial proposals, which Mrs. Bennett deemed it not -prudent to cut short at once, while the bargaining for the -wardship was going on. On the 5th December Sir Edward -communicates with one Loe, an influential person with the -widow. Loe answers, "that Steward was so testy that she -durst not give admittance unto any, until he and she were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -fully concluded for the wardship—that she had a good -opinion of me—that he (Loe) heard nobly of me—that he -would inform me when Steward was off—that he was engaged -for another—that I need not refrain from going to the -church where she was, unless I thought it to disparage -myself." Acting on this advice, Sir Edward goes to St. -Olave's next Sunday, and on coming out of church George -Newman whispers in his ear, "Good news! Good news!" -After dinner George calls on Sir Edward, who had taken a -lodging in the sight of the widow's house, and tells him that -she "liked well his carriage, and that if his land were not -settled on his eldest son there was good hope." The bearer -of such news certainly merits oiling, so, Sir Edward says, "I -gave him twenty shillings." That evening Sir Edward supped -with his rival, Sir Heneage Finch, who gave him to understand -that he himself despaired of his own suit, and was -ready to vacate the field, and even promised to assist the -worthy knight.</p> - -<p>The plot now thickens. Sir Edward, on New Year's Day, -in a fit of injured dignity, demanded back those letters that -had "been kept;" they were promptly returned; he afterwards -repented him of this rash proceeding; Izaak Walton, -angler, biographer, and man-milliner, was enlisted in the -cause, and laboured strenuously, like an honest man and an -angler, therein; and the widow, Sir Edward, and the enthusiastic -Izaak, all had wonderful dreams, which came -to nothing. On the 9th of January Sir Edward notes, -"George Newman says she hath two suits of silver plate, -one in the country and the other here, and that she hath -beds of 100<i>l.</i> the bed!" Such a prize deserves striving -for, and an attack is commenced in a new quarter. George -Newman, with Susan, the widow's nursemaid, and her -little child, going into Finsbury Fields to walk, are met by -Taylor, Sir Edward's landlord. Taylor inveigles the child -to come with him; George Newman and Susan follow, not -unwillingly. Sir Edward says, "I entertained the child with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -cake, and gave him an amber box, and to them, wine. -Susan professed that she and all the house prayed for me, -and told me the child called me 'father.' I gave her 5<i>s.</i>, and -entreated her to desire her mistress not to be offended at this, -which I was so glad of. She said she thought she would -not." The widow's cousin Cradock arrives in town. "Izaak -Walton," says Sir Edward, "undertook him at his first -coming, and did his part well. Cradock said he would do -his best, if I would be ruled by him," &c. Other suitors now -intervene, and occasion much anxiety. They, too, have -their canvassers and agents, and the widow's residence -becomes a perfect focus of intrigue. The Dean of Canterbury, -Dr. Isaac Bargrave, Sir Edward's relative, is brought to -bear, and he procures Dr. Featley, a celebrated city divine, -to call on the widow and use his influence. The affair -begins to assume public importance. The grave Sir Henry -Wotton, coming from Eton to pay his respects to his -Majesty, meets Sir Edward in the Privy Chamber, and, with -a knowing look, wishes him "a full sail," &c. Alas! all this -labour and bribery was destined to come to nothing. The -comedy ended by the widow, who all along had kept her -own counsel, marrying the smooth-tongued Sir Heneage -Finch, who had sat quietly in the background, probably -knowing his position to be assured. Sir Edward was more -successful in a subsequent matrimonial enterprise. He -found an excellent and amiable wife, and must, we should -think, have often laughed over his adventures with the -widow.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Gretna" id="Gretna">Gretna-Green Marriages.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the summer of 1753, a young lady at Ranelagh -Gardens, Chelsea, became acquainted with a handsome -young gentleman. They danced together on another day;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -they met at the same place, and again danced. He was a handsome -young fellow, and the lady was beautiful and wealthy, as -well as high-born. She was sister to the two leading statesmen -of England—Mr. Pelham, the Prime Minister; and the -Duke of Newcastle, who had been Secretary of State. Her -lover was a notorious highwayman, Jack Freeland by name, -with many other aliases. He, professing to be a gentleman -of fortune, proposed marriage, to which she assented. From -reasons suggested about family objections on both sides, -they agreed to repair to the Fleet prison to be wedded. At -the foot of Fleet Street, matrimonial visitors in that day -entered the region of touters, who accosted couples with -such addresses as "Married, sir?" "Wish to be married, -ma'am?" And by rival touters who asserted, "His parson -be no good—only a cove what mends shoes; get married -with mine: mine is a regular hordained parson." Perhaps a -third assertion, that "Them fellows' parsons be no good; -get married respectable; show you in no time to a real -Oxford and Cambridge professor." Following these persons -up narrow passages on Ludgate Hill, the couples were -married for such fees as private bargain regulated in dingy -up-stairs rooms of taverns: or going into the Fleet Prison, -were united there by clerical prisoners who found the place -too lucrative and pleasant as a lodging to make them anxious -about paying their debts to get out. Those prisoners, -like some other of the "Fleet parsons"—indeed it was from -the prison that the term "Fleet marriages" arose—had also -their touters stationed in the adjoining streets to bring them -customers. Miss Pelham and her gallant highwayman were -conducted to a Fleet parson. But a gentleman happened to -observe them who knew both. To save the lady he caused -the robber-bridegroom to be arrested, and carried the tidings -to the Prime Minister, her brother. The case led to much -discussion. In the heat of offended dignity, the Pelhams -caused Lord Chancellor Hardwicke to introduce a Bill for -the better regulation and solemnizing of marriage. It passed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -hastily through both houses of Parliament, and became law. -Except in the case of Jews and Quakers, it required all -parties to be married by a regularly ordained clergyman of -the Church, and only after a due proclamation of banns.</p> - -<p>The Marriage Law of Scotland did not exact that there -should be a religious ceremony, nor even the presence of a -clergyman, though the religious habits of the people prefer -both. To be valid, the Scottish law required only that the -marriage contract should be witnessed. When the Fleet -was shut against lovers in 1754, those impatient of parental -control, and possessed of means to defray travelling expenses, -repaired to Scotland. Edinburgh for a time supplied their -wants: the last, we believe, who carried on a regular traffic -in runaway weddings here was Joseph Robertson, who, -several years ago, died miserably of hunger in London. But -it was on the line of the borders adjoining England that -those weddings abounded. At Lamberton Toll, the nearest -Scottish ground to Berwick, the business was for many years -done at a very low price. After the erection of the suspension-bridge, -six miles above Berwick, marriages were performed -there. A "Sheen Brig" wedding became a common -occurrence both to Northumberland and Berwickshire lovers. -At Coldstream, also, those marriages were common. But -it was at Gretna-Green, and Sark Toll Bar, and Springfield, -nine miles from Carlisle, that the "high-fly" runaways from -England tied their nuptial knots in greatest number. All -the space between Carlisle and the Border was common -land, until of late years, inhabited only by smugglers and -persons of unsettled life. The Scottish parish of Gretna, on -the north side of the Sark stream, which there divides the -countries, had a population of a like character. After the -act of 1754 had shut the Fleet parsons out of shop in -London, one of them paid his debts in the prison, and -advertised his removal to Gretna. Thither he was followed -by adventurous couples who failed to obtain the consent of -parents and guardians to their union. At his death a native<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -of the place, known as "Scott o' the Brig" (Sark Bridge), -took up the business. He was succeeded by one Gordon, -an old soldier; and Gordon by the notorious Joseph Paisley. -Paisley was succeeded by several rivals, of whom Elliot and -Laing were the principals. Mr. Linton, of Gretna Hall, -became chief priest after Laing's death, which occurred -through cold taken in a journey to Lancaster, in 1826, where -he was required as a witness in the prosecution of the -Wakefields for the abduction of Miss Turner.</p> - -<p>In 1841, the writer visited Gretna and Springfield to inspect -the registers, and found them a mass of loose papers. At -that time the larger part of the matrimonial trade was done—for -couples arriving on foot—by Mrs. Baillie and Miss Baillie, -her daughter, who kept Sark Bridge Toll; the post-chaise -weddings going to Mr. Linton, of Gretna Hall: his register, -unlike the older ones, was a well-written official-looking -volume. Peter Elliot, formerly priest, was then an old man. -He had in his younger days been a postboy, but was reduced -to the office of "strapper" in a stable at Carlisle. Excess -of whisky on his part, and the more genteel competition of -the occupier of Gretna Hall, had driven him out of the -marriage trade. But in his lifetime he had been concerned -in many races and chases over the nine miles between -Carlisle and Gretna, and would tell of the beautiful daughters -of England, whom, with whip and spur and shout, and wild -halloo, he had carried at the gallop across the border; the -pursuing guardian, or jilted lover, or angry father in sight -behind, urging on post-boys who also whipped and spurred -and hallooed, but took care never to overtake the fugitives -until too late. Then there were tales of how time was too -short even for the brief ceremony, and how the officiating -priest broke off, exclaiming, "Ben the house, ben and into -bed, into bed, my leddy!" They were proud to boast of -two Lord Chancellors having been married there, one of -whom, Erskine, arrived in the travelling costume of an old -lady.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p> - -<p>About the year 1794 it was estimated that sixty couples -were married annually, they paying an average of 15 guineas -each, yielding a revenue of 945<i>l.</i> a year or thereabout. The -form of certificate was in latter times printed, the officiating -priest not being always sufficiently sober to write; nor when -sober was he an adept in penmanship, as the following from -the pen of Joseph Paisley may show:—</p> - -<p>"This is to sartify all persons that may be concernid that -(A. B.) from the parish of (C.) and in county of (D.) and -(E. F.) from the parish of (G.) and county of (H.), and both -comes before me and declayred themselves both to be single -persons, and nowe mayried by the forme of the Kirk of -Scotland and agreeible to the Church of England, and givne -ondre my hand this 18th day of March, 1793."</p> - -<p>Joseph Paisley, writer of this, was originally a weaver, at -some other time a tobacconist. He was the so-called -"Blacksmith," though there is no record that he, his predecessors, -or successors were real blacksmiths. He removed -from Gretna to the village of Springfield, half a mile distant, -in 1791, and attended to his lucrative employment till his -death in 1814. He was tall in person, and in prime of life -well-proportioned; but before he died had grown enormously -corpulent, weighing upwards of 25 stone. By his natural -enemies—the parish clergymen—he was said to be grossly -ignorant and coarse in his manners, drinking a Scotch pint -of whisky in various shapes of toddy and raw drams in a day. -On one occasion he and a companion, named Ned the -Turner, sat down on a Monday morning to an anker of -strong cognac, and before the evening of Saturday they -kicked the empty cask out at the door! He was also celebrated -for his stentorian lungs and almost incredible muscular -strength. He could with one hand bend a strong poker -over his arm, and was frequently known to straighten an -ordinary horse-shoe with his hands. But he could not -break asunder the bands of matrimony which he so easily -rivetted. Law stamped his handiwork with the title of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -sanctity. The Gretna and Sark Toll marriages greatly -increased in number through the facilities of railway conveyance. -The fugitives, when obtaining a start by an express -train, could not be overtaken by another, while the ordinary -third-class carried away so many customers for cheap -marriages from their English parish clergy, that the Legislature -was invoked, and enacted that on and after the 1st -January, 1857, no marriage should be valid in Scotland -unless the parties had both resided in Scotland for the last -six weeks next preceding the wedding-day. In the evidence -upon this Bill, one of the <i>marriers</i>, Murray, of Gretna, -admitted that he had married between 700 and 800 couples -in a year; and as there were two or three other of these -marriers in good practice, the number of couples married at -Sark Toll Bar and at Gretna may be safely estimated at -upwards of 1,000 in a year.</p> - -<p>The alteration in the law was effected through the happy -effort of a magistrate of Cumberland, immediately and ably -supported by the magistrates of the county, who signed -a petition committed to the charge of Lord Brougham. -His Lordship forthwith introduced a Bill, after Easter, -1856, which Bill passed through Parliament without opposition.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Agape" id="Agape">The Agapemone, or Abode of Love.</a></h3> - - -<p>This strange place, Agapemone (Gr. αγαπη love, and -μονη an abode), was the general residence of a peculiar sect -of religionists, established in 1845 at Charlinch, near Taunton, -in Somersetshire. They were originally a branch of the sect -called Lampeters, and their peculiar tenets are, that the day -of grace and prayer is passed, and the time of judgment -arrived. They carry out their belief by perpetual praises to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -God, but do not adopt the use of prayer. The members -enter into a community of property, and profess to live in a -state of constant joyousness and mutual love. In 1849 a -singular trial, connected with this institution, occupied the -Court of Exchequer for three days. It was an action brought -by Miss Louisa Nottidge, a maiden lady of large property, -against her brother and brother-in-law, for forcibly abducting -her from the Agapemone, and confining her in a lunatic -asylum. It appeared that the plaintiff and her three sisters, -all ladies of considerable property, had become converts to -the opinions of this sect, and taken up their abode in the -Agapemone, where the sisters were married to three of the -clerical rulers of the establishment; but Miss Louisa Nottidge, -who had remained single, was forcibly taken away by -the two defendants, and sent to a lunatic asylum; for which -alleged wrong she obtained 50<i>l.</i> damages; thus showing that -she was not insane, and that the law, as the Chief Baron -observed, tolerated every sect, however absurd, that did not -inflict a social wrong, or openly violate the laws of morality.</p> - -<p>Since that period the sect has been sending its missionaries -to different parts of the country, in order to gain -converts. On the 26th of September, 1856, two of these -missionaries called a meeting at the Hanover Square Rooms, -in London, when one of them addressed the assembled -visitors in an unintelligible jargon relative to the mission of -a certain "Brother Prince," the head of the Agapemone, -who had, he said, been made a "vessel of mercy" for the -human race, and who was to supersede the Gospel by some -new religious dispensation which he had been specially -commissioned to teach. The other missionary then stated -that he would explain who Brother Prince was. He was by -nature, he said, a child of wrath, but by grace a vessel of -mercy. The testimony of Brother Prince was concerning -what Jesus Christ had done by his own person. Some -eleven years ago, he said, the Holy Ghost fulfilled in Brother -Prince all that he came to be and to do. The speaker<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -proceeded to allude to a second spiritual manifestation -which, he said, occurred at the Agapemone about five years -ago, in which case the phenomenon was exhibited in the -person of a woman—a prophetess—"not privately, but in -the presence of all." These sentiments were uttered in the -midst of general execration; and a resolution was unanimously -passed, "That the statements which had been made -that evening were contrary to common sense, degrading to -humanity, and blasphemous towards God."—<i>English Cyclopædia.</i></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Singular" id="Singular">Singular Scotch Ladies.</a></h3> - - -<p>Lord Cockburn, in his <i>Memorials of his Time</i>, speaks of -"a singular race of Scotch old ladies," who were a delightful -set; warm-hearted, very resolute, indifferent about the modes -and habits of the modern world, and adhering to their own -ways, who dressed, spoke, and did exactly as they chose. -Among these examples of perfect naturalness was a Miss -Menie Trotter, of whom Miss Grahame, in her <i>Mystifications</i>, -relates:—"She was penurious in small things, but her -generosity could rise to circumstances. Her dower was an -annuity from the estate of Mortonhall. She had contempt -for securities, and would trust no bank with her money, but -kept all her bills and bank-notes in a green silk bag that -hung on her toilette-glass. On each side of the table stood -a large white bowl, one of which contained her silver, the -other her copper money, the latter always full to the brim, -accessible to Peggy, her handmaid, or any other servant in -the house, for the idea of any one stealing money never -entered her brain. Indeed, she once sent a present to her -niece, Mrs. Cuninghame, of a fifty-pound note wrapped up -in a cabbage-leaf, and entrusted it to the care of a woman -who was going with a basket of butter to the Edinburgh -market. My friend Mrs. Cuninghame related to me this -and the following histories of her aunt:—One day, in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -course of conversation, she said to her niece, 'Do you ken, -Margaret, that Mrs. Thomas R—— is dead. I was gaun -by the door this morning, and thought I wad just look in -and speer for her. She was very near her end, but quite -sensible, and expressed her gratitude to God for what He -had done for her and her fatherless bairns. She said "she -was leaving a large young family with very small means, but -she had that trust in <i>Him</i> that they would not be forsaken, -and that He would provide for them." Now, Margaret, ye'll -tell Peggy to bring down the green silk bag that hangs on -the corner of my looking-glass, and ye'll tak' twa thousand -pounds out o' it, and gi'e it Walter Ferrier for behoof of thae -orphan bairns; it will fit out the laddies, and be something -to the lassies. I want to make good the words, "that God -wad provide for them," for what else was I sent that way this -morning, but as a humble instrument in his hands?'"</p> - -<p>Miss Trotter had a strong friendship for a certain Mrs. -B——, who had an only son, and he was looked on as a -simpleton, but his relatives had interest to get him a situation -as clerk in a bank, where he contrived to steal money to the -extent of five hundred pounds. His peculations were discovered, -and in those days he would have been hanged, but -Miss Trotter hearing the report started instantly for Edinburgh, -went to the bank, and ascertained the truth. She at -once laid down five hundred pounds, telling them, "Ye maun -not only stop proceedings, but ye maun keep him in the -bank in some capacity, however mean, till I find some other -employment for him." Then she fitted the lad out, and sent -him to London, where she had a friend to whom she wrote, -offering another five hundred pounds to any one who would -procure him a situation abroad, in which he might gain an -honest living, and never be trusted with money. After all -this was settled, she went herself and communicated the -facts to his mother.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Bond" id="Bond">Mrs. Bond, of Hackney.</a></h3> - - -<p>About the year 1771 there died one of the four children -of Bond, a jeweller, residing in an alley leading from Wellclose -Square to Ratcliffe Highway. She left property, to be -divided between Mrs. S. Bond, of Hackney, and a sister. -The latter died in the year 1801, and left her property, -amounting to about 6,000<i>l.</i>, to her surviving sister, Sarah, -who bought an annuity of 700<i>l.</i> By living in a most -parsimonious manner she contrived to scrape together about -13,000l. three per cent., 1,000<i>l.</i> four percent., and 150<i>l.</i> per -year Long Annuities.</p> - -<p>In 1821 Mrs. Bond, who was of most eccentric habits, -died at her residence, Cambridge Heath, Hackney, -leaving, it was said, great wealth, which was to be paid -to King George the Fourth, <i>if no relative could be found to -claim it</i>. After her death, vestry and parish clerks, beadles, -sextons, country schoolmasters, and persons holding any -official situations about cathedral churches, &c.—in short, -innumerable persons who had leisure or opportunity for such -inquiry, set about searching for Mrs. Bond's pedigree; but -all to no effect. Some ludicrous incidents, however, -occurred in the neighbourhood of Mrs. Bond's residence, -where persons arrived from various parts of the country to -claim a relationship. Among the number a man and his -son arrived from Sunderland, whence they had walked. He -stated that his name was Bond; he was sure the deceased -was his sister, and he would not quit London without the -money. Upon investigation he could produce no other -authority than being of the same name, and was, therefore, -compelled to retrace his steps, almost penniless.</p> - -<p>About a week afterwards, a decently-dressed elderly -woman, named Bond, made her appearance. She had just -arrived outside the coach from the environs of Carmarthen. -Her story was that about fifty years previously (1771), her -sister left her and proceeded to London to seek her fortune.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -They had never corresponded, but from the name and -description of the deceased, she had no doubt she was her -sister, and the money accordingly belonged to her. It had -cost her nearly all the money she could raise to come from -Wales, fully satisfied of being amply repaid for her trouble, -but she met with the same fate as the preceding applicant.</p> - -<p>The next claimant was a sailor, who had just returned -from the West Indies, where he had been <i>moored</i>, he -said, thirty-five years. He had left in England two sisters -named Bond: one was of very eccentric manners, particularly -for her love of money; the sailor declared that he had -frequently seen her make a meal off cat's meat. The above -he considered sufficient proof of his relationship. He -insisted upon entering a caveat against the claim of his -Majesty, but acknowledging that the King appeared to be -the legal claimant, he swore he would go and see his royal -master, and ask him if he had any objection to share the -money with him!</p> - -<p>It would be tedious to enumerate the persons who put -in their claims from various parts of the world; but the -King's proctor stood first in the Prerogative Court, and -nothing had transpired to affect his right in behalf of his -Majesty.</p> - -<p>The hut on Cambridge Heath wherein Mrs. Bond died -was closed for some time; at length it was announced to be -let; but such was the anxiety to get possession of it that -the notice was removed. The number of applications were, -doubtless, made under the impression that hoards of money -were yet undiscovered in the hut.</p> - -<p>The claimant most likely entitled to the property was a -Mr. Bond, a butcher, in Shoreditch, who traced out that he -was second cousin to the wealthy spinster, his grandfather -having been the only brother of the father of Mrs. Bond; -and the only bar to his administering was that he had not -been able to ascertain the church where Mrs. Bond's father -and mother were married, a most essential point to prove<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -the legitimacy of Mrs. Sarah Bond. There were no fewer -than eight caveats against the administrator.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Ward" id="Ward">John Ward, the Hackney Miser.</a></h3> - - -<p>In Church Street, Hackney, one of the most interesting -of our suburban parishes for its antiquarian history, stands a -mansion, which, though plain in itself, has long been -traditionally conspicuous, from the infamous character of its -founder. This was John Ward, a man who was so notorious -for his readiness to take advantage of the foibles, the wants, -and vices of his fellow-men, that it attracted the satirical -acrimony of Pope, who, in his epistle to Allen, Lord -Bathurst, <i>On the Use of Riches</i>, has placed him in a niche in -the Temple of Obloquy, in company with a trio, who seem -fit to descend with him to posterity, or rather to accompany -him in the descent alluded to in the following lines:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Like doctors thus, when much dispute has pass'd,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We find our tenets just the same at last;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Both fairly owning riches, in effect,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No grace of Heaven or token of the elect:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Given to the fool, the mad, the vain, the evil,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To Ward, to Waters, Chartres, and the Devil.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Of Ward's private history little is known. He is said to -have been early in life employed in a floorcloth manufactory. -The exact period when he built the house at Hackney is -uncertain. He resided in it in the year 1727, at which time -he sat in Parliament for Melcombe Regis. But having -<i>made a mistake with respect to a name in a deed</i> in which the -interest of the Duchess of Buckingham was implicated, he -was prosecuted by her and convicted of forgery, was first -expelled the House of Commons, and then stood in the -pillory, on the 17th of March, 1727. As misfortune seldom -comes alone, about this time Ward was suspected of joining -in a conveyance with Sir John Blunt to secrete 50,000<i>l.</i> of -that director's estate forfeited to the South Sea Company by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -Act of Parliament. The Company recovered the 50,000<i>l.</i> -against Ward, and by execution swept away the whole of -the furniture and other effects in the mansion at Hackney. -These being insufficient to cover even the costs, Ward -sought to protect his other property, set up prior conveyances -of his real estate to his brother and son, and concealing -all his personal, which was computed to be 150,000<i>l.</i> -Against these paper fortifications, a bill in Chancery, ten -times as voluminous, and twenty times more zig-zag, was -erected; a countermine of immense depth was sprung, and -however ably his works were defended, they were at length -carried. The conveyances were set aside, Ward was -imprisoned, and hazarded the forfeiture of his life by not -giving in his effects till the last day, which was that of his -examination. During his confinement his amusement was -to give poison to dogs and cats, and see them expire by -slower or quicker torments!</p> - -<p>In the <i>Post-boy</i> newspaper of the period we find these -records of Ward's career:—In June, 1719, he recovered -300<i>l.</i> damages from one Thomas Dyche, a schoolmaster of -Bow, for printing and publishing a libel upon Ward, reflecting -upon the discharge of his trust about repairing Dagenham -Breach. In May, 1726, he fled to France or Flanders. In -June, 1731, he was indicted, with certain others, for -wounding several officers of the Commissioners of Bankruptcy; -and in September, 1732, he surrendered to the -Commissioners, and was kept under examination at Guildhall -from three o'clock that afternoon till three the next -morning, when he was committed to the Fleet for further -examination.</p> - -<p>To sum up the wealth of Ward at the several eras of his -life: at his standing in the pillory he was worth above -200,000<i>l.</i>; at his commitment to prison he was worth -150,000<i>l.</i>, but became so far diminished in his reputation as -to be thought a worse man by fifty or sixty thousand.</p> - -<p>Among a variety of curious papers of Mr. Ward was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -found the following extraordinary document, in his own -handwriting, which may very appropriately be called <i>The -Miser's Prayer</i>:—</p> - -<p>"O Lord, Thou knowest that I have nine estates in the -City of London, and likewise that I have lately purchased -one estate in fee simple in the county of Essex; I beseech -Thee to preserve the two counties of Middlesex and Essex -from fire and earthquakes; and as I have a mortgage in -Hertfordshire, I beg of Thee likewise to have an eye of -compassion on that county; and for the rest of the counties -Thou mayst deal with them as Thou art pleased. O Lord, -enable the Bank to answer their bills, and make all my -debtors good men. Give a prosperous voyage and return -to the 'Mermaid' sloop, because I have insured it; and as -Thou hast said the days of the wicked are but short, I trust -in Thee that Thou wilt not forget Thy promise, as I have -purchased an estate in reversion, which will be mine on the -death of that profligate young man, Sir J. L. Keep my -friends from sinking, and preserve me from thieves and -housebreakers, and make all my servants so honest and -faithful that they may attend to my interests, and never -cheat me out of my property, night or day."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Poor" id="Poor">"Poor Man of Mutton."</a></h3> - - -<p>This is a term applied to the remains of a shoulder of -mutton, which, after it has done its regular duty as a roast -at dinner, makes its appearance as a broiled bone at supper -or upon the next day.</p> - -<p>The late Earl of B., popularly known by the name of -<i>Old Rag</i>, being indisposed at an hotel in London, the -landlord came to enumerate the good things he had in his -larder, hoping to prevail on his guest to eat something. -The Earl, at length, starting suddenly from his couch, and -throwing back a tartan nightgown, which had covered his -singularly grim and ghastly face, replied to his host's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -courtesy:—"Landlord, I think I <i>could</i> eat a morsel of <i>a -poor man</i>." Boniface, surprised alike at the extreme ugliness -of Lord B.'s countenance and the nature of the proposal, -retreated from the room, and tumbled down-stairs -precipitately, having no doubt that this barbaric chief when -at home was in the habit of eating a joint of a tenant or -vassal when his appetite was dainty.—<i>Jamieson's Etymological -Dictionary.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Kenyon" id="Kenyon">Lord Kenyon's Parsimony.</a></h3> - - -<p>Lord Kenyon studied economy even in the hatchment -put up over his house in Lincoln's Inn Fields after his death. -The motto was certainly found to be "<i>Mors janua vita</i>"—this -being at first supposed to be the mistake of the painter. -But when it was mentioned to Lord Ellenborough, "Mistake!" -exclaimed his lordship, "it is no mistake. The -considerate testator left particular directions in his will that -the estate should not be burdened with the expense of a -<i>diphthong</i>!" Accordingly, he had the glory of dying very -rich. After the loss of his eldest son, he said with great -emotion to Mr. Justice Allan Park, who repeated the words -soon after to the narrator:—"How delighted George would -be to take his poor brother from the earth, and restore him -to life, although he receives 250,000<i>l.</i> by his decease!"</p> - -<p>Lord Kenyon occupied a large, gloomy house in Lincoln's -Inn Fields: there is this traditional description of the -mansion in his time—"All the year through it is Lent in the -kitchen and Passion-week in the parlour." Some one having -mentioned that, although the fire was very dull in the kitchen-grate, -the <i>spits</i> were always bright,—"It is quite irrelevant," -said Jekyll, "to talk about the <i>spits</i>, for <i>nothing</i> 'turns' <i>upon -them</i>." * * He was curiously economical about the adornment -of his head. It was observed for a number of years -before he died, that he had two hats and two wigs—of the -hats and the wigs one was dreadfully old and shabby, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -other comparatively spruce. He always carried into court -with him the very old hat and the comparatively spruce wig, -or the very old wig and the comparatively spruce hat. On -the days of the very old hat and the comparatively spruce -wig, he shoved his hat under the bench and displayed his -wig; but on the days of the very old wig and the comparatively -spruce hat, he always continued covered. He might -often be seen sitting with his hat over his wig, but the Rule -of Court by which he was governed on this point is doubtful.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Moser" id="Moser">Mary Moser, the Flower-Painter.</a></h3> - - -<p>Mary Moser was the only daughter of George Michael -Moser, R.A., goldchaser and enameller, and the first Keeper -of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. His daughter -was a very distinguished flower-painter, and was the only -lady besides Angelica Kauffman who was ever elected an -Academician: she became afterwards Mrs. Lloyd. Miss -Moser, says Smith, in his <i>Life of Nollekens</i>, was somewhat -precise, but was at times a most cheerful companion: he has -printed three of her letters, two to Mrs. Lloyd, the wife of -the gentleman to whom she herself was afterwards married; -and the other to Fuseli, while in Rome, of whom she was -said to have been an admirer. In one to the former, alluding -to the absurd fashions of the beginning of the reign of George -the Third, she says:—"Come to London and admire our -plumes; we sweep the skies! a duchess wears six feathers, -a lady four, and every milkmaid one at each corner of her -cap. Fashion is grown a monster: pray tell your operator -that your hair must measure three-quarters of a yard from -the extremity of one wing to the other." The second letter -is chiefly on Lord Chesterfield's Advice to his Son: she says -to her friend, "If you have read Lord Chesterfield's Letters, -give me your opinion of them, and what you think of his -Lordship: for my part, I admire wit and adore good manners, -but at the same time I should detest Lord Chesterfield, were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -he alive, young, and handsome, and my lover, if I supposed, -as I do now, his wit was the result of thought, and that he -had been practising the graces in the looking-glass." In her -letter to Fuseli, she gives this account of the Exhibition of -the Royal Academy in the year 1770:—"Reynolds was like -himself in pictures which you have seen; Gainsborough -beyond himself in a portrait of a gentleman in a Vandyck -habit; and Zoffany superior to everybody in a portrait of -Garrick in the character of Abel Drugger, with two figures, -Subtle and Face. Sir Joshua agreed to give a hundred -guineas for the picture; Lord Carlisle had an hour after -offered Reynolds twenty to part with it, which the Knight -generously refused, resigned his intended purchase to the -Lord, and the emolument to his brother artist. He is a -gentleman! Angelica made a very great addition to the -show, and Mr. Hamilton's picture of Briseis parting from -Achilles was very much admired; the Briseis in taste, <i>à -l'antique</i>, elegant and simple. Cotes, Dance, Wilson, &c., -as usual."</p> - -<p>Mary Moser decorated an entire room with flowers at -Frogmore for Queen Charlotte, for which she received 900<i>l.</i>; -the room was called Miss Moser's room. After her marriage, -she practised only as an amateur; she died at an advanced -age in 1819. When West was re-instated in the chair of the -Royal Academy, in 1803, there was one voice for Mrs. -Lloyd, and when Fuseli was taxed with having given it, he -said, according to Knowles, his biographer, "Well, suppose -I did; she is eligible to the office; and is not one old -woman as good as another?" West and Fuseli were ill-according -spirits.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"><a name="Illus11" id="Illus11"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image14.jpg" width="350" height="359" alt="An Old Maid on a Journey. The Eccentric Miss Banks." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">An Old Maid on a Journey. The Eccentric Miss Banks.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Banks" id="Banks">The Eccentric Miss Banks.</a></h3> - - -<p>Oddities of dress were half-a-century ago much oftener -to be seen than in the present day; or, rather, their singularities -were more grotesque than the peculiarities of the -present day. John Thomas Smith, writing in 1818, says—"It -is scarcely possible for any person possessing the -smallest share of common observation to pass through the -streets in London without noticing what is generally denominated -<i>a character</i>, either in dress, walk, pursuits, or propensities."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -At the head of his remarks on the eccentricity of -some of their dresses he places Miss Sophia Banks, Sarah, -the sister of Sir Joseph, who was looked after by the eye of -astonishment wherever she went, and in whatever situation -she appeared. Her dress was that of the <i>Old School</i>; her -Barcelona quilted petticoat had a hole on either side for the -convenience of rummaging two immense pockets, stuffed -with books of all sizes. This petticoat was covered with a -deep stomachered gown, sometimes obscuring the pocket-holes, -similar to many of the ladies of Bunbury's time, which -he has introduced into his prints. In this dress she might -frequently be seen walking, followed by a six-foot servant -with a cane almost as tall as himself. Miss Banks, for so -that lady was called for many years, was frequently heard to -relate the following curious anecdote of herself: after making -repeated inquiries of the wall-vendors of halfpenny ballads -for a particular one which she wanted, she was informed by -the claret-faced woman who strung up her stock by Middlesex -Hospital gates, that if she went to a printer's in Long -Lane, Smithfield, probably he might supply her ladyship with -what her ladyship wanted. Away trudged Miss Banks -through Smithfield: but before she entered Mr. Thompson's -shop, she desired her man to wait for her at the corner, by -the plum-pudding stall. "Yes, we have it," was the printer's -answer to her interrogative. He then gave Miss Banks -what is called a book, consisting of many songs. Upon her -expressing her surprise when the man returned her eightpence -from her shilling, and the great quantity of songs he had -given her, when she only wanted one—"What, then!" -observed the man, "are you not one of our characters? I -beg your pardon."</p> - -<p>This lady and Lady Banks, out of compliment to Sir -Joseph, who had been deeply engaged in the production of -wool, had their riding-habits made of his produce, in which -dresses the two ladies at one period on all occasions appeared. -Indeed, so delighted was Miss Banks with this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -<i>overall</i> covering, that she actually gave the habit-maker -orders for three at a time, and they were called <i>Hightum</i>, -<i>Tightum</i>, and <i>Scrub</i>. The first was her best, the second her -second-best, and the third her every-day one.</p> - -<p>Once when Miss Banks and her sister-in-law visited a -friend with whom they were to stay several days, on the -evening of their arrival they sat down to dinner in their -riding-habits. Their friend had a large party after dinner to -meet them, and they entered the drawing-room in their -riding-habits. On the following morning they again appeared -in their riding-habits; and so on, to the astonishment of -every one, till the conclusion of their visit.</p> - -<p>Although Miss Banks paid great attention to many -persons, there were others to whom she was wanting in -civility. A great genius, who had arrived a quarter-of-an-hour -before the time specified on the card for dinner, was -shown into the drawing-room, where Miss Banks was putting -away what are sometimes called <i>rattletraps</i>. When the -visitor observed, "It is a fine day, ma'am," she replied, "I -know nothing at all about it. You must speak to my brother -upon that subject when you are at dinner." Notwithstanding -the very singular appearance of Miss Banks, she was, when -in the prime of life, a fashionable whip, and drove four-in-hand. -Miss Banks died in 1818.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Miser" id="Miser">Thomas Cooke, the Miser of Pentonville.</a></h3> - - -<p>At No. 16, Winchester Place, now No. 64, Pentonville -Road, lived, for a period of fifteen years, Thomas Cooke, -a notorious miser, who heaped up wealth by the most ungenerous -means and servility of behaviour:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Gold banished honour from his mind,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And only left the name behind.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>He was born about 1725 or 1726, at Clewer, near -Windsor, and was the son of an itinerant fiddler. He was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -left to the care of a grandmother, who resided at Swannington, -near Norwich. He obtained employment in a factory, -where the leading trait of his character manifested itself. -His companions in labour clubbed a portion of their week's -earnings to form a mess. This Cooke declined, and determined -to live more cheaply; and when others went to dine, -he went to the side of a neighbouring brook, and made -breakfast and dinner one meal, which consisted of a halfpenny -loaf, an apple, and a draught of water from the brook, -taken up on the brim of his cap. His economy so far seems -to have been judicious, as it enabled him to pay a boy who -was an usher in the village school to instruct him in the -rudiments of education.</p> - -<p>When he arrived at manhood, he obtained employment -as porter to a drysalter and paper-maker at Norwich; he -was next made a journeyman, with increased wages. He -then, through his master, got an appointment in the Excise, in -a district near London; and his master also gave him a letter -of introduction to a sugar-baker in the metropolis. After a -tedious journey by waggon, he reached London, with only -eight shillings in his pocket. There was some delay and -expense before he could act as an exciseman, and his immediate -necessities compelled him to take the situation of -porter to the sugar-baker. He then became a journeyman, -and by his parsimonious habits saved money enough to pay -the preliminary expenses, and was enabled to assume the -office to which he had so long aspired.</p> - -<p>He was then appointed to inspect a paper-mill at Tottenham, -where he closely watched a new process in paper-making. -During Cooke's official visits to this mill the -owner died, and his widow resolved to carry on the business -with the aid of a foreman. Cooke had noted here many -infractions of the law, which, designedly or otherwise, were -daily taking place; and having summed up the penalties -incurred thereby, which he set off against the value of the -concern, he privately informed the widow that he had complained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -of these malpractices, and told her that if the fines -were levied, they would amount to double the value of the -property she possessed, and reduce her to want and imprisonment. -This he followed up by an overture of marriage, -and assured the lady that he only knew of the frauds of her -establishment. The widow consented to become his wife -when the appointed days of mourning for her first husband -had expired. To this Cooke agreed, but lest she might -prove fickle, he required of her a promise in writing. On -his marriage, Cooke became possessed of her property, -which was considerable, together with the lease of the mills -at Tottenham.</p> - -<p>He next purchased a large sugar-baker's business in -Puddle Dock. His parsimony now became extreme: he -kept no table, but obtained the greater part of his daily food -by well-timed visits to persons of his acquaintance. He had -good conversational powers, and these he usually turned to -his profit. Sometimes, when walking the streets, he fell -down in a pretended fit, opposite to the house of one whose -bounty he sought. No humane person could well refuse -admission to a man in apparent distress and of respectable -appearance, whose well-powdered wig and long ruffles induced -a belief that he was some decayed citizen who had -seen better days. For the assistance thus kindly given he -would express his gratitude in the most energetic manner. -He would ask for a glass of water, but if wine was offered, -he said, "No, he never drank anything but water;" but -when pressed by his kind host, would take it, and exclaim, -"God bless my soul, sir, this is very excellent wine! Pray, -sir, who is your wine merchant? for indeed, to tell you the -truth, it was the difficulty of getting good wine that caused -me to leave it off entirely." Upon invitation, he would take -another glass, and thanking his host, depart. A few days -after, he would call at the house of his kind entertainer just -at dinner-time, professedly to thank him for having saved -his life, and on being invited to dine would at first demur,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -urging that "My gruel is waiting for me at home." On -sitting down to dinner he would take notice of the children; -and after great pretended kindness, would say to the -mother, "God bless them, pretty dears. Pray, madam, will -you have the goodness to give me all their names in writing?" -Thus artfully did he contrive to make his kind entertainers -think that he designed to do some good thing for their -children; and they now sought the continuance of his -friendship by occasional presents of game or a dozen or two -of the wine he had so much approved.</p> - -<p>Many persons were in this way made the victims of -Cooke's sophistries. By these gifts, his housekeeping expenses -were reduced to fifteen-pence a day, and it was -sinful extravagance if they reached two shillings. Such -comestibles as he could not consume, he disposed of to the -dealers and others. He drank only water, but as for the -"gormandizing, gluttonous maids, they could not drink, not -they, what he did; nothing would serve them but table-beer." -This he kept in his front parlour, with a lock-tap to -it, of which he held the key, and at meal-times he drew -exactly half-a-pint for each woman.</p> - -<p>With all his rigid economy, Cook found, to his great -grief, that by his sugar-bakery he had lost 500<i>l.</i> in twelve -months. To amend this state of affairs, and to discover -some of the secrets of the trade, he invited several sugar-bakers -to dine with him, and plying them well with wine, -wheedled out of the persons in business the coveted information. -His wife was alarmed at this seeming extravagance, -but he silenced her scruples by telling her he would -"suck as much of the brains" of some of the fools as would -amply repay them.</p> - -<p>Having retired from business, he resided for a time at -the Angel Inn, Islington, from whence he removed to -Winchester Place. The plot of garden-ground in the rear -he sowed with cabbage-seed, and with his own hands -manured it. To obtain the manure, he would, on moonlight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -nights, go out with a shovel and basket and take up -the horse-dung which lay in the City Road. This scheming -obtained for him the name of "Cabbage Cooke."</p> - -<p>The only luxury he allowed his wife was a small -quantity of table-beer; and by his general mal-treatment he -caused her so much grief that she died of a broken heart. -Soon after his wife's death, he paid his addresses to several -rich widows, but none would listen to his suit, especially -as he desired all their property should be made over to -him.</p> - -<p>Cooke was fond of horse-racing, and contrived to be -present at Epsom races at the expense of some of his acquaintances. -He once had a horse; but finding it too expensive -to keep at livery, for this purpose he converted the -kitchen of his house into a stable, and he used to curry and -fodder the horse with his own hands.</p> - -<p>During his fifteen years' residence in Winchester Place, -he never once painted the house inside or outside, nor would -he allow the landlord to paint it. He was then served with -legal notice to quit; this he disregarded. At last he so -implored the landlord not to turn him into the street, that -he consented to allow him time to provide himself with a -house, and this in presence of an associate whom he brought -purposely in the room. The landlord then had him served -with an ejectment; but upon the case being brought to -trial, Cooke brought forward in evidence the witness to the -promise of the landlord, who was accordingly nonsuited. -The landlord, however, brought another action, in which -he succeeded; and Cooke removed to No. 85, White Lion -Street, Pentonville.</p> - -<p>Sickness and old age now compelled Cooke to seek -medical advice, when he obtained, by some artifice, a -patient's dispensary letter; but his cheat was discovered. -Cooke's principle was, "No cure, no pay;" and when a -physician, to whom he had been very troublesome, told him -he could do nothing more for him, he said, "Then give me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -back my money, sir. Why did you rob me of my money, -unless you meant to cure me?" Yet Cooke was a professing -Christian, and a regular attendant at the ordinances -of religion, and he seldom failed to receive the sacrament. -He died August 26th, 1811, at the age of eighty-six, and -was buried on the 30th at St. Mary's, Islington. Some of -the mob threw cabbage-stalks on his coffin as it was lowered -into the grave.</p> - -<p>The wealth that Cooke had amassed during his long -life-time, by meanness, artifice, and pretended poverty, -amounted to the large sum of 127,205<i>l.</i> in the Three per -cent. Consols. During his lifetime his charities were but -few. But, as if to atone for a life of avarice, he left by will -the bulk of his riches to several charitable societies, and a -few trifling legacies to individuals.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Turkey" id="Turkey">Thomas Cooke, the Turkey Merchant.</a></h3> - - -<p>This eccentric gentleman was resident at Constantinople -as a merchant at the time Charles XII. of Sweden was in -Turkey, in 1714, and contributed in a very munificent -manner to the relief of the royal prisoner. Mr. Cooke well -knew the Divan wished to get rid of the king, their prisoner, -who always pleaded poverty and inability to pay his debts; -and they having lent him money, were afraid to lend him -any more. He, however, devised a scheme to assist him, -and applied to the Lord High Treasurer, who heard the -proposal with great satisfaction, but was surprised to be -told, "Your excellency must find the money." To this he -answered, by a very natural question, "How will you ever -pay us?" Mr. Cooke replied, they were building a mosque, -and would stand in need of lead to cover it, which he would -engage to supply. Next morning the proposal was accepted, -and the arrangements concluded.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cooke then treated with the King of Sweden, and -offered him a certain sum of money upon condition of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -being repaid in copper, the exportation of which from -Sweden had been for some time prohibited, at a stipulated -price. The offer was accepted, and the money paid to the -king by the hands of La Mortraye, the well-known author -of several volumes of <i>Travels</i>; and Mr. Cooke received an -order upon the states of Sweden to be paid in copper, -which he sold to a house in that kingdom, at an advance of -12,000<i>l.</i> sterling upon the first cost, besides the profit he -obtained upon the sale of his lead. The money lent was -not sufficient for the king's liberation; he stayed in Turkey -till he had nothing left but a knife and fork. Upon hearing -of the king's situation, Mr. Cooke one day surprised -him with a present of his whole sideboard of plate; and for -this conduct towards their sovereign his name was idolized -by the Swedes.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cooke was for many years in the commission of the -peace for the county of Middlesex, and was three years -governor of the Bank of England. He was a man of -singular character, very shrewd, but highly esteemed, -particularly for his unbounded munificence. Having made -his will, whereby he had bequeathed 1,000<i>l.</i> to the clerks of -the Bank, he resolved on being his own executor, and to -give them the money in his lifetime. Accordingly, in the -month of February, preceding his death, he sent a note of -1,000<i>l.</i> to the governor of the Bank, requesting that it might -be distributed among the clerks, in the proportion of one -guinea for every year that each person had been in their -service, and the remaining 3<i>l.</i> to the porters.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cooke died at Stoke Newington, 12th of August, -1752, aged eighty. By his own directions he was attended -to the grave by twelve poor housekeepers belonging to a -box-club at Stoke Newington, of which he had long been a -generous and useful member. To each man he bequeathed -a guinea and a suit of clothes, and as much victuals and -drink as he chose; but if either of the legatees got fuddled -he was to forfeit his legacy, and was only to receive half-a-crown<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -for his day's work. Mr. Cooke's corpse was wrapped -in a clean blanket, sewed up, and, being put into a common -coffin, was conveyed, with the above attendants, in three -coaches, to the grave close to a stile, near Sir John Morden's -College, on Blackheath, of which he was a trustee. The -corpse was then taken out of the coffin, which was left in -the college for the first pensioner it would fit, and buried in -a winding-sheet upright in the ground, according to the -Eastern custom.</p> - -<p>Cooke's widow maintained the same benevolent character -with himself, and died at Stoke Newington, January -15th, 1763. They had issue two daughters, both of whom -died before their father.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Lewson" id="Lewson">"Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell.</a></h3> - - -<p>In Cold Bath Square, for the space of ninety years, lived -Mrs. Lewson, commonly called "Lady Lewson," from her -very eccentric manner of dress. She was born in the year -1700, in the reign of William and Mary, in Essex Street, -Strand, of respectable parents named Vaughan; and she -was married at an early age to Mr. Lewson, a wealthy -gentleman, then living in Cold Bath Square, in the house -wherein she subsequently continued to reside. She became -a widow at the age of twenty-six, having only one daughter -living at the time. She was left by her husband in affluent -circumstances; she preferred to continue single, and remained -so, although she had many suitors. When her -daughter married, Mrs. Lewson was left alone, and being -of retired habits, she rarely went out, or permitted the visits -of any person. During the last thirty years of her life, she -kept only one servant, an old woman, who died after a -servitude of twenty years: she was succeeded by her grand-daughter, -who marrying, was replaced by an old man, who -attended the different houses in the Square to go of errands, -clean shoes, &c. "Lady Lewson" took this man into her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -house, and he acted as her steward, butler, cook, and housemaid; -and with the exception of two old lapdogs and a cat, -was her only companion.</p> - -<p>The house in which she lived was large and elegantly -furnished; the beds were kept constantly made, although -they had not been slept in for about thirty years. Her -apartment was only occasionally swept out, and never -washed; and the windows were so encrusted with dirt, that -they hardly admitted a ray of light. She used to tell her -acquaintances that if the rooms were washed, it might be -the occasion of her catching cold; and as to cleaning the -windows, many accidents happened through that ridiculous -practice—the glass might be broken, the person who cleaned -them might be injured, and the expense would fall upon -her. There was a large garden in the rear of the house, -which she kept in good order; and here, when the weather -was fine, she sometimes sat and read, or chatted of times -past with such of her acquaintances as she could be persuaded -to admit. She seldom visited, except at the house -of a grocer in Cold Bath Square, with whom she dealt. She -had survived many years every relative, and was thus left to -indulge her odd tastes.</p> - -<p>She was so partial to the fashions that prevailed in her -youthful days, that she never changed the manner of her -dress from that worn in the time of George I., being always -decorated</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">With ruffs, and cuffs, and fardingales.</p> - -<p>She always wore powder, with a large <i>tache</i>, made of -horsehair, upon her head, over which the hair was turned, -and she placed the cap, which was tied under her chin, and -three or four rows of curls hung down her neck. She -generally wore a silk dress, with a long train, a deep flounce -all round, and a very long waist; her gown was very tightly -laced up to her neck, round which was a ruff or frill; the -sleeves came down below the elbows, and to each of them -four or five large cuffs were attached; a large bonnet, quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -flat, high-heeled shoes, a large black silk cloak trimmed with -lace, and a gold-headed cane, completed her every-day -costume for eighty years; in which dress she occasionally -walked round the Square. She never washed herself, because -she thought those persons who did so were always -taking cold, or engendering some dreadful disorder; her -method was to besmear her face and neck all over with -hog's-lard, because that was soft and lubricating; and because -she wanted a little colour on her cheeks, she bedaubed -them with rose-pink. Her manner of living was very -methodical: she would only drink tea out of one cup, and -always sat in her favourite chair. She enjoyed good health, -and entertained the greatest aversion to medicine. At the -age of eighty-three, she cut two new teeth, and she was -never troubled with tooth-ache. She lived in five reigns, -and had the events of the year 1715 (the Scottish Rebellion) -fresh in her recollection.</p> - -<p>The sudden death of an old lady who was a neighbour -made a deep impression on Mrs. Lewson; believing her -own time had come, she became weak, took to her bed, refused -medical aid, and on Tuesday, the 28th of May, 1816, -died at her house in Cold Bath Square, at the age of 116; -she was interred in Bunhill Fields burying-ground. "At -her death," says Mr. Warner, in his MS. <i>Notes on Clerkenwell</i>, -"I went over the house, and was struck with astonishment -at the number of bars, bolts, &c., to the whole of the -doors and windows; the ceilings of the upper floor were -completely lined with strong boards, braced together with -iron bars, to prevent any one getting into the house from -the roof. The ashes had not been removed for many years; -they were neatly piled up, as if formed into beds for some -particular purpose, around the yard. Her furniture, &c., -were sold by auction, and persons were admitted to view by -producing a catalogue, which was sold at sixpence, and -would permit any number of persons at one time."<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Profits" id="Profits">Profits of Dust-sifting, and Dust-heaps.</a></h3> - - -<p>Many years ago a <i>dust-sifter</i>, named Mary Collins, residing -in Bell Street, Lisson Grove, was robbed by a nurse, -when her evidence before the police magistrate was remarkable -for the extraordinary disclosures it incidentally afforded -of the large profits obtained from the apparently humble -vocation of dust-sifting. The articles stolen were in a -pocket, and were thus described: one coral necklace, large -beads; one ditto, with pearl clasp; several handsome -brooches; five gold seals; some gold rings; several gold -shirt-pins; a quantity of loose beads; broken bits of gold -and silver, &c. Mr. Rawlinson, the magistrate, expressed -his surprise at her having such a motley assortment of -valuables. Complainant: Your worship, we find them -amongst the dust.—Mr. Rawlinson: Indeed! what, all -these articles?—Complainant: Oh, your worship, that's -nothing; we find many more things than them: we find -almost every small article that can be mentioned. We are -employed by the dust contractor, who allows us 8<i>d.</i> per -load for sifting, besides which we have all the spoons and -other articles which we may find amongst the dust.—Mr. -Rawlinson: That is dustman's law, I suppose: but pray how -many silver spoons may you find in the course of the year?—Complainant: -It is impossible to say: sometimes more -and sometimes less.</p> - -<p>Mr. Rawlinson declared that what she had just related -was quite novel to him. The urbane manner of the worthy -magistrate won upon the old lady and made her quite communicative. -She had followed her occupation eight years, -and what with the "perquisites" (<i>id est</i>, articles found), and -the savings from "hard labour," she had realized sufficient -money to think about house-building, and had then a house -erecting which she expected would cost her at least 300<i>l.</i> -She had deposited 100<i>l.</i> in the hands of her employer, in -part payment, and as a proof that all was not vaunting, she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -produced her box, in which were thirty-nine sovereigns, -two five-pound bank-notes, and several guineas and half-sovereigns.</p> - -<p>Early in the present century, the spot of ground on -which now stands Argyle Street, Liverpool Street, Manchester -Street, and the corner of Gray's Inn Road, was -covered with a mountain of filth and cinders, the accumulation -of many years, and which afforded food for hundreds -of pigs. The Russians bought the whole of the ash-heap, -and shipped it to Moscow, to be used in rebuilding that -city after it had been burned by the French. The Battle-bridge -dustmen had a certain celebrity in their day. The -ground on which the dust-heap stood was sold in 1826 to -the Pandemonium Company for fifteen thousand pounds; -they walled in the whole, and built a theatre, which now -remains at the corner of Liverpool Street. The Company's -scheme was, however, abandoned, and the ground was let -on building leases. The heap is mentioned in the burlesque -song, <i>Adam Bell, the Literary Dustman:</i><a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">You recollect the cinder heap,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Vot stood in Gray's Inn Lane, sirs?<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>When the street now called the Caledonian Road was in -the fields, there was at the Battle-bridge end of the road a -large accumulation of horse-bones, which were stored there -by some horse-slaughterers. And in 1833, Battle-bridge -was described in the <i>New Monthly Magazine</i> as "the grand -centre of dustmen, scavengers, horse and dog dealers, -knackermen, brickmakers, and other low but necessary -professionalists." The dust-heap is described as "that -sublime, sifted wonder of cockneys, the cloud-kissing dust-heap -which sold for twenty thousand pounds;" but this is -doubtful.</p> - -<p>Mr. T. C. Noble has communicated to Pinks's <i>History of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -Clerkenwell</i> the following particulars of the Dust and Cinder -Heap, &c.—"The estate at Battle-bridge comprised from -seventeen to twenty acres. Of this my grandfather took sixteen -small dilapidated houses, and <i>the dust and cinder heap</i>, -which, it was said, had been <i>existing on the spot since the -Great Fire of London</i>. He gave about 500<i>l.</i> for the lot, -although the parties wanted 800<i>l.</i> Bricks were then very -scarce, so he very soon realized a good sum for the old -buildings, while Russia, hearing in some way of this enormous -dust-heap, purchased it for purposes in rebuilding -Moscow. The site of the mountain of dust is now covered -by the houses of Derby Street, and I may add, the names -of the thoroughfares erected on this estate were derived -from the popular ministers of that day. The rental derived -from the property by my grandfather exceeded 1,000<i>l.</i> -a year."</p> - -<p>John Thomas Smith gives the following notes upon -oddities of the above class:—"Within my time many men -have indulged most ridiculously in their eccentricities. I -have known one who had made a pretty large fortune in -business get up at four o'clock in the morning and walk the -streets to pick up horse-shoes which had been slipped in -the course of the night, with no other motive than to see -how many he could accumulate in the course of a year. I -also remember a rich soap-boiler who never missed an -opportunity of pocketing nails, pieces of iron hoops, and -bits of leather in his daily walks; and these he would spread -upon a large walnut-tree three-flapped dining-table, with a -similar view to that of the horse-shoe collector. This wealthy -citizen would often put on a red woollen cap and a waggoner's -frock, in order to stoke his own furnace; after which he -would dress, get into his coach, and, attended by tall servants -in bright blue liveries, drive to his villa, where his -hungry friends were waiting his arrival."</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Dinely" id="Dinely">Sir John Dinely, Bart.</a></h3> - - -<p>This eccentric baronet, of the family of the Dinelys, of -Charlton, descended by the female line from the Royal -House of Plantagenet, having dissipated the wreck of the -family estates, obtained the pension and situation of a poor -knight of Windsor. His chief occupation consisted in -advertising for a wife, and nearly thirty years were passed -in assignations to meet the fair respondents to his advertisements. -His figure was truly grotesque: in wet weather -he was mounted on a high pair of pattens; he wore the -coat of the Windsor uniform, with a velvet embroidered -waistcoat, satin breeches, silk stockings, and a full-bottomed -wig. In this finery he might be seen strolling one day; and -next out marketing, carrying a penny loaf, a morsel of butter, -a quartern of sugar, and a farthing candle. Twice or thrice -a year he came to London, and visited Vauxhall Gardens -and the theatres. His fortune, if he could recover it, he -estimated at 300,000<i>l.</i> He invited the widow as well as the -blooming maiden of sixteen, and addressed them in printed -documents, bearing his signature, in which he specified the -sum the ladies must possess; he expected less property with -youth than age or widowhood; adding that few ladies would -be eligible that did not possess at least 10,000<i>l.</i> a year, -which, however, was nothing compared to the honour his -high birth and noble descent would confer; the incredulous -he referred to Nash's <i>Worcestershire</i>. He addressed his -advertisements to "the angelic fair" from his house in -Windsor Castle (one of the poor knight's houses). He -cherished to the last the expectation of forming a connubial -connection with some lady of property, but, alas! he died -a bachelor in 1808.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> - - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"><a name="Illus12" id="Illus12"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image15.jpg" width="200" height="403" alt="A well-known character on 'Change. Rothschild." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A well-known character on 'Change. Rothschild.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Rothschilds" id="Rothschilds">The Rothschilds.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the <i>Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton</i>, edited by -his son, we find this amusing letter, dated 1834: "We -yesterday dined at Ham House, to meet the Rothschilds; -and very amusing it was. He (Rothschild) told us his -life and adventures. He was the third son of the banker at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -Frankfort. 'There was not,' he said, 'room enough for us all -in that city. I dealt in English goods. One great trader -came there, who had the market to himself; he was quite -the great man, and did us a favour if he sold us goods. -Somehow I offended him, and he refused to show me his -patterns. This was on a Tuesday; I said to my father, "I -will go to England." I could speak nothing but German. -On the Thursday I started. The nearer I got to England, -the cheaper goods were. As soon as I got to Manchester, -I laid out all my money, things were so cheap; and I made -good profit. I soon found that there were three profits—the -raw material, the dyeing, and the manufacturing. I -said to the manufacturer, "I will supply you with material -and dye, and you supply me with manufactured goods." -So I got three profits instead of one, and I could sell goods -cheaper than anybody. In a short time I made my 20,000<i>l.</i> -into 60,000<i>l.</i> My success all turned on one maxim. I -said, I can do what another man can, and so I am a match for -the man with the patterns, and for all the rest of them! -Another advantage I had. I was an off-hand man. I made -a bargain at once. When I was settled in London, the -East India Company had 800,000 ounces of gold to sell. -I went to the sale, and bought it all. I knew the Duke of -Wellington must have it. I had bought a great many of his -bills at a discount. The Government sent for me, and said -they must have it. When they had got it, they did not know -how to get it to Portugal. I undertook all that, and I sent -it through France; and that was the best business I ever did.'</p> - -<p>"Another maxim, on which he seemed to place great -reliance, was, never to have anything to do with an unlucky -place or an unlucky man. 'I have seen,' said he, 'many -clever men, very clever men, who had not shoes to their feet. -I never act with them. Their advice sounds very well; but -fate is against them; they cannot get on themselves; and if -they cannot do good to themselves, how can they do good -to me?' By aid of these maxims he has acquired three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -millions of money. 'I hope,' said ——, 'that your children -are not too fond of money and business, to the exclusion of -more important things. I am sure you would not wish -that.'—Rothschild: 'I am sure I should wish that. <i>I wish -them to give mind, and soul, and heart, and body, and everything -to business; that is the way to be happy</i>. It requires a -great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make -a great fortune; and when you have got it, it requires ten -times as much wit to keep it. If I were to listen to all the -projects proposed to me, I should ruin myself very soon. -Stick to one business, young man,' said he to Edward; -'stick to your brewery, and you may be the great brewer of -London. Be a brewer, and a banker, and a merchant, and -a manufacturer, and you will soon be in the <i>Gazette</i>.</p> - -<p>"'One of my neighbours is a very ill-tempered man; -he tries to vex me, and has built a great place for swine -close to my walk. So, when I go out, I hear, first grunt, grunt, -squeak, squeak; but this does me no harm. I am always in -good humour. Sometimes to amuse myself I give a beggar -a guinea. He thinks it is a mistake, and for fear I should -find it out, off he runs as hard as he can. I advise you to -give a beggar a guinea sometimes, it is very amusing.' The -daughters are very pleasing. The second son is a mighty -hunter, and his father lets him buy any horses he likes. -He lately applied to the Emperor of Morocco for a first-rate -Arab horse. The Emperor sent him a magnificent one; -but he died as he landed in England. The poor youth said -very feelingly, 'that was the greatest misfortune he ever had -suffered;' and I felt strong sympathy with him. I forgot -to say, that soon after Mr. Rothschild came to England, -Bonaparte invaded Germany. 'The Prince of Hesse Cassel,' -said Rothschild, 'gave my father his money; there was no -time to be lost; he sent it to me. I had 600,000<i>l.</i> arrive -unexpectedly by the post; and I put it to such good use, -that the Prince made me a present of all his wine and his -linen.'"</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Legacy" id="Legacy">A Legacy of Half a Million of Money.</a></h3> - - -<p>On the 30th of August, 1852, there died at Chelsea -John Camden Neild, a wealthy gentleman, who had bequeathed -an immense legacy to Queen Victoria. His -father was a native of Knutsford, in Cheshire; as a goldsmith -in London he made a large fortune. He was a truly -benevolent man, especially in his efforts for the improvement -of prisons, and originated the Society for the Relief of -Persons imprisoned for Small Debts. He married the -daughter of John Camden, Esq., of Battersea, in Surrey, a -direct descendant of the great antiquary of the same name. -He died in 1814, and was buried at Chelsea.</p> - -<p>John Camden Neild, the only surviving son of the above, -was born in 1780; educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, -studied at Lincoln's Inn, and in 1808 was called to the bar. -In 1814 he succeeded to the whole of his father's property, -estimated at 250,000<i>l.</i>; but he made a very different use of -his wealth. Avarice was his ruling passion; he became a -confirmed miser, and for the last thirty years of his life gave -himself over to heaping up riches. He lived in a large but -meanly furnished house in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea; and he -slept on a bare board, and latterly on an old stump bedstead, -on which he died. His favourite companion was a large -black cat, which was in his chamber when he breathed his -last.</p> - -<p>He had considerable property at North Marston, in -Buckinghamshire, and here he often stayed for days together, -besides his half-yearly visits to receive rents. As lessee of -the rectory, it was incumbent on him to repair the chancel -of the church; the leaded roof having become full of -fissures, he had them covered with strips of painted calico, -saying they would "last his time." During this odd repair, -he sat all day on the roof, to keep the workmen employed -and even ate his dinner there, which consisted of hard-boiled -eggs, dry bread, and buttermilk.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> - -<p>His dress was an old-fashioned swallow-tailed coat, -brown trousers, short gaiters, and shoes which were generally -patched and down at the heels. His stockings and linen -were generally full of holes; but when he stayed a night at -a tenant's, the mistress often mended them while he was in -bed. He was short and punchy in figure, scarcely above -five feet in height, with a large round and short neck. He -always carried an old green cotton umbrella, but never wore -a great coat, which he considered too extravagant for his -slender means. He travelled outside a coach, where his -fellow-travellers took him for a decayed gentleman in extreme -poverty. Once, when visiting his Kentish property -on a bitterly cold day, the coach stopped at Farningham, -where the other passengers subscribed for a glass of brandy-and-water, -which they sent to the poor gentleman, in pity -for their thinly-clad companion who still sat on the coach-roof, -while they were by the inn fireside.</p> - -<p>He often took long journeys on foot, when he would -avail himself of any proffered "lift," and he was even known -to sit on a load of coal, to enable him to proceed a little -further without expense; yet he would give the driver a -penny or two for the accommodation; for, miser as he was, -he never liked to receive anything without paying for it—however -small the scale; nor would he partake of any meal -or refreshment when asked by the clergymen of the parishes -where his estates lay. Yet with tenants of a lower grade he -would share the coarse meals and lodging of the family. -At North Marston he used to reside with the tenant on the -rectory farm; while staying here, about 1828, he attempted -to cut his throat, but his life was saved chiefly by the prompt -assistance of the tenant's wife. This attempt was supposed -to have been caused by a sudden fall in the funds, in which -he had just made a large investment.</p> - -<p>Sometimes he would eat his dinner at a tenant's, where -he would beg a basin of milk, and buy three eggs for a penny, -get them hard-boiled, and eat two for his dinner, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -another basin of milk; the third egg he would save for next -morning's breakfast. He used to examine minutely the -nature of his land, and keep an account of the number of -trees on his estates: he had been known to walk from -twelve to fifteen miles to count only a few trees.</p> - -<p>Mr. Neild's general answer to all applications for -charitable contributions was a refusal; in some instances it -was otherwise. He once, but only once, gave a pound for -the Sunday-school at North Marston; he promised 300<i>l.</i> -towards building an infirmary for Buckinghamshire, but -withheld it from an objection to the site.</p> - -<p>Mr. Neild was not, as stated at the time of his death, -"a frigid, spiritless specimen of humanity," for he possessed -considerable knowledge in legal and general literature and -the classics. Nor did he entirely pass over merit. Finding -the son of one of his tenants to possess strong natural -abilities, he paid wholly or in part the expenses of his -school and college education. This person is now a -distinguished scholar and a dignitary of the Church of -England.</p> - -<p>Mr. Neild was buried on the 16th of September, according -to his own desire, in the chancel of North Marston -Church. His will then necessarily came to light, and great -was the sensation which it occasioned. After bequeathing -a few trifling legacies to different persons, he left the whole -of his vast property, estimated at 500,000<i>l.</i>, to "Her Most -Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, begging Her Majesty's -most gracious acceptance of the same for her sole use and -benefit, and her heirs, &c." To each of his three executors -he bequeathed 100<i>l.</i> The will had excited such curiosity, -that, though his life had passed almost unnoticed, a large -concourse of persons assembled at Chelsea to witness the -removal of his body, and the church and churchyard at North -Marston were crowded with wondering—not lamenting—spectators. -Among his tenants, workmen, and the poor -of the parish where he possessed so much property, not a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -tear was shed, not a regret uttered, as his body was committed -to its last resting-place. The only remark heard was, -"Poor creature! had he known so much would have been -spent on his funeral, he would have come down here to die -to save the expense!"</p> - -<p>Two caveats were entered against his will, but were subsequently -withdrawn, and the Queen was left to take undisputed -possession of his property. Her Majesty immediately -increased Mr. Neild's bequest to his three executors -to 1,000<i>l.</i> each; she provided for his old housekeeper, to -whom he had made no bequest, though she had lived with -him six-and-twenty years; and she secured an annuity to -the woman who had frustrated Mr. Neild's attempt at -suicide.</p> - -<p>Her Majesty, in 1855, had restored the chancel of North -Marston Church, and inserted an east window of beautifully -stained glass, beneath which is a reredos with this inscription: -"This Reredos and the Stained Glass Window were -erected by Her Majesty Queen Victoria (D.G.B.R.F.D.), in -the eighteenth year of her reign, in memory of John Camden -Neild, Esq., of this parish, who died August 30th, 1852, -aged 72."<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> - -<p>This man of wealth must not be confounded with the -Mr. Neeld who came into possession of great wealth on the -demise of his uncle, Philip Rundell, the wealthy goldsmith -of Ludgate Hill. He died in 1827, at the age of eighty-one; -and, according to the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, "had never -married, and never kept an establishment, but lived much -with one niece at Brompton, and another, the wife of John -Bannister, the eminent comedian." The eldest son of the -latter, on coming of age, was invited to breakfast with Mr. -Rundell, who placed in the young man's hands at parting a -sealed letter, which he was not to open till he reached home. -It was then found to contain a bequest of 10,000<i>l.</i>, payable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -on the death of the donor, and of his own marriage. This -incident was related to Mr. Britton by Mr. Bannister, who -also indulged him by repeating two songs which he had -written and sung at Mr. Rundell's, on two birthdays of the -aged goldsmith. Bannister also inherited 5,000<i>l.</i> for his own -life, and then to devolve to his daughter; and his son had -an additional legacy from Mr. Rundell. Numerous other -large sums of money were bequeathed to other relatives, -friends, and public foundations; but the most important -item in the will is the residuary clause, whereby the testator -"gives to his esteemed friend, Joseph Neeld, the younger, -all the rest of his real and mixed estate, which," says the -magazine, "it is computed will amount to not less than -890,000<i>l.</i> The personal effects were sworn at upwards of -1,000,000<i>l.</i>, the utmost limit to which the scale of the probate -duty extends."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Bridgewater" id="Bridgewater">Eccentricities of the Earl of Bridgewater.</a></h3> - - -<p>Forty years since there lived in Paris the Rev. Francis -Henry Egerton, Earl of Bridgewater, of whom we find this -probably overcharged but curious account in a Parisian -journal of the year 1826; than his lordship no one has a -higher claim to a distinguished place in the history of human -oddities:—"Those who have once seen—nay, those who -have never seen this meagre personage drag himself along, -supported by two huge lacqueys, with his sugar-loaf hat, -slouched down over his eyes, cannot fail to recognize him. -An immense fortune enables him to gratify the most extravagant -caprices that ever passed through the head of a -rich Englishman. If he be lent a book, he carries his -politeness so far as to send it back, or rather have it conveyed -home, in a carriage. He gives orders that two of his -most stately steeds be caparisoned under one of his chariots, -and the volume, reclining at ease in <i>milord's</i> landau, arrives, -attended by four footmen in costly livery, at the door of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -astounded owner. His carriage is frequently to be seen -filled with his dogs. He bestows great care on the feet of -these dogs, and orders them boots, for which he pays as -dearly as for his own. Lord Bridgewater's custom is an -excellent one for the boot-maker; for, besides the four feet -of each of his dogs, the supply of his own two feet must give -constant employment to several operatives. He puts on a -new pair of boots every day, carefully preserving those he -has once worn, and ranging them in order; he commands -that none shall touch them, but takes himself great pleasure -in observing how much of the year has each day passed, by -the state of his boots."</p> - -<p>"Lord Egerton is a man of few acquaintance, and very -few of his countrymen have got as far as his dining-hall. -His table, however, is constantly set out with a dozen covers, -and served by suitable attendants. Who, then, are his -privileged guests? No less than a dozen of his favourite dogs, -who daily partake of <i>milord's</i> dinner, seated very gravely in -arm-chairs, each with a napkin round his neck, and a servant -behind to attend to his wants. These honourable quadrupeds, -as if grateful for such delicate attentions, comport -themselves during the time of repast with a decency and -decorum which would do more than honour to a party of -gentlemen; but if, by any chance, one of them should, -without due consideration, obey the natural instinct of his -appetite, and transgress any of the rules of good manners, -his punishment is at hand. The day following the offence -the dog dines, and even dines well; but not at <i>milord's</i> -table; banished to the ante-chamber, and dressed in livery, -he eats in sorrow the bread of shame, and picks the bone of -mortification, while his place at table remains vacant till his -repentance has merited a generous pardon!"</p> - -<p>This eccentric nobleman died in February, 1829, and -by his will, dated February 25th, 1825, bequeathed 8,000<i>l.</i> -for the writing, printing, and publishing of the well-known -<i>Bridgewater Treatises</i>.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Denisons" id="Denisons">The Denisons, and the Conyngham Family.</a></h3> - - -<p>The history of the Denison family, the last representative -of which died in 1849, leaving a fortune of more than two -millions and a half, affords a lesson which the mercantile -world cannot study too curiously. Somewhat more than -one hundred and twenty years ago, the elder Denison made -his way on foot to London from Skipton-in-Craven, his -native place, with a few shillings in his pocket, and, being a -parish-boy, not knowing even how to read or write. Another -account states that he was a woollen-cloth-merchant at -Leeds, and came to London in a waggon, being attended on -his departure by his friends, who took a solemn leave of -him, as the distance was then thought so great that they -might never see him again. He was recommended by a -townswoman of his own (of the name of Sykes, whom he -afterwards married) to the house of Dillon and Co., where -she was herself a domestic servant; and for some time the -lad was employed to sweep the shop and go on errands. -His zeal and industry recommended him, however, to his -employers, and having been taught to read, he rose to a -clerkship. After the death of his wife he obtained an independence -by marrying one Elizabeth Butler, daughter of -a rich hatter in Tooley Street, and set up in business for -himself in Princes Street, Lothbury, where by incessant -attention to business and strict parsimony, he managed to -scrape together a considerable fortune. He finally removed -to St. Mary Axe, where he lived and died, after having -purchased the estates in Surrey and Yorkshire (of Lord King -and the Duke of Leeds), Denbies and Seamere; by joining -the Heywoods, eminent bankers of Liverpool, his wealth -rapidly increased. The <i>Annual Register</i> of 1806, in recording -these facts and his end, states that through life Mr. -Denison was a dissenter: he remained to the last an illiterate -man.</p> - -<p>By his second wife he had one son and two daughters.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -The son, William Joseph, a man of sound principle and -excellent character, though less penurious than his father, -who, when he entertained a friend at dinner in St. Mary -Axe, used to walk to the butcher's and bring home a rump-steak -in a cabbage-leaf in his pocket, was remarkable for his -disinclination to detach even the smallest sum from his -enormous capital. Thus, when the nephew to whom he -bequeathed 85,000<i>l.</i> per annum, fell into railway difficulties -(the speculation having been undertaken with the sanction -of his uncle), he permitted him, to avoid legal proceedings, -to withdraw to Boulogne-sur-Mer, and reside there a twelvemonth -with his young family, rather than pay for him the -sum of 2,000<i>l.</i></p> - -<p>Mr. Denison, the father, died in 1806; his son, succeeding -to the banking business (the firm being now Denison, -Heywood, and Kennard), continued to accumulate; and at -his death, in 1849, he left two millions and a half of money. -He had sat in Parliament for Surrey since 1818. He was -a man of cultivated tastes, and possessed a knowledge of -art and elegant literature. He feared to be thought ostentatious, -and could with difficulty be prevailed on to have a -lodge erected at the entrance to a new road which he had -just formed on his estate in Surrey.</p> - -<p>Mr. Denison's two sisters were Elizabeth, married, in -1794, to Henry, first Marquis Conyngham; and Maria, -married, in 1793, to Sir Robert Lawley, Bart., created, in -1831, Baron Wenlock. Up to the age of twenty-seven, Miss -Denison resided with her father in St. Mary Axe. Here -the rich and beautiful heiress was won and wedded in 1794 -by the Honourable Henry Burton, then a captain, twenty-eight -years old, and the eldest son of the fortunate Francis -Pierpoint Burton, of Buncraggy, who succeeded through his -mother, after the death of her two brothers, to the barony -and estates of the old Conynghams, won at the battle of the -Boyne by Sir Albert Conyngham, Lieutenant-General of the -Ordnance of Ireland, and aggrandized by many forfeitures<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -and marriages subsequently. Captain Burton carried off his -wife to Ireland, and only revisited England in his forty-second -year, to kiss hands, in 1808, on his promotion to a -major-generalship. On succeeding to his father's title and -estates, his lordship so improved their condition that he was -justly regarded as one of the benefactors of his country; and -a visit to his estate at Slane, on the banks of the Boyne, is -recorded by Mr. Parkinson in his <i>Experiences of Agriculture</i> -in the same terms as a visit to Holkham would have been -chronicled in the days of Mr. Coke. The barony of -Conyngham was increased to an earldom as a reward for -the spirited conduct of his lordship's father, which led to a -reciprocity of trade between Ireland and England. Upon -the conclusion of the war with France, when George IV. -paid a visit to Ireland, he was hospitably received and -entertained at Slane Castle. Here, probably, commenced -that more intimate acquaintance between His Majesty and -the Marquis Conyngham and his family which induced the -King, upon his return to England, to invite the whole family -to court, and, after they had accepted the invitation, to -retain them in his household. In 1816 his lordship was -created Viscount Slane (the restoration of an ancient title -forfeited in the Rebellion), Earl of Mountcharles, and Marquis -Conyngham; and in 1821 he was enrolled in the -British Peerage as Baron Minster, of Minster Abbey, in the -county of Kent. The Marchioness was left a widow in -1832, and survived until 1861, having attained the venerable -age of ninety-two, and lived to see both her sons peers of -the realm—the one in succession of his father; the second, -Albert Denison, as the heir to her own father's great fortune -and estates, with the title of Baron Londesborough.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Jennings" id="Jennings">"Dog Jennings."</a></h3> - - -<p>This eccentric character, Henry Constantine Jennings, -was born in 1731, and was the son of a gentleman possessed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -of a large estate at Shiplake, in Oxfordshire. He was educated -at Westminster School, and at the age of seventeen -years became an ensign in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. -He held the commission but a short time, and on resigning -it went to Italy in company with Lord Monthermer, son of -the Duke of Montagu.</p> - -<p>While at Rome, young Jennings commenced his first -collection of articles of vertu, and ever after obtained the -coarse and vulgar <i>sobriquet</i> of "Dog Jennings," in consequence -of a circumstance which he thus relates:—"I happened -one day to be strolling along the streets of Rome, and -perceiving the shop of a statuary in an obscure street, I -entered it, and began to look around for any curious production -of art. I at length perceived something uncommon, -at least; but, being partly concealed behind a heap of rubbish, -I could not contemplate it with any degree of accuracy. -After all impediments had been at length removed, the -marble statue I had been poking for was dragged into open -day; it proved to be a huge, but fine dog—and a fine dog it -was, and a lucky dog was I to discover and to purchase it. On -turning it round, I perceived it was without a tail—this gave -me a hint. I also saw that the limbs were finely proportioned; -that the figure was noble; that the sculpture, in -short, was worthy of the best age of Athens; and that it -must be of the age of Alcibiades, whose favourite dog it -certainly was. I struck a bargain instantly on the spot for -400 scudi; and as the muzzle alone was somewhat damaged, -I paid the artist a trifle more for repairing it. It was carefully -packed, and being sent to England after me, by the time it -reached my house in Oxfordshire, it had just cost me 80<i>l.</i> I -wish all my other bargains had been like it, for it was exceedingly -admired, as I well knew it must be, by the connoisseurs, -by more than one of whom I was bid 1,000<i>l.</i> for -my purchase. In truth, by a person sent, I believe, from -Blenheim, I was offered 1,400<i>l.</i> But I would not part with -my dog; I had bought it for myself, and I liked to contemplate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -his fine proportions and admire him at my leisure, -for he was doubly dear to me, as being my own property and -my own selection."</p> - -<p>At the Literary Club, one evening, Jennings' dog was the -topic of discussion: "<i>F.</i> (<i>Lord Cipper O'Geary.</i>) 'I have -been looking at this famous marble dog of Mr. Jennings', -valued at 1,000 guineas, said to be Alcibiades' dog.'—<i>Johnson</i>. -'His tail, then, must be docked. That was the -mark of Alcibiades' dog.'—<i>E.</i> (<i>Burke.</i>) 'A thousand -guineas! the representation of no animal whatever is worth -so much. At this rate, a dead dog would, indeed, be better -than a living lion.'—<i>J.</i> 'Sir, it is not the worth of the thing, -but of the skill in forming it, which is so highly estimated. -Everything that enlarges the sphere of human powers, that -shows man he can do what he thought he could not do, is -valuable.'"</p> - -<p>But Mr. Jennings, like many other collectors, owing to a -reverse of fortune, was compelled, in 1778, to break up his -collection, which being sold by auction, the dog of Alcibiades -brought 1,000 guineas, and became the property of Mr. -Duncombe, M.P. It is now at Duncombe Park, in Yorkshire, -the seat of Lord Feversham.</p> - -<p>It is painful to read that the latter days of Mr. Jennings -were spent in the King's Bench; and within the rules of -that prison he died, February 17th, 1819, at his lodgings in -Belvedere Place, St. George's Fields, in his eighty-eighth year.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Remarkable" id="Remarkable">Baron Ward's Remarkable Career.</a></h3> - - -<p>Perhaps no man of modern times passed a more varied -and romantic life than the famed Yorkshire groom, statesman, -and friend of sovereigns, and who played so prominent -a part at the Court of Parma; his career strongly exemplifying -the adage that truth is stranger than fiction.</p> - -<p>Thomas Ward was born at York, on the 9th of October<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -1810, where he was brought up in the stable, but was shrewd -and intelligent far beyond boys of his own station.</p> - -<p>He left Yorkshire as a boy in the pay of Prince Lichtenstein, -of Hungary; and after a four years' successful career on -the turf at Vienna as a jockey, he became employed by the -then reigning Duke of Lucca.</p> - -<p>He was at Lucca promoted from the stable to be a valet -to his Royal Highness, which service he performed up to -1846. About that period he was appointed Master of the -Horse to the Ducal Court, when he made extraordinary -changes in that department: the stable expenses were -reduced more than one-half. Yet the Duke's stud was the -envy and admiration of all Italy. Eventually, Ward became -Minister of the Household and Minister of Finance, and -acquired a diplomatic dignity in the disturbances which -preceded the revolutionary year, 1848, when he was despatched -to Florence upon a confidential mission of the -highest importance. This had no less an object than the -delivery, to the Grand Duke, of his master's abdication of -the Lucchese principality. At first the Grand Duke hesitated -at receiving, in a diplomatic capacity, one of whom he -had only heard in relation to the races of the Casino. But -our envoy had seen and provided for such an emergency. -He produced from his pocket a commission, making him -Viceroy of the Duke's estates, which was to be acted upon -if the Grand Duke raised any obstacle, or even if he refused -to receive Ward as ambassador of the states of Parma, at -the capital of the Medicis; this, of course, ended all difficulties.</p> - -<p>Ward held the above offices until the Duke's rule was -violently terminated by the great Revolution of 1848. With -some difficulty he escaped with his able and faithful minister, -when they retired to an estate near Dresden, called Weisstrop. -At this period Ward became an active agent of -Austria, and as Austria triumphed, he recovered the hereditary -estates of Parma and Placentia; but the Duke, disgusted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -by his experience, resigned in favour of his own son, -with whom the minister retained the same favour and exhibited -the same talents that first raised him to distinction, -and made him more than a match for the first of the Italian -diplomatists. Upon one occasion he was despatched -to Vienna as an envoy from his little court, when he -astonished Schwartzenberg by the extent of his capacity. -His acquaintance was specially cultivated by the Russian -Ambassador, Meyendorff, who appears to have been very -fond of Yorkshire hams. An English gentleman, supping -one night at the Russian Ambassador's, complimented him -upon the excellence of the ham. "There is a member of -our diplomatic body here," replied Meyendorff, "who supplies -us all with hams from Yorkshire, of which county he -is a native."</p> - -<p>As prime minister, Ward negotiated the abdication of -Charles II., and placed the youthful Charles III. on the -throne, who, it will be remembered, was assassinated before -his own palace in 1854. It should be observed that as soon -as Charles III. came to the throne, the then Baron Ward -was sent to Germany by his patron as Minister Plenipotentiary, -to represent Parma at the Court of Vienna. This -post he held up to the time of his royal patron's tragical -end.</p> - -<p>When the Duchess-Regent assumed state authority, -Ward retired from public life, and took to agricultural pursuits -in the Austrian dominions. Without any educational -foundation, he contrived to write and speak German, -French, and Italian, and conducted the affairs of state with -considerable cleverness, if not with remarkable straightforwardness. -But the moment he attempted to express -himself in English, his dialect was found to retain all the -characteristics of his want of education. Lord Palmerston -once declared that Ward "was one of the most remarkable -men he had ever met with."</p> - -<p>Throughout life, Ward was ever proud of his country,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -never for a moment attempting to conceal his humble -origin; and portraits of his parents, in their homespun -clothes, may be seen in the splendid saloon of the Prime -Minister of Parma.</p> - -<p>Baron Ward was married to a humble person of Vienna, -and at his death he left four children. From the stable he -rose to the highest offices of a little kingdom, at a period of -great European political interest, and died in retirement, -pursuing the rustic occupation of a farmer, but carrying with -him to the grave many curious state secrets.</p> - -<p>The following is a partial list only of the honours to -which Ward attained:—Baron of the Duchy of Lucca, and -of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany; Knight of the First Class -of the Order of St. Louis of Lucca; Knight Grand Cross of -the Order of St. Joseph of Tuscany; Knight Senator Grand -Cross of the Order of St. George Constantinano of Parma; -and Noble, with the title of Baron, in Tuscany; Honorary -Councillor of State to his Imperial Highness the Grand -Duke of Tuscany; Minister and Councillor of State to -H.R.H. Charles Duke of Parma, &c.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Costly" id="Costly">A Costly House-Warming.</a></h3> - - -<p>Fifty years ago, there lived in Edward Street, Portman -Square, one Parmentier, confectioner to the Prince Regent. -From his emporium, and that of Romualdo, in Duke Street, -the <i>routs</i> given in the neighbouring squares were sumptuously -supplied. In this quarter lived keepers of china and glass -shops, who undertook, at a few hours' notice, to supply all -the movables and ornaments for large <i>routs</i>, as chairs, tables, -china and glass, knives and forks, extra plate, looking-glasses, -mirrors, girandoles, chandeliers, wax-lights, candelabra-lamps, -Aurelian shades, transparencies, vases, and other decorative -items for a complete suite of rooms; together with exotics<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -and green-house plants, and a corps of artists to chalk the -floors. It was by this almost magical aid that the Earl of -Shrewsbury gave his magnificent house-warming to the <i>haut -ton</i> at his new mansion in Bryanstone Square, which was -then in so unfinished a state that the walls in many of the -apartments were not even plastered. To the astonishment -and delight of the guests, the whole mansion was thrown -open, and every room was furnished and decorated in the -most superb style. The principal drawing-room, with its -numerous lamps and large looking-glasses, appeared one -blaze of light; in contrast to which, another room in sombre -gloom, resembled an Arcadian grove of orange and lemon -trees and myrtles, part natural and part artificial. The -amusements consisted of a dramatic representation, a concert, -a dress-ball, a masquerade, and a sumptuous supper of -three hundred covers. These elegant festivities cost the -Earl several thousand pounds.</p> - -<p>In the same neighbourhood, at the corner of George -Street, Mohammed, a native of Asia, opened a house for -giving dinners in the Hindustanee style. All the dishes -were dressed with currie-powder, rice, cayenne, and the -finest spices of Arabia. A room was set apart for smoking -from hookahs with Oriental herbs. The rooms were furnished -with chairs and sofas made of bamboo canes, and the walls -were hung with Chinese pictures and other Asiatic embellishments. -Either Sidi Mohammed's capital was not -sufficient to stand the slow test of public encouragement, or -the scheme failed at once; for Sidi became bankrupt, and -the undertaking was relinquished.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Devonshire" id="Devonshire">Devonshire Eccentrics.</a></h3> - - -<p>Some years since, there lived a gentleman in Tavistock, -very charitably disposed, who entertained an especial good -will and kind feeling towards old sailors. Any old sailor, -by calling at his door, received the donation of a shilling and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -a glass of grog. It was marvellous to see what a number -of veteran blue jackets paid him a visit in the course of a -year. At last, the servant who opened the door observed -that all these sons of the sea had a particular patch on one -and the same arm. She began, at length, to fancy that the -old patch must be some badge of honour in the service, yet -she thought it a very odd distinction in his Majesty's navy. -The circumstance awakened her suspicion. The next old -blue jacket that appeared, decorated with the order of the -patch, was therefore watched and followed to his retreat. -He was observed to retire to the house of a certain old -woman, and in a little while he was seen to come forth again -in his own natural character, that of a street beggar, clothed -in rags. The cheat was apparent; and suffice it to say, that -on further examination it appeared that the old woman's -house was one of friendly call to all the vagabonds and -sharpers who paced the country round; and that amongst -other masquerade attire for the callers, she kept by her a -sailor's old jacket and trousers for the purpose of playing off -the imposition. No doubt she was paid for the loan of the -dress.</p> - -<p>At Tavistock, also, there resided a strange character in -humble life, named Carter Foote. On returning from -Oakhampton, he remounted his horse, after having enjoyed -himself at the public-house, and attempted to pass the river -below the bridge by fording it over. The day had been -stormy, and from the sudden swell of the river he found -himself in extreme danger. After endeavouring to struggle -with the current he leaped from his horse upon a large piece -of the rock, and there stood, calling aloud for help. Some -person going by, ran and procured a rope, which he endeavoured -to throw towards the rock; but finding it -impossible to do so without further assistance, he begged -two men belonging to Oakhampton, who drew near the -spot, to give him help, and save the stranger, whose life was -in so much peril. One of them, however, very leisurely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -looked at the sufferer, and only saying, "'Tis a Tav'stock -man, let un go," walked off with his companion, and poor -Carter Foote was drowned.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bray relates the following of a Devonshire physician, -happily named Vial, who was a desperate lover of whist. -One evening, in the midst of a deal, the doctor fell off his -chair in a fit. Consternation seized on the company. Was -he alive or dead? What was to be done? All help was -given; hartshorn was poured almost down his throat by one -kind female friend, whilst another feelingly singed the end -of his nose with burning feathers; all were in the breathless -agony of suspense for his safety. At length, he showed -signs of life, and retaining the last fond idea which had -possessed him at the moment he fell into the fit, to the joy -of the whole company exclaimed, "What is trumps?"</p> - -<p>Many years ago, there resided in Devonshire a certain -old gentleman, nicknamed Redpost Fynes, from his having -painted all the gates of his fields a bright vermilion. The -squire was remarkable for never having been able to learn -to spell even the commonest word in his own language; so -that on the birth of his daughter, he wrote to a friend that -his wife was brought to bed of a fine <i>gull</i>. The word <i>usage</i> -he spelt without one letter belonging to it, and yet contrived -to produce something like the word, at least in sound, for -he wrote it thus, <i>yowzitch</i>. Near his house was a very old -and grotesque tree, cut and clipped in the form of a punchbowl; -whilst a table and seats were literally affixed within -the green enclosure, to which was an ascent by a little -ladder, like the companion-ladder of a ship.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus13" id="Illus13"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image16.jpg" width="275" height="367" alt="Hannah Snell." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Hannah Snell.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Snell" id="Snell">Hannah Snell, the Female Soldier.</a></h3> - - -<p>This extraordinary woman was born in Fryer Street, -Worcester, on the 23rd of April 1723. Her grandfather, -embracing the military profession, served under William III. -and Queen Anne, and terminated his career at the battle -of Malplaquet, where he received a mortal wound. Snell's -father was a hosier and dyer.</p> - -<p>In 1740, Hannah, having lost both parents, came to -London, where she for some time resided with one of her -sisters, married to one Gray, a carpenter, in Ship Street,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -Wapping. Here she became acquainted with a Dutch seaman, -named James Summs, to whom she was married early -in 1743. Her husband led a profligate life, squandered the -little property which his wife possessed, and having involved -her deeply in debt, deserted her, leaving her pregnant; in -two months she was delivered of a girl, who died at the age -of seven months.</p> - -<p>For some time she resided with her sister, but soon -resolved to set out in quest of the man, whom, notwithstanding -his ill-usage, she still continued to love. In order -to carry out this strange resolve, as she thought, more safely, -she put on a suit of the clothes of her brother-in-law, assumed -his name, James Gray, and started on the 23rd of November, -1745. Having travelled to Coventry, and being unable -to procure any intelligence of her husband, on the 27th of -the same month she enlisted into General Guise's regiment, -and in the company belonging to Captain Miller. She remained -at Coventry about three weeks. The north being -then the seat of war, and her regiment being at Carlisle, -she left Coventry with seventeen other recruits, and joined -the regiment, after a march of three weeks, which she performed -with as much ease as any of her comrades. At -Carlisle she was instructed in the military exercise, which -she was soon able to perform with skill and dexterity. She -had not been long in this place, when a man named Davis -applied to Hannah to assist him in an intrigue; she appeared -to acquiesce in his desire, but privately disclosed the -whole matter to the intended victim. By this conduct she -gained the young woman's confidence and esteem; they -frequently met, which excited the jealousy of Davis, and -prompted revenge. He accordingly seized an opportunity -of charging his supposed rival before the commanding officer -with neglect of duty, and she was sentenced to receive six -hundred lashes. Five hundred were inflicted, but the remaining -hundred were remitted through the intercession of -some of the officers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p> - -<p>Not long after this unhappy occurrence, a fresh recruit, -a native of Worcester, and a carpenter, who had lodged at -the house of her brother-in-law, joined the regiment, when -Hannah becoming apprehensive of the discovery of her sex -resolved to desert. Her female friend endeavoured to dissuade -her from such a dangerous enterprise; but finding -her resolution fixed, she furnished her with money, and -Hannah commenced her journey on foot for Portsmouth. -About a mile from Carlisle, perceiving some men employed -in picking peas, and their clothes lying at some distance, -she exchanged her regimental coat for one of the old coats -belonging to one of the men, and proceeded on her journey. -At Liverpool and Chester, Hannah contrived, by her attentions -to a landlady and a young mantua-maker, to obtain -some money; but in an intrigue with a widow at Winchester -our gallant was less successful, the widow rifling her pockets, -and leaving her with but a few shillings to finish her journey -on foot. Arrived at Portsmouth, she soon enlisted as a marine -in Colonel Fraser's regiment which in three weeks was -drafted for the East Indies, and Hannah, among the rest, -was ordered to repair on board the <i>Swallow</i> sloop, in -Admiral Boscawen's fleet. She soon distinguished herself -on board by her dexterity in washing, mending, and cooking -for her messmates, and she thus became a great favourite -with the crew of the sloop. She was regarded as a boy, and -in case of an engagement her station was on the quarter-deck, -to fight at small arms, and she was one of the afterguard; -she was also obliged to keep watch every four hours -night and day, and frequently to go aloft. We read likewise -of the <i>Swallow</i> being in a violent tempest, and almost -reduced to a wreck: Hannah took her turn at the pump, -which was kept constantly going, and she declined no office, -however dangerous, but established her character for -courage, skill, and intrepidity.</p> - -<p>The ship then made the best of her way to the Cape of -Good Hope, during their voyage from which they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -reduced to short allowance, and but a pint of water a day. -The admiral next bore away for Fort St. David, on the -coast of Coromandel, where the fleet soon afterwards -arrived. Hannah, with the rest of the marines, being -disembarked, after a march of three weeks, joined the -English army encamped before Aria-Coupon, which place -was to have been stormed; but a shell having burst and -blown up their magazine, the besieged were obliged to -abandon it. This adventure gave Hannah fresh spirits, and -her intrepid conduct acquired the commendation of all the -officers.</p> - -<p>The army then proceeded to the attack of Pondicherry, -and after lying before that place eleven weeks, and suffering -very great hardships, they were obliged by the rainy season -to abandon the siege. Hannah was the first in the party of -English foot who forded the river, breast-high, under an -incessant fire from a French battery. She was likewise on -the picket-guard, continued on that duty seven nights -successively, and laboured very hard about fourteen days at -throwing up the trenches. In one of the attacks, however, -her career was well-nigh terminated. She fired thirty-seven -rounds during the engagement, and received, according to -her account, six shots in her right leg, five in the left, and, -what was still more painful, a dangerous wound in the -lower part of her body, which she feared might lead to the -discovery of her disguise to the surgeons. She, however, -intrusted her secret to a negress who attended her, and -brought her lint and salve; after most acute suffering she -extracted the ball with her finger and thumb, and made a -perfect cure. Meanwhile the greater part of the fleet had -sailed. She was then sent on board the <i>Tartar</i> pink, and -continued to do the duty of a sailor till the return of the -fleet from Madras. She was soon afterwards turned over -to the <i>Eltham</i> man-of-war, and sailed with that ship to -Bombay. Here the vessel, which had sprung a leak on the -passage, was heaved down for repair, which lasted five<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -weeks. The captain remained on shore, while Hannah, in -common with the rest of the crew, had her turn on the -watch. On one of these occasions, Mr. Allen, the lieutenant -who commanded in the captain's absence, desired her to -sing a song, but she excused herself, saying she was unwell; -the officer, however, insisted that she should sing, which she -as resolutely refused to do. She soon had occasion to -regret her non-compliance, for being suspected of stealing a -shirt belonging to one of her comrades, though no proof -could be adduced, the lieutenant ordered her to be put in -irons. After remaining there five days, she was ordered to -the gangway, and received twelve lashes, and she was then -sent to the topmast-head for four hours. The missing shirt -was afterwards found in the chest of the man who complained -that he had lost it.</p> - -<p>About this time the sailors began to rally Hannah -because she had no beard, and they soon afterwards -jocosely christened her Miss Molly Gray; this alarmed her, -lest some of the crew might suspect that she was a female; -but she took part in their scenes of dissipation with such -glee, that she was soon called Hearty Jemmy.</p> - -<p>While the vessel remained at Lisbon, on her passage -home, she met with an English sailor who had been at -Genoa in a Dutch vessel. She took the opportunity of -inquiring after her long-lost husband, and was informed -that he had been confined at Genoa for murdering a native -gentleman of that city, a person of some distinction; and -that to expiate his crime, he was put into a sack with a -quantity of stones, and thus thrown into the sea. Distressing -as this information must have been, Hannah had -sufficient command over herself to conceal her emotions.</p> - -<p>Leaving Lisbon, Hannah arrived safely at Spithead. At -Portsmouth she met her female friend, for whose sake she -had been whipped at Carlisle. This girl was still single, -and would have married Hannah, had she chosen to discover -herself. She, however, proceeded to London, where she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -was heartily received by her sister. She soon afterwards -met with some of her shipmates; and, after receiving her -pay, she was about to part with them, when she revealed -her sex, and one of them immediately offered to marry her, -but she declined.</p> - -<p>Hannah's strange career had now acquired her popularity, -and as she possessed a good voice, she obtained an -engagement at the Royalty Theatre, in Wellclose Square, -where she appeared in the character of Bill Bobstay, a -sailor; she also represented Firelock, a military character, -and in a masterly and correct manner went through the -manual and platoon exercises. She, however, quitted the -stage in a few months; and as she preferred male attire, she -resolved to continue to wear it during the remainder of her -life; she usually wore a laced hat and cockade, and a -sword and ruffles. There were good portraits of her -published in 1750.</p> - -<p>Hannah now became an out-pensioner of Chelsea -Hospital on account of the wounds she received at the -siege of Pondicherry, her pension being 30<i>l.</i> She next -took a public-house at Wapping; on one side of the signboard -was painted the figure of a jolly British tar, and on -the other the valiant marine; underneath was inscribed, -"The Widow in Masquerade, or the Female Warrior." She -continued to keep this house for many years; and afterwards -married one Eyles, a carpenter, at Newbury, in -Berkshire. A lady of fortune, who admired Hannah's -heroism and eccentricity of conduct, took special notice -of her, became godmother to her son, and contributed -towards his education. Mrs. Eyles continued to receive her -pension to the day of her death. She lived for some time -with her son in Church Street, Stoke Newington; but, -about three years before her death, she showed symptoms -of insanity, and was admitted as patient at Bethlem -Hospital, Moorfields, where she died February 8, 1792, -aged sixty-nine years.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus14" id="Illus14"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image17.jpg" width="300" height="387" alt="Lady Archer enamelling at her Toilet." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Lady Archer enamelling at her Toilet.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Archer" id="Archer">Lady Archer.</a></h3> - - -<p>This lady, formerly Miss West, lived to a good age—a -proof that cosmetics are not so fatal as some would have -us suppose. Nature had given her a fine aquiline nose, -like the princesses of the House of Austria, and she did not -fail to give herself a complexion. She resembled a fine old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -wainscoted painting, with the face and features shining -through a thick incrustation of copal varnish.</p> - -<p>Her ladyship was for many years the wonder of the -fashionable world, envied by all the ladies of the Court of -George the Third. She had a well-appointed house in -Portland Place. Her equipage was, with her, a sort of -scenery. She gloried in milk-white horses to her carriage, -the coachmen and footmen wore very showy liveries, and -the carriage was lined with silk of a tint to exhibit the complexion -to advantage.</p> - -<p>Alexander Stephens, amongst whose papers was found -this account of Lady Archer, tells us that he recollected to -have seen Mrs. Robinson (the <i>Perdita</i> of the Prince of -Wales's love) go far beyond all this in the exuberance of her -genius, in a yellow lining to her landau, with a black footman, -to contrast with her beautiful complexion and -fascinating figure, and thus render both more lovely. Lady -Archer lived at Barn Elms Terrace, and her house had the -most elegant ornaments and draperies to strike the senses, -and yet powerfully address the imagination. Her kitchen-garden -and pleasure-ground, of five acres—the Thames, -flowing in front, as if a portion of the estate—the apartments -decorated in the Chinese style, and opening into hothouses -stored with fruits of the richest growth, and greenhouses -with plants of great rarity and beauty, and superb couches -and draperies, effectively placed, rendered her home a sort -of elysium of luxury.</p> - -<p>Barn Elms will be remembered as the scene of an older -eccentricity—Heydegger's instantaneous light reception of -George II., a device worthy of the master of the revels.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Delusions" id="Delusions"><i>DELUSIONS, IMPOSTURES, and FANATIC<br /> -MISSIONS.</i></a></h2> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"><a name="Illus15" id="Illus15"> -<img style="margin-top: 3em;" src="images/image18.jpg" width="375" height="359" alt="The Alchemist." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The Alchemist.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Alchemists" id="Alchemists">Modern Alchemists.</a></h3> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span><span class="smcap">T</span> may take some readers by surprise to learn that there -have been true believers in alchemy in our days. Dr. -Price is commonly set down in popular journals as <i>the last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -of the alchemists</i>. This is, however, a mistake, as we shall -proceed to show; before which, however, it will be -interesting to sketch the history of this reputed alchemist.</p> - -<p>Towards the close of the last century, Dr. James Price, -a medical practitioner in the neighbourhood of Guildford, -Surrey, acquired some notoriety by an alleged discovery of -methods of transmuting mercury into gold or silver. He -had been a student of Oriel College, Oxford, where he -obtained the degree of Bachelor of Physic. In 1782 he -published an account of his experiments on mercury, silver, -and gold, performed at Guildford, in that year, before Lord -King and others, to whom he appealed as eye-witnesses of -his wonder-working power. It seems that mercury being -put into a crucible, and heated in the fire with other ingredients -(which had been shown to contain no gold), he -added a red powder; the crucible was again heated, and -being suffered to cool, amongst its contents, on examination, -was found a globule of pure gold. By a similar process -with a white powder, he produced a globule of silver. The -character of the witnesses of these manifestations gave -credit and celebrity for a time to Price, who was honoured -by the University with the degree of Doctor of Physic, and -he was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Dr. -Price had now placed himself in a perilous position; for -persons acquainted with the history of alchemy must have -conjectured how the gold and silver in his experiments -might have been procured with any transmutation of mercury -or any other substance. The Royal Society authoritatively -required that the pretensions of the new associate should be -properly sifted, and his claim as a discoverer be clearly -established, or his character as an impostor exposed. A -repetition of the doctor's experiments before a committee of -the Royal Society was commanded on pain of expulsion; -when the unfortunate man, rather than submit to the ordeal, -took a draught of laurel-water, and died on July 31, 1783, -in his twenty-fifth year.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p> - -<p>At the beginning of the present century, some persons of -eminence in science thought favourably of alchemy. Professor -Robinson, writing to James Watt, February 11, 1800, -says, "The analysis of alkalies and alkaline earth will -presently lead, I think, to a doctrine of <i>a reciprocal convertibility -of all things into all ... and I expect to see alchemy -revive</i>, and be as universally studied as ever."</p> - -<p>Sir Walter Scott, in his well-known paper on Astrology -and Alchemy, in <i>The Quarterly Review</i>, tells us that about -the year 1801, an adept lived, or rather starved, in the -metropolis, in the person of the editor of an evening newspaper, -who expected to compound the alkahat, if he could -only keep his materials digested in his lamp-furnace for the -space of seven years. Scott adds, in pleasant banter, "the -lamp burnt brightly during six years, eleven months, and -some odd days, and then unluckily it went out. Why it -went out, the adept could never guess; but he was certain -that if the flame could only have burnt to the end of the -septenary cycle, the experiment must have succeeded."</p> - -<p>The last true believer in alchemy was not Dr. Price, but -Peter Woulfe, the eminent chemist, and Fellow of the Royal -Society, and who made experiments to show the nature of -mosaic gold. Mr. Brande says: "It is to be regretted that -no biographical memoir has been preserved of Woulfe. I -have picked up a few anecdotes respecting him from two -or three friends who were his acquaintance. He occupied -chambers in Barnard's Inn, Holborn (the older buildings), -while residing in London, and usually spent the summer in -Paris. His rooms, which were extensive, were so filled with -furnaces and apparatus that it was difficult to reach his fireside. -A friend told me that he once put down his hat, and -never could find it again, such was the confusion of boxes, -packages, and parcels that lay about the chamber. His -breakfast-hour was four in the morning; a few of his select -friends were occasionally invited to this repast, to whom a -secret signal was given by which they gained entrance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -knocking a certain number of times at the inner door of his -apartment. He had long vainly searched for the Elixir, and -attributed his repeated failures to the want of due preparation -by pious and charitable acts. I understand that some -of his apparatus is still extant, upon which are supplications -for success and for the welfare of the adepts. Whenever he -wished to break an acquaintance, or felt himself offended, -he resented the supposed injury by sending a present to the -offender, and never seeing him afterwards. These presents -were sometimes of a curious description, and consisted -usually of some expensive chemical product or preparation. -He had an heroic remedy for illness; when he felt himself -seriously indisposed, he took a place in the Edinburgh mail, -and having reached that city, immediately came back in the -returning coach to London."</p> - -<p>A cold taken in one of these expeditions terminated in -inflammation of the lungs, of which Woulfe died in the year -1805. Of his last moments we received the following -account from his executor, then Treasurer of Barnard's Inn. -By Woulfe's desire, his laundress shut up his chambers, and -left him, but returned at midnight, when Woulfe was still -alive. Next morning, however, she <i>found him dead</i>! His -countenance was calm and serene, and apparently he had -not moved from the position in his chair in which she had -last left him.</p> - -<p>Twenty years after the death of Peter Woulfe, Sir -Richard Phillips visited "an alchemist" named Kellerman, -at the village of Lilley, between Luton and Hitchin. He -was believed by some of his neighbours to have discovered -the Philosopher's Stone and the Universal Solvent. His -room was a realisation of the well-known picture of Tenier's -Alchemist. The floor was strewed with retorts, crucibles, -alembics, jars, and bottles of various shapes, intermingled -with old books. He gave Sir Richard a history of his -studies, mentioned some men in London who, he alleged, -had assured him that they had made gold; that having, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -consequence, examined the works of the ancient alchemists, -and discovered the key which they had studiously concealed -from the multitude, he had pursued their system under the -influence of new lights; and, after suffering numerous disappointments, -owing to the ambiguity with which they described -their processes, he had at length happily succeeded; -had made gold, and could make as much more as he pleased, -even to the extent of paying off the National Debt in the -coin of the realm!</p> - -<p>Killerman then enlarged upon the merits of the ancient -alchemists, and on the blunders and assumptions of modern -chemists. He quoted Roger and Francis Bacon, Paracelsus, -Boyle, Boerhaave, Woulfe, and others to justify his -pursuits. As to the term Philosopher's Stone, he alleged -that it was a mere figure to deceive the vulgar. He -appeared to give full credit to the silly story of Dee's finding -the Elixir at Glastonbury, by means of which, as he said, -Kelly for a length of time supported himself in princely -splendour. Kellerman added, that he had discovered the -<i>blacker than black</i> of Apollonius Tyanus: it was itself "the -powder of projection for producing gold."</p> - -<p>It further appeared that Kellerman had lived in the -premises at Lilley for twenty-three years, during fourteen of -which he had pursued his alchemical studies with unremitting -ardour, keeping eight assistants for superintending -his crucibles, two at a time, relieving each other every six -hours; that he had exposed some preparations to intense -heat for many months at a time; but that all except one -crucible had burst, and that, Kellerman said, contained the -true "blacker than black." One of his assistants, however, -protested that no gold had ever been found, and that no -mercury had ever been fixed; for he was quite sure -Kellerman could not have concealed it from his assistants; -while, on the contrary, they witnessed his severe disappointment -at the result of his most elaborate experiments.</p> - -<p>Of late years there have been some strange revivals of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -alchemical pursuits. In 1850 there was printed in London -a volume of considerable extent, entitled, <i>A Suggestive -Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery</i>—the work of a lady, by -whom it has been suppressed; we have seen it described as -"a learned and valuable book."</p> - -<p>By this circumstance we are reminded that some five-and-thirty -years since it came to our knowledge that a man -of wealth and position in the City of London, an <i>adept</i> in -alchemy, was held <i>in terrorem</i> by an unprincipled person, -who extorted from him considerable sums of money under -threats of exposure, which would have affected his mercantile -interests.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, alchemy has, in the present day, its -prophetic advocates, who predict what may be considered a -return to its strangest belief. A Göttingen professor says, -in the <i>Annales de Chimie</i>, No. 100, that in the nineteenth -century the transmutation of metals will be generally known -and practised. Every chemist and every artist will make -gold; kitchen utensils will be of silver and even gold, which -will contribute more than anything else to prolong life, -poisoned at present by the oxide of copper, lead, and iron -which we daily swallow with our food. More recently, -MM. Dr. Henri Fabre and Franz have placed before the -French Academy their discovery of the means of transmuting -silver, copper, and quicksilver into gold.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"><a name="Illus16" id="Illus16"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image19.jpg" width="250" height="377" alt="Jack Adams, the Astrologer" /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Jack Adams, the Astrologer</p> - - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;"><i>Magnifico Smokentissimo Custardissimo Astrologissimo Cunningmanisso<br /> -Rabbinissimo Viro Jacko Adams de Clerkenwell Greeno hanc lovelissimam<br /> -Sui Picturam.</i></p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Hovbedeboody pinxit et scratchabat.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Astrologer" id="Astrologer">Jack Adams, the Astrologer.</a></h3> - - -<p>Among the celebrities of Clerkenwell Green was Jack -Adams, whose nativity was calculated by Partridge, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -affirmed that he was born on the 3rd of December, 1625, -and that he was so great a <i>natural</i>, or simpleton, as to be -obliged to wear long coats, besides other marks of stupidity; -and that the parish not only maintained him, but allowed a -nurse to attend him to preserve him from harm. Allusion -is made to him in a satirical ballad of 1655:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Jack Adams, sure, was pamet (poet) by the vein.</p> - -<p>And in the <i>Wits, or Sport upon Sport</i>, 1682, we read of his -visit to the Red Bull playhouse, where Simpleton, the smith, -appearing on the stage with a large piece of bread-and-butter, -Jack Adams, knowing him, cried out, "Cuz, Cuz, -give me some," to the great pleasure of the audience. -Ward thus mentions his celebrity:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">What mortal that has sense or thought<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Would strip Jack Adams of his coat;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or who would be by friends decoyed<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To wear a badge he would avoid?<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Jack Adams was a conjurer and professor of the celestial -sciences; he was (says Granger's Supplement) "a blind -buzzard, who pretended to have the eyes of an eagle. He -was chiefly employed in horary questions, relative to love -and marriage, and knew, upon proper occasions, how to -soothe and flatter the expectations of those who consulted -him, as a man might have much better fortune from him for -five guineas than for the same number of shillings. He -affected a singular dress, and cast horoscopes with great -solemnity. When he failed in his predictions, he declared -that the stars did not absolutely force, but powerfully -incline, and threw the blame upon wayward and perverse -fate. He assumed the character of a learned and cunning -man; but was no otherwise cunning than as he knew how -to overreach those credulous mortals who were as willing to -be cheated as he was to cheat them, and who relied implicitly -upon his art." Mr. Warner says: "A short time -after we removed into the house (No. 7, Clerkenwell Green),<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -two young women applied to have their fortunes told; upon -being informed they were under some mistake, one expressed -great surprise, and stated that was the place she always -came to, and she thought some of Mr. Adams's family always -resided there. This was the first time I ever heard anything -of Jack Adams. Several similar applications were made by -other persons, and we afterwards learnt that it had been -occupied by persons of that profession for many years, and -they generally went by the name of Adams."<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>In an old print we have Jack Adams in a fantastic dress, -with a tobacco-pipe in his girdle, standing at a table on -which lies a horn-book and <i>Poor Robin's Almanack</i>. On -one shelf is a row of books, and on another several boys' -playthings, particularly tops, marbles, and a small drum. -Before him is a man genteelly dressed, presenting five -pieces; from his mouth proceeds a label, inscribed, "Is she -a princess?" This is meant for Carleton, who married the -pretended German princess. Behind him is a ragged, -slatternly woman, who has also a label in her mouth, with -these words: "Sir, can you tell my fortune?" In <i>Poor -Robin's Almanack</i> for 1785 are these lines:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Now should I choose t'invoke a Muse—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Muses are fickle madams;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Else I could go my poem through<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ere you could say <i>Jack Adams</i>.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>In the City of London Library is an original print of -Jack Adams, and a copy by Caulfield.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Cavendish" id="Cavendish">The Woman-hating Cavendish.</a></h3> - - -<p>Eccentricity in men of science is not rare. The Hon. -Henry Cavendish, who demonstrated, in 1781, the composition -of water, was a remarkable instance. He was an excellent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -mathematician, electrician, astronomer, and geologist; -and as alchemist shot far ahead of his contemporaries. But -he was a sort of methodical recluse, and an enormous fortune -left him by his uncle did little to change his habits. His -shyness and aversion to society bordered on disease. To be -looked at or addressed by a stranger seemed to give him -positive pain, when he would dart away as if hurt. At Sir -Joseph Banks's <i>soirées</i> he would stand for a long time on the -landing, afraid to face the company. At one of these -parties the titles and qualifications of Cavendish were -formally recited when he was introduced to an Austrian -gentleman. The Austrian became complimentary, saying -his chief reason for coming to London was to see and converse -with Cavendish, one of the greatest ornaments of the -age, and one of the most illustrious philosophers that ever -existed. Cavendish answered not a word, but stood with -his eyes cast down, abashed, and in misery. At last, seeing -an opening in the crowd, he flew to the door, nor did he -stop till he reached his carriage and drove directly home. -Any attempt to draw him into conversation was almost -certain to fail, and Dr. Wollaston's recipe for treating with -him usually answered best: "The way to talk to Cavendish -is, never to look at him, but to talk as if it were into -a vacancy, and then it is not unlikely you may set him -going."</p> - -<p>Among the anecdotes which floated about it is related -that Cavendish, the club Crœsus, attended the meetings of -the Royal Society Club with only money enough in his -pocket to pay for his dinner; that he declined taking -tavern soup, picked his teeth with a fork, invariably hung -his hat upon the same peg, and always stuck his cane in his -right boot. More apocryphal is the anecdote that one evening -Cavendish observed a pretty girl looking out from an -upper window on the opposite side of the street, watching -the philosophers at dinner. She attracted notice, and one -by one they got up, and mustered round the window to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -admire the fair one. Cavendish, who thought they were -looking at the moon, bustled up to them in his odd way, -and when he saw the real object of attraction, turned away -with intense disgust, and grunted out "Pshaw!" the more -amorous conduct of his brother philosophers having -horrified the woman-hating Cavendish.</p> - -<p>If men were a trouble to him, women were an abhorrence. -With his housekeeper he generally communicated -with notes deposited on the hall-table. He would never -see a female servant; and if an unlucky maid showed herself -she was instantly dismissed. To prevent inevitable -encounters he had a second staircase erected in his villa at -Clapham. In all his habits he was punctiliously regular, -even to his hanging his hat upon the same peg. From an unvarying -walk he was, however, driven by being gazed at. Two -ladies led a gentleman on his track, in order that he might -obtain a sight of the philosopher. As he was getting over -a stile he saw, to his horror, that he was being watched, and -he never appeared in that path again. That he was not -quite merciless to the sex was proved by his saving a lady -from the pursuit of a mad cow.</p> - -<p>Cavendish's town house was near the British Museum, -at the corner of Gower Street and Montague Place. Few -visitors were admitted, and those who crossed the threshold -reported that books and apparatus were its chief -furniture. He collected a large library of scientific books, -hired a house for its reception in Dean Street, Soho, and -kept a librarian. When he wanted one of his own books, he -went there as to a circulating library, and left a formal -receipt for whatever he took away. Nearly the whole of his -villa at Clapham was occupied as workshops; the upper -rooms were an observatory, the drawing-room was a laboratory. -On the lawn was a wooden stage, from which access could -be had to a large tree, to the top of which Cavendish, in the -course of his astronomical and meteorological observations, -and electrical experiments, occasionally ascended. His<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -apparatus was roughly constructed, but was always exact -and accurate.</p> - -<p>His household was strangely managed. He received -but little company, and the few guests were treated on all -occasions to the same fare—a leg of mutton. One day, -four scientific friends were to dine with him; when his -housekeeper asked him what was to be got for dinner, -Cavendish replied, "A leg of mutton."</p> - -<p>"Sir," said she, "that will not be enough for five."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, get two," was the reply.</p> - -<p>Cavendish extended his eccentric reception to his own -family. His heir, Lord George Cavendish, visited him once -a-year, and was allowed an audience of but half-an-hour. -His great income was allowed to accumulate without attention. -The bankers where he kept his account, finding they -had in hand a balance of 80,000<i>l.</i>, apprised him of the same. -The messenger was announced, and Cavendish, in great -agitation, desired him to be sent up; and, as he entered the -room, the ruffled philosopher cried, "What do you come -here for! what do you want with me?"</p> - -<p>"Sir, I thought it proper to wait upon you, as we have a -very large balance in hand of yours, and we wish your orders -respecting it."</p> - -<p>"If it is any trouble to you, I will take it out of your -hands. Do not come here to plague me!"</p> - -<p>"Not the least trouble to us, sir, not the least; but we -thought you might like some of it to be invested."</p> - -<p>"Well, well, what do you want to do?"</p> - -<p>"Perhaps you would like 40,000<i>l.</i> invested."</p> - -<p>"Do so, do so! and don't come here to trouble me, or -I'll remove it," was the churlish finale of the interview.</p> - -<p>Cavendish died in 1810, at the age of seventy-eight. He -was then the largest holder of Bank-stock in England. He -owned 1,157,000<i>l.</i> in different public funds; he had besides, -freehold property of 8,000<i>l.</i> a-year, and a balance of 50,000<i>l.</i> -at his bankers. He was long a member of the Royal Society<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -Club, and it was reported at his death that he had left a -thumping legacy to Lord Bessborough, in gratitude for his -Lordship's piquant conversation at the club meetings; but -no such reason can be found in the will lodged at Doctors' -Commons. Therein, Cavendish names three of his club-mates—namely, -Alexander Dalrymple to receive 5,000<i>l.</i>, -Dr. Hunter 5,000<i>l.</i>, and Sir Charles Blagden (coadjutor in -the water question) 15,000<i>l.</i> After certain other bequests, -the will proceeds: "The remainder of the funds (nearly -100,000<i>l.</i>) to be divided: one-sixth to the Earl of Bessborough," -while Lord George Henry Cavendish had two-sixths -instead of one. "It is, therefore," says Admiral -Smyth, in his <i>History of the Royal Society Club</i>, "patent -that the money thus passed over from uncle to nephew -was a mere consequence of relationship, and not at all -owing to any flowers or powers of conversation at the -Royal Society Club."</p> - -<p>Cavendish never changed the fashion or cut of his dress, -so that his appearance in 1810, in a costume of sixty years -previously, was odd, and drew upon him the notice which -he so much disliked. His complexion was fair, his temperament -nervous, and his voice squeaking. The only portrait -that exists of him was sketched without his knowledge. Dr. -George Wilson, who has left a clever memoir of Cavendish, -says: "An intellectual head, thinking—a pair of wonderful -acute eyes, observing—a pair of very skilful hands, experimenting -or recording, are all that I realize in reading his -memorials."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Pickles" id="Pickles">Modern Astrology.—"Witch Pickles."</a></h3> - - -<p>It would be an acquisition to our knowledge if some one -competent to the task would collect materials for the history -of the men who, within the present century, have made a -profession of <i>judicial astrology</i>. Attention is occasionally -drawn to the practices of itinerant fortune-tellers, many of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -whom still procure a livelihood. The astrologer, however, -or, as he is denominated in some districts of England—more -particularly in Yorkshire—a "planet-ruler," and sometimes -"a wise man," is of a higher order. He does not -itinerate, is generally a man of some education, possessed -of a good deal of fragmentary knowledge and a smattering -of science. He very often conceals his real profession by -practising as a "Water Doctor" or as a "Bone-setter," and -some possess a considerable amount of skill in the treatment -of ordinary diseases.</p> - -<p>The more lucrative part of his business was that which -they carried on in a secret way. He was consulted in cases -of difficulty by a class of superstitious persons, and an implicit -faith was placed in his statements and predictions. -The "wise man" was sought in all cases of accident, disaster, -or loss. He was consulted as to the probabilities of the -return and safety of the distant and the absent; of the -chances of the recovery of the sick, and of the destiny of -some beloved friend or relative. The consultation with -such a man would often have a sinister aim; to discover by -the stars whether an obnoxious husband would survive, or -whether the affections of courted or inconstant lover could -be secured. Very often long-continued diseases and inveterate -maladies were ascribed to an "ill-wish;" and the -planet-ruler was sought to discover who was the ill-wisher, -and what charm would remove the spell. It is needless to -say that the practices of these astrologers were productive, -in a large number of cases, of much disturbance among -neighbours and relatives, and great mischief to all concerned, -except the man who profited by the credulity of -his dupes.</p> - -<p>Some of these charlatans no doubt were believers in the -imposture, but the greater number were arrant cheats. In -Leeds and its neighbourhood there were, some five-and-thirty -years ago, several "wise men." Among the number -was a man known by no other name than that of "Witch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -Pickles." He was avowedly an Astrological Doctor, and -<i>ruled the planets</i> for those who sought him for that purpose. -He dwelt in a retired house on the road from Leeds to -York, about a mile from the Shoulder of Mutton public-house, -at the top of March Lane. His celebrity extended -for above fifty miles, and persons came from the Yorkshire -Wolds to consult him. The man and the house were held -in awe by boys and even older persons who had belief in -his powers. Little was known of his habits, and he had few -visitors but those who sought his professional assistance. -He never committed anything to writing. He was particular -in inquiring into all the circumstances of any case on -which he was consulted before he pronounced. He then, -as he termed it, proceeded to <i>draw a figure</i>, in order to discover -the conjunction of the planets, and then entered upon -the explanation of what the stars predicted. Strange things -were told of him, such as that he performed incantations at -midnight on certain days in the year when particular planets -were in the ascendant; and that on such occasions strange -sights and sounds would be seen and heard by persons -passing the house. These were the embellishments of -vulgar rumour. The man was quiet and inoffensive in his -demeanour, and was fully sensible of the necessity of a life -of seclusion. He is believed to have practised a few tricks -to awe his visitors, such as lighting a candle or fire without -visible agency, and other tricks far more ingenious than the -modern table-rapping.</p> - -<p>"Witch Pickles" was only one among the number who -derived a large profit from this kind of occupation. He was -one of the more respectable of the class, as he never descended -to the vile tricks of others of the profession—tricks -practised upon weak and credulous women and girls—which -will not bear description.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p> - -<p>One of the most celebrated works on Astrology is that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -of Dr. Sibly, twelfth edition, 1817, in two octavo volumes, -containing more than eleven hundred pages. The following -will give an idea of the pretensions of the book, which is a -remarkable book, if it really went through twelve editions. -The owner of a privateer, which had not been heard of, -called to know her fate. Dr. Sibly gave judgment on a -figure "rectified to the precise time the question was propounded. -The ship itself appeared well formed and substantial, -but not a swift sailer, as is demonstrated by an -earthy sign possessing the cusp of the ascendant, and the -situation of the Dragon's Head in five degrees of the same -sign." The ship itself was pronounced to have been -captured.</p> - -<p>"From the whole account it is clear that Dr. Sibly's -system—how now esteemed by astrologers the writer knows -not—has but this alternative: either one and the same -figure will tell the fate of all the ships which have not been -heard of, including their sailing qualities, or the stars will -never send an owner to ask for news except just at the -moment when they are in a position to describe this particular -ship."<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Ling" id="Ling">Hannah Green; or, "Ling Bob."</a></h3> - - -<p>This noted sibyl lived in a cottage on the edge of the -moor on the left of the old road from Otley to Bradford, -between Carlton and Yeadon, and eight miles from Leeds. -She was popularly known as "The Ling-bob Witch," a -name given her, it is supposed, from her living among the -ling-bobs, or heather-tubs. She was resorted to on account -of her supposed knowledge of future events; but, like the -rest of her class, her principal forte was fortune-telling, -from which it is said she for herself realized a handsome -fortune.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p> - -<p>Many strange tales have been told of her; such as her -power of transforming herself, after nightfall, into the shape -of any she list; and of her odd pranks in her nightly rambles, -her favourite character being that of the <i>hare</i>, in which personation -she was unluckily shot by an unsuspecting poacher, -who was almost terrified out of his senses by the awful -screams which followed the sudden death of the Ling-bob -witch.</p> - -<p>In the year 1785, D——, of Sheffield, being at Leeds, -had the curiosity to pay a visit to the noted Hannah Green. -He first questioned her respecting the future fortunes of a -near relative of his, who was then in circumstances of distress, -and indeed in prison. She told him immediately that -his friend's trouble would continue <i>full three times three years</i>, -and he would then experience <i>a great deliverance</i>, which, in -fact, was on the point of being literally verified, for he was -then in the Court of King's Bench.</p> - -<p>He then asked her if she possessed any foreknowledge -of what was about to come to pass on the great stage of the -world; to which she replied in the affirmative. She said, -war would be <i>threatened once, but would not happen</i>; but the -second time it would blaze out in all its horrors, and extend -to all the neighbouring countries; and that the two countries -[these appear to be France and Poland], at a great distance -one from the other, would in consequence obtain their freedom, -although after hard struggles. After the year 1790, -she observed, many great persons, even kings and queens, -would lose their lives, and that <i>not by fair means</i>. In 1794, -a great warrior of high blood is to fall in the field of battle; -and in 1795, a distant nation [thought to be negro slaves], -who have been dragged from their own country, will rise as -one man, and deliver themselves from their oppressors.</p> - -<p>Hannah appears to have been one of a somewhat -numerous class, many of whom were resident in Yorkshire. -Very few of them went beyond the attempt to foretell the -future events in the lives of individuals; they did not work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -with such high ambition as drawing the horoscopes of -nations. Their predictions were always vague, and so -framed as to cover a number of the most probable events -in the life of every individual.</p> - -<p>Hannah really died on the 12th of May, 1810, after -having practised her art about forty years; and Ling-bob -became a haunted and dreaded place. The house remained -some years untenanted and ruinous, but was afterwards repaired -and occupied. Her daughter and successor, Hannah -Spence, laid claim to the same prescience, but it need hardly -be added, without the same success.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Stanhope" id="Stanhope">Oddities of Lady Hester Stanhope.</a></h3> - - -<p>This eccentric lady, grand-daughter of the great Lord -Chatham, held implicit faith in the influence of the stars on -the destiny of men, a notion from which every crowned head -in Europe is not, at this day, exempt.</p> - -<p>Lady Hester brought her theories into a striking though -rather ridiculous system. She had a remarkable talent for -divining characters by the conformation of men. This every -traveller could testify who had visited her in Syria; for it -was after she went to live in solitude that her penetration -became so extraordinary. It was founded both on the -features of the face and on the shape of the head, body, -and limbs. Some indications she went by were taken from -a resemblance to animals; and wherever such indications -existed, she inferred that the dispositions peculiar to those -animals were to be found in the person. But, independent -of all this, her doctrine was that every creature is governed -by the star under whose influence it was born.</p> - -<p>"Animal magnetism," said Lady Hester, "is nothing but -the sympathy of our stars. Those fools who go about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -magnetizing indifferently one person and another, why do -they sometimes succeed and sometimes fail? Because if they -meet with those of the same star with themselves, their -results will be satisfactory; but with opposite stars they can -do nothing."</p> - -<p>"What Lady Hester's <i>own star</i> was," says her physician, -"may be gathered from what she said one day, when, having -dwelt a long time on this her favourite subject, she got up -from the sofa, and approaching the window, she called me. -'Look,' said she, 'at the pupil of my eyes; there! my star -is the sun—all sun—it is in my eyes: when the sun is a -person's star it attracts everything.' I looked, and I replied -that I saw a rim of yellow round the pupil. 'A rim!' cried -she; 'it isn't a rim—it's a sun; there's a disk, and from it -go rays all around: 'tis no more of a rim than you are. Nobody -has got eyes like mine.'"</p> - -<p>Lady Hester delighted in anecdotes that went to show -how much and how justly we may be biassed in our opinions -by the shape of any particular part of a person's body independent -of the face. She used to tell a story of ——, who -fell in love with a lady on a glimpse of those charms which -gave such renown to the Onidian Venus. This lady, luckily -or unluckily, happened to tumble from her horse, and by -that singular accident fixed the gazer's affections irrevocably. -Another gentleman, whom she knew, saw a lady at Rome -get out of a carriage, her head being covered by an umbrella, -which the servant held over her on account of the rain; and -seeing nothing but her foot and leg, swore he would marry -her—which he did.</p> - -<p>Lady Hester delighted in prophecies some of which, -with their fulfilments and non-fulfilments, are very amusing. -There is reason to think, from what her ladyship let fall at -different times, that Brothers, the fortune-teller in England, -and Metta, a village doctor on Mount Lebanon, had considerable -influence on her actions and, perhaps, her destiny. -When Brothers was taken up and thrown into prison (in Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -Pitt's time), he told those who arrested him to do the will of -heaven, but first to let him see Lady Hester Stanhope. This -was repeated to her ladyship, and curiosity induced her to -comply with the man's request. Brothers told her that "she -would one day go to Jerusalem and lead back the chosen -people; that on her arrival in the Holy Land, mighty -changes would take place in the world, and that she would -pass seven years in the desert." Trivial circumstances will -foster a foolish belief in a mind disposed to encourage it. -Mr. Frederick North, afterwards Lord Guildford, in the -course of his travels came to Brusa, where Lady Hester had -gone for the benefit of the hot baths. He, Mr. Fazakerley, -and Mr. Gally Knight would often banter her on her future -greatness among the Jews. "Well, madam, you must go to -Jerusalem. Hester, Queen of the Jews! Hester, Queen of -the Jews!" was echoed from one to another; and probably -at last the coincidence of a name, a prophecy, and the -country towards which she found herself going, were thought, -even by herself, to be something extraordinary. Metta took -up the book of fate from that time and showed her the part -she was to play in the East. This man, Metta, for some -years subsequent to 1815, was in her service as a kind of -steward. He was advanced in years, and, like the rest of -the Syrians, believed in astrology, spirits, and prophecy. No -doubt he perceived in Lady Hester Stanhope a tincture of -the same belief; and on some occasion in conversation he -said he knew of a book on prophecy which he thought had -passages in it that related to her. This book, he persuaded -her, could only be had by a fortunate conjunction connected -with himself; and he said if she would only lend him a good -horse to take him to the place where it was, he would procure -her a sight of it, but she was never to ask where he -fetched it from. All this exactly suited Lady Hester's love -of mystery. A horse was granted to him; he went off and -returned with a prophetic volume which he said he could -only keep a certain number of hours. It was written in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -Arabic, and he was to read and explain the text. The part -which he propounded was, "That a European female would -come and live on Mount Lebanon at a certain epoch, would -build a house there, and would obtain power and influence -greater than a sultan's; that a boy without a father would -join her; that the coming of the Mahedi would follow, but -be preceded by war, pestilence, famine, and other calamities; -that the Mahedi would ride a horse born saddled, and -that a woman would come from a far country to partake in -the mission." There were many other incidents besides -which were told.</p> - -<p>"The boy without a father" was thought by Lady Hester -to be the Duke of Reichstadt; but when he died, not at all -discountenanced, she fixed on some one else. Another -portion of the prophecy was not so disappointing, for in -1835 the Baroness de Feriat, an English lady residing in -the United States, wrote of her own accord, asking to come -and live with her, "When," remarks the discriminating -doctor, "the prophecy was fulfilled." For the fulfilment of -the remainder of the prophecy, Lady Hester was resolved at -least not to be unprepared. She kept with the greatest care -two mares, called Laïla and Lulu; the latter for Lady -Hester herself, and the former, which was "born saddled," -or in other words of a peculiar hollow-backed breed, was for -the Murdah or Mahedi, the coming of whom she had -brought herself to expect, by the words of St. John, "There -is one shall come after me who is greater than I." These -mares she cherished with care equal to that paid by the -ancient Egyptians to cats; and she would not allow them to -be seen by strangers, except by those whose <i>stars</i> would not -be baneful to cattle.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus17" id="Illus17"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image20.jpg" width="300" height="371" alt="A Hermit of the Sixteenth Century." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">A Hermit of the Sixteenth Century.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Hermits" id="Hermits">Hermits and Eremitical Life.</a></h3> - - -<p>Men have, in most times, withdrawn themselves from -the world and taken up their abode in caverns or ruins, or -whatever shelter they could find, and lived on herbs, roots, -coarse bread and water. In many cases, such persons have -deemed these austerities as acceptable to God, and this has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -become one of the rudest forms of monastic life. It is not -from this class of persons that we propose to introduce a few -portraits of hermit life, but rather to those whose peculiarities -have taken a more eccentric turn, almost in our own -time.</p> - -<p>The Hon. Charles Hamilton, in the reign of George II., -proprietor of Pain's Hill, near Cobham, Surrey, built a -hermitage upon a steep brow in the grounds of that beautiful -seat. Of this hermitage Horace Walpole remarks that -it is a sort of ornament whose merit soonest fades, it being -almost comic to set aside a quarter of one's garden to be -melancholy in. There is an upper apartment supported in -part by contorted logs and roots of trees, which form the -entrance to the cell, but the unfurnished and neglected state -of the whole proves the justness of Walpole's observation. -Mr. Hamilton advertised for a person who was willing to -become a hermit in that beautiful retreat of his. The -conditions were that he was to continue in the hermitage -seven years, where he should be provided with a Bible, optical -glasses, a mat for his bed, a hassock for his pillow, an hour-glass -for his timepiece, water for his beverage, food from the -house, but never to exchange a syllable with the servant. -He was to wear a camlet robe, never to cut his beard or -nails, nor ever to stray beyond the limits of the grounds. If -he lived there, under all these restrictions, till the end of the -term, he was to receive seven hundred guineas. But on -breach of any of them, or if he quitted the place any time -previous to that term, the whole was to be forfeited. One -person attempted it, but a three weeks' trial cured him.</p> - -<p>A Correspondent of <i>Notes and Queries</i> describes a gentleman -near Preston, Lancashire, as more successful in the -above eccentricity. He advertised a reward of 50<i>l.</i> a year -for life to any man who would undertake to live seven years -underground, without seeing anything human; and to let -his toe and finger nails grow, with his hair and beard, during -the whole time. Apartments were prepared underground,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -very commodious, with a cold bath, a chamber organ, as -many books as the occupier pleased, and provisions served -from his own table. Whenever the recluse wanted any convenience -he was to ring a bell, and it was provided for him. -Singular as this residence may appear, an occupier offered -himself, and actually stayed in it, observing the required -conditions, for four years.</p> - -<p>In the year 1863 there was living in the village of -Newton Burgoland, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, -a hermit whose real name was scarcely known, though he -had resided there nearly fifteen years. Yet he was no recluse, -no ascetic, but lived comfortably, and enjoyed his -dinner, his beer, and his pipe; and, according to his own -definition, he was entitled to be called a hermit. "True -hermits," he said, "throughout every age, have been the firm -abettors of freedom." As regarded his appearance, his -fancies, and his habits, he was a hermit, a <i>solitaire</i> in the -midst of human beings. He wore a long beard, and had a -very venerable appearance. He was very fantastic in his -dress, and had a multitude of suits. He had no less than -twenty different kinds of hats, each with its own name and -form, with some emblem or motto on it—sometimes both. -Here are a few examples:—</p> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="8" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="Motto or Emblem"> -<tr><td class="title">No.</td> <td class="title"> Name</td> <td class="title"> Motto or Emblem</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">1</td> <td class="title">Odd Fellows</td> <td class="title">Without money, without friends, without<br />credit.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">5</td> <td class="title">Bellows</td> <td class="title">Blow the flames of freedom with God's<br />word of truth.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">7</td> <td class="title">Helmet</td> <td class="title">Will fight for the birthright of<br />conscience, love, life, property, and<br />national independence.<br /></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">13</td> <td class="title">Patent Teapot</td> <td class="title">To draw out the flavour of the tea<br />best—Union and Goodwill.<br /></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">17</td> <td class="title">Wash-basin of Reform </td> <td class="title">White-washed face and collyed heart.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">20</td> <td class="title"></td> <td class="title">The toils of industry are sweet; a wise<br />people live at peace.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> - -<p>The shapes of the hats and the devices on them were -intended to symbolize some important fact or sentiment.</p> - -<p>He had twelve suits of clothes, each with a peculiar -name, differing from the others, and, like his hats, intended -to be emblematical. One dress, which he called "Odd -Fellows," was of white cotton or linen. It hung loosely -over the body, except being bound round the waist with a -white girdle buckled in the front. Over his left breast was -a heart-shaped badge, bearing the words, "Liberty of -Conscience," which he called his "Order of the Star." The -hat which he wore with the dress was nearly white, and of -common shape, but had on it four fanciful devices, bound -with black ribbon, and inscribed, severally, with these words: -"Bless, feed—good allowance—well clothed—all workingmen."</p> - -<p>Another dress, which he called "Foresters," was a kind -of frock-coat, made of soft brown leather, slightly embroidered -with braid. This coat was closed down the front with -white buttons, and bound round the waist with a white -girdle, fastened with a white buckle. The hat, slightly -resembling a turban, was divided into black and white stripes, -running round it.</p> - -<p>Another dress, which he named "Military," had some -resemblance to the military costume at the beginning of the -present century; the hat was between the old-fashioned -cocked-hat and that worn by military commanders; but, -instead of the military plume, it had two upright peaks on -the crown, not unlike the tips of a horse's ears. This hat, -which he asserted cost five pounds, he never wore but on -important occasions.</p> - -<p>A mania for <i>symbolization</i> pervaded all his thoughts and -doings. His garden was a complete collection of emblems. -The trees—the walks—the squares—the beds—the flowers—the -seats and arbours—were all symbolically arranged. In -the passage leading into the garden were "the three seats -of Self-Inquiry," each inscribed with one of these questions:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -"Am I vile?" "Am I a Hypocrite?" "Am I a Christian?" -Among the emblems and mottoes which were marked by -different coloured pebbles or flowers were these:—"The -vessels of the Tabernacle;" "The Christian's Armour—olive-branch, -baptismal-font, breastplate of righteousness, -shield of faith," &c. "Mount Pisgah;" a circle enclosing -the motto, "Eternal Love has wed my Soul;" "A Beehive;" -"A Church;" "Sacred Urn;" "Universal -Grave;" "Bed of Diamonds;" "A Heart, enclosing the -Rose of Sharon." All the Implements used in Gardening: -"The two Hearts' Bowers;" "The Lovers' Prayer;" -"Conjugal Bliss;" "The Hermit's Coat-of-Arms;" -"Gossips' Court," with motto, "Don't tell anybody!" -"The Kitchen-walk" contains representations of culinary -utensils, with mottoes. "Feast Square" contains, "Venison -Pasty;" "Round of Beef," &c. "The Odd Fellows' Square," -with "The Hen-pecked Husband put on Water-gruel." -"The Oratory," with various mottoes; "The Orchestry," -mottoes, "God save our Noble Queen;" "Britons never -shall be Slaves," &c. "The Sand-glass of Time;" "The -Assembly-room;" "The Wedding-Walk;" "The Holy -Mount;" "Noah's Ark;" "Rainbow;" "Jacob's Ladder," -&c. "The Bank of Faith;" "The Saloon;" "The -Enchanted Ground;" "The Exit"—all with their respective -emblems and mottoes. Besides these fantastical devices, -there are, or were, in his garden, representations of the -Inquisition and Purgatory; effigies of the Apostles; and -mounds covered with flowers, to represent the graves of the -Reformers. In the midst of the religious emblems stood a -large tub, with a queer desk before it, to represent a pulpit. -His garden was visited by persons residing in the neighbourhood, -when he would clamber into his tub, and harangue -the people against all kinds of real or fancied religious -and political oppressions. He declaimed vociferously -against the Pope as Antichrist and the enemy of humanity; -and when he fled from Rome in the guise of a servant, our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -old hermit decked his head with laurels, and, thus equipped, -went to the Independent Chapel, declaring that "the reign of -the man of sin was over." He also raised a mock-gallows -in his garden, and suspended on it an effigy of the Pope, -whimsically dressed, with many books sticking out of his -pockets, which, he said, contained the doctrines of Popery. -However, these preachings proved very unprofitable; the -hermit grew poor, and gladly accepted any assistance which -did not require him to relinquish his eccentric mode of -living. In his own words, his heart was in his garden. -We abridge this account from a contribution to the <i>Book of -Days</i>.</p> - -<p>It is curious to find many instances of what are termed -"Ornamental Hermits," set up by persons of fortune seeking -to find men as eccentric as themselves, to represent, as it -were, the eremitical life in hermitages provided for them upon -their estates.</p> - -<p>Archibald Hamilton, afterwards Duke of Hamilton (as -his daughter, Lady Dunmore, told Mr. Rogers, the poet), -advertised for "a hermit," as an ornament to his pleasure-grounds; -and it was stipulated that the said hermit should -have his beard shaved but once a year, and that only -partially.</p> - -<p>Gilbert White, in his poem, <i>The Invitation to Selborne</i>, -has these lines:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Or where the Hermit hangs the straw-clad cell,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Emerging gently from the leafy dell:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By fancy plann'd, &c.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>In a note, this hermitage is said to have been a -grotesque building, contrived by a young gentleman who -used occasionally to appear in the character of a hermit.</p> - -<p>Some fancy of this kind at Lulworth Castle, in Dorsetshire, -exaggerated or highly coloured by O'Keefe, was supposed -to afford him the title and incident of his extravagant but -laughable comedy of <i>The London Hermit; or, Rambles in -Dorsetshire</i>, first played in 1793.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> - -<p>In <i>Blackwood's Magazine</i> for April, 1830, it is stated by -Christopher North, in the <i>Noctes Ambrosianæ</i>, that the then -editor of another magazine had been "for fourteen years -hermit to Lord Hill's father, and sat in a cave in that worthy -baronet's grounds with an hour-glass in his hand, and a -beard belonging to an old goat, from sunrise to sunset, with -orders to accept no half-crowns from visitors, but to behave -like Giordano Bruno." In 1810, a correspondent of <i>Notes -and Queries</i>, visiting the grounds at Hawkstone, the seat -of the Hills, was shown the hermitage there, with a stuffed -figure dressed like the hermits of pictures, seen by a dim -light; and the visitors were told that it had been inhabited -in the daytime by a poor man, to whom the eccentric but -truly benevolent Sir Richard Hill gave a maintenance on -that easy condition; but that the popular voice against such -<i>slavery</i> had induced the worthy baronet to withdraw the -reality and substitute the figure.</p> - -<p>A person advertised to be engaged as <i>a hermit</i>, in the -<i>Courier</i>, January 11th, 1810: "A young man, who wishes -to retire from the world and live as a hermit, in some convenient -spot in England, is willing to engage with any -nobleman or gentleman who may be desirous of having one. -Any letter directed to S. Lawrence (post paid), to be left at -Mr. Otton's, No. 6, Coleman's Lane, Plymouth, mentioning -what gratuity will be given, and all other particulars, will be -duly attended."</p> - -<p>In 1840, there died in the neighbourhood of Farnham, -in Surrey, a recluse or hermit, who had been originally a -wealthy brewer, but becoming bankrupt, wandered about -the country, and having spent at an inn what little money -he had, took up his abode in the cavern popularly -known as "Mother Ludlam's Hole," in Moor Park. The -"poor man" did not long avail himself of this ready-made -excavation, but chose his resting place just above, in the -sandstone rock, upon a spot where a fox had been run to -ground and dug out not long since. The hermit occasionally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -walked out, but was little noticed, although, from the bareness -of the trees, his retreat was seen from a distance. He -soon excavated for himself twenty-five feet in the sandstone, -and about five feet in height, with a shaft to the summit of -the hill, for the admission of light and air. Here, in -unbroken solitude, with fewer luxuries than Parnell's hermit—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">His food the fruits, his drink the crystal well—</p> - -<p>our Surrey hermit subsisted almost entirely upon <i>ferns</i>, -which abound in this neighbourhood. On January 11th, 1840, -he was seen by two labourers, who described him as not -having "two pounds of flesh on all his bones." He was -carried to the nearest cottage, placed in a warm bath, next -wrapped in blankets, and conveyed to the poor-house of -Farnham, where he soon died; his last words being, "Do -take me to the cave again."</p> - -<p>A few miles from Stevenage, and not more than thirty -from the metropolis, there was living, not many years since, -in strange seclusion, a man of high intellectual powers, in -the prime of manhood, and possessing ample means, yet -wasting his days in eremitic misery. A Correspondent of the -<i>Wolverhampton Chronicle</i> was invited to see this extraordinary -character, and here is the result of his visit:—</p> - -<p>"I had pictured to my mind a venerable old man, with -a beard as white as snow, a massive girdle, and a profusion -of books and hour-glass, in a cell of picturesque beauty and -neatness. Alas, how soon was I to experience that imagination -is one thing and reality another! I shall not -venture in future to speculate upon objects so unearthly. -At the termination of the road a mansion of no ordinary -size met my view, but better and happier times had reigned -within; without, all was desolation and ruin; time, that -destroyer of all things, had done its work here; every inlet -was barricaded by the rude axe and hammer; its portals no -mortal had passed for eleven long years; the interior, which -was one rich in design and comfort, is now mouldering to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -decay; no cheering voice is heard within its walls, only the -noise of rats and vermin. In tracing my steps to the scene -of the hermit's cell, which is situated at the back of the -building, and looking through the wooden bars of a window -devoid of glass, I perceived a dismal, black, and dirty -cellar, with an earth floor; not one vestige of furniture, except -a wooden bench and a few bottles, with the remnants of -a fire.</p> - -<p>"With difficulty, by the faint rays of light admitted into -this loathsome den, I could trace a human form, clothed -only in a horse rug, leaving his arms, legs, and feet perfectly -bare; his hair was prodigiously long, and his beard tangled -and matted. On my addressing him he came forward with -readiness. I found him a gentleman by education and -birth, and most courteous in his manner; he anxiously -inquired after several aristocratic families in Staffordshire -and adjoining counties. It is evident he had at one period -mixed in the first circles, but the secret of his desolate retirement -is, and probably ever will remain, a mystery to his -neighbours and tenantry, by whom he is supplied with food -(chiefly bread and milk). Already eleven weary winters has -he passed in this dreary abode, his only bed being two -sheepskins, and his sole companions the rats, which may be -seen passing to and fro with all the ease of perfect safety. -During the whole of his seclusion he has strictly abstained -from ablution, consequently his countenance is perfectly -black. How much it is to be regretted that a man so gifted -as this hermit is known to be should spend his days in dirt -and seclusion."</p> - -<p>To another class belonged one Roger Crab, a gentleman -of fortune, long resident at Bethnal Green, and one of the -eccentric characters of the seventeenth century. All that is -known of him is gathered from a pamphlet, now very rare, -written principally by himself, and entitled, <i>The English -Hermit, or Wonder of the Age</i>: by this it appears that he had -served seven years in the Parliamentary army, and had his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -skull cloven in their service, for which he was so ill requited -that he was sentenced to death by the Lord Protector, and -afterwards suffered two years' imprisonment. When he -obtained his release, he opened a shop at Chesham, as a -dealer in hats. He had not long been settled there before -he imbibed a notion that it was a sin against his body and -soul to eat any sort of fish, flesh, or living creature, or to -drink wine, ale, or beer. Thinking himself at the same time -obliged to follow literally the injunction given to the young -man in the Gospel, he quitted business, and disposing of his -property, gave it among the poor, reserving to himself only -a small cottage at Ickenham, in Middlesex, where he resided; -he had a rood of land for a garden, on the produce -of which he subsisted at the expense of three farthings a -week, his food being bran, herbs, roots, dock-leaves, mallows, -and grass; his drink water.</p> - -<p>How such an extraordinary change of diet agreed with -his constitution, the following passage from his pamphlet -will show:—"Instead of strong drinks and wines I give the -old man a drop of water; and instead of roast mutton and -rabbits, and other dainty dishes, I give him broth thickened -with bran, and pudding made with bran, and turnip-leaves -chopped together, and grass; at which the old man (meaning -my body) being moved, would know what he had done -that I used him so hardly; then I showed him his transgression: -so the warre began; the law of the old man in -my fleshy members rebelled against the law of my mind, -and had a shrewed skirmish; but the mind being well enlightened, -held it so that the old man grew sick and weak -with the flux, like to fall to the dust; but the wonderful love -of God, well-pleased with the battle, raised him up again, -and filled him with the voice of love, peace, and content of -mind, and is now become more humble; for he will eat -dock-leaves, mallows, or grasse."</p> - -<p>Little is known of Crab's subsequent history, or whether -he continued his diet of herbs; but a passage in his epitaph<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -seems to intimate that he never resumed the use of animal -food. It is not one of the least extraordinary parts of his -history, that he should so long have subsisted on a diet -which, by his own account, had reduced him almost to a -skeleton in 1655—being twenty-five years previous to his -death—in 1680: he is buried in Stepney churchyard.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Recluses" id="Recluses">The Recluses of Llangollen.</a></h3> - - -<p>Many years ago, there lived together, in romantic seclusion, -in the Vale of Llangollen, in Denbighshire, two ladies, -remarkable not only for the singularity of their habits and -dispositions, but as the daughters of ancient and most distinguished -families in the Irish peerage.</p> - -<p>Lady Eleanor Butler was the youngest sister of John, -sixteenth Earl of Ormonde, and aunt of Walter, seventeenth -Earl, who died in 1820. Miss Mary Ponsonby was the -daughter of Chambre Ponsonby, Esq., and half-sister to Mrs. -Lowther, of Bath.</p> - -<p>These two ladies retired at an early age, about the year -1729, from the society of the world to the Vale of Llangollen. -Lady Butler had already rejected several offers of -marriage, and as her affection for Miss Ponsonby was supposed -to have formed the bar to any matrimonial alliance, -their friends, in the hope of breaking off so disadvantageous -a companionship, proceeded so far as to place the former -in close confinement. The youthful friends, however, found -means to elope together, but being speedily overtaken, were -brought back to their respective relations. Many attempts -were renewed to entice Lady Butler into wedlock; but on -her solemnly and repeatedly declaring that nothing should -induce her to alter her purpose of perpetual maidenhood, her -friends desisted from further importuning her.</p> - -<p>Not many months after this a second elopement was -planned. Each lady taking with her a small sum of money, -and having confided the place of their retreat to a confidential<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -servant of the Ormonde family, who was sworn to -inviolable secrecy, they deputed her to announce their safety -at home, and to request that the trifling annuities allowed -them might not be discontinued. The message was received -with kindness, and their incomes were even considerably -increased.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus18" id="Illus18"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image21.jpg" width="300" height="374" alt="The Ladies of Llangollen." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The Ladies of Llangollen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> - -<p>When Miss Seward visited the spot, our heroines had -resided in their romantic retirement about seventeen years; -yet they were only known to the neighbouring villagers as -<i>the Ladies of the Vale</i>. The verses which Miss Seward dedicated -to the Recluses, and wherein she celebrated "gay -Eleanor's smile," and "Zara's look serene," conclude with -this morceau of sentimental affectation:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">May one kind ice-bolt from the mortal stores<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Arrest each vital current as it flows,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That no sad course of desolated hours<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Here vainly nurse their unsubsiding woes.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">While all who honour virtue gently mourn<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Llangollen's vanish'd pair, and wreathe their sacred urn.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>But they did not vanish for many a long year: they -neither married nor died till they were grown too old for the -world to care whether they did either or both. On one -occasion, indeed, a party of tourists, male and female, unable -to procure accommodation at the village inn, requested and -obtained admittance at "the cottage," when they proved to -be near relatives of Miss Ponsonby. No entreaties, however, -could allure their fair cousin from her seclusion.</p> - -<p>Lady Eleanor is described as tall, of lively manners, and -masculine. She usually wore a riding-habit, and donned -her hat with the air of a finished sportsman. Her companion, -on the contrary, was fair, pensive, gentle, and -effeminate. Their abode was a neat cottage, with about -two acres of pleasure-ground. Avoiding every appearance -of dissipation or gaiety, they led a life as retired as the -situation. Two female servants waited on them, and while -Miss Ponsonby superintended the house, my Lady amused -herself with the garden. The name of the retreat is Plas -Newydd, about a quarter of a mile from Llangollen, hidden -among the trees on ascending the Vale behind the church. -By some the ladies are said not to have led here a life of -absolute seclusion, but to have visited their neighbours and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -received friends. The cottage was built purposely for them. -They died after a life full of good deeds, within eighteen -months of each other—Lady Eleanor, June 2nd, 1829, at -the patriarchal age of ninety; Miss Ponsonby, December 9th, -1830. Their monument, in Llangollen churchyard, in which -they were buried, has three sides, each bearing a touching -epitaph; the third to the memory of Mary Carrol, a faithful -Irish servant.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Snuff" id="Snuff">Snuff-taking Legacies.</a></h3> - - -<p>On April 2nd, 1776, there died, at her house in Boyle -Street, Burlington Gardens, one Mrs. Margaret Thompson, -whose will affords a notable specimen of the ruling passion -strong in death. The will is as follows:—"In the name of -God, Amen. I, Margaret Thompson, being of sound mind, -&c., do desire that when my soul is departed from this -wicked world, my body and effects may be disposed of in -the manner following: I desire that all my handkerchiefs -that I may have unwashed at the time of my decease, after -they have been got together by my old and trusty servant, -Sarah Stuart, be put by her, and by her alone, at the bottom -of my coffin, which I desire may be made large enough for -that purpose, together with such a quantity of the best -Scotch snuff (in which she knoweth I always had the greatest -delight) as will cover my deceased body; and this I desire -the more especially as it is usual to put flowers into the -coffins of departed friends, and nothing can be so fragrant -and refreshing to me as that precious powder. But I strictly -charge that no man be suffered to approach my body till -the coffin is closed, and it is necessary to carry me to my -burial, which I order in the manner following:—</p> - -<p>"Six men to be my bearers, who are known to be the -greatest snuff-takers in the parish of St. James, Westminster; -instead of mourning, each to wear a snuff-coloured beaver -hat, which I desire may be bought for that purpose, and -given to them. Six maidens of my old acquaintance, <i>viz.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -&c., to bear my pall, each to bear a proper hood, and to -carry a box filled with the best Scotch snuff to take for their -refreshment as they go along. Before my corpse, I desire -the minister may be invited to walk and to take a certain -quantity of the said snuff, not exceeding one pound, to whom -also I bequeath five guineas on condition of his so doing. -And I also desire my old and faithful servant, Sarah Stuart, -to walk before the corpse, to distribute every twenty yards -a large handful of Scotch snuff to the ground and upon the -crowd who may possibly follow me to the burial-place; on -which condition I bequeath her 20<i>l.</i> And I also desire that -at least two bushels of the said snuff may be distributed at -the door of my house in Boyle Street."</p> - -<p>She then particularizes her legacies; and over and -above every legacy she desires may be given one pound -of good Scotch snuff, which she calls the grand cordial of -nature.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Burial" id="Burial">Burial Bequests.</a></h3> - - -<p>In June, 1864, there died at Drogheda one Miss Hardman, -at the advanced age of ninety-two years. She was -buried in the family vault in Peter's Protestant Church. The -funeral took place on the eighth day of her decease. It is -not usual in Ireland to allow so long an interval to elapse -between the time of a person's death and burial; in this -instance it was owing to the expressed wish of the deceased, -and this originated in a very curious piece of family and -local history. Everybody has heard of the lady who was -buried, being supposed dead, and who bearing with her to -the tomb, on her finger, a ring of rare price, this was the -means of her being rescued from her charnel prison-house. -A butler in the family of the lady, having his cupidity excited, -entered the vault at midnight in order to possess -himself of the ring, and in removing it from the finger the -lady was restored to consciousness and made her way in her -grave-clothes to her mansion. She lived many years afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -before she was finally consigned to the vault. The -heroine of the story was a member of the Hardman family—in -fact, the late Miss Hardman's mother—and the vault in -Peter's Church was the locality where the startling revival -scene took place.</p> - -<p>The story is commonly told in explanation of a monument -in the Church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, which -is commemorative of Constance Whitney, and represents a -female rising from a coffin. "This," says Mr. Godwin, in -his popular history of the <i>Churches of London</i>, "has been -erroneously supposed to commemorate a lady, who, having -been buried in a trance, was restored to life through the -cupidity of the sexton, which induced him to dig up the -body to obtain possession of a ring." The female rising -from the coffin is undoubtedly emblematic of the Resurrection, -and may have been repeated upon other monuments -elsewhere; but there is no such monument at Drogheda, -which as above is claimed as the actual locality.</p> - -<p>On May 24th, 1837, there died at Primrose Cottage, -High Wycombe, Bucks, Mr. John Guy, aged sixty-four. -His remains were interred in a brick grave in Hughenden -Churchyard: on a marble slab, on the lid of the coffin, is -inscribed:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here, without nail or shroud, doth lie,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or covered with a pall, John Guy,<br /></span> -<span class="i8">Born May 17th, 1773.<br /></span> -<span class="i8">Died, „ 24th, 1837.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>On his gravestone are the following lines:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">In coffin made without a nail,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Without a shroud his limbs to hide;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For what can pomp or show avail,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Or velvet pall to swell the pride?<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Mr. Guy was possessed of considerable property, and -was a native of Gloucestershire. His grave and coffin were -made under his directions more than a twelvemonth previous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -to his death; he wrote the inscriptions, he gave the orders -for his funeral, and wrapped in separate pieces of paper five -shillings for each of the bearers. The coffin was very neatly -made, and looked more like a piece of cabinet-work for a -drawing-room than a receptacle for the dead.</p> - -<p>Dr. Fidge, a physician of the old school, who in early -days had accompanied the Duke of Clarence (afterwards -William IV.) when a midshipman as medical attendant, -possessed a favourite boat; upon his retirement from Portsmouth -Dockyard, where he held an appointment, he had -this boat converted into a coffin, with the sternpiece fixed -at its head. This coffin he kept under his bed for many -years. The circumstances of his death were very remarkable. -Feeling his end approaching, and desiring to add a -codicil to his will, he sent for his solicitor. On entering his -chamber he found him suffering from a paroxysm of pain, -but which soon ceased; availing himself of the temporary ease -to ask him how he felt, he replied, smiling: "I feel as easy -as an old shoe," and looking towards the nurse in attendance, -said: "Just pull my legs straight, and place me as a dead -man; it will save you trouble shortly," words which he had -scarcely uttered before he calmly died.</p> - -<p>Job Orton, of the Bell Inn, Kidderminster, had his -tombstone, with an epitaphic couplet, erected in the parish -churchyard; and his coffin was used by him for a wine-bin -until required for another purpose.</p> - -<p>Dr. John Gardner, "the worm doctor," originally of -Long Acre, erected his tomb and wrote the inscription -thereon some years before his death. Strangers reading the -inscription naturally concluded he was like his predecessor, -"Egregious Moore," immortalized by Pope, "food for -worms," whereas he was still following his profession, that -of a worm-doctor, in Norton Folgate, where he had a shop, -in the window of which were displayed numerous bottles -containing specimens of tape and other worms, with the -names of the persons who had been tormented by them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -and the date of their ejection. Finding his practice declining -from the false impression conveyed by his epitaph, -he dexterously caused the word <i>intended</i> to be interpolated, -and the inscription for a long time afterwards ran as -follows:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">intended<br /> - Dr. John Gardner's last and best bedroom.<br /> -^</p> - -<p>He was a stout, burly man, with a flaxen wig, and rode -daily into London on a large roan-coloured horse.</p> - -<p>Not a few misers have carried their penury into the -arrangements for their interment. Edward Nokes, of Hornchurch, -by his own direction, was buried in this curious -fashion:—A short time before his death, which he hastened -by the daily indulgence in nearly a quart of spirits, he gave -strict charge that his coffin should not have a nail in it, -which was actually adhered to, the lid being made fast with -hinges of cord, and minus a coffin-plate, for which the -initials E. N. cut upon the wood were substituted. His -shroud was made of a pound of wool. The coffin was -covered with a sheet in place of a pall, and was carried by -six men, to each of whom he directed should be given half-a-crown. -At his particular desire, too, not one who followed -him to the grave was in mourning; but, on the contrary, each -of the mourners appeared to try whose dress should be the -most striking. Even the undertaker was dressed in a blue -coat and scarlet waistcoat.</p> - -<p>Another deplorable case might be cited, that of Thomas -Pitt, of Warwickshire. It is reported that some weeks prior -to the sickness which terminated his despicable career, he -went to several undertakers in quest of a cheap coffin. He -had left behind him 3,475<i>l.</i> in the public funds.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus19" id="Illus19"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image22.jpg" width="275" height="335" alt="Major Peter Labelliere. From Kingsbury's print." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Major Peter Labelliere. From Kingsbury's print.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Burials" id="Burials">Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill.</a></h3> - - -<p>As the railway traveller passes over Red Hill, on the -London and Brighton line, his attention can scarcely fail to -be struck with two prominent points in the charming landscape—Box -Hill, covered with its patronymic shrub; and -Leith Hill, surmounted by a square tower. On each of -these elevations is buried an eccentric person: one with his -head downwards, and the other in the usual horizontal -position; but the fondness for exaggerating things already<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -extraordinary, has led to the common misstatement that one -person is buried with his head downwards, and the other -standing upon his feet. Of the two interments, however, -the following are the true versions.</p> - -<p>On the north-western brow of Box Hill, and nearly in a -line with the stream of the Mole, as it flows towards Burford -Bridge, was interred, some sixty-five years since, Major -Peter Labelliere, an officer of marines. During the latter -years of his life he had resided at Dorking, and, in accordance -with his own desire, he was interred on this spot, -long denoted by a wooden stake or stump. This gentleman -in early life fell in love with a lady, who, although he was -remarkably handsome in person, rejected his addresses. -This circumstance inflicted a deep wound on his mind, -which, at a later period, religion and politics entirely unsettled. -Yet his eccentricities were harmless, and himself the only -sufferer. At this time the Duke of Devonshire, who had -been formerly fond of the major's society, settled on -him a pension of 100<i>l.</i> a year. Labelliere then lived at -Chiswick, and there wrote several tracts, both polemical -and political, but the incoherency of his arguments was demonstrative -of mental incapacity. From Chiswick he -frequently walked to London, his pockets filled to overflowing -with newspapers and pamphlets, and on the road he -delighted to harangue the ragged boys who followed him. -He next removed to Dorking, and there resided in a mean -cottage, called "The Hole in the Wall," on Butter Hill. -Among the anecdotes of his eccentricity it is related that, -to a gentleman with whom he was intimate he presented a -packet, carefully folded and sealed, with a particular injunction -not to open it till after his death. This request was -strictly complied with, when it was found to contain merely -a blank memorandum-book.</p> - -<p>Long prior to his decease he selected the point of Box-Hill -we have named, where, in compliance with his oft-expressed -wish, he was buried, without church rites, with his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -head <i>downwards</i>; in order, he said, that as "the world was -turned topsy-turvy, it was fit that he should be so buried -that he might be <i>right at last</i>."<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> He died June 6th, 1800, -and was interred on the 10th of the same month, when great -numbers of persons witnessed his funeral; and the slight -wooden bridge which then crossed the Mole having been -removed by some mischievous persons during the interment -many had to wade through the river on returning homewards. -The Major earned not the uncommon reward of -eccentricity—his portrait being engraved—by H. Kingsbury. -Under Labelliere's name is inscribed in the print—</p> - -<p>"A Christian patriot and Citizen of the World."</p> - -<p>The interment on Leith Hill is less characterised by -oddity than that of Major Labelliere on Box Hill. In a -mansion on the south side of Leith Hill lived Mr. Richard -Hull, a gentleman of fortune, who, in 1766, with the permission -of Sir John Evelyn, of Wotton, built a tower on the -summit of Leith Hill, from which the sea is visible, and it -became a landmark for mariners. It comprised two rooms, -which were handsomely furnished by the founder, for the -accommodation of those who resorted thither to enjoy the -prospect. Over the entrance, on the west side, was placed -a stone with a Latin inscription, which may be thus translated: -"Traveller, this very conspicuous tower was erected -by Richard Hull, of Leith Hill Place, Esq., in the reign of -George III., 1766, that you might obtain an extensive -prospect over a beautiful country; not solely for his own -pleasure, but for the accommodation of his neighbours and all -men."</p> - -<p>Mr. Hull, was, by his own direction, interred within this -tower, and an epitaph inscribed on a marble slab let into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -the wall, on the ground-floor, stated that he died January -18th, 1772, in his eighty-third year. He was the oldest -bencher of the Middle Temple, and sat many years in the -Parliament of Ireland. He lived, in his earlier years, in -intimacy with Pope, Trenchard, Bishop Berkeley, and other -distinguished men of the period; "and, to wear off the -remainder of his days, he purchased Leith Hill Place for a -retirement, where he led the life of a true Christian and -rural philosopher; and, by his particular desire, his remains -were here deposited, in a private manner, under this tower, -which he had erected a few years before his death."</p> - -<p>After the decease of the founder, the building was neglected, -and suffered to fall into decay; but about 1796, Mr. -W. Philip Perrin, who had purchased Mr. Hull's estate, had -the tower thoroughly repaired, heightened several feet, and -surmounted by a coping and battlement, so as to render it a -more conspicuous sea-mark; but the lower part was filled in -with lime and rubbish, and the entrance walled up. Leith -Hill is the highest eminence in Surrey, its extreme point -being 993 feet above the sea-level. It commands a view -200 miles in circumference. Dennis, the critic, described -this prospect as superior to anything he had ever seen in -England or Italy, in its surpassing "rural charms, pomp, and -magnificence."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Remains" id="Remains">Jeremy Bentham's Bequest of his -Remains.</a></h3> - - -<p>Bentham's long life was incessantly and laboriously devoted -to the good of his species: in pursuance of which he -ever felt that incessant labour a happy task, that long life -but too short for its benevolent object. The preservation of -his remains by his physician and friend, to whose care they -were confided, was in exact accordance with his own desire. -He had early in life determined to leave his body for dissection. -By a document dated as far back as 1769, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -being then only twenty two-years of age, bequeathed it for -that purpose to his friend, Dr. Fordyce. The document -is in the following remarkable words:—</p> - -<p>"This my will and general request I make, not out of -affectation of singularity, but to the intent and with the -desire that mankind may reap some small benefit in and by -my decease, having hitherto had small opportunities to contribute -thereto while living."</p> - -<p>A memorandum affixed to this document shows that it -had undergone Bentham's revision two months before his -death, and that this part of it had been solemnly ratified -and confirmed. The Anatomy Bill, passed subsequently -to his death, for which a foundation had been laid in <i>The -Use of the Dead to the Living</i> (first published in the <i>Westminster -Review</i>, and afterwards reprinted, and a copy given -to every member of Parliament), had removed the main -obstructions in the way of obtaining anatomical knowledge; -but the state of the law previous to the adoption -of the Anatomy Act was such as to foster the popular prejudices -against dissection, and the effort to remove these -prejudices was well worthy of a philanthropist. After all -the lessons which science and humanity might learn from the -dissection of his body had been taught, Bentham further -directed that the skeleton should be put together and kept -entire; that the head and face should be preserved; that the -whole figure, arranged as naturally as possible, should be -attired in the clothes he ordinarily wore, seated in his own -chair, and maintaining the attitude and aspect most familiar -to him.</p> - -<p>Mr. Bentham was perfectly aware that difficulty and even -obloquy might attend a compliance with the directions he -gave concerning the disposal of his body. He therefore -chose three friends, whose firmness he believed to be equal -to the task, and asked them if their affection for him would -enable them to brave such consequences. They engaged to -follow his directions to the letter, and they were faithful to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -their pledge. The performance of the first part of this duty -is thus described by an eye-witness, W. J. Fox, in the -<i>Monthly Repository</i> for July, 1832:—</p> - -<p>"None who were present can ever forget that impressive -scene. The room (the lecture-room of the Webb Street -School of Anatomy) is small and circular, with no window -but a central sky-light, and capable of containing about -three hundred persons. It was filled, with the exception of -a class of medical students and some eminent members of -that profession, by friends, disciples, and admirers of the -deceased philosopher, comprising many men celebrated for -literary talent, scientific research, and political activity. The -corpse was on the table in the middle of the room, directly -under the light, clothed in a night-dress, with only the head -and hands exposed. There was no rigidity in the features, but -an expression of placid dignity and benevolence. This was -at times rendered almost vital by the reflection of the lightning -playing over them; for a storm arose just as the lecturer -commenced, and the profound silence in which he was -listened to was broken and only broken by loud peals of -thunder, which continued to roll at intervals throughout the -delivery of his most appropriate and often affecting address. -With the feelings which touch the heart in the contemplation -of departed greatness, and in the presence of death, -there mingled a sense of the power which that lifeless body -seemed to be exercising in the conquest of prejudice for -the public good, thus co-operating with the triumphs of the -spirit by which it had been animated. It was a worthy close -of the personal career of the great philanthropist and philosopher. -Never did corpse of hero on the battle-field, 'with -his martial cloak around him,' or funeral obsequies chanted -by stoled and mitred priests in Gothic aisles, excite such -emotions as the stern simplicity of that hour in which the -principle of utility triumphed over the imagination and -the heart."</p> - -<p>The skeleton of Bentham, dressed in the clothes which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -he usually wore, and with a wax face, modelled by Dr. -Talrych, enclosed in a mahogany case, with folding-doors, -may now be seen in the Anatomical Museum of University -College Hospital, Gower Street, London.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Anglesey" id="Anglesey">The Marquis of Anglesey's Leg.</a></h3> - - -<p>Among the curiosities of Waterloo are the grave of the -late Marquis of Anglesey's leg, and the house in which it -was cut off, and where the boot belonging to it is preserved! -The owner of the house to whose share this relic has fallen -finds it a most lucrative source of revenue, and will, in -spite of the absurdity of the thing, probably bequeath it to -his children as a valuable property. He has interred the -leg most decorously in the garden of the inn, within a coffin, -under a weeping willow, and has honoured it with a monument -and the following epitaph:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Ci est enterrée la Jambe<br /> -de l'illustre et vaillant Comte d'Uxbridge,<br /> -Lieutenant-Général de S. M. Britannique,<br /> -Commandant en chef la cavalrie Anglaise, Belge, et Hollandaise,<br /> -blessé le 18 Juin, 1815,<br /> -à la mémorable bataille de Waterloo;<br /> -qui par son héroisme a concouru au triomphe de la cause<br /> -du genre humain;<br /> -Glorieusement décidée par l'éclatante victoire du dit jour.</p> - -<p>Some wag scribbled this infamous couplet beneath the -inscription:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here lies the Marquis of Anglesey's limb,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The devil will have the rest of him.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>More apposite is the following epitaph, attributed to Mr. -Canning, on reading the description of the tomb erected -to the memory of the Marquis of Anglesey's leg:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here rests,—and let no saucy knave<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Presume to sneer or laugh,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To learn that mould'ring in this grave<br /></span> -<span class="i2">There lies—a British <i>calf</i>.<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -<span class="i0">For he who writes these lines is sure<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That those who read the whole,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Will find that laugh was premature,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For here, too, lies a <i>soul</i>.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And here five little ones repose,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Twin born with other five,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Unheeded by their brother toes,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who all are now alive.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A leg and foot, to speak more plain,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Lie here of one commanding;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who, though he might his wits retain,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Lost half his understanding.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And when the guns, with thunder bright,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Poured bullets thick as hail,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Could only in this way be taught<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To give the foe <i>leg bail</i>.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And now in England just as gay<br /></span> -<span class="i2">As in the battle brave,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Goes to the rout, the ball, the play,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With one leg in the grave.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Fortune in vain has showed her spite,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For he will soon be found,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Should England's sons engage in fight,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Resolved to stand his ground.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But Fortune's pardon I must beg;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">She meant not to disarm:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And when she lopped the hero's leg,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">She did not seek his h-arm.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And but indulged a harmless whim,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Since he could <i>walk</i> with one:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She saw two legs were lost on him,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who never meant to run.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>When the Marquis of Anglesey was, for the second time, -Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, he became very unpopular -through an unguarded speech; and Mr. O'Connell, in one of -his flowery addresses, quoted the lines:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">God takes the good, too good on earth to stay;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And leaves the bad, too bad to take away.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The great orator continued:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">This couplet's truth in Paget's case we find;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">God took his leg, and left himself behind.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Of a ballad sung in the streets of Dublin, the chorus -ran as follows:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He has one leg in Dublin, the other in Cork,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And you know very well what I mean, O!<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>It was stated that he had an artificial leg in Cork.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Cottle" id="Cottle">The Cottle Church.</a></h3> - - -<p>"For more than twenty years," says Mr. De Morgan in -his "Budget of Paradoxes"<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> in the <i>Athenæum</i>, 1865, -"printed papers have been sent about in the name of -Elizabeth Cottle. It is not so remarkable that such papers -should be concocted, as that they should circulate for such -a length of time without attracting public attention. Eighty -years ago, Mrs. Cottle might have rivalled Lieutenant Brothers -or Joanna Southcote. Long hence, when the now current -volumes of our journals are well ransacked works of reference, -those who look into them will be glad to see this -feature of our time: I therefore make a few extracts, faithfully -copied as to type. The Italic is from the new Testament; -the Roman is the requisite interpretation:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"Robert Cottle '<i>was numbered</i> (5196) <i>with the transgressors</i>' at -the back of the Church in Norwood Cemetery, May 12, 1858—Isa. liii. -12. The Rev. J. G. Collinson, Minister of St. James's Church, -Clapham, the then district church, before All Saints was built, read -the funeral service <i>over the Sepulchre wherein never before man was -laid</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p> - -<p>"<i>Hewn on the stone</i>, 'at the mouth of the sepulchre,' is his name—Robert -Cottle, born at Bristol, June 2, 1774; died at Kirkstall Lodge, -Clapham Park, May 6, 1858. <i>And that day</i> (May 12, 1858) <i>was the -preparation</i> (day and year for 'the <span class="smcap">PREPARED</span> place for you'—Cottleites—by -the widowed mother of the Father's house, at Kirkstall Lodge—John -xiv. 2, 3). <i>And the Sabbath</i> (Christmas Day, December 25, -1859) <i>drew on</i> (for the resurrection of the Christian body on 'the third -[Protestant Sun]-day'—1 Cor. xv. 35). <i>Why seek ye the living</i> (God -of the New Jerusalem—Heb. xii. 22; Rev. iii. 12) <i>among the dead</i> -(men): <i>he</i> (the God of Jesus) <i>is not here</i> (in the grave), <i>but is risen</i> (in -the person of the Holy Ghost, from the supper, of 'the dead in the -second death' of Paganism). <i>Remember how he spake unto you</i> (in the -Church of the Rev. George Clayton, April 14, 1839). <i>I will not drink -henceforth</i> (at this last Cottle supper) <i>of the fruit of this</i> (Trinity) <i>vine, -until that day</i> (Christmas Day, 1859), <i>when I</i> (Elizabeth Cottle) <i>drank -it new with you</i> (Cottleites) <i>in my Father's kingdom</i>—John xv. <i>If this</i> -(Trinitarian) <i>cup may not pass away from me</i> (Elizabeth Cottle, April -14, 1839), <i>except I drink it</i> ('new with you Cottleites, in my Father's -kingdom'), <i>thy will be done</i>—Matt. xxvi. 29, 42, 64. 'Our Father -which art (God) in heaven, <i>hallowed be thy name, thy</i> (Cottle) <i>kingdom -come, thy will be done in earth, as it is</i> (done) <i>in</i> (the new) <i>Heaven</i> (and -new earth of the new name of Cottle—Rev. xxi. 1; iii. 12).</p> - -<p>"... (Queen Elizabeth, from <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 1558 to 1566). <i>And -this</i> <span class="smcap">WORD</span> <i>yet once more</i> (by a second Elizabeth)—the <span class="smcap">WORD</span> of his oath, -<i>signifieth</i> (at John Scott's baptism of the Holy Ghost) <i>the removing of -those things</i> (those Gods and those doctrines) <i>that are made</i> (according -the Creeds and Commandments of men) <i>that those things</i> (in the moral -law of God) <i>which cannot be shaken</i> (as a rule of faith and practice) <i>may -remain; wherefore we receiving</i> (from Elizabeth) <i>a kingdom</i> (of God) -<i>which cannot be moved</i> (by Satan) <i>let us have grace</i> (in his grace of -Canterbury) <i>whereby we may serve God acceptably</i> (with the acceptable -sacrifice of Elizabeth's body and blood of the communion of the Holy -Ghost) <i>with reverence</i> (for truth) <i>and godly fear</i> (of the unpardonable -sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost), <i>for our God</i> (the Holy Ghost) -<i>is a consuming fire</i> (to the nation that will not serve him in the Cottle -Church). We cannot defend ourselves against the Almighty, and if He -is our defence, no nation can invade us.</p> - -<p>"In verse 4 the Church of St. Peter is <i>in prison between four -quaternions of Soldiers</i>—the Holy Alliance of 1815. Rev. vii. 1. -Elizabeth, <i>the Angel of the Lord</i> Jesus <i>appears</i> to the Jewish and Christian -body with <i>the vision</i> of prophecy to the Rev. Geo. Clayton and his -clerical brethren, April 8th, 1839. <i>Rhoda</i> was the name of her maid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -at Putney Terrace who used <i>to open the door to her Peter</i>, the Rev. -Robert Ashton, the Pastor of 'the little flock' 'of 120 names together, -assembled in an upper (school) room' at Putney Chapel, to which little -flock she gave the revelation (Acts i. 13, 15) <i>of Jesus the same</i> King of -the Jews <i>yesterday</i> at the prayer meeting, December 31, 1841, <i>and to-day</i>, -January 1, 1842, <i>and for ever</i>. See book of Life, page 24. Matt. -xviii. 19; xxi. 13-16. In verse 6 the Italian body of St. Peter <i>is sleeping</i> -'in the second death' <i>between the two</i> Imperial <i>soldiers</i> of France -and Austria. The Emperor of France from January 1 to July 11, 1859, -causes the Italian <i>chains of St. Peter to fall off from his</i> Imperial <i>hands</i>.</p> - -<p>"<i>I say unto thee</i>, Robert Ashton, <i>thou art Peter</i>, a stone, <i>and upon -this rock</i>, of truth, <i>will I</i> Elizabeth, the Angel of Jesus, <i>build my</i> Cottle -<i>Church, and the gates of hell</i>, the doors of St. Peter at Rome, shall not -prevail against it—Matt. xvi. 18; Rev. iii. 7-12."</p></blockquote> - -<p>"This will be enough for the purpose. When anyone -who pleases can circulate new revelations of this kind, uninterrupted -and unattended to, new revelations will cease to -be a good investment of eccentricity. I take it for granted -that the gentlemen whose names are mentioned have nothing -to do with the circulars or their doctrines. Any lady who -may happen to be entrusted with a revelation may nominate -her own pastor, or any other clergyman, one of her apostles; -and it is difficult to say to what court the nominees can -appeal to get the commission abrogated.</p> - -<p>"March 16, 1865. During the last two years the circulars -have continued. It is hinted that funds are low; and -two gentlemen, who are represented as gone 'to Bethelem -asylum in despair,' say that Mrs. Cottle will 'spend all that -she hath, while Her Majesty's ministers are flourishing on -the wages of sin.' The following is perhaps one of the most -remarkable passages in the whole:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"<i>Extol and magnify Him</i> (Jehovah, the everlasting God, see the -Magnificat and Luke i. 45, 46-68-73-79), <i>that rideth</i> (by rail and -steam over land and sea, from his holy habitation at Kirkstall Lodge, -Psa. lxxvii. 19, 20), <i>upon the</i> (Cottle) <i>heavens as it were</i> (September 9, -1864, see pages 21, 170), <i>upon an</i> (exercising, Psa. cxxxi. 1), <i>horse</i>-(chair, -bought of Mr. John Ward, Leicester Square)."</p></blockquote> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Chattels" id="Chattels">Horace Walpole's Chattels saved by a -Talisman.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the spring of 1771, Walpole's house in Arlington -Street was broken open in the night, and his cabinets and -trunks forced and plundered. The Lord of Strawberry was -at his villa when he received by a courier the intelligence -of the burglary. In an admirable letter to Sir Horace Mann -he thus narrates the sequel:—"I was a good quarter of an -hour before I recollected that it was very becoming to have -philosophy enough not to care about what one does care -for; if you don't care there's no philosophy in bearing it. -I despatched my upper servant, breakfasted, fed the bantams -as usual, and made no more hurry to town than Cincinnatus -would if he had lost a basket of turnips. I left in my -drawers 270<i>l.</i> of bank-bills and three hundred guineas, not -to mention all my gold and silver coins, some inestimable -miniatures, a little plate, and a good deal of furniture, under -no guard but that of two maidens.... When I -arrived, my surprise was by no means diminished. I found -in three different chambers three cabinets, a large chest, and -a glass case of china wide open, the locks not picked, but -forced, and the doors of them broken to pieces. You will -wonder that this should surprise me when I had been prepared -for it. Oh! the miracle was that I did not find, nor -to this hour have found, the least thing missing. In the -cabinet of modern medals, there were, and so there are -still, a series of English coins, with downright John Trot -guineas, half-guineas, shillings, sixpences, and every kind of -current money. Not a single piece was removed. Just so in -the Roman and Greek cabinet; though in the latter were some -drawers of papers, which they had tumbled and scattered -about the floor. A great exchequer chest, that belonged to -my father, was in the same room. Not being able to force -the lock, the philosophers (for thieves that steal nothing deserve -the title much more than Cincinnatus, or I) had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -wrenched a great flapper of brass with such violence as to -break it into seven pieces. The trunk contained a new set -of chairs of French tapestry, two screens, rolls of prints, -and a suit of silver stuff that I had made for the king's -wedding. All was turned topsy-turvy, and nothing stolen. -The glass case and cabinet of shells had been handled as -roughly by these impotent gallants. Another little table -with drawers, in which, by the way, the key was left, had -been opened too, and a metal standish that they ought to -have taken for silver, and a silver hand-candlestick that -stood upon it, were untouched. Some plate in the pantry, -and all my linen just come from the wash had no more -charms for them than gold or silver. In short I could not -help laughing, especially as the only two movables neglected -were another little table with drawers and the -money, and a writing box with the bank-notes, both in the -same chamber where they made the first havoc. In short, -they had broken out a panel in the door of the area, and -unbarred and unbolted it, and gone out at the street-door, -which they left wide open at five o'clock in the -morning. A passenger had found it so, and alarmed the -maids, one of whom ran naked into the street, and by her -cries waked my Lord Rommey, who lives opposite. The -poor creature was in fits for two days, but at first, finding -my coachmaker's apprentice in the street, had sent him to -Mr. Conway, who immediately despatched him to me before -he knew how little damage I had received, the whole of -which consists in repairing the doors and locks of my -cabinets and coffers.</p> - -<p>"All London is reasoning on this marvellous adventure, -and not an argument presents itself that some other does -not contradict. I insist that I have a talisman. You must -know that last winter, being asked by Lord Vere to assist in -settling Lady Betty Germaine's auction I found in an old -catalogue of her collection this article, '<i>The Black Stone into -which Dr. Dee used to call his spirits</i>.' Dr. Dee, you must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -know, was a great conjuror in the days of Queen Elizabeth -and has written a folio of the dialogues he held with his -imps. I asked eagerly for this stone; Lord Vere said he -knew of no such thing, but if found, it should certainly be -at my service. Alas, the stone was gone! This winter I -was again employed by Lord Frederic Campbell, for I am an -absolute auctioneer, to do him the same service about his -father's (the Duke of Argyle's) collection. Among other odd -things he produced a round piece of shining black marble -in a leathern case, as big as the crown of a hat, and asked me -what that possibly could be? I screamed out, 'Oh Lord, I -am the only man in England that can tell you! It is Dr. -Dee's Black Stone!' It certainly is; Lady Betty had -formerly given away or sold, time out of mind, for she was a -thousand years old, that part of the Peterborough collection -which contained natural philosophy. So, or since, the -Black Stone had wandered into an auction, for the lotted -paper is still on it. The Duke of Argyle, who bought everything, -bought it. Lord Frederic gave it to me; and if it was -not this magical stone, which is only of high-polished coal, -that preserved my chattels, in truth I cannot guess what did."</p> - -<p>At the Strawberry Hill sale, in 1842, this precious relic -was sold for 12<i>l.</i> 12<i>s.</i>, and is now in the British Museum. It -was described in the catalogue as "a singularly interesting -and curious relic of the superstition of our ancestors—the -celebrated <i>Speculum of Kennel Coal</i>, highly polished, in a -leathern case. It is remarkable for having been used to -deceive the mob, by the celebrated Dr. Dee, the conjuror, -in the reign of Queen Elizabeth," &c. When Dee fell into -disrepute, and his chemical apparatus and papers and other -stock-in-trade were destroyed by the mob, who made an -attack upon his house, this Black Stone was saved. It -appears to be nothing more than a polished piece of cannel -coal; but this is what Butler means when he says:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Kelly did all his feats upon<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The devil's looking glass—a stone.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 325px;"><a name="Illus20" id="Illus20"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image23.jpg" width="325" height="350" alt="Margaret Finch, the Norwood Gipsy." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Margaret Finch, the Norwood Gipsy.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Norwood" id="Norwood">Norwood Gipsies.</a></h3> - - -<p>Two centures ago, Norwood, in Surrey, was celebrated -as the haunt of many of the gipsy-tribe, who in the summertime -pitched their blanket-tents beneath its shady trees. -Thus we find Pepys recording a visit to the place, under the -date of August 11th, 1688:—"This afternoon my wife, and -Mercer, and Deb. went with Pelling to the gipsies at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -Lambeth, and had their fortunes told; but what they did I -did not inquire." [Norwood is in the southern part of -Lambeth parish.]</p> - -<p>From their reputed knowledge of futurity, the Norwood -gipsies were often consulted by the young and credulous. -This was particularly the case some sixty or seventy years -ago, when it was customary among the working class and -servants of London to walk to Norwood on the Sunday -afternoon to have their fortunes told, and also to take -refreshment at the Gipsy House, said to have been first -licensed in the reign of James the First. The house long -bore on its sign-post a painting of the deformed figure of -Margaret Finch, the Queen of the gipsies.</p> - -<p>The register of Beckenham, under the date of October -24th, 1740, records the burial of Margaret Finch, who lived -to the age of 109 years. After travelling over various parts -of the kingdom (during the greater part of a century), she -settled at Norwood, whither her great age and the fame of -her fortune-telling attracted numerous visitors. From a -habit of sitting on the ground, with her chin resting on her -knees, the sinews became so contracted that she could not -rise from that posture. After her death they were obliged -to enclose her body in a deep square box. Her funeral was -attended by two mourning-coaches, a sermon was preached -on the occasion, and a great concourse of people attended -the ceremony. There is an engraved portrait of this gipsy -queen, from a drawing made in 1739.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1815, the gipsies of Norwood were -"apprehended as vagrants, and sent in three coaches to -prison," and this magisterial interference, and the increase -of houses and population, have long since driven the gipsies -from their haunts; but the association is preserved in the -Gipsy Hill station of the Crystal Palace Railway.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Cunning" id="Cunning">"Cunning Mary," of Clerkenwell.</a></h3> - - -<p>Early in the seventeenth century, one Mary Woods, of -Norwich, a person who professed skill in palmistry, came to -London in the way of her vocation, and lodged at the house -of one Crispe, a barber, in Clerkenwell. Having received -such a valuable inmate, the barber soon afterwards removed -"Cunning Mary" and her husband to the more fashionable -neighbourhood of the Strand, and there the barber became -a willing agent in procuring subjects or patients for his -female lodger. One branch of her business consisted in -furnishing ladies who desired to become mothers with charms -and medicines which would assist them in attaining their -end. In the next house to Somerset Place dwelt a Mrs. -Isabel Peel, wife of a tradesman, who to her great grief was -childless. The barber, at his lodger's suggestion, whispered -in her ear, that the very skilful person who was an inmate of -his house could provide her with means to help forward her -desires. An interview was arranged, and by "fair speech -and cozening skill" Mary Woods persuaded Mrs. Peel of -her power, but demanded no less a sum than twenty pounds -for its exercise. In cash, the amount was beyond the -patient's means, but she delivered to her adviser "two lawn -and other wrotte (wrought) wares," and received in return a -small portion of an infallible powder, which the cunning -woman sewed in a little piece of taffeta, and bade the -aspirant after maternity wear it round her neck.</p> - -<p>The news that a woman of such marvellous skill had -come to lodge in Westminster soon spread. Anxious ladies -in many of the neighbouring mansions sent for her, and she -specially got a footing in Salisbury House. Mrs. Jane -Sacheverell, who attended on Lady Cranborne, was one of -her victims. The Countess of Essex had several interviews -with her in the same friendly mansion, and gave her a -diamond ring worth fifty or sixty pounds, sent by her husband -the Earl, out of France, with directions to pawn it, in order<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -to procure a portion of the infallible powder, "which was -very costly." The Countess also bestowed upon Mrs. -Woods "certain pieces of gold worth between thirty and -forty pounds." When the affair was called in question, -Mrs. Woods asserted that the Countess gave her these things -to procure "a kind of poison that would be in a man's body -three or four days without swelling," and that this poison -was to be given to the Earl of Essex. But Mrs. Woods was -an infamous person, whose uncorroborated assertion was -worth nothing, and she had previously mentioned to Mrs. -Peel that her employment by the Countess had relation -merely to the child-giving powder.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Woods possessed other faculties besides those with -reference to which she was consulted by Mrs. Peel and Mrs. -Sacheverell. She could "help" ladies to husbands, and -"cause and procure whom they desired to have, to love -them." On this branch of her business she was consulted -by Mrs. Cooke, Lady Walden's gentlewoman, who gave her -twenty pounds and more, in twenty-shilling pieces of gold; -and, finally, also, by Mrs. Clare, who is described as lying -in the Court at Whitehall, and as being a waiting gentlewoman -in attendance upon the young Lady Windsor. Mrs. -Clare, like several other of the ladies named, had no ready -money, but the fees paid by her were very handsome. They -comprised a standing cup and cover of silver gilt, worth -fourteen pounds; a petticoat of velvet, layed with three -silver laces, that cost forty pounds; and two diamond -rings, the one worth twenty pounds, and the other five -pounds.</p> - -<p>After the bubble had burst, and Cunning Mary absconded -with her plunder, Mrs. Peel says that she "ripped the -taffeta to see what powder it was, and found it but a little -dust swept out of the flower (floor?)."<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Jerusalem" id="Jerusalem">Jerusalem Whalley.</a></h3> - - -<p>Mr. Whalley was elected for Newcastle, 1785, before he -was of age, which was not unusual in Ireland, and sat for it -to 1790, and for Enniscorthy from 1797 to June, 1800. He -acquired the sobriquet of <i>Jerusalem Whalley</i> in consequence -of a bet, said to have been 20,000<i>l.</i>, that he would walk -(except where a sea-passage was unavoidable) to Jerusalem -and back within twelve months. He started September 22, -1788, and returned June 1, 1789.</p> - -<p>Lord Cloncurry describes Whalley as a perfect specimen -of the Irish gentleman of the olden time. Gallant, reckless, -and profuse, he made no account of money, limb, or life, -when a feat was to be won, or a daring deed to be attempted. -He spent a fine fortune in pursuits not more profitable than -his expedition to play ball at Jerusalem; and rendered himself -a cripple for life by jumping from the drawing-room -window of Daly's club-house, in College Green, Dublin, on -to the roof of a hackney-coach which was passing.</p> - -<p>The lawless behaviour of the yeomanry corps which he -commanded obtained for him another and less agreeable -appellation, "Bever-chapel Whalley." His residence in -Stephen's Green was, in 1855, converted into a nunnery. -Sir Jonah Barrington states that 4,000<i>l.</i> was paid to Mr. -Whalley by Mr. Gould, M.P. for Kilbeggan.</p> - -<p>Whalley, "Buck Whalley" as he was sometimes called, -is stated to have been the founder of the Hell-fire Club. -Having a taste for the fine arts, and means to gratify it, he -accumulated a large number of valuable paintings in his -mansion at Stephen's Green, Dublin, of which the following -account has appeared in the <i>Dublin University Magazine</i>:—"In -the centre of the south side of St. Stephen's Green -stands a noble building, with a large stone lion reposing -over the entrance, and finding his legs and tail encroached -on by grass and weeds. This mansion belonged to the -great Buck Whalley, and witnessed many a noble feast and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -mad carouse during the viceroyalty of the Duke of Buckingham. -At last, when all the pleasures that could be procured -on Irish land were tried, and found to result in satiety and -disgust, and his tailor and wine-merchant began to disturb -him, he sought new excitement in his wager that he would -have a game of ball against the walls of Jerusalem; and he -succeeded, as already stated. A bard, who contributed to -a collection of political squibs, entitled, <i>Both Sides of the -Gutter</i>, sang the going forth of the expedition: it is entitled, -<i>Whalley's Embarkation</i>, to the tune of 'Rutland Gigg.'"</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Temperance" id="Temperance">Father Mathew and the Temperance -Movement.</a></h3> - - -<p>No great cause was ever inaugurated with more eccentric -or more genuine fervour than the advocacy of the -Temperance principles by Father Mathew, the Capuchin -Friar. "Here goes in the name of God!" said the Father, -on the 10th of April, 1838, when he pledged his name in -the cause of Temperance, and, together with the Protestant -priest, Charles Duncombe, the Unitarian philanthropist, -Richard Dowden, and the stout Quaker, William Martin, -publicly inaugurated a movement at Cork, destined in a few -years to count its converts by millions, and to spread its -influence as far as the English language was spoken. In -this good work, the habitually impulsive temperament of the -Irish was acted upon for the purest and most beneficial of -purposes; and one element of its success lay in the unselfishness -of the Father, who was himself a serious sufferer -by the results of his philanthropic exertions. A distillery in -the south of Ireland, belonging to his family, and from which -he himself derived a large income, was shut up in consequence -of the disuse of whisky among the lower orders, -occasioned by his preaching. But his "Riverance" was -most unscrupulously tyrannized over by his servant John, -a wizened old bachelor, with a red nose, privately nourished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -by Bacchus; and he was only checked in his evil doings -when the Father, more exasperated than usual, exclaimed, -"John, if you go on in this way, I must certainly leave this -house." On one occasion, there was a frightful smack of -whisky pervading the pure element which graced the board, -which he accounted for by saying he had placed the forbidden -liquid, with which he "cleaned his tins," in the jug -by mistake.</p> - -<p>The Temperance cause prospered, but Father Mathew, -through his eccentric love of giving, found it impossible to -keep out of debt, which ever kept him in thraldom. The -hour of his deepest bitterness was when, while publicly -administering the pledge in Dublin, he was arrested for the -balance of an account due to a medal manufacturer; the -bailiff to whom the duty was entrusted kneeling down among -the crowd, asking his blessing, and then quietly showing him -the writ.</p> - -<p>This is one of the many anecdotes told by Mr. Maguire, -in his admirable Life of Father Mathew, who, we learn from -the same authority, at a large party attempted to make a -convert of Lord Brougham, who resisted, good-humouredly -but resolutely, the efforts of his dangerous neighbour. "I -drink very little wine," said Lord Brougham; "only half-a-glass -at luncheon, and two half glasses at dinner; and -though my medical adviser told me I should increase the -quantity, I refused to do so." "They are wrong, my lord, -for advising you to increase the quantity, and you are wrong -in taking the small quantity you do; but I have my hopes -of you." And so, after a pleasant resistance on the part of -the learned lord, Father Mathew invested his lordship with -the silver medal and ribbon, the insignia and collar of the -Order of the Bath. "Then I will keep it," said Lord -Brougham, "and take it to the House, where I shall be sure -to meet the old Lord —— the worse of liquor, and I will -put it on him." Lord Brougham was as good as his word; -for, on meeting the veteran peer, he said: "Lord ——, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -have a present from Father Mathew for you," and passed -the ribbon quietly over his neck. "Then I'll tell you what -it is, Brougham, by —— I will keep sober for this day," -said his lordship, who kept his word, to the great amusement -of his friends.</p> - - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus21" id="Illus21"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image24.jpg" width="300" height="363" alt="Edward Irving." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Edward Irving.</p> - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Preachers" id="Preachers">Eccentric Preachers.</a></h3> - - -<p>Scores, nay, hundreds of volumes have been gathered -upon the oddities of character which mankind, in all ages,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -have presented to the observant writer who loves to "shoot -folly as it flies." Voltaire has said, "Every country has its -foolish notions.... Let us not laugh at any people;" -and it would be difficult to find any age which has not its -curiosities of character, to be laughed at and turned to still -better account; for, of whatever period we write, something -may be done in the way of ridicule towards turning the -popular opinion. Diogenes owes much of his celebrity to -his contempt of comfort, by living in a tub, and his oddity -of manner. Orator Henley preached from his "gilt tub" -in Clare Market, and thus earned commemoration in the -<i>Dunciad</i>:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Still break the benches, Henley, with thy strain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">While Sherlock, Hare and Gibson preach in vain;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">O, worthy thou of Egypt's wise abodes,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A decent priest, where monkeys were the gods!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But Fate with butchers placed thy priestly stall,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Meek modern faith to murder, hack, and haul.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Eccentricity has its badge and characteristics by which -it gains distinction and notoriety, and which in some cases -serve as a lure to real excellence. The preaching of Rowland -Hill is allowed to have been excellent; but his great -popularity was won by his eccentric manner, and the many -piquant anecdotes and witticisms, and sallies of humour -unorthodox, with which, during his long ministry, he interlarded -his sermons. However, he thought the end justified -the means; and certain it is that it drew very large congregations. -The personal allusions to his wife, which Rowland -Hill is related to have used in the pulpit, were, however, -fictitious, and at which Hill expressed great indignation. "It -is an abominable untruth," he would exclaim; "derogatory -to my character as a Christian and a gentleman. They -would make me out a bear."</p> - -<p>The success of Edward Irving, the popular minister of -the National Scotch Church in London, was of a more -mixed character. It is stated, upon good authority, that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -first chose the stage as a profession, and acted in Ryder's -company, in Kirkaldy, a few miles from Edinburgh, about -fifty-five years since. The obliquity of his vision, his dialect, -and peculiarly awkward gait and manner, created so much -derision, that he left the stage for the pulpit, after about -three months' probation.</p> - -<p>Irving's sermons were not liked at first; and it was not -until he was recognised by Dr. Chalmers that Irving became -popular. But he was turned out of his church, and treated -as a madman, and he died an outcast heretic. "There was -no harm in the man," says a contemporary, "and what -errors he entertained, or extravagancies he allowed in connection -with supposed miraculous gifts, were certain in due -time to burn themselves out." It was not so much the error -of his doctrine as the peculiarity of his manner, the torrent -of his eloquence, his superlative want of tact, that provoked -his enemies, and frightened his friends. The strength of his -faith was wonderful. Once, when he was called to the bedside -of a dying man late at night he went immediately. -Presently he returned, and beckoned one of his friends to -accompany him. The reason was, that he really believed -in the efficacy of prayer, and held to the promise—"If <i>two</i> -of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that ye -shall ask, it shall be done." It was necessary, therefore, -that two should go to the sick man. So, also, he had a -child that died in infancy, to whom he was in the habit of -addressing "words of godliness, to nourish the faith that -was in him." And Irving adds that the patient heed of the -child was wonderful. He really believed that the infant, by -some incomprehensible process, could guess what he was -saying, and profit by it. His love for children was very -great; and he, a very popular man in London, might be -seen, day by day, marching along the streets of Pentonville -of an afternoon, his wife by his side, and his baby in -his arms.</p> - -<p>His sermons had a large sale, going through many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -editions. But Irving complains that, in spite of these large -sales, he could never get the religious publishers to whom -he had entrusted his book to give him anything but a pitiful -return. It is amusing to find him in one letter complaining -that there is neither grace nor honour in the religious booksellers, -and requesting his wife in negotiating the sale of his -next venture to "try Blackwood, or some of these worldlings," -in the evident expectation that "these worldlings" -were a good deal more liberal in their dealings, not to -say honest, than those whom he regarded as his peculiar -friends.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Millenarian" id="Millenarian">Irving a Millenarian.</a></h3> - - -<p>The Millenarians proudly claim the late Edward Irving -as having been one of the most earnest believers in the -personal reign of Christ. In his latter days he was a Millenarian -in the strictest sense of the word. From the year -1827 to 1830, the Millenarianism question was brought -under the notice of thousands of Christians, who, though -remarkable for their knowledge of Scripture on other points, -had never bestowed a single thought on the question of -Christ's personal reign on earth. The cause of this was the -prominence given to it by the Rev. E. Irving, then at the -summit of his popularity. Solely with the generous view of -assisting a Spanish friend, he had, in the previous year, -studied the Spanish language, and had made such progress -as to be able to translate it into English. Just at this time -appeared in Spanish, <i>The Coming of the Messiah in Glory -and Majesty</i>, with which Irving was much struck, as powerfully -expressing his own views on the Millenarian question, -that he at once set to work, and translated it into English. -Its author professed to have been a Jewish convert to -Christianity, and gave the name of Juan Josaphat Ben-Ezra -on the title-page. He was, however, a Spanish priest and a -Jesuit. It is not known whether Mr. Irving was aware of -the fraud which had been thus practised upon the readers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -of the book; he described it as "the chief work of a -master's hand," and "a masterpiece of reasoning," and -"a gift which he had revolved well how he might turn to -profit."</p> - -<p>Irving likewise established <i>The Morning Watch</i> for the -sole purpose of advocating Millenarian views; but the extravagance -of some of the collateral notions which the -preacher intermingled with simple Millenarianism rather impeded -than promoted the object in view. The doctrine, too, of -speaking with tongues, the assertion of the peccability of -Christ's humanity, the zealous advocacy of the opinion that the -power of working miracles was still vested in the Church, and -not the expectation only, but from time to time, the repeated -assertion, most emphatically, that <i>Christ would come immediately -to reign personally on the earth</i>—all these, and other -sentiments no less confidently advanced, and earnestly inculcated -both from Irving's pulpit and through the press, -injured rather than benefited the cause of Millenarianism -among the more sober-minded men in the religious world.</p> - -<p>Moreover, he retained these momentous errors till his -dying hour, and added one more to them. When his -physicians and friends, seeing him in the last stage of -consumption, prepared him in the spirit of affectionate -faithfulness for the solemn event which was at hand, he would -not believe that he was dying, or ever would die, but that -he would be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and in a -transformed body, made unspeakably glorious, be caught up -to heaven. The Millenarians therefore do not strengthen -their cause by quoting the name of Edward Irving as an -authority in favour of their views.</p> - -<p>The intense enthusiasm with which Irving entered into -the notion of a personal reign of Christ on earth is well -described in his Life by Mrs. Oliphant. "The conception," -she says, "of a second advent nearly approaching was -like the beginning of a new life. The thought of seeing his -Lord in the flesh, cast a certain ecstasy on the mind of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -Irving. It quickened tenfold his already vivid apprehension -of spiritual things. The burden of his prophetic mystery, so -often darkly pondered, so often interpreted in a mistaken -sense, seemed to him, in the light of that expectation, to -swell into divine choruses of preparation for the splendid -event which, with his bodily eyes, undimmed by death, he -hoped to behold." It is generally thought that the extravagancies -which, towards the close of his career, proceeded -both from his lips and his pen, were to be traced -to a mind which, through its prophetic studies, had <i>lost its -balance</i>. Yet, to the last, he made many proselytes to his -Millenarian notions.</p> - -<p>Irving originated the idea of Christ, with his saints, remaining -and reigning in the air after he has caught up his -people to meet him there, instead of reigning literally on the -earth. Irving also originated the doctrine of <i>secret rapture</i>, -or the assumption that Christ will come and take up his -people who are alive with him into the air when he raises -the saints who are in their graves, and summons them to -meet him in aerial regions. So deeply did this notion take -possession of many of those who adopted Mr. Irving's -Millenarian views, in conjunction with this other idea—that -<i>Christ's second coming might be</i> looked for at any hour—that -they were as firmly persuaded they would not see death, as -they were of any truth in the Word of God.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Trio" id="Trio">A Trio of Fanatics.</a></h3> - - -<p>The names of Sharp, Bryan, and Brothers will not soon -be forgotten among the so-called prophets of the present -century. The first of this inspired trio was William Sharp, -one of the greatest masters in the English school of engraving; -Bryan was what is termed an irregular Quaker, who had engrafted -sectarian doctrines on an original stock of fervid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -religious feeling; and Richard Brothers, who styled himself -the "Nephew of God," predicted the destruction of all -sovereigns, &c.</p> - -<p>Sharp was, at one time, so infected with wild notions of -political liberty, and so free in his talk, that he was placed -under arrest by the Government and several times examined -before the Privy Council, for the purpose of ascertaining -whether or not, in his speeches or writings, he had committed -himself far enough to be tried with Horne Tooke for high -treason; but Sharp, being a handsome-looking, jocular man, -and too cheerful for a conspirator, the Privy Council came -to a conclusion that the altar and the throne had not much -to fear from him. At one of the examinations, when Mr. -Pitt and Mr. Dundas were present, after he had been worried -with questions, which, Sharp said, had little or nothing to do -with the business, he deliberately took out of his pocket a -prospectus for subscribing to his portrait of General Kociusko, -after West, which he was then engraving; and handing -the paper first to Pitt and Dundas, he requested them to -put their names down as subscribers, and then to give his -prospectus to the other members of the Council for their -names. The singularity of the proposal set them laughing, -and he was soon afterwards liberated.</p> - -<p>Sharp possessed a fraternal regard for Bryan, had him -instructed in copper-plate printing, supplied him with paper, -&c., and enabled him to commence business; but they soon -quarrelled. A strong tide of animal spirits, not unaccompanied -by some intellectual pretensions and shrewdness of insight, -characterized the mind of Jacob Bryan; which, when -religion was launched on it, swelled to enthusiasm, tossed -reason to the skies, or whirled her in mystic eddies. Sharp -found him one morning groaning on the floor, between his -two printing-presses, at his office in Marylebone Street, -complaining how much he was oppressed, by bearing, after -the pattern of the Saviour, part of the sins of the people; -and he soon after had a vision, commanding him to proceed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -to Avignon on a Divine Mission. He accordingly set out -immediately, in full reliance on Divine Providence, leaving -his wife to negotiate the sale of his printing business: thus -Sharp lost his printer, but Bryan kept his faith. The issue -of this mission was so ambiguous, that it might be combined -into an accomplishment of its supposed object, according -as an ardent or a cool imagination was employed on the -subject; but the missionary (Bryan) returned to England, -and then became a dyer, and so much altered, that a few -years after he could even pun upon the suffering and confession -which St. Paul has expressed in his text—"I die -daily."</p> - -<p>The Animal Magnetism of Mesmer and the mysteries of -Emanuel Swedenborg had, by some means or other, in -Sharp's time, become mingled in the imaginations of their -respective or their mutual followers; and Bryan and several -others were supposed to be endowed, though not in the -same degree, with a sort of half-physical and half-miraculous -power of curing diseases, and imparting the thoughts or -sympathies of distant friends. De Loutherbourg, the -painter (one of the disciples), was believed by the sect to -be a very Esculapius in this divine art; but Bryan was held -to be far less powerful, and was so by his own confession. -Sharp had also some inferior pretensions of the same kind, -which gradually died away.</p> - -<p>But, behold! Richard Brothers arose! The Millennium -was at hand! The Jews were to be gathered together, and -were to re-occupy Jerusalem; and Sharp and Brothers were -to march thither with their squadrons! Due preparations -were accordingly made, and boundless expectations were -raised by the distinguished artist. Upon a friend remonstrating -that none of their preparations appeared to be of a marine -nature, and inquiring how the chosen colony were to cross -the seas, Sharp answered, "Oh, you'll see; there'll be an -earthquake, and a miraculous transportation will take place." -Nor can Sharp's faith or sincerity on this point be in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -least distrusted; for he actually engraved two plates of the -prophet Brothers, having calculated that one would not -print the great number of impressions that would be wanted -when the important event should arrive; and he added to -each the following inscription: "Fully believing this to -be the man appointed by God, I engrave his likeness: -W. Sharp." The writing engraver, Smith, put the comma -after the word "appointed," and omitted it in the subsequent -part of the sentence. The mistake was not discovered -until several were worked off; the unrectified impressions -are in great request. Whether this be true, or only a hoax -by Smith to put collectors on a false scent, has not been -ascertained; there is no such impression in the British -Museum. If the reader paused in the place where Sharp -intended, the sentence expressed, "Fully believing this to -be the man appointed by God,"—to do what? to head the -Jews in their predestined march to recover Jerusalem? or -to die in a madhouse? one being expressed as much as the -other.</p> - -<p>Brothers, however, in his prophecy, had mentioned <i>dates</i>, -which were stubborn things. Yet the failure of the accomplishment -of this prophecy may have helped to recommend -"the Woman clothed with the Sun!" who now -arose, as might be thought somewhat <i>mal à propos</i>, in the -West. Such was Joanna Southcote. The Scriptures had -said: "The sceptre shall not depart from Israel, nor a -lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and to -him <i>shall the gathering of my people be</i>." When Brothers -was incarcerated in a madhouse in Clerkenwell, Johanna, -then living in service at Exeter, persuaded herself that she -held converse with the devil, and communion with the Holy -Ghost, by whom she pretended to be inspired. When the -day of dread that was to leave London in ruins, while it -ushered forth Brothers and Sharp on their holy errand, -passed calmly over, the seers of coming events began to -look out for new ground, and to prevaricate most unblushingly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -The <i>days</i> of prophecy, said Sharp, were sometimes -weeks or months; nay, according to one text, a thousand -years were but as a single day, and one day was but as a -thousand years. But he finally clung to the deathbed -prediction of Jacob, supported as it was by the ocular -demonstration of the coming Shiloh. In vain Sir William -Drummond explained that Shiloh was in reality the ancient -Asiatic name of a star in Scorpio; or that Joanna herself -sold for a trifle, or gave away in her loving kindness, the -impression of a trumpery seal, which at the Great Day was -to constitute the discriminating mark between the righteous -and the ungodly. We shall hear more of Sharp in association -with Joanna Southcote, presently.</p> - -<p>Sharp died poor; he earned much money, but his -egregious credulity accounts for its dispersion. He was an -epicure in his living, he grew corpulent, and had gout; he -died of dropsy, at Chiswick, July 25th, 1824, and was -interred in the churchyard of that hamlet, near De Loutherbourg, -for whom, at one period, he entertained much mystic -reverence.</p> - -<p>This great engraver, this William Sharp, was an enthusiast -for human freedom. He engraved, from a liking for the -man, Northcote's portrait of Sir Francis Burdett; and -bestowed unusual care on an engraving after Stothard's -beautiful bistre-drawing of "Boadicea animating the Britons." -For many years preceding his death he was a wholesale -believer in Joanna Southcote; as we have already seen—and -he had implicit faith in mystical doctrines; of his portrait -of Brothers, Horne Tooke well observed, that, coupled -with its extraordinary inscription, it "exhibited one of the -most eminent proofs of human genius and human weakness -ever contained on the same piece of paper."</p> - -<p>Burnet, the engraver, used to relate that Sharp had an -ingenious way of carrying a proof print to a purchaser, in an -umbrella contrived to serve two additional duties—a print-case, -and a walking-stick.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p> - -<p>When John Martin exhibited his picture of Belshazzar's -Feast, Sharp called upon him at his house, introduced -himself, praised his picture, and asked permission to engrave -it. "That I was flattered by a request of the kind from so -great an artist," says Martin, "you will readily imagine; and -I so expressed myself." Sharp felt pleased. "My belief," -said Sharp, "is, that yours is a divine work—an emanation -immediately from the Almighty; and my belief further is, -that while I am engaged on so divine a work, I shall never -die." When Martin told this story, he added, with a smile, -his eyes twinkling with mischief, "Poor Sharp! a wild -enthusiast, but—a masterly engraver."<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> - -<p>Richard Brothers was born at Placentia, in Newfoundland, -and had served in the navy, but resigned his commission, -because, to use his own words, he "conceived the -military life to be totally repugnant to the duties of Christianity, -and he could not conscientiously receive the wages -of plunder, bloodshed, and murder." This step reduced -him to great poverty, and he appears to have suffered much -in consequence. His mind was already shaken, and his -privations and solitary reflections seem at length to have -entirely overthrown it. The first instance of his madness -appears to have been his belief that he could restore sight -to the blind. He next began to see visions and to prophesy, -and soon became persuaded that he was commissioned by -Heaven to lead back the Jews to Palestine. It was in the -latter part of 1794 that he announced, through the medium -of the press, his high destiny. His rhapsody bore the title -of "A revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times, -Book the First. Wrote under the direction of the Lord God, -and published by his sacred command; it being the first -sign of warning for the benefit of all nations. Containing, -with other great and remarkable things, not revealed to any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -other person on earth, the restoration of the Hebrews to -Jerusalem, by the year 1798: under their revealed prince -and prophet." A second part speedily followed, which -purported to relate "particularly to the present time, the -present war, and the prophecy now fulfilling: containing, -with other great and remarkable things, not revealed to any -other person on earth, the sudden and perpetual fall of the -Turkish, German, and Russian Empires." Among many -similar flights in this second part, was one which described -visions revealing to him the intended destruction of London, -and claimed for the prophet the merit of having saved the -city by his intercession with the Deity.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p> - -<p>Brothers gained a great number of partisans, not only -among uneducated persons, but among men of talent. We -have seen Sharp, the engraver, as his devoted disciple. -Among these followers was Mr. Halhed, who had been a -schoolfellow of Sheridan at Harrow; they also had a sort of -literary partnership, and they fell passionately in love with -the same woman, Miss Linley. Halhed was a profound -scholar, a man of wit, and a member of the House of -Commons; he published pamphlets in advocacy of the -prophetic mission of Brothers, and even made a motion in -the House in favour of the prince of the Jews, as Brothers -delegated himself.</p> - -<p>Brothers took more of a political turn than his companions. -He had been a lieutenant in the navy, and during -the years 1792-3-4, greatly disturbed the minds of the -credulous with his <i>prophecies</i>. We have said that he styled -himself the "Nephew of God," and predicted the destruction -of all sovereigns; he also foretold the downfall of the naval -power of Great Britain.</p> - -<p>His writings, founded on erroneous explanations of the -Scriptures, at length made so much noise, that Government<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -found it expedient to interfere, and on the 14th of March, -1795, he was apprehended at his lodgings, No. 58, in -Paddington Street, under a warrant from the Secretary of -State. After a long examination before the Privy Council, -in which Brothers persisted in the divinity of his legation, -he was committed to the custody of a State messenger. On -the 27th he was declared a lunatic, by a jury appointed -under a commission of lunacy, assembled at the King's -Arms, in Palace Yard, and was subsequently removed to a -private madhouse at Islington. While here, he continued -to see visions and to pour forth his rhapsodies in print. -One of these productions was a letter of two hundred pages, -to "Miss Cott, the recorded daughter of King David, and -future Queen of the Hebrews, with an Address to the -Members of His Britannic Majesty's Council." The lady -to whom this letter was addressed had become an inmate -of the same asylum with Brothers, and he became so -enamoured of her, that he discovered her to be "the -recorded daughter of both David and Solomon," and his -spouse "by divine ordinance." Brothers was subsequently -removed to Bedlam; but in the year 1806 was discharged -by the authority of Lord Chancellor Erskine. He died in -Upper Baker Street, on the 25th of January, 1824. He -was seen in the street a few days before his death, walking -with great difficulty, and apparently in the last stage of -consumption. It is recorded that the minister who attended -Brothers in his last moments died of a broken heart; and -the medical man under whose care he had been confined, -committed suicide.</p> - -<p>Brothers appears to have unwittingly suggested to Coleridge -and Southey the clever poem of the <i>Devil's Walk</i>, by -the mad prophet asserting that he had seen the devil walk -leisurely into London one day!</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Spenceans" id="Spenceans">The Spenceans.</a></h3> - - -<p>Early in the present century there arose in the metropolis -a religio-political sect, which took its name from an itinerant -bookseller, named T. Spence, who formed a sort of Constitution -on the principle that "all human beings are equal -by nature and before the law, and have a continual and -<i>inalienable property</i> in the earth and in its natural productions;" -and consequently that "<i>every man, woman, and -child</i>, whether born in wedlock or not (for Nature and -Justice know nothing of illegitimacy), is entitled quarterly -to an equal share of the rents of the parish where they have -settled." This he called "the Constitution of <i>Spensonia</i>;" -and the Abstract from which we have quoted he called "A -Receipt to make a <i>Millennium</i>, or Happy World." By this -reference and by some allusions to the Jewish economy, he -also gave his system a slight connection with religion—but -it was very slight; for he neither regarded the precepts of -the moral law, nor the doctrines of the Gospel. He -admitted, however, of a Sabbath every fifth day; but only -as a day of rest and amusement—not for any purposes of -devotion. A scheme somewhat similar to the above was -formed in the time of the English Commonwealth, and it is -probable Spence may have borrowed his system partly from -that source.</p> - -<p>Spence was punished for his vagaries; for, in 1801, he -was sentenced to pay a fine of 50<i>l.</i> and to suffer twelve -months' imprisonment for publishing <i>Spence's Restorer of -Society</i>, which was deemed a seditious libel. Spence died -in October, 1814.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus22" id="Illus22"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image25.jpg" width="300" height="350" alt="Joanna Southcote." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Joanna Southcote.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Joanna" id="Joanna">Joanna Southcote, and the Coming of Shiloh.</a></h3> - - -<p>This "dropsical old woman," Joanna Southcote, was a -native of Exeter, and was born in April, 1750. She was -employed chiefly in that city as a domestic servant, and up -to the age of forty or thereabout, she seems to have aspired -to no higher occupation. But having joined the Methodists, -and become acquainted with one Saunderson, who laid claim -to the spirit of prophecy, the notion of a like pretension was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> -gradually communicated to Joanna. She wrote prophecies, -and she dictated prophecies, sometimes in prose and sometimes -in rhymed doggerel; her influence extended, and the -number of her followers increased; she announced herself -as the woman spoken of in the 12th chapter of Revelation, -and obtained considerable sums by the sale of <i>seals</i>, which -were to secure the salvation of those who purchased them. -Her confidence increased with her reputation, and she -challenged the bishop and clergy of Exeter to a public investigation -of her miraculous powers, but they treated her -challenge with contemptuous neglect, which she and her -converts imputed to fear.</p> - -<p>By degrees, Exeter became too narrow a stage for her -performances, and she came to London on the invitation -and at the expense of Sharp, the eminent engraver. She -was very illiterate, but wrote numerous letters and pamphlets, -and her prophecies, nearly unintelligible as they were, had a -large sale. In the course of her Mission, as she called it, -promising a speedy approach of the Millennium, she employed -a boy, who pretended to see visions, and attempted, -instead of writing, to adjust them on the walls of her chapel, -"the House of God," a large building which adjoined the -Elephant and Castle Inn, at Newington Butts. A schism -took place among her followers, one of whom, named -Carpenter, took possession of the place, and wrote against -her; not denying her Mission, but asserting that she had -exceeded it.</p> - -<p>It may, however, be interesting here to describe what -may be termed the <i>modus operandi</i> of the delusion. Great -pains were now taken to ascertain the truth of her commission. -"From the end of 1792," says Mr. Sharp, who, we -have already seen, was the most devout of her believers, -"to the end of 1794, her writings were sealed up with great -caution, and remained secure till they were conveyed by me -to High House, Paddington; and the box which contained -them was opened in the beginning of January, 1803. Her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -writings were examined during seven days, and the result of -this long scrutiny was the unanimous decision of twenty-three -persons <i>appointed by divine command</i>, as well as of -thirty-five others that were present, <i>that her calling was of -God</i>." They came to this conclusion from the fulfilment -of the prophecies contained in these writings, and to which -she appealed with confidence and triumph. It was a curious -circumstance, however, that her handwriting was illegible. -Her remark on this occasion was, "This must be, to -fulfil the Bible. Every vision that John saw in Heaven -must take place on earth; and here is the sealed book, that -no one can read!"</p> - -<p>A protection was provided for all those who subscribed -their names as volunteers, for the destruction of Satan's -kingdom. To every subscriber a folded paper was delivered, -endorsed with his name, and secured with the impression -of Joanna's seal in red wax; this powerful talisman consisted -of a circle enclosing the two letters J. C., with a star -above and below, and the following words, "The sealed of -the Lord, the Elect, Precious, Man's Redemption, to inherit -the tree of life, to be made heirs of God and joint-heirs -of Jesus Christ." The whole was authenticated by the -signature of the prophetess in her illegible characters, and -the person thus provided was said to be <i>sealed</i>. Conformably, -however, to the 7th chapter of the Revelation, the -number of those highly protected persons was not to exceed -144,000.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p> - -<p>Early in her last year, she secluded herself from male -society, and fancied that she was with child—by the Holy -Spirit!—that she was to bring forth the Shiloh promised -by Jacob Bryan, and which she pretended was to be the -second appearance of the Messiah! This child was to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -born before the end of harvest, on the 19th of October, 1814, -at midnight, as she was certain it was impossible for her to -survive undelivered till Christmas. The harvest, however, -was ended, and Christmas came, without the fulfilment of -her predictions. Some months previously, Joanna had declared -her pretended situation, and invited the opinion of -the faculty. Several medical men admitted her pregnancy, -others doubted; and some, among whom was Dr. Sims, -denied it. There was, indeed, the external appearance of -pregnancy; and, in consequence, the enthusiasm of her -followers, who are said to have amounted at that time to -no fewer than one hundred thousand, was greatly excited. -An expensive cradle was made, and considerable sums were -contributed, in order to have other things prepared in a -style worthy of the expected Shiloh. Among the costly -presents made to her was a Bible which cost 40<i>l.</i>, and the -superb cot or cradle 200<i>l.</i>, besides a richly-embroidered -coverlid, &c.</p> - -<p>It was now deemed necessary, to satisfy certain worldly -doubts, that medical men should be called in to give a professional -opinion as to the fact, from a consideration of all -the symptoms, and without reference to miraculous agency. -One of these gentlemen, Mr. Mathias, appearing incredulous -of Joanna's pregnancy, was asked "if he would believe when -he saw the infant at the breast?" He protested against a -question so blasphemous; but his further attendance was -dispensed with, as she had been answered, "that he had -drawn a wrong judgment of her disorder." Mr. Mathias, -too, let out some strange information, showing that Joanna -passed much of her time in bed, ate much and often, and -prayed never; but to keep up the delusion that she was -with child, she, like other ladies in that situation, had longings. -On one occasion she longed for asparagus, and ate -one hundred and sixty heads, at no small cost, before she -allayed her liking.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p> - -<p>Dr. Richard Reece<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> was now consulted by Joanna as to -her pregnancy. He was not a proselyte to her religious -views, but is thought to have been deceived by her symptoms, -and declared to a deputation of her followers his belief of -her being pregnant by some means or other. As her supposed -time of deliverance approached, Joanna fell ill, and -began to doubt her inspiration, most probably by her fears -awakening her conscience; and as Dr. Reece continued in -attendance, he witnessed the following scene:—"Five or -six of her friends, who were waiting in an adjoining room, -being admitted into her bedchamber, she desired them," -says Dr. Reece, "to be seated round her bed; when, -spending a few minutes in adjusting the bed-clothes with -seeming attention, and placing before her a white handkerchief, -she addressed them in the following words: 'My -friends, some of you have known me nearly twenty-five -years, and all of you not less than twenty; when you have -heard me speak of my prophecies, you have sometimes -heard me say that I doubted my inspiration; but at the -same time, you would never let me despair. When I have -been alone, it has often appeared delusion; but when the -communication was made to me, I did not in the least -doubt. Feeling, as I now do feel, that my dissolution is -drawing near, and that a day or two may terminate my life,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -it all appears delusion.' She was by this exertion quite -exhausted, and wept bitterly."</p> - -<p>"On reviving in a little time, she observed, that it was -very extraordinary, that after spending all her life in investigating -the Bible, it should please the Lord to inflict -that heavy burden on her. She concluded this discourse -by requesting that everything on this occasion might be -conducted with decency. She then wept; and all her -followers present seemed deeply affected, and some of them -shed tears. 'Mother,' said one (it is believed Mr. Howe), -'we will commit your instructions to paper, and rest -assured they shall be conscientiously followed.' They were -accordingly written down with much solemnity, and signed -by herself, with her hand placed on the Bible in the bed. -This being finished, Mr. Howe again observed to her, -'Mother, your feelings are <i>human</i>; we know that you are -a favourite woman of God, and that you will produce the -promised child; and whatever you may say to the contrary -will not diminish our faith.' This assurance revived -her, and the scene of crying was changed with her to -laughter."</p> - -<p>Mr. Howe was not the only one of her disciples whose -sturdy belief was not to be shaken by the most discouraging -symptoms. Colonel Harwood, a zealous believer, -entreated Dr. Reece not to retract his opinion as to -her pregnancy, though the latter now saw the folly and -absurdity of it; and when the Colonel approached the bed -on which Joanna was about to expire, and she said to him, -"What does the Lord mean by this? I am certainly dying;" -he replied, smiling, "No, no, you will not die; or if you -should, you will return again."</p> - -<p>About ten weeks before Christmas she was confined to -her bed, and took very little sustenance, until pain and -sickness greatly reduced her. On the night of the 19th of -October, a very large number of persons assembled in the -street where she lived—Manchester Street, Manchester<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -Square<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a>—to hear the announcement of the looked-for -advent; but the hour of midnight passed over, and the -crowd were only induced to disperse by being informed that -Joanna had fallen into a trance.</p> - -<p>Mr. Want, a surgeon, had warned her of her approaching -end; but she insisted that all her sufferings were only -preparatory to the birth of the Shiloh. At last she admitted -the possibility of a temporary dissolution, and expressly -ordered that means should be taken to preserve warmth in -her for four days, after which she was to revive and be -delivered. On December 27th, 1814, she actually died, in -her sixty-fifth year, she having previously declared that if -she was deceived, she was, at all events, misled by some -spirit, either good or evil. In four days after, she was -opened in the presence of fifteen medical men, when it was -demonstrated that she was not pregnant, and that her complaint -arose from bile and flatulency, from indulgence and -want of exercise. In her last hour she was attended by -Ann Underwood, her secretary; Mr. Tozer, who was called -her high priest; Colonel Harwood, and some other persons -of property; and so determined were her followers to be -deceived, that neither death nor dissection could convince -them of their error. The silencing of her preacher, Tozer, -and shutting up of the chapel which he had opened, had -by no means diminished the number of her believers.</p> - -<p>While the surgeons were investigating the causes of her -death, and the mob were gathering without-doors, in -anticipation of a riot or a miracle, Sharp, the engraver, -continued to maintain that she was not dead, but entranced. -And, at a subsequent period, when he was sitting to Mr. -Haydon for his portrait, he predicted to the painter, that Joanna -would reappear in the month of July 1822. "But suppose -she should not?" said Haydon. "I tell you she will,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -retorted Sharp; "but if she would not, nothing should -shake my faith in her Divine Mission." And those who -were near Sharp's person during his last illness, state that -in this belief he died. Even when she was really dead, the -same blind confidence remained. Mrs. Townley, with whom -she had lived, said cheerfully, "she would return to life, -for it had been foretold twenty years before."</p> - -<p>Mr. Sharp also asserted that the soul of Joanna would -return, it having gone to heaven to legitimate the child which -would be born. Though symptoms of decomposition arose, -Mr. Sharp still persisted in keeping the body hot, according -to the directions which she had given on her death-bed, in -the hope of a revival. Dr. Reece having remarked that if -the ceremony of her marriage continued two days longer, -the tenement would not be habitable on her return, "The -greater will be the miracle," said Mr. Sharp. Consent at -last was given to inspect the body, and all the disciples -stood round, smoking tobacco. Their disappointment was -excessive at finding nothing to warrant the long cherished -opinion, but their faith remained immovable.</p> - -<p>Her corpse was removed on the 31st of December to an -undertaker's in Oxford Street, where it remained till the -interment. On the 2nd of January, 1815, it was carried in -a hearse, so remarkably plain, as to have the appearance of -one returning from rather than proceeding to church; it -was accompanied by one coach equally plain, in which -were three mourners. In this manner they proceeded to the -new cemetery adjoining St. John's Wood Chapel, with such -secrecy, that there was scarcely a person in the ground -unconnected with it. A fourth person arrived as the body -was being borne to the grave; this was supposed to be -Tozer. The grave was taken, and notice given of the -funeral, under the name of Goddard. Neither the minister -of St. John's, who read the service, nor any of the subordinate -persons belonging to the chapel, were apprised of -the real name about to be buried, till the funeral reached the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -ground. The grave is on the west side, opposite No. 44 on -the wall, and twenty-six feet from it, where is a flat stone -with this inscription:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">"In memory of<br /> -<span class="smcap">Joanna Southcote</span>,<br /><br /> - -who departed this life December 27, 1814, aged 65 years.<br /> -While through all thy wondrous days,<br /> -Heaven and earth enraptur'd gazed,<br /> -While vain Sages think they know<br /> -Secrets Thou Alone canst show;<br /> -Time alone will tell what hour<br /> -Thou'lt appear to 'Greater' Power.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sabineus.</i>"</p> - -<p>On a black marble tablet, let into the wall opposite to -the above spot, is the following inscription, in gilt letters:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"Behold the time shall come, that these Tokens which I have told -Thee, shall come to pass, and the Bride shall Appear, and She coming -forth, shall be seen, that now is withdrawn from the Earth."</p> - -<p style="text-align: right">2nd of Esdras, chap. 7, verse 26.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"For the Vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall -speak, and Not Lie, though it tarry, Wait for it; Because it will surely -come, it will not tarry."</p> - -<p style="text-align: right; margin-bottom: 1em;">Habakkuk, chap. ii. ver. 3d.</p> - -<p>"And whosoever is delivered from the Foresaid evils, shall see My -Wonders."</p> - - -<p style="text-align: right; margin-bottom: 1em;">2nd of Esdras, chap. 7th, ver. 27th.</p> - -<p class="center">(<i>See her writings.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center">This Tablet was Erected,<br /> -By the sincere friends of the above,<br /> -Anno Domini, 1828. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The number of Joanna's followers continued to be very -great for many years after her death: they believed that -there would be a resurrection of her body, and that she was -still to be the mother of the promised Shiloh.</p> - -<p>The Southcotonians also still met and committed various -extravagancies. In 1817 a part of the disciples, conceiving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -themselves directed by God to proclaim the coming of the -Shiloh on earth, for this purpose marched in procession -through Temple Bar, when the leader sounded a brazen -trumpet, and declared the coming of Shiloh, the Prince of -Peace; while his wife shouted, "Wo! wo! to the inhabitants -of the earth, because of the coming of Shiloh!" The crowd -pelted the fanatics with mud, some disturbance ensued, and -some of the disciples were taken into custody, and had to -answer for their conduct before a magistrate. A considerable -number of the sect appear to have remained in Devonshire, -Joanna's native county.</p> - -<p>The whole affair was one of the most monstrous delusions -of our time. "It is not long since," says Sir Benjamin -Brodie, in his <i>Psychological Inquiries</i>, 3rd edition, "no small -number of persons, and not merely those belonging to -the uneducated classes, were led to believe that a dropsical -old woman was about to be the mother of the real Shiloh." -The writer, however, adds that Joanna was "not altogether -an impostor, but in part the victim of her own imagination."</p> - -<p>A small square volume of Southcotonian hymns was -published, entitled, "Hymns or Spiritual Songs," composed -from the prophetical writings of Joanna Southcote, by P. -Pullen, and published by her order. "And I saw an angel," -&c.—Rev. xx. 1, 2. The "Little Flock" are thus addressed -by their "Poet Laureat:"—"By permission of our 'spiritual -mother, Johanna Southcote,' I have composed the following -hymns from her prophetic writings; and should you feel -that pleasure in singing them to the honour and glory of -God, for the establishment of <i>her blessed kingdom</i>, and the -destruction of Satan's power, as I have felt in the perusal -of her writings, I am fully persuaded that they will ultimately -tend to your everlasting happiness, and I hope and trust to -the speedy completion of what we ardently long and daily -pray for, namely, '<span class="smcap">HIS KINGDOM</span> <i>to come, that</i> HIS <i>will may -be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that we may be delivered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -from evil</i>;' that that blessed prayer may be soon, very soon -fulfilled, is the earnest desire of your fellow labourer, Philip -Pullen. London, 16th September, 1807."</p> - -<p>"The reader of these Hymns," says a Correspondent of -<i>Notes and Queries</i>, "will not feel the spiritual elevation -spoken of by Mr. Pullen, unless, perhaps, he has, like him, -drunk at that fountain-head, <i>i.e.</i> studied the 'prophetic -writings:' the songs for the now 'scattered sheep' being -rhapsodical to a degree, and intelligible only to such an -audience as that some of your sexagenarian readers may -have found assembled under the roof of the 'House of God.' -The leading titles to these Hymns are, 'True Explanations -of the Bible,' 'Strange Effects of Faith,' 'Words in Season,' -'Communications and Visions,' not published, 'Cautions to -the Sealed,' 'Answers to the Books of Garrett and Brothers,' -'Rival Enthusiasts,' and such like. Pullen, their poet, was -formerly a schoolmaster, and afterwards an accountant in -London, and is called by Upcott, in his <i>Dictionary of Living -Authors</i>, 1816, an empiric.</p> - -<p>"A couplet in the first hymn bears an asterisk, intimating -that it is published at the particular request of Johanna -Southcote; it is short, and will afford at once a specimen -of the poetical <i>calibre</i> of the volume, and the pith of the -'Spiritual Mother's' views:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"<i>To</i> <span class="smcap">Father</span>, <span class="smcap">Son</span>, <i>and</i> <span class="smcap">Holy Ghost</span>,<br /></span> -<span class="i2"><i>One</i> <span class="smcap">God</span> <i>in power</i> <span class="smcap">THREE</span>,<br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>Bring back the ancient world that's lost</i><br /></span> -<span class="i2"><i>To all mankind—and me</i>."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Joanna Southcote published many pamphlets, and one -of her disciples, Elias Carpenter, issued several curious and -mystical tracts. The lists of these publications are too -long to be quoted here. Probably the most complete -collection preserved of the extraordinary productions by and -relating to this wonderful imposture, was that made by Sir -Francis Freeling, together with cuttings from all the newspapers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -and bound in 7 vols. 8vo, 1803 to 1815. The -titles of the principal tracts fill a page of Thorpe's Catalogue, -Part III., 1850. For another very rare collection, in 6 -vols., 8vo, see J. C. Hotten's Catalogue for October 1858. -Perhaps the most tangible explanation attempted of Joanna -Southcote's mission is that by Carpenter, in the <i>Missionary -Magazine</i>, 1814. To Carpenter is attributed the following -anonymous work, "The Extraordinary Cure of a Piccadilly -Patient, or Dr. Reece physicked by Six Female Physicians, -1815."</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 375px;"><a name="Illus23" id="Illus23"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image26.jpg" width="375" height="144" alt="Joanna Southcote Signature and Logo." /> -</a></div> - -<blockquote> -<p style="text-align: right">Leeds: August 20, 1809.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Mr. Urban,—Herewith you receive the original seal with which -that miserable enthusiast, Joanna Southcott, imposed on the husband of -Mary Bateman, the wicked wretch who was lately tried and executed at -this place, for the murder of a woman named Perigo. It was found in -their cottage when she was taken into custody. The words are as -follow:—</p> - - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">John Bateman,<br /> -The<br /> -Sealed of the Lord.<br /><br /> -The Elect precious; Man's Redemption;<br /> -To inherit the tree of life; to be made<br /> -Heirs of God and Joint Heirs with<br /> -Jesus Christ.<br /><br /> -Joanna Southcott<br /> -Feb. 12, 1806.<br /></p> -</blockquote> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Mormonism" id="Mormonism">The Founder of Mormonism.</a></h3> - - -<p>Joseph Smith, "the Prophet," has left to the world a -short sketch of himself and his system of Mormonism, which -is one of the most remarkable movements of modern times. -He was born in the State of Vermont, in 1805, and was -brought up to husbandry. When about fourteen years old -he began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared -for a future state, and inquiring into the plan of salvation. -He tells us:—"I retired to a secret place in a grove, and -began to call upon the Lord. While fervently engaged in -supplication, my mind was taken away from the objects with -which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapt in a heavenly -vision, and saw two glorious personages, who exactly resembled -each other in feature and likeness, surrounded with -a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noonday. They -told me that all the religious sects were believing in incorrect -doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God -as his Church and Kingdom. And I was expressly commanded -to <i>go not after them</i>, at the same time receiving a -promise that the fulness of the Gospel should at some future -time be made known to me."</p> - -<p>This "fulness of the Gospel" was that revealed in -<i>The Book of Mormon</i>, of the discovery of which and its -contents he says:—"On the evening of the 21st of September, -<span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1823, while I was praying unto God and endeavouring -to exercise faith in the precious promises of Scripture, on a -sudden, a light like that of day, only of a far purer and more -glorious appearance and brightness, burst into the room; -indeed, the first sight was as though the house was filled -with consuming fire. The appearance produced a shock -that affected the whole body. In a moment, a personage -stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than -that with which I was already surrounded. The messenger -proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> -joyful tidings, that the covenant which God made with -ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled; that the preparatory -work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily -to commence; that the time was at hand for the Gospel in -all its fulness to be preached in power unto all nations, that -a people might be prepared for the Millenial reign.</p> - -<p>"I was informed also concerning the aboriginal inhabitants -of this country (America), and shown who they were -and from whence they came; a brief sketch of their origin, -progress, civilisation, laws, governments, of their righteousness -and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally -withdrawn from them as a people, was made known unto -me. I was also told where there were deposited some plates, -on which was engraven an abridgment of the records of the -ancient prophets that had existed on this continent. The -angel appeared to me three times the same night, and unfolded -the same things. After having received many visits -from the angels of God, unfolding the majesty and glory of -the events that should transpire in the last days, on the -morning of the 22nd of September, 1827, the angel of the -Lord delivered the records into my hands.</p> - -<p>"These records were engraven on plates which had the -appearance of gold; each plate was six inches wide and -eight inches long, and not quite so thick as common tin. -They were filled with engravings in Egyptian characters, -and bound together in a volume, as the leaves of a book, -with three rings running throughout the whole: it was partly -sealed. With the records was found a curious instrument, -which the ancients called <i>Urim and Thummim</i>, which -consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim on a bow -fastened to a breastplate. Through the medium of the <i>Urim -and Thummim</i> I translated the record by the gift and power -of God.</p> - -<p>"In this important and interesting book, the history of -ancient America is unfolded from its first settlement by a -colony that came from the Tower of Babel, at the confusion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -of languages, to the beginning of the fifth century of the -Christian era."</p> - -<p>It should here be noticed that the Prophet's account of -his early life, before the appearance of the angel and the -discovery of the plates, is remarkably vague. He had been -very rudely educated, and for some time got a living by -trying for mineral veins by a divining rod; and some affirm -that, like Sidrophel, he used "the devil's looking-glass—a -stone," and was consulted as to the discovery of hidden -treasures, whence he had come to be commonly known as -the "money-digger;" and on one occasion he had been, at -the instigation of a disappointed client, imprisoned as a -vagabond. He is also stated to have carried off and -married a Miss Hales, during the interval between the first -angelic visitation and the discovery of the plates of Nephi.</p> - -<p>As to the <i>Book of Mormon</i> itself, the authorship has -been claimed for one Solomon Spalding, a Presbyterian -preacher, who, having fallen into poverty, composed a religious -romance, entitled <i>The Manuscript Found</i>, which professed -to be a narrative of the migration of the Lost Tribes -of Israel from Jerusalem to America, and their subsequent -adventures on the continent. The work was written but -Spalding could not find anyone who would print it, and ten -years after his death, the manuscript was carried by his -widow to New York, and was stolen by, or somehow got -into the hands of, Smith, or his early associate, Rigdon. -There is nothing in the book to contradict the supposition -that it is the work of Smith himself—for as to its being a -divine revelation, the most cursory examination of the book -will convince an educated man of the utter improbability of -that, if its possibility were otherwise conceivable. Be the -author who he may, Smith having obtained the book—whether -from Solomon Spalding's travelling-chest, his own -brain, or the stone-box which the angel discovered to him—thought -it behoved him to make his treasure known. At -first he told the members of his own and his father's household,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> -and they believed the truth of his mission and the -reality of the gift. But, he says: "As soon as the news of -this discovery was made known, false reports, misrepresentations, -and slander flew, as on the wings of the wind, in -every direction. My house was frequently beset by mobs -and evil-designing persons; several times I was shot at, and -very narrowly escaped; and every device was made to get -the plates away from me, but the power and blessing of -God attended me, and several began to believe my testimony."</p> - -<p>Among these was a farmer, Martin Harris, whom Smith -persuaded to convert his stock into money in order to assist -in printing the book. But Harris wished first to consult -some scholar, and Smith entrusted him with a copy of a portion -of one of the golden plates to carry to New York. -Harris took the copy to Dr. Anthon, who was unable to -make out the characters, which he described to be "reformed -Egyptian"—and this is one of the proofs "cited by Mormonite -teachers of the authenticity of the book." But Dr. Anthon's -account is very different: he tells us that from the first he -considered the work an imposture, and his account of it is -the only description which has been published, and is as -follows:—"The paper was a singular scrawl. It consisted of -all kinds of crooked characters disposed in columns, and had -evidently been prepared by some person who had before -him at the time a book containing various alphabets. Greek -and Hebrew letters, crosses and flourishes, Roman letters -inverted or placed sidewise, were arranged in perpendicular -columns, and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a circle -divided into various compartments, decked with various -strange marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican calendar, -given by Humboldt, but copied in such a way as not to -betray the source whence it was derived."</p> - -<p>No sooner was the discovery published than the faithful -as well as unbelievers flocked to obtain a sight of the marvellous -plates, and the prophet and his mother were driven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -to great shifts to conceal them. At length it was revealed -to Smith that the desired sight should be vouchsafed to three -witnesses, whose "testimony" is prefixed to every printed -copy of the <i>Book of Mormon</i>. These witnesses aver, in -their strange language, "that an angel of God came down -from heaven, and he brought and lay before our eyes, that -we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon." -But a more specific testimony was given by eight other witnesses, -to whom Smith was permitted to show the plates. -Mrs. Smith says that these eight men went with Joseph into -a secret place, "where the family were in the habit of offering -up their secret devotions. They went to this place -because it had been revealed to Joseph that the plates would -be carried by one of the ancient Nephites. Here it was that -these eight witnesses, whose names are recorded in the <i>Book -of Mormon</i>, looked upon and handled them." The witnesses -themselves say:—"We have seen and hefted, and know of -a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we -have spoken." Of these eight witnesses, three were members -of Smith's own family. After these witnesses had seen the -plates, Mrs. Smith tells us, "the angel again made his appearance -to Joseph, at which time Joseph delivered up the plates -into the angel's hands;" and Joseph himself says:—"He -(the angel) has them in charge to this day;" thus disposing -of any demand to see the original plates. Smith carried on -the process of <i>translating the plates</i> by retiring behind a -screen, where he read the plates though the "curious instrument -called the Urim and Thummim," while a scribe outside -the screen wrote as he dictated.</p> - -<p><i>The Book of Mormon</i> was published in 1830. In the -previous year Smith and his scribe had been baptized by an -angel, and power given them to baptize others.</p> - -<p>Smith may now carry on the narrative. On April 6, 1830, -"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" was first -organized in Manchester, Ontario county, State of New York. -Some few were called and ordained by the spirit of revelation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -and prophecy, and began to preach as the Spirit gave them -utterance, and though weak, yet they were strengthened by the -power of God; and many were brought to repentance, were -immersed in the water, and were filled with the Holy Ghost -by the laying on of hands. They saw visions and prophesied, -devils were cast out, and the sick healed by the laying-on of -hands. From that time the work rolled forth with astonishing -rapidity, and churches were formed in the States of New -York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. -In the last named State, a considerable settlement was formed -in Jackson county. Great numbers joined the Church; -"we made large purchases of land, our farms teemed with -plenty, and peace and happiness were enjoyed in our domestic -circle and throughout our neighbourhood; but, as we could -not associate with our neighbours—who were many of them -of the basest of men, and had fled from the face of civilized -society to the frontier country to escape the hands of -justice—in their midnight revels, their Sabbath-breaking, -horse-racing, they commenced at first to ridicule, then to -persecute; and finally an organized mob assembled and -burnt our houses, tarred and feathered, and whipped many -of our brethren [Smith himself was tarred and feathered], -and finally drove them from their habitations; these, -houseless and homeless, contrary to law, justice, and -humanity, had to wander on the bleak prairies till the -children left their blood on the prairie. This took place in -November, 1833." The Government, he says, "winked -at these proceedings, and the result was that a great many -of them died; many children were left orphans; wives, -widows; and husbands, widowers. Our farms were taken -possession of by the mob, many thousands of cattle, sheep, -horses, and hogs were taken, and our household goods, store -goods, and printing-presses were broken, taken, or otherwise -destroyed."</p> - -<p>Driven from Jackson, the Mormonites settled in Clay -county, and being threatened with violence, removed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -Caldwell and Davies counties. Here their numbers rapidly -increased; but troubles again came upon them; their bank -failed, and Smith was obliged to conceal himself; and finally, -by an "extraordinary order" of the Governor of Missouri, in -1838, they were violently ejected from their homes, plundered -of their goods, and subjected, the women especially, to -the most frightful atrocities.</p> - -<p>Being thus expelled from Missouri, they settled in -Illinois, and in 1839, on the Mississippi, laid the foundation -of their famous city, Nauvoo, or <i>the Beautiful</i>, which was -incorporated in 1840. Smith dwells with great delight on -this city, which he had seen rise up under his presidency -from a wild tract to be a place of "1,500 well-built houses, -and more than 15,000 inhabitants, all looking to him for -temporal as well as spiritual guidance." He describes as -provided for—"the University of Nauvoo, where all the arts -and sciences will grow with the growth and strengthen with -the strength of this beloved city of the Saints of the Last -Days." But the grand feature of the city was the Great -Temple, which Smith thus sketches: "The Temple of God, -now in the course of erection, being already raised one -story, and which is 120 feet by 80 feet, of stone with -polished pilasters, of an entire new order of architecture, -will be a splendid house for the worship of God, as well as -an unique wonder of the world, it being built by the direct -revelation of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the living and -the dead."</p> - -<p>The progress of Nauvoo was even more rapid than that -of any of the preceding places. Dangers of various kinds -beset Smith, but he escaped from them all; and by a provision -in the city charter, formed an independent civic -militia, of which he was lieutenant-general: and he consolidated -his spiritual government, and made careful provision -for an ample succession of hardy as well as zealous missionaries. -But Smith becoming embroiled with the civil -authority of the State, got up a sort of social scheme of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -own, and was actually in 1844 nominated for President. -The storm now gathered around him; the "gentile" inhabitants -of Nauvoo, who had always been most troublesome, -supported by some of the dissatisfied among the -saints, established an opposition newspaper, which denounced -the morals of the Prophet, as well as his system of -government; the city council condemned the newspaper to -silence; and a mob broke into the office and destroyed the -presses. The proprietors charged some of the Mormon -leaders with inciting the mob to this act, and they were -arrested, but set at liberty. The injured parties now carried -their complaint to the Governor of Illinois, who had long -been waiting for a legal opportunity to crush the power of -Smith; he was arrested on a charge of treason and sedition, -June 24th, 1844. He put Nauvoo into a state of defence, -and his militia was drawn out; but to avoid bloodshed, on -the approach of the State troops, Smith surrendered, on a -promise of safety till his legal trial; and he, with others, was -committed to Carthage jail. A guard, small in number, and -purposely chosen from among Smith's declared enemies, was -set over them; but on the 27th of June, a mob of about two -hundred armed ruffians broke into the jail, and firing at the -door of the room, shot Smith's brother Hyram dead at once. -Joseph Smith attempted to escape by the window, but was -knocked down, carried out, and shot. His dying exclamation -is said to have been, "O Lord my God." His body -was given up to his friends, and buried with great solemnity.</p> - -<p>Smith had estimated his followers at 150,000, from -among almost every civilized people on the face of the -earth. He had become intoxicated with power and prosperity, -and was lustful and intemperate. In the Mormon -creed, polygamy is not referred to; though there is no -doubt that in the last year of Smith's life this was one of the -charges brought against the Mormonites. Still, the doctrine -of a <i>plurality of wives</i> was never openly taught until after -Smith's death, and if he proclaimed it at all, he confined the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -revelation to the initiated. He is said, however, to have -sealed to himself "<i>plural wives</i>," as the Mormons express it, -about two years before his death; and the privilege may -have been accorded to some of the chief of his followers.</p> - -<p>He was still regarded as the glorified prophet and -martyr. In Nauvoo the popular cry was for revenge, but -this was changed to forbearance. Brigham Young was -elected as Smith's successor; and he removed his people -beyond the farthest settlements of his countrymen, convinced -that only in a country far distant from societies living -under the established forms, could the vision of the Prophet -stand a chance of realization. They were allowed by their -enemies to finish their beautiful temple; and this being -accomplished in September, 1846, the last band of the -brethren departed from the land of their hopes to seek a -new land of promise.</p> - -<p>They chose the site of their new city beyond the Great -Salt Lake, in the territory of Utah, to be their appointed -Zion, principally governed by the maxims of the Mormon -leaders, and Brigham Young, the Mormon prophet. We -may here state briefly that the Mormons profess to be a -separate people, living under a patriarchal dispensation, -with prophets, elders, and apostles, who have the rule in -temporal as well as religious matters, their doctrines being -embodied in the <i>Book of Mormon</i>; that they look for a -literal gathering of Israel in this western land; and that here -Christ will reign personally for a millennium, when the earth -will be restored to its paradisaical glory.</p> - -<p>Nauvoo, after the departure of the Mormons, became -the seat of a colony of French communists, or Icarians, -under the direction of M. Cabet, who were, however, far -from successful. The population has much dwindled. The -great Mormon temple of Nauvoo was, in October, 1848, set -on fire by an incendiary and destroyed.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus24" id="Illus24"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image27.jpg" width="275" height="349" alt="William Huntington. The Coalheaver Preacher." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">William Huntington. The Coalheaver Preacher.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Huntington" id="Huntington">Huntington, the Preacher.</a></h3> - - -<p>William Huntington, who, by virtue of his preaching, -came to ride in his coach, and marry the titled widow of a -Lord Mayor, was no ordinary man. He was born in the -year 1774, in the Weald of Kent, between Goudhurst and -Cranbrook, where his father was a day-labourer. The boy -worked in various ways, and having "a call," he became an -Arminian preacher, at the same time that at Thames Ditton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -he carried coals on the river, at 10s. a week: hence he was -generally known as the <i>Coalheaver</i>. He preached inordinately -long sermons, sometimes of two hours' duration; his -prayers were mostly made up of Scriptural phrases.</p> - -<p>It suited the purpose of Huntington to represent himself -as living <i>under</i> the special favour of Providence, because he -intended to live by it: that is, upon the credulity of those -whom he could persuade to believe him: and the history of -his success, which he published under the title of <i>God the -Guardian of the Poor, and the Bank of Faith; or, a Display -of the Providences of God, which have at sundry times, attended -the Author</i>, is a production equally singular and -curious.</p> - -<p>One reason which he gives for writing this marvellous -treatise is, that we are often tempted to believe that God -takes no notice of our temporal concerns. "I found God's -promises," he says, "to be the Christian's bank note; and a -living faith will always draw on the divine banker, yea, and -the spirit of prayer, and a deep sense of want, will give an -heir of promise a filial boldness at the inexhaustible bank of -heaven." Accordingly, for great things and for little he -drew boldly upon the bank. Thus, he was provided with -game and fish. One day, when he had nothing but bread -in the house, he was moved by the Spirit to take a by-path, -where he had never gone before; but the reason was, that a -stoat was to kill a fine large rabbit, just in time for him to -secure the prey. When his wife was lying-in, and there was -no tea in the house, and they had neither money nor credit, -his wife bade the nurse set the kettle on in faith, and before -it boiled, a stranger brought a present of tea to the door. -At another time, a friend, without solicitation, gives him -half-a-guinea when he was penniless; and lest he should -have any difficulty in obtaining change for it, when he -crossed Kingston bridge, he casts his eyes on the ground, -and finds a penny to pay the toll. He borrows a guinea, -which he is unable to pay at the time appointed, so he prays<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -that God would send him one from some quarter or another, -and forthwith the lender calls and desires him to consider it -a free gift. He wants a new parsonic livery: "wherefore," -says he, "in humble prayer I told my most blessed Lord -and Master that my year was out, and my apparel bad; that -I had nowhere to go for these things but to him; and as he -had promised to give his servants food and raiment, I hoped -he would fulfil his promise to me, though one of the worst -of them." So, having settled it in his own mind that a -certain person in London would act as the intermediate -agent in this providential transaction, he called upon him, -and, as he expected, the raggedness of his apparel led to a -conversation which ended in the offer of a new suit, and of -a greatcoat to boot.</p> - -<p>He lived in this manner seven or eight years, not, -indeed, taking no thought for the morrow, but making no -other provision for it than by letting the specific object of -his prayers and their general tendency always be understood, -where a word to the unwise was sufficient. Being -now in much request, and "having many doors open to him -for preaching the Gospel very wide apart," he began to want -a horse, then to wish, and lastly to pray, for one. "I used -my prayers," he says, "as gunners use their swivels, turning -them every day, as various cases required;" before the day -was over he was presented with a horse, which had been -purchased for him by subscription. The horse was to be -maintained by his own means, but what of that? "I told -God," says he, "that I had more work for my faith now than -heretofore; for the horse would cost half as much to keep as -my whole family. In answer to which this Scripture came -to my mind with power and comfort, 'Dwell in the land, -and do good, and verily thou shalt be fed.' This was a -bank-note put into the hand of my faith, which, when I got -poor, I pleaded before God, and he answered it; so that I -lived and cleared my way just as well when I had my horse -to keep as I did before."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p> - -<p>Huntington was no ordinary man. The remarkable -circumstance which occurred concerning a certain part of -his dress has been told in various books. The old song -says—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A light heart and a thin pair of breeches<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Go through the world, my brave boys;<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>but the latter qualification is better for going through the -world on foot than on horseback; so Uncle Toby found it, -so did Huntington, who, in this part of his history, must be -his own historian: no language but his own can do justice -to such a story.</p> - -<p>"Having now," says Huntington, "had my horse for -some time, and riding a great deal every week, I soon wore -my breeches out, as they were not fit to ride in. I hope the -reader will excuse my mentioning the word breeches, which -I should have avoided, had not this passage of Scripture -obtruded into my mind, just as I had revolved in my own -thoughts not to mention this kind providence of God. 'And -thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their -nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs shall they -reach. And they shall be upon Aaron and upon his sons -when they come into the tabernacle of the congregation, or -when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy -place; that they bear not iniquity and die. It shall be a -statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.' Exod. -xxviii. 42, 43. By which, and three others, namely, Ezek. -xliv. 18; Lev. vi. 10; and Lev. xiv. 4, I saw that it was no -crime to mention the word breeches, nor the way in which -God sent them to me; Aaron and his sons being clothed -entirely by Providence; and as God himself condescended -to give orders what they should be made of, and how they -should be cut. And I believe the same God, ordered mine, -as I trust will appear in the following history.</p> - -<p>"The Scripture tells us to call no man master; for one -is our master, even Christ. I therefore told my most bountiful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -and ever-adored Master what I wanted; and he, who -stripped Adam and Eve of their fig-leaved aprons, and -made coats of skin, and clothed them; and who clothes the -grass of the field, which to-day is and to-morrow is cast into -the oven, must clothe us, or we shall go naked; and so -Israel found it, when God took away his wool and his flax, -which he gave to cover their nakedness, and which they prepared -for Baal: for which iniquity was their skirts discovered -and their heels made bare. Jer. xiii. 22.</p> - -<p>"I often made very free in my prayers with my invaluable -Master for this favour; but he still kept me so amazingly -poor that I could not get them at any rate. At last -I determined to go to a friend of mine at Kingston, who is -of that branch of business, to bespeak a pair; and to get -him to trust me until my Master sent me the money to pay -him. I was that day going to London, fully determined to -bespeak them as I rode through the town. However, when -I passed the shop, I forgot it; but when I came to London, -I called on Mr. Croucher, a shoe-maker in Shepherd's Market, -who told me a parcel was left there for me, but what it -was he knew not. I opened it, and behold there was a -pair of leather breeches, with a note in them! the substance -of which was, to the best of my remembrance, as follows:—</p> - -<p>"'Sir,—I have sent you a pair of breeches, and hope -they will fit. I beg your acceptance of them; and if they -want any alteration, leave in a note what the alteration is, -and I will call in a few days and alter them.</p> - -<p style="text-align: right">I. S.'</p> - -<p>"I tried them on, and they fitted as well as if I had been -measured for them; at which I was amazed, having never -been measured by any leather breeches maker in London. -I wrote an answer to the note to this effect:—</p> - -<p>"'Sir,—I received your present and thank you for it. -I was going to order a pair of leather breeches to be made, -because I did not know till now that my Master had bespoke -them of you. They fit very well, which fully convinces me -that the same God who moved thy heart to give, guided thy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -hand to cut: because He perfectly knows my size, having -clothed me in a miraculous manner for near five years. -When you are in trouble, Sir, I hope you will tell my Master -of this, and what you have done for me, and He will repay -you with honour.'</p> - -<p>"This is as near as I am able to relate it, and I -added:—</p> - -<p>"'I cannot make out I. S. unless I put <i>I</i> for Israelite -indeed, and <i>S</i> for sincerity; because you did not sound a -trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do.'"</p> - -<p>The plan of purveying for himself by prayer, with the -help of hints in proper place and season, answered so well, -that Huntington soon obtained, by the same means, a new -bed, a rug, a pair of new blankets, doe-skin gloves, and a -horseman's coat; and as often as he wanted new clothes, -some chosen almoner of the Bank of Faith was found to -supply him. His wife was instructed to provide for her own -wants by the same easy and approved means. Gowns -came as they were wanted, hampers of bacon and cheese, -now and then a large ham, and now and then a guinea, all -which things Huntington called precious answers to prayer.</p> - -<p>Some awkward disclosures were now made, and he -became weary of Thames Ditton, and having a well-timed -vision, he secretly wished that God would remove him from -that place; and as London was the place where he might -reasonably expect to work less and feed better, it was -"suddenly impressed on his mind to leave Thames Ditton, -and take a house in the great metropolis, where hearers -were more numerous, and that this was the meaning of the -words spoken to him in the vision." It was likewise suggested -to his mind that the people had been permitted of -late to persecute him more than usual, that they might drive -him to this removal. "And I much question," says Huntington, -"if ever God sends his word there again, for I think -they are left almost as inexcusable as Chorazin and Capernaum!" -The impression which he had now received was acknowledged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -as a plain and evident <i>call</i> by the good friends -who negotiated his bills upon the Bank of Faith, and accordingly -to London he and his family went.</p> - -<p>His next draft upon the Bank was to a larger amount. -During three years he had secretly wished for a chapel of -his own, because, as he says, he was sick of the errors that -were perpetually broached by some or other in Margaret -Street Chapel, where he then preached with Lady Huntingdon's -people. Much, however, as he desired this, he -protests that he could not ask God for such a favour, thinking -it was not to be brought about by one so very mean, low, -and poor as himself. But fortune favours the bold. One -of his friends looked at a suitable piece of ground, by -particular impulse of Providence; and he took Huntington -to look at it also. Another friend, under a similar impulse, -planned a chapel one day while he was hearing Huntington -preach a sermon; and he offered to undertake the -management of the building without fee or reward. Thus -encouraged, he took the ground and began to build Providence -Chapel, when he was 20<i>l.</i> in debt, and had no other -funds than the freewill offerings of his hearers, and the -money which they were willing to lend him upon his credit -with the Bank of Faith. The first offering amounted to no -more than 11<i>l.</i>, which were soon expended on the foundations. -He bespoke a load of timber, and going to the right -person for it, it was sent him with a bill and receipt in full -as a contribution towards the chapel. Another "good -man" came with tears in his eyes to bless Mr. Huntington -for the good which he had received under his sermons, and -to request that he might paint the pulpit, desk, &c., as a -grateful acknowledgment. A bed-room was very handsomely -furnished for him that he might not be under the necessity -of walking home in the cold winter nights. A looking-glass -for his chapel study was presented by one person, a -book-case by another, chairs for the vestry, a pulpit cushion, -a splendid Bible, a set of china, and a well-stored tea-chest,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> -were supplied in like manner: money was liberally lent as -well as given; the chapel "sprang up like a mushroom;" -and when it was finished, he says, "I was in arrears for -1,000<i>l.</i>, so that I had plenty of work for faith, if I could get -plenty of faith to work; and while some deny a Providence, -Providence was the only supply I had."</p> - -<p>His never-failing friends settled him in a country-house, -stocked his garden and his farm for him; and that he might -travel conveniently to and from his chapel, they presented -him with a coach and pair of horses, and subscribed to pay -the taxes for both. To crown all, having buried his wife, -the gleaner, he preached himself into the good graces of -Lady Saunderson, the widow of the Lord Mayor, and -married her.</p> - -<p>His uniform prosperity received but one shock. The -chapel in Titchfield Street, which he had raised from the -ground and carried up into the air, when ground-room was -wanting, was burnt down. This was thought by some of -Huntington's followers to be a judgment upon him for -having inclosed the free seats, and "laid out the whole -chapel in boxes like an opera house." But Huntington -looked at this misfortune otherwise. Writing to one of his -friends, he says: "Such a stroke as this twenty-seven years -ago would have caused our hope to give up the ghost; but -being a little stronger in the Lord, faith has heavier burdens -laid on. The temple built by Solomon, and that built by -Cyrus, were both burnt. It will cause a little rejoicing -among the Philistines, as has been the case often: they once -triumphed gloriously, when the ark of God was taken, supposing -that Dagon had overcome the God of Israel; but their -joy was short. This I know, that it shall work for our good, -but how I know not; if I did, I must walk by sight, and -not by faith." He then held out a sort of threat of removing -into the country; but his London followers were presently -in motion, "some looking out for a spot of ground, some -bringing their offerings, others wishing the glory of the latter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -house may exceed that of the former." "But," says he, "it -is to bear the same name: this I gave them to understand -from the pulpit, and assigned the following reasons for it:—that -unless God provided men to work, and money to -pay them, and materials to work with, no chapel could be -erected; and, if he provided all these, Providence must be its -name." The chapel, accordingly, was built in Gray's Inn Lane, -and upon a larger scale than the last: taught by his former -experience, Huntington took care not to make himself responsible -for any of the expenses, and when it was finished, -managed matters so well with his obedient flock, that the -chapel was made over to him as his own, for he is said to -have refused to preach in it on any other conditions.<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> - -<p>The preacher had innumerable applicants for spiritual -advice. To one person who consults him, he says:—"You -need not have made any apology, as the troubled -minds of sensible sinners are my peculiar province. I am -authorised and commissioned by the God of heaven to -transact business and negotiate affairs between the King of -kings and self-condemned rebels." One madman assures -him that he was actually electrified in body and soul by one -of his books. This man saw a brilliant star over the head -of Huntington while he was preaching, and Huntington -publishes the letter and assures him that dreams (of which -he has communicated a curious story) are from the Spirit of -God. Sometimes he found that correspondents were troublesome, -new-born babes being never satisfied when they -desire the sincere milk of the word. A certain Mrs. Bull -writes to him rather more frequently than is agreeable. -Huntington lets Mrs. Bull know that he does not like her -head-dress; he finds fault with her preposterous streamers, -and her first, second, and third tier of curls; but tells her -that a little more furnace-work will teach her to pull down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -those useless topsails. This prediction was verified rather -more literally than it was meant, for the said Mrs. B., -thinking it was not his business to interfere with her head-dress, -was about to resent it in a sharp letter; "but," says -she, "happening to fall asleep by the fire, as I was reading -the Bible, the candle caught the lappet of my cap, and a -good deal of my hair, and I own it a great mercy that I was -not consumed myself, and you may be assured that you will -see neither streamers, curls, nor topsails again."</p> - -<p>Mr. Bramah, the celebrated engineer, appears among -Huntington's controversial correspondents; and he tells -him that he makes a good patent lock, but cuts a poor figure -with the keys of the kingdom of heaven.</p> - -<p>Mr. Bensley, the printer, was one of his believers, which -explains the handsome appearance of Huntington's collected -works, in twenty volumes, octavo; his spiritual employer -calls him dear brother in the Lord, and dear Tom in the -flesh. Trader in faith as he was, there were some social -qualities about him which won and secured the attachment -of his friends, even of those upon whom he drew most -largely. He mentions particularly Mr. and Mrs. Baker, of -Oxford Street, who, having no children of their own, kept -caring and travailing many years for him; and though -"sorely tried by various losses in business, bankruptcies, -and bad debts, supplied him with money whenever he required -it." "While the chapel was building," he says, -"when money was continually demanded, if there was one -shilling in the house, I was sure to have it." This couple -and another, with whom he was on terms of equal intimacy, -agreed, as they were bound together with their chosen pastor -for life and for eternity, not to be divided in death; and -accordingly they jointly purchased a piece of ground near -Petersham, and erected a substantial tomb there, wherein -they might rest together in the dust.</p> - -<p>Huntington died in 1813, at Tunbridge Wells; he was -buried at Lewes, in a piece of ground adjoining the chapel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -of one of his associates: it was his desire that there should -be no funeral sermon preached on the occasion, and that -nothing should be said over his grave. He indited his own -epitaph in these words:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Here lies the Coalheaver,<br /> -Beloved of his God, but abhorred of men.<br /> -The Omniscient Judge<br /> -At the Grand Assize shall rectify and<br /> -Confirm this to the<br /> -Confusion of many thousands;<br /> -For England and its Metropolis shall know,<br /> -That there hath been a prophet<br /> -Among them.</p> - -<p>The sale of his effects by public auction took place soon -after his death, at his elegantly-furnished villa, Hermes Hill,<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> -Pentonville, and lasted four days. His friends and admirers, -anxious to secure some memorial of Huntington, paid most -fabulous sums of money for articles of no intrinsic value in -the excess of their veneration. A mahogany easy-chair, -with hair seat and back cushion in canvas, on brass-wheel -castors, with two sets of flowered calico cases, sold for 63<i>l.</i>; -an ordinary pair of spectacles sold for seven guineas; a -common silver snuff-box, five guineas; every article of plate -at from 23<i>s.</i> to 26<i>s.</i> per ounce; his library sold for 252<i>l.</i> -19<i>s.</i>; a handsome modern town coach for 49<i>l.</i> 7<i>s.</i> The -aggregate of the four days' sale was 1,800<i>l.</i> 11<i>s.</i> 2½<i>d.</i> In a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -newspaper, October, 1813, we read:—"At the sale of the -effects of the Rev. Mr. Huntington, at Pentonville, an old -arm-chair, intrinsically worth fifty shillings, actually sold for -sixty guineas; and many other articles fetched equally high -prices, so anxious were his besotted admirers to obtain some -precious memorial of that artful fanatic." One of his steady -followers purchased a barrel of ale, which had been brewed -for Christmas, "because he would have something to remember -him by."</p> - -<p>Huntington is described as having been, towards the -close of his career, a fat, burly man, with a red face, which -rose just above the pulpit cushion; and a thick, guttural, -and rather indistinct voice. A contemporary says:—"His -pulpit prayers are remarkable for omitting all for the King -and his country. He excels in extempore eloquence. -Having formally announced his text, he lays his Bible at -once aside, and never refers to it again. He has every -possible text and quotation at his fingers' end. He proceeds -directly to his object, and except such incidental digressions -as 'Take care of your pockets! Wake that snoring sinner! -Silence that noisy numskull! Turn out that drunken dog!' -he never deviates from his course. Nothing can exceed his -dictatorial dogmatism. Believe him, none but him—that's -enough. When he wishes to bind the faith of his congregation, -he will say, over and over, 'As sure as I am born, -'tis so;' or, 'I believe the plain English of it to be this.' -And then he will add, by way of clenching his point, 'Now -you can't help it,' or, 'It must be so, in spite of you.' He -does this with a most significant shake of the head, and with -a sort of Bedlam hauteur, with all the dignity of defiance. -He will then sometimes observe, softening his deportment, -'I don't know whether I make you understand these things, -but I understand them well.' He rambles sadly and strays -so completely from his text, that you often lose sight of it. -The divisions of his sermons are so numerous that one of -his discourses might be divided into three. Preaching is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -with him talking; his discourses, story-telling. Action he -has none, except that of shifting his handkerchief from hand -to hand and hugging his cushion. Nature has bestowed on -him a vigorous original mind, and he employs it in everything. -Survey him when you will, he seems to have rubbed -off none of his native rudeness or blackness. All his notions -are his own, as well as his mode of imparting them. Religion -has not been discovered by him through the telescopes -of commentators."</p> - -<p>Huntington's portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery, -in South Kensington. He "might pass, as far as appearances -go, for a convict, but he looks too conceited. The -vitality and strength of his constitution are fearful to behold, -and it is certain that he looks better fitted for coal-heaving -than for religious oratory."—<i>History of Clerkenwell</i>, 1865, -pp. 529-531.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Amen" id="Amen">Amen.</a></h3> - - -<p>A Correspondent of the <i>Athenæum</i>, 1865, writes:—"While -some philosophers seek information in the Far West, -and others in the not-much-nearer East—one, perchance, -reducing eccentric arrow heads to a civilised alphabet; -another metamorphosing emblematic pitch-forks, tom-cats, -&c., of 2,000 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> into sensation novels of the period; a third -studying the customs and annals of pre-historic America by -the aid of Aztec pots and pipkins—it has been the happy -lot of the undersigned, with no greater effort than a short -railway journey and a pleasant walk, to light upon a treasure -of antiquity, which may not be without interest to some of -your readers. The internal evidence of the following lines -is sufficient to show what they purport to be—<i>viz.</i> the -epitaph of an accomplished parish officer at Crayford, in -Kent. They run as follows:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Here lieth the body of<br /> -Peter Isnell<br /> -(30 years Clerk of this Parish.)</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> - -<p>"He lived respected as a pious and mirthful man, and died on his -way to church to assist at a wedding on the 31st day of March, 1811; -aged seventy years.</p> - -<p>"The inhabitants of Crayford have raised this stone to his cheerful -memory and as a tribute to his long and faithful services.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"The Life of this <i>Clerk</i> was just threescore and ten,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nearly half of which time he had sung out <i>Amen</i>;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In his Youth, he was married, like other young men,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But his wife died one day, so he chanted <i>Amen</i>.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A second he took, she departed, what then?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He married and buried a third with <i>Amen</i>.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thus his joys and his sorrows were <i>Trebled</i>, but then<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His voice was deep <i>Bass</i> as he sung out <i>Amen</i>.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">On the <i>horn</i> he could blow as well as most men,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So his <i>horn</i> was exalted in blowing <i>Amen</i>;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But he lost all his <i>Wind</i> after threescore and ten,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And here with three Wives he waits till again<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The trumpet shall rouse him to sing out <i>Amen</i>."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Strangely" id="Strangely">Strangely Eccentric, yet Sane.</a></h3> - - -<p>The study of psychology proves that hallucinations, or -illusions, may exist in man without the intellect being disordered. -In some instances, they can be produced, by effort -of the will. Dr. Wigan, in his able work, <i>Duality of the -Mind</i>, relates:—"A painter who succeeded to a large portion -of the practice, and (as he thought) to more than all the talent -of Sir Joshua Reynolds, was so extensively employed, that -he informed me he had once painted (large and small) three -hundred portraits in one year. This would seem physically -impossible, but the secret of his rapidity and of his astonishing -success was this: He required but one sitting, and painted -with miraculous facility. I myself saw him execute a Kit-Kat -portrait of a gentleman well known to me in little more -than eight hours; it was minutely finished, and a most striking -likeness. On asking him to explain it, he said, 'When -a sitter came, I looked at him attentively for half-an-hour, -sketching from time to time on the canvas. I wanted no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -more—I put away my canvas, and took another sitter. -When I wished to resume my first portrait, <i>I took the man -and sat him in the chair, where I saw him as distinctly as if he -had been before me in his own proper person</i>—I may almost -say more vividly. I looked from time to time at the imaginary -figure, then worked with my pencil, then referred to the -countenance, and so on, just as I should have done had the -sitter been there. <i>When I looked at the chair, I saw the man!</i> -This made me very popular; and, as I always succeeded in -the likeness, people were very glad to be spared the tedious -sittings of other painters. I gained a great deal of money, -and was very careful of it. Well for me and my children that -it was so. Gradually I began to lose the distinction between -the imaginary figure and the real person, and sometimes disputed -with sitters that they had been with me the day before. -At last I was sure of it, and then—and then—all is confusion. -I suppose they took the alarm. I recollect nothing more—I -lost my senses—was thirty years in an asylum. The whole -period, except the last six months of my confinement, is a -dead blank in my memory, though sometimes, when people -describe their visits, I have a sort of imperfect remembrance -of them; but I must not dwell on these subjects.'"</p> - -<p>It is an extraordinary fact that, when this gentleman resumed -his pencil, after a lapse of thirty years, he painted -nearly as well as when insanity compelled him to discontinue -it. His imagination was still exceedingly vivid, as was proved -by a portrait, for he had only two sittings of half-an-hour each; -the latter solely for the dress and for the <i>eyebrows</i>, which he -could not fix in his memory.</p> - -<p>It was found that the excitement threatened danger, and -he was persuaded to discontinue the exercise of his art. He -lived but a short time afterwards.</p> - -<p>A hallucination, although recognized and appreciated as -such by the person who is the subject of it, may, by its vividness -and long continuance, produce so depressing an influence -on the mind as to be the cause of suicide. "I knew," says<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> -Wigan, "a very intelligent and amiable man, who had the -power of this placing before his own eyes <i>himself</i>, and often -laughed heartily at <i>his double</i>, who always seemed to laugh in -turn. This was long a subject of amusement and joke; but -the ultimate result was lamentable. He became gradually -convinced that he was haunted by himself, or (to violate -grammar for the sake of clearly expressing his idea) by his -<i>self</i>. This other self would argue with him pertinaciously, -and, to his great mortification, sometimes refute him, which, -as he was very proud of his logical powers, humiliated him -exceedingly. He was eccentric, but was never placed -in confinement or subjected to the slightest restraint. At -length, worn out by the annoyance, he deliberately resolved -not to enter on another year of existence—paid all his debts—wrapped -up in separate papers the amount of the weekly -demands—waited pistol in hand, the night of the 31st of -December, and as the clock struck twelve, fired it into his -mouth."</p> - -<p>We read in Dr. de Boismont's very able treatise on -Hallucinations (translated by Hulme):—"All mental labour, -by over-exciting the brain, is liable to give rise to hallucinations. -We have known many persons, and amongst others a -medical man, who, when it was night, distinctly heard voices -calling to them; some would stop to reply, or would go to -the door, believing they heard the bell ring. This disposition -seems to us not uncommon in persons who are in the habit -of talking aloud to themselves."</p> - -<p>We find in Abercrombie's work the case of a gentleman -"who has been all his life affected by the appearance of -spectral figures. To such an extent does this peculiarity -exist, that, if he meets a friend in the street, he cannot at -first satisfy himself whether he really sees the individual or a -spectral figure. By close attention he can remark a difference -between them, in the outline of the real figure being more -distinctly defined than that of the spectral; but in general -he takes means for correcting his visual impression by touching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -the figure, or by listening to the sound of his footsteps. -He has also the power of calling up spectral figures at his -will, by directing his attention steadily to the conception of -his own mind; and this may consist either of a figure or a -scene which he has seen, or it may be a composition created -by his imagination. But, though he has the faculty of producing -the illusion he has no power of vanishing it; and, when -he has called up any particular spectral figure or scene, he -never can say how long it may continue to haunt him. The -gentleman is in the prime of life, of sound mind, in good -health, and engaged in business. Another of his family has -been affected in the same manner, though in a slight degree."</p> - -<p>It would be easy to mention many examples of illustrious -men who have been subject to hallucinations, without their -having in any way influenced their conduct.</p> - -<p>Thus, Malebranche declared he heard the voice of God -distinctly within him. Descartes, after long confinement, -was followed by an invisible person, calling upon him to -pursue the search of truth.</p> - -<p>Byron occasionally fancied he was visited by a spectre, -which he confesses was but the effect of an over-stimulated -brain.</p> - -<p>Dr. Johnson said that he distinctly heard his mother's -voice call "Samuel." This was at a time when she was -residing a long way off.</p> - -<p>Pope, who suffered much from intestinal disease, one -day asked his medical man what the arm was which seemed -to come out of the wall.</p> - -<p>Goethe positively asserts that he one day saw the exact -counterpart of himself coming towards him. The German -psychologists give the name of <i>Deuteroscopia</i> to this species -of illusion.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Hallucination" id="Hallucination">Strange Hallucination.</a></h3> - - -<p>On the 25th of November, 1840, Mr. Pearce, the author -of several medical works, was tried at the Central Criminal -Court for shooting at his wife with intent to murder, and -acquitted on the ground of insanity. He entertained the -peculiar notion that his wife wished to destroy him, and that -she had bribed persons to effect his death in various ways, -the principal of which was that his bed was constantly -damped or wetted. This idea seems to have haunted him -continually. He was shortly after his acquittal taken to -Bethlem Hospital. For some time he refused to leave the -gallery in which his cell was situated, and go into the airing-ground; -in order, as it appeared, that he might watch his -cell door to prevent anything "villanous" being done.</p> - -<p>In a letter addressed to the Governors of the Hospital, -Pearce argued the point in a very serious and connected -manner. "If," said he, in allusion to some of the witnesses, -who at various times had stated they felt his bedding and -found it dry, "the simple act of placing one's hand upon a -damp bed, or even the immediate impression on a man's -body when he gets into it, was infallible, how could it occur -so frequently that travellers at times are crippled with rheumatism, -or lose their lives by remaining all night in damp -bedding? If the thing was so easily discoverable, no man -of common understanding could be injured by such a proceeding -or accident at inns.</p> - -<p>"Technically speaking, the matter of which I complain -is not a delusion; it is an allegation—a positive charge, -susceptible of proof, if proper evidence could be brought to -bear upon the fact, not warped or suborned by the man or -men in whose power I hourly am. It would be a sad delusion -for me to declare my bed was composed of straw instead -of flocks, or that I was a prophet, or the Pope, or Sir Astley -Cooper. I grant I have no such crotchets. My mind is -perfectly sound, calm, and reflective; and I implore you to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -consider well the distinction between the things which -cannot in nature physically be and the things which can -physically be. It is a vital one in my sad case.</p> - -<p>"It may be told you, I have charged persons elsewhere -with this atrocity of damping my bed. I have done so. At -the private madhouse, near Uxbridge, whence I was brought -here, my bed was kept almost wet for three months, and I -only saved my life by sleeping on a large trunk, with my -daily articles of dress to cover me. Some portion of this -time, the cold was eight and ten degrees below freezing-point."</p> - -<p>He then solicited that a lock might be put upon his -cell-door to protect him from this annoyance; and concluded -his letter with this appeal: "I beseech you to commiserate -my hard lot. I have some little claim to the title -of a gentleman, and have been estimated by persons of some -consideration in society; I am now, by a wretched chain of -circumstances, in a great prison hospital, dragged from my -children and my home, and the comforts of social life, and -doomed to herd with desperadoes against the State, the -destitute, and the mad."</p> - -<p>Mr. Pearce was afterwards introduced, and answered the -questions put to him in a very collected manner. He then -stated that since his marriage-trip to Boulogne, he had been -subjected to the greatest abuse from his present wife, and -on one occasion, had been struck by her, and insulted by -the vilest epithets. He complained that when first brought -to Bethlem Hospital, he had been "chummed" with Oxford, -and objected, but had been compelled to associate with that -ruffian. He had taught Oxford the French language, and -tried to improve his mind. Oxford had conveyed to him -matter of importance relative to the great crime of which -he had been guilty, and which he (Mr. Pearce) thought of -sufficient importance to be communicated to the Secretary -of State, and had accordingly written a letter in Latin, detailing -the several circumstances. It had, however been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -taken from him, and he did not know whether it had ever -been sent to Downing Street. He wished to show how -Oxford boasted of having cajoled Sir A. Morrison and Dr. -Monro into a belief that he was insane, and how he sent for -such books as <i>Jack the Giant-Killer</i> in order to make the -jury let him off on the ground of insanity. This was what -he (Mr. Pearce) wished to tell the Secretary of State, and -now the letter was used against him.</p> - -<p>After some further remarks, Mr. Pearce was questioned -by the jury, and persisted in the statement that his bed was -damped, that deleterious drugs were applied to his clothes, -and that a conspiracy existed against him. He produced -from under his clothes a small packet, which he said contained -portions of the shirt of which mention had been made, -and a snuff-box, in which he stated he had kept parts of the -shirt, and which he "demanded" to have submitted to the -test of Professor Faraday or some other eminent chemist. -He announced himself to be grand-nephew of Zachariah -Pearce, Bishop of Rochester, and translator of Longinus, -and prayed, in conclusion, the jury to relieve him from the -situation in which he was placed.</p> - -<p>The jury returned a verdict to the effect "that Mr. -Pearce was of unsound mind, and that he had been so from -the 16th of October, 1840."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Corner" id="Corner">"Corner Memory Thompson."</a></h3> - - -<p>In February, 1843, there died, at the age of 86, this -remarkable person, whose eccentric success had become -matter of public interest. John Thompson was a native of -St. Giles's, where his father was a greengrocer; the boy on -carrying a salad to the house of an undertaker in the neighbourhood, -attracted attention by his ready and active -manner, and the undertaker took him as errand-boy; then -he became assistant, and next married his master's daughter, -and thus obtained property. This was his <i>start</i> in life, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -enabled him to commence business as an auctioneer and -brewer's valuer, by which he amassed considerable wealth. -As he advanced in life, he sought retirement, and on a spot -just below Hampstead Church, built for himself, without plan -or order, "Frognal Priory," an assemblage of grotesque -structures, but without any right of road to it, which he had -to purchase at a great price. Thence, Thompson often -went to town in his chariot, to collect curiosities for his -house; and he might be seen pottering about among the -curiosity-shops: as Horace Walpole cheapened Dicky -Bateman's chairs at half-a-crown apiece for Strawberry Hill, -so John Thompson collected his "items of taste and <i>vertu</i>" -for Frognal Priory, and these, for a time, he would show to -any person who rang at his gate. He was designated -"Corner Memory," for his having, for a bet, drawn a plan -of St. Giles's parish from memory, at three sittings, specifying -every coach-turning, stable-yard, and public pump, and -likewise the <i>corner shop</i> of every street. He possessed a -most mechanical memory; for he would, by reading a newspaper -over-night, repeat the whole of it next morning. He -gained some notoriety by presenting to the Queen a carved -bedstead, reputed once to have belonged to Cardinal -Wolsey; with this he sent some other old furniture to -Windsor Castle.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Mummy" id="Mummy">Mummy of a Manchester Lady.</a></h3> - - -<p>About the middle of the last century there died near -Manchester a maiden lady, a Miss Bexwick or Beswick, -who had a great horror of being <i>buried alive</i>. To avoid this, -she devised an estate to her medical adviser, the late Mr. -Charles White and his two children, <i>viz.</i> Miss Rosa White -and her sister, and his nephew, Captain White, <i>on condition -that the doctor paid her a morning visit for twelve months after -her decease</i>. In order to do this, it was requisite to embalm -her, which he did; she was then placed in the attic of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -old mansion in which she died, and in which the doctor took -up his residence. Upon his leaving it, she was removed to -the house erected by him in King Street, Manchester, and -which stood on the ground now occupied by the Town Hall. -At the death of Mr. White, the doctor, she was sent to the -Lying-in Hospital, where she remained until she was removed -to her present resting-place, the Manchester Museum -of Natural History, where the mummy is suspended in a -case with a glass-door.</p> - -<p>Mr. de Quincey, when a boy at Manchester School, at -the beginning of the century, became acquainted with the -mummy, and in one of his works mentions it being taken -from the case, and the body of a notorious highwayman -being substituted; but this is an embellishment or exaggeration -of the already extraordinary story.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Hypochondriasis" id="Hypochondriasis">Hypochondriasis.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the year 1827 there was living at Taunton a person -who had often kept at home for several weeks under the -idea of danger in going abroad. Sometimes he imagined -that he was a cat, and seated himself on his hind-quarters; -at other times he would fancy himself a teapot, and stand -with one arm a-kimbo like the handle, and the other -stretched out like the spout. At last he conceived himself -to have died, and would not move or be moved till the coffin -came. His wife, in serious alarm, sent for a surgeon, who -addressed him with the usual salutation, "How do you do -this morning?" "Do!" replied he in a low voice, "a -pretty question to a dead man!" "Dead, sir; what do you -mean?" "Yes; I died last Wednesday; the coffin will be -here presently, and I shall be buried to-morrow." The -surgeon, a man of sense and skill, immediately felt the -patient's pulse, and shaking his head, said, "I find it is -indeed too true; you are certainly defunct; the blood is in -a state of stagnation, putrefaction is about to take place, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -the sooner you are buried the better." The coffin arrived, -he was carefully placed in it, and carried towards the church. -The surgeon had previously given instructions to several -neighbours how to proceed. The procession had scarcely -moved a dozen yards, when a person stopped to inquire -who they were carrying to the grave: "Mr. ——, our late -worthy overseer." "What! is the old rogue gone at last? -a good release, for a greater villain never lived." The -imaginary deceased no sooner heard this attack on his -character, than he jumped up, and in a threatening posture -said, "You lying scoundrel, if I were not dead I'd make you -suffer for what you say; but as it is, I am forced to submit." -He then quietly laid down again; but ere they had proceeded -half-way to church, another party stopped the procession -with the same inquiry, and added invective and -abuse. This was more than the supposed corpse could -bear; and jumping from the coffin, was in the act of -following his defamers, when the whole party burst into an -immoderate fit of laughter. The public exposure awakened -him to a sense of his folly; he fought against the weakness, -and in the end conquered it.</p> - -<p>Here is an instance of a cure for hypochondriasis in -Switzerland:—A wealthy and hypochondriacal farmer, who -believed himself to be possessed by seven devils, applied to -the Swiss doctor, Michael Schuppach, to rout the demoniac -occupants of his distressed mind. "Friend," said Schuppach -gravely, "you believe there are but seven devils in you; in -reality there are eight, and the eighth is the captain of the -band." To expel the eight unclean spirits the physician had -recourse to an electrical apparatus, with which contrivance -the farmer was of course utterly ignorant. For eight successive -days the patient visited the doctor and underwent an -electrical shock. At each of the first seven shocks the -operator said, "There goes one of your devils." On the -eighth day Schuppach said, "Now, we must relieve you of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -the chief of the evil spirits—it'll be a tough job!" As these -words were uttered, a violent shock sent the patient fairly to -the floor. "And now," cried the benevolent impostor, "you -are free of your devils—that last stroke was a settler!" The -cure was complete.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 6em; margin-bottom: 5em;" src="images/image28.jpg" width="100" height="67" alt="Floral design" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Strange" id="Strange"><i>STRANGE SIGHTS and SPORTING SCENES.</i></a></h2> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Wonder" id="Wonder">"The Wonder of all the Wonders that the<br /> -World ever Wondered at."</a></h3> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">U</span><span class="smcap">NDER</span> the title of "<i>Horæ Subsecivæ</i>," in the <i>Dublin -University Review</i>, in 1833, vol. i., p. 482, by the -late Dr. West, of Dublin, appeared the following amusing -trifle:—</p> - -<p>"Among Swift's works, we find a <i>jeu d'esprit</i>, entitled -'The Wonder of all the Wonders that the World ever -Wondered at,' and purporting to be an advertisement of a -conjurer. There is an amusing one of the same kind by a -very humorous German writer, George Christopher Lichtenberg, -which, as his works are not much known here, is -perhaps worth translating. The occasion on which it was -written was the following. In the year 1777, a celebrated -conjurer of those days arrived at Göttingen. Lichtenberg, -for some reason or other, did not wish him to exhibit there; -and, accordingly, before the other had time even to announce -his arrival, he wrote this advertisement, in his name, -and had it printed and posted over the town. The whole -was the work of one night. The result was, that the real -Simon Pure decamped next morning without beat of drum, -and never appeared in Göttingen again. Lichtenberg had -spent some time in England, and understood the language -perfectly, so that he may have seen Swift's paper. Still, -even granting that he took the hint from him, it must be -allowed he has improved on it not a little, and displayed not -only more delicacy, which, indeed, was easy enough, but -more wit also.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">"'Notice.</p> - -<p>"'The admirers of supernatural Physics are hereby -informed that the far-famed magician, Philadelphus Philadelphia -(the same that is mentioned by Cardanus, in his -book <i>De Naturâ Supernaturali</i>, where he is styled "The -envied of Heaven and Hell"), arrived here a few days ago -by the mail, although it would have been just as easy for -him to come through the air, seeing that he is the person -who, in the year 1482, in the public market at Venice, threw -a ball of cord into the clouds, and climbed upon it into the -air till he got out of sight. On the 9th of January, of the -present year, he will commence at the Merchants' Hall, -publico-privately, to exhibit his one-dollar tricks, and continue -weekly to improve them, till he comes to his five-hundred-guinea -tricks; amongst which last are some which, -without boasting, excel the wonderful itself, nay are, as one -may say, absolutely impossible.</p> - -<p>"'He has had the honour of performing with the -greatest possible approbation before all the potentates, high -and low, of the four quarters of the world; and even in the -fifth, a few weeks ago, before her Majesty Queen Oberea, -at Otaheite.</p> - -<p>"'He is to be seen every day, except on Mondays and -Thursdays, when he is employed in clearing the heads of -the honourable members of the Congress of his countrymen -at Philadelphia; and at all hours, except from eleven to -twelve in the forenoon, when he is engaged at Constantinople; -and from twelve to one, when he is at his dinner.</p> - -<p>"'The following are some of his common one-dollar -tricks; and they are selected, not as being the best of them, -but as they can be described in the fewest words:—</p> - -<p>"'1. Without leaving the room, he takes the weathercock -off St. James's Church, and sets it on St. John's, and -<i>vice versâ</i>. After a few minutes he puts them back again in -their proper places. N.B. All this without a magnet, by -mere sleight of hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> - -<p>"'2. He takes two ladies, and sets them on their heads -on a table, with their legs up; he then gives them a blow, -and they immediately begin to spin like tops with incredible -velocity, without breach either of their head-dress by the -pressure, or of decorum by the falling of their petticoats, to -the very great satisfaction of all present.</p> - -<p>"'3. He takes three ounces of the best arsenic, boils it -in a gallon of milk, and gives it to the ladies to drink. As -soon as they begin to get sick, he gives them two or three -spoonfuls of melted lead, and they go away in high spirits.</p> - -<p>"'4. He takes a hatchet, and knocks a gentleman on -the head with it, so that he falls dead on the floor. When -there, he gives a second blow, whereupon the gentleman -immediately gets up as well as ever, and generally asks what -music that was.</p> - -<p>"'5. He draws three or four ladies' teeth, makes the -company shake them well together in a bag, and then puts -them into a little cannon, which he fires at the aforesaid -ladies' heads, and they find their teeth white and sound in -their places again.</p> - -<p>"'6. A metaphysical trick, otherwise commonly called -παν, <i>metaphysica</i>, whereby he shows that a thing can actually -be and not be at the same time. It requires great preparation -and cost, and is shown so low as a dollar, solely in -honour of the University.</p> - -<p>"'7. He takes all the watches, rings, and other ornaments -of the company, and even money if they wish, and -gives every one a receipt for his property. He then puts -them all in a trunk, and brings them off to Cassel. In a -week after, each person tears his receipt, and that moment -finds whatever he gave in his hands again. He has made a -great deal of money by this trick.</p> - -<p>"'N.B. During this week, he performs in the top room -at the Merchants' Hall; but after that, up in the air over the -pump in the market-place; for whoever does not pay, will -not see.'"</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 225px;"><a name="Illus25" id="Illus25"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image29.jpg" width="225" height="413" alt="The Princess Caraboo. From a sketch by Bird, R.A." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">The Princess Caraboo. From a sketch by Bird, R.A.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Caraboo" id="Caraboo">"The Princess Caraboo."</a></h3> - - -<p>Early in the year 1865 there died at Bristol a female of -considerable personal attractions, whose early history was -amusing enough, yet took a strong hold upon credulous -persons half-a-century since. She pretended to be a native<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> -of Javasu, in the Indian Ocean, and to have been carried off -by pirates, by whom she had been sold to the captain of a -brig. Her first appearance was in the spring of 1817, at -Almondsbury, in Gloucestershire. Having been ill-used -when on board the ship, she had jumped overboard, she -said, swam on shore, and wandered about six weeks before -she came to Almondsbury. She appears next to have found -her way to Bath, and there to have created a sensation in -the literary and fashionable circles of Bath and other places, -which lasted till it was discovered that the whole affair was -a romance, cleverly sustained and acted out by a young and -prepossessing girl, who sought to maintain the imposition by -the invention of hieroglyphics and characters to represent -her native language.</p> - -<p>In 1817, there was published at Bristol a narrative of this -singular imposition, "practised upon the benevolence of a -lady residing in the Vicinity of Bristol by a young woman of -the name of Mary Willcocks, <i>alias</i> Baker, <i>alias</i> Bakerstendht, -<i>alias</i> Caraboo, Princess of Javasu;" for which work Bird, -the Royal Academician, drew two portraits.</p> - -<p>It was ascertained that she was a native of Witheridge, -in Devonshire, where her father was a cobbler. She appears -to have taken flight to America, and in 1824 she returned to -England, and hired apartments in New Bond Street, where -she exhibited herself to the public at the charge of one -shilling; but she did not attract any great attention.</p> - -<p>On being deposed from the honours which had been -awarded to her, "the Princess" retired into comparatively -humble life, and married. There was a kind of grim humour -in the occupation which she subsequently followed, that of -an importer of leeches: but she conducted her operations -with much judgment and ability, and carried on her trade -with credit to herself and satisfaction to her customers. The -quondam "Princess" died, leaving a daughter, who, like her -mother, is described as very beautiful.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span></p> - -<p>There is, it should be added, a very strange story of -the Princess having got an introduction to Napoleon -Bonaparte at St. Helena, of which affair the following -account appeared in <i>Felix Farley's Bristol Journal</i>, September -13th, 1817:—</p> - -<p>"A letter from Sir Hudson Lowe, lately received from St. -Helena, forms at present the leading topic of conversation -in the higher circles. It states that on the day preceding -the date of the last dispatches, a large ship was discovered -in the offing. The wind was strong from the S.S.E. After -several hours' tacking, with apparent intention to reach the -island, the vessel was observed to bear away for the N.W., -and in the course of an hour the boat was seen entering the -harbour. It was rowed by a single person. Sir Hudson -went alone to the beach, and to his astonishment saw a -female of interesting appearance drop the oars and spring to -land. She stated that she had sailed from Bristol, under the -care of some missionary ladies, in a vessel called the <i>Robert -and Anne</i>, Captain Robinson, destined for Philadelphia; -that the vessel being driven out of its course by a tempest, -which continued for several successive days, the crew at -length perceived land, which the captain recognised to be -St. Helena: that she immediately conceived an ardent -desire of seeing the man with whose future fortunes she was -persuaded her own were mysteriously connected; and her -breast swelled with the prospect of contemplating face to face -an impostor not equalled on earth since the days of Mohammed; -but a change of wind to the S.S.E. nearly overset -her hopes. Finding the captain resolved to proceed according -to his original destination, she watched her opportunity, -and springing with a large clasp-knife into a small boat -which was slung at the stern, she cut the ropes, dropt safely -into the ocean, and rowed away. The wind was too strong -from the land to allow of the vessel being brought about to -thwart her object. Sir Hudson introduced her to Bonaparte<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -under the name of Caraboo! She described herself as -Princess of Javasu, and related a tale of extraordinary -interest, which seemed in a high degree to delight the -captive chief. He embraced her with every demonstration -of enthusiastic rapture, and besought Sir Hudson that she -might be allowed an apartment in his house, declaring that -she alone was an adequate solace in his captivity.</p> - -<p>"Sir Hudson subjoins: 'The familiar acquaintance with -the Malay tongue possessed by this most extraordinary -personage (and there are many on the island who understand -that language), together with the knowledge she displays of -the Indian and Chinese politics, and the eagerness with -which she speaks of these subjects, appear to convince every -one that she is no impostor. Her manner is noble and -fascinating in a wonderful degree.'</p> - -<p>"A private letter adds the following testimony to the -above statement, 'Since the arrival of this lady, her manners, -and I may say the countenance and figure of -Bonaparte appear to be wholly altered. From being -reserved and dejected, he has become gay and communicative. -No more complaints are heard about inconveniences -at Longwood. He has intimated to Sir Hudson his determination -to apply to the Pope for a dispensation to dissolve -his marriage with Maria Louisa, and to sanction his indissoluble -union with the enchanting Caraboo.'"</p> - -<p>However, corroboration of this strange story is wanting.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Lambert" id="Lambert">Fat Folks.—Lambert and Bright.</a></h3> - - -<p>About the centre of the new burial-ground of St. -Martin's Stamford Baron, is a black slate inscribed with gilt -letters to the memory of that immense mass of mortality, -Daniel Lambert, the most popularly known of "Fat -Folks."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p> - - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Altus in animo, in Corpore Maximus.<br /> -In remembrance of that prodigy in nature,<br /> -Daniel Lambert, a native of Leicester,<br /> -Who was possessed of an exalted and convivial mind;<br /> -and, in personal greatness had no competitor.<br /> -He measured 3 ft. 1 in. round the leg;<br /> -and weighed 52 st. 11 lbs.!<br /> -He departed this life on the 21st June, 1809,<br /> -aged 39 years.<br /> -As a testimony of respect, this<br /> -Stone is erected by his friends in Leicester."</p> - -<p>Daniel Lambert was born on the 13th of March, 1770, -at Leicester. His parents were not persons of remarkable -dimensions: but he had an uncle and aunt on the father's -side who were both very heavy.</p> - -<p>At the age of 19, young Lambert began to imagine that -he should be a heavy man. He possessed extraordinary -muscular power, and at the above age could lift great -weights, and carry five-hundred weight with ease. He -succeeded his father in the office of keeper of the prison at -Leicester, within a year after which his bulk began rapidly -to increase, owing to his confinement and sedentary life. -Though he never possessed any extraordinary agility, he -was able to kick to the height of seven feet, standing on -one leg.</p> - -<p>About the year 1793, when Lambert weighed 32 stone, -he walked from Woolwich to London, with much less -apparent fatigue than several middle-sized men who were -his companions. Upon this Mr. Wadd remarks: "It is -clear, therefore, that he was a strong, active man, and continued -so after the disease had made great progress; and I -think it may fairly be inferred that he would not have fallen -a sacrifice so early in life, if he had possessed fortitude -enough to meet the evil, and to have opposed it with determined -perseverance."</p> - -<p>Lambert was very expert in swimming, and taught hundreds -of the young people of Leicester. His power of floating,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> -owing to his uncommon bulk, was so great that he could -swim with two men of ordinary size upon his back. He -proved a humane keeper of the prison, and upon his retirement -from the office, the magistrates settled upon him an -annuity of 50<i>l.</i> for life, without any solicitation.</p> - -<p>He now lived a life of leisure at Leicester, but his uncommon -corpulence brought him many visitors; and he at -length found that he must either submit to be a close -prisoner in his own house, or endure the inconveniences -without receiving any of the profits of an exhibition. He -then determined to visit London; and as it was impossible -to procure a carriage large enough to admit him, he had a -vehicle built to convey him to the metropolis, where he -arrived in the spring of 1806, and fixed his abode in -Piccadilly. Here he was visited by much company. Among -them was the celebrated Polish dwarf, Count Boruwlaski, -who had before seen Lambert at Birmingham; the little man -exclaimed that he had seen the face twenty years ago, but -it was not surely the same body. In the course of conversation, -Lambert asked what quantity of cloth the Count -required for a coat, and how many he thought his would -make him. "Not many," answered Boruwlaski; "I take -good large piece of cloth myself—almost tree-quarters of a -yard." At this rate, one of Lambert's sleeves would have -abundantly sufficed for the purpose. The Count felt one of -Mr. Lambert's legs, "Ah, mine Got!" he exclaimed, "pure -flesh and blood; I feel de warm. No deception, I am -pleased, for I did hear it was deception." Mr. Lambert -asked if the Count's lady was alive; to which he replied, -"No, she is dead, and I am not very sorry, for when I -affront her, she put me on the mantel-shelf for punishment."<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> - -<p>In September, 1806, Lambert returned to Leicester, but -repeated his visit in the following year, and fixed his abode<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -in Leicester Square. Here, for the first time, he felt inconvenienced -by the atmosphere of the metropolis; accordingly, -by the advice of Dr. Heaviside, his physician, Lambert returned -to his native place. He then made a tour through -the principal cities and towns of England, and proved as -attractive in the provinces as he had formerly been in the -metropolis. He now enjoyed excellent health, and felt -perfectly at ease, either while sitting up or lying in bed. -His diet was plain, and the quantity moderate. For many -years he never drank anything stronger than water. He -slept well, but scarcely so much as other persons, and his -respiration was as free as any moderately-sized individual. -His countenance was manly and intelligent; he possessed -great information, much ready politeness, and conversed -with ease and facility. He had a powerful and melodious -tenor voice, and his articulation was perfectly clear and unembarrassed.</p> - -<p>Lambert had, however, for some time shown dropsical -symptoms. In June 1809, he was weighed at Huntingdon, -and by the Caledonian balance was found to be 52 stone 11 -lb. (14 lb. to the stone), 10st. 4lb. heavier than Bright, the -miller of Malden. His measure round the body was three -yards four inches, and one yard one inch round the -leg.</p> - -<p>A few days after this measurement, on June 20th, he arrived -from Huntingdon, at the Wagon and Horses Inn, St. -Martin's, Stamford, where preparations were made to receive -company the next day, and during Stamford races. He was -announced for exhibition; he gave his orders cheerfully, -without any presentiment that they were to be his last: he -was then in bed, only fatigued from his journey, but anxious -to be able to see company early in the morning. Before -nine o'clock however, the day following, he was a corpse! -He died in his apartment on the ground-floor of the inn, for -he had long been incapable of walking up-stairs.</p> - -<p>His interment was an arduous labour. His coffin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -measured six feet four inches long, four feet four inches wide, -and two feet four inches deep, and contained one hundred -and twelve superficial feet of elm. It was built upon two -axletrees and four wheels; the room-door and wall of the -room in which he lay were taken down to allow of his exit, -and thus his remains were drawn to the place of interment -at St. Martin's, Stamford. His grave was dug with a -gradual slope for several yards; and upwards of twenty men -were employed for nearly half-an-hour in getting the massive -corpse into its resting-place: the immense substance of the -legs made the coffin, of necessity, at most a square case. The -funeral was attended by thousands of persons from Stamford -and the country many miles round.</p> - -<p>At the Wagon and Horses Inn were preserved two suits -of Lambert's clothes: seven ordinarily-sized men were repeatedly -enclosed within his waistcoat, without breaking a -stitch or straining a button; each suit of clothes cost 20<i>l.</i> -His name was remembered for a time as a tavern sign: one -on the north side of Ludgate Street remained till within a -few years.</p> - -<p>The great weight of Edward Bright, the miller of Malden, -has been incidentally mentioned. He died on November -10th, 1750, at the age of 30. He was an active man till -within a year or two of his death; when his corpulency so -overpowered his strength, that his life was a burthen to him; -yet, as we have seen, he was ten stone four pounds lighter -than Lambert. Mr. Wadd says it is supposed that Bright's -weight at his death was forty-four stone, or 616 pounds.</p> - -<p>Horace Walpole relates the following story of Bright's -weight backed against that of the Duke of Cumberland:—"There -has been a droll cause in Westminster Hall: a -man laid another a wager that he produced a person who -should weigh as much again as the Duke. When they had -betted, they recollected not knowing how to desire the Duke -to step into the scale. They agreed to establish his weight -at twenty stone, which, however, is supposed to be two more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> -than he weighs. One Bright was then produced, who is -since dead, and who actually weighed forty-two stone and a -half. As soon as he was dead, the person who had lost objected -that he had been weighed in his clothes, and though -it was impossible to suppose that his clothes could weigh -above two stone, they went to law. There were the Duke's -twenty stone bawled over a thousand times,—but the -righteous law decided against the man who had won!"</p> - -<p>Bright, when twelve years old, weighed one hundred and -forty-four pounds; and there was another boy in Malden -at the same time, fourteen years of age, who weighed as -much.</p> - -<p>There was, however, an Essex man, who not only attained -a great weight, but lived to a great age, which is remarkable -among persons of this class. This was James -Mansfield, a butcher, who died at the village of Debden, on -November 9th, 1862, in his 82nd year. Though not above -the ordinary height, he measured nine feet round and -weighed thirty-three stone. When sitting in his chair, -made especially for his use, his abdomen covered his -knees and hung down almost to the ground. When he -lay down, it was necessary to pack his head to prevent -suffocation: he could only lie upon one side. He was -exhibited, in 1851, in Leicester Square, as "the greatest -man in the world." In a suit of his clothes four ordinarily-sized -men might be comfortably buttoned up. Mansfield, -just before his death, was a hale old man, of good constitution, -and a sanguine and happy temperament.</p> - -<p>Corpulency naturally subjects its bearers to some of</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i12">"The thousand natural shocks<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That flesh is heir to."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Among these inconveniences is the absolute prohibition -from horsemanship, and the difficulty of transportation -from place to place, which may be illustrated by the following -anecdotes, related by Mr. Wadd, in <i>Brande's Journal</i>, -1828:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. B.——, of Bath, a remarkably large, corpulent, and -powerful man, wanting to go by the mail, tried for a place -a short time before it started. Being told it was full, he -still determined to get admission, and opening the door, -which no one near him ventured to oppose, he got in. -When the other passengers came, the ostler reported that -there was a gentleman in the coach; he was requested to -come out, but having drawn up the blind, he remained -quiet. Hearing, however, a consultation on the means of -making him alight, and a proposal to "pull him out," he -let down the blind, and laying his enormous hand on the -edge of the door, he asked, who would dare to pull him out, -drew up the blind again, and waiting some time, fell asleep. -About one in the morning he awoke, and calling out to -know whereabout he was on the journey, he perceived, what -was the fact, that to end the altercation with him, the horses -had been put to another coach, and that he had spent the -night at the inn-door at Bath, where he had taken possession -of the carriage.</p> - -<p>A similar occurrence took place at Huddersfield. A -gentleman went to a proprietor of one of the coaches to take -a place for Manchester, but owing to the enormous size -of his person he was refused, unless he would consent to be -taken as lumber, at 9<i>d.</i> per stone, hinting at the same time -the advantage of being split in two. The gentleman was -not to be disheartened by this disappointment, but adopted -the plan of sending the ostler of one of the inns to -take a place for him, which he did, and in the morning -wisely took the precaution by fixing himself in the coach, -with the assistance of the bystanders, from whence he was -not to be removed easily. There placed, he was taken to -his destination. The consequence was, on his return he -was necessitated to adopt a similar process, to the no small -disappointment of the proprietors, who were compelled to -convey three gentlemen who had previously taken their -places in a chaise, as there was no room beside this importunate -passenger, who weighed about thirty-six stone.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Corpulence" id="Corpulence">A Cure for Corpulence.</a></h3> - - -<p>In 1863, a philanthropist laid before the public the -narrative of a man who was tremendously fat, who tried -hard for years to thin himself, and who at last succeeded. -Mr. Banting, the gentleman who had the courage and good -feeling to write and publish this narrative, not long before, -measured 5ft. 5in., and weighed about 14¼ stone. He owns -that he had a great deal to bear from his unfortunate make. -In the first place, the little boys in the streets laughed at -him; in the next place, he could not tie his own shoes; -and, lastly, he had, it appears, to come down-stairs backwards. -But he was a man who struggled gallantly, and -whatever he was recommended to do, he honestly tried to -carry out. He drank mineral waters, and consulted physicians, -and took sweet counsel with innumerable friends, -but all was in vain. He lived upon sixpence a-day, and -earned it, so that the favourite recipe of Abernethy failed in -his case. He went into all sorts of vapour baths and shampooing -baths. He took no less than ninety Turkish baths, -but nothing did him any good; he was still as fat as ever. -A kind friend recommended increased bodily exertion every -morning, and nothing seemed more likely to be effectual -than rowing. So this stout warrior with fat got daily into a -good, safe, heavy boat, and rowed a couple of hours. But -he was only pouring water into the bucket of the Danaides. -What he gained in one way he lost in another. His muscular -vigour increased; but then, with this there came a -prodigious appetite which he felt compelled to indulge, and -consequently he got fatter than he had been. At last he hit -upon the right adviser, who told him what to do, and whose -advice was so successful that Mr. Banting could soon walk -down-stairs forwards, put his old clothes quite over the suit -that now fitted him, and, far from being made the victim of -unkind or ill-judged chaff, was universally congratulated on -his pleasant and becoming appearance. The machinery by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> -which this change was effected was of a very simple kind. -He was told to leave off eating anything but meat. It -appears that none of his numerous friendly advisers, and -none of the physicians he consulted, penetrated so far into -the secresy of his domestic habits as to have discovered that -twice a day he used formerly to indulge in bowls of bread -and milk. The Solomon who saved him cut off this great -feeder of fat, and since then Mr. Banting has been a thinner -and a happier man.—<i>Abridged from the Saturday Review.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Epitaphs" id="Epitaphs">Epitaphs on Fat Folks.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the year 1755, died the great tallow-chandler whose -life and death are thus laconically recorded on his tombstone:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here lies in earth an honest fellow,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who died by fat, and lived by tallow.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Another corpulent person is thus lamented:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here lies the body of Thomas Dollman,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A vastly <i>fat</i>, though not a very tall man;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Full twenty stone he weighed, yet I am told,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His captain thought him worth his weight in gold:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Grim Death, who ne'er to nobody shows favour,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hurried him off for all his good behaviour;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Regardless of his weight, he bundled him away,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Fore any one "Jack Robinson" could say.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>A moral lesson is given in the following:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But why he grew so fat i' th' waist,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Now mark ye the true reason,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When other people used to fast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">He feasted in that season.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So now, alas! hath cruel Death<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Laid him in his sepulchre.<br /></span> -<hr class="tb1" /> -<span class="i0">Therefore, good people, here 'tis seen,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">You plainly may see here,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That fat men sooner die than lean,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Witness Fat Johnny Holder.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> - -<p>The son of a Dean, a man of very spare habit, expressing -to the son of a Bishop his astonishment at the great difference -of the size of their fathers, the Bishop being very fat, -he explained the reason in the following extempore parody -of the old song:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">There's a difference between<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A Bishop and a Dean,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And I'll tell you the reason why:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A Dean cannot dish up<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A dinner like a Bishop,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To feed such a fat son as I.<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Boruw" id="Boruw">Count Boruwlaski, the Polish Dwarf.</a></h3> - - -<p>One of the best attested cases of dwarfish existence on -record is that of Joseph Boruwlaski, the Polish dwarf, who -was the delight of our grandfathers, and who, after the age -of <i>seventy</i>, suddenly found himself able with his hand to raise -the latch of a door which up to that period he had always -raised with a stick. How many inches he grew is not recorded, -but the fact of his growth is sufficiently astonishing, -and is only paradoxical so long as we continue to hold the -general opinion that "men do not grow after reaching -maturity," whereas, in strict language, we must admit that -they <i>grow</i> as long as they live, but do not normally surpass -the standard of maturity; growth continues, but only to -supply the waste, not enough, as in childhood, to supply the -waste and furnish <i>surplus</i> for the increase.</p> - -<p>Count Joseph Boruwlaski is, in many respects, the most -interesting dwarf of whom we have accurate records, and he -has written his own memoir to complete our interest. He -has given us his height at various epochs as follows:—</p> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="Measurements"> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="page"> Ft.</td> <td class="page"> In.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">At one year old he measured</td> <td class="page">0</td> <td class="page">11</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">At three „ „</td> <td class="page">1</td> <td class="page">2</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">At six „ „</td> <td class="page">1</td> <td class="page">5</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">At ten „ „</td> <td class="page">1</td> <td class="page">9</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">At fifteen „ „</td> <td class="page">2</td> <td class="page">1</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">At twenty „ „</td> <td class="page">2</td> <td class="page">4</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">At twenty-five years old he measured</td> <td class="page">2</td> <td class="page">11</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">At thirty „ „</td> <td class="page">3</td> <td class="page">3</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Illus26" id="Illus26"> -<img style="margin-top: 1.5em;" src="images/image30.jpg" width="400" height="385" alt="Count Boruwlaski in disgrace with his wife." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">Count Boruwlaski in disgrace with his wife.</p> - -<p>Here he stopped until he was seventy. He was born at -Chaliez, in Russian Poland, November, 1739, of noble -parents, who were richer in pedigree than in land or money. -They were both well formed, healthy, and of the ordinary -size; yet of their six children, three were dwarfs; and, to -add to the singularity, the dwarfs <i>alternated</i> with well-formed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -children. Joseph was 8 inches in length when born, yet -perfectly well-formed, and he sucked with infantine success, -walking and talking at about the usual age.</p> - -<p>On reaching his ninth year, he lost his father, who left a -widow and six children very ill-provided for. Luckily, a -friend of the widow, a Madame de Caorliz, adopted Joseph, -and with her the boy spent four happy years. His benefactress -then married, and this event produced a change in -his fortunes. A dwarf so remarkable was naturally enough -an envied possession; and the Countess Humieska, a very -great person indeed, felt the desire natural in so great a -person, to have this among her curiosities. Domiciled with -the great Countess, Joseph began to taste the splendours -and luxuries of courts. They travelled through Poland, -Germany, and France, and everywhere he was the lion of -the hour. At Vienna he was presented to Maria Theresa, -who, pleased with his courtly compliments, kissed him, and -complimented the Countess on her travelling companion. -On another occasion, Joseph, in the lap of the Empress, -who had sixteen children of her own, and doted on them, -was looking at the hand in which his own was clasped, and -which flashed light from a ring bearing her cipher in brilliants. -She asked him if he was pleased with the ring; he -told her it was the <i>hand</i> he looked at, and at the same time -raised it to his lips. The flattered Empress insisted on -giving him the ring; but alas! it was too large, whereupon -she called to a young lady of about six years old, and taking -from her a fine diamond ring, placed it on Joseph's finger: -this young lady was Marie Antoinette.</p> - -<p>From Vienna the travellers proceeded to Munich, and -thence, after countless fêtes, they went to Luneville, the -court of Stanislas Leckzinski, titular King of Poland. Here -Joseph met the dwarf Bébé, of whom Boruwlaski gives this -account:—"With this prince (Stanislas) lived the famous -Bébé, till then considered the most extraordinary dwarf that -was ever seen; and who was, indeed, perfectly well proportioned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> -and with a pleasant physiognomy, but who (I am -sorry to say it, for the honour of us dwarfs) had all the -defects in his mind and way of thinking which are commonly -attributed to us. He was at that time about thirty,<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> and his -height two feet eight inches; and when measured, it appeared -that I was much shorter, being no more than two feet -four inches. At our first interview he showed much fondness -for me; but, on perceiving that I preferred the company and -conversation of sensible people, and above all, when he -perceived that the King took pleasure in my society, he -conceived the most violent jealousy and hatred of me; so -that I escaped his fury only by a miracle. One day, we -were both in the apartment of his Majesty, who caressed me, -and asked me several questions, testifying his pleasure and -approbation of my replies in the most affectionate manner. -Then addressing Bébé, he said: 'You see, Bébé, what a -difference there is between him and you. He is amiable, -cheerful, entertaining, and instructed, whereas you are but a -little machine.' At these words I saw fury sparkle in his -eyes; he answered nothing, but his countenance and blush -proved how violently he was agitated. A moment after, the -King having gone into his cabinet, Bébé availed himself of -the opportunity to execute his revengeful projects; and -slyly approaching, seized me by the waist, and endeavoured -to push me on to the fire. Luckily, I laid hold with both -hands of the iron prop which sustained the tongs and poker, -and thus prevented his wicked intentions. The noise I -made in defending myself brought back the king to my -assistance. He afterwards called the servants, and ordered -Bébé corporal punishment. In vain did I intercede."</p> - -<p>On quitting the court of Stanislas, Boruwlaski visited -that of Versailles, where the Queen, the Duke of Orleans,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -and other distinguished personages, made as much of him as -vanity could desire. The Count Orginski, finding he had a -taste for music, provided him a master for the guitar. At -the table of this nobleman, he one day allowed himself to -be concealed in a large vase, which was placed amid the -dishes, and to which the attention of the guests was directed, -till their curiosity was fairly roused, expecting some rarity -surpassing all the delicacies of the already sumptuous -banquet; and then Joseph suddenly stood up, amid shouts -of laughter.</p> - -<p>From Paris he went to Holland, and thence back to -Poland. His reception in Warsaw was enthusiastic; and as -travel and reading had given polish to his manners and culture -to his intellect, his society became sought after for -something more than mere curiosity. He now attended the -theatre, and became fascinated with the actresses. His first -love was a French actress, who, amused and flattered, pretended -to return his passion, and for a time he was in a -delirium of happiness; but an unlucky discovery of her having -talked about his passion with mockery, cruelly dispelled -his brief dream. To be in love with an actress, and to find that -she has been laughing at the passion she has inspired, and -only feigning to return it for some object of her own, is what -many young men have had to experience; but perhaps in -none could the mortification of self-love have been so cruel -as in the little dwarf, who knew the ridicule which must -necessarily attend his presumption in claiming the privilege -of a man. But the heart having once known the bitter-sweet -of love, will not long be kept from it; and Joseph soon fixed -his affections on Isolina, a <i>protégée</i> of the Countess Humieska, -who, living under the same roof with him, was much astonished -to observe that he allowed every <i>other</i> lady to take him on -her lap and caress him; she accused him of not liking her, -because to her only he was reserved and shy. Now, he -had not forgotten the ridicule of the French actress: for a -whole twelvemonth he continued loving in silence, in doubt,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -and in trouble. His health suffered; at last, passion -triumphed over his fears; he declared his love, which the -lady treated as the love of a child. "Really," said she, -"you are a child, and I cannot help laughing at your extravagance." -He tried to convince her that he was no child, -and would not be loved like a child; when she burst out -laughing, told him he knew not what he said, and left the -room.</p> - -<p>This was a ludicrous situation, but with a tragic aspect; -a young and lively woman receiving a passionate declaration -from a being not taller than a child three or four years old, -may be excused if her sense of the ludicrous prevented her -understanding the seriousness of the passion she inspired. -Joseph was hurt, but not altogether dissatisfied. The secret -no longer pressed its uneasy burden on his mind. She -knew of his love; she could now interpret his reserve—his -melancholy—his silent adoration. In time she might be -touched. For the first few days, indeed, there seemed little -hope of such an issue. She bantered him incessantly, and -the more he tried to speak to her as a man, the more she -persisted in treating him like a child. The effect of this -was a serious illness; for two months he was in danger. He -recovered, and she, from that time, gave up the dangerous -game; and they were eventually married.</p> - -<p>We must now accompany Boruwlaski to England, where -he was received by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, -and was presented to the King and Queen, and patronized -by the Prince of Wales and the nobility.</p> - -<p>Among the remarkable persons whom the Count met -was O'Brien, the Irish giant. "Our surprise," says Boruwlaski, -"was mutual—the giant remained a moment speechless -with astonishment, and then stooping half-way, he presented -his hand, which could easily have contained a dozen of -mine, and made me a very pretty compliment." When they -stood beside each other, the giant's knee was nearly on a -level with the dwarf's head. They both resided together<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> -some time at an inn at Epping, where they often walked out -together, greatly to the amusement of the townsfolk.</p> - -<p>Mathews, the comedian, was a friend and admirer of -Boruwlaski, and contrived to get an interview arranged with -George IV. for the presentation of a copy of the Count's -<i>Memoirs</i>, published in 1788. Mathews and his little charge -were ushered into the presence of the sovereign: the King -rose and met Boruwlaski, raised him up in his arms, in a -kind embrace, saying, "My dear old friend, how delighted -I am to see you!" and then placed the little man upon a sofa. -But the Count's loyalty not being so satisfied, he descended -with the agility of a schoolboy, and threw himself at his -master's feet, who, however, would not suffer him to remain -in that position for a minute, but raised him again upon -the sofa. In the course of the conversation, the Count, -addressing the King in French, was told that his English was -so good it was quite unnecessary to speak in any other language; -for his Majesty, with his usual tact, easily discerned -that he should be a loser in resigning the Count's prettily-broken -English, which (as he always thought in his native -language, and literally translated its idioms) was the most -amusing imaginable, and totally distinct from the imperfect -English of other foreigners.... The King, in the course of -conversation, said, "But, Count, you were married when I -first knew you: I hope madame is still alive, and as well as -yourself." "Ah, no! Majesty; Isolina die thirty year! <i>Fine</i> -woman! <i>sweet</i>, <i>beauty</i> body! You have no <i>idea</i>, Majesty." -"I am sorry to hear of her death; such a charming person -must have been a great loss to you, Count." "Dat is very true, -Majesty; <i>indid, indid</i>, it was great sorrow for me!" His -Majesty then inquired how old the Count was, and on being -told, with a start of surprise observed, "Count, you are the -finest man of your age I ever saw. I wish you could return -the compliment." To which Boruwlaski, not to be outdone -in courtesy, ludicrously replied, "Oh! Majesty, <i>fine</i> body! -<i>indid, indid</i>; <i>beauty</i> body!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p> - -<p>The King, on accepting the book which the Count -wished to present, turned to the Marchioness of Conyngham, -and took from her a little case containing a beautiful miniature -watch and seals, attached to a superb chain, the watch -exquisitely ornamented with jewels. This the King begged -the Count to accept, saying, as he held the <i>Memoirs</i> in the -other hand, "My dear friend, I shall read and preserve this -as long as I live, for your sake; and in return I request you -will wear this for mine." His Majesty said to Mathews, in -the absence of the Count, "If I had a dozen sons, I could -not point out to them a more perfect model of good -breeding and elegance than the Count; he is really a most -accomplished and charming person."</p> - -<p>It appears that, by the kindness of friends, Boruwlaski -had purchased an annuity, which secured him independence -for the remainder of his life. Out of this transaction arose -a laughable incident. One day he called at the insurance -office with Mr. Mathews, and on being asked how he was, -he replied, with the vivacity of eighteen, "Oh, <i>never</i> better! -<i>quite</i> vel!" and he ran out of the office from the gaze of the -aged insurer, scarcely able to restrain his merriment till he -got out of hearing. He then told Mr. Mathews, during his -convulsions of laughter, that the person they had just seen -was the granter of his annuity. "Ha! ha! ha! O Mattew, -I cannot help! Oh <i>poor devil</i>, poor <i>hold</i> body! It <i>maks me -laffing</i>, poor <i>hold hanimal</i>! Oh he say prayer for me die, -often when he <i>slip</i>! Oh you may <i>de</i>pend—ha! ha! ha! but -Boruwlaski <i>never</i> die! He <i>calcoolated dat</i> dwarf not live it -long, <i>et</i> I live it forty year to <i>plag</i> him. Oh he is in a <i>hobbel -debblishly</i>! I <i>tellee dat</i>! He fifty year <i>yonger den</i> Boruwlaski; -<i>mintime</i> he dead as soon as me. Oh yes, you may be -sure <i>dat</i>—<i>dat</i> is my <i>oppinnon</i>. Boruwlaski never die," -playfully nodding his little head, "you may <i>de</i>pend." Mr. -Mathews asked him if the old man had any family (feeling -some compassion for his hard case), to which the Count -cried out, "Oh he have it <i>shildren</i> twenty, like a pig, poor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> -<i>devel</i>! <i>mintime</i> he <i>riche</i> body! Oh he have it <i>goold et wast</i> -many bank <i>nott</i>. <i>Bote</i> he have it <i>greet prepencity</i> to keep -him fast hold, poor idi<i>ot</i>! <i>It macks me laffing!</i>"—(See the -<i>Memoirs of Charles Mathews</i>, by Mrs. Mathews.)</p> - -<p>To these characteristics we are enabled to add that of an -English letter, written by the Count in his <i>eighty-ninth</i> year, -the handwriting of which is singularly firm and steady, resembling -that of a school boy of about fourteen. We shall -copy it <i>literatim</i> from the autograph letter in the possession -of Lord Houghton. It is addressed to Miss Emma George, -at Miss Bird's, Pitt street, Edinburgh, and runs thus:—</p> - -<p>"Dear Emma.—I am a fraid you will think me negligent -in not answering your kind Letter which I received both. -which made me delay write soonere I was en a visite at -Newcastle, and I remain rathere to lon. and with the acceident -happing when I burn your Lette in which been -your derection, when I do so after reading, for alwais afraid -of aney mischiefe at homes, what you know my situation, in -which I remain to this day. and increas dayli more and -more unhappy. I have maney things to tell you and you -wish to know about me, but I cannot trust to a Lettere to -disclos, and gave you picture of my precise state of my Life -with extended Field, to make description of my trouble but -only I may say truly. That I find myselfe without friend in -a Stranger Country. Yet from the aspect of flattering appearance. -I thought aftere a very fatiging journey in the -begonning of my Life, that no kind of vexation would distourb -my present state of happiness at Durham. Upon -which my mind being grounded, in expectation of all feliesity. -But here what to say of my sorrow with astonishment, when -I found overeeting, when I behod now nothing but betterness -of heart, and so heavy a Cloud over my existance in -misery. So I have not on friend, but I have wakeful body -who watch all my motion. So I have my share to be partner -with you and support on othere, when we are left to ourself -in a Pilgrimage in which we are engaged so severely.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> -To be sure I feel the disappointments of my situation. Yet -I have experience that I cannot help thinking that it was well -that Providence had blessed me, to alowd me kindly as litll -as it is: Yet to accomodated Dear Emma according to -fortune which God gave me, which Dear Emma will receive -next month your 5<i>l.</i> I beg Dear Emma make your selfe -happy and not uneasy if some time I delay in answering -your Lettere. Notwithstanding you most know me now to -trust me and have Confidence in me that I ame not Changable -nature, but remain, and believe me, your sincer affectiont, -Joseph Boruwlaski.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"<i>Durham 17 March 1828.</i>"</p></blockquote> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>This singular being lived to the extraordinary age of -ninety-eight; a great age for an ordinary man, and quite -without example in the history of dwarfs. He died at -Bank's Cottage, near Durham, on the 5th of September, -1837, and his remains were placed near those of Stephen -Kemble, in the Nine Altars of Durham Cathedral. It is -stated in the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i> (October, 1837), that the -cottage was the gift of some of the prebendaries of Durham, -who also allowed him a handsome income. They may have -given him the cottage, but the income came, as Boruwlaski -himself informs us, from the Misses Metcalfe. In the -parish church of St. Mary-the-Less is a mural tablet of white -stone, with an inscription erected in memory of the Count, -who long resided in the city, and has, indeed, given his -name to a bend in the river, known as "Count's Corner."—(Walker's -<i>Brief Sketch of Durham</i>, 4th edition, 1865.) If -the reader attentively considers the story we have narrated, -he will perceive that the Count, although an anomaly in respect -of size, was in all other respects a perfectly formed -man, and is distinguished from most other dwarfs by longevity, -paternity, and intelligence. The anomaly, therefore, -could not have been deeply seated. He was a perfect copy -of nature's finest work in duodecimo. A full-length portrait<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> -of him may be seen in the Hunterian Museum, life-size, leaning -against a chair.</p> - -<p>It may be interesting to narrate a few more examples of -dwarf life, from accredited sources.</p> - -<p>M. St. Hilaire relates from the <i>Philosophical Transactions</i>, -1751-2, the case of a dwarf named Hopkins, who, at fifteen -years of age, stood only 2 ft. 7 in., and weighed between 12 -and 13 lbs. He had all the signs of old age. He was bent, -deformed, and troubled with a dry cough. His hearing and -sight were bad; his teeth almost all decayed. He was very -thin, and so weak as scarcely to be able to stand. Till the -age of seven he had been gay, healthy, and active; nor at -that age did he show any indications of stopped growth. He -was well formed, and weighed nineteen pounds, <i>i.e.</i> six -pounds more than he weighed at fifteen. From that period -his health declined, and his body wasted. He came from -healthy parents of ordinary stature, and was the second of -six children, another of whom also was a dwarf.</p> - -<p>Dantlow, the Russian dwarf, was only thirty inches high; -he was without arms, and had only four toes on each foot. -With his feet he made pen-and-ink sketches rivalling etchings; -and knitted stockings with needles made of wood. He -fed himself with his left foot; learned with great facility, and -was eager to learn.</p> - -<p>M. Virey describes a German girl, exhibited in Paris -in 1816. She was of parents above the average height, who -had previously produced a male dwarf. At eight years old -she weighed no more than an ordinary infant; her height -was eighteen inches. In temper she was gay, restless, -and excitable. Her pulse normally was at ninety-four.</p> - -<p>M. Virey also relates the following example; Thérèse -Souvray, was destined to become the bride of Bébé, to -whom she was solemnly affianced in the year 1761; but -death snatched the bridegroom from her, and as the <i>fiancée</i> -of this celebrated man, she was exhibited in Paris during the -year 1821. She was then seventy-three years of age;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> -gay, healthy, lively, and danced with her sister, two years -her senior, and measuring only three feet and a half, French -measure.</p> - -<p>In 1865, there died in Paris the dwarf Richebourg, who -was an historical personage. Richebourg, who was only 60 -centimètres high, was in his sixteenth year placed in the -household of the Duchess of Orleans (the mother of King -Louis-Philippe). He was often made useful for the transmission -of dispatches. He was dressed up as a baby, and -important State papers placed in his clothes, and thus he -was able to effect a communication between Paris and the -<i>émigrés</i>, which could hardly have taken place by any other -means. The most suspicious of <i>sans culottes</i> never took -it into his head to stop a nurse with a baby in her arms. For -the last thirty years he lived in Paris in one of the houses in -the remotest part of the Faubourg St. Germain. He had a -morbid dread of appearing in public, and it is recorded that -during this long period he never put his foot outside the -house. He received from the Orleans family a pension of -3,000 francs per annum. He had attained the ripe age of -ninety-two.</p> - -<p>A writer in <i>Fraser's Magazine</i>, August, 1856, from the -above and other examples of dwarfs quoted by him, sets -down these few general conclusions upon the question of -their organization:—"In doing so," he remarks, "it will be -well to bear in mind that the very fact of dwarfs being <i>anomalies</i>, -renders any generalization respecting them subject to -many qualifications in each particular instance. Thus, although -it is true, as a general fact, that they are short-lived -and unintelligent, we see examples of more than ordinary -intelligence in Boruwlaski and his brother, and Jeffrey Hudson, -and of longevity in them. One may assert, indeed, -that longevity and intelligence are intimately allied in the -dwarf organization; for, whenever the anomaly of growth is -not profound enough to affect the health, it is presumably -too superficial to affect the intelligence; and, <i>vice versâ</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> -when we see a being passing rapidly from childhood to old -age, we may be certain that the organization is too aberrant -from the normal type to permit the free development of -intelligence. Another general fact about dwarfs, and one to -which we know of no exception, is that they are very excitable, -and consequently, irascible; when in good health, -lively, restless, and turbulent. This, indeed, is a characteristic -of men and animals of the small type."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Giant" id="Giant">The Irish Giant.</a></h3> - - -<p>This extraordinary person, whose height was eight feet -seven-and-a-half inches, was born at Kinsale, in Ireland. -His real name was Patrick Cotter. He was of obscure parentage, -and originally laboured as a bricklayer. His uncommon -size rendered him a mark for the cunning of a showman, -who, for the payment of 50<i>l.</i> per annum, had the privilege -of exhibiting Cotter for three years in England. Not contented -with his bargain, the huckster underlet to another -speculator the liberty of showing him; and poor Cotter, -through resisting this nefarious transaction, was saddled with -a fictitious debt, and thrown into a spunging-house in Bristol. -In this situation he was visited by a gentleman of the city, -who, compassionating his distress, and having reason to think -that he was unjustly detained, generously became his bail, -and investigated the affair; and not only obtained Cotter his -liberty, but freed him from all kind of obligation to serve -his taskmaster any longer. He was then but eighteen years -old. He retained, to his last breath, a due sense of the good -offices of the Bristol stranger, conferred upon him when he -was sorely in need; and the giant did not forget his benefactor -in his will.</p> - -<p>It happened to be September when Cotter was liberated; -and by the further assistance of his benefactor, he was -enabled to exhibit himself in the St. James's fair at Bristol; -and in three days he found himself possessed of thirty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> -pounds, English money. He now commenced a regular exhibition -of his person, which he continued until within two years -of his death, when having realized sufficient money to enable -him to keep a carriage, and live in good style, he declined to -exhibit any more, which was always irksome to his feelings. -He was unoffending and amiable in his manners; was -possessed of good sense, and his mind was not uncultivated; -he long kept a journal of his life, which a whim of the -moment induced him to commit to the flames. He died in -his forty-sixth year, September 8th, 1806, at the Hotwells, -Bristol. He was buried in the Roman Catholic chapel, -Trenchard Street, at six o'clock in the morning, this early -hour being fixed on to prevent as much as possible the assemblage -of a crowd; but it is stated that at least 2,000 -persons were present. The coffin, of lead, measured nine feet -two inches in the clear, and the wooden case four inches -more; it was three feet across the shoulders. No hearse -could be procured long enough to contain the coffin, the projecting -end of which was draped with black cloth. Fourteen -men bore it from the hearse to the grave, into which it -was let down with pulleys. To prevent any attempt to disturb -his remains, of which Cotter had, when living, the -greatest horror, the grave was made twelve feet deep, in a -solid rock. A plaster cast of his right hand may be seen at -the College of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Extra" id="Extra">Birth Extraordinary.</a></h3> - - -<p>On Sunday, the 23rd of October, 1836, occurred an -event interesting to physiologists. The wife of a dwarf, -Don Santiago de los Santos (herself a dwarf), was delivered -of a well-formed male infant, at their residence, No. 167, -High Holborn, near Museum Street. The accoucheurs were -Mr. Bowden, of Sloane Street, Chelsea, who had before -attended Donna Santiago on a similar occasion; and Dr. -Davis of Savile Row. Both gentlemen had for some time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> -been very assiduous in their attentions to the little lady; but -the infant, though it came into the world alive, did not -survive above half-an-hour. Its length was thirteen and a -half inches: its weight one pound four ounces and a half -(avoirdupois); it was in every respect well-formed; and the -likeness of the face to that of its father was very striking. It -was carried in a coffin to St. George's Church, Bloomsbury; -but being there refused sepulture, it was taken home, preserved -in spirits, and subsequently exhibited. Dr. Davis -was anxious to have it submitted to dissection, and to lecture -upon it in the theatre of University College; this, however, -was objected to by the Lilliputian parents, who appeared -poignantly to feel the proposition.</p> - -<p>Don Santiago, who was only twenty-five inches high, -was at this time in his fiftieth year. He was a native of the -Spanish settlement of Manilla, in one of the forests of -which he was exposed and deserted, on account of his -diminutive size. He was, however, miraculously saved by -the Viceroy, who was hunting in that quarter, and humanely -ordered him to be taken care of, and nursed with the same -tenderness as his own children, with whom the little -creature was brought up and educated, until he had attained -the age of <i>manhood</i>. His birth dated from the period of his -exposure, which was in 1786. His parents, it was ascertained, -were farmers; and were with their other children -(sons, daughters), of robust frame, and rather above the usual -height.</p> - -<p>When the Don was twenty years of age, his humane -protector died; and attachment to the place of his birth prevented -his accompanying his foster brother and sisters to Old -Spain. This wilfulness cost him dearly; neglected by his -parents and family, he suffered hardships and privations of -the most afflicting nature. At length he found his way to -Madras, and was, in the year 1830, brought to England by -the captain of a trading vessel. During the voyage he was -washed overboard by a heavy sea; but hencoops and spars<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -being thrown out, and other assistance afforded, his life was -saved.</p> - -<p>On his arrival in northern latitudes, he suffered severely -from cold, and even when accustomed to the climate, he -could not swallow cold water. Still, he never went near a -fire, although he felt sensibly if his room was not kept warm. -He was stoutly built, and generally in cheerful spirits and -good health. His complexion was of a slight copper colour, -and the expression of his countenance was pleasing and intelligent. -His habits were temperate, and he seldom drank -anything but warm water; but on birthdays and other anniversaries, -he indulged in a few glasses of wine. He was fond -of music and dancing, and gallant to the ladies; but his -ruling passion appeared to be a fondness for jewellery and -silver-plate, to which ornaments he had been accustomed in -the house and at the table of the Viceroy of Manilla. His -mind appeared to be deeply impressed with the tenets of the -Roman Catholic church, in which his foster-father took care to -have him instructed. He read his prayer-book and -psalter morning and evening, very devoutly crossing himself, -and performing his genuflexions and the other ceremonies -inculcated by the teachers of that faith. Once or -twice a month, he went to the Spanish Ambassador's -chapel, where, secluded from observation, he worshipped -with the sincerity and devotion of a good Catholic. Besides -his native tongue, he spoke an Indian <i>patois</i>, conversed freely -in Portuguese, and in English indifferently well.</p> - -<p>He became acquainted with his little wife in Birmingham, -of which town she was a native. Her name was Ann -Hopkins; her height was thirty-eight inches, or thirteen -inches taller than her dwarf spouse. She was thirty-one -years of age, and was a pretty little creature possessing much -symmetry and grace. Her father stood six feet one inch -and a half out of his shoes; her mother was of middle size, -and her brothers and sisters, nine in number, were all tall -and robust. The little Don and Donna lived together very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> -affectionately, their attachment having been mutual and at -first sight; their only difference of opinion being, that she -being of the Protestant faith, they did not worship together. -They were married on the 6th of July, 1834, in the Roman -Catholic chapel at Birmingham; and two days after, at St. -Martin's church, in the same town, by the Rev. Mr. Foy; -the high bailiff giving away the bride. The crowd of -spectators was so great that the assistance of the police was -necessary to secure the ingress and egress of the little couple -into and out of the church. Much uneasiness was caused -to the bridegroom by the refusal of one clergyman to -ratify his marriage in the Protestant church, on the supposition -that it was contrary to the canon law; but this difficulty -was ultimately arranged.—<i>Abridged from the Morning -Advertiser.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="William" id="William">William Hutton's "Strong Woman."</a></h3> - - -<p>William Hutton, the Birmingham manufacturer, was -accustomed to take a month's tour every summer, and to -note down his observations on places and people. Some of -the results appeared in distinct books, some in his autobiography, -and some in the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, towards -the close of the last century and the beginning of the -present. One year he would be accompanied by his father, -a tough old man, who was not frightened at a twenty-mile -walk; another year he would go alone; while on one occasion -his daughter went with him, she riding on horseback, -and he trudging on foot by her side. Various parts of -England and Wales were thus visited, at a time when -tourists' facilities were slender indeed. It appears from his -lists of distances that he could "do" fifteen or twenty miles -a day for weeks together; although his mode of examining -places led to a much slower rate of progress.</p> - -<p>One of the odd characters which Hutton met with at -Matlock, in Derbyshire, in July 1801, is worth describing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> -in his own words. After noticing the rocks and caves at -that town, he said, "The greatest wonder I saw was Miss -Phœbe Bown, in person five feet six, about thirty, well-proportioned, -round-faced and ruddy; a dark penetrating eye, -which, the moment it fixes upon your face, stamps your -character, and that with precision. Her step (pardon the -Irishism) is more manly than a man's, and can easily cover -forty miles a day. Her common dress is a man's hat, coat -with a spencer about it, and men's shoes; I believe she is a -stranger to breeches. She can lift one hundred-weight with -each hand, and carry fourteen score. Can sew, knit, cook, -and spin, but hates them all, and every accompaniment to -the female character, except that of modesty. A gentleman -at the New Bath recently treated her so rudely, that 'she -had a good mind to have knocked him down.' She positively -assured me she did not know what fear is. She -never gives an affront, but will offer to fight anyone who -gives her one. If she has not fought, perhaps it is owing to -the insulter being a coward, for none else would <i>give</i> an -affront [to a woman]. She has strong sense, an excellent -judgment, says smart things, and supports an easy freedom -in all companies. Her voice is more than masculine, it is -deep toned; the wind in her face, she can send it a mile; -has no beard; accepts any kind of manual labour, as holding -the plough, driving the team, thatching the ricks, &c. -But her chief avocation is breaking in horses, at a guinea a -week! always rides without a saddle; and is supposed the -best judge of a horse, cow, &c., in the country; and is -frequently requested to purchase for others at the neighbouring -fairs. She is fond of Milton, Pope, Shakespeare, -also of music; is self-taught; performs on several instruments, -as the flute, violin, harpsichord, and supports the -bass-viol in Matlock church. She is an excellent markswoman, -and, like her brother-sportsmen, carries her gun -upon her shoulder. She eats no beef or pork, and but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> -little mutton: her chief food is milk, and also her drink—discarding -wine, ale, and spirits."—<i>From the Book of Days.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Bees" id="Bees">Wildman and His Bees.</a></h3> - - -<p>In Winchester Place, now Pentonville Road, near to the -south-east corner of Penton Street, stood "Prospect House," -so called from the fine view which it commanded over -London and the circumjacent country. In the British -Museum is a fine pen-and-ink drawing of a view of London -from Pentonville, by Antonio Canaletti; and we find -"Prospect House" in the rate-books in 1669; there were -bowling-greens attached to it "for gentleman bowlers." -Subsequently the house was named from its proprietor, and -became popularly known as Dobney's, or D'Aubigny's. Mrs. -Dobney, who kept the house for many years, died in 1760, -at the age of eighty-six. It then passed to a new proprietor, -a Mr. Johnson, who built on the bowling-green, which was -near the corner of Penton Street, an amphitheatre for -equestrian performances, <i>al fresco</i>, and engaged one Price, -who had been starring at the Three Hats, a rival house close -by, to exhibit his original feats of horsemanship. In 1769, -the house was the scene of Philip Jonas's exhibition of -"dexterity of hands;" and about this time was shown here -the skeleton of a whale sixty feet long. In 1770, the house -was taken for a boarding school, but was soon closed. It -was then re-opened as the Jubilee Tea Gardens (from the -Jubilee got up at Stratford-upon-Avon, by Garrick, in honour -of Shakespeare); the interiors of the boxes were painted -with scenes from some of his plays.</p> - -<p>In 1772, the celebrated Daniel Wildman exhibited here -his bees every evening (wet evenings excepted). He made -several new and amazing experiments; he rode standing -upright, one foot on the saddle, and the other on the horse's -neck, with a curious <i>mask of bees</i> on his head and face. He -also rode standing upright on the saddle with the bridle in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -his mouth, and by firing a pistol, made one part of the bees -march over a table, and the other part swarm in the air and -return to their proper hive again. Wildman's performances -of the "Bees on Horseback" were also thus described:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He with uncommon art and matchless skill<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Commands those insects, who obey his will;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With bees others cruel means employ,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They take their honey and the bees destroy;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wildman humanely, with ingenious ease,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He takes the honey, but preserves the bees.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Wildman also sold bees from one stock in "the common or -newly-invented hives." He published a "Guide for Bee -Management" at his Bee and Honey Warehouse, No. 326, -Holborn. In 1774, the gardens were much neglected, the -walks not being kept in order, nor the hedges properly cut; -but there were several good apartments in the house, besides -handsome tea-rooms; but the ground was cleared about -1790, and the present handsome dwelling-houses in Winchester -Place were built upon part of the site. The gardens, -though much shorn of their beauty and attractiveness, continued -in existence until the year 1810, when they disappeared; -and the only memorial that remains on the site of -this once famed place of amusement, is a mean court in -Penton Street, known as Dobney's Court. Mr. Upcott, of -the London Institution, had in his collection a drawing of -Prospect House, taken about 1780.—<i>Pinks' History of -Clerkenwell.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Stowell" id="Stowell">Lord Stowell's love of Sight-seeing.</a></h3> - - -<p>Lord Stowell loved manly sports, and was not above -being pleased with the most rude and simple diversions. -He gloried in Punch and Judy—their fun stirred his mirth -without, as in Goldsmith's case, provoking spleen. He -made a boast on one occasion that there was not a puppet-show -in London he had not visited, and when turned fourscore,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> -was caught watching one at a distance with children -of less growth in high glee. He has been known to make a -party with Windham to visit Cribb's, and to have attended -the Fives Court as a favourite resort. "There were curious -characters," he observed, "to be seen at these places." He -was the most indefatigable sight-seer in London. Whatever -show could be visited for a shilling, or less, was visited by -Lord Stowell. In the western end of London there was a -room generally let for exhibitions. At the entrance, as it is -said, Lord Stowell presented himself, eager to see "the green -monster serpent," which had lately issued cards of invitation -to the public. As he was pulling out his purse to pay for -his admission, a sharp but honest north-country lad, whose -business it was to take the money, recognised him as an old -customer, and knowing his name, thus addressed him: "We -can't take your shilling, my lord; 'tis the old serpent which -you have seen twice before in other colours; but ye shall -go in and see her." He entered, saved his money, and -enjoyed his third visit to the painted beauty. This love of -seeing sights was, on another occasion, productive of the -following whimsical incident. Some thirty years ago, an -animal, called a "Bonassus," was exhibited in the Strand. -On Lord Stowell's paying it a second visit, the keeper very -courteously told his lordship that he was welcome to come, -gratuitously, as often as he pleased. Within a day or two -after this, however, there appeared, under the bills of the -exhibition, in conspicuous characters, "Under the patronage -of the Right Hon. Lord Stowell;" an announcement of -which the noble and learned lord's friends availed themselves, -by passing many a joke upon him; all of which he -took with the greatest good humour.</p> - -<p>Lord Stowell was a great eater, and, says Mr. Surtees, -"the feats which he performed with the knife and fork were -eclipsed by those which he would afterwards display with -the bottle." His habits were slovenly and unclean. "The -hand that could pen the neatest of periods was itself often<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> -dirty and unwashed; and the mouth which could utter eloquence -so graceful, or such playful wit, fed voraciously, and -selected the most greasy food." Then again, he was an unquestionable -miser. He kept a very mean establishment. -Fond as he was of his wine, he would drink less at his own -than at other tables. "He could drink any <i>given</i> quantity," -as was wittily observed by his brother, Lord Eldon, but was -abstemious where he had to pay. The most painful fact that -remains to be recorded respecting him is, that when his only -son William had formed an attachment that was unexceptionable, -he, though it may be said he rolled in riches, would -not make him a sufficient allowance to enable him to marry. -It has been stated that his son died from the effects of intemperate -habits; and it must be added, that but for this disappointment -the young man might have lived. In despair -he plunged into excesses. His father just survived him, -and his great wealth was gathered up by collaterals. Perhaps -his fondness of poking about London, visiting cheap shows, -was connected more with his avarice than with his curiosity. -After his elevation to the peerage, he was actually seen -coming out of a penny show in London—cheap excitement! -Like Lord Eldon, though a great friend of the church, he -never attended public worship. What had been said of his -brother might have been said of him, that he was more -properly a buttress of the church than a pillar, for he was -never seen inside it. At the same time, there is no reason -to doubt that he was a good Christian; probably, like many -other University men, he had a surfeit of chapels when at -college, and shuddered at the thought of again entering one. -With all his failings, and notwithstanding his avarice, which -increased with his years, Lord Stowell must be regarded as -having been, after a peculiar sort, a kindly, amiable man.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Fairlop" id="Fairlop">John Day and Fairlop Fair.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the Forest of Hainault, in Essex, about a mile from -Barking side, stood the famous Fairlop Oak, which the tradition -of the country traces half-way up the Christian era. -This forest possesses more beautiful scenery than, perhaps, -any other forest in England. Fifty years since the oak was -still a noble tree. About a yard from the ground, where its -bole was thirty-six feet in circumference, it spread into eleven -vast arms, yet not in the manner of an oak, but rather in -that of a beech, its shade overspreading an area of 300 feet -in circuit. Around this fine old tree, eighty years since, -archery meetings were held by the gentry of the district, -with picnics in tents, bands of music, &c.; and then, to -protect the old oak, it was enclosed with a spiked paling, -inscribed as follows: "All good foresters are requested not -to hurt this old tree, as a plaister has been put to its wounds." -The extremities of its branches had been sawn off, and -Forsyth's composition applied to them, to preserve them -from decay.</p> - -<p>But the tree has a more popular history. Upon a small -estate, near the oak, in the last century, there dwelt one John -Day, a well-to-do block and pump maker, of Wapping, who -used to repair annually, on the first Friday in July, to the -forest, and there meet a party of his neighbours, and dine -under the shade of the famous oak, on <i>beans and bacon</i>. In -the course of a few years, Day's rural feast induced other -parties to follow his homely example, and suttling booths -were erected for their accommodation. In addition to the -entertainment given to his friends, Mr. Day never failed, on -the day of the feast, to provide several sacks of beans, with -a proportionate quantity of bacon, which he distributed from -the trunk of the tree to the persons there assembled. About -the year 1723, the scene on the first Friday in July exhibited -the appearance of a <i>regular fair</i>, such as John Gay, in one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -of his <i>Pastorals</i>, almost contemporaneously describes in -these lines:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Pedlars' stalls with glitt'ring toys are laid,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The various fairings of the country maid:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Long silken laces hang upon the twine,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And rows of pins and amber bracelets shine.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here the tight lass, knives, combs, and scissors spies,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And looks on thimbles with desiring eyes.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The mountebank now treads the stage, and sells<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His pills, his balsams, and his ague spells.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Now o'er and o'er the nimble tumbler springs,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And on the rope the vent'rous maiden swings;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Jack-Pudding, in his parti-coloured jacket,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tosses the glove and jokes at every packet;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here raree-shows are seen, and Punch's feats,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And pockets picked in crowds, and various cheats.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>For several years before the death of the generous -founder of this fair and public bean-feast, the pump and -block makers of Wapping went annually to the fair in the -forest, seated in a boat of one entire piece of fir, covered -with an awning, mounted on a coach-carriage, and drawn by -six horses; attended with flags and streamers, a band of -music, and a great number of persons on foot and horseback. -The number of carriages was then increased to three, two of -them being rigged as ships. At six o'clock precisely they -all paraded round the oak, singing a glee composed for the -occasion; after which the holiday-keepers returned to town.</p> - -<p>A few years before Mr. Day's death, the Fairlop Oak -lost a large limb, out of which he had a coffin made for his -own interment. He died on the 19th of October, 1767, at -the age of eighty-four. His remains, pursuant to his own -request, were conveyed to Barking by water, attended by six -journeymen pump and block makers, to each of whom he -bequeathed a new leather apron and a guinea. There is a -memorial of him in Barking churchyard.</p> - -<p>The fair long survived the patriarchal pump-maker, good -John Day, as did also the oak. It was enclosed, as we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> -have stated, at the commencement of the present century. -But, notwithstanding the appeal to the "good foresters," -and the respect due to the veteran of the forest, the rabble -broke down the palings and lit their fires within the trunk in -the cavities formed by the roots, and several of the limbs were -broken off. The space within the trunk may be estimated -by the evidence of a resident in the neighbourhood. -"When a boy," he writes, "I have driven in a hot day from -out of the hollow three or four horses, and sometimes four -or five cows." But the tree received the greatest injury on -the 25th of June, 1805, when a party of sixty persons, who -came from London to play at cricket, &c., kindled a fire, -which, after they had left, spread very considerably, and -caught the tree. It was not discovered for two hours, and -though a number of persons brought water to extinguish it, -yet the main branch on the south side and part of the trunk -were consumed. Fifteen years later, the high winds of -February 1820, brought the massive trunk and limbs to the -turf which the tree had for so many ages overshadowed -with its verdant foliage. Its wood was very much prized; -a pulpit was made of it for Wanstead Church; the rest of -the timber of the Fairlop Oak was purchased by Mr. -Seabrook, the builder, who formed with it the very handsome -pulpit and reading-desk for the church of St. Pancras, -in the New Road, then in course of erection.</p> - -<p>The fair was still continued, though the loss of the oak -and the assemblage of booths and shows, and theatrical -exhibitions, which bordered the area in the forest, destroyed -the simplicity that was originally intended to be preserved -by the founder. As the fair was held on Friday, it became -a great point to extend it to Sunday, when shoals of visitors -came; and, though the shows were interdicted, the refreshment -resorts grew to such licence as it became necessary to -curb. Of the fair of 1843, we have a special remembrance. -The block-makers, sail-makers, and mast-makers, as usual, -came to "gay Fairlop," in their amphibious frigates, gaily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> -decorated and mounted on carriages, each drawn by six -horses; and the wives of the men in their holiday gear -followed in open landaus. But the Essex magistrates had -now by notice restricted the fair to <i>one day</i>. The booths -and shows were less numerous than on former occasions, -but the gipsies were in great numbers; the knights of the -pea and thimble were vigilantly routed by the police. The -Lea Bridge and Ilford roads were crowded with horses and -vehicles; and many persons went by railway to Ilford, and -thence to the forest. But there came a heavy July rain to -spoil the sport, and the fair grew flat. The booths and -shows could not be removed till Monday, but nothing was -allowed to be sold after Friday, and the exhibitions were -closed. Nevertheless, the Sunday visitors came in -thousands.</p> - -<p>By these curtailments, Fairlop Fair was gradually -brought to an end, though not until it had existed for a -century and a quarter.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Princely" id="Princely">A Princely Hoax.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the autumn of 1785, when the Prince of Wales was -at Brighton, he was much in the company of Mr. and Mrs. -Lawrell; of whom and the Prince, Lady Llanover, in her -<i>Memoirs of Mrs. Delany</i>, relates the following piquant story, -which she received from a gentleman, as well as from Miss -Burney, who had it from Lady Rothes, Sir Lucas Pepys' -wife.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> It happened one afternoon that Mrs. Lawrell alone -was of a party with the Prince of Wales, Lady Beauchamp, -and some other fine people. Mrs. Lawrell, like a good wife,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> -about nine o'clock, said she must go home to her husband. -The Prince said, he and the party would come and sup with -them; the lady received the gracious intimation with all -the respect that became her, and hastened home to acquaint -her husband and make preparation. Whether Mr. Lawrell was -more or less sensible of the honour that was designed him -than his wife, I don't know, but he said he should not come -if he could help it, and if he did come, he should have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> -nothing to eat. It was in vain Mrs. Lawrell remonstrated; -he continued inflexible, and she had nothing for it but to -put him to bed, and write a note to Lady Beauchamp, -informing her Mr. Lawrell was taken suddenly ill, and -begging she would entertain the Prince in her stead. -Between one and two o'clock in the morning, when the -company were pretty merry, the Prince, whether he guessed -at the reason or was concerned for the indisposition of his -friend, said it was a pity poor Lawrell should die for want of -help, and they immediately set about writing notes to all -the physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries they could think -of in the place, informing them as from Mr. L. that he was -taken suddenly ill, and begged their immediate assistance; -these notes very soon set the medical body in motion towards -Mr. L.'s doors; a few of the <i>most alert apothecaries</i> -came first, but they were got rid of by the servants, who -assured them it was a mistake, that their master and mistress -were well and asleep, and that they did not care to wake -them. Soon after came Sir Lucas Pepys, who declaring -that "<i>nobody would presume to impose upon a person of his -character</i>," insisted on seeing Mr. L., and was pressing by -the maid towards his bedchamber; she was then forced to -waken her mistress, and Mr. L. being very drowsy and -disinclined to rise, his lady was obliged to appear in great -deshabille, and with the <i>utmost difficulty</i>, persuaded Sir -Lucas he <i>was</i> imposed upon, and prevailed with him to -retire. During their dispute the staircase <i>was filled</i> with -the rest of the faculty arriving in shoals.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus27" id="Illus27"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image31.jpg" width="300" height="381" alt="The Prince Regent." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The Prince Regent.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Waters" id="Waters">Sir John Waters's Escape.</a></h3> - - -<p>This distinguished man, in the Peninsular War, was the -most admirable spy ever attached to an army. He would -assume the character of Spaniards of every degree and -station, so as to deceive the most acute. He gave the most -reliable and valuable information to Lord Wellington, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> -on one occasion he was entrusted by his Lordship with a -very particular mission, which he undertook effectually to -perform, and to return on a particular day with the information -required. Just after leaving the camp, however, he was -taken prisoner, before he had time to exchange his uniform: -a troop of dragoons intercepted him, and carried him off; -and the commanding officers desired two soldiers to keep a -strict watch over him and carry him to head-quarters. He -was, of course, disarmed, and being placed on a horse, was -galloped off by his guards. He slept one night in the kitchen -of a small inn; conversation flowed on very glibly, and as -he appeared a stupid Englishman, who could not understand -a word of French or of Spanish, he was allowed to listen, and -thus obtained precisely the intelligence he was in search of. -The following morning, being again mounted, he overheard a -conversation between his guards, who deliberately agreed to -rob him, and shoot him at a mill where they were to stop, and -to report to their officer that they had been compelled to fire -at him in consequence of his attempt to escape.</p> - -<p>Shortly before their arrival at the mill, the dragoons took -from their prisoner his watch and his purse, lest they might -meet with some one who would insist on having a portion -of the spoil. On reaching the mill, they dismounted, and to -give appearance of truth to their story, they went into the -house, leaving their prisoner outside, in the hope that he would -make some attempt to escape. In an instant, Waters threw -his cloak upon a neighbouring olive-bush, and mounted his -cocked hat on the top. Some empty flour sacks lay upon -the ground, and a horse laden with well-filled flour-sacks -stood at the door. Sir John contrived to enter one of the -empty sacks, and throw himself across the horse. When the -soldiers came out of the house, they fired their carbines at -the supposed prisoner, and galloped off.</p> - -<p>A short time after, the miller came out, and mounted his -steed. Waters contrived to rid himself of the encumbrance -of the sack, and sat up behind the man, who, suddenly turning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> -round, saw a ghost, as he believed, for the flour that still -remained in the sack had whitened his fellow-traveller and -given him a ghostly appearance. A push sent the frightened -miller to the ground, when away rode Waters with his sacks -of flour, which at length bursting, made a ludicrous spectacle -of man and horse.</p> - -<p>On reaching the English camp, where Lord Wellington -was anxiously deploring his fate, a sudden shout from the -soldiers made his lordship turn round, when a figure resembling -the statue in <i>Don Juan</i>, galloped up to him. -Wellington, affectionately shaking him by the hand, said, -"Waters, you never yet deceived me; and though you have -come in a most questionable shape, I must congratulate you -and myself." This is one of the many capital stories in -Captain Gronow's First Series of Anecdotes.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Mack" id="Mack">Colonel Mackinnon's Practical Joking.</a></h3> - - -<p>Colonel Mackinnon, commonly called "Dan," was famous -for practical jokes. Before landing at St. Andero's, with -some other officers who had been on leave in England, he -agreed to personate the Duke of York, and make the -Spaniards believe that his Royal Highness was amongst -them. On nearing the shore, a Royal standard was hoisted -at the masthead, and Mackinnon disembarked, wearing the -star of his shako on his left breast, and accompanied by his -friends, who agreed to play the part of <i>aides-de-camp</i> to -royalty. The Spanish authorities were soon informed of the -arrival of the Royal Commander-in-Chief of the British -army; so they received Mackinnon with the usual pomp and -circumstance. The Mayor of the place, in honour of -the arrival, gave a grand banquet, which terminated with the -appearance of a huge bowl of punch, whereupon Dan, thinking -that the joke had gone far enough, suddenly dived his head -into the china bowl, and threw his heels into the air. The -surprise and indignation of the solemn Spaniards was such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> -that they made a most intemperate report of the hoax that -had been played on them to Lord Wellington. Dan, however, -was ultimately forgiven, after a severe reprimand.</p> - -<p>Another of his freaks was the following:—Lord Wellington -was curious about visiting a convent near Lisbon, and the -Abbess made no difficulty. Mackinnon, hearing this, contrived -to get clandestinely within the walls, and it was -generally supposed it was neither his first nor his second -visit. When Lord Wellington arrived, Dan Mackinnon was -to be seen among the nuns, draped in their sacred costume, -with his head and whiskers shaved, and as he possessed -good features, he was declared to be one of the best-looking -among those chaste dames. This adventure is supposed to -have been known to Lord Byron, and to have suggested a -similar episode in <i>Don Juan</i>, the scene being laid in the -East.—<i>Captain Gronow.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Gour" id="Gour">A Gourmand Physician.</a></h3> - - -<p>Dr. George Fordyce, the anatomist and chemical lecturer, -was accustomed to dine every day, for more than twenty -years, at Dolly's chop-house, in Queen's Head Passage, -Paternoster Row. His researches in comparative anatomy -had led him to conclude that man, through custom, eats -oftener than nature requires, one meal a day being sufficient -for that noble animal, the lion. He made the experiment -on himself at his favourite dining-house, and, finding it successful, -he continued the following regimen for the above -term of years.</p> - -<p>At four o'clock, his accustomed dinner hour, he entered -Dolly's chop-house, and took his seat at a table always -reserved for him, on which were instantly placed a silver -tankard full of strong ale, a bottle of port-wine, and a -measure containing a quarter of a pint of brandy. The -moment the waiter announced him, the cook put a pound-and-a-half -of rump-steak on the gridiron; and on the table<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> -some delicate trifle, as a <i>bonne bouche</i>, to serve until the -steak was ready. This delicacy was sometimes half a -broiled chicken, sometimes a plate of fish; when he had -eaten this, he took a glass of his brandy, and then proceeded -to devour his steak. We say devour, because he always ate -as rapidly as if eating for a wager. When he had finished his -meat, he took the remainder of his brandy, having, during -his dinner, drunk the tankard of ale, and afterwards the bottle -of port.</p> - -<p>The Doctor then adjourned to the Chapter Coffee-house, -in Paternoster Row, and stayed while he sipped a glass of -brandy and water. It was then his habit to take another at -the London Coffee-house, and a third at the Oxford, after -which he returned to his house in Essex Street, to give his -lecture on chemistry. He made no other meal till his return -next day, at four o'clock, to Dolly's.</p> - -<p>Dr. Fordyce's intemperate habits sometimes placed his -reputation, as well as the lives of his patients, in jeopardy. -One evening he was called away from a drinking-bout, to -see a lady of title, who was supposed to have been taken -suddenly ill. Arrived at the apartment of his patient, the -Doctor seated himself by her side, and having listened to -the recital of a train of symptoms, which appeared rather -anomalous, he next proceeded to examine the state of her -pulse. He tried to reckon the number of its beats; the -more he endeavoured to do this, the more his brain whirled, -and the less was his self-control. Conscious of the cause of -his difficulty and in a moment of irritation, he inadvertently -blurted out, "Drunk, by Jove!" The lady heard the remark, -but remained silent; and the Doctor having prescribed -a mild remedy, one which he invariably took on such occasions, -he shortly afterwards departed.</p> - -<p>At an early hour next morning he was roused by a -somewhat imperative message from his patient of the -previous evening, to attend her immediately; and he at once -concluded that the object of this summons was either to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> -inveigh against him for the state in which he had visited her -on the former occasion, or perhaps for having administered -too potent a medicine. Ill at ease from these reflections, he -entered the lady's room, fully prepared for a severe reprimand. -The patient, however, began by thanking him for -his immediate attention, and then proceeded to say how -much she had been struck by his discernment on the previous -evening; confessed that she was occasionally addicted to -the error which he had detected; and concluded by saying -that her object in sending for him so early was to obtain a -promise that he would hold inviolably secret the condition -in which he found her. "You may depend upon me, -madam," replied Dr. Fordyce, with a countenance which had -not altered since the commencement of the patient's story; -"I shall be silent as the grave."</p> - -<p>This story has also been told of Abernethy; but to Dr. -Fordyce belongs the paternity.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Gamb" id="Gamb">Dick England, the Gambler.</a></h3> - - -<p>Towards the close of the last century among the most -noted gamblers and blacklegs in the metropolis was Dick -England, one of whose haunts was the Golden Cross, -Charing Cross, where he was accustomed to look out for -raw Irishmen coming to town by the coaches, whom he -almost invariably plucked. His success soon enabled him -to keep an elegant house in St. Alban's Street, where he -engaged masters to teach him accomplishments to fit him for -polite life. In 1779 and 1783, he kept a good table, sported -his <i>vis-à-vis</i>, and was remarkably choice in the hackneys he -rode, giving eighty or ninety guineas for a horse, a sum -nearly equal to two hundred guineas in the present day. -Another of his haunts was Munday's Coffee-house in Maiden -Lane, where he generally presided at a <i>table d'hôte</i>, and by -his finesse and agreeable conversation won him many friends. -Being at times the hero of his own story, he unguardedly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> -exposed some of his own characteristic traits, which his self-possession -generally enabled him to conceal. His conduct -among men of family was, however, generally guarded; and -he was resolute in enforcing payment of the sums he won.</p> - -<p>One evening he met a young tradesman at a house in -Leicester Fields to have an hour's play, for which he gave a -banker's draft, but requested to have his revenge in a few -more throws, when he soon regained what he had lost and -as much in addition. It now being past three in the morning, -England proposed that they should retire; but the -tradesman, suspecting himself tricked, refused payment of -what he had lost. England then tripped up his heels, rolled -him in the carpet, took a case-knife from the sideboard, -flourished it over the young man, and at last cut off his long -hair close to the scalp. Dreading worse treatment, he gave -a cheque for the amount and wished England good morning.</p> - -<p>England fought a duel at Cranford Bridge in 1784, with -Mr. Le Roule, a brewer, from Kingston: from him England -had won a large sum, for which a bond had been given, and -which, not being paid, led to the duel, in which Le Roule -was killed. England fled to Paris and was outlawed; it is -reported that early in the Revolution he furnished some -useful intelligence to our army in the campaign in Flanders, -for which he was remunerated by the British Cabinet. -While in France he was several times imprisoned, and once -ordered to the guillotine, but pardoned through the exertion -and influence of one of the Convention, who also procured -for him a passport for home. After an absence of -twelve years, he was tried for the duel, found guilty of manslaughter, -fined one shilling, and sentenced to one year's -imprisonment. Subsequent to his release he passed the -remainder of his life at his house in Leicester Square, where -he lived to the age of eighty. His end was an awful one: -on being called to dinner, he was found lying dead on his -sofa.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Brigh" id="Brigh">Brighton Races, Thirty Years Since.</a></h3> - - -<p>Brighton Races, like most other Brighton amusements, -took their rise from the patronage of George IV. Those of -Lewes were of earlier origin and greater pretension, until the -Prince began to run his horses and lose his money on the -Brighton course, which then attracted some of the best -horses and some of the most celebrated sportsmen in the -kingdom. Of the races at this period the following sketch -is given by Mr. Thomas Raikes, in his <i>Diary</i>:—</p> - -<p>"1836.—Last week died Lord George Germaine, brother -to the Duke of Dorset; they were both in their youth great -friends to the late King, when Prince of Wales, fond of the -turf, and, with the late Delme Radcliffe, the three best -gentlemen riders at the once-famed Bibury Races, which -are now replaced by those at Heaton Park. They were all -three little men, light weights, and, when dressed in their -jackets and caps, would rival Buckle and Chiffney. In -those days, the Prince made Brighton and Lewes Races the -gayest scene of the year in England. The Pavilion was full -of guests; the Steine was crowded with all the rank and -fashion from London during that week; the best horses -were brought from Newmarket and the North, to run at -these races, on which immense sums were depending; and -the course was graced by the handsomest equipages. The -'legs' and betters, who had arrived in shoals, used all to -assemble on the Steine at an early hour to commence their -operations on the first day, and the buzz was tremendous, -till Lord Foley and Mellish, the two great confederates of -that day, would approach the ring, and then a sudden silence -ensued; to await the opening of their betting-books. They -would come on perhaps smiling, but mysterious, without -making any demonstration; at last, Mr. Jerry Cloves would -say, 'Come, Mr. Mellish, will you light the candle, and set -us a-going?' Then, if the master of Buckle would say, 'I'll -take three to one about Sir Solomon,' the whole pack opened,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> -and the air resounded with every shade of odds and betting. -About half-an-hour before the signal of departure for the hill, -the Prince himself would make his appearance in the crowd—I -think I see him now, in a green jacket, a white hat, and -tight nankeen pantaloons, and shoes, distinguished by his -high-bred manner and handsome person; he was generally -accompanied by the late Duke of Bedford, Lord Jersey, -Charles Wyndham, Shelley, Brummel, M. Day, Churchill, -and, oh! extraordinary anomaly, the little old Jew Travis, -who, like the dwarf of old, followed in the train of royalty. -The Downs were covered with every species of conveyance, -and the Prince's German wagon (so were barouches called -when first introduced at that time) and six bay horses, the -coachman on the box being replaced by Sir John Lade, -issued out of the gates of the Pavilion, and, gliding up the -green ascent, was stationed close to the great stand, where -it remained the centre of attraction for the day. At dinner-time -the Pavilion was resplendent with lights, and a sumptuous -banquet was served to a large party; while those who -were not included in that invitation found a dinner with -every luxury at the Club-house on the Steine, kept by -Ragget during the season, for the different members of -White's and Brookes's who chose to frequent it, and where -the cards and dice from St. James's Street were not forgotten. -Where are the actors in all those gay scenes now?"</p> - -<p>The period to which this lively sketch refers was from -1800 to 1820. Soon after this, George the Fourth began to -live a more secluded life, and though his horses ran at -Brighton Races, the King never made his appearance there, -and the <i>meet</i> began to decline.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus28" id="Illus28"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image32.jpg" width="300" height="349" alt="A Hero of the Turf and his Agent. Colonel Mellish and Buckle the Jockey." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">A Hero of the Turf and his Agent.<br /> Colonel Mellish and Buckle the Jockey. </p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Mell" id="Mell">Colonel Mellish.</a></h3> - - -<p>The star of the race-course of modern times was the late -Colonel Mellish, certainly the cleverest man of his day, as -regards the science and practice of the turf. No one could -match (<i>i.e.</i>, make matches) with him, nor could anyone excel -him in handicapping horses in a race. But, indeed, <i>nihil -erat quod non tetigit non ornavit</i>. He beat Lord Frederick<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> -Bentinck in a foot-race over Newmarket Heath. He was a -clever painter, a fine horseman, a brave soldier, a scientific -farmer, and an exquisite coachman. But—as his friends -said of him—not content with being the <i>second-best</i> man of -his day, he would be the <i>first</i>, which was fatal to his fortune -and his fame. It, however, delighted us to see him in public, -in the meridian of his almost unequalled popularity, and the -impression he made upon us remains. We remember even the -style of his dress, peculiar for its lightness of hue—his neat -white hat, white trousers, white silk stockings, ay, and we -may add, his white but handsome face. There was nothing -black about him but his hair and his mustachios, which he -wore by virtue of his commission, and which to <i>him</i> were -an ornament. The like of his style of coming on the race-course -at Newmarket was never witnessed there before him -nor since. He drove his barouche himself, drawn by four -beautiful <i>white</i> horses, with two outriders on matches to -them, ridden in harness bridles. In his rear was a saddle-horse -groom, leading a thorough-bred hack, and at the -rubbing-post on the heath was another groom—all in crimson -liveries—waiting with a second hack. But we marvel when -we think of his establishment. We remember him with -thirty-eight race-horses in training, seventeen coach-horses, -twelve hunters in Leicestershire, four chargers at Brighton, -and not a few hacks! But the worst is yet to come. By -his racing speculations he was a gainer, his judgment pulling -him through; but when we heard that he would play to the -extent of 40,000<i>l.</i> at a sitting—yes, <i>he once staked that sum -on a throw</i>—we were not surprised that the domain of Blythe -passed into other hands; and that the once accomplished -owner of it became the tenant of a premature grave. "The -bowl of pleasure," says Johnson, "is poisoned by reflection -on the cost," and here it was drunk to the dregs. Colonel -Mellish ended his days, not in poverty, for he acquired a -competency with his lady, but in a small house within sight -of the mansion that had been the pride of his ancestors and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> -himself. As, however, the wind is tempered to the shorn -lamb, Colonel Mellish was not without consolation. He -never wronged anyone but himself; and, as an owner of -race-horses, and a bettor, his character was without spot.—<i>Nimrod.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Donc" id="Donc">Doncaster Eccentrics.</a></h3> - - -<p>Among the visitors to Doncaster race-course are many -of the lower grade, some of whom have contrived to get -hanged. Such was the case some half-century since with -Daniel Dawson, who employed himself, or was employed by -others, in poisoning with arsenic the drinking-water of horses -whose success in the future race was not desirable to Daniel -or his patrons. Several steeds perished in this way at the -hands of Daniel, in the north as well as at Newmarket. -Ultimately a case from the latter locality was proved against -him, through the treachery of a confederate, and Daniel -suffered for it at Cambridge. Had he been a martyr in a -good cause, he could not have died with more becomingness. -Daniel complained of no one, did not even reproach -himself; and expressed his satisfactory conviction that he -"should certainly ascend to Heaven from the drop." Brutal -as his offence was, it seems ill-measured justice that takes a -man's life for that of a beast.</p> - -<p>Dawson is beyond our own recollection; but we can remember -a more singular and a much more honest fellow, -whose appearance on the Doncaster course was as confidently -looked for, and as ardently desired, as that of any of the Lords -Lieutenant of the various Ridings. We allude to the once -famous Jemmy Hirst, the Rawcliffe tanner, whose last of -about fifty visits to the "Sillinger" and "Coop" contests -was made when he was hard upon ninety years of age. -When Jemmy retired from the tanning business with means -to set up as a gentleman, the first object he purchased was -not a carriage, but a coffin, depositing therein some of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> -means whereby he kept himself alive, namely, his provisions. -The walls of the room in which this lugubrious sideboard -was erected were hung round with all sorts of rusty agricultural -implements. This lord of a strange household retained -a valet and a female "general servant." His stud consisted -of mules, dogs, and a bull; mounted on which he is -said to have hunted with the Badsworth hounds. His most -familiar friends were a tame fox and otter. He certainly -rode the bull when he went out shooting, and was then -accompanied by pigs as pointers. In fair-time Hirst used -to take this bull and a couple of its fellows to be baited, -sitting proudly by himself while his valet went about collecting -the "coppers." His waistcoat was a glossy garment -made of the neck feathers of the drake, from the pocket of -which he would issue his own bank-notes, bearing responsibilities -of payment to the amount of "<i>Five half-pence</i>."</p> - -<p>His carriage was a sort of palanquin, carried aloft by -high wheels, and its peculiarity was that there was not a -nail about it. This vehicle was really better known at -Doncaster than the stately carriage of Lord Fitzwilliam -himself. It was the boast of the proud and dirty gentleman -who sat enthroned there, that he had never paid and never -would pay any sort of tax to the King; and how he -managed to shoot, as he did, without paying a licence, was -best known to himself. He was the most popular man on -the course, and, unlike very many who began rich and ended -poor, Jemmy increased in wealth year by year. He was -wont to contrast himself with "the Prince's friend," Col. -Mellish, who inherited an immense property, won two -Legers in two consecutive years, 1804-5, and finally died -almost a pauper. Jemmy had undoubtedly, in his view of -things, done better than Col. Mellish; but the tanner, -through life, never thought of the welfare but of one human -being—that of James Hirst. He was as selfish as the -butcher-churchwarden of Doncaster, who ruined the grand -old tower of the church by placing a hideous clock face in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> -it, which was so constructed that no one could see the time -by it except from the butcher's own door!</p> - -<p>We should hardly render Hirst justice, however, if we -omitted to state how such a great man departed from this -earth. The folding-doors of his old coffin were closed upon him. -Eight buxom widows carried his corpse for a <i>honorarium</i> of -half-a-crown each. Jemmy had expressed a desire to have -eight old maids to undertake this service, bequeathing half-a-guinea -to each as hire. But the ladies in question were -not forthcoming. So the widows were engaged in their -place; but why the fee was lowered we cannot tell, unless it -was to pay for the bagpipe and fiddle which headed the -procession. All the country round flocked in to do -Jemmy honour or to enjoy the holiday; and for many a -year afterwards might the sorrowing comment be heard -on Doncaster Course,—"Nay, lad! t'Coop-day seems -nought-loike wi'out Jemmy!" and the mourners took out his -"Fihawpence notes," and compared their own touching -respective memories of the departed glory of Doncaster.</p> - -<p>At the close of Jemmy's career the wonderfully dressed -"swell mob" was busiest if not brightest. The latter was -only short-lived. A party of them really dazzled common -folk by the splendour of their turn-out, both as regarded -themselves and their equipage. People took them for -foreign princes, or native nobility returned from foreign -climes, and not yet familiarly known to the public. The -impression did not last long. The well-dressed, finely-curled, -highly scented, richly-jewelled strangers, sauntering -among the better known aristocracy, commenced a series of -predatory operations which speedily brought them within -the fastness of the town gaol. No one who saw them there a -day or two later, after seeing them on the course, will ever -forget the sight and the strange contrast. Stripped of their -finery, closely cropped, and clad in coarse flannel dresses, -they might be seen seated at a board, with a hot lump of -stony-looking rice before them for a dinner.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span></p> - -<p>Altogether, there was occasionally a very mixed society -on and about the course: among the so-to-speak professional -<i>habitués</i>, men who made a business of the pursuit -there—who were actors rather than spectators, and all of -whom have disappeared without leaving a successor in his -peculiar line,—we may mention the old Duke of Leeds, -redolent of port; the white-faced Duke of Cleveland, "the -Jesuit of the Ring;" P. W. Ridsale, ex-footman, then -millionaire, finally pauper; blacksmith Richardson, who, -shaking his head at "Leeds," would remark of himself, that -sobriety alone had saved him from being hanged; Mr. -Beardsworth, who had been originally a hackney-coachman, -then sporting his crimson liveries; Mr. Crook, who -commenced life with a fish-basket; and the well-known son -of the ostler at the Black Swan, in York, wearing diamond -rings and pins, betting his thousands, and looking as cool -the while, as if he not only largely used the waters of -Pactolus, but owned half the gold-dust on its banks.</p> - -<p>The two extremes of the official men as regarded rank, -were, perhaps, Lord George Bentinck and Mr. Gully, the -ex-pugilist. The former introduced, at Doncaster, the -signal-flag to regulate the "starts," and he founded the Bentinck -Fund (with the money subscribed for a testimonial to -himself), for the relief of decayed jockeys and trainers. -The two men were equals in one respect, the coolness with -which they either won or lost. They who remember the -year when Petre's Matilda beat Gully's Mameluke, and who -witnessed the event and its results, speak yet with a sort of -pride of Gully's conduct. He had lost immensely; but he -was the first man who appeared in the betting-rooms to pay -anyone who had a bet registered against him; and he was -the last man to leave, not retiring till he was satisfied that -there did not remain a single claimant. He paid away a -grand total on that occasion which properly invested, would -have set all the poor in Doncaster at ease for ever.—<i>Abridged -from the Athenæum</i>, No. 1715.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Stew" id="Stew">"Walking Stewart."</a></h3> - - -<p>Early in the year 1821, London lost one of its famous -eccentrics, who rejoiced in the above distinction, which, it -must be admitted, he had fairly earned. He was one of the -lions of the great town, and his ubiquitous nature was -thus ingeniously sketched:—</p> - -<p>"Who that ever weathered his way over Westminster -Bridge has not seen <i>Walking Stewart</i> (his invariable cognomen) -sitting in the recess on the brow of the bridge, spencered -up to his throat and down to his hips with a sort of -garment, planned, it would seem, to stand <i>powder</i>, as became -the habit of a military man; his dingy, dusty inexpressibles -(truly inexpressibles), his boots travel-stained, black up to -his knees—and yet not black neither—but arrant walkers, -both of them, or their complexions belied them; his aged, -but strongly-marked, manly, air-ripened face, steady as -truth; and his large, irregular, dusty hat, that seemed to be -of one mind with the boots? We say, who does not thus remember -<i>Walking Stewart</i>, sitting, and leaning on his stick, -as though he had never walked in his life, but had taken his -seat on the bridge at his birth, and had grown old in his -sedentary habit? To be sure, this view of him is rather -negatived by as strong a remembrance of him in the same -spencer and accompaniments of hair-powder and dust, resting -on a bench in the Park, with as perfectly an eternal air: -nor will the memory let him keep a quiet, constant seat here -for ever; recalling him, as she is wont, in his shuffling, slow -perambulation of the Strand, or Charing Cross, or Cockspur -Street. Where really was he? You saw him on Westminster -Bridge, acting his own monument. You went into the -Park—he was there! fixed as the gentleman at Charing -Cross. You met him, however, at Charing Cross, creeping -on like the hour-hand upon a dial, getting rid of his rounds -and his time at once! Indeed, his ubiquity appeared enormous,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> -and yet not so enormous as the profundity of his sitting -habits. He was a profound sitter. Could the Pythagorean -system be entertained, what other would now be tenanted -by <i>Walking Stewart</i>? Truly, he seemed always going, like -a lot at an auction, and yet always at a stand, like a hackney-coach! -Oh, what a walk was his to christen a man by! -A slow, lazy, scraping, creeping, gazing pace—a shuffle—a -walk in its dotage—a walk at a stand-still—yet was he a -pleasant man to meet. We remember his face distinctly, -and allowing a little for its northern hardness, it was -certainly as wise, as kindly, and as handsome a face as -ever crowned the shoulders of a soldier, a scholar and a -gentleman.</p> - -<p>"Well! Walking Stewart is dead! He will no more -be seen niched in Westminster Bridge, or keeping his -terms as one of the benchers of St. James's Park, or painting -the pavement with moving but uplifted feet. In vain we -looked for him 'at the hour when he was wont to walk.' -The niche in the bridge is empty of its amiable statue, and -as he is gone from this spot he has gone from all, for -he was ever all in all! Three persons seemed departed in -him. In him there seems to have been a triple death!"</p> - -<p>We are tempted "to consecrate a passage" to him, as -John Buncle expresses it, from a tiny pamphlet entitled -"The Life and Adventures of the celebrated Walking -Stewart, including his travels in the East Indies, Turkey, -Germany, and America," and the author, "a relative," has -contrived to out-do his subject <i>in getting over the ground</i>, -for he manages to close his work at the end of the sixteenth -page.</p> - -<p>John Stewart, or Walking Stewart, was born of two -Scotch parents, in 1749, in London, and was in due time -sent to Harrow, and thence to the Charter House, where he -established himself as a dunce—no bad promise in a boy, -we think. He left school and was sent to India, where his -character and energies unfolded themselves, as his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> -biographer tells us, for his mind was unshackled by education.</p> - -<p>He resolved to amass 3,000<i>l.</i>, and then to return to -England. No bad resolve. To attain this, he quitted the -Company's Service and entered that of Hyder Ally. He -now turned soldier, and became a general. Hyder's generals -were easily made and unmade. Stewart behaved well and -bravely, and paid his regiment without drawbacks, which -made him popular. Becoming wounded somehow, and -having no great faith in Hyder's surgeons, he begged leave -to join the English for medical advice. Hyder gave a -Polonius kind of admission, quietly determining to cut the -traveller and his journey as short as possible, for his own -sake and that of the invalid. Stewart sniffed the intention -of Ally, and taking an early opportunity of cutting his -company before they could cut him, he popped into a river, -literally swam for his life, reached the bank, ran before his -hunters like an antelope, and arrived safely at the European -forts. He got in breathless, and lived. How he was cured -of his wounds is thus told by Colonel Wilks in his <i>Sketches -of the South of India</i>:—</p> - -<p>"An English gentleman commanded one of the corps, -and was most severely wounded after a desperate resistance; -others in the same unhappy situation met with friends, or -persons of the same caste, to procure for them the rude aid -offered by Indian surgery; the Englishman was destitute of -this poor advantage; his wounds were washed with simple -warm water, by an attendant boy, three or four times-a-day; -and, under this novel system of surgery, they recovered -with a rapidity not exceeded under the best hospital -treatment."</p> - -<p>A writer in the <i>Quarterly Review</i>, 1817, appends to the -above quotation the following:—"This English gentleman -is the person distinguished by the name of <i>Walking Stewart</i>, -who, after the lapse of half a century, is still alive, and still,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> -we believe, <i>walking</i> daily, in the neighbourhood of the -Haymarket and Charing Cross."</p> - -<p>Hitherto, Stewart had saved little money. He now -entered the Nabob of Arcot's service, and became prime -minister, the memoir does not say how.</p> - -<p>At length he took leave of India, and travelled over -Persia and Turkey <i>on foot</i>, in search of a name, it should -seem, or, as he was wont to say, "in search of the Polarity, -and Moral Truth." After many adventures he arrived in -England: he brought home money, and commenced -his London life in an Armenian dress, to attract attention.</p> - -<p>He next visited America, and on his return, "made the -tour of Scotland, Germany, Italy, and France, <i>on foot</i>, and -ultimately settled in Paris," where he made friends. He -intended to live there; but after investing his money in -French property, he smelt the sulphur cloud of the Revolution, -and retreated as fast as possible, losing considerable -property in his flight. He returned to London, and -suddenly and unexpectedly received 10,000<i>l.</i> from the -India Company, on the liquidation of the debts of the -Nabob of Arcot. He bought annuities, and fattened his -yearly income. The relative says:—"One of his annuities -was purchased from the County Fire Office at a rate which, -in the end, was proved to have been paid three, and nearly -four times over. The calculation of the assurers was here -completely at fault: every quarter brought Mr. Stewart -regularly to the cashier, whom he accosted with, 'Well, man -alive! I am come for my money!'"—which Stewart enjoyed -as a joke.</p> - -<p>Mr. Stewart now lived in better style, gave dinners and -musical parties. Every evening a <i>conversazione</i> was given at -his house, enlivened by music; on Sundays he gave select -dinner parties, followed by a philosophical discourse, and a -performance of sacred music, chiefly selected from the -works of Handel, and concluding with the "Dead March in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> -Saul," which was always received by the company as a signal -for their departure.</p> - -<p>Stewart was attached to King George IV., and lived -peaceably until the arrival of Queen Caroline, when her -deputations and political movements alarmed the great -pedestrian, and awakened his walking propensities, and his -friends had great difficulty to prevent him from going to -America.</p> - -<p>Stewart's health declined in 1821; he went to Margate, -returned, became worse, and on Ash Wednesday he died.</p> - -<p>To all entreaties from friends that he would write his -travels, he replied, No; that his were travels of the mind. -He, however, wrote essays, and gave lectures on the -philosophy of the mind. It is very odd that men will -<i>not</i> tell what they know, and <i>will</i> attempt to talk of what -they do <i>not</i> know.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Youth" id="Youth">Youthful Days of the Hon. Grantley -Berkeley.</a><a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></h3> - - -<p>At Cranford, Mr. Grantley Berkeley had the first enjoyments -of a boy let loose into the country with a brother for -a companion. "All day," he says, "we were together -fishing, shooting, setting traps for vermin, rat hunting,—in -short, seeking sport wherever it was attainable." This, as -he suggests, was not exactly the orthodox way of bringing -up a boy as he should go; but he is certain that it -laid the foundation of his after success as a sportsman. -Among other incidents of these days, he broke his collarbone -and dislocated his shoulder; and, among other -exercises popular in his time, he became familiar with Cribb, -Figg, and other heroes of the then "ring," and derived from -them as much pugilistic science as they could impart to a -young, active, and enthusiastic pupil. At Cranford, moreover,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> -he enjoyed a little private bull-baiting, but that was confessedly -more on the account of his brother Augustus, or his -brother Augustus's dog, than himself. "Bull," which was the -name of the latter, was an eager and extempore performer -in this department of the writer's education. At length -"Bull" and Augustus left Grantley, who tells us:—</p> - -<p>"As we proceeded along the high road, nearing the -spot of our separation, we were overtaken by a respectable -tradesman, as he appeared, driving his wife towards the -neighbouring town in a buggy. It was Augustus's last -chance of inducting us into a row, and not to be lost; so he -made some most insulting remark upon these unoffending -passengers, which so provoked the female, that she unfortunately -took up the <i>casus belli</i>, and, with other abuse, -called her assailant a 'barber's clerk.' He replied, 'I -know I am a barber, and I have shaved you.' When the -man heard this wordy war he joined in it. On this my -brother told him, that 'if it was not for his woman he would -pull him out of his rattletrap and tread on him.' Here was -a circumstance that caused my boyish mind considerable -speculation. Hard names and some swearing seemed not -much to insult the man in the buggy; but on hearing the -female at his side called his 'woman,' his wrath knew no -bounds. With the exclamation, 'My woman, you rascal! -she is my wife!' he set to work lashing my brother with his -gig whip, commencing a sort of artillery duel at long practice, -not in accordance with the cavalry arm of my brother, nor -with his way of fighting. A charge upon the buggy was -therefore made by him, keeping his right side open for -mischief; and in the obscure darkness I could hear the -crown of the hat of the driver get ten blows for one, for his -long weapon was useless at close quarters. The female, -wife or woman, whichever she was, very quickly saw that -the combat was all one way, for with a very much damaged -crown her king crouched down on the cushion at her side; -so that she awakened up the heath with shrieks of 'Murder!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -'Be off, as hard as you can split,' was then the order to us -from the offender. We obeyed, as we heard the heels of -his horse speed on far in advance of the buggy."</p> - -<p>[32] From <i>The Times</i> Review of his <i>Life</i>, 1865.</p> - -<p>To give Mr. Grantley Berkeley fair credit, he condemns -the recklessness of such robust adventures, but he pleads -that such was the practice in the days when he was raised; -and to his own advantage, as he admits, he was summarily -recalled to a more quiet regimen by the sudden appearance -of a tutor who required from him other exercises. Nevertheless, -his stories of little private fights with the sons of the -Vicar of Berkeley and one of the keepers, which are very -amusing, show that in stable and backyards he enjoyed -consolations, though he declares that this was done chiefly -for the amusement of his brother Henry, who used to invite -him to the stable with the gloves to fight one of the boys -above mentioned, when the battle always ended by his -knocking the head of his opponent into the manger. He -says,</p> - -<p>"I remember that for months during these, to my -brother, amusing combats my lips were sometimes so cut -against my teeth that I could not eat any salad with vinegar, -the acid occasioned so much smarting. I could lick my -antagonist as far as the fight with the gloves was permitted -to go, but in a few days at the word of command the lad -was ready for another licking, so that week after week I had -no peace, and had to lick him again; nor had I resolution -enough to withstand the taunts of being vanquished, if I refused -to set to, although my superior proficiency had been a -hundred times asserted. All things must have an end: -every day strengthened my tall and growing limbs, and every -day my power over my antagonist increased, when, for some -ill conduct, he lost his service and these, to him, not very -agreeable encounters. My brother then for a time lost his -amusement; 'Othello's occupation' was gone, for nothing -came into service at Cranford that approached the age of -a boy. A new footman was, however, inducted, a grown<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> -man and not a little one, but a cross-grown lout of a fellow; -and, mere boy as I was, we were ordered to the stable, in -front of my brother's usual throne, the corn-bin, and there -desired to do battle. By this time I had got into such -habits of pugnacious obedience that if a bear had been -introduced, and I had been told that the beast was to -vanquish me, I should at once have boxed with him. The -combat I am now alluding to was not unlike one of a boy -and bear. I stepped back, put in, and then gave way -successfully, for a short time; but at last the man met me -with a half-round blow, and hit me clean down on the rough -stones of the stable. Henry did not seem to care much; -but Moreton, who was present, spoke out loudly against the -shame of putting such a boy to fight with a grown man, and -I believe, feeling slightly annoyed at the way he had overmatched -me, our elder brother stopped any further assault on -my part, and suggested that Peter should put the gloves on -with his own servant, a well-built, active little fellow, whom -he had daily thrashed into one of the most expert boxers of -his size. Peter, all agreeable, set to with Shadrach, when -the former caught such a right-hander in the face as sent -him as if he had been shot upon the stable stones. He rose -crying, and deprived of all wish for another blow—my fall -very sufficiently avenged. I have often wondered why I -was not cowed by all this brutality, or why I ever took to -those more gentle accomplishments in life that used to get -me the name of 'dandy' among some of my rougher compeers. -However, time wore on; I fought through the -stable-boys and men-servants, and had sense enough -not to acquire any rudeness of manner, nor dislike to more -refined occupations."</p> - -<p>The author then gives some anecdotes of the persons -who visited the Cranford-bridge Inn at this time, most of -them for shooting or hunting; and such is the penalty which -one gentleman still alive must pay for his presence on one -of these occasions that Mr. Berkeley stigmatizes him as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> -most dangerous companion to shoot with, as he was nearly -peppering his (Mr. B.'s) legs and those of the Duke of York. -Liston and Dowton, the comedians, used also to come to -the Cranford-bridge Inn, and Mr. Berkeley tells a characteristic -story of the latter. The astonishment of John Varley, -the artist, who taught his sisters drawing, at a man on -horseback clearing a fence in his presence, is depicted -with a dash of humour, and it is evident from what Mr. -Berkeley says of Varley in other respects that he must -have been well acquainted with his various eccentricities.</p> - -<p>Again we come upon some of his hunting experiences -in the neighbourhood of Cranford, such as those shared -with Lord Alvanley, who in answer to the question, -"What sport?" at White's, replied, "Oh, the melon and -asparagus beds were devilish heavy—up to our hocks in -glass all day; and all Berkeley wanted was a landing-net to -get his deer out of the water." It was with G. B. also that -the late Sir George Wombwell, having missed his second -horse, spoke to one of the surly cultivators of that stiff vale -thus:—"I say farmer, —— it, have you seen my fellow?" -The man, with his hands in his breeches' pockets, eyed his -questioner in silence for a minute and then exclaimed, "No, -upon my soul I never did!" Hunting about Harrow -became very expensive from the damage it did to the -farmers in that district, and the claims for compensation -which it entailed upon Mr. Berkeley and his friends. The -result of this, he says, at once became evident; a mine of -wealth would soon have been insufficient to cover the cost -of a single run over the Harrow vale, and "reluctantly I -saw that if I intended to keep hounds I must go farther -from the metropolis, and seek a wilder scene in which to -hunt a fox instead of a stag, and thus take a higher degree -in the art of hunting." Accordingly, negotiations were -entered into for his becoming the master of hounds to the -Oakley Club in Bedfordshire for 1,000<i>l.</i> a-year, the club -taking all the cost of the earth-stopping upon themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> -and other incidental expenses. The depreciation of -West India property which occurred about this time, and -the larger expenses contingent on taking a country in -which to hunt a fox four days a week, made him resolve -to give up his seasons in London and settle down -quietly to a country life, thus avoiding every unnecessary -expenditure. His arrangements, in spite of opposition from -some members of the club, appear to have been satisfactory -and eventually popular, until the sport of his last -season was positively brilliant, when in Yardley Chase -alone he found seventeen foxes, and killed fourteen of them -with a run.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Dials" id="Dials">What Became of the Seven Dials</a></h3> - - -<p>Whoever is familiar with the history of St. Giles's will recollect -that Seven Dials is an open area so called because -there was formerly a column in the centre, on the summit -of which were (<i>traditionally</i>) seven sun-dials, with a dial -facing each of the seven streets which radiate from thence. -They are thus described in Gay's <i>Trivia</i>:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Where famed St. Giles's ancient limits spread,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">An in-rail'd column rears its lofty head;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here to seven streets seven dials count their day,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And from each other catch the circling ray;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here oft the peasant, with inquiring face,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bewilder'd trudges on from place to place;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He dwells on every sign with stupid gaze—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Enters the narrow alley's doubtful maze—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tries every winding court and street in vain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And doubles o'er his weary steps again."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>This column was removed in July, 1773, on the supposition -that a considerable sum of money was lodged at the -base; but the search was ineffectual.</p> - -<p>Several years ago, Mr. Albert Smith, who lived at -Chertsey, discovered in his neighbourhood part of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> -Seven Dials—the column doing duty as a monument to a -Royal Duchess—when he described the circumstance in a -pleasant paper, entitled "Some News of a famous Old -Fellow," in his <i>Town and Country Magazine</i>. The communication -is as follows:—</p> - -<p>"Let us now quit the noisome mazes of St. Giles's and -go out and away into the pure and leafy country. Seventeen -or eighteen miles from town, in the county of Surrey, is -the little village of Weybridge. Formerly a couple of hours -and more were passed pleasantly enough upon a coach -through Kingston, the Moulseys, and Walton, to arrive there, -over a sunny, blowy common of pink heath and golden furze, -within earshot, when the wind was favourable, of the old -monastery bell, ringing out the curfew from Chertsey church. -Now the South-Western Railway trains tear and racket -down in forty-five minutes, but do not interfere with the -rural prospects, for their path lies in such a deep cutting, -that the very steam does not intrude upon the landscape.</p> - -<p>"One of the 'lions' to be seen at Weybridge is Oatlands, -with its large artificial grotto and bath-room, which is said—but -we cannot comprehend the statement—to have cost -the Duke of Newcastle, who had it built, 40,000<i>l.</i> The late -Duchess of York died at Oatlands, and lies in a small vault -under Weybridge Church, wherein there is a monument, by -Chantrey, to her memory. She was an excellent lady, well-loved -by all the country people about her, and when she -died they were anxious to put up some sort of tribute to her -memory. But the village was not able to offer a large sum -of money for this purpose. The good folks did their best, -but the amount was still very humble, and so they were obliged -to dispense with the services of any eminent architect, -and build up only such a monument as their means could -compass. Somebody told them that there was a column to -be sold cheap in a stone mason's yard, which might answer -their purpose. It was accordingly purchased; a coronet was -placed upon its summit; and the memorial was set up on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> -Weybridge Green, in front of the Ship Inn, at the junction of -the roads leading to Oatlands, to Shepperton Locks, and to -Chertsey. This column turned out to be the original one -from Seven Dials.</p> - -<p>"The stone on which the 'dials' were engraved or fixed, -was sold with it. The poet Gay, however, was wrong when -he spoke of its seven faces. It is hexagonal in its shape; -this is accounted for by the fact that two of the streets -opened into one angle. It was not wanted to assist in forming -the monument, but was turned into a stepping-stone, -near the adjoining inn, to assist the infirm in mounting their -horses, and there it now lies, having sunk by degrees into -the earth; but its original form can still be easily surmised. -It may be about three feet in diameter.</p> - -<p>"The column itself is about thirty feet high, and two -feet in diameter, displaying no great architectural taste. It -is surmounted by a coronet, and the base is enclosed by a -light iron railing. An appropriate inscription on one side of -the base, indicates its erection in the year 1822; on the -others, are some lines to the memory of the Duchess.</p> - -<p>"Relics undergo strange transpositions. The Obelisk -from the mystic solitudes of the Nile to the centre of the -Place de la Concorde in bustling Paris—the monuments of -Nineveh to the regions of Great Russell Street—the frescoes -from the long, dark, and silent Pompeii to the bright and -noisy Naples—all these are odd changes. But in proportion -to their importance, not much behind them is that of the -old column from the crowded, dismal regions of St. Giles -to the sunny tranquil Green of Weybridge."</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"><a name="Illus29" id="Illus29"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image33.jpg" width="250" height="385" alt="Curtis the Biographer of Corder. An Old Bailey Celebrity." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Curtis the Biographer of Corder. An Old Bailey Celebrity.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Bailey" id="Bailey">An Old Bailey Character.</a></h3> - - -<p>Some thirty years ago there appeared in the second series -of the <i>Great Metropolis</i><a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> a sketch of one Mr. Curtis, an -eccentric person who was to be seen in the New Court in -the Old Bailey, as constantly as the Judge himself. He -(Curtis) was known to everybody in and about the place. -For nearly a quarter of a century he had been in constant -attendance at the Old Bailey from the opening to the close -of each session, never being absent with the exception of two -occasions, when attending the county assizes. He wrote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> -short-hand, and was so passionately fond of reporting that -he had taken down for his own special amusement every -case verbatim which came before the New Court; and such -was his horror of the Old Court, that you might as soon expect -to hear the Bishop of London in a Dissenters' chapel -as to find Mr. Curtis in the Old Court. He was notable for -early rising: four o'clock in the morning he considered a -late hour. It was an event in his life to lie in bed till five. -By seven he had completed his morning journeys, which -usually embraced a distance—for he was particularly fond -of going over the same ground twice if not thrice in a morning—of -from six to eight miles. Among the places visited, -Farringdon Market, Covent Garden Market, Hungerford -Market, and Billingsgate were never under any circumstances -omitted. His own notion was that he had walked as much -within thirty years before seven in the morning as would have -made the circuit of the globe three or four times. He was, -perhaps, the most inveterate pedestrian known; locomotion -seemed to be a necessity of his nature. There was only one -exception to this rule—that was, when he was taking down -the trials at the Old Bailey. He considered it as the -greatest favour that could be conferred on him to be asked -to walk ten or twelve miles by an acquaintance. He was -very partial to wet weather, and as fond of a rainy day as if -he were a duck. He was never so comfortable as when -thoroughly drenched. Thunder and lightning threw him into -ecstasies; he was known to have luxuriated for some hours -on Dover cliff in one of the most violent thunderstorms ever -remembered in this country. He once walked from the City -to Croydon Fair and back again on three consecutive days -of the Fair; making with his locomotive achievements in -Croydon a distance of nearly fifty miles a-day; and this -without any other motive than that of gratifying his pedestrian -propensities. He had a horror of coaches, cabs, omnibuses, -and all sorts of vehicles; and he was not known to have -been ever seen in one. Judging from his partiality to heavy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> -showers of rain, he seemed to be to a certain extent an amphibious -being; and he often declared, with infinite glee, -that he was once thrown into a pond without suffering any -inconvenience. The benefits of air and exercise were manifest -in his cheerful disposition and healthy-looking, though -somewhat weather-beaten countenance: he seemed the -happiest little thick-built man alive.</p> - -<p>He not only rose very early, but was also late in going to -bed. On an average, he had not for twenty years slept above -four hours in the twenty-four. He was often weeks without -going to bed at all, and it sufficed him to have two or three -hours' doze in his arm-chair, and with his clothes on. In -the year 1834, he performed an unusual feat in this way: he -sat up one hundred consecutive nights and days, without -stretching himself on a bed, or putting himself into an horizontal -position, even for a moment. For one century of -consecutive nights, as Curtis phrased it, he neither put off -his clothes to lie down in bed, nor anywhere else, for a -second; all the sleep he had during the time was an occasional -doze in his arm-chair.</p> - -<p>Curtis's taste for witnessing executions, and for the society -of persons sentenced to death, was remarkable. He had -been present at every execution in the metropolis and its -neighbourhood for the last quarter of a century. He -actually walked before breakfast to Chelmsford, which is -twenty-nine miles from London, to be present at the -execution of Captain Moir. For many years he had not -only heard the condemned sermons preached in Newgate, -but spent many hours in the gloomy cells with the persons -who had been executed in London during that period. He -passed much time with Fauntleroy, and was with him a considerable -part of the day previous to his execution. With -Corder, too, of Red Barn notoriety, he contracted a -friendship: immediately on the discovery of the murder of -Maria Martin, he hastened to the scene, and remained there -till Corder's execution. He afterwards wrote the <i>Memoirs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> -of Corder</i>, which were published by Alderman Kelly, Lord -Mayor, in 1837-8: the work had portraits of Corder and -Maria Martin, and of Curtis, and nothing pleased him better -than to be called the biographer of Corder.</p> - -<p>By some unaccountable fatality, Curtis, where he was -unknown, often had the mortification of being mistaken -under very awkward circumstances for other persons. At -Dover he was once locked up all night on suspicion of being -a spy. When he went to Chelmsford to be present at -Captain Moir's execution, he engaged a bed at the Three -Cups inn; on returning thither in the evening the servants -rushed out of his sight, or stared suspiciously at him, he -knew not why, till at length the landlady, keeping some -yards distant from him, said in tremulous accents, "We -cannot give you a bed here; when I promised you one, I -did not know the house was full." "Ma'am," replied Curtis, -indignantly, "I have taken my bed, and I insist on having -it." "I am very sorry for it, but you cannot sleep here -to-night," was the reply. "I <i>will</i> sleep here to-night; I've -engaged my bed, and refuse me at your peril," reiterated -Curtis. The landlady then offered him the price of a bed -in another place, to which Curtis replied, resenting the affront, -"No, ma'am; I insist upon my rights as a <i>public</i> man; I -have a duty to perform to-morrow." "It's all true. He -says he's a public man, and that he has a duty to perform," -were words which every person in the room exchanged in -suppressed whispers with each other. The waiter now -stepped up to Mr. Curtis, and taking him aside, said—"The -reason why Mistress will not give you a bed is because you're -the executioner." Curtis was astounded, but in a few -moments laughed heartily at the mistake. "I'll soon convince -you of your error, ma'am," said Curtis, walking out of -the house. He returned in a few minutes with a gentleman -of the place, who having testified to his identity being -different from that supposed, the landlady apologized for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> -the mistake, and, as some reparation, gave him the best bed -in the inn.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"><a name="Illus30" id="Illus30"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" src="images/image34.jpg" width="250" height="408" alt="Curtis the Biographer of Corder. An Old Bailey Celebrity." /> -</a></div> - -<p>However, a still more awkward mistake occurred. After -passing night after night with Corder in prison, Curtis -accompanied him to his trial, and stood up close behind him -at the bar. An artist had been sent from Ipswich to sketch -a portrait of Corder for one of the newspapers of that town;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> -but the sketcher mistook Curtis for Corder, and in the next -number of the journal Mr. Curtis figured at full length as the -murderer of Maria Martin! He bore the mistake with good -humour, and regarded this as one of the most amusing -incidents of his life.</p> - -<p>Amidst these harmless eccentricities, Mr. Curtis effected -much good amongst prisoners under sentence of death. "I -speak within bounds," says the author of the <i>Great Metropolis</i>, -"when I mention that he has from first to last -spent more than a hundred nights with unhappy prisoners -under sentence of death, conversing with them with all -seriousness and with much intelligence on the great concerns -of that eternal world on whose brink they were standing. -I saw a long and sensible letter which the unhappy man -named Pegsworth, who was executed in March, 1837, for -the crime of murder, addressed a few days before his death -to Mr. Curtis, and in which he most heartily thanked Mr. -C. for all the religious instructions and admonitions he had -given him; adding, that he believed he had derived great -spiritual benefit from them."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Bone" id="Bone">Bone and Shell Exhibition.</a></h3> - - -<p>It is curious to note with what odd results of patient -labour our forefathers were amused to the top of their bent. -They were Curiosities in the strictest sense of the term; but -as to the information conveyed by their exhibition, it was -generally a <i>lucus à non lucendo</i>.</p> - -<p>In Suffolk Street, Cockspur Street, an ingenious Mrs. -Dards got up a display of this kind, consisting of an immense -collection of artificial flowers, made entirely by herself with -fish-bones, the incessant labour of many years, of which she -said to Mr. J. T. Smith:—"No one can imagine the trouble -I had in collecting the bones for that bunch of lilies of the -valley. Each cup consists of the bones which contain the -brains of the turbot; and from the difficulty of matching the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> -sizes, I never should have completed my task had it not -been for the kindness of the proprietors of the London, Freemasons', -and Crown and Anchor taverns, who desired their -waiters to save the fish-bones for me."</p> - -<p>This ingenious person distributed a card embellished -with flowers and insects, upon which was engraven an advertisement, -stating the exhibition to be the labour of thirty -years, and to contain "a great variety of beautiful objects -equal to nature." Likewise enabled to gratify them.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"With bones, scales, and eyes, from the prawn to the porpoise,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fruit, flies, birds, and flowers, oh, strange metamorphose!"<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Quid" id="Quid">"Quid Rides?"</a></h3> - - -<p>"People," says Mr. De Morgan, "are apt to believe that -a smart saying or a ready retort are not a real occurrence; -it was made up: it is too good to be true, &c." Perhaps -there is no story which would be held more intrinsically -deniable than that of the tobacconist who adopted <i>Quid -rides?</i> for his motto on his carriage.</p> - -<p>A friend, whose years, it will be seen, are many, has -given me the following note:—</p> - -<p>"Jacob Brandon was a tobacco-broker in the last century, -a remarkable man in his way, supposed to be rich, a good -companion, and extravagant in his expenses. Before the -year 1800, I saw a chariot in Cheapside with a coat-of-arms, -or rather a shield bearing a hand (sample) of tobacco and a -motto, <i>Quid rides?</i> It was an old carriage, and at the time -belonged to a job-master, so the driver told a person who -was curious to know what the arms meant. It was this -man's curiosity that caused my noticing the arms. Mentioning -the circumstance in my father's presence, he said it was -Brandon's old carriage. He had become gouty, and could -not walk; he bought the carriage, had it newly painted, and -was asked for his arms. This required consideration. Some -thought Brandon was a Jew, or of Jewish extraction. Be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> -this as it may, he loved a joke, and cared little for armorial -bearings. He was telling a party in Lloyd's Coffee-house -about his new carriage, and that he had determined to have -a symbol of his profession on it, but that he wanted a motto. -A well-known member of Lloyd's, a wit, and, as I afterwards -found out, a curious reader, suggested <i>Quid rides?</i> which -was forthwith adopted. This was Harry Calendon. I knew -him well; he died within the present century. I have found -that some of his witty stories about living persons were taken -from old books. My father knew Brandon well, and employed -him. Now, as to <i>Quid rides?</i> being proposed by -some Irish wit as a motto for Lundy Foot, of Dublin, famous -for a particular snuff, I have heard something of the history -and habits of Lundy Foot; he had no carriage with arms -on it. His snuff is still sold with its distinguishing wrapper -and stamp, but no <i>Quid rides?</i>—which would certainly have -been perpetuated if it had ever been adopted by the manufacturer -of the snuff."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Trott" id="Trott">"Bolton Trotters."</a></h3> - - -<p>This was the cognomen given to the muslin-weavers of -Bolton in the days of their prosperity. The trade was that -of a gentleman. They brought home their work in top-boots -and ruffled shirts, carried a cane, and in some instances took -a coach. Many weavers at that time used to walk about -the street with a five-pound Bank of England note spread -out under their hatbands; they would smoke none but long -"churchwarden" pipes, and objected to the intrusion of any -other handicraftsmen into the particular rooms in the public-houses -which they frequented.</p> - -<p>The "Bolton Trotters" were much addicted to practical -joking, of which Mr. French, in his <i>Life of Samuel Crompton</i>, -narrates this story:—"One of the craft visiting Bolton on a -market-day, having delivered his work at the manufacturing -warehouse, and obtained materials for his succeeding work,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> -placed them carefully in one end of his blue linen wallet, -and filled the other end with articles of clothing and provisions, -upon which he had expended his recently received -wages. He had, however, reserved a portion for his accustomed -potation upon such occasions; and that he might -enjoy this solace of his labour in comfort and safety, he left -his wallet at the warehouse before visiting his favourite -tavern. The good ale did its office, and when elevated to -just the proper pitch for <i>trotting</i>, he met a brother of the -loom, who, like himself, had transacted his day's business, -and was now ready to trudge home with his wallet on his -shoulder. The two weavers mingled with a little crowd -gathered together to hear the strains of the Bolton volunteer -band performing near the Swan Hotel. He who had left -his wallet at the warehouse was not, however, too much engrossed -by the martial music to neglect the tempting opportunity -to trot his quondam friend, with whom he stood -shoulder to shoulder, though each looked in a different direction. -Provided with a needle and stout thread, and being -the shorter man of the two, he had no difficulty in sewing -the edge of his neighbour's well-filled wallet to the lapel of -his own velveteen jacket, and then, during a momentary -movement in the crowd, adroitly hitched it from his neighbour's -to his own shoulder. An immediate and clamorous -charge of robbery was made, and met by an indignant denial -from the trotter, who coolly remonstrated with the loser on -his culpable want of ordinary care, pointing out, at the same -time, at the means he had taken to secure his own wallet, -which no one, he said, could steal from him. This evidence -was unanswerable, particularly as it was supported -by many of the bystanders who had seen the whole transaction, -and joined heartily in the laugh at the weaver who had -been so effectually <i>trotted</i> for their amusement. A reconciliation -was effected through the ordinary means on these -occasions, of an adjournment to the alehouse."</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus31" id="Illus31"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image35.jpg" width="300" height="374" alt="Lord Coleraine keeping an Apple-Stall. John Thomas Smith sketching the Scene." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Lord Coleraine keeping an Apple-Stall.<br /> John Thomas Smith sketching the Scene.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Eccent" id="Eccent">Eccentric Lord Coleraine.</a></h3> - - -<p>J. T. Smith, in his <i>Life of Nollekens</i>, has left these sensible -remarks upon a class of persons whose lives present many -instances of right feeling and upright conduct, although<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> -mixed up with less estimable qualities. "I believe," says -Mr. Smith, "every age produces at least one eccentric in -every city, town, and village. Be this as it may, go where -you will, you will find some half-witted fellow, under the -nickname either of Dolly, Silly Billy, or Foolish Sam, who -is generally the butt and sport of his neighbours, and from -whom, simple as he may sometimes be, a sensible answer is -expected to an unthinking question: like the common children, -who will, to our annoyance, inquire of our neighbour's -parrot what it is o'clock. In some such light Nollekens -was often held by his brother artists; and I once heard -Fuseli cry out, when on the opposite side of the street: -'Nollekens, Nollekens, why do you walk in the sun? If -you have no love for your few brains, you should not melt -your coat buttons!'"<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p> - -<p>The eccentric character is, likewise, sure to be found in -London, where there are several curious varieties of this -class of persons to be met with. In our walks, perchance, -we may meet a man who always casts his eye towards the -ground, as if he were ashamed of looking any one in the -face; and who pretends, when accosted, to be near-sighted, -so that he does not know even the friend that had served -him. This short-sightedness is very common. Indeed, he -draws his hat across his forehead to act as an eye-shade, so -that his sallow visage cannot be immediately recognised, -which makes him look as if he had done something wrong; -whilst his coat is according to the true Addison cut, with -square pockets large enough to carry the folio <i>Ship of Fools</i>. -No man was more gazed at than Lord Coleraine, who lived -near the New Queen's Head and Artichoke, in Marylebone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span> -Fields, and who never met Nollekens without saluting him. -"Well, Nollekens, my old boy, how goes it? You never -sent me the bust of the Prince." To which Nollekens -replied: "You know you said you would call for it one of -these days, and give me the money, and take it away in a -hackney-coach." "I remember," says J. T. Smith, "seeing -his lordship, after he had purchased a book entitled the -<i>American Buccaneers</i>, sit down close to the shop from which -he had bought it, in the open street, in St. Giles's, to read it. -I also once heard Lord Coleraine, as I was passing the wall -at the end of the Portland Road, where an old apple-woman, -with whom his lordship held frequent conversations, was -packing up her fruit, ask her the following question: -'What are you about, mother?' 'Why, my lord, I am -going home to my tea; if your lordship wants any information -I shall come again presently.' 'Oh! don't balk trade. -Leave your things on the table as they are: I will mind your -shop till you come back;' so saying, he seated himself in -the old woman's wooden chair, in which he had often sat -before whilst chatting with her. Being determined to witness -the result, after strolling about till the return of the old lady, -I heard his lordship declare the amount of his receipts by -saying: 'Well, mother, I have taken threepence-halfpenny -for you. Did your daughter Nancy drink tea with you?'"</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Eccentr" id="Eccentr">Eccentric Travellers.</a></h3> - - -<p>Curious stories are told of tourists being so fascinated -by certain incidents in their travels as to be diverted from -their purposes by finding themselves so comfortable as to -wish to proceed no further—a lesson of content which is -rarely lost on sensible persons.</p> - -<p>It is told of an English gentleman, who started on a -tour in 1815, the year of the battle of Waterloo, that he -landed at Ostend, with the design of pushing on to Brussels, -and took his place in the canal-boat that plied between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span> -Brussels and Ghent. The traveller went abroad, not merely -to see foreign lands, but with the hope of meeting with -illustrious personages and distinguished characters. Finding, -however, that on board the <i>trekschuit</i> he not only fell -in with many persons worth meeting, but had the opportunity -of sitting down with them at the <i>table-d'hôte</i>, he -thought he could not do better, and went backwards and -forwards, never getting farther than Ghent.</p> - -<p>Mr. Thackeray, in his <i>Vanity Fair</i>, gives this somewhat -different version of the story:—"The famous regiment -... was drafted in canal-boats to Bruges, thence to -march to Brussels. Jos. accompanied the ladies in the -public boats; the which all old travellers in Flanders must -remember for the luxury and accommodation they afforded. -So prodigiously good was the eating and drinking on board -these sluggish but most comfortable vessels, that there are -legends extant of an English traveller, who, coming to -Belgium for a week, and travelling in one of these boats, -was so delighted with the fare there, that he went backwards -and forwards from Ghent to Bruges perpetually, until the -railroads were introduced, when he drowned himself on the -last trip of the passage-boat." Possibly the catastrophe is -an embellishment.</p> - -<p>To these ana, Mr. Sala has added the story of the -Englishman, who is <i>said</i> to have made a bet that Van -Amburgh, the lion-tamer, would be eaten by his voracious -pupils within a given time; and who followed him about -the continents of Europe and America in the hope of seeing -him at last devoured, and so winning his stakes. Eugène -Sue introduces this mythical Englishman among the <i>dramatis -personæ</i> of the <i>Wandering Jew</i>.</p> - -<p>The Russians, also, have a story of an eccentric traveller—of -course, an Englishman—who posted overland, and in -the depth of winter, to St. Petersburgh, merely to see the -famous wrought-iron gates of the Summer Garden. He is -said to have died of grief at finding the gates superior to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span> -those at the entrance to his own park at home. Add to -this the lying traveller, who boasted that he had been -everywhere, and who, being asked how he liked Persia, -replied that he scarcely knew, as <i>he had only stayed there a -day</i>. Note, likewise, among eccentricities, the nobleman -of whom it was inquired, at dinner, what he thought of -Athens during an Oriental tour. He turned to his body-servant, -waiting behind his chair, and said, "<i>John, what did -I think of Athens?</i>"</p> - -<p>In May, 1865, died Charles Waterton, "the gentle and -gifted squire" of Walton Hall, in Yorkshire, in his eighty-second -year. Of this gentleman one of the most eccentric -incidents in modern travel is related to have occurred in -his wanderings in South America. His attendant Indian -had made an instrument to take a cayman, or alligator, of -Guiana, on the banks of the Essequibo river. It was very -simple; there were four pieces of tough, hard wood, a foot -long, and about as thick as your little finger; they were -tied round the ends of a rope in such a manner that if you -conceive the rope to be an arrow, these four sticks would -form the arrow's head; or that one end of the four united -sticks answered to the point of the arrow's head, while the -other end of the sticks expanded at equal distances round -the rope. Now, it is evident that if the cayman swallowed -this, the other end of the rope (which was thirty yards long) -being fastened to a tree, the more he pulled the faster the -barbs would stick into his stomach. The hook was well -baited with flesh, and entrails twisted round the rope for -about a foot above it. Into the steep sand-banks of the -river the Indian pricked a stick, and at its extremity was -fixed the machine which hung suspended about a foot from -the water. Mr. Waterton and his companions then went -back to their hammocks for the night.</p> - -<p>Next morning was found a cayman ten feet and a half -long, fast to the end of the rope. The next point was to -get him out of the water without injuring his scales. After<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span> -revolving many projects, Mr. Waterton had his canoe -brought round; he then took out the mast, eight feet long, -and as thick as his wrist, and wrapped the sail round the -end of it; he then sunk down on one knee, about four -yards from the water's edge, backed by his seven attendants, -and pulled the cayman to the surface; he plunged furiously, -and immediately went below again on their slackening the -rope; they pulled again, and out he came. "By the time," -says Mr. Waterton, "the cayman was within ten yards of -me, I saw he was in a state of fear and perturbation; I -instantly dropped the mast, sprung up, and jumped on his -back, turning half round as I vaulted, so that I gained my -seat with my face in a right position. I immediately seized -his fore-legs, and, by main force, twisted them on his -back; thus they served me for a bridle." He now plunged -furiously, and lashed the sand with his tail. The people -stoutly dragged him and the traveller about forty yards on -the sand. After repeated attempts to regain his liberty, the -cayman gave in, exhausted. Mr. Waterton then tied up -his jaws, and secured his fore-feet in the position he had -held them; there was still another struggle; while some of -the people pressed upon his head and shoulders, Mr. -Waterton threw himself upon his tail, keeping it down to -the ground; and having conveyed the cayman away, his -throat was cut, and dissection commenced.</p> - -<p>This account of "catching a crocodile" was at first -regarded as a "downright falsehood." Pliny, in his <i>Natural -History</i>, however, describes a race of men who swam -after the crocodile of the Nile, "and mounted on his back, -like horsemen, as he opens his jaws to bite, with his head -turned up, they thrust a club in his mouth, and holding -the ends of it, one in the right hand and the other in -the left, they bring him to shore, as if captive with bridles." -In a rare book of plates of field sports one represents, -probably from this account of Pliny, some men riding on -crocodiles, and bringing them to land by means of a pole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> -across their mouths, whilst others are killing them with -large clubs. Beneath is inscribed in Latin: "Tentyra, an -island of the Nile, in Egypt, is inhabited by an intrepid -people, who climb the crocodile's back, and, bridling his -mouth with a staff, force him out of the river, and slay -him."</p> - -<p>Dr. Pococke describes a method of taking the crocodile -in Egypt still more like that of South America. He says: -"They make some animal cry at a distance from the river, -and when the crocodile comes out, they thrust a spear into -his body, to which a rope is tied; they let him go into the -water to spend himself, and afterwards, drawing him out, -run a pole into his mouth, and, jumping on his back, tie -his jaws together." To return to the Squire of Walton -Hall.</p> - -<p>Waterton is thus characterised by a personal friend:—He -was one of those men whose life, reaching back and -retaining many characteristics of the past, contrasted the -present sameness with a manner of life much more varied, -but now almost forgotten. Rising always at three in the -morning, he gave an hour, as he said, "to the health and -preservation of the soul," and was then ready for the occupations -and pursuits of the day. His conversation and -manners had that charm which comes of ancestry, of ancient -riches, and a polished education enlivened by a sparkling -wit.</p> - -<p>In attachment to his religion he was as zealous as his -great ancestor, Sir Thomas More, whose clock, from the -house at Chelsea, still tells the hours at Walton Hall. His -undoubting faith, and the consolations it afforded him, -might, indeed, be envied by some of those who worship at -other altars.</p> - -<p>His hospitality was kind and generous: a stewed carp -from the lake carried you back to the good old times, and -furnished a dish not soon to be forgotten.</p> - -<p>To those who knew him well there was something remarkably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span> -genial in the society of the good old squire, and -his manner of receiving and bidding them adieu will be long -remembered by his friends.</p> - -<p>Mr. Thackeray, in <i>The Newcomes</i>, relates of Mr. Waterton -this interesting trait:—"A friend who belongs to the -old religion took me, last week, into a church where the -Virgin lately appeared in person to a Jewish gentleman, -flashed down upon him from heaven in light and splendour -celestial, and, of course, straightway converted him. My -friend bade me look at the picture, and kneeling down -beside me, I know, prayed with all his honest heart that the -truth might shine down upon me too; but I saw no glimpse -of heaven at all, I saw but a poor picture, an altar with -blinking candles, a church hung with tawdry strips of red -and white calico. The good, kind W. went away, humbly -saying, 'That such might have happened again if Heaven -so willed it.' I could not but feel a kindness and admiration -for the good man. I know that his works are made -to square with his faith, that he dines on a crust, lives as -chastely as a hermit, and gives his all to the poor."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Eleg" id="Eleg">Elegy on a Geologist.</a></h3> - - -<p>Archbishop Whately, one day, with genial humour, -wrote a supposed "Elegy on Dr. Buckland," of which the -following is a portion:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Where shall we our great Professor inter,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That in peace may rest his bones?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If we hew him a rocky sepulchre<br /></span> -<span class="i2">He'll rise and brake the stones,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And examine each stratum that lies around,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For he's quite in his element underground.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">If with mattock and spade his body we lay<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In the common alluvial soil,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He'll start up and snatch these tools away<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of his own geological toil;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In a stratum so young the Professor disdains<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span> -<span class="i0">That embedded should lie his organic remains.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Then exposed to the drip of some case-hardening spring<br /></span> -<span class="i2">His carcase let stalactite cover,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And to Oxford the petrified sage let us bring<br /></span> -<span class="i2">When he is encrusted all over;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There, 'mid mammoths and crocodiles, high on a shelf,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Let him stand as a monument raised to himself."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 6em; margin-bottom: 5em;" src="images/image36.jpg" width="100" height="55" alt="Floral design" /> -</div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Eccentric" id="Eccentric"><i>ECCENTRIC ARTISTS.</i></a></h2> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Gil" id="Gil">Gilray and his Caricatures</a></h3> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">T</span><span class="smcap">HE</span> name of James Gilray stands pre-eminent in the -annals of graphic satire. In his hands, caricature -became an art, and one that exercised no unimportant -influence on the kingdom of Great Britain. Previous to -this time, there is little challenging admiration in his department -of art. The satire for the most part was brutal -where it had point, and clumsy even in invention and -execution.</p> - -<p>Hogarth, Gay, Fielding, Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot -all aided the progress of satire. France was satirized by -Hogarth as a lean personage, all frill and wristbands, with -no shirt, dieting constantly on frogs, and wearing wooden -shoes. If to this we add Goldsmith's hatred of the French, -because they were slaves and wore wooden shoes, we have -the amount of the materials lying ready for the caricaturists' -use. The hatred towards our Scotch brethren, so strongly -manifested under the Bute administration, supplied the -caricaturists with hackneyed and profitless jokes. The -satirical points of the wits and humorists we have just -named, and a few obscure caricaturists, were selected, -arranged, and adapted by the genius of Gilray to illustrate, -by the etching-needle, a series of political events, as important -as those of any country of modern times; and in -Gilray's works is preserved a pictorial record of the History -of England during the greater part of the reign of George -III. An artist to excel in caricature must possess abilities -of a superior order, not only as a designer and an etcher,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> -but must have a deep knowledge of life, and be conversant -with the progress of public business; he must be a good -and a ready reasoner upon nearly all questions; his love of -truth and justice should enable him to detect the fallacies -of argument, and the injustice consequent upon false or -injudicious public acts. A keen sense of the ridiculous -should direct his pencil; and then, by a few touches, the -true caricaturist, in the most striking manner, mercilessly -exposes the follies and the consequences of such acts. In -Gilray, of all men before him, was found the union of these -requisites.</p> - -<p>Of Gilray's early life little is known: it is supposed that -he was born at Chelsea, in 1757. Mr. Smith, late of Lisle -Street, the well-known connoisseur in prints, himself a collector -of Gilray's works, states that Gilray was first placed -with Ashby, the writing-engraver, who resided at the bottom -of Holborn Hill, and afterwards was either a pupil or an -assistant with the celebrated Francis Bartolozzi, which is -doubtless founded on truth; as the mastery of the etching-needle, -occasional use of the graver, the mysteries of biting, -re-biting, and other practical points of engraving so completely -possessed by Gilray, could hardly have been attained -elsewhere than in the studio of an experienced engraver. -An active imagination, an acute sense of the ridiculous -points of character, or of personal appearance, and a facility -of drawing and etching, would in most cases disqualify any -student for the quiet and laborious profession of a line-engraver. -That Gilray should have abandoned the higher -branches of engraving cannot excite either wonder or regret, -as, in all probability, the rank of a merely tolerable line-engraver -was exchanged for the highest position that can be -awarded to the caricaturist; whose works, eagerly expected -by the sovereign down to the poorest labourer, invigorated -the national feeling against a powerful enemy, hourly -watching an opportunity to light up rebellion in the kingdom, -with a determination to invade and subjugate Old -England.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span></p> - -<p>Gilray made his first appearance as a caricaturist about -1782. Before his time, it was usual for these satires to be -published anonymously; and it is very likely that Gilray -might have thus published a few caricatures before he -openly set up as a caricaturist by profession, and boldly -put his name to his productions. The dispute between the -two admirals, Keppel and Sir Hugh Palliser, caused a great -public sensation. Keppel was tried by a court martial, and -acquitted; and Palliser retired from the service. The -caricaturist took up the needles and etched a naval pair of -breeches and legs, writing underneath, "Who's in Fault? -Nobody?" but a head appears over the waistband—and -that is Sir Hugh Palliser's; <i>he</i> was the <i>nobody</i> in fault. A -comparison of this print with others of Gilray's will convince -anyone acquainted with the details of etching that it is -Gilray's. It bears the date of 1779. His first acknowledged -production is dated 1782. Having opened his battery of -fun, he kept up a continued fire upon his political victims -until 1811, when an aberration of mind rendered powerless -the mighty hand which had "done the state some service." -Gilray was fortunate in meeting with Miss Humphrey, the -printseller, in St. James's Street; for, in his insane periods, -she proved a most kind and attached friend. He lived in -her house, and mainly supported her trade by the sale of his -caricatures. It is said that both parties had once resolved -on matrimony, and were actually walking to church to -become man and wife; when, in the course of the walk, -they both reflected upon the approaching state of bondage, -and mutually agreeing not to sacrifice their liberty by so -rash an act as marriage, walked home again!</p> - -<p>In the house of Miss Humphrey, Gilray found ample -employment, an excellent spot for marking down his game; -here he heard all the news and gossip of the day over a -friendly table. Her shop being No. 29, St. James's Street -(and afterwards in the occupation of a printseller), was of -all others the best situated for Gilray's purpose, as his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span> -victims were unconsciously walking daily to and fro before -the shop. Behind the window was Gilray, pencil in hand, -taking off the heads of the ministers and of the opposition. -In this way he became so familiarised with their features, -that he could drolly exaggerate, almost out of all humanity, -the nose and lank figure of "Billy Pitt, the heaven-born -minister," and yet preserve so much likeness, that the -portrait was immediately recognised. Loutherburg, the -eminent artist and scene-painter, went to Valenciennes, after -the seige in 1793, to sketch the military works. He was accompanied -by Gilray, who sketched the officers. On their -return, they were introduced to the king. George III. did -not comprehend the slight sketches made by Gilray; and, -remarking that he did not understand "the caricatures," -sadly offended Gilray, who had intended them as veritable -portraits, and had not the least idea of being "funny." -Disappointed with the royal criticism, he went home, and -the next day caricatured his Majesty, examining a miniature -of Oliver Cromwell, by means of <i>candle-ends</i> and <i>save-alls</i>. -He showed it to his friends, and said: "I wonder whether -the <i>royal</i> connoisseur will <i>understand this</i>?"</p> - -<p>The severity and fearful amount of ridicule at Gilray's -command, exposed him to threats of personal chastisement, -and sometimes to the probability of a prosecution. Fox -was more than once disposed to prosecute the artist, or the -publishers—and not without reason; for in some of his -portraits he was the incarnation of diabolical sensuality. -Burke always figured as a half-starved Jesuit; and Sheridan, -himself a satirist, could scarcely stand the attacks of the -caricaturist on his red nose and portly person. However, -they wisely foresaw that a prosecution would be an excellent -advertisement for the offensive prints; so the senators sat -down, and gratified themselves with enjoying a hearty -laugh at each other. George III. was more than once -severely attacked by Gilray; but he bore it with great good -humour.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span></p> - -<p>The facile invention, extraordinary humour, and rapid -execution of Gilray's works were marvellous. Some of his -subjects are full of figures, carefully drawn, although exaggerated. -A complete collection of his works amounts to -no less than fifteen hundred! An over-taxed imagination, -constantly on the rack, watching opportunities, and the -rapidity with which the design, the etching, finishing, -printing, and publishing of the prints required to be executed, -told fearfully upon his mind. His mental powers failed, and -the mirth-inspiring son of genius became dead to the world. -Some lucid intervals occurred, in one of which he etched the -well-known plate of the "Barber's Shop," after Bunbury. -Poor Gilray was deprived of his reason in the year 1811, -from which time, until his death in 1815, he was the wretched -occupant of a garret in Miss Humphrey's house. Here, at -the barred windows, he was sometimes seen by that esteemed -artist, Kenny Meadows, who contemplated the mad artist -with horror. Miss Humphrey entirely supported Gilray -until death claimed what disease had left of the great satirist. -He threw himself out of an up-stairs window, and died of -the injuries he received, on the 1st of June, 1815. He was -buried at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, where a tablet is -erected to his memory.</p> - -<p>From Mr. Wright's curious and interesting <i>England -under the House of Hanover</i>, illustrated by caricatures and -satires, we gather that the favourite subjects to the artists of -fun were the sans-culotte extravagancies of the French -Revolutionists; and at home the coalition of North and -Fox, the fiscal devices of Minister Pitt, the impeachment of -Warren Hastings, and the "Alarmists." It was the popular -belief that Hastings had bribed the Court of St. James's -with presents of diamonds of large size, and in great profusion, -to shelter his Indian delinquencies. Caricatures -on this subject were to be seen in every print shop. In one -of these Hastings is represented as wheeling away in a -barrow the King, with his crown and sceptre, observing,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> -"What a man buys he may sell!" and in another, the King -is represented on his knees, with his mouth wide open. A -common representation of the King and the Queen was as -"Farmer George and his wife;" his Majesty's familiarity of -manner, general somnolency, Weymouth displays, and his -prying into cottage domesticities—to wit, the memory of the -seamless apple-dumpling,—afforded unfailing hits for Peter -Pindar, Sayer, and Gilray. The dissipation of the Prince -of Wales suggested his portrayal as "The Prodigal Son," -the Prince's Feathers in the mire, and the inscription on his -garter reduced to the word "honi." In one print a Brighton -party is represented, "The Jovial Crew, or Merry Beggars:" -among the Prince's guests are Mrs. Fitzherbert, Fox, -Sheridan, Lord North, and Captain Morris—"Jolly companions -every one."</p> - -<p>A scarce print of Gilray's commemorates a grand installation -of knights at Westminster Abbey, May 19th, -1788, and is called "The Installation Supper," given at the -Pantheon, in Oxford Road. It portrays the chief notorieties -of the day, in separate groups, simulating over the bottle an -obliviousness of political jealousies: Pitt and Fox hobnobbing -behind the gruff Chancellor Thurlow; Lord Shelburn -is shaking hands jesuitically with Lord Sydney; Lord Derby -is hand-in-glove with Lady Mount Edgecumbe, an antiquated -<i>blue</i>, who still dreams of conquest; the Prince is -besieged by Lady Archer (of gambling notoriety) on one -side, and Lady Cecilia Johnson on the other: while Mr. -Fitzherbert is in amiable confab with the ex-patriot, Johnny -Wilkes:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i4">"Johnny Wilkes, Johnny Wilkes,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Thou greatest of bilks,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How changed are the notes you now sing;<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Your famed Forty-five<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Is Prerogative,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And your blasphemy, 'God save the King.'"<br /></span> -</div></div> -<p style="margin-left: 30%;"><span class="smcap">Sheridan.</span></p> - - -<p>Edmund Burke always appears with long-pointed nose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> -and spectacles. In one large print by Gilray, he is discharging -a blunderbuss at Hastings, who is defending himself -with the "shield of honour." The thin, meagre figure -of Pitt, "with his d—d iron face," was fruitful for jest as -that of his fat, slovenly opponent, Fox. An equivocal -phrase of the Prime Minister gave rise to Gilray's caricature -of "The Bottomless Pitt;" or it may have been the financial -profundity of the Minister, or the wit of his celebrated -housekeeper niece:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"William Pitt, 'tis known by many people,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Was thin as a lath, and tall as a steeple;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And so spare his behind, he was called (with some wit),<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By famed Lady Hester, 'the bottomless pit.'"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Gilray, often as he struck at a minister or satirized a -courtier, he yet more often returned to the battle which he -loved to wage—that against Bonaparte. With him the -Corsican was a murderer, a fanatic, a tyrant; an invader with -death's head and dripping sword; a ghoul who loved to feast -on human flesh; an incarnate fiend, a demon. Single-handed, -Gilray fed and nursed the flame of hatred which -burnt so steadily and so long in these islands against that -potentate, whether as general, first consul, or emperor. -Napoleon himself perceived it, and complained of it. His -empress and generals came in for a share of Gilray's -pictorial wrath. Ministers, who at the time of the trial of -Peltier were not unwilling to conciliate the master of a -hundred legions, in vain attempted to stop Gilray. The -shop-windows still displayed the bright colours of the newest -print, wherein, as incendiary or demon, the chief person was -still Napoleon Bonaparte. If, according to the <i>dictum</i> of -the latter, one newspaper editor were worse than five <i>corps -d'armée</i> acting against him, surely Gilray, with his enormous -effect on the British mind, then hardly swayed or taught by -leading articles, was worse than five editors. And if we of -the volunteer corps wish to realise the intense hatred, the -indignation, the burning passion with which most of our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> -fathers regarded the first Napoleon, we have only to turn -over some old caricatures. How the old times rise before -us, summoned by the tricksy Ariel of art, as we look over -them.—<i>See a clever paper in the London Review.</i></p> - -<p>One of Gilray's late prints was Dr. Burgess, of Mortimer -Street, "from Warwick Lane." The doctor was one of the -last men who wore a cocked hat and deep ruffles. What -rendered his appearance more remarkable, he walked on -tiptoe.</p> - -<p>The commercial history of the caricatures is curious. -At the period of the artist's death, the copper-plates from -which they were struck were estimated to be worth 7,000<i>l.</i> -Upon the demise of the printseller, his widow pledged the -plates for 1,000<i>l.</i>; but in the process of time, a better tone -of political feeling having supervened, and likewise an improved -public taste as regards art, this property, upon being -put to sale by auction, was bought in for 500<i>l.</i> Subsequently -the widow offered them to Mr. Henry Bohn, the -eminent publisher, for that sum; but the process of change -adverted to still continuing, the offer was declined. Upon -her death her executors, unable to sell them as engravings, -sold them as old copper for as many pence as they were -originally worth pounds, and Mr. Bohn became the purchaser.</p> - -<p>The early political caricatures of Gilray were generally -directed against the Government party. These he was hired -to sketch, and generally at a small price, according to the -will of his employers. He used to smoke his pipe with his -early employers, and exert his faculties more to win a bowl -of punch than to gain ten pounds. For years he occasionally -smoked his pipe at the Bell, the Coal Hole, or the -Coach and Horses; and although the <i>convives</i> whom he met -at such dingy rendezvous knew that he was Gilray who fabricated -those comical prints, yet he never sought to act the -coxcomb, nor become the king of the company. In truth, -with his neighbouring shopkeepers and master manufacturers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> -he passed for no greater wit than his associates. Rowlandson, -his ingenious compeer, and he sometimes met. They -would, perhaps, exchange half-a-dozen questions and answers -upon the affairs of etching, copper, and nitric acid, swear -that the world was one <i>vast masquerade</i>, and then enter into -the common chat of the room, light their cigars, drink their -punch, and sometimes early, sometimes late, shake hands at -the door and depart, one for the Adelphi, the other to St. -James's Street, each to his bachelor's bed.</p> - -<p>The facility with which Gilray composed his subjects, and -the rapidity with which he etched them, astonished those -who were eye-witnesses of his powers. Many years ago, he -had an apartment in a court in Holborn. A commercial -agent for a printseller had received a commission to get a -satirical design etched by Gilray, but he had repeatedly -called in his absence. He lived at the west end of the -town, and on his way to the city waited on him again, when -he happened to be at home.</p> - -<p>"You have lost a good job and a useful patron, Gilray," -said he; "but you are always out."</p> - -<p>"How? What—what is your object?" said the artist.</p> - -<p>"I want this subject drawn and etched," said the agent; -"but now it is too late."</p> - -<p>"When is it wanted?"</p> - -<p>"Why, to-morrow."</p> - -<p>"It shall be done."</p> - -<p>"Impossible, Gilray!"</p> - -<p>"Where are you going?"</p> - -<p>"Onward to the Bank."</p> - -<p>"When do you return?"</p> - -<p>"At four o'clock." It was now eleven.</p> - -<p>"I'll bet you a bowl of punch it shall be completed, -etched and bitten in, and a proof before that time."</p> - -<p>"Done!"</p> - -<p>The plate was finished; it contained many figures; the -parties were mutually delighted, and the affair ended with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> -tipsy bout, at the Gray's Inn Coffee-house, at the employer's -expense.</p> - -<p>It was not likely that such an original would be content -to sit, year after year, over a sheet of copper, perpetuating -the renown of others, whilst possessed of a restless and -ardent mind, intent on exploring unknown regions of taste, -he could open a way through the intricacies of art, and by a -short but eccentric cut reach the Temple of Fame. He set -to work, and succeeded to the astonishment of the goddess, -who, one day, beheld this new votary unceremoniously -resting upon the steps of her altar.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Blak" id="Blak">William Blake, Painter and Poet.</a></h3> - - -<p>The life of this extraordinary man of genius has been -written by Mr. Alexander Gilchrist, with much feeling, judgment, -and good taste. Wordsworth was more interested -with what he terms Blake's "madness" than with the sanity -of Lord Byron and Walter Scott. Fuseli and Flaxman predicted -a day when the drawings of Blake should be as much -sought after and treasured by artists as those of Michael -Angelo. Hayley admired and befriended Blake. He was -a true poet, though, as Gilchrist says, "he neither wrote nor -drew for the many, hardly for workyday men at all; rather -for children and angels—himself a divine child, whose play-things -were sun, moon, and stars, the heavens, and the -earth."</p> - -<p>Blake was born in 1757, at No. 28, Broad Street, Carnaby -Market, where his father carried on the business of a hosier. -When a boy he began to dream. When eight or ten years -of age, he brought home from Peckham Rye a tale of a tree -filled with angels, for doing which his father threatened to -thrash him.</p> - -<p>In 1767 he was sent to the drawing-school of Mr. Pars,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> -in the Strand, and taught to copy plaster casts after the -antique, while his father made a collection of prints for him -to study. He had already, too, begun to write poetry. At -the age of fourteen he was placed with James Basire, the -engraver. His father intended to apprentice him to Ryland, -a more famous engraver than Basire. The boy Blake, however, -raised an unexpected scruple. "The sequel," says Mr. -Gilchrist, "shows it to have been a singular instance, if not -of absolute prophetic gift or second sight, at all events of -natural intuition into character and power of forecasting the -future, from such as is often the endowment of temperament -like his. In after-life this involuntary faculty of reading -hidden writing continued to be a characteristic. 'Father,' -said the strange boy, after the two had left Ryland's studio, -'I do not like the man's face; <i>it looks as if he lived to be -hanged!</i>' Appearances were at this time utterly against the -probability of such an event." But, twelve years after this -interview, the unfortunate Ryland got into embarrassment, -committed a forgery on the East India Company, and the -prophecy was fulfilled.</p> - -<p>By 1773 Blake had begun to draw his own dreams, such -as one of Joseph of Arimathea, described by him as "one -of the Gothic artists who built the cathedrals in what we call -the Dark Ages, wandering about in sheepskins and goatskins." -In 1783 Blake published, by the help of friends, a -small volume of <i>Poetical Sketches</i>, of which here is a specimen:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Memory, hither come,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">And tune your merry notes;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, while upon the wind<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Your music floats,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I'll pore upon the stream<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where sighing lovers dream,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And fish for fancies as they pass<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Within the watery glass.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"I'll drink of the clear stream,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">And hear the linnet's song;<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span> -<span class="i0">And there I'll lie and dream<br /></span> -<span class="i4">The day along:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, when night comes, I'll go<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To places fit for woe;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Walking along the darkened valley<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With silent Melancholy."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>We pass over Blake's progress in his art, but may remark, -from his biographer, that although he drew the Antique with -great care, he thus early conceived a distaste for the study -as pursued in Academies of Art. "Already 'life,'" says -Mr. Gilchrist, "in so factitious, monotonous an aspect of it -as that presented by a model artificially <i>posed</i> to enact an -artificial part—to maintain in painful rigidity some fleeting -gesture of spontaneous Nature's—became, as it continued, -'hateful,' looking to him, laden with thick-coming fancies, -'more like death' than life; nay (singular to say), 'smelling -of mortality'—to an imaginative mind! 'Practice and -opportunity,' he used afterwards to declare, 'very soon teach -the language of art;' as much, that is, as Blake ever acquired, -not a despicable if imperfect quantum. 'Its spirit -and poetry, centred in the imagination alone, never can be -taught; and these make the artist:' a truism, the fervid -poet already began to hold too exclusively in view. Even -at their best—as the vision-seer and instinctive Platonist -tells us in one of the very last years of his life (<i>MS. notes to -Wordsworth</i>)—mere 'Natural objects <i>always did and do</i> -weaken, deaden, and obliterate imagination in me!'"</p> - -<p>Blake wrote many songs, to which he also composed -tunes, sometimes singularly beautiful; these he would occasionally -sing to his friends. His later verse, which he attached -to his plates, was very enigmatical. Though he did -not for forty years attend any place of divine worship, yet -he was not a Freethinker nor irreligious, as has been scandalously -represented. The Bible was everything with him. -How he reverenced the Almighty, the following conclusion -of his address to the Deity will show:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"For a tear is an intellectual thing;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And a sigh is the sword of an Angel King;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the bitter groan of a martyr's woe<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Is an arrow from the Almighty's bow."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>And in his <i>Address to the Christians</i>:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"I give you the end of a golden string,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Only wind it into a ball,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">It will lead you in at Heaven's gate,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Built in Jerusalem's wall."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Blake was a diligent and enthusiastic student. The day -he devoted to the graver and the night to poetry; he was -utterly indifferent to the goods of this life, and used to say: -"My business is not to gather gold, but to make glorious -shapes expressing god-like sentiments."</p> - -<p>When Blake was twenty-six years of age, he married -Catherine Boutcher, who lived near his father's house, and -was noticed by Blake for the whiteness of her hands, the -brightness of her eyes, and a slim and handsome shape, -corresponding with his own notions of sylphs and naiads. -His marriage proved a mutually happy one. She had not -learned to write, but Blake instructed his "beloved," as he -most frequently called her, and allowed her till the last -moments of his practice to take off his proof impressions -and print his works, which she did most carefully, and ever -delighted in the task; nay, she became a draughtswoman. -And as a convincing proof that she and her husband were -born for each other's comfort, she not only cheerfully -entered into his views, but, what is curious, possessed a -similar power of imbibing ideas, and produced drawings -equally original, and in some respects, interesting. She -almost rivalled him in all things, save in the power of seeing -visions of any individual living or dead, whenever he chose -to see them. Yet, she joined him in other extravagances. -The painter and Mrs. Blake one day received a guest in -their arbour in a state of nakedness, to whom they calmly -declared that they were Adam and Eve!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span></p> - -<p>In his thirtieth year, Blake annotated the Aphorisms of -Lavater, and illustrated his own poems, <i>The Songs of Innocence -and of Experience</i>. These, with the illustrations to -<i>Blair's Grave</i>, to the <i>Book of Job</i>, and the plate of the -<i>Canterbury Pilgrimage</i>—are the works of Blake by which he -is best known. He was his own printer and publisher. His -deceased brother and pupil, Robert Blake, disclosed to him -in a dream by what manner of process his purpose could be -brought to pass and the last half-crown he possessed was -spent by Mrs. Blake to procure the materials. Their manner -of manipulation was revealed to him by "Joseph, the -sacred carpenter."</p> - -<p>One of the most touching and popular of <i>The Songs of -Innocence</i> was "The Chimney Sweeper:"</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"When my mother died I was very young<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And my father sold me while yet my tongue<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Could scarcely cry—weep! weep! weep!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So your chimneys I clean and in soot I sleep.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That curl'd like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hush, Tom, never mind it, for when your head's bare,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"And so he was quiet—and on that very night,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As Tommy was sleeping, he had such a sight;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"And by came an Angel, who had a bright key,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He opened the coffins and set them all free;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then down a green vale, leaping, laughing they run,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And wash in a river, and shine like the sun.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Then, naked and white, all their bags left behind,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They rise up on pure clouds and sport in the wind:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He'd have God for his father and never want joy.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"And so Tommy awoke and we rose in the dark,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And got with our bags and our brushes to work;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Though the morning was cold, he was happy and warm,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span></p> - -<p>In 1800, the Blakes were invited by Hayley to visit him -at Felpham, in Sussex, under the idea of providing the artist -with occupation and emolument. Upon this occasion Blake -wrote thus to Flaxman:—</p> - -<p>"Dear Sculptor of Eternity,—We are safe arrived at our -cottage, which is more beautiful than I thought it, and more -convenient. It is a perfect model for cottages, and I think -for palaces of magnificence, only enlarging—not altering its -proportions, and adding ornaments and not principles. -Nothing can be more grand than its simplicity and usefulness. -Simple without intricacy, it seems to be the spontaneous -expression of humanity congenial to the wants of -men. No other formed house can ever please me so well, -nor shall I ever be persuaded, I believe, that it can be improved -either in beauty or use. Mr. Hayley received us -with his usual brotherly affection. I have begun to work. -Felpham is a sweet place for study, because it is more -spiritual than London. Heaven opens here on all sides her -golden gates; her windows are not obstructed by vapours; -voices of celestial inhabitants are more distinctly heard, and -their forms more distinctly seen; and my cottage is also a -shadow of their houses. My wife and sister are both well, -courting Neptune for an embrace.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"And now begins a new life, because another covering -of earth is shaken off. I am more famed in Heaven for -my works than I could well conceive. In my brain are -studies and chambers filled with books and pictures of old, -which I wrote and painted in ages of eternity before my -mortal life; and those works are the delight and study of -archangels. Why then should I be anxious about riches or -the fame of mortality? The Lord our Father will do for us -and with us according to his Divine will, for our good. You, -O dear Flaxman! are a sublime archangel—my friend and -companion from eternity. In the Divine bosom is our -dwelling-place. I look back into the regions of reminiscence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span> -and behold our ancient days before this earth -appeared in its vegetated mortality to my mortal vegetated -eyes. I see our houses of eternity which can never be -separated, though our mortal vehicles should stand at the -remotest corners of heaven from each other. Farewell my -best friend! Remember me and my wife in love and -friendship to our dear Mrs. Flaxman, whom we ardently -desire to entertain beneath our thatched roof of rusted gold. -And believe me for ever to remain your grateful and affectionate</p> - - -<p style="text-align: right">"<span class="smcap">William Blake</span>."</p> - -<p>This association at Felpham lasted four years, when -the Blakes left by mutual consent. Yet the painter wrote -upon his host these sarcastic epigrams:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"<i>To Hayley.</i></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Thy friendship oft has made my heart to ache:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Do be my enemy, for friendship's sake!"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"<i>On H. [Hayley], the Pickthank.</i></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"I write the rascal thanks; till he and I<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With thanks and compliments are quite drawn dry."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>He had already written:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"My title as a genius thus is proved,—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Not praised by Hayley, nor by Flaxman loved."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>About this time, Blake's mind was confirmed in that extraordinary -state which many suppose to have been a -species of chronic insanity. He was so exclusively occupied -with his own ideas, that he at last persuaded himself that his -imaginations were spiritual realities. He thought that he -conversed with the spirits of the long-departed great—of -Homer, Moses, Pindar, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and many -others. Some of these spirits sat to him for their portraits.</p> - -<p>Dr. de Boismont, among his <i>Hallucinations involving -Insanity</i>, thus describes him as a lunatic, of the name -of Blake, who was called the Seer. There was nothing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span> -of the impostor about him; he seemed to be thoroughly in -earnest.</p> - -<p>"This man constituted himself the painter of spirits. -On the table before him were pencils and brushes ready for -his use, that he might depict the countenances and attitudes -of his heroes, whom he said he did not summon before him, -but who came of their own accord, and entreated him to -take their portraits. Visitors might examine large volumes -filled with these drawings: amongst others were the portraits -of the devil and his mother. When I entered his -cell," says the author of this notice, "he was drawing the -likeness of a girl whose spectre he pretended had appeared -to him."</p> - -<p>"Edward III. was one of his most constant visitors, and -in acknowledgment of the monarch's condescension, Blake -had drawn his portrait in oils in three sittings. I put such -questions as were likely to have embarrassed him; but he -answered them in the most unaffected manner, and without -any hesitation.</p> - -<p>"'Do these persons have themselves announced, or do -they send in their cards?'—'No; but I recognise them -when they appear. I did not expect to see Marc Antony -last night, but I knew the Roman the moment he set foot in -my house.'—'At what hour do these illustrious dead visit -you?'—'At one o'clock: sometimes their visits are long, -sometimes short. The day before yesterday I saw the unfortunate -Job, but he would not stay more than two minutes; -I had hardly time to make a sketch of him, which I afterwards -engraved——but silence! Here is Richard III.!'—'Where -do you see him?'—'Opposite to you, on the other -side of the table: it is his first visit.'—'How do you know -his name?'—'My spirit recognizes him, but I cannot tell -you how.'—'What is he like?'—'Stern, but handsome: at -present I only see his profile; now I have the three-quarter -face; ah! now he turns to me, he is terrible to behold.'—'Could -you ask him any questions?'—'Certainly. What<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span> -would you like me to ask him?'—'If he pretends to justify -the murders he committed during his life?'—'Your question -is already known to him. We converse mind to mind by -intuition and by magnetism. We have no need of words.'—'What -is his Majesty's reply?'—'This; only it is somewhat -longer than he gave it to me, for you would not understand -the language of spirits. He says what you call murder and -carnage is all nothing; that in slaughtering fifteen or twenty -thousand men you do no wrong; for what is immortal of -them is not only preserved, but passes into a better world, -and the man who reproaches his assassin is guilty of ingratitude, -for it is by his means he enters into a happier and -more perfect state of existence. But do not interrupt me; -he is now in a very good position, and if you say anything -more, he will go.'"</p> - -<p>"Visions, such as are said to arise in the sight of those -who indulge in opium," says Allan Cunningham, "were -frequently present to Blake; nevertheless, he sometimes -desired to see a spirit in vain. 'For many years,' said he, -'I longed to see Satan—I never could believe that he was -the vulgar fiend which our legends represent him—I imagined -him a classic spirit, such as he appeared to him of Uz, -with some of his original splendour about him. At last I -saw him. I was going upstairs in the dark, when suddenly -a light came streaming amongst my feet; I turned round -and there he was looking fiercely at me through the iron -grating of my staircase window. I called for my things—Katherine -thought the fit of song was on me, and brought -me pen and ink—I said hush!—never mind—this will do—as -he appeared so I drew him—there he is.' Upon this -Blake took out a piece of paper with a grated window -sketched on it, while through the bars glared the most -frightful phantom that ever man imagined. Its eyes were -large and like live coals—its teeth as long as those of a -harrow, and the claws seemed such as might appear in the -distempered dream of a clerk in the Heralds' office. 'It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span> -the Gothic fiend of our legends,' said Blake—'the true devil—all -else are apocryphal.'</p> - -<p>"These stories are scarcely credible, yet there can be -no doubt of their accuracy. Another friend, on whose -veracity I have the fullest dependence, called one evening -on Blake, and found him sitting with a pencil and a panel, -drawing a portrait with all the seeming anxiety of a man -who is conscious that he has got a fastidious sitter; he -looked and drew, and drew and looked, yet no living soul -was visible. 'Disturb me not,' said he, in a whisper, 'I -have one sitting to me.' 'Sitting to you!' exclaimed his -astonished visitor; 'where is he, and what is he?—I see -no one.' 'But I see him, Sir,' answered Blake, haughtily; -'there he is, his name is Lot—you may read of him in the -Scripture. <i>He</i> is sitting for his portrait.'"</p> - -<p>Blake's last residence was No. 3, Fountain Court, -Strand; he had two rooms on the first floor, that in front, -with the windows looking into the court, had its walls hung -with frescoes, temperas, and drawings of Blake's, and was -used as a reception-room. The back room was the sleeping -and living-room, kitchen, and studio; in one corner -was the bed, in another the fire, at which Mrs. Blake cooked. -By the window stood the table serving for meals, and by -the window the table at which Blake always sat (facing the -light), designing or engraving. "There was," says Mr. -Gilchrist, "an air of poverty as of an artizan's room; but -everything was clean and neat; nothing sordid. Blake -himself, with his serene, cheerful, dignified presence and -manner, made all seem natural and of course. Conversing -with him, you saw or felt nothing of his poverty, though he -took no pains to conceal it: if he had, you would have -been effectually reminded of it. But, in these latter years -he, for the most part, lived on good though simple fare. -His wife was an excellent cook—a talent which helped to -fill out Blake's waistcoat a little as he grew old. She could -even prepare a made dish when need be. As there was no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> -servant, he fetched the porter for dinner himself, from the -house at the corner of the Strand. Once, pot of porter in -hand, he espied coming along a dignitary of Art—that -highly respectable man, William Collins, R.A., whom he -had met in society a few evenings before. The Academician -was about to shake hands, but seeing the porter, drew up -and did not know him. Blake would tell the story very -quietly, and without sarcasm. Another time, Fuseli came -in, and found Blake with a little cold mutton before him -for dinner, who, far from being disconcerted, asked his -friend to join him. 'Ah! by G—!' exclaimed Fuseli, -'this is the reason you can do as you like. <i>Now I can't -do this.</i>' His habits were very temperate. Frugal and -abstemious on principle, and for pecuniary reasons, he was -sometimes rather imprudent, and would take anything that -came in his way. A nobleman once sent him some oil of -walnuts he had had expressed purposely for an artistic -experiment. Blake tasted it, and went on tasting, till he -had drunk the whole. When his lordship called to ask -how the experiment had prospered, the artist had to confess -what had become of the ingredients. It was ever after a -standing joke against him. In his dress, there was a similar -triumph of the man over his poverty, to that which struck -one in his rooms. In-doors, he was careful, for economy's -sake, but not slovenly: his clothes were threadbare, and his -grey trousers had worn black and shiny in front, like a -mechanic's. Out of doors he was more particular, so that -his dress did not in the streets of London challenge attention -either way. He wore black knee-breeches and buckles, -black worsted stockings, shoes which tied, and a broad-brimmed -hat. It was something like an old-fashioned -tradesman's dress. But the general impression he made on -you was that of a gentleman in a way of his own."</p> - -<p>Blake died August 12th, 1827: he composed and uttered -songs to his Maker so sweetly to the ear of his Katherine, -that when she stood to hear him, he, looking upon her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span> -most affectionately, said: "My beloved, they are not mine—no—they -are not mine." He expired in his sixty-ninth -year, in the back room at Fountain Court, and was buried -in Bunhill Fields on the 17th of August, at the distance of -about twenty-five feet from the north wall, numbered 80.</p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus32" id="Illus32"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image37.jpg" width="275" height="347" alt="Joseph Nollekens. From the Life and Times by J. T. Smith." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Joseph Nollekens. From the <i>Life and Times</i> by J. T. Smith.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Nolle" id="Nolle">Nollekens, the Sculptor.</a></h3> - - -<p>Avarice would appear to have run in the blood of the -Nollekens family. "Old Nollekens," the father of Joseph, -was "a miserably avaricious man," and when, in the Rebellion -of 1745, his house was attacked by the mob, who -thought themselves sure of finding money, the old man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> -became so terrified that he lingered in a state of alarm until -his death.</p> - -<p>Little Joey was described by Mrs. Scheemakers, the -sculptor's wife, as "so honest that she could always trust -him to stone the raisins." His love of modelling was his -greatest pleasure, though he had an idle propensity for -bell-tolling; and whenever his master missed him, and the -dead-bell of St. James's church was tolling, he knew perfectly -well what Joey was at.</p> - -<p>As Nollekens grew up, not unmindful of his art, he rose -early and practised carefully, and being a true son of his -father, was passionately fond of money. He was much -employed as a shrewd collector of antique fragments, some -of which he bought on his own account; and after he had -dexterously restored them with heads and limbs, he stained -them with tobacco-water, and sold them for enormous -sums.</p> - -<p>When he returned from Rome, he succeeded as a -smuggler of silk stockings, gloves, and lace; all his plaster -busts being hollow, he stuffed them full of the above articles, -and then spread an outside coating of plaster at the back -across the shoulders of each, so that the busts appeared -like solid casts. Pointing to the cast of Sterne, Nollekens -observed to Lord Mansfield: "There, do you know that -bust, my Lord, held my lace ruffles that I went to Court in -when I came from Rome."</p> - -<p>His mode of living when at Rome was most filthy: he -had an old woman who was so good a cook, that she would -often give him a dish for dinner which cost him no more -than threepence. "Nearly opposite to my lodgings," he -said, "there lived a pork-butcher who sold for twopence a -plateful of cuttings—bits of skin, gristle, and fat, and my -old lady dished them up with a little pepper and salt; and -with a slice of bread, and sometimes a bit of vegetable, I -made a very nice dinner." Whenever good dinners were -mentioned after that, he was sure to say, "Ay, I never tasted -a better dish than my Roman cuttings."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span></p> - -<p>Nollekens married the daughter of Mr. Justice Welch. -She was as parsimonious as her husband. Of a poor old -woman, whom she allowed to sit at the corner of her house, -she would contrive to get four apples, instead of three, to -make a dumpling, saying, "for there's my husband, myself, -and two servants, and we must have one a-piece." When -she went to Oxford Market to beat the rounds, in order to -discover the cheapest shops, she would walk round several -times to give her dog Cerberus an opportunity of picking -up scraps.</p> - -<p>Nollekens's bust of Dr. Johnson is a wonderfully fine -one, and very like, but the sort of <i>hair</i> is objectionable, -having been modelled from the flowing locks of a sturdy -Irish beggar, who, after he had sat an hour, refused to -take a shilling, stating that he could have made more by -begging.</p> - -<p>Most of Nollekens's sitters were much amused with his -oddities. He once requested a lady who squinted dreadfully -to "look a little the other way, for then," said he, "I -shall get rid of the shyness in the cast of your eye;" and -to another lady of the highest rank, who had forgotten her -position, and was looking down upon him, he cried, "Don't -look so <i>scorny</i>; you'll spoil my busto; and you're a very -fine woman; I think it will be one of my best bustos."</p> - -<p>A lady in weeds for her dear husband, drooping low -like the willow, visited the sculptor, and assured him she -did not care what money was expended on the monument -to the memory of her beloved: "Do what you please, but -do it directly," were her orders. Nollekens set to work at -once, and in a short time finished the model, strongly -suspecting she might, like some others he had been employed -by, change her mind. The lady, in about three months, -made her second appearance, in which more courage is -generally assumed, and was accosted by him, before she -alighted, with "Poor soul! I thought you'd come;" but -her inclination was changed, and she said, "How do you do,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span> -Nollekens; well, you have not commenced the model?"—"Yes, -but I have though," was the reply. <i>The Lady</i>—"Have -you, indeed? These, my good friend, I own," -throwing herself into a chair, "are early days; but since I -saw you, an old Roman acquaintance of yours has made me -an offer, and I don't know how he would like to see in our -church a monument of such expense to my late husband; -indeed, perhaps, after all, upon second thoughts, it would be -considered quite enough if we got our mason to put up a -mural inscription, and that, you know, he can cut very -neatly."—"My charge," interrupted the artist, "for my model -will be one hundred guineas;" which she declared to be -enormous. However, she would pay it, and "have done -with him."</p> - -<p>Nollekens's housekeeping was a model of parsimony. -Coals he so rigidly economized that they were always sent -early before the men came to work that he might have -leisure-time for counting the sacks and disposing of the large -coals to be locked up for parlour use. Candles were never -lighted at the commencement of evening, and whenever they -heard a knock at the door, they would wait until they heard -a second rap, lest the first should have been a runaway, and -their candle wasted. Mr. and Mrs. Nollekens used a flat -candlestick, when there was anything to be done; and J. T. -Smith, his biographer, was assured that a pair of moulds, by -being well nursed, and put out when company went away, -once lasted them a whole year.</p> - -<p>Before he was married, Nollekens kept but one servant -who always applied to him for money to purchase every -article <i>fresh</i>, as it was wanted for the next meal; and by -that mode of living, he considered, as he kept his servant -upon board-wages, he was not so much exposed to her -pilfering inclinations, particularly as she was entrusted with -no more money than would enable her to purchase just -enough for his own eating; and he generally contrived to get -through the small quantity he allowed himself. He was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span> -very cunning in hinting at little presents, and frequently -complained of a sore throat to those who made black currant -jelly.</p> - -<p>Sometimes, in the evening, to take a little fresh air, and -to avoid interlopers, Mr. and Mrs. N. would, after putting a -little tea and sugar, a French roll, or a couple of rusks into -their pockets, stray to Madam Caria's, a Frenchwoman, who -lived near the end of Marylebone Lane, and who accommodated -persons with tea equipage and hot water at a penny -a head. Mrs. Nollekens made it a rule to allow one servant—as -they kept two—to go out on the alternate Sunday; for it -was Mr. Nollekens's opinion that if they were never permitted -to visit the Jew's Harp, Queen's Head and Artichoke, -or Chalk Farm, they never would wash <i>theirselves</i>.</p> - -<p>One day, when some friends were expected to dine with -Mr. Nollekens, poor Bronze (the servant), labouring under -a severe sore throat, stretching her flannelled neck up to her -mistress, hoarsely announced "<i>all the Hawkinses</i>" to be in -the dining-parlour! Mrs. Nollekens, in a half-stifled whisper, -cried, "Nolly, it is truly vexatious that we are always served -so when we dress a joint. You won't be so silly as to ask -them to dinner?" <i>Nollekens</i>—"I ask them! Let 'em get -their meals at home; I'll not encourage the sort of thing; -or, if they please, they can go to Mathias's; they'll find the -cold leg of lamb we left yesterday." <i>Mrs. Nollekens</i>—"No -wonder, I am sure, they are considered so disagreeable by -Captain Grose, Hampstead Steevens, Murphy, Nicolls, and -Boswell." At this moment who should come in but Mr. -John Taylor, who looked around, and wondered what all -the fuss could be about. "Why don't you go to your -dinner, my good friend?" said he; "I am sure it must be -ready, for I smell the gravy." Nollekens, to whom he had -spoken, desired him to keep his nonsense to himself. A -dispute then arose, which lasted so long, that perhaps the -Hawkinses overheard it, for they had silently let themselves -out without even ringing the bell.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span></p> - -<p>Smith, the grocer, of Margaret Street, was frequently -heard to declare that whenever Mrs. Nollekens purchased -tea and sugar at his father's shop, she always requested, just -as she was quitting the counter, to have either a clove or a -bit of cinnamon to take some unpleasant taste out of her -mouth; but she never was seen to apply it to the part so -affected; so that, with Nollekens's nutmegs, which he -pocketed from the table at the Academy dinners, they -contrived to fill the family spice-box, without any expense -whatever.</p> - -<p>For many years Nollekens made one at the table of the -Royal Academy Club; and so strongly was he bent upon -saving all he could privately conceal, that he did not -mind paying two guineas a year for his admission ticket, in -order to indulge himself with a few nutmegs, which he contrived -to pocket privately: for as red-wine negus was the -principal beverage, nutmegs were used. Now it generally -happened, if another bowl was wanted, that the nutmegs -were missing, Nollekens, who had frequently been seen to -pocket them, was one day requested by Rossi, the sculptor -to see if they had not fallen under the table; upon which -Nollekens actually went crawling beneath, upon his hands -and knees, pretending to look for them, though at the very -time they were in his waistcoat-pocket. He was so old a -stager at this monopoly of nutmegs, that he would sometimes -engage the maker of the negus in conversation, looking -at him full in the face, whilst he slyly and unobserved, as -he thought, conveyed away the spice; like the fellow who -is stealing the bank-note from the blind man in the admirable -print of the Royal Cockpit, by Hogarth.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Nollekens would never think of indulging in such -expensive articles as spick and span new shoes, but purchased -them second-hand, as her friends, by their maids, -<i>pumped</i> out of Bronze, who also let out that her muffs and -parasols were obtained in the same way. The sculptor's -wife would also often plume herself with borrowed feathers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span> -a shawl or a muff of a friend she never refused when returning -home, observing, that she was quite sure that they -would keep her warm; never caring how they suffered from -the rain, so that her neighbours saw her apparelled in what -they had never before seen her wear.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Nollekens's notions of charity were of the same -second-hand description. One severe winter morning, two -miserable men, almost dying for want of nourishment, -implored her aid; but the only heart which sympathized in -their afflictions was that of Betty, in the kitchen, who silently -crept upstairs, and cheerfully gave them her mite. Mrs. -Nollekens, who had witnessed this delicate rebuke from the -parlour window, hastily opened the parlour door and -vociferated, "Betty, Betty! there is a bone below, with -little or no meat on it, give it the poor creatures!" upon -which the one who had hitherto spoken, steadfastly looking -in the face of his pale partner in distress, repeated, "Bill, -we are to have a bone with little or no meat on it!" When -they were gone, the liberal-hearted Betty was seriously rated -by her mistress, who was quite certain she would come to -want.</p> - -<p>Mr. Nollekens, having entered his barber's shop, and his -turn arrived, placed one of Mrs. Nollekens's curling papers, -which he had untwisted for the purpose, upon his right -shoulder, upon which the barber wiped his razor. Nollekens -cried out, "Shave close, Hancock, for I was obliged to come -twice last week, you used so blunt a razor."—"Lord sir!" -answered the poor barber, "you don't care how I wear my -razors out by sharpening them."</p> - -<p>The old miser, who had been under his hands for upwards -of twenty years, was so correct an observer of its -application, that he generally pronounced at the last flourish, -"That will do;" and before the shaver could take off the -cloth, he dexterously drew down the paper, folded it up -and carried it home in his hand, for the purpose of using it -the next morning when he washed himself.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span></p> - -<p>Nollekens used to sing a droll song, of which the following -is a verse:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"So a rat by degrees<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Fed a kitten with cheese,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Till kitten grew up to a cat;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">When the cheese was all spent,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Nature follow'd its bent,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And puss quickly ate up the rat."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>One day, Northcote, the Academician, had just reached -his door in Argyle Street when Nollekens, who was looking -up at the house, said to him, "Why, don't you have your -house painted, Northcote? Why, it's as dirty as Jem -Barry's was in Castle Street." Now, Nollekens had no -right to exult over his brother artist in this way, for he had -given his own door a coat of paint, and his front passage a -whitewash, <i>only the day before</i>, and they had been for years in -the most filthy state possible.</p> - -<p>Mr. Smith received from Miss Welch the following -specimens of Nollekens's way of spelling words in 1780:—"Yousual, -scenceble, obligine, modle, ivery, gentilman, -promist, sarvices, desier, Inglish, perscription, hardently, -jenerly, moust, devower, jellis, retier, sarved, themselfs, -could <i>for</i> cold, clargeman, facis, cupple, foure, sun <i>for</i> son, -boath sexis, daly, horsis, ladie, cheif, talkin, tould, shee, -sarch, paing, ould mades, racis, yoummer in his face, palas, -oke, lemman, are-bolloon, sammon, chimisters <i>for</i> chymists, -yoke <i>for</i> yolk, grownd," &c.</p> - -<p>After Mrs. Nollekens's death, as if he had been too long -henpecked, Mr. Nollekens soon sported two mould candles -instead of one; took wine oftener, sat up later, lay in bed -longer, and would, though he made no change in his -coarse manner of feeding, frequently ask his morning -visitor to dine with him. Yet his viands were dirtily cooked -with half-melted butter, mountains-high of flour, and his -habits of eating were filthy. He frequently gave tea and -other entertainments to some one of his old models, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span> -generally left his house a bank-note or two richer than when -they arrived. Indeed, so stupidly childish was he at times, -that one of his Venuses, who had grown old in her practices -coaxed him out of ten pounds to enable her to make him a -plum-pudding.</p> - -<p>Mr. Smith declares, that in some respects, aged as he -was, he attempted to practise the usual method of renovation -of some of that species of widowers who have not the -least inclination to follow their wives too hastily. Mrs. -Nollekens had left him with his handsome maid, who had -become possessed of her mistress' wardrobe, which she -quickly cut up to her advantage. Her common name of -Mary soon received the adjunct of Pretty from her kind -master himself. As it soon appeared, however, that Pretty -Mary, who had an eye to her master's disengaged hand, -took upon herself mightily, and used her master rather -roughly, she was one day, very properly, though unceremoniously, -put out of the house, before her schemes were -brought to perfection.</p> - -<p>Nollekens took snuff; he certainly kept a box, but then -it was very often in his other coat-pocket, an apology frequently -made when he partook of that refreshment at the -expense of another.</p> - -<p>"You must sometimes be much annoyed," observed a -lady to Mr. Nollekens, "by the ridiculous remarks made by -your sitters and their flattering friends, after you have produced -a good likeness."—"No, ma'am, I never allow anybody -to fret me. I tell 'em all, 'If you don't like it, don't -take it.'" This may be done by an artist who is "tiled in;" -but the dependent man is sometimes known to submit to -observations as the witty Northcote has stated, even from -"nursery-maids, both wet and dry."</p> - -<p>At the commencement of the French Revolution, when -such numbers of priests threw themselves upon the hospitality -of this country, Nollekens was highly indignant at the -great quantity of bread they consumed. "Why, do you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> -know now," said he, "there's one of 'em living next door to -me, that eats two whole quarterns a-day to his own share! -and I am sure the fellow's body could not be bigger, if he -was to eat up his blanket."</p> - -<p>Mr. Browne, one of Nollekens's old friends, after -having received repeated invitations to "step in and take -pot-luck with him," one day took him at his word. The -sculptor apologized for his entertainment, by saying that as it -was Friday, Mrs. Nollekens had proposed to take fish with -him, so that they had bought <i>a few sprats</i>, of which he was -wiping some in a dish, whilst she was turning others on the -gridiron.</p> - -<p>When Mr. Jackson was once making a drawing of a -monument at the Sculptor's house, Nollekens came into the -room and said, "I'm afraid you're cold here." "I am, indeed," -said Jackson. "Ay," answered the Sculptor, "I don't -wonder at it: why, do you know, there has not been a fire -in this room for these forty years."</p> - -<p>Miss Gerrard, daughter of the auctioneer, frequently -called to know how Nollekens did; and once the Sculptor -prevailed upon her to dine. "Well, then," said he to his -pupil, Joseph Bonomi, "go and order a mackerel; stay, one -won't be enough, you had better get two, and you shall dine -with us."</p> - -<p>A candle with Nollekens was a serious article of consumption: -indeed, so much so, that he would frequently -put it out, and merely to save an inch or two, sit entirely -in the dark, and at times, too, when he was not in the least -inclined to sleep. If Bronze ventured into the yard with -a light, he always scolded her for so shamefully flaring the -candle. One evening, his man, who then slept in the house, -came home rather late, but quite sober enough to attempt -to go upstairs unheard without his shoes, but as he was -passing Nollekens's door, the immensely increased shape of -the keyhole shone upon the side of the room so brilliantly -that Nollekens cried out, "Who's there?"—"It's only me,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> -answered the man; "I am going to bed."—"Going to bed, -you extravagant rascal!—why don't you go to bed in the -dark, you scoundrel."—"It's my own candle," replied the -man. "Your own candle! well then, mind you don't set -fire to yourself."</p> - -<p>Nollekens frequently spoke of a man that he met in the -fields, who would now and then, with all the gravity of an -apothecary, inquire after the state of his bowels. At last -the sculptor found out that he wanted to borrow money of -him.</p> - -<p>Whenever Mr. and Mrs. Nollekens had a present of a -leveret, which they always called a hare, they contrived, by -splitting it, to make it last for two dinners for four persons; -the one half was roasted, and the other jugged.</p> - -<p>It was highly amusing to witness the great variety of -trifling presents and frivolous messages which Nollekens -received late in life. One person was particularly desirous -to be informed where he liked his cheese-cakes purchased; -another, who ventured to buy stale tarts from a shop in his -neighbourhood, sent his livery servant in the evening to inquire -whether his cook had made them to his taste; whilst -a third continued constantly to ply him with the very best -pigtail tobacco, which he had most carefully cut into very -small pieces for him. A fourth truly kind friend, who was -not inclined to spend money upon such speculations himself, -endeavoured once more to persuade Nollekens to take a -cockney ride in a hackney-coach to Kensington, to view the -pretty almond-tree in perfect blossom, and to accept of a -few gooseberries to carry home with him to make a tartlet -for himself. A fifth sent him jellies, or sometimes a chicken -with gravy ready made, in a silver butter-boat; and a sixth -regularly presented him with a change of large showy plants, -to stand on the mahogany table, especially in his latter -years, when he was a valetudinarian, that he might see them -from his bed; yet the scent mattered not, a carrion flower -or a marigold being equally refreshing to him as jessamine -or mignonette.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span></p> - -<p>One rainy morning, Nollekens, after confession, invited -his holy father to stay till the weather cleared up. The wet, -however, continued till dinner was ready; and Nollekens -felt obliged to ask the priest to partake of a bird, one of the -four of a present from the Duke of Newcastle. Down they -sat: the reverend man helped his host to a wing, and then -carved for himself, assuring Nollekens that he never indulged -in much food, though he soon picked the rest of the bones. -"I have no pudding," said Nollekens, "but won't you have -a glass of wine? Oh! you've got some ale." However, -Bronze brought in a bottle of wine; and on the remove, -Nollekens, after taking a glass, went, as usual, to sleep. -The priest, after enjoying himself, was desired by Nollekens, -while removing the handkerchief from his head, to take -another glass. "Tank you, Sare, I have a finish de bottel."—"The -devil you have!" muttered Nollekens. "Now, -sare," continued his reverence, "ass de rain be ovare, I will -take my leaf."—"Well, do so," said Nollekens, who was not -only determined to let him go without his coffee, but gave -strict orders to Bronze not to let the old rascal in again. -"Why, do you know," continued he, "that he ate up all -that large bird, for he only gave me one wing; and he -swallowed all the ale; and out of a whole bottle of wine, I -had only one glass."</p> - -<p>A broad-necked gooseberry-bottle, leather-bunged, containing -coffee, which had been purchased and ground full -forty years, was brought out when he intended to give a -particular friend a treat; but it was so dried to the sides of -the bottle, that it was with difficulty he could scrape together -enough for the purpose; and even when it was made, time -had so altered its properties, from the top having been but -half closed, that it was impossible to tell what it had originally -been. He used to say, however, of this turbid mixture, -"Some people fine their coffee with sole-skin, but for -my part, I think this is clear enough for anybody."</p> - -<p>Nollekens's wardrobe was but a sorry stock. He had -but one nightcap, two shirts, and three pairs of stockings;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span> -two coats, one pair of small-clothes, and two waistcoats. -His shoes had been repeatedly mended and nailed; they -were two odd ones, and the best of his last two pairs. When -Mary Holt, his housekeeper, came, she declared that she -would not live with him unless he had a new coat and waistcoat. -Poor Bronze, who had to support herself upon what -were called board-wages, had hardly a change, and looked -like the wife of a chimney-sweeper. As for table-linen, two -breakfast napkins and a large old table-cloth was the whole -of the stock. Bronze declared that she had never seen a -jack-towel in the house, and she always washed without soap.</p> - -<p>The wardrobe, as proved in Nollekens's will, consisted -of his court-coat, in which he was married: his hat, sword, -and bag; two shirts, two pairs of worsted stockings, one -table-cloth, three sheets, and two pillow-cases; but all these, -with <i>other rags</i>, only produced one pound five shillings for -the person to whom they were bequeathed.<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p> - -<p>Mr. Nollekens died April 23rd, 1823. His long-drawn-out -will and its fourteen codicils afford strange instances of -human weakness in many a phase. In some measure to -redeem his memory from obloquy, we had rather record a -few instances of his generosity, than add more of his parsimony. -In his last illness, he asked his housekeeper:—"Is -there anybody that I know that wants a little money to do -'em good?"—"Yes, sir, there is Mrs. ——." <i>Nollekens</i>:—"Well, -in the morning, I'll send her ten pounds."—"That's -a good old boy," said she, patting him on the back; "you'll -eat a better dinner for it to-morrow, and enjoy it." And he -was never known to forget his promises. With all his propensity -for saving, he used to make his household domestics -a present of a little sum of money on his birthday; and -latterly, upon this occasion, he became even more generous, -by bestowing on them, to their great astonishment, ten and -twenty pounds each.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 225px;"><a name="Illus33" id="Illus33"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image38.jpg" width="225" height="403" alt="Master Betty as Norval. The Young Douglas." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 4em;">Master Betty as Norval. The Young Douglas.</p> - - - -<h2 style="margin-bottom: 3em;"><a name="Theatrical" id="Theatrical"><i>THEATRICAL FOLKS.</i></a></h2> - -<h3 style="margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Youn" id="Youn">The Young</a> <a name="Rosc" id="Rosc">Roscius.</a></h3> - -<p><span class="dropcap">E</span><span class="smcap">ARLY</span> in the present century, there appeared upon -our stage a boy-actor, whose performances excited -the special wonder of all play-goers. William Henry West<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span> -Betty, the boy in question, was born near Shrewsbury, in -1791. When almost a child, he evinced a taste for dramatic -recitations, which was encouraged by a strong and -retentive memory. Having been taken to see Mrs. Siddons -act, he was so powerfully affected, that he told his father -"he should certainly die if he was not made a player." He -gradually got himself introduced to managers and actors; -and at eleven years of age, he learned by heart the parts -of Rolla, Young Norval, Osman, and other popular characters. -On the 16th of August, 1803, when under twelve -years of age, he made his first public appearance at Belfast, -in the character of Osman; and went through the ordeal -without mistake or embarrassment. Soon afterwards he -undertook the characters of Young Norval and Romeo. -His fame having rapidly spread through Ireland, he soon -received an offer from the manager of the Dublin theatre. -His success there was prodigious, and the manager endeavoured, -but in vain, to secure his services for three years. -He next played nine nights at the small theatre at Cork, -whose receipts, averaging only ten pounds on ordinary -nights, amounted to a hundred on each of Master Betty's -performance.</p> - -<p>In May, 1804, the canny manager of the Glasgow theatre -invited the youthful genius to Scotland. When, a little -after, Betty went to the sister-city of Edinburgh, one newspaper -announced that he "set the town of Edinburgh in a -flame." Mr. Home went to see the character of Young -Norval in his own play of <i>Douglas</i> enacted by the prodigy, -and is said to have declared: "This is the first time I ever -saw the part played according to my ideas of the character. -He is a wonderful being!" The manager of the Birmingham -theatre then sent an invitation, and was rewarded with -a succession of thirteen closely-packed audiences. Here the -<i>Rosciomania</i>, as Lord Byron afterwards called it, appears to -have broken out very violently: it affected not only the inhabitants -of that town, but all the iron and coal workers of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span> -the district between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. In -the <i>Penny Magazine</i>, in a paper descriptive of the South -Staffordshire district and its people, it is said:—"One man, -more curious or more idle than his fellows, determined to -leave his work, and see the prodigy with his own eyes. -Having so resolved, he proceeded, although in the middle -of the week, to put on a clean shirt and a clean face, and -would even have anticipated the Saturday's shaving. The -unwonted hue of the shirt and face were portents not to be -disregarded, and he had no sooner taken the road to Birmingham, -than he was met by an astonished brother, whose -amazement, when at last it found vent in words, produced -the following dialogue: 'Oi say, sirree, where be'est thee -gwain?'—'Oi 'm agwain to Brummajum.'—'What be'est -thee agwain there for?'—'Oi 'm agwain to see the Young -Rocus.'—'What?'—'Oi tell thee oi 'm agwain to see the -Young Rocus.'—'Is it aloive?'" The "Young Rocus," -who was certainly "aloive" to a very practical end, then -went to Sheffield, and next to Liverpool.</p> - -<p>On Saturday, the 1st of December, 1804, young Betty -made his first appearance in London, at Covent Garden -Theatre. The crowd began to assemble at one o'clock, filling -the Piazza on one side of the house, and Bow Street on -the other. The utmost danger was apprehended, because -those who had ascertained that it was quite impossible for -them to <i>get in</i>, by the dreadful pressure behind them, could -not get back. At length they themselves called for the -soldiers who had been stationed outside; they soon cleared -the fronts of the entrances, and then posting themselves -properly, lined the passages, permitting any one to return, -but none to enter. Although no places were unlet in the boxes, -gentlemen paid box-prices, to have a chance of jumping over -the boxes into the pit; and then others who could not find -room for a leap of this sort, fought for standing-places with -those who had taken the boxes days or weeks before.</p> - -<p>The play was Dr. Brown's <i>Barbarossa</i>, a good imitation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span> -of the <i>Mérope</i> of Voltaire, in which Garrick had formerly -acted Achmet, or Selim, now given to Master Betty. An -occasional address was intended, and Mr. Charles Kemble -attempted to speak it, but in vain. The play proceeded -through the first act, but in dumb show. At length Barbarossa -ordered Achmet to be brought before him; attention -held the audience mute; not even a whisper could be heard, -till Selim appeared. By the thunder of applause which -ensued, he was not much moved; he bowed very respectfully, -but with amazing self-possession, and in a few moments -turned to his work with the intelligence of a veteran, -and the youthful passion that alone could have accomplished -a task so arduous. As a slave, he wore white pantaloons, -a close and rather short russet jacket trimmed with sables, -and a turban.</p> - -<p>"What first struck me," says Mr. Boaden, a trustworthy -critic, "was that his voice had considerable power, and a -depth of tone beyond his apparent age; at the same time it -appeared heavy and unvaried. His great fault grew from -want of careful tuition in the outset. In the provincial way, -he dismissed the aspirate; and in closing syllables, ending -in <i>m</i> or <i>n</i>, he converted the vowel <i>i</i> frequently into <i>e</i>, and -sometimes more barbarously still into <i>u</i>. Whether he obtained -this from careless speakers in Ireland or England, I -cannot be sure; but this inaccuracy I remember to have -sometimes heard even from Miss O'Neil. He was sometimes -too rapid to be distinct, and at others too noisy for -anything but rant. I found no peculiarities that denoted -minute and happy studies. He spoke the speeches as I had -always heard them spoken, and was therefore, only wrong -where he laid vehement emphasis. The wonder was how -any boy, who had just completed his <i>thirteenth year</i>, could -catch passion, meaning, cadence, action, expression, and the -discipline of the stage, in ten very different and arduous -characters, so as to give the kind of pleasure in them that -needed no indulgence, and which, from that very circumstance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span> -heightened satisfaction into enthusiasm. Such were -his performances of Tancred, Romeo, Frederick, Octavian, -Hamlet, Osman, Achmet, Young Norval, &c."</p> - -<p>An arrangement was made that young Betty's talents -should be made available for both Covent Garden and Drury -Lane theatres, at which he played on alternate nights. Covent -Garden was not quite so large as the Drury Lane of that -date; at the latter, twenty-eight nights of Betty's first town -season, brought 17,210<i>l.</i> 11<i>s.</i>; nightly average, 614<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> -For his services, Roscius received 2,782<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>, being three -nights at fifty guineas, and twenty-five nights at 100 guineas; -besides four free benefits, which with the presents, were -worth 1,000 guineas each. It is supposed that the receipts -at Covent Garden were nearly as much as at Drury Lane; -and that thus 30,000<i>l.</i> was earned by the boy-actor for the -managers in fifty-six performances.</p> - -<p>In the meantime, all the favouritism, and more than the -innocence of former patronesses was lavished upon him. -He might have chosen among our titled dames the carriage -he would honour with his person. He was presented to the -King, and noticed by the rest of the Royal family and the -nobility, as a prodigy. Prose and poetry celebrated his -praise. Even the University of Cambridge was so carried -away by the tide of the moment as to make the subject of -Sir William Brown's prize medal, "<i>Quid noster Roscius eget?</i>" -Opie painted him on the Grampian Hills, as the shepherd -Norval; Northcote exhibited him in a Vandyke costume, -retiring from the altar of Shakespeare, as having borne thence, -not stolen, "Jove's authentic fire." Heath engraved the -latter picture. "Amidst all this adulation, all this desperate -folly," says Boaden, "be it one consolation to his mature -self, that he never lost the genuine modesty of his carriage, -and that his temper at least was as steady as his diligence."</p> - -<p>Fortunately for young Betty, his friends took care of his -large earnings for him, and made a provision for his future<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span> -support. He soon retired from the stage, and then became -a person of no particular note in the world, displaying no -more genius or talent than the average of those about him. -When he became a man, he appeared on the stage again, -but <i>utterly failed</i>. We can add our own testimony that -the good people of Shrewsbury were ever proud of the precocious -boy-actor.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Hardh" id="Hardh">Hardham's "No 37."</a></h3> - - -<p>This renowned snuff was first made by John Hardham, of -Fleet Street, whose history is certainly worth reading. He -was born in the good city of Chichester, in the year 1712, -and bred up to the occupation of a working lapidary, or -diamond-cutter; but he afterwards found his way to the -metropolis, and sought confidential or domestic employment, -and was in the establishment of Viscount Townshend, some -time Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who ever entertained for -him great regard. Hardham, early in his career of London -life, acquired a fondness for the stage; and thus early wrote -a comedy, called <i>The Fortune Tellers</i>, which, although not -intended for representation, nevertheless was printed. This, -probably, led to his subsequent introduction to David -Garrick, with whom he became connected at Drury Lane -Theatre, in the responsible post of his principal, "numberer"—that -is, discharging a duty in the house of counting the -audience assembled, as a check upon the check-takers and -receivers of money at the doors. In this duty he became -so expert, that Garrick was heard to say, Hardham, by a -comparative glance round the theatre, could inform his -master of the receipts to a nicety, and he was never found -incorrect in his report.</p> - -<p>Hardham established himself at the Red Lion, in Fleet -Street, now No. 106, where he flourished, by a course of -patient industry, and intelligent application to the business -of tobacconist and snuff-maker. Although in this new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span> -vocation he had fewer opportunities of intimately identifying -himself with the stage, he nevertheless remained as ardent -an admirer of it as ever. This he exemplified by associating -around him in Fleet Street, among whom were many literary -personages, the dramatists and wits of the theatre, and his -friend David Garrick did not here desert him. So much, -in fact, did the dramatic element prevail at the Red Lion -in Fleet Street, under his fostering care, that novices for the -stage, almost invariably sought his advice, and, indeed, his -tuition. His little back-parlour, characteristically enough, -was hung around with portraits of eminent performers, to -whose styles of dramatic action and manner he would frequently -refer in the course of his instructions. Such recreations, -however, did not for a moment induce Hardham -to relax his best energies in the conduct of the snuff-business, -which was daily enlarging the sphere of its operations, and -also its renown; which latter was much raised by the successful -completion of his experiments in the compounding -of the renowned snuff, "No. 37," which was speedily launched -upon the tide of public opinion; a tide which "led on to -fortune."</p> - -<p>Hardham died in the house wherein he had earned his -name for business success, for good fellowship, and for -"melting charity," in Fleet Street, in the parish of St. Bride, -on the 29th of September, 1772, in his sixty-first year. His -wife had preceded him by some years, and leaving no child, -in his last will, he says, "In all my former wills, I gave my -estate to my brother-in-law, Thomas Ludgater, but as he -is now growing old (about seventy-four), and as he has no -child, and a plenty of fortune, I thought it best to leave it -as I have done, for now it will be a benefit to the said city -of Chichester for ever." This fortune he left to the easing -of the poor rates of his native city, that is, the interest thereof -for ever, amounting, after realizing his estate, to the very -considerable sum of 22,289<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i>, which was placed by -his direction in the Three Per Cents., "feeling confident<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span> -that stock," as he quaintly expresses it, "will never be lower -than three per cent., as it now is." In the collecting of the -outstanding debts to his estate, there is also this emphatic -injunction, to "oppress not the poor." Legacies to several -of his Chichester friends show that Hardham kept up in -life an active sympathy with his native place, which was to -be so largely benefited on his death. One bequest there is, -too, of ten guineas, "to his friend David Garrick, Esq., the -famous actor," who survived him seven years; and there is -besides recorded, as sufficiently indicative of the simplicity -of his character, a sum of "ten pounds for his funeral expenses, -for none but vain fools spend more," which injunction -we doubt not, was religiously observed, when he was buried -in the centre aisle of St. Bride's church.—<i>Abridged from a -contribution to the City Press.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Rare" id="Rare">Rare Criticism.</a></h3> - - -<p>Mrs. Siddons is known to have described to Campbell -the scene of her probation on the Edinburgh boards with -no small humour: the grave attention of the Scotsmen, and -their canny reservation of praise till sure it is deserved, she -said, had well nigh worn out her patience. She had been -used to speak to animated clay, but she now felt as if -she had been speaking to stone. Successive flashes of her -elocution that had always been sure to electrify the south, -fell in vain on those northern flints. At last she said that -she coiled up her powers to the most emphatic possible -utterance of one passage, having previously vowed in her -heart that if <i>this</i> could not touch the Scotch, she would -never again cross the Tweed. When it was finished, she -paused, and looked to the audience. The deep silence -was broken only by a single voice, exclaiming, "<i>That's no -bad!</i>" This ludicrous parsimony of praise convulsed the -Edinburgh audience with laughter. But the laugh was -followed by such thunders of applause, that amidst her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span> -stunned and nervous agitation, she was not without fears of -the galleries coming down.</p> - -<p>Another instance of encouraging criticism occurs in -<i>The Memoirs of Charles Mathews</i>. Early in 1794, he played -Richmond to his friend Lichfield's Richard III.; and both -being good fencers, they fought the fight at the end with -uncommon vigour, and prolonged it to an unreasonable -length. After the performances, the two stars lighted each -other to their inn, in hope of liberal applause from their -landlord, whom they had gratified with a ticket. But -though thus treated, and invited to take a pipe and a glass -with the two performers after supper, he was provokingly -silent on the great subject; till at length, finding every -circuitous approach ineffectual, they attacked him with the -direct question, "Pray tell us really what you thought of -our acting." This question was not to be evaded: the -landlord looked perplexed, his eyes still fixed on the ground; -he took at length the tube slowly from his mouth, raised -his glass, and drank off the remainder of his brandy-and-water, -went to the fire-place, and deliberately knocked out -the ashes from his pipe; then, looking at the expectants for -a minute, exclaimed in a deep though hasty tone of voice, -"Darned good fight!"—and left the room.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Riot" id="Riot">The O. P. Riot.</a></h3> - - -<p>The history in little of this theatrical tumult is as -follows:—The newly-built Covent Garden Theatre opened -on the 18th September, 1809, when a cry of "Old Prices" -(afterwards diminished to O. P.) burst out from every part -of the house. This continued and increased in violence -till the 23rd, when rattles, drums, whistles, and cat-calls -having completely drowned the voices of the actors, Mr. -Kemble, the stage-manager, came forward and said that a -committee of gentlemen had undertaken to examine the -finances of the concern, and that until they were prepared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span> -with their report the theatre would continue closed. -"Name them!" was shouted from all sides. The names -were declared, <i>viz.</i> Sir Charles Price, the Solicitor-General, -the Recorder of London, the Governor of the Bank, and -Mr. Angerstein. "All shareholders!" bawled a wag from -the gallery. In a few days the theatre re-opened; the -public paid no attention to the report of the referees, and -the tumult was renewed for several weeks with even increased -violence. The proprietors now sent in hired bruisers, -to <i>mill</i> the refractory into subjection. This irritated most -of their former friends, and, amongst the rest, the annotator, -who accordingly wrote the song of "Heigh-ho, says -Kemble," which was caught up by the ballad-singers, and -sung under Mr. Kemble's house-windows in Great Russell -Street. A dinner was given at the Crown and Anchor -Tavern, in the Strand, to celebrate the victory obtained by -W. Clifford in his action against Brandon the box-keeper, -for assaulting him for wearing the letters O. P. in his hat. -At this dinner Mr. Kemble attended, and matters were -compromised by allowing the advanced price (seven shillings) -to the boxes. A former riot of a similar sort occurred -at the same theatre (in the year 1792), when the price to the -boxes was raised from five shillings to six. That tumult, -however, only lasted three nights.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Paulpry" id="Paulpry">Origin of "Paul Pry."</a><a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></h3> - - -<p>Mr. Poole, the author of this very successful comedy, -tells us that the idea of the character of Paul Pry was -suggested by the following anecdote, related to him many -years before he wrote the piece by a beloved friend.</p> - -<p>An idle old lady, living in a narrow street, had passed -so much of her time in watching the affairs of her neighbours,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> -that she at length acquired the power of distinguishing -the sound of every knocker within hearing. It happened -that she fell ill, and was for several days confined to her -bed. Unable to observe in person what was going on -without, she stationed her maid at the window as a substitute -for the performance of that duty. But Betty soon -grew weary of the occupation; she became careless in her -reports—impertinent and tetchy when reprimanded for her -negligence.</p> - -<p>"Betty, what <i>are</i> you thinking about? Don't you hear -a double knock at No. 9? Who is it?"</p> - -<p>"The first-floor lodger, ma'am."</p> - -<p>"Betty! Betty! I declare I must give you warning. -Why don't you tell me what that knock is at No. 54?"</p> - -<p>"Why, Lord! ma'am, it is only the baker with pies."</p> - -<p>"<i>Pies</i>, Betty! what <i>can</i> they want with pies at 54?—they -had pies yesterday!"</p> - -<p>"Of this very point," says Mr. Poole, "I have availed -myself. Let me add, that <i>Paul Pry</i> was never intended as -the representative of any one individual, but a class. Like -the melancholy of Jaques, he is 'compounded of many -simples,' and I could mention five or six who were unconscious -contributors to the character. Though it should -have been so often, but erroneously, supposed to have been -drawn after some particular person, is, perhaps, complimentary -to the general truth of the delineation.</p> - -<p>"With respect to the play generally, I may say that it is -original: it is original in structure, plot, character, and -dialogue—such as they are—the only imitation I am aware -of is to be found in part of the business in which Mrs. -Subtle is engaged; whilst writing those scenes I had strongly -in my recollection <i>Le Vieux Célibataire</i>. But even the title -I have adopted is considerably altered and modified by the -necessity of adapting it to the exigencies of a different plot."</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus34" id="Illus34"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image39.jpg" width="275" height="379" alt="Mrs. Garrick. From a portrait taken in her youth." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Mrs. Garrick. From a portrait taken in her youth.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Garr" id="Garr">Mrs. Garrick.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the autumn of 1822, we well remember the appearance -in the print-shops of a small whole-length etching -of Mrs. Garrick, who had died three or four days previously, -having outlived her celebrated husband three-and-forty -years.</p> - -<p>John Thomas Smith notes: "1822. In October this year -the venerable Mrs. Garrick departed this life when seated -in her armchair, in the front drawing-room of her house<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span> -in the Adelphi Terrace." [The first floor of which is now -occupied by the Literary Fund Society.] "She had ordered -her maid-servants to place two or three gowns upon chairs -to determine in which she would appear at Drury Lane -Theatre that evening, it being a private view of Mr. Elliston's -improvements for the season. Perhaps no lady in public -and private life held a more unexceptionable character. She -was visited by persons of the first rank; even our late -Queen Charlotte, who had honoured her with a visit at -Hampton, found her peeling onions for pickling. The -gracious queen commanded a knife to be brought, saying 'I -will peel some onions too.' The late King George IV. and -King William IV., as well as other branches of the Royal -Family, frequently honoured her with visits."</p> - -<p>In the year previous to her death, Mrs. Garrick went to -the British Museum to inspect the collection of the portraits -of Garrick which Dr. Burney had made. She was delighted -with these portraits, many of which were totally unknown -to her. Her observations on some of them were very -interesting, particularly that by Dance, as Richard III. Of -that painter she stated that, in the course of his painting the -picture, Mr. Garrick had agreed to give him two hundred -guineas for it. One day, at Mr. Garrick's dining table, -where Dance had always been a welcome guest, he observed -that Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, who had seen the picture, -spontaneously offered him two hundred guineas for it. -"Did you tell him it was for me?" questioned Garrick. -"No, I did not."—"Then you mean to let him have it?" -Garrick rejoined. "Yes, I believe I shall," replied the -painter. "However," added Mrs. Garrick, "my husband -was very good: he bought me a handsome looking-glass, -which cost him more than the agreed price of the picture; -and that was put up in the place where Dance's picture was -to have hung."</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Garrick, being about to quit her seat, said she -would be glad to see me at Hampton. 'Madame,' said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> -Mr. Smith, 'you are very good, but you would oblige me exceedingly -by honouring me with your signature on this day.' -'What do you ask me for? I have not taken a pen in my -hands for many months. Stay, let me compose myself; -don't hurry me, and I will see what I can do. Would you -like it written with my spectacles on, or without?' Preferring -the latter, she wrote, 'E. M. Garrick,' but not without -some exertion.</p> - -<p>"'I suppose now, sir, you wish to know my age. I -was born at Vienna, the 29th of February, 1724, though my -coachman insists upon it that I am above a hundred. I -was married at the parish of St. Giles at eight o'clock in the -morning, and immediately afterwards in the chapel of the -Portuguese Ambassador, in South Audley Street.'"</p> - -<p>A day or two after Mrs. Garrick's death, Mr. Smith went -to the Adelphi, to know if a day had been fixed for the -funeral. "No," replied George Harris, one of Mrs. Garrick's -confidential servants, "but I will let you know when it is to -take place. Would you like to see her? She is in her -coffin."—"Yes I should." Upon entering the back room -on the first floor, in which Mrs. Garrick died, Mr. Smith -found the deceased's two female servants standing by her -remains. He made a drawing of her, and intended to have -etched it. "Pray, do tell me," said Smith to one of the -maids, "why is the coffin covered with sheets?"—"They -are their wedding sheets, in which both Mr. and Mrs. -Garrick wished to have died." Mr. Smith was told that one -of these attentive women had incurred her mistress's displeasure -by kindly pouring out a cup of tea, and handing it -to her in her chair: "Put it down, you hussy: do you -think I cannot help myself." She took it herself, and a -short time after she had put it to her lips, she died.</p> - -<p>This lady continued her practice of swearing now and -then, particularly when anyone attempted to impose upon -her. A stonemason brought in his bill, with an overcharge -of sixpence more than the sum agreed upon; on which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span> -occasion he endeavoured to appease her rage by thus -addressing her: "My dear Madam, do consider—" "My -dear Madam! what do you mean, you d—d fellow? Get -out of the house immediately. My dear Madam, indeed!"</p> - -<p>On the day of the funeral Smith went with Miss -Macaulay, the authoress, to see the venerable lady interred; -but when they arrived at Westminster Abbey, they were refused -admittance by a person who said: "If it be your wish -to see the waxwork, you must come when the funeral's over, -and you will then be admitted into Poet's Corner, by a man -who is stationed at the door to receive your money."</p> - -<p>"Curse the waxwork!" said Smith, "this lady and I -came to see Mrs. Garrick's remains placed in the grave."—"Ah, -well, you can't come in; the Dean won't allow it."—"As -soon as the ceremony was over," says Smith, "we were -admitted for sixpence at the Poet's Corner, and there we -saw the earth that surrounded the grave, and no more, -as we refused to pay the demands of the showmen of the -Abbey."</p> - -<p>Horace Walpole, though he wrote a bitter letter upon -Garrick's funeral, and some strange opinions of his acting, left -some good-humoured remarks upon Mrs. Garrick: he writes -to Miss Hannah More: "Mrs. Garrick I have scarcely seen -this whole summer. She is a liberal Pomona to me, I will -not say an Eve, for though she reaches fruit to me, she will -never let me in, as if I were a boy, and would rob her -orchard."</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus35" id="Illus35"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image40.jpg" width="275" height="389" alt="Charles Mathews the Elder." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Charles Mathews the Elder.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Ambass" id="Ambass">Mathews, a Spanish Ambassador.</a></h3> - - -<p>Mathews once personated a Spanish Ambassador; a -frolic enacted by him at an inn at Dartford. An account<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span> -of the freak was written by Tom Hill, who took part in the -scene, acting as Mathews's interpreter. He called it his -"Recollections of his Excellency the Spanish Ambassador's -visit to Captain Selby, on board the <i>Prince Regent</i> one -of his Majesty's frigates stationed at the Nore, by the Interpreter."</p> - -<p>The party hired a private coach, of large capacity, and -extremely showy, to convey them to Gravesend as the <i>suite</i> -of Mathews, who personated an ambassador from Madrid -to the English Government, and four smart lads, who were -entrusted with the secret by the payment of a liberal fee. -The drivers proved faithful to their promise. When they -arrived at the posting-house at Dartford, one of the drivers -dismounted, and communicated to the inn-keeper the character -of the nobleman (Mathews) inside the coach, and -that his mission to London had been attended with the -happiest result. The report spread through Dartford like -wildfire, and in about ten minutes the carriage (having by -previous arrangement been detained) was surrounded by at -least two hundred people, all with cheers and gratulations, -anxious to gain a view of the important personage, who, -decked out with nearly twenty different stage jewels, representing -sham orders, bowed with obsequious dignity to the -assembled multitude. It was settled that the party should -dine and sleep at the Falcon Tavern, Gravesend, where a -sumptuous dinner was provided for his Excellency and <i>suite</i>. -Previously, however, to dinner-time, and to heighten the -joke, they promenaded the town and its environs, followed -by a large assemblage of men, women, and children -at a respectful distance, all of whom preserved the greatest -decorum. The interpreter (Mr. Hill) seemed to communicate -and explain to the Ambassador whatever was of interest -in their perambulation. On their return to the inn, the -crowd gradually dispersed. The dinner was served in a -sumptuous style, and two or three additional waiters, dressed -in their holiday clothes, were hired for the occasion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span></p> - -<p>The ambassador, by medium of his interpreter, asked -for two soups, and a portion of four different dishes of fish -with oil, vinegar, mustard, pepper, salt, and sugar, in the -same plate, which, <i>apparently</i> to the eyes of the waiters, -and to their utter astonishment and surprise, he eagerly devoured. -The waiters had been cautioned by one of the -<i>suite</i> not to notice the manner in which his Excellency ate -his dinner, lest it should offend him; and their occasional -absence from the room gave Mathews or his companion an -opportunity of depositing the incongruous medley in the -ashes under the grate—a large fire having been provided. -The ambassador continued to mingle the remaining viands, -during dinner, in a similar heterogeneous way. The chamber -in which his Excellency slept was brilliantly illuminated with -wax-candles, and in one corner of the room a table was fitted -up, under the direction of one of the party, to represent an -oratory, with such appropriate apparatus as could best be -procured. A private sailing-barge was moored at the stairs -by the fountain early the next morning, to convey the ambassador -and his attendants to the <i>Prince Regent</i> at the -Nore. The people again assembled in vast multitudes to -witness the embarkation. Carpets were placed on the stairs -at the water's edge, for the state and comfort of his Excellency; -who, the instant he entered the barge, turned round -and bade a grateful farewell to the multitude, at the same -time placing his hand upon his bosom, and taking off his -huge cocked hat. The captain of the barge, a supremely -illiterate, good-humoured cockney, was introduced most -ceremoniously to the ambassador, and purposely placed on -his right hand. It is impossible to describe the variety of -absurd and extravagant stratagems practised on the credulity -of the captain by Mathews, and with consummate success, -until the barge arrived in sight of the King's frigate, which -by a previous understanding, recognized the ambassador by -signals. The officers were all dressed in full uniform, and -prepared to receive him. When on board, the whole party<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span> -threw off their disguises, and were entertained by Captain -Selby with a splendid dinner, to which the lieutenants of the -ship were invited.</p> - -<p>After the banquet, Mathews, in his own character, kept -the company in high spirits by his incomparable mimic -powers for more than ten hours, incorporating with admirable -effect the entire narrative of the journey to Gravesend, -and his, "acts and deeds" at the Falcon. Towards the -close of the feast, and about half-an-hour before the party -took their departure, in order to give the commander and -his officers "a touch of his quality," Mathews assumed -his ambassadorial attire, and the captain of the barge, still in -ignorance of the joke, was introduced into the cabin, between -whom and his Excellency an indescribable scene of rich -burlesque was enacted. The party left the ship for -Gravesend at four o'clock in the morning—Mathews, in his -"habit as he lived," with the addition of a pair of spectacles, -which he had a peculiar way of wearing to conceal his -identity, even from the most acute observer. Mathews -again resumed his station by the side of the captain, as a -person who had left the frigate for a temporary purpose. -The simple captain recounted to Mathews all that the -Spanish ambassador had enacted, both in his transit from -Gravesend to the Nore, and whilst he (the captain) was -permitted to join the festive board in the cabin, with singular -fidelity, and to the great amusement of the original party, -who, during the whole of this ambassadorial excursion, -never lost their gravity, except when they were left to themselves. -They landed at Gravesend, and from thence departed -to London, luxuriating upon the hoax.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus36" id="Illus36"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image41.jpg" width="300" height="394" alt="Grimaldi as Clown. After De Wilde." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Grimaldi as Clown. After De Wilde.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Grimald" id="Grimald">Grimaldi, the Clown.</a></h3> - - -<p>Joseph Grimaldi had for his paternal grandfather a -dancer, so vigorous as to rejoice in the appellation of "Iron -Legs." His son, the father of <i>our</i> Grimaldi, was a native -of Genoa, and in 1760 came to England as dentist to Queen -Charlotte. He soon, however, resigned this situation, commenced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span> -dancing and fencing-master, and was appointed -ballet-master of Drury Lane Theatre and Sadler's Wells -with the post of primo buffo. He was an honest and -charitable man, and was never known to be inebriated, -though he was very eccentric. He had a vague and profound -dread of the fourteenth day of the month: at its -approach he was always nervous, disquieted, and anxious; -directly it had passed he was another man again, and -invariably exclaimed, in his broken English, "Ah! now I -am safe for anoder month." It is remarkable that he actually -died on the fourteenth day of March; and that he was -born, christened, and married on the fourteenth of the -month. This was the same man who, in the time of Lord -George Gordon's Riots, when people for the purpose of -protecting their houses from the fury of the mob, inscribed -upon their doors the words "No Popery," actually with the -view of keeping in the right with all parties, and preventing -the possibility of offending any by his form of worship, -wrote up "No Religion at all," which announcement -appeared in large characters in front of his house in Little -Russell Street: the protective idea was perfectly successful.</p> - -<p>Joseph Grimaldi, our "Joe," was born out of wedlock -on the 18th of December, 1778, in Stanhope Street, Clare -Market; his mother being Rebecca Brooker, who had been -from her infancy a dancer at Drury Lane, and subsequently -at Sadler's Wells played old women. Joe's eccentric father -was then more than seventy years old; and twenty-five -months afterwards was born another son, Joseph's only -brother.</p> - -<p><i>Our</i> Joe Grimaldi, at the age of one year and eleven -months, was brought out by his father, on the boards of Old -Drury, as "the little clown," in the pantomime of <i>Robinson -Crusoe</i>, at a salary of 15<i>s.</i> per week. In 1781 he first appeared -at Sadler's Wells, in the arduous character of a -monkey: here he remained (one season only excepted) -until the termination of his professional career, forty-nine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span> -years afterwards, when in his farewell address, at Sadler's -Wells, he said:—"At a very early age, before that of three -years, I was introduced to the public by my father, at this -theatre." This is not very clear, since it would seem to -contradict the statement of his having appeared at Drury -Lane. During the first piece in which little Joe played at -Sadler's Wells, he had nearly lost his life: in one of the -scenes, the clown, his father, was swinging him as a monkey, -round and round by a chain, which broke, and he was hurled -a considerable distance into the pit, fortunately into the very -arms of an old gentleman who was sitting gazing at the stage -with intense interest.</p> - -<p>At this time, "the little clown's" full-dress was embroidered -coat and breeches, silk stockings, paste buckles, -and cocked-hat; and a guinea in his pocket, which he one -day gave to a distressed woman, for which act his father -gave him a caning (though not till five months after), which -he remembered as long as he lived. Old Grimaldi died in -1788, leaving 1,500<i>l.</i>, but the executor becoming bankrupt, -the two sons lost the whole of their fortune. Joe stuck to -the stage, and at Drury Lane Mr. Sheridan raised his salary, -unasked, to 1<i>l.</i> a-week. His leisure was now passed in -breeding pigeons and collecting insects; of the latter he had -a cabinet of 4,000 specimens. He now removed with his -mother to Pentonville, where the house is to this day pointed -out in Penton Place. About this time, early one morning, -Joe found near the Tower of London a purse of gold coin -and a bundle of Bank-notes, which, on his way home, he -sat down to count upon the spot where now stands the Eagle -Tavern, in the City Road. There were 380 guineas and -200<i>l.</i> in notes, making in the whole 599<i>l.</i> Grimaldi repeatedly -advertised in the daily newspapers the finding of -the money, but he never heard a syllable regarding the -treasure he had so singularly acquired. His maternal grandfather, -it appears, once left a purse of gold, nearly 400<i>l.</i>, -upon a post near the Royal Exchange, and found it there -untouched after the lapse of nearly an hour.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span></p> - -<p>Joe Grimaldi appeared, as usual, at Sadler's Wells in -1788, but at this time his salary of fifteen shillings a-week -was reduced to three, on which pittance he remained for -three years, making himself generally useful: in 1794, he -had grown so popular at Sadler's Wells, that his salary had -risen from three shillings to four pounds. In 1800, Joe -married Miss Maria Hughes, eldest daughter of a proprietor -and the resident manager of Sadler's Wells: she died in the -same year, and was interred in the grave-yard of St. James's, -Clerkenwell, where the following was inscribed on a tablet -at her request:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Earth walks on earth like glittering gold;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Earth says to earth we are but mould;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Earth builds on earth castles and towers;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Earth says to earth all shall be ours."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>On Monday, March 17th, 1828, Grimaldi took his farewell -benefit at Sadler's Wells, when he delivered an address, -and the whole concluded "with a brilliant display of fireworks, -expressive of Grimaldi's thanks." He, however, -played a short time in 1832, and then quitted the Wells -finally. After this premature retirement from the stage, -poor Joe lived at No. 33, Southampton Street, Pentonville, -in a house which was furnished for him by his friends. At -this time he frequented the coffee-room of the Marquis of -Cornwallis tavern, the proprietor of which, considering his -infirmity, or the loss of the use of his lower extremity, used -to fetch him on his back, and take him home in the same -manner. On May 31st, 1837, he was thus brought to the -coffee-room and seemed quite exhilarated, his conversation, -and humour, and anecdotes smacking of the vivacity of -former years. He was carried home as usual; he retired to -rest, and next morning was found dead in his bed. On June -5th, he was buried in the ground of St. James's Chapel, -Pentonville, next to the grave of his friend, Charles Dibdin: -his grave-stone states his age at fifty-eight years.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span></p> - -<p>Thomas Hood wrote this touching "Ode to Joseph -Grimaldi, senior," upon his retirement:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Joseph! they say thou'st left the stage<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To toddle down the hill of life,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And taste the flannell'd ease of age<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Apart from pantomimic strife.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Retir'd' (for Young would call it so)—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'The world shut out'—in Pleasant Row.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"And hast thou really washt at last,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">From each white cheek the red half-moon?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And all thy public clownship cast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To play the private pantaloon?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">All youth—all ages—yet to be,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Shall have a heavy miss of thee.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Thou didst not preach to make us wise—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thou hadst no finger in our schooling—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thou didst not lure us to the skies;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thy simple, simple trade was—Fooling!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And yet, Heav'n knows! we could—we can<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Much 'better spare a better man!'<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<hr class="tb1" /> -<span class="i0">"But Joseph—everybody's Joe—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Is gone; and grieve I will and must!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As Hamlet did for Yorick, so<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Will I for thee (though not yet dust):<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And talk as he did when he missed<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The kissing crust, that he had kiss'd!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Ah, where is now thy rolling head!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thy winking, reeling, <i>drunken</i> eyes,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">(As old Catullus would have said),<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thy oven-mouth, that swallow'd pies—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Enormous hunger—monstrous drowth!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy pockets greedy as thy mouth!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Ah! where thy ears so often cuff'd!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thy funny, flapping, filching hands!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy partridge body always stuff'd<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With waifs and strays and contrabands!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy foot, like Berkeley's Foote—for why?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Twas often made to wipe an eye.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span></p> - -<span class="i0">"Ah, where thy legs—that witty pair?<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For 'great wits jump'—and so did they!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lord! how they leap'd in lamp-light air!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Caper'd and bounced, and strode away.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That years should tame the legs, alack!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I've seen spring through an almanack!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<hr class="tb1" /> -<span class="i0">"For who, like thee, could ever stride<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Some dozen paces to the mile!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The motley, medley coach provide;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Or, like Joe Frankenstein, compile<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The <i>vegetable man</i> complete!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A proper Covent Garden feat.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Oh, who, like thee, could ever drink,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Or eat, swill, swallow—bolt, and choke!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nod, weep, and hiccup—sneeze, and wink!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thy very yawn was quite a joke!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Though Joseph junior acts not ill,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'There's no Fool like the old Fool' still!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Joseph, farewell! dear, funny Joe!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">We met with mirth—we part in pain!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For many a long, long year must go<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ere fun can see thy like again;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For Nature does not keep great stores<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of perfect clowns—that are not <i>boors</i>!"<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Munden" id="Munden">Munden's Last Performance.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the year 1824, one of Charles Lamb's last ties to the -theatre, as a scene of present enjoyment, was severed. -Munden, the rich peculiarities of whose acting he has embalmed -in one of the choicest <i>Essays of Elia</i>, quitted the -stage in the mellowness of his powers. His relish for Munden's -acting was almost a new sense: he did not compare -him with the old comedians, as having common qualities -with them, but regarded them as altogether of a different -and original style. On the last night of his appearance, -Lamb was very desirous to attend, but every place in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span> -boxes had long been secured; and Charles was not strong -enough to stand the tremendous rush, by enduring which, -alone, he could hope to obtain a place in the pit; when -Munden's gratitude for his exquisite praise anticipated his -wish, by providing for him and Miss Lamb places in a -corner of the orchestra, close to the stage. The play of the -<i>Poor Gentleman</i>, in which Munden performed Sir Robert -Bramble, had concluded and the audience were impatiently -waiting for the farce, in which the great comedian was to -delight them for the last time, when Lamb might be seen in -a very novel position. In his hand, directly beneath the line -of stage-lights glistened a huge pewter-pot, which he was -draining; while the broad face of old Munden was seen -thrust out from the door by which the musicians enter, -watching the close of the draught, when he might receive -and hide the portentous beaker from the gaze of the admiring -neighbours. Some unknown benefactor had sent four -pots of stout to keep up the veteran's heart during his last -trial; and not able to drink them all, he bethought him of -Lamb, and without considering the wonder which would be -excited in the brilliant crowd who surrounded him, conveyed -himself the cordial chalice to Lamb's parched lips. At the -end of the same farce, Munden found himself unable to -deliver from memory a short and elegant address which one -of his sons had written for him; but provided against accidents, -took it from his pocket, wiped his eyes, put on his -spectacles, read it, and made his last bow. This was, perhaps, -the last night when Lamb took a hearty interest in the -present business scene.<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> - -<p>Munden appears to have first imbibed a taste for the -stage in his admiration of the genius of Garrick. He had -seen more of Garrick's acting than any of his contemporaries -in 1820, Quick and Bannister excepted. Munden's style of -acting was exuberant with humour. His face was all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[389]</a></span> -changeful nature: his eye glistened and rolled, and lit up -alternately every corner of his laughing face: "then the -eternal tortuosities of his nose, and the alarming descent of -his chin, contrasted, as it eternally was, with the portentous -rise of his eyebrows."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Dowt" id="Dowt">Oddities of Dowton.</a></h3> - - -<p>William Dowton took his farewell benefit at the Opera -House, on June 8th, 1840; he was then in his seventy-ninth -year—the only actor, except Macklin, who continued to -wear his harness to such an advanced period. For nearly -half a century he had enjoyed a first-class reputation, but it -was found that, when extreme old age came upon him, he -had saved no money. With the amount produced by the -above benefit was purchased for him an annuity for a given -number of years, on which he subsisted in ease and comfort; -but, to the surprise of every one, by dint of regular habits -and an iron constitution, he outlived the calculated time, and -there was danger that he might be reduced to penury. He -died in 1849.</p> - -<p>Dowton, in 1836, visited the United States; but he was -far too advanced in life to attract attention or draw money. -He came back almost as poor as he went, but with a change -in his political opinions. He entered the land of freedom a -furious republican—he returned from it an ultra-Tory. He -was constitutionally discontented, captious, and fretful; but, -at the same time, warm-hearted and generous. His oddities -were very amusing to those who were intimate with him. -He would sit for hours in his dressing-room arranging and -contemplating his wigs, those important accessories to his -stage make-up. One of his peculiar mannerisms was never -to play a part without turning his wig. When he acted Dr. -Pangloss, a bet was made that there he would find his favourite -manœuvre impracticable. He managed it, nevertheless. -When Kenrick, the faithful old Irish servant, comes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span> -in exultingly, in the last scene, to announce the long-lost -Henry Moreland, he was instructed to run against Dr. Pangloss, -who thus obtained the desired opportunity of disarranging -his head-gear.</p> - -<p>Dowton undervalued Edmund Kean, whose merit he -never could be induced to acknowledge. When the vase was -presented to that great actor, he refused to subscribe, saying, -"You may cup Mr. Kean, if you please, but you sha'n't -bleed me." He said, too, the cup should be given to Joe -Munden for his performance of Marall. Amongst other -eccentricities, Dowton fancied (a delusion common to comedians) -that he could play tragedy, and never rested until he -obtained an opportunity of showing the town that Edmund -Kean knew nothing of Shylock. But the experiment was, as -might have been expected, a total failure. The great point -of novelty consisted in having a number of Jews in court, to -represent his friends and partisans, during the trial scene; -and in their arms he fainted, when told he was, per force, to -become a Christian. The audience laughed outright, as a -commentary on the actor's conception. Once he exhibited, -privately, to Mr. J. W. Cole, the last scene of Sir Giles -Overreach, according to his idea of the author's meaning, -and a very mirthful tragedy it proved. He had a strange -inverted idea that Massinger intended Sir Giles for a comic -character. He also fancied that he could play Lord Ogleby, -when nature, with her own hand, had daguerreotyped him -for Mr. Sterling. Such are the vagaries of genius, which are -equally mournful and unaccountable.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"><a name="Illus37" id="Illus37"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image42.jpg" width="350" height="371" alt="Liston as "Paul Pry."" /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;"><a name="Lis" id="Lis">Liston as "Paul Pry."</a></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Listo" id="Listo">Liston in Tragedy.</a></h3> - - -<p>Play-goers of the present century narrate the early -seriousness of Liston, the comedian, and his subsequent -turn for tragedy; which may have suggested the apocryphal -biography of the actor stated to be by Charles Lamb,<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> whence -the following is abridged:—</p> - -<p>Liston was lineally descended from Johan de L'Estonne,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span> -who came over with the Norman William, and had lands -awarded him at Lupton Magna, in Kent. The more immediate -ancestors of Mr. Liston were Puritans, and his father, -Habakkuk, was an Anabaptist minister. At the age of -nine, young Liston was placed under the tuition of the Rev. -Mr. Goodenough, whose decease was attended with these -awful circumstances. It seems that the old gentleman and -his pupil had been walking out together, in a fine sunset, to -the distance of three-quarters of a mile west of Lupton, when -a sudden curiosity took Mr. Goodenough to look down -upon a chasm, where a mining shaft had been lately sunk, -but soon after abandoned. The old clergyman, leaning over, -either with incaution or sudden giddiness (probably a -mixture of both), instantly lost his footing, and, to use -Mr. Liston's phrase, disappeared, and was doubtless broken -into a thousand pieces. The sound of his head &c., -dashing successively upon the projecting masses of the -chasm had such an effect upon the youth Liston, that -a serious sickness ensued, and even for many years after -his recovery, he was not once seen so much as to smile.</p> - -<p>The joint death of both his parents, which happened not -many months after this disastrous accident, and were probably -(one or both of them) accelerated by it, threw our -youth upon the protection of his maternal great-aunt, Mrs. -Sittingbourn, whom he loved almost to reverence. To the influence -of her early counsels and manners he always attributed -the firmness with which, in maturer years, thrown upon a -way of life commonly not the best adapted to gravity and -self-retirement, he was able to maintain a serious character, -untinctured with the levities incident to his profession. Ann -Sittingbourn (her portrait was painted by Hudson) was -stately, stiff, and tall, with a cast of features strikingly resembling -those of Liston. Her estate in Kent was spacious -and well-wooded; and here, in the venerable solitudes of -Charnwood, amid thick shades of the oak and beech (the -last his favourite tree), Liston cultivated those contemplative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[393]</a></span> -habits which never entirely deserted him in after-years. -Here he was commonly in summer months to be met, book -in hand—not a play book—meditating. Boyle's <i>Reflections</i> -was at one time his darling volume; this, in its turn, was -superseded by Young's <i>Night Thoughts</i>, which continued its -hold upon him throughout life. He carried it always about -him; and it was no uncommon thing for him to be seen, in -the refreshing intervals of his occupation, leaning against a -side-scene, in a sort of Herbert-of-Cherbury posture, turning -over a pocket edition of his favourite author.</p> - -<p>The premature death of Mrs. Sittingbourn, occasioned -by incautiously burning a pot of charcoal in her sleeping-chamber, -left Liston, in his nineteenth year, nearly without -resources. That the stage at all should have presented -itself as an eligible scope for his talents, and in particular, -that he should have chosen a line so foreign to what -appears to have been his turn of mind, admits of explanation.</p> - -<p>At Charnwood, then, we behold him thoughtful, grave, -ascetic. From his cradle averse to flesh-meats and strong -drink; abstemious even beyond the genius of the place; -and almost in spite of the remonstrances of his great-aunt, -who, though strict, was not rigid, water was his habitual -drink, and his food little beyond the mast and beech-nuts of -his favourite groves. It is a medical fact, that this kind of -diet, however favourable to the contemplative powers of -the primitive hermits, &c., is but ill adapted to the less -robust minds and bodies of a later generation. Hypochondria -almost constantly ensues, and young Liston was subject -to sights and had visions. Those arid beech-nuts, distilled by a -complexion naturally adust, mounted into a brain, already -prepared to kindle by long seclusion and the fervour of strict -Calvinistic notions. In the glooms of Charnwood he was -assailed by illusions, similar in kind to those which are related -of the famous Anthony of Padua. Wild antic faces -would ever and anon protrude themselves upon his <i>sensorium</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span> -Whether he shut his eyes or kept them open, the -same illusion operated. The darker and more profound were -his cogitations, the droller and more whimsical became the -apparitions. They buzzed about him, thick as flies, flapping -at him, floating at him, hooting in his ear; yet with such -comic appendages, that what at first was his bane, became at -length his solace; and he desired no better society than that -of his merry phantasmata. We shall presently find in what way -this remarkable phenomenon influenced his future destiny.</p> - -<p>On the death of Mrs. Sittingbourn, Liston was received -into the family of Mr. Willoughby, an eminent Turkey -merchant, in Birchin Lane. He was treated more like a -son than a clerk, though he was nominally but the latter. -Different avocations, change of scene, with alternation of -business and recreation, appear to have weaned him in a -short time from the hypochondriacal affections which had -beset him at Charnwood. Within the next three years we -find him making more than one voyage to the Levant, as -chief factor for Mr. Willoughby at the Porte: he used to -relate pleasant passages of his having been taken up on -a suspicion of a design of penetrating the seraglio, &c.; -but some of these are whimsical, and others of a romantic -nature.</p> - -<p>We will now bring him over the seas again, and suppose -him in the counting-house in Birchin Lane, his factorage -satisfactory, and all going on so smoothly that we may expect -to find Mr. Liston at last an opulent merchant upon -'Change. But see the turns of destiny. Upon a summer's -excursion into Norfolk, in the year 1801, the accidental -sight of pretty Sally Parker, as she was then called (then in -the Norwich company), diverted his inclinations at once -from commerce, and he became stage-struck. Happily for -the lovers of mirth was it that he took this turn. Shortly -after, he made his <i>début</i> on the Norwich boards, in his -twenty-second year. Having a natural bent to tragedy, he -chose the part of Pyrrhus in the <i>Distressed Mother</i>, to Sally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span> -Parker's Hermione. We find him afterwards as George -Barnwell, Altamont, Chamont, &c.; but, as if nature had -destined him to the sock, an unavoidable infirmity absolutely -incapacitated him for tragedy. His person at this latter -period was graceful and even commanding, his countenance -set to gravity; he had the power of arresting the -attention of an audience at first sight almost beyond any -other tragic actor. But he could not hold it. To understand -this obstacle, we must go back a few years to those -appalling reveries at Charnwood. Those illusions, which -had vanished before the dissipation of a less recluse life and -more free society, now in his solitary tragic studies, and -amid the intense call upon feeling incident to tragic acting, -came back upon him with tenfold vividness. In the midst -of some most pathetic passages—the parting of Jaffier with -his dying friend, for instance—he would suddenly be surprised -with a fit of violent horse-laughter. While the -spectators were all sobbing before him with emotion, -suddenly one of those grotesque faces would peep out upon -him, and he could not resist the impulse. A timely excuse -once or twice served his purpose, but no audience could be -expected to bear repeatedly this violation of the continuity -of feeling. He describes them (the illusions) as so many -demons haunting him, and paralyzing every effort: it is said -that he could not recite the famous soliloquy in <i>Hamlet</i>, -even in private, without immoderate fits of laughter. However, -what he had not force of reason sufficient to overcome, -he had good sense enough to turn into emolument, and -determined to make a commodity of his distemper. He -prudently exchanged the buskin for the sock, and the illusions -instantly ceased, or, if they occurred for a short season, -by this very co-operation added a zest to his comic vein; -some of his most catching faces being (as he expressed it), -little more than transcripts and copies of those extraordinary -phantasmata.</p> - -<p>We have now drawn Liston to the period when he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span> -about to make his first appearance in the metropolis, as it -is narrated in a clever paper in the <i>London Magazine</i> -January, 1824. This is not referred to in the sketch of -Liston's career, written a few days after his death, March -22nd, 1846, by his son-in-law, George Herbert Rodwell, the -musical composer, and published in the <i>Illustrated London -News</i>, March 28th. There we are told that Liston was -born in 1776; that his father lived in Norris Street, Haymarket, -and that young John was educated at Dr. Barrow's -Soho School, and subsequently became second master in -Archbishop Tenison's school. Rodwell relates that early in -his theatrical life, Liston went, for cheapness, by sea to -Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and was beaten about by adverse -winds for a fortnight; provisions ran so short that Liston -was reduced to his last inch of dry cheese. At Newcastle, -through the above delay, he was roughly received by -Stephen Kemble, the manager, sitting in awful state in the -centre of the stage, directing a rehearsal. Kemble eyed -him several times before he spoke; at last he growled out, -"Well, young man, you are come." Mr. Liston bowed. -"Then now you may go back again! You have broken -your engagement by being too late."—"It's very easy to <i>say</i> -go back," replied Liston, with one of his peculiar looks, -"but here I am, and here I must stay, for I have not a -farthing left in the world." Kemble relented, and Liston -remained at Newcastle until he came to London for good.</p> - -<p>The first <i>comic</i> part he performed was Diggory, in <i>She -Stoops to Conquer</i>. He took a great fancy to the character, -and kept secret his intentions as to the manner he meant to -play it in, and the style of dress he should wear. When he -came on, so original was his whole conception of the thing, -that not an actor on the stage could speak for laughing. -When he came off, Mr. Kemble said:—"Young man, it -strikes me you have mistaken your <i>forte</i>: there's something -comic about you."—"I've not mistaken my <i>forte</i>," replied -Liston, "but you never before allowed me to try; I don't<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span> -think myself I was made for the heavy Barons!" He first -appeared in London, as Sheepface, in the <i>Village Lawyer</i>, -June 10th, 1805. "That Mr. Liston did really imagine he -could be a tragic actor," says Rodwell, "is partly borne out -by his actually having attempted Octavian, in the <i>Mountaineers</i>, -May 17th, 1809."</p> - -<p>When Liston first appeared on the stage is not accurately -known. The following early note from a manager of the -time is undated:—"Sir, your not favouring Me with an -answ<sup>r</sup> Relative to the I-dea of the Cast, I, at random (tho' -very ill), Scratch'd Out, Makes it Necessary for Me to have -your Opinion, in Order to Prevent Aney Mistake.—I am, -Sir, with every Good Wish, yours, &c.,"</p> - - -<p style="text-align: right">"<span class="smcap">Tate Wilkinson</span>."</p> - -<p>When Liston first came to London, he generally wore -a pea-green coat, and was everywhere accompanied by an -ugly little pug-dog. This pug-dog, like his master, soon -made himself a favourite, go where he would, and seemed -exceedingly proud that he could make almost as many laugh -as could his master. The pug-dog acted as Mr. Liston's -<i>avant-courier</i>, always trotting on before, to announce his -friend and master. The frequenters of the Orange Coffee-house, -Cockspur Street, where Liston resided, used to say, -laughing, "Oh, Liston will be here in a moment, for here is -his beautiful pug."</p> - -<p>Latterly he went little into society. His attention to his -religious duties was always marked by devout sincerity; his -knowledge of the Scriptures was very extensive.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"><a name="Illus38" id="Illus38"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image43.jpg" width="250" height="372" alt="Edmund Kean as Richard the Third." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">Edmund Kean as Richard the Third.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Edmundk" id="Edmundk">Boyhood of Edmund Kean.</a></h3> - - -<p>Many years ago, there appeared in the <i>New Monthly -Magazine</i> the following account of Kean's early days:—"I -saw young Edmund Carey (Kean) first in April, 1796. -I am particularly positive both to month and year, because -I met Mrs. Carey and the boys (<i>Darnley</i> was the other -reputed son by another father; this actor was for many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[399]</a></span> -years at Astley's Amphitheatre, and is now living) on the -morning of the day on which Ireland's pretended Shakesperian -drama was performed. Edmund was always little, -slight, but not young-looking; I should say he was then <i>ten -years of age</i>! The following September he played Tom -Thumb at Bartholomew Fair at a public-house; his mother -played Queen Dollalolla; he had a good voice, and was a -pretty boy, but unquestionably more like a <i>Jew</i> than a -Christian <i>child</i>. Old Richardson, the showman, engaged -him then and subsequently, and is living to vouch for the -fact, as far as eyesight goes, that in 1796, Kean looked -more like a child of <i>ten</i> or <i>twelve</i> than of <i>six</i> years. This of -course puts an end to the <i>possibility</i> of his having been born -in the year 1790. I cannot vouch as to the truth of the -oft-repeated story of the dance of devils in <i>Macbeth</i>, and his -rejoinder to John Kemble, who found fault with him, that -'he (Kean) had never appeared in tragedy before;' but if -it did occur, it must have been in 1794; for Garrick's -Drury was pulled down to be rebuilt in 1791, and the new -theatre commenced dramatic performances with <i>Macbeth</i>. -Many novelties of arrangement were attempted, the dance in -question among the rest. Charles Kemble made his first -appearance as Malcolm that very night, and the audience -laughed very heartily when he exclaimed, '<i>Oh! by whom?</i>' -on hearing the account of his father's murder. Charles -Kemble was then said to be eighteen; I think he was more. -If Kean was one of the dancing devils, he could have been -only <i>three years and five months old</i>; that is, taking his own -account of being born in November, 1790.</p> - -<p>"Kean broke his leg when a boy, riding an act of horsemanship -at Bartholomew Fair; and he was often, towards -the years 1802, 3, 4, and 5, about different parts of the -country, spouting, riding, or rope-dancing. The last time I -saw him, previous to his 'great hit,' was at Sadler's Wells; -he was in front to see Belzoni (afterwards known as the -great traveller), who gave a pantomimic performance (such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[400]</a></span> -as Ducrow since attempted) illustrative of the passions of -Lebrun; Belzoni was superior to anything I ever beheld, -and I am not solitary in that opinion. Ella, the harlequin, -and Belzoni were together at the old Royalty Theatre; and -Belzoni's brother was also there. The great and enterprising -traveller was retained as a <i>posturer</i> at 2<i>l.</i> per week!"</p> - -<p>About 1800, at the Rolls Rooms, Chancery Lane, young -Kean, then described as "the infant prodigy, Master Carey," -gave readings, and read the whole of Shakspeare's <i>Merchant -of Venice</i>. All who knew Kean intimately as a boy, declared -that he was then a splendid actor, and that many of his -effects, at the age of fourteen, were quite as startling as any -of his more mature performances. Byron, who was then -much in theatrical society, says, "Kean began by acting -Richard the Third, when quite a boy, and gave all the -promise of what he afterwards became."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Myster" id="Myster">A Mysterious Parcel.</a></h3> - - -<p>Mr. Bunn, when Lessee of Drury Lane Theatre, experienced -the following odd circumstance, which he describes, -as curious as any that has been or can be recited:—On -reaching the theatre on Tuesday evening, March 12th, 1839, -he found on his desk a very small brown paper parcel, -addressed "To A. Bunn, Esq.," looking very dirty, and very -suspicious, and weighing wherewithal sufficiently heavy as -to increase such suspicion. The town had at that moment -been partly astonished and partly amused by "Madame -Vestris's Infernal Machine," and the narrow escape the -person had who first opened it. Having no desire for any -similar experiment, Mr. Bunn hesitated in unfolding this -mysterious packet, more particularly when his messenger -described the dingy-looking fellow that left it at the stage-door, -with an injunction that it was "to be delivered into -Mr. Bunn's own hands." However, overcoming any apprehensions -of gunpowder, and setting whatever of the combustible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[401]</a></span> -it might contain to the amount of a mere squib, he sent -for his under-treasurer, and in his presence opened some -half-dozen pieces of paper, each tightly bound by some -half-dozen pieces of string, and inside the last he found:—</p> - -<table class="centered" border="1" cellpadding="5" style="max-width: 65%; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;" summary="Money Conversion"> -<tr><td class="title"> 32 Sovereigns</td> <td class="page"> £32</td> <td class="page">0</td> <td class="page">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> 10 Half-sovereigns</td> <td class="page"> 5</td> <td class="page">0</td> <td class="page">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> 13 Half-crowns</td> <td class="page"> 1</td> <td class="page">12</td> <td class="page">6</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> 27 Shillings</td> <td class="page"> 1</td> <td class="page">7</td> <td class="page">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> 1 Sixpence</td> <td class="page"> 0</td> <td class="page">0</td><td class="page">6</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="page"> £40</td> <td class="page">0</td> <td class="page">0</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>"I began to think," says Bunn, "that this was the -contribution of some eccentric supporter of Drury Lane, -anxious to reward its manager's exertions, yet, with a rooted -modesty, anxious to conceal his name; but such an occurrence -was so totally without precedent, that I gave up that -conjecture in utter hopelessness. Then I bethought me of -more than one performer who had literally robbed me to -such an extent; and pondered over the probability of this -being a return thereof, arising out of a touch of conscience; -but as what little consciences most of them <i>have</i> got are very -seldom touched, I abandoned that surmise with even a -greater degree of despair than I first of all entertained it. -<i>By</i> whom was it sent, or <i>for</i> whom was it sent, I am totally -unable to tell; it was added to the general receipt of the -exchequer, for the benefit of all those having any claim on -it, though the chances are it was forwarded for my own -individual advantage. The donor is hereby thanked, be he -or she whoever he or she may; and I can only say, if many -more had made their appearance, the disasters of Drury -Lane Theatre would have been obviated or provided against. -Now, is not a manager's life an odd life, and are not the -people he has to deal with a very odd set of people? and if -he should do odd things, can no excuse be found for him -by your pickers and stealers, and evil speakers, and liars,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[402]</a></span> -and slanderers? I can only say, if there is none, there -should be."</p> - -<p>Among the droll stories told by Mr. Bunn, in his caustic -book, <i>The Stage</i>, is this:—In 1824, when the question of -erecting a monument to Shakespeare, in his native town, -was agitated by Mr. Mathews and Mr. Bunn, the King -(George IV.) took a lively interest in the matter, and, considering -that the leading people of both the patent theatres -should be consulted, directed Sir Charles Long, Sir George -Beaumont, and Sir Francis Freeling to ascertain Mr. Elliston's -sentiments on the subject. As soon as these distinguished -individuals (who had come direct from, and were -going direct back to the Palace) had delivered themselves -of their mission, Elliston replied, "Very well, gentlemen, -leave the papers with me, and <i>I will talk over the business -with</i> <span class="smcap">his Majesty</span>."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Masq" id="Masq">Masquerade Incident.</a></h3> - - -<p>When the Rev. Mr. Venables was at St. Petersburg, in -1834, he received the following narrative of a strange and -startling incident at a masquerade in the above capital:—At -Christmas, 1834, a ball was given at a house at St. Petersburg, -and candles were placed in the windows of the house, -as a well-understood signal that masks might enter without -special invitation. Several masks arrived in the course of -the evening, stayed but a short time, as is usual, and departed.</p> - -<p>At length a party entered dressed as Chinese, and bearing -on a palanquin a person whom they called their chief, -saying that it was his fête-day. They set him down very -respectfully in the middle of the room, and commenced -dancing what they called their national dance around him. -When this was concluded, they separated and mingled with -the general company, speaking French fluently (the universal -language at a Russian masquerade), and making themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[403]</a></span> -extremely agreeable. After awhile they began gradually to -disappear unnoticed, slipping out of the room one or two at -a time. At last they were all gone, but their chief still remained -sitting motionless in dignified silence in his palanquin -in the middle of the room. The ball began to thin, and the -attention of those who remained was wholly drawn to the -silent figure of the Chinese mask.</p> - -<p>The master of the house at length went up to him, and -told him that his companions were all gone; politely begging -him at the same time to take off his mask, that he and -his guests might know to whom they were indebted for all -the pleasure which the exhibition had afforded them. The -Chinaman, however, gave no reply by word or sign, and a -feeling of uneasy curiosity gradually drew around him by the -guests who remained in the ball-room. He still took no -notice of all that was passing around him, and the master of -the house at length, with his own hand, took off the mask, -and discovered to the horrified by-standers the face of a -corpse.</p> - -<p>The police were immediately sent for, and on a surgical -examination of the body, it appeared to be that of a man -who had been strangled a few hours before. Nothing could -be discovered, either at the time or afterwards, which could -lead to the identifying of the dead man, or to the discovery -of the actors in this extraordinary scene, and no clue has -ever been obtained. It was found on inquiry that they arrived -at the house where they deposited the dead body in a -handsome equipage with masked servants.</p> - -<p>This horrible story was stated to Mr. Venables, by -General Bontourlin, to be a well-known and undoubted fact. -The body was never identified, but was supposed to be that -of the victim of a murder arising out of a gambling transaction. -The acuteness of the police would seem to have -been at fault; or, more probably, the proper use of the -proper amount of roubles suppressed inconvenient discoveries.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[404]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 225px;"><a name="Illus39" id="Illus39"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image44.jpg" width="225" height="386" alt="T. P. Cooke in "Black-Eyed Susan."" /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">T. P. Cooke in "Black-Eyed Susan."</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Cooke" id="Cooke">Mr. T. P. Cooke in Melodrama and -Pantomime.</a></h3> - - -<p>During the Christmas of 1810 or 1811, Mr. T. P. Cooke -was a member of the Theatre Royal, Dublin, which could -boast of a company including the names of Miss O'Neil, -afterwards Lady Beecher, then in her teens; Miss Walstein,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[405]</a></span> -Messrs. Conway, Farren, and others of histrionic fame. Sir -Walter Scott's <i>Lady of the Lake</i> had been published on -the 10th of May, 1810, and the critics of the day had -pronounced it to be "the most interesting, romantic, picturesque, -and graceful" of the author's poems. Managers were -anxious to produce a version of the <i>Lady of the Lake</i> upon -the stage, and no one was more prompt in bringing one -forward than the lessee of the Theatre Royal, Dublin. The -cast was powerful. Misses O'Neil and Walstein were the -representatives of the chieftain's daughter, Ellen Douglas, -and the crazed and captive lowland maid, Blanche of Devon; -Malcolm Græme was well acted; Conway looked the Knight -of Snowdon, James Fitzjames, to the life; and T. P. Cooke -appeared to the greatest advantage as Roderick Vick Alpine -Roderick Dhu. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the -scenery; and the drama created a furore among the warm-hearted -Emeralders. As the manager acted upon the principle -of not "keeping more cats than could kill mice," the -services of some of his dramatic performers were pressed -into afterpieces; and, as the pantomime of <i>Harlequin and -Mother Goose</i> had made a great sensation in London, it was -brought out in the capital of the sister isle—T. P. Cooke -doffing his picturesque Highland costume for that of Squire -Bugle, afterwards Clown. No one that had seen the noble -bearing of Vick Alpine in the mountain pass, exclaiming:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"These are Clan-Alpine's warriors true;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, Saxon, I am Roderick Dhu,"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>would have recognized the same being when equipped in -the loose hunting-dress of the Squire or the grotesque garb -of the Clown. The pantomime went off well, and, although -T. P. Cooke wanted the fun of Grimaldi, he, by the aid of -youth and great agility, bustled through the part most satisfactorily.</p> - -<p>At the termination of the performance, which had been -honoured by the presence of the Lord-Lieutenant, Charles,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[406]</a></span> -fourth Duke of Richmond, the Duchess, and her then -young and numerous family, the Duke was persuaded by -two of his sons, Lords William and Frederick—then Westminster -boys—to go behind the scenes to look at the wonderful -goose. The manager, wax-candles in hand, after the -most approved manner of receiving illustrious guests, conducted -the Duke, his two sons, and a young daughter to the -stage and green-room, and the pantomimic tricks were duly -displayed by the attentive property-man, who explained to -the young noblemen the mysteries of the world behind the -curtain: how the transformation-scene was managed; how -the sprites descended and ascended through the "traps;" -how the nimble Harlequin, the active Clown, and the "slippered -Pantaloon" were caught in blankets after their wonderful -leaps through clock-dials, shop-windows, picture-frames, -and looking-glasses; how the smallest of boys was -introduced into a sham goose's skin; how a few daubs of -paint, some gold and silver leaf, and green tinsel, produced -the splendid fairy scene; how some spangles sewn on a -coarse parti-coloured suit made Harlequin appear glittering -like gold; how a white calico garb, with a few quaint red -and blue devices, some chalk and red paint, could change -the "human face divine" to that of a mask. After inspecting -everything worthy of note behind the scenes, the Duke -and his family proceeded to their carriage, when, at the entrance -to the green-room, they met the Clown, who had -remained behind to arrange some stage-business with the -Harlequin. "I forget his name," said the Duke, who, -although he patronized the drama, did not take especial -interest in the performance. "Cooke," responded the -manager. "I congratulate you, Mr. Cooke," said his Grace. -"I've seen Grimaldi in the part, and am delighted with your -performance." Cooke bowed his acknowledgments. "Pray," -continued the Lord-Lieutenant, "is Mr. T. P. Cooke, who -looked so well and acted Roderick Vick Alpine with such -spirit, any relation of yours?"—"A very near one," responded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[407]</a></span> -the actor. "He stands before you; for, Saxon, I -am Roderick Dhu!" The Duke smiled, shook hands with -him, declaring he had never witnessed such a wonderful -metamorphose.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Americ" id="Americ">"Romeo and Juliet" in America.</a></h3> - - -<p>Miss Fanny Kemble, in her clever record of her experiences -in the United States, relates the following, which -occurred in one of her provincial engagements. The play -was <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>. "My Romeo," says Miss Kemble, -"had gotten on a pair of trunk-breeches, which looked as if -he had borrowed them of some worthy Dutchman a hundred -years ago. Had he worn them in New York, I could have -understood it as a compliment to the ancestry of that good -city; but here to adopt such a costume in <i>Romeo</i> was perfectly -unaccountable. They were of a most unhappy choice -of colour, too—dull, heavy-looking blue cloth, and offensive -crimson satin, all bepuckered, and beplaited, and bepuffed, -till the young man looked like a magical figure growing out -of a monstrous, strange-coloured melon, beneath which descended -his unfortunate legs, thrust into a pair of red slippers, -for all the world like Grimaldi's legs en costume for <i>Clown</i>. -The play went off pretty smoothly, except that they broke -one man's collar-bone and nearly dislocated a woman's -shoulder, by flinging the scenery about. My bed was not -made in time, and when the scene drew, half-a-dozen carpenters, -in patched trousers and tattered shirt-sleeves, were -discovered smoothing down my pillows and adjusting my -draperies. The last scene is too good not to be given verbatim:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"<i>Romeo.</i> Rise, rise, my Juliet,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And from this cave of death, this house of horror,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Quick let me snatch thee to thy Romeo's arms."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Here he pounced upon me, plucked me up in his arms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[408]</a></span> -like an uncomfortable bundle, and staggered down the stage -with me.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"<i>Juliet</i> (<i>aside</i>). Oh! you've got me up horribly! That'll never -do. Do let me down, pray let me down.</p> - -<p> -<i>Romeo.</i> There, breathe a vital spirit on thy lips,<br /> -And call thee back, my soul, to life and love.<br /> -</p> - -<p><i>Juliet</i> (<i>aside</i>). Pray put me down; you'll certainly throw me -down, if you don't set me on the ground directly."</p></blockquote> - -<p>In the midst of "Cruel, cursed fate," his dagger fell out -of his dress; I, embracing him tenderly, crammed it back -again, because I knew I should want it again in the end.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>"<i>Romeo.</i> Tear not our heart-strings thus!<br /> -They crack! they break! Juliet! Juliet!</p> - -<p>[<i>Dies.</i>]</p> - -<p><i>Juliet</i> (to <i>Corpse</i>). Am I smothering you?</p> - -<p><i>Corpse</i> (to <i>Juliet</i>). Not at all. Could you be so kind, do you -think, as to put my wig on again for me? It has fallen off.</p> - -<p><i>Juliet</i> (to <i>Corpse</i>). I'm afraid I can't; but I'll throw my muslin -veil over it. You've broken the phial, haven't you?</p> - -<p>[<span class="smcap">Corpse</span> <i>nodded</i>.]</p> - -<p><i>Juliet</i> (to <i>Corpse</i>). Where's your dagger?</p> - -<p><i>Corpse</i> (to <i>Juliet</i>). 'Pon my soul, I don't know."</p> -</blockquote> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Mulberr" id="Mulberr">The Mulberries, a Shakspearian Club.</a></h3> - - -<p>At the thirty-fourth Anniversary of the Shakspeare Club, -at Stratford-on-Avon, on April 23rd, 1858, the President, -Mr. Buckstone, of the Haymarket Theatre, related, with -much humour, the following interesting account of the -above Shakspearian Club:—</p> - -<p>"On emerging from boyhood, and while yet a young -actor, I was one of the first members of a Shakspearian -club, called <i>The Mulberries</i>. It was not then a very prominent -one, as its meetings were held at a certain house of -entertainment in Vinegar Yard, Drury Lane. The club -assembled there once a week; they dined together on -Shakespeare's birthday; and in the mulberry season there -was another dinner and a mulberry feast, at which the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[409]</a></span> -chairman sat enthroned under a canopy of mulberry -branches, with the fruit on them; Shakspearian songs were -sung; members read original papers or poems relating only -to Shakspeare; and as many artists belonged to this club, -they exhibited sketches of some event connected with our -poet's life; and some had the honour of submitting a paper -to be read, called 'Shakespeare's Drinking-bout,' an imaginary -story, illustrating the traditionary event, when the -chivalry of Stratford went forth to carouse with</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Piping Pebworth, dancing Marston,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Haunted Hilborough, hungry Grafton,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Dudging Exhall, papist Wicksford,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Beggarly Broom, and drunken Bidford."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>All these papers and pictures were collected together in a -book, called <i>Mulberry Leaves</i>; and you will believe me, that -in spite of our lowly place of meeting, the club was not intellectually -insignificant, when amongst its members, then in -their youth, were Douglas Jerrold, Laman Blanchard, the -Landseers (Charles and Thomas), Frank Stone, Cattermole, -Robert Keeley, Kenny Meadows, and subsequently, though -at another and more important place of meeting, Macready, -Talfourd (the judge), Charles Dickens, John Forster, and -many other celebrities. You will very naturally wish to -know what became of this club. Death thinned the number -of its members; important pursuits in life took some one -way and some another; and, after twenty years of much enjoyment, -the club ceased to exist, and the <i>Mulberry Leaves</i> -disappeared, no one ever knew whither.</p> - -<p>From Mr. Blanchard Jerrold's Life of his Father we learn -that William Elton, the Shakspearian actor, was a member -of the Mulberries, as were also William Godwin, and Edward -Chatfield the artist. The contributions fell into Mr. Elton's -hands, and are now in the possession of his family. The -<i>leaves</i> were to have been published; but the club dead, it -was nobody's business to see them through the press, and to -this hour they remain in manuscript. Of the club itself it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[410]</a></span> -said: "Respectability killed it. Sumptuous quarters were -sought; Shakspeare was to be admired in a most elegant -manner—to be edited specially for the club by the author of -<i>The Book of Etiquette</i>. But the new atmosphere had not the -vigour of the old, and so, after a long struggle, all the Mulberries -fell from the old tree, and now it is a green memory -only to a few old members. Douglas Jerrold always turned -fondly to these Shakspearian days, and he loved to sing the -old song he wrote for the Mulberries, in that soft, sweet -voice which all his friends remember:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"And thus our moral food<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Doth Shakspeare leaven still,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Enriching all the good.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And less'ning all the ill;—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thus, by his bounty, shed<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Like balm from angel's wing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Though winter scathe our head,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Our spirits dance with spring."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Cibb" id="Cibb">Colley Cibber's Daughter.</a></h3> - - -<p>This unfortunate person was the youngest child of Colley -Cibber, and married a singer named Charke: there seems -to have been a touch of insanity, certainly there was no -power of self-control, in this poor woman. From her -childhood she had been wild, wayward, and rebellious; self-taught, -as a boy might be, and with nothing feminine in her -character or pursuits. With self-assertion, too, she was -weak enough to be won by a knave with a sweet voice, -whose cruel treatment drove his intractable wife to the stage, -where she failed to profit by her fine opportunities. Mrs. -Charke loved to play male characters; and of the many, -that of Plume was her favourite. At the Haymarket -Theatre, in 1745, she played Captain Macheath, and other -masculine parts, before she attempted to pass herself off -upon the world, or hide herself from it, as a man.</p> - -<p>Dr. Doran, in his amusing book, <i>Their Majesties'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[411]</a></span> -Servants</i>, writing of the year 1757, that of Colley Cibber's -death says: "While the body of the poet Laureate was -being carried to Westminster Abbey, there was up away in -a hut in then desolate Clerkenwell, and starving, Colley's -only daughter, Charlotte Charke. Seven-and-twenty years<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[412]</a></span> -before, she had just come upon the stage, after a stormy -girlhood; and she had a mania for appearing in male characters -on, and in male attire off, the stage. By some -terrible offence she forfeited the recognition of her father, -who was otherwise of a benevolent disposition; and friendless, -she fought a series of battles with the world, and came -off in all more and more damaged. She starved with -strollers, failed as a grocer in Long Acre, became bankrupt -as a puppet-show proprietor in James Street, Haymarket; -re-married, became a widow a second time, was plunged -into deeper ruin, thrown into prison for debt, and released -only by the subscriptions of the lowest, but not least charitable, -sisterhood of Drury Lane. Assuming male attire, -she hung about the theatres for casual hire, went on tramp -with itinerants, hungered daily, and was weekly cheated, but -yet kept up such an appearance that an heiress fell in love -with her, who was reduced to despair when Charlotte -Charke revealed her story and abandoned the place. Her -next post was that of a valet to an Irish Lord; forfeiting -which she and her child became sausage-makers, but could -not obtain a living; and then Charlotte Charke cried, -'Coming, coming, sir,' as a waiter at the King's Head -Tavern, Marylebone. Thence she was drawn by an offer -to make her manager of a company of strolling players, with -whom she enjoyed more appetite than means to appease it. -She endured sharp distress again and again; but was relieved -by an uncle, who furnished her with funds, with -which she opened a tavern in Drury Lane, where, after a -brief career of success, she again became bankrupt. To the -regular stage she once more returned, under her brother, -Theophilus, at the Haymarket: but the Lord Chamberlain -closed the house, and Charlotte Charke took to working the -wires of Russell's famous puppets in the Great Room, still -existing in Brewer Street. There was a gleam of good -fortune for her, but it soon faded away; and then for nine -wretched years this clever but most wretched of women<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[413]</a></span> -struggled frantically for bare existence, amongst the most -wretched of strollers, with whom she endured unmitigated -misery. And yet, Cibber's erring and hapless daughter contrived -to reach London, where, in 1755, she published her -remarkable autobiography, the details of which make the -heart ache, in spite of the small sympathy of the reader for -this half-mad creature. On the profits of this book, she -was enabled to open, as <i>landlord</i>, a tavern at Islington; but -of course, ruin ensued; and in a hut, amid the cinder-heaps -and worse refuse, in the desolate fields, she found a refuge, -and even wrote a novel on a pair of bellows in her lap, by -way of desk. Here she lived with a squalid hand-maiden, -a cat, dog, magpie, and monkey. Humbled, disconsolate, -abandoned, she readily accepted from a publisher who visited -her 10<i>l.</i> for her manuscript. This was at the close of the -year 1755, and I do not meet with her again till 1759, two -years after her father's death, when she played Marplot in -<i>The Busy Body</i>, for her own benefit at the Haymarket, with -this advertisement: 'As I am entirely dependent on chance -for a subsistence, and desirous of getting into business, I -humbly hope the town will favour me on the occasion, -which, added to the rest of their indulgences, will be ever -gratefully acknowledged by their truly obliged and obedient -servant, Charlotte Charke.' She died on the 6th of April, -1760."</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus40" id="Illus40"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image45.jpg" width="300" height="409" alt="Charlotte Charke. After Boitard." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Charlotte Charke. After Boitard.</p> - -<p>She "is said to have once given imitations of her father -on the stage; to have presented a pistol at, and robbed him -on the highway, and to have smeared his face with a pair of -soles out of her own basket."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Lovepass" id="Lovepass">An Eccentric Love-Passage.</a></h3> - - -<p>Captain Gronow relates that Mr. Bradshaw, M.P. for -Canterbury, "fell in love" with Maria Tree: hearing that -the lady had taken a place in the Birmingham mail, he -booked the rest for himself in the name of Tomkins, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[414]</a></span> -resolved to make the most of the opportunity afforded him. -Unfortunately, his luggage and Miss Tree went by one mail, -while Mr. Bradshaw through a mistake travelled by another. -On arriving at Birmingham early in the morning, he left the -coach and stepped into the hotel, determined to remain -there, and go to the theatre on the following evening. He -went to bed and slept late the following day; and on waking -he remembered that his trunk with all his money had gone -on to Manchester, and that he was without the means of -paying his way. Seeing the Bank of Birmingham opposite -the hotel, he went over and explained his position to one of -the partners, giving his own banker's address in London, -and showing letters addressed to him as Mr. Bradshaw. -Upon this he was told that with such credentials he might -have a loan; and the banker said he would write the necessary -letter and cheque, and send the money over to him at -the hotel. Mr. Bradshaw, pleased with this kind attention, -sat himself down comfortably to breakfast in the coffee-room. -According to promise, the cashier made his appearance at -the hotel, and asked the waiter for Mr. Bradshaw. "No -such gentleman here," was the reply.—"Oh, yes, he came -by the London mail."—"No, sir; no one came but Mr. -Tomkins, who was booked as inside passenger to Manchester." -The cashier was dissatisfied; but the waiter added, "Sir, -you can look through the window of the coffee-room door, -and see the gentleman yourself." On doing so he beheld -the Mr. Tomkins, <i>alias</i> Mr. Bradshaw, and immediately -returned to the Bank, telling what he himself had heard and -seen. The banker went over to the hotel, had a consultation -with the landlord, and it was determined that a watch -should be placed upon the suspicious person who had two -names and no luggage, and who was booked to Manchester -but had stopped at Birmingham. The landlord summoned -boots—a little lame fellow of most ludicrous appearance—and -pointing to the gentleman in the coffee-room, told him -his duty for the day was to follow him wherever he went,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[415]</a></span> -and never to lose sight of him; but above all to take care -that he did not get away. Boots nodded assent, and immediately -mounted guard. Mr. Bradshaw having taken his -breakfast and read the papers, looked at his watch and sallied -forth to see something of the goodly town of Birmingham. -He was much surprised at observing a little odd-looking -man surveying him most attentively, and watching his every -movement; stopping whenever he stopped, and evidently -taking a deep interest in all he did. At last, observing -that he was the object of this incessant <i>espionnage</i>, -and finding that he had a shilling left in his pocket, he -hailed one of the coaches that ran short distances in those -days when omnibuses were not. This, however, did not -suit little Boots, who went up to him and insisted that he -must not leave the town. Mr. Bradshaw's indignation was -naturally excessive, and he immediately returned to the -hotel, where he found a constable ready to take him before -the mayor as an impostor and swindler. He was compelled -to appear before his worship and had the mortification of -being told that unless he could give some explanation he -must be content with a night's lodging in a house of detention. -Mr. Bradshaw had no alternative but to send to the -fair charmer of his heart to identify him; which she most -readily did as soon as rehearsal was over. Explanations were -then entered into; but he was forced to give the reason of -his being in Birmingham, which of course made a due impression -on the lady's heart, and led to that happy result of -their interviews—a marriage which resulted in the enjoyment -of mutual happiness for many years.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Truetext" id="Truetext">True to the Text.</a></h3> - - -<p>A curious instance of this occurred many years ago, at -the termination of the tragedy of <i>Richard the Third</i>. Mr. -Elliston was enacting the part of <i>Richmond</i>; and having, -during the evening, disobeyed the injunction which the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[416]</a></span> -King of Denmark lays down to the Queen, "Gertrude, do -not drink," he accosted Mr. Powell, who was personating -<i>Lord Stanley</i> (for the safety of whose son <i>Richmond</i> is -naturally anxious), <span class="smcap">THUS</span>, on his entry, after the issue of the -battle:—</p> - -<p>Elliston (as <i>Richmond</i>). Your son, George Stanley, is -he dead?</p> - -<p>Powell (as <i>Lord Stanley</i>). He is, my Lord, and <i>safe in -Leicester town</i>!</p> - -<p>Elliston (as <i>Richmond</i>). I mean—ah!—is he missing?</p> - -<p>Powell (as <i>Lord Stanley</i>). He is, my Lord, and <i>safe in -Leicester town</i>!!</p> - -<p>And it is but justice to the memory of this punctilious -veteran, to say that he would have made the same reply to -any question which could, at that particular moment, have -been put to him.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 6em; margin-bottom: 5em;" src="images/image46.jpg" width="100" height="69" alt="Floral design" /> -</div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[417]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Men" id="Men"><i>MEN OF LETTERS.</i></a></h2> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus41" id="Illus41"> -<img style="margin-top: 2em;" src="images/image47.jpg" width="275" height="359" alt="Monk Lewis." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 2em;">Monk Lewis.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Monklew" id="Monklew">Monk Lewis</a></h3> - -<p class="center" style="margin-bottom: 1.5em;">"Hail! wonder-working Lewis."</p> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">T</span><span class="smcap">HIS</span> early lover of rhymes and numbers, and "flashes -of merriment that were wont to set the table on a -roar," was, in his boyhood, more remarkable for his love<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[418]</a></span> -of theatrical exhibitions than for his love of learning. He -read books on Witchcraft when a child, and published his -marvellous story of the <i>Monk</i> when in his twenty-second -year; it contains his best poetry as well as prose. In the -midst of this celebrity, being one autumn on his way to a -fashionable watering-place, he stayed a night in a country-town -and witnessed a performance by a company of -strolling players. Among them was a young actress, whose -benefit was on the <i>tapis</i>, and who, hearing of the arrival of a -person so talked of as Monk Lewis, waited upon him at the -inn to request the very trifling favour of an original piece -from his pen. The lady pleaded in terms that urged the -spirit of benevolence to advocate her cause in a heart never -closed to such an appeal. Lewis had by him at that time -an unpublished trifle, called <i>The Hindoo Bride</i>, in which a -widow was immolated on the funeral pile of her husband. -The subject was one well suited to attract a country -audience, and he determined thus to appropriate the -drama. The delighted suppliant departed all joy and -gratitude at being requested to call for the manuscript the -next day. Lewis, however, soon discovered that he had -been reckoning without his host, for, on searching his -travelling-desk, which contained many of his papers, the -<i>Bride</i> was nowhere to be found, having, in fact, been left -behind in town. Exceedingly annoyed by this circumstance, -which there was no time to remedy, the dramatist took a -pondering stroll in the rural environs, when a sudden shower -compelled him to take refuge in a huckster's shop, where he -overheard, in the adjoining apartment, two voices in earnest -conversation, and in one of them recognized that of his -theatrical petitioner of the morning, apparently replying to -the feeble tones of age and infirmity. "There now, -mother, always that old story—when I've brought such -good news, too—after I've had the face to call on Mr. -Monk Lewis, and found him so different to what I -expected; so good-humoured, so affable, and willing to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[419]</a></span> -assist me. I did not say a word about you, mother; for -though in some respects it might have done good, I thought -it would seem like a begging affair, so I merely represented -my late ill-success, and he promised to give me an original -drama which he had with him for my benefit. I hope he -did not think me too bold." "I hope not, Jane," replied -the feeble voice; "only don't do these things again -without consulting me; for you don't know the world, and -it may be thought——" The sun then just gave a broad -hint that the shower had ceased, and the sympathizing -author returned to his inn, and having penned the following -letter, ordered post-horses and despatched a porter to the -young actress with this epistle:—</p> - -<p>"Madame,—I am truly sorry to acquaint you that my -Hindoo Bride has behaved most improperly—in fact, -whether the lady has eloped or not, it seems she does not -choose to make her appearance either for <i>your benefit</i> or -mine; and to say the truth, I don't at this moment know -where to find her. I take the liberty to jest upon the -subject, because I really do not think you will have any -cause to regret her non-appearance; having had an -opportunity of witnessing your very admirable performance -of a far superior character, in a style true to nature, and -which reflects upon you the highest credit. I allude to a -most interesting scene in which you lately sustained the -character of 'The Daughter.' Brides of all denominations -but too often prove their empire delusive; but the character -<i>you</i> have chosen will improve upon every representation, -both in the estimation of the public and the satisfaction of -your own excellent heart. For the infinite gratification I -have received, I must long consider myself in your debt. -Trusting you will permit the enclosed (fifty pounds) in some -measure to discharge the same, I remain, Madame (with -sentiments of respect and admiration), your sincere well-wisher,"</p> - -<p style="text-align: right">"<span class="smcap">M. G. Lewis</span>."</p> - -<p>Lewis, it should be explained, was well supplied with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[420]</a></span> -money, his father holding a lucrative post in the War Office, -and being owner of extensive West Indian possessions. In -1798, Scott (afterwards Sir Walter) met young Lewis in -Edinburgh, and so humble were then his own aspirations, -and so brilliant the reputation of <i>The Monk</i>, that he -declared, thirty years afterwards, he never felt so elated as -when Lewis asked him to dine with him at his hotel. Lewis -schooled the great poet on his incorrect rhyme, and proved -himself, as Scott says, "a martinet in the accuracy of -rhymes and numbers." Sir Walter has recorded that Lewis -was fonder of great people than he ought to have been, -either as a man of talent or a man of fashion. "He had -always," he says, "dukes or duchesses in his mouth, and -was pathetically fond of any one who had a title; you would -have sworn he had been a <i>parvenu</i> of yesterday; yet he -had lived all his life in good society." And Scott regarded -Lewis with no small affection.</p> - -<p>Of this weakness, Lord Byron relates an amusing -instance: "Lewis, at Oatlands, was observed one morning -to have his eyes red and his air sentimental; being asked -why, he replied, that when people said anything kind to -him, it affected him deeply, 'and just now, the Duchess (of -York) has said something so kind to me, that—' here tears -began to flow. 'Never mind, Lewis,' said Colonel Armstrong -to him, 'never mind—don't cry—<i>she could not mean -it</i>!'"</p> - -<p>Lewis was of extremely diminutive stature. "I remember -a picture of him," says Scott, "by Saunders, being -handed round at Dalkeith House. The artist had ingeniously -flung a dark folding mantle around his form, -under which was half hid a dagger, a dark-lantern, or some -such cut-throat appurtenance. With all this the features -were preserved and ennobled. It passed from hand to -hand into that of Henry, Duke of Buccleuch, who, hearing -the general voice affirm that it was very like, said aloud,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[421]</a></span> -'Like Mat. Lewis! why, that picture's like <i>a man</i>!' He -looked, and lo! Mat. Lewis was at his elbow. This boyishness -went through life with him. He was a child, and a -spoiled child—but a child of high imagination, and he -wasted himself on ghost-stories and German romances. -He had the finest ear for the rhythm of verse I ever met -with—finer than Byron's."</p> - -<p>The death of Lewis's father made the poet a man of -independent fortune. He succeeded to considerable plantations -in the West Indies, besides a large sum of money; -and in order to ascertain personally the condition of the -slaves on his estate, he sailed for the West Indies in 1815. -Of this voyage he wrote a narrative, which was published -many years after, under the title of the <i>Journal of a West -India Proprietor</i>. The manner in which the negroes received -him on his arrival amongst them, he thus describes:—"As -soon as the carriage entered my gates, the uproar and -confusion which ensued sets all description at defiance; the -works were instantly all abandoned, everything that had -life came flocking to the house from all quarters, and not -only the men, and the women, and the children, but 'by a -bland assimilation,' the hogs, and the dogs, and the geese, -and the fowls, and the turkeys, all came hurrying along by -instinct, to see what could possibly be the matter, and -seemed to be afraid of arriving too late. Whether the -pleasure of the negroes was sincere may be doubted, but -certainly it was the loudest that I ever witnessed. They -all talked together, sang, danced, shouted, and in the -violence of their gesticulations, tumbled over each other -and rolled about on the ground. Twenty voices at once -inquired after uncles and aunts, and grandfathers and great-grandmothers -of mine, who had been buried long before I -was in existence, and whom, I verily believe, most of them -knew only by tradition. One woman held up her little -naked black child to me, grinning from ear to ear: 'Look,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[422]</a></span> -massa! look here! him nice lily neger for massa!' Another -complained—'So long since come see we, massa; good -massa come at last.' As for the old people, they were all in -one and the same story; now they had lived once to see -massa, they were ready for dying to-morrow—'them no care.'</p> - -<p>"The shouts, the gaiety, the wild laughter, their strange -and sudden bursts of singing and dancing, and several old -women wrapped up in large cloaks, their heads bound round -with different-coloured handkerchiefs, leaning on a staff, and -standing motionless in the middle of the hubbub, with their -eyes fixed upon the portico which I occupied, formed an -exact counterpart of the festivity of the witches in Macbeth. -Nothing could be more odd or more novel than the whole -scene; yet there was something in it truly affecting."</p> - -<p>In his Journal, Lewis tells us the following odd shark -story:—"While lying in Black River Harbour, Jamaica, two -sharks were frequently seen playing about the ship. At -length, the female was killed, and the desolation of the male -was excessive. What he did without her remains a secret, -but what he did with her was clear enough; for scarce was -the breath out of his Eurydice's body, when he stuck his -teeth in her, and began to eat her up with all possible expedition. -Even the sailors felt their sensibility excited by so -peculiar a mark of posthumous attachment; and to enable -him to perform this melancholy duty more easily, they -offered to be his carvers, lowered their boat, and proceeded -to chop his better half in pieces with their hatchets; while -the widower opened his jaws as wide as possible, and gulped -down pounds upon pounds of the dear departed, as fast as -they were thrown to him, with the greatest delight, and all -the avidity imaginable. I make no doubt that all the time -he was eating, he was thoroughly persuaded that every morsel -that went into his stomach would make its way to his heart -directly! 'She was perfectly consistent,' he said to himself; -'she was excellent through life, and really she's extremely -good now she's dead!' And then,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[423]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i10">"'Unable to conceal his pain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He sigh'd and swallow'd, and sigh'd and swallow'd,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And sigh'd and swallow'd again.'<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>"I doubt whether the annals of Hymen can produce a similar -instance of post-obitual affection. Nor do I recollect any -fact at all resembling it, except, perhaps, a circumstance -which is recorded respecting Cambletes, king of Lydia, a -monarch equally remarkable for his voracity and uxoriousness, -and who ate up his queen without being conscious of it."</p> - -<p>Lewis, in reading <i>Don Quixote</i>, was greatly pleased with -this instance of the hero's politeness. The Princess Micomicona -having fallen into a most egregious blunder, he never -so much as hints a suspicion of her not having acted precisely -as she had stated, but only begs to know her reason -for taking a step so extraordinary. "But pray, madam," -says he, "why did your ladyship land at Ossima, seeing that -it is not a seaport town?"</p> - -<p>One of Lewis's great hits was the ballad of <i>Crazy Jane</i>, -which was found in the handwriting of the author among his -papers. The ballad was wedded to music by several composers; -but the original and most popular melody was by -Miss Abrams, who sung it herself at fashionable parties. -After the usual complimentary tributes from barrel-organs, -and wandering damsels of every degree of vocal ability, it -crowned not only the author's brow with laurels, but also -that of many a youthful beauty in the shape of a <i>Crazy -Jane hat</i>.</p> - -<p><i>The Castle Spectre</i> was Lewis's greatest dramatic success. -Its terrors were not confined to Drury Lane Theatre, but, as -the following anecdote shows, on one occasion they even -extended considerably beyond it. Mrs. Powell, who played -Evelina, having become, from the number of representations, -heartily tired and wearied with the character, one evening, -on returning from the theatre, walked listlessly into a drawing -room, and throwing herself into a seat, exclaimed, "Oh!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[424]</a></span> -this ghost! this ghost! Heavens! how this ghost torments -me!"</p> - -<p>"Ma'am!" uttered a tremulous voice from the other -side of the table.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Powell looked up hastily. "Sir!" she reiterated -in nearly the same tone, as she encountered the pale countenance -of a very sober-looking gentleman opposite.</p> - -<p>"What? What was it you said madam?"</p> - -<p>"Really, sir," replied the astonished actress, "I have -not the pleasure of—Why, good heavens, what have they -been about in the room?"</p> - -<p>"Madam," continued the gentleman, "the room is mine, -and I will thank you to explain—"</p> - -<p>"Yours!" screamed Mrs. Powell; "surely, sir, this is -Number 1?"</p> - -<p>"No, indeed, madam," he replied; "this is Number 2; -and really, your language is so very extraordinary, that—"</p> - -<p>Mrs. Powell, amidst her confusion, could scarcely refrain -from laughter. "Ten thousand pardons!" she said, "the -coachman must have mistaken the house. I am Mrs. Powell, -of Drury Lane, and have just come from performing the -<i>Castle Spectre</i>. Fatigue and absence of mind have made me -an unconscious intruder. I lodge next door, and I hope -you will excuse the unintentional alarm I have occasioned -you."</p> - -<p>It is almost needless to add, that the gentleman was -much relieved by this rational explanation, and participated -in the mirth of his nocturnal visitor, as he politely escorted -her to the street door. "Good night," said the still laughing -actress; "and I hope, sir, in future, I shall pay more attention -to <i>Number One</i>!"</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[425]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus42" id="Illus42"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image48.jpg" width="275" height="349" alt="Professor Porson." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 2em;">Professor Porson.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Porsons" id="Porsons">Porson's Eccentricities.</a></h3> - - -<p>The humour of Professor Porson lay in parodies, imitations, -and hoaxes, ready wit and repartee; in his oddities of -dress and demeanour; and his disregard for certain decencies -of society is very deplorable, though at the same -time mirthful in its very extravagances. Porson left Cambridge -to become the scholar about town; to quench his -thirst for Florentine MSS. in the tankards of the "Cider -Cellar;" and to exchange the respectability and stateliness -of the Trinity common room for the savage liberty of Temple -chambers. He had for some time become notorious at -Cambridge. His passion for smoking, which was then going -out among the younger generation, his large and indiscriminate -potations, and his occasional use of the poker with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[426]</a></span> -very refractory controversialist, had caused his company to -be shunned by all except the few to whom his wit and -scholarship were irresistible. When the evening began to -grow late, the Fellows of Trinity used to walk out of the -common room, and leave Porson to himself, who was sometimes -found smoking by the servants next morning, without -having apparently moved from the spot where he had been -left over-night.</p> - -<p>Porson's imitations of Horace, which appeared in the -<i>Morning Chronicle</i>, have really no merit at all, nor have any -of the hundred and one epigrams which he is said to have -written in one night upon the drunkenness of Mr. Pitt. But -two other papers, one called <i>The Swinish Multitude</i>, and -the other <i>The Saltbox</i>, display certainly both wit and humour. -One is a satire upon the famous expression of Burke, in his -<i>Letters on a Regicide Peace</i>; the other, a parody of the Oxford -style of examination in Logic and Metaphysics.</p> - -<p>Of the hundred and one epigrams, the story goes—that -when Pitt and Dundas appeared before the House, Pitt tried -to speak, but showing himself unable, was kindly pulled -down into his seat by those about him; Dundas who was -equally unfitted for eloquence, had sense enough to sit silent. -Perry, of the <i>Morning Chronicle</i>, witnessed the scene, and -on his return from the House, gave a description of it to -Porson, who, being vastly amused, called for pen and ink, -and musing over his pipe and tankard, produced the one -hundred and one pieces of verse before the day dawned. -The point of most of them lies in puns. The first epigram -is:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"That <i>Ça Ira</i> in England will prevail,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">All sober men deny with heart and hand;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To talk of <i>going</i> sure's a pretty tale,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">When e'en our rulers can't as much as stand."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The following are better:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Your gentle brains with full libations drench,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You've then Pitt's title to the Treasury Bench.<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[427]</a></span> -<span class="i0">Your foe in war to overrate<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A maxim is of ancient date;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then sure 'twas right, in time of trouble,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That our good rulers should see double.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The mob are beasts! exclaims the King of Daggers;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">What creature's he that's troubled with the staggers?"<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"When Billy found he scarce could stand,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Help! help!' he cried, and stretched his hand<br /></span> -<span class="i12">To faithful Harry calling,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Quoth Hal, 'My friend, I'm sorry for't;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Tis not my practice to support<br /></span> -<span class="i12">A minister that's falling.'"<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"'Who's up?' inquired Burke of a friend at the door;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Oh! no one,' says Paddy, 'though Pitt's on the floor.'"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Porson was not imposed upon for a moment by the Ireland -forgeries of Shakspeare, and when asked to set his -name to a declaration of belief in their genuineness, replied, -with a smile, that he was "slow to subscribe articles of faith." -Scholars, however, owe a debt of gratitude to Ireland, of -which, perhaps, they are seldom conscious; for it was the -alleged discovery of Shakspearian plays that drew from -Porson one of the cleverest specimens of his peculiar powers -that remain to us. We mean the translation of "Three -Children sliding on the Ice," which he sent to the <i>Morning -Chronicle</i>, as a fragment of Sophocles, recently discovered -by a friend of his at the bottom of an old trunk.</p> - -<p>Porson had high animal spirits; and he is said once, for -a wager, to have carried a young lady round the room in his -teeth. His conversation, however, after a certain period of -the evening, was not always fit for ladies. Rogers once took -him to a party, where several women of fashion were present, -who were anxious to hear him talk. The Professor, who -hated being made a lion, selected for his theme the soup of -Vauxhall, and at last, we are told, talked so oddly, that all -the women retreated except the famous Lady Crewe, who -was not to be frightened by any man. "After this," says<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[428]</a></span> -Rogers, "I brought him home as far as Piccadilly, where I -am sorry to say I left him sick in the middle of the street."</p> - -<p>At those houses where Porson was on intimate terms, it -was understood that he was always to go away at eleven. -Porson accepted the arrangement in perfect good faith, and -invariably required that it should be carried out to the letter; -for, "though he never attempted to exceed the hour limited, -he would never stir before," and he warmly resented any -attempt to make him. At one house only was his time extended -to twelve; this was Bennet Langton's. There were, -of course, houses in which the Professor, so to speak, took -the bit between his teeth, and did exactly as he pleased. -Horne Tooke's was one of these, as the following story illustrates. -Tooke once asked Porson to dine with him in Richmond -Buildings; and, as he knew that the Professor <i>had -not been in bed for the three preceding nights</i>, he expected to -get rid of him at an early hour. He, however, kept Tooke -up the whole night; and, in the morning, the latter, in perfect -despair, said, "Mr. Porson, I am engaged to meet a -friend at breakfast at a coffee-house in Leicester Square." -"Oh," replied Porson, "I will go with you;" and he accordingly -did so. Soon after they had reached the coffee-house, -Tooke contrived to slip out, and running home, -ordered his servant not to let Mr. Porson in even if he -should attempt to batter down the door. "A man," observed -Tooke, "who could sit up four nights successively, -could sit up forty."</p> - -<p>As soon as Porson had been "turned out of doors like -a dog," which was his favourite expression when he received -the slightest hint to move, even if it was one o'clock in the -morning, he used generally to adjourn to the Cider Cellar, -where he was completely king of his company. "Dick," -said one of these companions, "can beat us all; he can -drink all night, and spout all day." From the Cider Cellar -he got home as he could to Essex Court, where he had -chambers over the late Mr. Baron Gurney, whose slumbers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[429]</a></span> -were a good deal disturbed by the habits of his learned -neighbour. On one occasion he was awakened by a tremendous -thump upon the floor overhead. Porson, it turned -out, had come home drunk, and had tumbled down in his -room, and put out his candle; for Gurney soon after heard -him fumbling at the staircase lamp, and cursing the nature -of things, which made him see two flames instead of one.</p> - -<p>The most remarkable feature in Porson's love of liquor -was, that he could drink anything. Port wine, indeed, was -his favourite beverage. But, in default of this, he would take -whatever he could lay his hands on. He was known to -swallow a bottle of spirits of wine, an embrocation, and when -nothing better was forthcoming, he would even drench himself -with water. He would sometimes take part in a contest -of drinking; and once, having threatened after dinner to -"kick and cuff" his host, Horne Tooke, the latter proposed -to settle the affair by drinking, the weapons to be quarts of -brandy. When the second bottle was half finished, Porson -fell under the table. The conqueror drank another glass to -the speedy recovery of his antagonist, and having given instructions -to his servants to take great care of the Professor, -walked upstairs to tea, as if nothing had occurred. Tooke, -however, feared Porson in conversation, because he would -often remain silent for a long time, and then "pounce upon -him with his terrible memory." In 1798, Parr writes to Dr. -Burney, who had recommended that Porson's opinion should -be taken on some classical question, "Porson shall do it, -and he will do it. I know his terms when he bargains with -me: two bottles instead of one, six pipes instead of two, -Burgundy instead of claret, liberty to sit till five in the morning -instead of sneaking into bed at one; these are his terms."</p> - -<p>Porson was very odd in his eating. At breakfast, he -frequently ate bread and cheese: and he then took his -porter as copiously as Johnson took his tea. At Eton, he -once kept Mrs. Goodall at the breakfast-table during the -whole of Sunday morning; and when Dr. Goodall returned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[430]</a></span> -from church, he found the sixth pot of porter being just -carried into his house. In his eating, Porson was very easily -satisfied. "He went once," says Mr. Watson, "to the -Bodleian to collate a manuscript, and, as the work would -occupy him several days, Routh, the president of Magdalen, -who was leaving home for the long vacation, said to him at -his departure, 'Make my house your home, Mr. Porson, -during my absence, for my servants have orders to be quite -at your command, and to procure you whatever you please.' -When he returned, he asked for the account of what the -Professor had had during his stay. The servant brought -the bill, and the Doctor, glancing at it, observed a fowl -entered in it every day. 'What,' said he, 'did you provide -for Mr. Porson no better than this, but oblige him to dine -every day on fowl?' 'No, sir,' replied the servant; 'but -we asked the gentleman the first day what he would have -for dinner, and as he did not seem to know very well what -to order, we suggested a fowl. When we went to him about -dinner any day afterwards, he always said, "The same as -yesterday:" and this was the only answer we could get from -him.'"</p> - -<p>Sometimes, in a fit of abstraction, he would go without -a dinner. One day, when Rogers asked him to stay -and dine, he replied, "Thank you, no; I dined yesterday."</p> - -<p>Porson used to relate, with much glee, his school anecdotes, -the tricks he used to play upon his master and schoolfellows, -and the little dramatic pieces which he wrote for -private representation. In describing his narrow means, he -used to say, "I was almost then destitute in the wide world, -with less than 40<i>l.</i> a year for my support, and without a -profession; for I could never bring myself to subscribe -Articles of Faith. I used often to lie awake for a whole -night, and wish for a large pearl." He seemed to delight -in company of low grade. At Cambridge, after sitting five -hours, and drinking two bottles of sherry, he began to clip -the king's English, to cry like a child at the close of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[431]</a></span> -periods; and, in other respects, to show marks of extreme -debility. At length, he rose from his chair, staggered to the -door, and made his way downstairs without taking the -slightest notice of his companion. Subsequently he went -out upon a search for the Greek Professor, whom he discovered -near the outskirts of Cambridge, leaning upon the -arm of a dirty bargeman, and amusing him by the most -humorous and laughable anecdotes.</p> - -<p>However, Porson could place a strong restraint upon -himself when necessary. When he went to stay with his -sisters, in the year 1804, it is said that he only took two -glasses of wine a day for eleven weeks.</p> - -<p>Porson was a man of ready wit and repartee. When -asked by a Scotch stranger at the Gray's Inn Coffee-house -if Bentley were not a Scotchman, he replied, "No, sir, -Bentley was a Greek scholar." He said Bishop Pearson -would have been a first-rate critic if he hadn't muddled his -brains with divinity. Dr. Parr once asked him, in his -pompous manner, before a large company, what he thought -about the introduction of moral and physical evil into the -world. "Why, Doctor," said Porson, "I think we should -have done very well without them."</p> - -<p>On his academic visits to the Continent, Porson wrote:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"I went to Frankfort, and got drunk<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With that most learn'd Professor Brunck:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I went to Worts, and got more drunken,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With that more learn'd Professor Runcken."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Porson said one night, when he was very drunk, to Dodd, -who was pressing him hard in argument, "Jemmy Dodd, I -always despised you when sober, and I'll be d——d if I'll -argue with you now that I am drunk."</p> - -<p>Porson, in a social party, offered to make a rhyme on -anything, when some one suggested one of the Latin gerunds, -and he immediately replied:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"When Dido found Æneas would not come,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She mourned in silence, and was <i>Di-do-dum</i>."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[432]</a></span></p> - -<p>A gentleman said to the great "Grecian," with whom -he had been disputing—"Dr. Porson, my opinion of you -is most contemptible." "Sir," returned the Doctor, "I -never knew an opinion of yours that was not contemptible."</p> - -<p>Gillies, the historian of Greece, and Porson used now -and then to meet. The consequence was certain to be a -literary contest. Porson was much the deeper scholar of the -two. Gillies was one day speaking to him of the Greek -tragedies, and of Pindar's odes. "<i>We know nothing</i>," said -Gillies, emphatically, "of the Greek metres." Porson -answered, "If, Doctor, you will put your observation in the -<i>singular</i> number, I believe it will be very accurate."</p> - -<p>Porson being once at a dinner-party where the conversation -turned upon Captain Cook, and his celebrated voyages -round the world, an ignorant person, in order to contribute -his mite towards the social intercourse, asked him, "Pray, -was Cook killed on his first voyage?" "I believe he was," -answered Porson, "though he did not mind it much, but -immediately entered on a second."</p> - -<p>Porson said of a prospect shown to him, that it put him -in mind of a fellowship—a long, dreary walk, with a church -at the end of it. He used to say of Wakefield and Hermann, -two critics, who had attacked him, but whose scholarship he -held in great contempt, that "whatever he wrote in future -should be written in such a manner that they should not -reach it with their paws, though they stood on their hind-legs -to get at it."</p> - -<p>It has been well said that all opportunities of earning -honourably pudding and praise availed Porson nothing. -"Two Mordecais sat at his gate—thirst and procrastination."</p> - -<p>Irony was Porson's chief weapon, though he could be -sarcastic enough when he chose; as when he said of Tomline, -Bishop of Lincoln, to whom a rich man, who had only seen -him once, had left a large legacy, "If he had seen him twice -he would have got nothing."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[433]</a></span></p> - -<p>Nor was he more eulogistic of Bishop Porteus, whom he -used to call Bishop <i>Proteus</i>, from his having changed his -opinions from liberal to illiberal.</p> - -<p>Porson made several visits to the British Museum to read -and consider the Rosetta stone, whence he got from the -officials the <i>sobriquet</i> of Judge Blackstone.</p> - -<p>It is sufficiently notorious that Porson was not remarkably -attentive to the decoration of his person: indeed, he -was at times disagreeably negligent. On one occasion he -went to visit a learned friend, afterwards a judge, where a -gentleman who did not know Porson, was waiting in anxious -and impatient expectation of the barber. On Porson's -entering the library, where the gentleman was sitting, he -started up and hastily said to him, "Are you the barber?" -"No, sir," replied Porson; "but I am a cunning shaver, -much at your service."</p> - -<p>Porson, when a young man, was eminently handsome, -and nearly six feet in height; but he cultivated these natural -gifts very little, and was seldom dressed to advantage. -William Bankes once invited Porson to dine with him at an -hotel at the west-end of the town; but the dinner passed -away without the guest making his appearance. Afterwards, -on Bankes's asking him why he had not kept his engagement -Porson replied (without entering into further particulars), -that he "had come;" and Bankes could only conjecture that -the waiters, seeing Porson's shabby dress, and not knowing -who he was, had offered him some insult, which made him -indignantly return home.</p> - -<p>Late in life, Porson seems to have become a sad -spectacle. "I saw him once at the London Institution," -says a writer in the <i>New Monthly Magazine</i>, "with a large -patch of coarse brown paper on his nose, the skirts of his -rusty black coat hung with cobwebs, and talking in a tone -of suavity approaching to condescension to one of the -managers." His face was described by an old acquaintance, -who met him in 1807, as "fiery and volcanic; his nose,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[434]</a></span> -on which he had a perpetual efflorescence, was covered with -black patches; his clothes were shabby, his linen dirty."</p> - -<p>Porson had a great contempt for physic and physicians, -yet, curiously enough, many of his most intimate friends -were physicians. In a letter written in 1802 to Dr. Davy, -he says: "I have been at Death's door, but by a due -neglect of the faculty, and plentiful use of my old remedy -(powder of post), I am pretty well recovered."</p> - -<p>In the good old days of coach travelling, an inside was -occupied by Porson, a young Oxonian, and two ladies. -The Oxonian, fresh from college, was amusing the ladies -with a variety of talk, and amongst other things, with a -quotation from Sophocles. A Greek quotation, and in a -coach too, roused the slumbering Professor; and thereupon, -waking from a kind of dog sleep, in a snug corner of the -vehicle; shaking his ears, and rubbing his eyes, "I think -young gentleman," said he, "you favoured us just now with -a quotation from Sophocles; I do not happen to recollect -it there." "Oh, sir," replied the Oxonian, "the quotation -is word for word as I have repeated it, and in Sophocles too; -but I suspect, sir, it is some time since you were at college." -The Professor applying his hand to his great-coat, and -taking out a small pocket edition of Sophocles, quietly -asked him if he could be kind enough to show him the -passage in question, in that little book. After rummaging -the pages for some time, he replied, "Upon second thoughts, -I now recollect that the passage is in Euripides." "Then -perhaps, sir," said the Professor, putting his hand again -into his pocket, and handing him a similar edition of -Euripides, "you will be so good as to find it for me, in that -little book." The young Oxonian returned again to his -task, but with no better success, muttering however to himself, -"Curse me if ever I quote Greek again in a coach." -The tittering of the ladies informed him that he was got -into a hobble. At last, "Bless me, sir," said he, "how dull -I am: I recollect now—yes, yes, I perfectly remember that -the passage is in Æschylus." When our astonished freshman<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[435]</a></span> -vociferated, "Stop the coach—halloah, coachman, let -me out, I say, instantly—let me out! there's a fellow here -has got the Bodleian library in his pocket; let me out, I -say—let me out; he must be Porson or the devil!"</p> - -<p>He sometimes put the Greek folio of Galen, the physician, -under his pillow at night; not, as he used to observe, -because he expected medicinal virtue from it, but because -his asthma required that his head should be kept high.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus43" id="Illus43"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image49.jpg" width="300" height="313" alt="Dr. Parr." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 2em;">Dr. Parr.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Parrian" id="Parrian">Parriana: Oddities of Dr. Parr.</a></h3> - - -<p>In his boyhood, Parr is described, by his sister as -studious after his kind, delighting in "Mother Goose and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[436]</a></span> -the Seven Champions," and not partaking much in the -sports usual at such an age. He had had a very early -inclination for the Church, and the elements of that taste for -ecclesiastical pomp which distinguished him in after-life, -appeared when he was not more than nine or ten years old. -He would put on one of his father's shirts for a surplice; -he would then read the Church Service to his sister and -cousins, after they had been duly summoned by a bell tied -to the banisters; preach them a sermon, which his congregation -was apt to think, in those days, somewhat of the -longest; and, even in spite of his father's remonstrances, -would bury a bird or a kitten (Parr had always a great -fondness for animals) with the rites of Christian burial.</p> - -<p>Samuel was his mother's darling; she indulged all his -whims, consulted his appetite, provided hot suppers for him -almost from his cradle. He was her only son, and was at -this time very fair and well-favoured. Providence, however, -seeing that at all events vanity was to be a large ingredient -in Parr's composition, sent him, in its mercy, a fit of smallpox; -and with the same intent, perhaps, deprived him of a -parent who was killing her son's character by kindness. -Parr never was a boy, says one of his friends and schoolfellows. -When he was about nine years old, he was seen -sitting on the churchyard-gate at Harrow, whilst his schoolfellows -were all at play. "Sam, why don't you play with -the others?" cried one. "Do not you know, sir," said -Parr, with vast solemnity, "that I am to be a parson?" -And Parr himself used to tell of Sir William Jones, another -of his schoolfellows, that, as they were one day walking -together near Harrow, Jones suddenly stopped short, and -looking hard at him, cried out, "Parr, if you should have the -good luck to live forty years, you may stand a chance of overtaking -your face." Between Dr. Bennet, Parr, and Jones, the -closest intimacy was formed: the three challenged one -another to trials of skill in the imitation of popular authors—they -wrote and acted a play together—they got up mock<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[437]</a></span> -councils, and harangues, and combats, after the manner of -the classical heroes of antiquity, and under their names—till, -at the age of fourteen, Parr being now at the head of the -school, was removed from it, and placed in the shop of his -father, who was a surgeon and apothecary. The Doctor -must have found, in the course of his practice, that there -are some pills which will not go down—and this was one. -Parr began to criticize the Latin of his father's prescriptions, -instead of "making the mixture." Accordingly, having -tried in vain to reconcile himself to the "uttering of mortal -drugs" for three years, he was sent to Cambridge, and -admitted of Emmanuel College, where Dr. Farmer was -tutor. Of this proficient in black-letter we are told by -Archdeacon Butler, that Farmer was a man of such singular -indolence as to neglect sending in the young men's accounts, -and is supposed to have burnt large sums of money by -putting into the fire unopened letters, which contained remittances.</p> - -<p>In 1791, when in his twenty-fifth year, Parr became a -candidate for the head-mastership of Harrow, though he was -beaten by Dr. B. Heath. A rebellion ensued among the -boys, many of whom took Parr's part; and he threw up his -situation of assistant, and withdrew to Stanmore. Here he -was followed by forty of the young rebels, and with this -stock-in-trade he proceeded to set up a school on his own -account. This is thought to have been the crisis of Parr's -life. The die had turned against him, and the disappointment, -with its immediate consequences, gave a complexion -to his future fortunes, character, and comfort. He had -already mounted a full-bottomed wig when he stood for -Harrow, anxious as it should seem to give his face a still -further chance of keeping its start. He now began to ride -on a black saddle, and bore in his hand a long wand with -an ivory head, like a crosier, in high prelatical pomp. His -neighbours, who wondered what it could all mean, had -scarcely time to identify him with his pontificals before they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[438]</a></span> -saw him stalking along the street in a dirty striped dressing-gown. -A wife was all that was now wanted to complete the -establishment at Stanmore, and accordingly, Miss Jane -Marsingale, a lady of an ancient Yorkshire family was provided -for him; Parr, like Hooker, appearing to have courted -by proxy, and with about the same success. Thus Stanmore -was set agoing as the rival of Harrow. These were -fearful odds, and it came to pass that, in spite of "Attic -Symposia," and grooves of Academus, and the enacting of a -Greek play, and the perpetual recitation of the fragment in -praise of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the establishment at -Stanmore declined; and at the end of five years, Parr was -not sorry to accept the mentorship of an endowed school at -Colchester.</p> - -<p>Parr was evidently fond of living in troubled waters: -accordingly, on his removal to Colchester, he got into a -quarrel with the trustees of the school on the subject of a -lease; and he printed a pamphlet about it, which was so -violent that he never published it, probably influenced by -his prospect of succeeding to Norwich School. This occasioned -Dr. Foster to remark, "That Norwich might be -touched by a fellow-feeling for Colchester; and the crape-makers -of the one place sympathize with the bag-makers of -the other." The pamphlet was withheld, and Parr was -elected to the school at Norwich. The preferment which he -gained was the living of Asterby, which he exchanged for -the perpetual curacy of Hatton, in Warwickshire. Neither -was of much value. Lord Dartmouth, whose sons had been -under Parr's care, endeavoured to procure something for him -from Lord Thurlow, but the Chancellor is reported to have -said "No," with an oath. The great and good Bishop -Lowth, however, at the request of the same nobleman, gave -Parr a prebend in St. Paul's, which, though a trifle at the -time, eventually became, at the expiration of leases, a source -of affluence to Parr in his old age. How far he was from -such a condition at this period of his life, is seen by an incident<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[439]</a></span> -related by Mr. Field. The Doctor was one day in that -gentleman's library, when his eye was caught by the title of -Stephens's Greek Thesaurus. Suddenly turning about, he -said to Field, vehemently, "Ah! my friend, my friend, may -you never be forced, as I was at Norwich, to sell that work, -to me so precious, from absolute and urgent necessity."</p> - -<p>Dr. Parr and Dr. Johnson once had a sort of stand-up -fight at argument. After the interview was over, Johnson -said, "I do not know when I have had an occasion of such -free controversy. It is remarkable how much of a man's -life may pass without meeting with any instance of this kind -of open discussion." Here is Dr. Parr's account of the -meeting: "I remember the interview well. I gave him no -quarter. The subject of our dispute was the liberty of the -press. Dr. Johnson was very great; whilst he was arguing, -I observed that he stamped. Upon this I stamped. Dr. -Johnson said, 'Why did you stamp, Dr. Parr?' I replied, -'Sir, because <i>you</i> stamped; and I was resolved not to give -you the advantage of a <i>stamp</i> in the argument.'" It is impossible -to do justice to this description of the scene. The -vehemence, the characteristic pomposity with which it was -accompanied, may easily be imagined by those who knew -him, but cannot be adequately represented to those who did -not.</p> - -<p>In the party was Dr. ——, an Arian minister, and Mr. -——, a Socinian minister. One of the party seeing Parr -was on friendly terms with the above gentlemen, said, "I -suppose, sir, although they are heretics, you think it is possible -they may be saved?" "Yes, sir," said he, adding with -affected vehemence, "but they must be <i>scorched</i> first." Parr -talked of economy; he thought that a man's happiness was -secure, in proportion to the small number of his wants, and said -that all his lifetime it had been his object to prevent the -multiplication of them in himself. Some one said to him, -"Then, sir, your secret of happiness is to <i>cut down</i> your -wants." <i>Parr.</i> "No, sir, <i>my</i> secret is, <i>not to let them grow</i>."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[440]</a></span></p> - -<p>The doctor used, on a Sunday evening, after church, to -sit on the green at Hatton, with his pipe and his jug, and -witness the exertions of his parishioners in the truly English -game of cricket, making only one proviso, that none should -join the party who had not previously been to church. It -is needless to say his presence was an effectual check on all -disorderly conduct. The skittle-grounds were deserted, and -a better conducted parish was rarely seen than the worthy -Doctor's.</p> - -<p>Dr. Parr was one of the enthusiastic admirers of Shakspeare, -who fell upon their knees before Ireland's MSS., and -by their idolatry inspired hundreds of others. Still, Parr -attempts to explain this in a note to the catalogue of his -library at Hatton, as follows:—"Ireland's (Samuel) Great -and Impudent Forgery, called 'Miscellaneous Papers and -Legal Instruments, under the hand and seal of William -Shakspeare,' folio, 1796. I am almost ashamed to insert -this worthless and infamously trickish book. It is said to -include the tragedy of <i>King Lear</i>, and a fragment of <i>Hamlet</i>. -Ireland told a lie when he imputed to me the words which -<i>Joseph Warton</i> used, the very morning I called on Ireland, -and was inclined to admit the possibility of genuineness in -his papers. In my subsequent conversation I told him my -change of opinion. But I thought it not worth while to -dispute in print with a detected impostor.—S. P."</p> - -<p>Parr, it will be recollected, was an everlasting smoker—he -smoked morning, noon, and night. Once at a Visitation -dinner in Colchester, he had the impudence to call for his -pipe; but Dr. Hamilton, the archdeacon, told him there -were other rooms in the house where he might enjoy himself -without annoying others. Of a piece with this was his behaviour -at a literary club in Colchester. Knowing the -temper of the man, a pipe and bottle (contrary to the law of -the club) were placed on the table, and he did ample justice -to both; for he smoked and drank the whole night, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[441]</a></span> -talked so incessantly that Dr. Foster, the president, sat -silent, like one who had lost the use of his tongue.</p> - -<p>In July, 1818, Dr. Parr dined at Emmanuel (Cambridge), -and met Dr. Butler, of Shrewsbury, afterwards Bishop of -Lichfield. Dudley North seemed to be very popular in his -college, for they drank his health after dinner. Parr spoke -of him in very high terms. The principal objections to the -society of "the learned pig" were that he had a more than -Mahommedan fondness for tobacco, and the smoking of a -pipe was with him, as with the followers of the Prophet, a -certain passport to friendship. The chief objects of his -detestation seemed to be a Christchurch man, a Johnian, a -Welshman, and the Regent, all of whom suffered in turn -under the lash of his invective. Harrow and Trinity were -the idols of his adoration. Butler appeared to be much -more of a civilized being than the Grecian Goliah. Parr -took his breakfast in the room of Charles Brinsley Sheridan. -The breakfast was given on Sunday. Parr never showed the -slightest disposition to attend the morning service, but when -breakfast was over, said, "Charles, Charles, where are the -pipes?" and they had to be sent for from a neighbouring -public-house. And the room was uninhabitable for three -hours after Parr's <i>déjeûner</i> fumigations.</p> - -<p>Dr. Parr almost always spent his evenings in the company -of his family and his visitors, or in that of some neighbouring -friends. At such times his dress was in complete -contrast with the costume of the morning; for he appeared -in a well-powdered wig, and always wore his band and -cassock. On extraordinary occasions he was arrayed in a -full-dress suit of black velvet, of the cut of the old times, -when his appearance was imposing and dignified.</p> - -<p>Speaking of the honour once conferred upon him, of -being invited to dinner at Carlton House, Parr mentions, -with evident satisfaction, the kind condescension of the -Prince of Wales, who was pleased to insist upon his taking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[442]</a></span> -his pipe as usual after dinner. Of the Duke of Sussex, at -whose table Parr was not unfrequently a guest, he used to -tell that his Royal Highness not only allowed him to smoke, -but smoked with him. He often represented it as an instance -of the homage which rank and beauty delight to pay -to talents and learning, that ladies of the highest station -condescended to the office of lighting his pipe. He appeared -to no advantage, however, in his custom of demanding -the service of holding the lighted paper to his pipe from -the youngest female who happened to be present; and who -was often, by the freedom of his remarks, or by the gaze of -the company, painfully disconcerted. This troublesome -ceremony, in his later years, he wisely discarded.</p> - -<p>The reader will probably recollect, in the well-known -story, his reply to the lady who refused to allow Parr the -indulgence of his pipe. In vain he pleaded that such indulgence -had always been kindly granted in the mansions -of the nobility, and even in the presence and in the palace -of his sovereign. "Madam," said Parr to the lady, who still -remained inexorable, "you must give me leave to tell you, -you are the greatest—" whilst she, fearful of what might -follow, earnestly interposed, and begged that he would express -no rudeness. "Madam," resumed Dr. Parr, speaking -aloud, and looking stern, "you are the greatest tobacco-stopper -in England." This sally produced a loud laugh; -but Parr found himself obliged to retire, in order to enjoy -the pleasures of his pipe.</p> - -<p>Dr. Parr was accustomed to amuse himself in the evening -with cards, and whist was his favourite game. He would -only play for a nominal stake; but, upon one occasion, he -was persuaded to play with Bishop Watson for a shilling, -which he won. Pushing it carefully to the bottom of his -pocket, and placing his hand upon it, with a kind of mock -solemnity, "There, my Lord Bishop," said Parr, "this is a -trick of the devil; but I'll match him. So now, if you -please, we will play for a penny;" and this was ever after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[443]</a></span> -the amount of his stake. He was not, on that account, at -all the less ardent in the prosecution, or the less joyous in -the success of the rubber. He had a high opinion of his -own skill in the game, and could not very patiently tolerate -the want of it in his partner. Being engaged with a party, -in which he was unequally matched, he was asked by a lady -how the fortune of the game turned; when he replied, -"Pretty well, madam, considering that I have three adversaries."</p> - -<p>Even ladies were not spared who incurred Parr's displeasure -by their pertinacity. To one who had held out in -argument against him, not very powerfully, and rather too -perseveringly, and who had closed the debate by saying, -"Well, Dr. Parr, I still maintain my opinion;" he replied, -"Madam, you may, if you please, <i>retain</i> your opinion, but -you cannot <i>maintain</i> it."</p> - -<p>The close of Parr's life grew brighter: the increased -value of his stall at St. Paul's set him abundantly at his ease; -he could even indulge his love of pomp, and he encumbered -himself with a coach and four.</p> - -<p>Parr's hand was ever open as day. Poverty had vexed, -but had never contracted his spirit; money he despised, -except as it gave him power—power to ride in his state-coach, -to throw wide his doors to hospitality, to load his -table with plate and his shelves with learning; power to -adorn his church with chandeliers and painted windows; -to make glad the cottages of his poor; to grant a loan to -a tottering farmer; to rescue from want a forlorn patriot -or a thriftless scholar. Whether misfortune, or mismanagement, -or folly, or vice, had brought its victim low, his want -was a passport to Parr's pity, and the dew of his bounty fell -alike upon the bad and the good, upon the just and the -unjust. It is told of Boerhaave that, whenever he saw a -criminal led out to execution, he would say, "May not this -man be better than I? If otherwise, the praise is due, not -to me, but the grace of God." Parr used to quote this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[444]</a></span> -saying with applause. Such, we doubt not, would have -been his own feelings on such an occasion.</p> - -<p>The Doctor was fond of good living, but was not a -<i>gourmet</i>. "There are," he says, "certainly one or two -luxuries to which I am addicted: the first is a shoulder of -mutton, not under-roasted, and richly incrusted with flour -and salt; the second is a plain suet-pudding; the third is a -plain family plum-pudding; and the fourth, a kind of high-festival -dish, consists of hot boiled lobsters, with a profusion -of shrimp-sauce."</p> - -<p>Parr preached the Spital sermon, at Christ Church, on -the invitation of the Lord Mayor, Harvey Combe, and as -they were coming out of the church together, "Well," said -Parr, "how did you like the sermon?" "Why, Doctor," -replied his lordship, "there were four things in it that I did -not like to hear." "State them." "Why, to speak frankly, -then, they were the quarters of the church-clock, which -struck four times before you had finished." But his Spital -sermon, in 1799, occupied nearly three hours in its delivery.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Oddit" id="Oddit">Oddities of John Horne Tooke.</a></h3> - - -<p>The life of this strange person may almost be said to have -been commenced with a joke. He was the son of a <i>poulterer</i>, -named John Horne, in Newport Street, Westminster; or, -as he told his schoolfellows, his father was "a <i>turkey</i> merchant." -He was educated for the Church, according to his -father's wish, and took orders for the bar.</p> - -<p>What Tooke thought of the former profession may be -seen in a letter of his to Wilkes, whose acquaintance he -made in Paris in 1765, and to whom he thus wrote:—"You -are now entering into correspondence with a parson, and I -am greatly apprehensive lest that title should disgust; but -give me leave to assure you, I am not ordained a hypocrite. -It is true I have suffered the infectious hand of a bishop to -be waved over me, whose imposition, like the sop given to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[445]</a></span> -Judas, is only a signal for the devil to enter. I hope I have -escaped the contagion; and, if I have not, if you should at -any time discover the black spot under the tongue, pray -kindly assist me to conquer the prejudices of education and -profession."</p> - -<p>Tooke was, upon one occasion, memorably outwitted by -Wilkes, who was then sheriff of London and Middlesex. -Tooke had challenged Wilkes, who sent him the following -cutting reply:—"Sir, I do not think it my business to cut -the throat of every desperado that may be tired of his life; -but as I am at present High Sheriff of the City of London, -it may happen that I shall shortly have an opportunity of -attending you in my official capacity, in which case I will -answer for it that <i>you shall have no ground</i> to complain of -my endeavours to serve you." We agree with Mr. Colton, -in his <i>Lacon</i>, that the above retort is a masterpiece of its -kind.</p> - -<p>The violence of Tooke's political predilections, perhaps, -was heightened by an accidental circumstance in his early -life. His father, the poulterer, had for his neighbour, -Frederick, Prince of Wales, at Leicester House, who most -unceremoniously had cut through the wall of Horne's garden -a doorway, as an outlet towards Newport Market, for the -convenience of the Prince's domestics. But the poulterer -and his son resisted the encroachment, and triumphed over -the heir-apparent to the English crown, and had the obnoxious -doorway removed, and the wall reinstated. This -victory, it is reasonable to suppose, fanned the political -aspirations of Horne Tooke.</p> - -<p>For many years Tooke was the terror of judges, ministers -of state, and all constituted authorities. When put on trial -for his life (for treason), "so far from being moved by his -dangerous position, he was never in more buoyant spirits. -His wit and humour had often before been exhibited in -Courts of Justice; but never had they been so brilliant as -on this occasion. Erskine had been at his request assigned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[446]</a></span> -to him as counsel; but he himself undertook some of the -most important duties of his advocate, cross-examining the -witnesses for the Crown, objecting to evidence, and even -arguing points of law. If his life had really been in jeopardy, -such a course would have been perilous and rash in the -highest degree; but nobody in court, except, perhaps, the -Attorney and Solicitor-General, thought there was the -slightest chance of an adverse verdict. The prisoner led off -the proceedings by a series of preliminary jokes, which were -highly successful. When placed in the dock, he cast a glance -up at the ventilators of the hall, shivered, and expressed a -wish that their lordships would be so good as to get the -business over quickly as he was afraid of catching cold. -When arraigned, and asked by the officer of the court in the -usual form, how he would be tried? he answered, 'I <i>would</i> -be tried by God and my country—but——' and looked -sarcastically round the court. Presently he made an application -to be allowed a seat by his counsel; and entered -upon an amusing altercation with the judge, as to whether -his request should be granted as an indulgence or as a right. -The result was that he consented to take his place by the -side of Erskine as a matter of favour. In the midst of the -merriment occasioned by these sallies, the Solicitor-General -opened the case for the Crown."<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a></p> - -<p>His change of name to John Horne Tooke is thus explained. -At the time when he was rising into celebrity, the -estate of Purley, near Godstone, in Surrey, belonged to Mr. -William Tooke, one of the four friends who joined in supplying -him with an income, while, after resigning the vicarage -of New Brentford, he studied for the law. One of Tooke's -richer neighbours, having failed in wresting from him his -manorial rights by a lawsuit, had applied to parliament and -nearly succeeded in effecting his purpose by means of an inclosure -bill, which would have greatly depreciated the Purley<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[447]</a></span> -estate. Tooke despondingly confided his apprehensions to -Horne, who resolved at once to avert the blow, which he did -in a bold and very singular manner. The third reading of -the bill was to take place the next day, and Horne immediately -wrote a violent libel on the Speaker of the House of -Commons in reference to it, and obtained its insertion in the -<i>Public Advertiser</i>. As might be expected, the first parliamentary -proceeding next day was the appearance of the -adventurous libeller in the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms. -When called upon for his defence, he delivered a most remarkable -speech, in which he pointed out the injustice of -the bill in question with so much success, that not only was -it reconsidered, and the clauses which affected his friend's -property expunged, but resolutions were passed by the -House to prevent the possibility in future of such bills being -smuggled through parliament without due investigation. In -gratitude for this important service, Mr. Tooke, who had no -family, made Horne his heir; on his death in 1803, the latter -became proprietor of Purley, and, as one of the conditions -of inheritance, added the name of Tooke to his own, and -from this time was known as John Horne Tooke. His -celebrated <i>Diversions of Purley</i> was named in compliment to -the residence of the author's friend.</p> - -<p>Mr. Tooke's Sunday dinners at his villa on Wimbledon -Common were very festive gatherings. So early as eleven -in the morning, some of the guests might be descried crossing -the green in a diagonal direction; while others took a -more circuitous route along the great road, with a view of -calling at the mansion formerly occupied by the Duke of -Newcastle while Prime Minister, but then the residence of -Sir Francis Burdett. For many years a coach-and-four, with -Mr. Bosville and two or three friends, punctually arrived -within a few minutes of two o'clock. At four, the dinner -was usually served in the parlour looking on the Common; -and the servant having announced the dinner, the company -passed through the hall, the chairs of which were crowded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[448]</a></span> -with great-coats, hats, &c., and took their seats without any -ceremony, each usually placing himself in his proper situation. -During dinner, the host's colloquial powers were -called forth into action: indeed, although he possessed an -excellent appetite, and partook freely of almost everything -before him, yet he found ample time for his gibes and jokes, -which seemed to act as so many corroborants, at once -strengthening and improving the appetites of his guests.</p> - -<p>Here, at times, were to be seen men of rank and mechanics, -sitting in social converse; persons of ample fortune, -and those completely ruined by the prosecutions of the -Attorney-General. On one side was to be seen, perhaps, -the learned Professor of an University, replete with Greek -and Latin, and panting to display his learned lore, indignant -at being obliged to chatter with his neighbour, a member of -the Common Council, about city politics. Next to these -would sit a man of letters and a banker, between whom it -was difficult to settle the agio of conversation, the one being -full of the present state of the money-market, the other -bursting to display his knowledge of all books, except those -of account alone!</p> - -<p>Tooke took delight in praising his daughters, which he -sometimes did by those equivocatory falsehoods which were -one of his principal pleasures. Of the eldest he said, "All -the beer brewed in this house is that young lady's brewing." -It would have been equally true to say, all the hogs killed -in this house were of that young lady's killing; for they -brewed no beer. When a member of the Constitutional -Society, he would frequently utter sentences, the first part of -which would have subjected him to death by the law, but -for the salvo that followed; and the more violent they were, -thus contrasted and equivocatory, the greater was his -triumph.</p> - -<p>When Tooke was justifying to the Commissioners his -return of income under 60<i>l.</i> a-year, one of those gentlemen, -dissatisfied with the explanation, hastily said, "Mr. Tooke,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[449]</a></span> -I do not understand you." "Very possibly," replied the -sarcastic citizen; "but as you have not <i>half</i> the <i>understanding</i> -of other men, you should have <i>double</i> the <i>patience</i>."</p> - -<p>Horne Tooke told Mr. Rogers that in his early days a -friend gave him a letter of introduction to D'Alembert, at -Paris. Dressed <i>à-la-mode</i>, he presented the letter, and was -very courteously received by D'Alembert, who talked to him -about operas, comedies, suppers, &c. Tooke had expected -conversation on very different topics, and was greatly disappointed. -When he took leave, he was followed by a gentleman -in a plain suit, who had been in the room during his -interview with D'Alembert, and who had perceived his -chagrin. "D'Alembert," said the gentleman, "supposed -from your gay apparel that you were merely a <i>petit maître</i>." -The gentleman was David Hume. On his next visit to -D'Alembert, Tooke's dress was altogether different, and so -was the conversation.</p> - -<p>Tooke's literal kind of wit—set off, as tradition recounts, -by a courteous manner and by imperturbable coolness—is not -ill shown in the following:—"'Power,' said Lord —— to -Tooke, 'should follow property.' 'Very well,' he replied, -'then we will take the property from you, and the power -shall follow it....'" "'Now, young man, as you -are settled in town,' said my uncle, 'I would advise you to -take a wife.' 'With all my heart, sir; whose wife shall I -take?'" It is a trait of manners that the "Rev. Mr. Horne" -must have been a young clergyman at the time of this conversation; -he did not, as is well known, take the name of -Tooke till a later period. We have a trace, too, of his -philological acuteness in Mr. Rogers's <i>Memorandum Book</i>:—"An -illiterate people are most tenacious of their language. -In traffic, the seller learns that of the buyer before the buyer -learns his. A bull in the field, when brought to town and -cut up in the market, becomes bœuf, beef; a calf, veal; a -sheep, mouton; a pig, pork;—because there the Norman -purchased, and the seller soon learnt <i>his</i> terms; while the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[450]</a></span> -peasantry retained their own." It is not surprising that a -sharp logical wit should be an acute interpreter of language.</p> - -<p>In the year 1811, a most flagrant depredation was committed -in Mr. Tooke's house at Wimbledon, by a collector -of taxes, who daringly carried away a silver tea and sugar-caddy, -the value of which amounted in weight in silver to at -least twenty times more than the sum demanded, for a tax -which Tooke declared he would never pay. Instructions -were given to an attorney for replevying the goods; but the -tax-collector, by the advice of a friend, returned the tea-caddy, -and the man declaring he had a large family, Tooke -treated him very kindly, and the matter was allowed to -drop.</p> - -<p>Mr. Tooke's health had been a long time before his -decease in a declining state; but his humour and eccentricity -remained in full force to the last; and even in the -gripe of death his serenity never forsook him. While he -was speechless and considered insensible, Sir Francis -Burdett, who was present with a few more friends, prepared -a cordial for him, which the medical attendants declared to -be of no avail, but which the baronet persisted in offering, -and raising up the patient for that purpose, when Mr. Tooke -perceiving who offered the draught, drank it off with a smile, -and in a few minutes expired, on March 18th, 1812, at his -house at Wimbledon. He was put into a strong elm shell. -The coffin was made from the heart of a solid oak, cut -down for the purpose. It measured six feet one inch in -length; in breadth at the shoulders, two feet two inches; -depth at the head, two feet six inches; and the depth at the -feet, two feet four inches. This great depth of coffin was -necessary in consequence of the contraction of the body of -the deceased.</p> - -<p>A tomb had long been prepared for Mr. Tooke in his -garden at Wimbledon, in which it was his desire to have -been buried; but this, after his decease, being opposed by -his daughters and an aunt of theirs, his remains were conveyed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[451]</a></span> -in a hearse and six to Ealing, in Middlesex; attended -by three mourning-coaches, containing Sir Francis Burdett -and several other political and literary friends. His remains -were interred according to the rites and ceremonies of the -Church of England, otherwise, it was his desire that no -funeral service should be read over his body, but that six -poor men should have a guinea each to bear him to the -vault in his garden. He rests in a vault, inclosed with iron -railings, and bearing this inscription:—"John Horne -Tooke, late of Wimbledon, author of the <i>Diversions of Purley</i>, -was born June, 1736, and died March 18th, 1812, contented -and grateful."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Cannings" id="Cannings">Mr. Canning's Humour.</a></h3> - - -<p>It has been sagaciously remarked in a paper in the -<i>National Review</i>, No. 18, that "if Mr. Canning had not -been a busy politician, he would probably have attained -eminence as a writer. There must be extraordinary vitality -in jokes and parodies, which after sixty or seventy years are -almost as amusing as if their objects had not long since -become obsolete." We propose to string together a few of -these pleasantries, collected from the above and other -authentic sources.</p> - -<p>It is related that Mr. Canning's aunt on the anniversary -of her birthday made presents to each of her relations: to -Mr. Canning she once gave a piece of fustian, which produced -from him the following stanzas, found in MS., a line -wanting:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Whilst all on this auspicious day,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Well pleas'd their gratulations pay,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And sweetly smile, and softly say<br /></span> -<span class="i4">A thousand pretty speeches;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My Muse her grateful tribute wings,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor scorn the lay her duty brings,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tho' humble be the theme she sings—<br /></span> -<span class="i4">A pair of shooting breeches.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[452]</a></span></p> - -<span class="i0">"Soon shall the tailor's subtle art<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Have fashion'd them in every part,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And made them snug, and neat, and smart,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">With twenty thousand stitches;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then mark the moral of my song,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Oh! may our lives but prove as strong,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And wear as well, and last as long,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">As these, my shooting breeches.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"And when to ease the load of strife<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of public and of private life,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My fate shall bless me with a wife,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">I seek not rank or riches;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But worth like thine, serene and gay,<br /></span> -<hr class="tb1" /> -<span class="i0">And form'd like thine, to give away<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Not wear herself the breeches."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Among Canning's playful rhymes will be remembered, -in <i>The Microcosm</i>, Nos. 1, 11, and 12, those commencing,—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"The Queen of Hearts,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She made some tarts," &c.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The continuation, which is less known, apparently contains -some political allusions:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"Ye Queen of Spades<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Herself degrades<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By dancing on the green;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ye Knave stood by<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In extacy,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Enamoured of ye Queen.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ye King so brave<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Says to the Knave,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'I disapprove this dance;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">You make more work<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Than Mister Burke<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Does with ye Queen of France.'"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The following is written as a variation:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"Ye Queen of Spades<br /></span> -<span class="i2">She beat ye maids<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For their immodesty;<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[453]</a></span> -<span class="i2">Ye Knave of Spades<br /></span> -<span class="i2">He kissed those maids,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which made the Queen to cry.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ye King then curst<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That Knave who durst<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Make Royalty shed tears;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">'Vile Knave,' says he,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">''Tis my decree<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That you lose both your ears.'<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"Ye Diamond Queen<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Was one day seen<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So drunk she could not stand;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ye Diamond Knave<br /></span> -<span class="i2">He blushed, and gave<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ye Queen a reprimand.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ye King, distrest<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That his dearest<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Should do so vile a thing,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Says, 'By my wig<br /></span> -<span class="i2">She's like ye pig<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of David, ye good king.'<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"Ye Queen of Clubs<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Made syllabubs;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ye Knave came like Big Ben,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">He snatched the cup<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And drank it up—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His toast was, 'Rights of men.'<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With hands and eyes<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That marked surprise<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ye King laments his fate:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">'Alas!' says he,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">'I plainly see<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ye Knave's a Democrate.'"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Mr. Canning used habitually to designate the selfish and -officious Duke of Buckingham as the "Ph.D.," an abbreviation -which was understood to mean "the fat Duke." -That bulky potentate had cautioned him on the eve of his -expected voyage to India, against the frigate in which he -was to sail, on the ground that she was too low in the water.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[454]</a></span> -"I am much obliged to you," he replies to Lord Morley, -"for your report of the Duke of Buckingham's caution -respecting the <i>Jupiter</i>. Could you have the experiments -made <i>without</i> the Duke of Buckingham on board? as that -<i>might</i> make a difference."</p> - -<p>In a letter to Lord Granville, at a time when Prince -Metternich was expected in Paris, he says, "You ask me -what you shall say to Metternich. In the first place, you -shall hear what I think of him; that he is the greatest -r—— and l—— on the Continent, perhaps in the civilized -world!"</p> - -<p>Almost all the brilliant exceptions to the average trash -of the <i>Anti-Jacobin</i> appear to belong to Canning; though, -if the authority of the most recent editor may be trusted, the -best stanza of the best poem was added to the original -manuscript by Pitt.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Sun, moon, and thou, vile world, adieu!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Which kings and priests are plotting in;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here doomed to starve on water gru-<br /></span> -<span class="i2">el, I no more shall see the U-<br /></span> -<span class="i4">niversity of Gottingen."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Canning's <i>Friend of Humanity and the Knife-grinder</i> is -well remembered as witty ridicule of the youthful Jacobin -effusions of Southey, in which it was sedulously inculcated -that there was a natural and eternal warfare between the poor -and the rich; the Sapphic lines of Southey affording a tempting -subject for ludicrous parody:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i20">"<i>Friend of Humanity.</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0">"Needy Knife-grinder? whither art thou going?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Rough is your road—your wheel is out of order.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bleak blows the blast—your hat has got a hole in't!<br /></span> -<span class="i20">So have your breeches!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Weary Knife-grinder! little think the proud ones,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who in their coaches roll along the turnpike-<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Road, what hard work 'tis crying all day, 'Knives and<br /></span> -<span class="i20">Scissors to grind O!'<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[455]</a></span></p> - -<span class="i0">"Tell me, Knife-grinder, how came you to grind knives?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Did some rich man tyrannically use you?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Was it the squire, or parson of the parish,<br /></span> -<span class="i20">Or the attorney?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Was it the squire, for killing of his game, or<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Covetous parson, for his tithes distraining?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or roguish lawyer, made you lose your little<br /></span> -<span class="i20">All in a lawsuit?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"(Have you not read the <i>Rights of Man</i>, by Tom Paine?)<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Drops of compassion tremble on my eyelids,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ready to fall, as soon as you have told<br /></span> -<span class="i20">Your pitiful story.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i20">"<i>Knife-grinder.</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0">"Story! God bless you! I have none to tell, sir.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Only last night, a-drinking at the Chequers,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">This poor old hat and breeches, as you see, were<br /></span> -<span class="i20">Torn in a scuffle.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Constables came up for to take me into<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Custody; they took me before the justice;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Justice Oldmixon put me in the parish<br /></span> -<span class="i20">Stocks for a vagrant.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"I should be glad to drink your honour's health in<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A pot of beer, if you will give me sixpence;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But for my part I never love to meddle<br /></span> -<span class="i20">With politics, sir.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i20">"<i>Friend of Humanity.</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0">"I give thee sixpence! I will see thee d——d first—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wretch, whom no sense of wrongs can rouse to vengeance—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sordid, unfeeling reprobate; degraded,<br /></span> -<span class="i20">Spiritless outcast!<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>[<i>Kicks the Knife-grinder, overturns his wheel, and exit in a transport -of Republican enthusiasm and universal philanthropy.</i>]</p> - -<p>Again, the atrocious exaltation of the contemporary poet -in the murder of Jean Bon St. André is still delightfully -contagious:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[456]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"'Twould have moved a Christian's bowels<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To hear the doubts he stated;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But the Moors they did as they were bid,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And strangled him while he prated."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The exquisite polish of the <i>Loves of the Triangles</i> is -enjoyed, while Darwin's grave absurdities are only remembered -in Miss Edgeworth's admiring quotations, or by -Lord Brougham's fidelity to the literary prepossessions of -his youth. It is remarkable that an author who in literature -can only be considered as an amateur, should have -possessed that rare accomplishment of style which is the -first condition of durable reputation. The humour of -Canning's more ephemeral lampoons, as they exist in oral -tradition, seems to have been not less admirable. When -Mr. Whitbread said, or was supposed to say, in the House -of Commons, that a certain day was memorable to him as -the anniversary both of the establishment of his brewery -and of the death of his father, the metrical version of his -speech placed his sentiments in a more permanent form:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"This day I will hail with a smile and a sigh,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For his beer with an <i>e</i>, and his bier with an <i>i</i>."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Some of the diplomatic documents which have been -published tend to justify the common opinion that Mr. -Canning was liable to be misled by his facility of composition -and his love of epigram. On one occasion, he wrote -to Lord Granville, that he had forgotten to answer "the -impudent request of the Pope," for protection to his subjects -against the Algerine corsairs. He replies, with more point -than relevancy, "Why does not the Pope prohibit the -African Slave Trade? It is carried on wholly by Roman -Catholic powers, and by those among them who acknowledge -most subserviently the power and authority of the -court of Rome.... Tell my friend Macchi, that so long -as any power whom the Pope can control, and does not, -sends a slave-ship to Southern Africa, I have not the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[457]</a></span> -audacity to propose to Northern Africans to abstain from -cruising for Roman domestics—indeed, I think them justified -in doing so." In a private conversation or a friendly letter, -the fallacy of the <i>tu quoque</i> would have been forgotten in -the appropriateness of the repartee; but in a question of -serious business, the argument was absurd, and a diplomatic -communication ought never to be insulting. There might -be little practical danger in affronting the Pope; but -Mr. Canning himself would have admitted, on reflection, -that his witticism could by no possibility conduce to the -suppression of the Slave Trade.</p> - -<p>Here is a more playful instance of humorous correspondence. -When Mr. Canning was forming his ministry, -he offered Lord Lyndhurst the Chancellorship, though he -had recently attacked the new Premier in a speech which -was said to be borrowed from a hostile pamphlet, written by -Dr. Philpotts, Bishop of Exeter. Canning offered Lord -Lyndhurst the seals in a letter expressive of his goodwill, -"<i>pace Philpotti</i>;" and the answer of acceptance was signed, -"Yours ever, except for twenty-four hours."</p> - -<p>Mr. Canning had a faithful college servant, who became -much attached to him. Francis, for such was his name, -was always distinguished by his blunt honesty and his -familiarity with his master. During his master's early -political career, Francis continued to live with him. Mr. -Canning, whose love of fun was innate, used sometimes to -play off his servant's bluntness upon his right honourable -friends. One of these, whose honours did not sit very -easily upon him, had forgotten Francis, though often -indebted to his kind offices at Oxford. Francis complained -to Mr. Canning that Mr. W. did not speak to him. -"Pooh!" said Mr. Canning, "it is all your fault; you -should speak first: he thinks you proud. He dines here -to-day—go up to him in the drawing-room, and congratulate -him upon the post he has just got." Francis was obedient. -Surrounded by a splendid ministerial circle, Francis advanced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[458]</a></span> -to the distinguished statesman, with "How d'ye do, Mr. W. -I hope you're very well—I wish you joy of your luck, and -hope your place will turn out a good thing." The roar of -course was universal. The same Francis afterwards obtained -a comfortable berth in the Customs, through his kind -master's interest. He was a stanch Tory. During Queen -Caroline's trial, he met Mr. Canning in the street. "Well -Francis, how are you?" said the statesman, who had just -resigned his office, holding out his hand. "It is not well, -Mr. Canning," replied Francis, refusing the pledge of -friendship—"It is not well, Mr. Canning, that you should -say anything in favour of that ——." "But, Francis, -political differences should not separate old friends—give -me your hand." The sturdy politician at length consented -to honour the ex-minister with a shake of forgiveness. It -is said that Mr. Canning did not forget him when he -returned to power.</p> - -<p>Canning and Lord Eldon were, in many respects, "wide -as the Poles asunder," although they were in the same -administration. Mr. Stapleton, in his <i>George Canning and -his Times</i>, publishes a curious letter written in 1826 to Lord -Eldon, who exhibited his unconcealed dislike to his brilliant -and liberal colleague by steadily refusing to place any part -of his vast patronage at his disposal. Complying with the -importunity of Mr. Martin, of Galway, Mr. Canning -formally transmitted a letter of application, reminding the -Chancellor at the same time that in twenty-five years he had -made four requests for appointments; "with one of which -your lordship had the goodness to comply." The letter -was placed in the private secretary (Mr. Stapleton's) hands, -with directions to copy it and forward it immediately; but -knowing the state of parties in the cabinet, and seeing that -the letter had been written under the influence of irritation, -Mr. Stapleton undertook the responsibility of keeping it -back. A few hours afterwards, Mr. Stapleton said to Mr. -Canning, "I have not sent your letter to old Eldon."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[459]</a></span> -"Not sent it," he angrily inquired; "and pray why not?" -Mr. Stapleton replied, "Because I am sure that you ought -to read it over again before you send it." "What do you -mean?" Mr. Canning sharply replied. "Go and get it." -Mr. Stapleton did as he was bid; Mr. Canning read it -over, and then a smile of good-humour came over his -countenance. "Well," he said, "you are a good boy. -You are quite right; don't send it. I will write another."</p> - -<p>When his obstinate old enemy stood beside him at the -Duke of York's funeral, in St. George's Chapel, Mr. Canning -became uneasy at seeing the old man standing on the cold, -bare pavement. Perhaps he was more uneasy because he -knew he was unfriendly; so to prevent the cold damp of -the stones from striking though his shoes, he made him lay -down his cocked hat, and stand upon it; and when at last -he got weary of so much standing, he put him in a niche of -carved wood-work, where he was just able to stand upon -wood. Unfortunately, although the tough old Chancellor -was saved by his constitution and his hat, Mr. Canning's -health received, through the exposure to cold, a shock from -which he never recovered. A few days afterwards he paid a -last visit to Lord Liverpool, at Bath, and on the plea of -entertaining Mr. Stapleton, as a young man, with the stories -of their early years, they went on amusing each other by -recounting all sorts of fun and adventure, which were -evidently quite as entertaining to the old as to the young. -The picture of the two time-worn ministers laughing over -the scenes of their youth must have been a treat.</p> - -<p>Sydney Smith ludicrously compared Canning in office to -a fly in amber:—"Nobody cares about the fly; the only -question is—How the devil did it get there? Nor do I -attack him," continues Sydney, "from the love of glory, but -from the love of utility, as a burgomaster hunts a rat in a -Dutch dyke, for fear it should flood a province. When he -is jocular, he is strong; when he is serious, he is like Samson -in a wig. Call him a legislator, a reasoner, and the conductor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[460]</a></span> -of the affairs of a great nation, and it seems to me as -absurd as if a butterfly were to teach bees to make honey. -That he is an extraordinary writer of small poetry, and a -diner-out of the highest metre, I do most readily admit. -After George Selwyn, and perhaps Tickell, there has been -no such man for the last half-century." Lord Brougham, -however, asserts that Mr. Canning was not, by choice a -diner-out.</p> - -<p>Canning said of Grattan's eloquence that, for the last two -years, his public exhibitions were a complete failure, and -that you saw all the mechanism of his oratory without its -life. It was like lifting the flap of a barrel-organ, and seeing -the wheels; you saw the skeleton of his sentences without -the flesh on them; and were induced to think that what you -had considered flashes, were merely primings kept ready for -the occasion.</p> - -<p>Lord Byron, in his <i>Age of Bronze</i>, thus characterises -Canning:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Something may remain, perchance, to chime<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With reason; and, what's stranger still, with rhyme.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Even this thy genius, Canning! may permit,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who, bred a statesman, still was born a wit,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And never, even in that dull house could tame<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To unleavened prose thine own poetic flame.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Our last, our best, our only orator,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Even I can praise thee—Tories do no more.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nay, not so much; they hate thee, man, because<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy spirit less upholds them than it awes!"<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Peter" id="Peter">Peter</a> <a name="Pinda" id="Pinda">Pindar.—Dr. Wolcot.</a></h3> - - -<p>This sarcastic versifier was a native of Devonshire, born -about the year 1738. His father was a substantial yeoman, -and sent him to Kingsbridge Free School; and after his -father's death, young Wolcot was removed to the Grammar -School at Bodmin. He is described as a clumsy, but arch-looking -boy. He, at this early period, showed a degree of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[461]</a></span> -quickness in repartee and sarcastic jokes, which was the -first dawning of that satiric humour which he afterwards displayed. -He was not remarkable at school for anything so -much as negligence of his dress and person. He described -himself in after-life as having been a dull scholar, but as -having showed even at that early age a turn for versifying.</p> - -<p>On leaving school, he was removed to Fowey, in Cornwall, -to the house of an uncle, who was a medical practitioner, -whose apprentice he became for seven years. He completed -his medical education in London, and applied himself -with sufficient diligence to obtain a knowledge of his future -profession; but he much annoyed his uncle and two aunts -by cultivating his talents for versifying and painting. Some -of his chalk drawings have been preserved, and are remarkable -for their peculiarity. When seen near the eye, they -seem to be composed only of random scratches and masses -of black chalk, of different densities and depths, with here -and there a streak and blot of white, and others of red. -There does not appear to be any defined objects, such as a -tree, house, figure, &c.; but when viewed as a whole, at a -distance hanging on the wall of the room, each of them -appears to be a landscape representing morning and evening, -in which the dark and light of the sky, and the foreground, -hills, trees, towers, &c., could be made out by the fancy, in the -smallest space of time allowed for the imagination to come -into play; and then the effect is surprisingly good. Wolcot -became fond of art, eminently critical and learned in its -elements, sketched many favourite places in Devonshire and -Cornwall, and dabbled occasionally in oils.</p> - -<p>He settled in London, obtained a Scotch diploma of -M.D., and began to practise as a physician. In 1767, Sir -William Trelawney was appointed Governor of Jamaica, and -Wolcot, who had some connection with the family, accompanied -him to that island as his physician, and he was appointed -Physician-General. The Governor's regard for his -lively medical friend was so great, that he intended to procure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[462]</a></span> -his appointment as Governor of the Mosquito territory; -but the retirement from office of his best friend, Lord Shelburne, -prevented its accomplishment.</p> - -<p>Wolcot's practice in Jamaica was not extensive; the -whites were not numerous, and the coloured could not pay. -Governor Trelawney, however, thinking he could promote -Wolcot's interest more effectually by his patronage in the -Church, having then a valuable living in his gift likely to -become vacant by the severe illness of the incumbent, he -recommended his client to return to England, enter holy -orders, and return and take possession. Although the -Governor had no very sublime ideas of priesthood, it was -the only way he had of serving the wit. "Away, then," he -said, "to England, get yourself japanned. But remember -not to return with the hypocritical solemnity of a priest. I -have just bestowed a good living on a parson, who believes -not all he preaches, and what he really believes he is afraid -to preach. You may very conscientiously declare," said the -<i>conscientious</i> Governor to his admiring pupil, "that you have -an internal call, as the same expression will equally suit a -hungry stomach and the soul." Having accomplished this -praiseworthy object, the rev. (M.D.) doctor returned to his -patron for induction; but "between the cup and the lip -there is many a slip," for the ailing incumbent, whose <i>living</i> -the doctor sought, became convalescent, proved a very incumbrance -in his path, and the japanned <i>medico</i> was fain to -take up with the living of Vere, a congregation exclusively -of blacks, which he handed over to a curate, his real employment -being master of ceremonies to the Governor. On -his death, Wolcot returned to England with Lady Trelawney; -and to carry on the metaphor, the black lobster was boiled, -and came out in scarlet and gold.—(<i>Notes and Queries</i>, 2nd -Series, vol. vii. pp. 381-383.)</p> - -<p>The next twelve years of Wolcot's life were spent in attempting -to establish himself as a physician in Cornwall, in -which he failed, apparently on account of his invincible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[463]</a></span> -propensity to live as a practical humorist, and satirize his -neighbours. He humorously tells us that the clinking of the -bell-metal pestle and mortar seemed to him to say, "Kill -'em again, kill 'em again," and so frightened him from the -profession. During his residence at Truro, some songs of -his composition were set to music by Mr. W. Jackson, of -Exeter, and first introduced him to general notice. In 1778, -he published his first composition in that peculiar style -which not long after obtained for him such a high and continued -popularity—<i>The Epistle to the Reviewers</i>. At Truro, -Wolcot discovered the genius of the self-taught artist, Opie, -and with him came to London in 1780, they agreeing to -share the joint profits of their adventure for one year. They -did so for that term, when Opie told Wolcot he might return -to the country, as he could now do for himself. Wolcot -appears not to have contributed anything to the joint profits. -There was now a split between the poet and the brushman. -Opie would not, for he could not, praise Wolcot's sketches -and paintings. "I tell ee, ye can't paint," said the blunt -and honest Opie; "stick to the pen." This advice was too -much for "the distant relation of the Poet of Thebes" to -receive from "a painting ape," and the feud was never -healed. The Doctor scarified and lanced, but Opie, in a -more quiet way, was quite a match for the satirist, who, as -he said:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Sons of the brush, I'm here again,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">At times a <i>Pindar</i>, a <i>Fontaine</i>,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Casting poetic pearl (I fear) to swine."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Wolcot was the friend and pupil of Wilson, our great -landscape painter, whose style he used to imitate not unsuccessfully. -In his addenda to Pilkington's <i>Dictionary of -Painters</i>, he pays due honour to the memory of his old -friend, Wilson.</p> - -<p>Wolcot now betook himself to his pen for support. His -satirical and artistic tastes suggested his first publication, -"<i>Lyric Odes to the Royal Academicians for 1782</i>, by Peter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[464]</a></span> -Pindar Esq., a distant relation of the Poet of Thebes, and -Laureate to the Royal Academy," which took the town by -surprise, by the reckless daring of their personalities and -quaintness of style. Thus he flayed the R.A.'s—from West -to Dance, and from Chambers to Wyatt—not forgetting their -Royal patron, King George III. In Ode III. of the second -series, entitled <i>More Odes to the Royal Academicians</i>, after -complaining that Gainsborough had kicked Dame Nature -out of doors, he turns from the picture he censures to -another, and exclaims:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Speak, Muse, who form'd that matchless head?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The Cornish boy,<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> in tin-mines bred;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whose native genius, like his diamonds, shone<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In secret, till chance brought him to the sun.<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a><br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Tis Jackson's portrait—put the laurel on it,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whilst to that tuneful swan I pour a sonnet."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Peter then drops the lash, resumes his neglected lyre, -and pours out a sonnet to "Jackson of Exeter," worthy of -the twain—the "enchanting harmonist and the lyric bard."</p> - -<p>Peter's poems were very dear to the purchaser, being -printed in thin quarto pamphlets, at 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each, and very -little letter-press for the money. After the Royal Academicians, -Peter attacked King George III. In 1785, Wolcot -produced no less than twenty-three odes. In 1786, he -published the <i>Lousiad, a Heroic Comic Poem</i>, founded on -the fact that an obnoxious insect (either of the garden or -the body) had been discovered on the King's plate of some -green peas, which produced a solemn decree that all the -servants in the Royal kitchen were to have their heads -shaved. In the hands of an unscrupulous satirist, like -Wolcot, this ridiculous incident was a stinging theme. He -also mercilessly quizzed Boswell, the biographer of Johnson. -Sir Joseph Banks was another subject of his satire:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[465]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"A President, on butterflies profound,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of whom all insect-mongers sing the praises,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Went on a day to catch the game profound,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On violets, dunghills, violet-tops, and daisies," &c.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>From 1778 to 1808, above sixty of these political -pamphlets were issued by Wolcot. So formidable was he -considered, that the Ministry, as he alleged, endeavoured to -bribe him to silence; he also boasted that his writings had -been translated into six different languages. His ease and -felicity, both of expression and illustration, are remarkable. -In the following terse and lively lines, we have a good -caricature sketch of Dr. Johnson's style.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"I own I like not Johnson's turgid style,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That gives an inch the importance of a mile;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Casts of manure a wagon-load around,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To raise a simple daisy from the ground.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Uplifts the club of Hercules—for what?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To crush a butterfly or brain a gnat!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Creates a whirlwind from the earth, to draw<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A goose's feather, or exalt a straw!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sets wheels on wheels in motion—such a clatter,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To force up one poor nipperkin of water!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bids ocean labour with tremendous roar,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To heave a cockle-shell upon the shore;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Alike in every theme his pompous art,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Heaven's awful thunder or a rumbling cart."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Sometimes Peter himself got castigated for his satire on -the sovereign. Here is an amusing instance. Those who -recollect the figure of the satirist in his robust upright state, -and the diminutive appearance of Mr. Nollekens, the -sculptor, can readily picture to themselves their extreme -contrast, when the former accosted the latter one evening at -his gate in Tichfield Street, nearly in the following manner:—"Why, -Nollekens, you never speak to me now; pray what -is the reason?" <i>Nollekens.</i>—"Why you have published -such lies of the King, and had the impudence to send -them to me; but Mrs. Nollekens burnt them, and I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[466]</a></span> -desire you'll send no more. The royal family are very good -to me, and are great friends to all artists, and I don't like -to hear anybody say anything against them." Upon which -the Doctor put his cane upon the sculptor's shoulders, and -exclaimed, "Well said, little Nolly; I like the man who -sticks to his friends; you shall make a bust of me for that!" -"I'll see you d—d first," answered Nollekens; "and I can -tell you this besides—no man in the Royal Academy but -Opie would have painted your picture; and you richly deserved -the broken head you got from Gifford in Wright's -shop. Mr. Cook, of Bedford Square, showed me his -handkerchief dipped in your blood; and so now you know -my mind. Come in, Cerberus, come in." His dog then -followed him in, and he left the Doctor at the gate, which he -barred up for the night.</p> - -<p>A severer castigation he received from a brother author. -It appears that William Gifford had wielded his galled pen -against the morals and poetry of Wolcot. It was so stringent -and caustic that the Doctor sought his lampooner in the -shop of Mr. Wright, a political publisher in Piccadilly, opposite -Old Bond Street. Thither Peter repaired with a stout -cudgel in hand, determined to inflict a summary and severe -chastisement on his literary opponent. Gifford was a small -and weak person; Wolcot was large and strengthened by -passion; but he was a coward, and after a short personal -struggle, was turned into the street by two or three persons -then in the shop. Gifford afterwards wrote and printed -<i>An Epistle to Peter Pindar</i>, in which he dealt out a most -virulent tirade against the Doctor, who replied in <i>A Cut at the -Cobbler</i>. Gifford had been apprenticed to a shoemaker.</p> - -<p>As each published his own story of the transaction, the -one in his own name, the other by his aide-de-camp, Mr. -Wright, it may not be unamusing to recapitulate the different -statements of the transaction:—</p> - -<p><i>Peter Pindar.</i>—"Determined to punish a R—— that -dared to propagate a report the most atrocious, the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[467]</a></span> -opprobrious, and the most unfounded, I repaired to Mr. -Wright's shop in Piccadilly to <i>catch him</i>, as I understood -that he paid frequent visits to his worthy friend and publisher. -On opening the shop-door I saw several people, and among -the rest, as I thought, Gyffard. I immediately asked him -if his name was Gyffard? Upon his reply in the affirmative, -without any further ceremony, I began to cane him. -Wright and his customers and his shopmen immediately -surrounded me, and wrested the cane from my hand. I -then had recourse to the fist, and really was doing ample -and easy justice to my cause, when I found my hands all -on a sudden confined behind me, particularly by a tall -Frenchman. Upon this Gyffard had time to run round, and -with his own stick, a large one too, struck me several blows -on the head. I was then hustled out of the shop, and the -door was locked against me. I entreated them to let me -in, but in vain. Upon the tall Frenchman's coming out of -the shop, I told him that he was one of the fellows that held -my hands. I have been informed that his name was -Peltier. Gyffard has given out as a matter of triumph that he -possesses my cane, and that he means to preserve it as a -trophy. Let me recommend an inscription for it:—'The -cane of Justice, with which I, William Gyffard, late cobbler -of Ashburton, have been soundly drubbed for my infamy.'—I -am, Sir, &c., <span class="smcap">J. Wolcot</span>."</p> - -<p><i>Mr. Wright.</i>—"Whoever is acquainted with the miscreant -calling himself 'Peter Pindar,' needs not be informed, -that his disregard and hatred of truth are habitual. He -will not, therefore, be surprised to learn that the account -this Peter has published in a morning paper is a shameless -tissue of falsehoods from beginning to end.</p> - -<p>"I was not in the shop when it happened; but I am -<i>authorized</i>, by the only two witnesses of it, to lay before the -public the following statement:—</p> - -<p>"Mr. Giffard was sitting by the window with a newspaper -in his hand, when Peter Pindar came into the shop,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[468]</a></span> -and saying, 'Is not your name Giffard?' without waiting for -an answer, raised a stick he had brought for the purpose, -and levelled a blow at his head with all his force. Mr. -Giffard fortunately caught the stick in his left hand, and -quitting his chair, wrested it instantly from the cowardly -assassin, and gave him two severe blows with it; one of -which made a dreadful impression on Peter's skull. Mr. -Giffard had raised the stick to strike him a third time, but -seeing one of the gentlemen present about to collar the -wretch, he desisted, and coolly said, 'Turn him out of the -shop.' This was <i>literally and truly all</i> that passed.</p> - -<p>"After Peter was turned into the street, the spectacle of -his bleeding head attracted a mob of hackney-coachmen, -watermen, paviours, &c., to whom he told his lamentable -case, and then, with a troop of boys at his heels, proceeded -to a surgeon's in St. James's Street, to have his wounds -examined, after which he slunk home.—<span class="smcap">J. Wright.</span>"</p> - -<p>Peter used to boast that he was the only author that -ever outwitted or took in a publisher. His works were -very popular, and produced the writer a large annual income. -Walker, his publisher, in Paternoster Row, was disposed to -purchase the copyrights, and print a collected edition. He -first made the author a handsome offer in cash, and then an -annuity. The poet drove a hard bargain for the latter, and -said that "as he was very old and in a dangerous state of -health, with a d—d asthma and stone in the bladder, he -could not last long." The publisher offered 200<i>l.</i> a year; -the Doctor required 400<i>l.</i> and every time the Doctor -visited the Row, he coughed violently, breathed apparently -in much pain, and acted the incurable invalid in danger so -effectively that the publisher at last agreed to pay him 250<i>l.</i> -annually for life. A collected edition of his works was -printed in 1812, but it is defective, for they were so numerous -that the author could not retain them all in his memory. -An imperfect list in the <i>Annual Biography</i> for 1819 enumerates -no less than sixty-four works. One of the portraits of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[469]</a></span> -the Doctor was published as a separate print, which did not -sell to any extent; but its publisher derived a great profit -by taking out the name of Peter Pindar and substituting -that of "Renwick Williams the Monster," who was infamous -for stabbing women in the street. This incident was told -to Mr. Britton by Wolcot himself.</p> - -<p>There is a fashion in the burlesque poetry of every age -that is palatable to the public of that age only. The subjects -of Wolcot's verses were ephemeral, and are now mostly -forgotten. But his popularity was not entirely earned by his -audacious personalities. His versification is nervous, his -language racy and idiomatic, his wit often genuine; and -through all his puns and quaintnesses there runs a strain of -strong manly sense. Wolcot was equal to Churchill as a -satirist, as ready and versatile in his powers, and possessed -of a quick sense of the ludicrous, as well as a rich vein of -fancy and humour. Some of his songs and effusions are -tender and pleasing. Burns greatly admired his ballad of -"Lord Gregory," and wrote another on the same subject. -After all his biting satires on George III. and Pitt, he accepted -a pension from the administration of which Pitt was -the head—not to laud it, but to vituperate its opponents. -He had a shrewd intellect, and his literary compositions have -the finish of an artist; but he was utterly selfish, and was a -self-indulgent voluptuary.</p> - -<p>Peter lived to the age of eighty-one, much to the -annoyance of his publisher, Walker. His last abode was in -a small house in Montgomery's nursery-gardens, which occupied -the site of the north side of Euston Square. Here he -dwelt in a secluded, cheerless manner, the victim of an asthma, -very deaf, and almost entirely blind, with only a female -servant to attend him. His mind, however, retained its full -power. He lived only for himself; declined dinner invitations, -"to avoid the danger of loading his stomach with -more than Nature required;" lay in bed the greater part of -his time, because "it would be folly in him to be groping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[470]</a></span> -around his drawing-room," and because, "when up and in -motion he was obliged to carry a load of eleven or twelve -stone, while here he had only a few ounces of blanket to -support." When out of bed, he amused himself with his -violin, or examining, as well as his sight permitted, his -crayons and pictures. He showed no aversion to "receive -notoriety-hunters," who came to see and hear "Peter Pindar," -but evinced no desire for society.</p> - -<p>John Britton, who lived in Burton Street, often went to -see Peter on a Saturday afternoon, and there met Mr. John -Taylor, editor of the <i>Sun</i> newspaper. This gentleman was -an inveterate and reckless punster, and often teased Peter -by some pointless puns. At one of these visits, on taking -leave, Taylor exclaimed, pointing to Peter's head and rusty -wig, "Adieu! I leave thee without hope, for I see <i>Old -Scratch</i> has thee in his claws." Peter died in the above -house, January 14th, 1810, and was buried in the churchyard -of St. Paul, Covent Garden, close to the grave of Butler. -He left a considerable property to his relations. In early -life he lived in the same parish, at No. 13, Tavistock Row; -and in the garret of this house he wrote many of his invectives -against George III. and the Royal Academicians. -In 1807, he lodged in the first floor of a house in Pratt -Place, Camden Town, rented by a Mr. and Mrs. Knight. -The husband was a sea-faring man, seldom at home; and -the Doctor, who was not over-scrupulous, is said to have -seduced the wife's affections. Knight brought an action -against the Doctor, but the jury very properly acquitted him -of the charge.—<i>See Cunningham's London</i>, p. 409.</p> - -<p>Peter was not emulous to shine as a wit in his colloquial -intercourse, either with strangers or his most intimate associates. -Indeed, his usual manner exhibited so little of that -character which strangers had imagined of the writer of his -lively satires, that they were commonly disappointed. The -wife of a player, at whose house Wolcot often passed an -evening, used to say that "his wit seems to lie in the bowl<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[471]</a></span> -of a teaspoon." Angelo, in his <i>Reminiscences</i>, tells us that -he could not guess the riddle, until one evening he observed -that each time Peter replenished his glass goblet with -brandy-and-water, in breaking the sugar, the corners of his -lips were curled into a satisfactory smile, and he began some -quaint story, as if, indeed, the new libation begot a new -thought. To prove the truth of the discovery, one night, -after supper, at his own home in Bolton Row, Angelo made -the experiment. One of the party being in the secret, and -fond of practical joking, came provided with some small -square pieces of alabaster. Peter's glass waning fast, the -joker contrived to slip the alabaster into a sugar-basin provided -for the purpose; when the Doctor, reaching the hot -water, and pouring in the brandy, the sugar-tongs were -handed to him, and then the advanced basin of alabaster. -"Thank you, my boy," said Peter, putting in five or six -pieces, and taking his teaspoon, began stirring as he commenced -his story. Unsuspicious of the trick, Peter proceeded, -"Well, sirs,—and so the old parish priest. What I -tell you (then his spoon was at work) happened when I was -in that infernally hot place, Jamaica (then another stir). Sir, -he was the fattest man on the island (then he pressed the -alabaster); yes, d——, sir, and when the thermometer, at -ninety-five, was dissolving every other man, this old slouching, -drawling son of the church got fatter and fatter, until, -sir—(curse the sugar! some devil-black enchanter has bewitched -it.) By ——, sir, this sugar is part and parcel of -that old pot-bellied parson—it will never melt;" and he -threw the contents of the tumbler under the grate. The -whole party burst into laughter, and the joke cut short the -story. The mock sugar was slipped out of the way, and the -Doctor, taking another glass, never suspected the frolic.</p> - -<p>Peter, on seeing West's picture of Satan in the Exhibition, -broke out in the following couplet:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Is this the mighty potentate of evil?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Tis damn'd enough, indeed, but not the Devil."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[472]</a></span></p> - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Syntax" id="Syntax">The Author of "Dr. Syntax."</a></h3> - - -<p>Dr. Syntax's <i>Tour in Search of the Picturesque</i> was a large -prize in the lottery of publication and was also a novelty in -origin and writing. It was written to a set of designs -instead of the designs being made to illustrate the poet: in -other words, the artist preceded the author by making a -series of drawings, in which he exhibited his hero in a succession -of places, and in various associations, calculated to -exemplify his hobby-horsical search for the picturesque. -Some of these drawings, made by Rowlandson, than whom -no artist ever expressed so much with so little effort, were -shown at a dinner-party at John Bannister's, in Gower Street, -when it was agreed that they should be recommended to -Ackermann, in the Strand, for publication. That gentleman -readily purchased, and handed them, two or three at a time, -to William Combe, who was then confined in the King's -Bench Prison for debt. He fitted the drawings with rhymes, -and they were first published in the <i>Poetical Magazine</i>, where -they became so popular that they extended to three tours in -as many volumes, and passed through several editions. The -work reminds one of <i>Drunken Barnaby's Journal</i> by its -humour: it has been called "rhyming, rambling, rickety, -and ridiculous," but by a very inexperienced critic. The -illustrations were, doubtless, the attraction, which was so -great, that the demand kept pace with the supply. Hence -<i>Syntax</i> was succeeded by the <i>Dance of Life</i>, the <i>Dance of -Death</i>, <i>Johnny Quægenus</i>, and <i>Tom Raw the Griffin</i>, all of -the same class and character, and ultimately extending to -295 prints, with versified letter-press "by Dr. Syntax." Of -late years these works have been republished at reduced -prices.</p> - -<p>Combe, the author of these strange works was of good -family connection, had been educated at Eton and Oxford, -and very early came into possession of a large fortune, in -ready money. He started in the world by taking a large -mansion at the west end of London, furnished it superbly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[473]</a></span> -hired servants, and bought carriages, and assembled around -him a set of sycophants and parasites, who made short work -of it, for from the commencement to the drop-scene of the -farce did not exceed one year. The consequence was disgraceful -ruin, and Combe fled from his creditors and from -society. We next hear of him as a common soldier, and -recognized at a public-house with a volume of Greek poetry -in his hand. He was relieved; but he still lived a reckless -life, by turns in the King's Bench Prison and the Rules, the -limits of which do not appear to have been to him much -punishment. Horace Smith, who knew Combe, refers to the -strange adventures and the freaks of fortune of which he had -been a participator and a victim: "a ready writer of all-work -for the booksellers, he passed all the latter portion of his -time within <i>the Rules</i>, to which suburban retreat the present -writer was occasionally invited, and never left without admiring -his various acquirements, and the philosophical equanimity -with which he endured his reverses." Mr. Smith -further states, that if there was a lack of matter occasionally -to fill up the columns of their paper, "Combe would sit -down in the publisher's back-room and extemporize a letter -from Sterne at Coxwould, a forgery so well executed that it -never excited suspicion." Mr. Robert Cole, the antiquary, -had among his autographs a list of the literary works and -letters of Combe.</p> - -<p>Combe was principally employed by Ackermann, who, -for several years, paid him at least 400<i>l.</i> a-year. On the -first lithograph stone which Mr. Ackermann printed, when -he had prepared everything for working, Combe wrote:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"I have been told of one<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Who, being asked for bread,<br /></span> -<span class="i4">In its stead<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Return'd a stone.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"But here we manage better.<br /></span> -<span class="i4">The stone we ask<br /></span> -<span class="i4">To do its task,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And it returns in every letter."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p style="margin-left: 12%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"<span class="smcap">William Combe</span>, <i>Jan. 23, 1817</i>."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[474]</a></span></p> - -<p>Combe was often a guest at Ackermann's table; he -proved a friend to him during his last illness, and contributed -to the expenses of his funeral, tomb, &c. Subsequent -to his death, in 1823, a small volume was published, entitled -<i>Letters to Marianne</i>, said to have been written by him after -the age of seventy, to a young girl. We remember to have -visited him in the Rules, near New Bethlem Hospital, when -we learnt that he had written a memoir of his chequered life. -Campbell, in his <i>Life of Mrs. Siddons</i>, states that Combe -lived nearly twenty years in the King's Bench, and never -quitted that prison; which is not correct. Combe had -nearly been Mrs. Siddons's reading preceptor.</p> - -<p>Rowlandson, who designed the Syntax illustrations, was -as improvident as Combe: he had a legacy of 7,000<i>l.</i>, and -other property, bequeathed to him by an aunt: this he -dissipated in the gaming-houses of Paris and London, where -he alternately won and lost without emotion several thousand -pounds. When penniless, he would return to his professional -duties, sit down coolly to make a series of new designs, and -exclaim stoically, "I've played the fool, but (holding up his -pencils) here is my resource." To Rowlandson, as well as -Combe, Ackermann proved a warm and generous patron -and employer.</p> - -<p>Dr. Doran, in his piquant Notes to the <i>Last Journals of -Horace Walpole</i>, tells us that "Combe burst on the world as -a wonderfully well-dressed <i>beau</i>, and was received with <i>éclat</i> -for the sake of his wealth, talents, grace, and personal -beauty. He was popularly called 'Count Combe,' till his -extravagance had dissipated a noble fortune; and then, -addressing himself to literature, the Count was forgotten in -the Author. In the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i> for May, 1862, -there is a list of his works, originally furnished by his own -hand. Not one was published with his name, and they -amount in number to sixty-eight. Combe was a teetotaller -in the days when drunkenness was in fashion, and was remarkable -for disinterestedness and industry. He was the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[475]</a></span> -friend of Hannah More, whom he loved to make weep by -improvised romances, in which he could 'pile up the agony' -with wonderful effect. Religious faith and hope enabled -William Combe to triumph over the sufferings of his latter -years. His second wife, the sister of the gentle and gifted -Mrs. Cosway, survived him."</p> - -<p>Horace Walpole, 1779, speaking of the poem, <i>The -World as it Goes</i>, describes it as "by that infamous Combe, -the author of the <i>Diabolical</i>. It has many easy poetic lines, -imitates Churchill, and is fully as incoherent and absurd in its -plan as the worst of the latter's."</p> - -<p>Again, in 1778, Walpole describes "Combe" as "a most -infamous rascal, who had married a cast mistress of Lord -Beauchamp, and wrote many satiric poems not quite -despicable for the poetry, but brutally virulent against that -Lord, and others, particularly Lord Irnham." But, as Dr. -Doran aptly observes, "Walpole however fond of satire, hated -satirists, particularly when they were fearless and outspoken, -like Combe."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Radclif" id="Radclif">Mrs. Radcliffe and the Critics.</a></h3> - - -<p>It is singular that although Mrs. Radcliffe's beautiful -descriptions of foreign scenery, composed solely from the -materials afforded by travellers, collected and embodied by -her own genius, were marked in a particular degree with the -characteristics of fancy portraits, yet many of her contemporaries -conceived them to be exact descriptions of scenes -which she had visited in person. One report transmitted to -the public by the <i>Edinburgh Review</i>, stated that Mr. and -Mrs. Radcliffe had visited Italy; that Mr. Radcliffe had -been attached to one of the British embassies in that -country; and that it was here his gifted consort imbibed the -taste for picturesque scenery, and for mouldering ruins, and -for the obscure and gloomy anecdotes which tradition relates -of their former inhabitants. This is so far a mistake, as Mrs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[476]</a></span> -Radcliffe never was in Italy; but it has been mentioned, in -explanation, that she probably availed herself of the acquaintance -she formed in 1793 with the magnificent scenery on -the banks of the Rhine, and the frowning remains of feudal -castles with which it abounds. The inaccuracy of the reviewer -is of no great consequence; but a more absurd report -found its way into print, namely, that Mrs. Radcliffe, -having visited the fine old Gothic mansion of Haddon -House, had insisted upon remaining a night there, in the -course of which she had been inspired with all that enthusiasm -for Gothic residences, hidden passages, and -mouldering walls, which marks her writings. Mrs. Radcliffe, -we are assured, never saw Haddon House; and although it -was a place excellently worth her attention, and could hardly -have been seen by her without suggesting some of those -ideas in which her imagination naturally revelled, yet we -should suppose the mechanical aid to invention—the recipe -for fine writing—the sleeping in a dismantled and unfurnished -old house, was likely to be rewarded with nothing but a cold, -and was an affectation of enthusiasm to which Mrs. Radcliffe -would have disdained to have recourse.</p> - -<p>These are the opinions of Sir Walter Scott; appended to -them are these somewhat depreciatory remarks made by -Dunlop, in his <i>History of Fiction</i>:—</p> - -<p>"In the writings of Mrs. Radcliffe there is a considerable -degree of uniformity and mannerism, which is perhaps the -case with all the productions of a strong and original genius. -Her heroines too nearly resemble each other, or rather they -possess hardly any shade of difference. They have all -blue eyes and auburn hair—the form of each of them has -'the airy lightness of a nymph'—they are all fond of watching -the setting sun, and catching the purple tints of evening, -and the vivid glow or fading splendour of the western -horizon. Unfortunately they are all likewise early risers. I -say unfortunately, for in every exigency Mrs. Radcliffe's -heroines are provided with a pencil and paper, and the sun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[477]</a></span> -is never allowed to rise nor set in peace. Like Tilburina in -the play, they are 'inconsolable to the minuet in Ariadne,' -and in the most distressing circumstances find time to compose -sonnets to sunrise, the bat, a sea-nymph, a lily, or a -butterfly."</p> - -<p>The tenor of Mrs. Radcliffe's private life seems to have -been peculiarly calm and sequestered. She probably declined -the sort of personal notoriety which, in London -society, usually attaches to persons of literary merit; and, -perhaps, no author whose works were so universally read -and admired was so little personally known even to the most -active of that class of people of distinction, who rest their -peculiar pretensions to fashion upon the selection of literary -society. Her estate was certainly not the less gracious; -and it did not disturb Mrs. Radcliffe's domestic comforts, -although many of her admirers believed, and some are not -yet undeceived, that, in consequence of brooding over the -terrors which she depicted, her reason had at length been -overturned, and that the author of <i>The Mysteries of Udolpho</i> -only existed as the melancholy inmate of a private madhouse. -This report was so generally spread, and so confidently -repeated in print, as well as in conversation, that -the writer believed it for several years, until, greatly to his -satisfaction, he learned, from good authority, that there -neither was, nor ever had been, the most distant foundation -for this unpleasing rumour.</p> - -<p>A false report of another kind gave Mrs. Radcliffe much -concern. In Miss Seward's <i>Correspondence</i>, among the -literary gossip of the day, it is roundly stated that the <i>Plays -upon the Passions</i> were Mrs. Radcliffe's, and that she owned -them. Mrs. Radcliffe was much hurt at being reported -capable of borrowing from the fame of a gifted sister; and -Miss Seward would, no doubt, have suffered equally, had -she been aware of the pain she inflicted by giving currency -to a rumour so totally unfounded. The truth is, that residing -at a distance from the metropolis, and living upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_478" id="Page_478">[478]</a></span> -literary intelligence as her daily food, Miss Seward was -sometimes imposed upon by those friendly caterers, who -were more anxious to supply her with the newest intelligence, -than solicitous about its accuracy.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Radcliffe died at her residence in Stafford Row, -Pimlico, on the 7th of February, 1823; and her remains -rest in the vault of the Chapel-of-ease to St. George's parish, -in the Bayswater Road, facing Hyde Park.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Cool" id="Cool">Cool Sir James Mackintosh.</a></h3> - - -<p>Mackintosh, a name dear to letters and philosophy, was -no lawyer in the narrow-minded sense of the word, and -when appointed judge at Bombay, was lamentably thrown -away upon such society as he met there. Accustomed to -lead in the conversations of the conversation-men of the -metropolis—such as Sharp, Rogers, Dumont—he found himself -transplanted among those who afforded a sad and bitter -contrast. It was like Goëthe's oak-plant, with its giant -fibres, compressed within the dimensions of a flower-pot. -On the third day after his arrival, most forcibly was he reminded -of the contrast, when one of the members of the -Council, the conversation turning upon quadrupeds, turned -to him and inquired what was a quadruped. It was the -same sagacious Solomon who asked him for the loan of some -book, in which he could find a good account of Julius -Cæsar. Mackintosh jocosely took down a volume of Lord -Clarendon's <i>History of the Rebellion</i>, in which mention is -made of a Sir Julius Cæsar, Master of the Rolls in the time -of Charles the First. The wiseacre actually took the book -home with him, and after some days brought it back to -Sir James, remarking that he was disappointed on finding -that the book referred to Julius Cæsar only as a lawyer, -without the slightest mention of his military exploits.</p> - -<p>Sir James was subject to certain Parson Adams-like -habits of forgetfulness of common things and lesser proprieties; -and this brought down upon him no slight share<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[479]</a></span> -of taunt and ridicule. It happened, on his arrival at Bombay, -that there was no house ready for his reception, and it -would be a fortnight before a residence in the fort could be -prepared for him. Mr. Jonathan Duncan, the Governor of -the Presidency, therefore, with great kindness, offered him -his garden-house, called <i>Sans Pareil</i>, for the temporary -accommodation of Sir James and his family. But months -and months elapsed, till a twelvemonth had actually revolved; -Mackintosh and his wife, during all this time, -found themselves so comfortable in their quarters, that they -forgot completely the limited tenure on which they held -them, appearing by a singular illusion, not to have the -slightest suspicion of Mr. Duncan's proprietorship, notwithstanding -some pretty intelligible hints on the subject from -that gentleman, but communicated with his usual delicacy -and politeness. At last, politeness and delicacy were out -of the question, and the poor Governor was driven to the -necessity of taking forcible possession of his own property. -This was partly indolence, partly absence of mind in Sir -James. He was constitutionally averse to every sort of -exertion, and especially that of quitting any place where he -found himself comfortable.</p> - -<p>Before he went out to India, he made a trip into Scotland -with his lady; and having taken up his abode for the night -at an inn in Perthshire, not far from the beautiful park of -Lord Melville (then Mr. Dundas) sent a request to Lady -Jane Dundas (Mr. Dundas being absent) for permission to -see the house and grounds, which was most civilly granted. -Mr. Dundas being expected in the evening, her ladyship -politely pressed them to stay for dinner, and to pass the night, -their accommodation at the inn, not being of the best description. -Mr. Dundas returned the same day, and though -their politics were as adverse as possible, was so charmed -with the variety of Mackintosh's conversation, that he requested -his guests to prolong their visit for two or three -days. So liberal, however, was the interpretation they put -upon the invitation, that the two or three days were protracted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_480" id="Page_480">[480]</a></span> -into as many months, during which, every species of -hint was most ineffectually given, till their hosts told them, -with many polite apologies, that they expected visitors and -a numerous retinue, and could no longer accommodate Mr. -and Mrs. Mackintosh.</p> - -<p>During Sir James Mackintosh's Recordership of Bombay, -a singular incident occurred. Two Dutchmen having sued -for debt two English officers, Lieutenants Macguire and -Cauty, these officers resolved to waylay and assault them. -This was rather a resolve made in a drunken excitement -than a deliberate purpose. Fortunately, the Dutchmen -pursued a different route from that which they had intended, -and they prosecuted the two officers for the offence of lying-in-wait -with intent to murder. They were found guilty, and -brought up for judgment. Previous to his pronouncing -judgment, however, Sir James received an intimation that -the prisoners had conceived the project of shooting him as -he sat on the bench, and that one of them had for that -purpose a loaded pistol in his writing-desk. It is remarkable -that the intimation did not induce him to take some precautions -to prevent its execution—at any rate, not to expose -himself needlessly to assassination. On the contrary, the -circumstances only suggested the following remarks:—"I -have been credibly informed that you entertained the desperate -project of destroying your own lives at that bar, after -having previously destroyed the judge who now addresses -you. If that murderous project had been executed, I -should have been the first British judge who ever stained -with his blood the seat of justice. But I can never die -better than in the discharge of my duty." All this eloquence -might have been spared. Macguire submitted to the judge's -inspection of his writing-desk, and showed him that, though -it contained two pistols, neither of them was charged. It -is supposed to have been a hoax—a highly mischievous one, -indeed—but the statement was <i>primâ facie</i> so improbable, -that it was absurd to give it the slightest credit.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_481" id="Page_481">[481]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus44" id="Illus44"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image50.jpg" width="300" height="382" alt=""Peter Porcupine." W. Cobbett." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 2em;">"Peter Porcupine." W. Cobbett.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Cobbet" id="Cobbet">Eccentricities of Cobbett.</a></h3> - - -<p>Cobbett began his career a political writer of ultra-Conservative -stamp. He first became known to the public as -"Peter Porcupine," under which name he fiercely attacked -the democratic writers and speakers of France and America. -He was then resident in America, and encountered one or -two trials at law for alleged libels, in his defence of -monarchical and aristocratic institutions. The <i>Porcupine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_482" id="Page_482">[482]</a></span> -Papers</i> attracted much notice in England, were quoted and -lauded by the government organs—quoted in both Houses -of Parliament, and eulogized in the pulpit. The writer was -considered one of the most powerful supports of the principles -of the British constitution. This series of papers was republished -in England, in twelve volumes octavo, under the -patronage of the Prince Regent, to whom, it is believed, the -work was dedicated.</p> - -<p>On his return from America, Cobbett began a daily -paper called the <i>Porcupine</i>. This was soon discontinued, -and he began the <i>Register</i>. Both these papers were strongly -in favour of the government; and the <i>Register</i> ran through -several volumes before a change took place in the political -opinions of the editor—a change hastened, if not caused, by -an affront offered him by William Pitt. Windham was a -great admirer of Cobbett, and after reading one of his -Porcupine papers, declared that the author was "worthy of -a statue in gold." Pitt had refused to meet the author of -the <i>Register</i> at Windham's table; and this Cobbett resented, -and never forgave. Very soon after this, a marked change -took place in his politics; henceforth he was more consistent, -and the last <i>Register</i> which came from his pen, very -shortly before his death, breathed the same spirit which he -had shown years before as one of the leaders of the democratic -party.</p> - -<p>One of Cobbett's oddities was the wood-cut of a gridiron -which for many years headed the <i>Political Register</i>, as an -emblem of the martyrdom which he avowed he was prepared -to undergo, upon certain conditions. The gridiron will be -recollected as one of the emblems of St. Lawrence, and we -see it as the large gilt vane of one of the City churches -dedicated to the saint.</p> - -<p>As he was broiled on a gridiron for refusing to give up -the treasures of the church committed to his care, so -Cobbett vowed that he would consent to be broiled upon -certain terms, in his <i>Register</i>, dated Long Island, on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[483]</a></span> -24th of September, 1819, wherein he wrote the well-known -prophecy on Peel's Cash Payments Bill of that year as -follows:—"I, William Cobbett, assert that to carry their -bill into effect is impossible; and I say that if this bill be -carried into full effect, I will give Castlereagh leave to lay -me on a gridiron, and broil me alive, while Sidmouth may -stir the coals, and Canning stand by and laugh at my -groans."</p> - -<p>On the hoisting of the gridiron <i>on the Register</i>, he wrote -and published the fulfilment of his prophecy in the following -statement:—"Peel's bill, together with the laws about small -notes, which last were in force when Peel's bill was passed; -these laws all taken together, if they had gone into effect, -would have put an end to all small notes on the first day of -May, 1823; but to precede this blowing-up of the whole of -the funding system, an act was passed, in the month of July, -1822, to prevent these laws, and especially that part of Peel's -bill which put an end to small Bank of England notes, from -going into full effect; thus the system received a respite; -but thus did the parliament fulfil the above prophecy of -September, 1819."</p> - -<p>A large sign-gridiron was actually made for Mr. Cobbett. -It was of dimensions sufficient for him to have lain thereon -(he was six feet high); the implement was gilt, and we remember -to have seen it in his office-window, in Fleet Street; -but it was never hoisted outside the office. It was long to -be seen on the gable-end of a building next Mr. Cobbett's -house at Kensington.</p> - -<p>Cobbett possessed extraordinary native vigour of mind; -but every portion of his history is marked by strange blunders. -Shakspeare, the British Museum, antiquities, posterity, -America, France, Germany, are, one and all, either wholly -indifferent to him, or objects of his bitter contempt. He -absurdly condemned the British Museum as "a bundle of -dead insects;" abused drinking "the immortal memory" as -a contradiction of terms; and stigmatized "consuming the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_484" id="Page_484">[484]</a></span> -midnight oil" as cant and humbug. His political nicknames -were very ludicrous: as big O for O'Connell; Prosperity -Robinson for a flaming Chancellor of the Exchequer; and -shoy-hoy for all degrees of quacks and pretenders. Still, -his own gridiron was a monstrous piece of quackery, as -audacious as any charlatan ever set up.</p> - -<p>When he had a subject that suited him, he is said to -have handled it not as an accomplished writer, but "with -the perfect and inimitable art with which a dog picks a -bone." Still, his own work would not bear this sort of -handling—witness the biting critique upon his English -grammar, which provoked the remark that he would -undertake to write a Chinese grammar.</p> - -<p>In country or in town, at Barn Elms, in Bolt Court or -at Kensington, Cobbett wrote his <i>Registers</i> early in the -morning: these, it must be admitted, had force enough; -for he said truly, "Though I never attempt to put forth -that sort of stuff which the intense people on the other side -of the Channel call <i>eloquence</i>, I bring out strings of very interesting -facts; I use pretty powerful arguments; and I -hammer them down so closely upon the mind, that they -seldom fail to produce a lasting impression." This he -owed, doubtless, to his industry, early rising, and methodical -habits.</p> - -<p>Cobbett affected to despise all acquirements which he -had not. In his <i>English Grammar</i> he selects examples of -bad English from the writings of Dr. Johnson and Dr. Watts, -and is very contemptuous on "what are called the learned -languages;" but he would not have entered upon Latin or -Greek.</p> - -<p>It seemed to be Cobbett's aim to keep himself fresh in -the public eye by some means of advertisement or other; a -few were very reprehensible, but none more than his disinterring -the bones of Thomas Paine, buried in a field on his -own estate near New Rochelle, and bringing these bones to -England, where, Cobbett calculated, pieces of them would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[485]</a></span> -be worn as memorials of the gross scoffer. Cobbett, however, -never more widely mistook English feeling: instead of -arousing, as he expected, the enthusiasm of the republican -party in this country, he only drew upon himself universal -contempt.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Heber" id="Heber">Heber, the Book-Collector.</a></h3> - - -<p>There have been many instances of the indulgence of -book collecting to the extent which is termed book-madness; -but none more remarkable than that of Mr. Richard Heber, -half-brother to the celebrated Bishop of Calcutta of the same -name. Mr. Heber inherited property which permitted him -to spend immense sums in the purchase of books; and he -received an education which enabled him to appreciate the -books when purchased. He was not therefore, strictly -speaking, a <i>bibliomaniac</i>, and nothing more, though his exertions -in <i>collecting</i> amounted to eccentricities. He would -make excursions from the family seats in Yorkshire and -Shropshire to London, to attend book sales; and when the -termination of the war in 1815 opened the Continent to -English travellers, Heber visited France, Belgium and the -Netherlands, and made large purchases of books in each -country. He cared for nothing but books. He kept up a -correspondence with all the great dealers in old books -throughout the kingdom. On hearing of a curious book, he -was known to have put himself into a mail-coach, and -travelled three or four hundred miles to obtain it, fearful to -entrust his commission to any agent. He was known to -say seriously to his friends, on their remarking on his many -duplicates, "Why, you see, sir, no man can do comfortably -without <i>three</i> copies of a work. One he must have for a -<i>show</i> copy, and he will, probably, keep it at his country-house. -Another he will require for his use and reference; -and, unless he is inclined to part with this, which is very -inconvenient, or risk the injury of his best copy, he must -needs have a third at the service of his friends."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[486]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Hill Burton, in his <i>Book-hunter</i>, relates the following -incident of Heber's experience in the rarity-market. A -celebrated dealer in old books was passing a chandler's shop, -where he was stopped by a few filthy old volumes in the -window. One of them he found to be a volume of old -English poetry, which he—a practised hand in that line—saw -was utterly unknown as existing, though not unrecorded. -Three and sixpence was asked; he stood out for a half-a-crown, -on first principles, but, not succeeding, he paid the -larger sum, and walked away, book in pocket, to a sale, -where the first person he saw was Heber. Him the triumphant -bookseller drew into a corner, with "Why do you -come to auctions to look for scarce books, when you can -pick up such things as this in a chandler's shop for three -and sixpence?" "Bless me, ——, where did you get -this?" "That's tellings! I may get more there." "——, I -must have this." "Not a penny under thirty guineas!" A -cheque was drawn, and a profit of 17,900 per cent. cleared -by the man who had his eyes about him, in whose estimation -such a sum was paltry compared with the triumph over -Heber.</p> - -<p>Mr. Heber's taste strengthened as he grew older. Not -only was his collection of old English literature unprecedented, -but he brought together a larger number of fine -copies of Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, and -Portuguese books than had ever been possessed by a private -individual. His house at Hodnet, in Shropshire, was nearly -all library. His house in Pimlico (where he died in 1833) -was filled with books from top to bottom: every chair, table, -and passage containing "piles of erudition." A house in -York Street, Westminster, was similarly filled. He had -immense collections of books in houses rented merely to -contain them, at Oxford, Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, and -Ghent. When he died, curiosity was naturally excited to -know what provision he had made in reference to his immense -store of books; but when his will was discovered,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_487" id="Page_487">[487]</a></span> -after a long and almost hopeless search among bills, notes, -memoranda, and letters, it was found, to the astonishment -of every one on reading it, that the library <i>was not even -mentioned</i>! It seemed as if Heber cared nothing what -should become of the books, or who should possess them, -after his decease; and as he was never married, or influenced -greatly by domestic ties, his library was considered by the -executors of his will as merely so much "property," to be -converted into cash by the aid of the auctioneer. What was -the number of books possessed by him or the amount of -money paid for them, appears to have been left in much -doubt. Some estimated the library at 150,000 volumes, -formed at a cost of 100,000<i>l.</i>; others reckoned it at 500,000 -volumes, at an aggregate value of 250,000<i>l.</i> The truth was, -his executors did not know in how many foreign towns his -collections of books were placed. Thus it could not -accurately be ascertained what portion of the whole was -sold by auction in London in 1834-6; but the mere -catalogue of that portion fills considerably more than two -thousand printed octavo pages. The sales were conducted -by Mr. Evans, Messrs. Sotheby, and other book-auctioneers, -and occupied two hundred and two days, extending through -a period of upwards of two years from April 10, 1834, to -July 9, 1836. One copy of the catalogue has been preserved, -with marginal manuscript notes, relating to almost -every lot; and from this a summary of very curious information -is deducible. It appears that, whatever may have been -the number of volumes sold by auction, or otherwise got rid -of abroad, those sold at this series of auctions in London -were 117,613 in number, grouped into 52,672 lots. As regards -the ratio borne by the prices obtained, to those which -Mr. Heber had paid for the books in question, the account -as rendered showed that the auctioneer's hammer brought -56,775<i>l.</i> for that which had cost 77,150<i>l.</i> It would appear, -therefore, that the losses accruing to Mr. Heber's estate -through his passion for book-collecting, amounted to upwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_488" id="Page_488">[488]</a></span> -of 20,000<i>l.</i>, and this irrespective of the fate of the -continental libraries.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Johnsoane" id="Johnsoane">Sir John Soane Lampooned.</a></h3> - - -<p>Sir John Soane, who bequeathed to the country his -Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which cost him upwards -of 50,000<i>l.</i>, was the son of a bricklayer, and was born at -Reading in 1753; he was errand-boy to Dance, the architect, -and subsequently his pupil. He rose to great eminence, -grew rich and liberal; he gave for Belzoni's elaborate -sarcophagus in the Soane Museum, 2,000 guineas; paid -large sums for art rarities; subscribed 1,000<i>l.</i> for the Duke -of York's monument, was contended with his knighthood, -and declined to receive a baronetcy. Yet he was a man of -overweening vanity, and was much courted by legacy-hunters; -whilst his alienation from his son assisted in raising -up many enemies, in addition to those which Soane's remarkable -success brought against him. From the latter -section may have proceeded the following curious and -popular squib of the day, said to have been found under -the plates at one of the artistic or academic dinners. It is -headed:—</p> - -<p>"<span class="smcap">The Modern Goth.</span></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Glory to thee, great Artist! soul of taste!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For mending pigsties where a plank's misplaced:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whose towering genius plans from deep research<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Houses and temples fit for Master Birch<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To grace his shop on that important day,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When huge twelfth-cakes are raised in bright array.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Each pastry pillar shows thy vast design—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hail! then, to thee, and all great works of thine.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Come, let me place thee, in the foremost rank,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With him whose dullness discomposed the bank;<br /></span> -<span class="i11">[<i>A line illegible.</i>]<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy style shall finish what his style begun.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thrice happy Wren! he did not live to see<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_489" id="Page_489">[489]</a></span> -<span class="i0">The dome that's built and beautified by thee.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Oh! had he lived to see thy blessed work,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To see plaster scored like loins of pork;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To see the orders in confusion move:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Scrolls fixed below, and pedestals above:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To see defiance hurled at Rome and Greece,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Old Wren had never left the world in peace.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Look where I will, above, below, is shown<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A pure disordered order of thine own;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where lines and circles curiously unite,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A base, confounded, compound Composite:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A thing from which, in truth it may be said,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Each lab'ring mason turns abash'd his head;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which Holland reprobates, and Dance derides,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whilst tasteful Wyatt holds his aching sides.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here crawl, ye spiders! here, exempt from cares,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Spin your fine webs above the bulls and bears!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Secure from harm enjoy the charnell'd niche:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No maids molest you, for no brooms can reach;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In silence build from models of your own,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But never imitate the works of Soane!"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Soane is described by his biographer as "one of the -vainest and most self-sufficient of men, who courted praise -and adulation from every person and source, but dreaded, -and was even maddened by, anything like impartial and -discriminating criticism." But he grew so disgusted with -his flatterers, that a short time before his death he shut -himself up in a house at Richmond, to get out of the way of -their attentions.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_490" id="Page_490">[490]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"><a name="Illus45" id="Illus45"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image51.jpg" width="275" height="300" alt="Jedediah Buxton. Ætat. 49." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Jedediah Buxton. Ætat. 49.</p> - - -<p class="center" style="margin-bottom: 2em;"><i>Numeros memini.</i> <span class="smcap">Virgil.</span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Calc" id="Calc">Extraordinary Calculators.</a></h3> - - -<p>On the 3rd of July, 1839, some of the eminent members -of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, including MM. Arago, -Lacroix, Libri, and Sturm, met to examine a remarkable boy -whose powers of mental calculation were deemed quite -inexplicable. This boy, named Vito Mangiamele, a Sicilian, -was the son of a shepherd, and was about eleven years old. -The examiners asked him several questions which they -knew, under ordinary circumstances, to be tedious of solution—such -as, the cube root of 3,796,416, and the 10th root -of 282,475,249; the first of these he answered in half-a-minute,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_491" id="Page_491">[491]</a></span> -the second in three minutes. One question was -of the following complicated character—"What number has -the following proportions, that if its cube is added to 5 -times its square, and then 42 times the number, and the -number 42 be subtracted from the result, the remainder is -equal to 0 or zero." M. Arago repeated this question a -second time, but while he was finishing the last word, the -boy replied—"The number is 5!"</p> - -<p>In the same year, Master Bassle, who was only thirteen -years of age, went through an extraordinary mnemonic performance -at Willis's Rooms, London. Five large sheets of -paper, closely printed with tables of dates, specific gravities, -velocities, planetary distances, &c., were distributed among -the visitors, and every one was allowed to ask Master Bassle -a question relating to these tables, to which was received a -correct answer. He would also name the day of the week -on which any day of the month had fallen in any particular -year. He could repeat long series of numbers backwards -and forwards, and point out the place of any number in the -series; and to prove that his powers were not merely -confined to the rows of numbers in the printed tables, he -allowed the whole company to form a long series, by contributing -each two or three digits in the order in which they -sat; and then, after studying this series for a few minutes, -he committed it to memory, and repeated it entire, both -backwards and forwards, from the beginning to the end. -These performances are believed to have been not the -result of any natural mnemonic power, but of a method to -be acquired by any person in the course of twelve lessons.</p> - -<p>Zerah Colburn, who excited much interest in London in -1812, was a native of Vermont, in the United States. At -six years old, he suddenly showed extraordinary powers -of mental calculation. By processes which seemed to be -almost unconscious to himself, and were wholly so to -others, he answered arithmetical questions of considerable -difficulty. When eight years old, he was brought to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_492" id="Page_492">[492]</a></span> -London, where he astonished many learned auditors and -spectators by giving correct solutions to such problems as -the following: raise 8 up to the 16th power; give the -square root of 106,929; give the cube root of 268,336,125; -how many seconds are there in 48 years? The answers -were always given in very few minutes—sometimes in a few -seconds. He was ignorant of the ordinary rules of arithmetic, -and did not know how or why particular modes of -process came into his mind. On one occasion, the Duke -of Gloucester asked him to multiply 21,734 by 543. Something -in the boy's manner induced the Duke to ask how he -did it, from which it appeared that the boy arrived at the -result by multiplying 65,202 by 181, an equivalent process; -but why he made this change in the factors, neither he nor -any one else could tell. Zerah Colburn was unlike other -boys also in this, that he had more than the usual number of -toes and fingers; a peculiarity observable also in his father -and in some of his brothers.</p> - -<p>An exceptional instance is presented in the case of Mr. -Bidder, of this faculty being cultivated to a highly useful -purpose. George Parker Bidder, when six years old, used -to amuse himself by counting up to 100, then to 1,000, then -to 1,000,000: by degrees he accustomed himself to contemplate -the relations of high numbers, and used to build up -peas, marbles, and shot, into squares, cubes, and other regular -figures. He invented processes of his own, distinct from -those given in books on arithmetic, and could solve all the -usual questions mentally more rapidly than other boys with -the aid of pen and paper. When he became eminent as a -civil engineer, he was wont to embarrass and baffle the parliamentary -counsel on contested railway bills, by confuting -their statements of figures almost before the words were -out of their mouths. In 1856, he gave to the Institution of -Civil Engineers an interesting account of this singular -arithmetical faculty—so far, at least, as to show that <i>memory</i> -has less to do with it than is generally supposed; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_493" id="Page_493">[493]</a></span> -processes are actually worked out <i>seriatim</i>, but with a -rapidity almost inconceivable.</p> - -<p>The most famous calculator in the last century was -Jedediah Buxton, who, in 1754, resided for several weeks -at St. John's Gate, Smithfield. This man, though he was the -son of a schoolmaster, and the grandson of the vicar of -his native parish, Elmeton, in Derbyshire, had never learned -to write, but he could conduct the most intricate calculations -by his memory alone; and such was his power of -abstraction that no noise could disturb him. One who had -heard of his astonishing ability as a calculator, proposed to -him for solution the following question:—In a body whose -three sides measure 23,145,789 yards, 5,642,732 yards, and -54,965 yards, how many cubical eighths-of-an-inch are there? -This obtuse reckoning he made in a comparatively short time, -although pursuing the while, with many others, his labours in -the fields. He could walk over a plot of land and estimate -its contents with as much accuracy as if it had been measured -by the chain. His knowledge was, however, limited to -figures. In 1754, Buxton walked to London, with the express -intention of obtaining a sight of the King and Queen, -for beyond figures, royalty formed the only subject of his -curiosity. In this intention he was disappointed: he was, -however, introduced to the Royal Society, whom he called -the "volk of the Siety Court." They tested his powers, and -dismissed him with a handsome gratuity.</p> - -<p>He was next taken by his hospitable entertainer at St. -John's Gate, to see Garrick in the character of Richard III. -at Drury Lane Theatre, when undazzled by the splendour -of the stage appointments, and unmoved by the eloquent -passion of the actor, the simple rustic employed himself in -reckoning the number of words he heard, and the sum total -of the steps made by the dancers; and after the performance -of a fine piece of music, he declared that the -innumerable sounds had perplexed him.</p> - -<p>To these feats may be added the following:—Buxton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_494" id="Page_494">[494]</a></span> -multiplied a sum of thirty-nine places of figures into itself -and even conversed whilst performing it. His memory -was so great, that he could leave off and resume the -operation at the distant period of a week, or even several -months. He said that he was <i>drunk</i> once with reckoning -by memory from May 17 until June 16, and then recovered -after sleeping soundly for seven hours. The question which -occupied him so intensely was the reduction of a cube of -upwards of 200,000,000 of miles into barleycorns, and then -into hairs'-breaths of an inch in length. He kept an -account of all the beer which he had drunk for forty years, -which was equal to five thousand one hundred and sixteen -pints: of these two thousand one hundred and thirty-two -were drunk at the Duke of Kingston's and only ten at his -own house.</p> - -<p>There was a portrait of Buxton at Rufford Abbey, -Nottinghamshire. A print of him was engraved in the -<i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, June, 1754, with this subscription: -"Jedediah Buxton. Ætat. 49.—Numeros memini. <i>Virgil.</i>" -He was married and had several children, and died at the -age of 70, in the year 1777.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Isling" id="Isling">Charles Lamb's Cottage at Islington.</a></h3> - - -<p>In a very pleasant paper on "Ideal Houses," in No. 4 -of the <i>Cornhill Magazine</i>, we find this clever sketch of a few -of the amiable eccentricities of our famous Essayist, Charles -Lamb:—</p> - -<p>"I believe," says the contributor, "more in the influence -of dwellings upon human character than in the influence of -authority on matters of opinion. The man may seek the -house, or the house may form the man; but in either case -the result is the same. A few yards of earth, even on this -side of the grave, will make all the difference between life -and death. If our dear old friend, Charles Lamb, was now -alive (and we must all wish he was, if only that he might see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_495" id="Page_495">[495]</a></span> -how every day is bringing him nearer the crown that belongs -only to the Prince of British Essayists), there would be -something singularly jarring to the human nerves in finding -him at Dalston, but not so jarring in finding him a little -farther off at Hackney. He would still have drawn nourishment -in the Temple and in Covent Garden; but he must -surely have perished if transplanted to New Tyburnia. I -cannot imagine him living at Pentonville (I cannot, in my -uninquiring ignorance, imagine who Penton was, that he -should name a <i>ville</i>?), but I can see a certain appropriate -oddity in his cottage at Colebrook Row, Islington.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus46" id="Illus46"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" src="images/image52.jpg" width="300" height="380" alt="Colebrook Cottage." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Colebrook Cottage.</p> - -<p>"In the first place, we may agree that this London -suburb is very odd, without going into the vexed question -of whether it was very 'merry.' In the second place, this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_496" id="Page_496">[496]</a></span> -same Colebrook Row was built a few years before our dear -old friend was born—I believe, in 1770. In the third place, -it was called a 'Row,' though 'Lane' or 'Walk' would -have been as old and as good; but 'Terrace' or 'Crescent' -would have rendered it unbearable. The New River flowed -calmly past the cottage walls—as poor George Dyer found -to his cost—bringing with it fair memories of Isaak Walton -and the last two centuries. The house itself had also certain -peculiarities to recommend it. The door was so constructed -that it opened into the chief sitting-room; and -this, though promising much annoyance, was really a source -of fun and enjoyment to our dear old friend. He was -never so delighted as when he stood on the hearth-rug receiving -many congenial visitors as they came to him on the -muddiest-boot and the wettest-of-umbrella days. His immediate -neighbourhood was also peculiar.</p> - -<p>"It was there that weary wanderers came to seek the -waters of oblivion. Suicide could pitch upon no spot so -favourable for its sacrifice as the gateway leading into the -river inclosure before Charles Lamb's cottage. Waterloo -Bridge had not long been built, and was not then a fashionable -theatre for self-destruction. The drags were always -kept ready in Colebrook Row, at a small tavern a few doors -from the cottage. The landlord's ear, according to his own -account, had become so sensitive by repeated practice, that -when aroused at night by a heavy splash in the water, he -could tell by the sound whether it was an accident or a wilful -plunge. He never believed that poor George Dyer tumbled -in from carelessness, though it was no business of his to express -an opinion on the matter. After the eighth suicide -within a short period, Charles Lamb began to grow restless.</p> - -<p>"'Mary,' he said to his sister, 'I think it's high time we -left this place;' and so they went to Edmonton."</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_497" id="Page_497">[497]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Thomhood" id="Thomhood">Thomas Hood.</a></h3> - - -<p>This remarkable man of genius whose wit and humour -entitle him to high rank in English literature, was born in -1798, in the Poultry, London, where his father was, for many -years, acting partner in the firm of Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, -extensive booksellers and publishers. "There was a dash -of ink in my blood," he writes: "my father wrote two novels, -and my brother was decidedly of a literary turn, to the great -disquietude, for a time, of an anxious parent." Thomas -Hood was sent to a school in Tokenhouse Yard, in the City, -as a day-boarder. The two maiden sisters, who kept the -school, and with whom Hood took his dinner, had the odd -name of Hogsflesh, and they had a sensitive brother, who -was always addressed as "Mr. H.," and who subsequently -became the prototype of Charles Lamb's unsuccessful farce, -called "Mr. H."</p> - -<p>In 1812, Hood was sent to a day-school, his account of -which is as follows:—"In a house formerly a suburban seat -of the unfortunate Earl of Essex, over a grocer's shop, up -two pair of stairs, there was a very select day-school, kept -by a decayed Dominie, as he would have been called in his -native land. In his better days, when my brother was his -pupil, he had been master of one of those wholesale concerns -in which so many ignorant men have made fortunes, -by favour of high terms, low ushers, gullible parents, and -victimized little boys. Small as was our college, its principal -maintained his state, and walked gowned and covered. His -cap was of faded velvet, of black, or blue, or purple, or sad-green, -or, as it seemed, of altogether, with a sad <i>nuance</i> of -brown; his robe of crimson damask lined with the national -tartan. A quaint, carved, high-backed elbowed article, -looking like an <i>émigré</i> from a set that had been at home in -an aristocratical drawing-room under the <i>ancien régime</i>, was -his professional chair, which, with his desk, was appropriately -elevated on a dais some inches above the common floor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_498" id="Page_498">[498]</a></span> -From this moral and material eminence he cast a vigilant -yet kindly eye over some dozen of youngsters: for adversity, -sharpened by habits of authority, had not soured him, or -mingled a single tinge of bile with the peculiar red-streak -complexion so common to the wealthier natives of the -north...." "In a few months, my education progressed -infinitely farther than it had done in as many years under -the listless superintendence of B.A. and LL.D. and assistants. -I picked up <i>some</i> Latin, was a tolerable grammarian, -and so good a French scholar, that I earned a few guineas—my -first literary fee—by revising a new edition of <i>Paul et -Virginie</i> for the press. Moreover, as an accountant, I could -work a <i>summum bonum</i>, that is, a good sum."</p> - -<p>Young Hood finished his education at Wanostrocht's -Academy at Camberwell; and removed thence to a -merchant's counting-house in the City, where he realized -his own inimitable sketch of the boy "Just set up in -Business:"—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Time was I sat upon a lofty stool,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">At lofty desk, and with a clerkly pen<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Began each morning at the stroke of ten<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To write in Bell and Co.'s commercial school,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In Warnford Court, a shady nook and cool,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The favourite retreat of merchant men;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Yet would my quill turn vagrant even then,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And take stray dips in the Castalian pool.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Now double entry—now a flowery trope—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Mingling poetic honey with trade wax:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Blogg, Brothers—Milton—Grote and Prescott—Pope—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bristles and Hogg—Glyn, Mills, and Halifax—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Rogers and Towgood—Hemp—the Bard of Hope—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Barilla—Byron—Tallow—Burns, and Flax."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>In 1824, Hood, after having contributed to some periodicals -at Dundee in 1821, obtained the situation of sub-editor -of the <i>London Magazine</i>. "My vanity," says he, "did not -rashly plunge me into authorship, but no sooner was there a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_499" id="Page_499">[499]</a></span> -legitimate opening than I jumped at it, <i>à la</i> Grimaldi, head -foremost, and was speedily behind the scenes."</p> - -<p>Mr. Hood's first work was anonymous—his <i>Odes and -Addresses to Great People</i>—a little, thin, mean-looking foolscap -sub-octavo of poems with nothing but wit and humour -(could it want more?) to recommend it. Coleridge was delighted -with the work, and taxed Charles Lamb by letter -with the authorship.</p> - -<p>His next work was <i>A Plea for the Midsummer Fairies</i>, a -serious poem of infinite beauty, full of fine passages and of -promise; it obtained praise from the critics, but little favour -from the public; and Hood's experience of the unpleasant -truth that</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Those who live to please must please to live,"</p> - -<p>induced him to have recourse again to his lively vein. He -published a second and third series of <i>Whims and Oddities</i>, -and in 1829 commenced the <i>Comic Annual</i>, and it was continued -nine years. It proved very profitable; it was a small, -widely-printed volume, with rough woodcuts drawn by Hood, -who had been some time on probation with Sands and Le -Keux, the engravers. Several thousand copies were sold -annually, as the publishers' ledgers show. Then came out -the comic poem of <i>The Epping Hunt</i>, which, Hood tells us, -"was penned by an underling at the Wells, a person more -accustomed to riding than writing," as shown in this -epistle:—"Sir,—Abouut the Hunt. In anser to your -Innqueries, their as been a great falling off latterally, so -much so this year that there was nobody allmost. We did -a mear nothing provisionally, hardly a Bottle extra, which is -as proof in Pint. In short our Hunt may be sad to be in -the last Stag of a Decline. Bartholomew Rutt." Next appeared -<i>The Dream of Eugene Aram</i>, with this note: "The -late Admiral Burney went to school at an establishment -where the unhappy Eugene Aram was usher subsequent to -his crime. The Admiral stated that Aram was generally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_500" id="Page_500">[500]</a></span> -liked by the boys; and that he used to discourse to them -about <i>murder</i> in somewhat of the spirit which is attributed -to him in this poem." The poem is exquisitely written -throughout, and is sometimes little less than sublime.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1831, Hood became the occupier of -Lake House, near Wanstead; and while residing here, he -wrote his novel of <i>Tylney Hall</i>, in which the characters are -exuberant with wit and humour, but the plot is defective. -Hood next published <i>Hood's Own; or, Laughter from Year -to Year</i>, a volume of comic lucubrations, reprinted, "with -an infusion of New Blood for General Circulation." He -next went to the Continent for the benefit of his health. -When in Belgium, he published his <i>Up the Rhine</i>, constructed -on the groundwork of <i>Humphrey Clinker</i>. The -work consists of a series of imaginary letters from a hypochondriacal -old bachelor, his widowed sister, his nephew, -and a servant-maid, who form the imaginary travelling party. -Each individual writes to a friend in England, and describes -the scenes, manners, and circumstances, in a manner suitable -to the assumed character. The nephew's remarks seem to -embody the opinions and observations of Hood himself. -The book is illustrated with whimsical cuts in Hood's rough -but effective style, and abounds in good sense as well as -humour. Here is a specimen:—</p> - -<p>"An English lady resident at Coblentz, one day wishing -to order of her German servant (who did not understand -English) a boiled fowl for dinner, Grettel was summoned, -and that experiment began. It was one of the lady's fancies, -that the less her words resembled her native tongue, the -more they must be like German. So her first attempt was -to tell the maid that she wanted a cheeking, or keeking. -The maid opened her eyes and mouth, and shook her head. -'It's to cook,' said the mistress, 'to cook, to put in an -iron thing, in a pit—pat—pot.' 'Ish understand risht,' said -the maid, in her Coblentz patois. 'It's a thing to eat,' said -her mistress, for dinner—for deener—with sauce, soace—sowose.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_501" id="Page_501">[501]</a></span> -No answer. 'What on earth am I to do?' exclaimed -the lady, in despair, but still made another attempt. -'It's a little creature—a bird—a bard—a beard—a hen—a -hone—a fowl—a fool; it's all covered with feathers—fathers—feeders!' -'Ha, ha,' cried the delighted German, at last -getting hold of a catchword, 'Ja, ja! fedders—ja woh!' and -away went Grettel, and in half-an-hour returned triumphantly, -with a bundle of stationers' quills."</p> - -<p>Hood afterwards became editor of the <i>New Monthly -Magazine</i>, from which he retired in 1843. In the course of -this year, public feeling had been much excited by cases of -distress and destitution, which came before the London -police-magistrates, arising from the excessively low rate of -wages paid by dealers in ready-made linen to their workwomen. -Taking advantage of a market overstocked with -labourers, these tradesmen got their work done for a rate of -payment so small that fourteen or fifteen hours' labour were -frequently required in order to obtain sixpence! Hood's -sympathy was excited, and "The Song of the Shirt" was the -result—"a burst of poetry and indignant passion by which -he produced tears almost as irrepressibly as in other cases -he produced laughter." "The Song of the Shirt" was sent -to a comic periodical, but was refused insertion; it has, -however, been sung through the whole length and breadth -of the three kingdoms.</p> - -<p>Our author's last periodical was <i>Hood's Magazine</i>, which -he continued to supply with the best of its contributions till -within a month before his death. It contained a novel, -which was interrupted by his last illness and death; the last -chapters were, in fact, written by him when he was propped -up by pillows in bed. He had the consolation, a short time -before his death, of having a Government pension of 100<i>l.</i> -a-year, which was offered him by Sir Robert Peel, in the -following noble and touching letter, Sir Robert knowing of -his illness, but not of his imminent danger—"I am more -than repaid," writes Peel, "by the personal satisfaction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_502" id="Page_502">[502]</a></span> -which I have had in doing that for which you return me -warm and characteristic acknowledgments. You perhaps -think that you are known to one with such multifarious occupations -as myself merely by general reputation as an -author; but I assure you that there can be little which you -have written and acknowledged which I have not read, and -that there are few who can appreciate and admire more than -myself the good sense and good feeling which have taught -you to infuse so much fun and merriment into writings -correcting folly and exposing absurdities, and yet never -trespassing beyond those limits within which wit and facetiousness -are not very often confined. You may write on -with the consciousness of independence as free and unfettered -as if no communication had ever passed between -us. I am not conferring a private obligation upon you, but -am fulfilling the intentions of the Legislature, which has -placed at the disposal of the Crown a certain sum (miserable, -indeed, in amount) to be applied to the recognition of public -claims on the bounty of the Crown. If you will review the -names of those whose claims have been admitted on account -of their literary or scientific eminence, you will find an ample -confirmation of the truth of my statement. One return, -indeed, I shall ask you—that you will give me the opportunity -of making your personal acquaintance."</p> - -<p>To this statement in the <i>Cornhill Magazine</i> are appended -the following reflections:—"O sad, marvellous picture of -courage, of honesty, of patient endurance, of duty struggling -against pain! How noble Peel's figure is standing by -that sick-bed, how generous his words, how dignified and -sincere his compassion! And the poor dying man, with a -heart full of natural gratitude towards his noble benefactor, -must turn to him and say—'If it be well to be remembered -by a Minister, it is better still not to be forgotten by him in -a 'hurly Burleigh!' Can you laugh? Is not the joke -horribly pathetic from the poor dying lips? As dying -Robin Hood must fire a last shot with his bow—as one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_503" id="Page_503">[503]</a></span> -reads of Catholics on their death-bed putting on a Capuchin -dress to go out of the world—here is poor Hood at his last -hour putting on his ghastly motley, and uttering one joke -more. He dies, however, in dearest love and peace with -his children, wife, friends: to the former especially his -whole life had been devoted, and every day showed his -fidelity, simplicity, and affection. In going through the -record of his most pure, modest, honourable life, and living -along with him, you come to trust him thoroughly, and feel -that here is a most loyal, affectionate, and upright soul, with -whom you have been brought into communion. Can we -say as much of all lives of all men of letters? Here is one -at least without guile, without pretension, without scheming, -of pure life, to his family and little modest circle of friends -tenderly devoted."</p> - -<p>After a lethargy, which continued four days, Hood died -May 3rd, 1845. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, -where a poetical monument has been erected to his memory. -He left a son, who inherits much of his father's genius.</p> - -<p>"Hood," says one of his biographers, "was undoubtedly -a man of genius. His mind was stored with a vast collection -of materials drawn from a great variety of sources, but -especially his own observations; and he possessed the -power of working up those materials into combinations of -wit and humour and pathos of the most original and varied -kinds. He has wit of the highest quality, as original and as -abundant as Butler's or Cowley's, drawn from as extensive -an observation of nature and life, if not from so wide a reach -of learning, and combined with a richness of humour of -which Butler had little and Cowley none. His humour is frequently -as extravagantly broad as that of Rabelais, but he -has sometimes the delicate touches of that of Addison. As -a punster he stands alone. His puns do not consist -merely of double meanings of words—a low kind of punning, -of which minds of a low order are capable, and with -which his imitators have deluged English comedy and comic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_504" id="Page_504">[504]</a></span> -literature—but of double meanings of words combined with -double meanings of sense in such a manner as to produce -the most extraordinary effects of surprise and admiration. -His power of exciting laughter is wonderful, his drollery -indescribable, inimitable. His pathetic power is not equal -to his comic, but it is very great. The moral tendency of -Hood's works is excellent. In the indulgence of his spirit -of fun, he is anything but strait-laced as regards the introduction -of images and phrases which a fastidious person -might call vulgar or coarse; but an indecent description or -even allusion will not easily be found. He is liberal-minded, -a warm eulogist as well as a glowing depicter of the good -feelings of our nature and the generous actions which those -feelings prompt, and he is an unsparing satirist of vice, pretension, -and cant in all their forms.</p> - -<p>"Hood, in his person, was thin, pale, and delicate; in -his temper he was kind and cheerful; he seems to have imbibed -the social and benevolent feeling of his friend Lamb, -and he was no less than Lamb a favourite among his -friends. His long-continued sufferings only stimulated him -to amuse himself and others by the exercise of his extraordinary -imagination; and when at last he could no longer -bear up under his bodily pains, his complaint was simple, but -it indicated a terrible degree of suffering—'I cannot die, I -cannot die.'"</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Witty" id="Witty">A Witty Archbishop.</a></h3> - - -<p>An industrious student, a deep thinker, an acute reasoner, -a learned mind, a correct and at times elegant -writer—these are titles of honour which the mere out-side-world, -travelling in its flying railway-carriage, will gladly -award to the late Archbishop of Dublin (Dr. Whately). -Not so familiar are certain minor and more curious gifts, -which he kept by him for his own and his friends' entertainment, -which broke out at times on more public occasions. -He delighted in the oddities of thought, in queer quaint<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_505" id="Page_505">[505]</a></span> -distinctions; and if an object had by any possibility some -strange distorted side or corner, or even point, which was -undermost, he would gladly stoop down his mind to get -that precise view of it, nay, would draw it in that odd light -for the amusement of the company.</p> - -<p>Thus he struck Guizot, who described him as "startling -and ingenious, strangely absent, familiar, confused, eccentric, -amiable, and engaging, no matter what unpoliteness he -might commit, or what propriety he might forget." In -short, a mind with a little of the Sydney Smith's leaven, -whose brilliancy lay in precisely these odd analogies. It -was his recreation to take up some intellectual hobby, and -make a toy of it. Just as, years ago, he was said to have -taken up that strange instrument the boomerang, and was to -be seen on the sands casting it from him, and watching it -return. It was said, too, that at the dull intervals of a -visitation, when ecclesiastical business languished, he would -cut out little miniature boomerangs of card, and amuse himself -by illustrating the principle of the larger toy by shooting -them from his finger.</p> - -<p>The even, and sometimes drowsy, current of Dublin -society was almost always enlivened by some little witty -boomerang of his, fluttering from mouth to mouth, and -from club to club. The Archbishop's last was eagerly -looked for. Some were indifferent, some were trifling; but -it was conceded that all had an odd extravagance, which -marked them as original, quaint, queer. In this respect he -was the Sydney Smith of the Irish capital, with this difference—that -Sydney Smith's king announced that he would -never make the lively Canon of St. Paul's a Bishop.</p> - -<p>Homœopathy was a medical paradox, and was therefore -welcome. Yet in this he travelled out of the realms of mere -fanciful speculation, and clung to it with a stern and consistent -earnestness faithfully adhered to through his last illness. -Mesmerism, too, he delighted to play with. He had, in fact,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_506" id="Page_506">[506]</a></span> -innumerable <i>dadas</i>, as the French call them, or hobby-horses, -upon which he was continually astride.</p> - -<p>This led him into a pleasant affection of being able to -discourse <i>de omnibus rebus</i>, &c., and the more recondite or -less known the subject, the more eager was he to speak. -It has been supposed that the figure of the "Dean," in Mr. -Lever's pleasant novel of <i>Roland Cashel</i>, was sketched from -him. Indeed, there can be no question but that it is an unacknowledged -portrait.</p> - -<p>"What is the difference," he asked of a young clergyman -he was examining, "between a form and a ceremony? -The meaning seems nearly the same; yet there is a very -nice distinction." Various answers were given. "Well," -he said, "it lies in this: you sit upon a form, but you stand -upon ceremony."</p> - -<p>"Morrow's Library" is the Mudie of Dublin; and the -Rev. Mr. Day, a popular preacher. "How inconsistent," -said the archbishop, "is the piety of certain ladies here. -They go <i>to Day for a sermon</i>, and <i>to Morrow</i> for a novel!"</p> - -<p>At a dinner-party he called out suddenly to the host, -"Mr. ——!" There was silence. "Mr. ——, what is -the proper female companion of this John Dory?" After -the usual number of guesses an answer came, "Anne -Chovy." [This has been attributed to Quin, the actor and -epicure.]</p> - -<p><i>Another Riddle.</i>—"The laziest letter in the alphabet? -The <i>letther</i> G!" (lethargy).</p> - -<p><i>The Wicklow Line.</i>—The most unmusical in the world—having -a Dun-Drum, Still-Organ, and a Bray for stations.</p> - -<p><i>Doctor Gregg.</i>—The new bishop and he at dinner. -Archbishop: "Come, though you <i>are</i> John Cork, you -musn't stop the bottle here." The answer was not -inapt: "I see your lordship is determined to draw me -out."</p> - -<p>On Dr. K——x's promotion to the bishopric of Down, -an appointment in some quarters unpopular: "The Irish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_507" id="Page_507">[507]</a></span> -government will not be able to stand many more such Knocks -Down as this!"</p> - -<p>The merits of the same bishop being canvassed before -him, and it being mentioned that he had compiled a -most useful Ecclesiastical Directory, with the Values of -Livings, &c., "If that be so," said the archbishop, "I -hope the next time the claims of our friend Thom will -not be overlooked." (Thom, the author of the well known -<i>Almanack</i>.)</p> - -<p>A clergyman, who had to preach before him, begged to -be let off, saying, "I hope your grace will excuse my preaching -next Sunday." "Certainly," said the other indulgently. -Sunday came, and the archbishop said to him, "Well! -Mr. ——, what became of you! we expected you to preach -to-day." "Oh, your grace said you would excuse my -preaching to-day." "Exactly; but I did not say I would -excuse you <i>from</i> preaching."</p> - -<p>At a lord lieutenant's banquet a grace was given of unusual -length. "My lord," said the archbishop, "did you -ever hear the story of Lord Mulgrave's chaplain?" "No," -said the lord lieutenant. "A young chaplain had preached -a sermon of great length. 'Sir,' said Lord Mulgrave, bowing -to him, 'there were some things in your sermon of to-day I -never heard before.' 'Oh, my lord,' said the flattered chaplain, -'it is a common text, and I could not have hoped to -have said anything new on the subject.' '<i>I heard the clock -strike twice</i>,' said Lord Mulgrave."</p> - -<p>At some religious ceremony at which he was to officiate -in the country, a young curate who attended him grew very -nervous as to their being late. "My good young friend," -said the archbishop, "I can only say to you what the criminal -going to be hanged said to those around, who were -hurrying him, 'Let us take our time, they can't begin -without us.'"—(<i>Yorick Junior.</i>—<i>Notes and Queries. Third -Series.</i>)</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_508" id="Page_508">[508]</a></span></p> - -<p>The following charade, said to be one of the last by Dr. -Whatley, has puzzled many wise heads:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Man cannot live without my <i>first</i>,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">By day and night it's used;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My <i>second</i> is by all accursed,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">By day and night abused.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My <i>whole</i> is never seen by day,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And never used by night;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Is dear to friends when far away,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But hated when in sight."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>A Correspondent of <i>Notes and Queries</i> suggests the following -solution:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"<i>Ignis</i>, or fire, all men will own<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Essential to the life of man;<br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>Fatuus</i>, a fool, has been, 'tis known,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Cursed and abused since time began.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Some <i>Ignis Fatuus</i>, Will-o'-wisp.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Not seen by day, nor used by night,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Men love, and for their phantom list,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">When 'tis unseen, but hate its sight."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Madmen" id="Madmen">Literary Madmen.</a></h3> - -<p class="center" style="margin-bottom: 1em;">"Great wits are sure to madness near allied,<br /> -And their partitions do their bounds divide."—<span class="smcap">Dryden</span>.</p> - -<p>This bold assertion has long since been pronounced -incorrect. Nevertheless, the barrier between genius and -madness has not been traced. Eccentricity is often -mistaken for craziness; and the entire subject is beset -with nice points and shades of controversy. In 1860 -appeared Octave Delepierre's <i>Histoire Littéraire des Fous</i>, -upon the soundness of which critics are divided in opinion. -The following sketch of its contents, however, shows the -work to be full of interest.</p> - -<p>A history of literary madmen is yet to be written—whether -it be a history of authors who have gone mad, or of -persons who, being mad, have turned authors. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_509" id="Page_509">[509]</a></span> -singular to notice what relief madmen find in literary -composition; so much so, that it has been employed as a -method of cure in more than one of our lunatic asylums. -At the Crichton Royal Institution, Dumfriesshire, a little -journal, entitled the <i>New Moon</i>, was published every month, -the contents being contributed, set up, and printed by the -inmates in their lucid moments. Occasionally there was a -little incoherence—a little roughness; but, as a whole, the -<i>New Moon</i> would bear comparison with many other amateur -periodicals. Here are two stanzas written by a man -tortured by long sleeplessness, whom private misfortunes -had driven mad:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Go! sleep, my heart, in peace,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bid fear and sorrow cease:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He who of worlds takes care,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">One heart in mind doth bear.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Go! sleep, my heart, in peace,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If death should thee release,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And this night hence thee take,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thou yonder wilt awake."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Theology has sent more people mad than any other -pursuit—a truth of which M. Delepierre's <i>Histoire Littéraire -des Fous</i> furnishes some interesting illustrations.</p> - -<p>The writer has, however, occasionally mistaken eccentricity -for craziness. Simon Stylites on his pillar and St. -Anthony in his cave were crazed; but we do not think -that Baxter's <i>Hooks and Eyes for Believers' Breeches</i> is -an indication of insanity any more than such works as <i>La -Seringue Spirituelle pour les Ames constipées en Dévotion</i>, or -<i>La Tabatière Spirituelle pour faire éternuer les Ames dévotes</i>. -Very probably, if we could refer to these works, we should -find that the title had little or nothing in common with -the contents, but as a mere trick to catch purchasers. -Few people would charge Latimer with being mad because -he preached a "Sermon on a Pack of Cards." Nor do -we think any conclusion can be drawn unfavourable to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_510" id="Page_510">[510]</a></span> -Jesuit missionary Paoletti from the mere fact of his writing -a treatise to prove that the American aborigines were -eternally damned without hope of redemption, because -they were the offspring of the Devil and one of Noah's -daughters. His mind had not lost its balance to such a -degree as that of old Portel, who persuaded himself that -the soul of John the Baptist had passed into his body; or -of Miranda, a living man, who fancies himself the forty-ninth -incarnation of Adam through Romulus and Mohamed; -while Queen Victoria is the seventieth embodiment of -the soul of Eve, by way of Miriam and the Virgin Mary! -Geoffrey Vallée was another monomaniac of this class, -who began by having a shirt for every day in the year, -which he used to send into Flanders to be washed at a -certain spring, and ended by being burnt at the stake as -an atheist for a silly book he wrote. Our own John Mason, -who proclaimed Christ's coming, and declared Water -Stratford, near Buckingham, to be the seat of his throne, has -had many imitators at home and abroad.</p> - -<p>Endeavours to interpret prophecy and explain the -Apocalypse have turned many a brain, even in our own -days. One Francis Potter wrote a book with the following -title:—"An Interpretation of the number 666, wherein it -is shown that this number is an exquisite and perfect -character, truly, exactly, and essentially describing that state -of government to which all other notes of Antichrist do -agree." A Frenchman, Soubira, ran mad on the same -subject about the same period. In 1828 he published -a pamphlet with this meagre title—"666." Here is a -sample:—</p> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="Pamphlet"> -<tr><td class="title">Les banquiers de la France</td> <td class="title">666</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">Des organistes de la Foi</td> <td class="title">666</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">Et des concerts de la cadence </td> <td class="title">666</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">Vont accomplir la loi</td> <td class="title">666</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title">Et conterminer l'alliance</td> <td class="title">666</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Joseph O'Donnelly fancied he had discovered the primitive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_511" id="Page_511">[511]</a></span> -language, and printed some specimens of it at Brussels -in 1854.</p> - -<p>The literary madman is often harmless enough, and his -condition being not rarely the result of an overtasked brain, -in his lucid moments he is his former self. If in his mad -moments Lee called upon Jupiter to rise and snuff the -moon; it was in his calmer hours that he replied to the -sneers of a silly poet—"It is very difficult to write like a -madman, but very easy to write like a fool." Christopher -Smart was another poetical lunatic, whose best pieces were -composed while he was under restraint. These are not, -however, very remarkable, their chief merit consisting in -their history. Like the Koran, they were committed -to writing under circumstances of great difficulty; the -whitened walls of his cell were his paper, and his pen the -end of a piece of wood burnt in the fire. Thomas Lloyd -belonged to this class, but few of his fragments have been -preserved. Milman, of Pennsylvania, lost his bride by -lightning on their wedding-day: his reason never recovered -the shock.</p> - -<p>Luke Clennel, the engraver, forgot his art during his -long state of unreason, but would compose very passable -verses; while John Clare, whose poetry brought him into -note, and led to his ruin, scarcely wrote at all during his -mad moods. Thomas Bishop took to the drama, and his -<i>Koranzzo's Feast, or the Unfair Marriage</i>, a tragedy founded -on facts 2,366 years ago, is a serious performance, amply -illustrated. Among the characters are four queens, three -savages, and five ghosts, not including the ghost of a clock, -intended as part of the stage furniture. The most singular -of this class of one-sided writers is M. G. Desjardins, who, -we believe, is still alive. It is impossible to imagine a head -more completely turned than his.</p> - -<p>Another writer of this eccentric class is Paulin Gagne, -author of <i>L'Unitéide, ou la Femme-Messie</i>, a poem in twelve -cantos. The thirty-eighth act of the eighth canto passes in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_512" id="Page_512">[512]</a></span> -a potato-field, and the scene is opened by <i>Pataticulture</i> in a -speech of this fashion:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Peuples et Rois, je suis la Pataticulture,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fille de la nature et du siècle en friture;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">J'ai toujours adoré ce fruit délicieux<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Que, dit-on, pour extra, mangeaient jadis les Dieux."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>He winds up by declaring that</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Dans la pomme de terre est le salut de tous."</p> - -<p>In the following act, <i>Carroticulture</i> is introduced with a -new version of the Marseillaise:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Allons, enfans de la Cacrotte."</p> - -<p>Science and Philosophy have had their victims; and those, -though we must except Newton, so long reckoned among those -whose brain had given way under intense thought, we must -include Kant, his disciple Wirgman, and others of less note. -William Martin, whose two brothers made themselves -famous in very different lines—one by setting fire to York -Minster, the other by his paintings—was as mad as could -be desired, both in science and poetry. Here is a sample -combined:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"The creation of the world,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Likewise Adam and Eve, we know,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Made by the Great God, from<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whom all blessings flow."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The famous Walking Stewart went crazy on "the -polarization of moral truth." At the dinner-table he spoilt -the digestion of his guests by turning the conversation to -his one beloved subject, and he was as fatal as the Ancient -Mariner to any man who might chance to address him a civil -word in public places or conveyances.</p> - -<p>A deplorable instance of this class is afforded by -Wirgman, the Kantesian, just named, who, after making -a fortune as a goldsmith and silversmith, in St. James's -Street, Westminster, squandered it all as <i>a regenerating<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_513" id="Page_513">[513]</a></span> -philosopher</i>. He printed several works, and had paper -made specially for one, the same sheet being of several -different colours; and as he changed the work many times -while it was printing, the expense was enormous: one book -of four hundred pages cost 2,276<i>l.</i> He published a -grammar of the five senses, which was a sort of system of -metaphysics for the use of children; and he maintained -that when it was universally adopted in schools, peace and -harmony would be restored to the earth, and virtue would -everywhere replace crime. He complained much that -people would not listen to him, and that although he had -devoted nearly half a century, he had asked in vain to be -appointed Professor in some University or College—so little -does the world appreciate those who labour unto death in -its service. Nevertheless, exclaimed Wirgman, after another -useless application, "while life remains, I will not cease to -communicate this blessing to the rising world."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Perpetual" id="Perpetual">A Perpetual-Motion Seeker.</a></h3> - - -<p>The celebrated French physician, Pinel, relates the case -of a watchmaker who was infatuated with the chimera of -Perpetual Motion, and to effect this discovery, he set to -work with indefatigable ardour. From unremitting attention -to the object of his enthusiasm, coinciding with the influence -of revolutionary disturbances, his imagination was greatly -heated, his sleep was interrupted, and at length a complete -derangement took place. His case was marked by a most -whimsical illusion of the imagination: he fancied that he -had lost his head upon the scaffold; that it had been -thrown promiscuously among the heads of many other -victims; that the judges having repented of their cruel -sentence, had ordered their heads to be restored to their respective -owners, and placed upon their respective shoulders; -but that, in consequence of an unhappy mistake, the -gentleman who had the management of that business, had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_514" id="Page_514">[514]</a></span> -placed upon his shoulders the head of one of his unhappy -companions. The idea of this whimsical change of his -head occupied his thoughts night and day, which determined -his friends to send him to an asylum. Nothing could exceed -the extravagance of his heated brain: he sung, he cried, or -danced incessantly; and as there appeared no propensity -to commit acts of violence or disturbance, he was allowed -to go about the hospital without control, in order to expend, -by evaporation, the effervescence of his spirits. "Look at -these teeth!" he cried; "mine were exceedingly handsome; -these are rotten and decayed. My mouth was sound and -healthy; this is foul and diseased. What difference between -this hair and that of my own head!"</p> - -<p>The idea of perpetual motion frequently recurred to him -in the midst of his wanderings; and he chalked on all the -doors or windows as he passed the various designs by which -his wondrous piece of mechanism was to be constructed. -The method best calculated to cure so whimsical an illusion -appeared to be that of encouraging his prosecution of it to -satiety. His friends were accordingly requested to send him -his tools, with materials to work upon, and other requisites, -such as plates of copper and steel, and watch-wheels. His -zeal was now redoubled; his whole attention was rivetted -upon his favourite pursuit: he forgot his meals, and after -about a month's labour our artist began to think he had -followed a false route. He broke into a thousand fragments -the piece of machinery which he had fabricated with so -much toil, and thought, and labour; he then entered upon -a new plan, and laboured for another fortnight. The various -parts being completed, he brought them together; he -fancied that he saw a perfect harmony amongst them. The -whole was now finally adjusted—his anxiety was indescribable—<i>motion -succeeded</i>; it continued for some time, and he -supposed it capable of continuing for ever. He was elevated -to the highest pitch of ecstasy and triumph, and ran like -lightning into the interior of the hospital, crying out, like<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_515" id="Page_515">[515]</a></span> -another Archimedes, "At length I have solved this famous -problem, which has puzzled so many men celebrated for -their wisdom and talents!" Grievous to add, he was -checked in the midst of his triumph. The wheels stopped! -the <i>perpetual motion</i> ceased! His intoxication of joy was -succeeded by disappointment and confusion; though to -avoid a humiliating and mortifying confession, he declared -that he could easily remove the impediment: but, tired of -such experimental employment, he determined for the future -to devote his attention solely to his business.</p> - -<p>There still remained another imaginary impression to be -counteracted—that of the exchange of his head, which unceasingly -occurred to him. A keen and unanswerable -stroke of pleasantry seemed best adapted to correct this -fantastic whim. Another convalescent, of a gay and facetious -turn, instructed beforehand, adroitly turned the conversation -to the subject of the famous miracle of St. Denis, -in which it will be recollected that the holy man, after -decapitation, walked away with his head under his arm, -which he kissed and condoled with for its misfortune. Our -mechanician strongly maintained the possibility of the -fact, and sought to confirm it by an appeal to his own case. -The other set up a laugh, and replied with a tone of the -keenest ridicule, "Madman as thou art, how could St. Denis -kiss his own head? Was it with his heels?" This equally -unexpected and unanswerable retort forcibly struck the -maniac. He retired confused amidst the laughter which was -provoked at his expense, and never afterwards mentioned the -<i>exchange of his head</i>.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_516" id="Page_516">[516]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Illus47" id="Illus47"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image53.jpg" width="300" height="395" alt="The Duchess of Newcastle. From the portrait prefixed to her poems." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The Duchess of Newcastle. From the portrait prefixed to her poems.</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 2em;">"Her beauty's found beyond the skill<br /> -Of the best paynter to embrace."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Romduch" id="Romduch">The Romantic Duchess of Newcastle.</a></h3> - - -<p>More than two centuries ago, when Clerkenwell was a -sort of court-quarter of the town, its most distinguished -residents were William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, and -his wife, Margaret Lucas, both of whom are remembered by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_517" id="Page_517">[517]</a></span> -their literary eccentricities. The Duke, who was a devoted -royalist, after his defeat at Marston Moor, retired with his -wife to the Continent; and with many privations, owing to -pecuniary embarrassments, suffered an exile of eighteen -years, chiefly in Antwerp, in a house which belonged to the -widow of Rubens. Such was their extremity that they were -both forced at one time to pawn their clothes to purchase a -dinner. The Duke beguiled his time by writing an eccentric -book on horsemanship. During his absence Cromwell's parliament -levied upon his estate nearly three-quarters of a -million of money. Upon the Restoration, he returned to -England, and was created Duke of Newcastle; he then retired -to his mansion in Clerkenwell; he died there in 1676, -aged eighty-four.</p> - -<p>The duchess was a pedantic and voluminous writer, her -collected works filling ten printed folios, for she wrote prose -and verse in all their varieties. "The whole story," writes -Pepys, "of this lady is a romance and all she does is romantic. -April 26th, 1667.—Met my Lady Newcastle, with her -coach and footman all in velvet, herself, whom I never saw -before, as I have heard her often described, for all the town -talk is now-a-days of her extravagances, with her velvet cap, -her hair about her ears, many black patches because of -pimples about her mouth, naked-necked without anything -about it, and a black <i>just-au-corps</i>. May 1st 1667.—She -was in a black coach, adorned with silver instead of gold, -and snow-white curtains, and everything black and white. -Stayed at home reading the ridiculous history of my Lord -Newcastle, wrote by his wife, which shows her to be a mad, -conceited, ridiculous woman, and he an asse to suffer her to -write what she writes to him and of him." On the 10th of -April, 1667, Charles and his Queen came to Clerkenwell, on -a visit to the duchess. On the 18th John Evelyn went to -make court to the noble pair, who received him with great -kindness. Another time he dined at Newcastle House, and -was privileged to sit discoursing with her grace in her bedchamber<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_518" id="Page_518">[518]</a></span> -after dinner. She thus describes to a friend her -literary employments:—"You will find my works like -infinite nature, that hath neither beginning nor end, and as -confused as the chaos, wherein is neither method nor order, -but all mixed together, without separation, like light and -darkness." "But what gives one," says Walpole, "the best -idea of her passion for scribbling, was her seldom revising -the copies of her works, lest it should disturb her following -conceptions. Her servant John was ordered to lie on a -truckle-bed in a closet within her grace's bedchamber; and -whenever, at any time, she gave the summons, by calling out -'John,' I conceive poor John was to get up, and commit to -writing the offspring of his mistress' thoughts. Her grace's -folios were usually enriched with gold, and had her coat-of-arms -upon them. Hence, Pope, in the <i>Dunciad</i>, Book I:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Stamp'd with arms, Newcastle shines complete."</p> - -<p>In her <i>Poems and Fancies</i>, 1653, the copy now in the -British Museum, on the margin of one page is the following -note in the Duchess' own handwriting:—"Reader, let me -intreat you to consider only the fancyes in this my book -of poems, and not the language of the numbers, nor rimes, -nor fals printing, for if you doe, you will be my condeming -judg, which will grive me much." Of this book she says:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"When I did write this book I took great paines,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For I did walk, and thinke, and break my braines;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My thoughts run out of breath, then down would lye,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And panting with short wind like those that dye;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When time had given ease, and lent them strength,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then up would get and run another length;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sometimes I kept my thought with strict dyet,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And made them fast with ease, rest, and quiet,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That they might run with swifter speed,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And by this course new fancies they could breed;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But I doe feare they are no so good to please,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But now they're out my braine is more at ease."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>At page 228 occurs this strange fancy:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_519" id="Page_519">[519]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Life scums the cream of beauty with Time's spoon,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And draws the claret wine of blushes soon."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Again, she tells us that—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"The brain is like an oven, hot and dry,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which bakes all sorts of fancies, low and high;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The thoughts are wood, which motion sets on fire;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The tongue a peele, which draws forth the desire;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But thinking much, the brain too hot will grow,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And burns it up; if cold, the thoughts are dough."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>To a volume of the Duchess' plays is prefixed a portrait -of her Grace, and this couplet under it:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Her beauty's found beyond the skill<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of the best paynter to embrace."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>There is a story current that the Duke being once, when -in a peevish humour, complimented by a friend on the great -wisdom of his wife, made answer, "Sir, a very wise woman is -a very foolish thing."</p> - -<p>Another eccentric inhabitant of Newcastle House was -Elizabeth, Duchess of Albemarle, and afterwards of Montague. -She was married in 1669 to Christopher Monck, second -Duke of Albemarle, then a youth of sixteen, whom her -inordinate pride drove to the bottle and other dissipation. -After his death, in 1688, at Jamaica, the Duchess, whose -vast estate so inflated her vanity as to produce mental aberration, -resolved never again to give her hand to any but a -sovereign prince. She had many suitors; but true to her -resolution, she rejected them all, until Ralph Montague, -third Lord and first Duke of that name, achieved the conquest -by courting her as <i>Emperor of China</i>: and the anecdote -has been dramatized by Colley Cibber, in his comedy of -<i>The Double Gallant, or Sick Lady's Cure</i>. Lord Montague -married the lady as "Emperor," but afterwards played the -truant, and kept her in such strict confinement that her -relations compelled him to produce her in open court, to -prove that she was alive. Richard Lord Ross, one of her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_520" id="Page_520">[520]</a></span> -rejected suitors, addressed to Lord Montague these lines on -his match:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Insulting rival, never boast<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thy conquest lately won:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No wonder that her heart was lost,—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Her senses first were gone.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"From one that's under Bedlam's laws<br /></span> -<span class="i2">What glory can be had?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For love of thee was not the cause:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">It proves that she was mad."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The Duchess survived her second husband nearly thirty -years, and at last "died of mere old age," at Newcastle -House, August 28th, 1738, aged ninety-six years. Until -her decease, she is said to have been constantly served on -the knee as a sovereign; besides keeping her word, that -she would not stoop to marry anyone but the Emperor of -China.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Laughter" id="Laughter">Sources of Laughter.</a></h3> - - -<p>In a clever paper in the <i>Saturday Review</i> (Oct. 7th, 1865), -we find these amusing anecdotical instances of the sources -means <i>movere jocum</i>:—</p> - -<p>"A sustained, deliberate pride would have rather prevented -than encouraged that fit of laughter which has preserved -to posterity the name of a certain Marquis of Blandford. -He, being noted for laughing upon small provocation, -was once convulsed for half-an-hour together on seeing -somebody fillip a crumb into a blind fiddler's face, the fits -returning whenever the "ludicrous idea" recurred to him. -An habitual sense of superiority would have prevented -this sudden glory at sight of a beggar's helplessness under -insult.</p> - -<p>"There are personalities which lie so hid under a disguise -that they are not readily known for such. The -humorist and the cynic have each a knack of investing with -human weaknesses things, animate and inanimate, in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_521" id="Page_521">[521]</a></span> -plainer minds can see no analogy to human nature. We -have known a man of quaint fancies laugh till the tears ran -down at seeing a rat peep out of a hole. He caught a -touch of humanity in the brute's perplexed air; he guessed -at something behind the scenes impervious to our grosser -vision. A bird, frumpish and disquieted on a rainy day, -suggests to such a man some social image of discontent -that makes capital fun for him. He can improve these -lower creatures into caricatures of his friends, or of mankind -at large. Mr. Formby owned himself unable to help -"laughing out loud" in the presence of Egyptian antiquities, -with the Memnon at their head; he laughed at an ancient -civilization, at the men of the past personified by their -works. Saturnine tempers can only laugh at imminent -danger or positive calamity; mortal terror is the most -ludicrous of all ideas to them. Mr. Trollope represents -Lord de Courcy, who had not laughed for many a day, exploding -at the notion of his neighbour earl having been all -but tossed by a bull: and the joke would have been better -still if the bull had had his will. This tendency is frequently -to be seen with a defective sympathy, and we believe the -things that make men laugh are an excellent clue at once -to intellect and temper. Many a man does not betray the -tiger that lurks within him till he laughs. There are times -when the body craves for laughter as it does for food. This -is the laughter which, on some occasion or other, has betrayed -us all into a scandalous, unseasonable, remorseful gaiety. -After long abstinence from cheerful thought, there are few -occasions so sad and solemn as to render this inopportune -revolt impossible, unless where grief absorbs the whole soul, -and lowers the system to a uniformity of sadness. In fact, -as no solemnity can be safe from incongruities, such occasions -are not seldom the especial scene of these exposures—of -explosions of a wild, perverse hilarity taking the culprit at -unawares; and this even while he is aghast at his flagrant -insensibility to the demand of the hour.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_522" id="Page_522">[522]</a></span></p> - -<p>"This is the laughter often ascribed to Satanic influence. -The nerves cannot forego the wonted stimulus, and are -malignantly on the watch, as it were, to betray the higher -faculties into this unseemly indulgence. Thus John and -Charles Wesley, in the early days of their public career, set -forth one particular day to sing hymns together in the fields; -but, on uplifting the first stave, one of them was suddenly -struck with a sense of something ludicrous in their errand, -the other caught the infection, and both fell into convulsions -of laughter, renewed on every attempt to carry out their first -design, till they were fain to give up and own themselves -for that time conquered by the Devil. There is a story of -Dr. Johnson much to the same purpose. Naturally melancholy, -he was yet a great laugher, and thus was an especial -victim to the possession we speak of, for no one laughs in -depression who has not learnt to laugh in mirth. He was -dining with his friend Chambers in the Temple, and at first -betrayed so much physical suffering and mental dejection -that his companion could not help boring him with remedies. -By degrees he rallied, and with the rally came the need of a -general reaction. At this point Chambers happened to say -that a common friend had been with him that morning -making his will. Johnson—or rather his nervous system—seized -upon this as the required subject. He raised a -ludicrous picture of the "testator" going about boasting of -the fact of his will-making to anybody that would listen, -down to the innkeeper on the road. Roaring with laughter, -he trusted that Chambers had had the conscience not to -describe the testator as of sound mind, hoped there was a -legacy to himself, and concluded with saying that he would -have the will set to verse and a ballad made out of it. Mr. -Chambers, not at all relishing this pleasantry, got rid of his -guest as soon as he could. But not so did Johnson get rid -of his merriment; he rolled in convulsions till he got out of -Temple Gate, and then, supporting himself against a post, -sent forth peals so loud as, in the silence of the night, to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_523" id="Page_523">[523]</a></span> -heard from Temple Bar to Fleet Ditch. We hear of -stomach coughs; this was a stomach, or ganglionic, laugh.</p> - -<p>"The mistimed laughter of children has often some such -source as this, though the sprite that possesses them has -rarely the gnomelike essence. A healthy boy, after a certain -length of constraint, is sometimes as little responsible for his -laughter as the hypochondriac. Mrs. Beecher Stowe, in -describing, and even defending, a Puritanical strictness of -Sabbath observance, recalls the long family expositions and -sermons which alternated in her youth with prolix Meeting -services, at all of which the younger members of the household -were required to assist in profound stillness of attention. -On one of these occasions, on a hot summer afternoon, -a heedless grasshopper of enormous dimensions leapt -on the sleeve of one of the boys. The tempting diversion -was not to be resisted; he slyly secured the animal, and -imprisoned a hind leg between his firmly compressed lips. -One by one, the youthful congregation became alive to the -awkward contortions and futile struggles of the long-legged -captive; they knew that to laugh was to be flogged, but -after so many sermons the need was imperative, and they -laughed, and were flogged accordingly. Different from all -these types is the grand frank laugh that finds its place in -history and biography, and belongs to master minds. Political -and party feeling may raise, in stirring times, any amount -of animosity, even in good-natured men; but once bring about -a laugh between them, and an answering chord is struck, a -tie is established not easily broken. Something of the old -rancour is gone for ever. There is a story of Canning and -Brougham, after hating and spiting one another through a -session, finding themselves suddenly face to face in some -remote district in Cumberland, with only a turn-pike gate -between them. The situation roused their magnanimity; -simultaneously they broke into laughter, and passed each on -his separate way, better friends from that time forth.</p> - -<p>"No honest laugher knows anything about his own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_524" id="Page_524">[524]</a></span> -laugh, which is fortunate, as it is apt to be the most -grotesque part of a man, especially if he is anything of an -original. Character, humour, oddity, all expatiate in it, and -the features and voice have to accommodate themselves to -the occasion as they can. There is Prince Hal's laugh, -"till his face is like a wet cloak ill laid up;" there is the -laugh we see in Dutch pictures, where every wrinkle of the -old face seems to be in motion; there is the convulsive -laugh, in which arms and legs join; there is the whinny, the -ventral laugh, Dr. Johnson's laugh like a rhinoceros, -Dominie Sampson's laugh lapsing without any immediate -stage into dead gravity, and the ideal social laugh—the delighted -and delighting chuckle which ushers in a joke, and -the cordial triumphant laugh which sounds its praises. We -say nothing of all the laughs—and how many there are!—which -have no mirth in them; nor of the "ha ha!" of melodrama, -and the ringing laugh of the novel, as being each -unfamiliar to our waking ears. Whatever the laugh, if it be -genuine and comes from decent people, it is as attractive as -the Piper of Hamelin. It is impossible not to want to know -what a hearty laugh is about. Some of the sparkle of life is -near, and we long to share it. The gift of laughter is one -of the compensating powers of the world. A nation that -laughs is so far prosperous. It may not have material -wealth, but it has the poetry of prosperity. When Lady -Duff Gordon laments that she never hears a hearty laugh in -Egypt, and when Mr. Palgrave, on the contrary, makes the -Arabs proper a laughing people, we place Arabia, for this -reason, higher among the countries than its old neighbour. -And it is the same with homes. Wherever there is pleasant -laughter, there inestimable memories are being stored up, -and such free play given to nerve and brain, that whatever -thought and power the family circle is capable of will have a -fair chance of due expansion."</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_525" id="Page_525">[525]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Convivial" id="Convivial"><i>CONVIVIAL ECCENTRICITIES.</i></a></h2> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Busbys" id="Busbys">Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall.</a></h3> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">A</span><span class="smcap">T</span> Busby's Folly, a bowling-green and house of public -entertainment, upon the site of the Belvidere Tavern, -Pentonville, there met on the 2nd of May, 1644, a fraternity -of Odd Fellows, members of the Society of Bull Feathers -Hall, who claimed, among other things, the toll of all the -gravel carried up Highgate Hill. A rare tract, entitled, <i>Bull -Feather Hall, or the Antiquity of Horns amply shown</i>, 1664, -relates the manner of going from Busby's Folly to Highgate:—"On -Monday, being the 2nd of May, some part of -the fraternity met at Busby's Folly, in Islington, where, -after they had set all things in order, they thus marched -out, <i>ordine quisque suo</i>:—First, a set of trumpets, then the -controller, or captain of the pioneers, with thirty or forty -following him with pickaxes and spades to level the hill, -and baskets withal to carry gravel. After them another set -of trumpeters, and also four that did wind the horn; after -them, the standard, <i>alias</i> an exceeding large pair of horns -fixed on a pole, which three men carried, with pennants on -each tip, the Master of the Ceremonies attending it, with -other officers. Men followed the flag, with the arms of the -society, with horned beasts drawn thereon, and this motto:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">'To have, and not to use the same,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Is not their glory, but their shame.'<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>"After this came the mace-bearer, then the herauld-at-arms, -with the arms of the society. The coat I cannot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_526" id="Page_526">[526]</a></span> -rightly blazon, but I remember the supporters were on one -side, a woman with a whip in her hand, besides that of her -tongue, with a menacing look, and underneath the motto, -<i>Ut volo, sic jubeo</i>; on the other side, a man in a woeful -plight, and underneath him, <i>Patientia patimur</i>." In this -order they marched, attended by multitudes of people. This -club, as the tract informs us, used to meet in Chequer Yard, -in Whitechapel, their president being arrayed in a crimson -satin gown and a furred cap, surmounted by a pair of antlers; -and on a cushion lay a cornuted sceptre and crown; the -brethren drank out of horn cups, and were sworn on admission, -upon a blank horn-book. They met twice a-week, -"to solace themselves with harmless merriment and promote -good fellowship among their neighbours."</p> - -<p>Busby's Folly was afterwards called "Penny's Folly." -Here Zucker, a high German, who had performed before -their Majesties and the Royal Family, exhibited his Learned -Little Horse from Cowland, who was to be seen looking out -of the windows up two pair of stairs every evening before -the performance began. Curious deceptions, "Comus's -philosophical performances," and the musical glasses, were -also exhibited here.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Oldtaverns" id="Oldtaverns">Old Islington Taverns.</a></h3> - - -<p>Less than half a century ago, the Old Red Lion Tavern, -in St. John Street Road, the existence of which dates as far -back as 1415, stood almost alone: it is shown in the centre -distance of Hogarth's picture of <i>Evening</i>. Several eminent -persons frequented this house: among others, Thomson, -the author of <i>The Seasons</i>, Dr. Johnson, and Oliver Goldsmith. -In a room here Thomas Paine wrote his infamous -book, <i>The Rights of Man</i>, which Burke and Bishop -Watson demolished. The parlour is hung with choice impressions -of Hogarth's plates. The house has been almost -entirely rebuilt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_527" id="Page_527">[527]</a></span></p> - -<p>Opposite the Red Lion, and surrounded by pens for -holding cattle on their way to Smithfield, was an old building, -called "Goose Farm:" it was let in suites of rooms; -here lived Cawse, the painter; and in another suite, the -mother and sister of Charles and Thomas Dibdin: the -mother, a short and squab figure, came on among villagers -and mobs at Sadler's Wells Theatre; but, failing to get engaged, -she died in Clerkenwell Poorhouse. Vincent de -Cleve, nicknamed Polly de Cleve, for his prying qualities, -who was treasurer of Sadler's Wells for many years, occupied -the second-floor rooms above the Dibdins. "Goose Yard," -on the west of the road, serves to determine the site of the -old farmhouse.</p> - -<p>The public-house facing the iron gates leading to Sadler's -Wells Theatre, with the sign of "The Clown," in honour of -Grimaldi, who frequented the house, was, in his day, known -as the King of Prussia, prior to which its sign had been that -of the Queen of Hungary. It is to this tavern, or rather to -an old one, upon the same site, that Goldsmith alludes in -his <i>Essay on the Versitility of Popular Favour</i>. "An alehouse-keeper," -says he, "near Islington, who had long lived -at the sign of the French King, upon the commencement of -the late war with France, pulled down his own sign, and put -up that of the Queen of Hungary. Under the influence of -her red race and golden sceptre, he continued to sell ale till -she was no longer the favourite of his customers; he changed -her, therefore, some time ago for the King of Prussia, which -may probably change in turn for the man that shall be set -up for vulgar admiration." The oldest sign by which this -house has been distinguished was that of the Turk's Head.</p> - -<p>At the Golden Ball, near Sadler's Wells, were sold by -auction, in 1732, "The valuable curiosities, living creatures, -&c., collected by the ingenious Mons. Boyle, of Islington;" -including "a most strange living creature bearing a near -resemblance of the human shape; he can utter some few -sentences and give pertinant answers to many questions. -There is likewise an Oriental oystershell of a prodigious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_528" id="Page_528">[528]</a></span> -weight and size, it measures from one extreme part to the -other above three feet two inches over. The other curiosity -is called the Philosopher's Stone, and is about the size of a -pullet's egg, the colour of it is blue, and more beautiful than -that of the ultramarine, which together with being finely -polished is a most delightful entertainment to the eye. This -unparalleled curiosity was clandestinely stolen out of the -late Great Mogul's closet; this irreparable loss had so great -an effect upon him that in a few months after he pined himself -to death: there is a peculiar virtue in this precious stone, -that principally relates to the fair sex, and will effectually -signify, in the variation of its colour, by touching it, whether -any of them have lost their virginity."</p> - -<p>Of the Rising Sun, in the Islington Road, in <i>Mist's -Journal</i>, February 9th, 1726, we read that for the ensuing -Shrove Tuesday "will be a fine hog, barbyqu'd—<i>i.e.</i> roasted -whole, with spice, and basted with Madeira wine, at the -house where the ox was roasted whole at Christmas last."</p> - -<p>In the Islington Road, too, near to Sadler's Wells, was -Stokes's Amphitheatre, a low place, though resorted to by -the nobility and gentry. It was devoted to bull and bear-baiting, -dog-fighting, boxing, and sword-fighting; and in -these terrible encounters, with naked swords, not blunted, -women engaged each other to "a trial of skill;" they -fought <i>à la mode</i>, in close fighting jackets, short petticoats, -Holland drawers, white thread stockings and pumps; the -stakes were from 10<i>l.</i> to 20<i>l.</i> Then we read of a day's -diversion—a mad bull, dressed up with fireworks, to be -baited; cudgel-playing for a silver cup, wrestling for a pair -of leather breeches, &c.; a noble, large, and savage, incomparable -Russian bear, baited to death by dogs; a bull, -illuminated with fireworks turned loose; eating one hundred -farthing pies, and drinking half a gallon of October beer, in -less than eight minutes, &c.<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_529" id="Page_529">[529]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Parchedpea" id="Parchedpea">The Oyster and Parched-Pea Club.</a></h3> - - -<p>The ancient town of "Proud Preston," in Lancashire, -from the year 1771 to 1841, a period of seventy years, -boasted its "Oyster and Parched-Pea Club." It was at -first limited to a dozen of the leading inhabitants, all of the -same political party, and who now and then drank a Jacobite -toast with a bumper. Its President was styled the Speaker. -Among its staff of officers was one named <i>Oystericus</i>, whose -duty it was to order and look after the oysters, which then -came "by fleet" from London. There were also a Secretary, -an Auditor, a Deputy Auditor, and a Poet Laureate or -Rhymesmith, as he was generally termed; also the Cellarius, -who had to provide port of the first quality; the Chaplain; -the Surgeon-General, the Master of the Rolls (to look to the -provision of bread-and-butter); the <i>Swig</i>-Master, whose -title expresses his duty; Clerk of the Peas; a Minstrel, a -Master of the Jewels, a Physician-in-Ordinary, &c. Among -the Rules and Articles of the Club, were, "That <i>a barrel of -oysters</i> be provided every Monday night during the winter -season, at the equal expense of the members; to be opened -exactly at half-past seven o'clock." "Every member on -having a son born, shall pay a gallon—for a daughter half-a-gallon—of -port, to his brethren of the club, within a month -of the birth of such child, at any public-house he shall -choose." Amongst the archives of the club is the following -curious entry, which is <i>not</i> in a lady's hand:—</p> - -<p>"The ladies of the Toughey [? Toffy] Club were rather -disappointed at not receiving, by the hands of the respectable -messenger, dispatched by the still more respectable members -of the Oyster Club, a few oysters. They are just sitting -down, after the fatigues of the evening, and take the liberty -of reminding the worthy members of the Oyster Club, that -oysters were <i>not made for man alone</i>. The ladies have sent -to the venerable president a small quantity of sweets [? pieces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_530" id="Page_530">[530]</a></span> -of Everton toffy] to be distributed, as he in his wisdom, shall -think fit."</p> - -<p>In 1795 the club was threatened with a difficulty, owing, -as stated by "Mr. Oystericus," to the day of the wagon—laden -with oysters—leaving London, having changed. -Sometimes, owing to a long frost, or other accident, no -oysters arrived, and then the club must have solaced itself -with "parched peas" and "particular port." Amongst the -regalia of the club was a silver snuff-box, in the lid of which -was set a piece of oak, part of the quarter-deck of Nelson's -ship <i>Victory</i>. The Rhymesmith's effusions were laughable, -as:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"A something monastic appears among oysters,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For gregarious they live, yet they sleep in their cloisters;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">'Tis observed, too, that oysters, when placed in their barrel,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Will never presume with their stations to quarrel.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From this let us learn what an oyster can tell us,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And we all shall be better and happier fellows.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Acquiesce in your stations, wherever you've got 'em;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Be not proud at the top, nor repine at the bottom;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But happiest they in the middle who live,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And have something to lend, and to spend, and to give."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"The bard would fain exchange, alack!<br /></span> -<span class="i4">For precious gold, his crown of laurel;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">His sackbut for a butt of sack;<br /></span> -<span class="i4">His vocal skill for oyster barrel!"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>These lines are from an Ode in 1806:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Nelson has made the seas our own,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then gulp your well-fed oysters down,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And give the French the <i>shell</i>."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Punchhouse" id="Punchhouse">A Manchester Punch-House.</a></h3> - - -<p>About the middle of the last century, a man named John -Shaw, who had served in the army as a dragoon, having lost -his wife and four or five children, solaced himself by opening -a public-house in the Old Shambles, Manchester, in conducting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_531" id="Page_531">[531]</a></span> -which he was supported by a sturdy woman-servant, -"Molly." John Shaw, having been much abroad, had acquired -a knack of brewing punch, then a favourite beverage; -and from this attraction, his house soon began to be frequented -by the principal merchants and manufacturers of the -town, and to be known as "John Shaw's Punch-house;" -sign it had none. As Dr. Aikin says in 1795 that Shaw had -then kept the house more than fifty years, we have here an -institution dating prior to the memorable '45. Having made -a comfortable competence, John Shaw, who was a lover of -early hours, and, probably from his military training, a martinet -in discipline, instituted the singular rule of closing his -house to customers at eight o'clock in the evening. As soon -as the clock struck the hour, John walked into the one -public room of the house, and in a loud voice and imperative -tone, proclaimed "Eight o'clock, gentlemen; eight o'clock." -After this no entreaties for more liquor, however urgent or -suppliant, could prevail over the inexorable landlord. If the -announcement of the hour did not at once produce the desired -effect, John had two modes of summary ejectment. -He would call to Molly to bring his horsewhip, and crack it -in the ears and near the persons of his guests; and should -this fail, Molly was ordered to bring her pail, with which she -speedily flooded the floor, and drove the guests out wet-shod. -Tradition says that the punch brewed by John Shaw was something -very delicious. In mixing it, he used a long-shanked -silver table-spoon, like a modern gravy-spoon, which, for convenience, -he carried in a side pocket, like that in which a -carpenter carries his two-foot rule. Punch was usually served -in small bowls (that is, less than the "crown bowls" of later -days) of two sizes and prices; a shilling bowl being termed -"a P of punch"—"a Q of punch" denoting a sixpenny -bowl. The origin of these slang names is unknown. Can -it have any reference to the old saying—"Mind your P's and -Q's?" If a gentleman came alone and found none to join -him, he called for "a Q." If two or more joined, they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_532" id="Page_532">[532]</a></span> -called for "a P;" but seldom more was spent than about -sixpence per head. Though eccentric and austere, John -won the respect and esteem of his customers, by his strict -integrity and steadfast adherence to his rules.</p> - -<p>For his excellent regulation as to the hour of closing, he -is said to have frequently received the thanks of the ladies -of Manchester, whose male friends were thus induced to -return home early and sober. At length this nightly meeting -of friends and acquaintances at John Shaw's grew into an -organised club of a convivial character, bearing his name. -Its objects were not political; yet, John and his guests -being all of the same political party, there was sufficient -unanimity among them to preserve harmony and concord. -John's roof sheltered none but stout, thorough-going Tories -of the old school, genuine "Church and King" men; nay, -even "rank Jacobites." If, perchance, from ignorance of -the character of the house, any unhappy Whig, any unfortunate -partisan of the house of Hanover, any known member -of a dissenting conventicle, strayed into John Shaw's, he -found himself in a worse condition than that of a solitary -wasp in a beehive.</p> - -<p>The war played the mischief with John's inimitable brew: -limes became scarce; lemons were substituted; at length of -these too, and of the old pine-apple rum of Jamaica, the -supplies were so frequently cut off by French privateers, that -a few years before John Shaw's death, the innovation of -"grog" in place of punch struck a heavy blow at the old -man's heart. Even autocrats must die, and at length, on the -26th January, 1796, John Shaw was gathered to his fathers, -at the ripe old age of eighty-three, having ruled his house -upwards of fifty-eight years; namely, from the year 1738. -But though John Shaw ceased to rule, the club still lived and -flourished. His successor in the house carried on the same -"early-closing movement," with the aid of the same old servant -Molly. At length the house was pulled down, and the -club was very migratory for some years. It finally settled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_533" id="Page_533">[533]</a></span> -down in 1852, in the "Spread Eagle" Hotel, Corporation -Street, where it still prospers and flourishes.</p> - -<p>In 1834, John Shaw's absorbed into its venerable bosom -another club of similar character, entitled "The Sociable -Club." The society possesses among its relics oil-paintings -of John Shaw and his maid Molly, and of several presidents -of past years. A few years ago, a singular old china punchbowl, -which had been the property of John Shaw himself, -was restored to the club as its rightful property by the descendant -of a trustee. It is a barrel-shaped vessel, suspended -on a stillage, with a metal tap at one end, whence to -draw the liquor, which it received through a large opening -or bung-hole. Besides assembling every evening, winter and -summer, between five and eight o'clock, a few of the members -dine together every Saturday at 2 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>; and they have -still an annual dinner, when old friends and members drink -old wine, toast old toasts, tell old stories, or "fight their -battles o'er again." Such is John Shaw's club—nearly a -century and a quarter old.—<i>Abridged from the Book of Days.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Bluekey" id="Bluekey">"The Blue Key."</a></h3> - - -<p>Some fifty years since, there was at Bolton a little club -of manufacturers, all of them old men, who met regularly in -the forenoon at the "Millstone Inn," to drink their single -glass of ale and compare notes on the news of the day. -They established this curious custom among themselves. -There was no great number of clerks and assistants in those -days, and when a manufacturer left his counting-room, or -warehouse, he locked the door and carried off the key, generally -a pretty large one. Now, this Millstone Club preferred -in cold weather to have their ale <i>with the chill off</i>. To effect -this, each member put the bow of his warehouse-key into -the fire, and when sufficiently warm, plunged it into his glass -of ale. A long continuance of this custom caused the -handle of each key to acquire a dark blue colour, and this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_534" id="Page_534">[534]</a></span> -"blue key" became a kind of emblem or talisman of the -club friends.—<i>French's Life of Samuel Crompton.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Brandy" id="Brandy">Brandy in Tea.</a></h3> - - -<p>Miss Berry relates, among her earliest Brighton reminiscences, -the following odd story of old Lady Clermont, -who was a frequent guest at the Pavilion. "Her physician -had recommended a moderate use of stimulants to supply -that energy which was deficient in her system, and brandy -had been suggested in a prescribed quantity, to be mixed -with her tea. I remember well having my curiosity excited -by this, to me, novel form of taking medicine, and holding -on by the back of a chair to watch the <i>modus operandi</i>. -Very much to my astonishment, the patient held a liqueur -bottle over a cup of tea and began to pour out its contents, -with a peculiar purblind look, upon the back of a teaspoon. -Presently she seemed suddenly to become aware of what she -was about, turned up the spoon the right way, and carefully -measured and added the quantity to which she had been -restricted. The tea so strongly "laced" she then drank -with great apparent gusto. Of course it was no longer "the -cup that cheers but not inebriates;" but what seemed inexplicable -to my ingenuous mind was the unvarying recurrence -of the same mistake of presenting the back of the -spoon instead of the front. I was aware that it did not arise -from defect of sight. Lady Clermont could see almost as -distinctly as myself. Nevertheless, the cordial was permitted -to accumulate in the tea till the old lady chose to adopt a -better measurer, and then she most conscientiously took care -not to exceed the number of teaspoonfuls the obliging doctor -had prescribed. I was not then aware that this was a case -in which the remedy was the reverse of worse than the -disease. Lady Clermont liked brandy as a medicine, and -made this bungle in measuring it by way of innocent device -for securing a much larger dose than she had been ordered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_535" id="Page_535">[535]</a></span> -The gravity with which she noticed her apparent mistake, -without attempting to correct it, and her little exclamation -of surprise, so invariably uttered, amused me so much that -when she quitted the Pavilion, the best part of my day's entertainment -seemed to have departed with her."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Woodenspoon" id="Woodenspoon">"The Wooden Spoon."</a></h3> - - -<p>The ludicrous sobriquet of the Ministerial Wooden -Spoon originated as follows:—Towards the close of each -Session of Parliament, a list of the votes of those Members -of the Government who are in the House of Commons is -produced at the Fish Dinner then given; and he who is -lowest on the list is probably regarded by his Cambridge -friends, at least, as the <i>wooden spoon</i>. During the administration -of Sir Robert Peel, on one of these anniversaries, -when the ministerial party was starting for Greenwich, one -of them, in passing through Hungerford Market, bought a -child's penny mug and a wooden spoon. After dinner, -when the list of votes was read out, the penny mug, on -which was painted "James," or "For a good boy," was presented, -with all due solemnity, to Sir James Graham, and the -wooden spoon to Sir William Follet. This is thought to be -the origin of the above strange custom.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Tipsy" id="Tipsy">A Tipsy Village.</a></h3> - - -<p>Livingston, in a recent journey in Africa, fell in with the -Manganja savages, as low as any he had ever met with, except -Bushmen; yet they cultivate large tracts of land for -grain, which they convert into <i>beer</i>! It is not very intoxicating, -but when they consume large quantities, they do become -a little elevated. When a family brews, a large number -of friends and neighbours are invited to drink, and bring -their hoes with them; and they let off the excitement by -hoeing their friend's field. At other times they consume<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_536" id="Page_536">[536]</a></span> -large quantities of beer, like regular topers, at home. Dr. -Livingston <i>in one village found all the people tipsy together</i>: -the men tried to induce the women to run away for shame, -but the ladies, too, were "a little overcome," and laughed -at the idea of their running. The village-doctor, however, -arranged matters by bringing a large pot of the liquid, with -the intention of reducing the travellers to the general level.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Odd things have been said of Gin. Burke, in one of his -<i>spirituel</i> flights, exclaimed, "Let the thunders of the pulpit -descend upon drunkenness, I for one stand up for gin." -This is a sort of paraphrase on Pope's couplet:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"This calls the church to deprecate our sin,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And hurls the thunder of our laws on gin."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Epicure" id="Epicure">What an Epicure Eats in his Life-Time.</a></h3> - - -<p>In a life of sixty-five years' duration, with a moderate -daily allowance of mutton, for instance, an epicure will have -consumed a flock of 350 sheep; and altogether for dinner -alone, adding to his mutton a reasonable allowance of potatoes -and other vegetables, with a pint of wine daily for thirty -years of this period, above thirty tons of solids and liquids -must have passed through his stomach. Soyer, in his practical -work, <i>The Modern Housewife</i>, says:—</p> - -<p>Take seventy years of the life of an epicure, beyond -which age of that class of <i>bon vivants</i> arrive, and even above -eighty, still in the full enjoyment of degustation, &c. (for -example, Talleyrand, Cambacères, Lord Sefton, &c.); if the -first of the said epicures, when entering on the tenth spring of -his extraordinary career, had been placed on an eminence—say -the top of Primrose Hill—and had had exhibited before -his infantine eyes the enormous quantity of food his then -insignificant person would destroy before he attained his -seventy-first year—first, he would believe it must be a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_537" id="Page_537">[537]</a></span> -delusion: then, secondly, he would inquire where the -money could come from to purchase so much luxurious -extravagance?</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Imagine on the top of the above-mentioned hill, a rushlight of a -boy just entering his tenth year, surrounded with the <i>recherché</i> provision -and delicacies claimed by his rank and wealth, taking merely -the consumption of his daily meals. By close calculating, he would -be surrounded and gazed at by the following number of quadrupeds, -birds, fishes, &c.:—By no less than 30 oxen, 200 sheep, 100 calves, -200 lambs, 50 pigs; in poultry, 1,200 fowls, 300 turkeys, 150 geese, -400 ducklings, 263 pigeons, 1,400 partridges, pheasants, and grouse; -600 woodcocks and snipes; 600 wild ducks, widgeon, and teal; 450 -plovers, ruffes, and reeves; 800 quails, ortolans, and dotterels, and a -few guillemots, and other foreign birds; also, 500 hares and rabbits, -40 deer, 120 guinea fowl, 10 peacocks, and 360 wild fowl. In the -way of fish, 120 turbot, 140 salmon, 120 cod, 260 trout, 400 mackerel, -300 whitings, 800 soles and slips, and 400 flounders; 400 red mullet, -200 eels, 150 haddocks, 400 herrings, 5,000 smelts, and some 100,000 -of those delicious silvery whitebait, besides a few hundred species of -fresh-water fishes. In shell-fish, 20 turtles, 30,000 oysters, 1,500 -lobsters or crabs, 300,000 prawns, shrimps, sardines, and anchovies. -In the way of fruit, about 500lb. of grapes, 360lb. of pine-apples, 600 -peaches, 1,400 apricots, 240 melons, and some 100,000 plums, greengages, -apples, pears, and some millions of cherries, strawberries, -raspberries, currants, mulberries, and an abundance of other small -fruit, <i>viz.</i> walnuts, chestnuts, dry figs, and plums. In vegetables of -all kinds, 5,475lb. weight; about 2,434-3/4lb. of butter, 684lb. of -cheese, 21,000 eggs, 100 ditto of plovers. Of bread, 4½ tons, half-a-ton -of salt and pepper, near 2-1/8 tons of sugar; and if he had happened -to be a bibacious boy, he could have formed a fortification or moat -round the said hill with the liquids he would have to partake of to -facilitate the digestion of the above-named provisions, which would -amount to no less than 11,673¾ gallons which may be taken as below:—49 -hogsheads of wine, 1,368¾ gallons of beer, 584 gallons of spirits, -342 ditto of liqueur, 2,394 ditto of coffee, cocoa, tea, &c., 304 gallons -of milk, 2,736 gallons of water—all of which would actually protect -him and his anticipated property from any young thief or fellow-schoolboy. -This calculation has for its basis the medium scale of the regular -meals of the day, which, in sixty years, amounts to no less than 33¾ -tons weight of meat, farinaceous food, and vegetables, &c.; out of -which the above are in detail the probable delicacies that would be -selected by an epicure through life.</p></blockquote> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_538" id="Page_538">[538]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Maginn" id="Maginn">Epitaph on Dr. William Maginn.</a></h3> - - -<p>Dr. Maginn, it is to be regretted, died at an early age, -of consumption. The following epitaph, written for him by -his friend, John G. Lockhart, conveys a tolerably correct -idea of his habits:—</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 18%;"><span class="smcap">Walton-on-Thames, August</span>, 1842.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here, early to bed, lies kind William Maginn,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who, with genius, wit, learning, life's trophies to win,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Had neither great lord nor rich cit of his kin,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor discretion to set himself up as to tin;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So, his portion soon spent, like the poor heir of Lynn—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He turned author ere yet there was beard on his chin,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, whoever was out, or whoever was in,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For your Tories his fine Irish brains he would spin;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who received prose and rhyme with a promising grin—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">"Go a-head, you queer fish, and more power to your fin,"<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But to save from starvation stirred never a pin.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Light for long was his heart, though his breeches were thin,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Else his acting for certain was equal to Quin;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But at last he was beat, and sought help of the bin<br /></span> -<span class="i0">(All the same to the doctor, from claret to gin),<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which led swiftly to jail, and consumption therein.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">It was much, when the bones rattled loose in the skin,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He got leave to die here, out of Babylon's din.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Barring drink and the girls, I ne'er heard a sin:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Many worse, better few, than bright, broken Maginn.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>It is not generally known that Dr. Maginn wrote for -Knight and Lacey, the publishers, in Paternoster Row, a -novel embodying the strange story of the Polstead murder, -in 1828, under the title of the <i>Red Barn</i>. The work was -published anonymously, in numbers, and by its sale the -publishers cleared many hundreds of pounds. Dr. Maginn's -learned and witty essays, in verse and prose, scattered over -our monthly magazines during nearly a quarter of a century, -merit collective republication.</p> - -<p>Talking of odd epitaphs, that upon Beazeley, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_539" id="Page_539">[539]</a></span> -architect and dramatist, was written, or rather spoken, by -Theodore Hook, as follows:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Here lies Sam Beazeley,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who lived hard and died easily."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Greendin" id="Greendin">Greenwich Dinners.</a></h3> - - -<p>The Hon. Grantley Berkeley, in his <i>Life and Recollections</i>, -relates some amusing anecdotes of these pleasant -gatherings:—</p> - -<p>"On two occasions," he says, "I remember that the late -Lord Rokeby went to Greenwich behind a pair of posters, -and that in coming back the postboy, excessively drunk, upset -him on the road. He was much too good-natured to -insist on the man's discharge, and, perhaps because he liked -a glass of wine himself, he was inclined to forgive a lad -overcome by porter; so the carriage was righted and no -notice taken of the matter. It so happened that some time -after, Lord Rokeby had again to go to Greenwich, and when -his carriage and pair of posters came to the door, he saw in -the saddle the same postboy who had brought him to grief.</p> - -<p>"'Oh, you're there, are you?' he said, in that dear, good-natured -way he had of speaking. 'Now mind, my good -fellow, you had your jollification last time; it's my turn now, -so I shall get drunk, and you must keep sober.'</p> - -<p>"The postboy touched his hat in acquiescence with this -reasonable proposition; he brought back my friend in -safety, at all events, and, I dare say, in a very happy state -of mind."</p> - -<p>The writer also remembers a dinner at the Ship, where -there were a good many ladies, and when D'Orsay was of the -party, during which his attention was directed to a centre -pane of glass in the bay window over the Thames, where -some one had written in large letters with a diamond, -D'Orsay's name in improper conjunction with a celebrated -German <i>danseuse</i> then fulfilling an engagement at the Opera.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_540" id="Page_540">[540]</a></span> -With characteristic readiness and <i>sang-froid</i>, he took an -orange from a dish near him, and making some trifling remark -on the excellence of the fruit, tossed it up once or -twice, catching it in his hand again. Presently, as if by -accident, he gave it a wider cant, and sent it through the -window, knocking the offensive words out of sight into the -Thames.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Portwine" id="Portwine">Lord Pembroke's Port Wine.</a></h3> - - -<p>Lord Palmerston (who, when in office, was accustomed -to employ his pleasantries as <i>paratonnerres</i> for troublesome -visitors), one day related the following anecdote to a deputation -of gentlemen who waited upon him to urge the reduction -of the Wine-duties. Referring to the question of -adulterations, "I remember," said his lordship, "my grandfather, -Lord Pembroke, when he placed wine before his -guests, said—'There, gentlemen, is my champagne, my -claret, &c. I am no great judge, and I give you this on the -authority of my wine-merchant; but I can answer for my -port, for I made it myself.' I still have his receipt, which I -look on as a curiosity; but I confess I have never ventured -to try it."</p> - -<p>The following is Lord Pembroke's veritable receipt:—Eight -gallons of genuine port wine, forty gallons of cider, -brandy to fill the hogsheads. Elder-tops will give it the -roughness, and cochineal whatever strength of colouring you -please. The quantity made should not be less than a hogshead: -it should be kept fully two years in wood, and as long -in bottle before it is used.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Tremend" id="Tremend">A tremendous Bowl of Punch.</a></h3> - - -<p>We find the following recorded upon the sober authority -of the veteran <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>:—</p> - -<p>On the 25th of October, 1694, a bowl of punch was -made at the Right Hon. Edward Russell's house, when he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_541" id="Page_541">[541]</a></span> -was Captain-General Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty's -forces in the Mediterranean Sea. It was made in a fountain -in a garden in the middle of four walks, all covered overhead -with orange and lemon-trees; and in every walk was a table, -the whole length of it covered with cold collations, &c. In -the said fountain were the following ingredients, namely:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">4 hogsheads brandy.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">25,000 lemons.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">20 gallons lime-juice.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">1,300 weight of fine white Lisbon sugar.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">5lbs. grated nutmegs.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">300 toasted biscuits.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">One pipe of dry mountain Malaga.<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Over the fountain was a large canopy to keep off the -rain, and there was built on purpose a little boat, wherein -was a boy belonging to the fleet, who rowed round the -fountain and filled the cups for the company; and, in all -probability, more than 6,000 men drank thereof.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 6em; margin-bottom: 5em;" src="images/image54.jpg" width="100" height="46" alt="Floral design" /> -</div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_542" id="Page_542">[542]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Miscellanea" id="Miscellanea"><i>MISCELLANEA.</i></a></h2> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Sirthomas" id="Sirthomas">Long Sir Thomas Robinson.</a></h3> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">T</span><span class="smcap">HERE</span> were two Sir Thomas Robinsons alive at the -same time. The one above mentioned was called -<i>Long</i> as a distinguishing characteristic. Some one told Lord -Chesterfield that <i>Long</i> Sir Thomas Robinson was very ill. -"I am sorry to hear it."—"He is dying by inches."—"Then -it will be some time before he dies," was the answer.</p> - -<p>One of Sir Thomas Robinson's freaks was to go to Paris -in his hunting suit, wearing a postilion's cap, a tight green -jacket, and buckskin breeches. In this strange dress he -joined a large company at dinner; when a French abbé, -unable to restrain his curiosity, burst out with, "Excuse me, -sir, are you the famous Robinson Crusoe so remarkable in -history?"</p> - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Chesterwill" id="Chesterwill">Lord Chesterfield's Will.</a></h3> - - -<p>The will of the celebrated Lord Chesterfield contains -this prelude:—"Satiated with the pompous follies of this -life, of which I have had an uncommon share, I would have -no posthumous ones displayed at my funeral, and therefore -desire to be buried in the next burying-place to the place -where I shall die, and limit the whole expense of my funeral -to 100<i>l.</i>" Shortly after comes the following clause:—"The -several devises and bequests hereinbefore and hereinafter -given by me to and in favour of my said godson, Philip -Stanhope, shall be subject to the condition and restriction -hereinafter mentioned—that is to say, that in case my said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_543" id="Page_543">[543]</a></span> -godson, Philip Stanhope, shall at any time hereafter keep or -be concerned in the keeping of any race-horse or race-horses, -or pack or packs of hounds, or reside one night at Newmarket, -that infamous seminary of iniquity and ill-manners, -during the course of the races there, or shall resort to the -said races, or shall lose in any one day at any game or bet -whatsoever the sum of 500<i>l.</i>, then, and in any of the cases -aforesaid, it is my express will that he, my said godson, shall -forfeit and pay out of my estate the sum of 5,000<i>l.</i> to and -for the use of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, for -every such offence or misdemeanour as is above specified, -to be recovered by action for debt in any of his Majesty's -courts of record at Westminster." The will entails a similar -penalty on the letting of Chesterfield House. The late -Lord Chesterfield, who was son of the man on whom -these liabilities were imposed, certainly let Chesterfield -House; and had, we will venture to say, passed some nights -at the "infamous seminary of iniquity and ill-manners." His -ancestor vested the infliction of the penalty in the reverend -hands of the Dean and Chapter, to mark, by a sort of -Parthian dart, his sense of the grasping spirit he considered -they had evinced in their dealings with him respecting the -land on which his house was built, and to show what a rigid -enaction of the penalty imposed he anticipated from such -sharp practitioners.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Oddfamily" id="Oddfamily">An Odd Family.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the reign of William III., there resided at Ipswich a -family which, from the number of peculiarities belonging to -it, was distinguished by the name of the "Odd Family." -Every event remarkably good or bad happened to this family -on an odd day of the month, and every member had something -odd in his or her person, manner, or behaviour. The -very letters in their Christian names always happened to be -an odd number: the husband's name was Peter, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_544" id="Page_544">[544]</a></span> -wife's name Raboh: they had seven children, all boys, <i>viz.</i> -Solomon, Roger, James, Matthew, Jonas, David, and -Ezekiel: the husband had but one leg, his wife but one -arm: Solomon was born blind of one eye, and Roger lost -his sight by accident; James had his left ear bit off by a boy -in a quarrel, and Matthew was born with only three fingers -on his right hand; Jonas had a stump foot, and David was -hump-backed. All these, except the latter, were remarkably -short, while Ezekiel was six feet one inch high at the age of -nineteen; the stump-footed Jonas and the hump-backed -David got wives of fortune, but no girls in the borough -would listen to the addresses of their brothers. The husband's -hair was as black as jet, and the wife's remarkably white; -yet every one of the children's hair was red. The husband -was killed by accidently falling into a deep pit in the year -1701; and his wife refusing all kinds of sustenance, died -five days after him, and they were buried in one grave. In -the year 1703, Ezekiel enlisted as a grenadier; and although -he was afterwards wounded in twenty-three places, he recovered. -Roger, James, Matthew, Jonas, and David, it -appears by the church registers, died in different places, -and were buried on the same day, in the year 1713; and -Solomon and Ezekiel were drowned together in crossing the -Thames in the year 1723. Such a collection of odd circumstances -never occurred before in one family.—<i>Clarke's -Account of Ipswich.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Eccentrichost" id="Eccentrichost">An Eccentric Host.</a></h3> - - -<p>Lady Blessington used to describe Lord Abercorn's -conduct at the Priory at Stanmore as very strange. She -said it was the most singular place on earth. The moment -any persons became celebrated they were invited. He had -a great delight in seeing handsome women. Everybody -handsome he made Lady Abercorn invite; and all the -guests shot, hunted, rode, or did what they liked, provided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_545" id="Page_545">[545]</a></span> -they never spoke to Lord Abercorn except at table. -If they met him they were to take no notice. At this time, -<i>Thaddeus of Warsaw</i> was making a noise. "Gad!" said -Lord Abercorn, "we must have these Porters. Write, my -dear Lady Abercorn." She wrote. An answer came from -Jane Porter, that they could not afford the expense of travelling. -A cheque was sent. They arrived. Lord Abercorn -peeped at them as they came through the hall, and running -by the private staircase to Lady Abercorn, exclaimed, -"Witches! my lady. I must be off," and immediately -started post, and remained away till they were gone.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Quackery" id="Quackery">Quackery Successful.</a></h3> - - -<p>Sir Edward Halse, who was physician to King George -III., driving one day through the Strand, was stopped by the -mob listening to the oratory of Dr. Rock, the famous quack, -who, observing Sir Edward look out at the chariot-window, -instantly took a number of boxes and phials, gave them to -the physician's footman, saying, "Give my compliments to -Sir Edward—tell him these are all I have with me, but I -will send him ten dozen more to-morrow." Sir Edward, -astonished at the message and effrontery of the man, actually -took the boxes and phials into the carriage; on which the -mob, with one consent, cried out, "See, see, all the doctors, -even the King's, buy their medicines of him!" In their -young days, these gentlemen had been fellow-students; but -Rock, not succeeding in regular practice, had metamorphosed -himself into a quack. In the afternoon, he waited -on Sir Edward, to beg his pardon for having played him -such a trick; to which Sir Edward replied, "My old friend, -how can a man of your understanding condescend to harangue -the populace with such nonsense as you talked to day? -Why, none but fools listen to you."—"Ah! my good friend, -that is the very thing. Do you give me the <i>fools</i> for my -patients, and you shall have my free leave to keep the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_546" id="Page_546">[546]</a></span> -people of sense for your own." Sir Edward Halse used to -divert his friends with this story, adding, "I never felt so -like a fool in my life as when I received the bottles and -boxes from Rock."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Footpad" id="Footpad">The Grateful Footpad.</a></h3> - - -<p>It is related of Jerry Abershawe, the notorious footpad, -that on a dark and stormy night in November, after having -stopped every passenger on the Wandsworth road, being -suddenly taken ill, he stopped at his old haunt, the Bald-faced -Stag public-house, when his comrades sent to Kingston -for medical assistance, and Dr. William Roots, then a very -young man, attended. Having bled him, and given the -necessary advice, the doctor was about to return home, -when his patient, with much earnestness, said, "You had -better, sir, have some one to go back with you, as it is a very -dark and lonesome journey." This, however, the doctor -declined, observing that he had "not the least fear, even -should he meet with Abershawe himself," little thinking to -whom he was making this reply. It is said that the footpad -frequently alluded to this scene, with much comic -humour. His real name was Louis Jeremiah Avershawe. -He was tried at Croydon for the murder of David Price, a -Union Hall officer, whom he had killed with a pistol-shot, -and at the same time wounded a second officer with -another pistol. In this case the indictment was invalidated -by some flaw; but having been tried and convicted, for -feloniously shooting at one Barnaby Turner, he was hung -in chains, on Wimbledon Common, in August, 1795.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Notoriety" id="Notoriety">A Notoriety of the Temple.</a></h3> - - -<p>Through reverses at law, how many persons has melancholy -marked for her own. Miss Flight, the little lady who -was always hovering about the courts, and behaving eccentrically,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_547" id="Page_547">[547]</a></span> -was one of this class, known to Dickens's readers. -Doubtless, she was considered a mere pen-and-ink sketch -from fancy, but she was a fact, every inch of her. She -would, we know, stop the most learned judges that sit on -the bench when in full swing of their awful judgment. She -would rise and shake her lean weird fist at the embodiment -of wisdom in horse-hair, and exclaim, "Oh, you vile man! -oh, you wicked man! Give me my property! I will issue a -<i>mandamus</i>, and have your <i>habeas corpus</i>!" And having -continued in a like fashion for a minute or two, she -would bind up her papers in "red tape"—at least, tape -that had once been red, and had followed her dirty fortunes -for years—and either subside into the seat granted her -beside the barristers or depart triumphant from court. -No usher had dared exclaim "Silence!" or send forth -the hush of the cackling animal peculiar to that official. -No barrister had nudged her under the fourth rib, as he -might have done another, and would have done had she -been fairer. And the learned Judge, sitting patiently -till the end, with a mild perspiration only rising on the -tip of the nose to show that he was in any way put out, -would then, as if nothing had occurred, resume the thread -of his learned judgment, to be appealed against, perhaps, -soon after. What the mystery is between Miss Flight and -the Bar no one can tell. She may have been the embodiment -of a peculiar wrong, and have appeared in the eyes of -the bewigged as a sort of ghost threatening the evil doers -with the shades. Perhaps she was pensioned merely out of -some stray idea of benevolence. We scarcely thought -of that in connection with the object of our comment, and -yet to a certain extent it may be true, as she received from -the right learned Middle Temple a sum of shillings per -week, which she added to a sum of shillings received from -the right learned Inner Temple, and so she supported -life. But why the learned of the law gave something for -nothing, and were afraid of and respectful to the little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_548" id="Page_548">[548]</a></span> -woman, let no man enquire. The little woman's soul has, -however, flitted, and we can say that, after all, the few young -lawyers who know nought of her history will send after her -whither she has gone a word of regret.—<i>Court Journal.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Sedan" id="Sedan">A Ride in a Sedan.</a></h3> - - -<p>From a house in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, the -beautiful Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and the other -fair and high-born women who canvassed for Charles James -Fox, used to watch the humours of the Westminster election. -Pitt writes to Wilberforce on the 8th of April, 1784, "Westminster -goes on well, in spite of the Duchess of Devonshire, -and the other women of the people; but when the poll will -close is uncertain." Hannah More, as appears from the -date of her letters, resided at one period in Henrietta Street, -and in one of them we find an amusing account of an adventure -which she met with during the Westminster election. -To one of her sisters she writes:—"I had like to have got -into a fine scrape the other night. I was going to pass the -other evening at Mrs. Coles's, in Lincoln's Inn Fields. I -went in a chair. They carried me through Covent Garden. -A number of people, as I went along, desired the man not -to go through the garden, as there were an hundred armed -men, who suspected every chairman belonged to Brookes's, -and would fall upon us. In spite of my entreaties the men -would have persisted, but a stranger, out of humanity, made -them set me down, and the shrieks of the wounded, for -there was a terrible battle, intimidated the chairmen, who -were at last prevailed upon to carry me another way. A -vast number of people followed me, crying out, 'It is -Mrs. Fox: none but Mr. Fox's wife would dare to come -into Covent Garden in a chair; she is going to canvass in -the dark!' Though not a little frightened, I laughed -heartily at this, but shall stir out no more in a chair for -some time."</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_549" id="Page_549">[549]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"><a name="Illus48" id="Illus48"> -<img style="margin-top: 4em;" src="images/image55.jpg" width="250" height="409" alt="Lord Eldon. "Old Bags" after H. B." /> -</a></div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 2em;">Lord Eldon. "Old Bags" after H. B.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Johnscott" id="Johnscott">Mr. John Scott (Lord Eldon) in Parliament.</a></h3> - - -<p>Mr. Scott broke ground in Parliament in opposition to -the famous East India Bill, and began with his favourite -topic, the honesty of his own intentions, and the purity of -his own conscience. He spoke in respectful terms of Lord -North, and more highly still of Mr. Fox; but even to Mr. -Fox it was not fitting that so vast an influence should be -entrusted. As Brutus said of Cæsar—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i18">"—— he would be crown'd!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How that might change his nature,—there's the question."<br /></span> -</div></div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_550" id="Page_550">[550]</a></span></p> -<p>It was an aggravation of the affliction he felt, that the cause -of it should originate with one to whom the nation had so -long looked up; a wound from him was doubly painful. -Like Joab, he gave the shake of friendship, but the other -hand held a dagger, with which he despatched the constitution. -Here Mr. Scott, after an apology for alluding to sacred -writ, read from the book of Revelation some verses which -he regarded as typical of the intended innovations in the -affairs of the English East India Company:—"'And I stood -upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of -the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his -horns ten crowns. And they worshipped the dragon which -gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, -saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make -war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth -speaking great things; and power was given unto him to -continue forty and two months.' Here," says Mr. Scott, -"I believe there is a mistake of six months—the proposed -duration of the bill being four years, or forty-eight months. -'And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, -free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in -their foreheads.'—Here places, pensions, and peerages are -clearly marked out.—'And he cried mightily with a strong -voice, saying, Babylon the Great'—plainly the East India -Company—'is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation -of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of -every unclean and hateful bird.'"</p> - -<p>He read a passage from Thucydides to prove that men -are more irritated by injustice than by violence, and described -the country crying out for a respite, like Desdemona—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Kill me to-morrow—let me live to-night—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But half-an-hour!"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>This strange jumble was well quizzed by Sheridan, and -Mr. Scott appears to have found out that rhetorical embellishment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_551" id="Page_551">[551]</a></span> -was not his line; for his subsequent speeches -are less ornate.</p> - -<p>In the squibs of the period, their obscurity forms the -point of the jokes levelled at him. Thus, among the pretended -translations of Lord Belgrave's famous Greek quotation, -the following couplet was attributed to him:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"With metaphysic art his speech he plann'd,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And said—what nobody could understand."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Jeu" id="Jeu">A Chancery Jeu-d'Esprit.</a></h3> - - -<p>Sir John Leach was a famous leader in Chancery in his -day; afterwards Vice-Chancellor, and finally Master of the -Rolls.</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Nor did he change, but kept in lofty place"</p> - -<p>the character assigned to him by Sir George Rose in a <i>jeu-d'esprit</i>, -the point of which has suffered a little in the hands -of Lord Eldon's biographers, Mr. Twiss and Lord Campbell. -The true text, we know from the highest authority, ran -thus:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"Mr. Leech<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Made a speech,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Angry, neat, and wrong;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Mr. Hart,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On the other part,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Was right, and dull, and long.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Mr. Parker<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Made the case darker,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which was dark enough without;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Mr. Cooke<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Cited a book,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the Chancellor said, 'I doubt.'"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>Mr. Twiss good-naturedly suggests that "Parker" was -taken merely for the rhyme; but we are assured that this -was not so, and that the verses represent the actual order -and <i>identities</i> of the argument. By the favour of the accomplished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_552" id="Page_552">[552]</a></span> -author we are enabled to lay before our readers his -own history of this production. "In my earliest years at -the Bar, sitting idle and listless rather than listening, on the -back benches of the court, Vesey, junior, the reporter, put -his notebook into my hand, saying, 'Rose, I am obliged -to go away. If anything occurs, take a note for me.' When -he returned, I gave him back his notebook, and in it the -fair report, in effect, of what had taken place in his absence; -and of course thought no more about it. My short report -was so far <i>en règle</i>, that it came out in <i>numbers</i>, though certainly -<i>lege solutis</i>. It was about four or five years afterwards—when -I was beginning to get into business—that I had a -motion to make before the Chancellor. Taking up the -paper (the <i>Morning Chronicle</i>), at breakfast, I there, to my -surprise and alarm, saw my unfortunate report. 'Here's -a pretty business!' said I; 'pretty chance have I, having -thus made myself known to the Court as satirizing both -Bench and Bar.' Well, as Twiss truly narrates, I made my -motion. The Chancellor told me to 'take nothing' by it, -and added, 'and, Mr. Rose, in this case, the Chancellor -does not doubt.' But Twiss has not told the whole story. -The anecdote, as he left it, conveys the notion of a taunting -displeased retaliation, and reminds one of the Scotch judge, -who, after pronouncing sentence of death upon a former -companion whom he had found it difficult to beat at chess, -is alleged to have added, 'And now, Donald, my man, I've -checkmated you for ance!'</p> - -<p>"If Twiss had applied to me (I wish he had, for Lord -Eldon's sake), I might have told him what Lord Eldon, in -his usual consideration for young beginners, further did. -Thinking that I might be (as I in truth was) rather disconcerted -at so unexpected a contretemps, he sent me down a -note to the effect that, so far from being offended, he had -been much pleased with a playfulness attributed to me, and -hoped, now that business was approaching me, I should still -find leisure for some relaxation; and he was afterwards invariably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_553" id="Page_553">[553]</a></span> -courteous and kind; nay, not only promised me a -silk gown, but actually—<i>credite Posteri</i>—invited me to -dinner. I have never known how that scrap (which, like a -Chancery suite which it reports, promises to be <i>sine-final</i>) -found its way into print."—<i>Note, in the Quarterly Review.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Compact" id="Compact">Hanging by Compact.</a></h3> - - -<p>In 1827, there was recorded in the <i>London Magazine</i> the -following strange instance of</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"The wearied and most loathed worldly life."</p> - -<p>Some few years ago, two fellows were observed by a -patrol sitting by a lamp-post in the New Road; and on -closely watching them, he discovered that one was <i>tying up</i> -the other (who offered no resistance) by the neck. The -patrol interfered, to prevent such a strange kind of murder, -when he was assailed by both, and pretty considerably beaten -for his good offices. The watchmen, however, poured in, -and the parties were secured. On examination next morning, -it appeared that the men had been gambling; that one had -lost all his money to the other, and had at last proposed to -stake his clothes. The winner demurred: observing, that he -could not strip his adversary naked, in the event of his -losing. "Oh," replied the other, "do not give yourself any -uneasiness about that. If I lose, I shall be unable to live, -and you shall hang me, and take my clothes after I am -dead; as I shall then, you know, have no occasion for -them." The proposed arrangement was assented to; -and the fellow having lost, was quietly submitting to the -terms of the treaty, when he was intercepted by the patrol, -whose impertinent interference he so angrily resented.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Floored" id="Floored">The Ambassador Floored.</a></h3> - - -<p>Coleridge, in his <i>Table Talk</i>, truly says, "What dull -coxcombs your diplomatists at home generally are. I remember<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_554" id="Page_554">[554]</a></span> -dining at Mr. Frere's once in company with -Canning, and a few other interesting men. Just before -dinner, Lord —— called on Frere, and asked him to -dinner. From the moment of his entry, he began to talk -to the whole party, and in French, all of us being genuine -English; and I was told his French was execrable. He -had followed the Russian army into France and had seen a -good deal of the great men concerned in the war. Of none -of those things did he say a word; but went on, sometimes -in English, and sometimes in French, gabbling about -cookery, dress, and the like. At last he paused for a little, -and I said a few words, remarking how a great image may -be reduced to the ridiculous and contemptible by bringing -the constituent parts into prominent detail, and mentioned -the grandeur of the Deluge, and the preservation of life in -Genesis and the <i>Paradise Lost</i>, and the ludicrous effect -produced by Drayton's description in his <i>Noah's Flood</i>:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"'And now the beasts are walking from the wood,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As well of ravine as that chew the cud,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The king of beasts his fury doth suppress,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And to the Ark leads down the lioness;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The bull for his beloved mate doth low,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And to the Ark brings on the fair-eyed cow.'<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>"Hereupon, Lord —— resumed, and spoke in raptures of a -picture which he had lately seen of Noah's Ark, and said the -animals were all marching two and two, the little ones first, -and that the elephants came last in great majesty, and filled -up the foreground. 'Ah! no doubt, my Lord,' said Canning; -'your elephants, wise fellows! stayed behind to pack up -their trunks!' This floored the ambassador for half-an-hour."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Dutch" id="Dutch">"The Dutch Mail."</a></h3> - - -<p>When, in 1827, Sir Richard Phillips published his -<i>Personal Tour through the Midland Counties</i>, he related the -following amusing incident:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_555" id="Page_555">[555]</a></span></p> - -<p>"When I was in Nottingham, I fell in with a plain -elderly man, an ancient reader of the <i>Leicester Herald</i>, a -paper which I published for some years in the halcyon days -of my youth. Its reputation secured to me many a hearty -shake by the hand, accompanied by the watery eye of warm -feeling as I passed through the Midland counties. I -abandoned it in 1795, for the <i>Monthly Magazine</i> and exchanged -Leicester for London. This ancient reader, hearing -I was in Nottingham, came to me with a certain paper in -his hand, to call me to account for the wearisome hours -which an article in it had cost him and his friends. I looked -at it and saw it headed 'Dutch Mail,' and it professed to be -a column of <i>original Dutch</i>, which this honest man had been -labouring to translate, for he said he had not met with any -other specimen of Dutch. The sight of it brought the -following circumstance to my recollection:—</p> - -<p>"On the evening before one of our publications, my -men and a boy were frolicking in the printing-office, and -they overturned two or three columns of the paper <i>in type</i>. -The chief point was to get ready in some way for the -Nottingham and Derby coaches, which at four in the -morning required 400 or 500 papers. After every exertion -we were short nearly a column, but there stood in the -galleys a tempting column of <i>pie</i>. Now, unlettered readers, -mark—<i>pie</i> is a jumble of odd letters, gathered from the -floor, &c., of a printing-office, and set on end, in any manner, -to be distributed at leisure in their proper places. Some -letters are topsy-turvy, often ten or twelve consonants -come together, and then as many vowels, with as whimsical -a juxtaposition of stops. It suddenly bethought me that -this might be thought 'Dutch,' and, after writing as a head, -'Dutch Mail,' I subjoined a statement that, 'just as our -paper was going to press, the Dutch Mail had arrived, but -as we had not time to make a translation, we had inserted -its intelligence in the original.' I then overcame the -scruples of my overseer, and the <i>pie</i> was made up to the extent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_556" id="Page_556">[556]</a></span> -wanted, and off it went as <i>original Dutch</i>, into Derbyshire -and <i>Nottinghamshire</i>! In a few hours other matter, in -plain English, supplied its place for our local publication. -Of course all the linguists, schoolmasters, high-bred village -politicians, and correspondents of the <i>Ladies' Diary</i>, set -their wits to work to translate my Dutch, and I once had a -collection of letters containing speculations on the subject, -or demanding a literal translation of that which appeared to -be so intricate. How the Dutch could read it was incomprehensible! -My Nottingham <i>quidnunc</i> at times had, for -above four-and-thirty years, bestowed on it his anxious -attention. I told him the story, and he left me, vowing, that -as I had deceived him, he would never believe any newspaper -again."</p> - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Spelling" id="Spelling">Bad Spelling.</a><a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></h3> - - -<p>There is a story of a man who borrowed a volume of -<i>Chaucer</i> from Charles Lamb, and scandalized the gentle Elia -in returning it by the confidential remark, "I say, Charley, -these old fellows spelt very badly." We do not know what -this precision would have said of the lords and ladies of -Morayshire 150 years ago, for, with few exceptions, they -spelt abominably. Even Henrietta, Duchess of Gordon, -daughter of the celebrated Earl of Peterborough, who writes -most sensibly and affectionately to her "deare freind, Mistress -Elizabeth Dunbar," is not immaculate in this respect. -She talks of a "gownd," is "asured there will be an opportunity," -and speaks of "sum wise and nesessary end." But -it is a shame of us even to appear to disparage this excellent -lady for what was then such a usual infirmity. Her letters -are, perhaps, the most worth reading of any in Captain -Dunbar's collection, and her literary criticisms on the books -she wishes her "deare freind" to read are especially interesting. -The gentlemen were, perhaps, still more careless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_557" id="Page_557">[557]</a></span> -than the ladies in their spelling. Here are a couple of notes, -the latter of which is enough to make a modern salmon-fisher's -mouth water:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p style="text-align: right">"Cloavs, Jnr 29, 1703.</p> - -<p>"Affectionat Brother,—Cloavs and I shall met you the -morou in the Spinle moore, betwixt 8 and nine in the morning, -where ye canot miss good sporte twixt that and the sea. -ffaile not to bring ane bottle of brandie along, ffor I asheure -you ye will lose the wadger. In the mean time, we drink -your health, and am your affectionat brother,"</p> - -<p style="text-align: right">"<span class="smcap">R. Dunbar</span>."</p> - -<p>"To the Laird off Thunderton—Heast, heast."</p> - -<p style="text-align: right">"Innes, June 25, 5 at night.</p> - -<p>"Sir,—You will not (I hope) be displeased when I tell -you that Wat. Stronoch, this forenoon, killed <i>eighteen hundred -Salmon and Grilses</i>. But it is my misfortune that the boat -is not returned yet from Inverness, and I want salt. Therefore -by all the tyes of friendship send me on your own horses -eight barrels of salt or more. When my boat returns, none, -particularly Coxton, shall want what I have. This in great -heast from, dear Archie, yours,"</p> - -<p style="text-align: right">"<span class="smcap">Harrie Innes</span>."</p> - -<p>"I know not but they may kill as many before 2 in the -morning, for till then I have the Raick, and to-morrow the -Pott. These twenty years past such a run was not as has -been these two past days in so short a time, therefore heast, -heast; spare not horse hyre. I would have sent my own -horses, but they are all in the hill for peatts. Adieu, dear -Archie."</p></blockquote> - -<p>Our ancestors seem to have regarded spelling much as -we regard the knowledge of French. It was disgraceful not -to have a smattering of it, but exceptional to have mastered -it thoroughly. When we compare the above notes, which -would not confer much credit on a modern national schoolboy, -with a letter written by Duncan Forbes in 1745, we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_558" id="Page_558">[558]</a></span> -find ourselves in quite a different atmosphere. The Lord -President is terribly angry with the Elgin justices for winking -at smugglers; but he writes like a scholar and a man of -business. While on the subject of spelling, we must select -from Captain Dunbar's collection two choice specimens of -cacography, a "chereot," and "jelorfis." The reader will -probably guess that the former stands for chariot, as cheroots -were then unknown, but we defy him to unravel the latter -without the context. "Jelorfis" is the phonetic utterance -of an unlucky wight who had got into prison for giving a -chop to another man's nose, and stands in his vocabulary -for "jailer's fees." There are several characteristic letters -from the celebrated Lord Lovat, in which his Scottish pawkiness -and French courtliness, no unusual mixture early in -the eighteenth century, are clearly displayed. This singular -personage, who may be described as Nature's outline sketch -of a character which she afterwards elaborated in the Bishop -of Autun, but who, unlike Talleyrand, had the misfortune to -die in his stocking-feet, wrote his letters on gilt-edged paper, -enclosed in envelopes, and in these honied words addresses -the Dunbar of that day:—</p> - -<p>"I am exceeding glad to know that you and your lady -are well, and having inquired at the bearer if you had children, -he tells me that you have a son, which gives me great -pleasure, and I wish you and your lady much joy of him, -and that you may have many more, for they will be the -nearest relatives I have of any Dunbars in the world, except -your father's children; and my relation to you is not at a -distance, as you are pleased to call it, it is very near, and I -have not such a near relation betwixt Spey and Ness; and -you may assure yourself that I will always behave to you and -yours as a relation ought to do; and I beg leave to assure -you and your lady of my most affectionate regards, and my -Lady Lovat's, and my young ones, your little cousins."</p> - -<p>Lord Lovat wrote this letter when he was past seventy. -Four years later, Dr. Carlyle, of Inveresk, then a mere youth,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_559" id="Page_559">[559]</a></span> -met him at Luckie Vint's tavern. He describes him as a -tall, stately man, with a very flat nose, who, after imbibing a -goodly quantity of claret, stood up to dance with Miss Kate -Vint, the landlady's niece. Five years later still, his head -fell on the scaffold at Tower Hill.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> Here we may pause to -observe a curious instance of traditionary linkage. Dr. Carlyle -died within the first decade of this century, so that many -persons still living may have conversed with one who had been -in company with a man born early in the reign of Charles -II. Lovat was not only fond of flattering other people, -but liked to be flattered himself also. This he accomplished -by the simple expedient of sending self-laudatory puffs to the -<i>Edinburgh Courant</i> and <i>Mercury</i>, for the insertion of which -paragraphs he paid from half-a-crown to four shillings each.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Single" id="Single">A "Single" Conspirator.</a></h3> - - -<p>About thirty years ago, when those atrocious crimes -were committed which made the name of Burke a generic -title for certain murders, an old woman entered the shop of -a surgeon-apothecary in an Irish county-town and offered to -sell him a "subject." He was quite ready to complete the -contract, but he desired to learn some details for his guidance -as to the value of the object in question, and put to her for -this purpose certain queries. Imagine his horror to discover -that "the subject" was at that very moment alive, being a -boy of nine or ten years of age, but of whom, the bargain -being made, the old woman was perfectly prepared to "dispose," -she being so far provident as not to bring a perishable -commodity to market till she had secured a purchaser. -Determined that such atrocity should not go unpunished, he -made an appointment with her for another day, on which -she should return and more explicitly acquaint him with all -she intended to do, and the means by which she meant to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_560" id="Page_560">[560]</a></span> -secure secrecy. At this meeting—that his testimony should -be corroborated—he managed that a policeman should be -present, and, concealed beneath the counter, listen to all -that went forward. The interview, accordingly, took place; -the old woman was true to her appointment, and most circumstantially -entered into the details of the intended assassination, -which she described as the easiest thing in life—a -pitch-plaster over the mouth and a tub of water being the -inexpensive requisites of the case. When her narrative, to -which she imparted a terrible gusto, was finished, the policeman -came forth from his lair and arrested her. She was -thrown at once into prison, and sent for trial at the next -assizes. Now, however, came the difficulty. For what -should she be arraigned? It was not murder—it was still incomplete. -It was, therefore, conspiracy to kill; but a single -individual cannot "conspire;" and so, to fix her with the -crime, it would be necessary to include the surgeon in the -indictment. If they wanted to try the old woman, the doctor -must share the dock. Now, all the ardour for justice could -scarcely be supposed to carry a man so far; the doctor -"demurred" to the arrangement, and the old hag was set at -liberty.—<i>Blackwood's Magazine.</i></p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Miscalc" id="Miscalc">A Miscalculation.</a></h3> - - -<p>We have in England an old story of a luckless wight, -who, having calculated he should live a certain number of -years, parcelled out his income accordingly; but finding he -lived to become penniless, he took to begging, and affixed -on his breast a small box to receive contributions, with this -brief but significant prayer: "Pray remember a poor man -who has lived longer than he thought he should."</p> - -<p>In 1843, the counterpart of this strange story really -happened in Paris to a man named Jules André Gueret. -When twenty-five years of age, he possessed a considerable -fortune, and resolved never to marry. He converted his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_561" id="Page_561">[561]</a></span> -entire estate into hard cash, and, in order not to suffer any -losses from failures, depreciation of property, &c., he kept -his money in his own possession. He had made the following -calculation:—"The life of a sober man extends over a -period of seventy years; that of a man who denies himself -no kind of amusement may attain fifty-five or sixty; thus -the whole of my hopes cannot go beyond that period; at -any rate, as a last resort, suicide is at my command." He -divided his money into equal portions for each year's expenditure. -This division was so nicely arranged, that, at -the expiration of the sixtieth year, Gueret would have nothing -left, and each year he scrupulously spent the sum set -apart. But, alas! he had not reflected on the clinging attachment -of man to life, for in 1843, having exceeded the prescribed -period, he patiently submitted to his misfortune, and, -being then old and infirm, he took his stand on the Quai -des Célestins with a small box and a few lucifer-matches, -living on the charity of the passers-by. He wore suspended -round his neck a piece of pasteboard, on which were written -the following lines of his own composing:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"Ayez pitié, passants, du pauvre André Gueret,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Dont la vie est plus longue, hélas! qu'il ne croyait."<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p>The cholera carried him off at last, to the great regret of the -<i>artistes</i> of the Ile St. Louis, whose leisure hours he whiled -away by the relation of his youthful recollections. He died -in one of the hospitals of Paris.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Indiscrim" id="Indiscrim">An Indiscriminate Collector.</a></h3> - - -<p>In the <i>Scotsman</i>, May, 1866, we find the following -curious case of eccentricity related as having occurred in the -city of Edinburgh: it is strongly tinged with oddity, and -would be fairly laughed at did it not present a lamentable -instance of waste of means. The details are as follows:—A -good many years ago, a gentleman who filled a prominent -situation in one of the Edinburgh banks, at a good old age,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_562" id="Page_562">[562]</a></span> -married his servant. The pair lived happily together for several -years, when the gentleman died, leaving by his will 1,000<i>l.</i> -to his widow, in addition to an annuity of 300<i>l.</i> and a mansion, -which he had built and elegantly furnished; it is situated -in the midst of a garden, surrounded by a high stone -wall. Shortly after her husband's death, the widow became -notorious for two peculiarities: first, the rigid exclusion of -all visitors from her house, the invariable answer to all entreaties -to see her being that she was not at home, or could -not be seen; the second was her constant attendance at -book and most other sales which took place in Edinburgh, -where during the season she might daily be seen carrying a -large blue bag, in which she deposited and carried home -her purchases, which were of the most miscellaneous description. -Matters went on thus for some twenty years. On -Sunday, May 6, 1866, the old lady, in her usual health, went -into her garden to take the air, and, as she did not return so -speedily as was her wont, her servant looked out at the main -door, when she found her mistress sitting on the stone steps -dead. This unexpected event speedily cleared up the -mystery which enveloped her domestic relations.</p> - -<p>On the house being entered by warrant from the sheriff, -it was found converted into a vast magazine for the conservation -of the purchases of the last twenty years. The lobby -had been decorated with statuary figures, standing, with the -pedestals, some eight feet high; but these were totally hidden -by piles of books, intermixed with rubbish of every -description, heaped up on every side—a narrow passage -being left in the centre. Every room in the house was filled -with piles of books, rotten mattresses, stuffed dogs, female -dresses, made and unmade, cheap jewelry, old bonnets, -pictures, and prints, with a great variety of other articles, -intermixed with straw, hair, shavings, &c., which covered all -the floors to the depth of several feet; and similar piles -filled the beds, and lay heaped on every article of furniture -in the house. The smell from the mass of festering rubbish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_563" id="Page_563">[563]</a></span> -was intolerable. Upwards of five tons weight of books had -to be removed before the rooms could be inspected. Most -of the smaller articles were found tied up in bags or parcels, -in the state in which they had been brought home. The -deceased, it seems, cleared a hole which she had scooped -out amid a vast quantity of rubbish in one of the rooms, and -there, on the floor, with only a hair mattress beneath her, -the tick of which had rotted away on one side, she took her -rest in the dress she daily wore, without blankets or covering -of any kind.</p> - -<p>The deceased, though a purchaser of books to so large -an extent, never read any, nor knew anything of their value; -and when asked what were their uses, her answer was that -she brought them to present to ministers or the children of -her friends. The tenacity with which she preserved the -secrets of her prison-house may also be judged of by the -fact that her servant, a young Highland girl, had never, -though she had been six months in her service, been beyond -the walls of the garden. The girl was carefully locked up -every time the deceased left the house until her return, -and she never was allowed to go out of her mistress' -sight.</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Bishops" id="Bishops">The Bishops' Saturday Night.</a></h3> - - -<p>The Reverend Sydney Smith, on the bare suggestion -that Lord John Russell's Church Commission should collect -the Church revenues, and pay the hierarchy out of them, -imagined and described the scene of payment in the following -irresistible words:—"I should like to see this subject in -the hands of H. B. I would entitle the print,—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"The Bishops' Saturday Night; or,<br /> -Lord John Russell at the<br /> -Pay-Table."</p> - -<p>"The Bishops should be standing before the pay-table, and -receiving their weekly allowance; Lord John and Spring -Rice counting, ringing, and biting the sovereigns, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_564" id="Page_564">[564]</a></span> -Bishop of Exeter insisting that the Chancellor of the Exchequer -has given him one which was not weight. Viscount -Melbourne, in high chuckle, should be standing with his -hat on, and his back to the fire, delighted with the contest; -and the Deans and Canons should be in the background -waiting till their turn came, and the Bishops were paid; -and among them a Canon of large composition, urging them -not to give way too much to the Bench. Perhaps I should -add the President of the Board of Trade, recommending -the truck principle to the Bishops, and offering to pay them -in hassocks, cassocks, aprons, shovel-hats, sermon-cases, and -such like ecclesiastical gear."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Ratherthan" id="Ratherthan">"Rather Than Otherwise."</a></h3> - - -<p>Theodore Hook gives somewhere a finished trait of one -of those characters who are so dreadfully tenacious of truth, -that they will not risk losing their hold of it by a direct -answer to the simplest question. A gentleman who was -very much in debt had a servant with this sort of scrupulous -conscientiousness. He was horribly dunned and in such -daily danger of arrest, that the sight of a red waistcoat -(which the myrmidons of the sheriff wore in the last century) -threw him into a sort of scarlet fever. One day he had -reason to believe that during his absence an unpleasant -visitor of that description had called, and on returning, he -was very particular in his inquiries respecting the persons -who had been at the house. His cautious servant partly -described one calling who excited his alarm. "What kind -of man was he?" The girl could not say. "Had he any -papers in his hand?" She did not observe. "Did he wear -top-boots?" The cautious housemaid could not charge -her memory. At last, as a final effort to satisfy his curiosity, -the tantalized debtor gasped out a final question, "Had he," -he asked almost dreading the answer, "a red waistcoat?" -The girl stood for a moment in an attitude of profound<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_565" id="Page_565">[565]</a></span> -cogitation, and after she had worked up her master to the -highest pitch of impatience by delay, drawled out, "Well, -sir, I think he had—<i>rather than otherwise</i>."</p> - - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Classic" id="Classic">Classic Soup Distribution.</a></h3> - - -<p>While the Relief Act was in operation in Ireland, in time -of famine, one of the committees received the following -answer to an advertisement for the post of clerk:—</p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em;">"Qui Bavium non odit, amet tua carmina, Mævi."</p> -<p style="margin-left: 55%;"><span class="smcap">Virg.</span> <i>Ecl.</i> iii., 90.</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i11">"Ego sum—I am<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Parvus homo—A little man,<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Aptus vivere—Fit to live<br /></span> -<span class="i11">In quod dabis—On what you'll give;<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Per totam diem—And, the whole day,<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Familiariter—'In the family way.'<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Distribuere—Out to deal<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Farinam Indicam—Indian meal,<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Aut jus Soyerum—Or Soyer's soup,<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Multo agmini—To many a troup,<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Mulierum et hominum—Of woman and man<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Stanneo vase—With a tin can.<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Hoc tibi mitto—I send this in,<br /></span> -<span class="i11">(Ne peccatum—No Murtherin' sin,)<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Nam locum quæro—For a place I seek,<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Ut quaque hebdomada—That every week<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Fruar et potiar—We may '<i>hob and nob</i>'<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Quindecem 'Robertullis'—On Fifteen 'Bob.'"<br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 24%;"><span class="smcap">Caius Julius Battus</span>, Philomath.</p> - -<p>"<i>Ballinahown, v. Prid.</i> 1 d. Maii, <span class="smcap">MDCCCLVII</span>."</p> - -<p>The Irish paper from which this is taken adds, that the -classic candidate was rejected.</p> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Alphabet" id="Alphabet">Alphabet Single Rhymed.</a></h3> - - -<p>An eccentric Correspondent of <i>Notes and Queries</i>, -who signs "Eighty-one," has sent to that journal the following<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_566" id="Page_566">[566]</a></span> -amusing trifle—an Alphabet constructed on a single -rhyme:—</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">"A was an Army, to settle disputes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">B was a Bull, not the mildest of brutes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">C was a Cheque, duly drawn upon Coutts;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">D was King David, with harps and with lutes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">E was an Emperor, hailed with salutes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">F was a Funeral, followed by mutes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">G was a Gallant, in Wellington boots;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">H was a Hermit, and lived upon roots;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">J was Justinian, his Institutes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">K was a Keeper, who commonly shoots;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">L was a Lemon, the sourest of fruits;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">M was a Ministry—say Lord Bute's;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">N was Nicholson, famous on flutes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">O was an Owl, that hisses and hoots;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">P was a Pond, full of leeches and newts;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Q was a Quaker, in whitey-brown suits;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">R was a Reason, which Paley refutes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">S was a Serjeant, with twenty recruits;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">T was Ten Tories, of doubtful reputes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">U was uncommonly bad cheroots;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">V vicious motives, which malice imputes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">X an Ex-King, driven out by émeutes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Y is a Yawn; then the last rhyme that suits,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Z is the Zuyder Zee, dwelt in by coots."<br /></span> -</div></div> - - - - -<h3 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="Sequitur" id="Sequitur">Non Sequitur and Therefore.</a></h3> - - -<p>Lord Avonmore was subject to perpetual fits of absence -of mind, and was frequently insensible to the conversation -that was going on. He was wrapped in one of his wonted -reveries, and not hearing one syllable of what was passing -(it was at a large professional dinner given by Mr. Burke), -Curran, who was sitting next to his Lordship, having been -called on for a toast, gave, "All our absent friends," patting -at the same time Lord Avonmore on the shoulder and -telling him he had just drunk his health. Taking the -intimation as a serious one, Avonmore rose, and apologizing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_567" id="Page_567">[567]</a></span> -for his inattention, returned thanks to the company for the -honour they had done him by drinking his health.</p> - -<p>There was a curious character, Serjeant Kelly, at the -Irish bar. He was, in his day, a man of celebrity. Curran -used to give some odd sketches of him. His most whimsical -peculiarity was his inveterate habit of drawing conclusions -directly at variance with his premises. He had acquired the -name of <i>Serjeant Therefore</i>. Curran said that he was a -perfect human personification of a <i>non sequitur</i>. For -instance, meeting Curran one Sunday, near St. Patrick's, he -said to him, "The Archbishop gave us an excellent discourse -this morning. It was well written and well delivered: -therefore I shall make a point of being at the Four Courts -to-morrow at ten." At another time, observing to a person -whom he met in the street, "What a delightful morning -this is for walking!" he finished his remark on the weather -by saying, "therefore, I will go home as soon as I can, and -stir out no more the whole day."</p> - -<p>His speeches in Court were interminable, and his <i>therefore</i> -kept him going on, though every one thought that he -had done. The whole Court was in a titter when the -Serjeant came out with them, whilst he himself was quite -unconscious of the cause of it.</p> - -<p>"This is so clear a point, gentlemen," he would tell the -jury, "that I am convinced you felt it to be so the very -moment I stated it. I should pay your understanding but -a poor compliment to dwell on it for a minute; <i>therefore</i>, I -shall now proceed to explain it to you as minutely as -possible." Into such absurdities did the Serjeant's favourite -"therefore" betray him.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_569" id="Page_569">[569]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">INDEX.</h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="5" style="max-width: 70%; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;" summary="Index"> -<tr><td class="title"> ABB</td> <td class="title"> BON</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">A</span><span class="smcap">BBEY</span>, Fonthill, building of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></td> <td class="title"> Banting's cure for corpulence, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Abershawe, Jerry, gratitude of, <a href="#Page_546">546</a></td> <td class="title"> Barnard's Inn, and Woulfe the alchemist, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Ackermann, the publisher, and William Combe, <a href="#Page_474">474</a> </td> <td class="title"> Baron Ward's remarkable career, <a href="#Page_109">109-112</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Adams, Jack, the astrologer of Clerkenwell Green, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></td> <td class="title"> Bassle, Martin, the calculator, <a href="#Page_491">491</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Advertising for a wife, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> <td class="title"> Beckfords, the, and Fonthill, <a href="#Page_1">1-19</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Agapemone, the, or abode of love, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> <td class="title"> Beckford, Alderman, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Albemarle, the eccentric Duchess of, <a href="#Page_519">519</a></td> <td class="title"> — — his Monument speech, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Alchemists, modern, <a href="#Page_124">124-29</a></td> <td class="title"> — William, at Bath, <a href="#Page_16">16-18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Alchemy, predictions of, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></td> <td class="title"> — Mozart, and Voltaire, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — revival of, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></td> <td class="title"> Bees, Wildman's docile, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Alcibiades' dog and Henry Constantine Jennings, <a href="#Page_107">107</a> </td> <td class="title"> Bentham, Jeremy, bequest of his remains, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Alcobaça and Batalha monasteries, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></td> <td class="title"> Bentinck, Lord George, at Doncaster, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Alphabet single rhymed, <a href="#Page_565">565</a></td> <td class="title"> Berkeley, the Hon. Grantley, his youthful days, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Ambassador floored, <a href="#Page_553">553</a></td> <td class="title"> Betty, W. H. W., "Young Roscius," <a href="#Page_364">364</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Amen—Peter Isnell, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></td> <td class="title"> Bidder, George, the calculator, <a href="#Page_492">492</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Angelo and Peter Pindar, <a href="#Page_471">471</a></td> <td class="title"> Birth, extraordinary, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Anglesey, Marquis of, his leg at Waterloo, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></td> <td class="title"> Bishops' Saturday night, <a href="#Page_563">563</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Apocalypse, interpretation of, <a href="#Page_510">510</a></td> <td class="title"> Blake, William, painter and poet, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Archbishop, a witty one, <a href="#Page_504">504</a></td> <td class="title"> — — death of, <a href="#Page_349">349</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Archer, Lady, Account of, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> <td class="title"> — — by Dr. de Boismont, <a href="#Page_345">345</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Artists, eccentric, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></td> <td class="title"> — — in Fountain Court, <a href="#Page_348">348</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Astrology, modern, <a href="#Page_136">136-139</a></td> <td class="title"> — — married, <a href="#Page_342">342</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Avonmore, Lord, his absence-of-mind, <a href="#Page_566">566</a></td> <td class="title"> "Blue Key," the, <a href="#Page_533">533</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> Boaden, Mr., his account of "Young Roscius," <a href="#Page_366">366</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">B</span><span class="smcap">ANK</span> of Faith, Huntington's, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></td> <td class="title"> "Bolton Trotters," origin of, <a href="#Page_319">319</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Banks, the eccentric Miss, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></td> <td class="title"> Bonaparte caricatured by Gilray, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_570" id="Page_570">[570]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> BON</td> <td class="title"> CAT</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Bonassus," the, and Lord Stowell, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></td> <td class="title"> Building Fonthill Abbey, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Bond, Mrs., of Cambridge Heath, Hackney, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></td> <td class="title"> Bunn, A., and his mysterious parcel, <a href="#Page_400">400</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Bone and Shell Exhibition, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></td> <td class="title"> Burial bequests, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Books, Mr. Heber's collections, <a href="#Page_487">487</a> </td> <td class="title"> Burials on Box Hill and Leith Hill, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Book-collector, Heber, the, <a href="#Page_485">485</a></td> <td class="title"> Burke and Pitt caricatured by Gilray, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Border marriages, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></td> <td class="title"> Busby's Folly and Bull Feather Hall, <a href="#Page_525">525</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Boruwlaski, Count, the Polish dwarf, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></td> <td class="title"> Buxton, Jedediah, account of, <a href="#Page_493">493</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Bébé, dwarfs, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></td> <td class="title"> Byron, Lord, and Monk Lewis, <a href="#Page_420">420</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — buried at Durham, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></td> <td class="title"> Byron's description of Cintra, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the Empress Maria Theresa, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a> </td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — introduced to George IV. by Charles Mathews, <a href="#Page_264">264</a> </td> <td class="title"> <span class="dropcap">"C</span><span class="smcap">ABBAGE COOKE</span>," of Pentonville, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the Irish giant, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></td> <td class="title"> Calculators, extraordinary, <a href="#Page_490">490</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — letter of, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></td> <td class="title"> Cambridge Heath, Mrs. Bond's Hut at, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — married, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></td> <td class="title"> Canning, Mr., and the King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Boyhood of Edmund Kean, <a href="#Page_398">398</a></td> <td class="title"> — on Grattan's eloquence, <a href="#Page_460">460</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Bradshaw, Mr., M.P., and Maria Tree, courtship of, <a href="#Page_413">413</a></td> <td class="title"> — his humour, <a href="#Page_451">451</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Brandy in tea, <a href="#Page_534">534</a></td> <td class="title"> — by Lord Byron, <a href="#Page_460">460</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Bridgwater, the eccentric Earl of, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> <td class="title"> — and Lord Eldon, <a href="#Page_459">459</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Bright, the fat miller of Malden, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></td> <td class="title"> — in office, <a href="#Page_456">456</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Brighton races thirty years ago, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></td> <td class="title"> — and the present of fustian, <a href="#Page_451">451</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Brothers, the "Prophet," <a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> <td class="title"> — and Prince Metternich, <a href="#Page_454">454</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Brougham, Lord, and Father Mathew, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></td> <td class="title"> — and the "Queen of Spades," <a href="#Page_452">452</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Brummel and Aunt Brawn, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></td> <td class="title"> — and his college servant, <a href="#Page_457">457</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Beau, origin of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></td> <td class="title"> — and Sydney Smith, <a href="#Page_459">459</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — at Calais and Caen, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></td> <td class="title"> Canning's epitaph on the Marquis of Anglesey's leg, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — dress of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></td> <td class="title"> — <i>Friend of Humanity</i>, and <i>Knife-grinder</i>, <a href="#Page_454">454</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — fall of, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></td> <td class="title"> Capon, the scene-painter, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Madame de Staël, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></td> <td class="title"> "Caraboo, the Princess," <a href="#Page_246">246</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — mental decay of, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></td> <td class="title"> — "Princess," and Napoleon Bonaparte, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — upon neckcloths, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></td> <td class="title"> Caricatures by Gilray, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — portrait of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></td> <td class="title"> Carlton House Fête and Romeo Coates, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the Prince of Wales, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></td> <td class="title"> Carter Foote, of Tavistock, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the snuff-box, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Brummel's practical jokes, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></td> <td class="title"> <i>Castle Spectre</i>, Mrs. Powell's mistake, <a href="#Page_423">423</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — sayings, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Bryan, the Marylebone fanatic, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> <td class="title"> Catching a cayman, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_571" id="Page_571">[571]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> CAV</td> <td class="title"> DRE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Cavendish, Hon. H., his wealth, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> <td class="title"> Cooke, T. P., in melodrama and pantomime, <a href="#Page_404">404</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — the woman-hating, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></td> <td class="title"> "Corner Memory Thompson," <a href="#Page_238">238</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Chancery <i>jeu-d'esprit</i>, <a href="#Page_551">551</a></td> <td class="title"> Corpulence, oddities of, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Charade by Dr. Whately, <a href="#Page_508">508</a> </td> <td class="title"> Costume of "Lady Lewson," <a href="#Page_90">90</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Charke, Charlotte, Colley Cibber's daughter, <a href="#Page_410">410</a> </td> <td class="title"> Cottle Church, account of the, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Charnwood Forest, Liston in, <a href="#Page_392">392</a></td> <td class="title"> Courtship, luckless, of Sir E. Dering, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Chatham, Lord, and the Beckfords, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></td> <td class="title"> Crab, Roger, the hermit of Bethnal Green, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Chesterfield, Lord, estimate of, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></td> <td class="title"> Cranford Bridge Inn, <a href="#Page_307">307</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — his will, <a href="#Page_542">542</a></td> <td class="title"> — sporting life at, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Cibber, Colley, his daughter, <a href="#Page_410">410</a></td> <td class="title"> <i>Crazy Jane</i>, by Monk Lewis, <a href="#Page_423">423</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Cintra, Beckford's estate at, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></td> <td class="title"> Cripplegate Vault story, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Clerkenwell, "Lady Lewson," of, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></td> <td class="title"> Criticism, rare, <a href="#Page_370">370</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Clown" tavern, the, Sadler's Wells, <a href="#Page_527">527</a></td> <td class="title"> "Cunning Mary, of Clerkenwell," <a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Club, the Mulberries, Shakspearian, <a href="#Page_408">408</a></td> <td class="title"> Curtis, the Old Bailey eccentric, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Coalheaver," Huntington, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></td> <td class="title"> "Cutting" quarrel of the Prince of Wales and Brummel, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Coates, his "Lothario," <a href="#Page_42">42</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Romeo and Diamond, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">D</span><span class="smcap">ANTLOW</span>, the Russian dwarf, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — his cockleshell curricle, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></td> <td class="title"> Dawson, Daniel, at Doncaster, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Cobbett, eccentricities of, <a href="#Page_481">481</a></td> <td class="title"> Day, John, and Fairlop Fair, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Tom Paine's bones, <a href="#Page_484">484</a></td> <td class="title"> Dee, Dr., his black stone, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Cobbett's gridiron sign, <a href="#Page_482">482</a></td> <td class="title"> Denisons, the, and the Conyngham family, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — nicknames, <a href="#Page_484">484</a></td> <td class="title"> Dering, Sir Edward, his luckless courtship, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — <i>Political Register</i>, <a href="#Page_482">482</a></td> <td class="title"> Devil's Walk, origin of the, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — <i>Porcupine Papers</i>, <a href="#Page_481">481</a></td> <td class="title"> Devonshire, Duchess of, and Brummel, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Colburn, Zerah, the calculator, <a href="#Page_491">491</a></td> <td class="title"> — eccentrics, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Coleraine, eccentric Lord, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></td> <td class="title"> Dick England the gambler, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Collector, an indiscriminate, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></td> <td class="title"> Dinely, Sir John, advertising for a wife, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Combe, William, author of <i>Dr. Syntax</i>, <a href="#Page_472">472</a></td> <td class="title"> "Dog Jennings," <a href="#Page_107">107</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — in the King's Bench Prison, <a href="#Page_473">473</a></td> <td class="title"> Doncaster eccentrics, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — on lithography, <a href="#Page_473">473</a></td> <td class="title"> Doran, Dr., his account of William Combe, <a href="#Page_474">474</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Conspirator, single, <a href="#Page_561">561</a></td> <td class="title"> Dowton in tragedy, <a href="#Page_390">390</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Convivial eccentricities, <a href="#Page_525">525</a></td> <td class="title"> — oddities of, <a href="#Page_389">389</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Conyngham family, rise of the, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></td> <td class="title"> <i>Dr. Syntax</i>, the author of, <a href="#Page_472">472</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Cooke, Thomas, the Pentonville miser, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — the Turkey merchant,<a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> <td class="title"> Dress, Brummel's, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a> </td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_572" id="Page_572">[572]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> DUA</td> <td class="title"> GRI</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Duality of the mind, by Dr. Wigan, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></td> <td class="title"> Fonthill, three houses, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Dunbar, Captain, his letters, <a href="#Page_556">556</a></td> <td class="title"> — village, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Dunlop's remarks on Mrs. Radcliffe's writings, <a href="#Page_476">476</a> </td> <td class="title"> Footpad, the grateful,<a href="#Page_546">546</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Dust-sifting and dust-heaps, profits of, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></td> <td class="title"> Fordyce, Dr., the gourmand, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Dutch Mail," the, <a href="#Page_554">554</a></td> <td class="title"> — — and his patient, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Dwarfs, organisation of, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></td> <td class="title"> Fuller, honest Jack, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> Funeral of Cooke, the Turkey merchant, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">E</span><span class="smcap">CCENTRICS</span> delight in extremes, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> <td class="title"> — of Jemmy Hirst, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Elegy on a geologist, <a href="#Page_328">328</a></td> <td class="title"> Fuseli and Blake, <a href="#Page_349">349</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Elliot, the Gretna priest, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Elliston at Richmond, <a href="#Page_415">415</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">G</span><span class="smcap">ARDNER</span>, the worm doctor, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> England, Dick, the gambler, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></td> <td class="title"> Garrick, and Dance's portrait of him, <a href="#Page_375">375</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Epicure, what he eats in his lifetime, <a href="#Page_536">536</a></td> <td class="title"> — and Hardham of Fleet Street, <a href="#Page_368">368</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Epitaphs, odd, <a href="#Page_538">538</a></td> <td class="title"> — Mrs., death of, <a href="#Page_374">374</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Etching, Gilray's rapid, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></td> <td class="title"> — — her funeral, <a href="#Page_376">376</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Executions, taste for witnessing, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></td> <td class="title"> — — and Horace Walpole, <a href="#Page_377">377</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> Garrick's acting described by Munden, <a href="#Page_388">388</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">F</span><span class="smcap">AIRLOP</span> Fair and John Day, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></td> <td class="title"> Geologist, elegy on a, <a href="#Page_328">328</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Fall of Fonthill Tower, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> <td class="title"> George III. and Lord Mayor Beckford, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Family, an odd one, <a href="#Page_543">543</a></td> <td class="title"> George IV. and Mrs. Bond's wealth, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Fanatics, a trio of, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> <td class="title"> German for astronomy, <a href="#Page_538">538</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Farquhar, Mr., and Fonthill, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> <td class="title"> Giant, the Irish, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — sketch of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> <td class="title"> Gilchrist's <i>Life of Blake</i>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Fat folks, epitaphs on, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></td> <td class="title"> — caricatures George III., <a href="#Page_330">330</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — Lambert and Bright, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></td> <td class="title"> — in St. James's Street, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Fidge, Dr., his strange death, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></td> <td class="title"> Gin, on, <a href="#Page_536">536</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Finch, Crow, and Raven, and Sir E. Dering, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> <td class="title"> Golden Ball Tavern, Sadler's Wells, <a href="#Page_527">527</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Margaret, Queen of the Gipsies, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></td> <td class="title"> "Goose" Tavern, Islington, <a href="#Page_527">527</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Fire of London cinder heap, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> <td class="title"> Gourmand physician, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Flaxman, letters to, from Blake, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></td> <td class="title"> Green, Hannah, or the "Ling Bob Witch," <a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Fleet marriage of Miss Pelham and a highwayman, <a href="#Page_64">64</a> </td> <td class="title"> Greenwich dinner, <a href="#Page_539">539</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Flight, Miss, of the Temple, <a href="#Page_547">547</a></td> <td class="title"> Gretna Green marriages, history of, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Fonthill and the Beckfords, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> <td class="title"> — "Blacksmith" Paisley, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — cost of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> <td class="title"> — marriages abolished, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — destroyed by fire, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></td> <td class="title"> — and its priests, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — sales at, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></td> <td class="title"> Grimaldi, the clown, account of, <a href="#Page_382">382</a></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_573" id="Page_573">[573]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> GRI</td> <td class="title"> KEM</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Grimaldi finds money, <a href="#Page_384">384</a></td> <td class="title"> Hull, Richard, buried on Leith Hill, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — old, and "No Popery," <a href="#Page_383">383</a></td> <td class="title"> Hunting experiences at Cranford, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Grimaldi's first appearance, <a href="#Page_383">383</a></td> <td class="title"> Huntington buried at Lewes, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — farewell, <a href="#Page_385">385</a></td> <td class="title"> — the preacher, sketch of, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Guildhall, the Beckford Monument in, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></td> <td class="title"> — at Hermes Hill, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Guy's eccentric inscription and epitaph, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></td> <td class="title"> — marries Lady Sanderson, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> Huntington's preaching and portrait, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">H</span><span class="smallcap">ALLUCINATION</span>, strange, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></td> <td class="title"> — Bank of Faith, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hallucinations, What are they? <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></td> <td class="title"> — effects, sale of, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hanging by compact, <a href="#Page_553">553</a></td> <td class="title"> — leather breeches, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hardham family, anecdote of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></td> <td class="title"> — Providence Chapel, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hardham's "No. 37," <a href="#Page_368">368</a></td> <td class="title"> — spiritual advice, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hayley and Blake, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></td> <td class="title"> Hutton, William, and "Strong Woman,"<a href="#Page_274">274</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Heber the book-collector, <a href="#Page_485">485</a></td> <td class="title"> Hypochondriasis, cure for, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hermit advertised for, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> <td class="title"> — remarkable, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — the Dorset, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — of Hawkstone, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Leicestershire, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — of Moor Park, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Pain's Hill, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — near Preston, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">I</span><span class="smcap">RVING</span>, the Scottish minister,<a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — of Selbourne, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> <td class="title"> — a millenarian, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — near Stevenage, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> <td class="title"> Islington, Charles Lamb's cottage at, <a href="#Page_494">494</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — vegetarian, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></td> <td class="title"> — old taverns, <a href="#Page_526">526</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hermits and eremitical life, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — ornamental, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hill, Rowland, his preaching, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> <i>Hindoo Bride</i>, Monk Lewis's, <a href="#Page_418">418</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hoax, princely, at Brighton, <a href="#Page_283">283</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hood, Thomas, account of, <a href="#Page_497">497</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">J</span><span class="smcap">EMMY</span> Hirst at Doncaster, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — at school, <a href="#Page_497">497</a></td> <td class="title"> Jerrold, Douglas, at the Mulberries Club, <a href="#Page_409">409</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — set up in business, <a href="#Page_498">498</a></td> <td class="title"> Jerusalem Whalley, account of, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Sir Robert Peel, <a href="#Page_501">501</a></td> <td class="title"> Jesse, Captain, his account of Brummel, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — death and burial of, <a href="#Page_503">503</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hood's <i>Epping Hunt</i>, <a href="#Page_499">499</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — first work, <a href="#Page_499">499</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — ode to Grimaldi, <a href="#Page_386">386</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — <i>Up the Rhine</i>, <a href="#Page_500">500</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — various works, <a href="#Page_499">499</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">K</span><span class="smcap">EAN</span>, Edmund, his boyhood, <a href="#Page_398">398</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hook, Theodore, hoaxes Romeo Coates, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></td> <td class="title"> — — undervalued by Dowton, <a href="#Page_390">390</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Hopkins, the dwarf, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></td> <td class="title"> Kellerman, the alchemist, in Beds, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Host, eccentric, <a href="#Page_544">544</a></td> <td class="title"> Kelly, Serjeant Otherwise, <a href="#Page_567">567</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> House-warming, a costly one, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></td> <td class="title"> Kemble, Fanny, in the United States,<a href="#Page_407">407</a></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_574" id="Page_574">[574]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> KEM</td> <td class="title"> NOL</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Kemble, John, and the O. P. Riot, <a href="#Page_371">371</a></td> <td class="title"> Manchester punch house, <a href="#Page_530">530</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Kenyon, Lord, his parsimony, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> <td class="title"> Mansfield, the Essex butcher, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> Masquerade incident, <a href="#Page_402">402</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">L</span><span class="smcap">ABELLIERE</span>, Major, buried on Box Hill, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></td> <td class="title"> Mathews, C., Spanish ambassador hoax, <a href="#Page_378">378</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Lady Lewson," of Clerkenwell, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></td> <td class="title"> Mathew, Father, and the Temperance movement, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Lamb, Charles, at Munden's last performance, <a href="#Page_387">387</a></td> <td class="title"> Mellish, Colonel, sketch of, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — his cottage at Islington, <a href="#Page_494">494</a></td> <td class="title"> Miscalculation, an odd one, <a href="#Page_560">560</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Lambert, Daniel, and Boruwlaski, the Dwarf, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></td> <td class="title"> Monk Lewis, account of, <a href="#Page_417">417</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — account of, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></td> <td class="title"> Mormon, the book of, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — his funeral, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></td> <td class="title"> — Church in Ontario, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Lansdown, Bath, Beckford's tomb at, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></td> <td class="title"> — city of Nauvoo, on the Mississippi, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Tower, Bath, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> <td class="title"> — Zion in Utah, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Laughter, sources of, <a href="#Page_520">520</a></td> <td class="title"> Mormonism, the founder of, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Legacy to Queen Victoria, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></td> <td class="title"> Moser, Mary, the flower-painter, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Lewis, Monk, account of, <a href="#Page_417">417</a></td> <td class="title"> Mulberries, the Shakespearian Club, <a href="#Page_408">408</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — in the West Indies, <a href="#Page_421">421</a></td> <td class="title"> Mummy of a Manchester lady, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Liston in a counting-house, <a href="#Page_394">394</a></td> <td class="title"> Munden's last performance, <a href="#Page_387">387</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Stephen Kemble, <a href="#Page_396">396</a></td> <td class="title"> Mytton, John, in adversity at Calais, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Tate Wilkinson, <a href="#Page_397">397</a></td> <td class="title"> — family of, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — in tragedy, <a href="#Page_391">391</a></td> <td class="title"> — his extravagances, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Liston's first appearance, <a href="#Page_396">396</a></td> <td class="title"> Mytton's death and funeral, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Literary madmen, <a href="#Page_508">508</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Llangollen, the Recluses of, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">N</span><span class="smcap">EELD</span>, Joseph, and Philip Rundell,<a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> London eccentric, the, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></td> <td class="title"> Neild, J. C., his legacy to Queen Victoria, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Lothario Coates, at the Haymarket Theatre, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></td> <td class="title"> Nelson, Lord, at Fonthill, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Lovat, Lord, and Miss Kate Vint, <a href="#Page_559">559</a></td> <td class="title"> Newcastle, the romantic Duchess of, <a href="#Page_516">516</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Love-passage, an eccentric one, <a href="#Page_413">413</a></td> <td class="title"> Newland, Abraham, chief cashier of the Bank of England, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> — — his epitaph, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> — — song, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">M</span><span class="smallcap">ACKINNON</span>, Colonel, his practical joking, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></td> <td class="title"> — — his wealth, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Mackintosh, Cool Sir James, <a href="#Page_478">478</a></td> <td class="title"> Nimrod's life of John Mytton, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Sir James, his Recordership of Bombay, <a href="#Page_480">480</a></td> <td class="title"> — sketch of Colonel Mellish,<a href="#Page_294">294</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Madmen, literary, <a href="#Page_508">508</a></td> <td class="title"> Nokes, of Hornchurch, his eccentric funeral, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Maginn, Dr., epitaph on, <a href="#Page_538">538</a></td> <td class="title"> Nollekens, the sculptor, eccentricities of, <a href="#Page_350">350</a></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_575" id="Page_575">[575]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> NOL</td> <td class="title"> PRE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Nollekens, his avarice, <a href="#Page_350">350</a></td> <td class="title"> Parr, Dr., oddities of, <a href="#Page_435">435</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the barber, <a href="#Page_356">356</a></td> <td class="title"> — — the Prince of Wales, and Duke of Sussex, <a href="#Page_442">442</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Lord Coleraine, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></td> <td class="title"> — — on the Shakespeare forgeries, <a href="#Page_440">440</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the Hawkinses, <a href="#Page_354">354</a></td> <td class="title"> — — and Sir W. Jones, <a href="#Page_436">436</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the legacy-hunters, <a href="#Page_360">360</a></td> <td class="title"> — — his smoking, <a href="#Page_440">440</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — married, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></td> <td class="title"> — — his Spital sermon, <a href="#Page_444">444</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Northcote, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> <td class="title"> Parsimony of J. C. Neild, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — at Rome, <a href="#Page_351">351</a></td> <td class="title"> — of Lord Kenyon, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — at the Royal Academy Club, <a href="#Page_355">355</a></td> <td class="title"> "Paul Pry," origin of, <a href="#Page_372">372</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and his sitters, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a></td> <td class="title"> Pembroke, Lord, his port wine, <a href="#Page_540">540</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Mrs., her wardrobe, <a href="#Page_355">355</a></td> <td class="title"> Perpetual-motion seeker, <a href="#Page_513">513</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Nollekens' bust of Dr. Johnson, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></td> <td class="title"> Peter Pindar, Dr. Wolcot, <a href="#Page_460">460</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — bell-tolling, <a href="#Page_351">351</a></td> <td class="title"> — — Giffard, and Wright, <a href="#Page_466">466</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — gaieties, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> <td class="title"> — — and Nollekens, <a href="#Page_465">465</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — generosity, <a href="#Page_362">362</a></td> <td class="title"> — — outwits a publisher, <a href="#Page_466">466</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — parsimony, <a href="#Page_353">353</a></td> <td class="title"> — — death and burial of, <a href="#Page_470">470</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — spelling, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> <td class="title"> — Pindar's attacks on Geo. III., <a href="#Page_464">464</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — wardrobe, <a href="#Page_361">361</a></td> <td class="title"> — — lines on Dr. Johnson, <a href="#Page_465">465</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — will, <a href="#Page_362">362</a></td> <td class="title"> — — satires, <a href="#Page_464">464</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Non Sequiter and therefore, <a href="#Page_566">566</a></td> <td class="title"> Petersham, Lord, Capt. Gronow's account of, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Norwood Gipsies, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></td> <td class="title"> — coat, snuff and snuff-boxes, and equipages, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> Pitt, Thomas, cheapening his coffin, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">O</span><span class="smcap">DDITIES</span> of Dowton, <a href="#Page_389">389</a></td> <td class="title"> <i>Poetical Sketches</i>, by W. Blake, <a href="#Page_340">340</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Old Bailey Character, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></td> <td class="title"> Poole, John, his <i>Paul Pry</i>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Old Rag," the Earl of B., <a href="#Page_76">76</a></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Old Red Lion Tavern, St. John Street Road, <a href="#Page_526">526</a></td> <td class="title"> "Poor Man of Mutton" and the Earl of B., <a href="#Page_76">76</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> O. P. Riot, the, History of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></td> <td class="title"> Pope's lines on Ward, the miser, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Orton, Job, his wine-bin coffin, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></td> <td class="title"> Porson at Cambridge, <a href="#Page_430">430</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Oyster and Parched-Pea Club, <a href="#Page_529">529</a></td> <td class="title"> — at the cider cellar, <a href="#Page_428">428</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> — and Horne Tooke, <a href="#Page_428">428</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">P</span><span class="smcap">ARCEL</span>, a mysterious one, <a href="#Page_400">400</a></td> <td class="title"> — and the young Oxonian, <a href="#Page_434">434</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Parr, Dr., at Cambridge, <a href="#Page_441">441</a></td> <td class="title"> — and Perry, of the <i>Morning Chronicle</i>, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — at Cards, <a href="#Page_442">442</a></td> <td class="title"> — portrait of, <a href="#Page_433">433</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — at Colchester, <a href="#Page_440">440</a></td> <td class="title"> Porson's drinking, <a href="#Page_429">429</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — his generosity, <a href="#Page_443">443</a></td> <td class="title"> — eccentricities, <a href="#Page_425">425</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — at Harrow and Stanmore, <a href="#Page_437">437</a></td> <td class="title"> — epigrams, <a href="#Page_426">426</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — at Hatton, <a href="#Page_438">438</a></td> <td class="title"> — wit and repartee, <a href="#Page_431">431</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — and Dr. Johnson, <a href="#Page_439">439</a></td> <td class="title"> Preachers, eccentric, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_576" id="Page_576">[576]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> PRI</td> <td class="title"> SOU</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Price, Dr. the alchemist, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></td> <td class="title"> Rundell, Philip, his great wealth, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Prince, Brother, and the Agapemone, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> <td class="title"> Ryland, the forger, and Blake, painter, <a href="#Page_340">340</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Prophecies of Lady Hester Stanhope, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Punch, tremendous bowl of, <a href="#Page_541">541</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Punch House, at Manchester, <a href="#Page_530">530</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">Q</span><span class="smcap">UACKERY</span>, Successful, <a href="#Page_545">545</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Quid Rides?" <a href="#Page_318">318</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">S</span><span class="smcap">ANDWICH ISLANDS</span>, King and Queen of, their visit to England, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"> Scotch ladies, singular, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">R</span><span class="smcap">ADCLIFFE</span>, Mrs., and the critics, <a href="#Page_475">475</a></td> <td class="title"> Scott, Mr. John, in Parliament, <a href="#Page_549">549</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Rather than otherwise," <a href="#Page_564">564</a></td> <td class="title"> — Sir Walter, and Monk Lewis, <a href="#Page_420">420</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Redding, Mr. Cyrus, his account of Mr. Beckford, <a href="#Page_17">17</a> </td> <td class="title"> Scottish marriage law, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Recluses of Llangollen, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> <td class="title"> Sedan, ride in, <a href="#Page_548">548</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Redpost Fynes, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> <td class="title"> Seven Dials, what became of them? <a href="#Page_309">309</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Reece, Dr., and Joanna Southcote, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></td> <td class="title"> Shakespeare Monument, George IV. and Elliston, <a href="#Page_402">402</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Richebourg, the historical dwarf, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></td> <td class="title"> Shark story, by Monk Lewis, <a href="#Page_422">422</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Richmond, Duke of, and T. P. Cooke, <a href="#Page_406">406</a></td> <td class="title"> Sharp, the engraver, fanaticism of, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Ride in a sedan, <a href="#Page_548">548</a></td> <td class="title"> Sibly's work on astrology, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Robinson, Long Sir Thomas, <a href="#Page_542">542</a></td> <td class="title"> Sicilian boy calculator, <a href="#Page_490">490</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Roderick Dhu, Mr. T. P. Cooke, as, <a href="#Page_405">405</a></td> <td class="title"> Sidi Mohammed and Hindustanee cookery, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> in America, <a href="#Page_407">407</a></td> <td class="title"> Skeffington, Sir Lumley, his amateur acting, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Roscius, Young, account of, <a href="#Page_363">363</a></td> <td class="title"> — — — his lines to Miss Foote and Madame Vestris, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — his earnings, <a href="#Page_367">367</a></td> <td class="title"> Smart, Christopher, the poetical lunatic, <a href="#Page_511">511</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — first appears, <a href="#Page_364">364</a></td> <td class="title"> Smith, Albert, and Seven Dials, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — in London, <a href="#Page_365">365</a></td> <td class="title"> — Joseph, the Mormon prophet, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — his popularity, <a href="#Page_367">367</a></td> <td class="title"> Snell, Hannah, the female soldier, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — in Scotland, <a href="#Page_364">364</a></td> <td class="title"> Snuff-taking legacies, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — sketch of, <a href="#Page_363">363</a></td> <td class="title"> Soane, Sir John, lampooned, <a href="#Page_488">488</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Rothschild, his life and adventures, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></td> <td class="title"> Songs, by W. Blake, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Rowlandson, the caricaturist, <a href="#Page_474">474</a></td> <td class="title"> Soup distribution, classic, <a href="#Page_565">565</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Gilray, the caricaturists, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></td> <td class="title"> Sources of laughter, <a href="#Page_520">520</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Royal Society Club, H. Cavendish at, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></td> <td class="title"> Southcote, Joanna, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_577" id="Page_577">[577]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> SOU</td> <td class="title"> WIR</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Southcote, Joanna, and the coming of Shiloh, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> <td class="title"> Trekschuit tourist, the, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — her funeral and grave, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> <td class="title"> Trotter, Miss Menie, eccentricities of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — her visions, chapel, and seals, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></td> <td class="title"> True to the text, <a href="#Page_415">415</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Southcotonian hymns, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Southcotonians at Temple Bar, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Spanish ambassador hoax, Mathews', <a href="#Page_378">378</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">U</span><span class="smcap">RIM</span> and Thummin, and Mormon Records, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Spelling, bad, <a href="#Page_556">556</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Spenceans, the religio-political sect, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Spendthrift Squire of Halston, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">V</span><span class="smcap">AN AMBURGH</span>, the lion tamer, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Stanhope, Lady Hester, oddities of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> <td class="title"> Vathek, by W. Beckford, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Stewart, walking, sketch of, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></td> <td class="title"> — dramatised, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — a general, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></td> <td class="title"> Visions by W. Blake, <a href="#Page_340">340</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Stokes' Amphitheatre, Islington Road, <a href="#Page_528">528</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Stowell, Lord, his love of sight-seeing, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Strangely eccentric, yet sane, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">W</span><span class="smcap">ADD'S</span> comments on corpulence, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"><span class="dropcap">T</span><span class="smcap">AVERNS</span>, old, at Islington, <a href="#Page_526">526</a></td> <td class="title"> Wales, Prince of, and Beau Brummel, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Temple, notoriety of the, <a href="#Page_546">546</a></td> <td class="title"> "Walking Stewart," sketch of, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Thackeray and Waterton, <a href="#Page_328">328</a></td> <td class="title"> Walpole's account of Lord Mayor Beckford's speech, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Tipsy village, <a href="#Page_535">535</a></td> <td class="title"> — chattels saved by a talisman, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Tooke and D'Alembert, <a href="#Page_449">449</a></td> <td class="title"> Walpole, Horace, on William Combe, <a href="#Page_475">475</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — his daughters, <a href="#Page_448">448</a></td> <td class="title"> Ward, Baron, his remarkable career, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the income tax, <a href="#Page_450">450</a></td> <td class="title"> — John, the Hackney miser, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and the judges, <a href="#Page_445">445</a></td> <td class="title"> — the miser's prayer, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — John Horne, oddities of, <a href="#Page_444">444</a></td> <td class="title"> — and the South Sea scheme, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Purley, <a href="#Page_446">446</a></td> <td class="title"> Waters, Sir John, his escape, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — and Wilks, a retort, <a href="#Page_444">444</a></td> <td class="title"> Waterton, Charles, the traveller, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — the poulterer, and the Prince of Wales, <a href="#Page_445">445</a></td> <td class="title"> Wealth of Mr. Beckford, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Tooke's death and burial, <a href="#Page_450">450</a></td> <td class="title"> Wellington, Lord, hoaxed, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — Sunday dinners, <a href="#Page_447">447</a></td> <td class="title"> Whately, the witty archbishop, <a href="#Page_504">504</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — wit, 450 <a href="#Page_450">450</a></td> <td class="title"> Wildman and his bees, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Tozer, the Southcotonian preacher, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></td> <td class="title"> Wilkes, John, Sheridan on, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Traveller, the listless, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></td> <td class="title"> Will of J. C. Neild, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Travellers, eccentric, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></td> <td class="title"> Wirgman, the Kantesian, <a href="#Page_512">512</a></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td class="page"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_578" id="Page_578">[578]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td></td> <td></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> WIT</td> <td class="title"> YOU</td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Witch Pickles," of Leeds, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></td> <td class="title"> "Wooden spoon, the," <a href="#Page_535">535</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Wolcot, Dr.—<a href="#Peter"><i>see</i> Peter Pindar.</a></td> <td class="title"> Woulfe, Peter, the chemist and alchemist, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — in Cornwall, <a href="#Page_462">462</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — in Jamaica, <a href="#Page_461">461</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — and Opie, the painter, <a href="#Page_463">463</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> — — and Royal Academicians, <a href="#Page_463">463</a></td> <td class="title"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> Woman-hating Cavendish, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> <td class="title"><span class="dropcap">Y</span><span class="smcap">OUNG</span>, Brigham, the Mormon prophet, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="title"> "Wonder of all the wonders that the world ever wondered at," <a href="#Page_243">243</a></td> <td class="title"> — Roscius, sketch of the, 87—<a href="#Youn"><i>see</i> Roscius, Young.</a></td></tr> -</table> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 135px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 6em; margin-bottom: 5em;" src="images/image56.jpg" width="135" height="105" alt="Decorative logo" /> -</div> - - - -<p class="center">PRINTED BY<br /> -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE<br /> -LONDON</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 8em; margin-bottom: 8em;" src="images/image57.jpg" width="150" height="171" alt="Decorative logo" /> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="ph2" style="margin-top: 1em;">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Vathek</i> was dramatised by the Hon. Mrs. Norton some thirty -years since, and was offered to Mr. Bunn for Drury Lane Theatre, but -declined; the "exquisite beauties of Mrs. Norton's metrical compositions -being overloaded by a pressure of dialogue and a redundancy of scenic -effects, the fidelity and rapid succession of which it would have puzzled -any scene painter or mechanist to follow."—<i>Bunn's Stage</i>, vol ii., -p. 139.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Mr. Farquhar died July 6, 1826, in York Place, Marylebone, -aged 76 years; he was buried in St. John's Wood Chapel, where is a -handsome monument to his memory, with a medallion head of the -deceased by P. Row, sculptor.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Three other of Mr. Beckford's town houses were:—1. On the -Terrace, Piccadilly, part of the site of the newly-built mansion of Baron -Rothschild; 2. No. 1, Devonshire Place, New Road; and it is said, -though we do not vouch how correctly, 3. No. 27, Charles Street, -Mayfair, a very small house, looking over the garden of Chesterfield -House.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> In conformity with an old English custom, Mr. Beckford invariably -travelled with his bed among his luggage.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> <i>Saturday Review.</i></p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Abridged from Sir Bernard Burke's <i>Family Romance</i>, vol. i.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Abridged from Sir Bernard Burke's very interesting <i>Vicissitudes of -Families</i>. Second Series. 1860.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> This very amusing <i>précis</i> is slightly abridged from the <i>Athenæum</i> -journal.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> For the details of the measure, see "Irregular Marriages," <i>Knowledge -for the Time</i>, 1864, pp. 120-123.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Pinks's <i>History of Clerkenwell</i>, 1865, p. 115.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Pinks's <i>History of Clerkenwell</i>, p. 501.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> We know an instance of an old Baronet advertising twenty years -for a wife; at last he succeeded in marrying an out-and-out Xantippe.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Condensed from <i>The Book of Days</i>, vol. ii. pp. 285-288.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> <i>Family Romance.</i> By J. Bernard Burke. Vol. ii.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Pinks's <i>History of Clerkenwell</i>, 1865, p. 110.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Abridged from <i>Notes and Queries</i>, 3rd Series, No. 25.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> <i>Notes and Queries</i>, 3rd Series, No. 34.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> See a pamphlet of 1794; <i>Notes and Queries</i>, 3rd Series, Nos. -20 and 21.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Honest Jack Fuller, who is buried in a pyramidal mausoleum in -Brightling churchyard, in Sussex, gave as his reason for being thus disposed -of, his unwillingness to be eaten by his relations after this fashion: -"The worms would eat me, the ducks would eat the worms, and my -relations would eat the ducks."</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> We hope to see these interesting accounts of real "curiosities of -literature" reprinted in a separate volume.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> S. P. Dom. James I., vol. lxxvii., quoted in Pinks's <i>History of -Clerkenwell</i>, Appendix.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> See <i>The End of All Things</i>, by the author of <i>Our Heavenly Home</i>, -1866.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> "New Materials for Lives of English Engravers," by Peter -Cunningham. <i>Builder</i>, 1863.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> <i>Sketches of Imposture, Deception and Credulity.</i> Second Edition. -1840.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> <i>Sketches of Imposture, Deception, and Credulity</i>. Second Edition. -1840.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Dr. Richard Reece was the son of a clergyman, and was articled -to a country surgeon. In 1800 he settled in practice in Henrietta Street, -Covent Garden, and published <i>The Medical and Chirurgical Pharmacopœia</i>; -and having received a degree of M.D. from a Scotch university, -he exercised the three professions of physician, apothecary, and chemist. -He likewise published several volumes upon various medical subjects; -and established himself in the western wing of the Egyptian Hall -Piccadilly. He assailed quackery with much boldness; hence his -mistake as to Joanna Southcote was made the most of. He had also -considerable practice, by which he gained money. He published <i>A -Plain Narrative of the Circumstances attending the last Illness and Death -of Joanna Southcote</i>.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> One of Joanna's London residences was at No. 17, Weston Place, -opposite the Small Pox Hospital.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Selected and abridged from an excellent paper on Huntington's -Works and Life, attributed to Southey; <i>Quarterly Review</i>, No. 48.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Huntington resided in the house built by the Swiss doctor De -Valangin, who had been a pupil of Boerhaave, and practised in Soho -Square. He removed thence to Cripplegate, and about 1772 he purchased -ground at Pentonville, and there built himself a villa, which -he named, from the discoverer of chemistry, Hermes Hill, then almost -the only house on or near the spot, except White Conduit House. One -of his medicines, <i>The Balsam of Life</i>, he presented to the Apothecaries' -Company. He had, by his first wife, a daughter, who, dying at nine -years of age, was buried in the garden at Hermes Hill, in a very costly -tomb.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> See portrait of Boruwlaski, page 259.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Joseph is in error here; Bébé was two years his junior, but precocity -of development made him appear to be thirty, though really only -about seventeen.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Sir Lucas Pepys was physician in ordinary to the King, and seven -years President of the College of Physicians. He had a seat at Mickleham, -in Surrey. One day, at Dorking, he inquired at a druggist's -what all his varieties of drugs were for. "To prepare prescriptions," -was the reply. "Why," said Sir Lucas, "I never used but three or four -articles in all my practice."</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> From <i>The Times</i> Review of his <i>Life</i>, 1865.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> The popular work of Mr. James Grant.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Fuseli had one day sharply criticised the work of a brother R.A., -whom he sought to alleviate by remarking that the conceited scene-painter, -Mr. Capon, to whom Sheridan had given the nickname of -"Pompous Billy," had piled up his lumps of rock as regularly on the -side scene, as a baker would his quartern-loaves upon the shelves behind -his counter to <i>cool</i>.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> See an able paper in <i>Fraser's Magazine</i>, No. 133.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> These characteristics have been selected and abridged from Mr. -J. T. Smith's <i>Nollekens and his Times</i>, one of the best books of -anecdote ever published.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Note to <i>Rejected Addresses</i>. Edition 1861.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> <a href="#Page_391">See <i>Liston</i>, page 391.</a></p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Talfourd's <i>Letters of Charles Lamb</i>.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> This paper appeared in the "London Magazine," January, 1825, -<i>not</i> 1824, as stated at page 121.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Massey's <i>History of England</i>.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Opie.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Peter here meant himself, which is in part true.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Selected and abridged from Pinks's <i>History of Clerkenwell</i>, 1865.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> From the <i>Times'</i> review of Captain Dunbar's <i>Letters</i>, 1865.</p> - -<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> For an account of Lord Lovat's execution, see <i>Century of -Anecdote</i>, vol. i., p. 124.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<div class="transnote"> - -<p class="ph2">TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:</p> - -<p>Obvious printer errors have been corrected. 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